USA > Tennessee > Hickman County > A history of Hickman County, Tennessee > Part 5
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Dr. Samuel Bowen Moore, who came from Smith County to Centerville, was for years one of the most prominent physicians in the county. He did a very extensive practice, visiting almost every section of the county even after physicians became more numerous than when he commenced to practice liere. He was
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FIRST DISTRICT.
the young practitioner's friend, meeting him often in consultation without any exhibition of a desire to over- whelm him with his greatness. He preserved the dignity of the profession which he, as a member, adorned-a man of brains and a man of honor, whose hospitality was proverbial. Dr. Moore represented Hickman County several times in the General Assem- bly of the State, and, as a public servant, sustained the character for honesty and uprightness which he had established as a private citizen. Being popular with his associates in the Legislature, his influence was often sought, but given only to worthy causes. That vacancy made in Hickman County by the death of Dr. Samuel B. Moore, although years have rolled by and others have come and gone, has never yet been filled.
" His life was gentle, and the elements So mixed in him that Nature might stand up And say to all the world : ' This was a man.' "
Physicians here at a more recent date were: John W. Hornbeak, E. G. Thompson, - Ragsdale, James L. Thompson, S. McE. Wilson, and J. A. Edwards. Dr. J. E. Shipp,a prominent physician of Humphreys County, practiced for a short time in Shipp's Bend. The physicians of Centerville at present are: J. C. Ward, J. T. Ward, K. I. Sutton, and J. N. Doyel. Dr. A. H. Grigsby, dentist, is now located at Center- ville. Dr. J. H. Plummer, dentist, was for several years located here.
The First District has furnished a fair propor-
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HISTORY OF HICKMAN COUNTY, TENN.
tion of the county's representatives in both houses of the State Legislature-viz. : Gabriel Fowlkes, Jesse Eason, S. B. Moore, Joel Walker, Pleasant Walker, O. A. Nixon, E. G. Thompson, and J. A. Bates. Judges Elijah Walker and T. P. Bateman were from this district.
T. P. Bateman, Josiah R. Hubbard, J. J. Williams, and Robert M. Whitson, captains in the Confederate service, were from this district. Bateman was pro- moted to lieutenant colonel; Williams and Hubbard were each promoted to major. Those who left this district as captains are mentioned not because they were better, truer, or braver men than those they led, for from the ranks of these companies fell on many a sanguine field some of Hickman County's best young manhood during the days between 1861 and 1865. Scarcely a home in the district was free from the shadow thrown across its threshold by the death an- gel's wing ; scarcely a home in which were not heard the lamentations of some Southern Rachel, weeping for the one who went away wearing the gray, but who came not back again-weeping for one who gave his life for Dixie, one who sung as he marched and said while he fought :
" The fairest and dearest land upon earth Is Dixie, fair Dixie, the land of my birth."
Among the early magistrates of this district were William Craig, John McGill, Alexander Gray, John Gray, Washington Gray, and Troy S. Broome. The
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FIRST DISTRICT.
latter was born in North Carolina on February 22, 1806. He was a son of Jonathan Broome. In 1835 he married Mary E. Gannt, and after her death, he, in 1843, married Mary E. Sebastian, daughter of Dr. Samuel Sebastian. He was the father of John P. and Samuel T. Broome, and of a daughter, Sallie. One of the justly celebrated magistrates of this dis- trict was William G. Clagett, a man who never al- lowed his ideas of justice to be warped by any iron- clad rules of law. As a magistrate and as a man, he was stern, but just. James D. Easley, J. A. Bates, Henry Gray, John B. Gardner, E. A. Dean, G. Fowlkes, John P. Broome, and others have been magistrates in this district.
James Brown, R. C. Murrell, John F. Lawson, Van Buren Shouse, Howell Shouse, H. H. Walker, and John F. Dean are the names of a few men who have served as constable of this district. The latter, while in the discharge of his duty, shot and killed a negro in 1896.
Reeves Pace was deputy sheriff under Sheriff John Baker (1866-68). During the Civil War he was a lieutenant of cavalry. Van Buren Shouse, Howell Walker, and Howell Shouse were other deputy sheriffs furnished by this district.
Col. John H. (Jack) Moore, son of Dr. Samuel B. Moore, was at one time a prominent candidate for Congress, and, had he been opposed by any less popu- lar man than W. C. Whitthorne, would have been successful. Colonel Moore was at West Point at the
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HISTORY OF HICKMAN COUNTY, TENN.
breaking out of the Civil War, but he immediately enlisted in the Seventh Tennessee Regiment, com- manded by the gallant Robert Hatton, and served with distinction in the Virginia campaigns. Lavisa, Colo- nel Moore's only sister, married W. M. Johnson, who was for many years clerk and master of the Chancery Court at Centerville, where he shot and killed Martin Bentley, a desperate character of the town.
