USA > Tennessee > Notable men of Tennessee. Personal and genealogical, with portraits, Volume II > Part 13
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HON. THETUS W. SIMS, of Linden, Tenn., representa- tive in Congress from the eighth district, was born on a farm in Wayne county, of that state, April 25, 1852. During his boyhood and youth he assisted his father with the work of the farm and attended the common schools in the fall and winter months. Later he became a student at Savannah college, Savan- nah, Tenn., and in June, 1876, graduated from the law depart- ment of Cumberland university, at Lebanon. Soon after leav- ing college he located at Linden, Perry county, where he began the practice of his profession. Although but twenty-four years of age, he forged his way rapidly to the front rank of Perry county lawyers and built up a lucrative practice. In 1882 he was elected county superintendent of public instruction, and held the office for two years, but declined further honors in that direction to devote his time to his practice. Upon locating at
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Linden he identified himself with the Democratic party and soon came to be recognized as one of the local leaders. His ability as an organizer, his ready oratory and his steadfast devotion to Democratic principles made him a favorite with many of his party associates. In 1892 he was nominated for a presidential elector on the Cleveland and Stevenson ticket, and in 1896 was elected to Congress. The district is a large one, embracing the counties of Benton, Carroll, Chester, Decatur, Hardin, Henderson, McNairy, Madison and Perry. Mr. Sims has retained his popularity with his constituents, and has been returned to the lower house of Congress at every election since he first entered that body as a member.
ROBERT L. McKELLAR, assist- ant general freight agent of the Southern railway system, at Mem- phis, Tenn., is a native of Alabama, having been born at Richmond, Dal- las county. April 17, 1866. He lived there until seventeen years of age and attended the public schools at that place. In 1884, he went to Chatta- nooga and the following year to Memphis, where he entered the em- ploy of the Memphis & Charleston railroad, as clerk in the auditing department. He remained with that department up to the time the road was merged with the Southern, becoming by successive steps freight accountant, gen- cral bookkeeper, soliciting agent at Memphis and general West- ern agent at Kansas City of the Memphis & Charleston and East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia railroads. He returned to Memphis, May 1, 1895, to take the position which he now holds, succeeding James S. Davant. The road, at that time the Memphis & Charleston, later became a part of the Southern system. Industrial development is Mr. Mckellar's specialty. He was one of the organizers of the Memphis Industrial league, and has been a director of the same from the start. He was elected president of the Memphis exchange, in 1901, heading both
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tickets and being the youngest man ever elected to that office and the only railroad man ever chosen for the position. He is one of the young business men who have done so much to secure for the city her commercial standing and is one of the foremost in everything pertaining to the welfare of Memphis. He is a member of nearly every business and social organization in the city, having served as director in the Cotton exchange. the Business Men's club and the Tennessee club, and is a mem- ber of the Chickasaw, Driving and Jockey clubs. He is presi- dent of the Tennessee Lumber Company, vice-president of the Eastmoreland Land Company, and a director in the South Memphis Land Company. Believing in the future greatness of his road, he makes its affairs his own, working always for its interests and taking a pride in its advancement. His business has called him to all parts of the United States, and he is well acquainted with conditions in nearly every section. With all this knowledge of different portions of this broad land, he prefers that in which he lives, as presenting as many opportu- nities as any, and more than some, for gaining success. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, and a colonel on the staff of Governor Frazier.
PATRICK H. STRICKLAND (deceased), a well-known educator of Tennessee, was born in Marshall county, Miss .. Sept. 27, 1841, and died at his home near Germantown, Tenn .. Oct. 27, 1899. While he was still in his infancy his parents, Cromwell P. and Delilah W. (Coopwood) Strickland, removed to Shelby county, Tenn., where Patrick grew to manhood on a plantation. He was given a collegiate education, and in 1860 was made a tutor in the university of DeSoto, from which he had graduated a short time before. In April, 1861, he left the school-room to enlist in the "Wigfall Grays," of Collierville. Although but nineteen years of age, he was elected second lieu- tenant of the company, which afterward became Company C. Fourth Tennessee infantry. He was with the regiment at Fort Pillow, Columbus, Island No. 10, Belmont, and was only pre- vented by illness from participating in the famous battle of Shiloh. At the end of the first year's service he was honorably
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discharged on account of the condition of his health. Later in the war he enlisted in Company A. Twelfth Tennessee cavalry. and served under Generals Chalmers, Neely, Rucker and For- rest. He was twice wounded during his service, once at Spring Hill and again at Johnsonville. In January. 1863. he was cap- tured, and he spent four months in prison in the Northern states. After the war was over, Mr. Strickland returned to his old vocation of teaching. and won distinction in the profession. His last work was as a teacher of Latin and mathematics in the Memphis high school. In 1870 he was married to Mary Rebecca Hathaway, by whom he had nine children. Mrs. Strickland died in 1890, and three years after he was married to Inez Bilderback, who survives him. Throughout his entire life Mr. Strickland was a friend of the South and a believer in its future. He was always willing to aid, to the best of his ability and the extent of his means, any movement for the up- building of the South, particularly for the advancement of the cause of education.
