Georgia Genealogy Trails "Where your Journey Begins"

Bibb County Georgia
Biographies

Crumley, William Macon, vice-president of the Beck & Gregg Hardware Company, of Atlanta, the largest wholesale hardware concern in the South, was born in Bibb county, Ga., April 7, 1847. He is a son of Rev. William Monroe Crumley, who was born in Anderson district, S. C, Feb. 29, 1816, and Mary A. (McLane) Crumley, who was born in Habersham county, Ga., in 1820. His father was a lieutenant in a company which was in active service during the Seminole Indian war in Georgia, and during the Civil war he was chaplain of the Georgia hospital in Richmond, Va., which was maintained for the care of the sick and wounded soldiers from Georgia in the Confederate service. Rev. William M.Crumley was a man of high scholarship and was a prominent member of the clergy of the Methodist Episcopal church South, having been identified with the Georgia conference for a half century holding many of the most important pastoral charges in the state. William Macon Crumley received a good common school education and had the further advantages of a home of culture and refinement. In February, 1862, two months prior to his fifteenth birthday anniversary, he manifested his youthful loyalty to the Confederacy by enlisting as a private in Company B, Cobb's legion, in the cavalry arm of the service. He took part in the engagements of Frazier's Farm, Malvern Hill, Deep Bottom, Fredericksburg, Winchester, Gettysburg and nearly all the other principal battles in Virginia, as well as those of Chattanooga and Knoxville, Tenn. In 1862 he was detailed as courier to Kershaw's brigade, and served in that capacity until the close of the war. He retains a deep interest in his old comrades and is prominently identified with the United Confederate Veterans, being now adjutant general and chief of staff of the Georgia division of the same. Mr. Crumley's business career has been one of marked success and represents achievement through well directed personal effort, for he began at the bottom of the ladder and has risen to the position as one of the chief executives of the most extensive wholesale hardware concern in the South, as previously noted. He is also president of the Southern Hardware Jobbing Association. Though he is a liberal and public-spirited citizen and a stanch advocate of the principles of the Democratic party, he has never sought or held public office. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church South. He is identified with the Piedmont Driving club and is a member of the executive committee of the John B. Gordon Monument association, while he is known and honored as one of the representative business men of his city and state. On Feb. 25, 1875,, Mr. Crumley was united in marriage to Miss Carrie Berry, daughter of M. R. and Hattie M. (Key) Berry, of Atlanta, and they have four children,—Robert M., Zulette, William, and Locke.
Source: Georgia: comprising sketches of counties, towns, events, institutions, edited by Allen Daniel Candler, Clement Anselm Evans

Chapman, Carleton Burke, the able and honored superintendent of the public-school system or* the city of Macon and Bibb county, was born near Jeffersonville, Twiggs county, Ga., Feb. 25, 1861, and is a son of John and Annie (Carleton) Chapman, the former of whom was born in Twiggs county, and the latter in Barre, Vt. On both sides the ancestry is of stanch Revolutionary stock, the Carletons distinguishing themselves in New England and the great grandfather of Professor Chapman in the paternal line being prominent in the Continental service in Georgia. Lieut. Jeremiah Carleton. great-great-grandfather of Professor Chapman on the maternal side, distinguished himself in the defense of Ticonderoga, while of his brothers the following record is given: "David was killed at the battle of Bunker Hill; Ebenezer was a member of General Washington's Life Guard; and Captain Osgood Carleton, afterward a noted teacher of mathematics in Boston, was employed by the government during the war, in the transportation of money between Philadelphia and New England, in all amounting to many millions of dollars, which responsible duty he faithfully and successfully performed." These New England Carletons are descended from Baldwin de Carleton, a follower of William the Conqueror, and this worthy ancestor maintained his residence at Carleton Hall, near Penrith, Cumberlandshire, this continuing to be the family abode for more than six hundred years. Johp Chapman, father of Professor Chapman of this sketch, was a man of exalted integrity and honor, and was an extensive and wealthy planter at the beginning of the Civil war. He was exempted from military duty and was detailed to aid in furnishing subsistence, exhausting his many thousands of acres in producing grain and meat for the Confederate government. Both he and his devoted wife are now deceased. Prof. Carleton B. Chapman was graduated in the University of Georgia as a member of the class of 1879, being eighteen years of age at the time and receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He has devoted his life to arduous and earnest work in the field of education, and his success has been of unequivocal order. He was principal of Talniage institute, Irwinton, Ga., 1880-83; principal of the Gresham high school, Macon, 1883-1904; and on August 18, 1904 there came a popular recognition of his long, faithful and able service in his being appointed superintendent of public schools for Macon and Bibb county. In the connection is entered the following extract from the grand jury's report of Feb. 28, 1905: "We believe that in placing Professor C. B. Chapman in charge of the schools as superintendent the board of education acted wisely, and justly rewarded arduous labor and genuine worth. The effect of his devotion to the cause of education in this county is felt in every walk of life to-day, and it will be seen and felt in the generations to come. We see ample evidence that he is tireless in his industry, thoroughly conversant with the duties of his high office and ambitious to see the children of the county stand second to no children in the matter of education." Professor Chapman gives his undivided attention to his official duties, but is also the owner of a mill and a valuable plantation. He is a Democrat in his political allegiance: he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church South; and he is affiliated with the Phi Delta Theta college fraternity, the Georgia teachers' association and the Schoolmasters' club. On July 14, 188.5, he was united in marriage to Miss Flora Smith, daughter of Gen. George A. and Ann Adelphia (Cook) Smith, of Macon, her father having been a distinguished officer in the Confederate service during the Civil war. Professor and Mrs. Chapman have three children: Carleton George, John Gresham, and Elliot Loving.
Source: Georgia: comprising sketches of counties, towns, events, institutions, edited by Allen Daniel Candler, Clement Anselm Evans

