USA > Tennessee > A history of Tennessee and Tennesseans, the leaders and representative men in commerce, industry and modern activities, Volume V > Part 32
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Eng by E G Withams & Bra.NY
Seo. M. Brun
Ps Leurs Publishing C -
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large estate, as in part the measure of his large activities as a business man.
Along with success in business he gave his energies without stint to every movement for the betterment of the city. He was always recog- nized as a friend of the poor, and gave of his means liberally, not only to individual places of charity but to the organized activities which extend their practical aid to the unfortunate. Among his characteristics was his love for good horses, and during the last fifteen years of his life, which he spent largely in retirement from active business, he was seen almost daily behind a pair of fine drivers. He owned several blooded horses, and was willing to pay a large sum for one that suited his pace.
On October 15, 1853, Mr. Burr married Miss Amelia Andrews, who was born in Connecticut in 1830, a daughter of Jonathan and Abigal (Murwin) Andrews, both of whom were natives of Connecticut. Her father was born in April, 1802, was a farmer by occupation, and died in August, 1848. Her mother was born in 1804 and died in 1854. Mr. and Mrs. Burr had no children. A relative of whom he was very fond, was his half-brother, Lewis S. Burr, of Weston, Connecticut, a farmer of that state, where he was born in 1859. Mrs. Burr, since the death of her husband, has continued to reside at their comfortable home at 208 Prince street in Knoxville, and is now a finely preserved old lady at the age of eighty-two years.
HON. JOHN BAXTER. Up to the time of his death, which occurred at Hot Springs, Arkansas, April 2, 1886, the late John Baxter was the accepted leader of the east Tennessee bar. Both as a lawyer, a judge and a citizen he was a man of many eminent qualities, and in his day was the peer and associate of the strongest individuals in the public and pro- fessional life of Tennessee.
The late John Baxter was born in Rutherford county, North Caro- lina, March 5, 1819. His early life was cast in a period which was nota- ble for its absence of schools and other advantages and facilities which are now deemed essential, but which nevertheless produced through the channels of practical experience and close association with the strong men of the previous generation, many of the ablest leaders known to the last century.
John Baxter had no opportunity for education except as were given in the "old field schools" of the neighborhood of which he lived. For a short time he was a clerk in a country store, but abandoned this for the study of law in the office of Hon. Simpson Bobo of South Carolina, and he quickly showed remarkable ability and talent for the law. In the spring of 1857 he moved to Knoxville, and it was in that city that his most important professional work was done. During the Civil war he was loyal to the government of the United States, and was always a
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fearless advocate of its cause. In the constitutional convention of Ten- nessee in 1870 he was a delegate from Knox county, and served as one of the leading members of the judiciary committee. While he himself had been a Union man, it is worthy of note that the majority of the members of the convention had been supporters, if not soldiers of the Confederacy. During the succeeding seven years John Baxter con- ducted what was probably the most lucrative law practice that any one lawyer has ever enjoyed in east Tennessee. His ability was acknowledged in all the courts of the state.
In 1877 President Hayes appointed Mr. Baxter judge of the circuit court of the United States for the sixth circuit, a position which he filled with great credit and distinction. Death finally relieved him of the duties and responsibilities of the judicial office. As summed up in the various opinions of those who practiced with him and knew his character and ability, the distinguishing characteristic of the late Judge Baxter was force, and in everything he did he was independent, self-reliant and firm. Though sometimes apparently arbitrary and harsh in his manner, he was essentially just, progressive and liberal, and as already stated was the accepted leader of the east Tennessee bar. Without any invid- ious distinction, it can be asserted that John Baxter was one of the. remarkable men of his time in Tennessee.
COL. GEORGE W. BAXTER. A son of the late Judge John Baxter, Col. George W. Baxter is now one of Knoxville's most prominent and well-to- do citizens. He chose a more active life than his father, and has served four years as a lieutenant of the regular army, was for many years a ranch owner, was prominent in the public life of the West, and for the past ten years has been identified with the banking and manufacturing interests of Knoxville.
