JOHN T. CANNON, the genial clerk of the Circuit court of Bedford County is a grandson of Clement Cannon, St., one of five brothers, who came from North Carolina to Williamson County, Tenn., in the first decade of this century.  Clement Cannon, Sr., had five sons, the father of our subject, Henry Cannon, being one of them.  Henry Cannon was born in 1812.  He lived in this county till 1852, when he moved to Shelby County, Tenn., where he died in 1873, having been a farmer all his life,  Of those five brothers, who came to Williamson County, four soon afterward came to Bedford County.  Their father's name was Minos Cannon and their mother was a Thompson, of Scotch-Irish descent.  The mother of John T. was Sallie C. M. Tillman, a descendant of the Martin family, so numerously represented in the county, and a descendant of the Clay family of Kentucky.  She died when John T. was but two weeks old, and he was then reared with Col. Lewis Tillman and other relatives.  At fourteen he began his own support and attended school on money earned by himself. He clerked in a store three years and then taught school about four years, having married at twenty-two.  He then settled down to farming.  In 1861 he enlisted in Company K, Twenty-third Tennessee, as first lieutenant, and served eighteen months.  He has been farming very successfully since the war, and now owns nearly 400 acres of good land.  He was elected to his office in 1878 and has efficiently served to the satisfaction of his constituents.  His birth was December 7, 1835.  He was married in 1857 to Narcissa Sutton, a native of Bedford County.  Mr. Cannon has a family of four children, viz.: Sallie C. M. (the wife of C. J. Moody), Walter S., Lizzie H. and Narcissa W.  All the family ware members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South.  He is a Royal Arch Mason.  His ancestors were old-line Whigs and he is a Democrat.
 

JOSEPH H. CATES, son of John S. and Elizabeth (Himes) Cates, was born March 22, 1827.  His father was born in 1808, near Knoxville, Tenn., and was given a limited education in the country schools.  He chose farming for his occupation.  He was also a stone-mason and worked at this trade for a number or years in Bedford County.  He was the father of eleven children, viz.: Mary A., John R., Martha J., Daniel E., Joseph H., James P., Giles P., Phenettie F., Sadie R., Jestinie E. and Caldonia C.   James and Giles P. are dead.  The father, John S. Cates, died June 1, 1880.  He was a consistent member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and was highly respected by the community, being a man of high integrity.  Our subject grew to manhood on the farm, was education in the country schools and is a farmer and stone-mason.  In 1879 he was married to Miss Levina Oakley, and two children blessed the union:  John S. and William P., both living.  Mr. Cates and wife are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.  The family are well respected in the county.
 

JOHN CATNER is a native Tennesseean, born in 1805, son of Lewis and Polly (Smith) Catner, who were born in North Carolina.  The father's birth occurred about 1795.  He came to Tennessee in 1813 and located in Bedford County, where he lived until his death.  Our subject was his second child and assisted his father on the farm until twenty-two years of age.  He then worked as a farm laborer seven years and then purchased a small tract of land to which he has since added until he now owns about 1,200 acres, which he has secured by his own exertions.  He is worth about $75,000, and was married, in 1839, to Polly Ray, who bore him one child, Martha (wife of Samuel Wood), and died at her birth.  In 1861 Mr. Catner married Mrs. Margaret (Smith) Hall.  He is a man of limited education, but is abounding in common sense and wholesome doctrines.  In politics he is a member of the Democratic party, and is a strictly honest and upright man.
 

PETER CATNER, born in 1819, in Bedford County, Tenn., was reared on a farm, and assisted his father until he was about twenty-four years of age.  He, at the time, began relying on his own resources for a livelihood, and has prospered beyond his expectations.  Through his own energy and economy he is at present worth about $6,000.  He has been twice married - the first time to Sarah Ray in 1848.  She died in 1850, leaving him one child - Mary C., wife of Frank Johnson.  In 1854 Mr. Catner wedded Susanna Helton. Who has borne him nine children, three of whom are dead.  Those living are John, William, Hannah M., Lewis, James and Thomas.  Mr. Catner is one of the honest and worthy citizens of the county.  His early advantages were very limited, but he is a strong advocate of the promotion of education.  He belongs to the Methodist Episcopal and his wife to the Cumberland Presbyterian church.  Politically he is a democrat.
 

