USA > Tennessee > Sketches of prominent Tennesseans. Containing biographies and records of many of the families who have attained prominence in Tennessee > Part 101
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Judge Timon's personality is very attractive. He is about five feet ten inches high, and weighs one hundred and eighty-six pounds. He is of rather stout build, well rounded, almost corpulent ; has very dark, luxuriant hair, which he wears roached back as if ready for com- bat ; gray eyes, and the look and mammer of a man of the world, surprised at nothing, and easy, whether at home, in his office, at the bar, on the bench, or in any company whatever. He has a very large brain, a big, round, sensible head, and is evidently a man of great force. Like most lawyers, be has a competency, lives well and has a good home. To account for his success, one can readily determine that the only road Judge Timon has advanced along is that of work-careful, honest, sincere, intelligent work. He had the right stuff in him to begin with, and he has put it to good service. A man only fails because he has to succeed upon something that is not in him. He must cultivate himself and get the seed of what is true and right, and then grow. Thoroughly honest with himself and ev- erybody else, whatever he does is without deception. Ile is not regarded as an ambitious man. He has given more of his time and study to science and literature than a lawyer is generally expected to do. Shakspeare and the Bible are his favorite books, yet in other fields he is a close student.
Judge Thomas M. Jones says of him : " He knows fewer trifles, knows more law and has fewer wants than any man I ever saw. He is a most admirable man in every way."
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REV. GEORGE WHITE, D. D.
MEMPHIS.
W HIEN the compiler of this sketch was seeking information concerning Dr. White, he was told, " You have one of the richest subjects for a biography, but it will take but few words to tell of him." And, indeed, it does not require volumes to portray the life of a man, who is so uniformly kind and courteous to all; so universally popular with all sects, creeds and all conditions of society; so unflinchingly devoted to duty ; so earnest, faithful and tireless in the Master's cause- a man, whose whole existence may be summed up in the sweetest phrase that ever fell on mortal ears, "Glory to God in the highest; peace on earth, good will to man."
All the virtues of a man and a Christian are so har- moniously blended in him and form such a symmetry of character that in looking about to get an estimate of him, it is difficult to find which of the noble traits of manly, mental and spiritual make-up predominates the other.
Hle was born in Charleston, South Carolina, March 12, 1802, and lived there until he was eighteen years of age. He began his education in Charleston under John Wrench, a very eminent teacher of that day, and sub- sequently went to school for some time near Statesburg, in Sumter county, South Carolina. When the venera- ble gentleman-now more than fourscore years of age, and fast traveling toward the nonagenarian period-was asked where he was educated, he replied, with vivid recollection, and with a merry twinkle in his eye : " I went to school for seven years to a teacher who whipped the boys every day, no matter whether they were good or bad ; and to this day the sound of fire bells is sweetest music to my ears, because our teacher was a member of the fire board, and whenever there was an alarm of fire, it meant a brief cessation of hostilities, for the teacher's words were-" Go home boys ; you have a holiday."
After leaving the school near Statesburg. young White entered a law office in Charleston, and devoted two years to the study of the legal profession, which he had determined to pursue. While in this office he, with a number of other young men, went to a camp-meeting, and becoming deeply and seriously interested in the subject of religion, joined the Methodist church, gave up the bar for the pulpit, immediately went to exhort- ing, and shortly thereafter to preaching.
He remained in the Methodist ministry about ton years, during which time he was the contemporary of Dr. Capers, afterward the celebrated Methodist bishop, and other eminent Methodist divines. Though but a boy in years when he began his ministerial labors, his fame as a preacher spread abroad, and he was known as the " beardless preacher."
In 1822, he went to Savannah and there opea d a 08
school, called at first Savanah Academy, and afterward Chatham Academy, a school which he conducted for more than a quarter of a century, meeting all the time with remarkable success. Few men have been accorded the privilege of laboring so long and so successfully in the cause of education in one place as he did at Savan- nah. During this period he educated the children of many of the first families in the State of Georgia-the Bartows, Berriens, Laws, Andersons, Bullocks, Serev- ens, Habershams, Sheftels, Lamars -- their name is legion. Many of the men who have been most promi- nent in the State of Georgia since that time -- the great and virtuous in divinity, in judicature, in statesmanship, in commerce and war, have been trained under him, and to-day their children and grand-children refer with pride to the fact that their fathers or grandfathers went to school to Dr. White.
