USA > Tennessee > Notable men of Tennessee. Personal and genealogical, with portraits, Volume I > Part 16
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PROF. SAMUEL HIXSON. the subject of this sketch, is a native of Hamilton county, Tenn., where he was born in 1866. He is the son of William McKinney and Matilda Hix- son, who established their home in Hamilton county in 1856. He at- tended the public schools of his county, and at the age of nineteen yea:s taught his first school. In 1837-88 he attended the Normal uni- versity, at Lebanon, O., and later attended Terrell college. at Decherd, Tenn. In 1893 he took a commercial course in the Mountain City Business college, and the summers of 1899 and 1900 he spent in the Chicago university, in a special scientific course. Later he spent two years in the Chattanooga Law school, taking the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He has been prominent in educational circles in. Tennessee for several years. He started as a teacher in the district schools, in 1885, and by hard study and close applica- tion he was promoted, both in salary and in rank, serving in every capacity of public school work, from the district school to the city high school and superintendent. In 1896 he was elected to the office of superintendent of schools for Hamilton county, in which capacity he served for three terms, being re- elected twice without opposition. It was in this position he dis- played such originality and ability as an educator and in which he won for himself a reputation as an organizer. During his administration the schools of his county took the highest awards in the Tennessee Centennial, at Nashville, in 1897. He has played a conspicuous part in the educational work of his state. always taking the lead in all state meetings. He served for one year as president of the Tennessee Public School Officers' asso- ciation, the strongest and most important educational body in the state. In 1902 he was elected to the office of county register, at Chattanooga, which position he still holds. In 1890 he was married to Miss Lizzie Brown, of Hamilton county, and they have two children, Roy and Percy. He is a member
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of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, Woodmen of the World and Improved Order of Red Men.
RICHARD H. HOWARD, of Chattanooga, Tenn., clerk of the cir- cuit and criminal courts of Hamilton county, was born in Rhea county, Tenn., in 1861. He is a son of Robert T., deceased, and Penelope Howard, both born in the mountains of East Tennessee. Richard H. com- menced his schooling in the public schools, attending a few months in the winter of each year, passing much of his time during his boyhood and youth in the work incident to farm life. Later he put in a brief period in a private school, and at the age of thirteen years went to Chattanooga, where he secured employment in a grocery store. After three years in this position he became clerk of the Hamilton house, and remained there as clerk and partner for a number of years. He took considerable interest in pol.tics, as a Democrat, and when Cleveland was elected president the first time Mr. Howard was appointed district gauger. This position he held for four years, and entered the grocery business in Chattanooga, but sold out a year later to accept a position as deputy clerk of Hamilton county. Here he continued for eight years, under R. B. Henderson, and in 1898 he was elected to the office. He made a popular and efficient official, and in 1902 was re-elected for another term of four years. In 1884 he married Miss Carrie Lattner. She died in 1902, leaving one daughter, Mattie May. Mr. Howard is a member of Keystone lodge No. 35, Knights of Pythias; Hill City lodge No. 245, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and Chattanooga lodge No. 91, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
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SAMUEL ERWIN, of Chattanooga, Tenn., clerk and mas- ter of Hamilton county, was born in Cartersville, Ga., in 1867. His parents, John A. and Isa (Beall) Erwin, are both de- ceased. His education was obtained in a private school at Cartersville, and when a young man he clerked in a general store in that place for a year. He then went to Texas, where for some years he was engaged in the cattle business. Return- ing to Chattanooga, he obtained a position as postal clerk on the Cincinnati, New Orleans & Texas Pacific railroad, and re- mained in the service four years, when he resigned to take the position of teller in the Merchants National bank. He resigned a year and a half later to go into the gentlemen's furnishing trade with C. N. Hunter, which business he followed for five years, when he sold out to become the manager of the East Ten- nessee Telephone Company. In 1895 he was appointed a mem- ber of the board of public works for six years, and was chair- man of that body for three years of the time. In 1901 he was appointed to his present position as clerk and master of Hamil- ton county. He is a member of lodge No. 245, Knights of Pythias, and of Chattanooga lodge No. 91, Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks. Politically, he is a Democrat, and is prominent in the affairs of his ward and the city. In 1894 he was married to Miss Annie McConnell, daughter of T. M. McConnell, and two children have been born to them: Mc- Connell and Marian. Mr. and Mrs. Erwin are identified with the Methodist church.
