USA > Tennessee > Davidson County > History of Davidson County, Tennessee, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 128
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Mrs. Chilton was born at Lost Mound, Ill .; lost her mother when but five years of age; removed soon after to Galena, where she attended the grammar-school until fifteen, when she was sent to Rock River Seminary, and there com- pleted her education at the age of eighteen. As a school- girl she was distinguished for her poetical compositions, fre- quently writing her essays in verse.
For several years she was editress of the Temperance Monthly, a magazine published in Nashville.
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A. JACKSON.
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M. M. Houten
ELDER WILLIAM R. HOOTEN, son of John and Mary (Reeves) Hooten, was born in Grayson Co., Va., Feb. 13, 1806. Elijah Hooten, his grand- father, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and was present at the surrender of Cornwallis at York- town. At the close of the war he settled as a farmer in Virginia, and became the father of a family of seven sons and three daughters. Elijah died in Tennessee.
John H. Hooten, his second son, emigrated to Ten- nessee about the year 1811, settling in Giles County. He remained here a few years, and then moved to Warren Co., Ky., afterwards returning to Bedford Co., Tenn., and finally settling in Marshall County, where he died at the advanced age of seventy-five.
He was married to Miss Mary Reeves, by whom he had eleven children,-seven sons and four daugh- ters.
William R. Hooten was the second son. His education was such as the common school of his day afforded. He began to preach at the age of twenty- one, having " obeyed the call" at a very tender age. He was ordained minister of the Christian Church in 1829; is a man of fine native ability and of great executive talent. He preached, and built up churches
in various States. He was ordained in Hickman Co., Tenn., subsequently preaching for two years in West Tennessee. He preached at various times in Alabama, Indiana, Illinois, and Georgia.
In the spring of 1836 he settled on the South Harpeth, in the Fourteenth Civil District of David- son Co., Tenn.
Elder William Reeves Hooten is in many respects a remarkable man; of humble parentage, without education of a high order, by the force of his in- dividuality and superior qualities of his mind he has won his way from obscurity to high favor in the hearts of his parishioners, and in the affections of the community in which he lives. He has during his long career of over fifty years as a preacher re fused to receive any salary for his services.
He has preached at South Harpeth, Hannah's Ford, and Sand Creek, but the principal place ni worship was at Providence, until the edifice w> burned. He was married June 28, 1838, to Mary S. Berry.
In 1846 he settled on some two hundred an! twenty-five acres of beautiful land, where he has since resided.
In politics Mr. Hooten is a Jacksonian Democrat.
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BIOGRAPHIES.
Three children were born of this marriage,-Alberta, Johnetta, and James Andrew, of whom only Alberta sur- vives, who is rapidly coming into notice as a poetess.
On the 3d of March, 1864, Mrs. Emilie C. Chilton died, while the Federal forces were in possession of Nash- ville, aged twenty-six years. The death of this estimable lady deprives us of a notice of her poems, which have never been published collectively, but many of which have been copied in foreign papers. As it is possible that her poetical works may be collected into book-form, we can say that it would be an admirable addition to our home literature.
The following piece is a production of Mrs. Emilie C. Chilton :
THE WRENS IN THE LOCUST-TREE.
I know of a nest which the wild birds built That you cannot reach, 'tis so high, For the tree is strong, and the thorns are sharp, And the branches are flouting the sky.
The birds sit there and swing in the air, And warble a song to me,
And the notes come sweet to my lone retreat From the wrens in the old locust-tree.
I know of a nest which the wild birds built : I watched as they carried the moss, And the little dry sticks and tender twigs, And so cunningly wove them across; "Twas a curious thing, those birds in the spring Were busy as busy could be, Hiding day after day that wee nest away 'Mid the thorns in the old locust-tree.
I know of a nest which the wild birds built, And they sing to the soft summer air
How the leaves will come out and shade us about, And hide all our eggs lying there.
And then, by and by, when the sun warms the sky, . Some sweet little nestlings there'll be,
To flutter and hop from our home to the top Of this shadowy old locust-tree.
I know of a nest which the wild birds built, And I sit by my window and look,
While very, very slow does my needle go, And closed is my favorite book. The birds' sweet lay keeps me dreaming away Of how happy we all shall be,
They away up above, and I and my love Down here 'neath the old locust-tree.
