GENEALOGICAL ABSTRACTS FROM REPORTED DEATHS
THE NASHVILLE CHRISTIAN ADVOCATE 1911-1914
By Jonathan Kennon Thompson Smith
Copyright, Jonathan K. T. Smith, 2003

JANUARY-JUNE 1913

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January 3, 1913

Rev. A. M. BEDFORD died Savannah, MO, Dec. 16, 1912 aged 85 years.

JAMES BRYSON HANNA born Bethpage, Tenn., June 23, 1847; died Feb. 24, 1912; a member of the Methodist Church since 1866. His people had settled along Bledsoe Creek in Sumner Co., Tenn. in the "pioneer days." Graduate, Medical College, Louisville, Ky., March 4, 1870; his son was deceased but he was survived by three daughters.

Resolutions of respect for memory of Mrs. JULIA SUMMERS RAMOS, teacher of Spanish who died recently; by faculty, Athens College, Ala.; undated.

 

January 10, 1913

Rev. C. W. CARTER died in Natchitoches, La., Dec. 29-Dec. 30, 1912 aged 78 years; native of East Feliciana Parish, La.; graduate of Centenary College, La. and Law School of University of Louisville. "An accomplished scholar, a voluminous and wide reader, a rhetorician of rare attainments" he had labored as a Methodist itinerant preacher, presiding elder, college president and editor of the NEW ORLEANS CHRISTIAN ADVOCATE. He was survived by three daus., three sons. A photograph of him accompanies this notice; page 5.

MARY ELIZA STONE, nee Wilson, born Blount Co., Ala., Dec. 15, 1850; died Sulligent, Ala., Nov. 6, 1912; married W. M. Stone, Oct. 16, 1881; five children, those living, John Stone, Paul Stone, Mrs. Maud Shepherd.

T. J. OGILVIE died Oakland, Miss., Nov. 12, 1912 in the 76th year of his age.

 

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Senator JEFFERSON "Jeff" DAVIS, Arkansas, born Little River Co., Ark., May 6, 1862; died Little Rock, Jan. 3, 1913; graduate, Vanderbilt University, 1884; governor of Arkansas, 1900-1907; U.S. Senator from 1907.

BIOGRAPHICAL DIRECTORY OF THE AMERICAN CONGRESS, 1774-1971, Washington, D.C., 1971, pages 832-833:

DAVIS, Jeff, a Senator from Arkansas; born near Richmond, Little River County, Ark., May 6, 1862; moved to Dover, Pope County, Ark., with his parents; attended school in Russellville, Ark., and was graduated from Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn., in 1884; studied law; was admitted to the bar in Pope County, Ark., at the age of nineteen years and commenced practice in Russellville, Ark.; prosecuting attorney of the fifth judicial district 1892-1896; attorney general of the State 1898- 1900; Governor of Arkansas 1901-1906; continued the practice of law at Little Rock, Ark., in 1906; delegate to the Democratic National Convention at St. Louis in 1904; elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1907, until his death in Little Rock, Ark., January 3, 1913; interment in Mount Holly Cemetery.

 

THOMAS ROBERTS born Woodruff Co., N.C., Dec. 22, 1831; died May 5, 1912; married (1) Elizabeth Missouri Preston, Nov. 30, 1865; children, Mrs. Jessie Olivia Dale, Mrs. Corrie Jeter and Mrs. Ida May Ratcliff. [There is no Woodruff County, N.C.; there is a county of this name in Arkansas.]

CHARLES G. ZIRKLE born Augusta Co.; Va., Apr. 30, 1868; died Montgomery Co., Ala., Sept. 17, 1912.

 

January 17, 1913

SILENY LINDLEY daughter of Theresa Phillips Billington, widow of John Lindley, born Marshall Co., Tenn., Mar. 18, 1824; died Coquille, Oregon, Nov. 1, 1912; married Dec. 2, 1841; three children, two deceased, one, Mary A., wife of J. J. Lamb, with whom she moved to Oregon in April 1873.

ANNIE GRIFFITH wife of Dr. R. S. Griffith died Basic, Va., Jan. 3, 1913.

Resolutions of respect in memory of WILLIAM JAMES VAUGHAN, professor of math and astronomy Vanderbilt University, born Wilcox Co., Ala., Feb. 15, 1834; died on Vanderbilt campus, Dec. 17, 1912; by Vanderbilt faculty, dated December 12, 1912.

 

January 17, 1913

"In Memoriam", VIRGINIA PEYTON RICKETTS daughter of Thomas West and Sarah Peyton, born New Orleans, La., Sept. 16, 1855; moved from there in 1875 to Huntington; graduate, Marshall College, 1876; taught school; married Charles H. Roberts, July 16, 1885; died Dec. 12, 1912; no children. [A tribute to her memory published in Jan. 24, 1913 issue, page 31]

 

January 24, 1913

EUE RORIE ADAMS second daughter of Rev. T. O. Rorie, born Rockmart, Ga., April 28, 1888; moved with her parents to Ark. in December 1895; graduate, Henderson-Brown College, June 1906; married W. R. Adams, 1906; died July 27, 1912; two children.

Captain CHARLES ALEXANDER FUDGE born Tazewell Co., Va., March 1837; died in same county, Nov. 2, 1912; married (1) Elizabeth St. Clair; (2) Mrs. Grey Buchanan Thompson; served in Confederate army and was severely wounded; active Methodist layman.

