GOODSPEED – H

Goodspeed’s History of Tennessee 1887

Biographies of Weakley County


Biographies H
   


Col. M. Z. HANKINS first saw the light of day in Henry County, in 1837.    He was one of five children and is now the only surviving member of the family of S. W. and Caroline Hankins, born in Worth and South Carolina, November 9, 1809, and October 4, 1804, respectively.  They were married in Tipton County, Tenn., August 23, 1836.   The father, who was a Methodist Episcopal minister, began expounding the Gospel October 12, 1833, and was ordained deacon by J. O. Andrew, in Macon, Ga., January 17, 1836, and was afterward ordained elder at Granada, Mississippi, by Bishops Thomas and Morris. At the time of his death, in 1843, he was sojourning in Florida for his health. Re was a minister of no little ability and distinction and did much to aid the cause of Christianity.  Our subject’s grandfather, Samuel Hankins, was a minister and an early pioneer of Tennessee. He owned about 14,000 acres of land in Henry County, besides 5,000 acres in the extreme western part of the State. He became possessor of these lands through his wife, who was a Miss Howe. The immediate subject of our sketch went to Mississippi with his parents when about six years old, and was educated at the Masonic College at Granada, Miss.   In 1861 he enlisted in Company G, Fifteenth Mississippi Infantry, being captain of the same at first and afterward colonel.  He was at Shiloh, Baton Rouge, Corinth and Harrisburg, where he received a severe wound, from the effects of which he has never fully recovered.  He returned home in May, 1865.   In 1867 he married Lou M. Gardner.   She was born in Weakley County, in 1843, and is a daughter of Col. John A. Gardner, and has borne her husband four children: Berah, Joseph G., Zadi and Zerle.  Since 1837  Mr.  Hankins has been a resident of Weakley County.  He owns 200 acres of valuable land near Martin.  In 1870 he was elected constable, and has been twice re-elected.  He was then chosen magistrate, and is still filling the duties of that office, giving entire satisfaction to all.  He is a Democrat and his first presidential vote was cast for John Bell.   He is a Mason, and a member of the K. of H.  He and wife belong to the Baptist Church.

M. HANNINGS was born in Carroll County, Tenn., in 1817, one of ten children of J. G. and Eliza A. Hannings, who were born in Virginia, in 1809.    They were married in their native State, and in 1841 came to Carroll County, Tenn., and remained until 1849.   He then came to Weakley County, and died in 1881.  The mother is yet living. Our subject was educated in the Glade School, near home, and in 1873 married Mary J. Craig, daughter of John Craig.  Mrs. Hannings was born in Carroll County, in 1856, and is the mother of three children: Lycurgus, Moses C. and Herschel V.   Mr. Hannings owns 157 acres of valuable land in the Fourteenth District, and is an active, industrious man.  In 1878 he was elected to the office of constable, and held the office four years to the satisfaction of all.   He gives his support to all laudable enterprises, and is a man who has the respect and esteem of all.  He is a Democrat politically, and he and Mrs. Hannings are members of the Missionary Baptist Church.

Lea HARRIS, trustee, of Weakley County, Tenn., was born in North Carolina, in 1826.  His father, Stephen Harris, was born in Virginia, in 1790, and followed the occupations of farming and shoemaking.  He went to South Carolina in his youth, and after residing there a few years, left the Palmetto State and went to North Carolina, where he married Mary Lea, who was a native of that State.  To them were born six children.  The mother died in 1828, and the father took for his second wife Elizabeth Lea (sister of his first wife), and died in 1859.  Lea Harris was educated in his native State, and when a small boy commenced working at the shoemaker’s trade with his father and continued until he was grown.  September 9, 1844, he married Irena Lea, daughter of Barnett J. and Desdamony Lea.   Mrs. Harris was born in North Carolina, February 15, 1823.   They have three children living: Mary Frances (Mrs. G. W. Higgs), Stephen J. and Elzada A.   Immediately after his marriage Mr. Harris left his native State and came to Weakley County, Tenn., and purchased property in the Fourth District, and began his career as a farmer. In 1868 he was elected constable and held the position four years. After a lapse of two years he was again elected to the same office, which he filled three years. In 1870 he began buying leaf tobacco, and for eleven years was the leading tobacco buyer, and was one of the most prominent citizens of Weakley County.  In 1882 he was elected county trustee, and at the expiration of that term was re-elected , and again re-elected in 1886. He bought property in the town and is now a permanent resident of Dresden. He is a Democrat and a member of the Masonic fraternity, Lodge No. 9. He belongs to the Christian Church.

