Goodspeed, Gibson County TN Bibliography - P

P - Goodspeed Bibliographies, 1887, Gibson County TN

Submitted by Eddy Clark. Page created by Jane Norton Powell


Rev. Oliver P. Parker, a prominent Methodist Episcopal divine of Gibson County, Tenn., is a son of William and Jemima (Sanders) Parker, who were born, reared and married in Virginia. In 1812 they moved to Williamson County, Tenn., thence to Gibson County, in 1838. The father was a farmer and Whig, and was a Primitive Baptist in faith. He was of Scotch-Irish descent, and died in 1840. His wife, who was a Cumberland Presbyterian, resided on the old homestead until 1844, when her death occurred. She was of English lineage. Our subject is a Williamson County Tennessean, and was born on the 27th of May, 1824. His early educational advantages were limited, but on reaching manhood he attended school and acquired a good English education. In 1843 he wedded Elizabeth James, who was born on the 3rdof April, 1825. To them were born eleven children, of whom seven are living. Mrs. Parker and six of the children belong to the Methodist Episcopal Church. During the days of militia, Mr. Parker held the position of captain two years, and that of colonel six years. He was revenue collector four terms, and filled the position of deputy sheriff. After his marriage he was for many years engaged in the saddle-tree, tan-yard, boot and shoe and harness business, and at the same time managed a farm. He was engaged in the mercantile business about four years, and as a business man has been very successful, notwithstanding the loss of about $30,000 in bad debts. He has been a minister since about thirty years of age, and is well known as a spicy public lecturer, some of his most practical addresses being "Road to Success," "Hard Times," "The Force of Habit," and other common sense topics, which have been very favorably received by the public. Although he makes no pretense to classical scholarship, he is a vivid, forcible speaker, and one whom, when heard, will not be forgotten.


Newton C. Patton, a prominent old resident of Trenton, Tenn., was born in Bedford County, May 27, 1820, son of William and Margaret Patton, natives of South Carolina. Our subject was brought to Carroll County when two years of age, and was there educated, and spent his early life in farming. He began merchandising at Shady Grove in 1846, but in 1858 moved to Dyersburg, where he followed the same business until 1866. Since that time he has resided in Trenton, but has not followed merchandising since 1884. In 1848 he was married to Martha C. Yancey, daughter of Charles L. and Martha A. Yancey. To Mr. and Mrs. Patton were born five sons and five daughters: Susan, James L., Frances M., William, Thomas N., Samuel C., Alice, Mattie, Joe B. and Minnie. Mr. and Mrs. Patton are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and he is a Democrat, and of Irish descent. His sons, Thomas N. and Samuel C., are dealers in stoves and tinware, at Trenton, and were born in Dyersburg, in 1860 and 1864 respectively. They were brought to Trenton when quite small, and were educated in that town. Since 1885 they have been engaged in their present business, and are doing quite well financially. Thomas N. was married, January 16, 1886, to Emma Mitchell. Both young men are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and are Democrats in politics.


William L. Paris is a son of John and Nancy (Morris) Paris, who were born in South Carolina in 1794 and 1798 respectively. After their marriage they lived about sixteen years in South Carolina, and in 1842 came to Gibson County, Tenn. Both were members of the Missionary Baptist Church, and became the parents of seven children. The father was a Democrat and farmer, and died in 1846, leaving a wife and six small children with a very small competency. They fought the battle of life as best they could until the children were grown: then the mother made her home with her son, William, and died at his home in 1866. Mr. Paris, our subject, inherits Dutch and English blood from his father, and English blood from his mother. He was born in Spartinburgh County, N. C., June 8, 1833, and when only thirteen years of age his father died, and he was obliged to assist in supporting the family, consequently his school days only amounted to about six months. In 1858 he married Margaret E. Chandler, who was born in Gibson County on the 9th of April, 1834, and their union resulted in the birth of seven children. Only one is now living - James A., who married Ada B. Hudson, and is farming in the neighborhood. The family are members of the Missionary Baptist Church, and our subject is a Democrat in politics. In 1862 he joined Carroll's company of cavalry, under Forest, and served about three years. Since the war he has worked at farming, grist-milling and carpentering, and now owns 108 acres of land. His son owns forty acres.


Thomas. T. Parr, sheriff and native of Gibson County, Tenn., was born on the 16th of August, 1844, son of John A. and Martha (Jones) Parr, both of whom were born in Wake County, N. C. The father came to Tennessee in 1839 and located first in Madison County, and in 1840 in Gibson County, where he followed farming until his death, which occurred when Thomas J. was one year old. The mother survived him until December, 1877. Thomas J. Parrspent his early days on a farm and secured a common school education. In 1863 he enlisted in Capt. William Gay's company, Col. R. M. Russell's regiment of cavalry, and served until the surrender. He then began clerking in Trenton, and continued until 1872, when he engaged in the mercantile business here for himself. In 1878 he was elected constable and served faithfully in this office until 1884, when in August of the same year he was elected sheriff of Gibson County, and has discharged the duties of this office very satisfactorily to the present time. May 1, 1872, Mr. Parr married Mary R. Torance, a native of Mississippi. They have five children: Willie T., Annie R., Abdul, John Hess and Tommie, a daughter. Mr. Parr is a stanch Democrat in politics and a Mason and a member of the I. 0. 0. F., K. of P. and A. 0. U. W. fraternities.


