USA > Tennessee > History of Tennessee from the earliest time to the present : together with an historical and a biographical sketch of from twenty-five to thirty counties of east Tennessee, V.3 > Part 37
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Dr. R. P. Eaton, a prominent farmer and successful practitioner, was born in 1835, in Jefferson County, where he was reared and educated. About 1856 he began the study of medicine, moving in 1858 within the present limits of Loudon County, and in 1865 to his present home, where he has enjoyed a lucrative practice. He began, a poor man, with $4 and little property, but has, by care and application, acquired his present home of 600 fine acres. He represented Knox and Roane Counties in the State Senate, in 1867-63, and at present is one of the board of trustees of the State University. November 13, 1859, he married his present wife. They have had two sons and five daughters. The Eaton fam- ily is of Scotch-Irish origin, and came to this State from Pennsylvania. The paternal grandfather, Robert D .. was a captain, under Jackson, in the war of 1812. He and his wife died in Anderson County. Andrew C., the father, was born in Grainger County, in 1804, and married Susan M. Donaldson, of Jefferson County. Their decease occurred in 1878 and 1880 respectively. Our subject and Ellen C., now Mrs. Boyd (a widow), of this county, are their only children.
J. P. Freeman, a farmer in the Eleventh District, was born in March, 1814, in Roane
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County, addition to Loudon County. He is the youngest of six children of James and Achsa (Pouder) Freeman. The father was born and raised in Roane County. He com- manded Company D, Fourth Tennessee Infantry, in the Mexican war. He was a son of John and Susau (Davis) Freeman. Mr. and Mrs. John Freeman were born and raised in Virginia, and Mrs. Freeman came with her parents to Tennessee in 1812, and Mr. Free- man came to Tennessee some time before that. He served Roane County for many years as County Judge. James Freeman died shortly after he came out of the Mexican war, from a disease contracted while he was in the service. Mrs. Freeman is making ber home with her son, J. P. Freeman. J. P. Freeman received his education in the common schools of Roane County, When seventeen years old he enlisted in Company I. First Tennessee Infantry of the Federal Army, and served until the fall of 1864. He was ser- geant of his company. He was offered the captaincy of his company, and also of a cavalry company, but on account of ill health would not accept. He was thrown upon his own resources when seventeen years old, a poor man, and what he is now worth, was accumulated by his own industry and good management. He now owns 370 acres of land on the Tennessee River, two and one-half miles north of Loudon. He was married in 1868, to Alice E. Malloy. By this union- one child was born -- Alice, now Mrs Kollock. Mrs. Freeman died in 1869. He was married in 1872 to Mrs. Littleton, nee Miss Harvey. By this union seven children have been born: James H., Emerson J., Joseph W., Achsa, Robert S., Frances and Hester. Mr. and Mrs. Freeman are members of the Missionary Baptist Church. Mr. Freeman is assistant clerk. He is independent in politics and cast his first presidential vote for Samuel J. Tilden. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity.
G. W. Hardin, a farmer, was born in 1833, in Knox County, where he continued to live until the fall of 1858. He then traveled through several of the Western States, and located near Springfield, Mo. He returned to Knox County, in March, 1860, and, in 1862, enlisted in Company F, Twenty-sixth Tennessee Infantry (Confederate), and served until he surrendered with Johnston's army. He had an arm shot off at Atlanta, and, with the exception of the time he lay in the hospital because of his wounds, engaged in all the actions in which his company took part. Farming has been his occupation. July 30, 1861, he married Julia C. Winton, a daughter of John W. and Eliza (Browder) Winton, natives of what is now Loudon County. Their children were Oscar J. and Lula B. (deceased). Mrs. Hardin is a Methodist of the Southern Branch. Our subject is a Demo- crat and first voted for Buchanan. HIe is the third of eight children, of Joseph and A. (Calloway) Hardin, the former spending his whole life in Knox County, and the latter a native of Ashe County, N. C., and from her sixteenth year a resident of Knox County. The father was a colonel of militia. Our subject now owns a fine farm of 700 acres, well cultivated, and located on the Union railroad, four miles east of Lenoirs.
