USA > Mississippi > Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. III > Part 99
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Waldrup, T. Edward, is prominent in educational circles in Mis- sissippi, having been most successful in his pedagogic endeavors and being at the present time incumbent of the position of principal of the high school at Laurel, Jones county, and being one of the popular citizens of this thriving city. He was born at Lake Como, Jasper county, Miss., July 30, 1866, and is a son of George M. and Mary Ann (Terral) Waldrup, the former of whom was born near the city of Macon, Ga., Sept. 12, 1835, and the latter at Heidelberg, Jasper county, Miss., Dec. 20, 1846. The ancestry on both sides has been plain and substantial, the major portion of the representatives of the two families having been identified with agricultural pursuits and having been earnest, honest and God-fearing folk, such as make for good citizenship in every respect. George M. Waldrup was a valiant and loyal soldier of the Confederacy in the war between the States, having enlisted as a private in Company C, Eleventh Mississippi infantry, in April, 1862, and having served in this command until the close of the great internecine conflict. He participated in the battles of Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, and Chattanooga and in the line of engagements fought from Tennessee southward to Atlanta, where Gen. John B. Hood took command. From Atlanta his regiment accompanied Hood's forces back to Franklin and Nashville, Tenn., and he remained with this command until the final surrender, when he received his parole. Mr. Waldrup's first wife came to her death by burning in 1902 and he again married, his second wife being named Mary Lund and they now reside at Bay Springs, Jasper county. After due preliminary discipline T. Edward Waldrup entered Rose Hill normal college, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1888, since which time he has been continuously engaged in teaching, having been con- nected with some of the best preparatory schools in the State and having met with unqualified success in each specific field of endeavor to which he has been called. Since 1903 he has been principal of the Laurel high school, whose work he has effectively advanced in all departments. He is also sole owner of the Laurel Ledger, of which he recently assumed control, being editor and publisher of this popular paper. He has taken post-graduate work in the Uni- versity of Chicago, and he is a valued member of the Jones county teachers' association. He is identified with the Franklin literary society of the Laurel high school and is affiliated with the Woodmen of the World and the Star of Bethlehem. He was the first teacher in the State to advocate a uniform text-book law and the rural cen- tral high school. In 1902 he conceived the idea of organizing the various local truck-growers' associations of the South into one general body. In the following year, in harmony with his view, there was organized at Laurel, the Southern Truck Growers' League, whose primary object is to provide better marketing facilities for all prod- ucts shipped by those identified with the association, and the plan has inured greatly to the benefit of those thus represented in the or- ganization. He and his wife are zealous members of the Baptist church, in which he is a deacon, and his political allegiance is given
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to the Democratic party. On Oct. 24, 1884, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Waldrup to Miss Emma Morgan, daughter of Davis and Nancy (Brown) Morgan, of Claiborne, Jasper county. Of this union were born four children-Thomas Vivian, Opie R., Grace and Mary Lee. Thomas V. and Mary L. are deceased.
