USA > Tennessee > A history of Tennessee and Tennesseans, the leaders and representative men in commerce, industry and modern activities, Volume V > Part 11
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are now attending school. Mr. Justice also is a member of the Metho- dist Episcopal church, South.
REV. JAMES T. BAGBY. No matter to what denomination ministers of the Gospel may belong, nor how much they may differ as to the fund- amental principles and theories of theology, there is one point upon which they agree and one end for which they are working-and that is the elevation of the general moral tone of the whole people. The in- fluence of their teaching is felt far beyond the immediate confines of their respective congregations. It is reflected in the probity of the citi- zen, the loyalty of the soldier, the sanctity of the home, the education of the young, and in many other ways in all walks of life, even upon those who never attend church and who claim to doubt many of the precepts taught by the followers of the Master. For the work of the pastor Rev. J. T. Bagby is well qualified by natural disposition, training and expe- rience, and although one of the youngest ministers of the Methodist Episcopal church, South, in the state, he has made a reputation that for one of his years is rarely equaled.
Mr. Bagby was born in Decatur county, Tennessee, May 14, 1879, and is a descendant of one of the state's pioneer families, his paternal grandfather and grandmother having come from North Carolina at an early date. He is the seventh in a family of ten children born to James L. and Martha (Rushing) Bagby, both natives of Tennessee. One of his brothers is also a Methodist minister. He was educated in the com- mon schools while being brought up on his father's farm in Henderson county, Tennessee, and afterward attended Scott's Hill Normal Insti- tute at Scott's Hill, graduating with honors, and the McTyeire Insti- tute at Mckenzie, Tennessee, graduating with great honors as a debater and as a linguist with no superiors. In 1906 he was made a deacon in the church, at that time becoming a member, in full connection, of the Memphis conference, and in 1908 was ordained an elder. His first charge was Bethel and Selmer, a double station in the Lexington district, where he served his congregation with zeal and fidelity until he was called to Columbus, Kentucky, three years later, where he added to his reputation as a conscientious, intelligent and faithful worker in the vineyard. In 1911 he was assigned to his present pastorate at Obion, Tennessee, after a four-years' pastorate at Columbus. Mr. Bagby is a diligent student of all questions relating to his profession. He has an extensive vocabulary and a faultless enunciation; his sentences are well rounded and com- plete, and his manner of presentation of a subject is both instructive and entertaining. Outside of his pulpit he is a genial gentleman and sympa- thetic pastor, and among his brother clergymen he has attained to a high position through his eloquent and scholarly sermons and his earnest work in behalf of the church along all lines. His church at Obion has over two hundred members and under his administration this number
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is constantly increasing. Those who know him best predict for him still greater charges and more onerous duties in the future.
In 1905 Mr. Bagby was united in marriage with Miss Daisy Stead- man, daughter of John H. Steadman, and to this union has been born one son-Thomas S. Mrs. Bagby is well fitted for the duties of a pas- tor's wife and co-operates with her husband in all his efforts for the ad- vancement of the church and Sunday school.
It is worthy of more than passing mention in connection with the his- tory of this family, that Levi Bagby, an uncle of Rev. J. T. Bagby, was a valiant soldier in the Federal army during the great Civil war and rose to the rank of brigadier general, thus giving the name a permanent place in history as belonging to a loyal citizen in the dark days when the Union was threatened with disruption.
ADAM DIEHL. A citizen of worth and ability, Adam Diehl of the firm of Diehl & Lord has been prominently identified with the business inter- ests of Nashville for almost half a century, and during the time has won for himself a fine reputation as one who deserves for himself the confi- dence and trust of his fellow men. A son of Peter Diehl, he was born October 12, 1846, in Louisville, Kentucky, of thrifty German ancestry.
Born in Bavaria, Germany, where his parents were lifelong residents, Peter Diehl attended school regularly until sixteen years of age, when he came with two of his brothers, Adam Diehl and Jacob Diehl, to the United States, locating in Cincinnati, Ohio. Learning the tailor's trade, he resided in that city six years. Going then to Louisville, Kentucky, he established himself as a merchant tailor, and there carried on a good business until his death, at the age of seventy-seven years. He married Margaret Schwartz, who was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylva- nia, where her father, John Schwartz, located as a farmer on coming to this country from Westphalia, Germany, his native place. She died at the age of sixty-seven years. Fourteen children were born of their marriage, a family of which the parents were justly proud.
