Arch Bacome, an energetic and prominent farmer of Monroe County, and son of James and Sarah (Glass) Bacome, was born in Sullivan County, Tenn., July 29, 1814.   The father was born in Virginia about 1780, and was of English-Scotch descent. he died in Monroe County July 26, 1840. The mother was born in Washington County, Tenn., about 1790, and died in Monroe County June 8, 1874. They were married in Washington County, and lived in that and Sullivan Counties until 1820, when they came to what is now Loudon County. After living there one year they moved to Monroe County, and settled upon the farm where our subject is now living. They were among the first settlers of this county. The father was a farmer, an old line Whig, and he had been reared in the Presbyterian faith, as had also his wife. Our subject is the third of five children. At the age of five he came with his parents to Monroe County, and here received a good academic education. He was reared on his father's farm, and has followed agricultural pursuits all his life. In 1841 the old homestead came into his possession. He has been successful as a farmer and now owns upward of 660 acres of land in the section of country known as,the Sweet Water Valley. In October, 1856, our subject married Miss Sophronia C. Johnston, a native of Monroe County, born in 1836. She is the daughter of Josiah K. and Clarissa J. Johnston. To them were born one son and three daughters. The son is deceased. Mr. Bacome is a Democrat in politics, is not a member of any church, although a Presbyterian by faith. Mrs. Bacome is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South.

   James L. Bacon, an enterprising merchant and farmer of Mountainville, the Fifteenth
District of Monroe County, Tenn., was born near Loudon, Loudon Co., Tenn., September 7,
1847, and is the son of Drura A. and Caroline (Ballard) Bacon.   The father was a native Virginian, born December 4, 1808, and died in Loudon County, Tenn., in 1881. He came from Virginia when a young man and settled in Loudon County, where he engaged in farming.  He had a good education; was a member of the Baptist Church, and a Democrat in politics.  He held the office of deputy sheriff and constable for many years.  The mother was born in Loudon County (known then as Roane County), March 17, 1817, and is now living on the old homestead in Loudon County.  She is a member of the Baptist Church.  Of their thirteen children, eight now living, our subject is the fourth.  He remained on the farm and attended the country schools until twenty years of age, when his father gave him and his brother, Nathaniel P., land in Loudon County, which they sold.  Our subject then came to his present location in Monroe County, and in 1870 purchased land here.  November of the same year he married Miss Anna Parshall, a native of Monroe County, Tenn., born June 22, 1854, and the daughter of Dr. John R. and A. E. Parshall.  This union resulted in the birth of four children, all living:  Walter, Rosa, Nona and Nathaniel L.  Two years after purchasing his present property he engaged in mercantile business, in which he has been very successful.  In 1884 he was appointed postmaster.  He is a very active, thorough-going man, and is a Democrat in poitics.

   William N. Bicknell, M. D., a successful practitioner of Madisonville, Monroe Co., Tenn., was born at Dandridge, Jefferson Co., Tenn., September 9, 1822, and is the son of Nelson and Mary A. (Fain) Bicknell.  The father was a native of Greene County, Tenn., born January 31, 1795, and died in Jefferson County, Tenn., July 27, 1829.  He was a hatter, and was engaged in that business at the time of his death.  He was a Whig in politics.  Mary A. Fain, whom he married May 22, 1821, was born in Washington County, Tenn., September 18, 1797, and died in McMinn County, Tenn., June 23, 1847.  She was a member of the Presbyterian Church, and the daughter of William and Sarah Fain, who came to Tennessee at a very early day, when it was part of North Carolina.  Our subject is the eldest of the three children born to his parents, and at the time of his father's death his mother moved to Jonesboro, Washington Co., Tenn., to her parents.   At the age of fourteen our subject came to Monroe County, Tenn., and worked on a farm for one year.    He then engaged in merchandising, as salesman, where he remained five years, when he began the study of medicine under R. F. Cooke, of Madisonville, and attended lectures at Lexington, KY.  In 1846 he returned to Madisonville, and began the practice of medicine, and has since followed that occupation, with the exception of the year 1853, when he again attended lectures, and graduated at Nashville.  Previous to this, August 23, 1848, he married Maria A. Moore, a native of Maine, born in April, 1825, and the daughter of Collins Moore.   She is a member of the Presbyterian Church,and was one of a party who came from Maine to Tennessee.  She was teaching school in Madisonville at the time of her marriage.  This union resulted in the birth of eight children, five now living:  Willie N., Guilford O., Nelson Y., Robert C., and Della.  Those deceased are Mary A., S. Annie, and Maria.  Dr. Bicknell is a member of the Presbyterian Church, a Republican in politics, a prohibitionist, and a member of the Masonic fraternity.