Mr. J. A. Chilton is above medium in size, fair com- plexion, and blue eyes. He has pleasant, winning manners, and is an object of the warmest affection of his neighbors, and especially is he the friend of children. He makes his home at all times happy, and exerts the same influence over the entire neighborhood.
While Mr. Chilton claims to be only a carpenter and house-builder, and repudiates the idea of an architect, his immediate neighborhood and many other portions of Nash- ville present residences, both large and small, of his design- ing which are universally spoken of as models of neatness, beauty, and elegance.
It is probable that two persons were never united in mar- riage better calculated to make each other happy than Mr. and Mrs. Chilton.
HON. A. J. DONELSON.
Hon. A. J. Donelson. the second son of Samuel Donel- son, was born in Sumner Co., Tenn., on the 25th of August, 1799. His eldest brother, John, died in 1817, soon after the Creek war, in which he served as a soldier under Gen. Jackson. His younger brother, Daniel L., was a brigadier- general, and died in the Confederate service. Their father, Samuel Donelson, died when they were quite young. He was a lawyer by profession, and the intimate friend and associate of Andrew Jackson, after whom he named his son Andrew. Their mother, the only daughter of Gen. Daniel Smith, was a Virginian by birth, and one of the surveyors of the boundary-line between Virginia and North Carolina. He also succeeded Andrew Jackson in the United States Senate in 1798, was secretary of the Territory of Tennessee, and a member of the national convention of 1796.
Becoming a widow, Mrs. Donelson subsequently wedded Mr. James Saunders, of Sumner Co., Tenn., by whom she had several children. Upon this second marriage of his mother, A. J. Donelson, then quite young, was taken into the family of Gen. Jackson, where he remained until he entered Cumberland College. After completing the pre- scribed course here in 1816, Gen. Jackson procured him an appointment at West Point in the first class, under Gen. Thayer, finishing the course in three instead of four years. He graduated second in a class of great merit. He was immediately commissioned in the engineer corps and ordered to the frontier, but upon the application of Gen. Jackson he was appointed his aidc-de-camp, in which position he served throughout the Florida campaign and until Jackson resigned his commission in the army. He now turned his attention to the study of law at Transylvania University. Receiving his license, in 1823 he appeared at the bar of Nashville in partnership with Mr. - Duncan. His sense of gratitude, however, outweighed his own ambition, and he again entered the service of his guardian and pro- tector, and weut on to Washington with him in 1824, when Adams, although Jackson had the larger popular vote, was elected. During the succeeding four years he lived at Tulip Grove, near the Hermitage, in the mean time having married Emily, youngest daughter of Capt. John Donelson, by whom he had four children, as follows : A. J. Donelson, who graduated at West Point, and who served as lieutenant in the United States Corps of Engineers until, from ex- posure in performance of duty, he contracted an illness which resulted in his death ; Mary E., relict of Gen. John A. Wilcox, who was member of Congress from Mississippi prior to the late war, and who died in the hall of the Con- federate Congress, at Richmond, Va. Mrs. Wilcox is now in the post-office department at Washington. Capt. John S. Donelson, who had command of the Hickory Rifles, Con- federate service, and who was killed at the battle of Chicka- mauga; Rachel J., widow of Gen. William B. Knox.
After the election in 1828, Jackson made him his private secretary, Mrs. Donelson doing the honors of the White House. In 1836 she died, beloved and regretted by all who had the happiness of her friendship. In 1841 he married Mrs. E. A. Randolph, daughter of James G. Mar- tin, and widow of Lewis Randolph, grandson of Thomas
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HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE.
Jefferson. From this union he had eight children, viz., Daniel S., who was prominent in the Confederate service, occupying the post of inspector-general at the time of the fall of Vicksburg. He was murdered near Memphis in January, 1864. His second son, Martin, is now a pros- perous planter in Mississippi, as is also his third son, W. A., upon his magnificent farm near the Hermitage. Cath- erine, who died in 1868 ; Capt. Vinet Donelson, commander of the Rock City Guards, who is engaged in mercantile pursuits in the city of Nashville; Lewis R., residing at Memphis; Rosa E., deceased; and Andrew J., who farms with his brother, W. A.