Maj. T. O. Chestney.
Maj. T. O. Chestney, prominent citizen of Macon, Ga., died in that city on November 2, at the age of eighty-seven years. Hale and hearty despite his long and strenuous life, Major Chestney was looking forward to celebrating his eighty-eighty year on November 21, but he succumbed to a serious illness shortly before that time.
Major Chestney was in the thick of battle throughout the war period of the sixties being wounded several times and winning rapid promotion to the rank of major through his valor on the field. After the war he returned to Macon and took up business activities, becoming associated with the old Central Georgia Bank, after a wide experience in various lines of business and industry in Washington, D. C, and in Macon, and with the Macon and Western Railway Company. In later years he was active in organizing Macon's public library system, of which he was a life director and one-time president. He was a senior warden of Christ Church in Macon, with which he was affiliated through life.
At the outbreak of the War between the States, Major Chestney, as a second lieutenant, saw service with General Lee at Richmond, Va., and with General Johnston at Harper's Ferry, also with Col. George S. Steuart, of Maryland. He was in charge of the armory stores at Harper's Ferry until that post was evacuated, then was commander of a brigade under General Elzey. He received his first wound when leading a squadron of cavalry in the first battle of Manassas. He was in Jackson's Valley campaign, and was again wounded in the battle of Gaines's Mill. Rejoining the army some two months later, in September of 1862, he took part in the battle of Fredericksburg, and for his valor in this engagement he was made a major and given letters of compliment for bravery. He was made chief of staff to General Elzey, later reporting to Gen. Robert Ransom. His promotion to lieutenant colonel had been forwarded to Mr. Davis, in the closing clays of the war, but the evacuation of Richmond and the close of the war prevented action on this.
Major Chestney was married to Miss Kate Piercy Murphy, in Washington, P. C, and to this union were born three sons and three daughters, who survive with their mother. He also leaves seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild, and one sister, of Washington, D. C.
Transcribed by Barbara Ziegenmeyer from materials provided from the research of Lynn Stephens Headley

Branch, Lee Whiting, of Quitman, Brooks county, is successfully engaged in the practice of law and is a representative of the county in the state legislature. He was born in the city of Macon, Bibb county, Ga., April 12, 1871, a son of Rev. J. O. and Caroline Theresa (Hentz) Branch, the former of whom was born in Abbeville, S. C., June 20, 1838, and the latter in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio, Dec. 28. 1833, Rev. Dr. J. O. Branch was a distinguished clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal church South, and was for many years prominent in the South Georgia conference. The Branch family has had many distinguished representatives in America. John Branch, born in Halifax, N. C., in 1782, was elected to the United States senate in 1823; was secretary of the navy from 1829 to 1831, and was appointed governor of Florida in 1843. His son, Lawrence O'Brien Branch, likewise served as a member of Congress, was general of a regiment in the Confederate service during the Civil war, and was killed in the battle of Antietam. The mother of Caroline T. (Hentz) Branch, was Caroline Lee (Whiting) Hentz, born in Lancaster, Mass., about 1804, a daughter of Gen. John Whiting, who was an officer in the Revolution. In 1825 she married Prof. N. M. Hentz. She died in 1856, and her remains were interred at Columbus, Ga. She was the author of a number of tales and novelettes which had wide circulation, and was also the author of a tragedy entitled "De Lara, or the Moorish Bride." The Whiting family has been represented in cither the army or navy from the time of the Revolution to the present. Gen. Henry Whiting participated in the Indian wars and the war of 1812. Commodor William Whiting, a cousin of Mrs. Caroline T. Branch, died in New York, a few years ago, and his son is now a captain in the navy. Lee Whiting Branch was afforded excellent educational advantages, having been graduated in Emory college, Oxford, Ga., and soon after was admitted to the bar of his native state. He has since been engaged in the practice of his profession in Quitman ; is at the present time chairman of the board of education of the public schools of his home city, and is representing the county in the state legislature. He is a stalwart adherent of the Democratic party, and both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church South. He is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias. At the outbreak of the late Spanish-American war Mr. Branch enlisted as a private in Company F, First Georgia volunteer infantry, but was later transferred to the Third Georgia volunteer infantry, in which he was promoted through the various grades to the position of first lieutenant. He was stationed with his regiment at Las Minas, Cuba, for three months, and was mustered out, as first lieutenant, at Augusta, Ga., April 20, 1899, having enlisted in May, 1898. On Sept. 27, 1899, Mr. Branch was united in marriage to Miss Jamie Snow, daughter of Dr. J. S. N. and Scotia (Livingston) Snow, of Quitman. They have no children.
Source: Georgia: comprising sketches of counties, towns, events, institutions, edited by Allen Daniel Candler, Clement Anselm Evans