Judge MILTON BOARD born Breckinridge Co., Ky., Nov. 20, 1828; died Louisville, Ky., in son, Dr. Milton Board's residence, Dec. 29, 1912; two marriages and had six children (W. E., Jefferson and M. L., first marriage; R. V., Milton and Irene of second marriage).

 

January 31, 1913

THOMAS D. ELDRIDGE born Giles Co., Tenn., April 8, 1823; died Memphis, Tenn., Dec. 17, 1912; moved to Memphis in 1854; lawyer; in 1859 elected attorney-general of Shelby Co. and in 1878 was the first judge of the county's probate court and judge of the circuit court in Bartlett; married Martha Adams; children, Mrs. Patti Armistead, Mrs. T. F. Brahan, Mrs. Abner Rogers, Mrs. M. H. Alford. Buried in Elmwood Cemetery, Memphis.

HATTIE BELL ANTHONY, nee Walker, born Lauderdale Co., Tenn., Aug. 9, 1860; daughter of Ben F. Walker; married C. M. Anthony, Dec. 24, 1879; died Henning, Tenn., Dec. 11, 1912; three daus., 4 sons.

HOLLINS DORRIS son of Grimm and Susan Dorris, born Jan. 24, 1879; married Lizzie, dau. of Ira Collier, Sumner Co., Tenn., Dec. 29, 1900; died Oct. 9, 1912. Nashville, Tennessee.

 

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GUY DOUGLAS born Dec. 25, 1826, Sumner Co., Tenn.; died Newbern, Tenn., Dec. 3, 1912; married Martha, daughter of Bright Berry Harris, 1848 and moved to Dyer Co., Tenn. in 1852; three daus., seven sons; had a brother, Reuben Douglas, Nashville.

 

February 7, 1913

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AN OLD-TIME CIRCUIT II. BY REV. J. W. BOSWELL, D.D.         The history of any old time circuit would be incomplete and barren of interest without the mention of the merits and deeds of the holy men who stood by the preachers, and helped them achieve success. In this communication I desire to devote a few paragraphs to two such men who were associated with the preachers on the Oxford Circuit, Memphis Conference, in 1861. Their memory is worth preserving. They were William Foust and a local preacher by the name of Richardson.         William Foust was of German parentage. He was called a Dutchman. He was born in the United States, but where or when, I do not know. Nor do I know what sort, if any, religious training he had in childhood. I know only what he was in the prime of manhood: a Christian of deep experience in grace, and an Episcopal Methodist of strong convictions. He was an exhorter and steward, faithful and efficient in both capacities, and could be relied on to do his part at the right time and in the right way. I said above that he was called a Dutchman. He looked like one. He was short, heavy, and dark-skinned, and talked enough like a Dutchman to convince anyone that he belonged to that branch of the human family. In common with most of the poor people of his day he had but little education. In early life he settled and opened a farm in the pine hills of Lafayette County, Miss., about twelve miles east of Oxford. Here he lived and reared a large family. He was the steward and main pillar of Old Midway Church.         When I knew Brother Foust he was not rich, but was "well-to-do." He did not, however, get his "start" by farming. He got it by making and selling tar. He was his own "traveling salesman," his traveling outfit being a two-wheeled cart and a yoke of oxen-not the trustiest outfit for a fat man, as Uncle Billie could testify. They do say that one day on his round, the weather being hot, the oxen became weary, and seeing a fine shade two or three hundred yards from the road, made a break for it as oxen are wont to do. Uncle Billie couldn't stop them, nor could be jump from the cart. On the way to the shade the cart struck a stump, turned over and burst a barrel of tar and covered Uncle Billie with the sticky stuff well nigh from head to foot. How long after that he kept to the road is not a matter of record, but he did get to the point when it was not necessary. He made tar, though, as long as there was a market for it. At the beginning of the war he had a large amount on hand; and the tar market was dead.         Uncle Billie was a faithful steward. He loved the work, and never suffered his Church to fall behind in the "quarterage." The word "salary" was not in Methodist terminology at that date. But the close of the year 1861 found the Midway society forty dollars behind. Uncle Billie was hurt beyond expression. With pain in his heart and trembling in his voice he said to the last Quarterly Conference: "Brothers, you all know that I always bring up the quarterage from my Church. But this time I have failed. I could not get the money. There is no money in the country. If I had it I would pay it myself, but I haven't got it, and cannot pay it. I have plenty of tar (he called it tare), and if the preachers will take tar, I can pay out." The senior preacher had no use for tar, nor had I. On a dead tar market I could not have made it available. My father lived on a little farm and used tar on the wagon axles. It was in general use. There was no such thing as manufactured axle grease. I took one barrel (forty gallons) at ten dollars, and sent it home. For many years after that I was called "the tar preacher."         Uncle Billie was likewise efficient as an exhorter. He exercised his gifts as often as occasion offered. He never shirked, nor was he ever obtrusive. His gifts were not extraordinary, but his graces were abundant. So, though his thought was often weak and his language lame, those who heard him knew that what he said came from his heart, and good impressions were always produced. Once he essayed the role of preacher. He knew the difference technically between an exhortation and a sermon. He ventured on a text and proceeded to explain and amplify, but his mind and the text did not run on the same lines, and soon he was hopelessly "in the brush"-literally, so confused that he didn’t know what he was saying. He was fully aware of the trouble, but like the illustrious Bishop Kavanaugh on one occasion, the harder he tried to get out the worse became the tangle. Finally he gave up, saying: "These texes are too hard for me," I said to him: "Uncle Billie, why didn't you burn up the brush?" "I did try," he said, "but I couldn't." After that, though he "preached many things in his exhortations," he never took a text.         Uncle Billie was at his best in revivals, or "protracted meetings," as we called them in those days. He and our local preacher, Brother Richardson, made a fine team, and both were admirable yoke-fellows with the circuit preachers. Brother Richardson was a notable man-an unforgettable man. Nobody that ever saw him and valued genius combined with piety, and the art of imparting instruction in a simple, artless way, could ever let him pass out of mind. If his qualities made no lasting impression his bodily presence did. He was tall, bony, angular, awkward, red-skinned, and red-haired, coarse and brushy. Physically, he was not attractive, nor was he a popular preacher; but as some one said of Bishop McTyeire: "He was no preacher for fools."         When the protracted meeting season opened Brother Perry, the preacher-in-charge, yoked the local preacher and exhorter together and put them to work. Our first meeting was at Liberty, better known as "Smut." Brother Perry opened the meeting Saturday morning. Brother Richardson "held forth at night." I had never heard Brother Richardson, and having been told that he was the dullest man alive," and would put me to sleep, I went to church fully expecting to take a nap. But I had the surprise of my life. The first sentence of the sermon aroused and thrilled me, and throughout the discourse I was entranced. There was no effort at display, no outburst of oratory, no reaching out at fine words. It was pure, plain gospel preaching, searching, convincing, edifying, and at times electrifying. His logic was clinching and his exposition of the Word lucid. Up to that time I had never heard such preaching by an unknown and ordinary man.         From that meeting, on through three or four other meetings we had the help of these two men. Brother Richardson would preach and Brother Foust would exhort. Great success crowned their efforts. We had glorious times on the old Oxford Circuit. Brother Richardson’s sermon that Saturday night was not an exceptional one. All his sermons were good. I heard him often, and I heard him gladly. He moved from that section to another part of the State, I never saw his name in print, but have heard that in the neighborhood to which he moved he kept up his reputation as a preacher and was highly esteemed.

