History of Tennessee Collections – Page 3 of 9

Biography of J.L. Colvert

J. L. Colvert, retired merchant, was born in 1828 in Culpeper County, Va., the son of William I. and Harriett (Weedon) Colvert. The father, born in the same county in 1791, was a farmer and a soldier in the war of 1812, on duty in his native State. In 1828 he came to Warren County, Tenn., Thence to Alabama for a few years, and about 1840 returned to Cannon County, Tenn. He finally settled in Dekalb County in 1848 and bought a home of 150 acres, where he lived the greater part of his life. He died in Nashville in … Read more

Biography of J.J. Smith

J.J. Smith, of the firm Smith Bros., the well-known proprietors of a general store of Smithville, established their house in the fall of 1877. He is the sons of William S. and Catherine J. (Tippitt) Smith. The father was of English-Irish descent, born in Wilson County, Tenn., in 1823. His father, John Y. Smith, was a native of Virginia, and located in Wilson County when a small boy. He died in 1865. William S. married in 1842, and settled in the Eleventh District, where he became the possessor of 175 acres of land. He was a farmer and stock raiser. … Read more

Biography of J.E. Robinson

J. E. Robinson, a farmer living near Temperance Hall, was born October 31, 1832, in Smith (now Dekalb) County. He is the fifth of seven children of John and Eliza (Harris) Robinson. The father was born about 1799, near Nashville, and was brought when an infant, by his father, to the farm where his son now resides. The country at that time was an unbroken canebrake, and infested by many Indians, who were treacherous and troublesome. There were also great quantities of wild animals, the bears often coming about the place which Stephen Robinson purchased. He was one of the … Read more

Biography of J. D. Wooton, M. D.

J. D. Wooton, M. D., a leading physician of Manchester, was born in Warren County, Tennessee, April 5, 1840. He is the son of Jonathan and Nancy (Hampton) Wooton, the former born in 1792, in North Carolina, and died in Warren County, in 1877; the latter born in 1802, in Kentucky, and died in February 1886. The elder Wooton was a farmer, a soldier of the Revolution, and a consistent member of the Christian Church, while in political faith he was a Whig. His wife, a near relative of General Wade Hampton, was a member of the Baptist Church. Our … Read more

Biography of I.C. Stone

I. C. Stone, is of English, Irish and Scotch descent. His ancestors settled in the colony of North Carolina. Their descendants mainly kept pace with the tide of immigration to the new States and Territories. The paternal grandfather, Thomas Stone, probably of English, and Scotch origin, married Miss Sally Corder,of Scotch family, about 1789 in North Carolina on the waters of the Yadkins River, and not long after settled in Tennessee, where the father, C. H. Stone, was born December 22, 1796. The maternal grandfather, Joseph Allison, supposed to be partly of English and known to be partly of Irish … Read more

Biography of Hon. W.W. Gordon

Hon. W. W. Gordon was born in Winchester, Tennessee, May 20, 1848. His father, Dr. Amzi B. Gordon, was a native of the county of Bedford, moving to Franklin County in about the year 1841, where he began the practice of medicine, soon building up a large and lucrative practice. He was a zealous member of the Baptist Church and one of the founders of the celebrated Mary Sharp College, at Winchester. He died in 1855. His mother is a daughter of John March, a highly respected farmer of the county, and a sister of Hon. Hayden March, who represented … Read more

Biography of Hon. John F. Thomas

Hon. John F. Thomas, real estate agent and a prominent citizen of Tullahoma, Tennessee, was born in Lincoln County, Tennessee, April 17, 1828. His father, Joshua Thomas, a native of North Carolina, died while our subject was a small boy. At the age of eleven years our subject was bound out to Joshua Gore, but ran away and returned to his mother. His advantages were limited, but through his own efforts he acquired a good education, and when twenty three years of age began teaching school. In 1851 he removed to Coffee County and taught a school on Duck River, … Read more

Biography of Hon. John B. Robinson

Hon. John B. Robinson, attorney at law of Smithville, is a native of Dekalb County; was born in 1835. His parents were Alexander and Rachel (Barnes) Robinson. The father was of English descent, born in Cumberland County, Va., about 1804. He came to Tennessee in 1824, locating in Smith (now Dekalb) County. Two years later he settled in the Fourth District. He taught school several sessions and then married. He was surveyor of the county a number of years. He owned 150 acres of fine land at the time of his death in 1867. His wife was born in Dekalb … Read more

Biography of Hon. John A. Fuson

Hon. John A. Fuson, an eminent practicing physician and surgeon of the Fourth District, was born in 1815, in Champaign County, Ohio. He is the third of seven children (three living) of James and Martha (Sneed) Fuson, both of whom were natives of Patrick County, Virginia. The father was of English descent, born in 1792. Two years after marriage he moved to Champaign County, Ohio, where he engaged in farming, occasionally preaching. He died in 1863. The mother was of French origin, born about 1795, and died in 1885. The subject of this sketch received a limited education in the … Read more

Biography of Hon. James M. Allen

Hon. James M. Allen, one of the prominent citizens of the county, was born September 25, 1822, at Allen’s Ferry on Caney Fork, seven miles from Smithville, the county seat of Dekalb County, Tenn. He is the youngest of eleven children born to Jesse and Nancy (Walker) Allen, both of whom were natives of Virginia. The father settled in what is now Dekalb County in 1801, being one of the oldest settlers. He died in 1857, and the mother in 1840. Both were members of the Baptist Church. Our subject was reared on the farm and became interested in agriculture. … Read more