After remaining in the ministry of the Methodist church for about ten years, as a matter of conscience and conviction of duty, he joined the Protestant Epis- copal church, prepared for that ministry, and was or- dained by Bishop Bowen in St. Michael's church at Charleston, South Carolina, December 31, 1833. Dur- ing all the years of his teaching at Savannah, he was also engaged in preaching. Indeed, it might be said of him here that he has preached every Sunday of his life for the last sixty-four years, except when prevented by sickness. Likewise, it may be said that one of his strong characteristics, which developed itself then, has stuck to him throughout life, and that is, his extreme kindness to the colored race. Much of his time was spent in ministering to them. His plain, simple, effect- ive and forcible style of preaching suited these people, and they always called upon him, when any prominent member of their congregation died, to preach the fun- eral. His labors among these humble people were very effective, for moved by the gentleness of his manner, the simplicity and kindliness of his words, they would come about the altar and ask for the prayers of the minister. His years of' disinterested labor among them brings out in bold relief one strong element of his character -- a genuine and unaffected desire to do good to all men, to lift up the lowly and comfort the humble. For several years of this same period he also preached to the sea- men at their chapel, erected by Mr. Penfield, and made many friends among the sailors and sea captains. The founder of this chapel, by his will, left money in bank to employ a pastor, but during the time of Dr. White's pastorate, the bank failed, yet he continued to labor among his charge without money and without price, other than the reward which an approving conscience brings to duty done.
In the meantime he had established; in Effingham
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county, Georgia, a parish called St. Michael's, which completed the number necessary for a diocese. and was the means of electing the first bishop of Georgia- Bishop Elliott.
During his residence in Savannah he was prominently connected with the literary and scientific pursuits of the day, and was specially interested in the sciences of geol- ogy, conchology and mineralogy, spending much time and study upon them.
In 1852, be published " White's Statistics of Geor gia," a volume of wide circulation, which was read and endorsed by the first men of Georgia.
In the same year, desiring to take his family to a more healthy locality, he left the field in which he had so long and so successfully labored and went to Mari- etta, Georgia, and while there published his " Histor- ieal Collections of Georgia," which book was also a great success, and was widely circulated in the State, and it, as well as " White's Statistics," is to this day a standard work of reference in the State.
About 1856, he went to Florence, Alabama, took charge of a church there, and by his efforts during the next two years contributed largely to building it up.
In 1858, he went to Memphis, as rector of Calvary church, which he has made his field of labor up to the present time.
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Dr. White is descended from an old Huguenot family, who were among the earliest settlers of South Carolina, where descendants of the family are still living, in the vicinity of Charleston. His father was George White, a cotton factor at Charleston.
Dr. White was married, January 23, 1823. before reaching his twenty-first year, to Mrs. Elizabeth Groves, and for more than sixty years they have toiled along the path of life together. They have had ten children, only four of whom are now living.
Mrs. White's father was John Millen, an Englishman, who came to Charleston and became an indigo and cotton planter. Her mother was Martha Simmons, of an old and aristocratic South Carolina family. Mrs. White was born November 23, 1802, and was first mar- ried, at the age of seventeen, to JJohn Groves, who died of yellow fever at Savannah, in 1822. She is remarka ble for firmness and decision of character, and is a woman of strong affections, strong impulses, and genial, sunny disposition. During all the years of her hus- band's ministry, she has been with him, his counsel and his helpmeet, through all the vicissitudes of life- through sickness and sorrow and death, and now, like two ships returning full freighted into port, they are journeying toward their God, borne down by years of usefulness, while three generations of their descendants rise up to call them blessed. Mrs. White is remarkable for the clearness and vigor of her mind for one of her advanced age. She has a memory of dates and inci- dents which is quite as vivid as in her carly youth. In the case of this sweet and lovable old couple, the
ancient prayer seems to have been answered-" Merci- fully grant that we may grow old together."
