Jefferson County, Alabama Biographies

Jefferson County, Alabama Biographies

The following biographies were extracted from: Jefferson County and Birmnigham, Alabama: Historical and Biographical, 1887, Author: John Witherspoon Dubose.

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JAMES LAWRENCE WATKINS, Editor-in-chief of the Birmingham Age, was born inPulaski, Tenn., October 21, 1850. His paternal grandfather was a native of Amelia County, Virginia, and descended from one of three Welsh brothers, who emigrated to Virginia in its earliest history. He went to Georgia early in life, and there married. Afterward he removed to the valley of the Tennessee, in Northern Alabama, near Courtland, where he made very large investments in the fertile lands of the valley, and became owner of large cotton plantations and many slaves. The father of James L., Robert H. Watkins, married Miss Carter, of Pulaski, Tenn., where he settled. She was the daughter of Dr. Benjamin Carter, a well-known physician in that country, who was of Scotch descent, though a native of South Carolina.

R. H. Watkins and family removed to Huntsville, Ala., in 1861, where he and his wife both died—one in 1863, the other in 1864. He had erected in that beautiful town one of the handsomest residences in the South.

The education, during the war, of J. L. Watkins was obtained, as circumstances permitted, at home from members of his family. He was placed at school, for several years after the war, to Dr. Carlos G. Smith, a well-known preceptor in this State. His scholastic training ended with a two years' course—1868-69—at the Virginia Military Institute. After this he engaged as clerk in a dry goods house at Huntsville, and studied law in 1870 in the office of Beirne & Gordon, Huntsville, and subsequently in St. Louis. He was admitted to the bar and began practice in St. Louis in the fall of 1871, in his twenty-first year. He practiced there until December, 1874, when, on account of severe illness, induced by the climate he returned to Huntsville. There he was married to Miss Matthews, in January, 1875. From 1875 to 1882 he engaged in farming pursuits in Madison and Limestone Counties.

Removing to Birmingham in March, 1882, he, with his brother, R. H. Watkins, bought and edited the Weekly Observer, until its consolidation, September, 1882, with the Weekly Iron Age.

Mr. Watkins is president of the Iron Age Publishing Company, which issues the Birmingham Age, a daily, and the Weekly Iron Age. He is a progressive journalist, thoroughly imbued with the spirit of the New South, studious of great public questions, and always ready to lead in any practical enterprises adapted to the prosperity of Birmingham . He possesses one of the most valuable elements in the character of the editor of a daily newspaper—personal popularity, and the highest respectability of social position.

G. P. WILLIAMSON was born in New Richmond, Ohio, January 11, 1843. His father, Henry Williamson, came to Ohio from Pennsylvania, and settled at New Richmond. His mother, Julia Hough, came from Loudon County, Virginia. The former was of Welsh, and the latter English descent. His father was a river engineer for many years, and ran on different steamers in this capacity, and for a large portion of the time from Cincinnati to New Orleans, and then from Louisville to New Orleans. He continued to run in this trade until sustaining personal injuries in the burning of a steamboat. He then left the river, and in 1844 moved his family to New Albany, Indiana.

The educational advantages of the son were obtained at the public schools in New Albany, and, when not going to school he clerked in a book store. He continued thus engaged until fifteen years old, and then went to work in the Louisville, New Albany & Chicago Railroad Company's Shops, and remained in them until 1861, when he was elected second lieutenant of Company C, of the Sixteenth Indiana Regiment. His colonel was P. A. Hackelman. Young Williamson served in the Army of the Potomac thirteen months, until the winter of 1862, when he returned home to work in the Louisville & Nashville Railroad Shops in Louisville. He worked one year, and was then assigned to the pattern shops of the Louisville, New Albany & Chicago Railroad, and filled the responsible position of foreman there for six months. At the end of this time he returned to Louisville and worked in a similar capacity for Davies & Co., engine builders. After five years' connection with this firm, he took charge of the shops of Sneed, Sayre & O'Bryan, who were architectural iron workers. He was, for the first year, foreman of the pattern shop, and was then promoted to the position of superintendent. He continued to work there, with great satisfaction to his employers, until the latter part of 1874, when he came to Birmingham to do the iron work on the First National Bank.

