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Georgia Genealogy Trails "Where your Journey Begins" |
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Wilkes County Biographies
Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present - Contributed by A. Newell
Pitner, James M., is successfully engaged in the practice of law in Washington, Wilkes County, and is also the able incumbent of the office of county school commissioner. He was born in Lumpkin County, Ga., Oct. 20, 1873, and is a son of Elijah S. and Martha (Simmons) Pitner, the former born in Tennessee, in 1842, and the latter in Lumpkin County in 1847. The father was a loyal soldier of the Confederacy during the Civil war, having been a member of a Georgia regiment, under Captain Asbury. After attending the schools of his native county, James M. Pitner entered the North Georgia agricultural college, at Dahlonega, Lumpkin County, where he effectively supplemented his earlier educational training. He was a successful teacher in the public schools for a period of six years, and in the meanwhile took up the study of law, well fortifying himself in the learning of the same and being admitted to the bar in 1900. In the same year he established himself in the practice of his profession in Washington, succeeding from the very beginning, and now has an excellent practice, which is constantly expanding in scope and importance. In 1904 he was elected to the office of county school commissioner and gives effective administration to the duties of this position, in addition to his unabating devotion to the work of his profession. He is an unwavering supporter of the Democratic party and is a member of the Masonic fraternity. On June 5, 1900, Mr. Pitner was united in marriage to Miss Annie West, daughter of Rev. Thomas B. and Mildred West, of Thomson, Ga. Of this union have been born two children, Marion, who died in infancy, and Mildred, who is the living child. Source: Cyclopedia of Georgia Transcribed by Friends for Free Genealogy OLIVER H. PRINCE, lawyer, United States Senator, literary man and industrial promoter, one of the brilliant figures of Georgia in the first half of the nineteenth century, was born in Connecticut about 1787. On his mother's side he was descended from the Hillhouse family, long a leading one in Connecticut. His grandfather, William Hillhouse, served fifty years in the General Assembly of Connecticut, both in the colonial times and after it was a State. He was a judge of the Court of Common Pleas for forty years, and a delegate from Connecticut to the Continental Congress from 1783 to 1786, and died in 1816, aged eighty-eight. His uncle, James Hillhouse, son of William, born 1754, was a lawyer and served in the Second and Third Congresses as a Federalist, succeeded Oliver Ellsworth in the United States Senate, serving from 1796 until 1810, member of the Hartford Convention, commissioner of the school fund from 1810 to 1825, and treasurer of Yale College from 1782 to 1S32, a period of fifty years. David Hillhouse, a brother of the Senator, made Georgia his home, and it was through him that O. H. Prince came to the State in his youth. A brilliant young man, he was ready for admission to the bar before he was of age, and was admitted by special act of the Legislature in 1806. He gained reputation almost from the start and sustained himself with great ability for thirty years. On the resignation of Thomas W. Cobb from the United States Senate in 1828 Mr. Prince was elected to fill the vacancy for the unexpired term. The contest was very close and he won only by one vote. He married a Miss Norman, whose sister became Mrs. Washington Poe, of Macon. But one child survived him, Mrs. James Mercer Green. His only son, who bore his father's name and inherited his intellect, was afflicted with ill health and died suddenly after arriving at manhood. He had his father's strong sense of humor and kindliness. This son left several children. A daughter of O. H. Prince married James Roswell King. She died comparatively young. James W. King, of Roswell, was her son. In 1822 Mr. Prince published a Digest of the Laws of Georgia, and in 1827 a second publication of the same. In 1837 his Digest had then been in use for fifteen years, and it was time for a new edition. It had been accepted by the Legislature, and Mr. Prince went north with his wife to supervise the publication. He took the steamship "Home" from New York to Charleston, the first passenger steamer on that route, and this being its second trip. The "Home" was wrecked, October 9, 1837, in a storm near Ocracoke Bar, N. C. Of ninety passengers on board only twenty were saved, and among the lost were Mr. Prince and his wife. Fortunately, the publication of the Digest was already assured, and it served the legal profession up to 1851, when it was superseded by the Digest of Thomas R. R. Cobb. In addition to being both a brilliant and strong lawyer, Mr. Prince was a man of fine literary taste, the author of many humorous sketches, one of which, an account of a militia drill in Georgia, having been translated in several languages, and later reproduced in Judge Longstreet's famous book entitled "Georgia Scenes." Mr. Prince presided at the first Convention called in the State of Georgia for the purpose of promoting railroad building, and took an active interest in that movement, which in the fifteen years succeeding his death resulted in securing three great railway lines for Georgia. His sense of humor is said by his contemporaries to have been coupled with great kindness of heart, which made him not only a delightful companion, but a most popular man. His character was most exemplary and his untimely death was greatly mourned by his contemporaries. Source: "Men of Mark in Georgia: a complete and elaborate history...", Volume 2 By William J. Northen - transcribed by Barb Ziegenmeyer Talbot, Matthew, Governor and Legislator, was born in Virginia. He settled in Wilkes county, Ga., which he repeatedly represented in the legislature, but later removed to Oglethorpe county. In 1798 he was a member of the convention which drafted the state constitution; was elected state senator in 1808; president of the senate from 1818 to 1821 and became, governor ex-officio on the death of Governor Rabun, in 1819. He died in Wilkes county, Sept. 17, 1827. Talbot county was named in his honor. Source: "Men of Mark in Georgia: a complete and elaborate history...", Volume 2 By William J. Northen - transcribed by Barb Ziegenmeyer Taliaferro, Benjamin, was a native of Virginia. His opportunities to acquire an education were limited, but he made the best of them. During the Revolutionary war he served under Morgan and was captured by the British at Charleston. After the war he settled in Georgia; was elected state senator; delegate to the constitutional convention of 1798; representative in Congress in 1798 and again in 1800; and later was judge of the superior court. He died in Wilkes county in 1821. Taliaferro county was named in his honor. Source: "Men of Mark in Georgia: a complete and elaborate history...", Volume 2 By William J. Northen - transcribed by Barb Ziegenmeyer Toombs, Robert, soldier and statesman, was born at Washington, Wilkes county, July 10, 1810. After attending the University of Georgia and the Union college of New York he graduated in law at the University of Virginia, in 1828. Being still under age he was admitted to the bar by special act of the legislature. He served as captain in the campaign against the Creek Indians; was elected to the legislature in 1838; reflected each succeeding term until 1844, when he entered Congress as a representative. In 1854 he was elected United States senator by the Constitutional Union party. As an advocate of the doctrine of state rights and later of secession, he made many eloquent speeches. When Lincoln was elected president Mr. Toombs at once informally quitted the senate and returned to Georgia, where he threw himself, heart and soul, into the work of urging forward the secession movement He was a member of the secession convention of 1861, and was appointed on the committee to draft the ordinance that severed Georgia's connection with the Union. At the Montgomery convention he was favorably mentioned for the presidency of the Confederate States, but declined the nomination. For a time he served as secretary of state under the Davis administration, but resigned this position to take a more active part in the conflict He was commissioned brigadier-general July 21, 1861; participated in the operations of the army in Maryland and Virginia, and won special fame at Sharpsburg by his defense of the bridge. He resigned