George W. Baxter was born in the state of North Carolina, January 7, 1855, and was brought to Knoxville as a child in 1857, when his par- ents moved to that city. He received his education in the University of the South at Sewanee, where he was a student for two years, and was then appointed to the United States Military Academy at West Point. entering as a cadet in 1873 and graduating in 1877. He was commis- sioned second lieutenant in the Third Regiment, United States Cavalry, but after serving several years resigned his commission to enter business life. His service had taken him into the West and he remained in the Western states and territories for twenty-five years. As a stockman his business took him from Texas to Montana, and he was one of the promi- nent figures in the dominant industry of the West at a time when the era of the free range had not yet come to an end. ' In 1902, Colonel Baxter returned to Knoxville to make it his home again, where he has since. been engaged in the banking and cotton manufacturing business. Presi- dent Cleveland appointed him governor of Wyoming territory in 1886 ..
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In 1889 he served as a member of the constitutional convention which drafted the constitution under which Wyoming was admitted to the Union. In that convention he served on the judiciary committee.
Colonel Baxter married Miss Margaret W. McGhee, daughter of the distinguished citizen, Charles M. McGhee, a brief sketch of whose career is given elsewhere. Colonel Baxter and wife were married on January 7, 1880, and they are the parents of five children. The family are mem- bers of the Episcopal church, and he is affiliated with the Masonic order. He is also a member of all the social and civic clubs and belongs to sev- eral well known clubs in New York City. He is a Democrat in politics, and has always upheld the principles of his party. Colonel Baxter and family reside in their beautiful home at 505 Locust street in Knoxville.
COL. CHARLES M. MCGHEE. One of Knoxville's most prominent and influential citizens was the late Col. Charles M. McGhee, whose death occurred at his home in that city on the fifth of May, 1907. Colonel Mc- Ghee was a railroad man, a banker and financier, and both as a business man and as a citizen, his relations were close and intimate with many undertakings that deeply concerned the substantial welfare and progress of his home city and state.
Charles M. McGhee was born in Monroe county, Tennessee, January 23, 1828, one of a family of three children, born to John and Betsy (Mc- Clung) McGhee. His father before him was almost equally prominent as a business man and financier, and held extensive landed possessions in Monroe county. The late Colonel McGhee spent his boyhood days on the home plantation, and attended schools in Monroe county. He later graduated from the State University, and then engaged in the banking business at Knoxville. Colonel McGhee for many years was especially identified with the east Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroads, now a part of the Southern System. He was one of the principal stockholders, was vice-president and general manager and took an active part in the development and promotion of this railroad. His varied interests called him much out of the state and from his home city, but he always con- sidered Knoxville his civic and family residence, although in his latter years much of his time was spent in New York City.
Colonel McGhee was for many years a trustee of the State University of Tennessee, and it was largely due to his work and influence that this institution was reopened so soon after the war. He served with distinc- tion as a member of the legislature during 1870-71.
Colonel McGhee first married Miss Isabella M. White, daughter of Hugh M. White. Her father was a nephew of Hugh Lawson White, one of the distinguished men of Tennessee. The only child of this mar- riage died in infancy, and Mrs. McGhee passed away in 1848. Colonel McGhee then married a sister of his first wife, Miss Cornelia H. White. The children of this marriage are noted as follows: Margaret W., wife
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of Col. George W. Baxter, above mentioned; May Lawson McGhee, now deceased, wife of D. S. Williams; Anna, now deceased, wife of C. M. McClung; Bettie H., wife of Col. L. D. Tyson, one of the leading mem- bers of the Knoxville bar, and one of the largest coal operators of east Tennessee ; Elinor W., wife of James C. Neely, of Memphis.
The city of Knoxville has a permanent memorial of the liberality of Colonel McGhee in the beautiful Lawson McGhee Library which stands as a monument to his daughter, May Lawson, and which was built and furnished at a cost of over forty thousand dollars. Though this was the most conspicuous of his benefactions in his home city, Colonel McGhee during his lifetime was always a friend and generous helper in the move- ments for a better and finer city, and his career was one that left its impress in many ways in east Tennessee.
JOHN J. CRAIG. During the past seventy years the city of Knoxville has had no name better known or honored in general commercial affairs than that of John J. Craig, a name which has been borne by the head of three successive generations. In early years the name was associated with banking affairs in Knoxville, and subsequently the first bearer of the name became a pioneer in the marble business of the eastern part of the state, and it is with the production and distribution of the finer varie- ties of Tennessee marble that the Craig family has been best known now for many years.
