Maj. Edward Turner
Sykes, born in Morgan County, Alabama on March 15, 1838, died at his home in
Columbus, Mississippi on February 18, 1922 having nearly completed eighty-four
years. He was a son of Richard and
Martha Sykes. Richard and Martha
were cousins who went from Virginia to Decatur (Morgan County) Alabama. It was there that E. T. Sykes was
born. When their son was a baby,
they moved to Columbus, Mississippi. There he grew to manhood and received his
early education. In 1858, he graduated from the Literary Department of the
University of North Carolina and in 1860, from the Law School of the University
of Mississippi. On November 16,
1863, he was married to Miss Caroline Harrison. To this union there were born four
children, two sons and two daughters (Isham Harrison, Julia Turner, Edward
Turner, Jr. and Augusta Jamie)Edward
Turner Sykes was a brave, chivalric Confederate soldier. He went into the army a captain and was
paroled as a major. The title of “General” was
honorary as a staff appointee U.C.V. At
the age of 23, E.T. Sykes enlisted in the Confederate Army on March 27, 1861 in
Capt. George Lipscomb`s company. He was
made color bearer and left for service on the day that he enlisted. His company reported for service at Tuscola,
Fla. (near Pensacola) to General Braxton Bragg.
E.T. advanced to the position of adjutant of his regiment in which he
served until after the battle of Shiloh in April 1862. He was then made captain of Company K, Tenth
Mississippi infantry and continued in this capacity for seven months until
after the campaign in Kentucky in Nov. 1865.
Edward Cary Walthall was made brigadier- general following that campaign
and Captain Sykes was commissioned and assigned to duty as Walthall`s adjutant
general. Sykes remained in this
assignment until June 1864, when during the Georgia campaign he was transferred
to Brigadier General W. H. Jackson’s division of cavalry. He served as division adjutant general until
the close of the war. He fought for his
convictions in the sixties, and remained true to his convictions to the last.
In
1863 with the war in full swing, E.T. was granted a brief furlough to return to
Columbus to marry. On November 16, he
was married to Miss Caroline Harrison (or Miss Callie Sykes as she later become
known). She was the daughter of Isham
and Julia R. (Whitefield) Harrison. To
this union there were born four children, two sons and two daughters as stated
above. Callie Sykes was born in Jasper,
Georgia, December 8, 1845 and died in Columbus Mississippi on November 27,
1924.
Throughout
her entire seventy-eight years Callie had been a prominent figure in the life
of Columbus, Mississippi. An infant when her
grandfather, James Whitfield was governor of the state of Mississippi: a young
lady of society when her father, Col. Isham Harrison commanded a regiment in the
Confederate Army, a bride of a young Confederate officer, Captain Edward Turner
Sykes at the close of the Civil War; brilliant mentally, beautiful and
attractive in person and highly cultured she was in the forefront
of every social function. Her physical
and mental graces were crowned with a deeply religious nature. She early consecrated her life to her Savior,
becoming a member of the First Baptist Church in childhood and serving as a
teacher in Sunday school and leader in the women’s organization until failing
health made it necessary for her to give up her labors.
She
was a charter member of the local chapter, United Daughters of the Confederacy,
was its active president of several terms and at the time of her death was an
honorary life president of the state U.D.C.
She organized the local chapter of the Children of Confederacy and personally
organized its first members.
Callie
Sykes’s father, Isham Harrison, was Colonel of the 6th Mississippi
Cavalry Regiment and was killed July 14, 1864 while leading his regiment in the
battle of Harrisburg, Miss. Isham had
five brothers, all of whom served in the war.
After
the war, E.T. returned to his legal practice in Columbus, Miss. with his
partner Capt. W.W. Humphries under the name of Humphries and Sykes. He held this practice for more than twenty
years. In 1883, Captain Sykes was
elected to the State Senate as the Lowndes County Representative. He served until January 1888. He was an able,
forceful, and eloquent speaker. He
delivered literary and commemorative addresses at a variety of events. During his tenure as Senator, he supported
unequivocally the bill to establish a college for higher education of women; a
pioneer institution, which he felt should also provide industrial training for
women. He saw the urgent need for such a
college, and worked to have it located in his hometown.
In
April 1843, Edward Turner Sykes united with, and became a steward in the First
Methodist Church and remained a faithful and consecrated member. Before accepting the stewardship, he wanted
to know if he would be allowed to take his children to a circus. He also extracted a promise that he would
never be called upon to pray in public.
He was also an active Sunday school worker, having Bible class for
students (men and woman) in the Methodist Sunday school.
He
was a member of the Columbus City Council for many years as served as City Attorney
and as a bank attorney. He was also a member of several fraternal orders:
Masons, Knights Templer, Odd Fellows, Elks, PHI kappa Sigma Fraternity and a
past Grand Chancellor of the Knights of Pythias of the state of Mississippi.
The Children of E. T. Sykes
Isham Harrison Sykes – Julia Turner Sykes- Edward Turner
Sykes J r. –
Augusta Jamie