USA > Tennessee > Davidson County > Nashville > History of Nashville, Tenn. > Part 61
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The Female Bible and Charitable Society of Nashville was organized May 5, 1817, by the adoption of a Constitution and the election of offi- cers. The motives and objects of the society were set forth in the pre- amble to the Constitution, as follows :
" We whose names are subscribed, taking into consideration the situa- tion of those around us, both with respect to religious information and the temporal wants of many, and reflecting that requests to the throne of grace from us ought to be attended with corresponding exertions, have formed ourselves into a society so that by combination our aid may be rendered more general and more efficient, and have unanimously adopted the following Constitution," etc.
There were eleven Articles to the Constitution, and the officers for 1817 were as follows: Mrs. A. Richardson, First Director; Mrs. S. Robert- son, Second Director; Mrs. N. Ewing, Third Director; Mrs. Julia An- derson, Secretary; Mrs. James Trimble, Treasurer; and Mrs. T. Tal- bot, Mrs. M. Tannehill, Mrs. Felix Grundy, Mrs. S. Cantrell, and Mrs. Josiah Nichol, Managers. The first annual meeting of this society was held at the Methodist meeting-house April 6, 1818, at which time a reor- ganization was effected. The Philadelphia Female Charitable Society had then recently made a donation of Bibles, which the Nashville Soci- ety undertook to distribute to those unable to purchase for themselves, along with religious tracts; and it also endeavored to relieve the indigent and distressed, so far as lay in its power. How long this society was in existence could not be ascertained, but it was followed a few years after-
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ward by the Nashville Bible Society, which was temporarily organized August 25, 1823. A permanent organization was effected on the 30th of the same month, in the Methodist Church. The Hon. John Haywood was made President; Governor William Carroll, General Andrew Jack- son, and Colonel Edward Ward, Vice-presidents; O. B. Hayes, Corre- sponding Secretary; Benjamin Litten, Recording Secretary; and John Sommerville, Treasurer. There were sixteen directors of the most prom- inent men of Nashville. Hon. John Haywood delivered an address on the incomparable value and beauty of the Bible, and argued that as it had originated in the Divine mind so it had been preserved by the Divine arm. Nathaniel Cross was Secretary of this society from 1829 to 1854; and then President until his death, in 1866. Dr. A. G. Goodlett was Vice- president until his death, in 1866. In January, 1867, A. G. Adams be- came President; Joseph S. Carels, Secretary; and Anson Nelson, Treas- urer. The present officers are: Rev. O. P. Fitzgerald, President; city pastors, Vice-presidents ; A. G. Adams, Treasurer; and Frank Slemons, Secretary.
The Tennessee Antiquarian Society was organized October 21, 1819, by the election of the following officers: John Haywood, President; Rev. William Hume, Vice-president; Ira Ingram, Treasurer; Francis B. Fogg, Corresponding Secretary; Wilkins Tannehill, Recording Secretary; and R. E. W. Earl, Librarian. The principal objects of this society were to collect from the most authentic sources all the phenomena, relics, antiqui- ties, and organic remains which might reflect light upon the zoology and geology of the Western country; the government, laws, customs, man- ners, religion, science, and civilization of the ancient inhabitants; and . collect authentic accounts of the early settlement of Tennessee ; what hos- tile expeditions were carried on, with all their circumstances; what in- roads were made upon the early settlements of the whites by the Indians, the means employed to repel them, and who were the principal actors and survivors, etc.