Walker, William Burwell, who died in the city of Jackson, Miss., Feb. 17, 1904, while a member of the State senate, was a leading member of the bar of Monroe county and was engaged in the practice of his profession at Aberdeen until the time of his death, in the very prime of a noble and useful manhood. Senator Walker was born in Okolona, Chickasaw county, Miss., Jan. 24, 1859, and was a son of Dr. William F. and Eliza (Hill) Walker. His father, who was graduated in the New York medical college, became one of the prominent physicians and sur- geons of Mississippi and represented Chickasaw county in the State legislature in 1858. The original progenitor in America came from Dublin, Ireland. Burwell Pope Hill, a maternal ancestor of the senator, was a descendant of Burwell Pope, who was an officer in the Continental line during the War of the Revolution. Dr. William F. Walker was a soldier of the Con- federacy in the war between the States. The subject of this me- moir was graduated in the academic department of the University of Mississippi, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and had also completed the prescribed course in the law department of the same institution, from which he received the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1882. He ever maintained a deep interest in his alma mater and was a member of its board of trustees at the time of his demise. Im- mediately after his graduation and admission to the bar Senator Walker engaged in the practice of his profession in Aberdeen, where he soon entered into partnership with Harvey Murphy, under the firm title of Murphy & Walker. After his term of service as district attorney he formed a partnership with C. L. Tubb, and the firm of Walker & Tubb thereafter continued in business until the death of the senior member, controlling a large and important practice in both the State and federal courts. Senator Walker was known as a man of fine professional talent and rose to distinction in his chosen pro- fession. His political support was given to the Democratic party and he was a zealous worker in its ranks. He was presidential elector on the party ticket in 1884, when Grover Cleveland was elec- ted president, and in 1892 he was alternate delegate from his State to the Democratic national convention. In 1887 he was elected district attorney, of which office he remained incumbent eight years, proving a most able public prosecutor. In 1903 he was elected a member of the State senate and was serving in that capacity at the time of his death, as already noted. Early in the session he was
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stricken with the illness which terminated in his death. He was dominated by a spirit of the most impregnable integrity and honor, and his life was one of signal purity in all its relations. No man in Monroe county was held in more unequivocal confidence and esteem, and he was known as a loyal, liberal and public-spirited citizen. His Christian faith was a very part of his life and he was a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal church, South, as is also his widow. He was affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, Knights of Pythias, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks, and the Delta Kappa Epsilon college frater- nity. He attained to the chivalric degrees in the Masonic order, was a member of the Aberdeen commandery, and was also identified with the Mystic Shrine. He served as deputy grand master of Ma- sons in the State, was a member of the law committee of the Odd Fellows grand lodge, served as chancellor commander of the local lodge of Knights of Pythias, and also held membership in the Knights and Ladies of Honor. Senator Walker attained to distinctive suc- cess in temporal affairs and made good use of his success. He was interested in farm lands in the Delta district and was a stockholder in the Aberdeen National bank. On June 7, 1888, he was united in marriage to Miss Mary Dudley Sykes, daughter of Capt. Thomas and Maria H. (Jones) Sykes, of Aberdeen. Captain Sykes was born in Alabama, a son of Dr. William A. Sykes, who was one of the early settlers of Monroe county, Miss., where he practiced his profession and also became a successful planter and a large owner of slaves. Captain Sykes was a captain on the staff of General Jackson in the Civil war, and was one of the prominent and honored citizens of Monroe county at the time of his death. Senator Walker is sur- vived by three children-Corinne, Mary Dudley and William Burwell. Walton, Frank L., M. D., a prominent physician with a large practice in Merid- ian, was born at Paulding, Jasper county, Miss., July 13, 1868, a son of Dr. John J. and Susan E. (Lcavens) Walton. The mother was a native of Alabama and the father of Georgia. He received his medi- cal training in the Jefferson medical college, of Philadelphia, and started his practice in his native State. Before the war he removed to Mississippi and when the call for volunteers for the Confeder- ate service came he went out with the Jasper Grays. After the cessation of hostilities he returned to Paulding and continued in the practice of his profession until his death, which occurred in 1876. The subject of this sketch received due prelim- inary training in the Starkville, Miss., institutions and then took up a technical course at the Louisville medical college of Kentucky, graduating thereat with the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1890. For several years he engaged in the practice of his profession at
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Shubuta and Enterprise, Miss. Subsequently he took advanced work in the Chicago Eye, Nose and Throat college, receiving a degree from that institution in 1903. In 1902 he changed his residence to Meridian and has made that city his home ever since. Although his practice has not extended over a great many years it has grown to good dimensions and gives the doctor all he can attend to. In politics Dr. Walton upholds the standard of the Democratic party, but aside from exercising his right of franchise he takes no active part in the campaigns. In a fraternal way he is identified with the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias, the Wood- men of the World and the order of Maccabees. He is also a promi- nent member of the Lauderdale county, the Mississippi State and the American medical associations. On July 17, 1889, Dr. Walton married Miss Willie Ledyard, daughter of T. A. Ledyard, the cashier of the Bank of Shubuta. The children of this union are four in num- ber, Frank L., Jr., Carrie H., T. Ledyard and J. William.
