Jackson Purchase Historical Society

Born May 20, 1861 to Robert Chappell and Fredonia Charlotte (Stephens) Mayes in Mayfield, Kentucky, William Harding Mayes attended Paducah District Methodist College at Milburn, Kentucky, Norton’s English and Classical School at Union City, Tennessee and Vanderbilt University where he earned his law degree.  His legal studies completed he was admitted to the Kentucky Bar in 1881 and practiced in Mayfield.  Admitted to the Texas Bar in 1882 he practiced in Brownwood, Texas until 1886.   From 1882 to 1883, he was Brown County’s county attorney.  He was editor and publisher of the Brownwood Bulletin from 1887 to 1914.  He served as president of the Texas Press Association from 1899 to 1901, and the National Editorial Association of the United States from 1908-09.

In 1912, he ran for lieutenant governor of Texas.  “When announcing his candidacy, he declared that he would accept the office if the voters so desired, but refused to make speeches, to spend any money other than for postage or stationery, or to leave his job to campaign extensively.”  (see page 61, Presiding Officers of the Texas Legislature, 846-1995, printed by the Texas House of Representatives, Austin, Texas 1995).   He won! And presided over the Senate of the 33rd Legislature from 1913-14.  Mayes was the first newspaperman to hold the office of lieutenant governor of Texas.  He did not seek re-election.

Leaving politics, he established the journalism school at the University of Texas, its first.  He served as its first dean from 1914 to 1926.  During his 12 year tenure as Dean, he also was the president of the Association of American Schools and Departments of Journalism.  Mayes wrote at least one book, “Texas Empire Builders of 1936″.

In 1936 he served as Executive Vice-President of the Texas Centennial Committee.  Mayes died June 26, 1939 in Austin and was buried in Greenleaf Cemetery, Brownwood, Texas.

(This posting created from the following resources:  The Handbook of Texas - Online, www.tshaonline.org/handbook; Presiding Officers of the Texas Legislature, 1846-1995, Published by the Texas Legislative Council, Revised 1995, Printed by the Texas House of Representatives, Austin, Texas; and Genealogy Trails at www.genealogytrails.com)

Marshall County, 92nd created in the state in 1842, was named for U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice, John Marshall (1801-1835); it was carved out of the northern portion of Calloway County.     It is bordered on the north by Livingston, Lyon and McCracken counties, on the east by Trigg county, on the south by Calloway county and on the west by Graves County.    Its county seat is Benton, named in honor of Senator Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri.

For 10 years in a row, 1999-2009, Marshall County has been named the best county to live in within the State of Kentucky.

Kentucky Lake and Barkley Lake, both created by the Tennessee Valley Authority by impounding  the Tennessee and  Cumberland Rivers,  make up one of the largest man-made bodies of water in the country.  It lies on the north/northeast boundary of Marshall County.

Benton holds its annual Tater Day Festival in April.  This festival has its origins in a trade day began in 1842 and is the world’s only celebration of the sweet potato.

Held annually the fourth Sunday of each May, is the Big Singing, which originated in 1884 and is the oldest continuously operating indigenous music festival in the United States. The Big Singing was founded by James R. Lemon, publisher of the Benton Tribune-Democrat.

One of Benton’s most famous sons was Joe Creason a journalist who was a columnist for the Courier-Journal from 1946-1963.  Creason also wrote two books based on the research he did for this columns before he died suddenly in 1974.

Calvert City was founded by Potilla Calvert and is known for its chemical and manufacturing plants.  Mr. Calvert’s home, Oak Hill, is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Marshall County was the site of Cherokee State Park, located on the grounds of the current Kenlake State Resort park in Aurora.  This park operated as the only segregated resort facility for thousands of Negro citizens until the early 1960′s when it was closed after the state park system adopted a complete integration policy.

Calloway County was created out of Hickman County in 1822 and named for Col. Richard Calloway who came to Kentucky with Daniel Boone about 1776.  Calloway was one of the founders of Boonesboro and was killed there by Indians in 1780.