his commission and in 1864 was made adjutant and inspector-general of the Georgia state troops. After the surrender an order was issued for his arrest and he spent two years in Cuba, France, and England, returning to Georgia in 1867. He died at Washington, where he was born Dec. 15, 1885. Source: "Men of Mark in Georgia: a complete and elaborate history...", Volume 2 By William J. Northen - transcribed by Barb Ziegenmeyer Towns, George W., governor and Congressman, was born in Wilkes county, May 4, 1802. After reaching maturity he studied law in Alabama and began practice in that state, where he also edited a political paper. On his return to Georgia in 1826 he located in Talbot county and soon built up a successful practice. He served in both branches of the state legislature; was elected to the lower branch of Congress in 1834 and.1836; in 1846 he was again elected representative to fill the unexpired term of Washington Poe, resigned, and in 1847 was chosen governor. His administration was marked by wisdom and a thorough knowledge of public matters, and in 1849 he was reflected. His death occurred at Macon, July 15, 1854. Source: "Men of Mark in Georgia: a complete and elaborate history...", Volume 2 By William J. Northen - transcribed by Barb Ziegenmeyer ANDREWS, Miss Eliza Frances, author and educator, horn in Washington, Ga., 10th August, 1847. Her father was Judge Garnett Andrews, an eminent jurist and the author of a book of amusing sketches entitled "Reminiscences of an Old Georgia Lawyer." Among others of her immediate family who have distinguished themselves are her brother, Col. Garnett Andrews, a brave Confederate officer and the present mayor of Chattanooga, and her niece, Maude Andrews, of the Atlanta "Constitution." Soon after the death of her father, in 1873, his estate was wrecked by one of those "highly moral" defaulters, whose operations .Miss Andrews has vividly portrayed in her novel, "A Mere Adventurer" (Philadelphia, 1879). The old homestead was sold, and Miss Andrews was reduced to the necessity of toiling for her daily bread. Though wholly unprepared, either by nature or training, for a life of self dependence, she wasted no time in sentimental regrets, but courageously prepared to meet the situation Journalism was hardly at that time a recognized profession for women in Georgia, and Miss Andrews, whose natural timidity and reserve had been fostered by the traditions in which she was reared, shrank from striking out into a new path. She did a little literary work secretly, but turned rather to teaching as a profession. For six months she edited a country newspaper, unknown to the proprietor himself, who had engaged a man to do the work at a salary of forty dollars a month. The pseudo-editor, feeling himself totally incompetent, offered Miss Andrews one-half of the salary if she would do the writing for him, and, being in great straits at the time, she accepted the unequal terms, doing all the actual work, while the duties of the -ostensible editor were limited to taking the exchanges out of the post-office and drawing his half of the pay. After a few months the senior member of this unequal partnership, finding employment elsewhere, recommended Miss Andrews as his successor, a proposition to which the proprietor of the paper would not hear, declaring in his wisdom that it was impossible for a woman to fill such a position. Even when assured that one had actually been filling it for six months, he persisted in his refusal on the ground that editing a paper was not proper work for a woman. This, with exception of a few news letters to the New York "World," written about the same time, was Miss Andrews' first essay in journalism, and her experience on that occasion, together with similar experiences in other walks, has perhaps had something to do with making her such an ardent advocate of a more enlarged sphere of action for women. In spite of this unpromising beginning, she has been successful both as writer and teacher, and had gone far towards retrieving her shattered fortunes when her health failed. She spent eighteen months under treatment in a private hospital, and for two years more was compelled to withdraw from active life. Even under these adverse circumstances her energetic nature asserted itself, and "Prince Hal," an idyl of old-time plantation life, was written when she was so ill that she often had to lie in bed with her hands propped on a pillow to write. After a winter in Florida, in which she wrote a series of letters for the Augusta "Chronicle," she recovered her strength so far as to be able to accept an important position in the Wesleyan College in Macon, Ga., where she has remained for six or seven years, and in that time has added to her literary reputation that of a successful platform speaker. Her lectures on " The Novel as a Work of Art," "Jack and Jill," and "The Ugly Girl," delivered at the Piedmont Chautauqua, Monteagle, Tenn., and other places, have attracted wide attention. Besides being a fine linguist, speaking French and German fluently, and reading Latin with ease, she is probably the most accomplished field botanist in the South. Her literary work has been varied. From the solemn grandeur that marks the closing paragraphs of "Prince Hal" down to such popular sketches as "Uncle Edom and the Book Agent," or "The Dog Fight at Big Lick Meetin' House," her pen has ranged through nearly every field of literary activity. It is, perhaps, in what may be called the humorous treatment of serious subjects that her talent finds its best expression, as in her witty reply to Grant Allen on the woman question ("Popular Science Monthly"), or her "Plea' for the Ugly Girls" ("Lippincott's Magazine"). "A Family Secret" (Philadelphia, 1876) is the most popular of her novels. This was followed by "How He was Tempted" published as a serial in the Detroit "Free Press." "Prince Hal" (Philadelphia, 1882), is the last of her works issued in book form. Her later writings have been published as contributions to different newspapers and periodicals. Her poems have been too few to warrant a judgment upon her as a writer of verse, but one of them, entitled "Haunted." shows how intimately the humorous and the pathetic faculties may be connected in the same mind. (American Women, Fifteen Hundred Biographies, Vol 1, Publ. 1897. Transcribed by Marla Snow.) JOHN H. WILKINSON Judge of the Court of Ordinary of Fulton county, and one of the leading members of the Masonic fraternity in the State, is a native Georgian, born at Newnan on June 20, 1856, son of Major Urial Baylis and Amelia T. (Spratlin) Wilkinson. On both sides of the family Judge Wilkinson is of pure English stock. His paternal grandfather, Thomas Wilkinson, resided at York, Virginia, and this Thomas Wilkinson came down in direct line of descent from Lawrence Wilkinson, of Durham, England, who married a daughter of Sir John Conyers and settled in Providence, Rhode Island, about 1645. The coat of arms granted to this branch of the Wilkinson family dates from 1615, during the reign of King James I. Judge Wilkinson's mother could trace her ancestry back to Caleb Callaway, 1660, and through the Hills of Wilkes county, to Abraham Hill, born in Northumberland county, Virginia, in 1608, a son of Henry Hill, who was born in 1650. On both sides of his family, therefore, Judge Wilkinson's people were among the earliest settlers of America. In the present generation in England, the family is very highly connected, there being eight or ten members in high position in the military and civil service, and several of them connected with the peer age by marriage. Judge Wilkinson's father, Major V. B. JOHN ROBERT WILKINSON Wilkinson, was born in Wilkes county, Georgia, in 1819, and died at Newnan in 1897. During his long life he was recognized as one of the strong men of Western Georgia, holding many positions of honor and trust, all of which came to him unsought. He served the Confederacy faithfully, both in military and civil capacities. In 1880 Coweta county sent him to the General Assembly on the largest vote ever cast in the county up to that time. It is said that during a session of 116 days he was never once absent from his seat, and was the father of much important legislation. Judge John R. Wilkinson obtained his early education in the schools of Newnan. In 1874 he entered Mercer University, but when half through his Junior year he was compelled to leave college because of weak eyes. He became cashier of the Peoples Bank of Newnan in 1876, being then only a youth of twenty, and held this position for about eight years. In 1884 he moved to Atlanta, and for several years was engaged in the wholesale