Many thanks to Donna O'Brien for the transcriptions of these biographies.
George Washington Alley, one of Marion County's prominent and prosperous farmers, who is now making his home in the city of Jasper, was born one mile east of that city, February 9, 1838, the son of Erasmus and Mary (Kelly) Alley. The father was born in Overton County, Tenn., in the year 1801, and the mother in Marion County, Tenn., in July 1808. Erasmus Alley was a son of Watson Alley, who was born in Virginia and grew to manhood and was married there. He moved to Overton county, Tenn., with his family when Erasmus, our subject's father was a small boy, and settled at Battle Creek, now South Pittsburg, where he and his wife both died at the home of their son, Erasmus.
Erasmus Alley, our subject's father, is the oldest of a family of five children. He was educated in Overton County, and worked at farming and trading in stock. He bought a farm one mile east of Jasper and made that his home for several years, being married a short time before buying the farm. He afterward gave this place to his son, Alex, and moved to South Pittsburg, bought a farm near there, and in connection with his farm work, operated a mercantile business in the city and also a ferry across the Tennessee River. He left there about the year 1850, and went to Running Water, Marion County, Tenn., and was there engaged in getting out railroad timber until 1859, when he returned to his farm at South Pittsburg. At the breaking out of the war, he left his home as a refugee and stayed in Cedartown, Ga., until the close of the war. He then made his home on his farm at South Pittsburg until 1873, and then sold out everything and moved to a farm one mile west of Jasper and remained there until his death, which occurred in 1878. His wife died in 1871. They were both members of the M. E. church, South, and are both buried in South Pittsburg. They were the parents of a family of twelve children, as follows: James, John and Levan (deceased); Alex K., who operates a hotel business at Tucker Springs, Bradley County, Tenn.; Thomas, who died while young; Nancy (deceased); George W. (the subject of this sketch); James K. P., a farmer in Texas; Valentine K. (deceased); Mary E. (deceased); Hattie T. (wife of Rev. John Burnett, of Whitfield County, Ga.); and Erasmus (deceased).
The subject of our sketch received his primary training in the public schools of the district in which he spent his boyhood and supplemented the same with a full course in the Burritt College at Spencer. Mrs. Alley, who bore the maiden name of Miss Mary J. Bybee, was born February 24, 1838 in Van Buren County, Tenn., the daughter of George D. and Sarah (Wood) Bybee. She was educated in McMinnville and Spencer and taught school for a few years. They were married July 15, 1858 and five children have been born to them, namely: Leaven L., of Jasper; Mary I., wife of S. O. Bradley, a farmer near Jasper; George E., at Bridgeport, Ala.; John C., at home, and Sallie H., is at home and attending school. Mr. Alley is an old soldier, having enlisted in 1861, in Company K, Twenty-fifth Tennessee Infantry, under Captain Alex K. Alley, his brother, and participated in the battles of Murfreesboro and Cumberland Gap, and after that he was appointed wagon and forage master, and therefore did not participate in any more of the battles. Socially, he is a Mason, and holds his membership in Jasper, and is also a member of the Knights of Labor. Politically he is a Democrat and cast his first presidential ballot for James Buchanan. Mr. Alley has also served as justice of the peace of Marion County since the year 1871 with the exception of about two years. He was elected chairman of the county court in 1885 and held that office seven years. In 1885, he moved from his farm, one mile west of Jasper, and since then has made his home in Jasper, but is still working his place. As a farmer he is thorough and systematic, and as a friend and neighbor he is pleasant, genial, warm-hearted, and has a very agreeable family.
Calvin Critdon Anderson, one of the most prosperous and substantial agriculturists, as well as one of the leading citizens of the Thirteenth district, Marion County, Tenn., was born there on the 9th of April, 1859, a son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Riggle) Anderson. During the Civil War, the father enlisted in the Confederate service, and after serving a short time all trace of him was lost, since which time nothing has ever been heard of him. The mother then went to live with two brothers, Daniel and Calvin Riggle, and now finds a pleasant home with our subject. She was born in the Seventh district of Marion County, and by her marriage became the mother of two children, the older being Mary, who died when young.