 

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GEORGEANNA "George" HULL LUKE TARPLEY born Dorchester Co., Maryland, August 31, 1817; died Bowie, Texas, Dec. 23, 1912; daughter of Major George and Mary Boyne Lake. Her grandfather, Captain Henry Lake, was a soldier in the American Revolution. Her father, Major Lake, was a veteran of the War of 1812. She married thrice, (1) Henry Slacum Lake; (2) Major

James Monroe Newton; (3) Dr. Joseph Bell Tarpley. Mother of Charles H. Lake, Mrs. Augusta J. King, Joseph Alford Tarpley, Mollie Lucretia Loveless, Jenette Wheeler and Ella Georgia Dishman; hers was a numerous progeny.

SARAH BANKS FITZGERALD widow of Bishop O. P. Fitzgerald died in Nashville, Jan. 25, 1913.

Resolutions of respect in memory of JAMES M. COBB who died Nov. 25, 1912, former superintendent of the Edgefield Sunday School; by the Edgefield Methodist Church, dated Jan. 20, 1913.

 

February 13, 1913

Photograph of Rev. J. W. MAYNE, Dalhart, Texas; page 20.

MITTIE GILLESPIE BOMAR born Henry Co., Tenn., Oct. 16, 1857; died Okolona, Miss., June 24, 1912; married Marion Bomar, 1886; three children, Fred, Hubbard and Blanche. A brother, John Gillespie.

HENRY C. BROWN born Hopkins Co., Ky., April 23, 1845; died Overbrook, Okla., Sept. 11, 1912; married Lou Prather, Jan. 21, 1862; eleven children; moved to Texas in 1882.

GEORGE THOMAS BANKS born Sept. 11, 1836; died in Memphis, Tenn., Dec. 18, 1912; married Sallie Love, June 12, 1866; children, Samuel, Love and George Banks, Jr.

LAURA N. STEVENSON wife of W. C. Stevenson, Spring Hill, Tenn., died Jan. 12, 1913; married Oct. 29, 1889; seven children.

SALLIE DORMAN wife of Rev. J. F. Dorman, born Jan. 29, 1840; died in East Tallahassee, Ala., Oct. 20, 1912; married Dec. 24, 1886; thirteen children.

Resolutions of respect for memory of ROBERT N. MATHIS, recently deceased; by Methodist Sunday School, Pleasant Hill; undated.

 

February 21, 1913

Rev. W. W. ROSE, N.C. Conference, died Franklinton, N.C., Feb. 5, 1913 in the 55th year of his age.

SARAH ELIZABETH CRAIN, nee Rhodes, born Mt. Pinson, Madison Co., Tenn., May 21, 1852; died Nacogdoches, Texas, Dec. 9, 1912; married Giles B. Crain, Mar. 4, 1868; three daus., ten sons. Daughter of Dr. T. N. Rhodes.

A. P. WALKER, JR. born Marshall Co., Tenn., Nov. 2, 1905; died Jan. 27, 1913.

A. DONELSON VICK born Benton Co., Tenn., Feb. 1862; died Camden, Tenn., Jan. 6, 1913; married Viola Greer; no children but reared a girl, now Mrs. Travis Brooks of Camden.