A. HATLER, miller, of Martin, Tenn., was one of thirteen children, seven of whom are living, born to the marriage of Alexander Hatler and Elizabeth Russell, who were born in Barren County, Ky., in 1800 and 1805, and died in Henry County, Tenn., 1846 and 1875 respectively.  They were married in their native county, and in 1825 moved to Henry County, Tenn., where the father built a mill on Old Town Creek, and there resided until his death.  Our subject was born in Henry County in 1827, and was educated in the old-fashioned dirt-floored schoolhouses of early days.  In 1854 he wedded Regina Richie, daughter of James and Lucy Richie.  Mrs. Hatler was born near Nashville, Tenn., in 1827, and died in the spring of 1866, leaving two children: William L., now in Morgan County, Mo., and Alien, living near Martin.   In 1867 Mr. Hatler married Columbia Hatler, who became the mother of one daughter – Regina, and died in 1869.   Mr. Hatler married his third wife, Mrs. Shouklin, in 1870.  To them were born two children, both of whom are deceased.  Our subject married his fourth wife, Lucy A. Quarrels, in July, 1881.   Mrs. Hatler was born in Weakley County in 1854, and has borne her husband one daughter – Harriett.   From the time of his first marriage up to January, 1886, Mr. Hatler followed farming.   He is now doing quite an extensive business in grist-milling, turning out about thirty barrels of flour per day and 150 bushels of corn meal.   His farm of 156 acres, of land is in the Third District.  He has given his children good educational advantages, and in politics is conservative, though formerly a Whig.  He is a Mason. His great-grandfather came from Germany and located in North Carolina, and after a time the family gradually pushed westward, and are now citizens of Kentucky and Tennessee.

Enoch HEATH, M. D., was one of nine children born to Ryland and Anna (Gilbert) Heath.  The father was of Scottish-German descent and was born in North Carolina in 1781.   His parents dying when he was young, he was reared by an aunt, who saw that he obtained a common school education.   He was married about 1810, and removed to Tennessee; thence to Kentucky, where he resided until his demise in 1869. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, and was at the battle of New Orleans. His wife was born in Georgia, in 1789, and died in old Kentucky in 1872.   Enoch Heath, after residing at home and being educated in the common schools, began the study of medicine in 1858, under the direction of Drs. Brazier, at Weston, Ky.  A year later he began taking lectures in Cincinnati, Ohio, and graduated as an M. D. from a medical institution in that city in 1860.   June 9, of the same year, he visited his first patient at Weston, Ky., and has plied his profession ever since, meeting with good success.    In 1862 he came to Weakley County, Tenn., and located on his farm of 125 acres, where he continued to reside and practice until 1876, with the exception of about two years spent in the Eleventh District.   January 13, 1863, he married Anna Hughes, born in Weston, Ky., in 1841, by whom he has two children: John, an M. D. at Greenfield, and Hattie. Mrs. Heath’s father, Joseph Hughes, was born in North Carolina, and the mother, Anna Hughes, in South Carolina. In 1876 Dr. Heath removed to Gleason, where he purchased a small tract of land and soon built up a good practice. He served about six months in the late war when ill health caused him to give up army life.    He is a Democrat and Mason, and he and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South.

William P. HILL, farmer and miller. was born in the Blue-grass State in 1818.   His parents were William and Sarah (Copeland) Hill.  The father’s ancestors were of Irish birth.  He was born in North Carolina in 1791, and was educated at Hillsboro, his native town, taking a theological course, and afterward pursued that study in a Presbyterian university of that State.  He moved to Logan County, Ky., when a young man, and was married in 1816.  He followed his calling in Adairsville, but was cut down in the vigor of manhood; his death occurring in 1818. About three years later his widow married  Robert B. Payne, and died in 1856.  William P. Hill resided with his mother and acquired a fair English education in the neighboring schools.  In 1821 he removed with his mother and step-father to Weakley County, Tenn., where he has since spent the most of his days.  In 1836 he entered a mercantile establishment at Dresden, where he was employed as salesman a number of years.     In 1841 he commenced merchandising on his own responsibility at Christmasville, Carroll County, where he remained four years. He then farmed in Weakley County until 1850.  He removed to Troy, Obion County, where he began merchandising, and in 1856 was elected county register, in which capacity he served the public four years to the general satisfaction of all.  In 1860 he started to emigrate to Texas, but while in Arkansas was deterred from proceeding on his journey by the State forces, and was compelled to abandon his project and settle in that vicinity. In April, 1861, he enlisted in Company A, First Missouri Regiment, and was made quartermaster.  After the regiment was reorganized he was again chosen quartermaster with the rank and pay of colonel.  He participated in many hard-fought battles.   January 28, 1841, he was married to Miss Olive Taylor, and of their five children two are living: Erasmus and Laura V. (widow of Aaron Franklin).  Mrs. Hill died in the latter part of 1865.   In 1866 Mr. Hill married  Louisa M. Null, by whom he had seven children, six of whom are living: James P., Mary O., Luella, Sterling Price, Robert Lee and William Bate.  In 1885 Mr. Hill purchased 600 acres of land in the Fifteenth District, on which he now resides.  He served a number of years as magistrate of Carroll County and as deputy sheriff of Weakley County. He is a Democrat, Mason and a member of the I.O.O.F., and his wife is a worthy member of the Baptist Church.