In the city of his birth Adam Diehl acquired a practical education in the different branches there taught. Leaving school at the age of eighteen years, he was there employed as a bookkeeper for three years. On attaining his majority Mr. Diehl located in Nashville, Tennessee, where he established his present business, which is both extensive and remunerative. Since taking up his residence in Nashville, Mr. Diehl has ever evinced an active interest in municipal affairs, and his influence and assistance are always sought in behalf of undertakings for the pub- lic good, and for the advancement of the best interests of the community.
Mr. Diehl is married and has six children, namely : Edward, Marga- ret, Jack. B., Walter, Frank and Ruth. Fraternally Mr. Diehl is a mem- ber of the Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons; of the Benevo- lent and Protective Order of Elks; of the Improved Order of Red Men
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and of the Order of Moose. He is an ex-member of the city council and during his connection therewith he did effective work for the city.
LEE ELLIOTT. An able citizen of Montgomery county and a lifelong resident of the community is Lee Elliott, who efficiently combines the time-honored occupation of farming with the useful services of dentistry. His is a capable individuality, made up of interestingly blended ances- tral elements. North Carolina had been the home of his maternal grand- parents, Garaldus and Mary (Marshall) Pickering, who early settled in Tennessee; here was born their daughter, Judith Pickering, her birth- place being in this county and about one and one-half miles distant from the present Elliott home. Near the time of the Pickerings' removal to Tennessee, this state had also become the home of David Elliott and Sallie (Cook) Elliott, his wife-the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Ireland. To them was born in Port Royal on March 22, 1819, a son whom they named George H. This boy and the little girl, Judith Pickering, grew up together as childhood sweethearts and in 1840 they were married. Of the ten children born to them Lee Elliott was the fifth, his brothers and sisters being as follows: John A., who is deceased ; David G., a resident of Port Royal; William S. Elliott, M. D., now de- ceased; Stonewall Jackson Elliott, who lives with Dr. Lee Elliott; Jacqueline, deceased; Marinda, widow of C. Gardner of Clarksville; Henrie, the third daughter, who is now Mrs. T. G. Ezelle, of Woodford; Alice, who is Mrs. A. D. Rhinehardt of Port Royal ; and Sallie, deceased.
The Elliott home, during the childhood of George Elliott's children, was the farm on which Dr. Elliott now lives; for the father of the family had given up his inherited occupation in order to give his attention to farming. There it was that on February 14, 1867, Lee Elliott was born.
After a general education in the public schools, a professional course was sought by the young man, Lee Elliott. He entered the College of Dentistry of Vanderbilt University, where he pursued the prescribed study, and was graduated in 1898, receiving the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery.
Resuming his location on his attractive rural property, Dr. Elliott proceeded to engage in the activities of his profession. He has estab- lished a large country practice, for his skilled services are in considera- ble demand. He also supervises the work on his farm of 225 acres, which has been extended to that size from the one hundred acres which had been owned by his father. His land produces very satisfactory crops of such useful products as wheat, corn and tobacco.
Dr. Elliott is a Democrat in politics, as was his father, and is also, like the latter, a prominent member of the order of Ancient Free and Ac- cepted Masons. The Independent Order of Odd Fellows is another se- cret organization which claims the doctor's membership.
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MILTON S. ELKIN, a prominent factor in the business circles of Gal- latin, is a young man who well represents the younger generation of en- ergetic and enterprising business talent of Tennessee, and of his native city of Gallatin. He was born May 12, 1884, to Milton S. and Mattie (Moore) Elkin. The senior Milton S. Elkin, born in Scott county, Ken- tucky, October 9, 1840, was educated in Pennsylvania and took up law as his life pursuit. The field of his professional practice was at Gallatin and at Nashville, Tennessee, and he became both successful and promi- nent as a lawyer. In 1865 he married Mattie Moore, born in 1845 in Kentucky, a daughter of Joseph and Mary S. (Herndon) Moore. Mr. and Mrs. Moore were natives respectively of North Carolina and Vir- ginia, but after their marriage they became residents of Kentucky and remained there until their deaths. Mr. Moore farmed extensively and owned a large number of slaves. He was a prominent man in his com- munity and served for many years as a justice of the peace. Mrs. Elkin was educated in the female college at Hopkinsville, Kentucky. She is yet living and divides her home between Gallatin and Lebanon.
