Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. III, Part 86

Author: Rowland, Dunbar, 1864-1937, ed
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Atlanta, Southern Historical Publishing Association
Number of Pages: 938

USA > Mississippi > Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. III > Part 86

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trolling ten mills in the State. Mr. Sharkey's son, Pat, is manager of the company's mill at Greenville. The mill in Jackson employs about 125 men and is kept in operation night and day. Mr. Sharkey was one of the organizers and incorporators of the Merchants' bank, of Jackson, and was a stockholder in the same. He served eight consecutive years as a member of the legislature of Mississippi, having been elected in 1895, as representative of Hinds and Yazoo counties, serving four years in that capacity and then, in 1899, being elected to represent Hinds county. He was a member of the State house commission which erected the magnificent new capitol building, and while a member of the legislature he attained no slight celebrity through his authorship of the bill to erect and equip a State reform- atory for juvenile prisoners, the bill passing both houses and meeting defeat through the veto of Governor McLaurin. Mr. Sharkey was essentially a working member of the legislative body, and he was chairman of the committee which formulated the present insurance laws of the State. He was also chairman of the committee on Con- federate pensioners, and the committee brought about the increase of pension appropriations from $60,000 to $200,000 in the State, also providing for the erection of a Confederate hospital at Vicksburg. He is chairman of the Democratic executive committee of his con- gressional district and is a valued factor in the councils of his party, while he has been a frequent delegate to the State and congressional conventions. He was prominent in accomplishing the overthrow of the "carpet-bag" régime in Mississippi, in 1875. He is still interested to some extent in the planting industry and is one of the prominent citizens and business men of Hinds county. He is identified with the Knights of Pythias. In 1867 Mr. Sharkey was married to Miss Pattie Moore, and they have three sons and one daughter, namely: Edgar, Pat, Louise and Dud. Mr. Sharkey and all of his family are members of the Methodist church.

Sharkey, Pat, manager of the Greenville mill of the Mississippi Cotton Oil Company, one of the important industrial and com- mercial concerns of the State, is a pro- gressive and able young business man and well fitted for the responsible executive duties which devolve upon him in his present position. He was born in Leake county, Miss., Sept. 24, 1874, and is a son of Henry C. and Pattie (Moore) Sharkey, who are now residents of Jackson, the father being manager of the Jackson Mill of the Mississippi Cotton Oil Company. Henry C. Sharkey was a loyal soldier of the Confederacy during the Civil war, in which he served as a member of a regiment of Mississippi volunteer infantry. Pat Sharkey was afforded the advantages of the excellent public schools of Hinds county, completing a course of study in the high school, and he has been in the employ of the Mississippi Cotton

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Oil Company for the past decade, while his rise to his present position has been accomplished through faithful and effective service. The Greenville mill is one of the largest and best in the series of plants owned and operated by the company, and Mr. Sharkey takes much pride in keeping its standard up to the highest point, the products being cotton-seed oil, cake, meal, linters and hulls. The head- quarters of the company are in the city of Meridian, and the executive corps is as follows: R. F. Munro, president; John A. Lewis, vice- president; and T. L. Hurlbutt, assistant secretary and second assistant treasurer. In his political allegiance Mr. Sharkey is a stalwart Democrat, and he holds membership in the Benevolent and Protective" Order of Elks, the Knights of Pythias and the Elysian Club, of Green- ville. On Jan. 3, 1901, he was married to Miss Eugenia Campbell, daughter of Charles H. and Emma Campbell, of Kosciusko, Attala county, Miss., and they have a winsome little daughter, Lea, who was born Aug. 31, 1903.