Mr. Anderson was educated at Hales Chapel in the Thirteenth district and among his schoolmates was the young lady who afterward became his wife, their courtship commencing while they were students at that institution. Mrs. Anderson, formerly Miss Georgiana Hale, was born in the Thirteenth district, and is a daughter of Washington and Rebecca (Girdley) Hale, in whose family were seven children, namely: Hattie (deceased); Georgiana, Maggie, Mary, Martha, Jennie and Eliza. The father died about fourteen years ago, but the mother is still living, making her home upon a farm in the Thirteenth district. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Anderson was celebrated February 13, 1889, and five children grace their union: Estill A., Leola E., Rebecca, Joseph and Clida, all at home.
Mr. Anderson inherited five hundred acres of fine farming land in the Thirteenth district, two hundred acres of which is in the Tennessee Valley bordering on the river, and is most valuable property. Farming and stock raising have been his life work, and the success that has crowned his efforts shows that he made no mistake in choosing his calling. His place is one the most beautiful and attractive to be found in this region, and is a credit to the industry, enterprise and able management of the owner.
Politically, Mr. Anderson is a stalwart Democrat, casting his first presidential vote for Grover Cleveland in 1884. In 1896, he was elected justice of the peace at a special election held on account of the former official having resigned, and is now acceptably serving in that position. He has also filled the office of school director since August 1896, and has discharged his official duties with a promptness and fidelity worthy of all commendation. He is emphatically a man of enterprise, positive character, indomitable energy, strict integrity and liberal views, and is thoroughly identified with the welfare and prosperity of his native county. In religious belief both he and his wife are Methodists.
Benjamin Franklin Ashburn is a public-spirited and enterprising member of the farming community in Marion County. Although he has done considerable merchandising and worked for a time at tanning, he has devoted the greater part of his life to agriculture, in the pursuit of which he has been very fortunate, and is the proprietor of one of the fine farms in the Third district, where he is making his home and base of operations.
Mr. Ashburn was born on the farm on which he now lives September 14, 1830, a son of Joshua Thompson and Mary G. (Foster) Ashburn, the former born January 3, 1801, in Granger County, Tenn., and the latter was born in Bledsoe County, Tenn., in 1802. Joshua Thompson Ashburn was a son of Martin Ashburn. Our subject's father settled in the Sequatchie Valley, in Marion County, Tenn., when a young man. He was married in Bledsoe County, Tenn., built the house in which our subject now lives and made that his home until 1850. He then moved to another house on the same farm, and made that his home until his death. His wife died in March 1857, and is buried at Red Hill Cemetery. The father subsequently married Mrs. Nancy Horn, who died in 1884, and is also buried in Red Hill Cemetery. He was an elder in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, was the owner of a large tract of land, and died at his home in 1883. To his first marriage were born ten children, of whom we have the following record: Martin (deceased); Elizabeth (deceased); James (deceased); William (deceased); Benjamin F. (the subject of this sketch); Anderson T. (deceased); Isaac H. (deceased); Sarah O. (wife of J. M. Price, a farmer of the Third district); Mary C. (widow of Mordica C. Claim, a farmer of Sequatchie County, Tenn.); Martha (wife of W. L. Andes, a farmer of the Third district).
The subject of this sketch was educated in the public schools of Marion County, and afterward taught school for several terms. He bought a portion of his father's farm, just before the war, made that his home and engaged in merchandising at Victoria for five years, and then sold out and went to Whitwell. After operating a mercantile business at that place for six years, he sold out the business and turned his attention to farming. Before the war, he started a tannery at his home, and continued the same for a time after the close of the war. In 1863, he enlisted in the Confederate Army, under Captain Corn and Colonel Howard, and operated in Kentucky and Tennessee, returning to his home just before the close of the war and resuming his farming. Politically he is a Democrat, and both he and his wife are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and Mr. Ashburn has served that denomination in the capacity of elder. He is a Master Mason, a man who is held in the highest respect and esteem wherever he is known and has a large circle of warm friends. He has always made his home on the farm he now occupies, even when he was merchandising in Victoria and Whitwell.
