USA > Tennessee > Sketches of prominent Tennesseans. Containing biographies and records of many of the families who have attained prominence in Tennessee > Part 81
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Of the mental make-up of Prof. Stephens, a fair esti- mate may be formed from the following sentences gleaned from a speech he made to his graduating class of 1891: " Another element of success is self- reliance. The mainspring of all individual growth and vigor, the master key which unlocks all difficulties in the medical profession, as in other callings, is a determination to be your own helper. The men who have won distinction in the marts of commerce. or have become lights in the intellectual firmament-the stars that shine with steady radiance through the ages of medical literature, emerged to eminence from the chilling depths of ob- security and destitution. They are men of humble pa - rentage, whose cradles were rocked in lowly cottages, buffeted the billows of fate and worked out their own distinction with an ardor that could not be quenched, and without dependence, save upon the mercies of God and their own energies. Above all, a deep and burning enthusiasm is needed in every one who would accom- plish great ends in any calling."
These, and similar memorable utterances in the
speech, made a deep impression, and were much talked of in Nashville. They fell from the lips of a man who had himself experienced what it is, and how it pays, to courageously grapple with the rough roll and tumble of practical life.
Dr. Stephens, undoubtedly, owes much of his solidity of character to his parentage, and much of his success to a judicious marriage. He was born in Marshall county, Tennessee, February 5, 1836, and as his name, John Bunyan, indicates, of Baptist parents. His father, Rev. Jeremiah Stevens, a native also of the same county, and now over seventy years old, is a Baptist minister, a farmer in moderate circumstances, a son of James and Frances Stephens, originally from North Carolina. His mother was Emeline Ezell, daughter of + Rev. Balaum Ezell, an old Baptist minister of emi- nence, also of North Carolina stock. Thus the Doctor is at once the sou and grandson of Baptist preachers.
The Primitive Baptist people are proverbial for their stability of character. There is less of volatility among them than among the Scotch themselves. In Tennes- see, as elsewhere, they are noted for their loyalty to their creed and church ; for honesty in their commer- cial transa tions, and for being the only people whose letter will admit its bearer into any communion what- ever. Their ministry and baptism are almost univer- sally recognized as orthodox. The writer heard a story about town that on at least two occasions Dr. Stephens, not long after settling in Nashville, applied to a broker in the city to cash drafts from Gen. Anderson Gordon, of Arkansas, upon a Memphis house. The broker declined, as he knew neither Stephens, Gordon, nor the Memphis, firm. The Doctor brought in a jew- eler, who vouched for him. " Well, but," said the broker. " I don't know Gordon, nor those Memphis people either.' " Neither do 1," replied Dr. Stephens, " but I know that Gen. Gordon is an old Baptist of high standing in Arkansas." "That being the case," interposed the jeweler, " Ell youch for Gordon and I'll vouch for that Memphis house too. Cash the draft, and if' it comes back to you dishonored, bring it to me, and I'll pay it." The Doctor got the money. 'After this he again applied to the same man for accommodation. The broker humorously replied, " Well, I suppose it
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was predestinated from the foundation of the world that I should let you have it," and he did.
The writer is not trying to picture a rough man. Dr. Stephens has the happy faculty of refusing without a repulsive air, but even a book agent knows from the tone of voice with which he declines, the discussion is closed.
At a meeting of preachers of several denominations in a merchant's store in Nashville, Dr. MeFerrin, Methodist, pointing to Dr. Stephens, said: " And here is Dr. Stephens, who belongs to a church that always pay their debts; I never knew one of them to fail." " Yes," said the merchant, "I never lost a cent by one of them in my life." Dr. MeFerrin then inquired, " How about your own people ? " " Why," the merchant responded, "they have broken me up three times."
Dr. Stephens' mother died when he was only four years old, leaving three children, himself, James B., and Joseph K., the latter now also an old Baptist preacher, and all three practicing physicians.
In boyhood Dr. Stephens received only a limited education, and the learning he has was acquired since he became his own man. He was a moral boy, having a father and step-mother who knew how to "train a child in the way he should go." From early childhood he inclined to be a physician, another proof of a valu- able truth, that whoever would succeed in life must lit himself for some particular line of business that is suited to his natural bent. Like many successful men, Dr. Stephens had no collegiate education, yet his repu- tation for both literary and scientific attainments is very high. At the age of eighteen, he began reading medi- cine under Dr. Edward Swenson, at Chapel Hill, Teu- nessee. He attended two courses of lectures in 1856-7, and received his diploma in 1867, and has been practic- ing medicine in Nashville ever since, He began to read medicine with only one-half dollar in his pocket, and in debt sixteen dollars. With some assistance from his uncle, George W. Ezell, he made his way through.
