Shelby Co. TN
Spence H. Lamb, secretary and treasurer of the Mississippi & Tennessee Railroad, is a son of Isaac N. and Sidney G. (Hall) Lamb. The father was born in Camden County, N. C., in 1796 and received a good classical education. The mother was a native of the same State, born in 1810. To their union were born five children, of whom only two are now living. By profession the father was a lawyer, and both he and wife were members of the Episcopal Church. He died in 1831 and she in 1843. Our subject was born November 8, 1823, in Elizabeth City, N. C., and is of English and Scotch descent. He attended Washington College, Pennsylvania, and graduated in 1845. The following year he embarked in the book business in Memphis, where he continued till the war. During that time he was secretary to Col. Minor Meriweather, and in 1866 he was chosen secretary and treasurer of the Mississippi & Tennessee Railroad, which position he has filled ably ever since. In 1849 he married Estelle Avery, a native of Hardeman County, by whom he had eight children, five now living. Both he and wife are Episcopalians. Mr. Lamb has been elected successively each year for twenty years, and though the road has changed hands three times such has been the satisfaction he has given as an official that they were unwilling to dispense with his services. He is a member of the K. of H., the R. A. and the A. L. of H.
Judge T. J. Latham is the son of Edmund P. Latham, a prominent and wealthy citizen of Weakley County, Tenn. He received a thorough education, closing his collegiate course at the Western Military Institute. His political proclivities developed when quite young. Before attaining. his majority he was on the county electoral ticket, and on each subsequent one till the late war. He began the study of law in Dresden, Tenn., in 1857 and practiced there eight years, when he moved to Memphis, where in 1861 he had married Miss Wooldridge. He was appointed register in bankruptcy for his congressional district; and in 1867 entered upon the discharge of his laborious duties. In 1870 he was the choice of the conservative party of Shelby County as its candidate for Congress, but immovably declined the use of his name before the nominating convention. He gave up his practice in 1872, desiring a. more active life, and was elected president of the Memphis Wood Works, which was a prosperous and well known institution at the time of its destruction by fire. He was appointed by Judge Baxter as receiver, when Memphis became so deeply involved, in which position he served with highest credit. He has been president of the Memphis Water Company since 1880, and director in the State National Bank since its organization; vice-president of the Clara Conway Institute, in which he is much interested, and of which Memphis is so justly proud. The Judge was a Union Whig previous to the war. He was violently opposed to disfranchisement, and severed his connection from the body of the Union men, and presided over the first conservative convention in West Tennessee after the war. Since 1868 he has taken no active part in politics.. The Judge is an even-tempered, genial, courteous gentleman who is highly esteemed by all.
A. G. Laxton, a merchant at Kerrville, Shelby Co., Tenn., dealer in general merchandise, was born in Scott County, Mo., May 13, 1819. His father, John Laxton, died when he was between two and three years old. The mother then married George Sullivan, and they moved to Madison County, Tenn. Our subject was raised in Lexington, Tenn., where he was educated and learned the tailor's trade. In 1840 he went to Texas and engaged in merchant tailoring. In May, 1841, he returned to Tipton County, Tenn., and continued the same business for eight years, when he sold out and purchased a farm on Hatchie River, in the same county, and remained on it for twelve years. In 1857 he sold this farm and bought one near Indian Creek, where he lived eight years. He then bought part of the Nelson farm in Tipton County, which is about a mile and a half from Kerrville. Mr. Laxton lived three years here, and made sorghum on a large scale. In 1870 he engaged in brick-making, and furnished nearly the entire section with bricks to build chimneys, and. in 1873 built the first brick dwelling-house in Tipton County. It is three stories high, and he made all of the shingles with which it was covered. Mr. Laxton lived at this place twenty-one years. December, 1886, he sold it and bought a stock of goods and commenced business at Kerrville. He was married in December, 1843, to Miss Amanda Turnage, daughter of Isaac Turnage, a farmer of Tipton County. Six of the nine children born to the marriage are living. Mr. Laxton is a Democrat.. He has been a very energetic man, and is respected for his many excellent qualities.
James Lee, Jr., vice-president of the First National Bank, and of the Taxing District of Memphis, came to this city in 1858, and located here permanently. in 1860. He practiced law with Valentine & Lee; Chambers, Lee & Warinner, and Lee & Warinner, but gave up the law in 1877, to manage the Lee line of steamers, of which line he is president and principal owner. Mr. Lee was born in Stewart County, Tenn., March 8, 1832, and graduated at Princeton, N. J., in 1853, and then practiced law at Dover, Stewart County, until his interests drew him to Memphis. His father, James Lee, was a native of Sumner County, but moved to Stewart County, and there married Miss Peninah Lucinda Gibson, who died in 1853. The father, an old retired boatman, is yet living in this city. In 1858 our subject married Miss Rowena Rayliss, a native of Montgomery County, Tenn., and by her has a family of ten children. The family are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
T. L. Lee. In 1882 the Louisville & Nashville Railroad conceived the idea of placing the St. Bernard coal of Kentucky on the market at Memphis. Previous to this but little coal had been brought here by railroads, therefore the price was very fluctuating and detrimental to manufacturing. Their movement has done much to assist this branch of industry and to reduce the price of coal for domestic purposes. They now handle over one and a half million bushels yearly. At the head of this gigantic business stands Mr. T. L. Lee, who has been formerly engaged in the same business at Paducah, Ky. He is a native of the Hoosier State, born in 1836 and the son of James C. and Elizabeth (Christman) Lee, natives of Kentucky. They reared a family of ten children—five sons and five daughters. Three of their boys were boat builders, though the father was a hatter by trade. The father and mother are both dead. Our subject's educational advantages were rather limited, but by his own efforts, he succeeded in taking a complete course in Jones' Commercial College at St. Louis. At the age of sixteen he began to work at boat building, which occupation he followed for seven years. From 1859 to 1881 he was interested in wharf boats and packet lines, and in 1882 he took his present position. In 1859 he married Adelia N., daughter of Capt. J. W. Mills, and this marriage resulted in the birth of nine children, seven of whom are now living.
Lemmon & Gale are prominent wholesale dry goods merchants of Memphis, the firm being composed of Henry T. Lemmon and Tom Gale. They established their business in 1856 and by close and enterprising attention to their interests have steadily grown to their present large profitable proportions. In 1878 they built their present large and commodious structure at 326 and 328 Main Street, and here they carry on a large and valuable trade over. a large section of country, employing traveling men to sustain their wide business interests. They are one of the most substantial, reliable and enterprising business_ houses of the city.