paper and paper products business. An earnest believer in the principles and policies of the Democratic party, and a faithful worker for the cause of that party, he became a man of some note in its local councils. In 1890-91, he served as Deputy Clerk of the City Council. In 1900 he was elected Ordinary, reelected in 1904 and again in 1908, being now in his third term and his ninth year of service. In this position, a very important one, involving the entire probate business of the county and the settlement of estates, he has rendered such efficient service that all indications point to his continuance as long as he cares to fill the place. For forty years he has been a member of the Baptist church, and in 1904 became a deacon of the First Baptist Church of Atlanta. Outside of his official duties and his church work, he has given much time to the Masonic fraternity, of which be is one of the most distinguished members in the Southern jurisdiction. He is Past Master of Gate City Lodge No. 2, Past High Priest of Mt. Zion Chapter No. 16, Past Thrice Illustrious Master of Jason Burr Council No. 13, Past Eminent Commander of Atlanta Commandery No. 9, is Chief Rabban of Yaarab Temple of the Mystic Shrine, and was for a number of years secretary of the Board of the Masonic Temple Company, of which he is now vice.president In October, 1901, he received the thirty-third degree of the Scottish Rite in Washington, D. C, and was made special deputy of the rite in Atlanta. In 1901, and again in 1903, he was elected Chancellor of the Knights Commander of the Court of Honor. In 1903, the Royal Order of Scotland was conferred upon him. On December 15, 1905, he was elected Sovereign of St. Justin Council No. 17, Atlanta, Georgia. On June 11, 1909, Grand Sovereign Emanuel F. Hartzell appointed him an Grand Sentinel of the Grand Imperial Council. The retiring Grand Sovereign, Samuel L. Bliss, of Chicago, appointed him Intend ant-General for the States of Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida. In 1905, he was elected Grand Royal Arch Captain of the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons. From this position, he has steadily risen to the position of Grand King. He was elected Thrice Illustrious Grand Master on April 27, 1909, of Royal and Select Masters of Georgia. He is Grand Representative of the jurisdictions of Quebec, Mississippi, and Maryland, near the grand bodies of Georgia. On November 26, 1878, Judge Wilkinson married Miss Annie Wade Wood, daughter of Captain Winston B. and Marian L. (Dent) Wood, of Newnan. Of this marriage there have been four children of whom two are living: William Barrett and Harry Eugene Wilkinson. As an illustration of what the Wilkinson family has done in our country it may be cited that, in 1869, the Rev. Israel Wilkinson, A.M., of Jacksonville, Illinois, starting in with Lawrence Wilkinson, the American founder of the family, undertook to trace out its record in America. The history took a large volume of 585 pages. Judge Wilkinson is a capable, industrious and upright citizen, who has won both the respect and esteem of the community, which he has now served faithfully for many years. Source: Men of Mark in Georgia JAMES
MONROE SMITH
This distinguished farmer was born September 18, 1839, in Wilkes County, Georgia. He is of English descent, his grandparents coming to this country from England and settling in Maryland. His father, Zadok Smith, was a native of the Old Dominion, who, in 1805, moved to Wilkes County and, in a section that was but sparsely settled, began his life work as a tiller of the soil. He was a man of remarkable energy, possessed of splendid judgment, of unquestioned probity and of an intensely religious nature. His mother, Phoebe Vaughn, was a native of Georgia, a woman of strong mentality, gentle disposition and domestic virtues, faithful throughout a long life to the duties of home and church. Upon the life of their son their influence had a marked effect and even in his youth the characteristics of both parents were plainly seen in the developing character of the boy. Vigorous and healthy in his boyhood, while yet a mere child he became his father's main help on the farm. For eight years he labored without complaining as a farm hand and learned to love the work to which in later years he has devoted the best energies of his life. In this school of experience he laid the foundations of a future career. Never shirking manual labor, he nevertheless had aspirations to secure a mental training that would better fit him for the battle of life. The only schools within his roach were the old field schools, whose sessions of three months in each year after the crops had been laid by, afforded but scant facilities for mental development, but be seized with avidity tho opportunity that presented itself and steadily advanced, always standing at the head of his classes. Possessed of a marked literary taste, be had an educational ambition that refused to be circumscribed by the narrow limits of his rural environment. Selecting a college where the expenses of living would come within his very limited means, he entered the classes of Hiawassee College, a leading institution in East Tennessee. During his vacation periods he would teach school in order to supply himself with money with which to continue his course of study in college. So depleted were his funds at one time that he was compelled to teach an entire year before returning to his college classes. Nothing daunted, he struggled onward and in graduated with honor in a class, many of whose members have since achieved distinction in life. Fresh from the halls of his Alma Mater, be faced the question of service in the Confederate Army, and, inheriting the valor of his father, who had served as a Captain in the War of IK 12, be enlisted as a private and marched to the front beneath the Stars and Bars. Failing eyesight, an affliction that still gives him much trouble at times, caused him to be transferred into a lighter branch of the service, in which he remained during the greater part of the war. At the close of the War between the States he found himself without funds and facing the serious problems of life. Managing to earn a few dollars, he brought to his aid all the splendid faculties of mind and the energy and determination that had never failed him. He possessed no little genius in a mechanical way and by repairing watches and clocks, overhauling buggies and wagons, and like work he accumulated a few hundred dollars. Then he took a contract to furnish a large number of ties for the Georgia Railroad and completed this work with a profit to his credit. With the money he had saved he purchased a small farm in Oglethorpe County in 1866 and began his life work, a work that has been crowned with success such as comes to few men. On account of unfavorable seasons, poor and worn land, he did not meet with much success in farming for three or four years. He had his ups and downs, but he had an abiding faith in the future of Georgia and believed that no better place could be found for his earnings than the soil of his native State. Year by year he enlarged his landed estate. Year by year he placed valuable improvements upon his farm. The best houses, the best farming implements, the most thorough methods of cultivation were to be found around his home. He studied his work with as much thoroughness as he had studied his books at college. All this had its results. From hundreds of acres his holdings mounted into the thousands, until today he lives in ease at his home in Smithonia, upon the farm where he started the active work of his life in 1866, the owner of more than twenty thousand acres of the best farm land in Georgia, from which he gathers annually more than two thousand bales of cotton, with numerous other crops in proportion, and upon which one may see at any time the finest herd of cattle in the State. Thus from the soil in less than forty years he has made a fortune of more than a million dollars, a result in itself, that bespeaks the genius of the man. He has occasionally accepted the invitations which have come to him to deliver addresses in various parts of the South. Although his chief attention has been directed to the development of his many agricultural interests, he has found time to devote much of his talents and energies to the discharge of public duties. In 1876 he was elected to the Georgia House of Representative from Oglethorpe County, and in that position served with distinction until 1881. He was recognized as one of the leaders of that body and left his impress upon the legislation of that period. In 1883 he was sent to the State