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Terrell
County
Biographies
Claude Worrell.
A member of the
Upson County bar for nearly thirty years, Claude Worrell, of Thomaston,
is generally acknowledged to possess a ready and sound judgment in
broad and intricate matters of civil and criminal jurisprudence, and
his knowledge of the law, with its logical, earnest and forceful
presentation, contribute to the eminent and substantial nature of his
reputation.
Mr. Worrell was born at Thomaston, Upson County, Georgia, May 14, 1863,
and is a son of Amos and Frances Amanda (Stewart) Worrell. His paternal
grandfather was a native of North Carolina, who founded the family in
Upson County, Georgia, while on the maternal side the Stewart family
was founded in this state by his great-grandfather, who located in
Hancock County. Amos Worrell was born in Georgia, and was for many
years a successful merchant at Thomaston. A man of absolute integrity,
he possessed in the fullest degree the confidence of his
fellow-citizens, who elected him to the office of ordinary of Upson
County, in which responsible capacity he served with dignity and
ability for nine years.
Educated in the public schools of Thomaston, Claude Worrell received
his introduction to legal affairs; in the office of his father, who was
then serving as ordinary, and subsequently studied for the profession
in various offices, being admitted to the bar at Thomaston in July,
1886. His attention has since been occupied by the duties of his
profession, and he has received a generous share of the important
litigation of the city involving both private and corporate interests,
having at this time a large and important general practice and being
also attorney for the Central of Georgia Power Company. He has been a
member of the Georgia State Bar Association for many years, and among
his fellow-practitioners, as well as the general public, is known as a
thorough, reliable and learned legist. While his professional duties
have been important and heavy, he has not been unmindful of the duties
of citizenship, and from 1907 until 1911 served Thomaston in the
capacity of mayor, his administration being made notable by a number of
civic achievements. Mr. Worrell is a member of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, and is at present serving as steward and as chairman of the
board of trustees
On June 30, 1896, Mr. Worrell was married to Miss Ada Juniper, of
Terrell County, Georgia, daughter of L. M. Juniper, a prosperous
agriculturist of Terrell County and former teacher of languages in
Robert E. Lee Institute.
A standard history of Georgia and Georgians, Volume 6 By Lucian
Lamar Knight
Transcribed and Contributed to Genealogy Trails by Kim Torp
W. H. Bennett.
To some the
acquirement of success seems a most difficult and elusive
accomplishment, but it will be found that failure usually results from
a lack of some of the elements which may be acquired by all,—
perseverance, energy, industry and resolute purpose. An analysis of the
life records of successful men records that these qualities have been
the contributory causes of their prosperity, and such is the case with
W. H. Bennett, postmaster and a leading and successful business man of
Tifton. His career was started amid discouraging surroundings, for he
came of parents in modest circumstances, and none of the advantages of
youth were granted him. He was required largely to secure his own
education, and when the time came for him to face life on his own
account there were no aiding influences to help him. Nevertheless, he
has worked his way perseveringly upward, and now, still in the prime of
life, he finds himself in a position of business independence and the
incumbent of a responsible public position.
Mr. Bennett was born in Decatur County, in the extreme southwest corner
of Georgia, October 21, 1875, and is a son of William Franklin and
Irenvia (Newsom) Bennett. His father, a native of Terrell County,
Georgia, lived at various times in different parts of the state,
devoted himself to planting and died at Cairo, Grady County, in 1910,
aged sixty years. Mr. Bennett's mother, who was born in Alabama and
reared in Mitchell County, Georgia, still resides at Cairo and is
sixty-five years of age.
