BIDG-RAPHICAL SKETCHES
OF
MEN NDW IN PUBLIC LIFE
WITH FdRTRfllTS,'
BY H, W, J, HAM,
SJ1VANNHH: MORNING-IBNBETW ".' S PRINT,
r
Adams, A. P. (with portrait
PAGE.
Atkinson, W. G. (with portrUX^*Vv> ''i.v *Jw'r . .......... 190
Anderson, Clifford (with portrait) ... ............ 34
Atwood, W. H. ........................ 81
Alexander, E. P. ..................*.... 181
Brown, Joseph E. (with portrait) ............... 18
Brown, George B. ....................... 174
Bleckley, Logan E. ...................... 12
Boynton, James S. ...................... 67
Brantley, W. G. ........................ 104
Blount, James H. ....................... 65
Barnes, George T. ....................... 23
Barnett, 1ST. C. ......................... 25
Belt, T. C. ........................... 91
Calvin, M. V. (with portrait) ............ '1. .... 218
Cabaniss, H. H. (with portrait) ................ 128
Caulder, A. D. (with portrait) ................. 84
Carlton, H r H. (with portrait) ................. 140
Chappell, T. J. ....................... 125
Colquitt, A. H. ........................ 74
Clay, A. S. (with portrait) ...............:... 62
Coggins, J. N. ..... ................... 165
\
Clements, J. C. ;...............'....'.... 93 Crisp, C. F. .......................... 109 Cook, Philip .......................... 103
Davidson, John S. (with portrait) ............... 88
Dean, Liriton A. ......... .s .............. 2JJO
Faver, Paul (with portrait) .................. 208
Fort, Alien (with portrait) ................... 101
Foute, A. M. (with portrait) .................. 178
Franklin, P. J. (with portrait) ................. 202
Fain, Joel C. ..........."..'.......*.... 222
Gamble, R. L. (with portrait) ................. 158
Gibson, T. G. ......................... 148
Glenn, W. C. ......................... 68
Gordon, John B. (with portrait). ............... 8
4
IXDEX.
PAGE.
Gordon, W. W. (with portrait) ................ 226 Grimes, Thomas W. (with portrait) .............. 154 Harrison, W. H. ....................... 198 Hardeman, R. M. (with portrait) ............... 48. Harris. W. A. (with portrait; ................. 106 Ban), H. W. J. (with portrait) . .......'......... 170 Hawkins, S. W. ........................ 117 Hand, J. L. .......................... 60 Hardin, M. A. (with portrait) ................. 76 Hill, H. W. (with portrait) .... ............. 186 Hutchins, N. L. ........................ 163 Huff, W. A. .......................... 45 Howell, E. P. ......................... 51 Haralson, Frank L. ..................... 57 Jenkins, W. F. ...................... .136 James, Joseph S. ....................... 232 Kell, John M. ......................... 41 Kibbee, C. C. ......................... 43 Lamar, J. R. ......................... 211 Little, W. A. (with portrait) .................. 54 Lumsden, J. R. ......... .^ ............. 119 Mattox, John W. ........................ 132 Mauney, M. L. ........................ 131 McCord, C. Z. (with portrait) ................. 96 Miller, A. L. .... .................... 183 Norwood, Thomas M. ..................... 196 Peek, W. L. .......................... 138 Powell, R. J. (with portrait) .................. 214 Russell, P. M. (with portrait, ................. 70 Russell, R. B. (with portrait) ................. 144 Smith, D. N. ......................... 134 Stewart, John D. ....................... 31 Tate, F. C. fwith portrait) ................... 150 Terrell, J. M. (with portrait) ................. 112 Thomas, W. W. ........... \ ............ 167 Turner, H. G. ......................... 116 Way, A. S. .......................... 79 Wellborn, C. J. ........................ 206 Wofford, A. P. ........................ 161 Wrighc, W. A. (with portrait) ................. 28
^INTRODUCTORY
presenting this collection of brief biographies of Representative Georgians, the author is well aware that it is by no means complete, but it is hoped and believed that so far as it goes it is accurate and reliable. The purpose has been, not to deal in mere fulsome eulogy, but to give in succinct form the events in the lives of those of whom it treats
\
of interest to the public. There are many men in Georgia who are but just entering upon careers destined to be long and use ful. It is interesting to know from whence they came, and how they have risen. There are others who have behind them honorable records, which should be embalmed and preserved. It is the purpose of the book to tell the story of the one and put to record the other. If it proves to be a handy book of ref erence for the historian of the future, the highest ambition of the author will have been, realized.
This volume, dealing, a)s it does, only with men now in public life, is intended as the first of a series to follow at regular inter vals upon the same line. It is hoped that with added experi ence and facilities they may improve with each succeeding edition.
The preparation of the work has been attended with some difficulty. The compilation of the bare facts has involved much labor of a delicate character. It is but due to myself
INTRODUCTORY.
and the subjects treated to say that there is not in the book a
sketch in the nature of autobiography. To obtain all the nec
essary data without offense to the modesty of gentlemen has
involved much labor, and for much of it I am indebted to
friends who have kindly aided me, and to whom I desire to
return my heartfelt thanks.
The preparation of the sketches, however, has been in the
main fascinating employment, and in many instances truly a
labor of love. Most, if not all, the men have honored me with
their personal friendship, and to write of them as I have seen
and known them in a personal intercourse, that has been as
delightful as it has been profitable, has afforded me sincerest
pleasure.
Bespeaking for this unpretentious volume a charitable criti
cism, and assuring the public that if it anywhere lack interest
it is in the treatment, and not the subject, I submit it to such
readers as may honor me by its perusal, to stand or fall upon
its own merits.
IT \V. J. HAM.
M
8
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HON. JOHX B. GORDOX, \
GOVERNOR OF GEORGIA.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
9
HON. JOHN B. GORDON,
GOVERNOR OF GEORGIA.
Even the casual reader will understand that in the limits of
this work it is.impossible to give anything which might be dig
nified with the appellation of a history of the gentleman who at
present occupies the Gubernatorial chair. A complete history
of the man, his deeds of valor in war, and his achievements in
the forums of peace, would in themselves fill a volume larger
and more pretentious than this. Already he occupies a large
space in books, and the end is not yet. When the historian of
the distant future, the historian who shall write unblinded by
passion, who after the lapse of years sufficient to enable him to
write uninfluenced bv the section from which he comes, and
*y
/
the environments that even until now warp and bias the judg
ment, shall come to calmly weigh and put to record the history
of the late war, the causes that led to it, the conduct of the
struggle, and the results which followed it, the subject of this
sketch will have a place among the knightliest of the knightly
men who drew sword in defense of a cause they believed just,
and followed its banner with a chivalric devotion that the
world has never seen surpassed until it went down in defeat
that was without dishonor. But it must be left to the historian
of the future to tell this story. There are signs that the day is
coming when it can be done, but through the efforts of men
who fought not when the fight was on, and donned war paint
only when war was no more, it has not come yet.
JOHN B. GORSQN was born February 6th, 18|2, in Upson
county, Georgia, atod was educated at the Georgia State Uni-
10
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
versity. He enlisted in the Confederate army in April, 1861, as Captain, was elected Major of the 6th Alabama Regiment May, 1861, Lieutenant Colonel December, 1861, and Colonel May, 1862, and was subsequently promoted to Brigadier Gen eral, Major General, and at the close of the war was a Lieuten ant General, and the right arm of ROBERT E. LEE.
It is impossible to give even a bare list of the ensanguined fields on which he led the gallant men who loved and followed him into the thickest of the fray. He never said "Go!" he always said " Come!" and they would have followed him any where. At Manassas, Seven Pines, all the battles around Rich mond, including Malvern Hill, Sharpsburg, Md., South Moun tain. Fredericksburg, Marye's Heights, Wright&ville, Gettys burg the bloody, the Wilderness, Spottsylvania Court House, Monocacy, Md.. Winchester, Fisher's Hill, Cedar Creek, Hatch er's Run, Petersburg, Hare's Hill^ Petersburg agafn, and finally Appomattox, he bore aloft the flag of his country. Ah, what a host of memories the mere recalling the names brings up. To write their history, or that of a man who was a mighty figure in them all, would be to write the history of the most gigantic and bloody struggle of modern history.
General GORDON bears on his person the marks of many wounds received in battle. At Sharpsburg he received five wounds in one day, and it was only the fifth and last, in the face. tHat carried him off the field. Had our artist turned the other side of his face to the light it would be perceived in his portrait. Shot twice through the leg, he refused to go to the rear; his left arm mangled by a ball, he yet led his men; his shoulder pierced by a fourth, he sent an adjutant along the line to reassur^. his men. and to tell them he yet led them, when the fifth laid him senseless on the earth, literally bathed in his own blood. -Hanging for months between life and,death, he was barely convalescent when he was again with his command, to be again wounded at Sheperdstown, and still again at Hare's Hill. At Appomattox he it was who led the last forlorn hope of the Confederacy.against the legions of GRANT.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
11
In 1868 General GORDON was the Democratic nominee for Governor against Rurus B. BULLOCK, and was defeated. Many of the best menv in the State were disfranchised, and ma^iy oth ers, dispirited and broken, staid away from the polls and ram pant Republicanism had things its own way. In 1873 he was elected to the United States Senate, and was re-elected in 1879, but resigned his seat in that body the next year. From then until 1886 he held no public office, devoting himself to private business affairs, but last year he was nominated by the Demo cratic Convention and elected Governor.
Governor GORDON was married September 18th, 1854, to Miss FANNY HARALSON, a daughter of Hon. HUGH HARALSON, of LaGrange, Georgia. There has never been a happiqr marriage. She is in all respects a most remarkable woman. Gifted with rare beauty', and accomplished in the highest degree, she has been always the cherished companion of her distinguished hus band. Whether ministering by his bedside when the deadly mis sile had laid him low, sharing the hardships of camp life to be near him; or shining resplendent in the brilliant circles into which his high official positions have called her, she has been ever and alwaj^s the true and devoted wife, the^guiding star of his efforts, and his solace, comfort and purest inspiration.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HON. LOGAN E. BLECKLEY,
CHIEF JUSTICE SUPREME COURT OF GEORGIA/*
The central figure on the Supreme Bench of Georgia, when that honorable body is in session, is so marked arid distinctive that it would attract attention anywhere. Perhaps there is no man in Georgia, certainly not at the bar, who is better known throughout the State; neither is there one who stands higher in the regard and confidence of the people. He looks sage and patriarchal, but is withal full of fine, rich humor, a jurist well stored with legal lore, a subtle logician, but as modest and un ostentatious a man as you would meet between the poles. To this and his profession, which leads not to such brilliant paths as the sword and pen, is due the circumstance that his fame is not greater beyond the limits of his native State. -
LOGAN E. BLECKLEY was born in Rabun county, Georgia, in 1827. At the early age of eleven years he commenced to write and evinced a literary trend of mind. With intervals of teach ing country schools and clerking in a country store he grew to young manhood. In 1848, when just twenty-one years old, oc curred an incident that marks the peculiar character of the man. The Western and Atlantic Railroad was then operated by the State, and somehow learning that the bookkeeper of the road had died, young BLECKLEY wrote a letter to the Governor at Milledgeville saying that on a certain day he would be there to secure the position. The very audacity of the young man interested the august official, and so when on the day named he
*For the main facts of this sketch the author is indebted, to an. admirable arti cle recently prepared by Mr. C. A. Nir-E3, the Atlanta journalist, for the Ameri can Press Association.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
13
presented himself before that functionary and informed him that he had come " to take the place " the Governor looked him over, and informed him that he could have it.
This may be merely a legend, but after coming to Atlanta Judge BLECKLJEY was appointed Secretary and bookkeeper of the Western and Atlantic Railroad, a responsible position, which he filled acceptably for three years, when Gov. TOWNS appointed him one of the Secretaries of the Executive Depart ment. At the close of the year, Gov. TOWNS' term expiring, BLECKLEY .thought he was threatened with consumption and went back to his mountain home to die, but when spring came he had gained forty pounds. He then removed to Atlanta to practice law. The year following he was elected Solicitor Gen eral of the Coweta circuit, then a very large one. In 1857 he married Miss HARALSON, of La Grange, a daughter of Gen. HUGH HARALSON. Another daughter married Gen. JOHN B. GORDON, now Governor of Georgia, who was at one time as sociated with BLECKLEY in the* law practice.
Judge BLECKLEY'S military career was brief and uneventful. He was opposed to secession as an original measure, but acqui esced when South Carolina seceded. In 1861 he entered camp as Adjutant and inspector of a brigade, but soon after went with a^cavalry company to Virginia. At the end of the year his health failed so that he was discharged. -In '65 and '66 he was one of the State Commission to draft a code for the govern ment of the freedmen. This was a fruitless and rather' erratic undertaking.
In 1875 Judge BLECK^EY was appointed an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court by Gov. SMITH. His decisions while on the bench' were remarkably sound in law, original, unique, often quaint and ljumorous. They run through the reports of that period rich, warm and sparkling. But being pre-eminently^an honest man he always dreaded to go on record with a decision not thoroughly studied, and the consequent close application brought on mental and physical exhaustion, and at the close of
14
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
the September term, 1879, he resigned his position on the Su preme Bench. He made this the occasion to do what no other Judge, so far as the knowledge of the writer extends, has ever done, viz.: ttVolace on record in the published volumes of decis ions of a conrt of last resort an exquisite poem. In tendering his resignation he read from the bench the following lines, which were ordered by his colleagues, the late (Chief Justice \VARNER. and Associate, afterwards Chief Justice JACKSON, also now deceased, to be spread on the minutes of the court:
IX THE MATTER OF REST.
I.
" Rest for hand and brow and breast, For fingers, heart and brain !
Rest and peace '. a long release From labor arid from pain ;
Pain of doubt, fatigue, despair Pain of darkness everywhere,
And seeking light in vain.
II. " Peace and Rest! Are they the best
For mortals here below ? Is soft repose from work and woes
A bliss for men to know? Bliss of time- is bli.ss of toil; No bliss but thig, from sun and soil,
Does God permit to grow."
Alarmed about his health, he "took to the woods-' again, as he expressed it. He built a cabin on Screamer mountain, at an altitude of 3.000 feet, in sight of his old home, and there lived and roughed it a hermit until he regained his health. A few months ago, on the death of Chief Justice JACKSON, he was ap pointed to the vacancy until the summer session of the General Assembly. Whether he will be a candidate for the place be fore the General Assembly remains to be seen. It goes without Baying that if he will say he will accept it will come to him without the asking.
No man is more averse to notoriety than Judge BLECKLEY, and it is not assumed, but real. To a modest request for some data connected with his life for this volume, he replied: "I
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
15
have just read with consternation your favor threatening to put me in a book. Can you not spare me? I beg you to forbear. * * Leave me out and let me grow. Perhaps, if spared, I may become great enough to become the subject of biography, but I am not yet I know I am not." And no appeal could move him. But for the good fortune, elsewhere acknowledged, the writer could not have prepared even this incomplete-and
unsatisfactory sketch.
C
C
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS*
19
HON. JOSEPH E. BROWN,
UNITED STATES SENATOR FROM GEORGIA.
In the limits of this article it is barely possible to. do more
than briefly capitulate-the leading incidents in the career of
Senator BROWN. He has filled so large a space in the public
eye, has been so prominent a figure in politics, has achieved
such an eminence at the bar, on the bench, and at the head of
great industrial enterprises, that to write a history of JOSEPH
E. BROWN for the last thirty years is to write the history of
Georgia for the same length of tame. Consequently, it must
suffice for the purposes of jhis article to give in briefest apace a
mere synopsis of his career.
JOSEPH E. BROWN was born in Pickens District^ South Caro
lina, April 15th, 1821, and removed with his father to Georgia
when yet a boy. Subsequently was educated at Calhoun Acad
emy, in the State of his birth, and commenced to make his way
in the world as a schoolmaster at Canton, Cherokee county,
Georgia. While thus engaged he devoted his spare moments
to the study of the law, and was admitted to the bar in August,
1845. Not satisfied with his legal equipment, however, he at
once entered Yale Law School, where he graduated, and re
turning home, commenced the practice of his profession in
1846. ' *
'
_
'
The first political office ever held by Mr. BROWN was that of
State 'Senator, to which he was elected in 1849. In 1852 .his
party placed him on the PIERCE electoral ticket. In 1855 he
was elected Judge of the Superior Court of the Blue Ridge cir
cuit, which position he held until he was nominated for Gterv-
20
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
ernor in 1857 as a Democrat, and defeated BENJAMIN H. HILL, Whig, by a handsome majority. In 1859. being again the nominee of his party against Hon. WARREN AIKEN, he was reelected, and was in the Gubernatorial chair when, in 1860, the war cloud began to lower. As a pronounced secessionist and States' rights champion, he defeated Hon. EUGENIUS A. NISBET for Governor, and entered upon his third term in 1861. In 1863 he defeated Hon. JOSHUA HILL and Hon. TIMOTHY FURLOW, and by a large majority over both was called a fourth time to the office of Governor.
It was during this term that there occurred between Gov. BROWN and Hon. JEFFERSON DAvis. President of the Confeder ate States, the famous dispute over the Conscript act, the cor respondence upon which has become history. Gov. BROWN pro tested against the constitutionality of the law which gave the general government authority to declare who were subject to military duty, and impress them into the Confederate service, and contended that troops should be raised by the Stete au thorities and by them turned over to the general government. Though pronounced in his convictions upon the subject, and sustaining them by most convincing arguments, Gov. BROWN threw no obstacles in the way of the enforcement of the law, preferring to yield rather than jeopard the cause of the Confederacv .
.4fter the war the course of Gov. BROWN provoked the first unpopularity he had ever experienced. Realizing and accept ing the results of the conflict as settled and fixed, he advocated reconstruction as the shortest way to peace and complete restoration to the Union. This called down upon him much indignation from many who did not read the future as correctlj7 an he. and finding no sympathy for his views in the Democratic party, he voted for the GRANT electoral ticket. In 1868 he was nominated for United States Senator by the Republicans, and defeated by Hon. JOSHUA HILT-, and was thereupon appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court by Gov. BULLOCK. Of his
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
service on the Appellate Court Bench the reports of that day bear most conclusive testimony to his high legal attainments and fearless discharge of duty.
In 1870 Ju$ge BROWN resigned his place on the Supreme Bench to accept the Presidency of the Western and Atlantic Railroad, which position he still holds, and retired from active participation in politics, but was a close observer of current affairs, and being unable to agree with or endorse the Republi can policy, in 1872 he acted with the Democrats, who by this time had come to see that the results of the war were fixed principles, and from that time to now has given his best ener gies to the success of that party.
In 1880, when Hon. JOHN B. GORDON resigned his seat in the United States Senate, Gov. A. H. COLQUITT appointed him to fill the vacancy until the meeting of the Legislature. In the interim the Legislature was to be elected, as well as the Gov ernor, and Gov. COLQUITT'S opponents made the appointment of Senator BROWN their rallying cry, and with Hon. THOMAS M. NORWOOD as their standard-bearer essayed his defeat and the election of a Legislature inimical to Senator BROWN. That contest is yet fresh in the public mind. It would have been a subject for wonder had not Senator BROWN thrown himself into it with all the ardor of his nature. Not only was his own elec tion, by the" Legislature to be chosen, at stake, but the effort was being made to sacrifice his friend because he was his friend. Few political contests have ever been waged in the State in which there"' was as fierce fighting and as universal interest. _he result is well known. Gov. CQLQUITT was re-elected lay a phenomenal majority, the people at the polls thus endorsing his appointment of Senator BROWN, and the Legislature which as. sembled the following November ratified and carried out their verdict by electing Senator BROWN by over a JiWO-thirds ma jority,over Gen. A. R. LAWTON, one of the most polished," scholarly and popular men in Georgia.
In 1884, upon the expiration of his first term, Senator BROWN
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
was re-elected by a practically unanimous vote of the General
Assembly, only one vote being cast against him for Gen. ROB ERT TOOJCBS by some enthusiastic admirer of that gentleman.
Senator BROWX still holds the position. His term will expire
March 3, 1891.
It is a noticeable fact that Senator BROWN was never defeated
for any office when a candidate before the people. The story
of his many successes, and only one defeat, reajds almost like a
romance. Of his services hi the Senate we have not space to
speak. They are part of the current history of the day. What
his future will be. his health and length of days alone will de
termine.
.'
.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HON. GEORGE T. BAKNES,
MEMBER OF CONGRESS FROM THE TENTH DISTRICT.
No man in the Georgia delegation conceded to be one of the ablest in Congress from the South stands higher than Hon. GEORGE T. BARNES. He represents a district the territory comprising which has" sent many famous men to the Congress ional halls, and Mr. BARNES bids fair to add even new lustre to the record of the tenth, formerly the old eighth district, repre
sented for years by ALEXANDER H. STEPHENS. He has only served one term, and yet in this brief time has succeeded in forging to the front as one of the most able, conservative and pains-taking representatives from the South. He has devoted himself rather to arduous work than indiscriminate talk, and has succeeded in securing a public building for Augusta and many other practical benefits for the people he represents;
,
?
3
GEORGE T. BARNES was born in Richmond county, his present
residence, August 14, 1833. He received the elements of an
education at the old Richmond County Academy, and after
proper preparation enteredr Franklin College, University of
Georgia, at Athens, where he graduated in 1853. Choosing the
law as a profession, after leaving college he entered upon the
study, and in a short time was admitted to the bar. He has
since devoted himself'to the practice, in which he has been
very successful. In 1860, at the age of twenty-seven, Mr.
BARNES first entered' politics, and was elected a member of the
lower house of the General Assembly, and remained, being
continuously re-elected until 1865.
3
, ''
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
Devoting himself after the war to his profession, Mr. BARNES held no political office, nor sought it, for a number of years, but was nevertheless a close observer and active participant in State political affairs. In 1876 he was selected as the member for Georgia on the National Democratic Executive Committee, and held that position until 1884, rendering valuable service to his party, and contributing in no small measure to the National Democratic victory.
Mr. BARNES was nominated and elected to the Forty-ninth, and has been re-elected to the Fiftieth Congress. Personally he is a social, genial companion, and a fair type of the wholesouled, big-brained, generous Southern gentleman, who well deserves the honors which he wears with a modesty and dignitj" that are not among the least charming characteristics of the man.
. REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HON. N. C. BARNETT,
SECRETARY OF STATE.
Hon. NATHAN CRAWFORD BARNETT, who at present, as he has for a number of years past, fills the office of Secretary of State, was born in Columbia county, Georgia. KJB father, WILLIAM BARNETT, and his mother, ANNA CRAWFORD, a sister of Hon. WILLIAM H. CRAWFORD, were both native Virginians the former of English and the latter of Scotch descent.
At an early age Mr. BARNETT lost his father, and his mother removing to Oglethorpe he was reared and educated in that county. He also lived for some years in Walton county. Upon his marriage to Miss MARGARET J. MORTON, of Clarke county, he removed to Watkinsville, then the county site, and engaged in planting and merchandizing. His fellow-citizens chose him Major of Militia and subsequently Colonel.
In 1836 Col. BARNETT was first elected to the House of Eepresentatives. Of the measures which he championed the build ing of the Western and Atlantic Railroad wal perhaps the most notable. At the end of two sessions he retired at a time when he could have been a State Senator for the asking.
In 1840 he lost his first wife, and the following year married Miss MARY ANN COOPER, of Harris county. In 1843 he was first elected Secretary of State, and was re-elected in 1846 and 1847. He was superseded in 1849, but again elected in 1861. He was superseded in 1853. In 1861, the offices of Surveyor General and Secretary of State being consolidated, he was again elected to the office, and served through the administra tion of Gov. JOSEPH E. BROWN, also one term after the war
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
with Gov. CHARLES J. JEXKINS, and when Congress established a territorial government over the State went out with Gov. JERKINS, carrying the great seal of the State, and retaining it in his possession until the adoption of the constitution of 1868. In 1873 he was again elected Secretary of State by the Legisla ture. the first after the Democracy came into power, and has held the office continuously since, being elected by the Legisla ture until the adoption of the constitution of 1877, and since then by the people.
Few men have served their State so long, and none more faithfully. There is neither spot nor blemish upon his charac ter as a Christian gentleman, or a public officer, and he is in every way worthy to have a place in the record of the names of distinguished, honored, and representative Georgians. No man who knows him but would yield assent to the declaration that he is "an honest man, the noblest work of God."
-*
4
1
A
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HOX. W. A. WEIGHT,
COMPTROLLER GEN'ERAL.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
29
HON. WILLIAM AMBROSE WEIGHT,
COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF GEORGIA. ^
The office of the Comptroller General is one of the most im portant in the State. He is to all intents and purposes the business manager of the vast and complicated machinery for the raising and disbursement of the large revenue of the Com monwealth, and upon his efficiency and capability depend in large measure the interest and well-being of the citizen in so far as the payment of taxes and their proper application to the di verse and varied purposes of government are concerned. That any man should have performed the services incident to this trying and important position for a number of years with the full approval of the people is a compliment to his integrity, faithfulness and qualifications that any man might be proud to possess. This important office is at present filled by Hon. W. A. WRIGHT, the subject of this sketch, and so his antecedents and personal record become a subject of public interest.