August 15, 1854, Mr. Ashburn was united in marriage to Mary Price, who was born in the Third district, Marion County, Tenn., January 7, 1831, a daughter of Charles and Susie Hawkins, and their home has been blessed by the presence of a family of eight children, as follows: Charles (married Miss Amanda Andes and is living at Whitwell; Thompson (a Cumberland Presbyterian Minister, married Miss Marlo and is now living in Evansville, Ind.); Early (married Miss Mollie Vinsane and is making his home in Whitwell); John M. (a dentist at Nashville and still single); William F. (married Miss M. Condra and is living in the Third district, Marion County); Ida (wife of Charles Bell of Bonair, White County, Tenn.); Alice (wife of N. B. Moore, a dentist at Whitwell, Tenn.); and Lucy, who is still living with her parents.
Benjamin J. Bailey was born in Wilson County, Tenn., November 15, 1833, a son of Thomas and Nancy (Bennett) Bailey, the former born in North Carolina, November 15, 1790 and died December 23, 1864, and the latter born in southern Georgia in 1797, and died August 11, 1884. Both moved to Marion County, Tenn., in childhood with their parents, were married there and reared a family of eleven children, upon whom they bestowed the following names: Louisa, Cynthia, William, John, James, Malinda, Benjamin J., Martha, Lawson, Almira and Jane. Three of this family, William, James, and Almira are now dead. Our subject's great-grandfather was the first of the family to settle in America, and his son, our subject's grandfather, was Thomas Bailey.
Our subject was educated in the public schools of the district in which he spent his boyhood and worked on a farm until sixteen years of age and then commenced railroad work for the Nashville & Chattanooga Company, and was thus engaged for six years. He then returned to his home in Marion County, Tenn., and September 14, 1854, was united in marriage to Miss Emily West, who was also born in Marion County, January 3, 1840. This union has been blessed by the presence of a family of ten children, of whom we have the following record: Margaret J. (widow of James Tharp); Nancy (wife of R. E. Davis, a farmer of Marion County, Tenn.); Mary M. (wife of George Easley, who died November 25, 1884); Benjamin C. (died October 23, 1888); Amanda (wife of William Holaway, died December 25, 1896); Esther (wife of W. Brown Haloway); James H. (married Esther Burnett, and is a blacksmith by occupation); Adam K.; and William E. and John D., both of whom are still living at home.
After his marriage, Mr. Bailey bought a farm, where he made his home from 1855 to 1870, and then sold out and went to Missouri, from thence to Arkansas, and then back to Tennessee. He then bought his present farm and has since made it his home. Since then, he has opened up the Inman coal mines, and built the railroad from Victoria to the mines, and for three years was engaged in raising ore. He built the railroad incline at Whitwell and ran the coal down the mountain for twenty-two months, but since that time has devoted the most of his time to farming. Socially he affiliates with the G.A.R. fraternity, and he and his wife are both members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Politically, he is a Republican, but his first presidential ballot was cast in favor of James Buchanan. He has served as a constable of the district and once served as deputy sheriff of Marion County.
Mr. Bailey was also a soldier in the Civil War, joining the Union Army, September 7, 1864, and served until June 30, 1865, in the Sixth Tennessee mounted troops under Captain Hurd. He operated for a time in Tennessee, and then went to Dalton, Ga., thence to Resaca, and from there to Nashville, Tenn., but was in none of the larger battles.
Chris Baumgartner, the subject of this biography, one of the honored sons of Switzerland, and a well-known furniture dealer and undertaker of South Pittsburg, is pre-eminently a self-made man. He began life with a definite purpose in view, worked faithfully, honestly, and with a will for its accomplishment, and is now one of the leading and prosperous businessmen of Grundy County.
Mr. Baumgartner was born in Berne, Switzerland, April 19, 1856, and is a son of John and Annie (Neuashwander) Baumgartner, also natives of that country, where the father served as a sharpshooter in the regular army for some time. With their family of eight children, the parents came to the United States in 1868 and settled in Allegheny, Pa., but the father and sons worked in a glass factory in Pittsburg. In 1873, they came south and the father was the first of the Swiss to buy land in Grundy County, Tenn. Purchasing one hundred acres, on which his family located the following year. About 1877 or 1878, he moved to South Pittsburg, Tenn., where he died in 1886, at the age of fifty-four years, and his wife passed away in 1892, at the age of sixty-four. They were faithful members of the Lutheran church. In their family were the following children: Mary (now the wife of John Zwald, formerly with the Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Co.); John (a carpenter of Brunswick, Ga.); Jacob (a molder, of Birmingham, Ala.); Fred (a truck farmer of Brunswick, Ga.); Nicholas (who until recently was in the grocery and butcher business in South Pittsburg, Tenn.); Henry (a machinist, of Jackson, Tenn.); and one daughter who died in childhood.
