USA > Mississippi > Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. III > Part 88
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Stephens, Zazariah M., is one of the lead- ing members of the bar of Union county, being established in the practice of his profession in New Albany and being ex- judge of the Third judicial circuit. He has also served in both branches of the State legislature and has been prominent in the councils of the Democratic party in Mississippi. Judge Stephens was born in Itawamba county, Miss., in 1853, and is a son of Dr. Reden B. Stephens, who was born in Alabama and who has long been engaged in the practice of medicine in New Albany, being one of the representa- tive physicians of this section of the State. Judge Stephens was afforded the advantages of the schools of Union county, where he was reared to maturity, and he then took up the study of law, securing admission to the bar in 1875. In the preceding year he had been elected to represent Union county in the State legislature and he served one term. In 1884 he was presidential elector on the party ticket and in 1888 he was elected to the State senate, in which he served one term. In 1892 he was again called upon to represent his district in the senate, of which he remained a member until 1896, in which year he was appointed judge of the Third judicial district, by Governor McLaurin, remaining on the bench for one term, of four years, and making a most excellent record as a jurist. He has been continuously engaged in the practice of his profession in New Albany and has built up a large and representa- tive business. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and the Knights of Pythias. In October, 1874, Judge Stephens was united in marriage to Miss Letha A. Coker, daughter of Edward M. Coker, of Union county, and they have three children: Hubert D., Edgar J., and Jennie Belle.
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Stevenson, William E., manager of the Bank of Moorhead, and mayor of that city, was born near Raymond, Hinds county, Miss., Aug. 8, 1869. His father, James G. Stevenson, was born in Tennes- see, but was reared in Missouri. At the commencement of the war in 1861 he enlisted in the Confederate army, as a private in a Missouri regiment, and served through the war. He was wounded three times and at the battle of Champion's Hill, seriously so. After some time in the hospital at Raymond he was furloughed and did not re-enter the service being still on furlough when Lee surrendered. He now resides at Waverly, La. The mother of William E. Steven- son was a native of Georgia. The subject of this sketch was educated in the public schools of Hinds county and grew to manhood on his father's plantation. For ten years he was an employe of the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley railroad, and upon leaving the service engaged in banking and the retail drug business. He has been measurably successful and enjoys the confidence and esteem of his fellow citi- zens. He is a firm believer in the principles of the Democratic party, and his well known public spirit and progressive views marked him out as a suitable candidate for the office of mayor, to which his fellow townsmen elected him, and which office he is now filling for the sec- ond term with general satisfaction to the people of Moorhead. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and of the Order of Railway Conductors. On Dec. 12, 1894, he led to the altar Miss Mabel, daugh- ter of W. J. and Harriet W. (Dinkins) Cameron, of Madison county, Miss. Two children have blessed this union: Pauline and Cameron. Stietenroth, William, a leading architect, contractor and builder in the city of Natchez, was born in the city which is now his home, the date of his nativity being Oct. 18, 1862. Both his father and mother were born in Germany, whence they came to America when young. They were residents of Natchez for many years and both died in that city. The subject of this sketch attended the public schools of Natchez and in preparing himself for his chosen profession he completed a course in the Academy of Architecture and Industrial Science in the city of St. Louis, Mo. After leaving this institution he returned to Natchez in 1885 and engaged in business as an archi- tect and builder. He has been most successful in his chosen pro- fession and has been concerned in the erection of many public build- ings as well as fine private residences and business blocks. He was the architect and builder of the Baker Grand theater, the Elks' club house and the Prentiss club house, besides some of the finest school buildings in the city of Natchez. He has been identified with the local fire department from his boyhood days to the present time. Mr. Stietenroth gives his political support to the Democratic party, and he is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, the Benevolent and
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Protective Order of Elks and the Woodmen of the World. In the Masonic order he has received the chivalric degrees and holds mem- bership in Rosalie Commandery, No. 5, Knights Templars. He is a charter member of the Natchez lodge of Elks. Both he and his wife are communicants of the Protestant Episcopal church. On April 17, 1900, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Stietenroth to Miss Althea Dowty, daughter of William Dowty, a well known steamboat captain residing in the city of New Orleans.
