USA > Mississippi > Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. III > Part 94
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decided to adopt the profession of law. He accordingly entered the law school of Cumberland university, at Lebanon, Tenn., where he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Laws, in June, 1871. In the following year he located in Winona, where he has ever since been engaged in the practice of his profession, in which his success has been on a parity with his distinctive ability as a trial lawyer and counselor, his clientage having been for many years of the most representative character while he has been concerned in much im- portant litigation in both the State and federal courts. He was elected president of the Bank of Winona, and after serving seven years in this office he asked to be relieved of its duties, but in 1900 he yielded to the pressure brought to bear by the stockholders of the institution and was again elected to the presidency. He still remains incumbent of the office, and as an executive his efforts are greatly appreciated by all concerned in the bank, either as stock- holders or patrons. Mr. Trotter is the owner of a valauble landed estate of 2,400 acres and has various capitalistic interests of impor- tance. He is one of the stalwarts in the Democratic ranks in Mis- sissippi, having been a member of the executive committee of the party in the State in 1895, while in 1896 he represented the State as a presidential elector, having been one of the stanch supporters of William J. Bryan. He is a member of the Baptist church and a Royal Arch Mason. In 1876 Mr. Trotter married Miss Anna Billings- ley, who died in 1885, leaving two children-Maude, who is the wife of Walter H. Withy, a merchant of Winona; Miss., and Anna, who is the wife of Dr. J. H. Eugene Rosamond, a successful physician and surgeon of Memphis, Tenn. The second marriage of Mr. Trotter was solemnized in 1888, when Miss Cora Chamberlin, of Grenada, became his wife. She died in 1890, and is survived by two sons- Walter, Jr., and W. Chamberlin. In 1891 Mr. Trotter wedded his present wife, whose maiden name was Anna Bailey and who is a daughter of the late Capt. Leonidas Bailey, of Winona.
Tucker, Hal S., M. D., has been engaged in the practice of his profession in Ellis- ville, Jones county, since 1898, and his ability and personal popularity are best attested by the success which is his and the wide scope of his clientage. The doctor was born in Okolona, Chickasaw county, Miss., Feb. 9, 1856, and is a son of Gen. William F. and Martha J. (Shackelford) Tucker, the former of whom was born in North Carolina and the latter in Missis- sippi. General Tucker entered the Con- federate service as captain of Company K, Eleventh Mississippi, which, in May, 1861, was mustered into the service at Lynchburg and assigned to the Third brigade of the Army of the Shenandoah. This brigade was commanded by General Barnard E. Bee and did valiant fighting in the first battles of Manassas, and
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from that time until the end, at Appomattox, the Eleventh Missis- sippi followed the fortunes of the Army of Northern Virginia, except that Company K at the reorganization was transferred to the West- ern army and formed a portion of the Forty-first Mississippi. Of this regiment Captain Tucker was commissioned colonel May 8, 1862, and he commanded the same in the battles of Murfreesboro, Chick- amauga and Missionary Ridge. March 1, 1864, he was commis- sioned brigadier-general, and he was in command during much of the Atlanta campaign, being severely wounded at Resaca, and was not thereafter able to do further active service. His death occurred on Sept. 15, 1881, at Okolona, Miss., and his wife is still living. He is survived by five children. Dr. Tucker completed the work of the common schools of Mississippi and secured his professional education in the medical department of Tulane university, in the city of New Orleans, where he was graduated as a member of the class of 1887, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He began the practice of his profession in his native county, where he remained until 1898, when he removed to Ellisville, where he has since been established and where he controls a large and lucrative practice. He is a mem- ber of the Mississippi State medical society and also that of Jones county, and is held in high regard by his professional confreres. In politics the doctor gives unqualified allegiance to the Democratic party and fraternally he is identified with the time-honored order of Free Masonry. On Nov. 7, 1889, Dr. Tucker was united in marriage to Miss Stacy F. Gillespie, daughter of William P. and Mary J. (Gunn) Gillespie, of Chickasaw county, and the four children of this union are William F., Margaret J., Mary, and Hal S., Jr.