Milton S. Elkin, the immediate subject of this sketch, has spent practically his whole life in Gallatin. After receiving his education in Cumberland University, Lebanon, Tennessee, he entered upon an inde- pendent and active business career as a dry goods merchant at Gallatin, in which line of activity he continued four years. Subsequently several years were spent in the insurance business, and then in 1909 he bought a livery business in Gallatin, to which he has since given his attention. The possessor of naturally keen business acumen and a good stock of en- ergy and industry, he has made each of his ventures a profitable one and in a comparatively brief period has become recognized as one of the forceful business men of the city. He is a stanch supporter of the Democratic party in political affairs and is now serving as a councilman of Gallatin. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with the Masonic order, , the Woodmen of the World and the Loyal Order of Moose. In religious faith and church membership he is identified with the Baptist denomina- tion. He is highly regarded as one of Gallatin's honorable business men and exemplary young citizens and his congenial and pleasant disposition make him a popular member of the circles, business, church and social, in which he mingles.
SMITH FAMILY OF SUMNER COUNTY. In Sumner county is the fa- mous family seat, Rock Castle, now a century and a quarter old, and through many generations the home and center of family associations and memories of the Smith family and its related branches. The pres- ent owner of this historic estate is Mrs. Horatio Berry of Henderson- ville, and one of the descendants of this old home. The founder of this branch of the Smith family was Henry Smith, who came from England and first settled in Maryland, and later moved to Stafford county, Vir-
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ginia. He married Sarah Crosby, and one of their children was Gen. Daniel Smith, the founder of the family in Tennessee, and the builder of Rock Castle.
Daniel Smith was born in Stafford county, Virginia, on October 29, 1748, and died at his home in Rock Castle in Sumner county. He was educated at William and Mary College, and, like many of the young men of talent of his day, became a surveyor. In 1771 he married Sarah Michie, of the eastern shore of Maryland, and soon afterwards settled upon the western waters. He was appointed deputy surveyor of Augusta county in 1773. At that time Augusta county embraced nearly all of southwestern Virginia. Mr. Smith settled in that part of the county which later formed Botetourt, then Fincastle, then Washington and fin- ally Russell county. His place was on Clinch river, twelve miles below Blackmore's Fort at Maxwell's Hill. It was known as Smith's Station, though the fort was called Fort Christian. This was in the advance guard of settlement thrown across the Alleghenies, previous to the Rev- olution, and which had remarkable results in holding all the central west as far as the Mississippi river within the possessions of the American colonies after the Revolutionary war.
As early as 1774 Mr. Smith was captain in the colonial troops, and was one of the most active company commanders in Dunmore's war. The correspondence which passed between him and his superior officers shows him to be a man of education beyond most men of his day. He participated in the crucial battle of Point Pleasant on the Ohio river in October, 1774, this engagement being regarded by his friends as one of the most important fought on the western slope of the Alleghenies dur- ing the eighteenth century. He was also active in many engagements with the Indians throughout this country. During the Revolution his station was on the frontier, guarding against the combined attacks of Indians and British. He was a member of the committee of safety for Fincastle county in 1775, and of a committee that sent resolutions to the . Continental Congress July 15, 1775, in which they declared that they would "never surrender their inestimable privileges to any power on earth but at the expense of their lives."
When Washington county was organized, Captain Smith was ap- pointed one of the justices of the peace by Governor Patrick Henry. December 21, 1776. On the same day he was appointed major of Wash- ington county militia. In 1780 he was appointed sheriff of Washington county, and the next year, upon the reorganization of the militia, he was commissioned colonel in the second battalion. In 1779 he was ap- pointed with Dr. Thomas Walker to extend the line between Virginia and North Carolina, which line had been run by Jefferson and others. He was in the battle of King's Mountain, and soon after the close of the war in 1783, with the Bledsoes, Shelbys, Blackmores, Neeleys and others came to Tennessee.
