Goodspeed's Henry County Biographies -D surnames
Dr. H. Diggs,
physician and farmer, residing in the Twenty-fifth District, was
born within four miles of where he now lives, January 29, 1825,
son of John H. and Sarah (Webb) Diggs, natives of North
Carolina, born, respectively, in 1790 and 1799. They were
married in their native State, and came to Henry County in 1823,
being among the early settlers of that county. He was a farmer
by occupation, and died in 1848; the mother died in 1869. Our
subject received a good literary education and soon entered on
his medical studies at Paris, where he read medicine for about
one year and a half, afterward taking a course of lectures at
the Transylvania Medical College, at Lexington, Ky. At the end
of four years he entered the Louisville Medical College and
graduated from that institution in 1852, after which he located
in Holmes County, Miss., and practiced successfully for six
years; at the end of this time, on account of ill health, he was
obliged to leave that place, and while recruiting attended the
Nashville Medical College, where he graduated in the spring of
1859. In the fall of 1860 he married Martha E., daughter of Dr.
J. D. Looney, and by this union they have three children: R. K.,
J. D. and Lula B. In 1861 the Doctor located near where he is
now residing, and has been actively engaged in the practice of
his profession ever since. He is a Democrat in politics and cast
his first presidential vote for Lewis Cass. He has been a Mason
for many years, and is a member of the Henry County Medical
Association.
J. R. B.
Dinwiddie, son of James and Mary (Carson) Dinwiddie, was
born in Henry County, Tenn., on the farm where he now resides,
February 2, 1828. The father was a native of Virginia,
immigrated to Tennessee about 1823, and located in Henry County,
where he died in September, 1860. The mother was also a native
of Virginia. Our subject was one of six children born to his
father’s second marriage; he worked on the farm until twenty-one
years of age, after which he began life depending on his own
resources. After the death of his father he hired a portion of
the home farm and bought the remainder, on which he worked for
some time. He is a member of the firm of Dinwiddie & Co., who
are engaged in the manufacture of cotton goods. The machinery is
situated in the Tenth Civil District-Spring Creek Cotton Mills.
Mr. Dinwiddie is also engaged in merchandising at the same place
in this county. February 22, 1860, he married Sallie Lee Gordon,
and they have nine children: Mary M. (Mrs. Dr. J. H. Broach),
Priscilla Gordon, Nancy Lee and Eliza Ellen(twins, the latter
being Mrs. J. A. Dinwiddie), James M. B., Thomas B., John N.,
Callie C., and William Floyd. Our subject is a member of the
Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and in politics is a Democrat.
R. E. Douglass
a prominent citizen and farmer, was born in Sumner County,
Tenn., May 23, 1825, and is a son of W. J. and Eliza (Watkins)
Douglass. The father was a native of Sumner County, born 1792,
and always lived in that county; was a farmer and died March,
1866. The mother was born in 1795 and was the daughter of Maj.
Charles Watkins, a Virginian by birth and a prominent citizen of
Sumner County. She died in 1837. Our subject received his
education in the schools of Sumner County, and in 1849 united
his fortunes with those of Miss Sarah Walton, a native of Sumner
County, Tenn., born 1827 and the daughter of Josiah Walton. By
this union our subject became the father of eight children, viz:
J. W., Mary J., Sallie, Emma, Loula, R. C., R. E., Jr., and I.
G. After marriage Mr. Douglass located in his native county and
began tilling the soil, a business he has since continued to
follow. In 1883 he came to Henry County and located on the Paris
and McKenzie road seven miles from his former place. Mr.
Douglass has reared quite a family of children, has given them
the best advantages for a good education and a part of them
follow the teacher’s profession. In politics he is a Democrat
and he and wife and all the family except the youngest child are
members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Hon. W. A. Dunlap, a
leading attorney of Paris, is the son of John and Marietta
(Beauchamp) Dunlap. The father was born November 14, 1801, in
Knoxville, Tenn., and was reared in Roane County, where he
received a good education. He read law when a young man and
entered upon his profession in 1823 at Reynoldsburg, Tenn. In
the spring of 1824 he came to Paris, and here spent the
remainder of his days in practicing his profession, attending
strictly to this and accumulating quite a fortune. He was a
member of the Christian Church and was a patron of all
benevolent institutions, schools in particular. He reared six
children, five of whom are now living, viz: Mrs. Susan E. Porter
(wife of ex-Gov. J. D. Porter), Bethenia A. (wife of Dr. T. C.
Harcourt), John H. (who died in 1869), Hugh P., Richard W. and
William A. The father of these children died December 24, 1874,
and the mother is still living at the age of seventy-two, a
consistent member of the Christian Church. William A., our
subject, was born December 17, 1834, in Paris and received a
good literary and law education, being a graduate from the
literary department of the Cumberland University in 1854, and
from the law department in 1857. He then began practicing law
and has continued it ever since very successfully. He served one
term in the lower house of the Legislature in 1861-62 as
floater. In 1870 he married Sandal Stewart, of Memphis, and this
union resulted in the birth of two children: John H. and
Marietta. Politically Mr. Dunlap has always been a Democrat and
is one of the respected citizens of Paris. Hugh P. Dunlap is a
farmer living near Paris, in this county. He was born September,
1843, and in 1869 wedded Sallie Atkins, daughter of Gen. J. D.
C. Atkins, of Paris. Richard W. Dunlap was born November 30,
1851, and in 1875 married Charlie B. Lamb. He is a minister in
the Christian Church. The grandparents of our subject were early
settlers of East Tennessee. The grandfather, Hugh Dunlap, was of
Irish birth, born in 1769, and was one of the founders of
Knoxville. The grandmother, Susanna Gilliam, was born in
Virginia, and was a daughter of Devereaux Gilliam. The
grandparents had quite a numerous family, eleven of whom lived
to be grown. They came to this county in 1825 bringing with them
several members of the family who lived to be prominent men in
the county-James T., a lawyer, and Ripley E., who was a
prominent citizen and lived here for several years. James T. was
born in 1812 and practiced law in this place till 1857. In 1847
he was elected representative and in 1851-53 he was elected
State senator. In 1857 he was elected comptroller of the State.
He died in 1879, and Ripley E., who was born in 1817, died in
1881.
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