USA > Tennessee > A history of Tennessee and Tennesseans, the leaders and representative men in commerce, industry and modern activities, Volume V > Part 2
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A fine example of this truth may be seen in Brice P. Moffatt, one of the best known druggists and rising young business men of Troy, Obion county, Tennessee, where he was born on April 23. 1891, and
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is a descendant of one of the oldest families of that section of the state. The first of the name to locate in Tennessee was John Moffatt, the great-grandfather of Brice. He was a native of South Carolina, where he married a Miss Strong, and in 1840 left Chester district and settled in Obion county, where he purchased four hundred acres of fertile land and became one of the leading agriculturists. His son James S., one of a family of twelve children, married Miss Martha Moffatt and engaged in farming, owning three hundred acres of land and a number of negro slaves. He was also one of the pioneer merchants of Troy, having established himself in business there as early as 1841. He was born in South Carolina in 1818, was a public- spirited man, a member of the Presbyterian church, and a liberal contributor to every worthy cause for the advancement of the com- munity. The business he established passed to his sons, and from them to his grandsons, so that three generations of the family have been engaged in merchandising "at the old stand." James S. Moffatt died in 1890 and his wife died in 1859. Of their six children only one is now living. J. P. Moffatt, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was also born in South Carolina and succeeded to the busi- ness of his father upon the latter's retirement from active affairs. He served for more than three years in the Confederate army during the Civil war, was wounded at Rome, Georgia, in 1863, and rose to the rank of second lieutenant. His death occurred in 1873. He married Miss Mary Brice, a native of South Carolina, and to them were born six children, only two of whom are now living, James R. and Pressley W., who are now proprietors of the mercantile establishment founded by their grandfather in 1841. This business includes a complete line of dry goods, clothing, farming implements, etc., and is one of the leading mercantile houses of Troy, with a trade that extends over a large section of the adjacent territory.
James R. Moffatt was born in Troy, Tennessee, May 29, 1861. He was educated in the local schools and in 1878 succeeded to the business of his father. In 1889 he married Miss Lulu Marshall, daughter of R. H. Marshall, and of their five children two are now living, Brice P. and Maud. His brother and partner, Pressley W., was born in Troy on January 15, 1869. He married Miss Mary Maxey, and their four children are Maxey, Jennie, Pressley W., Jr., and Sarah.
Brice P. Moffatt, whose name introduces this review, acquired his elementary education in the public schools of his native city of Troy. He then entered the department of pharmacy in the Northwestern University, at Chicago, and there graduated as a member of the class of 1911. The same year he became a registered pharmacist and opened his drug store in Troy. His store, which is twenty-four by sixty feet in dimensions, is equipped with everything to be found in a model drug store of the present day. Besides the customary stock of drugs and
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medicines, he carries a complete line of paints, oils, perfumery, toilet articles, etc., and his close attention to business and the wants of his customers is bearing fruit in the way of a constantly increasing patron- age. Mr. Moffatt is a member of the Masonic fraternity, Lodge No. 679, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of Union City, Ten- nessee, and also of the Phi Delta Chi college fraternity. About the time he started in business for himself he was united in marriage with Miss Mary Whittaker, of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and he and his wife are prominent in the social circles of Troy.
