Notable men of Tennessee. Personal and genealogical, with portraits, Volume II, Part 8

Author: Allison, John, 1845-1920, ed
Publication date: 1905
Publisher: Atlanta, Southern historical association
Number of Pages: 662


USA > Tennessee > Notable men of Tennessee. Personal and genealogical, with portraits, Volume II > Part 8


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26


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Metcalf and C. W. Metcalf, Jr., as partners, the firm being Met- calf & Metcalf. Mr. Metcalf is a prominent Knight Templar Mason, and took a leading part in the building of the Masonic temple in Memphis, being one of the few who never gave up the project even in the darkest days that followed the first movement in the direction of that enterprise. He is a member of the First Presbyterian church. In politics he is a Democrat. He is president of the Millington Pump Works, at Millington, Tenn., and was president of the Tennessee State Bar associa- tion in 1897-8, and for a number of years has been treasurer of the Memphis Bar and Law Library association.


JACOB SCUDDER GALLO- WAY, judge of the probate court and second circuit court of Shelby county, Tenn., was born at Mend- ham, Morris county, N. J., Feb. 14, 1838, and is the son of Samuel and Rebecca (Scudder) Galloway, both of Scotch-Irish descent and natives of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, respect- ively. The father, a graduate of Princeton college and seminary, was an eminent minister of the Presby- terian church and for several years a member of the faculty of LaFayette college, Pennsylvania. Jacob S. Galloway's early education was received at home, this being supplemented by a full course at Princeton college, from which institution he graduated, in 1858, with the degree of A. B., and delivered the philosophical oration of his class. Like many young men of his day, he came South, where he received a warm welcome from the generous and cultivated people, and determined to cast his life and fortunes among them. Locating at Athens, Ga., he taught school unti! 1859, when he came to Memphis. where he had become well established as a teacher, when the war broke out, which destroyed all business and professions for the time. His sympathies were naturally with the Southern cause, and he enlisted in April, 1861, in Company A (Shelby


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Grays), Fourth Tennessee regiment, and served in all the engagements in which his regiment took part, including the battle of Shiloh, where he was severely wounded. He was de- tailed for lighter service, and assigned to the enrolling depart- ment, in which he served until the war closed, being mustered out with the rank of first lieutenant. At Monticello, Ga., he was captured. but managed to escape soon afterward. After the war, he studied law in the offices of Col. Luke W. Finlay and Gen. Albert Pike, and was admitted to practice in 1866. For ten years he continued in the law, and built up a lucrative business. In 1876 he was elected by the unanimous vote of both parties to the office of magistrate, and served continually for ten years. During the yellow fever epidemic of 1878-79, he remained in the city, where he rendered efficient service to the sick and dying and in the maintenance of law and order. All the judges at that time being absent, he was elected special judge of the circuit court, in September, 1879, by the Memphis bar. He also efficiently served the county as coroner from 1879 to 1882. In the latter year he received the unan- imous nomination of his party for the state senate, and was elected by a large majority. He was again the Democratic candidate for the same office in 1884. but was defeated in the general overthrow of the party in Shelby county that year. While in the senate he introduced the bill providing for the splendid turnpikes that are now the pride of his county. In 1886 he was endorsed by the entire bar of Memphis for the position of probate judge, received the unanimous nomination of his party, and was elected, and has served continuously until the present time. He is also ex-officio judge of the second circuit court. In politics, Judge Galloway is a Democrat of the Jeffersonian school, his political faith being the result of the most deliberate convictions. The cardinal principles of his party he believes to be right, and that the best results can only be obtained by their rigid enforcement in national, state and local affairs. His allegiance to his party has ever been truc and steadfast, and in its councils and in all honorable efforts to secure its ascendancy he has been a helpful factor. He aided in inaugurating the present form of city government, believing