Shields, Walton, an attorney of Greenville, was born at Oxford, Lafayette county, Miss., Oct. 15, 1870, his parents being John W. and Sallie (Walton) Shields. The father died in 1884, aged thirty- six years. Walton Shields was educated at the University of Missis- sippi at Oxford, completing the course in both the literary and law departments. When the war against Spain was declared, in the spring of 1898, he enlisted as a private in Company C, Second Missis- sippi infantry, but was promoted to the rank of captain in the Fifth United States volunteer infantry. He was mustered out in June, 1899, and returned to his law practice at Greenville. Mr. Shields is a Democrat in his political opinions and is always ready to defend his political principles. He has served with credit as district attorney and mayor of Greenville. He belongs to the Episcopal church. On May 25, 1901, Mr. Shields and Miss Bessie Prince, of Washington county, Miss., were united in marriage. Two little daughters have come to bless this union, viz .: Fay and Bessie May.

Shivers, Marcus O., M. D., of Greenville, is a native of Mississippi, having been born at Hazlehurst, Copiah county, Sept. 14, 1877. His maternal grandfather served in the Mexican war, and his father, George W. Shivers, who was born at the town of Shivers, Miss., enlisted at the beginning of the Civil war as a private in Company A, Thirty-ninth Mississippi infantry. He was in the engagements at Corinth, Port Hudson, Franklin, Tenn., and all the others in which his regiment participated, serving until the close of hostilities in 1865, when he was honorably discharged from the service. He married Nancy J. Kilcrease, a native of the town of Hazlehurst. Marcus O. Shivers attended the Iuka normal institute, at Iuka, Miss., and afterward received the degrees of B. S., M. D. and Ph. G., in the University of

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the South, at Sewannee, Tenn. He was graduated in medicine at the age of twenty years, being the junior member in the class of 1899. Subsequently he took a course in the New York polyclinic school, located in New York city. During the year 1899 he was surgeon for the Black Diamond coal mines at Coal Creek, Tenn .; was house sur- geon for the Mississippi State charity hospital at Vicksburg in 1900; is now the junior member of the firm of Payne & Shivers, and secretary of the Washington county medical society. He is also a member of the Mississippi State medical association; the American medical association, and the Tri-State medical association-composed of the physicians of Mississippi, Arkansas and Tennessee. Although a comparatively young man in his profession he is well known and stands deservedly high as a physician and surgeon. Being of Scotch- Irish descent on the paternal side he possesses in a marked degree those qualities of courage and determination so characteristic of his ancestry, and which are the main essentials in the achievement of success in any calling. In fraternal circles Dr. Shivers is a prom- inent figure, being a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Woodmen of the World, the Improved Order of Red Men, the Knights of Pythias, and is a Knight Templar Mason. He is also a member of the Elysian club, a social organization which includes some of the leading citizens of Greenville in its roll of membership. In political matters he is a Democrat and in religious matters affiliates with the Methodist Episcopal church, South. In church, lodge, club, political gathering, and the community at large Dr. Shivers is appreciated and esteemed by his associates and acquaintances as a man of high ideals and un- impeachable character. He was married on April 27, 1904, to Miss Eugenia B., daughter of Leopold and Clara E. (Gaffney) Clausman, of Vicksburg. To this union has been born one son, George Clausman, born Nov. 14, 1905.

Shlenker, David J., a wholesale grocer and cotton factor of Vicksburg, Miss., was born in Vicksburg, April 16, 1864. He is a son of Jacob and Bertha (Schwartz) Shlenker, both of whom were natives of Germany. His father was a soldier in the Confed- erate army, who, at the close of the war, located in Vicksburg. Mr. Shlenker was educated in Vicksburg and New York city. He began his business career as an office boy in 1884 and succeeded his father in business. He was active in the support of the citizens ticket in the munici- pal election of 1904; is a member of the city council and of the fraternal orders of Elks, B. B. Club, B'ni B'rith, Knights of Honor, Knights of Pythias and Masons. Mr. Shlenker was married Aug. 20, 1901, to Miss Maud Rice, daughter of David Rice and Pauline (Cromline) Rice of Bir- mingham. Mr. and Mrs. Shlenker have one child, J. D.

