Hamilton and James County Biographies H - J

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HALE, WILLIAM JASPER (1874-1944)

          William Jasper Hale was born in Marion County, Tennessee, on September 26, 1874. The oldest child in a poor family of four boys and two girls, young Hale went to work at an early age. During his school days, he held several jobs in various East Tennessee towns. Hale found substantial employment in Dayton and earned enough money to enroll at biracial Maryville College. The young man had a passion for reading and mathematics. After attending Maryville College for several terms, he secured teaching positions in Coulterville and Retro. He became principal of St. Elmo Grammar School in a suburb of Chattanooga. Later, he became principal of Chattanooga's East First Street Grammar School.
        Hale's opportunity for prominence came in 1909, when the General Assembly authorized a Negro state normal school. He led the effort to raise $71,000 in pledges to get the school located in Chattanooga. However, Nashville's black community raised nearly $100,000 and secured the school for Davidson County. Despite the change in location, Hale became the state normal school's principal because state Superintendent of Schools R. J. Jones came from Chattanooga and knew William J. Hale.
        Tennessee Agricultural and Industrial State Normal School opened on June 19, 1912, with an enrollment of 247 students. Hale hand-picked the first faculty members from graduates of Atlanta, Fisk, and Howard universities. After visiting other black institutions where industrial and agricultural training took place, Hale quickly adopted a pre-collegiate curriculum for the school. He secretly created a black history course and called it Industrial Education "with emphasis on Negro problems." The State of Tennessee received federal Morrill Land Grant Funds for State Normal and the University of Tennessee, but the white officials sent most of the money to the University of Tennessee.
        Although the state officials committed fiscal discrimination against the black school, Hale managed to increase enrollments and elevate the curriculum to collegiate status by 1922. To secure more state funds, he sent state officials Christmas turkeys from the school's farm. He transported state legislators to the campus, where they were dined, served, and entertained by faculty members and students. During these visits, the students appeared in uniforms, worked on the farm, and did other manual labor, so the whites perceived that "blacks were being educated according to southern expectations." During 1927-28, three new buildings were completed, library holdings improved, faculty fellowships for advanced training established, and evening courses and extension work added. By 1935, Hale held dedication ceremonies for six more buildings and began discussion of a graduate program.
        Hale married his secretary, a local girl named Hattie Hodgkins, who was a graduate of Fisk University. Their three children were graduated from A & I College with distinction: William Jasper, Jr. (1931), Gwendolyn Claire (1939), and Edward Harned (1941).
        In 1927, the National Association of Teachers in Colored Schools elected Hale to its presidency. He served on the board of Citizens Bank, and in 1929 he presided over the State Interracial Commission. In 1930, Hale became the first Tennessean to receive the Harmon Foundation's Gold Award for outstanding achievement in education. He chaired the Community Chest drive for blacks (1931). He also received honorary Doctor of Law degrees from Wilberforce University and Howard University (1936 and 1939, respectively). Dr. Hale became the Negro state director for U. S. Savings Stamps and Bonds during the early part of World War Two and raised over forty thousand dollars.
        When Tennessee A & I State College celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary, the institution was valued at $3,000,000. Hale successfully gained accreditation for the school in 1933. His graduates earned advanced degrees from America's prestigious colleges and universities, including Columbia, Ohio State, Cornell, and Iowa State. He retired in 1943, after struggling for thirty-one years to build and expand a creditable institution of learning for African Americans. Billie P. Pursley

Hamill, J. F. 

