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Cox and Eddy Clark ============================================================================= PAGE 1 GIBSON COUNTY TENNESSEE (ILLUSTRATED) A SERIES OF PEN AND PENCIL SKETCHES COMPRISING A PASSING GLANCE AT THE HISTORY, PROGRESS, AND PRESENT STATE OF INDUSTRIAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN GIBSON COUNTY -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Historical, Descriptive and Biographical -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EDITED AND COMPILED BY W.P. GREENE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PUBLISHED BY THE BUSINESS PEOPLE OF GIBSON COUNTY 1901 PRESS OF GOSPEL ADVOCATE PUBLISHING CO., NASHVILLE, TN PAGE 2 PREFACE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This little work is discursive rather than exhaustive. It contains some historical, some descriptive, and some biographical matter, but makes no pretense as to detail in regard to any of the subjects treated. Those who expect to find something here about everything and everybody in Gibson County will be disappointed. It is only a series of pen and picture sketches, exhibiting the salient points in the county's industrial and social development, together with a glance at its history and progress. With this exegesis of its scope and purpose, I present it to the public. The work is in some respects a public enterprise, in that is advertises the county abroad and memorializes it at home, thus entitling it to the favor of the wide-awake, progressive people of the county. I am under obligations to a number of good people for timely and valuable aid in preparing the work. I mention J.H. Koffman, Esq. and his accomplished wife, Mrs. Mattie Boyd Koffman, who assisted me greatly in my sketch work. Mr. James R. Deason, of the law firm of Deason, Rankin and Elder, also gave me great assistance and encouragement. To Mr. E. E. Benton, of the Herald Democrat, I am indebted for special courtesies, and to the press of the county in general I own thanks for editorial favors. Indeed, I may say, I am indebted to all the people of the county with whom I came in contact for courtesies extended and kindly interest in my work. W.P. GREENE PAGE 3 REGIONAL HISTORY -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRACING THE SOVEREIGNTY OF THE COUNTRY. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For the purposes of a work historical and descriptive of Gibson County, Tenn., we are not particularly concerned with the voyages of the Norsemen to the Western world, said to have occurred in the year 874; nor with the visit Leif the Lucky, son of Eric the Red, is said to have paid to the coast of North America in the year 1900. If Leif did visit our Eastern coast away back there, five hundred years before Christopher Columbus or Amerigo Vespucci found it, he deserved to lose his sobriquet, "Lucky", for he missed a good thing in not staying with his discovery. Still, we are somewhat interested in the discovery of America, for the reason that if America had not been discovered, Gibson County would have remained terra incognita. VIEW IN TRENTON, THE COUNTY SEAT, ON A FIRST MONDAY In order to be logical, therefore, we begin the history of Gibson County with some remarks about the discovery of America. It is nothing more than right that the people of Gibson County should know the facts about this event, as two or three very worthy persons have not received the credit they deserve in the matter. Page 4 Christopher Columbus got the sole credit for discovering America, though he really did not do it; he only discovered some of the islands adjacent. He never saw the continent of North America; in fact, he died ignorant of the fact that America was a continent at all, and in the full belief that the islands he had discovered were a part of Asia. In consequence of this belief, he called the natives of the islands "Indians," by which name all the natives of both North and South America came afterwards to be designated. Although it is said that there is nothing in a name - which may be true outside of banking circles - yet this was clearly a misnomer and an injustice to the inhabitant of India, who was a decent, civilized individual, compared with the cruel, skulking, treacherous, scalp-taking sans- culottes that prowled in the forests of North America. Another misnomer grew out of this same error of Columbus. The islands were called "West Indies," perhaps as a kind of protest against the fact that they proved not to be the East Indies, as Columbus had supposed. Residence of General W.W. Wade, Attorney-General of the 18th Judicial Circuit Still, we must give Columbus the credit for breaking the ice, as it were, in introducing the old world to the new. Columbus made his discovery of the islands off the coast of America on October 12, 1492. He made three other voyages, the last of which was in 1502, always seeking a passage to India and never reaching America. The news of Columbus' discovery reached Europe, however, and excited the spirit of adventure and cupidity too, no doubt, among the nations of Western Europe. It must be remembered that with these nations, at this time. India was the land of gold and precious stones and all manner of riches; hence the craze to find a western passage to India. Portugal sent out an expedition in 1497, under an experienced navigator, named Vasco da Gama," which actually sailed around the new world on the south and reached India, returning two years later, laden with riches. Page5 Da Gama must have seen South America, but we have no record of his landing upon it, nor whether he, like Columbus, thought it a large island lying east of Asia. Henry VII., of England, sent out an expedition under John and Sebastian Cabot in 1497. They must have sailed in different vessels, as John Cabot reached the northern part of North America in the same year and named the land he saw 'New Found Land"; while Sebastian's voyage did not take place till 1498, when he sailed along the Atlantic Coast as far as the Carolinas and claimed the whole country for England. I am inclined to think that the Cabots were not Englishmen, as the name has not an English sound, and I have never met with the name in English history or literature. I am inclined to believe that they were Portuguese sailors, employed by King Henry, of England, on account of their experience as navigators. At any rate, this English expedition was the first to discover the mainland of North America, and John and Sebastion Cabot should receive whatever of credit is due therefore. Marble Works of James Gillen, Humboldt, Tennessee Whether these navigators were possessed with the current delusion that the land they discovered was a part of Asia, is not known, but it is quite likely they were, as that seems to have been the prevailing belief. There was an Italian, by name "Amerigo Vespucci," who got a great and lasting honor out of the discovery of the new world, to which he was not entitled. The circumstances which brought this about serve to illustrate the value of advertising and the power of the press. He sailed along the coast of South America in 1506, ten years after de Gama sailed along the same coast and nine years after Sebatian Cabot sailed along the coast of the Carolinas, but he wrote out and published an account of the new land and what he had seen. This account got into the hands of a Dutchman named "Waldseemiller", who published, in 1507, a geographical work in which he gave the name "America" to the new world. The Italian's name has stuck to the country ever since; and what is more, this Italian, obscure, except for this, and known nowhere else in history, has thus unwittingly conferred his name upon a nation which, in it's own estimation, at least, is the very salt of the earth among nations and divinely appointed to take care of the balance of mankind. It is hoped it will be true to it's mission. The early voyages that succeeded the discovery of Columbus were made partly to see what was to be seen, but mostly in seat of gold or other treasure. No attempt was made by any of the nations of Europe to establish homes for their people in the new world. Silence and mystery continued to reign beyond the dark forests that curtained the land, and the muse of history held her pen for a hundred years, waiting to begin the marvelous story of the amalgamation of peoples and the building of a new nation. Page6 It is not my purpose to enter into an account of the explorations and settlements that were begun by the various nations of Europe on the continent of North America at the end of the sixteenth century. I shall only briefly outline the history of the settlement, by our English ancestors, of the particular region which embraced the State of Tennessee and the section which forms the subject of these sketches. My design in this outline is to note specially those controlling acts and events which finally established the sovereignty of the United States of America over the region and led up to the division of the country into States and counties and the formation of local governments. In the year 1600 almost nothing was known of the interior of North America. It was only known as a vast continent of indefinite extent and proportions, and wondrously endowed by nature with every element necessary to the human race. The fact that it was already occupied by human beings seems to have received but little consideration at the hands of our forefathers. John and Sebastian Cabot had sailed along the Atlantic coast and claimed the land for England by right of discovery, and England proceeded to exercise the rights of ownership thus conferred by granting the land to her subjects. It is to these grants that we must look in tracing our civil divisions and our titles to the lands we occupy, because they have been recognized through all the mutations of time and events as delineating the rights of States and the limits of sovereign proprietorship over the country. The first permanent settlement that was made by our English ancestors was in the year 1607, at Jamestown, forty miles up the James River. Some previous attempts at settlement had failed. The settlement at Jamestown was by a company called the "Virginia Company" or "London Company." This company received from James I., who was then king of England, a grant of territory which embraced the Atlantic Coast from the thirty-fourth to the thirty-eight degree of north latitude, and an indefinite extent of country in the interior, presumably as far as the country extended. This grant was extended, two years later, and made to embrace more of the coast; but in 1624, after King James' death, the grants to the London Company were annulled by King Charles I., who took the government of the colony into his own hands, and after that Virginia was a royal province. The Virginia colonists had a hard time of it for the first ten or twelve years to even preserve their existence; but English tenacity and perseverance eventually triumphed over all obstacles, and the English people became fixed in America. This was the period when Capt. John Smith, Powhatan, and Pocahontas figured in history. During the next forty years the colonists, with other emigrants from Europe, including some of those grand people, the Huguenots, fleeing from religious persecution in France, spread over the country southward and gave occasion for the establishment of another colonial government. So, in 1663, King Charles II. executed a most munificent grant, conveying to certain nobles of his court the right to occupy, possess, and govern, subject to the laws of England, all that portion of America lying between the thirty-first and thirty-sixth degrees of north latitude, on the Atlantic Coast, and as far westward as the South Seas. The recipients of this charter were Edward Clarendon, George Albemarle, William Craven, John Berkeley, Anthony Ashley, George Carteret, John Colleton, and William Berkeley. This grant, and a supplemental grant two years later, extending its northern limit to 36° 30' north latitude, constituted the title under which North Carolina afterwards claimed and obtained the sovereignty of the region which includes the State of Tennessee. The region covered by this grant was called "Carolina" in honor of King Charles, and continued under the government of North Carolina as colony and State for one hundred and twenty-six years. PAGE 7 In the meantime, a settlement at the mouth of the Ashley River "Charles Town," and the two portions of the country became designated as "North Carolina" and " South Carolina." In the year 1729 King Charles divided the country into two provinces, establishing different governments in each. In this division South Carolina was left with the territory above the thirty-first degree of north latitude as far as the Cape Fear River and westward; but afterwards, in 1732, a grant was made to James Edward Oglethorpe by King George, who succeeded King Charles, of the country between the Savannah River and the Alabama River, leaving to South Carolina only that portion east of the Savannah river and an indefinite strip westward. No royal grant was ever made to any of the country lying west of North Carolina, so that King Charles' grant of 1663 and its enlargement two years after stood as the monument of title which North Carolina held to all the country west, not assigned to South Carolina nor included in King George's grant to Oglethorpe. There is a little confusion as to the exact date of this grant of Charles II to Clarendon and his associates. The histories and encyclopedias which I have consulted place it in the year 1663; Whitney, in his "Land Laws of Tennessee," recites the document itself, which gives the date of its execution as June 30, in the seventeenth year of the reign of Charles II. If we ignore the eleven years of the Commonwealth, or Protectorate, and place the beginning of the reign of Charles II. at the date of his father's death, in 1649, the seventeenth year of his reign would be the year 1666. If we count from the time of his actual ascendance to the throne of England, in 1669, the seventeenth year of his reign would be the year 1677. I leave this matter to be straightened out by those who have leisure and taste for the inquiry. The creation of the royal province of South Carolina, and the grant to Oglethorpe, left to North Carolina all the territory westward between the thirty-fifth degree of north latitude and Virginia. The northern boundary of this territory between North Carolina and Virginia remained unsettled until after the Revolutionary War, when it was finally surveyed and fixed upon the line of 36° 30' north latitude, the present northern boundary of the State of Tennessee. PAGE 8 From this time forward the territory of North Carolina remained as delineated by the great grant of Charles II. No king of England changed her boundaries, no other colony disputed her title; her western frontier still extended to the South Seas, and her people remained ignorant of the vastness of her possessions. SOME OF THE MAGISTRATES OF GIBSON COUNTY England was one hundred and sixty-six years in establishing her title to the counties of America which she claimed by virtue of the discoveries of John and Sebatian Cabot. From the first settlement at Jamestown in 1607 to the peace of Paris in 1763, England and her colonies were engaged in almost ceaseless war, either with France, Spain, or the Indian tribes, for the possession of the country. Her greatest and bloodiest wars were with the French and the Indians. The French claimed the country about the Great Lakes by right of discovery, and had pushed their explorations and discoveries down the Mississippi River and laid claim to all the country west of the Alleghany Mountains, and pretty much all the continent, except the narrow strip on the Atlantic Coast occupied by the English. This our forefathers would not permit; so a great struggle took place, which resulted in the French being entirely driven from America. The struggle