Turner, Austin R. (deceased), formerly a prominent business man of Belzoni, was born in the State of Alabama, Aug. 8, 1852, his parents being James and Mary (Pressward) Turner. He received a good common school education in his native State and in the early nineties came to Belzoni, where he engaged in business and soon came to be looked upon as one of the successful men of the town. In political affairs he was a stanch Democrat and always took a commendable interest in questions of public policy, particu- larly those pertaining to local govern- ment. He was a member of the Presby- terian church and was liberal in his charity. Mr. Turner was twice married. His first wife, to whom he was united on March 19,1878, was Miss Mary, daughter of James and Martha (Wilks) Ellison. To this marriage were born two children-Mary E., and Henry N. The first wife died on Oct. 16, 1883, and on March 10, 1886, he married Rebecca Ellison, a sister of his former wife. To this union were born six children, viz .: Geneva, Susan J., Sarah A., Alabama, Eliza B.,
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and James A., all living except the last named. Mr. Turner died at Belzoni on June 4, 1905.
Tyler, Fisher Ames, was descended from one Noah Tyler who came from England to Andover, Mass., in 1640, where he died. Of a sturdy and independent race who lived to old age, he was born March 11, 1812, at Dorchester, Mass., eldest child of Nathan Tyler and Eliza Brooks. Reared in Boston, he was noted for depth of thought and independence of speech. A graduate of Brown University, Rhode Island, he studied law in the office of President Buchanan and was graduated from Cincinnati law school in 1834, and in 1836 he located at Vicksburg, Miss., and was there intimately associated with the strong men of that day : Prentiss, Yerger, Holt, and others. While in Vicksburg he published and edited the Vicksburg Register. In 1840 he married Miss Virginia Townes of Grenada, Miss. In 1848, he entered the Presbyterian ministry and in 1858 moved to Memphis, Tenn., to edit a church journal. His ancestors had borne their part in the War of the American Revolution, and though not subject to military duty, in 1861, he identified himself entirely with the South, giving liberally of his means, and serving efficiently in such manner as he was able to do. After the close of the war he was connected with the Memphis Appeal and part owner of that paper. Though a man of ability in several lines, it was as a journalist that he achieved the highest reputation. In 1878 he removed to Holly Springs, Miss., and published the Holly Springs South, which he edited until his eightieth year. In 1870 he married Mrs. Rosa Goodloe, daughter of Hon. Roger Barton, of Holly Springs. He retained his faculties, unimpaired until his death, Jan. 27, 1902, at the age of ninety years. He left two sons, Fisher Ames Tyler, a wholesale merchant of Gaines- ville, Texas, and Roger Barton Tyler, of Holly Springs.
Tabb, W. A., manager of the Houston branch of the Okolona Banking Company, is one of the representative young business men of Chickasaw county and is a native of the thriving little city in which he now resides, having been born in Houston, March 4, 1871. He is a son of D. D. and Perlina (Pounds) Tabb, both of whom were likewise native of Chickasaw county, being members of prominent pioneer families of this section. In the autumn of 1863 D. D. Tabb enlisted in Company C, Sixth Mississippi infantry, with which he did valiant service for the Confederacy until its cause lay prostrate through the dire extremities of warfare. He was identified with agricultural pursuits during the greater portion of his active career, owning a fine plantation, while he also owned a mill and was engaged in the general merchandise business at Tabbville, a village named in his honor. W. A. Tabb secured effective educational discipline in the public schools and the Mississippi normal college, at Houston, and after leaving school he was employed about five years as a sales- man and general assistant in his father's mercantile establishment. During the following eight years he was engaged in traveling as a commercial salesman, making an excellent record in this connec- tion, and in 1903 the board of directors of the Okolona Banking Company elected him to his present position, that of manager of the
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Houston branch of the large and important banking business con- trolled by the company. He has proven a most discriminating and. capable executive, and through his efforts the local institution over which he has charge has been materially advanced in popularity and in scope of operations. Mr. Tabb is a stanch advocate of the principles of the Democratic party, and for the past eight years has been a member of the village council of Houston. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and both he and his wife hold member- ship in the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Tabb married Miss Lula Hickman, daughter of William P. and Fannie (McNamee) Hickman, of Houston, and the three children of this union are: Miriam, Francis and Elizabeth.
