USA > Tennessee > Notable men of Tennessee. Personal and genealogical, with portraits, Volume I > Part 20
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of honor to him. But Doctor Wilson has the blood of unselfish devotion in his veins. His father spent a long life in mission work in Syria, in days when the sacrifice of mission work was far more bitter than today. His parents chose Maryville as the place of his education in his homeland, and after graduating there he went to Lane seminary and finished a theological course in 1882; so that the late call thither was not without an element of loyalty in the man to plead for its acceptance. But identification with Maryville was of almost twenty years' standing, and proved far the stronger. Two years after his ordination Doctor Wilson was elected professor of English literature in the faculty of his alma mater. With singleness of heart which could not have been more perfect, he gave him- self to the school. Not only in the sessions of the college year, but during summer months, which he always spent touring through the contributory region, he studied the peculiarities of the East Tennessee population, to which Maryville is set to minister. When Doctor Boardman retired from the presi- dency, in 1901, there was no other man who so thoroughly understood the problems of Maryville college as Professor Wil- son, and he was the natural choice of the trustees for the pre- siding chair. In the two years since he has shown a remark- able grasp of the situation, and had he been enticed away at this time, the friends of the school would have suffered a sad dashing of brilliant hopes which have grown around him." At kis induction into the presidency, Rev. W. H. Lyle said : "Many things have conspired to lead to this choice. Doctor Wilson's long connection with the college as one of its pro- fessors, his thorough knowledge of the workings of the insti- tution and his arduous and untiring labors for its success are one thing. His profound and accurate scholarship is another. His strict integrity is another. His acute moral sense is another. His steadfast adherence to that which is right is another. His affability and gentlemanly conduct toward all men, even those who might differ from him, are another. His faith in God and his devout piety. manifest in meekness and humility, and in many other ways, are another."
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WILLIAM ANDERSON Mic- TEER, president of the Bank of Maryville, Blount county, Tenn., was born Sept. 16, 1843, on Little
river, Blount county. His parents were Andrew Bogle and Nancy (Gamble ) McTeer. His father was born at Ellejoy, Tenn., Sept. 5, 1820, and the mother was a daughter of Alexander B. Gamble, a farmer and for many years a prominent justice of the peace for Blount county. The first of the McTeers in America was James, who came from County Down, Ireland, in the early part of the eighteenth century. During the long and tedious voyage, on an old sail- ing vessel, an epidemic broke out on board. His wife and children all fell victims and were buried at sea. He settled in Pennsylvania, and afterward married again. His second wife was an Anderson. He was born in 1697, and died Feb. 16, 1785. His fifth son, Robert, was born Jan. 25, 1740, and died April 6, 1824. He married Agnes Martin, who was born April 26, 1740, and died Aug. 5, 1823. He was captain of the Eighth company, Cumberland battalion, and was in active service in the Revolutionary war. They had eight children. Their youngest son, William, was born June 14, 1780, and died May 29, 1862. He was a soldier in active service in the war of 1812. He married a cousin, Mary McTeer, Oct. 21, 1802. She died Jan. 6, 1814, without issue. He next married Mary Bogle, and to them were born five children, but three arriving at maturity, and one of these died in young womanhood. Their oldest son, Andrew Bogle McTeer, was the father of the subject of this sketch. He was a blacksmith and farmer at Ellejoy, where the family lived for several gen- erations, and part of them are now residing there. He was postmaster at Ellejoy from 1876 until his death, June 14, 1885. For a number of years he was colonel of the state militia. In September, 1862, he enlisted in the Union 'army as a pri- vate in the Third regiment. Tennessee cavalry. but afterward
1-16
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rose to the rank of quartermaster of the regiment. His death was hastened by ill-health incurred during his military service. Will A. McTeer, the subject of this sketch, was educated in the public schools and at Maryville college. On Aug. 10, 1862, he enlisted as a private in Company A, Third regiment, Tennessee cavalry, United States volunteers, but was soon pro- moted to second lieutenant, then to adjutant. He served most of his time on brigade and division staff duty, and was mus- tered out of service at Pulaski, Tenn., Aug. 3, 1865, with his commission as major. After the war, he returned to his old home, and in 1868 was elected clerk of the circuit court for Blount county, then making his home at Maryville, where he has resided ever since. During the time of his service as clerk he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1878, retiring from the clerk's office. He then commenced a general practice of law, and has been continuously engaged in the practice ever since. In 1878 he was appointed United States commissioner, and held that position until 1896. He served one term in the legislature, being elected in 1880, as representative of his county. He was one of the organizers of the Bank of Mary- ville, and is now president of that institution. He served twenty years as treasurer of Maryville college, and has been for many years one of the trustees. and is now chairman of the executive committee. He is an elder in New Providence Presbyterian church, and for twenty-six years has been super- intendent of the Sabbath school. On Oct. 16. 1876, he was married to Mary T. Wilson, at Athens, Tenn. She was born at Beyroot, Syria, of missionary parents, and was a classical graduate of Maryville college, being the first female to take ·the full classical course in that institution. She died without issue. Jan. 4. 1898. On Aug. 12, 1903. he married Mrs. Lucy Wilson, formerly of Illinois, but at the time of marriage a resident of Maryville.
