USA > Tennessee > Notable men of Tennessee. Personal and genealogical, with portraits, Volume II > Part 23
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committee, and although no office-seeker, he has been a tire- less worker for the success of his party principles. He is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, of which he has been an elder for twenty years. He has represented his church at many general assemblies and conventions, and has been prominent for years in Sunday school and temperance work. He has been interested in all public enetrprises, and in develop- ing old fields near Selmer, with fair prospects of success. Mr. Purviance is a man of pleasing personality, stands six feet four inches in height, with erect form and military bearing. which makes him a conspicuous figure in any assemblage. He is a great reader, is well informed on all subjects, is a fluent and persuasive speaker, his friends insisting that as an off-hand speaker he has no superior in his section of the state.
HORRY HODGES, of Selmer, Tenn., trustee of McNairy county, was born near McNairy Station, in that county, March 19, 1868. He is a son of Elijah and Jane (Dodd) Hodges. The father is a highly re- spected citizen of the county, and is living now, at the age of seventy- three years, on the old homestead where he was born. He is a minister of the Primitive Baptist church, and represented McNairy county in the state legislature during the session of 1867-8 He also served in the Federal army during the Civil war, as captain of Com- pany B, Sixth Tennessee cavalry. The mother was a daugh- ter of William Dodd, who came to Tennessee from Virginia. Elijah Hodges, the grandfather of Horry, removed to Middle Tennessee from North Carolina, locating finally in McNairy county. Horry is one of the eight children of the family, of which there were four boys and four girls. He received his primary education in the Jackson district high school, at Hen- derson, Tenn. He graduated in 1891 from West Tennessee Christian college, at Henderson, with the degree of A. B., and
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in 1893 received the degree of A. M. from the same institution. After leaving college he taught school for a few years at Adamsville. In 1894 he was elected clerk of the circuit court of McNairy county, and served four years, after which he served two years as county superintendent of education, and at the conclusion of his term as superintendent he taught for two years at the National military park, at Shiloh. In 1902 he was elected trustee of McNairy county, which office he holds at the present time. While serving as circuit clerk Mr. Hodges studied law, and in January, 1901, he was admitted to the bar. He is a Republican in politics ; is chancellor commander of the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias; a Royal Arch Mason; member of the Woodmen of the World; and is a member of the Christian church. He is deservedly popular in McNairy county and is a young man of much personal magnetism and undoubted integrity. He has displayed in the various offices filled by him such qualities as warrant one in predicting for him an honorable and successful career. He is an eminent his- torian and is a good student of general literature and has stud- ied carefully the great masterpieces in literature and is an accomplished scholar.
A. J. WILLIFORD, of Memphis, Tenn., public administrator of Shelby county, was born on a farm in that county, Aug. 26, 1858. Until he became of age his life was passed on the farm, receiving a common school education in the district schools. Soon after attaining his majority, he and a brother engaged in the business of merchandizing at Bartlett, Shelby county. and followed that line there for several years, when he with- drew and went to Chicago and afterward to New York, in which cities he was for some time interested in mercantile pur- suits. Returning to his native heath, Mr. Williford entered the office of the circuit clerk of Shelby county, as a deputy, and remained there for eight years. He became a popular official and was the choice of the Democratic party for the legislature in 1893, being elected and serving one term. Always interested in political affairs, he continued to take an active part in the fortunes of his party, and in 1898 he was selected for the.
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position which he now holds. His conduct of the office was such that he was re-elected in January, 1903, receiving prac- tically a unanimous vote, for a four years' term. In 1900 he was elected justice of the peace for six years. He is active in advancing the interest of his party, is a ready speaker, and is often called upon to assist on the stump or to serve as a dele- gate to some county, state or congressional convention. He is a well-known secret society man, being a member of the Masonic order, the Knights of Pythias, American Guild, Knights of Honor, Royal Arcanum and Elks. He is also inter- ested in real estate, takes a lively interest in the material advancement of Tennessee, and particularly of Shelby county and the city of Memphis.