Resolutions of respect for memory of Rev. T. V. JOINER who died Hartford, Ky., Jan. 22, 1913 aged 58 years; by his congregation [unnamed]; undated; and another set of resolutions by the official board of Methodist Church, Russellville, Ky., dated January 28, 1913.

 

February 28, 1913

A tribute written by Rev. T. W. Lewis to his mother [unnamed] who died Jan. 27, 1913.

THOMAS BENSON LEDBETTER born Dec. 28, 1825; son of Henry and Mary Steel Ledbetter; died Richmond Co., N.C., Jan. 16, 1913; served in the Peedee Guards, 23rd N.C. Inf. Reg., CSA; married Ella McQueen, Sept. 1866; she died Sept. 22, 1872 leaving him with three children.

MARY ELEANOR PORTER daughter of David and Charlotte Railey Thornton, one of 12 children; born Versailles, Ky., Aug. 10, 1824; died Sedalia, MO, Feb. 2, 1913; married David I. Porter, June 15, 1841, brother of Governor Thomas P. Porter of Ky.; moved to Jackson Co., MO in March 1859; their dwelling was burned during the Civil War; returned to Ky.; moved to Pettus Co., Ky. in 1879 where they died. Children, Mrs. Alice Preston, Mrs. Oakie Madeira, Mrs. Mary Cooper,

 

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Lacey Porter. Three children were deceased, Thornton Porter, killed in the siege of Vicksburg; Mrs. James T. Montgomery and Charles Randolph Porter.

Dr. W. A. WALTON son of T. E. and Susie Walton, born June 5, 1889; died Oct. 17, 1912; alumnus, University of Mississippi.

T. J. DOWDY born Tuscaloosa Co., Ala., Oct. 26, 1827; died Jan. 4, 1913; married T. P. Walton and moved to Calhoun Co., Miss. where he died; served in Confederate army.

 

March 7, 1913

Mrs. JURIAH GRAHAM FOWLER born Somerville, Ala., Oct. 5, 1839; died Birmingham, Ala., Jan. 14, 1913

Mrs. BENJAMIN KENT died Monroe, La., Jan. 11, 1913; born St. Helena Parish, La., Aug. 23, 1839; married 1858; two sons.

M. JOSIE SMITH, nee Brown, born Madisonville, Tenn., Mar. 6, 1848; married R. H. Smith, Sept. 27, 1870; died Feb. 19, 19l3. Lived in Decatur, Tenn. but in 1891 moved to Collinsville, Ala.; five children, Ella (died 1898), Mrs. Josie Tarpley, Mrs. Irene Jordan, Mrs. Cora Nowlin; Dora.

 

March 14, 1913

Resolutions of respect for memory of Mrs. J. A. CLEMENT, recently deceased; by Missionary Society, Methodist Church, Dickson, Tenn.; undated. [This was Agnes Ann Work Shipp (Jan. 1866- Feb. 6, 1913), who married James Archibald Clement in 1899. They were the paternal grandparents of Frank Goad Clement, governor of Tennessee.

 

March 21, 1913

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Livingstone's Tomb.         Dr. Blaikie says: "On June 25, not far from that Lake Bangweolo on whose southern shore he passed away; Dr, Livingstone came on a grave in the forest. He says of it: 'It was a little rounded mound, as if the occupant sat in it in the usual native way; it was strewed over with flour, and a number of the large blue beads put on it; a little path showed that it had visitors. This is the sort of grave I should prefer — to be in the still forest, and no hand ever disturb my bones; but I have nothing to do but wait till He who is over all decides where I have to lay me down and die.' Poor Mary [his wife] lies on Shupanga brae, 'and beeks fornent the sun.'"         God decided otherwise in the case of a resting place for the body, though in the case of the heart the wish was gratified. The black slab in Westminster Abbey bears the following inscription: BROUGHT BY FAITHFUL HANDS OVER LAND AND SEA, HERE RESTS DAVID LIVINGSTONE, MISSIONARY, TRAVELER, PHILANTHROPIST. BORN MARCH 19, 1813, AT BLANTYRE, LANARKSHIRE, DIED MAY 4, 1873, AT CHITAMBO'S VILLAGE, ILALA For thirty years his life was spent in an unwearied effort to evangelize the native races, to explore the undiscovered secrets, and abolish the desolating slave trade of Central Africa, and where with his last words he wrote: "All I can say in my solitude is, May Heaven's rich blessing come down on every one — American, English, Turk — who will help to heal this open sore of the world!"

 

The Secret of a Great Life.         On March 19, 1813, one hundred years ago, a boy was born at Blantyre, a little tow in Scotland. His name was David Livingstone. Many of his boyhood days were spent in the Blantyre silk mills. He attended school at night. He occupied his spare time in reading. He was modest, conscientious, and energetic. In his twentieth year he committed himself fully to Christ and resolved to be a missionary. He studied medicine in order to equip himself fully for his work.         On Saturday, April 18, 1874, the remains of David Livingstone were laid to rest in Westminster Abbey in the presence of the good and the great. His body had been carried on the shoulders of faithful natives for forty weeks from the heart of Africa to the seacoast. Thence it had been borne by an English ship across the sea to his native land. His heart had been buried in the solitude of an African forest.         When he died on his knees in a rude hut in far off Ilala, he was one of the most widely known and best-loved men in the civilized world. He wore the titles of L.L.D., D.C.L., F.R.S. He had been awarded medals by three great nations for important discoveries, geographical, geological, and zoological. He had laid out Africa on an open map. He had discovered great rivers and lakes. He had discovered Victoria Falls, the greatest in the world. He had started a movement which finally ended the African slave trade. He had sounded a missionary note which never ceased trembling until Christian Churches had dotted the Dark Continent with missionary stations. He was the idol of African natives and the Christian world. He stood before the people as an intrepid apostle of Christ who never lost an opportunity to tell the "old, old, story" to the benighted heathen.