Ward, William. One of the representative newspapers of the State of Mississippi is the East Mississippi Times, of Starkville, of which Mr. Ward is editor and publisher. The paper dates its incep- tion back to 1866, when it was founded by Col. W. C. Cochran, who was succeeded by Rev. W. S. Harrison, and the journal has main- tained during its entire history a high standard, reaching its highest point under the present modern regime. Mr. Ward was born in the city of Macon, Miss., and is a son of William and Emily (Whiffin) Ward, the former of whom was born in Litchfield, Conn., and the latter in Worcestershire, England. As a young man, William Ward, Sr., came to Noxubee county, Miss., settling in Macon as one of its pioneers, in the early forties, and becoming editor and publisher of the Macon Beacon. He was a jeweler by trade and followed the same for many years, at irregular intervals, having been thus en- gaged at the time of his death, which occurred in 1884. He was prominent in the newspaper field in Mississippi for many years but retired from this line of enterprise some time before his demise. He was known as the poet-editor of the Mississippi Press. The mother of the subject of this sketch passed away in 1863. The father ten- dered his services in defense of the Confederacy at the time of the Civil war, but remaining in service only a short time, his discharge being granted on account of impaired health. He whose name initiates this review was afforded the advantages of the common schools of Macon and had later the liberal education which is afforded by the practical discipline of a newspaper office. After attaining to his legal majority he continued his association with the journal- istic profession, having been for several years identified with the leading newspapers of the city of Birmingham, Ala., and in 1889 he came to Starkville and purchased the plant and business of the East Mississippi Times, of which he has since continued editor and pub- lisher, making the paper an able exponent of local interests and also of the principles of the Democratic party, of which he is a stanch adherent. The Times is one of the leading papers in eastern Mis- sissippi and has a large and appreciative support, its circulation
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extending into Texas and Arkansas and other states, and its list of subscribers having found representation in the Philippine Islands, South Africa and Germany, showing the loyal interest of those who have gone from Mississippi to these distant points. Mr. Ward has been a member of the Mississippi State press association from the time of assuming control of the Times, and was president of that body in 1903 and he is one of the well known newspaper men of the State and is an influential and public-spirited citizen. He is affili- ated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Benevo- lent and Protective Order of Elks, and both he and his wife are com- municants of the Protestant Episcopal church. On June 13, 1889, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Ward to Miss Annie Connell, daughter of Dr. Enoch P. Connell, of Starkville, and of their six children five are living, namely: William E., Katherine P., Emily A., Louise, and Annie. Robert L., the second in order of birth, died in early childhood.
Washington, John J., M. D., one of the able. and distinguished representatives of the medical profession in Harrison county, is actively engaged in the practice of his profession at Pass Christian, where he controls a large and representative support. He claims this State as the place of his nativity, having been born in Hands- boro, Harrison county, Miss., July 24, 1852, and being a son of Fair- fax and Sarah (Richards) Washington, both of whom were born and reared in Virginia, being representatives of old and patrician families of the Old Dominion, as is evident when we make record of the fact that the paternal great-grandfather of the doctor was a first cousin of George Washington, both branches of the family having been prominent in the early and later history of Virginia. Fairfax Wash- ington removed from Virginia to Mississippi when a young man, first locating in Vicksburg and later removing to Jackson, the capital city, whence he removed to the coast in order to escape an epidemic of smallpox. He thus located in Handsboro, where the subject of this review was born. Dr. Washington received his academic edu- cation in Oxford, Miss., and technically he completed his training for his noble profession in Alabama medical college, at Mobile, Ala., in which institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1880, receiving his well earned degree of Doctor of Medicine. He had the distinction of being first-honor man and also valedictorian of his class. Dr. Washington served his professional novitiate by engaging in practice in his native town, Handsboro, where he met with marked success and where he continued to follow his chosen vocation until 1894, when he came to Pass Christian, where his endeavors have brought him to a foremost position as a physician and surgeon, as it may consistently be said that he controls the leading practice of the town. He is eminently a devotee of his pro- fession, which he has ever held to be worthy of his undivided time and attention, and his ceaseless labor in practice and in continued study, research and investigation, entitles him to the marked pres- tige and precedence which are his. He is identified with various professional societies, and is a close student of the best standard
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and periodical literature pertaining to medicine and surgery, so that he keeps in close touch with advances made and avails himself of the methods and remedial agencies which meet the approval of his judgment. In politics, though not an active worker, he is a stanch advocate of the principles and policies for which the Democratic party stands sponsor, and he is a valued member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church while his wife is a member of the Baptist church. On Oct. 20, 1882, Dr. Washington was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Bloomfield, daughter of George and Harriet (Baldwin) Bloomfield, of Handsboro, Miss., and the names of their children are here entered, with respective dates of birth: Fairfax, Nov. 20, 1883; Catherine, Oct. 7, 1885; Audley Nov. 7, 1888; John J., Jr., April 15, 1896; Claiborne, Jan. 26, 1898, and Elizabeth, Feb. 21, 1902.
