USA > Tennessee > Notable men of Tennessee. Personal and genealogical, with portraits, Volume I > Part 24
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died in 1879, leaving three sons: William B., now deceased; John C., a farmer in Texas, and Elmore V., now associated with his father in business. In 1881 Colonel Hale was mar- ried to Mrs. Talmadge Debon, ncc Hains, a daughter of Skil- ton T. Hains, a large tobacco merchant, of Hartsville. William B. Hale, the eldest son of Colonel Hale, was born Sept. 5, 1863; educated in the academies at Hartsville and Knoxville; graduated from the law department of Cumberland university, at Lebanon, Tenn .; began practice at Hartsville; was elected to the legislature in 1889 to represent the district composed of Smith and Trousdale counties; re-elected in 1891 ; at the open- ing of Oklahoma went there, where he was one of the founders and first mayor of the city of Woodard; returned to Harts- ville just before the Spanish-American war; was commissioned captain in that war and served on General Douglas' staff, with Gen. Fitzhugh Lee's army; practiced law at Hartsville until his death, December 4, 1901. He was a Mason and a Knight of Pythias, and had a high standing at the bar.
HON. NATHAN G. ROBERT- SON, a well-known attorney of Leb- anon, Tenn., was born on a farm in Wilson county, some six miles west of Lebanon, about the close of the Civil war. His parents, Lewis W. and Elizabeth (Glenn) Robertson, were natives of North Carolina and Virginia, respectively. The father was a farmer and magistrate in the twenty-second district for fifty-two years, growing to be an old man in that office. He was county judge for three terms, well and favorably known, and had a host of friends. He was for many years a member of and steward in the Methodist Episcopal Church South; he was prominent in Free Masonry and took an active interest in the order. He was too old to enter the army, but he believed in and aided the cause of the South. He was one of six children born to Higdon and Elizabeth Robert-
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son; was born Nov. 5, 1805, and died May 11, 1888. Nathan Glenn, the maternal grandfather, was a prominent man of Lynchburg, Va., who removed to Tennessee in the fifties, and died shortly afterward. Elizabeth Glenn Robertson was one of seven children, three of whom survive. She was born Sept. 9, 1832, and died Nov. 22, 1901. Nathan G. Robertson was the second of four children born to his father's third marriage. The other three are: Nouella D., now Mrs. W. F. Walker, of Lebanon, her husband a farmer of Wilson county; Matilda, Mrs. T. W. Fitts, her husband a merchant and farmer of Tem- plow, and Lucy J., Mrs. W. J. Graham, her husband a farmer of Franklin county, Tenn. Nathan G. was educated at Cum- berland university, Lebanon, Tenn., where he graduated from the law department in 1890 with the degree of LL. B. He be- gan law practice at once, and has been engaged in it ever since. His practice extends to all the state and Federal courts, and he has conducted many important cases in the county. Mr. Rob- ertson was elected to the legislature in 1893 and re-elected in 1895; was chairman of the house committee on elections dur- ing the Evans-Turney gubernatorial contest, in 1895; was also on the judiciary, financial and ways and means committees both terms; was on the staff of Governor McMillin four years; is on the staff of the present governor, J. B. Frazier, and is a member of the State Bar association. He is a prominent mem- ber of the Masonic fraternity, belongs to the Blue lodge, chap- ter, and commandery, and is a Noble of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a Knight of Pythias, in which he is a past chan- cellor of Lotus lodge No. 20, and is a member of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows. In politics, Mr. Robertson is a Democrat who never hesitates to do battle for his convictions. In 1900-1901 he was secretary of the state Democratic execu- tive committee; has been a delegate to the Democratic national conventions on two occasions, and has three times been secre- tary of Democratic state conventions. He is of Scotch-Irish extraction. Mr. Robertson was married, on May 17, 1893, to Miss Mittie Fite, only child of Gen. Jno. A. and Mary (Mit- chell) Fite, of Carthage, Tenn. Her mother died in 1889, aged fifty years. She was a member of the Methodist Epis-
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copal Church South. Mrs. Robertson's great-grandfather was captain of a company in the war of the Revolution. She is, through this relationship, a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and is treasurer of the local body, Mar- garet Gaston chapter. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Robertson, John Fite and Elizabeth. The latter was born Oct. 20, 1897, and died Oct. 2, 1901. Mr. and Mrs. Robertson are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, in which he is a trustee.