BENJAMIN H. SETTLE. Among the well-known and substantial busi- ness men of Troy, Obion county, Benjamin H. Settle occupies a promi- nent position as a dealer in dressed lumber and building materials of all kinds. He was born in North Carolina, August 11, 1849, and is a son of Benjamin and Sarah (Campbell) Settle, both natives of that state. The mother was of Scotch extraction and was a great- granddaughter of one of the dukes of Argyle. In 1855 Benjamin Settle removed with his family to Tennessee and settled in Fayette county, where he purchased eight hundred acres of land and engaged in agricultural pursuits upon a large scale for that period. He was also interested in real estate operations and in the slave trade, becoming in time one of the wealthiest men in the county. When the Civil war began he remained loyal to the government of the north, though he was opposed to the war. His attitude incurred the enmity of some of the southern sympathizers, and on January 20, 1864, he was killed by a party of Confederate guerrillas. He and his wife were the parents of seven children, five of whom are now living, Benjamin H. being the second child in the order of birth and the only son. Although not yet fifteen years of age at the time of his father's untimely death, he bravely took up the work of assisting his widowed mother in the support of her family. Under her direction and guidance he practically assumed the management of the estate, making ample provision for the family needs and selling considerable produce to the neighbors and in the adjacent towns. Thus his boyhood and youth were passed in Fayette county, where he managed to secure in the common schools a good practical education. In 1890 he became interested in the Ekdahl Fur- niture Company, for which he traveled over a broad territory. When the company failed, some time afterward, he took charge of the settle- ment of its affairs. While thus engaged he acquired a knowledge of the lumber business that led to his engaging in that line of activity in 1893. For several years he was both dealer in and inspector of lumber, and during this time he learned all the details pertaining to the manufacture and sale of building materials. In 1902 he located in Troy, where he opened his lumber yard two years later. His yards, including the space occupied by his dwelling, covers four acres of
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ground, upon which there are two small cottages that he rents. His past experience gave him an advantage in opening his new business in Troy, and his success was assured from the start. During the eight years that he has been thus engaged he has made money and gained a reputation as a square dealer in the materials he handles. He is public-spirited and takes a keen interest in everything that has a ten- dency to benefit the town.
Mr. Settle has been twice married. In 1873 he married Miss Mattie Pickens, and to this union were born five children, three of whom are still living. They are John C., a well-to-do business man of San Francisco, California; Thomas B. is traffic manager of E. Clem- mons Horst Company of San Francisco, California; and Hugh L. of Memphis, Tennessee. All three of these sons are above the average type of business men in executive ability and resourcefulness. Mrs. Mattie Settle died in 1892, and subsequently Mr. Settle married Mrs. Sallie Weddington. No children have been born to this second marriage.
The Settle family is well connected and has furnished at least one man who has been recognized in political and legal circles. Thomas Settle, a second cousin of the subject of this review, was chairman of the Republican national convention that nominated General Ulysses S. Grant for the presidency. He was a prominent attorney of North Carolina and served for some time as United States minister to Peru. Upon his return to this country he was appointed federal judge for the district of Florida and took up his residence at Tallahassee, where he passed the closing years of his life. Benjamin H. Settle is a Dem- ocrat. Both his wives were Cumberland Presbyterians and he is a Methodist.
MRS. BONNIE S. MAXWELL. Among the old and honored pioneers who paved the way for the development of Obion county and the posi- tion that it occupies socially and financially at the present time, the name of Alexander W. Smith stands preeminent. He was a native of the Emerald Isle, but when a young man left Ireland with a brother to seek his fortune in the United States. They landed at New York in 1818 and the brother located in that state. Alexander, after some time in New York, made his way to South Carolina, locating in Chester district. Here he married Esther Graham, who was a relative of the celebrated Scottish chief, William Wallace. In 1840 he removed with his family to Tennessee and located in Tipton county, where he pur- chased two hundred acres of land and engaged in agricultural pur- suits. He was a strict conformist and adhered to the dogma and teach- ings of that sect. He died in 1870, aged seventy-two years, after a long and useful life, during which he wielded great influence upon the
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destinies of his adopted county. Alexander and Esther (Graham) Smith were the parents of four children-three sons and one daughter.
One of his sons, James G. Smith, was the father of Mrs. Bonnie S. Maxwell. He was born in South Carolina, September 18, 1828, and became a resident of Obion county, Tennessee, in 1850. He was a well- educated gentleman and was a remarkable man in various respects. As a young man he taught school for several years, employing his spare hours in the study of law. Into this subject he went deeply, and soon after his admission to the bar he became recognized as one of the leading attorneys of west Tennessee. For fifty years he prac- ticed his profession in Obion county, and at the time of his death on August 5, 1905, he was the oldest lawyer in the county. His funeral was a notable one in one particular. While many of his friends and acquaintances were in attendance, it was remarked that all the lawyers in the county had closed their offices on that occasion, in order to give them an opportunity to pay their respects to one whom they univer- sally loved as a man and, admired as an attorney. James G. Smith was everybody's friend. If he found a young man who desired to become a lawyer he was always ready to extend his aid, and a number of young attorneys owe him a debt of gratitude for his kindly words and advice, as well as more substantial assistance. Even the children on the street received his attention and he was universally popular. When the trouble between the north and south culminated in Civil war he espoused the cause of the Confederacy. On one occasion he was ordered to take the oath of allegiance to the federal government, but refused to do so. For his refusal he was treated as a prisoner of war and confined for some time in a military prison at St. Louis, Missouri.
