Goodspeed Publishing Company, History of Tennessee, 1887. Moore County Tennessee. Biographical Appendix. TNGenNet Inc, TNGenWeb Project.

       The firm of BILLINGSLEY & BAILEY was formed November 4, 1885, by S. A. Billingsley & T. G. Bailey. The senior member of firm is a native of Bledsoe County, Tenn., born October 31, 1856, and was reared in his native county. His father was a farmer. Our subject engaged in merchandising for two years at Spencer, Tenn., before coming here. February, 1884, he went to Mulberry and there engaged in teaching, being principal of the schools at that place until June 4, 1886, when he resigned. December 16, 1885, he married Jennie Sugg, of Cyruston, Lincoln Co., Tenn. The father of Mr. Billingsley was a minister, and his grandfather was a member of the first Tennessee Legislature. The father of our subject died in 1878, and his mother is still living. Mr. Bailey, junior member of the firm, was born in the present limits of Moore County, and is a son of Thomas R. and Nancy M. (Edwards) Bailey, natives of North Carolina and Alabama respectively. The father was a farmer, and died April 4,1884; the mother still survives. Mr. Bailey engaged as clerk in a store in Lynchburg, for two years, and then formed a partnership with T. H. Parks & Co., continuing with that firm until December, 1882. He held an interest in R. B. Parks & Co..s store until March 10, 1884, when he retired and attended school five months. In November, 1885, he joined the present firm, which is doing a general merchandising trade with a stock of $2,500. Both are Democrats, and are young and enterprising business men.
       J. L. BRYANT & CO. This firm is now composed of H. B. Morgan and J. W. Motlow. it was first established in 1872, by J. L. Bryant (now deceased) and H. B. Morgan. J. L. Bryant had himself been in business in Lynchburg since 1806. He was born September 25, 1824, in Lincoln County, and was reared in West Tennessee, and when a young man returned to Moore County, and on August 24,1845, married Finetta B. Leftwich, and engaged in merchandising at Charity, in this county, continuing in mercantile pursuits until his death. In 1865 he was at Shelbyville, and removed from there to Lynchburg. He was also an extensive farmer and stock trader. He was drowned April 5, 1883, at Shelbyville. He was a very popular man, and was identified with the social and public interests, and was one of the most successful business men of Moore County. There now survives him a family of two daughters and his widow. H. B. Morgan was born October 14, 1842, in Lincoln County, Tenn., being a son of W. A. and Mary (Davidson) Morgan, both now living near Montgomery, Ala. Young Morgan remained on the farm until 1861, when he enlisted with the “boys in gray” and served till the battle of Franklin, in 1864, in which he lost an arm. He returned home in June, 1865, and farmed for one year. He then became deputy sheriff of Lincoln County, holding that office four years, and was then elected sheriff for four years. In 1872 he entered the above named firm, and has been very successful. He was married in 1868 to Mrs. Mary J. Reece, nee Bryant, daughter of J. L. Bryant. To this union one daughter has been born-Jessie B. Mrs. Morgan was the mother of one daughter by her former marriage-Johnnie Reece. Mr. Morgan is a public spirited citizen of the county, and is highly respected. J. W. Motlow was born in Lynch burg, November 17, 1851, being a son of John T. and Finetta B. (Broadway) Motlow, who reside near Lynchburg. Ile was reared on a farm, and at the age of twenty-one began farming for himself, which he continued until 1882, when he entered the firm of J. L. Bryant & Co. He was married, January 1, 1880, to Miss Willie Alice Bryant, daughter of J. L. Bryant, the result of this union being one daughter-Aetna. Mr. Motlow is a Democrat in politics, and is an enterprising citizen of Lynchburg.