JONATHAN H. TRIPP, M.D., a physician and surgeon, of Tullahoma, Tenn., is a native of Lincoln county, Tenn., and is of Scotch-Irish extraction. His parents were Henry and Nancy (Gattis) Tripp. His father was a soldier in the Mexi- can war, and his maternal grandfather, James Gattis, was a soldier under Marion in the Revolution. His great-grandfather Tripp also served in the Continental army during the war for independence. His grandfather, Jonathan Tripp, after whom he was named, was a graduate of Chapel Hill college, and was prominent among the early educators of the South. Doctor Tripp was scarcely more than a boy when the Civil war began. but he enlisted as a private in Company A, Forty-fourth Ten- nessee infantry, and served through the entire contest. Hc was with his regiment at Bowling Green. Fort Donelson, Cor- inth, Munfordville, Perryville. Murfreesboro, Hoover's Gap, Beech Grove, Fairfield, Chickamauga, the siege of Knoxville, Fort Loudon, Fort Sanders, Bean's Station, and various other skirmishes in the states of Tennessee, Kentucky and Missis- sippi. In the spring of 1864 his regiment was ordered to Rich- mond, where he remained until the close of the war, taking part in many of the engagements around the Confederate cap- ital and surrendering with the army at Appomattox, April 9. 1865, with two of his brothers, who had served from the begin- ning. One brother. M. B. Tripp. was fatally wounded in the
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Seven Days' battles. After the war, young Tripp took up the study of medicine, and attended college at Baltimore and Nashville. When he received his degree he located in Moore county, where he practiced until 1890, when he removed to Tullahoma. There he has built up a lucrative business, and enjoys a high standing both with the profession and the gen- eral public. He is a member of the State, the Tri-State, the Middle Tennessee and the Elk Medical societies. Doctor Tripp is a Knight Templar Mason, an Odd Fellow, and belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church South. When the war with Spain was declared he raised a company and offered its services to the government, but was not mustered. In 1876 he was mar- ried to Sallie A. Bean, daughter of Capt. C. H. Bean, and they have one daughter. Myrtle, who is a graduate of the Jessie Mai Aydelotte college, of Tullahoma, of the class of 1899.
CAPT. JOHN W. STAPLES, one of the leading attorneys of Roane county, Tenn., with his office and residence in Harriman, was born at Wartburg. Morgan county, Tenn., July 17, 1870, his parents being Samuel H. and Mary (Childers) Staples, both natives of Morgan
county. Samuel H. Staples followed farming until 1868, when he was elected circuit court clerk, and held the office for four terms, fourteen years in all, when he was appointed clerk and master of the chancery court. In 1872 he was admitted to the bar in Mor- gan, Scott and Fentress counties, and later removed to Harri- man, where he is now living and practicing. The paternal grandfather of Captain Staples. Col. Benjamin T. Staples, was lieutenant-colonel of the Eleventh Tennessee infantry, in the Civil war, on the side of the Union, and was killed at the battle of Mill Springs, Ky. The great-grandfather. John Staples, served through the entire seven years of the Revolutionary war, taking part in several of the greatest battles of that conflict.
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He married a Miss Randolph, of Virginia, and died in that state at a good old age. On the maternal side, his grandfather was John Childers, who was killed while serving in the Con- federate army in the Civil war. He married Mary Bolin, a grandniece of Davy Crockett. His only brother, Polk Childers. was killed in a political fight. Captain Staples is the eldest child of his father's second marriage, each of his parents hav- ing one child by former marriage. After leaving school, he was in the railway service for two years, with his home in Chicago. He then returned to Tennessee and read law with Samuel E. Young, of Sweet Water. In 1891 he was admitted to the bar and established himself at Harriman. In 1896 he took a post-graduate course in law, and the same year was elected city attorney of Harriman, holding the office for two years. He then went to Wartburg, where he formed a part- nership with W. D. Wright, now United States district attor- ney, which continued until July, 1898, when he enlisted as a private in the Fourth Tennessee infantry, for the Spanish- American war. He was later made captain of Company C of his regiment. After five months at Camp Bob Taylor, at Knoxville, they were ordered to Cuba, where they remained for four and a half months. Two months more at Savannah, Ga., completed the service. Captain Staples resumed the prac- tice of his profession, after his return home, and today has one of the most lucrative lines of business in Roane county. Besides his law practice, he is a director in the bank at Oliver Springs. In 1900 he was an elector from the second congres- sional district, on the Bryan and Stevenson ticket, and stumped the district in joint debate with his opponent. He has served as chairman of the Democratic county central committee, and is always active in furthering the interests of his political prin- ciples. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, has served as worshipful master of the lodge and belongs to the chapter. In the Knights of Pythias he is a member of both lodge and Uniform rank, and as a delegate to the Grand Lodge introduced and secured the adoption of the resolution to establish a wid- ows' and orphans' home. For one year he was chairman of the committee having the matter in charge. Ou Dec. 21, 1897.