J. W. CLARY, M. D., is a North Carolinian by birth, born July 28, 1821.  His occupations while in that Sate were school teaching, deputy county sheriff, deputy county clerk and hotel-keeping.  In 1848 he became a disciple of AEsculapius, studying under Dr. Scroggs. In the spring of 1849 he entered the Medical College, of Castleton, Vt., from which institution he was graduated as an M.D. the same year.  In the spring of 1850 he immigrated to Tennessee, and located at Unionville, where he successfully practiced his profession until 1870, and then took up the mill and merchandise business.  The Doctor was married December 15, 1852, to Ann McCord, who died May 31, 1859, leaving two children:  Allan and Thomas.  Dr. Clary took for his second wife Mattie Ogilvie, and their union has resulted in these children: James D., Charley B., George, Emma and Irvin.  Dr. Clary is a Democrat.  His parents, Benjamin and Alla D. (Barnard) Clary, were born in 1778 and 1802, and died in 1860 and 1884 respectively.
 

J. C. CLAXTON’s birth occurred April 12, 1830, in Tennessee.  He is a son of James and Temperance (Ratler) Claxton, born in 1802 and 1812, and died about 1866 and 1877, respectively.  Our subject was the sixth of thirteen children.  He assisted his father until twenty-one years of age, and up to the present time has followed farming.  Annie E. Jones, who was born in Bedford County, Tenn., September 16, 1836, became his wife August 16, 1854.  Their union has resulted in the birth of nine children:  Temperance Mahala, Amanda Tennessee, Philander Priestly, Elizabeth Allen (who died in 1863), James Jonas, Minerva Jane, Melvina Jones, Ophelia Adaline and Alice Cassander.  Mr. Claxton is an enterprising farmer, and a man who wields much influence in the community in which he resides.  Although his early education was somewhat limited, he has always taken considerable interest in the education of the rising generation.  He has given all his children liberal educations, and his eldest son is completing his education in Europe - Leipzig College, Germany.  Mr. Claxton is a Republican in politics, and up to the date of the late war was an old-line Whig.
 

B. F. CLEVELAND was born August 11, 1848 , in Georgia.  His father, Robert M. Cleveland, was a native of North Carolina, and married Miss Fannie L. Wright, a native of Rhode Island.  To this union were born the following children:  William C., Jeremiah, Vannoy, Caroline, Harriet D., B. F. (our subject), Georgia A. and Robert M., Jr.  The father of these children was a manufacturer and capitalist, and moved to this State in 1866, locating at Wartrace, where he died in 1876.  The mother is now in Marietta, Ga.  Our subject was educated in the high school of Greenville, S. C.  In 1854 he enlisted in the Second South Carolina Calvary, and served with the command until the close of the war.  He then returned home to this county and engaged in the business of farming which he followed until 1882.  He then opened a private bank in Wartrace, which he still continues to manage in a very successful way.  In 1872 he married Miss Lizzie Pepper, a native of this county.  The result of this union is a family of for children:  Mattie W., William P., Jesse F., and Eliza P.  Mr. Cleveland is a member of the K. of H., a Democrat in politics, and he and wife are members of the Presbyterian Church.
 