       S. E. H. DANCE, M. D., the leading physician of Lynchburg, Tenn., was born March 30, 1834, son of Stephen M. and Sarah (Smith) Dance, born in Virginia and North Carolina, and died in 1853 and 1862, respectively, They came to Lincoln County about 1826. The father was a farmer of ordinary means and a local minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Our subject spent his boyhood days on a farm and at the time of his father.s death was attending Emory and Henry College, Virginia. He returned home and began the study of medicine and attended one course of lectures, in 1854-55 in the University of Tenn. He graduated from the Louisville (Ky.) Medical College in 1856 and began practicing his profession in Lynchburg. During the war he was assistant surgeon of Turney.s First Tennessee, and in 1862 was promoted to surgeon of the Eighth Tennessee, continuing until near the close of the conflict, when he was made medical director for the reserves of Tennessee. After his return from the battle field he resumed his profession in Lynchburg, in which he has met with good success. September 16, 1856, he married Miami A. Berry, and eight children blessed their union-Edward M., William H., Charles H., Frank P., Fannie, Robert R., Harry H. and Clifford C. In 1883 Dr. Dance and his son, William H., opened a drugstore in Lynchburg. He is one of the stockholders of the cotton-mills, and also owns an interest in the grist-mills of Dance & Waggoner, at Lynchburg.
       JACK DANIEL, proprietor of the distillery at Lynchburg, Tenn., was born in Moore County, in 1848. His father, Gallaway Daniel, came from North Carolina to Moore County when eight years of age, and in later years followed tilling the soil as an occupation. Our subject has always been a farmer, and in 1876 erected his distillery, which he began operating two years later, under the firm name of Daniel & Call, continuing thus five years. It has a capacity of fifty bushels per day and turns out some of the finest brands of “Lincoln County” whisky. Mr. Daniel is the owner of a large and productive farm, which he manages in connection with his distillery, and on which he raises large numbers of live-stock.
       BENJAMIN M. EDENS, one of Moore County.s pioneer citizens, was born in Madison County, Ala., July 13, 1822, and is one of five surviving members of a family of nine children born to Samuel and Nancy (Franks) Edens. The father was a native of South Carolina, and came to Limestone County, Ala., where he married the mother of our subject. They came to Lynchburg, this county, in 1825, located, and engaged in farming. The father.s death occurred about 1866, and the mother followed him about 1870. Our subject remained with his parents until his majority, after which he began farming for himself. September, 1849, he led to the hymeneal altar Pauline Blythe, a native of Moore County. This union resulted in the birth of nine children, seven of whom are living. Immediately after marriage they settled on the farm where they now reside. At that time it was an unbroken wilderness, but by hard labor and perseverance, and after enduring many privations customary with the pioneer settlers, he now owns a fine tract of over 200 acres of mostly cultivated land. Mr. Edens cast his first vote in 1844, and has always voted for the nominees of the Democratic party. He and family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
       REV. JAMES S. ERVIN, merchant, and a native of what was then Lincoln, but is now Moore County, Tenn., was born April 4, 1832, and is a son of James S. and Jemimah (Merrill) Ervin. The parents were natives of North Carolina, and immigrated to this county in 1816 and 1818, respectively. The father was an industrious farmer, and died November 7, 1881; the mother followed November 9 of the same year. Our subject remained with his parents until eighteen years of age, when he married Catherine Womack, November 7, 1849, a native of Bedford County. The fruits of this union were sixteen children. twelve of whom are still living. The mother of these children died April 5, 1880, and September of the same year Mr. Ervin was united in marriage to Rebecca Dillingham, a native of this county. In 1855 our subject moved to Bedford County and followed agricultural pursuits till 1866, when he came to this county and located on the farm where he has since resided. He has a fine tract of 150 acres at County Lille, and also has another farm in the county of 130 acres. In 1869 he engaged in merchandising in County Line, and has continued that business ever since. In 1857 he was ordained minister in the Baptist Church, of which he and his family are worthy members. Politically he has always been identified with the Democratic party, and is a strong advocate of temperance.