WILLIAM AMBROSE WRIGHT, the eldest son of Gen. A. R. WRIGHT, was born in Louisville, Jefferson county, January 19, 1844. He received a common school education in the academy of that town. At the outbreak of the civil war, in 1860, he enlisted in Company C (Dawson Grays) Third Georgia Regi ment as a private, was appointed on the staff of his father Au gust, 1862, was wounded at the second battle of Manassas in the right heel and his leg was amputated, necessitating his re turn home, where he remained until April, 1863, when he re joined his command; was captured June 18,1863,on the march to Gettysburg by New York cavalry, and was imprisioned at
30
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
Johnson's Island until May, 1864, when he was exchanged and returned to the army. He was at the siege of Petersburg, but was transferred to duty at Augusta, Ga., December, 1864, and put in charge of the ordnance supplies at that point for the equipment of JOHNSON'S army, where he remained until the
close of hostilities. At the close of the war, without means to complete his edu
cation, he entered upon manual labor, so far as able, to aid in support of his father's family, who, being debarred from the practice of his profession, and his property swept away, was driven to dire necessities. The subject of our sketch hauled the products of the little farm to market which the father had made and gathered When the political disabilities of his father were removed he entered at once upon a large and lucra tive practice, and the son was enabled to enter upon a life career.
Mr. WEIGHT was appointed Comptroller General by Gov. COLQOTT, September 17, 1879. to fill the unexpired term of W. L. GOLSMITH. and has, under the new constitution of the State, been three times nominated and elected by the people, without opposition, a compliment enjoyed by few officers who have ever
served the State.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
31
HON. JOHN D. STEWART, -
MEMBER OF CONGRESS FROM THE FIFTH DISTRICT.
JOHN D.-STEWART was born in Fayette county, Georgia, Au
gust 2, 1833, and is the son of GEORGE and ELIZABETH STEW-
ART, natives of North Carolina.
Mr. STEWART received only a common school education, ex
cept one year spent at Marshall College, Griffin, Georgia. He
has
alwavs */
been
a
close
student
and
wide
reader, 7
and
in
this
way most of the general knowledge which has so well fitted
him for life's duties was acquired.
x
Mr. STEWART has been for many years a resident of Griffin,
twice Mayor of that city, twice represented Spalding county in
the General Assembly, being chairman of the Judiciary Com
mittee one term, and was for eight years Judge of the Court of
Ordinary of Spalding county. Mr. STEWART is a lawyer by
profession, and has been eminent at the bar of the State. He
was for five years Judge of the Flint circuit, resigning that
position to become a candidate for Congressional honors.
In religion, as were his father and mother before him, Judge
STEWART is a Baptist, and has been for a number of years a
preacher of the gospel. He stands high in the denominational
counsels, having been for five years past chairman of the Home
Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, four years
a trustee of Mercer University, and is also a member of the
Board of Trustees of the Southern Baptist Theological Semi
nary, located at Louisville, Ky. He has always been a strong
Mend of education, and served on the board of the Sam Bailey
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
Male Institute, at Griffin, and also of Monroe Female College. In 1886 Judge STEWART received the Democratic nomination
for Congress from the Fifth District, and was elected to the fiftieth Congress. His term will expire March 3. 1889.
L
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HOX. CLIFFORD ANDERSON,
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF GEORGIA.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
35
HON. CLIFFORD AXDERSOX,
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF GEORGIA.
CLIFFORD ANDERSOX, Attorney General of Georgia, was born in Nottoway county, Virginia, March 23, 1833. By the death of his mother in 1837, and of his father in 1845, he was left an orphan at the early age of twelve, with only snch rudiments of an education as he had been able to acquire up to that time in the common country schools. His father was a prominent citi zen of Virginia, and had been wealthy up to within a few years of his death, when his estate was almost entirely swept away to pay security debts for which he had generously become re sponsible.
Shortly after the death of his father young AXDERSOX re moved to Macon, Ga., and entered the office of his eldest brother, WILLIAM HEXRY AXDERSOX, and his brother-in-law, ROBERT S. LAXIER (they being partners), where, without the aid of a teacher, he prosecuted the study of classical literature, chemistry, mental and moral philosophy, history, logic, rhetoric and political economy. Having mastered these, after the death of his brother, in January, 1850, he commenced the study of law under Mr. LAXIER, assisting the latter also in his business as agent of the Southern Mutual Insurance Company, and prosecuting the study for two years, wyas admitted to the bar In 1852, when not quite nineteen years old. He immediately formed a partnership with Mr. LAXIER, which- except during the war, when both were in the service of the Confederacy has continued to the present time.
30
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
In 1856 Mr. AXDEBSON was elected Judge of the City Court of Macon for the term of four years, but resigned after serving in that office less than two years. He was married in January, 1857, to Miss AN-XA LECOXTE. of Macon, Georgia (a niece of Prof. JOSEPH LECOXTE, now of the University of California, and also of Hon. EuGEXirs A. NISBET,s formerlyv one of the Justices of the Supreme Court of Georgia.) He and his family now consisting, besides his wife, of nine children have con tinued to reside at Macon from the time of his marriage to the present time that city having been the place of his residence prior to his marriage. In December, 1857, he was, after a spirited contest, elected a member of the City Council of Ma con. and was re-elected December, 1858, for a second term. In October. 1859, after an exciting campaign, he was elected a member of the Lower House of the General Assembly, and served during the sessions of 185&-60. He took a leading and conspicuous part in the debates, particularly in opposition to the bill to abolish the Supreme Court, and in favor of those grant ing State aid to the Macon and Brunswick Railroad, and_calling a convention of the people to consider the question of secession. At first opposed to secession, Judge AXDERSOX reluctantly yielded his convictions when South Carolina went out of the Union and he saw no way of averting a conflict between the sections, and realizing the necessity of putting Georgia in line with her sisters, came home during the session of 1860, and ad dressed a large meeting of the citizens of Macon in advocacy of that policy.
At the opening of the war Judge ANDERSOX volunteered as a private in the celebrated "Floyd Rifles." of which gallant and knightly TOM HARDEMAX was the Captain, and this and three other companies constituted the first body of troops sent by Georgia to the battlefields of Virginia. They were subsequently organized into the Second Georgia Battalion.
From April 20,1861, to September of that year Judge AXDER SOX remained in the ranks as a private, when, a vacancy occur-
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
ring by the resignation of Lieut. TURPIX, he was elected to fill it, and served in this capacity about a year. The Second Georgia Battalion having become a part of the brigade of Gen. A. R. WEIGHT, he was tendered and accepted the office of Brigade Inspector on his- staff. He remained on Gen. WEIGHT'S staff through the Gettysburg campaign and until the winter of
1863, when, active operations in the field having temporarily ceased, he resigned his position in the army to accept a seat in the House of Representatives of the Confederate Congress, to which he had been elected by the people in October of that
year.
After the close of the Gettysburg campaign his promotion
for gallant service was recommended by Gen. R. H. AXDERSOX,
the division commander, and also by Gen. R. E. LEE. On the
recommendation thus made, without his knowledge, a commis
sion was issued and tendered him as Captain in the Adjutant
General's department, and he was assigned to duty with that
rank on Gen. WEIGHT'S staff, but having been elected to Con
gress, as above stated, before the receipt of the commission, he
declined to accept it.
v.
In the Confederate Congress Judge ANDERSOX became a notable figure, and took a conspicuous part in the debates of that body upon the important questions which came before it in those troublous days, always giving his earnest support to the administration in its efforts to prosecute the war to success ful conclusion and achieve the independence of the Confederate
States.
At the close of the war Judge A_NT>ERSON came home, and, against the advice of friends, who persuaded him to fly the country, remained passively awaiting whatever was in store for him, preferring to share the privations of his family, his prop erty having been swept away, to escaping possible arrest and prosecution. For over a year he could not resume the practice of his profession, there being none except military courts, and the doors of theseHbeing barred against him, but on the restora-
J
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
tion of c-ivil government he and his partner, Mr. LAXIER, opened their office and took up the tangled skein of life's duties where they had each laid it down years before, and started anew to rebuild their shattered fortunes. They soon regained their large practice. and have continued from that day to this one of the most prominent, popular, and successful legal firms in
the State.
For many years after the war Judge ANDERSON persistently declined to re-enter political life, though more than once oifered the unanimous nomination of his party (equivalent to an elec tion) as member of Congress from his district. Soon after the removal of Mercer University to Macon. at the earnest solici-
V
tation of the trustees and faculty he accepted a professorship in the law department of that institution, and on the death of Hon. C. B. COLE became chairman of the law faculty. This position he still holds. He has rendered valuable service to the university, and has been instrumental in training and edu cating for the bar many of the brightest and most promising young men now connected with the legal profession' in the State. . In 1884 the university conferred on Judge ANDERSOX
the degree of LL. D.
Without having sought it. or any agency or solicitation on his part, the State Democratic Convention tendered Judge ANDERSOX the nomination for Attorney General in August, 1880. He accepted it, and was elected for a term of two years. He was re-nominated and re-elected in 1882, again in 1884, and again in 1886. He is now serving his fourth term. His service in this position has been phenomenally strong and successful. He has brought to it the ripe experience of many years' suc cessful practice at the bar, careful painstaking, laborious and methodical study of every question that has come before him, and the opinions he has delivered deserve to stand side by side with those of the ablest deliverances of any law officer in the land. In the courts of the State, and of the United States, he has met as able lawyers as the Union can. produce, and the
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
89
.
_
interests of the State have never suffered in his hands. In the Supreme Court of the United States, conceded to be the ablest tribunal of last resort in the civilized world, Judge ANDERSON has argued many important cases in a manner that has fre quently evoked expressions of approval from different members of that able court.
Such is a brief history, without eulogy or comment, of a man whom Georgia honors herself in honoring:
4
40
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HOX. JOHX McIXTOSH KELL,
ADJUTANT GENERAL OF GEORGIA.
Of course the reader of these brief biographical sketches of the men now in public life in Georgia, has long ere this discov ered that this book does not aspire to give detailed histories of the lives of the men treated of in its pages. The most that is attempted is to give in briefest form the data of the more salient points without any attempt at elaboration, or pretense of being full and complete. To write a history of the gentle
man whose name stands at the head of this article would in
itself go beyond the limits of the entire book.
Captain JOHX MC!NTO?H KELL. the present Adjutant General of the State of Georgia, was born near Darien, Ga., in 1823. He
was educated at Annapolis, the United States Naval Academj',
and entered the navv in 1841. He served continuouslv in the
o
*/
Navy of the United States until the outbreak of the Civil War,
at which time he was at the Pensacola Naval Yard. When
his native State seceded from the Union he resigned his com
mission, tendered his services to the Confederate govern
ment, and was placed in command of a small steamer for
coast defence. In May, 1861. Admiral SEMMES, who knew and
loved Captain KELL. and who was at that time engaged in fitting out the Sumter, applied for him as his Executive officer,
and he was transferred to that service. He subsequently went with Admiral SEMMES to the ill-fated Alabama, and his gallant service on these two vessels have been for years "part of the
history of the most gigantic struggle of modern times, and a
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
41
detailed account of which would far transcend the limits of this article.
After the Alabama was sunk, and Captain KELL returned to the Confederacy, he had command of the ironclad "Richmond" in the James river, but his health failing him during this ser vice he was at home on sick leave at the time of the surrender.
Since the war Captain KELL has lived a quiet, retired life, from which he was called by Governor GORDON when he became Governor, and tendered his present position. He has a lovely home at Sunnyside, on the Macon and Western Railroad, pre sided over by his charming wife, formerly Miss JULIA BLANCHE MOXROE, of Macon, to whom he was married in 1856, and who has proven a true, brave and devoted companion.
In the life and character, thus briefly epitomized, the histo rian of the future who writes in detail of the men of to-day will find much of public interest.
L
42
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HOX. CHARLES C. KIBBEE,
JUDGE SUPERIOR COURTS, OCOXEE CIRCUIT.
To make an upright, fearless Judge, who does his duty at all times and under all circumstances, without fear, favor or affec tion, and be at the same time a popular citizen, requires quali ties that few men possess. The subject of this sketch is proof of the fact that it can be done. There are few,/ if anv/ ,-* more popular men in public life to-day than Judge KIBBEE. and yet .that he makes an admirably just and faithful officer is the tes timony of all who know him.
CHARLES C. KIBBEE was bom in Macon, Georgia, August 20th, Is3t. He graduated at Princeton. in the class of 1857, and hav ing determined to make the law his profession, entered upon the studv*r with the late lamented Gen. THOMAS R. R. COBB.* at Athens. Georgia. He completed the course and was admitted to the bar in 1858 at AVatkinsville. then the county site of Clarke county, when only nineteen years of age, and entered at once upon the practice at Hawkinsville,, Pulaski county, where he has since continuously resided. He entered into partner ship with the late Col. WILLIAM H. DAWSON, and the firm of DAWSOX & KIBBEE had a large and lucrative practice through out that section of the State.
Answering the first call to arms that resounded through the South. Mr. KIBBEE entered the Confederate service as orderly sergeant of Co. G. Tenth Georgia Regiment, March, 1861, and served through the war between the States, participating in all the campaigns of LEE'S army, as also the campaign of LoxoSTBEET'S corps, beginning at Chickamauga and ending with the
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
43
rz
siege of Knoxville. From sergeant he was promoted through all the various ranks to the position of Lieutenant Colonel of
the gallant Tenth Georgia Regiment, receiving the last-named commission for conspicuous gallantry on the bloody field of
Cold Harbor, in the Valley campaign.
Returning home from the war Col. KIBBEE resumed the practice of his profession, but his fellow-citizens called him from private
life to serve them in the Legislature in 1865-6. In 1868 he was
a delegate to the State Democratic Convention. In 1870 was elected to the Senate to fill an unexpired term, and was re-
elected without opposition in 1872. He served as Senator from the Fourteenth Senatorial District from 1870 to 1876, both in-
elusive. Those were troublous times. The Republican party
had been in full sway; extravagance and pillage had run riot. The State's finances were in chaotic confusion, and upon the
accession of the Democracy to power in the" councils of the
State a herculean task confronted them. The State's credit was trembling in the balance, vast amounts of illegal bonds had
been issued, and the Legislature was called upon to bring order
out of confusion, rectify mistakes, pass needed legislation, and
recuperate an exhausted treasury. -
' 'i
As Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Senate, upon
Col. KIBBEE devolved in large measure this tremendous under
taking. He conducted the examination of the State treasury, and was appointed by Governor SMITH to examine and report
upon the bonded debt of the State, and also the accounts of HENRY CLEWS, who had been the financial agent of the State'
under Republican rule. To his earnest, fearless, faithful and
competent work in this capacity the people of the State are
indebted for the saving of many thousands of dollars, which
but for it would have been wrung from their hard earnings.
'* Retiring some years since from active participation in poli
tics, Col. KIBBEE devoted himself to the practice of his profes
sion. More than once enthusiastic friends have pressed his claims for Congressional honors, but wedded to his profession
44
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
he has not sought preferments outside of such as it might offer. He was elected by the General Assembly in 1884 to his present position, in which he has given universal satisfaction, made a record as an able and painstaking jurist, and preserved un spotted the judicial ermine. Judge KIBBEE is a prominent Odd Fellow, having been Grand Master for the State, of that order, and representative to the Grand Lodge of the United States.
This is but a brief capitulation of the salient points in the life of a man who has faithfully served his people in every station to which he has been called. He has a charming family and a happy home, where he finds the sweetest pleasure of his life among his cherished household gods.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
45
HON. WILLIAM ARNOLD HUFF,
REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE COUNTY OF BIBB.
The subject of this sketch is one of the most remarkable men in the General Assembly of Georgia. If there are any self-made men he is one, and the compiler regrets exceedingly that he has been unable to secure the data to give in full the details of a career that is as remarkable as it would be inter esting.
Born in the country, and brought up on a farm, young HUFF went through all the hardships and rigors of such a life; fre quently, it is said, hauling wood through the streets of the city of which he was afterwards for many years the Mayor, and one of its wealthy and prominent citizens. In his early man hood he was for a long time engaged in railroading, rising from the lowest position up to conductor, and "pulled a bell line" through many a long night and busy day. ,,
Subsequently he entered upon mercantile pursuits in Macon, and was for many years one of its most prominent wholesale merchants. He was for many years Mayor of the city, and it was during his administration that the city debt was bonded, the Central City Park laid out and beautified into one of the loveliest spots in the South, free school buildings erected, and many other things done that has tended to put the city forward. as one of the livest and most important cities in the country.
In 1886 Mr. HUFF was elected to the General Assembly, and has made one of the most progressive, practical and valuable members of that body.^He has devoted much time and study
4$
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS,
td the convict question, and is the foremost apostle of the move ment looking to a reformation of our present prison system.
Mr. HUFF was an important factor in all legislative questions during the last session, but is a worker and thinker rather than an orator. "When he does speak, however, it is to the point, and one who had met him in debate during last session said he ' could put more honey in his words, and more stings in his sentences, than anv/ man alive/'
Of a restless, nervous temperament, Mr. HUFF is energetic, tireless and indomitable in the advocacy of that which he deems right and proper. Peculiarly cordial and social in his manners, he makes friends easily, and, taken all in all, is one of the most popular men to-day in public life in Georgia.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
49
HON. ROBERT U. HARDEMAN,
TREASURER OF THE STATE OF GEORGIA.
ROBERT TLLA HARDEMAN, Treasurer of the State of Georgia,
was born in Macon, Georgia, November 22, 1838. His father
was
THOMAS
HARDEMAN,'
who
was
for
many/
y*/ ears
a
resident -
of
Putnam county, filling for a long while the office of Sheriff, and
was also Clerk of the Superior Court. He was a fine business
man, and was the agent at Eatonton of the Bank of the State
of Georgia. His wife was Miss SARAH B. SPARKS before mar
riage. Of the sons of this marriage Hon. THOMAS HAR.DEMAN,
JR., was late member of Congress from the State at large, and
the other is the present Treasurer, the subject of this sketch.
R. TJ. HARDEMAX was educated at Emory College, Oxford,
Georgia, and graduated in 1858 in the class with Dr. HAYGOOD,
Dr. HOPKINS, at present the President of Emory; Hon. W. T.
REVILL, editor of .the Meriwether Vindicator, and other dis
tinguished Georgians. At the outbreak of the war Mr. HARDE
MAN volunteered and entered the Confederate army with the
celebrated Floyd Rifles, of Macon. He served throughout the
wrar, and surrendered at Appomattox.
After the war he entered mercantile pursuits, which he fol
lowed for several years. In 1876 he Was tendered a position in
the Comptroller General's office, and in this position became an
expert on the financial and tax affairs of the State. In 1884
he was nominated for Treasurer of the State on the Democratic
ticket, and was elected, and was re-elected to the same office in
1886.
50
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
__
___
t
In the Treasurer's office Mr. HARDEMAX has made a most
enviable record, and rendered valuable service to the State.
During his first term $3.455,000 of the Stated bonds bearing 7
per cent, interest matured, and Mr. HARDEMAX was chiefly
instrumental in having issued a new series of bonds bearing
only 4} per cent, interest, which, through his excellent manage
ment, were sold at a premium of five-sixteenths, the State thus
making not only the premium, but saving annually 2\ per cent,
upon her bonded debt. The record is one of which any public
officer might well be proud. Yet in the prime of life, and his
mental and physical vigor, he bids fair to enjoy many years of
usefulness to his people and State.
,.
*.. \' t * ._ _ "'. - .-'/j. *--.- i.'jf' - .*- J*- -
'
-
.
*.
*'
/ -f
'
.
REPBE8&NTATIVE GEORGIANS.
51
HON. EVAN P. HOWELL,
CAPITAL COMMISSIONER.
Capt. EVAN PARK HOWELL is the Atlanta member of the Commission. He is the oldest son of the late Judge CLARK HOWELL, and was born in Milton county, Georgia, December 10, 1839. When Capt. HOWELL was in his eleventh year hig father settled in Atlanta, and resided there for several years.
He graduated at the Georgia Military Institute, at Marietta, in 1859, and in the year following graduated from the Lumpkin Law School, Athens. He then went to Sandersville and began the practice of law with Judge JAMES S. HOOK.
He was married in 1861 to Miss JULIA A. ERWJK, of South Carolina, and at the outbreak of the war entered the Confeder ate service. He organized and commanded Howell's Battery throughout the war, serving in Virginia and Georgia with Cleburne's Division. His batterywas actively engaged in almost all the important battles against SHERMAN in the famous "March to the Sea." He was a gallant soldier, and his cool and indifferent manner while under heavy fire was a matter of remark among his command, and served to show the dauntless spirit and unflinching bravery of the man and soldier.
At the close of the war he again moved to Atlanta, entered journalism with the Atlanta Intelligencer, and afterward re sumed the practice of law, having as his partner the late Judge CINCINNATCS PEEBLES.
During his residence in Atlanta he has served several times in the Aldermanic Boarcl of the city, and for a time took great interest in the volunteer fire department.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIA!.
He also served four years as Solicitor General of the Atlanta
circuit, during which time his great energy, aided by his elo
quent speech and superior knowledge of law, proved wonder
fully effective in the majority of cases of the State versus
offenders.
In 1876 he was elected to represent the Thirty-fifth District
in the State Senate, and was re-elected in 1878.
He was a delegate to the National Democratic Convention
which nominated Mr. TILDEN for the Presidency. He was also
a delegate from the State at large to the conventions which
nominated Gen. HANCOCK in 1880 and Gov. CLEVELAND in
1884. .
f
In 1876 he purchased an interest in the Atlanta Constitution,
and became President of the Constitution Publishing Company
and editor-in-chief of the paper, which position he has since
held.
.
.
'
Upon the death of Commissioner BENJAMIN E. CRANE Capt.
HOWELL was appointed by the Governor to fill the vacancy.
Since his connection with the Commission he has been not only
regular but punctual in his attendance at its meetings, giving
at all times serious thought to even the minute affairs of the
charge given to the Commission.
Soon after the administration of national affairs passed into
Democratic hands President CLEVELAND tendered to Capt.
HOWELL the appointment of Consul to Manchester. For purely
personal reasons Capt. HOWELL declined to accept this dis
tinguished honor.
He is a man of great personal magnetism, and his friends are
thickly scattered throughout the State. Appreciating his
superior qualities as a man they constantly seek to thrust upon
him the distinguished honors which they feel he so justly
merits.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HON. W. A. LITTLE,
SPEAKER HOUSE REPRESENTATIVES.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
55
HON. WILLIAM A. LITTLE,
REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE COUNTY OF MUSCOGEE, AND SPEAKER
-OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives is a most im portant and arduous position. To fill it successfully and ac ceptably requires not only talent of a high order, but quick perception, firmness and discretion, coupled with never-failing courtesy, as well as a mastery of the science of parliamentary law and precedent. All of these make a combination so rare that few men are found who possess the full and rounded f character which they go to complete.
It is not too much to say that the present Speaker of the House is one of the finest presiding officers who have wielded the gavel over that body. Possessing in large degree all the accomplishments above noted, combined with a keen sense OT justice, a smooth temper, pleasant address, and popular man ners, no man who has ever occupied the position has lent to it more grace, dignity and honor, than the gentleman who at present presides over the deliberations of the House.
WILLIAM A. LITTLE is a native of Talbot county, Georgia, where he grew to manhood. He had but just begun to look about him for his life work when the civil war broke over the land, and he entered the Confederate army and served through the struggle, coming out with the rank of Captain of cavalry. After the war he studied law, was admitted to the bar, and be gan the practice at Talbotton, in his native county. Shortly afterward he was Assistant Secretary of the State Senate. He
appointed by Gov. SMITP Solicitor General of the Chatta-
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
hoochee circuit in 1872, and removed to Columbus. "When the Constitutional Convention of 1877 was called he was elected to that body, in which he served with distinction, being the origi nator and champion of man}- of the reforms brought about by that instrument. In 1882 he was elected to the House of Rep resentatives from Muscogee. and served in the session of 1882-3 as chairman of the Finance Committee, the most important in the body. He was re-elected in 1884. and upon the assembling of the body was chosen Speaker. His record in the position was so eminently satisfactory that when his people returned him to the present House he was unanimously chosen for the same position.
The limits of this article do not admit going into the details of the Speaker's legislative record. He has done much since he has been in the House that has been of value to the State. He was an ardent champion of the bill establishing the Tech nological School by the State, and he takes a just pride in this work. The only time the writer has ever seen him yield the gavel and come down to the floor to participate in a debate was during the last session, upon a proposition to withhold the ap propriation from this institution, upon which he made an argu ment so clear, able and convincing as to challenge the hearty applause of the House and galleries.
The meagreness of detail and data in this brief sketch is due to the innate modesty of the man, the compiler having been compelled to rely upon such as he could gather from the friends of the Speaker. Xone can regret this more than the writer.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
57
HON. FRANK L. HARALSON,
STATE LIBRARIAN.
FRANK L. HARALSON, the present efficient State Librarian, a son of Hon. T. J. HARALSON, of Union county, his mother hav ing been before marriage Miss MARY A. LOGAN, of White county, was born in Union county, Georgia, January 8,1853.
He received the rudiments of an education in the common schools of the county, and subsequently attended the North Georgia Agricultural College, at Dahlonega, being the first student enrolled / when that institution was established. He subsequently graduated at the University, Athens, Georgia, in 1875.
Mr. HARALSON, after completing his education, entered upon the study of law, and was admitted to the bar in 1875, and entered upon the practice at Cleveland, White county.
In January, 1877, when Gov. COLQLTTT came into office, Mr. HARALSON was appointed by him to the office of State Li brarian, and has held the position continuously since that time, having been reappointed by Gov. COLQUITT, again by Gov. McDANIEL, and lastly by Gov. GORDON.