Pecte, Cola H., M. D., one of the representative physicians and surgeons of the city of Macon, was born in Tipton county, Tenn., March 22t 1863, and is a son of John Speed and Ann Eliza (Whitey) Peete, both native of Virginia. After completing the curriculum of the public schools Doctor Peete was matriculated in the medical department of Vanderbilt university, Nashville, Tenn., in which finely equipped institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1892, receiving the degree of Doctor of Medicine. Since his graduation he has taken most effective post-graduate courses and also given much attention to individual research. He located in Macon soon after his graduation and here he has since continued in professional work, having built up a large and representative practice. He is a valued member of the Macon medical society, of which he has served as secretary, vice-president and president, while he is also identified with the Tri-State medical society, of which he was formerly first vice-president, and with the American medical association. He is also a member of the American laryngological, rhinological and otological society; is vice-president of the Georgia anti-tuberculosis league, and a member of the Georgia sociological society. He is oculist and aurist to the Macon city hospital, a member of the medical board of the institution, and a lecturer on the diseases of the eye and ear in the training school for nurses, a valuable adjunct of the hospital. He is also oculist and aurist for the state academy for the blind and for the Georgia orphans' home, located in Macon, while in a professional capacity he is identified with many other institutions in Macon. In his practice he devotes special attention to the diseases of the eye and ear and is considered an authority in this department of professional work. He and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church South; he is a Democrat in politics and is identified with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. In 1887 was solemnized in Nashville, Tenn., the marriage of Doctor Peete to Miss Annie Dungan, daughter of Dr. David Dungan, of Little Rock, Ark., and they have four children living, namely: David Dungan, John Speed, Mary Alice and Annie.
Source: Cyclopedia of Georgia

BANKS, Mrs. Mary Ross, author, born in Macon, Ga., 4th March, 1846. On her father's side she is from Scotch ancestry. Her grandfather, Luke Ross, was a man of large wealth for his day, and had a sumptuously appointed home, the furniture of which was hauled in wagons from New York City to North Carolina. A man of unblemished integrity, having stood security for a friend and lost, he sacrificed all his possessions and moved to Jones county, Ga., when the present beautiful city of Macon was a small trading port. Mrs. Banks' father, John Bennett Ross, was one of seven brothers and three sisters. The Ross brothers clung together and established themselves in trade about the year 1832. A talent for business and the clannish Scotch blood that kept them together resulted in a splendid commercial success. There were changes in the course of time, some of the brothers embarking in other kinds of business, but John B. Ross continued in the wholesale and retail dry goods and planters' supply business till the end of his days and made so large a fortune that he was known as “the merchant prince of the South.”  His home was the center of elegant entertainment, and his children were reared in luxury.  He was married three times.  His first wife was a Miss Holt; his second, Martha Redding, descended from the Lanes and Flewellens, was the mother of Mrs. Banks; his third wife, a charming woman who still survives him, is a sister of Judge L. Q. C. Lamar, of the Supreme Court of the United States. Mrs. Banks was educated in Wesleyan Female College, in Macon, Ga., and in the private school of Mrs. Theodosia Bartow Ford. She was married at seventeen years of age to Edward P. Bowdre, of Macon, at that time a captain in the Confederate army. She went to the army with her husband and did noble service in the hospitals. At twenty-five years of age she was a widow with three sons, and much of the fortune that should have been hers dissipated by the hazard of war and the scarcely less trying period of reconstruction. In June, 1875, she was married to Dr. J. T. Banks, of Griffin, Ga., a gentleman of high standing socially and professionally and lived with him in unclouded happiness for four years, when she was again a widow. Crushed by her grief, she realized that her only hope for peace of mind lay in employment and as soon as she had partly recovered from the shock, she went courageously to work to help herself and her boys. With no training for business, and no knowledge of labor, frail in body, but dauntless in spirit, she accomplished wonders in many lines. She was a successful farmer and turned many of her talents and accomplishments into money-making. After raising her sons to the age of independence, she accepted a position in the Department of the Interior at Washington, where she has been assigned to important work in the office of the Secretary, a position she finds both lucrative and agreeable. Her literary fame came to her suddenly and is the result of one book, "Bright Days on the Old Plantation" (Boston, 1882), and a number of sketches and short stories published in various newspapers and periodicals.
(American Women Fifteen Hundred Biographies, Volume 1, Publ. 1897.  Transcribed by Marla Snow)