       ALEXANDER FORESTER, farmer, was born in Moore County (then Lincoln County)in 1820, and is one of eleven surviving members of a family of fourteen children born to Isaac and Matilda (Hodges) Forester. The father was born in South Carolina in 1790, and came to Moore County previous to the war of 1812, in which he participated under Gen. Coffee, and afterward under Gen. Jackson. At the close of the Indian war he returned to Moore (Lincoln) County, and soon after was married. The parents are both still living, having now enjoyed the companionship of each other about seventy years. The youngest child is now forty-three Years old, and the oldest is our subject. The parents have had eighty-nine grandchildren, sixty-nine of whom are still living. They have over sixty great-grandchildren, all still living but three or four. They also have two great-great-grandchildren, both living. Our subject at the age of twenty-three left his home, and in 1843 was united in marriage to Minerva Eaton, a native of Moore (Lincoln) County. Eight children blessed this union, seven of whom are still living, and live are married and have children. In 1862 Mr. Forester enlisted in the Confederate Army, in a Kentucky regiment of infantry, but afterward, just before the battle of Murfreesboro, was transferred to Newman.s battalion. In 1863 he was discharged, owing to advanced age, after having participated in the battles of Shiloh and Baton Rouge. March 20, 1863, he returned home, and has since followed farming on the place where he now resides, a good farm of 270 acres. The whole Forester family are stanch Democrats, although none have ever aspired to office.
       HON. W. W. GORDON was born in Winchester, Tenn., May 20,1848. His father, Dr. Amzi B. Gordon, was a native of the county of Bedford, moving to Franklin County in about the year 1841, where he began the practice of medicine, soon building up a large and lucrative practice. He was a zealous member of the Baptist Church and one of the founders of the celebrated Mary Sharp College, at Winchester. He died in 1855. His mother is a daughter of John March, a highly respected farmer of the county, and a sister of Hon. Hayden March, who represented Franklin County several times in the Legislature. Mr. Gordon received only the rudiments of an English education at Carrick Academy, in his native town, the suspension of the schools during the five years of war depriving him, as it did thousands of the youth of the South, of the means of obtaining an education. He entered a printing office during the war, partly for the educational advantages thus offered, but principally for the meager salary thereby obtained for the support of his widowed mother and sister. He moved to Nashville soon after the war, working in the various departments of the newspaper offices of that city. He spent several years in visiting the principal cities of the Union. In 1870 he was married to Miss Mary E. Fletcher, daughter of G. G. and Ann Fletcher, of Shelbyville, Tenn. He has but one child, Russell W., born in 1871. In 1874 he moved to Lynchburg, Moore County, and in April of that year established the Sentinel, continuing its publication for five years. During that period he was four times elected mayor, and was chosen twice by the county court as superintendent of public instruction. Attracted by the excellent schools of his native town, he returned to Winchester in 1883, to educate his son. In 1884 he was elected representative of Franklin County in the Forty-fourth General Assembly of the State. He is an enthusiastic advocate of popular education, a Democrat in politics, and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South.
       JOHN E. GORE, farmer, of Moore County, was born in April, 1826, in Bedford County, Tenn., and is a son of Amos and Mary A. (Cowser) Gore. The parents were both natives of South Carolina, and came to Bedford County in the early settlement of the county. Our subject left the parental roof at the age of eighteen, and in 1844 went to Mississippi, where he remained three years engaged in farming and boating. lie then came home and bought a small farm in this county (then Franklin County). In September, 1849, he was united in marriage to Jane Cunningham, a native of this county, and in 1866 bought the farm where lie now resides, a tract of 200 acres, splendidly watered by several springs, one of which issues from a cave near his residence. affording Splendid water facilities, which is not used except for drinking purposes. To our subject and wife were born eight children, five of whom are still living: Elizabeth, William L., Rebecca (Mrs. Duckworth), Robert E. and- Joshua. Politically Mr. Gore has always been identified with the Democratic party, but has never aspired to office. He and family are members of the Baptist Church.