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he was married to Miss Jennie C. Gass, daughter of John C. and Rachel (McMurray) Gass, of Harriman, where her father is engaged in merchandizing and in real estate. Captain and Mrs. Staples have two children: Shirley Childers and John Stanley. Both parents are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
HORACE MAYNARD CARR, senior partner of the firm of Carr & Jones, one of the leading law firms of Harriman, Tenn., was born in Claiborne county, Tenn., Nov. 14, 1859. His parents were James and Jane (Cloud) Carr, both natives of Tennessee, the former born in Jan- uary, 1822, and the latter in 1832. James Carr was one of the success- ful farmers of Claiborne county, and died at the age of sixty-four years. His wife died in 1899, at the age of sixty-seven. His father, Jesse Carr, was a South Carolinian, though his ancestors came originally from Scotland. The maternal grandparents, Jacob and Mary (McCubbins) Cloud, were natives of Tennessee. Horace M. Carr is the fifth of a family of ten children. He was educated at Cumberland college, Lee county, Va., and at Carson and Newman college, at Jefferson City, Tenn. He then entered the law department of Cumberland university, Lebanon, Tenn., graduated in 1882, and the same year was admitted to the bar under Judge James G. Rose, at Tazewell, Claiborne county. Locating at Mossy Creek, Jefferson county, he prac- ticed his profession there for six years. He then removed to Tazewell, where he practiced until 1895, when he came to Har- riman, and soon afterward became the junior member of the firm of Mckenzie & Carr. In August, 1903, he formed the pres- ent partnership with R. M. Jones, and the firm is one of the best known in Eastern Tennessee, with an extensive practice in all the courts. Several large corporations are among their clients, such as the Harriman & Northeastern Railway Com-
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pany, the Harriman Land Company, the Emory River Milling Company, the Boling Coal Company, the Stevens Coal Com- pany, the Paint Rock Coal Company, etc. Mr. Carr was the fourth mayor of Harriman, serving one term. He is a Royal Arch Mason, and has filled all the offices in the lodge, except that of worshipful master. He is also a Knight of Pythias. He is an enthusiastic Democrat, and in campaigns is in demand as a public speaker, owing to his forcible and eloquent method of presenting the issues. On Feb. 18, 1887, he was married to Miss Lula, a daughter of Capt. Robert and Isabel Ashmore, of Jefferson City, Tenn., and they have two children: Herbert Earl and Isabel. Mr. Carr is a member of the Baptist church and his wife is a Presbyterian.
JOHN SUMMERFIELD WILKES, a prominent attorney of Pulaski, Tenn., and for more than a decade one of the jus- tices of the state supreme court, was born in Maury county, Tenn., March 2, 1841, his parents being Richard A. L. and Judith Wilkes. Judge Wilkes was educated at the Pleasant Grove academy and the Wesleyan university, at Florence, Ala. Before he had completed the college course the Civil war came and interrupted his studies. In May, 1861, he left school, returned home and enlisted in Company F, Third Tennessee infantry. Shortly after the regiment was mustered into the Confederate service he was made commissary sergeant. His first service was at Fort Donelson, where he was surrendered with the troops at the time the fort capitulated, and was for eight months a prisoner at Camp Douglas. Chicago, Ill. In the fall of 1862 he was exchanged, and when the regiment was reorganized, soon afterward, he was elected captain of his company. In this capacity he fought at Chickasaw Bayou, Port Hudson, Raymond, Jackson, and in various skirmishes in the vicinity of Vicksburg. In August, 1863, he was made pur- chasing agent for the army, with the rank of captain. and sent to Tennessee to obtain supplies. He continued in this line of duty until the end of the war, though he was a few times engaged in active service in the field, notably at Brice's Cross- roads. After being paroled at Columbus, Miss., in June, 1865.