ended in 1763. A treaty was made in that year, to which England, France, and Spain were parties, in which France gave up to England all her claims to the country east of the Mississippi River. In the same treaty France turned over to Spain the city of New Orleans and all of the country west of the Mississippi, which she had named "Louisiana:" and Spain was also confirmed in her possession of Florida. I will state in passing, for the benefit of casual readers, that Spain afterwards ceded the country west of the Mississippi River back to France, and France sold the same to the United States in 1803. Spain retained Florida until 1819, when she also sold out to the United States. The treaty of Paris in 1763, fixing the western boundary of England's possessions in the new world, also determined the western limit of North Carolina's holding under her grant from King Charles. The Mississippi River became the South Seas of that instrument. In the long war that finally established English sovereignty over the disputed portions of North America, the colonists had borne the brunt of the struggle. Their privations and struggles, both in establishing their homes and defending them, had developed in them a spirit of independence and self-confidence that soon brought them into collision with the English Government; and within thirteen years after the treaty of 1763, we find them declaring themselves free and independent, and capable of managing their own affairs. The descendants of the old North Carolina revolutionists, who form so large a portion of the population of Gibson County, may be proud of the part the old mother State took in asserting and maintaining the rights of freemen in 1776. In the excitement of impending revolution, North Carolina did not forget her grant from King Charles II. On the eve of confederation with the other colonies to assert and maintain the liberties of all, she passed an Act asserting and declaring her sovereign right to the country embraced in that grant. This Act was passed by the Assembly of North Carolina in 1776. In 1777 the Assembly erected the whole of the territory west of the mountains into a county of North Carolina and called it "Washington County." This included all of Tennessee. In 1779 Sullivan County was created out of the northeast corner of the county of Washington. These were the last acts of sovereign authority exercised by North Carolina over her territory until after the close of the Revolutionary War. In 1783 the colonies had fought to a triumphant conclusion their war for independence; and England at the treaty of Paris, February, 1783, had acknowledged the independence of the American colonies. The form of this acknowledgment was such that it left each of the colonies the sovereignty of the lands it had formerly held by grant from England. Page 9 In 1783 the Assembly of North Carolina commenced the work of dividing its territory into civil divisions, and divided Washington County, designating a small portion south of Sullivan County as "Washington County" and naming the remaining portion "Greene County." In the same year Davidson County was created on the north line of the territory west of Cumberland Gap. In 1786 Sumner County was cut off of the east end of Davidson County. In 1788 Davidson county was again divided, and Tennessee County was created out of its western part. These were the final acts of sovereignty exercised by North Carolina over the territory she held by virtue of her grant of 1663. None of these acts affected, except by implication, the section in which Gibson County lies. In 1789 North Carolina ratified and signed the Constitution of the United States and became one of the States of the American Union. In December of the same year, by formal Act, she ceded to the United States all the territory she possessed beyond her own limits. For seven years this territory remained the common property of all the people of the United States, open to settlement under the laws provided by the United States for the government of its common territory, except the lands reserved to the Indians and grants previously made by North Carolina. In 1796 Tennessee was admitted to the Union of States, thus completing the establishment of civil government over all the country embraced in the original grant of lands to North Carolina. The last Act of North Carolina before the cession of her territory to the Unites States was the creation of Tennessee County off the west end of Davidson County. The Government of Tennessee now took up the work of dividing the territory where North Carolina left off. In 1796 Tennessee County was divided into two counties-- Robertson and Montgomery-- and ceased to exist, the name "Tennessee" having been given to the State. Robertson County was created out of the Residence of Col. C.H. Ferrell, Pres. Merchant's State Bank, Humboldt PAGE 10 eastern portion, and Montgomery county was left to embrace the remainder, which was all of the western part of the territory. In 1803 Montgomery County was divided by a line beginning on the Kentucky line thirteen miles west of the meridian of Clarksville and running south to the southern boundary of the Sate. All west of this line was named "Stewart County." Stewart County thus embraced all of West Tennessee, and, after the Chickasaw Purchase and before the formation of the new counties in West Tennessee, had jurisdiction over all the territory west of the Tennessee River; but Stewart County stood as embracing all of West Tennessee from 1803 to 1818. Residence of J. Freed, prominent merchant in Trenton I have not space to go into a discussion of the methods adopted with the Indians whom they found in possession of the country. I have an idea that the Indian did not receive the full measure of justice to which he was entitled as the man in possession; still he was making mighty slow progress in civilization, and required to be hurried up or suppressed. He had no business to be just roaming around, hunting and fishing, and tomahawking and scalping people. It was his duty either to work, or stand aside and let somebody else do it. He was occupying a pretty large extent of the universe to very little purpose, and it was his duty to divide up with fellows who had been a little crowded in their former habitations. So the exercise of a little compulsion and of a little superior trading talent, on the part of our forefathers, was perhaps justifiable, all things considered. After the sovereignty of the entire country passed from England to the United States, the rights of the Indian in the soil received greater consideration. He was kept moving however, but for a consideration--nominal, merely, it is true, but sufficient to give the transaction an air of fairness and open dealing. As regards our Gibson County region, it was the home and the hunting ground of the Chickasaw tribe of Indians, and was so recognized by the Government of the United States. All of the State of Tennessee west of the Tennessee River was recognized and treated as the hunting ground of this tribe of Indians. No whites were permitted to acquire title to any of it's lands. They were Page 11 permitted to trade with the Indians and live among them, if they so desired; but the lands continued to remain the public domain of the United States, subject to the Indian right of occupancy. North Carolina had made some grants of land within the territory, but even these were subject to the Indian title. There were a number of these grants in Gibson County. A portion of the land upon which Trenton stands was one of these grants; nearly all the land in the Twenty-fourth District was covered by one of these North Carolina grants. After the cession of the territory by North Carolina to the general government, in 1789, all grants of land west of the Tennessee River ceased, and for a period of twenty-nine years West Tennessee continued to be the home and habitat of the Chickasaw tribe of Indians. From all I can gather about the Chickasaw Indians, they seem to have been the most peaceable and least bloodthirsty of any of the tribes that inhabited our Southern country. Their friendship for the whites was very marked through all the bloody wars that attended the settlement of the country; and they seem to have been a tractable and docile people, indisposed to war and inclined to domestication. On October 19, 1818, at the Treaty Ground, on the Tennessee River, near where Riverton now stands, a great convention took place between the chiefs and the head men of the Chickasaw tribe of Indians, on the one side, and Andrew Jackson and Isaac Shelby, commissioners of the United States, on the other. PHOTO: Residence of H.M. Elder, Cashier Gibson County Bank, Trenton At this convention, the great and final treaty was negotiated, signed, and published, by which the Chickasaw Indians, in consideration of twenty thousand dollars to be paid annually for fifteen years, gave up to the United States all claim, right, and title to the lands lying north of the thirty-fifth parallel, and bounded on the north, east, and west by the Ohio, Tennessee, and Mississippi Rivers. The treaty reads: "Beginning where the thirty-fifth parallel cuts across the Tennessee River; west with the parallel to the Mississippi River; up the Mississippi River to the mouth of the Ohio River; up the Ohio River to the mouth of the Tennessee River; up the Tennessee River to the place of beginning." Thus was settled forever the title to the soil of West Tennessee, and thus were opened up the lands to the occupancy and settlement of the white people. In the year following the treaty a good many white people settled in the region, who, together with those already there, formed the nucleus of population in several parts of the territory. Page 12 The State of Tennessee now began the establishing of local civil government throughout the region, and to this end began the dividing up of the country into counties. On November 19, 1819, Shelby County, was delineated and organized. This was the first county created in West Tennessee; others followed, until in a few years the entire region that had been occupied by the Chickasaw Indians was divided into counties, and organized local governments were established over the entire country. The history of a people passing from the first rude stage of social and industrial life (incident to the occupancy of a new and uninhabited country) to a condition of thorough political, social, and industrial organization is always an interesting and pleasing study. All our American communities have such a history, and it is this fact which gives to American history its peculiar charm and to the American people their peculiar character of independence, resourcefulness, and push that distinguishes them from all the other people of the world. In many parts of our country the page of history as regards the triumphs of the people over natural forces has closed; in other and newer sections the struggle is still going on. New settlements are being formed, privations endured and social conveniences and organizations introduced. Every foot of territory gained in the new world, every advance made in the establishment of social order and the securing of domestic comforts and conveniences, and, indeed, in the establishment of civil government, has been fought for. From the time when the first colonists set foot on American soil down to the present time, the history of the American people has been that of aggressiveness -- of warfare upon the forces, moral and physical, that stood in the way of their progress. -------------------------- GIBSON COUNTY ORGANIZATION -------------------------- Gibson County was the twelfth county organized in West Tennessee after the Chickasaw Purchase. The words of its institution are as follows: "An Act to Establish A New County, West of Carroll County, Passed on October 21, 1823." "Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee, That a new county to be called by the name `Gibson County,' in honor of and to perpetuate the memory of Col. John H. Gibson, shall be, and is hereby, established west of Carroll County; beginning at the northwest corner of Carroll County, running thence west on the fourth sectional line to a point four miles west of the second range line in the Thirteenth District; thence north to the fifth sectional line; thence west on said sectional line to the fifth line range; thence south with the said range line to a point two and one-half miles south of the line separating the Tenth and Thirteenth Districts; thence east parallel with said line to a point directly south of the southwest corner of Carroll County; thence north to the beginning." Col. John H. Gibson, for whom the county was named, was one of that noble band of pioneers and patriots conspicuous in American history as leaders in the great struggle to establish the supremacy of the American people on the soil of America. He was with Jackson at New Orleans, and during the War of 1812 was in the same command with Dyer, Williamson, Lauderdale, and Elliott. He also served under Wayne in his Northwestern campaign against the Indians. He died in 1823, near Jackson, Tenn., and was there buried with the honors of war. The Legislature of Tennessee, shortly before the Civil War, passed an Act authorizing the removal PAGE 13 of his body to the State capital, but his grave could not be identified. Thus this distinguished soldier and patriot sleeps in an unknown grave in the land he loved and served, and hard by the grand county that perpetuates his name and memory. There are a number of the descendants of Colonel Gibson in the South. He was married to Miss Anna McConn, of Frankfort, Ky., and had three sons and five daughters. One of his grandsons, Capt. Paul Shirley, is in the United States Navy. A granddaughter of his, Miss Frank Dobbs -- to whom I am indebted for the above facts about her grandfather -- resides at Fort Payne, Ala. Mr. Gibson, of near Rutherford, is also a grandson of Colonel Gibson, and the only one of his descendants living in Gibson County. In 1870 the boundaries of Gibson County as defined by the Act of its creation were changed somewhat. About thirty square miles of its territory in the southwest corner were taken, which, with other territory taken from Madison, Haywood, and Dyer Counties, was erected into a new county, called "Crockett County," in memory of the famous hunter, statesman, and Texas martyr, David Crockett. Another change was made in the northeast boundary of the county, making the South Fork of the Obion River the dividing line between Gibson County and Weakley County, instead of the fourth sectional line, as provided in the Act of creation. Except these changes, the county remains as first delineated by its organic Act. PHOTO: Residence of Dr. W.F. Mathews, Brazil If you will look at a good map of Tennessee, you will see that Gibson County is situated near the center of what is denominated "West Tennessee," being that portion of the State lying between the Tennessee River and the Mississippi River; in fact, the exact geographical center of West Tennessee is a few hundred yards south of the southern line of the county. Speaking generally of West Tennessee, there is probably no other portion of the United States of equal extent that is better fitted by nature for the pursuits of agriculture. Nature has provided every essential here for the hand and home of the tiller of the soil. The soil is fertile and easily tilled; the climate is mild, healthful, and adapted to the growth of every product of the temperate zone; exhaustless veins of limpid water course their way within easy reach beneath the soil; noble forests of timber provide the materials for homes and shelter for both man and brute. What more does a country lack that possesses these? I think, nothing, accepts God's blessing upon the work of human hands. These words in regard to the general section will apply with equal, if not stronger force to Gibson County. Taken as a whole, there is no other county in West Tennessee richer