JOHN S. CAIN, M. D., professor of practice of medicine in the University of the South, Sewanee, Tenn., was born in Sumner county, of the same state, in the year 1832. At the age of nineteen years he graduated from the medical depart- ment of the University of Nashville, and soon afterward located at Pontotoc, Miss., where he commenced practice. In a few years he had succeeded in establishing a lucrative business. In the spring of 1862 he enlisted as a private in Company F, Forty-first Mississippi infantry, and in July was commissioned surgeon. The following year he was promoted to brigade sur- geon, and was later chief surgeon of Gen. Patton Anderson's
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division. After the surrender at High Point, N. C., in the spring of 1865, Doctor Cain went to Okolona, Miss., where he established himself in practice and remained there until 1882, when he removed to Nashville. From 1882 to 1894 he was professor in the medical department of the University of Ten- nessee. During the next two years he was a professor in the University of Nashville, and since 1893 he has been associated with the University of the South, part of the time serving as dean of the faculty. As an instructor, Doctor Cain stands high in the estimation of his classes, being both thorough and cor- rect. As a practitioner he enjoys the confidence of his patients, for they know him to be a careful, painstaking and conscientious physician. In the community he has the respect of his acquaint- ances and associates as an upright, law-abiding citizen.
WILLIAM PHILIP HAYS, of Chattanooga, Tenn., sheriff of Hamil- ton county, was born in Blount county of that state, Oct. II, 1863. He is a son of J. O. and Margrette Hays, both natives of Tennessee, the father of Greene and the mother of Blount county. Their deaths occurred in 1896 and 1899, respectively. Mr. Hays is the youngest of thirteen children. He obtained his education in the district schools of the county, varying his studies with the work imposed by farm life, until his sixteenth year, when he came to Chattanooga, where his first work was in a grocery store. After about sixteen months in this vocation, he entered the employ of the Chat- tanooga Saw Works, for the purpose of learning the busi- ness, and with such determination that he mastered the trade and remained with the company for twenty-one years, being the head sawmaker for about twelve years. In 1900 he was elected to the legislature as a representative from Hamilton county, and served two years. In 1902 he was elected sheriff of the county for two years. Mr. Hays was married in 1883,
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at the age of twenty, to Miss Nannie Shears, of Danville, Ky. She died in 1884, leaving one son, William E. In 1887 he was again married, his second wife being Miss Sarah Roberts, of Hamilton county, Tenn. They have eight boys: Philip J., sixteen : Mckinley, J., fourteen; George S., twelve; Trester C., ten; Harry R., eight; Elbert R., six; Mark Hanna, three; Cecil Theodore, one. As may be imagined from the names of the boys, Mr. Hays is a Republican. He is an en- thusiastic secret order man, being a member of the Masons, Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, Red Men, Knights of Khorassan, Royal Arcanum, Woodmen of the World, Knights of the Golden Eagle and Daughters of Rebekah. He is also a member of the Christian church, of which he is a member of the board of deacons.
JOSEPH BUCKNER KILLEBREW, of Nashville, Term., was born in Montgomery county, Tenn., May 29, 1831, his parents being Bryan Whitfield and Elizabeth Smith (Ligon) Killebrew. After the customary preliminary training in the common schools and academies he was graduated from the University of North Carolina with the degrees of A. M. and Ph.D. He then took special courses in law and scientific studies, and for almost half a century has been identified with Tennessee's growth and development. From 1871 to 1881 he was commissioner of agriculture and mines for the state; was two years of that time the agent for the Peabody Fund for Tennessee; was acting superintendent of public instruction dur- ing the years 1871-73; was for some time editor of the Rural Sun; special agent of the United States Census bureau, in IS80. on the subject of tobacco in the United States; was one of the editors of the "Standard Dictionary," and an author of con- siderable reputation. Among his works are "Resources of . Tennessee," "Grasses of Tennessee," "Sheep Husbandry," "Wheat Culture," "Tobacco Culture," "Tobacco in the United States," "Life of James C. Warner," "Geology of Tennessee," in two volumes, and numerous pamphlets on subjects affecting the industrial life of the New South. Mr. Killebrew has served as president of the Industrial league, and has been the
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promoter of several large establishments along industrial lines. In 1893 he turned his attention to the transportation question, and soon became a prominent official in railway management. He never had any politics except such as would build up the industries and prosperity of the South. On Dec. 3, 1857, he was married, in Montgomery county, to Miss Mary Catherine Wimberly, and he found in her a companion who shared his love for the South, his desire to build up that section of the country, and who often gave him an inspiration for his labors.