On October 29, 1863, Capt. John Nicks' company of the Twelfth Tennessee Cavalry, C. S. A., engaged a Federal regiment, commanded by Colonel Scully, at the ford west of Centerville. The premature dis- charge of a gun lost to the Confederates the advantage which would have attended a surprise, and almost the entire company was captured. J. Sharp, of Nicks' company, was killed.
Centerville was the scene of a considerable conflict in 1864 between the Federals, under the command of Colonel Murphy, and the Confederates, under Col. "Jake" Biffle. The Federals had been pursued for nearly two days from Buffalo to Centerville, a dis- tance of forty miles. At the latter place they took refuge in the courthouse and other buildings, front which they checked the Confederate advance. Al- though the firing was for a time very brisk, the casual- ties were few. One Confederate, Jasper Springer, was killed by a shot from the courthouse. He fell on the point where Mrs. S. McE. Wilson now lives. During the running fight four Federals were killed near the Charter place, on Indian Creek. The Fed-
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FIRST DISTRICT.
erals, after a short resistance, retreated rapidly in the direction of Nashville. Later the courthouse was burned by order of Capt. Henon Cross to prevent it being further used as a fort by the Federals, who had been operating in Hickman County from Centerville as a base. They had made portholes in the walls and had converted it into a fort, impervious to an at- tack from small arms. During the same year the Perry County Jayhawkers, under Capt. John Taylor, burned the business portion of the town, including a large number of private residences. They left the town in ruins, a smoking mass of coals and ashes over which Desolation reigned supreme.
In 1828, Ashley Hickman and his son-in-law, James Wofford, lived at the head spring of Indian Creek, three miles south of Centerville. They came from North Carolina in 1815 with Allan Walker, and preferred the healthy location at the spring to the cane-covered bottoms of Duck River, upon which they could have as easily placed their land warrants. Be- low Hickman, on the creek, was George Lovelace, who soon after erected a mill. He was the father of Lee Lovelace, who was a gunsmith, this being a very im- portant trade in the early days. Peter Lovelace, another son, had but one eye, but was a fine marks- man, and could see a bullet hole sixty yards. He often waged his money upon his skill as a marksman.
Tradition weaves around the name of Indian Creek a beautiful story of love, romance, and tragedy. It is said that before the beginning of the present cen-
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HISTORY OF HICKMAN COUNTY, TENN.
tury a party of adventurous whites, after crossing Duck River, came upon a lone wigwam on what is now Indian Creek, and that this lone wigwam had but a single occupant. From the Indian the whites learned that he had been banished from the village of his tribe, far to the south, on account of his attempt to wed the daughter of his chief. He told them that in a hollow not far away he had built a lodge, and that he would some day steal back to the village and return with the daughter of the chief. The whites returned to the settlements, and by them this creek was called " Indian Creek." Years after this, one of this party came this way again, and found the place where the lone wigwam had stood deserted. He investigated further, and from some Indians learned that the ex- iled Indian had carried into execution his designs. With the assistance of another brave, he had been able to steal the chief's daughter away from the village, and together they had fled toward Duck River. They were pursued to the river, where the trail was lost, the last trace that the pursuers found being a dead fish in the edge of the river. In this fish was an arrowhead of the kind fashioned by their tribe. They knew that the pursued had come this far, and,' supposing that they had crossed the river into the country of the whites, the pursuit was no longer con- tinued. Several years later a party of Indians from this tribe gathered at. Gordon & Colbert's ferry, and there engaged in a drunken row. One of these, sepa- rated from the others, wandered down the river,
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FIRST DISTRICT.
crossed Indian Creek, and in what is now called the Haunted Hollow of Little Piney he came by acci- dent in sight of a lodge. Watching closely, he soon saw the missing daughter of his chief, her husband, and two little Indian boys. He immediately re- turned to his village with the news, and a few nights later a band from the village, headed by the chief, came here, burned the lodge, and killed the entire family. Here in this hollow yet grow numerous wild flowers, planted here, it is said, by the Indian girl. Here, too, tradition says, the pioneer hunters often saw a milk-white doe attended by two milk-white fawns. The most unerring marksmen failed to bring them down, and soon concluding that these were the spirits of the murdered Indians, they allowed them to roam the hills unmolested.