Capt. Joseph Lenow, a well known pioneer citizen of Memphis, was born in Southampton County, Va., December 24, 1813, and is the son of Henry and Frances (Hough) Lenow, natives respectively of Berlin, Prussia, and Southampton County, Va. Joseph passed his youth in his. native county and was there educated. In 1837 he came to Tennessee and located at Hickory Withe, Fayette County, where he followed mercantile pursuits until 1848, when he came to Memphis and began dealing in real estate rather extensively. In 1852 he was instrumental in establishing Elmwood Cemetery, with which he has been connected ever since; he has been its president for almost the last thirty years. When the war broke out between the United States and Mexico, he enlisted and commanded Company A, Tennessee Regiment of Cavalry. He is an unswerving Democrat, but takes no active part in politics. He was president of the Bank of Tennessee during its existence, and was a director of the Mississippi & Tennessee Railroad for ten or twelve years. He is one of the most enterprising and public-spirited citizens of the State. January 9,1845, he was united in marriage with Miss Frances C. Broome, a native of Halifax County, N. C., and to the parents six children were born, three now living as follows: Lizzie A., the wife of Judge W. W. McDowell; Henry J., of the State National Bank of Memphis; Jessie L., wife of Hiram A. Partee, of Fort Smith, Ark.
Lilly Carriage Company was incorporated in 1882 as a stock company, the officers being W. S. Bruse, president; B. B. Rodgers, secretary; James Bruse, treasurer, and Owen Lilly, superintendent and manager. This manufactory is located at 325, 327 and 329 Second Street, and consists of a two-story brick building, 75x150 feet in dimensions. This company employs about forty skilled workmen and makes a specialty of fine carriages, landeaus, phaetons, buggies, etc., their annual sales amounting to $75,000. Mr. Lilly, the superintendent and manager of this business, is a native of Ireland, who was born in 1837 and who came to the United States in 1855, locating in Memphis. He served his apprenticeship at the carriage business until twenty-one years of age. In 1861 he enlisted in the Confederate service, and was put on detail duty in the manufacturing department where he remained till the close of the war. He then returned to this city and, in partnership with his brother, engaged in the family grocery business, which he continued for three years. He then engaged in the carriage business which he has continued up to the present time, having consolidated with W. S. Bruse & Co. in 1882. In November, 1866, he married Kate O'Connor, of this city, who bore him six children, one of whom died in 1884.
Very Rev. Father M. D. Lilly, pastor of St. Peter's Church of Memphis, was born in County Fermagh, Ireland, where he received his rudimentary education. After coming to America he located in Memphis in 1851, and for a time kept books in a mercantile house. From this city he went to Perry County, Ohio and attended St. Joseph's Dominican Convent, where he prepared himself for the ministry. In 1865 he returned to Memphis and had charge of St. Peter's Church until 1868, when he was called to New York City to take charge of Ferrer Church, remaining there until 1886, when he returned to his present pastorate. He has seen the country almost ruined by political upheavals, but has ever pressed forward with the banner of his church unfurled.
A. S. Livermore, president of the Livermore Foundry & Machine Company, is a native of Kentucky and came to Memphis in 1862, since which date he has been recognized as one of the city's most enterprising and progressive business men. He was superintendent of the Mississippi & Tennessee Railroad for nine years prior to 1871, and from that date until 1874 was superintendent of the Memphis & Little Rock Railroad. Since the latter date he has been connected with the foundry and manufacturing interests of Memphis. Isaac Phelan conducted the old Memphis foundry from about 1856 to 1860, when it was purchased by Wat.. Bradford, who in 1864 was succeeded by Cubbins & Gunn, the latter firm. in 1877 being succeeded by Gunn & Fagan. In 1881 the entire concern was purchased by the present company, which began with a capital stock of $60,000, and has now a surplus of $12,000. In March, 1886, the company purchased the iron and railway supply depot on Second Street. About one hundred hands are employed, and an annual business of about $225,000 is done. The other officers of the company are H. A. Tatum,. secretary and treasurer; Phil. Pidgeon, manager iron and railway supply depot, and R. M. Leech, general agent. Mr. Livermore has a family of five children, his wife being a native of Louisiana.
Col. Robert F. Looney is a native of Maury County, Tenn., where he passed the first quarter of a century of his life, and where he studied law under Hon. Edmund Dillahunty, and later practiced that profession in that city for six years. In 1852 he removed to Memphis and continued the practice until the breaking out of the war. He at first favored unity and peace, but finally went with his State, and was among the most active in this city in raising troops for the Confederate service. He soon afterward raised the Thirty-eighth Tennessee Regiment in this city and county and became its colonel. He moved with his command to Chattanooga, thence to Knoxville and thence joined the army of Gen. A. S. Johnston at Corinth, and was soon after engaged in the great Confederate victory at Shiloh. In a brilliant charge in this great battle, his regiment,, led by himself, swept through the hottest of the fight and captured 1,000 prisoners. He is one of the most useful and prominent citizens of the " Volunteer State."
C. L. Loop, recently appointed general auditor of the Southern Express Company, was born in Indiana in 1844, and is a son of a physician. Left an orphan in early childhood, he apprenticed himself to a druggist.. In 1855 he was appointed agent of the Adams Express Company at Carlisle, Ind., at a salary of $5 per month. In 1860 Mr. Loop was given a. run as messenger on the Illinois Central Railroad, and soon after acted as agent at Cairo, Ill. He was subsequently employed in the Cincinnati office learning all the work of the various departments under W. H. Waters, office cashier; D. F. Raymond, freight clerk, etc., and was for a time in the office of Mr. Joseph H. Rhodes, then the able cashier and auditor of the Western Division of the Adams Express Company, now the well known capitalist of Cincinnati. Mr. Loop was afterward sent to St. Louis, and in 1862 was detailed by manager Gaither to go to Memphis, where he filled the position of cashier until December, 1865, during which time he had charge of all the accounting to the general office at Cincinnati, of all the business in the military subdivisions in charge of the late Charles Woodward. At the conclusion of the war the Adams Express Company retired from Memphis and the Southern Express Company resumed the business. In March, 1866, that company appointed Mr. Loop cashier and auditor Of its Western Department, embracing the lines west of Chattanooga and Montgomery, Ala. These positions Mr. Loop has filled continuously until October 1, 1886, when he was appointed general auditor. Since 1869 Mr. Loop has also been secretary and treasurer of the Texas Express Company. He is a man of remarkable'abilities as an expressman and is universally liked. He is held in particularly high esteem by the general management of the Southern Express Company.