In 1875, he was elected first to fill the chair of theory and practice of medicine in the medical department of the Nashville Medical College (now University of Ten- nessee), but soon after became professor of obstetrics, a position which he still ably tills. In addition to his professorship, and large private practice, he has been for fourteen years physician to the small-pox hospital, at Nashville, by election of the county court.
In 1862, Dr. Stepens became a Master Mason, but dimitted in 1868. He has also been connected with the Odd Fellows, Knights of Honor, and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He is a Democrat.
Dr. Stephens married, in Marshall county, Tennessee, August 28, 1856, Miss Amelia L. Ferguson, who was born November 1, 1835, daughter of John Fleming Fer guson, a farmer and a magistrate in his district for many years. Her grandfather, John Fleming Ferguson, was of Scotch descent, a native of North Carolina. Her
grandmother was of Irish stock. Her mother was Amelia Britton, daughter of Joseph Britton, originally from North Carolina, of English descent. Mrs. Steph- ens has a good English education, and the reputation of being possessed of every grace that adorns a lady. She is a woman of great firmness and decision of character and good sense, and is noted for her unerring judgment of human nature.
By his marriage with Miss Ferguson, Dr. Stephens has two children : (1) .. Jeremiah Fane Stephens, born June 15, 1857; graduated in medicine in 1876, and in dentistry in 1877, and is now practicing dentistry in Nashville, and has already made a sterling reputation. He married, in Nashville, September 5, 1878, Miss Willie Mallory, daughter of William Mallory, of Nash- ville. (2). Ophelia Elizabeth Stephens, born June 30, 1860; graduated at the high school at Nashville; mar- ried, March, 1881, Robert M. Dudley, a merchant of the firm of Dudley Bros. & Lipscomb, of Nashville, and has one child, Bunyan Stephens, born February 2. 1882.
Dr. Stephens was baptized into the Old Baptist church in October, 1851; began preaching in 1859, and was pastor of Mount Olivet church, in Lincoln county, from 1860 to 1866, when he took charge of the church at Nashville, of which he is still pastor. In some re- spects he is in advance of his church in matters of faith. He believes in the renovation of the earth and the personal reign of Christ on earth, which will be the Kingdom spoken of in the Bible. He believes in the resurrection of the body and the actual existence of soul and body on the earth after resurrection. The first resurrection he holds is from among the dead- that is, the resurrection of the saints and no others. " The rest of the dead," he understands, will live uot again until the one thousand years are ended. More succinctly stated, he believes in the personal return of Christ to this earth, at which time will occur the resur- rection of the saints, and that thereafter the carth will be the home of the Redeemer and His redeemed ones.
Mrs. Stephens is also a Primitive Baptist, and in full harmony with her husband, though her parents were attached to no denomination. To till at once the dilli- cuit and delicate position of wife to a man who is both physician and preacher, is an honor equalled only by that other honor she has achieved -- of raising up chil- dren who have always been obedient and courteous to their parents; uniformly respectful to their authority and deferential to their superior experience and wisdom.
Dr. Stephens' motto has been to live a Christian life, to live at the head of his profession (medicine), and to die the death of the righteous. Honest dealings, an energetic, earnest life, account for his success. He never had a note to go to protest, and has made it a rule to be punctual to meet his promises, and he says, with landable pride, no man has ever suffered to the amount of a dollar on his account.
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WILLIAM C. SHEPPARD, D. D. S.
COLUMBIA.