On January 3, 1854. James S. Smith and Sarah E. Allen were united in marriage, and to this union were born six children. Wallace S., born October 3, 1854, became the wife of H. H. Crockett on March 16, 1871; Bonnie S., born June 2, 1856, was married to John B. Max- well on March 24, 1875; Wm. A., born September 26, 1858, married Miss Sunie Pressley on April 17, 1889; Dora S. married Rev. Thos. P. Pressley and is now deceased; Lutheran A., born January 8, 1863, married Miss Annie Faulk on February 19, 1896; and Fitz James, born October 16, 1864, attorney in Union City, Tennessee.
John B. Maxwell was for many years a conspicuous figure in the affairs of Obion county. He was a native son of Tennessee. having been born on April 21, 1855, in Henry county, where his father was a well-known and influential citizen. After securing a good educa- tion he decided to enter the field of journalism, and for some time he was editor of the Troy Times. He was also deputy clerk of the county court and was a factor in politics. As an editor he always advocated measures for the advancement of the moral, material and social inter- ests of Troy, and as a citizen he commanded the esteem and confidence
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of his fellow-townsmen in a marked degree. His death occurred on September 5, 1901, and was a distinct loss to the town where he had so long lived and labored. As stated above, he was married on March 24, 1875, to Miss Bonnie S. Smith, and to this union were born nine children, two of whom passed away in childhood. Those living, with the dates of birth, are as follows: Basil B., February 4, 1878; Luther M., July 17, 1882; Martha M., September 24, 1887; Fitz L., March 10, 1890; Dora W., December 7, 1892; Stonewall H., June 16, 1895, and John B., October 16, 1897.
In looking back over the lives of such men as Alexander W. Smith, James G. Smith and John B. Maxwell, the reader of the present genera- tion may find a career worthy of emulation. They encountered many difficulties during the pioneer days, but with courage and fortitude overcame them and left to their posterity a better community and an untarnished name. A record of their deeds and achievement leads one to believe with Longfellow, that :
"Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime; And, departing, leave behind us Footprints on the sands of Time."
MATTHEW MCCLAIN, sheriff of Lewis county, Tennessee, and a resi- dent of Hohenwald, is a native of that county, has been one of its representative agriculturists for a number of years and always has been worthily identified with its best citizenship. He first took up the duties of sheriff. on October 3, 1910, in consequence of his election to that office by the county court and his services were of that efficient order that in August, 1912, he was returned to that official station by the vote of the citizens of Lewis county. The McClains were originally of Kentucky stock, and the grandfather and father of Matthew McClain were, respectively, soldiers in the War of 1812 and in the Civil war, the latter as a supporter of the southern cause. The former, John McClain, was the first of the family to locate in Tennessee. He was born in Kentucky April 4, 1777, and came to this state as a young man. He served throughout the second struggle for American inde- pendence and fought with Gen. Andrew Jackson at the battle of New Orleans in 1815. On coming to Tennessee he settled in Maury county, where he spent the remainder of his active years as a farmer. He lived to the remarkable age of one hundred and four years, passing away on April 4, 1881. In political adherency he was first a Whig and then later a Democrat. He wedded Elizabeth McMillian, also a Kentuckian by birth, who bore him seven sons and four daughters. Martin, the youngest of his sons and the father of Matthew, was born in Maury county, this state, March 2, 1833, and grew to manhood
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there, receiving such educational discipline as the public schools of the place and period afforded. When the Civil war broke out he espoused the cause of the southland and entered the Confederate service as a member of Captain Biffle's company, which was assigned to the Third Tennessee Regiment. At the battle of Fort Donelson he received a wound in his leg, from which he suffered severely and which caused him to return home. After the minnie ball causing the wound had been removed and he had recovered, which was some four months later, he returned to the service and remained with the army until its surrender. Returning to Maury county, he was married there in 1867 and shortly afterward removed to Lewis county, where he purchased a small farm and was engaged in agricultural pursuits until his retire- ment in 1890. He is yet living and is quite active for one of his years, though suffering from failing sight. He has always been a stalwart supporter of the Democratic party in political affairs. His wife was Miss Nancy J. Beckum prior to her marriage, a daughter of Alexander Beckum and a native of Maury county, where she was born April 20, 1848. She passed to rest on December 16, 1881, leaving a family of six children, all of whom are still living and are as follows: Felix, Matthew and Lavona, residents of Lewis county, Tennessee; Robert, whose home is in Maury county, this state; Knox, now located in New Mexico ; and Martin, also a resident of Lewis county.