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it to be the best to be had at the time, and still a necessity. though its tendency toward too great a centralization of power is a principle against which he has strong objections. Believ- ing in the impracticability and the unconstitutionality of the state prohibiting the manufacture and sale of spirituous liquors, he opposed the adoption of the proposed prohibitory amend- ment to the state constitution, and in the campaign of 1887, when this question was submitted to the people, he became the recognized leader of the anti-prohibition party in Shelby county, where a majority of over 6,000 votes was given against the amendment. As a lawyer, Judge Galloway has been a close student and a hard worker, and has attained a well-earned repu- tation in the profession for a high order of ability. His fidel- ity, integrity, legal learning and judicial mind eminently qualify him for the position he has so long held and the duties of which he has so satisfactorily discharged. Personally he pos- sesses those genial qualities which make their possessor ex- tremely popular, while his inflexible honesty and a public and private record above reproach have secured for him the con- fidence and respect of all who know him. He belongs to the Confederate Historical Association camp, and is a major on Gen. George W. Gordon's staff. He is also a member of the Masonic order and an Elk, and affiliates with the Presbyterian church. He was married. May 14, 1867, to Mary E. Tucker. who died in 1878 of yellow fever. They had one son and two daughters. Nov. 19, 1879, he was married to Mrs. Sallie. R. (Tucker) Coffee, both wives being great-great-granddaughters of Col. Robert Ruffin, who was a member of the Virginia house of burgesses in 1747.


COL. WILLIAM H. CARROLL, a leading attorney of Memphis, Tenn .. is a native of Mississippi, having been born on a plantation in Panola county, of that state, in 1843. He is the son of the late Gen. W. H. Carroll and a grandson of Governor Carroll. In IS51 his parents moved to Memphis. He was educated in the Memphis schools and at Nashville, where he attended the University of Tennessee until his senior year. Although in his teens, young Carroll enlisted in the


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Confederate service when the war broke out, for a time drilling a regiment raised by his father, and going to the front on the staff of Gen. Thomas H. Bradley, of Arkansas, as a volunteer aid, soon after becoming adjutant of the Thirty-seventh Ten- nessee. He was afterward placed in command of Gen. James R. Chalmers' escort, and served until shortly before the close of the war, when his health became so impaired that his life was despaired of, and he resigned. Returning to Memphis, he at first engaged in the cotton business, as soon as he had in some degree recovered his health, but later gave his attention to law, and in 1875 he was admitted to the bar. Since then he has practiced his profession, being associated for some years with the late Julius A. Taylor, the firm taking high rank among the foremost practitioners at the Memphis bar, both members being distinguished for legal talent of a high order. After the death of Mr. Taylor, Colonel Carroll found a pleas- ure in becoming associated with his old commander. General Chalmers, a partnership which continued until the latter's death, a few years ago, since which time the junior partner has been Mr. Mckellar. As a politician, Mr. Carroll is well known, being a leader of the state Democracy, and for several years he was chairman of the Democratic state central commit- tee. He was a delegate to the Democratic national convention in 1876, and again in 1880. when General Hancock was nomi- nated. In 1900 he was a Democratic elector from Tennessee. Colonel Carroll is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. and is a prominent figure in the business and social life of Memphis.


HEBER JONES, M. D .. of Memphis, Tenn., who is one of the most successful and best known physicians in the South. was born on a plantation in Phillips county, Ark .. Sept. II. 1848. His father was Dr. John T. Jones, who migrated from Essex county, Va., in 1833, to a plantation near Helena. Ark., where he was married. in 1839, to Miss Carrie McEwen. daughter of Col. Robert H. and Hetty (Kennedy) McEwen. of Nashville, Tenn. Dr. Heber Jones is their fourth son. With the exception of a few months at Russell academy. near his .


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home, he was under private tutors until the commencement of the Civil war, and after that he pursued his studies under his father's tutorage until the conflict ended. He then entered Not- tingham academy, near Somerville, Tenn., where he secured first honor (a gold medal) for scholarship. In 1869 he grad- uated from the medical department of the University of Vir- ginia, after which he spent three years in the hospitals of Europe, attending lectures at Paris, Vienna and Berlin. On his return, in 1872, to his native land, he located in Memphis. and has since been in general practice there. He was a member of the state health board in 1876-78, and in 1901 was elected vice-president of the board, which office he has ever since held. He was made president of the Memphis board of health in 1898, and has served in that capacity ever since; he was a member of the state board of medical examiners from its organization in 1891 until 1901, when he resigned; he is a member of the American Medical association, the American Public Health association, the Tennessec State Medical society, the Mississippi Valley Medical association, the Tri-State Med- ical association, and the Memphis and Shelby County Medical societies. Dr. Jones has passed through the epi- demics occurring in Memphis since 1873 to the present time, laboring and watching at the bedside of the sick as no man could who was not blessed with an unusually strong constitution, and with the most exemplary habits of living. which he has ever maintained. In a letter to a friend upon the occurrence of the yellow fever epidemic of 1878, he said : "Our city is panic-stricken, in memory of the epidemic of 1873. In ten days there will not be 10,000 people in the city; about half of these will be paupers, the other half negroes, who here- tofore have not been much liable to yellow fever. A physician can hardly expect to make money enough to pay his cook, yet I am determined to remain and do all in my power for those who cannot get away. Should I take the fever myself, I am assured of good nursing. In any event, I shall have the com- forting reflection that I am trying to do my whole duty." That he did his "whole duty" many bear testimony, for he labored day and night during the dark days of 1878-79. Doctor Jones