CAPT. JOSEPH FRANKLIN SHIPP, of Chattanooga, Tenn., was born in Jasper county, Ga., in 18.45, his parents being Gustavus V. and Caroline Shipp. His father belonged to the North Carolina branch of the Shipp family. Although but a youth when the Civil war broke out, he en- listed on April 12, 1861, as a private in Company G, Fourth Georgia in- fantry. Confederate States army. He served with that regiment about two years and took part in the military operations about Richmond. At the expiration of his term of enlistment he was discharged from the service, being under military age, but remained with his command after the expiration of his enlistment, April 25, 1862, and was on the firing line from May 30th, at Seven Pines. to July Ist, at Malvern Hill, in which battle he was wounded by an exploding shell. After reaching home, it was discovered that he had sustained a fracture of the hip, from' which he was disabled for several months. When he had suf- ficiently recovered he was assigned to duty in the quarter- master's department, with the rank of captain. At the close of the war he entered the service of the Southern Express Company, and subsequently engaged in the cotton business in Augusta, Ga., and was very successful as a cotton buyer and general trader, in which business he continued up to 1874, when
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he located in Chattanooga, Tenn., and engaged in the manu- facture of wood pumps, under the name of the Southern Pump and Pipe Company, composed of Temple and Shipp. In 1880 they added the manufacture of furniture, under the name of the Chattanooga Furniture Company. They were the pioneers in the manufacture of furniture at Chattanooga and in Ten- nessee. In 1878 he was elected an alderman, as a Democrat, from a ward that had. never before elected a Democrat. He also served several terms as a member of the city school board, and one or two terms as president of the Board of Trade, of which he was an active member, giving liberally of his time and means for the upbuilding of Chattanooga, and the general welfare of the state. Captain Shipp is a Democrat and promi- nent in political affairs, both in the county and state. He was appointed coal-oil inspector of Chattanooga, in 1891, by Gov. Peter Turney, serving two terms of two years each. In 1898, at the outbreak of the Spanish-American war, he was given an appointment in the quartermaster's department of the United States army. In 1900 he was elected county assessor, at Chattanooga, receiving the largest majority ever given a Demo- crat in Hamilton county. In that position he showed special fitness and first-class ability by formulating a system of records of great value for the tax assessor's office. In 1904 he was nominated and elected sheriff of the county, by a very hand- some majority, in which capacity he is now serving. In 1885 he was the original mover in organizing a camp of Confederate Veterans at Chattanooga, which was named in honor of the world's greatest cavalry leader, N. B. Forrest, of which Captain Shipp served as camp commander eight consecutive years. He was also the prime mover in organizing the Association of United Confederate Veterans in 1889, of which Gen. John B. Gordon, of Georgia, was selected as commander and held the position continuously up to the time of his death, in 1904, during all of which time Captain Shipp was a member of his staff as quartermaster-general, with the rank of brigadier-gen- eral, and is now holding the same position on the staff of Gen. Stephen D. Lee, successor to General Gordon. Captain Shipp is one of the original trustees of the Tennessee Soldiers'
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home, in which capacity he has served for eighteen years. He is a member of Keystone lodge No. 28, Knights of Pythias; Chattanooga lodge No. 91. Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and lodge No. 26S. Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He was married, in 1866, to Miss Lillie Eckles, of Social Circle. Ga. Ten children have been born to them: Clarence E., Julian L., Susie May (now dead), Carrie Lou, now Mrs. W. A. Meyers, Joseph F., John E., Frank S., Thomas Hen- dricks (now dead), Lillie E. and Jennie Bell. One of the sons, Julian L., is a Baptist minister, and the family belong to the Baptist church and congregation.
GEORGE A. LOFTON, D. D., one of the best-known Baptist clergymen in the State of Tennessee, and pastor of the Central Baptist church, of Nashville, was born in Panola county, Miss., on Christmas day, 1839. When about ten years of age he went to Georgia, where he received his education, and where he was a student when the Civil war commenced. He left school to enlist in the Gate City Guards, of Atlanta, which company afterward became Company A, First Georgia in- fantry. That was in June, 1861. In the following November he was discharged on account of physical disability, the result of a severe attack of typhoid fever. In January, 1862, he had so far recovered that he enlisted in Company A, Ninth battalion, Georgia artillery, and served with that organization until the close of the war. At Chickamauga he was on the staff of Major Porter, who was in command of the artillery connected with Buckner's corps. Half of his company was captured at Pound Gap, and he was placed in command of the remainder. He took part in nearly all the military operations about Knoxville and Chattanooga, and had his horse killed under him at Campbell's Station. At Fort Sanders he dis- tinguished himself by his bravery in leading three separate assaults upon the Federal works, in an effort to capture some of the guns. During the year 1864, he was in Virginia, but in January, 1865, he was given a furlough on account of his health, and when he recovered he rejoined his company at Augusta, Ga., where he remained until the final surrender.
