52 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



This plant has been shut down for some time. 

 The company is an extensive manufacturer of 

 gum lumber, owning timber lands in the Cache 

 ri^er valley. 



The plant of J. W. Wheeler & Co., Madison, 

 Ark., has resumed operations again. The com- 

 pany was handicapped for a long time by the 

 absence of sufficient water to enable it to bring 

 out its timber, but it reports that there is water 

 enough and to spare for all practical purposes. 



C. D. Hendrickson of the C. D. Hendrickson 

 Lumber Company has accepted the position of 

 manager of the operating department of the 

 Banks Lumber Company. George Banks of 



Banks *: Co., Hernando. Miss., looked after the 

 lumber business of the latter firm prior to his 

 death a few weeks ago, but there are now two 

 lirms, Banks & Co. and the Banks Lumber Com- 

 pany. The latter will handle all of the lumber 

 business and will, under the direction of Mr. 

 Hendrickson, operate the band mill at Lost Lake, 

 Miss., and the two circular mills located at 

 Ezra and Payne, Miss., respectively. It will 

 also take the cut of a large band mill in Louisi- 

 ana. Mr. Hendrickson has secured the services 

 of E. E. Sweet and, owing to this fact, will be 

 able to divide his time between the business of 

 the Banks Lumber Company and that of the 

 C. D. Hendrickson Lumber Company. D. ^Y. 

 Baird, who has for some time been sales agent 

 for the old firm of Banks & Co., will continue 

 to look after the selling end of the business 

 for the new tirm. His offices, however, will be 

 located in Memphis, where the company opened 

 yards a sliort time ago. 



C. E. Dudley of the Dudley Lumber Company 

 and J. W. Thompson of the J. W. Thompson 

 Lumber Company have recently returned from a 

 business trip to Chicago and other northern 

 points. Since his return Mr. Thompson has been 

 confined to his home with rheumatism. 



F. B. Robertson, manager of the lumber sales 

 department of the Andorson-Tully Company, is 

 back from St. Louis, Chicago and other northern 

 points. 



NASHVILLE 



The will of Nashville's lumber king, John B. 

 Hansom, written on the 19th day of last May, 

 has been probated. It w-as witnessed by his 

 brother, Arthur B, Ransom, Sam T. Meyers and 

 W. J. McFerrin, all business associates. Mr, 

 Hansom left an estate worth close to a million 

 dollars. In fact, the face value of the stock he 

 owned in various concerns, added to realty 

 values and $100,000 in life in.surance, footed up 

 ,1;S00,000. In the firm of John B. Ransom & Co. 

 the deceased ow-ned ?313,000 worth of stock. He 

 owned largo blocks of stock in the Nashville 

 Hardwood Flooring Company, in the Gayoso Lum- 

 ber Company, the W. J. Cude Land & Lumber 

 Company, the Conasauga Lumber Company, the 

 Tennessee Realty & Warehouse Company, and 

 smaller holdings in the Gray & Dudley Hardware 

 Company, American National Bank, and Car- 

 negie Trust Company. His home on West End 

 avenue was worth $50,000. Another place on 

 West End he owned was worth $20,000 ; one 

 on the Harding road, $50,000, and improved 

 real estate $27,000. 



To his brother, George T. Ransom, the lumber 

 king left $10,000. To his brothers Arthur, Sam, 

 Marvin, McEwen and Street and to his sisters 

 Lizzie May and Anna he left $2,500 each. He 

 left the siime to his old father, George W. Ran- 

 som : to the Protestant Orphans' Home, $2,000 ; 

 to the Old Womans' Home, $2,000, and to the 

 Tnitod Charities, $2,000. To his widow he leaves 

 one-third of his entire estate, including whatever 

 insurance policies may be directed to her ; also 

 the home place and household effects. The rest 

 of the estate is divided equally between his four 

 children, Kate, John B. Jr., Mary and Elizabeth. 

 He e.xpresses the desire that the firm of John B. 

 Hansom & Co. shall be continued in business and 



that his son, John B. Ransom Jr., shall have at 

 least one-half of testator's stock in the firm, the 

 same to be duly charged tb his share in the 

 estate and charged at its book value. The son, 

 John B. Ransom Jr., is given the option of tak- 

 ing stock in the Hardwood Flooring Company in- 

 stead if he prefers. 



The Nashville Trust Company is named as 

 executor of the will and is instructed to hold 

 one-fuurth of the estate going to the widow and 

 children in trust for ten years. At the end of 

 that time the trust is to be dissolved. 



Since the death of John B. Ransom his 

 brotlier, Artlmr B. Ransom, has been elected 

 president of John B. Ransom & Co., thus succeed- 

 ing his brother as the head of the company, 

 and also president of the Nashville Hardwood 

 Flooring Company. Arthur Ransom has also 

 been elected a director in the American National 

 Bank, thus tilling that vacancy caused by the 

 death of his older brother. 



H. A. Batchelor Jr. of Saginaw, Mich., has 

 taken out a pei-mit for the erection of a big 

 iiardwood flooring plant to be erected in East 

 Nashville, adjoiuing the plant of the Davidson, 

 Hicks & Greene Company. The first building 

 will cost $40,000, and it is the intention of the 

 companj' to be ready for work in a few months, 

 in the spring anyway. Mr. Batchelor has al- 

 ready moved to Nashville and is making his 

 home in the Seminole apartments. 



A rlisastrous tire at the plant of the E. & N. 

 Manufacturing Company was averted this week 

 through the efficacy of a sprinkling plant. The 

 fire originated in the varnish and paint room 

 of the big plant, but it had gained little head- 

 way when a sprinkler cap burst and extinguished 

 it. The most damage resulted from the water. 