Matthew McClain, the second of this family, was born in the Fourth civil district of Lewis county, Tennessee, July 8, 1873. He received such educational advantages as the schools of Lewis county afforded at that time but which were very limited. He took up responsibilities at the early age of fourteen working a in a sawmill, first being employed in firing the engine and then later becoming a sawyer. At the age of twenty he bought a farm and took up agriculture, at the same time also running a sawmill. He carried on these industries jointly until October 3, 1910, when he became sheriff of Lewis county, which office he continues to fill with satisfaction to all concerned. Prior to becom- ing sheriff, however, he had served ten years as a magistrate of the Fourth district of Lewis county. He still retains his farming inter- ests. Fraternally he is a member of Hohenwald Lodge, No. 293, Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, and in political views and allegiance he is a Democrat.
On March 19, 1894. Mr. McClain was joined in marriage to Miss Betty Kilpatrick, daughter of William Kilpatrick, of Perry county. The union of Mr. and Mrs. McClain has been blessed with ten chil- dren, all living and all at home except the eldest daughter, Jennie, who is now the wife of Linton Maxwell and resides at Mount Pleasant, Maury county, Tennessee, and the youngest, who died March 8, 1913. In order of birth they are: William Thomas, Jennie, John Turley, Felix Martin, Capitola, Gladys, Alice, Medola, Lavona and Matthew. Vol. V-2
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GEORGE J. PIERCE. The honored subject of this review is numbered among the progressive and representative agriculturists of Obion county, where he is the owner of a finely improved landed estate of five hundred acres, situated near the boundary line between Tennessee and Kentucky, Pierce Station being his postoffice address. He is a scion of one of the old and influential families of northwestern Tennessee and through his character and achievement he has well upheld the prestige of the hon- ored name which he bears and which has been closely identified with the civic and industrial activities of this section of the state for more than seventy years.
Mr. Pierce was born in Obion county, Tennessee, on the 8th of June, 1850, and is a son of Thomas M. and Margaret (Blacknell) Pierce, the former of whom was born in North Carolina, in 1810, and the latter of whom was several years his junior. Thomas M. Pierce received excellent educational advantages and was a man of fine intellectuality and marked business acumen. He was a successful teacher in the schools of Ten- nessee for a number of years and eventually became one of the prominent agriculturists and merchants of the northwestern part of the state, both he and his wife having passed the closing years of their lives in Obion county and both having held the unqualified esteem of all who knew them. Thomas M. Pierce came to Tennessee in the year 1842 and first located in Dresden, Weakley county, whence he later removed to Obion county. He became the owner of a fine landed estate of eight hundred acres, which he operated with slave labor prior to the Civil war, most of this property having been confiscated at the close of the war, though he had been a stanch supporter of the cause of the Union and had ably opposed the secession of the Southern states. Notwithstanding his per- sonal atttitude at this climacteric period in the history of the nation, three of his sons-Thomas D., Henry H. and Rice A .- espoused the cause of the Confederate government and were valiant soldiers in the Southern service during the great fratracidal conflict. Mr. Pierce was a man of specially progressive ideas and policies, and he developed an extensive merchandise business, in connection with which he had well equipped general stores at Jacksonville, Union City, and Pierce, Ten- nessee, and at Fulton, Kentucky.
