USA > Tennessee > Davidson County > Nashville > History of Nashville, Tenn. > Part 64
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So greatly had he distinguished himself and such honor had he con- ferred upon his native State that the Legislature of Tennessee of 1853-54 determined to confer upon him a gold medal as expressive of the estima- tion in which the people of Tennessee held him. The State had never before nor since conferred any such honor upon a civilian. The follow- ing is the act of the Tennessee Legislature :
" Whereas our worthy fellow-citizen, Mark R. Cockrill, has devoted a long life to the advancement and development of our agricultural re- sources and especially to the improvement and perfection of the wool- growing interest, and whereas it is the policy of Tennessee to foster and encourage agricultural pursuits ; therefore,
" Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee, That as a manifestation of our high appreciation of his valuable services and as a testimonial of our regard for his eminent success in his useful and hon- orable labors a gold medal, with a suitable device upon it, be presented to him by the State of Tennessee.
"Resolved further, That a committee of three be appointed to have said medal prepared and present the same."
Acordingly the committee had a beautiful gold medal made and pre- sented it to him in the name of the State. On one side of the medal is
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the coat of arms of Tennessee, and the motto, in Latin: "Peace hath her victories no less than war." On the other side of the medal is the following inscription: "Presented to Mark R. Cockrill by the State of Tennessee as a Testimonial of His Eminent Services in the Promotion of Agricultural Pursuits."
Mr. Cockrill became an acknowledged authority upon all questions re- lating to agriculture and stock-raising. He was a close student and a terse and vigorous writer. His contributions to the press on these sub- jects were everywhere in the United States and Europe copied in the journals of the day with interest and respect. Many of the best essays in the Patent Office Reports are from his pen, and show how highly he was regarded as an authority on any topic he chose to discuss.
To Mr. Cockrill were born ten children, five of whom died young. Five of his children still survive him-viz., Mrs. A. J. Watkins, widow of William E. Watkins; Benjamin F. Cockrill; James R. Cockrill; Mark S. Cockrill; and Henrietta, wife of Albert Ewing.
EDMUND W. COLE was born in Giles County, Tenn., July 19, 1827. His grandparents, on both sides, were prominent people of Virginia, and the male members of the family were participants and officers in the Revolutionary War. His father and mother, Willis W. and Johanna J. Cole, were both Virginians, who went first from that State to Kentucky and afterward came to Tennessee. His father died when he was three months old, leaving his mother with six sons and three daughters, and extremely limited means. Raised a farmer's boy, Edmund Cole worked on his mother's place until eighteen, and had only the ordinary country school facilities during that time, which consisted of a few months in each year, " after the crop was laid by." In 1845, at the age of eighteen, he came to Nashville. Without any acquaintance in the city, he had to rely on his own resources. He commenced his career as clerk in a clothing store at a small salary. Everybody seeing that the young man was bent on success, he had tempting offers from other houses, but stood to the contract with his employer until the year was out. The next year he went into a bookstore on an increased salary, followed by two more years as a clerk in a boot and shoe house. By close application to busi- ness and the interests of his employers he advanced rapidly in position and salary, never being out of employment, and all the time utilizing every spare hour in educating himself for the important and responsible positions he was destined to fill in life. His mother, who was a very pious good Methodist woman, of remarkable mind and settled, solid hab- its, gave to Edmund the best moral culture, and particularly taught him that moral character is the basis of all true success. Hence, following
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the advice of his good old mother, he very soon after reaching Nashville joined the Methodist Church, of which he has been a member about forty-five years, and is now President of the Board of Trustees of Mc- Kendree Church. She advised him also to have decided opinions of his own on all subjects, but always to respect the opinions and rights of oth- ers. Once when an editor asked Mr. Cole the secret of his success in life he replied : "By being faithful to my employers and studying their interests." In early life he made up his mind that he would never have business difficulties and litigations. Making it a rule to always look ahead and have fair understandings with men at the beginning of trans- actions, he never went into a business engagement or enterprise without first asking himself: "Will this be just and fair to everybody?" And believing that a man must have a moral idea in his head and reverence for a superintending Providence, he has made it a rule of conduct to be remarkably particular and exact in every thing he does. Instead of go- ing out "skylarking" of nights with the town boys, young Cole went to his room and read and studied to improve himself. The result was that he never danced a step, never was intoxicated, and never gambled.