Such were the ambitious purposes of the society. It did not long ex- ist, however-probably because its duties, if well performed, were labo- rious; because the results of their labors were appreciated by but few, and by even those few unrewarded. Some time after it had ceased to exist a number of public-spirited citizens met in the library-rooms of the Merchants' Association, to reorganize an historical society. The organ- ization was effected in May, 1849, by the election of Nathaniel Cross. President; A. W. Putnam, Vice-president; William A. Eichbaum, Treasurer; J. R. Eakin, Corresponding Secretary ; and W. F. Cooper. Recording Secretary. This society, like the former, had a brief exist-
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ence, and in May, 1857, was again reorganized by the election of A. W. Putnam, President; Thomas Washington, Vice-president; W. A. Eich- baum, Treasurer; R. J. Meigs, Jr., Corresponding Secretary; Anson Nelson, Recording Secretary; and John Meigs, Librarian. The society was soon the recipient of valuable contributions from all parts of the State, and also from other States; and up to the war its work went on successfully in all directions.
In January, 1860, it received from Egypt, through J. G. Harris, the fine Egyptian mummy now in its possession in the Watkins Institute building. Many of its articles were lost during the war, and for several years active operations ceased. In 1874 it was reorganized by the elec- tion of Dr. J. G. M. Ramsey, President; Dr. R. C. Foster, Vice-presi- dent; Dr. John H. Currey, Treasurer; General G. P. Thruston, Corre- sponding Secretary; Anson Nelson, Recording Secretary; and Mrs. P. Haskell, Librarian. Dr. Ramsey died in 1884, and Judge John M. Lea was elected to the presidency, which position he still retains. At the same time Hon. J. D. Porter was elected Vice-president, serving as such offi- cer until 1888, when he was made Vice-president for West Tennessee. Hon. J. D. Porter was Second Vice-president from 1849 until 1884, when General G. P. Thruston succeeded him, and was followed by A. T. Mc- Neal in 1885, who was succeeded in 1888 by Anson Nelson, who then became Vice-president for Middle Tennessee. At the same time Colonel W. A. Henderson was made Vice-president for East Tennessee. John M. Bass succeeded Anson Nelson in 1888 as Recording Secretary, and is still in that position. General Thruston was succeeded as Correspond- ing Secretary in 1880 by J. A. Cartwright; he by John M. Bass, in 1887; and he by Gen. Thruston, in 1888. Dr. Currey was succeeded as Treas- urer in 1879 by Joseph S. Carels, the present Treasurer. Mrs. Haskell was succeeded as Librarian by Dr. J. Berrien Lindsley; he by R. T. Quarles, in 1881; and he by Joseph F. Carels, the present Librarian, in 1886.
The last annual meeting of the Tennessee Historical Society was held May 13, 1890, at Watkins Institute, and the following officers elected : President, Judge John M. Lea; Vice-presidents: Middle Tennessee, An- son Nelson; West Tennessee, Hon. James D. Porter; East Tennessee, Hon. W. A. Henderson; Recording Secretary, John M. Bass; Corre- sponding Secretary, General G. P. Thruston; Treasurer and Librarian, Joseph S. Carels.
The National Jackson Club was organized November 18, 1889. The object of the club is to honor President Andrew Jackson, by an annual meeting in Nashville on January 8. In connection with this annual meet-
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Engraved by Samuel Sartain . Phil" Photo by W.F.armstrong.
John M. Lea.
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ing it is also intended to have speeches by distinguished men and a ban- quet to the guests on the occasion. The first meeting of the club was held January 8, 1890.
The following officers were elected on November 18, 1889: Presi- dent, Hon. A. K. McClure, of Pennsylvania; Vice-president, Hon. Benton McMillin, of Tennessee; Vice-presidents at Large: Hon. J. George Harris, of Tennessee; Hon. J. F. Johnston, of Alabama; Hon. A. S. Colyar, of Tennessee. There were also elected two Vice-presi- dents from each State, one of whom was a Republican and the other a Democrat. The Finance Committee consisted of Colonel E. W. Cole, Dr. William Morrow, C. J. Sykes, E. B. Stahlman, M. Nestor, L. T. Baxter, D. B. Cooper, G. H. Baskette, and J. G. Branch. The Execu- tive Committee was composed of T. T. Wright, General W. H. Jackson, L. D. McCord, E. C. McDowell, A. C. Floyd, and John W. Childress. The Secretary of the club is Laps D. McCord.