W. H. Bennett was the eldest of the ten children born to his parents,
and he was early called upon to assist in the family support, as his
parents had but small financial means and the family home was on a
rented farm. His educational advantages were negligible. While the
youth had ambitions to better himself, he could be spared but little
from the duties of the home farm, and when he was allowed to attend the
country school, in the winter months, was compelled to tramp two miles
through the woods and swamps, his entire schooling being confined to
152 days of attendance. However, he never gave up his studies, and
often, after a long day of the hardest kind of work, he would devote
himself to his books until far into the night. In addition to his
regular studies, he applied himself to mastering the principles of
business, and thus was able, when the opportunity arose, to accept a
position with a mercantile firm at Jacksonville, Florida, and to
satisfy his employers so that they gave him a chance to learn the
business. He remained in a clerical capacity for several years, but was
always on the lookout to better himself, and finally secured a position
as traveling salesman for the Nelson Morris Packing Company, with
headquarters at Atlanta. This was a good position for a young man, and
for seven years he traveled through the state, all the time gaining
experience and saving his means. He was still not satisfied, however,
having the ambition to be at the head of a business of his own, and
this desire was realized in 1905, when he came to Tifton, and with his
brother established the firm of Bennett Brothers, dealers in
agricultural implements, buggies, wagons, etc. He had no previous
experience in this line, but his native ability, his salesmanship
capacity, his energy, enthusiasm and alertness, and the honorable
manner in which he carried on his affairs soon attracted custom to the
new firm, which soon took its place as a necessary commercial adjunct
in the growing and prosperous community. Today it is a substantial
business, with an excellent reputation in commercial circles, and
drawing its trade from all over this part of the state. It is not a
difficult matter to conjecture the character of Mr. Bennett, for in a
republican country, where merit must win, we can tell much from his
life from what he has accomplished. Inherited wealth may secure a start
but it cannot maintain an individual in a position where brains and
executive ability are required. Mr. Bennett, however, did not have
wealth to aid him in the beginning of his business career. His reliance
has been placed in the more substantial qualities of untiring
enterprise, perseverance and commendable zeal, and all of his actions
have been guided by an honesty and sincerity of purpose that none have
questioned. Mr. Bennett has been a democrat since casting his first
vote and has been an active worker in the ranks of his party. At the
postmaster's convention, held at Washington, District of Columbia,
October 21, 1915, he was introduced to and conversed with President
Wilson, it being a singular coincidence that this honor should come to
Mr. Bennett on his fortieth birthday. On January 8, 1915, Mr. Bennett
was appointed by President Wilson to the postmastership at Tifton, and
since that time has discharged the duties of his office in a manner
which has been of the greatest benefit to the mail service here,
stamping Mr. Bennett as a man of much official executive ability and as
one of the most popular officials Tifton has known. This is one of the
finest post-offices for a city of the size of Tifton in the state, the
edifice having been completed in August, 1914. Under Mr. Bennett's
jurisdiction are four rural carriers, one motor carrier and three city
carriers, five clerks and the assistant postmaster.
Mr. Bennett is a member of the Masons and the Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks, and with his family belongs to the Methodist Episcopal
Church.
On June 7, 1903, Mr. Bennett was married in Worth County, Georgia, to
Miss Sarah Catherin Warren, a member of a well known and highly
esteemed family of Worth County, and daughter of J. A. and Martha
Warren, a prominent planter of that locality. They are the parents of
two children: Eleanor, born October 9, 1906; and William Franklin, born
March 5, 1909, and both attending school at Tifton. (A standard
history of Georgia and Georgians, Volume 6 By Lucian Lamar Knight)
Transcribed and Contributed to Genealogy Trails by
Kim Torp
Stephen Pace.
When a
practical test of American patriotism was made in the summer of 1916 in
the calling of the National Guard into service on the Mexican border,
many young men made almost extraordinary sacrifices in order that they
might perform their duty to the nation. One of these young men was
Stephen Pace, who gave up a promising practice as a lawyer at Americus,
and readily accepted the station and the remuneration of the soldier
for the purpose of fighting—as his friends all expected—with the
hostile faction in Mexico.
Mr. Pace enlisted in the Georgia National Guard in June, 1916, as a
private, and four days later was promoted to corporal. He was in the
service nearly two months, and in August, 1916, was given an honorable
discharge. On returning home he entered the race for the Legislature
from his home county, and was elected in the primaries over five
opposing candidates. His presence in the next legislative session of
Georgia is looked upon as a good omen of the efficiency and
progressiveness of that body.
Mr. Stephen Pace was born in Terrell County, Georgia, March 9, 1891,
and though only twenty-five years of age has accomplished a great deal,
all of which is a promise of still greater achievements in the future.
His parents were Olin Stephen Pace, Sr., and Marrianna Hunter (Saville)
Pace, both of whom represented old and honored Southern families and
both of whom lived in Terrell County until they died. His father was an
extensive and successful planter and was also prominently identified
with the lumber business in Terrell County. He was born in North
Carolina, and the Pace family was founded in Virginia in the early
colonial era of our national history. The mother was born in Stewart
County, Georgia, where her father was a citizen of substantial fortune
and much influence.
The public schools of Dawson, Terrell County, were the medium through
which Stephen Pace acquired his preliminary education. He continued his
studies until graduating from high school with the class of 1908. Later
he took the course of the Georgia School of Technology in Atlanta, and
finally entered the law department of the University of Georgia, where
he applied himself with characteristic diligence and made an excellent
record as a student. He was graduated with the class of 1914. Having
attained one object of his ambition, the degree Bachelor of Laws, he
entered the offices of Hon. James A. Hixon, of Americus, with whom he
continued to be associated in practice until he formed a law
partnership with Thomas O. Marshall, in the firm of Marshall &
Pace. During its brief existence this firm gained a splendid reputation
at the bar of the Southwestern Judicial Circuit
Mr. Pace is a loyal supporter of the cause of the democratic party. He
is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, of Americus, one
of the board of missions of the church, and is affiliated with the
Sigma Nu college fraternity, the Masons, and the Woodmen of the World.
He is a popular factor in the professional, business and social circles
of his adopted city, and his friends are unanimous in predicting for
him a great future.
(A standard history of Georgia and Georgians, Volume 6 By Lucian
Lamar Knight)
Transcribed and Contributed to Genealogy Trails by Kim Torp
KNOTT, WILLIAM
V.,
State treasurer
and insurance commissioner of Florida, was born in Terrell county,
Georgia, November 24, 1863. He received a common school education, and
was engaged for a time in agricultural and horticultural pursuits. He
was auditor of state for six years, and was appointed to his present
position in February, 1903, being elected for the full term of four
years in 1904, and again in 1908. He resides at Tallahassee, the
capital.
