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 52
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JEFFERSON COUNTY.
profession in 1813, at Dandridge, and has practiced in the county up to the present. ITis professional skill and ability are appreciated, and he has built up a good practice, and estab lished a fine professional standing. He was appointed United States examining surgeon for pensions in 1881, and holds that office at present. In 1883 he was appointed, without solicitation, on the special board of examining surgeons at Knoxville, which board - examined 422 subjects at one sitting, which was quite a compliment to him. He is an ardent supporter of education, and always leuds a helping hand to the advancement of the public schools. . Ile is now one of the public school directors of Dandridge, and trustee of the Greeneville and Tuseulnm College, of Greene County, one of the oldest insti- sutes of learning in the State, and of which a brother has served as professor of Greek. He was married in 1875 to Hattie S. Snodgrass, who was born in Jefferson County May 13, 1853, and is the daughter of A. M. Snodgrass, a farmer of that county. To this union five children have been born. Both our subject and wife and eldest son are members of the Presbyterian Church.
Dr. A. L. Courtney, a practicing physician in Jefferson County, and a druggist at White Pine, Tenn., was born in Hamblen County, Tenn., July 22, 1856, being the son of George W. and Rebecca (McPheron) Courtney, natives of Tennessee and residents of a Hamblen County farm. Our subject added to his rural advantages attendance at the Greeneville and Tusculum Colleges, finishing in 1876, and for two years thereafter was a public school teacher. Dr. S. Matthews, of Rogersville Junction, was his preceptor in medicine for two years, when he began practice in Hamblen County, and in October. 1880, he located at his present home. By dint of hard study and close attention to busi- ness. he has established himself in the confidence of the people, and gained an enviable reputation, professionally, morally and socially. It should be mentioned, however, that he took a course of lectures in the College of Physicians and Surgeons, at Baltimore, in 1881-82. Since March, 1887, he has been dealing in drugs and medicines, etc., also. He has made himself largely what he is, and has been successful, both in his business life and as a medical man. HI. Rowe, a daughter of Maj. B. A. McFarland. became his wife in January, 1884, and Mary (deceased) and Tessie were their only children. Our subject is a Master Mason, and an earnest Democrat.
F. B. Cowan was born in Jefferson County, Tenn., April 2, 1835. He is the son of Joel W. and Anuis (Inman) Cowan. The father was a native of Jefferson County, Tenn., and was prominent. He was an extensive farmer. and owned and cultivated a farm that his father had entered and settled on. This farm is now the homestead of our subject. It has been in the possession of the family for more than a hundred years. The mother of our subject was also a native of Jefferson County, Tenu., and was the daughter of Nebednago Inman. Our subject was reared on the farm. and educated in the country school and at Dandridge. His father died (1850) when our subject was about fifteen years old, and he remained with his mother on the farm, and has farmed on the old homestead ever since. At the age of seventeen years he began farming in his own interest, and by and by bought the other heirs' interest in the home farm, and thus became the exclusive owner .. He has been a success in his occupation. Before the war he had accumulated much wealth, and much of his property was laid waste during the war, and but for this he would have been by now, all other things being equal, very wealthy. He has, how- ever, succeeded in carrying on an extensive agriculturing business, and owns and culti- vates a farm of more than 700 acres, situated on the left bank of French Broad River. in the Fifth Civil District, of Jefferson County. He has ever been charitable, and has done much toward aiding the poor He is a congenial man, and is a well respected citizen. He is not an offensive partizan, but is an ardent Democrat.