E. Lowenstein & Bros., importers and dealers in dry goods and notions. In 1858 this firm established a retail store under the I. O. O. F. Hall, and three years later they moved to the corner of Main and Jefferson Streets, where they have an immense, choice stock and an extensive trade, both wholesale and retail. They are patronized by at least a dozen States in the Union. From twelve to fifteen traveling salesmen are employed, and about 250 assistants in the store. E. Lowenstein is a director of the Bank, of Commerce and the Memphis National Bank; also of the Pioneer Cotton Mills and Factor Insurance Company. He is one of the most able business men in the section, and highly esteemed where ever he is known. By application to his financial affairs and courtesy to patrons he has risen to affluence. He is a native of Germany and came to America in 1854, locating in Memphis.- The brothers came in 1857. January 20, 1864, Mr. Lowenstein married Miss Bobeth Wolf, by whom he has a family of six children. His parents, Leopold Lowenstein and Sarah (Barn) Lowenstein, were natives of Germany, where they died in 1846 and 1869 respectively.
A. B. Lurry, a merchant at Bartlett, Tenn., carrying a large stock of general merchandise, was born in Shelby County, Tenn., in 1850, and is a son of Thomas and Sallie (Allen) Lurry. The parents were natives of North Carolina and Tennessee. The father was a farmer and died in 1854, in Arkansas, and left a large estate. A. B. Lurry was raised and educated in Shelby County, acquiring most of his education from actual business experience. When quite young he commenced farming. In 1871 he accepted a position as clerk at Allenton, Tenn., and remained there until 1878, when he formed a partnership with W. D. Galloway and purchased the stock from his employers, and under the firm name of Lurry & Galloway, continued the business two years. In 1880 the firm built a new house, and one year later Mr. Lurry sold his interest and bought a farm, giving his attention to farming until 1883, when he purchased a stock of goods and began merchandising at Abernathy, Tenn., four miles south of Bartlett, and managed a farm in connection with the store for two years. January, 1887, he bought the store-house and farm he had been renting, the latter being a very noted and valuable place. He married Miss Mary L. Robins, of Shelby County, and has had three children, two now living. Mr. Lurry is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and his wife of the Methodist. In politics he is a Democrat. He stands well as a correct and enterprising business man, and has the confidence and friendship of all who know him.
John Lynch, farmer and mill owner of Shelby County, was born in Walker County, Ala., and is now about fifty-three years of age. He is the only one living of three sons and a daughter born to G. B. and Polly (McGlathery) Lynch, and is of Irish-Scotch descent. The father was formerly from East Tennessee, but settled in Morgan County, Ala., in 1825, soon after moving to Walker County. In the early military service of the State, in transferring the Cherokee Indians from northern Alabama to the Indian Territory, he held the rank of captain and rendered efficient service. He was a farmer and died away from home when our subject was quite small. The mother was a native of East Tennessee and died when he was but four years old, and was buried on the summit of one of the highest hills in that section, overlooking the Jasper road. John Lynch was raised in Memphis. Being an orphan he had few advantages for obtaining an education. When seventeen years of age he was employed by the Memphis & Charleston Railroad as fireman of a locomotive. When nineteen or twenty he became an engineer and served the road over fifteen years, winning the confidence and esteem of the company, and being regarded as a practical and faithful employe. January 20, 1856, he married in Colliersville, Tenn., Miss A. J. Ramsey, daughter of R. W. Ramsey, a carpenter and farmer. The children born to this marriage were: Joseph F. (deceased), Lillie E. and Mary Irene. The mother was born in Williamson County, Tenn., in 1838. In politics Mr. Lynch is neutral, though he usually votes with the Democratic party. He is a Mason, belonging to the Chapter, Blue Lodge and Council;. also a member of the K. of H. and the A. O. U. W., and with his wife belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church South. By good management and integrity he has succeeded so well in business as to place his family in comfortable circumstances. His business is in Colliersville, where he owns a steam grist and saw-mill, and a cotton-gin, and owns near the place 180 acres of land. He has served his town as alderman and as mayor, and has been identified with the progress and interests of the place.
Mallory, Crawford & Co., wholesale grocers, cotton factors and commission merchants, No. 254 Front Street, Memphis, began business in 1879, and is one of the strongest and most reliable firms in the city. The firm is composed of Capt. W. B. Mallory and W. J. Crawford, men of high integrity and rare business qualifications. The firm succeeded Harris, Mallory & Co. which did business from 1872 to 1879, and which in turn succeeded Harris, Cochran & Co. The present firm transacts an annual business of about $1,500,000. Capt. Mallory is a native of Virginia, and served during the war as captain of Company A, Nineteenth Virginia Confederate Infantry. In 1869 he came to Memphis and engaged in the insurance business, continuing until the present company was formed. He is a manager of the wholesale and commission trade, while Mr. Crawford has charge of the cotton business. Mr. Mallory's parents were Virginians, agriculturists, and are both deceased. In 1859 he married Miss Harris, who bore him five children, of whom four are still living. This lady died in 1871 and in 1873 he married Miss Newell, of Clarksville, who has presented her husband with five children, all now living. W. J. Crawford is president of the Memphis Cotton Exchange and the Memphis Cotton Exchange Building Company, and is director in the Phoenix Insurance Company, and the Merchants Cotton-press & Storage Company. He was born in Mississippi in 1844, and came to Memphis in 1859, and in 1869 began handling cotton, at which business he has since been mostly engaged. He served three years in the Fourth Tennessee Confederate Regiment. In 1874 he was joined in marriage with Miss Anna Thompson, a native of Mississippi, who has borne him three children, all living. His father died in 1865, but his mother is still living. Mr. Crawford is a member of the K. of P. and K. of H. orders.
Dr. Samuel Mansfield. One of the oldest and most prominent business men of Memphis is Dr. Samuel Mansfield, of the firm of Mansfield & Co. (wholesale druggists). He was born in 1821 in Kent County, Md., where he received his early education. At the age of seventeen he removed to Knoxville, Tenn., to engage in the drug business as a salesman. From that he arose to proprietorship, but in 1846 he came to Memphis that he might have a wider field in which to operate. From that, time to the present, with the exception of a short time during the war, he has been engaged in the drug business. At one time the firm was changed but Mr. Mansfield was always the principal. The other members of the present firm are E. L. Brown and J. M. Wood. Within the last five years the business has been exclusively wholesale. In 1855 Mr. Mansfield wedded Mary B. Robertson of Fayette County, Tenn., by whom, he has five children living. He is also extensively engaged in the manufacture of medicines and has by his own study and observation discovered several remedies, for different ailments, all of which he manufactures and sells. Besides he is connected with other business interests, being one of the directors of the Bank of Commerce and also the Memphis City Fire & General Insurance Company.
