Hamilton and James County Biographies A - B

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Alexander, James Thomas & Susan J. Keith

          James was born to John Hinton and Barbara Smith Alexander in Knox County , TN in1844. He was the fourth of eight children. His siblings were: William S.-1836, John S-1839, Robert H. Smith-1843, Nancy H.-1847, Elias R.-1850, Mary L.-1852, and Andrew Jackson-1856. His father was of Scottish ancestry. His mother’s grandfather had emigrated from Ireland . They were considerably wealthy.  It was surmised, by some, that the wealth came from the Smith side; however, John’s ancestors had owned large parcels of land also. John H. had quite a large holding in and around Concord .

 Little is known of James’s early life. The Civil War began in 1861. In March of 1863, at the age of 19, he joined the Confederacy in Knoxville , TN. He was enlisted as a Private by Major L. Peck, into Company B, 31st (Col. W. M. Bradford’s) Tennessee Infantry Regiment. In June of 1863 it became the 39th Tennessee Mounted ( Calvary ) Infantry.

 The unit joined Gen. Braxton Bragg’s Army of the Mississippi and they marched through Kentucky and Tennessee covering 700 miles in 42 days.  This was often without food or water, in dust, mud, and snow-all of this with no tents. They only had their belongings. The unit fought in Tennessee , Virginia , North Carolina , and Mississippi . Records show that James had once been in a CSA hospital in Charlottesville , VA

 The Siege and Battle of Vicksburg ( Mississippi ) was a turning point in the war.  The South spent 47 days in the trenches under heavy fire and artillery attacks from Major General U.S Grant’s army of 80,000 men. Of the original 40,000 Confederate’s under the command of Lt. Gen John C. Pemberton, only 20,000 starving souls survived and surrendered.  James Thomas became a Prisoner of War on July 4 and paroled on July 10, 1863 by the USA Commanding Officer, Capt. Pullen, of the Illinois Volunteers. He signed the solemn oath not to bear arms against the Union again. I expect he was relieved that he and the others did not receive the same treatment afforded other POW’s-that of having their trigger fingers cut off. Official records reflect that this was not the end of his military career. He was hospitalized at the CSA General Hospital in Charlottesville , VA in June 1864 and returned to duty June 17, 1864 -almost a year after being paroled as a POW. 

 Three brothers also fought for the Confederacy. William S. Alexander enlisted as a Private in Company G of the 63rd Infantry Regiment in Knoxville , TN on May 6, 1862 .  John S. Alexander enlisted in the same company and regiment in Cumberland Gap , TN on April 1, 1863 . Robert H. Smith Alexander entered the service as a Private in Company I, 12th Infantry. All three fought in the Battle of Chickamauga. On September 20, 1863 , John was killed.  William, now a Corporal, and Robert H. were wounded. They were sent to the Foard (Ford) Hospital in Newman , GA and William died November 23, 1863 . Robert H. remained hospitalized until June 1864 then was sent to Richmond , VA on May 10 by order of the regimental surgeon. He was present with the 63rd Infantry at Appomattox Court House on April 2, 1865 and surrendered seven days later.

 After the war was over for him, James returned home to Concord and helped with the farming operation. Family members have recalled that there had been some bitter feelings between James and his father. It is unknown whether it was because of James T’s war service or his selection of a wife

 In 1877, James married a lovely young lady, Susan Jane Keith, daughter of Gabriel Pinckney and Eliza Jane (Fuller) Keith. Prior to 1880, they moved to Hamilton County , north east of Chattanooga , TN. They appear in the 1880 Census with son, James A. and James T’s brother, Elias R.  His Alexander cousin’s and one brother migrated from the Knoxville area and resided near Chattanooga . Susan’s parents and family now also lived beside them.

 At first, James and the family resided in the Hixson/Falling Water/Middle Valley community. On page 8 of the aforementioned census, they lived next door to Andy and Preston Gann, origin of present day Gann’s Middle Valley, the Igou’s, who owned the ferry to Birchwood, and James Parks, the grandfather of Daisy Parks, for whom Daisy, Tennessee is named. Henry Baker, Postmaster of Falling Water, George Card, Postmaster of Melville, and Ephraim F. Hixson, for whom the former town of Lookout was renamed, lived nearby. The families of Poe, Igou, Hamil, Pendergrass, Penny, Levi, Gadd, and Varner’s were neighbors and many streets of Chattanooga bear their name.

 Within the next 10 years they moved to the Bakewell area and lived in a two-story house near present-day McCallie Ferry Road . There, they raised their large family. They were-James (after his father) Albert-1877, John Elias (after James father and brother)-1880, Mollie Jane (after a neighbor’s child and Susan)-1884, Samuel Logan (after The Honorable Samuel Logan, Knox County Criminal Judge) Pinckney (after Susan’s father)-1887, Liza (after Susan’s mother) C.-1888, Thomas Jackson (after James’s brother and Susan’s brother-1889, William S. (after James’s brother)-1891, Benjamin Franklin-1893, Charley S.-1895, Margaret (Maggie) Frances-1896, Kate-1899, and finally, Marie Elizabeth (after Susan’s mother). 

