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BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY 
OF    NORTH     CAROLINA 

■OLD   NORTH    STATE"  EDITION 

THIS  EDITION  IS  STRICTLY 
LIMITED  TO  SEVEN  HUNDRED 
AND  FIFTY  REGISTERED  AND 
NUMBERED  SETS,  OF  WHICH 
THIS    IS    SET    NUMBE  R 


f^ 


^ 


of  XJottf)  CJarolma 


PVom  Colonial  Times 
to  the  Present 


Editors 

Samuel  A.  Ashe 

Stephen   \l.   Weeks 

(Charles  L.  Van  Noppcn 

V{)LLMr*;  V    ' 


Charles    L.    \'  a  n    N  op  p  e  n 

i'i;iii.]siii-R 

Cireeiisboro,    N.    C. 

MCMVI 


THE 


:i 


• ';.  R 


PUBLIC  1.;'  j.'.FvY 

3921 52 A 

ASTOR.   LENOX  AND 
MLUEN  FOUNDaTIONB 


COPYRK'.HT,    1*X>6 

BY  CHARLES  L.  Van  NoH'kn 
All  rights  reserved 


.  •••:  •••/•  •   •. ••• .  •::•: 

•  •  •  • 


Kemp  P.  Battle    . 
John  C.  Buxton 
Theo.  F.  Davidson 
Junius  Davis 
rufus  a.  doughton 
Thomas  J,  Jarvis 

JaMKS  V.  JuVNER     . 

Charlks  D.  McIvkk 

Wll.I.lAM  L.  PoTICAT 
JaM1:s  II.  SOUTIIGATK 
ClIARI.I'S  \V.  TlI.LETT 


Chapel  Hill 

Winston-Salem 

.    Asheville 

.   Wilmington 

Sparta 

Greenville 

Raleigh 

Greensboro 

Wake  Forest 

Durham 

.    Charlotte 


Advisory  Board vii 

Contents ix. 

Portraits xiii 

Contributors xv 

Allen,  Eleazar i 

Belo,  Alfred  H 8 

Blue,  John 14 

Boyd,  Adam 18 

ixBruton,  John  Fletcher 23 

Butler,  John 29 

Buxton',  Jarvis 38 

Blxton,  Ralph  P 41 

Buxton,  John  Cameron 46 

Carr,  Lewis  Albert 53 

Carteret,  Peter 59 

Catchmaid.  GeoRtiE 63 

ClKVELAND,    liENJAMlN 69 

Clintos.  Richard 74 

Cox,  Ohlamxj  R 79 

Dickson.  Willlam 85 

Fanning,  David 90 

Forney,  Peter 98 

Forsyth,  Benjamin 102 


CONTENTS 


Gore,  Joshua  Walker 107 

Gray,  Julius  Alexander >^-^-^ 

Hall,  John 117 

Hamilton,  John 121 

Hassell,  Gushing  Biggs 124 

Hassell,  Sylvester 129 

Hawkins,  Philemon,  Sr 135 

Hawkins,  Philemon,  Jr 139 

Hawkins,  Benjamin 144 

Hawkins,  William 154 

Hawkins,  John  D 160 

Hawkins,  Alexander  Boyd 164 

Hawkins,  William  J 169 

Jackson,  Andrew 174 

Jenkins,"  John 183 

Johnston,  Gabriel 187 

King,  William  R 194 

McAden,  Rufus  Yancey 198 

Maffitt,  John  Newland 203 

McIvER,  Charles  Duncan 212 

McIvER,  John  McMillan 230 

Mangum,  Willie  Person 236 

Mangum,  Willie  Person,  Jr 258 

Mangum,  Priestley  Hinton,  Sr 263 

Metts,  James  Isaac 267 

Moore,  Bartholomew  Figures 275 

Morgan,  Samuel  Tate 287 

Pearson,  Richmond  M 295 

PiTTMAN,  Thomas  Merritt 310 

Polk,  Thomas 316 

Poteat,  William  Louis 321 


CONTENTS  xi 


Pratt,  Joseph  Hyde        327 

Reinhardt,  Robert  Smith 333 

Rex,  John 339 

Ricks,  Robert  Henry 342 

Royster,  Frank  Sheppard 345 

RuFFiN,  Thomas 350 

RuFFiN,  Thomas,  Jr 360 

Skinner,  William 367 

Stanly,  Edward 370 

Starkey,  John 379 

Stockard,  Henry  Jerome 383 

Sumner.  Jethro 395 

Taylor,  John  Louis 402 

Thompson,  George  Warren 407 

Van  Noppen,  Leonard  Charles 412 

Walker,  H^enderson 422 

Watkins,  William  Henry 426 

Weeks,  Stephen  Beauregard 433 

Whitehead,   Marcellus 442 

Whitehead,  John 446 

Whitehead,  Richard  Henry 44g 

Whitehead,  William  Henry 452 

Williamson,  Hugh 458 

Williams,  Benjamin 467 

Wilkes.  John 473 

Winhorne,  Benjamin  Brodie 480 

WiTHERSPooN,  John 487 

Wright,  Richard  Harvey 493 


McIvEK,  Charles  D Frontispiece 

Bklo,  Alfred  H facing      8 

Blue,  John "  14 

Bkuton,  John  F "  23 

Buxton,  Jarvis "  38 

Buxton,  Ralph  P "  41 

Buxton,  John  Cameron "  46 

Cabs.  Lewis  Albert "  53 

Cox,  Orlando  R "  79 

Gore,  Joshua  Walker "  107 

Gray,  Julius  Alexander "  no 

Hassell,  Gushing  Biggs "  124 

Hassell,  Sylvester "  129 

Hawkins,  Philemon,  Jr "  139 

Hawkins,  Benjamix "  144 

Hawkins,  William "  154 

Hawkins,  John  D "  160 

Hawkins,  Alexander  Boyd "  164 

Hawkins,  William  J "  169 

McAden,  Rufus  Yancey "  198 

McIvER,  John  McMillan '■  230 

Mangum,  Willie  Person "  236 

Mancum,  Willie  Person,  Jr "  258 


xiv  PORTRAITS 

Mangum,  Priestley  Hinton,  Sr, facing  263 

Metts,  James  Isaac "  267 

Moore,  Bartholomew  Figures "  275 

Morgan,  Samuel  Tate "  287 

Pearson,  Richmond  M "  295 

Pittman,  Thomas  Merritt "  310 

Poteat,  William  Louis "  321 

Pratt,  Joseph  Hyde "  327 

Reinhardt,  Robert  Smith "  333 

Ricks,  Robert  Henry "  342 

RoYSTER,  Frank  Sheppard "  345 

RuFFiN,  Thomas "  350 

Stockard,  Henry  Jerome "  383 

Thompson,  George  Warren "  407 

Van   Noppen,  Leonard  Charles "  412 

Watkins,  William  Henry "  426 

Weeks,  Stephen  Beauregard "  433 

Whitehead,  Marcellus "  442 

Whitehead,  John *'  446 

Whitehead,   Richard  Henry **  449 

Whitehead,  William  Henry "  452 

Wilkes,  John "  473 

Winborne,  Benjamin  Brodie "  480 

Wright,  Richard  Harvey "  493 


Sahukl  a.  Ashe 

Richard  H.  Battli,  A.B.,LL.D. 

G.  SAUttSL  Bradshaw,  A,M. 

JOHM   C.  BUXTOM 

Joseph  P.  Caldwell 
J.  B.  Carlyle,  A.m. 
CoLUSR  Cobb,  A.M. 
R.  D.  W.  Connor,  Ph.B. 

Robert  P.  Dick,  A.M.,LL.D. 

Benjamin  F.  Dixon 

Al  Fairbrother 

Robert  B.  Glenn 

J.  G.  dE  R.  Hamilton,  A.M. 

Marshall  De  L.  Haywood 

George  Howe,  Ph.D. 

Thos.H.Hume,A.M.,D.D.,LL.D. 

James  McNeill  Johnson 


Theo.  F.  Kluttz 
Patrick  R.Law,  A.B.,B.D.,D.D. 
M.  L.  Lawrinci 
Jahes  H.  Myrovbr 
Frank  Nash 

Louis  Juiiem  Picot,  M.D. 
Thomas  M.  Pittmah 
Edward  W.  Sikes,  Ph  D. 
William  C.  Smith,  A.B. 
James  H.  Southgate,  A.B. 
Leonard  C.  Van  Noppen,  A.M. 
Francis  P.  Venable,  Ph.D. 
Stephen  B. Weeks,  Ph.D.,LL.D. 
George  Stockton  Wills,  A.M. 
Robert  W,  Winborne,  A.B. 
Francis  D.  Winston,  A.B. 
William  A,  Withers,  A.M. 


ELEAZAR  ALLEN 

jHE  subject  of  this  sketch,  Eleazar  Allen,  for 
some  fifteen  years,  durii^  a  most  interesting 
period  of  the  development  of  the  Province  of 
North  Carolina,  played  an  important  part  in 
public  affairs.  Not  only,  as  stated  on  his  tomb- 
_  __    stone,  "did  God  endow  him  with  an  admirable 

understanding,  and  his  parents  with  a  liberal  education,  of  both 
of  which  he  made  the  most  excellent  use,"  but  by  his  family  con- 
nections and  his  public  emplojment  he  exerted  a  strong  inBuence 
on  the  course  of  events. 

He  was  bom  in  Massachusetts  in  1692,  of  English  parentage. 
His  grandfather,  Reverend  John  Allen,  of  Norfolk,  England,  was 
educated  at  Cambridge,  where  he  took  B.A.  in  1615,  and  M.A. 
in  1619.  In  1637  he  came  to  America  and  organized  the  church 
at  Dedham.  Massachusetts,  which  he  served  as  minister  until  his 
death  in  1671.  One  of  his  sons,  Doctor  Daniel  Allen,  graduated 
at  Harvard  in  1675,  was  librarian  of  the  college,  and  took  the 
degree  of  M.A.  in  1678.  He  marrie<l  Mary  Anna  Bendall,  and 
had  by  her,  among  other  children,  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 
After  the  death  of  Doctor  Allen  his  widow  married  Samuel 
Lynde.  In  her  will  Mrs.  Lynde  makes  a  bequest  "imto  my  lov- 
ing son,  Eleazar,  of  Carolina."  It  is  interesting  to  note  also  that 
a  sister  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  Katherine  Allen,  married 
Josiah  Willard,  and  bequests  were  likewise  made  by  Mrs.  Lynde 


NORTH  CAROLINA 


to  her  Willard  grandchildren.  Circumstances  led  the  footsteps 
of  young  Allen  to  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  where  he  became 
a  merchant,  and  there  at  some  time  prior  to  1722  he  married 
Sarah  Rhett,  the  eldest  daughter  of  Colonel  William  Rhett,  who 
was  born  June,  1697.  Another  daughter  of  Colonel  Rhett  mar- 
ried **King''  Roger  Moore  of  the  Cape  Fear,  and  a  niece  of  Mrs. 
Allen  married  Thomas  Franklin,  an  officer  of  the  British  Navy, 
and  another  niece  married  William  Dry  of  the  Cape  Fear. 

In  1723  Colonel  Maurice  Moore  determined  on  making  the  set- 
tlement of  the  Cape  Fear,  and  sought  to  interest  his  connections 
in  South  Carolina,  as  w^ell  as  those  in  the  Albemarle  region,  in  this 
enterprise.  Roger  Moore  and  his  family  were  among  the  first  to 
move,  and  Mr.  Allen  agreed  to  join  them  in  their  new  home.  In 
1725  he  obtained  a  grant  for  land  on  the  Cape  Fear  adjoining  the 
Orton  plantation,  where  Roger  Moore  built,  and  there  later  he 
made  his  residence,  calling  his  plantation  Lilliput. 

It  appears,  however,  that  Mr.  Allen,  about  that  time,  returned 
to  Massachusetts  and  graduated  at  Harvard  in  1726.  He  was 
then  about  thirty-four  years  of  age;  and  possibly  it  may  have 
happened  that  he  had  left  Harvard  in  his  youth  without  graduat- 
ing, and  he  now  returned  merely  to  finish  his  course,  perfect  him- 
self in  some  lines,  and  obtain  his  degree.  Coming  back  to 
Charleston,  he  was  for  some  time  Clerk  of  the  Assembly  of  the 
Province  of  South  Carolina,  and  he  remained  in  his  old  home 
until  1734.  It  was  expected,  however,  that  he  would  take  up  his 
residence  on  the  Cape  Fear  earlier,  and  in  August,  1730,  when 
lUirrington  was  apjx^inted  Governor  of  North  Carolina,  he  rec- 
ommended Allen  to  be  one  of  his  Council :  and  he  was  appointed, 
but  he  remained  in  South  Carolina  and  was  not  sworn  in  as  a 
Councillor  until  November  2,  1734.  Governor  Johnston  arrived 
at  the  Ca|>e  Fear  on  October  27th;  on  November  6th  Governor 
Hurrinsjton  mot  the  General  Assembly  at  Edenton,  and  most  of 
the  Council  were  in  attendance  at  that  place.  On  November  2d, 
Hahon.  Allen  and  Roger  Moore,  being  at  Brunswick,  formed  a 
Council,  and  Governor  Johnston  exhibited  his  commission  and 
boefan  his  administration.    On  the  6th  of  March  following  Gov- 


ELEAZAR  ALLEN 


crnor  Johnston  appointed  Allen  Receiver-General  of  the  Province 
in  the  place  of  John  Hamerton,  who  was  then  absent  from  the 
Province;  and  a  fortnight  later  he  appointed  him  an  assistant 
Judge  of  the  Court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer,  and  directed  that  the 
first  term  of  that  Court  should  be  held  at  Newton  on  the  following 
13th  of  May ;  and  he  also  appointed  Allen  one  of  the  Justices  of 
New  Hanover  Precinct.  Mr.  Allen's  business  qualifications,  as 
well,  peiiiaps,  as  his  fine  education,  at  once  gave  him  prom- 
inence in  public  matters ;  and  at  the  first  meeting  of  the  General 
Assembly,  he  and  Secretary  Nathaniel  Rice  were  appointed  a 
committee  of  the  Council  to  draw  up  an  address  to  the  Governor ; 
and  the  General  Assembly  recommended  to  the  Governor  and 
Council  his  appointment  as  Treasurer  of  New  Hanover  Precinct 
in  the  place  of  John  Baptista  Ashe,  who  had  recently  died,  and 
the  appointment  was  made. 

The  matter  of  the  dividing  line  between  North  and  South  Caro- 
lina had  long  been  unsettled.  Originally  the  Lords  Proprietors 
intended  to  establish  a  number  of  counties  in  Carolina,  each  with 
its  local  government,  but  all  under  a  general  Parliament.  At  the 
very  first  there  were  established,  with  undefined  limits,  the  coun- 
ties of  Albemarle,  Clarendon  and  Craven.  At  length,  about 
1689,  when  Ludwell  was  appointed  Governor,  his  commission 
gave  him  authority  "over  that  part  of  our  Province  lying  north 
and  east  of  Cape  Fear."  Then  Bath  County  was  established  with 
undefined  southern  limits,  and  Clarendon  County  ceased  to  ex- 
ist, probably  in  1667  when  the  Cape  Fear  was  deserted  and  re- 
lapsed into  an  unoccupied  wilderness.  When  Carteret  Precinct 
was  established,  it  extended  south  to  the  limits  of  North  Caro- 
lina. The  South  Carolina  authorities  claimed  the  Cape  Fear 
River  as  the  boundary,  and  in  1692,  under  this  claim,  a  settlement 
had  been  projected,  if  not  actually  made,  on  the  Cape  Fear  River, 
and  a  grant  of  40,000  acres  to  Landgrave  Smith  had  been  located 
about  where  the  town  of  Brunswick  was  afterwards  built ;  and  in 
subsequent  years  other  South  Carolina  grants  were  located  on 
the  Cape  Fear  agreeably  to  this  claim  on  the  part  of  the  South 
Carolina  authorities.    But  Burrington,  who  was  interested  in  the 


NORTH  CAROLINA 


settlement  of  the  Cape  Fear  and  had  two  plantations  on  that 
river,  when  he  went  to  England  in  1729,  on  the  purchase  of  Caro- 
lina by  the  Crown,  to  push  his  claim  for  appointment  as  first 
Royal  Governor,  exerted  himself  to  have  the  limits  of  the  Prov- 
ince extended  further  to  the  southward.  In  1732,  learning  that 
some  South  Carolina  patents  were  being  located  on  the  north  side 
of  the  Wackamaw  River,  on  lands  formerly  occupied  by  the  Con- 
garee  Indians,  he  advertised  in  the  newspaper  at  Charleston  that 
that  section  was  in  North  Carolina.  Burrington's  instructions 
were  that  "the  line  should  begin  at  the  sea  thirty  miles  distant 
from  the  Cape  Fear,  and  should  run  at  the  same  distance  from 
that  river  to  its  head,  and  thence  a  due  west  course,  unless 
Wackamaw  lie  within  thirty  miles  of  the  Cape  Fear  River;  then 
Wackamaw  was  to  be  the  boundary."  A  question  arose  whether 
that  meant  the  mouth  of  Wackamaw,  or  any  part  of  that  stream. 
In  consequence  of  the  representations  made  by  Burrington  and 
his  strenuous  endeavors  to  advance  the  interests  of  North  Caro- 
lina, it  was  ordered  that  each  province  should  appoint  commission- 
ers to  agree  upon  a  proper  line  subject  to  the  King's  approval. 
Eleazar  Alien  was  appointed  one  of  the  commissioners  on  the 
part  of  North  Carolina,  and  the  commissioners  met  at  his  house 
at  Lilliput  on  the  23d  of  April,  1735,  and  agreed  that  a  due  west 
line  should  be  run  from  Cape  Fear  along  the  seacoast  for  thirty 
miles,  and  then  proceed  northwest  to  the  35th  degree  of  north 
latitude,  etc. 

One  week  later  the  commissioners  began  to  run  the  line,  and 
the  thirty  miles  carried  them  to  ten  poles  from  the  mouth  of  Little 
River.  In  September  they  ran  the  line  seventy  miles  to  the  north- 
west. In  1737  the  line  was  extended  in  the  same  direction  twenty- 
two  miles;  and  from  there  in  1764  it  was  extended  due  west  to 
Waxhaw  Creek.  This  line  was  very  much  more  favorable  to 
North  Carolina  than  any  that  had  been  previously  proposed.  In- 
deed the  South  Carolinians  had  contended  for  a  boundarv  that 
would  have  thrown  into  their  province  the  greater  part  of  west- 
em  Carolina.  It  is  apparent,  therefore,  that  Mr.  Allen  and  hi3 
associates  on  that  occasion  rendered  the  Province  excellent  service. 


ELEAZAR  ALLEN 


Indeed  he  was  well  qualified  to  discharge  the  duties  that  devolved 
upon  him  in  this  and  other  employments  of  a  public  nature,  for  he 
was  without  doubt  a  man  of  superior  parts  and  fine  attainments. 
That  the  Cape  Fear  could  even  at  that  early  date  boast  a  society 
not  surpassed  in  refinement  elsewhere  in  America  is  a  matter 
highly  interesting  and  creditable.  Not  only  were  many  of  the 
first  settlers  men  of  wealth  and  ability,  but  there  was  a  diffusion 
of  education  that  imparted  to  the  settlement  a  notable  character ; 
and  Mr.  Allen  himself  was  an  example  of  this  culture.  His 
library,  according  to  the  inventory  before  us,  contained  some  300 
English  and  Latin  volumes,  including  the  standard  works  of  that 
era:  the  classics,  poetry,  history,  travels  and  works  of  fiction,  as 
well  as  of  a  religious  nature.  Besides,  there  were  fifty  volumes 
in  French:  history,  travels,  science,  poetry,  and  French  transla- 
tions of  Latin  authors.  The  last  book  in  the  catalogue  is  "La  Vie 
de  Jesus  Christ." 

On  a  careful  examination  of  this  inventory  of  a  library  in  use 
on  the  Cape  Fear  at  that  early  period,  one  can  but  admire  the  fine 
taste  and  culture  that  led  to  such  a  collection  of  standard  litera- 
ture. It  is  an  evidence  of  a  refinement  and  an  elevation  of  senti- 
ment that  reflects  high  credit  on  the  community. 

Moreover,  a  similar  illustration  is  found  in  the  will  of  Mrs. 
Allen:  "I  ordain  that  the  said  Mrs.  De  Rossctt  and  Mrs.  Dry 
liavc  the  care  of  all  my  private  papers.  .  .  .  As  to  all  my 
other  letters  to  and  from  my  several  correspondents  abroad  and 
in  America,  as  also  what  miscellaneous  I  have  of  the  amusing 
kind,  I  commit  them  entirely  to  their  discretion ;"  from  which 
it  would  appear  that  Mrs.  Allen  employed  herself  at  times  in 
literary  composition. 

Mr.  Allen's  worth  was  appreciated  by  Governor  Johnston,  and 
in  addition  to  his  duties  as  Councillor  and  Judge  he  was  Receiver- 
General  of  the  province,  having  the  duty  of  collecting  the  quit 
rents. 

This  last  employment  entailed  no  end  of  trouble  and  finally 
brought  him  into  financial  difficulty.  The  original  practice,  under 
the  Act  of  1 71 5,  was  to  pay  these  rents  in  commodities  at  a  fixed 


NORTH  CAROLINA 


valuation  on  the  plantations.  The  authorities  now  undertook  to 
change  that  practice,  and  a  conflict  ensued  that  led  to  the  cessation 
of  payments.  An  Act  was,  however,  passed  in  1737  that  com- 
promised the  points  at  issue,  and  all  difficulties  would  have  been 
removed  if  that  Act  had  not  been  disallowed  in  England ;  but  it 
was  annulled,  and  there  was  trouble  in  collecting  the  rents.  Mr. 
Allen  made  frequent  representations  as  to  these  matters,  but 
with  such  little  avail  that  after  his  death  a  claim  was  made  by 
the  Crown  against  his  estate  and  his  property  was  held  liable  for 
his  failure  to  collect  the  rents. 

Hardly  had  Governor  Johnston  gotten  warm  in  his  seat  as  Gov- 
vernor  before  he  became  interested  in  promoting  the  growth  of 
Newton,  later  called  Wilmington,  to  the  detriment  of  Brunswick, 
throwing  himself  in  conflict  with  the  gentlemen  who  had  settled 
in  the  older  town.  Thus  the  Governor,  along  with  Murray,  Innes, 
and  other  Wilmingtonians,  came  into  collision  with  the  Moores 
and  their  connections,  who  were  called  by  the  Governor's  faction 
"The  family."  Mr.  Allen  belonged  to  "The  family,"  and  there 
was  some  friction  between  him  and  the  Governor  until  that  matter 
was  finally  settled. 

On  the  nth  of  July,  1749,  Edward  Moseley,  who  was  Treas- 
urer of  the  Province,  died,  and  Mr.  Allen  at  the  succeeding  ses- 
sion of  the  General  Assembly,  October,  1749,  was  elected  treas- 
urer in  his  place.  Rut  he  himself  died  the  succeeding  January, 
and  at  the  next  session,  April,  1750,  John  Starkey  was  nominated 
by  the  Lower  House,  the  Council  proposing  another.  Starkey 
was  appointed,  but  that  was  a  beginning  of  the  controversy  be- 
tween the  two  Houses  over  the  right  to  appoint  a  treasurer,  which 
never  was  finally  settled. 

When  Burrington  came  over,  he  was  accompanied  by  William 
Smith,  then  appointed  Chief- Justice  of  the  Province.  A  year  or 
two  later  Smith  returned  to  England  and  Burrington  appointed 
Daniel  Hanmer  Chief-Justice  in  his  absence.  Smith  died  in 
1743,  and  Governor  Johnston  appointed  John  Montgomery  Chief- 
Justice.  Montgomery  died  in  1744,  and  Edward  Moseley  was 
appointed  to  succeed  him.    Enoch  Hall  seems  to  have  been  then 


ELEAZAR  ALLEN 


appointed  Chief-Justice,  perhaps  being  commissioned  by  the 
Crown.  In  March,  1748,  Eleazar  Allen,  Edward  Moseley  and 
Roger  Moore  were  appointed  Associate-Justices  of  the  Province 
by  the  Governor.  In  October  of  1749  Hall  was  acting  as  Chief- 
Justice,  but  on  the  i8th  of  December,  1749,  Eleazar  Allen  took 
the  probate  of  a  deed  as  follows:  "Personally  appeared  before 
me  Eleazar  Allen,  Chief- Justice  of  the  Province,"  etc. 

On  the  tombstone  of  Mrs.  Allen  is  an  inscription  reciting  that 
she  was  the  widow  of  Chief- Justice  Allen.  From  these  facts  it 
may  be  inferred  that  during  the  absence  of  Enoch  Hall,  the  Chief- 
Justice  of  the  Province,  towards  the  end  of  the  year  1749,  Eleazar 
Allen,  being  the  senior  Associate  Justice,  temporarily  filled  the 
office  of  Chief- Justice  by  appointment  of  the  Governor.  But 
Allen  did  not  long  live  to  enjoy  his  new  office.  He  died  Janu- 
ary 7,  1750.  On  his  tombstone  the  date  is  stated,  January  7, 
1749,  but  evidently  that  is  according  to  the  old  system  when  the 
year  began  on  the  25th  of  March  instead  of  on  January  ist;  for 
he  certainly  was  alive  in  the  Fall  of  1749.  On  his  tombstone  it 
is  recorded  that  "his  life  was  a  constant  course  of  piety  and  vir- 
tue," and  indeed  every  memorial  that  has  come  down  to  us  in- 
dicates that  he  was  held  in  high  esteem ;  and  in  a  period  when 
there  was  much  jealousy  among  the  public  men,  there  was  no 
word  of  disparagement  recorded  against  him.  Mrs.  Allen  sur- 
vived her  husband  eleven  years,  dying  February  26,  1761.  She 
passed  her  widowhood  on  the  Lilliput  plantation,  but  appears  to 
have  made  two  voyages  to  England.  Having  no  children  of  her 
own,  she  felt  almost  a  mother's  aflfection  and  interest  in  her  nieces, 
the  daughters  of  Roger  Moore  and  his  wife,  and  of  Captain 
Franklin  and  of  William  Dry ;  and  a  most  affectionate  remem- 
brance of  her  and  of  her  husband  was  long  cherished  by  a  large 
circle  of  friends  and  connections  among  the  people  of  the  Cape 
Fear. 

The  writer  of  this  sketch  is  much  indebted  to  Mr.  W.  B.  Mc- 
Koy,  of  Wilmington,  for  the  use  of  his  collection  of  manuscripts 
in  the  preparation  of  this  sketch. 

.S'.  A.  Ashe, 


VA.' 


..w- 


l-u 


,4  FO-il^^ 


L.^- — 


ALFRED  H.  BELO 


at  New  York  for  the  supply  of  the  Belo  business,  having  ex- 
hibited unusual  capacity  as  a  business  man  with  so  short  a 
training. 

When  the  crisis  of  1861  came  on,  although  he  deprecated  the 
precipitous  course  of  the  Southern  States  that  seceded,  upon  the 
call  to  arms  by  Notth  Carolina  he  raised  a  company,  of  which, 
on  May  22,  1861,  he  was  commissioned  captain  and  which  be- 
came Company  D  of  the  21st  Regiment,  William  W.  Kirldand 
being  the  colonel. 

Captain  Belo  shared  in  the  fortunes  of  his  command  and  regi- 
ment, and  by  his  gallantry  and  bravery  won  the  applause  of  both 
his  men  and  his  superiors.  His  regiment  was  in  the  battle  of 
First  Manassas  and  was  in  hot  pursuit  of  the  routed  Federal 
Army  for  several  miles,  thinking  they  were  going  right  into  Wash- 
ingtCMi;  but  to  their  amazement  they  were  ordered  to  arrest  the 
pursuit  and  retrace  their  steps.  The  regiment  later  was  assigned 
to  Trimble's  brigade  and  participated  in  the  historic  valley  cam- 
paign, performing  a  great  part  in  the  battle  of  Winchester,  where 
General  Banks  was  defeated,  routing  Shields,  and  indeed,  in  re- 
peated engagements,  sweeping  away  no  less  than  four  Federal 
armies,  and  then  striking  McClellan's  right  in  front  of  Richmond. 

On  the  reorganization  of  the  21st.  Captain  Belo  was  assigned 
by  Governor  Clark  as  adjutant  of  the  camp  of  military  instruction 
at  Raleigh,  and  in  the  Fall  of  1862  he  served  on  the  staff  of  Gen- 
eral Hoke,  near  Winchester,  and  performed  staff  duty  at  Peters- 
burg, and  in  March,  1863,  he  was  commissioned  major  and  as- 
signed to  the  55th  Regiment,  which  became  a  part  of  General 
Davis's  Mississippi  Brigade.  In  the  Spring  of  1863  ^^^s  brigade 
constituted  a  portion  of  Longstreet's  command  that  was  sent  to 
make  an  attack  on  Suffolk.  Virginia.  While  on  this  duty  a  differ- 
ence arose  between  Captain  Terrell  and  Captain  Cousins  on  the 
staff  of  General  Laws  and  the  officers  of  the  55th  that  led  to  an 
interesting  episode.  The  former  had  stated  that  the  55th  North 
Carolina  had  been  assigned  to  protect  a  battery  which  the  Federal 
forces  captured,  and  Colonel  Connally,  denying  that  statement, 
demanded  that  they  should  correct  their  report,  which  they  de- 


10  NORTH  CAROLINA 

clined  to  do.  Thereupon,  on  Colonel  Connally's  suggestion,  it  was 
agreed  that  the  field  officers  and  the  captains  of  the  55th  should 
take  the  matter  up  and  by  continued  challenges  fight  it  out  to  the 
bitter  end.  Agreeably  to  this,  Colonel  Connally  challenged  As- 
sistant Adjutant-General  Terrell,  and  Major  Belo  challenged 
Captain  Cousins.  The  meeting  between  the  four  officers  oc- 
curred at  the  same  hour  and  with  only  a  ridge  of  hills  separating 
them.  Cousins  selected  large-calibre  rifles  and  a  distance  of  forty 
paces.  Both  fired  simultaneously.  Major  Belo's  shot  passed 
through  Captain  Cousins's  hat,  and  Cousins's  shot  missed  Belo. 
Somewhat  dissatisfied  with  their  bad  shooting,  at  the  second  shot 
Belo  missed  Cousins,  while  Cousins's  ball  passed  through  Belo's 
coat  just  above  the  shoulder.  Before  their  third  shot,  the  friends 
of  Colonel  Connally  and  of  Captain  Terrell,  who  had  engaged  in 
an  effort  to  make  an  honorable  settlement,  succeeded  in  doing 
so;  and  Captain  Terrell,  becoming  satisfied  that  he  was  in  error, 
withdrew  the  original  cause  of  offence,  which  prevented  further 
hostilities  between  him  and  Colonel  Connally;  and  this  informa- 
tion was  communicated  just  in  time  to  prevent  the  exchange  of  a 
third  shot  between  Major  Belo  and  Captain  Cousins.  The  affair 
was  then  amicably  settled. 

Major  Belo's  coolness  and  courage  were  unsurpassed.  From 
Gettysburg,  where  he  was  in  command  in  the  railroad  cut,  down 
through  the  carnage  at  Cold  Harbor,  his  spirit  and  gallantry  and 
persistence  were  heroic.  At  Gettysburg  he  was  severely  wounded, 
and  there  received  his  promotion  as  lieutenant-colonel,  and  he 
was  again  wounded  at  Cold  Harbor.  But  he  was  engaged  in  all 
the  great  battles  up  to  that  time,  although  because  of  his  wounds 
he  was  unable  to  serve  with  his  regiment  after  that.  The  his- 
torian of  the  55th  Regiment  says : 

"Colonel  Belo's  wound  was  in  the  arm,  half-way  between  the  elbow  and 
shoulder  joint;  the  bone  was  shattered  and  the  operation  of  re-section  was 
performed.  The  loss  to  the  regiment  was  irreparable.  He  had  been  with 
the  regiment  in  all  its  hard-fought  battle«  and  had  the  absolute  confidence 
of  every  man  in  the  regiment.  He  had  a  genius  for  organization  and  ap- 
preciated every  detail  that  contributed  to  the  effectiveness  or  character 


ALFRED  H.  BELO  ii 

of  a  military  organization.  He  was  in  North  Carolina  at  the  time  of  Gen- 
eral Lee's  surrender,  and  he  reported  to  General  Beauregard  and  was  as* 
signed  by  him  to  the  command  of  a  force." 

When  Johnston  surrendered  he  rode  off  to  join  the  army  of 
General  Kirby  Smith  across  the  Mississippi,  and  after  all  the 
Confederate  armies  had  surrendered,  he  pushed  on  to  Texas  on 
horseback,  intent  on  gaining  a  livelihood.  Taking  up  the  first 
work  that  offered,  he  taught  a  small  school  at  Galveston  for  some 
time,  but  soon  found  employment  with  the  Galveston  News, 
whose  owner,  Willard  Richardson,  quickly  appreciated  his  su- 
perior excellence  as  an  organizer  and  manager  and  proposed  a 
partnership.  Entering  upon  a  journalistic  career,  he  became  one 
of  the  most  successful  newspaper  men  and  one  of  the  greatest 
editors  of  the  South.  It  was  a  labor  vast  in  its  dimensions,  for 
the  people  were  accustomed  to  the  old  sentimental  Southern  way 
of  doing  business.  The  credit  system,  the  sensitiveness  of  the 
advertiser  and  subscriber  when  the  ordinary  rules  of  business 
were  applied  to  them,  made  the  management  doubly  difficult.  It 
not  only  involved  a  reform  in  the  office,  but  in  education  of  the 
pec^le  to  proper  methods  of  dealing  with  the  newspaper.  But 
through  It  all  the  policy  outlined  by  the  new  manager  was  un- 
swervingly enforced.  Besides  the  change  in  business  methods 
he  introduced  new  purposes  in  the  editorial  conduct  of  the  jour- 
nal. For  the  most  part,  the  Southern  journals  had  been  attached 
to  the  fortunes  of  individuals  and  sought  the  elevation  to  office 
of  those  politicians  who  they  preferred  should  be  honored,  nat- 
urally condemning  those  whose  views  were  antagonistic  to  the 
views  of  the  paper,  exploiting  the  virtues  of  friends  and  merciless- 
ly excoriating  foes ;  but  under  the  new  departure,  put  in  force  by 
Colonel  Belo,  his  paper  was  free  from  such  blemishes.  Ab- 
solute truth,  as  far  as  it  could  be  obtained,  in  the  publication  of 
the  news,  and  absolute  fairness  to  all  men,  were  the  cardinal 
principles  on  which  the  editorial  management  was  made  to  stand. 
The  struggle  was  great.  His  individual  labors  extended  through- 
out the  day  and  far  into  the  night.  But  they  were  not  without 
avail.    His  impress  was  recognized  by  the  people,  and  the  sterling 


12  NORTH  CAROLINA 

worth  of  his  paper  became  realized  by  the  public.  His  journal 
began  to  prosper.  Its  utterances  on  public  affairs  at  a  period 
when  conditions  and  situations  existed  that  had  never  before 
been  encountered  commanded  attention  and  respect.  Its  refusal 
to  become  an  organ  of  individuals  or  of  political  parties  called 
upon  it  the  anathemas  of  ambitious  men ;  but  it  was  always  sup- 
ported by  the  conservative  element  of  the  State,  which,  realizing 
the  mission  of  a  great  newspaper,  bulwarked  it  with  an  irresistible 
strength.  The  growth  of  the  commonwealth  was  great,  but  the 
paper  kept  step  with  step  in  its  advance.  It  became  a  great  power 
and  influence  which  was  wielded  for  the  progress  of  the  people 
and  the  advantage  of  the  State. 

The  immensity  of  Texas  prevented  the  daily  delivery  of  the 
Galveston  paper  to  its  subscribers  in  the  remote  sections.  It 
was  therefore  determined  to  establish  another  and  complete  paper 
at  Dallas  in  North  Texas,  where  the  immigration  into  the  State 
had  been  most  important,  and  the  Dallas  Netvs  was  the  result. 
Both  papers  were  owned  and  managed  by  the  A.  H.  Belo  Com- 
pany. Correspondents  were  established  at  Washington  and  at 
Austin,  who  were  of  the  first  order  of  ability  and  were  loyal  to 
their  papers  and  to  the  State.  Wires  connecting  the  two  plants 
were  installed  and  the  new  experiment  in  the  newspaper  business 
was  entered  upon.  This  new  departure  in  journalism  eventuated 
in  new  conditions  that  had  to  be  met.  Special  trains  had  to  be  run 
to  convey  the  newspapers  either  to  other  localities  or  to  overtake 
or  connect  with  other  trains;  so  that  now  the  Galveston  News 
and  the  Dallas  Nezvs  dispatch  three  special  trains  daily  to  reach 
patrons  who  cannot  be  speedily  served  by  the  regular  mails  as 
established  by  the  Government. 

The  papers  grew  marvellously  in  wealth  and  their  progress 
was  marked  by  a  wider  range  of  influence,  which  they  exerted 
invariably  for  the  development  and  well-being  of  the  State.  Each 
newcomer  from  across  the  border  was  greeted  by  them  and 
quickly  learned  to  depend  on  them  for  his  daily  news.  The 
weekly  edition  grew  into  a  semi-weekly,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  any 
paper,  not  devoted  to  special  lines,  has  a  larger  circulation. 


ALFRED  H.  BELO  13 

Colonel  Belo  indeed  had  the  true  idea  of  the  profession  of  a 
journalist.  He  discussed  matters  from  his  own  standpoint.  His 
newspaper  was  the  vehicle  to  the  public  of  his  own  views  on  the 
public  questions  of  interest  to  the  people.  Truth,  reason  and 
justice  were  interwoven  in  the  presentation  of  his  thoughts  and 
gained  the  respectful  consideration  of  the  better  element  through- 
out the  great  State  of  Texas.  His  position  thus  became  of  the 
first  consequence,  and  he  exerted  an  influence  much  greater  than 
that  which  was  accorded  to  any  other  citizen  of  the  State.  Un- 
trained at  first  in  newspaper  management  and  in  the  vocation  of  a 
journalist,  fortunately  he  was  well  equipped  by  his  natural  char- 
acteristics and  by  the  business  qualities  which  had  been  developed 
under  the  methods  practised  by  his  father  and  during  his  trying 
experiences  of  the  war,  so  that  he  rose  equal  to  the  demands  of  his 
new  business,  and  promptly  and  effectively  solved  the  questions 
of  business  details  as  they  presented  themselves,  and  solved  them 
so  correctly  that  his  papers  have  long  stood  as  a  great  institution 
in  the  most  important  Southern  States. 

It  has  brought  him  not  merely  wealth  but  fame  and  power, 
which  he  enjoyed  and  used  for  the  advancement  of  his  State. 

At  length,  however,  failing  health  superinduced  by  his  old 
wounds  required  that  he  should  put  his  house  in  order,  and  under 
the  influence  of  the  affections  of  his  earlier  years  he  turned  once 
more  to  the  home  of  his  childhood,  and  in  April,  1901,  he  died 
at  Asheville,  North  Carolina,  and  was  buried  in  Salem,  North 
Carolina,  according  to  his  request,  amid  the  surroundings  of  his 
youth. 

In  1868  Colonel  Belo  was  happily  married  to  Miss  Nettie  En- 
nis,  of  Houston,  Texas.  Two  children  were  born  to  this  union : 
Alfred  H.  Belo,  Jr.,  who  worthily  succeeded  his  father  as  Presi- 
dent of  the  A.  H.  Belo  Company,  and  carried  the  business  on  to 
even  a  higher  degree  of  success  until  his  untimely  death  in  April, 
1906,  and  Jeanette,  who  married  Mr.  Charles  Pealxxly,  of  Cam- 
bridge, Massachusetts. 

5.  A.  Ashe, 


JOHN   BLUE 

/  HE  career  of  John  Blue  is  a  fine  exemplifica- 
tion of  success  achieved  in  life  by  native  North 
Carolinians  without  the  aid  of  friends  or  other 
influences  than  capacity  and  persistent  intelli- 
gent lahor.  He  was  lioni  on  a  farm  in  Que- 
whiffle  Township,  Cumberland  County,  on 
August  4,  1845,  and  so  is  now  just  threescore  years  of  age.  He 
was  the  second  son  and  fifth  child  in  a  family  of  eleven  children, 
while  his  father  was  the  youngest  of  thirteen.  His  parents,  Neill 
McK.  Blue  and  Eliza  Smith,  were  sturdy  Scotch  on  both  sides. 
His  grandfather,  John  Blue,  was  born  in  the  Isle  of  Jura  in  1765 
and  immigrated  to  America  in  early  childhood  with  his  father's 
family  and  settled  in  the  sandhills  of  Cumberland  County. 

The  Scotch  had  begun  their  settlement  on  the  Cape  Fear  as 
far  Itack  as  1734.  about  the  time  that  Governor  Johnston,  himself 
a  Scotchman,  came  to  this  colony;  and  the  migration  continued 
until  the  opening  of  the  Revolution.  The  causes  that  led  to  this 
movement  were  not  all  political,  but  the  industrial  condition  in 
their  old  homes  had  changed  towards  the  middle  of  that  century, 
and  life  in  the  Xcw  World  opened  up  so  many  possibilities  to 
improve  their  fortunes  that  the  emigrants  gladly  availed  them- 
selves of  every  opportunity  to  come  to  America,  The  health- 
fulness,  the  salubrity,  the  equable  temiwrature,  and  the  unfailing 
water  su(>|)ly  of  the  upper  Cape  Fear  attracted  the  hardy  Scotch- 
men to  those  parts,  where  the  record  is  that  many  of  them  have 
passed  the  century  mark,  and  as  strong  as  they  have  been  in  their 


JOHN  BLUE  15 


physical  constitution,  equally  remarkable  are  they  in  the  develop- 
ment of  high  character,  intelligence  and  sterling  worth.  The 
Highlanders  of  Cumberland  County  did  not  generally  enlist  in 
the  cause  of  American  Independence,  and  Peter  Blue,  the  father 
of  John  Blue,  mentioned  above,  was  allied  with  the  Tory  leaders 
of  that  region.  After  Comwallis  had  gone  north  and  Greene  had 
returned  to  South  Carolina,  the  Tories  became  very  active  on  the 
Cape  Fear.  On  one  occasion  when  Colonel  Wade  and  Captain 
Culp,  who  were  Whigs,  were  returning  to  their  homes,  a  band  of 
Tories,  with  whom  was  Peter  Blue,  fell  upon  their  camp  at  Piney 
Bottom  and  massacred  such  of  the  party  as  were  there.  To  punish 
them  for  this.  Colonel  Wade  and  Culp  collected  about  one  hun- 
dred dragoons  under  Captain  Bogan  and  raided  the  section  about 
Drowning  Creek,  and  ascertained  the  names  of  all  the  Tories  who 
were  in  that  affair  and  began  the  work  of  exterminating  them. 
Towards  the  end  of  their  expedition  they  reached  Rockfish  and 
came  to  the  house  of  Peter  Blue,  where  they  found  him,  and, 
also,  Archibald  McBride,  who  was  a  patriot  Whig.  Immediately 
both  of  them  were  shot,  McBride  unfortunately  being  killed  on 
the  spot,  and  Blue  badly  wounded. 

On  the  return  of  peace  these  Scotchmen  who  had  been  loyalists 
during  the  war  became  entirely  reconciled  to  the  triumph  of  those 
who  had  fought  for  independence ;  and  in  succeeding  generations 
all  those  partisan  differences  have  been  entirely  forgotten,  and 
the  families  of  those  who  participated  in  those  bloody  scenes  of 
partisan  warfare  have  largely  intermarried,  their  descendants 
reverencing  the  bravery,  spirit  and  courage  of  those  who  fought 
for  their  King  as  well  as  those  who  hazarded  all  for  independence. 

Mr.  Blue's  childhood  was  spent  in  moderate,  healthful  toil. 
His  parents  were  neither  rich  nor  poor,  but  occupied  the  happy 
middle  ground,  manhood's  cradle,  where  there  is  nothing  to 
waste,  and  no  actual  want ;  a  typical  Scotch  couple  and  faithful 
prototypes  of  that  parent  pair,  where : 

"The   mother,   wi'  her  needle  and   her   shears. 
Gars  auld  claes  look  amaist  as  weel's  the  new — 
The  father  mixes  a*   with  admonition   due." 


i6  NORTH  CAROLINA 

The  sublime  faith  of  the  mother  and  the  sturdy  honesty  of  the 
father  have  left  their  imprint  uneflFaceable  on  the  character  of 
their  son. 

At  the  age  of  eighteen  Mr.  Blue  became  a  member  of  Com- 
pany B,  6th  Battalion,  Armand  L.  De  Rossett  captain,  and  ren- 
dered such  service  as  was  required  of  him  until  he  was  discharged 
with  Johnston's  army  at  Greensboro  in  May,  1865. 

Because  of  the  circumstances  of  the  war  Mr.  Blue's  education 
was  limited,  but  after  the  close  of  hostilities  his  educational  train- 
ing was  supplemented  by  one  or  two  terms  in  a  very  efficient  high 
school,  which  was  kept  at  that  time  at  Jackson  Springs  by  N.  D.  J. 
Clark,  and  he  profited  very  much  by  the  instruction  he  received 
at  that  institution. 

In  1867,  at  the  age  of  twenty-two,  Mr.  Blue's  battle  of  life  be- 
gan in  earnest.  He  had  at  that  time  a  capital  of  not  more  than 
$200;  but  so  prudent,  so  enterprising,  so  active  and  industrious 
was  he  that  every  year  brought  him  fresh  success  and  inspired 
him  with  hope  of  better  things  for  the  future.  He  became  actively 
engaged  as  a  turpentine  operator,  and  he  continued  in  that  busi- 
ness for  more  than  twenty  years,  branching  out  and  constantly 
becoming  a  more  important  factor  in  that  line  of  work.  The 
secret  of  his  success  was  that  from  the  first  he  determined  to  keep 
inviolate  all  his  obligations,  and  his  reputation  in  that  regard 
soon  secured  him  unlimited  credit,  which,  however,  he  has  ever 
been  chary  of  using.  To  this  he  added  an  extreme  care  at  all 
times  in  regard  to  the  details  of  his  business,  which  would  have 
assured  him  success,  even  without  that  intuitive  judgment  in 
crises  which  enabled  him  to  know  what  to  do  without  apparently 
having  to  take  the  trouble  to  think  it  out. 

In  1892  Mr.  Blue  chartered  and  began  to  build  the  Aberdeen 
and  Rockfish  Railroad,  running  from  Aberdeen  eastward  through 
a  belt  of  as  fine  yellow  pine  timber  as  ever  grew  in  the  world, 
large  quantities  of  which  he  had  the  foresight  to  purchase  in  the 
days  when  it  had  but  little  money  value.  This  enterprise  has 
proved  enormously  profitable,  and  the  railroad  has  been  extended 
until  it  now  forms  a  connecting  link  with  the  Atlantic  Coast  line. 


JOHN  BLUE  17 


a  few  miles  south  of  Fayetteville.  Besides  being  the  owner  of 
nearly  all  the  stock  of  this  valuable  railroad,  Mr.  Blue  has  quietly 
invested  his  earnings  in  large  tracts  of  timber  in  Georgia  and 
Alabama,  so  that  now  he  is  easily  the  wealthiest  man  in  Moore 
County ;  but  withal  he  is  as  unassuming,  easily  approachable,  and 
as  careful  of  the  rights  of  others  as  when  he  had  not  thought  of 
ever  gaining  this  distinction. 

In  1874  Mr.  Blue  married  Miss  Fannie  A.  Owen,  of  Cumber- 
land County,  and  to  this  marriage  there  were  bom  eight  chil- 
dren, two  of  whom  died  in  infancy,  the  other  six  still  remaining 
at  home  with  their  parents. 

In  1881  Mr.  Blue,  who  has  always  been  a  member  of  the  Dem- 
ocratic Party,  served  his  community  in  the  only  political  office 
he  has  ever  held.  He  was  elected  as  State  Senator  from  Cumber- 
land and  Harnett  Counties.  In  that  body  he  took  deservedly 
high  rank  because  of  his  business  qualities  and  information.  He 
was  appointed  a  member  of  the  committee  on  the  State  debt  and 
rendtt^  efficient  and  valuable  service  in  that  connection;  and 
he  was  also  appointed  a  member  of  the  committee  on  claims. 
Among  his  fellow-members  were  some  of  the  best  men  of  the 
State,  and  he  established  himself  high  in  their  regard. 

In  his  church  affiliations  Mr.  Blue  is  a  Presbyterian,  and  he 
served  his  congregation,  Sandy  Grove  Church,  as  deacon  from 
1872  till  1890,  and  since  that  time  the  Bethesda  Church  as  ruling 
elder.  He  is  deeply  religious,  with  a  childlike  faith,  but  entirely 
free  from  intolerance  and  from  that  spirit  which  has  too  often 
caused  cruelties  to  be  committed  in  the  name  of  the  Prince  of 
Peace. 

Busy  a  man  as  Mr.  Blue  is,  he  is  never  too  busy  to  visit  the  sick 
in  person ;  and  his  many  acts  of  relieving  distressed  persons  by  his 
personal  ministrations,  which  are  always  done  without  ostenta- 
tion, attest  his  kindness  of  heart  and  human  sympathy  and  stand 
in  refreshing  contrast  to  the  tendency  of  some  wealthy  men  to 
purchase  a  reputation  for  human  kindness. 

/.  McN.  Johnson, 


ADAM  BOYD 

IDAM  BOYD  occupied  no  inconspicuous  place 
in  North  Carolina  at  the  time  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, as  well  as  before  and  after  that  war.  He 
was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  born  November 
25.  1738,  and  of  Presbyterian  antecedents, 
though  he  himself  later  became  connected 
(after  the  Revolution)  with  the  Church  of  England  under  its 
new  name— the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church.  Mr.  Boyd  was 
a  son  of  the  Reverend  Adam  Boyd  and  his  wife,  Jane  Craighead. 
In  January,  1764,  before  he  began  his  first  work  in  Wilmington 
as  an  editor  (or  "printer,"  as  editors  were  then  called),  Mr. 
Boyd  was  initiated  into  the  Masonic  fraternity,  probably  as  a 
member  of  St.  John's  Lodge,  now  No.  i,  which  had  been  chart- 
ered ten  years  prior  thereto  and  is  still  in  existence. 

It  was  on  October  13,  1769,  that  Mr.  Boyd  began  the  publica- 
tion of  the  Cape  Fear  Mercury  at  Wilmington.  This  was  the 
second  paper  published  in  that  town,  and  its  editors  used  the 
presses  of  Andrew  Stuart,  whose  publication  was  called  the 
North  Carolina  Gazette.  Another  North  Carolina  Gazette  was 
published  at  New-Bern  a  little  later.  In  1767  Stuart's  paper  was 
discontinued,  and  this  left  the  field  occupied  by  the  Mercury  alone. 
In  the  troublous  and  uncertain  days  preceding  the  Revolution, 
as  well  as  during  that  war,  Mr.  Boyd  was  a  firm  and  uncompro- 
mising foe  to  British  oppression,  and  his  paper  was  the  mouth* 


ADAM  BOYD  19 


piece  of  the  patriots  of  the  Cape  Fear  section  as  well  as  elsewhere 
in  North  Carolina.  Could  a  full  file  of  the  Mercury  be  obtained, 
it  would  settle  the  long-standing  controversy  about  the  Mecklen- 
burg Declaration  of  Independence  of  May  20,  1775.  What  pur- 
ported to  be  a  fac-simile  of  a  copy  containing  that  Declaration 
appeared  in  the  issue  of  Coiner's  Weekly,  of  Philadelphia,  for 
July  I,  1905.  The  paper  from  which  this  fac-simile  was  made 
was  afterwards  examined  by  Dr.  Worthington  Chauncey  Ford, 
of  the  Library  of  Congress,  and  pronounced  by  him  a  "clever 
forgery."  Several  gentlemen  from  Charlotte,  who  were  deeply  in- 
terested in  proving  the  authenticity  of  the  Declaration,  also  ex- 
amined the  alleged  Mercury  and  were  of  the  same  opinion  as 
Doctor  Ford.  About  the  end  of  the  year  1773  Mr.  Boyd  married 
Mrs.  Mary  De  Rossett,  relict  of  Moses  John  De  Rossett,  who 
had  distinguished  himself  by  his  patriotic  action  while  mayor  of 
Wilmington  in  the  Stamp  Act  times,  but  he  died  on  Christmas 
day,  1767.  When  the  troubles  with  the  mother  country  broke 
out  afresh  in  1774,  Mr.  Boyd  was  a  brother-in-law  of  Colonel 
James  Moore,  and  otherwise  was  connected  with  leading  patriots 
on  the  Cape  Fear.  He  himself  was  an  ardent  patriot  and 
a  member  of  the  committee  of  safety.  He  served  with  Har- 
nett and  others  on  the  local  committee  of  correspondence,  and 
entered  with  enthusiasm  on  the  execution  of  measures  that  the 
situation  required.  Upon  the  opening  of  active  hostilities  with 
Great  Britain,  Mr.  Boyd  entered  the  Continental  Army  on  Jan- 
uary 4,  1776,  as  ensign  in  the  ist  North  Carolina  Regiment, 
then  commanded  by  Colonel  James  Moore,  his  brother-in-law. 
On  March  3,  1776,  Ensign  Boyd  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of 
lieutenant,  but  soon  thereafter — in  May,  1776 — resigned  his  com- 
mission. Something  more  than  a  year  later,  Mr.  Boyd  re-entered 
the  service,  being  commissioned  chaplain  of  the  5th  Regiment  on 
October  i,  1777.  By  what  authority  he  then  acted  in  a  minis- 
terial capacity  is  not  positively  known.  In  his  younger  years  his 
religious  aflfiliations  were  probably  Presbyterian,  and  he  was  not 
ordained  in  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  until  after  the  war. 
In  May,   1775,  "Reverend  Mr.  Boyd"  presented  to  the    Pro- 


20  NORTH  CAROLINA 

vincial  Congress  at  Hillsboro  two  hundred  copies  of  the  pastoral 
letter  of  the  Synod  of  Philadelphia  on  the  subject  of  the  war; 
and  it  is  thought  that  this  gentleman  was  Mr.  Adam  Boyd,  and 
at  that  time  he  was  probably  a  Presbyterian  Licentiate.  Hav- 
ing in  the  first  flush  of  patriotic  ardor  enlisted  as  a  soldier,  he 
later  appears  to  have  considered  it  more  seemly  that  he  should 
render  service  as  a  chaplain. 

On  August  1 8,  1778,  Mr.  Boyd  became  brigade-chaplain.  Dur- 
ing his  service  he  went  with  the  army  through  its  terrible  north- 
ern campaign  in  the  Winter  of  1777- 1778,  and  served  on  a  number 
of  courts  martial,  as  well  as  in  other  military  capacities.  He  re- 
signed on  June  i,  1780. 

After  his  return  home  Mr.  Boyd  was  not  idle,  but  set  about  to 
devise  means  for  the  relief  of  suffering  among  the  American 
prisoners  at  Charleston.  On  June  3,  1780,  he  wrote  Governor 
Abner  Nash  as  follows: 

"As  soon  as  I  got  home  I  wrote  a  letter  to  General  Hogun,  requesting 
him  to  acquaint  me  of  the  wants  of  himself  and  his  fellow- sufferers,  that  I 
might  endeavor  to  supply  them.  I  took  the  liberty  of  assuring  him  that 
Your  Excellency  would  give  me  all  the  assistance  therein  that  was  in  your 

power As  I  am  very  certain  our  officers  are  in  great  want  of 

many  articles  of  clothing.  I  submit  it  to  Your  Excellency  if  it  would  not 
be  well  to  send  a  flag,  either  with  a  letter  to  know  their  particular  wants. 

or  with  such  articles  as  we  know  they  must  stand  in  need  of 

I  shall  most  cheerfully  go  in  with  the  clothing,  should  Your  Excellency 
think  proper  to  grant  me  a  flag,  for  I  think  it  my  duty,  as  a  servant  of 
the  States,  to  do  every  service  in  my  power;  but  for  that  corps  it  is  more 
especially  my  duty  to  exert  myself  in  everything." 

In  the  same  letter  he  adds: 

"I  have  a  large  quantity  of  paper,  very  fit  for  cartridges,  both  small  and 
large.  Would  it  not  be  proper  for  the  Commissary  of  Stores,  or  some 
other  State  officer,  to  get  it  for  the  use  of  the  State?" 

On  June  5th,  a  few  days  after  this  letter  was  written,  Mr.  Boyd 
was  still  at  his  old  home  in  Wilmington. 

When  Craig  took  Wilmington,   Mrs.   Boyd  remained  at  her 


ADAM  BOYD  21 


hocne»  and  she  witnessed  the  cruel  treatment  of  Cornelius  Har- 
nett, who,  when  taken  in  Onslow  County  from  a  sick-bed  and 
exhausted  by  the  fatigue  of  his  journey »  was  brought  into  the 
town,  thrown  across  a  horse's  back,  like  "a  sack  of  meal."  Later 
she  herself  was  driven  from  town  by  the  British  commander,  and 
took  refuge  at  the  residence  of  her  sister,  Mrs.  Moore,  on  the 
North  East;  and  once  that  house  was  bombarded  by  the  enemy, 
who  allied  that  some  of  the  patriots  were  harbored  there.  When 
later  in  life  Mr.  Boyd  went  to  the  West,  she  did  not  accompany 
him.  Indeed,  during  the  last  years  of  her  life  she  was  afflicted 
with  total  blindness,  and  remained  with  her  daughter,  Mrs. 
Toomer,  a  child  of  her  first  marriage.  Her  marriage  with 
Mr.  Boyd  was  without  issue. 

Just  after  the  Revolution  Mr.  Boyd  aided  in  organizing  the 
North  Carolina  Society  of  the  Cincinnati,  and  was  one  of  the 
original  members  of  that  order.    A  little  later  he  went  to  Georgia. 

On  August  18,  1788,  Mr.  Boyd  was  ordained  to  the  priesthood 
in  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  by  the  Right  Reverend  Sam- 
uel Seabury,  Bishop  of  Connecticut,  and  for  a  while  was  rector 
of  §t.  James's  Church  at  Wilmington.  He  had  remained  only 
a  short  while,  however,  when  the  poor  state  of  his  health  forced 
him  again  to  leave  Wilmington,  and  return  to  Georgia.  At 
Augusta,  in  the  last-named  State,  he  held  a  charge  from  1790  to 
1799.  His  health  there  was  poor  and  he  met  with  little  encour- 
agement. In  a  letter  written  to  Judge  Iredell  on  February  15, 
1792,  he  stated  that  he  had  sought  the  post  of  chaplain  in  the 
event  that  a  garrison  should  be  stationed  there. 

While  at  Augusta,  in  1799,  Mr.  Boyd  repulsed  from  the  com- 
munion table  a  woman  of  questionable  character,  and  this  gave 
rise  to  a  controversv  which  finally  caused  him  to  abandon  that 
place.  He  went  to  Tennessee,  and  was  at  Nashville  in  1800. 
Shortly  thereafter  he  went  to  Natchez,  Mississippi,  and  there  re- 
mained until  his  death,  on  March  7,  1803.  In  Natchez  he  found 
some  friends  from  North  Carolina,  and  their  society  was  a  source 
of  great  satisfaction  to  him. 

Mr.  Boyd  was  afflicted  with  almost  every  physical  malady  that 


22 


NORTH  CAROLINA 


human  flesh  is  heir  to  during  his  later  years — gout,  asthma,  lame- 
ness and  other  infirmities.     On  April  i8,  1800,  he  wrote: 

**I  shall  not  repine,  and  hope  to  preserve  such  a  sense  of  the  goodness 
of  God  as  shall  secure  for  my  mind  such  a  calmness  which  is  natural  to 
a  trust  in  that  Power.  Yet  with  grief  and  shame  I  confess  I  am  not  as 
tranquil  as  I  was.  Continual  disappointments  and  losses  I  now  fear  have 
an  influence  I  did  not  expect.  If  you  knew  all,  or  one-half,  you  would  say 
that  to  be  serene  under  such  a  mountain  requires  more  strength  of  mind 
than  is  commonly  the  lot  of  man.  Indeed,  I  do  not  think  it  attainable 
without  superior  aid.  Perhaps  I  failed  in  this  in  being  too  secure  or  too 
confident  in  myself;  the  first  I  think  the  cause:  as  to  the  last,  I  know  I 
have  no  strength.  I  am  too  thoughtless  in  everything;  hence  all,  or  nearly 
all,  the  evils  of  my  chequered  life." 


Marshall  De  Lancey  Haywood. 


T'-S  J-l'iiV''  YOKK 

PUIiLlC  LIBRARY 


A-r.V.,,  LENOX  A^'D 
R 


.|  .1  *v-*« 


r»-    --'»^' 


24  NORTH  CAROLINA 

trace  upon  the  character  of  his  son.  Colonel  Bruton's  mother, 
Margaret  G.  Nixon,  died  while  he  was  an  infant.  His  father 
married  a  second  wife,  Jennie  V.  Mauney,  to  whom  the  child's 
training  was  committed.  She  gave  him  regular  duties  about  the 
house — cutting  the  wood,  working  in  the  garden,  feeding  the 
horse,  milking  the  cow — which  taught  him  early  in  life  the  mean- 
ing of  responsibility  and  the  value  of  methodical  habits.  In  more 
important  ways  than  this,  however,  the  character  and  influence 
of  the  step-mother  were  felt.  At  that  period  educational  ad- 
vantages were  limited.  The  ravages  of  Reconstruction  had  de- 
stroyed the  public  school  system  of  the  State,  which  had  not  been 
fully  restored. 

The  preachers  of  the  State,  however,  have  ever  been  warm  ad- 
vocates of  education,  often  preaching  its  importance  from  their 
pulpits,  and  they  have  managed  to  secure  for  their  children 
primary  training  at  least,  and  by  reason  of  their  deep  conviction 
of  its  importance  have  inspired  their  children  to  seek  academic 
training.  The  father  of  Colonel  Bruton  was  not  an  exception  to 
the  rule :  he  was  poor,  but  by  sacrifices  he  was  able  to  secure  for 
his  son  the  advantage  of  attendance  on  private  primary  schools, 
and  what  with  the  generosity  of  certain  teachers  towards  preach- 
ers' children,  and  especially  the  faithful  and  devoted  efforts  of  a 
loving  step-mother,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  gained  a  fairly  good 
primary  training.  His  step-mother  was  an  ambitious  woman  of 
strong  character  and  fine  intellect,  and  it  was  under  her  persistent 
training  and  efforts  that  the  fire  of  ambition  was  first  lighted  in 
the  boy's  soul.  He  was  persuaded  to  believe  that  the  future  was 
pregnant  with  possibilities  greater  than  the  realities  about  him. 
She  assured  him  of  this  many  times  and  compelled  him  to  study. 
While  his  father  was  presiding  elder  of  the  Salisbury  District, 
North  Carolina  Conference,  and  a  resident  of  Statesville,  young 
Bruton  enjoyed  the  marked  advantage  of  attending  the  school  of 
J.  H.  Hill,  a  wcH-known  and  capable  teacher.  After  two  years 
here,  he  spent  two  years  at  the  famous  Bingham  School.  To  the 
admirable  training  received  under  Colonel  Bingham  he  attributes 
much  of  his  success.     Bv  this  time  his  ambition  had  turned  to- 


JOHN  FLETCHER  BRUTON  25 

ward  the  law,  but  having  to  pay  a  part  of  the  cost  of  his  years  at 
school,  he  of  necessity  had  to  defer  his  law  studies  until  the  debt 
could  be  cancelled. 

In  the  Fall  of  1881,  therefore,  he  became  a  teacher  in  the  Wil- 
son Public  School.  His  success  in  the  classroom  met  with  de- 
served promotion  in  June,  1883,  when  he  was  elected  to  the  super- 
iittendency  of  the  schools.  After  a  successful  year's  work  as 
superintendent,  he  resigned  to  enter  the  Law  School  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  North  Carolina  under  the  instruction  of  Doctor  John 
Manning,  one  of  the  greatest  law  teachers  the  State  has  pro- 
duced.  In  the  Fall  of  1884  he  was  licensed  to  practise  in  the 
courts  of  North  Carolina,  and  settled  at  Wilson,  where  he  had 
made  many  warm  friends. 

Qosely  identifying  himself  with  the  interests  of  the  com- 
munity. Colonel  Bruton  lost  no  opportunity  to  give  his  encourage- 
ment and  support  to  helpful  enterprises,  whether  industrial,  in- 
tellectual, or  religious.  His  community  interest,  his  ability  in 
conducting  his  clients'  causes,  his  fidelity  to  various  trusts  con- 
fided to  him,  won  his  way  into  the  confidence  and  good-will  of 
the  people.    From  the  first  success  in  his  profession  was  assured. 

In  November,  1887,  Colonel  Bruton  was  married  to  Miss  Hattie 
Tartt  Barnes,  daughter  of  John  T.  Barnes,  a  prominent  and  in- 
fluential citizen  of  Wilson.  In  her  he  has  found  a  companion  who, 
sympathizing  with  his  ambitions,  has  been  to  him  a  constant 
source  of  inspiration.  Three  children  have  been  born  to  them, 
one  of  whom  died  in  infancy. 

In  1889  he  was  elected  captain  of  Company  F  of  the  2d  Regi- 
ment of  the  State  Guard.  After  three  years'  capable  service,  he 
received  a  commission  as  colonel  of  the  regiment.  The  military 
training  received  at  Bingham's  school,  added  to  natural  inclina- 
tions, made  him  one  of  the  most  efficient  officers  of  the  State 
Guard.  Though  he  was  strict  in  the  enforcement  of  discipline,  he 
was  popular  with  the  officers  and  privates,  and  when  he  resigned 
his  commission  seven  years  later,  he  left  the  2d  Regiment  with- 
out a  superior  in  the  State. 

As  a  member  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.,  Colonel  Bruton  has  manifested 


26  NORTH  CAROLINA 

great  zeal  in  promoting  its  interests,  and  has  received  much 
honor  at  the  hands  of  his  fellows.  He  was  elected  grand-master 
for  1 89 1  and  1892,  and  the  Odd  Fellows*  Oq)han  Home  was  es- 
tablished at  Goldsboro  during  his  term  as  grand-master,  he  being 
among  the  first  advocating  it;  for  1892- 1893  he  was  grand-rep- 
resentative, and  again  for  1895  and  1896.  These  honors  came 
to  him  as  a  testimonial  from  his  fellow-members  of  his  devotion 
to  the  Order.  Colonel  Bruton  is  also  a  member  of  the  A.  T.  O. 
College  Fraternity. 

An  illustration  of  the  estimation  in  which  the  people  among 
whom  he  lives  hold  Colonel  Bruton  was  given  in  1895,  when  they 
elected  him  without  opposition  mayor  of  Wilson.  His  admin- 
istration was  conducted  with  much  courage,  tact  and  patience, 
and  was  in  every  way  worthy  of  the  confidence  placed  in  him. 
The  next  year  he  was  re-elected,  but  much  to  the  regret  of  his 
fellow-townsmen  he  was  compelled  to  resign  before  the  expira- 
tion of  his  term.  The  immediate  cause  of  this  step  was  his  elec- 
tion in  January,  1897,  as  president  of  the  First  National  Bank 
of  Wilson,  for  the  additional  duties  imposed  on  him  by  this  new 
trust  made  it  necessary  for  him  to  give  up  his  public  service.  In 
July,  1902,  the  Wilson  Savings  Bank,  afterwards  the  Wilson 
Trust  and  Savings  Bank,  was  organized,  and  Colonel  Bruton  was 
elected  president.  Both  banks  are  still  under  his  management, 
and  the  confidence  the  business  public  place  in  these  institutions 
attests  the  efficiency  of  his  services.  Colonel  Bruton  was  one  of 
the  charter  members  of  the  North  Carolina  Bankers'  Association 
and  served  as  its  president  in  1900  and  1901 ;  he  is  also  a  director 
of  the  North  Carolina  Home  Insurance  Company  at  Raleigh. 

Though  in  the  midst  of  an  exacting  and  constantly  growing 
private  business.  Colonel  Bruton  has  not  refused  to  give  of  his 
time  and  talents  to  such  public  service  as  demands  the  attention 
of  patriotic  citizens.  The  educational  interests  of  the  community 
and  State  have  always  had  a  strong  hold  on  his  attention.  In 
1 90 1  he  accepted  the  chairmanship  of  the  Board  of  Education 
of  Wilson  County  to  which  he  had  been  elected  by  the  General 
Assembly  of  North  Carolina.    During  the  same  year  he  obeyed 


JOHN  FLETCHER  BRUTON  27 

the  call  of  his  church  in  accq)ting  a  place  on  the  board  of  trustees 
of  Trinity  College.  In  1903  and  again  in  1904  he  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  exectitive  committee.  He  takes  an  active  interest 
in  educational  progress  and  considers  the  call  to  such  places  of 
responsibility  as  a  call  to  service. 

In  politics  Colonel  Bruton  is  a  Democrat.  Though  he  has  never 
sought  ^ce  at  the  hands  of  his  party,  his  advice  is  frequently 
sought  by  the  party  leaders  and  always  cheerfully  given.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South.  From 
boyhood  his  interest  in  church  affairs  has  been  active,  and,  though 
broad-minded  and  tolerant,  his  loyalty  and  devotion  to  his  church 
are  marked  characteristics. 

His  election  by  the  North  Carolina  Conference  of  1905  as  a 
delegate  to  the  General  Conference  of  Southern  Methodism  to 
meet  in  Birmingham,  Alabama,  in  May,  1906,  was  an  expression 
of  the  confidence  reposed  in  him  by  his  church,  and  is  an  honor 
worthily  bestowed  and  justly  earned  by  his  unvarying  course  in 
life. 

Although  Colonel  Bruton's  career  has  not  been  one  in  which 
the  arts  of  oratory  are  cultivated  and  developed,  yet  he  has  de- 
livered several  addresses  both  in  and  out  of  the  State  that  have 
attracted  attention  and  brought  him  reputation  as  a  popular 
speaker.  His  ideas  are  always  clear,  and  he  presents  them  not 
only  in  eloquent  language,  but  in  an  engaging  and  elegant  manner. 
Particularly  was  an  address  delivered  before  the  Association  of 
the  Mrginia  Bankers  in  1903  on  the  subject  of  "The  Country 
Banker"  admirably  conceived.  It  bore  evidence  of  his  being  a 
student  of  high  ideals  along  practical  lines,  and  merited  the  com- 
mendation bestowed  upon  it.  As  an  illustration  of  the  views  he 
sought  to  enforce,  we  reproduce  a  paragraph  that  at  the  time 
was  the  subject  of  high  compliment  in  several  banking  periodicals 
and  daily  papers: 

"The  banker  to  fill  his  place  and  meet  the  demands  laid  upon  him  should 
be  an  all-round  man ;  he  should  be  possessed  of  a  good  conscience,  clean ; 
he  should  enjoy  an  unobscured  vision  with  vocabulary  to  match,  clear: 
he  should  be  without  subterfuge,  candid;  free  from  the  gambling  spirit, 


28  NORTH  CAROLINA 

conservative ;  thoroughly  familiar  with  life  and  the  art  of  living,  practical ; 
careful  without  being  cowardly,  prudent;  familiar  with  the  truth  whereby 
to  convince,  persuasive;  untiring  in  his  efforts  to  bring  things  to  pass, 
persistent." 

Striking  in  appearance,  pleasing  in  address,  courteous  in  man- 
ner, Colonel  Bruton  possesses  the  power  of  attracting  and  con- 
ciliating men.  In  social  intercourse  companionable  and  sym- 
pathetic, in  business  affairs  firm  and  aggressive,  he  is  modest 
in  estimating  his  achievements.  Throughout  his  career  he  has 
made  it  a  guiding  principle  never  to  enter  into  any  undertaking 
half-heartedly.  Whatever  he  does,  he  does  with  his  whole  heart 
and  mind.  Hard-working,  thorough,  careful  in  details,  methodi- 
cal in  habits,  straightforward  in  his  dealings — these  character- 
istics are  the  secret  of  his  success.  Pure  in  private  life,  honorable 
in  all  public  relations,  his  life  and  character  are  an  inspiration 
to  men  who  have  an  uphill  climb  to  reach  success. 

R.  D.  IV.  Connor. 


JOHN   BUTLER 


ffClRTH  CAROLINA  has  ever  been  a  sectional 
Stale.  Much  of  the  history  of  the  State  is 
I  made  plain  by  this  fact.  The  first  settlers  cattie 
from  Virginia  into  the  AlbeniaHc  region;  the 
Swiss  anil  Germans  located  at  New-Beni;  the 
Scotch  look  possession  of  the  Cape  Fear;  the 
ish  and  Gennans  came  direct  from  Pennsylvania  to  the 
middle  of  the  State.  At  the  time  of  the  Revi.'Iiitinn  fnsion  had 
not  taken  place.  The  Scotch  along  the  Cape  Fear  stiW  spofce  their 
native  tongue  and  maintained  their  ancient  customs.  The  State 
was  thoroughly  clannish — especially  the  more  recently  settled 
parts.  The  people  were  accustomed  to  following  local  leaders. 
The  Moravians  had  clustered  around  Salem  and  had  not  fused 
with  their  neighbors. 

Shubal  Steams  had  made  a  settlement  of  Baptists  at  Sandy 
Creek,  and  these  had  their  leader.  The  same  was  true  of  the 
Jersey  settlement  on  the  Yadkin,  and  the  Irish  and  the  German 
communities  of  that  section. 

All  these  settlements  were  distinct.  Foote  in  his  sketches  of 
the  early  Presbyterian  churches  speaks  of  the  "Hawfield  con- 
gregation," and  describes  the  home  of  a  prominent  man  as  being 
on  the  "edge  of  this. congregation."  There  was  not  yet  in  the 
State  that  social  co-ordination  which  is  necessary  for  highest 
State  life.     The  result  was  that  when  the  Revolution  came  on 


30  NORTH  CAROLINA 

there  was  little  integral  action.  One  community  became  Whig 
and  another  Tory. 

Not  only  was  this  true,  but  the  system  of  government  tended 
to  the  formation  of  classes  and  parties.  The  government  was 
centralized.  Many  local  officers  were  appointed  by  the  central 
authority.  The  judiciary  was  not  local.  Not  only  the  judges, 
but  the  justices  of  the  peace,  received  their  authority  from  the 
Assembly.  The  clerks  of  the  courts  received  their  appointments 
from  the  Governor.  The  executive  officers  were  based  on  the 
same  models.  The  sheriffs  were  appointees  of  the  Governor  and 
looked  to  him  for  approval.  The  military  organization  at  the 
Revolution  was  similar :  officers  of  the  countv  militia  were  elected 
bv  the  Assemblv. 

Such  a  system  seems  to  indicate  centralization  and  integration, 
but  one  result  followed  that  hindered  such  a  tendency.  The  Gov- 
ernment  could  and  did  do  little  for  the  scattered  settlements  of 
the  West.  They,  and  not  the  Government,  kept  a  watch  on  the 
Indian  and  protected  their  homes.  A  dislike  for  the  office-holding 
class  was  fostered.  This  feeling  prevailed  from  Chowan  to 
Anson.  The  Regulator  movement  was  the  most  dramatic  ex- 
pression of  this  feeling,  but  this  feeling  was  prevalent  in  nearly 
every  portion  of  the  State.  The  popular  party  was  opposed  to 
the  office-holding  party. 

John  Butler,  of  Orange,  belonged  to  the  office-holding  party 
and  lived  in  the  Hawfields  congregation  on  the  western  edge, 
"near  Judge  Ruffin's  Mill.*^ 

He  was  sheriff  of  Orange  County  and  testified  before  the  As- 
sembly in  December,  1770,  that  he  had  found  much  difficulty  in 
performing  his  official  duties.  The  Regulators  were  opposed  to 
him.  Governor  Trvon  invited  the  sheriffs  of  several  counties 
to  appear  before  the  Assembly  and  bear  testimony  to  the  difficul- 
ties that  these  Regulators  put  in  their  way.  Butler's  own  brother, 
William,  was  a  member  of  the  Regulators  of  Orange. 

What  part  John  Butler  took  in  the  Regulator  disturbance  is 
not  known,  but  he  was  of  course  on  the  side  of  the  constituted 
authorities. 


JOHN  rtUTLER  3' 


After  ihe  battle  of  Alamance  was  over,  however,  lie  befriended 
the  Regulators  and  stayed  the  hand  of  the  executive  authority. 
He  signed  many  petitions  asking  pardon  for  those  who  had  op- 
posed the  Government. 

But  like  Caswell  and  the  others  who  had  put  down  the  Regu- 
tilators,  be  joined  the  revolutionary  party  against  the  British 
Govcmnient,  and  was  a  member  of  the  District  Committee  of 
Safrty  for  the  Hillsboro  District  in    1775. 

The  Provincial  Congress  at  Hillsboro  in  the  Fall  of  1775  real- 
ised that  the  hour  of  forcible  opposition  and  defence  had  come. 
Governor  Martin,  who  had  fled  from  bis  palace  at  New-Bern 
at  the  end  of  May,  was  on  board  a  British  man-of-war  in  the 
Cape  Fear,  devising  plans  to  subjugate  the  people.  The  whole 
Stale  was  thoroughly  organized  for  defence. 

Tbc  militia  of  each  county  were  organized  under  their  colonels; 
and  John  Butler  was  made  lieu  ten  ant- colonel  for  Orange  County. 
In  the  next  year,  1776,  he  was  made  colonel.  During  these  years 
there  was,  no  fighting  in  that  section,  but  men  were  preparing 
for  the  conflict  that  was  inevitable.  The  tide  of  war  had  struck 
North  Carolina,  but  had  been  rolled  hack.  The  British  fleet 
failed  to  make  conjunction  with  the  Scotch  Tories  of  the  Cape 
Fear.  The  battle  of  Moore's  Creek  Bridge  had  shown  the  Whigs 
of  the  State  what  to  expect,  and  all  was  expectancy. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  the  people  of  Orange  chose  Butler  to 
represent  them  in  the  two  important  Congresses  that  were  to  meet 
at  Halifax  in  April  and  November.  By  the  April  Congress  he 
was  appointed  to  purchase  arms  and  ammunition  and  prepare 
for  the  conflict.  Moore's  Creek  had  been  fought  and  the  strife 
between  revolutionist  and  loyalist  had  already  begun.  The  dom- 
inant party  had  begim  to  confiscate  the  property  of  the  loyalists, 
especially  those  taken  in  arms.  Butler  was  appointed  to  assist 
in  the  inventory  of  this  property. 

In  the  November  Convention  he  did  not  take  his  seat  till  the 
Constitution  had  been  adopted  and  the  most  important  legisla- 
tion had  already  been  enacted.  The  election  of  the  Orange  rep- 
resentatives was  in  dispute.     Butler  was  not  elected  at  first.    The 


32  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Convention  pronounced  the  election  fraudulent  and  ordered  a  new 
election.  At  this  new  election  Butler  was  chosen.  This  accounts 
for  his  not  being  present  when  the  first  State  Convention  was 
adopted.  In  1776  brigadier-generals  were  appointed  for  the  dif- 
ferent districts;  and  General  Thomas  Person  was  the  brigadier 
for  the  Hillsboro  District.  He  resigned  in  1777,  and  Butler  was 
chosen  by  the  Assembly  in  his  place.  This  position  Butler  held 
throughout  the  Revolutionary  War  and  till  1784,  when  he  re- 
signed and  Ambrose  Ramsey  became  his  successor.  Butler  never 
joined  the  Continental  Line.  His  services  to  the  American  cause 
were  always  with  the  militia.  There  was  no  call  for  military  ser- 
vices as  long  as  the  British  campaigns  were  planned  against  the 
central  States.  In  1778  the  British  policy  changed,  and  the  scenes 
of  the  war  began  to  shift  from  the  North  to  the  South.  The 
scheme  was  now  devised  to  roll  up  the  colonies  as  a  scroll,  and 
to  begin  with  Georgia,  the  weakest  of  the  thirteen.  Upon  this 
scheme  King  George  and  Lord  George  Germaine  had  set  their 
hearts.  In  this  year  there  was  skirmishing  along  the  frontier  be- 
tween Georgia  and  Florida,  which  had  remained  loyal  to  the 
Crown.  General  Robert  Howe  was  in  command  of  the  southern 
division,  with  his  headquarters  at  Savannah.  He  came  into  col- 
lision with  the  British  and  met  with  no  success.  The  South  Caro- 
lina delegates  in  Congress  requested  his  removal.  General  Ben- 
jamin Lincoln  superseded  him.  In  November,  1779,  Lincoln 
passed  through  North  Carolina  on  his  way  to  take  charge  of  the 
southern  army.  North  Carolina  had  been  busy  for  some  weeks 
preparing  troops  to  march  southward.  Butler  was  ordered  by 
Governor  Caswell  to  get  the  troops  in  his  district  ready  for  march- 
ing. In  October  and  November  he  was  busy,  and  late  in  the 
year  he  sent  his  men  forward  under  Antony  Lytle.  When  Lin- 
coln arrived  in  South  Carolina  he  had  to  collect  the  lowland 
militia  of  that  State,  but  could  not  for  fear  of  a  slave  insurrec- 
tion. Under  John  Ashe  North  Carolina  sent  two  thousand  men. 
But  from  North  Carolina  also  went  loyalists  to  help  the  British. 
Seven  hundred  loyalists  marched  from  the  State  to  join  the 
British  force  at  Augusta. 


)HN'  BUTLER 


Or  March  3,  1779.  Ashe's  force  was  cut  to  pieces  at  Brier 
Creek,  near  the  Savannah  River.  Even  before  the  news  of  this 
disaster  had  reached  North  Carolina,  Governor  Caswell  had 
ordered  lintler  to  embody  mure  troops  in  his  district  and  go  to 
the  help  of  Lincoln.  The  time  of  the  enlistment  of  those  whom 
he  had  sent  forward  under  Lytic  was  about  to  expire  and  the  new 
levy  was  to  take  their  place. 

Butler  left  Charlotte  on  April  nth  and  reached  Lincoln,  near 
Augusta,  on  the  26th.  Lincoln's  move  into  Georgia  uncovered 
Charieston,  which  was  n6  sooner  known  to  the  British  than  Gen- 
eral Prevost  crossed  the  Savannah,  and  made  toward  Charlestoa, 
raiding  as  be  went  Lincoln,  with  Butler's  men  and  others,  hastily 
returned  to  protect  the  city.  Prevost  was  forced  to  retreat,  and 
on  June  19th  was  attacked  by  Lincoln  at  Stono  Ferry.  Butler 
and  Sumner,  of  North  Carolina,  were  in  the  thick  of  the  fight 
Butler's  raw  troops  fought  well.  In  a  letter  to  Governor  Caswell 
be  said: 

"I  can  with  pleasure  assure  you  that  the  officers  and  men  under  my  com* 
mand  behaved  better  than  could  be  expected  of  raw  troops." 

But  these  troops  had  enlisted  for  only  a  few  months.  Enlist- 
ments were  generally  for  three  months.  On  July  15th  his  men 
returned  home.  This  was  a  fault  in  the  policy  of  using  the 
mihtia.  They  were  never  destined  to  become  inured  to  the  hard- 
ships of  camp  life  or  to  the  discipline  of  veterans.  When  their 
time  expired  they  left  camp  and  returned  home.  Like  an  Arab 
encampment,  in  the  morning  they  were  not. 

In  December,  1779,  Butler  sent  more  men  to  the  help  of  Lin- 
coln, but  did  not  go  himself.  Elarly  in  1780,  Sir  Henry  Clinton 
decided  to  push  the  campaign  in  the  South.  He  took  eight  thou- 
sand men  from  New  York  and  brought  them  South  to  unite  with 
Prevost.  Later  he  brought  Lord  Rawdon  from  New  York  with 
three  thousand  more  men.  Washington  saw  that  Lincoln  needed 
help,  and  dispatched  from  his  army  all  the  troops  of  North  Caro- 
lina and  some  from  Virginia. 

On  May  12,  1780,  Charleston  was  forced  to  surrender,  and 


34  NORTH  CAROLINA 

with  this  fall  went  all  the  regular  troops  North  Carolina  had,  be- 
sides several  hundred  of  her  militia. 

Again  the  militia  were  called  upon  to  come  into  the  field.  Gov- 
ernor Caswell,  whose  term  as  Governor  had  expired,  was  now 
invested  with  the  command  of  all  the  militia.  He  made  his  head- 
quarters near  Cheraw.  His  three  commanders  were  Rutherford, 
with  the  western  troops ;  Gregory,  with  the  eastern ;  and  Butler, 
with  the  central.  In  August  there  were  assembled  at  Cheraw, 
awaiting  the  arrival  of  Smallwood's  Maryland  Brigade,  the  Dela- 
ware regiment  and  some  Virginia  militia,  who  were  following 
under  General  Gates,  who  had  been  appointed  by  Congress  to 
command  the  southern  army.  The  rashness  of  Gates  in  march- 
ing forward  without  horsemen  to  gain  information  resulted  in 
his  falling  in  with  the  British  Army  at  night. 

The  fate  that  met  him  and  his  troops  is  a  sad  page  in  our  Rev- 
olutionarv  history.  In  front  of  the  North  Carolina  militia  was 
the  Virginia  militia.  They  gave  way  and  in  their  flight  the  North 
Carolina  militia  joined  them.  A  part  of  Gregory's  Brigade  fought 
well ;  Dixon's  regiment  of  this  same  brigade,  being  along  with  the 
Maryland  regulars,  stood  firmly  and  gained  great  credit;  but 
many  of  the  other  militia  never  fired  a  shot.  In  fifteen  minutes 
the  whole  left  of  Gates's  line  of  battle,  composed  entirely  of  militia, 
was  a  mob  struggling  to  escape.  Colonel  Webster  had  come 
down  upon  them  in  a  furious  charge,  and  was  then  followed  by  the 
fearful  Tarleton. 

The  North  Carolina  militia  fled  toward  home  in  anv  wav  thev 
chose.  On  their  return  they  met  many  pretended  friends  going 
to  join  the  American  army,  who,  on  learning  of  its  utter  discom- 
fiture, proclaimed  themselves  friends  of  the  victors.  These  roving 
bands  plucked  the  militia  as  they  fled.  One  of  these  bands  met 
General  Butler  and  robbed  him  of  his  sword,  remarking  by  way 
of  consolation,  **You'll  have  no  further  use  of  this." 

But  Butler  was  not  willing  to  give  up  the  fight.  "He  who  fights 
and  runs  away  will  live  to  fight  another  day."  September  found 
him  with  more  militia  covering  Salisbury  and  Charlotte,  and  when 
retreating  before  Cornwallis's  advance,  skirmishing  as    he    fell 


.J 


JOHN  BUTLER  35 


back.  He  was  ordered  by  the  Board  of  War  at  the  same  time  to 
guard  the  provisions  that  were  being  brought  from  the  Moravian 
settlements.  In  those  days  of  disorganization  Butler  gave  the  dis- 
consolate State  what  help  he  could.  He  and  Sumner  patrolled 
the  banks  of  the  Yadkin,  watching  the  enemy  and  keeping  him 
back. 

But  in  the  midst  of  all  this  his  troops  vanished,  for  their  term 
of  enlistment  had  expired. 

After  the  battle  of  King's  Mountain,  Comwallis  fell  back  into 
South  Carolina,  and  in  December  General  Greene  took  charge 
of  his  scattered  forces  and  began  the  work  of  reorganization. 
He  divided  his  army  and  sent  one  part  of  it  west  of  Charlotte 
under  General  Morgan,  and  with  the  other  he  took  post  at  Cheraw. 
By  February  Butler  had  collected  another  force,  and  was  ordered 
to  join  Lillington  in  watching  Major  Craig,  who  had  taken  Wil- 
mington on  January  29,  1781.  While  Butler  was  near  Wihning- 
ton,  Comwallis  entered  the  State  the  second  time  in  pursuit  of 
Morgan  after  his  thrilling  victory  at  Cowpens.  Butler  was  now 
ordered  to  hasten  to  the  help  of  Greene.  Comwallis  at  Hillsboro 
wanted  to  prevent  their  junction.  For  several  days  there  was  a 
game  of  hide-and-seek  between  these  great  commanders,  but 
Greene  enabled  his  militia  to  join  him  on  March  nth,  and  then 
challenged  Comwallis  to  do  battle  at  Guilford  Court  House  on 
March  15th. 

Again  Butler  and  his  militia  were  to  face  the  trained  veterans 
of  the  British  Army.  In  this  fight  the  North  Carolina  militia 
under  Butler  and  Eaton  were  placed  on  the  left  of  the  front  line, 
and  the  Virginia  militia  in  their  rear.  But  when  the  British  vet- 
erans under  Leslie  fired  on  them  they  sought  safety  by  retreat. 
Butler  tried  hard  to  stop  the  panic,  but  in  vain.  It  must  be  borne 
in  mind  that  these  were  not  the  troops  that  were  with  Butler  at 
Camden.  He  was  always  in  command  of  raw  militia.  Again  these 
men  scattered  and  many  of  them  returned  home.  General  Morgan 
seems  to  have  been  the  one  American  general  who  knew  how  to 
pit  these  raw  soldiers  against  trained  veterans,  for  at  Cowpens 
they  fought  well,  even  against  the  terrible  Tarleton. 


36  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Butler  remained  with  General  Greene  while  Comwallis  re- 
treated to  Wilmington.  When  Greene  decided  to  leave  Com- 
wallis at  Wilmington  and  so  push  him  off  the  board,  himself  go- 
ing into  South  Carolina,  he  left  Butler  at  Ramsey's  Mill,  near  the 
junction  of  the  Haw  and  the  Deep,  to  collect  provisions  and  the 
scattered  militia  and  to  watch  the  enemy.  From  this  place  Butler 
wrote  General  Sumner  on  April  nth  that  "we  have  now  in  the 
field  240  men  of  those  that  fled  from  the  battle  on  the  15th 
ult.  They  are  for  one  year  and  will  in  a  few  days  join  head- 
quarters." In  addition  to  his  military  duties  he  was  sent  to  the 
House  of  Commons,  where  he  was  on  the  Committee  for  Defence ; 
also  he  was  a  Councillor  of  State. 

But  his  chief  work  now  was  to  keep  down  the  Tories.  In  North 
Carolina  it  was  thought  that  Cornwallis  would  retreat  from 
Virginia  back  through  North  Carolina.  Governor  Burke  was 
very  busy  preparing  to  assist  Greene  or  to  make  it  unpleasant  for 
Cornwallis  if  he  returned  through  this  State.  Butler  kept  a  com- 
pany encamped  on  Haw  River.  With  the  departure  of  Greene 
and  the  presence  of  Major  Craig  at  Wilmington,  the  Tory  spirit 
rose  again.  In  Butler's  district  were  Chatham  and  Moore  and 
Randolph,  where  there  were  many  Tories.  These  Tories  planned 
to  surprise  Butler's  camp,  but  Governor  Burke  warned  him.  Then 
the  Tories,  learning  that  Burke  was  at  Hillsboro  and  not  well  de- 
fended, determined  that  they  would  surprise  him,  which  they  did. 
He  was  captured  and  the  Tories  began  their  retreat.  With  them 
was  the  notorious  David  Fanning,  shrewd  and  capable  and 
bloody-minded.  When  Butler  heard  of  the  capture  he  set  out  in 
hot  pursuit.  At  Cane  Creek  a  desperate  fight  took  place,  which 
was  orobablv  a  drawn  battle.  He  did  not  rescue  the  Governor, 
and  the  Tories  continued  to  Wilmington.  Butler  then  hurried 
around  Wilmington  and  fought  the  Tories  in  small  engagements 
at  Hammond's  Creek  and  Brown  Marsh  in  Bladen.  He  still 
kept  his  troops  embodied  in  1782  and  was  in  camp  near  Salis- 
bury. His  home  and  plantation,  probably  called  Mt.  Pleasant, 
had  been  destroyed  by  the  British  under  Comwallis.  It  was  some 
years  before  the  strife  of  Tory  and  Whig  ceased  in  his  district. 


JOHN  BUTLER  3; 


To  re-establish  order  in  the  State  was  a  difficult  task,  ant!  But- 
ler was  charged  with  a  part  of  this  duty.  In  the  Assemblies  o£ 
1784  he  was  chairman  of  tlie  Committee  on  Grievances,  and 
there  were  many.  His  name  appears  on  nearly  every  page  of  the 
proceedings. 

Al  llie  November  session  of  17S4  he  resigned  the  brigadier- 
generalship,  and  was  excused  from  further  attendance  on  the 
sessions. 

Little  is  known  of  his  personal  traits  or  characteristics.  He 
must  liavc  been  a  popular  man,  possessing  the  confidence  and  re- 
spect and  esteem  of  the  State,  to  have  had  the  chief  command  in 
his  district  for  seven  years,  especially  during  the  troublous  years 
of  tlip  war.  He  was  in  nearly  every  session  of  the  Assembly,  save 
when  he  was  in  the  field,  and  he  was  several  times  a  Councillor 
oi  State.  While  his  froops  did  not  fight  well,  there  is  nowhere 
an>  imputation  of  inefficiency  or  of  a  lack  of  courage  on  his  part. 
He  was  too  plain  and  simple  a  Democrat  to  indorse  the  Society 
of  the  Cincinnati,  and  one  of  his  last  measures  introduced  into 
the  Assembly  was  to  preclude  any  member  of  that  order  from 
sitting  in  the  General  Assemblv  of  North  Carolina. 

E.  IV.  Sikcs. 


JARVIS  BUXTON  39 


of  establishing  an  Episcopal  Church  there.  At  that  period  Ashe- 
ville  was  hardlv  more  than  a  secluded  hamlet  in  the  mountains, 
and  Doctor  Buxton  had  at  the  beginning  of  his  work  but  one 
communicant. 

There  being  no  railroads  yet  built  in  that  part  of  the  State, 
Doctor  Buxton's  trips  between  his  two  parishes  in  Rutherford- 
ton  and  Asheville  were  made  on  horseback,  and  his  visits  to  his 
old  home  in  Favetteville  were  made  in  the  same  wav. 

On  January  6,  1848,  in  Fayetteville,  Doctor  Buxton  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Anna  Nash  Cameron,  daughter  of  Judge  John  A. 
Cameron,  appointed  United  States  Judge  for  Florida,  and  a 
brother  of  Judge  Duncan  Cameron,  of  Hillsboro ;  and  this  union 
was  blessed  with  eight  children,  five  of  whom  still  survive. 

After  his  marriage  Doctor  Buxton  returned  to  his  charge  at 
Asheville,  and  was  ordainefl  priest  by  Bishop  Ives,  June  17,  1849, 
at  Rutherfordton.  His  work  all  through  the  mountain  country 
of  western  North  Carolina  was  pressed  with  energy  and  con- 
tinued to  grow  in  extent  and  in  importance.  He  was  the  first 
missionar>'  of  the  Episcopal  Church  to  enter  upon  a  field  of  labor 
west  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  he  not  only  established  the  church 
there,  but  also  established  missions  all  through  the  country.  He 
likewise  had  charge  of  stations  at  Waynesville  and  Burnsville. 
He  built  churches  on  the  French  Broad,  on  Haw  Creek  and 
Beaverdam,  and  it  was  through  him  that  the  valuable  Ravens- 
croft  property  in  Asheville  was  purchased  for  the  diocese. 

The  first  church  which  Doctor  Buxton  built  was  found  too 
small  for  the  growing  congregation,  and  during  the  latter  part 
of  his  ministry  it  was  torn  down  and  a  new  church  costing  some 
$20,000  was  erected. 

In  1 89 1,  after  a  ministry  of  forty-five  years.  Doctor  Buxton 
resigned  the  rectorship  in  Asheville  and  with  his  family  removed 
to  Lenoir,  in  Caldwell  County.  Here  he  served  St.  James's  Church 
in  Lenoir,  the  Peace  Chapel  near  Lenoir  and  the  church  in  the 
valley  of  the  Yadkin. 