A. J. Martin was born in Davidson County, Tenn., near the Hermitage, April 15, 1832, and on the maternal side is related to the Donelson family, one of the first families to settle in Nashville, and through them distantly connected with the family of Gen. Jackson. He received a thorough education in one of the leading college in Nashville, and afterward graduated from the Law University of Virginia. He was married September 27, 1869, to Mrs. Rosa A. Martin, daughter of Col. C. C. White. Mary, A. J., Shelton W., and Rosadelle, were the children of this marriage. The mother was born in Marshall County, Miss., January 13, 1841. She had previously been married to Dr. John D. Martin, afterward a general in the Confederate Army, who was killed in the charge on the breastworks at the battle of Corinth, October 3, 1862. One son was the issue of this union—John D., a member of the law firm of Young & Martin; he graduated from the State University, at Knoxville, Tenn., and at the Law University of Virginia. Mrs. Martins' father, Col C. C. White, was born in Elbert County, Ga., April 20, 1813, and was of English descent. He immigrated to Mississippi in 1838 and settled in Marshall County where he owned a large plantation; in 1868 he moved to Shelby County, Tenn., locating at Buntyn. He was married in Marshall County, Miss., October 31, 1839, to Miss Mary E. Withers, daughter of Sterling Withers, a native of Virginia. Three sons and two daughters were the result of this marriage: Albert T. (deceased) ; Alphonsus C., who was aid to Gen. Martin during the early part of the war, and afterward a member of Jackson's escort, and died August 12, 1864; Shelton W., now a planter in Mississippi, and Rosa A., the co-subject of this sketch, and Emily E. (deceased). The father died at his home in Buntyn, Tenn., January 17, 1886, and was buried in Elmwood Cemetery, at Memphis. The mother was born in Sussex County, Va., December 22, 1823, and is still living at the old homestead in Buntyn. A. J. Martin, our subject, resides at Buntyn, and deals in real estate. He is a man of fine social standing and great stability of character, and has the esteem and confidence. Of all who know him.
E. D. Massey, a merchant carrying a stock of general merchandise at Bartlett, Shelby Co., Tenn., was born in Limestone County, Ala., and is a son of Reuben and Sallie (Wren) Massey, who were both natives of Virginia. The father gave his time to farming and moved to Shelby County in 1836. E. D. Massey was raised in Shelby County and educated in Memphis. After finishing his education, he spent some time clerking in a dry goods store and then commenced business on his own responsibility, but in 1862 was compelled to close out on account of the war, and the capture of Memphis by the army. Mr. Massey then went South and traveled constantly until the war closed, when he returned to Shelby County, and engaged in farming until 1879, when he established his present business at Bartlett. Mr. Massey is a Democrat, and manifests a deep interest in the success of his party. He has been quite successful in his business, and is upright in all his dealings. He is well known in Shelby County and esteemed by all.
James Clare McDavitt, attorney, manager of L. B. Eaton & Co.'s abstract office, was born in Shelby County, Ky., November 25, 1834, and is the son of George and Linnie (Nowlin) McDavitt, both natives of Kentucky, and members of old and distinguished families of that State. James C. was reared in Kentucky, and was liberally educated, finishing at Asbury (now DePauw) University, of Indiana. He studied law under Judge T. W. Brown, of Shelbyville, Ky., and in 1857 came to Memphis to practice his profession. He became a member of the law firm of Kortrecht & McDavitt, and continued thus until the war. He entered the Confederate service and became first lieutenant in Bankhead's battery, light artillery, and served thus the first year of the war. Later he became inspector and adjutant of artillery under Gens. Maury and Polk, and for a short time was in command of the iron-clad floating battery and Battery McIntosh, at Mobile. After the war he resumed the practice of law and for a year was one of the firm with Lewis Bond, then until 1870 was one of the firm of Estes, Jackson & Mc-Davitt, since which date he has given his entire time to the examination of real estate titles, in which important business he has become an expert. He accepted his present position in 1882. In politics Mr. McDavitt is a Democrat, but was formerly an old line Whig. He is a member of the K. of H. and of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and is one of the substantial citizens of Memphis. In April, 1866, he was joined in marriage with Miss Flora R. Dobyns, of Haywood County, Tenn., and to this union there is one daughter, Mattie.
Samuel Irwin McDowell, clerk and master of the chancery court of Shelby County, was born in Gibson County, September 4, 1848, and is the son of John D. and Nancy (Irwin) McDowell, both parents being natives of North Carolina. In 1832 the father came to Tennessee and located in Gibson County. Here our subject was reared and educated, finishing his literary education at Andrew College, Trenton. Upon becoming twenty-one years old he went to Arkansas, where he bought a plantation and conducted it until 1872, when he came to Memphis, and a year later engaged in abstracting titles, continuing until 1880, when for three years and a half he served as deputy county trustee, assuming much of the responsibility of that office. November 26, 1884, he was appointed clerk and master of the chancery court, in which position he is yet serving to the entire satisfaction of his constituents. He is at present director of the Security Bank and of the Home Insurance Company, and is recognized as one of the most efficient officers of the city and one of the most useful citizens. December 12, 1883, he was united in marriage with Miss Bessie McGowan of Memphis. In politics Mr. Mc-Dowell is a stanch Democrat, and is a member of the K. of H. and the K. of P.
Niles Meriwether, taxing district engineer, Memphis, was born in Christian County, Ky., January 26, 1830, and is the son of Garrett M. and Mary (Miner) Meriwether, natives respectively of Orange and Louisa Counties, Va. Our subject was reared and educated in his native State. In 1850 he accepted an engagement on one of the original surveys of the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad, with which road he worked for about four years. He then engaged with the Alabama & Great Southern Railroad, and assisted in locating the line from McMinnville to Burksville, Ky., via Sparta, Tenn. He also assisted in locating he road from Winchester, Tenn., to Huntsville, Ala. In October, 1853, he came to Memphis and accepted a position as assistant engineer for the Mississippi & Tennessee Railroad, and from 1857 to 1867 was chief engineer of the road. From 1867 to 1875 he was chief engineer of the Memphis & Charleston Railroad, and from 1875 to 1877 was chief engineer of the line of road from Cairo, Ill., to New Orleans. This is now the Illinois Central Railroad. During 1878 he was chief engineer of the Natchez, Jackson & Columbus Railroad. In February, 1879, he became taxing district engineer of Memphis, and has filled this position until the present. October 25, 1855, he was united in marriage with Miss Lide P. Smith, a native of Eastern Shore, Va. They have two living daughters: Mrs. Mattie M. Betts, Huntersville, Ala., and Dr. Lucy Va Davis, New York City.
The Memphis Cider & Vinegar Works, located at 6 and 7 Howard Row, were completed by the present proprietors in August, 1886, with J. Wirlzinski, president; Sol. Morris, secretary, and H. Silverman, manager. The building occupied by this company is 48x106, three stories high and has a cellar. The boiler has a capacity of 110 horse-power, and has a copper-lined still with five departments, and capable of making 200 barrels of vinegar and ninety barrels of cider daily. This firm manufactures for the jobbing trade exclusively. Mr. Silverman, the manager of this business, is a native of Poland and came to the United States in 1870. He is the son of B. and P. Silverman. H. Silverman was engaged in business in Arkansas for thirteen years and came to Memphis in 1883. In 1880 he married Esther Harris, of this city, and two children have blessed this union.