 It had been thought that Jim T. had not been that affluent but he did acquire property in the area. Heirs of Robert Patterson, the first settler of a newly formed Hamilton County , researched the deeds in the latter part of 1999. They found acquisitions of land purchased from James Alexander in the Bakewell area. He wasn’t wealthy but perhaps could have been - except for the problem between him and his father.  Two theories have been voiced about their problem, (1) it had to do with the War, and (2) it had to do with James T’s marriage to a Keith and one that was 16 years his junior. When John H. died, James did not return home to gain his inheritance. His last daughter, Marie, related that information to me and she was made privy to it by her older sister, who raised her. In addition, one of Susan’s nieces also confirmed the information-so it seems to be factual. Either way, Jim T. (as he was known here) never returned to Concord . 

 They all worked hard, as did everyone, since the times were not easy.  The boys worked in the fields, hewed trees into wood for fuel, hauled corn by horseback to be ground into meal at the gristmill in freezing weather, and the girls did the washing, mending, and cooking. Everyone worked!   In 1904, at the age of 59 or 60, Jim T. contracted pneumonia and died prior to Marie’s birth. James Thomas Alexander was laid to rest in the Hughes Cemetery-Bakewell, TN. The family marked the grave, with stones. When but a young lad, my grandmother Alexander showed me the area in which he was buried and said, “That is where Papa-Daddy’s ( Logan ’s) folks are buried.” In 2000, I purchased a granite stone and had it placed near the gravesite in memory of both James Thomas and Susan Jane Alexander.

 Each of us should be proud of our Alexander name and the heritage we share as Scots Irish descendants.  We are products of industrious, patriotic, and honorable men and women who helped shape this great nation, state, and locale into what it is today. 

To my great-grandfather, James Thomas Alexander, I thank you, I am proud of you-and I salute you!

Compiled and Submitted by Rexford C. Alexander rexcalex@bellsouth.net

 Alexander, Samuel Logan & Anna Mae (Carroll)          

           Samuel Logan Pinckney Alexander was born of James Thomas and Susan Jane (Keith) Alexander on July 24, 1887. He was one of 12 siblings born in the Bakewell/Soddy area of Tennessee. Logan, as he was called, married Anna Mae Carroll in Dayton (Rhea County), Tennessee on Jan 11, 1909. The Marriage Record Book 1908-1910, (p. 200) specifies Logan Alexander to May (Mae) Carroll. Witnessed by his brother William Alexander, whose “X” was noted by the clerk. Logan ’s responsibility for a bond of $1250.00 was part of the action recorded.) Their children are as follows: Pearcey and Pearl were still born in 1909. Clarice Gladys 1910-1989 married Harry Fuller. Hershel Wilson (1912-1977) married Esther Elizabeth Edmondson. Cornelius Gentry (he changed it to “George”) (1916-1990) married Eva Mae Edens. Mark David (1919)­ married Anna Roselyn Gann. Jessie Anna Mae (1921-  ) married (1) R.D. Crisp (changed name to Cecil Taylor) and (2) Odus Underwood. Harold Logan (1926-)  married (1) Florence (Flo) (2) Charlotte ?. Logan was a hard working man but managed to make it look easy. It was said that he appeared to be doing little but could do more work than anyone around. He worked in the coal mines, logging industry, farming, and was the minister of the Sale Creek Church of God. No matter what he earned, Reverend Alexander firmly believed in giving back one tenth of his earnings to the Lord. Logan once worked for a week and earned only $5.70 but when he gave the money to Mae for food, he said, “Don’t forget to bring back .57 cents for tithes”). If there was no work he would travel by foot, horse and wagon or by train to church services. His interest in religion and following Christ led him to attend the famous 1925 "Scope's Trial" in Dayton, Tennessee. He was there when history was made in “ Monkey Town ” as Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan fought the court case of evolution and creation. He and Mae lived in several houses in the Hodge town and Slabtown areas. He never owned a home; times were extremely hard. Everything, including food, was scarce. It may be only cornbread, but the family ate; even if it was only a couple of ears of corn, the mule or horse was fed. Raising corn required hoeing many, many acres and this was usually accomplished by Mark and Cornelius. Hard work was essential to feeding the family. One night a week, the family shelled corn-by hand. It was bagged and taken to the mill to be ground into corn meal. The owner of the mill received a portion of the product as payment. Logan spent many weeks in the local mountains logging or mining coal. During the Depression, in 1930, Logan went to Fleming , Kentucky to find work in the coal mines. In June of 2004, Mickey Alexander attended a party at his daughter’s home. Her husband’s grandmother was there and had brought a 1930 census of Fleming. The document revealed that Logan was boarding on Front Street and another Sale Creek man, Sheridan Shipley, lived in a boarding house operated by Monroe Shipley. Monroe Shipley was the husband of Annie Gann Shipley, sister of my grandfather Charlie Gann. Small world, huh?   His zeal, dedication, and love for the church and God were evident in the community and to all who knew him. He held the early Church of God together until his death. While replacing wooden shingles atop the church roof, he fell, and a broken rib punctured a lung. He suffered for 3 months; on October 2, 1936, at the age of 49, he passed away. He is buried in the Welsh Cemetery in Sale Creek, Tennessee along with Mae.  He was “the glue that had held the church together” . Read “Reverend Samuel Logan Alexander, His Legacy: God! Family! Church!”  by this author.