          J. F. Hamill, farmer, of the Second District, was born February 29, 1828, in Blount County, Tenn., and is the seventh of nine children born to the union of Samuel and Catherine (Best) Hamill. The father was born in Blount County, Tenn., about 1789, and came to Hamilton County February 14, 1832. He was elected justice of the peace in 1836, and held this office until his death in May, 1856, with the exception of a few months, caused by his removal from the Second to the Fifth District. He was a very devoted and active member of the Old-Line Presbyterian Church and was one of the founders of the same at the Baker Creek Meeting House. The mother was born in Buncombe County, N.C., and died in 1840. Her parents came to Blount County in an exceedingly early
day. Our subject attended school but nine months in his life, but his father was a schoolteacher, was well educated, and kept his household bountifully supplied with papers, magazines and the best books circulating at that day, which afforded our subject an excellent opportunity to store his mind with the general news of the day and with historical facts. J. F. Hamill, in 1852, was elected justice of the peace and served until 1858. He was then elected coroner of the county and served until 1860. He also farmed, and rana ferry boat at Chattanooga until the breaking out of the war. He was then
captured as a political prisoner and carried first to Knoxville, then to Nashville, then to Tuscaloosa, then to Mobile, and from there to Mason, Ga., where he was released. In July, 1863, he returned home, and until December of the same year worked as a hired hand. He then made his escape, to avoid the Conscript Act, went to Lexington, Ky., where he struck the Federal Army, going the entire distance on foot. After the war he returned to Chattanooga, where he was made first sergeant of police and served in this capacity twelve months. In the spring of 1868, he was elected register of the county, and served about six years. In 1874 he moved to the farm where he has since resided. Previous to the war, in February, 1852, he married Miss Rachel Ford, who bore him seven children: Samuel (deceased), Benjamin, Lizzie (Mrs. Williams), James Buchanan, Mollie J. (deceased), John (deceased), and Catherine. Mrs. Hamill died in February, 1864, at Nashville, and on May 19,
1868, Mr. Hamill married Mrs. Mary Smith, formerly Miss Kirklen, and to this union four children were born: Mollie John, Daniel, Samuel and John. Mrs. Hamill is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, but Mr. Hamill is not a member of any church, but is a Quaker in principle. He was a Whig before the war, but since that event has voted the Republican ticket. His first presidential vote was cast for Z. Taylor. His grandfather, David Hamill, came from Belfast, Ireland, to Pennsylvania. His wife also came from Ireland and settled in the same locality, were, after the Revolutionary
war, they were married. They immigrated to Blount County some time before 1800, and our subject¹s father was born in a stockade. J. F.¹s maternal grandfather, Daniel Best, came from Holland to America and settled in Buncombe County, N.C. but afterward immigrated to Tennessee.

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

Hart, John A.           

          John A. Hart, of the well-known furniture and lumber firm of Loomis, Hart & Co., was born in Greenville, Ohio, on the 1st of March, 1845. He received his early education in the schools of his native town, finishing his schooling at college in Delaware, Ohio. During the early part of the war he espoused the Union cause, and enlisting from school served until the close of the civil war as a private. The war over, he settled in Alabama and engaged in the lumber business, but later settled permanently in Chattanooga. He here has identified himself closely with the business prosperity of the city, and in 1879 and 1880 served creditably in the capacity of mayor. January 13, 1885, he was elected president of the Third National Bank, a position he yet retains. He is the present president of the Chattanooga Stove Works which he organized, also vice-president of the Mountain City Fire Insurance, and besides is a- stockholder in many of the most important and successful manufacturing enterprises for which Chattanooga is noted. As a businessman Mr. Hart has been very successful, and he is recognized as one of the most enterprising men of Hamilton County. 

Goodspeed's "History of East Tennessee" 1887 

Hazlehurst, James N.            

          James N. Hazlehurst, president and manager of the Lookout Iron Company, was born in Hancock County, Ga. January 15, 1864. He was reared in his native State and finished his education at Sewanee University, Tenn., in 1883. His parents, George H. and Irene W. (Nisbet) Hazlehurst, natives of Georgia, had in the meantime removed to Chattanooga. Our subject was in the Western States and Territories from 1878 to 1881 as civil engineer on the Texas Pacific, New Orleans & Pacific, and Louisville, New Orleans & Texas Railways. Upon the organization of the Lookout Iron Company in 1885, he became its vice-president and one year later its president. He has officiated in the latter capacity in a faithful and highly efficient manner up to the present time. Mr. Hazlehurst is also a partner in the mercantile business of A. B. Wingfield & Co., of this city. October 6, 1886, he married Miss Mary E., daughter of John C. Griffis, of Chattanooga.