The subject of this review attended school in Switzerland, where he learned to read and write German, and his education was completed by attending night school in Allegheny, Pa., and at South Pittsburg, Tenn. Coming to the latter place in 1876, he worked for T. A. Graham at the carpenter's trade until 1891, when he embarked in business on his own account as an undertaker and furniture dealer. Since then he has taken a course in embalming at Atlanta, Ga., and for the past three years has also engaged in the livery business with good success.
On the 14th of October, 1880, Mr. Baumgartner was united in marriage with Miss Callie Chambers, who was born in Cleveland, Tenn., April 15, 1858, a daughter of Robert Chambers. She was a most estimable lady, a consistent member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and died in that faith July 5, 1897. She left a family of six children, namely: Fred, Gertrude, Walter, Ida, Grace and Callie. Mr. Baumgartner is also a leading member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church at South Pittsburg, in which he serves as deacon, and in political sentiment is a stanch Republican.
Hon. Jones C. Beene - There are in every community men of great force of character and exceptional ability, who by reason of their capacity for leadership become recognized as foremost citizens, and bear a most important part in the development and progress of the locality with which they are connected. Such a man is Mr. Beene, who is one of the most prominent and distinguished citizens of South Pittsburg, Marion county, and is a worthy representative of one of the honored pioneer families of the State.
He was born September 3, 1844, in Sweeden's cove, Marion county, whither his parents, Owen R. and Martha (Raulston) Beene, had come in childhood about 1820 with their respective parents, the former from North Carolina, the latter from Virginia. A member of the Beene family erected the first cabin built in Tennessee, and his first white child born in this state was a Beene, while the first paper published within its borders was printed at Jonesboro by our subject's grandfather Raulston, who afterward removed to Knoxville. Col. James Raulston was a soldier of the war of 1812, an officer of considerable rank under General Jackson at the battle of New Orleans, and he afterward was a prominent member of the state legislature of Alabama. He died in that state. He had received an excellent education in some institution of learning in Virginia, and became a noted geologist. Obediah Beene, our subject's paternal grandfather, was a man of means and influence, who served as justice of the peace in Marion county for forty years.
Owen R. Beene, father of our subject, followed agricultural pursuits throughout life and was a successful business man. He was married to Miss Martha Raulston in 1830 in Kings Cove, Jackson county, Alabama, just across the Tennessee state line, and in 1858 they became residents of South Pittsburg, Marion county, where the former died February 22, 1895, aged seventy-eight years, the latter in January, 1898, aged eighty-one. They were active and prominent members of the Primitive Baptist church, and he was a Democrat in politics. In their family were ten children, of whom seven are still living: Mrs. Washington Pryor, whose sketch is given elsewhere in this volume; Mrs. Richards, whose husband, Thomas Richards, is a druggist of South Pittsburg; Jones C.; Mrs. Dr. Lee, of Bridgeport, Ala.; Raleigh, the present city marshal of South Pittsburg; S. J., a contractor and builder of Memphis, Tenn.; and Mrs. D. C. Deathridge, of South Pittsburg. Those deceased are Mrs. John G. Kelly; Mrs. William Hall; and Patton Beene, who was killed in 1887.
Jones C. Beene was educated in the schools of Jasper, but at the breaking out of the Civil war, he laid aside his text books to fight for the principles he believed to be right, in June 1861, joining Company A, Fourth Tennessee Confederate Infantry1, in which he served until May 1865, participating in the battles of Murfreesboro, Missionary Ridge, Chickamauga, and many others. He then proceeded with Johnston to Atlanta, and during his service was taken prisoner, being confined at Nashville for seven months, and finally released through the intervention of Gen. Frank Cheatham and family friends. He attained to the rank of sergeant major, and proved a most fearless and gallant soldier although quite young.