On March 26,1883, Mr. HARALSON was married to Miss LULA SMALL, sister of Rev. SAM W. SMALL, the evangelist, a moat lovely and accomplished lady. No man who has ever held the position has given more general satisfaction to those having business with the department over which he presides.
58
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HOX. WILLIAM C. GLEXX,
REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE COUNTY OF WHITFIELD.
The stranger who would look over the House of Representa tives from the gallery or any other point of vantage would be almost sure to inquire the name of this gentleman. "His face would attract attention anywhere, and among the active, bright and brainy young men who make up so large a part of the General Assembly, he easily takes rank as among the first of the legal lights of the House.
Mr. GLEXX was born in Chattooga county, Georgia, December 31, 1855. and consequently is now but hardly in the prime of his intellectual and mental vigor. He was admitted to the bar at an early age, and since that time has been so assiduous a student that few men at his time of life are so well equipped. He has not only been a student of books, but of men, and his keen judgment of human nature aids him not a little in those hot legal and political contests in which he has become known and recognized as a power throughout his section.
"While Mr. GLENX never entered any political contest on his own account until the canvass for his present seat, he has al most ever since his majority been a close observer of men and measures, and not unfrequently his voice has been raised in eloquent measure to give his fellow-citizens the benefit of his pronounced convictions upon public questions. Notably in the last Gubernatorial campaign his voice rang from many a stump in advocacy of Gov. GORDON, and though he met and bearded veteran campaigners, held his own and came away with his full share of the laurels.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
69
This brings us to say that as an orator Mr. GLENN has many of the graces that charm and capture assemblages of men. Always earnest, often truly eloquent, he garnishes the ready flow of words with such a wealth of illustration, classic, comic and convincing, that it is always a pleasure to listen to him. Amid it all he never forgets the courtesy of the true gentleman, and even his opponents are his friends, and ready as any to
acknowledge his genius. In the present House Mr. GLENN is a member of the Com
mittees on Judiciary, Corporations, Labor and Labor Statistics, as well as others of less importance. On the first named he has done much important work, and as chairman of the jomt com mittee to inquire whether an act incorporating a railroad was a local or special bill, submitted a report that challenged the ad miration of the House by its strong grasp and clear presenta
tion of the points involved in the question.
60
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HON. JUDSON L. HAND,
SENATOR FROM THE EIGHTH DISTRICT OF GEORGIA.
Hon. J. L. HAND was born in Houston county, near Perry.
*/ 7
*.
this State. March 20. 1851. and spent his boyhood on his
father's country place. ''Rocky Hill/' ten miles_ east of
Amerieus. Too young to enter the army, he organized the
Pleasant Grove Guards, a bodv/ of bo*v/ s like himself,/ was elected Cajp_ tain, and manvi< were the bloodless battles they/ fought in mimicry of the fearful contest then being waged on
the stage of national warfare. He is the son of COLUMBUS W.
HAXD. and grandson of HEXRY H. HAND, of Burke county. "His
mother was a daughter of Mr. ISAAC A. BOWER, of Milledge-
ville, Georgia.
In 1868 Mr. HAND entered the University of Georgia, gradu
ating from that institution with high honors in 1871. Casting
about him for employment, and with no prejudice against honest
manual labor, he engaged as fireman in a steam saw mill, and
so faithfully did he perform his duty and so thoroughly did he
familiarize himself with every detail of the business that he
rose step by step through all the gradations of the business
from this humble position until to-day, when he counts among
his possessions an interest in three large saw mills, four turpen
tine distilleries, and is proprietor of a large and flourishing
mercantile business in the town of Pelham, on the Savannah,
Florida and Western Railway. He is a successful business
man. and all in all a fair type of the energetic, pushing young
Southerner. He has. in addition to his other interests, taken a
lively and successful interest in agricultural pursuits.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
61
f
In 1877 Mr. HAND was married to Miss EMMA COLLINSWORTH, a daughter of Mr. FLETCHER COLLINSWORTH, of Sumter county. Two children, girls, aged respectively seven and five, have blessed the union. He has a handsome home, filled with the comforts, conveniences and luxuries of life, and finds his high est enjoyment in the sacred precincts of that charmed circle.
Mr. HAND was elected in 1886 to represent his Senatorial dis trict, composed of the counties of Mitchell, Miller and Decatur, in the State Senate, in which body he has taken high rank as a capable, thoughtful and earnest legislator. He is chairman of the Committee on State Librarv, and a member of those on
V"
Finance, Kailroads, Banks, Public Property, Engrossing and Enrollment. Personally he is a gentleman of pleasant address, makes friends easily, and is deservedly popular among those who know him.
62
SEPEESEXTATIVE GEORGIANS.
\
\
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
63
\
HON. A. tS. CLAY,
REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE COUNTY OF COBB, AND SPEAKER PRO TEM. OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
Few men are blessed with a happier faculty of making strong friends and holding them than the subjectlof this sketch. The strong personality of the man, his high sense of honor, combine with genial social traits that make him a prime favorite with all with whom he comes in contact.
A. S. CLAY is the son of a farmer, W. J. CLAY, and ANN CLAY. Was born September 25th, 1853, near Powder Spring, in Cobb county. He remained upon the farm until the age of sixteen, rwhen he went to Palmetto and attended school for two years. He then taught a year, went to Hiwassee College. Tennessee, for three years, graduating in 1875. Hming borrowed money to complete his education, he taught for two years and repaid it, reading law at nights and spare moments during the time, and had two hundred dollars left. He was "admitted to the bar in the fall of 1877, and entered at once upon the practice. As is the case with most young barristers, practice came slowly at first, but he worked and waited, and in the course of two or three years prospects brightened and business came to seek him. From then to now this has constantly increased, until he now enjoys a large and lucrative, as well as constantly growing practice. He has accumulated a handsome little property by his practice, and bids fair to become wealthy.
Mr. CLAY'S first office was councilman of Marietta, to which he was elected in 1880, and re-elected at the expiration of his first term, but resigned. He was nominated to represent his
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
county in the Legislature in 1884. and was elected by large a majority. In 1886 he carried every militia district in the county, and was unanimously nominated for re-election by the county convention, A. S. MCCLESKY being nominated as his colleague. The Knights of Labor put out two candidates, and after a spirited contest both nominees were elected. Mr. CLAY leading the ticket by a large majority. Just after his nomina tion to the House the Senatorial convention of the Thirtv/ -fifth District met in Atlanta and remained in session a whole week. On the 1200th ballot Mr. CLAY was unanimously "nominated. He declined the nomination on the ground that he had already accepted a nomination to represent the people of his county in the House.
In Xovember. 1881. Mr. CLAY was married to Miss FAXXIE WHITE: two brigo ht bov*- s. one five and the other one *v/ ear old. are the fruits of the happy union. He is a member of the Methodist church, has a happy home, and the future which stretches before him lures him on to a life of honor, usefulness and happineSv-.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
65
HON. JAMES H. BLOUNT,
MEMBER OF CONGRESS FROM SIXTH DISTRICT.
Few men in Georgia are better known than Hon. JAMES H. BLOUST, Member of Congress from the Sixth District. He has been continuously in public life for nearly fourteen years as the incumbent of his present seat, and has become widely and favorably known not only throughout Georgia but all over the entire country.
Mr. BLOUNT was born in Jones county, Georgia, September 12, 1837. His earlj- life and education was that of _most young men of the time, and upon attaining his majority he entered upon the practice of law at Clinton, in the county of Jones. After a number of years successful practice at the bar, he removed to Macon, and rapidly won his way to the top of a bar known and admired throughout the State for the ability of its members.
Mr. BLOUXT was first elected to the Forty-third Congress, being, if we mistake not, the first Democrat elected and allowed to take his seat from that District after the war. He was reelected to the Forty-fourth, Forty-fifth, Forty-sixth, Forty-sev enth, Forty-eighth and Forty-ninth Congresses, and w?as last year again chosen by his people and will take his seat in the Fiftieth Congress, and should he live to finish the term will have completed sixteen years of Congressional service. There are onlv*/ two or three men in the National House who outrank him in the number of years of continuous service.
Mr. BLOUXT's record in Congress is well known throughout the Union. He has always been a strict economist, and the
66
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
unrelenting foe of wasteful expenditure and jobs of all kinds. So stringent has*he been on this line as to frequently subject him to harsh criticism, which, however, in no wise altered his course or purpose. Since the elevation of Hon. JOHN G. CAR LISLE to the Speakership of the House Mr. BLOUXT has been one of his most trusted advisers, and is a recognized leader on the Democratic side.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
67
*"
HOX. JAMES S. BOYXTON,
JUDGE SUPERIOR COURTS FLINT CIRCUIT.
Judge BOYXTOX was born in Henry county, Georgia, May 7, 1833. He was the son of ELIJAH S. BOYXTOX, who came originallvu from Vermont,j and of Scotch descent. His mother's \ maiden name was ELIZABETH MOFFET, who was of French ex traction and belonged to an old South Carolina family.
Judge BOYXTOX had few advantages in early life. His early, and indeed only education, was derived from a few months' attendance in each year on the exercises of the "old field school" of those days, and the remainder of the time was spent in manual labor upon the farm of his father. One of his early ambitions was toj enter upon a military career, and he went so far as to prepare himself to enter West Point, but the death of his father, and subsequently his guardian, upon whom he relied for aid, made this course impossible and forced him to turn his attention to other pursuits.
Choosing law as a profession, he entered upon the study at McDonough, Georgia, and in seven weeks mastered it suffici ently to be admitted to the bar. In 1852 he began practice at Monticello, Jasper county, where he remained until 1858, when he removed to Jackson, Butts county, and formed a partner ship with Col. JAMES R. LYOXS. In 1860 he was elected Ordi nary of Butts county. At the outbreak of the war he enlisted as a private in the Thirtieth Georgia Regiment. He was elected Major of the regiment from the ranks, and laid down his musket to take up a sword. He was promoted first to Lieutenant Colonel and afterwards to Colonel; was severely
68
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
wounded at Decatur on the 22d of July, 1864, returned to his regiment as soon as able, and remained with it to the end.
In 1866. having removed' his family to Griffin during the war, and making that his home afterward, he was elected Judge of the Countv/ Court. He was Ma*v or of Griffin from 1869 to 1872. In 1880 he was elected to the State Senate, and upon the organi zation of that bodv, was unanimouslv* elected President,/ thus becoming ex-officio Governor of the State. Upon the death of Gov. ALEXANDER H. STEPHENS he succeeded to the office, and held it until the election of Hon. HEXRY D. MCDANIEL, when he retired to private life and the practice of his profession. In 1886, upon the resignation of Hon. JOHN D. STEWART, Judge of the Superior Charts of the Flint cireaity Gov. BOYXTOX was ap pointed to hold until the meeting of the Legislature. That body elected him without opposition to fill Judge STBWART'S unexpired term, and also for the full term following, which will
expire January 1. 1891. Gov. BOYXTOX was married to Miss FAXXIE LOYALL, Decem
ber 2. 1852. just after his admission to the bar. She bore him two sons, and died in 1877. He was married the second time, April 30, 1883. to Mrs. SUSIE T. HARRIS, of Walton county, a
charming and most estimable lady.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
m
HON. PHILIP M. RUSSELL,
EEPRESENTATIYE CHATHAM COUNTY.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
71
HON. PHILIP M. RUSSELL,
REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE COUNTY OF CHATHAM.
more refined, cultured and honorable constituency in the State of Georgia has representation in the General Assembly than the county of Chatham, of which the old city of Savannah is the social and political centre. To be chosen as one of her Representatives is an honor of which any man might well feel proud.
Of her present representation, Hon. PHILIP M. RUSSELL is in appearance one of the most venerable men in the House, and owing to his long and honorable public service is widely known and universally respected. He is a son of ISAAC RUSSELL, Esq., and PERLA SHEFTALL RUSSELL, and was born in Savannah, De cember 17, 1815. His ancestors came to this country with OGLETHORPE, and were among the first settlers of the State, and honorably identified with the history of the War of Indepen dence.
Of a delicate temperament in his earlier years, Mr. RUSSELL failed of a rudimentary education, but the will and energy of his nature made up in after years for what he failed to gain in childhood, and in 1833 he commenced the study of law with his uncle, Hon. MORDECAI SHEFTALL, Sr., a leading member of the bar, and for several years Judge of the Court of Common Pleas and Oyer and Terminer of -the City of Savannah.
September 15,1834, Mr. RUSSELL, the subject of this sketch, was married to Miss ELIZABETH C. FERRE, of Philadelphia, a descendant of Commodore SPRINGEB, U. S. N. In the same year he accepted the appointment of Collector for the Savan-
6
"^ _.-.*
72
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
nah, Ogeechee and Altamaha Canal Company. In 1835 he held his first office, being elected Constable of his district, and served in this capacity, acting in the meantime incidentally as Deputy Sheriff, and also as Deputy United States Marshal. In June, 1843. he was elected Sheriff of the city of Savannah, in 1844 Justice of the Peace. While holding this office he was appoint ed Collector of Customs. In 1846 he was again Justice of the Peace, and while holding this office was elected Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas and Over and Terminer. In 1853 he was elected City Marshal of Savannah, and filled that office with credit fo? two years. In 1855 he continued the study of law, meanwhile acting as Clerk of the United States Courts, and in 1856 was elected Clerk of the City Court of Savannah.
Mr. RUSSELL has always taken a warm interest in military affairs, and became a member of the famous "Republican Blues" in 1833. At the organization of the State forces by Governor BROWX he was commissioned as Captain, and assigned to Harkie's Regiment, Harrison's Brigade, where he served until in capacitated from typhoid fever and discharged. In 1863 he was elected to the Legislature, and re-elected in 1865. Being disfranchised under the Reconstruction Acts, he resumed his position a* Clerk of the City Court. He was admitted to the bar in 1871. and subsequently the Supreme and United States Court*.
In 1876 he received thirtv-nine of the fortv-two votes present
>>
v
A
in the County Democratic Convention, and was again elected
to the Legislature, leading his ticket by seventy-two votes} and
was re-elected in 1877 by a majority of two hundred and ninety-
nine over his highest opponent. In November, 1886, he was
again elected to the Legislature by a majority of one hundred
and ninety-four over the highest candidate on the opposition
ticket, and is a member of the present House.
Such is in brief the history of a man who has devoted almost an entire lifetime to politics, and served his people with con spicuous ability and untiring energy. He has been Clerk of
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
the City Court of Savannah for about thirty-four years, finding time meanwhile for the other duties we have mentioned. He has always been a staunch and unflinching Democrat, com manding the confidence of his fellow-citizens, evidenced by the fact that whenever he has been the nominee of his party he has received the highest vote cast for the ticket. He has repre sented his party in numerous conventions, and was chairman of the committee which notified the late ALEXANDER H. STE PHENS of his nomination for Governor, and is now a member of the Democratic Executive Committee of his county.
Mr. RUSSELL is a Hebrew in religion, and his whole political course has been in the direction of .the amelioration of the con dition of the laboring classes, among whom he is a prime favor ite. He is personally sociable, easy of approach, generous to a fault, and always ready to aid, with purse, hand and brain, the cause of the needy, the poor and oppressed.
74
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HOX. ALFRED HOLT COLQUITT,
UNITED STATES SENATOR FROM GEORGIA.
The historian who essays to give anything like a complete history of Georgia from 1845 to the present time will have much to do with ALFRED H. COLQUITT. He has been~a promi nent actor in so many scenes, including the stirring events of the late gigantic civil war, that to write a complete history of him would be to write much of the history of Georgia.
Senator COLQUITT was born in "Walton county, Georgia, April 20, 1824. Of the splendid ancestory from which he sprang there is no space in this article to speak. Suffice it to say that there was much in it of which he might be proud. He received his education at Princeton College, from which he graduated in 1844. He at once studied law, and was admitted to the bar immediately upon reaching his majority, in 1845. In 1847, upon the breaking out of the Mexican war, he volunteered for the defence of his country, and served as a staff officer with the rank of 3Iajor during the two years of that contest.
After the Mexican war he was nominated and elected to the Thirty-third Congress. At the expiration of Ms term he de clined a renomination, and retired to private life. At the solici tation of his fellow-citizens he accepted a seat in the Georgia Legislature in 1859. He was a Presidential elector on the BRECKESHIBGE ticket in 1860. He was a member of the seces sion convention of Georgia, and upon the secession of the State from the Union again took up arms, and entered the Confed erate service as Captain. Subsequently he was chosen and commissioned Colonel of the Sixth Georgia Infantry, later
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
Brigadier General, and at the close of the war was Major Gen eral of infantry. At the bloody battle of Olustee, Florida, he behaved with such conspicuous gallantry as to challenge the admiration of the Confederacy, and was known afterwards as "the hero of Olustee."
After the close of the war Gen. COLQUITT returned to agri cultural pursuits, and was for a number of years President of the State Agricultural Society. In 1876 he was elected Gover nor for the term of four years. In 1880 he was again elected, after a hard-fought campaign in which he was opposed by Hon. THOMAS M. KOBWOOD, for a term of two years, upon the ex piration of which he was elected to the United States Senate for a term of six years, which will expire March 3,1889.
Such is a brief condensation of the more salient points in Senator COLQTJITT'S political career. Of his charming family, happy home life^prominence in church and temperance work in his own State and throughout the Union we have not space here to speak. They are part of the history of the times, and familiar to most readers of the public press.
76
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HON. MARK A. HARDIN,
CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
77
HON. MARK A. HARDIN,
CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
WILLIAM HARDIN was a prominent and well-known citizen of old Cass, now Bartow county, in his day and generation. He was originally of Henry county, and was sent to Cherokee county by Jackson to aid in removing the Indians, having accomplished which, he settled in Cass county. He was the first Democrat ever elected from Cass to the General Assembly, to which he was repeatedly sent as a Senator. He was Presi. dent of the Western Bank of Georgia.
MARK A. HARDIN is the son of WILLIAM HARDIN. His mother was before her marriage Miss CLOUD, of Putnam, and was at one time a pupil of WILLIAM H. SEWARD, when that afterwards famous man wielded the birch in a country school-house in that county. The subject of this sketch was born in McDonough, Henry county, September 21,1830. His education began in the county schools, after which he attended for four years the Couaseen High School. In 1848 he was appointed to West Point, but after eighteen months in that institution he resigned and returned home. In 1851 he was married to Miss EMMA SULLIVAN, of Greenville, S. C., and there have been born to them seven children five daughters and two sons.
Mr. HARDFN was elected to the General Assembly and served during the sessions of 1859-60. In 1862 he entered the Con federate army as a Captain in the famous Morgan's cavalry. He was captured in 1863 and sent to Fort LaFayette, and subse quently transferred to Fort Warren, where he remained until
78
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
the dose of the war, being the first prisoner discharged from that institution' after the cessation of hostilities.
For several years after the war Mr. HARDIX devoted himself to agricultural pursuits. In 1868 he was the DAVIS-HALL caucus nominee for Clerk of the House of Representatives, and was elected, but was turned out in 1870, under the reorganization had under the reconstruction acts. In 1877 he was Assistant Secretary of the Constitutional Convention, and in 1878-9 was Assistant Clerk of the House of Representatives. In 1880 he was elected Clerk of that body, and has held the position continouslv since that time. Few men in the State have as wide a personal acquaintance, and none have more friends.
\
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
79
HON. ^ENEAS STAGY WAY,
REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE COUNTY OF LIBERTY.
This gentleman enjoys the distinction of being one of the few Democratic Representatives from his county since the war. The colored population are largely in the majority, and having heretofore Voted the Republican ticket almost solidly, have been enabled to send a man of their own color to represent them in the legislative halls, save when, from irregularities in the elec tion, some of the votes were thrown out as illegal. In the con test for his present seat Mr. WAY had a clear majority of nearly two hundred, having polled the full vote of his party, and drawn largely from the other side.
Mr. WAY is yet quite youngT having been born in Liberty county August 22,1857, being the fourth son of WILLIAM J. and JANE A. WAY. His father left as were most Southerners in straightened circumstances, was unable to educate, as he desired, his large family of children; so the subject of this sketch, by dint of his own exertions, worked out an education. He read law and was admitted to the bar in 1879, since which time he has diligently pursued the practice of his profession with gratifying success.
In 1884 Mr. WAY'S county sent him as a delegate to the Con gressional Convention of the First District, with instructions to present the name of its favorite son Capt. S. D. BBADWELL to that body as its choice for this office. A "deadlock" ensued for several days, during which young WAY measured swords with the trained political managers of this famous old district, and by his loyalty to his friend, and his fidelity to the trust confided.
80
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
to him by his people, won the admiration of the people not only of his own county, but the entire district. His speeches during those days attracted the attention of all who heard or read them. This proceeding was repeated again in 1886, and again Mr. WAY bore himself in such a manner as to add new laurels to those already won.
In 1885 the State Agricultural Society invited Mr. WAY, through its Executive Committee, to address that body, and his effort attracted wide attention.
In the last election Mr. WAY was put forward as the standardbearer of his party and elected, as already noted. In the Gen eral Assembly, while he has been modest, he has not hesitated to express pronounced views upon such legislation as commended itself to his consideration, and has made a punctual, painstaking, industrious and efficient member. Mr. WAY is at fvet unmarried,/ and has ahead of him a career that promises to be long and useful.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
81
HON. WILLIAM HENRY ATWOOD,
SENATOR FROM THE SECOND DISTRICT.
(BY H. A. DUNWOODY.)
If called upon to answer the question, "Who is W. H. ATWOOD?" the writer, who has known him from boyhood, would answer: "Capt. ATWOOD is a true and typical Southern gentleman, of the old regime, who lives near Darien, Ga.
No title of nobility, no spurs of knighthood, no decoration bestowed by crowned heads upon the proudest scion of nobility implies such nicety of honor, such social refinements, such warm-hearted hospitality, as are expressed in these words. They describe a race peculiar to the coast of the Southland in ante bellum days, not inaptly called "the cavaliers of the South."
Born in the county of Mclntosh in 1836, where for genera tions his ancestors had held the highest social position, and nurtured amid the refining influences peculiar to the wealthy planter of the South before the war, and carrying in his veins the blood of that noble band of Highland Scots who settled that portion of our State, it is no wonder that Mr. ATWOOD should bear the impress of the true gentleman, and charm all who know him by his genial manners and versatile accomplishments of his nature and education.
On the paternal side he is descended from one of the oldest Connecticut families; his father, fresh from his Alma, Mater, having cast his fortunes with the South, and wooed and won Miss MACINTOSH, a descendant of the clans of MeCoY, MC&ENZIE and MACINTOSH, warmed for generations under a Southern sky. It is no wonder that such a union should have resulted in a
''
82
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
chivalric and noble race, of which the subject of this sketch is the oldest surviving male representative.
He was but just across the threshhold of manhood, when an swering his country's call, he went to the front as Captain of a troop of kindred spirits in the famous Fifth Georgia Regi ment, remained true to his manhood and his country through the years of ''war's dread strife," and surrendered at its close his stainless sword and the few bleeding survivors who had followed him.
Without idle repining he accepted the fiat of defeat, and set about repairing his personal fortunes and the rehabilitation of his section. Having married the daughter of Mr. JAMES R. BUTTS, of Macon. he made his home in the country of his birth. Xot seeking preferment, unassuming and modest, his fellowcitizens brought him from his retirement and sent him to the Lower House of the GeneralAssembly in 1876. In 1886 he was their choice for State Senator, and has discharged the duties of both positions With an ability and devotion to duty characteristic of the man.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HON. ALLEX D. CAXDLER,
MEMBER OF CONGRESS NINTH DISTRICT.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
85
HON. ALLEN D. CANDLER,'
MEMBER OF CONGRESS FROM THE NINTH DISTRICT.
ALLEN D. CANDLER, of Gainesville, Hall county, member of
Congress from the Ninth District of Georgia, was born in
Lumpkin county, Georgia, November 4th, 1834. In his boy
hood he attended the common schools of the country, and sub
sequently attended Mercer University, where he graduated in
1858. He read law, but never .practiced, devoting himself to
teaching for a year or two, until the outbreak of the civil war,
when he enlisted as a private in the Confederate army. He
was subsequently elected a Lieutenant, Captain, Lieutenant
Colonel, and Colonel, and was engaged in many a bloody battle
during the long years of that terrible strife. At the bloody
battle of Jonesboro he was severely wounded in the head,
losing an eye.
.
After the war Col. CANDLER resumed the profession of teach
ing, first in Monroe Female College and subsequently as Presi
dent of the Sam Bailey Institute, at Griffin, Georgia. His
health breaking down in this sedentary employment, in 1870
he gave up his position and removed to Gainesville. Seeking
active out-door employment, he ~ entered upon the milling and
building and contracting business, and the proud young city of
Gainesville, the Queen City of the Mountains, owes much of its
rapid progress and wonderful development to his busy brain
and activity and energy. During the years he was engaged in
business in Gainesville he found time to serve as Mayor, build
a street railroad system, and set on foot many enterprises that
have contributed to the growth and prosperity of the city. The
ae
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
most important of these, perhaps, is the Gainesville, Jefferson and Southern Railroad, of which he was elected President at a time when the enterprise seemed sleeping the sleep that knows no waking. There was not a cross-tie or a rail, or a right of war, or a dollar in money, but, undismayed, he entered upon the task of building the road with the vigor and energy which has ever characterized him, and in two years had the line built, equipped and in operation.