WILLIAM G. THOMAS, senior member of the firm of Thomas, Barnes & Miller, hardware jobbers, of Memphis, Tenn., was born in Panola county, Miss., in 1867, but his parents removed to Memphis the following year. Mr. Thomas knows no other home than Memphis, for it was there he grew to manhood and received his education in the public schools. He left high school a year before he
would have graduated. and entered the employ of Orgill Bros .. hardware merchants, as clerk, re- maining with that firm for ten years. In 1893 the present firm was organized, commencing as a retail house, but meeting with such success as to warrant it in branching out for a general jobbing trade. Today the house stands in the front rank of hardware jobbing in the South, doing an immense business. and employing a force of sixty men, of whom twelve are trav-
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eling salesmen. having for their territory the states of Arkan- sas, Mississippi, Alabama, West Tennessee, Western Kentucky. Louisiana, a large portion of Missouri, and the Indian and Oklahoma territories. Mr. Thomas is one of the leading citi- zens of Memphis, in both business and social life. He has served one term as president of the Merchants' exchange, and two terms of one year each as its vice-president. He is a member of the Knights Templars. the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, the Concatenated Order of Hoo Hoos, and affiliates with the Methodist church. Mr. Thomas is a bachelor and is very popular in social circles.
JOSEPH B. CABELL, Southern freight agent for the Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern railroad, the Con- tinental Line and the Central States Dispatch, at Memphis, Tenn., was born in Henderson, Ky., in 1862. He lived there until 1886, and was there educated in the public schools. Upon leaving school, he taught school in Union county, Ky., and cierked in the post-office at Henderson, and later entered the employ of the Louisville & Nashville railway at Henderson in 1880, and finally became agent at that point. In 1886 he was appointed to a position in the railway mail service, and was so employed until April, 1889, when he resigned to become local agent of the Ohio Valley railroad, at his old home. After a year in this position he went to St. Louis, where for a year he was with the Cupples Wood- enware Company. But, like most railroad men, he returned to his first love, and in the fall of 1891 he went to Memphis to take the place of traveling agent for the Blue Line. A year later he was offered the position of agent for the Inter-State Dispatch, which he accepted and remained with that company for five years, or until 1896, when he took his present position. Before leaving the railway mail service, he had risen to the position of assistant general superintendent, of the service in
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the United States at Washington, D. C., and played an impor- tant part in perfecting the present interchange of mail with Mexico. Mr. Cabell is a prominent figure in Masonic circles, being a Knight Templar, a Noble of the Mystic Shrine and past potentate of Alchymia temple, of Memphis. He also is a mem- ber of the Tennessee consistory, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite; knight commander of the Court of Honor; Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; Concatenated Order of Hoo Hoos; the Woodmen of the World; the Tennessee, Driving Park and Jockey clubs. and on the board of governors. He affiliates with the Episcopal church. He was for a number of years a member of the Memphis Cotton exchange, and served as a director ; is a member of the Memphis Merchants' exchange, and has served as a director on its board; was one of the found- ers of, and suggested the name for, the Business Men's club.