 Goodspeed's "History of East Tennessee" 1887 

Heard, G. M. D.           

          G. M. D. Heard, crockery merchant at Chattanooga, Tenn., was born July 21,1844, in Cleveland, Ohio. He is the eighth of ten children born to Charles W. and Caroline (Goldsmith) Heard. Mrs. (Goldsmith) Heard was a daughter of Mrs. Abigail (Jones) Goldsmith, of Painesville, Ohio, where the latter now lives, and was one hundred years old the 29th of April, 1887. She is a native of Berkshire Hills, Mass., and came from there to the city where she now resides, early in this century. Mr. Charles W. Heard was born in Onondaga County, N.Y. in 1806, and came to Ohio at quite an early day. He was a prominent architect of Cleveland, Ohio, where he built some of the oldest houses and superintended the building of some of the most prominent public buildings now standing. He was a consistent Democrat, maintaining his opinions against bitter opposition and prejudice which existed in that section during the late war. He was of Scotch descent. Mrs. Heard was a descendant of the famous Oliver Goldsmith family. Our subject secured a fair education in the schools of Cleveland, Ohio, and ran away from them and entered the army in 1862. He enlisted in Company E, Eighty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He came to Chattanooga in 1870, where he has since resided, engaged in his present business, the style of the firm being Brooks & Heard, 122 Market Street, Chattanooga. He was elected and served as school commissioner of Chattanooga one term. He married Miss Lillie Tutt in 1875. She was born in Chattanooga, Tenn., in 1857, is the daughter of Benjamin F. and Lizzie (Rawlings) Tutt, and a descendant of the Tutt family of Augusta, Ga. Four children were the result of our subject¹s marriage:  Clio, Rawlings Walton, Charles Wallace and Lois Goldsmith. Mr. Heard is a Republican in politics, and he and wife are members of St. Paul¹s Protestant Episcopal Church at Chattanooga, of which Mr. Heard is a vestryman. He purchased, in 1884, Beauclair, at the head of Whiteside Street in St. Elmo, the most beautiful natural location for a residence in the county. Goodspeed's "History of East Tennessee" 1887Submitted by Ruth Anne Nelson 

Heaton, Jackson C.            

          Jackson C. Heaton, a well-known citizen of Ooltewah, James County, and county so court clerk of James County, is a native of Tennessee, and was born in what is now James County (though at the time of his birth it belonged to Hamilton County), May 1, 1843. He is the son of Jackson and Fatina Heaton, both of whom were of Dutch descent, and their ancestors originally came from Pennsylvania. The father was born in Tennessee about the year 1818 and died in Hamilton County about 1857. The mother was a native of South Carolina, was born in that State in 1812, and died in James County in 1883. She was of Anglo-German descent. The father was a farmer and made life a success. Our subject was an only child.  He secured a liberal education in his youth, making mathematics rather a specialty. After continuing his education five years he engaged in teaching school in Hamilton County. In the meantime, at intervals, he gave his attention to farming and trading in livestock. In 1871 he was elected tax collector of James County, and was re-elected to the same office in 1872, and held this office until 1874, at which time he was elected county court clerk, and has successively been elected to this office at every election since that date, and his last election, in August, 1886, was without any opposition. On May 15, 1874, he was united in marriage with Miss Sarah Morgan, a cultured lady, and a native of Hamilton County, Tenn. She was born August 21, 1853. This excellent lady and wife died August 5, 1882. This union resulted in the birth of four daughters, all living: Tennie, Maggie, Lillie and Minnie. Our subject is a decided Republican and is a worthy and consistent member of the Missionary Baptist Church. His wife was a member of the same church and was a truly pious woman.

