Biographies of Pulaski County Georgia Collections – Page 2 of 6

Biography of Peyton Tooke Anderson

Eugene, William Thomas, and Peyton Tooke Anderson and their seven sisters are claimed as sons and daughters of Pulaski County. The three men are publishing the Macon Telegraph and the Macon News, while their sisters have married and are, with three exceptions, living; in Macon. In 1878 Christopher Cohen Anderson and his wife, Laura Tooke Anderson, decided that schooling advantages were too poor at Houston Factory, and their children should get a better showing in life. Mr. Anderson had gone to the Factory from Hayneville to look after the office work of the big enterprise that Joseph Tooke had developed … Read more

Biography of Noah Scarborough

The name Scarborough is an old and honorable one. Family records show that several brothers came to this country during the Revolutionary War and settled here. The Scarborough coat of arms shows that this family descended from the nobility of Great Britain. Noah Scarborough emigrated from South Carolina to Houston County, Georgia, later moving to Pulaski County, near the present Friendship Baptist Church, about 1836. (Records show he paid tax in said county in 1837.) He was a large landowner, being given a land grant for his services in the Mexican War. He donated the land on which the first … Read more

Biography of Nicholas Cabero

Perhaps nothing has meant more to the present business and civic life of Hawkinsville than the “Invasion of the Greeks,” more appropriately termed, the arrival of the Cabero brothers. Before that time Greeks had occasionally entered the field of business in Hawkinsville only to remain a short while and pass on, soon to be numbered among the forgotten. When the Cabero brothers, Nicholas, Leonidas, and Andrew, arrived, although small boys when they left their native country, they seemed destined to cast their lot in Hawkinsville, soon to become staunch, reliable and substantial citizens. They are now numbered among the leading … Read more

Biography of Needham Williamson Jelks

Needham Williamson Jelks, fifth son of James Oliver and Mary Polhill Jelks, was born October 14, 1847, in Hawkinsville, Ga. When he was quite young, his family moved to Belleville, Fla., locating at Lake Oclahatchee, where he received his early education. During the War Between the States he enlisted as a private at the age of sixteen in the Florida Artillery, taking part in the Battle of Natural Bridge, and several other engagements. After the war he returned to Hawkinsville and was employed by his older brothers, J. 0. and J. J. Jelks, in the mercantile business. Associated with this … Read more

Biography of Nathaniel Polhill

Among those who came over with Oglethorpe in 1733, or very soon thereafter, was Nathaniel Polhill, a London haberdasher, who is generally conceded to be the first Baptist in Georgia. Colonel Warren Grice, in an article on “The First Georgia Baptists,” describes him as a man of strong convictions and great faith. He further says: “Perhaps our great debt to Nathaniel Polhill is for the large number of consecrated Baptist men and women who are descended from him. From the day he set foot on Georgia soil until this good hour, he and his have been zealous to do the … Read more

Biography of Morgan Thompson

Prominent among the citizens of Pulaski County is Morgan Thompson. His work in and for Hawkinsville and the county is visible in records of business and civic enterprises to which his time and talents have been devoted. Competent, energetic, reliable and loyal, he has the respect and confidence of all who know him. Mr. Thompson was born May 27. 1869, in Laurens _County. At an early age he moved to Cochran, then part of Pulaski County. In 1889 he married Essa Beauford Woodard. Their children are: Sallie Frank, M. Ramsey, Kemper (who married George S. Roach, president of Emory College … Read more

Biography of Miss Mary Hodge

Miss Mary Sue Hodge, daughter of Duke Hullum and Eliza Crawford Hodge, was born in Gordon County, Georgia, December 27, 1845. Her grandfather, James Hodge, was a Methodist minister at Oxford, Georgia, for many years. Her grandfather, John A. Crawford, was a Baptist minister of Cassville, Georgia, then the county seat of Bartow County. He served this church for twenty-five years and, gave the land on which Cherokee Baptist College for Boys was built, and was a trustee of that college. Her father died while yet a young man, leaving nine children whom her mother reared and educated during the … Read more

Biography of Miles Bembry

Miles Bembry, son of William and Marina Bembry, was born in North Carolina, January 24, 1826, and died in Pulaski County, April 1, 1888. His grandfather, John Bembry, an English shipmaster, placed his sons at Edenton, North Carolina, at the death of their mother, Annie Bryan, from Ireland, where, after retirement from sea service, he joined them and settled, later moving to Florida and then to Georgia. Miles showed his pluck and determination when, at age fifteen, he assumed control of the remains of his father’s estate, most of which had been lost by mismanagement, and, with his mother’s help, … Read more

Biography of Matthew Philips

Matthew Philips, son of Exum Philips, Captain of Militia in the Revolutionary War, from North Carolina, was born and died in Edgecombe County, North Carolina. Soon after his death in 1823 his wife, Elizabeth Nicholson Philips, daughter of Colonel John Nicholson and Penelope Mann of North Carolina, moved with her three children to Pulaski County, where other members of the Philips family had already preceded her. She settled first at Longstreet and later bought and settled on what is now the old Philips plantation, two miles east of Hawkinsville. Her children were: Martha Penelope Hooker Philips, who married John C. … Read more

Biography of Mary Fleming

Margaret, born August 11, 1822, married Andrew Beaty of Lowndes County and reared her family near Valdosta. The Crawfords and Dashers of Valdosta are descendants of this family. Miles, the eldest son of William and Marina Bembry, was born January 28, 1826, and was thirteen years old when his father died. He was determined to make for himself a place in his county, and immediately went to work to that end. When only seventeen, he married Sarah Ann Lancaster, July 24, 1843, and in a few years became one of Pulaski County’s wealthiest and most influential landowners. He reared the … Read more