Henry Clay Pearce, a prominent and well known citizen of Trenton, Tenn., was born in Carroll County, November 5, 1842, son of Stokley D. and Mary (Killough) Pearce, natives, respectively, of North Carolina and Tennessee. They were married in Middle Tennessee and in 1821 removed to Carroll County, where he followed farming until his death, in 1856. He was originally a hatter by trade, but never followed that business in West Tennessee. Henry Clay removed to this county in 1856 and lived with his brother, his mother having died when he was an infant. In 1857 he came to Trenton with his brother, John K., and assisted him in conducting the Union Hall Hotel until the war. In May, 1861, he enlisted in Company F, Fourth Regiment, Tennessee Infantry, Confederate States Army, and served as a private until the cessation of hostilities. He then clerked in a mercantile establishment in Trenton until 1872, and then began keeping a grocery, continuing until 1876. He then acted as deputy county court clerk from 1878 to 1882. From 1876 until 1882 he was magistrate of his district. Since the latter date he has lived a comparatively retired life, having traded somewhat in real estate and devoted part of his attention to farming interests. November 15, 1870, he married Sarah A. Williams, of Gibson County. They have seven children, three sons and four daughters. Mr. Pearce is a Democrat, a member of the K. of P., and he and wife are members of the Baptist Church. He has been secretary of the County Fair Association for three years.


W. C. Penn was born in Rutherford County, Tenn., July 24, 1828, being: the oldest son of a family of four boys and four girls born to Josiah and Ruth (Broughton) Penn, natives, respectively, of Virginia and South Carolina. The father was a farmer and came to Smith County, Tenn., in boyhood and later located in Rutherford County, where he married about the year 1824. In 1834 he moved to near Humboldt, Gibson County. Here he died in 1855, well respected. He was a Whig and a man of pious convictions. His wife was a member of the Presbyterian Church, and died in 1883. W. C. Penn was raised a farmer, securing a meager education, and in his fifteenth year began clerking for B. Elder, Bro. & Co., at Trenton, where he remained seven or eight years. He worked at Memphis and Jackson, and in 1861 enlisted in the Sixth (Confederate) Tennessee Regiment, and was honored with a captain's commission. After the battle of Shiloh he entered the cavalry service to do scout duty. He participated at Hatchie River, where he received four gun-shot and four saber wounds and was captured by the enemy. He was paroled and confined in Northern prisons and was exchanged in April, 1863, and during the rest of the war was with Gen. Forrest. He fought at Brice Cross Roads, Athens, Pulaski and elsewhere, and in April, 1865, left the service and began clerking in Humboldt, continuing two years. He then served a Cincinnati wholesale house seven years, and in 1876 opened his dry goods store at Humboldt, and has thus continued since. In 1885 he was appointed postmaster at Humboldt. In October, 1862, he married Miss Texie Boyce, who died one mouth later. In August, 1872, he married Miss Olivia Jackson, of Ripley, who has borne four children --- Claude (deceased), Olivia, Myra and William. His second wife having died, he married his present wife, Miss E. E. Williams, in December, 1883, who has borne her husband one child, a daughter, named Cora Pearl. Mr. Penn is one of the leading citizens of the county.


J. W. Penn, M. D., was born in Gibson County August 31, 1836, the third son born to Josiah Penn (see sketch of W. C. Penn). He received an academic education, and at the age of twenty began reading medicine with Dr. C. T. Love. At the end of twelve months he went to Smyrna, Tenn., and read with J. W. Davis, M. D. until November, 1857, when he entered the medical department of the University of Nashville, graduating from the same in February, 1859. He remained with Dr. Davis during his vacations and after graduating began practicing his profession at his former borne, and is now one of the leading, if not the leading, medical practitioner of Gibson County, and is vice-president of the State Medical Society. May 17, 1860, he married Miss C. H. Stilwell, of Humboldt, who was born September 4, 1838, near Florence, Ala., daughter of Dr. W. H. Stilwell. Seven children were born to Dr. and Mrs. Penn: James C., Ruth, George W. (M. D.), Florence, Bessie, Benjamin and Mattie Lou. Mrs. Penn died October 15, 1881. She was an accomplished and highly educated lady, a writer of some note and a fine musician. Dr. Penn married Mary A. Stilwell, a sister of his first wife, March 2, 1883. She was born February 16, 1844. Both are members of the Presbyterian Church.