Senate, serving one term in that body. In the councils of the Democratic Party, both State and National, he has been for years a commanding figure. While a member of the Howe and Senate he was chairman of the Committee on Agriculture and a leading member of the Committee on Finance. He has always been loyal to Democracy, never changing his political fealty, and his conservative views on the questions that have at times agitated the Democratic party have tended to suggest the proper line of duty on more than one occasion. In 1892, he was a delegate from the State at large to the National Democratic Convention that nominated Cleveland and promulgated a platform upon which the party swept the country. In 1896 he was a Bryan elector and for many years a member of the State Democratic Executive Committee. For more than twenty years he has been Chairman of the Democratic Executive Committee of his county. He has never been an office seeker, though he has occasionally represented his county in the Legislature and in 1906 was induced to enter the race for Governor. In 1904, he was again chosen a delegate from the State at large to the National Convention of the Democratic Party. Colonel Smith has always been a great reader. He is especially fond of biographical and historical works, as well as literature on all scientific subjects. He saves out of his busy life enough time to commune with the great minds of all ages, and finds a real pleasure and profit in this diversion from the more material duties of life. He is a man of much system. He has a time for all things, and no pressure of business is allowed to divert him from the observance of his rules. He delights in walking and riding, and every day visits different parts of his great farm. He has never given special attention to any system of physical culture, but by simple methods and close observance of the rules of health, has lived to an advanced age in robust condition. By practice and precept he is a great advocate of temperance. Colonel Smith is a staunch advocate of education. He believes that a good education is the most valuable asset a young man or a young woman can possess. Especially is he interested in the education of the masses of the people. In the school of experience he learned the blessings of an education for which he had to expend mighty efforts and the sympathies of his great, warm heart go out to those who are traveling the same path over which he passed when a country boy. To place the benefits of education within the reach of the children of the rural districts in Georgia he realizes that thoroughly trained teachers are necessary, and to aid in supplying them he has contributed ten thousand dollars towards the fund with which the James M. Smith Science Hall at the State Normal School in Athens has been erected. This beneficence expresses in a public way the interest felt by the donor in the cause of education, but it by no means tells the entire story of his philanthropic work. Whenever he has noticed a bright, energetic, ambitious boy, one desirous of bettering his condition in life, he has extended a helping hand. Some have been aided along educational lines, some have been given assistance in a business way, some have been established in agricultural pursuits, and scores of good citizens, whose lives have reflected credit upon the State, have reason to feel grateful to the generous heart of Georgia's greatest farmer. Colonel Smith has his own ideas about the Negro problem. The ideas are not visionary, but are rather intensely practical. With him the problem has been largely solved, and its solution has been arrived at after years of patient effort. The Negroes on his large farm know their places and never seek to leave them. They are treated considerately and kindly, and always find encouragement for every worthy action. The family physician of the millionaire farmer is at the service of the humblest Negro on the great plantation whenever his services are needed. So carefully are the wants of all attended to that they remain in his service year in and year out in peace and contentment. There are now in the service of Colonel Smith old Negroes who were with him when he bought the original farm. Their children and grandchildren are with them. The desire to rise above the environments of his boyhood life, the influence of home and school, of study and contact with men in active life had their effect for good in the struggle for success. Exemplified by his successful career, the message of this great Georgian to the young men of his country, who are just beginning to face the real responsibilities of life, is one of confident optimism. He would have them stick to their occupations, professions or callings, and never give up. He would have them be honest and straightforward, deceiving no one, enjoying the success of others, industrious, economical, and desirous of improvement and willing to expend their utmost efforts in building for themselves an abiding character. Source: Men of Mark in Georgia Heard, Stephen, was a native of Ireland, but the date of his birth is unknown. He came with his father to America while still in his boyhood, and was a soldier in the French and Indian war. About 1774 he settled in Wilkes county, Ga., and built a fort where the city of Washington now stands. When the Revolution began he at once espoused the cause of the colonists, enlisted as a soldier and fought with Col. Elijah Clarke in the defense of western Georgia. He also distinguished himself at the battle of Kettle creek, and on Feb. 18, 1781, was elected president of the council. When Gov. Richard Howley was elected to the Continental Congress Heard became acting governor of the colony until the election of Governor Brownson. After the war he returned to his farm, where he died on Nov. 15, 1815. Heard county was named in his honor. Source Georgia: comprising sketches of counties, towns, events, institutions, and ... edited by Allen Daniel Candler, Clement Anselm Evans Hill, Lodowick Merriwether, was one of the honored and influential citizens of Wilkes county, where he owned extensive plantations and had other important capitalistic interests. He passed the closing years of his life in Washington, Wilkes county, in which city he was engaged in the banking business. He was a man of sterling character and left an indelible impress upon the history of his times, while he was a scion of one of the old and prominent families of Georgia. He acquired both wealth and influence and made good use of both. Mr. Hill was born in Wilkes county, Ga., Nov. 27, 1804, and was a son of Wylie and Martha (Pope) Hill. He was reared to manhood on the home plantation and received such educational advantages as were available at the place and period. He finally removed to Wilkes county, where he acquired large landed interests and passed the residue of his life. He was a stanch supporter of the principles and policies for which the Democratic party has ever stood exponent in a basic way, and he served as a member of the state legislature, besides holding other offices of public trust. He gave to his children excellent educational advantages, and they have well upheld the prestige of the honored family name, his descendants being numerous in Wilkes county and the family being one of the oldest, best known and most influential in this section of the commonwealth. On Dec. 16, 1824, Mr. Hill was united in marriage to Miss Nancy Johnson, daughter of William and Nancy Johnson, and after her death he married Miss Martha S. Wellborn, daughter of Abner and Martha Wellborn, of Wilkes county. This marriage was solemnized July 8, 1847', and his second wife survived him by only a short time. Eleven children were born of the first union and three of the last, the names, with respective dates of birth, being as follows William Wylie, March 31, 1826; John Merriwether, Nov. 15, 1827 Walton Pope, April 4, 1830; Abraham Chandler, Oct. 25, 1831 Buswell Pope, Aug. 29, 1833; Ida May, June 7, 1835; Duncan Chatfield, May 8, 1837; Thomas Webster, June 17, 1839; Henry Jordan, March 24, 1842; James DuBose, Nov. 16, 1843; Lodowick Johnson, Jan. 16, 1846; Abner Wellborn, Feb. 22, 1849; Miles Wilkes, March 26, 1851; and Edward Young, Sept. 8, 1852. The subject of this memoir was summoned to the life eternal in the year 1883, in the fullness of years and honors. Source Georgia: comprising sketches of counties, towns, events, institutions, and ... edited by Allen Daniel Candler, Clement Anselm Evans Hillyer, Junius, a distinguished lawyer, jurist and politician of Georgia, was born in Wilkes county, April 23, 1807, and died in Decatur, Dekalb county, June 21, 1886. He was the second son of Shaler and Rebecca (Freeman) Hillyer and was descended in the seventh generation from John Hillyer, who lived at Windsor, Conn., in 1639, and who was the immigrant from whom all the Hillyers in the United States are descended. Both of Junius Hillyer's grandfathers were soldiers of the Revolution. His paternal grandfather, Asa Hillyer, served first as a private and then as surgeon in the Continental troops of Connecticut. His maternal grandfather, John Freeman, served as a soldier in the Continental troops of Georgia, the greater portion of the time under General Elijah Clarke. He was in the battles of King's Mountain, Cowpens, Ninety-six, Kettle Creek, Savannah and Charleston and served part of the time with the rank of captain. Shaler Hillyer, father of the subject of this memoir, died when the latter was fourteen years of age, and his widow soon afterward removed from her home in Wilkes county to Athens, Ga., for the purpose of educating her three sons—John F., Junius and Shaler G.