THOMAS S. CLEVELAND was born April 25, 1840, in Bedford County, Tenn.  His father Jeremiah Cleveland was a native of Greenville, S. C., born March, 1806, and of English and German descent.  About 1833 he immigrated to Bedford County, Tenn., and located on the farm where our subject is now living.  He married Miss Sallie E. Stone, and native of Maury County, born about 1815, and of English descent.  To this union were born six children.  Jeremiah Cleveland was a merchant before his coming to this State and a farmer afterward.  He owned about 1,500 acres of land on Duck River, on this county, besides a large tract of 3,000 acres on the Mississippi River.  He had about $50,000 of stock in the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad, and was one of the first board of directors to locate the road.  He died in 1878.  The mother of our subject died in 1840.  Thomas Cleveland was educated at the Cumberland University at Lebanon, and lived with his father until May, 1861, when he enlisted in company G, Seventeenth Tennessee Infantry, and was elected as third Lieutenant of his company, and as such served twelve months.  He then joined the artillery of Gen. John H. Morgan’s command, and was captured in Ohio in July, 1863, and retained until 1863.  He then returned to Wartrace, Bedford County, where he has ever since remained engaged in farming.  In 1867 he married Miss Annie E. Wright, a native of Floyd County, Ga., and a daughter of Moses R. Wright, and a niece of Judge Wright. Who was a member of the United Stated congress.  To our subject and wife were born five children:  Sallie S., Lizzie H., Hattie D., Annie L:. and Carrie C.  Mr. Cleveland is a member of the Masonic fraternity, also of the R. A.  He and wife are members of the Baptist Church, and live on the old homestead, consisting of 600 acres of land.  Mr. Cleveland is a grandson of Capt. Robert Cleveland, and a grandnephew of Col. Benjamin Cleveland, both of whom served with distinction in the Revolutionary War.
 

GEN. ERNEST COLDWELL was born at Shelbyville, November 12, 1858.  He was educated at Shelbyville and at Carbondale, Ill.  After reading law two years in his father's office he was licensed, by Judge Robert Cantrell and Peter Turney, to practice.  In September, 1882, he was appointed special revenue collector, under A. M. Hughes, Jr.  While a law student he was secretary of the Middle Tennessee and Bedford County Sunday-school Associations.  He is a director in the Bedford County Agricultural Society, a director and secretary of the Bedford County Stock Breeders’ Society and Register and a director and secretary of the Eakin Library Society.  He was appointed, May 21, 1881, on Gov. Alvin Hawkins’ staff, with the rank of brigadier-general.  In 1884 he was elected Representative from Bedford County to the Forty-fourth General Assembly of Tennessee, overcoming a Democratic majority of 600 by 226 majority, he being a firm and outspoken Republican.  His mother, nee Mary Henderson, was a lady of versatile accomplishments and of marked firmness of character.  She was born in New York, was raised in Ohio and died in Tennessee in 1874, fifty-three years of age.
 

THOMAS H. COLDWELL was born in Shelbyville August 29, 1822.  His father, John Campbell Coldwell, was born January 8, 1791, in Hawkins County, Tenn., and removed with his father, Ballard Coldwell, and family to Bedford County, January 1, 1807.  John Campbell Coldwell served two campaigns under Gen. Jackson, one against the Creek Indians, in which he participated in the battle at Horse Shoe, and the other against the British, in which he was a participant at New Orleans, January 8, 1815.  After this campaign he settled at Shelbyville, and was a merchant from 1818 to 1843, at which time he retired to his farm, where he died July 17, 1867.  Thomas H. Coldwell’s mother was June Northcott, born in Fleming County, Ky., the daughter of Rev. Benjamin Northcott.  Thomas was the eldest of two boys and two girls in this family.  He was educated at Dixon Academy, Shelbyville, and studied law with Irwin J. Frierson, Esq.  He was licensed to practice in January, 1844, and has ever since been in his profession at Shelbyville, and is one of the leading members of that bar.  He first married Mary J. Hodge, at Murfreesboro, November 24, 1844.  After her death he married Sarah E. Goling, in Cincinnati, May 6, 1851.  After her death he married Mrs. Mary H. Bosworth, in Shelbyville, September 20, 1854, and after her death he married Carrie Hopkins, in Cincinnati, November 11, 1875.  The last wife died December 4, 1884.  For many years Judge Coldwell was an active worker in the Sons of Temperance, and was elected Grand Worthy Patriarch for the State of Tennessee in 1851.  He was an unflinching Union man throughout the war.  In 1864 he was commissioned by Gov. Andrew Johnson chancellor of the Fourth Chancery Division of Tennessee, but resigned in a shore time.  In October, 1865, he was commissioned attorney-general of the State and reporter of the supreme court, and in May, 1867, was elected by the people to that office without opposition.   While serving in this capacity he reported seven volumes of the decisions of the Supreme Court of Tennessee, and considers this the most pleasant part of his professional career.  While attorney-general he entered a nolle prosequi in all cases that came to the supreme court, when persons were indicted for treason against the State -- a class of indictments which grew out of the late civil war, the disposal of which in this manner won for him the earnest gratitude of his fellow citizens.  In 1868 he was the Grant and Colfax elector for the Fifth Congressional District of Tennessee.  From 1865 to 1871 he served as one of the directors of the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad.  He was a lay member of the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church at its session, held at Brooklyn, in 1872, and while there was the author of the resolution sending fraternal delegates from the Methodist Episcopal Church to the Methodist Episcopal Church South.  He has always been a zealous worker in the church, giving most liberally to all of its enterprises, and has always been an active Sunday-school worker.  During 1871-72 he was president of the Bedford County Agricultural Society.  He was instrumental, in 1869, in securing the building of the Bedford County Court House, and was chairman of the building committee.  He has been one of the directors of the Shelbyville Savings Bank ever since its organization, and was president of that bank three years.  He has been a member of the board of directors of the Central Tennessee College, in Nashville, ever since its organization, and for thirteen years has been president of the board.  He is a fearless advocate of the education and Christianizing of the negro.  For fifteen years he has been president of the board of school directors of the Seventh District, and at his last election he received every vote cast.  In 1871 he was appointed by President Grant, at the recommendation of Gov. DeWitt C. Senter, as commissioner for the State of Tennessee to the Centennial Exposition, at Philadelphia, in 1871.  He served till 1877.  He was on many of the important committees and was elected first vice-president of the commission, being one of the most active participants in those measures that made the exhibition so great a success.  Judge Coldwell has two children;  Gen. Ernest Coldwell, the child of the third wife, who is his partner in law, and Carrie ("Sunshine") Coldwell, the child of his last wife.  Judge Coldwell is an outspoken Republican.  He is a friend to the poor and oppressed, a liberal supporter and patron of education and religion, and a leading and enthusiastic member of his party.
 