in natural endowment than Gibson; and as respects the extent of its population and of its agricultural development, it is the leading county in the section, outside of Shelby, and it is second to Shelby only in the number of its population. There were but few settlers within the limits of Gibson County before its organization. PAGE 14 In 1819, so far as I can find any accurate record, there were but three. These were Thomas Fite, John Spencer, and James T. Randolph. In that year Luke Biggs settled about four miles west of where Trenton now stands, and John Eubanks settled near the present site of Bell's Chapel. In 1822 there were six families in the county. These were the families of Thomas Fite, Isaac Sellers, Luke Biggs, and John Eubanks on the west side; Oliver Blakemore and James Blakemore on the east side. David Crockett became a citizen of the region in 1822, settling a little east of where the town of Rutherford now stands. In 1822 and 1823 settlers entered the county rapidly from Middle Tennessee, East Tennessee, and North Carolina; so that early in 1824, when the county government was inaugurated, the county had a considerable population. As evidence that North Carolina contributed most to the settlement of Gibson County, by far the larger portion of the population of the county to-day is composed of the descendants of North Carolina ancestors. At the time of the organization of the county there were probably within its limits five hundred persons. PHOTO: Residence of Dr. T.J. Happel, noted physician and surgeon of the county and President of the County Board of Health The session of the Legislature of 1823 and 1824 sat at Murfreesboro. This Legislature created seven new counties in West Tennessee -- McNairy, October 8; Hardeman and Haywood, October 10; Dyer, October 16; Gibson, October 21; Obion, October 24; Tipton, October 27. Provision was made for a local government in each of the counties. Gibson County was divided into four districts -- the Northern, Southwestern, Central, and Southeastern. The Ninth Judicial Circuit was formed, embracing Gibson County; and John C. Hamilton was elected by the Legislature as judge of the circuit. His commission from Gov. William Carroll, was issued on and dated October 23, 1823. The Ninth Judicial Circuit, when first created, was composed of the counties of Carroll, Henry, Henderson, Perry, and all the counties to be established west of Carroll and Henry Counties. This brought Gibson County into Judge Hamilton's circuit. The justices of the peace for Gibson County, elected by the Legislature and commissioned by Governor Carroll were: William P. Seat, Robert Edmonson, Oliver Blakemore, Benjamin White, Robert Reed, Yarnell Reese, Abner Burgan, John D. Love, William W. Craig, William Killingsworth, and Isham F. Davis. A commission -- composed of James Fentress, Robert Jetton, Benjamin Reynolds, and William Martin -- was appointed with instructions to obtain, by purchase or donation, a tract of land of not less than fifty acres, as PAGE 15 near the center of the new county as practicable, upon which to locate the county capital. The first movement in the organization of the county took place at the house of Luke Biggs, about four miles west of the present county seat, on January 5, 1824. On that day the justices of the peace, who had been commissioned by the Governor in pursuance of the Act of the Legislature, met and organized the County Court, or "Court of Pleas and Sessions," as it was then designated. The house in which they met is no longer standing, having given place to a more modern edifice; but the site, as well as the farm, which the event thus made historic, is still in the hands and occupancy of the descendants of Luke Biggs. It is owned by Rev. S. B. Scott, who married a daughter of this pioneer settler of Gibson County. The Court of Pleas and Sessions was organized by the election of William P. Seat as chairman and Thomas Fite as clerk. John W. Needham was chosen sheriff; Robert Reed, trustee; William W. Craig, register; and William D. Blakemore, ranger. I notice that this initial County Court appointed two of its members -- Robert Reed and William W. Craig -- to the two best offices in the county. This augurs well for the economic talent of that body, and proves that our ancestors were fully alive to the advantages of opportunity. "Make hay while the sun shines," is a maxim that, I think, was evolved from American experience; at least, it is a maxim that describes with accuracy a trait of the American people. It embodies the very essence of wisdom, and is so universally applicable in all the affairs of life that he who neglects to heed its teachings is pretty apt to fail of a harvest. The sun of official position had begun to shine in Gibson County, and our ancestors of blessed memory proceeded to take advantage of its haymaking energies. PHOTO: Residence of J.W. Jetton, Trenton Lack of space will preclude a detailed account of the proceedings of the County Court after its first organization; in fact, such account would be foreign to the design of this publication and prove dull reading for the busy, practical generation of the present day, whose thoughts and energies are more concerned with the present and future than with the musty records of the past. Those, however, who have taste and leisure for such inquiry are referred to my chapter entitled "Incidents of the Early Settlement of Gibson County." At this time Gibson County was only a wilderness. The face of the country was covered by an almost unbroken forest. As yet, no mill wheels disturbed the silent flow of the rivers; the smoke of the settler's hastily and rudely constructed cabin curled lonesomely among the tree tops, and the small clearings before his door were scarcely large enough to receive the welcoming smile of the noonday sun; wild animals lurked in the dark recesses of the forest; and deadly fevers stretched forth their burning hands from the PAGE 16 tangled canebrakes. But the sturdy settlers of these untamed wilds heeded not these things; or if they heeded them, with the inherited pluck of their ancestors they attacked them and subdued them. With ax and rifle and a courage and perseverance that nothing could daunt, they hewed and fought their way, until mansions stood where once the lowly cabin had crouched beneath the trees, and billowy fields of cotton and grain spread their broad acres over the spot where the wild beast had made his lair. The Court of Pleas and Sessions held but one term at the house of Luke Biggs. It held its April term at the house of William C. Love, who lived about four and one- half miles east of the present county seat. From this time forward until the county seat was located, the house of WIlliam C. Love was the de facto seat of justice of the county. Here, on May 24, 1824, Judge John C. Hamilton held the first term of the Circuit Court for Gibson County. Joseph H. Talbot was appointed clerk. The grand jury of this first Circuit Court was composed of the following citizens: William B. G. Killingsworth, foreman; Robert Reed,, Isham F. Davis, George F. Crafton, William McKendrick, William W. Craig, Robert Temple, Robert Edmonson, John Spencer, Benjamin White, William Blakemore, Andrew Cole, and John Parker. James R. Chalmers was attorney-general at this time. PHOTO: Residence of Hon. J. C. McDearmon, Trenton During the summer of 1824, the commissioners who had been appointed by the Legislature to select a site for the seat of justice of the county, made choice of a spot near the center of the county, on the North Fork of the Forked Deer River, on which Thomas F. Gibson had built a storehouse and was engaged in selling goods to the settlers. The settlers had given the place the name "Gibsonport." The land belonged to John B. Hogg, James Whitaker, Jesse Blackfin, James Caruthers, and Frank McGavock. Hogg and Whitaker donated twenty acres, and the others together donated thirty-six and a quarter acres, making in the aggregate fifty acres for the county seat site, as required by the instructions to the commissioners, and an additional six and a quarter acres, which was set apart as a town common. At the October (1824) term of the County Court, held at the home of William C. Love, the following commissioners were appointed to lay off the county town of Gibson County: John W. Evans, John W. Buckner, William C, Love, Robert Tinkle, and John P. Thomas. At the January (1825) term of the court, held at the same place, Robert Jetton, James Fentress, Benjamin Reynolds, and William Martin were allowed one hundred and twelve PAGE 17 dollars for their services in locating the county seat. At this term the commissioners who had been appointed at the previous term to lay off the county town were ordered to construct a temporary courthouse in the town of Gibsonport, for the use of the courts of the county, and have the same ready for the use of this court at its next term. The order stipulated that the house should be constructed of hewn logs, one story in height, with a clapboard roof, and floor of rough plank securely pinned down. The dimensions of the house were to be 20 x 35 feet. A jury room, 10 x 20 feet in size, was to be made at one end by running a log partition across the building. A convenient bench was to be provided for the use of the court, and such other benches and bar as the commissioners might direct. This rude structure served as the temple of justice of Gibson County until 1829, when it was removed and a two-story brick building erected in its place. The town commissioners were prompt in the execution of the order of the court, and the April (1825) term of the County Court was held in the courthouse in Gibsonport. Two terms of the Circuit Court were held at the house of William C. Love --its first term on May 24, 1824; its second term on November 25, of the same year. The May (1825) term was held at the courthouse in Gibsonport. The County Court held five of its sessions at the house of William C. Love before the county government became finally settled in a home of its own. "Gibsonport" continued to be the name of the county seat until February, 1826, when an Act of the Legislature confirming the acts of the commissioners in locating the county seat gave it the name "Trenton." ------------------------ GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTY The influx of population into the new county was rapid. Settlers from Middle Tennessee, East Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia spread themselves over the county, and soon the county was dotted with settlements and incipient plantations. Roads were opened through the forests, mills were erected upon the streams, stores were set up here and there; and within a very short time after the county was organized, a fair degree of social order had been attained, and many social conveniences had been established. Still, everything was rude and of hasty contrivance -- from the log courthouse in the county town to the most pretentious residence of the wealthiest citizen. The County Court, at its April (1824) term, ordered a road to be opened from the house of WIlliam C. Love to the Huntingdon road on the Carroll County line, and also one from the same place to Nash's Bluff, on the Middle Fork of Forked Deer River. At the April (1825) term roads were ordered opened from Gibsonport to Jackson, Dresden, Lexington, and Obion County. These were the first roads opened in the county. The number of acres of land reported for taxation in 1824 was 273,163. A great deal of this land was owned by nonresidents. The rate of taxation on each 100 acres of land was 12 1-2 cents; on each town lot, 25 cents; on each slave between twelve and fifty years old, 16 2-3 cents; on each four-wheeled carriage, $3.33 1- 3; on each two-wheeled carriage, $1.66 2-3. The tax lists showed only forty-sic slaves and sixty-nine white polls. The revenue derived from all sources was $885.85. (Minutes of County Court.) Sixteen years afterwards (in 1840), when the assessment was made upon the value of the land, I find the following figures: Number of acres assessed, 256,086, valued at $894,869, or nearly $3.50 per acre; the aggregate value of personal property was $628,225, and the tax collected was $6,350.09. Twenty years from this time (in 1860) the number of acres assessed was 400,019, valued at $4,238,519; the value of town lots was $233,765; the value of personal property, PAGE 18 including slaves, was $2,993,514; making the total taxables of the county, $7,465,798. In 1830 the population of the county was 5,801; in 1840 it was 13,689; in 1850 it was 19,548; in 1860 it was 21,777; in 1870 it was 25,666; in 1880 it was 32,685; in 1890 it was 35,859; in 1900 it was 39,408. The log courthouse built in 1824, stood five years. In 1829 it was replaced by a two-story brick building, which cost the county about $6,000. This building stood until 1837, when, being deemed unsafe, it was taken down, and a temporary courthouse was erected out of the material. In 1839 the contract was let for the erection of a new and commodious building suitable to the wants of the county. The contractors upon this building were Robert Shaw and Robert Jetton, the latter an uncle of the present Mr. J. W. Jetton, of Trenton. This courthouse was completed in 1841, at a cost to the county of $20,000. Here is a picture of this courthouse, which stood for fifty-eight years as the temple of justice of the county. It was removed in 1899, and the present handsome and convenient structure was erected in its place. PHOTO: Old Courthouse The construction of the lines of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad and the Mobile and Ohio Railroad through the county in 1857-1859 gave immense impetus to the growth and development of the county. Prior to this time the surplus products of the county were conveyed by wagon to Hickman, Ky, on the Mississippi River, and goods and supplies were obtained from the same point. Eaton, on the Middle Fork of the Forked Deer River, became a considerable shipping place, and quantities of cotton and other products were hauled to this point and transported in keel boats to the Mississippi River. When the railroads were built, all this traffic ceased; Hickman and Eaton lost their consequence as ports of entry and egress for Gibson County, and their greatness became a memory. The two railroads mentioned passed through some of the best agricultural lands of the county, and brought these lands into close contact with the great markets of the country, North and South. The Mobile and Ohio Railroad, especially, was located through the most fertile portion of the county. This road, passing through the entire length of the county, from north to south, had a greater influence upon agricultural development than any other road. The Illinois Central Railroad completed its PAGE 19 road through the county in _____, thus giving the county three important lines of railroad, and affording means of transportation and market facilities unsurpassed by any county in the State. The present state of progress and development in Gibson County is largely due to its railroads. I know of no county in this State or any other State that serves better to illustrate the influence of railroads upon production and the formation of social and business conditions than Gibson County. The population of the county has doubled since the advent of railroads; a number of towns, some of them important places of trade and manufacture, owe their existence to the railroads; facility of transportation and easy access to the great consuming centers of the country vastly increased the volume and variety of agricultural products, so that every season of the year had its distinctive activities fostered and stimulated by market demands and the wondrous capability of the soil; business opportunities and industrial occupations were multiplied, and every social interest was advanced. No wonder that Gibson County, at the beginning of the last decade, stood as the fifth county in the State in point