William H. Fish. Georgia may well felicitate herself upon the high standard ever maintained by the bench and bar of the state and is signally favored in claiming at the present time as chief justice of the Supreme Court the commonwealth the eminent lawyer and jurist whose name initiates this paragraph, and who by his character and services has signally honored his native state. The following brief review of his ancestral history and personal career can not fail of enduring value as a concrete addition and integral part of the annals of Georgia. '
William Hansell Fish, eighth chief justice of the Georgia Supreme Court, was born in the City of Macon, judicial center of Bibb County, this state, and the date of his nativity was May 12,1849. He is a son of Hon. George W. and Martha E. (Hansell) Fish, both likewise natives of Georgia and representatives of honored and influential pioneer families of this commonwealth. The original American progenitors of the Fish family immigrated from Wales and became early colonial settlers in Virginia, whence representatives of a later generation removed to North Carolina. Joseph Fish was born in North Carolina and became one of the pioneer settlers of Washington County, Georgia. His son William wedded Sarah Harvard, of Laurens County, and they removed to Baldwin County, where they maintained their home many years, George W. Fish, father of the present chief justice, having been their eldest son. After his marriage to Miss Martha E. Hansell George W. Fish removed to Bibb County, where he became a citizen of prominence and influence, as shown by the fact that while he was still a comparatively young man he was elected to represent the county in the State Legislature. In 1854 he removed with his family to Oglethorpe, Macon County, where he passed.the remainder of his life and where he long held precedence as one of the leading lawyers of that section of the state. At the time of his death he was presiding on the bench of the District Court of the Thirteenth Senatorial District.
 Mrs. Martha E. (Hansell) Fish, who survived her husband by several years, was a daughter of Maj. William Y. and Susan (Harris) Hansell, and thus was a representative of two of the most distinguished families of Georgia. Her father was for many years engaged in the practice of law in Cobb County, was recognized as one of the most able and influential members of the bar of Northern Georgia, and was the general counsel for the Cherokee Indian Nation in its controversies in regard to territorial rights in Georgia. Augustine Harris Hansell, who was for nearly half a century a judge of the superior courts of Georgia, and Gen. Andrew J. Hansell, a distinguished lawyer and legislator, were sons of Maj. William Y. Hansell. The American ancestry of the Harris family traces to Rev. Henry Harris, a Baptist clergyman who immigrated from Glamorgan, Wales, in 1691, and became a resident of Virginia, where he obtained from the English crown a grant of land ten miles square, on the south bank of the James River and a few miles below the present City of Richmond. Walton Harris, great-grandson of Rev. Henry Harris and grandfather of Mrs. Martha E. (Hansell) Fish, became an early settler in Greene County, Georgia, was a soldier in the War of the Revolution, in connection with which he was captured and made a prisoner of war at the siege of Augusta, Georgia. This state granted to him a land bounty in recognition of his services in the Revolution. The maternal grandmother of Chief Justice Fish was a daughter of Augustine and Anne (Byne) Harris, the latter of whom was a daughter of Edmund Byne. Edmund Byne came from King & Queen County, Virginia, and settled in Burke County. Georgia, about the year 1784. Anne Byne was likewise a representative of the dis- tinguished Lewis family of Virginia, in the distaff line. Iverson L. Harris, who was at one time an associate justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia, was a brother of Mrs. Susan (Harris) Hansell.
 The present chief justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia acquired his preliminary educational discipline in the schools of Oglethorpe, this state, and he was eleven years of age at the inception of the Civil war, the closing period of which found him still too youthful to be eligible for military service. He well recalls the privations and widespread distress that prevailed in Georgia during the latter part of the war and during the .last two years of the great fratricidal conflict he devoted himself to aiding as far as possible in the work on his father's plantation near Oglethorpe. In 1866 he was matriculated in the University of Georgia, and in this institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1869 and with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. In the university he was a classmate of a number of others who attained to distinction in connection with public, professional and general civic affairs in Georgia. In preparation for his chosen profession Judge Fish entered the law department of the fine old University of Virginia, the law school having then been under the direction of that distinguished southern teacher of law, the late John B. Minor. The death of his father compelled Judge Fish to discontinue his course in the law school prior to graduation, but he continued the study of law after his return home and in 1871 was admitted to the bar of Macon County, at Oglethorpe, the judicial center of the county. At Oglethorpe he continued to be engaged in the general practice of his profession until 1877, when he was appointed judge of the County Court of Macon County, and by successive reappointments he continued to serve on the bench of this tribunal for nearly fifteen years,—until 1891. As the law authorized a county judge to practice before courts other than that over which he had jurisdiction, the private practice of Judge Fish increased to large proportions during his service on the bench and he became known as one of the representative lawyers and jurists of the southwestern part of the state. In 1891 the Georgia Legislature unanimously elected Judge Fish to fill a vacancy on the bench of the southwestern circuit, the bar of the circuit having supported him and shown full appreciation of his admirable equipment for this higher judicial position.
