Biography: John T. Prude Sabine Parish, Louisiana; --------------------------------- Submitted by Trudy Marlow ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** --------------------------------------------------------------------- Source: Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Northwest Louisiana The Southern Publishing Company, Chicago & Nashville, 1890 - p630 --------------------------------------------------------------------- John T. Prude. As might naturally be ex- pected, mention is made in the present work of many citizens of De Soto Parish, La., now promi- nent in their different callings, but none more so than Mr. Prude, who is a member of the general mercantile firm of Prude & Hood, at Cook Post- office, which was established in January, 1881. Born in Pickens County, Ala., in 1854, he is a son of David W. Prude and Frances P. (Archer) Prude, the former born in Alabama in 1823, and the latter in Georgia in 1833, their marriage being celebrated in the former State, where they resided until 1856, when they came to De Soto Parish, La., and settled about ten miles southwest of Mansfield. The father embarked in the occupation of farming and merchandising, following the latter calling in Mansfield for some years. He was a member of the A. F. & A. M., also a member of the Cumber- land Presbyterian Church, and was a police juror and magistrate at the time of his death in 1879. His father, Hanan Prude, was born in South Car- olina, and died in Alabama, and his mother, Martha Prude, was of Irish descent and died in De Soto Parish. Mrs. Frances P. (Archer) Prude, was a member in good standing of the Cumberland Pres- byterian Church, and died in 1889. Her father died in Mississippi. John T. Prude, the immediate subject of this memoir, was the third of nine chil- dren born to his parents, and his youth was spent on a farm in De Soto Parish. his education being received in the country schools and. in Mansfield, La., and Mansfield, Tex. After leaving school he drove cattle and farmed in Dallas, County, Tex., one year, then returned to this parish, and on De- cember 20, 1876, was married in Sabine Parish, his wife being Fannie, daughter of Michael and Susan Morris. Mr. Morris is a native of Sabine Parish, and his wife of Wilcox County, Ala. After their union Mr. and Mrs. Morris resided for some years in De Soto Parish, then moved to Sabine, where they both died about 1885 and 1886, re- spectively. Mrs. Prude's (our subject's wife) birth occurred in this parish, and since her marriage she and her husband have lived on the farm, his at- tention being also given to merchandising since 1881, and since the establishment of Cook Post- office he has been postmaster of the same. He is the owner of about 2,200 acres of land, in different tracts, some of which is covered with valuable timber. In addition to the above mentioned call- ings to which he is now giving his attention, he deals in cotton and stock. He has one of the finest country homes in the parish, and is thoroughly fixed to enjoy life. His wife is a Missionary Baptist. David William Hood, a member of the general mercantile firm of Prude & Hood, was born in Pick- ens County, Ala., in 1849, his parents, C. L and Ellen (Bradford) Hood, being born in South Caro- lina and Alabama, in 1818 and 1828, respectively Their marriage took place in Alabama, but in 1856 they determined to seek a new home, and after a short residence in Catahoula Parish they came, in 1858, to DeSoto Parish, where the mother passed to her long home, in 1861, Mr. Hood being still alive. The last three years of the war he served in the Confederate army, in Louisiana and Arkan- sas. He is a member of the A. F. & A. 31., the Farmers' Alliance, and the Cumberland Presbyte- rian Church. His father, William Hood, died in Alabama, being of Irish lineage. David W. Brad- ford, the mother's father, was a South Carolinian, but passed from life in Alabama. Of nine children born to C. L. Hood and wife, the subject of this sketch was the second, and he received the early advantages that are usually given the farmer's boy. In 1878 he married Cornelia, daughter of John J. and Emily E. Gardner, her birth occurring in De Soto Parish, and her marriage resulting in the birth of six children, two now living. Mr. Hood was a successful farmer until 1889, when he became associated in the mercantile business with Mr. Prude, as above stated. He is the owner of eighty acres of good land, and he and wife are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. The par- ents of Mrs. Hood were born in Jefferson County, Ala., and La Fayette County, Ala., in 1820 and 1833, father and mother, respectively, and after their marriage, in 1859, they came to DeSoto Par- ish, La., where they are still living, consistent members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Mr. Gardner has been police juror for about ten years, and during the two last years of the war he was a member of Company B, of the Crescent Regiment. # # #