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was made a Mason in 1878, and had the honor of receiving the first degree conferred in the new Masonic temple, at Memphis. In religious matters, he is a member of the Episcopal church. He was married, in 1873, to Miss Valerie Wooten, of Holly Springs, Miss., who was the daughter of John and Mary Wooten, of North Carolina. Mrs. Jones is a woman of culture and refinement, who has been to her husband a helpmate in all that word implies. To her the doctor is indebted for much of his success, and he takes pride in telling the facts. The de- mands of a large practice have for years confined him closely. but once a year, as Christmas day draws near, he goes to the old home, where his father and mother, nearing their golden anniversary, await the annual gathering, where old hearts as well as young beat in unison.


FRANCIS FENTRESS, a prom- inent attorney of Memphis, Tenn., was born at Bolivar, that state, in 1840. He passed his younger days in Bolivar, and attended the schools of that city. When about seventeen years of age he entered the Presby- terian college, at LaGrange, Tenn., afterward going to the University of Mississippi, at Oxford, from which he graduated in 1861. Shortly after- ward he went to Randolph, Tenn., where he entered the Confederate army as a private in Com- pany E, Seventh Tennessee cavalry, with which company he served until the close of the war, rising to the rank of sergeant. He was engaged in numerous battles and skirmishes, among which were Harrisburg, Miss .; the raid into Middle Tennessee ; at Pulaski, Tenn., and at various other points. At the close of the war he returned to Bolivar, where he studied law, and in 1866 was admitted to the bar. He opened an office at Bolivar. and was local attorney for the Memphis & Charleston railroad, and also for the Mississippi Central railroad. He remained at Bolivar until 1893. when the prospect at Memphis was so


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inviting it determined him upon making a move. and he took up practice in that city, where he has built up a lucrative prac- tice. Mr. Fentress is recognized as an excellent attorney, and is the district attorney and legal representative at that point of the Illinois Central and the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley rail- roads; also local attorney for the American Express Com- pany, the Pintsch Compressing Company, and the Continental Casualty Company. Mr. Fentress is a member of the Presby- terian church, and is a Democrat in politics, though he takes far more interest in his profession.


ARTHUR R. TAYLOR. one of the best-known business men of Mem- phis, Tenn., was born near Holly Springs, Miss., Nov. 8, 1851. His parents moved to Memphis in his in- fancy, and he has passed his life in this vigorous city of the New South. His primary education was obtained in the city schools of Memphis, and later he attended the Christian Brothers' college, at St. Louis. He began his business career as clerk in a book store, in 1871, in which position he continued for seven years. In 1878 he and others bought the business, the com- pany being known as Clapp & Taylor. This firm remained in business for eight years, or until 1885, when Mr. Taylor pur- chased the interests of his partners, and he has since conducted the business as A. R. Taylor & Co. He has always been inter- èsted in military affairs, and was for some time a member of the famous Chickasaw Guards, a company which was for years one of the finest bodies of militia in the United States, winning numerous prizes in competitive drills. He was a sergeant in that company, and when the new militia law was passed, in 1888, by which the National Guard was placed on a new foot- ing, the Tennessee militia was reorganized, and Mr. Taylor was elected lieutenant-colonel of the Second regiment. Four years later he was chosen colonel of the regiment, and in 1895


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was elected brigadier-general of the Tennessee National Guard. He served as such with great efficiency until 1897, when he resigned. He was second in command of the state troops dur- ing the Coal Creek mining riots, in 1891-92.


