; Drs Jurner, Psrks & Hiigfcss
DENTISTS.
t
i Mary Street, Union City
! Telephone 144.
4 Jl
0nion City Commercial, Mtablfuhel 190. ( rnn.ni(,i.tfl BantpmhaT 1 1897
Wait Tenoeue Courier. e.tsblUbed ConoUdta September 1, 1837.
UNION CITY, TENN, FRIDAY, JULY 5, 1907.
VOL. 17, NO. 15
t Might be 'Worth Your
To entrust your drug business to the "Red Cross." Others have found it
profitable as well as convenient and pleasant. You can always get just what
you want and feel perfectly confident that it is up to the standard.
CROSS DRUG STORE
Crs. Turner, Parks & Hughes
DENTISTS.
Mary Street, Cuion City
Telephone 144.
COMMER
'HIP
.1 11 il d
hile
Phone 100.
WATSON 6c KIMZEY, Proprietors.
.I, .I ...... ........ ., i j
WE AIM TO PLEASE
and hit the mark every, time with our
GROCERIES
The stock is so varied and carefully selected that the
most fastidious as well as the most frugal housewife will
find everything that she may want in staple and fancy
groceries high grade, of the best quality, and at prices
as low as good groceries can be sold for.
W. L. WHITE
Two Wagons Two Phones 66 and 462
UNION CITY AND VICINITY
In condensed form by Judge J. L. Palmer.
f""""'""v F" mk
NOW is the time to
get our SUMMER
PRICES on COAL.
UNION CITY ICE AND COAL CO.
DISTRIBUTORS OF COMFORT.
-arTelephone No. 150.
PAINT! PAINT! PAINT!
Experience has made most of 119 realize that It pays to buy the
article of merit, particularly such an article as paint. It costs just
a much time to put on cheap paint as good paint, but think of the
time It will last. The paint of quality that has proved Its dura
bility is the HEAL cheap paint.
High Standard of Lowe Brothers
Is proving Its durability constantly. Prepared by the most modern
and careful methods, it has long been noted for Its covering power,
lasting qualities, wearing evenly by gradual wear and Anally leav
ing a good surface for repainting. These are the requirements of
: good jjf.'iYu. t&r desired results use the best paint.
I The paint of LoW&rothcrs GI VES BEST RESULTS.
' j UNION CITY"150CRY COMPANY
' SPECIAL ACCENTS
I 1 Phone 77. H.NJLIGON. 'Manager.
i
1
STAR AMUSEMENT CO.
ILLUSTRATED
PLACE COOLED BY ELECTFf ASS.
POniiinrsf Dinfnrnri IM
LJUuniR 1 mum
CHANGE EVERY DAY,
11
Illustrated Songs sung by Mrs. Mary Dean WheeleXr.
Special attention given to ladies and children. Afimiocinn t0
Coble & Clagett Building First Street. AlillllbolUil Ot-
DR. WILL A. NAILLING,
Physician and Surgeon.
Office:- NAILLING BUILDING.
Office Phone 413
Residence Phone 41
Q Hours:
9 to 10 a. m.
2 to 4 p. m.
In writing a history of this kind,
it will be interesting to the reader
to know something of the primi
tive condition of the present lo
cality and surrounding country,
before Union City was dreamed
of.
In the year 1839, the first days
of December, Jacob Palmer, origi
nally from North Carolina, came
to Obion county and settled on
the present site of Union City.
Having secured an option on two
hundred acres of land, on the 16th
day of December, 1839, he com
menced to build a hewed log house
of two rooms, each 18 feet square
with a passage between, a stick
and clay chimney at each end. This
house was erected on the very spot
where now stands the High School
building.
There were many obstacles then
in the way of securing building
material, no saw mills being ac
cessible, the nearest fifteen miles
through slush and mud.
The only way of getting lumber
was by hand sawing, with a whip
saw.
Many of these pioneer houses
were' built of rude round logs. All
log houses were daubed with clay
between the logs, and with the im
mense fire places then in use, made
them very comfortable.
Mr. Palmer having a large fam
ily of ten stalwart sons each one
had a sisterwe will give this
problem to the young reader who
may chance to peruse these lines
for solution. How many in the
family ? Before their sturdy
strokes, the place was soon made
quite livable.