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Shuford, Franklin Brevard, M. D., who died at his home, in Holly Springs, Nov. 21, 1891, was one of the distinguished representatives of the medical fraternity in the State and was a man of those sterling characteristics which ever beget popular confidence and regard. He left an indelible impress upon the history of Marshall county and no citizen stood higher in the regard of the community. He was born in Lincoln county, N. C., Feb. 3, 1820, being a son of John J. and Catharine (Corpening) Shuford, the former of whom was born in 1792, removing from the vicinity of York, Pa., to North Carolina, where his marriage was solemnized in 1817, his wife having been a resident of Burke county, that State. John J. Shuford was one of the pioneers of North Carolina and his descendants have occupied places of honor and in- fluence in church and state as well as in other walks of life. Dr. Shuford secured his early educational discipline in a well conducted school at Statesville, N. C., and in 1840 he entered Franklin and Marshall college (now Marshall college), at Mercersburg, Pa., where he was graduated in 1844, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He there- after attended medical colleges in Charleston, S. C., and Philadelphia, Pa., and still later took a course of lectures in the medical department of the University of Louisiana. At the outbreak of the war between the States the doctor was among the first to tender his services in defense of the cause of the Confederacy. In April, 1861, he went to Fort Pickens, Fla., as surgeon with the Jeff Davis Rifles, of Holly Springs, and after being transferred to the Army of Virginia he was given charge of a ward in Chimborazo hospital, in the city of Rich- mond, with the rank of surgeon major, and he held this position until the close of the war, having served with all of self-abnegation and with distinctive professional ability. In 1851 Dr. Shuford had located in Holly Springs, and here he was established in active practice until entering the Confederate service, as just noted. After the war he returned to Holly Springs and resumed practice, becoming one of the most eminent physicians and surgeons in the northern part of the State. In 1869 he retired from active practice and organized and established the first bank in Holly Springs, becoming cashier of the same and thus serving until 1881, when he resigned, on account of impaired health. He was a Democrat in his political proclivities and was affiliated with the Masonic fraternity. On Oct. 2, 1871, Dr. Shuford was united in marriage to Miss E. Reese Jones, daughter of the late Rufus Jones, an honored citizen of Holly Springs and one of whom specific mention is made in the sketch of the life of his son, Egbert R., appearing in this work. Mrs. Shuford survives her honored husband, as do also their four children, namely : Rufus Jones, who is engaged in business in Holly Springs; Frances Crawford, who is a teacher in a conservatory of music in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio,

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having studied in Berlin, Germany, and being a skilled musician; Augusta Reese, who is engaged in literary work in the city of New York; and Franklin Brevard, who is an electrical engineer, employed by the Illinois Central railroad. Dr. Shuford possessed those ele- ments which make men great, all ruggedness being softened by scholastic culture. He was descended from a time-honored family; he was familiar with the higher amenities of life and was eminently fitted for the social circle which he adorned with his many virtues. He was a man who stood as a perfect type of the gentleman of the old regime. Possessing a broad mind, he grasped the questions of his day with a masterful hand, and his friendship was sought by the most cultured men and women of his time. His influence was ever cast in favor of all that made for the betterment of the community, socially and materially, and his death left a distinctive void in the city and county which had so long represented his home.