PRESLEY T. GLASS, ex-congressman from the ninth Tennessee district, was born in Halifax county, Va., Oct. IS, 1824, and is a son of Dudley and Nancy (Carr) Glass, who settled in Weakley county, Tenn., in 1828. Both of Mr. Glass' grandfathers, Dudley Glass and John Carr, were natives of Virginia. Presley was reared to manhood in Weakley county. where he obtained his carly education in the old field schools. Next he attended the county academy, at Dresden, and finished his education in the Law school of the Transylvania university. at Lexington, Ky. At the age of twenty-two he was elected to the legislature, being the youngest member of the body at that session, and the following year he was admitted to the bar. He practiced until 1849, when he removed to Lauderdale county and engaged in mercantile pursuits. In May, 1861, he entered the Confederate service as major and commissary of subsistence, and was assigned to duty with General Cheatham at Union City. Before the war Major Glass had held the rank of colonel in the state militia. He was engaged in nearly all the military operations in Tennessee; was at the battle of Perryville. Ky., as a member of General McCown's staff; was on duty at Huntsville. Ala., with General Pillow, until after the evacuation of Tennessee; was with Gen. Dan Adams in providing supplies for the conscript camps in Mississippi, and surrendered at Meridian, in that state, May 10. 1865. After the war. he engaged in merchandizing in Memphis for a while. then returned to Ripley, where he followed the same vocation until 1875, when he turned the business over to his son. In 1883 he was again elected to the legislature, and in 1884 and 1886 was elected to Congress from the ninth district. one of the richest districts in the state. While in Congress he served on the committee on agriculture, a subject in, which he had for years taken a keen interest, and was therefore able to render valuable services. Since his retirement to private life he has


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written a number of articles to agricultural papers and given considerable time to the advancement of the interests of Ripley. He organized an Audubon society in Ripley for the preserva- tion of the native wild birds, and has written a great deal on the subject of better game laws for the protection of small ani- mals and birds. Major Glass was first married, in 1848, to Sarah Partee. She died in 1852, leaving one son, Hiram D., who became a merchant at Harrison, Ark. In IS55 he was married to his second wife, Maria Partec, who died in 1859. leaving a daughter, Ada. In 1868 Major Glass was married to his third wife, Susan T. Barbee. For almost half a century he has been a teacher or superintendent of the Sunday school and has all his life been a consistent Christian.


L. B. McFARLAND, of Memphis, Tenn., was born April 7, 18.43, on a farm in Haywood county, of the same state. He was reared there to the age of eighteen years, attending the public schools and afterward at- tending, for one session, the college at Florence, Ala. In April, 1861, he enlisted as a private in Company A, Ninth Tennessee infantry. At Shiloh he was made sergeant-major of the regiment, and served as such for over a year. He was then elected second lieutenant, and soon after- ward became volunteer aid on the staff of Gen. George Maney, serving in that capacity until captured, in April, 1865, at West Point, Ga. He was sent to Macon, Ga., and soon after paroled. During his term of service he took part in the two days' battle at Shiloh, at Perryville, Ky., Murfreesboro. Chickamauga, Mis- sionary Ridge, and from Dalton to Atlanta, the fight at Atlanta on July 22d. and at West Point, and was in many minor engagements. He was slightly wounded at Shiloh. After the war closed, he took up his residence at Memphis and studied law. In 1867 he graduated from the Lebanon Law school, at Lebanon, Tenn., and was admitted to practice the


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same year, and opened an office in Memphis. In ISSo he en- tered into partnership with Judge R. J. Morgan, which con- tinued until the latter's death, in IS98. Since that time the firm has been McFarland & Neblett. He was married, April 4, 1872, to Miss Ellen V. Saunders, daughter of Col. James E. Saunders, of Courtland, Ala. She died in 1900, and in 1902 he married Mrs. Floy Graham Allen. Mr. McFarland was appointed in 1898 to the supreme court by Gov. Benton McMil- lin, to fill a vacancy caused by the absence of one of the mem- bers of that body. This compliment to the ability of Mr. McFarland, who is recognized as an able lawyer, was appre- ciated, both by himself and his many friends, and his conduct as a member of the supreme court demonstrated the wisdom of this selection. In politics he is a Democrat, but takes little part in political affairs.