 

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DAVID LIVINGSTONE

Page 23, a likeness of Mrs. L. H. Nusbaum, Goshen, Indiana in a Hood's Sarsaparilla advertisement

 

March 28, 1913

Rev. V. O. HAWKINS, DD, preacher, Methodist Church, Lineville, Ala., died suddenly, Mar. 18, 19l3; labored 52 years in the No. Alabama Conference

Rev. T. P. FINCHER, pastor, Methodist Church, Phoenix City, Ala., died Asheville, N.C., March 14, 1913.

MARTHA FRANCES "Fannie" WADE McCANN daughter of Robert C. and Elizabeth J. Wade, Gibson Co., Tenn., married Rev. Z. T. McCann, Feb. 3, 1881; died Feb. l0, 1913. Surviving children, Wade L., Carl C., Carrie E., M. Floy, Fannie P., Dorothy F. Those deceased were Ray, Ruth and Mildred.

 

April 4, 1913

Rev. A. Q. FLAHERTY died Craig Co., Va., Mar. 30, 1913 aged 86 years.

Rev. WILLIAM HENRY ARMSTRONG died Pauls Valley, Okla., Mar. 23, 1913; local Methodist preacher.

ADDIE MAY NUGENT, nee Alexander, born near Charlotte, N.C., Feb. 6, 1852; died New Castle, Ky., Dec. 2, 1912; a descendant of the Mecklenburg Co., N.C. Alexanders; married Rev. C. J. Nugent, Feb. 5, 1874; two sons.

SARAH J. JACKSON, nee Tucker, born June 18, 1843; died Mar. 5, 1913; married Thomas M. Jackson (died April 17, 1899), Jan. 21, 1869; children, M. H., Elizabeth, James Tucker.

KATE WILLIAMS McKINNEY daughter of Allen and Sallie A. Tuck, born Halifax Co., Va., Sept. 6, 1851; died Richmond, Va., Feb. 19, 1913; married R. D. McKinney, Dec. 8, 1880 (children, B. A., Frank, Clinton and Ethel). Scottsburg, Va.

Resolutions of respect for memory of D. A. YARBROUGH of Harmony Methodist Church, No. Alabama Conference, recently deceased; by the Quarterly Conference, Athens Circuit; undated.

 

April 11, 1913

JAMES D. SHELL born Newberry District, S. C., July 5, 1839; died Aberdeen, Miss., Dec. 4, 1913; moved at age 4 years with parents to Monroe Co., Miss.; served in Confederate army.

Rev. BENJAMIN B. RISENHOOVER, retired Methodist preacher, Memphis Conference, born Pickens Co., Ala., Aug. 24, 1832; licensed to preach in Methodist Church, Sept. 25, 1858; ordained deacon, Nov. 11, 1860; ordained elder, Nov. 15, 1879; married Susan Beasley, Dec. 18, 1861. Children, Nannie E. (died Nov. 1899), Edna B., Earley B., Jordan B., James A. and Robert M. Lived about twenty years in Calloway Co., Ky. but about two years ago moved into its county seat, Murray, where he died March 15, 1913.

BETTIE FOSTER LEWIS born Fayette Co., Ala., June 22, 1838; married J. Asbury Lewis, Jan. 13, 1859; moved to a farm in Chickasaw Co., Miss.; five sons, one dau. Died January 27, 1913.

 

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Resolutions of respect for memory of JOHN H. REES, recently deceased; by official board, Methodist Church, Fayetteville, Tenn.; undated.

 

April 18, 1913

LAURA BUTLER TURNER born Murfreesboro, Tenn., Jan. 15, 1843; daughter of W. S. Butler; married Dr. Robert J. Turner, Nov. 1866 and in a few years moved to Bay St. Louis, Miss. Died Jan. 11, 1913.

WILLIAM PATRICK CHILDRESS born Gibson Co., Tenn., Feb. 27, 1851; died Nov. 30, 1912; married Martha Towns, Nov. 1, 1877; four children, surviving were Robert, Leo and Carrie.

Reverend WILLIAM HENRY ARMSTRONG born in Ireland, Oct. 22, 1828; died Pauls Valley, Okla., Mar. 23, 1913; [wife's name not provided] Children, Mrs. Gorman, Mrs. Mahan, Mrs. Fletcher, W. G. and H. W. Had moved to Gainesville, Texas in 1888.

KATHERINE LESTER COLEMAN wife of Rev. James L. Coleman, MD, son of Judge Daniel Coleman, died Athens, Ala., Feb. 14, 1913. Children: Mrs. Minnie Irvine, Lila Coleman, Richard and James Coleman.

