USA > Tennessee > Notable men of Tennessee. Personal and genealogical, with portraits, Volume II > Part 11
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HON. JOHN OVERTON, who at the time of his death, Dec. II, 1903, was one of the leading citizens and capitalists of Memphis, Tenn., was born at Nashville, that state, April 27, 1842. He came from a prominent family, being the son of John Overton, of Nashville, who was for many years one of the most prominent citizens of Davidson county and was the grandson of Judge John Overton, who, with Marcus E. Winchester, settled the city of Memphis, which is now one of the leading communities of the South. He was also the grand- nephew of Judge Hu Lawson White, whose name and deci- sions' are familiar to all who are acquainted with the develop- ment of Tennessee. Although a descendant of some of the best blood of the South, John Overton, Jr., was not dependent upon ancestry for his position. He was one of those men who accomplish much through the possession of natural talent, coupled with earnest effort and far-sightedness in dealing with great public questions and interests. He resided in Nash- ville until 1865, when he removed to Memphis, and from that time until his death he remained in the city of his adop- tion. Entering into commercial pursuits, he at once advanced to the front rank of business men. His transactions were marked by cool thought, and he was sought by all for advice and counsel, his strong common sense and fine perceptive facul- ties making his judgment of rare value. He was one of the factors of Memphis and one of its greatest personalities. Those familiar with the dark days of this city, when the ter- rible scourge of yellow fever was decimating her population, with hundreds lying in the trenches at Elmwood cemetery, when all who could do so were fleeing for their lives, and those remaining were tax-ridden beyond hope, with the city bank- rupt and helpless, remember and appreciate his services. Under conditions such as to appall the strongest. Colo- nel Overton, himself almost as great a sufferer as any, wrought out from his splendid brain a plan by which the dead
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city was brought to life and enabled to again raise her head before the world. Talking first with one friend and explaining in detail his plan, he called several meetings, each larger than its predecessor, and finally, at a meeting attended by thou- sands, his plans were ratified and he was sent to Nashville to secure the legislation by which Memphis forfeited her charter and was made a taxing district with the state as her guardian. The plan proved most successful; the fallen city was restored in time to her place among the cities of the commonwealth- her creditors cared for, her credit restored and her municipal development made possible. In all these trying times, Col. John Overton was the foremost figure, and he never relaxed his efforts until all that had been lost had been regained with enough added to make impossible a repetition of the disasters of 1879. Today one of the most prosperous cities of the state, her system of sanitation making it improbable that she will ever again know the plague of those times. Memphis pays grateful homage to the memory of one of the little coterie of men to whom she owes so much. A politician for his friends, Colonel Overton never sought office for himself, though sometimes ap- pointed and elected to important positions. He was at one time a member of the fire and police commission, was made president of the commission, but could not be induced to accept a second term. He served in the assembly in 1872-73. and in the senate in 1874-75. He did more than any one else to reduce the offices and curtail the expenses of Shelby county, and as chairman of the senate committee on finance dis- tinguished himself. He was several times urged to run for Congress, and as many times for governor, but always declined. No political gathering. however, was complete without his presence, and the influence exerted by him was great and far- reaching. His splendid courage, which caused him to stand for what he conceived to be the right; his power of mind over men, their recognition of his fine self-poise and commanding presence, held the strongest within bound, and the most fiery became cool. One of the most important parks in Memphis is named for him, it being largely the result of his efforts, in his desire to make of Memphis a beautiful city as well as a pros-
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perous one. One of the papers, commenting upon his life and services, said of him the day after death's hand was laid upon him: "He was a man of superior moral character. His life was as clean as the page upon which his deeds will be re- corded. In his business transactions he was close but always honest. He never at any time in his life resorted to deceptive methods, and he had no patience with or confidence in any one who did." He honored the name he inherited; in social life he was ever affable and agrecable. He greeted all with a kindly word, and his warm, generous heart prompted him to relieve the needy poor, with whom he was a favorite. He was president of the Vanderbilt Insurance Company, of the DeSoto Building and Loan association, and of the Bigbee high school; vice-president of the Planters Insurance Company and of the Bank of Commerce, and a director of the People's Insurance Company, the Safe Deposit and Security bank, the James & Graham Wagon Company, the Tennessee Valley Iron and Railroad Company, the Memphis Jockey Club association, the Masonic Temple association and others. He was married. Oct. 23. 1866, to Matilda Watkins, of Davidson county. The wife and two children survive him : Jennie and William Thomp- son Overton. Three sons were laid away before the father was called: Samuel Watkins, John and Lea. The last-named died in Texas, suddenly, but a few weeks before his father. who received the news while in New Orleans in attendance upon the waterways convention. The last stroke was too much, and he never recovered from the shock caused by the loss of a third son.
