BASCOM C. BATTS
Among the successful and prominent devotees of the great basic industry
of agriculture Bascom C. Batts holds prestige as an agriculturist who is self made. He has ever been on the alert
to forward all measures and enterprises projected for the good of the general welfare and he has served his community
in various official positions of important trust and responsibility. He has served as magistrate of Guthrie, Kentucky,
for the past fourteen years, and for one term was judge of Todd county, Kentucky. He is the owner of a finely improved
farm of two hundred and seventy-five acres, the same being located some miles distant from Guthrie.
August 25, 1854, in Robertson county, Tennessee, occurred the birth of Bascom C. Batts, who is a son of Jeremiah
and Mary Ann (Byrnes) Batts, the former of whom was born in North Carolina, August 16, 1804, and the latter of
whom was a native of Robertson county, Tennessee, where she was born May 8, 1810. Jeremiah Batts came to Tennessee
with his parents when he was a child of but six weeks old. The family located in Sumner county and remained there
for one year, at the end of which removal was made to Robertson county. In the latter place the young Jeremiah
was reared to maturity and educated and his entire active career was devoted to agricultural pursuits. He died
in Robertson county December 27, 1886, and his cherished and devoted wife passed away February 8, 1867. They were
the parents of thirteen children, of whom Bascom C. was the youngest in order of birth. Jeremiah Batts was a son
of Jeremiah Batts, Sr., who, after locating in Robertson county, here purchased a section of land for fifty cents
per acre. He was a well-to-do farmer and a slave owner. The maternal grandfather of the subject of this review
was James Byrnes, who was born and reared in Virginia and who was an early settler in Robertson county, Tennessee,
where he was a saw-mill man and a farmer. Jeremiah Batts, Jr., was a Democrat in politics and he served as a magistrate
for a period of thirty years prior to his demise. In religious matters he and his wife were devout members of the
Methodist Episcopal church.
To the public schools of Cedar Hill, Tennessee, Bascom C. Batts is indebted for his preliminary educational training,
which was later supplemented with a course of study in Vanderbilt University at Memphis. He early began to assist
his father in the work and management of the old home farm, a part of which he later owned. He bought his present
finely improved estate of two hundred and seventy-five acres in Todd county, Kentucky, and here has since maintained
his home. His political allegiance is given to the Democratic party, in the local councils of which he has long
been an active factor. For the past fourteen years he has served as a magistrate and for one year was county judge.
He is
a man of fine mentality and broad human sympathy. He thoroughly enjoys home life and takes great pleasure in the
society of his family and friends. He is always courteous, kindly and affable and those who know him personally
accord him the highest esteem. His life has been exemplary in all respects and he has ever supported those interests
which are calculated to uplift and benefit humanity, while his own high moral worth is deserving of the highest
commendation. He is a Mason and a member of the Knights of Honor.
May 12, 1880, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Batts to Miss Lizzie Wood, a daughter of Jonathan Wood, who was
a hardware merchant at Clarksville for a number of years. Mr. and Mrs. Batts have one son, B. F., who is studying
law in Jonesboro, Arkansas. The Batts family are devout members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Source: [A History of Tennessee and Tennesseans, 1913, submitted by cd]
JOHN MEREDITH GOODMAN
Born on a farm near Adams, Tenn., April 22, 1895 of English descent,
son of John M. and Sallie (Featherstone) Goodman. Paternal grandparents James Coleman and Mary (Rosson) Goodman;
maternal grandparents Joshia and Emily (Jackson) Featherstone. Educated in the public schools of Adams, Tennessee;
Bethel College; University of Tennessee, completing his education in 1920. Member of the Baptist Church, S.A.E.
fraternity, American legion; Democrat. Appointed State Commissioner of Agriculture for Tennessee by the Hon. Gordon
Browning, governor, on January 18, 1936. Prior to this appointment he was engaged in farming in Robertson County
where he has spent most of his life. He is past Pres. Farm Bureau, central Committee of Soil Conservation Association,
Eastern Darkfired Tobacco Association, member of Board of Directors. For eighteen months he was with the A.E.F.
in France with the 656 U.S. Aero Squadron during the World War. His hobby is livestock.