 

April 25, 1913

Pages 28-29:

EMMA SANSOM, THE HEROINE OF BLACK CREEK. BY ROBERT T. BENTLEY.         Most people have heard of the famous raid of Col. Abel D. Streight, of the Federal army, through Middle Alabama on his way to Rome, Ga., in 1863, where he expected to tear up the railroads and destroy the military stores belonging to the Confederates at that place. And they have also heard of how Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest went in pursuit of the bold raider and captured him and his men before they reached their destination. And of course they have heard of that brave young girl, Emma Sansom, who rode behind General Forrest to show him the way to the "lost ford" on Black Creek, near Gadsden, Ala., when the Federals had crossed a bridge over this creek and then burned the bridge to check their close pursuers until they could make their escape. But perhaps few have ever read an account of this stirring incident given by the heroine herself.         As General Forrest and his men approached Black Creek, where the bridge had been burned by the Federals, the General himself was leading a squadron of his men in close pursuit of the last Federal who, upon finding the bridge in flames, stopped and surrendered to his pursuers. Close by the side of the road, some two hundred yards from the westerly approach to the bridge, was a plain farmhouse having only a single story, with two or three rooms on each side of a wide-open passageway, after the style of the primitive dwellings of this section of the South. The widow Sansom and her two young daughters owned this modest home and the small tract of land on which it was located. Their chief means of support had formerly been an only son and brother, but he had enlisted in the Confederate army, and the mother and daughters had been left alone struggling to make the little farm yield enough for their support. The father had died several years before the war.         In an account of the crossing of Black Creek by General Forrest on this occasion, given by the subject of this sketch, she says:         "When the Civil War came on, there were in our family three children-a brother and two sisters—of whom I was the youngest. In August, 1861, my brother enlisted in the second company that left Gadsden and joined the Nineteenth Alabama Infantry. My sister and I lived with our mother on the farm. We were at home on the morning of May 2, 1863, when about eight or nine o'clock a company of men wearing blue uniforms and riding mules-and horses galloped past the house and went on toward the bridge. Pretty soon a great crowd of them came along, and some of them stopped at the gate and asked us to bring them some water. Sister and I each took a bucket of water and gave it to them at the gate. One of them asked me where my father was. I told him that he was dead. He asked me if I had any brothers, and I said that I had one, and that he was in the Confederate army. 'Does he think the South will whip?' he asked. ‘He does,’ I replied. 'But what do you think about it?' he asked. 'I think that God is on our side, and that we shall soon win,' I said. 'You do? Well, if you had seen us whip Colonel Roddey the other day and run him across the Tennessee River, you would have thought that God was on our side and that we would win,' he answered.         "By this time some of them began to dismount, and we went into the house. They came in and began to search for firearms and men's saddles. They did not find anything but a sidesaddle, and one of them cut the skirt off of that. Just then some one from the road said in a loud tone: 'You men bring a chunk of fire with you, and get out of that house.' The men got the fire in the kitchen and started out, and an officer put a guard around the house, saying: 'This guard is for your protection.' They all soon hurried down to the bridge, and in a few minutes we saw the smoke rising and knew that they were burning the bridge. As our fence extended up to the railing of the bridge, mother said: 'Come with me, and we will pull our rails away so that they will not be destroyed.' When we got to the top of the hill, we saw that the rails were already piled on the bridge and were on fire, and the Yankees were on the other side of the creek guarding the bridge. We turned back toward the house, and had gone but a few steps before we saw a Yankee coming at full speed, and behind him were some more men on horses. I heard them shout: "Halt and surrender!" The man stopped, threw up his hands, and handed over his gun. The officer to whom the soldier surrendered said: ‘Ladies, do not be alarmed. I am General Forrest. I and my men will protect you. Where are the Yankees?’ Mother said: 'They have set the bridge on fire, and are standing in line on the other side; and if you go down that hill, they will kill every one of you.'         "By this time our men had come up, and some went out in the field, and both sides commenced shooting. We ran to the house, and I got there ahead of all. General Forrest dashed up to the gate and said to me: 'Can you tell me where I can get across the creek?' I told him that there was an unsafe bridge two miles further down the stream, but that I knew of a

 