JAMES T. JONES. M. D., a distinguished physician of Jackson, Tenn., was born in that city, May 3, IS46. He is a son of Rev. Amos W. and Mary E. (Womack) Jones. His father graduated from Randolph-Macon college, Va., in 1839. with the degree of D. D., and came to Jackson as a minister of the Methodist church. For forty years he was president of the Memphis Conference Female institute. Dr. J. T. Jones studied at the West Tennessee college before the war, and at the breaking out of hostilities was a student in the Southern
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university, at Greensboro, Ala. As he was but fifteen years of age when the war commenced, he was considered too young for a soldier's duties, and was kept in school. In 1863 he enlisted as a private in Company A, Sixteenth Tennessee cavalry, which was a part of Forrest's celebrated command. With this regiment he fought at Brice's Crossroads, Harris- burg, Miss., Fort Pillow, all the engagements of Hood's Ten- nessee campaign, and numerous other engagements, including the military operations around Murfreesboro during the siege. Throughout his entire service, young Jones furnished his own horse and gun, and never took a cent of compensation for his services. After the war, he took up the study of medicine. graduating from the Washington university, Baltimore, Md .. in 1870. He at once located in his native city, where, by his favorable acquaintance, his success in treating disease, his con- stantly dignified manner and his general character as a man and a physician, he has built up a large and lucrative practice. Doctor Jones was for years the health officer of his county, and in that capacity introduced a number of reforms to improve the general sanitary condition and the public health. In 1873 he was united in marriage to Miss Belle Gates, of Aberdeen, Miss .. and they have one daughter, Mary E.
THOMAS B. CALDWELL, of Memphis, Tenn., clerk and master of the chancery court of Shelby county. is a native of the county of which he is an official. He was born in the ninth civil district of Shelby county. Nov. 30, 1862. He attended the com- mon schools until seventeen years of age, when he commenced clerking in a little store in Bartlett, where he re- mained for three years. He then went to Lynchburg. Va., where he became bookkeeper for a cigar manufacturing company. He remained! there until 1884, when he returned home, and in November of that year was made a deputy in the clerk and master's office, in
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which position he served until Sept. 1, 1896, when he retired and engaged in the fire insurance business in Memphis. In 1897 he was the choice of his party for the legislature, and was elected as Shelby county's representative. He served so well that two years later he was elected to the state senate from the thirty-second district. On Aug. 9, 1900, Chancellor F. H. Heiskell appointed him to the position he now occupies. An ardent Democrat, he takes an active part in politics, is gen- erally selected as one of the delegates to the state convention of the party, and is always ready to take part in the delibera- tions of his party, both locally and in its larger affairs. Mr. Caldwell is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
ALEXANDER GRANT SIN- CLAIR, M. D., LL. D. Dr. Alexan- der Grant Sinclair was born July 30, 1842, in Charlottenburgh, Glengary county, Ontario, Canada, and is the son of Archibald and Mary (Grant) Sinclair. The former was the second son of Peter Sinclair, of Perthshire, Scotland, who became a resident of Canada in 1800. The latter was a son of Finlay Sinclair, of the same place in Scotland. The wife of Peter Sin- clair was Ann McIntyre, daughter of Archibald McIntyre, of Kenmore, Perthshire, Scotland, who with his family came to Canada in 1800, and in the same year the marriage of Peter Sinclair and Ann McIntyre occurred. The family is a branch of the Sinclairs of Caithness, and of Norman extraction through William Sinclair, a kinsman of William the Conqueror, and an officer in the army of conquest. Archibald Sinclair, the father of Doctor Sinclair, was a farmer, and proprietor of lumber and flouring mills in Bruce county, Ontario, and served the public many terms as a member and reeve (presiding officer) of the township council and as a member of the county council. Doctor Sinclair was his youngest son. On the ma-