of population, and first as owing all her consequence to her purely agricultural interests. PHOTO: Residence of G.R. Howse, Noted Stockman, Trenton PHOTO: Residence of A.R. Dodson, Cashier Merchant's State Bank, Humboldt PAGE 20 GIBSON COUNTY TO-DAY ---------------------- Pen And Picture Sketches My aim in presenting the following pen and pictures sketches of people and things in the Gibson County of to-day, as I see them, is to bring before the mind's eye the state of social, commercial, and industrial growth the county has reached during the seventy-six years of its existence as a civic organization. An exhaustive presentation of the processes which have brought about the present advanced state of development along all lines of substantial improvement is not attempted and would be impracticable in a work of this kind. Hence, I shall ask the reader to be satisfied with a glance, as it were, at those things in picture and print, which stand as the indices of progress. Gibson County contains something near six hundred square miles of territory. It has a population, according to the United States census of 1900, of 39,408, or a little over sixty-five persons to a square mile; thus exceeding the general ratio of population in the State, which is forty-eight to the square mile of territory. Gibson County is strictly an agricultural county. It has no minerals, so far as is known, and no definite strata of hard rock, such as limestone, slate, or sandstone. Occasional limited beds of coarse reddish or brown sandstone are met with, but the county, as well as all of West Tennessee, is remarkable for the absence of rock formation. The surface of the county is considerably diversified by hill, plain, and valley, though there are no high hills as in other portions of the State. The hilly portion of the county is confined almost entirely to the eastern half; but even here the hills are not formidable, and there is no part so rugged that it cannot be utilized for some useful agricultural purpose. These broken lands of the county are poor compared with the level and valley lands, but if properly cared for will well repay cultivation. There is much good land in the valleys and level spaces that occur on the east side, and some of the best farms and most prosperous farmers are to be found here. The western half of the county is generally level or gently rolling, and is distinctively the best farming portion of the county as a whole. The line of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad passing from north to south nearly centrally through the county, marks closely the dividing line between the best lands and those that are not so good by reason of physical formation. All over the county, however, the soil may be said to be productive, even in the poorest sections, though it differs vastly in productiveness. The soil upon the surface is loam, more or less mixed with sand and siliceous matter, and rests upon a subsoil of clay. In many places on the west side the surface soil is almost pure loam. The surface soil over the county varies in depth from six inches to twenty-four inches, and the depth of the clay subsoil is from eighteen inches to four feet. Below the clay in almost all parts of the county is found a stratum of sand, and below the sand very hard and impervious clay is found. The soil of Gibson County is generally very mellow and easily cultivated, and also easily moved by washing; so that the farmer must exercise care, if he would preserve his farm from becoming a network of gullies. The county has no specialty in the way of agricultural production. It is adapted to diversified farming, and, on account of climatic conditions, is capable of producing a wider range of farm products than many other portions of our country. Cotton, tobacco, all the cereals and grains, vegetables, and fruits grow and mature here in perfection. For several years past the strawberry and tomato crops of the county have been a source of PAGE 21 PHOTO: Magistrates of Gibson County great revenue to the farmers. The northwest section of the county is famous for its wheat production, while the southern and southwestern sections are equally celebrated for their corn and cotton. Improved herds of cattle and hogs roam the pastures everyewhere, while thoroughbred saddle and harness horses are taking the place of scrub breeds of a bygone age. In a word, Gibson is a first-class agricultural conty, and is becoming better every day. There are but few water courses in the county, yet water for domestic and farm use is obtained easily and cheaply. Pure freestone water for domestic use is secured from wells sunk to a depth of from twenty-five feet to forty feet; the supply is inexhaustible. Water for stock, away from the streams, is obtained from ponds, which are easily constructed. The principal water courses of the county are the Middle Fork and the North Fork of the Forked Deer River and the South Fork and the Rutherford Fork of the Obion River. There are a number of smaller streams, tributary to these, but none of particular note. The county was once very heavily timbered, but in recent years the great demand for timber and timber products, together with the subjection of the lands to agricultural uses, has very greatly reduced the quantity and quality of the timber resources of the county; still, there is an abundance left for all purposes. COUNTY GOVERNMENT The county is divided into twenty-five civil divisions, or districts, in each of which two magistrates are elected biennially. Each incorporated city or town also elects one or more magistrates. Trenton and Milan elect two each, and Humboldt, Dyer, and Rutherford elect one each; making the entire magistracy of the county consist of fifty-seven members. The magistrates of the county constitute the PAGE 22 County Court, or legislative assembly of the county, having statutory jurisdiction over county affairs. The chairman of this court, elected by the members, is the judge of the County Court. This court holds four regular terms each year -- on the first Monday of January, April, July, and October. The members of the County Court, with postoffice address, are given below: District No. 1: J. H. Barnwell, Medina; R. A. Caldwell, Medina. District No. 2: H. H. Bass, Gibson; H. H. Love, Humboldt. District No. 3: W. N. L. Dunlap, Humboldt; John C. Adams, Humboldt; W. N. Bennett, Fruitland. Dictrict No. 4: W. L. Kilzer, Gibson Wells; W. F. Jones, Gibson Wells. District No. 5: J. R. Thompson, Brazil; B. W. Sappington, Brazil; District No. 6: J. W. Smith, Eaton; J. H. Hall, Eaton. District No. 7: R. Z. Taylor, Trenton; W. S. Crafton, Trenton; J. I. Crenshaw, Trenton; W. E. Seat, Trenton. District No. 8: H. L. Wyatt, Yorkville; J. T. Carlton, Neboville. District No. 9: W. J. R. Becton, Rutherford; E. J. Smithson, Rutherford; W. P. Young, Rutherford. District No. 10: J. W. Howell, Kenton; W. A. Montgomery, Kenton. District No. 11: J. W. Phelan, Laneview; J. M. Richmond, Dyer. District No. 12: W. A. McLean (dead, and vacancy not filled); T. W. Branson, Trenton. District No. 13: R. E. Edwards, Milan; A. Jordan, Milan; E. N. Stone, Milan; J. J. Collins, Milan. District No. 14: M. Brown, Bradford; J. S. Alexander, Bradford. District No. 15: J. A. Gilliland, Gann; J. M. Williamson, Hollyleaf. District No. 16: J. W. Coleman, Trenton; C. W. Harrison, Trenton. District No. 17: F. J. Bruff, Bradford; A. H. Holmes, Bradford. District No. 18: J. H. Hunt, Gibson; J. A. Paris, Cedar. District No. 19: D. Witherington, Rutherford; O. McDaniel, Rutherford. District No. 20: Sam. Mitchell, Fruitland; J. H. Koffman, Fruitland. District No. 21: D. J. Hutchinson, Dyer; J. D. Gardner, Dyer; J. A. McLeod, Dyer. District No. 22: J. M. Ford, Idlewild; J. N. Thetford, Idlewild. District No. 23: N. B. Johnston, Edmund; H. L. Belew, Edmunds. District No. 24: W. B. Tilghman, Tyson; John Q. Temple, Mason Hall. District No. 25: W. W. Wade, Brazil; A. H. Fitzgerald, Trenton. The present county officers are: Judge of County Court, J. D. Hutchinson; Clerk of County Court, R. J. Dew; Clerk of Circuit Court, J. W. Vick; Sheriff, R. E. Morgan; Trustee, W. F. McRee; Register, G. W. Ingram; Clerk and Master, Chancery Court, Legrand W. Jones; Surveyor, W. H. Dodd; Coroner, W. W. Harrison; Ranger, W. E. Seat; County Physician, Dr. T. J. Happel; Road Commissioner, G. R. Casey; Superintendant of Schools, J. B. Cummings Members of State Legislature: Dr. A. E. Turner, Senator; W. L. Morgan and E. N. Stone, Representatives. The county's Representative in the Congress of the United States is Hon. Rice A Pierce, of Obion County. The county is in the Ninth Congressional District, composed of the counties of Gibson, Dyer, Lake, Lauderdale, Obion, Haywood, Crockett, and Weakley. The county is in the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit, composed of the counties of Carroll, Crockett, Gibson, and Haywood. Judge John R. Bond, of Haywood County, is circuit judge, and Hon. W. W. Wade, of Gibson County, attorney-general. The Eleventh Chancery Division, in which Gibson is situated, is composed of the counties of Dyer, Fayette, Gibson, Haywood, Lauderdale, Obion, Tipton, and Weakley. John S. Cooper, of Gibson County, is chancellor. PAGE 23 PHOTO: New Courthouse in Trenton The new courthouse of the county, just completed, is a building that in beauty of design, architectural finish, and convenience of arrangement will compare with any in the State. It fitly represents the progressive spirit of the people of the county. It is in all respects a modern structure, designed and constructed with an intelligent and comprehensive regard for the wants of a great and growing county. The following account of the laying of the corner stone of the new courthouse is taken from the columns of the "Herald-Democrat" of Friday, October 20, 1899: "According to previous announcement, the exercises of laying the corner stone of our new courthouse took place here last Wednesday. After an ugly day of lowering clouds and downpour of rain, Wednesday morning dawned as beautiful as a May day, with cool and crisp temperature. The work was to be done under the auspices of the Masonic fraternity, and some weeks ago Trenton Lodge No. 86 sent out invitations to every lodge and Mason in Gibson County, together with some outside of the county. Early Wednesday morning they began to arrive from all directions, by trains and private conveyances, until the number of Masons alone was estimated to be over three hundred. In addition to these, hundreds of citizens from all parts of Gibson County were here to witness the interesting event and to show their interest in the seat of the county government and our magnificent temple of justice." "According to programme the Grand Lodge PAGE 24 PHOTO: Residence of G.W. Wade, of the Law Firm Wade & Wade, Trenton opened in their hall at 11 o'clock and formed a procession, headed by a brass band, marching south on College street to Fourth street, thence west to High street, thence north to Eaton Street, thence east to the Square, and around the Square to the northeast corner of the courthouse, where the corner stone is situated. There the beautiful ceremonies were gone through with by Grand Master Bullock and his officers. Many papers, articles, and interesting documents, read out by Hon. A. W. Biggs, were placed in the corner stone, among which were: Copper plate, which was in the corner stone of the first Masonic Tempe in Trenton, containing the names of the officers of Trenton Lodge No. 86, at that time, as follows: A. S. Currey, Worshipful Master; S. W. Sharp, Senior Warden; and Robert P. Caldwell, Junior Warden. This plate contained also the names of the officers of Trenton Chapter No 36, Royal Arch Masons -- Nelson I. Hess, High Priest; C. J. Bradley, King; and J. C. Gillespie, Scribe -- and the names of the officers of the Grand Lodge of Tennessee, as follows: R. L. Caruthers, Grand Master; John S. Dashiel, Grand Secretary. On the reverse side of this plate were engraved the names of the present officers of Trenton Lodge No. 86 -- Dr. Z. Biggs, Worshipful Master; R. E. Grizzard, Senior Warden; G. B. Hicks, Junior Warden; M. Morris, Secretary --- and the names of the following Grand Lodge officers: M. W. Joseph Bullock, Grand Master; R. W. J. R. Smith, Grand Junior Warden; R. W. J. B. Garrett, Grand Secretary. The names of the present county officials, the Builing Committee, the architects, the contractors, and the chairman of the County Court are also placed in the corner stone, as were copies of the newspapers of Gibson County, the Daily American, and the Commercial Appeal; a copper plate containing names of the members of the bar of Gibson County; a roster of the County Court; the business enterprises of Trenton; photographs of the old courthouse together with a bottle of wine, coins, the first postal nor issued at Trenton post office, a twenty-five cent ______ Confederate bill, several advertising ____; photographs of President and Mrs. ________, and a calender for 1899." (Page torn here) "After the ceremonies were finished, Hon. W. I. McFarland was introduced and delivered an able address, which was greatly enjoyed and appreciated by the large audience. At the conclusion of Mr. McFarland's address, A. W. Biggs, in behalf of the ladies of Trenton, presented him with a beautiful bouquet. Mr. McFarland responded feelingly and eloquently to the compiment." "The dismissal of Peabody High School and the attendance of teachers and pupils in a body was no small feature of the occasion. PAGE 25 PHOTO: Col. R.Z. Taylor All together it was a gala day for Trenton, and one long to be remembered." The erection of this splendid edifice was attained after considerable effort on the part of progressive citizens of the county, and not without a good deal of opposition from the ultra-conservative element of the county. But after the building had been completed it became the pride of all the people. The building was completed and the keys delivered to the county authorities on Monday, July 1, 1901. The ceremonies attending the delivery of the keys and the dedication of the building were witnessed bya large concourse of citizens assembled in the large Circuit Court room of the building. If credit is due to any one man more than to others for the new and beautiful, as well as commodious and modern, courthouse building, which is now the pride of Gibson County, it is to Col. R. Z. Taylor, of Trenton. For many years the old courthouse has been inadequate for the business of this large and constantly growing county, and had become dangerous to be used. The County Court had voted down a proposition to erect a new courthouse building, and it was apparent to all that remodeling the old one would not suffice. There was needed some one to take hold of the matter, work up the sentiment for a new building, then get the County Court to act upon it, and build. When the Methodist Conference was held at Trenton in 1897, a large crowd of preachers and layman from all over West Tennessee attended, and among the number of laymen was Col. A. W. Stovall, of Jackson, who, being struck with the beauty of Trenton, its churches and residences, as well as by the dilapidated courthouse building, on his return to his home he wrote a poem on the "Old Courthouse at Trenton," which was published in one of the Jackson papers and copied in the county papers all over West Tennessee. This poem was too much for Colonel Taylor, and he at once announced himself as a candidate for membership in the County Court, and was elected. No sooner had he been elected than he began to agitate the building of new courthouse, and at the January (1889) term a committee was appointed to enter into a contract for the building of the new courthouse; and Judge F. D. Bryant, then the chairman, appointed Messrs, R. Z. Taylor, T. J. Happel, J. T. Hale, of Trenton; B. C. Jarrell, of Humboldt; and J. W. Howell, of Kenton, as the committee. This committee has been retained, with ine change, caused by the death of Mr. B. C. Jarrell; and, in