       DR. A. H. PARKES, whose birth occurred on the farm where he now resides, in Moore County, October 11, 1936, is one of seven surviving children, born to the union of Martin L. and Susan (Smith) Parkes. The father was a native of North Carolina, born in 1793, and came to this county about 1818. He was an officer in the war of 1812, and was magistrate in Lincoln County for several years. He was a tiller of the soil, and died December, 12, 1845. The mother was born August, 8, 1803, in Virginia, and came to this county in 1818, where she was married the same year. She died August, 11, 1881. At the age of seventeen, our subject began the study of medicine with a brother in Lynchburg, where he remained three years, after which he attended a course of lectures in the medical department of the University of Nashville. He then practiced for on- Year, and in the fall of 1858, entered Jefferson Medical College at Philadelphia where he graduated the following March. April. 1861, he joined Turney.s First Tennessee Infantry, and in the fall of the same year was elected lieutenant. May, 1862, he returned home, and since that time has been actively engaged in the practice of his profession in connection with farming. November 26,1867, he married Mary E. Killer, daughter of J. A. Killer, a lieutenant in the Mexican war. Three children were the result of our subject.s marriage, all of whom are living, viz.: Laura M., Susan B., and Albert H.
       M. N. PARKES is one of the ten children born to the union of Martin L. and Susan B. (Smith) Parkes. The father was born in North Carolina in 1793, and immigrated to what is now Moore County, Tenn., in 1818, where he lived the balance of big life. The country then was dense forests and canebrakes. He was &blacksmith and a farmer, and was a man of simple means. He was a member of the Primitive Baptist Church, and was a soldier in the war of 1812, being a lieutenant and also a recruiting officer, He died in 1845. The mother was born in 1803, and removed here when quite young: Our subject was born January 19, 18311 near Lynchburg; was reared on a farm, and learned the tanner.s trade when a boy, which occupation he followed for thirteen years. He then engaged in the cotton factory at Lynchburg. and after that was burned down, he engaged in milling till 1876, when he engaged in the retail liquor dealing, with John L. McWhirter, under the firm name of McWhirter & Parkes, till 1878. He then bought Whirter out, and engaged with D. S. Evans, as Parkes & Evans, the present firm. Mr. Parkes has been quite successful in his business, considering the reverses he has met with. In 1866 he married Mary F. Womack, which union resulted in the birth of six children, four of whom are now living: Mary A. (wife of William H. Dance), John B., Charles M. find Lema. Mr. Parkes is a Democrat and one of the enterprising men of the county. Mrs. Parkes is a member of the Christian Church.
       RUFUS B. PARKS, clerk and master of the Chancery Court of Moore County, Tenn., is one of four children born to Allen W. and Fannie (Miller) Parks, natives of North Carolina, born in 1797 and 1802, respectively. They took up their abode permanently in Tennessee in 1826. The father was a farmer, merchant, and in latter days kept hotel, and was magistrate a number of years. He died November 18, 1884, and the mother January 6. 1877. Rufus B. was born May 5, 1827, near Lynchburg, and received a good practical education. For about four or five years after attaining the age of nineteen he clerked in merchandise stores and then engaged in the business for himself, continuing until the breaking out of the war, when he enlisted in Company E, Fifth Kentucky Infantry, and was afterward transferred to the Ninth Kentucky Infantry, in which he was lieutenant. On account of poor health he resigned and came home, but soon joined the Twenty-third Tennessee Battalion and served until the close of the conflict. After his return he farmed alone until 1883, when he engaged in merchandising also, which he followed until 1885. He owns 120 acres of land. In 1849 he was married to Emily J. Roundtree, who died November 30, 1884, having borne him four children: Rufus A., Alice A. (Mrs. Loderick Robertson), Edwin L. and May. Mr. Parks has been a member of the Christian Church, in which he is deacon, for forty years. Politically he is a Democrat, and has been magistrate about six years. He was elected to his present position in 1883, and is an efficient and trustworthy officer.
       HON. R. A. PARKS, editor of the Lynchburg Falcon and attorney at law, was born October 21, 1849, in Lynchburg. His father is Rufus -B. Parks, whose sketch appears next above. His early life was spent with his parents and in school. He engaged in teaching school and studying law when a young man. In June, 1872, he obtained license to practice law, and has ever since continued to do so, in the firm of Holman & Parks, from 1872 to 1884, and since then in the firm of Holman, Holman & Parks. He was united in marriage, November 141872, to Miss Susan A. Holt, of Moore County. This union has been blessed in the birth of six children, four of whom are now living: Roy H., Pearl, Harry R. and Margaret. Mr. Parks is a Democrat in politics and take# an active interest In political affairs. He has held the office of recorder of Lynchburg, and is .now filling his second term of office as mayor of the town. He represented Lincoln and Moore Counties in the lower house of the Legislature from 1882 to 1884. He is a member of I. O. O. F., having joined that fraternity in December, 1884. Since February, 1884, he has been editor and proprietor of the Lynchburg Falcon, and has made it a good paper.