( )n  June  30,  1896,  Doctor  Buxton  lost  his  wife,  and  a  few  years 
later  he  returned  to  his  old  home  in  Asheville,  and  from  that  time 


40  NORTH  CAROLINA 

until  his  death  he  was  actively  engaged  in  the  ministry,  especially 
mission  work  in  North  Asheville.  Physically  and  mentally  he 
was  at  work  until  the  last  davs  of  his  life.  The  devoted  life  of 
Doctor  Buxton  was  closely  connected  with  the  spiritual  and  tem- 
poral growth  of  Asheville,  and  his  loss  was  felt  by  hundreds  who 
admired  his  noble  qualities  of  mind  and  heart,  his  unselfish  devo- 
tion and  his  Christian  character;  indeed  his  friendship  was  not 
confined  to  members  of  his  denomination,  but  he  was  warmly 
beloved  by  all  with  whom  he  came  in  contact. 

The  missionary  spirit  abounded  in  Doctor  Buxton,  and  his 
labors  were  not  limited  to  the  bounds  of  his  own  parish.  A  noble 
priest,  an  humble,  devoted  Christian,  who  led  among  his  people 
a  most  consistent,  blameless  life,  he  labored  for  the  good  of  his 
fellow-man,  to  the  glory  of  God,  with  the  judgment  of  mature 
years  and  the  energy,  buoyancy  and  perseverance  of  youth.  He 
thought  evil  of  no  man  and  never  despaired  of  even  the  most 
reckless  and  wayward  being  brought  back  to  the  paths  of  right- 
eousness. 

Though  shadows  crossed  his  path  in  his  later  years  and  sorrow 
fell  upon  him,  yet  no  man  ever  heard  him  speak  except  in  kind- 
ness of  any  one,  and  his  trust  in  his  Saviour  was  unfailing. 

While  loyal  and  devoted  to  the  teachings  of  his  church,  he 
never  failed  to  attend  those  in  sickness  and  affliction,  whether  Jew 
or  Gentile,  to  whom  his  ministrations  could  bring  comfort  or  re- 
lief, and  his  presence  was  a  benediction  to  the  community  in 
which  he  lived.  He  knew  the  weakness  of  men,  but  he  loved  them 
for  the  good  there  was  in  them. 

His  benevolence  was  limited  only  by  his  means,  and  despite 
his  advanced  years  he  continued  in  his  Christian  efforts  to  the 

m 

last. 

He  passed  away  in  the  eighty-third  year  of  his  age,  lamented 
by  his  church  and  greatly  missed  by  the  community  where  he  had 
labored  so  unremittingly,  carrying  ever  with  him  the  spirit  of  the 
Saviour. 

/.  C.  Buxton, 


42  NORTH  CAROLINA 

the  strenuous  conflict  on  the  stump,  ever  cast  the  stigma  of  self- 
ishness or  corruption  on  his  Republicanism:  he  may  have  been 
regarded  wrong-headed,  but  not  wrong-hearted.  Nay,  more, 
though  he  lived  in  a  community  Confederate  to  the  backbone  dur- 
ing the  Civil  War,  and  afterwards  Democratic  always  to  a  white 
heat,  before  his  lovable  and  irreproachable  private  character  the 
social  ostracism  which  lashed  others  shrank  abashed  before  him; 
and  about  the  hearthstone  of  his  refined  and  hospitable  home 
gathered  the  best  and  most  notable  men  and  women  of  the  city — 
many  of  the  former  his  avowed  and  uncompromising  enemies  on 
the  hustings. 

Judge  Buxton  was  a  member  of  the  Convention  which  met  for 
the  amendment  of  the  Constitution,  and  few  men  of  either  party 
in  that  Assembly  addressed  themselves  to  the  work  before  them 
with  broader  views  and  a  more  conservative  spirit  than  he.  In 
truth,  while  he  abhorred  the  Democracy  of  the  Southern  Bourbon, 
it  was  a  misnomer  to  call  him  a  "Radical,"  as  the  Republicans 
were  known  thirty  and  thirty-five  years  ago. 

He  was  the  gubernatorial  candidate  of  the  Republican  Party 
in  1880,  and  was  defeated  by  Thomas  J.  Jarvis,  the  nominee  of 
the  Democratic  Party.  He  left  behind  him  a  political  record  of 
which  few  men  in  his  party  in  the  South  could  boast:  that  he 
was  never  an  aspirant  for  office,  or  a  seeker  after  its  spoils ;  that 
the  honors  which  came  to  him  were  unsolicited,  and  were  tributes 
to  his  abilities  and  integrity. 

He  was  on  the  Superior  Court  bench  during  the  first  admin- 
istration of  Governor  Holden,  and  afterwards  held  the  same  posi- 
tion by  election  of  the  people,  defeating  the  late  Bartholomew 
Fuller,  who  died  at  Durham,  but  was  then  a  member  of  the  Fay- 
etteville  bar.  Mr.  Fuller  was  nominated  at  Rockingham,  and  at 
that  time  the  Fayetteville  Judicial  District  was  made  up  very 
largely  of  the  territory  afterwards  known  as  the  Charlotte  Con- 
gressional "Shoestring"  District.  I  am  unable  to  give  the  dates, 
which  are  immaterial,  but  Judge  Buxton,  during  the  course  of 
his  public  life,  enjoyed  the  honor  of  securing  a  nomination  from 
both  the  Republican  and  Democratic  Parties. 


RALPH  P.  BUXTON  43 

On  the  bench  Judge  Buxton  was  a  safe  rather  than  a  brilliant 
jurist.  Like  the  junior  counsel,  Lynx,  of  the  Yatton  trial  in  War- 
ren's "Ten  Thousand  a  Year,"  he  crept  rather  than  ran  over  a 
case — not  that  he  was  mentally  slow  and  plodding,  but  he  was 
constitutionally  careful  and  accurate.  The  late  William  B. 
Wright  was  a  man  of  gigantic  frame,  more  than  six  and  a  half 
feet  in  height,  with  a  stalwart  build  in  proportion,  though  the 
time  was  to  come  when  old  age  "clawed  him  in  its  clutch,"  and 
bowed  and  broke  the  once  herculean  form.  He  had  a  leonine 
head  and  grizzled  mane,  which  he  shook  in  the  thunders  of  juridi- 
cal polemics  at  bench,  jury  and  bar,  and  the  other  lawyers  af- 
fectionately called  him  "Father  Magnus."  Mr.  Wright  had  a 
high  opinion  of  the  intellectuality  and  legal  acumen  of  Ralph 
Buxton,  and  often  wondered  especially  at  his  mastery  of  all  the 
minute  details  of  a  case.  "Buxton,"  he  once  said,  in  his  deep, 
burning  voice,  as  the  two  were  sitting  in  Mr.  Wright's  office  on 
Green  Street,  "the  ordinary  eye  can  hardly  follow  a  fly  on  the 
wall,  but  I  believe  that  you  could  pick  out  a  red  bug  in  a  saw- 
pit  !" 

His  personal  qualities  eminently  fitted  him  to  be  an  interpreter 
and  executor  of  the  law.  He  was  patient;  not  easily  provoked 
to  anger,  though  like  the  Laird  of  Dumbiedikes,  in  Scott's  "Mid- 
lothian," something  dangerous  when  fully  aroused;  tolerant  of 
the  weaknesses  of  human  nature,  affable  and  courteous  to  the  bar, 
sympathetic  and  indulgent  to  the  masses  of  the  people  who,  as 
spectators  or  litigants,  sought  the  interior  of  the  court-room. 

Reverend  Jarvis  Buxton  passed  away  when  his  son  Ralph  was 
in  his  early  youth,  but  the  boy  retained  through  life  much  of  the 
fortiter  in  re  of  his  learned  and  distinguished  father  in  matters 
of  moral  principle  and  even  of  important  concerns  of  daily  life, 
while  he  had  still  more  of  the  siiaviter  in  modo  which  made  the 
women  of  his  family  so  charming,  and  especially  marked  the  char- 
acter of  his  sister,  Mrs.  T.  S.  Lutterloh,  who  for  many  years  was 
an  admired  leader  of  Favetteville  societv. 

Judge  Buxton  was  gifted  with  a  delicate  and  exquisite  sense 
of  humor.     He  delighted  in  his  hours  of  relaxation  and  ease  to 


44  NORTH  CAROLINA 

meet  with  his  friends  at  his  home  or  at  the  houses  of  his  neigh- 
bors in  the  enjoyment  of  an  evening's  reading  or  recital.  He 
could  always  be  depended  on  for  ^'flashes  of  merriment  to  set  the 
table  in  a  roar,"  and  he  was  no  mean  elocutionist  in  didactic 
selections.  His  rendition  of  Cowper's  "J^^^^  Gilpin's  Ride"  was 
inimitable.  The  joke  at  his  own  expense  seemed  to  intensify  his 
enjoyment,  and  his  mirth  was  no  whit  checked  because  it  was 
"one  on  him."  He  used  to  tell  with  much  gusto  of  one  of  his 
early  experiences,  when  he  had  procured  his  license,  hung  out 
his  **shingle,"  was  ''raking  the  woods"  for  a  client,  and  was  at- 
tending court  over  in  Richmond  County.  In  those  days,  during 
the  regime  of  the  County  Court,  before  the  County  Commissioner 
system  of  government,  it  was  the  time-honored  custom  for  the 
Judge  on  the  Superior  Court  bench  to  call  on  the  newest-fledged 
lawyer  to  charge  the  grand  jury,  or  to  assign  to  him  the  task  of 
defending  the  toughest  minor  criminal  under  the  frown  of  the 
solicitor.  This  last  duty  fell  to  Buxton;  and  the  case  of  his 
client,  a  negro  charged  with  larceny,  looked  *'blue" — in  fact,  the 
evidence  was  dead  against  him.  But  the  young  lawyer  did  his 
best ;  and  much  to  his  gratification,  and  perhaps  still  more  to  his 
surprise,  the  jury  brought  in  a  verdict  of  not  guilty.  It  was  a 
feather  in  his  cap,  and  in  spite  of  his  modesty  there  was  a  little 
strut  in  his  walk  as  he  crossed  the  Court  House  green  at  the  noon 
recess  until  two  or  three  of  the  jury  met  him,  and  one  of  them 
said :  ** Buxton,  we  all  thought  your  client  guilty,  but  we  didn't 
want  to  discourage  you  at  the  very  outset  of  your  career." 

On  one  occasion,  while  Judge  Buxton  was  holding  a  term  of 
Cumberland  Superior  Court  in  Fayetteville,  looking  up  from  his 
notes  while  a  witness  was  being  examined  on  the  stand,  a  look 
of  surprise  came  over  his  face,  succeeded  by  an  indignant  frown. 
"Get  down  oflF  that  chair!"  he  said  to  the  witness.  The  man,  a 
bright  mulatto,  looked  astonished  and  bewildered,  and  turned  his 
eyes  helplessly  towards  the  sheriflf.  "Get  down  off  that  chair !" 
called  the  Judge  still  more  sharply.  "Why,  Judge,"  said  the 
sheriff,  while  his  face  reddened  and  his  eyes  watered  in  the  effort 
to  keep  back  a  guffaw,  "he  is  not  standing  on  a  chair;  he  is  just 


RALPH  P.  BUXTON  45 

about  the  tallest  man  in  North  Carolina,  nearly  seven  feet  liiph !" 
Judge  Buxton  slowly  raised  himself  and  leaned  forward  until  he 
could  see  the  feet  of  the  witness  squarely  planted  on  the  floor,  and 
sank  back  in  his  chair,  while  a  peal  of  laughter  rang  through  the 
court  room,  in  which  the  bench  joined  without  recourse  to  the 
gavel. 

The  last  few  years  of  Judge  Buxton's  life  were  passed  in  re- 
tirement from  the  cares  and  burdens  of  public  life.  In  bis  office 
on  Donaldson  Street  he  attended  industriously  as  of  yore  to  the 
concerns  of  his  profession,  his  counsel  ever  eagerly  sought  by 
the  other  members  of  the  bar.  Never  a  man  of  robust  physique. 
his  hcakh  visibly  dechned ;  and  every  day.  as  he  rode  in  the  early 
wftcnioon  on  a  large  sorrel  horse  to  his  borne  over  Haymount, 
liis  friends  could  see  the  mysterious  beckoning  hand  not  far 
a»ay. 

The  summons  came  as  doubtless  his  brave  soul  would  have  it 
come,  when  the  harness  was  loosed  and  ready  to  be  laid  by.  when 
lie  dosed  his  brief,  made  up  bis  case  ready  for  the  verdict.  He 
pawed  away,  sitting  in  his  chair  at  his  borne,  the  "Buxton  Oaks," 
known  also  as  the  "Dobljin  Homestead,"  where  lived  for  many 
years  before  the  war  James  C.  Dobbin,  Secretary  of  the  Navy 
in  the  administration  of  President  Pierce. 

Judge  Buxton  was  a  member  and  vestryman  of  St.  John's  Epis- 
copal Cliurch.  He  left  no  children,  but  is  survived  by  his  widow. 
/.  H.  Myrover. 


JOHN  CAMERON  BUXTON  47 

having  the  money  to  continue  his  studies,  he  showed  his  pluck 
and  determination  to  acquire  a  good  education  by  teaching  one 
year  at  Edenton,  North  Carolina,  this  enabling  him  to  enter  the 
senior  class  at  Hobart  College,  Geneva,  New  York,  where  he 
graduated  in  1874  as  salutatorian  of  his  class — ^thus,  in  spite  of 
obstacles,  standing  in  the  very  front  rank  of  a  college  in  which 
he  had  spent  only  one  year,  and  had  no  help  from  friends  or  from 
favoritism. 

Mr.  Buxton  studied  law  in  Asheville,  North  Carolina,  under 
Judge  John  L.  Bailey,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  the  State 
in  January,  1875.  He  immediately  moved  to  Winston,  North 
Carolina,  then  a  very  small  place,  just  commencing  its  marvellous 
growth,  and  with  it  has  grown  up  until  both  he  and  the  city  have 
reached  their  present  success.  His  first  coming  to  Winston  was 
both  pathetic  and  amusing.  He  had  no  friends  in  his  newly 
adopted  home,  was  a  perfect  stranger  to  all,  was  utterly  ignorant 
of  the  practice  of  his  profession,  and  his  worldly  goods  could  have 
been  summed  up  in  these  words,  "his  sheep-skin,  a  new  suit  of 
clothes,  a  change  of  underwear,  and  twenty-five  cents  in  money." 
His  energy,  cordial  manner,  and  determination  to  succeed  soon, 
however,  won  him  many  friends.  At  first  he  was  associated  with 
Colonel  J.  W.  Alspaugh,  who  was  then  a  newspaper  editor,  law- 
yer, and  the  general  business  man  of  Winston.  Very  soon,  how- 
ever, he  started  out  for  himself,  and  by  his  faithful  devotion  to 
his  clients'  interests  commenced  to  win  a  good  practice.  At  this 
time  Watson  and  Glenn,  two  of  the  very  foremost  lawyers  in 
western  North  Carolina,  Colonel  Joseph  Masten,  and  Judges  T. 
J.  Wilson  and  D.  H.  Starbuck  had  the  entire  practice  of  Forsythe 
County.  The  last  three  named  gentlemen  soon  practically  retired 
on  account  of  age,  leaving  the  field  to  Mr.  Buxton  and  Messrs. 
Watson  and  Glenn.  Single-handed,  Mr.  Buxton  continued  his 
practice,  each  day  establishing  himself  more  firmly  in  the  hearts 
of  the  people,  and  winning  for  himself  a  splendid  reputation 
l)Oth  as  a  counsellor  and  a  trier  of  causes  in  the  Court  House. 
r)n  October  16,  1877,  Mr.  Buxton  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Agnes  C.  Belo,  of  Salem,  North  Carolina,  daughter  of  the  late 


48  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Edward  Belo  and  Amanda  Fries  Belo,  Mr.  Belo  being  the  first 
president  and  prime  mover  in  the  building  of  the  N.  W.  N.  C. 
R.  R.  (now  part  of  the  Southern  System), which  proved  the  source 
and  cause  of  the  present  wealth  and  growth  of  Winston- Salem 
and  that  vicinity.  In  his  marriage  Mr.  Buxton  was  as  wise  as  he 
had  proved  himself  to  be  in  other  matters,  for  he  chose  well,  hav- 
ing in  his  wife  an  estimable,  true,  strong  Christian  woman,  who 
has  added  not  a  little  to  her  husband's  power  and  strength.  In 
1883  Mr.  Buxton  w^as  elected  Mayor  of  Winston,  and  by  his  en- 
thusiasm and  push  gave  a  new  impetus  to  city  affairs,  many  new 
and  beneficial  changes  being  made  in  its  municipal  management* 
In  1884  without  any  solicitation  on  his  part  he  was  nominated 
and  elected  by  the  people  of  the  32nd  senatorial  district  to  rep- 
resent them  in  the  State  Senate,  and  so  in  January,  1885,  he  re- 
signed his  place  as  Mayor  to  become  State  Senator.  As  a  rep- 
resentative of  the  people's  interests  in  the  Senate  Mr.  Buxton  was 
always  vigilant  and  alert.  He  exposed  everything  he  felt  was 
wrong,  and  stood  for  all  that  tended  towards  the  elevation  of  the 
State.  On  one  occasion  he  found  some  bill  with  an  innocent  title 
covering  a  vast  amount  of  legislation  that  was  very  hurtful,  and 
with  his  accustomed  zeal  exposed  the  efforts  of  its  author — who 
was  secretly  trying  to  get  it  through — until  he  accomplished  its 
defeat,  the  author  exclaiming,  as  he  saw  the  end  of  his  pet  scheme, 
*'That  great  big  man  has  sat  down  on  my  little  bill  and  killed  it." 

In  the  summer  of  1884  J-  C.  Buxton  was  chosen  one  of  the 
delegates  to  the  Democratic  Convention  that  met  in  Chicago,  and 
was  largely  instrumental  in  turning  the  votes  of  the  North  Caro- 
lina delegation,  among  whom  were  Senators  Vance  and  Ransom, 
from  Mr,  Bayard,  of  Delaware,  to  Grover  Cleveland,  of  New 
York — a  favor  which  Mr.  Cleveland  has  never  forgotten,  as 
shown  by  his  subsequent  acts. 

In  1884  the  firm  of  Watson  and  Glenn  by  mutual  consent  dis- 
continued their  partnership  for  the  practice  of  law,  Mr.  C.  B. 
Watson  forming  a  partnership  with  Mr.  Buxton,  which  partner- 
ship has  continued  unchanged  ever  since,  except  to  admit  to  the 
firm  in  1896  Mr.  T.  W.  Watson,  son  of  the  senior  member. 


JOHN  CAMERON   BUXToN  49 

This  firm  has  bceii  and  is  now  justly  considered  one  of  tlic  very 
strongest  in  the  State,  and  has  always  enjoyed  a  most  extensive 
and  lucrative  practice.  During  a  period  of  twenty-one  years  the 
author  of  this  sketch  has  been  intimately  associated  with  the  firm, 
and  can  say  of  them,  individually  and  as  a  firm,  that  in  all  that 
time  he  never  knew  them  to  do  in  their  practice  a  questionable 
or  censurable  act.  They  always  tried  their  cases  openly  and 
foirly.  using  no  uncertain  methods  to  influence  either  judge  or 
jurT,'.  proving  themselves  under  all  circumstances  high-minded, 
able,  honest  lawyers,  who  won  their  victories  by  merit  and  knowl- 
edge, and  lost  cases  by  no  dereliction  of  their  duty,  but  because  the 
law  or  facts  were  against  their  clients.  In  matters  requiring 
exposnre,  or  the  unearthing  of  liltleness,  Mr.  Buxton  was  par- 
ticularly strong,  and  in  all  cases  where  the  responsibility  was 
ihrown  upon  him  he  measured  up  to  the  responsibility,  antl  proved 
himself  equal  to  ever}'  emergency.  Twice  in  my  life  I  have  heard 
judges  of  the  Superior  Court  say,  after  listening  to  his  powerful, 
logical  presentation  of  his  case,  "That  was  the  stroi^est  speech 
I  ever  heard  in  the  Court  House." 

Mr,  Hiixtim  has  always  taken  a  great  interest  in  the  materis] 
and  educational  development  of  Winston-Salem.  For  years  he 
has  been  president  of  the  Graded  School  Commissioners,  and 
much  of  the  credit  for  Winston's  splendid  city  schools  is  due  to 
him.  Continuing  his  zeal  in  behalf  of  education,  he  induced  Mr. 
Carnegie  to  give  $15,000  for  the  erection  of  a  public  library  in 
Winston,  which  is  not  only  an  ornament  but  a  blessing  to  the 
entire  community. 

In  1890  he  was  elected  president  of  the  First  National  Bank 
of  Winston,  having  a  capital  of  $200,000,  holding  this  position 
until  January,  1893.  when  he  resigned  to  attend  to  his  pressing 
law  business.  In  July,  1893,  when  on  account  of  the  panic  pre- 
vailing everywhere  this  bank  failed,  he  was  appointed  by  Comp- 
troller Eccles  to  re-organize  the  bank,  which  he  successfully  did 
until  it  later  consolidated  with  the  People's  Bank  of  Winston. 
Fifteen  years  ago  he  was  elected  president  of  the  Winston-Salem 
Building  and  Loan  Association,  one  of  the  most  successful  and 


50  NORTH  CAROLINA 

helpful  institutions  of  the  Tiinn-Cit}',  and  has  held  it  ever  since. 
Thus  we  see  that  Mr.  Buxton,  as  well  as  being  an  able  lawyer, 
is  likewise  a  successful  man  and  educator. 

Mr.  Buxton  has  always  been  a  loN-al,  sterling  Democrat,  ever 
ready  to  aid  his  party,  even  when  not  himself  a  candidate,  thus 
not  showing  the  selfish  spirit  that  sometimes  marks  our  political 
brethren.  In  addition  to  being  senator  and  del^^te  to  the  Na- 
tional Convention,  he  was  also  chairman  of  the  Democratic  State 
Convention  that  met  in  Raleigh  in  July,  1887,  his  address  to  the 
Convention  being  considered  of  unusual  power  and  force.  In 
1900  Mr.  Buxton  was  nominated  by  the  Democrats  of  the  Eighth 
Congressional  District  to  represent  them  in  Congress,  and  though 
he  was  defeated,  the  majority  against  him  was  1600  less  than 
against  the  Democratic  nominee  for  president,  thus  showing  it 
was  no  want  of  popularity  on  his  part,  but  the  unfortunate  politi- 
cal complexion  of  the  district.  His  defeat  was  a  great  loss,  for 
North  Carolina  has  few  sons  that  could  and  would  have  made 
a  truer  and  stronger  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
than  Mr.  Buxton.  In  religion  Mr.  Buxton,  inheriting  his  creed 
from  his  dear  old  father,  whom  he  loved  most  tenderly,  has  al- 
ways been  an  ardent  and  influential  Episcopalian.  He  loves  his 
church  and  the  name  Protestant  Episcopal,  and  when  at  the  Gen- 
eral Convention  of  his  church  that  met  in  San  Francisco  in  1901, 
to  which  he  was  a  delegate,  an  effort  was  made  to  change  the 
name  of  the  church,  he  introduced  a  resolution  against  such 
change,  and  through  the  influence  of  himself  and  other  conserva- 
tive members  who  loved  the  old  name  the  move  was  lost.  He 
has  been  senior  warden  of  his  church  for  many  years,  and  one  of 
its  most  liberal  supporters.  He  also  takes  a  great  interest  in  the 
Brotherhood  of  St.  Andrew,  having  made  several  strong  speeches 
in  its  behalf.  To  show  Mr.  Buxton's  strong  character,  as  well  as 
his  zeal  for  his  church,  at  the  Convention  in  Boston  in  1904,  be- 
ing dissatisfied  with  the  part  a  certain  bishop  of  the  church  had 
taken  in  establishing  a  subway  tavern  where  intoxicating  liquors 
could  be  bought,  he  introduced  a  ringing  resolution  deploring  and 
condemning  the  action  of  said  bishop;  and  though  the  chairman 


JOHN  CAMERON  BUXTON  51 

ruled  his  resolution  out  of  order,  as  reflecting  on  a  member  of  an- 
other house,  to  wit,  the  House  of  Bishops,  still  later  in  a  speech, 
with  words  that  carried  conviction  to  every  heart,  he  scathingly 
denounced  the  efforts  of  any  one,  preacher,  bishop  or  layman, 
who  tried  to  commit  the  church  to  the  encouragement  of 
saloons. 

Mr.  Buxton  has  never  aspired  to  be  called  an  orator,  yet  at 
times,  in  his  powerful  arraignment  of  facts  and  merciless  exposure 
of  crime  and  falsehood,  he  has  risen  to  heights  of  sublimity  and 
power  to  which  few  men  attain. 

The  author  of  this  sketch  has  reason  to  remember  with  grati- 
tude his  power  as  a  speaker,  and  still  blesses  him  for  his  kind 
words.  At  the  Democratic  Convention  of  1904  he  was  requested 
to  place  in  nomination  for  Governor  Forsythe's  candidate,  R.  B. 
Glenn.  His  speech  was  the  last  of  the  many  speeches  made. 
This  is  the  description  that  a  hearer  afterwards  made  of 
the  speech :  '*It  wasn't  pretty ;  it  wasn't  eloquent ;  it  was  simply 
powerful,  grand,  like  the  fearful  onward  rushing  of  mighty 
waters,  sweeping  all  before  it  in  its  resistless  force."  The  ap- 
plause it  brought  attested  its  power. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Buxton  have  had  born  to  them  four  children: 
Cameron  Belo  Buxton,  a  graduate  of  Chapel  Ilill,  and  now  hold- 
ing in  Philadelphia  a  splendid  position  as  traffic  agent  of  the 
Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  Railroad ;  Miss  Caro  Fries  Bux- 
ton, a  beautiful  and  accomplished  young  lady,  a  graduate  of  Bryn 
Mawr,  Pa.,  now  living  with  her  parents ;  Miss  Anna  Nash  Bux- 
ton, a  splendid  type  of  young  girlhood,  now  attending  Bryn  Mawr 
College;  while  little  Jarvis,  the  idol  of  his  parents,  and  loved  of 
all,  was  taken  when  ten  years  old,  while  pure  in  heart,  to  be  with 
Go<l.  Of  all  Mr.  Buxton's  life,  his  home  life  is  the  best.  De- 
voted to  home  and  family,  he  seeks  his  pleasures  there,  not  at  the 
club  or  lodge,  and  to  know  him  truly  is  to  know  him  at  home.  It 
is  one  of  the  sweetest  homes  in  which  I  have  ever  visited,  sur- 
rounded by  an  atmosphere  of  love  and  a  reign  of  peace. 

That  Mr.  Buxton  has  faults,  and  has  committed  errors,  none 
would  admit  more  readily  than  he,  but  no  one  regrets  his  mis- 


52  NORTH  CAROLINA 

takes  or  sorrows  more  over  his  faults,  and  this  desire  to  profit  by 
his  failures  has  but  insured  his  success. 

Mr.  Buxton  is  a  large,  strong  type,  physically,  mentally  and 
morally,  of  American  manhood,  with  a  heart  as  big  as  his  body 
and  a  nature  too  true  to  be  little.  To  sum  up  his  strong  per- 
sonality and  character  in  a  few  closing  words:  He  is  a  lawyer 
who  is  diligent,  forceful  and  honest.  In  his  political  career  he 
has  always  proved  himself  fearless,  bold  and  above  a  suspicion  of 
using  questionable  methods  to  secure  his  advancement.  With 
his  strength,  however,  there  is  also  gentleness,  for  no  one  sym- 
pathizes more  deeply  with  the  distressed  or  lends  a  more  willing 
hand  to  relieve  suffering.  As  husband,  father,  friend,  and  citi- 
zen he  fills  each  niche  well,  at  home  ruling  through  love,  and  in 
business  succeeding  by  the  strength  of  his  intellect,  using  no  un- 
certain methods. 

Mr.  Buxton  is  yet  young,  just  in  the  prime  of  his  manhood.  The 
State  in  its  present  tide  of  prosperity  needs  such  men  to  help  de- 
velop its  resources  and  direct  its  affairs,  and  it  is  earnestly  to  be 
hoped  that  John  Cameron  Buxton  may  yet  be  spared  for  many 
more  years  of  usefuFness  for  the  promotion  of  right  and  the  up- 
building  of  the  State. 

R,  B,  Glenn. 


f 


r^  :  '•  \' 


tiiu  i:u\.  >v-.*' 


54  NORTH  CAROLINA 

of  age,  leaving  a  family  of  nine  young  children — six  of  whom  were 
boys  and  three  girls.  The  management  of  the  farm  and  the  rearing 
of  the  children  thus  devolved  on  the  mother,  Mrs.  Jane  M.  Carr, 
who  fortunately  was  a  woman  of  exceptionally  fine  sense  and 
judgment  and  well  versed  in  the  practical  affairs  of  life.  Neces- 
sarily the  boys,  as  they  became  of  sufficient  strength,  were  em- 
ployed in  the  duties  of  their  farm-home.  Their  work  and  pas- 
times, their  labor  and  recreation,  were  not  different  from  those  of 
their  neighbors.  They  followed  the  plow  and  harrow,  cured  the 
hay,  housed  the  corn,  and  marketed  the  wheat ;  and  when  the  farm- 
work  of  the  year  was  over  they  attended  the  country  schools  that 
were  taught  during  the  winter  months. 

The  schoolhouse  was  some  four  miles  distant  from  the  Carr 
farm,  and  the  boys  during  its  session  made  the  daily  journey  of 
eight  miles  or  more,  going  and  returning.  This  exercise  and  their 
farm-^ork  in  the  open  air  had  a  beneficial  effect  in  establishing 
fine  constitutions  and  developing  vigorous  frames  and  well- 
rounded  mental  equipments,  in  some  measure  dispensing  with  the 
necessity  of  the  training  afforded  by  higher  school  advantages. 

At  length  at  the  age  of  seventeen  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
realizing  that  the  farm  no  longer  needed  him,  and  having  a  man's 
ambition  for  a  larger  life,  determined  to  seek  a  business  career  in 
the  neighboring  city  of  Baltimore.  His  education,  while  not  a 
finished  one,  was  far  from  deficient ;  he  was  vigorous,  the  soul  of 
energy,  and  prepossessing  in  manner  and  appearance.  He  soon 
obtained  employment  with  Charles  A.  Gambrill  and  Company,  a 
great  house,  owning  extensive  flouring  mills,  renowned  for  the 
superior  excellence  of  its  flour  and  having  an  established  trade 
througho\it  the  entire  South ;  but  being  without  experience,  the 
compensation  he  at  first  received  was  only  $5  per  week. 

Having  gained  a  footing  in  that  establishment,  young  Carr  was 
never  allured  to  other  employment.  He  remained  steadfast  at  his 
work  and  gradually  rose  in  usefulness,  meriting  the  confidence  of 
his  employers  and  receiving  manifestations  of  their  good  opinion. 
Indeed  he  possessed  those  characteristics  that  were  calculated  to 
win  his  way  in  life  and  bring  him  fine  success. 


LEWIS  ALBERT  CARK  55 

For  thiricen  years  he  served  Gambrill  and  Company,  constantly 
growing  in  efficiency  and  developing  his  business  qualities;  and 
then  finding  himself  able  to  enter  npon  an  independent  career,  in 
1883  be  formed  a  partnership  with  J.  W.  Wolvington,  under  the 
luinK-  of  Wolvington,  Carr  and  Company,  and  established  a  grain 
and  flour  business.  A  thorough  master  of  every  detail  of  the 
wheat  and  flour  trade,  he  brought  to  the  new  firm  ripe  experi- 
ence, and  its  business  was  ver\'  successful. 

On  the  21st  of  November.  1878,  Mr.  Carr  was  happily  married 
to  Miss  Clara  Watts,  a  daughter  of  Mr.  Gerard  S.  Watts,  a  pros- 
perous merchant  of  Baltimore.  She  was  a  sister  of  Mr.  George 
W.  Watts:  and  after  his  removal  to  Durham,  Mr.  and  Mrs,  Carr 
were  drawn  also  to  locate  there.  Thus  it  came  about  that  in  1888 
Mr,  Carr  sold  out  his  interest  in  his  Baltimore  business  and  made 
liiv  lunne  at  Durham,  He  came  to  Durham  jnst  as  that  town  was 
recovering  from  some  little  backset  in  its  general  course  of  rapid 
progress,  and  he  contribuletl  somewhat  to  giving  it  the  increased 
momentum  that  has  ever  since  carried  it  forward  in  its  remark- 
able development. 

The  Durham  Fertilizer  Company  was  then  being  formed.  He 
made  an  invcstnicnl  in  that  enterprise  and  was  elected  secretary 
and  treasurer  of  the  company ;  and  from  that  time  his  name  has 
been  closely  associated  with  all  the  great  enterprises  and  immense 
factories  and  vast  interests  that  have  sprung  from  that  parent 
stock. 

Active  and  zealous  in  promoting  every  enterprise  that  would 
tend  to  the  advantage  of  Durham,  he  was  interested  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  Durham  and  Northern  Railroad,  and  since  1892 
he  has  been  a  director  of  that  company.  So  also  he  was  a  promo- 
ter of  the  Durham  and  Lynchburg  Railroad  Company,  and  was  a 
director  of  that  company  until  it  was  incorporated  into  the  Nor- 
folk and  Western.  The  benefit  Durham  has  received  from  the 
construction  of  these  additional  railroad  facilities  has  been  beyond 
calculation,  and  the  community  is  largely  indebted  to  the  vigor 
and  enterprise  of  Mr.  Carr  for  their  accomplishment. 

He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Citizens'  Savings  Bank  of 


S6  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Durham,  and  for  five  years  served  as  a  director  of  that  institution. 
His  interest  in  the  industrial  welfare  of  the  city  led  him  to  promote 
the  incorporation  of  the  Commonwealth  Cotton  Mills.  Since  1899 
he  has  served  as  a  director  of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Durham, 
and  the  value  of  his  services  in  connection  with  finances  has  been 
well  recognized  by  his  constant  re-election  as  Vice-President  of 
that  progressive   and   well-managed   institution. 

Besides  his  connection  with  these  well-known  companies,  he 
has  been  interested  in  many  other  enterprises,  not  merely  those  of 
local  interest,  but  others  established  in  various  parts  of  the  State. 
Nor  has  he  concerned  himself  exclusively  with  matters  of  busi- 
ness. Other  lines  of  work  also  interest  him — such  as  the  Watts 
Hospital,  of  which  he  is  a  trustee. 

Among  his  most  notable  enterprises  was  that  of  establishing 
the  Interstate  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Company.  Of  this  he 
was  the  originator,  and  he  achieved  a  fine  success  in  organizing 
and  putting  it  into  operation.  It  was  the  first  independent  tele- 
phone company  organized  in  the  South.  The  work  engaged  his 
close  attention  and  called  forth  his  best  capacity,  and  it  has  been  a 
large  success  and  has  conferred  a  great  benefit  on  many  communi- 
ties in  North  Carolina.  It  also  has  established  exchanges  in  Mary- 
land and  Virginia. 

But  as  varied  and  important  as  have  been  the  indefatigable 
labors  of  Mr.  Carr  in  other  lines,  the  chief  work  of  his  life  is,  by 
common  consent,  that  arising  from  his  connection  with  the  fer- 
tilizer company.  When  the  Durham  Fertilizer  Company  had 
demonstrated  by  its  great  success  the  value  of  that  line  of  business, 
it  was  determined  to  expand,  and  the  Norfolk  and  Carolina  Chem- 
ical Company  was  thereupon  organized.  Mr.  Carr,  who  as  secre- 
tary and  treasurer  of  the  parent  concern  exerted  a  powerful  in- 
fluence in  its  affairs,  was  a  chief  factor  in  organizing  the  new 
company,  which  was  owned  by  the  plant  at  Durham.  He  was 
much  employed  in  the  construction  of  the  large  works  at  Pinner's 
Point,  and  was  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Norfolk  Chemical 
Company  until  it  was  merged  in  the  Virginia-Carolina  Chemical 
Company.    So  fine  a  field  of  industry  was  here  opened  that,  with 


LEWIS  ALBERT  CARR  57 

a  comprehensive  grasp  of  the  business  interests  involved,  Mr. 
Carr  and  his  associates,  in  1895.  determined  to  bring  the  different 
properties  manufacturing  fertilizers  in  the  State,  and  some  else- 
where, under  the  direction  of  one  management ;  and  the  Virginia- 
Carolina  Chemical  Company  was  formed  with  that  object.  Mr. 
Carr.  who  had  achieved  such  remarkable  success  in  the  manage- 
ment of  the  Durham  Company  and  of  the  Norfolk  and  Carolina 
Clieniical  Company,  now  became  Managing  Director  of  the  Nortli 
Carolina  Division  of  the  Virginia- Carolina  Chemical  Company, 
and  he  held  that  imjjortant  position  until  the  reorganization  in 
190J.  At  that  time  various  changes  were  made  in  the  system  of 
management,  and  to  Mr.  Carr  was  committed  the  very  important 
work  of  Manager  of  the  Is'orth  Carolina  Sales  Department  of  the 
Company.  In  connection  with  the  affairs  of  this  great  company, 
one  of  the  largest  industrial  organizations  of  the  world,  Mr.  Carr 
has  been  a  director  of  the  Southern  Cotton  Oil  Company,  and  is  a 
director  of  the  Navassa  Guano  Company  of  Wilmington,  and  of 
the  Charleston  Mining  and  Manufacturing  Company  of  Charles- 
Mn,  South  Carolina. 

In  all  the  large  duties  of  his  several  positions  Mr.  Carr  has  ex- 
hibited a  comprehensive  intelligence,  a  careful  thought,  a  rapid 
determination,  and  an  unwavering  attention  to  business  that  have 
gained  for  him  high  rank  as  a  manager  of  affairs  and  brought 
him  fine  reputation  for  administrative  ability. 

As  a  citizen  he  has  ever  been  quick  to  join  others  in  advancing 
the  interests  of  his  community,  and  has  been  among  the  foremost 
of  those  men  who  have  placed  Durham  on  her  substantial  basis 
of  prosperity.  While  never  seeking  political  preferment,  be  has, 
in  order  to  be  useful  to  his  town,  served  four  years  as  Alderman  of 
Durham.  In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat;  and  he  is  zealous  for  the 
advancement  of  his  friends,  while  not  caring  for  public  applause 
or  station  for  himself. 

His  religious  affiliations  are  with  the  Presbyterians,  and  he  is 
a  member  and  a  deacon  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Dur- 
ham, and  contributes  liberally,  not  merely  to  his  church  but  gen- 
erally to  all  the  charities  that  appeal  to  his  benevolence. 


58  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Busy  as  he  is,  he  has  but  little  leisure  to  pass  in  recreation,  but 
he  is  very  fond  of  the  hunt  and  occasionally  joins  his  friends  in 
that  sport. 

Mr.  Carr's  home  at  Durham  from  the  time  of  his  first  arrival 
has  ever  been  a  notable  feature  in  the  social  life  of  his  com- 
munity. But  after  twenty  years  of  happy  wedded  life  he  had 
the  misfortune  to  lose  his  first  wife,  who,  dying  on  March  12, 
1898,  was  survived  by  four  children :  one  son  and  three  daughters. 
The  eldest  of  these  daughters  was  married  on  November  7,  1900, 
to  Mr.  George  L.  Lyon,  a  grandson  of  the  late  Mr.  Washington 
Duke.  On  May  2,  1900,  Mr.  Carr  was  married  to  Miss  Jessie  B. 
Carroll,  a  daughter  of  Mr.  O.  J.  Carroll,  of  Raleigh,  and  one  of 
the  loveliest  of  her  sex. 

S,  A,  Ashe, 


PETER  CARTERET 

f  N  the  death  of  Samuel  Stephens,  about  the  end 
of  the  year  1669,  he  was  succeeded  by  Peter 
Carteret,  who  was  probably  chosen  President 
by  the  Council  at  that  time,  and  a  few  months 
later  was  appointed  by  the  Proprietors  tn  Eng- 
land. At  the  meeting  of  the  Proprietors  in 
January,  1670,  Sir  George  Carteret  named  Peter  Carteret  as  his 
Deputy,  and  probably  they  were  of  the  same  family.  Peter  Car- 
teret came  to  Albemarle  in  the  Fall  of  1664.  In  the  first  letter  of 
instructions  to  Sir  William  Berkeley  the  Proprietors  mentioned 
that  they  reserved  the  nomination  of  a  surveyor  and  a  secretary 
as  officers  particularly  charged  with  taking  care  of  their  interests. 
They  mentioned  that  Sir  George  Carteret  had  recommended 
Monsieur  Lepre_\'rie  for  surveyor  and  Lord  Berkeley  had  recom- 
mended Richard  Cobthrop  for  secretary,  who  promised  to  be  ready 
10  go  out  within  a  month.  These  gentlemen,  however,  did  not 
go,  but  instead,  Thomas  Woodward  was  the  surveyor,  and  Peter 
Carteret  the  first  secretary;  and  it  appears  that  Carteret  brought 
over  with  him  the  commission  and  instructions  for  Governor 
Drummond  in  the  Fall  of  1664.  His  office  of  secretary  was  of 
importance,  as  he  kept  the  record  of  ail  the  surveys,  and  it  was 
upon  his  certificate  that  the  Governor  made  the  grants.  Thomas 
Woodward  says  of  Carteret  in  his  letter  of  June  2,  1665 :  "I  make 
no  question  but  Mr.  Carteret,  our  secretar\-,  will  answer  all  your 


6o  NORTH  CAROLINA 

expectations,  for  I  assure  you  that  he  is  diHgent."  It  may  be 
assumed  that  from  that  time  onward  Peter  Carteret  was  the  Dep- 
uty and  representative  in  Carolina  of  Sir  George  Carteret.  It  is 
said  that  he  was  Speaker  of  the  Assembly  of  Albemarle. 

The  instructions  sent  him  as  Governor  in  1670  required  him 
to  put  in  force  the  grand  model  of  Government  as  near  as  may 
be — "and  not  being  able  at  present  to  put  it  fully  in  practice  by 
reason  of  the  want  of  Landgraves  and  Cassiques  and  a  sufficient 
number  of  people,  however,  intending  to  come  as  nigh  it  as  we 
can  in  the  present  state  of  affairs  in  all  the  colony  of  our  said 
Province,  you  are  therefore  required  to  have  the  four  precincts 
elect  five  representatives  each,  and  then,  the  five  persons  chosen 
by  us  being  added,  and  who  for  the  present  represent  the  No- 
bility, are  to  be  the  Assembly."  The  Assembly  was  to  elect  five 
persons,  who,  being  joined  with  the  five  deputed  by  the  Pro- 
prietors, were  to  compose  the  Council.  The  Governor  and  the  five 
Deputies  were  to  be  the  Palatine's  Court.  The  Governor,  with 
the  consent  of  the  Council,  was  to  establish  other  Courts.  The 
Assembly  was  to  make  the  laws,  which,  being  ratified  by  the  Gov- 
ernor and  any  three  of  the  five  Deputies,  were  to  be  in  force  as 
under  the  Fundamental  Constitutions. 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  changes  in  the  polity  required  by  these 
instructions,  which  supplanted  and  took  the  place  of  the  Funda- 
mental Constitutions,  were  neither  numerous  nor  important. 
There  being  no  nobility,  that  element  in  government  provided 
for  in  the  Constitution  found  a  substitute  in  the  Deputies  and  in 
five  other  persons  elected  by  the  representatives  of  the  people; 
and  this  addition  to  the  Council  of  persons  chosen  by  the  As- 
sembly made  that  body  more  responsive  to  the  will  of  the  people. 
In  that  respect  the  change  was  towards  popular  rights. 

It  is  true  that  one  of  the  provisions  of  the  Constitutions  was  that 
the  people  should  take  an  oath  or  affirmation  to  observe  them  and 
to  abide  by  them ;  but  yet  the  Constitutions  had  no  vitality  or 
operation  beyond  what  was  contained  in  the  instructions  to  the 
Governors.  Still  they  hung  somewhat  as  a  cloud  over  the  people, 
and  there  are  traces  of  popular  discontent.     During  the  Miller 


PETER  CARTERET  6i 

troubles  some  of  the  people  raised  the  cry  that  "they  did  not  want 
Landgraves  and  Cassiques,"  but  the  leaders  in  that  affair  quickly 
told  them  not  to  say  that ;  they  were  not  quarreling  with  the  Lords 
Proprietors. 

There  was,  however,  a  matter  of  more  vital  import  that  caused 
dissatisfaction.  Under  the  Great  Deed  the  rent  was  a  farthing  an 
acre,  payable  in  commodities;  while  the  Constitutions  prescribed 
a  rent  of  as  much  silver  as  is  contained  in  a  penny,  thus  increasing 
the  rent  fourfold  and  making  it  payable  in  money.  This 
provision,  however,  was  never  enforced.  When  the  Proprie- 
tors later  g^ve  instructions  that  such  rents  should  be  collected, 
the  people  demurred,  and  the  Proprietors  eventually  recognized 
the  validity  of  their  agreement  contained  in  the  Great  Deed. 

So  far  as  the  changes  inaugurated  in  Carteret's  time  were  of 
interest  to  the  people,  they  seemed  rather  to  subserve  the  public 
convenience  than  to  be  a  cause  of  irritation  and  discontent.  The 
county  was  laid  off  into  four  precincts,  and  Precinct  Courts  were 
established  and  other  changes  were  made  that  came  naturally  with 
the  growth  and  development  of  the  colony.  At  the  session  of  the 
Assembly  in  April,  1672,  more  than  fifty-four  Acts  were  passed, 
which,  however,  probably  embraced  all  former  laws  then  re- 
enacted. 

While  the  administration  of  Carteret  is  thus  historic  because 
of  the  alteration  in  the  system  of  government,  it  is  also  historic 
because  it  witnessed  the  introduction  of  the  Society  of  Friends 
among  the  people.     Both  under  the  Concessions  and  the  Consti- 
tutions there  was  absolute   freedom  of  conscience  and  religious 
toleration.  In  1672  Edmundson  and  George  Cox  both  visited  Albe- 
marle.    The  latter  says  that  he  found  only    one    Quaker    there, 
Phillips,  who  had  not  seen  a  Friend  for  seven  years.    The  former 
mentions  having  borrowed  a  canoe  and  "with  this  boat  we  went 
to  the  Governor's.     The  Governor,  with  his  wife,  received  us  lov- 
ingly :  but  a  doctor  there  would  needs  dispute  with  us."     From 
this  it  appears  that  Carteret  was  married  and  that  he  was  a  man 
of  kindly  disposition.     Fox  continues :     "We  tarried  at  the  Gov- 
ernor's that  night ;  and  next  morning  he  very  courteously  vyalked 


62  NORTH  CAROLINA 

with  us  himself  about  two  miles  through  the  woods  to  a  place 
whither  he  had  sent  our  boat  about  to  meet  us."  The  visits  of 
these  Quaker  preachers  marked  the  rise  of  the  Quaker  sect  in  the 
colony. 

In  1672,  during  his  administration,  new  navigation  laws  and 
customs  duties  were  passed  in  England,  and  it  was  required  by  the 
Crown  authorities  that  these  laws  should  be  enforced  in  Albe- 
marle, and  they  interfered  with  the  established  trade  of  the  Col- 
ony. The  new  element  introduced  into  the  Council  by  the  ad- 
mission of  five  inhabitants  elected  by  the  Assembly  changed  the 
attitude  of  that  body  toward  public  measures  and  brought  it  under 
the  rule  of  the  people  themselves.  The  Council  was  no  longer 
in  harmony  with  the  Governor.  Carteret's  efforts  to  compose 
diflferences  were  fruitless.  He  wearied  of  the  attempt;  and  his 
three  years'  term  being  about  to  expire,  he  laid  down  his  office 
and  went  to  England,  probably  with  the  hope  that  he  might  suc- 
ceed in  having  the  causes  of  dissatisfaction  remedied.  On  the 
25th  of  May,  1673,  a  Council  was  held  at  the  house  of  Thomas 
Godfrey.  Carteret  had  then  sailed  for  home,  and  Colonel  John 
Jenkins,  the  senior  member  of  the  Council,  presided  as  Deputy- 
Governor.     It  does  not  appear  that  Carteret  ever  returned. 

S.  A,  Ashe. 


GEORGE  CATCHMAID 


2EORGE  CATCHMAID,  the  first  Speaker  of 
the  Assembly  of  whom  there  is  any  particular 
I  mention,  is  an  interesting  character  in  our  his- 
I  lorical  annals  because  of  the  events  and  inci- 
dents with  which  he  was  connected.  Of  his 
_  personal  history  but  little  is  known.  He  is  de- 
scribed in  ihc  grants  made  to  him  as  being  of  the  rank  of  "Geii- 
lieman."  and  "of  TresMck."  He  came  to  Carolina  in  1662;  is  said 
to  have  bri.nit;ht  into  the  settlement  sixty-seven  persons;'  was  the 
Speaker  of  the  Assembly  at  the  session  of  the  Summer  of  1666 ;' 
shortly  afterwards  he  died,  and  his  widow  married  Timothy 
Biggs.  He  left  no  children ;  and  many  years  afterwards  Edward 
Catchmaid,  of  London,  claiming  to  be  his  nephew  and  heir,  sought 
to  obtain  possession  of  his  lands  in  Albemarle.  This  is  a  brief 
statement  of  the  known  facts  of  his  life.  But  in  connection  with 
him  several  important  matters  relating  to  the  settlement  of  Albe- 
marle and  concerning  the  early  inhabitants  have  been  incidentally 
recorded. 

Some  writers  have  thought  that  the  first  settlement  on  the 
Chowan  was  under  a  grant  to  Roger  Green,  which  was  made  by 
the  Grand  Assembly  of  Virginia  in  1653.  on  behalf  of  himself 
and  certain  inhabitants  of  Nansemond  River.  This  grant  offered 
10,000  acres  of  land  to  the  first  hundred  persons  who  should  seat 

'Bancroft,    Vol.    2.    p.    135. 
'C.  R.,  Vol.  1,  p.  rs2. 


64  NORTH  CAROLINA 

themselves  on  Roanoke  River  and  on  the  south  side  of  the  Chowan 
River  and  its  branches.  It  was  made  after  Virginia  had  sub- 
mitted to  Parliament  and  when  there  was  not  only  no  oppression 
of  dissenters  in  Virginia,  but  when  every  freeman  in  the  Old 
Dominion  had  the  right  to  vote,  and  the  Legislature  elected  the 
Governor  and  all  other  officers,  and  the  only  religious  restriction 
was  one  forbidding  the  use  of  the  Prayer  Book  in  churches. 
There  is  no  evidence  that  any  settlement  was  ever  made  under 
this  grant ;  and  Bancroft  says  particularly  "that  these  conditional 
grants  seemed  not  to  have  taken  effect."^  It  is  to  be  further  ob- 
served that  the  lands  explored  by  Roger  Green  and  mentioned  in 
this  grant  were  not  on  the  shores  of  the  Sound,  but  south  of  the 
branches  of  the  Chowan,  which  was  not  in  the  limits  of  Caro- 
lina. The  authorities  in  Virginia  well  knew  that  the  territory 
south  of  the  36th  degree  of  latitude  had  been  long  since  granted 
by  the  Crown  under  the  name  of  Carolina,  and  was  not  under  their 
jurisdiction. 

In  a  suit  growing  out  of  George  Catchmaid's  settlement  in 
Carolina,  the  record  of  which  is  preserved  by  Doctor  Hawks  in 
his  second  volume,  page  132,  some  account  is  given  of  those  who 
first  seated  themselves  on  the  shores  of  Albemarle  Sound.  From 
that  record  it  appears  that  George  Durant  came  in  company  with 
the  "first  seaters,"  but  for  two  years  he  occupied  himself  with 
finding  out  the  country  and  selecting  a  good  location.  Having 
done  that,  he  purchased  from  the  King  of  the  Yeopim  Indians  a 
certain  neck  of  land  on  Perquimans  River,  receiving  his  deed  on 
the  first  day  of  March,  1661  (1662)  ;*  and  from  this  it  would  ap- 
pear that  the  "first  seaters"  came  in  1659  or  1660.  George  Durant, 
while  beginning  his  clearing,  encouraged  Catchmaid  to  seat  a  tract 
of  land  adjoining  his  own,  and  Catchmaid  sent  in  1662  Richard 
Watridge  with  three  hands  to  settle  and  seat  the  said  lands ;  and  a 
month  later  Catchmaid,  having  come  to  Albemarle,  informed 
Durant  that  Governor  Berkeley  had  then  lately  returned  from 
England,  and  had  announced  that  the  settlers  at  Albemarle  should 

*  Bancroft,  Vol.  2.  p.  134. 

'  At  that  time  the  year  began  March  25th,  and  not  January  ist. 


GEORGE  CATCHMAID  65 

hold  no  longer  under  Indian  titles,  but  that  he  would  grant  patents 
to  those  desiring  them :  and  Catchmaid  proposed  to  take  out  pat- 
ents for  the  land  occupied  by  both  Durant  and  himself. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  Governor  Berkeley  did  go  to  England,  and 
while  there  mentioned  to  the  King  these  new  plantations  in  Caro- 
lina outside  of  Virginia,  and  asked  for  instructions,  and  the  King 
directed  that  he  should  require  those  settlers  who  had  bought 
their  lands  from  the  Indians  to  take  out  patents  and  grants  from 
Virginia.  Berkeley  returned  in  the  Summer  of  1662:  so  Wat- 
ridge's  arrival  on  Durant's  Neck  was  in  the  Fall  of  1662. 

Catchmaid  accordingly  procured  a  patent  for  3,333  acres  of 
land,  the  date  of  the  same  apparently  being  prior  to  the  13th  day 
of  March,  1662  (1663),  for  on  that  day  he  made  an  agreement 
in  writing  to  convey  Durant's  part  of  the  land  to  him,  which, 
however,  he  failed  to  do ;  and  thus  arose  the  occasion  of  the  law- 
suit many  years  after  his  death. 

Besides  this  grant  of  more  than  three  thousand  acres,  made 
before  March,  1662  (1663),  Governor  Berkeley,  as  Governor  of 
\'irginia,  also  made  another  grant  to  Catchmaid  for  importing 
thirty  persons  into  the  Colony  of  Virginia,  dated  25th  of  Sep- 
lemlx^r,  1663.  six  months  later.  This  last  grant  was  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  the  foriner  one,  but  appears  to  have  been  entirely  distinct 
from  it.  It  would  seem  that  in  addition  to  the  sixty-seven  per- 
sons that  Bancroft  says  "Catchmaid  established  in  Carolina,"  he 
also  brought  into  the  Colony  of  Virginia  thirty  other  persons.  On 
that  same  day,  September  25,  1663,  Governor  Berkeley  made 
irrants,  which  have  been  preserved,  for  lands  at  Albemarle,  indi- 
cating that  at  least  one  hundred  persons  had  been  brought  into 
X'irginia  by  those  to  whom  these  lands  were  granted.  It  would 
therefore  seem  that  planters  of  considerable  substance  were  con- 
cerned in  this  first  settlement ;  such  indeed  is  the  statement  of  John 
I^wson.  the  first  historian  of  North  Carolina,  who  wrote  in  1708 
and  knew  what  the  people  of  Albemarle  said  about  it.     He  says : 

"A  second  settlement  (after  Walter  Raleigh's)  of  this  country  was  made 
alnuit  fifty  years  ago.  in  that  part  we  now  call  Albemarle  County,  and 
chiefly  in  Chowan  Precinct,  by  several  substantial  planters  from  Virginia 
and  other  plantations." 


66  NORTH  CAROLINA 

After  mentioning  some  of  the  difficulties  of  the  new  settlement, 
he  continued: 

"Nevertheless,  I  say,  the  fame  of  this  new-discovered  Summer  country 
spread  through  the  neighboring  Colonies,  and  in  a  few  years  drew  a  con- 
siderable number  of  families  thereto." 

The  next  resident  to  write  of  North  Carolina  was  Doctor 
Brickell,  who,  after  residing  in  Albemarle,  substantially  repeats 
what  Lawson  wrote:  and  so  Lawson's  account  of  the  settlement 
would  seem  to  have  been  in  agreement  with  local  traditions. 

Conditions  of  freedom  continued  to  exist  in  Virginia  until  after 
the  Restoration,  when  a  political  revolution  set  in  which  eventu- 
ated in  restoring  the  old  order  of  things,  religious  as  well  as  tem- 
poral. If  Roger  Green,  clerk,  was  a  minister  of  the  Church  of 
England,  and  in  1653  designed  to  lead  his  flock  into  the  wilder- 
ness because  of  the  overthrow  of  the  Church  of  Virginia,  ten  years 
later  the  requirement  that  the  whole  Liturgy  should  be  read,  and 
that  no  Nonconformists  might  teach  even  in  private  under  pain  of 
banishment,  doubtless  tended  to  drive  the  Independents  into  Caro- 
lina. Thus  it  may  be  that  after  the  first  settlements,  subsequent 
accessions  to  the  inhabitants  of  Albemarle  were  influenced  by  re- 
ligious intolerance  in  the  Old  Dominion;  and  after  the  grant  of 
Carolina  to  Governor  Berkeley  and  his  brother  and  the  other  Pro- 
prietors, Berkeley  probably  viewed  such  a  movement  with  satisfac- 
tion, as  it  promoted  his  personal  interests.  Yet  it  is  to  be  remem- 
bered that  Woodward,  the  surveyor,  in  1665,  ^^^^  "^^  mention 
such  an  influence  as  aiding  the  settlement  of  the  Colony.  In  1664 
Drummond  was  appointed  governor,  Carteret  the  secretary,  and 
Woodward  the  surveyor.  The  Proprietors  limited  grants  to  fifty 
acres  and  charged  half-penny  an  acre  quit-rent,  while  in  Virginia 
the  rent  was  one  shilling  for  fifty  acres.  The  first  Assembly  that 
met  petitioned  the  Proprietors  for  the  same  terms  as  existed  in 
Virginia,  and  Woodward  in  June,  1665,  wrote  urging  their  ac- 
quiescence. He  mentioned  that  he  had  many  years  been  en- 
deavoring and  encouraging  to  seat  Albemarle,  and  he  urged  a 
larger  apportionment  than  fifty  acres  to  the  person,  saying:  "To 


GEORGE  CATCHMAID  67 

think  that  any  men  will  remove  from  Virginia  upon  harder  con- 
ditions than  they  can  live  there,  will  prove,  I  fear,  a  vain  imagina- 
tion, it  being  land  only  that  they  come  for"  This  would  seem 
to  be  in  line  with  the  traditions  of  the  settlement  as  perpetuated 
by  Lawson,  and  apparently  negatives  the  idea  that  the  settlers 
were  seeking  the  wilderness  to  escape  from  religious  oppression. 
But  however  it  may  have  been  in  regard  to  the  Independents, 
it  is  quite  certain  that  the  Quakers  did  not  make  the  first  settle- 
ment In  1671,  ten  years  after  Durant's  party  had  built  their 
cabins,  Edmundson  came  to  Albemarle  and  found  only  one  Friend 
there,  Phillips,  and  he  had  been  there  only  seven  years.  He  and 
his  wife  came  from  New  England.  However,  Edmundson  made 
several  converts  at  that  time ;  and  Fox,  who  followed  him  the  next 
year,  says  that  he  also  made  "a  little  entrance  for  the  truth  among 
the  people  in  the  north  part  of  Carolina."  Three  or  four  years 
later  Edmundson  again  visited  Albemarle .  and  "turned  several 
to  the  Lord ;"  "people  were  tender  and  loving,  and  there  was  no 
room  for  the  priests,  for  Friends  were  finely  settled,  and  I  felt 
things  were  well  among  them."  Indeed,  from  a  memorial  made  by 
the  Quakers  in  1677  it  appears  that  there  were  then  at  least  twenty 
members  of  that  faith  in  the  Colony  who  had  settled  in  Carolina 
as  early  as  1663.  and  1664.  Necessarily  their  conversion  was  the 
work  of  Edmundson  and  Fox,  and  the  Quaker  element  in  the 
Colony  is  to  be  dated  from  that  period,  spme  ten  or  twelve  years 
subsequent  to  the  original  settlement.  To  the  same  effect  is  the 
statement  of  Governor  Walker  in  1703,^  who  then  wrote: 

"George  Fox.  some  years  ago,  came  into  these  parts,  and,  by  strange 
infatuations,  did  infuse  the  Quaker  principles  into  some  small  number  of 
the  people :  which  did  and  hath  continued  to  grow  ever  since  very  numer- 
ous, by  reason  of  their  yearly  sending  in  men  to  encourage  and  exhort 
them  to  their  wicked  principles." 

WTiile  the  Friends  constantly  grew  in  strength,  it  was  not  until 
the  end  of  the  century  that  any  other  denomination  of  Christians 
had  either  a  minister  or  a  house  of  worship  in  Albemarle.     It 

'  C.  R..  Vol.  I,  p.  572. 


68  NORTH  CAROLINA 

would  thus  seem  that  the  inhabitants  were  not  particularly  de- 
voted or  interested  in  their  religious  affiliations. 

Catchmaid  was  probably  Speaker  of  the  first  Assembly,  held 
prior  to  the  month  of  June  in  1665.  He  was  Speaker  of  that 
held  in  the  Summer  of  1666.  Tobacco-planting  in  Albemarle 
was  then  so  considerable  that  in  June,  1666,  Maryland  appointed 
commissioners  to  arrange  with  Virginia  and  "the  Southward 
plantations"  for  the  cessation  of  planting  tobacco  for  one  year 
in  the  three  colonies;  and  the  Legislature  of  Carolina  assented 
to  this.  In  transmitting  the  Act  authorizing  this  agreement  in 
the  Summer  of  1666  there  was  some  delay  because  of  an  Indian 
War  which  prevented  the  messengers  leaving  Carolina. 

It  was  doubtless  while  Catchmaid  was  Speaker  that  the  Act 
was  passed  providing  for  civil  marriages,  similar  to  the  law  in 
Virginia  from  1654  to  the  Restoration ;  and  another  providing 
that  settlers  should  be  exempt  from  actions  for  debt,  that  being  a 
law  earlier  in  force  in  Virginia.  Certainly  the  Speaker  of  the  As- 
sembly exerted  no  little  influence  in  the  new  settlement  and  con- 
tributed much  to  its  growth.  It  is  apparent  that  a  considerable 
number  of  settlers  were  received  from  Massachusetts,  and  that 
at  a  very  early  day  New  England  traders  established  connections 
in  Albemarle  and  sought  to  engross  the  trade  and  commercial 
dealings  of  the  settlement.  As  Catchmaid  was  not  only  a  man 
of  substance,  but  a  leader  in  directing  public  matters  and  a  man 
of  some  social  standing,  "a  gentleman,"  he  must  have  made  an 
impress  as  such  on  the  colony. 

His  widow  married  Timothy  Biggs,  Deputy  of  the  Earl  of 
Craven,  and  Comptroller  and  Surveyor-General  of  His  Majesty's 
Customs.  His  action  as  a  customs  officer  had  much  to  do  with 
bringing  on  Culpepper's  Rebellion  in  1677.  Biggs  had  the  sym- 
pathy of  the  Quakers,  but  does  not  seem  to  have  been  of  that 
faith ;  at  any  rate  he  was  belligerent,  for  in  1678,  when  he  had 
gone  to  England,  he  recommended  to  the  Lords  Proprietors  to 
send  an  armed  vessel  to  Albemarle,  and  to  enlist  a  body  of  troops 
in  Virginia  to  suppress  the  rebels.  The  Proprietors,  however. 
warned  him  ta  hold  his  peace,  and  his  bloody  plan  was  not 
favorably  considered.  S.  A.  Ashe. 


BENJAMIN    CLEVELAND 

J  F  all  the  fierce  frontiersmen  whose  activity 
spread  consternation  among  the  partisans  of 
King  George  in  the  Southern  campaigns  of  the 
American  Revolution  not  one  stood  higher  than 
Colonel  Benjamin  Cleveland,  who  was  born 
May  26,  1738.  Thanks  to  the  splendid  histori- 
cal effort  of  Doctor  Lyman  C.  Draper  in  his  volume  entitled 
"King's  Mountain  and  Its  Heroes,"  as  well  as  to  the  works  of  less 
importance,  we  are  enabled  to  present  for  the  consideration  of 
our  readers  a  sketch  of  the  career  of  this  remarkable  man. 
Prince  William  County,  \'irginia,  was  the  birthplace  of  Ben- 
jamin Cleveland ;  and  his  father's  home  was  on  Hull  Run.  a  stream 
whose  name  was  later  to  be  known  in  all  quarters  of  the  globe  as 
the  njxrning  scene  of  the  greatest  of  American  wars  in  1861. 
While  siili  a  child  young  Cleveland  was  carried  sixty  miles  west- 
ward to  Orange  County,  Virginia,  when  bis  father  removed  to  the 
latter  locality.  His  new  home  was  about  six  luiles  above  the  junc- 
tion of  Hull  Run  with  the  Rapidan  River. 

The  personal  prowess  for  which  Cleveland  was  distinguished 
in  the  maturity  of  life  was  manifested  in  early  childhood,  and 
Draper  tells  us  that  at  the  early  age  of  twelve  he  seized  bis  father's 
pun  and  put  to  flight  a  party  of  drunken  rowdies  who  were  rais- 
ing a  disturbance  at  his  home  while  John  Cleveland,  the  father, 
was  absent.     Having  "an   imconquerable  aversion  to  the  tame 


70  NORTH  CAROLINA 

drudgery  of  farm-life,"  young  Qeveland  soon  became  famous  as 
a  hunter,  and  ranged  the  great  forests  of  his  neighborhood  in 
search  of  big  game.  To  him  the  Hfe  of  a  hunter  was  a  source  of 
profit  as  well  as  pleasure,  for  the  hides,  furs,  and  pelts  won  by  his 
rifle  brought  him  no  inconsiderable  income.  Tradition  says  that 
Cleveland  saw  some  service  in  the  French  and  Indian  War  and 
there  received  his  first  schooling  as  a  soldier.  Before  leaving 
Virginia  he  married,  in  Orange  County,  Mary  Graves,  daughter 
of  a  gentleman  of  some  fortune,  who  later  came  with  his  own 
family  and  that  of  his  son-in-law  to  North  Carolina. 

It  was  about  the  year  1769  that  the  above  party  settled  in  North 
Carolina.  Cleveland  first  cultivated  a  farm  on  the  waters  of 
Roaring  Creek,  a  tributary  of  the  Yadkin  River,  later  removing 
to  a  river  bend  of  the  Yadkin  which  (from  its  horseshoe  shape) 
was  called  "The  Round  About."  In  after  years,  when  the  cele- 
brated Daniel  Boone  was  a  resident  of  the  Yadkin  Vallev,  his 
tales  of  the  hunting-grounds  to  the  westward  so  stirred  the  rest- 
less blood  of  Cleveland  that  in  1772  he  set  out  with  a  party  of  four 
companions — five  men  in  all — to  Kentucky.  These  men  were  set 
upon  by  a  large  band  of  Cherokee  Indians,  who  robbed  them  of 
all  their  belongings,  guns  included,  and  ordered  them  to  return  to 
the  place  from  whence  they  came.  After  a  painful  journey  the 
half-famished  hunters  finally  succeeded  in  reaching  the  settle- 
ment of  the  white  race  once  more.  Cleveland  later  returned  to 
the  Cherokee  country  for  the  purpose  of  recovering  his  horse, 
and  accomplished  that  object  with  the  help  of  some  friendly  In- 
dians furnished  him  by  Big  Bear,  a  chief  of  the  Cherokee  nation. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  Revolution  Cleveland  was  com- 
missioned an  ensign  in  the  2nd  North  Carolina  Continental 
Regiment,  commanded  by  Colonel  Robert  Howe,  on  September  i, 
1 775 ;  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  lieutenant  in  January, 
1776,  and  became  captain  in  November,  1776,  later  resigning  from 
the  Continental  Line,  or  Regulars,  and  entering  the  militia.  He 
bore  some  part  in  the  Moore's  Creek  campaign  in  the  Spring  of 
1776.  In  the  Spring  of  1777  Cleveland  commanded  a  company 
of  volunteers  against  the  Cherokees;  but  in  the  following  July 


BENJAMIN  CLEVELAND  71 

peace  with  the  Indians  was  effected  by  the  treaty  oi  the  Long 
Island  of  Holston. 

The  County  of  Wilkes  was  formed  in  1777,  chiefly  through  the 
instrumentality  of  Captain  Cleveland,  and  he  was  made  colonel  of 
the  militia  forces  of  the  new  county  in  August,  1778.  In  1778 
Colonel  Qeveland  represented  Wilkes  in  the  North  Carolina 
House  of  Commons,  and  was  State  Senator  therefrom  in  1779. 
In  this  county  he  was  also  Presiding  Justice  of  the  Court  of  Pleas 
and  Quarter  Sessions. 

To  tell  in  full  of  the  desperate  encounters  in  which  Qeveland 
engaged  would  fill  a  volume.  He  was  constantly  engaged  against 
the  enemy,  in  1777  serving  in  Indian  campaigns,  going  on  the  ex- 
pedition to  Georgia  in  1778,  and  returning  in  1779,  and  after- 
wards marching  against  the  Tories  at  Ramseur's  Mill,  though  he 
did  not  reach  that  place  in  time  for  the  battle  which  was  fought 
there  on  June  20,  1780. 

"Old  Round  About,"  as  Qeveland  was  familiarly  known  (tak- 
ing that  sobriquet  from  his  plantation  of  the  same  name),  prob- 
ably had  a  hand  in  hanging  more  Tories  than  any  other  man  in 
America.    Though  this  may  be  an  unenviable  distinction,  he  had 
to  deal  with  about  as  unscrupulous  a  set  of  ruffians  as  ever  in- 
fested any  land — men  who  murdered  peaceable  inhabitants,  burnt 
dwellings,  stole  horses,  and  committed  about  every  other  act  in  the 
catalogue  of  crime.     Draper  gives  a  number  of  instances  where 
this  fierce  partisan  avenged  with  hemp  the  wrongs  of  his  neigh- 
borhood.    Rut  Cleveland  was  not  always  a  man  of  a  relentless 
moo<l.     On  one  occasion,  related  by  Draper,  a  particularly  ob- 
noxious character  was  finally  captured,  and  Cleveland  called  out : 
"Waste  no  time! — swing  him  off  quick!**     Instead  of  being  ap- 
palled by  his  approaching  doom,  the  man  turned  to  the  colonel  and 
remarked  with  perfect  coolness :    "Well,  you  needn't  be  in  such  a 
d — d  big  hurry  about  it."    Struck  with  admiration  at  this  display 
of  bravery,  Cleveland  exclaimed:    **Boys,  let  him  go!**    This  act 
of  magnanimity,  from  a  source  so  unexpected,  completely  won 
over  the  Tor>',  who  at  once  enlisted  under  Cleveland's  banner  and 
became  one  of  his  most  faithful  and  devoted  followers. 


72  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Says  the  historian  above  quoted : 

"Cleveland  was  literally  "all  things  to  all  people.'  By  his  severities  he 
awed  and  intimidated  not  a  few — restraining  them  from  lapsing  into  Tory 
abominations;  by  his  kindness,  forbearance,  and  even  tenderness  winning 
over  many  to  the  glorious  cause  he  loved  so  well." 

The  battle  in  which  Cleveland  gained  his  greatest  renown  was 
that  fought  at  King's  Mountain  on  the  7th  of  October,  1780.  The 
rendezvous  preparatory  to  this  ever-memorable  engagement  was 
at  Quaker  Meadows,  a  plantation  owned  by  the  McDowell  family 
in  Burke  County,  near  the  present  town  of  Morganton.  Here 
the  members  of  Cleveland's  command  were  joined  by  their  com- 
patriots. The  battle  of  King's  Mountain  was  fortunately  a  great 
and  overwhelming  victory  for  the  Americans ;  and  among  all  the 
desperate  fighters  there  engaged  not  one  showed  more  personal 
courage  than  Colonel  Cleveland.  A  description  in  detail  of  the 
battle  could  not  be  placed  in  a  brief  sketch  such  as  the  present, 
and  so  for  fuller  particulars  we  must  refer  the  reader  to  works 
which  have  been  devoted  to  that  great  event.  When  the  victory 
was  complete,  and  the  British  commander,  Colonel  Ferguson, 
had  been  killed,  that  officer's  horse  was,  by  common  consent, 
turned  over  to  Colonel  Cleveland  because  the  latter  "was  too  un- 
wieldy to  travel  on  foot,"  and  had  lost  his  own  horse  during  the 
battle.  In  view  of  Cleveland's  size — weighing,  as  he  did,  more 
than  four  hundred  pounds — it  is  wonderful  that  he  could  have  led 
a  life  of  such  activity. 

After  the  victory  at  King's  Mountain  more  than  thirty  Tories 
were  condemned  to  death,  and  nine  were  executed — the  others 
being  reprieved.  The  executions  here  alluded  to  were,  for  the 
most  part,  punishments  for  past  crimes — house-burnings,  out- 
rages against  women,  desertions  and  betrayals,  assassinations  of 
non-combatants,  etc.  These  measures  were  also  in  retaliation  for 
past  British  cruelties — a  few  days  before  this  eleven  Americans 
having  been  hanged  at  Ninety-Six  in  South  Carolina,  and  many 
more  having  been  accorded  similar  treatment  at  other  times. 
Cleveland  was  a  member  of  the  court  (or  court  martial) — the 
nature  of  the  tribunal  being  of  a  perplexing  character — which 


tried  and  condemned  these  Tories.  The  Battle  of  King's  Moun- 
tain restored  coinparalive  order  lo  western  North  Carolina,  yet 
there  was  more  fighting  to  be  done,  and  Colonel  Cleveland  as 
usual  bore  more  than  his  share,  serving  under  General  Griffith 
Rutherford. 

After  the  war  Colonel  Cleveland's  plantation,  "The  Round 
About."  in  North  Carolina  was  lost  to  a  litigant  who  had  a  better 
title  therefor,  and  Cleveland  soon  removed  to  South  Carolina, 
where  he  became,  first,  an  Indian  fighter,  and  a  judge,  after  peace 
with  the  Cherokees  had  been  effected.  Before  he  died  Cleveland 
attained  the  enormous  weight  of  four  hundred  and  fifty  pounds. 

The  death  of  Colonel  Cleveland  occurred  in  what  is  now  Oconee 
County.  South  Carolina,  in  October,  i8o6.  He  left  two  sons  and 
a  daughter,  and  many  of  his  descendants  are  now  living.  Gov- 
ernor Jesse  Franklin  {elsewhere  noticed  in  this  work)  was  a  son 
of  Cleveland's  sister.  Robert  and  Larkin  Cleveland,  brothers  of 
the  colonel,  and  "Devil  John"  Cleveland,  the  colonel's  son.  were 
all  brave  and  efficient  officers  in  the  Revolution,  as  was  also  Jesse 
Franklin,  above  mentioned. 

By  Chapter  9  of  the  Laws  of  1840-41  a  county  was  formed 
out  of  Lincoln  and  Rutherford  and  named  for  Colonel  Cleveland. 
In  this  act  the  name  was  misspelled  Cleaveland.  but  by  another 
legislative  enactment — passed  many  years  later — the  error  was 
remedied. 

Marshall  De  Lancey  Haywood. 


RICHARD  CLINTON 

J  HE  coil nly- seat  of  Sampson  County  is  called 
Clinton,  as  a  compliment  to  Colonel  Richard 
Clinton,  one  of  the  Revolutionary  patriots  of 
tliat  vicinity.  The  Clintons  along  with  the 
Kenans  and  others  came  over  from  Ireland 
witli  Colonel  Sampson  about  1736,  and  were 
among  the  first  to  settle  in  the  wilderness  on  the  head-waters  of 
the  northeast  branch  of  the  Cape  Fear.  Because  of  this  Irish  set- 
tlement it  was  at  first  proposed  to  call  that  region  the  county  of 
Donegal,  but  when  in  1749  the  upper  part  of  New  Hanover  was 
cut  off  to  form  the  new  county  it  was  named  Duplin,  in  honor  of 
Lord  Duplin,  one  of  the  Board  of  Trade  at  that  time ;  and  Duplin 
County  during  the  Revolution  extended  far  to  the  west,  embrac- 
ing the  territory  of  Sampson  County  and  covering  a  large  and  ex- 
tensive region. 

Whether  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  bom  before  or  subse- 
quent to  this  first  Irish  settlement  is  unknown;  he  may  have  been 
one  of  the  very  first  white  children  born  in  that  part  of  the  State. 
It  is  said  that  he  was  a  nephew  of  Colonel  Charles  Ointon,  the 
father  of  Governor  George  Clinton  and  of  General  James  Clinton, 
of  \ew  York ;  and  in  person  and  characteristics  he  was  not  inferior 
to  those  distinguished  gentlemen.  He  was  remarkably  handsome, 
was  always  cool  and  self-possessed,  a  thoughtful  man,  and  one  of 
much  dignity  of  character. 


RICHARD  CLINTON  75 

On  November  29,  1768,  Governor  Tryon  commissioned  him 
one  of  the  justices  for  the  county  of  Duplin;  so  at  that  early  age 
he  had  attained  a  position  of  influence  and  was  a  man  of  conse- 
quence in  his  community ;  and  by  successive  appointments  he  held 
this  position  until  the  Revolution. 

His  military  career  began  in  the  civil  commotions  which  dis- 
turbed North  Carolina  prior  to  the  Revolution,  he  being  a  major 
in  Governor  Tryon's  army,  which  marched  against  the  Regulators 
and  routed  them  at  the  Battle  of  Alamance.  Before  that  time,  be- 
tween 1762  and  1765,  he  married  Penelope  Kenan,  a  sister  of 
Colonel  James  Kenan,  and  he  was  a  man  so  highly  regarded  that 
he  held  the  office  of  register  of  the  county  of  Duplin  under  the 
Crown. 

When  the  troubles  with  the  Mother  Country  came  on  he  was  an 
active  Whig,  and  was  elected  to  represent  Duplin  County  in  the 
Provincial  Congress  which  sat  at  Hillsboro  in  August  and  Sep- 
tember, 1775.     By  that  body  he  was  elected  lieutenant-colonel 
of  Duplin  County,  when  the  militia  of  the  State  was  organized 
for  Revolutionary  purposes  on  September  9,   1775.     The  next 
Provincial  Congress,  April,  1776,  selected  him  as  one  of  the  com- 
missioners to  procure  arms  and  ammunition  for  the  army,  and  he 
was  energetic  and  efficient  in  that  service.     When  the  last  Pro- 
vincial Congress  met  in  December,  1776,  it  adopted  a  State  Con- 
stitution and  established  a   State    Government    and    organized 
Courts  of  Pleas  and  Quarter  Sessions  under  the  Constitution,  and 
he  was  appointed  by  the  Congress  a  justice  for  Duplin  County. 
In  the  early  stage  of  the  Revohition  the  Provincial  Congress  had 
adopted  a  Test  Oath,  which  all  the  Revolutionists  took,  and  the 
Legislature  at  its  session  of  November,  1777,  prescribed  an  Oath 
of  Allegiance  and  Abjuration.    This  oath  was  taken  by  the  citi- 
zens of  the  different  counties,  and  the  record  is  preserved  wherein 
Colonel  Clinton  took  it  in  Duplin  County.     He  represented  his 
county  in  the  House  of  Commons  continuously  from    1777    to 
1784.    In  that  year  Sampson  County  was  formed  out  of  Duplin, 
said  he  represented  Sampson  County  in  the  Senate  in  1785  and 
until  1795,  with  the  exception  of  one  year.     He  thus  served  his 


76  NORTH  CAROLINA 

people  in  the  Legislature  during  nearly  the  whole  period  of  the 
Revolutionary  War,  and  participated  in  the  adoption  of  those 
measures  which  were  relied  on  to  protect  the  State  from  the  in- 
cursions of  the  enemy. 

After  the  Battle  of  Moore's  Creek  and  the  departure  of  the 
British  fleet  from  the  Cape  Fear  in  the  early  Summef  of  1776, 
quiet  reigned  in  North  Carolina  until  the  opening  of  1781,  al- 
though detachments  were  sent  to  the  aid  of  South  Carolina  when 
that  State  was  invaded.  What  share  Colonel  Qinton  had  in  the 
operations  to  the  southward  is  not  recorded,  nor  has  the  par- 
ticular part  he  played  in  1781  been  perpetuated.  He  was,  how- 
ever, the  right  arm  of  his  brotjier-in-law,  Colonel  Kenan,  during 
the  troublous  times  that  were  ushered  in  when  Major  Craig  oc- 
cupied Wilmington  on  the  28th  of  January,  1781.  At  that  time 
the  militia  of  Duplin  and  of  other  counties  were  ordered  down  to 
the  great  bridge  twelve  miles  above  Wilmington;  but  Craig  had 
hastened  to  demolish  the  bridge,  and  had  then  returned  to  the 
town,  which  he  immediately  fortified  to  protect  the  garrison.  When 
Colonel  Kenan,  Colonel  Clinton  and  their  forces  had  reached  the 
bridge  and  found  it  destroyed,  they  fortified  themselves  on  the 
northern  bank  to  hold  that  pass  and  prevent  the  enemy  from  mak- 
mg  excursions  into  the  country.  There  were  about  seven  hun- 
dred militia  collected  there  under  General  Lillington  when  about 
the  first  of  March  Major  Craig  attacked  them  with  artillery  from 
across  the  river,  the  contest  being  maintained  for  two  days,  and 
then  having  accomplished  nothing  the  British  returned  to  their 
fortifications  at  Wilmington.  In  April  Comwallis  began  his 
march  northward,  and  Lillington  retreated  to  Kinston,  where  on 
the  28th  of  April  he  discharged  all  the  militia,  and  the  men  re- 
turned to  their  homes  to  protect  their  several  communities  from 
the  Tories,  who  became  very  active  in  Duplin  as  well  as  in  every 
part  of  the  country  where  the  British  Army  had  passed.  At  length 
Colonel  Kenan  and  Colonel  Clinton  got  together  in  July  some  four 
hundred  men  and  took  post  near  Rockfish  Creek,  when  Major 
Craig  marched  out  against  them  with  his  main  army  and  field^ 
pieces  and  dispersed  the  militia,  who  were  badly  armed  and  had 


RICHARD  CLINTON  77 

bill  litlle  amnninilion.  Major  Craig  remained  several  days  in  Du- 
plin and  then  inarched  on  to  New-Burn.  The  Tories  were  reani- 
maied  by  the  presence  of  this  British  force  and  were  more  auda- 
cious than  ever.  Kenan  and  Clinton  collected  some  light-horse  and 
iomied  a  little  flying  camp  and  made  frequent  sallies  on  their  ene- 
mies ;  and  when  Craig  heard  that  General  Wayne  was  approaching 
Halifax,  and  hurried  for  protection  to  his  fortifications  at  Wil- 
mington, the  Whigs  of  Duplin  embodied  to  the  number  of  eighty 
light-horsemen,  and  marching  quickly  into  the  neighborhood 
where  the  Tories  were  embodied,  surprised  them,  killed  many,  and 
put  to  instant  death  all  the  prisoners  they  took.  This  bloody  ac- 
tion struck  such  terror  into  the  Tories  of  Duplin  that  they  sub- 
sequently gave  but  lillle  trouble.  During  that  period  Colonel 
Clinton  and  his  associates  were  as  active  and  as  zealous  as  any  of 
the  famed  partisan  leaders  of  the  Revolution, 

After  peace  was  won  he  continued  to  enjoy  the  respect  and  es- 
teem of  his  people,  and  by  his  wise  counsels  in  the  halls  of  the 
Legislature  promoted  their  interests  and  welfare,  and  was  re- 
garded as  one  of  the  most  patriotic  statesmen  of  that  part  of  the 
State. 

When  Sampson  County  was  established  he  owned  llie  land 
that  is  now  the  site  of  the  town  of  Clinton,  and  when  it  was  laid 
off  he  donated  five  acres  for  a  public  square  and  Court  House  and 
also  a  lot  for  a  public  school. 

Colonel  Chnton  died  in  1796,  leaving  two  sons  and  four  daugh- 
ters. William,  the  eldest  son.  married  Miss  Seawell,  a  daughter 
of  Judge  Seawell,  and  had  two  sons,  William  and  James.  Rich- 
ard Clinton  married  Ferebee  Hicks  and  moved  to  Georgia.  None 
of  Colonel  Clinton's  descendants  bearing  his  name  now  live  in 
North  Carolina.  His  daughter  Mary  married  Mr.  Roland,  of 
Robeson  County;  his  daughter  Rachel  married  Mr.  Rhodes  and 
left  one  son.  Doctor  Richard  Rhodes.  Elizabeth  married  David 
Bunting,  of  Quaker  descent,  originally  of  Pennsylvania  but  set- 
tling in  Sampson  County,  and  left  eight  children,  one  of  whom, 
Penelope  Bunting,  became  the  wife  of  Colonel  Thomas  K. 
Morisey,  who  was  her  cousin,  being  the  son  of  George  Morisey, 


78 


NORTH  CAROLINA 


of  Cork,  Ireland,  and  of  Jane  Kenan,  a  sister  of  Mrs.  Penelope 
Clinton.  The  youngest  child  of  Colonel  Clinton,  Nancy,  married 
Owen  Holmes,  a  brother  of  Governor  Holmes,  and  left  five  sons 
and  three  daughters.  One  of  her  sons,  Owen,  was  a  distinguished 
lawyer,  located  at  Wilmington,  was  a  member  of  the  Constitu- 
tional Convention,  married  Betsy  Ashe,  a  daughter  of  Colonel 
Samuel  Ashe,  of  Rocky  Point,  and  left  three  children:  Owen, 
who  died  unmarried ;  Bettie,  who  married  Doctor  John  Meares, 
of  Wilmington ;  and  Sam  Ashe  Holmes,  who  married  Mary 
Strudwick,  of  Alabama.     These  removed  to  California. 

5*.  A,  Ashe, 


■Ill  I   ■■■ 


THE  HEW  YORK 

PUBUC  LIBRARY 

TikOEM  rOUMDATtOMt 


.t_ 


8o  NORTH  CAROLINA 

There  is  nothing  more  interesting  than  the  study  of  the  build- 
ing of  the  character  of  a  man  whose  plans  are  jointed  or  dove- 
tailed, and  made  to  fit  as  one  by  one  they  mature  and  take  their 
places  in  the  splendid  structure  of  a  superbly  built  and  success- 
ful life.  It  has  been  the  good  or  ill  fortune  of  the  writer  to  touch 
life  at  many  points  in  his  checkered  career  and  to  know  something 
of  the  lives  of  many  men  of  many  minds  and  many  vocations. 
Within  the  range  of  his  observation  there  has  rarely  come  a  life 
so  rounded,  so  smooth,  so  straight,  so  unaffected,  so  serious,  so 
earnest  and  so  successful  as  that  of  Orlando  R.  Cox.  From  the 
humblest  beginning  it  has  grown  and  expanded  each  and  every 
day  until  at  its  meridian  we  find  its  impress  upon  nearly  every 
enterprise  and  institution  of  his  church  and  his  native  county. 
Nor  has  the  sphere  of  his  influence  and  usefulness  been  limited 
by  the  confines  of  his  county.  His  name  is  linked  with  a  chain  of 
financial  and  commercial  institutions  throughout  the  State,  and 
in  their  management  his  fine  business  judgment  is  invoked  in  the 
capacity  of  a  director. 

He  comes  from  one  of  the  oldest,  largest  and  most  substantial 
families  of  the  county  of  Randolph.  Born  at  Cox's  Mill  on  the 
26th  of  August,  1844,  he  remained  on  the  farm  until  the  year 
1868,  when  he  began  work  as  clerk  or  salesman  in  the  general 
store  of  Hugh  T.  Moffitt  at  Moffitt's  Mills,  North  Carolina.  Here 
he  was  engaged  for  about  one  year,  after  which  he  accepted  a 
position  as  clerk  in  the  company's  store  at  Cedar  Falls,  North 
Carolina.  His  earliest  ancestor  of  whom  there  is  public  record 
was  Abel  Cox,  a  citizen  of  sterling  virtues.  The  name  of  his  own 
father  was  Micajah  Cox,  who  was  a  farmer  and  millwright  by 
occupation.  He  was  well  known  and  is  still  well  remembered 
by  the  older  citizens  of  the  county.  He  was  fond  of  hunting  and 
fishing,  and  many  amusing  incidents  of  his  hunting  exploits  still 
live  in  the  traditions  of  his  people.  It  is  told  that  many  a  wild 
buck  fell  a  victim  of  his  deadly  aim  and  many  a  timid  doe  lay 
lifeless  at  his  feet.  He  was  a  leader  in  his  community,  an  en- 
thusiastic Mason,  a  devout  member  of  the  Methodist  Protestant 
Church,  and  was  Justice  of  the  Peace  of  his  county  for  thirty-one 


ORLANDO  R.  COX  8i 

years.  The  name  of  the  mother  of  our  subject  was  Matilda  John- 
son Cox.  It  was  from  these  plain,  honest,  industrious  and  God- 
fearing parents  of  simple  life  that  Orlando  R.  Cox  inherited  the 
fine  traits,  the  rugged  virtues  and  the  sterling  qualities  which 
have  marked  his  steadily  successful  career.  It  was  in  the  year 
1869  that  Orlando  R.  Cox,  the  plain  fanner  boy,  with  limited 
education  acquired  from  the  "old  field  schools"  and  two  terms 
with  Professor  Holt,  came  as  a  clerk,  as  before  told,  in  the  com- 
pany store  at  Cedar  Falls  at  a  very  small  salary.  Here  began  the 
real  work  of  his  life,  and  it  was  not  long  before  he,  by  diligence 
and  fidelity,  had  made  himself  an  essential,  individual  factor  in 
the  management  of  the  business  of  the  company  as  well  as  a  val- 
uable and  popular  citizen  of  the  county.  Seven  years  thereafter, 
in  1876,  without  solicitation  on  his  part,  he  was  elected  sheriff  of 
the  county.  Before  the  expiration  of  his  term  he  violated  the 
political  epigram:  **Few  die,  none  resign."  He  grew  tired  of 
political  ofiice,  tendered  his  resignation  as  sheriff,  and  accepted 
the  position  of  secretary  and  treasurer  and  general  manager  of  the 
Cedar  Falls  Manufacturing  Company — ^a  position  whose  duties 
were  more  congenial  and  more  in  keeping  with  the  ambition  of 
his  life.  This  company  had  been  organized  and  created  the  year 
before  and  had  become  the  purchaser  and  owner  of  what  was 
known  as  the  Cedar  Falls  property,  including  the  cotton  mill, 
store,  sites,  tenement  houses  and  everything.  Cedar  Falls  Cotton 
Mill  is  the  oldest  in  the  countv. 

Cedar  Falls  takes  its  name  from  a  cluster  of  majestic  cedars 
which  grew  around  a  rugged  shoal  in  Deep  River,  on  the  banks 
of  which  the  village  is  built  about  midway  between  Randleman 
and  Raniseur  on  a  branch  of  the  Southern  Railway.  It  was  away 
back  in  1848  that  this  first  cotton  mill  in  the  county  was  built,  and 
for  more  than  half  a  century  the  winds  that  blow  through 
the  venerable  cedars  that  grow  there  have  been  vibrating  with 
the  music  of  its  busy  machinery.  It  has  been  a  training  school 
for  some  of  the  cotton  mill  men  who  are  to-day  among  the  South's 
leaders.  It  was  here  that  the  Elliotts,  the  Makepeaces,  the  Odells 
and  others  learned  the  practical  part  of  the  cotton  mill  business. 


82  NORTH  CAROLINA 

It  was  here  that  Benjamin  Elliott,  the  first  man  who  inspired  the 
building  of  a  cotton  mill  in  Randolph  County,  lived  and  pros- 
pered, and  beneath  those  cedars  sleep  the  remains  of  this  pioneer 
and  benefactor.  It  was  near  here  that  the  late  George  Makepeace 
lived.  Of  him  the  late  Reverend  Doctor  Braxton  Craven  said  in 
his  sermon,  dedicating  the  Naomi  Cotton  Mills : 


"George  Makepeace  was  the  very  genius  of  organization,  and  few  men 
could  govern  men,  women,  and  children  with  less  annoyance  or  greater 
effect.  In  spirit  and  life  he  was  a  model  man ;  quiet,  considerate,  cool- 
headed  and  warm-hearted,  he  said  and  did  the  right  things  at  the  right 
time  and  always  with  the  happiest  results." 

Mr.  George  Makepeace  was  the  grandfather  of  C.  R.  Make- 
peace, cotton  mill  architect  and  builder,  now  of  Providence,  R.  I. 

Cedar  Falls  and  its  surroundings  are  rich  in  interesting  biog- 
raphy and  industrial  reminiscences.  These  mills  were  here  before 
Greensboro,  Charlotte,  Wilmington,  Rockingham,  Fayetteville 
or  Raleigh  had  a  railroad.  Its  founders  were  Henry  B.  Elliott 
and  Philip  Horney.  Of  these  two  men  Doctor  Craven  further 
said  in  the  sermon  referred  to: 

"There  was  Philip  Homey,  a  man  whose  heart  was  young  when  his 
body  was  old.  He  made  money  and  spent  it,  or  a  part  of  it,  as  a  true  man 
should ;  he  was  an  ardent  friend  and  supporter  of  the  church ;  his  tabic 
was  always  spread  for  the  hungry ;  his  sympathy  reached  towards  all  who 
needed  it,  and  everybody  called  him  friend.  There  was  Henry  B.  Elliott. 
one  of  the  noblest  of  Randolph's  noble  citizens.  He  had  something  of  the 
bearing  of  an  English  nobleman,  but  withal  the  courtesy  and  self-sacrific- 
ing generosity  of  a  warm-hearted  and  true  man.  He  was  gifted  in  in- 
tellect and  finely  cultivated  in  extensive  learning  and  enthusiastic  in  every- 
thing that  seemed  to  promote  good  for  the  country." 

There  was  inspiration  in  such  associations  for  a  young  man  of 
Mr.  Cox's  determination  and  ambition.  He  reckons  these  names 
and  associations  among  the  strongest  influences  which  stimulated 
him  in  the  great  task  he  had  set  for  himself. 