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trail about two hundred yards above the bridge on our farm where our cows used to cross in low water, and I believed that he could get his men over there, and that if he would have my saddle put on a horse I would show him the way. He said: ‘There is no time to saddle a horse. Get up here behind me.’ As he said this, he rode close to the bank on the side of the road, and I jumped up behind him. Just as we started off, mother came up about out of breath and gasped: "Emma, what do you mean?’ General Forrest said: ‘She is going to show me a ford where I can get my men over in time to catch those Yankees before they get to Rome. Don't be uneasy. I will bring her back safe.’ We rode out into a field through which ran a branch or small ravine and along which was a thick underbrush that protected us for a while from being seen by the Yankees at the bridge on the other side of the creek. This branch emptied into the creek just below the ford. When we got close to the creek, I said: ‘General Forrest, I think we had better get off the horse, as we are now where we may be seen.’ We both got down and crept through the bushes; and when we were right at the ford, I happened to be in front. He stepped quickly between me and the Yankees, saying: 'I am glad to have you for a pilot, but I'm not going to make breastworks of you.' The cannon and the other guns were firing fast when I pointed out to him where to go into the water and out on the other bank. We then went back to the house. He asked me my name and for a lock of my hair. Cannon balls were screaming over us so loudly that mother, sister, and I were made to hide in a place less dangerous than the house.         "Soon afterwards all the firing stopped, and I started back home. On the way I met General Forrest again, and he told me that he had written a note for me and left it on the bureau. He asked me again for a lock of my hair. As we went into the house, he said: ‘One of my bravest men has been killed and he is laid out in the house. His name is Robert Turner. I want you to see that he is buried in some graveyard near here.’ He then told me good-by and got on his horse, and he and his men rode away and left us. My sister and I sat up all night watching over the dead soldier who had lost his life fighting for our rights, in which struggle we were overpowered but never conquered. General Forrest and his men endeared themselves to us forever."         "In less than thirty minutes from the time Forrest arrived at Black Creek," says a writer concerning this raid, "his artillery was up and the Federals were driven away from the opposite bank. The ‘lost ford’ was soon cleared and made passable. The cavalry went over, carrying by hand the ammunition from the caissons. The guns and empty caissons, with long ropes tied to poles, were then rolled by hand to the water’s edge and one end of the rope taken to the top of the opposite bank and hitched to double teams of horses. In this original manner the artillery soon made its passage to the east bank. The advance guard had already hurried on after the raiders, who, to their great surprise, were forced out of Gadsden, less than four miles distant from Black Creek bridge, before they could do much damage to the small commissary supplies found there. Another all-night ride now became necessary for Colonel Streight, although the command was in no condition to make it. Many of his men and animals were entirely worn out and unable to keep up with the main body, and were captured. Colonel Streight in his official report says: ‘Nature was exhausted. A large portion of my best troops actually went to sleep while lying in line of battle under a severe skirmish fire."         After being pursued by General Forrest for one hundred and fifty miles Colonel Streight at last surrendered to his pursuer at Lawrence, Ga.         The note left at the Sansom house by General Forrest for the heroine of Black Creek reads as follows: HEADQUARTERS IN SADDLE May 2, 1863 My highest regards to Miss Emma Sansom for her gallant conduct while my force was skirmishing with the Federals across Black Creek, near Gadsden, Ala. N. B. FORREST Brig. Gen’l Commanding N. Ala.         "The outside world can scarcely appreciate the influence of the women of the South," says a writer in this connection, "in carrying on the war when it was once started. It was this spirit which actuated the Widow Sansom to give her only son and chief support to the Southern cause, and which inspired her young daughter to risk her life under fire in guiding a Confederate force in its pursuit of an invading enemy. As long as the names of Nathan Bedford Forrest and Abel D. Streight shall be found upon the page of history, coupled with them in artless girlhood and heroic pose will be the name of Emma Sansom."

 

GEORGE D. VANHORN died Houston, Miss., April 2, 1913; a jeweler and watch-maker, his family moved there from Paris, Tenn. about eight years ago; husband and father (five daus., one son ).

REBECCA J. GOSSAGE, nee Hessey, born May 26, 1839; married W. J. Mathews, 1856; he died in the Confederate army (child, A. W. Mathews); (2) W. W. Gossage (died 1886), 1876. Died March 17, 1913.

RUE H. WILLIAMS, nee Vance, born Jefferson Co., Tenn., Sept. 26, 1912 [an obvious error,. chronologically]; married D. C. Williams, July 26, 1860 and in 1865 moved to Rome, Ga., then to Ala.; eleven children; died April 2, 1913.

"In Memoriam", Rev. T. J. LINDSEY born Lawrence Co., Tenn., Aug. 5, 1846; died Leighton, Tenn., Dec 18, 1912; married S. E. Clair, Aug. 4, 1867; moved to Lawrence Co., Ala.; licensed to preach in Methodist Church, April 30, 1903; a local preacher.

 

May 2, 1913

SAMUEL MARTIN WOMACK born Wilson Co., Tenn., Nov. 19, 1845; at age ten moved with family near to Bentonville, Ark.; married Martha Conner, 1909; died March 22, 1913.

 

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FREEMAN BRADLEY DANIEL born Perry Co., Ala., April 27, 1856; married E. T. Bozeman, June 23, 1882; children, Mrs. F. S. Andrews, F. B. Daniel, Jr., A. W. Daniel. Died from an accidental fall, Mar. 19, 1913, Birmingham, Alabama.

SARAH M. LEWIS born Blount Co., Ala., Feb. 1, 1830; daughter of John W. and Lucretia Green; moved with parents to Independence Co. in 1843; married W. R. Lewis, Sept. 27, 1849; ten children; joined Methodist Church in 1858; died February 1, 1913.

 

May 9, 1913

Rev. J. E. POTTS, Virginia Conference, died Amelia, Va., April 26, 1913.

Rev. M. H. NEELY, DD, born Indiana, 1836; moved to Texas when young; began his Methodist ministry in 1856; died San Antonio, Texas, April 27, 1913.

Rev. KENNETH D. HOLMES, pastor, Methodist Church, Sanford, N.C., died April 24, 1913; husband and father (six children).

Rev. W. G. HEFLEY born Clinton, Ky., 1853; presiding elder of Jackson District, Memphis Conference died April 29, 1913; of uremic poisoning; for 37 years an itinerant preacher; husband and father (six children).

 

May 16, 1913

Rev. ANDREW M. CACKLEY, Baltimore Conference, pastor, St. James Methodist Church, Roanoke, Va., died April 27, 1913 aged 64 years.