Taylor, Harlan Mercer, than whom no citizen of Jackson was better known or more highly honored, stood for many years as the leading contractor and builder of the capital city, where he was also engaged in brickmaking for fifty years and asso- ciated with his sons, Thomas E. and Rob- ert S., in the undertaking business. He was a man of lofty integrity of character, of great business acumen, of genial and gracious presence and of utmost kindli- ness in all the relations of life, so that a distinct void was left when he was sum- moned to the eternal life, his death occur- ring on Nov. 1, 1902. No shadow of wrong or suspicion of evil darkens a single page of his life history, and his example was one worthy of emulation in every sense. His personal popularity in Jackson was attested in his election to the office of mayor, a preferment which he did not desire and to which he was called against his vigorous protests. He retained his posi- tion at the head of the municipal government only five months, when he resigned, because of failing health, which rendered it diffi- cult for him to attend to the arduous duties of the office. Colonel Taylor was born in the State of Pennsylvania about the year 1830, and in the old Keystone State he was reared and educated. About forty-five years ago he came to Mississippi and located in Jackson, where he soon became thoroughly imbued with the spirit of the South, ever remaining loyal to the State of his adoption and to its insti- tutions. Within this period of nearly half a century Colonel Taylor left not only the impression of his noble individuality upon the civic life of the community but he also produced innumerable material monuments to his memory, having contracted for and built several of the finest of the State's buildings, many of the best business blocks and public buildings. Among the buildings erected by him in the capital city may be mentioned the State institution for the blind, the large annex to the East Mississippi insane hospital, addition to the institution for the deaf and dumb, Millsaps college, the Bap- tist church, the Lawrence hotel, the Spengler hotel, the Harding
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and Stag Club buildings, the Columbia Club, the Jackson bank building and most of the other brick buildings that have been erected on West Capitol street within the past few years, to say nothing of the hundred of handsome residences that are to be found in all sections of the city. Colonel Taylor was repeatedly honored by several benevolent orders to which he belonged, and was treasurer of the Masonic and Odd Fellows' lodges and other organizations of a fraternal sort for a number of years. He was president of the Jackson Building and Loan association from the time of its organ- ization, about a decade and a half ago, until his death, and its unqualified success was due largely to his wise administrative policy. As a member of the board of trustees of the State institution for the education of the deaf and dumb, he always gave unsparingly of his time and attention in providing for the needs and demands of the unfortunate wards in the noble institution, and was a valued member of the governing body. Colonel Taylor had large capitalistic inter- ests in his home city and was one of Jackson's best known and most progressive business men. He was associated with his two sons, Thomas E. and Robert S., in the undertaking business, and the sons still carry forward the enterprise, under title of the H. M. Taylor Undertaking Company, and they are well upholding the high pres- tige of the honored name which they bear. As has been consistently said of them, "they are young men of refinement, being fitted by education and environment to take the high position which they have attained in the business and social world." Colonel Taylor was a stanch Democrat in politics, and his religious faith was that of the Episcopal church. In 1857 he was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Earl. They became the parents of nine children, of whom six are living.
Tate, James E., of New Albany, is the able and popular sheriff of Union county, where his entire life has been passed. He was born on his father's plantation, in this county, in the year 1860, being a son of of John H. S. Tate, who was born and reared in South Carolina, from which State he removed to Union county, Miss., in 1857, becoming one of the successful planters of this section of the State and here continuing to reside until his death, in 1901. He served as a valiant soldier of the Confederacy during the war be- tween the States, having been in the command of General Forrest. His wife, whose maiden name was Amanda Ticer, survives him. She is a daughter of James Ticer, who was one of the first white set- tlers in Union county, where he became an extensive planter and influ- ential citizen, having served many years as justice of the peace and having been active in local politics. The paternal grandfather of Sheriff Tate likewise passed the closing years of his life in Union county, having removed hither from South Carolina. Mr. Tate has two brothers-Elbert C., who is a merchant of Keownville, and William E., who is a representative planter of this county. Sheriff Tate was reared and educated in this county, and he has been identi- fied with plantation interests from his youth to the present. For ten years. he was engaged in the general merchandise business in
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Keownville, thus continuing until his election to the office of sheriff, in the autumn of 1903. He assumed the duties of his office Jan. 4, 1904, and has given a most efficient and satisfactory administra- tion. He is unwavering in his allegiance to the Democratic party, and has been an active worker in its cause. In 1889 Mr. Tate was united in marriage to Miss Mary B. Witte, who was born in Pontotoc county, Miss., in 1870, and they became the parents of the following children: Beulah Vance, who was born Oct. 1, 1891, and who died Nov. 1, 1906; an infant son, born in March, 1900, died April 4, 1900, and Jamie Witt, who was born July 20, 1906.