J. S. Menken. In 1862 J. S. Menken established the foundation of the present mammoth dry goods establishment of Menken & Co., situated at 371 and 379 Main St. In 1863 Messrs. Jules A. and N. D. Menken were admitted, and in 1878 Messrs. William and J. S. Andrews, all having been previously connected with the house, filling clerkships. In 1883 the present company purchased the building at the corner of Main and Gayoso Streets and a palatial five-story building was erected, having a Main Street front of 117 feet, and extending 150 feet on Gayoso Street. The entire Main Street front is of fine, heavy plate glass. The business is divided into thirty different departments, the lower floor being devoted to dry goods, clothing, gents' furnishing goods, queens and glass wares, boots, shoes, etc. ; the second floor to cloaks, shawls, millinery, carpets, oil cloths, etc. The business and private offices of the firm are also on this floor, and a ladies' parlor, handsomely fitted up for the accommodation of customers. The third and fourth floors are devoted to the wholesale dry goods and retail toy department. The fifth floor is used as a millinery and dress manufacturing department. There is also a basement or cellar under the whole structure, used as a storage and packing room. Two splendid hydraulic elevators convey patrons from floor to floor. The firm at present consists of J. S. Menken, William Horgan and J. S. Andrews, and gives employment to about 325 assistants, both male and female, being the first house in Memphis to employ salesladies. J. S. Menken is a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, born in 1840, and at the commencement of the war was engaged in the general mercantile business with his father. He then enlisted in the Twenty-seventh Ohio Infantry, but was soon after placed on the staff of Gen. Sturges, where he remained till the date of his connection with the business interests of Memphis. He has visited Europe frequently, traveling with a different spirit from most Americans. He does not rush through as if he had an irksome task to perform; but with that cosmopolitan breadth of vision that comes from looking without ones self, he goes among the people, dances with the French, drinks beer with the Germans, sings with the Italians, and dines on plum pudding in England. In 1866 he married Miss Hart, of New York, the daughter of a wealthy merchant who had retired from business. Since, as before, he is the active spirit—ever on the move, from New York to Memphis, back again, then off to Paris, always ready, never tired. Of .a cheerful, happy and impulsive disposition, gloom and melancholy vanish at his approach. He is a member of the Merchants Exchange, the F. & A. M., and the K. of H
David A. Merrell, farmer and owner of a saw-mill, is a son of Frost and Barbara (Huffman) Merrell, both natives of North Carolina, where they grew up and were married. In the family were nine children -- five sons and four daughters. In 1839 they came to Tipton County and afterward moved to Shelby where the father died. The mother still lives with her son, Alex. Our subject was born in Davidson County, N. C., in 1834, and received a very limited education. At the age of twenty-one he began working for himself, and in 1856 he married Mary J. Miller, of Tipton County, by whom he had six children, four of whom are now living. In 1862 Mr. Merrell went out in Company G, Fifty-first Confederate Tennessee Infantry. During over three years' service he was struck with six balls and once severely wounded, disabling him for life. In 1866 he engaged in the saw-mill business as one of the firm of Willey & Merrell; this partnership lasted seventeen years. Six mills and a hotel at Kerrville were the monuments of their labors. In connection with this he carries on his agricultural pursuits, owning some 250 acres. Mr. Merrell has done much to improve the stock of his county, raising fine horses, Durham cattle and Poland China hogs. He is connected with Kerrville Agricultural Association, in which he takes an active part.
Dr. J. L. Mewborn, a dentist of Memphis, was born in Madison County, Ala., in 1838 and is the second of a family of sixteen children, seven of them living. The parents were Charlton A. Mewborn, who was the son of Joshua Mewborn, who was the son of Wilson Mewborn and Mary J. (Long) Mewborn. The father was born in North Carolina in 1809, moved to Alabama when a young man and was for some time engaged in teaching; then devoted himself to farming. He died in November, 1877. The mother was born in Alabama in 1822, and now lives at the old homestead where her husband located in 1843. Dr. J. L. Mewborn received his literary education at the Macon Masonic College and at the La Grange Synodical College. In May, 1861, he enlisted in Company B, Thirteenth Tennessee Infantry, and after serving a year as private was promoted to the rank of lieutenant, and was engaged with his command in the battles of Belmont, Shiloh, Perryville, Richmond, Murfreesboro and Chickamauga. He was captured on detached service in West Tennessee in November, 1863, and held a prisoner at Johnson's Island until the close of the war. While in prison he studied dentistry and after his release, in June, 1865, he returned home, resumed his studies and then engaged in the practice of his profession. In 1870 and 1871 he attended the New York Dental College, where he graduated as valedictorian of his class. In November, 1866, he married Mary, daughter of J. B. and Mary Matthews, who was born in Fayette County in 1849. Eight children have been born to this marriage. Dr. Mewborn moved to Memphis in the fall of 1871, where he has since been most successfully engaged in the practice of dentistry, and stands high in his profession. He is a member of several dental associations and an occasional contributor to the dental journals.
Dr. J. P. McGee, surgeon and physician of Memphis, Tenn., is a native of Henry County, Tenn., born in 1835, and is one of a family of six children—three sons and three daughters. The father, Richard McGee, was born in Rockbridge County, Va., in 1775, and came to Tennessee when a young man. He was married in Kentucky about 1803 to Elizabeth Gentry, a native of that State, born about 1787, and the daughter of a prominent farmer and stock-grower of Kentucky. Richard McGee was a farmer by occupation, and located in Henry County in 1833. Previous to this he had resided for some time in Giles County and had held some prominent political offices in that county. From 1833 to 1851 he resided in Henry County, after which he removed to Gibson County, and here passed the remainder of his days. He served in the war of 1812 as captain, and died in 1865. Our subject received his literary education at Bethel College, McLemoresville, Tenn., taking the degree of B. A., and in 1881 was called upon by that institute to deliver the baccalaureate discourse. He began the study of medicine under two of the prominent physicians of Trenton in 1856, and in 1861 graduated as M. D. from the Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia. In May, 1861, he joined Company F, Twelfth Regiment, Pro-visional Army of Tennessee, and when the company was organized as regular soldiers of the Confederate Army he was made assistant surgeon. From that he was promoted by degrees to the highest ranks in that department. He was once captured but remained in prison only a short time. After the war he practiced medicine at Hickman, Ky., a short time, and in April, 1867, he located at Trenton, Tenn. February 22, 1866, he married Jennie C. Elder, a native of Gibson County, and the daughter of Monroe B. and Lucy Elder. . This union resulted in the birth of four children—two sons and two daughters. In September, 1883, the Doctor came to Memphis, and he is succeeding well in the practice of his profession. He is prominently connected with the Tennessee Medical Association, and as he has given his special attention to surgery, is unexcelled in that branch of the profession. He is an ardent Democrat in politics, and he and wife, are members of the Presbyterian Church.