T HIE ancestry of Dr. Sheppard is traced back only to his grandfather, James Sheppard, who died in Williamson county, Tennessee, about the year 1830, at the age of about sixty, the richest man of his day in that county. He married Phebe Mastin, in Halifax county, Virginia, and settled on the Yadkin river, in North Carolina. Somewhere about 1815, he purchased five thousand acres of land on Hickory creek, Warren county, Tennessee, where he farmed till about 1820, when he moved to Williamson county, engaged in stock raising, farming, merchandising, and trading till his death. Those were pushing, pioneer times, and he was a pushing man, personally superintending all depart- ments of his business. He was himself fond of his dram, but when not entirely sober he would sign no papers, nor receive or pay out money or transact any business whatever. He had four sons: Austin, Andy, James, and Clinton ; and five daughters: Betsy, Polly, Sally, Patsey and Phebe. It was a common remark that the girls were like their mother -- devout, godly women ; bright and shining members of the church. The boys were not reckless, nor as money-makers failures, but neither they nor their children or grandchildren have been so successful as their ancestors. The sons were industrious, stirring men, and raised respectable fami- lies. No stain is upon their records, but it is doubtful if all of his descendants together have as much prop- erty as he had. He made his money by trading with the Indians, by speculating in lands, and by tireless industry. The first bed he slept on, after going to housekeeping in North Carolina, was made of leaves gathered by his young wife out of the forest. The same year he gave his only hat to a man who helped him fence in his clearing. He was a soldier and team- ster in the Revolutionary war, and was at the battle of King's Mountain. His stout, compact build, and espe- cially his facial features, are unmistakably traced in nearly every one of his descendants .. His children are all dead but one, James Sheppard, of Dallas, Texas, now eighty-three years old-a fine specimen of noble man- hood.
The religion of the family was the old Baptist, but the grandchildren now belong to various denominations. Reviewing the history of the Sheppard family, how they are scattered-not one of them living on the ancestral lands-the first reflection that rises is, how soon for- tunes are wasted, and how soon we all turn to ashes! James Sheppard's children, one only excepted, are all dead. His history itself is forgotten, except the legend- ary fragments of it herein related. His grandson remembers that his grandfather, in his last sickness, had his favorite horse led into his room and turned round, that he might see whether it was being taken
good care of. His character was that of a genial, jovial, pushing, gathering man of the world, and his memory is lovingly cherished.
Dr. Sheppard's grandmother, Phebe Mastin, was one of the excellent of the earth. Her patience, piety, for- titude and sweetness of disposition, are the most pre- cious heirlooms in the families of her descendants, Her saying, which seemed a plaster for every sore, her panacea for all incurable wounds, "It is as it is, and it can't be any tisser," an admiring and grateful grand- child thinks the wisest philosophy he ever learned." She was buried at Columbia at the great age of ninety, after living to see about one hundred and forty-one of her descendants; now probably four times that number are scattered in Kansas, Arkansas, Texas, Missouri, Tennessee, and elsewhere. Of her ancestry no trace remains.
Dr. Sheppard's father, William Clinton Sheppard, the youngest of nine children, died in Columbia, at the age of sixty-two. He was born in North Carolina, and grew up in Warren and Williamson counties, Tennnes- see. Ile was twice married. By his first wife, Polly Riggs, he had five children, James M., Elizabeth, who married Mr. Watson, Joseph, Marietta, who married Mr. Joyce, and Josephine, who married Mr. Lancaster. By his second wife, wee Mrs. Parthenia Moore, whom he married at Mount Pleasant, Tennessee, January 18, 1845, he had three children: (1). William Clinton, subject of this sketch, born in Columbia, Tennessee, November 4, 1815. (2). Eurilda, died the wife of Thomas Whittaker, leaving four children, Moore, Ho- mer, Stella and Emma. (3). Andrew, died eighteen months old. Dr. Sheppard's father was a man of gener- ous impulses, and in the earlier part of his life was too liberal with his money and too convivial, qualities which soon dissipated a very large estate. But misfortune only brought out the energy that was in him, and he soon became independent again. Hle used to say : " I would make a living if I were set down on a flat rock ;" and the son, a chip of the old block, says : " You can never keep a Sheppard down in the world." His career in Columbia, where he spent the last twenty years of his life, was in all respects satisfactorily successful. Ile lived and died universally respected for his business qualities, and for his high-toned bearing as a Christian gentleman. He was eminently a family man, courteous and indulgent to his children, a good provider, very fond of his kin, and lavish in his outlay upon the edu- cation of his children.
Dr. Sheppard's mother, now living with him at his home in Columbia, at the age of seventy-seven, is one of the most remarkable women in Tennessee. With the vivacity of a girl, the gayety of a belle, the forti-
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tude of a heroine, the tact of a diplomat, and the en- ergy of a will bent on victory, she is celebrated in Columbia society as a leader in church enterprises and other public charities, and for her skill and kindness as an amateur "doctor," especially in calls to re- lieve the perils of maternity, and for her high char- acter as a lady. She is a strong woman, standing back from no obstacle, never knowing how to accept defeat, rising superior to every difficulty, spreading sunshine over every circle she enters, the friend and counselor of young people, and mentioned by old and young, high and low, only to be praised as an unapproachable model. She was thrice married. The first husband, whom she married at Athens, Alabama, February 11, 1826, was Dr. J. B. A. Thevenot, by whom she had five children, Amanda, Evelina, Napoleon, Sally E., and Aun Maria. Of these, only one survives, namely, Sally E., widow of John Neely, by whom she has two chil- dren, Eddy Orion and Joseph Thevenot. Her second husband, whom she married at Mount Pleasant, Ten- nessee, December 1, 1835, was J. M. Moore, by whom she had two children, Mary Eliza Moore, now dead, and Dr. J. J. Moore, now liying in San Francisco, Califor- nia. Hler third husband was William Clinton Shep- pard, father of Dr. Sheppard, whom, as before stated, she married January 18, 1815.
