Thomas E.H. McCroskey, a prominent lawyer of Madisonville, Monroe Co., Tenn., was born in the same county, on Fork Creek, July 13, 1843, and is the son of John and Priscilla (McCray) McCroskey, of Scotch and Irish descent respectively. The father was born in Sevier County, Tenn., March 17, 1788, and died in Monroe County November 10, 1866. He moved to Morganton, Blount Co., Tenn., at an early date, and was engaged in the mercantile business. When the lands of the Hiwassee Purchase were sold, he bought land in Monroe County and moved to it. In 1820, when the county of Monroe was organized, he was elected high sheriff and held this office for ten consecutive years; then turned his attention exclusively to agricultural pursuits. He was a member and elder in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church for many years. He had a good education, was a Democrat in politics and his sympathies were with the South in the late war. He was the son of John McCroskey, a Native of Virginia, who settled in Sevier County during the time of Sevier and Robertson. He was a corporal in the Revolutionary war and was at the battle of King's Mountain. The mother of our subject was born in Washington County, Tenn., December 28, 1808, and died in Monroe County, Tenn., November 23, 1879. She was also a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Her father was a native of Washington County, Tenn., and the McCrays were among the first settlers of East Tennessee. Her marriage with the father of our subject occurred in 1836, and the result was the birth of eight children, our subject being the fifth. He lived on the farm and received his education in Hiwassee College. After the war he studied and graduated at the Lebanon Law School. Immediately after graduating he ocated at Kingston, Roane County, where he remained two years, then moved to Madisonville, onroe county, where he secured a large and lucrative practice. He is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, is a Democrat in politics, and a member of the Masonic fraternity. June 11, 1872, he married Miss F. Pauline Barratt, a native of Abbeville, S.C., a daughter of John J. and Elizabeth C. Barratt, and a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Her father was killed at Sharpsburg while fighting for the Confederacy. To our subject and wife were born six children-five now living: John B., Thomas E., Henry, Blanche H. and Mary E. Pauline died when an infant. Mr. McCroskey is a good citizen and is very much interested in the development of the minerals of Monroe County.

    John McGhee, a prominent citizen of Monroe County, Tenn., was born on the farm where he is now residing, November 13, 1851, the son of Barclay and Mary K. (Henley) McGhee. The father was born on the McGhee farm in Monroe County, Tenn., in 1820, and died at Chattanooga, Tenn., in 1855, while on a business trip to that place. He was the youngest of three children and, upon the death of his father, received one-third of the McGhee farm which, under his control, increases in value on account of the great improvements made by him. He had a good education, was a Whig in politics, a member of the Masonic faternity, and, like his father John McGhee, was a magistrate. The latter was a native of Blount County, Tenn., was born at Maryville and died on the McGhee farm in 1851. The mother of our subject was of English descent and a descendant of the first governor of Virginia. She was born at Chota, an Indian settlement on the banks of the Little Tennessee River in 1829, and now lives near where our subject resides. After Barclay McGhee's death she married Willaim Parker, who is also deceased. She was the daughter of Arthur H. Henley, a man of wealth and noted for his generosity. He was a native of Virginia, and died at Chota, Tenn. He was one of the first settlers of Monroe County. The mother is well educated and is a member of the Episcopal Church. Our subject was the fourth of six children, four now living. He received a liberal education at Hainesville, Ga., and at Hiwassee College in Monroe County. When twenty-two years of age his property was given him from the McGhee estate. This consisted of a very rich tract of land, bordering on the Little Tennessee River. Mr. McGhee is at present engaged in raising and dealing in fine stock and in farming. He is a stanch Democrat, and though not a member of any church is a believer in the teachings of the Bible, and is truly a religious man. December 17, 1873, he married Miss Addie Harrison, daughter of Dr. James Harrison, and a graduate of the Female College at Huntsville, Ala. This union resulted in the birth of an interesting family of children.