 In October, 1896, was adopted an amendment to the state constitution and by the provisions of this amendment three associate justices were added to the personnel of the Supreme Court of Georgia, provision being made also for the choosing of these additional justices by a special popular election to be held in December of that year. A democratic convention assembled in Atlanta in November to nominate the three candidates for these places. Apropos of the work and results of the convention the following pertinent record is consistently reproduced at this juncture:
 "This assemblage might properly be designated a lawyers' convention. The delegates were either lawyers or men who were willing to accept the judgment of lawyers as to the qualification of the candidates for the high judicial office. No convention has assembled in Georgia in recent years where the presence of the lawyer and the influence of the lawyer more thoroughly prevailed than in this judicial convention of 1896, and it was this convention that called Judge Fish to the supreme bench. The wisdom of those who brought about this translation from the circuit to the supreme bench has been amply justified by the career of Judge Fish upon the ultimate tribunal of jurisprudence in the State of Georgia."
Upon the death of Presiding Justice Lumpkin of the second division of the Supreme Court, in 1903, Judge Fish was appointed to lill the vacancy, and in 1905, upon the death of Chief Justice Simmons, he was appointed, by Governor Terrell, chief justice of the Supreme Court, to which position he was subsequently elected by popular vote and without opposition to lill the unexpired term.
 Judge Fish has been unwavering in his allegiance to the democratic party and has given effective service in behalf of its cause, though he has manifested no desire for public office aside from the direct line of his profession. From 1893 to 1905 he served as a valued member of the board of trustees of the University of Georgia, and from 1894 to the present time he has been a trustee of the Wesleyan Female College, at Macon. Both he and his wife hold, membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and he has served zealously in the office of steward, besides being active in the various departments of church work.
 From an admirable review of the career of Chief Justice Fish, prepared by Andrew J. Cobb, are taken the following quotations:
 "His work as a member of the supreme court of Georgia begins in the 100th volume of the Georgia Reports, with the case of Conley versus Buck, and in this first opinion filed by him is shown that thoroughness and accuracy which has characterized all of his judicial work. During the period of his service on the supreme bench he has written more than 2,000 opinions. These opinions deal with many of the varied and intricate questions which axe bound to arise in the litigation of a state with the wealth, industrial enterprises and population of Georgia. As illustrations of the learning and research of Chief Justice Fish attention may be called to the cases of the Brush Electric Company versus Wells (110 Georgia, 192), involving the fellow servant doctrine; Sumpter versus Carter (115 Georgia, 893), dealing with the questions of real-estate law; Rylander versus Allen (125 Georgia, 206), involving the right to transfer a policy of life insurance to one having no insurable interest in the life of the transferrer; Prince versus Barrow (120 Georgia, 810), discussing the powers of a court of equity where an executor is vested with a discretion as to the amount to be received by a beneficiary under the will; Brigham versus Overstreet (128 Georgia, 447), involving the law of farm fixtures; and Morrel versus Hoge (130 Georgia, 625), on the law of voting trusts. The position of Judge Fish in the history of the supreme court is fixed, and he takes rank with those occupants of that bench who have aided in maintaining the high standard which the court achieved under its first judges. No more capable, faithful and conscientious official has ever been called into the public service."
 On the 11th of January, 1876, was solemnized the marriage of Judge Fish to Miss Mary P. Hines, of Sandersville, Washington County, she being a daughter of Joseph H. and Susan E. (Harrison) Hines, formerly of Burke County, this state, and a sister of Judge James K. Hines, who was at one time on the bench of the Middle Circuit of Georgia and who later served as special counsel of the Railroad Commission of Georgia. The only child of Judge and Mrs. Fish is a daughter, Nina, who is the wife of Henry S. McCleskey, of Little Rock, Arkansas.
 Hox. John Slaughter Candler. The long and distinguished services rendered the State of Georgia by Hon. John Slaughter Candler, ex-solicitorgeneral, ex-judge of the Superior courts and ex-associate justice of the Supreme Court, have eminently entitled him to a place among the most helpful and forceful citizens of the commonwealth. Few men have been more greatly honored by their state, and few have been more justly deserving of the honors given them, or have vindicated in greater degree the faith and confidence reposed in their integrity and abilities. He is a representative of a family the history of which has been largely the history of the political, professional, religious and commercial life of the state, and the members of which, in the various walks of life, have arisen to distinguished and influential positions.
 The Candler family was founded in America by Daniel Candler, a native of Ireland, who emigrated to Virginia in the eighteenth century. His son, William Candler, married Elizabeth Anthony, a daughter of Marc Anthony, the latter of whom had come to this country from Genoa, Italy, and settled in Virginia. From this couple descended the various Candlers of Georgia. More than one of the ancestors of Justice Candler took an important participation in the War of the Revolution. His paternal great-grandfather, William Candler, was a colonel in the patriot army; Samuel Slaughter, his father's maternal grandfather, was a captain in the same forces, while Frederick Bealle, his material great-grandfather, was an officer of Maryland troops in the winning of American independence.
A standard history of Georgia and Georgians, Volume 4 By Lucian Lamar Knight