Sigler, Daniel O., circuit court clerk of Wayne county and formerly postmaster at Waynesboro, is a native of the State of Alabama, having been born in Monroe county, Dec. 17, 1854, and being a son of Mac Lemore and Sarah Elizabeth Sigler, who passed their entire lives in Alabama. He died at the early age of thirty-two years, while his wife survived him by a number of years. Daniel O. Sigler secured a common-school education in his native State, and in initiating his independent career engaged in agricultural pursuits in Choctaw county, Ala., where he continued to reside until 1878, in which year he came to Wayne county, Miss., arriving on the 1st of January. He purchased land and forthwith engaged in the improvement and cultivation of the same, while he has ever since been closely identified with the industrial life of the county and with all that is best in civic affairs. He owns a finely improved farm of about 700 acres, 114 miles east of Waynesboro, and in addition to raising the various crops best suited to the soil and climate he is devoting special attention to the propagation of fine fruit, having one of the best peach orchards in this section-1,000 trees of the unrivaled Alberta variety. In 1895 Mr. Sigler was appointed postmaster at Waynesboro, remaining in- cumbent of the office four years and eight months and giving a most commendable administration. In 1900 he was given still further token of popular confidence and esteem, being elected treasurer of the county, and he served as such until 1904, when he was elected circuit clerk for the county, for a term of four years. He has been an active factor in public affairs and is one of the stalwart adherents of the Democratic party, in whose local councils he wields no little influence. In a fraternal way he is identified with the Woodmen of the World, and both he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church. On Jan. 27, 1877, Mr. Sigler was united in marriage to Miss Margaret McRae, daughter of Collin McRae, and her death occurred on Aug. 27, 1892. She is survived by six children, namely : Mamie, who is the wife of Roscoe Burke, of Waynesboro; Willie Zapora, who is the wife of Earl C. Cook, of Hattiesburg; Collin M., who is post- master at Hattiesburg, and in a bank in that city; Flora, who is the wife of Benjamin D. Burke, of Waynesboro; Bertha, who is now the

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wife of J. T. Pinkerton, of Emory, Ala., and Lena, who remains at the paternal home. In 1897 Mr. Sigler 'married Miss Annie Moody, daughter of Curtis Moody, a well known citizen of Wayne county, and they have three children, Edwin, Irene and Ralph.

Sillers, Walter, of Rosedale, Bolivar coun- ty, is one of the leading members of the bar of that section of the State, an ex-member of the State legislature, and a representa- tive of one of the honored pioneer families of Mississippi. He was born on the home plantation near Fayette, Jefferson county., His grandfather, Walter Sillers, was of Scotch descent, born in North Carolina, and from that State came to Mississippi while it was a territory. His father was Joseph Sillers, who served under Jefferson Davis in the Mexican war, and also through the four years of the Civil war, dying in April, 1865, while a prisoner of war in Vicksburg, Miss. His mother is Matilda (Clark) Sillers, a sister of Gen. Charles Clark, general in the Confederate service, and governor of Mississippi during the war. Her father, James Clark, came to Mis- sissippi from Lebanon, Ohio, in the early thirties, with a large family, many of whose descendants are prominent in Mississippi history today. Just before the war Joseph and Matilda Sillers moved to Bolivar coun- ty from Jefferson county, with three small children, James, Anna, and Walter, and opened a plantation on Lake Beulah, where the subject of this sketch lived during his boyhood. He attended college at Ox- ford, Miss., read law in the office of his uncle, Col. F. A. Montgomery, and was admitted to the bar in 1876. He has established a reputation as one of the well-read and able attorneys and counselors of the State, being now a member of the well-known law firm of Moore, Sill- ers & Owen. He has always been active and prominent in levee affairs, and was attorney for the Board of Mississippi Levee Commissioners for eight years. After the disastrous overflow of 1897 it was largely due to his efforts before that body that the United States River Com- mission greatly increased its appropriations to the levees of the Mississippi district. During his attorneyship for the Levee Board, litigation for and against the board was exceedingly heavy, involving intricate questions of law and thousands of dollars, which vast liti- gation he managed with exceptional ability and success. In the case of the Board of Mississippi Levee Commissioners vs. Yazoo & Mis- sissippi Valley Railroad Co., in which Mr. Sillers was leading counsel, the board recovered $125,000. He has always been an ardent Demo- crat, and was a member of the Democratic executive committee of his county in 1880, and by his persistent efforts secured the adoption of what was known as the "Bond Resolutions" by that committee, pledging all Democrats not to go on the official bonds of negroes, radicals, or bolters, which measure struck the death blow to radical rule in Bolivar county. He was for many years a member of the

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State executive committee, and is a prominent figure in State and county politics, and is influential in the councils of the Mississippi Democracy. He was married in 1880 to Ida Gayden, daughter of George L. and Martha Gayden, of Bolivar county, Miss., who died in 1883. He was again married, in 1887, to Florence Carson Warfield, daughter of Col. Elisha Warfield and Mary Carson Warfield, of Ken- tucky. Their five living children are Walter, Mary Warfield, Flor- ence, Evelyn, and Lilian Burrill.