Following  and  succeeding  these  men  was  Doctor  John  Milton 
Worth,  whose  wise  counsel  and  far-sightedness  as  president  of 
this  company  constituted  the  strongest  support  Mr.  Cox  had  for 
many  years.    Under  the  vigorous  and  successful  management  of 


ORLANDO  R.  COX  83 

Mr.  Cox,  aided  by  President  Worth,  the  Cedar  Falls  Mills  have 
more  than  trebled  in  the  number  of  spindles  and  capacity,  and 
he  has  been  enabled  to  build  a  new  mill  with  two  hundred  looms 
at  the  same  places.    He  is  a  practical  mill  man,  with  all  the  word 
implies.    His  knowledge  was  acquired  around  the  spindles  and  in 
personal  work  and  attention  to  every  detail  of  the  complex  opera- 
tion of  a  cotton  mill.    Some  conception  of  the  magnitude  of  the 
task  may  be  formed  when  it  is  remembered  that  at  the  time  he  as- 
sumed control  of  this  magnificent  property,  in  the  early  days  of 
1878,  the  value  of  its  assets  did  not  exceed  the  amount  of  its  in- 
debtedness.   Without  name  or  credit  or  backing,  save  that  which 
grim  grit  and  tireless  pluck  gave,  he  assumed  a  burden  from 
which  others  had  shrunk,  and  steadily  for  years  toiled  at  his  desk 
and  in  the  mill  through  the  long  hours  of  day  and  the  heavy  hours 
of  night  until  he  had  lifted  every  dollar   of   encumbrance  and 
made  the  stock  of  this  company  the  most  desirable  and  valuable 
in  the  markets  of  the  State.    It  is  doubtful  if  there  can  be  found 
in  the  State  a  man  who  has  given  his  time  more  constantly,  un- 
selfishly, and  unreservedly  to  the  promotion  of  the  interests  of  his 
company.    In  the  meantime,  by  close  economy  and  the  most  frugal 
habits  he  was  enabled  to  purchase  from  time  to  time  stock  until 
he  became  the  largest  stockholder  of  the  company,  and  is  to-day 
the  practical  owner  of  the  two  mills: 

In  more  recent  years  he  has  been  induced  to  invest  some  of  the 
fruits  of  his  toil  in  other  plants  and  institutions.  He  succeeded 
Doctor  J.  M.  Worth  as  president  of  the  Bank  of  Randolph,  the 
largest  and  strongest  bank  of  the  county,  in  which  he  has  been  a 
stockholder  and  director  from  its  incorporation.  He  also  suc- 
ceeded Doctor  Worth  as  president  of  the  Asheboro  Furniture 
Company,  in  which  he  had  been  a  stockholder  and  director  since  its 
incorporation.  He  is  a  stockholder  in  the  Asheboro  Chair  Factory, 
the  Concord  Wholesale  Grocery  Company  of  Concord,  North 
Carolina,  J.  W.  Scott  and  Company  of  Greensboro,  North  Caro- 
lina, the  Wachovia  Loan  and  Trust  Company  of  Winston-Salem, 
North  Carolina,  and  the  Greensboro  National  Bank.  He  is  also 
a  charter  shareholder  and  director  of  the  Greensboro  Loan  and 


84  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Trust  Company,  the  strongest  financial  institution  in  the  Gate 
City,  as  well  as  in  the  North  State  Fire  Insurance  Company  and 
Greensboro  Life  Insurance  Company  of  the  same  city.  There 
are  other  corporations  in  which  he  is  interested  and  holds  stock. 
This  list,  however,  will  suffice  to  show  the  value  of  his  career  to 
his  community,  his  county  and  his  State.  It  tells  its  own  story. 
It  is  his  own  work.    He  is  the  architect  of  his  own  fortune. 

Twice  married,  he  was  blessed  by  his  first  marriage  with  six 
children,  three  of  whom  are  dead  and  three  living.  The  issue  of 
his  last  marriage  are  five  children,  all  of  whom  are  living.  Nor 
is  this  all.  There  is  another  field  in  which  we  may  note  the 
harvest  from  the  good  seed  he  has  sown.  He  is  and  has  been 
from  earliest  young  manhood  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Prot- 
estant Church,  and  for  years  has  been  one  of  the  leading  and  most 
influential  lavmen  of  that  church  in  North  Carolina.  Time  and 
again  he  has  been  selected  as  delegate  to  the  annual  and  quad- 
rennial convocations  and  for  the  highest  positions  of  trust  and 
honor  in  that  church.  At  his  home  he  is  a  faithful  communicant 
and  liberal  supporter  of  his  church  and  all  of  its  enterprises.  In 
the  Sunday-School  and  elsewhere  he  is  as  prompt,  as  active,  as 
enthusiastic  and  as  earnest  as  he  is  in  the  prosecution  of  his  busi- 
ness affairs.  It  is  to  be  recorded,  too,  that  while,  as  a  rule,  he  has 
resisted  the  flattering  inducements  to  enter  politics  he  has,  from  a 
sense  of  public  duty,  served  his  county  four  years  as  a  County 
Commissioner  and  ten  or  twelve  years  as  a  Justice  of  the  Peace. 

He  is  the  upright  man  and  the  model  citizen.  He  meets  and 
measures  up  to  every  exaction  of  Church  and  State.  He  has 
wrought  well  in  his  day  and  generation.  His  record  is  a  proud 
heritage  for  his  children.  His  is  a  life  whose  lesson  is  worth  pre- 
serving. It  may  not  be  written  in  bronze  or  brass  or  stone,  but  it 
will  live  in  the  ever-widening  circles  of  the  lives  it  has  touched. 
When  the  old  county  of  Randolph  comes  to  make  up  the  roll  of 
her  native  sons  who,  in  the  last  three  decades,  have  done  the  most 
for  her  material  growth,  her  credit  and  her  good  name,  there  will 
be  on  that  roll  no  name  ahead  of  that  of  Orlando  R.  Cox. 

C.  S.  Bradshaw. 


WILLIAM   DICKSON 

I R.  JAMES  O.  CARR,  a  distinguished  member 
of  the  Wilmington  bar,  has  rendered  the  State 
notable  service  by  the  publication  of  "the  Dick- 
son Letters,"  which  form  an  interesting  and 
valuable  addition  to  our  literature,  covering  the 
dark  period  of  1781  in  the  Cape  Fear  section 
and  the  period  when  the  Federal  Constitution  was  adopted.  In 
this  sketch  the  writer  will  follow  the  Introduction  made  by  Mr. 
Carr  to  the  Dickson  Letters,  whose  preparation  shows  painstaking 
research. 

The  Dickson  family  in  Duplin  County  trace  their  descent  to 
Simon  Dickson,  who  was  a  stern  English  furitan  and  an  ardent 
adherent  of  Oliver  Cromwell,  and  received  as  his  reward  for  his 
services  a  grant  of  400  acres  of  land  in  County  Down,  Ireland, 
There  he  settled  and  had  a  numerous  offspring.  John  Dickson, 
fifth  in  descent  from  Simon,  was  born  in  Ireland  in  1704,  and 
<iied  in  Duplin  County,  Xorth  Carolina,  on  the  25th  of  December, 
1774.  When  thirty-four  years  of  age  he  emigrated  from  Ireland 
and  located  in  Chester  County,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  resided  a 
few  years  and  where  three  of  his  sons  were  bom.  He  then  moved 
to  Maryland,  but  after  a  short  while  located  in  Duplin  County 
some  time  previous  to  1745.  He  had  eight  sons  and  one  daughter. 
The  eldest  son,  Michael,  moved  to  Georgia;  William,  the  subject 
of  this  sketch,  was  the  third;  Robert,  another  son,  towards  the 


86  NORTH  CAROLINA 

close  of  the  Revolution  moved  to  Virginia,  but  returned  to  Duplin 
in  1784.  He  served  in  the  House  of  Commons  in  1777  and  con- 
tinuously from  1784  to  1788.  Joseph  also  left  the  county  about  the 
close  of  the  Revolution,  but  returning  served  as  Register  of  Deeds 
and  County  Surveyor  and  was  in  the  House  of  Commons  in  1780 
and  1797.  Alexander  likewise  emigrated  to  Virginia  in  1781,  but 
returned  in  1784.  He  was  a  public-spirited  and  patriotic  man  and 
highly  esteemed  in  his  county.  He  left  no  children,  and  in  his 
will  devised  the  bulk  of  his  property  "to  the  use  of  a  free  school 
or  schools  for  the  benefit  of  the  poor  of  Duplin  County."  In  1817, 
when  his  estate  was  settled,  this  fund  amounted  to  $12,621.  It  has 
alwavs  been  known  as  the  "Dickson  Charitv  Fund,"  and  until 
after  the  Civil  War  the  income  was  applied  to  educational  pur- 
poses, and  since  the  war  to  the  Public  School  Fund.  Edward 
Dickson,  another  son,  was  one  of  the  most  respected  and  pros- 
perous citizens  of  Duplin  County.  His  granddaughter,  Ann  Wil- 
liams, married  Doctor  Stephen  Graham,  and  their  daughter,  Sarah 
Rebecca  Graham,  married  Honorable  Owen  R.  Kenan,  and  be- 
came the  mother  of  Colonel  Thomas  S.  Kenan,  of  Raleigh,  North 
Carolina ;  James  G.  Kenan,  of  Kenansville,  and  the  late  William 
R.  Kenan,  of  Wilmington. 

William  Dickson,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  bom  in  Chester 
County,  Pennsylvania,  on  the  loth  of  January,  1739,  and  was 
brought  by  his  father  to  Duplin  County  during  infancy.  His  ed- 
ucational advantages  were  limited,  as  he  was  reared  among  the 
early  settlers  in  the  wilderness  before  the  establishment  of  schools. 
Still  he  appears  to  have  been  well  taught  at  home ;  wrote  with  un- 
common ease,  and  was  a  man  of  comprehensive  ideas,  good  judg- 
ment, and  great  wisdom.  He  discussed  political  questions  with  in- 
telligence, and  forecast  the  future  with  intuition  and  remarkable 
foresight. 

He  had  just  reached  manhood  when  the  exciting  period  of  the 
Stamp  Act  troubles  fostered  unrest  and  mental  activity  among 
the  colonists ;  and  this  was  followed  by  the  trying  times  of  the 
Revolution,  during  which  he  was  recognized  as  one  of  the  trusted 
leaders  of  his  community. 


WILLIAM  DICKSON  87 

He  was  a  delegate  from  Duplin  County  to  the  first  Provincial 
Congress  held  at  New-Bern  on  the  2Sth  of  August,  1774;  and 
he  was  a  member  of  each  successive  Congress,  and  participated 
in  the  deliberations  of  the  body  that  framed  the  Constitution  of 
the  State.  On  the  establishment  of  county  courts  in  1777  he  was 
elected  clerk  of  that  court  for  Duplin  County,  and  it  is  said  that 
he  held  that  position  for  forty- four  years.  While  he  did  not  serve 
in  the  Continental  Army,  he  was  active  in  the  militia,  especially 
in  the  year  1781  after  Major  Craig  took  possession  of  Wilming- 
ton and  the  Tories  rose  in  the  Cape  Fear  country.  He  was  with 
Lillington  and  Kenan  when  they  held  the  Great  Bridge  from 
February  until  April,  retiring  in  front  of  Comwallis.  In  his  letter 
of  1784  Mr.  Dickson  gives  a  graphic  account  of  the  devastation 
of  Duplin  County  during  that  April  and  June.  "At  length/'  he 
said,  "we  got  collected  about  four  hundred  men  under  Colonel 
Kenan  in  Duplin  and  made  a  stand."  About  the  20th  of  July 
Colonel  Kenan  was  joined  by  a  part  of  Brigadier-General  Caswell's 
Brigade,  making  his  total  force  the  number  above  stated.  Breast- 
works were  thrown  up  about  one  mile  east  of  the  present  village 
of  Wallace,  where  the  county  road  crosses  Rockfish  Creek,  and 
on  August  2d  Colonel  Craig's  force  of  Regulars,  about  five  hun- 
dred strong,  moved  up  and  attacked  them.  Colonel  Kenan  had 
but  a  few  rounds  of  ammunition,  and  when  this  was  exhausted 
his  militia  gave  way,  and  in  the  stampede  some  thirty  or  forty 
men  were  captured,  besides  the  loss  in  killed  and  wounded.  After 
this  encounter  the  Whig  forces  were  dispersed  and  the  enemy 
stayed  several  days  in  Duplin,  the  Tories  gathering  very  fast  and 
taking  possession  of  the  county.  Major  Craig,  having  marched  to 
New- Bern,  returned  towards  Kinston,  proposing  to  move  north- 
ward, but  heard  that  General  Anthony  Wayne  was  approaching 
Halifax,  which  deterred  him  from  further  operations,  and  he 
soup^ht  safety  in  his  fortifications  at  Wilmington.  This  retreat 
gave  renewed  courage  to  the  Whigs,  who  now  embodied,  William 
Dickson  being  among  them.  They  organized  about  eighty  light- 
horsemen,  marched  into  the  neighborhood  where  the  Tories  were, 
surprised  them,  cut  many  to  pieces,  took  several  and  put  them  to 


88  NORTH  CAROLINA 

death.  During  all  those  troublous  times,  though  Mr.  Dickson  had 
many  narrow  escapes,  he  received  but  one  wound,  which  was  a 
shot  through  his  right  leg.  About  the  middle  of  October  General 
Rutherford  and  General  Butler,  with  1500  militia  from  the  back 
country,  came  down  the  Cape  Fear  and  suppressed  the  Tories. 
As  Rutherford  drew  near  to  Wilmington  intelligence  was  re- 
ceived of  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis,  and  Major  Craig  hastily 
sailed  away  for  Charleston,  and  the  troubles  of  the  Revolution 
were  over. 

William  Dickson  was  a  patriotic  and  progressive  citizen.  His 
interest  in  the  establishment  of  the  Grove  Academv  at  Kenans- 
ville  indicates  the  importance  he  attached  to  education.  He  men- 
tions that  about  Christmas,  1785,  "we  made  up  a  small  school  of 
fourteen  or  fifteen  boys,  which  is  the  first  attempt  that  has  ever 
been  made  to  teach  the  languages  in  this  part  of  the  country." 
In  1787  he  states  that  "at  our  Grove  Academy  there  are  yet  but 
twenty-five  students  under  a  master,  who  teaches  only  the  Latin 
and  English  Grammar  and  the  Latin  and  Greek  languages." 

In  that  same  letter  he  refers  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  then  submitted  to  the  Legislature  of  each  State  for  con- 
currence, and  says : 

*'Our  General  Assembly  for  this  State  are  now  convened  and  have  it 
under  consideration.  We  hear  that  debate  runs  high  concerning  it,  also  the 
populace  and  the  country  are  divided  in  their  opinion  concerning  it.  For 
my  own  part  I  am  but  a  shallow  politician,  but  there  are  some  parts 
of  it  I  do  not  like.  However,  I  expect  our  Legislature  will  adopt  it  in 
full." 

In  a  subsequent  letter  he  says  of  the  Federal  Constitution: 

'*I  think  that  it  is  formed  so  as  to  lay  the  foundation  of  one  of  the  great- 
est empires  now  in  the  world,  and  from  the  high  opinion  I  have  of  the 
illustrious  characters  who  now  hold  the  reins  of  government,  I  have  no 
fear  of  any  revolution  taking  place  in  my  day.  Since  I  wrote  to  you  on 
the  subject  I  have  become  reconciled  to  it." 

He  adds : 

"It  was  a  matter  of  necessity  rather  than  choice  when  the  Convention  of 
North  Carolina  received  it  about  twelve  months  ago,  we  being  the  last 


WILLIAM  DICKSON  89 

Slate  except  one  (Rhode  Island)  which  came  into  the  measure.  Virginia. 
though  with  much  reluctance,  and  the  other  States  around  us,  having  pre- 
viously adopted  the  Federal  plan,  the  State  of  North  Carolina  could 
not  remain  independent  of  the  Union  and  support  the  dignity  of  the  State 
ilsell.  Had  Virginia  only  stood  out  with  us.  I  think  North  Carolina  would 
not  have  been  in  the  Union  yet.  It  appears  to  me  that  the  Southern 
Stales  will  not  receive  equal  benefit  in  the  Government  with  the  Northern 
Slates.  .  .  .  The  Southern  Stales  will  have  their  vote,  but  will  not 
be  able  to  carry  any  point  i^ainst  so  powerful  a  party  in  cases  where  either 
general  or  local  interest  are  the  object.  Some  attempts  which  were  made 
in  the  course  of  the  last  session  of  Congress  have  much  alarmed  the  Soulh- 
tm  people.  The  most  strenuous  exertions  were  made  by  some  of  the 
Northern  representatives  to  liberate  and  emancipate  the  slaves  in  the 
United  Slates,  and  though  they  did  not  carry  their  point,  they  seemed  de- 
termined never  to  drop  the  matter  until  they  do.  This,  if  effected,  will 
be  arbitrary,  cruel   and  unjust." 

These  extracts  of  letters  made  conteinporaneoiisly  with  the 
events  they  refer  to  are  not  only  interesting  of  themselves,  but  in- 
dicate thai  William  Dickson  was  a  man  of  profound  thought  and 
a  good  writer.  That  he  exercised  a  great  influence  in  his  com- 
munity cannot  be  doubted. 

He  died  January  20.  1820.  at  the  age  of  eighty-one  years.  He 
married  in  1767  Mary  Williams,  a  tlauKhtcr  .if  Jn^,-|<|i  Williams 
of  Onslow  County,  and  a  granddaughter  of  Benjamin  Williams, 
who  is  said  to  have  been  descended  from  Frances,  a  daughter  of 
Oliver  Cromwell,  and  settled  near  Halifax,  North  Carolina,  prior 
to  1750. 

William  and  Mary  Dickson  had  nine  children.  One  of  their 
descendants  became  the  wife  of  Leroy  Polk  Walker,  Secretary 
of  War  in  President  Davis's  Cabinet,  and  later  a  brigadier- general 
in  the  Confederate  Army ;  another  descendant  was  Albert  Pickett, 
author  of  a  "History  of  Alabama."  A  son  of  William  Dickson, 
Doctor  William  Dickson,  of  Tennessee,  was  a  member  of  Cong- 
ress for  three  terms,  and  the  county  of  Dickson  in  Tennessee  was 
named  for  him. 

S.  A.  Ashe. 


DAVID    FANNING 


i  AVID  FANNING,  one  of  the  most  extraordi- 
nary men  evolved  by  the  Revolutionary  War, 
was  born  about  the  year  1756.  His  parentage 
and  his  birthplace  are  obscure.  In  his  "Sched- 
ule of  Property  lost  to  him  on  account  of  his 
attachment  to  the  British  Government,  tiled  and 
sworn  to  at  St.  Augustine  in  November.  1783."  he  mentions  "550 
acres  of  land  in  Amelia  County  in  the  Province  of  Virginia,  with 
dwelling-house,  etc..  orchards  and  large  enclosed  improvements 
valued  at  687  pounds ;  and  550  acres  of  land  near  said  plantation, 
heir  to  the  estate  of  my  father,  and  some  improvements  with  a 
dwelling-house,  412  pounds;  three  saddle-horses,  twelve  planta- 
tion horses,"  etc.  From  this  it  would  appear  that  Colonel 
Fanning  was  a  native  of  Amelia  County,  Virginia.  Governor 
Swain,  however,  in  tracing  his  career  stated  that  he  was  bom  in 
that  part  of  Johnston  County  which  has  since  been  embraced  in 
Wake,  and  that  he  was  apprenticed  to  a  Mr.  Bryan,  from  whom 
he  ran  away  when  about  sixteen  years  of  age,  finding  a  temporary 
home  at  the  house  of  John  O'Deniell,  of  Hawfields  in  Orange 
County.  He  was  untaught  and  unlettered,  and  he  had  the  scald 
head,  that  became  so  offensive  that  he  did  not  eat  at  the  table  with 
the  family;  and  in  subsequent  life  he  wore  a  silk  cap  SO  that  his 
most  intimate  friends  never  saw  his  head  naked.  In  the  course 
of  two  or  three  years  he  left  North  Carolina  and  settled  on  Rae- 


DAVID  FANNING  91 

bum's  Creek,  a  branch  of  Reedy  River  in  Laurens  District,  South 
Carolina,  and  engaged  in  trafficking  with  the  Indians.  That  part 
of  the  country  was  inhabited  by  the  ScovelHtes,  who  had  been  sup- 
pressed about  the  time  of  the  Regulation  movement  in  North 
Carolina,  and  like  the  Regulators  they  sided  with  the  King  rather 
than  with  the  Whigs. 

David  Fanning  left  a  journal  from  which  the  events  of  his 
career  are  collated. 

In  April,  1775,  Colonel  Fletcher,  the  colonel  of  Laurens  County, 
who  was  a  Royalist,  directed  the  captains  to  muster  their  com-^ 
panics  and  present  two  papers  to  be  signed,  to  see  who  were 
friends  to  the  King  and  Who  would  join  the  Whigs.  Fanning, 
then  in  his  nineteenth  year,  was  sergeant  of  his  company,  and  at 
the  muster  on  the  15th  of  May  he  presented  the  papers,  and  118 
men  signed  in  favor  of  the  King.  There  were  sharp  collisions  be- 
tween the  Loyalists  and  their  Whig  neighbors  during  that  year; 
and  that  Autumn,  when  it  was  learned  that  a  large  quantity  of 
ammunition  was  being  sent  to  the  Cherokee  Nation  by  the  new 
Whig  Government,  as  was  customary,  Fanning  and  his  friends 
intercepted  the  pack-horses  and  secured  the  powder.  Because 
of  this,  the  **Snow  Campaign"  of  December,  1775,  was  under- 
taken by  Colonel  Martin,  Colonel  Rutherford,  and  others,  with 
North  Carolina  forces,  and  the  Loyalists  dispersed  and  the  am- 
nnmition  recovered.  In  July,  1776,  the  Indians  made  their  foray 
on  the  western  frontier  of  North  and  South  Carolina,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  plan  devised  by  Governor  Martin  for  the  subjuga- 
tion of  North  Carolina,  beginning  their  massacre  on  the  very  day 
of  the  bombardment  of  Fort  Moultrie.  Fanning  hastened  to  join 
the  Indians,  carrying  twenty-five  of  his  neighbors  with  him,  and 
they  attacked  a  fort  in  South  Carolina  containing  450  Whigs,  but 
the  assailants  were  driven  off,  and  Fanning  came  to  North  Caro- 
lina. After  experiencing  numberless  hardships,  however,  he  re- 
turned to  his  home  in  March,  1777.  From  the  beginning,  in  May, 
1775,  he  had  been  constantly  active  as  a  zealous  Loyalist,  always 
on  the  warpath,  and  undergoing  many  vicissitudes;  and  this 
course  he  continued  to  pursue,  being  entirely  irrepressible. 


92  NORTH  CAROLINA 

In  March,  1778,  he  was  chosen  commanding  officer  of  the 
Loyalists  of  his  region,  and  there  were  daily  conflicts  between 
his  followers  and  the  Whigs,  until  at  last  the  Loyalists  were  dis- 
persed, and  for  three  months  he  was  obliged  to  remain  in  the 
woods,  living  only  on  what  was  killed  in  the  wilderness. 

Eventually  there  were  embodied  some  500  Loyalists  determined 
to  go  to  St.  Augustine,  but  the  Whigs  having  intercepted  them 
and  dispersed  them.  Fanning  undertook  to  make  his  way  to  Hol- 
stein  River,  but  later  returned  to  Raeburn's  Creek;  and  after  a 
great  many  thrilling  experiences  he  agreed  to  live  peacefully  at 
home  under  a  conditional  pardon.  For  a  year  he  observed  the 
terms  of  his  surrender,  but  on  the  reduction  of  Charleston  in  May, 
1780,  he  and  one  William  Cunningham,  known  as  "Bloody,''  con- 
cluded to  embody  a  party  of  men,  and  they  were  rapidly  joined 
by  many  Loyalists.  They  captured  the  fort  at  Ninety-Six  and  the 
fort  at  White  Hall,  together  with  300  men.  Fanning  now  with 
a  small  party  scouted  on  the  frontiers,  and  he  fell  in  with  Colonel 
Ferguson's  detachment  five  days  before  the  destruction  of  that 
force  at  King's  Mountain,  but  did  not  join  it.  After  that  battle, 
the  Whigs  in  upper  South  Carolina  took  heart,  and  Fanning's 
situation  becoming  alarming,  he  left  that  State  and  came  to  Deep 
River,  where  he  remained  quiet,  but  all  the  while  discovering  who 
were  friends  to  the  King. 

In  July,  1780,  when  South  Carolina  was  entirely  submissive 
to  the  British  and  the  North  Carolina  Loyalists  were  bold  and 
exulting,  Major  Ferguson  arranged  for  their  organization  and 
commissioned  seven  captains  with  their  subordinates  for  com- 
panies in  Randolph ;  six  captains  for  Chatham ;  four  for  Cumber- 
land ;  three  for  Anson  and  two  for  Orange ;  and  so  the  organiza- 
tion and  nucleus  of  a  loyal  militia  force  in  that  part  of  North  Caro- 
lina was  substantial.  These  officers,  however,  remained  inactive 
until  Craig  took  possession  of  Wilmington  and  Cornwallis  reached 
Hillsboro  and  issued  his  proclamation  for  the  Loyalists  to  embody. 
Captain  John  Rains,  of  Randolph  County,  was  the  first  to  beg^n 
to  embody  his  company.  Doctor  John  Pyle,  who  was  a  physician 
and  an  estimable  man,  one  of  the  Regulators,  feeling  conscien- 


DAVID  FANNING  93 


tiously  bound  by  his  oath,  also  responded  and  was  assigned  the 
command  of  some  300  men,  the  first  Loyalists  to  collect.  On 
their  way  to  join  Comwallis  at  Hillsboro  they  fell  in  with  Colonel 
Lee  and  his  troops,  on  the  2Sth  of  February,  1781,  near  the  site 
of  the  town  of  Burlington,  and  were  cut  to  pieces.  At  that  time, 
however.  Fanning  was  still  on  Deep  River,  with  a  smaller  party, 
arousing  the  Loyalists  to  action. 

He  joined  Comwallis  at  Dixon's  Mills  on  •Cane  Creek,  but 
after  accompanying  him  as  far  as  Cross  Creek,  he  separated  from 
the  army  and  began  the  career  of  murder  and  rapine  that  has 
made  his  name  infamous.  It  must  be  said,  however,  that  he  was 
one  of  the  boldest  men,  most  fertile  in  expedients  and  quick  in 
execution,  that  ever  lived  in  North  Carolina.  Had  he  been  on 
the  Whig  side,  his  fame  would  have  been  more  enduring  than 
that  of  any  other  partisan  officer  whose  memory  is  now  so  dear 
to  all  patriots.  Foraging  on  the  country,  seizing  what  he  wanted, 
slaying,  slaughtering,  burning  homes  and  butchering  in  cold  blood 
according  to  his  mood,  he  became  a  terror  and  a  scourge. 

His  headquarters  were  at  Coxe's  Mill  on  Deep  River,  and  from 
there  he  sallied  forth  in  every  direction,  intercepting  all  parties 
passing  to  and  from  General  Greene's  camp  in  South  Carolina, 
and  terrorizing  all  that  region.  Early  in  June  Colonels  Collier 
and  Balfour  led  a  detachment  to  dislodge  him,  but  Fanning  by  a 
forced  march  was  enabled  to  make  a  night  attack  upon  them  and 
drove  them  off.  For  a  time  then  Colonel  Christopher  Dudley  oc- 
cupied Coxe's  Mills  with  a  force  of  300  Virginians,  but  could  not 
suppress  this  indefatigable  partisan.  Emboldened  by  the  protec- 
tion and  by  the  presence  of  the  British  Army,  the  Tories  of  Cum- 
berland, Bladen  and  Duplin  had  likewise  become  very  active  and 
the  Whigs  had  been  driven  from  their  homes,  while  many  who 
were  not  resolute  partisans  had  submitted  to  the  dominion  of  the 
Loyalists.  In  Chatham,  Randolph,  Anson  and  Cumberland,  Fan- 
ning and  his  coadjutors  were  in  absolute  control ;  and  all  that 
region  was  dominated  by  the  Royal  adherents. 

About  the  first  of  July  there  was  a  muster  of  the  Loyal  militia 
at   Fanning's  camp,  and  he  was  chosen  colonel,  and  thereupon 


94  NORTH  CAROLINA 

set  out  for  Wilmington  to  obtain  a  commission :  and  on  the  5th  of 
that  month  Major  Craig  commissioned  him  colonel  of  the  Loyal 
militia  in  Randolph  and  Chatham  Counties.  On  his  return  he  at 
once  collected  about  150  men  and  began  active  operations.  A  few 
days  later,  about  the  middle  of  July,  there  being  a  general  muster 
and  a  court-martial  at  Pittsboro,  Fanning  made  a  descent  upon 
that  place  and  took  fifty-three  prisoners,  including  all  the  militia 
officers  of  the  county  except  two,  a  Continental  captain  and  three 
members  of  the  Assembly.  He  parolled  some  and  carried  others 
to  Wilmington.  It  was  a  great  advantage  to  these  Tory  bands 
that  they  could  obtain  all  the  ammunition  that  they  needed  from 
the  British  Army,  while  the  Whigs  were  entirely  without  am- 
munition and  were  very  badlv  armed. 

Fanning's  next  exploit  was  to  attack  Colonel  Alston's  party 
at  his  house ;  and  on  the  nth  of  August  he  again  passed  on  down 
to  Wilmington  to  .obtain  supplies  and  ammunition.  Returning 
towards  the  end  of  August,  he  found  Colonel  Slingsby  at  Eliza- 
bethtown,  and  the  night  that  he  separated  from  Colonel  Slingsby 
occurred  the  Battle  of  Elizabethtown,  in  which  Slingsby  was 
killed  and  the  Loyalists  were  routed  by  Colonel  Brown.  A  day  or 
two  later  he  joined  Colonel  McNeil  on  Drowning  Creek,  who  was 
threatened  with  attack  by  Colonel  Wade.  Fanning,  however,  be- 
came the  assailant,  and  won  a  victory.  On  the  9th  of  September, 
being  joined  at  Coxe*s  Mills  by  Colonel  McDougal  with  200  men 
from  Cumberland,  and  Colonel  Hector  McNeil  with  his  party 
from  Bladen,  and  having  himself  some  950  men,  he  proposed  to 
put  in  execution  a  plan  he  had  long  had  in  mind  of  capturing  the 
Governor  of  the  State.  General  Butler  and  Colonel  Robert  Me- 
bane  lay  within  forty  miles  of  Coxe's  Mills,  and  Fanning  let  it  be 
understood  that  he  proposed  to  attack  them.  He  marched  to 
Rocky  River,  and  then,  changing  direction,  pressed  on  to  Hills- 
boro  without  stopping.  At  seven  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the 
1 2th  he  entered  the  town  in  three  divisions,  killed  fifteen,  wounded 
twenty,  and  took  upwards  of  200  prisoners,  including  the  Gov- 
ernor, Burke,  his  Council,  and  many  officers  of  the  Continental 
Line  and  seventy-one  Continental  soldiers.    At  noon  that  day  they 


DAVID  FANNING  .     95 

left  Hillsboro  and  early  the  next  morning  reached  Lindsay's  Mill 
on  Cane  Creek,  where  General  Butler  intercepted  them.    At  the 
first  outset  eight  of  the  Tories  fell,  including  Colonel  McNeil ;  but 
after  a  four  hours'  conflict  Butler's  troops  were  driven  off.    Fan- 
ning, however,  lost  heavily:  twenty-seven  killed,  sixty  so  badly 
wounded  that  they  could  not  be  moved,  and  thirty  others  slightly 
wounded.    Fanning  himself  received  a  shot  in  his  left  arm,  break- 
ing the  bone  in  several  places ;  and  his  loss  of  blood  was  so  gjeat 
that  he  had  to  be  secreted  in  the  woods  on  Brush  Creek.    His 
army,  however,  proceeded    under    Colonel  McDougal  and    the 
prisoners  were  safely  delivered  to  Major  Craig  at  Wilmington. 
In  this  Battle  of  Cane  Creek  Butler  lost  twenty- four  men,  killed, 
and  left  ninety  wounded  on  the  ground,  and  the  Loyalists  took 
ten  prisoners.     Of  the  killed  were  Colonel  Luttrell  and  Major 
Knowles.    It  is  of  interest  to  record  that  Colonel  Pyle,  who  was 
a  humane  man  and  a  physician,  attended  these  wounded  Whigs 
so  carefully  that  he  was  pardoned  by  the  Whig  Government,  and 
became  a  quiet,  peaceful  citizen  during  the  remainder  of  the  war. 
A  month  elapsed  before  Colonel  Fanning  was   able   to   move 
about.    Then  having  received  a  fresh  supply  of  ammunition,  and 
embodying  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  men,  he    sallied    forth 
a^ain.    But  the  Whig  forces  pressed  him  so  closely  that,  learning 
of  Cornwallis's  surrender  and  of  Craig's  evacuation  of  Wilming- 
ton, he  divided  his  followers  into  small  squads,  continuing,  how- 
ever, to  scour  the  country.     On  the  loth  of  December  Colonel 
Isaacs  led  a  party  from  the  west  and  took  possession  of  Coxe*s 
Mills,  and  after  this  Fanning  was  in  the  woods  and  kept  moving 
with  a  small  party  as  occasion  required.    Daily  he  perfonned  some 
extraordinary  feat,  until  at  length  in  January  he  proposed  terms 
for  an  annistice.    Pending  these  negotiations,  he  was  more  quiet, 
but  when  they  fell  through,  receiving  a  message  from  Colonel 
Balfour  that  *'there  was  no  resting-place  for  a  Tory's  foot  upon 
the  earth,*'  on  the  12th  of  March  he  set  out  for  Balfour's  planta- 
tion.   **When  we  came  upon  him,**  says  Fanning  in  his  Narrative, 
**hc  endeavored  to  make  his  escape:  but  we  soon  prevented  him, 
fired  at  him  and  wounded  him.     The  first  ball  he  received  was 


96  NORTH  CAROLINA  . 

through  one  of  his  arms  and  ranged  through  his  body ;  the  other 
through  his  neck,  which  put  an  end  to  his  committing  any  more 
ill  deeds."  Miss  Balfour's  account  of  this  murder  is  given  else- 
where in  this  work. 

Hard  and  bitter  indeed  was  the  conflict  during  those  bloody 
months  between  the  Tory  and  Whig  elements  throughout  the  en- 
tire Cape  Fear  section  from  Guilford  County  to  the  sea.  All  that 
region  was  a  scene  of  turmoil,  rapine  and  fierce  warfare,  but  the 
fires  of  patriotism  were  not  extinguished,  and  the  trials,  suffer- 
ings, sacrifices  and  endurance  of  the  Whig  people  were  heroic. 
A  momentary  view  of  what  they  suffered  is  given  in  the  Nar- 
rative of  Fanning,  after  he  had  murdered  Balfour: 

**We  then  proceeded  to  their  Colonel's  (Collier),  belonging  to  said 
county  of  Randolph.  On  our  way  we  burnt  several  rebel  houses  and 
caught  several  prisoners.  The  night  coming  on,  and  the  distance  to  said 
Collier's  was  so  far  that  it  was  late  before  we  got  there.  He  made  his  es- 
cape, having  received  three  balls  through  his  shirt.  But  I  took  care  to 
destroy  the  whole  of  his  plantation.  I  then  pursued  our  route  and  came 
to  one  Captain  John  Bryan's,  another  rebel  officer.  I  told  him  that  if 
he  would  come  out  of  the  house  I  would  give  him  parole,  which  he  re- 
fused. With  that  I  immediately  ordered  the  house  to  be  set  on  fire,  which 
was  instantly  done.  As  soon  as  he  saw  the  flames  of  the  fire  increasing. 
he  called  out  to  me  and  desired  me  to  spare  his  house,  for  his  wife  and 
children's  sake,  and  he  would  walk  out  with  his  arms  in  his  hands.  I 
immediately  answered  him  that  if  he  walked  out  that  his  house  should  be 
saved  for  his  wife  and  children.  When  he  came  out  he  said»  'Here,  damn 
you,  here  I  am.'  With  that  he  received  two  balls  through  his  body;  he 
came  out  with  his  gun  cocked  and  sword  at  the  same  time." 

And  so  it  was  almost  every  day  during  the  period  that  Fan- 
ning was  raiding  in  North  Carolina,  burning  homes,  murdering, 
and  hanging.  On  the  other  side  there  was  equal  violence,  and 
many  Tories  were  hanged  and  many  shot  without  quarter,  par- 
ticularly when  taken  bushwhacking  and  marauding  in  small 
squads. 

Fanning's  proposition  for  a  truce  was  for  a  neutral  territory' 
twentv  miles  north  and  south,  thirtv  miles  east  and  west,  Ham- 
mond  Coxe's  Mill  being  the  center,  to  be  totally  clear  of  the  Whig 
Light-Horse ;  to  be  no  plundering  or  murdering ;  all  public  roads 


to  be  travelled  by  any  person  or  company  iinciiolested :  the  Loyal- 
ists to  have  free  trade  with  any  port.  And  that  was  to  last  until 
the  end  of  the  war.  This  proposition  was  finally  rejected  about 
the  middle  of  March;  and  in  April' Fanning,  together  with  two  of 
his  captains,  took  unto  themselves  wives  on  Deep  River,  and 
early  in  May  left  North  Carolina  with  their  wives  and  properly 
for  the  peace-ground  on  the  Pedee  in  South  Carolina,  Remaining 
Ilicre  a  month,  on  the  17th  of  June,  1782.  he  departed  for 
Charleston,  and  on  the  28th  of  September,  together  with  the  other 
Loyalists  at  Charleston,  he  took  passage  for  St.  Augustine, 
Florida,  where  he  remained  two  years.  After  peace  many  of  the 
Loyalists  returned  to  North  Carolina.  But  Fanning's  career  had 
been  too  bloody  for  him  to  find  a  resting-place  among  the  people 
he  had  so  outraged.  His  remorseless  rapine  and  murderous  exe- 
cution were  without  a  parallel.  Besides  individual  hangings  and 
minor  encounters,  he  had  participated  in  thirty-six  bloody  en- 
gagements; and  the  plantations  he  had  ravaged  and  despoiled, 
leaving  ruin  and  suffering  in  his  path,  were  innumerable.  The 
General  Assembly  extended  amnesty  and  pardon  to  all  Tories 
with  the  excejition  of  three,  and  Fanning  was  among  those  pro- 
scribed.    His  crimes  and  butcheries  were  beyond  forgiveness. 

In  September,  1784,  he  located  near  St.  John's,  New  Bruns- 
wick, and  later  resided  at  Digby,  Nova  Scotia,  where  he  died  in 

.825. 

S.  A.  Ashe. 


PETER  FORNEY 

JETER  FORNEY  was  a  soldier  of  the  Revolu- 
'  tion,  a  lawgiver  for  the  State  and  Nation,  and 
\  the  founder  of  the  iron  industry  in  western 
North  CaroHna.  He  was  the  son  of  one  of  the 
.  most  distinguished  of  the  early  settlers  of  Lin- 
^  coin  County,  and  was  himself  the  progenitor 
f  many  whose  names  are  upon  the  lionor-roll  of  this  and  other 
States.  He  was  born  in  Lincoln  (formerly  Tryon)  County  in 
April,  1756,  and  died  there  ist  of  February,  1834,  in  the  seventy- 
eightli  year  of  his  age.  He  was  the  second  son  of  General  Jacob 
and  Mariah  (Dcrgncr)  Forney.  His  mother  was  a  native  of 
Berne,  Switzerlantl.  She  came  to  America  on  board  the  same 
ship  which  brought  the  young  man  to  whom  she  afterwards  gave 
her  heart  and  hand.  General  Jacob  Forney  was  born  about  1721 
in  Alsace  upon  the  Rhine,  to  which  place  his  father,  who  was  a 
Huguenot,  had  fled  after  the  Revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes 
in  1685.  About  1735  he  went  to  Amsterdam,  then  to  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  about  1754  joined  the  tide  of  emigration  for  the  South, 
and  settled  in  Lincoln  County.  In  1781  Cornwaliis,  while  in  his 
pursuit  of  Morgan,  made  his  headquarters  for  about  three  days 
at  the  house  of  General  Jacob  Forney,  and  during  that  time  con- 
sumed much  of  his  food  supplies  and  forage,  and  carried  off  his 
gold  and  silver,  amounting  to  about  one  hundred  and  twenty 
pounds  sterling.     The  Forney  log  house,  in  which  ComwalUs 


PETER  FORNEY  99 


was  an  unwelcome  guest,  was  still  standing  a  few  years  ago,  and 
perhaps  is  now.  The  name  was  originally  spelled  Famey,  but 
was  changed  by  the  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  dur- 
ing his  residence  in  Alsace. 

Peter  Forney  entered  military  service  in  1776,  about  the  first 
of  June,  and  marched  under  command  of  Colonel  William  Graham 
and  Captain  James  Johnston  to  Fort  McFadden  (Rutherfordton) 
to  protect  the  inhabitants  of  that  section  against  the  Indians.  He 
joined  a  detachment  of  one  hundred  men  and  pursued  the  fleeing 
red  men  for  several  days.  Failing  in  overtaking  them,  he  re- 
turned to  the  fort.  His  next  expedition  was  against  a  body  of 
Tories  assembled  near  the  South  Carolina  line.  In  this  expedi- 
tion he  served  as  lieutenant  in  the  company  of  Captain  Charles 
Reid,  the  detachment  being  in  command  of  Colonel  Charles  Mc- 
Lean. The  detachment  brought  back  several  prisoners  who  were 
conveyed  to  Salisbury.  Lieutenant  Forney  was  then  transferred 
to  the  company  of  Captain  Kuykendal,  and  was  frequently  out  on 
expeditions  for  suppressing  and  intimidating  the  Tories.  In  the 
Fall  of  1779  he  volunteered  with  a  party  to  go  to  Kentucky 
(Harrod  Station),  where  he  remained  but  a  short  while.  Lieu- 
t^ant  Forney  then  joined  the  militia  company  of  Captain  Neal, 
which  was  preparing  to  march  for  the  relief  of  Charleston.  While 
in  waiting  at  Charlotte  for  the  assembling  of  more  troops,  he  was 
promoted  to  the  captaincy  in  place  of  Neal  by  Colonel  Hampton 
and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Hambright.  He  marched  to  Charleston 
under  command  of  Colonel  Hall.  The  militia  of  the  State  was 
then  under  command  of  General  Lillington.  While  at  Charleston 
the  period  of  enlistment  of  most  of  Forney's  men  expired,  but 
he  succeeded  in  persuading  them  to  remain  for  about  six  weeks, 
at  which  time  fresh  troops  were  expected.  Immediately  after  his 
return  from  Charleston,  which  was  the  Spring  of  1780,  Captain 
Forney  volunteered  under  Lieutenant-Colonel  Hambright  and 
went  in  pursuit  of  Colonel  Floyd,  a  Tory  leader,  on  Fishing 
Creek,  South  Carolina.  Returning  from  this  expedition,  he  found 
the  Tories  assembled  at  Ramseur*s  Mill  under  Colonel  John 
Moore,  and  another  body  of  them  near  Mountain  Creek.     He 


392152 A 


loo  NORTH  CAROLINA 

went  at  once  to  report  these  facts  to  General  Rutherford,  whom  he 
found  encamped  at  Colonel  Dickson's  on  the  Catawba,  three  miles 
northwest  of  Tuckaseege  Ford.  He  attached  himself  to  Ruther- 
ford's force  and  marched  to  Ramseur's,  but  did  not  arrive  until 
two  hours  after  the  battle.  Captain  Forney  participated  in  the 
battle  at  Cowan's  Ford  on  the  ist  of  February,  1781.  When  the 
gallant  Davidson  fell  the  militia  was  repulsed.  Forney  retreated 
across  the  Yadkin  and  remained  upon  Abbott's  Creek  about  six 
weeks,  during  which  time  he  had  no  regular  command,  but  as- 
sisted the  American  cause  wherever  he  could  do  so  most  effec- 
tively. His  last  service  in  the  Revolution  was  to  command  a  com- 
pany  of  dragoons  under  Major  Charles  Polk  in  the  expedition 
of  General  Rutherford  to  Wilmington.  When  these  troops  ap- 
proached that  city,  Major  Craig,  having  heard  of  Cornwallis's  sur- 
render, fled,  and  thus  carried  away  from  the  soil  of  the  State  the 
last  red-coat. 

Having  devoted  several  years  of  his  life  to  military  operations, 
Captain  Forney  now  turned  his  attention  to  matters  of  a  more 
peaceful  nature,  but  none  the  less  profitable  to  his  country.  He 
fortunately  became  the  owner  of  the  "Big  Ore  Bank,"  located 
seven  miles  east  of  Lincolnton.  His  brother  Abram  (who  had 
participated  in  the  battle  of  King's  Mountain)  was  associated 
with  him  for  a  while.  It  is  recorded  in  a  small  note-book  of  his 
that  he  produced  hammered  iron  in  his  forge  on  the  26th  of 
August,  1788.  This  is  believed  to  be  the  first  manufacture  of 
iron  in  the  western  part  of  the  State.  This  iron  deposit  was 
"granted"  by  the  State  in  1789  to  Peter  Forney  and  others  whose 
interests  he  subsequently  purchased.  In  1791  he  sold  a  portion  of 
this  bank  to  Captain  Alexander  Brevard,  Major  John  Davidson 
and  General  Joseph  Graham.  Vesuvius  Furnace  on  Anderson's 
Creek  and  Mount  Tirzah  Forge  were  erected  by  this  company. 
Forney  erected  a  forge  near  his  home  (now  the  property  of  Mrs. 
Hall),  bought  other  lands,  and  about  1809  erected  Madison 
(Derr)  Furnace  on  Leeper's  Creek  about  five  miles  from  Lincoln- 
ton.  These  works  supplied  the  Government  with  cannon-balls 
during  the  War  of  1812.    Madison  Furnace  was  washed  away  by 


PETER  FORNEY  lat 

a  freshet  about  1868,  and  the  Mariposa  Cotton  Mills,  owned  by 
Captain  Joseph  G.  Morrison,  now  occupy  the  site. 

Having  served  as  a  soldier  and  as  a  "Captain  of  Industry." 
Captain  Forney  had  attained  to  such  a  position  of  confidence  and 
respect  in  the  hearts  of  his  fellow-countrymen  that  he  was  called 
ujion  by  them  for  ser\'ice  in  die  political  affairs  of  the  State.  In 
the  meantime  he  had  been  appointed  by  the  Legislature  to  the  posi- 
tion of  brigadier- general  in  the  State  Militia.  He  was  elected 
a  member  of  the  House  of  Commons  in  1794,  1795  and  1796,  and 
of  the  State  Senate  in  i8or-02.  His  services  here  were  so  satis- 
factory that  he  was  elected  to  membership  in  the  Thirteenth  Con- 
gress over  his  fonner  partner,  General  Joseph  Graham,  one  of 
tile  mf)st  prominent  and  distinguished  men  in  the  State.  He 
served  from  the  24th  of  May,  1813,  to  the  3d  of  March,  1815.  and 
had  the  honor  of  being  succeeded  by  his  son,  David  M.  Forney. 
He  was  Presidential  Elector  several  times:  at  first  on  the  Jeffer- 
son ticket;  then  in  1813  on  the  Madison  ticket,  and  again  in  1825 
and  1829  on  the  Monroe  ticket. 

In  1783  General  Forney  married  Nancy,  the  daughter  of  David 
Abcrnethy,  a  lady  of  great  moral  worth,  gooflness  of  heart,  and 
Christian  benevolence.  Five  sons  and  seven  daughters  blessed 
this  union.  They  and  their  children  have  proven  themselves 
worthy  of  their  illustrious  ancestry. 

General  Forney  passed  away  at  his  home,  "Mount  Welcome," 
at  a  ripe  old  age.  In  the  language  of  Wheeler,  he  was  "a  bright 
example  of  the  useful  citizen  and  upright  man.  Generosity,  can- 
dor, integrity  and  freedom  from  pride  and  vain  show  were  prom- 
inent traits  of  his  character," 

IV.  A.  IVilkcrs. 


BENJAMIN  FORSYTH 


an  act  of  the  General  Assembly  of  North 
'  Carolina  ratified  on  the  16th  day  of  January, 
1849,  Stokes  County  was  divided,  and  out  of  it 
was  created  the  county  of  Forsyth,  the  name  (as 
,  the  act  states)  "being  given  in  honor  of  the 
,  memory  of  Benjamin  Forsyth,  a  native  of 
Stokes  County,  who  fell  on  the  northern  frontier  in  the  late  war 
with  England."  Stokes  County  had  been  named  as  a  compliment 
to  Colonel  John  Stokes,  who  lost  his  right  arm  in  a  fight  with 
Tarleton's  Dragoons  during  the  Revolution;  and  it  was  just  and 
proper  that  its  daughter  coimty  of  Forsyth  should  bear  the  name  of 
another  soldier  who  made  a  still  greater  sacrifice — even  life  itself — 
in  defence  of  America's  rights  during  our  second  conflict  with 
Great  Britain.  Benjamin  Forsyth's  first  entrance  into  the  army 
was  as  second  lieutenant  of  the  Sixth  Infantry  on  April  24,  1800; 
but  he  was  honorably  discharged  a  few  months  later,  on  June 
15th.  This  very  brief  service  was  possibly  due  to  a  temporary 
increase  in  the  army  on  account  of  the  imminent  probability  of 
war  growing  out  of  the  strained  relations  with  France  at  that 
time.  Returning  to  his  native  State,  Mr.  Forsyth  took  some  part 
in  the  politics  of  that  day.  In  two  successive  sessions  of  the  North 
Carolina  House  of  Commons,  which  met  on  the  i6th  of  Novem- 
ber, 1807.  and  on  the  21st  of  November,  1808,  he  represented 
Stokes  County.    Before  the  meeting  of  the  latter  session  Forsyth 


BENJAMIN  FORSYTH  103 

had  again  been  commissioned  an  officer  in  the  army,  but  remained 
in  North  Carolina  to  serve  out  his  term  in  the  Assembly,  which 
adjourned  on  the  23d  of  December,  1809.  Hence  he  did  not  ac- 
tively enter  upon  his  military  duties  until  1809,  though  his  com- 
mission bore  date  July  i,  1808.  He  was  assigned  to  the  Rifle 
Regiment  with  the  rank  of  captain,  and  held  this  position  when 
the  second  war  with  Great  Britain  opened  in  1812.  His  first  ex- 
ploit in  that  war  was  in  September  of  that  year.  On  the  20th  of 
that  month  he  embarked  at  Cape  Vincent  on  the  St.  Lawrence 
River  in  New  York,  and  went  down  in  boats  to  the  towns  of 
Gananoque  and  Leeds  on  the  Canadian  side,  for  the  purpose  pri- 
marily of  destroying  the  King's  store-house  at  one  of  those  places. 
In  Captain  Forsyth's  party  were  seventy  riflemen  from  the  reg- 
ular army,  and  thirty-four  militiamen.  They  landed  before  day- 
break on  the  2 1  St  without  being  observed,  but  were  discovered 
shortly  after  sunrise  and  fired  upon  by  a  body  of  125  British 
regulars  and  militia.  This  fire  was  returned ;  and,  after  a  sharp 
skirmish,  the  King's  forces  fled,  leaving  ten  or  more  of  their  num- 
ber dead  on  the  field,  while  others  fell  into  the  stream.  Eight 
British  regulars  and  some  of  the  militia  were  made  prisoners  by 
the  Americans,  who  destroyed  the  store-house  and  returned  to 
Cape  \'incent  with  many  captured  military  supplies,  after  paroling 
the  militia  prisoners.  In  this  expedition  the  United  States  forces 
had  only  one  man  killed  and  one  slightly  wounded.  On  Janu- 
ary 20,  1813,  Captain  Forsyth  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of 
major.  He  was  an  officer  not  only  of  great  bravery,  but  of 
unusual  dash,  vigor  and  enterprise. 

While  commandant  of  the  post  at  Ogdensburg,  New  York,  on 
February  6,  181 3,  Major  Forsyth  gathered  together  a  force  of 
about  two  hundred  regulars  and  volunteers,  and  with  these  pro- 
ceeded in  sleighs  up  the  river  to  Morristown.  At  three  o'clock  in 
the  darkness  of  the  following  morning  they  crossed  over  the  river 
to  Elizabeth  town,  surprised  the  guard  and  took  fifty-two  prisoners, 
among  whom  were  five  officers.  They  also  captured  120  muskets, 
twenty  rifles  and  several  boxes  of  ammunition :  and  returned  to 
Ogdensburg  without  the  loss  of  a  man.     A  few  days  later,  on 


I04  NORTH  CAROLINA 

February  21st,  the  British  gathered  a  force  of  more  than  twice  the 
number  under  Forsyth,  who  was  at  Ogdensburg,  and  finally  suc- 
ceeded in  driving  him  out  of  that  place,  but  suffered  severely  in 
so  doing.  On  that  occasion  the  British  forces  formed  themselves 
in  two  columns  of  600  men  each,  and  in  the  battle  killed  and 
wounded  about  twenty  Americans.  Forsyth  reported  that,  from 
the  coolness  with  which  his  riflemen  fired  he  was  led  to  believe 
that  the  British  had  lost  at  least  three  times  that  number.  The 
Americans  retreated  to  Black  Lake,  about  nine  miles  from 
Ogdensburg.  Shortly  thereafter  Forsyth  was  present  at  the  cap- 
ture of  Fort  George,  in  Canada,  on  May  27,  1813,  and  greatly 
added  to  his  reputation  as  a  soldier  in  the  battle  fought  there. 

For  '^distinguished  services"  Major  Forsyth  was  first  given 
the  brevet  rank  of  lieutenant-colonel,  and  was  later  (April  15, 
1814)  commissioned  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  26th  Infantry. 

An  anecdote  of  Colonel  Forsyth  appeared  shortly  after  his 
death  in  the  Pennsylvania  Journal,  and  was  copied  in  Niles's  Reg- 
ister for  January  11,  1817.    This  account  says: 

"Colonel  Forsyth,  so  celebrated  in  the  last  war  as  the  commander  of  a 
band  of  sharp-shooters  which  harassed  the  enemy  so  much,  happened  in 
a  scouting  party  to  capture  a  British  officer.  He  brought  him  into  his 
camp  and  treated  him  with  every  respect  due  to  his  rank.  Happening  to 
enter  into  conversation  on  the  subject  of  sharpshooters,  the  British  officer 
observed  that  Colonel  Forsyth's  men  were  a  terror  to  the  British  camp — 
that  as  far  as  they  could  sec  they  could  select  the  officer  from  the  private, 
and  the  officer  of  course  fell  a  sacrifice  to  their  precise  shooting.  He 
wished  very  much  to  see  a  specimen  of  their  shooting.  Forsyth  gave  the 
wink  to  one  of  his  officers,  then  at  hand,  who  departed  and  instructed  two 
of  his  best  marksmen,  belonging  to  the  corps,  to  pass  by  the  commanding 
officers'  quarters  at  stated  intervals.  This  being  arranged,  Colonel  For- 
syth informed  the  British  officer  that  he  should  be  gratified,  and  observed 
that  he  would  step  in  front  of  his  tent  and  see  whether  any  of  his  men 
were  near  at  hand.  According  to  arrangements  made,  one  of  the  best 
marksmen  appeared.  The  colonel  ordered  him  to  come  forward,  and  in- 
quired whether  his  rifle  was  in  good  order.  'Yes,  sir,'  replied  the  man. 
He  then  stuck  a  table  knife  in  a  tree  about  fifty  paces  distant  and  ordered 
the  man  to  split  his  ball.  He  fired  and  the  ball  was  completely  divided  by 
the  knife,  perforating  the  tree  on  each  side.  This  astonished  the  British 
officer.     Presently  another  soldier  appeared  in  sight.     He  was  called,  and 


ordered,  at  llie  same  dialance.  to  shoot  the  ace  of  clubs  out  of  the  card. 
This  was  actually  done.  The  British  officer  was  confounded  and  amazed — 
still  more  so  when  the  colone!  informed  him  that  four  weeks  before  those 
men  were  living  at  their  homes  in  the  capacity  of  husbandmen.  So  much 
for  the  American  soldiery." 

The  death  of  Colonel  Forsyth  occurred  near  Odelltown,  on  the 
Canadian  frontier,  June  28,  1814,  and  was  due  to  his  refusal  to 
retire  even  when  ordered  to  do  so.  His  commanding  general 
had  ordered  a  small  party  of  Americans  to  attack  a  larger  body 
of  British,  and  then  to  beat  a  hasty  retreat,  leading  the  pursuing 
party  into  an  ambtish  which  had  been  formed.  A  portion  of  this 
ambuscade  was  commanded  by  Forsyth,  who  also  had  orders 
to  retreat  after  a  short  brush  with  the  British;  but  he  preferred 
to  fight  to  a  finish  then  and  there.  In  a  contemporaneous  publi- 
cation in  North  Carolina  (the  Raleigh  Register  of  July  15,  1814I 
we  find  this  account : 

"At  a  short  distance  from  the  road  Colonel  Forsyth  lay  with  a  party 
of  riflemen  in  ambush.  It  is  said  that  the  Colonel  had  also  been  ordered 
to  retreat  if  discovered  by  the  enemy  while  advancing;  and  that,  bad  the 
orders  been  obeyed,  a  strong  detachment  then  moving  in  the  skirl  of  the 
wood  would  have  gained  the  enemy's  rear  and  captured  them.  But  un- 
/ortunatcl)'  for  the  -■iervicc  as  well  as  for  hiitist^l,  Calont:!  Ryrsyl/i,  an-  souii 

as  the  enemy  came  up,  gave  them  battle.  They  suspected  the  ambuscade, 
returned  two  fires  and  retreated.  At  the  first  fire  Colonel  Forsyth  fell. 
He  received  a  shot  through  his  breast,  and  shortly  thereafter  expired. 
Colonel  Forsyth  was  a  brave  and  intrepid  soldier.  On  our  part,  except  the 
Colonel,  two  only  were  wounded,  and  none  killed.  Of  the  killed  and 
wounded  of  the  enemy  we  are  not  informed," 

Another  contemporaneous  account  of  the  death  of  Forsyth  we 
find  in  Niles's  Register  for  July  16,  1814,  under  the  head  of 
"Events  of  the  War."    This  account  says : 

"Lieulenant-Colonel  Forsyth,  of  the  Rifle  Corps,  was  killed  on  the  28th 
ult,.  in  a  skirmish  near  Odelltown,  It  appears  that  a  plan  had  been  formed 
for  ambuscading  a  detachment  of  the  enemy,  near  that  place,  by  Brtga- 
dier-General  Smith,  and  that  Forsyth  had  orders  lo  attack,  retreat  and 
draw  them  into  the  snare.  The  affray  commenced  ;  but,  instead  of  falling 
back,  his  personal  courage  tempted  him  to  make  a  stand,  and  he  remained 
in  the  road  within  sixteen  rods  of  the  enemy,   where  he  received  a  ball 


io8  NORTH  CAROLINA 

prived  of  a  father's  guidance;  but  the  devoted  mother  was  both 
father  and  mother  to  the  boy. 

His  early  education  was  received  at  the  Loudon  Valley  Acad- 
emy, from  which,  in  1871,  he  entered  Richmond  College.  While 
there  he  made  certificates  in  mathematics  and  physics  and  did 
work  in  ancient  and  modern  languages.  In  1873  he  went  from 
Richmond  College  to  the  University  of  Virginia,  from  which  he 
was  graduated  in  1875  with  the  degree  of  Civil  Engineer.  After 
leaving  the  University  he  spent  two  years  (1876-78)  at  Johns 
Hopkins  as  Fellow  in  Mathematics,  paying  special  attention  also 
to  physics.  At  the  Hopkins  he  was  directly  under  the  instruc- 
tion of  the  great  Sylvester  in  mathematics  and  of  Rowland  in 
physics. 

Mr.  Gore  was  soon  elected  Professor  of  Physics  and  Chemistry 
in  the  Southwestern  Baptist  University  at  Jackson,  Tennessee, 
where  he  remained  until  1881,  when  he  was  selected  bv  his  hon- 
ored  teacher,  Colonel  C.  S.  Venable,  as  his  assistant  in  mathe- 
matics in  the  University  of  Virginia.  In  1882  he  was  called  to  the 
professorship  of  physics  in  the  University  of  North  Carolina, 
which  position  he  is  still  filling  efficiently  and  acceptably. 

At  the  University  of  North  Carolina  he  has  been  wholly  re- 
sponsible for  the  electric  light  plant,  and  in  large  measure  for 
the  heating  and  water  plants.  He  was  one  of  the  prime  movers 
for  the  investment  of  endowment  funds  in  these  and  other  im- 
provements, which  are  sources  of  revenue  to  the  University.  He 
was  also  greatly  interested  in  and  aided  in  establishing  the  Uni- 
versity Press,  and  has  had  charge  of  the  erection  of  the  Y.  M. 
C.  A.  building.  He  has  developed  a  strong  course  of  electricity 
at  the  University,  and  as  Dean  of  the  Department  of  Applied 
Science  he  is  aiding  in  the  upbuilding  of  an  institution  to  meet 
the  growing  needs  of  the  South. 

Professor  Gore  is  the  inventor  of  improvements  in  telephony 
and  in  wireless  telegraphy,  and  takes  an  active  interest  in  many 
matters  connected  with  the  subject  of  engineering.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science 
and  of  other  learned  societies.    During  the  greater  part  of  his  life 


JOSHUA  WALKER  GORE  109 

in  Chapel  Hill  he  has  been  Dean  of  the  University.  He  was  Act- 
ing-President during  President  Alderman's  absence  in  Europe, 
and  upon  the  resignation  of  Doctor  Alderman  as  President  of  the 
University  the  visiting  committee  recommended  to  the  board  of 
trustees  that  Professor  Gore  be  made  Acting- President  for  a  year 
pending  the  selection  of  a  president. 

He  was  urged  by  his  friends  for  the  presidency  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  North  Carolina,  and  also  for  the  same  position  in  con- 
nection with  the  College  of  Agriculture  and  Mechanic  Arts  at 
Raleigh,  though  he  never  consented  to  the  presentation  of  his 
name  for  either  position.  His  remarkable  executive  ability  and 
excellent  business  sense  have  brought  him  flattering  offers  from 
beyond  the  bounds  of  the  State,  but  he  has  preferred  to  remain 
with  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  and  much  of  the  marked 
success  of  the  institution  has  been  due  to  Mr.  Gore's  good  common 
sense,  sound  judgment  and  business  ability. 

On  November  9,  1883,  Professor  Gore  married  Miss  Margaret 
Corinthia Williams, daughter  of  Reverend  J. W.  M.Williams,  D.D., 
noted  minister  of  the  Gospel,  bom  in  Portsmouth,  Virginia, 
who  for  over  forty  years  was  pastor  of  the  First  Baptist  Church  of 
Baltimore,  Maryland.  Mrs.  Gore's  mother  was  Miss  Corinthia 
Read,  of  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Virginia,  a  lineal  descendant  of 
Colonel  Edward  Scarborough,  Surveyor-General  of  Virginia 
under  King  George  III. 

Mr.  Gore  is  a  Democrat  and  a  Baptist,  and  an  active  worker 
in  both  Church  and  State.  He  is  a  man  of  affairs,  an  alderman 
of  the  town  of  Chapel  Hill,  and  a  director  of  the  bank  of  Chapel 
Hill.  In  reviewing  Professor  Gore's  career  one  hardly  knows 
whether  to  attribute  his  success  to  his  owm  individual  initiative, 
to  the  marked  influence  of  a  most  remarkable  mother,  or  to  his 
singularly  happy  home  life;  but  perhaps  it  were  better  to  say 
that  these  combined  have  made  him  the  man  he  is. 

Collie  f  -Cobb. 


i 


JUUL'S  ALEXANDER  GRAY 


on  the  part  of  the  State  to  treat  with  the  Indians  of  western  North 
Carolina  and  eastern  Tennessee,  while  Tennessee  was  yet  a  part 
of  North  Carolina. 

Alexander  Gray  married  Sarah,  a  daughter  of  Jeduthan  Harper, 
a  citizen  of  Randolph  County,  a  colonel  during  the  War  for  In- 
dependence, and  a  representative  of  his  county  in  the  Legisla- 
ture-— a  man  of  vigorous  character  and  a  kinsman  of  Robert  Good- 
loe  Harper,  the  celebrated  Maryland  lawyer  and  statesman. 

Julius  Gray  was  born  in  liis  father's  home  September  6,  1833, 
He  grew  up  in  the  conventional  way  of  boys  in  his  station  in  life 
and  of  his  opportunities.  Strong  in  body  and  of  vigorous  health, 
he  lived  an  active  and  wholesome  life,  but  was  not  subjected  to 
any  systematic  labor.  He  was  prepared  for  college  at  the  "High 
School"  in  Greensboro— probably  the  Caldwell  Institute — and 
luider  the  Reverend  Jesse  Rankin  at  Le.vington,  North  Carolina. 
Entering  the  Sophomore  class  at  Davidson  College  in  1850,  he 
was  graduated  from  that  institution  in  1853.  Two  years  later, 
when  he  was  tweiit_\-two  years  old.  he  became  teller  and  book- 
keeper in  the  Cape  Fear  Rank  of  Greensboro,  of  which  Jesse  H. 
Lindsay  was  president.  He  was  fortunate  in  thus  beginning  his 
business  career.  Jesse  H.  Lindsay  was  one  of  the  best  and  best- 
known  bankers  in  his  section  of  the  State.  Of  methodical  habits, 
unalloyed  integrity,  the  strictest  moral  conduct,  and  a  conspicu- 
ously consistent  Christian  character,  he  was  in  every  way  fitted 
to  influence  for  the  best  the  young  men  whom  he  trained  in  his 
bank.  Not  only  did  Mr.  Gray  come  in  contact  with  such  a  per- 
sonal influence  in  the  beginning  of  his  business  life,  but  in  com- 
ing to  Greensboro  he  came  to  the  most  important  business  locality 
in  that  part  of  the  State,  and  to  a  locality  whose  social  life  was 
unpretending,  select,  sincere,  elevated,  and  elevating. 

After  living  three  years  amid  these  surroundings  Mr.  Gray 
was  elected,  in  1858,  cashier  of  a  bank  in  Danville,  Virginia,  and 
went  to  that  town  to  live.  In  October  of  the  same  year  he  mar- 
ried Emma  Victoria,  a  daughter  of  Governor  John  M.  Morehead, 
an<l  a  niece  of  Jesse  Lindsay,  his  former  chief  in  the  Greensboro 
bank.     He  remained  in  Danville  but  little  more  than  two  years. 


112  NORTH  CAROLINA 

ill-health  compelling  him  to  resign  his  place  in  the  Fall  of  i860 
and  spend  the  Winter  in  Florida.  He  returned  to  North  Caro- 
lina the  following  Spring,  and  took  charge  of  his  father-in-law's 
cotton  mills  at  Leaksville.  During  the  same  year  he  was  appointed 
to  a  position  in  the  treasury  department  of  the  Confederate  States 
Government,  a  position  which  he  held  until  the  fall  of  that  gov- 
ernment. 

The  Civil  War,  although  adding  to  the  burdens  of  Mr.  Gray's 
life,  did  not  so  completely  lessen  its  continuity  as  it  did  most  men 
in  his  station.  The  family  slaves,  it  is  true,  were  lost,  the  value 
of  the  family  property  much  decreased  and  made  uncertain,  and 
the  social  and  political  life  of  the  section  of  country  in  which  he 
lived  radically  changed.  But  he  had  remained  in  civil  life  and  had 
kept  his  grip  on  business.  He  could,  therefore,  go  on  after  the 
war  with  less  of  readjustment  than  the  most  of  his  friends  and 
neighbors  had  to  make.  His  duties,  however,  were  onerous 
enough.  During  the  war  his  father,  his  only  brother,  and  his 
two  brothers-in-law  had  died,  his  brother  Robert,  the  lieutenant- 
colonel  of  the  2nd  Regiment,  North  Carolina  Troops,  dying  in 
camp  near  Fredericksburg,  Virginia,  in  March,  1863.  To  settle 
the  estates  of  these  men,  and  to  provide  for  their  families,  upon  the 
conclusion  of  peace,  was  Mr.  Gray's  particular  duty;  and  to  that 
he  devoted  the  first  few  years  immediately  following  the  close  of 
the  war. 

In  1869,  when  the  Bank  of  Greensboro  was  chartered  by  the 
State,  with  Jesse  H.  Lindsay  as  president,  Julius  A.  Gray  was 
made  cashier;  and,  in  1876,  when  the  bank  was  converted  into  the 
National  Bank  of  Greensboro,  he  was  continued  in  the  same  office. 

On  the  3d  of  April,  1879,  Mr.  Gray  was  by  an  almost  unani- 
mous vote  elected  president  of  the  Cape  Fear  and  Yadkin  Valley 
Railwav,  in  which  he  owned  fortv-three  and  a  half  shares  of  stock. 
The  task  thus  laid  upon  him  was  one  which  he  might  have  hesi- 
tated a  long  time  before  accepting.  The  Cape  Fear  and  Yadkin 
Valley  Railway  had  been  chartered  originally  as  the  "Western 
Railroad  Company,"  to  build  a  railway  between  Fayetteville  "and 
the  coal  region  in  the  counties  of  Moore  and  Chatham."    But  the 


JULIUS  ALEXANDER  GRAY  113 

company  was  only  to  an  indifferent  degree  successful  in  its  pro- 
jects. In  1861  it  had  become  lieavily  involved  in  debt,  the  larger 
part  of  which  was  due  the  Stale,  and  had  in  operation  only  about 
forty  miles  of  road  poorly  equipped.  During  the  Civil  War  there 
could,  of  course,  be  no  satisfactory  inanag;cment  of  the  property — 
financial  or  constructional.  In  1S66  tlie  company  had  little  ready 
inone>'  at  its  cominand,  it  owed  the  State  $600,000,  and  its  prop- 
crij'  was  so  covered  by  mortgages  that  further  borrowing  was  im- 
practicable. 

In  December,  1866,  the  State  Treasurer  was  authorized  to  ac- 
cept the  company's  stock  for  the  debt  due  the  State ;  thereby  can- 
celling this  debt  and  putting  the  State  in  possession  of  the  most 
of  the  stock.  Charges  of  fraud  in  the  management  under  State 
direction  between  1869  and  1871  were  freely  made.  To  what 
extent  or  in  what  particulars  they  were  true  it  is  no  part  of  this 
paper  to  discuss.  It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  during  the  dozen  years 
just  preceding  Mr.  Gray's  election  to  the  presidency  the  road  had 
slender  assets,  was  heavily  in  debt,  and  was  involved  in  what 
seemed  to  be  a  hopeless  tangle  of  litig[ation.  For  keeping  the  prop- 
erty together  during  these  critical  years,  and  fighting  to  a  suc- 
cess/ul  fiinsh  nearly  if  not  quite  all  0/  die  fcgaJ  bau!<ss,  luU  credit 
is  due  the  administration  of  L.  C.  Jones,  Mr.  Gray's  immediate 
predecessor.  But  for  his  work,  that  of  Mr.  Gray,  arduous  though 
it  was,  would  have  been  far  more  difficult. 

During  these  years  the  charter  of  the  road  had  been  from  time 
to  time  amended  to  allow  an  extension  from  Fayetteviile  to  the 
South  Carolina  line,  there  to  connect  with  any  road  in  South 
Carolina,  and  from  the  "coal  region"  to  the  Tennessee  line  by  way 
of  Wilkesboro,  and  to  the  Virginia  line  by  way  of  Mount  Airy. 
But  upon  the  consolidation,  early  in  1879,  of  the  Western  Rail- 
road with  a  company  organized  to  build  a  road  from  Greensboro 
to  Mount  Air>%  the  Tennessee  route  was  abandoned,  and  a  route 
from  Fayetteviile  to  Mount  Airy  by  way  of  Greensboro  de- 
termined upon  as  the  main  line,  the  whole  system  to  be  known 
as  the  Cape  Fear  and  Yadkin  Valley  Railroad. 

Mr.  Gray  prosecuted  vigorously  the  work  of  finishing  the  road ; 


1 14  NORTH  CAROLINA 

but  he  found  an  insurmountable  difficulty  in  the  State's  owner- 
ship of  5500  shares  out  of  a  total  of  7170.  He  consequently,  in 
1883,  organized  a  company  which  purchased  the  State's  stock, 
making  possible  the  securing  of  the  money  needed  to  construct 
and  equip  the  road.  Thenceforward  the  president  and  directors 
could  command  with  little  difficulty  the  money  they  needed. 

At  the  time  of  this  change  of  name  and  administration  trains 
were  running  regularly  between  Fayetteville  and  "the  Gulf,"  a 
distance  of  forty-four  miles,  and  the  roadbed  was  graded  four 
miles  beyond  ''the  Gulf'  towards  Greensboro.  It  had  earned  the 
preceding  year  $30,512.49;  and  its  operating  expenses  had  been 
$26,837.40.  When  the  State's  interest  was  bought  the  grading 
had  been  completed  to  Greensboro,  and  almost  completed  beyond 
to  Walnut  Cove,  from  Favetteville  to  the  South  Carolina  line  to- 
wards  Bennettsville.  The  earnings  the  previous  year  had  been 
$45,946.06:  the  expenses  $37,177.13. 

Mr.  Gray  put  all  of  his  energies,  now  unhampered  by  any 
political  contingencies,  into  the  finishing  and  equipping  of  the 
road.  The  route  by  Wilkesboro  to  the  Tennessee  line  was  aban- 
doned to  make  Mount  Airy  the  northwestern  terminus,  with  the 
idea  of  ultimately  connecting  with  the  Norfolk  and  Western  Rail- 
way. Progress  was  rapid.  April  16,  1884,  regular  trains  wxnt 
through  from  Fayetteville  to  Greensboro;  and  December  5th  of 
that  year  from  Fayetteville  to  Bennettsville ,  South  Carolina.  June 
II,  1888,  the  extension  from  Greensboro  to  Mount  Airy  was 
opened  for  business;  and,  February  17,  1890,  from  Fayetteville  to 
Wilmington;  and  by  the  middle  of  June,  1890,  the  Ramseur  and 
Madison  branches  had  been  completed.  In  all  there  were  in  opera- 
tion about  338  miles,  as  against  something  over  forty  in  1879. 

Mr.  Gray  and  his  company  planned  largely  for  their  road  and 
its  part  in  the  material  development  of  North  Carolina.  How  suc- 
cessful they  would  have  been  is  a  matter  for  conjecture  only. 
The  company  had  borrowed  money  largely  to  do  what  had  already 
been  done;  so  when  the  road,  in  consequence  of  the  business 
**panic"  of  1893,  failed,  on  account  of  decreased  earnings,  to  pay 
the  interest  on  its  debt,  Mr.  Gray  having  died  in  1891,  it  went 


JULIUS  ALEXANDER  GRAY 


into  the  hands  of  a  receiver.  But  Mr.  Gray's  credit  for  what  he 
did  should  not  be,  for  this  reason,  the  less.  Under  his  manage- 
ment the  road  won  the  esteem  and  good-wili  of  all  who  had  any 
dealings  with  it.  The  employes  were  treated  with  kindness  and 
consideration;  shippers  found  an  accommodating  service  and  just 
rates ;  and  passengers  met  with  courtesy  and  found  every  pro- 
vision for  their  comfort  and  safety. 

Although  the  railway  received  Mr.  Gray's  closest  attention  and 
his  best  efforts  during  the  last  dozen  years  of  his  life,  it  by  no 
means  absorbed  his  energies.  The  demands  of  his  social  life  were 
met  in  his  home  by  a  gracious  and  cordial  hospitality,  and  else- 
where by  a  geniality  of  manner  and  unselfishness  of  spirit  that 
made  him  a  welcome  guest  wherever  he  went.  In  his  mingling 
with  men,  whether  his  social  and  business  equals  or  his  sub- 
ordinates, his  intercourse  was  tmiformly  marked  by  a  dignified 
respect  for  himself  and  a  considerate  thought  fulness  of  others. 
He  was  actively  identified  with  all  the  phases  of  life  in  the  com- 
munity in  which  he  lived,  supporting  its  business,  educational,  and 
religious  enterprises  with  equal  earnestness.  He  was  the  Vice- 
President  and  General  Manager  of  the  North  State  Improvement 
Company,  the  construction  company  which  buiif  the  Cape  Fear 
and  Yadkin  Valley  Railway.  In  1887  he  was  elected  President 
of  the  National  Bank  of  Greensboro,  to  succeed  Jesse  H.  Lindsay, 
who  had  just  died.  He  had  been  cashier  of  this  bank  since  1869, 
though  only  nominally  so  since  his  election  to  the  presidency  of 
the  railway.  He  was  the  Vice-President  and  one  of  the  original 
directors  of  the  Guilford  Battle  Ground  Company — an  association 
organized  to  purchase  and  improve  for  the  public  the  site  of  the 
battle  of  Guilford  Court  House.  When  the  Greensboro  Female 
College  was  sold  for  debt,  he  was  one  of  the  men  who  organized 
a  stock  company  to  purchase  the  property  and  equipment  and  to 
continue  the  same  as  a  girls'  school.  Besides  these,  he  was  identi- 
fied in  one  way  or  another  with  numerous  minor  organizations, 
one  of  the  most  important  being  the  Greensboro  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce, of  which  he  was  President. 

In  188!  Mr.  Gray  joined,  upon  confession  of  faith,  the  First 


ii6  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Presbyterian  Church  of  Greensboro,  and  remained  in  that  com- 
munion for  the  rest  of  his  Hfe.  He  died  April  14,  1891,  of  an  at- 
tack of  pneumonia,  contracted  a  few  days  before,  during  a  busi- 
ness trip  to  New  York  City.  He  left  a  wife  and  six  children: 
Annie,  the  wife  of  J.  W.  Fry ;  Robert  Percy ;  Jessie,  the  wife  of 
E.  E.  Richardson ;  Mary,  the  wife  of  Doctor  J.  Allison  Hodges ; 
Eugenia,  the  wife  of  George  C.  Heck;  and  Morehead.  The 
widow  and  all  the  children,  except  Percy  and  Mary,  who  lives  in 
Richmond,  Virginia,  are  now  (1906)  dead. 

In  positions  where  the  temptations  to  work  primarily  for  one's 
self,  and  to  use  others  as  stepping-stones  for  one's  own  advance- 
ment, are  so  strong,  Mr.  Gray  ever  maintained  his  ideals.  The 
daily  papers  of  Greensboro  and  of  the  State  at  large,  and  resolu- 
tions of  the  organizations  of  which  he  was  a  member  or  with 
which  he  was  in  any  wav  affiliated,  and  his  friends  and  associates 
in  private  life,  with  one  voice  paid  imqualified  tribute  to  his  in- 
tegrity of  character,  his  gentleness,  lovableness  of  manner  and 
disposition,  his  regard  for  the  feelings  and  the  rights  of  others, 
and  his  patriotic  devotion  to  whatever  could  promote  the  public 
welfare.  Though  not  one  of  the  leaders  of  men  in  the  departments 
of  life  which  historians  usually  emphasize — war  and  politics — ^he 
lived  to  the  full  his  life  in  that  direction  which  is  at  the  foundation 
of  all  healthy  commonwealths — loyal,  public-spirited  citizenship. 

George  Stockton  Wills, 


JOHN    HALL 

1  OHX  HALL,  one  of  tlie  Justices  of  tlie  Su- 
preme Court  of  North  Carolina  at  the  time  of 
its  organization  in  1818,  was  bom  in  Augusta 
Comity,  \'irginia,  on  the  31st  of  May,  1767. 
His  father.  Edward  HaM,  was  a  native  of  Ire- 
land, who  came  first  to  Pennsylvania,  later 
■  in  Virginia,  about  the  year  1736.  In  the  Spring 
of  1744  (his  Edward  Hall  was  united  in  marriage  with  Eleanor 
Stuart,  a  daughter  of  Archibald  Stuart,  Sr.,  of  the  noted  family 
from  which  sprang  Judge  Archibald  Stuart.  Jr.,  the  Honorable 
A.  H.  H.  Stuart,  of  President  Fillmore's  Cabinet,  and  General 
J.  E.  B.  Stuart,  of  the  Confederate  Army.  The  above  lady  was 
mother  of  a  large  family,  one  of  her  sons  being  our  present  subject. 
After  due  preparation  John  Hall  entered  William  and  Mary 
College,  and  there  formed  the  acquaintance  (among  other  friends 
of  later  years)  of  John  Stark  Ravenscroft,  a  young  law  student 
who  afterwards  entered  the  ministry  and  was  Bishop  of  North 
Carolina  at  the  same  time  that  Hall  was  a  member  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  State.  Young  Hall  studied  law  at  Staunton,  Vir- 
ginia, under  his  kinsman,  Judge  Archibald  Stuart.  Of  Hall's 
sentiments  toward  the  latter  gentleman  it  has  been  said: 

"He  was  fondly  attached  lo  his  legal  instructor,  and  cherished  an  ardent 
gratitude  towards  him  for  his  assistance  in  the  prosecution  of  his  pro- 
fes!iiona1  studies  as  well  as  for  his  uniform  friendship  and  kindness.    He 


ii8  NORTH  CAROLINA 

often  spoke  of  him  with  warm  affection  in  subsequent  life,  and  named 
a  son  after  him.  The  intelligence  of  Judge  Stuart's  death  was  received 
by  him  with  deep  emotions  of  sorrow  during  his  own  last  illness." 

When  a  young  man  about  twenty-five  years  of  age  John  Hall, 
having  completed  his  legal  studies,  located  at  the  town  of  War- 
renton,  North  Carolina,  which  was  his  place  of  residence  through- 
out the  remainder  of  his  life.  In  his  new  home  the  prospects 
of  the  young  stranger  were  at  first  discouraging.  He  was  of  a 
rather  diffident  nature,  and  reserved  in  his  intercourse  with  the 
public.  Nor  were  his  talents  as  an  orator  of  a  high  order.  But 
he  had  a  splendid  intellect  which  laborious  study  had  richly  stored 
with  legal  knowledge,  and  a  profitable  clientage  was  soon  drawn 
to  him.  Judge  Hall  was  not  only  ever  grateful  to  those  who  had 
befriended  him  in  his  early  struggles,  but  it  is  said  that  he  never 
lost  an  opportunity  to  favor  their  descendants  in  after  years  when 
occasions  offered. 

It  was  in  1800  that  Judge  Hall  took  his  seat  on  the  Superior 
Court  Bench,  and  he  remained  theron  until  1818,  when  the  Su- 
preme Court  was  established.  Then  he  became  one  of  the  Justices 
of  that  tribunal. 

Judge  Hall  was  distinguished  as  a  member  of  the  Masonic 
Fraternity,  and  belonged  to  Johnston-Caswell  Lodge  No.  10  at 
Warrenton.  He  was  Senior  Grand  Warden  of  the  Grand  Lodge 
from  December  18,  1802,  till  December  12,  1805,  and  Grand 
Master  from  December  12,  1805,  till  December  16.  1808. 

It  was  January  i,  1818,  that  the  Supreme  Court  was  organized, 
John  Louis  Taylor  being  Chief-Justice,  with  Leonard  Henderson 
and  John  Hall  as  Associate-Justices.  This  court  first  sat  for  the 
dispatch  of  business  on  January  i,  1819.  Hall  remained  on  the 
bench  until  December,  1832.  when  he  sent  in  his  resignation  on 
account  of  ill-health.  In  1829,  while  still  a  member  of  the  Su- 
preme Court,  he  was  chosen  one  of  the  Presidential  Electors  from 
North  Carolina.  Though  the  station  he  occupied  prevented  his 
active  participation  in  the  campaigns  of  that  day,  he  was  a  pro- 
nounced Democrat  of  the  Jefferson ian  school. 

This  sketch  is  largely  drawn  from  an  account  of  Judge  Hall 


JOHN  HALL  119 


written  by  William  Eaton,  Jr.,  and  published  (with  portrait)  in 
the  North  Carolina  University  Magazine  for  April,  i860.  Of  the 
religious  views  of  Judge  Hall,  Mr.  Eaton  said : 

*'He  did  not  become  a  professor  of  religion  until  a  few  months  before 
he  died,  although  he  had  at  all  times  great  respect  for  it.  His  early 
predilections  were  in  favor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  but  he  finally 
joined  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  the  sacrament  was  administered  to  him 
in  his  own  chamber  shortly  before  his  death  by  the  Reverend  Joseph  H. 
Saunders,  then  rector  of  Emmanuel  Church  at  Warrenton,  who  removed 
to  Florida  a  few  years  afterwards  and  died  there." 

An  oil  portrait  of  Judge  Hall  adorns  the  Supreme  Court 
Chamber  at  Raleigh,  and  another  is  owned  by  the  Masonic  Grand 
Lodge  of  North  Carolina. 

The  death  of  Judge  Hall  occurred  on  the  29th  of  January,  1833. 
We  copy  the  following  obituary  notice  of  him  from  the  Star,  a 
paper  published  in  Raleigh : 

"Died,  at  his  residence  in  Warrenton,  on  Tuesday,  the  29th  ult.,  the 
Honorable  John  Hall,  for  many  years  one  of  the  Judges  of  the  Circuit 
Court,  and,  since  its  organization,  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  North  Caro- 
lina. Thus  has  the  cruel  and  ungovernable  disease  of  cancer  of  the  throat, 
after  a  lingering  progress  of  twelve  months,  at  length  destroyed  one  of 
the  best  .nnd  purest  men  that  ever  adorned  humanity.  Judge  Hall  was  a 
native  of  Virginia,  but  for  the  last  forty  years  had  been  a  resident  of 
Warrenton.  Of  the  sternest  and  most  scrupulous  integrity,  of  the  most 
unaffected  simplicity  of  manners  and  feeling,  possessing — 

"A    heart    where    rich   .benevolence    was    found, 

That  beat  not   for  itself  alone.. 
But  shed  its  warmth  on  all  around," 

it  may  well  be  imagined  that  as  living  he  was  universally  beloved,  so  in 
death  he  was  sincerely  lamented  by  all.  But  it  is  not  as  a  private  individual 
only  that  we  deplore  his  loss — the  State,  the  country,  has  been  deprived 
of  a  useful,  a  valuable  man.  Judge  Hall,  when  he  lately  tendered  his 
resignation  as  a  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court,  had  occupied  a  seat  on  the 
Inrnch  for  upwards  of  twenty  years.  During  the  whole  time  he  gave  the 
most  entire  satisfaction.  Indeed,  in  all  the  essential  qualities  of  a  good 
Judge,  in  untiring  patience,  accurate  intelligence,  and  incorruptible  hon- 
esty of  purpose,  he  never  was  surpassed.  As  a  politician,  he  was  well 
informed,  frank,  faithful  and  firm.  In  a  word,  in  all  the  varied  relations 
of  life  he  was  'an  Israelite  indeed,  in  whom  there  was  no  guile.'     Let 


120  NORTH  CAROLINA 

not,  then,  his  amiable  family  indulge  in  useless  sorrows  for  their  loss — let 
them  repose  on  the  sympathy  of  a  whole  community — let  them  rest  on  the 
fair  fame  that  has  been  bequeathed  to  them — let  them  reflect  that  this,  at 
least,  not  even  can  time  affect,  but  that  it  will  prove  a  'monument  more 
lasting  than  brass.'  " 

On  January  31st,  when  news  of  the  death  of  Judge  Hall  reached 
Raleigh,  a  joint  meeting  of  the  Bench  and  Bar  was  held  in  honor 
of  his  memory.  Over  this  meeting  Chief  Justice  Leonard  Hen- 
derson presided,  and  William  H.  Haywood,  Jr.,  afterwards  United 
States  Senator,  acted  as  Secretary.  The  following  series  of  res- 
olutions, offered  by  the  Honorable  William  Gaston,  was  adopted 
on  this  occasion : 

"Resolved:  That  the  intelligence  which  has  just  been  received  of  the 
death  of  the  Honorable  John  Hall,  lately  a  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  North  Carolina,  requires  of  us  an  expression  of  the  sense  we  entertain 
of  the  merits  of  the  deceased,  and  the  regret  we  feel  for  his  removal  from 
among  us. 

"Resolved:  That  the  able,  faithful  and  devoted  services  which  the 
deceased  rendered  to  the  community  during  the  thirty-two  years  in  which 
he  has  acted  as  a  Judge  of  the  Superior  and  Supreme  Courts  of  the  State 
entitle  his  memory  to  our  highest  respect,  while  his  private  virtues  com- 
mand for  his  name  a  firm  place  in  our  affections. 

"Resolved:  That,  in  testimony  of  this  respect  and  affection,  we  will 
wear  the  usual  badge  of  mourning  for  thirty  days." 

Judge  HalKs  wife  was  Mary  Weldon,  daughter  of  William 
Wcldon,  and  granddaughter  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Samuel  Wel- 
don, an  officer  of  North  Carolina  Militia  during  the  War  of  the 
Revolution.  By  her  he  left  a  large  number  of  children,  and  has 
numerous  descendants  now  living.  Judge  Edward  Hall,  one  of 
the  sons  of  Judge  John  Hall,  occupied  a  seat  on  the  Superior 
Court  Bench  in  1840-41. 

Marshall  De  Lancey  Haywood. 


JOHN  HAMILTON 

t  HEN  the  last  formidable  force  raised  by  the 
Royal  House  of  Stuart  was  swept  away  in  the 
carnage  of  Culloden,  many  Jacobites,  who  had 
the  g:ood  fortune  to  escape  the  battle  and  the 
axe  of  the  executioner,  began  life  anew  in 
America.  Of  this  numtier  was  John  Hamil- 
ton, a  mere  youth  at  the  time  of  the  tattle,  which  occurred  on  the 
i6th  of  April,  1746.  At  what  time  Hamilton  came  to  North  Caro- 
lina is  not  known.  He  was  a  merchant  in  Halifax  when  the 
troubles  with  Great  Britain  began,  and  during  the  succeeding 
war  was  a  devoted  adherent  of  King  George, 

In  Halifax,  where  Hamilton  lived,  he  had  for  his  friends  and 
neighbors  such  men  as  Willie  Jones,  Thomas  Eaton,  and  other 
fiery  Whigs,  and  it  took  no  small  amount  of  courage  to  stand 
forth  for  the  cause  of  King  and  Parliament  amid  such  sur- 
roundings. 

Some  time  after  the  great  American  victory  at  Moore's  Creek 
Bridge,  North  Carolina,  on  the  27th  of  February,  1776,  Hamil- 
ton (who  was  probably  not  in  that  action)  gathered  together  as 
many  of  the  demoralized  Loyalists  as  could  be  induced  to  Join  the 
King's  standard,  and  repaired  to  St.  Augustine,  Florida,  where 
he  drilled  his  recruits  and  organized  them  into  a  formidable  regi- 

The  chief  scenes  of  Hamilton's  military  activities  in  1779  and 


122  NORTH  CAROLINA 

1780  were  in  South  Carolina  and  Georgia.  He  held  a  command 
at  the  Battle  of  Kettle  Creek,  Georgia,  on  the  14th  of  February, 
1779,  when  the  British  were  defeated;  but  a  short  while  thereafter 
(March  3d)  was  at  Briar  Creek,  Georgia,  where  his  side 
triumphed ;  later,  on  June  20th,  he  materially  aided  in  the  victory 
of  the  Royal  forces  at  the  Battle  of  Stono.  In  the  Fall  of 
1779  he  was  at  the  siege  of  Savannah.  He  joined  the  army  under 
Sir  Henry  Clinton  in  South  Carolina  in  March,  1780;  and,  on 
the  27th  of  that  month,  was  taken  prisoner  by  the  cavalry  forces 
of  Colonel  William  Washington.  In  recounting  this  occurrence, 
the  South  Carolina  historian,  McCrady,  observes :  **Colonel  Ham- 
ilton, of  whom  we  have  before  spoken,  was  a  valuable  prize,  but 
Washington  was  hunting  for  much  bigger  game,  and  came  near 
capturing  Sir  Henry  Clinton  himself." 

After  being  made  a  prisoner  Colonel  Hamilton  was  taken  to 
Charleston,  but  his  captivity  was  of  short  duration;  for,  on  the 
1 2th  of  May,  1780,  the  American  garrison  there  surrendered  to 
Sir  Henry  Clinton.  During  the  British  occupation  which  fol- 
lowed Hamilton  was  indefatigable  in  his  efforts  to  promote  the 
comfort  of  American  prisoners — especially  his  old  friends  from 
North  Carolina — and  thereby  increased  the  respect  in  which  he 
had  always  been  held  by  the  Whigs. 

In  the  Spring  of  1780,  the  Americans  being  apparently  over- 
awed by  the  great  forces  gathered  against  them  in  the  South, 
James  Moore,  of  Lincoln  County,  North  Carolina,  returned  tc 
his  old  home  and  announced  himself  a  Lieutenant-Colonel  of 
Hamilton's  regiment,  and  that  he  was  sent  into  North  Carolina 
to  raise  the  King's  standard.  He  ordered  a  rendezvous  of  the 
Loyalists ;  but  on  news  of  this  reaching  the  Whigs  a  force  of 
the  latter  was  gathered,  and  at  the  Battle  of  Ramseur's  Mill  (June 
20,  1780)  the  Tories  were  defeated  and  scattered. 

At  the  Battle  of  Hanging  Rock,  South  Carolina,  on  the  6th 
of  August,  1780,  Colonel  Hamilton  was  present,  and  he  also  aided 
in  gaining  the  great  British  victory  at  Camden  ten  days  later. 

Hamilton  was  with  Cornwallis  on  his  march  through  North 
Carolina,  w^as  present  at  the  Battle  of  Guilford    Court    House 


JOHN  HAMILTON  123 

(March  15,  1781),  and  his  military  career  probably  ended  with 
the  surrender  of  Comwallis  at  Yorktown.  He  was  in  St.  Augus- 
tine, Florida,  in  the  Fall  of  1783,  and  in  London  in  the  Spring  of 

1785. 
During  the  course  of  the  war  some  of  the  hardest  fighting  done 

by  Hamilton's  regiment  was  when  it  was  pitted  against  troops 
from  North  Carolina;  and  the  latter  were  often  commanded  by 
former  friends.  At  the  Battle  of  Briar  Creek,  where  the  Ameri- 
cans were  routed,  Thomas  Eaton  was  one  of  those  who  fled  for 
life.  Speaking  of  Eaton,  McRee,  in  his  biography  of  Iredell, 
says: 

"He  had  a  very  small  foot  and  wore  a  boot  of  unusual  finish  and  neat- 
ness. In  the  haste  of  his  flight,  he  left  his  boots  behind.  They  were 
recognized  and  purchased  of  a  soldier  by  John  Hamilton,  who  afterwards^ 
commanded  a  regiment  of  Loyalists  in  the  British  service.  After  the  war, 
at  a  dinner  party  at  Willie  Jones's,  Hamilton,  with  some  good-natured 
raillery,  produced  the  boots  and  passed  them  to  their  former  owner,  who, 
greatly  incensed,  threw  them  across  the  table  at  Hamilton's  head." 

Hamilton's  estates  in  North  Carolina  were  confiscated  during 
the  war  along  with  those  of  many  other  Loyalists. 

As  a  reward  for  his  fidelity  to  King  George,  Colonel  Hamilton 
was  appointed  Consul  at  Norfolk,  in  Virginia,  and  there  he  re- 
mained for  some  years.  The  great  poet,  Thomas  Moore,  visited 
him  there  during  a  tour  through  America.  In  a  note  on  a  piece 
of  verse  entitled  "To  George  Morgan,  Esq.,  of  Norfolk,  Virginia," 
who  served  in  the  consulate  under  Hamilton,  Moore  says : 

**The  consul  himself.  Colonel  Hamilton,  is  among  the  very  few  in- 
stances of  a  man  ardently  loyal  to  his  King,  and  yet  beloved  by  the  Ameri- 
cans. His  house  is  the  very  temple  of  hospitality ;  and  I  sincerely  pity 
the  heart  of  that  stranger  who,  warm  from  the  welcome  of  such  a  board, 
could  sit  down  and  write  a  libel  on  his  host,  in  the  true  spirit  of  a  modern 
philosophist.  See  the  'Travels  of  the  Duke  de  la  Rochefoucault-Lian- 
court.'  Vol.  II." 

Colonel  Hamilton  did  not  remain  in  Norfolk  permanently,  but 
finally  returned  to  Great  Britain.  In  his  work  on  American  Loyal- 
ists, Sabine  says  that  Hamilton  died  in  England  in  1817  at  a  very 
advanced  age.  Marshall  De  Laucey  Haywood, 


r 


»••  ' 


\  \\ 


GUSHING  BIGGS  HASSELL  125 

Before  attaining  his  majority  he  entered  upon  a  mercantile 
career  which  he  followed  until  his  death.  His  business  was  large 
and  generally  prosperous.  He  was  an  indulgent  creditor.  He 
said  that  in  this  way  he  helped  many  needy  persons.  He  preferred 
to  suffer  these  losses  "rather  than  grind  the  faces  of  the  poor." 
.  At  his  deatli  he  left  a  comfortable  fortune  for  his  family.  He  was 
twice  married.  In  1832  he  married  Mary  Davis,  who  bore  him 
seven  children  and  died  in  1846.  Three  years  afterward  he  mar- 
ried Martha  Maria  Jcwett,  widow  of  Elder  Daniel  E.  Jeweit,  of 
Warwich,  New  York.    She  bore  him  four  children. 