WILLIAM HANSELL FISH, eighth Chief Justice of Georgia, is the son of George W. Fish, and was born in the city of Macon, Georgia, May 12, 1849.
Chief Justice Fish traces his ancestry to Welsh immigrants who were among the early settlers of Virginia, and whose descendants later moved to North Carolina. Joseph Fish was born in North Carolina and removed to Washington county, Georgia, in the pioneer days of that portion of the State. William Fish, a son of Joseph Fish, married Sarah Harvard, of Laurens County, Georgia, and removed to Baldwin county, Georgia, where they resided for many years. George W. Fish, the father of the subject of this sketch, was the oldest son of this couple. George W. Fish married Martha E. Hansell, and removed to Bibb county, Georgia, and represented that county in the General Assembly of the State when he was quite a young man. In 1854 he changed his residence to Oglethorpe, Georgia, then the thriving terminus of the Southwestern Railroad, and there spent the remainder of his life. He was one of the leading lawyers of that section of the State, and at the time of his death was the Judge of the District Court of the Thirteenth Senatorial District.
Martha E. Hansell, the mother of Chief Justice Fish, was the daughter of Major William Y. Hansell and Susan (Harris) Hansell. She was thus a member of two of the most distinguished families of Georgia. Her father resided for many years in Cobb county, Georgia, and was one of the leading members of the North Georgia Bar, and was the General Counsel for the Cherokee Nation in the controversies which it had in reference to its territorial rights.
Augustine Harris Hansell, who was for nearly fifty years a Judge of the Superior Courts of Georgia, and General Andrew J. Hansell, a distinguished lawyer and legislator, were sons of Major Hansell.
The Harris family trace their ancestry to Henry Harris, a Baptist minister who emigrated from Glamorgan, Wales, in 1691, and obtained a grant of crown lands ten miles square, on the south bank of the James River, some miles below the great falls, now Richmond, Virginia. Walton Harris, the great-grandson of Henry Harris, and the grandfather of Mrs. Hansell, resided in Greene County, Georgia, was a soldier in the War of the Revolution, was captured and made a prisoner of war at the siege of Augusta, Georgia. The State of Georgia granted Walton Harris a land bounty as a Revolutionary soldier. Mrs. Hansell was the daughter of Augustine Harris and Anne (Byne) Harris, the daughter of Edmund Byne, who about 1784 moved from the county of King and Queen, Virginia, to Burke County, Georgia. Anne Byne was a member of the distinguished Lewis family of Virginia. Iverson L. Harris, who was at one time a Judge of the Supreme Court of Georgia, was a brother of Mrs. Hansell.
Chief Justice Fish received his early education in the schools of Oglethorpe, Georgia. The War between the States came on when he was a lad of only eleven years, and its conclusion found him still too young for military service. During the last two years of that struggle he engaged in such work on his father's plantation near Oglethorpe as his years would permit He entered the University of Georgia at Athens, in 1800, and graduated from that institution in 1869 with the degree of A.B. His class embraced many members who afterward achieved distinction and illustrated Georgia in different lines of useful pursuits; and among them may be mentioned A. Pratt Adams, H. N. Cabaniss, J. M. Edwards, W. R. Hammond, B. H. Hill, A. C. Howze, Emory Speer, Howard Van Epps, and Jesse W. Walters.
After his graduation from the University of Georgia, he entered the Law School of the University of Virginia, then under the management of that celebrated Southern teacher of law, John B. Minor. The death of his father called him home from the Law School, and compelled him to discontinue his course before he had received a degree. He continued the study of law after returning to his home, and after the required examination was in 1871 admitted to the Bar at Oglethorpe, Georgia.
Chief Justice Fish says that the choice by him of the profession of law was brought about by the wishes of his parents and circumstances over which he had no control. The choice once made he brought to bear those characteristics which have marked his entire career, diligence, faithfulness and conscientiousness. He soon acquired a splendid clientele and a remunerative practice.
After only a few years at the Bar he was in 1877 appointed Judge of the County Court of Macon County, and held this position by successive appointments until 1891. The law authorizing a County Judge to practice in other courts, his practice increased during the time he held this local judgeship and he became one of the representative members of the Bar of Southwest Georgia.
In 1891 a vacancy occurring in the judgeship of the Southwestern Circuit, he was elected by the General Assembly to that position, without opposition, the Bar of the circuit thus recognizing his eminent fitness for the position.
In October, 1896, an amendment to the Constitution was adopted adding three Associate Justices to the Supreme Court, who were to be elected by the people at a special election to be held in December of that year. A Democratic convention was called to nominate the three candidates for these places and the convention thus called assembled in Atlanta in November, 1896. This convention might be properly called a lawyers' convention. The delegates were either lawyers or men from the other walks of life who were willing to accept the judgment of lawyers as to the qualification of the candidates for the judicial office. No convention has assembled in Georgia in recent years where the presence of the lawyer and the influence of the lawyer more thoroughly prevailed than in this judicial convention of 1896. It was this convention that called the subject of this sketch from the Circuit Bench to the Supreme Bench. The wisdom of those who thus brought about this translation has been amply demonstrated by the career of Justice Fish upon the Supreme Bench.
In 19015, upon the death of Presiding Justice Lumpkin, he was appointed by Chief Justice Simmons Presiding Justice of the Second Division of the Supreme Court, and in 1905, upon the death of Chief Justice Simmons, he was appointed by Governor Terrell Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and was subsequently without opposition elected by the people to fill the unexpired term.
Chief Justice Fish has been a lifelong Democrat, and has always taken an interest in public affairs, but has never aspired to a purely political office. His life has been in the law and his aspirations have been confined to those offices only which were in the line of his profession. His interest in the educational affairs of the State caused him to serve as a Trustee of the University of Georgia, from 1893 to 1905, and as a Trustee of the Wesleyan Female College of Macon, Georgia, from 1894 to the present time.
On January 11, 1870, he was married to Mary P. Hines, of Sandersville, Georgia, a daughter of Joseph H. Hines and Susan E. (Harrison) Hines, formerly of Burke County, Georgia. Mrs. Fish is a sister of Judge James K. Hines, once Judge of the Middle Circuit and now Special Counsel of the Railroad Commission of Georgia. Mrs. Henry S. McCleakey, of Rome, Georgia, is the only child of Chief Justice Fish.
In 1891 be changed his residence from Oglethorpe to Amorions, Georgia, which is his present domicile, but the practically continuous session of the court over which he presides requires his residence at the Capitol of the State.
Chief Justice and Mrs. Fish are each members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and he has served the Methodist churches at Oglethorpe and Americus as steward, and is now acting in that capacity in the First Methodist Church in Atlanta. He takes an active interest in the affairs of his church. His work as a member of the Supreme Court of Georgia begins in the 100th Volume of the Georgia Reports with the case of Conley vs. Buck, and in this first opinion filed by him is shown that thoroughness and accuracy which has subsequently uncharacterized all his judicial work.
During the twelve years that he has been on the Supreme Bench he has written more than two thousand opinions. These opinions deal with many of the varied and intricate questions which are bound to arise in the litigation of a State with the wealth, industrial enterprises, and population of Georgia.
As illustrations of the learning and research of the subject of this sketch, attention may be called to the cases of Brush Electric Company vs. Wells, 110 Ga., 192, involving the fellow servant doctrine; Sumpter vs. Carter, 115 Ga., 893, dealing with questions of real estate law; Bylander vs. Allen, 125 Ga., 206, involving the right to transfer a policy of life to one having no insurable interest in the life of the transferor; Prince vs. Barrow, 120 Ga., 810, discussing the powers of a court of equity where an executor is vested with a discretion as to the amount to be received by a beneficiary under the will; Brigham vs. Overstreet, 128 Ga., 447, involving the law of farm fixtures, and Morrel vs. Hoge, 130 Ga., 625, on the law of voting-trusts.
Chief Justice Fish is endowed by nature with the legal instinct. The advantages which he had in his training for the Bar; the experience at the Bar and on the trial Bench and the ever present desire to conscientiously discharge every duty imposed upon him, made his selection as a Justice of the Supreme Court one peculiarly fortunate for those of the public who are interested in having the law administered by an able, intelligent, and conscientious judge. His position in the history of the Supreme Court is fixed, and he takes rank with those occupants of that Bench who have aided in maintaining the high standing which the Court achieved under its first judges.
As has been said, "Georgia has ever had reason to be proud of the standing of its Bench and Bar, and by no one has this high prestige been maintained more than by the Honorable W. H. Fish, present Chief Justice."
No more capable, faithful and conscientious official has ever been called into the public service. He is in the prime of life, and his past usefulness to the State in a judicial capacity presages the good that will come in the future years of his occupancy of the Bench. 