Sledge, Norfleet R., of Como, one of the substantial capitalists and extensive land- holders of that section of the State, is a representative of one of the pioneer fam- ilies of Mississippi and has here passed his entire life, while he served with valor and loyalty as a soldier of the Confederacy during the Civil war. Mr. Sledge was born in Holly Springs, Marshall county, Miss., Jan. 25, 1839, and he was the second in order of birth of the sixteen children- nine of whom grew to manhood and woman- hood and of whom Norfleet R. and Cather- ine E. (Jones) Sledge, were both born in North Carolina. Of the children, six were living in 1905. As a young man Norfleet R. Sledge, Sr., removed from his native State of North Carolina to Tennessee, where he mar- ried, and in 1838 he came with his wife to Mississippi, where all save the eldest of their children were born. He settled in Marshall county, where he remained until 1847, when he removed to Panola county, locating at what is now locally known as Old Sledgeville, through a facetious play on his name, and here he became a successful merchant and extensive planter. In 1868 he engaged in business in Como, where he died in 1881, while his devoted wife passed away in 1884. His three sons were associated with him in business at Como, and the name is still prominent in connection with mercantile business there. This worthy pioneer was a man of spotless integrity, of much business acu- men and of utmost loyalty in the varied relations of life, and through his personal efforts he accumulated a fortune of half a million dollars prior to the Civil war, in which he made great sacrifices, supporting the Confederate cause with utmost loyalty. Norfleet R. Sledge, Jr., was about eight years of age at the time of his parents' removal to Panola county, and after a due preliminary discipline he entered the University of Mississippi, at Oxford, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1857, after which he returned to his home. He remained there until the Civil war, in the opening year of which he was married to Miss Catherine E. Jones, who was born and reared in Mississippi, being a daughter of Fanning and Pauline J. (Moore) Jones, native of North Carolina. In 1862 Mr. Sledge took up arms as a soldier of the Confederacy, enlisting in Company F, Twenty-eighth Mississippi cavalry, and being soon afterward chosen lieutenant of his company. He served some time as adjutant and was finally promoted to the

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captaincy of his company, in which capacity he was serving at the time of his capture by the enemy, while with his command assisting in covering General Hood's retreat from Nashville, Tenn. He was taken to Fort Delaware, where he was held in captivity until June, 1865, when he was released on parole, the war having come to a close the preceding month. He participated in the battles of Murfrees- boro, Franklin and other important engagements with the army of Tennessee, and was known as an able and valiant officer, having had two horses shot from under him, though he never received any severe wounds. After the close of the war Mr. Sledge returned home and became associated with his father in the general mercantile busi- ness in Como, also doing a large business in the handling of cotton. Two of his brothers entered the firm somewhat later and the title of N. R. Sledge & Sons was continued until the death of the honored father, in 1881, since which time the firm name of Sledge Brothers has been one of the most prominent in the State along the lines of industry which it has represented. The subject of this sketch has mercantile interests in Memphis, Tenn., and at other points in Mis- sissippi, while he has a beautiful home in Como, where he has resided ever since the Civil war era. He also owns a fine residence between Memphis and Grenada. He has a landed estate of about 7,000 acres, in Panola and adjoining counties, and the same is operated to a large extent by lease, while other portions of the estate are under the supervision of a manager employed by him in a direct way. He is a stockholder in both the Union and the Planters' banks in the city of Memphis, Tenn., and is vice-president of the Bank of Como while he is president of the Como Lumber Company and has varied other capitalistic interests, not the least of which is implied in his being a member of the directorate of the Illinois Central railroad. In politics, though never permitting the use of his name in connection with nomination for office, he is a stanch Democrat, and both he and his wife are communicants of the Protestant Episcopal church, contributing liberally to the support of parish and diocesan work. The following estimate placed upon Mr. Sledge by one who has known the man and his work is well worthy of reproduction in this connec- tion: "Of thorough business capabilities and moral sentiments, his career has been one of modesty and yet of distinctive activity. A promoter of all that is good, he brings into practice the sterling principles of honor and integrity and thereby commands the respect of all whom he meets in a social or business way. He is a liberal contributor to religious and benevolent institutions, and is a whole- souled, gracious and unostentatious gentleman." The first wife of Mr. Sledge died in 1880, leaving two children: Inez S., is the wife of Dr. M. Campbell, superintendent of the East Tennessee asylum for the insane, at Knoxville. They have two children, Lucille and Michael. Norfleet F., is associated with his father's business enter- prises. On Nov. 15, 1882, Mr. Sledge was married to Miss Lucille Merriwether, who was born in Mississippi, to which state her parents, James O. and Lucy (Johnson) Merriwether, came from Georgia in an early day. Mr. and Mrs. Sledge have three children: Olivette is

