J. C. Biles, clerk and master of the chancery court of Warren County, Tenn., and resident of McMinnville, was born in this county June 27, 1843, the third of nine children born to Robert B. and Nancy (Ramsey) Biles, both natives of Warren County, where they were married in 1838. The father was born in April, 1810, was a farmer and stock raiser. He was A heavy loser by the war, was an old line Whig in politics and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. He died in his native county in April, 1873. The mother was born in September, 1816, is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and is now living at McMinnville, Tenn. The paternal grandfather of J. C. emigrated from North Carolina and settled in Warren County in 1806. J. C. received a practical education and in the spring of 1861, when but seventeen years old, he enlisted in Company C, Sixteenth Tennessee Regiment Infantry, with D. M. Donnell as captain of the company and John H. Savage, colonel of the regiment. The regiment at first united with the forces of General Zollicoffer, but in July, 1861, was transferred to Lee’s army and remained with him until the following December, when it was sent to the coast of South Carolina. After the battle of Shiloh the regiment joined the Army of the Tennessee, where it remained throughout the war.  Mr. Biles participated in the battles of Perryville, Ky., Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge and all the battles of Johnson’s retreat from Dalton to Atlanta. He was captured after being wounded at Perryville, Ky., and sent as prisoner of war to Chicago, Ill., where he was kept until April, 1863, when he was exchanged and rejoined the army at Tullahoma, Tenn. July 22, 1864, at Atlanta he received a severe wound, and after his recovery, when on Hood’s raid into Tennessee, he was again captured and sent to Camp Chase, Ohio, where he was held a prisoner until the close of the war. In the spring of 1865 he returned home and in August of the same year was appointed deputy clerk and master of the chancery court of Warren County, which position he held until 1871. In 1867 he in partnership with Charles R. Morford established a grocery and hardware store, in which he still owns an interest. January, 1877, he was appointed clerk and master of the chancery courts of his county and in 1883 was re-appointed and still holds that office. In 1884 Mr. Biles was made a member of the State Democratic executive committee and was re-appointed in 1886 and is now an honored member of that body. June 27, 1867, he married Miss Jane Morford, born in Warren County in July, 1848. Mr. and Mrs. Biles are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

Source: Goodspeed, History of Tennessee, Warren County, 1886-1887. 

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