In 1849 Edmund Cole was made book-keeper in the Nashville post- office, where he remained two years, and filled the place with such credit that in 1851 he was elected general book-keeper of the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, which laborious position he filled with great satis- faction to the company until 1857, when he was elected Superintendent of the road-a splendid advance in twelve years for a friendless but reso- lute boy! This latter office he held until the war between the States broke out. Fort Donelson fell, Nashville was evacuated, and Mr. Cole, having identified himself with the fortunes of the Confederacy, sent his, family South. After the war they returned to Tennessee, but finding politics and society much changed, he went to Augusta, Ga., in the sum- mer of 1865. In the fall of that year he was elected General Superin- tendent of the Georgia Railroad and Banking Company, which position he resigned in May, 1875. In August, 1868, he was elected President of the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, which position he held without opposition for twelve consecutive years. His success in the management of the affairs of this company is something phenomenal; he added mill- ions to the value of its capital stock. During his administration the Nashville and North-western, McMinnville and Manchester, Winchester and Alabama, and Tennessee Pacific railroads were added to the main line.
Mr. Cole was first to conceive the idea of a grand trunk line under one management, from the West to the Atlantic sea-board, believing such a
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line with a transatlantic line of steamers practicable. With this idea he went to work in 1879, forming his combinations by purchasing the St. Louis and South-eastern railroad from St. Louis to Evansville, having previously purchased the Owensboro and Nashville, and putting under contract the unfinished portion between Evansville and Nashville. He next, with the aid of his own and his friends' stock, bought for his com- pany a controlling interest in the Western and Atlantic railroad from Chattanooga to Atlanta; afterward contracting for his company to lease the Central railroad of Georgia, together with all its branches and leased lines, about one thousand miles, with its splendid steam-ship line. He then had control of two thousand miles of road; but having flanked his rival, the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company, in the West and in the South, that company bought in New York City, in January, 1880, a majority of the stock in the Nashville, Chattanooga, and St. Louis rail- way, and Mr. Cole resigned.
He was for twelve years Vice-president and one of the lessees of the State road of Georgia since 1871, and still holds the latter relation to that road. On May 27, 1880, he was elected President of the East Tennes- see, Virginia, and Georgia Railroad Company, having control also of the Memphis and Charleston railroad. While President of the East Tennes- see, Virginia, and Georgia railroad, he formed in New York the syndi- cate with Mr. George I. Seney and others, by which he extended the line of his road to Meridian, Miss., and to Brunswick, on the Atlantic, and by extending the Knoxville branch to the State line of Kentucky, and by contracts with the Kentucky Central and the Louisville and Nash- ville, secured connections from the West to the Atlantic, via Knoxville and Atlanta. Having large private interests requiring his personal atten- tion, and desiring some recreation after many years of close attention to business, he resigned the presidency of the East Tennessee, Virginia, and Georgia railroad in May, 1882.
Since then Mr. Cole has contributed largely to the prosperity of Nash- ville by the erection of several large business blocks. The one on the corner of Union and Cherry Streets, the Cole building, is considered the handsomest in the South. In the room at the corner of this building, fitted up with all modern improvements, and almost without regard to cost, Mr. Cole inaugurated and opened to public favor, September I, 1883, the American National Bank, with a capital of six hundred thou- sand dollars. The rush to subscribe for stock in his bank was unprece- dented in the history of banking in Nashville. He took the presidency himself, and after managing this financial institution for about six months, with the assistance of his able cashier, he established its credit so high
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that he was enabled to consolidate with it the Third National Bank of Nashville, an old and prosperous institution, well established in public confidence. This permitted him to withdraw from the details of bank- ing, which are not peculiarly tasteful to him. He was mainly instrumental in reorganizing the American National Bank after its consolidation, with a capital of one million dollars, and electing John Kirkman, President, John M. Lea and Edgar Jones, Vice-presidents, and A. W. Harris, Cashier, accepting for himself the place of Chairman of the Executive Committee. This bank has become one of the most important financia institutions in the South. In 1888 the Directors decided to move to Col- lege Street, and Mr. Cole separated from the institution. In 1889 he was mainly instrumental in organizing the Capital City Bank, which is located in the Cole building at the corner of Cherry and Union Streets, and took the Chairmanship of the Executive Committee, with Hon. S. A. Cham- pion as President, and Colonel P. P. Pickard as Cashier. Although this bank has been in operation only about one year, its stock is selling on the market at $1.10.