Dr. White has been a zealous Mason and an Odd Fellow for many years. He took the degree of Master Mason in. Solomon's Lodge, at Savannah, in early life. He has always been active in the fraternity, and has many times been called upon to deliver addresses and memorial speeches. He took the degree of Knight Templar at Memphis, and has been Prelate of the Com- mandery for more than twenty-two years. Mr. T. J. Barchus, Recorder of Memphis Commandery, No. 4, Knights Temdar, says: "Rev. George White, the venerable Prelate of this Commandery, received the orders of Knighthood in this Commandery on the 28th day of January, 1862, and was elected Prelate on the 22nd of September following, an office which he has held uninterruptedly to the present time. The mem- bers of the Commandery are closely attached to him by the strongest ties of knighthood, and honor him, not only as the venerable Prelate of our Commandery, but also for the purity of his life and character." Dr. White always loved the order and adhered strictly to its Chris- tian and knightly tenets, and his brother Knights have always shown a more than ordinary appreciation of his virtues. He has also been warmly attached to the Odd Fellows, of which order he became a member soon after its organization at Savannah, and in which he after- ward filled the office of Noble Grand.
Twenty-eight years ago Dr. White went to Memphis, where he has spent the ripest years of his life in a labor that has won for him the love of all, for he has proved himself' a blessing to all. He is loved, not only by his own denomination, but has the confidence and affection of all classes of people, on account of his piety and lib- erality. Combining the qualities of the gentleman with those of the Christian philanthropist, he has the love of all creeds and conditions. The benignity of his nature, the affability of his manners, and a bearing venerable and dignified, make an impression upon all blest with the hallowing influence of his society and his ministry. His life has been clear, serene, and full of usefulness. As a theologian, a historian, a profound and ripe scholar, his name ranks among the foremost in his church and State. In modesty, charity and broth- erly love, he has no superior. His gray locks, unsul- lied during the long years of his ministry, add triple force to his sermons. His very appearance bespeaks goodness. The circumstances inducing him to locate at Memphis are quite interesting. The church was without a pastor; one of the members who had lost a son got him to come to Memphis to conduct the funeral services. He was so well liked that he was at once called there by the church, and at once began a career that has embahned his memory in the hearts of his peo- ple for ever. The church immediately began to flourish and has always flourished while under his charge. He has been a faithful rector, has labored ardently for his
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church, and has always been at his post of duty. Through the trying seenes of the war, and the dreadful epidemies which have ravaged the city, he has kept his church open. Through the dreadful epidemie of 1878, he was indefatigable in his labors in ministering to the wants of his people -his charity was almost a fault, and in visiting the sick he was tireless.
Indeed, this has been true of him at all times and under all circumstances. During all this troublous time his beloved and faithful wife was at his side. In September of that year they lost their son, Eugene D. White, at a time when the city was panic-stricken with the plague, and this aged couple went out to bury their son-the sole mourners at his grave-and while there an incident occurred which beautifully illustrates his character. The remains of a brother Mason were brought to the cemetery for interment ; the venerable minister asked the privilege of reading the burial ser- vice, and when it was granted, in words most feelingly uttered, and amid tears and sobs that almost choked their utterance, eulogized the character of the deceased. As the sod was falling upon the grave he was ap- proached by a gentleman who asked him to read the service over his wife. The kind old man consented, but first asked that he might bury his own son. In a few moments he was requested to conduct the services at another grave. Even in that hour of. trial and suf- fering, when he had just consigned to the grave his own dearly beloved boy, he did not fail to discharge the duties of his Christian calling.
