Category Archives: GoodspeedBiography

10/14/13

CHRISTIAN, Robert N. – (b. 1842)

Robert N. CHRISTIAN was born in Mississippi August 31, 1842, and is the son of Robert N. and Caroline (Suther) CHRISTIAN, natives of North Carolina.  Our subject received a fair education and was engaged in steamboating until the breaking out of the war.  At that time he entered the Confederate service as a private in the One Hundred and Fifty-fourth Tennessee Regiment and was afterward transferred to the Thirty-fourth Mississippi Regiment, where he remained till the close of the war.  He participated in all of the principal battles and was wounded five different times.  At the close of the war he came to Somerville and devoted his time and attention to mercantile pursuits, being engaged in that capacity ever since. 

He started in life with a fair education, a pair of stout arms and a willing heart.  He is now considered one of the substantial men of Somerville.  August 1, 1866, he married Valeria F. SHAW, daughter of A.M. and Ann L. SHAW of Somerville.  To this union were born nine children – five sons and four daughters: Annie L., Alsey B., Eddie L., Louis, Robert W., Mary E., Carrie V., Mary W. and Joe D.  Mr. CHRISTIAN is a Democrat in politics. 

Source:  Goodspeed’s History of Tennessee, 1887. 

09/28/13

CHAMBERS, Daniel G. – (b. 1835)

Elder Daniel G. CHAMBERS, a well known minister of the Primitive Baptist Church, engaged in farming in Fayette County, was born in Robertson County, Tenn., January 5, 1835, and is a son of Gools B. and Rebecca (Gordon) CHAMBERS.  The father was born in Halifax County, Va., August 11, 1802, being of English descent, and died in Fayette County, Tenn., June 21, 1881.  The mother was born in Robertson County, Tenn., April 13, 1805, and was of Scotch-Irish descents and died in Fayette County March 26, 1878.  They married in Robertson County in 1823.  In 1836 they moved to Fayette County and settled in the Fifteenth District, nine miles east of Somerville.  In early life the father gave his time to farming. In 1844 he attended the Botanical Medical College at Memphis, Tenn., and after receiving his diploma he returned to Fayette County and practiced medicine there for seventeen years.  In 1862 he retired from the practice and again gave his time to farming. They were both Primitive Baptists. 

Our subject was the seventh of thirteen children; he had the advantage of a good education; he was still an infant when his parents moved to Fayette County and has always made it his home.  In 1860 Mr. CHAMBERS purchased a farm and has been a most enterprising farmer, now owning more than 500 acres of land in Fayette County.  October 3, 1859, he married Miss Mary F. TAYLOR, a cultured lady, born in Fayette County.  One son and three daughters were born them; Martha F., born May 1, 160; Margaret L., born October 5, 1862; Thomas G., born August 1, 1865, and Amanda C., born May 27, 1867.  In early life Mr. CHAMBERS professed religion and for seven or eight years past has been a popular preacher in the Primitive Baptist Church.  He is a good man and a most valuable citizen. 

Source:  Goodspeed’s History of Tennessee, 1887. 

09/14/13

CHAMBERS, Marcus (b. 1833)

Marcus L. CHAMBERS, farmer and merchant of Chambersville, Fayette County, was born in Robertson County, Tenn., February 28, 1833, and is a son of Dr. Gools B. and Rebecca (Gordon) CHAMBERS, natives of Halifax County, Va., and Robertson County, Tenn.  The father was born in 1802 and died in Fayette County in 1881.  The mother was born in 1805 and died in Fayette County in 1878.  They were married in Robertson County, Tenn., in 1823 and in 1836 moved to Fayette County and settled in the Fifteenth District nine miles north of Somerville, where they lived until they died.  In early life the father was engaged in agricultural pursuits. In 1844 he entered the Botanical Medical College at Memphis, Tenn., and after receiving his diploma returned home and was a successful practicing physician for seventeen years in Fayette County.  In 1862 he retired from practice and resumed farming.  Both parents were members of the Primitive Baptist Church. 

Our subject was the fifth of fourteen children. He received a good education, then gave his time exclusively to farming until 1884, when he established a store at Chambersville, and is now in the mercantile business in connection with farming, and besides a $4,000 stock of goods he owns 800 acres of land in Fayette County and is now erecting a handsome and unique residence in Chambersville. 