After the war, Mr. Beene engaged in farming for a short time, and then commenced working for the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad Company in the capacity of station agent. Subsequently, he was employed as a salesman in a store in Texas for four years, and on his return to Marion county was appointed agent for the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad at South Pittsburg, a position he most creditably and satisfactorily filled for the long period of seventeen years. For about twenty years, he filled the office of justice of the peace and was then elected to the state senate, becoming a very active and popular member of that august body. He was appointed a member of most of the important committees, and was elected secretary of many of them, including the one on ways and means. But his most important duty was on the Beene Investigating Committee, which investigated the election for governor, when Evans and Turney were the candidates, deciding in the latter's favor. In the councils of his state he took front rank; the measures he advocated always met with warm and cordial support, and he proved a most able and efficient representative of his district. Mr. Beene has also served as postmaster of South Pittsburg for four years, and mayor of the city for two years. On the 11th of November 1893, he established the "Statesman," which he is still successfully publishing.
Mr. Beene was married October 1, 1865 to Miss Tennie Eugenia Cotnam, who was born in Jackson county, Ala., and is a daughter of Dr. T. T. Cotnam. Nine children blessed this union, namely: Joseph C., an engineer on the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad; Russell O., a clerk in the printing department at Washington, D. C.; Claude T., a resident of Shelbyville; Ida Lee, Lena M., Jones C., Jr. and Annie A., all at home; William G., who died at the age of fourteen years; and an infant, deceased.
Mr. Beene takes an active interest in civic societies and is an honored and prominent member of the 'Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Mystic Circle, the Independent of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias, and the Knights of Honor.' He has always been a stalwart Democrat in politics, and religiously is a member of the Primitive Baptist church, while his wife is a devout Methodist in religious belief. Socially he is deservedly popular, as he is affable and courteous in manner, a good story teller, and possesses that essential qualification to success in public life, that of making friends readily and strengthening the ties of all friendships as time advances.
1 Note from transcriber: This unit was officially known as the 34th Confederate Infantry. Refer to this website for further information: Civil War Website
Henry Blacklock superintendent of the "Blacklock" foundry at South Pittsburg, Marion county, was born in Darlington, England on October 13, 1863. Mr. Blacklock is the fourth son of the Rev. Joseph Hayton and Amelia Eliza (Galpin) Blacklock. The family is of Scotch-English descent on the father's side, from Ayrshire and Edinborough, and on the mother's from the Galpins of Somersetshire, England. When the railway movement inaugurated by the late George Stephenson, gave an immense impetus to the iron trade, Mr. Blacklock's grandfather, Jonathon Blacklock, Esq. became sole manager of the Taff-Vale iron works at Pohty-Pridd, owned by the late Rowland Forthergill of Hensil castle, and under his able direction these works attained distinguished celebrity for the excellence of its product. His only son, the Rev. J. H. Blacklock, was educated privately, became a member of the London University, and associate of the Royal College of Preceptors, and the holder of a first-class certificate of merit from her majesty's committee of council on education. Mr. Blacklock adopted the profession of teacher, for some years under the English government, and later as the principal and proprietor of the middle-class school in connection with the University of Durham. Leaving Darlington, the family located in Clapham, London, where the father continued his professional teaching. When the Rugby colony was organized, by the late Thomas Hughes, the distinguished author of "Tom Brown's Schooldays," the family emigrated to America, bought a farm, and devoted themselves to agriculture. Through the personal influence of the late Bishop Quintart, Mr. Blacklock entered the priesthood, laid the foundation of the parish at Rugby, became the first rector of Christ church, South Pittsburg, the assistant rector in St. Paul's parish, Chattanooga, with special charge of Grace Memorial Mission church, and the present rector of St. Luke's Memorial church, Cleveland, Tenn., where he has resided for more than six years. The Rev. J. H. Blacklock is now one of the oldest clergymen in the diocese. Changes by transfer or death have given him this position.