Biography of Mary Culler White

Mary Culler White, born May 12, 1875, in Perry, Georgia, moved to Hawkinsville when four years old. She is the daughter of George H. and Emma Culler White. Her early school years were spent in Hawkinsville. Later she attended Wesleyan College, was a member of the Adelphian Sorority, and graduated in 1891. She taught drawing and painting in the Hawkinsville public schools for seven years. During a meeting held in the Hawkinsville Methodist Church by Miss Emma Tucker she was deeply impressed and felt the direct call to the foreign field of mission work in 1899. After the necessary course … Read more

Biography of M. H. Boyer

Born in Sandersville, Georgia, September 4, 1878, the son of Miribeau and Vivian Skrine Boyer, of Sandersville, Georgia. Education obtained in the Hawkinsville High School. He read law in the office of Col. Thos. C. Taylor, and was admitted to the bar under Judge C. C. Smith on June 23, 1898. Appointed solicitor of the County Court of Pulaski County by Governor Candler, and was twice appointed to this office by Governor Terrell, retiring voluntarily on December 31, 1907. He continued-to practice law in Hawkinsville until he was elected to the office of Solicitor General of the Oconee Circuit on … Read more

Biography of Luther B. Coley

An outstanding representative of one of the oldest families in the county is this native of Pulaski, now a retired business man of the City of Atlanta, living at 39 Palisades Road. He was born at the plantation home of his parents, three miles west of Hawkinsville, April 17, 1873, the son of Captain Gabriel R. Coley (December 19, 1832-January 6, 1880) and Elizabeth Sutton Coley (September 21, 1837-May 22, 1902), who were married October 14, 1856. There were eight children: John Thomas, Vanness (who became the wife of R. S. Hardin), Martha Sutton (who married John Fleming Kellam, October … Read more

Biography of Luke Stevens

Luke Stevens married Ellen Dupree and settled two miles south of Mock Springs, in Pulaski County. Seven children were born to them. In 1850 they moved to Angelena County, Texas. Nothing is known of the family except Stephen Daniel, a son, who came back to settle the estate. He married Katherine Dewitte and settled two miles north of Mock Springs and farmed. He served four years in the Confederate Army. After the war he came back and took part in the rebuilding of the county. Both were members of Antioch Baptist Church and were loved by many. He lived to … Read more

Biography of Lieut. Oscar Willis Pate Jr., U. S. N.

Five sons were born to Mack and Mattie Willis Pate, all of whom united with the Baptist Church of Hawkinsville. The oldest, Oscar Willis Pate, was born in Hawkinsville. November 29, 1879, and attended both public and private schools in Hawkinsville, later going to Mercer University, where he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. Upon leaving school he was associated with his father in business. On December 18, 1900, he married Rosa May Roberson, of Tennille, Ga. Two years later they moved to Quitman, Ga., then to Jacksonville, Fla. They later moved back to Tifton, Ga., and … Read more

Biography of Leonidas Cabero

Biography of L. S. Harrell

Noteworthy among the active and enterprising citizens of Hawkinsville and Pulaski County is Lou Stephen Harrell. He is ever using his means and influence to advance the various worthy objects connected with his community. Mr. Harrell was born August 30, 1878. His ancestry on both sides can be traced beyond the sixteenth century. Among the pioneer settlers of Pulaski County, his Harrell and Mitchell ancestors are outstanding, having engaged in the Revolutionary War and the War Between the States. His father, Benjamine Hamilton Harrell, married Mary Obedience Mitchell. It is interesting to know that his Harrell grandparents were: Wright W. … Read more

Biography of L. F. Finleyson

L. F. Finleyson was born in Bibb County in 1861. He moved to Wilcox County, near Finleyson, in 1899. He married Miss Mollie Hendley of Pulaski County in 1885. She was a woman of great strength of character, one who in deed and in truth labored side by side with her husband in every worthy undertaking. They had nine children, all of whom were boys: J. L. Finleyson, born 1887, farmer, married Sadie Horne in 1906; two children, Mildred and Loyd. B. L. Finleyson, born 1888, married Jewel Nelson in 1915, died 1918;. one son, Clayton Nelson, born in 1916. … Read more

Biography of Judge Hugh Augustus Haskins

Judge Hugh Augustus Haskins, generally beloved and highly respected citizen of Pulaski County, was born December 9, 1848, in this county. He was the son of Ottoway Haskins and Elizabeth Burkhalter Haskins, who were married March 26, 1844. When only sixteen years of age, he enlisted in the Confederate Army, on November 29, 1864, where he served with bravery till he was paroled May 2, 1865. He was one of the outstanding farmers of Pulaski County, and served the county as tax collector from the year 1895 to 1911. In 1912 he moved to Hawkinsville, and, upon the death of … Read more

Biography of Judge Henry Hodges Whitfield

Judge Henry Hodges Whitfield was born April 11, 1826, and died January 28, 1886. The Whitfields from whom the subject of this sketch is descended came originally from Lancashire, England. William Whitfield, in the early part of the eighteenth century, settled in Nansewood County, Virginia, and in 1713 married Elizabeth Goodman of Yates County, North Carolina. This couple had four sons and six daughters. The sons were: William, Matthew, Luke, and Constantine. Matthew and Luke married Misses Warren, from the Pee Dee section of South Carolina. Luke Whitfield moved to Craven County, South Carolina, and later lived in Marlborough County, … Read more