Dr. Sheppard married in Rutherford county, Ten- nessee, December 2, 1869, Miss Idell Johns, who was born September 24, 1851, daughter of J. B. Johns, an uncle of Gen. Joseph B. Palmer. Her mother, nee Maggie Wade, was cousin to Levi and Samuel Wade, of that county, and related to the Randolphs of Vir- ginia. Mrs. Sheppard was educated at Soule Female Col- lege, Murfreesborough, is a member of the Presbyterian church, and is noted for the mildness of her disposi- tion ; her great presence of mind in cases of danger ; is even-tempered in the government of her family; high-minded in her aspirations for her children ; relies upon reason for their control, and with the happiest results.
By his marriage with Miss Johns, Dr. Sheppard has nine children: (1). Maggie C., born in Rutherford county, September 8, 1570, and has already become a local celebrity as a musical performer on the cornet. (2). Lucy Idell, born in the same county, October 23,
1871; deceased. (3). Eula Kate, born in the same county, September 8, 1872. (4). Joseph. P., born in Columbia, April 6, 1874. (4). Robert Russell, born in Columbia, July 9, 1876; died September 8, -. (6). James Ernest, born in Columbia, June 21, 1877. (7). Pattie, born in Columbia, March 4, 1879. (8). Min- nie, born in Columbia, December 9, 1880. (9). Died an infant, unnamed.
Dr. Sheppard, from his earliest boyhood, was always full of energy. He worked on a farm, assisted his father in the livery business, and, at twelve years of age, hired himself to work on the streets of Columbia at fifty cents a day. He was educated at Jackson Col- lege, Columbia. In his eighteenth year he went into the Confederate army; joined no command, but was, with his brother, J. D. Sheppard, in Bate's Second Tennes- see regiment, one year. At nineteen he began the study of dentistry, and studied two years at home. He next was a pupil for some seven years under Dr. Robert Russell, at Nashville. In 1869, the year of his marriage, he began the practice, and also farmed, in Rutherford county, where he remained three years, when he moved back to Columbia, where he has re- sided ever since, doing a practice so large and lucrative that Chancellor Fleming said of him: "He makes more money than any merchant in the town, and ought to be the richest man in it. In 1878, he was appointed clinical operator in the dental department of the Uni- versity of Tennessee, at Nashville. In 1881 he had the degree of doctor of dental surgery conferred upon him by the same institution, of which honor he is justly proud.
He is a Master Mason and a Knight of Pythias. In religious faith, he is a Presbyterian.
Inheriting from his mother, who has been often spo- ken of as "a chain-lightning woman," an active, nerv- ous, energetic, and proud nature, he made a resolu- tion in early childhood to conduct himself so that every- body would respect him, and, as far as possible, be inde- pendent of the world, instead of dependent. On first acquaintance, he appears only as a bright, sprightly man; but he is a deep thinker, a close reasoner, a shrewd observer of events, and reader of character, and, like his father and grandfather, has made a great deal of money, but has been too generous with it.
J. C. ROSS, D. D. S.
N.ISHVILLE.
JAMES C. ROSS, D. D.S., of Nashville, was born in Hamilton county, Ohio, July 16, 1815, the son of' Thomas Ross. His father was a native of Pennsylva- nia, born in Lark county, of that State, May 19. 1769, the son of John and Eleanor Ross. The famik 7% of
Scotch descent, Ross being the name of a Scottish clan. When a young man, Thomas Ross emigrated to Warren, Ohio, where he was a farmer for a number of years, and from there went to Cincinnati, in 1810, arriving at the foot of Main street in a flat boat, when that city had a
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population of only twenty-six hundred, In 1821, he removed from Carthage, Hamilton county, to Butler county, Ohio, where he died, in 1825. He was a very industrious and hard-working man, and became quite prosperous. His eleven children all lived to maturity.