To  illustrate  his  usefulness  as  a  citizen,  it  may  be  stated  that 
he  energetically  and  successfully  filled  the  following  positions 
of  usefulness  and  honor;  Trustee  of  the  University  of  North 
Carolina,  trustee  of  WilHamston  Academy,  founder,  Secretary  and 
Treasurer  of  WilHamston  Library  Association;  Oerk  and  Master 
in  Equity  of  Martin  County;  Treasurer  of  Martin  County;  Presi- 
dent of  the  Roanoke  Steam  Navigation  Company;  member  of  the 
Constitutional  Convention  of  i86i  and  also  of  the  Constitutional 
Convention  of  1875.  These  important  positions  show  the  versa- 
tility of  his  usefulness.  When  first  elected  treasurer  of  Martin 
County  only  four  votes  were  cast  against  him.  In  politics  be  was 
a  Democrat,  and  in  the  struggle  of  his  party  to  redeem  the  State 
in  1875  he  exerted  all  his  great  power  of  mind  and  body.  As  a 
campaign  speaker  he  was  eloquent  and  convincing.  His  state- 
ments on  public  questions  were  not  questioned  by  his  opponents. 
But  his  great  services  to  his  community,  county  and  State  in  sec- 
ular matters  were  all  overshadowed  by  his  work  in  the  ministry 
of  bis  church. 

In  the  Winter  of  1827-28  he  felt  himself  arrested  by  some  super- 
natural power.  It  is  told  by  his  son  in  an  excellent  sketch 
that  he  was  first  a  religious  skeptic,  and  read  the  Bible  simply 
to  demonstrate  its  inconsistencies  and  seeming  absurdities.  That 
Winter  was  a  time  of  unusual  religious  excitement  in  his  com- 
munity. He  tried  to  hide  his  broken  heart  from  the  world.  He 
fled  to  the  law  for  refuge  and  safety,  and  resolved  to  live  a  still 
more  moral  life.     These  things  were  but  dross,  and  bowing  low 


126  NORTH  CAROLINA 

to  the  stroke  of  the  Master,  on  January  13,  1828,  he  arose  a  be- 
liever in  His  mercy  and  goodness  and  power.  Then  and  there 
he  felt  the  burden  of  sin  removed  and  he  experienced  a  sensation 
of  joy  unspeakable.  He  was  then  living  in  Halifax.  There  was 
no  Baptist  Church  there.  He  was  deeply  impressed  with  his  duty 
to  be  baptized.  In  March  of  that  year  he  went  to  Williamston 
and  was  baptized  by  Elder  Joseph  Biggs  and  by  him  received 
into  the  fellowship  of  Skewarky  Church.  The  great  doctrines 
of  that  faith — election,  total  depravity,  particular  redemption,  ef- 
fectual calling, and  final  preservation  of  the  saints — were  at  an  early 
period  firmly  settled  in  his  mind.  In  1833  he  was  chosen  a  deacon 
of  Skewarky  Church.  In  that  year  General  William  Clark,  a 
man  of  wealth  and  talents  and  a  minister  of  one  of  the  churches 
of  the  Kehukee  Association,  withdrew  from  her  communion  and 
wrote  a  pamphlet  defamatory  of  that  body.  Mr.  Hassell  replied 
in  a  pamphlet  of  sixty  pages  which  the  association  adopted  and 
circulated.  The  reply  was  crushing.  Clark  was  silenced  and  went 
to  the  Southwest  in  new  fields  of  labor. 

For  many  years  he  was  an  active  worker  in  prayer  meetings 
and  church  conferences.  In  1840  he  was  licensed  to  preach,  and 
in  1842  a  presbytery  composed  of  Elders  James  Osbom,  Joseph 
Biggs,  and  William  Whitaker  ordained  him.  His  first  pastorates 
were  at  Skewarky  and  Spring  Green  churches.  In  1859  ^^  was 
chosen  Moderator  of  the  Kehukee  Association,  and  to  this  honor- 
able and  responsible  office  he  was  annually  re-elected  until  his 
death.  For  the  first  ten  years  of  his  ministry  he  received  no  dona- 
tions from  any  one ;  but  he  then  concluded  that  for  the  donors  and 
himself  such  a  course  was  wrong,  and  during  the  last  thirty  years 
of  his  life  he  received  from  marriage  fees  and  preachmg  an 
average  of  less  than  a  hundred  dollars  a  year — ^an  amount  barely 
sufficient  to  defray  his  actual  traveling  expenses.  He  did  not 
labor  in  his  Master's  vineyard  for  earthly  reward.  His  own  dona- 
tions to  others  amounted  to  large  sums.  His  religious  life  was 
lived  in  his  family,  and  at  its  altar  daily  morning  and  evening 
prayers  were  said,  after  Scripture  reading  and  the  singing  of  a 
hymn.    He  sang  well  and  taught  his  children  to  sing.    Each  Sab- 


GUSHING  BIGGS  HASSELL  127 

bath  morning  after  prayers  it  was  the  custom  to  instruct  his  chil- 
dren in  Scripture  history  and  the  plan  of  salvation. 

For  years  the  Primitive  Baptist  Church  of  his  community  held 
prayer  meetings  at  each  other's  homes  every  Sunday  night.  After 
the  war  all  these  meetings  were  held  at  his  home. 

Few  excelled  him  in  extemporaneous  oratory.  All  the  ser- 
mons were  preached  without  written  preparation  and  frequently 
without  moments  for  forethought.  He  said  he  preferred  to  search 
the  Scriptures  before  preaching.  In  order  and  method,  in  neatness 
and  cleanliness  of  person  and  attire,  in  self-control  and  evenness 
of  temper,  in  untiring  industry,  he  had  few  equals.  He  wrote  his 
autobiography  up  to  the  year  1847,  and  kept  a  diary  of  his  life 
ever  afterward.  He  recorded  in  blank  books,  with  interesting 
particulars,  all  his  ordinations,  baptisms,  texts,  marriages,  and 
the  donations  made  to  him.  He  rarely  retired  before  midnight 
and  almost  invariably  arose  at  five  o'clock  in  the  morning.  He 
frequently  said  he  would  rather  wear  out  than  rust  out,  and  that 
he  wished  to  live  so  that  he  would  be  missed  when  he  was  gone. 
He  was  appointed  in  1876  by  the  Kehukee  Association  to  write  a 
history  of  that  body  and  of  the  Church  of  God  from  the  creation 
to  the  present  time.  He  devoted  most  of  the  year  1879  to  this 
work.  At  the  time  of  his  death  he  had  completed  the  history  of 
the  Kehukee  Association  and  of  the  churches  composing  it,  a 
statistical  table  of  all  the  old  school  Baptist  associations  in 
America,  a  series  of  articles  on  the  distinctive  tenets  and  practices 
of  his  denomination  and  a  history  of  the  church  for  4300  years — 
from  the  creation  to  the  year  A.D.  350.  This  was  the  crowning 
work  of  his  life  and  it  sapped  his  strength.  He  felt  that  his  time 
was  short.  He  preached  in  his  favorite  pulpit — Skewarky — for 
the  last  time  on  February  8,  1880.  His  last  discourse  was  the  in- 
troductory sermon  at  the  meeting  of  Skewarky  Union  meeting 
at  Conoho,  February  27,  1880.  The  next  day  his  fatal  illness 
seized  him.  In  all  those  hours  he  exhibited  no  anxiety  about  the 
future  state.  Not  a  cloud  dimmed  his  prospect  for  a  blessed  im- 
mortality. A  little  while  before  he  died  he  said :  **I  am  passing  to 
a  better  world.    I  am  going  from  the  land  of  the  dying  to  the  land 


128  NORTH  CAROLINA 

of  the  living/*  For  almost  every  one  that  called  to  see  him  he  had 
some  special  message  and  heavenly  advice.  When  quite  restless 
and  tossing  about,  toward  twelve  o'clock  Saturday  night,  April 
loth,  he  was  asked  if  he  wanted  anything,  and  he  said,  "Nothing 
in  the  world/'  A  little  after  midnight,  just  as  the  Sunday  was 
coming  in,  without  a  struggle  he  died.  A  placid  and  heavenly 
smile  rested  upon  his  countenance,  and  he  was  at  peace. 

Every  store  and  shop  of  his  town  was  closed  at  his  burial,  such 
was  the  universal  esteem  and  love  in  which  he  was  held  by  all 
classes. 

Gushing  Biggs  Hassell  was  a  strong  man,  in  mind,  in  body,  in 
character,  in  love  and  in  tenderness.  He  added  to  the  sum  of 
human  happiness.  His  was  a  simple  life.  Hear  his  words  on 
his  death-bed :  "Bury  me  in  a  plain  wooden  coffin,  and  without 
display,  or  ceremony,  or  preaching,  in  the  simple  manner  of  the 
Apostolic  age.  I  have  never  engaged;  in  funeSfal  preaching.  Just 
let  my  friends  gather  in  silence  around  when  my.  body  is  deposited 
in  its  last  resting-place,  feury  me  at  Skewarky  by  the  side  of 
my  children.*' 

F,  D,  Winston. 


TKE  KZW  YORK 

PUBLIC  LIBRARY 


r  L 


I30  NORTH  CAROLINA 

the  University  of  North  Carolina.  He  matriculated  at  that  in- 
stitution  July,  1858,  and  remained  there  until  August,  1861,  when, 
on  the  fall  of  the  forts  at  Cape  Hatteras,  he  returned  home  to  as- 
sist his  father  in  his  business.  At  the  University  he  received  first 
distinction,  leading  his  class  from  the  time  he  entered.  At  the 
commencement  of  1867  the  degree  of  A.M.  was  conferred  on  him 
by  the  University — it  was  then  an  honorary  degree.  In  July, 
1889,  he  was  called  back  to  his  Alma  Mater  to  deliver  illustrated 
lectures  on  astronomv  at  the  Summer  Normal  School. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  Civil  War  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was 
in  very  low  health.  He  was  examined  by  a  recruiting  officer  and 
exempted  for  physical  disability.  During  the  war  he  was  similarly 
examined  six  times,  and  each  time  he  was  declared  incapacitated 
for  service  by  reason  of  an  affection  of  the  lungs  and  throat  which 
continued  for  a  year  after  the  close  of  the  war.  Notwithstanding 
the  extremely  low  state  of  his  health,  he  served  in  the  Winter  of 
1862  as  Secretarv  of  Colonel  Samuel  Watts  of  the  Martin  Countv 
Militia,  at  Fort  Hill,  near  Washington,  North  Carolina,  for  three 
weeks,  until  the  disbanding  of  the  regiment  at  the  fall  of  Roanoke 
Island.  During  the  remainder  of  the  war  he  taught  his  younger 
brothers  and  sisters  when  he  was  physically  able.  An  older 
brother,  Theodore  Hassell,  was  lieutenant  of  Company  A,  Seven- 
teenth Regiment  and  later  Ordnance  Officer  of  the  Brigade  and 
member  of  General  Martin's  staff.  Lieutenant  Hassell  was  killed 
in  the  battle  of  Kinston,  March,  1865. 

After  the  fall  of  Roanoke  Island,  February  8,  1862,  the  people 
of  this  section  were  subject  to  continued  raids  of  Federal  troops, 
both  by  cavalry  and  marines  on  land  and  gunboats  coming  up  the 
Roanoke  River.  At  one  time  these  gunboats  bombarded  Wil- 
liamston  seventeen  hours  because  of  a  few  Confederate  soldiers 
who  had  been  seen  in  their  retreat  up  the  river;  the  finest  resi- 
dence in  town  was  burned  bv  hot  shot,  and  Elder  C.  B.  Hassell's 
house  was  pierced  by  the  fragment  of  a  bomb.  At  another  time, 
November,  1862,  an  army  of  10,000  men,  under  General  J.  G. 
Foster,  marched  from  Washington,  North  Carolina,  through  Wil- 
liamston  to  the  vicinity  of  Tarboro,  and  then  returned  to  Wash- 


ington.  In  their  raid  they  plundered,  shipped  North,  gave  away, 
or  destroyed  all  the  goods  of  the  merchants  in  Williamston — as 
they  did  in  other  toxvns  in  their  path — and  almost  every  other 
portable  article  of  value.  At  yet  another  time  a  company  of  raid- 
ers brought  light  wood  to  burn  the  home  of  Elder  C,  B.  Hassell 
because  he  was  a  friend  of  the  Confederacy,  but  they  were  calmly 
dissuaded  by  him  from  doing  so. 

Elder  Sylvester  Hassell  began  his  chosen  profession — teaching 
— as  principal  of  the  Williamston  Academy,  where  he  remained 
from  1865  to  1868.  In  1869  he  went  to  the  Slate  Xormal  College 
of  Delaware  to  fiSl  the  chair  of  Ancient  Languages.  While  living 
in  Wilmington,  Delaware,  he  was  married  in  1870  to  Miss  Mary 
li^bclla  Garrell.  daughter  of  Julius  S,  Garrell,  of  Martin  County, 
North  Carolina.  He  taught  there  and  at  New  Castle,  Delaware, 
until  the  last  sickness  and  death  of  his  wife  in  1871,  and  resigned 
the  principalship  of  the  New  Castle  Graded  School  to  rest  a  while 
and  then  teach  in  Wilson.  North  Carolina.  Of  this  marriage  one 
son,  Paul,  who  died  at  the  age  of  lifEeen,  was  bom.  In  1872  he  es- 
tablished the  Wilson  Collegiate  Institute,  at  Wilson,  North  Caro- 
lina. For  fourteen  years  he  successfully  managed  this  school. 
On  May  .j,  i8/fi,  he  was  married  lo  A/(B:^  Frances  Luuisa  VV'oud- 
ard,  daughter  of  Calvin  Woodard,  of  Wilson  County.  There 
were  born  to  them  seven  children,  four  of  whom,  Francis.  Charles, 
Mary,  and  Calvin,  are  now  hving.  His  wife  died  in  January, 
1889.  It  was  while  Hving  at  Wilson  that  his  father.  Elder  Gush- 
ing Biggs  Hassell.  was  appointed  by  the  Kehukee  Primitive 
Baptist  Association  {in  1876)  to  prepare  its  third  history,  and  to 
combine  with  it  a  history  of  the  Church  from  the  creation.  The 
general  history  of  the  Church  Elder  C.  B.  Hassell  requested  his 
son.  Elder  Sylvester  Hassell,  to  write.  Accordingly  the  latter 
purchased  the  most  valuable  church  histories  published  in  Europe 
and  America  for  this  purpose.  He  did  not  have  time  for  this  work, 
as  he  had  six  or  seven  teachers  and  a  large  school.  His  father, 
who  had  retired  from  business,  consequently  undertook  the  whole 
work.  For  three  years  Elder  C.  B.  Hassell  labored  at  his  task. 
On  his  death  in  1880  he  committed  his  manuscript  to  his  son  to 


132  NORTH  CAROLINA 

complete  the  work.  He  at  once  set  about  the  task,  which  was  a 
great  and  laborious  one,  and  devoted  his  great  talents  and  almost 
his  entire  time  for  six  years  to  the  completion  and  revisal  of  the 
history,  bringing  it  down  to  A.D.  1885.  A  close  student  and  a 
finished  scholar,  he  gave  the  very  highest  authorities  where  there 
was  any  question  as  to  the  position  he  was  taking.  At  times,  in 
deciding  upon  some  particular  point,  he  frequently  had  open  be- 
fore him  twenty  authorities  of  the  highest  character.  On  com- 
pleting this  monumental  work  in  1886,  he  gave  up  the  school  at 
Wilson  and  returned  to  his  old  home  in  Williamston,  North  Caro- 
lina, to  become  again  principal  of  the  academy  there  and  to  serve 
the  church  near  that  place,  of  which  he  was  a  member  and  pastor. 
The  history  was  published  by  Gilbert  Beebe's  sons,  Middletown, 
New  York,  in  1886,  in  a  closely  printed  octavo  volume  of  1032 
pages,  with  a  very  copious  Table  of  Contents  and  Alphabetical 
Index. 

There  had  been  two  other  histories  of  the  Kehukee  Association, 
one  by  Elders  Burkett  and  Read,  published  in  1803,  and  one  by 
Elder  Joseph  Biggs,  father  of  Judge,  and  afterwards  United 
States  Senator,  Asa  Biggs,  and  published  in  1834.  These  were 
confined  chiefly  to  the  association,  and  did  not  purport  to  be  his- 
tories of  the  Christian  Church. 

The  "Church  History"  of  Elders  C.  B.  and  S.  Hassell  contains 
succinctly  an  account  of  all  the  leading  religions  of  the  world  and 
of  all  denominations  of  Christianity,  and  states  substantially  the 
fair  and  full  truths  as  found  by  the  authors,  irrespective  of  the 
creeds  of  their  Church  or  any  other  Church.  They  endeavored  to 
write  a  non-sectarian  history.  The  work  passed  through  two 
editions,  and  a  third  edition  is  much  in  demand.  It  is  a  candid, 
faithful,  truthful,  and  scriptural  "History  of  the  Church  of  God 
from  the  Creation"  to  A.D.  1885. 

After  returning  to  his  home,  Williamston,  and  teaching  there 
from  1886  to  1890,  he,  by  reason  of  failing  health,  discontinued 
teaching  and  traveled  and  visited  churches  in  several  States. 

We  have  thus  far  given  his  history,  and  an  account  of  his  nat- 
ural services  to  his  fellow-men.    By  far  the  greater  and  better  part 


SYLVESTER  HASSELL  133 

of  his  great  and  useful  life  has  been  spent  in  his  unselfish  service 
to  his  God  and  the  churches,  in  writing  and  preaching.  Before 
proceeding  further,  it  may  be  well  to  say  just  a  word  about  the 
Church  with  which  he  has  been  allied. 

Before,  during  and  since  the  war  between  the  States  there  was 
and  has  been  and  is  a  wonderful  unity  of  belief  and  affection  be- 
tween Old  School  or  Primitive  Baptists,  North,  South,  East  and 
West,  though  of  course  there  are  some  differences  of  expression 
and  forms  among  some  of  them.  The  ministers  are  often  led  (as 
they  believe  of  the  Divine  Spirit)  to  visit  distant  counties  and 
States  and  sometimes  other  nations  to  preach  the  Gospel  of  the 
Son  of  God,  and  they  are  kindly  received  and  treated,  and  the 
God  of  Providence  sustains  them  and  their  families  in  these  labors 
without  the  aid  of  any  human  societies.  While  the  most  of  the 
churches  do  not  have  any  large  increase  at  any  one  time,  still  their 
numbers  gradually  increase  with  the  population  of  the  country. 
In  1892  Elder  Hassell  became  associate  editor  of  the  Gospel  Mes* 
sen  get — a  monthly  religious  magazine  founded  in  1878,  and  at 
the  time  owned  and  published  by  Elder  J.  R.  Respass,  of  Butler, 
Georgia.  After  the  death  of  Elder  Respess  in  1895,  he  purchased 
the  paper  in  1896,  and  has  continued  its  owner  and  editor-in-chief 
until  the  present  time.  It  is  now  published  in  Williamston,  North 
Carolina,  and  is  devoted  entirely  to  the  defense  and  the  dissemina- 
tion of  the  doctrine  and  truths  of  the  Word  of  God.  There  are 
four  editors  associated  with  him  in  the  work,  Elders  J.  G.  W. 
Henderson  and  S.  W.  Stewart,  of  Alabama,  Lee  Hanks,  of 
Georgia,  and  J.  H.  Oliphant,  of  Indiana.  The  paper's  circula- 
tion extends  to  twenty-six  States  and  Canada. 

Elder  Hassell  is  an  accomplished  linguist.  He  has  been  a  stu- 
dent all  his  life.  His  fine  library  of  about  3000  volumes,  which 
he  has  been  many  years  collecting,  is  the  library  of  a  scholar  and 
theologian.  Most  of  his  fellow-ministers  know  only  the  English 
language  and  have  had  very  limited  educations  (though  there 
are  a  few  ver\'  highly  educated)  and  have  few  books  besides 
their  Bibles  and  hymn-books,  yet  they  are  well  acquainted  with 
the  spirit  and  letter  of  the  Word  of  God.     All  the  ministers   of 


134  NORTH  CAROLINA 

the  Primitive  Baptist  Church  serve  their  churches  without  any 
charge  or  stipulated  salary. 

Elder  Hassell  has  never  been  a  member  of  any  moral  or  re- 
ligious order  or  society  other  than  his  Church.  His  just  convic- 
tions of  a  religious  nature  began  when  young ;  and  as  he  was  ar- 
rested by  supernatural  power  and  shown  the  deep  depravity  of 
his  carnal  nature,  he  fled  first  to  the  Law  and  then  to  the  Cross 
for  mercy,  and  found  peace  and  pardon  in  the  atoning  blood  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  He  received  the  evidence  that  his  sins  were 
forgiven  August  17,  1863,  and  joined  the  Church  at  Skewarky, 
near  Williamston,  January  7,  1864.  He  began  his  labors  in  the 
ministry  December  10,  1871,  at  the  age  of  twenty-nine,  and  was 
regularly  ordained  to  the  full  work  of  the  Gospel  ministry  August 
9,  1874,  by  a  presbytery  consisting  of  his  father  and  Elders  David 
House  and  William  Whitaker.  He  has  had  the  pastoral  care  of 
his  home  church,  Skewarky,  since  1881.  Besides,  he  has  labored 
extensively  in  his  own  State  and  Virginia,  West  Virginia,  South 
Carolina,  Tennessee,  Georgia,  Alabama,  Texas,  Florida,  Louisi- 
ana, Kentucky,  Illinois,  Indiana,  Pennsylvania,  New  York,  Massa- 
chusetts and  Canada.  He  has  been  the  Moderator  of  the  Ke- 
hukee  Association — the  oldest  Primitive  Baptist  Association  in  the 
United  States,  having  been  formed  in  Halifax  County  in  1765 — 
almost  continuously  since  the  death  of  his  father,  and  has  recently 
been  chosen  by  that  body  as  their  permanent  presiding  officer. 
His  wise  and  timely  counsel  is  always  faithful  and  always  for 
peace  and  harmony.  He  is  still  laboring  with  tongue  and  pen  for 
the  glory  of  God  and  the  good  of  the  churches  and  his  fellow- 
man,  ''speaking  the  truth  in  love"  and  publishing  the  glorious 
Gospel  of  Christ — "Glory  to  God  in  the  highest:  on  earth  peace 
and  good-will  to  men."  He  is  to-day  justly  regarded  by  many 
as  one  of  the  most  learned,  honest,  able,  and  truthful  expounders 
of  the  Word  of  God  now  living,  and  he  is  still  humbly  laboring 
for  the  cause  which  is  dearer  to  him  than  life  itself,  without  the 
promise  or  hope  of  any  earthly  reward,  but  with  the  desire  for  the 
triumph  of  truth,  and  with  a  conscience  void  of  offence  toward 
God  and  man.  M,  L,  Lawrence, 


PHILEMON  HAWKINS,  SR. 

fHILEMON  HAWKINS,  first  of  his  name  to 
settie  in  North  Carolina,  resided  in  the  colonial 
[  county  of  Bute,  which  was  established  in  1764 
I  out  of  the  eastern  part  of  Granville  County  and 
which  was  divided  into  Warren  and  Franklin- 
,  Counties  in  1779.  He  was  bom  in  Virginia 
on  the  28th  of  September,  1717.  His  father  was  Philemon  Haw- 
kins, who  was  bom  in  England  in  1690,  and  emigrated  in  1715 
to  Virginia,  where  he  died  in  1725.  The  wife  of  this  founder  of 
the  family  in  America  (and  Ihe  mother  of  Philemon  Hawkins, 
later  of  North  Carolina)  was  Ann  Eleanor  Howard.  The  Haw- 
kins family  claims  descent  from  the  renowned  Elizabethan  ad- 
miral and  explorer.  Sir  John  Hawkins. 

One  of  the  sons  of  Colonel  Philemon  Hawkins  (subject  of  this 
sketch)  was  Colonel  Philemon  Hawkins,  Jr.,  of  Pleasant  Hill, 
in  Warren  County,  North  Carolina.  In  a  ponderous  Family 
Hible.  formerly  owned  by  the  latter,  we  find  many  interesting 
items  about  the  subject  of  our  present  sketch  and  his  family's 
early  history  in  North  Carohna.  Following  are  some  of  the 
entries : 

"Philemon  Hawkins,  father  of  Philemon  Hawkins  of  Pleasant  Hill, 
was  bom  in  Virginia.  He  removed  lo  the  mouth  of  Six  Pound  Creek  in 
North  Carolina ;  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  there.  He  was  an  exiretnely 
active  and  industrious  man,  an  uncommonly  good  husband  and  father. 


136  NORTH  CAROLINA 

and  one  of  the  best  providers  for  a  family.  The  Creator  blessed  him  with 
a  great  share  of  chattels  and  wealth,  and  he  lived  to  be  nearly  eighty-four 
years  of  age.    He  departed  this  life  loth  day  of  September,  A.D.  1801." 

He  came  to  North  Carolina  in  his  young  manhood,  about  1737, 
and  settled  in  what  was  then  the  western  part  of  Edgecombe 
County,  later  Granville,  afterwards  Bute,  and  later  still  Warren: 
being  among  the  first  to  settle  in  that  section. 

Concerning  the  wife  of  the  last-named  is  an  entry  in  the  above 
Family  Bible  which  gives  some  account  of  her  life  and  char- 
acteristics in  the  following  words : 

"Delia  Hawkins,  mother  of  Philemon  Hawkins  of  Pleasant  Hill,  de- 
parted this  life  the  20th  day  of  August,  A.D.  1794,  respected  and  esteemed 
by  all  her  acquaintances.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Zachariah  Martin,  a 
respectable  planter  and  native  of  Virginia.  She  was  one  of  the  first  set- 
tlers upon  Six  Pound  Creek  in  North  Carolina,  where  her  husband,  Phile- 
mon Hawkins,  owned  a  mill.  The  country  was  then  a  wilderness,  which 
occasioned  corn  to  be  extremely  scarce;  and,  when  the  poorest  of  the 
people  came  with  their  corn  to  the  mill,  instead  of  taking  toll,  she  would 
add  to  their  morsel  and  have  it  ground  into  meal  gratis.  She  was  uni- 
versally kind  to  the  poor.  The  great  Creator  of  us  all  blessed  her  with  a 
great  share  of  health  and  wealth,  and  she  lived  to  be  seventy-three  years 
of  age." 

Next  after  the  above  entry  is  another  recording  the  death  of 
the  family's  most  distinguished  member,  who  was  a  son  of  Colonel 
Philemon  Hawkins,  subject  of  the  present  sketch.  This  was 
Colonel  Benjamin  Hawkins,  the  interpreter  of  French  on  the 
staff  of  General  Washington  during  the  Revolution,  member  of 
the  Continental  Congress,  United  States  Senator,  Agent  for  the 
Creek  Nation,  etc.,  who  spent  his  last  years  at  Fort  Hawkins, 
Georgia.     This  reads : 

"Colonel  Benjamin  Hawkins,  Agent  for  the  Creek  Indians,  departed 
this  life  on  the  6th  of  June,  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening,  1816.  in  the 
sixty-second  year  of  his  age.  He  has  served  as  a  publick  character  in  vari- 
ous departments  and  always  discharged  the  trust  faithfully  for  thirty-six 
years — a   worthy,   honest   man." 

Colonel  Philemon  Hawkins,  of  Bute  County,  our  present  sub- 
ject, is  usually  styled  Philemon  Hawkins,  Sr.,  in  history,  to  dis- 
tinguish him  from  his  son,  Colonel  Philemon  Hawkins,  Jr.,  of 


PHILEMON  HAWKINS,  SR.  137 

Pleasant  Hill,  in  Warren  County,  a  man  of  equal  note,  who  will 
be  the  subject  of  a  separate  sketch  in  the  present  voltune,  as  will 
also  Benjamin  and  other  members  of  the  family.  Both  Philemon, 
Sr.,  and  Philemon,  Jr.,  fought  under  Governor  Tryon  at  the  bat- 
tle of  Alamance,  May  16,  1771. 

On  September  28,  1829,  Colonel  Hawkins,  the  younger, 
gathered  as  many  relatives  and  friends  at  Pleasant  Hill  in  Warren 
County  as  could  be  gotten  together,  and  celebrated  the  112th  an- 
niversary of  his  late  father's  birth.  One  of  the  chief  features  of 
this  gathering  was  an  oration  on  "Philemon  Hawkins,  Sr..  De- 
ceased," delivered  by  Colonel  John  D.  Hawkins,  son  of  the 
younger  Philemon.  In  this  we  find  many  interesting  facts  about 
the  elder  Colonel  Hawkins.  Concerning  the  distinguished  part 
he  took  in  the  Battle  of  Alamance,  the  speaker  said : 

"Upon  this  occasion  His  Excellency  selected  our  venerated  ancestor 
as  his  chief  aid-de-camp  and  assigned  to  him  the  hazardous  duty  to  read 
to  the  Regulators  his  proclamation,  which  he  did  promptly.  And,  after 
the  battle  commenced,  he  was  the  bearer  of  the  Governor's  commands 
throughout  the  whole  action.  This  so  exposed  him  to  the  fire  of  the  ene- 
my that  his  hat  was  pierced  by  two  balls,  various  balls  passed  through 
his  clothes,  and  one  bullet  and  two  buckshot  lodged  in  the  breach  of  his 
gun.  which  he  carried  and  used  during  the  action.  But  he  had  the  good 
fortune  not  to  !>e  wounded.  After  the  battle  was  over,  he  was  compli- 
mented by  the  Governor  for  the  very  efficient  aid  given  him,  and  for  the 
bravery  and  ability  displayed  during  the  engagement," 

At  the  family  reunion,  when  the  above  quoted  address  was  de- 
livered, the  ceremonies  were  opened  with  prayer  by  Leonidas 
Polk,  a  young  clergyman,  whose  mother  was  a  daughter  of  the 
host.  Colonel  Philemon  Hawkins,  Jr.  This  youthful  churchman 
later  became  renowned  alike  as  bishop  and  general,  and  was  killed 
while  fighting  for  the  Confederacy  at  Pine  Mountain,  Georgia, 
on  the  i-vth  of  June,  1864. 

Rut  recurring  to  the  history  of  Colonel  Philemon  Hawkins: 
not  only  did  he  distinguish  himself  at  the  Battle  of  Alamance,  as 
above  noted,  but  he  filled  many  public  posts.  In  Bute  County 
he  was  High  Sheriff  (an  office  of  great  honor  and  dignity  under 
Royal  rule),  and  he  was  also  at  one  time  sergeant-at-arms  of  the 


138  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Colonial  Assembly.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution,  Gov- 
ernor Josiah  Martin  greatly  desired  to  gain  the  Hawkins  family 
for  the  King's  cause.  With  this  end  in  view  he  inserted  the  name 
of  Philemon  Hawkins,  Sr.,  and  of  Philemon  Hawkins,  Jr.,  in  a 
commission  (January  lo,  1776),  directing  a  rendezvous  of  Royal 
forces  at  Cross  Creek,  now  Fayetteville.  Neither  father  nor  son 
took  notice  of  this  action  by  Martin,  and  both  became  faithful 
patriots.  Referring  to  the  matter,  Governor  Swain,  in  one  of  his 
historical  addresses,  said: 

"These  gentlemen  were  sturdy  and  well-tried  Whigs  throughout  the 
Revolutionary  War.  Governor  Martin  may  have  been  misinformed  in 
relation  to  them,  or  may  have  inserted  their  names  in  order  to  render 
them  objects  of  suspicion  and  strip  them  of  their  influence  among  the 
Whigs." 

By  his  wife,  Delia  Martin,  six  children  were  bom  to  Colonel 
Philemon  Hawkins,  Sr.  His  two  daughters  .were  Delia,  who  mar- 
ried Leonard  Bullock;  and  Ann,  who  married  Micajah  Thomas. 
Both  of  these  ladies  died  without  surviving  issue.  The  four  sons 
of  Colonel  Hawkins  were  Colonel  John  Hawkins,  Colonel  Phile- 
mon Hawkins,  Jr.  (subject  of  separate  sketch  in  this  work), 
Colonel  Benjamin  Hawkins  (also  subject  of  separate  sketch),  and 
Colonel  Joseph  Hawkins. 

The  elder  Colonel  Philemon  Hawkins,  whose  life  we  have  at- 
tempted* to  portray  herein,  was  offered  a  brigadier-generars  com- 
mission in  the  beginning  of  the  Revolution,  but  declined.  For 
a  short  while,  however,  he  was  a  lieutenant-colonel  of  militia. 
Some  civil  appointments  were  conferred  upon  Colonel  Hawkins, 
and  these  he  accepted.  He  was  a  Justice  of  the  Court  of  Pleas 
and  Quarter  Sessions,  first  for  the  county  of  Bute,  and  later  of 
Warren  County.  As  heretofore  mentioned,  his  life  was  the  sub- 
ject of  a  memorial  address  delivered  in  1829  by  his  grandson. 
Colonel  John  D.  Hawkins.  A  son  of  the  latter,  Doctor  A.  B. 
Hawkins,  of  Raleigh,  recently  had  this  address  reprinted. 

Marshall  De  Lancey  Haywood, 


THE 


"S  t'.cV,'  vc'^K 


/  r^  r 


w  . 


I. 


140  NORTH  CAROLINA 

at  the  North,  there  was  a  general  arming  throughout  North  Caro- 
lina, and  independent  companies  were  then  formed,  which,  how- 
ever, were  disbanded  by  order  of  the  Congress  which  met  in  Sep- 
tember, 1775,  and  arranged  for  a  permanent  military  organiza- 
tion of  the  people  of  the  State.  It  was  apparently  during  that  Sum- 
mer that  a  company  was  formed  in  Bute,  the  association  paper 
being  printed  in  the  ninth  volume  of  the  Colonial  Records,  page 
1 104.  As  illustrating  the  sentiments  of  the  people  in  those  trying 
times,  we  make  some  condensed  extracts  from  the  same : 

"We,  therefore,  the  trusty  and  well-beloved  brothers  and  friends,  to 
each  other,  of  Bute  County,  North  Carolina,  ....  do  most  seri- 
ously, religiously,  join  our  hearts  and  hands  in  embodying  ourselves  into 
an  Independent  Company  of  Freemen,  to  be  in  readiness  to  defend  our- 
selves against  any  violence  that  may  be  exerted  against  our  persons  and 
pioperties.  to  stand  by  and  support  to  the  utmost  of  our  power  the  salva- 
tion of  America;  and  do  most  humbly  beseech  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
of  his  great  goodness,  that  he  be  pleased  to  govern  and  guide  us  to  his 
glory,  and  to  the  good  of  our  distressed  country ;  and  with  full  dependence 
thereon,  we  the  subscribers  do  constitute  and  agree  that  this  Company 
consist  of  ninety  rank  and  file,  two  drummers,  eight  sergeants,  one  en- 
sign, two  lieutenants,  and  a  captain  to  command,  with  full  power,  to  our 

glory   and   our   country's   good We   will   coincide    with    the 

majority  of  the  Company,  should  we  ever  be  called  for  by  the  Command- 
ing Officer  of  the  American  Army.  Being  now  cheerfully  enlisted  in  this 
Independent  Company  of  brothers,  neighbors  and  friends,  we  do  engage 
to  stand  by  each  other  with  life  and  fortune;  and,  through  whatever  fate 
should  befall  either,  to  cherish  each  other  in  sickness  and  in  health;  and 
do  furthermore  most  cordially  promise  to  each  other,  under  all  the  tics  of 
virtue  and  humanity,  that  should  either  of  us  survive  the  dreadful  calami- 
ties of  war,  that  we  will  religiously  cherish  and  support  to  the  utmost 
of  our  power  each  other's  desolate  and  loving  wife  and  tender,  affec- 
tionate children,  being  poor  orphans,  from  poverty  and  want;  and  for 
the  faithful  performance  of  this  our  brotherly  and  friendly  covenant 
which  we  mean  to  perform,  so  help  us  God." 

The  expressions  in  this  paper  show  the  solemnity  of  the  enlist- 
ment. It  appears  that  young  Philemon  Hawkins  was  captain 
of  the  company. 

When  the  Provincial  Congress  convened  on  April  4,  1776,  the 
town  of  Halifax  was  its  meeting-place,  and  Philemon  Hawkins, 


PHILEMON  HAWKIXS.  JR. 


Jr.,  was  at  the  age  of  tweiity-tliree-  a  member  of  that  body.  On 
May  3(!  this  Congress  advanced  Hawkins  to  the  full  rank  of 
colonel,  placing  him  in  command  of  a  regiment  drafted  from  the 
districts  of  Edentoii  and  Halifax  for  the  special  purpose  of  sup- 
pressing an  insurrection  in  the  Currituck  district.  ( »n  May 
9th  the  Committee  on  Claims  in  the  above  Congress  recommended 
an  allowance  to  Colonel  Hawkins  "for  the  services  of  his  regi- 
ment of  militia  on  the  late  Currituck  expedition,  and  against 
the  insurgents."  Colonel  Hawkins  was  a  member  of  the  Pro- 
vincial Congress  at  Halifax  in  November,  1776.  While  the  Rev- 
olution was  in  progress  he  also  ser\'eil  as  a  memtKir  of  the  Gov- 
ernor's Council  and  often  sat  in  the  Assembly  both  during  and 
after  the  war. 

By  Chapter  19  of  the  Laws  of  1779  Bute  County  was  divided, 
and  out  of  it  were  created  the  counties  of  Warren  and  Franklin — 
the  two  latter  named  for  Revolutionary  patriots,  Joseph  Warren 
and  Benjamin  Franklin.  The  residence  of  Colonel  Hawkins  lay 
in  that  part  of  Bute  which  became  Warren  County ;  but  by  sidi- 
sequcnt  enactments  and  re-enactments  his  home  was  at  different 
times  placed  in  the  counties  of  Granville  and  Franklin,  as  well 
as  Warren,  hut  eventually  his  home  place  became  permanently 
a  part  of  Warren.  At  .seven  sessions  of  the  General  Assembly, 
beginning  in  1779,  and  extending — with  one  intermission — till 
1787.  Colonel  Hawkins  represented  Granville  in  the  North  Caro- 
lina House  of  Commons:  and  was  sent  to  the  same  body  from 
Warren  at  the  sessions  of  1787,  1789,  1803.  1805,  1806,  1817  and 
1818.  He  was  al.so  State  Senator  from  Warren  at  the  sessions 
of  1807.  1808.  1810,  and  18(1. 

In  the  Convention  which  met  at  Fayetteville  in  November, 
1789,  and  ratifieii  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  Colonel 
Hawkins  represented  Warren  County,  and  two  of  his  colleagues 
in  the  Warren  delegation  were  his  brother,  Colonel  Benjamin 
Hawkins,  and  Wyatt  Hawkins,  a  more  remote  connection. 

The  death  of  Colonel  Hawkins  occurred  on  the  28th  of  Jan- 
uary, 1833.  An  obituary,  containing  much  valuable  data  concern- 
ing his  life,  appeared  in  the  Raleigh  Register  of  February  8,  1833 : 


Y'^''-' 


i.. 


BENJAMIN  HAWKINS  145 

a  neutral  island  of  the  West  Indies  and  a  sort  of  Nassau  of  that 
day.  Tobacco  was  used  as  a  basis  for  purchases.  It  was  bought 
in  North  Carolina  and  shipped  to  the  West  Indies  and  there  ex- 
changed. Hawkins  loaded  a  merchant  ship  and  sent  her  to  North 
CaroHna  with  supplies,  chiefly  munitions  of  war,  but  she  was 
captured  by  the  British  on  the  home  trip,  and  her  owner,  John 
Wright  Stanly,  of  New-Bern,  failing  to  recover  from  the  State. 
sued  Hawkins  in  his  personal  capacity.  The  Courts  decided  that 
the  purchases  and  contracts  of  the  State's  agent  did  not  bind  him 
personally  (ist  Haywood's  Reports).  His  efforts  at  importa- 
tion from  foreign  ports  were  not  entirely  without  success,  for  in 
Fcbruan,.  i"8o.  he  had  imported  878  stands  of  arms  from  St. 
Eustatia.  but  adds:  "I  could  not  procure  anything  on  the  faith 
of  the  State,  or  by  barter  for  provisions  or  tobacco,  as  was  ex- 
[jected."  ( State  Rec,  XV. i  p.  337.)  At  home  he  was  also  employed 
in  procuring  food  supplies,  especially  corn,  salt  and  pork,  and  met 
with  more  success  than  in  his  foreigTi  enterprises,  for  there  were 
fewer  obstacles  to  overcome. 

He  early  impressed  the  Assembly  with  his  fitness  for  activity 
on  a  wider  field,  for  as  early  as  February-  3,  1779,  he  was  nom- 
inated fur.  and  on  July  14.  1781,  was  dccted  a  delegate  to  the 
Continental  Congress  in  place  of  Charles  Johnson,  declined  (State 
Rec.  XIII.  585  ;  XVII.  872).  He  first  appears  in  the  journals  of 
that  body  on  October  4,  1781 ;  was  re-elected  May  3,  1782;  again 
in  May,  (783,  and  served  until  1784.  He  was  chosen  December 
16.  1786,  for  the  remainder  of  the  year,  which  had  begun  Novem- 
ber 1st.  to  supply  a  place  then  vacant  and  was  again  elected  in 
December,  1787,  but  seems  not  to  have  served  this  last  appoint- 
ment. While  in  the  Continental  Congress  he  was  particularly  in- 
terested in  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  in  the  protection  of 
the  frontiers  from  the  Indians,  in  a  southern  post  route,  in  trade 
and  commerce,  etc.  In  December,  1787,  along  with  Robert  But- 
ton and  William  Blount  he  gives  a  gloomy  but  accurate  picture 
of  the  state  of  the  Union.  It  was  then  on  the  eve  of  bankruptcy ; 
little  had  been  paid  on  the  foreign  debt,  and  the  Government  was 
on  the  verge  of  dissolution.    He  resigned  his  post  the  same  month. 


146  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Hawkins  had  served  in  the  North  Carolina  Assembly  as  early 
as  the  April  and  August  sessions,  1778,  and  January  session, 
1779.  He  was  again  in  the  Assembly  in  April,  1784,  as  a  rep- 
resentative from  Warren.  He  played  here  a  conspicuous  part, 
being  often  on  the  floor  and  serving  on  such  committees  as  that 
on  the  tax  to  be  levied  by  the  Continental  Congress  and  on  the 
Continental  Line,  and  on  such  special  committees  as  those  on  con- 
fiscated estates,  civil  list,  duties,  Martinique  debt,  etc.  He  was 
nominated  for  membership  in  the  Council  of  State  this  year,  and 
it  is  known  that  he  opposed  the  wholesale  condemnation  of  Tories, 
acting  in  this  connection  wath  the  conservatives  and  opposing 
such  radicals  as  Blood  worth,  Rutherford  and  Martin  (State  Rec- 
ords XV IL  145). 

During  the  years  immediately  following  the  war  the  State  was 
very  much  oppressed  by  the  want  of  a  fixed  circulating  medium. 
The  paper  money  had  depreciated  till  it  was  worth  only  800  to  i ; 
there  was  practically  no  gold  and  silver  in  circulation,  and  as  a 
result  the  State  was  hard  put  to  meet  its  current  obligations,  pay 
its  officers,  and  raise  its  proportion  of  the  foreign  debt  of  the  Con- 
federation. To  meet  this  emergency  State  buyers  of  tobacco  were 
appointed  in  various  towns,  who  gathered  and  stored  such  amounts 
of  merchantable  tobacco  as  were  available.  This  was  then  sold 
to  the  best  advantage  and  the  proceeds  used  in  payment  of  the 
foreign  debt.  In  1787  Haw^kins  and  William  Blount,  in  addition 
to  their  other  duties  as  delegates  in  the  Continental  Congress,  were 
charged  with  the  sale  of  this  tobacco,  which  work  was  successfully 
accomplished. 

In  December,  1788,  Hawkins  was  nominated  along  with  Hugh 
Williamson  and  Abishai  Thomas  as  agent  to  settle  the  accounts 
of  North  Carolina  with  the  United  States;  the  last  two  were 
chosen.  In  November  of  that  year  he  was  also  nominated  as  a 
delegate  to  the  proposed  convention,  whose  work  it  was  to  be  to 
further  revise  and  democratize  the  new  Federal  Constitution.  In 
November,  1789,  he  represented  Warren  County  in  the  Fayette- 
ville  Convention.  He  served  on  its  committee  on  order  and  voted 
for  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution. 


BENJAMIN  HAWKINS 147 

After  the  State  entered  the  new  Federal  Union  there  was  an- 
other struggle  between  the  two  parties  of  the  day,  conservatives 
and  radicals,  or  Federalists  and  anti-Federalists,  later  Republi- 
cans, over  the  senators  to  the  new  Federal  Congress.  The  strug- 
gle began  in  the  Assembly  three  days  after  the  ratification  of  the 
Constitution.  The  nominees  for  senators  were  Samuel  Johnston, 
Benjamin  Hawkins,  James  White,  Joseph  McDowell,  Timothy 
Bloodworth,  Thomas  Person,  William  Blount,  John  Williams, 
William  Lenoir,  John  Stokes,  Richard  Dobbs  Spaight  and  Wil- 
liam Polk,  a  goodly  company,  where  the  rankest  Federalist  was 
crowded  and  jostled  by  the  extreme  Radical.  The  Federals  were 
in  power,  and  it  was  proper  that  Samuel  Johnston,  the  leading 
exponent  of  that  party's  political  principles,  should  be  chosen  the 
first  senator  in  Congress  from  North  Carolina  (November  27, 
1789).  After  some  skirmishing  Hawkins  was  chosen  on  Decem- 
ber 9th  as  the  second  senator.  He  was  the  first  to  enter  upon  his 
duties,  having  qualified  January  13,  1790,  and  winning  the  long 
term  served  till  March  3,  1795.  Johnston  drew  the  short  term 
and  served  from  January  29,  1790,  to  March  2,  1793.  In  the 
meantime  the  political  tide  changed  in  North  Carolina,  and  the 
Federalist  and  ultra-conservative  Johnston  was  succeeded  in  1793 
by  the  more  liberal  Alexander  Martin,  while  in  1795  Hawkins, 
aristocratic,  conservative,  proud  and  wealthy,  gave  way  for  the 
ultra-radical  Bloodworth,  who  had  begun  life  as  a  blacksmith 
and  by  sheer  force  of  native  intellect  had  worked  his  way  to  the 
front  in  public  life. 

It  is  of  interest  to  make  note  here,  merely  as  a  sign  of  the 
times,  that  in  1790  the  "alarming  secrecy"  of  the  Senate  caused 
the  North  Carolina  Assemblv  to  instruct  its  senators  to  use  their 
influence  to  make  the  debates  of  the  Senate  public  when  sitting 
in  its  legislative  capacity ;  "to  correspond  regularly  and  constantly 
with  the  executive  during  the  recess  of  the  Legislature"  and  at 
other  times  with  the  Legislature  itself,  and  to  secure  the  publica- 
tion of  the  journals  of  the  Senate. 

Hawkins  had  been  appointed  a  commissioner  on  March  21, 
1785,  to  treat  with  the  Cherokees  and  "all  other  Indians  southward 


148  NORTH  CAROLINA 

of  them"  in  accord  with  the  act  of  Congress  of  March  15,  1785. 
The  other  commissioners  were  Daniel  Carroll,  William  Perry, 
Andrew  Pickens  and  Joseph  Martin  (q.  v.).  Carroll  and  Perry 
did  not  serve  and  their  place  was  taken  by  Lachlan  Mcintosh. 
They  were  instructed  to  give  due  notice  to  the  Governor  of  North 
Carolina.  They  were  to  treat  with  the  Cherokees,  and  also  with 
the  Creeks,  Chickasaws  and  Choctaws,  and  were  authorized  to 
draw  on  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina  and  Georgia 
for  funds,  and  warned  the  executives  of  those  States  that  funds 
must  be  forthcoming  if  the  treaties  were  to  be  held.  Caswell 
writes  back  that,  while  North  Carolina  was  hard  pressed,  he  would 
furnish  one-third  of  the  total  sum  asked  for.  The  commissioners 
spent  1785  in  making  preparations;  goods  were  purchased  and 
sent  to  Charleston  to  go  overland  to  Keowee.  The  Indians  were 
slow  in  coming:  the  Creeks  failed  them  entirely  and  the  Con- 
tinental commissioners  did  not  sign  the  treaty  of  Galphinton, 
which  was  the  work  of  the  agents  of  Georgia  alone.  On  Novem- 
ber 28,  1785,  Plawkins  signed  at  Hopewell  on  Keowee  with  the 
Cherokees  the  treaty  of  Hopewell,  than  which  perhaps  no  other 
Indian  treaty  was  more  roundly  denounced  by  the  whites.  The 
object  of  this  treaty  was  to  define  the  claims  of  the  whites  and 
Indians  respectively  and  so  prevent  encroachments  of  the  former. 
William  Blount  was  present  as  agent  for  North  Carolina,  and 
agents  for  Georgia  were  also  in  attendance.  The  treaty  was 
mainly  the  work  of  Martin ;  the  chief  question  was  that  of  bound- 
aries, and  the  Indians  drafted  a  map  showing  their  claims.  They 
were  induced  to  give  up  Transylvania,  to  leave  out  the  Cumber- 
land section  and  the  settlements  on  French  Broad  and  Holston. 
The  boundaries  thus  fixed  were  the  most  favorable  it  was  possi- 
ble to  obtain  without  regard  to  previous  purchases  and  pretended 
purchases  made  by  private  individuals  and  others.  The  Indians 
yielded  an  extensive  territory  to  the  United  States,  but  on  the 
other  hand  the  commissioners  conceded  to  them  a  considerable  ex- 
tent of  territory  that  had  been  purchased  by  private  individuals, 
though  by  methods  of  more  than  doubtful  legality.  The  com- 
missioners agreed  to  remove  some  families  from  the  Indian  lands. 


BENJAMIN  HAWKINS  149 

but  they  did  not  agree  to  remove  those  between  French  Broad 
and  Holston.  This  angered  the  Indians,  who  said  that  they  had 
never  sold  those  lands.  The  whites  were  angry  because  some 
favors  had  been  shown  the  Indians  and  because  there  had  not 
been  further  curtailment  of  territory,  and  the  States  were  angry 
because  the  commissioners  had  encroached  on  their  reserved 
rights.  William  Blount,  as  agent  of  North  Carolina,  protested, 
and  efforts  were  made  in  Congress  to  destroy  the  treaty  (State 
Rcc,  XVir.  578-9;  XVIII.  49,  591-2,  490-1;  XX.  762).  En- 
CFoachments  continued;  orders  were  issued  by  North  Carolina 
and  by  the  Continental  Congress  that  settlers  should  leave  the  In- 
dian lands.  These  settlers  were  even  threatened  with  the  army ; 
but  treaties,  proclamations  and  threats  were  alike  in  vain,  for  the 
terms  of  the  treaty  were  never  fully  executed.  Hawkins,  Pickens 
and  Martin  signed  treaties  with  the  Choctaws  on  January  3d,  and 
with  the  Chickasaws  January  10,  1786,  at  the  same  place. 

With  this  preliminary  experience  Hawkins  was  somewhat  pre- 
pared to  undertake  the  difficult  and  dangerous  work  of  an  Indian 
agent.  His  term  as  senator  expired  March  3,  1795.  In  June  of 
that  year  Washington  appointed  him  along  with  George  Clymer, 
of  Pennsylvania,  and  Andrew  Pickens,  of  South  Carolina,  to  treat 
with  the  Creek  Confederacy  and  to  investigate  the  anomalous 
political  relationship  caused  by  the  treaty  of  Galphinton  in  1785, 
where  the  Creeks  had  acknowledged  themselves  as  within  the 
limits  of  Georgia  and  members  of  the  same,  and  the  treaty  of  New 
York,  signed  August  7,  1790,  where  they  placed  themselves  under 
the  protection  of  the  United  States  alone  and  bound  themselves 
not  to  enter  into  anv  treatv  with  any  other  individual,  State  or 
power. 

In  1796  Washington  appointed  Hawkins  agent  of  the  United 
States  among  the  Creeks  and  general  superintendent  of  all  the 
tribes  south  of  the  Ohio  River  (Chappell's  "Miscellanies;"  his 
commission  was  renewed  by  Jefferson  in  1801  ).  From  this  time, 
1796,  the  remainder  of  the  life  of  Benjamin  Hawkins  was  de- 
voted entirely  to  the  Indian.  It  is  said  that  his  family  opposed  this 
determination,  for  it  was  ambitious  and  wealthy.     It  is  possible 


ISO  NORTH  CAROLINA 

that  there  was  an  element  of  pique  at  the  change  in  the  political 
tide  in  North  Carolina,  but  it  is  certain  that  Hawkins  had  al- 
ready been  much  among  the  Indians;  he  had  penetrated  the 
mighty  forests  and  had  tasted  the  freedom  that  comes  with  life 
in  the  woods;  he  had  felt  what  a  modem  novelist  has  keenly 
denominated  the  "call  of  the  wild/'  and  when  this  spirit  has  once 
entered  into  and  mastered  the  soul  of  man  it  is  seldom  that  he 
again  willingly  submits  to  the  restraints  of  civilization.  When 
Hawkins  accepted  this  position  as  Indian  agent  he  practically  quit 
civilized  society,  buried  himself  in  the  remote  and  savage  woods 
and  among  a  still  more  savage  people,  with  whom  the  remainder 
of  his  days  were  spent. 

On  June  29,  1796,  Hawkins  negotiated  with  the  Creeks  the 
treaty  of  Coleraine  which  served  as  a  useful  supplement  to  the 
treaty  of  New  York  and  by  which  the  boundaries  of  the  earlier 
treaty  were  confirmed.  From  this  time  for  twenty  years  Colonel 
Hawkins  as  United  States  agent  among  the  Creeks  wielded  a  pro- 
consular sway  over  a  scope  of  country  regal  in  extent:  Begin- 
ning at  St.  Mary's  the  Creek  boundary  ran  across  to  the  Altamaha ; 
thence  it  turned  up  and  along  the  west  bank  of  that  river  and  of 
the  Oconee  to  the  High  Shoals  of  the  Appalachee,  where  it  inter- 
sected the  Cherokee  line;  thence  through  Georgia  and  Alabama 
to  the  Choctaw  line  in  Mississippi;  thence  south  down  the  Choc- 
taw line  to  the  31st  parallel;  thence  east  to  the  Chattahoochee, 
and  then  down  that  river  to  its  junction  with  the  Flint;  thence 
to  the  head  of  St.  Mary's  River,  and  thence  to  the  beginning. 

Hawkins  began  his  work  as  agent  by  a  careful  study  of  the 
people  and  of  their  country.  He  did  much  to  initiate  and  encourage 
them  in  the  lower  forms,  the  basal  elements,  of  civilization ;  pastur- 
age was  brought  into  use ;  agriculture  was  encouraged  by  example 
as  well  as  precept,  for  he  brought  his  slaves  from  North  Carolina 
and  at  the  agency  on  Flint  River  cultivated  a  large  plantation  and 
raised  immense  crops  of  corn  and  other  provisions,  thus  setting 
a  high  example  of  how  to  do  by  doing.  He  owned  great  herds 
of  hogs  and  cattle  and  practised  towards  the  Indians  a  profuse 
hospitality  which  always  wins  their  friendship  and  esteem.  Other 


BEN"JAM!\  HAWKINS  151 

treaties  were  negotiated  with  the  Creeks  at  Fori  Wilkinson, 
Georgia,  in  1802  and  at  Washington,  D.  C,  in  1805 ;  also  with  the 
Chickasaws  and  Choctaws  in  1801,  1802,  1803,  and  1805,  in  which 
Hawkins  was  more  or  less  of  a  participant  and  all  of  which  meant 
a  further  cession  of  lands  to  the  United  States  by  the  Indians  who 
were  under  his  control.  But  peaceful  and  friendly  relations  were 
generally  maintained  by  Hawkins  between  advancing  white  and 
retreating  Amerind  for  about  sixteen  years.  With  the  war  of 
1812  the  times  changed.  It  was  no  longer  possible  for  him  to 
control  the  Creeks,  who  fell  under  the  influence  of  British  emis- 
saries. Tecumseh  had  visited  them  in  181 1  on  a  mission  of  war, 
Hawkins  met  the  great  warrior  of  the  north  at  Tuckabatchee,  the 
Creek  capital,  while  holding  a  great  council  of  the  nation,  but 
Tecumseh  kept  silent  as  to  the  object  of  his  mission  till  the  dc- 
[>3rture  of  Hawkins.  Then,  through  that  fierce  Indian  eloquence 
of  which  he  was  master  and  by  the  fanatical  religiosity  of  his 
brother,  the  Prophet,  a  great  Indian  war  was  kindled,  which 
spread  far  and  wide  over  the  frontier.  But  that  part  of  tlie  Creek 
country  bordering  on  Georgia  and  extending  west  from  the  Oc- 
miilgce  to  the  Chattahoochee  never  became  the  seat  of  actual  war- 
fare, and  hence  the  eastern  frontier  was  spared  its  horrors.  This 
was  due  very  largely  to  the  fact  that  Hawkins's  scat  was  on  the 
Oanulgee.  opposite  the  present  Macon,  and  afterwards  on  the 
Flint  at  the  place  since  known  as  the  Old  Agency,  and  that  his 
intlucncc  was  naturally  greater  on  the  eastern  than  on  the  western 
border  of  the  Creek  country.  The  eastern  Creeks  were  actually 
organized  into  a  regiment  of  defence  of  which  Plawkins  became 
titular  colonel,  the  actual  command  devolving  on  the  half-breed 
chief.  William  Mcintosh. 

The  uprising  of  the  Creeks  was  crushed  in  fire  and  blood  by 
Jackson  early  in  1814:  by  the  treaty  of  Fort  Jackson  their  limits 
were  greatly  reduced  and  their  strength  broken  forever.  This 
treaty  was  the  death-knell  of  the  nation ;  even  the  friendly  chiefs 
withered  under  its  influence,  and  the  passing  of  the  people  for 
whom  he  had  so  long  and  faithfully  iabored  perhaps  hastened 
the  death  of  Hawkins  himself,  which  occurred  at  Hawkinsville, 


152  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Georgia,  June  6,  1816.  Wheeler  states  in  his  ''Reminiscences"  that 
Hawkins  married  and  left  one  son,  Madison,  and  three  daughters. 

Colonel  Hawkins  was  a  man  of  liberal  education,  high  attain- 
ments and  much  experience.  He  was  far  abqve  the  average  In- 
dian agent  of  that  day  and  of  this  in  general  culture  and  grasp  of 
affairs.  Further,  he  was  a  man  of  approved  honesty,  and  his  life, 
as  seen  in  his  published  letters,  shows  clearly  that  he  was  de- 
voted to  the  material  upbuilding  of  the  Indians  under  his  care 
and  to  their  intellectual  advancement.  The  eminent  position  that 
the  Creeks,  Cherokees,  Chickasaws  and  Choctaws  now  occupy 
among  the  civilized  tribes  of  the  Indian  Territory  is  to  be  traced 
beyond  question  in  part  to  the  fostering  and  fatherly  care  shown 
them  a  hundred  years  ago  by  one  who  sought  not  to  exploit  his 
proteges  for  his  own  material  benefit,  but  strove  rather,  by  ex- 
ample as  well  as  precept,  to  lift  them  to  a  higher  life,  and  whose 
efforts  they  recognized  and  rewarded  in  the  significant  title  Iste- 
chate-lige-osetat-chemis-te-chaugo — Beloved  Man  of  the  Four 
Nations. 

Colonel  Hawkins  also  devoted  much  time  to  the  studv  of  In- 
dian  history,  especially  that  of  the  Creeks.  Much  of  his  material 
was  destroyed  by  fire,  but  eight  manuscript  volumes  escaped  and 
are  in  possession  of  the  Georgia  Historical  Society.  These  vol- 
umes relate  to  the  history  of  the  various  tribes  with  whom  he 
treated  and  are  filled  with  details  of  treaties,  his  correspondence 
on  behalf  of  the  Indians  with  the  State  and  General  Governments, 
vocabularies  of  Indian  languages,  records  of  the  manners  and 
customs,  religious  rites,  civil  polity,  etc.  His  "Sketch  of  the  Creek 
Country  in  1798  and  1799"  was  published  in  1848  as  Part  i  of  V^ol- 
ume  3  of  the  Historical  Collections  of  the  Georgia  Historical  So- 
ciety. It  is  filled  with  matters  relating  to  the  life,  manners  and 
customs  of  the  Creeks  and  to  the  natural  features  of  their  coun- 
try. His  journal  of  a  **Tour  Through  the  Creek  Country," 
November  19,  1796,  to  May  21,  1797,  is  still  in  manuscript  and 
is  owned  by  the  same  society.  While  in  many  respects  Hawkins's 
studies  have  been  superseded  by  later  and  more  scientific  ones, 
they  are  in  others  still  of  great  value,  and  if  published  would 


5er\-e  as  a  valuable  picture  of  Creek  Indian  life  at  a  time  when  that 
powerful  nation  had  come  little  in  contact  with  the  English-speak- 
ing world  b_\'  whom  they  were  to  be  in  part  destroyed,  in  part 
absorbed. 

This  sketch  is  based  on  the  sketch  of  Hawkins  in  his  "Creek 
Counlrj."  on  that  in  Chappell's  "Miscellanies  of  Georgia,"  on  the 
"North  Carolina  State  Records"  and  on  Royce's  "Indian  Land 
Cessions  in  the  United  States." 

Slephai  B.  Weeks. 


WILLIAM  HAWKINS 

f  HEN  hostilities  between  America  and  Great 
Britain  opened  for  a  second  time  in  1812,  the 
Governor  of  North  Carolina  was  William  Haw- 
kins, a  native  of  the  county  of  Bute,  and  a  citi- 
zen of  the  county  of  Granville  at  the  time  of 
his  election  as  Chief  Magistrate.  Two  years 
after  the  birth  of  Governor  Hawkins  the  name  of  Bute  County 
was  expunged  from  the  map,  and  its  territory  divided  into  the 
counties  of  Warren  and  Franklin.  This  action — taken  while  the 
Revolutionary  War  was  in  progress — was  done  to  perpetuate  the 
names  of  two  honored  patriots  in  lieu  of  that  of  Lord  Bute,  one 
of  the  ministers  of  King  George.  Upon  the  division  of  Bute, 
Warren  County  became  the  home  of  the  Hawkins  family.  This 
family  had  stamped  its  name  on  the  history  of  North  Carolina 
long  before  William  Hawkins  added  to  its  honors.  Governor 
Hawkins  was  a  son  of  Colonel  Philemon  Hawkins,  Jr.  (subject 
of  one  of  the  preceding  sketches),  and  his  wife,  Lucy  Davis. 

William  Hawkins  was  born  on  the  loth  of  October,  1777,  and 
was  reared  at  Pleasant  Hill,  his  father's  seat  in  Warren  County. 
His  early  childhood  was  passed  in  the  troublous  times  of  our  War 
for  Independence,  but  comparative  quiet  reigned  in  his  native 
county,  for  "there  were  no  Tories  in  Bute."  After  receiving  a 
good  preliminary  education,  he  took  up  the  study  of  law  in  Gran- 
ville County  under  Judge  John  Williams.    About  the  time  he  be- 


came  of  age,  his  uncle,  Colonel  Benjamin  Hawkins,  invited  him 
to  make  his  home  at  Fort  Hawkins,  Georgia,  and  offered  him  the 
office  of  Assistant  Indian  Agent.  This  office  young  Hawkins  ac- 
cepted, and  left  N'orth  Carolina  for  his  new  home  in  the  month 
of  December,  1797.  After  two  years  spent  at  the  Agency,  Wil- 
liam Hawkins  grew  tired  of  the  Indian  country,  and  longed  for  his 
native  State.  At  the  suggestion  of  his  uncle,  however,  he  decided 
first  to  spend  several  years  at  Philadelphia,  and  there  renew  the 
study  of  law,  besides  perfecting  himself  in  French  and  other 
branches  of  knowledge.  Many  of  the  friends  made  by  Benjamin 
Hawkins  while  a  member  of  the  Continental  Congress  and  Senate 
at  Philadelphia  were  still  residents  of  that  city,  so  his  favorite 
nephew  did  not  go  as  an  unknown  stranger  to  Pennsylvania's 
metropolis. 

In  1801  young  Hawkins  returned  lo  his  native  Stale,  a  finished 
scholar  and  a  man  of  affairs.  About  a  year  after  his  arrival,  Gov- 
ernor Turner  made  use  of  his  experience  in  the  Indian  country 
by  entrusting  to  his  management  the  settlement  of  some  troubles 
with  the  Tuscaroras.  In  1804  William  Hawkins  was  elected  to 
represent  Warren  County  in  the  North  Carolina  House  of  Com- 
mrins;  he  was  re-elected  to  the  same  post  in  1805.  his  colleague 
being  his  father.  Colonel  Philemon  Hawkins,  Jr.  At  the  sessions 
of  1809,  1810  and  181 !  he  represented  Granville  County  in  the 
North  Carolina  House  of  Commons.    The  House  of  Commons  for 

1810  elected  him  Speaker;  he  was  also  Speaker  of  the  House  in 

1811  {November  9th)  ;  but  during  the  latter  session,  on  Decem- 
ber 7th,  he  was  elected  Governor  of  North  Carohna.  Two  days 
later,  on  December  9th,  he  was  duly  inaugurated.  He  was  twice 
re-elected — serving  three  annual  terms  in  all — and  retired  on 
December  7,  1814,  when  Governor  William  Miller  qualified. 

Nearly  the  whole  of  the  second  war  with  Great  Britain  fell 
within  the  administration  of  Governor  Hawkins.  On  the  23d  o£ 
June,  1812.  an  express  messenger  reached  Raleigh,  announcing 
the  declaration  of  war.  In  his  message  to  the  General  Assembly 
(November  18,  1812),  Governor  Hawkins  said: 


156  NORTH  CAROLINA 

"The  insolence,  the  injustice  and  the  complicated  aggressions  on  the 
part  of  that  nation  [Great  Britain]  towards  the  United  States  not  only 
afforded  our  Government  abundant  cause  of  an  appeal  to  arms  long  be- 
fore the  period  when  that  event  took  place,  but  seemed  in  the  most  com- 
manding terms  to  call  for  the  adoption  of  that  alternative  in  order  to 
convince  the  enemy  and  the  world  that  we  possessed  the  will  and  the 
power  to  maintain  and  defend  that  liberty  and  independence  which 
emanated  from  and  were  secured  to  us  by  the  glorious  struggles  of  our 

Revolutionary   fathers Let  England  be  taught  to  know   that 

the  present  race  of  Americans  are  not  of  spurious  origin — that  they  are 
the  legitimate  offspring  of  the  heroes  of  our  Revolution.  She  will  then 
respect  our  rights,  and  the  savage  warwhoop  will  cease  to  terrify  the  de- 
fenceless inhabitants  of  our  extensive   frontiers." 

Later  on  in  this  message  Governor  Hawkins  stated  that  in  the 
preceding  April  the  President  had  directed  him  to  detach  from 
the  militia  of  the  State  seven  thousand  men  (including  officers) 
for  service  when  needed.  This  quota  had  been  raised,  said  he, 
and  consisted  nearly  altogether  of  volunteers,  while  many  com- 
panies throughout  the  State  were  asking  to  be  sent  into  the  field 
whenever  needed. 

On  hearing  that  a  landing  on  our  seacoast  had  been  effected 
in  July,  1813,  Governor  Hawkins  left  Raleigh  on  the  19th  of  that 
month,  accompanied  by  his  aide-de-camp,  Colonel  Beverly  Daniel, 
and  the  Wake  Dragoons  under  Major  Thomas  Henderson,  while 
General  Calvin  Jones  preceded  him  with  another  detachment  of 
troops.  After  inspecting  the  defences  in  the  vicinity  of  New- 
Bern  and  then  going  to  other  points  along  our  coast  region,  Gov- 
ernor Hawkins  returned  to  Raleigh  on  August  20th,  and  later 
sent  a  report  of  his  observations  to  the  Secretary  of  War. 

In  his  message  of  November  17,  181 3,  to  the  General  As- 
sembly, Governor  Hawkins  referred  to  the  efforts  for  peace,  say- 
ing: 

"If  we  weaken  ourselves  by  cherishing  internal  divisions;  if  we  exhibit 
ourselves  to  the  enemy  as  a  nation  composed  of  two  hostile  parties,  each 
endeavoring  to  destroy  the  other,  we  shall  place  that  object  at  a  distance 
from  us.  Great  Britain,  presuming  upon  our  weakness,  thus  produced, 
will  not  only  be  more  obstinate,  but  will  be  encouraged  to  indulge  her 
ambition   and   arrogance.      Is   there  an    instance   recorded   where   British 


WILLIAM  HAWKINS  157 

rapacity  hns  yielded  to  the  supplications  of  the  weak?  We  cannot  expect 
(hat  nation,  whose  Government  is  so  hostile  In  ours,  will  ever  grant  us 
peace  a»  a  boon.  Every  American  citizen,  therefore,  who  is  anxions  IhaE 
■1  shoultl  be  restored,  will  deem  il  his  imperative  duty  to  give  his  support 
lo  the  vigorous  prosecution  of  the  war  as  the  only  effectual  means  of 
obtaining  it." 

The  Adjutant-General  of  North  Carolina  ( Robert  Williams, 
of  Surry)  on  November  24,  1813,  reported  that  the  Stale  militia 
niitnbered  51,298  officers  and  men.  At  that  time  all  able-bodied 
citizens  were  rctiuired  to  attend  musters  and  were  considered  a 
part  of  the  militia. 

In  his  message  of  November  23.  1814.  to  the  last  Legislature 
which  met  during  his  administration.  Governor  Hawkins  con- 
tinues to  pour  forth  his  defiance  against  the  enemy  and  to  in- 
voke a  .spirited  resistance  to  the  unjust  demands  of  England. 
After  recounting  some  of  the  incidents  of  Ihc  war,  he  says: 

"When  we  view  the  effect  which  these  outrages,  and  the  arrogant  and 
iniultinK  demands  of  the  British  Government  as  the  conditions  of  peace, 
have  produced  upon  the  two  great  contending  parties  of  our  country,  we 
find  real  cause  of  exultation.  The  eyes  of  all  are  opened.  The  character 
of  the  enemy  stands  exposed.  Party  prejudices  and  distinctions  are  done 
away.  The  love  of  country  predominates.  That  determined  spirit  which 
aiifiualed  and  nerved  (he  arms  of  our  Rt^folaCiorisry  iathtrs  in  achieving 
the  liberty  and  independence  which  we  now  enjoy,  pervades  this  exten- 
sive Continent.  The  resolution  is  now  formed  to  bring  into  action  the 
united  energies  of  the  nation  to  chastise  our  perfidious  and  insolent  foe, 
and  to  compel  him  to  abandon  his  iniquitous  pretensions  and  give  us 
peace  upon  honorable  terms." 

Speaking  of  events  in  North  Carolina,  the  Governor  went  on  to 
say  in  this  message: 

"Since  the  adjournment  of  the  last  Assembly  the  enemy  in  small  plun- 
dering parties  have  made  a  few  hasty  incursions  on  the  seacoast,  but  none 
of  a  character  lo  render  it  necessary  or  even  allow  time  to  call  out  the 
local  militia.  One  company,  however,  was  ordered  on  duty  tor  a  short 
time  to  relieve  a  detachment  of  militia  drafts  which  had  garrisoned  Fort 
Hampton,  and  whose  term  of  service  was  about  to  expire.  This  company 
was  subsequently  recognised  as  being  in  the  service  of  the  United  States 
by  Colonel  Long,  of  the  United  Stales  Army,  commanding  in  this  State, 
who  received  their  returns  and  informed  me  they  would  be  paid.     Several 


158  NORTH  CAROLINA 

detachments  of  the  requisition  of  the  General  Government  have,  however, 
been  called  into  service.  In  the  early  part  of  the  year  a  regiment  under 
the  command  of  Colonel  Jesse  A.  Pearson  marched  to  the  Creek  Nation 
to  aid  in  suppressing  the  hostile  part  of  these  Indians.  I  had  the  grati- 
fication to  learn  from  the  commanding  general,  and  it  gives  me  pleasure 
to  communicate  to  the  Legislature,  that  this  regiment — in  point  of  dis- 
cipline, soldier-like  demeanor,  and  promptness  in  the  execution  of  every 
command  that  was  given  them — could  not  have  been  surpassed  by  any 
troops  who  have  been  no  longer  in  the  service.  After  their  term  of  ser- 
vice had  expired,  they  were  marched  to  this  State,  received  their  pay,  and 
were  honorably  discharged.  Another  regiment  is  now  in  the  service  of 
this  State,  a  third  at  Norfolk,  Virginia,  and  a  fourth  is  ordered  to  ren- 
dezvous on  the  28th  inst.  to  reinforce  the  garrison  of  that  place." 

As  heretofore  noted,  the  third  and  last  administration  of  Gov- 
ernor Hawkins  ended  on  December  7,  1814.  On  the  24th  of  the 
same  month  a  Treaty  of  Peace  was  signed  at  Ghent,  and  hos- 
tilities ceased  when  news  of  this  event  reached  America. 

The  erection  of  the  Governor's  mansion,  which  formerly  stood 
at  the  southern  end  of  Fayetteville  Street  in  Raleigh,  but  which 
has  since  been  demolished,  was  begun  during  the  administration 
of  Governor  Hawkins;  and  his  successor.  Governor  Miller,  was 
its  first  occupant.  As  late  as  December,  181 5,  the  building  com- 
mittee reported  to  the  State  Senate:  "The  edifice  intended  for 
the  Governor's  dwelling  is  not  yet  completed." 

For  many  years — from  1803  until  his  death  in  18 19— Hawkins 
was  one  of  the  trustees  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  and 
was  ex-ofHcio  President  of  the  Board  during  his  term  as  Governor. 

About  the  year  1805,  some  years  before  his  election  to  the  office 
of  Governor,  William  Hawkins  removed  from  Warren  to  Gran- 
ville County,  and  took  up  his  residence  on  a  plantation  on  Nut- 
bush  Creek,  not  far  from  the  town  of  Williamsboro.  Previous 
to  this  time,  on  the  24th  of  December,  1803,  he  had  been  united 
in  marriage  with  Ann  Swepson  Boyd.  To  this  union  were  bom 
seven  children.  They  were:  Emily,  who  married  James  Nuttall; 
Matilda,  who  married  Doctor  Joseph  Nuttall;  Lucy,  who  first 
married  Doctor  Littleton  W.  Coleman,  and  afterwards  Honorable 
Henry  W.  Connor,  M.C. ;  William,  who  married  Miss  Carson; 


WILLIAM  HAWKINS  159 

• 

* 

Celestia,  who  married  Junius  Amis;  Henrietta,  who  married 
Junius  Amis  after  the  death  of  her  sister,  who  was  his  first  wife ; 
Mary  Jane,  who  married  Major  Benjamin  Morrow. 

As  heretofore  noted,  William  Hawkins  spent  some  of  his  early 
years  at  the  Indian  Agency  in  Georgia,  as  assistant  to  his  uncle, 
Colonel  Benjamin  Hawkins.  A  younger  brother  of  William  was 
Captain  Philemon  Hawkins,  who  served  in  the  Army  of  the 
United  States  during  the  second  war  with  Great  Britain,  and  was 
honorably  mustered  out  on  June  15,  181 5.  At  the  urgent  desire 
of  his  uncle,  this  young  gentleman  went  to  the  Creek  Agency  at 
Fort  Hawkins,  but  died  soon  after,  March  22,  1817.  Colonel 
Benjamin  Hawkins  himself  had  died  before  this,  on  the  6th  of 
June,  1816,  leaving  a  large  fortune  to  his  wife  and  children,  with 
the  further  provision  that  a  child's  share  should  go  to  his  nephew 
William,  who  was  appointed  executor.  Governor  Hawkins  gen- 
erously declined  this  legacy,  but  qualified  as  his  uncle's  executor. 
After  this  he  made  visits  to  Georgia  for  the  purpose  of  winding 
up  the  estate;  but  being  attacked  with  a  pulmonary  disease,  he 
himself  did  not  long  survive.  His  death  occurred  at  Sparta, 
Georgia,  on  the  17th  of  May,  1819,  while  returning  from  Fort 
Hawkins  to  North  Carolina. 

The  career  of  Governor  Hawkins  forms  an  interesting  chapter 
in  the  history  of  North  Carolina,  filling  as  he  did  the  highest  office 
in  the  State  at  the  time  of  America's  second  war  with  Great 
Britain.  In  the  discharge  of  his  duties  he  united  the  wisdom  of 
a  statesman  with  the  firmness,  energy  and  incorruptibility  of  a 
patriot.  Nature  endowed  him  with  a  pleasing  countenance  and 
graceful  figure,  but  denied  him  the  robust  constitution  which 
usually  marked  the  members  of  his  family.  He  was  brave  when 
bravery  was  needed,  but  the  "small  sweet  courtesies  of  life"  shone 
brightly  in  his  daily  intercourse.  Of  his  ancestry  he  was  proud, 
but  it  was  a  quiet,  wholesome  pride,  far  removed  from  arrogance, 
and  a  stimulus  to  high  thoughts,  gentle  manners  and  generous 
actions. 

Marshall  De  Lancey  Haywood. 


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1. 


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JOHN  D.  HAWKINS  i6i 

Governor  of  the  State)  he  was  a  vigorous  supporter  of  war  meas- 
ures during  the  second  conflict  with  Great  Britain.  At  the  ses- 
sions of  the  General  Assembly  for  the  years  1834,  1836,  1838  and 
1840,  Mr.  Hawkins  represented  Franklin  County  with  marked 
ability  in  the  State  Senate  of  North  Carolina. 

In  Warren  County,  as  well  as  in  Franklin,  Mr.  Hawkins  owned 
large  agricultural  interests.  On  Sandy  Creek,  in  Warren  County, 
he  owned  a  large  flouring  mill  where  whef  t  was  ground  on  toll. 
He  was  also  extensively  engaged  in  the  cultivation  of  tobacco, 
shipping  this  product  to  Petersburg  for  market. 

Realizing  the  benefits  which  would  accrue  from  internal  im- 
provements to  citizens  of  the  State  in  general,  and  especially  to 
those  like  himself  who  were  compelled  to  have  products  shipped 
over  rough  scanty  roads  in  order  to  reach  a  market,  Mr.  ^Hawkins 
was  an  early  advocate  of  railroads  in  North  Carolina.  In  184& 
his  kinsman,  General  Micajah  Thomas  Hawkins  (former  Member 
of  Congress)  was  a  candidate  for  the  office  of  State  Senator  from 
Warren  County,  and  was  known  to  be  opposed  to  the  policy  of 
internal  improvements.  As  the  question  of  chartering  the  North 
Carolina  Railroad  Company  and  giving  it  State  aid  was  to  come 
up  at  the  ensuing  session,  his  kinsman's  attitude  was  a  source  of 
a  p^ood  deal  of  uneasiness  to  John  D.  Hawkins,  who  finally  pre- 
vailed on  A.  R.  Hawkins  (a  son  of  Doctor  Joseph  Hawkins  and 
not  to  be  confused  with  Doctor  A.  B.  Hawkins,  son  of  John  D. 
Hawkins)  to  become  a  candidate  on  a  platform  favorable  to  the 
pr(>f)osed  charter  and  subscription  to  stock  by  the  State.  In  the 
election  A.  R.  Hawkins  was  successful,  and  it  was  well  for  the  rail- 
road company  and  for  the  State  that  such  was  the  case ;  for,  in  the 
Senate,  a  tie  vote  resulted,  and  the  casting  vote  of  the  Speaker, 
Honorable  Calvin  Graves,  won  the  fight  for  the  road.  Had  A.  B. 
Hawkins  been  defeated  by  M.  T.  Hawkins  in  Warren,  a  majority 
of  one  vote  in  the  Senate  against  the  charter  would  have  resulted. 
About  that  time  John  D.  Hawkins,  Joseph  Hawkins,  and  George 
W.  Mordecai  went  personal  security  to  the  extent  of  $400,000 
to  aid  the  Raleigh  and  Gaston  Railroad  in  its  building  operations. 
Subsequently  the  State  came  to  the  rescue  by  making  an  addi- 


i62  NORTH  CAROLINA 

tional  subscription  of  $400,000  to  its  stock,  and  these  public- 
spirited  gentlemen  were  thereby  saved  from  loss.  After  this 
$400,000  had  been  subscribed,  the  State  owned  one-half  the  road, 
and  private  stockholders  the  other  half. 

At  a  Hawkins  family  re-union  at  Pleasant  Hill,  the  country 
home  of  his  father,  Colonel  Philemon  Hawkins,  Jr.,  in  Warren 
County,  in  1829,  John  D.  Hawkins  delivered  an  address  on  the 
life  and  career  of  his^  grandfather,  Colonel  Philemon  Hawkins, 
Sr.  This  pamphlet  was  one  of  the  earliest  works  of  its  kind  in 
America,  and  in  1906  was  reprinted  by  Doctor  A.  B.  Hawkins,  of 
Raleigh,  one  of  the  sons  of  John  D.  Hawkins,  its  author. 

The  death  of  John  D.  Hawkins  occurred  on  December  5,  1838. 
He  was  buried  in  Franklin  County,  but  later  his  remains  were  re- 
moved to  Oakwood  Cemetery,  near  Raleigh,  where  they  now  re- 
pose. The  wife  of  Mr.  Hawkins  (who  is  buried  by  his  side)  was 
Jane  A.  Boyd,  a  daughter  of  Alexander  Boyd,  of  Boydton,  in 
Mecklenburg  County,  Virginia.  This  lady  was  born  December  25, 
1784,  and  died  November  30,  1875. 

The  sons  of  John  D.  Hawkins  were  James  Boyd  Hawkins,  of 
Matagorda  County,  Texas,  who  was  a  sugar-planter,  and  left 
descendants,  among  whom  is  James  B.  Brodie,  of  Henderson, 
North  Carolina;  Frank  Hawkins  (mentioned  below).  Doctor 
William  J.  Hawkins,  of  Raleigh,  of  whom  there  is  a  separate 
sketch ;  John  Davis  Hawkins,  of  New  Orleans,  who  married 
Miss  Ann  Clark  and  was  a  large  commission  merchant  in  New 
Orleans;  he  left  two  sons,  Weldon  Edwards  Hawkins,  who  was 
a  planter  at  Swann  Lake  in  Mississippi,  and  Edward  Hawkins, 
a  lawyer,  residing  at  Seattle.  Philemon  Benjamin  Hawkins 
(another  son  of  John  D.)  married  his  cousin,  Fanny  Hawkins, 
and  had  a  daughter  Bettie,  who  became  the  wife  of  Mr.  Walter 
Boyd,  of  Warrenton ;  this  P.  B.  Hawkins  was  State  Senator  from 
Franklin  County.  Doctor  Alexander  Boyd  Hawkins  was  the 
youngest  son  of  John  D.  Hawkins,  and  his  biography  will  appear 
elsewhere  in  this  work.  Besides  these  sons  John  D.  Hawkins 
left  the  following  daughters :  Ann  Hawkins,  who  married  Colonel 
Wesley  Young ;  Lucy,  who  married  Thomas  Kean,  of  New-Bern ; 


JOHN  D.  HAWKINS  163 

Mary,  who  married  Protheus  E.  A.  Jones;  Virginia,  who  mar- 
ried William  J.  Andrews,  one  of  their  sons  being  Colonel  A.  B. 
Andrews,  Vice-President  of  the  Southern  Railroad ;  and  Jane  A. 
Hawkins,  who  died  unmarried. 

The  members  of  this  family  have  been  particularly  noteworthy 
for  their  culture  and  high  social  station  in  life.  While  inheriting 
the  fine  qualities  of  their  father,  the  influence  of  their  mother 
on  them  was  most  decided  and  of  great  advantage.  She  was  a 
lady  of  surpassing  excellence,  and  inspired  her  children  with 
unusual  devotion,  with  the  happiest  results  in  elevating  their 
characters  and  fostering  a  refinement  that  distinguished  them  in 
after  life. 

Frank  Hawkins  married  Ann  Read,  of  Halifax,  North 
Carolina,  and  located  at  Winona,  Montgomery  County,  Miss- 
issippi. They  had  a  son,  John,  who  early  died  in  Winona, 
Mississippi.  He  married  Miss  Sallie  Falkner,  of  Warrenton,  and 
left  Frank  Read  and  Ann  Read  Hawkins.  A  second  son,  Rhesa, 
while  yet  a  boy,  volunteered  in  the  Confederate  Army  and  served 
with  patriotic  devotion.  He  married  Miss  Herring  and  resided  at 
Vaiden,  Mississippi ;  Frank,  a  third  son,  who  also  married  a  Miss 
Herring,  and  on  her  death  married  Miss  Alberta  Coleman,  of 
Macon,  Georgia,  is  now  the  President  of  the  Third  National  Bank 
of  Atlanta. 

Besides  these  sons,  the  elder  Frank  Hawkins  left  a  daughter, 
Jane  Boyd,  who  married  Mr.  James  C.  Purnell,  of  Winona, 
Mississippi.  He  also  is  a  planter  and  banker.  Indeed  the  suc- 
cess of  Rhesa  Hawkins,  Mr.  Frank  Hawkins  and  Mr.  Purnell 
in  life  has  been  most  noteworthy.  They  are  all  bankers  and  have 
been  very  prosperous,  and  are  men  of  culture  and  influence 
lx)th  in  church  and  State  matters.  Rhesa  Hawkins  and  Mr.  Pur- 
nell are  esteemed  among  the  foremost  laymen  in  the  diocese  of 
Mississippi.  They  enjoy  the  highest  reputation  for  their  zeal 
as  churchmen  and  their  practical  Christianity. 

Marshall  De  Lancey  Haywood. 


7  ■■  "     •■  ■       ■       '  T* 


ALEXANDER  BOYD  HAWKINS  165 

engaged  him  and  was  amply  remunerative.  For  seven  years  he 
remained  the  physician  of  that  community,  enjoying  the  esteem 
of  a  large  clientage  and  realizing  a  handsome  remuneration  for 
his  services  and  constantly  growing  in  reputation  and  usefulness. 

In  April,  1858,  he  married  Miss  Martha  L.  Bailey,  a  daughter 
of  General  William  Bailey,  of  Jefferson  County,  Florida,  who 
was  one  of  Florida's  most  successful  and  distinguished  citizens; 
and  he  abandoned  his  practice  and  removed  to  Florida,  where  he 
engaged  in  the  business  of  planting.  He  made  his  home  in  Leon 
County,  and  soon  entered  on  as  successful  a  career  as  a  planter 
as  had  distinguished  him  as  a  physician.  His  planting  operations 
yielded  him  an  ample  income  and  he  devoted  himself  assiduously 
to  the  improvement  of  his  estate.  It  was  not  long  before  his  suc- 
cessful management  was  so  pronounced  that  his  reputation  became 
extended  as  a  sagacious  planter,  and  he  attained  a  high  standing 
in  his  new  home. 

One  who  knew  him  well  at  that  time  says: 

•*He  resided  for  some  years  on  his  plantation  in  Leon  County,  where 
he  and  his  most  estimable  wife  dispensed  a  generous  hospitality,  known 
only  to  the  plantation  life  of  antebellum  days.  Doctor  Hawkins  was  not 
only  a  genial  gentleman,  but  one  of  the  fine  business  men  of  the  South. 
His  success  as  a  large  planter  was  soon  demonstrated,  and  he  at  once 
took  a  stand  as  one  of  the  successful  young  men  of  the  county." 

The  management  of  a  large  plantation  indeed  called  for  the 
exercise  of  a  high  order  of  ability,  and  gave  a  mental  training 
that  developed  the  business  capacity  of  Southern  gentlemen. 
Prudence,  carefulness,  patience,  a  thoughtful  consideration  of  the 
elements  involved  in  the  problems  of  plantation  culture,  were  all 
requisite  to  achieve  success  and  to  bring  good  results.  And  so 
plantation  life,  while  full  of  enjoyments  and  admitting  of  the  finest 
hospitality,  yet  developed  administrative  abilities,  fostered  busi- 
ness habits  and  business  sagacity.  Thus  it  has  been  that  Southern 
planters  have  from  time  immemorial  been  well  versed  in  affairs 
?nd  of  superior  excellence  in  those  characteristics  that  lead  to 
success. 

After  the  war  Doctor  Hawkins  removed  to  Tallahassee,  where 


i66  NORTH  CAROLINA 

he  resided  in  the  palatial  brick  building  on  Park  Avenue,  now 
known  as  "The  Columns."  There  the  hospitality  which  he  had 
dispensed  on  his  plantation  broadened  out,  and  "few  public  men 
of  note  who  visited  the  capital  cannot  but  recall  with  pleasure  the 
cordial  greetings  of  Doctor  and  Mrs.  Hawkins  at  their  elegant 
home."  "He  displayed  remarkable  ability  in  everything  he  under- 
took. Indeed  he  was  soon  recognized  throughout  the  State  as  one 
of  Florida's  most  reliable  and  successful  business  men.  His  use- 
fulness as  a  citizen  was  demonstrated  in  many  and  various  chan- 
nels, and  everything  he  touched  felt  the  quickening  influences  of  a 
well-trained  business  intellect." 

Honorable  P.  W.  White,  a  gentleman  of  large  experience  and 
now  of  great  age,  in  a  letter  speaks  in  the  most  approving  terms 
of  the  part  Doctor  Hawkins  took  "in  the  most  trying  times  of  our 
history."  He  says,  in  speaking  of  his  eventful  career  while  a  citi- 
zen of  Florida : 

"Doctor  Hawkins's  political  affiliations  were  with  the  Democratic  Party, 
of  which  he  was  a  conservative  member,  and  he  always  stood  firmly  for 
the  old  States  Rights  doctrines  and  principles  of  the  party.  I  do  not 
think  he  ever  sought  or  accepted  a  political  office ;  but  as  a  private  citizen 
he  always  showed  his  interest  for  the  public  good  by  taking  an  active  part 
in  all  of  the  proceedings  and  conventions  of  his  party.  In  this  manner  he 
exerted  a  strong  influence  in  the  selection  of  men  best  qualified  for  public 
office." 

He  was  frequently  a  delegate  to  the  State  Democratic  Conven- 
tion, and  his  influence  was  always  felt  in  political  action. 

His  standing  as  a  man  of  high  character  throughout  the  State 
and  his  recognized  sound  judgment  as  a  financier  gave  him  great 
influence  in  public  affairs — of  which  indeed  the  State  still  feels  the 
beneficial  effect.     Judge  White  continues: 

"Doctor  Hawkins's  business  habits  were  ever  characterized  by  prudence 
and  careful  thought,  and  in  whatever  business  he  engaged  he  always  acted 
on  business  principles.  In  the  destructive  days  of  Reconstruction  he 
saved  not  only  his  own  but  many  other  estates  from  wreck.  He  excelled 
all  the  men  of  my  acquaintance  in  the  wise  and  successful  administration  of 
all  estates  and  trusts  committed  to  his  management.'' 


ALEXANDER  BOYD  HAWKINS  167 

It  had  happened  indeed  that  Doctor  Hawkins  had  become 
guardian  to  many  orphans,  and  was  trustee  of  many  large  landed 
estates,  and  he  managed  them  so  well  that  in  many  cases  he  added 
to  their  value  and,  in  addition  to  the  income,  when  the  trust  was 
over  surrendered  the  property  more  valuable  than  when  he  re- 
ceived it. 

When  he  removed  to  Florida  he  retained  his  fine  plantation 
in  Franklin  County  and  owned  a  large  flouring  mill  on  Sandy 
Creek  in  Warren  County,  and  all  during  the  war  he  continued  this 
mill  in  successful  operation,  and  for  several  years  afterward, 
when  he  sold  it.  His  reputation  as  a  business  man  was  unsur- 
passed in  Florida.  For  more  than  five  years  he  hel<l  the  position 
of  receiver  of  the  Florida  Central  and  Peninsula  Railroad,  under 
appointment  of  the  United  States  District  Court.  This  road  was 
at  that  period  one  of  the  most  important  in  the  Slate,  and  as  re- 
ceiver Doctor  Hawkins  had  the  management  not  only  of  its  finan- 
cial affairs,  but  had  practical  charge  of  all  the  details  of  its  opera- 
tion. His  administration  gave  entire  satisfaction  to  all  interested 
in  its  proper  management,  and  he  displayed  not  only  unusual 
financial  ability  but  administrative  capacity  of  a  high  order.  His 
accounts  were  large,  varied  and  difficuJl  but  ivere  kept  with  such 
fidelity,  carefulness  and  skill  that  when  audited  they  excited  the 
admiration  of  the  auditors  and  received  the  praise  of  the  Court. 

In  1884  Doctor  Hawkins  began  the  culture  of  sweet  oranges 
and  grape-fruit,  and  he  was  very  successful  in  this  enterprise,  that 
business  having  since  become  so  important  to  the  State  of  Florida. 
However,  in  1895  that  region  was  visited  by  a  severe  frost,  which 
killed  his  trees,  and  be  then  largely  abandoned  it.  In  1884  he 
began  to  make  his  Summer  home  in  Raleigh,  and  built  his  hand- 
some residence  on  Blount  Street,  where  he  has  since  permanently 
resided. 

Judge  White,  speaking  of  his  life  in  Florida,  says : 

"In  social  life  he  was  frank  and  cordial  and  had  the  happy  faculty  of 
winning  friends  wherever  he  wenl.  His  hospiialiiy  was  dispensed  in  a 
free  and  ea^^y  manner,  and  his  guests  ever  feh  honored  by  the  kind  and 
gracious  reception  accorded  them  by  his  charming  family.     It  was  in  his 


170  NORTH  CAROLINA 

career,  and  although  gifted  with  a  mind  that  eminently  fitted  him 
for  the  bar,  he  chose  the  study  of  medicine,  and  in  1842  he  grad- 
uated in  the  medical  department  of  the  Universit)*  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. Indeed  his  gentle  manner,  his  habit  of  thought,  his  astute 
apprehension  and  his  unusual  powers  of  observation  well  quali- 
fied him  for  the  duties  of  the  bedside.  He  located  at  Ridgeway,  not 
far  distant  from  his  childhood's  home,  and  being  admirably 
equipped,  entered  on  the  successful  practice  of  his  profession. 
His  skill  and  talents  and  accomplishments  soon  found  apprecia- 
tion and  he  won  his  way  steadily  in  the  confidence  of  the  com- 
munity. But  he  was  destined  to  a  career  in  a  larger  and  more 
useful  field. 

His  father.  Colonel  Hawkins,  and  other  members  of  the  family, 
animated  by  a  progressive  spirit  and  an  intelligent  apprehension 
of  the  needs  and  requirements  of  the  section  in  which  they  lived, 
had  for  many  years  been  warm  promoters  of  internal  improve- 
ments. They  were  largely  interested  particularly  in  the  construc- 
tion of  the  Raleigh  and  Gaston  Railroad,  and  had  given  important 
financial  aid  in  the  completion  and  operation  of  that  road. 
Doctor  Hawkins  had  been  one  of  the  directors  of  the  company  and 
represented  a  considerable  private  interest.  His  fine  sense,  his 
unerring  judgment  and  unusual  capacity  gave  him  a  prominence 
in  the  affairs  of  the  company  that  in  1855  led  to  his  election  as 
its  president.  He  was  now  in  a  field  well  suited  for  the  develop- 
ment of  his  particular  talents.  There  were  three  great  railroads 
in  North  Carolina  at  that  time :  the  Wilmington  and  Weldon,  the 
North  Carolina,  and  the  Raleigh  and  Gaston.  The  president  of  each 
stood  high  in  railroad  circles,  but  Doctor  Hawkins  enjoyed  a  rep- 
utation for  management  equal  to  the  best.  Under  his  direction 
the  Raleigh  and  Gaston  Railroad  Company  entered  on  a  new  career 
of  prosperity. 