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After the war he completed his studies; received the degree of A. M. from Mercer university; was for two years prin- cipal of a school in Webster county, Ga .; was admitted to the bar at Americus, and in 1868 entered the Baptist ministry. His first charge was near Americus, after which he was two years at Dalton, five years in Memphis, six years in St. Louis, then again two years at Dalton, and then at Talladega, Al., until May, 1888, when he went to Nashville and took charge of the Central church of that city. He is the author of a num- ber of books, some of which have had a large circulation. Among them are: "Habitual Drinking and Its Remedy." "Bible. Thoughts and Themes," "Character Sketches," "The Harp of Life," "English Baptist Reformation from 1609 to 1641," and several others. His life has been one of useful- ness, and few ministers of his denomination in the South are better known or more universally respected.
JOUELL N. MCCUTCHEON, of Chattanooga, Tenn .. county court clerk of Hamilton county, was born in Franklin, Tenn., in 1864. . He is a son of Jasper N. and Cornelia (Car- penter) Mccutcheon, the former a na- tive of Franklin county, Tenn., and the latter of Greene county. Ala. The father died in ISSI and the mother in 1884. The paternal grandfather came to Tennessee from Virginia in 1806. Jouell N. Mccutcheon was educated in the public schools of Winchester district; the Robert Donnell institute of the same place: Winchester Nor- mal, and graduated from Chattanooga university in 1890. After leaving the university he took a course in a business college, and during much of the time he was gaining his education he taught in Hamilton and Franklin counties. In 1891 he accepted a position as deputy trustee of Hamilton county, filled that place acceptably for three years, and took up teach- ing again for a time, at the conclusion of his term in office.
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In 1898 he was elected to his present position; was re-elected in 1902, and in June, 1903, graduated from the law depart- ment of Chattanooga university. In 1895 he was married to Miss Sarah Smalling, of Bellbuckle, Tenn., and two chil- dren brighten their home: Catherine W., five years old, and Joseph Newton, aged two years. Mr. Mccutcheon is a mem- ber of lodge No. 75, Knights of Pythias, lodge No. 244, Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, and Chattanooga lodge No. 91, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He belongs to the Central Baptist church, of Chattanooga, and is a men- ber of the finance committee. Politically, he is a Democrat.
HON. LEWIS SHEPHERD, one of the leading attor- neys of Chattanooga, Tenn., was born in that county; in 1846. His father, also named Lewis Shepherd, was a prominent citizen and Democrat; a delegate to the convention which nominated Polk in 1844; the convention that nominated Lewis Cass in 1848; that which nominated Pierce in 1852. and again in that of 1856, when Buchanan was nominated. He died in November, 1856, having been a resident of Hamil-
ton county since 1839. His wife was Margaret Donoghue. whose father owned the celebrated plantation known as the McGlee, on the Little Tennessee river. She died in 1889. at the home of her son. in Chattanooga, aged seventy-nine years. The son attended Burritt college for a time. then a college in Cleveland, and was a student at H. W. VanAlde- hoff's school on Lookout Mountain in April. 1861. when the war broke out. He left school, enlisted in Captain White's company, known as Company A, Fifth Tennessee cavalry, in which he served through the war, taking part in several serious engagements. He was captured in March, 1864. and was a prisoner of war at Camp Morton, near Indianapolis, Ind .; was exchanged in February, 1865, and went back to take part in the closing scenes of the Confederacy; was surrounded with Vaughn's brigade at Washington, Ga., in May. 1865. In 1876 he was married to Miss Lila Pope, of Sequatchie county, Tenn .. and five sons have been born to this union: Thomas Pope. Lewis, Jr., William C., Frederick S. and J. Quintus. Mr.
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Shepherd is a Republican in his political affiliations. In 1877 he was elected to the legislature, and was again elected in 1890. He served two years as special chancellor ; several terms as special circuit judge, and was a presidential elector on the Blaine ticket in 1884. Judge Shepherd is a prominent figure in Masonic circles, being a member of lodge No. 199, the Royal Arch chapter, Lookout commandery, Knights Tem- plars, and Alhambra temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is a member of the Baptist church, and takes a commendable interest in furthering the good work of that denomination.