Source: Men of Mark In Georgia

ONE of the strong men of Georgia for the past thirty years, who has contributed his full share to the development of Middle and South Georgia, is Francis Henry McGee, vice-president and general manager of the South Atlantic Car Company, of Waycross.

Mr. McGee is a native Georgian, born in Macon on June 21, 1858, son of William and Eliza (Kelly) McGee. His father was a mechanical engineer a man of sterling integrity and abundant professional skill.

The family is of Scotch-Irish extraction and came from Belfast, Ireland, settling in this country first in Americus, Georgia. Mr. McGee was reared in Macon, a healthy youngster with a pronounced taste for mechanics. He went through the public schools and from them to Mercer University, from which he was graduated in 1876. On November 2, 1876, he entered the machine shops of the Central of Georgia Railway in Macon as an apprentice. He mastered his trade, and entered the service of the Central Railway as a machinist. His career from that time to the present has been one of steady growth and of great credit to himself. He climbed from one position to another, until in a few years he found himself master mechanic of the Central of Georgia Railway. He filled this important and responsible position with great ability until 1895, when being justly offended at an attack made upon him by Mr. Cunningham, an attorney of the road, in a case in court, he resigned his position; and although earnestly urged to withdraw his resignation, be felt compelled to adhere to his determination. As an illustration of his ability, it may tie noted that, when he took charge of the shops as master mechanic in 1890, there were over eight hundred cars out of use and needing repairs, besides a large number of engines. When he retired, he left the road with all its rolling stock in first class condition and with greatly increased capacity for handling its business. He had served the road, all told, for twenty years, first, as a locomotive engineer, then as assistant master machinist at Savannah, and finally as master mechanic.

Leaving the Central, he made a connection with the Seaboard Air Line Railway in a capacity which carried him to Norfolk, Virginia, his position being that of master mechanic of the fourth division. In January, 1901, he was promoted to be superintendent of motive power of the entire Seaboard Air Line Railway, with headquarters at Portsmouth, Virginia. He was transferred from Portsmouth to Americus as master mechanic of the Georgia and Alabama; and from there to Savannah as master mechanic of the line between Savannah and Jacksonville, known as the Florida Central and Peninsula. In the meantime there had been incubating the plans for a great car manufacturing company at Waycross. These plans took shape and were concreted into the greatest car company of the South. Mr. McGee was called to the position of vice president and general manager of this plant, and got it into full and successful operation, until October, 1907, when a large part of the plant was destroyed by fire. As an evidence of the ability with which it had been handled, and the friends which it had made, everybody in Waycross, from the Board of Trade down to the mechanics at work in the plant, came to the rescue and assisted in the rebuilding. This was in the time of financial distress. Though the plant was rebuilt, it suffered from slack business and was compelled to shut down. Finally, however, arrangements were made by which it was reopened; new and large orders came in, and the business was reestablished.

An incident in Mr. McGee's life which throws a good deal of light upon his personal character occurred when he resigned from the Central of Georgia. When it was found that he was leaving the service, his associates in Macon gathered together and made up for him a handsome testimonial, consisting of a full silver tea service and silver water service amounting in value to over three hundred dollars, which was presented to him by a representative of the men in an address which was a model of its kind. In this address, he spoke most feelingly of the kindness which the men under Mr. McGee had always received from him. He had served them during a hard period, and yet when he left the service, he left it with every man in the shops as his friend. '

Mr. McGee is a very popular man in Waycross, and justly so. He is a member of the Episcopal Church; has served as vice.president and president of the Southern and Southwestern Railway Club; holds membership in the Masons and the Elks; is fond of hunting and fishing as a method of recreation, and holds a place in the regard of the people second to that of no man in the community.

His motto through life appears to have been "Service." The work has been everything with him; and to the quality of work he has subordinated everything else. Loyalty to his employers and kindness to his employees have characterized his life. He is an able man in his profession, and leaves everything that he undertakes better than he found it.

Fond of reading, and with a good education to start with, be is a man of wide information. In his reading, he has been partial to mechanical works, history, encyclopedias and scientific matter generally.

On February 21, 1878, Mr. McGee was married to Miss Susie J. Pace. They have three children.