    Donald A. McKenzie, farmer of the Eleventh District of Monroe County, Tenn., was born in Blount County in the same State, December 29, 1825, the son of John L. and Mary (Grigsby) McKenzie. Donald McKenzie, the grandfather of our subject, came from the Highlands of Scotland a few years before the American Revolutionary war, and settled in Maryland. He was a soldier in that war and received a wound in one of the battles. He afterward moved to Blount County, Tenn. The father of our subject was born in Blount County, Tenn., in January, 1800, and died in Monroe County in 1839. He was a successful farmer, a magistrate for several years, a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and a Democrat in politics. The Grigsby family are also of Scotch decent. The mother of our subject was born in Sevier County, Tenn., in 1803, and died in Monroe County in 1862. She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. Our subject was the third of nine children-three now living. He received the rudiments of a common education at home schools, and this he has improved by general reading, observation, etc. He was only fourteen when his father died, but continued on the home farm, provided for his mother, educated the younger children, and has also raised a son of his sister's. When the estate was divided among the heirs he purchased the others' shares and has since been very successful. December 17, 1856, he married Miss Sarah J. Blair, a native of Roane County, Tenn., born in March, 1836, the daughter of Josiah and Jane Blair, and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. Of the eight children born to this union five are now living: Braxton B., Frank C., Elizabeth, Joseph B. and Martha A. Those deceased are John L., Mahala C., and Mary J. During the late war Mr. McKenzie was made captain of the militia.

    Joseph A. Peck, an enterprising merchant of Madisonville, Monroe Co., Tenn., was born in Tellico Plains, Monroe Co., Tenn., August 5, 1832, and is the son of Jacob E. and Jane (Waggoner) Peck. The ancestors of the Peck family came originally from England and settled in Virginia. The father of our subject was born in Botetourt County, Va., in 1794, and died in Monroe County, Tenn., in August, 1871. He came to Tellico Plains in 1827, where he passed the remainder of his days. He was a successful farmer, was a soldier in the war of 1812, being orderly sergeant, and was a member of the Presbyterian Church. He was the son of Joseph A. Peck, who lived and died in Viginia. The mother of our subject was born in Botetourt County, Va., in 1796, and died in Monroe County, Tenn., in January, 1870. She was a member of the Presbyterian Church, and to her marriage were born eleven children, eight now living. Our subject was the ninth child and received his education at Hiwassee College, after which he engaged in merchandising at Jalapa, Monroe Co., Tenn., where he remained fifteen years. In 1858 he married Miss Minerva Torbet, a native of Monroe County, born in March, 1833, and the daughter of Andrew W. and Nancy Torbett. She died at Jalapa in 1866. Of the six children born to this union three are now living, viz.: Nancy J., Sarah H. and Loies I. Those deceased are James, Andrew B. and Minerva A. In 1870 Mr. Peck married P. A. McCroskey, a native of Monroe County, Tenn., born in September, 1838, the daughter of John and Priscilla McCroskey, and a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. To this union four children have been born, all living: Mary F., John F., Nellie M. and Jodie A. In 1872 Mr. Peck moved to Madisonville, where he has since remained. He carries a stock of goods valued at $5,000, and sells from $10,000 to $20,000 yearly. He is a member and an elder in the Presbyterian Church, is a Mason and a Democrat. In 1861 he organized a company, and was made captain, but the company was not accepted on account of being twelve months' men instead of three years' men. This was in the Confederate service. Our subject is an enterprising citizen and is known by the name of Maj. Joseph A. Peck.

    James E. Roberts, the well known liveryman of Sweet Water, is a native of East Tennessee, born at Madisonville, Monroe County, October 6, 1830, son of Dr. John W. and Elizabeth P. (Chester) Roberts, both natives of Washington County, Tenn., and of Scotch-Irish descent. The father was born about 1805, and died in Monroe County, in May, 1849. The mother was born about 1806, and died in Bartow County, Ga., in 1877. They were married in their native county in 1825, and about two years later came to Monroe County, and settled in Madisonville. The father was a very successful physician, and gave twenty-five years of his life to the practice of medicine. The Robertses were a prominent family in East Tennessee, as were also the Chester family. The father of our subject was a stanch Democrat. James E. is one of twelve children. He secured a good education at Madisonville, and from the age of fifteen to that of twenty he was engaged in farming. In 1850 he went to California, and was successful in mining interests and in the hotel business. He was there eleven years, and all the time sent means to his mother and younger brothers. When the war broke out between the States he returned to Monroe County, and remained with his mother and brothers and sisters during that exciting period. December 27 he married Miss Hester J. Maxewell, a native of Washington County, Tenn., born May 9, 1847, and to them were born four children. In 1867 our subject went to Cartersville, Ga., and was engaged in the family grocery business for about three years, after which he was in the livery business, and was also engaged in trading in live stock (horses and mules) for six years. In 1876 he returned to his farm in Monroe County, and carried on agricultural pursuits in connection with the live stock trade, nine years. In 1886 he came to Sweetwater, and since then has been engaged in the livery business. He is a Democrat in politics, and he and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South.