PROF. SAMUEL B. YEARGAN, principal and proprietor of the Year- gan school, of Cookeville, Tenn., was born near Murfreesboro, Rutherford county, Tenn., Aug. 7, 1850. His parents were Dr. H. H. L. and Fru- zanna E. (Jarratte) Yeargan. The father was born May 29, 1820, near Triune, Williamson county, Tenn. He was a physician by profession, reared on a farm, educated in medi- cine at Transylvania university, Ken- tucky, graduating March 6, 1846, and has been a practitioner at Salem, seven miles southwest of Murfreesboro, Rutherford county, ever since. His practice extended over a large ter- ritory, where for almost sixty years he has ministered to the sick, few doctors being more favorably known. For nearly two generations he has been a member and officer in the Methodist Episcopal Church South. His wife is a devout men- ber of the same church, and their home has been for years the stopping-place for the ministers of the faith. Doctor Yeargan is a Mason, and in his younger years took great interest in the order. He was married Jan. 12, 1848, and he and his wife have reared six children. His parents were Bart- lett 'and Mary A. (Lawrence) Yeargan, who were married in 1813. Bartlett Yeargan was born Feb. 18, 1790, at Chapel Hill, N. C., and in 1812 settled in Williamson county, Tenn. The father of Bartlett Yeargan gave much of the land on
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which Chapel Hill was built, that college having been in suc- cessful operation more than 100 years. The grandfather of Bartlett Yeargan was Rev. Andrew Yeargan, a native of Wales and a contemporary of Charles and John Wesley, Whit- field and other eminent divines of the day. Professor Year- gan's maternal grandparents were Thomas and Elmira (Dodd) Jarratte. They came to Tennessee from Charlotte Court House, Va., in 1808. He was a farmer, and often went from Mur- freesboro to Baltimore to buy goods, bringing them back in wagons. They had three daughters, of whom Fruzanna was the second. The other two died recently. Mr. Jarratte died in the early nineties, in the house in which he had lived for sixty years. His wife died about 1900. Their respective ages were eighty-six and eighty years. Samuel B. Yeargan was the second of six children : Sallie Elmira, now Mrs. Fount Love, her husband a farmer of Rutherford county; Samuel B., Mark Sullivan, who died in 1903, aged about fifty years; Robert Andrew, who has charge of the home farm; Marietta, now Mrs. Dr. DeWitt Huff, her husband a practicing physician, living on a farm in Rutherford county, and Benjamin Thomp- son, accidentally drowned in 1896, aged thirty-eight years. Samuel B. was educated at Murfreesboro, where he finished his course of study in 1872. He then began teaching at Salem, and continued as a teacher in Rutherford county for ten years. He moved to Cookeville, in 1882, and has been a teacher there ever since. He had charge of the public schools for seven years, and then taught in private schools, his present school being the culmination of his labors. It has been in successful operation for eleven years; has several associate teachers; a curriculum of study that prepares its students to the junior year at college; teaches a complete collegiate course, where desired, in mathematics, science, Latin and higher English; gives certificates of progress and proficiency; has furnished nearly all the teachers for this and surrounding counties for the last twenty years. Professor Yeargan has been the in- structor of a large number of young men who are now physi- cians, attorneys, ministers, merchants, teachers, and, in fact, in all lines of endeavor. Professor Yeargan has been a close
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student from early boyhood, not only of books, but of men and events; is an original and independent thinker, and at all times has the courage to express his convictions. For thirty years he has been in touch with the most advanced thought, as reflected in the best magazines, and has read all books of an- cient and modern times. He takes a part in institute work, and is one of the prominent educators of Central Tennessee. He has passed through all the chairs of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and was the delegate to the Grand Lodge in 1903. Professor Yeargan was married, on Nov. 22, 1886, to Miss Tina Reagan, a native of Cookeville and a daughter of Isaac and Louisa Reagan. Her father was proprietor of the Reagan hotel, of Cookeville, which had an excellent name, far and wide. He died at the age of forty-four years, and his wife died in 1902, aged seventy-six years. They had three daughters: Mary Ann, Mrs. E. D. Staley, of Cookeville; Lizzie Lucile, Mrs. Joshua Brown, of Decatur, Ala., and Tina, wife of Professor Yeargan. Mr. Yeargan is a great-great- grandson of Rev. Andrew Yeargan, who came to the United States from Wales, in 1735, and settled in Virginia. He was a descendent of the ancient Britons, who were Aryans, out of whom came the Celts and from them the Saxons, then the Anglo-Saxons, and then the Welsh, the present type of the ancient Britons. Five children have been born to Professor and Mrs. Yeargan: Marie Beatrice, Reagan Lawrence, Eliza- beth Lucile, Louise and Eugene, the latter dying in 1902, at the age of two years. Both parents are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. He has been superin- tendent of the Sunday school for many years, and is at present a steward in the church. He is also now principal of the Monterey city school and is a born commander and dis- ciplinarian.