Going back a little, it is necessary to state that it was in the winter of 1871-72 that Mr. Williamson first came to Birmingham for the purpose above stated, but he had not then determined to live here. During the progress of the work already mentioned, Mr. Charles Linn made a proposition which culminated in his removal to the young town in January, 1875. He was, at the first, part owner and superintendent of the Birmingham Foundry and Car Manufacturing Company, now known as the Linn Iron Works. He continued in this position until March, 1879, and then retired from this establishment to build the Jefferson Foundry, of which he was the sole proprietor. These latter works were put in operation on the 1st of May of that year. The shop was then small and worked only about ten men. It has, however, had a prosperous career, and from a small beginning has grown to be one of the most important enterprises in Birmingham, and has worked up to its full capacity almost from the start. Of late years its capacity has been taxed to its utmost, which is the best evidence of the superior character of the work done. The pay-roll, carrying ten men to begin on, now has one hundred and fifty.

In July, 1885, Mr. Williamson was the prime mover in the organization of the new Williamson Iron Company. The building of their furnace was the beginning oŁ the present "boom" in furnace-building now going on in the Birmingham districts The new company was known as the Williamson Iron Company, and the Jefferson Foundry was merged into the new enterprise. The furnace thus far has had a similar experience to the foundry, and, with its capable management, there is no reason to suppose that any other fate than prosperity will befall it. Thus it is seen that Mr. Williamson has thoroughly established himself as one of the essentially representative men of this progressive city.

In 1864 he was married to Miss Mary Bligh, of Louisville, Kentucky. He has four children—Harry, Emma, Julia, and Mary. Harry is assistant superintendent of the Williamson Iron Company: Miss Emma was married to Mr. W. L. Woodruff, manager of the Birmingham Telephone Exchange, in 1886, and now resides with her husband in the city. All of the rest of the family also live here. He had two brothers, Braden and William. The former is dead, and the latter is farming in Illinois. His father and mother both died a few years since in New Albany.

Mr. Williamson is a member of the Methodist Church, and of Mineral City Lodge of Odd Fellows, of Birmingham, has taken most of the degrees in the order,and has filled many of the offices. He is also a member of the Knights of. Honor.

HENRY J. WINN was born in Greene, now Hale County, Alabama, February 10, 1836. He comes of old Virginia stock. His father, Asa B. Winn, who, previous to emigrating to Alabama, was a planter, resumed his occupation at the time of coming to Greene County, in 1830. His mother, Anne E. Robertson, was also a Virginian.

Young Winn attended the ordinary schools of his immediate vicinity until he was sixteen years old, and then went to Dr. Henry Tutwiler, at Greene Springs, Ala., one year, and then to the University of Alabama, at Tuscaloosa, until 1854.

On returning home he farmed, but, in the meantime, engaged in the private study of medicine, and in 1856-57 took medical lectures at the University at New Orleans, and in 1857-58 at the Medical University of Pennsylvania, at Philadelphia, graduating in the spring of the last mentioned year. Dr. Winn at first practiced in Marengo County, Alabama, and at the end of the first year went to Dallas County, and was engaged in practicing and farming until 1880.

During a portion of the time up to 1880, he, like most young Southerners, had his war experience. It was in the spring of 1861 that he enlisted as private in the First Alabama Regiment of Cavalry. In 1862 he was commissioned assistant surgeon, and served in this capacity until the close of the war. As already stated, Dr. Winn remainded in Dallas County until the year 1880, and then came to Birmingham, and devoted himself exclusively to the practice of medicine. During this time Dr. Winn has been a member of the State Medical Association, and the Jefferson County Medical Society, and has also belonged to county board of censors, and for several years was county health officer.

In 1886 he was appointed postmaster of Birmingham by President Cleveland, and, since his acceptance of the office, he has had the honor of seeing the free delivery of mails introduced in Birmingham, which, of course, has greatly facilitated the handling and disposing of mail matter.

Dr. Winn was married in March, 1859, to Miss Eliza E., daughter of Alexander W. and Catherine B. Ellerbe, of Chesterfield County, South Carolina. He is the father of ten children--Alexander W., deceased, Julia R., Catherine E., Lucy L., Lillie J., deceased, Walter E., Annie C., Henry J., Jr., Herbert, and Eliza E.

In January 1887 Dr. Winn was married the second time to Mrs. Helen N. Boyle, of this city.

CHARLES W. WOOD is one of the progressive young men identified with Birmingham. He was born in Pittsburg, Pa., Nov. 4, 1863, but in 1866 his father's family moved to New Orleans. His father, E. D. Wood, and his mother, Miss Mariam Widney, were both natives of Pittsburg. Previous to going to New Orleans his father was an extensive coal dealer, and has followed the same business ever since, and owns extensive coal yards both in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Young Wood's early life was spent in the former city, and his first educational advantages received there. On his mother's death, in 1873, he went to Pittsburg and spent four years at school. Returning to Louisiana he was four years a student at the State University, and devoted himself to those studies which bore especially on the subject of engineering. He finished his studies in civil engineering at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, at Troy, N. Y., in 1884.