At the close of Gen. Jackson's administration, Mr. Don- elson declined office under Van Buren, being anxious for a respite from public affairs to enjoy the pleasures of his farm, upon which he remained until he was unexpectedly called to take part in the negotiation which brought Texas into the Union. The commission appointing Mr. Donelson minister to Texas is dated Sept. 16, 1844. Mr. Calhoun, then Secretary of State, in the letter inclosing the com- mission, says, " The state of things in Texas is such as to require that the place (charge d'affaires) should be filled without delay, and by one who under all circumstances is thought best calculated to bring to a successful decision the great question of annexation pending before the two coun- tries. After full deliberation, you have been selected as that individual, and I trust, my dear sir, that you will not decline the appointment, however great may be the per- sonal sacrifice of accepting. That great question must be decided in the next two or three months, and whether it shall be favorable or not will depend on him who shall fill the mission now tendered to you. I need not tell you how much depends on its decision for weal or woe to our coun- try, and perhaps the whole continent. It is sufficient to say that, viewed in all its consequences, it is one of the first magnitude, and that it gives an importance to the mission at this time that raises it to the level with the highest in the gift of the government. Assuming, there- fore, that you will not decline the appointment unless some insuperable difficulty should interpose, and in order to avoid delay, a commission, with all the necessary papers, is here- with transmitted without the formality of awaiting your acceptance."
Mr. Donelson was absent when the messenger arrived, but on his return he accepted the delicate trust, reaching Galveston on the 16th of October, 1844.
That his charge was worked by signal ability has been conceded by those who have read that portion of the cor- respondence growing out of it, all of which has been pub- lished.
Having secured the basis of annexation, he closed his cor- respondence and returned home very feeble in health from the effects of a malignant fever which prevailed at that time in Texas. He was afterwards made minister to Prussia till the close of Mr. Polk's administration. He also repre- sented the government at the federal court of Germany, and for some time discharged the duties of both positions. He was afterwards transferred entirely to the German mis- sion, in which he was continued under Taylor's administra- tion until the German mission was abolished.
He was a delegate to the Southern Convention at Nash- ville in 1850. Standing almost alone, he boldly denounced its course as looking to the dissolution of the Union. On the 18th of April, 1851, he succeeded Mr. Ritchie on the Washington Union, which he conducted with ability.
In 1856 he was nominated on the ticket with Mr. Fill- more, and received one hundred and eighty-one votes out of two hundred and five cast.
The late war found him and family in Memphis, and on being asked to unsheathe the sword of " Old Hickory," he replied, " Only under the old flag." Very much overcome by the misfortunes of the war, he died in Memphis on the 26th of June, 1871. Genial, frank, bold, and above dis- guise, a man of patriotic mould, belonging to a purer and better age, was the Hon. A. J. Donelson.
DR. DAVID F. BANKS.
Dr. David F. Banks was born Aug. 11, 1852, in Jeffer- son Co., Ky. He was the fourth son of Henry B. and
DR. DAVID F. BANKS.
Julia C. Banks. Henry B. Banks was a merchant in Louisville for many years; at the time of his death, however, he was engaged in speculation in produce.
Dr. David F. Banks' early life was spent principally in Kentucky attending school, and where he enjoyed adran- tages of both common school and academy. At the age of twenty-two he began the study of medicine with Dr. C. P. Mowman, of Charleston, Mo., remaining with him about three years, when he entered the University of Nashville and Vanderbilt, taking two courses of lectures in the Medical Department. Graduating Feb. 26, 1880, he resumed the practice of medicine in District Twenty-five, Davidson. Tenn., having previously practiced there for two years July 12, 1877, he was married to Adeline, second daughter of O. A. Simpkins, of Davidson Co., Tenn. One child has been born to them,-viz., Beecher,-who died July 5, 1878.
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MRS. W. B. HUDSON.
W. B. HUDSON.
WASHINGTON B. ! HUDSON
is descended from English ancestry who came to this country at a very early day and settled in Vir- ginia, where two of them remained, while one re- moved to New York and settled on the Hudson River.
Of the two remaining in Virginia, from one, Reu- ben, is descended the subject of this sketch.
Joshua Hudson, grandfather of Washington, lived in Amherst Co., Va., and was a wealthy and influ- ential farmer, the owner of much land and many slaves, and was killed by the falling of a tree. He was a soldier in the war of 1812.
Aratia Hudson was his only son, who at the age of twenty-one married a Miss Banks, of Garrard Co., Ky. Their children were Joshua, James, Washington B., Dr. Lynn B., Nancy, Isaiah B., Reuben, Melvina, Commodore Perry, and Mary Louisa.
