USA > Tennessee > A history of Tennessee and Tennesseans, the leaders and representative men in commerce, industry and modern activities, Volume V > Part 34
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While yet a lad in his teens Mr. Kirby frequently did reporting and other writing for his alma mater, the Nashville Gazette, and his first real venture into journalism proper was with Col. Thomas Boyers, as co- editor and publisher of the Gallatin Examiner, in 1860 and 1861. Phys- ical disability prevented Mr. Kirby from entering the Confederate army, and for the first three years of the war he was connected as writer and business partner with the Patriot, the Press, and the Dispatch, of which William Hy Smith, Edwin Paschal and John Miller McKee were the respective editors-in-chief. These war-time journals within the camp of the enemy obviously gave the news from the contending armies with very meager comment. A noteworthy feat of the young "local" at this time was his report of Andrew Johnson's public address as military governor of Tennessee, in March, 1862-considered to be among the most important speeches of his life. It was heard by a throng of anxious people that packed the hall of representatives to overflowing, and the verbatim report of Mr. Kirby-the only one made-filled two pages of the Patriot. Four or five years later he was with President Johnson and his cabinet in the famous "swing around the circle" and reported the speeches, etc., for the Louisville Journal. Still later, when Mr. John- son retired from the presidency, they happened to meet at Gallatin, Tennessee, where Mr. Johnson made an address, and of this the journal- ist sent telegraphie accounts to the Courier Journal.
When the war ended, Mr. Kirby went to Louisville on a visit and was there unexpectedly called to the chief local editorship of the Jour- nal. This position he held on the Journal and on the Courier Journal, in association with George D. Prentice, Paul R. Shipman, Henry Watter- son, John E. Hatcher and others, from 1865 to near 1870. In the latter year, his health being seriously impaired, he returned to Tennessee. After two years devoted chiefly to the recovery of his health, and declin- ing all offers to resume newspaper life, he entered the service of the. Methodist Publishing House, first as general proof-editor, then assistant Sunday school editor with Dr. W. G. E. Cunnyngham, until 1895, and from that year to the present time assistant editor of books and the Quarterly Review, with the late Bishop John J. Tigert and the present editor, Gross Alexander, D. D. Within this long period of time the books edited were many hundreds in number, and the periodicals many thousands-a vast library, indeed, of church, Sunday school and gen- eral literature of the highest value. The work of Mr. Kirby has had an undeniable uplifting effect upon the reading community at large, and the results have been of a wider reaching nature than might have been possible had he continued in newspaper circles and work.
JOHN F. JOYNER. The cashier of the Broadway National Bank at Nashville, Mr. Joyner possesses the business qualities which dominate . the policy of the big institution with which he is connected-energy
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and progressiveness. Of the type of man who is architect of his own fortunes, his promotions and achievements in the world of finance have advanced him well to the front rank before reaching the meridian of his career. John F. Joyner is a native Tennesseean born in Sumner county, November 13, 1875, a son of John W. and Veleria L. (Bowers) Joyner. His grandparents were Robert and Martha (Hargraves) Joyner, both Virginians by birth, where they were married and came to Sumner county, Tennessee, at an early date. The grandfather was a very wealthy man, owning between two and three hundred negroes, and some five or six thousand acres of land. He reared a family of five children, and his death occurred before the Civil war. The maternal grandfather was William T. Bowers, who was born and reared in Davidson county, belong- ing to a family of early settlers in this county, and he was a well-to-do man and gained a generous prosperity before his death, which occurred when he was still young. Of the four children in the Bowers family, two of the sons went to California early in life and of these T. J. Bowers was eminent as an attorney and at one time served as chief justice of Idaho.
John W. Joyner, the father, was born in Sumner county, Tennessee, in 1833, and died in 1888. His wife was born in Davidson county, in 1838, and died in 1910. Th father was a Sumner county farmer, raised considerable stock, and was very prosperous. There were eight children born to himself and wife, of whom seven are living. The family worship at the Cumberland Presbyterian church, and John W. Joyner was a very enthusiastic member of the Masonic lodge, of which he was a mas- ter a number of times. He was a Democrat in politics, and though he held no office he was always generous in supporting his friends and worked for the general success of the party. During the war he was one of the strong supporters of the Southern cause, and was put in prison because of his refusal to take the oath of allegiance. Two of his brothers, Dr. J. H. Joyner and W. H. Joyner, were both soldiers in the war, W. H. having organized a company and serving as captain and major.
