The Routons Of Henry County, TN
Stephen James Routon was born February 28, 1874 at Routon, Tennessee. He was the fifth and last child of Stephen Palmer Routon and Mary Catherine Haymes Routon. He was named Stephen after his father and James after his uncle, Jim Haymes.
One of the stories he told about his childhood was in 1885 there came a big snow. His teacher had offered a prize to the children who did not miss a day at school. He was determined to get that prize. He walked in the deep snow to the school to find it closed. He then walked to the teacher’s house to be sure she knew he had been to the school. He won the prize, a pearl handled knife. His big brother, Quince, won the bigger prize as he married the teacher, Miss Laura Bowden. The old timers used to talk about the big snow of 1885. Another time he and a friend went to town and on returning a blinding snow came upon them. They were riding on the same horse, and they kept each other warm and alive by telling stories. When he was about thirteen he ran away from home. He got a job as a news butch and worked on a riverboat going to New Orleans. Once the riverboat got stuck on the sandbar. The captain ordered the passengers into the main salon where he showed pictures and had my grandfather talk, explaining the pictures, to keep the passengers from panicking. He went to New York with the intention of working his way to Europe. He got a job on a cattle ship, but the odor of the cattle was too much for him, so he left the ship before it sailed out of the New York harbor. He returned home in a year or so and entered Bethel College in McKenzie, Tenn. I have a letter he wrote to his mother explaining a fight or “horseplay” he had had with another boy at the rooming house where furniture was broken in the scrimmage. The letter was an attempt to completely exonerate himself from his mother’s ire.
He attended Rome Business College in Rome, Georgia. Here he took penmanship under a man by the name of Justine, who was 100 years old at the time and had lived in George Washington’s day. My grandfather had the most beautiful handwriting of anyone in Henry County. His older brother was County Court Clerk in the Henry County Courthouse. Daddy Jim was his deputy and the early court books are filled with his beautiful script.
Stephen James Routon
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Marriage
Stephen James Routon married Arendal Pearl Sanders Routon in 1901
After Rome he went to the St. Augustine, Florida, area where he taught school for a few years. He was one of the ones who put the first house numbers on houses in St. Augustine. He always referred to his time in Florida as the land of the crocks. He said he used to walk to his school and stop on a bridge to watch the crocodiles crawl to sun in the sand. In 1901 he married Pearl Sanders, daughter of Henrietta Sanders.
They had four children.
In 1907 he was elected State Senator representing Henry and Carroll Counties. This was during the administration of Malcom Patterson.
He was knowledgeable about the murder of Senator Carmack
as it had happened while he was in the Senate.
He admired Senator Carmack greatly.
He was instrumental in helping veterans get confederate pensions, also helping widows get pensions. The Nashville Banner paid him the high compliment of calling him “the hardest working man in the senate.”
One of his greatest triumphs was obtaining a pension for a dependent of a renowned black cook who had served in the Confederacy. Long after he left the Senate he continued helping veterans get pensions, earning him the “the friend of the confederate veteran” name.
He entered the real estate business and at one time he owned over thirty rental houses. His wife’s uncle, Tom Walker, was a big help to him in getting started.
He was an intimate friend of Senator Carmack, Gov. Patterson, Gov. James Porter, Gov. Tom Rye, and Gov. Cooper.
I remember him as a kind southern gentleman who tipped his hat to all of the ladies, opened doors for all women and he went to the Caldwell Barbershop, located in the Caldwell Hotel, every morning for his daily shave, shoeshine and collection of the news. He was always vitally interested in current events and the growth of the community. (This interest was mentioned in the newspaper published at his death.) Each morning upon rising he put on a fresh white shirt (done at the laundry) and his necktie and suit. He kept his hat on a rack at the front door and as he got outside the front door he placed his hat on his head and was ready for the day. He was proud and kept his pride.
In 1956 he went to Los Angeles, CA to appear on national TV, the show Ralph Edwards’ “This is Your Life, honoring his wife.” This was his last train ride. He was always supportive of the railroad industry
Descendants of Stephen James Routon
Mary Catherine Routon
Born: JULY 7, 1904
Died: MAY 29, 1995
Joseph Routon
Born: November 29, 1915
Died: September 15, 2001
William Sanders
Born: 1921
Died: April 22, 1998
Obituary
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Stephen James Routon
Arendale Pearl Sanders Routon
Born July 24, 1882, in the Buchanan community of Henry County, Mrs. Routon was the daughter of the late William Sanders and Henrietta Walker Sanders. She was married December 19, 1901, to the late Stephen James Routon, who served as a Senator in the Tennessee Legislature representing Henry and Carroll Counties.
He preceded her in death in 1957.
Mrs. Routon was an accomplished pianist, artist, and writer and at one time operated the largest greenhouse and nursery business in West Tennessee.
The former homeplace on South Dunlap was purchased from Henry
Lee Greer last year and remodeled into one of the show places of the community. The home was originally purchased by the Routons in 1916, and its dining room has hosted such outstanding personalities as
Oscar Lavant, Don Harlburg, Governor Frank Clement, and many others, and for many years the social life of the community was charmingly entertained in this home with typical Routon warmth and Southern hospitality.
The talented Mrs. Routon began to grow flowers in her yard soon after she and her husband acquired the home.
They built their first greenhouse during World War I, two more were added later and the peak of their florist business, Routon Florists, was serving Murray, Huntingdon, Milan, Dresden, Martin, and Fulton, and was the only greenhouse between Nashville and Memphis.
At the age of 14 Mrs. Routon entered Peabody College in Nashville under special permission due to her age. The late Governor James D. Porter was president of Peabody at that time. In later years, when her husband was serving in the State Senate, she re-entered Peabody to study art, and was awarded the Stief Medal for a still life drawing, the highest art honor that Peabody College confers.
At the age of four, Mrs. Routon displayed an early talent for art by
painting flowers on tin cans, and in later years she excelled in painting
china. She once painted a set of Haviland China for the late
Mrs. O. C. Barton using pure gold leaf, a set that is now owned by Mrs. J. H. McSwain and considered one of the finest sets of Haviland China to be found in Tennessee today.
In 1937 Mrs. Routon was named one of the ten most successful
business women in Tennessee.
She was a charter member of the Paris Garden Club and Matinee Music Club and was secretary of the Paris Woman’s Club.
During World War I, she put on a number of fundraising projects and
received a personal commendation from President Woodrow Wilson.
During World War II her sons served in the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps. She was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
From 1912 to 1919 she served as chairman of the women’s division of the Tennessee State Fair at Nashville, and during that time was instrumental in having the iris named as Tennessee’s state flower.
At one time Mrs. Routon had one of the largest collections of fine iris
to be found in the entire South and in the 1930’s gave away 10,000 iris bulbs for the beautification of the city.
She was credited with leading the movement to tear down the old iron
fence that once surrounded the court square yard, and planted shrubs and trees in the courthouse yard. Pearl Street was named in her honor, and Routon Street is named for the Routon family. She was responsible for planting the double row of trees that now line Grove Boulevard.
On December 16, 1956, Mrs. Routon was on nationwide television when she was selected for the “This Is Your Life” subject by Ralph Edwards.
She took up portrait painting in 1944 and had painted the portraits of
three Tennessee governors, Frank G. Clement, Jim McCord and James D. Porter, She was named a “Colonel” on the staff of Governor Clement, one of the few women even to be accorded this honor.
Mrs. Routon’s other talents included planning of weddings and wedding
receptions including the catering and decoration of wedding cakes, and she handled many of these events, both in Paris and in other cities.