Fitzgerald leader enterprise and press. (Fitzgerald, Ben Hill County, Ga.) 1921-1964, 1922-02-09
All Georgia Mourned When
7ifton's Founder Passes Out
Great In Business and Great In
Philanthropy

T1FTON,-All Sunday services in
Triton churches were called off in or
der that the whole city may attend
the funeral services of Capt. H. H.
Tiff, at 1880 o'clock at the First Bap-
fist Church.
The funeral party left at LIZ Sun
day afternoon over the Southern in a
special car for Mystic, Conn, where
the body will be inferred probably on
Tuesday. Accompanying the family
will be the following business men re-
presentating firms with which Mr.
lift was proininen tly identified
E. P. Bowden, B. Y. Wallace, R. w
Goodman, ]. L. Pickard, J. J. Golden
I. W. Myers, ST.. Fleetwood, J. L.
Herring of Triton; J. D. and w. B
Willingham of Atlanta.
All Triton business houses were
closed from II to 4 o'clock Saturday
afternoon in honor of the founder OF
Triton and a man loved, honored and
esteemed by all. The banks of Triton
and manufacturing plants with which
he was identified were closed all day.
The body laid in state at home and
hundreds viewed it during Saturday
afternoon and evening. All flags in
the city hung at half mast
Pastors C. w. burden and William
Lowndes Pickard of Chattanooga, as
sisted by all the pastors of the city
conducted the funeral.
Sketch of His Lie
Henry Harding Tiff was born at
Mystic, New London County, Connec-
ticut, March 16, 184l, son of Amos
Chapman and Phoebe Harding Tiff,
He belonged to an old New England
family. The name was originally
spelled Tefft and some branches of
the family still retain that spelling.
Amos c. Tiff, who died at Mystic at
the age of 76 in 1883, was a merchant
of unusual business capacity and we'll
known in the south, especially at Key
West, Fla, Mrs. Phoebe Tiff died in
1908 at the age of 81.
Henry Harding Tiff was one of a
family of seven children. He attend
ed the Connecticut public schools and
completed a course at Greenwich Aca-
denny in 1882 At the age of 10 he
began three years apprenticeship in
a machine shop and then became a
steamship engineer. He was employed
on some of the lines operating be-
tween New York and southern ports,
and was an engineer on an army trans
port during the war between the
States After the close of the war he
came to Albany, Ga. and was con-
nected in the saw mill business there
with his uncle, Nelson Tiff, becom-
ing general manager of the N. & A.
F. Tiff Manufacturing Co, at Albany
in 1870. In 1872 he located a. sawmj,
on the Brunswick and Albany rail-
road (now the Atlantic Coast Line)
at a point which was later named Tiff
ton
He was pioneer in the lumber bus
mess in this section and soon acquir-
ed $4,000 acres of timber lands. In
1896 he extended one of his logging
roads to Fitzgerald and operated it
tor several years as the Triton and
Northeastern Railroad. This was lat
er sold to syndicate, which organic
ed the Atlanta, Birmingham & Allan
tic. He established the Bank of
Triton, of which he was president He
was president of the Triton Cotton
Mills; vice-president of the Central
drocery Company and Triton Com
press Company; director of the Geor-
gia, Southern & Florida Railroad, and
of the Planters Cotton Oil Co. He was
Vice-president of the Bankers Trust
Co, president of the Piedmont Of
ton Mills, and vice-president of the
Willingham-Tift Lumber Co., of At
lanta; also president of the Tiff Sill
ca Brick & Stone Co., of Albany. He
organized the Georgia Florida Saw
Mill Co., at Alton, Fla, and for sew
eral years had extensive timber in
'terests in that state, which he sold a
few years ago. He was president of
the Georgia-Florida Saw Mill Associa-
ton for many years. Mr.. Tiff was al
so chairman of the Board of Direc-
tors of the Live Oak, Perry and Gulf
railroad; President of the Gazette
Publishing Company; member of
the Board of Directors of the Triton
Investment Company; chairman of
the Board of Directors of the Coastal
Plain Experiment Station, and chair
man of the Board Of Trustees and
Treasurer of the Second District Ag-
ricultura1 School.
June rs, 1885, he married Miss Bes-
sic Willingham, daughter of Thomas
H. Willingham of Albany To this
marriage three sons were born, Henry
Harding, Jr., Thomas Willingham and
Amos Chapman Tiff. All live in Tiff
ton except Thomas w. Tiff, who lives
IN Atlanta. Surviving him besides his
widow and three sons are four grand
children. Henry Harding Tiff III;
Virginia Pound Tiff, Amos Chapman
Tiff, Jr., and Lutrelle McLendon Tiff.