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ternal side, Doctor Sinclair is descended from United Empire loyalist stock. His mother was a daughter of Peter Grant, who served with the British forces in the war of 1812, and whose father was Angus Grant, a native of Inverness, Scotland, but a resident of the state of New York from 1774 to 1784. Angus Grant died, in 1813. from injuries received while on military duty in the war with the United States in 1812. He was the son of John Grant, of Inverness, a part of whose clan, the powerful clan Grant, took up arms in 1745-46 for the restoration of the House of Stuart, under the leadership of Prince Charles Edward. After the defeat of the Stuart forces. at the memorable battle of Culloden, April 16, 1746, John Grant, with his brother Alexander and eighty-two others, was exiled to Barbadoes for a term of fourteen years. This was done in violation of the terms of surrender. Only two of the exiles lived to return. and of these John Grant was one. But his sense of injury was deep, the Stuart cause was a lost cause, and he resolved to leave forever the land of his birth. Ac- cordingly, in or about the year 1760, he set sail for America, selecting a part of the rich and fertile valley of the Mohawk, where now stands the town of Johnstown. N. Y .. for his future home. Before leaving Scotland, he had been required to take the oath of allegiance, and when the Revolutionary war broke out, he and his family felt that duty demanded fealty to the existing government, even at the sacrifice of pecuniary interests. Accordingly, his son, Angus Grant, the great-grandfather of Doctor Sinclair, joined the royal army under Sir John Johnston. Of Angus Grant an act of bravery is recorded which. in these days, might have won for him the Victoria cross. Marching through the woods in the winter. the command lost its way, and for days they wandered on, weary, hungry and cold. At last, one of their number, unable to go farther, lay down to die. All were weak and well- nigh exhausted, and Sir John said that it was better that one should die than that all should perish, and that the man must be left to his fate. But Angus Grant said, "No;" he "would bring him along or die with him," and shouldering his fallen comrade he staggered on with the rest. A few hours later a
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faint halloo was heard in the distance, and Sir John, putting his car to the ground for a moment, sprang up exclaiming : "We're saved; we're saved; that is the voice of my brother William!' And so it proved. Another incident is worthy of record. The loyalists who had left their families behind them were naturally anxious about their welfare, but to visit them was perilous in the extreme, for short shrift was given any who were found within the lines of the Revolutionary army without a pass. Angus Grant, however, became so anxious re- garding his wife and helpless family, that he determined to risk all, and under cover of night he stole to his home on the banks of the Mohawk. The following morning a thrilling mes- sage, "the soldiers are coming," was sent from the lookout on the hill. In the chimney corner, smoking, and with his highland "blue bonnet" drawn over his eyes, sat old John Grant, of Culloden fame. A hurried exchange of clothes, and the young man took his father's place in the chimney corner. When the soldiers looked in, they saw, as they thought, what they had often seen before. the old man dozing by the fire, and, remounting, they rode away. In 1784 Angus Grant moved his family across the border, where he, in common with other United Empire Loyalists, was indemnified for his losses with large grants of land from the British government. His son. Peter. as mentioned above, was the father of Mary, who mar- ried Archibald Sinclair, and became the mother of Dr. Alex- ander Grant Sinclair. The family motto of the Grants was. "Craig Ellachie" (stand fast). Doctor Sinclair was educated in the common and grammar schools of the Dominion of Canada. and under private tutors abroad. His studies included Greek. Latin. French, German, English, mathematics and natural philosophy. He began the study of medicine in 1866, as a private student under Dr. Samuel Campbell, of Ontario, and attended his first course of lectures in the medical department of the University of Michigan. session of 1866-67, taking. in the following spring. a course of analytical chemistry under Professors Douglas and Prescott. In 1867 he entered the Co !- lege of Physicians and Surgeons, of New York, medical de- partment of Columbia university, graduating from that institu-
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tion in 1869 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. In March of that year he gained by competitive examination the posi- tion of resident surgeon of the New York Eye and Ear infirmary, holding it from April 1. 1869, until Jan. 29, 1872, when he resigned for the purpose of going abroad for travel and further study. In Europe he continued his studies mainly in Vienna, but also for a time in London: in the latter place, chiefly at the Royal London Ophthalmic hospital, and in the former at the Imperial and Royal General hospital, under Arlt and Bergmeister in ophthalmology, under Gruber in otology. under Schroetter, Schnitzler and others in laryngology, and under the noted Stricker in pathology. giving also some atten- tion to dermatology under Neuman. Kaposi and the celebrated Hebra. Returning to America, in September. 