Mr. CHAMBERS has been married twice; first, October 25, 1859, to Miss Fannie E. WADE, who was born in Virginia in 1840 and died in January, 1864.  Three children were born to them, one dead.  He married again the same year Miss Mary E. CURLS, born in Mississippi in 1848, and by this marriage had eleven children – five sons and six daughters; one son and two daughters are dead.  Politically Mr. CHAMBERS is a Democrat. He does not belong to any church; his first wife was a Methodist.  He is an enterprising business man and in every respect a valuable citizen. 

Source:  Goodspeed’s History of Tennessee, 1887. 

06/10/13

CARNES, Stephen G.

Stephen G. CARNES, a farmer of Fayette County, was born in Hardeman County, Tenn., August 3, 1829, and with two sisters constitutes the surviving members of a family of two sons and four daughters born to David B. and Mary (Gracy) CARNES, natives of North Carolina; both came to Tennessee when young and married in Hardeman County, where they farmed until the father died in 1842; the mother died in the same county in 1875.  The father, previous to this marriage, had married in North Carolina a Miss SCOTT, and to them three sons and three daughters were born, two daughters living.  This wife died in 1827.  Our subject’s mother had been married before her marriage to Mr. CARNES, to Samuel STEEL, by whom she had one son and two daughters, one of each living.

Our subject remained at home until the war, but had purchased a farm which he managed in addition to assisting at the home place.  He entered the Ninth Tennessee Infantry of the Confederate Army, where he was first lieutenant a year, then returned home a year and joined Henderson’s scouts until the war closed, when he returned to the old home place, and in 1869 married Miss Bettie COOPER, and they have had two sons, Henry C. and John B.  In 1872 he moved near Somerville, and in 1880 to his present farm consisting of 300 acres, well improved and located.  He also owns in Fayette County another tract of 160 acres.  Mr. CARNES is a Cumberland Presbyterian; Mrs. CARNES, an Episcopalian.  He is also a member of the F. & A.M., the K. of H. and K. & L. of H. and a Democrat.  Mr. CARNES is a man of fine social standing, and possesses many sterling qualities that are justly appreciated by the community in which he lives.

Source:  Goodspeed’s History of Tennessee, 1887. 

06/1/13

CANNON, William J.

Dr. William J. CANNON, one of the pioneer practicing physicians of Fayette County, and one of its most influential and enterprising citizens, was born August 7, 1827, in Raleigh, N.C., and is of a family of three sons and three daughters, born to Robert and Ann T. (Hill) CANNON, who were natives of Pitt and Franklin Counties, N.C. Our subject and two sisters alone surviving.  The parents moved to Raleigh, N.C., soon after their marriage in Franklin County, and the father was a most successful merchant there until his death in 1883.  The mother afterward married Col. Samuel B. SPROUELL; to this union one daughter was born, who died.  The mother died in 1844.  In 1942 Dr. CANNON entered Chapel Hill College, in North Carolina, and remained there until after his mother’s death, then moved to Fayette County, Tenn., and in 1847 began the study of medicine in Somerville.  In 1849 he entered the Medical University of Pennsylvania, and attended three fall courses of lectures, then commenced the practice of medicine at Jacksonport, Jackson Co., Ark., where he remained until 1884, when he married Catherine WIRT of Fayette County, and soon after located in Fayette County, at his present residence, which consists of 1,800 acres of fine land nine miles north of the county seat.

Dr. CANNON has splendidly improved the place, which is under a fine state of cultivation.  He has surrounded his family with the numerous comforts that wealth affords and a cultivated taste suggests, having been very successful professionally and financially.  He is extensively known and highly esteemed in Fayette and adjoining counties.  By his marriage he had two sons and four daughters; only two daughters are living.  Politically Dr. CANNON is a Democrat, he is also a member of the I.O.O.F. and with his family belongs to the Episcopal Church.

Source:  Goodspeed’s History of Tennessee, 1887. 

05/30/13

BURNETT, Joshua E.