—at Franklin college, where Junius was graduated in 1828. Having studied law during his senior year, he was admitted to the bar within a month after his graduation and at once began the practice of his chosen profession in Lawrenceville, Ga., where he remained one year. He then returned to Athens in 1829, opened a law office in that place, devoted himself with unremitting energy to his profession, in which he rose very rapidly, soon gaining a large practice, and occupying a place in the front rank of that brilliant and celebrated "bar of the western circuit," composed of such men as Howell and Thomas R. R. Cobb, Charles and William Dougherty, William Hope Hull, Nathaniel G. Foster, William C Dawson, Alexander H. Stephens, Robert Toombs and Cincinnatus Peeples. In politics he was a Democrat, having joined that party upon its formation under the leadership of Andrew Jackson, and he occupied a prominent place in the councils of the party. He, at different times, held the positions of solicitor-general, judge of the western judicial circuit of Georgia, member of Congress and solicitor of the United States treasury, at Washington. Judge Hillyer took an active part in the development of the educational and industrial interests of the state. He was for many years a trustee of the University of Georgia and also of Mercer university. He was one of the original projectors and stockholders of the Georgia railroad, the first enterprise in railroad building ever undertaken in Georgia. He joined the Baptist church in 1826 and continued throughout his life a consistent member of that denomination. On Oct. 6, 1831, Judge Hillyer married Mrs. Jane (Watkins) Foster, daughter of George and Mary (Early) Watkins, of Greene county, Ga. She was a woman of remarkable strength of mind and loveliness of character and died in 1880, at Decatur, Ga., to which place the family had removed in 1871. This marriage was a singularly happy one and was blessed with eight children, namely: Dr. Eben Hillyer, of Rome, Ga.; Judge George Hillyer, of Atlanta, Ga.; Maj. Shaler Hillyer, of Selma, Ala.; Mrs. Mary H. Whitfield, of Decatur, Ga.; Carlton Hillyer, of Augusta, Ga., Henry Hillyer, of Atlanta, and Misses Kate R. and Eva W. Hillyer, of Decatur. All of the children are living (1906) except Maj. Shaler Hillyer, who died in 1868. Judge Hillyer's career as a judge, lawyer and member of Congress was brilliant and his ability was universally recognized. He was especially distinguished for his power before a jury as an advocate and for his success in the court room with the cases committed to his care, either on the civil or criminal side of the court. His moral character was of the highest, he possessed the confidence and admiration of the people of Georgia, and took rank among the distinguished men of the generation in which he lived. Source Georgia: comprising sketches of counties, towns, events, institutions, and ... edited by Allen Daniel Candler, Clement Anselm Evans Pitner, James M., is successfully engaged in the practice of law in Washington, Wilkes County, and is also the able incumbent of the office of county school commissioner. He was born in Lumpkin County, Ga., Oct. 20, 1873, and is a son of Elijah S. and Martha (Simmons) Pitner, the former born in Tennessee, in 1842, and the latter in Lumpkin County in 1847. The father was a loyal soldier of the Confederacy during the Civil war, having been a member of a Georgia regiment, under Captain Asbury. After attending the schools of his native county, James M. Pitner entered the North Georgia agricultural college, at Dahlonega, Lumpkin County, where he effectively supplemented his earlier educational training. He was a successful teacher in the public schools for a period of six years, and in the meanwhile took up the study of law, well fortifying himself in the learning of the same and being admitted to the bar in 1900. In the same year he established himself in the practice of his profession in Washington, succeeding from the very beginning, and now has an excellent practice, which is constantly expanding in scope and importance. In 1904 he was elected to the office of county school commissioner and gives effective administration to the duties of this position, in addition to his unabating devotion to the work of his profession. He is an unwavering supporter of the Democratic party and is a member of the Masonic fraternity. On June 5, 1900, Mr. Pitner was united in marriage to Miss Annie West, daughter of Rev. Thomas B. and Mildred West, of Thomson, Ga. Of this union have been born two children, Marion, who died in infancy, and Mildred, who is the living child. Barnett, Samuel, journalist, author, was born March 6, 1824, in Washington, Ga. He was president of the Washington bank; in 1871 was commissioner; and in 1872 was secretary of the Georgia state agricultural society. He was editor of the Chronicle. He was the author of Interest Table; Buckle's Outline View of Georgia; and other works. Barnett, Samuel Jackson, educator, scientist, was born Dec. 14, 1873, in Kansas. Since 1905 he has been professor of physics at the Tulane university of New Orleans, La. He has made valuable researches on experimental and thoreoretical electricity. [Herringshaw’s National Library of American Biography: Contains Thirty-five Thousand Biographies of the Acknowledged Leaders of Life and Thought of the United States, by William Herringshaw, 1909 – Transcribed by Therman Kellar] Becker, Thomas Albert, clergyman, bishop, was born in 1832 in Pittsburg. Pa. He was created bishop of the new diocese of Wilmington, Del. He contributed largely to reviews and periodicals; especially a series of articles in the American Catholic Quarterly on the idea of a true university attracted wide attention. He died July 29, 1899, in Washington. Ga. [Herringshaw’s National Library of American Biography: Contains Thirty-five Thousand Biographies of the Acknowledged Leaders of Life and Thought of the United States, by William Herringshaw, 1909 – Transcribed by Therman Kellar] Hillyer, Junius, a distinguished lawyer, jurist and politician of Georgia, was born in Wilkes county, April 23, 1807, and died in Decatur, Dekalb county, June 21, 1886. He was the second son of Shaler and Rebecca (Freeman) Hillyer and was descended in the seventh generation from John Hillyer, who lived at Windsor, Conn., in 1639, and who was the immigrant from whom all the Hillyers in the United States are descended. Both of Junius Hillyer’s grandfathers were soldiers of the Revolution. His paternal grandfather, Asa Hillyer, served first as a private and then as surgeon in the Continental troops of Connecticut. His maternal grandfather, John Freeman, served as a soldier in the Continental troops of Georgia, the greater portion of the time under General Elijah Clarke. He was in the battles of King’s Mountain, Cowpens, Ninety-six, Kettle Creek, Savannah and Charleston and served part of the time with the rank of captain. Shaler Hillyer, father of the subject of this memoir, died when the latter was fourteen years of age, and his widow soon afterward removed from her home in Wilkes county to Athens, Ga., for the purpose of educating her three sons – John F., Junius and Shaler G. – at Franklin college, where Junius was graduated in 1828. Having studied law during his senior year, he was admitted to the bar within a month after his graduation and at once began the practice of his chosen profession in Lawrenceville, Ga., where he remained one year. He then returned to Athens in 1829, opened a law office in that place, devoted himself with unremitting energy to his profession, in which he rose very rapidly, soon gaining a large practice, and