Source: Prominent Tennesseans, 1796 - 1938; transcribed by Amanda Jowers
RUFUS FARMER LONG
Among the public spirited citizens of any community are often found prominent
those who have been reared amid influences which tend to the higher development of the race in general -physical
conditions such as the farm offers, with its pure air, water, sunshine
and plenty of healthful exercise, which permit free play to the best instincts of man. One of these substantial
citizens is R. F. Long, a banker of Hendersonville, who has combined agricultural pursuits with a business career,
and thus enjoys the broad freedom of the independent life in the country.
John R. Long, father of the subject of this sketch, was born in 1830, in Robertson county, Tennessee, where he
has engaged in farming all his life, which occupation he has pursued with much success. For a considerable period
of time a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, he has been steward for years, and politically he is affiliated
with the
Democratic party, favoring prohibition. His service in the Civil war extended over a period of seven months. The
birth of Lucinda A. (Batts) Long, wife of John R. Long, occurred in Robertson county also, in 1835, she being a
daughter of Jeremiah Batts, an early settler of the county and a prosperous farmer.
Born April 4, 1869, in the county which is the birthplace of his father, after his school days were spent and he
had completed a business course at Nashville, R. F. Long began his career on the farm, to the management of which
he has applied his business ability with unusual success, being the owner of 711 acres of land. Integrity, business
acumen,
foresight and wisdom are recognized qualities in this man, and in 1910 he was elected cashier and vice-president
of the Bank of Hendersonville, the capital stock of which is $5,000, surplus and undivided profits $2,000, with
average deposits of $35,000. He is also a member of the board of directors of this bank, and has served as school
director,
is a Democrat in politics, a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and belongs to the Elks. Nashville Lodge
No. 72.
Mr. Long was married in 1890 to Mary Woodard, daughter of Judge John Woodard, for years judge of the county court
of Robertson county and also an eminently successful business man of Nashville. Four children have been born to
Mr. and Mrs. Long: John W., a bookkeeper living in Nashville; Nellie, wife of O. E. Davis, with Foster & Parks
Company, Nashville; Albert W. and Rufus H., fourteen and eleven years of age respectively.
Source: [A History of Tennessee and Tennesseans, 1913, submitted by cd]
D. A. PAYNE
Of a high personal status in both the real-estate and insurance business;
of a family noted in both lines as one of substantial worth; of prominent church and lodge connections and of good
social standing, the life of D. A. Payne is one to which should be accorded a biography as full as our data will
permit.
The maternal line of Mr. Payne's progenitors was that of the Virginia family of Darden. David Darden (grandfather
of D. A. Payne) was born in the Old Dominion State, whence he came in an early period to Robertson county, Tennessee,
settling in Springfield and becoming the proprietor of the first inn, ever conducted at that place. He was the
father of Susan T. Darden (who later became Mrs. Payne and the mother of our subject) and also of George W. Darden,
well known as one of the best financiers not only of Tennessee, but of the entire South, also being, at the time
of his death, one of the members of the Nashville Board of Control. George W. Darden was most highly honored by
the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, who joined with the Nashville city council in making his burial one of great
pomp and the most largely attended ceremony ever held in Springfield, a chartered train of ten cars from the capitol
city being paid for by the civic bodies mentioned. No less estimable than the Darden family was that of Warren
Payne,
also of Virginia, and also of early settlement in Robertson county, Tennessee. Warren Payne was one of the patriots
of the War of 1812 and was the father of Perry Payne (1817-1889). The latter was a farmer for some years and also
gave public duty as county register for three terms; he later entered the mercantile business in Springfield in
company with Milton Green, and was engaged in that vocation up to the time of his death. He and his wife, the above-mentioned
Susan Darden Payne (1828-1873) were among the best-known and highly respected people of the county. She was a member
of the Cumberland Presbyterian church and he of the Primitive Baptist, but in later years he attended the former
church with his wife. Perry Payne was known as a successful man, for he had great ability and the work of his hands
prospered. But his was a heart too generous for a self-seeking world; never, it is said, did he ever turn a deaf
ear to any request for charitable assistance, and such requests, repeatedly granted, resulted in the dissolving
of his pecuniary resources. Bereft of fortune though he was, he died rich in affection.