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

Hensel, Caspar H         

           Caspar H. Hensel, manager for the John Kauffman Brewing Company (Cincinnati) at Chattanooga, and principal owner of the Chattanooga Ice & Bottling Company, is a native of Prussia, Germany, born January 23, 1846. He came to the United States in 1865, and located at Cincinnati, where he engaged in mercantile pursuits. In 1883 he entered the employ of the John Kauffman Brewing Company, and in August, 1885, came to Chattanooga as their representative. In November, 1885, he established the Chattanooga Ice & Bottling Company, with Mr. A. R. Blair. since November, 1886, he has been principal owner and manager of the same, bottling ale, beer, carbonated waters, ginger ale, etc. The business amounts to from $25,000 to $30,000 per annum. He also does an equally large business in ice, being simply dealers in manufactured ice. In June, 1876, Mr. Hensel married Amelia Schuein, of Cincinnati, Ohio, and they have two living children by this union, both daughters. Mr. Hensel is a Democrat in politics, a K. of H. (Cincinnati Lodge), and a member of the German Lutheran Church. 

Goodspeed's "History of East Tennessee" 1887Submitted by Ruth Anne Nelson 

Hill, Jesse T.           

          Jesse T. Hill, of Chattanooga, was born in Nashville, Tenn., March 18, 1850, and is a son of Robert T. and Catherine (Stout) Hill, natives of Nashville, where our subject was reared and educated. In 1868 he came to Chattanooga and entered the employ of the Southern Express Company, where he remained four years. He was then deputy clerk and master of chancery court about ten years, after which he became secre­tary of the Etna Coal Company. In September, 1885, he engaged in the marble business as a member of the firm of Daly, Smith & Hill. Mr. Hill has been director of the Third National Bank, of Chattanooga since its organization, and is also director of Citico Furnace Company. He is president of the Tennessee Marble & Railroad Company, with head­quarters here, and quarry in Monroe County, Tenn., March 16, 1878, he was united in marriage to Miss Alice B. Woodward, a native of Ohio, and to them were born three daughters. Mr. Hill is a Democrat and was mayor of Chattanooga during the years 1878-79. He is a Mason, was a member of the Chattanooga school board four years, and himself and family are Episcopalians. His partner, Patrick O. Daly, was born in Ireland in 1836, and came to the United States in 1849, where he learned the marble cutter's trade in New York City. He worked at the same in Northern cities until 1872, when he came to Chattanooga in April of that year and engaged in the marble business. He is a Royal Arch Mason.

Goodspeed's "History of East Tennessee" 1887 

Hixson, Timothy Stringfield         

           Timothy Stringfield Hixson was the eleventh and youngest son of Ephraim Hixson, Jr., and Margaret Hixson Hixson (first cousins).  He was named for his maternal grandfather.  He was born 7 September 1842 in Hamilton County, died September 4, 1918.  He married in the midst of the Civil War to Elizabeth Adeline Lewis, daughter of John Lewis. Her mother is believed to be Elizabeth Swafford. He served as a private in the 2nd Tennessee Regiment, Union, until his capture at Rogersville, TN on Nov 6, 1863. He was released and joined again Company D, Tennessee Mounted Infantry, Union, as a lieutenant. The rest of his life was spent in Hixson where he was a farmer, and he and Adeline raised thirteen children:  Louise Elizabeth who married John Wesley Gooden, Ephraim who married Lizzie Hixson,  John Henry who married Easter Hughes, Timothy L. who married Tennie Lemons Brooks, Maggie who married Hugh Carroll, Charles W. who married Maggie Arnett, General Wheeler who married Sarah Leona Vandergriff, Sally who married Monroe Thomas Vandergriff,  Carrie  who died young, Liza who died young, Joseph who married Virginia Maude Hixson, Nancy Mae who married Robert Ables, Frank who married Carrie Hardy. Timothy Stringfield Hixson died September 4 1918 in Hamilton County, TN. He is buried in Ephraim Hixson Cemetery Hixson. Submitted By Delores Straight Str8cousin@ao

Hoagland, J. W.          