WILLIAM COLLIER is a son of Lockey Collier, who was born in Virginia about 1770 and died about 1840.  The father came to Tennessee about 1789.  Our subject was his only child and resided with his father until twenty-one years of age, and afterward followed the occupation of farming.  He is a self-made man and is worth between $8,000 and $10,000, which he has made by his own exertions.  He was married, in 1820, to Mary B. Garrett, who bore him twelve children, six of whom are dead.  Those living are Martha (Mrs. W. W. Pennington), Nancy J. (Mrs. L. Madison), Don, Eliza f., Mary A. (widow of Morgan Drydaw) and Richard R.  Our subject's son, Don, was born August 21, 1832, and was married March 28, 1854, to Martha Billington, who bore him one child that died in infancy.  In 1854 he moved to Arkansas, where he lived until 1881, when he returned to the old homestead to provide for his father until his death.  Both father and son are influential citizens and Republicans.  Don and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South.
 

MRS. IDA J. COLLINS was born October 6, 1837, daughter of David and Sarah (Harris) Williams, who were born in Tennessee in 1814 and 1818, respectively.  Mrs. Collins’ paternal ancestry were originally from the State of Virginia, and her mother's people were North Carolinians.  Our subject was united in marriage, April 29, 1858, to W. J. Collins, who was born October 25, 1835.  He was a merchant at Unionville up to the date of the late war.  He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church at the time of his death, which occurred July 21, 1866.  His union with our subject resulted in the birth of six children:  Spencer D., born March 19, 1859; Edward E. and John B. were twins, born October 25, 1860; Lycurgus F., born January 11, 1863; Emmet C., born December 15, 1864; Ellen J., born December 29, 1866.  Mrs. Collins is an earnest member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and is a woman who has won the respect and esteem of all.  She has managed her farm successfully and is a credit to the county in which she lives.
 