Compiled and Submitted by Rexford C. Alexander rexcalex@bellsouth.net 

 Allen, James A         

           J. A. Allen, chief of police of the city of Chattanooga, was born January 16, 1833, at Columbus, Ky., but was reared to manhood in East Faliciana Parish, La. At the commencement of the late war he was an overseer of a plantation in that State, but this he resigned to enlist in the Sixteenth Louisiana Regulars (Company A), and in 1862 was ordered to Chattanooga on detached duty. He remained at this point until the evacuation of the city by the Confederates, then went to Macon, Ga., and in 1865, at the close of the war, returned to Chattanooga, which has since been his home. Mr. Allen is a carpenter by trade, and this occupation he followed until appointed on the police force in 1876. Prior to his election as chief of police in April 1883, he officiated for one year as county jailer. In 1863 be was united in marriage with Mrs. Travers, and to their union six children have been born, only one now living. He and family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. He is a son of Louis and Lucy (Feltz) Allen, who were natives of South Carolina and Tennessee, respectively, the former dying in Louisiana in 1860, preceded by his wife in Arkansas in 1840.

Goodspeed's History of Tennessee 1887

1880 US Census, 2nd Ward, Chattanooga, Hamilton Co., Tennessee; Page 14 

 Anderson, John          

          John Anderson, Esq., a prominent citizen and planter of the Fourth District, James County, was born in Bledsoe County, December 2, 1814. He is the youngest and only surviving one of six children of Col. John and Betsy (McNair) Anderson. Both parents were of Scotch descent. The father was born in Scott County, Va., October 5, 1778, and died October 27, 1814, while on a march with his regiment to New Orleans. He was colonel of the State militia. He was by occupation a farmer and merchant. The mother was born near Knoxville, Tenn., March 31, 1783, and married in Knox County, November 5, 1805. Her death occurred August 13, 1859, near Pikeville, Bledsoe County. They were devout members of the Presbyterian Church. Our subject received a good education in his native county. In his early days he dealt in corn on the Sequatchie River. In 1835 he moved to Hamilton (now James) County and was one of the first settlers. He opened the first store at Georgetown, where for a few years he engaged in mercantile business. In 1838 he purchased and settled upon the farm where he now resides. Since that date he has given his attention to agriculture and livestock trading. From 1836 to 1886 he was postmaster at Georgetown. The office was for a time in the village, and then at his residence. For forty years he was justice of the peace. He resigned in 1886. He is a warm Republican. In the latter part of 1835 he married Miss G. Allen, who bore him two children; she died in 1838, an earnest member of the Methodist Church. January 16, 1840, our subject wedded Purlymly Luttrell, by whom he has had ten children. Five of his sons served in the Federal Army. J. M. received a mortal wound September 27, 1864, at Pulaski, Tenn., while engaged with Forrest's forces. He was brought home by his father and died the following 24th of December. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson are active members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. 

“Goodspeed’s History of East Tennessee,” James County, 1887. 

 Anderson, John C           J

          John C. Anderson, agent for Western & Atlantic Railroad at Chattanooga, was born in Dalton, Ga., November 27, 1853, and is the son of John W. and J. S. (Chester) Anderson, natives, respectively, of Georgia and Tennessee. Our subject was reared and educated in his native city, came to Chattanooga in December 1870, and entered the employ of the Western & Atlantic Railroad as clerk, where he has remained since. He is one of the organizers, and is president of the Empire Lumber Company, established in Chattanooga in 1882, secretary of the South Chattanooga Land Company, president of the Chattanooga Real Estate Company, and has been prominently identified with the real estate interests in the city. March 27, 1879, he wedded Miss Fannie I. Woodruff, of Griffin, Ga. He is a Democrat in politics, a member of the First Presbyterian Church, and is recognized as one of the enterprising and reliable businessmen and citizens of Chattanooga. He has been a resident of that city since 1870, with the exception of three years, from 1878 to 1881, when he was in Georgia in charge of large lumber operations for the Georgia Land & Lumber Company. 

Goodspeed's History of Tennessee 1887 Goodspeed's History of Tennessee 1887

PIONEER ANDERSON FOUNDED CHURCH By John Wilson Free Press Writer
Chattanooga Times Free Press, TN - 1998

     When he was 18, William Walker Anderson of Rockbridge County, VA, left his plow in the field at noon and embarked on an adventure in the Tennessee frontier. He became one of the first settlers of
Chattanooga and a founder of its Presbyterian Church. 