John F. Joyner while a boy attended the public schools of Davidson county, and later was graduated from the Jennings Business College in 1896. He began his career as clerk in a general store at Goodlettsville. While in that store he employed all his leisure time in the study of law, and was admitted to the bar. He then went West and was connected with a law office in Durango, Colorado. On returning to Tennessee, he became assistant cashier of the bank of Goodlettsville, with which insti- tution he remained seven years. He was the active executive of this bank throughout the time, and managed and directed all its business during the seven years. In 1905 Mr. Joyner organized the bank of Greenbrier, and was its cashier for seven years. Then in 1912 he came to Nashville to take the office of cashier of the Broadway National Bank,
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one of the strongest financial institutions in the state. The Broadway National has a capital stock of two hundred thousand dollars, resources of a million and three quarters and the average deposits run well upwards of a million and a half. The business of the bank is rapidly increasing and during the past two years its deposits have grown by eight hundred thousand in the aggregate. The principal officers are Julian S. Cooley, chairman of the board; A. E. Potter, president; J. H. Bradford, vice-president; and John F. Joyner, cashier.
Mr. Joyner was married in 1902 to Miss Sadie Cunningham, of Goodlettsville, Tennessee. Her father was a merchant and farmer of Goodlettsville, having been in the mercantile business there for thirty- five years. During the war he fought for four years as a Confederate soldier. Mr. and Mrs. Joyner have one child, Sarah, now nine years of age. Their church is the Methodist South, and he is affiliated with the Masonic lodge, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is a Demo- crat in politics, but has never been a candidate for office. He acquired his education through his own efforts, and is regarded as one of the prosperous men of Nashville. He is a stockholder in the Broadway National Bank, and also a stockholder and director in the Bank of Greenbrier.
JAMES H. YEAMAN. One of Tennessee's leading architects, Mr. Yea- man has followed his profession with offices in Nashville for the past quarter century. Examples of his work can be pointed out in many of the larger public and semi-public edifices as well as in residences all over the city and in various parts of the county. He was also building contractor for a number of years.
His family is one of the oldest in Tennessee. His great-grandfather was John Yeaman, who came from Scotland in an early day, locating in Spottsylvania county, Virginia, near Danville. He was the father of four sons, two of whom moved to Tennessee, one being Grandfather . Yeaman, and both dying a few years after they located in this state. The two other brothers went to Ohio, and from them members of the name spread to the states of Indiana and Missouri.
A son of the first settler was Grandfather Joseph Yeaman, who mar- ried Mary Shelton. Both were born in Virginia, moved to Tennessee in early days, locating in Smith county, where Joseph Yeaman died in a few years after his settlement. He and his wife reared a family of seven children, all of whom are now deceased but one.
The parents of the Nashville architect were William J. and Emma (Cooper) Yeaman. The father was born in Virginia in 1835, and died in 1901. The mother was born in Putnam county, Tennessee, in 1845, and is still living. Her father was John C. Cooper, a minister of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, and served as a chaplain during the Civil war. He contracted pneumonia from exposure and died soon after
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the close of the war. The Cooper family were from England, and the family of Rhoda Patton, wife of John C. Cooper, were from Ireland, and came over the mountains into Tennessee about the same time with the Yeamans. William J. Yeaman, the father, was a carpenter and cabinet maker, and came to Tennessee when a young man with his father. His education was obtained in Virginia. He reared a large family of ten children and gave them all good educations, and eight of them are now living. The father was a member of the Methodist church South, and his wife was a Cumberland Presbyterian. He was a quiet Christian gentleman, supported the Democratic party, but was not active in poli- tics. Several uncles of James H. Yeaman on both his father's and mother's side were soldiers in the Civil war.