In 1872 his fellow-citizens elected him to represent them in the lower House of the General Assembly, which position he held until 1877. In that year he framed and introduced the bill calling a constitutional convention for Georgia, and cham pioned it to its passage, against heavy odds. At the first elec tion under the new constitution he was chosen a State Senator, and served two years and retired without asking a re-election.
In 1881 Col. CA>T>LER was unanimously nominated for Con gress without opposition by the Democratic party of the Kinth District. The outlook was most discouraging. The party in the district had been rent asunder, and in two previous cam paigns Hon. EMORY SPEER had run as an Independent, and de feated,, first, Hon. JOEL A. BILLUPS, of Morgan, a most accom plished gentleman, and in the second Hon. HIRAM P. BELL, a former Representative in Congress and one of the ablest and most popular men in the district, by a majority of nearly 5,000. Young, active, eloquent, aggressive, flushed with two victories, feeling secure in his position, he waited for the Democratic nominee like GOUAH waited for DAVID between Shochoh and Azekah.
Tn such a crisis the part}' made Col. CANDLEB its nominee. Without hesitation he accepted the party standard, and went into the conflict. It was one of the most memorable that has ever occurred in the State. The nominee forced the fighting from the start, and the old Ninth was one grand bonfire of en thusiasm from the heights of Rabun to the valleys of Morgan. The Independent champion was thrown on 'the defensive early
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
87
'*
'4
in the campaign, and CASTDLER gained strength every day.
When the end came he reversed Mr. SPEER'S majority, and was
-s
elected to the Forty-eighth Congress by a majority of over 2,600,
thus redeeming the district and restoring it to the Democracy.
He was re-elected to the Forty-ninth Congress, and has been
again re-elected to the Fiftieth, without opposition. His present
term will expire March 3,1889.
F
\
88
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
\
HON. J. S. DAVIDSOX,
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE.
( REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
89
HON. JOHN S. DAVIDSON,
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE'OF GEORGIA.
Our engraver has succeeded in giving us a fine portrait of the subject of this sketch, admittedly one of the finest presiding officers who wields the gavel of any deliberative body, as well as one of the most cultured and genial gentlemen native to a State whicn boasts a citizenry unsurpassed anywhere in the chivalry and manliness of her sons.
JOHN 8. DAVIDSON is a typical Georgian. He was born in Augusta, Georgia, his present home, and, contravening the maxim that "a prophet is not without honor, save in his own country," has never lived anywhere else, but has grown up and made his way in the world among the people in the city of his birth, who now delight to honor him, and appreciate and re ward his efforts in their behalf. His mother was a TREAT a lineal descendant of ROBERT TREAT, the " Charter Oak Gov ernor " of Connecticut, who was Lieutenant Governor and Gov ernor of that State for twenty-five years, and of ROBERT TREAT PAINE, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and long Attorney General of Massachusetts. His father, Wn/LIAM D. DAVIDSON, was descended from Gen. WILLIAM DAVIDSON, of North. Carolina.
Mr. DAVIDSON'S education was obtained at Augusta schools and at the Anbury Institute, in Twiggs county. He left school in the latter part of 1864, aud some years after the war was as sociated with JAMES R. RANDALL in the editorial department of the Augusta Constitutionalist. After* this he studied law, and is at present engaged in its practice with gratifying success.
90
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
Several years since Mr. DAVIDSON was elected from the floor Grand Master of the Masons of Georgia, one of the largest and most intelligent deliberative bodies in the State. Such an elec tion, never having held any other office in the Grand Lodge, has only occurred once before (United States. Senator W. C. DAWSOX being elected in the same way) in the one hundred and fifty years of the existence of the Grand Lodge.
In 1884 Mr. DAVTDSON was nnanimously elected to the Senate and served as chairman of the Finance Committee of that body. His committee never lost a report during the session, something which has rarely if ever occurred before in the his tory of the Georgia Legislature. In 1886 he was re-elected to the Senate by a large majority, and unanimously chosen Presi dent of the body. He is President of the Board of Education of Richmond county, and City Attorney of the city of Augusta. He is unmarried.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
91
HON. TALBOT CARLETON BELT,
REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE COUNTY OF BURKE.
TALBOT CARLETON BELT, of Beltwood, Burke county, was born at Wrighteboro, Columbia county, Georgia, June 4, 1849, and is the eldest son of Dr. LLOYD CARLETON BELT and ELIZABETH TALBOT BELT. On his father's side he is descended from Dr. LLOYD BELT, of Maryland, and is a great-grandson of JOHN BERRIEN, of Kew Jersey, who was on GEORGE WASHING TON'S staff. He is a great-nephew of, Hon. JOHN McPHEBSON BERRIEN, one of the greatest of Georgia's great.
On his mother's side he is purely Southern. His mother traces her lineage back through a long line of noble names to the colonial families of Virginia, WILLIAM JONES, of the celebrated " Hanover Militia," the first troops raised in 1776, being her great grand-father. She is a grand-daughter of Gov. JOHN TALBOT, of Virginia. He and JOHN LYNCH, of " Lynch Law " fame, signed, side by side, the first Declaration of Independence, in June, 1774, he being then a member of the House of Bur gesses of Virginia. Previous to this King GEORGE IU. had given to him a grant of land in Wilkes county, Georgia, to which he removed in 1785, subsequently representing his county in the Legislature at Savannah for several years. He died in 1795, leaving two sons, MATHEW and THOMAS, whose services to the State are part of her history.
From such a line is the subject of our sketch descended. His father, Dr. LLOYD CARLETON BELT, was among the first to offer his services to his country during the late war, and with a com pany of one hundred men, uniformed by his wife, took commis-
92
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
sion in the Confederate service March 27, 1861, in the Ninth
Georgia Regiment as its color company. He went with his
relatives, BARTOW and BEE, to Virginia in May following. He
was wounded at Dam To. 1, Yorktown, April, 1862, and died
in Richmond on May 14 following.
TALBOT CARLETON BELT, the eldest son of Dr. BELT, educated
at Sparta and Athens, left school, with his mother's consent,
at sixteen, and volunteered in the service. He fought in the
trenches around Atlanta as a private, was offered a place on
Gen. SMITH'S staff, and was finally promoted to the position of
Sergeant in the ordnance department. He was promoted to a
Lieutenancy and placed on the staff of Gen. REUBEN W. CARS-
WELL, worked in the lead of SHERMAX'S march to the sea, and
when Savannah was evacuated was among the last to cross the
pontoon bridge, and surrendered with the remnants of JOHXS-
TON'S shattered army.
~
.
On his return home Mr. BELT, barely yet having reached his
majority, entered upon agricultural pursuits, wTas married to
Miss ELLA IXMAX, and at Beltwood has a lovely home, where
the visitor is always made welcome. He is a member of the
Board of Commissioners of Roads and Revenues of his county.
He has held many positions of trust, and was elected last year
to represent his people in the General Assembly, where he has
made an industrious, useful and popular member.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HON. JUPSON C. CLEMENTS,
MEMBER OF CONGRESS FROM THE SEVENTH DISTRICT.
Few men in Georgia are better known than JTJDSON C. CLEM ENTS. A few years ago the Seventh District of Georgia was represented in the National House by Dr. WILLIAM H. FELTON, who had succeeded, as an Independent candidate, in defeating the Democratic nominees, among the best and strongest men in the district, in three campaigns. He had become to be re garded as almost invincible, and was reported to be the pro prietor of a certain " hallelujah lick " that struck terror to the hearts of his opponents, and swept everything before it. In such a crisis, when the Democratic nomination almost went begging, Mr. CLEMENTS accepted it, defeated Mr. FELTON and restored the district to the Democracy.
JUDSON C. CLEMENTS was born in Walker county, Georgia, February 12,1846. He received a common school education and went to the Cumberland University Law School at Lebanon, Tennessee. Upon his return and admission to the bar, in 1869, he entered upon the practice of his profession at LaFayettp, Walker county, where he yet lives, and has built up a large and lucrative practice in all that section of the State.
In 1872 Mr. CLEMENTS first entered into politics and was elected a member of the Lower House of the General Assembly. His record here was so satisfactory that he was returned in 1874. In 1877 he was elected to the Senate for the term of two years, and it was while serving in this body that he attracted the attention which gave him the nomination for Congress in 1880. The campaign alluded to above followed, and attracted
04
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
_________________________________
great interest in all parts of the State. At its close he was tri umphantly elected as stated to the Forty-seventh Congress.
In the Rational House Mr. CLEMENTS made a most"creditable record, and was returned to the Forty-eighth and Forty-ninth Congresses, and has been re-elected to the Fiftieth Congress. During the last Congressional session Mr. CLEMENTS was happily married to Miss DULANEY, of Louisville, Ky., has a happy home, and is in all respects a "Representatative Georgian."
h-i
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HOX. CHARLES Z. McCORD,
REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE COUNTY OF RICHMOND.
ii
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
97
HON. CHARLES Z. McCORD,
REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE COUMff OF RICHMOND.
In the past history of the State Kichmond county has always
contributed an able delegation to the councils of the common
wealth. The culture, refinement and ability of its citizenry
has always afforded her people ample material from which to
select a representation that not only reflects credit upon her,
but proves of benefit to the people of the whole State. Her
present representatives amply maintain the prestige of the
past.
Of the three gentlemen who at present illustrate tKe old
,' county in the lower House, the subject of this sketch is, if we
mistake not, the youngest. He is native, " to the manor born,"
of the county which honors herself and him by sending him to
represent her. His father, Hon. Z. McCoRD, President of the
National Bank of Augusta, and one of the foremost merchants
of the city, is a native of Lincoln county, but has been for
many years identified with Augusta and all that nas tended to
her upbuilding. His palatial home, in the most charming sec
tion of this most beautiful city, is a veritable paradise of gener
ous hospitality, filled with all that can minister to the most
cultivated taste, and redolent with that subtle air of refinement
and chivalry that is founcL nowhere in such perfection as in the
Southern cities of the olden time. The presiding priestess of
this " Castle Bountiful" is a fit helpmeet to its lord. She was
before marriage Miss HARRIET A. WALTON, of the grand old
county of Wilkes, and belonged to one of ita earliest and most
prominent families,
.
..-*-?;-.
98
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
In such a home, and of such a parentage, comes the subject of this sketch. Few men have so much for which to be envied. In the pure atmosphere and amid the soft, refining influences of the home we have described he has been born and reared, and. being yet unmarried, finds in the sacred precincts of the parental roof-tree all that can be desired. He is a worthy scion of the House. Educated at the University of Georgia, where he graduated with high honors, he for a short time engaged in mercantile pursuits with his father, but, his mind tending in the direction of the law, he studied that science at Columbia University, graduated with honor, was admitted to the bar, and entered at once upon a lucrative practice, which grows with the passing years.
Mr. McCoRD- is a consistent member of the Baptist Church, and his popularity in this denomination, coupled with his fit ness for the place, made him a trustee of Mercer University. His zeal in educational matters attracting public attention, re sulted in placing him on the Board of Trustees of the State University, and he is the youngest member of. that body.
In 1886 Mr. McCoRD was elected to the House of Representa tives, leading his ticket, after a heated contest. In the House he has left the impress of his character, and made many warm friends. "With a peculiarly analytical mind, forceful in his oratorical efforts, rising oft to the truly eloquent, he has few equals and no superiors on the floor of the House in debate. While earnestly devoted to the interests of his immediate constitutents, he has as well that broader conception which enables him to look away from localities to the interests of the whole people. His labors in the various directions in which his com mittee positions have placed him have been zealous and untir ing, and these combine with the excellent record he has made on the floor to lay the foundation of a political career the suc cess and usefulness of which will only be measured by the op portunities which his life may in the future present.
I
100
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HON. ALLEX FORT,
JUDGE SUPERIOR COURTS, SOUTHWESTERN CIRCUIT.
1
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
101
HON. ALLEN FORT,
JUDGE SUPERIOR COURTS, SOUTHWESTERN CIRCUIT.
ALLEN FORT, of Americus, Ga., Judge of the Superior Courts
hoifstmheotShioeur'tshmweasidteernnnCaimrceuhita, visintghebeseonn
of JAMES ARTHUR FORT, MARY A. BEACHER. His
grandfather, ARTHUR FORT, was a brother of Hon. TOMLINSON
FORT an d Judge MOSES FORT, both prominent and well-known
Georgians. His great-granfather, also named ARTHUR FORT,
was a n ember of the first Executive Council in Georgia in 1777,
and signer of the Constitution of 1798, and was for many years
afterwards a State Senator. Judge FORT is descended (it will
be seen) from a long line of prominent Georgians. ALLEJ^ FORT was born near Lumpkin, Stewart county, Geor
r
gia, July 14,1849. His education was begun in the common
schools of the country, but in 1866 he went to the University of
Georgia) and graduated in 1867, sharing the first honor of his
class wijth SAMUEL SPENCER, then of Columbus, but now Super
intended of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company. In
1869 the University conferred on Mr. FORT the degree of A. M.
After! leaving college Mr. FORT settled in Americus and read
law in ithe office of Judge WILLIS A. HAWKINB, and was ad
mitted jx> the bar and commenced practice in May, 1868. In
1872 he| was elected to the Lower House of the General Assem
bly, anqi during his service passed the bill which gave Americus
her adniirable system of public schools. At the end of his term
he declined, on account of ill-health,-to be a candidate for re-
election. In 1876 he was sent as a delegate from Georgia
to the National Democratic Convention, which met at St. Louis
102
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
,
m
and nominated TILDEX and HESDRICKS, and was Georgia's rep resentative on the committee to notify them of their nomina tion. He performed this duty, meeting Mr. TILDEN at Grammercy Park. New York, and Mr. HENDRICKS at Saratoga.
Before reaching home from this mission his friends had again
put him forward for the Democratic nomination to the Legisla
ture. He reached home but a few days before the meeting of the
Convention, and without time for a canvass, received the nomi
nation and was elected, and served in the Legislature, which
passed and submitted to the people the ordinance calling the
Constitutional Convention of 1877. Under the new Constitution,
framed by that Convention, he was again elected to the Legis
lature and served 1878-79-80. In the Legislature of 187&-9 he
was Chairman pro tern, of the Committees on Railroads and
Judiciary and Chairman of the Special Committee on the Macon
and Brunswick Railroad framing, introducing and pressing to
passage the bill providing for its sale. He was also the author
I
of two supplemental bills authorizing payment for the road to
**
be made in registered United States bonds, provided * State
bonds could not be secured, thus saving to the State a large
amount of money.
In this Legislature, also, came up the famous impeachment case of The People of Georgia vs. JOHX W. RENTROE, State Treasurer. Mr. FORT was elected a member of the Board of Managers on the part of the House, and made the opening argu ment for the People before the High Court of Impeachment. In tliis Legislature he was, also, very active in support of the measure of State regulation of railroads, and was the joint author with Mr. W. R. RANKIN, of Gordon county, of the bill which passed the House, known as "the FORT-RANKIN bill," and which, with Senate amendments, is to to-day the Railroad Commission law of Georgia. In this work Mr. FORT was active, tireless and energetic, and won many encomiums upon the abilty with which he managed to overcome the organized and powerful opposition which fought the measure at every step.
EEPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
103
Gen. TQOMBS the great tribune of the people admiring the strength and completeness of the law, which he had numerous occasion s to test in the courts, having himself championed in the Constitutional Convention the ordinance authorizing such legislation, wrote Mr. FORT an autograph letter, in which he said: "Our work will not die yet, if ever. The country is greatly [indebted, to yourself especially, .and other members of the Hoiise, for the zeal, energy and ability which you displayed in this ^eat battle for the rights of the people against the public plunderers." Kow that this "noblest Roman of them all" has passed io his reward, Mr. FORT cherishes this commendation as
a precious memento of one of the grandest men Georgia ever produced.
Retiring from the Legislature at the end of his term Mr.. FORT resumed the practice of his profession, and in November, 1882, was elected Judge of the Superior Courts of the South western Judicial Circuit, to fill an unexpired term caused by the resignation of Hon. CHARLES F. CRISP. In 1884 he was re-elected without opposition for a term of four years. On the bench he has inade an upright, fearless and able officer.
WitH all his successes, perhaps the happiest event of Mr. FORT'S 'life was his marriage, December 137 18767 to Miss FLOYD HoLLia, of Buena Vista, Marion county, a young lady of regal beauty! queenly presence, brilliant intellect, and all the qualities of heafl and heart to render his home a paradise and furnish a never-ending inspiration for his noblest efforts.
8
10j,
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HON. W. G. BRANTLEY,
SENATOR FROM THE THIRD SENATORIAL DISTRICT.
. G. BRAXTUEY was born at Blackshear, Pierce county, Geor gia. September 18. I860, and is therefore at this writing only twenty-seven years of age. Few men have achieved so envi able a success, or laid the foundation for a successful business, professional and political career, at so early an age.
Mr. BRAXTLET was educated in the common schools of his na tive town in the elementary branches, until qualified to enter the University of Georgia, where he received the finishing touches of that education which stands him in such good stead now.
Upon leaving the University, Mr. Brantley entered upon the practice of law in 1881 and was at once drawn into local poli tics. He was elected Mayor in 1882, and at the end of his term of service was nominated and elected to the House of Represen tatives in 1884. In 1886 he was nominated for the Senate from the Third Senatorial District, composed of the counties of Pierce. Appling and \Vayne, to which position he was elected and now holds. His course in both the.House and Senate has been such as to stamp him a fair type of the active, brainy, en ergetic young Georgian now coming so largely to the front in public affairs. In the Senate he is Chairman of Committee on Banks, and a member of those on Judiciary, Education, Rail roads and Lunatic Asylum.
Mr. BRANTLEY has been successful in the practice of his chosen profession, the law. He was for three years in partnership with Hon. JOHN C. XICHOLLS, M. C., but the copartnership was dis solved recently by mutual consent. Mr. BBANTLEY is personally a social, genial gentleman, has a charming wife and a happy home, and his future is one of much promise.
r
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HOX. WILLIAM A. HARRIS,
SECRETARY OF THE SENATE OF GEORGIA.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
107
HON. WILLIAM A. HARRIS,
SECRETARY OF THE SENATE X)F GEORGIA.
Any book essaying to deal with the public men of Georgia which left out the subject of this sketch would be wofully in complete. Few, if any men in Georgia know more people, or are more universally popular than he. Bluff, hearty and gen erous, loyal to his friends always, and fighting his enemies with unfaltering courage and audacity, be they personal or political, he has become known throughout the State.
WILLAIM A. HARRIS, of Worth county, was born in Milledgeville. Georgia, in 1830. He is the eldest son of the late Hon. IVERSON L. HARRIS, Judge of the Supreme Court of the State for many years, and one of the ablest jurists who have ever graced that bench. WILLIAM A. had good educational advan tages. He was a pupil of the celebrated C. P. BEEMAN, a teacher of State wide reputation in those days. Entered old Oglethorpe College at the age of thirteen, afterwards spent two years under Rev. T. M. COOLEY, LL. D., at Granville, Mass., and finally finished under the late Bishop STEPHEN D. ELLIOTT, at Montpelier Springs.
In 1846, though a mere boy, Mr. HARRIS left school to enlist in the United States Army for service in Mexico, under HENRY R. JACKSON, Colonel commanding Georgia volunteers. He was in QUITMAN'S division of General WILLIAM WORTH'S brigade, and went through that struggle.
Returning from the Mexican war young' HARRIS read law in the office of his father, was admitted to the bar, and removing to Irwin county, commenced the practice of his profession. .
108
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
Soon thereafter the county of Worth was made and the part taken from Irwin including Mr. HARRIS he was.elected to the Legislature to represent the new county. He was State Senator for twenty years. At the outbreak of the civil war he entered the Confederate service as Captain and was successively elected Major and promoted to Lieutenant Colonel.
After the war Col. HARRIS married Miss GUSSEE FORD and settled down to the practice of his profession. His fellow-citi zens, however, would again bring him into public life and he was sent to the State Senate. Subsequently, when his term ex pired, he was elected Secretary of that body and has served in that capacity for seven or eight sessions, being unanimously re-elected at every meeting of the General Assembly without opposition.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
109
HON. CHARLES F. CRISP,
MEMBER OF CONGRESS FIFTH DISTRICT OF GEORGIA.
Yet comparatively a young man, Mr. CRISP has forged his way so well to the front as to be one of the most prominent, as well as promising of the bright, brainy young men of whom the commonwealth hopes for so much in the coming future. . Mr. CRISP escaped being born in America by his parents making a visit to England, where, at Sheffield, on the 29th of January, 1845, he first saw the light. Upon their return to this country Mr. CRISP, yet an infant, was brought to America, and has since been a citizen of the Republic.
Mr. CRISP received a common school education at Savannah and Macon, Georgia. He entered the Confederate army in 1861, when under seventeen years of age, and followed the flag of the Confederacy until it went down in the gloom of defeat. He was a Lieutenant in Company K, Tenth Virginia Infantry, and in 1864 was made a prisoner of war and immured in JFort Delaware until June, 1865.
Upon his release from prison Mr. CRISP returned to his home at Ellaville, Schley county, and shortly thereafter read law at Americus, and, completing the course, was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in 1866 at Ellaville, having but just reached his majority.
In 1872 Mr. CRISP was appointed by Gov. JAMIS M. SMITH Solicitor General of the Southwestern circuit, and in 1873 was re-appointed for a term of four years. In 1877 he was ap pointed Judge of the circuit. The next year he was elected by the General Assembly, under the new constitution, to the same
110
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
office, and in 1880 was re-elected for a' term of four v+t ears,i resigning in September, 1882. to accept the Democratic nomina tion for Congress. He was elected, practically without opposi tion, to the Forty-eighth Congress, re-elected to the Forty-ninth and again chosen to the Fiftieth.
Of his work in the National House the limits of this article will not allow us to speak in extenso. He was promptly recog nized on that arena as a man with pronounced convictions, quick and sure to grasp public questions and prompt to give utterance to his views. He has enjoyed the esteem of his fel low members, has had excellent positions on important com mittees, and had much to do with shaping legislation. By reason of his position on the Committee on Commerce he was in charge of the Inter-State Commerce bill, and carried that measure through the House and the conference committees,
and put it on the statute books. Personally Mr. CRISP is a gentleman of fine presence, and
socially is genial, companionable-, and consequently very popu lar, not only among his immediate constituency, but through out the State. His future is bright with promise.
I
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HOX. J. M. TERKELL,
REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE COUNTY OF MERIWETHER.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HON. JOSEPH M. TERRELL, (
REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE COUNTY OF MERIWETHER.
Hon. JOSEPH MERIWETHER TERRELL was born in Greenville,
Georgia, June 6, 1861, and is now serving his second term as Representative from Meriwether county.
Mr. TERRELL is descended from excellent parentage on both
sides, his father, the late Dr. J. E. G. TERRELL, being one of the most skillful and popular physicians in Western Georgia, while
his mother is the oldest daughter of Dr. J. W. ANTHONY, -who
was also a distinguished practitioner of medicine. His grand
parents all belonged to leading families of Wilkes county. Dr. WILLIAM TERRELL, formerly Congressman from Georgia, was a
near relative.
Mr. TERRELL was educated entirely in the schools at Green
ville, having been for half a dozen years under the instructions
of Hon. WILLIAM T. REVILL, a most successful teacher. At schqpl he was the youngest member in his classes, always stand
ing at the head of his classes, and being frequently promoted to the higher grades in advance of his classmates, so that at the
age of fourteen he was a fine mathematician, an excellent Latin and Greek scholar. At this early age his schoolboy days ended,
he was placed by his father in charge of a plantation a few miles from town. Here he succeeded well, as he has always done,
I
developing a remarkable fondness for and success in agricul
tural pursuits.
After five years of farm life at the- age of twenty Mr. TER
RELL left the plantation and entered the law office of Major t
114
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
JOHN W. PARK. Making rapid progress in his legal studies, lie
was admitted to the bar in February, 1882, before reaching his
majority. At the bar his career has been a brilliant success.
>
V
Possessing a thorough mastery of the law controlling his cases,
gtfced with a ready command of language, always forcible and
never redundant, going at once into the merits of his clients'
rights, and sifting the testimony so completely as to bring out its true meaning, he exercises a marked and controlling influ ence on courts and juries. Courteous and social in the court room and in the everyday walks of life, he is a favorite with
the bar and the people.
In 1884. when onlv twentv-three years of age, Mr. TERRELL
v
&.
/
fj 7
was
nominated
bv *
a
Democratic
counts* convention /
on
the
first
ballot,
bv
more
than
a
twcnthirds
vote,'
as
a
candidate
for
the
Legislature. He was elected by an overwhelming majority,
and, though the youngest member of the body, was appointed
by Speaker LITTLE a member of the leading House committees,
viz.: General, Judiciary. Banks and Banking, Local Bills, and
Asylum for the Blind. At once he took a high stand as a de
bater and legislator, being strong, convincing and conciliatory
in presenting his arguments, and broad, catholic and states
manlike in his ideas.
Re-elected in 1886. Mr. TERRELL was appointed third on the Judiciary Committee, also a member of committees on Banks, Penitentiary, the special committee to investigate the conduct of the convict lessees, and chairman of the important Commit tee on Counties and County Matters. He takes a leading part in all subjects before the House, and is always heard with re spect and attention. Often called to preside over the body, he wields the gavel with rare grace, ability and dignity.
For one so young the subject of this sketch enjoys an ex tensive acquaintance with the leading men of the State, both in and out of public life. Gifted, polished, affable and cultured, he is steadily increasing his reputation for legal ability and sound, conservative statesmanship, and his friends predict that
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
115
his State will ere long demand his services in broader and yet more enlarged fields of usefulness.