Anderson was born June 10, 1804, near the old Rock Church six miles from Lexington. That day in 1822he found his uncle stopping at his home and he decided to go with him to Maryville, where the uncle had a store. W. W. Anderson returned to Virginia long enough to marry his sweetheart Elizabeth McChesney, then they set up housekeeping at Maryville.
Anderson began driving horses through the Indian nation, selling them in Alabama and Mississippi. Onone of these trips, his horse became entangled in vines while trying to swim Chickamauga Creek.
Anderson lost his saddle bags full of papers and clothing. An Indian witnessed the accident, and a few
years later when he spotted W. W. Anderson, he returned the bags to him.
W. W. Anderson, who was over six feet tall and was called “Skygusty” by the Indians, after two years moved to Athens. For his general merchandise store there, he would annually load up his four-horse
wagons with bacon and exchanged it for dry goods at Baltimore. This was a two-month trip, but a set ofcups and saucers would fetch $5 on the frontier and a lady’s Leghorn bonnet was worth $25.
W. W. Anderson was “an unusually fine looking man” and was “strictly temperate in all things.” He wasmade colonel of the militia at Athens and “with cocked hat on horseback made a striking appearance.”
Three of the five Anderson children died at a young age, leaving James and William Jr. In hopes of benefiting the family’s health, W. W. Anderson in 1840 pushed on to Chattanooga. They occupied a frame dwelling on the southeast corner of Fourth and Walnut. The Andersons were joined by James Berry, who had married Rebecca McChesney, a sister of Mrs. Anderson.
However, Mrs. Anderson became ill and died September 12, 184__. Two years later, Anderson married Louisa Penelope Campbell Smith, widow of James Smith. Her sister, Mary, was married to the
Chattanooga merchant D. C. McMillin. W. W. Anderson was clerk of the Presbyterian congregation and would regularly lead the hymns. The visiting minister would often stay in the Anderson home. W. W. Anderson started Sunday School for blacks. Anderson owned several slaves “and always treated them kindly. He would not sell or separate them.”
The children of W. W. Anderson by his second wife included Jefferson Campbell who married Mary Ellen Burton, Sarah Anne who married Thomas Rowland, Milo Smith who married Mary Bush, and Mary Louisa who married George Vinson. His eldest son, James, married Mary Morrow, daughter of the Indian agent Dr. William Morrow. James Anderson became a physician and went to California in 1850. Two years later he started home for his family on the streamer Philadelphia. But the cholera broke out off the coast of Havana, and he died at sea.
The other son, William Jr., attended Burritt College and in 1857 he was returning on the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad. There he renewed his acquaintance with Lydia Cravens, daughter of the ironmaster Robert Cravens. They were married in 1859 and set up housekeeping at the old Anderson place at Fourth and Walnut. However, the health of Lydia Cravens Anderson became bad, and they moved to the side of Lookout Mountain to the cabin that Robert Cravens had first occupied. A son, Charles Cravens Anderson, was born. there, and a second son, William Franklin Anderson, came along in 1862.W. W. Anderson Sr. was “a decided Whig and thought it best for the South to make the fight in the Union, but when his state seceded, he went with it in good will.” He was too old to fight, but he “took great interest in the Southern cause.”
Following a skirmish on Citico Creek, he found a Confederate soldier badly wounded and hid him upstairs until he recovered. The Yankees later found revenge by filling his well with rocks and tearing down his house.
W. W. Anderson Jr. in the early part of the war with Robert Cravens manufactured saltpeter in a furnace at the mouth of a cave near Moccasin Bend. Then he joined the Lookout Artillery and was made first sergeant. When his wife’s health worsened, he took a leave of absence and found his wife had hired a substitute for him. He then shipped coal and coke to Confederate authorities in Memphis.
Just before the Battle Above the Clouds, the Andersons fled the mountain, hauling their goods in wagons to Chickamauga Station and taking the train to Dawson, GA. W. W. Anderson Sr. went with them and the following January his second wife died at Dawson. Three months later, Lydia Cravens Anderson died also.
Then two-year-old Frank became sick and died. He was given a “repugnant” black medicine and the
doctor said it was “pure ink.” W. W. Anderson Jr. later surmised the doctor may have been “merely
experimenting.”
After the war, W. W. Anderson Jr. made his home at Forsyth, GA. He had a number of children by his second wife, Louisa Estelle Sharp.
His son, Charles Cravens Anderson, moved to Chattanooga and in 1888 married Mary Bachman, daughter of the Presbyterian minister Dr. Jonathan Bachman. After her death, he was a widower about seven years before marrying Julia Leach in 1901.
C. C. Anderson resided just below the old Cravens property on the mountainside, and he discovered “Mystery Falls,” an underground waterfall. This was developed as a water source for St. Elmo. Anderson was also an investor in oil well drilling, but his syndicate was unsuccessful in a project at Franklin County, TN, and he was forced to declare bankruptcy. He was so distraught that he shot himself with a revolver on November 20, 1902 – hours before his creditors were set to meet. 