One of the most interesting events of recent occurrence in Nashville was the meeting, on November 16, 1889, of the National Prison Reform Association. In order to prepare for the meeting of the Association the local Executive Committee held a meeting, November 6, in the rooms of the Commercial Club, at which there were present: Dr. J. D. Plunket, Dr. J. Berrien Lindsley, General G. P. Thruston, Hon. M. F. House, J. W. Allen, A. L. Landis, Jr., J. L. Pearcy, Rev. Dr. C. D. Elliott, Mrs. Nat Baxter, and Mrs. Duncan R. Dorris. Arrangements were made at this time for the meeting of the Association. On the 13th of the month the Ladies' Hermitage Association held a meeting to perfect ar- rangements for the entertainment of the members of the Prison Associa- tion. At this meeting the following persons were present: Mrs. Nat Baxter, Mrs. M. C. Goodlett, Dr. and Mrs. J. M. Safford, Mrs. A. S. Colyar, Mrs. Wright, Mrs. Henry Clark, Mrs. H. M. Pierce, Mrs. D. R. Dorris, Mrs. Isaac Reese, Mrs. W. K. Miller, and Mrs. W. L. Hicks. Committees were appointed: On refreshments; on excursion to the " Hermitage;" to decorate Watkins Hall; to prepare flags, and to assist in decorating Watkins Hall.
The Board of Directors of the Prison Association held a meeting at the Maxwell House on the evening of the 15th, at 7: 30 o'clock. At this meeting Ex-president R. B. Hayes, as President of the Association, pre- sided. On Saturday evening (the 16th) a large meeting was held in Amusement Hall, on Broad Street. The following gentlemen occupied seats on the platform : Ex-president R. B. Hayes, President, and Dr. F. H. Wines, Secretary, of the National Prison Association; Governor R. L. Taylor, General John F. Wheless, Judge H. H. Lurton, Colonel A.
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S. Colyar, General G. P. Thruston, Dr. J. M. Safford, Mr. R. A. Camp- bell, Dr. J. D. Plunket, Judge Nat Baxter, Senator W. B. Bate, Dr. J. H. Blanks, Prof. W. M. Baskervill, Dr. R. A. Young, Chancellor W. H. Payne, Dr. C. F. Smith, Superintendent Z. H. Brown, Dr. N. D. Rich- ardson, Mr. A. B. Tavel, Prof. W. R. Garrett, Prof. B. B. Penfield, Captain J. L. Pearcy, and Judge James Whitworth.
Governor R. L. Taylor delivered a short address of welcome, in the course of which he said that so long as he remained Governor no child should be sent to the penitentiary, an announcement which was received with applause. Ex-president Hayes then delivered the annual address of the President of the Association, which was warmly received, and its strong points were given the applause of approval. Among many other things that were worthy of remembrance he said that a lack of popular confidence in the fairness and justice of criminal trials begets crime. If justice fails in the courts, public sentiment will at least tolerate mobs and lynch law. In these modern days, when wealth has such power, delays in criminal proceedings offer temptations to bribe-giving and bribe-taking, and the administration of justice is corrupted and loses respect. One of the specified objects to which the Prison Association had devoted itself was the improvement of the procedure in the enforcement of criminal laws. The jury system needed wise and extensive modification; and Mr. Hayes suggested that instead of excluding men from the jury because they were intelligent, and had therefore formed an opinion, that should be the principal reason for admitting them to the jury. Then again, in- stead of requiring a unanimous verdict, as is now the case, and which makes it so easy for the jury to disagree by the bribing of one member, it would be much better to require only a majority vote of five-sixths, or even of three-fourths, the judge concurring in the verdict. Many other suggestions were made, but the address was published in full in the American of November 17, and the reader must be referred to that pub- lication for further particulars in this able and interesting address.