In early life Mr. TERRELL united with the Baptist Church in Greenville, and has ever taken an active interest in the affairs of his church and the general advancement of Christ's King dom. In October, 1886, immediately after his second election, he was most happily married to Miss JESSIE LEE SPIVEY, a lovely and accomplished lady. Happy in his domestic relations, honored in public and respected in private life, Hon. J. M. TERRELL is one of Georgia's noblest specimens of a true man.
i
\
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HON. HENRY G. TURNER,
MEMBER OF CONGRESS SECOND DISTRICT.
The subject of this sketch is everywhere acknowledged to be one of the foremost Representatives in the National House. He is a sound lawyer, an able parliamentarian, a finished orator and debater, and a cultured and modest gentleman.
The latter quality makes this sketch far more barren of facts than the author would wish. Even the official Congressional directory gives nothing beyond the mere statement that he was born in North Carolina. March 20,18397 and was elected to the Forty-seventh. Forty-eighth and Forty-ninth Congresses, and has been returned to the Fiftieth.
Previous to his election to Congress Mr. TURNER was a mem ber of the Georgia House of Representatives, and was chair man of the Committee on Elections, and in this and other im portant positions rendered valuable service to the common wealth. He was a member of the Legislature that called the Constitutional Convention of 1877, and was a warm and earn est advocate of that important measure.
In the Forty-eighth Congress Mr. TURNER was appointed by Speaker CARLISLE chairman of the Committee on Elections, the game position he had held in the. Georgia House. In that Con gress there came up the celebrated contested election case of HURD vs. ROMEIS. The argument of Mr. TURNER in this case was universally conceded by those who heard it to be one of the ablest ever delivered on the floor of the House.
Mr. TURNER has a charming family, is exceedingly domestic in his tastes, and is entirely free from any effort at display. Personally his quiet, undemonstrative manners sometimes cause him to be misjudged, but his warmest friends are among those who have knowri him longest and best.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
117
HON. SIGN WILLIAM HAWKINS,
REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE COUNTY OF NEWTON.
__
>
We do not know better how to introduce this witty, erudite
and humorous editor and able, energetic legislator to our read
ers than with the following pen picture drawn by himself:
" Born in the lap of luxury, rocked in a cradle of ease and
plenty, turned loose upon the stormy sea of adversity, drifting
into the paths of dissipation and wickedness, and then awaken
ing to the realities of life and its duties, he swore off from most
of his vices, and is now endeavoring to lead an honest and in
dustrious life, so far as the rascality of this time and age will
permit."
Of course, though in his own words, the picture is overdrawn,
so far as his previous short-comings are concerned, for he is and
has always been a genial and popular gentleman, fond of life
and gaiety, brim full of that bonhomme that makes him popular
i with every one with whom he is associated, and, better than all,
a sturdy, reliable business man. Whether leading and direct
ing public opinion as an editor, or, as the champion of the inter
ests of his constituents on the floor of the House of Representa
***
tives, he has shown himself capable, honest, fearless and always
reliable.
Mr. HAWKINS is the son \of Mr. JOHN T. HAWKINS.' late _of Walton county, Georgia. Bis mother was Miss ELIZABETH H.
HENDEESON before marriage, and daughter of JAMES HENDEK-
SON, Esq., we believe of the same place.
-
He was born September 29,1849, and his boyhood days were
spent, as those of many who adopt as a business the art preser-
118
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
vative. in many different localities. His educational advan tages were such as are usually acquired in the common schools of the country, supplemented by knowledge obtaine'd in a printing office.
He settled permanently in Covington, Ga., in 1859, and has remained there ever since, being at present the editor of (he Enterprise, one of the best and most influential weeklies in the State. As an evidence of the estimation in which he is held in the city of his residence, he has served as a member of its Coun cil, and his selection to represent his count}- in the General As sembly over formidable opposition attests the confidence his people have in his ability and political integrity. A true Demo crat, he maintains the time-honored principles of his party with pen and voice, in a manner that is felt and recognized by his contemporaries.
He was married May 5, 1874, to Miss CAMILLA P. CAL LOWAY, daughter of THOMAS P. CALLOWAY, Esq., of Lexington, Ga. True as steel to his convictions of duty, with clear percep tions of right and thoroughly conscientious, he is faithful to the trusts reposed in him. and makes a legislator useful to his State and of whom his constituents are justly proud and in whom they implicitly rely.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
- 119
HON. JESSE R. LUMSDEN,
REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE COUXTY -OF WHITE.
JESSE R. LUMSDEX, the present Representative in the lower
House of the General Assembly from the county of White, was
born in that county, April 17,1848. He received such educa
tional training in his boyhood as was afforded by the common
schools of the country, and subsequently attended the Collins-
worth Institute, at Hayesville, !N"orth Carolina.
Giving up his studies, young LUMSDEN entered the Confeder
ate army in 1864, at sixteen years of age, and was eng&ged in
the battles around Atlanta. He was subsequently discharged
on account of ill health, and in the modesty of his nature de
clares that he has no war record. Those, however, who par
ticipated with him in the arduous Atlanta campaign are dis
posed to differ with him on this subject.
Mr. LUMSDEN has, since the war and his arrival at manhood,
pursued the business of agriculture and mining. He owns the
famous Lumsden mine, from which some of the largest finds in
the shape of nuggets ever taken out of the Georgia gold fields
have been secured. Within the last few years two nuggets, one
weighing three hundred an^ seven and the other three hundred
and forty-one pennyweights, have been found on his place. In
addition to these pursuits Mr. LUMSDEN has found time to serve
as Sheriff of his county, and devote much time to all enter
prises looking to the upbuilding of his county and section.
Mr. LUMSDEN was elected to the Legislature in 1886, and has
made a prompt and efficient member of the House. He is on the committees on Mining, Agriculture, and Journals, and on
9- '
'
\
120
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
all has performed his duties in a way to prove his fitness for the position to which his people have called him, and vindicate
the wisdom of their selection. Mr. LUMSDEX was married in 1873 to Miss L. X. WILLIAMS, a
most charming and cultivated lady of a prominent and wealthy family, and has four bright children to bless his home. Per sonally he in affable, pleasant and genial, and makes friends of all with whom he comes in contact. He has not seen the last of political promotion, nor will this be his last opportunity to . render' valuable service to the people of his section and of the
State.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HOX. A. P. ADAMS,
JUDGE OF THE EASTERN CIRCUIT.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
12S
HON. A. R~ADAMS,
JUDGE SUPERIOR COURTS OF THE EASTERN CIRCUIT.
Georgia is remarkable for the number of young men who fill
positions of honor and trust in the State government. Our
people are prompt to recognize merit and ability, and, unlike
some commonwealths, it is not necessary for a man to grow
gray before he can realize the rewards that are the just meed
of those who spend themselves in the service of their fellow-
citizens.
..
]
Judge ADAMS is an illustration of the truth of this statement. Though yet a young man his merit and qualifications have won for him a proud place among the Judicial officers of the State. The Eastern circuit, containing as it does many of the profoundest and ablest lawyers in the State, is rich in material fit to fill this high and responsible position. That so young a man as Judge ADAMS should have been twice elected to this position is a compliment of which any man might be justly proud.
A. P. ADAMS was born in Savannah, Georgia, February 20, 1852, and has lived there ever since. He had liberal educa tional advantages, and graduated at the University of Georgia in 1869. He read law, was admitted to the bar, and began practice in January, 1870. After the adoption of the constitu tion he was elected to the lower House of the General Assem bly, and represented Chatham county in 1877, '78 and '79. Upon the impeachment of W. L. GOLDSMITH, Comptroller Gen eral, before the General Assembly, in 1879, he was elected one of the managers on the part of the House in that historic trial,
124
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
and made one of the arguments for the people before the High Court of Impeachment.
In November, 1882, Mr. ADAMS was unanimously elected by the General Assembly Judge of the Eastern circuit, to fill the tmexpired term of Judge "W. B. FLEMING, and at the end of this term was unanimously re-elected for the full term. He has made an exceptionally strong and able -officer, and given uni versal satisfaction in the discharge of the onerous duties of his position. He is unmarried.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
125
- HON. THOMAS J. CHAPPELL,
REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE COUNTY OF MUSCOGEE.
Few of the younger men in the General Assembly, and there are many of rare gifts and much promise, have made a more useful and valuable member of the House of Representatives than Hon. THOMAS J. CHAPPELL. * He is a thinker and worker, rather than a talker, but is not without facility in the ex pression of his views upon questions with which he is familiar, and he does not obtrude them upon any others. He is thor oughly familiar with the rules and precedents governing the conduct of the business of the House, and possesses the happy faculty of knowing the thing to be done and how to do it. The bent of his mind is toward the practical, and in this direction lies his value as a representative. * Mr. CHAPPELL is a native of Muscogee county, which he now in part represents, his colleague being Hon. "W. A. LITTLE, the Speaker of the House, and is a son of Hon. ABSALOM H. CHAP PELL. a prominent and well-known citizen of Columbus, his mother, previous to her marriage, having been a LAMAR. Mr. CHAPPELL received his education in primary schools and at the University of Georgia, shortly after leaving which he entered upon the practice of law in Columbus, which he continues to follow with success. In local politics Mr. CHAPPELL has been more or less active, but sought no political preferment for him self.
In 1884 he was first elected to the House of Representatives, and served through the two sessions of that body. He was chairman of the Committee on Enrollment, a most onerous and
1
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
responsible position, and discharged its duties with marked in dustry and fidelity. In 1886 he was returned, and in the present House is chairman of the important Committee on Railroads, as well as a member of several others. In the dis charge of the duties devolving upon him on all these he is careful, painstaking and untiring, and is rendering his constitutents and the State at large valuable service.
Mr. CHAPPELL is an exceedingly modest gentleman. A sample of it is found in his reply to a request for his picture to accompany this sketch. He said: "I have no likeness of my self, and those I have had in the past are so severely just .that they would add nothing to the pictorial feature of your work." He is social and genial in his personal intercourse with his Mends, courteous and even-tempered even in the heat of de bate, generous to a fault, and. of course, popular with all who know him. Although never forward in pressing his claims, his people know his worth and appreciate his ability, and the future has higher honors yet in store for him.
128
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
129
HON. HENRY H, CABANISS,
ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE SENATE.
Perhaps no man in Georgia of his age has a wider circle of acquaintances in the State or more warm, friends than the sub ject of this sketch. Genial and social in his nature, true in his friendships, companionable and pleasant always in his inter course with those among whom he may be thrown by official duties or business intercourse, he is universally and deservedly popular among all classes of his fellow-citizens.
Mr. CABANISS is the son of Hon. E. G. CABANISS, a prominent citizen of Middle Georgia. He was for many years Judge of the Superior Courts of his circuit, and was elected, after the war, a.member of Congress, but was not allowed to take his seat, on account of the Reconstruction acts. His wife, the mother of the subject of our sketch, was, before marriage to Judge CABANISS, Miss SARAH CHIPMAN, of Elbert county.
H. H. CABANISS was educated at the University of Georgia, at Athens, graduating in the noted class of 1869, with Judge EMORY SPEER, B. H. HILL^ JR., Hon. HOWARD VAN EPPS, and many other distinguished young Georgians, who have since made name and fame in the history of the State. Mi*. CABANISS defrayed the expenses of his education by his Own personal efforts,/ and in the same wa*v/ has worked out his own career.t and achieved a success in life as enviable as it is creditable to the energy and perseverance of the man.
He was the editor and proprietor of the Monroe Adrertiter, one of the ablest weekly papers in Georgia, from 1875 to 1882, when he sold that enterprise to take a position in the Franklin
130
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
Printing House, of Atlanta, with the Christian Index. He re
tained this place until a few months since, when, in connection
with other gentlemen, he purchased the Atlanta Journal, of
which he is the Business Manager.
In 1879 he was chosen Assistant Secretary of the Senate, and
has held that position continuously up to the present, making
a popular, efficient and painstaking officer. In. 1870 he was
married to Miss SAIXIE ROYSTOX. has three children two girls
and one bov and his home is the abode of modest luxury.
u
c/
He is a consistent member of the Baptist Church, a synonym
of strict integrity in his dealings, and has before him as promis
ing a future as any man of his age in the State.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
131
HON. MARTIN LUTHER MAUNEY,
REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE COUNTY OF UNION.
MARTIN LUTHER MAUNEY was born in Cherokee county, North
Carolina, December 4, 1856. He left the Old North State in
his boyhood, and settled in Union county, where he has since
resided. He received the rudiments of an education in his
native county, but after he came to Georgia he attended the
North Georgia Agricultural College at Dahlonega, and there
prepared himself for teaching, which profession he followed for
some time with pronounced success.
In 1881, Mr. MAUNEY was chosen by his fellow-citizens Clerk
of the Superior Court, and served in that office for two years,
making an excellent record. In 1886, he was selected by the
Democratic party as their standard bearer in the Legislative
campaign against a strong Republican opponent, and was
elected by a handsome majority. He has made an, efficient
and useful member of the House, discharging with promptitude
and fidelity all the duties of his position.
Mr. MAUNEY is the son of S. MAUNEY, and his mother before
marriage was Miss HILL, a daughter of F. W. HILL, Esq., and
his parents are yet living in Marion county beloved and
respected by their neighbors. Both are members of the Baptist
church.
,
The subject of our sketch was married January 26,1882, to
Miss ELLA H. McCoMBs, of Cherokee county, North Carolina.
They have two daughters and one son. Mr. MAUNEY is domes
tic in his tastes, and is possessed of a cheerful nature, and
many social traits which make him quite popular among his
friends.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HOX. JOHN W. MADDOX,
JUDGE SUPERIOR COURTS ROME CIRCUIT.
JOHX W. MADDOX, the present Judge of the Superior Courts of the Rome Circuit, wa& -bom in Chattooga county, Georgia, June 3. 1848. He is the son of Dr. G. B. T. MADDOX, and his mother before marriage was Miss SARAH A. DIXON, of DeKalb county.
Before reaching manhood, at the outbreak of the civil war the subject of this"sketch volunteered in the Sixth Georgia Regiment and served throughout the war. His father's prop erty all swept away by the war, and he dying soon after, the care of three younger brothers and a sister devolved upon young MADDOX. Manfully and uncomplainingly he entered upon the task. Devoting himself to agricultural pursuits for a time he eventually entered upon the study of law, and was admitted to the bar and began practice.
In 1878 Mr. MADDOX was Mayor of Summerville and declined a re-election at the end of his term, refusing also a candidacy for the Legislature which his friends urged upon him. He served in 1879-80 as a Commissioner of Roads and Revenues of his county. In 1880 he was elected to the House of Repre sentatives, having consented to run at the urgent request of his friends. His record was so satisfactory that at the end of his term he was re-elected. In 1884 he was nominated and elected to the Senate from the Forty-second District.
During his legislative career Mr. MADDOX was an energetic and untiring worker, and distinguished himself as an exception ally strong debater, deep thinker, and fearless champion of that
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
1S3
which commended itself to his judgment. In 1886 he ?vas, after a spirited contest, elected to his present position ove'r one of the ablest and most popular judges in the State, and is making a fine record as a Judicial officer.
Judge MADDOX was married August 15, 1872, to Miss BETTIE
EDMONDSON, and has growing up around him sons and daugh ters to bless and brighten the happy home in which by reason of his strong ^domestic tastes Judge MADDOX takes great delight. He is a 'sample of the rising self-made young men of Georgia, and his success simply shows what can be accomplished in the face of disadvantageous circumstances by brains, energy, and tireless industry.
134
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HOX. DANIEL N. SMITH,*
SENATOR FROM THE TWENTY-FIRST DISTRICT.
X. SMITH, son of D. IS", and MARY GRISWOLD SMITH,
and the present Senator from the Twenty-first Senatorial Dis
trict, composed of the counties of Wilkinson, Jones and
Twiggs, was born in Jones county, October 5, 1851. He is a
fair sample of the men who rise by their own exertions to, posi
tions of honor and trust and usefulness in the world.
Mr. SMITH has not had the advantages of collegiate training,
nor was he born with a silver spoon in his mouth. His educa
tion, so far as books go, was acquired in the common schools of
1
the community. This he has supplemented by a wide range of
4
reading, and the absorption by this process, and contact with
*
the busy duties of life, has given him a store of wisdom which,
'.
while it may not be classical, is yet extremely practical, and
4
within easy reach of his ready and active mind whenever he
finds occasion to use iC either in private or public affairs.
Mr. SMITH, having been reared on a farm, has made that the
business of his life, and has been successful in this calling. So
completely has he devoted himself to his home affairs that he
has never before sought public office. His fellow-citizens, how-
1'
ever, know and appreciate his sound sense, practical knowledge
1
and political consistency, and so when he became a candidate
|-
for his present position, although with strenuous and powerful
r
*Slnce tbe above sketch was written Senator SxrfH has passed from life to the great beyond, thus ending a career that promised to be long and useful. The sketch is left in the book, as a feeble tribute by the author to the worth of the
man*
REPRESENTA TIVE GEORGIANS.
136
opposition, they rallied about him, and gave him a handsome
majority. In the Senate he was placed on the Committees on Internal
Improvements, Agriculture, Lunatic Asylum, Academy for the
Blind, and Engrossing, and has made a vigilant, active and
painstaking member, and his record will compare favorably
with that of any of his colleagues.
-
The father of Senator SMITH represented the same district in
the Senate twenty years ago, and his brother, Hon. MADISON G. SMITH, represented his county in the lower House a few years since. In 1874 Senator SMITH was married to Miss LILLIAN C. STUBBS, and they have one child, a son, named in honor of his
grand-father, EDGAR B. SMITH. Mr. SMITH is a genial, social gentleman, and has made many friends in public life.
10
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HON. W. F. JEXKIXS,
JUDGE SrPERIOK COURTS OCMULGEE CIRCUIT.
Hon. "W. F. JEXKIXS was born in Sumter county, Georgia. March 26.1845. His mother and father were born, reared, and were married in Putnam county, but soon after their marriage removed to Sumter county, and there the subject of this sketch first saw the light. .They remained there for several- years, during which time Mr. JEXKIXS represented that county in the Legislature, but returned to their native county, Putnam.
Judge JEXKIXS descends from illustrious families, on both sides. His maternal grand-father. IRBY HUDSON, was for a number of years Speaker of the Georgia House of Representa tives, and was also at one time a State Senator. He was each time elected from Putnam county. His maternal grand-mother was a FLOURNOY, descended from the old Virginia family of that name.
Judge JEXKIXS had early and excellent educational ad vantages, but while pursuing his studies the tocsin of war startled the land. Laying down his Latin and mathematics, he entered the Confederate service as a private in June, 1861, when but sixteen years of age, and served through the war, surrendering with LEE'S hungry and ragged veterans at Appomattox. He was a member of the Putnam Light Infantry, Twelfth Georgia Regiment, Army of Northern Virginia, and followed the immortal STONEWALL JACKSON on all his famous marches. He was wounded four times twice at Slaughter Mountain, and twice, severely, at the second Manassas. The two latter wounds disabled him for active service in the ranks,
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
137
and he afterwards served as ordnance Sergeant of DALE'S brigade, commanded, after the death of that officer, by gallant PHIL COOK.
Returning from the war, Mr. JENKINS resumed his studies, and, after thorough preparation, went to the Universityof Vir ginia, where he took the full law course, two years, and received the degree of Bachelor of Laws. Returning home, he was ad mitted to the bar, September, 1868, and entered at once upon the practice, in which he has amassed a reasonable competence.
In 1872 Mr. JEXKINS was elected to the House of Representa tives, and served in the sessions of 1873-4. He was again chosen, and served in 1884-5, in both of which services he made an excellent record. At home he took a warm interest in local affairs, and was for several years chairman of the Board of County Commissioners, held several minor offices, and acted as chairman of the County Democratic Executive Com mittee. He was elected Judge of the Ocmulgee Circuit in No vember, 1886, for a term of four years from January 1, 1887.
Judge JEXKINS was married to Miss LEILA HOOD, of Woodlawn, "Webster county, May 11, 1870, a most gifted and ac complished lady, a graduate of Furlow Female College, and also of Vassar. The union has been blessed with three chil dren two sons and a daughter. He is a member of the Bap tist Church, in which he is a deacon, and holds to the good old rule," Pay up as you go up, and pay down as jrou -come down," never having bought anything on credit in his life. He is mak ing a fine record on the bendh.
V
/V
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HON. WILLIAM L. PEEK,
SENATOR FROM THE TWENTY-SEVENTH DISTRICT.
WILLIAM L. PEEK, of Conyers. Rock dale county, Senator
from the Twenty-seventh District, was born in Newton, now
Rockdale county, July 31, 1837. His father before him, yet
living, in the enjoyment of a green old age, was a farmer, and
the son follows in his footsteps, and has made a success of the
business of agriculture.
j
Mr. PEEK enjoyed only such educational advantages as were
afforded by the common country schools. He entered the Con-
federate army at the outbreak of the civil war, and served
through to the end of that terrible struggle as a private soldier.
After the war he returned to agricultural pursuits, to which
he gave his entire attention for a number of years. Finally
his fellow-citizens drew him from his retirement, and sent him
to represent them in the lower House of the General Assembly.
His record was so satisfactory that he was twice re-elected to
the House, serving in that body for six years. He was then
elected to the Senate, without opposition.
In the Senate, as in the House, he has always taken high
grounds on all public questions, and has made a most credit
able record as a careful, conscientious and painstaking repre
sentative of the interests of the people. Modest and retiring,
making no effort at display, nor seeking to use his position as a
stepping-stone to further personal ambitions, he has contented
himself always with the performance of the duty that lay
nearest to him to the very best of his ability. In religion he is
a Presbyterian, and is a strong prohibitionist, from principle.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
139
He was married to Miss SUSAN SMITH, February 20,1861, and seven children have been born to them. He has a happy home? an interesting family, and is surrounded by the comforts of life. Social in his nature, his intercourse with friends is unaf fected, open and disengenuous, and he enjoys the esteem and confidence of all who know him.
140
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HOX. H. H. CARLTOX,
MEMBER OF CONGRESS FROM THE EIGHTH DISTRICT.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HON. H. H. CARLTON,
MEMBER OF CONGRESS FROM THE EIGHTH DISTRICT.
At the opening of the Fiftieth Congress, Hon. H. H. CARLTON will take his seat as Representative from the Eighth Georgia District. Though new to Congressional life Capt. CARLTON is a veteran Legislator, and has made an honorable name and fame throughout his State.
At the outbreak of the late civil war Capt. CARLTON was a physician in active practice, but answering promptly his coun try's call, laid down the scalpel to take up the weapons of offense and defense, and entered the Confederate service as Lieutenant of the famous Troup Artillery. He was soon elected Captain of the battery. He was successively tendered commissions as Colonel of Cavalry, Major of Artillery, and Surgeon with the rank of Major, but declined* them all to remain with his command. Throughout the long and arduous struggle he served with the men,who had honored him by making him their leader, surrendered with them, and came home when they did. He bears upon his person the marks of the wounds which attest his loyalty to country and to duty.
For a time after the war Capt. CARLTON essayed the prac tice of his old profession, but compelled by wounds and ill health to give up medicine, he entered journalism in 1872, and for six years was the editor and proprietor of the Athens Ban ner. In the same year in which he entered journalism he was elected to the General Assembly fromdarke county and served continuously in the House of Eepresentatives until 1877. He was offered the Speakership of that body but declined it, and
142
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
was made Chairman of the Finance Committee and Speaker pro tern, in 1877. During his service in the House Capt. CARLTON introduced and passed the bill providing for a geological survey of the State, and rendered much other valuable service to the State and people.
Retiring of his own volition from the House at the end of . his term Capt. CARLTON entered upon the practice of law, for which he had been preparing himself for several years. In 1884 his fellow-citizens of the Twenty-seventh Senatorial Dis trict elected him to the Senate, and he was chosen the presiding , officer of that body. At the conclusion of his term he was solicited by many friends to make the race for Governor, but declined to do so, preferring to make the race for Congress in his own district.
In 1886 he received the nomination for Congress in the Eighth District, and was elected to the Fiftieth Congress. His term will expire March 3. 1889.
j
144
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
145
HON. RICHARD BREVARD RUSSELL,
REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE COUNTY OF CLARKE.
Georgia is peculiarly fortunate in the number of young men who in the last few years have forged their way to the front in all the professions, industrial enterprises and political contests in the State. They are men of high ambitions, noble purposes, indomitable energy, and are among the most potent forces that are to-day pressing the State forward toward the proudest place in the Southern galaxy of grand and noble commonwealths.
Ranking among the first of these is the subject of this sketch, RICHARD BREVARD RUSSELL. Mr. RUSSELL, though an old legis lator, this being his third term in the House, is yet a young man, being less than twenty-seven years of age. Mr. RUSSELL has a lineage to be proud of. His father, Mr. WILLIAM J. RUS SELL, is a native of Liberty county, whose ancestors came over in the Mayflower. His mother, formerly Miss HARRIET BRUMBY, is a descendant of the French Huguenots, and is the grand-daughter of EPHRAIM BREVARD, the author of the Meck lenburg Declaration of Independence. Her father, Prof. R. T. BRUMBY, made the investigation of the Alabama coal fields, which has resulted in the wonderful tale of Southern progress now told every day, and was for fifteen years professor of geology and chemistry in the University of Alabama, and for nine years in the University of South Carolina.