JOHN S. HARRISON, M. D., a popular and successful physician of McMinnville, Tenn., was born in Wilson county, Tenn., in the year 1832. He is a son of Edwin Ruffin and Dicey (Ruffin) Harrison, his mother being a relative of that -Edmund Ruffin who fired the first gun against Fort Sumter in
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1861. Doctor Harrison's grandfather, Stith Harrison, was a native of Virginia and a cousin to Gen. William Henry Har- rison. Doctor Harrison was educated at Alpine college, Tenn., and at the beginning of the war was engaged in the practice of medicine at Liberty. He enlisted as a private in Company C, Second Tennessee cavalry, and in the winter of 1861-62 was at the battle of Fishing Creek and Laurel Bridge. During the years 1862-63, he was assigned to the hospital service as a surgeon, and in 1864 commanded his company in the field. He took part in the battles of Shiloh, Iuka, Corinth, Murfreesboro, Brice's Crossroads, Harrisburg, Athens, Johnsonville, Franklin, Nashville, and numerous others of less importance. He was severely wounded in the arm at Harrisburg and was shot in the chest at Murfreesboro. After the war, he located at Smith- ville, where he practiced medicine until 1884, when he removed to McMinnville. He has always been a student of everything pertaining to his profession, and is regarded as one of the progressive physicians of Eastern Tennessee.
D. L. LANSDEN, chancellor of the fourth division, Cooke- ville, Tenn., was born in White county, Tenn., May 15, 1869. His parents were Dr. Hugh Hill and Leeann (McGhee) Lans- den, both natives of Tennessee. During the Civil war his father was a captain in the Confederate service, in the regi- ment commanded by Colonel Stanton. He enlisted in 1861, and served until captured, in 1864, while on scout duty. He was imprisoned at Louisville, but escaped just before the sur- render. He sustained a severe wound in the calf of the leg. Before the war he had commenced the study of law, and when it closed he again took up the study of that profession, but soon gave it up for medicine, studying under Doctor Baker, of Baker's Crossroads, in White county, and later practiced medicine in that locality. He removed to Cookeville, in 1878, where he remained two years, and then went to Granville, in Jackson county, and practiced there eight years. He then lo- cated in White county, and died there in June, 1902, at the age of sixty-five years. He was a member of and held an official position in the Cumberland Presbyterian church. Dr.
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Hugh Lansden's father was Rev. James K. Lansden, an emi- nent divine in the Cumberland Presbyterian church. He mar- ried Elizabeth McDonald, and they raised a large family. all of them now deceased. Leeann McGhee's parents were George and Nancy McGhee, both now deceased. He was a farmer of Overton county. They reared a large family. Doctor Lansden and wife were the parents of the following children : Wirt P. and James K., both residents of Isoline, Cumberland county, and partners in mining; Charles A., died at the age of eighteen years; Judge D. L., Minnie A., Now Mrs. A. P. Johnson, of Doyle, White county, and John M., who died at the age of five years. Judge Lansden attended the common schools and then studied several years at Doyle college. He read in the law office of Judge E. Jarvis, of Sparta, and was admitted to the bar in 1893. Immediately afterward he be- gan practice, as one of the firm of Fancher & Lansden. This partnership continued for two years, when Mr. Lansden moved to Crossville, to represent some corporations there, and be- came a member of the firm of Snodgrass, Robinson & Lansden. Mr. Snodgrass was elected to Congress in 1898, and the firm became Robinson, Smith & Lansden, L. D. Smith entering it in place of the retiring member. In 1900 Mr. Rob- inson retired and went to Sparta, and for two years the firm was Smith & Lansden. In 1902 Mr. Lansden was elected chancellor of the fourth division, which position he has since filled, his official term expiring in 1910. He was married, on Nov. 14, 1895, to Miss Helen Snodgrass, of Sparta, second daughter of H. C. and Ammie R. (Cope) Snodgrass, both na- tives of Tennessee. They had seven children: Notie Lenore, Mrs. F. T. Fancher, died at the age of twenty-two years; Linnie C., Mrs. Charles G. Black, Jr., died Feb. 21, 1904, aged twenty-four; Mary, died at the age of four years; Florence, died aged ten years; Kate, died when two years old, and Henry C., Jr. Four children have been born to Judge and Mrs. Lans- den: David Snodgrass, Florence Ann, Henry C., and Hugh McDonald, the last two having died in infancy. Mrs. Lans- den is a member of the Christian church. Judge Lansden is a member of the Masonic fraternity, being a Royal Arch Mason.