    Robert King Robinson, a prominent lawyer of Madisonville, was born near Kingston, Roane Co., Tenn., October 15, 1849; son of James R. and Sarah (Smith) Robinson. The father was born in Roane County, Tenn., in 1824, and is now a resident of Loudon County, Tenn. He has held numerous offices, among them, clerk and master of Monroe County, a special commissioner of the claims commission, and postmaster at Eve Mills. He sold goods for several years after the war. His education was good and while still young taught school. He was a Mason, a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and a Republican in politics. The mother is a native of Roane County, Tenn., born 1827, and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Our subject is the third of nine children, seven now living. He remained at home and attended thehome school until 1864, when he superintended the Eve Mills for his father for three years, after which he went to college at Athens, Tenn., known now as the Grant Memorial College, where he finished his education in 1871. He then went to the clerk and master's office at Madisonville as deputy, and at the same time studied law under Col. T. W. Burge. He was admitted to the bar the next year by Judge E. T. Hall and Chancellor O.P. Temple. The same year he married Miss Texie Hunt, a native of Monroe County, and the daughter of Lewis Hunt. To this union have been born three children, viz: Aurie, Robert, and Bertie. Mrs. Robinson is a member of the Baptist Church. After being admitted to the bar Mr. Robinson formed a partnership with Col. Burge, but two years later dissolved partnership and formed one with Z.T. Hunt. After a short time he again dissolved partnership and formed one with S. P. Hale. In 1881 he discountinued the practice of law, and recieved the appointment of postoffice inspector. The next year he was in the pension department at Washington, and shortly after this was sent to Springfield, Mo.; as a special examiner, and had charge of twenty-one counties. At the end of the year he resigned and engaged again in the practice of his profession. He was editor of the Clarion, a Republican paper, during the campaign of 1884. Since returning to Madisonville he formed a partnership with S.P. Hale in the farm and mill machinery business. He has been chairman of the Republican Executive Committee of Monroe County since 1872, except the years of 1875 and 1876.

    Hon. William B. Stephens, a prominent lawyer and assistant attorney-general of the United States Court of Madisonville, East Tenn., was born on Island Creek, Tenth District of Monroe County, Tenn., Sept. 30, 1849; son of Henry and Martha (Baker) Stephens, whose ancestors came from Germany, Scotland and Ireland. The father was born in Wythe County, Va., about 1812, and died at Loudon, Tenn., July 19, 1858. He was brought to Monroe County when a child, and became a promient lawyer. He represented Monroe County twice in the Legislature. He was noted as a lawyer, a politican and a Democrat. He canvassed the State with Horace Maynard, and served with credit in the Mexican war. He recieved an excellent education in Franklin, N. C. Two children were the result of this union, both whom are living, our subject being the eldest. When ten years of age he went to live with an uncle, J. H. Baker, and here he attended school, securing his education at the Texas Military Institute, and afterwards in Galveston, in the same State. He returned to Blount County in 1868, and taught school. He also read law under Judge Vandike, of Athens, McMinn Co., Tenn. He was admitted to the bar by Judge D. M. Key and Judge D. K. Young, and began the practice of law at Maryville, Blount Co., Tenn., where he remained until September 18, 1875, when he moved to Madisonville, Monroe County. He was chosen by the people of Monroe County to represent them in the Forty-third General Assembly, and is now assistant attorney-general in the Federal courts of East Tennessee. He is a member and elder of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and a Democrat in politics. December 24, 1872, he married Elizabeth S. Miller, daughter of Henry Miller, of Maryville, Blount County, and to them were born four children: Henry H., Kate M., William B. and Ernest M.

