The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1909-09-17
Death of ] W. Farris.

Tenn. Gentlemen: To-day I received
a letter from Mrs. ]. W. Farris con-
veying the sad intelligence of the death
OF her husband at their home in Caruth-
ersvllle, Mo-, Aug. 16, 1909. The
death of Judge Farris reduces the mum
ber of my living schoolmates to four,
out of many hundred. James White
Farrls was born on west side of Wilson
grant for 1890 acres, one mile west of
the Col. w. M. Wilson homestead,
Obion County, Tenn, in 1882, and at
tended his first school in my class (al-
though three years my junior) at a
school taught by Tom Macon in the
first schoolhouse ever built in the coun-
ty, which was erected by my father in
1925 or 1926 on this place for church
and schoolhouse combined. His IA
ther, Benjamin, and two brothers,
James and White, whose father was
Revolutionary soldier, fought in Gen.
Francis Marion's command. They en-
igrated from South Carolina in 1922.
The same year Davy Crockett and my
father settled here-then Henry-be-
fore the creation of Obion and Weaklev,
(Which occurred Oct. "a, 1928, respec-
tively). The subjects father, Benia-
min, married Betsy Crockett, relative
of David Crockett.
Judge Farris was thrice married. His
second wife was a niece of Hon. Bert
l.. Stovall and near relative of the Crit
tendons, of District Number Seven.
Soon after marriage Fort Donaldson
fell, and, like his relative, Davy Crock
EFT, he could no longer stand the invad-
ing army of his dear Southland, SO he
shouldered his rifle, bid farewell to his
young wife and went to fight the battles
OF freedom, as he saw it. Although the
cause was lost he still survived, together
with his young wife, to rear family of
children who are an honor to their pa
rents and themselves. One son is at
the head of the Charlottesville bar, one
an eminent physician and another dis
in the United States Gov
Geodetic employment on. the
Atlantic Coast.
Mrs. Farris, his widow, is better
known in this country as Lizzie Faulk,
who was also thrice married-frst to
Sam Thomas, business manager of the
firm of Thomas, Cook & Dodds, COM
mission merchants at Hickman, Ky;
her second husband was Joel B. Faulk,
son of Jacob Faux, another emigrant
rom South Carolina in the early twen-
les. Such devotion as this couple (be- {
ng first cousins) entertained for each
,ther was never excelled in married life.
Mrs. Farris was a stepdaughter of Tom
Allen, who came from South Carolina
With the Farrises>and in 1928 built the
irst brick courthouse in Troy, also
water mill on Mill Creek, planting the /
mud sills in rock bed sided with pop
ar, now in ford of creek, and is still c
isible-sills and siding-enduring the 4
ipples of the stream 81 years. A hun l.
red yards above this ford of Mill Creek {
erected rock dam 40 years ago, 80 i
eet base, los feet long, II feet high. q
eventeen acres of this sacred spot be- I
lg the nucleus around which | have l
Did several thousand acres, and also t
le home of one of my fathers best \
lends, will not be on the market while 6
live. G
There was another family of Farrises, c
lree brothers-Wilfred, Joseph and Y
1hn-who came from Georgia in the :
lrly twenties, settled in the adjoining P
eighborhood of the Judges father and IL
lcles Vi
In the year of 1885 upon the occasion = =
the celebration of the election of my 3
ther to the Legislature over Mari, ],
lily U. Watson gave big dinner in lie
S honor which was attended by all the q
lrties herein named, also by Seth Bed y
rd, Joel S. Enloe and all the Mosiers n
ID Cloars, James Marr and others, F.
ar five hundred in all upon this oc- br
sion. Tom Allen and Abb Cloar, en- 70 70
usiasts, three times threw their hats !, =
the air huzzaing for Col. Wilson. RI
w. NJ. WILSON. pa
da
Ta1a,1b ono TIa;o,, N.t,, Too e. Gal ~ 4 IT.