In the basement of the Cole building, a story absolutely fire-proof, with tiled flooring, elegantly fitted up offices and coupon-rooms, and an enormous burglar and fire proof vault for the public, containing eight hundred safes or apartments for private use, Mr. Cole inaugurated the Safe Deposit, Trust and Banking Company, which has met with phe- nomenal success, and is destined to be a blessing not only to Nashville, but also to the surrounding country. Nothing, however, seems too much for his indomitable will and energy to accomplish. His powers of com- bination are wonderful, and while not neglecting the minutest details his mind seems to grasp readily and with ease and to put together aggregates in harmonious relations that would stagger and confuse most persons.
Mr. Cole was elected at the Tennessee Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in 1886, delegate to the Quadrennial General Conference that met in Richmond, Va., in May, 1886. In that Confer- ence he served on the Committee on Missions, and was elected President of the Board of Missions of the Church for the quadrennium ending May, 1890. In June, 1886, he issued a layman's appeal to the Church in behalf of Missions and missionary work, which was well received and highly complimented by the Church papers. He was elected a member of the General Conference Sunday-school Committee, and was also chosen chairman of the committee to select the place for the next Gen- eral Conference in 1890 and arrange for the same.
At the Tennessee Conference in 1889 Mr. Cole was elected a dele- gate to the General Conference which met at St. Louis in May, 1890.
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As a memorial to his son Randall, who died in October, 1884, before reaching his majority, Mr. Cole bought and presented to the State of Tennessee the valuable property known as the Tennessee Industrial School, situated near the Murfreesboro turnpike, about one and a half miles from Nashville, a short historical sketch of which appears else- where in this volume.
Mr. Cole's personnel is very striking. He is sixty-three years old, of tall, commanding figure, weighs two hundred and twenty-five pounds, and is remarkably well preserved. His manner is grave and polished. He has almost magnetic influence over men, which is in part accounted for by the justness and liberality of his opinions and actions. As an il- lustration of this may be mentioned his opposition to extreme railroad leigislation by the Tennessee Legislature of 1882-83. Contrary to the advice of friends, he stood up against such legislation, and in a most elaborate and exhaustive speech, at the Grand Opera-house in Nashville, February 27, 1883, against the measures of the bill then pending in the Legislature, drew public attention to the matter; and what was known as the caucus railroad commission bill, with plenary powers, was super- seded by one only advisory in terms.
In politics he is a Democrat; in religion, as before stated, a Methodist ; but he is broad-minded and never finds fault with others about either their political or religious views. He is an active and influential member of the State Board of Health and of the Tennessee Historical Society, is a Mason, and a patron of literature, music, and the fine arts. His home, "Terrace Palace," in Nashville, is noted for its elegant hospitality, and fully illustrates within the motto, Salve, over its entrance. It has recently been remodeled and improved, and is now beyond doubt one of the hand- somest and most truly palatial palaces in the South.
Mr. Cole has been twice married: first to Miss Louise McGavock Lytle, daughter of Archibald Lytle, Esq., one of the most prominent citizens of Williamson County, and of an old and distinguished Tennes- see family. Mrs. Louise M. Cole died in 1869, leaving five children.
Mr. Cole has been pecuniarily a very successful man. He is by long odds the largest owner of city property in Nashville, besides having ex- tensive real estate interests elsewhere. At the same time he has been a liberal and public-spirited citizen; there is scarcely one public enterprise, educational, religious, or charitable, in the city built in his time, to which he has not been a contributor.