I. M. Cox, farmer, was born in Knox County. April 21. 1837, the son of Coleman and Rox- ana (Foster) Cox. The father was born in Knox County, in 198, the son of English parents. and for several years was one of the finest carpenters in the State, and erected many fine buildings throughout Knoxville and the county. He afterward became just as successful a farmer in that county, and when young was in the war of 1512. He died in 1838. The mother, now living in Union County, was born in Virginia. in 1803. the daughter of
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Josiah Foster, and is a Christian lady of the Baptist persuasion. Our subject was edu- cated in the schools of Knox and Union Counties, and has always followed farming. In 1868 he moved to Jefferson County, and in 1871 to his present farm, a fine one of 200 acres, in Rocky Valley, and has made a success of it. September 2, 1863, he married Lucy, daughter of William Chapman, born in 1844. in Tennessee. Their children are Mary E., born August 3, 1861; Maggie, born January 1, 1866: J. J., born April 12, 1869; Sallie L., born August 4, 1871; Ward B., born January 9, 1873; Adelia M., born July 15, 1876, and I. N. born April 7, 1878. He and his wife are highly esteemed members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
A. P. Dukes was born in Jefferson County, Tenn., July 26, 1837, the son of Wylie and Elizabeth (Parker) Dukes. The father was a native of North Carolina, born in Novem- ber, 1807, the son of Henry Dukes, a native of North Carolina, who immigrated to Ten- nessce at an early date, and was one of the pioneers of Jefferson County. The father was a farmer by vocation, and a prominent citizen of the county. He went to Missouri about 1859, where he followed farming. He was a member of the Baptist Church, and died in 1834, after a long and useful life. The mother was also born in North Carolina, in 1814, the daughter of Allen and Sarah Parker, who immigrated to Tennessee in com- pany with our subject's family. She was a member of the Baptist Church, and died in 1884, ten days after her husband. Our subject was reared on the farm, and attended school at Dumplin, where he secured a good practical education. He learned the carpen. ter's trade after finishing school, and followed that trade for about twenty-seven years in Jefferson, Sevier and Knox Counties. He purchased his present farm soon after the close of the late war, and moved to it in 1865. His farm comprises 264 acres of good land, in Dumplin Valley, of which about 125 acres are in cultivation. He is a liberal and public- spirited citizen, always encourages all worthy public enterprises, has taken a deep inter- est in school and church matters, and has contributed his means toward the support of both. For several years he served as school commissioner of his district. He is enter- prising and progressive, and stands well in the esteem of his neighbors and fellow citizens. He was married in 1861 to Mary Cate, born in Jefferson County, Tenn., in 1840, the daugh- ter of Joseph Cate. To this union twelve children have been born, eleven of whom are living. Our subject is a member of the Baptist Church.
James Duncan, a farmer in the Tenth District of Jefferson County, Tenn., was born in that county, April 14, 1843, the son of Joel and Nancy Duncan. James Duncan was reared as a farmer. In 1861 he volunteered in Carter's regiment, Company K, First Ten- nessee Confederate Cavalry, and served as a private in said regiment until 1865. He was married, April 4, 1877, to Martha Jane Bettis, who was born August 7, 1844, daughter of A. P. C. Bettis, of Jefferson County. They became the parents of seven children, the eldest two deceased. The children living are Maggie E., born April 8, 1880; Joel C., born July 27, 1881: James W., born October 16, 1882: Howell G., born January 7, 1984. and Eva V., born June 8, 1885. James Duncan, since his marriage, has been a successful farmer. He owns 212 acres of land, of which sixty five acres lie in Hamblen County, and 147 acres in Jefferson County.
C. E. Dunn. the subject of this sketch, is a farmer and stock dealer in the Twelfth Civil District of Jefferson County, Tenn., and was born near Raleigh, N. C., May 10. 1843. He is the son of P. A. and E. J. (Cook) Dunn; both parents were natives of North Carolina-the father of Irish parentage, the mother of English. Our subject was reared on the farm, and educated in the country schools and Wake Forest College. During the Civil war he was in the Confederate Army. and was commissioned captain. At the close of the war he went to Norfolk, Va., and engaged in the cotton and grain trades, which trades he continued from 1865 to 1868, and removed to Tennessee, where he has ever since followed farming. In September of 1868. he was united in marriage with Mrs. I. W. R. Franklin, nce Margranes ; one son and one daughter have blessed the mar- riage. Their names are Dora and Peyton. Our subject is a prosperous and extensive farmer, a member of the Baptist Church, and a Democrat.