his stead, his son, Mr. J. R. Jarrell, a well-known business man of Humboldt, was appointed. The courthouse is now completed, and it is said to be the finest courthouse building in the State. Colonel Taylor was born in Medon, Madison County, Tenn., on February 24, 1846; was the oldest on of the late B. M. Taylor. His father moved to Gibson County, Tenn, in October, 1848, and he was therefore reared and educated in this county. In January, 1864, he enlisted in the Confederate Army, and surrendered at Gainesville, Ala. on May 15, 1865. On his return from the war he settled at Trenton, and in 1869 he married Miss Mettie Ivie, the daughter of Mr. E. G. Ivie. The success of Colonel Taylor is due in no small measure to Mrs. Taylor, who is a woman of great force of character, as well as one of many charming graces. PAGE 26 PHOTO: Residence of W.L.N. Dunlap, Esq., Clerk and master Humboldt Law Court, Humboldt In 1869, he was admitted to the bar, and moved to Mt. Vernon, Ill., where his father had large land interests, at which place he remained for several years, practicing his profession and selling off the lands belonging to his father, Judge Williams' estate, and others. Returning to Trenton in 1872 he resumed the practice of law, and remained in the active practice until appointed by Chancellor Livingston as Clerk and Master of the Chancery Court at Trenton, in August 1887. He served two terms as Clerk and Master, and upon the expiration of his second term he resumed the practice of law at Trenton, forming a partnership with Mr. Albert W. Biggs, under the firm name Taylor & Biggs. For about fourteen years Colonel Taylor was the chairman of the Democratic Executive Committee of Gibson County, and has always taken an active interest in politics. He is prominently identified with many enterprises at Trenton; is a member of the firm Taylor, Enochs & Co., and was a member of the firm of D. C. Taylor & Co., and has large land interests. Colonel Taylor is a man of many loving traits of character, and is universally esteemed and admired by a large circle of friends and acquaintances. He has a large family, and lives in a beautiful home in the suburbs of Trenton. _______________________ GIBSON COUNTY AND THE JUDICIARY From its organization Gibson County has been noted for the high standing of its bar. Before and since the war the bar of the county has been prominently connected with the judiciary of the State. Ever since the Constitution of 1870 was adopted this county has had a representative almost continually on the bench of the inferior courts, and part of the time three judges from this bar have been in active service at the same time. The bar has been noted not only for its learning and ability, but for its integrity, professional courtesy, and admirable citizenship. Judge A. O. P. Totten was one of the early members of the bar at Trenton, and was a noted lawyer in his day. Prior to the war he was made a member of the Supreme Court and served with distinction. At the time of his elevation to the Supreme Bench he was a resident of Madison County, but had resided there only a short time, and Gibson County has always claimed him because she made him. It is regretted that a cut cannot be obtained for this work. PAGE 27 PHOTO: Judge Samuel Williams PHOTO: Judge John L. Williamson Judge Samuel Williams was a pioneer in the practice of law at Trenton. He had a wide reputation and practiced in many of the courts in the other counties of the State. He was noted for his accuracy in the knowledge of the law and his pointed application of legal principles. In 1858 he was elected circuit judge, and held the office until the courts were closed by the Civil War. While in this office he envinced those peculiar characteristics that go to make up a good judge. Maj. R. P. Caldwell became a member of the Trenton bar before the war. He was one of the big-brained lawyers of the State, and was especially noted for his powerful ability to present issues of fact before a jury. He was a diamond in the rough. In 1858 he was elected attorney-general and held the position until the breaking out of the Civil War. As a prosecuting attorney the State has had few men that were his equal. He entered the Confederate service and rose to the rank of major. After the war he turned his attention somewhat to politics and was a member of Congress from the district of which Gibson County was a part. Judge John L. Williamson was a long time member of the bar at Trenton. He was noted for his brilliancy and wit as well as his high legal attainments. In 1867 he was appointed chancellor, which place however, he held for only a short time. He resigned the office to resume his practice, which was large and lucrative. Judge Gideon B. Black came to Gibson County in the early fifties and began the practice of law at Trenton. He was a noted lawyer before the war, and was perhaps the best reader of human nature that ever practiced law in the county. He might well be termed "the rough and ready" of the Gibson County bar. At the breaking out of the war he entered the Confederate service, and at the close was a colonel of one of the noted Tennessee regiments. At the first election after the adoption of a new Constitution in 1870, he was elected circuit judge, and served for a term of eight years. He was a just and upright judge. Judge Thomas J. Freeman was a native-born Gibson Countian, and began the practice of law at Trenton before the war. He was a brilliant and earnest debater, and took an actice part in politics. He was a soldier in the Confederate army, and by the close of PAGE 28 PHOTO: Judge Thomas J. Freeman PHOTO: Judge John T. Carthel PHOTO: Judge W.C. Caldwell the war had risen to the rank of colonel. In 1870 he was elected to the Supreme Court for a term of eight years. In 1878 he was re-elected, and was a member of that court during the memorable "103" case - the bondholders against the taxpayers - was decided, and his opinion in that case is an evidence of his legal ability and his accurate knowledge of the great legal principles that underline republican government. Judge John T. Carthel began the practice of his profession at Trenton before the war, and at the breaking out of the war he and his brother were doing a splendid practice. Judge Carthel was noted not only for his legal ability, but for the forcefulness of his character and his polite and courtly bearing. He entered the Civil War and was a captain in the Confederate army. After the war he resumed practice at Trenton, and was one of the most successful members of the bar. In 1874 he was made a member of the Supreme Court Commission, a court established to assist the Supreme Court in disposing of its overburdened docket. On this commission he served with credit and distinction. In 1878 he was elected circuit judge, and occupied the bench for eight years. He was a vigorous, courtly, just, and upright judge. Judge W. C. Caldwell began the practice of law at Trenton in 1878, and practiced with success until 1883, when he was made a member of the Court of Referees, another court created to relieve the Supreme Court docket. He served with much distinction in this position and made such a favorable impression that at the general election in 1886 he was elected a judge of the Supreme Court for the State at large, and in 1894 was re-elected for a second term, and he is at present a member of the Supreme Court. His opinions evidence the high type of his legal ability, and, on commercial law especially, are regarded as very high authority. He has served on the bench eighteen years, and is still quite a young man. Judge John S. Cooper began the practice of law at Trenton in 1870, and from the beginning took high rank as a lawyer. He was quite successful as a general practitioner, but he was specially noted for his preference for chancery practice, in which line he was eminently successful. PAGE 29 PHOTO: Judge John S. Cooper (Chancellor of Chancery Division) PHOTO: Judge M.M. Neil (Chancery Court of Appeals) He was more than once appointed special judge of the Supreme Court and minor courts. He was mayor of the city of Trenton, and for one term a State senator. In 1894 he was elected chancellor, which position he how holds. He has made an enviable reputation as chancellor, and won the esteem of the bar and the people. In the midst of the busy rounds of the active practice practice of his profession, he has found time to devote himself to literary pursuits. He is not only well read and scholarly, but has also contributed articles of literary worth and merit to the press. Judge M. M. Neil began the practice of law at Trenton in partnership with Judge John T. Carthel, and when Judge Carthel was made a member of the Commission Court the whole burden of the practice fell upon him, and though quite a young man he was equal to the occasion. He was one of the most successful, courteous, and painstaking lawyers that ever practiced at the Trenton bar. He had a State reputation as a splendid lawyer. In 1895, when the Court of Chancery Appeals was created, he was appointed by Governor Turney as one of the members of that court. In 1896 he was nominated for the place without opposition, and in the general election was elected, and is at present a member of that court. He has the reputation of being one of the most thorough, industrious, and learned judges that has occupied a place on the courts of appellate jurisdiction. Gen. W. W. Wade is a native of Gibson County. His ancestors settled in the county at an early day, and were among those early settlers who opened and developed this great section of the State. In early life he suffered a severe affliction in the loss of one of his legs, but this in no way daunted his energy or his ambition. In 1881 he began the practice of law at Trenton, and at once gave evidence of those characteristics which go to make up a really successful lawyer. He was mayor of the city for one term. He was recorder of the city, and was twice elected as a member of the General Assembly of the State. In 1891 he was appointed attorney- general of the new judicial circuit created that year, and in 1892 was elected by the people for the balance of the judicial term. In 1894, at the general election, he was re-elected for the term of eight years. He enjoys the reputation of being one of the most vigorous, active, and well-balanced attorneys-general in the State. The connection that Gibson County has had with the judiciary of the State, as evidenced by the long list above enumerated, speaks volumes for the character and reputation of the legal profession in Gibson County and shows the character of the citizenship of the county. PAGE 30 PHOTO: Dr. A.E. Turner PORTRAITS AND BRIEF SKETCHES OF PRESENT COUNTY OFFICERS Dr. A. E. Turner Dr. A. E. Turner, of Neboville, Gibson County, Tenn., was born in Alamance County, N. C., in 1853, and was educated at Wilson Academy, Melville, N. C. He read medicine under Dr. B. F. Mebane, of Mebaneville, N. C. and graduated from the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania on March 13, 1874. He emigrated soon afterwards to Tennessee and located at what is now known as :Neboville," a small town in Gibson County, which has been built up in the last few years. Soon after his location in Tennessee, he married Miss M. M. Banks, of Gibson County, and resulting from rhis marriage he has two daughters and two sons. One daughter, Blanche, is now married to Dr. F. E. Wyatt, of Yorkville, Tenn.; one son is now at the University of Tennessee; and one son and one daughter are at home. Dr. Turner has all these years continuously engaged in the practice of his profession. He has also engaged in farming, and is known in his county as one of the largest and most successful farmers in the county, paying especial attention to raising Jersey and short-horned cattle. He has at all times taken an active part in politics, and in evert election since he came to Tennessee he has contributed his part to the success of the Democratic party. In 1898 he was elected on the Democratic ticket State Senator from Gibson and Crockett Counties, and again indorsed in 1900, being now a member of the State Senate. It was through Dr. Turner's personal effort that the four-mile law was extended to towns of two thousand inhabitants and under, in 1899. Dr. Turner's ancestors were Scotch-Irish and emigrated to this country in 1755, and settled in Virginia. When he returns home after the close of this session of the Legislature, he will resume his professional duties. He is a director in the Farmers and Merchants' Bank at Newbern, Tenn. Dr. Turner has taken a lively interest in educational matters always, and has been largely instrumental in building up Nebo High School, at Neboville, Tenn., having been secretary of the school board ever since its establishment in 1890; in fact, he takes a part in every public enterprise. He has been a successful financier and has accumulated enough of this world's goods to keep the wolf from the door. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias, Knights Templar, and I. O. O. F., and a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Hon. L. W. Morgan L. W. Morgan, member of the State legislature from Gibson County, was born in Henry county, Tenn., on August 5, 1854. When about seven years old he moved with his parents to Gibson County, and was brought up on a farm, receiving such literary education as the common schools of the county afforded. Although denied the benefit of a collegiate education, yet such was the strength of his natural ability that by application he became a thorough English scholar, supplementing this by the development of rare business qualities. From early life he has devoted himself to the nusiness of farming, in which he has been quite successful. Beginning in life with no capital, save his own indomitable purposes and excellent judgement, PAGE 31 PHOTO: Hon. L.W. Morgan he has become one of the largest landowners and most extensive farmers and stock breeders in the county. In 1897 Mr. Morgan was elected, by the County Court of Gibson County, to the office of county surveyor, serving acceptably in that position for a period of three years, when his fellow citizens chose him to represent them in the State legislature, being elected to that position in the fall of 1900, and is at present a member of that body. In 1886 Mr. Morgan married Miss Lula Gause, a most estimable lady and a member of a most prominent family of Brownsville, Haywood County, Tenn. They have five children living, all of whom give promise of becoming bright and useful members of society. Mr. Morgan is a member of the Christian Church, also of the Masonic fraternity, and in politics he is a Democrat. In the business and social world Mr. Morgan is known and esteemed for his punctuality and honesty, his word being as good as his bond; in public affairs he is always in the forefront of progress; and in matters of social obligations no duty is left unfulfilled. With the people of Gibson County Mr. Morgan is quite popular. D. J. Hutchinson PHOTO: D.J. Hutchinson Judge of County Court D. J. Hutchinson was born five miles northwest of Trenton, Gibson County, Tenn., on January 8, 1853. His early life was spent on the farm with his father, near what is now known as Grizzard. His opportunities for an education were limited; but, by the use of diligence and walking three or four miles to school, he managed to secure a fair common-school education. In 1874 he moved with his father to Southwest Missouri, where he spent one year; during his stay there he taught one term in a public school. He returned to Gibson County in 1875, where for a long time he worked on a farm, and was timber contractor for the Mobile and Ohio Railroad between Trenton and Dyer. On September 13, 1877, he was married to Miss Nannie A. Grier, of Dyer, Tenn., and soon after he bought a farm one mile northwest of Dyer and moved there, where he still resides. In 1883 he joined the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, at