The Tupelo journal., 1906-09-21
editor Tupelo Journal:

editor IupelO journal:
| saw from a letter to J. r.
Frazer by DR.. ]. w Frazer that
he thinks / attributed to him the
language which Font Freeman
said he heard the Doctor use to
j. R. Dickson. / am sorry he
thought for one moment that
l charged him with the language.
If the DR.. will again read the
article he will see that l was just
stating what Font Freeman said
he heard DR.. Frazer say to Dick
son. Of course knew the whole
thing was made up by Font Free
man, and even he did not expect
any one to believe the statement
to be true, but only told it to
make a laugh on the Doctor. w.
L. Clayton.
One of the old timers whom /
have not mentioned yet, but who
deserves a line as, well cas- the
best is Col. w. H. II. Tison, who
lived and died at Baldwin. Miss.
l remember him as far back as
1856. He was born in Jackson
county, Ala, on Nov. 6. 1922.
His parents were from North
Carolina. Col. Tison served a
regular apprenticeship to the
saddlers trade, and learned to be
a master workman. He moved
to Mississippi about 1850 or 1851
and settled at old Carrollville, a
village which IS now extinct,
but which wasfabout two miles
rather north west from Bald
wyn, as my memory now serves
me. He there married Miss
Sarah S. Walker, in April, 1858,
amid, the sunshine and shade of
twenty nine years, she was to
him as the clinging and helpful
vine, entwining the tendrils of
her affections round him, bind
ing up the broken and wounded
boughs of his life, and in every
way proving a worthy and de-
helpmate, then sorrowed
over his untimely end, and took
up her duty for years thereafter
as the mother of his children
Col. Tison, while saddler by
trade. had aspirations for public
life. He went into the newspaper
business in 1856 at East Port,
Miss, as editor of the East Port
Republican, but which he moved
to Jacinto in a short while, and
the name of the paper was
changed to that of theRepublican
simply. He was elected to the
state Legislature first in 1854.
Col. Tison was a man who made
his mark wherever he went and
what ever positions he filled.
AS legislator he took high rank
early in his career as such. In
those olden times some of the
counties of the state had COM
mon school funds and some had
not. Soon after Col. Tison en-
tered the legislature he showed
himself a friend of the common
people by always having an eye
to the increase of the common
school fund. Whenever any
measure was projected providing
for funds and forfeitus, Tison
slipped in an amendment provid-
ing that such fines and forfeit
ures should go into the common
school funds of the counties hav-
ing such school fund. No sooner
than such law should be intro
duced he was on his feet with
his amendment in hand ready to
send it TO the clerks desk for
consideration. Col. Tison was a
small man, ordinary height, but
quite slender, not weighing over
one hundred and fifteen to one
hundred and twenty pounds,
hair black and worn tolerably
long, head well poised, with high
and prominent forehead, eyes
keen and penetrating, looking
his a',ur nee so are in the face
You know you have seen men
VIII cooked above their audiel C
when spe lklng; but he looked d,
them ana came as near docking
through them as any man | have
ever seen speak. From the time
Col. Tison, then plain Mr.. Tison
entered the political arena, he
was a prominent figure in all the
movements of his party. He was
a democrat of the strictest kind.
Most men who enter public life
who are not already in the habit
of speaking in public have diff
Guilty along that line, wanting
in self possession and self con-
troll, and for that reason make
many blunders and mistakes,
and forget much which they in
tended to say. Not so with Tison.
He was calm as an unruffled sea,
even having in mind what he
wished to say and when to
say it. He was a man of won
derful courage, and no Interrupt
tions by an opponent or auditor
could throw him off his guard.
He was appointed united states
marshal for the northern dis