James H. Yeaman was born in Jackson county, Tennessee, at Gran- ville, September 3, 1859, was educated at New Middleton in Smith county in what was known as the New Middleton Male and Female Institute, an academic institution well known in its time and having succeeded the old Clinton College of ante-bellum days. The academy had pupils in at- tendance from every state in the Union. Mr. Yeaman started out in life as a carpenter, and from that practical trade worked himself into his higher position. He devoted himself steadily to acquiring the art of architect, and has practiced that profession more or less regularly for the past thirty years. He opened an office as architect and builder in 1887, but in 1905 gave up the building and contracting end altogether and has since enjoyed a large patronage as an architect alone.
Mr. Yeaman was married in 1882 to Mollie Dandridge, of Nashville, a daughter of Edward Dandridge, who was a Virginian by birth, and who came to Lebanon, Tennessee, when a young man. The Dandridge family were related to George Washington's wife. Mr. and Mrs. Yeaman have one child, Mary Emma, who is a graduate of the Peabody Normal School. The family are members of the Methodist church South, and he is affiliated with Claiborne Lodge of the Masons, and he has filled all the chairs except master, and is a chapter and Knights Templar Mason as well. He also belongs to the Knights of Pythias. In politics he is Democratic.
TONY SUDEKUM deserves the title of a successful young business man. His enterprise enabled him to start on the proverbial nothing, and in a few years become the head of half a dozen companies with an aggregate capital of several hundred thousand dollars, and supplying service and commodities not to the occasional but to the daily wants of many thousands of people.
Tony Sudekum was born in Nashville, August 21, 1880. His par- ents were Henry and Sarah (Eggensperger) Sudekum. The father was a native of Pittsburgh, and the mother of Nashville. The grandpar- ents were born in Europe but spent their last years in Nashville. The
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father came to Nashville when a child, and was a baker by trade. For some time he worked as a journeyman in that occupation, and then engaged in business for himself in east Nashville, where he remained for twenty-five years, his plant being located on Cherry and Mulberry streets. He had nothing to start on, but did well financially, and is now living retired. He had little advantages of education, but mastered the fundamentals necessary for a business career, and did well by his children. He and his wife had seven children, all of whom are living, Tony being the oldest. His parents are members of the German Luth- eran church, and the father is affiliated with Masonry, being a Knight Templar and a member of Claiborn Lodge. In politics he is a Demo- crat.
Tony Sudekum, as a boy, attended the Howard School at Nashville, and began his practical career in his father's bakery. He has always continued in the bakery business, although his varied interests in other fields have in recent years occupied much of his time. His actual start on the road to prosperity and in the larger fields of business occurred in 1905 when he established in Nashville a moving picture show. Since then he has built up and extended his interests in this line, and has incorporated the Crescent Amusement Company, and now controls the Elite, the Alhambra, the Fifth Avenue, and the Princess theaters in Nashville, and in other towns of the state he is owner and has the con- trolling interest in ten other amusement houses. The capital stock of the Crescent Company is one hundred and fifteen thousand dollars. He is also owner of the Princess Amusement Company, with a capital stock of sixty-five thousand dollars. Mr. Sudekum is president and general manager of these companies and they all are directly the result of his keen foresight and business enterprise since he had no capital to speak of when he started eight years ago. Mr. Sudekum is a very busy man, giving all his time to his bakery, and to his other enterprises. He has large interests in the Union Ice Cream Company of Nashville, and is president of the New Southern Milk Condensing Company of Nash- ville, Illinois, where the company has a large plant and ships its products throughout the southern states.
Mr. Sudekum was married in 1904 to Miss Nettie E. Fesler, a daugh- ter of John Fesler, and a native of Nashville. Her father is a market gardener in this city. Mr. and Mrs. Sudekum have four children, namely : Viola, in school; Elizabeth, in school; Marie and Sarah. The family are communicants of the Lutheran church, and Mr. Sudekum is affiliated with the Corinthian Lodge of Masons, the Woodmen of the World, the Golden Cross, and the Junior Order of United American Mechanics. Politically he is a Democrat.