LEWIS T. KAVANAUGH, secretary and general manager of the Kavanaugh Land Company, of Memphis, Tenn., is a product of Missouri. He was born in St. Louis, in 1864. and his early years were spent in that city, where he attended the public schools, afterward finishing his education at Westminster college, Fulton, Mo. In 1881 he entered the employ of the Central Elevator Company, of St. Louis, and remained with that concern for several years. He then engaged with W. T. Bartley, wholesale dealer in meats, with whom he remained two years. At the end of that time he went to Atchison, Kan., where he took a position with the Pomeroy Coal Company. Two years later he went to Decatur, Ala., where he engaged in the tie contracting business with his brother, and followed this business for about eighteen months. In 1888 he went back to Atchison, Kan., where he was married, and returned soon after to Decatur. In the spring of 1889 he moved to Memphis and went into the sand business, in which he is still engaged. His company was incorporated in 1891 and has so far enjoyed a successful career. Mr. Kavanaugh belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church and is a member of the Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks.
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THOMAS B. ANDREWS, of the Davis & Andrews Grain and Milling Company, of Memphis, Tenn., was born in Maysville, Ky., in 1858. He was reared in Fleming county, and finished his education at Centre col- lege, Danville, Ky., graduating in 1879 with the degree of A. B. He then went to Memphis and entered the employ of the Memphis & Charleston Railroad Company, as clerk, remaining in the service of the company for three years and rising to the position of chief clerk. He then engaged with the Memphis Grain and Package Ele- vator Company, as clerk. Two years later he was made super- intendent. and in 1894 was elected president of the company, which position he continued to hold until the property was destroyed by fire, in 1898. In 1892 he was made general man- ager of the Eagle Mill Company, and remained in that position until the plant was destroyed by the same fire that wiped out the property of the Grain and Elevator Company. In 1900 the firm of Davis & Andrews was formed, and in 1901 the Davis & Andrews Company was organized to manufacture corn prod- - ucts. It does a corn-milling and general grain business. The mills of the company are located on the Illinois Central tracks and have a capacity of 1,500 barrels of meal per day, with a considerable percentage of hominy, grits, pearl and cream meal. In addition to their other products, the mills turn out 4,000 sacks of chops daily. The elevator will unload 3.500 bushels of corn per hour; the private tracks of the company will accom- modate fourteen cars at one time. About fifty people are em- ployed and the mills run the year round. Mr. Andrews is a director of the Memphis Merchants' exchange; also of the Memphis Freight bureau; belongs to the Phi Delta Theta; and is a member of and elder in the Alabama Street Presbyterian church. He is of Scotch-Irish descent, his ancestors coming from County Antrim, Ireland, in 1730, and settling in Penn- sylvania. Some of them participated in the Revolution.
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LAWRENCE E. TALBOT, one of the leading business men of Jackson, Tenn., was born in that city, June 25. 1847. Hc is a son of James L. and Ann P. (Dickens) Talbot, both of whom were descendants of English families who came to Amer- ica some years prior to the Revolutionary war. The paternal grandfather. Harvey Talbot, was a soldier in the Colonial army during the Revolution, and was seriously wounded at the battle of King's Mountain. The maternal grandfather, William Dick- ens, was a captain in the war of 1812, and his father. Robert Dickens, was a colonel of dragoons. Lawrence E. Talbot received his primary education in the common schools. after which he attended the West Tennessee college, where he was a student at the beginning of the war. As soon as his age would permit, he left college for the "tented field" as a member of Company D, Forrest's regiment of Tennessee cavalry. and served with this organization until the close of the war, taking part in nearly all the military operations in Middle and Western Tennessee. After the war he did not complete his education. which had been so rudely interrupted, but decided to enter upon a business career. In his chosen line he has been eminently successful owing to his rare business tact, his untiring industry and his genial disposition, which makes friends of those with whom he comes in contact. Last but not least of his qualifica- tions is his inflexible honesty, which holds the confidence of all "his associates and acquaintances. In 1871 he was married to Miss Joe May Rice, and to this marriage were born four chil- dren: May Rice. James L., Helen and Allison.
B. G. SARGENT, commercial agent of the Missouri Pacific and Iron Mountain railroads, at Memphis, Tenn., was born in New Salem. Ill., in 1863. and made that his home until he was sixteen years of age. He then went to Springfield, Ill., and became telegraph operator for the Wabash Railroad Company. He remained in the company's service for four years, the last three of them as train dispatcher. He left at the end of that time to become train dispatcher for the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad Company, at Salt Lake City. Here he remained for six years, the last half of which he was assistant super-
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intendent and superintendent of telegraph. In 1891 he came East, and took the position of local and commercial agent of the Missouri Pacific and Iron Mountain Railroad companies, at Memphis. Mr. Sargent is a thorough railroad man, and those who are best acquainted with him and his capacity expect to see him rise to still more important positions. He belongs to no order, but is of a social disposition, and finds pleasure and relax- ation in his clubs -- the Tennessee, Jockey and Business Men's- and the Memphis Trotting association.