John J. Craig, the first of the name in these three generations, was born in Lauderdale county, Alabama, in 1820 and came to Knoxville in 1839. He was for several years a clerk with the well-known firm of those days, McClung, Wallace & Company, and in 1844 returned to Alabama. In 1847 he married a Miss Lyon of Knox county, Tennessee. In 1852 he removed from Alabama and became cashier of the Knoxville branch of the Union Bank, a position which he filled until the bank was closed by the war. For two years during the war period he resided with his family in Cincinnati, and subsequently was engaged in the banking busi- ness in New York City up to 1869. He then returned to Knox county and resided on the old homestead in this vicinity until that place was sold to the state as the location for the present insane asylum, five miles below Knoxville. This John J. Craig was one of the pioneers in the production of the east Tennessee marbles and brought into the market the fine variegated varieties.
John J. Craig, second of the name, for many years identified with business affairs in Knoxville, died at his home in this city in October, 1903. He was a man of exceptional power and ability as a business man and as a citizen. He founded the John J. Craig Company, pro- ducers and wholesale dealers in Tennessee marble, and built up the busi- ness until it was among the largest of its kind in the South. John J. Craig was born in Knox county, Tennessee, September 20, 1860, and was
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forty-five years of age at the time of his death. He was a student in the State University, and subsequently graduated in 1879 at the Queen City Commercial College. His business career began as a clerk with the Canton Banking & Insurance Company at Canton, Mississippi, where he remained until December 9, 1880. He was then connected with the banking house of John S. Horner & Son at Helena, Arkansas, as book- keeper until January, 1886. At that date he came to Knoxville and engaged in the marble trade, and gave his best energies to the building up of the business which now bears his name. In 1883 he married Miss Lucy Cage, who was born in Canton, Mississippi.
The late John J. Craig was known and esteemed by hundreds of the leading business men and citizens of Knoxville, and he left behind him only the memories which are associated with a good man and an indus- trious and public spirited citizen. His widow and family reside at 1415 Highland avenue. At his death his body was interred at the Old Gray cemetery, where it now rests.
The son of this late well known citizen, John J. Craig, is now secre- tary and treasurer of the John J. Craig Company. The offices of the company are in the Holston National Bank building. Mr. Craig is one of the prominent young business leaders of Knoxville.
JOE LEON HUGHETT. The law firm of Hughett & Hughett, with offices in the Holston National Bank building at Knoxville, is in several ways distinctive among the legal firms of this state. The senior member of this firm is Mrs. J. L. Hughett, who was born in Scott county, Tennessee, a daughter of Hon. Laban Riseden, one of the prominent attorneys of that section of the state. Mrs. Hughett received a liberal education and studied for the law, and a few years ago was admitted to practice in all state courts and the Federal court. It is said that she was the first woman in the South to be admitted to practice in the Federal courts. Another noteworthy feature about this firm is that about two years ago it was on Mrs. Hughett's motion that her husband and law partner was admitted to practice in the supreme court of Tennessee. This was the first time in the history of that court that a lawyer was admitted to prac- tice upon the motion of a woman. As a successful law firm none stands higher in the Knoxville bar than that of Hughett & Hughett and the partners have enjoyed a clientage of the highest class and have attained much success in the profession.
Joe Leon Hughett was born in Huntsville, Scott county, Tennessee, December 1, 1883, and was one of a family of five children whose parents were Calvin Hughett and wife. His father was a farmer in Scott county As a boy he attended the public schools of his native county, and later completed his education in the University of Tennessee, of which he is a graduate. On August 14, 1910, he married Miss Riseden, who, as already stated, was born in the same county, but entered the practice of law
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somewhat in advance of her husband. Mr. Hughett is affiliated with the Junior Order of United American Mechanics and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In politics he is a Republican.
CHARLES H. SMITH. Now assistant division counsel for the Southern Railway Company and representing other large foreign and domestic corporations, Mr. Smith has in less than ten years attained a place in the ranks of the leading attorneys of Knoxville, and his varied and success- ful experience in the profession has laid a foundation for many larger honors and achievements in the coming years.