Mr. RUSSELL received his education at the University of Georgia, which he entered in 1876, having been prepared there for by his mother. He graduated with the second honor of a remarkably able class in 1879, with the degrees of A. B., B.
U6
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
Ph.. and LL. B. Of college honors as debater in his societies, and other distinctions, he received a large number. Entering at once upon active business life, he was for two years associate editor of the Athens Chronicle, and left this to commence the practice of law in 1880, which profession he still follows, with pronounced success. He was for a time associate editor of the Banner- Watchman, but gave it up to devote his entire time to his profession.
In the General Assembly Mr. RUSSELL has, in all his three terms, been an active, energetic and painstaking Representa tive. He secured in 1884 a $5,000 appropriation for the Uni versity, passed a free-school bill for Athens, gave them a vote on prohibition, and chartered a street car line, now in success ful operation, as is the free school system which he inaugurated. In the present house he is chairman of the Committee on
Banks, and a member of those on Railroads. General Judiciarv, %/ (
Education. Penitentiary* and Rules. He has alway%, s been a strong friend to education, and is a member from the city at large of the Athens Board of Education.
Mr.
RUSSELL
was
married
Mav j
13.
1883. *
to
Miss
MINNIE
TYLEK. of Barnesville. Georgia. She was a gifted and beauti
ful woman, keenly appreciative of her brilliant young husband
and loyally attached to him and his interests. Earth has held
few .brighter pictures than their home life painted on the can
vass of the years, but January 6. 1886. she was called hence,
and the wing of woe hung low its sable shadow athwart the
hearthstone at which he had found his purest and sweetest
pleasures and highest inspiration.
It is the fashion in these days to say of men that they are self-made, but this can be said of a truth of the subject of this sketch. He has earned every dollar he has ever had, and fought his own way to the front. He was far the youngest member of the General Assembly of 1882, being barely twenty-one when elected. His success in politics has been phenomenal. In his last race he beat the combined opposition of two factions in
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
his county by a round majority, and has never been defeated in any contest before the people.
Personally Mr. RUSSELL has most winning manners, a charm ing presence, and many social gifts. Few men are more popu lar among their associates. A fluent, graceful, and eloquent speaker, and well equipped in the knowledge of public affairs, a long and useful career stretches before him.
148
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HOX. THOMAS CRAWFORD GIBSOX,
REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE COUNTY OF GLASSCOCK.
Among the popular young bachelors of the present House of
Representatives the subject of this sketch takes a foremost
rank, and is withal a practical, level-headed, painstaking legis
lator, who looks faithfully after the interests of the constitu-
tency which honored him with their suffrages.
THOMAS CRAWFORD GIBSOX was born in Warren county,
Georgia."December 28, 1853. He is the second of a famity of
six sons born to CICERO GIBSOX, his mother, previous to her
i*
marriage, having been Miss ADKIXS, a daughter of Mr. AARON
A. ADKIXS, a prominent and popular citizen. Both were con
sistent members of the Methodist Church. Mr. CICERO GIBSOX
was honored by hisTfellow-citizens with a seat in the Legisla
ture in 1861 and 1862. and now his son occupies the same posi
tion.
Mr. GIBSOX was sent to school first to Augusta, and subse
quently to Athens, where he graduated in 1875. taking the agri
cultural medal. In 1876 he entered upon farming operations,
which he has followed with energy and made a success. He
makes an independent living, lays by something for a rainy
day, and is in all respects a fair sample of the educated, intel
ligent young farmers of the_new regime in the Sunny South.
In politics Mr. GIBSOX is, and has always been, true to Demo
cratic faith and principles. In 1879 he was commissioned
Notary Public and ex-officio Justice of the Peace. He was a
member of the County Board of Education in 1882, and was
County School Commissioner in 1884, giving much time and
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
149
labor to the cause of education, of which he is a strong advo cate and ardent champion. He won his present seat over two strong opponents, there being no party nominations.
In the House he is on the Committees on Education, Agri culture, Enrollment, Emigration and Journals, and is prompt and industrious in the discharge of the duties they impose. He is a young man of sound judgment, strict integrity, and is an honor to his county and State.
V
k
loO
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HON. PARISH CARTER TATE,
REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE COUNTY OF TATE.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
151
HON. FARISH CARTER TATE,
REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE COUNTY OF PICKENS.
In nothing is Georgia, the Empire State of the South, greater
and her future more promising than in the number, character
and ability of the young men who must, in the nature of
things, come in a few years to manage her affairs and control
her destiny. Among those for whom the near future has in
store high honors and important trusts is the subject of this
sketch.
>-
'
Hon. FARISH CARTER TATE, son of WILLIAM and MARY M.
TATE, was born in Pickens county, Georgia, November 20,
1856. He grew up, as most country boys, busied about the
labors of his father's farm, and incidentally thereto received
such educational advantages as were afforded by the country
schools in the neighborhood. Subsequently he went to. college,
and graduated in 1878, and immediately thereafter entered
upon the study of law in the office of Hon. HIRAM P. BELL, at
Gumming, Georgia. He was admitted to the bar in 1880, and
entered upon the practice at Jasper, Pickens county.
5nt law was not the only thing he studied while under Col.
BELL'S roof. The fair daughter of his preceptor, Miss JULIA
BELL, enslaved the heart of the young student, and while he
learned Blackstone he learned love as well, and the year after
his admission to the bar, November 2, 1881, they were united
in marriage, as handsome and happy a couple as ever plighted
* troth. One son, Master HOWARD TATE, now three years of
age, has blessed the union.
11
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
In 1882 Mr. TATE first entered politics, and was elected to
the House of Representatives, has been twice re-elected, and is
now serving his third term. In 1882 he was a member of the
General Judiciarv Committee, and also a member of those on
M,
i
Railroads and Penitentiary. In 1884 he was on the same com
mittees, being chairman of that on Railroads, and in the present
House is chairman of the Special Judiciary, and serves also on
others of importance.
Mr. TATE has been active, both in local and State politics.
He was a member of the State Democratic Executive Commit
tee 1882, '83. '84. '85. and rendered valuable service to his party
in this position. He is a forcible speaker, sometimes impetuous,
always earnest, but courteous to an opponent, and makes hosts
of warm and enthusiastic friends wherever he goes. His father
and uncle are the owners of the celebrated Pickens county
marble quarries, and Mr. TATE is financially assured of a suf
ficiency of this world's goods to satisfy any reasonable man.
Personally he is a handsome man. Six feet tall, weighing
nearly two hundred pounds, with dark hair, eyes, and brown
mustache, in the full flush of a perfect manhood and unim
paired health, he is a commanding figure that would attract
attention anywhere. With unquestioned ability, earnest de
votion to the work in hand, and princely social traits, it is no
wonder that he should be one of the most popular members of
the present House.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HOX. THOMAS W. GRIMES,
MEMBER OF CONGRESS FROM THE FOURTH DISTRICT.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
155
HON. THOMAS W. GRIMES,
MEMBER OF CONGRESS FROM THE FOURTH DISTRICT.
At the assembling of the Fiftieth Congress among the new members who will take a seat for the first time in the House of Representatives will be the subject of this sketch, Hon. THOMAS W. GRIMES, of Columbus, member-elect from the Fourth Geor gia District. If he does not make a record that shall be credit able to the intelligent constituency which has chosen him to represent them he will belie all the past history of the man.
THOMAS W. GRIMES is a native Georgian, to the manor born, having first seen the light in Greene county. He received his education, primarily, in the country schools, subsequently at tended Emory College, and the University of Georgia, gradu ating from the latter institution. He served as a private soldier in the Confederate army during the last eighteen months of the war between the States.
After the war Mr. GRIMES read law, and was admitted to the bar of the Chattahoochee circuit, and commenced the practice of his profession at Columbus, Muscogee county. His first po litical office came to him in 1868, when he was elected a mem ber of the Georgia House of Representatives, and served dur ing the sessions of 1868-9. He was again elected to the same position, and served in 1875-6. In the latter year, a misunder standing growing up between him and his colleague on a local measure regulating the whisky traffic in the county, and in volving the old Algerine law requiring a property qualification for voters, Mr. GRIMES-resigned his seat in the House, remand ing the question to the people. After only a three-days' can-
156
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
vase he was re-elected over two" opponents, by a large majority over both, his people thus endorsing the position he had as
sumed. TTpon the conclusion of his term in the House Mr. GRIMES
was nominated and elected to the Senate, and served in that bodv*f in 1878-9. In 1880 he was elected Solicitor General of the Chattahoochee circuit by the Legislature for a term of four years, and was re-elected, without opposition, in 1884 for an other term, but resigned in July, 1886, to accept the Democratic nomination for Congress, which he had received over several competitors. After a spirited contest against an Independent he was elected to the Fiftieth Congress, having defeated his op ponent in every county in the district. He has ahead of him a future that any man of his age might well envy.
,,-^. *** J-- --
loS
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
BOX. ROGER L. GAMBLE, JR.,
REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE COUNTY OF JEFFERSON.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
159
HON. ROGER L. GAMBLE, JR.,
REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE COUNTY OF JEFFERSON.
Though quiet, modest and unobtrusive, any one acquainted with the personnel of the House of Representatives would put the subject of this sketch among the foremost of the promising young lawyers of that body.
Mr. GAMBLE was born at Louisville, Jefferson county, Geor gia, May 20, 1851. He had fine educational advantages, going to school in his boyhood to WILLIAM STRONG LOWERY, in Louis ville; Hon. W. J. NORTHEN, at Mt. Zion, Hancock county, and subsequently to RICHARD MALCOM JOHXSOX, author of "Dukesborough Tales" and "Old Mark Langston," both while he taught near Sparta, Georgia, and at Baltimore, Maryland. He entered the junior class at the State University in 1869, and graduated in 1871 in a class with R. L. BERXER, T. J. CHAPPELL and EDGAR A. SIMMONS, all prominent members of the present House, as well as a number of other gentlemen in all parts of the State.
Upon the completion of his college course Mr. GAMBLE com menced the study of law in the office of WILLIAM HOPE HULL, and was admitted to the bar in Augusta the latter part of 1882. In January, 1883, he located in Louisville, his childhood's home, and commenced the practice of his profession.
In 1874 he was appointed by Gov. JAMES M. SMITH Judge of the County Court of Jefferson county, but was too young to hold the office. He was afterwards appointed County Solicitor by the Governor, and held that office until 1880, when he was elected Solicitor General of the Middle circuit, and held the
ISO
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
office for four years, and did not seek re-election at the end of
the term.
In 1886 Mr. GAMBLE was nominated bv the Democracy of his
*f
V
county for the House of Representatives, and after one of the
most heated contests ever known in the county, against wealthy
and powerful opponents, who ran an independent ticket, was
elected by a handsome majority, and has made an able and
popular representative.
Mr. GAMBLE is the son of Hon. ROGER L. GAMBLE. SR., a
prominent citizen of Jefferson county, and for many years a
resident of Augusta. His mother was a daughter of Hon.
JAMES P. GOBERT, whose father was a French Consul at
Charleston, South Carolina. Mr. GAMBLE was married a few
years since to Miss FANNIE HUNTER, of Louisville, an accom
plished and popular young lady of high family, and has a de
lightful home, in which he takes great pride and delight.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS. . 161
HON. A. P. WO\FFORD.7
SENATOR FROM THE THIRTY-THIRD DISTRICT.
Hon. A. P. WOFFORD, Senator from the Thirty-third Sena torial District of Georgia, was born April 15, 1844, in Banks county, Georgia. The years of his boyhood and young man hood were spent at the home of his birth, being occupied with such pursuits and pleasures as usually fill the days of our boys and young men.
His father being in good financial circumstances young WOF FORD enjoyed the advantages resulting from a collegiate train ing, having been educated at the Baptist College located in Cassville, Tennessee. Being possessed of a strong mind, which had been well cultivated, occupying an enviable social position among the young men of his county, he looked forward to a career of usefulness and honor.
But he was not permitted to enter upon it at once. Return ing home from college he saw that Georgia was in arms against a powerful foe, and, acting according to the dictates of his patriotic nature, he shouldered his musket and for four long years the Confederacy knew no better soldier than he. . If the march was long or the danger great, he could place aside all thought of self and enter uncomplainingly upon the duties which his country demanded. But wars, like all other human things, must end, and when the sun of the Confederacy had set in gloom and defeat upon the proudest people the world has ever known, Mr. WOFFORD accepted the results of the contest and went to work to make for himself a habitation, and a name. Nature had given to him a splendid constitu-
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
tion, which his four years' service seemed to have impaired but little, and this, in connection with an indomitable will, gave him the lever power with which to work out success.
In 1868 he moved to Cartersville. Georgia, and began the practice of law. Here he lived until 1884, during which time he added to his reputation as a lawyer and financier. For four years he was honored with the Mayoralty of Cartersville, and the era of prosperity which characterized the city in all its departments bear ample proof of his executive ability.
Senator WOFFORD was married Julvv. 4. 1870./ to Miss LULA E. PARROTT. daughter of Judge J. R. PARROTT, a distinguished jurist of Cartersville. Their union has proved a happy one, and eight children, four boys and four girls, have been given them to make home happy and to cause them to feel that they have something for which to live and labor.
In politics Mr. WOFFORD has always been a Democrat, and upon thoroughly democratic principles he was elected to the Senate in 1886. During the session of 1886 he represented his people with ability and devotion. His seat was rarely vacant, and from the great interest which he took in all affairs pertain ing to his section his people may know that their interests are in safe hands. He is a member of the Special and General Ju diciary, Financial and Railroad Committees, and has given abundant evidence of his ability to grapple with all kinds of questions pertaining to State legislation.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
163
HON. NATHAN L. HUTCHINS,
JUDGE SUPERIOR COURTS, WESTERN CIRCUIT.
There hardly lives in Georgia to-day a man more universally popular than Judge HUTCHINS. Gifted with all the social traits that endear men to each other in honorable intercourse, blessed with a genial nature, always cheerful, companionable and ap proachable, he is a favorite wherever known. He comes of a noble lineage, his father, who bore the same name, being a dis tinguished lawyer and politician, and holding for many years the position now so ably filled by his son. His mother was a daughter of HINES HOLT, SR., at one time Treasurer of the State of Georgia.
Judge HUTCHINS was born at Lawrenceville, Gwinnett count}', Georgia, October 4, 1835, graduated at Emory College, entered upon the study of law, and was admitted to the bar just before the breaking out of the civil war. He laid down briefs and books, and entered the service as First Lieutenant in the Six teenth Georgia Regiment. He was promoted to the Captaincy of his company, again to Lieutenant Colonel, and with this rank was placed in command of the Third Georgia Battalion of sharp-shooters. He served with conspicuous gallantry in all these positions, and at the bloody battles of Malvern's Hill, Crampton's Gap, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Knoxville, Wilderness, Cold Harbor, and in all the fearftd con tests around Richmond, was ever at the post of duty. He was thrice wounded in the battles of Sharpsburg and the "Wilder ness, and received a fourth in a skirmish on the north side of the James river, when GRANT sprung the Petersburg mine. In
If;J,
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
April. 1865. just before the surrender, he was captured and confined at the old capitol prison, Washington, and Johnson's Island, until July. 1865. when he was released on parol.
In 1876 Judge HUTCHTXS was elected to the lower House of the General Assembly, and was re-elected in 1877. He was chairman of the Finance Committee of the latter House, in which capacity he rendered valuable service to the State. Re tiring from politics at the end of his term, he devoted himself entirely to the practice of his profession until 1882, when he was elected Judge of the Western circuit by the Legislature, without opposition. He was re-elected by the present General Assembly, again without opposition, for a term of four years, which will expire January 1, 1891.
Judge HUTCHIXS is a Director of the Georgia Railroad, and' is in comfortable circumstances. He was married March 29, 1866. to Miss CARRIE ORR. of Lawrenceville, and has a happy
home and a charming family.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
165
HON. JOHNATHAN K COGGINS,
REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE COUNTY OF BANKS.
Endowed with sound judgment, and a clear active mind, possessing energy and ability, Banks county has reason to con gratulate herself upon her able representation in the House at the hands of the subject of this sketch.
Mr. COGGIXS was born in Gilmer county, Georgia, March 8, 1847, and is the sixth in a family of ten children of Mr. J. T. COGGINS, formerly of Gilmer but now a resident of Canton, Georgia. His mother was Miss ELIZABETH KING previous to her marriage, and was a native of Korth Carolina.
Mr. COGGINS volunteered in the Confederate army during the war between the States, and bore his full share in that terrible struggle. Returning home he entered upon and followed agri cultural pursuits until 1870 when he entered the mercantile line, and followed that business until within a year or two since when he was forced to retire on account of ill health. He was educated in the public schools. Starting in life with out a dollar he has been so successful in his enterprises as to amass a reasonable competence.
Mr. COGGINS was married in 1867 to Miss MARGARET J. FOW LER, who after having borne him a family of five lovely children died in June, 1886, leaving a shadow of gloom upon the lovely home in which he had installed his loved ones. He has been a citizen of Banks county since 1876, and has always been a public spirited and popular citizen. In the last campaign he had as opponents a Republican and an Independent candidate,
166
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
he being the regular Democratic nominee, and was elected by a handsome majority. -
During the last session of the General Assembly, though prostrated part of the time by illness, he found time to do valuable work in the several committees of which he is a mem ber and took a keen and unflagging interest in all matters of legislation affecting the welfare Of his people and the State at large.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
167
HON. W. W. THOMAS,
CAPITOL COMMISSIONER.
Hon. W. W. THOMAS, of the city of Athens, is the junior member of the Commission. He was born in Athens, Georgia, on the 21st of May, 1849, and has resided there the greater portion of his life. He received his education at the University of Georgia, and graduated from that institution in 1868. In the following year he took the degree of Civil Engineering, and for several years engaged in the pursuit of his profession. He was engaged in nearly every important survey made in North ern and Northeast Georgia during that time, and by much practical experience became one of the most expert civil engi neers in the South.
In 1875 the Southern Mutual Insurance Company, that grand old institution of which every Georgian is proud, made to him a proposition which induced him to abandon his profession and enter its service as assistant secretary and adjuster of losses by fire. For the past ten years he.has filled these positions ably and well. He is efficient, and his untiring energy and the business-like manner in which he performs the duties of his office make his services almost indispensible.
Mr. THOMAS also enjoys the distinguished honor of having been the youngest Trustee of the State University ever ap pointed. He was married in the month of January, 1868, to Miss BROWN, an accomplished young lady, the adopted daugh ter of the late Gov. CHARLES J. JENKINS, and the grand-daugh-
12
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
ter of Gen. JACOB BROWX, at one time Commander-in-Chief of the United States army, and has three bright and interesting children.
Prior to his appointment as a member of the Capitol Com mission Mr. THOMAS had never served in any official capacity, except as a member of the Board of Trustees of the State Uni versity. His appointment as a Commissioner was a complete surprise to him. as it was to the other members. He was not an applicant, and the first intimation of his appointment was sent to him by telegraph. It is understood that he was ap pointed on the score of his technical knowledge of the manner in which the work of building a new capitol was to be done. On this account he is an invaluable member of the Commis sion. entering into his work zealously and with the best inter est of the State at heart.
i
170
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
171
HON. HENRY WILKES JONES HAM*
KEPRESENTATIVE FROM THE COUNTY OF HALL.
In this volume of brief j>en pictures of Georgia's representa tive men now in public life this sketch of its author would not appear did the task of writing it and the responsibility of pub lishing it devolve upon him. A Mend has assumed the duty of preparing it, and though conscious of his inability to discharge it satisfactorily to himself or the public he, in common with Mr. HAM'S many friends, insists on its admission.
HENRY WILKES JONES HAM was born in Burke county, Ga., July 3,1851. His father, JOHN D. HAM, was a native of the same county, and though a man of limited means, and in humble cir cumstances, he was noted for his many estimable traits of charac ter, prominent among which was his devotion to the tenets of the Baptist Church, of which he was long a consistent member, and his faithful adherence to Democratic principles, as taught by JEFFERSON and held and expounded by CALHOUN. His mother was Miss C. S. A. DAvis,7 b"v birth a North Carolinian:j she was also a devoted member of the church to which her husband be longed. Being an only child, Mr. HAM was sedulously guarded by his fond parents from evil communications and carefully trained to fear God. "With such examples and precepts con stantly impressed upon him, as-was to have been expected, he has strictly adherred to the church in which he was brought up. In those days educational facilities were limited, and the sub-
*For this all too partial sketch the compiler Is Indebted to his friend, Hon. J. H. BUTT, the editor of the Galnesville Eagle.
172
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
ject of our sketch only went to school about eighteen months, at odd times, between the 7th and 18th years of his age.
The balance of his early life was spent at hard work on the farm. Xatmrally bright, intellectually, and ambitious to rise in the world, he made such good use of his brief time at school and the few books that fell in his way, that by the time he reached early manhood he had fitted himself for admission to the bar, which profession he followed some four or five years. His tastes, however, were decidedly literary, and from 1874 to 1881 he devoted himself to journalism and was during that time con nected with several leading newspapers in this and other States. His fluent, graceful and attractive style made him considerable reputation as a writer, while his versatility of genius, constant flow of humor and sparkling wit, won for him the respect, ad miration and warm friendship of his contemporaries and readers.
He retired from journalism in 1881 and engaged in other pur suits. -He was journalizing clerk of the House of Representa tives during the session of 1877. In 1882, '83 and '84, he held the office of Messenger of the Xational House of Representa tives. Since then he has resumed the practice of the law, but the trend of his mind being still in the direction of literary pur suits, he devotes much of his time to public speaking, particu larly on literary and moral subjects, to extensive miscellaneous reading and to frequent contributions to the press.
Being a Democrat of the strictest 'school, well informed on political affairs and skilled in party management, the people of his county in order to avail themselves of such valuable services as he was so well calculated to render them elected him to the present General Assembly. From his first entry into the House of Representatives he has held a high position and is regarded as one of the most efficient and useful members of that body. His constituents are satisfied with the manner he has repre' sented them, as his course as a legislator is equally as honor able to them as it has been creditable to himself.
_______REP_R_ESENTATIVE GEORGIANS_.
173
On November 13th, 1873, Mr. HAM was happily married to Miss ANNA E. COOK, in Jefferson county, Ga. Their union has been blessed with five bright and promising children LILLIAN ELIZA and ANNA LUCILLE, girls, and WALTER, JONES and LAMAR, boys. Domestic in his habits, he makes a model hus band and father, and finds his purest joys around his own hearthstone and in the bosom of his own family.
Socially Mr. HAM is generous, affable, witty and always enter taining, and makes a fine impression on all whom he meets. Taken all in all he is a fine specimen of a representatiye Georgian.
174
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HON. GEORGE R. BROWN,
REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE COUNTY OF CHEROKEE.
, Unless present iadications fail of their legitimate fruition, and his record should entirely belie present promise and the history of the name he bears, Georgia and the country are des tined to hear much in the future of the young gentleman whose name heads this sketch.
The author of these biographies has studiously avoided any thing that might savor of extravagant encomium, and in his anxiety to have the work free from cheap clap-trap and multi plicity of commendatory adjectives, has perhaps erred in the other direction, and made it painfully matter-of-fact. It will be understood, therefore,s that when we savv that Mr. BROWN will not owe whatever he may achieve in the future to the fact that he is the son of Judge JAMES R. BROWX, or the nephew of Senator JOSEPH E. BROWX, but to his own genius, application, studious habits and personal energies, we but voice the convic tions formed from a more or less intimate acquaintance with the subject of our sketch.
"We can imagine few things more embarrassing to an earnest, ambitious and self-reliant young man than to have the shadow of a famous lineage and connection continually dwarf his own personality. ' ; I am only the son of STEPHEN A. DOUGLASS," said the scion of that nature's nobleman, almost with bitter ness, li and whatever I may do or be my own effort is over shadowed bv his name."
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
175
And so it is with earnestness and sincerity of conviction that the writer records the fact that the subject of oar present sketch would be what he is, and achieve what he will, were his ancestry unknown to fame.
GEORGE R. BROWN was born at Roland Springs, Bartow county, Georgia, November 13, 1861. He received first a primary school course at Canton, Gherokee county, the home of his father, Judge JAMES R. BROWN, and entered the North Georgia Agricultural College, at Dahlonega, in 1878. After a year here he entered the University at Athens, Georgia, in 1879, andy'-keeping up his studies during the full course in that institution, graduated in the famous class of 1881.
Leaving college with the honors of that alma mater, he entered upon the study of law in the office of his father, completed the course, and was admitted to the bar November 14, 1882, just one day after reaching his majority. Five days afterward, to-wit, November 19, 1882, he was married to Miss FANNIE McAFEE, of Canton, Georgia, thus acquiring his profession and a wife in one and the same week, and fitting himself to meet and grapple with the problems of life. Two children are the fruits of the union.
\
Entering at once upon the practice of his profession, Mr. BROWN devoted himself with unflagging energy to that jealous mistress, the law, until 1886, when, at the solicitation of his fellow-citizens, he became arcandidate for the Senate. After a warm primary canvass, his opponents all having withdrawn and left him a clear field, it was discovered that at the date when the election would take place he wotild be too young, by ten days, to be eligible to a Senatorial seat. Upon the an nouncement of this fact his fellow-citizens of his own county sent him as their representative in the lower House.