 Arnold, James T.             

       Hon. James T. Arnold, of the firm of Loomis, Hart & Co., Chattanooga, was born in Greenville, Ohio, April 5, 1845, and here reared and educated. In 1866 he engaged in mercantile pursuits in Bluffton, Ind., until 1871, when he went to Montpelier, Ind., and engaged in the same business until 1885. In February of that year he came to Chattanooga and became a member of the above named firm, superintendent of the main office and furniture department. In 1871 he wedded Miss Elizabeth Johnston, who died in September, 1883, leaving three children, all sons. In July, 1886, he married Lettie Cleveland, of Indiana. Mr. Arnold is a Republican in politics and represented his district in the Indiana Legislature in 1879-80. He is a prominent man and is well respected.  His parents, William and Margaret (Folkerth) Arnold, are natives, respectively, of South Carolina and Maryland.Goodspeed's History of Tennessee 1887 

Baxter, G. A.       

          G. A. Baxter, A. M., M. D., is a son of George W. and Catherine (Alexander) Baxter, both born and reared in North Carolina. While growing up the father received a good literary and legal education and made the profession of law his pursuit in life. He died in 1854, and later the mother married his brother, Hon. John Baxter, lately United States circuit judge. The mother lived until 1865. To the second marriage there were no children, and only one, the Doctor, to the first marriage. He was born in Buncombe County, N. C., November 28, 1851, and his higher education was received at Earlham College, Indiana, from which he received the degree of A. B. He then attended Kenyon College, and later graduated from Hobert College of Geneva, N. Y., from which also he received the degree of A. M. The East Tennessee University conferred upon him the honorary degree of A. M. In 1873, he graduated from Belleview Hospital Medical College, and thereupon accepted the position of assistant surgeon on the Erie Railroad, the surgical department of which he organized. In 1875, he came to Chattanooga and has practiced his profession here since. In 1879, he married Miss Ellen Douglas, of Nashville, who bore him three children, two of whom are living: Douglas and Bruce. The Doctor has held the position of vice-president of the State Medical Society, is a member of the city board of health, Royal Arch Mason, K. of P., K. of H., and both he and wife are members of the Episcopal Church. 

Goodspeed's "History of East Tennessee" 1887 

 Beck, Henry C.            

          Henry C. Beck, the efficient and affable register of Hamilton County, was born on the 10th of March, 1853, in the county where he now resides, and which has been his home through life. His father, Joshua Beck, was a native of North Carolina and immigrated to this county at the early period of 1822. He here wedded Margaret Hixson, a native of Hamilton County, Tenn., and they became one of the county's best and most respected families. They followed agricultural pursuits until the death of the father, August 5, 1886, since when the widow has lived a retired life near Chattanooga. Henry C., the immediate subject of this biography, was reared and mostly educated in his native county, although, for a time, he attended school at Athens, Tenn. He first began his public career in August, 1874, when he was elected to the office of county register; so, efficiently did he fill the requirements of this position that he was re-elected at the end of his term, and twice thereafter re-elected, and is now serving his fourth term in that office. Mr. Beck also fills the positions of secretary of the Northside Steamboat & Ferry Company, secretary of the Grandview Cemetery, and is a director in the Mutual Real Estate and Home Building Association. To his marriage with Miss Rhoda D. Wexler, a native of Sullivan County, this State, there have been born two sons and one daughter, one son being now deceased.

Goodspeed's "History of East Tennessee" 1887  

 Beck, Joshua  

          Joshua Beck, born in Rhea County, Tennessee., August 8, 1813; died in Hamilton County August 5, 1886. He was the son of David and Sarah Hunter Beck. He moved to Hamilton County with his parents in 1820. He married, July 31, 1850, Margaret Hixon who was born February 12, 1833, and died December 4, 1897.

Their children were:

1.  Henry Clay, born March 10, 1853, died August 6, 1915, married October 10, 1875, Rhoda D. Wexler,       born 1876 

2.   Sarah Rebecca, born December 21, 1858, died March 10, 1864 

3.   David Houston, born September 17, 1862, died young 

4.  William Tecumseh Sherman, born June 6, 1866, married October 11, 1887, Flora A. Tarwater 

5.  U. S. Grant, born December 16, 1868, died young 

6.  James, born June 17, 1871, died young 

7.  John, born 1873, died young.

Some Pioneers – History of Hamilton County and Chattanooga Tennessee, Vol. I, 1931  