George W. McGinnis, land commissioner for the L. N. O. & T. Rail-road, was born in Woodford County, Ky., in 1828, and while growing up had good advantages for an education. He is of Scotch-Irish descent. His parents, E. G. and Mary H. (Young) McGinnis, were also natives of Kentucky, and after their marriage lived in Louisville where the father engaged in the wholesale mercantile business. In their family were seven children, three of whom are now living—one son and two daughters. Both parents were members of the Presbyterian Church. Our subject came south in 1861 and five years later was united in marriage to Jane Wood, a native of Mississippi. Both Mr. and Mrs. McGinnis are consistent members of the Presbyterian Church. In 1870 Mr. McGinnis became identified with the railroad business where he has continued ever since. In 1885 he assumed the duties of his present office.
W. N. Miller, a prominent farmer of the Seventh District of Shelby County, was born in Bedford County, Va., August 7, 1817, and is a son of Simon and Martha (Rivers) Miller, who were both natives of Virginia. The father was one of the prominent men of the county, owning large tracts of land there. The grandfather, William Miller, held the rank of captain in the Revolutionary war. Our subject was raised in Bedford County, Va., and educated in that county and in West Tennessee. His father moved to Hardeman County when our subject was still young, and after completing his education he farmed with his father for several years, and in 1865 purchased a farm two miles north of Bartlett, that contained 2,000 acres. February 8, 1859, he married Miss Lucy A. Whitmore, a daughter of Charles H. Whitmore, one of the prominent citizens and commission merchants of Memphis. Six of the eight children born to them are living: William E.; Lucy A., wife of C. H. Caldwell, a merchant, of Raleigh, Tenn. ; Sallie D., wife of Fred J. Warner, a merchant at Bartlett, Tenn. ; Willie J.; Simon A. and Elizabeth N. Mrs. Miller is a member of the Methodist Church. Mr. Miller is a Mason and in politics a Democrat. He is a man of fine social standing and exceedingly popular in his neighborhood.
William E. Miller was born in Germantown, Shelby County, Tenn., June 5, 1860. His father, William E. Miller, was a native of Kentucky, and was brought to Shelby County by his parents when quite small, where he was raised and educated, and when of age he married Laura W. Thompson. Two sons and a daughter, our subject being the second child, were born to this marriage, two still living. The father was a farmer until he went into the drug business at Germantown and was postmaster there from 1872 to 1878. Both parents and the grandmother died with yellow fever during the scourge of 1878, the father November 16, and the mother October 12. The mother was born in Raleigh, N. C., in 1828. Our subject was raised and educated in Germantown, then took a business course in Leddin's Commercial College at Memphis, and after his father's death he continued the drug business in the old firm name. He married in Tate County, Miss., January 29, 1884, Miss Lulu Lipsey, daughter of Rev. J. W. Lipsey, formerly of Georgia, and a well known Baptist minister. She was born in Mississippi in October, 1863. Two sons—William E. and John L. have been born to this union. Mr. Miller is a Democrat and with his wife belongs to the Missionary Baptist Church. He has been successful in business and is one of the active public-spirited citizens of his town, standing well in the community in both a social and business way.
Dr. J. L. Minor, a skillful physician of Memphis, was born in Stafford County, Va., in 1854. He is the son of Dr. John and Elizabeth (Scott) Minor, both natives of Virginia. The father, who was born in 1822, was a physician of distinction; he received his literary and professional education at the University of Virginia, and practiced medicine for many years near Fredericksburg, Va., and served four years as surgeon in the Confederate Army. He was a consistent member of the Presbyterian Church, and died in 1881. The mother was born in 1835, and now resides at Rapidan, Va. Our subject received a common-school education at the institutions of learning in his native State, and at nineteen years of age commenced the study of medicine under the direction of his father. He was graduated from the University of Virginia in 1876. After this he went to New York to pursue his studies and remained there for nearly nine years, during which time he served as house surgeon of St. Peter's Hospital, in Brooklyn, N. Y., then as house surgeon of the Brooklyn Eye and Ear Hospital; he was assistant attending surgeon to the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary for six years, and was attending surgeon to the New York City Hospital on Randall's Island, and filled the same position in St. Joseph's Industrial Home, of New York City, and for two years was pathologist to the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary. He held the position of instructor in the school of ophthalmology, otology and laryngology of the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary and was secretary and treasurer of the New York Ophthalmological Society for two years. Dr. Minor located in Memphis in October, 1885, and has met with great success in his practice, which is limited to diseases of the eye and ear. He is a member of the various medical societies of the county and State, and of the American Ophthalmological and Otological Societies. Few men of Dr. Minor's age have acquired a more enviable reputation in their professions.
Hon. William Robert Moore was born in Huntsville, Ala., March 28, 1830, and is the son of Robert Cleveland and Mary F. (Lingow) Moore, both parents being natives of the Old Dominion, and members of two of the oldest and most highly respected families of that State. The father having died when our subject was six months old, the mother soon afterward located near Fosterville, in Rutherford County, and here William R. remained until his sixteenth year, when he went to Beech Grove; thence to Nashville and engaged in the wholesale dry goods business with Thomas and William S. Eakin, with whom he remained several years. He then for four years connected himself in the same business with S. B. Chittenden, of New York City. In 1859 he came to Memphis and established his present business under the firm name of Shepherd & Moore. His partner dying during the war, Mr. Moore has since conducted the enterprise alone, confining himself exclusively to the wholesale dry goods trade. . His establishment is, perhaps, the largest of the kind in the South, and has a flooring extent of 74,500 square feet, the building being 115x325 feet. A very large trade is enjoyed. Mr. Moore is a Republican, but has no political ambition. Being a native Southerner, his Union views during the war subjected him to much annoyance. In 1880, without solicitation on his part, he was elected to the XLVII Congress and served with honor and distinction, and in 1882 was unanimously renominated by his party, but declined to serve. In the political parlance of the State, he is what is known as a State credit man. He is enterprising, progressive, charitable, and his name is above reproach. February 14, 1878, he married Miss Lottie Heywood Blood, a native of Hamilton, Ontario, a lady distinguished for her personal beauty and her social graces. It is the chief pride of Mr. Moore that throughout his business career of more than forty years no promise of his has ever been dishonored, and that although calamities of war, panics and pestilence have within that time caused many financial fabrics to totter and fall, his character and credit have stood impregnable and ,his contracts have ever been paid 100 cents to the dollar.