           J. W. Hoagland, M. D., is a son of E. M. and Cynthia (Smith) Hoagland. The father was born in Ohio and the mother in West­moreland County, Va., being of the same family as the famous John Smith, of Virginia. When a girl she moved to Ohio, where she and Mr. Hoagland were married. After moving to Indiana, the mother died, and the father afterward returned to Ohio and married Mrs. Mariah State. He was a farmer by occupation and became the father of nine children by his first marriage. Our subject was born in Richland County, Ohio, July 16, 1845, and received a good common school educa­tion. At the age of fourteen, he began the carpenter’s trade. He taught school for some time, by which calling he made enough to take him to college and to Worcester University. During the last year of the war, he served in the Federal Army, after which he took a medical course at the Columbus Medical College, from which he graduated in 1876, and has practiced continuously ever since. In 1885 he came to Chattanooga. Previous to this, in 1883, he married Amelia Wiggins, a native of Noble County, Ind., and a daughter of Rev. Charles F. Wiggins

.Goodspeed's "History of East Tennessee" 1887

Hooper, Rev. W. W          

          Rev. W. W. Hooper, A. M., professor of natural science in Chat­tanooga University, was born in Licking County, Ohio, October 18, 1843. His father, Jacob Hooper, was born in Maryland, and his mother, Mary (Watson) Hooper, was a native of Virginia. In early life both went to Ohio, where they were married and became the parents of six children­, two sons and four daughters. . In 1852 the mother died, and afterward Jacob Hooper married Elizabeth Lewis, who bore him two sons and one daughter. Both Mr. and Mrs. Hooper are now living in California. In early life the father was a farmer, but afterward followed mechanical pursuits. In 1861, our subject entered the Ohio Wesleyan University, but the stirring events of the war caused him to throw aside his books and volunteer, in 1862, in Company A of a battalion of United States Infantry and participated in the deadly conflict at Shiloh and Murfrees­boro. Having served eighteen months he was taken sick, and after recovery was detailed in the United States medical department at Louisville, Ky. After the war he spent some time in the Central Ohio Normal and in the Illinois State Normal, after which he taught school and went to college by turns. In 1872, he graduated from the university, and three years later received his degree of A. M. After conducting the high school at Buckley, Ill., a short time, he was elected vice-president of Rust University at Holly Springs, Miss., and three years later became president of the same, which position he held ten years. In 1886 he took his present position. In connection with his profession, he has been working in the ministerial field. In 1874, he married Miss Mattie Green, a native of Ohio, and a graduate of the Ohio Wesleyan Female College. To them were born two children: Frank and Mabel. The Professor is a Mason, and his wife is also a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Goodspeed's "History of East Tennessee" 1887 

Hoper, William T.           

          William T. Hope, M. D., was born December 26, 1850, in Roane County, Tenn. He graduated from the literary department of Cumberland University in 1870. Having read medicine for two years, under Dr. B. B. Lenois, he took a course of lectures at the University of Virginia, and graduated from Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York, in 1873. After practicing two years in his home county, he came to Chattanooga, where he has remained ever since. He has been city physician, president of the board of health, and is a member of the Chattanooga Medical Society, State Medical Society, the American Medical Association and the American Public Health Association. For many years a member of the Masonic fraternity, he was elected Eminent Commander of Lookout Commandery of K. T. in 1887. In November 1886, he was married to Miss Lizzie L. McIlroy, a native of Pike County, Mo. Both are members of the Cum­berland Presbyterian Church. His parents, W. B. and Mary A. (Foute) Hope, were both natives of Roane County, Tenn. They had three children of whom W. T. and M. M. Hope are now living. The father has generally followed farming and merchandising, was a major during the days of militia, and an enrolling officer during the late war. The mother died about 1855, and W. B. Hope was again married in 1862, to Mrs. Kate Welcker Robinson. Nine children have been the result of this union of whom seven are now living. 

Goodspeed's "History of East Tennessee" 1887 

Huffaker, H. D.           