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HISTORY OF HICKMAN COUNTY, TENN.
CHAPTER V.
THE SECOND DISTRICT.
T HE Second District is bounded on the north by the Fifth District; on the east, by the Fourth and Thirteenth Districts; on the south, by the Fif- teenth District; and on the west, by the First Dis- trict. It lies on both sides of Duck River above the First District, to which it is adjoining. Within its limits are the fine lands of Totty's Bend, on the south side of Duck River, and the equally fine lands in the bend opposite to and above Totty's Bend on the north side of the river, where the village of Little Lot stands. This village is situated in one of the most beautiful valleys of the county. It is a short distance north of the mouth of Lick Creek, and is about one mile from Duck River. From Little Lot there ex- tend roads up the river, down the river, up Lick Creek, and to the several valuable farms in the vi- cinity. One and a half miles below Little Lot is a bridge, located near the site of Baird's Ferry, which was operated for many years prior to the erection of the bridge. This bridge, which connects Totty's Bend with the Little Lot and Lick Creek sections of the Second District, was erected by the county at a cost of about $8,000, and was completed in 1895.
In the lower portion of the Second District is On- stot's Branch, now known as Greer's Branch, which
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SECOND DISTRICT.
received its name from a Dutch family, who came here in 1810, they being the first settlers. They came here about the time that Robert Totty, for whom the bend was named, settled on the opposite side. Robert Totty was a son of Francis Totty, who lived and died in Virginia. He came to Nashville in 1809, and lived one year on land belonging to James Robertson. In 1810 he came to the mouth of Morgan's Creek, where he encamped, living for a short time in his
wagoni. Then he lived in a tent, until he could erect a house, the first on the present Foster farm. Mor- gan, for whom the Creek was named, lived farther up the creek. Totty, while living here, laid a soldier's warrant, in 1810, upon the land across the river, where Col. Lewis P. Totty lived and died, and where L. P. Totty, Jr., now lives. While Robert Totty lived near the mouth of Morgan's Creek, his two sons, Matthew and William, enlisted for the War of 1812, and were present at the battle of New Orleans. After their return they laid land warrants on lands now owned by John Cummins and Fletcher Harvill. They, being young and unmarried, lived with their father and assisted him in opening a farm in Totty's Bend, to which he removed with his family in 1815. Soon after both Matthew and William Totty died and were buried in the graveyard at the mouth of Mor- gan's Creek. Robert Totty, Jr., inherited the lands of his deceased brothers. Lewis Perkins Totty, an- other son of Robert Totty, Sr., inherited his father's lands. The name " Lewis Perkins " was given him
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HISTORY OF HICKMAN COUNTY, TENN.
by his father as an evidence of the high regard he had for a Virginia gentleman of that name for whom he had been overseer previous to his removal to Ten- nessee. Lewis P. Totty was born in Virginia in 1807, came to Nashville with his father at the age of two years, and to Hickman County at the age of three. He remembered traveling in a wagon, this being. his only recollection of the journey. He grew to man- hood in Totty's Bend, was highly esteemed by his neighbors, and was recognized by all who knew him as a prominent citizen of the county. He was second lieutenant in Company A, First Tennessee Regiment, during the war with Mexico, after which he was a colonel of Tennessee militia. He was a large man, being over six feet tall and weighing two hundred pounds. He possessed great muscular power, but, being of a kind and quiet disposition, he took no pride in an exhibition of this power, as many men of that day did, in fistic encounters. He was firm, but not a fanatic; brave, but not brutal; positive, but pa- tient ; determined, but not despotic; and was, there- fore, very popular as colonel at the general and petit musters, which were frequently held on his premises, and at other times on the Killough place on Lick Creek, near the upper line of the district.
At the latter place, during one of the petit, or dis- trict, musters, Joe Arnold and Lemuel Smith had a fisticuff. Arnold was a son-in-law of David Killough, and Smith was a renter on Killough's farm. In the fight Arnold was getting the better of his antagonist,
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SECOND DISTRICT.
when a man named Hooten and one of Smith's broth- ers, Edmond Smith, " showed foul play," as it was termed, by assisting Smith. This resulted in a gen- eral fight between the friends of the combatants. At the time of the fight most of the men were on the mus- ter field drilling. When it was discovered that a fight was in progress, Capt. " Lam " Kelly gave orders to break ranks, which order was obeyed with alacrity, and they double-quicked to the scene of the conflict. Upon arriving there, the Captain, upon learning of the foul play, deliberately pulled off his coat and hat, mounted a stump, and announced to the crowd that he could whip either of the men guilty of the act. The accuracy of this statement was not questioned. He then announced that he could whip any man who was not a friend to Joe Arnold and David Killough. The reception of this statement was of a kind that indi- catéd that all present were the warm personal ad- mirers of the gentlemen named. This is related as a typical incident of " the good old days."