     William L. Brown, farmer and citizen of Monroe County, Tenn., was born in Roane County, in that State, near Kingston, January 9, 1840, son of Rev. Thomas and Jane M. (Patton) Brown, both of Scotch-Irish descent.  The father was born in Rockingham County, Va., December 27, 1800, and died in Monroe County, Tenn. April 23, 1872.  The mother was born at Kingston, Roane County, Tenn., in 1817, and is still living.  They were married at Kingston, in 1834, and remained at that place until 1847, when they came to Monroe County, and here remained.   The father was a useful and popular preacher in the Presbyterian Church for forty-five years, having entered the ministry in 1827.  After the division of the church in 1837 he belonged to what was known as the New School Presbyterian Church, and subsequently he was connected with what is known as the Northern Presbyterian.  Our subject is one of ten children.  He secured a good education in his youth at Maryville College, but the breaking out of the war interrupted his studies to some extent.  He was reared on his father's farm, and cultivating the soil has been his life-long occupation.  He took charge of the farm after the death of his father.  In February, 1875, he married  Miss Sydney C. Hood, a native of Monroe County, born at Madisonville in 1847.   To this marriage were born three sons and two daughters, one daughter deceased.  Mr. Brown is a decided Republican and a worthy member of the Northern Presbyterian Church. 

     Larkin Cardin, a stirring and energetic farmer of the Fourteenth District of Monroe County, Tenn., was born in the Spartanburg District, S. C., August 4, 1816.  He is the son of Leonard and Tobitha (Peace) Cardin.  The Cardin family originally came from England.   Leonard Cardin was born in Virginia, and died in Monroe County, Tenn., in 1857, at an advanced age.  He moved to South Carolina in his younger days, and to Monroe County, Tenn., in 1817.   He was a soldier in the war of 1812, a farmer and a Democrat.  The mother was born in South Carolina about the same time as her husband, and died in Monroe County, Tenn., about 1847.   She was of German descent.  Of their ten children our subject is the seventh.  He remained with his parents until sixteen years of age, and secured his education at Scruggs Academy.  He then went to the State of Georgia, and was cook for a company of railroad hands for two years, after which he came to Polk County, Tenn., and taught school for seven years.  At the end of this time he came to Monroe County, and again engaged in teaching school, which occupation he followed for three years.  During this time, February 29, 1850, he married Miss Nancy Henderson, a daughter of Robert Henderson.   She was born in Monroe County, Tenn., in 1827, and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South.  Nine children were born to this union, seven now living:  Malinda J., Cornelius P. and Florence A., (twins), Decatur A., Sarah A., Marcus C. and Winnie L.; Julia A. and Penelope died in infancy.  Part of the land our subject now owns belonged to his wife; the rest he bought of other persons.  He has served as school commissioner for thirty-six years, and as justice of peace for twenty-six years; is a member of the Baptist Church, and a Democrat in politics.

     Edward P. Clark, a well-to-do farmer of the Eleventh District of Monroe County, Tenn., was born in Washington County, Va., November 4, 1827.  He is the son of William and Nancy (Wilson) Clark.  The ancestors of the Clark family came from Ireland and settled in Pennsylvania, but afterward moved to Washington County, Va., where William, the father of our subject, was born, about 1800, and died in Rush County, Ind., in 1832 or 1833.  He was a farmer, and a member of the Presbyterian Church.  He had a good education, and was a Democrat in politics. The mother was born in Washington County, Va., about 1802, and died in the same county   in 1836.  She was well educated, and was a member of the Presbyterian Church.  She was the daughter of James Wilson, who was also a native of Washington County.  There were five children born to this union, and after the mother's death our subject was taken by his grandfather Wilson, where he remained until he was sixteen years of age, when he was apprenticed to one James Young, a plasterer and brick mason.  At the age of twenty-one he moved to Loudon County, Tenn., and worked on his trade there for five years, when he moved to his present location, where he purchased a farm.  August 2, 1852, he married Miss Nancy C. McKenzie, who was born in Monroe County, Tenn., and died in that county in 1857, being about thirty years of age at the time of her death.  She was the daughter of John L. McKenzie, and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South.  To this union one child, William E., was born.   He is now a resident of Grundy County, Mo.  In January, 1860, Mr. Clark married Miss Mary Brunner, a native of Greene County, Tenn., and the daughter of Joseph Brunner.  She is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and to her marriage were born seven children, viz.:   Anna, Nellie, John D., Kate W., Oscar M., Blanche and Eddie.  In the summer of 1861, Mr. Clark enlisted in Company B, Fifty-ninth Tennessee Infantry (Confederate Army), and remained in active service until the close of the war.  He was paroled at Kingston, Ga.  He entered the service as a private, and was made first lieutenant.  He was in a great many battles, was wounded at Martinsburg, W. Va..and was at Charlotteville (Virginia) Hospital for about four months.   Mr. Clark is a Mason, and a Democrat in politics.    