In that body he has made a quiet, undemonstrative, but industrious and energetic member. Gifted with genius, the polish and suavUer in modo of the scholarly gentleman, and the charm and grace of the orator, he is yet modest and retiring in
176
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
his nature, and does not court notoriety by artificial methods. These qualities, supplemented by a classical education and a wide and comprehensive reading, give him a mental equipment equalled by few men of his age in the State. Should he live to work out his destiny he will be heard from in the coming
years.
\
178
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HOX. AUGUSTUS M. FOUTE,
REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE COUNTY OF BARTOW
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
179
HON. AUGUSTUS M. FOUTE,
REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE COUNTY OF BARTOW.
AUGUSTUS M. FOUTE was born in Roane county, East Ten nessee, November 16, 1838, and is the sixth child of WILLIAM L. FOUTE, a native of Dandridge, Jefferson county, Tennessee, an industrious farmer, staunch Democrat and exemplary mem ber of the Presbyterian Church, a combination that never fails to produce a good citizen. His mother's maiden name was MARTHA L. GEORGE, a daughter of SAMUEL GEORGE, of Louis ville, Blount county, Tennessee.
Mr. FOUTE was reared on his father's farm, received a com mon school education, and was graduated at Ewings-Jefferson College. After completing his Course he entered upon mercan tile pursuits, but gave them up to enter the army, and was mustered in on Indepiendence Day, July 4, 1861, and went through the four years of the war between the States. From a private in the ranka he was promoted to the Adjutancy of the Twenty-sixth Tennessee Regiment, and left his right arm on the bloody field of Kennesaw Mountain, July 22, 1864.
Unable at the close of the war to follow manual labor, he taught school while preparing himself for the bar, to which he was admitted in Fulton Superior Court in April, 1868. He at once commenced the practice of his profession at CartejrBville, Bartow county, which has since been his home.
Mr. FOUTE has filled numerous important county offices in his county, and in 1886 was elected one of the Representatives from his county to the lower House of the General Assembly, his colleague being Hon. WILLIAM H. FELTON, formerly a mem-
180
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
ber of Congress from the Seventh District. In the House Mr. FOUTE has made an industrious, painstaking legislator, and in committees and on the floor has had an eye single to the wel fare of the people, not only of his own county or section, but the entire State.
In 1875 Mr. FOUTE was married to Miss LAURA AXDERSON, a daughter of Mr. O. D. AXDEESOX, now a prosperous merchant of Apopka City, Florida. They have an interesting family of three daughters and one son, and their home in the beautiful little city of Marietta is a gem, in its way, in which happiness
and comfort reign supreme.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
181
. E. P. ALEXANDER,
CAPITOL COMMISSIONER.
Gen. E. P. ALEXANDER was born in the year 1835, at Wash ington, Georgia. At the age of twenty-two he graduated at West Point, and it was there that he learned to such perfection the science of warfare by which he became so distinguished as an artillery officer in the late war. He served in the United States Engineer Corps as instructer in engineering at West Point, on the IJtah expedition, and in California and Washing ton Territory until 1861, when he entered the Confederate army as Captain of Engineers, and served on the staffs of Gens. BEAUREGARD, JOSEPH E. JOHNSTON and LEE until November, 1862, and as Colonel of Artillery until February, 1864, being then promoted to the rank of Brigadier General of Artillery in LONGSTREET'S corps until the surrender at Appomattox in 1865.
He served with great distinction throughout the war, and was rapidly promoted for gallant service rendered in the thick est of many a hot-fought and bloody field. The same dis tinguished abilities which he so signally displayed upon the battlefield have marked his career in the quieter but no less victorious fields of civic life. The exercise of his commanding abilities has been mostly confined to extensive railway enter prises and their management, as a brief review of his employ ment since the war will show.
In 1866 he was elected to the chair of mathematics and engi neering in the University of South Carolina, and filled that position until 1869, when he resigned, and a year later became President of the Columbia Cotton Seed Oil Mill.
182
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
In 1871 he was elected Superintendent of the Charleston,
Columbia and Augusta Railroad. In 1872 he was elected President of the Savannah and Mem
phis Railroad. From 1875 to 1878 he was General Manager of the "Western
Railroad of Alabama. From 1878 to 1880 he was President of the Georgia Railroad
and Banking Company. From 1880 to 1882 he was Vice President of the Louisville
and Xashville Railroad. In 1887 he was elected President of the Central Railroad of
Georgia. He is a member, by appointment, of the United States Com
mission on Pacific Railroads. Gen. ALEXANDER is a type of the true Georgia gentleman,
and is the personal Mend of almost every public man in the State. His services as a Commissioner have been important, and his opinions upon all matters which come before the Board are the outcome of the most thoughtful investigation.
REPRESENTA TIVE GEORGIANS.
188
HON. A. L. MILLER,
CAPITOL COMMISSIONER.
Hon. A. L. MILLER was born in Richmond county, Georgia, near Augusta, on the sixth day of November, 1848. The greater portion of his youth was spent in the vicinity of Au gusta and Charleston, in both of which cities some of the most distinguished citizens are his relatives. He graduated at the South Carolina College in 1869. On attaining his majority he removed to Houston county, where he completed his law studies, and was admitted to the bar in Perry, in 1871. In 1872 he located in Fort Valley, where he engaged in the suc cessful practice of law. Col. MILLER represented Houston county in every term of the Legislature from 1876 until 1882, when he declined a re-election.
He is regarded as one of the most brilliant and clear-headed men in Georgia, and occupies a high place among the dis tinguished men of the State. He is of the average height, and is finely proportioned. He has a rather fair complexion, dark hair and eyes, and he usually wears a small moustache and goatee. There are few handsomer men than Col. MILLER to be found in Georgia. He has a more than ordinarily distinguished appearance, and in a body of men would naturally attract the eyes of an observer. He has always been an earnest Demo crat, and the Democracy of his county and State have always -found in him a faithful friend, and earnest -advocate of its principles and a wise counselor in all its conditions. Mucn of his life has been devoted to hard study, and he is one of the best informed men on law, State history, State and national
13
184
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
politics and on general topics to be found in Georgia. He is modest and retiring in his manner, and, in the common ac ceptation of the term, has never "pushed 77 himself, but has risen to his present enviable position as a public man wholly and entirely on account of his merits and high personal quali fications.
He was married October 26, 1876. to Miss KATIE D. HURT, a daughter of Mr. JOEL HURT, of Edgewood, near Atlanta. He has three children, who brighten his plantation home near Pern,*, Georgia.
He was selected as a Capitol Commissioner on account of his peculiar fitness for the place. He made considerable reputa tion as a member of the Finance Committee of the House of Representatives, and rendered, during his entire service as a legislator, eminent services as a member of this committee. Such a man deserved appointment on the Commission of which he is a valuable member. His friends predict for him a still more brilliant connection with the future history of the State.
186
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HOX. HIRAM WARXER HILL,
REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE COUNTY OF MERIWETHER.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
187
HON. HIRAM WARNER HILL,
REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE COUNTY OF MERIWETHER.
Hon. HIRAM WARNER HILL, of Greenville, Meriwether county, was born July 18, 1858, near Greenville. He is the second of nine children of Mr. A. F. HILL, a successful planter and prominent citizen of the county. His mother was the daughter of the late Hon. HIRAM WARNER, for many years Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia, for whom the subject of this sketch was named.
The boyhood days of Mr. HILL were spent on his father's farm in the employments incident to the life of a farmer's boy. Part of the time he attended the common schools of the coun try. In 1877 he entered Emory College, Oxford, Georgia, and remained until 1879, when he left to take charge of a flourish ing school near Liberty Hill, Heard county. Having deter mined, however, to make the law his profession, he gave up this position at the instance of his grandfather, Judge WARNER, and entered the law school of Harvard University, which he attended 1880-81, and was admitted to the bar in November of the latter year. He entered upon the practice of his profes sion at Greenville, and has since devoted himself to it with gratifying success.
Mr. HILL was a member of the State Democratic Convention which nominated Hon. ALEXANDER H. STEPHENS for Governor, and again when Hon. HENRY Du McDANiEL was nominated. He takes an active and prominent interest in the local politics of his county. In 1886 he was elected to the lower House of the General Assembly over several popular and worthy com-
188
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
petitors. Owing to a long and severe illness lie was not present in the sessions of the last House except for a few days when the bodv* first met.
Mr. HILL was married September 24, 1884, to Miss LENA HARRIS, the youngest daughter of Hon. HENRY R. HARRIS, then a member of Congress from the Fourth Georgia District, bat now Third Assistant Postmaster General of the United States. Miss HARRIS was a charming and accomplished lady, and now blesses and brightens the home of the talented young Representative from Meriwether.
190
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
'. *\ -*" t ***-*,
HON. WILLIAM YATES ATKIXSOX,
REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE COUNTY OF COWETA.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
191
HON. WlLLIAM YATES ATKINSON,'
REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE COUNTY OF COWETA.
WILLIAM YATES ATKINSON, son of JOHN PEPPER ATKINSON and THEODORA PHELPS ATKINSON, was born at Oakland, Meriwether county, Georgia, November 11, 1854, the year of the family's removal from Virginia, the home of his ancestors since before the Revolutionary war. His great-grandfather, JOHN ATKINSON, came from Ireland. He is of Scotch and Irish descent.
Mr. ATKINSON is one of four brothers, T. A. ATKINSON a law yer and ex-representative from Meriwether county, T. E. ATKINSON, and R. J. ATKINSON, prominent and successful busi ness men, being the other three. In 1880 Mr. ATKINSON was married to Miss SUSIE Cosp MILTON, a granddaughter of ExGovernor JOHN MILTON of Florida, and a daughter of Hon. W. H. MILTON, a distinguished lawyer of that State. Mr. ATKINSON has three children, JOHN PEPPER, LUCY BELLE, and WILLIAM YATES, JR.
Mr. ATKINSON completed his education at the University of Georgia where he graduated in 1877, and in 1878 located in Newnan, Coweta county, Georgia, and entered the practice of law. Within six months after commencing practice Mr. AT KINSON was appointed by the Governor County Solicitor. His ability, energy and eminent success in this office attracted pub lic attention and promptly brought him a large and lucrative practice. He is a talented public speaker, strong advocate, and a well read successful lawyer. He is a man of strong personal
192
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
attachments, and in politics, preferring to be Warwick to King,
has devoted most of his efforts to the advancement of his
friends.
The present is the first office he ever asked of the people,
and in the nominating convention composed of one hundred
and thirty-three delegates, he received the votes of one hun
dred and nine on the first ballot.
*
In the present House Mr. ATKINSOX is Chairman of Com
mittee on Internal Improvements, and member of those on
General Judiciary, Banks and Banking, and Privileges and
Elections, on all of which he has done splendid work. He
takes an active part in the debates in the House, is a vigorous
thinker, and a potent factor in shaping legislation. He is
lucid, logical and eloquent, generally deliberative, but at times
as nervous in thought and impetuous in delivery as Curran.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
193
HON. PHILIP COOK,
CAPITOL COMMISSIONER.
Among the beet and truest, as well as among the bravest men in Georgia, is General PHTLIP COOK, the "old war-horse" of Sumter. He is the senior member of the-Commission, and his long experience in public affairs peculiarly fit him for the posi tion.
General COOK was born at his father's plantation, in Twiggs county, Georgia, twelve miles below Macon, in the year 1817.
His father, Major COOK, was an officer in Eighth United States Infantry, and was stationed for a long while at Fort Hawkins, near Macon, in the year 1812, and Major General TWIGGS, who at the beginning of the late war was the oldest officer in the Federal army, was a young captain in Major COOK'S regiment at that time.
The greater portion of the early years of General COOK'S life was spent on a form, but at the age of sixteen was sent to the University of Virginia, where he devoted himself to his studies, chief among which was that of law.
After spending four years at the university he returned home on account of the death of his father.
In 1840 he commenced the practice of law in Forsyth, having as his partner Colonel ZACK HARMON, a distinguished lawyer of that period. After three years of successful practice in his pro fession, he left Forsyth and purchased a farm in Sumter county, near Americus.
Shortly after his removal to Amerieus he was elected to represent Sumter county in the Senate. At that time each
i" 'tm
194
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
county in the State had its own Senator, and Gen. COOK voted to have the number of senatorial districts reduced first to 33 and then to 44. Gen. LAWTON was a member of the Senate at that time, and he and Gen. COOK are supposed to be the only survivors of that Senate.
At the beginning of the war General COOK belonged to a vol unteer military company in Macon county. He entered the Confederate service with his company in 1861, and was mus tered in by Senator JOSEPH E. BROWN and Col. JACK JONES, at Augusta. There were about twenty companies of soldiers in Augusta at the time and they were organized into the Third Georgia *egiment, under command of Col. BANSE WEIGHT, and the Fourth Georgia regiment under Col. DOLE. General COOK'S company was assigned to the Fourth Georgia regiment, which went at once to Norfolk.
After the company had been in the service a short while General COOK was appointed Adjufant of his regiment. He made a good soldier, and after the seven days' battle around Bichmond he was, upon the recommendation of all except one officer in the regiment, appointed to the office of Lieutenant Colonel. This was done in recognition of his personal bravery displayed upon the battlefield. It will be observed that he was promoted from the position of Adjutant to that of Lieutenant Col onel, a matter which is regarded as quite a distinguished honor. After the promotion of Col. DOLES, General COOK was made Colonel of the regiment, and when Col. DOLES, then Gen. DOLES, was killed at Manassas, General COOK was, upon the endorse ment of Generals EARLY, RHODES and others, promoted to the position of Brigadier General. He took part in all the principal battles engaged in by the Army of Xorthern Virginia. At Malvera Hill he was severely wounded in the body. At Chancellorsville he was wounded in the leg, and all the physicians (with the exception of Dr. PHILPOT, of Talbot county," and Dr. ETHERIDGE, of Putnam,) advised amputation. The two phy sicians mentioned, however, thought they could save the limb,
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
195
and his case was turned over to them, and they were successful not only in saving the General's life, but in causing the wound to heal and amputation was not necessary. He was also wounded at Petersburg, and was left on the field and captured by the enemy. He was then sent to prison, where with other officers he was detained until the last day of July, 1865, when he was paroled.
Upon his return home he was elected to the constitutional convention of 1865, and voted for the constitution adopted by that convention.
He was elected to represent the Third Congressional District in the 4M Congress, but was denied the right to his seat under the then existing constitution of the United States. His politi cal disabilities, however, were removed by the general amnesty act of 1872, and he was elected to and took his seat in the 43d Congress. He afterwards served in the 44th, 45th, 46th and 47th Congresses.
In 1859 the death of his estimable wife occurred, and he never married again. He has two children, the oldest of whom is Mrs. LUCY PEEL, of Atlanta. The youngest child is a noble son, who bears his distinguished father's name. He also - resides in Atlanta.
General COOK'S war record is one of which any man in either army might *rell be proud. On going into battle he was always at the head of his command, and his men were ready to follow wherever he led the way. He had several horses killed beneath him, and when in close quarters he often used his revolvers with good effect.
He occupies a position among the most highly esteemed citi zens of Georgia, and his place in the Capitol Commission could not have been filled by one more patriotic and painstaking.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HOX. THOMAS M. NORWOOD,
MEMBER OF CONGRESS FROM THE FIRST DISTRICT.
The subject of this sketch, Hon. THOMAS 31. NORWOOD, of Savannah, is one of the best known men in Georgia. For many years one of the foremost members of the bar of a State distinguished for its judiciary and the eminent talents of its legal profession, he has filled high trusts with such conspicuous efficiency and ability as to mark him one of the representative citizens, lawyers and politicians of the Empire State of the South.
THOMAS M. NORWOOD, at present a member of Congress from the First District, was born in Talbot county, Georgia, April 26, 1830. He received an academic education at Culloden, Monroe^ county, and subsequently, graduated, at the age of twenty, at Emory College, Oxford, Georgia. Having studied law, he was admitted to practice upon attaining his majority, in 1852, and in March of that year removed to Savannah, where he has "since resided and practiced his profession.
In 1861 Mr. NORWOOD was elected to the Legislature, the first political office held by him, and served a term of two years. He took an active part after the war in every election for President, and in 1868 and 1872 and 1876 made speeches at many places throughout Georgia. In November, 1871, he was elected by the General Assembly of Georgia United States Senator for the term of six years. His seat was contested by FOSTER BLODGKTT, in which contest he was successful, and was awarded his seat December 19, 1871, and served out his term,
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
197
which expired March 3,1877. In 1874 he delivered his famous civil rights speech, which brought him a national reputation.
At the end of MB term he was defeated for re-election, after a "long and spirited contest before the Legislature, by Hon. BENJAMIN H. HILL, and remained, in retirement until 1880, when, the State Democratic Convention having adjourned without making a nomination, he became a candidate against Grov. COLQTJITT. The contest was an exceedingly exciting one, and Gov. COLQUITT was re-elected.
In 1884 Mr. NORWOOD was nominated for Congress from the First District, and defeated PLEASANT, Republican, by a ma jority of nearly 5,000. In the House he has taken high rank,, and during the Forty-ninth Congress made a speech in reply to an attack upon the South by Mr. HENDERSON, of Iowa, that was pronounced by many the equal of his famous speech above alluded to. In debate he is humorous, sarcastic and eloquent. Personally he is gifted with many social traits that win and hold strong Mends. He has been re-elected to the Fiftieth Congress without opposition.
198
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HOX. W. H. HARRISON,
ASSISTANT SECRETARY EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT.
\V. H. HARRKON is the oldest son of BURWELL R. HARRISON, deceased, and was born and raised in Lumpkin, Stewart county, Georgia. In 1858, at the age of fifteen, he was appointed to the United States Xaval Academy, by the late Judge MARTIN J. CRAWFORD. who was at that time a member of Congress from the then Second District. He remained at Annapolis un til March. I860, when he resigned on a<jcount of the death of his father, and returned home and went into the business of keeping books for BOYNTON & CHAMBERUN, merchants, then located at Lumpkin. When the war came on young HARRISON raised a company of boys and entered the service as First Lieutenant of Company E, Thirty-first Georgia Regiment. He was promoted to the Captaincy, and served under Col. CLEMENT A. EVANS, in LAWTON'S (afterwards GORDON'S) brigade. He served and took part in all the campaigns in Virginia from the battle of Coal Harbor, June 27, 1862, to that of Monacacy, Maryland, July 9, 1864, where he was wounded in the side and left in the hospital at Frederick, Maryland. Subsequently he was carried to Fort McHenry, thence to Fort Delaware. He remained a prisoner of war until June 19,1865, when he was paroled and sent home. Soon after his return home he was elected Clerk of Stewart Superior Court, and served one term. In 1869 he was admitted to the practice of law, and opened an office at his old home. He was sent to the Legislature in 1878, and during the sessions oi 1878-9 represented his constituents faithfully, starving on the Judiciary, Local and Special Bills, and
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
199
Printing Committees; also, as chairman of the special com mittee to investigate the public printing.
During the Forty-sixth Congress Mr. HARRISON served as Clerk of the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds, of which Commissioner PHTTJP COOK was chairman. He served the committee in a most acceptable manner, and brought with him on his return to Georgia the plaudits of those with whom he had come hi contact.
In 1880-81 and in 1882 he was Assistant Clerk of the House of Representatives, under Col. MARK HARDIN, and performed his duties well. When Gov. MCDANIEL was made Governor he appointed Mr. HARRISON Clerk of the Executive Department, which position he now fills, performing the duties of minute and warrant clerk. He is also Secretary of the Capitol Com mission, in which position he has rendered valuable service to the Commission and the State.
Capt. HARRISON is forty-two years old, five feet eight inches high, weighs 158 pounds, and has dark hair and eyes. He was married in 1869 to Miss CLARA ROCKWELL, of Lumpkin, who presides over his household, " doubling his joys and his cares dividing."
~ He is the father of three bright boys, aged fifteen, thirteen and seven years, and one daughter aged ten.
From 1872 to 1882 Capt. HARRISON was proprietor and editor of the Lumpkin Independent^ and in every campaign battled manfully for the Democracy and her nominees.
Since he has been acting in the capacity of Secretary of the Commission he has performed his duties in a most thorough and satisfactory manner. The compilation and publication in book form of the action of the Commission during the first year of ite existence was a laborious work, requiring careful thought and exactness. He performed It in a most creditable manner, and with the method and Vegular order which seems to be a part of his life.
U
WO.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
He is well educated, and is accused of having upon the tip of his tongue as many statistics as are usually contained in the average census report. Being a most admirable conversationalist, and full of anecdotes, he is a most agreeable companion, and enjoys the friendship and high esteem of a large number
of friends, not only in Atlanta, but among the public men of the State, with the personnel of which no man is more familiar than he. In the discharge of his official duties he is polite and accommodating, often going out of. his way to oblige those with whom he comes in business contact. He is a favorite with all the State House officials and department clerks. When Gov. GrORDOx came into office he retained Capt. HARRISON, and the public service has no more capable or efficient officer than the subject of this sketch.
r
r
202
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HON. P. J. FRANKLIN,
REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE COUNTY OF THOMAS.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
80S
HON. P. J. FRANKLIN,
REPRESENTATIVE PROM THE COUNTY OF THOMAS.
It is one of the proudest boasts of the American system of
government that the highest station is open to the humblest citizen. 'Here, as nowhere else, in the world, is proven the truth of the lines : ~ '
"It Is not rank, or birth, or state, But noble deeds that make men great."
No finer illustration of the possibilities of American citizen
ship can be adduced than that of men, who, coming up from
the lowest walks of life, from the forge, and the plow, and the
mechanics' bench, rise by dint of labor, and toil, and energy, to
occupy the highest positions and wear the highest honors of an
appreciative people.
,
The subject of the present sketch is a case directly in point.
Hon. PARNEIX JAMES FRANKLIN was born in Thomas county,
Georgia, in 1858. His father was a farmer, poor in this world's
goods, and as soon as he was large enough young FRANKUN
was put at work on the farm and went through all the labor
and drudgery incident to such a life. Under the circumstances
of course educational advantages were few, and the boy, thirst
ing for knowledge and anxious to acquire it pored over his
books by night, and at such other times as he could snatch from
the monotony of his daily employments on the farm. Finally
a way was opened and he was sent to school for a while at
Thomasville and took a course at the South Georgia College.
804
REPRESENTA TIVE GEOR QIANS.
He was studious, thoughtful and fired with an honorable ambi tion to be something better than the common herd, and hence made the most of his meagre educational opportunities.
At the close of his school days Mr. FRANKLIN taught school for a year, devoted some little time to mercantile pursuits, but having fixed his eye on the bar as the goal of his ambition, used other employments merely as means to an end and finally found himself admitted to the bar and his life-work fairly open ing out before him. He has devoted himself to his profession with that ability, energy and tenacity that compels success, and has a large, lucrative and constantly growing practice, by which he has amassed a reasonable share of this world's goods and is now in easy circumstances. He had strong opposition for his present seat, but was elected by a handsome majority.
In the House Mr. FRANKLIN has been noted for his strict attention to every detail of legislation, nothing escaping his watchful eye. and the careful and painstaking manmer in which he performs every duty to which he is assigned. He is a mem ber of the Committees on Special Judiciary, Education, Banks, and Privileges of the Floor. At least three of these are busy Committees and the duties are onerous. Mr. FRANKLIN never misses a meeting and whenever he speaks it is at once appa rent that he has given careM study to the subject in hand.
He was appointed chairman of the special committee to devise a Savings' Bank system for the State, and has bestowed much thought and labor upon the question and hopes to pass through the present Legislature a law that will meet all de mands of the case. The importance of a practical law on this subject cannot be over estimated.
Mr. FRANKLIN also has a bill pending to print all bills in the General Assembly, and have the same read only twice, thus saving much time and a heavy expense to the State. It is in such practical common sense lines as these that he finds most congenial fields for the exercise of his talents.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
Personally modest and unobtrusive, Mr. FRANKLIN is yet easy of approach and social and genial with his friends. The writer has had the pleasure to become intimately associated with him in the labors of the committee room and on the floor, and is gratified to be able to thus bear testimony to the modest worth of this truly self-made man.
206
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HON. C. J. WELLBORN,
JUDGE SUPERIOR COURTS, NORTHEASTERN CIRCUIT.
C. J. WELLBORN, Judge of the Superior Courts of the North eastern Circuit, was born in Union county, Georgia, in 1836. He received a common school education. In 1858 he was appointed State Librarian by Hon. JOSEPH E. BROWN, when that gentleman became Governor. He read law while occupy ing this position and was admitted to the bar in 1859. He was commissioned Captain of State troops by Governor BROWN and as such served in the Confederate armv%f- .
In 1867 he was elected Senator from the Fortieth District as a Democrat, and served out his term in that body. In 1873 he was appointed by Governor JAMES M. SMITH Solicitor General of the Blue Eidge Circuit, but resigned that position in 1874. In 1873-4 he was Assistant Secretary of the Senate.
Upon the creation of the Northeastern Judicial Circuit in 1881 he was elected Judge and held that position until 1883, when he was succeeded by Hon. JOHN B. ESTES. In 1886 he was again elected Judge for a term of four years commencing January 1st. 1887.
On the bench Judge WELLBORN has made an enviable record as a patient, painstaking, fearless and upright officer, and is an ornament to the judiciary of the State.
208
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
^. PAUL FAVER,
SEXATOR FROM THE TWENTY-SIXTH DISTRICT.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HON. PAUL FAVER,
SENATOR FROM THE TWENTY-SIXTH DISTRICT.
PAUL FAVER, son of Mr. JOHN FAVER of Fayette county, and MARTHA "A. FAVER, formerly LUMPKIN, and the present Senator from the Twenty-sixth Georgia District, was born in Oglethorpe county, September 2, 1845.