P. J. Moran, a member of the firm of P. J. Moran & Co., coffee roasters, dealers in teas, coffee, spices, Japanese wares and baking powder, is a native of St. Louis, Mo., and the son of Dennis and Bridget (Conway) Moran, also natives of St. Louis, Mo., where they resided during life. The father was a mechanic. In 1869, prior to his coming to Memphis, our subject was connected with the firm of Matthew Hunt & Co., and this firm in the sane year established a branch house in Memphis, being the first coffee roasters and spice grinders in Tennessee. Mr. Moran conducted the business of the above firm in this city until 1872, after which he engaged in the merchant brokerage business for two years. In 1870 the old firm, Matthew Hunt & 'Co., became W. F. Cavanaugh & Co., and in 1874 it was purchased by our subject and became C. U. Pomroy & Co. In 1876 Mr. Moran withdrew, and the firm again became W. F. Cavanaugh & Co., and remained as such until July 1, 1885, when our subject purchased the whole interest and has since conducted the business alone. He transacts a business of about $70,000 annually, and has a man employed soliciting wholesale trade in the city. From 1876 to 1881, he served a clerkship for a wholesale grocery firm at Memphis, and was then admitted to the firm, where he remained until he established his present trade. Mr. Moran wedded Tilda J. Chandler, a native of Memphis, who died in 1882.
Judge R. J. Morgan, senior member of the law firm of Morgan & McFarland, was educated at the University of Georgia, graduating there from in 1848, and soon afterward began the study of law and was admitted to the bar in 1850. He practiced his profession in Georgia until 1859, when he came to this city and continued the practice until the war broke out, when he raised and was made colonel of the Thirty-Sixth Tennessee Regiment, and continued in this position until 1863, when the regiment was consolidated with other commands, and Col. Morgan was transferred to the staff of Gen. Polk, where he served until the death of the latter in 1864, near Atlanta. He was then assigned to the duty of auditing claims against the Confederate Government, and was thus engaged until the restoration of peace. He then returned to Memphis and resumed the practice of law. He was elected city attorney in 1867, re-elected in 1868, appointed chancellor in 1869, elected in 1870, and continued to hold the office until 1878, since which date he has been engaged in the practice. Judge Morgan was born March 25, 1828, in Putnam. County, Ga., but was taken to LaGrange, Ga., by his parents in infancy. He is the son of John E. and Mary T. (Brown) Morgan, natives of Georgia, the father being a farmer, merchant and banker until his death in 1868. During the war he was a commissioner under the Confederate Government. The mother died in 1876. September 19, 1854, our subject married Miss Martha Fort of Milledgeville, Ga., and to them the following children have been born: Mary Louisa (Mrs. J. A. Keightley), Tomlinson F. (deceased), and John E. The mother of these children died in February, 1886. Judge Morgan is a Democrat, a Methodist and a Mason.
Dr. S. J. Morrison, of the firm of Drs. Frayser & Morrison, of Memphis, Tenn., was born in Virginia in 1834, and was one of a family of thirteen children, eight now living. The parents, Dr. E. A. and Mary (Trumbull) Morrison, were both natives of Virginia. Our subject's grandfather,was a native of Ireland, born in Dublin and an eminent physician. Dr. E. A. Morrison, the father, received his medical education at the University of Pennsylvania, and was a physician of high standing for many years before his death, which occurred in 1879, at the age of seventy-five. His mother was born in 1808, and died in 1845. Dr. S. J. Morrison graduated at the University of Virginia in 1856, and soon after commenced, the study of medicine, attending the New York University, afterward taking a course of lectures at Long Island Hospital Medical College, and graduated therefrom in 1860. Until 1861 he practiced medicine at his home in Virginia, when he enlisted in the Confederate Army, joining the Brunswick Guards. and was made assistant surgeon, acting in that capacity until the close of the war. In 1870 he moved to Memphis, and his extensive and lucrative practice testifies to his ability as a physician.
E. B. Moseley, proprietor of Moseley Cotton-gin, which has a capacity of twenty-five bales daily and forty bales in twenty-four hours, was born in the city of Memphis, and is a son of John B. and M. E. (Leake) Moseley. In 1882 our subject married Rosa B. Kennedy, of this city, the daughter of W. H. Kennedy. This union resulted in the birth of two children. Mr. Moseley is the proprietor and manager of the above. business, which was established in the summer of 1885, and is situated at 201 and 203 Madison Street.
McKeon & Cross, real estate brokers and collecting agents, is one of the strong business partnerships of the city, and is composed of Tennie McKeon and J. S. Cross. The firm was established in December, 1886, and has been successful since the start. J. F. McKeon is a native of Memphis, and was born September 21, 1857. He is the son of Thomas McKeon, a prominent wholesale grocer and cotton factor of this city, who died about three years after the war. Our subject grew to years of maturity in this city and was here educated. He first clerked in the grocery business and then in the real estate business five years. In 1881 he was appointed deputy sheriff for the criminal court, which position he occupied until he engaged in his present business. June 28, 1886, he was united in marriage to Miss Mollie Shea, of this city. Mr. McKeon is a Democrat and is a member of the Catholic Church and of the Catholic Knights of America. John S. Cross was born in Walker County, Tex., June 29, 1864, and is the son of John and Lucy M. (Mosley) Cross, natives of Virginia. His father died in Texas in 1864, after which his mother returned to Kentucky, taking with her our subject and his brother, and there they were reared and educated. He began business life as clerk in a mercantile establishment, working thus at Hopkinsville, Ky., and at Cincinnati, Ohio. In December, 1884, he came to Memphis and engaged with the Pullman Palace Car Company, and later entered a shoe house here ; but left the same in May, 1886, and from that date until December, 1886, engaged in the real estate business for another person. In December, 1886, he began in his present business. He is unmarried, is a Democrat, a Baptist and a member of the K. of P.