Calloway County is bounded on the north by Marshall County, on the east by the Tennessee River, on the south by the Tennessee/Kentucky border and on the west by Graves County.  When created, its northern boundary was the Ohio River.

As Calloway County grew, typhoid fever raged through the county, more severe in the warmer months.  The common house fly was identified as the carrier of the disease but as few windows had screens and sanitary conditions miserable, a rich breeding ground was readily available for the flies.    Warnings from various county and state officials sometimes generated sporadic campaigns to control the flies.  “The Women’s Club sponsored spring drives to get rid of the flies by awarding youngsters free movie tickets for each 25 early fly carcasses submitted in evidence, in late April and May, in the firm opinion that the destroying of the first flies would hold in check the summer’s population- Calloway’s first experiment in fly birth control.  The uncanny capacity of youth to outwit their elders found maximum ingenuity in perfecting a screen fly trap fashioned a bit along the lines of an ice cream cone shaped net.  Result:  A fly panic broke the Woman’s Club bank in a youth stampede on the Woodruff Opera House.  Moments later an official moratorium ended once and forever the Fly War of 1912.”  (The Story of Calloway County, 1822-1976, by Dorothy and Kerby Jennings, 1978, Murray Democrat Publishing Co., 615 Maple St., Murray, KY 42071, pages 168-169).

Henry County was created in 1821 and named for Revolutionary War statesman, Patrick Henry.   Paris, west Tennessee’s oldest incorporated municipality, has been its county seat since its creation.

Henry County is bounded on the north by Graves and Calloway Counties in Kentucky, on the east by Stewart and Benton Counties in Tennessee, on the south by Carroll and Benton Counties and on the west by Weakley County.

Henry County produced three (3) Tennessee governors: Isham Green Harris, Tennessee’s only Confederate Governor, elected in 1859; James Davis Porter, elected in 1874 (served two terms); and Thomas Clarke Rye, elected 1915. In addition, John Wesley Crockett, Davy’s eldest son, was elected to Congress in 1837, filling his father’s former seat.

Sulphur Well was the county’s first tourist attraction. Many people came to drink the waters believing it had curative powers including relief during the 1837 Yellow Fever epidemic. The well was struck by accident in 1821 while searching for a large salt bed on a former Chickasaw reservation. The well was covered by TVA’s Kentucky Lake in 1944.

(This posting created from the online Tennessee Encyclopedia and the Jackson Purchase Historical Society Sesquicentennial Publication, 1969)

Dieter Ullrich

The Summer Meeting of the JPHS was held on July 24, 2010, in the auditorium of the Wrather Museum on the campus of Murray State University.

Dieter Ullrich was the speaker on the topic of the Battle of Lochridge Mills, Tennessee.  Mr. Ullrich holds a Masters in Science in Library/Archival Science and a Masters in Arts in History.  He is currently the Special Collections Librarian/Archivist of the Pogue Library at Murray State University.

Among other publications, Mr. Ullrich has written “They Met At Lochridge Mills” (West Tennessee Historical Society, Vol. 51, 1998 Annual Issue, pages 1-20) and spoken about this battle before other historical groups.

Lochridge Mills was located in Weakley County Tennessee and the battle involved Union troops from Iowa and Minnesota and were primarily of German descent.  The Confederate troops were primarily Tennesseeans of the 6th and 7th Tennessee Calvary.  Mr. Ullrich presented a slideshow to accompany his speech and showed not only maps of the battle area but pictures of the various generals and a picture of how the battlefield looks today.  A question and answer period followed.  Several visitors were descendants of the Lochridge family who brought to share pictures and a newspaper article concerning the battle.

New officers were also elected at this meeting for the 2010-11 year.  Our new officers are Marion Claybrook, President; Sarah Strange, Vice President; Melissa Earnest, Secretary; Marvin Downing, Treasurer; and Cecelia Edwards, Member at Large.

Dues for the 2010-2011 year are now being collected.  At this meeting, we were thrilled that  Charles and LaDonna Bobbitt and John and Melissa Earnest became life members of the Jackson Purchase Historical Society.  If you have not paid your dues yet, please send them to Marvin Downing.  Individual membership dues are $15.00.