D. M. SMITH. Publishing agent for the publishing house of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church South, at Nashville, Mr. Smith has charge of this
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important position in one of the largest publishing firms in the United States since 1890. He has been connected with the business since 1888, going in as business manager of the Nashville house, and in 1890 was elected by the general conference at St. Louis as one of the two publishing agents, and has acted in that capacity since that date. The business of the Southern Methodist Publishing House has a scope and volume seldom realized, and its publications go from Canada to Brazil and from Norfolk to China. Mr. Smith is a man of self-attainment, having begun as a poor boy and having entered business life as a bookkeeper and office man.
D. M. Smith was born at Knoxville, Tennessee, October 14, 1854, a son of J. R. and Thurza (Young) Smith. The parents moved to the vicinity of Knoxville early in life, where the father was a farmer and where he remained until 1858, when he joined his brother in Arkansas, and made that state his home during the rest of his life. He was a man of moderate means, had a quiet, unassuming character, though he main- tained very decided views on moral and general questions. He was of Scotch-Irish descent. The parents had five children, only two of whom are living. Mr. Smith's elder brother, Robert Park Smith, is now in the grocery business in San Angelo, Texas. The parents were members of the Presbyterian church, and the father was a Democrat in politics. He served as captain of a state militia company for a while in Knoxville.
D. M. Smith had his education in private schools and was gradu- ated in 1874 from the Bryant & Stratton Business College at Nash- ville. Thus equipped for a business career he began as bookkeeper, and followed general clerical work for twelve years, and all in the employ of one firm. He then went with the Southern Methodist Publishing House, as already stated, and his ability as a business getter and in managing the extensive affairs of the publishing house, has caused him to be retained in one of the most responsible business positions in connection with the entire church.
In 1879 Mr. Smith married Miss Virginia Cunnyngham, a daughter of Dr. W. G. E. Cunnyngham, who was a noted minister of the Metho- dist church. He was sent as a missionary to China in 1854, remained in the East for ten years, engaged in pastoral work until 1875, and then spent the rest of his life in the publishing house of the Southern Metho- dist church. For nineteen years he was editor of the Sunday school department of the publishing house. The six children born to Mr. and Mrs. Smith are David M., a graduate of Vanderbilt University, and now a student in the University of Chicago; Robert Young, assistant manager in the advertising department of the publishing house; Wil- liam C., in school; Jessie and Mildred, both at home; and Virginia, in school. The family are all members of the Methodist church South, and Mr. Smith is a Democrat in politics.
Vol. V-19
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WARD-BELMONT-IRA LANDRITH. On June 1, 1913, occurred the formal consolidation of the Ward Seminary and Belmont College, the former being the oldest and the latter the largest of Nashville's famous boarding schools for young women, this event being regarded as one of the most important and far-reaching in its results of any step which has been taken in Tennessee educational history within recent years. The actual negotiations and business arrangements which brought about this consolidation were concluded early in the year 1913. The full designation of the new school is "Ward-Belmont, uniting and continuing Ward Seminary for Young Ladies, founded by William E. Ward, D. D., 1865, and Belmont College for Young Women, founded by Miss Ida E. Hood and Miss Susan L. Heron, 1890." The president of Ward-Bel- mont is Rev. Dr. Ira Landrith, who for eight years was regent and presi- dent of Belmont, and for the year preceding the consolidation president of Ward.
Ward Seminary, the older of the two institutions, was founded in 1865 by the late William E. Ward, D. D. It has enjoyed a very influ- ential career and has educated a great many of the most prominent women of the present and previous generations. Thousands of its former students live in this city, the attendance from Nashville alone exceeding three hundred annually. This fact in itself is regarded as the highest possible testimony to the work of the institution, particu- larly since among these are the daughters of leading educators, clergy- men, and numerous other citizens of the highest culture who esteem a school for the educational methods it employs and the ideals to which it clings. For twenty years Dr. and Mrs. J. D. Blanton had charge of Ward, Dr. Blanton as the president and Mrs. Blanton as principal of the home department, and the strong hold they have on the public confidence and the devotion to them on the part of the faculty and student body not only kept the school prosperous in spite of the discouragement of a down-town location, but so hound to them the families of patrons that the boarding population at Ward the last year was nearly half composed of daughters from homes that had formerly patronized Ward Seminary. Dr. Blanton's wisdom in the administration has been equaled by Mrs. Blanton's fine, strong and beantiful influence in home-making for the girls.