C. M. Hotchkiss was born in 1802, in what is now Loudon County. He is the third of six children of Jared and Betsey (Knight) Hotchkiss. Jared Hotchkiss was born and raised in New Haven, Connecticut, and immigrated to Tennessee about 1801. He was a tailor by trade, and during the Revolutionary war assisted in making clothing for the soldiers. He was widely known, and a highly respected citizen. He kept tavern for many years on the Knoxville & Kingston Road. Mr. and Mrs. Jared Hotchkiss were of English descent. Mrs. Hotchkiss was born and raised in New Glasgow, Va., where she married. After his father's death, in 1838, C. M. Hotchkiss began business for himself. and supported his mother until her death in 1842. C. M. Hotchkiss was married in 1833 to Sallie Ann Wyly, a daughter of Harris and Artemus (Taylor) Wyly. Mr. and Mrs. Wyly were born and raised in Virginia, and at a very early day moved to Alabama, where Mrs. Hotchkiss was born in 1811. Mr. Wyly moved his family to Blount County, in 1829. He followed merchandising from the time he became twenty years old until his death in 1841. He served his district as justice of the peace for many years, giving entire satisfaction. Mr. Wyly was of Irish and Mrs. Wyly of English descent. To Mr. and Mrs. Hotchkiss six children have been born: Louisa, now Mrs. Lauderdale; Isabella, who first married John Anderson, and after his death she married John Hill; Sallie, now Mrs. Johnson; Betsey, deceased; Artemus, deceased; Claiborne, deceased. Mr. and Mrs.
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Hotchkiss are members of the Missionary Baptist Church. Mr. Hotchkiss has been & deacon in the church since 1832. Ile is a Democrat in politics and cast his first presiden- tial ticket for a Democratic candidate in 1824. He is a very enthusiastic Christian worker, and a very successful fario manager.
W. E. Huff, a farmer and citizen of Loudon County, was born October 14, 1842, and is a grandson of John. Huff, who was a native of Virginia, and married Mary Yates, a member of a prominent Virginia family. They reared most of their family of three sons and six daughters, in Virginia, then located near the mouth of the Sweetwater, within the present limits of Loudon County. Ile was agent for the King Salt Works, of Virginia, many years, and died in 1830; his widow afterward lived with the children till her death in this vicinity about 1850. Some of the children moved to Texas, some to Missouri, and others to Kentucky; James H., now of Whitfield County, Ga., near the Tennessee State line, being the only survivor. William Yates Huff, one of the sons of John and Mary Huff, and the father of our subject, was born in Virginia in 1809, and in youth came with his parents to this vicinity, and remained at home till the age of maturity, then mar- ried Keziah Tunnell, and located on a farm and followed agricultural pursuits as his general occupation the balance of his life. He served as a Roane County official four- teen years and at the time of his death in 1870 was chairman of the Loudon County Court. His wife (our subject's mother) was a great-granddaughter of William Tunnell, of Spottsylvania County, Va., whose youngest son, Stephen, (grandfather of our subject's mother), was born in 1754 or 1755, near Fredericksburg, Va., and married Keziah Money in 1776, and later located near Jonesboro, Tenn., from where he moved to Sequacbie Valley in 1804, thence to Monroe County, Ky., in 180S, and died there in 1828. William Tunnell (father of subject's mother and grandfather of our subject) was born in 1780, and was the second of eleven children born to Stephen and Keziah Tunnell. He was among the first settlers of the Hiwassee Purchase, and entered the land now owned by Loudon's old citizen, T. J. Mason, where he lived, and died in 1846. He (William Tunnell) reared a large family, our subject's mother, Keziah, being the eldest. Her death occurred in 1866. Two sons and six daughters formed the family of Willam Yates Huff, our subject being the youngest son and fifth child. In 1876 our subject married Rachel A. Johnston, who was born and reared on the farm where they now reside, which contains 325 acres. Mr. Huff also owns another tract in the county. To the above marriage six children have been born, three now deceased.
J. B. Jackson, a farmer, was born in Roane County, Tenn., in 1830. The grand- father left Virginia and became a permanent resident of Washington County, Tenn. Josiah J. Jackson, the father, was born in that county, Christmas day, 1800, and grew to manhood on the farm, living with his mother and step-father. He married Mary Browder, a native of North Carolina, who had come in childhood to Tennessee, where they located at the site of Lenoir's, Loudon County. Josiah continued farming in Roane County after his marriage, then for seven years lived in Monroe County, and finally moved to Blount County, where he died January 17, 1877, and his wife November 5, 1886, at eighty-eight years of age. Our subject remained with his parents until thirty years old, and then married Sarah Keen, a native of Loudon, formerly a part of Blount County. He then followed farming. Their children were Susanna Frances (deceased), Adria R., Lee, William Keen and Josie H.