Andrew J. Murray, first assistant city engineer of Memphis, is a native of Lanarkshire, Scotland, where he was born February 9, 1836, being the son of Andrew and Agnes (Jardine) Murray. Both parents were natives of Scotland, the mother being of French descent. Our subject came to the United States in 1845, and secured a fair education in the New York City schools. He then returned to his native country and remained four years, making a trip while there to the Crimea. In the spring of 1885 he returned to this country, and in 1856 went with an engineering party to Minnesota. This was the commencement of his engineering career—carrying the chain. After the financial crisis of 1857 he worked his way to St. Louis, his wild-cat money being worthless. He soon went to Chillicothe, Ohio, and in the fall of 1858 came to Memphis and worked under City Engineer E. W. Rucker until the war broke out when he enlisted in the engineer corps of the Confederate Army. In 1862 he became chief military store-keeper in the ordnance department, continuing until the winter of 1864 when he was captured at Collierville, Tenn., and was held prisoner by the Federals until the close of the war, part of the time under oath only. In 1864 while on parole he accepted an assistant professorship in Hitchcock's Commercial College of Wheeling, Va. After the war he returned to Memphis, and has since been connected with the engineer's department, having been chief assistant since 1865. In 1871 he was united in marriage with Miss Ina Saxon, a native of Alabama. They have two living sons. Mr. Murray is a Democrat, is a Master Mason, and is a member of the Episcopal Church of this city. While in the war he participated in the siege of Vicksburg
Rev. Father Nemesius Rohde, pastor of St. Mary's Church, Memphis, was born in Rietburg, Westphalia, diocese of Badeiborn. After attending the gymnasium of his native town, he went to Badeiborn and completed the course at the gymnasium there, taking nine years in order to. do so. For two years he reviewed the work previously gone over in the order of St. Francis, and at the same place spent two years in the study of philosophy and four years in the study of theology, being ordained March 13, 1870. For five years he was pastor in the old country, and then being expelled by Bismarck from Germany, in the time of "Cultur Kampf," he went over to Holland with:all the fathers of his order, and in 1876 came to America. For eight years he was pastor of St. Peter's Church in Chicago, and in 1885 came to Memphis to administer to the spiritual wants of his present church. In all his trials and persecutions Father Nemesius has ever been found subserving the best interests of his church.
Capt.W. N. Nevill was born in Tippah County, Miss., November 1, 1840. His father, Mathew Nevill, was born in Orange County, N. C., and immigrated to Tennessee when twenty-two years of age and settled in the western part of the State. He was married before leaving North Carolina to Mahala Kirby. Two sons and six daughters were the result of this marriage, our subject being the sixth child. After remaining two. years in Tennessee the father moved to Tippah County, Miss., where he lived until 1847, when he returned to Tennessee and settled in Shelby County. He was a farmer, and is now living with our subject. The mother was a native of North Carolina and died in Shelby County, Tenn., in 1848. Our subject has always made farming his business. He enlisted in the Confederate Army and belonged to the Thirty-eighth Tennessee Infantry, under Col. R. F. Looney, and participated in the battles of Shiloh, Perryville, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, and was in the retreat from Dalton to Atlanta, and in the siege of Atlanta and at the battle of Franklin. He was slightly wounded at Chickamauga and was surrendered at Jonesboro, N. C. Mr. Nevill was married in Shelby County, Tenn., in February, 1866, to Miss Jennie Turbiville, daughter of R. W. and Ara (Harrison) Turbiville,: The children born to this union are Minnie Lou, Emma T., Charlie R. and Mary. Mrs. Nevill was born in Virginia, April 21, 1844. She is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. Mr. Nevill is a Democrat. He owns 200 acres of land on the Memphis & Charleston Railroad, five miles west of Colliersville, Tenn. He is greatly esteemed by his acquaintances as a man of fine character and correct business principles.
A. W. Newsom, a member of the firm of Lawhorn & Newsom, general commission merchants and dealers in fruits and produce, 344 and 346 Front Street, is a native of this city and began business in 1866 in the grocery trade, wholesale and retail, continuing until 1868, when he engaged with Skerman & Co. in the produce trade, and in 1873 engaged in the latter business on his own responsibility, continuing until 1878, at which date the present firm was formed. The old firm of L. Lawhorn & Co. was established in 1868, and was succeeded by the present firm. They now do an annual business of from $150,000 to $200,000. In 1873 Mr. Newsom was united in marriage with Miss Emma Blair, a native of this city, who has borne five children, of whom three are living. He is a director in the Mercantile Bank and in the Merchants' Exchange, and in 1873 was elected city treasurer to fill the unexpired term of his father. The father, John, came to Memphis in 1828, and was city tax collector from 1846 to 1864. He was a native of Virginia, and died in 1873. The mother was also a native of Virginia, and is yet living in this city.
T. L. Nolley, dealer in general merchandise, is a native of Paris, Tenn., and at the age of two years went with his father to Fayette County, where he lived until he became of age, after which he went to Louisiana and engaged in planting land merchandising. He remained there till 1878, when he came to this village and engaged in the saw-mill business. In 1880 he began merchandising in the same village and is engaged in that at the present time. His parents, Alexander and Joyce (Langley) Nolley, were both natives of Virginia. The father, by profession, was a school teacher, and at the time of his death, which occurred in 1865, was living in Oakland, Fayette County. The mother died previous to this in 1850. In 1862 our subject enlisted in the Confederate service, Third Louisiana Cavalry and remained in service until the close of the war. In 1880 he married Mrs. J. H. (Henning) Saddle, of the city of Memphis. To this union four children have been born—one son and three daughters.
D. B. Nugent was born June 12, 1850, at Cobourg, Canada West, and is the son of H. B. Nugent, a native of New York City, and Miranda (Hart) Nugent, a native of Canada West and now a resident of Wisconsin. In 1882 our subject was united in marriage to Maud R. Watson, a native of Marshall, Mo., and the daughter of B. F. and Sallie E. (Halk) Watson. To these parents was born one child, Frank H. Mr. Nugent has been engaged in the lumber business for a number of years in Wisconsin, Michigan, Missouri, Illlinois and Tennessee, and is now engaged in manufacturing lumber in northern Mississippi. He is a wide-awake, thorough-going business man and has the confidence and respect of all who know him. His prospects are bright for the future. He permanently located in Memphis in the year 1881, and is now one of the most enterprising business men of whom the city can boast.
Nutzell, Wade Wagon Company, first-class repairers of carriages, buggies, etc., established their business in August, 1884, and are situated at 60 and 62 Hernando Street, Memphis. Few companies have succeeded in business as has the above named firm, who began with experience only, and now control a trade second to none of the kind in the city. They employ in this firm fifteen skilled workmen. Mr. Nutzell, the senior member of this firm, is a native of Germany, who came to the United States in 1852 and in 1853 came to Memphis. In 1862 he enlisted in the Confederate service and remained until December, 1864, when he was taken prisoner and retained until May, 1865. He participated in many of the principal battles fought, being under the following generals: Bragg, Johnston and Hood. In 1871 he married Rosa Hammerly of this city, and to them were born five children, one of whom died during the yellow fever scourge of 1879. Mr. Nutzell's family are members of the Catholic Church. M. B. Wade, one of the members of this firm, is a native of Chicot County, Ark., and came to Memphis in 1872. He began learning his trade in 1867 and is a first-class mechanic. In 1873 he married Caroline Arnold of Memphis, and by their union has seven children, four of whom are now living. The parents of our subject are Tobias and America Wade, they having died when our subject was quite young. Thomas J. Kane, the junior member of the firm, is a native of Memphis and the son of William and Mary Kane. The parents are natives of Ireland and came to the United States in 1850 and 1848, respectively. Our subject began learning his trade in 1879, and in 1885 he became a member of this firm.
Paulette Carpenter, Project Coordinator
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