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He is also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. In his present position, Judge Lansden is unquestionably the right man. He is well adapted for his work, is numbered among the leading men of the state in his calling, and is a most worthy citizen.
R. B. CAPSHAW, ex-special judge of Cookeville, Tenn., was born in Warren county, that state, Oct. 13, 1852. His parents were James W. and Nancy ( Parsley) Capshaw, both natives of Tennessee. The father was a farmer, and for many years a justice of the peace; was a worthy and useful citizen and highly respected by those who knew him; was well versed in law and acquainted with human nature as well; was often sought by his neighbors and friends who needed advice, his suggestions and judgment keeping many a man from useless and costly litigation and smoothing over difficulties in a man- ner entirely satisfactory to all. He believed in getting and giving value received; lived up to his contracts and avoided taking undue advantage of any man; was opposed to secession, believing it wrong, but when the states seceded, he cheerfully cast his lot with them and gave his voice and influence to the war; was too old to go to the front, but sent a son. He was a member of the Christian church, and gave liberally of his means for its support. Judge Capshaw's grandparents were James and Peggy (Tabor) Capshaw. The grandfather was a Revolutionary soldier, and in that service lost his health, never fully recovering from the effects of his trying expe- riences. He settled in Warren county, Tenn., before the be- ginning of the nineteenth century. He belonged to that branch of the Baptist church that believed strongly in predestination and foreordination, and he was firmly grounded in those doc- trines, his family being of the same opinions. He died well advanced in years. His wife reached the age of ninety years.
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They reared a family of six or seven children. Judge Cap- shaw's mother was the daughter of Anthony W. Parsley, an ardent Whig in the ante-bellun days and accustomed to at- tend gatherings such as sales, musters, etc., imbibing as was common in those times. He occasionally got to the point of "feeling good." He never liked a Tory, and once, while in this condition, narrowly escaped trouble by delivering himself of the following to one of the disliked tribe: "He that would take up a Tory and throw away a Whig is worse than a sow that would eat up her pigs.". He and his wife reared twelve children, all of whom grew to maturity and married, but are now deceased. Two of the sons were James and Brice, the former of whom took up the side of the Union, and the latter of the Confederacy, and, by a strange coincidence, both were killed at the battle of Stone River. Judge Capshaw's mother died April 1, 1889. The Parsley family settled on Caney Fork river, in DeKalb county, Tenn. Later Anthony W. Parsley sold for $1,200 his large tract of land, which would now bring $100,000, went to Kentucky, and died in the hills of that state at an advanced age. His wife died at the age of seventy years. Judge Capshaw is one of five children. Mary Jane was appointed postmistress at Mountain Creek, Tenn., when eighteen years of age; held that office for thirty-five years, under the various administrations, and died while hold- ing the position. She was appointed to the office during the U. S. Grant administration, in 1869, and her age at death was about fifty-three. She received the appointment because she was highly educated, had a wonderful aptness for business, was an excellent scribe and quick of discrimination. The office served patrons for a radius of ten miles, and, as many of them were poor writers or could not write at all, she wrote for such of them. She was the friend and benefactor of all, and there was no desire on the part of the patrons of the office for a change. One of the children, Washington, enlisted, in 1861, in the Confederate service, in Capt. John W. Yowles' company ; was made an orderly sergeant; was in the service a short time, when he took measles, and died at the age of twenty-two years. His regiment was in General Hardee's
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command. James H. was the third of the children. He was well educated, and was for some time a successful dentist at Mountain Creek, Tenn. David, the fourth child, died young. The fifth, R. B. Capshaw, the subject of this sketch, was edu- cated at Middleton seminary, in Warren county, and later at the Masonic institute, Hartsville, Tenn. He completed a com- mercial course and attained a reasonable proficiency in science and art; then read law under Judge B. M. Webb, at Cookeville, where he moved in 1873; was admitted to the bar in 1874, under Judge N. W. McConnell and W. G. Crowley; at once commenced to practice, but later removed to Woodbury, in 1877, where he became a member of the firm of Burton, Jones & Capshaw, which continued for eighteen months. John W. Burton was chancellor of the third division, and Maj. James A. Jones was a state senator. Mr. Capshaw returned to