The business session of the Association began on Monday morning, the 18th, in the hall of the State House of Representatives. Another meeting was held in the evening at 8 o'clock, in Watkins Hall, at which several papers of great interest were read and discussed. The National Chaplains' Association held a meeting in the morning of the same day, at the Maxwell House, at which religious work in the prison was the prin- cipal subject discussed.
At Watkins Hall, on the evening of November 20, the Association was called to order by Mr. Hayes, and upon the recommendation of the
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Board of Directors the following officers were elected to serve for the year 1889-90:
President: Rutherford B. Hayes.
Vice-presidents: Lieutenant-colonel Thomas F. Barr, U. S. A .; Hon. S. H. Blake, Toronto; General R. Brinkerhoff, Mansfield, O .; Ex- governor Rufus B. Bullock, Atlanta, Ga .; Dr. A. B. Byers, Columbus, O .; John C. Carroll, Little Rock, Ark .; Hon. Gordon E. Cole, St. Paul, Minn .; Rev. T. L. Eliot, Portland, Ore .; H. G. Fisher, Huntingdon, Pa .; Theodore D. Kanouse, Sioux Falls, S. D .; Chariton T. Lewis, New York; General H. B. Lyon, Eddyville, Ky .; James McMillan, De- troit, Mich .; Rev. Myron W. Reed, Omaha, Neb .; Governor Thomas Seay, Montgomery, Ala .; Dr. P. P. Sims, Chattanooga, Tenn .; Hon. T. L. Stevens, Augusta, Me .; Richard Vaux, Philadelphia, Pa .; E. C. Watkins, Ionia, Mich .; Hon. Robert C. Winthrop, Boston, Mass .; and Edwin S. Wright, Allegheny, Pa.
Secretary: Dr. Frederick H. Yines, Springfield, Ill.
Assistant Secretaries : Rev. John L. Milligan, Allegheny, Pa. ; Charles E. Felton, Chicago.
Treasurer: Charles M. Jessup, New York.
A Board of twenty-six Directors was then elected, and the following Executive Committee: Z. R. Brockway, Elmira, N. Y .; John H. Pat- terson, Trenton, N. J .; W. M. F. Round; F. B. Sanborn, Concord, Mass .; Gardner Tufts, Concord, Mass .; and Francis Wayland, New Haven, Conn.
Standing Committees were then appointed : On Criminal Law Reform; on Police; on Prison Discipline; on Discharged Prisoners; and on Juve- nile Reformatory Work.
A resolution was adopted, expressing the desire and hope that the Pres- ident and Congress of the United States would respond to the invitation of the Government of Russia to take part in the deliberations of the In- ternational Penitentiary Commission, which meets in St. Petersburg in 1890, by the appointment of one or more suitable delegates to represent the United States on that occasion.
A resolution was then adopted, thanking all parties in Nashville with whom the members of the Association had come in contact for the many kindnesses and courtesies extended to them, and said: "All of these many kindnesses and attentions have made a deep impression on our hearts; and we now profess our willingness to come to Nashville again as soon and as often as possible, and we hope that the good people may be in part repaid by the results of this meeting hereafter."
CHAPTER XXII.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
A. G. Adams-Nathaniel Baxter-Jere Baxter-Dr. W. T. Briggs-John C. Brown-Dr. J. R. Buist-John C. Burch-Michael Burns-M. R. Cockrill-E. W. Cole-E. G. Eastman -Rev. A. L. P. Green-W. H. Harding-John M. Hill-W. H. Jackson-Edgar Jones- Dr. Philip Lindsley-Dr. T. L. Maddin-Dr. T. Menees-Samuel D. Morgan-William Nichol-E. B. Stahlman-Hiram Vaughn-James C. Warner-Dempsey Weaver-James Whitworth --- T. W. Wrenne.