          H. D. Huffaker, county superintendent of public instruction in Ham­ilton County, was born November 18, 1860, in Hamilton, now James, County, Tenn., and is the eldest of a family of nine children born to Jesse T. and Sarah (Holland) Huffaker. The father was born in Alabama in 1838, and came to Hamilton County, Tenn., when but twelve years of age. In 1861 he enlisted in Company I, East Tennessee Cavalry, and was sergeant of his company. At the termination of the war, he received his discharge at Knoxville. He is an ordained minister of the gospel in the Missionary Baptist Church and has charge of three churches at the present time. He is of Dutch Irish extraction as is also his wife, who was born in Monroe County in 1841, and died March 12,1882. She was the daughter of Rev. H. P. Holland (deceased). Mr. Holland was a prominent citizen of Hamilton, now James, County, and was also of Dutch-­Irish lineage. Our subject received his education at Sumach College in Murray County, Ga., and at Coosawattee Seminary, Gordon County, Ga. He is a graduate of Behm's Commercial College at Chattanooga, and since then has been engaged in teaching and bookkeeping. January 4, 1887, he was elected superintendent of the county schools. He has made teaching a success, and his salary was increased each successive term taught. He is one of five in Hamilton County who hold five-year certif­icates, and he is also president of the Hamilton County Teachers' Insti­tute. December 29, 1885, he married Miss Addie Varnell, of Tyner, Tenn. She was born September 29, 1864, in Hamilton County, and is the daughter of G. W. and Lizzie (Hughes) Varnell. Mr. Varnell was born September 15, 1829. He served during the late war as first lieu­tenant in Company F. At the termination of the war, he received his discharge at Nashville. He is of Dutch Irish extraction, as is also his wife, who was born December 23, 1842 and died February 1, 1878. She was the daughter of William Hughes (deceased). Mr. Hughes was born October 6, 1806, and served as captain in Company F. He was a prominent citizen of Hamilton County until his death, February 7, 1878. Our subject and his wife are members of the Missionary Baptist Church, which he served as secretary at his former home in north Georgia. He is a Democrat in politics and a strong Prohibitionist. He is a very promising young man. He is at present principal of the Daisy Academy but intends at the end of this term to give up school teaching and devote his entire time to the duties of his office. Mrs. Huffaker is his assistant teacher in the academy. 

Goodspeed's "History of East Tennessee" 1887 

Hughes, David W.            

          David W. Hughes, former proprietor of the planning and sawmill and also former lumber dealer at Chattanooga, was born in South Wales, September 17, 1857, came to the United States in 1866 and to Chatta­nooga in 1867. He entered the lumber business here as employee for other firms. In 1878 he engaged in the business for himself in partner­ship with Childs & Co., and in 1880 the firm became Hughes & Marquet. In 1883 Mr. Hughes became sole proprietor of the business. The pres­ent works were built in 1878 and the dimensions of the planning mill are 80x120 feet, is two stories high, with one shed 20x200 feet and another 30x200 feet. The sawmill is 70x120 and the planning mill, grounds and buildings cover an entire block between Cowart and Whiteside. Louisa and Catherine Streets sawmill is on the Tennessee River, adjoining Roane Iron Works. The sawmill and lumber yard cover sixteen acres of ground. The entire business employs about 200 men when in operation.     Mr. Hughes is president of the Brush Electric Light Company, and has a branch lumber business in Knoxville, Birmingham and in Atlanta, Ga. March 1, 1887, he sold out to the Hughes Lumber Company, an incorpo­rated company who succeeded him in the business. He was elected pres­ident and manager of the company. Mr. Hughes is independent in politics, a K. T., a Mason, a K. of P., Royal Arcanum, and a successful businessman. 

Goodspeed's "History of East Tennessee" 1887 

Isbester, Caleb B.           