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As one of the pioneers of Tennessee, Major Smith located a large body of valuable land near the present town of Hendersonville in Sumner county. In 1784 he began the building of Rock Castle, but owing to the depredations of the Indians, the house was seven years in being com- pleted. It is constructed of cut stone, has seven large rooms, and is as sound today as when built and has been "the roof tree" of five genera- tions, and is now the property of Mrs. Horatio Berry, a great-great- granddaughter of General Smith. Two carpenters engaged in the con- struction of the house left work one Saturday afternoon to fish in Drake's creek nearby and were killed by the Indians. Two youths, one a son of Col. Anthony Bledsoe, and the other a son of his brother, Isaac Bled- soe, were living at General Smith's and attending school at Henderson- ville, and were killed by prowling Indians. Samuel Donelson, who was General Jackson's law partner, married General Smith's only daughter. He died of pneumonia while on a visit to the Hermitage.
In 1790 General Smith was appointed by President Washington secretary of the ceded territory south of the Ohio. He was elected by the first legislature of Tennessee, one of the four presidential electors. In 1798 he succeeded Andrew Jackson in the senate of the United States, and was again elected in 1805 and served until 1809. In 1793, in the absence of Governor Blount, he acted as governor of the territory. He was a member of the constitutional convention of 1796. He made the first map of Tennessee, published by Carey of Philadelphia, and used by Imlay in 1794. Michaux, a French botanist and noted traveler, who passed through this section of the country in 1802, and after his return to France, published an interesting book of travel, speaks of his visit to General Smith, of the beautiful fields of cotton and corn which sur- rounded his house, of the translations of foreign works his library con- tained, and of the quiet studious and exemplary life led by a retired public servant. Living at a time when many public men were justly or unjustly the object, not only of censure, but of official accusation, it is worth while to publish the following from Jefferson's paper: "Daniel Smith was a practical surveyor whose work never needed correction. For intelligence, well cultivated talents, for integrity and usefulness, in soundness of judgment, in the practice of virtue, and in shunning vice, he was equalled by few men and in the purity of motive excelled by none."'
Smith county in Tennessee was named in honor of General Smith, and he was easily one of the foremost among Tennessee's distinguished citizens during the making and founding of this state.
The only daughter of General Smith and wife was Mary, familiarly known as Polly. Samuel Donelson, the son of a neighbor, was the object of her affections, but there were parental objections to the successful culmination of their romance. The story of how they overcame the difficulties in the pathway of love is about as follows. One night in 1797,
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when Polly was in her sixteenth year, her suitor Donelson and Andrew Jackson, afterwards president of the United States, placed a sapling lad- der beneath her window. In this manner she quietly left Rock Castle, and got up behind Jackson on horseback and the party crossed the river below Rock Castle, and went to what was known as the Hunter's Hill neighborhood where the marriage was performed. Polly Donel- son never returned to Rock Castle, until after her husband's death, and she was left a widow with three children. These children were: John, who served in the Creek war and died soon afterward; Andrew Jack- son ; and Daniel Smith. Andrew J. Donelson became a protege of Presi- dent Andrew Jackson, and under the influence of that great political leader, received many promotions in public life. Daniel. S. Donelson, the third son of Polly built and lived in the brick house which is now the home of Mrs. Horatio Berry.