occupying a place in the front rank of that brilliant and celebrated “bar of the western circuit,” composed of such men as Howell and Thomas R.R. Cobb, Charles and William Dougherty, William Hope Hull, Nathaniel G. Foster, William C. Dawson, Alexander H. Stephens, Robert Toombs and Cincinnatus Peeples. In politics he was a Democrat, having joined that party upon its formation under the leadership of Andrew Jackson, and he occupied a prominent place in the councils of the party. He, at different times, held the positions of solicitor-general, judge of the western judicial circuit of Georgia, member of Congress and solicitor of the United States treasury, at Washington. Judge Hillyer took an active part in the development of the educational and industrial interests of the state. He was for many years a trustee of the University of Georgia and also of Mercer university. He was one of the original projectors and stockholders of the Georgia railroad, the first enterprise in railroad building ever undertaken in Georgia. He joined the Baptist church in 1826 and continued throughout his life a consistent member of that denomination. On Oct. 6, 1831, Judge Hillyer married Mrs. Jane (Watkins) Foster, daughter of George and Mary (Early) Watkins, of Greene county, Ga. She was a woman of remarkable strength of mind and loveliness of character and died in 1880, at Decatur, Ga., to which place the family had removed in 1871. This marriage was a singularly happy one and was blessed with eight children, namely: Dr. Eben Hillyer of Rome, Ga.; Judge George Hillyer, of Atlanta, Ga.; Maj. Shaler Hillyer, of Selma, Ala.; Mrs. Mary H. Whitfield, of Decatur Ga.; Carlton Hillyer, ofAugusta, Ga.; Henry Hillyer, of Atlanta, and Misses Kate R. and Eva W. Hillyer, of Decatur. All of the children are living (1906) except Maj. Shaler Hillyer, who died in 1868. Judge Hillyer’s career as a judge, lawyer and member of Congress was brilliant and his ability was universally recognized. He was especially distinguished for his power before a jury as an advocate and for his success in the court room with the cases committed to his care, either on the civil or criminal side of the court. His moral character was of the highest, he possessed the confidence and admiration of the people of Georgia, and took rank among the distinguished men of the generation in which he lived. (Source: Georgia Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, VOL II, by Candler & Evans, Publ. 1906. Transcribed by Kim Mohler) Hillyer, Rev. Shaler Granby, D.D., was one of the distinguished clergymen of the Baptist church in Georgia and was also prominent as an educator and writer, particularly in connection with religious topics. He was a man of exalted character and fine scholarship, leaving the impress of his strong and noble individuality upon all who came within the sphere of his influence. It is most suitable, in view of his life and achievements, as represented in his labors in Georgia that a tribute to his memory be perpetuated in this cyclopedia. He was born on his father’s plantation in Wilkes county, Ga., June 20, 1809. His life span compassed only a decade less than an entire century, as his death occurred in Atlanta, Ga., Feb. 19, 1900. His father, Shaler Hillyer, was born in Granby, Conn., Aug. 2, 1776, and his mother, Rebecca (Freeman) Hillyer, was born in Wilkes county, Ga., July 12, 1786. She was a daughter of John Freeman, a soldier of the continental line, during the war of the Revolution, and served in the campaigns of South Carolina and Georgia. Asa Hillyer, paternal grandfather of the subject of his memoir, was likewise a loyal soldier in the War for Independence, having first served as a private in the ranks, and later as post surgeon. Dr. Shaler G. Hillyer was graduated in Franklin college, of which the University of Georgia is the direct outgrowth, as a member of the class of 1829. He joined the Baptist church June 12, 1831, and after due preparation in his divinity studies was ordained to the ministry on Aug. 6, 1835. After his ordination he continued in the work of the ministry until the autumn of 1892. His labors were thus protracted over a period of nearly sixty years and were attended with large and grateful fruitage. In the year 1845 he was elected to the chair of rhetoric in Mercer university, and in 1850 the degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred upon him by that institution. In 1855 he accepted a call to the pastorate of the Baptist church at Rome, Ga., and remained there until 1859, when the professorship of theology in Mercer university was offered him. He retained this position until the summer of 1862. After the close of the Civil war he was, for several years, president of Monroe college. Doctor Hillyer made many valuable contributions to various religious periodicals, and in 1897, he published his book entitled “Bible Morality,” a work of lofty tone, sincere in thought and forcible in style. The subject matter of one volume of his writings, “Reminiscences of Georgia Baptists,” appeared first in serial form in the Christian Index, and has been published in book form since his death. In his ministerial capacity Doctor Hillyer served many churches in the state, taking a prominent part in the various phases of church work at large, ever showing himself imbued with the faith that makes faithful. Three of his sons served as soldiers of the Confederacy in the Civil war, and his second son, Lieut. Francis Lorraine Hillyer, lost his life from a wound received on the field of the times. In December, 1836, he wedded Miss Elisabeth Thompson, second battle of Manassas. Doctor Hillyer was married three of Liberty county, Ga., and they became the parents of three children who were left to their father’s care, at a very tender age, by the death of their mother. Mary Elisabeth married Dr. John William Janes, Shaler Granby died Oct. 3, 1905, and the death of Francis Lorraine occurred July 23, 1863. The second marriage of Doctor Hillyer was to Miss Elisabeth Dagg and was solemnized on May 12, 1846. She was the daughter of John Leadly and Elisabeth (Thornton) Dagg. Her summons came to enter upon the life eternal in 1870. The following are the names of the children of this union: John Leadly Dagg Hillyer, Sarah Jane (Mrs. Jessie Campbell McDonald), Junius Freeman, Frances Rebecca (Mrs. Wm. Alden Towers), Katharine Carlton (Mrs. Thomas Lawrence Robinson), Emily Irene (Mrs. Robert Gregory Owen), and Llewellen Philo. In May, 1871, Doctor Hillyer married Mrs. Dorothea Lawton, daughter of Dr. Samuel Furman, of South Carolina. (Source: Georgia Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, VOL II, by Candler & Evans, Publ. 1906. Transcribed by Kim Mohler) Holliday, William Zellars, an eminent physician of Augusta and a member of the faculty of the Medical College of Georgia, was born on the family homestead, ten miles east of Washington, Wilkes county, Ga., Jan. 4, 1860, his parents being Allen T. and Elizabeth (Zellars) Holliday. The father, who was a farmer and also engaged in the lumber business, died in 1865, leaving a widow with six young children to rear and educate. Just at that time the country was struggling with the unsettled and demoralized conditions incident to the Civil war, making the task of the widowed mother one of peculiar difficulty and responsibility. But with true courage she met and overcame the obstacles as they presented themselves, conducted the affairs of the family with rare business ability, and established for each of her children a character for industry, honor and moral integrity. The subject of this sketch, therefore, spent the early years of his life on the farm, where he received that training in industry, perseverance and self-denial which constitute the basis of all honorable living, and which have been the main factors in his subsequent success. His early education was received in the neighboring schools, which for that day were very good, offering him the opportunities of studying Latin, Greek and the higher mathematics, in which branches he became quite proficient, thus forming a substantial basis for his professional education that followed. At an early age he decided in favor of a professional life and at the age of nineteen years began the study of medicine in the office of Dr. John L. Wilkes, at Lincolnton. That was in September, 1879. The first six months of the following year were passed in the office of Dr. Joseph W. Sanders, a prominent physician of Penfield. Having qualified himself for college by this preparatory course of study, he entered the University of Maryland school of medicine, where he was graduated in March, 