The  benefit  that  accrued  to  the  State  from  his  placing  the 
Raleigh  and  Gaston  Railroad  in  a  condition  of  high  efficiency  was 
incalculable.  When  the  war  came  on  he  was  ardently  attached 
to  the  Confederate  cause  and  he  threw  his  whole  soul  into  render- 
ing efficient  service  to  his  State  and  country.    His  line  was  a  most 


WILLIAM  J.  HAWKINS  171 

important  link  in  transportation,  for  there  was  no  road  then  from 
Greensboro  to  Danville ;  and  all  the  troops  from  the  South,  stores 
and  supplies  had  to  pass  through  Weldon.  In  those  days  of  emer- 
gency he  strained  every  nerve  to  maintain  his  line  in  a  good  run- 
ning order.  The  difficulties  that  beset  the  railroads  of  the  Con- 
federacy during  that  period  were  beyond  conception.  The  de- 
mands for  transportation  were  largely  increased  and  in  many  in- 
stances pressing  necessity  compelled  the  greatest  haste.  There 
were  no  facilities  to  renew  either  rolling  stock  or  the  railroad  iron 
or  any  of  the  appliances  requisite  to  maintain  the  engines,  cars  or 
road  bed  in  repair.  The  problems  that  came  up  daily  taxed  the 
energies  of  the  railroad  managers  to  their  utmost,  and  as  the  work 
of  the  transportation  lines  was  most  important,  so  the  services 
rendered  to  the  cause  of  the  Confederacy  by  Doctor  Hawkins  and 
the  other  presidents  of  the  railroad  companies  were  not  less  use- 
ful than  those  of  successful  generals  on  the  field  of  battle.  To- 
ward the  end  of  the  struggle  the  various  roads  were  indeed  worn 
out,  and  it  was  with  difficulty  that  trains  could  be  run  at  all. 
Military  necessity  had  pushed  the  construction  of  the  Chatham 
road  to  the  coal  fields  in  Deep  River,  and  after  peace  was  declared 
that  road  fell  into  possession  of  the  Raleipfh  and  Gaston,  that 
soug^ht  to  complete  it  under  the  name  of  the  Raleigh  and  Augusta 
Air  Line. 

Doctor  Hawkins  had  comprehensive  ideas  of  railroad  manage- 
ment. He  sought  to  brin^  about  a  close  business  connection  be- 
tween his  roads  and  the  North  Carolina  Railroad,  and  had  the 
desip^n  to  lease  the  North  Carolina  Railroad,  which  should  in 
its  turn  lease  a  line  from  Charlotte  to  Atlanta.  His  great  ideas 
were  somewhat  in  advance  of  his  time,  but  his  policy  has  since 
been  adopted  and  carried  into  effect  by  others.  While  he  did  not 
secure  for  the  Raleigh  and  Gaston  the  control  of  the  North  Caro- 
lina, his  Seaboard  system  has  been  pressed  to  the  South  and  has 
become  one  of  the  three  great  systems  of  the  South  Atlantic 
States;  and  it  should  not  be  forgotten  that  he  was  the  original 
projector  of  this  closer  connection  of  the  several  lines  that  have 
since  his  dav  been  consolidated.    Indeed  it  mav  be  said  that  he  was 


172  NORTH  CAROLINA 

one  of  the  wisest,  most  progressive  and  far-seeing  of  the  railroad 
men  of  the  South ;  and  it  was  only  because  of  the  limited  financial 
facilities  of  his  time,  when  the  South  was  still  in  an  impoverished 
condition,  before  the  era  of  its  great  prosperity,  that  he  did  not 
carry  into  effect  the  large  projects  which  he  realized  would  be  so 
much  to  the  advantage  of  his  lines  and  of  the  people. 

He  remained  president  of  his  company  until  October,  1875, 
when  because  of  ill-health,  for  he  was  a  great  sufferer  from 
rheumatism,  he  retired,  and,  abandoning  his  railroad  business, 
devoted  himself  to  his  private  affairs. 

Doctor  Hawkins  was  a  large  stockholder  and  a  director  in  the 
Raleigh  National  Bank,  which  was  the  first  bank  organized  under 
the  United  States  Banking  Law  in  this  State;  and  in  1870  he 
founded  the  Citizens'  National  Bank  of  Raleigh.  He  selected 
as  the  president  of  that  institution  Colonel  William  E.  Anderson, 
who  was  a  well-trained  bank  officer,  and  had  been  connected  with 
the  Raleigh  National  Bank;  and  on  Colonel  Anderson's  death  in 
1890  he  himself  took  the  position  of  president.  From  the  first 
the  bank  was  a  success,  and  his  management  was  most  advan- 
tageous. No  one  enjoyed  a  higher  reputation  for  skill  and  finan- 
cial ability  than  he  did,  and  his  achievement  in  connection  with 
the  Citizens*  National  Bank  was  indeed  remarkable.  Since  his 
death  the  institution  has  continued  to  flourish,  and  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Joseph  G.  Brown  has  attained  a  standing  not  surpassed 
by  any  other  financial  institution  in  the  South.  But  it  must  be  re- 
membered that  its  unvarying  success  is  only  the  fruition  of  his 
work.  He  laid  the  foundations  and  set  the  course  that  has  sinc« 
been  pursued. 

As  a  business  man,  Doctor  Hawkins  was  unsurpassed.  "Al- 
ways cool  and  self-poised,  cautious  and  clear-headed,  deliberate 
in  counsel,  but  firm  when  a  conclusion  had  been  reached,  gifted 
with  quick  perceptions  and  possessing  a  remarkably  sound  judg- 
ment, he  combined  those  elements  that  have  entered  into  the  char- 
acter of  the  distinguished  members  of  his  family  in  past  genera- 
tions and  which  would  have  assured  him  conspicuous  success  in 
any  department  of  activity  that  he  might    have    chosen."     His 


WILLIAM  J.  HAWKINS  173 

tastes,  however,  led  him  to  a  business  career  and  not  into  public 
life.  He  did  not  care  to  take  part  in  the  scramble  for  office,  and 
though  always  warmly  interested  in  political  contests,  he  never 
held  any  official  station  in  Government.  Nevertheless,  he  had 
a  strong  influence,  and  this  he  exerted  in  public  affairs  always  for 
the  advantage  of  the  ptublic  interests.  When  he  had  leisure  from 
the  pressing  calls  of  his  business,  in  1881  he  became  a  trustee  of 
the  University  and  continued  as  such  until  his  death ;  and  he  at- 
tended with  much  interest  to  the  affairs  of  that  institution,  warmly 
promoting  all  plans  for  its  improvement. 

Doctor  Hawkins  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mary  Alethea 
Qark,  a  daughter  of  David  Dark,  Esq.,  of  Halifax  Cotmty,  on 
January  4,  1844.  By  her  he  had  two  sons:  Colin  M.  Hawkins, 
an  esteemed  citizen  of  Raleigh,  and  Marmaduke  J.  Hawkins,  of 
Ridgeway.  Mrs.  Hawkins  died  in  September,  1850,  and  on  De- 
cember 27,  1855,  Doctor  Hawkins  married  Miss  Lucy  N.  Clark, 
by  whcwn  he  had  two  daughters — Loula,  who  became  the  wife 
of  William  T.  McGee,  of  Raleigh ;  and  Alethea,  who  married  J.  M. 
Lamar,  of  Monticello,  Florida.  On  October  9,  1867,  Mrs.  Lucy 
Hawkins  died;  and  on  the  12th  of  May,  1869,  Doctor  Hawkins 
married  Miss  Mary  A.  White,  a  daughter  of  Andrew  B.  White, 
of  Pottsville,  Pennsylvania.  By  this  marriage  Doctor  Hawkins 
had  one  daughter.  Miss  Lucy  C.  Hawkins,  who  became  the  wife  of 
Mr.  Sherwood  Hi^^s,  of  Raleigh. 

Toward  the  end  of  his  life  Doctor  Hawkins  was  a  great 
sufferer  from  his  old  enemy,  rheumatism,  but  his  mind  re- 
mained ever  clear  and  strong,  and  his  judgment  was  unclouded 
and  he  continued  to  transact  business  with  a  sagacity  that  marked 
him  as  one  of  the  foremost  men  of  North  Carolina.  On  October 
28,  1894,  while  on  a  visit  to  Philadelphia,  he  passed  away,  mourned 
by  all  who  knew  him. 

S*.  A,  Ashe. 


ANDREW   JACKSON 

J  HE  most  notable  and  most  famous  man  ever 
bom  in  North  Carolina  was  Andrew  Jackson. 
He  was  of  Scotch-Irish  descent.  His  grand- 
father, Hugh  Jackson,  was  a  linen  draper,  in  the 
old  town  of  Carrickfergus,  near  Belfast,  Ire- 
land. A  son  of  Hugh  Jackson,  Andrew  married 
in  Ireland  Elizabeth  Hutchinson,  and  had  by  her,  bom  in  Ireland, 
two  sons,  Hugh  and  Rol)crt.  He  was  a  farmer  and  a  poor  man, 
an<l  his  wife's  family  were  also  poor,  her  sisters  being  linen 
weavers.  In  1765.  Andrew  Jackson,  his  brother-in-law,  James 
Crawford,  and  his  wife's  brother-in-law,  George  McKemey,  and 
other  relatives  moved  with  their  families  to  America.  Arriving 
at  Charleston  they  located  in  the  Waxhaw  settlement,  where  many 
of  their  Scotch-Irish  friends  had  preceded  them.  George  Mc- 
Kemey bought  laud  on  Waxhaw  Creek,  some  six  miles  from  the 
Catawba  River  and  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  north  of  the  bound- 
ary line  between  Xorth  and  South  Carolina.  Andrew  Jackson  set- 
tled on  Twelve  Mile  Creek  (a  few  miles  from  the  site  of  the  town 
of  Monroe,  the  county  seat  of  Union  County),  then  in  Anson 
County.  North  Carolina.  He  was  too  poor  to  obtain  title  to  his 
land :  and  having  built  a  log  house  and  cleared  some  fields,  tn  the 
Spring  of  1767  he  sickened  and  died.  His  remains  were  borne 
to  the  old  Waxhaw  Churchyard  and  there  interred.  His  widow 
did  not  return  home  from  the  interment,  but  went  to  the  house  of 


ANDREW  JACKSON  175 

her  sister,  Mrs.  McKemey,  near-by,  and  there  a  few  days  later,  on 
the  15th  of  March,  1767,  Andrew  Jackson  was  bom.  Governor 
Swain  says  that  in  a  journey  in  June,  1849,  ^^  ^^^  some  pains 
to  ascertain  the  precise  locality  which  gave  birth  to  General  Jack- 
son and  to  James  K.  Polk,  who  were  born  in  the  same  county, 
Mecklenburg.  The  spot  where  Jackson  was  bom  could  be  identi- 
fied. It  was  about  twenty-eight  miles  south  of  Charlotte,  and  the 
birthplace  of  President  Polk  was  eleven  miles  south  of  Charlotte. 
Mrs.  Jackson  remained  with  Mrs.  McKemey  some  weeks,  and  then 
moved  to  the  house  of  another  sister,  Mrs.  Crawford,  some  two 
miles  distant,  but  in  South  Carolina;  and  there  she  remained  as 
one  of  that  family  until  her  death  in  1781.  Her  son  Andrew,  al- 
though bom  in  North  Carolina,  passed  his  younger  years  just 
across  the  line.  He  attended  the  old  field  schools  and  did  such 
work  as  a  country  boy  would  do,  until  at  length,  in  1780,  war 
came  close  to  their  doors.  His  brother  Hugh  was  in  the  battle  of 
Stono  and  died  there.  Andrew,  then  thirteen  years  of  age,  and 
his  brother  Robert  were  with  the  patriots  in  the  attack  on  Hang- 
ing Rock,  but  were  not  regularly  attached  to  any  command.  After 
the  battle  of  Camden,  Mrs.  Jackson,  seeking  a  more  secure  lo- 
cality, left  the  Waxhaw  settlement,  and  took  her  two  bovs  to  a 
relative's  house  some  miles  north  of  Charlotte;  but  she  returned 
to  Waxhaw  in  February,  1781,  Cornwallis  having  then  retired. 
At  that  time  Andrew  Jackson  was  tall  and  had  outgrown  his 
strength,  but  he  had  the  spirit  of  a  man.  In  the  partizan  warfare 
which  ensued  when  Lord  Rawdon  approached  Waxhaw,  both 
Robert  and  Andrew  Jackson  participated.  They  were  taken 
prisoners  in  a  raid  made  by  Tories  and  British  dragoons,  were 
brutally  wounded,  and  were  confined  at  Camden.  Mrs.  Jackson, 
however,  was  able  to  secure  their  exchange  after  they  had  suffered 
much  from  their  confinement  and  from  their  wounds ;  and  in  the 
meantime  they  had  besides  contracted  the  smallpox.  With  great 
difficulty  she  managed  to  get  them  home.  Two  days  later  Robert 
died  ;  and  it  was  only  after  several  months  that  Andrew  recovered. 
In  the  Summer  of  1781,  says  Parton,  in  his  admirable  Life 
of  Andrew  Jackson,  **a  great  cry  of  anguish  and  despair  came  up 


176  NORTH  CAROLINA 

to  Waxhaw  from  the  Charleston  prison  ships,  wherein,  among 
many  hundreds  of  other  prisoners,  were  confined  some  of  the  sons 
of  Mrs.  Jackson's  sisters,  and  other  friends  and  neighbors  of  hers 
from  the  Waxhaw  country.  Andrew  was  no  sooner  quite  out  of 
danger  than  his  brave  mother  resolved  to  go  to  Charleston  and  do 
what  she  could  for  the  comfort  of  the  prisoners  there.  While 
stopping  at  the  house  of  a  relative,  William  Barton  by  name,  who 
lived  two  miles  and  a  half  from  Charleston,  Mrs.  Jackson  was 
seized  with  ship  fever,  and  after  a  short  illness  died.  And  so 
Andrew,  before  reaching  his  fifteenth  birthday,  was  an  orphan, 
a  sick  and  sorrowful  orphan,  bereft  of  parents  and  without 
brother  or  sister,  homeless  and  dependent.  It  has  been  said 
that  he  taught  school  for  a  year  or  two ;  and  then  after  one  year 
of  hesitancy,  during  which  he  gave  rein  to  his  horse-racing  in- 
clinations, he  concluded  to  study  law.  At  the  age  of  eighteen,  he 
began  the  study  of  the  law  with  Spruce  Macay  at  Salisbury.  He 
seems,  however,  to  have  devoted  more  thought  to  amusement  and 
pleasure  than  to  his  books.  After  studying  a  year  or  so  with 
Judge  Macay,  he  finished  his  course  under  Colonel  John  Stokes, 
in  Surry,  and  then  passed  a  year  at  Martinsburg,  the  old  county 
scat  of  Guilford  County. 

At  the  November  Term,  1787,  of  the  Court  of  Pleas  and  Quarter 
Sessions  of  Surry  County,  the  following  minute  was  made: 

"William  Cupplcs  and  Andrew  Jackson,  Esquires,  each  produced  a  license 
from  the  Honorable  Samuel  Ashe  and  John  Williams,  Esquires,  two  of 
the  judges  of  the  Superior  Court  of  Law  and  Equity,  authorizing  and  em- 
powering them  to  practice  as  attorneys  in  the  several  Courts  of  Pleas  and 
Quarter  Sessions  within  this  State,  with  testimonials  of  their  having  here- 
tofore taken  the  necessary  oaths,  and  are  admitted  to  practice  in  this 
court." 

Tn  the  Spring  of  1788,  having  his  license  to  practice  law,  An- 
drew Jackson  was  appointed  prosecuting  officer  of  the  Superior 
Court,  then  just  established  in  the  Nashville  district  of  Tennessee, 
which  Judge  John  McNairy  was  appointed  to  hold.  Shortly  after- 
ward the  judge,  Jackson,  and  some  other  young  lawyers  met  at 
Morganton  and  began  their  horseback  ride  to  Tennessee.    It  was 


ANDREW  JACKSON  177 

a  perilous  journey,  particularly  between  Campbell  Station  and 
Nashville ;  and  in  that  part  of  the  route  they  were  attended  by  a 
guard,  and  about  sixty  families  were  of  the  party. 

Arriving  at  Nashville,  Jackson  at  once  entered  on  the  practice, 
which  from  the  beginning  was  lucrative.  His  position  as  prose- 
cuting officer  was  one  of  importance  and  brought  him  speedy 
reputation  and  influence,  and  for  years  he  was  employed  in  the 
greater  part  of  the  civil  litigation  in  his  courts. 

The  experiences  of  the  war  had  made  their  impress  on  his  char- 
acter and  disposition,  which  was  fiery,  brave  and  determined ;  and 
now  in  the  wilderness  of  Tennessee  he  was  brought  into  close  con- 
tact with  unfriendly  Indians.  Between  1780  and  1794,  within  seven 
miles  of  Nashville,  the  Indians  killed  one  person  in  about  every  ten 
days.  In  Jackson's  travels  he  was  constantly  in  peril  from  the 
murderous  red  man.  And  so  the  circumstances  of  his  life  de- 
veloped in  him  courage,  coolness  and  intrepidity,  and  his  natural 
combative  characteristics  were  fostered  and  became  so  fixed  that 
they  dominated  his  course  throughout  his  entire  career.  Whether 
engaged  in  the  court-house  or  in  military  operations,  or  in  the  ad- 
ministration of  civil  affairs  in  the  high  positions  to  which  he  at- 
tained, he  would  brook  no  opposition  and  was  a  fighter  of  the 
most  determined  character.  An  incident  is  recorded  that  will  il- 
lustrate his  promptness  to  rip^ht  a  wrong.  In  the  trial  of  a  cause  in 
a  court  in  Tennessee,  he  conceived  that  Honorable  Waightstill 
Avery  had  insulted  him.  and  tearing  the  flyleaf  from  a  law  book, 
he  wrote  him  in  a  minute  a  challenge  and  handed  it  to  him.  The 
duel  came  off  on  the  adjournment  of  court,  but  fortunately  neither 
was  wounded. 

His  education  was  not  a  finished  one;  he  did  not  have  the  ad- 
vantage of  collegiate  training,  and  while  he  never  overcame  his 
deficiencies  in  the  use  of  words,  and  never  perfected  himself  in 
spelling  or  pronunciation  according  to  the  most  correct  standards, 
yet  his  ideas  were  clear,  and  he  could  express  them  with  a  vigor 
and  force  that  begot  a  natural  eloquence. 

In  1 791  Andrew  Jackson  married  a  Mrs.  Robards,  a  daughter 
of  a  Mrs.  Donelson,  with  whom  he  foimd  board  on  first  reaching 


178  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Nashville ;  and  although  they  had  no  children,  they  were  devotedly 
attached  to  each  other  throughout  life.  She,  however,  died  just 
before  his  inauguration  as  President  in  1829. 

In  1796  the  Territory  of  Tennessee  formed  a  State  Constitution. 
Jackson  was  elected  a  delegate  from  Davidson  County  to  the 
Constitutional  Convention,  and  was  a  member  of  the  special  com- 
mittee that  framed  the  Constitution.  By  that  time  he  had  attained 
a  high  position  in  Tennessee,  and  doubtless  he  impressed  himself 
strongly  on  the  Constitution,  which  was  a  very  admirable  funda- 
mental law  of  a  new  State.  Tennessee  being  admitted  to  the 
Union,  Jackson  was  in  the  same  year  elected  the  only  representa- 
tive in  Congress  the  State  was  entitled  to,  and  took  his  seat  in 
that  body.  His  political  views  were  strongly  Republican,  and  he 
voted  with  Macon  and  others  who  thought  like  Jefferson.  A  va- 
cancy occurring  in  the  Senate  the  next  year,  Jackson  was  elected 
by  the  Tennessee  Legislature  to  that  body,  but  after  one  session 
as  Senator,  he  resigned  and  returned  home.  It  was  in  1796,  while 
Jackson  was  on  his  way  to  Philadelphia,  that  he  accidentally  ob- 
tained information  that  the  land  frauds,  in  which  Glasgow  and 
his  associates  were  engaged,  were  being  perpetrated,  and  his 
honest  nature  at  once  led  him  to  bring  the  matter  to  the  attention 
of  Governor  Ashe  of  North  Carolina.  The  explosion  of  which 
he  was  thus  the  innocent  cause  was  attended  with  great  consterna- 
tion among  those  holding  fraudulent  titles  in  Tennessee,  and 
Jackson  became  an  object  of  their  malevolence.  But  soon  after 
he  retired  from  the  Senate  the  Legislature  elected  him  a  Judge  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  Tennessee,  a  court  that  tried  causes  in  the 
different  counties :  and  he  served  on  the  bench  for  six  years. 

At  the  age  of  thirty-seven  Jackson  had  served  some  eight  years 
as  Solicitor,  two  years  as  Representative  and  Senator  in  Congress, 
and  six  years  on  the  highest  court  of  his  State.  Retiring  from  the 
bench  in  1804,  he  devoted  himself  more  particularly  to  planting, 
his  home  being  then  near  the  subsequently  famous  Hermitage,  in 
the  vicinity  of  Nashville.  He  also  engaged  in  mercantile  business, 
which,  however,  was  chiefly  conducted  by  his  partner,  General 
Coffee. 


ANDREW  JACKSON  179 

He  had  always  kept  in  touch  with  military  affairs,  and  was  gen- 
eral of  the  Tennessee  militia.  His  influential  position  led  Aaron 
Burr,  when  contemplating  his  movement  at  the  Southwest,  to  visit 
Jackson  and  seek  to  enlist  his  aid  in  the  enterprise.  To  some  ex- 
tent Jackson  helped  him,  but  on  learning  that  there  was  a  pos- 
sibility of  a  treasonable  intent,  he  warned  Governor  Claiborne  at 
New  Orleans.  However,  he  became  reassured  that  Burr  had  not 
contemplated  treason,  and  on  being  summoned  as  a  witness  against 
Burr  at  the  trial  at  Richmond,  he  was  loud  in  Burr's  defence,  and 
he  then  broke  with  President  Jefferson,  but  continued  to  be  a  Re- 
publican in  his  political  views.  It  is  not  proposed  here  to  develop 
those  events  in  his  career  which  belong  to  general  history  and 
have  but  little  bearing  on  North  Carolina  matters ;  suffice  it  to  say 
that  Jackson  allowed  no  man  to  excel  him  in  devotion  to  the  Union, 
in  lofty  patriotism,  in  personal  honor,  and  high  ideals,  while  his 
military  career  was  fortunate  and  glorious,  and  he  became  the 
hero  of  his  day  because  of  his  victory  at  New  Orleans  and  un- 
varying success  on  every  field  of  battle. 

Whatever  had  been  Andrew  Jackson's  early  deficiencies  of  edu- 
cation, they  had  almost  entirely  disappeared,  and  he  took  rank 
amon^  the  first  men  of  America.  He  was  not  only  a  popular  hero, 
but  was  reco^ized  as  a  clear-headed  statesman. 

After  the  War  of  181 2  the  Federalist  Party  ceased  to  exist  as 
an  organization,  althoup^h  a  lar^e  element  remained  faithful  to  their 
principles.  But  the  great  leaders  being  all  Republicans,  it  was  a 
[)cri()(l  of  fierce  factional  warfare,  fostered  by  the  personal  ambi- 
tions of  men. 

In  1822  and  1823  Major  William  R.  Lewis,  of  Nashville.  Ten- 
nessee, undertook  to  bring  General  Jackson  out  as  a  candidate  for 
the  Presidency  to  succeed  Monroe.  It  so  happened  that  in  18 16 
General  Jackson  had  written  a  letter  to  President  Monroe,  sug- 
gesting  that  he  should  disregard  old  party  differences  in  making 
appointments,  and  Major  Lewis  possessed  a  copy  of  that  letter. 
Colonel  William  Polk,  of  Raleigh,  a  strong  Federalist,  being  on 
a  visit  to  Major  Lewis,  was  shown  a  copy  of  that  letter,  and  admir- 
ing  its  sentiments,  warmly  espoused  Jackson's  candidacy.    United 


i8o  NORTH  CAROLINA 

States  Senator  Montfort-  Stokes,  of  North  Carolina,  was  the 
father-in-law  of  Major  Lewis,  and  an  ardent  Republican.  He,  too, 
agreed  to  support  Jackson,  should  Calhoun  not  be  in  the  field. 
The  joinder  of  the  old  Federalists  under  Polk  with  the  influence 
of  Stokes  and  other  friends  in  North  Carolina  assured  that  State 
to  Jackson.  Notwithstanding  Macon  supported  Crawford,  who 
was  the  caucus  nominee,  and  notwithstanding  the  efforts  made  in 
behalf  of  Clay  and  of  Adams,  North  Carolina  gave  Jackson 
5000  majority.  Elsewhere  similar  influences  prevailed,  the  Fed- 
eralists giving  Jackson  a  cordial  support. 

But  although  at  the  election  Jackson  received  a  much  greater 
popular  vote  than  any  other  candidate  and  a  considerable  plurality 
in  the  Electoral  College,  the  choice  of  the  President  was  thrown 
into  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  Henry  Qay  giving  his  in- 
fluence to  Adams,  a  minority  candidate,  succeeded  in  electing  him. 
Jackson  never  forgave  Clay  for  this  action,  which  he  regarded  as 
a  great  wrong.  He  and  his  friends  crucified  Qay  for  having  de- 
feated him  in  opposition  to  the  will  of  the  people. 

At  the  next  election,  in  1828,  Jackson  was  elected  by  an  over- 
whelming vote,  and  John  C.  Calhoun  was  chosen  Vice-President 
on  the  same  ticket.  On  forming  his  Cabinet,  President  Jackson 
appointed  Senator  John  Branch,  of  North  Carolina,  Secretary  of 
the  Navy.  In  1830,  however,  General  Jackson  broke  with  Cal- 
houn because  of  some  developments  made  of  matters  occurring 
when  Jackson  invaded  Florida;  and  in  the  Spring  of  1831  Cal- 
houn made  a  publication  that  led  to  implacable  hostility  between 
them.  Govenior  Branch  and  two  other  members  of  the  Cabinet 
were  friends  of  Calhoun,  and  Jackson,  proposing  to  form  a  new 
Cabinet,  asked  all  of  the  Cabinet  to  resign,  and  they  did  so,  Branch 
retiring  on  April  19,  1831.  Prior  to  that  time  the  North  Caro- 
lina public  men  had  generally  been  warm  supporters  of  the  ad- 
ministration. Now  divisions  began  to  manifest  themselves.  The 
same  result  followed  elsewhere.  Clav's  followers  had  been  called 
National  Republicans  to  distinguish  them  from  the  administration 
Republicans.  Calhoun  preferred  the  name  of  Democrat.  In  1832, 
the  year  following  his  breach  with  the  President,  Calhoun  influ- 


ANDREW  JACKSON  i8i 

enced  South  Carolina  to  adopt  an  Ordinance  to  nullify  the  Tariff 
Act  of  1828,  and  to  threaten  to  secede  from  the  Union.  Jack- 
son, on  the  other  hand,  announced  a  resolute  determination  to  pre- 
serve the  Union  and  enforce  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  and 
a  great  breach  was  made  between  the  administration  and  the  State's 
Rights  men  of  the  South.  In  addition  to  these  matters  of  contro- 
versy, the  President's  opposition  to  granting  a  new  charter  to  the 
bank  of  the  United  States,  his  removal  of  the  Government  de- 
posits, and  his  fierce  war  on  the  bank,  and  on  all  those  who  sus- 
tained that  institution,  drove  off  friends  from  him ;  and  beginning 
with  183 1  these  various  questions  engendered  bitter  feuds  from 
which  the  public  men  of  North  Carolina  were  not  exempt. 

Jackson's  course  had  been  so  arbitrary,  partaking  of  the  nature 
of  the  prerogative  of  kings  that  Clay  classed  his  followers  as  the 
Tories  of  England, and  likened  the  opponents  of  the  administration 
to  the  '*Whigs,"  and  this  gave  the  name  to  the  party  that  rallied 
around  that  leader. 

When  the  Senate  met  in  December,  1833,  a  majority  of  the 
Senators  were  in  the  opposition,  and  on  March  28,  1834,  the  Senate 
passed  a  Resolution  of  Censure,  proposed  by  Mr.  Qay,  by  a  vote 
of  26  to  20.  Among  those  who  voted  for  this  Resolution  was 
Senator  Mangum,  who  in  1831  had  succeeded  Senator  James 
Iredell.  The  Legislature  of  North  Carolina  had,  however,  re- 
mained faithful  to  Jackson,  whose  principles  and  policies  com- 
mended him  to  the  masses  of  the  people.  Indeed  in  183 1,  when 
Jonathan  Worth  and  a  few  other  members  of  the  Assembly  re- 
fused to  vote  for  a  resolution  sustaining  Jackson,  they  were  de- 
nounced *'almost  as  traitors."  Senator  Mangum's  vote  on  Clay's 
Resolution  led  to  resolutions  of  instructions  which  resulted  in  his 
resignation;  and  in  1836  Robert  Strange  succeeded  him.  In  that 
year  North  Carolina  gave  her  electoral  votes  to  Van  Buren,  who 
was  Jackson's  choice  for  his  successor,  although  in  the  same  year 
Edward  B.  Dudley,  who  was  not  a  friend  to  the  administration, 
was  elected  governor  of  the  State. 

On  March  16,  1837,  Benton's  Resolution  to  expunge  from  the 
records  of  the  Senate  the  Resolution  of  Censure  was  adopted  by 


i82  NORTH  CAROLINA 

a  vote  of  25  to  19,  Senators  Strange  and  Brown,  of  North  Caro- 
lina, voting  for  it.  The  Assembly  of  1838  was,  however,  in  op- 
]Kjsition  to  the  administration  and  adopted  in  its  turn  resolutions 
of  instructions  that  resulted  in  the  resignation  of  the  two  Demo- 
cratic senatrjrs.  Stranjje  and  Brown;  and  Mangum  and  Graham 
were  elected  in  their  stead. 

Indeed  that  decade,  covering  Jackson's  public  life,  was  one  of 
the  most  stirring  eras  in  the  histor\-  of  our  people.  It  was  marked 
by  the  beginning  of  internal  improvements,  by  the  erection  of  a 
new  Capitol  building,  by  the  Constitutional  Convention  of  1835, 
the  culmination  of  the  intense  bitter  feeling  between  the  East  and 
the  West,  by  the  rise  of  great  sectional  animosity  between  the 
North  and  the  South  on  the  slavery  question  and  on  the  Tariff 
fiuestion.  There  was  likewise  great  bitterness  developed  among 
the  public  men,  because  of  Jackson's  measures,  and  some  of  the 
States  Rights  men  affiliating  with  the  Whigs,  eventually,  in  1840. 
the  opposition  to  the  Van  Buren  administration  became  so  strong 
in  Nr)rth  Carolina  that  the  electoral  votes  of  the  States  were  given 
to  Harrison,  who,  badly  defeated  in  1836,  now  was  overwhelmingly 
triiunphant.  To  the  end,  however,  the  Democratic  followers  of 
Jacksf»n  were  ardent  in  sustaining  him,  and  were  fiercely  opposed 
to  (lay  and  thr^sc  North  Carolina  statesmen  who  followed  the 
fr)rlunrs  of  that  gallant  leader.  It  thus  came  about  that  this  son 
of  Carolina,  Jackson,  who  in  his  early  manhood  had  left  the  State, 
exerted  in  his  subsequent  career  a  powerful  influence  on  her  af- 
fairs. Because  of  him  and  his  measures  her  public  men  became 
widely  estranged  and  her  people  divided.  In  this  way  he  entered 
as  a  powerful  factor  into  the  life  of  the  State. 

At  the  expiration  of  his  second  term  as  President,  in  1837,  Gen- 
eral Jackson  retired  to  his  residence,  the  Hermitage,  which  many. 
years  before  h<*  had  erected  in  the  vicinity  of  Nashville,  and  he  was 
known  among  his  friends  as  **The  Sage  of  the  Hermitage."  His 
remaining  years,  after  one  of  the  stormiest  lives  that  ever  marked 
the  career  of  any  American  statesman,  were  passed  in  a  quiet  dig- 
nity, befitting  so  illustrious  a  character.    He  died  June  8,  1845. 

■^.  A,  /iSn€m 


JOHN    JENKINS 

[JHEN  Governor  Carteret  left  Albemarle  in  the 
Spring  of  1673  and  went  to  England,  he  trans- 
ferred the  administration  to  Colonel  John  Jen- 
kins, as  Deputy-Governor.  "Captain  John 
Jenkins"  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Caro- 
lina. He  had  located  on  the  Perquimans  River 
before  the  grant  to  the  Lords  Proprietors,  and  conformably  with 
the  instructions  of  the  King,  he  took  out  a  patent  for  his  land 
from  Governor  Berkeley,  as  Governor  of  Virginia.  This  was  on 
September  25,  1663,  and  before  Berkeley  had  been  informed  of  the 
grant  to  himself  and  the  other  Proprietors.  Captain  Jenkins  was 
a  man  of  some  consequence,  bringing  into  the  province  at  that 
lime  fourteen  persons,  and  from  the  first  he  was  an  important 
personage  in  the  settlement.  In  1670  he  was  the  Deputy  of  the 
Earl  of  Craven,  and  had  risen  to  the  dignity  of  Colonel  and  was 
the  senior  member  of  the  Council. 

At  the  time  of  bis  accession  to  power,  his  inleresls  were  those  of 
the  community,  but  he  was  the  representative  of  the  Proprietors, 
and  one  of  the  nobility  according  to  Carteret's  instructions,  and 
thus  had  to  sustain  government.  Discontent  was  rife  because  of  the 
new  Navigation  Acts  and  custom  duties  interfering  with  the  es- 
tablished trade  with  New  England,  whence  alone  the  planters  had 
been  accustomed  to  draw  their  needed  supplies.  Some  time 
elapsed,  however,  before  any  attempt  was  made  to  enforce  these 


i84  NORTH  CAROLINA 

acts.  At  length  commissions  came  for  Copely  and  Birch  to  be 
respectively  the  King's  Collector  and  Surveyor  of  Customs; 
but  the  men  themselves  did  not  come  and  the  duty  devolved  on 
Governor  Jenkins  to  have  the  offices  filled  and  the  law  observed 
There  was  opposition,  but  Jenkins  reconciled  the  people  and  the 
appointments  were  made.  Valentine  Bird,  a  rich  planter,  was 
made  Collector,  and  Timothy  Biggs,  who  had  married  the  widow 
of  George  Catchmaid,  the  Surveyor  of  Customs.  Bird  probably 
was  not  diligent  in  the  execution  of  his  office.  It  was  said  that 
many  hogsheads  of  tobacco  went  out  marked  as  "bait"  for  the 
New  England  fishermen ;  and  European  merchandise  was  landed 
that  did  not  come  direct  from  London.  Still  there  was  cause  for 
irritation.  In  addition,  the  terms  of  the  Fundamental  Constitu- 
tions raising  the  quit  rents  gave  uneasiness,  and  there  were  rumors 
that  the  province  was  to  be  apportioned  among  the  Proprietors  and 
that  Albemarle  was  to  be  allotted  to  Governor  Berkeley,  a  sugges- 
tion that  was  abhorrent  to  the  people.  About  that  time  an  Indian 
war  set  in.  and  just  when  needed  Captain  Gilliam  brought  his  ves- 
sel into  port  with  a  cargo  of  arms  and  ammunition,  and  a  force  was 
organized  to  suppress  the  Indians.  On  the  return  from  this  cam- 
paign, the  people,  being  armed,  demanded  that  the  export  tax  on 
tobacco  should  not  be  collected.  Chief  among  the  insurgents  was 
George  Durant,  and  in  alliance  with  him  was  Valentine  Bird  him- 
self. Governor  Jenkins,  unable  to  resist,  oflfered  a  compromise, 
and  consented  that  only  one-half  the  required  tax  should  be  col- 
lected. This  action  was  without  authoritv.  and  it  is  an  evidence 
of  the  difficulties  of  his  situation.  In  discharging  his  duties,  bad 
blood  arose  between  him  and  Thomas  Miller,  who  was  probably 
an  agitator.  Miller  was  arrested  on  the  charge  of  uttering  treason- 
able words  against  the  King's  person  and  the  monarchy,  and  blas- 
phemy. He  was  sent  to  Virginia  for  trial,  but  was  acquitted.  In 
the  meantime  the  General  Assembly  deposed  Jenkins  from  office 
as  Governor  and  President  of  the  Council,  and  imprisoned  him, 
and  on  Miller's  going  to  England,  they  sent  to  the  Proprietors 
for  instructions.  In  this  conflict  between  the  Assembly  and  Jen- 
kins, the  latter  was  sustained  by  a  majority  of  the  deputies,  and 


JOHN  JENKINS  185 

the  exact  lines  of  divergence  between  them  cannot  be  traced. 
During  this  interregnum,  the  Assembly  seemed  to  have  governed, 
perhaps  aided  by  the  councillors  who  assented  to  their  authority. 
When  Miller  arrived  in  London,  he  was  joined  by  Eastchurch, 
the  Speaker  of  the  Assembly,  and  the  latter  was  appointed  Gov- 
ernor and  Miller  was  appointed  Collector  of  Customs.  George 
Durant  being  in  London  at  the  time  told  the  Proprietors  that 
Eastchurch  should  never  be  Governor.  Hastening  back,  Durant 
organized  opposition.  On  their  return  voyage,  Eastchurch  stopped 
at  the  island  of  Nevis,  and  sent  Miller  on  with  authority  to  exer- 
cise the  office  of  Governor,  as  well  as  Collector  of  Customs.  Hav- 
ing information  of  Durant's  threat,  Miller  resorted  to  arbitrary 
measures,  made  limitations  on  the  choice  of  Assemblymen,  and 
succeeded  in  having  himself  invested  with  the  power  of  imposing 
fines  at  his  own  pleasure.  Armed  with  this  authority,  he  issued 
warrants  to  have  some  of  the  most  considerable  men  in  the  colony 
brought  before  him  dead  or  alive.  These  proceedings  led  to  great 
commotions,  and  Valentine  Bird,  with  John  Culpepper  and  s<xne 
other  coadjutors,  embodied  a  force,  seized  Biggs  and  Miller,  called 
a  free  Parliament,  which  deputed  five  of  its  members,  among  them 
John  Jenkins  and  Valentine  Bird,  to  fonn  a  court  to  try  the  pris- 
oners, who  were  charged  with  treason.  In  all  these  proceedings 
Jenkins  was  an  actor,  although  John  Culpepper,  who  in  167 1  had 
been  Surveyor  of  the  Province  and  then  claimed  to  be  Collector, 
was  the  chief  director,  and  Durant  was  also  a  manager.  East- 
church arrived  in  Virginia,  but  died,  and  the  Assembly  continued 
to  povern.  At  length,  to  compose  all  differences,  the  Proprietors 
ap[x>inte<l  Seth  Sothel  Governor,  who  on  his  .way  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  Algerines;  and  then  they  appointed  John  Harvey 
Governor,  and  re-appointed  the  old  deputies,  and  the  Assembly 
elected  the  other  members  of  the  Council ;  Harvey's  instructions 
dated  February  5,  1679,  being  similar  to  those  given  to  Carteret. 
Harvey,  however,  died  within  a  few  months  after  his  administra- 
tion l>egan,  and  Jenkins  was  again  elected  Governor,  and  now  had 
the  support  of  the  Legislature,  Durant  being  the  Attorney-Gen- 
eral and  the  manager  of  affairs.    During  his  first  administration. 


i86  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Durant  seems  to  have  been  opposed  to  Jenkins,  but  on  Miller's 
return  to  the  colony,  Jenkins  and  Durant  made  common  cause 
against  him.  In  these  turmoils  it  does  not  appear  that  the  au- 
thority of  the  Lords  Proprietors  was  questioned  or  that  their 
policy  and  management  was  a  principal  factor  in  events,  but  rather 
that  there  was  a  popular  demonstration  against  the  enforcement 
of  the  navigation  laws  and  the  new  custom  duties  of  1672.  It 
was  rebellion  against  the  Crown  and  not  against  the  Proprietors ; 
or  rather  a  purpose  to  displace  some  Crown  officers  and  substitute 
others  who  would  not  vigorously  enforce  the  obnoxious  laws.  On 
learning  of  the  death  of  Harvey,  the  Proprietors  sent  Captain 
Henry  Wilkinson  over  as  Governor,  who,  appearing  in  the  colony 
in  1681,  relieved  Jenkins  of  the  administration.  During  this  last 
administration  of  Jenkins,  order  was  maintained  fn  the  colony,  al- 
though the  Quakers,  who  had  then  become  quite  numerous,  com- 
plained that  Durant  was  pursuing  them  with  a  strong  hand  and 
oppressing  them  because  they  had  not  sympathized  with  the- re- 
bellion. 

Colonel  Jenkins  did  not  long  survive  his  last  ^term  of  office  as 
Governor.    He  died  in  December,  1681. 

5".  A.  Ashe. 


GABRIEL   JOHNSTON 

f  OVERNOR  BURRINGTON  on  his  return  to 
North  Carolina  in  1731,  as  the  first  Royal  Gov- 
ernor, soon  found  that  the  inhabitants  would 
not  acquiesce  in  the  claims  of  powers  and  pre- 
rogatives made  on  behalf  of  the  Crown;  and 
political  divergences  quickly  developed  per- 
sonal antagonisms.  As  a  result  of  his  asperity  of  temper,  he  was 
removed,  and  in  1733  Gabriel  Johnston  was  appointed  to  succeed 
him. 

The  Johnstons  were  of  an  ancient  family  and  derived  their 
name  from  the  Barony  of  Johnston,  in  Annandale,  Scotland. 
Gabriel  Johnston  was  a  native  of  Scotland,  and  had  received  his 
ciUication  in  the  University  of  St.  Andrews.  After  spending  a 
few  years  studying  medicine,  be  was  appointed  Professor  of 
Oriental  Languages  in  the  University,  but  later  removed  to  Lon- 
don and  entered  into  politics  as  a  political  writer.  He  contributed 
to  the  Craftsman,  a  periodical  opposed  to  the  ministry,  and  was 
associated  with  Bolingbroke  and  William  Johnston,  afterward 
Earl  of  Rath,  a  relative  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  From  1726 
to  the  time  of  his  departure  from  England,  he  lived  almost  con- 
stantly with  Spencer  Compton,  Baron  of  Wilmington,  Lord  Presi- 
dent of  the  Privy  Council,  and  was  intimately  thrown  with  many 
persons  of  distinction. 

Governor  Johnston  was  well  advanced  in  years,  a  man  of  learn- 


i88  NORTH  CAROLINA 

ing,  and  something  of  a  politician.  Unlike  his  immediate  prede- 
cessors, he  was  neither  given  to  profanity  nor  to  drink,  and  he  had 
the  purpose  to  promote  the  interests  and  prosperity  of  the  prov- 
ince committed  to  his  care,  but  at  the  same  time  to  govern  it  ac- 
cording to  his  notions.  He  arrived  at  Brunswick  on  October  27, 
1734,  and  on  November  2d  took  the  oaths  of  office.  The 
Legislature  at  that  time  was  in  session  at  Edenton,  and  receiving 
notice  of  Governor  Johnston's  arrival,  on  November  13th  it 
adjourned. 

The  end  of  Burrington's  administration  had  been  very  stormy. 
Several  members  of  the  Council  had  fled  from  the  province  from 
fear  of  personal  violence.  These  now  returned  and  gave  their 
version  of  their  differences  with  Burrington  into  willing  ears,  and 
Johnston  readily  espoused  their  cause.  He  showed  but  slight 
favor  to  Governor  Burrington.  It  was  not  long,  however,  before 
he  himself  became  embroiled  with  the  inhabitants. 

The  little  hamlet  of  New  Liverpool  had  been  beg^n  at  the  con-* 
fluence  of  the  two  branches  of  the  Cape  Fear,  and  its  fame  had 
reached  Great  Britain.  Later,  in  1732,  the  town  of  Newton  was 
laid  off  by  Caleb  Grainger  and  others  about  a  mile  lower  down  the 
river.  Competition  had  already  set  in  between  this  nascent  village 
and  Brunswick,  then  nearly  ten  years  old.  GovenKM"  Johnston 
took  sides  with  Newton,  and  determined  to  make  it  the  metropolis 
of  that  section.  He  directed  in  May,  1735,  that  the  Council  should 
be  held  there,  and  designated  it  as  the  place  for  holding  courts  and 
for  payment  of  taxes,  and  other  public  purposes.  He  bought 
land  in  the  vicinity,  promoted  its  settlement  and  identified  himself 
with  its  growth,  naming  it  in  honor  of  his  patron,  the  Earl  of  Wil- 
mington. Thus  at  the  very  outset  he  threw  himself  into  antago- 
nism with  the  powerful  interests  that  were  centered  at  Brunswick. 

Besides,  his  instructions  with  reference  to  annulling  patents  that 
had  been  issued  in  blank  without  actual  survey,  also  arrayed  op* 
position  against  him.  His  puq)ose  to  have  the  quit  rents  collected 
and  his  efforts  to  remodel  the  form  of  government,  fashioning  it 
after  that  of  England,  were  likewise  causes  of  controversy. 

These  were  the  chief  occasions  of  the  political  troubles    that 


GABRIEL  JOHNSTON  189 

marked  the  early  years  of  his  administration.  The  quit  rents  had 
from  time  immemorial  been  payable  on  the  farms  and  in  com« 
modities  and  at  a  valuation  Axed  by  the  Act  of  171 5.  Now  they 
were  demanded  at  some  certain  central  points ;  and  when  the  reg- 
ulations were  not  complied  with,  they  were  levied  by  distress  with 
extravagant  charges.  Edward  Moseley  himself  refused  to  observe 
those  regulations,  and  others  followed  his  example,  so  that  the 
rents  were  not  collected.  The  Governor,  however,  in  1739,  agreed 
to  a  compromise,  and  a  bill  was  passed  whereby  concessions  were 
made  on  each  side ;  but  the  Crown  disallowed  that  Ac^^-  and  it  was 
years  before  any  quit  rent  law  was  passed. 

In  1744  Lord  Granville's  share  of  Carolina  was  set  apart,  the 
line  running  from  Cape  Hattoras  West,  so  that  the  northern  coun- 
ties were  in  Granville's  territory,  and  the  people  there  had  interests 
different  from  the  inhabitants  of  the  southern  portion  of  the 
province. 

The  various  officers  of  the  Government  had  been  required  by 
the  Act  of  1722  to  keep  their  several  offices  open  at  Edenton,  and, 
now  that  the  southern  part  of  the  province  was  somewhat  settled, 
that  location  of  the  capital  was  inconvenient,  and  the  inhabitants 
of  the  southern  counties  preferred  New-Bern  as  being  much  more 
accessible  to  them.  To  this  the  northern  counties  would  not  as- 
sent; and  having  five  representatives  each,  while  the  southern 
counties  had  only  two,  they  held  the  majority  and  their  objection 
prevented  any  change. 

Governor  Johnston  was  anxious  for  the  progress  of  the  prov- 
ince, and  sought  to  promote  all  measures  that  tended  in  that  di- 
rection; and  particularly  was  he  solicitous  for  the  establishment 
of  the  seat  of  government  at  New-Bern  as  being  more  central  than 
Edenton.  Thwarted  in  his  desire,  he  resorted  to  "management"  to 
accomplish  the  purpose.  He  convened  the  Assembly  to  meet  at 
Wilmington.  It  was  not  convenient  for  the  northern  members  to 
attend,  and  they  remained  at  home.  The  southern  members  were 
in  full  sympathy  with  the  Governor,  for  it  was  a  sectional  fight 
between  the  counties.  It  seemed  unreasonable  that  the  inhabitants 
of  the  Cape  Fear  should  have  to  travel  150   miles   through  the 


ic;o  NORTH  CAROLINA 

wilderness  to  Edenton  in  order  to  transact  public  business;  and 
entirely  unjust  that  the  six  small  northern  counties  should  have 
thirty  assemblymen,  while  the  eleven  larger  counties  had  only 
twenty-two.    They  proposed  to  remedy  these  political  evils. 

When  the  members  of  the  Assembly  came  together  at  Wilming- 
ton, they  were  so  few  in  numbers  that  the  question  presented  it- 
self— could  the  House  proceed  with  less  than  a  majority?  Speaker 
Swann  determined  that  a  majority  was  not  necessary.  The  mem- 
bership of  the  House  of  Commons  in  England  was  540,  and  forty 
members  constituted  the  quorum  of  that  body.  Basing  his  ruling 
on  that,  the  Speaker  held  that  fifteen  members  were  sufficient  to 
constitute  a  quorum  in  the  province,  and  he  proceeded  to  business. 
Two  Acts  only  were  passed :  one  equalizing  representation,  and 
allowing  only  two  representatives  to  each  county ;  the  other  fixing 
the  capital  at  New-Bern  and  providing  for  a  court  system,  fash> 
ioned  after  that  in  vogue  in  England,  and  laying  taxes  to  carry  the 
Act  into  eflfect. 

These  Acts,  passed  by  less  than  a  majority  of  the  House,  were 
held  by  the  northern  counties  as  null  and  void,  and  they  were  so 
obnoxious  to  them  that  they  would  not  recognize  their  validity 
in  any  respect.  When  writs  were  issued  for  a  new  assembly,  each 
northern  county  voted  as  formerly  for  five  members,  which  the 
Governor  and  Assemblv  would  not  admit,  and  so  it  came  about 
that  the  northern  counties  ceased  to  send  members  to  represent 
them ;  nor  would  the  people  there  attend  any  General  Court  or  pay 
anv  taxes. 

The  condition  in  the  northern  counties  was  that  of  an  unarmed 
rebellion  against  the  Provincial  Government;  but  yet  the  county 
courts  were  held  as  usual,  and  local  matters  were  administered. 
From  1746  to  1752  the  same  Assembly  continued  to  meet,  holding 
eleven  sessions.  Then  the  questions  raised  by  the  northern  coun- 
ties were  decided  by  the  Crown  officers  in  their  favor,  and  the  Acts 
complained  of  were  declared  void,  and  the  small  northern  counties 
were  represented  in  the  Assembly  by  five  representatives,  each, 
until  the  Revolution. 

But  notwithstanding  the  political  differences  that  marked  his 


GABRIEL  JOHNSTON  191 

administration,  Governor  Johnston,  who  thought  himself  a  wise 
politician,  was  seldom  embroiled  in  personal  controversies;  and 
so  in  many  matters  he  was  able  to  exert  an  influence  which  other- 
wise he  would  not  have  done. 

Thus  in  1740,  when  there  was  much  political  disaffection,  on 
the  war  breaking  out  with  Spain  he  was  able  to  raise  companies 
of  men,  both  in  the  Albemarle  and  on  the  Cape  Fear,  that  served 
in  the  expedition  against  Carthagena,  where  nearly  all  of  the 
colonial  troops  either  fell  victims  by  disease,  or  were  destroyed 
in  battle.  Captain  Innes  went  with  one  of  these  companies,  and 
gained  a  high  reputation  by  his  fine  conduct. 

Governor  Johnston  sought  to  promote  the  settlement  of  the 
province,  and  in  1736  efforts  were  made  to  locate  foreign  Protest- 
ants in  the  interior.  Henry  McCuUoh,  who  had  been  appointed 
Receiver-General  of  the  King's  rents  in  both  North  and  South 
Carolina,  associated  with  himself  Huey  and  Crimble  and  obtained 
from  the  King  grants  for  many  thousand  acres  of  land  that  were 
located  on  the  Catawba,  on  the  Pedee,  Cape  Fear  and  Neuso 
rivers,  under  an  agreement  to  settle  them  with  Protestants.  They 
first  sought  to  secure  Irish  tenants ;  and  almost  contemporaneously 
with  the  arrival  of  Governor  Johnston  came  the  forerunners  of  a 
settlement  of  Irish  Protestants,  who  located  in  upper  New  Han- 
over, now  Duplin  and  Sampson,  and  Scotchmen,  who  settled  at 
Wilmington  and  in  Bladen.  Because  of  the  Irish  settling  on  the 
Cape  Fear,  the  new  county  there  laid  off  for  them  was  named 
after  Lord  Dupplin,  but  in  time  one  of  the  p's  was  omitted ;  and 
on  the  waters  of  the  Neuse  a  new  county  was  contemplated,  called 
Essex,  but  when  established,  it  was  named  in  honor  of  the  Gov- 
ernor himself,  Johnston. 

In  September,  1739,  a  large  body  of  Scotchmen  arrived  on  the 
Cape  Fear,  accompanied  by  Dugald  McNeal,  Colonel  McAlister, 
and  several  other  Scotch  gentlemen;  and  the  Legislature  appro- 
priated a  thousand  pounds  to  aid  them,  and  resolved  that  **wher- 
ever  forty  persons  shall  arrive  in  one  company  and  settle  in  the 
province,  they  shall  be  exempt  from  all  taxes  for  ten  years."  Gov- 
ernor Johnston  fostered  this  immigration  from  Scotland  and  from 


192  NORTH  CAROLINA 

the  north  of  Ireland,  and  a  stream  of  Scotch  settlers  poured  in, 
taking  possession  of  the  upper  waters  of  the  Cape  Fear;  and  this 
migration  continued  for  thirty-five  years,  350  Scotchmen  having 
come  in  at  one  time  as  late  as  1775. 

During  his  administration  also  the  Moravians  settled  at  Sakm, 
and  there  was  a  great  influx  of  population  into  Edgecombe  and 
other  counties  near  the  Virginia  line,  while  from  South  Carolina 
immigrants  pressed  up  into  Bladen  and  Anson  counties.  But 
separate  and  distinct  from  these  settlements  was  a  stream  of  im- 
migrants from  Pennsylvania,  Scotch-Irish  and  Germans,  that  took 
possession  of  the  western  portion  of  the  province.  When  Johnston 
came  in,  only  the  land  near  the  great  sounds  and  about  the  vicinity 
of  Wilmington  was  occupied.  At  his  death  population  had  ex- 
tended almost  to  the  foot  of  the  mountains,  although  necessarily 
there  were  large  tracts  unoccupied ;  and  the  number  of  people  in 
the  province  were  somewhere  about  90,000. 

But  notwithstanding  the  great  increase  in  population  in  the 
province  and  the  rapid  progress  made  in  development  during 
Johnston's  administration,  the  hands  of  Government  were  very 
much  weakened  because  of  the  divergences  incident  to  the  strug- 
gle between  the  northern  and  southern  counties.  The  Act  creating 
a  rent  roll  and  providing  for  the  collection  of  quit  rents  passed  in 
1739,  having  been  disallowed  by  the  Crown,  and  no  other  passed, 
no  rents  were  collected  and  for  fourteen  years  before  the  Gov- 
ernor's death  he  received  no  salary,  which  was  payable  out  of  the 
quit  rents.  Toward  the  end  of  his  administration  efforts  were  made 
by  McCulloh  and  others  to  have  him  dismissed  from  his  post,  and 
various  charges  were  made  against  him  before  the  Board  of  Trade 
in  London,  but  he  successfully  defended  himself  from  the  attacks 
of  his  enemies  and  continued  in  office  until  the  day  of  his  death, 
July  17,  1752,  when  Nathaniel  Rice,  the  senior  member  of  the 
Council,  succeeded  to  the  administration. 

Governor  Johnston  was  accompanied  to  North  Carolina  by  his 
brother,  who  was  the  father  of  Governor  Samuel  Johnston  of  the 
Revolution.  He  married  Penelope  Golland,  a  daughter  of  the 
wife  of  Governor  Eden  by  a  former  marriage.    This  lady  had  al- 


GABRIEL  JOHNSTON 


193 


ready  been  married  three  times.  Governor  Johnston  being  her 
fourth  husband.  She  received  from  Govenor  Eden  the  Eden 
House  and  plantation  in  Bertie  County;  and  although  Governor 
Johnston  had  originally  intended  to  reside  in  Bladen  County, 
where  a  mansion  was  erected  on  the  Cape  Fear  River  for  him,  he 
look  up  his  abode  at  the  Eden  House. 

By  this  wife  Governor  Johnston  had  one  daughter,  who  mar- 
ried John  Dawson,  Esq.,  and  resided  at  Eden  House.  His  first 
wife  dying,  he  married  again,  and  in  his  will  he  mentions  his  wife, 
Frances  Johnston,  and  earnestly  requests  her  to  be  a  kind,  tender 
mother  to  his  dear  little  girl.  He  also  mentions  his  brother,  Sam- 
uel Johnston,  and  "my  brother's  two  sons,  Henry  and  Samuel 
Johnston." 

His  widow,  Frances,  later  married  John  Rutherford,  Esq.,  of 
New  Hanover  County. 

S.  A.  Ashe. 


WILLIAM  R.  KING 


r  ILLIAM  R.  KING,  Vice-President  of  the 
IJnite<l  States,  was  a  native  of  Sampson  County, 
and  attained  eminence  while  a  representative 
of  the  Cape  Fear  District  in  Congress.  Mr, 
William  S.  Ashe,  who  represented  the  same 
district  in  Congress  in    1853,  at  the  time  of 

Vice-President  King's  death,  in  the  course  of  a  eulogy  delivered 

in  the  House  of  Representatives,  said : 

"Colonel  King  was  born  in  Sampson  County  in  April,  1786.  Hil  father, 
William  King,  was  a  gentleman  of  fortune  and  diaracter.  During  the 
Revolutionary  War  he  rendered  important  services  to  his  country's  cause, 
both  by  personal  service  and  the  generous  use  of  his  fortune.  After  the 
conclusion  of  Ihe  war  he  was  a  member  of  the  Convention  which  was 
called  to  adopt  the  Federal  Constitution,  and  he  was  repeatedly  elected 
a  delegate  to  the  General  Assembly  from  his  county.  His  situation  in  life 
enabled  him  to  bestow  on  his  children  all  the  advantages  of  education  which 
our  country  at  that  time  afforded. 

"Colonel  King  was  sent  at  an  early  age  to  the  University  of  North  Caro- 
lina, which  institution  he  left  in  his  seventeenth  year,  bearing  with  him  the 
happy  consolation  of  having  commanded  the  respect  of  his  professors,  the 
love  and  esteem  of  his  associates.  He  studied  law  with  William  DulTy.  an 
eminent  jurist,  residing  in  the  town  of  Fayetleville,  where  he  formed 
friendships  which  he  preserved  with  affection  till  the  day  of  his  death. 

"On  being  admitted  to  the  bar,  he  settled  in  his  native  county,  from 
which  he  was  returned  ihc  following  year  (1808)  as  a  member  of  the  Leg- 
islature,   By  this  body  he  was,  at  the  age  of  twenty-two,  elected  solicitor  for 


WILLIAM  R.  KLNG  195 

the  Wilniinglon  Dislrict.  In  the  year  1810,  before  he  was  twenly-five  years 
of  age,  he  was  elected  to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States.  This  was  a 
most  important  crisis  in  our  national  affairs.  France  dominant  in  Europe, 
England  mistress  of  the  ocean,  our  neutrality  was  grossly  disregarded  by 
each  of  these  supercilious  powers.  To  our  manacing  protests  France 
ultimately  yielded  respect.  England  continued  her  career  of  haughty  in- 
solence.    War  or  national  degradation   was  inevitable. 

"Trne  Republicans  avoided  not  the  issue,  but  met  it  boldly.  Colonel 
King  acted  with  them  with  his  whole  soul;  and  though  one  of  the  young- 
est members  of  the  Congress,  he  was  distinguished  for  the  firm  and  fervid 
earneslness  with  which  he  supported  the  illustrious  Madison  in  his  patri- 
otic cftori.';  to  sustain  the  honor  of  our  country.  He  continued  a  niembei; 
of  Congress  until  after  [he  conclusion  of  the  war.  when,  in  i8t6,  he  ac- 
cepted a  diplomatic  position  abroad,  associated  with  that  scholar  and 
statesman,  William  Pinckney,  the  Envoy -Extraordinary  and  Minister 
Plenipotcntiar>'  lo  Russia." 

This  brief  resume  of  Colonel  King's  career  up  to  his  thirtieth 
year  indicates  at  once  his  high  patriotism  and  his  intellectual  ca- 
pacity. He  came  from  stock  which  during  (he  Revolutionary  War 
had  been  baptized  in  patriotism,  his  ancestors  having  fought  with 
Colonel  Kenan  and  made  strenuous  endeavors  to  secure  tlie  in- 
dependence of  their  country.  Animated  by  the  iipirit  of  his  Rev- 
olutionary sires.  Colonel  King  in  Congress  during  the  War  of  1812 
cast  lustre  upon  his  North  Carolina  constituents  and  won  for  him- 
self the  respect  and  esteem  of  those  conversant  with  his  career. 

At  the  time  of  his  return  from  abroad  the  territory  of  Alabama 
was  being  organized,  and  he  determined  to  cast  his  fortunes  in  that 
attractive  country  Hardly  had  he  arrived  in  his  new  home  when 
he  was  elected  a  delegate  to  the  convention  which  was  to  form  a 
State  Government.  To  the  performance  of  the  delicate  and  re- 
sponsible duties  now  cast  upon  him,  he  brought  the  matured  ex- 
perience he  had  gathered  in  the  councils  of  the  Union,  and  the 
wisdom  of  the  illustrious  statesmen  of  North  Carolina,  and  he  was 
one  of  the  most  active  and  efficient  of  those  who  laid  the  founda- 
tions of  Alabama's  fundamental  law.  At  that  time  North  Caro- 
lina's sons  were  spreading  themselves  throughout  the  West,  every- 
where being  received  with  cordiality  and  good  will,  for  North 
Carolina  spirit  and  honorable  conduct  were  proverbial,  and  the 


196  NORTH  CAROLINA 

stainless  career  of  her  public  men  gained  for  them  the  highest 
consideration.  But  in  addition  Colonel  King  had  an  individuality 
that  at  once  commended  him  to  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  the 
people  of  Alabama.  As  soon  as  the  Constitution  was  adopted,  he 
was  chosen  a  Senator  from  that  State  in  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States,  and  for  thirty  years,  except  a  brief  period  of  two 
years,  when  abroad,  he  represented  Alabama  in  the  Senate.  In 
1844,  at  a  critical  period,  he  accepted  the  mission  as  Minister  to 
France,  and  by  his  address  rendered  extraordinary  service  to  his 
country  in  securing  the  acquiescence  of  France  and  of  England 
in  the  annexation  of  Texas  to  the  United  States.  Both  of  those 
countries  were  disposed  to  object  to  this  extension  of  the  United 
States,  and  ominous  clouds,  betokening  war,  were  gathering,  when 
by  his  decision  and  characteristic  resolution,  he  dispelled  them. 

In  the  Senate,  on  all  occasions  when  a  great  issue  was  before 
the  country,  calling  for  the  exercise  of  firmness,  courage  and 
patriotism,  Colonel  King  was  abreast  of  those  who  stood  foremost 
for  the  safety  and  glory  of  the  Republic. 

It  has  been  said  of  him  "that  he  graced  the  chair  of  the  Senate 
longer  than  any  other  man  that  ever  occupied  it — not  continuously, 
or  by  virtue  merely  of  repeated  elections  as  temporary  President, 
but  often  also  at  the  request  of  the  presiding  officer."  He  was 
thus  engaged  in  the  performance  of  the  duties  of  President  of  the 
Senate  during  the  greater  part  of  the  terms  of  five  vice-presi- 
dents ;  and  that  at  a  time  "when  party  spirit  raged  in  torrents  of 
fire."  and  the  master  spirits  of  that  era  were  among  the  members 
of  the  Senate,  Clay,  Calhoun,  Webster  and  their  associates,  who 
made  that  period  of  our  history  illustrious. 

Colonel  King  was  from  principle  and  conviction  a  State's  Rights 
man.  but  he  loved  the  Union  and  believed  that  harmony  between 
the  Federal  and  State  powers  were  the  essence  of  the  Union.  In 
the  memorable  session  of  1849  and  1850,  he  voted  for  nearly  all 
of  the  Compromise  measures  then  proposed  by  Clay,  because  of 
his  devotion  to  the  Union. 

In  1852  Colonel  King,  while  still  in  the  Senate,  was  nominated 
for  the  Vice-Presidency  by  the  Democratic  Party  on  the  ticket 


WILLIAM  R.  KING  197 

with  Franklin  Pierce,  and  was  elected  to  that  high  position:  but 
a  mortal  malady  had  already  seized  him.  He  spent  that  Winter  in 
Cuba  seeking  renewed  vitality ;  but  losing  hope,  he  hurried  home  to 
die  in  the  midst  of  his  friends.  On  March  4,  1853.  he  took  the 
oath  of  office  of  Vice-President  in  Cuba,  the  oath  being  adminis- 
tered by  the  American  Consul.  He  reached  his  home  at  Cahawba, 
Alabama,  on  April  17th  following,  and  died  the  next  day. 

A  North  Carolinian  by  birth,  educated  and  trained  among  her 
people,  he  attained  prominence  as  one  of  North  Carolina's  Repre- 
sentatives in  Congress,  and  voiced  her  sentiments  at  a  critical 
period  in  the  histon.'  of  our  country ;  and  although  transplanted 
to  a  nc^v  home,  it  was  still  bis  North  Carolina  characteristics  that 
made  his  career  honorable  and  brought  him  such  high  distinction 
among  ihc  public  men  of  the  Union. 

5".  A.  Asltc. 


RUFUS  YANCEY  McADEN  199 

most  distinguished  families  of  North  Carolina.  The  name  of 
Yancey  is  prominent  not  only  in  North  Carolina,  but  also  in  Ala- 
bama, Mississippi  and  Virginia. 

R.  Y.  McAden  was  left  an  orphan  when  quite  young,  and  his 
grandmother,  Mrs.  Bartlet  Yancey,  took  him  to  her  home  and 
adopted  him  into  her  family,  and  he  was  reared  and  educated 
chiefly  by  this  queenly  woman.  His  boyhood  was  spent  in  the 
country  amid  the  scenes  and  with  the  environments  which  tend  to 
make  great  men.  There  is  no  place  on  earth  better  suited  to  the 
raising  and  training  of  boys  and  girls  than  a  good  country  home, 
where  the  people  believe  in  God  and  the  angels,  and  where  the 
great  heart  of  nature  beats  strong  amid  her  hills.  Young  McAden 
lived  like  other  country  boys,  and  spejit  his  time  in  breaking  colts, 
fishing  in  the  streams,  working  in  the  fields,  attending  the  country 
schools,  until  he  was  prepared  for  college.  He  entered  Wake 
Forest  College  and  graduated  therefrom  in  his  twentieth  year,  and 
subsequently  read  law  with  Judges  Nash  and  Bailey  in  the  old  his- 
toric town  of  Hillsboro,  and  began  the  practice  of  his  chosen 
profession  in  his  native  county  of  Caswell.  When  he  was  twenty- 
five  years  old  he  married  the  beautiful  and  accomplished  Mary  F. 
Terry,  daughter  of  Doctor  B.  F.  Terry,  of  Prince  Edward  County, 
\'irp:inia,  and  inoved  the  next  year  from  Caswell  to  Alamance  and 
settled  in  Graham.  His  popularity  and  his  ability  were  soon  rec- 
ognized in  his  adopted  liome,  and  friends  prevailed  upon  him  to 
become  a  candidate  on  the  Whig  ticket  for  the  Legislature  in 
i860.  He  was  defeated,  but  succeeded  in  reducing  the  Democratic 
majority  from  300  to  13.  In  186 1  he  was  almost  unanimously 
elected  to  the  State  Convention,  on  the  Whig  or  Union  Ticket,  but 
the  Convention  was  not  called.  In  1862  he  was  elected  to  the  Leg- 
islature, and  re-elected  each  year  until  1867.  In  1866  he  was 
elected  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives  over  Colonel 
K.  H.  Cowan,  of  Wilmington.  He  made  a  model  Speaker.  Dur- 
ing the  exciting  times  of  that  period,  and  the  bitter  party  opposi- 
tion, he  was  so  absolutely  fair  and  just  in  his  rulings  that  no  ap- 
peal was  ever  taken  from  them.  He  knew  men  and  he  knew  how 
to  manage  men. 


200  NORTH  CAROLINA 

The  First  National  Bank  of  Charlotte  in  1867  was  looking 
around  to  find  a  sj,iitable  man  for  its  President.  R.  Y.  McAden 
was  the  man  selected,  and  no  better  man  could  have  been  secured, 
as  the  subsequent  history  of  that  bank  clearly  showed.  He  con- 
tinued in  the  Presidency  of  the  bank  until  his  death.  Mr.  Mc- 
Aden soon  tired  of  politics  and  law,  consequently  in  1867  he  began 
a  career  of  business  prosperity  almost  without  a  parallel  in  the 
history  of  North  Carolina.  In  the  following  year  he  became  as- 
sociated with  that  great  railroad  builder,  Colonel  A.  S.  Buford, 
in  the  construction  of  the  Atlantic  and  Charlotte  Airline  Railroad, 
and  was  elected  Vice-President  of  that  corporation.  He  also  or- 
ganized and  constructed  the  Spartanburg  and  Asheville  Railroad, 
for  without  his  untiring  efforts  and  indomitable  perseverance  the 
road  never  would  have  been  built.  Both  bf  the  roads  are  now 
a  part  of  the  great  Southern  Railway,  which  has  done  so  much 
in  the  development  of  the  Piedmont  Section  of  North  and  South 
Carolina.  Both  States  owe  him  a  debt  of  lasting  gratitude  for 
his  devoted  work  in  carrying  on  this  great  work.  In  the  year  1881 
Mr.  McAden  went  into  the  cotton  milling  business,  his  wondrous 
foresight  causing  him  to  be  a  pioneer  in  the  marvelous  develop- 
ment of  cotton  manufacturing  in  the  old  North  State.  He  built 
a  large  cotton  mill  at  McAdensville,  in  Gaston  County,  around 
which  has  sprung  up  a  beautiful  and  picturesque  town  on  the 
banks  of  the  south  fork  of  the  Catawba  River.  That  mill  is  still 
in  successful  oi)eration,  and  the  whirr  of  its  spindles  and  the 
thunder  of  its  looms  still  bear  witness  to  the  wisdom  and  foresight 
of  its  founder. 

Mr.  McAden  was  a  gifted  man  intellectually,  and  his  great  en- 
dowments were  directed  to  achievement.  The  most  distinguished 
characteristic  of  his  mind,  and  that  which  elevated  him  above  his 
contemporaries,  was  the  brilliancy  of  his  intellect, the  quickness  and 
rapidity  of  his  thoughts  and  his  almost  instantaneous  conclusion 
upon  any  proposition  submitted  to  his  consideration.  The  slow 
process  of  reason  and  deduction  employed  by  others  in  reaching 
conclusions  were  by  him  leaped  over,  at  a  single  bound,  as  mere 
impediments  for  delay ;  yet  the  accuracy  of  his  conclusions,  so  ob- 


RUFUS  YANCEY  McADEN  201 

tained,  seldom  failed  to  reach  the  goal,  while  others  were  working 
their  slow  way  by  the  old  and  well-trod  methods  of  logic. 

Not  only  was  his  mental  activity  such  in  reaching  conclusions, 
but  as  a  man  of  action,  as  well,  he  was  no  less  alert  and  rapid  in 
the  execution  of  them.  To  decide  upon  an  enterprise  and  to  be- 
gin its  execution  were  words  almost  of  equivalent  meaning,  so 
quickly  one  followed  the  other.  In  the  prosecution  of  his  work 
no  obstacles  such  as  would  stagger  men  of  ordinary  nerve  could 
halt,  deter  or  depress  him.  Such  was  his  abounding  faith  and 
fertility  of  resource,  that  not  only  was  his  confidence  unshaken 
where  others  despaired,  but  his  buoyancy  and  cheerfulness  never 
deserted  him.  A  single  instance  of  this  unconquerable  will-power 
occurred  in  the  construction  of  the  Spartanburg  and  Asheville 
Railroad.  Such  were  the  obstacles,  the  lack  of  funds,  repudia- 
tion of  contracts,  complicated  litigations  and  other  hindrances, 
that  but  for  his  unwavering  faith,  courage,  energ>',  resources  of 
mind  and  unconquerable  perseverance,  that  road,  now  so  popular 
and  useful,  would  not  have  been  constructed.  Such  were  the  char- 
acteristics of  Mr.  McAden  in  all  his  enterprises  and  such  were  the 
secrets  of  his  success. 

Another  trait  of  his  mind  and  moral  nature  was  his  fidelitv  to 
his  friends.  When  he  chose  friends,  he  gave  them  his  unbounded 
confidence  and  trust  and  never  forsook  or  doubted  them.  No 
favor  that  they  could  ask  or  that  apjx^ared  to  him  to  be  agreeable 
to  them  was  ever  denied  them  or  withheld  by  him.  This  fidelity 
and  loyalty  to  his  friends  was  almost  romantic  in  its  simplicity  and 
beauty. 

Another,  but  not  the  least,  amiable  trait  in  this  man's  character 
was  his  cherished  domestic  felicity.  His  inner  domestic  home  life 
around  the  family  altar  is  too  sacred  for  intrusion  in  this  sketch ; 
but  that  happiness,  unity  and  love  between  father,  mother  and 
children  were  supreme  in  the  household,  could  not  be  concealed. 
Xor  did  he  ever  fail  to  respond  to  any  call  for  public  or  private 
charity,  or  to  lend  his  aid  to  any  enterprise  for  the  honor  and  pros- 
j)erity  of  the  public  and  his  native  State. 

In  j>erson  Mr.  McAden  was  of  medium  height,  a  compact  and 


202  NORTH  CAROLINA 

well-knit  body,  a  fine  head,  firmly  set  upon  his  shoulders,  brilliant 
blue  eyes,  inquisitive  and  searching.  His  walk  was  quick,  firm  and 
decisive,  indicative  of  business.  His  manners  were  easy,  cordial 
and  cheerful,  devoid  of  stiffness  or  ceremony  and«one  of  the  most 
approachable  of  men. 

After  a  life  full  of  the  largest  service  to  his  native  State,  R.  Y. 
McAden  died  January  29,  1889,  at  his  beautiful  home  in  the  city 
of  Charlotte,  leaving  a  devoted  wife  and  five  children.  At  the 
time  of  his  death  he  was  President  of  the  First  National  Bank  of 
Charlotte,  President  of  the  Spartanburg,  Union  and  Columbia 
Railroad,  the  Asheville  and  Spartanburg  Railway,  the  Falls  of 
Neuse  Manufacturing  Company,  and  the  McAden  Cotton  Mills. 
He  was  still  in  the  prime  of  a  vigorous  manhood,  with  his  mind 
clear  and  his  natural  force  unabated.  In  a  letter  which  the  writer 
received  from  Mr.  Henry  M.  McAden,  a  son  of  R.  Y.  McAden, 
and  President  of  the  Piedmont  Fire  Insurance  Company,  of  Char- 
lotte, North  Carolina,  he  says:  "In  writing  the  sketch  of  my 
father  I  shall  highly  appreciate  your  treating  the  subject  with  per- 
fect fairness  and  candor."  This  I  have  tried  to  do.  Colonel  A.  B. 
Andrews,  First  Vice-President  of  the  Southern  Railway,  savs: 
**Mr.  McAden  was  one  of  the  finest  business  men  I  ever  knew,  and 
in  everything  that  tended  to  the  internal  improvement  of  North 
Carolina  lie  was  a  brave  and  fearless  leader."  This  is  high  praise 
when  it  comes  from  a  man  who  knows  so  well  how  to  weigh  his 
words.  McAden  was  a  brave  and  strong  man  in  every  phase 
of  his  character.  From  his  Scotch  ancestry  he  inherited  char- 
acteristics of  promptness,  truth,  and  industry,  which  doubtless 
had  much  to  do  in  shaping  his  great  business  career,  and  crowning 
his  life  work  with  success.  His  motto  was  "Whatever  is  worth 
doing  at  all  is  worth  doing  well,"  hence  he  did  everything  thor- 
oughly, and  finished  the  matter  entirely  before  leaving  it.  Thus 
he  was  able  to  do  an  immense  amount  of  work  with  less  worry 
than  it  would  give  other  men.  When  he  died  Charlotte  lost  her 
greatest  financier,  and  the  State  lost  a  true  and  loyal  son. 

B.  F.  Dixon. 


JOHN  NEWLAND  MAFFITT 

C  HE  most  picturesque  character  in  the  annals  o£ 
North  Carolina,  perhaps,  was  John  Newland 
Maflitt,  a  captain  in  the  Confederate  Navyi  who 
during  his  eventful  career  was  particularly  dis- 
tinguished for  his  charming  personality,  his  ac- 
complishments, skill  and  heroism. 
His  father,  who  bore  the  same  name  as  the  son,  was  bom  in 
Ireland  on  December  25,  1795.  He  was  a  clei^man,  lecturer, 
author  and  poet,  a  man  unusually  endowed  by  nature  and  thor- 
ouphly  educated.  He  was  the  author  of  "Tears  of  Contrition," 
"Pulpit  Sketches,"  and  also  a  volume  of  poems.  For  two  years  he 
was  chaplain  of  the  United  Slates  Congress.  As  an  evangelist,  he 
made  extended  tours  throughout  the  United  States,  and  was 
regarded  as  one  of  the  most  powerful  pulpit  orators  of  his  day. 
Although  so  many  years  have  passed  since  he  visited  Raleigh,  tra- 
dition siili  exists  in  that  community  of  his  wonderful  preaching. 
He  married  in  Ireland  Ann  Carnick,  and  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  their  third  child,  was  born  February  22,  1819,  at  sea,  dur- 
ing their  voyage  to  America.  Eventually  Mr.  Maffitt  located  at 
Mobile,  Alabama,  where  he  died  May  28,  1850. 

It  was  convenient  because  of  his  father's  career  for  the  son  to 
live  with  his  uncle,  Doctor  William  Maffitt,  who  resided  near 
Faycttcville,  North  Carolina,  on  a  plantation  which  he  called 
"EllcsHe";  and  at  the  age  of  five  years  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
passed  from  his  father's  care  and  became  a  member  of  his  uncle's 


204  NORTH  CAROLINA 

household.  His  education  was  begun  at  schools  in  Fayetteville. 
His  friend  and  playmate  in  those  days,  the  brilliant  Duncan  K. 
McRae,  even  late  in  life  well  remembered  that  among  the  adven- 
turous boys  of  his  age  young  Maffitt  was  always  a  leader — "a  bom 
leader/' 

When  only  nine  years  old  his  uncle  placed  him  at  school  at 
White  Plains,  New  York,  under  the  care  of  Professor  Swinbum ; 
and  it  is  worthy  of  remark  that  the  little  boy,  in  that  era  of  'stage 
coaches,  made  the  trip  from  Fayetteville  unattended.  At  school 
he  diligently  applied  himself,  was  well  taught,  was  strong  and 
capable,  so  that  on  reaching  his  thirteenth  year  he  was  appointed 
a  Midshipman  in  the  United  States  Navy;  and  the  following  Sep- 
tember he  joined  his  ship  in  the  West  Indies.  Thus  at  that  early 
period  of  his  life  he  entered  on  a  career  destined  to  be  remarkable, 
in  the  very  theater  where  he  was  to  win  applause. 

In  1835  he  joined  the  Constitution,  the  old  Ironsides,  the  flag- 
ship of  the  Mediterranean  squadron,  being  then  sixteen  years  of 
age;  and  in  his  entertaining  book,  "The  Nautilus,"  he  has  pre- 
served some  account  of  the  exciting  incidents  of  his  three  years' 
experience  while  on  that  station,  visiting  and  becoming  familiar 
with  historic  countries  and  places  of  renown. 

Promoted  to  Past-Midshipman,  in  1838  he  was  again  in  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico ;  and  there,  at  Pensacola,  he  met  Miss  Murrell,  of 
Mobile,  a  lady  remarkable  for  her  beauty  and  loveliness  of  char- 
acter, to  whom  he  was  united  in  marriage  in  1840,  when  just 
twenty-one  years  of  age. 

Mr.  Maffitt's  reputation  as  a  competent  and  skillful  officer  had 
now  become  well  known,  and  in  the  Spring  of  1842  he  was  de- 
tached from  ordinary  service  and  ordered  on  Coast  Survey  duty. 
In  this  new  field  of  work  he  won  the  highest  praise  from  the  Super- 
intendent, Professor  A.  D.  Bache,  LL.D.,  who  reported  to  the 
department  that  Lieutenant  Maffitt  **as  a  surveying  officer  has  not 
been  excelled  bv  anv  one  with  whom  I  have  come  in  contact,  and 
has  been  equaled  by  few.  The  quantity  and  quality  of  his  work 
is  remarkable  indeed.  I  cannot  speak  too  highly  of  the  capacity, 
efficiency  and  zeal  of  Lieutenant  Maffitt." 


JOHN  NEWLAND  MAFFITT  205 

When  the  Mexican  War  broke  out,  Lieutenant  Maffitt,  anxious 
for  an  opportunity  to  participate  in  its  perils  and  honors,  earnestly 
applied  for  orders  to  the  seat  of  war,  but  Professor  Bache  inter- 
fered, and  he  was  retained  on  the  Coast  Survey  work.  His 
operations  extended  from  Maine  to  Florida ;  at  the  North  during 
the  Summer,  at  the  South  during  the  Winter,  incessantly  at  work, 
and  so  competent  and  efficient  that  at  length  he  was  appointed  as* 
sistant  to  the  Superintendent.  His  charts  of  the  coast  proved  of 
great  value,  and  his  Southern  work  was  of  particular  use  during 
the  war  between  the  States. 

His  first  wife,  who  passed  much  of  her  time  at  Elleslie,  bore 
him  two  children:  Florence,  who  became  the  wife  of  Mr.  J.  G. 
Wright,  of  Wilmington;  and  Eugene  Maffitt.  His  wife  dying 
on  August  3,  1852,  he  married  Mrs.  Caroline  Laurens  Read,  a 
member  of  the  distinguished  Laurens  family  of  South  Carolina. 
At  first  their  residence  was  near  Fayetteville,  but  after  a  year 
or  so  Mr.  Maffitt  purchased  a  home  on  the  James  River, 
establishing  his  family  in  the  vicinity  of  that  of  Colonel  John 
Jones,  the  father  of  Captain  J.  Pembroke  Jones,  and  of  other 
friends. 

In  1858,  being  then  Assistant  Superintendent  of  the  Coast  Sur- 
vey, he  moved  to  Washington  City,  where  his  home  was  fre- 
quented by  a  circle  of  choice  friends — Honorable  Jeremiah  Black, 
Ju(lg:e  RatcHffe,  Professor  Rache,  etc.,  and  their  families — social 
life  at  the  Federal  capital  being  then  in  the  zenith  of  perfection. 
Here,  however,  in  1850,  Mrs.  Maffitt  succumbed  to  disease;  but 
his  family  continued  to  occupy  his  home. 

After  sixteen  years  of  distinguished  service  in  Coast  Survey 
work,  (lurinj2^  which  Mr.  Maffitt  won  the  highest  encomiums,  on 
June  I,  1858,  he  was  given  command  of  the  brig  Dolphin  and 
ordered  to  cruise  in  the  Gulf  to  suppress  piracy  and  to  capture 
slavers,  vessels  carrying  cargoes  of  Xegrocs  from  Africa  to  the 
Spanish  Islands.  These  slavers  were  for  the  most  part  fitted  out 
in  Xew  England,  and  while  their  cargoes  were  intended  for  Cuba 
aufl  other  coninuniities  to  the  South  chiefly,  vet  on  one  or  two  oc- 
casions it  was  thought  that  a  cargo  had  been  landed  in  some  of  the 


2o6  NORTH  CAROLINA 

slave-holding  districts  of  the  United  States.  His  cruise  was  suc- 
cessful, and  Lieutenant  Maffitt  was  the  first  American  Navy  of- 
ficer to  capture  a  slaver  with  her  cargo.  It  was  the  brig  Echo 
which,  having  captured,  he  sent  into  Charleston,  South  Carolina, 
for  condemnation.  A  year  later  he  was  assigned  t^  the  command 
of  the  steamer  Crusader,  and  continued  on  the  same  duty.  With 
her  he  captured  three  more  slavers,  the  last  falling  into  his  h^ds 
in  August,  i860. 

The  secession  of  some  of  the  Southern  States  made  the  opening 
of  the  vcar  1861  ominous.  The  future  seemed  full  of  trouble. 
Officers  whose  lives  had  been  passed  under  the  flag  of  their  coun- 
try, whose  honor  and  glory  was  as  dear  to  them  as  life,  were  now 
much  perplexed.  Many  of  the  army  officers  of  Southern  birth  re- 
signed their  commissions;  the  navy  officers,  abroad  on  the  high 
seas,  were  placed  in  the  most  delicate  situation.  Honor  required 
the  strictest  fidelity  to  the  flag  of  their  country  until  relieved  of 
their  obligations.  At  his  request  Lieutenant  Maffitt  was  on 
March  i,  1861.  detached  from  his  command,  and  he  returned  home 
to  settle  his  accounts.  All  of  his  property  was  at  the  North ;  and 
the  South,  with  no  ships,  oflfcrcd  no  active  employment  to  Navy 
officers.  r>ut  Lieutenant  Maffitt  did  not  hesitate.  Resolved  to 
share  the  fortunes  of  the  Southern  people,  he  made  every  sacri- 
fice. Early  in  April  he  sent  his  children  to  the  home  of  his  cousin, 
Mrs.  Eliza  Hybart,  at  Elleslie  (near  Fayetteville,  North  Carolina), 
where  they  remained  during  the  period  of  the  war,  and  which  he 
regarded  as  his  own  home,  always  saying,  **I  love  every  blade  of 
grass  about  it."  And  then,  on  May  2d,  having  tendered  his  resig- 
nation in  the  Ignited  States  Navy,  he  turned  his  face  Southward, 
and  ^\Q  (lavs  later  offered  his  services  to  the  Southern  CcMifed- 
eracy.  His  resignation  was  accepted  by  the  Federal  Government 
on  June  4th  to  date  on  May  2d. 

President  Davis  commissioned  him  Lieutenant  in  the  Confed- 
erate States  Navy,  and  assigned  him  to  duty  with  Commodore 
Tatnall,  who  was  organizing  a  fleet  of  small  vessels  on  the  coast 
of  South  Carolina:  and  Lieutenant  Maffitt  bore  a  distinguished 
part  in  the  l)attle  of  Ilihon  Head,  when  the  Federal  fleet  took  pos- 


JOHN  NEWLAND  MAFFITT  207 

session  of  Port  Royal.    In  the  same  battle  his  son,  Eugene,  re- 
ceived his  baptism  in  blood. 

That  Fall  General  R.  E.  Lee  was  assigned  to  the  command  of 
the  coast,  and  on  November  11,  1861,  Lieutenant  Maffitt  joined  his 
staff  and  was  employed  on  the  special  duty  of  mapping  roads,  con- 
structing forts  and  obstructing  the  Coosaw  River.  His  associa- 
tion with  the  great  chieftain  was  most  agreeable.  Some  three 
years  later  he  brought  through  the  blockade  a  sword  belt  which 
he  intended  to  present  to  General  Lee,  and  having  sent  it.  General 
Lee  wrote  him  the  following  letter: 

"I  have  received  the  sword  belt  you  were  so  kind  as  to  send  me.  It  is 
very  handsome,  and  I  appreciate  it  highly  as  a  token  of  your  remembrance. 
I  recall  with  great  pleasure  the  days  of  our  association  in  Carolina — with 
«qual  admiration  your  brilliant  career  since,  in  defence  of  your  country. 
Wishing  you  all  happiness  and  prosperity,  etc" 

The  war  had  broken  out  suddenly  without  any  preparation  for 
it  either  at  the  North  or  the  South.  The  conditions  at  the  North, 
however,  readily  admitted  of  the  organization  of  both  military  and 
naval  forces  and  their  speedy  equipment.  At  the  South  it  was  very 
different,  there  being  neither  ships  of  war  nor  any  naval  or  mili- 
tary stores.  The  first  movement  of  the  Federal  Government  was 
to  declare  the  ports  of  the  South  in  a  state  of  blockade,  but  for 
some  months  there  was  no  adequate  force  to  intercept  commerce. 
For  sometime  ordinary  sailing  vessels  were  engaged  in  carrying 
out  Southern  products  and  bringing  in  needed  cargoes.  At  length, 
at  the  opening  of  1862,  the  Confederate  Government  determined 
to  engage  in  that  enterprise,  and  on  January  7,  1862,  Captain 
Maffitt  was  ordered  to  the  Confederate  States  steamer  Cecile 
to  run  the  blockade  and  bring  in  arms,  ammunition  and  military 
stores.  He  was  selected  for  this  particular  work  because  of  his 
superior  knowledge  of  the  harbors  of  the  coast,  and  well  did  he 
perform  the  service  with  which  he  was  charged.  He  continued 
to  run  the  blockade  until  May,  when  he  was  ordered  to  take  com- 
mand of  the  Florida,  a  Confederate  steamer  then  at  Nassau.  This 
vessel  had  been  built  in  England  and  had  sailed  under  the  name  of 
Ore  to.     Receiving  her,  an  empty  hull,  Captain  Maffitt  equipped 


2o8  NORTH  CAROLINA 

her  under  difficult  circumstances  near  a  desolate  and  uninhabited 
island  known  as  Green  Kav,  some  ninety  miles  southward  of  New 
Providence ;  and  boldly  took  the  sea.  But  yellow  fever  breaking 
out,  it  became  necessary  to  enter  a  Confederate  port,  and  he  de- 
termined to  proceed  to  Mobile.  The  draught  of  the  Florida  made 
it  perilous  to  cross  the  bar  at  night,  and  he  preferred  the  dangers 
of  a  naval  encounter.  At  3  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of  Sep- 
tember 4th  he  sighted  Fort  Morgan,  and  three  Federal  men-of-war 
hastened  to  contest  his  entrance.  Oftentimes  boldness  is  the  best 
policy.  Resolutely  he  pressed  forward  under  a  full  head  of  steam, 
steering  directly  for  the  flagship  Oneida,  When  eighty  yards  from 
that  vessel  she  and  the  other  two  blockaders  opened  furiously  upon 
the  Florida.  Without  firing  a'gim  the  Florida  kept  on,  through 
roar  of  shot  and  bursting  shell,  with  crashing  spars  and  rigging, 
mingled  with  the  moans  of  the  wounded,  silently  pursuing  her 
course.  Simultaneous! v  two  heavv  shells  entered  the  hull  of  the 
Florida  with  a  thud  that  caused  a  vibration  from  stem  to  stem,  but 
nothing  vital  had  been  injured;  and  with  calmness  Maffitt  pressed 
on,  finally  clearing  the  circle  of  his  foes,  whose  artillery  roared 
still  more  furiouslv,  and  denser  became  the  black  clouds  from  their 
smoke  stacks  as  they  fed  their  fires  with  rosin  to  increase  their 
speed  and  overtake  their  prey  But  the  dangers  were  passed,  and 
the  Florida  successfully  came  to  anchor  under  the  guns  of  Fort 
Morgan. 

Admiral  Porter  in  his  "Naval  Historv"  recounts  the  wonderful 
story  of  this  perilous  run  through  Commander  Preble's  fleet  in 
broad  daylight,  with  a  crew  decimated  by  yellow  fever,  and  Maffitt 
himself  scarcely  able  to  stand,  owing  to  its  prostrating  eflFects;  he 
and  the  man  at  the  wheel  being  alone  on  deck.  He  describes 
Captain  Maffitt  as  standing  "amid  the  storm  of  shot  and  shell  per- 
fectly immoved,  keenly  watching  the  marks  for  entering  the  port," 
and  savs : 

"During  the  whole  war  there  was  not  a  more  exciting  adventure  than 
this  escape  of  the  Florida  into  Mobile  Bay.  The  gallant  manner  in  which 
it  was  conducted  excited  great  admiration,  even  among  the  men  who  were 
responsible  for  permitting  it.     We  do  not  suppose  that  there  ever  was  a 


JOHN  NEWLAND  MAFFITT  209 

case  where  a  man,  under  all  the  attending  circumstances,  displayed  more 
energy  and  more  bravery." 

Commodore  Preble  was  dismissed  from  the  service  for  permit- 
ting the  Florida  to  pass  through  his  lines;  subsequently,  how- 
ever, he  was  reinstated.  The  Federal  Government  bent  on  keep- 
ing the  Florida  hermetically  sealed  up  in  Mobile  Bay,  increased 
the  blockading  force,  and  gave  stringent  orders  to  prevent  her 
escape.  Captain  Maffitt,  having  repaired  his  vessel  and  perfected 
her  equipment,  awaited  his  opportunity  to  return  to  the  sea.  A 
perfect  master  of  his  profession  and  at  home  in  the  fiercest  storms, 
he  awaited  a  heavy  gale  to  leave  his  port.  On  January  14,  1863, 
a  terrible  storm  set  in.  It  was  so  violent  that  it  was  impossible 
to  get  under  way  until  two  o'clock  at  night,  and  then  he  passed 
the  bar,  was  discovered  and  pursued  by  half  a  dozen  swift  block- 
aders.  "From  stormy  mom  till  stormy  eve  the  chase  was  vigilantly 
continued ;"  but  when  nightfall  came  Maffitt,  fertile  in  expedients, 
furled  his  sails,  stopped  his  engines,  and  allowed  his  pursuers  to 
pass  him  by.  And  then  he  made  sail  and  entered  on  his  career, 
which  extended  from  opposite  New  York  to  a  thousand  miles 
south  of  the  Equator.  Many  vessels  of  great  value  were  seized 
by  him  and  disposed  of  according  to  his  instructions ;  but  he  never 
was  forgetful  of  the  dictates  of  humanity  in  providing  for  those 
whose  misfortune  it  was  to  fall  into  his  power.  He  soon  cap- 
tured a  vessel  freighted  with  a  heavy  cargo  of  anthracite  coal  and 
converted  her  into  a  cruising  storehouse.  Having  captured  a  fast 
brig,  the  Clarence,  he  turned  her  over  to  one  of  his  lieutenants, 
C.  W.  Read,  equipping  her  as  an  armed  tender.  Read  subse- 
quently exchanged  her  for  the  Tacony,  and  made  many  captures 
on  the  coast  of  Maine,  even  entering  the  harbor  of  Portland  at 
night.  Alone  on  the  great  deep,  without  friends,  unable  to  ask 
assistance  in  time  of  distress,  he  braved  the  storms  and  hurricanes 
that  swept  the  seas,  and  proudly  bearing  the  Confederate  flag,  he 
pursued  his  perilous  way,  and  drove  American  commerce  from  the 
highways  of  the  ocean.  After  an  eight  months'  cruise,  during 
which  Captain  Maffitt  and  his  tenders  made  many  captures  and 
destroyed  property  to  the  value  of  about  ten  millions  of  dollars. 


2IO  NORTH  CAROLINA 

he  put  into  the  harbor  of  Brest,  in  France,  for  repairs.  He  him- 
self was  still  debilitated  from  the  effects  of  yellow  fever,  and  so  he 
applied  to  be  detached.  As  soon  as  his  health  permitted,  he  took 
command  of  a  blockade  runner  in  England,  the  Florie,  named  for 
his  beautiful  daughter,  and  brought  her  into  Wilmington.  He 
later  made  several  trips  in  command  of  the  Lucile,  bringing  in  a 
large  amount  of  needed  stores.  During  the  brief  periods  when 
his  vessel  was  being  loaded,  he  made  visits  to  his  family  at 
Fayetteville. 

In  the  Fail  of  1864  he  was  ordered  to  the  command  of  the 
Ironclad,  Albemarle,  at  Plymouth,  but  toward  the  end  of 
December,  1864,  he  was  given  the  command  of  the  Owl,  and  car- 
ried out  successfully  780  bales  of  cotton.  On  his  return  he  found 
that  the  Federals  had  captured  Fort  Fisher,  but  he  did  not  leara 
of  this  catastrophe  until  he  had  anchored  off  the  wharf  of  Fort 
Caswell,  and  it  became  necessary  to  depart.  He  sought  to  enter 
Charleston,  but  the  blockading  squadron  attacked  him  so  furiously 
that  he  withdrew  from  that  harbor.  He  then  steamed  to  Galves- 
ton, which,  however,  he  found  already  in  the  possession  of  the 
Federals.  Almost  in  despair  he  made  his  way  to  Havana,  and 
from  there  to  Halifax,  still  hoping  to  make  a  Confederate  port. 
At  last,  abandoning  the  hope,  he  obeyed  the  last  order  of  the  Navy 
Department,  given  when  all  hope  for  the  cause  had  departed,  and 
sailed  for  Liverpool,  where  he  turned  over  the  Owl  to  Messrs. 
Frasier,  Trenholm  and  Company. 