 Beck, William Sherman            

          WILLIAM SHERMAN BECK, son of Joshua Beck and Margaret Hixon Beck, was born in Hamilton County, June 6, 1866. His par­ents were among the earliest residents of the County and his grand­father, David Beck, a soldier of the Revolution, was also an early citizen. He is buried on the Beck farm. William Sherman Beck was educated in the public schools of Hamilton County and at East Tennessee Wesleyan Uni­versity. After his graduation he went into business with his brother, the late Henry Clay Beck, who had established the Title Guaranty and Trust Company in Chattanooga, of which William S. Beck is now President and manager. He became interested in civic and county duties, and he served in 1906 on the High School Board of Hamilton County. This Board built the Central High School and the High Schools of Tyner, Soddy, Sale Creek and Hixon. He was instrumental in organizing the Hamilton County Board of Education which took over the grammar schools from the various school districts of the County. Under his administration forty-two schoolhouses were constructed in Hamilton County. The school terms were increased from five to nine months and most of the one-room schoolhouses were abolished. The Hamilton County School System was recognized at this time as one of the best in the South. He served the County Schools for sixteen years and was chairman of both boards. When the town of North Chattanooga was organized in 1914, he was elected a commissioner; he also served as Treas­urer until 1923 when he was elected Mayor. In 1925 when Greater North Chattanooga was organized, he was elected Mayor and under his administra­tion many improvements were made. He is a member of St. Marks Methodist Church, which he helped to organize and finance as well as to build. In 1887 he married Flora Tarwater, a descendant of pioneer families of Knox County, including the Tarwaters and the Rules. The late Co1. William A. Rule, the distinguished editor of the Knoxville Journal and Tribune for many years, was her kinsman. Mr. and Mrs. Beck have six children, William C.; Otis Henry; Frank Eugene; Edgar Sherman; Anna Lucille; and Flora Elizabeth. 

Bell, David Newton

          Son of Samuel Bell, was born in Wythe County, Va., in 1787. He died in Bradley County April 16, 1882. He moved to Knox County with his parents when he was a boy.  In the early 1840's he moved to Harrison.   Late in life he lived for a time with a daughter in Warren County, and with a daughter in Bradley County.  He married in Monroe County, a widow, Mrs. Eliza A. Martin Manley, who was born June 10, 1813, in Philadelphia, Tenn. She was the daughter of John Martin. She died in November, 1898.

Their children were:

(1) Samuel Granville, born 1837, died unmarried;

(2) Mary J., born April 1, 1839, married W. H. Smartt;

(3) Sidney A. (a daughter), born 1841, married twice, married first, 1860, C. F. Swann,

married second, 1864, James Laymon;

(4) Rosa, born 1844, married Gus Cate;

(5) David Newton, Jr., born 1846, died unmarried;

(7) James Smith, born 1848, died 1930, married Ann Williams, daughter of Samuel Williams;

(8) Ellen N., born 1850, married Allen C. Burns.  

The History of Hamilton County

 Bell, James Smith            

          James Smith Bell, son of David Newton Bell and Eliza Anne Martin Bell, was born February 20, 1848, in Harrison, Tennessee. He moved to Chattanooga when a young man. He received his education in the public schools of Hamilton and Bradley counties. Later he attended Ewing and Jefferson College of Knox County, and Maryville College, Maryville, Tennessee. He completed his education at Eastman National Business Col­lege of Poughkeepsie, New York. He began his business career in partner­ship with Mr. Samuel Williams. They were cattle dealers. In 1881 he was elected School Commissioner for Chattanooga and for fifteen years served as President and Treasurer of The Hamilton County Industrial School, later known as Bonny Oaks School. All of these services were rendered without compensation. He also served several terms as Dis­trict School Commissioner in the County, and in 1897 was County Com­missioner to the Tennessee Centennial Exposition. At one time, during his young manhood, he was a deputy in the County Court Clerk's office. He had from time to time interested himself in various lines of business enterprises and was one of the oldest bank directors in point of service that Chattanooga has known. His father, David N. Bell, was owner of original stock in The First National Bank. In 1882 James S. Bell became a director in that institution and held this place up to the time of his death, which occurred May 4, 1930. He was a director of the old Fourth National Bank, and director and vice president of the Bank of Commerce and Savings Company for a short time. At one time he was a director, later vice president, then president of the Richmond Hosiery Mills, and of the Chattanooga Knitting Mills and a director of the Rockwood Hosiery Mills. At one time he was also director and vice president of the Chattanooga Coffin and Casket Company. He married Ann Williams, daughter of Samuel Williams and his second wife, Keturah Taylor Williams. The marriage took place January 5, 1873, in Chattanooga, the ceremony being performed by Dr. Thomas Hooke McCallie of the First Presbyterian Church of which Church Mr. Bell became a member later. Mr. and Mrs. Bell had four sons and three daughters, (1) James Edgar who makes his home in Purcell, Oklahoma, he married Alta Wilson and has Joe Edgar, James Smith, Clara May and Wilson Bell; (2) David Newton who is unmarried; (3) Charles Alonzo who makes his home in Shawnee, Oklahoma, he married Gail Miller of Purcell, and has George Miller and Charles Alonzo, Jr.; (4) Allie Rose, married Thomas S. Myers of Chattanooga and has William Thomas Myers; (5) Ralph Williams who makes his home in Colorado Springs, Col., he married Shelley Nixon of Chattanooga and has Anne Elizabeth, Margery Nixon and James Timmons; (6) Ethel Ann who married Isaac B. Merriam, Jr., of Chattanooga and has Martha Dews Merriam; and (7) Marie, who married William A. Quinn of Henderson, Kentucky , and has James Bell Quinn and William A. Quinn III. 