G. W. Fagala, was born in Georgia, December 6, 1853, and is the son of David and
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1169
JEFFERSON COUNTY.
Penelope F. (Randles) Fagala. The father was born in 1811, in Sevier County, Tenn., and was reared in that county. He was a farmer and blacksmith. He removed to Georgia soon after the Indians were removed from that territory. He came back to Tennessee, and died in Jefferson County, in 1866. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church. of which he was an elder, and was also a member of the Masonic lodge, at Dandridge. and was buried with Masonic honors. Ile was a man generally esteemed for his good quali- ties and sterling work. The mother was born in Sevier County, Tenn., in 1822, and is the daughter of William Randles. She is now living in Sevier County, though makes her home among her children. She is a pious, Christian lady, and a member of the Presbyterian Church. Our subject was reared on the farm, and acquired a practical education in the schools of Jefferson County. He has followed farming as a vocation, though in early life he learned and followed the boot and shoe trade. He now owns and cultivates a fine river farm in the Fourth District, and is making a success of life. He is public-spirited and progressive, and always lends a helping hand to all lauda- ble enterprises which tend to the benefit of the rising generation, and is always found on the side of public schools and education, as, having had only limited educational advanta- ges, he appreciates the need of education for his and other children. He is a man of good character, and stands well with his neighbors. He was married September 25, 1573, to Mattie C. Mitchell, who was born in Jefferson County, in 1852, and was the daughter of W. H. Mitchell. To this union five children were born, one of whom died. The wife was a member of the Presbyterian Church, and died April 2, 1879. He was married a second time, in October. 1880, to MI. A. Hays, who was born in Jefferson County in 1844. To this union two children have been born. Both our subject and wife are members of the Methodist Church South, of which he is a local minister.
George A. Fain was born in Dandridge, Tenn., November 12, 1832, and is the son of John and Amelia (Gillespie) Fain. During the Inquisition and persecution in France, about 1685, a family by the name of Fain fled for safety to Ireland, one of whom, Nicho- las, married Elizabeth Taylor, an English lady, about 1752, and soon afterward immi- grated to Pennsylvania, North America, and thence to Washington County, East Tent. To them were born eight children, five of whom were in the American army and served in the Continental war, and were at the battle of King's Mountain, viz. : Samuel, John. William, Thomas and Reuben, the latter being but sixteen years of age. Nicholas, the grandparent, was an ardent, religious man, and in Ireland belonged to the High Church of England, and to the Baptist Church in Tennessee, and his decendants, of the upper part of Tennessee, were mostly Presbyterians. John, the father of our subject, was born in Washington County, Tenn., in 1798. He early engaged in merchandising at Jones- boro, then at Brownsboro, Washington County, and in 1810 removed to Dandridge and continued merchandising until the time of his death, in 1852. He represented that county in the Legislature at an early date. The mother was born in Washington County, Tenn .. in 1794, and was the daughter of Thomas Gillespie. She died in 1864. Both parents were pious, Christian people, and were members of the Presbyterian Church. To this union were born eleven children, of whom George A., our subject, is the youngest son. He was reared in Dandridge, and acquired his education in the schools of that town. He began business at the age of twenty as a farmer. and has followed that as a voca- tion through life, making a decided success of the same. He has always been a warm advocate of education, and has lent a helping hand to the advancement of the public schools of his town, and served for many years as a trustee of the Maury Academy of Dandridge. Ile was married in 1854 to Eliza R. Moore, who was born in South Carolina. November 10. 1534, and is the daughter of Col. William Moore, who. for a number of years. was a citizen of Tennessee, but was a resident of Ray County. Mo., where his daughter was married. To this union nine children have been born, three sons and four daughters of whom are living. The children are as follows: Minnie, born in 1836 now the wife of Hon. George W. Pickle, attorney-general of Tennessee, who was born March 6, 1845: William, born 1:58; Eliza, born 1860: Isabella, born 1802. died 1878; George, born 1803: Martha, boru 1565, died 1867; Katherine, born 1869; Allie, born 15:3.
