LAKE COUNTY TN - GOODSPEED - The Biographies of Lake County D - E ********************************************************************************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Jane N. Powell ********************************************************************************************************** D - E Bios, Goodspeed History of Tennessee, 1887 Not responsible for typos and errors. Please check the original Goodspeed before adding to your genealogical record as absolute proof --- and then remember that the family only told what that wanted the public to know. Henry M. Darnall (deceased) was born in Chester District, S. C., In 1808. His parents moved to Maury County, Tenn., when he was four years old. When nineteen he left there and went to Obion County, and lived there and in Lake County until his death. His early education was neglected, though be inherited fine sense from his mother, and his father was well educated. When thirty years of age he was appointed captain of a company of militia; then was made colonel, and finally brigadier-general. During the war he was offered the generalship of the army of Virginia, or general quarter mastership of the Southern Confederacy. Mr. Darnall's reply to the latter was characteristic; he said that "he did not care to go into the service with - a load of bacon on his shoulders" but preferred going as a soldier. He took no part in the war at all; politically was a Democrat. When the question of secession came up, he was one of two men in that section of Obion County who voted for the Union. His chief occupation was farming and land speculating, in which he was very successful. In 1836 he married Virginia Wright born in Wayne County, Ky in 1817. Of seven children born to them two sons and two daughters are living. The oldest son was a representative of the lower house of the assembly in Missouri, and was murdered by his tenant through malice. The second son was killed by a band of Federal marauders; the youngest is a prominent physician in Texas. Mr. Darnall died in 1880, his wife is still living. The Darnalls are of Scotch descent, and trace their ancestors back to the time of Robert Burns. Richard M., the third son of Henry M., is, now a leading lawyer of Lake County; was born August 2, 1849. At sixteen he entered Beech Grove College, and remained two years. When eighteen years old a difficulty occurred between his father's family and two young men - Robert L. and Clinton G. Lane. One of them was a graduate of Yale College and went to Lake County in the capacity of a teacher. He met and married a niece of Mr. Darnall's, and the latter generously gave them a nice home, besides lending them several thousand dollars. In spite of this kindness they forged the will of Mr. Darnall, so that she might, at his death, receive $20,000; but as Mr. Darnall was a very robust man, they decided to kill him, selecting Cullen C. Edwards as an accomplice, all three of them being leading Kuklux. One night the youngest Lane went to Mr. Darnall's house and endeavored to insult him; when Mr. Darnall turned to enter the house Lane drew a navy pistol from the born of his saddle and attempted to shoot him, but before he could fire, Richard Darnall reached him and prevented the shot; he then attempted to shoot him, but the latter, seeing that it was kill or be killed, drew a pistol from his pocket and shot Lane, inflicting a wound from which he came near dying. After this the two Lanes and Edwards swore vengeance against the Darnalls, and meeting Richard and his oldest brother coming from the steamer Belle of Memphis, they commenced firing upon them; but the Darnall boys succeeded in killing all three of them without receiving any wounds. To escape the Kuklux, Richard went to northern Texas, and soon after entered the University of Mississippi, at Oxford, and entered under the name of Mathew Darnall. He wanted but a few lessons of graduating when the detectives found he was there and started to arrest him; but receiving information of this he left Oxford and went into Memphis, passing the train going out with the officers. A telegram was sent to Memphis stating he was on the train and officers were there to arrest him; but when nearing the city he rang the bell to stop the train, and jumping from the cars, went around the city, crossed the river and made his escape. Soon after this Mr. Darnall commenced reading law under J. D. Reagan, of Fayetteville, Ark., and while there, in 1873, he married Emma V. Quarles, born April 16, 1852, in Fayetteville. They have four sons and one daughter. In politics he is a Democrat. In the Forty-third General Assembly he represented the floating vote of Lake, Dyer and Obion Counties, and was an able legislator. In 1873 he moved back to Madrid Bend, where he has given his time to his profession. He owns 400 acres of land, renting it all out except fifteen acres, which he reserves for experimental horticulture. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- William A. J. Davis, farmer, is the son of J. J. and Ann (Harry) Davis. The father was born in 1807 in Marion District, S.C.; the mother in Marlborough District, S.C., in 1809. They were married in 1825. and soon after moved to Mobile, Ala. They had ten children, four boys and six girls, six of them now living. In 1831 they moved from Alabama to Hickman County, Ky., and in 1847 to Obion County, Tenn. Mr. Davis was a farmer, and with his wife he belonged to the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. He was a Democrat, taking an active interest in the success of his party. Mrs. Davis died in 1859, Mr. Davis in 1862. Our subject, William A. J. Davis, is of English-Scotch extraction, and was born in Hickman County, Ky., June 17, 1885; was raised on the farm, and there being no school near enough for him to attend, his education was limited. October 30, 1855, he married Miss Martha Pollock, who was born in Obion County April 16, 1837. They have no children. Mr. Davis was in the Confederate Army. In 1862 he volunteered in the Thirty-third Regiment, Tennessee Volunteers, served eight months, was at Shiloh and other battles, was wounded and discharged on account of ill health. Has been a resident of Lake County ever since it was divided, excepting two years spent in Missouri. He is engaged in farming, and has an interest in a steam saw-mill and a cotton- gin. His brother, Joseph D., who was born in Hickman County, Ky., April 10, 1827, resides with him. Both Mr. Davis and his brother are Democrats. Mr. Davis owns 410 acres of fertile land and a pleasant home. With his wife he belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church South. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- P. Davis, clerk and master of the chancery court of Lake County, is the son of James and Rebecea (Dalton) Davis. His parents were born in North Carolina, his father in 1803, and his mother July 4, 1811. They were married in 1841, and had five children, two boys and three girls. Our subject and two sisters are the only ones living. Mr. Davis' mother belonged to the Methodist Church. His father was an old line Whig, and died September 9, 1859, his mother living until January 24, 1885. Mr. Davis is of English ancestry, born in Obion County January 29, 1847, and was so fortunate as to receive a good education. In 1864 he volunteered, under Col. P. R. Bartean, in the Confederate Army, Second Tennessee Cavalry, and served until the surrender. He then returned to Lake County and engaged in the mercantile business. January 2, 1878, he married Miss Sarah Eagan, who was born in Cairo, Ill., in 1854, and they have four children: Linnie, born February 26, 1880; James, born October 9, 1882; Robert A. and Hugh (twins), born July 13, 1886. Mr. Davis is a Democrat. He was elected circuit court clerk in 1870, and at the expiration of his term was appointed clerk and master of the chancery court, which he has since filled in the most satisfactory way. Mr. Davis also clerks in Mr. J. C. Harris' store at Tiptonville. He has made many friends, and is a man of pleasant social disposition. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mrs. Caroline (Watson) Dickinson, the widow of William R. Dickinson, is the daughter of Daniel and Rowena (Bartlett) Watson. Her father was born in North Carolina in 1797, and the mother in Missouri in 1802, where they married and lived until 1820, when they crossed over to Fulton County, Ky., and lived there until they died. They had eight children - two boys and six girls. Her mother was a devout Methodist; her father an energetic farmer, and a Democrat, and died in 1865; the mother died in 1869. Mrs. Dickinson was born April 6, 1823, being the first child born in Madrid Bend, Ky. She had fine educational advantages, and spent two years under Mrs. Tevis, the principal of "Science Hill," at Shelbyville, Ky., for a great many years the largest and best female college in the South. In 1843 she married William R. Dickinson, a native