Washington B. Hudson was born July 3, 1813, in Garrard Co., Ky., on Sugar Creek. His boyhood and early manhood were spent at home. Aug. 26, 1833, he was married to Miss Louisa Marksbury,
youngest daughter of Isaac Marksbury, a prominent man in his day. He was magistrate of the court for more than twenty years, a man noted for his many good qualities of head and heart, and an active and efficient member of the Christian Church.
The children of W. B. and L. M. Hudson have been William D., Aratia, Isaac M., James, Mollie Lynn, Clayton A., Allie, and Thomas J.
Washington B. Hudson after his marriage en- gaged in farming on his own account. In 1848 he came to Davidson Co., Tenn., and settled on the farm he now occupies, purchasing it from Dr. James Overton. His original purchase was five hundred and fifty-four acres, to which, however, he added from time to time until his farm comprised eight hundred acres of excellent land, three hundred acres of which he still retains, the rest having been ap- portioned to his children on their marriage.
Mr. and Mrs. Hudson are members of the Chris- tian Church, a pretty edifice of which stands at the foot of the lane leading to their house, Mr. Hudson bearing the principal part of the cost of its erection.
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RESIDENCE OF MAS N. B. HUDSON. 19Th DIST. DAVIDSON CO. TENN.
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BIOGRAPHIES.
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GEORGE THOMAS NELSON .*
George Thomas Nelson was born June 16, 1836, in Fauquier Co., Va., and came to Tennessee with his parents in 1853, and settled at Neeiy's Bend. It is meet, in view of his standing in the community and of the stirring times which in his young manhood he met and passed through, that a friend should take note of his departure and give this resume of his life.
Enlisting in April, 1861, he was made an officer in Com- pany C, Second Tennessee Regiment, commanded by Col. W. B. Bates, and in the latter part of said month left with his regiment, destined to play no small part in the forth- coming drama of war, for his native hills. After a year campaigning in Virginia he came West with his regiment, and in the latter part of 1862 was connected with the cavalry, commanded by Col. (afterwards Maj .- Gen.) Whar- ton. This command was noted for its fighting qualities, and won for its leader promotion on the retreat of Bragg's army from Kentucky, and covered itself with honor dur- ing the noted campaigns of Tennessee, Georgia, and the Carolinas. His immediate company was attached to the headquarters of Gen. Wharton, performing scout and other duties for him, and will be remembered by the members of that command as the " Cedar Snags." On the memorable Georgia campaign it was detached and assigned to the head- quarters of Gen. Hood, and performed the responsible duties of their position with signal courage and fidelity, winning the plaudit of " Well done, good and faithful soldiers!" Dur- ing all these trying scenes George Thomas Nelson bore him-
self a brave and courageous man. At the close of the war he returned to his home, and soon showed that he could participate in victories on other fields, for peace hath her victories no less renowned than those of war.
With a mind endowed by nature and strengthened by no small acquirements, with a memory tenacious and stored with a fund of pointed and illustrative anecdote, with a wit sparkling and bright, and which he " often brought to turn agreeably some proper thought," he might have entered the list and won distinction in any profession. But being en- amored of country life, and holding in love of nature com- munion with her invisible forms, he preferred the quiet life of a farmer. By energy, talent, and tact he dignified his calling, and with early and late rains gathered plenteous harvests, and with coming years enlarged his boundaries and increased his stores. His belief was that farming success- fully deserved and required the exercise of those higher faculties that give success in other departments of life.
In the prime of manhood he who had escaped so many dangers of fire and flood was suddenly cut down. Wife and children are suddenly bereft when all around is promise and hope beckoningly on. Truly, the ways of Providence are past finding out, and scem dark and mysterious to human ken.
Dec. 24, 1868, he was married to Mary L., eldest daugh- ter of W. B. Hudson. The issue of this union was three children,-namely, George T., Percy L., and Addison H.
George Thomas Nelson died at his home in Davidson County, July 24, 1877, from injuries received while per- forming some work at his barn.
. Nashville Daily Banner.
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HISTORY OF DAVIDSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE.
WILLIAM H. WOODRUFF.
William H. Woodruff, third son of C. E. and Elizabeth (Patten) Woodruff, was born in Nashville, Dec. 24, 1846. His father was a native of Ohio, coming to Nashville in 1839, having traveled the entire distance from Ohio to
W. H. WOODRUFF.
Middle Tennessee on foot. He engaged ut first as clerk and afterwards as proprietor in mercantile business. A few years since he purchased a farm at Madison Station, some eight miles from Nashville, whither he soon after moved, there combining the business of farmer and mer- chant. This business is now owned and conducted by his son William.