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BIOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX.
Both our subject and wife are members of the Presbyterian Church, of which he is a deacon. Mr. George W. Pickle's father died at an early date. While a boy he joined the Rebel Army, and after the close of the war entered Princeton (New Jersey) College, and from that college went to Indiana and studied law under United States Senator Dan- iel Voorhees, at Terre Haute. His health failed him in Indiana, and he returned to East Tennessee and located at Sevierville and practiced in the adjoining counties. He next removed to Newport, and then to Dandridge. He was appointed attorney-general of Tennessee by the supreme court in 1886, over a large number of competitors, among whom were Messrs. Ingersoll and McConnell.
Samuel N. Fain, one of the oldest and most prominent farmers of the Ninth District, was born in Dandridge, October 1, 1821, the son of John and Amelia Sanford (Gillespie) Fain. The father was born in Washington County, April 30, 1778, the son of Samuel Fain, whose birth occurred July 20, 1753. Nicholas was the next ancestor, and was born about 1780, in Ireland, a descendant of the Fain family, driven from France in the sixteenth cen- tury by religious persecutions. About 1732 he married Elizabeth Taylor, an English lady, and soon after came to Pennsylvania, and then to Washington County, Tenn. Five of their eight children served in the Revolution, at the battle of King's Mountain. The father, John, was a merchant, and in 1910 moved to Dandridge, and at an early date rep- resented his county in the Legislature; he died in 1852. The mother was born in Wash County. in 1794, the daughter of Thomas Gillespie, and died in 1864. Our subject was reared and educated in Dandridge, and when twelve years of age ent ered the store of his father; still, after his father's death, he remained with his mother until 1860, when he moved to his present farm, where he and his brother established a cotton factory in 1951. He conducted both mill and farm until 1870, when his health caused him to suspend the operations of the mill. His title of colonel came from holding that position in the militia of Tennessee. For several years he was a trustee of Maury Academy, Dand ridge, and for ten years of Rogersville Female College. He is an enthusiastic agriculturist, and always attends the East Tennessee Farmer's Conventions. He is a Mason, Royal Arch. and Knight Templar, of Mossy Creek, Morristown and Cour de Leon Commandry, Knoxville, respectively. June 6, 1867, he married Sallie Gammon, who was born February 10, 1838. and five children have been born to them. He and his wife are Presbyterians.
Andrew M. Felkner, clerk of the circuit court, was born in Jefferson County September 4, 1800, the son of Alexander and Anna (Goan) Felkner. The father was born in Jeffer- son County October 12, 1818, the son of James Felkner, a native of Hawkins County, Tenn. Phillip, the great grandfather, a native of Germany, came to Philadelphia. and then became a pioncer of Hawkins County. The father. Alexander, was the eldest of eleven children reared on the farm, and is now a most respected farmer of the Twelfth District. He and three sons joined the Federal Army, John L., himself and William, joining Com- pany C of the Ninth Tennessee Cavalry, and Shadrack J. becoming a member of Company M, First Tennessee Cavalry, and being captured in Georgia and imprisoned for fifty-two days in Andersonville, where his health was considerably impaired. They are all now farming in Jefferson County. Our subject left the farm at eighteen. and entered Oak Grove Academy, Jefferson County, and after twenty-five months' attendence here. spent ten months in Cedar Grove Academy. He taught five months, and in 1881-82. attended the college at Athens, Tenn., and in 1883 entered Goodman's Business College, Knoxville. Then, after two years of teaching, in February, 1885, he began the study of law under G. W. Pickle, present attorney-general of Tennessee, and was admitted in 1887. He was elected to his present position in August, 1886, and is a young man of considerable promise. He is a Masou of Morristown Lodge.