A DAM GILLESPIE ADAMS, son of David and Jane ( Gillespie ) Adams, was born at the old family homestead near Strabane, Coun- ty Tyrone, Ireland, July 12, 1820. He was of a family of twelve chil- dren, nine sons and three daughters. Their forefathers were originally from Scotland, who settled in the north of Ireland, and are therefore justly called Scotch-Irish, and were of Presbyterian ancestry. At the age of twelve he was placed in a wholesale grocery, grain, and lumber establishment in Strabane, and continued there nearly seven years. In this house he was under good religious and social influence, and as his home was only two miles distant he made visits there every week, so that really he was under the guiding and molding hand of his pious mother during his stay in Strabane. At the age of nineteen, on May 8, 1839, he with a younger brother emigrated to America, sailing from London- derry, and after a passage of thirty days landed in New York. After a week's rest there he proceeded via Philadelphia and Pittsburg to Nash- ville, where he had two brothers and many relatives, arriving at the old Nashville Inn on the Ist of July. He soon secured employment in the wholesale dry goods house of Eakin & Brothers, who had also two retail stores in Shelbyville, where every species of merchandise was sold. To one of these stores he was assigned, and remained there over a year, when the death of one of the Eakin brothers occurred, and one of the stores in Shelbyville was closed. He was then transferred to the wholesale store in Nashville, where he worked his way to the front, and on the Ist of January, 1850, became a partner in the new firm of Eakin & Co. In 1854 Mr. Adams was elected a director in the Union Bank of Tennes- see, and in that position passed with honor through the trying times of the Civil War. In the same year their business having so increased as to require a resident buyer in the East, the senior member of the firm, Thomas Eakin, removed first to Philadelphia and later to New York, leaving Mr. Adams in charge of the store in Nashville. He thus con-
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tinued until in 1859, after a very successful career, the firm was dissolved. For a year it required all of Mr. Adams's time to wind up the old busi- ness, and during this time he started some young men in the wholesale shoe business. At the end of the year he purchased the Eakin store house and went into business more extensively under the firm name of A. G. Adams & Co. The war commencing soon afterward, business was destroyed and the country accounts became almost worthless. Mr. Adams's health not permitting him to enter the army, and business being transacted only by army followers, he removed with his family to New York City, where he remained until the close of the war.
At this juncture his firm owed considerable money, which, on account of their inability to collect debts due them, for reasons above stated, they were unable to pay. His true and tried friend, Thomas Eakin, then a banker in New York City, without any prospect of ever being repaid, generously insisted upon lending him sufficient money for compromising his firm's indebtedness. In 1865 he and his former partners, Thomas Gibson and Robert G. Throne, resumed business in Nashville under the old firm name of A. G. Adams & Co. In a short time they were able to repay their benefactor, and also the principal and interest of the part their creditors had remitted. It was not many years before the large losses caused by the war were more than made good.
In 1876 the firm name was changed to Adams, Throne & Co., and under this style he continued in active business until December 1, 1888, when he retired, leaving his sons, David P. and A. G. Adams, Jr., to succeed him. During the last twenty years of his active life he applied himself closely to his business and made fast friends of his customers. He also took an active part in various other enterprises, especially that of the establishment of the Tennessee Manufacturing Company, of which he was one of the first directors. In 1880 he was elected President of the Equitable Fire Insurance Company, of Nashville, which position he still holds. In 1849 Mr. Adams made a visit to his old home in Ireland, and he made a second visit much later in life-in 1883. On his first re- turn he was strongly urged to remove to New York City, and was again urged to remove there in 1876; but being strongly attached to the noble people of this section, and particularly to this beautiful city, he had re- solved to reside permanently in Nashville. At a public meeting of the citizens of Nashville to take steps to celebrate their centennial, April 24, 1880, Mr. Adams was appointed Chairman of the Committee of Recep- tion, and by virtue of this appointment was made a member of the Board of Directors of the Centennial Commission. At the first meeting of the National Congress of the Scotch-Irish, which was held in Columbia in
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May, 1889, and which was attended by representatives of the race from nearly every State, he was elected Vice-president of the society from Tennessee.