As a preacher, Dr. White is characterized by sim- plicity, force and earnestness. . He always seems to feel what he is saying, and his sincerity and conscientious- ness carry conviction. He is plain and outspoken, If he ever had anything to say, he said it ; if he saw any- thing wrong among his people, he told them of it, but always in the greatest kindness, acting only from a sense of duty-he always did his duty. He has always been prominent in the diocesan conventions in his State, de- livering many able and eloquent addresses and sermons. lie has three times been a delegate to general conven- tions of the church-first at Boston. in 1877 : then at New York, in ESSO, and at Philadelphia, in 183. Every denomination recognizes the fact that he has stood at the head of the clergy of Memphis, and even after he had reached the age of fourscore he was still eloquent. It was said of him then by one of the papers of his city : " In his sermons his soul seems to triumph over the frailties of his body and pours forth its rich and glowing conceptions with all the fire and energy of youth, There is nothing senile about Dr. White. He is one of that class of men whose intellect will never be impaired by age, for his subjects are chor- oughly analyzed ; his logie is cogent and conclusive ; his sentences are compact; his enunciation slow and distinct ; his elocution graceful and emphatic, while he is evidently a man of deep evangelical piety, whose
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heart is devoted tot he Master's work, and the fruits of whose many years of labor will be rewarded in eternity. The prosperity of Calvary church, and it's large congre- gation in regular attendance, show that Dr. White is not wanting in pulpit popularity. He is certainly a faitd'ul and most indefatigable pastor, who seems to be impelled less by ambition than by love; and such is the sweetness and the courtesy of his manner as to endear him to his people and render him useful in their families."
During the plague of 1878, the heroje conduct of Dr. White was noted and commented upon by the press all over the United States. He is popular with all creeds- even Jews come to hear him preach-no man was ever known to speak disparagingly of him. His kindness to the colored race was carried to Memphis with him, and he helped to build them a church there, and by his ex- ertions kept it up.
As a man, Dr. White belongs to the type of old school gentlemen, too courteous to allow etiquette to interfere with naturalness. He meets all men, high and low, with a smile and a kind word. He is remarkable for the child-like simplicity of his character. In dis- position he is characterized by the modesty which belongs to all true worth. Never in all his life has he been known to put " Rev." to his name, always signing the plain " George White ": never has he been known to seek advantage froin any of those privileges which are sometimes supposed to belong to men in his calling, but in the social and financial world he has been as other men, seeking no honor from his station. His love for children and for animals is almost proverbial, espe- cially is his love for dogs remarkable-for living dogs, images of dogs and pictures of dogs. He has always been fond of work and has led a most active life -- a life of energy and ceaseless labor. At seventy-five years of age he moved with ahnost the vigor and activity of youth. His face betokens a love of freedom and not restraint, and even in his extreme old age bears upon it the glad look of boyhood.
In December, 1881, while conducting divine service at Calvary church, he was stricken at duty's post with a severe fit of appoplesy, and it seemed that his useful career must come to an end, but after a time he rallied and the blessing of his presence has been vouchsafed to his church a little longer, and now, as he nears the end of his " twelve long sunny hours, bright to the close," his people pray that he may be spared to them for many days. The following estimate placed upon him by one of his parishioners testifies the love and reverence his people have for his character and disposition : " Dr. White is beloved by all. He is genial in his disposi- tion, fond of social conversation, gentle in his judg- ments, avoiding extremes in doctrine, strong in his faith, positive in his influence, decided in his reproof's, harsh in nothing, and withal a kind, good old man."