EDWARD B. CRAIG, of Chattanooga, insurance commis- sioner for the State of Tennessee, was born in Giles county, of that state, in 1859. He is the son of W. Jackson and Vir- ginia Borsor (Abernathy) Craig, now deceased, the father dying in 1883 and the mother in 1886. On account of re- ligious troubles, the paternal great-grandfather was compelled to leave his home, in the North of Ireland, so he came to America and settled in Philadelphia. Edward B. Craig at- tended a private school conducted by Col. Alfred Abernathy, in Giles county, until he was fifteen years old, and finished his education at Webb's college, Caromaha, taking the full course. At the age of seventeen he commenced teaching school, acting as assistant to Hon. F. B. Beauford. Later he was engaged for two years in mercantile pursuits at Pulaski, Tenn., and retired from this business to become assistant cashier of the national bank there. In 1881 he aided in organizing the People's National bank, of Pulaski, and was made assistant cashier, and after filling that place for a few years was made cashier. In 1893 he was chosen state treasurer of Tennessee, on the Democratic ticket, and held the office four terms of two years each. While in this office he devised the sinking fund law, which is now on the statute books of the state. In fact, Mr. Craig had that act in mind when he acceded to the wishes of his friends and accepted the nomination. At that time the finances of the state were at a low ebb, but, by careful and able management, Mr. Craig brought them to a very satis- factory basis, and at the end of his last term the treasury was
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in the best condition it had ever been. In 1901 he was made treasurer of the Virginia Iron, Coke and Coal Company, with headquarters at Bristol, Tenn .; in 1902 he undertook the organization of the Volunteer State Life Insurance Company, with headquarters in Chattanooga. The company now has a paid-up capital of $200,000 and a $50,000 surplus. Mr. Craig is vice-president and general manager of the company at the present time. As insurance commissioner of Tennessee he has built up that office until it is second to none in the United States. For that reason he is looked upon as one of the best informed men in that line in the country. He was married to Miss Mary Adams Crockett, of Memphis, Tenn., Feb. 15, 1882, and they have had five children: William C., nineteen years old; Edward B., fifteen years old; Mary R., twelve; Caroule A., eight, and Hattie C., aged five. Mr. Craig is well known in Masonic circles, being a member of the lodge, chapter, commandery, and of Alhambra temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.
JOHN C. MYERS, attorney and president of the People's bank, of Pikeville, Bledsoe county, Tenn., is a - native of that county, where he was born Sept. 27, 1848. He is the son of Thomas S. and Martha ( Billings- ley) Myers. His father is now living at McMinnville, Tenn., at the age of eighty-seven years. He was repre- sentative from that county in 1875; is the author of what is known as the Four-Mile whisky law; is a native of Tennessee and served in the Civil war in General Hill's regiment from 1862 to the battle of Bowling Green. His wife was a daughter of John Billingsley, who was also a member of the legislature. John C. Myers attended the public schools, later attending in turn Irwin college, of Warren county, Waters & Waling college, of McMinnville, and Bethany college, of West Virginia, and graduated from the law school
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at Lebanon, Tenn., in 1873. He practiced at McMinnville for two years and then went to Pikeville, where he formed a partnership with W. E. B. Jones, which lasted from 1875 to 1878. He was then associated with Judge Trewit, of Chat- tanooga, until 1884, and since that time he has practiced alone. He is director and attorney for the Sequatchie Valley Coal and Coke Company, of Bledsoe county; attorney for the Cran- well Lumber Company; is a director and largest stockholder in and president of the People's bank, and vice-president and director of the Waldens Oil and Gas Company, both of Pike- ville, Tenn. He has a farm of 400 acres near that town. Mr. Myers is one of the active Democrats of Bledsoe county; was elected by that party to the state senate in ISS9; was the ยท author of the registration bill of Tennessee; has been chir- man of the Democratic county executive committee for twenty years; was chosen by the people in 1896 to canvass the state for Bryan; still makes many public speeches on political and other subjects; and was a candidate for election as a dele- gate to the national convention of his party in 1904; was chosen as elector for the third congressional district in 1904. He is a member of the Christian church and of the Sigma Chi fraternity. In 1874 he was married to Miss Sue E. Hill, daughter of Hon. H. L. W. and Virginia A. (Daring) Hill. Her mother was a daughter of Col. W. L. S. Dr.ing. a colonel in the Mexican war. Her father was representative in the lower house of the legislature three times, served one term in the state senate, and was a member of Congress one term. He was a member of the Democratic congressional committee in 1870, and was a cousin of Col. Ben Hill, and also Senator Ben Hill, of Georgia. Nine children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Myers: Flora Ethelyn, Virginia, Ollie Josephine, Arkadelphia. Buena Vista. Thomas S., Lawson Hill, Robert Lee and Winnie Davis. Mr. Myers has visited nearly all the large cities of the United States. He is a public-spirited man. and the leader in nearly every movement for the advancement of the town.
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