William H. Woodruff, at the age of sixteen, began rail- roading as a newsboy on the Chattanooga Railroad trains. This he continued a short time, when he accepted a posi- tion as fireman on the Memphis and Louisville, going from that road to the Edgefield and Kentucky Railroad. He afterwards accepted a position on the Evansville, Hender- son and Nashville Railroad, first as fireman and afterwards as engineer, in which latter capacity he acted for a year and a half.
He was married at the age of twenty-three to Miss Ta- bitha A. Rothrock, of Greenville, Ky., and Cornelia J., Claudia H., Susie, and Mabel G. are their children. In politics Mr. Woodruff is independent.
MAJ. JACOB M. BONDURANT.
Maj. Jacob M. Bondurant was born Feb. 4, 1795, in Buckingham Co., Va. His father was one of three brothers who came to this country from France and set- tled in Virginia at a very early date. He removed with his family to Tennessee while Jacob was very young, set- tling in the Fourth District of Davidson County, on what
has ever since been the Bondurant homestead, now owned by his son Joseph, and originally containing but sixty-four acres, but which Jacob increased before his death to more than eleven hundred acres.
Maj. Bondurant was married, Nov. 17, 1824, to Eliza- beth C. Read, of Sumner County. The children after- wards born to them were Martha, John, Samuel, Elizabeth, Jacob, Jr., Edward P., Joseph R., and Robert L. Maj. Bondurant was a soldier under Jackson in the war of 1812-14, where he acquired the title of major. There is in the possession of one of his sons a letter to the major from Gen. Jackson, instructing him how to proceed to ob- tain payment for a horse lost by the major in fording s stream. The general and major were lifelong neighbors and bosom-friends, their plantations being separated by not more than three miles.
Maj. Jacob M. Bondurant died Dec. 25, 1858.
TIMOTHY DODSON.
Timothy Dodson was born in Halifax Co., Va., on the 14th day of October, 1778. His ancestry was of Scotch- Irish descent. Caleb Dodson, his father, had three brothers, Joshua, Joseph, and Thomas. Caleb, and perhaps his brothers, were Revolutionary soldiers under Washington, following their chieftain in his campaigns throughout the war. It is a family tradition that at the close of hostilities the old soldier had a sufficient number of " one-hundred- dollar" bills, Continental money, to make a coat, yet their value was inadequate to make a purchase of the garment.
Caleb lived and died in Virginia, as probably did his brothers, excepting Joseph, who at one time removed to Davidson Co., Tenn., settling finally in Dixon County, near Charlotte, where he reared a large family of children.
Timothy Dodson resided with his father until fully grown, when he married (1803) Miss Agnes Wilson, by whom he had two children, born in Virginia.
In 1808 he removed to Davidson Co., Tenn., and rented a few acres adjoining the Hermitage. His whole property at this time consisted of one half-grown and two grown negroes. With this help, upon rented property, he began his labors in Tennessee, which were continued with unre- mitting industry and uniform success throughout his life.
His first purchase of landed estate was very small, not more than seventy-five acres, which from time to time were augmented into thousands. Some years from the time of his coming-precise date not known-he returned to Vir- ginia to purchase slaves, conveying his funds, which was all specie, upon a pack-horse. The weight of the money was in excess of the avoirdupois of Mr. Dodson, and it was a relief to the horse that his master should substitute his own weight for that of the pack while making the long, weari- some journey from the Hermitage neighborhood to Halifax Co., Va.
Mr. Dodson was successful throughout life, and before his death had given to each of his sons a fine farm.
Mr. Dodson was a close neighbor and personal friend of President Andrew Jackson, and entertained at his table four
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TIMOTHY DODSON.
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B. F. WAGGONER.
MRS. B. F. WAGGONER.
B. F. WAGGONER.
Benjamin F. Waggoner's grandfather, Christopher Waggoner, was born in North Carolina, coming to Tennessee in 1792, and settling on White's Creek, within three miles of the present residence of Benja- min, where he engaged in farming.
His third son, Cornelius, father of Benjamin, was three years old at the time of his settlement in Ten- nessee.
Cornelius married Elizabeth Hoffman. Their children were six in number,-Athalana, Henry, - Benjamin F., Eliza, Tennessee, and Amanda.
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