Watkins, McDonald, M. D., is one of the able and popular repre- sentatives of the medical profession in the city of Natchez, where he has his office headquarters at 700 Main street. Dr. Watkins was born in Jefferson county, Miss., April 4, 1874, and is a son of Thomas H. and Julia (Brown) Watkins, both of whom were born in Adams county, this state. The father became a successful planter in Jefferson county, where he passed the major portion of his life. During the last five years of his life he resided in Tensas parish, La., where he held the office of school commissioner, under appointment from Governor Foster. He was a valiant soldier of the Confederacy in the Civil war. His father, Rev. William H. Watkins was a dis- tinguished and influential clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal church and was one of the prominent members of the Mississippi conference in the pioneer days. Thomas H. and Julia (Brown) Watkins, the latter of whom is still living, became the parents of eight children, namely: Bessie, who is the wife of Geo. H. Lipscomb and who is incumbent of the chair of mathematics in Whitworth female college, Brookhaven, Miss .; William H., who is engaged in the practice of law in the city of Jackson; Dr. Thomas H., who is en- gaged in the practice of medicine at Lake Charles, La .; Dr. McDonald, who is the immediate subject of this sketch; Rev. Herbert B., who is a clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal church, South, and who is pastor of a church at Lorman, Jefferson county; Janie, who is a missionary in China; Henry V., who is a lawyer by profession and who is engaged in practice in Jackson; and Hattie who is a member of the class of 1908 in Whitworth college. Dr. McDonald Watkins secured his early educational training in the public schools and under the direction of a private tutor at Port Gibson. As a youth he found employment in a drug store at Port Gibson, and in 1896 he was graduated in the department of pharmacy in Tulane univer- sity, New Orleans. He then took up the study of medicine and in 1900 he was graduated in the medical department of Tulane univer- sity, from which he received his degree of Doctor of Medicine. After his graduation he served two years as interne in the Natchez hos- pital. While still a student in the medical college Dr. Watkins with- drew to enter service in the Spanish-American war. He enlisted as a member of the Sergeant Immunes, and proceeded to the head-
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quarters of mobilization at Columbus, Miss. He was acting steward at Santiago, Cuba, and remained in service about six months, after which he resumed his studies at Tulane. He was engaged in the practice of his profession at Newellton, La., until August, 1904, when he removed to Natchez, where he succeeded to the represen- tative practice of his uncle, Dr. Benjamin D. Watkins. He is a member of the Mississippi medical association and the Adams county medical society. He is local assistant surgeon in the marine hos- pital service of the United States and is examiner for several life insurance companies. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, the Knights of Pythias, the Woodmen of the World, the Prentiss Club and Natchez lodge No. 553, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. His religious faith is that of the Methodist Episcopal church, South. In 1902 Dr. Watkins was united in marriage to Miss Sarah McGill, of Tensas parish, La.