Mr. Adams was baptized in infancy, and at the age of fifteen made a public profession of religion, became a member of the Presbyterian Church, and immediately identified himself with the Sunday-school, to both of which he has ever since been devotedly attached. In 1840, upon coming to Nashville, he joined the First Presbyterian Church. Soon aft- erward Rev. Daniel Barker was invited by the pastor, Rev. Dr. Edgar, to hold a protracted meeting, which lasted three weeks, and it was during this meeting that Mr. Adams resolved anew to devote himself to the cause of religion. In 1842 he was one of two to establish a mission Sun- day-school in the northern part of the city, and was elected its Superin- tendent. This movement resulted in 1843 in the organization of the Second Presbyterian Church, in which Mr. Adams was elected a ruling elder, and served in both these relations until 1862, when he was dis- placed by military order. Before his return to Nashville in 1866 he was elected Superintendent of the Sunday-school of the First Presbyterian Church, and upon his return in April of that year he was elected a ruling elder in that Church, and has held both positions ever since. In 1854 he was elected Treasurer of the Nashville Bible Society, and has held that position to the present time. As one of the oldest elders in the First Presbyterian Church, the session appointed him one of the trustees of the poor fund left by the late John M. Hill in 1870. He was appointed Secretary and Treasurer by the trustees, and holds both positions to the present time. In 1868 he was appointed Chairman of a Committee on Sunday-schools by the Presbytery of Nashville, and he still holds this position. His first report to the Presbytery was sent to the General As- sembly of the Presbyterian Church, and was adopted by the General Assembly as the model to be followed by all the Presbyteries. A new Sunday-school mission was recently undertaken by Miss Martha O'Bryan for the First Presbyterian Church, and on account of Mr. Adams's well- known devotion to the cause of the Church she named it the A. G. Adams Mission. A neat church-building has been erected for it on the corner of Clay and Harding Streets, which has been paid for by him.
Mr. Adams has been twice married-first to Susan Porterfield, daugh- ter of Francis and Melinda Porterfield, May 12, 1846. Mrs. Adams died April 2, 1848. His second wife was Miss Mary Jane Strickler, daughter of Benjamin and Sarah (Eakin) Strickler, of Shelbyville. His second marriage occurred April 19, 1851. By his second wife he has had eight children, five sons and three daughters, all of whom are living
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Nachanel Batten
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except the youngest, Martha Catherine, who died in early life. These children have all been reared and educated in accordance with Mr. and Mrs. Adams's views of religious duty, and all are, like their parents, de- voted members of the Church. Mrs. Adams has always been an effi- cient co-worker with her husband, and much of his success in business and his happiness in the Church and at home is attributable to her watch- ful solicitude and tender care.
NATHANIEL BAXTER was born November 13, 1812, at the narrows of Harpeth River, in what is now Cheatham County. He is of honorable English ancestry, his great-grandfather emigrating to Maryland in the early days of that commonwealth. From there his descendants removed to Virginia and North Carolina, and in the latter State Jeremiah, the father of Nathaniel Baxter, was born in 1777. Jeremiah Baxter removed to Davidson County in 1809, settling near Nashville. In 1811 he re- moved to the Harpeth Narrows, where Nathaniel was born, and died in 1833. In 1831 Nathaniel's parents removed to Maury County, and he attended Jackson College during the years of 1834 and 1835. In 1836 he commenced reading law in the office of Hon. Edward Dillahunty, a sound lawyer and a distinguished judge. In 1836 he enlisted for six months to serve in the Seminole War in Florida. From this war he re- turned in the spring of 1837, and continued his law studies with Judge Dillahunty. In September of the same year he was licensed to practice law, and on January 1, 1838, opened a law office in Columbia, remov- ing, however, May I, to Lewisburg, where he resided until the fall of 1842.
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