JOHN JACKSON COMER.  Samuel Comer was a native of England and came to the United States with his wife (formerly a Miss Randolph), a short time before the Revolutionary War and settled in Virginia.  He served in the war against the mother country, and was subsequently killed by the Tories.  Reuben D. Comer, son of Samuel comer, was raised by a man named Abner Lea, of Johnson County, N. C.  He married a daughter of Thomas Wright, who came from England to South Carolina.  Her parents died when she was an infant, and she was raised by Col. Elliott Lee.  After her marriage with Mr. Comer they came to Wilson County, Tenn., and became the parents of five sons and two daughters.  John Jackson Comer, the subject of this sketch, was the fourth of their children and was reared on a farm and had charge of his father's mill and cotton gin.  His early education was limited, never having attended school after attaining his fifteenth year.  About this time he professed religion.  A short time after he began learning the blacksmith business of the Rev. D. B. Moore, with whom he lived three years.  His father at this time moved to Warren County, Tenn., and there our subject worked at his trade.  He was happily married to Miss Martha P. Parker.  In 1845 he was licensed to preach, and in 1853 was received in to the Tennessee Annual Conference, and he has followed his calling in Hickory Creek, Bedford, Smith Fork, Mill Creek, Harpeth, Wesley and Carthage.  He was appointed presiding elder of the following districts:  Carthage, McMinnville, Savannah and Centerville.  At the last conference he was appointed to the Unionville Circuit.  In 1880 Mrs. Corner died, and after living a lonely life two years, Rev. Corner married Miss Ella Lacre.  His first marriage resulted in four children:  Sophronia A. (Mrs. J. P. Walton), Nannie J. (Mrs. Prof. S. V. Wall), John B., Moltie P. (died in 1880, wife of J. S. Keton).  Rev. Comer is now past sixty years of age, but hopes to continue his good work many years.  He is much loved and respected by all who know him and is an influential man where he resides.
 

REV. G. W. COOK was born near Shelbyville, Tenn., November 14, 1833, son of William and Nancy (Lentz) Cook, who were born in 1802 and 1810, in North Carolina and Tennessee, respectively.  The father died of cholera in Jun, 1854.  Our subject is the third of eight children.  At the age of twenty years he became overseer for Thomas Shearren and then began farming for himself.  He joined the Methodist Episcopal Church when a boy, and when about twenty-six years old was licensed to preach.  In 1870 he was ordained deacon at Pulaski, Tenn., and in 1874 he was ordained elder.  He has had regular work since 1870, and has conscientiously fulfilled the duties of his calling. He was married December 20, 1855 to Mary E. Pickle, daughter of Major and Catherine Pickle.  Rev. and Mrs. Cook became the parents of eleven children , four of whom are dead: William T. S., a minister of the gospel; Mary E. (Mrs. C. M. Spruce), Emily M. (Mrs. William Darnell), Rosanna (Mrs. E. Stalling), Henry C., Eliza and Nora A.  Our subject acquired the most of his education by dint of hard study after acquiring his growth.  He is a Democrat, but up to the date of the late war was an old-line Whig.
 

ALEXANDER A. COOPER was born January 12, 1832, in Rutherford County, Tenn., son of Micajah R. and Sarah (Vincent) Cooper.   The father was a native of Rowan County, N. C., born December 28, 1806.  When nine years of age he moved with his parents to Cannon County, this State, and in 1829 he was married.  To this union were born twelve children, our subject being the second.  The father of our subject died February 16, 1874, and the mother in May, 1864.  Our subject was educated in the country schools and at Union University at Murfreesboro.  After reaching his majority he followed various occupations, such as teacher, merchant and trader up to the late war, when he was appointed by the commissary-general and permanently detailed by the Secretary of War as general purchasing agent of the commissary department for the Confederate Army which position  he held during the war.  He then returned home and resumed merchandising at Wartrace, which he continued for two years.  He then located on the farm where he now lives.  He also served as deputy clerk of the county court of this county for ten years.  He has held several minor offices and has been magistrate of his civil district six years.  October, 1862, he married Miss Mary E. Singleton, daughter of Dr. Robert L. Singleton, of Fairfield, now deceased.  To our subject and wife were born the following children:  Robert S., Henry V., Constance, Alexander A. and Sarah A., all living.  Mr. Cooper is a member of the Masonic and Odd Fellows’ orders, and owns a farm of 100 acres near Fairfield on the Wartrace & Beech Grove Turnpike.   He is a member of the board of trustees of the Duck River Academy, and takes an active part in educational matters.
 