CARUTHERS EWING, one of the well-known attorneys of Mem- phis, Tenn., was born at Dresden, in that state, Oct. 1, 1871, and lived there until his twenty-fourth year. He took the course of study in the public schools of the town, after which he was deputy circuit court clerk from 1887 until 1891; he en- tered the office of his father, a prom- inent attorney of Dresden, with whom he studied law, and later graduated at Cumberland university, and was admitted to the bar in 1891. He opened an office at Dresden, and practiced there for four years. With the ambition of the average young American to "reach the top," he removed to Memphis, in 1895, and has continued to practice there ever since. He was a page in the Tennessee legislature, in 1885, and again in 1887. In 1889 and 1891 he was assistant clerk, and in 1893 was chief clerk of the senate. He has frequently been a delegate to state and con- gressional conventions, and for four years was chairman of the executive committee of the Democratic central committee


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of Weakley county, Tenn. In his law practice, he displays great energy. rare tact, sound judgment, and that hopeful optimism which men of his temperament always possess.


WILLIAM B. HENDERSON, of the well-known law firm of Patterson, Neely & Henderson, of Memphis, Tenn., was born in that city in 1870. He received his primary education there in the common schools, after- ward attending Bingham's Military school, at Bingham's Station, N. C., and finished at Washington and Lee university, where he graduated in the law class of 1893. Returning to Memphis, he became associated with Taylor & Scruggs, under the firm name of Taylor, Scruggs & Henderson. This partnership lasted until Colonel Taylor's death. in 1895. when the firm became Scruggs & Henderson. In 1899 Mr. Henderson was elected to the legislature from Shelby county, and in 1901 was re-elected, serving until 1902. He then became connected with the firm of which he is at the present time the junior member. He is a Democrat and greatly interested in political affairs; has been a delegate to many state. congressional, judicial and county conventions, and is generally in the thickest of the fray; is at present city attorney, having been appointed in April, 1903. It is of interest in this connec- tion that, in 1894, he was elected by the city council to the office of city tax attorney, a position which he heid for two years. He belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Improved Order of Red Men, and is a member of the Presbyterian church.


JOHN W. GATES. one of the leading citizens of Jackson. Tenn., was born at Huntingdon, Tenn., May 11, 1841. His father, W. W. Gates, was for many years associated with Gen. Felix Zollicoffer in the publication of the West Tennesseean.


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the first Whig newspaper in West Tennessee. He died in 1891. John W. Gates was educated at the West Tennessee college. at Jackson, taught school for a short time and then engaged in the study of law. Before being admitted to the bar the war broke out, and he enlisted in Company H, Sixth Tennessee infantry. In December, 1861, he was discharged on account of his health, but he afterward re-enlisted, and served about a year in the quartermaster's department. He then became one of Henderson's famous scouts, but while trying to ascertain the strength of Sherman's force at Memphis was captured and held as a prisoner until the war closed. Upon his release from prison he returned to Jackson, but instead of completing his legal studies took a position on his father's newspaper. Mr. Gates has for a number of years been identified with every movement for the promotion of Jackson's interests. He has served as mayor of the city, chancery court clerk of Madison county, register of the West Tennessee land office, and secre- tary of the Jackson board of trade. He is also interested in the insurance business. He is a member of the United Con- federate Veterans, and has served as secretary of John Ingram bivouac. In October, 1865, he was married to Miss Georgia Boyce, and they have five children.


GEORGE T. O'HAVER, chief of detectives, Memphis. Tenn., was born in that city, Dec. 22, 1849, and there grew to manhood. After a preliminary course in the public schools of his native city, much of which was obtained under difficulties. owing to the Civil war, he attended the Franklin academy, at Columbus, Miss., from 1865 to 1870, thus finishing his educa- tion. After leaving school, he entered the employ of the Shot- well Coal Company, with offices in Memphis and landed inter- ests on the St. Francis river, in Arkansas, where Mr. O'Haver was employed for the greater part of the seven years he was with the company. In 1878 he was appointed to the position of patrolman on the Memphis police force, and two months after his appointment he was placed in charge of the quaran- tine station, on President's Island, near Memphis. Here he remained but a short time, when he was detailed to the board




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