    Hon. William H. Dawson, a prominent citizen of the Ninth Civil District of Monroe County, Tenn., was born in Wytheville, Va., March 18, 1827, and is the son of John and Elizabeth Dawson.  The ancestors of the Dawson family came from Ireland at an early day.   John Dawson was born in Wythe County, VA.,in 1806, and now resides in Morganton, Loudon Co., Tenn.   He has followed the occupation of a farmer and a miller.  He moved from Virginia to Knox County in 1829, to Monroe County in 1840, and from there to Morganton eight years later.  He is a member of the Presbyterian Church.  Of their family of seven children our subject is the eldest.  He secured his education at the East Tennessee University of Knoxville, after which he taught school in Loudon and Monroe Counties for six years.  He then moved on the farm where he now lives on Tellico River.  He has been a justice of the peace for eighteen years, and a member of both branches of the Tennessee Legislature.  In 1851 he married Miss Lavenia J. Tipton, daughter of John B. and Louisana Tipton.  She was born in Monroe County, Tenn., November 12, 1826, and has had good educational advantages.  She is a member of the Methodist Episcopial Church.  To this marriage seven children were born--five now living:  Henry F., Sadie L., William R., Betty E. and Mary L.  Those deceased are John B. and Charles M. John B. died on his thirty-first birthday in October, 1885.  Charles M. died when two years old.   

    William Dyer, an influential citizen if Monroe County, and a resident if the Eleventh Civil District, was born in Washington County, Tenn., September 14, 1818, and is the son of John and Mary B. (Barnes) Dyer.  The Dyer family originally came from Ireland, and settled in Sullivan County, Tenn., where the father of our subject was born April 10, 1792, shortly after his parents had arrived from Ireland.  He died in Monroe County, Tenn., December 14, 1841.   After marriage he moved to Washington County, Tenn., and in 1824 he came to and entered land in Monroe County, in the same State.  He was a Democrat in politics.  The mother was also a native of Sullivan   County, Tenn., born on Janurary 23, 1792, and died in Monroe County, in the same State, May 29, 1870.  Our subject is the eldest of eight children, four now living.   He received his education at Madisonville, Tenn., working on his father's farm until eighteen years of age, when he enlisted and was in the Florida War with the Indians, being engaged in helping to gather the Indians of the Ocoee Purchase together, and moving them west of the Mississippi River.   This was in 1837 or 1838.  He then returned to Monroe County and purchased the home farm of the other heirs.  To this he has added large tracts of land.  On Janurary 23, 1850, he was married, by Rev. John Key, to Miss Sarah J. Vaughn, a native of Monroe County, Tenn., born on August 5, 1830, and the daughter if James and Sarah Vaughn, and a sister of Gen. John C. Vaughn.   To this union were born eleven children--ten now living:  John, James V., William E.,Hugh B., Mary R., Jennie C., Robert L., Nellie B., Sallie B., Mattie L., and Joseph M., latter born June 15, 1868, and  died September 5, 1875.  Mr. Dyer and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South.  He is a Democrat in politics, a member of the Masonic fraternity, and has been a magistrate since 1846.