J. B. COOPER, ESQ., was born January 25, 1831, in Bedford County, son of George and Sallie (Rutlege) Cooper.  The father was born about 1796, and the mother about 1798.  They both died when our subject was an infant and he was reared by his aunt, Matilda Rutlege, whom he assisted on the farm until her death, which occurred about 1871.  He has been engaged in agricultural pursuits ever since.  In 1870 he was elected to the office of magistrate and filled that position in an able and efficient manner.  He then began the study of law, and about 1876 the county court granted him license to practice law before the county court and before magistrate courts.  He has been quite successful and has made quite a reputation as a lawyer.  May 15, 1856, he wedded, Rebecca F. Landers of this county, and this union resulted in the birth of thirteen children:  Cicero W., Alice A. (deceased), Lula S., Ella L., Callie T. (deceased), Maggie M., Eddie A. (deceased), Rebecca J., Algie B., America L., Johnnie E., Lattie B. and William E.  Mr. Cooper received a common district school education in his early days, but having cultivated a taste for good reading while young, he acquired the major part of his education from the perusal of good books after having grown to maturity.  In politics Mr. Cooper is a Democrat.
 

ALEXANDER CORTNER is a native Tennesseean, born December 20, 1827, and of Swedish lineage.  He has always resided on a farm and by his energy has accumulated 145 acres of land on which is erected a neat residence, and also has two other tracts of land, containing seventy-five acres.  November 16, 1852, he was united in marriage to Mary E. Landers, who was born December 22, 1836, daughter of Robert and Susan (Carter) Landers.  To Mr. and Mrs. Cartner were born the following children:  Susan M., born March 23, 1854, and died April 4, 1878; Henry, born November 15, 1855, and died August 21, 1857; George R., born March 23, 1858; Letitia C., born January 24, 1860; Alexander F., born June 3, 1863; William L. born March 11, 1866; Victor H., born October 27, 1867; Roy E., born October 21, 1871; Albert E., born July 1, 1876, and Sarah E., born March 24, 1879, and died July 13, 1879.  Mrs. Cortner died May 11, 1879. In 1862 Mr. Cortner enlisted in the Confederate service under Gen. Forrest’s escort and was in many hotly contested battles.  He is a Democrat, and his parents, George and Delilah (Troxler) Cortner, were born in North Carolina November 15, 1801, and October 6, 1807, respectively.  They were married in 1823 and became the parents of four sons and seven daughters.  The father died October 7, 1884, and the mother in 1871.
 

J. P. COTHRAN, a successful farmer, was born in Person County, N. C., July 8, 1828, son of Samuel and Polly (Burton) Cothran, who immigrated to Tennessee in 1844, and settled in Williamson County.  Our subject was the fourth child born to his parents.  His educational advantages were limited, but notwithstanding this fact he has always manifested a willingness and a desire to aid in any enterprise pertaining to the advancement of education.  December 18, 1851, he was united in marriage to Mary R. Cothran, of Williamson County.  The fruits of this union were eleven children, seven of whom are still living.  Mr. Cothran is a self-made man, having accumulated his property by his own exertions.  Politically he is a Republican, but up to the late war was a Democrat.
 