By request of the biographer, Rev. Davis Sessums
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furnishes the following beautiful estimate of Dr. White's character : " The life of this now venerable priest has, throughout its extraordinary long course, been the con- stant growth and manifestation of those virtues which make the distinctive spirit of Christianity ; of humility, of purity and gentleness absolutely without wordliness ; of quiet yet persistent and aggressive force in the cause of the gospel. Dr. White, at the age of eighteen or nineteen years, partly by the example of kindred and partly by his own most fervent religious feeling and conviction, entered the Methodist ministry. Subse- quently, upon full knowledge of the genius and doctrine of the Episcopal church, the former office was resigned, and he successively took the orders of the diaconate and the priesthood in this latter communion. His ministerial life reaches, in his priestly office in the church alone, over a period of more than fifty years ; and his labors during that time have been maintained with an earnestness and a vigor as remarkable in them- selves as in the results which they have achieved. For a portion of his early career in the ministry of the church, Dr. White was engaged with educational con- cerns in Savannah, Georgia, having founded and con- ducted with rare success a school then instrumental in training many who afterward became prominent in that and other southern States. Literary matters, also, then occupied his attention, finding their outcome in a ' History of Georgia,' which was published at the ex- pense and with the connuendation of the State Legisla- ture; a work especially valuable for the detailed materials there gathered as foundations for histories in special lines. The greater portion of his active ministry has passed in Memphis, Tennessee, where for nearly thirty years he has held the rectorship of Calvary Epis- copal church. Dr. White has, during this whole period, filled a leading position in the history of the church in the diocese of Tennessee, conspicuous as a pastor, rep- resentative as a preacher, a patriarch and father in the annual councils of the church. For many successive triennial conventions of the Protestant Episcopal church in the United States, Dr. White has represented the diocese of Tennessee as one of its clerical deputies. In the conduct of his parish, and in his other official operations, it is the combination of his own high and gentle Christian life with his abilities that has made his work lasting, and his name revered and cherished. A marked power of uttering the hidden things of truth and grace in varied simplicity of language, conjoined with the most earnest, natural and effective art of elo cution, has enabled him to wield great influence from the pulpit. The enthusiasm which has ever inspired him in his work, the faithfulness and Christian heroism which have held him at his post, even in the midst of war and the fearful pestilence-these have been outward works to show the world the value and reality of his inward creed. The parish which he has builded up, the lives that trace to him their growth in religious
hope, the record altogether that he has made as a true priest of God- - these are the assurance of his honor here, the use of the talents which his Master will accept."
Since the foregoing was prepared, the venerable and beloved wife of Dr. White has ceased to live on earth. The following beautiful tribute to her many virtues, copied from the editorial columns of the Memphis Ap- pral, is here inserted as a fitting conclusion to this sketch :
" Verily hath a mother in Israel fallen. Mrs. Eliza- beth White, wife of Rev. Dr. George White, long rec- tor of Calvary church, of this city, gently passed away at four o'clock on Friday morning, July 18, 1885. Weak and low the pulse of life had fluttered in her fevered veins for weeks and months, and her friends 'thought her dying when she slept, and sleeping when she died.' It may be truly said of her that
' Of no distemper, of no blast she died, But fell like autumn fruit that mellowed long ; Even wondered at, because she dropped no sooner. Fate seemed to wind her up for fourscore years, Yet freshly ran she on some winters more, Till like a clock worn out with eating time. The wheels of weary life at last stood still.'
Mrs. White was born in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1802. Descending from one of the first families of the State, and possessing beauty, intelligence and many accomplishments, she was a conspicuous belle, a fa- vorite in fashionable society, and married early in life. Her first husband and one child died with the yellow fever. Two years afterward, she married Rev. Dr. George White, and as two placid streams unite and roll their waters in one bright and tranquil current to the sea, so have their happy spirits been borne onward, ten- der and loving, through light and shade, sunshine and gloom. The friends that cheered their barque as forth it steered on life's long voyage are all gone. But for sixty-two years this happy couple have been lovers, to- gether gazing at the evening twilight and moonlit clouds, listening to the chipp of the cricket, as the stars flashed out in the sky, watching their children as around the crackling fire they joyously danced to the shadows which the prism flung upon the wall, and with clasped hands talked of God, heaven and their love, so pure and holy on earth that it would brighten into a fadeless star in eternity. The tissue of their lives was so wrought as to make them twin spirits. But the harmony of life's chord is broken, and the old, sweet tune is hushed in death. A happier pair never trod life's weary path together. The twain were one in taste and sentiment in mutual love and trust. United in heart and hand for more than sixty years, they lived in harmony, endeared by joy and sorrow, made closer by death and the bereavement of children, uninterrupted by jar or discord the parting kiss as fragrant as the
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