Belmont College, though younger than Ward Seminary, in its board- ing department was more than twice as large, while the day patronage at Ward was always several times larger than Belmont's day school. Thus they practically balanced each other in numbers. Miss Ida E. Hood and Miss Susan L. Heron, school girl friends, are said to have covenanted in their own student days to unite one day in founding a school for girls, and Belmont was the fulfillment of that dream. Beginning with the beautiful old Acklen mansion, "Belmont" in September, 1890, they year after year had a boarding attendance to the full capacity, during
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1912-13 reaching its highest point, about 375. From time to time, as needed, additions were made to the buildings, equipment and faculty, until Belmont became nationally famous as a home school for girls and young women. Belmont always stood for the highest things in character and womanhood, and for earnestness and integrity in training and study. Daughters from representative homes in more than thirty states have been attending annually for many years, every state but four having been represented in its history.
Ward-Belmont had its location on Belmont Hill, and in addition to using the ten buildings of Belmont College, plans and preparations have already been completed for the erection on the campus of two other very handsome halls, one for administration and academic uses and the other as a residence for one hundred girls and teachers. The consolida- tion of these schools, it should be noted, is the result of the outright pur- chase of both schools by a new corporation composed of twelve gentle- men, ten of whom had never had any financial interest in either Ward or Belmont. Both schools, therefore, entered the union upon the same terms and basis. Concerning this consolidation and its advantages, one of the local papers said editorially : "It was a source of gratification that neither had absorbed the other, but that the name of each will be per- petuated in the new title of Ward-Belmont. Nashville is proud of both institutions, and of their fame abroad. They have added most materially to its right to be known as the Athens of the South. By the consolidation the management will be able to accomplish results unattainable singly. Two schools of first rank have combined to make one of double lustre. Instead of a division of energy in advertising the two institutions, which might leave a doubt in the mind of the prospective patron as to which school to send the girl to be educated, with perhaps a chance for another school in another city to score, the consolidated college will draw with irresistible force from a wide territory."
Rev. Dr. Ira Landrith, clergyman, and president of Ward-Belmont, was born near Milford, Ellis county, Texas, March 23, 1865. His par- ents were Martin Luther and Mary M. (Groves) Landrith, of Scotch- Irish stock. During his youth he attained his education in the public schools, and then was a student in Trinity University of Texas, and later in the Cumberland University at Lebanon, Tennessee, where he was graduated in 1888. During the following year he continued a stu- dent at Lebanon and was graduated in the law department. The degrees conferred upon this well known Tennessee educator were B. S. in 1888, LL. B. in 1889, LL. D. in 1903 and D. D. in 1904.
Dr. Landrith has spent nearly all his career in educational work, and has enjoyed numerous honors and distinctions in the educational and religious world apart from his most satisfying achievements as head of the two great woman's colleges which have been recently consolidated largely through his own influence and active efforts. He is an ordained
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minister of the Presbyterian church in the U. S. A., and in 1903-04 was general secretary of the Religious Education Association at Chicago. He was general secretary of the Presbyterian Brotherhood of America in 1908-09 and was editorial secretary of the Presbyterian Brotherhood in 1909-1910. He was moderator of the last General Assembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian church before its union with the Presbyterian church. From 1890 to 1903 he was editor of the Cumber- land Presbyterian. In June, 1912, after eight years as president of Bel- mont College, he resigned and became president of Ward Seminary. Dr. Landrith was married in 1890 to Miss Harriet G. Grannis. He is affiliated with the Knights Templar in Masonry and with the Knights of Pythias.
ALFRED A. ADAMS. This prominent lawyer and business man of Lebanon and leader in the public life of Wilson county is one of the foremost and forceful men of Tennessee. Early he set for himself high and worthy aims in life and how earnestly and successfully he has endeavored to live up to them is shown in the progress of his career.
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