Street, Donald P., M. D., who is at the head of the Vicksburg Sani- tarium and who is recognized as one of the leading representatives of his profession in this city, was born in Corinth, Miss., Aug. 17, 1873, being a son of Donald and Blanche I. (Pollock) Street, the former of whom was born in North Carolina and the latter in Ten- nessee. Dr. Street duly availed himself of the advantages of the excellent schools of his native city and thereafter took up the study of medicine under the preceptorship of Dr. J. M. Taylor, of Corinth, gaining an excellent preliminary knowledge of a technical order and supplementing this by a thorough course in the celebrated Bellevue Hospital medical college, in New York city, in which institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1899, receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine. He forthwith located in Vicksburg and established himself in the practice of his profession. and in 1900 he purchased the property of the Vicksburg Sanitarium, to whose management he has since given his attention. The original building was a small one and its facilities inadequate. In 1901 he added to the building and in 1903, to meet the increased demands, another addition was made and the enterprise was incorporated under the laws of the State. The sanitarium is now thoroughly modern in its equipment, has ample accommodations for about fifty patients, and is becoming known as one of the best private institutions of the sort in the State, having a representative support and being main- tained under the direct and effective supervision of Dr. Street. In his practice the doctor makes a specialty of abdominal surgery, in which line he has attained a high reputation. Dr. Street is a member of the American medical association, the Mississippi State medical association, the Warren county medical society, the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, being also medical examiner for various leading life insurance companies. His political support is given to the Democratic party, in whose faith he was reared.
Stricker, Vincent John, a prominent member of the bar of Jack- son, was born in Fort Adams in Wilkinson county, Miss. His father was P. J. Stricker, a native of Mississippi, and for many years a leader in the medical profession in Vidalia. The father received his technical training in the medical colleges and universities of Ken- tucky and Tennessee. The mother was formerly Miss Sally Gertrude Row, a daughter of Vincent Row of Wilkinson county. The subject of this sketch is the eldest of the four children of the family. He took up the study of law in 1899, matriculating at the University of Mississippi at Oxford, but completing his course and receiving his
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degree at Millsaps college of Jackson in 1900. Upon the completion of his scholastic labors Mr. Stricker went to Mount Olive, where for four months he was associated in the practice of his chosen profes- sion with the Hon. R. D. Cooper. He then returned to Jackson and formed a partnership with R. P. Thompson, with whom he has since been associated in the practice of law. In his politics Mr. Stricker is a stanch Democrat and for two years served the city as criminal prosecutor.
.Strickland, Jacob L. In America this Twentieth century is essen- tially an age of the young man in business, and there is no limit set to the heights which may be accessible to the self-reliant and ambi- tious young man. The South has felt the beneficent influence of the energy and productive talents emanating from that source, and among the prominent representatives of the younger element of business men in the State is numbered Mr. Strickland, who is vice- president and general manager of the Planters' Lumber Company, manufacturers of Southern hardwoods, at Greenville, Washington county. The company was organized in 1902 and was originally incorporated with a capital stock of $10,000, which was increased to $50,000, on June 27, 1904. This fact is significant, since it indi- cates how rapid and satisfactory had been the up-growth of the enter- prise, which is now one of the most important of the sort in that section of the State. Both a wholesale and retail business is done, and a growing export trade is proving an important feature in the industry. In 1904 the company erected in Greenville a finely equip- ped and modern sawmill, with an output capacity of 50,000 feet of lumber daily, and the annual payroll of the concern represents an annual expenditure of fully $40,000. Jacob L. Strickland was born in Holly Springs, Marshall county, Miss., on July 26, 1878, and is a son of William M. and Jane (Leake) Strickland, the former of whom was born in Wake county, N. C., and the latter in Tippah (now Benton) county, Miss. Mr. Strickland passed his boyhood days in Holly Springs, where his father was engaged in the practice of law, and after leaving the public schools he there continued his studies in St. Thomas Hall, an excellent academic institution, now closed. After leaving school he was for some time employed as salesman in mercantile establishments in the city of Memphis, Tenn., and in 1898 he organized the Clarksdale Lumber Company, at Clarksdale, Coahoma county, Miss., becoming secretary and treasurer of the company. In 1900 he disposed of his interests in that concern, and came to Greenville, where he was one of the chief promoters and an organizer of the company with which he is now identified and whose fine business has been built up largely through his energetic and capable efforts as an executive and administrative officer. Mr. Strickland is an ardent Democrat but has never sought the honors of public office, and in a fraternal way he is identified with the Con- catenated Order of Hoo Hoos, the great social organization of the lumbermen of the Union. On Dec. 10, 1902, Mr. Strickland married Miss Ruth Seay, daughter of Dr. John and Louise (Robb) Seay, of Nashville, Tenn., and they are prominent in the social life of Green-
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ville. Both Mr. and Mrs. Strickland are members of the Episcopal church.