HON. REUBEN C. COUCH, farmer, was born in Bedford County, Tenn., January 13, 1830, son of Joseph and Catherine (Patton) Couch, and of Scotch Irish descent.  The father was born in South Carolina October 9, 1787, and the mother in Buncombe County, N.C., July 10, 1796.  They were married in 1813, and to them were born twelve children.  The father was a soldier in the war of 1812 under Gen. Jackson.  He was a farmer by occupation, and died March 19, 1861.  The mother followed March 10, 1886.  Our subject's maternal grandmother was a daughter of Rhoda Cunningham, who came from Ireland.  She is living in Bedford County, Tenn., and is in her ninety-third year.  She has at this time 306 living descendants, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, even to the fourth generation.  What is most consoling to the declining years of this most venerable matron, is that our of this long line of descendants none have yet done ought to detract form the character of an honest family.  Our subject received his education in the common schools, and followed farming up to the time of the war.  He enlisted with the boys in blue in the Fifth Tennessee Cavalry.  He was commissioned as a lieutenant, and afterward promoted to captain, in which capacity he served through the war.  He participated in the battle of Stone River, and various skirmishes.  After the war he was elected clerk of the county court, and served several years in the revenue department.  He was a member of the lower house of the Thirty-eighth General Assembly.  November 23, 1865, he wedded Miss Mary J. Dyer, daughter of William H. Dyer, and to them were born three children:  Reuben C., Lester and Emily G.   James Patton, our subject's maternal grandfather, was one of the pioneers of Tennessee.  He reared a family of twelve children - eleven daughters and one son.  All lived to be married.  Among the daughters there were seven living at one time, all widows, and the youngest over seventy years of age.  The mother of our subject, just before her death, had descendants to the number of 266, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.  Mr. Couch is a Republican, a Mason, and he and wife and daughters are members of the Baptist Church.  He has a fine farm of 275 acres in a fine state of cultivation.
 

DR. ROBERT W. COUCH was born March 13, 1834, in Bedford County, Tenn., and is the son of Joseph and Catherine Patton Couch.  (For further particulars of parents see sketch of R. C. Couch.)   Our subject received a practical education in the Duck River Academy at Fairfield, in this county, and his medical education at the University of Nashville, from which institution he graduated in 1855.  He then began the practice of his profession, and was surgeon of the Tennessee Iron Works in Wayne County until the beginning of the late war.  He then joined the Ninth Tennessee Confederate Cavalry as a lieutenant, and was afterward appointed surgeon of the regiment.  He was captured at Fort Donelson and held as a prisoner until May, 1862, when he made his escape from Mound City, Ill., and walked to Corinth, Miss., and from there to his relatives in the county.  Since that time he has been engaged in agricultural pursuits.  May, 1860, he married Miss Lucy Tucker, a native of Rutherford County, and daughter of Maj. Lewis and Harriet Tucker.  To our subject and wife were born the following children:  Robert, John R., Kittie, William, Lizzie and Mary, all living but John R.  Mr. Couch owns a farm of 315 cares in District No. 2, all well cultivated and in a flourishing condition.  He is an Independent Democrat in politics, a Mason, and he an wife are members of the Christian Church.
 

OLIVER COWAN & CO., dealers in hardware and farming implements is composed of Oliver and Robert Cowan, brothers.  Oliver Cowan was born February 13, 1831 in Londonderry, Ireland.  The father, Alexander Cowan, died in Ireland, having been a farmer.  The mother and six children came to Shelbyville in 1851, and the mother died in 1868.  There are five of the family now living, Oliver being the youngest.  He was reared on a farm, and received his education in an agricultural college in Ireland.  Upon coming to Shelbyville he engaged as clerk in the dry goods trade for three years.  He then entered a dry goods business with a brother, and continued successfully till 1874, when he sold out that business and entered the hardware business with his brother, Robert.  The firm carried about a $10,000 stock, and transacts about a $20,000 business annually.  Mr. Cowan was married, in 1869, to Miss Sarah Bryson, of Lincoln County, daughter of the Rev. Henry Bryson.  He has a family of two sons and two daughters, viz. Henry B., William G., Jennie and Olive.  Himself, his wife and two sons are members of the Presbyterian Church.  He is a Knight Templar Mason.  Politically he adheres to no party rigidly, but supports the man who he thinks is best qualified to fill public office.  Robert Cowan was born September 24, 1813, in Londonderry, Ireland.  He came from the native land to this county in 1851.  He clerked in a store till 1874, at which time he entered the firm of Oliver Cowan & Co.  In Ireland he followed farming.  He was married, in 1836, to Miss Esther Buchanan, who bore him two sons, viz.:  Alexander, who was killed in the Confederate Army in 1863, and William B., who is now a farmer of this county.  Mr. Cowan has for many years lived a widower, his wife having died in Ireland in 1841.  He is a devout member of the Presbyterian Church, and is one of Shelbyville’s oldest and most highly respected citizens.
 