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EDWIN FLETCHER WILSON, at the head of the Southern Printing Company, 'Tullahoma, Tenn., has been a resident of that city for nearly twenty-three years. In 1881 his father, Tennison James Wilson, who had established the Manchester Guardian some years before, and who was then engaged in its publication, was per- suaded by some of the public-spirited citizens of Tullahoma to remove the TENNISON J. WILSON. paper to that place. Accordingly. on Nov. 3, 1881, the first number of the Tullahoma Guardian ap- peared, with T. J. & E. F. Wilson as publishers, and so con- tinued until the death of the senior Wilson, in August, 1901. E. F. Wilson continued the paper for a short time, when by sale it passed into other hands. Tennison J. Wilson, father of the subject of this sketch, was a man who made a strong impress upon his time, and one whose memory justly deserves preservation in local history. Of a personal character without blemish, and intellectual attainments of a high order, his work as a newspaper and editorial writer attracted much attention and ranked with the best in the state. Always for the right. and ever opposing error, as he saw it, his pen never faltered in the performance of duty. let the consequences to him be what they might. An "Old Line Whig" during the existence of that political organization, he became an adherent of the Demo- cratic party later. Liberal and broad-minded in his views, he was not, nor could he be, a partisan. He was born in Cul- peper county, Va., and traced his lineage to the best of Revo- lutionary stock-the Washingtons, of Virginia, and the Tenni- sons, of Maryland. He spent a portion of his earlier life as a citizen of New Orleans. La., Vicksburg, Miss., and Baltimore, Md., receiving his education in the last-named city. Locat- ing in Tennessee, he became, directly after the Civil war, one of the founders of what is now the Phillips & Buttorff Manu- facturing Company, at Nashville. In 1870 he received the ap- pointment of clerk and master of the chancery court from
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Chancellor A. S. Marks, and upon his retirement from this office he devoted his entire time to the publication of the Guard- ian, which, as stated, was later removed to Tullahoma. Mr. Wilson was distinctly literary in his tastes, and during the political agitation antedating the war, contributed many arti- cles of merit to the leading journals of the country. Like most men of similar traits, he had small aptitude for commercial pur- suits. He left behind him, however, a wealth of character, a record of good deeds and noble thoughts, and the lasting affec- tion of a host of friends. Edwin F. Wilson inherits his in- clination to literary pursuits, and by reason of environment and natural instinct, became a member of the "Fourth Estate." A printer by trade, he is at home in any department of news- paper work. His editorial work is of recognized merit, and he has indulged to some extent in fiction and character sketches. On the maternal side he is descended from the Coffees and Trousdales, names familiar in the history of the state. His mother was Mary Jane Coffee, a daughter of Joshua Coffee, who married a Trousdale. A strain of Cherokee blood is still noticeable in this branch of the family, having been strongly marked in General Coffee, Jackson's compatriot. Mr. Wilson is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and of the fraternal orders of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows and the Royal Arcanum. Politically, he is a Democrat by instinct and inclination, with independent proclivities. He is at the present time one of the board of election commis- sioners of Coffee county, appointed by Governor Frazier. In 1891 he was married to Miss Elizabeth Graham, of Franklin county, and they have two sons, Edwin Graham and Tenni- son James.