This sketch cannot be properly brought to an end, without the inser- tion of a document which contains much interesting reminiscence and statement of facts concerning some of Tennessee's most noted char- acters. It is the statement of Mrs. Daniel Smith, the widow of General Daniel Smith, and it is quoted practically without change as follows : "As well as I remember Mr. Smith and myself settled here in the year 1784. At that period, or shortly after that, Mrs. Donelson and family were among the families who came and settled on the south side of Cumberland river, where though they were but a few miles from me, yet in consequence of the river running between us, and the danger of visiting in those days, I did not become acquainted with them for two or three years after. The family, however, were universally spoken of as one of the most respectable and worthy of the whole country. The first time I ever saw Mrs. Jackson, then Mrs. Robards, was at the station of Colonel Mansker. One of her brothers had not long before brought her from Kentucky, where she and Mr. Robards had married and settled. The cause of her return to Tennessee was then attributed to the cruel and unjust treatment of her husband, who was spoken of everywhere as a man of irregular habits and much given to jealous suspicions. About two years after I first saw Mrs. Robards, I learned that Robards had arrived in this country and by the assistance of the family of his wife, that their differences had been reconciled and that they were again living together at Mrs. Donel- son's. They were not long together, however, before the same unhappy apprehensions seized the mind of Robards, the consequence of which was another separation, and as it soon appeared, a final one. All the circumstances attending this rupture, I cannot attempt to state at this late day, but it is hardly possible, considering the free and unreserved intercourse that prevailed among all the respectable classes of people here, that an incident of this kind should occur without being fully and generally known and that every person should concur in the same upon
M.V. Bruce
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its character, without the best reasons. In this transaction, Mr. Robards alone was censured and I never heard a respectable man or woman intimate that his wife differed from the most virtuous and prudent female. General Jackson boarded at the time in the home of Mrs. Donelson, and it was the general belief that his character and standing, added to his engaging and sprightly manners, were enough to influence the mind of poor Robards, addicted as he was to vicious habits and the most childish suspicions. Mr. Robards had not long been gone from Tennessee, when information was received here that he had obtained a divorce from his wife. Whether the information came by a letter or by a newspaper from Virginia addressed to my husband, I cannot say with certainty, but think by the latter. It was after this informa- tion came that General Jackson married Mrs. Robards and I recollect well the observation of the Rev. Mr. Craighead in relation to the mar- riage. It was, that it was a happy change for Mrs. Robards and highly creditable to General Jackson, who by this act of his life evinced his own magnanimity, as well as the purity and innocence of Mrs. Robards. And such was the sentiment of all my acquaintances. Since this period, I have lived in a few miles of Mrs. Jackson and have never been acquainted with a lady more exemplary in deportment or one to whom a greater share of the respect and regard of friends and acquaintances can be awarded.
"Given at my plantation in Sumner county, State of Tennessee, on the sixteenth day of December, 1826-Sally Smith."
MARTIN V. BRUCE. Fortune ofttimes seems a capricious goddess, smiling at one time and frowning at another, but in the end she sel- dom refuses her favors to those who have proved worthy of them, who with grit and determination refuse to succumb to adverse circum- stances or to countenance failure but with undaunted courage over- come the difficulties that beset them and steadily but firmly press forward toward the goal of success. In taking account of the men who have been contributors to the progress of Tennessee we take pleas- ure in presenting a brief review of the career of Martin V. Bruce, of Bruces Switch, Obion county, who by what he has accomplished has demonstrated that success is largely a matter of character; that while education, influence and capital are invaluable aids to him who knows how to use them, the young man who has not been favored by these aids but who possesses native ability, pluck and resolution may be an equally forceful factor in society.
Martin V. Bruce began life in Perry county, Tennessee, on Sep- tember 24, 1848. He had no educational advantages, no financial aid from parent or friends, and had but his own native resources on which to rely in getting a start in life and for waging his contest for success in life. Today he is the owner of eight hundred acres of land in Obion
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county, seven hundred acres of which is under cultivation and produce large crops of cotton, corn and wheat, being also the owner of other valuable business interests. His eight hundred acre tract lies in a body, with nine tenant houses and from sixty-five to seventy people. He rents it to tenants. He also has a store at Bruces Switch which he manages in connection with his farm and saw mill. He began as a farmer, in a very modest way at first, experiencing the varying suc- cesses and failures incident to that vocation but steadily gaining the while until he had accumulated the capital which warranted more independent and larger agricultural operations. In 1900 he also entered into the manufacture of lumber at Bruce's Crossing, Obion county, and is yet identified with that business. His mill is run by steam and is lighted by electricity generated at the mill and his force averages sixteen workmen. All of this represents years of untiring industry on the part of Mr. Bruce and native business genius well applied.
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