1873. he settled in Detroit. Mich., and in November of that year entered upon a career of private practice, devoting himself exclusively, as he still does, to diseases of the eye, ear and throat. During his residence there he was ophthalmic and aural su: geon to Harper hospital from 1876 to 1879. In 1878 he was tendered the position of professor of ophthalmology and otology in the Mem- phis Hospital Medical college, of Memphis, Tenn., an institu- tion then about to be established in that city, and which, in its twenty-first session, with 750 students enrolled, became the second largest medical college in the United States. The first session of this college began in October. 1880, and in that year he removed to Memphis, which has since been his home. In 1883 laryngology was added to his chair, and hygiene in 1898. In 1883 the chair of materia medica and therapeutics became vacant and at the solicitation of other members of the faculty. he occupied that professorship also during two sessions. 1883 to 1885. He was secretary of the faculty 1883-84, and dean of the faculty during two prosperous sessions, 1884 to 1886. In 1890 he again became secretary of the faculty, an office which he continues to hold. He has been ophthalmic and aural surgeon to St. Joseph's hospital since 1889, the year in which it was founded, and since 1892 laryngologist to the same insti- tution. Since 1890 he has been ophthalmic and aural surgeon to St. Peter's Orphan asylum, and has also held since 1890 the
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office of United States special examining surgeon. He was formerly ophthalmic and aural surgeon to St. Mary's Cottage hospital, and from 1899 to 1903 held the same position in the Memphis City hospital. Since 1894 he has been ophthalmic and aural surgeon and laryngologist to the East End dispen- sary, and since 1902 ophthalmic surgeon to the Old Ladies' (now the Mary Galloway) home. In 1896, at the meeting of the Southern Medical College association, held at Atlanta, Ga., Doctor Sinclair originated the movement for the extension of the required time of medical college attendance to four years of six months each, by introducing a resolution to so amend the constitution as to make attendance on four sessions of six months each, in separate years, obligatory on all students matricu- lating for the first time in 1898. or thereafter. After much opposition this amendment was adopted at the meeting held on Nov. 5, 1898, but inasmuch as the session of 1898-99 had already begun in all southern colleges, it was made operative on and after Jan. 1, 1899. Thus, through his efforts, was accomplished this great step in the elevation of the standard of medical education in the Southern states. His literary work includes editorials, addresses, translations from the French and German, articles for medical journals, and many papers read before the various medical societies of which he is a member. During his residence in Detroit he was associate editor of the Peninsular Journal of Medicine from 1873 to 1876. and during 1895 was editor of the Memphis Medical Monthly, but early in the following year he retired from the general cditorship, retain- ing, however, and still continuing, the editorship of the depart- ment of ophthalmology. Among the titles of the papers which he has read before medical societies are the following: "Cata- ract," "Traumatic Cataract." "Iritis," "Glaucoma," "Retinitis Albuminurica," "Strabismus," "Ophthalmia Neonatorum," "The Electro-Magnet in the Extraction of Foreign Bodies from the Eye-ball." "Importance of Accuracy in Glasses and Their Fit- ting a Part of the Physician's Art," "Stricture of the Nasal Duct," "Bi-lateral Glioma of the Retina with Enucleation of Both Eyes and Exenteration of One Orbit-No Recurrence in Seventeen Years," "Sarcoma of the Choroid, Enucleation-No
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Recurrence in Eight Years," "Mastoid Periostitis and Mastoid Abscess." Doctor Sinclair is a member of the American Medical association; the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Tennessee State Medical society, the Medical and Surgical Association of West Tennessee, the Tri-State Medical Association of Mississippi, Arkansas and Tennessee, the Shelby County (now Memphis and Shelby county) Medical society, of which he was vice-president in 1889. and is an honorary men- ber of the Mississippi State Medical association. As delegate he represented the Memphis Hospital Medical college in the Southern Medical College association in 1896, 1897 and 1898. He was formerly a member of the Michigan State Medical soci- ety, the New York Ophthalmological society from 1870-72, and the American Ophthalmological society, 1874 to 1878. He was a member of council of the section of ophthalmology, and also of the section of otology, of the International Medical congress held in Washington, D. C., in 1887. In this congress he read a paper on "Bi-lateral Glioma of the Retina." In 1896 he was vice-president of the American Medical Editors' association.