Of the four children born to Perry and Susan Payne, two besides our subject are still living. George W. Payne,
born in 1851, now lives in Nashville. Thomas H. Payne, born in 1854, is a resident of Oregon. D. A. Payne, to whom
this brief review is dedicated, first saw the light of day on November 18, 1855, in Springfield, Robertson county,
Tennessee.
After gleaning a useful sum of knowledge from the public schools of this locality, young D. A. Payne began life
in a self-supporting capacity as a clerk and salesman in his father's mercantile establishment. After a time he
became interested in the railway postal service and after successfully passing the government examinations he acted
in the capacity of a mail clerk for five years. Mr. Payne showed remarkable ability in this exacting work, earning
the distinction of being called one of the best clerks in the fifth division of the postoffice department, only
two others in his division being considered his equals in the swift and accurate performance of duty. After a time
Mr. Payne entered another line of traveling activities, one for which his mercantile experience and his years of
traveling gave him peculiar fitness; this was the occupation of a traveling salesman, in which work he also secured
gratifying results. This, too, was a temporary vocation for D. A. Payne, who resigned that itinerant service in
1894 in order to take up a line of business permitting a more definitely localized residence.
In the year named, Mr. Payne entered-as the pioneer of this community in that business-the work of a real estate
agent. He has combined with it the activities of an insurance underwriter and has formed a partnership with H.
H. Mason. Mr. Payne conducts a large amount of business both in Tennessee and in Kentucky and his labors
meet with most favorable results.
As a citizen of Springfield Mr. Payne is both prominent and highly esteemed. Like his father and his uncle, George
W. Darden, he holds a distinguished place in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, having passed all chairs and
being incumbent of the office of treasurer, which he has held for many years. Politically he is an independent
Democrat and takes a very deep and active interest in civic affairs, in both local and national movements. He and
his family are connected with the Presbyterian church,
U.S.A.
Mrs. Payne, as Miss Emma Funk, was in her girlhood well known in Lebanon and Danville, Kentucky, where her father,
Madison Funk, was prominent as a landholder. Her marriage to Mr. Payne was solemnized on November 18, 1903, and
during the ensuing years they have become the parents of two children, Hattie S. Payne and Madison P.
Payne, both of whom are still at home. Mrs. Payne holds an important place in Springfield's social life, especially
in those phases of it that are ethically purposive along lines of public welfare. She has for many years been the
president of the local organization of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, which office she still ably fills.
Source: [A History of Tennessee and Tennesseans, 1913, submitted by cd]
MILES SCOTT, M. D.
For a good score and a half of years Dr. Miles Scott has held an important
place in this community of Robertson county as a medical practitioner of extensive and successful patronage. This
county was the home of his mother's family, for his grandfather, Thomas
Gunn, was an early settler here' and was well known as a Baptist preacher and one who was fortunate in the possession
of a large tract of land, made the more valuable because of the numerous slaves who called him master. Thomas Gunn's
granddaughter, Martha Gunn, was born in Robertson county in 1822 and here spent her entire life, which
closed in 1905. The paternal line of our subject's ancestry was Virginian. In the Old Dominion state in 1812 was
born H. S. Scott, who came with his parents to Tennessee when he was a child. Here he married Martha Gunn and became
a leading physician in this part of the state, where he practiced for forty years. He was conspicuously a Democrat
and the church relations of the family were of the Methodist denomination,
Martha Gunn Scott being a faithful member of that church. They were the parents of eight children, of whom three
are yet living. Seventh in order of birth in his generation of the family was Miles Scott, to whom this brief review
is dedicated. His earthly existence
began on April 7, 1854, in Robertson county, Tennessee.