Charles Henry Smith was born in the city of Knoxville, Knox county, Tennessee, on the 3rd day of December, 1881, and was the oldest of a family of four children born to Benjamin Franklin and Mary Bogart Smith. His mother was a native of Loudon county, Tennessee, and his father was a native of Campbell county, Tennessee, but since 1880 had made his home and engaged in business in the city of Knoxville, where he was recognized as one of the leading merchants and most influential citizens up to the time of his death, which occurred on the 20th day of August, 1900.
As a boy Charles H. Smith attended the Knoxville public schools and later completed his studies in the University of Tennessee, where he graduated in 1902 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts and in 1903 with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. During the years 1902-1903 he taught school in the public schools in Knoxville, pursuing his study of law in the night class conducted at the University of Tennessee. In June, 1903, he was admitted to the bar in Knoxville, but before beginning the active practice of his profession he taught school another year, being principal during 1903-1904 of the school conducted at Albemarle, Louisiana.
In July, 1904, Mr. Smith returned to Knoxville and began the active practice of law, in which profession he has since been engaged continu- ously. He was first associated with the law firm of Sansom & Welcker, but in 1905 he formed the law firm of Young & Smith, his partner being Mr. Robert S. Young. Only a few months later, and in the year 1905, a partnership was formed with Judge H. B. Lindsay, and the firm then became Lindsay, Young & Smith, and remained so until 1909, when Mr. W. J. Donaldson became a member of the firm, which continued until 1911 under the firm name of Lindsay, Young, Smith & Donaldson. In August, 1911, Mr. Smith withdrew from this firm and has since been engaged in the practice of his profession alone, having a suite of offices at present in the Holston National Bank building.
In 1908 Mr. Smith was elected secretary and treasurer of the Bar Association of Tennessee, to which position he has been unanimously re-elected each succeeding year, and is at present still occupying this position. Since 1905 Mr. Smith has been connected with the Southern Railway Company as its local counsel for Knox county, and on March 1,
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1913, he was appointed assistant division counsel for the Southern Rail- way Company with headquarters at Knoxville, and having charge of the company's legal business in Blount, Loudon, MeMinn and Monroe coun- ties. He also represents several large and influential foreign and domes- tic corporations, and in addition has an extensive general practice. He is personally interested in several corporations, among which is the Knox- ville Savings Bank, of which institution he is a stockholder and director, and is also attorney for this bank.
On the 6th day of November, 1907, Mr. Smith was married to Miss Maude Keller, a daughter of Thomas W. and Laura Lackey Keller. To them one child has been born, a boy who bears the name of his father, Charles Henry Smith, Jr. Mr. Smith and his family are members of the First Cumberland Presbyterian church of Knoxville. He is a Republican and is a member of the Cumberland Club, Cherokee Country Club, Amer- ican Bar Association, and the Bar Association of Tennessee.
Mr. Smith and his family occupy their beautiful home at 1704 West Clinch avenue on the summit of Fort Sanders, where the historic battle of Fort Sanders was fought.
JAMES ISAAC VANCE, D. D. LL. D. Though the pastoral service of Dr. Vance has been confined to three or four of the larger congrega- tions of the Presbyterian denomination in the South and East, his name and influence as a preacher, church builder, writer and lecturer are as well known as those of any minister of the South. His talents and his devotion to his profession have brought him into the largest field of efficient Christianity, and his services and career are notable.
James Isaac Vance was born in Arcadia, Tennessee, September 25, 1862, a son of Charles Robertson and Margaret (Newland) Vance. Dr. Vance is a brother of Joseph Anderson Vance, also prominent in the Presbyterian church, and now pastor of the First Church of Detroit. Dr. Vance represents some of the oldest families of the South. His father was a soldier in the Confederate army at the time of the son's birth, and the mother had left her residence in Bristol and was a refugee at her father's home in Arcadia.
The great-grandfather, William Vance, was a resident first at Lex- ington, Virginia, and then at Jonesboro, Tennessee, and married Kezia Robertson, a sister of Maj. Charles Robertson, who was one of the men appointed to make a treaty of peace with the five Indian tribes. A younger brother of Major Charles was Gen. James Robertson, founder of Nashville, Tennessee. The first member of the Vance family in Amer- ica was Dr. Patrick Vance from the north of Ireland and a graduate in medicine from the University of Edinburgh. He was a physician in Pennsylvania prior to the Revolutionary war. Some of his descendants moved south along the valley of Virginia to North Carolina and Tennes- see. The paternal grandfather of Dr. Vance married Jane Sevier, a Vol. V-18"
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daughter of Valentine Sevier, and a granddaughter of Col. Robert Sevier, the latter having been the only officer on the American side to be killed in the battle of King's Mountain. Colonel Robert was the younger brother of John Sevier, who was Tennessee's first governor. Dr. Vance is thus descended from the early settlers of Watauga, and the founders of the state of Tennessee.