Rev. GEORGE G. SMITH, retired Methodist preacher, NO Georgia Conference, died May 8, 1913.

E. A. L. WALLER, nee Matthews, born Williamson Co., Tenn., Mar. 19, 1825; daughter of James S. and Mary Matthews, Accomac Co., Va.; married Peay Waller, 1842. Children, J. P., J. W. and Marie (died young); died recently.

EMMA V. BUFORD born Morgan Co., Ala., Mar. 6, 1854; died near Marianna, Ark., April 17, 1913; married R. W. Buford, Dec. 18, 1877; had one son who died.

SALLIE MATILDA PARKER born Wayne Co., Ky., May 27, 1830; her father, Rev. Lewis Parker, born March 23, 1798; a Methodist preacher in Ky. Conference; her mother, Matilda De Forrest Lockett, was born Jan. 11, 1803. Sallie married Rev. I. W. Emerson, April 28, 1853 and she died March 22, 1913; burial in Maple Grove Cemetery, Russellville, Ky. Children, Walter P., Mrs. J. C. McCallen, Edwin F., Mrs. J. W. Scott.

MAUDE SENTER JORDAN daughter of John T. and Mattie Senter, born Bethpage, Tenn., Dec. 24, 1877; died Mar. 13, 1913; married Charles Robert Jordan, June 29, 1904; a son, Robert Scates Jordan. She was "amiable and tender-natured."

 

May 23, 1913

NETTIE MATTHEWS wife of Evan S. Matthews, employee of Methodist Publishing House, Nashville died May 19, 1913.

AARON LEMUEL MIMS born Cocke Co., Tenn., Jan. 2, 1834; died Davidson Co., Tenn., April 13, 1913; served in Confederate army; farmer; never married but helped his widowed sister-in-law to rear her children.

CHASLINE WEBB only child of Joseph and Mary Webb, born Dec. 17, 1893; graduate, Fayette Co. High School, Somerville, Tenn., May 1912; died April 3, 1913.

 

May 30, 1913

Dr. S. M. WATSON, Pleasant Hill, Miss., died April 6, 1903 in the 65th year of his age; husband and father (four sons).

SALLIE SEARCY VAUGHAN born near Nashville, Tenn., July l6, 185l; died April 6, 19l3; married William A. Vaughan, merchant, Gallatin, Tenn., Oct. 15, 1852; two children. Daughter of Dr. W. W. Searcy and Emilene. Johnson Searcy; granddaughter of Robert Searcy, a pioneer lawyer.

 

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Mrs. H. A. BUTTS died April 18, 1913.

MARY VINCENT SCOTT married John A. Jones, professor in University of Alabama, 1885; surviving children, Archibald A., Elliot H., Ernest S., Herbert V., Bessie H. Her husband died in 1896 and she moved to live with her son, Archibald, in Asheville, N.C. and later to Kansas City with her son, Elliot; died recently.

Resolutions of respect for memory of MARY R. MEQUIAR, born 1831, recently deceased; by Methodist congregation, Mt. Sterling, Ky., dated April 27, 1913.

Tribute of respect for memory of Mrs. JIM INGRAM who died Feb. 25, 1913; by Missionary Society of Pisgah Methodist Church; undated.

 

June 6, 1913

No obituaries appeared in this issue.

 

June 13, 1913

No obituaries appeared in this issue.

 

June 20, 1913

Mrs. F. A. DAVIS wife of Rev. B. O. Davis, Holston Conference, died Abingdon, Va., May 21, 1913; married in 1885.

Mrs. E. Q. KREIS married Harmon Kreis, Sept. 10, 1867; one dau., five sons; died Knoxville, Tenn., May 13, 1913.

W. H. MATTHEWS, SR. born Oakbowery, Ala., 1841; moved to La. 36 years ago, then to south Alabama, near El Dorado; died May 31, 1913.

EMILY FANNIE ROBERTSON, nee Stone, born middle Tenn., April 16, 1848; moved with parents to Ky.; married William Andrew Robertson, 1868; four children; died recently.

WILLIAM T. DAVIS born 69 years ago; died Memphis, Tenn., April 24, 1913; married Mrs. Susan Marcahtn; three stepchildren.

HENRY JORDAN ROGERS born near Leeville, Tenn., Sept. 1844; son of Asa G. and Polline Chandler Rogers; served in Confederate army; married Eleanor Willis dau. of Rev. Joseph and Mary Sturdivant Willis; children, Lily May Rogers Carroll and Joseph Willis Rogers. Died May 11, 1912.

 

June 27, 1913

GEORGE W. MARTIN son of Captain William and Sarah Glass Martin, born Weakley Co., Tenn., Oct. 16, 1839; served in state legislature; married Martha Williams, 1878; died April 14, 1913.

FRANCES J. MOODY, nee Morris, born near Greensboro, Ala., April 4, 1836; married R. A. Moody, Apr. 28, 1854; seven children; died April 30, 1913.

Resolutions of respect in memory of Mrs. WILLIAM R. REDY, president of Bethany Methodist Church's missionary society, recently deceased; by that society; undated.

DAVID A. YARBROUGH born Giles Co., Tenn., 1840; died near Athens, Ala., Dec. 21, 1913 [1912]; husband and father.

 

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