Cookeville, in 1878, and has remained there ever since, engaged in. the practice of law, first with Capt. H. H. Dillard, and later with Hon. H. Denton, and remained with the latter eight or ten years. He was connected with good lawyers for some time, but for the last fifteen years he has practiced alone. Judge Capshaw was made chancellor of the fifth division, by commission of Governor Turney, in 1893, and has held cir- cuit court by appointment, acting as trial judge. He was married, Dec. 2, 1883, in Cookeville, to Miss Alice G., daughter of J. M. and Sallie (Barnes) Whitson, of Cookeville, natives of Tennessee. Three sons have been born to Judge and Mrs. Capshaw: Estle W., who has obtained his certificate as a state normal teacher of Tennessee. He taught his first school when seventeen years of age, and is a young man of much promise. His patrons say of him: "He taught an excellent school." He is now a highly respected student of the Uni- versity of Tennessee, at Knoxville. Coran P., the second son, has also secured his state certificate. He was asked to take a school when but fifteen years old, and accepted, teaching without criticism from parents or pupils, with one exception, that of a Mormon family who were refused the use of the school building by him, on the advice of the school board, the Mormons desiring to use it as a preaching place, to which
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the patrons of the school objected. Coran is a genial, courteous, affable and bright boy, a born political "mixer," a great favorite, with perhaps not a single enemy. He is now finish- ing his course of study in the Cookeville Collegiate institute. Hulon J. is a bright and promising boy, also a student in Cookeville Collegiate institute. Mr. and Mrs. Capshaw are members of the Christian church, in which he holds the office of deacon. He stands well among the business people; does business for the leading firms; is well acquainted with the com- mercial standing of the people engaged in affairs; and his ad- vice or opinion along commercial lines is often sought, not only by those at home, but by parties from abroad. Judge Capshaw has been a close student of affairs. When a student he thought it proper to educate himself, and did not consider it beneath his dignity to work in payment for his board. At the same time, he kept good company and maintained a character above reproach, although he was looked down upon by some for cutting wood, mowing lawns, etc., while posing as a gentleman. But time brings changes, and today he could buy out the half-dozen who sneered at him and still have money left. As one of the directors and organizers of the Overton Telephone Company, organized at Lexington, Tenn., during the formulation of the constitution and by-laws, he opposed the incurring of any debt by the company until money was in sight to meet it, but was outvoted. A year later the company was greatly in debt, and his original position was recognized to have been the correct one. Then he was elected president unanimously, and held the position until the dissolu- tion of the company: His plan of procedure and the confidence placed in him by the company enabled him to pay much of the debt, but the company was finally sold out by a trustee before the entire debt could be liquidated, giving emphasis to the truism that "dollars are much better than prospects in the mat- ter of debt-paying." We omitted to say that, while Judge Capshaw was a student, working his way in the Masonic insti- tute, at Hartsville, Tenn., the boys and girls attempted to guy him, by electing him president of a fashionable literary society, thinking he was illiterate and unable to fill the place. But, by
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his untiring energy, he filled the presidential chair to their great surprise and admiration. He was re-elected by a unanimous vote for two years, or until he finished his course of study at that school.
PROF. LESLIE E. SUMMERS, one of the principals of the Cookeville Collegiate institute, at Cookeville, Tenn., also ex-county superintendent of Warren county, was born in that county, Feb. 12, 1876. His parents, George W. and Susan Parlee (Brew- er) Summers, are both natives of Tennessee. The father was born in 1841; has been a farmer all his ac- tive life; is widely and favorably known through his own and adjoin- ing counties; has held a number of offices, but has little taste for public business. He enlisted, in 1861, as a private in Coffee's company, Sixteenth Tennessee infantry, and served until the war closed. He was twice wounded, once in the head and once in the foot; was taken prisoner once, but soon made his escape ; was in the first battle of Bull Run, at Perryville, Mis- sionary Ridge, Murfreesboro, and in the Atlanta campaign, which means being under fire for forty days and nights; also took part in numerous other engagements-in fact, in all those in which his command was engaged. At the close of the war, he returned home and resumed farming; has a good farm of moderate size and is numbered among the substantial farmers of Putnam county. He and his wife are members of the Christian church. E. J. Summers, Professor Summer's grand- father. was for many years a farmer of Warren county. He now lives in Cannon county, and. though ninety years of age, is active in both mind and body, attending to the business of the farm as in former days. One of his sons, James, was killed at the battle of Perryville. Ky. The father of E. J. Sum- mers was George Summers, who came from North Carolina to Wilson county, Tenn., in an early day. Susan Parlee (Brewer)
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