Taylor, Travis H., president of the Bank of Como and one of the extensive land- holders of Panola county, was born in the State of North Carolina, Jan. 16, 1853, being a son of Thomas and Rosa (Speed) Taylor, both of whom were born in Virginia. They came to Mississippi in 1859 and settled near Como, Panola county, where they passed the remainder of their lives and where the father became a successful planter and leading citizen. He was in the commissary department of the Confederate service during a consid- erable portion of the Civil war, also being in active service in a Mississippi regiment for a time. He died in the year 1884, in the fullness of years and honors. Travis H. Taylor was reared to manhood in Panola county, and here received his educational training in the best schools avail- able, while he soon began to lend his aid in the work of operating the plantation of his father, while he acquired a valuable tract of land through inheritance from his father's estate and has been concerned in agricultural pursuits from his youth up. He is now the owner of 4,000 acres of land, in Panola county, and is carrying on agricultural operations and stock-raising upon an extensive scale, his success being insured through the progressive methods he has brought to bear. He is one of the directors of the Bank of Como, one of the solid and ably managed financial institutions of the State, and he has been engaged in the mercantile business in Como since 1877, being presi- dent of the Taylor Mercantile Company. Mr. Taylor has done much to conserve the material and social progress of his attractive residence city, where he has erected a number of buildings, including his fine brick residence. He is one of substantial citizens of the county and has the unqualified esteem of its people, being a representative of one of the well known and sterling families of this section of the State. He is a stanch supporter of the principles of the Democratic party, and he served four years as a member of the board of aldermen of Como. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and both he and his wife are valued members of the Methodist Episcopal church. In 1878 Mr. Taylor was united in marriage to Miss Berta Meriwether, daughter of James O. Meriwether, of whom individual
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mention is made on another page of this publication. Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, namely: Lucille, who is the wife of Claud Brown, a successful merchant in Charlotte, N. C .; Travis H., Jr., who is associated with his father in business; Thomas H., who is a graduate of the United States naval academy, in Annap- olis, and who is now a midshipman in the navy; Meriwether, who is attending the University of Mississippi, at Oxford; and Clarence, Frederick and Arthur, who remain at the parental home.
Taylor, Waller E., of Como, Panola county, is here engaged in the lumber business and is also the owner of a fine plantation in the immediate vicinity, being one of the old citizens of this locality, where he has passed the major portion of his life. Mr. Taylor is a native of the Old North State, having been born in Granville county, N. C., March 28, 1847, and being a son of Thomas and Rosa (Speed) Taylor, who were both born in Virginia, where the respective families were founded in the colonial epoch of our national history. Thomas Taylor came with his family to Mississippi in 1859 and settled near Como, where he became one of the substantial planters and influential citizens of Panola county, here passing the remainder of his life, as did also his estimable wife. During the Civil war he served in the commissary department of the Confederate army and was also in active field service for a time. He died in the year 1884, honored by all who knew him. Waller E. Taylor passed his youthful years on the homestead plantation, and early became familiar with the details of its operation, while he has never withdrawn entirely from his active association with agricultural pursuits, being now the owner of a fine landed estate of 640 acres in his residence county and giving his general supervision to the same, while he has been engaged in the lumber business in Como for a number of years past, having a pleasant home in this village. He is a stalwart adherent of the Democratic party and since 1903 he has held the office of justice of peace. Mr. Taylor was a soldier of the Confederacy during the dark days of the Civil war, having enlisted in 1863 as a member of Company K, Ballentine's regiment Mississippi cavalry, which was assigned to the Army of Tennessee, being in Armstrong's brigade, Jackson's division, and he took part in all the engagements in which his command was involved in the operations in Tennessee and Georgia including a number of the most important battles of the war, to whose close he continued in service. Mr. Taylor has been twice married. He first wedded Miss Sue B. Jones, daughter of Alexander and Lu- cinda Jones, of Warren county, N. C., and they had two children, both of whom are living, W. E., Jr., and Sue. In 1877 Mr. Taylor married Miss Ida Irby, daughter of Dr. John W. and Martha (Taylor) Irby, of Panola county, Miss., and the four children of this marriage are Anna, John S., Martha and Louise. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor are communicants of the Protestant Episcopal church.