A dense forest encompassed this
settlement for miles around. The
finest timber in the State, walnut,
white oak, hickory, ash, poplar
and other varieties not so plenti
ful as these. Some of the poplars
measured ten feet in diameter,
oaks four to seven. The forest
abounded with game; deer, swamp
rabbits (this is larger than the
common hare), w il d turkeys,
geese, ducks and quail. It was also
al.il 1
jg miestea oy lerocious animals ana
reptiles: wolves, wild cats, rattle
snakes, copperhead, adder and
cotton mouth.
The forest has given away to the
hand of improvement, the game to
a great extent, the wild animals
and reptiles to the march of civ
ilization.
The country was very sparsely
settled, owing perhaps to large
bodies of land owned and con
trolled by a few individuals, and
the swamps and mud, the inevit
able chills and fever, were not
specially inviting to the faint
hearted new comer. -
There was twenty-one hundred
acres owned by Gen. Gibbs ;
Union City is now located upon a
part of this. On the east of this,
thirteen hundred acres belonged
to Wilson Cage, Sr.; on the south
and cast, two large plot3, owned
Vvy heirs of Cullenail, who lived in
thoVState of Pennsylvania, and
Coonnqd, of North Carolina.
On tJthGibbs land was settled,
George Gibbs, a noted land
lawyer and politician, John White,
William ScotV Ezekiel Harelson,
Elisha Parker?These were our
nearest neighbors and were liv
ing there prior toj' 1839.
About the yeajr 1850 the large
surveys of land above mentioned,
were divided and thrown upon the
market. The choice tracts were
sold for four dollars per acre; this
was land now owned by John
Fletcher, Archie White and Sol.
Ward.
Eleven hundred acres of this
body of land sold for fifty cents
per acre to John Maupin. This
included Rives station.
The Gibbs' land had some
of it sold from four to five
dollars per acre prior to 1850. It
will perhaps be interesting to
know that the Robert Ury and F.
W. Matthews addition to Union
City, including the Dr. T. J. Ed
wards farm, was at one time sold
to George Dowdy, of Fulton
county, Kentucky, for three dol
lars per acre, was abandoned by
the purchaser, thinking the price
too high.
Afterwards a part of this three
hundred acres was sold to Clevis
Swift for eight dollars per acre.
The Public School building now
standson a part of the Swift land.
Swift transferred the land to
McPage, McPage to Robert Ury,
Robert Ury to C. N. Gibbs, and
C. N. Gibbs donated the ground
for the'Public School building.
The ten thousand acres belong
ing to the Cullenail heirs, portions
of it were purchased by Littleton
Ward, Monroe Ward, John
Thomas, John C. Grizzard. Some
of the present owners of choice
parts of this land have been men
tioned. The Coonrod tract lying in
Hauser Creek Bottom, was bought
by Uncle Billy Bell, Hugh Catron,
Ira O. Bradford, Capt. James
Turner, Sam Wade, Sr., Rev. E.
Osborne, Thomas Batte and
others.
In the year 1848, a preliminary
survey of the Mobile & Ohio R.
R. was made. In locating the road
in 1851 few changes were made
from the original survey. At the
time the location was made, every
one owning land on the line had a
particular spot of ground, suitable
as they thought for depot pur
poses. In about 1852 the pioneer set
tlers began to revolve in! their
minds the building of a town.
In the year 1851 or '52, a char
ter was granted by the State Leg
islature to a company to build
the Nashville & Northwestern R.
R. (now called the N. C. & St. L.
R. R.), the terminus to be at Mad
rid Bend or Tiptonville.
Gen. Gibbs being a man of fore
sight, went to Nashville during
the sitting of the Legislature and
had the charter so" amended that
the terminus would, be at the future
unnamed town instead of Tipton
ville. ,
Gen. Gibbs returned home, or
ganized a company to continue the
road to Hickman, Ky., , called
Hickman and Obion R. R., he be
coming president of the company.
The Mobile & Ohio R. R. hav
ing been located at this place, and
the plan consummated bringing the
Nashville & Northwestern R. R.
to the same place, and the con
tinuation of the Hickman & Obion
R. R.f this necessarily brought
about a crossing at this point. :
Gen. Gibbs employed James M.
Daniel, a civil engineer, of Rich-
' - - v .
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' .
J . ., , ' f J
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V h '
J. W. TEMPLE.
One of Union City's well known
and esteemed citizens, Joseph Wil
liam Temple, quietly breathed his
last at home in this city last Satur
day morning, June 29, at 9 o'clock.
Mr. Temple had been afilicted for
several months, suffering with
Bright'a disease, which was com
plicated with dropsy and weak
heart action. His last illness was
aggravated with flux and the end
was not far away.