       THOMAS H. PARKS, of the firm of Parks, Taylor & Co., of Lynchburg, Tenn., is a son of Ambrose Lee and Eleanor E. (Watts) Parks. The father was born in North Carolina. After his marriage he moved to Missouri, where he resided until 1846, and then came to Lynchburg, Tenn., where he was engaged the wheelwright and wagon- making business. Both parents died in 1850. Thomas H. was born in Missouri October 19, 1840, being but nine years old when his parents died. He made his home with an uncle in Alexander County, N. C., until seventeen years old. In 1858 he came to Lynchburg, Tenn., and engaged in the carpenter.s trade, relying upon his own exertions for support. He joined the Confederate Army, Turney.s First Tennessee, Company E, and served until the close of-the war, with the exception of nearly two years spent in prison. He began dealing in live-stock after the war, and about 1870 began selling goods in Lynchburg. but on a very limited scale. He has increased his business from time, to time and is now doing well financially and is one of the leading business men of Lynchburg. He was married in 1869 to E. A. M. Taylor, daughter of Squire J.H. Taylor, and their union has been blessed with six children: Minnie M., John L., Willie K., Emma P., Thomas H. and Nellie H. Mr. Parks is a Democrat, and owns about 200 acres of land. He and wife and eldest daughter are members of the Christian Church.
       E. Y. SALMON, M. D., was born in the “Palmetto State,” on the 26th of June, 1830. His father, William H. Salmon, was a physician and immigrated to Alabama in 1833, and afterward removed to Texas in 1863, where he died. He was identified with public interest in Alabama, and held the office of clerk, for twenty-four years. The mother died in Texas at an advanced age. Our subject was reared in Alabama, and resided with his parents until nineteen years of age. He volunteered to serve in the Mexican war in 1846, but peace was declared before he reached the Army. He went to California in 1849, and mined for eighteen months, and then engaged in trading. In 1854 he returned to Alabama, then went to Texas, where he studied medicine for two years, and then entered the medical department of the University of Tennesse, and graduated in 1857. He practiced in Lynchburg until 1861, when he organized the first company that was organized in the State, which took the name of the Lynchburg Rangers, Company E. He served in Turney.s First Tennesee, as sergeant and captain. After his return, he practiced at Lynchburg until 1872, when he was made clerk and master of the chancery court of Moore County, two terms. In 1882, he removed to Nashville, where he was engaged in the manufacture of veterinary medicines, which he has continued ever since. His summer home is in Lynchburg, where he is one of the most popular citizens. He and Margaret Taylor were married in 1858, and of the six children born to them, one is dead: Betty F. (wife of Dr. J. C. Franklin, of Nashville), Eliza B., William T., Nannie B., and H. Carrie are those living. Dr. Salmon and family are members of the Christian Church, and he is a firm Democrat in politics.
       JOHN N. SULLIVAN, farmer, was born November 2, 1838, in Moore County, and is one of ten children born to Dempsey and Naoma (Neece) Sullivan. The parents were both born in this county in 1811 and 1812, respectively, the father being of Scotch-Irish descent. He was a farmer, although he also engaged in the mercantile business for a few years in Lincoln County, and dealt largely in stock from 1845 to 1855. The mother died September, 1884. The father is still living, a hale, hearty man of seventy-five. John N. remained with his parents until the war, when he enlisted in the Eighth Tennessee Infantry, with which he remained till severely wounded at the battle of Murfreesboro. In March, 1875, he was united in marriage to Elizabeth Logan, also a native of this county, and the fruits of this union were an interesting family of nine children, one of whom died in infancy. Shortly after marriage, Mr. Sullivan engaged in the tannery business in Bedford County, where he continued for fourteen years, afterward purchasing the farm where he is now residing, which consists of 400 acres of good land. On this farm is quite an eminence, from which is afforded an excellent view of the surrounding country. Mr. Sullivan and family, are members of the Christian Church. He is identified with the Democrats, and is an advocate of the principles of prohibition.