The History of Hamilton County and Chattanooga Tennessee, Volume 1 by Zella Armstrong,

 Bell, Dr. J. T.           

           Dr. J. T. Bell, physician and surgeon of Soddy, was born in Rhea County September 15, 1850, and is the son of William H. and Nancy (Rainy) Bell. The father was born in Green County and died February 19, 1876. He was a minister of the gospel in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church of which he was first to establish in East Tennessee. He organized congregations and built churches all over East Tennessee. A few of the many churches he was the means of building were at Cleveland in Bradley County, at Jasper in Marion County, and at New Bethel in Bledsoe County. He was taken sick while preaching in the Presbyterian Church at Cleveland during the session of the synod, was taken home and died shortly afterward. He was a charter member of Washington Masonic Lodge and was very active in the furtherance of every interest, pertaining to the prosperity of the lodge. The mother was born in Bledsoe County and died in May 1883, in Cook County, Tex. Dr. Bell received his literary education principally at Sequatchie College in Bledsoe County, where he graduated in the mathematical and English course of study, He is also a graduate of the medical department of the University of Nashville and the Vanderbilt University. At each of those institutions of learning he acquitted himself in a highly creditable manner, taking rank with the best of the students in attendance. After attending his first course of lectures he located at Dayton, Tenn., where he remained but a short time. He was at Coulterville two years and then moved to Soddy in June 1883 and has been quite successful as a practitioner. Dr. Bell is a young man, but his prospects seem very bright for the future. He married E. L. Abel, of Dayton, Tenn., daughter of Perry and Mary Abel. The Doctor is a descendant of purely Irish ancestry. Mrs. Bell is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and of Dutch descent. The Doctor is a Democrat and a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Goodspeed's "History of East Tennessee" 1887  .  

 Berlin, Dr. Henry         

           Dr. H. Berlin is the son of H. and C. H. (Peters) Berlin, both natives of Mecklenburg, Germany, where they now live. The father was a farmer and manufacturer of fishing tackle. Of their family of two children our subject was the youngest. He was born May 8, 1851, also in Mecklenburg, Germany, and secured his education, both literary and professional in his native country. After practicing medicine there for two years he came to the United States in 1879 and located in Chattanooga. He was for a time engaged in the general practice of medicine, but of late years has devoted his entire energy to surgery and female diseases, wishing to familiarize himself more with the ideas and practice of the profession in this department he became a student at the University of Tennessee. In 1875 he married Miss Mary Von Podewils, of Germany, by whom he has two children, Charlotte and Henry. The Doctor is a correspondent for several medical journals on subjects pertaining to the profession and science. He is a member of both State and county medical societies, being vice-president of the latter. He is a Mason, and a member of the K. of P. Mrs. Dr. Berlin is a member of the. Episcopal Church. Goodspeed's "History of East Tennessee" 1887  

Bickerdyke,  Mrs. Mary A.

          Mrs. Mary A. Bickerdyke, philanthropist and army nurse, born near Mount Vernon, Knox County, Ohio, 19th July. 1817.  

She is the daughter of Hiram and Anna Ball.  The mother died when Mary was only seventeen months old.  The little one was reared by her grandparents. Her grandsire was a Revolutionary soldier named Rogers and a descendant of the Rogers who landed on Plymouth Rock.

While young, she was married to Mr. Bickerdyke, and in a few years was left a widow, with helpless little ones to rear. When the Civil War came, she left home and loved ones to offer her services as nurse to the soldiers, who were dying by scores for lack of food and care.

When the supplies to the army were sent from Galesburg to Cairo, Mrs. Bickerdyke accompanied them as delegate. After the battle of Belmont she was assigned as nurse to the field hospital.

Fort Donelson brought her in sight of battle for the first time.  She obtained supplies sometimes by visiting the North and superintending fairs, by a simple note to a pastor at sermon time, and by her famous "cow and hen " mission, by which she furnished the wounded soldiers with a hundred cows and a thousand hens, to provide fresh dainties for the sufferers.

During the winter of 1863-64 she made a short visit home, and returned and took part in the establishment of Adams Block Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee.  This accommodated about 6,000 men, and from this she became the matron of Gayoso Hospital, in which were more than 700 wounded men brought in from Sherman’s battle of Arkansas Post.

She took charge in Memphis, Tennessee, of a small pox hospital and cleaned and renovated it with her own hands, when nine men lay dead with the disease.