     Joseph H.   Forshee, a wide-awake, thorough-going farmer of the Eleventh District, and the son  of Rev. Joseph and Ellen (Parker) Forshee, was born near his present place of residence, October 9, 1833.  His father was born in Greene County, Tenn., in 1800, and died in Monroe County, Tenn., April 2, 1855.  He was a well-known and prominent local Methodist Eposcopal preacher.   When young he was poor, but before his death he had accumulated considerable of this world's goods.  He had a very liberal education, secured at a very great ars.  They then immigrated to Burnet County, Texas, and subsequently settled in Bell County, in the same State.  The father was a fine mathematician, and when he was about twenty-two years of age, with the assistance of a brother, he made a practical arithmatic that went through several editions, and was extensively used in East Tennessee and adjoining States.  Though an old work it is still in use in some sections of the country, and is unquestionably a work of merit.  He has also been engaged in the farming interest, which has been his chief calling.  In his political views he is a Democrat, and he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South.  Our subject is one of a large family of childern.   He secured a good education in Texas, which has been supplemented by extensive reading.  He was reared on his father's farm, and cultivating the soil has been his chief calling ever since.   At the age of twenty-three, February 14, 1861, he married Miss Mary J. Kelso, a native of Monroe county, born May 3, 1839.  After marriage our subject settled on his present farm, and since that time has been a successful and enterprising farmer.  He now owns 1,700 acres of land, and on Fork Creek has a grist and a saw mill.  In 1874 he was elected to represent Monroe and Loudon Counties in the State Legislature of 1875 and 1876.  He was elected on the Democratic ticket, defeating his opponent by 360 votes.  Our subject was again elected to the same body in the fall of 1886, and is now representing Monroe County in the Lower House.  He is a strong Prohibitionist, and was a friend to  that move at the last session of the Legislature.  Mr. Fowler, wife and four daughters, are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South.   

    Albert H. Gallaher, an influential citizen, planter and merchant, and the son of George and Lucinda (King) Gallaher, was born in Knox County, Tenn. May 1, 1842. The father was born in Knox County, July 3, 1808, and was of Irish descent. He died in Roane County, July 12, 1875. The mother was also born in Knox County, May 27, 1813, and died in Roane County, August 10, 1876. They were married in their native county, September 6, 1831, and remained there until 1848, at which time they removed to Roane County, where they passed the remainder of their days. The father was a farmer, a Democrat in politics, and a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. The mother was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. Her father, Jeremiah King, was for a number of years of itinerant preacher of the Methodists Episcopal persuasion, and was of the Holston conference. Our subject is one of eight children. He was reared on the farm, and secured a good education at Hiwassee College. In October, 1865, he married Miss Fannie L. McCrosky, a native of Monroe County, born October 27, 1841, and to them have been born four sons and three daughters. Previous to his marriage, in 1861, he enlisted in Company F, in Browner's Batallion, Confederate Army, and served until the final surrender. He was in the battle of Fishing Creek, Murfreesboro and others. He returned home in June, 1865. In 1868 Mr. Gallaher went into partnership with a younger brother, William T. Gallaher, and was engaged in the farming interest in the Fifteenth Civil District of Roane County for four years. In 1876 he purchased and settled where he now lives, and since then has been a live, energetic farmer. In 1879 he, in partnership with H.M. McCrosky, established a general store of merchandise at Glenloch, which is still flourishing at that place. Mr. Gallaher is a Democrat in politics, and is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, which he has served as elder for the past fifteen years. Mrs. Gallaher is a member of the same church.

    Rufus Gaut, a prominent citizen and wide-awake farmer of Monroe County, Tenn., was born in Jefferson County, in the same State, January 26, 1844, son of Joseph and Delilah (Jones) Gaut, both natives of Jefferson County, Tenn., and of Irish and German lineage. The father was born about 1799, and in Bradley County, February 14, 1885. The mother was born about 1809, is still living, and is a resident of Cleveland, Bradley Co., Tenn. They were married in their native county in 1829, and lived in Jefferson County for about fifteen years, after which they came to Sevier County. After remaining there until 1865, they moved to Bradley County, leaving the former county on account of the strong Union sentiment expressed there. The father was a farmer, a stanch Democrat, and was a worthy member of the Baptist Church. He died March 14, 1885 and his widow June 10, 1887. Our subject is one of eight children born to his parents. He secured a good academic education in Sevier County, and followed agricultural pursuits on his father's farm. At the age of eighteen he enlisted in the Confederate Army, in Company F, Sixty-first Tennessee Regiment of Infantry, and was captured at Vicksburg Mills in 1863. He was sent as a prisoner of war to Fort Delaware, where he was confined until the following September, at which time he was paroled. In February of the next year he was exchanged, re-entered the service, and remained until the close of the war, surrendering at Columbus, Ga., in the spring of 1865, and returned home after being absent over two years. He was engaged in cultivating the soil up to 1873, at which time he came to Monroe County. September 29, 1873 he married Miss Bettie Latimore, and to them were born seven children-one son and six daughters-all living. Mr. Gaut is a democrat in politics, and worthy member of the Baptist Church.