Elliott D. HORNBEAK is a son of James and Sarah (Dean) Hornbeak, and was born in Hickman County, Tenn., in 1817.   He was educated in the very primitive schools of his day, and after attaining his majority, continued to remain with his mother on the home farm, of which he afterward became the possessor.    March 22, 1854, Elizabeth White became his wife.   She is a daughter of J. A. and Prudence White, and became the mother of eleven children, the following nine now living: S. Prudence, Ann Eliza, William A., John B.. Allen B., George A., Thomas M., Ethelbert J. and Margaret E.   Mr. Hornbeak’s farm consists of    238 acres of very productive land.   He is a man who is strictly honest in all his dealings, and possesses fine business qualities.  He has always been a member of the Democratic party, and Martin Van Buren received his first presidential vote.  He has been a member of the Masonic fraternity for nearly forty years, and he and Mrs. Hornbeak are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church; the latter was born in Jackson County, Tenn., in 1835, and departed this life October 8, 1881. Our subject’s father was born in Tennessee, in 1782, and is of German descent. He was married when about twenty-two years of age.  He was a farmer, and the owner of 353 acres of land, and died in 1849.  The mother died in 1876, at the ripe old age of ninety-two years.

Henry  F.  HUDSON, M. D., of Greenfield, Tenn., is a son of David H. and Martha J. (Parton) Hudson, and was born in Wilson County, on the 23d of November, 1846.  His father’s family are P. W., Emeline, Thomas, Wiley, Bannie, Eliza Ann., Sophronia, Rebecca, and our subject, who was educated in the schools near his home.    In 1871 he entered Nashville University, but at the end of one year, entered a medical school at Louisville, Ky., and graduated in 1873.  He then practiced his profession, near Bradford, Tenn., for about live years, when he removed to Greenfield, and there still resides. He is a successful practitioner, and ranks high among the members of his profession.  January, 1869, witnessed his marriage with Lucy Baird, daughter of Henry and Almeda Baird.  They have two children: Dovie and Etta.  Mrs. Hudson was born in Wilson County, in 1847.  Dr. Hudson is a man of good business qualifications, and was mayor of Greenfield for about three years.  He is a Democrat, and his wife and daughter, Dovie, are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.   Mrs. Hudson is the owner of some real estate in the village, also a stave factory about five miles from town.  The Doctor’s father and mother were born in Virginia and Tennessee, in 1822 and 1824 respectively, and were married in 1845; the father is a farmer, and in 1872 immigrated to Texas, where he purchased land, and has since resided.

W. W. HUGLETT, a prominent citizen and farmer, of the Sixteenth District, Obion Co., Tenn., was born in Henry County, Tenn., in October, 1832, being one of a family of twelve children, nine of whom are living.  His parents were Moses and Elizabeth Hughlett, the former being of Scotch, and the latter of Irish descent.    His father was born in Virginia, in 1798, and moved to Kentucky, while a young man, where he worked at the tailor’s trade. Upon his marriage, in 1821, he removed to Henry County, Tenn., and was among the first settlers of that county, and assisted in laying out the town of Paris.   After remaining for ten years in Henry County, he removed across the line into Graves County, Ky and from there to Weakley County, Tenn., where he lived until his death, in 1870. After his marriage, he became a farmer, which vocation he continued through after life.  His (our subject’s) mother, was born in Cumberland County, Ky., about 1808, and died in 1878. The subject of this sketch was brought up at home, and attended the neighborhood schools.  In 1862 he was married to Margaret, daughter of Joshua A. and Mary Pate, she having been born in Williamson County, Tenn., in 1838.  By this marriage, they have eight children, as follows: Mary B., (wife of W. H. Winsett), Thomas, Joseph, Sallie, Elizabeth, Maggie, John and Victoria.   After marriage Mr. Hughlett turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, which have since occupied his time, in connection with handling tobacco.  He is an active, enterprising man, and is a Republican in politics, though formerly a Whig.   He and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Dr. G. W. L. HYNDS, a successful physician and farmer of the Eighteenth District, was born in 1839, being one of a family of six children, live of whom are yet living.   His father was born in East Tennessee, in 1811, from where he removed to Rutherford County, and thence to Weakley County, in 1837, locating on a farm in the Eighteenth District, and residing there until his death, in 1884.   His mother was born in Rutherford County, in 1817, and is now residing with her daughter, Mrs. James H. Sullivan, on the homestead farm, in the Eighteenth District.   Dr. Hynds obtained his education in the common schools, and at the age of twenty-one years, began the study of medicine with Dr. Wm. Maxwell, at Mt. Pelia.   After a year spent in reading medicine, he attended courses of lectures, first at the Memphis Medical School, and then at the Physio-medical Institute,of Cincinnati, Ohio.   After completing his medical studies, he located in the Eighteenth District, where he began the practice of his profession, and at the same time engaged in farming.   In 1870 he was married to Paralee, daughter of G. H. and Nancy C. (Crosser) Hattler, the former of whom was born in Allen County, Ky., July 12,1817, and the latter was born April 30, 1823, and died

ws – Nannie, Sallie, James Daniel, Mintie, Birtie, Joseph, Benjamin and Susan.    Dr. Hynds is a Republican in politics, and is a member of the I.O.O.F. fraternity.  His wife is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

 

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