Mt. Olive, and was soon made a ruling elder in that congregation; he has also served several years as superintendent of his Sunday school. In 1895 he was elected justice of the peace, which office he filled with such satisfaction the he was reelected in 1900. He and his wife lived happily together for some twenty-three years, and their home was blessed with fourteen children; but on December 19, 1900, his wife was called away PAGE 32 by death, which was a great loss to him and which cast over his home quite a gloom. He had the honor of being elected chairman of the County Court of Gibson County at its January (1901) term. and he seems to take great delight in transacting the business of the office. Judge Hutchinson enjoys sober habits, using no strong drinks; and he and his entire family are free from the use of tobacco. In politics he is a Democrat, and is a strong advocate of the principles as taught by W. J. Bryan. His opposition to Cleveland caused him to vite with the Populist party during one campaign. During the life of the Agricultural Wheel and Farmers and Laborers' Union, Esquire Hutchinson was a very prominent member of these organizations, and was for several years their county president, which gave him an opportunity to become acquainted with many farmers in the county. In addition to his farming, he has spent much of his time for the last ten years in buying and shipping cattle and hogs. Judge Hutchinson is regarded as one of Gibson County's foremost citizens. R. J. Dew PHOTO: R.J. Dew, Clerk of County Court R. J. Dew was born on a farm near Lebanon, Wilson County, Tenn., on September 18, 1842. When a lad his parents, Davis Swift and Ruth Don Carlos Dew, moved to Weakley County, where his boyhood days were spent on a farm near Dresden. He received in the schools of that day, a limited education. At the age of eighteen years, Mr. Dew joined the Confederate Army as a private in the first company of Weakley County Volunteers -- the "Old Hickory Blues;" was in the organization of the Ninth Tennessee Volunteer Infantry at Jackson in May, 1861; took part with his regiment -- which composed part of Maj. Gen. B. F. Cheatham's Division -- in all the battles fought, except that of Perryville, Ky., on October 8, 1862; was twice wounded -- first, at Chickamauga, Ga., on Spetember 19, 1863, and again at Missionary Ridge, Tenn., on November 25, 1863; and, as captain of the company then composed of the regiment of the old Ninth Regiment, surrendered, at the close of the war, with the army commanded by Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, at Greensboro, N. C., on April 26, 1865. After the close of the war he returned to Tennessee and located on a farm near Eaton, Gibson County. While he was a soldier he forfessed conversion and, in August, a866, joined the Baptist Church at Springhill, Gibson County. He was married to Miss Amanda Ferriss on January 8, 1868, from which union five children were born, three of whom are living -- Anna H., Carlos F., and Minnie Maud. He moved with his family to Trenton in 1887, for the purpose of educating his children; engaging in various pursuits until August, 1898, at which time he was elected Clerk of the County Court of Gibson County, which position he now holds. W. F. McRee W. F. McRee, eldest son of John I. and Cynthia Mcree, was born in Carroll County, Tenn., near Christmasville, on January 4. 1842. He moved to Gibson County, three and one-half miles south of Trenton, in February, 1846, where he has since resided. He received his education at the "Old Field School." Mr. McRee enlisted in Company G, Forty- PAGE 33 PHOTO: W.F. M'rer Trustee Seventh Tennessee Regiment, in November 1861, and was paroled at Augusta, Ga., in May, 1865. While serving under Joeseph E. Johnston, at Hope Hill Church on May 28, 1864, he was severly wounded. After he returned from the war, he clerked at Trenton, Tenn., until January, 1872, when he returned to the farm and married Miss Lockie M. Johnston, who died in October, 1879. By this union he had one son and two daughters. In September, 1881, he married Miss Alethia C. Campbell, an dby this union he also had one son and two daughters. He was elected constable of the Seventh District in 1874 and served four years; and in 1879 he was elected justice of the peace and served until 1898, during part of which time (1885-1889) he was chairman of the County Court. In 1898 he was elected trustee of Gibson County, and was reelected to the same office in 1900. Mr. McRee is a Democrat and a member of the old-school presbyterian Church. LeGrand W. Jones PHOTO: LeGrand W. Jones Clerk and Master of Gibson Chancery Court LeGrand W. Jones was born at Huntington, Tenn. His parents moved to Trenton when he was a small boy. He was educated at Andrew College and the University of Tennessee. His father Maj. L. M. Jones, was prominent as a lawyer before the Civil War, and afterwards until declining health compelled him to retire from active practice. Mr. Jones has been an influential member of the bar of Trenton for a number of years. He ranks among the best lawyers of the State, and enjoys the reputation of being one of the safest counsellors and most accurate chancery lawyers at the bar. Since he attained his majority he has taken an active interest in politics, but has cared nothing for political office or preferment. He is a Democrat of the Jeffersonian school, and has devoted much attention to the science and principles of republican government. In 1882 he married Miss Annie M. Taylor, formerly of Haywwod County, Tenn., a member of a very large family of that name, who live principally in Haywood and Fayette Counties. Upon the organization of the Law Department of the Southwestern Baptist University, at Jackson, Tenn., in 1899, he was elected dean, which position he resigned a year later, not having the time to devote to the position. In September, 1899, he was appointed PAGE 34 Clerk and Master of the Chancery Court at Trenton, which position he still holds. He is by natural endowments and application well qualified for a judicial position, and his friends predict that he will occupy a place in the jusiciary of Tennessee. G. W. Ingram PHOTO: G.W. Ingram (Register of County) G. W. Ingram, present Register of Gibson County, is a native of the county, having been born on a farm in the Fifteenth District on August 7, 1860. He pursued the business of a farmer until August 4, 1894, when he was elected to the office of register; he was reelected August 4, 1898, and is the present incumbent of the office. His father, T. J. Ingram, was a Confederate soldier, and lost his life in the service. Mr. Ingram, who has been selected by his fellow citizens to fill one of the most important offices in their gift, is a man of exemplary character and exceedingly affable and obliging disposition. He is a popular officer. R. E. Morgan PHOTO: R.E. Morgan, Sheriff of Gibson County R. E. Morgan was born on a farm in Gibson County, Tenn., on September 17, 1866, and remained on the farm till he reached manhood. He comes from good old North Carolina stock, his family being a prominent one in the history if the county. His brother Hon. L. W. Morgan, is one of Gibson County's representatives in the Legislature. In 1890 Mr. Morgan was elected to the position of night police of the city of Trenton, and in 1891 was appointed deputy sheriff and jailer under Sheriff T. L. Hess and served six years in that office. In 1897 he was elected constable in the Trenton district, which office he filled for three years. In August 1900, he was elected sheriff of the county, succeeding B. F. Jones, which office he still holds. Mr. Morgan was married to Miss Minnie Thomas, of Trenton, on February 12, 1889. Two children have blessed their union, a boy of ten years and a girl of six years. Mr. Morgan is a member of the Christian Church in Trenton, and of the Masonic Fraternity, and stands high in the county. He is a man of considerable ability, as evidenced by the many positions he has filled. PAGE 35 There is no better criterion of the character of a people than the interest they take in the cause of Christianity. There are at least a hundred houses of worship in Gibson County for white people -- one to every six square miles of territory and one to every three hundred and fifty of its white population. The church property of the county will reach a value of $150,000. There are no very costly church buildings in the county, but there are a few very handsome ones, and all are neat and comfortable. It is a pleasure to go over the county and see the clean, white church buildings gleaming among the groves. My space will not admit of an extended chapter on the religious institutions of the county, and I can therefore but glance at this phase of the county's social progress. Baptist Church Although the adherents of the Baptist faith have constituted a large portion of the population of the county since its creation, the church had no distinct local identity until about 1836. Prior to that time the Baptists interests were included in the Western District Association, organized in 1825. The oldest church organization in the county is Eldad, organized in 1828. The next is Springhill, organized in 1832; followed by Old Bethlehem and Poplar Grove, in 1836 and 1838, respectively. The Central Association was organized at Eldad Church in 1836, with five churches and 163 members. Now there are 26 churches and 3,560 members, and 1,550 children in the Sunday School. The following exhibit shows the churches, year of organization, membership, and pastor in charge at the present time. Beech Grove, organized in 1866; members, 123; pastor, J. T. Early. Bradford, organized in 1875; members, 162; pastor, W. A. Jordan. Bethel, organized in 1875; members, 70; pastor, J. L. Davis. Bethpage, organized in 1875; members, 88; pastor, L. McKnight. Bethlehem, New, organized in 1851; members, 59; pastor, W. A. Jordan. Bethlehem, Old, organized in 1836; members, 156; pastor, (not given). China Grove, organized in 1852; members, 93; pastor, Edward Watson. Center, organized in 1874; members, 215; pastor, A. P. Moore. Chapel Hill, organized in 1846; members, ; pastor, (not given). Clear Creek, organized in 1850; members, 50; pastor, J. T. Early. Dyer, organized in 1885; members, 122; pastor, W. A. Jordan. Eldad, organized in 1828; members, 170; pastor, J. W. Mount. Gibson, organized in 1877; members, 156; pastor, J. N. Hall. Hickory Grove, organized in 1863; members, 140; pastor, A. P. Moore. Humboldt, organized in 1867; members, 205; pastor, L. T. Wilson. Medina, organized in 1883; members, 103; pastor, W. L. Savage. Milan, organized in 1867; members, 214; pastor, W. H. Sledge. Mount Pisgah, organized in 1854; members, 120; pastor, J. W. Crawford. Mount Pleasant, organized in 1848; members, 141; pastor, A. Nunnery. Oak Grove, organized in 1870; members, 151; pastor, J. H. Coin. Oak Wood, organized in 1900; members, 42; pastor, W. H. Sledge. Poplar Grove, organized in 1838; members, 104; pastor, A. P. Moore. Salem, organized in 1847; members, 150; pastor, W. A. Jordan. Spring Hill, organized in 1832; members, 164; pastor, C. D. Jackson. Trenton, organized in 1850; members, 216; pastor, J. H. Butler. Unity Grove, organized in 1898; members, 17; pastor, J. T. Early. Methodist Episcopal Church, South Methodism in Gibson County is as old as the county itself. As soon as anything like PAGE 36 PHOTO: Fairview, Residence of John E. Campbell, Humboldt a social state was formed in the new county, the people began church organizations. In 1825 or 1826 the Methodists organized a congregation at the house of James Latta, near the present Olive Branch Church. In 1827 a camp meeting was held at Richardson's Camp Ground, seven miles east of Trenton. In the same year a society was organized at Trenton and trustees were appointed to build a church. This church was completed by Thomas Fite. In 1834 there were five churches comprised in Trenton Citcuit, as follows: Trenton, El Bethel, Olive Branch, Clements, and Richardson's Camp Ground. El Bethel was organized in 1827 at the house of William Goodman, four miles north of Milan. This church is now Walnut Grove. Some of the oldest Methodist Churches in the county were: Stanley's Camp Ground, Oak Grove, Zion, Wright's Chapel, Hope Hill, and Antioch; these, with several others, were organized prior to 1850. The denomination has in Gibson County to-day about thirty churches, with a membership of over thirty-eight hunfred, served by eleven pastors. The property of the church in the county is valued at $65,350. The circuits are divided as follows: Trenton Circuit -- Churches, 5; members, 606; pastor, W. J. Naylor. Dyer Circuit -- Churches, 4; members, 406; pastor, T. J. Simmons. Milan Circuit -- Churches, 4; members, 264; pastor, N. J. Peeples. Bradford Circuit -- Churches, 5; members, 380; pastor, T. W. Hardin. Medina Circuit -- Churches, 5; members, 562. Trenton Station -- members, 308; pastor, S. L. Jewell. Dyer Station -- members, 214; pastor, W. Armstrong. Humboldt Station -- members, 360; pastor, R. W. Hood; mission has ? members. Milan Station -- members, 248; pastor, B. Hardin. Rutherford Station -- Churches, 3; members, 278; pastor, W. Mooney. (This includes Kenton Church). The following is a list of the churches in the county: Trenton Circuit -- Olive Branch, Brazil, Bowers's Chapel, Oak Grove, and Pleasant Grove. Dyer Circuit -- Hopewell, Good hope, Poplar Grove, Grier's Chapel. Humboldt Mission -- Pleasant Hill and Warren's Grove. Milan Circuit -- Salem, Walnut Grove, Moore's Chapel, and _____ Chapel. Bradford Circuit -- Bradford, Chestnut Hill, Antioch, Union. PAGE 37 Medina Circuit -- Medina, Zion, Wright's Chapel, and Hope Hill. Gadsden Circuit -- Gibson Station. Cumberland Presbyterian Church Among the first settlers of Gibson County were many Cumberland Presbyterians. These were gradually organized into congregations by itinerant ministers of the church. Rev. N. I. Hess was one of these, preaching in Gibson and adjoining counties. Forked Deer Circuit was one of the first circuits formed in West Tennessee; this was before Gibson County was created. Probably the first church organization in Gibson County was at Yorkville. Rev. S. Y. Thomas was one of the pioneer ministers in the Yorkville neighborhood. The first presbytery covering the church organizations in Gibson County was the Hopewill Presbytery; its first meeting was hled at McLemoresville, in Carroll County. The church at Yorkville dates back to 1826 or 1827. Some of the early ministers of this denomination were Robert Baker, C. Kribbs, R. Burrows, S. Y. Thomas, J. M. Greer, Abner Cooper, and M. Liles. The denomination now has 23 churches in the county, with a total membership of about 2,500, and 1,400 children in Sunday school. The following is a list of the churches, with the name of the pastor and number of communicants of each: Antioch -- Members, 74; pastor, W. H. Johns. Bradford -- Members, 18; pastor, W. H. Johns. Chapel Hill -- Members, 29; pastor, O. L. Stockton. Davidson's Chapel -- Members, 80; pastor, W. H. Johns. Double Springs -- Members, 94; pastor, R. W. Oakes. Dyer -- Members, 222; pastor, J. B. Waggoner. Friendship -- Members, 58; pastor, G. W. Anderson. Humboldt -- Members, 157; pastor, Jo McLesky. Kenton -- Members, 150; pastor, J. I. Dickens. Mayfield -- Members, 20; pastor, J. H. Davis. Medina -- Members, 85; pastor, R. W. Oakes. Milan -- Members, 65; pastor, S. A. Sadler. Morella -- Members, 84; pastor, J. L. Dickens. Mount Olive -- Members, 160; pastor, A. S. Johnson. Pleasant Hill -- Members, 70; pastor, Jo McLesky. Rutherford -- Members, 67; pastor, A. S. Johnson. Trenton -- Members, 69; pastor, J. R. George. Yorkville -- Members, 169; pastor, J. L. Cooper. Beech Grove -- Members, 100; pastor, R. W. Oakes. Cool Springs -- Members, 43; pastor, S. B. Zaricor. Bell's Chapel -- Members, 150; pastor, J. A. McIlwain. North Union -- Members, 147; pastor, J. L. Dickens. Pleasant Green -- Members, 123; pastor, J. A. Kenton. Total