Sutherland, Hugh L., M. D., is one of the distinguished representatives of the medical profession in his native State, and is engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery in Rosedale, Bolivar county, controlling a large business of a represent- ative order and being well known to the medical fraternity of this and adjoining States. Hugh Lewis Sutherland was born near Canton, Madison county, Miss., April 27, 1848, being a son of Benj. L. and Rebecca (Lewis) Sutherland, the former of whom was born in Augusta, Ga., in 1818, while the latter was born in Copiah county, Miss., in 1828. The original pro- genitor of the Sutherland family in America was the grandfather of the doctor. That worthy ancestor was born and reared in Scotland, being a member of the historic old Sutherland family of Sutherland county, which was the place of his nativity. He came to America in 1775, settling in Georgia, where he passed the remainder of his life. Hugh Lewis, the maternal grandfather of Dr. Sutherland, came from southern Virginia to Mississippi in an early day, and his wife was a member of the distinguished Ball family of the Old Do- minion State. Dr. Sutherland passed his boyhood days on the home plantation and was afforded excellent educational advantages in his youth. He was graduated in the University of Mississippi as a member of the class of 1870, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and three years later he was graduated in the medical depart- ment of the University of Louisiana, in New Orleans, the institution being now known as Tulane university. The doctor has remained an advanced student of his profession, in which he has met with eminent success, and he is one of the valued and popular mem- bers of the Mississippi State medical association, of which he was president in 1903, and of the Tri-State medical society, comprising representatives of the profession in Mississippi, Arkansas and Ten- nessee. Of that society he was president for the year 1905. He is also identified with the American medical association. Dr. Suther- land has given much time to original research and investigation along professional lines and is the author of numerous papers on diseases especially prevalent in the Yazoo delta of Mississippi, while he has compiled valuable vital and mortuary statistics covering the same territory. In politics he is a stanch Democrat, but has never been an aspirant for public office. While in the University of Mis- sissippi he became affiliated with the Alpha Kappa Phi fraternity, and is now a member of its successor, the Beta Theta Pi. In Janu- ary, 1878, Dr. Sutherland was united in marriage to Miss Ethel Burrus, daughter of Hon. J. C. and Louisa (McGehee) Burrus of Bolivar county, and the children of this union are as follows: Hugh
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Lewis, Percy Postell, John Burrus, Re Christine, Louisa McGehee, Hugh Lewis (II) and Fearn. The first mentioned child died in infancy. John Burrus died in 1901, aged eighteen years, just after completing his sophomore year in the University of Mississippi.
Swain, John T., is one of the representative business men of New Albany, where he is secretary and treasurer of the National Manu- facturing Company and a director of the Union Brick and Tile Com- pany. Mr. Swain was born in Union county, Miss., in 1858, and is a son of James A. and Mary (Murray) Swain, both of whom were born and reared in Mississippi, the former being a son of John Swain, who was one of the sterling pioneers of Pontotoc county, and the latter being a daughter of Judge T. J. Murray, a prominent citizen of Tippah county. The father of the subject of this sketch was a loyal soldier of the Confederacy during the entire period of the Civil war. He and his wife are both deceased. John T. Swain secured his earlier educational training in the schools of his native county and supplemented this by a course in the University of Mississippi, at Oxford. He has been a resident of New Albany for the past ten years and was formerly engaged in the general merchandise business in this thriving little city, to whose progress and material upbuilding he has contributed in no small measure. He was one of the organizers of the National Manufacturing Company, in 1904, the company being incorporated with a capital stock of $25,000 and he is secretary and treasurer of the concern. This company has a well equipped and thoroughly modern plant for the manufacturing of handles and other turned-wood articles. The Union Brick and Tile Company, of which he is a director, also has an excellent plant, with large facil- ities for turning out the best class of products. He is also a member of the directorate of the Bank of New Albany, and is a loyal and progressive citizen. He is a stanch supporter of the principles of of the Democratic party, and is at the present time a member of the city council. He is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In 1890 Mr. Swain was united in marriage to Miss Beatrice Hawthorne, daughter of Harvey A. Hawthorne, who was at one time mayor of Blue Mountain and who was postmaster of that place at the time of his death. He was a soldier in the Confederate service in the war between the States, having held the rank of lieutenant.