Few men in the Georgia Legislature have made more friends than Dr. FAVER. Genial, whole souled, generous and social, he attracts strangers at once, and an acquaintance once begun ripens by reason of the sterling qualities of the man into a lasting friendship. Consequently, as much by reason of this happy faculty, as well as by his ability and earnestness in whatever he undertook, he acquired a widespread influence 'among his colleagues both in the Senate and House, and per forms valuable service not only for his immediate constituents but for the State at large.
Notably is this the case in his efforts in behalf of the unfor tunate class whose misfortunes make them inmates of the State Lunatic Asylum. Dr. FAVER is Chairman of the committee on this institution and has been zealous and untiring in his efforts to secure such legislation as will in his judgment pro mote the comfort and welfare of the inmates. Likewise on the Penitentiary Committee he is the same zealous advocate of ail reforms that tend to the amelioration of the condition of con victs, and the carrying, out in a just and humane manner the sentences of the law.
Dr. FAVER was educated partially at the Georgia Military Institute, at Marietta, and left that institution upon SHER-
810
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
invasion of Georgia and served with distinction as Lieu tenant of Cadets until the close of the war. Since then he has read medicine, and adopted the practice of that profession in which he has achieved a pronounced success. He has never had anything to do with politics on his own account until the canvass for his present seat in which he was victorious by a handsome majority. Dr. FAVER is as yet unmarried, and our artist has given us in his portrait above some slight idea of how handsome a man he is.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HON. JOSEPH R. LAMAR,
REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE COUNTY OF RICHMOND.
JOSEPH RUCKER LAMAR, one of the able delegation from the county of Richmond in the present House of Representatives, a son of Rev. JOSEPH S. LAMAR, was born in Ruckersville, Georgia, in 1857. He enjoyed fine educational advantages, having attended the State University at Athens, Bethany College, West Virginia, and Washington and Lee University. Being of quiet habits and a studious mind he made the most of his opportuni ties, and no man of his age in the State surpasses him in the completeness of mental equipment for the duties of life.
After leaving college, having determined to make the law his profession, he entered upon the study, mastered it and was admitted to the bar in 1880. He formed a copartnership with Hon. H. CLAY FOSTER, of Augusta, which has continued up to the present time, and the firm is one of the most popular, suc cessful and prosperous in that city, noted for the exceptional brilliancy and ability of its bar.
It goes without saying that in politics Mr. LAMAR is a Demo crat of the straightest sect, else he would not be the Representa tive of Richmond county in the General Assembly. Though never having before held office Mr. LAMAR has been always a close observer of political affairs, and loyal to his party affilia tions.
Mr. LAMAR was elected to the General Assembly, the first office he has ever held, in 1886, over strenuous opposition. In the House and on the Committees on Railroads, General Judici ary and Banks, he at once took high rank as a careful, conser-
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
vative and able legislator. Few new members have made BO many friends or rendered more valuable service to the State. Personally he is modest and unobtrusive, almost to a fault, yet firm and unyielding in his convictions when his mind is made up. He is courteous and polished in manner, and has generous social endowments and graces, that make him a prime favorite with all who know him.
Mr. LA3fAB was married in 1879 to Miss PEXDLETOX, a daughter of Dr. TV. K. PEXDLETOX, the President of Bethany College. West Virginia. Two manly boys are the fruit of the union* Young, talented and amply equipped for the battle of life, the future holds forth much promise, and his friends predict for him a career of honor and usefulness in the service of his people.
214
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
V - ///*.*".*.. .*
HON. ROBERT J. POWELL,
SENATOR FROM THE TWENTY-SECOND DISTRICT.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HON. ROBERT J. POWELL,
SENATOR FROM THE TWENTY-SECOND DISTRICT.
ROBERT J. POWELL, of Barnesville, Pike county, Senator from the Twenty-second District, is one of the notable men in that body. As chairman of the Finance Committee of the Senate he has been charged with the weightiest responsibilities, and has met and discharged them in a manner that has demon strated the wisdom of his selection for the place. Every item connected with the finances of the State receives his most care ful scrutiny, and he is earnest and laborious in all the details of his duties as a committeeman and Senator. His record will compare favorably with that of any man who has ever held this position in the Georgia Legislature. - Mr. POWELL was born in Monroe county, on a farm in the country. He enjoyed liberal "old field" educational advan tages, which, having a thirst for knowledge and a naturally studious mind, he improved to the utmost. Left by the death of his father charged with the care of his younger brothers and sisters, just as he was at the threshol^. of manhood, he de voted himself to them with jealous care until they were edu cated and able to take care of themselves. He employed him self in teaching and mercantile pursuits. Just after his mar riage to the beautiful and accomplished Miss MITCHELL, of Griflm, the war cloud gathered over the land, and, leaving his business interests and his young wife, Mr. POWELL went to the front, at his country's call. He served with the artillery branch of the service in the Army of the Cumberland. At the battle of Chicamauga he was severely injured by his horse fall-
15
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
ing on him. but, refusing to go to the rear, was assisted to his saddle, and led the charge into the thickest of that bloody bat tle. At the battle of Resaca he was so severely injured as to necessitate his retirement from the field. As soon as he could walk without crutches he again reported for duty, was assigned to a Virginia battalion, and served until the close of the war.
Returning home broken down in health, and fortune gone, the indomitable spirit of the man would not down. Wasting no time in idle repining he set about the work of recuperation. Such a man could but succeed, and he has prospered as such men always do. To-day he is comfortable so far as this world's goods goes, is President of the Barnesville Savings Bank, and a recognized authority upon financial affairs throughout the State.
Though always warmly interested in political affairs, Mr. POWELL has never sought preferment for himself. TEKs fellowcitizens twice made him Ma*v or of Barnesville,' and he is President of the Board of Trustees of Gordon Institute, President of the County Board of Education, and has held many other posi tions of trust in church and State. He is the present Treasurer of the Georgia State Agricultural Society. He is a prominent Mason, has been Grand Director of the Knights of Honor of the State, and represented the State in the Supreme Lodge of the United States. He is a member also of the Royal Arcanum and at present Grand Vice Regent of that order. In every business, society or order with which he has been connected, he has. seemingly without effort and as if by right, gone squarely to the front.
Personally Mr. POWELL is a gentleman of winning address, easy manners, modest and retiring, but always courteous and pleasant. In all the relations of life he has been successful and proven himself a fair type of the cultured and genial Southern gentleman.
218
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HOX. MARTIX V. CALVIX,
REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE COUNTY OF RICHMOND.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HON. MARTIN V. CALVIN,
REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE COUNTY OP RICHMOND.
If the writer were asked to point out the most potent and energetic friend of public education in the present House of Representatives he would instinctively turn to the subject of this sketch. He is, in many respects, a remarkable man, and, while making no claims to statesmanship, being modest and unobtrusive, he is yet one of the most valuable members of the General Assemblvv .
Mr. CALVIX is the son of JAMES B. and ELIZABETH CALVIN, and was born in Augusta. Georgia, September 23, 1842. He had early and liberal educational advantages in the free schools of that city, under Mr. THOMAS SXOWDEX, the classical school of WILLIAM ERXEXPUTCH, and was finally prepared for college by Rev. JAMES T. Lix. Entering the Junior Qlass of Emory College, he had but just risen Senior when the civil war broke out, and he cast aside his books to take up arms in defence of his country. He entered the Confederate service in 1861, and served throughout the war in the Western army. He was dan gerously wounded in the left thigh at the battle of Franklin, Tennessee, in November, 1864, and was captured at Columbia, Tennessee, after the fall of Nashville.
Returning home after the war, Mr. CALVIX entered journal istic pursuits and was successively editor of the Augusta Gazette, "associate news editor of the Constitutionalist and news editor of the Augusta Chronicle. In 1867 he was elected Principal of the Augusta Free School, then of the Haughton Institute, and held the like position of the Peabody Institute. During all this time
820
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
he had battled unremittingly for city and county public schools, and when the same were established he was chosen Superin tendent.
In 1873 the present admirable system of public schools was inaugurated in Richmond county, and Mr. CALVIN was elected a member of the Board for a term of three years. There were many applicants for Superintendent, and unable to agree after many ballots among them, Mr. CVLVIN was chosen for three years. He accepted conditionally, organized the system, and at the end of three months resigned, thus giving up a hand some salary to return to his place on the Board, where he received practically no compensation.
In 1871 Mr. CALVIN took charge of J. B. LIPPINCOTT Co.'s introduction work in the South, and has managed their busi ness continuously since that time. It is a most important posi tion, requiring judgment and executive ability, and his long continuance in the position shows his value and the esteem in which he is held. He has large discretion, being without limit or instructions in the management of the great business entrusted to his care.
"While still on his crutches, at the close of the war, Mr. CALVIN addressed the St. James Sunday School of Augusta upon the subject of raising a monument to those who had gone out from the school and died in defence of their country. The movement he inaugurated resulted in the handsome cenotaph which now adorns Green street in front of St. James Church. This was in October, 1865. and it is a query whether Mr. CALVIN was not the first man in the South to lift his voice to inaugurate memorials of her dead heroes.
In 1882 Mr. CALVIN was elected as one of the Representatives from Richmond county, was re-elected in 1884, and again in 1886, and is one of only five members in the present House serving their third consecutive term. Upon his entry into the House he was appointed Chairman of the Committee on Educa tion, and has held that position ever since, rendering valuable
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
service to the cause of education and the general welfare of the State in many directions. He is an active member of the Com mittees on Agriculture, Military Affairs and Internal Improve ments.
In the House of 1884-'85 Mr. CALVIN introduced a resolution, suggesting to the Clerk the propriety of employing ladled as clerks in the department of enrolled and engrosssed bills. Mr. CALVIN supported the resolution in an earnest speech and it was adopted and put into execution with the most satisfactory results.
This movement had, in the State at large, the effect Mr. CALVIX purposed it should have, namely, of directing public attention to the necessity and desirability of opening to women new avenues to honorable living.
The same session Mr. CALVIX induced the House to order printed daily an abstract of the Journal, which enabled mem bers, present or absent, quickly to inform themselves as to the condition of the work before them.
Personally Mr. CALVE* is a gentleman of winning address, with a pleasant, intellectual face, and is social and popular. He has been a consistent member of the Methodist Church since he was fourteen years of age. The trend of his mind is in the direction of literature, and finds vent in numerous commu nications to the press. He is active, practical and vigilant as a Representative and keenly alive to the interests of his city and section, as well as the State at large.
222
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HOX. JOEL C. FAIX,
JUDGE SUPERIOR COURTS CHEROKEE CIRCUIT.
Hon. JOEL C. FATS* was born in Floyd county, Georgia, March 21st. 1839. Judge FAIN is descended from an illustrious ances try. On his father's side he is descended from the French Huguenots, who settled first in Ireland, after leaving their native country, and subsequently removed to the United States, making their home in Maryland. All the FAINS on this conti nent have come from this source. Judge FAIN'S mother was a LCMPKIX. a name famous in Georgia history since the earliest days of the commonwealth.
In his earlier years Judge FAIN received excellent educa tional advantages. Laying the foundation of his education in the common schools of Cherokee, Georgia, he subsequently graduated at Emory and Henry College, Virginia, read law and was admitted to the bar in 1861.
He had but received his commission as an attorney%/ when he laid down briefs and books and entered the Confederate annv.
V
He volunteered as a private in the Second South Carolina regi ment, which went immediately to Virginia and was engaged in the first battle of Manassas, where he received two severe wounds. Upon his recovery and return to the field he was elected Captain and transferred to service on the coast of Geor gia. In the spring of 1862 he was made a captain in the Sixth
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
Georgia regiment, transferred to the Western army, and served
in all the arduous campaigns of that army, was promoted to
Lieutenant Colonel, wounded at the battle of Chicamauga,
again on the retreat from Dalton to Atlanta, from the effects of
which several wounds he was discharged from active service
December, 1864.
,
Returning to his home in Gordon county after the war Col.
FAIN began the practice of his profession. In this he was emi
nently successful. In 1866 he was elected Solicitor of the
County Court and held the office until it was abolished under
the constitution of 1868. In the same year he was elected a
State Senator, and in 1870 a member of the House of Represen
tatives from Gordon county. Without opposition he was elected
to the Constitutional Convention of 1877.
Under the new constitution adopted in 1877 Col. FAIN was
again elected to the State Senate and served in the session of
1878-'79 in that body. He was a member of the Judiciary
Committee of the Senate along with Hon. HENRY D. McDANiEL,
and other distinguished Georgians, and was on other important
-general and special Committees, where he did valuable work
for the State.
In 1880 Col. FAIN was elected by the General Assembly
Judge of the Cherokee Circuit. At the end of his four years
term he was re-elected in 1884 for another full term. On the
bench he has made a record as an upright, fearless and impar
tial Judge, and his administration has been popular with bar
and people.
Personally Judge FAIN is social and genial in manner, with
rare conversational powers, a fund of anecdote, keen apprecia
tion of humor, and the bright side of life, and a universal favor
ite among his friends. He has been twice married. His. first
wife was Miss JENNIE S. BLACK, of South Carolina, to whom he
was married m 1864. Two girls and five sons were the issue of
this union. Three sons, the two oldest and the youngest, are
dead. Their mother passed away July, 1885. In September,
22
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
1886. Judge FAIX was married a second time to Miss NASTSIE J. GROVES, of Owensboro. Kentucky.
At Calhoun. Gordon county, Judge FAES* has a happy home, where he devotes such time as his judicial duties allow to agri culture. to which he is greatly attached, and the enjoyments of the comforts bv which his industry have surrounded him.
N
m Ah i"ii
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HOX. W. W. GORDON,
REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE COUNTY OF CHATHAM.
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
227
HON. W. W. GORDON,
REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE COUNTY OF CHATHAM.
Ko man in the present General Assembly of Georgia has achieved more prominence as a legislator than the subject of this sketch. JSTot only because of the prominent position he has occupied, or because of the industry and ability with which he has met the onerous requirements of the place, but the earn estness and fidelity with which he has discharged the duties devolved upon him as the chairman of the Finance Committee. The chairmanship of this committee is no rose strewn path of dalliance. On the one hand he is confronted with the financial needs and absolute-necessities of the machinery of government. -On the other he is met, must encounter and answer, the retrenchment and reform element seeking to reduce expenses to the loWest possible minimum.^ To provide for the one, and yet lay no unnecessary burdens upon the other, to harmonize conflicting views, and present revenue legislation acceptable to the masses, and yet sufficient to maintain the credit of the State and pay ordinary and extraordinary expenses, requires financial acumen, legislative finesse, and complete knowledge of the State's resources and abilities possessed by few men in the commonwealth. To say that Capt. GORDON has discharged the duties of this trying position in an able, conscientious, and successful manner, is to pay him the highest compliment.
WILLIAM "W. GORDON was born in Savannah, Georgia, Octo ber 14,1834. His grandfather, AMBROSE GORDON, was a Captain in Col. WILLIAM WASHINGTON'S regiment of dragoons in the Rev olutionary war. His father, W. W. GORDON, was one of the
228
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
original projectors of the Central Railroad, the first built in
Georgia, and its first president. In the center of one of the
beautiful squares in the city of Savannah rises a marble ceno
taph commemorative of the life and character of this one of
Georgia's most prominent and public spirited citizens. Sow
little did he think that the enterprise of which he was one of
the leading spirits was but the forerunner of a system that
should spread and grow and multiply, and at last see its per
fect work, onlv when almost everv hamlet in the State he loved
r
%f
*
should hear the snort of the iron horse and feel the earth trem
ble beneath his mighty tread.
\V. \V. GORDON, the elder, died in 1834. Notwithstanding all he had done for Georgia-, and his prominent position, his" family were left in straitened circumstances, and this resulted in their removal to New Jersey. There and in New York State the subject of our sketch laid the foundation of his edu cation, entered Yale College in 1850, and graduated in 1854. Soon thereafter he returned to Savannah, and entered business as a clerk for TISON & MACKAY, prominent cotton merchants of that city. Upon Mr. MACKAY'S retirement in 1856, the firm became TLBON & GORDON.
In 1861 Mr. GORDON entered the Confederate army as sergeant of a cavalry company raised in Savannah, and attached to the Sixth Virginia Cavalry, afterwards becoming a part of the cele brated JEFF DAYIS Legion. He was elected second Lieutenant, subsequently promoted to a captaincy, and appointed Adjutant and Inspector on the staff of Gen. MERCER commanding troops on the Georgia coast. MERCER'S Brigade joining the Confed erate army at Dalton. in 1864, Capt. GORDON served with his command throughout the Alanta campaign and SHERMAN'S march to the sea, was then transferred to ANDERSON'S Cavalry Brigade, and surrendered with it at Hillsboro, North Carolina, April, 1865.
In the following August the firm of TISON & GORDON re-com menced their business suspended during the war. The house '
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
229
grew and prospered for eleven years. In 1876 Mr. TISON died, and Capt. GORDON taking in other partners has continued under the firm name of W. TV. GORDON & Co. to the present time.
In 1876, during the famous yellow fever epidemic, Capt. GOR DON was a member of the Benevolent Association, an organiza tion of citizens who made it their business to systematically care for the sick and destitute. Standing at his post when thousands were flying the qity, and hundreds were dying all around him, he exhibited a moral heroism beyond even thaft shown in battle. That he escaped the dread scourge and came out unscathed is little short of a miracle.
In 1884 Mr. GORDON was elected as one of the Eepresentatives from Chatham county in the General Assembly. This old and cultivated community has never sent a more able and yal-
s
uable member to the House. In 1886 he was re-elected. TTig service in the House is matter of public history. Of his work on the Finance Committee we have already spoken, and it has been no less valuable and conscientiously performed in all the scope of his legislative duties.
Capt. GORDON was married in 1857 to Miss NELUE KJNZIE, of Chicago. Six children are the issue of the marriage. On one of the most charming streets in the beautiful City by the Sea, Savannah, he has a palatial home, in which he dispenses a hos pitality, as elegant as it is sweet, surrounded by every comfort wealth can procure and a cultivated taste suggest.
2-30
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HOX. LIXTON A. DEAN,
SENATOR FROM THE FORTY-SECOND DISTRICT.
Of the i^ounger men in the Senate of Georgia who have made a most auspicious opening of a public career which promises to be long and useful is the subject of this sketch. Kever having before occupied official position, the high stand he has taken among his colleagues, and the important work he has done, are a high tribute to the ability of the man, and give promise of a brilliant career in the future. --LIXTOX A. DEAX. of Rome, was born in Chattooga county, Georgia. January 24, 1855. He is the son of HENRY DEAN, and his mother was before marriage Miss T. JANE ADAMS, of Hall county, a daughter of ELIJAH C. ADAMS, a prominent citizen of that county. Young DEAN received a primary education in the common schools of Floyd county, after which he entered Mercer University, took the full course, and graduated in 1875. In his university course he took high rank, was a member of the S. A. E. Society, and was elected Anniversarian of the Phi Delta Society to which he also belonged.
Leaving college he chose the law as his profession and to fully equip himself took a course at the Columbia University, "Washington, D. C., from which institution he graduated in June, 1876. and in the following October entered the practice of law at Rome, Georgia. He formed a copartnership with J. W. EWTVG, and the firm of DEAN & EWING has built up a lucrative and constantly increasing practice in the Hill City.
His present seat in the Senate was won over stout opposition by a prominent and popular gentleman. In that body he is
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
231
the chairman of the Special Judiciary Committee, and is a
member of other important committees, including Banks,
Finance, and Railroads. He has made an enviable record on
all of these, and likewise on the floor of the Senate, as a clear
thinker, strong debater, and careful, conservative, and con
scientious legislator.
-
At the early age of twenty-three Mr. DEAN was united in
marriage to Miss AGNES G. SMITH, a charming young lady,
daughter of a prominent citizen of Rome, and four children
brighten the home' in which he finds rest, peace, and comfort
from, the toils and struggles of a busy life.
16
2.32
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
HOX. JOSEPH S. JAMES,
SENATOR FROM THE THIRTY-SIXTH DISTRICT.
Among the younger members of the upper House of the General Assembly who leave their impress upon all the legisla tion of that honorable body is the subject of the present sketch. Though modest and unassuming, and not disposed to push himself into undue prominence, he is yet so earnest and sincere in his convictions upon all public questions which challenge his . attention, that he is prone to labor in season and out of season for that line of policy that commends itself to his judgment. He makes up his mind only after mature deliberation, and from positions once taken it is exceedingly difficult to move him.
Senator JAKES is descended from the ISForth Carolina family of that name, his father, STEPHEN JAMES, having emigrated to Georgia from the old Korth State, and married Miss SHIPPEY, who is still living, and has borne her husband thirteen children, of whom the subject of the present sketch is the sixth.
In the common schools of Campbell, now Douglaas county, Senator JAMES received a common school education, and, read ing law, was admitted to the bar in 1875. Agriculture, merchandise and law have all claimed his attention, and he has found time, as well, amid these multifarious pursuits, to take a warm interest in local and State politics, and has been honored by his people with many offices of public trust. As Justice of the Peace, Mayor of his town, Representative in the lower House, and in the Senate he has always given such uni versal satisfaction that his popularity has been augmented in
REPRESENTATIVE GEORGIANS.
2S3
each successive station to which the suffrages of an intelligent and appreciative constitutency have called him.
In the Senate Mr. JAMES occupies a leading place on the Gen eral Judiciary Committee, also on Finance, Railroads, etc., and is chairman of the Penitentiary Committee. He has given much earnest and faithful work to investigation of the prison system. He is a fluent, cogent and graceful speaker, ready in debate, courteous and considerate always, and popular in the Senate, as he is at home on his native heath.
In October, 1869, Senator JAMES was married to Miss ANNA MAXWELL, of Douglass county, a most charming and estimable lady, and three bright girls make sunshine and music in the house where, by reason of his strong domestic tastes, the Sena tor finds his highest enjoyment.
j&nitewf * plnmbeift * j&eam * and * {a$ * Fifcteift
Architectural Galvanized Iron Workers,
AND
ROOFERS,
COR. PEACHTREE AND WALTON, ATLANTA
--------AGENTS FOB--------
Knowles' Steam Pumps, Dunning's Boilers, Morris & Tasker's Wrawght Iron, Pipe for Steam, Gas and Water, Climax Gas Machine,
AND DEALERS IK
Steam Fitters' and Plumbers' Brass Goods, Bath Tubs, Wash Basins, Marble
Slabs, Water Closets, Stoves, RangesjHot Water Boilers, Furnaces,
Marbleized Iron and Slate Mantles, Grates, Hardwood
Mantles, Gas Fixtures, Pumps, Rubber Hose, &c.
Plans
Specifications Furnished on Application
PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY MORNING AT
GAINESVILLE, GA.,
BUTT & Bt,A.T8, - - Editors and Proprietors.
Subscription, $1.OO Per Annum.
The EAGLE is a large, thirty-two column paper, printed entirely at home, and every line of its matter being thus carefully selected by the editors they can promise a clean,
wholesome family ^aper.
The EAGLE is Democratic in politics, an earnest advocate of tariff reform as opposed to protected monopolies, and the exponent of the rights of the people on all public
questions.
'
4
4
New
x
Holland
S
-AT THE----
-QUEENCITY'OF'TM-E'MOUraiNS*
fr >
t
t
> BARNES, EVANS & CO. and CAMP BROTHERS, i Lessees and Proprietors. K. J. \VHITKHEAD,
OPEN FOR RECEPTION OF GUESTS FROM JUNE 1st TO OCT. 1st.
4
4
MEANS OF ACCESS.
Richmond and Danville Railroad from Atlanta and the ^ South and Southwest ; Georgia Railroad and Gainesville, Jefferson & Southern Railroad from Augusta and points South; Northeastern and R. & D. R. R. from the North
and East.
AMUSEMENTS.
Lawn Tennis, Archery, Croquet, Swings, Base Ball, Bil liards, Skating, Ten Pins and Dancing.
J
LIVBKY.
j A First-Class Stable will be maintained on the grounds.
4
MUSIC.
$ An Elegant Orchestra has been engaged for the entire season. MINERAL WATERS.
Three Springs--Calcic, Alkaline and Sulphur.
4
TERMS :
4 4
Per
day, $2.OO; per week, $1O.OO to $12.OO; month, &3O.OO to S4O.OO, according to loca
per
!
tion of room and space occupied.
4
Resident Physician -DR. J. W. BAILEY.
- GEORGIA.
A. W. VANHOOSE, President, Ancient Languages and Natural Science.
Judge J. B. ESTES, Commercial LawT Dr. J. W. BAILEY,
Hygiene. Misa LUCY E. RUCKER,
Mathematics. Misa S. B. WOOTEN, French and History. Miss S, L. VANHOOSE, Preparatory Department, Miss M. F. VANHOOSE, Directress Music Department. Mrs. SALLIE E. CHANCELLOR, Drawing and Painting. ~~Mrs. E. A. GBACE,
Matron.
A school thorough and economical. A full set of tele graphic^ instruments. New and commodious buildings, heated by .furnace. Everything possible done for health and convenience of our pupils. A large grove of native forest oaks. Beautiful grounds.
Tuition, - - $3. OO to $6. OO per month. Music, - - -'-'.- $3.OO to $4.5O Art, - - - - - $2.6O to $6.OO Parties having daughters or wards to educate would do well to correspond with the undersigned. As a health resort, Gainesville is unsurpassed.
w. President faculty.