1882, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. Within thirty days after receiving his degree he located at Harlem, Ga., and assumed the duties and responsibilities of the active practitioner of medicine. Although but twenty-two years of age and almost an entire stranger in the locality, he soon demonstrated his skill and established himself in a lucrative practice. After nearly ten years here he became desirous for a field in which his talents could find a wider scope and removed to Augusta, where he soon became recognized as one of the leading physicians. Doctor Holliday is a close student of everything pertaining to his chosen profession, and he has kept fully abreast of the march of progress in the science of medicine. He has taken several post-graduate courses in the New York post-graduate medical school and New York polyclinic. For several years he has made a specialty of the disease of children, in which branch of medicine he is justly regarded as one of the leading physicians in the state. Since taking up his residence in Augusta he has been connected the greater part of the time with the work of teaching in the Medical College of Georgia, giving instruction in various departments, for the last three years as professor of pediatrics. He is a member of the American medical association, the Medical Association of Georgia, and the Richmond county medical society. In a period of twelve years he was five times elected president of the local medical society and in April, 1905, at the annual meeting at Atlanta, he was elected president of the Medical Association of Georgia. His election to this office was the highest compliment his profession could pay, and under his administration the membership of the association was increased more than in any decade of its previous history, the work of the organization having also been much improved and a general interest aroused among the members of the profession in the state. Doctor Holliday is a member of the Richmond county board of education, one of the trustees of the Masonic hall of Augusta, a director of the Young Men’s Christian Association, and takes great interest in charitable and benevolent work generally. In April, 1885, Doctor Holliday was united in marriage to Miss Ella Collins, of Harlem, and they have one daughter, Edith. (Source: Georgia Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, VOL II, by Candler & Evans, Publ. 1906. Transcribed by Kim Mohler) Meriwether, David, soldier and statesman, was born in Albemarle, Va., in 1755. He received a limited education, enough, however, to make him an enthusiastic and intelligent advocate of American interests when troubles arose with England. When the Revolutionary war broke out he entered the Colonial army and rose to the rank of brigadier-general. He was at the siege of Savannah in 1779 and was for a time a prisoner of war in the hands of the British. In 1785 he settled in Wilkes county, Ga., which he represented for several terms in the legislature, and in 1802 was elected to Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Benjamin Taliaferro. He was reelected to the two succeeding congresses; was a commissioner to negotiate a treaty with the Creek Indians in 1804; a presidential elector in 1812, and died near Athens on Nov. 16, 1822. A county in the western part of the state bears his name. [Source: Georgia Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, Vol 2, Publ 1906. Transcribed by Tracy McAllister] Meriwether, James, congressman, was a native of Wilkes county, where he received his education in the common schools. In 1824 he was elected to Congress and served one term as a representative. [Source: Georgia Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, Vol 2, Publ 1906. Transcribed by Tracy McAllister] Gartrell, Lucius J., lawyer and soldier, was born in Wilkes county, Ga., Jan. 7, 1821. He was educated at Randolph-Macon college and the University of Virginia. Afterward he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1842. In 1843 he became solicitor-general of the Northern judicial circuit. He was elected to the state legislature in 1847, and again in 1849; was an active opponent to the Know-Nothing party in 1855, and was an elector on the Buchanan ticket in 1856. From 1857 to 1861 he was a member of Congress, withdrawing with the Georgia delegation when the state seceded. He at once organized the Seventh Georgia regiment which did splendid service at the first battle of Manasses. In October, 1861, Colonel Gartrell was sent to represent his district in the Confederate Congress, but at the expiration of his term he returned to the field. He was commissioned brigadier-general on Aug. 22, 1864, and organized Gartrell’s brigade, which he led until the war ended. He then returned to his practice in Georgia and in 1877 was a conspicuous and able member of the Constitutional convention. He died in Atlanta, April 7, 1891. (Georgia: Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form. VOL III Publ. 1906. Transcribed by Marilyn Clore) Andrew, James Osgood, clergyman, bishop, was born May 3, 1794, near Washington, Ga. He entered the South Carolina conference in 1812; preached in Georgia and North Carolina; and was presiding elder for several years. In 1832 he was chosen bishop of the general conference that met at Philadelphia, Pa. In 1846 the Methodist Episcopal Church south was organized as an independent body, in a general conference held at Petersburg, Va. Bishop Andrew presided as senior bishop over this organization until his death. He published a volume of Miscellanies; and Family Government. He died March 1, 1871, in Mobile, Ala. [Herringshaw’s National Library of American Biography: Contains Thirty-five Thousand Biographies of the Acknowledged Leaders of Life and Thought of the United States, by William Herringshaw, 1909 – Transcribed by Therman Kellar] Andrews, Eliza Frances, educator, journalist, lecturer, author, was born Aug. 10, 1840, in Washington, Ga. Her father was Judge Garnett Andrews, an eminent jurist and the author of Reminiscences of An Old Georgia Lawyer. In 1857 she graduated from the La Grange college of Georgia; and in 1885-97 was professor in the Wesleyan College of Macon, which institution conferred upon her the degree of A.M. She has lectured on various subjects; is a fine linguist; and is a most accomplished field botanist. She is the author of A Family Secret; A Mere Adventure; Prince Hal; Botany the Year Round; and War-time Journal of a Georgia Girl. [Herringshaw’s National Library of American Biography: Contains Thirty-five Thousand Biographies of the Acknowledged Leaders of Life and Thought of the United States, by William Herringshaw, 1909 – Transcribed by Therman Kellar] Alexander, Edward Porter, soldier, educator, railroad president, author, was born May 26, 1835, in Washington, Ga. He graduated from West Point academy In 1857; was promoted second lieutenant corps of engineers; and served in the United States army in the Utah expedition in 1858. He was instructor in engineering at West Point in 1859-60; and was professor in mathematics and engineering in the South Carolina University in 1866-69. He served with distinction in the confederate service; and became brigadier-general of artillery. Until 1862 he was president of numerous and important railroads in the southern states. In 1897-1900 he was engineer-arbitrator of the Nicaraguan and Costa Rican boundary commission. He is the author of Railroad Practice; and various pamphlets and articles on railroad and other topics. [Herringshaw’s National Library of American Biography: Contains Thirty-five Thousand Biographies of the Acknowledged Leaders of Life and Thought of the United States, by William Herringshaw, 1909 – Transcribed by Therman Kellar] Heard, Benjamin Wilkinson, was one of the distinguished and honored citizens of Wilkes county and left upon his times the impress of a strong and noble manhood. He was prominent as a planter and capitalist and served as the first mayor of Washington, to whose development and material and civic upbuilding he contributed in unstinted measure. He was born in Wilkes county, Ga., Sept. 2, 1821, and his parents were also natives of the same county, where his father, Jesse Faulkner Heard, was born Jan. 17, 1785, and his mother, Caroline (Wilkinson) Heard, Jan. 1, 1793, their marriage having been solemnized on March 5, 1809. His ancestry on both sides traces back to the Old Dominion state, in which so much of our national history was fostered, and his father served as a commissioned officer in the war of 1812. The latter’s father, who likewise bore the name of Jesse Faulkner Heard, served with the patriot troops of