[Hayden's annual cyclopedia of insurance in the United States, 1911]
Transcribed and Contributed to Genealogy Trails by Kim Torp
ALEXANDER B.
DUNCAN,
Senator from
the Tenth district, is a native of Terrell county, Georgia, where he
was born on February 10, 1849. He is the son of A. B. and Mrs. E. A.
Duncan, who were prominent residents of Terrell county at that time.
Dr. Duncan was married in Lee county August 28, 1890, and has two
children—Steve A. and Mary Belle.
Dr. Duncan graduated in medicine in Philadelphia in March, 1868, and
has practiced in Lee county for a number of years where he is held in
high esteem. He was elected 10 the House in 1898 and served two terms
in succession. His native ability and professional attainments have
made him a most valuable legislator. [Georgia's public men
1902-1904, By Thomas W. Loyless, 1902]
Transcribed and Contributed to Genealogy Trails by
Kim Torp
James Lemuel
Jay, Jr.,
General
Manager
Tifton
Terminal Rd. Office Tifton, Ga.
Born March 3, 1874, in Terrell County, Georgia.
Entered railway service
1892, since which he has been consecutively, two months flagman Plant
System, six months baggage-master same system; 1892 to 1893, delivery
clerk Central of Georgia Ry at Albany, Ga.; 1893 and 1894 in other
business; 1895 to Jan. 1896, cashier Savannah Americus & Montgomery
Ry at Albany, Ga., and clerk general office Albany & Northern Ry at
Albany, Ga.; 1896, agent Georgia & Alabama Rd at Fitzgerald, Ga.;
1897 to July 23. 1898, soliciting agent Tifton & Northeastern Rd at
Fitzgerald, Ga., and agent same road at Tifton, Ga.; July 23, 1898, to
date, successively auditor same road and general manager Tifton
Terminal Rd.
Source: [Who's who in railroading in North America, Volume 1906]
Transcribed and Contributed to Genealogy Trails by Kim Torp
John
Robert Mercer
Mercer, John Robert, of Dawson, Terrell
county, a
prominent farmer and business man, was born near Preston, Webster
county, Ga., Oct. 31, 1854, a son of William H. and Mary E.
(Boyd) Mercer, the former born in Columbia
county, Ga.,
in 1830, and the latter in Edgefield county, S.C., in 1835. William H.
Mercer
was a valiant soldier of the Confederacy during the entire period of
the Civil
war, having enlisted as a private and been promoted to corporal within
the
first year of his service, and later was made orderly sergeant. Shortly
afterward he was captured and was held as a prisoner until nearly the
close of
the war, when, with thirty-nine privates, he was exchanged. After the
war he
served nearly twenty years as tax collector of Webster county. His
reputation
for genial waggishness and wit has clung to him from his youth to the
present
and his friends greatly enjoy his good-humored jocularity and pleasing
quips.
He has devoted the major part of his active career to agricultural
pursuits, but
leased his lands a few years ago and has since lived retired, having
reached
the age of nearly four score years. John R. Mercer received limited
educational
training in the schools of Webster county, and continued to be
identified with
the operation of the home plantation until 1870, when he secured a
position as
salesman in the general store of his uncle, Phillip E. Boyd, of Leary,
Calhoun
county, and rose to the position of head clerk and buyer. In 1879 he
removed to
Dawson, where
he was associated with his father-in-law, John B. Perry, in the private
banking
business until 1887. He then organized the First State Bank of Dawson.
In 1894 he retired
from the active executive work of the bank, being succeeded by his
nephew, J.
Mercer Bell. He has been the largest original stockholder in all three
of the
banks of Dawson, and now owns the controlling interests in two, -- the
First
State and the City National, being a director of each of these, as well
as in
all of the principal incorporated enterprises of Dawson, including the
Dawson
Compress & Storage Company, the Dawson Square Bale Gin & Mill
Company,
the Dawson Consolidated Grocery Company, the Farmers’ Oil &
Fertilizer
Company, the Variety Works Company, and the Condray Power Company. He
retains
large farming interests in this section, is a dealer in real estate and
extends
loans on real estate security. He is a Democrat of the uncompromising
type and
he is now serving his third term as mayor of Dawson. For more than a
quarter of a century
he has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church South, of which
Mrs.
Mercer also is a devoted member. On Aug. 20, 1879, Mr. Mercer was
united in
marriage to Miss Ella R. Perry, daughter of John B. and Martha W.
(Loge) Perry,
of Warren
county. They have no children, but it has been their pleasure to aid in
the
education of a large number of young folks, while to them is accorded
the
unreserved esteem of the entire community.
(Source:
Georgia
Sketches of Counties,
Towns, Events, Institutions,
and
Persons, VOL II,
by Candler & Evans, Publ. 1906. Transcribed by Kim Mohler)
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