Socially, the Rev. J. H. Blacklock is a Master Mason and a Royal Arch Mason, having joined these fraternities in England. His family consisted of eight children, five of whom are living and of whom we have the following record: Charles H., a bookkeeper for the Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Co., at Birmingham, Ala.; Arthur H., a bookkeeper at Whitwell for the Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Co.; Henry, the subject of this sketch; Frank M., an electrician with the Niagara Power Co.; Alexander G., Austin, Texas; M. A. of the University of the South, is just completing a course in law at the University of Texas. The deceased are as follows: Hayton M., who died at the age of twenty-nine ears, was an accountant for the Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Co.; Harold F., who died at the age of twenty-seven years, was a certificated locomotive engineer; Walter and Harry, our subject were twins - Walter died in infancy.
On December 17, 1892, Mr. Blacklock was united in marriage with Miss Catherine Warren Bostick, who was born in South Pittsburg and is the third daughter of the late Dr. Joseph Bostick, a distinguished local physician. Dr. Bostick joined the Confederacy and was gazetted aid-de-camp on the staff of the late General Cheatham, with the rank of captain. In this position, Captain Bostick conducted himself with conspicuous courage, and with a true soldier's care for the lives and comfort for the men under his charge. The writer has frequently heard from the lips of old comrades still living, many enthusiastic testimonials to the Doctor's worth as a man, a physician, and officer.
Mr. and Mrs. Blacklock are devoted members of the Episcopal church, of which Mr. Blacklock is a vestryman. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias. Politically, he is a Democrat, but is not a strict partisan and usually uses his elective franchise and his influence in the support of the candidate best qualified for the position he seeks.
Major Jeptha Bright is one of the most prominent and progressive businessmen of South Pittsburg, and has won for himself an eminent position at the bar of Marion county. He is a native of Kentucky, born on a farm in Shelby county, September 14, 1862, and is a son of Newton and Dorcas (Helm) Bright, who are also natives of that county and now make their home in Eminence, Ky., though the father still carries on farming in Shelby county. The Bright family was originally from Holland and went to England with William, Prince of Orange, afterwards William III of Great Britain. Subsequently, two brothers came to America, one settling in Virginia, the other in North Carolina, and from the latter our subject is descended. His grandfather, Jeptha Bright, was also an agriculturist. Aside from voting, Newton Bright never took a very active part in political affairs in early life, but in 1892 he consented to become the candidate of the Democratic party for the state legislature, and was elected by a large majority. While a member of that body, he served on the railroad and agricultural committees. For many years he has also served as justice of the peace. He is a graduate of Bethany College, West Virginia, is a well-posted man, and it is his religion to be honest and do right, while his wife holds membership in the Christian church.
In the family of this worthy couple were seven children: Charles, who is in the United States Revenue service in Kentucky; Coleman, a farmer of Shelby county, Ky.; Jeptha, of this sketch; George R., wife of A. D. Hudson, a wholesale liquor dealer of Mt. Sterling, Ky.; James C., a tobacco broker at Shelbyville, Ky.; Newton, who is in a commercial establishment at Louisville, Ky.; and Walter, who died in childhood.
Major Bright began his education in a schoolhouse built by his father and few others in the neighborhood of their homes for the benefit of their children, and later in life he pursued his studies in the Kentucky University at Lexington. After teaching for two years, he commenced reading law and in 1885 entered the Louisville Law School from which he graduated in 1887. Prior to entering that institution he served as city attorney of Eminence, Ky. After his graduation he came to South Pittsburg and was the first attorney to open an office in that city. He has since taken a very active and prominent part in the development of the city; was one of the organizers of the Schoster foundry and also the Blacklock foundry, and is a member of the board of directors of both concerns. As a lawyer he has built up quite an extensive and lucrative practice, and from 1891 until 1895, serve as tax attorney for Marion county. He was the first city attorney for South Pittsburg, and is now filling the office of city recorder to the entire satisfaction of all concerned.
On the 10th of September, 1888, Mr. Bright was united in marriage with Miss Teresia Marie Fitzgerald, who was born in Nicaragua, Central America, and was educated on the Island of Trinidad. Mr. Bright has always been quite a prominent and influential member of the Democratic party in his community, and socially is a member of the Knights of Pythias fraternity. He has for eight years represented the local lodge in the grand lodge, and is now grand prelate of the grand lodge of Tennessee. He also belongs to the uniformed rank and is major of the Third Tennessee Regiment Knights of Pythias Infantry.