MICHAEL ROSS CAMPBELL, manufacturer of all kinds of turned wagon and buggy work, and president of the Camp- bell & Dann Manufacturing Company, Tullahoma, Tenn., was born on the Potomac river, at Dam Number Six. Md., Feb. 14, 1840. He is a son of Michael and Rebecca (Wetzell) Campbell, the former a native of Drogheda, Ireland, and the latter of Lycoming county, Pa., where her family was promi-
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nent in literary circles. Michael Campbell came to America when he was but sixteen years of age, and spent most of his time in the state of Maryland. He was a stone mason by trade, and died near Johnstown, Pa., in April, IS51. His wife died at the little village of Nineveh, near Johnstown, in 1892, at the age of eighty-two years. Of the seven children born to Michael and Rebecca Campbell three are yet alive, two in Nevada, and the subject of this sketch. M. R. Campbell re- ceived a limited education in the common schools, and a full diploma in the school of experience. When in his sixteenth year he came to Memphis, Tenn., and there made his home until the fall of 1861. Ten years of his life were spent in railroading, filling different positions, from section hand to running a locomotive. In 1865 he located at Tullahoma, then a small hamlet, and went to selling goods. He continued in this line for ten years, in the meantime trying to induce capital- ists to engage in manufacturing there. The town at that time had a population of about 500, most of whom lacked a great deal of being rich. Mr. Campbell tells how Judge (later Gov- ernor) Marks said to him one day: "Campbell, you people have more energy and less money than any people I ever saw. You are constantly striving to enlist manufacturing establish- ments or something to locate here, yet you do not seem to have any money with which to do anything yourselves." To this Mr. Campbell replied: "Yes, Judge, but energy will make money, while money will not make energy." The people of the rich counties of Lincoln and Bedford used to say that if a bird flew over Coffee county it would have to take its food along with it, or run the risk of starving to death. Notwith- standing these unfavorable conditions, Mr. Campbell refused to be discouraged. He persuaded others to embark in the manu- facture of woolen goods in the town, but after running a year or two it ran down, when Mr. Campbell and his partner in the mercantile business, Mr. McLemore, took an interest, and put the mill on a fair basis of success. and while he withdrew, and went into his present line of manufacturing, the woolen mill ran on for years and did well. In all his efforts he had the encouragement of the public-spirited citizens of the town,
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and in time his courage acted as an inspiration to others, with the result that the town of Tullahoma has outstripped the sur- rounding towns, both in wealth and population. In 1870 the census gave Shelbyville, Fayetteville and Winchester each double the population of Tullahoma, "but in twenty years the despised little town had left them behind in the race. Several factories, turning out carriage and wagon materials, furniture, overalls, a large tannery, flour mills, etc., brought wealth and prominence to Tullahoma, which now boasts of two national banks, a number of large mercantile establishments and some of the finest school buildings in the state. No town on the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis railroad, between Nash- ville and Chattanooga, shows a larger volume of business. Much of this growth and prosperity is due to the enterprise and foresight of Mr. Campbell. He had faith in his town, and backed it up by his works. In 1888 a new railroad was projected, to run from Birmingham, Ala., to Somerset, Ky., connecting the latter point with the Cincinnati Southern. The company was chartered in three states-Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee-as the Cincinnati & Birmingham Railroad Company, and the three companies afterward consolidated. One of the principal promoters of the undertaking was Mr. Campbell, and upon the organization of the company he was named as its president. A survey was made and a large local subscription by counties, towns and individuals secured, but the failure of the Baring Bros., of London, which so dis- turbed the financial affairs of the world, caused a postponement at a time when Mr. Campbell and his aids had concluded negotiations for the bonds to provide the necessary finances for the construction of 350 miles of the road. He has had quite an experience as merchant, contractor, manufacturer, banker, etc., as well as in railroading, and was one of the first men in the South to advocate manufacturing, after the war, as the surest means of restoring prosperity and bringing popu- lation and wealth. In politics, Mr. Campbell is an independent citizen. He has opinions of his own on public questions and tries to clect men who will carry them into effect. He is a member of the Christian church, and, both by precept and
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example, teaches the advantages to be gained by a moral, up -. right life. He lias a large and interesting family, a beauti- ful home and a well-earned, prosperous business.