He belongs to the Tennessee club, a society which was organ- ized for social purposes and for culture in literature and art. Among his favorite studies is history, both ancient and modern. Doctor Sinclair is, and has been for a number of years, a mem- ber of the board of directors and vice-president of the Conti- nental Savings bank, of Memphis. In religion, he is a Chris- tian, in denomination a Baptist, and is a member and chairman of the board of deacons of the First Baptist church, of Mem- phis. He is a bachelor. In 1901 the Arkansas Normal col- lege conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws.
S. EMANUEL KIEROLF. a carriage manufacturer of Jack- son, Tenn., is a native of the State of New York, where he was born in the year 1833, and is a descendant of the Kicrolf fam- ily of Christiansand, Norway. When he was about three months old his parents removed to Nashville, where he grew to manhood and received his education. He learned the trade of carriage builder, and was thus employed when the Civil war
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commenced. In 1861 he enlisted in the Confederate army, as : member of the Twenty-seventh Tennessee infantry, and was made sergeant-major. At the battle of Shiloh he distinguished himself by his bravery, and was promoted to the rank of adju- tant of the regiment. Subsequently he was commissioned cap- tain and assigned to the position of assistant quartermaster. where he remained until the end of the war. While on detached duty, near Lexington, Tenn., he was captured by the Federals and sent to Johnson's Island, where he was kept as a prisoner until the final surrender, when he was released and returned to his home. With commendable zeal and industry, Captain Kier- oli set to work to retrieve his shattered fortunes, He located at Jackson, began the manufacture of carriages in a modest way, which he has gradually increased as the business demanded. until he has one of the modern equipped carriage factories of the country. Other factories may employ a larger number of men and turn out a greater number of vehicles, but none can boast of a better class of work. In matters outside of his busi- ness Mr. Kierolf is regarded as one of the progressive, public- spirited men of Jackson, who is always ready to aid any move- ment for the upbuilding of the town.
CHARLES P. ROBERTS. of the law firm of Berry & Roberts. was born at Little Rock, Ark., in 1866. received a primary education in the schools of that city, and took a course at St. John's college (now extinct), from which he graduated in 1888. He studied law with Judge E. H. Eng- lish, was admitted to the bar in the same year, opened an office at Little Rock. and practiced there until 1895. when he took up his residence in Memphis. In 1899 he formed his present partnership with Ben- jamin F. Berry. From 1890 to 1893 he was county attorney of Pulaski county, Ark .. and in 1893 he was elected to the state legislature from his district. He also represented his county in
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several state conventions in Arkansas, but since making his home in Tennessee does not take an active part in politics. Mr. Roberts belongs to the Improved Order of Red Men and the Knights of Columbus.
JOHN ETHERIDGE McCALL, lawyer, journalist and ex- congressman, of Lexington, Tenn., was born at Clarksburg, Carroll county, of the same state, Aug. 14, 1859. His early life was passed on the farm and in attending the common schools a few months each year. At the age of nineteen he entered the University of Tennessee, and graduated from that institution in ISSI. He then took up the study of law at Huntingdon, the county seat of his native county, and in 1883 was admitted to the bar. While engaged in the study of law he also edited the Tennessee Republican for about a year. In December, 1883, he located at Lexington, where he has ever since been engaged in the practice of his profession. Upon attaining his majority. he cast his lot with the Republican party and soon became an active factor in politics. In 1884, when but twenty-three years old, he was nominated for presidential elector on the Blaine and Logan ticket, and made a canvass of his district that will long be remembered for its vigor and fairness. In 1886 he was a candidate for district attorney, but was defeated, and the follow- ing year he was elected to represent Henderson county in the legislature. In 1889 he was re-elected to the legislature, and during both terms he made a creditable record as a legislator. In 1888 he was a delegate to the Republican national convention that nominated Gen. Benjamin Harrison for president. In 1890 Mr. McCall was appointed assistant United States district attor- ney for West Tennessee, but he resigned after serving about a year. In 1892 he was a candidate before the Republican state convention for the nomination of governor, which went to Hon. George W. Winstead. In 1894 Mr. McCall was nominated for Congress in the eighth district, and defeated Hon. B. A. Enloe by a plurality of about 2,000 votes. He was succeeded two years later by Hon. T. W. Sims, a Democrat, of Linden, Perry county. In 1900 he received the nomination of his party for governor and made a thorough canvass of the state, but was II-10
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