Joshua E. BURNETT, farmer and stock raiser of Fayette County, was born in Iredell County, N.C., August 17, 1834, and is a son of Jeremiah and Mary (Ellis) BURNETT.  The father was born in South Carolina, September 18, 1807, and is now seventy-six years old.  They moved to Tennessee in 1849 and settled twelve miles south of Somerville; two years later they moved three miles further north where they have since lived.  The father has always been a farmer; he is  a Democrat.  And both parents are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South.  December 22, 1886, this aged couple celebrated their golden wedding, and over 500 relatives and friends were present.  Our subject is the second born of ten children;  after finishing his education he commenced farming.  In the spring of 1861 he entered the Confederate Army, and enlisted in Company B., Thirteenth Tennessee Regiment, known as the “Macon Grays.”

Joseph GRANBERRY was captain and John V. WRIGHT, first colonel.  Our subject was changed into Cheatham’s division and remained in service until the end, though a year before the war closed he was changed to FORREST’s calvary; he was in several hard-fought battles: Belmont Mo., Shiloh, Richmond and Perryville, Ky., Murfreesboro, Chickamauga and Missionary Ridge; he was surrendered at Memphis in the spring of 1865 and returned home after an absences of four years and resumed farming.  March 22, 1865, he married Miss Adelia GARVIN, born in Fayette County, June 5, 1841.  Five sons and four daughters have been born to them; two sons are dead.  In 1866 with the assistance of his father he bought the farm where he now lives, but has greatly increased it, now owning over 1,100 acres of good land in Fayette County.   Mr. BURNETT is a Democrat, and with his wife and three children belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church South.  He is a generous man and one of strict integrity.

Source:  Goodspeed’s History of Tennessee, 1887. 

11/21/12

BURNETT, Joshua E.

Joshua E. BURNETT, farmer and stock raiser of Fayette County, was born in Iredell County, NC, August 17, 1834, and is a son of Jeremiah and Mary (Ellis) BURNETT.  The father was born in South Carolina, September 18, 1807, and is now a resident of Fayette County, aged seventy-nine years. The mother was born in North Carolina January 20, 1810 , and is now seventy-six years old.  They moved to Tennessee in 1840 and settled twelve miles south of Somerville; two years later they moved three miles further north where they have since lived.  The father has always been a farmer; he is a Democrat, and both parents are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South.  December 22, 1886, this aged couple celebrated their golden wedding, and over 500 relatives and friends were present.

Our subject is the second born of ten children; after finishing his education he commenced farming.  In the spring of 1861 he entered the Confederate Army, and enlisted in Company B., Thirteenth Tennessee Regiment, known as the “Macon Grays.”   Joseph GRANBERY was captain and John V. WRIGHT, first colonel.  Our subject was changed into Cheatham’s division and remained in service until the end, though a year before the war closed he was changed to FORREST’s calvary; he was in several hard-fought battles: Belmont, Mo. Shiloh, Richmond and Perryville, Ky., Murfreesboro, Chickamauga and Missionary Ridge; he was surrendered at Memphis in the spring of 1865 and returned home after an absence of four years and resumed farming.  March 22, 1865, he married Miss Adelia GARVIN, born in Fayette County, June 5, 1841.  Five sons and four daughters have been born to them; two sons are dead.  In 1866 with the assistance of  his father he bought the farm where he lives now, but has greatly increased it, now owning over 1,100 acres of good land in Fayette County.  Mr. BURNETT is a Democrat, and with his wife and three children belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church South.  He is a generous man and one of strict integrity.

Source:  Goodspeed’s History of Tennessee, 1887. 

11/21/12

BURNETT, Wilson L.

Wilson L. BURNETT, an active farmer of Fayette County, Tenn., was born in Iredell County, N.C., September 27, 1832, and is a son of Jeremiah and Mary F. (Ellis) BURNETT.  The father was a native of Spartanburg County, S.C., and the mother of Iredell County, N.C., both of Scotch-Irish descent.  The father was born September 18, 1807, and is now a resident of Fayette County.  The mother was born January 20, 1810; they were married in 1831 in North Carolina, and moved to Tennessee in 1849, settling nine mile south of Somerville.  The father was a successful farmer, and with his wife a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South.  Our subject is the oldest of ten children. He was quite young when he moved to Fayette County with his parents, and has since then made it his home.  In 1857 his father gave him the farm where he now lives, and he has since added to it, owning now over 800 acres of good land in Fayette County and 960 acres in Pontotoc County, Miss.