          Caleb B. Isbester, vice-president of the Chattanooga Foundry and Pipe Works, was born in Scotland December 31, 1828, and is a son of Caleb and Elizabeth (Newton) Isbester, both natives of Scotland. Our subject came to the United States in 1832, was reared in Pittsburgh and Allegheny City, Penn., where he learned the pattern maker's trade (iron business). He came South in 1852, and in 1868 engaged in the foundry business with Mr. Giles, after which, in 1877, they moved the foundry to Chattanooga. He has been vice-president since the organization of the present stock Company. He was united in marriage to Miss Virginia Thornton of Tennessee, and to them were born two children-a son and daughter. Mr. Isbester is a Republican in politics, and an excellent citizen.    

"Goodspeed's History of East Tennessee, Hamilton County." 1887 

Jackson, James J.

           J. J. Jackson, farmer and stock raiser in the Second District, was born September 10, 1834, in Hamilton County, and received his education in a log schoolhouse with no " chinking" about it and a dirt floor. After assisting his father on the farm until of age he married Miss Rebecca Gann in 1855. She was born December 14, 1837, and is a daughter of Preston and Mary (Laymen) Gann, who were among the earliest settlers of Hamilton County. Mr. Gann was born in Hawkins County, Tenn., and Mrs. Gann in Washington County, Tenn. The former was of Scotch-­Irish descent, and the latter of German. Our subject's union was blessed by the birth of eight children, four of whom are still living: Martha A. (deceased), James La Fayette, Ardelia (deceased), Sophronia (Mrs. James A. Hunter), Rufus (deceased), Mary Ann (deceased), Tennessee and Willie. Mr. Jackson enlisted in the Federal Army, Company A, Sixth Tennessee Mounted Infantry, but previous to this he was captured several times and made his escape each different time. He was mustered out of service at Nashville, Tenn., at the close of the war. In politics Mr. Jackson is an ardent Republican, but before the war was a Democrat. Although not members of the church yet Mr. and Mrs. Jackson are lib­eral in their support of all church and educational enterprises. They have given each of their children a good education, and one son, J. L., is now a practicing physician and surgeon in Chattanooga. He received his literary education at Athens University, and his medical education at the Old School Medical College at Cincinnati, Ohio, completing his course at the latter institution in two years. He is a very successful practitioner, especially so in surgery. Our subject was the eldest of eight children born to Jonathan and Nancy (Rodgers) Jackson. The father was born in North Carolina about 1809 and moved to Marion County with his par­ents about 1812. In 1822, or near that time, he moved to Hamilton County and settled near Hixon Station. He was a successful farmer and a highly respected citizen. He died in 1876. The mother was born in West Ten­nessee and came with her parents to Hamilton County about 1820. She died in 1880, on the day of the November election. Mr. Jonathan Jackson was of Welsh and his wife of Irish descent. They were highly respected people and were active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. Our subject's grandfather, Ephraim Jackson, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. 

"Goodspeed's History of East Tennessee, Hamilton County." 

1887 1880 US Census, District 2, Hamilton Co., TN; Page 3A. 

James, Charles E.            

          Charles E. James, whose name figures largely and prominently in the business interests of Chattanooga, is a native of East Tennessee, born at Blountville, near the Virginia State line, December 12, 1851. When but five years of age his parents removed to Chattanooga, and he was here reared and educated. In 1870 he embarked actively in business pursuits in the iron brokerage business, at which he continued until the year 1877, when he removed to the city of Montgomery, Ala., there assisting in the construction of the water works of that place. The year following, he returned to Chattanooga, and established his present exten­sive business in iron and railway supplies, which is mentioned more fully in the history of the present business interests of Chattanooga in another part of this volume. He assisted in the organization of the Chattanooga Gas Light Company, of which he was the efficient superintendent five years. He was also one of the principal movers in the establishment of the Union Railway Company, of Chattanooga, of which he is now president. Mr. James is a Democrat in politics; is a Knight Templar in Masonry and is the father of one son by his marriage with Miss Kate R. Webster, to whom he was wedded in November 1876. He is the son of Jesse J. and Sarah M. (Vincent) James.

 "Goodspeed's History of East Tennessee, Hamilton County." 1887 

Jenkins, Morris L.           