Virginia in the war of the Revolution. In Virginia he married Miss Judith Wilkinson, an English lady, and besides the son and namesake the family included several daughters. His serve in the Revolution is indicated on the records of Wilkes county, Ga., where he was given large grants of land. They subject of this memoir well maintained the military honors of the name, having served in the Georgia campaign as a brigadier-general of the Confederate troops in the Civil war, in which he continued on active duty until its close. He was educated in Washington, and maintained his home in his native county throughout the course of his long and signally useful life. He was identified with plantation interests from his youth to the time of his death, operating extensively in this important industrial line, and becoming one of the leading capitalists and business men of the county. In politics he accorded a stanch allegiance to the Democratic party, ever manifesting a loyal interest in the furtherance of its cause. He was elected the first mayor of Washington and as chief executive of the municipal government gave a most admirable administration, gaining to the city the reputation of being one of the best ordered in the state, and this without raising the established rate of taxation. He was originally identified with the Baptist church but later united with the Presbyterian, his sincerity and deep Christian faith being shown in his daily walk and conversation. He was a Mason of high degree and was ever devoted to noble and time-honored fraternity. He was a man of fine intellectuality, a good linguist and endowed with high mental accomplishments, his memory being exceptional, as indicated in his facility in quoting freely and at length from the best standard literature, of which he had read widely and with appreciative discrimination. Generous, tolerant and hospitable, he stood as a type of the old-school gentleman of the south, and his home life was gracious and delightful in all its relations. Gen. Heard was twice married. In February, 1855, he was united to Miss Zilla Victoria Bradley, daughter of Francis and Pherabe (Goldsby) Bradley, of Summerfield, Ala., and she is survived by two children,--Mrs. Annie E. Callaway and W. W. Heard. On Dec 2, 1869, Gen. Heard married Miss Sue B. Blakey, of Russellville, Ky., and the issue of this union is Jesse Faulkner Heard, of Washington. (Georgia: Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form. VOL III Publ. 1906. Transcribed by Angelia Carpenter) Heard, Stephen, was a native Ireland, but the date of his birth is unknown. He came with his father to America while still in his boyhood and was a soldier in the French and Indian war. About 1773 he settled in Wilkes county, Ga., and built a fort where the city of Washington now stands. When the Revolution began he at once espoused the cause of the colonists, enlisted as a soldier and fought with Col. Elijah Clarke in the defense of western Georgia. He also distinguished himself at the battle of Kettle creek, and on Feb. 18, 1781, was elected president of the council. When Gov. Richard Howley was elected to the Continental Congress Heard became acting governor of the colony until the election of Governor Brownson. After the war he returned to his farm, where he died on Nov. 15, 1815. Heard county was named in his honor. (Georgia: Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form. VOL III Publ. 1906. Transcribed by Angelia Carpenter) Hill, Lodowick Merriwether, was one of the honored and influential citizens of Wilkes county, where he owned extensive plantations and had other important capitalistic interests. He passed the closing years of his life in Washington, Wilkes county, in which city he was engaged in the banking business. He was a man of sterling character and left an indelible impress upon the history of his times, while he was a scion of one of the old and prominent families of Georgia. He acquired both wealth and influence and made good use of both. Mr. Hill was born in Wilkes county, Ga., Nov. 27, 1804, and was a son of Wylie and Martha (Pope) Hill. He was reared to manhood on the home plantation and received such educational advantages as were available at the place and period. He finally removed to Wilkes county, where he acquired large landed interests and passed the residue of his life. He was a stanch supporter of the principles and policies for which the Democratic party has ever stood exponent in a basic way, and he served as a member of the state legislature, besides holding other office of public trust. He gave to his children excellent educational advantages, and they have well upheld the prestige of the honored family name, his descendants being numerous in Wilkes county and the family being one of the oldest, best known and most influential in this section of the commonwealth. On Dec. 16, 1824, Mr. Hill was united in marriage to Miss Nancy Johnson, daughter of William and Nancy Johnson, and after her death he married Miss Martha S. Wellborn, daughter of Abner and Martha Wellborn, of Wilkes county. This marriage was solemnized July 8, 1847, and his second wife survived him by only a short time. Eleven children were born of the first union and three of the last, the names, with respective dates of birth, being as follows: William Wylie, March 31, 1826; John Merriwether, Nov. 15, 1827; Walton Pope, April 4, 1930; Abraham Chandler, Oct. 25, 1831; Buswell Pope, Aug. 29, 1833; Ida May, June 7, 1835; Duncan Chatfield, May 8, 1837; Thomas Webster, June 17, 1839; Henry Jordan, March 24, 1842; James DuBose, Nov. 16, 1843; Lodowick Johnson, Jan. 16, 1846; Abner Wellborn, Feb. 22, 1849; Miles Wilkes, March 26, 1851; and Edward Young, Sept. 8, 1852. The subject of this memoir was summoned to the life eternal in the year 1883, in the fulness of years and honors. (Georgia: Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form. VOL III Publ. 1906. Transcribed by Angelia Carpenter) Hill, Wylie Pope, was one of the extensive planters of Georgia and was an honored and distinguished citizen. He was the owner of a large landed estate in Georgia and also large tracts of land in Arkansas, though he ever looked upon Georgia as his home, here continuing to reside until his death, which occurred, in Wilkes county, in 1864. Col. Wylie Pope Hill was born in Wilkes county, this state, Aug. 10, 1820, and was a son of Wylie and Martha (Pope) Hill the former of whom was born in Wake county, N. C., Dec. 26, 1775, and the latter in Oglethorpe county, Ga., April 18, 1782. Both Colonel Hill and his wife came of stanch old Revolutionary stock of Virginia, the two Carolinas and Georgia, and their daughters are eligible for and joined the Daughters of the Revolution under six lines of ancestry. Colonel Hill was reared on the homestead plantation and his early educational training was secured in his native county, being supplemented by a course in a well ordered institution at Greenville, S. C. He was intrinsically and insistently loyal to the cause of the Confederacy when the Civil war was precipitated, and in June, 1863, he assumed command as colonel of the First Georgia militia, Toombs‘ brigade, serving until May, 1864, when ill health and general disability disqualified him for further field service. He did not abate his efforts, however, in support of the cause, becoming a recruiting and supply agent for the Confederate government and thus continuing until Sept. 10, 1864, when he died. He continued his residence in Wilkes county until his death and was known as one of the largest and most successful planters in the state, also having an extensive and well managed plantation in Arkansas. He was a man of fine intellectual gifts and of inviolable integrity of character, ever commanding the respect and regard of his fellow men. In politics he was a stalwart Democrat of the old school and both he and his wife were consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church South. Mrs. Hill is still living. On Feb. 27, 1845, was solemnized the marriage of Colonel Hill to Miss Jane James Austin, of Greenville, S. C. The names of the children of this union are here designated, with respective places of residence: Thomas Austin Hill, Arkansas; Mrs. Sallie Hill Irvin, Washington, Ga.; William Edwin and Burwell Meriwether Hill, of Wilkes county; Dr. John James Hill, of Washington, Ga.; Mrs. Mary Hill Barnett and Miss Mattie Pope Hill, Wilkes county; Mrs. Lina Hill McCandless, Atlanta; and Wylie Pope Hill, Wilkes county. (Georgia: Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form. VOL III Publ. 1906. Transcribed by Angelia Carpenter)
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