On his mother's side, Dr. Vance is descended from the Andersons and Rheas, strong Scotch-Irish families which have given a large number of ministers to the Presbyterian church in America. The maternal grandfather was Joseph Newland, who married Rebecca Anderson a daughter of Isaac and Margaret (Rhea) Anderson. An earlier member of the Rhea family was Joseph Rhea, who was one of the first Pres- byterian ministers to come from Scotland to America. To the careful religious training of his mother, Dr. Vance attributes the influ- ence which impelled him to enter the ministry. He was educated at King College in Tennessee, where he graduated A. B. in 1883, and received his master's degree in 1886. It was his intention to enter the medical profession and his course in college was taken with a view to that end. Soon after his graduation, however, his purpose was changed, and in 1883 he entered the Union Theological Seminary of Virginia, at Hampden-Sidney, where he was graduated in 1886. Dr. Vance was made Doctor of Divinity by King College in 1896, and by Hampden-Sidney in the same year. In 1913, King College conferred on him the degree of Doctor of Laws.
Ordained in the Presbyterian church in 1886, his first pastoral charge was at Wytheville, Virginia, where he remained during 1886-7, and was then at the Second Presbyterian church in Alexandria from 1887 to 1891. During his pastorate of four years at Alexandria, a new church building was erected, and he was instrumental in uniting the northern and south- ern branches of the church in that city, the northern society uniting with the southern, and thus making one prosperous congregation. The church was thoroughly organized and its membership substantially increased.
On October 1, 1891, Dr. Vance took charge of the First Presbyterian church of Norfolk, Virginia, where he remained until 1894, and where his pastorate was marked by great prosperity and power. At the end of three and a half years he resigned to accept a larger field, and on February 1, 1895, became pastor of the First Presbyterian church of Nashville, the largest single congregation of the Presbyterian church in the United States, and the largest and wealthiest church in the city of Nashville. In 1900 Dr. Vance left Nashville to take charge of the North Reformed church at Newark, New Jersey, where he remained ten years. Under his ministry this congregation had a rapid development, and when he left it, it was the largest church in the Dutch Reformed denomination. He then returned to Nashville, where he has been pastor of the First
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church since December 1, 1910, and where he preaches to congregations which crowd his big church to overflowing.
As a platform lecturer Dr. Vance is known throughout America, and he has been only less popularly known as an author, his contribu- tions being both of a religious and moral character. He is the author of "The Young Man Four-Square," 1894; "Church Portals," 1895; "Col- lege of Apostles," 1896; "Predestination," a pamphlet, 1898; "Royal Manhood," 1899; "Rise of a Soul," 1902; "Simplicity in Life," 1903; "A Young Man's Make-Up," 1904; "The Eternal in Man," 1907; "Ten- dency," 1910. Besides these he has been a frequent contributor to mag- azines and reviews. Dr. Vance is one of the best orators of the South, his powers consisting in his simple and earnest method of presenting his convictions and his concise and forceful language. On December 22, 1886, Dr. Vance married Mamie Stiles Currell of Yorkville, South Caro- lina, a daughter of William and Agnes (Wilkie) Currell. The children of Dr. Vance and wife are as follows : Margaret, William Currell, Agnes Wilkie, Ruth Armstrong, James Isaac (deceased), and Charles Rob- ertson.
Dr. Vance is recognized as one of the religious leaders of the country. and his influence is not confined to denominational lines. No man is more in demand as a college preacher, and his work has made a profound impression on students. He has made the leading address on many notable occasions of a religious and educational character. The "Brief Statement of Belief" issued by the Presbyterian church in the United States was the result of his leadership and much of it was composed by him. In his views he is a progressive conservative. He has declined fre- quent invitations to the presidency of colleges, and to the pastorates of leading churches in the largest cities of America.
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