George Foster Brown, an expert machinist in the employ of the Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Company, at South Pittsburg, was born in Philadelphia, Penn., January 27, 1851 and is a son of George Foster and Jane (Beck) Brown, both natives of England, the former born in the city of Durham, September 12, 1817, the latter in Leeds, Yorkshire, November 1, 1819. Our subject has inherited his ability as a machinist from his father and also his grandfather, Foster Brown, who was a cabinetmaker and also worked with machinery.
In their native land, the parents of our subject were married and there they continued to reside until after the birth of their oldest child. It was in 1838 that they crossed the ocean and took up their residence in Philadelphia, Penn., where they made their home until1856. In that year, they came to Loudon, Tenn., but two years later removed to Chattanooga. The father had learned the machinist's trade in shops of Leeds, England, and in Philadelphia went to work for his uncle, who was operating a machine shop, manufacturing heavy sugar machinery for planters in Cuba, and after a time commenced business for himself, but was obliged to close out during the panic of 1847. He then worked in the navy yard at Baltimore for a time and was afterward examining machinist for the Philadelphia & Savannah steamship line. For a time he was connected with extensive iron works at Richmond, Va., and was sent to Loudon, Tenn., to put in operation the rolling mills at that place. As the venture did not prove a success, he went to Chattanooga and entered the service of the Chattanooga Foundry & Machine shop, afterward known as the Webster Foundry & Machine shop. During the Civil war he was employed by the Federal government as a master mechanic to take charge of the railroad shops at Chattanooga, and later was employed as foreman by Thomas Webster.
Socially, he was Mason; politically a Democrat; and religiously both he and his wife were devout members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He died on his birthday in 1889and his wife died October 29, 1896, and was buried on her birthday. They were the parents of nine children, six sons and three daughters, but only two are now living - George Foster, and Sarah Jane, widow of Robert Giles, who was in the auction and commission business in Chattanooga, but she now resides in Nashville. Those deceased are William T., who was born in Leeds, England and died in Philadelphia, Penn., at the age of twelve years; John T., who died in the same city at the age of five years; Charles, who died in Chattanooga at the age of two; William T., who died in Chattanooga in infancy; and Mary E., who was born in Philadelphia, became the wife of John T. Saunders and died in Chattanooga.
During his boyhood and youth, Mr. Brown, of this sketch, attended both public and private schools in Chattanooga, and in 1866 he commenced learning the machinist's trade under his father in the Webster Machine shops of that city, where he remained nine years. The following eighteen months, he was employed in the Alabama & Chattanooga railroad shops and in 1876 came to South Pittsburg, Tenn., in the interest of the Southern States Iron, Coal & Land Company, which afterward sold out to the Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Company, by whom he is now employed. He assisted in the erection of the first engines and boilers for the plant, and remained with the company until 1889, when he returned to Chattanooga and was foreman of the Wagner Machine shops for six years. At the end of that period, he returned to South Pittsburg, and again entered the service of the Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Company, of which he is still a trusted and faithful employee. On the 3rd of October 1872, Mr. Brown led to the marriage altar Miss Lizzie Cowart, a native of Chattanooga and a daughter of John Cowart. They are leading and prominent members of St. Elmo Methodist Episcopal church, South, and he affiliates with the Ancient Order of the United Workmen. In politics, he is an independent Democrat, and was one of the first aldermen elected in South Pittsburg.
Mr. Bull was born in Tracy City, Tenn., January 13, 1867, and is a son of James Everett and Susan (Sherrill) Bull. The father was born in Morristown, then in Grainger County, Tenn., December 9, 1831, and died March 31, 1896. His parents were Elisha and Sarah (Davis) Bull and his paternal ancestry came from England to the United States, locating near Baltimore, Md. Elisha Bull served his country in the war of 1812. He was a splendid mechanic and famous gun-maker, following that pursuit through the greater part of his life. From Maryland, he removed to eastern Tennessee and thence to Coffee County, this state, in 1858. There his death occurred in August 1873, at the age of eighty-six years. He first married Sarah Davis, and after her death, wedded Louisa Ladd, who is still living in Coffee county, and is one of the few who receive a pension on account of services rendered in the war of 1812.