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the wife of John J. Craig, a merchant of Como, and their two children are Norfleet and Olivette. The two younger children of Mr. and Mrs. Sledge are Mildred and N. R.

Smith, Richard H., senior member of the firm of R. H. Smith & Company, of Shelby, Bolivar county, dealers in general merchan- dise, is one of the extensive and successful planters of the Delta district and through his able efforts in connection with this industry he has accumulated a compe- tency since taking up his residence there, in 1870. Mr. Smith was born in Hop- kins county, Ky., Aug. 10, 1842, and in the same State also were born his par- ents, Ebenezer and Minerva (Gunn) Smith. The former enlisted in the Union service at the outbreak of the Civil war, becoming a member of a Kentucky regiment, and he died at Bowling Green, that State, in 1862, while still in the service; his father, Austin P. Smith, was a soldier in the Mexican war. The wife of Ebenezer H. Smith survived him by a number of years, passing the closing years of her life in Kentucky. The subject of this sketch received his early educational training in the common schools of his native county, and that he made good use of his scholastic oppor- tunities is evident when it is stated that he initiated his independent career by engaging in teaching school, which work engrossed his attention until the time of the Civil war, when he went forth as a soldier of the Union. On Oct. 15, 1861, he enlisted in Company D, Twenty-fifth Kentucky infantry, commanded by Col. James M. Shackelford, and he continued in active service with this regiment until 1864, when he received an honorable discharge, in Louisville, Ky. Among the principal engagements in which he took part may be noted the following: Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Corinth, and the Atlanta campaign, under General Sherman, in which he took part in the almost innumerable battles and skirmishes, having been under fire for thirty-one days. He was sitting near the cannon that fired the shot which killed General Polk, at Pine Mountain, at the time the said shot was fired. He was always at the post of duty but was fortunate in having escaped wounds and in never having been cap- tured. After the war Mr. Smith was engaged in selling goods in Kentucky for one year, after which he was identified with agricul- tural pursuits, in that State, for three years. In the winter of 1870 he came to Mississippi and located on the Mississippi river, in Bolivar county, where he has since continued to reside and where he has been continuously identified with the planting industry, in connec- tion with which his energies and abilities have been so exercised as to bring to him maximum success and prosperity. He also is en- gaged in the general merchandise business in Shelby, being associ- ated in this enterprise with his son-in-law, Benjamin F. Langston, under the firm name of R. H. Smith & Company. Individual men-

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Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. III, Part 86

Author: Rowland, Dunbar, 1864-1937, ed Publication date: 1907 Publisher: Atlanta, Southern Historical Publishing Association Number of Pages: 938

Author: Rowland, Dunbar, 1864-1937, ed
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Atlanta, Southern Historical Publishing Association
Number of Pages: 938