In 1830 Neal Younger lived on Onstot's (or Greer's) Branch. He came from North Carolina. In the same year Harrison Totty lived where Ben. Arnold now lives. Robert Totty, Sr., owned this land, having bought it in 1815 from John Davis. Robert Totty, Jr., lived at the Fletcher Harvill place, from which he removed to Texas in 1840. Nancy, a sister of Col. Lewis P. Totty, married Col. William Reeves, who emigrated to Grayson County, Texas, about 1840. Matilda, another sister, married Albert
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HISTORY OF HICKMAN COUNTY, TENN.
Griner, father of William and Lewis P. Griner. Hill Totty, who came to the bend at an early date, and who is the ancestor of a majority of the Tottys who now live in the bend, was distantly related to Robert Totty, for whom the bend was named. Robert Totty, who located at the mouth of Morgan's Creek in 1810, was a first cousin of William Totty, who located at the mouth of Sugar Creek, in the Eighth District, in the same year. They came together from Nashville to Turnbull Creek, where they separated, each going his way. John Davis entered a large tract of land in this bend, and Joseph MeLaughlin, one of his tenants, lived at the place where the late Young J. Harvill lived. Other tenants of Davis were Alexander Nun- nellee and Alexander Cathey, who lived in 1815 near the John A. Jones place. This land was entered by Davis in 1810. He was a generous man, kind to the poor, and lenient with his many tenants. A widow named Clymer with a large family lived on a portion of his lands several years rent free. He gave to the public a building site on which now stand a public schoolhouse and church, free for all denominations. His request was, however, that no Mormons be allowed : to hold services there. Davis was a member of no church, but was inclined to the Universalian doctrine, claiming that God is too good to condemn any of his creatures to eternal punishment. He believed that the disobedient would be punished here and hereafter, but not eternally. He often told of his nephew, who, while acting as chain carrier on one of his surveying
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SECOND DISTRICT.
tours, was accidentally shot. The wound was mortal,
at rest, and that he felt assured that he was going to and while dying he told Davis that he would soon be
eternal rest. This young man was not a member of any church, and this incident helped to confirm the faith of Davis. Many pleasing incidents and gen- erous acts are connected with the history of this pio- neer surveyor, who marked the way far in advance of permanent settlements in almost every part of Hick- proofs of the high regard which those who dealt with man 'County from 1790 to 1820. One of the many
Fannie (Grieves) Davis, was born in North Carolina surveying. John Davis, son of Frederick Davis and He could subsist for days on parched corn when out der man, possessing wonderful powers of endurance. Horton, of Davidson County. Davis was a tall, slen- Davis' daughters who, in 1815, married Joseph W. named Sophia Davis, this being the name of one of the pioneer, William Totty, of Sugar Creek, was him had for him is the fact that a granddaughter of
1788 ; in 1791 he was with the party that buried Ed- on July 30, 1770. He came to Davidson County in win Hickman ; in February, 1794, he was out under Capt. Thomas Murray in an expedition against the Indians near Muscle Shoals, and later in the year was with the Nickajack expedition. His last service
against the Indians was in January, 1795, when he
was out with a detachment of mounted infantry. In
1798 he married Dorcas Gleaves and became the father of ten children. His wife died in 1851, and
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HISTORY OF HICKMAN COUNTY, TENN.
he, at the age of eighty-three, died suddenly and peace- fully in 1953. He was not ill, and was lying down waiting for breakfast when the summons came. He lived and died in Davidson County, but there are few districts in Hickman County where his name is not met with in connection with its early history.
Another pioneer surveyor, whose name appears in the land papers of the county, was Mclemore, front whom Maj. Edwin Baird bought lands in 1820. Edwin Baird was a son of Samuel McClearen Baird, who was born in Buncombe County, N. C., and came to this district in 1811. Edwin Baird was born in Lincoln County, N. C., on March 1, 1799. His wife was Jane Clampitt, who was born in Wilson County, Tenn., in April, 1802, and who was married on July 20, 1820. Other sons of Samuel McClearen Baird were Albert, Joseph, Samuel, Jr., and James P., who a few years ago died in Arkansas. The daughters of Samuel McClearen Baird were Matilda and Roena. Matilda married Jacob Fite, and was the mother of John, Leonard B., and Samuel Fite, of Nashville. Roena married William Anderson, of the Fifteenth District. Edwin Baird, after his marriage to Jane . Clampitt, removed from his father's place, near Little Lot, to Totty's Bend, where he opened up a farm, and where he and his wife lived to a ripe old age. Their children were the late W. Campbell Baird and James Perry Baird, who now lives in Nashville. James P. Baird married Parmelia Williams, of Maury County, He was born on September 11, 1822.