On  September  12,  1865,  he  wrote  to  his  cousin,  Mrs.  Hybart: 
"Mv  stomach  is  too  delicate  as  yet  to  take  the  nauseous  dose  of 
asking  for  pardon."  Indeed,  the  bitterness  of  the  Federal  people 
and  authorities  toward  the  Confederate  Navy  officers  was  beyond 
expression.  These  gentlemen,  who  were  ornaments  of  their  pro- 
fession, were  habitually  stigmatized  as  pirates,  and  regarded  as 
irresponsible  corsairs  beyond  the  pale  of  civilized  warfare;  and 
yet  Federal  Navy  officers  and  others  bore  cheerful  testimony  to  the 
humanity  and  superior  excellence  and  chivalrous  bearing  of 
Captain  Maffitt. 

On  March  7,  1865,  Captain  Maffitt,  having  passed  his  examina- 


JOHM  NE\VLA\D  MAFFITT 


tion  as  a  British  captain,  received  command  of  the  British  merchant 
steamer  Widgeon,  trading  between  Liverpool  and  Rio  Janeiro, 
and  that  vessel  being  sold  to  the  Brazilian  Government,  lie  sur- 
rendered her  on  March  27,  1867,  and  finally  returned  to  the  United 
States.  He  soon  located  at  Wilmington,  where  he  bonght  a  farm 
on  the  sound,  which  he  named  the  Moorings,  and  there  he  gathered 
his  family  around  him.  Admired  and  beloved  in  that  community 
where  he  was  so  well  known  and  so  justly  esteemed,  his  life  now 
became  most  agreeable  in  its  tranquillity.  A  charming  conversa- 
tionalist, a  man  of  lofty  sentiments  and  a  gentleman  distinguished 
for  refinement  and  courtesy,  he  made  the  Moorings  a  resort  where 
congenial  spirits  loved  to  assemble.  On  November  23.  1870,  he 
was  married  to  Miss  Emma  Martin,  and  in  her  deHghtfuI  com- 
panionship he  prepared  for  publication  his  own  reminiscences 
under  the  title  of  "The  Nautilus,"  and  wrote  an  admirable  account 
of  his  experiences  in  running  the  blockade,  and  various  other 
valuable  sketches,  among  them  biographical  notices  of  Admiral 
Senimes  and  of  Captain  James  W.  Cooke,  of  the  Confederate 
States'  Navy,  who  built  the  Albemarle  and  commanded  her  in  the 
famous  battle  of  Plymouth.  By  his  second  wife  Captain  Maffitt 
had  two  sons.  John  Laurens  and  Colden  Rhind,  and  his  last  mar- 
riage was  blessed  by  three  children,  Mary  Read,  Clarence  Dudley 
and  Robert  Strange.  At  length,  in  the  early  Spring  of  1885.  he 
became  a  sufferer  from  Bright's  disease,  and  on  May  15,  1886,  he 
passed  away,  lamented  by  the  entire  community. 

5".  A.  Ashe. 


CHARLES  DUNCAN   McIVER 

J  T  times  more  or  less  critical  in  the  historj*  of  our 
State,  it  has  now  and  then  fallen  to  our  lot  to 
pause  in  the  toilsome  journey  of  progress  while 
we  awaited  the  coming  of  a  master  spirit  who 
should  guide  us  safely  and  surely  in  the  direc- 
tion of  some  wished  for  goal.  Nor  have  we  at 
such  times  long  waited  in  vain,  for,  North  Carolina,  whatever 
else  she  may  have  lacked,  has  not  been  wanting  in  men  able  and 
willing  to  dedicate  themselves  to  the  service  of  that  State  whose 
glories  are  her  sacrifices  and  whose  spirit  finds  truthful  expression 
in  her  motto,  "To  be  rather  than  to  seem."  Thus,  whether  the 
call  came  in  war  or  peace  it  mattered  not.  It  was  sufficient  to 
know  that  there  was  service  to  be  rendered,  and  it  followed  that 
what  men  could  do  was  done. 

Among  those  who  have  thus  faithfully  and  efficiently  ser\'«l 
the  Mother  State  in  time  of  need  is  to  be  included  the  name  of 
Charles  Dimcan  Mclver.  Bom  September  27,  i860,  on  a  farm 
near  Sanford.  in  Moore  County,  N'orth  Carolina,  he  was  ushered 
into  the  world  in  the  midst  of  the  most  exciting  Presidential 
campaign  in  the  history  of  our  country.  But  all  unnoticed  by  him 
passed  the  partizan  and  political  strife  then  absorbing  the  attention 
of  State  and  nation ;  nor  was  his  child-mind  old  enough  to  com- 
prehend the  momentous  significance  of  the  years  which  followed, 
when  fratricidal  war  wrought  havoc  in  the  land  and  left  in  its 


CHARLES  DUNCAN  McIVER  213 

desolating  wake  ravages  scarce  repaired  by  a  long  thirty  years  of 
matchless  striving.  The  aftermath  of  war  it  was  given  him  to 
know  and  feel,  not  through  a  morbid  recounting  of  its  incurable 
evils,  nor  through  the  handing  down  of  a  heritage  of  hate,  but  by 
means  of  the  saner  teachings  of  economy,  self-denial  and  bodily 
toil,  lessons  hard  in  the  learning,  but  mighty  in  the  making  of 
men. 

The  region  around  what  is  now  the  town  of  Sanford  was 
peopled  largely  by  settlers  whose  ancestors  came  from  the  High- 
lands of  Scotland.  Evander  Mclver,  when  eight  years  old,  bade 
farewell  to  his  rugged  birthplace,  the  Isle  of  Skye,  and  with  his 
father  made  his  new  home  in  the  pleasant  sand  hills  of  North 
Carolina.  In  his  son,  Matthew  Henry,  the  father  of  Charles  D. 
Mclver,  were  exemplified  the  many  sterling  traits  that  history 
shows  to  be  characteristic  of  the  Highland  Scotch.  Among  these 
traits  may  be  mentioned  earnest  piety,  devotion  to  liberty,  respect 
for  law  and  order,  and  love  for  education.  A  successful  farmer,  a 
respected  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  Church,  a  useful  and  influential 
citizen,  he  was  an  admirable  type  of  that  class  upon  which  in  great- 
est measure  rests  the  stability  of  State  and  society.  A  similar 
description  applies  to  the  maternal  ancestors  of  Charles  D.  Mclver, 
who  were  of  Scotch  and  English  descent.  To  his  mother,  whose 
maiden  name  was  Harrington,  and  who  on  her  maternal  side  is 
descended  from  the  McNeills  of  Scotland,  the  son  ascribes  the 
formative  and  directive  influences  of  his  earlv  vears.  No  small 
measure  of  the  fruit  of  his  useful  life  is  of  seed  of  her  careful 
sowing.  Leal  and  true — these  Scotch  and  English  ancestors  de- 
cided in  their  convictions  on  questions  of  church  and  State,  yet 
tolerant  and  charitable ;  patriotically  responding  to  the  call  of  the 
South  in  her  hour  of  need,  and  bravely  giving  themselves  to  the 
rebuilding  of  waste  places  in  the  dark  years  that  followed ;  fearers 
of  God,  and  supporters  of  schools  and  churches,  it  is  worth  some* 
thing  to  be  born  in  a  community  of  which  such  men  are  citizens, 
and  to  reckon  them  among  one's  neighbors  and  personal  fritnds. 

Amid  the  thrifty  and  orderly  influences  of  this  Christian  home 
and  community,  in  attendance  upon  the  excellent  private  schools 


214  NORTH  CAROLINA 

of  the  neighborhood,  and  in  the  daily  performance  of  all  the  vari- 
ous labors  that  fall  to  the  lot  of  the  healthy  farmer  boy,  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  spent  the  first  seventeen  years  of  his  life.  Here 
were  laid  the  foundations  of  that  vigorous  health  that  has  enabled 
him  to  stand  so  well  the  mental  and  physical  strain  of  later  years, 
and  here  were  implanted  that  love  for  man  and  nature,  and  that 
intelligent  and  sympathetic  appreciation  of  the  needs  of  our  rural 
commonwealth  which  have  proved  valuable  forces  in  fitting  him 
to  become  an  able  champion  of  the  great  cause  of  universal 
education. 

The  Fail  of  1877  found  our  farmer  lad  enrolled  as  a  student  of 
the  University  of  North  Carolina.  Here  he  spent  four  profitable 
years,  graduating  in  1881  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts. 
In  scholarship  he  took  high  rank,  leading  his  class  in  Greek  and 
French,  and  sharing  with  three  others  the  honors  in  Latin. 

Undecided  as  yet  upon  his  life  work,  he  turned  to  the  profession 
of  teaching,  and  in  the  Fall  of  1881  became  assistant  in  a  private 
school  in  Durham,  North  Carolina.  His  ability  won  quick  rec- 
ognition, and  in  the  Spring  of  the  same  scholastic  year  he  was 
made  principal  of  the  school.  In  May,  1882,  he  cast  his  first  vote, 
this  being  in  favor  of  a  local  tax  for  the  support  of  the  Durham 
public  school  system.  The  fact  is  worthy  of  record  in  that  as  a 
private  school  man  he  voted  for  a  measure  which,  though  for  the 
public  good,  seemed  decidedly  against  his  own  personal  interests. 
He  assisted  in  the  establishment  of  the  Durham  graded  schools, 
and,  after  serving  them  as  principal  for  one  and  one-half  years, 
resigned  to  accept  a  similar  position  and  to  perform  a  similar 
work  in  the  schools  of  Winston.  Here  he  remained  from 
Fel)ruary.  1884,  until  September,  1886,  at  which  time  he  accepted 
a  call  to  Peace  Institute,  Raleigh,  North  Carolina,  where,  as  prin* 
cipal  of  the  literary  department,  he  remained  until  June,  1889. 

In  the  meantime  he  had  fully  decided  upon  his  life-work,  and 
rejecting  attractive  offers  of  partnerships  in  business  and  law 
strove  to  make  himself  master  of  his  chosen  profession — teaching. 
He  put  himself  in  touch  with  the  quickening  forces  of  the  time, 
and  sought  to  add  to  the  strength  of  the  old,  the  inspiration  of 


CHARLES  DUNCAN   McRER  215 

the  new,  era.  Visits  of  inspection  were  made  to  schools  of  prom- 
ise, and  conferences  songht  with  able  educational  leaders.  The 
ideas  thus  obtained  were  accepted,  modified,  or  rejected,  as  the 
actual  work  of  the  schoolroom  proved  them  valuable  and  prac- 
ticable, or  the  reverse.  He  early  associated  himself  with  the  North 
Carolina  Teachers'  Assembly  as  one  of  its  active  members  and 
supporters.  The  vacation  periods  of  every  year  were  devoted 
to  work  in  county  institutes  and  in  State  Summer  schools.  In 
addition  to  his  labors  as  teacher  and  lecturer,  he  served  as  prin- 
cipal of  the  State  Summer  Normal  School  at  Wilson,  and  for  two 
successive  tentis  as  superinlcndcnt  of  the  Summer  Normal  School 
at  Sparta.  While  thus  availing  himself  of  the  means  at  hand  to 
promote  the  interests  of  public  education,  he  was  quick  to  realize 
the  inadecjuacy  of  the  work  as  then  conducted.  "The  majority 
of  teachers,"  he  reports  in  1887,  "cannot  go  a  great  distance  to 
attend  normal  schools.  Small  salaries  and  short  school  terms 
render  it  in  many  cases  impossible.  Efficient  coimty  insti- 
ttiles  should  be  brought  within  the  reach  of  every  teacher  in  the 
Slate."" 

Here  we  have  presented  in  few  words  the  lines  of  future  edu- 
cational reform.  Institutes  within  the  reach  of  every  teacher — 
will  he  do  aught  to  accomplish  this  ?  Larger  salaries  for  teachers, 
a  longer  school  term,  with  the  increased  appropriations  which 
these  imply  and  the  higher  professional  equipment  and  better  ser- 
vice which  they  in  turn  demand — will  he  do  more  than  call  the 
attention  of  the  State  Superintendent  to  these  needs?  But  we 
must  not  anticipate. 

To  the  urgent  need  of  better  qualified  teachers  those  interested 
in  education  now  began  to  give  earnest  attention.  Through  the 
agency  of  the  Teachers'  Assembly  petitions  for  the  establishment 
of  a  normal  training  school  were  several  times  presented  to  the 
Legislature — but  without  effect.  Feeling  that  more  active  steps 
should  be  taken,  Charles  D.  Mclver,  in  1889,  made  a  stirring 
speech  before  his  fellow-educators  at  their  annual  meeting,  which 

■Bennial  Report  of  State  Superintendent  of  Public 
page  40, 


2i6  NORTH  CAROLINA 

resulted  in  the  appointment  of  a  committee,  of  which  he  was  made 
chairman,  to  appear  before  the  Legislature  at  its  next  session  and 
personally  present  and  urge  the  adoption  of  a  bill  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  training  school  for  teachers. 

On  a  day  agreed  upon  the  members  of  the  committee  appeared 
before  the  General  Assembly,  presented  the  bill  and  earnestly  advo- 
cated its  passage.  The  Chairman,  being  at  the  time  a  resident  of 
Raleigh,  was  in  a  position  to  labor  continuously  in  behalf  of  the 
measure  of  which  henceforth  he  was  the  recognized  champion. 
He  met  with  little  encouragement  and  with  much  opposition,  but 
so  convincingly  did  he  press  home  his  arguments  in  personal  con- 
ferences with  members  of  the  Legislature,  that,  to  the  surprise  of 
all,  the  bill  passed  the  Senate  by  a  large  majority  and  failed  in 
the  House  by  onlv  a  few  votes. 

Although  the  General  Assembly  did  not  at  this  time  provide 
for  the  establishment  of  a  State  normal  college,  it  wisely  trans- 
ferred the  appropriation  hitherto  devoted  to  the  eight  Summer 
normal  schools  to  the  maintenance  of  a  system  of  countv  insti- 
tutes.  Thus  provision  was  made  for  carrying  into  effect  the  rec- 
ommendation urged  by  our  Sparta  normal  school  superintendent 
of  bringing  institutes  within  reach  of  every  teacher  in  the  State. 
Charles  D.  Mclver  and  Edwin  A.  Aldennan,  then  superintendent 
of  the  Goldsboro  schools,  were  induced  to  take  charge  of  this 
work,  and  were  therefore  appointed  State  institute  conductors. 

Now  began  one  of  the  most  important  campaigns  ever  con- 
ducted in  the  State,  and  perhaps  one  of  the  most  interesting  in 
the  history  of  public  education.  For  three  years,  from  September, 
1889.  to  September,  1892,  Winter  and  Summer,  these  men 
preached  a  crusade  in  behalf  of  universal  education.  In  every 
county  and  in  ever}'  important  city  and  town  in  the  State,  by  lec- 
tures, by  teaching,  by  public  addresses,  by  conferences  with  teach- 
ers and  school  committeemen,  by  talks  with  farmers,  editors, 
county  officials  and  politicians,  by  every  approved  method,  in 
short,  known  to  advocate  and  reformer,  the  work  was  diligently 
and  vigorously  prosecuted.  The  good  results  of  their  labors  are 
with  us  to-dav,  and  will  continue  to  bless  the  commonwealth  when 


CHARLES  DUNCAN  McIVER  217 


we,  our  children,  and  our  children's  children  have  finished  life's 
appointed  lessons  and  put  the  books  away. 

"My  work,"  declares  the  man  whose  career  we  are  following,  "is  con- 
ducted with  a  view  to  stimulating  and  encouraging  the  teachers,  and  to 
making  friends  to  the  cause  of  public  education  among  the  people.  .  .  • 
My  institutes  last  five  days.  The  first  four  days  are  devoted  mainly  to  the 
professional  work  of  the  teacher.  Lectures  are  delivered  on  the  different 
branches  taught  in  the  public  schools;  on  school  organization,  discipline, 
methods  of  teaching,  and  methods  of  studying;  on  school  law,  and  on  the 
proper  use  of  the  books  on  the  State  list.  Friday,  the  fifth  day,  is,  in  a 
special  sense,  'People's  Day.'  The  school  committeemen  and  people  gen- 
erally are  urged  to  attend,  and  the  exercises  are  arranged  with  a  view  to 
interesting  and  instructing  them  in  the  work  of  public  education.  Besides 
various  other  exercises,  a  special  address  is  made  on  that  day,  showing 
the  necessity  for  education  by  taxation,  and  answering  objections  to  it  com- 
monly heard  among  the  people."* 

Amid  the  arduous  duties  of  his  campaign  work  the  necessity 
of  a  training  school  for  teachers  was  not  forgotten.  In  truth,  this 
may  be  reckoned  one  of  the  means  on  which  more  and  more  he 
came  to  rely  as  promising  most  surely  to  secure  the  great  end  he 
had  in  view — universal  education.  Another  problem  now  pre- 
sented itself — namely,  where  should  vokmteers  for  this  needful 
service  be  found  in  largest  numbers,  who,  when  trained,  would  make 
the  best  and  most  sympathetic  instructors  of  the  State's  children  ? 
Wider  and  more  varied  experience  and  a  deeper  insight  into  the 
real  sources  of  the  mental  and  moral  progress  of  the  human  race 
convinced  him  that  his  syllogism,  which  before  had  been — Edu- 
cation a  State  necessity,  the  teacher  the  chief  means  of  education ; 
therefore,  the  teacher  a  primary  object  of  State  concern,  might 
be  carried  logically  further  and  made  to  read :  Universal  education 
a  necessity,  woman  the  universal  educator;  therefore,  the  educa- 
tion of  woman  the  foundation  of  human  progress. 

This  advocacv  of  the  more  liberal  education  of  woman  is  shown 
not  only  in  his  public  addresses  of  that  period,  but  in  his  written 
reports  and  recommendations  to  the  State  Superintendent  of  Pub- 

*  Report  of  Conductors  of  County  Institutes  in  North  Carolina,  1889-90, 
page  15. 


2i8  NORTH  CAROLINA 

lie  Instruction.  His  report  of  June  30,  1890,  contains  this  sig- 
nificant utterance  relating  to  the  establishment  of  a  State  normal 
college : 

'*To  those  who  are  still  skeptical  as  to  the  wisdom  of  the  training-school 
movement,  I  would  add  one  more  reason  why  the  school  should  be  es- 
tablished and  be  liberally  supported  by  the  State.  Under  our  present  sys- 
tem of  higher  and  collegiate  education,  a  white  girl,  unless  her  father  is 
comparatively  wealthy,  cannot,  as  a  rule,  get  the  scholarship  necessary  to 
make  her  a  first-rate  teacher.  Her  brother  can  get  it  at  the  University 
and  colleges  of  the  State,  because  in  those  institutions  about  three-fourths 
of  his  tuition  is  paid  by  the  State  and  the  churches.  Up  to  the  present 
time  the  State  and  our  leading  churches  have  adopted  the  suicidal  policy 
of  refusing  to  help  educate  white  girls,  except  in  the  public  schools.  .  .  . 
The  girls  who  would,  if  prepared,  make  the  best  teachers  for  the  State's 
children,  cannot  even  get  the  scholarship  necessary  to  become  teachers; 
One  of  the  results  of  this  is  that  two-thirds  of  our  public  school  teachers 
are  men,  whereas  two-thirds,  at  least,  ought  to  be  women.  The  State  ap- 
propriates nothing  for  the  training  of  white  women,  except  the  $4000  for 
the  Institutes.  It  appropriates  $8000  to  the  training  of  colored  teachers 
and  uses  it  in  helping — both  sexes.  In  this  way  the  State  appropriates  as 
much  to  train  one  negro  woman  as  it  does  to  train  four  white  women,  for 
there  are  about  twice  as  many  white  as  negro  women  in  the  State.  By  the 
help  of  the  State,  the  churches  and  the  philanthropists,  a  fair  opportunity 
of  getting  an  education  is  given  to  every  white  boy,  negro  boy  and  negro 
girl  in  North  Carolina.  Neither  of  the  three  has  to  pay  more  than  one-fifth 
of  the  expenses  of  tuition ;  but  the  white  girl  must  pay  for  every  cent  of 
hers.  If  the  training  school  shall  be  established  for  white  girls,  it  wfll 
make  education  possible  to  thousands  of  girls  who,  under  present  condi- 
tions, must  grow  up  in  a  state  of  ignorance  and  dependence  worse  than  al- 
most any  other  form  of  slavery.  In  addition.  North  Carolina  will  secure 
teachers  better  than  she  has  ever  had  and  who  will  bless  her  because  she 
has  blessed  them."* 

His  report  thus  emphasizes  the  justice  and  the  wisdom  of  State 
provision  for  the  higher  education  of  white  women.  An  objection 
urged  against  the  former  bill  for  the  establishment  of  a  teachers' 
training  school  was  its  co-educational  feature.  In  1891  Mr.  Mc- 
Iver  and  his  friend  and  associate,  Mr.  Alderman,  were  again  before 

^Reports  of  Conductors  of  County  Institutes  in  North  Carolina,  1889^ 
pages  20,  21. 


CHARLES  DUNCAN  McIVER  219 

the  Legislature  with  a  bill  for  the  establishment  of  the  much  needed 
institution,  but  this  time,  with  the  co-educational  feature  omitted. 
The  bill  passed  almost  without  opposition,  and  thus,  more  than 
one  hundred  vears  after  the  University  was  chartered,  the  State 
established  its  college  for  women.  Of  this  college  the  board  of 
directors,  consisting  of  one  member  from  each  Congressional  dis- 
trict, elected  Charles  Duncan  Mclver  President. 

Now  it  was  that  this  people's  servant  sought  to  build  a  people's 
college,  not  a  thing  of  brick  and  stone,  but  an  institution  both 
worthy  of  and  representative  of  the  State  that  gave  it  birth.  It 
should  be  an  open  door  of  opportunity  to  every  worthy  white  girl, 
however  poor,  however  rich,  within  the  borders  of  the  common- 
wealth— a  means  of  fitting  her  for  good  and  useful  citizenship. 
A  woman's  college  for  North  Carolina  women  it  should  be,  char- 
acterized by  sound  learning,  liberal  culture,  earnest  living  and 
high  thinking,  but  not  by  narrow  specialization  on  the  one  hand, 
nor  by  a  profitless  striving  for  showy  accomplishments  on  the 
other.  The  best  that  a  State  could  give  should  be  theirs ;  the  best 
that  educated  woman  could  give  should  be  the  State's.  In 
this  spirit  was  the  institution  conceived,  and  in  this  spirit  has  the 
State  Normal  and  Industrial  College  lived,  and  grown  and 
labored,  presided  over,  inspired,  guided  and  led,  by  one  who  has 
not  spared  to  ^ive  to  it  all  that  man  may  give. 

It  is  doubtful  if  any  other  public  institution  was  ever  in  so  true 
a  sense  the  pro<luct  of  the  unselfish  love  and  labor  of  one  man. 
As  to  him  in  largest  measure  arc  owing  its  conception  and  crea- 
tion, so  to  him  are  due  its  internal  and  external  workings,  the  policy 
which  characterizes  it.  and  the  success  which  it  has  achieved. 
And  this  is  true  not  merely  in  the  larger  matters  pertaining  to  its 
general  management,  but  in  all  the  details  relating  to  its  work  and 
administration.  The  college  plant  and  its  equipment,  the  depart- 
ments of  instruction,  the  courses  of  study,  the  various  organiza- 
tions, the  ideas  for  which  the  institution  stands,  the  spirit  it  ex- 
emplifies, the  work  it  seeks  to  accomplish,  its  relation  to  the  pub- 
lic and  the  relation  of  the  public  to  the  college — all  these,  in  a  very 
true  sense,  find  in  him  their  source  and  sustenance,  and  this,  not 


220  NORTH  CAROLINA 

in  a  spirit  of  formal  oversight  and  official  dictation,  but  through 
the  living  spirit  of  creative  work  and  fellow  service. 

And  to  what  extent  have  these  ideas  been  realized,  and  what 
fruit  have  these  labors  borne  ?  Let  him  answer  who  can  estimate 
the  value  to  State  and  nation  of  over  3000  women,  who,  in  the 
short  space  of  fourteen  years,  have  availed  themselves  of  the  ad- 
vantages here  provided,  and  with  increased  power  of  usefulness 
and  enlightened  zeal  for  service  have  passed  on  teaching  lessons 
of  right  thinking  and  right  living  to  more  than  200,000  North 
Carolina  children.  Let  him  consider  that  the  students  have  come 
from  every  county  in  the  State,  that  they  represent  every  respecta- 
ble calling,  profession  and  industry,  and  every  form  of  honest 
labor  in  which  the  people  of  North  Carolina  are  engaged;  that 
there  is  not  a  county  in  the  State  in  which  representatives  of  the 
college  are  not  to  be  found  actively  engaged  in  public  service ;  and, 
finally,  that  two-thirds  of  all  the  students  enrolled,  and  more  than 
nine-tenths  of  those  who  graduate  become  teachers  in  North  Care* 
lina.  A  veritable  fulfilling  of  his  prophecy  this— education  made 
possible  to  thousands,  and  the  State  blessed  in  her  teachers  because 
she  has  blessed  them ! 

'We  would  willingly  dwell  at  length  upon  this  phase  of 
Doctor  Mclver's  work,  on  the  intimate  relations  he  sustains  to 
the  State's  College  for  Women,  and  on  the  influences  which 
through  it  he  has  exerted  upon  public  education.  What  this 
virile  man  has  done  in  supplying  strength  where  of  old  existed 
finishing-school  superficiality,  how  he  has  inculcated  ideas  of  ser- 
vice, how  he  has  made  vital  the  conception  of  woman  as  a  citizen, 
how  he  has  diffused  abroad  a  spirit  of  wholesome  democracy — 
and  all  this  through  constructive  labors,  preserving,  strengthen- 
ing, and  multiplying  the  influences  that  make  for  culture  and  true 
womanliness — this,  did  space  permit,  we  would  willingly  cm* 
phasize.  But  the  mere  suggestion  must  suffice,  for  things  unsaid 
press  upon  us  and  on  details  we  may  not  linger. 

Important  as  are  these  services,  they  constitute  but  a  part  of 
the  faithful  labors  which  have  won  for  him  State  and  national 
recognition  as  an  educational  leader  and  statesman.    State  appre- 


CHARLES  DUNCAN  McIVER  221 

ciation  may  be  said  to  find  expression  in  an  editorial  appearing 
in  one  of  our  leading  North  Carolina  daily  newspapers  which, 
under  date  of  January  24,  1904,  asserts  that  he  *'has  been  a  leading 
force  in  every  movement  looking  for  progress,  educational  or 
otherwise,  in  North  Carolina,"  .  .  .  and  concludes  by  saying, 
"When  the  history  of  this  decade  is  written,  the  story  of  the  public 
service  rendered  his  State  bv  Charles  Duncan  Mclver  will  be  one 
of  the  brightest  pages  in  that  splendid  volume  of  patriotic  achieve- 
ment. There  is  not  a  man  in  the  State  who  has  made  himself  felt 
so  powerfully  and  so  helpfully  for  progress." 

The  national  point  of  view  may  be  taken  as  indicated  in  an 
article  on  Public  School  Leaders  appearing  in  the  July,  1905, 
magazine  number  of  the  Outlook.  Relative  to  the  topic  under 
consideration  it  says : 

"In  the  Southern  States  there  is  no  man  better  entitled  to  be  called  a 
champion  of  the  public  schools,  and  of  the  whole  idea  of  popular  educa- 
tion, than  Charles  Duncan  Mclver,  of  North  Carolina.*  .  .  .  He  is  a 
man  of  intense  earnestness,  energy,  insight  and  common  sense.  For  the  past 
twenty  years  his  voice  has  been  raised  in  behalf  of  popular  education,  not 
only  in  every  county  of  his  own  State,  but  throughout  the  South  and  in 
great  national  assemblies.  There  is  no  abler  speaker  on  this  subject  than 
Doctor  Mclver.  He  has  been  the  soul  of  the  forward  movement  in  his 
region,  and  he  is  now  chairman  of  the  Campaign  Committee  inaugurated 
by  the  Southern  Education  Board  for  the  promotion  of  universal 
education." 

The  wide  variety  of  this  public  service  is  indicated  by  the  posi- 
tions of  honor  and  influence  thus  far  held  bv  Doctor  Mclver  in 
the  course  of  his  busy  life.  In  addition  to  the  fourteen  years  of 
his  college  Presidency  and  the  work  already  referred  to  as  con- 
ductor of  State  and  county  institutes,  superintendent  of  Summer 
n(^rmal  schools,  and  chairman  of  the  committee  that  secured  the 
establishment  of  the  Normal  and  Industrial  Collep:e,  he  has  been 
a  participant  in  all  the  imjx)rtant  work  of  the  North  Carolina 
Teachers'  Assembly  and  its  President  in  1892;  a  worker  in  the 
Southern  Educational  Association  and  its  President  in  1905,  and 
an  active  member  of  the  National  Educational  Association,  serving 
at  various  times  as  chairman  of  its  Committee  on  Resolutions, 


222  NORTH  CAROLINA 

member  of  its  Committee  on  Education  and  Taxation,  President 
of  its  Normal  School  Department,  and  member  of  its  National 
Council.  During  the  administration  of  Governor  Elias  Carr  he 
served  as  Proxy  to  represent  the  State  stock  in  the  North  Caro- 
lina Railroad  Company.  He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the 
Southern  Education  Board  and  is  the  efficient  chairman  of  its 
Campaign  Committee  and  a  leader  in  the  movement  for  local  taxa- 
tion for  public  schools  throughout  North  Carolina.  To  him  is 
owing  the  organization  of  the  Woman's  Association  for  the  Bet- 
terment of  Public  Schools.  He  has  since  its  organization  been  a 
member  of  the  State  Literary  and  Historical  Association,  and  is 
Vice-President  of  the  State  Library  Association.  A  loyal  son  of 
his  Alma  Mater,  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  he  has  served 
it  officially  as  trustee  and  member  of  its  Executive  Committee,  and 
has  liberally  and  heartily  supported  every  movement  for  the  pro- 
motion of  its  influences  and  welfare.  In  recognition  of  his  public 
services  the  University  has  conferred  on  him  the  honorary  degrees 
of  Doctor  of  Letters  and  Doctor  of  Laws.  In  presenting  him  for 
the  latter  degree,  Doctor  Charles  Alphonso  Smith,  dean  of  the 
graduate  department,  said: 

'*I  have  the  honor  to  present  ...  for  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Laws  Charles  Duncan   Mclver,   President  of  the  North  Caro- 

lina State  Normal  and  Industrial  College  for  Women.  As  State  Institute 
Conductor  from  1889  to  1892.  he  first  showed  himself  peculiarly  fitted  to 
be  a  molder  of  educational  thought.  A  firm  believer  in  the  education  of 
all  the  people,  he  has  devoted  his  rare  powers  of  organization  and  appeal 
more  especially  to  the  education  of  women.  'No  State,'  he  declares,  'which 
will  educate  its  mothers  need  have  any  fear  about  future  illiteracy.*  That 
this  sentiment  has  at  last  found  recognition  not  only  in  the  educational 
creed,  but  also  in  the  educational  policy  of  North  Carolina  is  due  more 
to  Doctor  Mclver  than  to  any  other  out  man." 

To  add  to  this  already  long  list  the  various  local  organizations, 
city  and  county,  to  which  he  has  belonged,  such,  for  example,  as 
the  Young  Men's  Business  Association,  the  Industrial  and  Im- 
migration Association,  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  the  Guilford 
County  Board  of  School  Improvement,  and  the  North  Carolina 


CHARLES  DUNCAN   McIVER  223 

Reunion  Association — to  mention  all  such  organizations  and  to 
specify  the  committees  on  whicli  he  has  served  would  be  to  convert 
the  latter  part  of  this  sketch  largely  into  a  catal(^ue  of  society 
and  committee  names.  Interpreted  aright  there  is  a  profound  sig- 
nificance in  this  long  array  of  social,  industrial,  educational,  busi- 
ness, literary  and  historical  associations,  since  it  indicates  not  only 
a  healthful  interest  in  national,  State  and  local  atTairs,  but  a  wide 
and  intimate  famiharity  with  the  agencies  of  progress  and  a  whole- 
sonlcil  enlistment  of  his  energies  in  all  movements  that  promise 
to  promote  the  public  good. 

It  is  as  a  public  speaker  and  orator  that  Doctor  Mclver  is  most 
widely  known  to  the  general  public  both  in  his  own  Slate  and  be- 
yond its  borders.  The  demands  thus  made  upon  him  are  frequent 
and  at  times  almost  continuous.  It  is  his  custom  to  carrj'  with  him 
a  pocket  calendar  on  which  are  noted  the  dates  of  promised  ad- 
dresses. When  a  new  appointment  is  sought,  he  consults  his 
calendar,  names  the  nearest  unfilled  date,  and  thus,  by  an  unending 
process,  adds  to  what  he  calls  his  "incidental  and  vacation  work." 
Appointments  arc  often  made  several  months  in  advance  and  it  is 
not  unusual  for  him  to  have  every  available  date  filled  for  six 
weeks  in  succession.  The  acceptance  ol  these  invitations  is  de- 
termined by  the  opportunity  for  service  afforded  by  the  particular 
town,  city  or  community  from  which  comes  the  call.  If  any  doubt 
arises  the  chances  are  nearly  always  in  favor  of  the  smaller  and 
weaker  community,  and  the  message  is  carried  to  the  few  hun- 
dreds that  gather  at  the  cross-roads,  store  or  country  church  rather 
than  to  the  larger  number  who  assemble  in  opera  house  or  city  hall. 
The  message,  too.  has  reference  to  the  needs  and  special  condi- 
tions of  time  and  place,  and  thus  constitutes  a  sowing  of  good 
seed  in  suitable  soil,  for  it  is  safe  to  say  that  Charles  D,  Mclver 
never  addressed  an  audience  without  having  a  distinct  end  in  view 
and  that  end  the  provoking  to  good  works.  There  are  few  places 
in  Xorth  Carolina  where  his  voice  has  not  been  raised  in  behalf  of 
some  public  measure.  Large  audiences,  too,  in  great  cities  far 
removed  from  his  native  State,  have  greeted  this  educational 
leader,  and  from  his  lips  heard  wholesome  truths  relative  to  our 


224  NORTH  CAROLINA 

educational  progress.  Thus  he  has  been  invited  to  make  educa- 
tional addresses  in  more  than  one-half  of  the  States  in  the  Union. 

His  favorite  topics  are,  of  course,  those  that  relate  to  educatioa, 
but  as  this  is  among  the  most  comprehensive  of  subjects,  his  ad- 
dresses may  be  said  to  embody  a  wide  range  of  themes.  He  is 
not  a  man  to  deal  in  generalities,  but  with  a  partictilar  purpose 
in  view  selects  a  timely  theme,  appropriate  to  a  given  audience, 
and  seeks  by  means  of  a  clear  and  forceful  presentation  of  facts 
to  accomplish  a  definite  result.  He  will,  for  example,  address 
a  body  of  lawmakers  on  the  duty  of  the  State  to  make  liberal  pro- 
vision for  the  education  of  its  citizens — the  citizens  themselves 
on  the  advantages  of  local  taxation  for  public  schools.  Or,  the 
**Teacher  as  a  Citizen'*  will  perhaps  be  the  subject  of  a  talk  to 
teachers,  and  when  urged  to  repeat  it  before  a  general  audience, 
he  will  respond  with  an  address  on  the  Citizen  as  a  Teacher. 
Although  an  interested  student  of  our  past  histor>',  he  seldom 
draws  upon  its  storehouse  for  the  materials  of  his  public  dis- 
courses, but  prefers  to  live  in  the  present  and  in  it  to  find  the  chief 
objects  of  public  concern.  With  him  the  past  is  our  heritage,  the 
present  our  opportunity,  and  the  future — a  result  of  the  labors  of 
to-day.  To  the  work  at  hand  he  therefore  addresses  himself,  and 
though  he  sometimes  sees  visions,  he  never  dreams  dreams.  All 
his  speeches,  whether  intended  primarily  for  men  or  women,  and 
whether  addressed  to  students,  teachers,  civic  organizations,  or  the 
general  public,  have  this  one  thing  in  common — they  all,  without 
exception,  emphasize  the  duty  of  public  and  community  service. 

While  relying  chiefly  upon  the  power  of  the  spoken  word  as 
an  agency  in  conveying  his  message  to  mankind,  he  has  not  been 
unmindful  of  the  influence  of  the  pen.  Amid  the  duties  of 
official  life  and  the  numerous  outside  calls  made  upon  him,  he  has 
found  time  to  write  much  that  is  of  more  than  passing  value.  His 
newspaper  and  magazine  articles,  his  educational  campaign  docu- 
ments and  oflficial  reports,  and  his  speeches,  revised  and  prepared 
for  publication,  these,  if  gathered  together,  would  doubtless  com- 
prise several  goodly  volumes,  and  would  constitute  a  valuable  ad- 
dition to  the  literature  relating  to  education  and  civic  ideals.    His 


CHARLES  DUNCAN  McIVER  225 

writings,  like  his  speeches,  are  clear  and  forceful  discussions  of 
topics  pertaining  to  education  and  public  service. 

The  life  here  sketched  would  seem  to  leave  little  opportunity 
for  the  enjoyment  of  the  quieter  pleasures  of  home,  and  the  leistire 
and  happiness  which  home  suggests.  But  the  life  here  sketched  is 
but  the  outer  and  visible  workings  of  an  innner  life  which  finds  its 
center  in  the  home  and  family.  In  Miss  Lula  V.  Martin,  of  Win- 
ston, North  Carolina,  Charles  D.  Mclver  found  a  life  companion 
whose  Christian  graces  of  character  and  powers  of  intellectual 
s>'mpathy  render  her  the  true  encourager  of  worthy  efforts  and  a 
wise  judge  and  rewarder  of  success.  Four  children,  a  son  and 
three  daughters,  add  happiness  to  their  union.  .  A  simple  home 
is  theirs,  blessed  by  generous  affection  and  pervaded  by  an  atmos- 
phere of  hospitality  and  genial  courtesy — a  home  where  culture 
and  quiet  refinement  are  justly  esteemed  and  where  trust  in  God 
and  faith  in  humanity  remain  unquestioned  and  sincere.  Their 
religious  faith  is  that  of  the  Scotch  Covenanters,  adhered  to  in  its 
simplicity,  but  lived  in  the  spirit  of  Christian  rather  than  of 
sect.  They  have  amassed  no  wealth,  yet  none  would  call  them 
poor,  for  love  and  confidence  here  bear  choice  fruits,  and  mutual 
sympathy  and  helpfulness  add  that  which  mere  worldly  wealth 
is  ever  powerless  to  bestow. 

Twenty-five  years  have  elapsed  since,  diploma  in  hand, 
Charles  D.  Mclver  passed  from  college  halls  into  the  larger  school 
of  life.  In  the  prime  of  his  vigor  and  usefulness  he  bids  fair  to 
add  to  them  twenty-five  other  years  rich  with  the  fruitage  of 
abundant  harvests.  The  work  already  done  he  may  riot  do  again ; 
hut  work  there  will  be  for  his  w^illing  hands  to  do  and  he  will  do 
it  with  his  might.  He  has  accomplished  much,  and  in  the  doing 
of  it  has  taught  us  to  demand  of  him,  and  of  ourselves,  and  of  all 
men — more.  This,  we  suspect,  is  as  he  would  have  it,  for  his 
message  to  his  fellow  man  has  been :  Live  more  abundantly 
through  more  abundant  service,  striving  hopefully  for  the  larger 
things  of  life. 

Even  as  the  proof  sheets  of  this  sketch  were  passing  through  the 
f)ress,  there  came  to  Charles  Duncan  Mclver  the  call — **Enter 


226  NORTH  CAROLINA 

into  rest."  The  story  of  a  people's  grief  is  indicated  by  the  fol- 
lowing tributes,  few  among  hundreds,  all  expressive  of  the  keen- 
est personal  loss,  yet  eloquent,  also,  in  gratitude  for  a  life  so  nobly 
spent  in  the  service  of  humanity. 

From  Press  Correspondence: 

"The  tour  of  William  J.  Bryan  through  North  Carolina  began  yesterday 
afternoon  (September  17,  1906)  with  the  departure  of  his  special  train 
for  Greensboro  accompanied  by  a  large  party  of  prominent  citizens.  The 
trip  to  Greensboro  started  auspiciously,  but  was  saddened  just  as  the 
train  left  Durham  by  the  death  of  Doctor  Charles  D.  Mclver,  the  leading 
educator  and  most  useful  citizen  of  North  Carolina.  The  death  of  Doctor 
Mclver  came  as  a  great  shock,  and  it  spread  the  shadow  of  a  great  sorrow 
over  every  person  on  the  train.  On  account  of  the  sad  and  untimely  end 
of  his  friend  and  traveling  companion  Mr.  Bryan  declined  to  speak  at 
Hillsboro.     At  Burlington  he  said: 

"  'I  am  sure  that  you  will  agree  with  us  that  this  is  not  the  time  or 
occasion  for  a  political  speech.  Doctor  Charles  D.  Mclver  was  the  man 
who  first  invited  me  to  North  Carolina  twelve  years  ago,  and  I  have  never 
been  in  your  State  since  that  he  was  not  on  the  reception  committee  and 
the  first  to  greet  and  cheer  me.  His  life,  perhaps,  more  than  that  of  any 
man  I  knew  as  well,  illustrated  the  value  of  an  ideal.  He  was  an  educated 
man  whose  sympathies  were  with  the  uneducated.  He  moved  in  the 
highest  circles,  yet  snapped  the  golden  cord,  unselfishly  lifting  others  up. 
His  death  is  a  loss — a  fearful  loss — to  his  country,  his  State,  his  city  of 
Greensboro,  to  the  glorious  institution  of  learning  which  is  now  his 
monument,  to  his  family,  to  his  party  and  a  great  personal  loss  to  me.*" 

From  Daily  Industrial  News: 

'*  'Charles  D.  Mclver  is  dead' — as  a  pall  this  sentence  fell  upon  Greens- 
boro yesterday  afternoon.  And  not  to  Greensboro  alone,  but  to  the  entire 
State  is  the  loss — not  alone  to  the  State,  but  to  the  entire  educational 
world.  For  Doctor  Mclver  had  made  for  himself  a  place  in  his  chosen 
field  of  work  that  cannot  be  filled.  To  the  education  of  the  South,  espe> 
cially  the  women  of  the  South,  he  had  devoted  his  life.     .    .    . 

**Through  his  work  will  he  live  in  the  history  of  North  Carolina,  but 
even  aside  from  his  work  he  will  not  be  forgotten  by  the  multitude  who 
called  him  friend.  He  is  gone  with  much  already  accomplished,  and  yet 
with  apparently  much  still  before  him.  In  the  prime  of  manhood  he  was 
suddenly  stricken  and  taken  from  the  field  of  useful  endeavor— dead 
but  not  forgotten.  Yes,  gone  in  the  body  and  gone  from  the  sight  of 
mortal  eyes,  and  yet  not  wholly  gone,  for  never  will  his  memory  fade 


CHARLES  DUNCAN  McIVER  227 

from  the  minds  and  hearts  of  those  who  love  humanity  and  love  those  who 
loved  huitianil)',  and  of  such  in  the  fulleal  measure  was  Charles  Duncan 
Mclver." 

From  The  Daily  Record: 

"This  entire  community  was  shocked  bey-ond  expression  by  the  sad  in- 
telligence of  the  sudden  death  of  Doctor  Charles  Duncan  Mclver.  Not  only 
has  Greensboro  and  the  State,  but  the  nation  as  well,  sustained  a  severe 
loss.  Men — great  men — die  every  day.  but  their  places  arc  soon  filled 
and  they  are  almost  forgotten,  but  it  is  no  exaggeration  lo  say  that  to 
fill  his  place  will  be  a  task  of  difficult  proportions.  He  was  a  lovable  man. 
Every  one  of  the  thousands  of  young  women  who  attended  the  Norma! 
loved  him:  he  made  their  lives  pleasant;  his  great  aim  was  to  make  the 
poorest  girl,  the  friendless  girl,  feel  that  she  was  at  home;  that  poverty 
was  an  honor  if  honorably  worn. 

From  The  Greensboro  Telegram: 

"It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  thai  Greensboro  was  panic  stricken 
yesterday  afternoon  when  the  news  went  from  lip  to  lip  that  Doctor  Mclver 

"It  is  quite  impossible  to  fully  realize  all  that  the  death  of  such  a  man 
means  to  the  community,  to  the  State,   and  to  the  nation. 

"The  debt  that  the  womanhood  of  the  Stale  owes  him  can  never  be  paid. 
To  him  is  to  be  traced  in  the  last  analysis  all  the  influences  which  have 
floun  hom  Uie  Kormal  College  for  the  uplJft  oS  Noi-th  Carolina  ii-twnen, 
for  he  was  the  Normal  College  in  the  sense  that  it  was  his  creation. 
He  it  was  who  both  planned  and  executed,  overcoming  seemingly  insuper- 
able obstacles  by  his  titanic  energy  and  determination.  From  first  to  last 
the  institution  bore  the  impress  of  his  powerful  personality,  and  his  in- 
fluence will  ever  be  fell  in  its  future  history. 

From  The  Charlotte  Observer: 

"The  news  of  Ihe  death  of  Doctor  Charles  D.  Mclver  will  carry  a  shock 
from  one  end  of  the  State  to  the  other.  Upon  the  subject  of  education  he 
was  an  enthusiast;  an  always  rational,  intelligent  enthusiast.  No  man  in 
our  history  has  done  more  to  forward  it.  His  own  institution,  the  in- 
stitution which,  one  will  say,  was  born  to  him.  which  he  nursed  and 
fostered,  was  the  objeci  of  his  special  and  natural  affection,  but  in  the 
whole  field  he  was  a  champion,  an  advocate,  and  in  his  death  the  cause 
has  lost  a  stalwart  friend.  It  will  be  difficult  to  fill  the  vacancy  which 
his  death  has  created.  It  was  a  proper  tribute  paid  him  at  Greensboro 
last  evening  that  there  was  no  political  address,  but  that  the  meeting  was 
made  one  of  memorial." 


228  NORTH  CAROLINA 

From  Bryan's  eulogy  on  Doctor  Mclver,  delivered  in  Greens- 
boro, on  Monday  night,  September  17th: 

".  .  .  Professor  Mclver  has  shown  us  what  man  can  do.  He  has 
not  only  shown  us,  but  did  what  man  ought  to  do.  He  has  given  us  an  ideal 
of  life,  and  I  am  coming  more  and  more  to  believe  that  the  ideal  is  the 
important  thing.     . 

"I  believe  that  Professor  Mclver's  life  was  a  success.  Wc  have  a 
great  man,  Rockefeller — the  richest  man  in  the  world — and  if  I  had  to 
choose  between  leaving  the  record  of  Professor  Mclver  and  leaving  the 
money  of  Rockefeller,  I  would  a  thousand  times  rather  leave  Mclvcr's 
record  to  posterity.  I  will  tell  you  a  tfest  of  whether  life  has  been  a 
success  or  not.  We  all  live  amid  an  environment.  Sometimes  we  are 
only  known  to  a  little  circle,  sometimes  to  a  larger  circle;  but  when  wc 
die  there  is  going  to  be  a  just  verdict,  and  that  just  and  honest  verdict 
is  the  thing  that  we  ourselves,  when  we  come  to  take  a  proper  view  of 
life,  will  be  more  interested  in  than  the  houses  and  lands  that  we  leave 
for  our  children  to  quarrel  over,  and  I  have  thought  that  it  can  be  said 
that  a  life  has  been  lived  successfully  if,  when  it  passes  out,  we  can  say 
of  the  person,  as  we  can  say  of  this  dear  friend  of  mine  and  of  yours: 

*'  'The  night  is  darker  because  his  light  is  gone  out : 
The  world  is  not  so  warm  because  his  heart  is  cold  in  death.*" 

From  the  Raleigh  Netvs  and  Observer: 

"Charles  D.  Mclver  was  the  best  type  of  Southern  manhood.  His  faith 
was  profound,  his  courage  unconquerable,  and  his  capacity  for  labor 
apparently  a  thing  that  had  no  limit  when  the  interests  which  he  held 
dear  were  concerned.  He  was  of  massive  brain  and  electric  personality. 
Easily  of  national  size,  he  preferred  to  stay  in  North  Carolina  and  devote 
his  genius  to  her  educational  advancement 

"The  profession  that  he  adopted  made  Doctor  Mclver  an  educational 
statesman,  but  he  was  more  than  that.  He  was  a  patriot  and  a  statesman 
in  the  broad  sense. 

"It  would  be  difficult  to  name  any  movement— educational,  industrial, 
religious  or  political — that  was  making  for  the  betterment  of  the  State 
that  did  not  feel  the  helpful  touch  of  Charles  D.  Mclver.  He  was  an 
optimist  of  the  best  type,  and  went  about  making  others  have  faith  in 
themselves  and  inspiring  them  with  patriotism  and  civic  virtue  and  public 
spirit.  Other  men  will  be  found  who  will  carry  on  the  college  and 
direct  the  public  educational  work,  but  his  spirit  of  faith  and  hope  and 
cheer  will  be  missed  in  an  hundred  ways,  and  it  was  the  thing  that  made 
him  easily  the  most  useful  man  in  North  Carolina  and  the  best  loved 
private  citizen. 


Albert  Shaw  in  the  October,  1906,  Ret'iew  of  Rericws: 
"...  Doctor  Mclver  was  nol  quite  forty-six  years  old;  but  his 
influence  was  already  great,  and  his  achievement  was  of  the  sort  that  saves 
itnperiled  civilizations  and  transforms  communities.  ...  He  was  a 
man  of  remarkable  eloquence,  and  of  great  readiness  and  power  on  all  oc- 
casions in  public  speech.  He  was  famous  for  his  wit,  and  for  his  un- 
limited store  of  amusing  incidents  and  anecdotes.  .  .  .  H  he  had  chosen 
to  turn  his  energies  into  political  channels  he  wonld  have  been  Governor 
of  bis  State  and  then  United  Slates  Senator." 

Walter  H.  Page  in  the  October,  1906,  South  Atlantic  Quarterly: 

"...  I  suppose  that  he  was  regarded  as  a  close  personal  friend 
by  more  men  and  women,  and  he  had  the  intimate  confidence  of  more  men 
and  women  than  any  other  man  in  North  Carolina.  .  .  .  Twice  he 
bad  a  chance  possibly  lo  become  President  of  the  State  University,  but 
be  considered  his  work  in  building  a  college  for  women  of  greater  im- 
portance. He  might  at  any  lime  during  the  last  six  or  eight  years  have 
received  an  income  that  would  have  relieved  him  of  all  financial  care  and 
provided  luxuriously  for  his  family  if  he  had  given  his  time  lo  business 
undertakings.  But  the  building  and  the  development  oE  a  great  college 
for  the  training  of  women  (and  by  the  training  of  women,  the  lifting  up 
of  the  whole  people)  was  dearer  to  him  than  all  other  aims  in  life;  and  he 
never  hesitated." 

Extract  from  Governor's  Proclamation : 

Governor  R.  B.  Glenn  issued  the  following  proclamation  to  the  people 
of   North  Carolina  at  the  request  of  a  number  of  prominent  citizens: 

'"The  iifework  of  Charles  D.  Mclver  is  ended.  For  Iwenlyfive  years  he 
served  his  State  with  fidelity,  zeal  and  efficiency  not  surpassed  in  her 
annals.  No  one  has  rendered  the  State  a  greater  service.  It  is  now  the 
high  duty  and  privilege  of  the  people  whom  he  served  with  unselfish 
devotion  to  manifest  iheir  grateful  appreciation  of  his  life  and  character 
by  a  memorial  which  will  transmit  his  memory  to  posterity  and  be  a  per- 
petual incentive  to  the  youth  of  the  State  to  emulate  his  example.  An 
heroic  statue  in  bronze,  designed  and  cast  by  a  great  artist,  has  been  selected 
by  general  consent  as  a  most  fitting  memorial.  Charles  D.  Mclver's  en- 
tire life  was  given  for  the  better  education  of  all  our  women,  the  improve- 
ment of  the  educational  opportunities  of  all  our  children,  the  uplifting 
of  all  our  citizenship  and  the  elevation  of  all  our  ideals  of  civic  service." 
William  C.  Smith. 


r.  I  i;i:v.'  york 

f\il.^:  LiDllARY 


r: 


I 
\ 


JOHN  McMillan  mcIVEr  231 

relating  the  race  from  which  he  sprang,  the  place  where  he  was 
reared,  the  institutions,  the  social  customs  and  educational  forces 
which  molded  his  character  and  thus  singled  him  out  from  his 
species,  individualizing  him  for  all  time.  The  task  is  a  pleasant 
one.  History  loves  to  trace  the  lineage  of  those  whose  lives  rise 
above  mediocrity  and  shine  with  deeds  of  high  morality  and  beauti- 
ful unselfishness.  H*the  blood  that  courses  through  the  veins 
bears  upon  its  tide  the  virtues  by  which  it  was  first  distinguished, 
then  there  is  a  prestige  of  birth  that  may  prompt  generations  in 
their  turn — 

"To  draw  forth  a  noble  ancestry 
From  the  corruption  of  abusing  time, 
Unto  a  lineal,  true-derived  course." 

Still  the  glory  of  embellishing  a  name,  of  adding  to  its  luster,  is 
superior  to  that  of  first  drawing  it  from  the  ages  agone. 

John  McMillan  Mclver  was  bom  on  November  6,  1838,  near^ 
Carbonton,  in  Moore  County,  hard  by  the  Mne  of  Chatham,  on  the 
hills  of  the  historic  Clarendon,  now  Deep  River,  and  within  the 
bounds  of  old  Euphronia  Presbyterian  Church. 

His  great-grandfather,  Donald  Mclver,  was  one  of  the  three 
brothers  who  emigrated  from  Scotland  in  1772.  Two  of  these 
brothers  settled  in  North  Carolina  and  one  in  South  Carolina. 
From  this  trio  have  descended  nearly  all  of  the  sturdy  folk  who 
bear  the  name  in  both  States. 

The  name  of  his  father  was  Alexander  Mclver,  a  farmer,  a 
loyal  Presbyterian  and  an  elder  in  Euphronia  Church.  His  mother 
was  Miss  Ann  Gordon,  daughter  of  Mr.  Langston  Gordon,  of 
\'ir^inia,  an  Englishman. 

The  life  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  from  birth  has  been  typ- 
ically North  Carolinian,  modified  by  traits  of  parentage  through 
his  rugp^ed  paternal  ancestry.  There  were  but  few  environments 
better  calculated  to  form  character  than  those  found  in  the  atmos- 
phere among  the  hills  of  his  birthplace  where  the  parish  schools, 
hard  by  the  kirk  in  the  fatherland,  had  been  transplanted  and  re- 
ligiously fostered.  He  was  born  into  that  way  of  life  which  might 
be  called  in  other  lands  the  middle  class,  but  happily  in  our  coun- 


232  NORTH  CAROLINA 

try  character  and  capacity  make  their  own  level.  He  was  neither 
of  the  richest  nor  of  the  poorest,  neither  proud  nor  humble;  he 
knew  no  hunger  he  was  not  sure  of  satisfying,  no  luxury  which 
could  enervate  mind  or  body.  His  parents  were  sober.  God-fear- 
ing people ;  intelligent  and  upright ;  without  pretension  and  with- 
out self-effacing.  He  grew  up  in  the  company  of  boys  who  woriced 
on  the  farm  like  himself — wholesome,  honest,  self-respecting. 
Thev  looked  down  on  nobody,  they  never  felt  it  possible  they  could 
be  looked  down  upon.  Their  houses  were  the  homes  of  probity, 
piety,  patriotism.  They  learned  from  the  inspiring  traditions  of 
their  fathers,  and  at  the  feet  of  teachers  of  sound  Christianity 
and  ennobling  patriotism,  the  lessons  of  heroic  and  splendid  life 
which  came  down  from  the  past. 

His  father  died  when  he  was  only  one  year  old.  The  loss  was 
great :  but  his  mother  proved  a  wise  and  capable  counsellor,  and 
her  care  and  training  molded  him  into  manly  excellence.  His 
earliest  recollection  of  his  mother  was  seeing  her  kneeling  in 
prayer  with  her  three  little  children  around  her.  A  comfortable 
l)atrimony  fell  to  him  from  his  father's  estate.  In  early  life  he  had 
a  strong  desire  for  an  education.  The  impulse  was  natural  to  one 
of  such  ancestry  and  living  in  such  surroundings.  The  first  con- 
fession of  faith  adopted  by  the  church  of  his  progenitors,  about 
two  hundred  and  seventy-five  years  before,  contained  a  provision 
for  the  planting  of  a  school  in  every  parish.  Coming  as  did  his 
forefathers  and  others,  so  to  speak,  from  the  feet  of  John  Knox. 
the  greatest  of  Scotchmen  and  the  most  illustrious  pupil  of 
John  Calvin,  they  became  founders  and  patrons  of  academic 
schools,  which,  without  cabinets,  lalxjratories  and  other  parts  of 
a  college  equipment,  educated  many  young  men  for  the  gospel 
ministry,  the  bar  and  other  learned  professions.  The  influence  of 
these  early  and  useful  schools  had  not  died  out  as  an  inspiration 
to  the  young  of  that  day.  By  both  inheritance  and  environment 
there  came  therefore  to  him  an  overmastering  and  enthusiastic 
impulse  for  an  education. 

Preparation  to  matriculate  at  the  University  was  obtained  under 
that  celebrated  teacher,   Doctor  Alexander  Wilson,  at  Melville 


JOHN  McMillan  McIver  233 

Academy  in  Alamance  County.  In  1858,  in  his  twentieth  year, 
he  was  admitted  to  the  classes  of  the  University  of  North  Caro- 
lina. In  1861,  when  the  war  between  the  States  beg^an,  he  left 
the  University  promptly  to  enter  the  army.  An  attack  of  sickness 
frustrated  his  plans  and  he  returned  to  the  University  and  grad- 
uated in  1S62.  receiving  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts.  On  leav- 
ing the  halls  of  the  University  he  enlisted  immediately  as  a  soldier 
in  a  cavalry  company,  made  up  mostly  of  descendants  of  Scotch 
Highlanders,  with  Reverend  James  H.  McNeil  as  commandant. 
The  field  of  service  for  his  command  was  in  Eastern  North  Caro- 
lina until  the  opening  of  the  famous  Gettysburg  campaign  in  1863, 
when  as  the  Sixty-third  North  Carolina  Regiment  it  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  army  of  Northern  Virginia.  Sur\'iving  the  hard- 
ships and  many  blootly  battles  of  this  great  army,  he  surrendered 
widi  it  at  Appomattox  Court-House  in  1865,  having  made  a 
splendid  record  as  a  brave  and  conscientious  soldier,  whether  in 
camp,  bivouac  or  battle. 

The  active  work  of  his  life  as  a  civilian  was  begun  as  a  school- 
teacher. In  1865  he  laiight  at  Buffalo  Church  in  Moore  County, 
and  afterward  in  Bladen  County,  and  at  Waynesville  in  Haywood 
County.  In  each  of  these  communities  Jijs  inHucnci:  was  lorcclul 
and  far-reaching.  The  hearts  as  well  as  the  heads  of  his  pupils 
were  impressed  with  his  Christian  life  and  nice  scholarship.  Some 
of  his  pupils  became  eminent  as  officers  of  the  State,  and  many 
bear  testimony  to-day  most  gratefully  to  his  uplifting  and  lasting 
work  upon  their  minds  artd  their  character.  In  1870  he  became 
engaged  in  business  at  Gulf  and  established  his  home  there. 
Mr.  McIver  has  six  children  :  three,  the  children  of  a  former  mar- 
riage to  Miss  Mattie  Lee  Morrison,  of  Asheville,  and  three,  the 
children  of  his  present  marriage  to  Miss  Lois  Anderson,  of 
Davidson. 

His  career  as  a  worker  in  the  church  has  been  marked  by  ex- 
ceptionally distinguished  services;  and  to  few  men  have  so  many 
and  such  high  honors  fallen.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  his 
church  at  Gulf  and  was  elected  its  first  elder.  During  the  years 
of  its  earlier  historv  he  alone  constituted  its  session.     He  is  the 


234  NORTH  CAROLINA 

only  clerk  its  session  has  ever  had,  and  the  only  superintendent 
of  its  Sunday-school.  As  the  representative  of  his  church  he  has 
attended  with  notable  frequency  the  meetings  of  his  Presbytery, 
and  is  one  of  the  four  ruling  elders  it  has  so  far  elected  to  preside 
over  its  deliberations  as  moderator.  Twice  he  has  been  elected 
Commissioner  to  the  General  Assembly,  the  highest  court  in  the 
polity  of  the  church.  He  has  been  called  often  to  serve  on  the  most 
important  committees.  He  filled  with  great  credit  the  chairman- 
ship of  the  committee  in  charge  of  the  Elders'  and  Deacons'  In- 
stitute, and  is  now  one  of  the  two  ruling  elders  on  the  S\Tiodical 
Committee  in  charge  of  the  Twentieth  Century  Million  Dollar 
Educational  Fund. 

His  career  as  a  business  man  has  been  no  less  successful.  He 
was  never  a  speculator  in  the  commonly  accepted  meaning  of  that 
word.  One  of  the  most  pronounced  characteristics  of  his  work 
in  the  business  sphere  has  been  conservative.  He  has  accumulated 
a  fine  estate.  Yet  it  has  been  done  by  the  application  of  the  reg- 
ular and  well-known  and  universally  approved  business  methods 
of  the  world.  His  system,  frugality,  sagacity,  industry,  concurred 
to  make  his  work  as  gainful  as  possible,  bating  the  possible  out- 
come of  speculative  ventures.  He  is  a  large  and  successful  farmer, 
and  a  merchant  with  a  fine  volume  of  business.  He  was  a  pioneer 
in  the  roller  milling  business.  As  a  manufacturer  of  flour  he  is 
widely  known  and  popular.  He  has  been  one  of  those  active  men 
who  have  contributed  so  much  to  placing  North  Carolina  on  the 
career  of  prosperity  that  marks  this  period  as  the  most  interesting, 
industriallv,  in  her  history.  He  is  interested  as  a  director  and 
Stockholder  in  the  bank  of  Fayetteville,  a  stockholder,  director  and 
Vice-President  of  the  Sanford  Cotton  Mills,  a  stockholder  in  the 
Columbia  Manufacturing  Company  at  Ramseur,  North  Carolina, 
and  the  Elmira  Cotton  Mills  in  Burlington,  North  Carolina. 

Tracing  the  service  and  success  that  have  made  up  so  much  of 
his  life  back  to  the  principles  and  methods  which  led  on  to  them 
is  a  task  as  interesting  as  it  is  instructive.  He  built  upon  sure 
foundations.  A  conscientious  desire  to  do  his  duty  to  his  fellow- 
men,  to  himself  and  to  his  God  have  been  prominent  and  conspicu- 


JOHN  McMillan  McIver  235 

ous  without  ostentation.  Three  subjects  for  practice  in  composi- 
tion assigned  to  him  when  he  was  a  student  at  Melville  Academy 
by  Doctor  Alexander  Wilson  (Festina  lente.  make  haste  slowly; 
Obsia  Priiicipiis,  oppose  the  beginnings ;  Esse  Quam  Videri,  to  be 
rather  than  to  appear  to  be)  made,  he  says,  a  deep  impression  on 
him  and  has  had  much  to  do  in  shaping  both  his  religions  and 
business  life.  It  has  been  a  deep  conviction  with  him  that  the 
co5t  of  success  was  doing  his  best.  His  confidential  legal  adviser 
says  of  him,  "He  is  one  man  who  never  forgets  his  God  in  his 
business."  In  cases  actually  occurring  he  lias  always  readily  re- 
nounced the  employment  of  legal  advantages  with  gain,  and  chosen 
instead  an  equitable  procedure  with  loss. 

The  following  word  picture  portrays  in  some  measure  the  make 
up  of  the  man :  One  who  lives  largely  not  for  himself  but  for 
others ;  and  whose  pleasure  and  happiness  consists  to  an  excep- 
tional degree  in  contributing  to  the  happiness  of  others.  A  man 
of  singularly  sweet  and  amiable  disposition  and  retiring  in  his 
habits,  and  yet,  surprisingly,  a  successful  business  man  even  in 
this  day  of  strenuous  life  and  activity.  One  who  can  be  depended 
upon  at  all  times  and  never  be  found  wanting.  Of  martyr  spirit  to 
snffer  at  the  stake  for  conscience'  sake,  and  for  what  he  believes 
to  be  right.  Ever  ready  to  aid  liberally  in  any  and  every  move- 
ment in  church  or  State  for  the  good  of  his  fellows. 

A  Democrat  and  interested  in  politics  and  influential,  yet  in- 
tensely averse  to  office  holding;  a  Presbyterian  in  religion,  with 
the  most  cordial  regard  for  his  fellows  of  other  creeds ;  an  active 
man  in  the  conduct  of  large  and  varied  business  interests,  yet  liv- 
ing always  unobtrusively  and  retiringly  he  has  won  distinguished 
success  in  business,  and  wielded  a  silent  but  powerful  influence  for 
good  in  business,  social  and  religious  life. 

In  a  home  notable  for  its  atmosphere  of  culture  and  refinement, 
he  is  spending  his  days  as  a  representative  of  the  highest  ideal 
of  a  Christian  gentleman  and  successful  man  of  business  in  the  hfe 
of  Xorth  Carolina  as  seen  to-day. 

P.  R.  Law. 


T-  >Ir.-\V  YORK 


1  •  ---'"• 


WILLIE  PERSON  MANGUM  z^ 

— the  Presidency  of  the  Senate.  A  President  fro  tempore  of  the 
Senate  is  chosen  by  its  members  in  each  Congress.  His  duties  are 
nominal  only,  bnt  upon  the  death  or  promotion  of  the  Vice-Presi- 
dent he  became,  before  a  recent  law  changed  the  order  of  succes- 
sion, the  heir  apparent  to  the  Presidency. 

It  follows  then  that  while  Willie  P.  Mangum  was  President  of 
the  Senate,  1842-45,  and  was  next  in  succession  after  Tyler  to  the 
Presidency,  he  filled  the  highest  post  under  this  Governniait  ever 
attained  by  a  North  Carolinian  as  such. 

Willie  Person  Mangum,  lawyer,  legislator,  judge.  Congress- 
man, United  States  Senator  and  Prtsident  pro  tempore  of  the 
United  States  Senate,  was  born  in  Orange,  now  Durham,  County, 
North  Carohna,  May  10.  1793  (not  December  29,  1791,  as  is  some- 
times stated).  His  birthplace  was  near  but  not  at  the  site  of  his 
later  home,  the  present  L'mbra  post  office,  known  to  the  family 
as  Walnut  Hall,  and  during  his  life  as  Red  Mountain  (not  near 
the  present  town  of  Durham,  as  is  also  said). 

The  Mangums  were  seated  in  Sussex  and  adjoining  sections  of 
Virginia  early  in  the  eighteenth  century,  and  seem  to  have  been 
caught  by  the  last  waves  of  the  great  stream  of  migration  that 
swept  over  the  southern  border  of  that  State  into  North  Carolina 
for  a  hundred  years.  Tradition  has  it  that  the  family  is  Welch 
in  origin  and  that  the  original  form  of  the  name  was  Manghamis ; 
we  know  that  the  Irish  branch  still  spells  the  name  Mangham.  It 
is  believed  that  the  subject  of  this  sketch  is  descended  from  the 
Mangimis,  who  about  1730  to  1750  were  located  in  Albemarle 
Parish.  Sussex  County,  Virginia.  There  were  three  heads  of  fam- 
ilies there  at  that  time  with  this  surname,  William.  James.  John — 
presumably  brothers.  William  Mangum  and  his  wife  Mary  had 
four  sons:  James,  bom  January  2,  1734;  William,  born  May  16, 
1736;  Henry,  born  January  24,  1773  (sic,  error  for  1737-38?); 
Arthur,  born  May  2.  1743.  James  Mangum,  the  elder,  had  two 
sons,  William  and  James,  and  a  daughter,  Lucy;  John  had  a 
daughter,  Rebeckah  (Va.  Mag.  of  Hist,  and  Biog.,  July,  1894, 
p.   108). 

We  are  not  certain  as  to  the  exact  time  that  Arthur  Mangum, 


238  NORTH  CAROLINA 

grandfather  of  Willie  P.  Mangum,  and  believed  to  be  identical 
with  the  one  named  above,  came  into  North  Carolina ;  but  he  seems 
to  have  come  by  way  of  Warren  County,  and  perhaps  stepped  in 
Granville,  for  there  was  a  Mangum  family  in  that  county  as  early 
as  1757.  That  an  Arthur  Mangum  was  in  North  Carolina  in 
1763  we  learn  from  a  manuscript  note  made  by  Thomas  Person? 
** Bought  of  Arthur  Mangum  i  Barrel  com  @  9/6  Cash  he  Dr. 
to  2/6  for  Writeing  his  Deed  to  Orange  Co.  next  in  May,  Tuesday, 
6  Apr/'  (1763.)  And  again:  "Paid  Jos.  Langston  to  be  given 
to  Arthur  Mangum  on  acct.  of  a  Barrel  of  Com  10/.  Cash 
26  Ap." 

The  first  land  entries  by  Arthur  Mangum,  the  grandfather 
of  Judge  Mangum,  so  far  as  Orange  County  records  seem  to  show, 
date  from  1760.  Some  of  the  lands  taken  up  by  him  during 
the  next  few  years  remained  in  the  family  till  February,  1902. 
Arthur  Mangum  married  Lucy  Person.  She  was  a  niece  of 
Colonel  William  Person,  of  Granville  (1700-78)  and  as  such  a 
cousin  of  General  Thomas  Person.  I  have  not  found  the  name 
of  her  father.  She  was  probably  the  daughter  of  that  Mary  Person 
whose  will  was  probated  in  Granville  County  Court  August  11, 
1761.  Arthur  Mangum  died  between  March  12  and  24,  1789;  his 
wife  remained  a  widow  for  forty  years  and  died  about  1829,  aged 
about  ninety-two.  They  had  children  as  follows,  order  uncertain: 
(i)  William  Person  Mangum,  father  of  Willie  Person  Mangum; 
(2)  Arthur,  who  married  Dicey  Carrington,  daughter  of  John  Car- 
rington ;  he  died  about  1813,  aged  about  forty,  and  left  "a  house 
full"  of  children,  who  migrated  to  Georgia,  Mississippi  and  Miss- 
ouri; (3)  Willie,  who  was  very  handsome  and  a  merchant,  died 
young  and  unmarried ;  (4)  Sally  married  Sion  Bobbitt  and  went  to 
Tennessee; .  (5)  Holly,  who  married  Cozart;  one  of  her  sons, 
William,  was  a  large  merchant  in  Columbus,  Mississippi;  another, 
Herbert,  was  a  merchant  in  Georgia ;  another,  James,  was  a  planter 

in  Granville;   (6)   Chaney  married  Mangum,  and  was  the 

mother  of  Colonel  Ellison  Mangum  and  grandmother  of  Captain 
Addison  Mangum  and  of  Professor  A.  W.  Mangum;  (7)  Clary 
(or  Clara)  married  David  Parker,  a  famier  of  Granville;  Colonel 


WILLIE  I'EkSON  MANGUM  239 

Abner  Parker,  merchant;  Harrison  Parker,  planter;  and  David 
Parker,  later  of  Edgccomlw,  were  their  sons.  She  left  also  a 
daughter,  who  married  William  Honier,  father  of  James  H.  and 
Thomas  J.  Horner,  the  distinguished  teachers. 

William  Person  Mangum,  who  is  thonght  to  liave  been  the  old- 
est child  of  Arthur  Mangum.  was  born  about  1762.  He  married 
Catharine  (Kate)  Davis,  who  was  bom  on  the  Schuylkill  River 
in  Pennsj'lvania.  Her  father  migrated  to  Orange  County,  North 
Carolina,  when  she  was  about  four  years  old  and  there  he  died. 
William  Person  Mangum  was  a  farmer  and  merchant  and  spent  all 
his  life  in  Orange,  where  he  died  in  1837.  aged  seventy-five.  Hia 
wife  had  died  in  March,  1825.  This  couple  had  only  three  sons: 
Willie  Person,  the  oldest  and  subject  of  this  sketch;  (2) 
Priestley  Hinton.  noticed  in  the  sketch  of  his  son,  W.  P.  Mangum, 
Jr.;  (3)  Walter  Atvis,  born  in  Orange  County,  January  28,  1798; 
married  Miss  Eliza  P,  Bullock,  daughter  of  Doctor  Benjamin  Bul- 
lock, of  Granville;  removed  to  Mississippi  in  1832  and  became  a 
planter;  removed  to  Louisiana  in  1856  and  in  1863  to  Texas  as  a 
refugee ;  after  the  war  returned  to  Louisiana  and  died  there  Janu- 
ary 20,  1868.  He  left  a  large  family,  some  of  whom  have  at- 
tained distinction ;  numerous  descendants  are  itill  living-  in 
Texas. 

It  would  seem  that  Willie  Person  Mangum  came  to  his  feeling 
for  statecraft  from  his  grandmother's  family,  and  that  the  political 
mantel  of  his  distinguished  relative,  Thomas  Person,  rested  on  his 
shoulders,  for  his  father's  family  were  merchants  and  planters  and 
had  not  been  before  his  day  in  public  life.  He  received  his  pre- 
liminary education  in  part  at  the  hands  of  Thomas  M.  Flint,  a 
strolling  pedagogue;  in  part  at  the  Fayetteville  Academy  under 
Reverend  Colin  Mclver.  and  in  part  in  the  Raleigh  Academy  under 
Reverend  Doctor  McPheeters.  He  spent  some  time  also  as  a  clerk 
in  his  father's  store  and  was  graduated  at  the  University  of  North 
Carolina  in  1815. 

He  began  to  study  law  with  Honorable  Duncan  Cameron;  acted 
as  tutor  to  his  son,  the  late  Honorable  Paul  C.  Cameron,  and  was 
licensed    to    practice    January    10,    1817.      It    is    evident    that 


240  NORTH  CAROLINA 

he  was   successful   from  the   start.     He  writes  to  his  brother 
April  26,  1819: 

"I  have  made  a  good  deal  of  money  this  Spring,  say  upward  of  $1900 
in  actual  receipts  and  nearly  that  sum  in  good  bonds  and  accounts.  My 
prospects  in  the  practice  continue  to  grow  more  flattering. 

"Vou  know  that  I  have  made  a  considerable  purchase  in  Hajrwood.  I 
think  I  have  made  more  by  that  than  all  the  rest  of  the  labors  of  my 
life.  ...  In  one  case  of  Mrs.  Patty  Taylor,  I  have  secured  a  fee  at 
six  months  of  one  thousand  dollars  .  .  .  and  an  equal  share  with 
the  first  in  the  other  business  of  that  court  which  is  profitable." 

But  even  then  he  was  dreaming  dreams  of  political  preferment. 

"That  I  could  go  to  Congress  without  difficulty  I  entertain  no  doubt ** 
he  writes  in  the  same  letter.  **The  dangerous  diadem  has  flittered  before 
my  vision  and  ambition  frequently  lingers  with  delight  in  tracing  the  out- 
line of  the  delusion,  but  interest,  and  in  my  opinion  sound  judgment,  for- 
bid the  thought." 

But  even  then  he  was  in  politics.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
House  of  Commons  in  1818  and  1819  from  Orange  County; 
served  on  the  judiciary  and  education  committees;  strongly  ad- 
vocated the  organization  of  a  distinct  Supreme  Court  and  favored 
calling  a  Constitutional  Convention,  one  of  the  burning  questions 
of  that  day.  By  the  Legislature  of  1819  he  was  elected 
(December  22,  1819)  a  Judge  of  the  Superior  Court  of  Law  and 
Equity  to  succeed  Judge  Toomer,  resigned.  There  is  a  story  that 
he  was  the  candidate  of  his  old  instructor,  Judge  Cameron,  then  a 
member  of  the  State  Senate  from  Orange.  John  Stanly  had 
boasted  that  he  would  give  the  vacant  judgship  to  his  young  kins- 
man, George  E.  Badger.  Cameron's  first  candidate  was 
William  Norwood,  of  Hillsboro.  Finding  that  he  could  not  beat 
Stanly  with  Norwood,  young  Mangum  was  brought  out  and 
elected.  He  rode  one  of  the  eastern  circuits,  but  the  climate  did 
not  agree  with  him,  and  after  a  year  of  work  on  the  bench  he  re- 
signed, November,  1820,  and  returned  to  the  practice  of  law. 

In  1823  he  became  a  candidate  for  the  i8th  Congress 
(1823-25)  from  what  was  then  the  eighth  district,  composed  of 
Orange,  Person  and  Wake.    His  opponent  was  General  Daniel  L. 


WILLIE  PERSON  RANGUM  241 

Barringer,  a  resident  of  Raleigh.  The  election  was  held  in  August, 
1823,  for  until  1861  Congressional  elections  were  held  in  the  odd 
years  and  after  the  term  of  service  had  begun  in  March.  The 
candidates  fought  it  out  on  their  legislative  records  and  on  State 
issues.  The  main  ([uestions  were  the  proposed  amendment  to  the 
Constitution  making  the  representation  of  the  two  sections  equal — 
the  old  fight  between  the  sections.  Mangum  favored  such  an 
amendment  and  Barringer  avoided  it;  he  also  favored  the  bill 
which  required  the  banks  to  pay  specie  for  their  notes  while  Bar- 
ringer voted  on  both  sides.  Mangum  received  2523  votes;  Bar- 
ringer, 1729. 

Mangum  went  to  Congress  as  a  Republican,  and  in  the  Presi- 
dential campaign  of  1824  was  a  strong  supporter  of  Crawford. 
He  writes  Sclh  Jones,  of  Wake,  on  January  3,  1825  :  "I  feel  it  my 
duty  to  vote  for  Mr,  Crawford  as  long  as  he  has  the  remotest 
prospect  of  success."  The  North  Caroiina  Assembly  had  nom- 
inated Crawford,  but  the  State  in  1824  cast  her  vote  for  Jackson. 
When  the  election  came  up  in  the  House  of  Representatives  Man- 
gum voted  for  Crawford  and  so  did  tlie  State,  as  a  whole,  for 
A<Iams  received  but  a  single  vote  and  Jackson  but  two.  The  fol- 
lowers of  Adams  called  themselves  national  Republicans.  They 
contended  for  the  largest  latitude  in  the  construction  of  the  Con- 
stitution, favored  internal  improvements  and  encouraged  immigra- 
tion, advocated  protection,  gave  fishing  bounties  and  passed  navi- 
gation acts.  This  was  the  "American  system"  and  its  advocates 
formed  the  nucleus  of  the  Whig  Party.  On  the  other  hand  North 
Carolina  in  general  favored  the  strict  construction  views  of  Craw- 
ford, Jackson  and  the  Jefferson  Party.  It  is  believed  that  Man- 
gum's  vote  for  Crawford  instead  of  Jackson  made  him  unpopular 
at  home.  I  am  told  by  Major  William  A.  Graham,  who,  of  course, 
had  it  from  his  father,  that  strong  effort  was  necessary  to  defeat 
his  opponent  for  the  19th  Congress,  1825-27,  in  August, 
1825.  This  opponent  was  Josiah  Crudup,  a  skilful  and  versatile 
Baptist  preacher.  Mangum  is  credited  with  saying  that  Crudup 
was  the  most  formidable  candidate  he  ever  met  and  that  an  op-  ' 
portune  rain  which  prevented  Crudup  from  preaching  on  a  certain 


242  NORTH  CAROLINA 

occasion  was  all  that  saved  him.  He  won  by  a  bare  majority  of 
fifty-six  votes. 

During  these  two  terms  in  Congress  Mangum  served  on  the 
committee  on  commerce,  and  on  that  on  the  services  and  sacrifices 
of  LaFayette.  He  resigned  March  i8,  1826,  and  was  succeeded 
by  Daniel  L.  Barringer,  Democrat,  who  took  his  seat  December  4, 
1826. 

Mangum  was  on  August  18,  1826,  appointed  by  Governor  Bur- 
ton to  fill  an  unexpired  term  as  judge  of  the  Superior  Court  of 
Law  and  Equity.  The  term  for  which  he  was  appointed  expired 
the  same  year  and  his  failure  of  re-election  by  the  Assembly  of 
that  year  called  out  expressions  of  regret  from  Nat  Macon  and 
others.  In  1828  he  was  an  elector  on  the  Jackson-Calhoun  Ticket, 
showing  that  he  had  not  as  yet  accepted  the  principles  of  Adams, 
whose  re-election  was  advocated  in  North  Carolina  by  Gaston 
and  others.  Jackson  electors  were  chosen  in  North  Carolina 
(November  13,  1828).  Mangum  was  again  chosen  without  op- 
position a  judge  of  the  Superior  Court  (December  10,  1828),  to 
succeed  Rufiin.  He  served  in  this  capacity  through  1829  and 
into  the  Spring  of  1830  (later  than  April  3,  1830),  when  he  re- 
signed, presumably  to  enter  the  race  for  Senator. 

The  first  intimations  w^e  have  of  senatorial  aspirations  is  in 
a  letter  from  his  lifelong  friend,  Thomas  J.  Green,  who  writes 
him  May  24,  1828: 

"If  you  could  have  a  desire  to  return  to  the  Federal  city  in  a  higher  char- 
acter than  when  you  left  it,  go  to  our  next  Legislature  a  member.  A  word 
to  the  wise  is  sufficient." 

There  was  then  no  vacancy  in  the  Senate,  for  Macon  did  not 
resign  till  November  14,  1828,  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  Green's 
letter  was  in  anticipation  of  such  an  event,  which  was  probably 
expected.  Mangum  withdrew,  however,  in  favor  of  Iredell,  who 
received  the  appointment,  as  is  seen  from  the  following  letter  of 
General  Edward  Ward,  dated  Raleigh,  November  30,  1830: 

"The  friends  of  Judge  Donnel   [sic  ]  are  very  desirous  to  know  from 
you  whether  you  arc  to  be  a  candidate  at  the  present  session  of  the  Gen- 


WILLIE  PERSON  MANGUM  243 

eral  Assembly  for  a  seat  in  the  Senate  of  the  next  Congress  of  ihe  United 
Scatrs. 

"They  are  by  no  means  disposed  to  jeopardize  the  interests  of  the  Re- 
publican Party,  by  starling,  or  having  two  candidates  of  the  same  party  to 
run,  when  in  all  probability  the  opposite  party  will  start  a  candidate  to 
defeat  Ihcir  object ;  jour  declining  to  run  two  years  ago,  when  the  Eastern 
Republicans  were  anxious  to  start  you,  was  Ihe  cause  of  Judge  Donnel's 
being  brought  forward  at  the  last  session,  and  many  of  his  friends  arc 
anxious  to  run  him  again,  but  they  are,  however,  anxious  to  have  a  friendly 
understanding  with  you  upon  the  subject." 

Iredell  had  been  elected  to  fill  out  Macon's  term,  which  expired 
March  3,  1831,  In  1830  Mangum  was  a  candidate  for  the  full 
term,  as  were  also  Governor  Owen,  Judge  Donnell,  R.  D.  Spaight 
and  Governor  Stokes.  Mangiim  was  thought  to  be  the  most  avail- 
able candidate  against  what  was  characterized  as  the  "Spaight 
faclion,"  composed  of  R,  D.  Spaight,  Charles  Fisher,  R.  M. 
Saunders  and  Joseph  li.  Bryan  as  leaders,  followed  by  Stokes, 
Monlgomcry,  O'Brien,  Sleadman,  Bynum  and  others.  It  was 
thought  that  Donnell  would  prevail  over  Owen  in  the  race  for 
Senator  and  that  Spaight  would  heat  him  for  Governor  (letter  of 
\V.  M.  Snced,  November  18,  1830). 

December  2,  1830,  Charles  L.  Hinton  writes  Mangum: 
"There  was  no  general  concert,  there  was  a  rebellion  on  the  part  of  the 
friends  of  Owen,  Donnel  [sk],  Fisher  and  Jesse  Spaight  with  a  hope  of 
bringing  each  on  the  turf.  .  .  .  Your  angry  feelings  toward  Governor 
Owen  I  know  can  never  be  allayed.  I  regret  the  occurrence.  If,  as  you 
say,  he  h,is  ever  been  your  enemy  he  has  deceived  me,  for  during  the  sum- 
mer he  frequently  expressed  his  preference  for  you  and  unwillingness  lo 

The  fight  turned  more  and  more  on  the  defeat  of  Owen.  On 
December  3d  Romulus  M.  Saunders  gives  further  news  of  the 
battle : 

'"Your  letter  directing  the  withdrawal  of  your  name  was  not  received 
until  Owen's  nomination  and  two  ballots,  having  you  lied  at  89.  Yesterday 
Owen  had  gj.  you  96,  14  blanks.  ,  ,  ,  The  intention  is  if  you  wish 
to  decline  a  further  ballot  and  Donnel  [sic]  or  some  other  person  cannot 
succeed  (o  postpone  until  the  next  session,  ,  .  .  Both  your  sayings  and 
your  letters  have  been  misrepresented.    The  letter  you  wrote  to  Governor 


244  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Owen  has  been  used  as  a  menace  or  challenge,  and  he  has  not  thought 
proper  to  call  either  for  General  Ward's  letter  or  Colonel  Hinton's  .  .  . 
Donnel  and  friends  are  prepared  to  co-operate  in  whatever  shall  be  deemed 
advisable.  Fisher  .  .  .  feels  confident  your  presence  and  nothing  dst 
can  save  us  from  Owen*s  election.  I  view  his  success  under  existing  cir- 
cumstances as  fatal  to  our  future  prospects." 

It  seems  that  Owen  was  finally  induced  to  withdraw  in  favor 
of  Mangum,  and  the  latter  was  chosen  Senator.  I  have  not  learned 
with  exactness  the  reason  for  his  anger  with  Owen  save  that  it 
grew  out  of  the  bitterness  of  this  campaign.  But  on  December  ist, 
in  letters  to  General  Ward  and  Charles  L.  Hinton,  Mangum  took 
occasion  to  implicate  Owen's  '^political  principles  in  the  strongest 
and  most  unequivocal  manner,"  and  with  that  open  frankness  and 
chivalrous  disregard  of  personal  consequences  that  characterized 
him  all  his  life  he  at  once  notified  Owen  of  his  letters  and  avowed 
his  willingness  to  give  him  the  satisfaction  then  usual  among  gen- 
tlemen. Owen  considered  this  a  challenge  and  accepted.  Louis  D. 
Henry  was  his  second,  while  W.  M.  Sneed,  State  Senator  from 
Granville,  acted  for  Mangum;  but  through  the  mediation  of 
D.  F.  Caldwell  and  an  intelligence  as  sensible  as  unusual,  the  sec- 
onds appeased  the  wrath  of  the  principals,  and  later  they  became 
political  friends. 

It  will  be  seen  that  Mangum  was  elected  as  a  Republican  or 
Democrat,  or  follower  of  Jackson.  He  had  been  a  Jackson  elector 
in  1828,  and  this  contest  for  Senator  seems  to  have  been  a  sort  of 
friendly  squabble  among  the  leaders  of  the  Republican  Party. 
Mangum  had  as  yet  developed  few  of  those  tendencies  which  after- 
ward led  him  into  the  Whig  Party. 

His  first  important  speech  on  the  floor  of  the  Senate  seems  to 
have  been  that  on  the  TariflF  of  1832.  His  sympathies  were  with 
the  South  on  that  question,  and  he  was  by  no  means  in  love  with 
Jackson's  constitutional  views,  as  announced  in  his  famous  proc- 
lamation to  the  people  of  South  Carolina ;  but  while  his  sympathies 
drew  him  in  that  direction  he  was  not  a  nullifier,  although  often 
so  charged  by  his  enemies.  In  January,  1832,  Mr.  Clay  proposed 
the  removal  of  all  duties  from  articles  which  did  not  come  in  com- 


WILLIE  PERSON  MANGUM  245 

petition  with  similar  articles  produced  in  this  country.  The  effect, 
and  the  purpose,  ivas  to  make  necessary  higher  rates  of  duty  upon 
the  articles  which  could  be  or  were  produced  by  our  people. 
Mangum  said  in  part ; 

"Sir,  the  Slate  from  which  I  come  regards  ihis  struggle  with  deep  solici- 
tude, and  the  most  patriotic  anxiety.  .  .  ,  She  deprecates  the  pres- 
ent system  of  taxation  as  especially  sectional  and  selfish,  and  as  ETTadu- 
slly  undermining  the  fabric  of  our  noble  institutions.  She  has  hitherto 
ac*iuiesced  in  this  policy  with  a  dignified  moderation,  looking  to  the 
extinguishment  of  the  public  dclit  as  a  period  favorable  to  the  alleviation 
of  her  burdens,  and  as  a  rectification  of  the  systems.  .  .  .  What  is  the 
effect  of  the  resolution  upon  the  table?  It  is  to  aggravate  the  evil.  It  is 
(o  tax  the  necessaries  of  the  poor  man.  wltiic  the  rich  man  may  revel  in 
luxuries  as  free  from  taxation  as  the  air  he  breathes.  .  .  .  The  only 
feature  of  mitigation  is  to  be  found  in  the  reduction  of  revenue.  This, 
however,  is  more  than  counterbalanced  by  the  increased  inequality  in  the 
action  of  the  system." 

He  controverted  the  claim  of  constitutional  authority  to  tax 
imported  foreign  goods  for  purposes  of  protection.  This  right  was 
claimed  under  tlie  clause  "to  regulate  commerce  with  foreign  na- 
tions." and  under  this  clause  they  assumed  the  right  to  annihilate 
commerce  by  the  imposition  of  prohibitory  duties,  lie  also  dis- 
sented from  the  position  taken  by  Jackson  in  his  annual  message 
in  December,  18,^0.  in  which  it  was  claimed  thai  as  the  States  be- 
fore the  Constitution  was  adopted  had  absolute  control  of  the  sub- 
ject, and  as  the  whole  authority  to  regulate  commerce  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  general  government  by  that  instrument.  Congress 
therefore  possessed  all  the  power  over  the  stibject  which  the  States 
had  formerly  possessed. 

.■\fter  pointing  out  the  inequalities  in  the  working  of  the  tariff 
and  its  disastrous  effects  on  the  South  in  piling  up  money  in  the 
bands  of  manufacturers  at  the  North,  he  concludes: 

"It  is  money — money — give  me  money  or — sir,  tf  I  could  coin  my  heart 
into  gold,  and  it  were  lawful  in  the  sight  of  Heaven,  I  would  pray  God 
to  give  me  firmness  to  do  it,  to  save  Ihis  Union  from  the  fearful — the 
dreadful   shock  which   I  verily  believe  impends." 

Of  this  speech  Mangum  writes  to  his  wife  (February  nth): 


246  NORTH  CAROLINA 

"I  was  not  exactly  pleased  with  my  own  effort,  yet  I  have  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  the  almost  universal  opinion  of  the  Senate  is  that  it  was  elo- 
quent and  powerful." 

Mangum  was  now  leaning  away  from  Jackson,  but  he  was  not 
one  of  those  who  voted  against  the  confirmation  of  Van  Buren  as 
Minister  to  England.  He  spoke  on  the  bill,  commonly  called  the 
Force  Bill,  or  bill  to  collect  the  revenue  in  South  Carolina,  on 
January  22d,  and  writes  his  wife  February  2,  1833: 

"We  are  deeply  engaged  in  the  Senate  upon  South  Carolina  affairs.  I 
fear  we  shall  make  war  upon  her.    I  am  opposed  to  all  harsh  measures.'* 

It  was  thus  that  Manguni's  alienation  from  the  old  Jacksonian 
republicanism  was  developed:  i.  He  was  hostile  to  Jackson's 
tariff  system,  and  also  to  that  of  Clay.  He  believed  in  a  tariff 
for  revenue  only;  and  indeed  Clay  at  that  time  was  forced  by 
stress  of  circumstances  to  abandon  protection  and  come  round  to 
his  position.  In  his  anxiety  to  prevent  impending  war  between 
the  sections,  Clay,  after  a  conference  with  Calhoun,  drew  a  bill 
which  his  friends  first  put  through  the  House  of  Representatives 
and  which  he  had  no  difficulty  in  putting  through  the  Senate^ 
which  by  a  gradual  process,  running  through  nine  years,  com- 
pletely abandoned  protection  and  brought  the  duties  down  to  the 
revenue  standard  of  20  per  cent,  ad  valorem.  As  agreed,  Cal- 
houn voted  for  this  bill,  and  it  became  a  law  March  2,  1833,  and 
it  settled  the  sectional  troubles  of  that  day.  2.  He  opposed  Jack- 
son's policy  of  coercing  South  Carolina,  while  himself  opposed 
nullification.  3.  In  1834  came  up  the  question  of  the  United 
States  Bank,  its  rechartcr,  the  removal  of  the  deposits,  the  cen- 
sure on  Jackson  and  Benton's  Expunging  resolution.  He  had 
long  seen  the  drift  in  the  matter  of  the  bank  and  had  proclaimed 
his  hostility  to  Jackson  as  early  as  January  19,  1832,  in  a  letter  to 
William  Gaston : 

"I  think  it  is  to  be  very  much  regretted  that  the  United  States  Bank  has 
come  before  Congress  at  this  session.  I  regard  the  continuance  of  that  in- 
stitution as  of  almost  indispensable  necessity. 

"By  deferring  its  application  to  next  session  I  have  no  doubt,  with  but 
slight  modification  (to  save  appearances),  it  would  have  met  with  the  Ex- 


WILLIE  PERSON  MANGUM  247 

tcutivc  favor.  Il  is  now  nmrc  ihan  doubtful  wlicliicr  il  will — and  the  whole 
may  ultimalely  lake  the  appearance  of  a  (rial  of  strength  between  General 
Jackson  and  the  bank.  In  [hat  case  the  bank  will  go  down.  For  General 
Jackson's  popularity  is  of  a  sort  not  to  be  shaken  at  present.  1  hope  for 
the  best  results  from  the  wise  and  patriotic  counsels  of  Mr.  McLane." 

4.  In  the  Slate  there  was  also  bitter  warfare  over  the  question 
of  instruction  of  Senators.  This  principle  Mangiini  denied,  while 
Bedford  Brown,  his  colleague  in  the  Senate  (who  had  succeeded 
John  Branch),  accepted.  In  fact,  these  two  Senators  came  more 
and  more  to  represent  the  two  wings  into  which  the  old  Rcptibli- 
can  Party  was  sphtting  in  North  Carohna  as  elsewhere.  In  1834 
they  canvassed  the  State  on  the  subject  of  instruction.  They 
aroused  great  interest  and  some  excitement.  The  partizans  of 
eadi  vied  wilh  their  opponents  in  giving  the  biggest  public  din- 
ners and  forming  the  largest  processions.  Brown  stood  for  the 
strict  construction  idea,  which  supported  Jackson  and  developed 
into  the  modem  Democratic  Party.  As  we  have  seen,  Mangiim 
U'as  more  of  a  latitudinarian,  anti-Jackson,  pro-bank,  and  later 
came  lo  support  Clay.  Out  of  this  latter  class  grew  the  Whig 
Party.  Besides  Clay  and  Mangum,  it  numbered  among  its  adher- 
ents Preston  and  McDuffie  of  South  Carolina ;  Poindexter  of  Mis- 
sissippi. Berrien  of  Georgia,  Bell  of  Tennessee  and  others.  In 
North  Carolina  it  claimed  Badger.  Graham,  Gaston,  the  Galeses 
and  others.  Hugh  L.  White,  representing  the  hostility  to  Van 
Biircti,  Jackson's  political  heir,  was  the  candtcJate  al  this  st'tH  ttrror- 
ganized  party  for  President  in  1836,  and  Mangum  was  freely 
talked  of  as  his  running  mate. 