Sanders, Wiley, the representative of Attala county in the senate of the Mississippi legislature and the able editor of the Kosciusko Star-Ledger, is the scion of a long line of American patriots. His paternal grandfather was a soldier in the Continental army during the Revolutionary war and his father, Absalom Sanders, born in Kentucky in 1815, rendered distinguished service as a soldier during the Seminole war. A near relative was a member of the Mississippi convention that declared for secession in 1861, and three brothers were soldiers in the Confederate army during the great struggle which followed the action of that and similar conventions. One of these brothers was later several times elected to the Mississippi legislature. The family originally came from England early in the Seventeenth century. Absalom Sanders married Miss Anne Dick-
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erson, born in Georgia in 1818, and to them was born in their home in Jefferson county, Ala., on July 26, 1852, Wiley Sanders, the sub- ject of this sketch. The family moved while he was still young to Attala county in this State and it was in the schools of that county that he received his education. When he became of age and had received a proper training for the work he became the editor of the Kosciusko Star-Ledger, one of the most widely circulated and in- fluential weekly newspapers in the State. Politically Mr. Sanders is of course a stanch Democrat, being one of the influential and promi- nent figures in the party's State councils. He first held public office in 1884, when he was elected to the house of representatives of the State legislature. In 1900 the people of Attala county made him their State senator, and in 1904 they re-elected him. He has come to be one of the leaders of that body, both in debate on the floor and in committee. On April 27, 1884, Mr. Sanders married Miss Fannie Stokes of Grenada, Miss., a daughter of Richard and Rebecca (Martin) Stokes and to this union have been born the following children : Harold B., L. Stokes, Fannie Y., Marcia A., Paul H., Roger W. and Ethel.
Savery, Phineas M., is an able member of the bar of the State but for many years has given his attention principally to the real estate and insurance business, in which he has developed one of the leading enterprises of the sort in the State. He has maintained his home and business headquarters in the city of Tupelo since 1888. The captain is a veteran of the Confederate service in the Civil war and is a citizen who has ever commanded unqualified confidence and esteem. Captain Savery was born in the State of Massachusetts, July 30, 1830, and is a son of Dr. Phineas and Nancy (Messinger) Savery, both of whom were likewise native of the old Bay State and representatives of families early founded in New England. Dr. Phineas Savery was a leading physician of Attleboro Mass., and was a son of Phineas and Hannah (Swift) Savery, the former of whom was a son of Samuel Savery, born Aug. 18, 1718, of French lineage. Dr. Savery passed his entire life in Massachusetts, as did also his wife, who died when the subject of this sketch was an infant. Phineas M. Savery was reared in Massachusetts, where he received a good common school education. At the age of sixteen years he went to New York city and soon afterward went to Mexico, where he remained until 1851, when he returned to the United States and settled in Clay county, Mo. He was employed as a clerk until 1853, when he was married to Miss Amanda G. Mitchell, eldest daughter of Henry F. Mitchell, who was a native of Maryland and who was at that time one of the prominent members of the Missouri bar. Soon after his marriage the subject of this sketch began reading law under the preceptorship of his father-in-law and in 1858 he was admitted to the bar of the State of Missouri. At the outbreak of the war between the States Captain Savery joined the Missouri State troops, in which he attained to the rank of colonel, as provost- marshal-general of the State. In 1862 he entered the regular service of the Confederacy, as captain of cavalry, and for a short time there-
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after he held the rank of major, as provost-marshal-general of the Army of the West and Trans-Mississippi department. He then resumed his place as captain of his company of Western Rangers, a company of Missourians which entered the service in May, 1861, and remained on duty until the final surrender. After the fall of Vicksburg this company was consolidated with the Second Missouri Cavalry and was designated as Company C of that command. After the close of the war Captain Savery took up his residence in Mem- phis, Tenn., where he was engaged as clerk and special collector until 1866, when he removed to Baldwyn, Lee county, Miss., and became the Mississippi representative of the University Publishing Co., of New York. He held this position a short interval and then engaged in the practice of his profession. In 1868 he entered the life insurance business and two years later also identified himself with the fire insurance line. In the long intervening years he has continued to make the insurance business his specialty and has con- fined his law practice almost entirely to the collection of claims. In the city of Tupelo he has well appointed offices and controls a large and representative insurance business, in which he is associ- ated with his son, Finnie M. They also control a thriving enterprise in the handling of real estate, both city and country. Captain Sav- ery is a stalwart supporter of the cause of the Democratic party but has never been a seeker of political office. He is prominent in the Masonic fraternity and has served as grand master of the grand lodge of the State, holding other high offices in the order. He is also identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, Knights of Honor, Knights of the Golden Rule, and is a valued member of the United Confederate Veterans. Both he and his wife hold membership in the Christian church. Captain and Mrs. Savery became the parents of four children, all of whom are living except James M., who died at the age of twenty-three years. Charles V. and Finnie M., are prominent in business life in Tupelo, and Mary A. F. is married.