At the annual meeting of the Nashville Build- 

 ers' Exchange, R. T. Creightou was unanimously 

 reelected president ; E. T. Lewis and W. J. Wal- 

 lace were elected vice-presidents ; John Oman Jr., 

 treasurer, and Secretary Evans was reelected. 



It is estimated that the present tide in Cum- 

 berland river will bring down at least a million 

 feet of timber, and this will be enough to start 

 all the dealers sawing. The subsequent tides are 

 counted upon to bring down enough additional 

 limber to keep the mills busy for many months 

 in the year. Most of the timber to arrive any- 

 way was contracted for some time ago. 



The Nashville Tie & Cedar Company has just 

 sent down a tow of 30,000 ties to Cairo, 111, 



In the inventory of its business for 1909 the 

 Standard Lumber & Box Company reports a net 

 gain over 1908 of thirty-three and one-third per 

 cent. The last six months of the past year 

 were within ten per cent of the heaviest busi- 

 ness ever done by the company. 



The Standard Furniture Company reports a 

 most successful year and this company starts 

 into 1910 with the expectation of increasing its 

 business at least a third. 



The Davidson, Hicks & Greene Company has 

 recently doubled its capital stock to the halt- 

 million mark and is preparing to develop vast 

 timber holdings in Overton and Fentress counties 

 in the Cumberland mountains. The company 

 owns about 15,000 acres of land in that region 

 and a seven-mile railway has been built into the 

 heart of the section. M. F. Greene of this firm 

 is with his family at his winter home. Rock- 

 ledge, Fla., and W. V. Davidson and family are 

 spending the winter season at Cocoa, Fla, 



J. A. Stovall has acquired the interest of J. A. 

 Friddle in the woodworking plant of Friddle, 

 Stevens & Co., and the name of the concern has 

 been changed to the Nashville Woodenware Com- 

 pany. 



The Nashville Y. M. C. A., the Board of Trade, 

 the American National Bank, the Watauga Club, 

 and other institutions with which the late John 

 B. Ransom was prominently connected, have all 

 adopted resolutions expressing sympathy and de- 

 ploring the death of so useful a man to any 

 community. 



A recent visitor to the city was Lockhart 

 II. Wallis of the Willow Lumber Company of 

 Galveston, Tex. His firm does a big export busi- 

 ness to Cuba, Mexico and South American coun- 

 tries, and at present is building a big viaduct 

 across Galveston bay to facilitate its shipping. 

 This viaduct will be of concrete and will ac- 

 commodate four railroad tracks parallel to each 

 otuer. 



The Nashville Builders' Exchange held a big 

 "house warming" at its new quarters on the 

 night of January 4. Several prominent speakers 

 were heard and a delightful repast was served. 

 Secretary T. li. Evans submitted a review of 

 the work for the past year. Resolutions were 

 adopted deploring the then serious illness of 

 John B. Ransom, and Dr. W. M. Anderson of- 

 fered a special prayer for him. Mayor Howse 

 was a special guest of the occasion and made a 

 short talk to the gathering. 



A special from Cookeville, Tenn., announces 

 that the Nashville Tie & Cedar Company had 

 just closed a deal, selling 40,000 cross ties to the 

 Tennessee Central railroad. The deal was put 

 through by S. R. Brinkley, representing the Nash- 

 ville Tie & Cedar Company, and he stated that 

 his company had contracted to furnish 100,000 

 more ties later on. The Tennessee Central has 

 put in about 60,000 ties in the past year. 



Another big deal is on to sell the immense 

 land, timber and ore holdings of the Bon Air 

 Coal & Iron Company. A syndicate composed 

 of A. H. Robinson, Edgar Jones and E. C. Lewis 

 has secured options on a majority of the stock 

 and will endeavor to sell the same to an eastern 

 syndicate. This company owns thousands of 

 acres of rich timber land. There is $1,880,266 

 of preferred stock issued and a like amount of 

 common. 



A Christmas fire cracker was the cause of the 

 destruction of the Leathers Handle Factory at 

 Dickson, Tenn., and caused a fire which did $14,- 

 000 damage. The factory is being rebuilt and 

 it is hoped to have it ready for operation soon 

 after March 1. There was not a dollar of insur- 

 ance, either on the handle factory or the grocery 

 store adjoining, both of which were destroyed. 



An annual review of the business done in 

 Nashville during the past year in its various 

 lines show-s that $9,700,000 was the total of the 

 lumber transactions and $4,000,000 of the furni- 

 ture. The building permits in Nashville for the 

 year 1909 exceeded those of 1908 by more than 

 $100,000. 



A special from Harstville, Tenn., announces 

 the death there of Major John G. Lowe, a promi- 

 uent log handler of that section. Major Lowe 

 was seventy-nine j^ears of age and served with 

 distinction as an officer in the Confederate army. 



General Manager C. L. McConnell of the Nash- 

 ville Hardwood Flooring Company was the re- 

 cipient of a handsome gold watch and chain dur- 

 ing the holidays, the gift of the employes of the 

 plant and a token of their esteem. 



CHATTANOOOA 



S. A. Williams of the Williams & Voris Lum- 

 ber Company spent the holiday season in Indi- 

 ana, combining pleasure with business. 



J. M. Card of the J. M. Card Lumber Com- 

 pany has just returned from a business trip to 

 Tuscaloosa, Ala. While away he bought a large 

 tract of timber. A ndw band mill is being 

 built, which will be equipped with all modern 

 appliances. The main office will be at the 

 office in Chattanooga, from which the business 

 will be transacted, 



A small tide in the river brought in some 

 logs, which were sold to the local millmen at 

 good prices, enabling some of them to start 

 their mills. Reports from the upper Tennessee 

 river and tributaries are to the effect that a 

 large amount of timber will be cut and rafted 

 this season. 