Capt. James Lackey (deceased) was a prominent citizen of Roane (now Loudon) County, and was born in Virginia, from which State he came to Blount County when a young man, and afterward located where his parents died. He married Jane Mat- lock, also of Virginia. He served in the war of 1812, and for many years was deputy sheriff of Roane County. He died in 1875, in his eighty-ninth year. His widow still resides on the old farm. Of five sons and one daughter reared to maturity, three sons are still living: Samuel, Jackson and James. One son, William, was captain of the Nineteenth Tennessee (Confederate), and fell at Chickamauga. Samuel was on post duty in the same regiment until the close of the war; and Jackson served as private throughout the war. James enlisted, but was discharged on account of dis-
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abilities. Capt. James Lackey was an active Whig prior to the war. He was a mem. ber of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and became wealthy before his death.
B. B. Lenoir, M. D., of Lenoir's Station, was born March 5, 1821, in his present locality. He graduated as B. A. from East Tennessee University (now the University of Tennessee) in 1842. He took a course of medical lectures at Charleston, S. C., and completed his course at Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, where he graduated in 1846. He has since practiced medicine in his present location, and with eminent success. November 27, 1855, he married Henrietta R., daughter of Dr. J. G. M. Ramsey, author of the " Annals of Tennessee." Their children were James R. (deceased), William B., Charles B. (deceased) and Henry R. She died May 25, 1864. May 14, 1872, he married Margaret V., daughter of John Siler, of Macon County, N. C. Their children were an, infant daughter (deceased), John S., Mary E., Benjamin B., Louisa C. and Mira F. Our sub- ject is the tenth of twelve children of William B. and Elizabeth (Avery) Lenoir, natives of Wilkes and Burke Counties, N. C. In 1810, after their marriage, the parents moved to thepresent location of Lenoir's Station. William, the grandfather, was born in Bruns- wick County, Va., and when a child went to North Carolina. He was in several expeditions against the Indians. He was first lieutenant under Col. Cleveland, and volunteered as a private in a forced march to overtake Ferguson at King's Mountain. After the Revolu- tion he was a general of militia, and by the first convention which passed the constitution of North Carolina, he was appointed justice of the peace, and also by the first General Assembly convened under that constitution. He served many years in both branches of the Legislature, being president of the Senate during his last term. He was clerk of the county court two years, and the first president of the trustees of the University of North Carolina. William B., the father, was a justice of the peace for several years, and a farmer. In 1877 the Lenoir Manufacturing Company was chartered by the Legislature of Tennessee. The company owns 3,000 acres of land, of which about 1.000 are in cultivation; a flouring-mill of 150 barrels capacity, using the roller process; a cotton factory, making cotton yarns and batting, and a large general store. Dr. Lenoir is president of the comt- pany, etc.
Thomas Jefferson Mason, an old pioneer citizen of Loudon, was born in Roane County, December 1, 1806. Daniel Mason, the father, came to a fort within the present limits of Roane County when a lad. from the Potomac River, in either Virginia or Mary- land. He became the second husband of Mary Gillard nee Brashear. They followed agricultural pursuits within the present limits of Roane County till their death. He was in the war of 1812, and died in 1840. His first wife, the mother of our subject, died in 1819, and our subject's father, afterward married Patsey Hicks, who outlived him, and was the mother of ten children. Our subject is the only survivor of a family of six chil- dren, he being the youngest of three sons. The immediate subject of this sketch remained at home till about eighteen years of age, then began flat-boating on the Ten- nessee and Mississippi Rivers, which he continued for twenty-five years, part of the time for himself and part as a hired hand of other parties. During this time he spent twenty months in the United States service as second-lieutenant, assisting in the removal of the Cherokee Indians. In 1845 he married Eliza S. Kerr, a native of Sullivan County, and after quitting the river trade, in 1851, purchased and located, in 1852, upon the farm where he has since resided. He was elected to the Legislature in 1865, serving until 1869, being ' in the session at the time of President Lincoln's assassination. In 1876 he was elected Lou- don County trustee, and served about a year and then resigned. He received a commis- sion from Gov. Hawkins to serve as railroad tax assessor for the eastern division of Ten- nessee, serving in that capacity two years. Mrs. Mason is a lady ten years younger than our subject, and has become the mother of three sons and four daughters-one son and three daughters still living. Thomas Jefferson, the surviving son, graduated at the Uni- versity of Tennessee, (he was born in August, 1863) Mary, the eldest surviving daughter, is a graduate of the Athens University (Grant Memorial University), and is now teaching in Chattanooga. Elizabeth Eliza, second surviving daughter, is a graduate of Mary Sharp's College at Winchester, Tenn., and is the wife of E. P. McQueen, a prominent attor-
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ney of London. Martha Ellen, the youngest surviving daughter, is also a graduate of Mary Sharp's College. Mr. Mason and family are members of church, part belonging to the Cumberland Presbyterian, and part to the Methodist Church.