Through the battles at Vicksburg, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge and Chattanooga Mrs. Bickcrdyke nursed friend and foe alike, and when, in 1864, Sherman started on his memorable March to the Sea, always devoted to the Army of the Tennessee, "Mother" Bickerdyke, as the soldiers used to call her, accompanied the 100,000 men who marched away.

Resaca, Kingston, New Hope, Cassville, Allatoona, Dallas and Kenesaw Mountain furnished her with 13.000 of those brave men as subjects for her care.

When Sherman cut his base of supplies, Mrs. Bickerdyke went to the North and collected immense sanitary stores for the soldiers.

When Sherman entered Savannah, she sailed for the South, to take care of the liberated Union prisoners at Wilmington.

At Beaufort, Averysboro and Bentonville she pursued her mission, and at the re­quest of General Logan and the 15th Army Corps she marched into Alexandria with the army.

At the final review in Washington Mrs. Bickerdyke, mounted upon a saddle-horse, dressed in a simple calico dress and sun-bonnet, accompanied the troops.  This dress and bonnet were sold as relics of the war for $100.

Since the rebellion Mrs. Bickerdyke has spent her life in procuring homes and pensions for the "boys." She resides with her son. Prof. Bickerdyke, in Russell, Kansas.

American Women – Volume I

 Biese, Charles W.          

           Charles W. Biese, secretary and treasurer of the Lookout Ice and Cold Storage Company, of Chattanooga, was born in Holstein, Germany, November 8. 1835; came to the United States in 1860 and located at Chicago, where, in 1861, he enlisted in the Federal Army, serving through grades of private, sergeant, lieutenant and captain in the Eighty-Second Illinois Regiment until 1865. He then opened one of the first coal mines in this locality which he operated three years.  He was then connected with Cherokee Mining & Manufacturing Company, and later was connected with the Georgia Coal Company. In 1869 he assisted in building bridges and trestles on the Great Southern Railroad, Alabama. Later he engaged in the same business with the Alabama Grand Trunk Railroad, with office at Mobile, Ala. and was engaged in the commission business for two years. In 1875 he returned to this place and engaged in the agricultural implement business which he lately sold to his son Robert and a Mr. Dickinson. In 1883 Mr. Biese had a company formed to engage in the manufacture of artificial ice but owing to competition it proved a failure. In 1884 he again formed a company of which the present company is the outcome and of which he is secretary. In 1864 he married Narcissa H. McDonald, of Dade County, Ga., who died in 1873, leaving four children, all of whom are living. In 1875 he married his present wife, Miss Eliza A. Pryor, of Jasper, Tenn., who has presented him with two sons, only one living. Mr. Biese is a Republican, a Knight of Labor, a Mason, and a member of the G. A. R., was Post Commander of Lookout Post, No. 2, during 1886. He is also a member of the K. of P., K. of H., and of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, of which he is a steward. 

Goodspeed's "History of East Tennessee" 1887 Goodspeed's "History of East Tennessee" 1887  

 Billmeyer, U. D.          

           U. D. Billmeyer, D. D. S., whose birth occurred March 14, 1853, is a son of Joseph and Margaret (Carnahan) Billmeyer, who were born, reared and married in Pennsylvania. After living in that State for some time they then moved to Michigan about 1852. In early life the father was a contractor and builder and later a farmer and fruit grower. Both are living in Michigan at the present time. Of their family of seven children our subject is the eldest. He graduated in the Michigan State Normal School in 1876, and, after teaching a year, entered the dental department of Michigan University, completing the course in 1879. The following year he accepted the position of demonstrator of operative dentistry in the same institution, which position he held in a highly creditable manner four years. On account of failing health, he was obliged to resign his position in the middle of a session. In 1884 he came to Chattanooga, and, without the assistance of relatives or friends, succeeded in building up an excellent practice. In 1882 Miss Lida Wallace, a native of Michigan, became his wife. They are both members of the Methodist Church. He is a member of the East Tennessee Dental Association, is a Royal Arch Mason and president of the Union Wood Dish Co. 

Goodspeed's "History of East Tennessee" 1887

 Blair, Samuel            

          Samuel Blair, of Chattanooga, was born in Harrison County, Ky., December 2, 1816, where he was reared and educated. In 1840 he went to Cincinnati, Ohio, and engaged in the ice business, and is still a member of the Cincinnati Ice Company. He came to Chattanooga in 1883, and a year later organized the Lookout Ice Company of which he has been principal stockholder and president. In December 1886, the company began the erection of cold storage warehouses, and have changed the name to Lookout Ice and Cold Storage Company, with increased capital. In April 1843 he was united in marriage to Miss Mary A. Lafferty, of Cincinnati, Ohio. The fruits of this union were five living children-three sons and two daughters. Mr. Blair is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, a member of the I. O. O. F., also of the encampment of the I. O. O. F. and is a Democrat in politics. He is an honest and well-respected citizen. He has lately organized a stock company of $50,000 and is now boring for natural gas and oil in Hamilton County, Tenn., near Suck Creek. 

Goodspeed's "History of East Tennessee" 1887.