Pierce Station was named for Thomas M. Pierce, who built the first station house himself, and was the first station master. He was also the first postmaster and held both offices until a short time before his death when he resigned. He was a Democrat but held the postoffice through the Republican administration.
Both Mr. Pierce and his wife held membership in the Methodist church, their lives having been ordered in harmony with the faith which they professed. Mrs. Pierce was graduated in one of the excellent edu- cational institutions of her native state, Virginia, and was a woman of exceptional culture and refinement. She was a successful and popular
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teacher in the schools of Tennessee prior to her marriage and she ever held the affectionate regard of all who came within the sphere of her gracious and gentle influence. The names of the children, with respective years of birth are here noted: Harriet, 1834; William B., 1836; T. Devereaux, 1838; Henry H., 1840; Rice A., 1842; Lawrence, 1844; and George J., 1850. The four eldest were born in North Carolina and the remainder in Weakley county, this state, except George J., who is the subject of this review and the youngest of the number, he having been born in what is now Obion county, as previously noted. Of his brothers, Rice A., is now living.
George J. Pierce was reared on the old homestead plantation and in connection therewith he gained practical discipline, the while he had the gracious environment and influences of a refined and hospitable home,- one representing the best of the fine old Southern regime. After avail- ing himself of the advantages of the common schools he identified him- self actively with agricultural pursuits, and during the long intervening years he has never severed his allegiance to this great basic industry, through the medium of which he has attained to substantial success and prosperity. His present beautiful and productive landed estate comprises five hundred acres and is one of the model farms of north- western Tennessee. It is principally devoted to the raising of tobacco, cotton, wheat and corn, and in carrying on the work Mr. Pierce employs many negroes, having about seven families on the estate and some of the number having been with the family since the days before the Civil war.
Mr. Pierce is not only one of the progressive and enterprising agri- culturists of Obion county but is also a citizen of marked loyalty and public spirit. He gives his co-operation in support of measures pro- jected for the general good of the community and he holds secure vantage ground in the confidence and high regard of the people of his native county. He is a stanch supporter of the cause of the Democratic party and both he and his wife are zealous members of the Presbyterian church, in which he held the office of elder for fully a quarter of century.
In the year 1882 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Pierce to Miss Mary L. Gibbs, who was born in Mississippi, and who is a daughter of the late Judge Q. D. Gibbs, a representative citizen of his county, in Mississippi. Mr. and Mrs. Pierce became the parents of nine children, namely : Annie, Louise and Joseph, who are deceased ; and William B., George J., Jr., Margaret Dorsey, Mamie, and Sherley. The attractive family home is known for its generous and gracious hospitality and Mr. Pierce and his family are popular facts in the social life of the com- munity.
JOSEPH GOODWIN RICE. In political and mercantile circles, prob- ably no man in Lewis county is more widely known than Joseph Good-
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win Rice, the present genial and efficient county clerk. His grand- father, Jerry Rice, was a pioneer farmer of southern Illinois, where his children were born, but before they grew to maturity he removed to Dunklin county, Missouri. Here he passed the closing years of his life engaged in agricultural pursuits. James B. Rice, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Illinois in 1834, but went with his parents in childhood to Missouri, where he was educated in the common schools and became a minister in the Methodist Episcopal church, South. He was also engaged in farming and merchandising at Kennett, Dunklin county, Missouri. About the time he arrived at man's estate, Samuel and Leona Wilburn removed from Tennessee to Dunklin county and settled at Kennett. Their daughter, Sarah, who was born in Perry county, Tennessee, in 1834, became the wife of Rev. J. B. Rice, and of the seven children born to them the subject of this review is the only one now living. J. B. Rice died in 1869 and his widow subsequently married R. R. Johnson. With him and her chil- dren she removed to Tennessee, settling in Perry county, whither her mother had gone some years before, after the death of Samuel Wilburn.
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