He then went into the coal business with his father, and here made practical application of his training as an engineer. He remained with his father from the fall of 1884 until the spring of 1886. In April of that year, he came to Birmingham on a prospecting trip, and returned the following month, and at once organized the Birmingham Bridge Company, of which he is the general manager.

The filling of so important a position is at once the highest testimony to his business capacity and ability. No enterprise from its inception has had a more flattering history, and more hopeful indications of its continuance.

Mr. Wood was married October 14, 1886, to Miss Ida E., daughter of Mr. P. W. Pettiss, of New Orleans. Her father is one of the leading business men. Mrs. Wood is a member of the Methodist Church.

WILLIAM H. WOOLDRIDGE was born in Memphis , February 13, 1853. His father, Egbert Wooldridge, came to Memphis from Woodford County, Kentucky, in 1845, and lived there until his death in 1859. His mother, Elizabeth White, was also a native of Woodford County, Kentucky. William was one of a family of eight children—five were boys, and three-girls, and he was the fifth child. He began when he was only seven years old going to-a private school in his native county, and during the war attended school one year. Subsequently, he went to Franklin College, in Middle Tennessee, one year, making a, sum total of his school life of four years.

After quitting school he farmed several years in the rich bottoms of Bolivar County_rMississippi, near Memphis, and then traveled for the large wood and willow warehouse of Wheeler, Pickens & Co., of that city, from 1872 to 1878. He passed through the yellow-fever scourge of 1873, but in the year 1878, when the city was well nigh depopulated by another visitation of the plague, he escaped to Louisville, Ky. There went into the-large stove manufactory of John G. Baxter. For awhile he traveled, and also acted as general manager of the entire establishment. When applying himself to the former class of work his territory embraced almost the entire South, covering a period of fourteen years. He thus became extensively acquainted in that section. He made many large sales, and greatly enlarged the business by his untiring energy.

On Mr. John G. Baxter's death, in 1884, the John G. Baxter Stove and Foundry Company was organized, of which company he was made president; W. D. Hill, vice-president ; and C. W. Sisson, secretary and treasurer. Mr. Wooldridge had made all of his arrangements to go into the stove manufacturing business in Birmingham early in 1884, and would have done so had it not been for the death of Mr. Baxter, which necessitated his taking full charge of the business in Louisville. It was not until August,, 1886, that he, in company with Mr. Hill, put this intention into practice. It was then that the present site was selected for the removal of the Stove Works to this city. The object that most engaged his attention was to get the Works established and in running order in their new location, and to accomplish this required not only much skill and forethought, but a thorough knowledge of the business and its requirements. It is considerably to the credit of Mr. Wooldridge that he drew the specifications and carried out all the plans of this large establishment, and very naturally ought to feel proud of his success.

A description in detail of the building will not be amiss in this connection: The main building, where all the molding is done, is two hundred feet square; the mounting and finishing rooms will be two stories high, and measure one hundred by one hundred and seventy feet; the storeroom, also two stories, will measure ninety by one hundred feet. The most elaborate finishing, electroplating, etc., are done in these works. The most skillful patternmakers will be employed, and the newest features will always be incorporated as a part of their stove-making. The number of men to whom this establishment will afford work will be four hundred, and the daily capacity is two hundred stoves. Some of the handsomest patterns used in this factory are due to the ingenuity of Mr. Wooldridge, he not only having designed but made them himself. Never having served an apprenticeship at any trade he has a thorough knowledge of machinery, and fully understands the use of all kinds of tools. On December 13th, 1886, the machinery of the John G. Baxter manufactory was put into motion in Birmingham, and thus another great factor added to her wealth-producing power.

Mr. Wooldridge's domestic relations have been fortunate. He had three brothers— Oscar, Charles A., and Egbert in the Confederate Army. They belonged to the Army of Tennessee, under the command of General E. Kirbv Smith. Their division commander was General Frank Cheatham. Charles was killed at the fall of Atlanta, and Oscar and Egbert died in Memphis since the war. Albert is now a cotton merchant in St. Louis. His sisters, Mrs. Judge T. J. Latham, Mrs. Harriet Simpson, and Mrs. Maggie Peters all reside in Memphis.

Mr. Wooldridge was married February 28, 1878, to Miss Mary, the oldest daughter of Mr. John G. Baxter, of Louisville, and has two sons, John Baxter and William Latham.

He is a member of the Christian Church, while his wife is an Episcopalian.

It is needless to add more to a career spent in such close compliance with the demands of active business. The prints of the labor we have before us are the highest encomium that could be expressed.

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