Source: Men of Mark In Georgia 

Hinkle, Albert B., M. D., who is engaged in the practice of his profession in Macon, was born in that city, Dec. 9, 1865. His father, Dr. James B. Hinkle, a distinguished physician and surgeon of Southwestern Georgia, served during the Civil war in the Confederate army, enlisting in an Alabama company known as the "Montgomery True Blues" and afterward rising to the position of surgeon with the rank of major. He was known as the fighting surgeon; was for a time in charge of the prisoners at Camp Oglethorpe, and later had charge of hospitals at Mobile and Camden. Dr. Albert B. Hinkle was reared at Americus, Sumter county, Ga., in whose high school he graduated in 1883. Three years later he was graduated at Mercer university, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He then began the study of medicine under the able preceptorship
 of his father. In the fall of 1887 he entered the medical department of the University of the City of New York, and at the same time further fortified himself in his technical work by taking special instructions in the various branches of the sciences of medicine and surgery under the most eminent teachers of the national metropolis. He was graduated, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine, on March 12, 1889, and immediately entered the New York post-graduate medical school and hospital, where, in addition to a regular course, he took a special course of study on the eye, ear, nose and throat and the treatment of their diseases. In June, 1889, he returned to Americus and entered into practice with his father, with whom he formed a partnership. In the autumn of that year he again entered the New York post-graduate college for more extensive study, and in September, 1897, after most successful work in his former field of endeavor, he came to Macon, where he has built up a fine practice, having well appointed offices, equipped with the most modern electrical and surgical appliances. In June, 1889, he received the degree of Master of Arts from his alma mater, Mercer university. Ever since graduating he has been engaged in general practice and special work, always keeping in touch with new discoveries relating to the science of medicine and surgery. He is now an assistant United States surgeon, with the rank of captain, being stationed at Macon, and is examining physician for a number of secret orders. Doctor Hinkle is a firm believer in the tenets of the Democratic party, and in religious matters is a member of the Mulberry street Methodist Episcopal church. He is prominent in fraternal circles, being treasurer of Fort Hawkins Lodge, No. 418, Free and Accepted Masons; a member of all the branches of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows; a past chancellor commander in the Knights of Pythias ; a member of the Improved Order of Red Men, in which he has passed through the chairs, and belongs to the Independent Order of Beavers. On Sept. 4, 1890, he was united in marriage to Miss Nita O., daughter of Maj. A. Lewis, of Thomaston, Ga. Her father lost a leg during the military operations around Chattanooga in the fall of 1863. He now resides at Dawson, Ga. Doctor and Mrs. Hinkle became the parents of three children. Anita died at the age of six years, and James Burney and Carolynne Elizabeth are still living.
Source Georgia: comprising sketches of counties, towns, events, institutions, and ... edited by Allen Daniel Candler, Clement Anselm Evans

HEAD, Mrs. Ozella Shields

Fleming, Charles Campbell

Fleming, Charles Campbell, of Atlanta, who holds the office of secretary of the southeastern tariff association, is a native Georgian and a scion of families established in America in the early colonial era.  He was born in Macon, Bibb county, Ga., Sept. 6, 1847, a son of Allen and Elizabeth Campbell (Martin) Fleming, the former born in Jefferson county, Ga., Oct. 13, 1804, and the latter in Morristown, N. J., June 11, 1819.  Both passed the closing years of their lives in Columbus, Ga., and their remains rest in Rosehill cemetery at Macon.  “In death they were not long divided,” as the father passed away July 9, 1874, and the mother May 6, 1875.  The Fleming ancestry is traced back to Scotch-Irish derivation and the original American progenitors came from the northern part of Ireland prior to the war of the Revolution.  Five brothers of the name, with one sister, landed at Charleston or some North Carolina seaport.  The great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch was the founder of the Georgia branch of the family, having located in Richmond county, where the grandfather of Charles C. was born and whence he removed eventually to Jefferson county, where his son Allen was born, as noted above.  The mother of Mr. Fleming was a direct descendant of Lord Campbell, whose brother was the reigning Duke of Argyle, and who settled in New Jersey in the early colonial days, his descendants being now very numerous in that state.  Charles Campbell Fleming was reared and educated in Georgia and since 1894 has held his present position as secretary of the Southeastern tariff association, being one of the representative business men of Georgia’s capital city.  He is a stance advocate of the principles of the Democratic party but has never sought or held public office.  He is a member of the Capital City club, and both he and his wife are communicants of the Protestant Episcopal church, though his family has been identified with the Presbyterian church for generations back.  On June 4, 1884, he was united in marriage to Miss Effie Davis, daughter of Henry Davis, of Memphis, Tenn., in which city she died on Aug. 21, 1886, leaving no children.  On Nov. 17, 1891, Mr. Fleming married Miss Minnie W. Gay, of Atlanta, a daughter of Capt. Edward S. and Mary E. Gay, and this union has been blessed with one son, Charles Campbell Fleming, Jr., born Sept. 29, 1892.  In conclusion is entered brief record concerning the brother and sister of Mr. Fleming:  Goode Holt Fleming was born in Griffin, Ga., Oct. 18, 1849, married Lizzie Meek, of Jacksonville, Fla., and died in Macon, Ga., Jan. 3, 1906; Allen Walter Fleming was born in Griffin and died in infancy, about 1857; James Martin Fleming was born in Griffin, Sept. 11, 1856, and still living; William Pope Fleming was born in Atlanta, married Miss Annie M. Johnson, of Macon, and now resides in Macon; Mary Elmina Fleming was born in Columbus, Ga., became the wife of Harry Mix, and died in Macon, Oct. 11, 1892.

[Source: Georgia: Sketches, Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions & People, Vol. 2, Publ. 1906 Transcribed By:  Maggie Coleman]

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