Biography of Hon. J.J. Ford

Hon. J. J. Ford, attorney at law, was born in Dekalb (then Smith) County November 22, 1822. He is one of ten children of Daniel and Mary (Fite) Ford, the former of Irish origin. The father, born about 1794 in South Carolina, was the son of Daniel Ford, Sr., of Virginia, who became one of the earliest settlers of Tennessee, when Daniel, Jr., was but a small boy. He settled in Smith County near what is now Temperance Hall, where he remained until his death. With ordinary education in his youth, Daniel, Jr., married about 1818 and spent his life … Read more

Biography of Hon. Bethel Magness Webb

Hon. Bethel Magness Webb, attorney at law, Smithville, Tenn., was born in Warren County Tenn., September 21, 1847. He is the sixth of thirteen children born to D. W. and Sarah (Magness) Webb. His father was of English descent, Born in Warren County in 1815, a son of Julius Webb, who was a native of North Carolina and came to middle Tennessee in his youth and settled in what is now Warren County. He was on of the pioneers of that section. After marriage D. W. Webb located in the northern part of Warren County, where he lived till his … Read more

Biography of Henry M. Darnall

Henry M. Darnall (deceased) was born in Chester District, South Carolina in 1808. His parents moved to Maury County, Tennessee, when he was four years old. When nineteen he left there and went to Obion County, and lived there and in Lake County until his death. His early education was neglected, though be inherited fine sense from his mother, and his father was well educated. When thirty years of age he was appointed captain of a company of militia; then was made colonel, and finally brigadier general. During the war he was offered the generalship of the army of Virginia, … Read more

Biography of H.D. Foust

H. D. Foust, of Foust & Jones, carriage manufacturers at Alexandria, was born in Wilson County in 1845, a son of William E. and Betsey (Luster) Foust. The father, born in Wilson County about 1818, was the son of William Foust, a native of Germany. William E. was married in 1844, and was all his life a blacksmith and carriage manufacturer in his native county. He was sheriff of the county four terms. The mother was born in the same county about 1829, and both were members of the Missionary Baptist Church. Educated at Lebanon, our subject at fifteen entered … Read more

Biography of H.B. Morgan

J. L. Bryant & Co. This firm is now composed of H. B. Morgan and J. W. Motlow. It was first established in 1872, by J. L. Bryant (now deceased) and H. B. Morgan. J. L. Bryant had himself been in business in Lynchburg since 1806. He was born September 25, 1824, in Lincoln County, and was reared in west Tennessee, and when a young man returned to Moore County, and on August 24, 1845, married Finetta B. Leftwich, and engaged in merchandising at Charity, in this county, continuing in mercantile pursuits until his death. In 1865 he was at … Read more

Biography of George W. Davidson

George W. Davidson, one of the oldest and most prominent citizens of Tullahoma, and a member of the Coffee County Bar, was born in Lincoln County, Tennessee, June 21, 1826, and is the son of Joel and Elizebeth (Henry) Davidson. The father was born at Beon’s Station, Granger County, Tennessee, in July 1799 and died in August in 1848. The mother was born in Hillsboro, Orange County, N. C., January 5, 1800, and died in November 1883. Both were members of the Old School Presbyterian Church. Our subject was reared on a farm, and received a limited education. He learned … Read more

Biography of Gen. Wm. B. Stokes

Gen. Wm. B. Stokes, one of the leading attorneys and best-known citizens of Alexandria, was born in 1814 in Chatham County, N. C. He is the second and only surviving one of their children of Sylvanus and Mary (Christian) Stokes. The father was of English descent, born in Chatham County, N. C., in 1783, a son of Thos. Stokes who was a native of Virginia and a cousin of ex-Gov. Munford Stokes, of North Carolina. Sylvanus was married in North Carolina about 1810, and in 1818 started for Tennessee, where his father owned large tracts of land. While en route … Read more

Biography of E.Y. Salmon, M.D.

E. Y. Salmon, M. D., was born in the “Palmetto State,” on the 26th of June, 1830. His father, William H. Salmon, was a physician and immigrated to Alabama in 1833, and afterward removed to Texas in 1863, where he died. He was identified with public interest in Alabama, and held the office of clerk, for twenty four years. The mother died in Texas at an advanced age. Our subject was reared in Alabama, and resided with his parents until nineteen years of age. He volunteered to serve in the Mexican war in 1846, but peace was declared before he … Read more

Biography of Dr. J.M. Wright

Dr. J. M. Wright has been an able and popular physician of Lake County for eighteen years, and was the son of Moses and Lericy (Farris) Wright. His father was born in Kentucky in 1812 and his mother in Giles County, Tennessee in 1814. When quite young he came to Tennessee, and married Miss Farris in Obion County, where they made their home. They had three sons, two of whom are farmers and stock raisers in Texas. Mrs. Wright was a Cumberland Presbyterian, but there being no church near her of that denomination, she united with the Methodists. In politics … Read more

Biography of D.W. Dinges

D. W. Dinges, a notary public, and a leading business man of Alexandria, was born in 1836, in Warren County, Va., the youngest of five children of Wm. M. and Clara P. E. (Lincoln) Dinges, both natives of Virginia. The father was born about 1810, of Scotch- Dutch decent, a son of Mortica Dinges. He was a blacksmith, and spent his entire life in his native State, where he died in 1837. His wife was born about 1814, and is living in White County. She moved to Tennessee soon after her husband’s death. She has been three times married; is … Read more