of Missouri. He was a graduate of Cape Girardeau College, of Missouri. He taught school for some time, and his wife was a pupil of his. He then went into the mercantile business at Vicksburg, Miss., but, the firm failing, he took his remnant of the goods, put them on a steamboat, and, going up the river, landed at Mr. Watson's, where, meeting his old pupil, Miss Caroline Watson, again, their friendship was renewed, and before He left they were married. Soon after they went to Rockport, Ind., and he sold goods there; then returned near his father-in-law's, and died in 1858. He was both a Mason and an Odd Fellow, and in politics a Whig. Since his death Mrs. Dickinson has been extensively engaged in farming, owning 430 acres of fertile land. Of seven children born to them only three are living: Daniel W., a farmer of Kentucky; Rowena, widow of Dr. Leander Carrigan of Kentucky; and Lelia, wife of Robert Davis, of Union City. Mrs. Dickinson has been living in the county for fourteen years, and, although a lady, is a good farmer and financier. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lauchlan Donaldson, one of the ablest lawyers of Tiptonville, is the son of Wellington and Elizabeth A (Meriweather) Donaldson. His father was born in St. Johns N.B., and when a young man went to the republic of Texas, where he was engaged with a corps of engineers to survey the Gaudalupe River, receiving as compensation a large tract of land. In 1843 he moved to Tennessee, and married Miss Meriweather, in Obion County, who was a native of Montgomery County, Tenn. Soon after they were married they settled at Meriweather's Landing, and made it their permanent home. Mr. Donaldson, Sr., was by preference an Episcopalian, though neither his wife or himself were connected with any church. He was a Whig until after the war, then a Democrat. He enlisted in the Confederate army during the late war, and became one of the defenders of Island No. 10. During the siege he died. He had four sons, three of them in the Confederate Army. He was for awhile magistrate in Obion County. His wife is still living, and is now seventy- two years old. In early life she was quite a huntress, being very expert in using fire-arms and killing game. Her father moved to Meriweather's Landing in 1827, when it was thinly settled, only an Indian trail running from Stone Ferry to New Madrid. Our subject, Mr. Lauchlan Donaldson's ancestors, were Scotch on his father's side, being the last of the McDonalds, of Glencoe, and on his mother's side Welsh and English. He was born January 4, 1844, in Hickman, Ky., and received his early education in Obion County. In 1862 he volunteered in Capt. Faulkner's company of independents, and the year following was made first lieutenant of Company K, of Twelfth Kentucky Cavalry, Confederate Army. During three years' active service he was only wounded once, at Guntown, Miss. He was imprisoned once at Alton, Ill., being captured at Island No. 10, and again at Johnson's Island, for six months, being captured at Verona, Miss. In 1866 he commenced reading law, under Judge Kingman, of Hickman, Ky. In 1868 he located at Tiptonville, where he has since practiced his profession. In 1873 he married Mary Nall, daughter of Hon. Robert C. Nall. They have had six children, four boys and two girls, only five living. Neither Mr. or Mrs. Donaldson belong to any church. He has been county superintendent for seven years, and has practiced law at Tiptonville for eighteen years, and, in connection with his professional and official duties, has a farm of 300 acres, which he also looks after. Mr. Donaldson is a man of marked ability, a fine lawyer and a useful citizen. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Milton Donaldson (deceased), the largest capitalist of Lake County, was a native of Alabama, but spent part of his youth in Nashville. After moving to Donaldson's Point, Mo., he married Theresa Baird. Mr. Donaldson was a self-made man. When he married he had nothing, and by hard work and good management he accumulated an estate worth $150,000. He had but one son, who died in childhood. He was a Democrat in politics. Mrs. Donaldson was a Methodist. In 1877 Mr. Donaldson left his home one afternoon to look after his stock. While absent a villain by the name of Murphy entered the house for the purpose of robbing. He first knocked the servant girl down, and thinking she was dead, returned to close the doors, but finding she was not dead, he repeated the blows. He then entered Mrs. Donaldson's room, and murdered her. As soon as the crime was discovered, the neighbors turned out and found the murderer, and hung him at once. Mr. Donaldson remained a widower until his death, in 1881, and having neither wife nor children to inherit his large estate, it passed into the hands of his nieces and nephews. He was a kind and generous man. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arthur Forbes Eastwood, sheriff of Lake County, Tenn., is the son of William J. and Susan C. (Bigham) Eastwood. His father was born in North Carolina in 1820, and his mother in Carroll County, Tenn. in the same year. They were married in New Madrid County (since called Pemiscot County), Mo. They had five sons and one daughter, and both belonged to the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and Mr. Eastwood was a Democrat, taking an active part in politics. He died December 3, 1852. Mrs. Eastwood afterward married Capt. S. B. Kelley and she died August 22, 1870. Our subject is of Scotch Irish descent, and was born in Pemiscot County, Mo., April 6, 1852. Mr. Eastwood was raised on a farm. As he was a child during the late war, which closed the schools in his neighborhood, he had few opportunities of acquiring an education until after he was grown, but commenced teaching when he was nineteen years of age, and continued it for five years. October 18,1874, he married Miss Mary H. Waters, who was born in New Madrid County, Mo. April 17, 1852. They have one daughter - Susan V. V., born October 18, 1875. Mrs. Eastwood was a member of the Catholic Church, and died April 20, 1876. Mr. Eastwood afterward married Miss Martha E. Harper, who was born February 15, 1857, in Obion County. Three children were born to this marriage: Mary E., born May 6, 1881; Erin, born October 24, 1883; Vera, born December 5, 1885. Neither Mr. nor Mrs. Eastwood belong to any church. Mr. Eastwood is one of the prominent Democrats of Lake County, and in 1884 was elected sheriff of the county, and is now serving his second term. In 1881 he published the Lake County Star, at Tiptonville, Tenn. and sold his interest to Mr. E. E. Tipton, in November, 1883. As sheriff of Lake County Mr. Eastwood has collected a larger amount of taxes than any other sheriff of the county has ever done, and has done more work without a deputy, Mr. Eastwood is very popular, and widely known in his county. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Richard C. Everett, an extensive land owner and farmer of Lake County, is the son of William and Christine (McDaniel) Everett. His father was born in North Carolina in 1785; his mother in Scotland in 1795, her parents moving to America, and locating in North Carolina, when she was very small. She married there, and in 1832 Mr. and Mrs. Everett moved to Fulton, Ky. In 1846 they moved to Madrid Bend. They have six boys and four girls; only three living now. Both were Methodists. Mr. Everett was on extensive farmer, but lost heavily by security debts; he was a Democrat and died in 1852; Mrs. Everett in 1879. Our subject, Richard Everett, inherits English, Welsh and Scotch blood. He was born May 4, 1835 in Fulton County, Ky., and was raised on the farm, receiving very little education; could scarcely read when married, but afterward acquired a practical education in business affairs. When only eighteen he commenced farming on his own responsibility, and in 1855 he married Margaret Cross, born October 10, 1833, in Middle Tennessee. She was the daughter of John and Cynthia (McDaniel) Cross. Her mother was born in Scotland in 1805. Her parents moved to North Carolina, and then to Coffee County, Tenn., where she met and married Mr. Cross, who was born in 1800. In 1854 they came to Madrid Bend, and he died the following year. Mrs. Cross died in 1858. Mr. Cross was a Methodist. Mrs. Cross is a Cumberland Presbyterian. Of twelve children born to them three are living. Mr. and Mrs. Everett have had seven children - four now living: Margaret C., Cynthia B., Mary and James R. Mr. Everett has, besides his own children, raised four orphans, and three more are now living with him. He is a Democrat, and has been a Mason for twenty-three years, and hag been constable in his district for eight years, and was deputy clerk of the county court in Fulton County, Ky., for eight years. Mrs. Everett is a Methodist. He has been a resident of the board for forty years, and now owns over 1,400 acres of land which he has acquired by his own efforts.