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he returned to Pulaski, went into the office of Gen. John C. Brown as a law student, and in 1866 was admitted to the bar. In 1871 General Brown was elected governor of Tennessee, and one of his first acts was to appoint his former student adju- tant-general of the state. Judge Wilkes served in this office until the expiration of Governor Brown's second term. He then returned to Pulaski, where he formed a partnership with General Brown and practiced law until 1886, when the part- nership was dissolved by the appointment of Judge Wilkes to the position of Treasurer of the Texas Pacific railroad. This appointment was made by the United States circuit court, at New Orleans. For two years he held this office, which involved the handling of several million dollars, and at the end of that time turned over the affairs in his hands in perfect order. He declined an election to the same office at the hands of the com- pany, which had been reorganized, and returned to Pulaski to resume his law practice. When Governor Turney was elected, in 1892, he occupied the position of chief justice of the state supreme court. His inauguration, in May, 1893, left a vacancy on the bench, which was filled by the appointment of Judge Wilkes. In 1894 Judge Wilkes was elected by the people to succeed himself for the full term of eight years. As a lawyer, Judge Wilkes has attained an eminent position at the bar, and as a judge his decisions have been accepted by the profession as being masterpieces of both law and logic. On June 20, 1865, a few days after being paroled, he was married to Miss Florence A. Barker, of Aberdeen, Miss., and his domestic life has been fully as propitious as his professional career.
W. R. WEBB, one of the principals of the Webb Prepara- tory school, at. Bellbuckle, Tenn., was born in Person county, N. C., in 1842. His father, Alexander S. Webb, was a prom- inent merchant and manufacturer, whose ancestors came from England and founded some of the oldest English families in North Carolina. Stephen Moore, the great-grandfather of W. R. Webb, was a general in the American army during the Rev- olutionary war, and his grandfather, Richard Stanford, was a personal and political friend of Thomas Jefferson. He served
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as chairman of the finance committee while a member of the United States Congress, and was one of Jefferson's most reli- able supporters in the founding of the Democratic party. W. R. Webb was educated in Bingham's school and the State univer- sity, at Chapel Hill. While a student at the latter institution, in 1861, the Civil war was commenced, and he left school to enlist as a private in Company H, Fifteenth North Carolina infantry. He was at the battles of Dam No. 1, Williamsburg. Seven Pines. the Seven Days' battles, and numerous skirmishes. At Malvern Hill his regiment was almost annihilated and he was three times wounded. Upon recovering he was trans- ferred to Company K, Second North Carolina cavalry, and served with that regiment in Virginia during the year 1864. At Five Forks his horse was shot under him, and at Amelia Crossroads he was captured. He was held a prisoner until July, 1865, and when released the war was over. Upon return- ing homme, the first thing to do was to complete his studies, that had been so rudely interrupted. He received his degree from the State university, and in 1870 founded the Webb school. now one of the most widely known and popular preparatory schools in the South. In 1886 the institution was removed to Bellbuckle, where the advantages in location were soon mani- fested in the increased attendance. Mr. Webb is one of the 100 comprising the Association of Headmasters of America, a member of the Historical Society of Tennessee and the Philo- logical Association of America. In 1873 he was married to Miss Emma Clary, of North Carolina. They have had eight children. One son, W. R. Webb, Jr., is an instructor in the Webb school.
G. C. G. GIVAN, M.D., a prominent physician and surgeon, of Harriman Tenn., was born in Dearborn county, Ind .. Nov. 9, 1853, and is a son of Robert Henry and Amanda (Cornelius) Givan, natives of Indiana and Kentucky, respectively. His father was a prosperous farmer, and the only office he ever held was that of deacon in the Baptist church, to which both he and his wife belonged. The paternal grandfather of Doctor Givan, whose name was Gilbert Givan, came from the state
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of Maryland, in the early part of the nineteenth century, and settled in Dearborn county, Ind., near the little college town of Moore's Hill. The maternal grandparents were George and Elizabeth (Willis) Cornelius, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of Kentucky. They had a large family of chil- dren, Pembroke Cornelius, of Indianapolis, Ind., being the only survivor. Doctor Givan is one of eight children, of whom he and one brother, Joseph J., are the only ones now living. Joseph is the local agent at Aurora, Ind., for the Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern railway. Doctor Givan was educated in the public schools of his native county and at Moore's Hill college. He then attended the National Normal school, at Lebanon, Ohio, and for several years taught in the country and town schools of Indiana. He was deputy revenue collector, at Law- renceburg, Ind., for several years; served some time as assist- ant supreme clerk; taught in the Reform School for Boys, at Plainfield, under Superintendent T. J. Charlton, who held the position for twenty-one years, without regard to the political complexion of the state administration; studied medicine under Dr. W. N. Wishard, of Indianapolis, one of the most eminent physicians of Indiana, and graduated from the Medical College of Indiana, in 1890. Shortly afterward he located at Harri- man, Tenn., where he has built up a large practice and is the surgeon for all the railroads that pass through the place. He is a member of the American and State Medical associations, and of the Roane County Medical society, of which he is sec- retary. He has served on the board of aldermen two terms; was member of the pension board, at Rockwood, from 1894 to 1897, and is examiner for several life insurance companies. He was married, Sept. 9, 1885, to Miss Mattie L., daughter of A. P. Small, of Dearborn county. Ind. They have one daugh- ter, Leila Mary. Doctor Givan is a Knight of Pythias, has passed through the chairs, and is a member of the Grand Lodge. His wife is a member of the Baptist church.