Terral, Samuel H., of Quitman, a representative member of the bar of Clarke county and alderman of his residence city, was born in Quitman July 15, 1872, being a son of Judge Samuel H. Terral, who was born in Jasper county, Miss., in 1835, being a son of James S.
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and Alletha (Heielburg) Terral, the former of whom was born in Wayne county, Miss., in 1809, a son of Edward Terral, of Welsh lineage, who was born in South Carolina and who was the founder of the family in Mississippi, having been one of the pioneers of Wayne county. He was a patriot soldier in the Continental line during the Revolution, having enlisted from South Carolina. Judge Terral was educated in the University of Mississippi, at Oxford, where he took the preceptorship of his older brother, Col. James S., who was district attorney of the Eighth judicial district of the State at the outbreak of the Civil war. He raised the Seventh Mississippi battalion, of which he was made lieutenant-colonel, and he died as the result of injuries received in the battle of Corinth. Judge Terral was admitted to the bar in 1857 and in the following year established himself in practice in Quitman. He was district attorney of the county for eight years; was a member of the secession convention of the State, in 1861; in 1882 he represented Clarke county in the State legislature, and in the same year he was appointed circuit judge of the second judicial district of the State, continuing to serve on the circuit bench until 1897, when Governor McLaurin appointed him as associate justice of the supreme court of the State, in which dignified office he continued to serve until his death in 1903. He was a man of distinguished attainments and conferred dignity and honor upon the bench and bar of his native State. At the outset of the Civil war Judge Terral enlisted in Company C, Thirty-seventh Mississippi infantry, being made captain of his company, while in 1863 he was promoted to the rank of major. He took part in a number of impor- tant battles and made a gallant record as soldier of the Confederacy. In 1859 Judge Terral married Mary E., daughter of Alexander and Lydia (Avera) McLeod of Winchester, Wayne county, representatives of Sterling pioneer families of the State. Mrs. Terral was born in Greene county, in 1836, and survives her husband, as do also four of their six children, of whom the subject of this sketch is the youngest, bearing the full name of his honored father and following successfully in the same profession. Samuel H. Terral, Jr., completed his educa- tion in the academic sense in Southern university, at Greensboro, Ala., where he was graduated as a member of the class of 1892, with the degree of Bachelor of Science. Immediately afterward he began the study of law in the office of his distinguished father, making rapid progress in his technical reading and being admitted to the bar of the State in 1894, since which time he has been engaged in the active practice of his profession in Quitman, save for an interval of about eighteen months, during which he was in practice in Biloxi, Miss. He retains a representative clientage and his success in his profession is such as to well uphold the high professional standard of the honored name which he bears. He is attorney for the Missis- sippi Lumber Railroad Company, and is president of the Bank of Quitman, and is also president of the Quitman Printing Com- pany. In politics he supports the Democratic party, of which his father was an influential representative in Mississippi; and he is a zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal church, in
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whose faith he was reared, and he is a member of the board of stewards and the board of trustees of the church in Quitman. In a fraternal way he is identified with the Masonic order, the Knights of Pythias and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. At the present time Mr. Terral is a member of the board of aldermen of Quitman, showing at all times a lively interest in all that concerns the welfare of his attractive home city, of which he has served as mayor, giving a most practical and satisfactory administration of municipal affairs.
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