    James A. Gilbreath, of Monroe County, Tenn., was born near his present home, near Hiwassee College, May 26, 1842, and is the son of John F. and Isabella (Edington) Gilbreath. Hugh Gilbreath, grandfather of our subject came from Ireland and settled in Blount County, Tenn, where John F. was born, May 30, 1796. The latter died in Monroe County, April 6, 1877. He was a prominent local preacher of the Methodist Episcopal Church South for over fifty years. He came to Monroe County at the time of the land sales, purchased a farm and made this county his home the remainder of his life. He was a good citizen in every sense of the word. The mother of our subject was a native of Blount County, Tenn., born January 15, 1798, and died in Monroe County, May 26, 1874. She was also a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. Her ancestors came form England. Of their family of thirteen children, four of whom are now living, our subject is the youngest. He was a student of Hiwassee College at the breaking out of the war. In October, 1862, he enlisted in Capt. Rowan's company, of the Sixty-second Tennessee Infantry, Confederate Army, and was in active service until surrender at Vicksburg when he returned to Monroe County, and engaged in farming. June 28, 1868, he married Miss Elizabeth J. Brunner, a native of Greene County, Tenn., born in August, 1842, and the daughter of Joseph Brunner. The fruits of this union were six children, five now living: Sidney G., Arabella B., Hugh A., Joseph F. and John E. Bruce T., an infant, died in 1881. In 1870 our purchased the land on which he now resides, and the same year elected justice of the peace, which office he has continued to hold up to the present.

    Stephen P. Hale a prominent citizen of the Tenth Civil District, of Monroe County, Tenn., was born in McMinn County, near Athens November 1, 1825, and is the son of William and Sarah (Porter) Hale. The father was born in Grayson County, Va., January 11, 1802, and died in Monroe County, Tenn., February 21, 1845. He came to McMinn County, Tenn., in 1824, and settled in the Hiwassee District, bought land and farmed, but in the spring of 1834 sold and moved to the Eighth District of Monroe County, where he purchased a farm and here remained until his death. He was assistant quartermaster and commissary, with the rank of captain, during the removal of the Cherokee Indians from the Ocoee Purchase. He was a Whig in politics, and the son of William Hale, who lived and died in Grayson County, Va. The mother was born in Wythe County, Va., July 8, 1807, and died in Monroe County, October 5, 1858. She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and the daughter of Andrew Porter, who lived and died in Wythe County Va. Of this union, two children, our subject and Peyton G., who died in infancy, were born. The former secured a fair education at Forest Hill Academy, and at Athens under Charles P. Samuel, one of the best educators in the State. Our subject also attended Hiwassee College, and then engaged in teaching school in McMinn and Monroe Counties for about twenty years. In 1856 he married Miss Elmina Cantrell, a native of McMinn County, born 1832, and died in her native county, April 1, 1863. She was the daughter of David Cantrell, and by her marriage with our subject became the mother of four children, three now living: William D., Sarah A., Mary E., Stephen P., died September 2, 1863. After Mrs. Hale's death our subject married Mrs. Cornelia Yearwood, a native of McMinn County, and the daughter of Dr. J.W. Netherland, and the widow of James Yearwood, deceased. She was born in 1848 and died in Monroe County, June 9, 1868. She was a member of Baptist Church. April 7, 1870, Mr. Hale married Mrs. Susan A. Palmore, the daughter of Thomas Price. Mr. Palmore died while in the Confederate service. She is a native of Cumberland County, Va., born May 15, 1839, and is a member of the Presbyterian Church. To this union five children were born: Lillie, Charles P., Stephen P., Thomas N. and Susan (deceased). In 1865 Mr. Hale was appointed clerk and master of Monroe County, and served in that capacity for twelve years. In 1879 he was appointed, by Judge John Baxter, commissioner of the United States Court, which position he has since held. He has also followed farming. He is a notary public and a member and elder of the Presbyterian Church. He was a Whig before the war, a Union man during that memorable period, and since that time has been a Republican. He obtained a license, some ten years ago, to practice law, and does considerable business as counselor and office lawyer.