number of communicants, 2,334. Christian Church The first Christian churches were organized in the county about 1845. In that year Elder Talbott Fanning, of Nashville, established churches at Trenton, Liberty Grove, and Concord. The denomination now has congregations at Humboldt, Trenton, Milan, Dyer, Rutherford, and several other points in the county. The denomination is growing in numbers and influence in the county, and its present membership will reach in the neighborhood of 1,000. I have not been able to obtain a list of the churches and pastors of this denomination, as it has no general assembly or general organization. PAGE 38 PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF GIBSON COUNTY PHOTO: The teachers of Gibson County (View taken at session of Teacher's Institute held at Trenton, July 4, 1901 The public school system of Gibson County began to assume definite shape about 1873, upon the passage of the present school law. This law created a State superintendent, a county superintendent in each county, and a uniform school system of public schools in the State. It prescribed the method of reising school funds and of building schoolhouses, and provided that the children -- white and black -- should share equally in the tuition funds of the State and should be taught in separate schools, Under this law the public schools of Gibson County were organized. The first county superintendent was Dr. W. H. Stilwell, who served under the law passed in 1867. A. S. Curry followed in 1879 and was reelected in 1873. The following are the names of those who have served under the present school law: A. S. Curry, 1873-1875 Alfred Oliver, 1875-1877 A. S. Curry, 1877-1879 J. M. Coulter, 1879-1880 (Resigned) James R. Deason, 1880-1885 A. Kellough, 1885-1887 John C. Wright, 1887-1889 A. Killough, 1889-1891 J. M. Baker, 1891-1895 Miss Flora Fitzgerald, 1895-1899 (Died on November 14, 1899) J. B. Cummins was elected in 1900 and is the present superintendent. The labor of starting the system and thoroughly organizing the educational work of the county was an arduous task, and it was several years before the system was in thorough working order. In 1880 the scholastic population of the county was 11,982, divided as follows: White 8,705; colored, 3,277. Free schools were pretty generally established over the county, with a few graded schools in the principal towns, as Trenton, Humboldt, and Milan. As yet the county was poorly supplied with schoolhouses. During Mr. Deason's administration of the office of superintendent, which began in 1880, he was very active in exhorting the people to build schoolhouses, with the result that during his encumbency of the office good school buildings were erected in almost PAGE 39 every school district of the county. From that time forward the public school system of the county gained in popularity, and as organization became more perfect, its benefits became more apparent. In 1891 the Legislature passed an Act requiring all schools to be graded, prescribing the branches to be taught therein. Under this law all the schools of the county were graded. For the last ten years the public schools of the county have steadily gained in efficiency, due, not only to the perfecting of the general system, but also to the more thorough preparation of teachers for their work This has been brought about by the establishment of county and district institutes, held under the supervision of the county superintendent, in which the teachers are trained in methods of teaching and the management of schools. The condition of the public schools of Gibson County is at present very satisfactory. There is probably no county in the State better organized as regards its schools, not whose school interests are better or more ably managed than those of Gibson County. Prof. J. B. Cummins, the present superintendent, is a most zealous and efficient worker in the cause of schools. He has eminent qualifications for the position of superintendent, acquired by long identification with the schools of the country, to which may be added a natural adaptation to the work. He has been connected with the schools of the county for twenty-seven years as teacher and as assistant in the office of superintendent and in institute work. The school interests of the county under Professor Cummins' management are in a most satisfactory and flourishing condition. PHOTO: J.B. Cummins (Public School Superintendent) The following figures, taken form the Annual Report of the County Superintendent, show the present state of the schools in Gibson County: Scholastic population, embracing children, white and colored, from 6 to 21 years of age: White, 11,661; colored, 4,610; total, 16,271. Enrollment and attendance, 11,746, PHOTO: Residence of James R. Deason of the firm of Deason, Rankin & Elder, Prominent lawyers of Trenton PAGE 40 PHOTO: Laneview Assembly Hall Average daily attendance, 8,178 Number of schools in county, 157 Number of teachers employed, 220 Number of school districts, 77 Number of schoolhouses, 148 Average length of schools, 119 days -- nearly six months Average compensation of teachers per month, #32.21 Estimated value of all schoolhouses and grounds, $100,180 Total estimated value of school property, $103,742 School funds from all sources for 1900, $65,006 Expenditures, $43,005 Average cost of tuition per pupil per year, 74 cents The establishment of this fine institution for the education of boys and girls is no less a striking proof of the progress made in the matter of education in Gibson County than it is of the enterprise and public spirit if its founders. The school was begun in 1887 upon slender and incomplete resources, but with a determination on the part of its founders to make it an institution in which the youth of the country might obtain the benefits of a college education without undergoing the risk and expense of attending distant colleges. Slowly, but surely, this goal has been attained; and now, in the first year of the twentieth century, Laneview College is an accomplished fact and can point with pride to her young men and women graduates, who, by their intellectual and moral attainments, reflect credit upon her as their alma mater. The cut below represents only the principal assembly room of the college. The institution has its classrooms, chapel, library, and every necessary convenience for successful educational work. Moore;s Hall, an adjunct of the College for young men boarders, is well fitted for their accomodation. A young ladies' home, for young female boarders under the care of the matron of the College, is another affix of the institution. The full course of study embraces the primary, intermediate, and high school grades, together with a full collegiate course, ending with a B.S. degree. The College is Christian, but nonsectarian, and the moral training of its pupils is held of prime importance. The situation and environments of the College are such as to invite and stimulate study and develop the intellectual and moral facilities. It is in the midst of rural scenes, where the quiet of nature is undisturbed by the sights and sounds incident to the business and social world; it is surrounded by an enlightened farming community, noted for orderliness and morality. Three handsome churches are almost within sight of the College -- Baptist, Methodist, and Presbyterian. The management of the College, including the Faculty and board of Managers, is composed of men and women who have the training of children at heart, and who are devoted PAGE 41 PHOTO: Some of the members of the Gibson County Medical Society 1) Dr. Finis E. Wyatt, Yorkville 2) Dr. Sydney Thompson, Humboldt 3) Dr. E.T. Haskins, Tatumville 4) Dr. J.C. Moore, Laneview 5) Dr. J.H. Chandler, Humboldt 6) Dr. J.P. Capps, Lonoke 7) Dr. T.J. Happel, Trenton 8) Dr. B.T. Bennett, Trenton 9) Dr. J.W. Allen, Rutherford 10) Dr. D.A. Walker, Trenton 11) Dr. J.B. Rickman, Rutherford 12) Dr. A.E. Turner, Neboville 13) Dr. J.T. Faucett, Trenton 14) Dr. W.J. Barker, Gibson Wells 15) Dr. J.H. Drane, Dyer to the task they have undertaken. They are experienced, capable, and conscientious. They Faculty is as follows: J. W. Meadows, Principal Rev. W. H. Haste, Jr., Professor of Languages Rev. D. B. Jackson, Assistant Principal Miss Sallie Blakemore, Primary Department Miss Edith G. Ridley, Music Mrs. J. W. Meadows, Matron Board of Managers: J. C. Moore, M.D., President J. W. Phelan, Esq., Secretary F. W. Rawls, Treasurer Calendar First Term begins July 15, 1901 Second Term begins November 18, 1901 Commencement Sermon, March 23, 1902 Celebration of Laneview Literary Society, March 24, 1902 Eighth Grade Graduating Exercises, March 25, 1902 Collegiate Graduating Exercises, March 26, 1902 Concert, March 27, 1902 Teachers' Training School opens April 1, 1902 For catalogue and circulars giving full information in regard to course of study, rates, and management of Laneview College, address Prof. J. W. Meadows, Laneview, Gibson County, Tenn. PAGE 42 Gibson County Medical Society The Gibson County Medical Society was organized in 1884. At present it has twenty- eight members. John C. Paris is president, and B. T. Bennett is secretary. The society meets quarterly, on the third Tuesdays of March, June, September, and December. It holds three sessions at Trenton and one as decided upon by the secretary. County Board of Health The Board of Health of the county is composed of Dr. T. J. Happel, president; R. J. Dew, County Court Clerk, secretary; and D. J. Hutchinson, chairman of the County Court, who, by virtue of his office, is a member of the Board of Health. Dr. T. J. Happel is the health officer of the county. It is the province of this board to look after the public health and sanitation, especially epidemic diseases. This duty has been well performed by Dr. happel, the health officer of the county. Dr. Happel informs me that of the three hundred reported cases of smallpox last year, there has been a mortality of less than one per cent. The entire expense of the health department of the county in the last two years has been only fifteen hundred dollars. ORGANIZATIONS PROMOTIVE OF THE FARMING INTERESTS OF THE COUNTY The Gibson County Fair Association The Agricultural and Mechanical Fair Association of Gibson County was organized some twenty-five or thirty years ago, and has been in operation continuously since that time. Its officers and stockholders are, and have always been, among the best men in the county. The association has always offered liberal premiums for almost everything in the agricultural and mechanical line and has always paid its premiums in full. Its present officers are: Dr. T. J. Happel, president; W. W. Harrison, secretary; W. F. McRee, treasurer. It holds its fairs annually, usually in the month of October, and lasts about five days. The Gibson County Farmers' Institute The Gibson County Farmers' Institute was organized in August, 1900, and is well supported by the farmers of the county. This organization is destined to accomplish great good to the agricultural interests of the county. It is a most popular institution . The president, William Gay, died in the spring of 1901, after which time the duties of that position devolved on the vice president till its April meeting, when L. D. Spight was elected president. J. H. Koffman is its secretary, and has been since its first organization. The West Tennessee Horticultural Society The West Tennessee Horticultural Society holds its meetings frequently in Gibson County. For many years a citizen of Gibson County was its president. This society has proved of great value in the encouragement and development of the fruit and vegetable interests of the county. It has also done much toward securing better, cheaper, and quicker transportation. Col. J. W. Rosaman, of Gadsden, is its president. The National Shorthorn Breeders' Association The National Shorthorn Breeders Association is another important adjunct to the farming interests of the county. This is an important society, instituted to promote the breeding of improved breeds of stock, especially shorthorn or Durham cattle. The organization is national in its scope, having members throughout the United States. The association is in the fourth year of its incorporation under the laws of Tennessee. The registry of shorthorn cattle on the books of the association in the counties of Gibson, Dyer, Obion, Crockett, Chester, and Lauderdale shows more than five hundred head. The present officers of the association are: Dr. J. A. Griffin, of Crockett County, president; Dr. D. A. Walker, of Trenton, secretary; and W. S. Corbett, assistant secretary. PAGE 43 PHOTO: Residence of Frank X. Foltz, Proprietor of Humboldt Spoke Works CITY OF HUMBOLDT _____________ The city of Humboldt is the largest town in the county of Gibson, and the most important in point of commerce and manufactures. This arises mainly from its superior transportation facilities. It is a railroad town, owing its origin and subsequent growth and development to the two railroads that make this their crossing point. In 1857 the Mobile and Ohio Railroad which was then building its line through the county, established a depot here, near where Mr. John C. Gillespie, an old citizen of the county, had previously established a small store. Mr. Gillespie was made agent of the road. A small settlement sprang up about the spot, and this seems to have been the beginning of the town of Humboldt. Mr. Gillespie was the pioneer citizen of the place and was the first postmaster, as well as the first merchant and railroad agent of the town. Mr. Gillespie came to the country about 1822, from Maury County, Tenn., and had been engaged in farming prior to coming to Humboldt. He continuted to be railroad agent and postmaster at Humboldt until 1869. Soon after the completion of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad through the county, the Louisville and Nashville Railroad began building its Louisville and Memphis branch through this portion of the county, and enterprising people saw that the point of crossing of the two roads would, in all probability, become an important place of trade and shipment. John A. Taliaferro and W. A. Allison erected a steam saw and grist mill on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad near the depot. A land company, composed of J. P. Sharp, PAGE 44 PHOTO: Residence J.J.R. Adams, Humboldt J. N. Lannom, and W. C. Thurston, plotted a large piece of land and sold the lots to persons desiring to establish business enterprises or erect residences. This plot embraced a considerable portion of the present city, including Main street and adjacent streets in the principal business part of the town. In 1860 the Louisville and Nashville Railroad completed its line, crossing the Mobile and Ohio Railroad several hundred yards north of the spot upon which the Mobile and Ohio depot stood, causing the abandonment of the ground in that locality for building purposes and fixing the site of the future city about the crossing point and upon the higher ground adjacent, north and east. The Osborn plan was perhaps the first land near the crossing laid out in lots. This embraced the portion immediately east of the crossing. The Sharp, Lannom, and Thurston addition came next. The Roe addition was made on the north, and the T. C. Ferrell addition on the east. A small addition on the south was made by G. W. Wade. The city now covers an area of near two square miles of territory. In 1861 the little town had made rapid progress and was fast becoming a center of trade and influence, as its promoters had anticipated. But in this year the terrible war between the States began, paralyzing all business enterprises and putting a stop to building and improvement. When peace came, in 1865, the town quickly recovered from the blighting effects of the war; and as social order and settled conditions resumed their sway, business revived, manufactories were established, buildings were erected, and the town grew with astonishing