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SECOND DISTRICT.
Edwin Baird was known as a man of honor, true to what he conceived to be right, discreet in all things, industrious in his habits, correct in his calculations, just in his judgments, true to his friends, and reason- ably lenient with those from whom he differed in opinion. Col. Alfred Darden once lived on lands adjoining those of Edwin Baird.
In 1845 Neal Brown, a very remarkable man, came to Totty's Bend. He lived at the place where Mrs. Hendricks now lives, near the church. He came from Turnbull Creek, in Williamson County. After coming to Totty's Bend he commenced the manufac- ture of whisky and brandy, which he sold, but did not drink. When a young man, he had, while intoxi- cated, been beaten in a rough-and-tumble fight, during which one of his eyes had been pulled from its socket. The eye was replaced, the sight not being seriously impaired; but Brown, as the story goes, was never again intoxicated. He, however, was at all times ready for a fight, being willing to fight any man in order to settle the momentous question as to which was the better man. During the few years he re- sided in the bend a man frequently came down Duck River on flatboats, who, like Brown, was “ much of a man." Consequently a rivalry sprang up between them. Banterings and challenges followed. The
boatman finally agreed that upon his next trip down the river he would land his boat and settle the ques- tion in dispute. The time came and the boat landed. Brown was there, and he and his rival greeted each
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HISTORY OF HICKMAN COUNTY, TENN.
other cordially, each understanding the purpose of the meeting. Little time was lost in preliminary ar- rangements, and soon the principals were stripped of hats, coats, and shirts. They then proceeded to fight. in the most approved fashion of that day. Standing erect at first, they proceeded to strike each other with their fists; then they clinched and fell to the ground. Brown, being an expert wrestler, threw his antagonist, who, being larger and more powerful, turned him. But the wary wrestler would not remain underneath, and was soon on top of his more powerful antagonist. Thus the contest was waged, the victory being still in doubt. Brown was "long-winded" and "game;" but the boatman, equal- ly " game " and more powerful, finally partially tri- umphed. He and Brown were both satisfied, and neither insisted on a further discussion of the point at. issue. And this was a characteristic incident of " the good old days." Brown lived during his latter days at the mouth of Defeated Creek, where, with accumu- lated money, he bought the lands upon which his son, D. L. Brown, now lives. He was the father of Mrs. Hendricks, of Totty's Bend, and of James A. Brown, . of Centerville.
Samuel MeClearen Baird located in 1811 where Mrs. Suggs now lives. In the following year he estab- lished Baird's Ferry, one of the first established in the county. Henry Truett, who married Sallie Clampitt. a sister of the wife of Edwin Baird, lived near Baird's Ferry in 1812. Benjamin Greer and James McCa-
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SECOND DISTRICT.
leb lived near Baird's Ferry in 1811. They owned the lands upon which the western portion of Little Lot now stands. McCaleb had a cotton gin here in 1820. He was a Primitive Baptist preacher, and preached here as early as 1815. There is a record of his having preached at the house of Henry Truett in 1820. He was a man of energy, and cleared much of the land between the present site of Little Lot and Baird's Ferry. He was the owner of several slaves, and, with their help, operated his gin and also engaged in the raising of cotton. His neighbors also cultivated cot- ton, which he ginned for them, thereby encouraging the culture of this plant here at an early date. He was buried at the McCaleb (or " old peach orchard ") graveyard, near the place where now lives Zebulon Hassell the Third.
Zebulon Hassell the Second was born on October 18, 1804, in North Carolina, and came to the Lambert place, on Hassell's Creek, with his father, Zebulon Hassell the First. Here he lived with his father until April 5, 1827, at which time he married Mary Mc- Caleb, who was born on June 27, 1810. Soon after his marriage he lived near Little Lot, where, in 1846, he enlisted in Whitfield's company, First Tennessee Regiment, and served in the war with Mexico. Ilis neighbor, Alfred Darden, enlisted in the same com- pany. They returned to Hickman County in 1847. After serving as comrades in the army, they bought adjoining farms, Darden buying the Gill Anderson place, and Hassell buying the place where his son,
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