E. D. Peete, M. D., is a native of Tipton County, Tenn., born August 11, 1847, son of Dr. John S. and Ann E. (Whitley) Peete, who were born in Virginia and North Carolina, respectively. Dr. John S. Peete was reared in his native State, and in early manhood came to Tennessee, having graduated in medicine at Jefferson College, Philadelphia, Penn. In 1843 or 1844 he located in Tipton County, where he practiced medicine for some time, and then turned his attention to farming. He was a Whig and Mason, and died in 1878, of yellow fever. His wife died in 1876. They were the parents of eleven children, our subject being the second. He was reared on a farm, and began a college course in Toronto, Canada, and remained there three years. He entered the Louisville (Ky.) University in the fall of 1869, and graduated from the same in March, 1871. He practiced near Clarendon, Ark., until the fall of 1874, when he located in Tipton County, Tenn., where he practiced and gave some attention to farming. In January, 1877, he removed to Humboldt, where he has now a large and lucrative practice. He is an efficient surgeon and stands near the front in his profession. He is a member of the K. of H. and K. & L. of H., and was married March 5, 1872, to Jennie M. Morris, youngest daughter of Edwin Morris, of Louisville, Ky. She was born July 23, 1852. Their children are Emma, Edwin M. and Hattie M. The Doctor and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South.


Francis M. Pipkin, merchant, of Yorkville, Tenn., is a native of the State, born in 1840, son of Steward and Louisa (Wade) Pipkin. The father was born in Tennessee and immigrated to Kentucky, where he married Miss Wade, who was a native of that State. He was a farmer and carpenter, and was an old Mexican war veteran. He moved to Missouri in 1843, where his wife died, leaving him five children to care for. He shortly after married Mary Warren, by whom he had three children. While returning to Tennessee in 1852 he died on the journey in Graves County, Ky. Francis M. was left fatherless at the early age of eleven years. He made his home with his uncle and grandfather about two years, and then came to Madison County, Tenn., where he lived with Thomas Harroll one year. He then went to Missouri and there resided, with the exception of a few months spent in Tennessee, until the breaking out of the war, when he enlisted in Capt. Hart's battery, Confederate States Army, and after one year's service came to Tennessee and began working on the farm. In 1863 he married Delphina Pipkin, daughter of Philip and Mary A. (White) Pipkin. She was born in Maury County, Tenn., in 1840, and became he mother of seven children, four of whom are dead. She died in 1880. In 1878 he located in Yorkville, where he is engaged in mercantile pursuits, being very prosperous in the same. He is entirely self-educated and is a member of the I. O. O. F. and A. O. U. W. He is of Irish lineage and is a Democrat in politics. In 1882 he married Eliza Willbanks, daughter of William and Kittie (Grimes) Willbanks. She was born in Tennessee in 1835, and is the mother of two children. She and Mr. Pipkin are members of the Missionary Baptist Church.


J. M. Pratt is a son of William C. and Sarah (Moore) Pratt, who were born in Orange County, N.C., in 1799 and 18O7, respectively. They were married in 1826 and became the parents of ten children. They removed to Carroll County, Tenn., in 1833, and about two years later came to Gibson County, and here spent the remainder of their days. The father survived the mother about five years. He was an old line Whig, and after coming to this county was a strong partisan of the Democratic party. J. M. Pratt, our subject, is of English-Irish descent, and was born in Orange County, N. C., November 30, 1831. He was reared on a farm and received only a partial education in the common schools. He remained with his parents until his marriage, October 26, 1854, to Sarah V. Smith, who was born in Gibson County, and seven sons and three daughters are the fruits of their union. James M., the eldest son, married Mollie Carothers, and is practicing medicine in Texas. Mr. Pratt was an old line Whig, but since the war has been a Democrat. He and Mrs. Pratt are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. He owns 225 acres of land, and in connection with farming was engaged in the lumber business for some time. He is a good farmer and well esteemed by his fellow men.


George L. Pratt is a son of William C. and Sarah (Moore) Pratt, who were born, reared and married in North Carolina. To them were born nine children, five of whom lived to be grown. They came to Tennessee in 1838, locating in Gibson County, where they followed farming until their deaths, and became the owners of 660 acres of land. After the mother's death William Pratt broke up housekeeping, and made his home with his son George until he died. George L. Pratt was born in Orange County, N. C., October 11, 1827, was reared on a farm, and received a very limited early education, owing to the demand for his services at home. He began farming for himself at the age of twenty, and now has a farm of 135 acres. The year following his twentieth birthday he married Margaret R. McAllister, who was born January 6, 1828, Their marriage has been blessed in the birth of seven sons and one daughter. All the family save one are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Their son, T. W. Pratt was born in Gibson County, Tenn., July 4, 1856, and his boyhood days were spent on his father's farm. His educational advantages were limited, owing to the breaking out of the war, but after its close he attended the home school and completed his education at Milan. He began studying medicine at the age of nineteen under Dr. Hudson, of Gibson, County, and in 1876 entered the Louisville Medical College. The following year he practiced in his home neighborhood, and after taking his second course of lectures graduated in 1879. He located in the Seventeenth District of Gibson County, and owns 262 acres of land, the greater part of which he has earned by good management and attention to business. He has an extensive practice and the entire confidence of the people. In 1880 he married Ada E. Smith, who was born in Gibson County, August 15, 1862. They have three children: Gerda V., Verna G. and Ople. The Doctor is a Democrat.


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