The  tendency  to  party  cleavage  in  Mangum's  career  was 
accentuated  and  confirmed  by  the  bank  struggle.  The  Whig 
Parly,  of  which  we  may  now  begin  to  speak,  with  the  help  of 
Calhotin,  concentrated  their  forces  in  opposition  to  Jackson.  The 
United  States  Bank  was  selected  as  the  subject  over  which  the 
trial  of  strength  should  be.  The  bank  had  never  been  popular  in 
North  Carolina,  but  under  the  leadership  of  Mangum,  Gaston  and 
others  it  gaine<l  ground,  and  branch  banks  were  established.  In 
fact,  Iredell  writes  Mangum  February  4,  1832:  "Whether  right 


248  NORTH  CAROLINA 

or  wrong,  that  bank  is  at  this  time  very  popular  in  our  State ;  I 
believe,  indeed  I  know,  it  has  done  us  vast  good,  and  as  yet  we 
have  felt  no  evils  from  it."  Calhoun  allied  himself  with  Benjamin 
Watkins  Leigh  in  Virginia  and  Mangum  in  North  Carolina,  not 
only  because  they  were  representatives  of  the  pro-bank  idea,  but 
also  because  they  represented  the  opposition  to  receiving  instruc- 
tions from  the  Assembly,  and  the  party  in  those  States  which  stood 
out  against  the  tyranny  and  extra-constitutional  assumptions  of 
Jackson.  Mangum  voted  for  the  resolution  of  censure  on  Jackson 
for  removing  the  deposits,  passed  March  28,  1834,  and  refused  to 
vote  for  Benton's  resolution  to  expunge  the  censure.  The  North 
Carolina  Legislature  of  1834-35  was  Democratic  or  pro- Jackson, 
and  hence  opposed  to  Mangum.  It  availed  itself  of  the  oppor- 
tunity offered  and  instructed  him  to  vote  for  the  Expunging  reso- 
lution (North  Carolina  acts,  1834-35,  p.  95).  These  instructions, 
with  a  bitter  arraignment  of  the  party  in  power,  Mangum  refused 
to  obey.  He  said  that  in  reference  to  the  instructions  he  would 
avail  himself  of  the  occasion  barely  to  say  that  he  should  not  con- 
form to  them.  He  should  vote  against  the  Expunging  resolution. 
The  Legislature  had  no  right  to  require  him  to  become  the  instru- 
ment of  his  own  personal  degradation.  He  repelled  the  exercise 
of  so  vindictive  a  power ;  and  when  applied  to  himself  he  repelled 
it  with  scorn  and  indignation.  The  members  of  the  Legislature 
were  servants  and  representatives  of  the  people.  He  was  likewise 
one.  That  they  were  disposed  to  guard  with  jealousy  the  honor 
of  the  State,  it  was  not  his  province  to  discuss  or  question.  He, 
likewise,  felt  it  his  duty  to  guard  the  honor  of  the  State,  and  not 
less  to  guard  his  own  personal  honor;  both,  in  his  con- 
ception, imperiously  required  him  to  disregard  the  resolutions; 
and,  that  point  being  settled  in  his  mind,  he  trusted  no  one 
who  knew  him  would  entertain  a  doubt  as  to  his  course  on  this 
subject. 

His  course  in  the  Senate  was  applauded  by  his  political  friends 
in  the  State  and  denounced  by  his  opponents  (including^  Brown, 
his  colleague),  but  the  weight  of  opinion  in  the  State,  so  far  at 
least  as  it  found  expression  in  the  form  of  memorials  to  Con- 


WILLIE  PERSON  MANGUM  249 

gress,  seems  to  have  been  decidedly  pro-bank  and  in  favor  of 
Manguni. 

In  1836  came  up  for  consideration  Jackson's  scheme  of  specie 
payments.  Mangimi  seems  to  have  been  rather  uncertain  as  to 
the  proper  stq>s,  but  even  then  saw  the  growing  danger  from  cor- 
porations. He  said  on  the  specie  payments  matter:  That  the 
measure  contemplated  an  important  change  in  tlie  currency  of 
the  country,  and  he  preferred  it  should  he  left  in  charge  of  its 
friends,  who  better  understood  it.  He  was  perfectly  ready  to 
vote  for  it,  if  it  came  recommended  by  the  gentlemen  from  the 
new  States ;  and  he  was  willing  to  do  so  because  he  looked  upon 
it  to  be  a  remedy  against  speculation  in  the  public  lands;  and 
because  it  might  possibly  bring  about  a  sounder  state  in  the  circu- 
lating medium.  They  might  be  chimeras,  but  he  believed  that  all 
these  wealthy  corporate  institutions  were  inimical  to  a  spirit  of 
liberty,  which  he  preferred  to  all  the  wealth  and  splendor  of  the 
great  cities.  Banks,  railroads,  stock  companies  of  every  descrip- 
tion, might  be  useful,  but  he  was  opposed  to  them  all,  because, 
in  his  opinion,  they  were  inconsistent  with  the  true  spirit  of  lib- 
erty. On  another  occasion  he  opposed  pving  pre-emption  rights 
to  si^irattcrs  on  the  pttblic  domain  in  the  Wtsf. 

The  campaign  of  1836  was  conducted  in  North  Carolina  on  the 
L'nited  States  Bank,  nullification  and  the  instruction  of  Senators. 
The  Legislature  chosen  was  at  first  Whig,  but  Muse  of  Pasquotank 
resigned  and  was  succeeded  by  a  Democrat.  This  threw  the  Legis- 
lature into  the  Democratic  camp,  and  Mangum,  interpreting  this 
as  a  condemnation  of  his  course,  resigned  (last  of  November  or 
first  of  December,  1836)  and  was  succeeded  by  Robert  Strange, 
a  Democrat,  who  took  his  seat  December  15,  1836. 

In  1837  the  eleven  electoral  votes  of  South  Carolina,  which 
Calhoun  was  said  to  have  carried  "in  his  vest  pocket,"  were  given 
to  Manguni  for  President.  This,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  Mangum 
had  supported  some  of  the  policies  of  the  great  South  Carolinian, 
raised  a  howl  in  the  Democratic  papers  that  there  had  been  a  cor- 
rupt bargain  between  the  two.  Of  this  there  is  no  evidence. 
There  is  in  fact  little  evidence  that  the  vote  of  South  Carolina  was 


.250  NORTH  CAROLINA 

due  more  to  the  action  of  Calhoun  than  of  William  C.  Preston, 
his  Whig  colleague  in  the  Senate,  a  personal  friend,  and  for  whom 
Mangum  named  his  only  son  (cf.  Dodd's  Macon,  335-397)- 

After  his  resignation  from  the  Senate  in  1836  Mangum  retired 
to  his  plantation  and  returned  to  the  law ;  but  politics  was  to  him 
as  the  breath  of  his  nostrils.  He  was  no  less  in  public  life,  though 
not  in  public  office;  in  1837  he  declined  to  become  a  candidate 
for  the  House  of  Representatives,  though  strong  pressure  was 
brought  to  bear  upon  him ;  but  in  1840  he  was  sent  to  the  State 
Senate  from  Orange  County.  He  was  chairman  of  the  Commit- 
tee on  Education  and  assisted  in  drawing  an  act  to  provide  public 
schools  for  the  State.  Although  since  revised  and  altered,  the 
Act  of  1840  is  in  reality  the  basis  of  the  common  school  system  of 
North  Carolitia  to-day  (see  Weeks's  "Beginning  of  the  Common 
School  System  in  the  South"  in  Report  United  States  Commis- 
sioner of  Education,  1896-97,  p.  1422). 

In  the  meantime  the  organization  of  the  Whig  Party  was  being 
perfected.  It  was  composed  of  men  with  many  different  shades 
of  political  belief  and  with  very  different  political  antecedents,  but 
all  were  drawn  together  by  the  particular  hope  of  defeating  the 
Locofos,  as  the  \'an  Buren  branch  of  the  Democratic  Party  was 
called.  The  name  Whig,  so  Clay  explained,  was  generic  and  was 
expressly  adopted  to  embrace  men  of  all  political  opinions.  In 
1839  this  newly  fonned  party  met  in  convention  in  Harrisbui^  to 
nominate  candidates  for  President  and  \'ice-President.  Mangum 
was  a  member  and  went  to  the  convention  as  a  friend  of  Oav.  It 
was  a  time  when  both  North  and  South  had  to  be  propitiated  in 
the  matter  of  nominations;  when  the  nomination  for  President 
went  to  Harrison,  Clay's  chances  were  gone.  Mangum  thought 
that  Clay  had  been  unfairly  treated  and  that  his  own  acceptance 
of  the  second  place  would  prove  him  untrue  to  his  friend,  espe- 
cially as  he  was  also  a  member  of  the  convention.  This  was  his 
reply  in  substance  to  a  committee  which  asked  him  to  accept  the 
secontl  place.  The  committee  went  to  him  three  times  and  urged 
the  place  upon  him.  hut  their  solicitations  were  unheeded.  This 
is  the  report  that  comes  to  me  of  the  matter  from  his  family,  and 


WILLIE  PERSON  MANGUM  251 

I  have  found  contemporary  e\-idence  in  Niles's  Register  which 
confirms  this  account.  The  family  account  says  further  that  when 
Mangum's  name  was  under  consideration  Governor  Owen,  who 
was  president  of  the  convention,  remarked,  "We  have  better  things 
in  store  for  Mr.  Mangum."  This  would  imply  that  the  North 
Carolina  delegation  was  not  a  unit  in  his  support,  which  we  learn 
also  from  other  sources,  and  this  no  doubt  had  its  weight  in 
defeating  any  aspirations  he  may  have  dierished.  On  the  other 
hand.  Dr.  Lyon  G.  Tyler,  son  of  President  Tyter,  claims  that 
his  father  was  from  the  first  the  choice  of  the  convention,  while 
Henry  A.  Wise,  in  his  uncritical  biography  of  Tyler,  "Seven 
Decades  of  the  Union"  (pp.  158.  161,  169),  claims  that  Tyler's 
nomination  had  been  settled  long  in  advance. 

The  question  of  instruction  of  Senators  had  now  received  a 
new  Inm  in  North  Carolina.  Mangum  had  been  instructed  in 
1834  to  vote  for  Benton's  Expunging  resolution  and  bad  refused 
to  do  so  or  to  resign,  and  this  had  brought  him  into  sharp  conflict 
with  Bedford  Brown,  his  colleague,  as  we  have  seen.  After  his 
resignation.  Brown  and  Strange,  his  successor,  voted  for  Benton's 
resolution  (passed  January  16.  1837),  The  Xorth  Carolina 
Assembly  of  1838  was  Whig.  It  censured  Brown  and  Strange 
for  voting  for  the  Expunging  resolution  and  then  instructed  them 
to  oppose  Van  Buren's  sub-treasury  system,  to  advocate  a  division 
of  the  proceeds  from  the  sale  of  public  lands  among  the  States 
according  to  population,  and  to  endeavor  to  secure  reform  in  the 
public  expenditures  and  a  reduction  of  taxes  (December  8,  1838). 
The  Senators  were  bnih  Democrats,  and  in  a  letter,  dated  Decem- 
ber 31,  1838,  claimed  not  to  understand  the  purport  of  the  cen- 
sure and  resolutions  of  the  Assembly.  Their  resignations  were 
finally  forwarded  during  the  Harrison-Van  Buren  campaign  in 
1840  and  caused  considerable  excitement. 

In  that  year  the  State  went  with  the  Whigs.  Mangum  was 
re-elected  to  the  Senate  as  a  Whig  to  succeed  Brown,  and  took 
his  seat  December  9,  1840;  William  A.  Graham,  also  a  Whig,  suc- 
ceeded Strange  an<l  took  his  seat  December  10.  As  Brown's  term 
expired  March  4,  1841,  Mangum  was  chosen  to  fill  the  full  term 


252  NORTH  CAROLINA 

beginning  on  that  date,  and  so  served  continuously  by  re-elections 
from  December  9,  1840,  to  March  3,  1853.  During  his  senatorial 
temis  he  served  on  the  committees  on  roads  and  canals,  pensions, 
foreign  relations,  judiciary,  militia.  District  of  Columbia,  finance 
and  as  chairman  of  the  committee  on  naval  affairs  in  1841.  In 
general  he  advocated  the  policies  of  the  Whig  Party.  The  WTiigs 
repealed  Van  Buren's  Independent  Treasury  or  sub-treasury 
and  passed  an  act  establishing  a  new  Bank  of  the  United  States, 
which  was  vetoed  by  Tyler.  They  then  passed  an  act  for  a  fiscal 
corporation  which  was  to  have  the  functions  of  a  bank,  and  the 
draft  of  which  had  been  submitted  to  Tyler.  This  act  he  also 
vetoed ;  he  was  then  read  out  of  the  Whig  Party.  After  these 
failures  Mangum  favored  depositing  the  public  money  in  State 
banks,  regulated  by  law,  and  said  that  not  one  Whig  in  five  thou- 
sand in  North  Carolina  was  opposed  to  a  national  bank.  He 
opposed  the  Exchequer  Board  scheme,  devised  by  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury.  This  Board  was  to  consist  of  three  men  who 
were  to  have  charge  of  the  finances.  It  was  denounced  with  great 
severity  by  Mangum  and  others  and  defeated.  He  regarded  it  as 
placing  the  public  purse  as  well  as  the  sword  in  the  hands  of  the 
President. 

On  Tyler's  accession  to  the  Presidency,  Samuel  L.  Southard 
of  New  Jersey,  who  had  been  previously  chosen  President  of  the 
Senate  pro  tempore,  became  its  regular  presiding  officer  and  as 
such  acting  Vice-President.  Southard  resigned  May  3,  1842, 
and  on  May  31st  Mangum  was  chosen  his  successor.  He  continued 
to  occupy  this  position  till  March  4,  1845 1  '^  was  he  who  that  day 
inaugurated  the  practice  of  turning  back  the  hands  of  the  clock  in 
order  to  lengthen  the  official  day. 

In  1844  the  Whigs  opposed  the  immediate  annexation  of  Texas 
and  rejected  Tyler's  treaty  on  that  subject;  in  1846  Mangum 
strongly  opposed  the  attitude  of  the  country  on  the  Oregon  Ques- 
tion, which  threatened  to  involve  us  in  a  war  with  England;  he 
also  opposed  the  war  with  Mexico.  In  1847  ^^  was  offered  the 
nomination  for  President  bv  the  executive  committee  of  the  Native 
American  Party  of  Pennsylvania;  in  1848  he  was  much  talked  of 


WILLIE  PERSON  MANGUM  253 

as  a  running  mate  to  Judge  McLean  of  Ohio,  who  was  being  con- 
sideretl  for  the  Presidency:  again  In  1852  he  could  have  had  the 
Whig  nomination  for  Vice-President,  but  because  of  the  temper 
of  the  people  in  North  CaroHna  decHned. 

It  will  be  noted  thai  at  the  time  of  Mangum's  election  to  tlie 
highest  office  in  the  gift  of  the  Senate,  and  what  was  at  that  par- 
ticular time  but  one  remove  from  the  Presidency,  he  had  had  less 
than  seven  years  of  senatorial  life  in  all  and  had  been  returned  to 
the  Senate  less  than  two  years  before.  He  had  been  chaimian  of 
the  Senate  Committee  on  Naval  Affairs  in  1841 :  it  is  evident  that 
he  had  rapiilly  forged  ahead  and  had  in  a  very  short  time  taken 
high  rank  among  the  leaders  of  his  day.  This  position  of  leader- 
ship he  continued  to  hold.  He  was  not  a  frequent  speaker.  He 
did  his  work  outside  the  Senate  chamber  in  settling  disputes, 
shaping  policies  and  keeping  the  running  gear  of  the  party  in 
go<xl  order.  He  was  such  an  astute  political  manager  that  his 
political  enemies  were  even  inclined  to  regard  him  as  a  Machia- 
velli.  Clay  was  perhaps  his  warmest  personal  friend,  although  he 
was  hardly  less  intimate  with  Webster.  The  secret  of  his  power 
seems  lo  have  been  in  his  masterful  intellect,  his  dignity  and 
character.  He  never  neglected  his  duly;  was  a  thorough  parlia- 
mentarian and  was  never  uninformed  as  to  anything  pertaining 
to  his  station.     The   Senate  ranked  him  higher  than  his  own 

We  have  a  contemporary  estimate  of  him  as  a  presiding  officer. 
Caleb  Atwater  of  Ohio,  in  his  "Mysteries  of  Washington  City" 
(Washington,  1844),  says; 

"He  presides  in  the  Senate  and  occupies  the  Vice-President's  room  in 
the  Capitol.  He  is  a  man  above  the  common  size,  of  fair  complexion  and 
commanding  air.  ralher  grave  in  his  manners,  but  very  agreeabte  and  ap- 
pears to  be  kind-hearted.  His  voice  is  clear,  sufficiently  loud  and  distinct  to 
be  heard  all  over  the  Senate  chamber  and  its  gallery.  On  the  whole,  he  is, 
taking  him  all  in  all,  ihc  best  presiding  officer  Ihat  I  ever  saw  in  any  legis- 
lative assembly.  He  is  always  at  his  ease,  always  dignified  and  always 
afcrecablc.  His  appearance  is  that  of  a  man  about  forty  years  old.  He  is 
a  Whig,  unwavering  and  unflinching,  yet.  like  the  Kentucky  Senators,  not 
a  persecuting  Whig,  often  voting  to  confirm  men  in  offices  who  are  not 


254  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Whigs  or  anything  else — long.    He  appears  to  look  more  to  the  interests 
of  his  country  than  his  party."     (Page  131.) 

Alexander  H.  Stephens  said  he  had  great  influence  in  the 
Senate;  that  he  spoke  with  clearness,  conciseness,  terseness  and 
power  and  dealt  very  little  in  the  flowers  of  rhetoric  or  the  orna- 
ments of  oratory.  Hannibal  Hamlin  called  him  one  of  the  ablest 
men  of  his  time.  In  fact,  it  has  been  said  that  he  had  more 
influence  in  the  Senate  than  any  other  Southern  man  of  his 
dav. 

The  whole  of  Judge  Mangum's  life  was  spent  in  the  service  of 
his  State.  For  thirty-five  years,  1818  to  1853,  when  his  health 
had  already  failed,  to  be  followed  soon  after  by  a  disease  of  the 
spinal  column,  he  was  almost  constantly  in  the  public  service.  He 
was  so  passionately  devoted  to  the  Union  and  to  the  interests  of 
his  State  that  his  private  affairs,  had  it  not  been  for  the  business 
capacity  of  his  wife  and  daughter,  would  have  been  seriously 
impaired.  As  a  campaigner  he  has  seldom  had  an  equal  in  the 
State,  for  he  was  subtile  and  persuasive  and  skilful  as  a  dialecti- 
cian. His  superior  among  North  Carolina  speakers  has  never 
appeared.  In  the  day  of  great  orators  in  the  Senate  he  held  his 
own,  and  I  am  told  that  traditions  of  his.  fame  in  oratory  still 
linger  in  the  Senate  chamber  like  a  sweet  aroma  of  a  long- 
vanished  past ;  the  reputation  of  an  orator,  however,  does  not  con- 
sist in  the  things  that  men  remember  but  in  the  memory  of  the 
efl'ects  produced,  and  it  is  impossible  for  the  historian  to  transfer 
to  writing  the  persuasiveness  of  his  compelling  periods. 

He  was  for  many  years  a  trustee  of  the  University  of  North 
Carolina;  received  the  degree  of  A.B.  in  1815,  A.M.  in  1818,  and 
LL.D.  in  1845.  He  was  often  in  demand  as  a  commencement 
orator,  but  seems  to  have  carefully  avoided  such  engagements. 
He  was  a  Mason  and  an  Odd  Fellow ;  in  personal  appearance  was 
large,  being  over  six  feet  in  height  and  well  proportioned;  full' 
of  dignity  and  courtesy,  his  stateliness  was  noticeable  and  com- 
manding. He  was  successful  as  a  lawyer  and  judge,  and,  while 
a  man  of  si)lendid  accomplishment,  was  still  more  remarkable  for 
the   suggcstiveness   of   his   thought    (see   Tourgee's   "A    Royal 


WILLIE  PERSON  ilANGUM  253 

Genilcnian,"  for  a  pregnant  paragraph  on  this  phase  of  Southern 
character). 

On  ihe  more  personal  and  human  side  Mangum  was  the  hfe 
and  soul  of  a  dinner  party,  and  his  stories  were  full  of  pith  and 
point.  The  charm  of  his  conversation  was  extraordinary,  his 
sincerity,  his  mclhfluous  voice,  the  grace  and  dignity  of  his  per- 
sonal carriage,  his  affability  and  kindness,  bis  love  of  nature  in 
general  and  birds  in  particular,  his  unbounded  charity — were 
winning  qnalities  which  made  him  honored,  respected  and  loved. 

Of  his  kindness  in  particular  Judge  Edwin  G.  Reade  wrote  in 
1865  that  he  "was  always  interested  tn  the  young  and  in  the 
friendless.  It  was  characteristic  of  him;  whenever  he  could,  he 
made  them  his  companions  and  advised  them  and  praised  them, 
and  when  need  was  defended  them."  Of  his  powers  as  a  popular 
orator,  he  says:  "He  was  almost  all  his  life  in  the  public  coun- 
cils, and  no  man  of  his  day  was  esteemed  wiser.  But  his  most 
interesting  exhibitions  were  before  his  own  people  as  a  popular 
orator.  It  was  then  that  his  commanding  person,  his  rich,  flowing 
language,  his  clarion  voice,  his  graceful  gesticulation  and  his 
genial  humor,  made  him  almost  irresistible.  No  one  ever  tired  of 
listening  to  him.  He  never  let  himself  down,  was  never  afraid  of 
overshooting  his  audience." 

And  in  more  recent  years  the  late  Daniel  R.  Goodloe  wrote : 

'"As  presiding  officer  lie  discharged  ils  duties  with  distinguished  ability 
and  coiirlesy.  and  received  the  unanimous  thanks  of  the  body.  He  be- 
came an  ardent  friend  of  Mr.  Clay,  and  in  1852  took  an  active  pari  in 
tiringing  out  General  Scott  to  succeed  General  Taylor, 

"Mr.  Mangum  was  an  admirable  conversationalist.  My  friend,  John 
B.  Fry.  who  is  a  devoietl  admirer  of  Mr,  Clay,  whom  he  knew  intimately, 
ns  he  did  Mr,  Mangum,  thinks  the  latter  excelled  the  great  Kentuekian  in 
thii  accomplishment,  I  knew  him  well,  and  I  have  never  met  his  equal 
in  this  regard,  taking  him  all  in  all ;  for  he  never  forgot  to  listen,  as  well 
as  10  talk,  which  most  superior  men  who  are  good  talkers  are  apt  to  do, 

"Judge  Mangum  was  my  best  friend,  to  whom  I  am  greatly  indebted  for 
kindness.  I  came  here  in  1844  in  search  of  employment.  He  found  it  for 
me  as  associate  editor  of  a  daily  Whig  paper.  The  Whig  Standard.  ...  At 
the  end  of  the  campaign  in  November,  I  owed  him  nearly  fifty  dollars; 
and  when  I  was  able  to  repay  him,  two  years  later,  he  was  unwilling  to 


256  NORTH  CAROLINA 

admit  that  I  owed  him  anything.  When  I  told  him  the  exact  amount,  and 
insisted  on  paying,  he  urged  me  to  go  and  buy  me  a  suit  of  clothes.  How- 
ever, I  persisted  in  forcing  the  money  on  him,  and  he  at  length  received 
it.  It  is  my  pleasure,  and  my  duty,  to  record  this  fact,  illustrative  of  the 
generous  nature  of  one  of  North  Carolina's  greatest  men." 

As  the  war  came  on  Judge  Mangum  naturally  sided  with  tiie 
South,  but  he  was  never  a  secessionist ;  in  fact,  he  was  a  strong 
Union  man  till  the  war  became  a  reality.  He  then  went  with  the 
South  and  sent  his  only  son  to  the  front.  The  death  of  this  son 
caused  a  return  of  the  paralysis  with  which  he  had  been  afflicted 
for  years,  and  he  died  at  his  country  seat,  Walnut  Hall,  then  in 
Orange,  now  in  Durham  County,  North  Carolina,  September  7, 
1861  (not  September  14th). 

Judge  Mangum  married  September  30,  1819,  Charity  Alston 
Cain  (1795-1873).  She  was  the  daughter  of  William  Cain  and 
of  Mrs.  Sarah  (Alston)  Dudley.  The  Cains  were  Irish  and  set- 
tled in  Maryland.  William  Cain  was  bom  in  Baltimore;  migrated 
to  Orange  County,  North  Carolina ;  became  a  prosperous  merchant 
and  planter ;  founded  a  large  and  well-known  family,  and  at  the 
first  meeting  of  the  trustees  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina, 
December  18,  1789,  made  to  that  body  a  larger  donation  than  they 
had  up  to  that  time  received  from  any  other  source.  Mrs.  Man- 
gum's  mother  was  the  daughter  of  James  Alston  (died  1761)  of 
Orange  and  granddaughter  of  John  Alston  (1673-1758),  founder 
of  the  North  Carolina  family  of  that  name  and  a  justice  of  the 
colonial  Supreme  Court  (q.  v.).  To  Judge  and  Mrs.  Mangum 
were  born  five  children :  Sallie  Alston  ( 1824-96) ;  Martha 
Person  (Pattie)  (1828-1902)  ;  Catharine  Davis,  died  in  infanc}*; 
Mary  Sutherland  (1832-1902)  :  and  William  Preston  (1837-61). 
The  son  was  educated  at  the  University  of  North  Carolina 
and  began  the  study  of  law,  but  delayed  practice  to  attend  his 
father's  plantation ;  he  volunteered  as  a  private,  became  second 
lieutenant  in  Company  R,  Sixth  North  Carolina  R^ment,  Colonel 
Charles  F.  Fisher,  C.  S.  A.,  and  died  July  28,  1861,  from  the 
effects  of  wounds  received  at  the  first  battle  of  Manassas. 

Sallie  Alston  Mangum  married  in  185 1  Colonel  Martin  Wash- 


WILLIE  PERSON  MANGUM  257 

ington  Leach  (1806-69),  an  older  brother  of  General  James 
Madison  Leach  (1815-91).  and  an  extensive  planter  and  capi- 
talist of  Randolph  County,  North  Carolina,  They  had  three  chil- 
dren to  attain  maturity  and  who  are  still  living:  Mrs.  Julian  A. 
Turner  of  Greensboro,  Mrs.  Stephen  B.  Weeks  and  Miss  Annie 
Preston  Leach  of  Randolph  County,  North  Carolina.  The  third 
generation  is  represented  by  three  boys  and  six  girls.  None  of 
tlie  other  children  of  Judge  Mangum  ever  married.  Misses 
Martha  and  Mary  Mangum  resided  at  Walnut  Hall  til!  their 
death.  During  the  war  and  for  some  years  after  its  close  they 
conducted  at  their  home  a  select  school  for  young  ladies,  which 
drew  patrons  from  many  sections  of  the  State. 

This  brief  sketch  of  the  very  active  career  of  Judge  Mangimi 
is  based  mainly  on  his  correspondence  and  on  family  history.  His 
public  career  will  be  found  in  the  joiirnals  of  the  Assembly  and 
of  Congress,  while  the  genealogy  of  his  family  will  be  found  in 
part  in  the  supplement  to  Groves's  "The  Alstons  and  Allstons  of 
North  Carolina  and  South  Carolina."  Short  sketches  of  his  career 
have  appeared  in  the  various  biographical  works  dealing  with  the 
United  Stales  and  North  Carolina,  but  no  suitable  biography,  no 
worthy  sketch  even  has  hitherto  appeared.  There  are  at  least  tour 
oil  portraits  of  Mangum,  one  in  possession  of  Willie  Mangum 
Person,  Esq..  of  Loiiisburg,  North  Carolina,  one  in  the  hall  of 
the  Dialectic  Society  at  Chapel  Hill  and  two  in  possession  of  the 
family,  including  the  one  from  which  the  accompanying  engrav- 
ing is  made.  His  correspondence,  large  in  amount  and  varied  in 
character,  is  in  my  hands,  and  I  have  in  preparation  a  volume  on 
his  life  and  times  which  1  hope  to  make  definitive. 

Stephen  B.  Weeks. 


PUbi-i:  LIBRARY 


V-' 


WILLIE  PERSON  MANGUM,  Jr.  259 

came  a  judge  of  one  of  the  inferior  courts  in  Arkansas  and  died 
in  Washington  City,  April.  1903. 

In  1838  Willie  P.  Mangum,  jr.,  entered  the  Bingham  School 
and  remained  there  til!  1H44,  when  he  entered  Wake  Forest  Col- 
lege. He  was  there  two  years;  went  to  the  University  of  North 
Carolina  in  1846  and  was  graduated  in  1848,  delivering  an  oration 
on  the  character  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh.  He  became  a  tutor  in 
Wake  Forest  College  and  remained  one  year,  when  he  began  the 
study  of  law  under  his  father;  after  his  death  he  removed  to 
Washington  City  and  took  a  position  in  the  Census  Office.  In 
1853  he  returned  to  North  Carolina  and  resumed  the  study  of 
law.  this  time  in  Raleigh,  under  Judge  Badger,  and  later  con-, 
tinued  his  studies  in  New  York  City  under  Honorable  E.  W. 
Stoughton.  judge  and  later  L'nited  States  Minister  to  Russia.  He 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  New  York  State,  in  the  District  of 
Columbia  and  to  practice  before  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States,  and  the  next  few  years  were  devoted  to  his  profession. 

Unlike  the  rest  of  his  family  in  the  civil  struggle  which  was  now 
coming  on,  he  sided  with  the  North,  and  on  March  2y,  1861,  was 
commissioned  by  the  State  Department  as  United  States  Consul  at 
Kingpo,  China.  He  arrived  there  December  11,  1S61,  tiro  days 
after  its  capture  by  the  T'ai-p'ing  rebels,  under  Fang.  It  soon  be- 
came necessary  to  take  measures  for  the  safety  of  the  foreign  com- 
munity at  Ningpo,  and  on  January  12,  1862,  proceedings  were 
taken  to  this  end  and  for  the  government  of  the  75,000  Chinese 
who  had  crowded  for  protection  into  the  foreign  quarter  of  the 
city.  This  heavy  duty  fell  upon  the  consuls  of  the  treaty  powers, 
and  as  the  French  consul  was  practically  incapacitated  it  was  dis- 
charged by  the  consuls  of  England  and  the  United  States, 
Mr.  Mangum  and  his  colleague  holding  court  on  alternate  weeks, 
from  January  12,  to  May  10,  1862,  when  power  was  restored  to  the 
former  authorities  through  a  bombardment  of  the  city  by  the 
English  and  French.  These  judicial  services  were  highly  appreci- 
ated by  the  people,  who  expressed  their  thanks  in  oriental  fashion 
by  presenting  to  each  of  the  consuls  a  large  umbrella,  like  that 
borne  before  mandarins  of  the  first  rank. 


26o  NORTH  CAROLINA 

In  the  Spring  of  1864  Mangum  was  transferred  to  the  consulate 
at  Chin-Kiang,  on  the  Yang-tse,  at  the  junction  of  the  Grand 
Canal  with  that  river,  but  the  confinement  resulting  from  the  dis- 
turbances in  Ningpo  and  the  Chekiang  province  had  undermined 
his  health  and  compelled  his  return  to  America,  for  which  he 
sailed  April  29,  1864.  The  change  of  scene,  the  sea  voyage,  and 
Winter  restored  his  health,  and  on  March  18,  1865,  he  was  made 
consul  to  Nagasaki,  Japan;  he  was  reappointed  by  Johnson, 
May  29,  1865,  and  there  he  remained  till  1880. 

He  was  detailed  to  take  charge  of  the  consulate  general  in 
Shanghai,  as  Vice-Consul-General,  February  i,  1867,  to  March  19, 
1868,  in  the  absence  of  George  F.  Seward,  the  Consul-Gencral,  and 
in  this  connection  was  also  United  States  postal  agent ;  he  organ- 
ized and  started  the  first  American  mail  service  in  China,  their 
first  ofiice  being  in  the  consulate  general  in  Shanghai.  After 
resuming  his  duties  at  Nagasaki  he  continued  his  postal  work  till 
arrangements  were  perfected  by  the  Japanese  Government  for 
taking  over  their  mail  service. 

Ill  December,  1868,  along  with  Reverend  Guido  Verbeck,  the 
apostle  of  Japan,  he  spent  some  days,  by  invitation,  in  visiting  the 
Prince  of  Hizen  in  Saga,  his  capital.  They  were  the  first  white 
men  to  be  seen  in  Saga,  and  this  was  one  way  taken  by  the  Prince 
to  reconcile  his  people  to  the  impending  changes,  for  the  clans 
of  Satsuma,  Choshiu,  Tosa,  and  Hizen  were  leaders  in  the  strug- 
gle then  going  on  against  the  Shoguns  (Tokugawa  family),  and 
out  of  which  came  the  restoration  of  the  Mikado  to  supreme  power 
and  the  opening  of  Japan  to  the  Western  world.  The  Prince  of 
Hizen  remained  the  firm  friend  of  Mangum  and  presented  him 
many  rare  specimens  of  ceramics,  which  cannot  now  be  duplicated. 

Mangum  sailed  for  America  November  10,  1872,  and  his  last 
visit  to  North  Carolina  was  in  the  spring  of  1873.  He  reached 
Japan  on  his  return  July  16,  1873,  and  resumed  his  duties  at 
Nagasaki.  In  the  Spring  of  1874  he  was  chosen  sole  arbitrator 
in  tlic  case  of  the  Takashima  coal  mines,  a  matter  which  involved 
England.  Holland  and  Japan  in  many  intricate  and  opposing 
views  and  had  been  long  in  the  courts.    No  satisfactory  conclusion 


WILLIE  PERSON  MANGUM.  Jr.  z6i 

seeming  possible,  it  was  decided  to  submit  the  whole  matter  to 
three  arbitrators,  one  to  be  chosen  by  each  nationality;  but,  on 
comparing  the  nominations,  it  was  found  that  Mangum  had  been 
chosen  by  each,  a  singular  and  remarkable  proof  of  the  esteem  in 
which  he  was  held.  His  decision  was  rendered  the  following 
summer  and  was  acceptable  to  all. 

Mangum's  health  was  always  more  or  less  delicate,  and  with 
the  ho])e  that  a  colder  climate  would  restore  him,  he  was  trans- 
ferred to  Tien-Tsin,  in  North  China,  March  29,  1880.  He  left 
Japan  in  September  of  that  year,  but  the  colder  climate  failed  to 
do  what  was  hoped  from  it,  and  he  died  in  Tien-Tsin,  February  11, 
1881.  He  was  temporarily  interred  at  that  port,  but  was  laten 
removed  to  .America  and  reinterred  in  the  Congressional  cemetery 
in  Washington  City. 

He  was  long  dean  of  the  consular  corps  in  Nagasaki  and  was 
held  in  high  esteem  by  his  colleagues.  He  was  of  a  pleasant, 
courteous  disposition,  dignified,  but  genial  and  charming  in  con- 
versation, and  while  energetic  and  business-like  in  important 
affairs,  in  unessential  things  was  disposed  to  the  doctrine  of 
laisse:  fairc.  He  was  elected  March  20,  1866,  a  non-resident  mem- 
ber of  the  North  China  Branch  of  the  Koyaf  Asiatic  Society,  and 
on  June  30,  1876,  for  long  services  rendered  to  his  consulate,  was 
decorated  by  the  King  of  Portugal  with  the  Royal  Portuguese 
Military  Order  of  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  He  was  highly 
esteemed  by  resident  and  visiting  Americans  and  the  Japanese 
soon  learned  to  consult  with  and  trust  him  in  many  matters  of  im- 
portance outside  of  his  consular  duties.  Although  long  a  non- 
resident. Mr.  Mangum  never  forgot  the  State  of  his  nativity. 
That  he  considered  it  his  home  to  the  last  is  shown  by  the  filing 
of  Ids  will  lor  proliatc  in  Wake,  the  county  of  his  birth. 

Mr.  Mangum  married  in  Washington,  D.  C,  on  October  24, 
1855,  Miss  Fannie  Vaulx  Ladd,  daughter  of  Joseph  Brown  Ladd 
and  Harriet  \'au!x  Conway,  widow  of  Major  W.  H.  Nicoll, 
L'.  S.  .\.  No  children  were  born  to  this  marriage.  Mrs.  Mangum 
was  a  woman  of  decided  literary  tastes ;  she  was  an  artist,  and  an 
authority  on  ceramics  and  concholc^  and  to  some  extent  on 


262  NORTH  CAROLINA 

numismatics.  She  gathered  an  extensive  and  costly  library  and 
made  a  great  collection  of  ceramics  from  China  and  JapAn,  many 
of  them  being  in  costly  patterns,  gifts  from  distinguished  person- 
ages, which  can  no  longer  be  procured  or  produced.  She  made 
also  a  great  and  valuable  collection  of  shells.  Her  collections  were 
in  part  destroyed  by  fire ;  the  remainder,  after  being  somewhat  aug* 
mented  by  other  selections  from  the  East,  were  presented  to  the 
University  of  North  Carolina.  She  presided  over  the  social  life  of 
the  foreign  residents  in  Nagasaki,  accompanied  her  husband  in  all 
his  travels,  brought  back  his  body  to  America,  and  spent  her  last 
days  in  Washington  City,  where  she  died  in  1901. 

This  sketch  is  made  up  from  a  sketch  printed  by  Mrs.  Mangum 
in  the  North  Carolina  University  Magazine  in  1890,  and  from 
materials  in  possession  of  the  family. 

Stephen  B.  Weeks, 


THE  NEW  YORK 

PUBLIC  LIBRARY 


a^kv,  l^nox  and 

TlLbLN  F0VNDATION8 
II         .  L 


264  NORTH  CAROLINA 

well  said  of  him  that  he  was  equal  to  every  station  he  occupied. 
He,  Governor  Graham,  Mr.  Macon  and  Judge  Badger  were  the 
most  influential  sons  North  Carolina  has  produced. 

Mr.  Priestley  Mangum  married  Miss  Rebecca  Hilliard  Suther- 
land, whose  father,  Colonel  Ransom  Sutherland,  was  a  Revolu- 
tionary officer  and  served  with  high  distinction  during  the  war  for 
independence. 

The  influence  of  such  parents  and  of  such  association  in  his  early 
life  was  not  without  its  effect  in  forming  the  character  of  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch.  His  father  was  a  man  of  fine  judgment  and 
strong  common  sense,  a  man  of  high  integrity,  well  educated  and 
a  lawyer  of  great  influence  in  his  community ;  but  he  was  fond  of 
home  life  and  preferred  a  residence  on  his  farm,  and  as  Mrs.  Man- 
giun  unhappily  died  when  her  son  was  very  young,  he  fell  more 
particularly  under  the  directing  care  of  his  father  than  is  usual 
with  children. 

He  was  prepared  for  college  by  William  J.  Bingham,  the  second 
of  that  name,  and  entering  Wake  Forest  College,  graduated  at  that 
institution  in  1851.  Intending  to  devote  himself  to  agriculture, 
he  immediately  began  the  life  of  a  farmer  and  located  on  the  farm 
where  he  was  born  two  miles  west  of  Wake  Forest ;  and  there,  on 
December  16,  1856,  he  brought  his  bride.  Miss  Mary  Thomas 
Price,  and  six  children,  now  surviving,  blessed  their  union. 

Agriculture  has  always  been  the  most  important  industry  of  the 
people  of  North  Carolina,  and  it  has  employed  the  best  talent  of 
the  State.  In  the  days  of  slavery  the  finest  minds  and  strongest 
men  were  engaged  in  this  occupation,  and  they  brought  to  it  their 
best  intelligence,  and  it  was  esteemed  the  noblest  emplo>'mcnt  for 
a  man's  capabilities,  as  it  was  accompanied  by  a  spirit  of  independ- 
ence and  of  self-reliance  and  of  noble  manhood  that  was  not  so 
thoroughly  fostered  by  other  vocations. 

Since  the  abolition  of  slaverv  it  has  been  attended  with  more 
difficulties,  and  its  successful  practice  has  required  even  closer  at- 
tention and  more  strenuous  endeavors ;  but  still  it  is  a  field  for  the 
exercise  of  superior  talent,  and  Mr.  Mangum's  career  is  a  notable 
illustration  of  this  fact,  for  it  has  been  said  that  "by  his  farm  he 


PRIESTLEY  HINTOM  MANGUM  265 

has  reflected  as  much  credit  on  the  State  as  his  uncle  did  Sy  his 
distinguished  services  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  Slates."  The 
ver\'  fields  amid  which  he  was  born  and  reared  have  been  the  scene 
of  his  exploits  as  a  successful  and  intelligent  farmer.  His  methods 
have  attracted  wide  attention,  and  his  fanii  has  been  held  up  before 
the  agriculturalists  of  the  State  as  an  example.  Indeed,  one  of  the 
foremost  men  of  Mecklenburg  County,  which  has  always  been 
noted  for  its  fine  farms  and  improved  methods,  has  been  par- 
ticidarly  pronounced  in  calling  attention  to  the  advantages  of  the 
new  methods  introduced  and  used  by  Mr.  Mangum  ;  and  residents 
of  other  parts  of  the  State  have  recommended  the  adoption  of  the 
system  practiced  on  this  model  farm.  In  an  article  entitled 
"A  Model  Farmer."  a  judicious  and  intelligent  editor  says: 

"Mr.  Mangum's  wheat  was  just  about  ripening  and  the  fields  of  golden 
grain  presented  a  most  attractive  scene.  One  field  of  thirty  acres  would 
yield  at  least  thirty  bushels  to  the  acre.  In  llie  same  field  was  clover  knee 
high.  In  another  large  field  was  a  good  stand  of  cotton,  which  last  year 
averaged  over  a  bale  to  the  acre,  there  were  several  fields  of  clover  and 
other  grasses,  and  there  were  stacks  of  last  year's  hay  not  yet  used.  The 
cattle  looked  fat  and  sleek,  the  milch  cows  with  distended  bags,  and  many 
of  improved  breeds.  The  hogs  were  kept  Ln  a  clover  field  and  literally 
loohed  like  (hey  wtre  'living  in  clover.'  so  fat  and  healthy  were  Ihey.  The 
barns  and  siables  were  commodious  and  conveniently  arranged,  and  large 
pile;  of  barnyard  manure  showed  that  Mr.  Mangum  did  not  depend  upon 
bought  fertilizers.  We  saw  quite  a  number  of  the  most  improved  labor-sav- 
ing machines,  which  nowadays  are  necessary  for  profitable  farming." 

.\s  eloquently  as  these  facts  speak  of  the  successful  results  of 
Mr.  Mangum's  farming  operations,  they  are  also  evidence  of  the 
jndgment  and  intelligence  which  he  brings  to  his  aid  in  following 
his  business  as  an  agriculturalist.  Another  illustration  of  his  su- 
perior merit  is  to  be  found  in  his  progress iven ess.  He  devised  and 
introduced  the  modified  terrace  and  used  them  in  his  fields,  doing 
away  entirely  with  hillside  ditches.  Under  his  system  the  land 
is  prevented  from  washing  and  it  can  be  cultivated  more  easily 
than  under  the  system  of  ditches  and  without  any  waste.  These 
terraces  are  from  one  to  two  feet  high  and  about  ten  feet  wide  and 
carry  off  the  water  in  a  gently  flowing  current.     In  constructing 


266  NORTH  CAROLINA 

them  he  utilized  his  old  hillside  ditches,  plowing  down  the  upper 
bank  several  times,  but  allowing  the  low  embankment  to  remain. 
In  front  of  this,  where  the  ditch  was,  is  a  space  of  ten  feet  on  a 
dead  level.  This  level  drain  has  a  fall  of  ij  inches  to  13  feet, 
4  inches.  The  guide  row  is  then  staked  off  and  horizontal  furrows 
run  plowing  through  this  level  drain  and  the  embankment  just  as 
they  chance  to  go.  To  run  these  terraces  a  spirit  level  set  in  a 
light  frame  13  feet,  4  inches  wide  is  used,  and  of  course  much 
judgment  is  needed  to  make  them.  Plowing  down  the  hillside 
across  the  ten-foot  level  drain  and  lightly  over  the  embankment, 
the  water  is  distributed  uniformly  and  slowly,  and  in  the  severest 
rain  will  never  overflow..  Whatever  sediment  or  soil  washes  down 
is  saved,  the  terrace  gradually  gaining  more  soil  and  becoming  the 
richest  part  of  the  field.  General  Barringer,  in  his  account  of  this 
fine  farm,  says : 

'*We  saw  land  which  was  formerly  ravines  and  gulleys  presenting  a 
beautiful  and  uniform  slope.  The  terrace  system  as  devised  by  Mr.  Man- 
gum  rids  the  field  of  grass.     Every  foot  of  land  is  under  cultivation." 

His  system  has  attracted  general  attention  and  has  found  such 
favor  as  to  have  been  adopted  by  other  progressive  and  intelligent 
farmers  in  the  hillside  country  with  advantage.  If  he  who  has 
made  two  blades  of  grass  to  grow  where  one  grew  before  is  to  be 
commended,  the  advantage  to  agriculture  of  the  devices  in- 
augurated by  Mr.  Mangum  arc  still  more  beneficial,  and  are  yet 
more  worthy  of  high  commendation. 

In  his  political  affiliations  Mr.  Mangum,  like  his  illustrious  uncle 
and  other  members  of  his  family,  was  a  Whig  before  the  Civil 
W^ar,  but  because  of  the  issues  evolved  since  that  period,  he  has 
affiliated  with  the  Democratic  Party. 

He  is  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  Church  and  his  walk  in  life 
has  been  consistent  with  his  religious  profession.  A  busy  man, 
earnest  and  active  in  his  agricultural  pursuits,  he  has  had  no  time 
for  sports  or  amusements,  and  he  finds  sufficient  exercise  in  horse- 
back riding;^  over  his  farm,  every  part  of  which  is  constantly  under 
his  supervision.  ^^  ^^  ^^^,,^^ 


W'^  ^ 


VA*J 


Y\it> 


iU- 


UB' 


Lv 


^i- 


:i 


268  NORTH  CAROLINA 

General  Marion  in  the  Revolutionary  War),  and  of  Polly  Engrc- 
ham.     He  was  a  farmer  and  merchant  at  Kinston  until  his  re- 
moval to  Wilmington  in  1848.    He  was  industrious  and  a  man  of 
firm  convictions,  insistent  on  fully  periorming  all  his  duties  in  life; 
unassuming,  he  was  noted  for  his  courteous  bearing  and  for  his 
sympathetic  disposition,  and  in  particular  was  he  generous  and 
liberal  toward  those  who  were  in  need.    His  inclinations  ever  led 
him  to  be  helpful  to  the  poor  and  to  be  useful  to  those  in  distress. 
His  son,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  six  years  of  age  on  the 
removal  to  Wilmington.    His  health  in  childhood  was  good  and 
he  was  fond  of  out-of-door  games  and  developed  into  a  strong  boy, 
particularly  skilled  in  athletic  exercises.     His  health  giving  way 
at  the  age  of  fifteen  years,  he  was  taken  from  school  for  two  years, 
being  then  prepared  for  college.    He  was  taught  by  that  eminent 
instructor,  Mr.  George  W.  Jcwett,  and  being  prepared  for  collie, 
entered  the  University  in  the  Fall  of  i860.    Of  young  Metts  as  a 
schoolmate,  one  of  his  friends  writes  as  follows : 

"He  was  a  general  favorite  because  of  his  unselfishness,  his  modesty  and 
his  manliness.     He  was  quiet  and  dignified  on  becoming  occasions,  but  in 
all  the  healthful  manly  sports  of  the  day,  he  was  our  joyous  leader.    He 
scorned  that  which  was  low  and  mean  and  he  was  clean  and  honest  and 
fair  in  his  speech  and  behavior.    He  led  the  school  as  an  athlete,  and  he 
performed  such  feats  as  jumping  into  the  air  and  turning  somersaults  on 
level  ground;  walking  a  block  on  his  hands  with  heels  aloft  and  other 
amazing  things  with  the  agility  of  a  Japanese  wresder,  and  when  he  threw 
a  clam  shell  over  the  tower  of  St.  James'  Church,  we  thought  he  had 
reached  the  acme  of  undying  fame.    I  think  he  was  one  of  Mr.  Jcwett*s 
models  as  a  scholar :  I  know  that  he  .<;tood  well  in  his  classes  and  that  he 
applied  himself  diligently  to  his  studies.    He  has  the  same  characteristics 
now  that  he  had  then  and  he  bears  a  record  of  which  any  hero  might  be 
proud." 

On  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  on  April  15,  1861,  he  joined 
as  a  private  the  Wilmington  Rifle  Guards,  of  which  Oliver  P. 
Mearcs  was  the  captain,  and  under  the  orders  of  Governor  Ellis 
that  company  took  possession,  along  with  the  Wilmington  Light 
Infantry,  of  Fort  Caswell,  where  it  remained  until  some  months 
later  the  Eighth  Regiment  was  formed  under  the  command  of 


JAMES  ISAAC  METTS  269 

Colonel  Kaelcliffe;  this  company  being  Company  I  of  tliat  regi- 
ment, and  Captain  Mearcs  being  elected  Lieutenant-Colonel.  Then 
for  some  months  Company  !  was  stationed  at  Fort  Fisher  and 
was  among  those  that  laid  the  first  foimdations  of  that  famous 
fortification.  When  the  State  organized  her  ten  regiments  of  State 
troops,  the  Eighth  Volunteers  became  known  as  the  Eighteenth 
North  Caroiina»Troops.  In  the  meantime  private  Metts  had  be- 
come Corporal  and  one  of  the  Color  Guard  of  the  regmient  and 
served  as  such  with  it  at  Camp  Wyatt,  near  Fort  Fisher,  and  at 
Coosawhatchie  in  South  Carolina.  On  the  ejtpiration  of  the  twelve 
months  for  which  the  first  volunteers  had  enlisted,  he  being  then 
color  bearer  of  the  Eighteenth  Regiment,  he  was  discharged  with 
others,  but  he  re-enlisted  and  hecame  fifth  Sergeant  of  Company  G, 
Third  Regiment,  of  which  the  intrepid  Gaston  Meares  was  Colonel, 
tlie  Lieutenant -Colonel  being  the  beloved  and  efficient  Robert  H. 
Co\van.  who  was  subsequently  commissioned  Brigadier- General, 
but  on  account  of  ill  health  resigned ;  and  William  L.  DeRossett, 
afterward  so  distinguished  as  a  military  man.  the  Major.  Their 
first  baptism  of  blood  was  in  the  campaign  before  Richmond ;  and 
Sergeant  Melts  bore  himself  with  conspicuous  courage,  and  his 
coolness  was  especially  manifested  in  reforming  a  part  of  the  regi- 
ment al  the  batile  of  Cold  Harbor,  and  lih  gsilacttry  was  displayed 
when  commanding  a  detail,  guarding  a  causeway  in  the  Chicka- 
hominy  swamp.  At  the  battle  of  Malvern  Hill  he  was  among 
those  who  received  ihe  last  orders  of  the  lamented  Colonel  Meares, 
who  fell  on  that  field.  During  those  battles  he  became  Orderly 
Sergeant,  and  on  returning  to  camp  he  was  assigned  to  the  duty 
of  drilling  the  recruits  received  by  his  company,  and  was  compli- 
niented  by  some  officers  of  the  regiment  as  being  the  best  drilled 
man  they  ever  saw. 

Although  he  had  escaped  the  deadly  peril  of  those  bloody  bat- 
tles, he.  however,  contracted  disease  in  the  peninsula  swamps  and 
for  a  time  was  separated  from  his  company.  In  the  promotions 
which  followed  the  loss  of  officers  at  Sharpsburg,  Spartanburg, 
Sergeant  Metts  became  the  senior  Second  Lieutenant  of  his  com- 
pany, and  at  Winchester  he  was  detailed  as  Commissary  of  his  regi- 


270  NORTH  CAROLINA 

ment,  and  after  the  battle  of  Fort  Royal  he  discharged  the  duties 
of  Adjutant.  Cool,  brave  and  determined,  his  admirable  conduct  on 
every  field  attracted  the  attention  of  his  sui>eriors,  while  at  P'red- 
ericksburg  he  won  encomiums  by  his  gallantry.  Again,  however,  he 
was  a  victim  of  pneumonia,  but  he  was  able  to  join  his  regiment  in 
time  to  participate  in  the  fighting  around  Winchester,  where  his 
brigade,  under  Stewart,  did  much  toward  winning-the  victory  over 
Milroy.  At  Jordan's  Springs  his  coolness  under  fire  especially  at- 
tracted the  attention  and  admiration  of  the  privates  and  was  much 
discussed  by  them  after  the  battle.  His  efficiency  gained  for  him 
the  confidence  of  his  superiors  and  he  was  selected  to  command 
the  rear  guard  of  the  brigade  as  they  were  about  to  cross  the  Po- 
tomac. On  June  i8, 1863,  the  regiment  encamped  near  the  Dunkard 
Church  in  the  woods  on  the  battlefield  of  Sharpsburg,  where  the 
regiment  had  lost  so  heavily.  A  detail  of  men  from  the  First  and 
Third  Regiments,  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant  Metts,  did 
honor  to  their  fallen  associates  and  fired  a  military  salute  over 
the  spot  where  they  were  buried ;  and  in  the  quietude  of  twilight 
the  First  and  Third  Regiments  with  arms  reversed  and  to  the  roll 
of  the  muffled  drum  marched  to  the  place  of  interment,  and 
Reverend  George  Patterson,  the  beloved  Chaplain  of  the  Third, 
read  the  impressive  burial  services.  **Uix)n  this  solemn  occasion," 
says  the  historian  of  the  3d,  '*many  tears  stole  down  the  bronzed 
cheeks  of  the  old  veterans  and  all  heads  were  bowed  in  grief." 

Lieutenant  Alctts  accompanied  his  regiment  to  the  vicinity  of 
Carlylc  and  then  by  a  forced  march  reached  Gettysburg  on  the 
evening  of  the  ist,  but  the  brigade  was  not  seriously  engaged 
until  the  next  evening.  Then  being  on  the  left  of  the  line  at  Gulp's 
Hill,  thcv  drove  the  cnemv  from  their  first  defenses,  and  Lieu- 
tenant  Mctts,  loading  his  men  forward,  was  soon  hotly  engaged 
within  seventv-five  yards  of  their  second  line  of  breastworks. 
There  he  fell  from  a  rifie  ball  that  penetrated  his  right  breast  and 
passing  through  the  lung  inflicted  a  terrible  and  most  dangerous 
wound,  from  which  none  thought  he  would  recover,  and  from 
which  at  times  he  still  suffers.  An  eve-witness  stated  that  when 
Lieutenant  Mctts  was  shot  he  was  gallantly  cheering  his  men,  his 


JAMES  ISAAC  METTS  271 

hat  in  one  ham!  and  his  sword  in  the  other,  both  aloft.  In  that 
battle  the  Third  Regiment,  which  entered  with  300  guns,  lost  223 
men  and  no  prisoners.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Parsley,  Captain  E.  H. 
Armstrong  and  Lientenant  Lyon  were  the  only  officers  who  passed 
through  the  terrible  ordeal  unhurt.  Adjutant  James  helped  his 
fallen  friend  to  the  ambulance  corps,  and  for  two  miles 
Lieutenant  Metts  was  hauled  over  rough  roads,  suffering  the  most 
excruciating  agony  and  weakened  by  the  loss  of  blood.  On  the 
withdrawal  of  the  Confederate  forces,  he  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  enemy,  but  was  cared  for  by  kind  ladies  from  Baltimore  and 
was  conveyed  to  the  General  Camp  Hospital  and  to  the  hospital 
at  Baltimore,  where  he  was  the  recipietit  of  great  kindnesses  from 
the  ladies  of  that  citj';  and  later  he  was  transferred  to  Johnson's 
Island,  Lake  Erie,  where  his  kinsman.  Colonel  Thomas  S.  Kenan, 
was  his  bunkmate  for  thirteen  months.  Their  sufferings  during 
the  Winter  were  terrible — insufficient  food,  scant  clothing,  houses 
neither  ceiled  nor  plastered,  the  mercury  at  times  20  degrees  be- 
low zero,  and  with  but  one  stove  for  sixty  prisoners.  In  August, 
1864,  although  the  Federal  authorities  had  ceased  exchanging 
prisoners,  the  Confederates  turned  loose  several  thousand  Federal 
prisoners,  and  in  view  of  that  some  of  the  Confederates  were  se- 
lected atid  sent  South  in  exchange;  and  Lieutenant  Metis  was 
chosen  as  one  of  the  most  enfeebled  and  delicate  of  the  prisoners 
for  this  exchange.  Having  been  told  by  some  of  the  doctors  that 
he  could  not  stand  another  Winter  there,  often  as  the  winds  became 
chilly  he  would  look  over  the  fence  at  the  graves  of  his  poor  com- 
rades and  feel  that  in  a  short  while  the  boys  would  place  him 
among  them ;  but  not  long  afterward  he  found  himself  once  more 
upon  the  streets  of  Richmond.  During  his  captivity  he  had  been 
promoted  to  Captain  of  his  company,  which  he  joined  at  Staunton 
in  December.  He  took  command  of  his  company  and  also  of  Com- 
pany E  and  served  in  Cox's  Brigade  of  Grimes'  Division  until 
detailed  as  a  Special  Inspector  on  the  staff  of  Major-General 
Grimes,  and  shared  in  all  the  hardships  and  memorable  experiences 
of  those  fateful  days.  When  Lee  surrendered,  and  the  night  before 
arms  were  to  be  stacked  at  Appomattox  by  the  remnant  of  the 


272  NORTH  CAROLINA 

heroic  army  of  Northern  Virginia,  Captain  Metts  accompanied 
a  band  from  Division  Headquarters  to  serenade  their  beloved 
leader,  General  Lee.  General  Lee  was  so  much  affected  that  he 
could  say  but  a  few  words,  but  he  gave  to  each  of  the  brave  vet- 
erans who  had  thus  sought  to  manifest  their  love  and  sympathy  a 
warm  pressure  of  his  hand  and  an  affectionate  good-by. 

On  his  return  home  from  Appomattox,  Captain  Metts,  pressed 
by  necessity,  at  once  addressed  himself  to  the  duty  of  supporting 
his  mother's  family.  He  soon  obtained  employment  as  a  clerk 
with  two  F'ederal  sutlers,  but  later  obtained  more  remunerative 
employment;  and  his  merits,  his  strict  attention  to  business,  his 
accuracy  and  good  habits  commended  him  to  the  business  men  of 
Wilmington  and  eventually,  after  long  and  severe  struggles,  he  was 
able  to  enter  the  field  for  himself  as  a  merchant  and  broker,  and 
he  has  met  with  gratifying  success  and  commands  the  esteem  and 
respect  of  iho  business  men  of  his  community. 

On  November  ii,  1869,  Captain  Metts  was  happily  married  to 
Miss  C\)rnelia  F.  Cowan,  a  daughter  of  Colonel  Robert  H.  Cowan, 
his  old  conunander,  and  their  married  life  has  been  blessed  with 
six  children. 

Captain  Metts  is  an  earnest,  sincere  man  with  the  highest  prin- 
ciples and  most  correct  sentiments.  His  course  in  life  has  been 
consistent  with  that  devotion  to  duty  which  he  displayed  in  the 
ranks  of  the  Confederate  Army.  He  was  baptized  by 
Reverend  George  Patterson  in  the  Potomac  River  in  1863  while 
en  route  into  Pennsylvania,  and  has  been  an  humble  Christian,  ever 
faithful  to  his  profession,  and  for  many  years  a  communicant  of 
the  Episcopal  Church,  and  for  several  years  he  has  been  a  vestry- 
man of  St.  James's  Church  at  Wilmington.  He  is  a  member  of 
St.  John's  Lodge  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  and  also  an  active  member  of  the 
Seaman's  l^^riond  Society,  of  which  he  has  been  the  President.  He 
has  ever  lH?en  laborious  in  his  work  and  diligent  in  business,  and 
from  his  own  experience  he  suggests  that  young  men  can  attain 
true  »;uccess  in  life  if  they  will  follow  *'honesty,  sobriety,  faithful- 
ness to  one's  self,  perseverance,  and  trust  in  God." 

Captain  Motts  has  always  remembereil  the  years  of  his  life  when 


JAMES  ISAAC  METTS  273 

he  followed  the  Confederate  flag,  and  lie  has  taken  great  interest 
in  whatever  affects  the  welfare  of  the  old  Confederate  veterans  or 
the  honor  and  fame  of  North  Carolina  and  of  her  troops.  On 
several  occasions  he  has  prepared  iuleresting  articles  concerning 
the  gallant  action  of  his  North  Carolina  associates  on  the  field  of 
battle.  Particularly  he  has  written  a  notable  paper  descriptive  of 
the  charge  at  Gettysbnrg.  and  also  an  etiually  interesting  one  rela- 
tive to  the  important  action  of  the  Thirtieth  North  Carolina  Regi- 
ment at  Chancellorsville  when  it  turned  the  flank  of  Siegel's  Di- 
vision, and  in  it  he  corrects  sonie  errors  into  which  General  Rodes 
had  accidentally  fallen.  He  has  also  written  an  article  showing 
that  the  last  shot  at  Appomattox  was  fired  by  North  Carolinians. 
and  in  conjunction  with  Captain  Cowan  he  prepared  the  "History 
of  the  Third  Regiment"  for  the  "Regimental  Histories  of  the 
State." 

When  at  Johnson's  Island  some  of  his  comrades  formed  a  the- 
atrical troop  under  the  name  of  the  "Rebellonians,"  and 
Captain  Metts  was  one  of  the  actors.  The  delicacy  of  his  frame 
led  to  his  being  assigned  a  lady's  part.  In  the  original  melo- 
drama, in  five  acts,  "The  Battle  of  Gettysburg,"  ending  in  act  fifth 
with  "Home  .'\gain,"  he  played  the  part  of  Mrs.  Lonisa  White. 
The  concluding  farce  was  "Box  and  Cox."  On  another  occasion, 
of  which  the  programme  has  likewise  been  preserved,  he  recited 
"Bonnie  Jean,"  and  the  third  part  of  that  programme  was  "an 
original  farce  for  the  times"  written  expressly  for  the  "Rebellon- 
ians," entitled  "The  Intelligent  Contraband."  He  occasionally  re- 
ceives letters  from  some  old  prison-mate, who  remembers  the  sweet 
songs  which  he  and  Lieutenant  Mayer  sang,  accompanied  by 
Colonel  Thomas  S.  Kenan  with  his  violin  or  guitar. 

Turning  from  those  episodes  of  prison  life,  on  July  19,  1897,  a 
stranger  entered  Captain  Metts's  office,  and  observing  the  name  on 
the  sign,  asked  if  he  was  any  relation  to  Lieutenant  James  Metts, 
who  was  killed  at  Gettysburg.  Giving  his  name  as  Reverend  B.  C. 
Morton  and  stating  that  he  was  the  Chaplain  of  the  Twenty-third 
Virginia  Regiment,  he  said  that  he  knew  Lieutenant  Metts,  who 
was  killed  at  Gettysburg,  and  recalled  his  thin,  emaciated,  sun- 


274  NORTH  CAROLINA 

burnt  face  as  he  lay  on  the  cot.  He  went  on  to  say  how  much  he 
was  impressed  with  his  noble  character,  and  how  he  had  offered 
up  a  prayer  for  him,  feeling  at  the  time  that  it  was  useless ;  and  he 
added  that  he  had  caused  to  be  published  an  account  of  the  death 
of  Lieutenant  Metts  at  the  time.  Captain  Metts  quietly  said:  **I 
am  the  Lieutenant  Metts  you  knew."  Mr.  Morton  at  once  arose 
from  his  chair  and  with  his  eyes  streaming  with  tears  and  with  a 
fervent  *'God  bless  vou,*'  he  embraced  him.  There  these  two  old 
comrades  stood  and  their  emotion  found  expression  in  tears  of 
joy. 

In  the  hospital  at  Gettysburg,  Captain  Metts,  thinking  he  was 
about  to  die,  gave  his  sword  to  Doctor  Reeves,  of  Maryland,  to 
keep  the  Yankees  from  getting  it.  In  1882  Doctor  Reeves,  not 
supposing  that  Captain  Metts  had  survived,  made  inquiries,  with 
the  view  of  returning  it  to  some  one  of  his  connection,  and  was 
astonished  to  learn  that  Captain  Metts  had  not  died,  had  the  hap- 
piness of  returning  it  to  him  after  he  had  sacredly  kept  it  for  its 
brave  owner,  who  now  treasures  ft  aa  an  honorable  memento  of 
a  fearful  struggle. 

Captain  Metts's  interest  in  the  old  Confederates  has  been  appre- 
ciated by  his  surviving  associates,  and  in  April,  1899,  he  was  elected 
First  Vice-Commander  of  the  Cape  Fear  Camp,  254  U.C.V.,  and 
the  next  year  he  was  chosen  Commander  of  the  camp.  In  April, 
1905,  he  was  again  elected  Commander  of  Cape  Fear  Camp, 
No.  254.  In  1902  he  was  appointed  Brigadier-General  of  the  Third 
Brigade  LT.C.\^.  North  Carolina  Division,  which  honorable  post  he 
now  holds,  much  to  the  gratification  of  all  who  know  him  and  who 
admire  in  him  those  sterling  qualities  of  manhood  which  distin- 
guished him  as  a  soldier  and  which  formed  the  basis  of  his  fine 
character. 

S.  A.  Ashe. 


276  NORTH  CAROLINA 

he  moved  to  a  farm  near  Halifax,  where  he  lived  for  a  num- 
ber of  years,  removing  to  Raleigh  in  1848.  From  the  time  of  his 
removal  to  Halifax,  throughout  his  life,  he  enjoyed  a  large  and 
lucrative  practice. 

He  was  early  an  aspirant  for  political  position,  declaring  him- 
self a  candidate  for  the  House  of  Commons  in  1828,  but  he  was 
defeated.  He  had  in  1824  been  a  supporter  of  Crawford  of 
Georgia  for  the  Presidency,  who  represented  the  old  Republicans, 
and  he  became  strongly  opposed  to  the  leveling  and,  as  he  be- 
lieved, agrarian  tendencies  of  the  Jacksonian  Democracy;  and 
upon  the  formation  of  the  Whig  Party,  he  cast  his  fortunes  with 
Henry  Clay.  In  1836,  after  his  removal  to  Halifax  County,  he  was 
chosen  representative  of  that  county  in  the  House  of  Commons. 
At  this  session  of  the  Legislature  he  took  a  prominent  part  in  the 
work  of  the  committee  on  the  revisal  of  the  statute  law.  His  ap- 
pointment on  the  committee  was  in  recognition  of  his  knowledge 
of  law,  which  was  unusual  for  so  young  a  man.  At  this  session 
he  supported  a  bill  for  the  aid  of  the  Wilmington  and  Raleigh 
Railroad  Company,  and  in  consequence  was  strongly  opposed  in 
the  next  campaign  and  defeated  by  one  vote.  But  he  was  again 
elected  in  1840  and  for  two  successive  terms.  In  the  work  of  these 
sessions  he  took  a  prominent  part,  particularly  on  the  Judiciary 
Committee,  of  which  he  was  chairman  in  1844.  His  course  during 
his  legislative  career  was  such  as  to  win  the  respect  and  admira- 
tion of  those  with  whom  he  came  in  contact.  His  acquaintance 
with  the  people  of  the  State  increased  and  at  the  same  time  they 
commenced  to  realize  his  ability  in  his  profession.  Throughout 
his  entire  legislative  career  he  was  a  strong  friend  of  internal  im- 
provements, realizing,  with  the  keen  and  practical  business  in- 
stinct which  he  applied  to  the  solution  of  every  question,  that  noth- 
ing could  so  build  up  the  State  as  adequate  transportation  facili- 
ties. In  1844  he  was  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Internal  Im- 
provements. In  1840,  in  the  famous  debate  on  the  question  of 
the  right  of  the  State  Legislature  to  instruct  the  United  States 
Senators,  he  took  the  ground  that  it  was  not  within  its  province, 
as  the  Senators  were  responsible  to  the  people  alone.    He  was  a 


BARTHOLOMEW  FIGURES  MOORE  277 

firm  believer  in  public  education,  and  in  1840  favored  the  Worth 
Common  School  Bill,  which  provided  for  public  schools  on  the 
basis  of  Federal  instead  of  white  population.  He  made  a  very 
eloqucnl  and  powerful  speech  in  support  of  the  bill,  and  was  of 
grenl  service  in  securing  its  passage.  He  also  realized  the  re- 
sponsibility resting  upon  the  people  of  the  State  in  regard  to  the 
care  of  the  unfortunate,  and  in  1840,  as  spokesman  for  a  com- 
mittee, introduced  and  argued  a  bill  providing  asylums  for  the 
insane  and  for  orphans.  In  1S46  he  declined  to  be  a  candidate  for 
re-election. 

In  1848  Governor  Graham  appointed  him  to  the  office  of  At- 
torney-General to  fill  the  vacanc)'  caused  by  the  resignation  of 
Edward  Stanly,  and  the  same  year  he  was  chosen  by  the  General 
Assembly  for  the  ensuing  term. 

In  1851  the  Legislature  made  provision  for  a  revisal  of  the 
statute  law  of  the  State.  Asa  Biggs,  B.  F.  Moore  and  R,  M, 
Saunders  were  chosen  as  a  commission  for  the  purpose. 
Mr.  Moore's  experience  in  the  Legislature  in  regard  to  the  earlier 
revisal.  as  well  as  his  wisdom  and  learning,  made  him  particularly 
valuable  as  a  commissioner,  and  it  is  not  imjust  to  the  other  com- 
missioners to  give  him  the  greatest  nuiotcnt  o£  credit  (or  a.  most 
valuable  piece  of  work,  judged  not  only  from  a  legal,  but  from 
an  historical  point  of  view.  His  was  the  guiding  hand  of  the  com- 
mission and  his  work  on  the  revisal  of  1854  alone  would  entitle 
him  to  distinction  in  the  history  of  North  Carolina. 

Learned  in  statute  law,  Mr.  Moore  was  at  his  best  in  the  com- 
mon law.  Always  a  close  student,  while  still  a  young  man  he  be- 
came a  profound  law\er  and  the  equal  in  knowledge  and  ability  of 
any  in  the  State,  and  this  at  a  time  when  great  lawyers  were  not 
uncommon  in  North  Carolina.  He  proved  his  ability  in  many 
cases,  but  he  first  made  a  lasting  reputation  in  the  case  of  The 
State  •:  Will.*  Mr.  Moore's  argument  in  that  case  is  regarded 
as  without  a  superior  in  the  history  of  the  State.  In  this  connec- 
tion another  great  case  in  which  Mr.  Moore  took  a  prominent  part 
may  be  mentioned,  although  occurring  at  a  much  later  period  in 

•For  this  case  see  i  Devereux  and  Battle,  North  Carolina  Reports. 


278  NORTH  CAROLINA 

his  life.  This  was  the  Johnston  Will  case,  in  many  ways  the  most 
famous  case  ever  tried  in  North  Carolina.  The  will  of  Mr.  James 
Johnston,  of  Edenton,  was  contested  by  his  relatives  on  the  ground 
that  he  was  insane  when  the  will  was  made.  The  case  was  tried 
in  Chowan  in  February,  1867,  and  lasted  for  nearly  four  weeks. 
An  array  of  the  most  distinguished  lawyers  in  the  State  was  pres- 
ent. Among  them  may  be  mentioned  ex-Governors  Graham, 
Vance  and  Bragg  for  the  contestants,  and  B.  F.  Moore, 
Judge  R.  R.  Heath  and  Edward  Conigland  for  the  will. 
Mr.  Moore,  in  a  most  able  way,  conducted  the  cross-examination 
of  the  contestants'  witnesses,  of  whom  former  Surgeon-General 
Hanmiond  was  regarded  as  the  most  important,  and  whose  testi- 
mony made  a  great  impression.  Mr.  Moore,  however,  secured 
from  him  the  admission  that  he  was  receiving  a  professional  fee 
for  his  services  as  a  witness,  and  so  destroyed  the  eflFect  of  his 
testimony.  Mr.  Moore's  speech  in  the  case,  also,  was  verj'  power- 
ful. The  verdict  in  the  case  sustained  the  will,  as  did  the  decision 
of  the  Supreme  Court  on  appeal. 

In  manner  Mr.  Moore  was  inclined  to  be  somewhat  austere, 
and  conscc[uently  he  won  the  reputation  of  being  very  stem  and 
c(^l(I.  But  his  intimate  friends  and  his  family  knew  the  falsity 
of  anv  such  estimate.  He  was  a  tender  husband  and  a  devoted 
father,  combining  with  his  affection  a  wise  forethought  for  the 
welfare  of  his  family.  In  his  social  and  business  relations  he  was 
plain  spoken  and  utterly  fearless,  if  once  he  was  convinced  that  he 
was  right.  Principle  was  always  of  first  consideration  and  im- 
portance. He  appreciated  to  the  fullest  extent  the  regard  and  ad- 
miration of  the  public,  but  never  sought  popularity  for  its  own 
sake.  He  was  never  widely  popular,  but  he  was  universally  re- 
spected and  admired  for  his  ability  and  character.  He  could  have 
been  elected  to  any  judicial  position  in  the  State,  but  would  never 
consent  to  consider  such  a  suggestion,  preferring  to  continue  in 
the  practice  of  his  profession,  particularly  as  he  felt  that  with  his 
large  family  he  ought  to  make  some  adequate  provision  for  the 
future.  In  religious  matters  Mr.  Moore  affiliated  with  the  Epis- 
copal Clnirch,  and  though  not  himself  a  communicant  was  in- 


sisicnt  on  llie  faithful  discharge  of  its  duties  by  all  the  members 
of  his  family. 

Mr.  Moore  viewed  with  alarm  and  disgust  the  approach  of  war. 
By  education  and  from  conviction  he  was  a  believer  in  the  inde- 
structibility of  the  Union  and  never  conceded  that  the  right  of 
secession  could  exist.  In  i860  he  wrote  his  d.-iiighter:  "1  would 
not  impress  upon  you  that  the  South  has  no  cause  of  complaint. 
She  has  many,  but  if  for  such  a  cause  a  people  may  quit  their 
allegiance,  there  then  can  be  no  durable  Union."  He  refused  in 
l86i  to  become  a  candidate  for  election  to  the  Convention,  but 
accepted  an  appointment  on  the  Board  of  Claims  for  which  the 
Convention  made  provision.  This  constituted  his  only  assistance 
lo  the  Southern  cause.  Mr.  Moore  made  no  secret  of  his  Ijelicf 
that  the  war  was  wrong,  but  suffered  no  injnry  for  his  opinion, 
Soon  after  the  war  began  Judge  Asa  Biggs,  who  had  formerly 
been  judge  of  the  Federal  Court,  but  was  now  on  the  Confederate 
bench,  opened  court  in  Raleigh.  Mr.  Moore  hatl  a  great  many 
cases  and  went  into  the  court-room  at  the  opening  of  the  term. 
He  had  scarcely  taken  his  seat  when  Judge  Biggs  directed  that 
the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  Confederate  States  should  be  admin- 
istered to  the  members  of  tlie  bar  present.  Mr.  Moore  gathered 
up  his  papers  anil  left  the  court.  Nor  diii  he  return.  He,  how- 
ever, practiced  in  the  Slate  courts  wliere  no  oath  w.ns  required. 

When  finally  the  war  closed,  in  1865,  he  was  ready  to  do  his 
part  in  the  restoration  of  the  State  to  its  normal  relations  with  the 
United  States.  President  Johnson  indicated  that  he  would  be 
glad  to  have  Mr.  Moore,  among  others,  come  to  Washington  for 
a  considtalion  in  regard  to  North  Carolina  affairs.  Accompanied 
by  ex-Governor  Swain  and  William  Eaton,  he  went  to  Washing- 
ton in  May.  .Xu  interview  with  the  President  was  arranged  by 
John  If.  Wheeler,  and  on  May  22d  they  met  him  at  his  office.  The 
President  exjdained  to  them  his  plan  of  reconstruction,  showing 
them  the  amnesty  and  North  Carolina  proclamations.  Mr.  Moore 
read  both  carefully  and  then  denounced  the  plan  with  decision. 
He  especially  opposed  the  exception  of  certain  classes  from  the 
benefits   of  the   amnesty,   particularly   applying  to  those   worth 


2So  NORTH  CAROLINA 

$20,ocx),  (Icnyinj^  the  power  of  the  IVesident.  He  denied  also  the 
power  of  the  i 'resident  to  appoint  a  Governor  and  through  him  to 
call  a  ccMivention  of  the  j)eopIe.  He  asked  him  where  he  got  it,  and 
upon  the  President's  replying,  ** Article  IV.,  Section  4  of  the  Con- 
stitution," said,  **J>ut  the  President  is  not  the  United  States." 
lie  suggested  that  the  State  could  take  care  of  herself  by  her  own 
citizens,  urging  that  the  speakers  of  the  two  houses  of  the  General 
Assenihly  should  he  allowed  to  summon  a  special  session  of  that 
body  to  call  a  convention  of  the  people  which  should  repeal  the 
secession  c)r(linance  and  restore  Federal  relations.  The  President 
asked  what  could  be  done  if  the  Legislature,  after  he  had  recog- 
u'lzcd  it,  should  refuse  to  make  the  changes  which  were  deemed 
necessary.  Mr.  Moore  assured  him  that  there  was  no  member  of 
that  Inxly  that  could  not  be  led  back  into  the  L^nion  **by  a  silken 
thread."  Mr.  Mcn^re  was  verv  caustic  in  his  remarks  and  became 
very  fiery  as  the  discussion  went  on,  at  one  time  walking  over  to 
President  Johnson  and  shaking  his  finger  at  him  by  way  of  em- 
phasis. The  President  was  very  dignified  but  very  good-natured, 
and  took  Mr.  Moore's  excitement  in  good  part,  refusing,  however, 
to  make  any  change  in  his  plan,  which  indeed  was  the  plan 
prepared  by  President  Lincoln  and  agreed  upon  by  Lincoln's 
cabinet. 

The  next  day  the  three  gentlemen,  again  accompained  by 
John  II.  Wheeler,  went  to  see  the  President  again.  With  him 
they  found  another  delegation  from  North  Carolina,  headed  by 
William  W.  Holden.  the  editor  of  the  Standard,  who  had  been 
summoned  by  the  President  some  time  before  and  who  had  invited 
the  others  to  accompany  him.  They  were  R.  P.  Dick,  Willie  Jones, 
W.  R.  Richardson.  I.  11.  P.  Russ,  W.  S.  Mason,  Reverend  Thomas 
Skinner  and  Doctor  R.  J.  Powell. 

The  President  showed  them  his  two  proposed  proclamations, 
with  the  name  of  the  pnu'isional  Governor  omitted  in  the  one  pro- 
viding for  the  restoration  of  North  Carolina;  and  after  the  new 
tKlegati<Mi  had  exj^ressed  their  approval  of  the  plan,  he  stated  that 
he  wtMild  appoint  as  j'irovisional  Governor  the  person  they  might 
nominate.    He  then  left  the  rix>ni.    Mr.  Moore  was  at  once  called 


BARTHOLOMEW  FIGURES  MOORE  281 

to  the  chair,  but  refused  to  take  any  part  in  the  proceedings  and 
left  the  room,  accompanied  by  Messrs.  Swain  and  Eaton.  Those 
that  remained  nominated  Mr.  Holden,  who  was  appointed  by  the 
President. 

Mr.  Moore  was  elected  to  the  Convention  of  1865  as  one  of  the 
delegates  from  Wake  County  and  took  a  leading  part  in  the  de- 
bates of  the  body.  He  drew  the  ordinance,  which  was  afterward 
adopted,  declaring  that  the  session  ordinance  of  May  20.  1861,  was 
and  always  had  been  null  and  void.  That  ordinance  repealed  the 
ratifying  ordinance  of  178Q,  and  declared  the  Union  existing  be- 
tween North  Carolina  and  the  other  States  severed  by  that  repeal. 
In  the  sharp  debate  on  the  matter  he  made  a  strong  speech,  declar- 
ing that  he  favored  the  ordinance  because  it  preserved  the  right 
of  citizenship  in  the  United  States  for  citizens  of  North  Carolina, 
and  that  otherwise  it  might  be  destroyed.  He  also  favored  de- 
claring vacant  all  State  offices,  opposing  the  theory  held  in  the 
decision  of  the  State  Supreme  Court  in  the  case  of  Hoke  v.  Hen- 
derson, that  the  holder  of  an  office  had  a  right  of  property  therein, 
and  quoting  the  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States  in  the  case  of  Butler  v.  Pennsylvania,  which  was  exactly 
to  the  contrary.  He  held  that  a  convention  oS  the  people  was  not 
bound  by  any  State  Court,  but  only  by  the  United  States  Supreme 
Court,  and  this  view  was  agreed  to  by  a  majority  of  the  Conven- 
tion. Concerning  the  war  debt,  the  other  important  subject  of  dis- 
cussion in  this  session  of  the  Convention  Mr.  Moore  was  imcertain. 
He  thought  that  the  Convention  should  delay  final  action  until  the 
whole  matter  could  be  investigated  and  the  mind  of  the  people,  as 
well  as  of  the  delegates,  cleared  of  any  doubt.  His  upright  nature 
and  business  sense  made  him  opposed  to  repudiation  on  principle. 
But  he  took  little  part  in  the  debate  until  a  telegram,  sent  by  the 
President,  in  response  to  an  exceedingly  misleading  one  from 
(Governor  Holden,  was  received  by  the  Convention,  demanding 
the  instant  repudiation  of  the  whole  war  debt.  Then  it  was  that 
Mr,  Moore's  opinion  became  to  an  extent  settled.  He  was  op- 
posed to  Federal  interference,  and  on  the  floor  of  the  Convention 
criticised  the  President  sharply  for  sending  the  message,  and  ad- 


282  NORTH  CAROLINA 

vised  that  the  Convention  should  refuse  to  accept  his  dictation. 
But  his  efforts  were  in  vain  and  repudiation  followed. 

In  the  Worth-Holden  campaign  of  1865  Mr.  Moore,  while  not 
.an  admirer  of  the  latter,  was  opposed  to  a  contest  and  refused  to 
oppose  him.  He  gives  his  reasons  for  fearing  a  division  in  the 
following  extract  from  a  letter  to  Tod  R.  Caldwell : 

"A  division,  placing  the  Unionists  on  one  side  and  the  Secessionists  on 
the  other,  will  lead  to  a  breach  made  wider  and  deeper  every  day,  until  the 
extremest  partizan  on  either  side  will  become  the  most  powerful  man  of 
his  party  and  the  most  dangerous  to  the  quiet  and  prosperity  of  the  State. 
With  such  tools  as  these,  we  shall  be  sure  to  dig  up  negro  suffrage  and 
worship  it  as  many  did  the  cotton  bag." 

Under  an  ordinance  of  the  Convention,  Governor  Holden  ap- 
pointed Moore,  W.  S.  Alason  and  R.  S.  Donnell  to  suggest  such 
changes  in  the  laws  of  the  State  as  were  made  necessary  by  the 
emancipation  of  the  slaves,  and  to  draw  up  a  code  in  reference  to 
the  freedmen.  Their  report,  written  by  Mr.  Moore,  was  an  able 
and  elaborate  discussion  of  the  whole  subject.  It  is  too  long  even 
to  give  a  summary  of  it  here,  but  it  was  the  most  liberal  Legisla- 
tion proposed  by  any  Southern  State  in  regard  to  the  freedmen. 
It  made  all  the  laws,  with  two  slight  exceptions,  apply  equally  to 
both  races,  recognized  the  citizenship  of  the  freedmen  as  dating 
from  emancipation,  and  gave  them  the  full  protection  of  the  laws 
in  the  courts.  All  the  legislation  suggested,  with  but  little  amend- 
ment, was  adopted  by  the  General  Assembly  of  1866. 
.  In  May,  1866,  the  Convention  met  in  adjourned  session.  Most 
of  the  session  was  s|)cnt  in  reconstructing  the  State  constitution. 
The  draft  proposed  to  the  Convention  embodied  most  of  the  old 
constitution  with  certain  additions  and  amendments.  Its  arrange- 
ment was  the  work  of  Mr.  Moore,  and  throughout  the  debates  he 
was  its  strongest  defender.  To  him  was  largely  due  its  adoption 
by  the  Convention.  It  was  a  much  more  compact  and  finished  in- 
strument than  the  original  constitution  and  the  amendments  were 
all  improvements.  When  submitted  to  the  people  it  was  opposed 
by  many  on  the  ground  that  the  Convention,  called  as  it  was  by 
the  President  of  the  United  States,  for  the  purpose  of  restoring 


the  Stale  to  the  Union,  had  no  legal  power  to  alter  the  funtiamental 
law  of  the  State.  Jiidge  Thomas  Rnffin  and  Judge  M.  E.  Manly 
were  t!ie  most  conspicuous  and  influential  of  its  opponents, 
and  to  their  influence,  probably,  was  due  its  rejection  by  the 
people. 

Mr.  Moore  was  not  in  sj-mpathy  with  the  party  in  control  of 
affairs  in  North  Carolina  from  iS66  to  1868.  Nor  was  he  in  sym- 
pathy with  the  radicals.  When  the  reconstruction  acts  were 
passed  he  belie\'ed  them  unconstitutional,  but  he  refused  to  take 
■  part  in  the  conservative  movement,  as  he  thought  there  should 
be  a  convention  of  the  people  to  settle  the  questions  which  were 
then  at  issue.  But  when  the  Convention  met  and  he  saw  its  char- 
acter and  tendencies,  he  was  convinced  that  but  little  good  could 
come  out  of  it ;  and  this  view  was  confirmed  when  its  debates  were 
concluded  and  the  new  constitution  completed.  Regarding  this, 
he  wrote  his  daughter  in  1868:  "It  is  in  my  view,  with  some  ex- 
ceptions, a  wretched  basis  to  secure  lil>erty  or  property.  The  leg- 
islative authority  rests  upon  ignorance  without  a  single  check,  ex- 
cepl  senatorial  age,  against  legislative  plunder  by  exorbitant  tax- 
ation." Concerning  the  Republican  candidates  at  the  first  elec- 
tion under  it,  he  said  in  the  same  letter :  "The  Radical  Party  pur- 
poses to  fill  our  Congressional  representation  with  those  men  re- 
cently introduced  from  other  quarters  of  the  United  States,  and 
to  impose  them  upon  us  through  the  instrumentality  and  league 
of  the  ignorance  of  the  State ;  nor  have  they  stopped  there — they 
have  proposed  for  the  administration  of  justice  in  our  Superior 
Courts  men  whose  knowledge  of  law  is  contemptible  and  far  be- 
low the  requirements  of  a  decent  county  court  lawyer.  The  party 
has  had  no  regard,  unless  where  they  thought  they  would  increase 
their  strength,  for  the  selection  of  a  single  man  of  worth  or  in- 
telligence for  any  office,  however  high  might  be  the  qualifications 
demanded  for  it." 

Mr.  Moore's  fears  in  regard  to  the  character  of  the  new  Govern- 
ment were  confirmed  in  i86g.  when  certain  justices  of  the  Supreme 
Court  took  part  in  a  political  demonstration  of  the  Republican 
Party  in  Raleigh.     Mr.  Moore,  as  "Father  of  the  Bar,"  of  North 


I 


284  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Carolina,  wrote  a  protest  which  seems  well  worthy  of  quotation 
in  full.     It  is  as  follows: 

"A  Solemn  Protest  of  the  Bar  of  North  Carolina  Against  Judicial  In- 
terference in  Political  Affairs. 

**The  undersigned,  present  or  former  members  of  the  bar  of  North 
Carolina  have  witnessed  the  late  public  demonstrations  of  political  parti- 
zanship,  by  the  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State,  with  profound 
regret  and  unfeigned  alarm  for  the  purity  of  the  future  administration  of 
the  laws  of  the  land. 

"Active  and  open  participation  in  the  strife  of  political  contests  by  any 
judge  of  the  State,  so  far  as  we  recollect,  or  tradition  or  history  has  in- 
formed us,  was  unknown  to  the  people  until  the  late  exhibitions.  To  say 
that  these  were  wholly  unexpected,  and  that  a  prediction  of  them  by  the 
wisest  among  us  would  have  been  spurned  as  incredible,  would  not  ex- 
press half  of  our  astonishment,  or  the  painful  shock  suffered  by  our  feel- 
ings when  we  saw  the  humiliating  fact  accomplished. 

"Not  only  did  we  not  anticipate  it,  but  we  thought  it  was  impossible  to 
be  done  in  our  day.  Many  of  us  have  passed  through  political  times  al- 
most as  excited  as  those  of  to-day;  and  most  of  us  recently  through  one 
more  excited ;  but  never  before  have  we  seen  the  judges  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  singly  or  en  masse,  moved  from  that  becoming  propriety  so  indis- 
pensable to  secure  the  respect  of  the  people,  and  throwing  aside  the  ermine. 
rush  into  the  mad  contest  of  politics  under  the  excitement  of  drums  and 
flags.  From  the  unerring  lessons  of  the  past  we  are  assured  that  a  judge 
who  openly  and  publicly  displays  his  political  party  zeal  renders  himself 
unfit  to  hold  the  'balance  of  justice,'  and  that  wheno'er  an  occasion  may 
offer  to  serve  his  fellow-parlizans,  he  will  yield  to  the  temptation,  and  the 
'wavering  balance'  will  shake. 

"It  is  a  natural  weakness  in  man  that  he  who  warmly  and  publicly  identi- 
fies himself  with  a  political  party  will  be  tempted  to  uphold  the  party 
which  upholds  him,  and  all  experience  teaches  us  that  a  partizan  judg^e  can- 
not be  safely  trusted  to  settle  the  great  questions  of  a  political  constitu- 
tion, while  he  reads  and  studies  the  book  of  its  laws  under  the  banners  of 
a  party. 

"ITnwilling  that  our  silence  .should  be  construed  into  an  indifference  to 
the  humiliating  spectacle  now  passing  arotmd  us,  influenced  solely  by  a 
spirit  of  love  and  veneration  for  the  past  purity,  which  has  distinguished 
the  administration  of  the  law  in  our  State,  and  animated  by  the  hope  that 
the  voice  of  the  bar  of  North  Carolina  will  not  be  powerless  to  avert  the 
pernicious  example,  which  we  have  denounced,  and  to  repress  its  contagions 
influence,  we  have  under  a  sense  of  solemn  duty  subscribed  and  published 
this  paper." 


BARTHOLOMEW  FIGURES  MOORE  285 

This,  signed  by  Mr.  Moore  and  one  hundred  and  seven  other 
lawyers,  was  published  in  the  Daily  Sentinel  of  April  ig.  i86g. 
The  Supreme  Court,  on  June  8th  following,  ordered  that  the 
twenty-five  attorneys  who  had  signed  it  and  who  were  then  prac- 
ticing attorneys  before  tlie  Supreme  Court  should  be  disabled  from 
appearing  until  they  shoidd  show  cause  to  the  contrary.  The  rule 
was  served  upon  B,  F,  Moore,  Thomas  Bragg  and  Edward  G. 
Haywood  only.  Messrs.  Battle.  Person,  Fowle,  Barnes  and  Smith 
appeared  for  iheni,  and  the  (luestion  was  argued  before  the  Court. 
The  respondents  claimed  that  while  they  had  intended  to  express 
their  disapproval  of  the  action  of  certain  members  of  the  Court, 
they  had  not  intended  to  injure  it  or  bring  it  into  contempt,  their 
sole  purpose  being  to  attempt  to  preserve  the  purity  of  the  Court 
and  to  protect  the  administration  of  justice  in  the  State.  After 
this  disavowal  and  the  payment  of  costs,  the  rule  was  discharged 
and  the  respondents  excused.  Mr.  Moore's  view  of  the  matter, 
as  expressed  to  his  daughter  Lucy,  is  interesting.     He  said : 

"While  I  rejoice  that  my  course  is  sustained  by  all  the  virtuous  and 
sensible,  yet  I  weep  over  the  degradalion  into  which  the  Court  has  plunged 
ilKlf  and  ihe  liberties  of  freemen.  I  had  no  purpose  to  degrade  the  Court; 
God  knows  that  my  only  object  was  to  purify  and  clevalc  it. 

"The  (omiiici  of  individuals  composing  Ibc  Court  was  unbecoining  the 
jiiilfce!^,  according  to  my  judgment,  founded  upon  all  the  past  examples  of 
the  enlightened  men  who  had  adorned  our  annals.  I  saw  that  if  such  con- 
duct should  be  tolerated  and  become  common,  the  judiciary  would  sink  into 
partisan  political  corruption.  I  felt  it  my  duty  as  the  oldest  member  of  the 
bar  to  lift  my  wavering  voice  against  the  pernicious  example.  I  did  so 
as  an  act  of  duly.  I  feel  now  .still  more  sensibly  that  it  was  my  duly.  I 
made  no  sacrifice  in  doing  my  duty.  The  ordeal  I  have  passed  through 
has  m.idc  me  proud  of  my  poEiition.  I  fell  that  I  was  called  to  account 
for  having  rebuked  a  great  vice,  for  having  discharged  fearlessly  a  high 
and  nohic  duly,  and  I  was  prepared  to  come  off  more  than  conqueror.  I 
feci  no  stain  on  my  name.  There  is  none.  I  am  cheered  by  every  lawyer 
and  gentleman  I  have  heard  speak,  without  as  well  as  within  the  State. 
Every  man  of  sense  ridicules  the  opinion  of  the  Court.  It  is  without  law 
to  sustain  it.  contradictory,  despotic,  spiteful  and  malignant.  It  is  the 
common  sport  of  every  man.  I  wish  that  I  could  have  saved  the  Court 
from  the  degradation  into  which  ihey  have  fallen,  but  it  was  bent  on  re- 
venge and  lo !  they  li.ive  fatten  into  their  own  pit." 


286  NORTH  CAROLINA 

When  Governor  Holden  was  impeached  Mr.  Moore  was  sought 
by  each  side  as  counsel,  but  decHned  to  appear.  He  was,  however, 
in  favor  of  impeachment  and  wrote  his  daughter  the  following 
in  regard  to  it :  '*Holden's  impeachment  is  demanded  by  a  sense 
of  public  virtue  and  due  regard  to  the  honor  of  the  State.  He  is 
an  exceedingly  corrupt  man  and  ought  to  be  placed  before  the 
people  as  a  public  example  of  a  tyrant  condemned  and  punished." 

After  this  time  his  practice  was  largely  in  the  Federal  Court 
In  1 87 1  his  son-in-law,  John  Catling,  became  associated  with  him 
in  his  practice. 

Mr.  Moore  died  at  Raleigh,  November  2^,  1878.  In  his  will 
he  bequeathed  one  hundred  dollars  to  each  of  all  his  former  slaves 
living  in  North  Carolina ;  he  also  remembered  generously  the  Uni- 
versity of  North  Carolina,  the  Masonic  Orphan  Asylum,  and  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Masons.  Of  this  fraternity  he  had  been  a  loyal 
and  devoted  member  for  many  years. 

He  rests  in  Oakwood  Cemetery  in  Raleigh  with  this  fitting  in- 
scription above  him : 

BARTHOLOMEW  FIGURES  MOORE,  LLD. 

Born  January  29.  1801 ;  Died  November  27,  1878. 
Citizen,  Lawyer,  Statesman. 