JOHN F. THOMAS, justice of the peace, Tullahoma, Tenn., is a son of John and Clarissa Thomas, and was born in Lincoln county, Tenn., April 7, 1828. His father was a na- tive of Virginia and the son of John Thomas, also a native of Virginia, who served as a soldier in the Revolu- tionary war and died in Lincoln county, Tenn., in 1843, aged about eighty-five years. His wife died in 1845, aged about ninety years. The elder Thomas first removed to North Carolina, but later settled in Tennessee. During his life he was a farmer and a promi- rent Democrat. John F. Thomas is the only survivor of three children. In early life he was left an orphan, and in consequence was bound out for several years and experienced many cruel hardships. He was compelled to work on a farm from morning till night, and thereby had no opportunity for schooling. However, he later attended school, and by self- study acquired a fair education, which enabled him to teach school for several years. Prior to the Civil war he was a Democrat, but. being opposed to secession, he cast his lot with the Republican party. After the war he was the second postmaster appointed by President Lincoln in the State of Ten- nessee, and in 1865-66 was a member of the legislature. Mr. Thomas is the oldest resident of Tullahoma, having been present at the first sale of lots in the town. He was the first constable to be elected in the place, has served as a member of the council and as alderman, and for the last twenty-two years has hield the office of justice of the peace. The greater portion of that time he has also been notary public. Late in life he took up the study of law, and in 1875 was admitted to the bar. Directly after the war he served as United States
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assistant assessor; deputy collector of internal revenue ; govern- ment storekeeper, and gauger, and has held the office of super- intendent of public instruction. In all these positions he has made an enviable record for the faithful performance of duty, and has always been noted for his public spirit and local pride. Of late years he has been interested in real estate operations and in building up the city of Tullahoma. Mr. Thomas is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Masonic fraternity and the Methodist Episcopal church. He has been twice married, first to Mary J. Blanton, of Tullahoma, in 1854. She died in 1892, and on May 27, 1896, he was married to Miss Flora Potter. He has reared and educated eight orphan children, seven of whom are still living and doing well.
WAMAN L. DIBRELL, clerk of the county court in White county, Sparta, Tenn., was born in that county, Dec. 3, 1842, and is a son of George G. and Mary E. (Left- wich) Dibrell, both natives of the county. His paternal grandparents were Anthony and Millie (Carter) kás Dibrell, who were among the pioneers of Tennessee. Anthony Dibrell was one time secretary of state of Ten- nessee. He was a prominent Whig in his day, and he and his wife were both Methodists. The father of the subject of this sketch was a farmer, and before the war was county clerk for twenty years. When the war broke out he enlisted as colonel of the Twenty-fifth Tennessee infantry. When the regiment was reorganized at Corinth, Miss., he came home, raised the Eighth Tennessee cavalry, and was afterward promoted to brigadier-general, holding that rank until the close of the war. After the war he was a member of the constitutional convention and represented the third con- gressional district in the national legislature for ten terms, when he declined further honors and retired from politics. He was always a Democrat. and stood high in the councils of his
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party. He opened up the Bonair coal mines, and was the chief promoter of a railroad from Sparta to the mines, but died, May 8, 1888, aged sixty-six years, soon after the road was com- pleted. His wife died July 22, 1894. Both were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. They had ten children, seven of whom are yet living. Waman L. Dibrell was educated at the Nourse academy, in Sparta, and has made farming his principal occupation in life. In 1861 he enlisted in Company D, Sixteenth Tennessee infantry. and served one year, when he was transferred to the Twenty-fifth infantry, and after serv- ing with that regiment about twelve months he became a member of the Eighth cavalry, commanded by his father. He went out as a private and was later elected lieutenant of the company. During the war he had two horses shot under him. In 1898 he was elected clerk of the county court, and was re-elected in 1902. Mr. Dibrell is an unswerving Demo- crat, a Knight of Honor, and he and his family are members of the Christian church. He was married, in 1863, to Miss Eva Morgan, of White county, and by this marriage had three children : George Harvey, now a resident of Nashville; Miss Mary Lou, of Sparta, and Waman Eugene, also of Sparta. Mrs. Dibrell died on Feb. 5, 1895, and some time later Mr. Dibrell was united in marriage to Miss Jennie Maynard, of Van Buren county. By this second marriage he has two chil- dren: Irene and Wiline.