The following extract published
in the Cumberland Telephone Jour
nal on March 15, 1906, r.ives a brief
outline of Mr. Temple'n life:
The gentleman whose name heads
this article was born and reared on a
farm in Madison County, Tenn. When
the Civil War broke out he joined the
Confederacy, enlisting as a volunteer
In the Sixth Tennessee May 22, 1801,
thedayhewas twenty years of age
un tne Datueneia or smioh he was
disabled from a wound received In the
face, and being 'left among the dead
was captured and made a prisoner of
war and transferred to a Federal hos
pital in St. Louis. , There he was ten
deny carea ror oy tne enemy and ex
changed at Vlcksburg. October 20,
mond, Va., to survey and locate
the road .to Hickman. Mr. Daniel
returned to the crossing point af
ter the survey had been made,
placed his instrument near a large of tl,e month.
' " I 1 1 1 J 11.1.1.
white oak tree, about three feet in A'7' "f. "aL
u.0uiu0itUm4DulUD urn uu eu 11 changes, at Troy and Itives. The
could be written on, with red company has recently purchased and
chalk, wrote the name Union City, handsomely fitted up its own ex'
Gen. Gihhs oivino- tha nam, sn change and office building, with an
1802, but was never again able to take
up arms.
Mr. Temple was married twice, at
Henderson. His , first wife was Mis
Hattie Wells, with whom he was mar
rled Dec. 24, 18G2. Of this union there
were three daughters : Mrs. Garlandi
of Texas; Mrs. Orr, of Paris, Tenn.;
Mrs. Wheeler, of Jackson, Tenu. The
mother died May 2, 1884. His second
wife was Miss Margaret Garland, who
survives, and to them were given a
daughter and son, Miss Mamie and
Joe, Jr. The latter marriage took
place Mar. 1,1887. His daughter, now
Mrs. Mamie Wheeler, was for many
years chief operator of the local ex
change at Union City, and assisted
him largely in the management and
success of the company's interests
here.
TheCurnberland Telephone and Tel
egraph Company established an ex
change in Union City In the early
eighties. The first toll line reached
Troy soon afterwards. The manage
ment was then in the hands of LvP.
Cardwell. Mr. Card well secured a
number of subscribers, probably fifty
or sixty.
Mr. Temple then succeeded to the
management, retiring In ISliO to enter
the timber business. In September,
18t2, he returned again to the tel
ephone service. He assumed the re
sponsibility of manager this time with
thirteen subscribers and no toll lines,
except a grounded circuit to Troy,
which was then the county seat. This
was thirteen years ago on the 13th
On February 1,
had thirteen operators. ' 511
besides two branch ex-
tlque oak furnishings and complete
up-to-aaie switcnooara apparatus,
wnicn supplies a metallic circuit
each subscriber.
Mr. Temple, while successful In this
unaertaKing, is also a thoroughgoing
school buildings,' commodious and tleman of well known character 'and
lovelv homes, thev would donht- Integrity, and It is a matter of con-
less acknowledge their fondest
hopes had been outstripped,
the town was torn and christened.
Could these early settlers wake
from their long sleep and behold
the busy city, handsome churches,
gratuiatlon, not only to himself, but
but to the citizens of this citv and
county, that the company has reach-J"
ed the hitfh standard whtrh will nrn-
In the year 1854, the author of vail when the new office and connec
tions are complete ana Jn working
order. -
these sketches being a farmer, had
little idea of becoming a railroad
man, but in the year 1854, 18th
day of May, was called to the en
gineering department of the M. &
O. R. R. by Capt. J. J. Williams
and Capt. John G. Mann. Re
mained in this capacity until the
Mr. Temple was familiarly!? own
as Uncle Joe, and few men d ijoyed
the confidence and esteem of a great
er number ot friends. Out 01 the
fullness of an honest heart be re.
turned this confidence. He was al
ways faithful and true to every
road was completed, then took the trust He was a gallant soldier and
station afrencv at Union Citv. hn- an honored civihan.
-5 - -, - j
ing the first fetation agent at the
place. ;
The first depot was built on the
same spot where the present one
now stands. This ; first depot was
burned by Gen. Forrest during
the Civil War, on the 21th Decem
ber, 1862.
Mr. Temple was a member of the
Methodist Church, services being
held at his late residence Sunday
afternoon at 2 o'clock, conducted
by the pastor, Rev, II. B. Johnston.
The remains were escorted to
East View for interment, and the
last sad tribute paid to the dead in
floral offerings. '-