    Vastine Stickley, clerk and master of Monroe County, Tenn., and a resident of the Eleventh District, was born at Stickleyville, Lee Co., Va., April 30, 1856; son of Vastine and Elizabeth (Duff) Stickley.The Stickley ancestry were originally from Germany, came from there to Scotland, and from there to Virginia, where Vastine, the father, was born in 1800. He was killed in Lee County, Va. while blasting rock. When young he followed the occupation of a blacksmith until he earned sufficient money to go into the mercantile business. He had a good education, and was a Democrat in politics. The mother was born in Lee County, Va. She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, died the same year as her husband, and nine days after the birth of our subject. He was taken by his grandparents, Duff, and remained with his grandfather (his grandmother having died when he was four years of age) until he was twelve, when he went to Jonesville, Lee County. and attended school, then worked as clerk in a store until he was eighteen years of age. He next went to Emery and Henry College, where he remained three years, and then came to Monroe County, Tenn., and engaged in the mercantile business with his brother, Worth Stickley, as partner. At the end of three years he sold his interest and purchased land in the Eleventh District of Monroe County, whither he moved November 16, 1881. He was appointed clerk and master by Judge S. A. Key, to fill the place of J. E. Houston. He is a Democrat in politics, and a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, of which he is a deacon. October 13, 1879, he married Miss Josie E. Houston, a native of Madisonville, Tenn., a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and the daughter of Joseph E. and Eliza M. C. Houston. Three children were the fruits of this union: Elizabeth Duff, Robert Houston and Eliza McCroskey.

    Rev. Henry P. Waugh, a prominet minister and a member of the Holston Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and now a resident of Morristown, Hamblen Co., Tenn., was born in Monroe County, Tenn., and is the son of John and Ruth (Piper) Waugh, whose ancestors came from Scotland and Ireland. The father was born and reared near Gettysburg, Penn., and moved to Blount County, Tenn., about 1804 or 1805. He was a successful farmer, was in the war of 1812, and a commissary under Gen. Andrew Jackson. He was one of the first magistrates in Monroe County, and held that office for many years. He had a good education, was a member of the Presbyterian Church, and an old line Whig. In the latter part of his life he moved to Ashe County, N. C., where he died in 1855, aged about seventy-seven years. His wife was born near Abingdon, Va., about 1780, and died three miles east of Madisonville, Tenn., in 1848. She was also a member of the Presbyterian Church. Our subject was born at Lowry Ferry (now Niles Ferry), Monore County, Tenn., and is the youngest of nine children, five of whom are now living in Ashe County, N. C. He received his primary education in Monroe County, Tenn., and Iredell County, N.C. He engaged as a salesman in a mercantile house, and after eight or nine years was licensed as a minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church South, having been converted to God in his native county in 1844, licensed at Rocky Spring, Alexander County, N. C., in 1853, and began his itinerant career in 1854, and continued in the work until 1886, except the year 1863, when he was chaplain of Allen's Legion, Sixty-fourth North Carolina Regiment, Confederate States Army. He was ordained deacon and elder by Bishops Andrew and Early . Since the last conference he has been engaged in canvassing Monroe County in the interest of the great Prohibition movement that is now being agitated in the State. He is a Mason, and an excellent citizen, has the confidence of the people, and has been very successful in his ministry, having now traveled for thirty-two years in succession in the States of Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, Alabama and Florida, and bids fair for many more years of usefulness, being now fifty-nine years of age. In 1857 he was married to Miss Barbury G. Everett, of Sullivan County, Tenn., and at the time of her death, which occurred in Buncombe County, N.C., March 24, 1862, they had three children: Rachel V., Hellen E. and Barbury S. Rachel V. (now the wife of John M. Boyd, of Sullivan County,) is the only one living. December 3, 1863, he was then married to Mrs. Mary A. Proctor, the widow of Beda Proctor, and the daughter of Jacob Kindrick. She is a native of Georiga, born about 1837. To this union were born two children : Anna B. (deceased) and Henry P. It is a great source of gratification to his many friends to know that no charge of immorality has been brought against him. May his sun go down without a cloud!

    Ewing Young White, a well-to-do farmer of the Twelfth District of Monroe County, Tenn., and the son of Thomas and Jane (Young) White, was born on the farm on which he is now residing March 1, 1830. The father was of English descent, born in Washington County, Va., in 1801, and died in Monroe County, Tenn., in 1876. He moved to Tennessee, purchased property when the Hiwassee lands were sold; was a successful farmer, was justice of the peace for several years, and a Democrat in politics. The mother was born in Washington County, Tenn., in 1797, and died in Monroe County, in the same State, in 1869. There were seven children born to this union, our subject being the fifth. He received a fair education in the East Tennessee University of Knoxville, Tenn., and at Hiwassee College, in Monroe County, Tenn. He lived and worked on the farm until 1856, when he engaged in the mercantile business as salesman at Sweetwater, Tenn. At the end of one year he went to California, where he remained until 1866, engaged in farming, mining and stock-raising. Since that time he has been a resident of Monroe County, Tenn., and after his father's death he purchased the old homestead. He is a justice of the peace, a member of the Masonic fraternity, and a Democrat in politics. In 1870 he married Miss Mary L. Mayo, a native of Athens, McMinn Co., Tenn., born in 1846, and died in Monroe County. Tenn., the year of her marriage. She was well educated, was a member of the Presbyterian Church, and the daughter of George and Mary Mayo. December 14, 1881, Mr. White married Mrs. Margaret Cunningham, widow of Alfred Cunningham, and the daughter of Armstrong and Margaret (Daniels) Morrow. She has a liberal education, and is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. To this union were born two children: Thomas and Jane.