John W. Robinson, a prominent citizen of Loudon County, was born in the same locality, January 17, 1829, and is a son of Thomas Robinson, born near the James River, Virginia, May 10, 1789, of Irish stock. He moved to Hawkins County, Tenn., about the time of the war of 1812. in which he participated. Here he married Sarah King, July 28, 1811, and with his brothers, John W. and James, located in the vicinity where Loudon now stands, about 1822, there following agricultural pursuits until his death, July 22, 1864. His wife was a native of Kentucky, born December 28, 1788, and a daugh- ter of Robert King, an officer of the United States service, who built the block house near where Kingston now stands. Her death occurred on May 7, 1865. Three sons and six daughters constitute the family of Thomas Robinson, namely: James R., who married a Miss Sarah Smith, and now resides in Loudon County; Fanny, who married Samuel Lane, and now resides in Missouri; Elizabeth (deceased in 1858); Susan, afterward Mrs. Mayo, and after her husband's death, became Mrs. Lewis, but deceased in 1886: Nancy, (deceased in 1865), wife of James C. Haskins; Mary, now Mrs. E. D. Robinson, of Loudon County; Minerva, now Mrs. W. Robinson, of Monroe County; John W., our subject, and Robert King (deceased in 1879), he served three years in the Rebellion, in the First Tennessee Regiment, United States army. John W., is a mill- wright and carpenter, and has always lived in the vicinity of Loudon. He also owns a farm on the Tennessee River, and one of the best custom flouring mills in the county. In 1853 he married Mary M. Smith, a native of Roane County, born in 1834, and a sister of the wife of James R. They have seven sons and three daughters. Our subject is a school commissioner, and after six years service as justice, in Roane County, was appointed by the Legislature one of the commissioners to lay out and organize the county of Loudon. [See Acts 18:0]. The county was first named Christianna. He has served in the same capacity, in this county, twelve years. He is a Mason. The family are members of the church.
Judge S. A. Rodgers, of the circuit court, was born March 5, 1830, in Knox County, Tenn. Joseph R., the grandfather, was born in Ireland, and, before the Revolution, came in his youth to America, and afterward located in Knox County, Tenn. He married Elizabeth Donaldson, a native of Jefferson County, and they spent their lives in Knox County. She was a native of Scotland. The father, William, spent his whole life in Knox County, and died January 29, 1866, aged about seventy-two years. He was a farmer and lumber dealer. His wife, Mahala (Low), a native of Knox County, died January 8. 1873, aged seventy-four. She was of Dutch-English ancestry, and was reared near a fort at Low's Ferry. Knox County. Our subject, the sixth of six sons and one daughter, a brother only being deceased, was reared on a farm in Knox County, and received free school advantages, until eighteen years of age, then, after, three years in Ewing and Jefferson Col- lege, Blount County, he went to California about the winter of 1851-52, and for two years engaged in mining, to secure funds to complete his education. He then returned to Knox County, and remained on the farm, teaching and studying, until 1855, when he entered the Cumberland University, remaining until 1858, when he graduated. He then remained at home studying law, under Judge Baxter and Hon. O. P. Temple, of Knoxville, and was admitted November 12, 1859, his papers being signed by Judges Brown and Van Dyke. He remained in Knoxville as a partner of O. P. Temple, till the court was closed by war. He took no part in the struggles of the times. He afterward practiced with Judge Temple, in Knoxville, until 1881, then went to California, an account of his wife's health; July 4, 1869, he returned and located at Loudon, in the practice of law, where he has since resided. In 1878 he was elected circuit judge, and re-elected in August, 1886. May 10, 1863, he married Sarah E. Rhea, a native of Roane County, and of a Scotch family that settled in Sullivan County. The Rhea family are all earnest Presbyterians. 'Their two sons and five daughters are all living. Our subject has three brothers residing in California, and one in Knox County. The deceased brother died in Mexico. The sister
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ie the wife of S. J. Russell, of Concord. The Judge is a self-made man in every respect. and received a classical education, where literary acquisitions were considered second - ary objects ju life.
