Anderson County Tennessee
Biographies from Goodspeed
Continued
R. A. McFerrin, M.D., was born in Greene County, Tenn., May 8, 1849. He is the son of Samuel D, and Catherine (Drake) McFerrin. The father was a native of Tennessee, and was of Scotch descent. The mother was a native of Virginia, and was of English and German descent. Her father was a relative of the family of Sir Francis Drake. Ten children, seven sons, and three daughters, were born to these parents. Our subject is the eigth of these children and the fifth son. He was reared on a farm and was educated in the Tusculum College. Prior to his collegiate work, he had taught for some five years in Greene and Hawkins Counties, and after the finishing of his scholastic work he taught for two years in the same counties, and then completed a course of medical lectures, received his degree at the hands of the faculty, consisting of Dr. J.F. Broyles, Dr. Mathew Doak, Dr. S. Smith and Dr. G. Taylor. At first he practiced for a short time at St. Clair, Hawkins County, then for more than a year at Rogersville Junction; then he located at Oliver Springs, Anderson County, where he has ever since been practicing, with the exception of about two years, during which time he was in Georgia for the health of his family. While in Georgia he was proprietor of the St. James Hotel, at Cartersville, Ga. In 1881 he was united in marriage with Mrs. Lillie L. Hannah, nee Lillie L. Gerding, daughter of George F. Gerding. One daughter has blessed the marriage; Bernice, born July 11, 1883. Our subject commenced to pursuits of his life without capital. He is a successful self-made man. He belongs to the Presbyterian Church, and is an ardent worker in the Democratic party. He is the owner of nearly 100 acres of farming land in the Seventh District, Anderson County, and also a house and lot in Oliver Springs. He is also the owner of about 3,600 acres of coal land in Morgan County.
Dr. J.M. McFerrin, a practicing physician at Coal Creek, was born October 15, 1853, the son of S.D. and Catherine H. (Drake) McFerrin. The parents were Virginians, and came to Tennessee in childhood. Our subject is the seventh son of a family of seven sons and three daughters, and was reared on the home farm, and besides ordinary advantages, he attended Tusculum College in Greene County. He chose the medical profession, and when twenty years of age began the study of medicine under R.E.F.Brazelton, M.D. in New Market, Tenn. Eighteen months elapsed, and his health failed, and he quit sedentary life and practiced medicine for the railroad contractors of the Cincinnati Southern.. Later he located at Whitesburg, Hamblen County, and practiced for nearly five years, and then moved to Coal Creek, his present home. February 14, 1884, he married Minnie Coffman, of Russellville, Hamblen County. Their children are Alma, Beatrice and Edith. Our subject is a self-made man, and successful. He is United States pension examiner for Anderson, Scott, Morgan and Campbell Counties. For ten years he has been an earnest Democratic worker, and is a Master Mason.
R.K. Medaris, M.D., was born in Clinton, Anderson Co., Tenn., December 30, 1856, and is the son of Robert N. and Mary (Simpson) Medaris. The father was born in Bradley County, Tenn., April 12, 1824. After a short stay in North Carolina, he returned to Tennessee and engaged in farming near Clinton, where he has ever since resided. The mother was born in Campbell County, Tenn., December 5, 1833. She removed with her father, to North Carolina, where she remained until her marriage. She is a member of the Baptist Church. Our subject was reared in Clinton, and the vicinity. He attended the schools of that place, finishing at the University of Tennessee in 1878. The following year he began the study of medicine under Dr. Joel Smith, of Coal Creek, Tenn., and began the practice of medicine in May, 1883, when he was appointed prison physician to the branch penitentiary at Coal Creek. Over-study brought on nervous exhaustion, compelling him to resign his position and move to his father’s farm. He spent the two following years trying to recuperate his failing health. In this he was so fare successful as to be able to resume his favorite profession, and moved to Clinton in 1885, and has since been one of it leading physicians. He was married August 4, 1878, to I.T. Hoskins, daughter of Geo. P. Hoskins, of Dutch Valley, Tenn. His wife was born July 11, 1859, and is a member of the Baptist Church. Four children, two boys and two girls, are the sunbeams of their home.
S.L. Moore, a substantial-farmer of Anderson County, born December 30, 1838, the son of Samuel and Lourania (Duncan) Moore. The father was born in Rutherford County, N.C., in 1793, and came to Tennessee about 1813, settling in Anderson County, where he engaged in farming. He served as trustee of the county, and died in 1877. The mother was born in Washington County, Tenn., February 4, 1807, and died August 26, 1857. Our subject was reared on the farm, and attended the neighboring schools and Union Academy, at Clinton. He has always followed farming, and now owns a beautiful farm of 350 acres, two miles from Clinton, on the river. He has served as magistrate, and was chairman of the county court for three years. In 1860 he married Marie J. Longmire of Anderson County, who was born in 1840, and is the daughter of R.M. Longmire, (deceased). Three of the thirteen children born to them are deceased. Both our subject and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South.
W.H. Moore, a practicing physician in Anderson County, Tenn., was born in Stokes County, N.C., August 5, 1849. He is the son of Calvin Jones Moore and Mary Margaret (Keyes). The father is a native of Salem, N.C., and is an honorary graduate of Vanderbilt University, at Nashville; the mother is a native of Johnson County, Tenn. Our subject finished a common school education at Morristown, Tenn., and, in 1873, began the study of medicine under the instructions of his father. In 1874 and 1875, he attended medical lectures in the Louisville Medical College. He began his practice at his present location in April, 1875. In November, 1875, he was united in marriage with Miss Eleanora Weaver, daughter of James Weaver, of North Carolina. Two sons and one daughter have blessed the marriage; their names are John Calvin, James Bruce, Margaret and Elizabeth. Our subject has never had the advantages of capital to assist him in his pursuits, but he has been an energetic and enterprising man, and has been successful in his undertakings. He is a self-made man, a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, a Master Mason, and a firm democrat.
Goodspeed’s pages 1116 – 1117