Mr. Cole was married to Miss Anna V. Russell, of Augusta, Ga., De- cember 24, 1872, and has two children by this marriage. Miss Russell was called the "pride of Georgia," and was considered the most beauti-
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ful and brilliant woman in the State. Her classic beauty, intellectual culture, rare dignity and grace of manner, have excited universal admi- ration, both in this country and in Europe. Those who know Mrs. Cole well say she is possessed of great patience and fortitude. A pen picture of her, drawn by a correspondent from the Greenbrier White Sulphur Springs, says: "She is a magnificent-looking woman, with powdered hair, fair complexion, and eyes soft, with a sheer dreamery of gray tint- ing. She sat surrounded, and was as quiet in manner and as serene in power as a picture from a master."
A recently published sketch of Mr. Cole says: "We risk nothing when we affirm that he is one of the marked men of this age-of the active stirring times in which we live. The make-up of his head, its broad base and crowning elevation, designate him at once as no ordinary man. Its whole exterior indicates an enormous brain power, and thor- oughly poised. He is no dreamer-no wild, incoherent enthusiast. De- liberation, careful, and judicious thought, stamp his brow, while his movements, so steady and uniform, unfold the real character of the man. Breadth of comprehension and a vigorous, determined will are his great resources in traversing the field of destiny into which his qualifications have thrown him. Not perhaps so quick to act as some of his peers, yet as sure and certain when he does act. His stand-point is that of reason, of facts. He seems to adopt the inductive system in reaching conclu- sions. He ascends from parts to the whole, leaving nothing in his rear to interfere with his investigations and their results. Nor has he reached his zenith. There are yet further conquests in store for him."
ELBRIDGE GERRY EASTMAN, one of the principal editors and political leaders of the ante-war period in Tennessee, was born in Bridgewater, N. H., February 27, 1813. He was descended from a highly honorable family in the history of his native State, distinguished for their intelli- gence, patriotism, and high moral worth. His father was named Timo- thy and his mother Abigail (Wilkin) Eastman, and the former was alive at the time of his son's death.
E. G. Eastman was in the main dependent on his own resources for fame and fortune; and having a taste for the printer's trade, he was ap- prenticed to that business. Having learned his trade, he went to Wash- ington to take the position of proof-reader on the Washington Globe, and while thus engaged he was noticed by James K. Polk, then a member of Congress from Tennessee. This was in 1839. Mr. Polk being favora- bly impressed with Mr. Eastman's general intelligence and excellent character, invited him to become a resident of Tennessee; and, accept- ing this invitation, he moved to Knoxville and established the Knoxville
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Argus. While editing this paper he evinced a decided talent for news- paper work, became the leading Democratic editor in East Tennessee, and continued to maintain this rank until Mr. Polk was elected President of the United States. At this time he was offered a position in Washing- ton, and accepted the important office of Third Assistant Auditor of the Treasury, for the purpose of improving his financial condition. His services were, however, soon needed at Nashville, as editor of the Union, and he came here about the first of the year 1847. He then successively filled the positions of editor of the Union, editor of the American, and finally editor of the Union and American, after the consolidation of the two papers, until his death. During his entire editorial career he was noted for the terseness and pungency of his style and for the vigor of his paragraphs. No one, perhaps, was superior to him in this line in the State. His principal forte, however, was the exercise of unerring judg- ment in directing the course of his paper.
But his talents and labors were not limited to editorial work. He was an ardent and devoted friend of the farmer and the mechanic ; and his reports, papers, and suggestions, on subjects in which these two classes were espe- cially interested, were always held in high esteem by them. He was also attached with equal zeal and devotion to the educational interests of the people at large, knowing that only in the education of the people rests the security of Republican institutions and the defense of the people them- selves against such rulers as may be unscrupulous, ambitious, and pow- erful.
He was a man of great candor, fairness, and sincerity. His political principles were matters of conscience. He was what may be called a true Democrat, believing in a plain, republican form of government, which should guard and protect the rights of the people. He was re- markable for the evenness of his temper, his most intimate friends seldom or never having known him to be positively angry; and, while he had dis- likes, he was incapable of malice. As a friend he was confiding, kind, and true. In his domestic relations he was tender and loving beyond ex- pression, and his pride and hope centered in his wife and children.