rapidity. In 1870, only five years after the close of the war, the population was over two thousand, and it was the second city in size in the county. Humboldt to-day has a population of 2,866, being the largest town in the county, and has more manufacturing establishments and a greater number of factory employees than all the other towns in the county combined. There are employed in its various manufactories and shops no less than four hundred people. The city owns its water works and electric lighting plant, and has a municipal organism highly conducrive to the prosperity, progress, and general well-being of the city and its people. The religious institutions of the city are well supported, and the four handsome brick church edifices testify to the zeal and liberality of its Christian people. The city is well laid off and sightly in appearance, and there are many beautiful homes scattered throughout the city and in the suburbs. The city has a system of graded schools inferior to none of its class. PAGE 45 PHOTO: Handsome Modern Residence, Property of H.C. Read of Big Springs, Texas (Mr. Read, being a non-resident, will set this residence on easy terms - price $3500 or will exchange for Texas lands) The municipality of Humboldt dates from 1866. In that year the town was incorporated by a sort of "Blanket" Act, which applied also to the towns of Milan and Bristol. The municipal powers conferred upon the town by this Act were enlarged from time to time -- first by decree of the Chancery Court in 1875, and afterwards by Acts of the Legislature -- until the town had a fairly efficient system of government. In 1901 the Legislature gave the city a new general charter, embracing all the essential features of a modern city government and repealing all previous enabling Acts. Under this charter the style of the corporation is "The City of Humboldt," and of its government "The Mayor and Aldermen of the City of Humboldt." PRESENT CITY GOVERNMENT Executive Department Neal A. Senter, Mayor Legislative Department Frank X. Foltz John T. Brown C. H. Ferrell William W. Baird Dr. W. H. Mason Board of Education W. N. L. Dunlap, President John E. Campbell John S. Lewis Hal P. James William B. Seat Joe H. McDearmon Board of Public Works Dr. G. W. Penn, President Dr. J. H. Preston, Secretary Superintendent of Waterworks and Electric Light Plant T. G. Scales Fire Department Outside of a volunteer fire department, which has never been regularly organized, the city has never had a fire department. The city's equipment for the extinguishment of fires consists of the city water mains, with direct pressure from the power house. There are forty water plugs for the attachment of the city hose. The pressure is more than ample to throw two or more streams of water over the highest three-story buildings in the city. The city has 1,200 feet of hose, one hook and ladder truck, one hose wagon, and two hose reels. The city is taking steps to organize active volunteer fire companies at the present time. Judge of City Court Neal A. Senter Police Department W. E. Blakemore, Chief J. J. Atkinson George E. Stovall PAGE 46 PHOTO: Residence of B.F. Jarrell, Humboldt The Mayor is elected for two years, and the members of the City Council, consisting of five members, are elected by the city at large for a term of two years, as well as the City Marshal, Treasurer, Tax Collector, Board of Public Works, and other city officials. The Board of Mayor and Aldermen have the power of appointing the different boards for administering the government of the city. These boards consist of a Board of Public Works, composed of three members; a Board of Education, composed of six members; and a Board of Health, composed of three members. The Mayor performs the duties of a Recorder; and the Aldermen, under the new charter, elect all policemen, except the Chief of Police, who is elect by the popular vote of the people. The Mayor is Judge of the City Court, with the jurisdiction of a magistrate in criminal and civil cases. He also has charge of outside city property, except when otherwise provided; and he executes deeds, under seal of the city, to lots in the city cemetery. The Mayor also collects all privilege taxes for the city. The Board of Public Works has charge of public improvements and of the water works and electric light plant. One of the members of this board is its secretary and one is the chairman of the board. This Board of Public Works has the powers conferred upon it that are usually delegated to a board of its kind. The new charter, as well as the old one, constitutes the city of Humboldt a special school district, to be managed by a Board of Education, possessed of the powers and authority and performing the same duties as devolve on district directors under the general laws of the State. The members of the Board of Education are elected for a term of three years, and it is arranged that the term of two members of the board expire each year. At the organization of the city government under its new charter, in 1901, all the different departments of the city government were put in full and efficient operation, and the system of municipal management thus inaugurated has been eminently conductive to the improvement, growth, and prosperity of the city and to the happiness of its people. The following is the list of Humboldt's Mayors from 1866 to the present time, with year of installment: Moses E. Senter, 1866; W. E. Allison, 1869; John C. Gillespie, 1873; John M. Camden, 1875; Joseph N. Lannom, 1876; J. C. Hailey, 1878; W. G. Atkins, 1880; W. T. Lenoir, 1881; N. A. Senter, 1882; H. W. Roberts, 1884; L. K. Gillespie, 1886; E. W. Ing, 1890; John T. Crews, 1894; N. A. Senter, inexpired term of John T. Crews, 1897; John A. Collingsworth, 1898; N. A. Senter, present encumbent, 1890. PAGE 47 PHOTO: Baptist Church, Humboldt PHOTO: Rev. Lloyd T. Wilson (Pastor Baptist Church) CHURCHES OF HUMBOLDT Baptist Church of Humboldt During the year 1867, Rev. D. B. Ray preached occasionally in the old Masonic Hall in Humboldt, and sometime during the summer he was assisted by Rev. J. F. B. Mills in a series of meetings, at the close of which a presbytery was formed and the first Baptist Church was constituted. Rev. D. B. Ray was the first pastor, serving the church about one year, during which time the church was received into the Central Association, at its thirty-first annual session, held with Pleasant Plains Church, Madison County, on September 14. Rev. Moses E. Senter was the second pastor and served the church during a part of 1868 and 1869. He was followed by Rev. I. R. Branham, who became pastor in the summer of 1869 and served until the spring of 1870. He was succeeded by Rev. A. J. Faucett, who remained in the pastorate but a short time, resigning in the summer of 1871. The church again called Rev. Moses E. Senter as pastor, and he served nearly two years, during which time a nice frame building was erected which became the home of the church and was used, though improved from time to time, until 1897. Much credit is due Rev. Moses E. Senter for faithful work done at this time. In the early part of 1873 Rev. G. W. Johnston became pastor and served the church one year. Rev. M. O. Bailey succeeded in a one year pastorate. In 1876 Rev. W. C. Grace was called and served the church very acceptably two years. Rev. G. W. Griffin followed him in a two-years' pastorate. On November 1, 1881, Rev. W. G. Inman became pastor and served until December 31, 1892, a period of eleven years and two months, the longest pastorate in the history of the church. Rev. R. P. Mahon succeeded Dr. Inman, beginning his pastorate on July 1, 1893, and continued with the church until October 1, 1898, when he resigned to accept work in Mexico as a missionary. PAGE 48 PHOTO: Methodist church, Humboldt During the year 1897 the church erected a beautiful and elegant house of worship, at a cost of nearly fifteen thousand dollars. The present pastor, Rev. Lloyd T. Wilson, entered upon his pastorate January 1, 1899. During the year 1900 a handsome pastor's house was built, at a cost of over two thousand dollars. The church is one of the most active in the State, along all denominational lines. For the first eight years of the history of the church it seems that the records were lost, and it is almost impossible to find out a great many things that are very important. The first deacons were Jarrett Perry and his brother, Dr. Albert Perry, B. C. Jarrell, and W. H. Dodson united with the church in 1870 and 1872 respectively; they were deacons before coming to Humboldt. The next deacons were John C. Glenn and R. P. Lowe. Later other brethren came into the church as deacons, and others were ordained, among them W. T. Bunn, H. C. Burnett, Dr. G. W. James, Dr. J. Max Willett, J. R. Jarrell, A. R. Dodson, Dr. John T. Crews, J. W. Warmoth, C. A. Douglas, William Seward, H. N. Tharp, and B. F. Jarrell. The first clerk was perhaps Dr. Albert Perry. W. D. Woodruff served the church to this capacity from 1875 to 1882. John C. Glenn was clerk from 1882 to 1886; H. W. Roberts, from 1886 to 1888; T. F. Stubbs, from 1888 to 1890; H. C. Barnett, from 1890 to 1896; A. R. Dodson, from 1896 to 1898; A. W. Senter, from 1898 to 1899. C. T. Jarrell was elected clerk in the latter part of 1899 and is the present incumbent. The first Sunday school superintendent was probably Jarrett Parry; and then came B. C. Jarrell, who served the church for some ten or more years. John C. Glenn succeeded him and was in office about twelve years. His successor was John T. Crews, who served about five years, removing to Jackson in 1900. B. F. Jarrell became his successor and is the present incumbent. During the last five years the church has suffered great loss in her membership by death and removal, many of the most important members dying among them: W. H. Dodson and wife, B. C. Jarrell and wife, Frank Elliott and wife and mother, Mrs. Mary Holloman, Mrs. Sarah Atkins, J. Max Willett, J. T. and J. W. Blair, Mrs. J. W. Warmoth, John Gill, Mrs. George Gill, and others; still, the present membership is perhaps the largest in the history of the church, the total being 205. The Methodist Church of Humboldt The Methodist Church at Humboldt was organized in 1860 by Rev. Nathan Sullivan. The congregation first worshipped in a small PAGE 49 PHOTO: R.W. Hood Pastor Methodist Church vacant store building that stood near the Mobile and Ohio Railroad track, some four or five hundred yards south of the present railroad crossing. The first regular pastor was Rev. R. H. Mahon. In 1861 the congregation worshipped with other denominations in the basement of the old masonic Hall. The church continued to worship here, all the time prospering and adding to its membership, until 1867, when a very good frame church was built on Crenshaw street, which served the congregation for over twenty-three years. During this period the church grew in numbers, influence, and wealth, and in 1899 began the erection of a new brick church, which has just been completed, at a cost of $15,000. This is one of the handsomest churches in the county. The parsonage was built in 1895, costing about $2,000. The membership of the church is 360; and of the Sunday school, 200. THE CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH of HUMBOLDT PHOTO: Cumberland Presbyterian Church Humboldt The Cumberland Presbyterian Church of Humboldt is one of the oldest church organizations in the city. The congregation was organized at old Hopewell Church, a short distance northeast of town, back in the sixties. The first church built by the congregation was sold to the Christian brethren, and the present handsome and convenient building was erected on Main street, in which the congregation has worshipped since. The old Hopewell Church divided, and a portion of the congregation organized a church at Pleasant Hill, erecting a comfortable frame building, which is now a prosperous and growing organization. This church is served by the pastor of the church of Humboldt. The church at Humboldt, under the pastorate of Rev. Joe McLesky, is a very flourishing body, exerting a strong influence in the community. It has a large membership both in church and Sunday school. "Uncle Joe Mclesky," as he is affectionately and familiarly called by his neighbors and friends, is pastor of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church at Humboldt. I am PAGE 50 glad to number him as one of my valued friends and a gentleman whose society I enjoy greatly. He is known all over West Tennessee and is beloved by many and respected by all. He has preached over forty years, and in that time has come to be known by people of every class and condition throughout the country. He is a man of strong convictions and earnest purpose, devoted to the service of his Master, but inclined to think that everybody ought to join the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in order to be just right. I am not blaming him for his denominational zeal. It indicates his sincerity and deep-seated convictions -- essential requisites of a teacher and preacher. PHOTO: Rev. Joe M'Lesky (Pastor Cumberland Presbyterian Church Humboldt) Rev. Joe McLesky was born in Weakley County, Tenn., on January 23, 1832. He knew what work was in his younger days. He told me some of the experiences in the logging camps and in teaming in early times. Always of a serious and devotional disposition, he turned to the ministry in early manhood. He was licensed to preach the gospel in 1857. After the Civil War he was called to the pastorate of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church at Dyersburg and served as its pastor from 1866 to 1870. He then went to Humboldt and served as pastor from 1879 to 1879, when he accepted the pastorate of the church at Dyer. In 1890 he was called to a different charge, serving the church at ________ and also at Pleasant Hill, a church about three miles east of the city. Mr. McLesky has been twice married. After the death of his first wife he married Mrs. Sallie Cooper, an estimable widow lady of Gibson County, who, with three children, the result of this union, constitutes his present family. Mrs. Mclesky is a lady of fine social qualities, devoted to her husband, and a zealous worker in the church. The daughters, Miss Maunda M. and Miss Callie T., are bright, talented young ladies, popular in the social world of Humboldt; and Jo -- little Jo -- can be president of the United States if he tries hard enough. This position is in reach of all the boys, you know; but my little friend has the mind and manners that will carry him to a high mark if he improves them rightly. I hope to live to see him President. I am indebted to this Christian family for many acts of kindness and friendly regard while prosecuting my work, and shall ever remember my association with its members as one of the pleasant episodes of life. I admire the "rough diamond" character of Uncle Joe McLesky as illustrated both in public and private life, and would gladly devote more space to its expression if the limits of this work permitted. I must content myself, however, with only this brief mention of him and his, trusting that the future may present opportunity for a more emphatic expression of my esteem and regard. The Presbyterian Church of Humboldt The Presbyterian Church of Humboldt was organized on January 7, 1866, with twenty- five members, and is a branch from the old Shiloh Church, which once stood four and one-half miles from Humboldt, northward, and was a famous old meetinghouse in its day, especially under the care of the celebrated Dr. Campbell. This church is located on Webster street and is a substantial, neat brick building, comfortably furnished, and is lighted with electricity. The pastor of the church is Rev. John G. PAGE 52 PHOTO: Residence of John M. Senter, Fire and Life Insurance agent Humboldt Garth who was reared in Union City and trained for the ministry at Clarksville. He was ordained and installed pastor at Humboldt on July 4, 1895