Newton
County
Georgia
Bios
Hollingsworth, Samuel L., who was
long in railroad service, in the capacity of conductor, is now engaged
in the grocery business in Augusta, having an attractive and thoroughly
metropolitan retail establishment, at the corner of Telfair and Ninth
streets. Mr. Hollingsworth was born on a plantation in Newton county,
Ga., Sept. 14, 1858, and is a son of James M. and Martha Hollingsworth,
both of whom were likewise born in Newton county, the former on Dec.
22, 1824, and the latter on Dec. 23, 1828. The father, who was a
prosperous planter and a man of influence in his community, died in
October, 1892, and his wife passed away in September, 1899. They
resided in that portion of Newton county which is now included in
Rockdale county. They are survived by four children, of whom the
subject of this sketch is the only son. Elizabeth is the widow of J.C.
Granade; Mary is the wife of E.J. Argo; and Sudie is the wife of W.Y.
Nelms, of Atlanta. The elder sisters reside in Rockdale county. Samuel
L. Hollingsworth was reared on the homestead plantation, and his early
educational advantages were those afforded by the common schools of
Rockdale county. In 1883 he entered the employ of the Georgia railroad,
in the capacity of flagman, serving three years and then being promoted
to the position of freight conductor. Six years later he was made a
passenger conductor, and continued to hold this position for ten years,
at the expiration of which, on Sept. 13, 1902, he resigned his position
to engage in the retail grocery business in Augusta, having since given
his entire attention to this enterprise. His establishment is one of
the best in the city and controls a large and prosperous trade. Mr.
Hollingsworth’s eldest son, Panola V., is associated with him in the
business, under the firm name of Hollingsworth & Co. Mr.
Hollingsworth is a Democrat, a Master Mason, a member of the First
Presbyterian church, and is identified with the Merchants’ protective
association and the Order of Railway Conductors. On Dec. 21, 1876, he
was united in marriage to Miss Mary Leila Marbut, of Rockdale county,
and they have five children, viz.: Ada Viola, Libbie S., Panola V.,
Grady DeWitt, and Scott. Ada V. is the wife of C.W. Brown, a
representative hardware merchant of Augusta, and Libbie S. is the wife
of W.W. Zealy, of Athens, Ga.
(Source: Georgia Sketches of
Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, VOL II, by Candler
& Evans, Publ. 1906. Transcribed by Kim Mohler)
Jones
Robert
T., president of the Canton cotton mills, of Canton,
Cherokee county, is one of the prominent and influential business men
of this section of the state and one of the honored citizens of Canton,
where his interests are large and varied. He was born and reared in
Newton county, Ga., and has maintained his home in Canton since
September, 1879, when he here established himself in the general
merchandise business, in which he has since continued without
interruption. Through his able management and sterling integrity of
purpose, this enterprise has grown from modest proportions to one of
distinctive scope and importance, and it has been pronounced the most
extensive of the sort in the state. His annual business now aggregates
about $250,000. In addition to the main establishment, in Canton, Mr.
Jones operates three branch stores, in all of which general merchandise
is carried in such variety and completeness as to anticipate all
demands of the trade patronage. Within the summer of 1906 he will have
completed a modern fertilizer factory, from which he will supply his
large trade in this commodity, said trade now demanding about 2,000
tons of fertilizer each year. Mr. Jones has conducted his extensive
business under his individual name, but in 1906 he secured a charter
and has incorporated his business under the title of the Jones
Mercantile Company, the same having a paid-up capital of $125,000. The
interested principals in the concern include, in addition to himself,
his son Paul W. and several of the trusted and valued men who have been
in his employ for a number of years. It is the intention of Mr Jones to
commit practically the entire management of the new business when
organized to his son, Paul W., who has, it would seem, partaken in a
large measure of his father's business tact and executive ability. The
business of the company is certain to be cumulative in scope under the
extended facilities, for its enterprise is based on the unblemished
reputation, marked success and personal popularity of its founder. In
the year 1892 was organized and incorporated the Bank of Canton, with a
paid-up capital stock of $25,000. Mr. Jones was elected first president
of the institution and has since continued to serve in this capacity.
The bank now has a surplus fund of $40,000, after paying annual
dividends of eight per cent. The original stock of the bank was issued
at a par value of $100 a share and the same can not be bought to-day
for $400 a share. This is to-day considered one of the best managed and
most substantial of the smaller banking institutions of the state. In
1900, with the cooperation of representative citizens of this section
of the state, Mr. Jones organized the Canton Cotton Mills, which
concern was duly incorporated under the laws of Georgia, with a capital
of $100,000, fully paid in. Mr. Jones was elected president and
treasurer of the company, of which dual office he still remains the
incumbent. This important industrial concern has paid an annual
dividend of eight per cent.; has accumulated a surplus fund of
$120,000; and its stock is valued above $200 a share. All these data
indicate how splendidly the enterprise has prospered under the able
administration of Mr. Jones. The mills occupy a substantial two-story
brick building, 452 feet in length by 85 feet in width, the product of
the plant is exclusively denim, and its capacity is for the output of
6,200 pounds of finished goods per day. The mills afford employment to
250 hands and the value of the enterprise in the immediate community is
thus increased. The stock is held entirely by residents of Cherokee
county, Mr. Jones having the controlling interest. He is also president
and treasurer of the Georgia marble finishing works, of Canton, which
has a capital of $50,000, fully paid in. This enterprise was
established in a modest way, in 1891, by T. M. Brady, and in 1905 a
stock company was formed, with capital stock as above indicated, Mr.