He died of apoplexy, on the morning of November 23, 1859. On Tuesday, the day before his death, he was observed to be unusually cheerful, which was the more noticeable on account of the sadness with which he had been afflicted for the few days previous, occasioned by the killing of his friend and associate editor, George Gilmer Poindexter, by Allen A. Hall, editor of the Nashville News, on account of certain edito- rial paragraphs in the Union and American. Mr. Eastman's death was almost entirely without warning, he being ill only about an hour before
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he died. His death, following so closely on that of Mr. Poindexter-the latter having been killed on the 18th of the same month-was profoundly felt throughout the entire community. The Legislature of the State, upon hearing of his death, almost immediately adjourned in respect to his mem- ory. The editors and publishers of the city held a meeting in the Me- chanics' Institute, extended their sympathy to the family, and resolved to attend the funeral in a body. The Typographical Union also held a meeting at which they adopted resolutions of a similar import. The two Masonic Lodges then in existence also did the same. The funeral serv- ices were conducted in the First Baptist Church by Revs. Howell and Sehon, after which the remains were taken to the city cemetery, where at the public vault the impressive rites of the Masonic fraternity were per- formed by Charles A. Fuller, Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Tennessee. Thus passed into eternity one who was almost universally respected, admired, and loved for his many noble traits of character.
Mr. Eastman was married October 11, 1838, to Lucy Ann Carr, of Baltimore, Md. They had ten children-six sons and four daughters, of whom five sons and three daughters are still living.
GEORGE GREEN and Judith, his wife, were pioneers in Virginia, Ten- nessee, and Alabama. They were Christian people, of the Methodist faith and of good repute. George Green was a soldier in the Revolu- tionary War, and was one of the immortal nine hundred patriots who con- quered the boasting Ferguson at King's Mountain.
Of this couple was born, in Sevier County, Tenn., June 26, 1806, Rev. ALEXANDER LITTLE PAGE GREEN, D.D., the subject of this sketch. Very early in life he joined the Methodist Church. At eighteen years of ยท age he was licensed to preach, and was admitted on trial into the Tennes- see Conference July 15, 1824. For fifty years he was an itinerant Meth- odist preacher, and died on the fiftieth anniversary of his entrance into the Tennessee Conference, July 15, 1874, at the old family residence on Vine Street, Nashville, then occupied by his son-in-law, Thomas D. Fite.
In early life he was employed by his brother, who was Indian Agent, as an assistant and as interpreter for the traders. He preached to and taught the Cherokees and Creeks with much success, and his association with them made some impression on him. He was fond of outdoor life. As a Methodist preacher he labored diligently and successfully on circuits and districts, in stations and special agencies. Yearly he received his appointment at the Annual Conference, and, as he said, "was a field hand and found himself."
He took high rank in the Church councils, and the polity of the Church
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was largely modeled by his wise and prudent efforts. The litigation be- tween the two great branches of the Methodist Church concerning the common Church property, in the year 1844, was successfully conducted by Dr. Green, and the funds obtained were used in establishing the Pub- lishing House in Nashville. The location of the Publishing House in Nashville is due largely to Dr. Green. By his influence and appeals he secured a strong financial inducement from the business men of the city ; and at the General Conference, when the question was decided, by his arguments, earnest appeals, and well-selected statistics of Nashville's commercial, educational, and geographical facilities, he secured a decis- ion in favor of Nashville, although other cities, of greater population and wealth, were actively competing.
Dr. Green was prominent in all Church work, and especially in the Sunday-school. Whenever the announcement was made that Dr. Green would address the Sunday-school the largest audience-rooms were crowd- ed to their capacities. He was a great favorite with the children, and no one knew better how to instruct and entertain them. He was an original, eloquent, and effective preacher. He was first stationed at Nashville in 1829, where his labors were attended with great success. McKendree Church was finished during his pastorate, in 1833. He was presiding elder of the Nashville District twelve years. A striking word-picture is given of him in the text used by Bishop McTyeire at his funeral (2 Sam .. iii. 38): " Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this. day in Israel?" The daily newspaper headed a long article on the death of Dr. Green " The Fallen Pillar."
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