The Robertson county public schools gave Miles Scott his intellectual start in life. It was under the parental
roof, however, that his ambitions were best nourished. He looked to a career in the same profession as that distinguished
by his father, and a medical course was therefore his educational goal. He entered the College of Medicine of Vanderbilt
University, in Nashville, Tennessee, and in 1878 received his degree as a doctor of medicine.
Dr. Scott began his medical practice at Barren Plains and has since conducted those activities in this locality.
His professional endeavors cover a wide range of territory and has been one of genuine success in its healing offices.
Dr. Scott has met with sincere appreciations for his ministrations and his financial returns have been of a gratifying
status.
An attractive and productive farm of three hundred and fifty acres provides the doctor's favorite diversion, for
under his supervision excellent crops of tobacco are raised. His chief interest is, of course, his professional
practice. He is a member of the county and state medical societies. Of religious organizations, his personal connection
is with the Methodist church, South, to which the other members of his family also belong.
As a daughter of Anderson Holman, Mrs. Scott has formerly been well known, both as Miss Dora L. Holman and later
as Mrs. Taylor. Additional data regarding her family will be found in the sketch of C. G. Holman elsewhere to be
found in these pages. It was in July of 1890 that Dora Holman Taylor became Mrs. Scott. She and the doctor are
the parents of one child, a son named George Robert, who resides at the parental home. The doctor's family is valued
as one of wholesome influence as well as of notable service to humanity.
Source: [A History of Tennessee and Tennesseans, 1913, submitted by cd]
N. W. TRUE
Both prominent and efficient as an abstract attorney and as county surveyor,
N. W. True enjoys a wide measure of popularity among the citizens of Springfield and of Robertson county in general.
This young man is a lifelong resident of the county, his birth having
occurred here on November 14, 1879; of his parents, F. M. and Harriet (Bigbee) True, extended account is given
in the biographical sketch of H. C. True, appearing elsewhere in these pages.
The public schools of Robertson county provided the mental equipment of N. W. True, so far as formal school training
may accomplish that end. He turned to definite purpose all such opportunities, also taking advantage of all other
intellectual material that came in his way. To such a youth openings are ever at hand, and Mr. True first occupied
himself as a self-supporting young man, with the duties of deputy court clerk.
Mr. True's specialty is that of abstracts and titles, in relation to which his accurate legal knowledge is of great
value to his clients. His office practice is very large and his business in connection therewith makes it necessary
that he investigate estates at considerable distance from Springfield. He is therefore thoroughly familiar with
Robertson county and with the surrounding counties as well.
In 1912 Mr. True was honored with election to the office of surveyor for Robertson county, a position which he
is well qualified to fill, and the duties of which he discharges with competent ability.
The Democratic party is that of Mr. True's allegiance and its fortunes are a matter of great moment to him. His
activities in behalf of the great political camp of Democracy are particularly enthusiastic at the periods of campaign
movements, his party work taking him into all parts of the state. Political leaders look to Mr. True as one of
the strong coming men in civic work.
In addition to the interests of his profession and political work. N. W. True is one of the leading members of
the secret societies of Springfield. The Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias share his
fraternal affiliations. He is tireless in his attention to both his public and personal business operations. Mr.
True has thus far been the creator of his own success and bids fair to be one of the makers of "The New South."
He was married in 1912 to Miss Maud Tipps, of Tullohoma, Tennessee.
Source: [A History of Tennessee and Tennesseans, 1913, submitted by cd]