December 22, 1852, he married Miss Ellen J. TOMLINSON, born in Iredell County, N.C. in 1843.  Fourteen children were born to this marriage – seven sons and seven daughters – one son and four daughters are dead.  Mr. BURNETT has always been a true Democrat, and with his wife and five children belongs to the Methodist Church and freely responds to all calls for money for the church or for charity.  In August, 1862, he entered the Confederate Army; was first in Outlaw’s battalion, but soon joined Gen. FORREST’s forces in the Fourteenth Tennessee Regiment of Calvary, the colonel being Col. Jack NEELY.  Mr. BURNETT remained until the battle of Franklin, Tenn., and was in many battles.  In 1864, after an absence of over two  years, he was paroled at Memphis and took the oath of allegiance, then returned home and resumed farming.  He is a good neighbor, an upright man, liked and trusted by all.

Source:  Goodspeed’s History of Tennessee, 1887. 

11/21/12

BOLING, George W.

George W. BOLING, one of the prominent planters of Marshall County, Miss., was born in Madison County, Ala., near Hazel Green, March 21, 1818.  He is a son of Alexander and Elizabeth (Worthy) BOLING.  The father was born in Virginia in 1790 and died in Lawrence County, Ala., January 1, 1843.  The mother was born in 1790,  in Chester County, S.C. and died in Lawrence County, Ala., in 1880.  They moved to Alabama in 1816.  The father and mother were both members of the Missionary Baptist Church, and he was a most successful farmer.  Our subject was the sixth child of eleven children. After finishing his education he commenced farming.  In 1849 he moved to Marshall County, Miss., bought land there and has since made it his home, and before the war was one of the most extensive cotton planters in the county, owning a great many slaves; his losses by the war was enormous, his slaves being freed, and the Federal soldiers burned a large quantity of cotton for him, but since then he has acquired a large estate by his energy and perseverance and owns in Fayette County and in Marshall County, Miss., over 1,600 acres of land.

Mr. BOWLING has been married three times, first to Miss Elizabeth WALTON, and by this marriage had five children; the mother died in 1856; he then married Mrs. Felicia O. KEY whose maiden name was Bowers; they had three children, and she died November 3, 1869, and our subject married Miss Laura BROOKS who died July 6, 1880, and two children were born to this marriage.  Of the ten children to the three marriages five are living. Mr. BOWLING is a Democrat.  He is not a church member but is in sympathy with the Missionary Baptist Church and a man of fine moral character.  He is a resident of Marshall County, Miss.

Source:  Goodspeed’s History of Tennessee, 1887. 

11/21/12

BASS, James W.

James W. BASS, citizen and farmer of Hardeman County, was born in Rutherford County, Tenn., July 4, 1848, and is a son of Thomas W. and Nannie P. (Avent) BASS.  The father was born in 1822, and is now living in Rutherford County near Murfreesboro.  The mother is several years younger than her husband and is still living.  In 1852, they moved to West Tennessee and lived until the war, dividing the time in Madison, Gibson and Hardeman counties.  The father entered the Confederate Army in 1862, in the Twelfth Tennessee Regiment of Calvary, and was quartermaster or foragemaster of the regiment until the war was closed; was captured and kept for several months a prisoner at Alton, Ill.  Two years after the ware he moved his family back to Rutherford County, where he has since lived and farmed.

With his wife he belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church South.  Our subject is the second of ten children; he had a good education, and when eight years old moved with his parents to Hardeman County and has since made it his home.  After finishing school he sold goods for various parties in New Castle for eight years, and in 1875 he established, with Thomas POLK, a store in New Castle and was in the mercantile business for two years.  In 1876 he purchased the farm where he now lives, and moved to it in 1879.  Mr. BASS owns now over 1,600 acres of land in Hardeman County and in Arkansas.  December 20, 1874, he married Miss Olivia B. KENT, born in Lee County, Ark., November 26, 1856.  They have one daughter born December 7, 1879.  Our subject is a Democrat, and in August, 1882, was elected magistrate and still holds the office; he is not a church member; his wife is Roman Catholic.  He is an honest man and a kind neighbor, and exerts an influence for good in his country.

Source:  Goodspeed’s History of Tennessee, 1887.