       JOHN H. TAYLOR was born in Oglethorpe County, Ga., February 26, 1801, and, is the only living member of a family of seven children of Woody B. and Nancy (Seay) Taylor, who were born and married in the “Palmetto State,” and moved to Georgia, and in 1809 to Tennessee. At that time the country was covered with canebrake, and Lynchburg contained only two log cabins. Woody B. Taylor died in 1840, and the mother in 1846. John H. resided with his parents until July 18, 1826, when he wedded Elizabeth Ford, who was born in South Carolina and has since lived in the vicinity of Lynchburg. To this venerable couple ten children were born, seven of whom are living. Politically Mr. Taylor is a stanch Democrat, and he and wife are members of the Baptist Church. W. B. Taylor is the second of John H. Taylor.s children. He was born near his present residence March 15, 1829, and resided with his parents on the farm until his marriage, March 2, 1869, to Susan T. Keller, a daughter of Dr. J. A. Keller, a native of the county. He moved to Illinois in 1842, and there enlisted in the Mexican war as first lieutenant, and died from the effects of the service in 1847. The family then came to Lynchburg, where the mother, whose maiden name was Lauriette Walker, now lives. Mrs. Taylor was born September 23, 1840, and is a member of the Christian Church. Mr. Taylor served in the late war in Company E, Turney.s First Tennessee, and October 1, 1864, lost an am at Petersburg, Va. He resided in Alabama a short time, but soon returned to Moore County, Tenn., where he owns 180 acres of very fine land.
       JAMES C. TIPPS, a popular citizen of Moore County, and one of six surviving members of a family of twelve children born to Michael and Leah (Seivalley) Tipps, was born August 6, 1839, on the farm he now owns, near Marble Hill, Moore County. The father of James C. was a native of North Carolina, born 1809, and came to Moore County (Franklin) when four years of age. He was a tiller of the soil and magistrate for several years. He died in 1883. The mother, a native of Moore (Lincoln) County, was born January 24, 1810, and is still living. At the age of nineteen our subject left home, and September 2, 1858, was married to Mary Stoball, native of Coffee County, Tenn. Eleven children were the results of this union, all of whom are living. At the time of his marriage he began farming for himself and continued this occupation till the commencement of the late war, when he enlisted in the Forty-first Tennessee Infantry, with which he remained till the close of the war. He then returned home, and in partnership with John Seivalley was engaged in merchandising from 1875 to 1880. He was constable for four years, beginning 1866, and deputy sheriff for two years. He was appointed postmaster of his village in 1875, and still holds that position. Mr. Tipps has in his possession a deed written by Gen. Jackson, conveying land to our subject.s grandfather. Mr. Tipps and family are members of the Lutheran Church.
       J. H. TRIPP, M. D., of Marble Hill, was born March 18, 1843, in Lincoln County, Tenn., and is one of a family of seven children born to Henry and Nancy (Gattis) Tripp, both natives of North Carolina. They were married in Lincoln County, Tenn., and the father followed agricultural pursuits until his death in 1846 or 1847. The mother is still living in Lincoln County. Our subject remained and assisted his mother on the farm until the breaking out of the late war, when he enlisted in the Forty-fourth Tennessee Infantry, and remained with this until the surrender at Appomatox Court House. He then returned home and engaged in farming for several years, and also secured a limited education by attending common schools for about fifteen months. He attended the Washington Medical College at Baltimore, Md., session of 1870-71, and then practiced at Marble Hill till 1876, after which he attended Medical College at Louisville, Ky. Here he graduated and resumed his practice at Marble Hill till the session of I884-85 of the medical department of the University of Tennessee, at which place he also graduated, and has since continued the practice of his profession at his home in this county. August 22, 1876, he married Sally A. Bean, to which union one child was born, Myrtle. The Doctor and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.