GEN. WILLIAM GOOCH SMITH, attorney at law, Sparta, Tenn., was born in Williamsboro, Granville county, N. C., Sept. 25, 1828, and is a son of George C. and Martha H. (Gooch) Smith, both natives of Virginia. In 1848 the family removed to Murfreesboro, Tenn., and later lived in Warren county. The father died in 1878 at the home of his son, Dr. Henry P. Smith, in White county. The mother died in 1884. They had nine children, four of whom are yet liv- ing. George C. Smith learned the tailor's trade in the same shop with Andrew Johnson. He was an officer in the state militia, always a Democrat, an Odd Fellow, and both parents were members of the Cumberland Presbyterian church. Both
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of the subject's grandfathers, James Smith and William Gooch, were soldiers in the American army during the Revolution. The maternal grandmother was a Miss Sallie Terry, whose father, James Terry, was also a Revolutionary soldier .. Gen- eral Smith was educated at Oxford, N. C., and for a time after coming to Tennessee lived at Nashville and McMinnville. In 1857 he came to Sparta, studied law and was admitted to practice in 1873. Since then he has been in constant prac- tice. In 1861 he enlisted in the Confederate service in Com- pany C, Twenty-fifth Tennessee infantry, as captain. About a year later he was changed to the Eighty-fourth Tennessee and was promoted to lieutenant-colonel. After the battle of Mur- freesboro the Twenty-fifth and Twenty-eighth regiments were consolidated with General Smith as major of the new organiza- tion. At Resaca Colonel Stanton, commanding the consoli- dated regiment, was killed, and Major Smith was again made lieutenant-colonel and served until the close of the war: He was taken prisoner at Macon, Ga., by General Wilson's command and paroled conditionally until they could ascertain whether or not Macon had been captured. Later General Johnston sur- rendered and he was reparoled. When General Dibrell, in 1884, reorganized his old command, raised in Middle Tennes- see, Colonel Smith became a member of the organization, which was known as "Dibrell's Reunion Brigade," and since the death of General Dibrell has been in command of the organiza- tion. General Smith is somewhat active in politics as a Demo- crat, and was for five years clerk of the circuit court. He is a Royal Arch Mason, a Knight of Pythias, an Odd Fellow since 1849, and served as grand patriarch one term. On May 10, 1857, he was married to Miss Amanda R. Templeton, of White county, whose father, John Templeton, was a native of . North Carolina and a Revolutionary soldier. They have seven children, viz .: William Templeton, a lawyer and for ten years judge of the circuit court; Leondias D., also a lawyer and partner with his brother; Marcussett, now the wife of John H. Eagle, of Sparta; Corinne, wife of Clay Reeves, of Gaines- boro, Tenn .; Sallie Metzula, wife of R. L. Stevens, of Plano, Tex .; Enzina, wife of T. K. Williams, of Sparta; George Clay-
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well, partner with his father in the law business; married Miss Ina B. Keith, of Scottsboro, Ala. General Smith and his wife are members of the Christian church.
JAMES R. TUBB, mayor of Sparta, Tenn., and son of John B. and Harriet (Richardson) Tubb, was born in DeKalb county, Tenn., May 30, 1852. His paternal grandfather, Col. James Tubb, was a native of Virginia, and won his military title in the war of 1812. He was one of the pioneers of DeKalb county, where he was a prominent man, and at the time of his death was one of the larg- est land and slave owners in the
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county. The maternal grandfather, James Richardson, was also a Virginian, but came with his father to DeKalb county at a very early date. The great-grandfather formerly owned the land where the town of Smithville now stands. John B. Tubb, the father of the subject of this sketch, was a lawyer by profession, and at the time of his death, in 1859, was cir- cuit court clerk. His wife is still living, aged seventy years. They had three children, two of whom are still alive. James R. was seven years of age when his father died. With such an education as could be acquired in the common schools, he. began life as a merchant at Smithville. In 1879 he came to Sparta, where he was for some time engaged in the business of buying and shipping produce. In this line he was very successful, and at one time had four branch houses. He after- ward engaged in the milling business for eight years, but in 1898 he sold out and engaged in the manufacture of spokes. He is also interested in the Manchester Manufacturing Com- pany, manufacturers of rims and spokes. In all his business ventures Mr. Tubb has been successful, owing to his foresight and sound judgment. Politically, he is a Democrat of the rock-ribbed type, has served as councilman and on the school board of Sparta, and is now mayor of the city. He is a mem-
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