    Madison G. Wright, an enterprising merchant of Dancing Branch, in the Sixth District of Monroe County, Tenn., was born in the same county, near Mount Vernon, November16, 1840; son of John A. and Secelia (Cook) Wright, both natives of Blount County, Tenn, born in 1796 and 1800 respectively. The father was a successful farmer, a soldier in the war of 1812, and died in Monroe County July 23, 1861. His father, Thomas Wright, came from Ireland and settled in Blount County, Tenn. He was drowned in theTennessee River. The mother of our subject died in Monroe County July 18, 1861. She had a good education, and was a member of the Baptist Church. By her marriage with the father of our subject she became the mother of seventeen children, all lived to be grown, and ten are living now. There were five of this farnilv who died between the 1st and 13th of July, 1861: The father, the mother, two sisters and a brother. Our subject received a liberal education at Dancing Branch Academy. He was engaged in farming on the home farm at the breaking out of the war, and this he continued until in April, 1863, when he enlisted in Company F, Third Tennessee Cavalry, Federal Army, and was in active service until the close of the war. He entered the army as a private, and at the end of a year was made hospital steward. He was in active service until the close of the war, and participated in many battles and skirmishes. August 20, 1868, he married Miss Frances C. Magill, a native of Catoosa County, Ga., a member of the Presbyterian Church, and the daughter of Marshall and Eliza C. Magill. Two children were born to this marriage, one died in infancy, and Cora Bell died when seven years of age. After the war our subject engaged in farming, and in connection, has followed mercantile pursuits at Dancing Branch since 1877. In 1879 Mr. Wright was made postmaster of that little village. Previous to this he was made tax collector of Monroe County, and held the office two years. In 1883 he was elected justice of the peace.

   John S. Yearwood, the well-known and popular editor of the Monroe Democrat, was born in Monroe County, Tenn., January 12, 1850; son of Horace B. and Elizabeth E. (Scruggs) Yearwood, both natives of Tennessee, the former of Rutherford County, and the latter of Monroe County. The father was born March 13, 1822, is still living, a resident of Monroe County. The mother was born September 22, 1830, and is still living. The father has been engaged in agricultural pursuits all his life, and is acknowledged to be one of Monroe County's most successful and enterprising' planters. He has all along made the raising of blooded stock (race horses) rather a specialty. He is noted for the interest he takes in county and state fairs, and has been honored with the presidency or superintendency of these different associations for the last thirty years. He is a stanch Democrat, and at one time approached the edge of political life by allowing himself to be a candidate before the State Legislature for Secretary of State, but was unsuccessful. Our subject is one of a large family of children. He secured a liberal education in youth by attending the country schools of Monroe County, and subsequently attended the Riceville Institute, McMinn County. In the fall of 1869 he commenced reading law under Judge George Brown, of Knoxville, and obtained license to practice in the early part of 1871. After practicing his profession at Athens, Tenn., he was in partnership with Hon. W. H. Bryant for four years, after which he came to Sweet Water where he continued to practice law for one year. December 27, 1876, he married Miss Mary B. Fitzgerald, of Knoxville. She was born in North Carolina, August 8, 1855, and by her marriage became the mother of four children-one son and three daughters. After marrying, our subject made a tour of the West, visiting Kansas, Missouri, etc. He returned to Sweet Water in the fall of 1877, and was engaged in agricultural pursuits for four years, on the Tennessee River, Rhea County. In January, 1884, he purchased the Monroe Democrat, and since that date to the present has given his undivided attention to the interests of his paper. The paper is Democratic, and has a circulation of about 800. He received the appointment of postmaster of Sweet Water from President Cleveland, in August, 1885.