Scott, Charles, Sr., who for many years was one of Mississippi's leading lawyers, and whose name will endure in the legal annals of the State, was born at Knoxville, Tenn., Nov. 12, 1811. He was a descendant of old Virginia stock, some of his ancestors having been distinguished for their ser- vices in the Revolutionary war and others for their statemanship in the formation of the Republic. Upon arriving at man- hood's estate he selected the legal profes- sion for a calling and first began practice at Nashville. A few years later he re- moved to Jackson, Miss., where he formed a partnership with his brother-in-law, George S. Yerger. The firm thus founded soon became widely known, both members of it being noted for their thorough understanding
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of the law in all its branches, and for their devotion to the interests of their clients. Mr. Scott's distinguished reputation as a lawyer, his high sense of honor, his amiable character, and his well known public spirit all marked him as a suitable man for the office of chan- cellor, to which he was accordingly elected, and for many years he presided over the supreme court of chancery. Many of the decisions he rendered while serving in this capacity are still quoted as prec- edents on mooted points of chancery law. One of his most noted opinions was in the case of Johnson vs. the State of Mississippi, in which he held the State liable for the payment of the bonds of the- old Union bank. Although this decision did not meet with popular approval, it was afterward affirmed by the high court of errors and appeals. In this case, as in all others that came before him for judicial consideration, he was guided purely by his unswerving integrity and his profound knowledge of the principles of the law- principles which constitute the very basis of civilization. Upon retiring from the chancellorship in 1859 Mr. Scott removed to Mem- phis, Tenn., believing that city offered a broader field for the prac- tice of his profession. Nor was he disappointed. Something of his fame as a barrister and chancellor had preceded him to that city, and he soon won a conspicuous place at the Tennessee bar. He lived in Memphis but about two years, however, for in 1861, when the Civil war became inevitable, he returned to Jackson to offer his ser- vices to his adopted State. He did not live to carry out his patriotic resolution, as his death occurred soon after his return to Mississippi. He was buried'at Jackson with Masonic honors, of which fraternity he was an esteemed and enthusiastic member. For many years he served as worshipful master of Silas Brown lodge at Jack- son, and was subsequently honored by an election to the office of grand master of the Mississippi grand lodge. He was a Masonic author of international reputation and his name was known in Ma- sonic circles all over the United States and Great Britain. Although Chancellor Charles Scott was cut off by the hand of death and thus pre- vented from taking up arms in defense of his State, it was not so with his sons. His marriage to Miss Elizabeth M. Bullus was blessed with seven children, and of these, three sons rendered yeoman ser- vice in the cause of the Confederacy. Edward M. Scott was born in 1842 and when the war broke out he was a student in the Nashville university, but laid aside his books to take up the sword. He en- listed as a member of Company K, Eighteenth Mississippi, and fought at Manassas, Ball's Bluff, Perryville, Murfreesboro, Chicka- mauga and a number of minor engagements, serving during the latter years of the war as an aide-de-camp to Brig .- Gen. D. W. Adams. After the war he became proprietor of the Hotel Edwards at Jack- son, and later engaged in the grocery and commission business at Rosedale, in connection with his brothers, Charles and George Y. The last named was born in 1845 and left the Nashville military college when sixteen years of age to enlist in company K of Wirt Adams' cavalry regiment. With this command he fought at Shiloh, and in the various engagements of the Jackson campaign. When
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