J. N. CORNATZAR, assistant general passenger agent of the St. Louis & San Francisco railroad (Frisco system) at Memphis, Tenn .. was born in Bolivar, Tenn., in 1871, and lived there until fourteen years old. A year later he entered the em- ploy of the Mobile & Ohio Railroad Company at Humboldt, Tenn., as telegraph operator. He worked for the Mobile & Ohio railroad for twelve years, rising to the position of south- eastern passenger agent, with headquarters at Montgomery, Ala. He then took a position as general agent of the Kansas City, Ft. Scott & Memphis railroad, at Atlanta, Ga. Two years later the road was merged with the St. Louis & San Francisco rail- road, and Mr. Cornatzar was transferred to Memphis as general agent for the company. When the deal was consummated between the Frisco system and the Rock Island system, he became general agent for both lines, still maintaining headquar- ters at Memphis, and has since been advanced to the responsible position of assistant general passenger agent of the Frisco sys- tem at Memphis, with entire charge of passenger matters origi- nating in the Southeast. Mr. Cornatzar belongs to the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows. Knights of Pythias, and is also a member of the Episcopal church and the Tennessee club. He is a popular railroad man, and is well known throughout the Southeast.
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EDWARD K. VOORHEES, as- sistant general freight agent of the "Frisco" system, at Memphis, Tenn .. was born at Monroe, Butler county, Ohio, in 1862, and in 1869 accom- panied his parents to Pella, Iowa. In 1877 he went to Garnett, Kan., and in 1880 to Fort Scott, where he en- tered the service of the Kansas City. Fort Scott & Gulf Railroad Com- pany. Two years later he went to Kansas City to take a position with the Santa Fe. and in 1884 returned to the employ of the Kansas City. Fort Scott & Gulf Company, at Kansas City. He was transferred to Memphis in 1889, as local agent in the freight service, and in 1894 was made commercial agent for the same line. In 1896 he was promoted to his present position, a steady advancement which bespeaks appreciation of the ability he has shown in his line of work. Mr. Voorhees is a Royal Arch Mason, and belongs to the Tennessee club, one of the leading social organizations of Memphis. That he will make further strides forward as a railroad man is not doubted by those who know his capability.
EGBERT E. TANSIL, a well-known resident of Dresden, Tenn .; was born in the county where he now lives, May II, 1839. his parents being Erasmus B. and Matilda C. (Allen) Tansil, both descendants of English families who settled in Vir- ginia a short time before the commencement of the Revolution. His grandfather was born in Virginia, and after the Revolution removed to North Carolina, where he married. A brother of Erasmus B. Tansil was a soldier in the Florida Indian war. Egbert E. Tansil received his education in the Cumberland uni- versity, graduating from the law department in the spring of 1861. Upon leaving college, he immediately set to work to or- ganize a company for the Confederate service. When this com- pany was completed he was elected captain, and it was mustercd into the service as Company A, Thirty-first Tennessee infantry.
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The regiment was assigned to Stewart's brigade, and when it was reorganized, some nine months later, he was elected colonel. He took part in the twenty-one days' bombardment at Fort Pil- low; was with Bragg in Kentucky, his regiment losing heavily at the battle of Perryville; distinguished himself at Murfrees- boro; was assigned by General Forrest to the command of the district of West Tennessee and Southwest Kentucky, with head- quarters at Jackson : was engaged later in nearly all the military operations in Middle and West Tennessee; and was still later promoted and placed in command of all the troops in Central Alabama. After the war, he lived for several years at St. Louis and New Orleans, but finally returned to Weakley county and took up his residence at Dresden. During the administration of President Cleveland he was connected with the United States internal revenue service. Colonel Tansil was married, in 1867. to Miss Jackie, daughter of Dr. P. B. Bell, and to this union have been born the following children: Sadie, now Mrs. Per- kins; Mamie, Thomas E., Hayden and J. D. Tansil.