Watters, John Cain, the able and hon- ored chief of the Jackson fire department, is practically the man who has built up the department and gained for it so high a standard, while he has been for many years prominently identified with this all- important branch of municipal service. Chief Watters was born in Jasper county, Ga., April 16, 1862, and is a son of An- drew Jackson Watters, who was born and reared in Jasper county, Ga., whence he removed to the city of Atlanta in 1871, having been a representative of his native county in the Georgia legislature in 1871-2. He was a graduate of West Point and served as captain of a company in the Confederate service during the Civil war, being tendered a position as colonel of a regi- ment but refusing the honor. He was a son of John C. and Sarah Amanda (Donaldson) Watters, who were residents of Indian Springs, Ga. Andrew J. Watters married Sarah Amanda Warren, daughter of James M. and Mary Amanda (McBean) Warren, of Oxford Ga., and of the thirteen children of this union eight are living. Both the grandfathers of Chief Watters were born in Georgia, whither their parents came from England, in the early colonial days. John C. Watters, the paternal grandfather, was a colonel in the Revo- lutionary war, and did valiant service in the cause of the colonies. He was a member of the Georgia legislature, from Jasper county, and also served several terms in the State senate. His wife's par- ents came from Ireland, and the Donaldson family is of Scotch ori- gin. John Cain Watters secured his early educational discipline in the public schools of the city of Atlanta. where he also attended the boys' high school, for two terms. He was unable to secure a collegiate education, as his parents were advancing in age and needed his assistance in supporting the family. After leaving school he was employed in a grocery store for several years, and prior to this he
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had served five years as carrier for the Atlanta Constitution, so that he early learned practical responsibilities and developed that self- reliance which has made him so successful in his chosen field of labor in later years He was a captain in the Atlanta fire department sixteen years, and was a member of the department for a total of eighteen years. Practically his entire adult life has been devoted to the upbuilding of fire departments. During the eighteen years of his identification with the Atlanta department he gave the same his entire attention, aiding in making it one of the best in the Union. In June, 1904, he was sent as instructor to Jackson, Miss., for- a period of two months, but at the expiration of the first month the board of fire commissioners were so well pleased with his work that they elected him chief of the department, which he has succeeded in making the best in the State, while his efforts have brought about such efficiency as to entirely disarm the criticism of those who orig- inally opposed the maintenance of a paid department. The board of fire commissioners remembered him with a suitable gift on Christ- mas, 1904, with an accompanying testimonial letter of the most appreciative and commendatory order. In politics Mr. Watters is a Democrat, but he has never been active in political affairs, find- ing his entire time demanded by his work as a fire-fighter. His religious views are in harmony with the tenets of the Baptist church, and in a fraternal way he is identified with the Masonic order and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. At Griffin, Ga., May 7, 1888, Mr. Watters was married to Miss Cynthia Lee McDowell, daughter of Charles J. and Martha Amanda (Johnson) McDowell, of that place. Mr. and Mrs. Watters became the parents of four children, of whom two are living, Philip Clark and John Cain, Jr. Andrew J., died at the age of five months, and Ellsworth Campbell, born Aug. 17, 1895, died Aug. 10, 1901.
Watts, Van Buren, D. D. S., of Brookhaven, has been engaged in the practice of dentistry for nearly forty years and may appropri- ately be termed the dean of his profession in Lincoln county. His loyalty to the cause of the Confederacy was shown in his faithful service as a soldier in the Civil war, and he is one of the highly es- teemed citizens of his community, being now representative of Lin- coln county in the State legislature. Dr. Watts was born in Wil- liamsburg, Covington county, Miss., Sept. 8, 1840, and is a son of Reuben and Martha (Nalls) Watts, the former of whom was born in Georgia and the latter in Mississippi. He is of Welsh and Irish descent. The doctor secured his earlier educational training in the common schools and was twenty years of age at the time of the incep- tion of the war between the States. His loyalty to the Southern cause was of the most unequivocal type and was signified by his enlistment for three years in Company F, Twenty-seventh Missis- sippi infantry, in which he was made first sergeant and later promoted second lieutenant. He was with his command in the Kentucky campaign under General Bragg and for a few months served on Gen. Bragg's staff in the office of adjutant-general. He was shot in the hip in the engagement at Perryville, that State, by a Belgium rifle
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