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JAMES MADISON MONT- GOMERY, M. D., of Harriman, Tenn., one of the best known and most popular physicians in Roane county, was born in that county, March 18, 1849. His parents were James M. and Sarah (Cooley) Mont- gomery, the former a native of Blount county, Tenn., born in IS14, and the latter of Virginia, but came with her parents to Tennessee in the early part of the last century. But little is known of the paternal ancestry, as the father died six days before the subject of this sketch was born, and his ouly brother and sister, Winfield S. and Mary A., have also passed away. Doctor Montgomery is the youngest of six children: William, who died of measles, at the age of sixteen years; Martha J., who married George T. Wilson, and died in 1863: Sarah E .. married twice, widow of James E. Cole and P. Robinson, now lives in Roane county; Elizabeth, now Mrs. C. D. Farmer, of Bessemer, Ala .; Francis M., a farmer and merchant, of Roane county, and the Doctor. Doctor Montgomery received his edu- cation in the common schools, at East Tennessee Wesleyan university, and for a while he attended Grant university, at Athens, teaching school between times to pay his way. He acquired his professional education under the preceptorship of Dr. John T. Shipley, of Erie, Loudon county, Tenn., and at the Atlanta Medical and Surgical college. In 1874 he began the practice of medicine, in Blount county, and later located at Paint Rock, where he practiced for twenty-five years. Nine years of that time he served on the United States pension exam- ining board. He removed to Harriman in the spring of 1900, and soon afterward was appointed health officer for the city, holding the position until 1903, when he resigned to take a special course at the Atlanta Medical college. Immediately on his return from Atlanta he was again appointed health officer, and still holds the position. He is also small-pox physi- cian for the city, and has never lost a case. Doctor Mont-
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gomery is a Knight of Pythias, an Odd Fellow, and now holds one of the principal offices of the lodge; a member of the Junior Order of American Mechanics, and of the Masonic fra- ternity, in which he has several times been honored by elec- tion to the office of worshipful master of his lodge, and as a delegate to the Grand Lodge. On Jan. 8, 1874, he was united in marriage to Miss Mary E .. daughter of John H. and Mary (Billingsley) Talley. Her father was twice married, and she is the fourth child by the second marriage, her brothers and sisters being: Sarah A., wife of Dr. John T. Shipley; George W., deceased; Thomas J., deceased; Nancy J., deceased : Mar- garet A. Basket, widow, residing with her mother at Sweet Water; Hattie J., deceased; David B., a farmer, in the state of Washington; Mantie, now Mrs. G. T. Owen, a government employe, at Erie, Tenn .; Fannie, wife of Dr. Augustus Ship- ley. She also has four half-brothers by her father's first mar- riage. Doctor Montgomery and his wife are the parents of seven children: Cora B., married T. M. Farmer, who died at the age of thirty-five years; Edgar Poe. John M. and David M., all tnrec engaged in farming in the state of Washington; Nora M., at home with her parents; Essie Kate and Fannie May, in school. The Doctor, his wife and most of his children are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
J. B. BURNETT, of Clinton, Tenn., one of the leading lawyers in Anderson and adjoining counties, was born in Knox county, Tenn .. July 10, 1861. His parents, Absalom and Lucinda Burnett, were both natives of Knox county, where for many years the father followed the trade of contractor and builder, erecting many of the large buildings in Knoxville and vicinity. In the beginning of the Civil war he enlisted in the Union army, and died of sickness while at home on furlough. The mother is still living, at the age of sixty-three years. Of the five children born to them, the subject of this sketch is the second. He has two brothers yet living. one a farmer in Knox county and the other a Baptist minister. J. B. Burnett, after a preliminary training in the city schools, entered the Grant Memorial university, at Athens, in 1879, graduated in 1884.
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