JOHN M. TAYLOR, lawyer and ex-mayor of Lexington. Tenn., was born in that city. May 18, 1838. His parents were Jesse and Mary ( May) Taylor, the former a native of Vir- ginia and the latter of North Carolina. The father was a sol- dier under Jackson in the war of 1812 and fought at the battle of New Orleans. He had three sons in the Confederate army during the Civil war, including the subject of this sketch. John M. Taylor received his education in the Lexington academy and the Union university, of Murfreesboro, and in 1860 graduated from the law department of the Cumberland university. In 1861 he assisted to organize the Henderson county sharp- shooters, which afterward became Company K, Twenty-seventh Tennessee infantry. He was first elected first lieutenant of the company and when the regimental organization was perfected he was made captain. . The regiment was with Gen. A. S. John- ston at Bowling Green; at Shiloh as a part of Wood's brigade ; afterward at Perryville, where Captain Taylor was four times wounded and captured. After his exchange he was found to be a cripple for life, was promoted to major, and made com-
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mandant of the post at Gadsden, Ala. He afterward rejoined his regiment and took part in the Atlanta compaign and the military movements around Franklin and Nashville, being mus- tered out as a lieutenant-colonel. After the war, he took up the profession of law, and by his energy and ability soon attained a high standing at the bar. In 1869 he was elected mayor of Lexington; was a delegate to the constitutional con- vention of 1870; was elected attorney-general of the eleventh judicial circuit in August of that year, and held the office for eight years; was a delegate to the Democratic national conven- tion of 1880; a member of the Tennessee legislature in 1881 : elected to Congress in 1882 and re-elected in 1884; was one of the Democratic presidential electors for the state at large in 1892; was appointed judge of the criminal court of the elev- enth circuit in 1895. and the next year was elected for a full term of six years, and is now one of the judges of the chancery court of appeals. He is a member of the United Confederate Veterans, and in 1892 was elected president of the state asso- ciation of bivouacs. A little while before the close of the war he was married to Miss Amanda J. McHaney, and three chil- dren born to this union are living: Mary Lou, the wife of A. W. Harman ; William M., a lawyer, and Daisy A.
ARTHUR R. DAVANT, the Southern Railway . Company's com- mercial agent at Memphis, Tenn., is a product of South Carolina. He was born in Gillisonville. Beaufort district (now Hampton county), in July, 1867, and lived there until fourteen years of age, receiving instruction under private tutors. He then went to Montgomery, Ala., and attended school until twenty years of age, when he went to Knoxville. Tenn .. and entered the service of the East Tennessee, Virginia & Geor- gia Railroad Company. as a clerk in the freight department. where he remained about seven months. In October. 1888, he
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secured a place with the Memphis & Charleston railroad, and went to Memphis as rate clerk in the general freight office at that point, where he worked his way up and was chief clerk for several years. When that road was absorbed by the Southern railway, in 1898, he was traveling freight agent, and continued with the Southern, rising to his present position by reason of merit. Mr. Davant is a member of the Baptist church. Like most railroad men, he is a live member of the Concatenated Order of Hoo Hoos, and is generally on hand to assist in the ceremonies of the order, whether it is in the bringing up of the kittens or the conventions of the society.
JOSEPH EDWIN WASHINGTON, of Cedar Hill, Tenn .. one of the leading attorneys of the Robertson county bar and an ex-member of Congress, was born at "Wessyngton," the fan- ily homestead, in Robertson county. Nov. 10, 1851. His early education was obtained at home; he graduated from Georgetown college, in the District of Columbia, in June, 1873; was then a member of the first law class organized at Vanderbilt university. in 1874. but before graduating gave up his law studies to engage in farming. Mr. Washington soon came to be recog- nized as a man of affairs by his neighbors, and in 1876 was elected to represent Robertson county in the state legislature. In 18So he was chosen to represent the fourth congressional dis- " trict as an elector on the Hancock and English ticket, and in 1886 was elected to the lower house of Congress from the sixth district, composed of the counties of Cheatham, Davidson. Houston, Humphreys. Montgomery, Robertson and Stewart. His record was evidently approved by his constituents, for he was re-elected four times, making a continuous service of ten years as a member of the national house of representatives. Mr. Washington is one of the leaders of the Democratic party in Robertson county, and has more than a local reputation in politi- cal circles. He was succeeded in Congress, in 1896, by Hon. John W. Gaines, of Nashville.
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