A. W. Ward, of Loudon, Tenn., is engaged in the nursery and machine business. The parents, William Ward and Lucinda (Custead) Ward, are natives of Canada. After their marriage, in 1838, they moved, in 1860, to Delaware, and in a short time came to Cumberland County, Tenn. In 1869 they moved to Fremont County, Iowa, where they now reside as farmers. The father, while in Canada, was interested in large flouring mill and farming interests near Toronto ; he was also a colonel of mili- tia for many years. The Ward family were originally from Ireland, the, grand- father coming to Canada about 1817, and the father being born on the ship en route. The Custeads originally came from England, and the maternal grandfather was in the nursery business on the present site of Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio, about 1838 to 1860, where both died. A brother of the maternal grandmother was the father of the famous "Buffalo Bill" (William Cody). Our subject, the eldest of nine sons and three daughters, of whom six of the former and the three latter are living, was born in 1844 and remained at home until maturity. From 1867 he was six years in Monroe County, Tenn., engaged in the nursery business-the Tennessee Nurseries. Since then he has been in the same business in Loudon County. He has about forty acres in general nurs- ery stock, and usually has from two or three to a dozen salesmen on the road, selling in Tennessee and the Southern States. In 1871 he married Anna Pearce, a native of Penn- sylvania, and reared in Monroe County. They are Presbyterians. Our subject is a Mason.
J. H. Williams, a farmer, was born June 27, 1836, on his present farm. He is the eld- est of three children of Samuel C. and Emily (Hubble) Williams, both born and reared in Smyth County; Va., and married in 1835, but very soon after were residents of Blount (now Loudon) County, Tenn., where the father died April 19, 1868. He was elected justice in 1865 and held the office until his death. He was the second of ten children of Richard Williams, whose wife's maiden name was Cole. Richard was born and reared in eastern Virginia. and after his marriage, about 1780, moved to Withnoir, W. Va. The ancestry is Welsh- English. An uncle, James Sampson, and an aunt, Mrs. Mary Keene, came to Blount County where they died. An aunt, Mrs. Urie Cress, moved to Johnson County, and there died. Two other aunts, Sallie and Mrs. Shupe, are still living in West Virginia. The Williams were all Baptists, and Samuel C. in politics was a Democrat, and a highly respected man. The mother died June 21, 1840, aged about twenty-four years. About 1855 the father married Martha Martin, who died in February, 1879. Our subject was thrown upon his own resources when about twenty years old, with but little education. He received $3,000 from his father, but now owns about 1, 100 acres, most of which is under cultivation. October 18, 1886, he married Nancy J., daughter of William H. and Mary Smith, the former of Irish stock, and the lat- ter of English-Irish origin. Our subject's two children, Viola H. and Mary B., are both deceased. He and his wife are members of the Baptist and Cumberland Presbyterian churches, respectively. He is a Republican and first voted for Breckinridge. For four years after he was thrown upon his own resources he attended and taught school and traveled. He farmed then until he enlisted in the Thirteenth Tennessee Cavalry (Federal), and was discharged in January, 1865, on account of disabilities. Before enlistment he was a recruiting officer, and was elected first lieutenant and regimental commissary, afterward assistant commissary. Two years after the war he engaged in merchandising and farming, and two years still later changed to saw-milling with farming, following that until 1878, when he became trustee of Loudon County, serv- ing eight years, and then refusing re-nomination. Besides his fine farm, he has paid and lost ay security about $8,000. He was indorsed by his county for the State Senate just after his trusteeship expired. Lilburn R., a brother, was captured at Resaca, and died in Andersonville prison, and another brother, Levi J., is a farmer in this county. Loss and danger did not prevent our subject from taking a firm stand during the late war. He is a man of ability, and highly respected.
J. L. Willson, farmer and stock dealer, was born in 1837, in McMinn County, Tenn.
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From his childhood until 1806, the family'lived in Monroe County. In September they moved to where he has since resided. He began life for himself at eighteen years of age. with a good, common-school education, and, with the exception of one year of very suc- cessful merchandising during the war, he has followed agricultural pursuits, in both of which capacities he has proved himself remarkably successful. He now owns 1,063 acres of fine land. well improved and stocked, located on the Pond Creek Road, ten miles from Loudon. He is the third of ten children of W. P. and Julia (Henry) Willson, very suc- cessful farmers. In 1862 our subject married Mary J., a daughter of Washington and Sallie (Pursley) Ballard. Their children were Sallie B., Julia, Willie, Hattie, Jennit, Ida (deceased), Maud, James L. (deceased), Callie and Frank (deceased). The mother died April 3, 1886, since which time the daughters have had charge. Our subject is a Master Mason, and in politics he is a Democrat. On his farm are some of the finest deposits of marble, and also of lead ore. He is a most successful man, and a highly respected citizen.
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