James E. Bull attended school in Morristown, and under his father's direction, learned the trades of gunsmith and blacksmith. With the family he removed to Coffee County, and in 1866 went to Tracy City, where he held a position as blacksmith in the works of the Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Company. During the Civil war, he was connected with the United States quartermaster's department under General Milroy, at Nashville and Tullahoma. He was also prominent in civil affairs and served as chairman of the county court of Grundy County for eight years and as one of its members for an additional seven years, while for four years he was deputy county court clerk. He held membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and was a prominent Mason, representing the lodge of Tracy City in the grand lodge. In politics, he was a Whig until the organization of the Republican Party, when he joined its ranks.
James E. Bull was married November 10, 1863 to Miss Susan Sherrill, daughter of Uriah and Eliza (Brixey) Sherrill. The Sherrill family is of Scotch-Irish descent, and the grandfather, George D. Sherrill, was one of the heroes of the Revolution, probably a member of General Marion's army. He had a sister, Catherine, who became the wife of Governor Sevier, the first governor of Tennessee. Uriah Sherrill was born in North Carolina, November 13, 1802, and died at Tracy City, April 28, 1871. His wife, who was born in Georgia, May 26, 1807, also died in Tracy City April 21, 1879. They were married June 8, 1840. The former came with his parents to this state, the family locating in Washington county, whence they removed to Coffee county, where the maternal grandfather of our subject remained until 1860. He then took up his residence in Tracy City and was the first bookkeeper for the Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Company at that place. He married Lucinda Camden, a native of Virginia, and after her death wedded Miss Brixey, daughter of Thomas Brixey, a farmer and native of Georgia. Mr. Sherrill held membership in the Freewill Baptist Church and was a highly educated gentleman. His wife belonged to the "old school" Presbyterian Church.
The father of our subject was also twice married and by Adaline Inman, his first wife, had one son, John H., who died in childhood. The children of his second marriage are: Emma Viola, who is living with her mother in Whitwell; Edward E.; Louella, who is with her mother; Ada, wife of W. C. Adams, a merchant of Whitwell; Rosella, who died in childhood; and one who died in infancy. The mother is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, South. She still survives her husband and in the community where se lives is held in the highest regard for her many estimable qualities.
E. E. Bull, of this review, attended school in his native city, and almost from the time he was tall enough to reach the top of the anvil, he has worked at the blacksmith's trade and through the entire period has been connected with the company in whose employee he remains at the present. In 1887, he came to Whitwell and took charge o their shops here. He is an expert mechanic and his ability is shown by the important position he now occupies. He is one of the most faithful and trusted employees of the company and has the respect of all who serve under him.
On the 3rd of October 1889, Mr. Bull married Miss Maggie J. Garrett, daughter of William Walton and Margaret (Johnson) Garrett, who removed from Robinson county to Davidson. Mrs. Bull was born November 28, 1867, and by her marriage has one son, John Garrett. Her brothers and sisters are: John B., who is grand secretary of the grand lodge of Masons for Tennessee; William W., a merchant of Birmingham, Ala.; Nettie, wife of Dr. Wosham, of Knoxville, Tenn., Mary, wife of B. F. Stratton, a prominent citizen of Nashville; Alvin, a lawyer who went to Texas; and Callie, wife of J. W. Norwood, who has charge of the store of the Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Company at Whitwell. The father of this family died at the age of sixty-three years, and the mother at the age of forty-six.
Mr. and Mrs. Bull have a wide acquaintance in the community where they reside, and are held in the highest regard. They hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Bull belongs to the Knights of Pythias fraternity and in 1895 represented the local lodge in the grand lodge. He is a Republican in politics, and in April 1897, was appointed postmaster of Whitwell, assuming the duties of the office on the 1st of June following. He was chairman of the Republican executive committee in 1896-7 and is a loyal and efficient worker in the party. As a citizen, he is true to every duty that devolves upon him, and in all the relations of public and private life, his reputation is unassailable. Honorable in business, faithful in friendship, of kindly manner and sterling worth, he is one of the popular residents of Marion County.