J. M. CROWEL was born November 5, 1847, in Bedford County, Tenn., and is the son of Benjamin and Margaret (Anderson) Crowel.  The father was born in the year 1815, in Bedford County, and died in the year 1865.  The mother was born in North Carolina about 1817, and died September, 1885.  Our subject was the youngest child and only son of his parents.  He passed his youthful days on the farm, and after reaching the years of manhood began farming for  himself.  November 16, 1873, he wedded Susan A. Molder, of this county, who was born in 1857.  The fruits of this union were three children:  Thomas L., Jennie L., and Edwin Harper.  Mr. Crowel is a self-made man , and is now worth about $5,000, which he has made in the last twelve years.  He was never sued or had a lawsuit in his life.  He is upright, honest and law abiding.  His educational advantages were rather limited, but sufficient for all practical purposes.  In politics he is a Democrat.
 

CYPRUS W. CUNNINGHAM, dealer in books, stationery, wall paper, jewelry, etc., was born in Bedford County, January 28, 1850, being one of five children of Joseph A. and Elizabeth W. (Williams) Cunningham.  The father was a native of Bedford County, his father having come here from North Carolina in the very early settlement of the county.  The father was a farmer; his death occurred in 1880.  The mother is a descendant of Virginia parentage, is a native of this county, and is now living.  The subject of this sketch was reared on a farm to the age of twenty-three, receiving a common school education.  He taught school and clerked in a store for two years before leaving home.  He then came to Shelbyville, and purchased a one-third interest in a book store, and in 1875 became sole proprietor,  In 1876 he failed, but has paid our fully, and now does a thriving business, and owns a desirable and beautiful home in Shelbyville.  He now holds the appointment of deputy internal revenue collector of the Fifth Revenue District of Tennessee.  He was married, March 9, 1875, to Miss Susan A. Cannon, grandniece of Gov. Newton Cannon.  This union has been blessed in the birth of four children, viz:  Kate T., Elizabeth, Jennie C., and Mary J.  Mr. Cunningham and wife are members of the Presbyterian Church.  He is a member of the K. of H. and R. A., being a member of the Grand Lodge of the K. of H.  He is a Democrat in politics, and an enterprising citizen of the county.
 

J. M. CUNNINGHAM, M. D., is a native of Marshall County, Tenn., born June 17, 1849, and is the second of six children of S. D. and Elizabeth (Armstrong) Cunningham, who are now living in Marshall County.  Our subject spent his early days in tilling his father's farm, remaining until eighteen years old, at which time he entered the high school at Lewisburg, then under the supervision of Calvin Dornal, and paid his own way for about three years, his father refusing to pay his tuition.  He entered the Medical College of Nashville in 1871, and during the vacation in the summer of 1872 he taught school to enable him to take the course of lectures in the fall, which he did, and graduated in the spring of 1873.  He began practicing his profession in April of that year at Bedford post office, seven miles west of Shelbyville, where he has successfully continued up to the present date.  June 14, 1876, he married Lizzie T. Lock, daughter of James Lock.  This union has resulted in six children:  Vera C., Clare G. (deceased), Ewing B., Hattie S., Lillie R. (deceased) and Horace L.  Dr. Cunningham is a Democrat in politics, and he and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South.
 

B. M. CURTISS is a native of Bedford County, born July 7, 1859.  His father, J. H. Curtiss, was born November 12, 1803, in Connecticut, and died in August, 1866.  The mother was Teresa (Moseley) Curtiss, who was born November 22, 1824, in Georgia.  She is yet living.  Our subject aided his mother until he was twenty-two years of age, and since that time has followed agricultural pursuits for himself, and is a prosperous farmer.  In connection with his farming he carried on merchandising about three years.  November 17, 1872, he wedded Sallie E. Dysart, who was born July 6, 1859, and is the mother of seven children:  Alex, Nola T., R. Dennie, James R., Fannie, Polk and Tint.  Mrs. Curtiss died June 3, 1886, and earnest member of the Presbyterian Church.  Our subject was elected magistrate of his district in August, 1882, and has served as such up to the present date.  He is a well educated man, and one who supports all enterprises for the public welfare.  He is a democrat politically.