William C. Fox, one of the leading farmers of the Sixteenth Civil District, of Jefferson County, Tenn., was born in Sevier County, Tenn., January 2. 1852, and removed to Jefferson County with his parents five years later. He is the son of Eli and Hattie ( Bird) Fox. The father was born in Sevier County. Tenn., in 1816, and is the son of George Fox, a native of Tennessee. He has followed farming as a life-time vocation, and is now one of the oldest and most respected farmers of the Sixteenth District of Jefferson
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JEFFERSON COUNTY,
County. The mother was born in Sevier County in 1818, and is the daughter of Louis Bird. The parents are pious Christian people, and are members of the Methodist Church. Our subject was reared on the farm. and acquired his education in the schools of the county and at Dandridge. He has followed farming as a vocation, has made a success of life, and now owns and cultivates a fine river farm of 280 acres He is & public spirited man, and enjoys the esteem and respect of all who know him. He realizes and appreciates the benefit of public schools, and has always contributed his mite to the advancement and progress of education, and has served as school commissioner of Cedar Dale School. He was married September 22, 1875, to Ellen Zirkle, who was born in Jefferson County December 25, 1851, and is the daughter of Reubeu Zirkle, one of the oldest and most respected citizens of the Sixteenth Civil District of-Jefferson County. To this union six children have been born, as follows: Hattie, born June 25, 1876; William N., born December 29, 1877; Marietta, born August 25, 1879; Alonzo E., born October 18, 1881; Lora B., born October 23, 1883, and George R., born January 18, 1886. Both our subject and wife are members of the Methodist Church.
George Franklin, a young farmer near Mount Horeb, was born in Jefferson County, August 3, 1854, the son of Benjamin F. and Harriet L. (Rankin) Franklin, The father was born in Jefferson County in 1825. John W., a Virginian, was the grandfather. Benja- min served as constable and magistrate several years, and was a member of the Presby- terian Church. He died July 30, 1876, a highly respected farmer. The mother was born about 1818, in Jefferson County, where she now resides. Our subject was reared on the farm, and educated at the academy at Dandridge and at Mount Horeb. When eighteen years of age he entered the store of Benjamin Brannen, at Mossy Creek, and in 1882 engaged in general merchandise near White Pine. In 1884 he purchased his present farm of 280 acres. to which he has since been successfully devoted. He is lib- eral in his views, and is interested in public affairs. In December, 1875, he married Julia. a daughter of Thomas Blackburn ; one child, an infant, deceased, was born to them, and the wife died September 18, 1879. December 24, 1830, he married Sallie A., the daughter of Calvin Bell. They have one child. IIe and his wife are members of the West- minster Presbyterian Church.
J. B. Franklin, traveling salesman, and a citizen of Talbott, was born near the lot- ter place October 23, 1848, and is the son of Hezekiah and Elizabeth (Duncan) Franklin. The father, a native of North Carolina and of English origin, came to Jefferson County when of age, and settled where he now lives. He is a reserved, sober, industrious mechanic and farmer, successful in all he undertakes, and is a highly respected member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The mother, a native of this county, was an intelligent and noble Christian woman of all motherly and wifely graces, and died in September, 1881. She was the mother of four sons and four daughters. Our subject was reared on the farm and educated at Carson College, Jefferson County. Up to the age of fourteen he worked on the farm, and then learned carpentering and became an able mechanic. In 1878 he became a member of the firm of Franklin, Dunahoo & Co .. mr- chants at Talbott, and in 1880 sold his interest to his partners, and began traveling for Rodgers & Cook, wholesale druggists, Knoxville. Three years later he engaged with Chapman, White, Lyons & Co., wholesale druggists of Knoxville. December 14. 1-73. he married Elizabeth J., a daughter of Haynes Walker, of Jefferson County, and born September 5, 1847. Their children are Georgie I., born October 11, 1874: Mamite K., born March 15, 1876; Imcy F., born April 19, 1579, and Nannie F., born May 30. 1882. His wife is a devoted Christian, of the Baptist faith. Our subject is a self-made man and a successful salesman, and is connected with Porter C. Bettis & Co., C. C. Parker & Co., and a stockholder in the Morristown Stove Works. He is the inventor of the Franklin Convertible Clothes Boiler and Washing Machine (patented June 25, 1878; No. 205259), to which the highest medal was awarded at the State Expo-i- tion of Georgia, in 1810.