           M. L. Jenkins, superintendent of the Soddy Coal Mines, was born in December 1842, and is one of twelve children born to John and Ann (Lewis) Jenkins. The parents were both inhabitants of Wales. The father is still living and is eighty years old. The mother died about 1855, while still quite young. Our subject received his education in the subscription schools of Wales. He began mining as a day laborer at the age of twelve, and by his own energy and ability has arisen to his pres­ent position. He came to America in 1868, and located first in Pennsyl­vania, where he remained three years, and then went to Mahanoy City. In 1872 he came to Soddy, where he has since remained. He married Miss Elenor Lloyd in Wales. She is the daughter of Evan and Cather­ine Lloyd. Mrs. Jenkins was born about 1850, and by her marriage became the mother of six children: Evan (deceased), Hester, Catherine, Maggie (deceased), Abram and John. Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins are members of the Congregational Church. Mr. Jenkins is a. Republican in politics, a Master Mason, a K. of H. and a member of the I. O. O. F. 

"Goodspeed's History of East Tennessee, Hamilton County." 1887 

1880 US Census, District 12, Hamilton Co., TN; Page 106.. 

Jenkins, Samuel Washington         

            Samuel was the first doctor in the Soddy, Tennessee area.  He was born in Bryson City , North Carolina in 1848, in a family of 11 children.  Five brothers fought for the Confederacy, but Samuel was too young (13) when the war began.  When he was 16, he tried to enlist in the Confederate Army, but they refused to take him.  So he joined the Union Army in Maryville, Tennessee, with the Tennessee Calvary Volunteers.  This group carried supplies to General Sherman in his “March to the Sea” from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia. Samuel’s assignments involved building a bridge over the Tennessee River, fighting in Okolona , Mississippi, participating in a Union victory at Ivy Farm, Mississippi against Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest.  Later General Forrest returned to North Alabama where Samuel and 300 members of his 3rd Regiment were taken prisoners after a hard-fought battle.  They were taken to Castle Morgan at Cahaba, Alabama. Conditions were harsh as it was located on a bluff where the Cahaba River joined the Alabama River .  Flooding was quite common in the spring, leading to poor sanitation and disease. After six months at Cahaba Prison Samuel’s group was moved by train to Vicksburg, Mississippi, for a prisoner exchange.  They were put on a large steamboat, the Sultana, which was overcrowded and had faulty boilers.  At 2 a.m. on April 27, 1865, seven miles out of Memphis, all Hell broke loose.  Three of the four boilers erupted with volcanic fury.  Sam was on the top deck and blown to the deck below which resulted in a hernia that caused problems for him all his life.Samuel, being a good swimmer, made it to the shore and was in a Memphis hospital for a few weeks.  After being discharged from the army in Nashville , he walked home to Bryson City .Little mention has been made of the Sultana disaster since it occurred the week after President Lincoln was assassinated.  However, more died on the Sultana than did on the Titanic, and almost as many as in the 9/11 terrorist attack in 2001.  Samuel was certainly a survivor at 17.A year later he married Eliza Rose, and they had a family of five boys and two girls.  They lived on a farm in North Carolina , but soon moved to Ducktown , Tennessee .  When Samuel was 39, he moved his family to Soddy , Tennessee , where he worked in the coal mines and did light farming.  In 1889, Eliza died, leaving seven children for him to bring up.  In 1894, Samuel graduated from the College of Medicine in Chattanooga , Tennessee , and began a new career as a doctor in Bakewell, and Soddy , Tennessee .  In 1901, he married Sallie Goode, and over the next 23 years they had 13 children, making a total of 20 children for Samuel.Samuel lived to be 84, outliving both of his wives.  He traveled to many homes to care for the sick even though many were unable to pay for his services.  Jerry Berry was a faithful black man who drove his buggy for his house calls and a trusted companion to Samuel,.Rachel J. Penney, Granddaughter of Samuel Jenkins, Arlene P. Chissom, Great Granddaughter of Samuel Jenkins Submitted by Arlene Chissom abchissom@comcast.net