The mother of Dr. Ross was Miss Rosalinda Cobb, daughter of Samuel and Sarah Cobb. She was born in New Jersey, May 8, 1779; married July 9, 1799, and died in New Albany, Indiana, in 1836. She was a lady remarkable for her motherly kindness and devotion to her church, her even temper and placidity of dispo- sition. She was, at her death, a member of the Meth- odist Episcopal church, but during the lifetime of her husband was, with him, a Presbyterian. Her brother, James Cobb, was for many years a prominent saddler of Cincinnati.
John D. Ross, the second child, and Dr. Ross' oldest brother, now living at Buchanan, Michigan, has reached the age of eighty-three years. He was the founder and president of the Farmers' and Manufacturers' Bank of Buchanan, of which his son, Alfred E'., is now cashier. Ile himself has retired from business. He married early, his family increased rapidly, and the first twenty years of his married life was a struggle, but after that time fortune smiled upon him, and he went on from one degree of prosperity to another. He was for some time a merchant, and was once elected to the Legisla- ture of Michigan, and for many years was president of the town council of Buchanan.
Dr. Ross' brother, William B. Ross, was for several years a Methodist minister, preaching in Ohio and Indiana, but living, a part of the time, at Newport, Kentucky. He lost his life in attempting to stop a runaway horse. His three sons, James HI., Lewis L. and George S., now live in Newport, and are engaged in business in Cincinnati.
His next brother, Dr. Henry L. Ross, now deceased, was a physician, practicing at Newport, Kentucky, and at one time held the position of physician at the New- port arsenal, under the United States goverment.
His sister, Sarah Ross, the oldest child of the family, was born in 1800; married, in 1821, Edward Noble, a farmer, and died in 1825. After her death Mr. Noble went to Lebanon, Ohio, engaged in mercantile business and was afterward elected to the Ohio Legislature from Warren county.
Dr. Ross' sister, Annie Ross, is now wife of Rev. John G. Bruce, D.D., of the Kentucky conference of the Methodist Episcopal church, and is living near Danville, Kentucky.
His sister, Elizabeth Ross, was born October 7, 1810, and died at Cincinnati, the wife of Joseph Lindley Conkling.
Dr. Ross' next oldest brother, Samuel C. Ross, the seventh child and fourth son, was born in Ohio, in the year 1813; was raised and educated in Cincinnati ; taught school for a time, but soon turned his attention
to dentistry. Hle married Mrs. Agnes Rouse, daughter of Mr. John Bradshaw, of Shelbyville, Kentucky. After marriage, he practiced his profession for several years in St. Louis, but finally returned to Shelbyville, where he continued to practice until failing health compelled him to retire. He died in 1855.
His brother, Joseph R. Ross, born April 20, 1818, was a school teacher in Cincinnati. He died in New. port, Kentucky, in 1840. He was the only member of the family who never married.
His brother, Alfred N. Ross, born May 23, 1820, was a druggist. He died in 1847, on the anniversary of his birthday.
Dr. Ross' youngest sister, Ellen Luella Ross, born August 10, 1822, died near Danville, Kentucky, wife of Walter Scott Powell.
Dr. Ross obtained his academic education at the common schools at intervals till the age of sixteen, when he was apprenticed to a manufacturer of furniture, in which business he distinguished himself by such supe- riority and excellence of workmanship, that before the expiration of his apprenticeship he was made foreman. He remained in the furniture business until the age of twenty-two, when he began the practice of dentistry, the study of which he had commenced one year pre- vious. He began practice in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, in 1837, and then traveled till the time of his marriage, in 1841. He practiced three years in Frankfort and three years in Lexington, Kentucky.
In 1817, he removed to Nashville, where he settled, and has resided and practiced ever since, with the ex- ception of the time between February, 1858, and June, 1859, which he spent in Huntsville, Alabama, From the age of twenty-two, when he commenced the practice of dentistry, he has devoted all his energies to that pursuit. He has now been practicing for forty-eight years, and is the oldest practitioner of dentistry in Nashville, probably in the State. He is a professor in the dental department of the Vanderbilt University, and one of the original faculty, having participated with Dr. W. H. Morgan (whose sketch appears elsewhere in this volume) and others, in the organization of the dental department. He was elected at that time professor of operative dentistry and dental hygiene, and president of the faculty, a position which he has filled ever since. He has, also, occasionally contributed to the literature of the profession. In 1873, he was elected president of the State Dental Association, which was organized at Nashville, in July, 1867. He was a delegate from the State Association to the National Association twice; first at Cincinnati and afterward at Detroit.
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