T. W. Gallion, M. D., a prominent physician of Dandridge, Tenn., was born in Knox County, near Strawberry Plains, November 25, 185, the son of T. Y. and Martha
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BIOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX.
J. (McMillan) Gallion. The father was born in Buncombe County, N. C. in 1825, came to Tennessee two years later, and is now a humble farmer near Strawberry Plains, in Knox County, having spent from 1865 to 1877 in New Market Valley, Tenn. The mother was born in Knox County, and was a devoted Christian woman; both were Presbyterians. Our subject was reared in and near New Market, and was a pupil of Rev. W. H. Harrison, a noted Presbyterian divine, and also of Mrs. Frances Hodgson Burnett, the gifted authoress. He also attended Holston College. Ile taught school four years, and in March, 1876, began the study of medicine. under Dr. J. A. S. Lisk. From 1877 to 1878, he attended the medical department of the University of Tennessee, at Nashville, and graduated in 1885. For two years before coming to his present practice he was located at Chestnut Hill. He was in partnership at Dandridge with Dr. Lyle (deceased) until the latter's death. He has a large practice, and stands high in his profession. His brother, Dr. E. M. Gallion-his present partner-was born August 19, 1801, in Knox County, and attended college at Leb- anon, Ohio, in 1883. He began his professional studies under his brother, January, 1884, and has attended lectures in the medical department of Lebanon (Ohio) College, and Miami Medical College of Cincinnati.
J. W. Godwin, of Godwin Bros., general merchants, was born in Grainger County, December 27, 1839, the son of Jacob and Caroline (Easley) Godwin. The father was born in Fincastle, Va., and in early life came with his parents to Grainger County. He afterward became a farmer and hotel keeper at Bean's Station and Rutledge, and served in several official capacities, and his death occurred in 1850. The mother also of Grainger County, was the daughter of W. Easley, Sr., and died in 1856. a member of the Presby- terian Church. Her father was a Baptist. Our subject was reared on the farm and educated at Madison Academy, at Rutledge, and when sixteen went to live with his uncle, Warham Easley, Jr., and entered that gentleman's store at Rutledge, but July 4, 1861; he enlisted in Company D, Twenty-sixth Confederate Tennessee Infantry, and in February, 1862, was taken prisoner at the capitulation of Fort Donelson, and carried to Camp Douglas. He was exchanged September 23, 1862, at Vicksburg, and when the regiment was reorganized at Knoxville, he was elected lieutenant, but would not serve and was soon transferred to Company F, First Tennessee Cavalry, of which he was orderly sergeant. Thirteen months after he was captured at Henderson's Mill, East Tennessee, and taken to Camp Chase, Ohio, thence to Rock Island, where, after seven- teen months, he was sent to Richmond and paroled in March, 1865, and given a thirty days' furlough. He was at Roanoke, Va., when peace was declared, and then engaged in merchandising at Rutledge, and a year and a half later became a partner with his uncle, and later with his brother. In 1870 he moved to Mossy Creek, and began their present business. In September, 1866, he married Ida, a daughter of Octavius Yoe, and born in 1849, in Grainger County. Seven of their eight children are living. He and his wife are Presbyterians.
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