Jones taking the majority of the stock. This concern is likewise
prospering no less substantially than the others with which Mr. Jones
has identified himself, and the company now has a surplus of more than
$15,000. From the statements here entered it will be seen that the
enterprises which have thus been founded and managed by Mr. Jones
represent a capitalistic investment of practically half a million
dollars, and all are in excellent financial condition, adding
materially to the industrial and commercial prestige of the county and
the state. For nearly thirty years Mr. Jones has been identified with
the business and civic interests of Cherokee county and the town of
Canton, and the best voucher of his sterling character is that afforded
in the unbounded confidence and esteem in which he is held in the
community. His friends are equal in number to his acquaintances, and
all seem ready to aid and cooperate with him in any enterprise which he
undertakes, realizing his administrative and initiative ability and
appreciating his liberality and public spirit. Such are the men who
have made Georgia what it is to-day, the veritable "Empire State of the
South." In politics Mr. Jones is a Democrat, for sound money and
protective tariff. He has been a Mason since 1883, and in 1873 joined
the Missionary Baptist church, of which he has been a deacon since
1880. He has been superintendent of the Baptist Sunday school since
1899, and his efforts in this direction have been productive of fine
results. On Oct. 15, 1878, Mr. Jones was married to Miss Susie S.
Walker of Covington. Eleven children were born of this union, four of
whom died in infancy. Mrs. Jones died April 17, 1899, and on April 17,
1901, Mr. Jones was married to Mrs. Lily Cross of Canton, and they have
three children.
(Source: Georgia Sketches of
Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, VOL II, by Candler
& Evans, Publ. 1906. Transcribed by Tracy McAllister)
Livingston,
Leonidas
Felix, was born in Newton county in 1832, of
Scotch-Irish parentage. He attended the common schools and on
arriving at maturity engaged in farming. He was a private in the
Confederate army from August, 1861, to May, 1865; served in both
branches of the state legislature; was vice-president of the state
agricultural society for eleven years; president of the same
association for four years; was elected representative in Congress as a
Democrat in 1890, and re-elected to the same position at each election
up to 1904.
(Source: Georgia Sketches of
Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, VOL II, by Candler
& Evans, Publ. 1906. Transcribed by Joanne Morgan)
PRUET, WILBOURNE ROUNDTREE, farmer,
was born February 27, 1844, at McDonough, Newton County, Ga.; son of
Alexander and Mildred Roundtree (Wilbourne) Pruet, the former who was a
native of Spartanburg County, S. C., a veteran of the War of 1812;
grandson of Obadiah and Mary (Palmer) Pruet, of South Carolina, and of
Ellsha and Mildred (Cox) Wilbourne, also of South Carolina, both
grandfathers serving in the Revolutionary War. Mr. Pruet received his
education in the common schools of what is now Clay County; was school
trustee for thirteen years; was one of the county pension examiners,
having entered on his service in 1899 and serving until 1905, and again
going into office in 1911 and serving until 1915; and was a
representative in the legislature of 1915 from Clay County. He was a
member of Co. I, Thirtieth Alabama infantry regiment, C. S. Army; was
wounded and captured at Baker's Creek, Miss.; imprisoned at Ft.
Delaware, Md., and Pt. Lookout. He is commander of Camp Pettus, United
Confederate Veterans, at Ashland, and a major in the Fourth Brigade,
United Confederate Veterans. He is a Democrat; a Baptist; and a Mason.
Married: September 12, 1867, to Susan Francis Danielly, daughter of
John and Martha (Castleberry) Danielly, of Louina; (2) September 6,
1883, to Lucy Ann Kirk, daughter of Stephen and Sarah Ann (Danielly)
Kirk. Children, by first marriage: 1. Eliza Mildred, m. G. W. Arnold;
2. Nancy Malinda, m. Charlie O. Horn; 3. John Alexander, m. Leora
Black; 4. Carson Floyd, deceased; 5. Bennett Wilbourne, m. Vernie
Allen; 6. Francis Danielly, m. Myrtle Wesley; 7. Hiram Owen, deceased;
by second marriage: 8. William Stephen, deceased; 9. Clarence Madison,
m. Bessie Ellis; 10. Fannie Lola, deceased; 11. infant boy, deceased;
12. May, deceased; 13. Wilbourne Respus, deceased. Residence: Ashland.
[History of Alabama and
dictionary of Alabama biography, Volume 4 By Thomas McAdory Owen, Mrs.
Marie (Bankhead) Owen, 1921 – Transcribed by AFOFG]
Robert J. Henderson
Robert J. Henderson was
born in Newton County on November 20, 1822. After being well educated
he took up the work of his father as a farmer and miller, and was in
prosperous circumstances prior to the Civil war. A prominent citizen
of his section, he was a major in the State Militia before the Civil
war came on. When that struggle opened he became colonel of the
Forty-second Georgia Regiment, and was afterward promoted to be
brigadier-general. His farms were devastated by Sherman's army and his
mills destroyed. Returning from the army he rebuilt his flouring mills
in Newton County, and resumed his former occupations. After many years
of industrious effort he retired from business in 1892 and moved to
Atlanta, where he died in February, 1894.
A Standard History Of Georgia
and Georgians by Lucian Lamar Knight Volume 3