To  himself,   his   family  and   his  country  he  was  true;   to  evade  a  duty 
was  to  him   impossihle ;  in  the  discharge  of  duty  he  was  diligent. 
Difficulty  intensified  his  effort.     Danger  rendered  his  resolu- 
tion more  firm.     A  devoted  son  of  North  Carolina.     A 
never-failing  friend  and  liberal  benefactor  of  her 
interests.       An     uncompromising     foe     to 
oppression.     A   profound  jurist  and 
a  fearless  patriot. 

/.  G,  dc  Roulhac  Hamilton, 


288  NORTH  CAROLINA 

All  of  these  families  possessed  strong  characteristics  and  stood 
well  in  their  respective  communities. 

Samuel  Davidson  Morgan  was  a  native  of  \'irginia.  He  moved 
into  North  Carolina  in  1851,  and  settled  in  the  Fishdam  district 
of  Wake  County.  There  he  married  and  engaged  in  planting  to- 
bacco, and  he  likewise  manufactured  tobacco.  To  him  and  his 
wife,  Talithia  Adaline  Tate,  w'ere  bom  two  sons,  William  M.,  the 
eldest,  born  September  8,  1855 ;  and  Samuel  Tate,  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  born  on  May  15,  1857. 

The  year  1865  was  one  of  general  calamity,  but  in  particular 
(lid  it  bring  sorrows  and  changes  to  the  Morgan  household.  At 
its  very  o|)ening,  in  January,  when  the  people  were  mourning  the 
(lire  results  of  the  war,  Samuel  Morgan,  the  father  of  the  family, 
(lied,  and  in  I'ebruary  Mrs.  Morgan  lost  her  only  brother,  and  the 
next  month  she  was  also  bereft  of  her  father.  To  the  widowed 
niotluT  there  were  left  only  her  two  young  sons,  aged  nine  and 
seven  res|)eclively.  And  at  the  very  period  of  this  accumulation 
of  sorrow,  the  retreating  Confederate  army  passed  to  the  west- 
ward, and  the  b'ederal  army,  to  the  terror  of  the  people,  took  pos- 
session of  the  country  in  which  she  lived — being  now  a  part  of 
Durham  Comity.  Their  presence  was  a  menace  and  a  horror,  and 
the  calamity  and  distresses  of  that  woeful  time  of  war  can  neither 
be  j)ort rayed  nor  imagined. 

The  estates  of  both  her  husband  and  father  were  considerable, 
but  consisted  chiefly  of  land  and  slaves.  The  slaves  were  now 
freed,  and  the  negroes  moved  here  and  there  at  will,  and  labor  was 
disorganized,  and  the  land  was  practically  valueless.  Mr.  Morgan 
had  also  been  engaged  in  manufacturing  tobacco,  and  had  ac- 
cimiiilated  (|uite  a  large  (|uantity  of  tobacco,  which  was  still  on  hand 
•It  the  time  when  that  section  was  occupied  by  the  Federal  army. 
Indeed  nearly  all  the  pn^perty  of  the  family,  except  their  land  and 
negroes,  consisted  of  this  tobacco — and  it  was  all  taken  and  used 
by  Slierman's  marauding  troops.  The  superior  quality  of  the  to- 
ba(*co  raised  in  that  region  had  gained  for  it,  even  before  the  war, 
a  good  r(^j)ntation,  and  the  distribution  of  that  accumulated  by 
Mr.   Morgan,  as  well  as  that  possessed  by  other  persons  in  the 


SAMUEL  TATE  MORGAN  28.J 

neighborhood  of  Durham  Station,  wliere  Sherman's  army  rested, 
tended  to  make  famous  the  Durham  tobacco,  wliich  in  later  years 
became  celebrated  far  and  wide  for  its  excellence. 

The  (lifticiilties  that  surrounded  Mrs.  Morgan  at  that  period  of 
aflliction,  trouble  and  uncertainty  were  enough  lo  crush  the  spirit 
of  any  ordinary  person,  but  Mrs.  Morgan  saved  what  she  could 
from  the  wreck  and  devastation  of  those  evil  days,  and  with  a 
brave  heart  addressed  herself  to  the  duties  of  her  situation. 

Eventually  she  secured  the  services  of  an  overseer,  and  the  cul- 
tivation of  her  plantation  was  again  resumed,  but  under  circum- 
stances that  were  far  from  propitious.  Yet  she  managed  to  make 
enough  to  support  her  family  and  send  the  children  to  school.  Her 
eldest  son  was  educated  at  Bingham's  Military  School,  which  was 
then  located  at  Aiebanesville ;  and  then  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  placed  first  at  Horner's  Military  School  at  Oxford,  and  after- 
ward he,  too,  went  to  Bingham's.  Both  of  these  schools  were  ex- 
cellent, not  merely  because  of  the  admirable  teaching,  but  as  well 
because  of  the  military  feature  and  discipline,  which  inculcated 
obedience  to  duty  and  developed  a  high  standard  of  moral  char- 
acter. At  the  age  of  seventeen,  however,  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
who  was  then  well  advanced  in  his  studies,  was  withdrawn  from 
school  to  join  his  mother  at  home,  for  she  was  residing  on  her 
plantation,  in  the  midst  of  negroes,  the  only  other  white  person 
near  being  the  overseer;  and  the  negroes  were  often  lawless  and 
had  an  undue  sense  of  their  importance,  in  those  first  years  of  their 
freedom  and  exemption  from  the  restraints  of  their  former  planta- 
tion life,  which  indeed  their  political  leaders  constantly  fostered, 
thus  greatly  contributing  to  their  demoralization. 

Being  at  home,  Mr.  Morgan  engaged  in  the  usual  work  of  farm 
life,  developing  a  robust  physique  and  an  excellent  constitution; 
and,  like  his  brother,  he  also  employed  himself  in  the  manufacture 
of  tobacco,  a  crop  that  was  raised  on  their  farm  and  generally  in 
that  region.  Rut  the  internal  revenue  laws  were  exacting,  and 
were  very  stringcntl\'  enforced  in  those  days,  so  tliat  there  was 
always  danger  of  falling  into  trouble  with  over-zealous  revenue 
agents.    And  so  Mrs.  Morgan,  apprehensive  of  trouble,  required 


290  NORTH  CAROLINA 

her  sons  to  abandon  that  business ;  and  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
took  up  the  mercantile  and  hmibering  business,  which  he  success- 
fully pursued  until  1879. 

Indeed,  so  successful  was  he  and  so  hopeful  of  the  future  that 
in  1875  he  became  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Sally  F.  Thompson, 
the  only  daughter  of  Honorable  George  W.  Thompson  and 
Frances  Crenshaw,  his  wife,  of  Wake  County — a  marriage  that 
was  most  fortunate  and  happy  for  him.  Of  Mr.  Thompson  the 
eminent  Doctor  Thomas  E.  Skinner,  in  an  article  published  in  the 
Biblical  Recorder,  among  other  things,  said : 

"Without  seeking  office  ever,  he  was  chosen  and  elected  to  the  State 
Senate  three  terms,  for  one  of  which  he  defeated  the  late  Governor  Charles 
Manly.  His  friends  also  placed  upon  him  the  honor  of  representing  this 
district  in  Congress;  this  he  declined,  but  recommended  the  late  General 
L.  O'B.  Branch,  who  was  elected  to  that  position.  George  Thompson's 
ambition  was  unselfish.  He  did  not  seek  honor  of  men  for  the  sake  of  the 
honor  merely,  but  only  to  be  useful  to  his  fellow  man.  He  was  one  of  the 
most  honorable  and  valuable  citizens  that  Wake  Coimly  has  produced." 

The  association  of  Mr.  Morgan  with  his  father-in-law  resulted 
largely  to  his  benefit,  and  the  intercourse  between  them  being  close, 
he  has  ever  cherished  throughout  life  a  warm  affection  and  ad- 
miration for  him. 

In  the  Fall  of  1878  his  brother  moved  into  the  town  of  DurKam, 
which  had  rapidly  grown  from  a  small  hamlet  in  1872  to  quite  a 
town,  and  the  next  year  the  subject  of  this  sketch  also  located  in 
that  town.  Durham  was  then  becoming  a  center  of  trade  ff»r  all 
the  tobacco  region,  as  it  was  one  of  the  leading  tobacco  marts  of 
this  country.  Here  he  began  a  wholesale  trade  in  grain  and  pro- 
visions, and  also  a  commission  business  in  connection  with  hand- 
ling fertilizers. 

After  acting  as  agent  for  several  fertilizer  companies  for  a  war 
or  two,  he  became  impressed  with  the  belief  that  fertilizers  could 
be  manufactured  in  Durham  as  well  as  elsewhere.  He  was  led 
to  consider  this  subject  because  of  the  vast  quantity  of  tobacco 
stems,  a  waste  product  of  the  tobacco  factories  of  Durham,  ready 
at  hand,  known  to  be  rich  in  potash,  and  proved  bv  experience 


SAMUEL  TATE  MORGAN 

to  be  valuable  as  a  fertiliziT,  especially  for  tobacco  crops.  His 
business  having  prospered,  and  being  able  to  embark  in  this  new 
enterprise,  he  organized  a  partnership  in  connection  with  Mr.  Eu- 
gene Morehead,  of  the  Morehead  Banking  Company,  and  his 
brother,  Mr.  William  M.  Morgan,  whose  line  talenls  and  profi- 
ciency had  led  to  his  employment  as  cashier  of  the  Morehead  Bank- 
ing Company,  for  the  purpose  of  manufacturing  fertilizers.  The 
firm  name  was  the  Durham  Fertilizer  Company,  The  company 
prospered.  As  anticipated  b)-  Mr.  Morgan,  Durham  proved  an 
excellent  location  for  the  manufacture  of  fertilizers,  and  he  met 
with  no  difficulty  in  disposing  of  his  products  at  a  remunerative 
price.  In  i88g  Mr.  Morehead  died,  and  the  partnership  was  dis- 
solved and  was  succeeded  by  a  stock  company,  witli  a  capital  stock 
of  $6o,coo,  Mr.  Morgan  being  President  of  the  company,  and  hav- 
ing the  practical  management  of  its  affairs.  With  this  increased 
capital,  under  the  intelligent  direction  of  Mr.  Morgan,  the  con- 
cern now  entered  on  a  marvelous  growth.  Gradually  the  capital 
was  increased  to  $400,000,  and  branches  were  established  at  Rich- 
mond, Virginia,  and  at  Blacksbiirg,  South  Carolina ;  and  Mr.  Mor- 
gan also  organized  the  Norfolk  and  Carolina  Chemical  Company 
at  Xorfolk.  erecting  there  a  large  plant,  which  was  entirely  owned 
by  the  Durham  Company.  Indeed  the  development  and  progress 
of  the  business  was  so  great  and  so  gratifying  in  its  results  as  to 
place  Mr.  Morgan  in  the  forefront  of  the  important  business  men, 
not  only  of  Dnrhamj  but  of  the  State. 

In  the  meantime,  while  alwavs  cautious  and  conservative,  his 
progressive  spirit  led  him  to  be  intimately  connected  with  all  the 
business  enterprises  begun  in  Durham  at  that  period.  He  was 
instrumental  in  constructing  the  first  street  railway  that  was  built 
in  Durham,  and  was  concerned  in  establishing  the  second  cotton 
mill  that  was  erected  in  the  town,  and  he  contributed  to  the  pro- 
motion of  the  various  industrial  movements  of  that  era  so  remark- 
able fnr  its  activities  and  so  important  in  enhancing  the  growth 
of  Durham. 

Early  in  1895  the  business  of  the  Durham  Fertilizer  Company, 
and  of  the  companies  connected  with  it.  had  expanded  to  such  an 


292  NORTH  CAROLINA 

extent  that  Mr.  Morgan  conceived  the  idea  of  organizing  into  one 
compact  corporation  all  the  fertilizer  companies  of  North  Caro- 
lina and  Virginia.  After  months  of  laborious  work  this  purpose 
was  substantially  accomplished,  the  outcome  of  it  being  the  or- 
ganization of  the  V'irginia-Carolina  Chemical  Company,  with  a 
capital  stock  of  $5,000,400.  At  that  time  the  business  of  the 
consolidated  companies  was  very  remunerative,  and  the  output  of 
the  several  factories  approximated  100,000  tons  of  commercial  fer- 
tilizers. Now  began  a  new  era  of  progress.  Mr.  Morgan  speedily 
recognized  the  possibilities  of  the  situation,  and  was  indefatigable 
in  utilizing  every  element  that  promised  beneficial  results.  Pur- 
chases were  made  of  large  fields  of  phosphate  deposits,  and  with  a 
truly  enterprising  spirit  ^Ir.  Morgan  sought  to  secure  ample  sup- 
plies of  the  raw  material  for  his  factories  at  first  hand  and  at  the 
lowest  cost.  The  value  of  cotton  seed  as  the  basis  for  fertilizers 
was  early  appreciated,  and  Mr.  Morgan  obtained  for  his  company 
control  of  a  considerable  number  of  mills  erected  for  the  purpose 
of  crushing  this  product  of  the  Southern  cotton  fields. 

It  seemed  desirable,  for  the  purpose  of  distribution,  that  the 
company  should  own  a  steamship  of  its  own,  and  he  caused  to 
be  built  a  vessel  particularly  adapted  to  the  business.  The  Rich- 
mond  Times,  in  mentioning  the  accomplishment  of  this  purpose, 
in  1899  said: 

'•The  launching  of  the  5".  T.  Morgan  is  an  event  of  great  importance  to 
the  South,  and  in  a  sense,  an  event  of  national  interest.  Of  interest  to 
the  South,  in  that  the  steamer  is  owned  by  the  Virginia-Carolina  Chemical 
Company,  a  mammoth  enterprise,  the  prosperity  of  which  means  the  pros- 
perity of  the  Southland,  and  food  and  raiment  to  its  people.  Of  national 
interest,  in  that  the  5".  T.  Morgan  is  the  first  tramp  steamer  ever  built  and 
owned  in  this  country,  and  intended  to  ply  to  all  parts  of  the  world.  It 
is  befitting  that  the  steamer  should  bear  the  name  of  the  president  of  the 
company,  Mr.  S.  T.  Morgan.  Mr.  Morgan  was  the  organizer  of  the 
Virginia- Carolina  Chemical  Company,  and  since  its  organization  in  1893 
has  been  its  president.  He  is  a  strong,  conservative,  yet  progressive  man 
of  affairs,  possessing  great  executive  ability,  and  under  his  guidance  the 
company  has  become  the  greatest  fertilizer  manufacturing  company  in  the 
world." 


SAMUEL  TATE  MORGAN  293 

It  is  to  be  observeiJ  that  the  use  of  fertilizers  has  indeed  been 
of  great  advantage  to  the  agricultural  portions  of  this  country, 
and  especially  to  tlie  South.  Formerly  Peruvian  guano  was  the 
chief  reliance  of  the  Southern  planter,  and  when  the  supply  of  that 
valuable  commodity  was  exhausted  it  became  of  exceeding  inter- 
est that  some  suitable  substitute  should  be  furnished ;  this  has  been 
done  in  great  part  by  the  company  which  Mr.  Morgan  organized 
and  created,  and  his  work  has  been  of  incalculable  beneiit  to  the 
agriculture  of  the  South. 

He  has  been  unremitting  in  his  efforts  to  give  the  country  a 
cheap,  reliable  and  valuable  fertilizer ;  and  in  seeking  to  carry  out 
this  purpose,  Mr.  Morgan  has  visited  Europe  and  made  contracts 
and  has  purchased  large  beds  of  mineral  deposits,  and  has  made 
similar  purchases  in  Mexico. 

In  1902,  on  the  occasion  of  the  visit  of  Prince  Henry  of  Prus- 
sia to  this  country,  The  New  York  Sun,  in  suggesting  that  the 
Prince  should  meet  at  luncheon  "One  hundred  immortals  of 
Yankee  industry."  said : 

"The  industrial  development  of  the  United  Slates  would  hardly  have 
been  what  it  is  to-ilaj  had  it  not  been  for  the  wonderful  ilevclupmcut  of 
the  South.  It  has  seemed  to  the  ^un  that  two  men.  perhaps  more  than  any 
others,  should  stand  for  the  industrial  development  of  the  country  south  of 
Mason '.s  and  Dixon's  line.  One  of  Ihem  is  Samuel  T.  Morgan,  President 
of  the  Virginia-Carolina  Chemical  Company.  By  a  process  which  he  de- 
vised for  the  making  of  phosphate.  Mr.  Morgan  has  turned  barren  waste 
of  the  South  into  productive  cotton  plantations,  and  thereby  has  turned 
millions  of  dollars  into  the  pockets  of  the  Southern  people." 

Frotn  year  to  year  the  business  of  his  company  has  constantly 
been  enlarged,  until  at  length  it  has  a  paid-up  capital  of 
$46,000,000,  and  manufactures  a  million  tons  of  fertilizers, 
while  its  subsidiary  companies  do  a  business  of  over  $14,000,000 
l>esidcs.  it  being  the  greatest  industrial  organization  of  its  kind 
in  the  world,  and  by  far  the  largest  industrial  organization  of 
any  kind  in  the  South.  And  as  vast  and  important  as  it  is.  this 
company  is  virtually  the  creation  of  Mr.  Morgan;  and  from  its 
inception  it  has  been  under  his  guidance  and  direction,  for  he 


294  NORTH  CAROLINA 

has  been  the  only  President  and  head  it  has  ever  had.  His  whole 
time  and  attention  is  devoted  to  the  work  of  his  company,  and 
he  gives  but  little  thought  to  outside  matters.  Indeed,  as  Presi- 
dent of  the  Virginia-Carolina  Chemical  Company  and  of  its  sub- 
sidiary companies,  the  Southern  Cotton  Oil  Company,  and  the 
Charleston  (S.  C.)  Mining  and  Manufacturing  Company,  he  is  so 
thoroughly  employed  as  to  leave  no  time  for  other  things.  Some 
of  the  largest  financial  institutions  at  the  North  have  tendered  him 
honorable  and  responsible  positions  as  a  director  in  association 
with  leading  men  of  the  Union,  but  he  has  felt  compelled  to  decline 
these  flattering  offers ;  the  only  directorships  he  has  ever  accepted 
being  in  the  Merchants*  National  Bank  and  in  the  Virginia  Trust 
Company,  both  of  Richmond,  Virginia. 

In  1896  Mr.  Morgan's  family  moved  from  Durham  to  Rich- 
mond, where  he  could  be  more  with  them,  and  he  has  made  that 
city  his  residence ;  though  he  still  retains  his  citizenship  in  North 
Carolina,  and  his  business  is  of  such  a  nature  that  he  cannot  call 
any  particular  spot  his  home.  He  is  still  devoted  to  the  State  of 
his  birth  and  the  old  homestead  where  he  was  raised ;  and  he  owns 
to-day  every  foot  of  land  he  inherited  from  his  parents. 

His  marriage  has  been  blessed  with  three  children — Alice, 
Blanche,  Maude  Crensliaw,  and  Samuel  Tate,  Jr.,  all  of  whom  are 
living. 

Mr.  Morgan  has  always  been  identified  with  the  Democratic 
Party,  and  his  religious  affiliations  are  with  the  Baptist  Oinrch. 
While  thoroughly  a  business  man,  he  has  always  been  extremely 
fond  of  hunting  and  finds  the  recreation  of  a  day  or  two  of  this 
sport  every  now  and  then  beneficial  as  a  tonic,  and  as  restoring 
the  waste  of  mind  and  body.  Nor  is  he  so  exclusively  devoted  to 
business  that  he  does  not  indulge  in  social  intercourse.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Westmoreland,  Commonwealth,  and  Deep  Run 
Hunt  Clubs  of  Richmond.  Virginia;  the  New  York  Yacht,  the 
Calumet  and  Manhattan  Clubs,  of  New  York ;  and  he  enjoys  his 
association  with  the  members  of  these  different  organizations. 

/.  H,  Southgate. 


296  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Robinson  Miimford,  an  Englishman.  By  this  marriage  he  had  six 
children — Sarah,  Eliza,  Charles,  Richmond  Mumford,  Giles  and 
John  Stokes  Pearson.  He  was  an  enterprising  and  successful 
planter  and  merchant  until  the  War  of  1812  wrecked  his  fortune. 

Mrs.  Pearson  was  eighth  in  descent  from  Elder  William 
Brewster,  and  she  was  a  woman  of  remarkable  force  of  character, 
and  she  exerted  much  fortitude,  energy  and  wise  discretion  in 
alleviating  the  pecuniary  misfortunes  of  her  family,  and  in  guid- 
ing, instructing  and  educating  her  children.  I  have  often  heard 
Chief  Justice  Pearson  speak  of  his  mother  in  terms  of  filial  admi- 
ration and  the  most  tender  affection. 

After  the  pecuniary  failure  of  Colonel  Peiarson,  his  son,  the 
Honorable  Joseph  Pearson,  agreed  to  advance  the  money  and  su- 
perintend the  education  of  his  half-brother,  Richmond  Mumford 
At  this  time  he  was  a  member  of  Congress,  and  he  carried  his 
young  brother  to  Washington,  placed  him  in  one  of  the  primary 
schools  of  that  city,  and  also  caused  him  to  be  baptized  by 
Archbishop  Carroll  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 

On  his  return  from  Washington  young  Richmond  commenced 
his  academical  studies  in  Statesville,  in  the  school  of  John  Mushat, 
who  was  a  celebrated  teacher  at  that  time.  In  this  school  he  was 
prepared  for  college,  and  entered  the  University  at  Chapel  Hill, 
where  he  was  graduated  in  1823  with  the  first  honors  of  his  class. 

While  at  college  Judge  Pearson  devoted  but  little  time  to  the 
beauties  of  poetry  and  the  elegancies  of  polite  literature.  He 
*  studied  diligently  the  classics  prescribed  in  the  college  curricu- 
lum, not  from  any  decided  taste  for  such  accomplishments  and 
learning,  but  influenced  by  a  sense  of  duty  and  a  generous 
ambition  which  he  realized  in  receiving  the  first  honors  of  his 
class. 

After  graduation  he  was  offered  a  tutorship  in  the  University, 
which  he  declined,  as  he  was  desirous  of  commencing  at  once 
the  study  of  the  law.  In  early  life  he  had  determined  to  follow 
the  legal  profession,  and  in  the  bright  day-dreams  of  boyhood  he 
had  placed  the  Chief  Justiceship  of  the  Supreme  Court  as  the 
goal  of  his  ambition.    When  he  quit  the  halls  of  science  and  learn- 


RICHMOND  M.  PEARSON  297 

ing,  crowned  with  the  laurels  of  scholastic  triumphs,  he  was  eager 
to  enter  upon  the  struggle  for  the  highest  prize  of  usefulness,  for- 
tune and  fame  to  be  won  in  the  intellectual  contests  of  the  fonun. 
With  a  strong  and  fixed  purpose  of  reaching  the  goal  of  his  young 
ambition,  he  became  a  law  student  under  Judge  Henderson,  and 
commenced  the  study  of  that  noble  science  which  in  all  his  after 
life  was  the  object  of  his  admiration  and  almost  exclusive 
devotion. 

I  have  often  heard  him  speak  of  Chief  Justice  Henderson  in 
terms  of  high  admiration  and  fond  affection.  He  remained  about 
two  years  in  the  law  school,  and  was  a  diligent  student  and 
acquired  extensive  legal  learning  with  great  accuracy. 

While  on  the  bench  with  him,  I  remember  on  one  occasion,  when 
investigating  a  legal  question  involved  in  a  case  before  the 
Supreme  Court,  I  could  obtain  no  satisfactory  information  from 
our  State  reports  and  other  books  which  I  had  examined,  he 
told  me  that  I  could  find  the  question  solved  in  a  note  in  Saun- 
ders* Reports,  about  the  middle  of  the  second  volume,  half-way 
down  on  the  left-hand  page.  From  this  direction,  in  a  short  time, 
I  found  the  information  desired.  He  was  pleased  with  the  result 
of  my  investigation,  and  said  that  he  remembered  reading  this 
note  at  the  law  school  and  had  not  seen  it  for  more  than  forty 
years. 

Judge  Pearson  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1826,  and  the  prepa- 
ration for  the  duties  of  his  profession  was  so  thorough  and  exten- 
sive that  he  did  not  have  to  undergo  the  melancholy  period  of 
long  probation  which  many  imperfectly  prepared  young  lawyers 
have  to  endure  before  they  achieve  success.  He  had  a  good  prac- 
tice almost  from  the  beginning  of  his  career,  and  in  a  few  years 
he  stood  as  an  acknowledged  equal  among  the  distinguished  law- 
yers of  his  circuit  of  larger  experience  and  consummate  ability. 
Tic  was  remarkable  for  his  integrity  and  strict  attention  to  pro- 
fessional business  and  his  unwearied  diligence  in  the  preparation 
of  liis  cases.  He  had  not  the  gift  of  eloquence,  of  words  and 
imagery,  hut  the  clearness  and  precision  with  which  his  argu- 
ments were  made  gave  them  the  force  of  the  eloquence  of  thought 


298  NORTH  CAROLINA 

and  pure  reason.     He  was  always  faithful  to  his  clients,  and 
whether  he  lost  or  won  their  cases  they  felt  that  he  had  done  all 
that  his  intellect,  integrity,  industry  and  learning  could  accom- 
plish.    After  a  successful  practice  of  the  law  for  nine  years,  he 
was  elevated  to  the  Superior  Court  bench  in  1836.    As  a  Superior 
Court  judge,  he  was  prompt  and  indefatigable  in  the  perform- 
ance of  his  public  duties,  and  administered  justice  with  a  wise 
discretion  and  with  strict  integrity  and  impartiality.    He  was  on 
the  Superior  Court  bench  twelve  years,  and  during  that  period 
held  the  courts  several  times  in  each  county  in  the  State,  and  was 
regarded  by  all  of  his  fellow-citizens  as  an  able,  wise,  just  and 
incorruptible  judge. 

In  1848  he  was  elected  by  the  Legislature  as  an  Associate  Jus- 
tice of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  here  he  entered  upon  the  field  of 
his  future  usefulness,  greatness  and  permanent  fame.     He  was 
brought  into  contact  with  Chief  Justice  Ruffin  and  Judge  Xash, 
two  as  able  and  incorruptible  judges  as  ever  presided  over  any 
judicial  tribunal,  and  he  was  soon  regarded  as  their  equal  in  abil- 
ity,   integrity,   and   common-law    learning.      He   recognized  the 
exalted  merit  of  Chief  Justice  Ruffin  as  a  great  chancellor,  and  at 
once  began  to  devote  himself  to  the  study  of  the  enlightened  and 
highly  cultivated  system  of  chancery  jurisprudence.     In  a  few 
years  he  had  so  completely  mastered  the  subject  and  become  so 
much  interested  in  the  study  that  he  commenced  preparing  a 
treatise  on  equity,  and  would  have  completed  the  same  but  for 
the  publication  of  Mr.  Adams,  which  covered  the  ground  and  the 
arrangement  which  he  proposed  to  adopt. 

The  opinions  of  Judge  Pearson  while  on  the  Supreme  Court 
bench  constituted  the  monum.ent  of  his  legal  fame  and  will  endure 
forever.  In  1858  he  was  chosen  Chief  Justice  by  the  Court  to  fill 
the  vacancy  occasioned  by  the  death  of  Chief  Justice  Nash,  and 
he  held  this  office  until  he  was  elected  Chief  Justice  in  1868  under 
our  new  constitution,  upon  the  nomination  of  both  political  par- 
ties, and  by  an  almost  unanimous  vote  of  the  people  of  the  State. 
He  occupied  this  distinguished  position  until  his  death,  in  Januar>\ 
1878,  when  on  his  way  to  the  Supreme  Court.    He  was  on  the 


RICHMOND  M.  PEARSOX  299 

bench  for  more  than  forty  years,  and  he  died  in  the  path  of  duty 
with  his  untarnished  mantle  on. 

His  character  as  Chief  Justice  is  so  distinctly  portrayed  by  liis 
conduct  and  opinions,  and  is  so  universally  understood  and  recog- 
nized, that  it  can  be  easily  delineated.  He  possessed  exalted  intel- 
lect, extensive  learning  and  many  rare  j  udicial  and  administrative 
qualities.  He  was  remarkable  for  his  cheerful  devotion  to  the 
important  duties  of  his  position,  the  attention  and  care  which  he 
bestowed  on  all  cases  before  the  Court,  and  his  assiduous  labor 
to  dispose  of  business  and  to  prevent  the  accumulation  of  unde- 
cided cases  on  the  docket.  He  seemed  to  feel  that  justice  delayed 
was  justice  denied,  and  at  every  tenn  he  went  through  the  docket 
and  gave  every  litigant  an  opportunity  of  having  his  case  deter- 
mined. In  the  hearing  of  cases  he  was  patient  and  attentive,  and 
when  he  went  into  the  conference  of  the  Court  he  Was  ready  and 
willing  to  do  more  than  his  share  of  labor,  and  he  gave  his  associ- 
ates the  full  benefit  of  his  reflection  and  learning. 

When  he  was  in  good  health  I  do  not  remember  of  ever  having 
seen  him  weary  from  judicial  labor.  The  "gladsome  light  of 
jurisprudence"  seemed  to  keep  his  mind  always  fresh,  elastic  and 
vigorous.  He  never  shrank  from  any  responsibility  which  the 
duties  of  his  office  imposed  upon  him;  no  weight  of  difficulty 
seemed  long  to  oppress  him,  no  mnltipHcity  of  details  to  confuse 
him,  and  no  element  of  excitement  to  disturb  him.  He  seemed  to 
look  through  a  case  at  a  glance  and  understood,  as  by  intuition,  the 
facts  and  points  of  law  involved  as  well  as  the  able  and  learned 
coimsel  who  had  laboriously  prepared  an  argument ;  and  by  a  few, 
simple  suggestions  he  would  bring  distinctly  to  view  the  points 
decisive  of  the  matter,  or  throw  a  flood  of  light  upon  questions 
which  before  had  been  dark  and  intricate  to  the  most  acute  legal 
minds. 

His  style  of  composition  in  his  opinions  was  not  marked  with 
the  ease  and  elegance  of  classic  culture  and  erudition,  but  he  had 
a  power  of  prompt  and  ready  expression  in  correct  and  appropri- 
ate diction  remarkable  for  perspicuity  and  precision.  He  had  a 
wonderful  faculty  in  marshaling  and  arraying  the  most  compH- 


300  NORTH  CAROLINA 

cated  facts,  and  lucidly  applying  the  legal  principles  involved.    In 
important  cases  his  opinions  are  masterly  and  luminous  judicial 
compositions,  always  exhibiting  genius  and  power;  even  making 
difficult  subjects  easy  of  comprehension  to  the  untrained  popular 
mind.    He  often  used  homely  phrases  and  illustrations  taken  from 
everyday  life,  but  they  were  always  apt  in  elucidation  of  the  mat- 
ter discussed.     In  one  of  his  opinions  he  compared  the  common 
law  to  the  bark  of  the  oak,  which  imperceptibly  expands  to  give 
room  for  the  exogenous  growth  of  the  tree,  as  it  sends  its  roots 
deeper  into  the  subsoil  and  among  the  rocks,  to  prepare  to  with- 
stand the  storms  and  to  extend  its  branches  graceful  with  foliage, 
affording  healthful  and  refreshing  shades. 

Chief  Justice  Pearson  never  did  any  judicial  legislation  that 
caused  injustice  and  wrong  to  individuals  or  society,  and  he  never 
departed  from  the  rules  of  law  if  they  could,  by  any  reasonable 
construction  and  application,  be  made  subservient  to  the  adminis- 
tration of  substantial  equity  and  right.  He  only  modified  to  some 
extent  the  rigid  rules  of  the  common  law  by  applying  the  more 
liberal  and  enlightened  principles  of  equity  jurisprudence,  which 
declare  that  every  legal  right  should  have  an  adequate  remedy. 

Before  referring  to  the  conduct  and  opinions  of  Chief  Justice 
Pearson  during  the  late  Civil  War,  and  the  bitter  and  stormy 
political  contest  which  existed  during  the  long  Reconstruction 
period,  I  desire  to  say  something  as  to  his  political  views  and 
history.  In  1829  he  became  a  member  of  the  State  Legislature, 
and  continued  in  that  service  until  1832,  and  diligently  and  faith- 
fully performed  all  the  duties  imposed  upon  him  by  that  important 
and  responsible  position.  In  1835  he  was  a  candidate  for  a  seat 
in  Congress  against  the  Honorable  Abram  Rencher  and  the  Hon- 
orable Burton  Craig.  During  that  memorable  canvass  he  used  all 
his  energies  and  intellectual  powers  in  opposition  to  the  spirit  of 
nullification  which  was  rife  in  the  South.  He  believed  in  the 
fundamental  doctrine  of  American  independence  and  freedom — 
"that  all  political  power  is  vested  in  and  derived  from  the  people"; 
and  that  the  American  people,  in  the  proper  exercise  of  this  right- 
ful authority,  ordained  and  established  the  Constitution  of  the 


RICHMOND  M.  PEARSON  301 

United  States  for  the  puqjose  declared  in  its  preamble ;  and  that 
the  Constitution  was  an  obligatory  covenant  of  perpetual  union, 
making  the  American  people  a  great  nation :  and  was  not  a  loose 
compact  of  confederation  between  sovereign  and  indejiendent 
States  that  could  be  dissolved  by  the  will  and  action  of  one  of  the 
Slates  of  the  Confederacy.  He  also  believed  that  the  general 
government  thus  formed  was  paramount  in  the  exercise  of  its 
delegated  powers,  and  that  Congress  could  rightfully  make  such 
laws  as  were  necessary  and  proper  to  advance  and  secure  the 
purposes  for  which  the  government  was  formed,  and  that  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  was  the  only  lawful  tribunal 
that  could  finally  determine  the  question  whether  Congress  had 
exceeded  the  limits  of  constitutional  authority. 

He  understood  and  properly  appreciated  the  true  principles  of 
State  sovereignly.  He  believed  that  the  States  should  control  the 
administration  of  local  affairs,  and  should  secure,  protect  and 
enforce  individual  and  local  rights,  and  in  all  respects  exercise  all 
the  reserve  powers  not  delegated  to  the  Federal  government.  He 
believed  that  it  was  the  wise  and  patriotic  puqrose  of  the  found- 
ers of  our  general  government  to  adjust  and  mold  the  principles 
of  Stale  and  National  sovereignty  in  a  harmonious  system,  sus- 
taining, strengthening  and  vitalizing  each  other,  and  by  thus 
uniting  separate  and  independent  States  into  a  grand,  powerful 
and  prosperous  nation,  able  to  protect  and  secure  all  the  blessings 
of  the  most  enlightened  and  rational  human  freedom,  greatly 
contribute  to  the  advancement  of  the  highest  forms  of  Christian 
civilization. 

His  patriotism  was  not  cramped  and  dwarfed  by  the  selfishness 
of  undue  State  pride  and  the  bitterness  of  sectional  prejudices,  but 
extended  to  all  the  States  and  to  the  furthermost  limits  of  our 
great  Republic.  He  was  deeply  impressed  with  the  belief  that  the 
magnificent  and  lieneficent  pnrjiose  of  our  fathers  could  only  be 
accomplished  by  preserving  the  Union,  which  they  formed  by  the 
Constitntion,  and  by  cultivating  and  cherishing  a  spirit  of  nation- 
ality and  brotherhood  among  the  people  of  every  section. 

In  this  canvass  he  was  defeated  by  the  Hon.  Abram  Rencher, 


302  NORTH  CAROLINA 

who  was  a  State's  Rights  Demcxrrat,  but  not  an  advocate  of  the 
doctrines  of  nullification.  From  this  time  Judge  Pearson  devoted 
himself  exclusively  to  the  profession  of  the  law,  and  had  no  politi- 
cal record  until  the  appearance  of  his  celebrated  letter  in  July, 
1868 — *'An  appeal  to  the  calm  judgment  of  North  Carolinians/' 
in  which  he  set  forth  in  clear,  forcible  and  patriotic  terms  the  facts 
and  the  reasons  which  influenced  him  to  support  General  Grant 
for  the  Presidency  of  the  United  States.  He  never  had  anv  skill 
in  political  management  or  electioneering  legerdemain,  and  I  have 
no  knowledge  of  his  having  ever  attended  a  party  convention  in 
his  life.  He  was  an  old-line  Whig  and  he  was  sometimes  called  a 
Federalist,  as  he  so  firmly  believed  in  the  constitutional  suprem- 
acy of  the  general  government,  was  such  a  decided  friend  of  the 
Union,  and  was  so  much  opposed  to  the  doctrines  of  secession 
and  nullification.  In  the  excited  political  contests  since  the  late 
Civil  War,  he  never  held  extreme  opinions  or  expressed  his  views 
with  offensive  violence,  and  I  feel  sure  that  he  never  suffered 
political  considerations  to  influence  his  judicial  decisions.  He  was 
not  a  parti zan.  but  was  truly  conservative  and  national  in  all  his 
views,  and  earnestly  wished  that  the  bitter  sectional  political  ani- 
mosities of  the  times  might  be  soothed  and  calmed  by  wise  and 
patriotic  action  and  counsel,  and  not  be  transmitted  as  an  inheri- 
tance of  hatred  to  posterity.  He  honestly  believed  that  he  adhered 
to  the  sound,  liberal  and  patriotic  principles  of  the  old  Whig  Party, 
and  he  was  not  able  to  fully  understand  how  he  became  dis- 
severed from  his  old  Whig  friends  of  former  years. 

With  anxious  solicitude  and  fearful  apprehensions  he  wit- 
nessed the  gathering  clouds  of  civil  war,  and  the  cup  of  his  sor- 
row was  full  when  the  fearful  storm  of  fratricidal  strife  burst  in 
fury  over  the  peaceful  homes  of  the  land,  and  North  Carolina 
attempted  to  leave  the  Union  formed  by  the  thirteen  revolutionary 
sister  States,  and  her  true,  brave  and  gallant  sons  were  marching 
inuler  a  strange  flag  and  firing  upon  the  "Old  Flag"  that  had 
floated  in  triumph  over  the  battlefields  of  American  glory  and 
freedom  consecrated  by  the  blood  of  their  fathers.  Although  the 
proud  and  patriotic  memories  of  the  olden  time  still  thrilled  his 


RICHMOND  M.  PEARSON  303 

heart,  and  he  looked  with  sad  forebodings  into  the  dark  and  ter- 
rible future,  he  joined  his  fortunes  with  his  native  State,  deeply 
sympathized  in  the  sorrows  and  misfortunes  of  his  people,  and 
was  proud  of  the  patient  endurance  and  heroic  deeds  of  North 
Carolina  soldiers. 

In  1863  the  fortunes  of  war  became  adverse  to  the  South — the 
Confederate  Government  strained  everj'  ners'e  and  sinew  to  main- 
tain the  unequal  contest  against  overwhelming  odds  and  disastrous 
defeats:  conscription  laws  with  unjust  discriminations  were  passed 
by  Congress,  and  enrolling  officers  with  military  escorts  were  visit- 
ing the  humble  homes  of  the  land  to  arrest  the  unwilling  con- 
scripts, to  make  them  fight  in  a  cause  in  which  they  had  no  per- 
sonal interest  and  against  a  government  which  they  still  honored 
and  loved.  In  the  ardent  zeal  for  success,  and  under  fearful 
apprehension  of  defeat,  and  with  the  arbitrary  opinions  of  mili- 
tary supremacy,  many  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  constilii- 
tiotial  freedom  were  disregarded — military  authority  became 
supreme,  and  the  civil  laws  seemed  silent  in  the  assertion  of  right, 
and  gloom  and  terror  tilled  the  hearts  and  homes  of  the  people. 

At  this  time  Chief  Justice  Pearson  was  applied  to  for  writs  of 
habeas  corpus  to  protect  and  secure  the  legal  and  constitutional 
rights  of  citizens,  who  fled  to  the  civil  courts  for  refuge  from  the 
oppressions  of  military  power.  The  writs  were  issued,  and  per- 
sons unlawfully  detained  were  discharged  from  custody;  and  in 
opinions  of  great  clearness  and  force  he  maintained  the  suprem- 
acy of  the  civil  over  the  military  authority.  The  War  Depart- 
ment at  Richmond  determined  to  disregard  the  decision  of  Judge 
Pearson,  but  he  was  successful  in  the  contest,  as  he  was  sustained 
by  Governor  \ance.  who.  although  a  warm  friend  of  the  Confed- 
erate Government,  felt  it  to  be  his  duty  to  maintain  the  suprem- 
acy of  the  civil  law  when  declared  by  judicial  authority. 

I  will  make  no  further  reference  to  the  action  of  Chief  Justice 
Pearson  in  those  cases.  His  written  opinions  are  a  part  of  the 
legal  history  of  the  State;  his  conduct  was  passed  upon  by  the 
tribunal  of  public  sentiment,  and  his  grateful  and  admiring  coun- 
trymen in  electing  him  by  an  almost  unanimous  vote  to  the  Chief 


H 


304  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Justiceship,  in  1868,  pronounced  a  verdict  of  vindication,  approval, 
confidence  and  honor. 

Upon  entering  upon  the  duties  of  Chief  Justice  under  the  newly 
formed  State  government,  he  was  surrounded  with  many  embar* 
rassments  and  was  called  upon  to  consider  and  determine  many 
cases  of  ''new  impressions,"  presenting  difficult  and  perplexing 
legal  questions  growing  out  of  the  late  war  and  the  Reconstruction 
measures  which  followed.  The  abolition  of  slave  property,  which 
had  before  constituted  a  large  part  of  the  wealth  of  the  State, 
embarrassed  our  railway  improvements,  broke  our  State  banks, 
disorganized  our  labor  system  and  industrial  interests,  and  brought 
a  large  number  of  our  most  enterprising,  intelligent  and  energetic 
citizens  into  bankruptcy.  These  adverse  circumstances  gave  rise 
to  a  large  amount  of  business  in  the  courts  from  novel  sources  of 
litigation.  Numerous  remedial  statutes  and  ordinances  were 
enacted  in  legislatures  and  conventions  which  made  great  innova- 
tions and  radical  changes  in  our  old  system  of  government,  many 
of  which  were  ill-considered  and  unwise,  and  had  to  be  fre- 
quently amended  or  repealed.  The  system  of  pleading  and  pro- 
cedure in  the  courts  which  had  been  derived  from  the  common 
law.  and  had  been  shaped,  molded  and  regulated  by  the  experi- 
ence and  judicial  wisdom  of  ages,  were  suddenly  swept  away,  and 
a  new  system  of  civil  procedure  established  for  the  administration 
of  justice.  The  difficulties  and  embarrassments  which  surrounded 
the  courts  in  this  transition  and  revolutionary  period  were  g^reatly 
increased  by  the  bitter  partizan  contests  which  divided  and 
estranged  our  people.  The  courts  and  judges  were  the  subjects 
of  constant  denunciation  in  a  part  of  the  public  press  and  on  the 
excited  hustings.  Many  members  of  the  bar,  of  high  position  and 
influence,  who  in  former  times  had  been  strong  friends  of  the 
bench,  in  the  heat  of  party  animosity  and  under  the  exasperation 
of  defeat,  pronounced  a  judgment  of  condemnation  against  the 
justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  upon  the  unjust  statements  of  a 
party  press,  before  the  condemned  had  any  opportunity  of  explana- 
tion and  defense.  The  power  exercised  by  the  Court  was  founded 
in  right  reason,  well-established  precedents,  and  was  well  sus- 


RICHMOND  M.  PEARSO\ 

tained  by  the  highest  judicial  authority  both  in  this  country  and 
in  England.  The  justices  were  not  influenced  by  any  personal 
animosity  or  prejudice,  but  acted  from  a  high  sense  of  duty  in 
sustaining  the  rights  and  dignity  of  the  Court  and  asserting  the 
majesty  of  the  Law. 

[  will  make  no  further  reference  to  this  unfortunate  conflict 
betwctn  the  bench  and  the  bar.  I  desire  not  to  stir  the  ashes 
and  cinders  which  time,  calm  consideration  and  reconciliation  have 
spread  over  the  almost  extinct  embers  of  former  controversy. 

In  no  period  of  Chief  Justice  Pearson's  life  did  he  exhibit  a 
more  elevated  moral  courage,  and  more  exalted  wisdom  and  intel- 
lectual power,  than  in  leading  the  Supreme  Court  and  ihc  bar 
to  the  solution  and  determination  of  the  difficult  and  perplexing 
legal  questions  which  were  presented  for  adjudication.  His  opin- 
ions are  to  be  found  in  our  State  reports,  and  they  need  no  com- 
mendation from  me,  as  they  speak  for  themselves  to  the  calm  and 
enlightened  judgment  of  the  Bar  and  the  country. 

I  hope  that  1  do  not  violate  the  solemn  proprieties  of  this  occa- 
sion in  referring  briefly  to  the  celebrated  habeas  corpus  cases 
before  the  Chief  Justice,  which  grew  out  of  the  arrests  made  under 
the  order  of  Governor  Hoklen.  the  lawful  commander-in-chief  of 
the  militia  of  the  State.  I  have  distinct  impressions,  clear  con- 
victions, and  vivid  recollections  of  those  troublous  and  terrible 
times.  In  these  quiet  days  of  peace  and  restored  reason,  scenes 
and  events  sometimes  come  to  the  memory  of  us  all,  and  seem 
like  the  hideous  phantoms  of  distempered  dreams. 

I  know  well  ihe  thoughts,  the  feelings  and  the  motives  which 
influenced  the  action  of  the  Chief  Justice,  and  I  approved  them 
then  and  I  approve  them  now.  On  this  subject  his  fame  needs 
no  vindication  from  me,  for  with  his  own  hand  he  wrote  a  memo- 
rial to  the  Legislature  which,  under  the  advice  of  friends,  was 
not  presented,  but  it  has  been  published  since  his  death.  His 
clear,  candid  and  truthful  statement  of  facts  and  motives  in  that 
memorial  must  produce  a  complete  and  triumphant  vindication  in 
every  unprejudiced  mind.  I  hope,  however,  that  I  can  with  pro- 
priety express  my  individual  opinion.    In  those  cases  he  was  influ- 


3o6  NORTH  CAROLINA 

enced  by  sound  reason  and  patriotic  prudence,  and  by  the  concur- 
ring opinion  of  all  his  associate  justices,  sustained  by  the 
satisfacton-  decision  of  Chief  Justice  Taney  in  a  case  involving 
similar  questions  and  circumstances.  He  sincerely  believed  that 
if  he  had  issued  the  unlawful  order  requested,  he  would  have 
caused  military  insubordination,  and  brought  on  the  bloody  strife 
of  civil  war.  He  did  what  he  thought  was  right,  and  disregarded 
the  importunity  and  urgency  of  public  clamor  that  surrounded  him. 
He  felt  that  if  he  issued  that  order  he  would  violate  the  law 
which  he  had  sworn  to  support,  and  would  have  the  blood  of  his 
fellow-citizens  on  his  hand  and  on  his  soul.  In  his  conduct  he 
displayed  a  firmness,  dignity  and  lofty  courage  equal  to  that  of 
the  noble  Roman  Senator  when  assailed  bv  the  barbarous  and 
infuriated  soldiers  of  Brennus. 

I  recall  with  pleasure  the  memory  of  my  association  with  Chief 
Justice  Pearson  on  the  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court.  Before  that 
time  my  relations  with  him  were  only  of  a  professional  character, 
and  I  had  not  become  acquainted  with  his  many  private  virtues. 
I  had  regarded  him  as  somewhat  stern  and  reserved  in  his  deport- 
ment, and  was  pleased  to  find  him  so  kind,  affable,  genial  and 
generous  in  his  nature.  During  an  intimate  association  of  four 
years,  I  do  not  remember  a  single  unkind  word  that  ever  passed 
between  my  brethren  of  the  bench  in  any  of  the  conferences  of 
the  court. 

The  peculiar  circumstances  of  the  times,  to  which  I  have  here- 
tofore alluded,  often  placed  him  in  positions  of  danger  and  diffi- 
culty. When  bitterly  denounced  by  a  portion  of  the  public  press, 
assailed  by  rancorous  partizan  clamor,  threatened  with  impeach- 
ment, charged  with  gross  dereliction  of  duty  and  corruption  in 
office — when  foibles  were  magnified  into  vices,  and  even  the  affairs 
of  private  life  were  the  subject  of  caviling  criticism,  and  he  was 
deserted  by  timid  and  faithless  friends  upon  whom  he  had 
bestowed  confidence  and  kindness — ^lie  bore  all  with  sublime 
patience  and  lofty  heroism,  and  remained  steadfast  and  self- 
reliant  in  the  discharge  of  his  important  public  duties.  He  stood 
like  a  grand  rock  on  the  ocean  shore,  unmoved  by  the  rage  of 


RICHMOND  M.  PEARSON'  307 

the  billows,  although  for  a  time  obscured  by  the  murky  mist  and 
covered  by  the  spiteful  spray  of  the  tempest. 

I  will  now  refer  to  some  matters  about  which  there  can  be  no 
difference  of  opinion.  Chief  Justice  Pearson  was  a  worthy  high 
priest  in  the  temple  of  Jurisprudence — that  noble  and  elevated 
science  Ihat  has  received  the  admiration  and  devotion,  and  called 
forth  the  highest  and  best  efforts  of  the  most  virtuous,  enlight- 
ened and  intcHecInal  men  of  all  the  ages.  He  was  at  the  time  of 
his  death  the  acknowledged  head  of  the  legal  profession  of  the 
State,  and  ranked  among  the  leading  lawyers  of  the  age. 

He  was  a  peer  among  the  great  judges  of  England  and  America, 
who  have  adorned  the  bench  and  done  so  much  to  strengthen  the 
citadel  and  build  the  bastions  and  bulwarks  of  justice  and  truth, 
of  human  rights  and  human  freedom. 

I  feel  that  I  would  do  injustice  to  the  memory  of  my  friend 
were  1  not  to  make  further  reference  to  his  private  life  and 
character.  When  he  entered  upon  the  duties  of  manhood,  he  felt 
that  "Life  is  real,  life  is  earnest,"  and  he  had  a  fixed  and  deter- 
mined purpose  to  achieve  success.  He  was  prudent  and  indus- 
trious in  business,  and  soon  obtained  the  means  to  repay  every 
dollar  which  his  generous  brother  haJ  advaitcc<}  toward  his  &luca- 
(ion,  and  he  also  laid  the  foundation  of  the  ample  fortune  which 
he  afterward  acquired. 

When  a  young  man,  he  entered  with  much  zest  into  the  enjoy- 
ment of  social  life,  and  was  remarkably  fond  of  the  society  of 
ladies :  and  I  am  informed  that  this  pleasant  and  elevating  associa- 
tion sometimes  gave  him  the  inspiration  of  the  Muses,  In  183! 
he  married  Margaret,  the  handsome  and  intelligent  daughter  of 
Colonel  John  Williams  of  Tennessee,  and  had  by  her  ten  chil- 
dren, only  three  of  whom  survived  him.  He  commenced  his  mar- 
ried life  at  Mocksville.  and  was  very  kind  and  affectionate  in  all 
his  family  relations,  and  no  place  had  for  him  such  charms  and 
attractions  as  his  home.  He  was  fond  of  cultivating  his  garden 
and  farm,  and  often  labored  with  his  own  hands.  He  was  plain 
and  simple  in  his  tastes  and  manners,  and  was  always  pleased  to 
have  his  friends  at  his  hospitable  board.    When  his  time  was  not 


3o8  NORTH  CAROLINA 

engaged  by  the  urgent  demands  of  public  duty,  he  was  fond  of 
relaxation  and  pleasures  of  society,  and  he  laid  aside  the  dignified 
manners  of  a  judge  and  became  an  affable  companion.  On  such 
occasions  he  never  exhibited  any  pride  of  genius  and  extensive 
learning,  or  assumed  any  superiority  on  account  of  his  high  official 
position,  but  with  simplicity  of  manner  and  with  unaffected  inter- 
est, talked  with  ease  and  familiarity  about  the  ordinary  topics  of 
social  intercourse.  In  such  conversations  he  expressed  his  opin- 
ions with  frankness  and  candor,  and  often  with  much  originality 
and  force.  He  was  free  from  anything  like  hypocrisy  and  deceit, 
and  on  all  subjects  his  views  were  eminently  practical,  as  he  pos- 
sessed in  a  high  degree  the  genius  of  common  sense.  He  was  not 
ostentatious  in  his  benevolences  and  charities,  but  he  alwavs 
remembered  the  trials,  privations  and  hardships  of  his  early  life; 
and  many  a  young  man  in  similar  condition  was  the  recipient  of 
his  favors,  and  his  quiet  beneficences  will  long  be  remembered  by 
the  humble  poor. 

Soon  after  Chief  Justice  Pearson  was  elected  a  Superior  Court 
Judge,  he  opened  a  law  school  at  Mocksville,  and  acquired  much 
reputation  as  a  legal  instructor,  and  obtained  a  number  of  students 
who  became  eminent  in  the  profession — some  as  leading  lawyers, 
some  as  Superior  Court  judges,  and  some  sat  by  his  side  on  the 
Supreme  Court  bench. 

In  1847  h^  moved  to  Richmond  Hill,  in  Surry  County,  where 
he  lost  the  wife  of  his  early  love,  and  remained  a  widower  for 
several  years.  In  1859  he  married  Mrs.  Mary  Bynum,  and  this 
genial,  practical  and  highly  accomplished  wife  was  the  partner  of 
his  joys  and  sorrows,  and  presided  over  his  hospitable  home  until 
his  death. 

At  Richmond  Hill  the  law  school  was  very  prosperous.  I  have 
heard  him  say  that  he  had  instructed  more  than  a  thousand  law 
students,  who  are  scattered  throughout  the  State  and  nation.  He 
had  great  skill  in  the  art  of  communicating  knowledge,  and  by  his 
cheerful  and  paternal  manner  he  won  the  respect,  confidence  and 
affection  of  "his  boys."  He  had  no  strictly  scientific  arrangement 
or  definite  scholastic  system  of  education,  but  he  communicated 


RICHMOND  M.  PEARSON 


309 


instruction  by  frequent  exaiuination  on  the  text-books,  accom- 
panied by  familiar  conversational  lectures,  and,  like  the  great 
philosopher  of  Athens,  he  never  reduced  any  of  his  lectures  to 
writing.  He  was  fond  and  proud  of  "his  hoys,"  and  did  not  con- 
fine his  instructions  to  the  class-room.  He  would  talk  to  them  on 
legal  subjects  whenever  an  opportunity  was  presented — at  the 
table,  on  the  path  in  the  woods  as  they  went  to  a  neighbor's  house, 
at  the  fishing  place  on  the  river,  and  in  the  Summer  afternoons 
as  they  sat  beneath  the  shades  of  the  old  oaks  on  the  hill  or  down 
by  the  spring. 

Silence  and  solitude  now  reign  at  Richmond  Hill,  for  the  "old 
man  eloquent"  is  dead ;  but  the  fame  and  influence  of  Chief  Jus- 
tice Pearson  is  more  indelibly  inscribed  upon  the  legal  and  judicial 
history  of  North  Carolina  than  the  name  carved  upon  the  granite 
shaft  that  marks  hi.';  tomb. 

Roberl  P.  Dick. 


'..    V 


l.L'H  TORC 

U3RAR7 


■  >X  AXV 


THOMAS  MERRITT  PITTMAN  311 

number  of  that  faith  having  settled  at  that  time  in  Virginia. 
This  Puritan  colony  was  expelled  from  Virginia  about  1648,  the 
members  going  to  Maryland,  among  them  being  Richard  Bennett 
and  his  brother.  When  Parliament  sent  a  fleet  to  reduce  the  Old 
Dominion  to  submission,  Bennett  returned  as  one  of  the  commis- 
sioners, and,  a  free  government  being  instituted  and  the  restric- 
tions of  Nonconformists  removed,  in  1652  he  was  elected  Gov- 
ernor of  that  province  by  the  House  of  Burgesses.  With  the  third 
generation,  the  male  line  of  Richard  Bennett  became  extinct,  but 
the  family  has  given  a  number  of  distinguished  men  to  the  coun- 
try, including,  it  is  said,  General  R.  E.  Lee,  the  Blands  and  Ran- 
dolphs of  Virginia,  Thomas  Atkinson,  Bishop  of  the  Diocese 
of  North  Carolina,  R.  B.  Hubbard,  Governor  of  Texas,  Dr.  I.  T. 
Tichenor  and  others. 

About  1750  Richard  Bennett  and  two  of  his  brothers,  descend- 
ants of  the  brother  of  Governor  Bennett  of  Virginia,  but  who 
had  not  returned  to  Virginia  with  the  other  Nonconformists,  left 
Maryland  and  came  to  Carolina,  Richard  locating  in  Halifax 
County,  another  brother  going  to  Anson  County,  from  whom  the 
family  of  Judge  R.  T.  Bennett  is  descended ;  and  the  third  settling 
in  Bennettsville,  South  Carolina,  from  whom  that  place  takes  its 
name.  One  of  the  sons  of  Richard  Bennett  of  Halifax,  and  great- 
grandfather of  Mr.  Pittnian,\vas  Reverend  Philemon  Bennett.  For 
seventeen  years,  preceding  the  division  of  the  Baptist  churches, 
which  resulted  in  the  organization  of  the  Primitive  and  the  Mis- 
sionary Baptists,  he  was  moderator  of  the  old  Kehukee  Baptist 
Association,  and  was  for  many  years  pastor  of  churches  in 
Warren  and  Halifax  counties.  He,  as  well  as  most  of  the  other 
Bennetts,  was  a  thrifty  farmer  of  good  judgment  and  strong  char- 
acter. The  simple,  vigorous  lives  of  these  men  were  conducive 
to  longevity,  for  Philemon  lived  to  a  good  old  age,  and  six  of  his 
sons  attained  three  score  and  ten. 

The  Reverend  William  Lancaster,  the  uncle  of  Willie  Lancaster, 
the  grandfather  of  Mr.  Pittnian's  father,  was  a  member  of  the  State 
Convention  of  July,  1788,  at  Hillsboro,  which  rejected  the  Federal 
Constitution  as  first  prepared  and  presented  to  the  States. 


312  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Mr.  Pittnian's  childhood  was  passed  in  the  country,  he  alter- 
nately attending  the  brief  sessions  of  the  rural  public  school  and 
doing  a  young  boy's  work  on  a  farm.    For  a  time  he  was  under 
William  J.  King,  a  teacher  of  recognized  ability  at  Belford  Acad- 
emy, Franklin  County.    He  had  the  ordinary  happy  childhood  of 
a  country  bo>',  healthy  in  body  and  with  a  pure  mind,  when  on  the 
death  of  his  father,  just  after  entering  his  teens,  he  found  himself 
dependent  uix)n  his  own  endeavors  for  a  livelihood.    At  the  age 
of  fourteen  he  went  to  Charlotte  and  entered  the  machine  shops 
of  the  Mecklenburg  Iron  Works  as  an  apprentice.    The  incentive 
of  his  early  training  gave  him  a  firm  resolve  to  strive  for  a  high 
goal  in  life,  and    the   apprentice   boy,  who   by   day  wielded  the 
riveting  hammer  in  the  noisy  shop,  studied  at  night  that  he  might 
ultimately  prepare  himself  to  work  in  a  broader  field.    It  is  at  this 
age  and  under  these  conditions,  when  deprived  of  the  protecting 
influence  of  a  home  life,  that  a  youth  is  liable  to  be  led  into  the 
bad  habits  with  which  the  city  boy  is  always  menaced.     Young 
Pittman's  ambition  spurred  his  mental  vigor  and  inculcated  study 
and  application  during  hours  that  boys  usually  devote  to  amuse- 
ment.   The  early  religious  training  of  his  mother  led  him  to  avoid 
many  evils,  and  strengthened  and  rounded  his  religious  and  moral 
nature  in  that  formative  period  which  creates  or  destroys  a  man's 
character.    The  pleasant  address  and  sociability  of  the  young  ap- 
prentice gained  him  many  friends,  who  came  to  admire  him  for  his 
sturdy  and  independent  character,  and  with  true  kindness  and  un- 
selfishness delighted  in  offering  him  assistance.      These  kindly 
offices,  often  simple,  but  from  the  heart,  pure  and  unaffected,  which 
were  performed  for  him,  Mr.  Pittman  now  recalls  with  the  keen- 
est pleasure,  and  feels  that  if  in  anv  wav  he  has  reallv  missed  life's 
goal,  the  friends  he  made  with  each  successive  step  were  more 
than  worth  the  struggle.    He  followed  under  the  guidance  of  these 
friends  courses  of  reading  and  study,  which  developed  his  mental 
faculties,  as  his  manual  work  gave  him  physical  strength  and  en- 
durance, a  clear  eve,  a  confident  hand,  accuracv  and  self-reliance. 
In  1876,  before  he  was  eighteen  years  of  age,  the  apprenticeship 
was  finished,  and  after  serving  for  a  short  time  as  foreman  in  the 


THOMAS  MERRITT  PITTMAN  313 

machine  shops  of  the  Carolina  Agricultural  Works  of  Charlotte, 
he  entered  the  law  offices  of  Guion  and  Flemming  of  the  same  city. 
This  firm  was  composed  of  the  late  Colonel  Haywood  W.  Guion 
and  Major  W.  W.  Flemming  (the  latter  of  whom  young  Pittman 
already  numbered  among  his  friends),  and  it  was  in  accord  with 
the  advice  and  suggestion  of  Major  Flemming,  seconded  by  his 
own  inclination,  that  he  undertook  the  study  of  law.  Major  Flem- 
ming personally  directed  his  professional  course  and  imposed  a 
severe  curriculum,  including  such  great  old  authors  as  Coke  upon 
Littleton,  Saunders  on  Uses  and  Trusts,  Feame  on  Remainders 
and  Chitty  on  Pleadings,  while  not  neglecting  to  drill  the  ambitious 
student  in  modem  law  and  the  existing  practice.  In  1878,  when 
yet  under  age,  Mr.  Pittman  secured  his  license,  and  in  June  of 
the  same  year  he  opened  an  office  in  Charlotte  for  the  practice  of 
his  profession,  and  the  next  year  he  was  appointed  Examiner  in 
Equity  of  the  United  States  Circuit  Court  for  the  Western  Dis- 
trict of  North  Carolina.  In  1885  he  removed  to  Henderson,  Vance 
County,  North  Carolina.  He  became  attorney  for  the  bank  of 
Henderson  and  for  Vance  County,  and  in  1901  for  the  town  of 
Henderson,  which  last  position  he  still  holds.  While  Mr.  Pittman 
has  not  sought  business  as  a  criminal  lawyer,  he  has  appeared  in 
about  thirty  capital  cases,  and  so  well  has  he  worked  for  his  clients 
that  not  one  of  them  has  ever  yet  been  hanged.  In  his  legal  prac- 
tice, he  has  had  the  following  partnerships :  with  Captain  Robert 
D.  Graham,  as  Graham  and  Pittman ;  with  W.  B.  Shaw,  Esquire, 
as  Pittman  and  Shaw ;  with  J.  H.  Kerr,  Jr.,  of  Warrenton,  as 
Pittman  and  Kerr.  This  last  partnership  is  for  local  court  busi- 
ness only,  and  yet  exists.  Besides  having  extensive  corporation 
practice,  Mr.  Pittman  has  served  as  attorney  in  many  special  cases 
for  various  counties  and  municipalities,  and  enjoys  an  extensive 
and  lucrative  practice.  In  spite  of  the  demands  of  his  profession 
Mr.  Pittman  finds  time  in  some  measure  to  put  in  practice  his  con- 
ceptions of  the  ideal  citizen,  and  while  not  a  politician  and  never  a 
candidate  for  a  political  office,  he  has  when  called  on  made  cam- 
paign speeches,  believing  that  every  man  owes  society  such  public 
service  as  lies  within  his  power.  A  leading  member  of  the  Mission- 


314  NORTH  CAROLINA 

an-  Baptist  Church,  he  has  been  prominently  identified  with  many 
of  its  organizations — vice-president  of  the  Baptist  State  Conven- 
tion of  North  Carolina;  clerk  of  the  Charlotte  Baptist  Church; 
clerk  and  deacon  of  the  Henderson  Baptist  Church ;  superintendent 
of  Sunday-schools  in  Charlotte  and  Henderson ;  for  a  number  of 
years  vice-president  of  the  American  Baptist  Historical  Society: 
member  of  the  Publication  Committee  of  the  North  Carolina 
Baptist  Historical  Society;  honorary  member  of  Wake  Forest 
Alumni  Association,  and  of  the  Philomathesian  and  Astrotekton 
Literary  societies  of  Wake  Forest  College,  and  of  the  Baptist 
P'cmale  L'niversity,  respectively. 

Mr.  Pittman  has  published  some  important  historical  and  bio- 
graphical monographs  and  papers,  and  delivered  some  notable 
addresses  dealing  with  historical  subjects,  most  of  which  have 
been  printed. 

The  most  important  of  these  are :  Nathaniel  Macon,  an  oration 
delivered  July  4,  1902,  at  Guilford  battlegrounds,  and  subsequently 
published  ;  John  Porter  and  the  Carey  Rebellion,  an  address  before 
the  Summer  school  at  the  North  Carolina  College  of  Agriculture 
and   Mechanic  Arts,  August,    1903,   published;   North  Carolina 
from  1832-42  (the  Julian  S.  Carr  Prize  Essay),  recently  ordered 
printed  by  the  North  Carolina  Historical  Commission ;  the  Revo- 
lutionary Congresses  of  North  Carolina,  a  North  Carolina  book- 
let, October,  1902;  the  preparation  for  Baptist  Work  in  North 
Carolina,  an  address  before  the  North  Carolina  Baptist  Conven- 
tion, memorial  service,  at  Greenville,  North  Carolina,  December  11, 
1898,  subsequently  published  in  Januar)',  1900,  in  the  Baptist  His- 
torical papers ;  the  Great  Sanhedrin  of  the  Jews  and  its  Criminal 
Procedure,  an  address  delivered  at  Wake  Forest  College  and  other 
places  (this  is  a  study  from  a  legal  point  of  view  of  this  Council 
when  it  resolved  itself  into  a  judicial  court  for  criminal  trials) ; 
Reverend  J.  D.  Huffliam.  D.D.,  a  sketch  of  his  life,  published; 
the  Trent  Affair,  published ;  Lemuel  Burkitt,  published  in  Wake 
Forest  Student:  John  Penn,  published  in  North  Carolina  Booklet; 
sketches  of  Governor  W.  W.  Holden  and  others  in  "Biographical 
History  of  North  Carolina." 


THOMAS  MERRITT  PITTMAN  315 

Besides  these  he  has  delivered  many  lectures  and  addresses,  and 
published  nnmeroiis  newspaper  articles.  In  1902  he  drafted  the 
resolutions  of  the  Vance  County  Democratic  Convention,  which 
ihe  Biblical  Recorder  mentions  as  a  "notable  utterance,"  and  the 
Raleigh  Post  declared  "sufficient  for  the  State  platform." 

Mr.  Pitlman  constantly  has  some  new  work  in  view,  being  al- 
ways a  busy  man  and  looking  to  the  future,  and  just  now  he  is 
making  a  study  of  municipal  organization  and  government,  with 
a  view  to  submitting  to  the  towns  of  N"orth  Carolina  plans  link- 
ing to  greater  symmetry  and  uniformity  in  our  municipal  system. 
His  deep  and  unflagging  interest  in  the  history  of  this  State  is  well 
known.  A  collector  of  documents  which  bear  on  the  different 
phases  of  the  State's  settlement,  rise  and  development,  he  has 
gathered  with  the  zeal  of  a  virtuoso  a  Jarge  number  of  rare  and 
valuable  papers,  pamphlets  and  manuscripts  aiifecting  the  State's 
past,  and  much  of  the  time  that  he  can  spare  from  his  professional 
duties  is  devoted  to  the  patriotic  service  of  studying  and  elucidat- 
ing the  Slate's  history  in  its  various  aspects.  To  more  thoroughly 
foster  his  interest  in  his  historical  work  he  is  affiliated  with  a  num- 
ber of  historical  societies,  among  them  the  North  Carolina  Baptist 
Historical  Society,  the  American  Baptist  Historical  Society  and 
the  Alabama  Historical  Society. 

In  his  literary  writings  he  is  concise  and  perspicuous,  and  has 
elegance  of  diction  and  clearness  of  expression  that  make  a  choice 
historical  style.  He  attributes  its  derivation  to  a  close  study  of  the 
Bible  for  many  years,  and  of  the  Sf-eclalor  with  its  dainty  refine- 
ment of  speech,  which  was  the  one  book  that  when  a  boy  he  was 
fond  of  reading  again  and  again. 

As  he  has  derived  his  literary  tastes  and  drawn  his  style  from 
both  of  these  Ixioks.  so  he  has  molded  his  life  on  the  former,  and 
has  been  influenced  by  the  moral  philosophy  of  the  latter.  He  feels 
thai  life's  goal,  no  matter  how  lofty,  is  not  worth  the  struggle  un- 
less the  means  are  as  worthy  and  hoTiorable  as  the  prize ;  and  that 
a  worthy  life  and  true  manhood  itself  mark  success. 

S.  A.  Ashe. 


THOMAS    POLK 


SHOMAS  POLK,  of  Mecklenburg,  one  of  the 
most  prominent  figures  of  the  State  during  the 
Revolutionary  period,  was  a  distinguished 
member  of  a  distinguished  family.  He  was 
:he  fourth  son  of  William  and  Priscilla  (Rob- 
■  erts)  Polk,  and  was  born  in  Carlisle,  Pennsyl- 
vania, to  which  place  his  father  had  moved  shortly  after  his  mar- 
riage, William  Polk  was  the  only  son  of  John  and  Joanni 
( Knox)  Polk  and  the  grandson  of  Robert  Polk  (or  Pollock),  the 
founder  of  the  family  in  America.  Robert  Pollock  (or  Polk)  was 
!i  member  of  the  parliamentary  army  against  Charles  First  and 
an  active  participant  in  the  cami)aigns  of  Cromwell.  He  mar- 
ried Magdalen,  widow  of  Colonel  Porter,  his  companion  in  arms. 
and  daughter  of  Colonel  Tasker,  his  regimental  commander,  who 
was  at  that  time  Chancellor  of  Ireland,  of  Bloomfield  Castle  on 
the  river  Dale.  P.y  this  marriage  he  acquired  the  estate  of  "Mon- 
ing"  or  "Mnnccn  Hill"  in  the  barony  of  Ross,  County  of  Donegal. 
Ireland.  Robert  Pollock  took  ship  at  Londonderry  in  1659  and 
settled  on  the  eastern  shore  of  Maryland.  After  his  arrival  in 
.America  he  changed  the  spelling  of  his  surname  to  Polk.  His 
estate.  "Polk's  I-'olly,"  lies  south  of  Fauquier  Sound,  opposite 
the  moiuli.';  of  the  Xanticoke  and  Wicomico  Rivers,  and  is  still 
in  the  possession  of  the  family.  Robert  Pollock  was  the  son  of 
John  Pollock,  a  gentleman  of  some  estate  in  Lanarkshire,  not 


THOMAS  POLK  317 

far  from  the  cathedra!  city  of  Glasgow,  during  the  reign  of  James 
Sixth,  of  Scotland,  and  First  of  England.  John  I'ollock  was  an 
uncompromising  Presbyterian,  who  left  liis  native  land  to  join 
the  new  Colony  of  Protestants  whicii  had  been  formed  in  the 
Nonh  of  Ireland.  The  Pollock  coat  of  arms  bears  tlie  device 
of  a  wild  boar  pierced  with  an  arrow,  and  the  motto  "Audaciler 
el  sirenuc." 

In  1753  Thomas  Polk  set  out  to  seek  his  fortune  with  his 
brothers  Ezekiel  (grandfather  of  President  James  K.  Polk)  and 
Charles.  He  finally  reached  the  county  of  Mecklenburg  and  set- 
tled upon  Sugar  Creek,  a  branch  of  the  Catawba  River,  in  a  neigh- 
borhood made  up  of  Scotch-Irish  stock  to  which  he  also  belonged. 
There  in  1755  he  married  Susan  Spratt,  who  had  removed  with 
her  father  two  years  before,  and  whose  bright  eyes,  tradition  says, 
were  largely  instrumental  in  attracting  young  Polk  from  his  old 
home.  By  industry  and  enterprise  he  soon  acquired  a  large  tract 
of  land  and  a  sufficient  fortune  to  enable  him  to  rear  and  educate 
the  nine  children  bom  of  this  marriage. 

During  tlie  year  1767  the  town  of  Charlotte  was  chartered  by 
Chapter  11  of  the  Private  Laws  enacted  by  the  Colonial  Assem- 
bly. Thomas  Polk  is  named  as  one  of  the  commissioners  and 
town  treasurer.  The  original  tract  of  land  upon  which  the  citv 
now  stands  contained  360  acres  and  the  conveyance  of  it  was 
made  on  the  15th  of  Jannary,  1767,  to  Thomas  Polk  and  others, 
trustees  and  directors — the  consideration  being  "90  pounds  lawful 
money,"  In  1769  he  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  Provincial  As- 
sembly. One  of  his  acts  was  to  secure  the  charter  of  Queen's 
College  {or  Museum)  (Chapter  3,  Laws  of  1770).  This  insti- 
tution was  established  in  Charlotte  and  afforded  the  young  men 
of  that  section  better  educational  advantages  than  were  possessed 
by  most  of  the  early  settlers  of  other  sections.  Polk  was  made  a 
trustee  of  this  institution  when  it  was  chartered  as  Queen's  Col- 
lege, and  when  it  was  re-chartered  in  1777  (Chapter  20,  Private 
Laws,  April  session)  as  Liberty  Hall  Academy. 

In  1771,  as  captain  of  a  company  under  command  of  Colonel 
Moses  Alexander,  he  marched  troops  from  Charlotte  to  Salisbury, 


3i8  NORTH  CAROLINA 

to  act  against  the  Regulators.  During  this  year  he  was  also 
engaged  as  surveyor  in  establishing  the  dividing  line  between 
North  and  South  Carolina  by  appointment  of  the  Governor. 

During  the  period  immediately  preceding  the  Revolution  com- 
mittees of  safety  were  organized  in  the  counties,  and  these  met 
fretiuently  to  discuss  the  issues  of  the  day.  Charlotte  became  the 
central  point  in  Mecklenburg  for  these  assemblages.  Polk  was 
the  presiding  officer  and  ujxjn  his  call  the  committees  met.  The 
meeting  on  May  19,  1775,  has  become  famous.  Upon  this  date 
the  interest  in  the  meeting  was  so  great  that,  in  addition  to  two 
men  from  each  captain's  district  called  by  Polk  to  meet,  there 
were  vast  crowds  from  everv  section  of  the  countv.  After  due 
deliberation  resolutions  were  adopted  expressing  the  attitude  of 
the  j)alri()ts  of  that  section.  This  instrument  is  known  as  the 
Mecklenburg  Declaration  of  Independence.  It  was  read  from  the 
court  house  stei)s  on  May  20th,  by  Thomas  Polk,  who  was  recog- 
nized as  a  master  spirit  in  the  movement. 

On  May  31,  1775,  an  indei^endent  government  was  formally 
established,  and  the  resolutions  adopted  that  day  were  published 
on  the  1 6th  of  June,  in  Charleston,  and  the  same  day  at  New-Bcm. 
Colonel  Cogdell,  the  chairman  at  New-Bern,  sent  them  on  to  Cas- 
well, then  at  Philadelj)hia,  and  the  paper  was  preserved  by  his 
colleague.  Joseph  11  ewes.  In  transmitting  them  Cogdell  said: 
**\'ou  will  observe  the  Mecklenburg  Resolves  exceed  all  other 
cr>niniittees  or  the  Congress  itself.  I  send  you  the  paper  wherein 
they  are  inserted." 

Johnston  in  referring  to  them  in  a  letter  to  Joseph  Hewes  said: 

"Tom  Polk,  too,  is  raising  a  very  pretty  spirit  in  the  back  country  (sec 
the  newspapers).  He  has  gone  a  little  farther  than  I  would  choose  to 
have  gone,  hut  perhaps  no  further  than  necessary." 

Thus  it  api)ears  that  Johnston,  who  was  at  the  head  of  the 
revolution,  ascribed  the  action  at  Mecklenburg  to  Colonel  Polk, 
and  doubtless  Colonel  Polk  was  the  leading  spirit  there.  What- 
ever he  considered  necessarv  to  do,  he  had  done. 

It  being  thought  that  two  lawyers,  Dunn  and  Boote,  of  Salis* 


THOMAS  POLK  319 

bury  were  in  communication  with  Governor  Martin,  in  a  confer- 
ence by  Colonel  Martin,  Sara  Spencer,  Colonel  Polk  and  others, 
it  was  planned  to  seize  them  and  send  them  to  South  Carolina. 
This  was  the  first  of  August,  1775.  When  the  prisoners  were 
brought  to  Charlotte.  Colonel  PolW  received  them,  and  at  the  head 
of  60  horsemen  conveyed  them  to  Camden,  where  they  were  kept 
in  prison  more  than  a  year. 

During  1775  the  Provincial  Congress  assembled  at  Hillsboro; 
at  its  session  on  September  9th  Thomas  Polk  was  appointed 
colonel  of  the  second  battalion  of  mihtia  raised  in  the  district  of 
Salisbury.  Shortly  afterwards  in  command  of  900  men  he 
marched  to  South  Carolina  to  assist  in  suppressing  the  Tories. 

On  April  22,  1776,  the  Provincial  Congress  which  met  at  Hah- 
fax  appointed  Thomas  Polk  colonel  of  the  fourth  additional  regi- 
ment of  Continentals.  Under  command  of  General  Francis  Nash 
he  marched  to  the  N'orth  to  join  the  army  of  Washington.  Here 
he  served  for  two  years,  and  he  participated  in  the  hattle  of  Bran- 
dywine  and  the  hardships  of  \'alley  Forge.  He  was  not  a  par- 
ticipant in  the  battle  of  Germantown.  as  he  was  in  charge  of  Ihe 
escort  detailed  to  guard  and  convey  the  heavy  baggage  to  a  place 
of  safct)'  at  BeihlelK?in.  .\mong  the  impciiinienta  was  the  Sanjous 
"Liberty  Bell."  On  June  26,  1778,  he  tendered  his  resignation 
to  Washington. 

On  September  15,  1780,  a  monih  after  the  battle  of  Camden, 
he  was  appointed  by  the  Board  of  War  convened  at  Hillsboro, 
"Superintendent  Commissary  of  the  District  of  Salisbury." 
In  securing  supplies  he  pledged  his  own  credit.  He  was  com- 
meniied  by  the  board  for  his  zeal  and  ability  in  the  performance 
of  those  duties.  While  engaged  in  this  work  Cornwallis  entered 
Charlotte  (September  26,  1780).  and  selected  for  his  headquar- 
ters the  residence  of  Colonel  Polk,  which  was  called  the  "White 
House"— it  being  the  only  painted  edifice  in  the  town.  Corn- 
wallis seized  and  confiscated  ail  the  property  of  his  involuntary 
host  that  he  could  find.  Hearing  of  the  battle  of  King's  Moun- 
tain, Polk  wrote,  "In  a  few  days  we  will  be  in  Charlotte,  and  I 
will  take  possession  of  my  house  and  his  lordship  take  the  woods." 


320  NORTH  CAROLINA 

After  the  fall  of  General  Davidson  at  Cowan's  Ford,  February 
I,  1 781,  the  field  officers  on  March  5th  petitioned  General  Greene 
to  appoint  Polk  to  take  command  of  the  forces  of  the  district, 
and  he  was  accordingly  commissioned  a  brigadier-general.  But 
the  Assembly  would  not  confirm  the  appointment  with  this  rank, 
but  instead  commissioned  Polk  as  "colonel  commandant."  Polk 
declined  this  commission,  but  patriotically  performed  the  duties 
pending  the  appointment  of  a  successor.  Colonel  Matthew  Locke 
was  appointed  on  May  15,  1781,  and  Polk  retired  from  further 
military  service.  After  the  evacuation  by  the  British  and  the  con- 
clusion of  hostilities,  he  returned  to  his  residence  in  Charlotte, 
where  he  lived  to  an  honored  old  age,  surrounded  by  his  sons. 
whom  he  reared  to  an  honorable  and  self-reliant  manhood.  The 
census  of  1790  shows  that  he  owned  47  slaves — ^the  largest  pos- 
session of  any  one  in  Mecklenburg  or  the  western  section  of  the 
State  at  that  time.  He  died  in  1793,  and  was  buried  in  the  grave- 
yard of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  in  Charlotte. 

Joseph  Seawell  Jones  says  that  Thomas  Polk  was  the  first  to 
maintain  the  necessity  of  dissolving  the  political  ties  which  bound 
the  Colonies  to  Great  Britain.  His  feelings  and  opinions  were  de- 
cided ;  his  expression  of  them  was  frank  and  courageous.  Out 
of  these  feelings  grew  the  Mecklenburg  Declaration,  in  the  fram- 
ing of  which  Thomas  Polk  was  a  leading  spirit.  While  others 
were  striving  to  devise  expedients  to  avert  a  war  into  which  they 
were  blindly  drifting,  Thomas  Polk  was  preparing  the  stem  and 
not  easily  governed  people  of  his  neighborhood  for  the  clash  of 
arms  which  he  saw  to  be  inevitable.  His  posterity  have  borne  with 
distinction  the  honored  name  transmitted  to  them. 

IV.  A.  Withers, 


1 

™ 

IKS  Kv;  loni 
PUBLIC  UBRARV 

*«»)(,  U-'-i  ^  -1.. 

TU.!^L*#K..i,i,A,|tNl( 

•                          <• 

^ 

322  NORTH  CAROLINA 

tion;  a  sweet,  affectionate  wife;  mens  scna  in  cor  pore  sano;  children 
devoted  to  truth,  honor,  right,  and  utility,  with  love  and  respect  to  their 
parents;  and  faithful  and  warm-hearted  friends,  in  a  country  politically 
and  religiously  free." 

Reared  in  such  a  home,  though  not  required  to  perform  manual 
labor  tasks,  as  his  father  was  a  large  slave-holder,  he  grew  up 
strong  and  healthy,  his  special  tastes  and  interests  being  those  of 
the  country  boy  in  exceptionally  good  circumstances. 

During  his  first  school  years  he  was  under  the  instruction  of 
a  governess.  Afterward  he  attended  the  village  academy  at  Yan- 
ceyville,  taught  by  Miss  Lowndes. 

In  1872  he  entered  Wake  Forest  College,  and  graduated  in  1877 
with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts.  Later  he  completed  the 
course  for  the  Master's  degree,  which  was  conferred  upon  him  in 
1889.  In  June,  1905,  while  on  a  visit  to  that  institution  to  deliver, 
by  invitation,  the  annual  commencement  address,  he  received 
from  Baylor  University,  Waco,  Texas,  the  honorary  degree  of 
LL.D. 

While  at  college  no  marked  preference  for  one  branch  of  studies 
over  another  was  indicated,  a  uniformly  high  grade  of  scholar- 
shij)  being  maintained  by  him  in  all  the  departments.  His  pro- 
ficiency in  Latin  and  Greek  was  not  excelled  by  that  achieved  in 
other  studies,  and  the  habit  of  accuracy,  which  his  careful  and 
sympathetic  study  of  classic  literature  helped  to  develop,  must 
have  had  much  to  do  with  the  formation  of  that  stvlc  that 
so  graces  the  productions  of  his  pen.  As  a  writer  and  speaker 
abilities  were  displayed  that  pointed  to  literature  as  the  province 
in  which  he  would  probably  find  his  vocation.  However,  in  these 
early  essays  of  the  pen  and  platform  there  was  potential  a  temper 
of  mind  friendly  to  the  spirit  of  science,  and  needing  only  favoring 
conditions  to  stimulate  and  unfold  it  into  a  vital  force. 

It  may  be  said  of  him  at  this  period,  as  was  said  of  another: 
*'He  was  a  most  exemplary  student  in  every  respect.  He  was 
never  behindtime  at  his  studies ;  never  failed  in  a  single  recitation ; 
was  perfectly  observant  of  the  rules  and  regulations  of  the  institu- 
tion ;  was  gentlemanly,  unobtrusive  and  respectful  in  all  his  de- 


WILLIAM  LOUIS  POTEAT  323 

portment  to  teachers  and  fdlow-stiidenls.  His  specialty  was  finish- 
ing itp.  He  imparled  a  finish  and  a  neatness  as  he  proceecied  to 
everything  he  undertook." 

He  had  be^nn  to  read  law,  when,  a  year  after  his  graduation,  the 
trustees  of  Wakx  Forest  College  elected  him  a  tutor.  His  ac- 
ceptance of  this  position  determined  his  life  work.  In  1880  he 
became  Assistant  Professor  of  Natural  Science:  and  in  1883  was 
placed  in  full  charge  of  the  Chair  of  Natural  History,  now  known 
as  the  Chair  of  Biology. 

In  the  pursuit  of  science  there  has  been  on  his  part  from  the 
beginning  a  questful  openness  of  soul  to  Nature  that  has  made 
her  fain  to  yield  him  the  meed  of  many  a  clue  to  her  manifold 
mazes.  At  the  same  time  he  has  been  toward  himself  in  study  and 
field  and  laboratory  a  most  exacting  task-master.  He  has  com- 
muned in  spirit  also  with  the  great  masters  and  has  come  to 
know  their  voice. 

With  such  an  attitude  to  his  calling,  opportunities  that  might 
have  been  worthless  to  the  less  alert  have  been  golden  ones  to 
him.  Thus  it  would  be  difficult  to  value  too  highly  the  beneficial 
results  of  a  brief  course  that  he  attended  in  the  University  of  Ber- 
lin, and  of  a  course  in  the  Marine  Bioto^ical  Laboralory,  Woods 
Holl.  Massacluiseits,  not  to  speak  of  repeated  opportunities 
that  have  come  to  him  of  intercourse  and  work  with  men  of 
science. 

His  well-earned  reputation  as  a  teacher  of  science  is  due  in  no 
small  degree  to  the  fact  that  he  understands  how  to  make  its  very 
rudiments  interesting,  bringing  his  students  face  to  face  with 
Nature  in  such  a  way  as  to  stimulate  them  to  a  sympathetic  study 
of  the  common  facts  of  nature,  and  leading  them  to  an  insight  into 
the  dominant  methods  of  science.  He  has  the  faculty  of  making 
them  realize  the  appositeiiess  to  this  realm  of  the  Biblical  formula: 
".-\sk.  and  it  shall  be  given  you  ;  seek,  and  ye  shall  find ;  knock,  and 
it  shall  be  opened  unto  you."  By  tactful  questioning  and  by  the 
turn  given  to  laboratory  work  and  field  excursions  he  makes  them 
feel  that  they  are  conducting  for  themselves  investigations  for  the 
discoverv  of  truth.    The  success  with  which  he  has  directed  his 


324  NORTH  CAROLINA 

department  is  attested  by  the  quality  of  work  done  by  men  whom 
he  has  trained,  some  of  whom  are  taking  high  rank  in  the  walks 
of  science. 

While  his  special  work  has  been  that  of  a  teacher  he  has  won 
enviable  distinction  also  as  an  essayist  and  public  lecturer.  Much 
of  his  effort  in  these  fields  has  been  devoted  to  subjects  pertain- 
ing exclusively  to  his  department.  Those  of  his  lectures,  however, 
that  have  attracted  most  attention  have  been  upon  topics  relating 
to  science  and  religion.  Though  the  subjects  discussed  have  been 
at  times  of  an  abstruse  nature,  his  manner,  his  facility  of  illustra- 
tion, and  his  felicitous  diction  have  succeeded  in  attracting  and  in- 
teresting all  classes  of  hearers.  Invitations  to  appear  before  in- 
tellectual and  critical  audiences  have  not  interfered  with  the  ac- 
ceptance of  invitations  to  speak  to  assemblies  of  illiterate  colored 
people ;  nor  have  these  been  infrequently  extended. 

The  following  in  The  Examiner  of  New  York,  April  5,  1900, 
is  from  the  pen  of  Doctor  A.  T.  Robertson,  Professor  of  New 
Testament  Exegesis  in  the  Southern  Baptist  Theological  Sem- 
inary, Louisville,  Kentucky: 

"Professor  W.  L.  Poteat,  of  Wake  Forest  College,  delivered  the  Gay 
lectures  on  March  20th-23d.  before  large  and  enthusiastic  audiences.  His 
theme  was  'Laboratory  and  Pulpit.*  The  first  lecture  discussed  'The 
Biological  Revolution/  the  second  treated  The  New  Appeal/  while  the 
third  considered  'The  Unknown  Tongue/  There  was  a  vigor,  a  grasp, 
a  sweep,  a  point,  a  devoutness  and  a  charm  of  diction  in  the  lectures  that 
made  them  notable  indeed.  Professor  Poteat  is  a  scientist  of  large  attain- 
ments and  an  earnest  Christian.  It  was  inspiring  to  hear  him  proclaim 
the  death  of  materialism  among  men  of  science,  and  the  tremendous  wit- 
ness science  bears  to  God  and  the  spiritual  world.  Evolution  may  or  may 
not  be  true,  but  it  is  certainly  possible  for  an  evolutionist  to  be  a  sincere 
Christian.  Professor  Poteat  claims  that  Christian  evolution  will  serve  to 
win  back  men  of  science  to  Christianity.  His  lectures  were  an  intellectual 
and  a  spiritual  stimulus,  and  will  always  be  remembered  here.  Mr.  Theo- 
dore Harris,  a  prominent  Baptist  layman  of  the  city,  was  so  impressed  by 
the  lectures  of  Professor  Poteat  that  he  gave  $1000  for  the  purchase  of 
scientific  hooks  for  the  Seminary  library.  Five  hundred  dollars  will  be 
used  at  once,  and  the  interest  on  the  remainder  will  be  used  annually 
to  purchase  new  scientific  works." 


WILLIAM  LOUIS  POTEAT  325 

From  April  26,  1897,  to  May  i,  1899,  Professor  Poteat  was  a 
member  of  tlie  North  Carolina  State  Board  of  Examiners. 

In  March,  igoo,  he  was  lecturer  on  the  Gay  Foundation  before 
the  Southern  Baptist  Theological  Seminary,  Louisville,  Kentucky ; 
and  in  May,  1905,  he  was  lecturer  on  the  Brooks  Foundation  be- 
fore Hamilton  Theological  Seminary,  Colgate  University,  Hamil- 
ton, New  York.  Both  of  these  courses  of  lectures  were  on 
Science  and  Religion. 

He  was  president  of  the  North  Carolina  Teachers'  Assembly  in 
1897;  first  president  of  the  North  Carolina  Academy  of  Science 
in  1902,  and  president  of  the  North  Carolina  Literary  and  Histori- 
cal Association  in  1903, 

In  1901  he  published  "'Laboratory  and  Pulpit:  The  Relations  of 
Biology  to  the  Preacher  and  his  Message"  (Philadelphia:  The 
Griffith  and  Rowland  Press). 

He  has  also  published  in  scientific  journals  investigations  in 
the  groups  of  spiders,  microscopic  plants,  and  microscopic  ani- 
mals. 

Being  professionally  occupied  with  the  biological  sciences,  which 
are  largely  responsible  for  the  intellectual  revohition  of  our  period, 
Professor  Poteat's  reading  has  drifted  strongly  into  the  region 
where  science  and  religion  meet.  For  refreshment  and  enrichment 
his  rehance  is  upon  the  great  poets  and  the  great  masters  of  prose. 
Current  literature  does  not  attract  him.  A  habit  that  has  yielded 
him  a  rich  harvest  is  that  which  he  has  long  maintained  of  setting 
down  in  note-books  thoughts  and  abstracts  on  any  subject  of 
special  stud)-,  so  that  when  the  time  to  write  came  all  the  collected 
material  was  available,  the  utility  of  the  plan  being  greatly  en- 
hanced by  his  devoting  to  each  subject  one  or  more  note-books. 

For  relaxation  and  amusement  he  has  relied  largely  on  contact 
with  nature  in  field  and  wood,  with  observation  (not  too  strenu- 
ous) of  what  goes  on  there.  Some  slight  sketches  of  such  experi- 
ences have  been  published  in  the  Wake  Forest  Student  (February, 
1898,  and  May,  1899V 

In  politics  he  has  always  voted  with  the  Democratic  Party  ex- 
cept when  its  nominees  have  appeared  to  him  in  character  or 


326  XORTH  CAROLINA 

opinions  to  be  unworthy  of  his  support.  While  he  has  never 
changed  his  party  allegiance,  he  would  not  consider  it  discredit- 
able to  do  so  upon  sufficient  grounds. 

His  religious  life  has  not  been  without  jar.  While  from  his 
childhood  he  has  been  under  the  influence  of  Christian  convictions, 
the  serious  part  of  the  voyage  of  life  was  entered  upon  in  a 
period  of  brewing  storm,  a  time  of  threatened  conflict  between 
science  and  religion,  and  it  was  then  that  convictions  touching  the 
testimony  of  the  new  science  began  to  lay  hold  on  him.  This  to 
many  was  the  sad  augury  of  spiritual  shipwreck.  But  the  tranquil 
sea  and  anchorage  were  reached  by  him  not  only  with  faith  intact; 
but  with  a  contagious  optimism  concerning  the  Kingdom  of  God. 

Professor  Poteat  is  one  of  the  most  active  and  useful  members  of 
the  Wake  Forest  Baptist  Church.  For  a  number  of  years  he  has 
been  the  leader  of  its  music,  one  of  his  endow^ments  being  his 
musical  talent. 

He  was  married  June  24,  1881,  to  Miss  Emma  J.  Purefoy  of 
Wake  Forest,  the  gifted  and  accomplished  daughter  of  Rev.  A.  F. 
and  Mrs.  A.  W  Purefoy.  and  granddaughter  of  Rev.  J.  S.  Purefoy, 
whose  labors  and  sacrifices  in  behalf  of  Wake  Forest  College  are 
a  part  of  its  history.  Three  children  have  been  bom  to  them,  all 
now  living. 

Professor  Poteat  is  one  of  a  noteworthy  family  trio,  the  other 
tw(^  being  a  brother.  Doctor  E.  M.  Poteat,  President  of  Furman 
University,  Greenville,  South  Carolina,  and  a  sister,  Miss  Ida 
Poteat,  head  of  the  Department  of  Art  in  the  Baptist  University 
for  Women,  Raleigh,  North  Carolina. 

On  June  10,  H)05,  Professor  Poteat  was  elected  President  of 
Wake  Forest  College  and  was  inducted  into  this  responsible  posi- 
tion with  appropriate  ceremonies  on  December  7,  1905. 

IV.  B,  RoyalL 


328  NORTH  CAROLINA 

spiritual  side  of  his  life  was  never  neglected  for  the  sake  of  the 
physical  or  the  mental,  but  the  three  were  evenly  trained.  The 
chief  principle  instilled  was  that  to  every  task,  however  trivial. 
nuist  be  given  the  best  that  was  in  him,  and  that  it  was  far  more 
manly  to  take  pride  in  one's  work  than  to  be  ashamed  of  it.  Even 
in  his  early  boyhood,  the  direction  that  his  energy  and  industry 
were  to  take  in  the  man  showed  themselves  in  the  dominant  pas- 
sion for  collecting  minerals  and  specimens  of  natural  history. 

His  education  so  begun  in  the  home  was  continued  in  the 
public  high  school  of  Hartford,  whence  he  entered  in  1890  the 
Sheffield  Scientific  School  of  Yale  University.  His  work  here 
was  in  the  chemistry  course,  leading  to  the  degree  of  Ph.B.  He 
attracted  early  the  attention  of  his  instructors  by  the  high  qualities 
of  mind  and  character,  and  in  1893  took  the  degree  with  highest 
honors.  His  natural  tastes  and  his  acquirements  led  him  to  de- 
vote his  attention,  even  during  the  vacation  of  his  undergraduate 
days,  to  active  work  in  the  subjects  of  his  special  study,  and  it 
was  at  such  a  time  that  he  first  came  to  North  Carolina.  In  the 
Summer  of  1892  he  was  in  the  employ  of  the  North  Carolina  Geo- 
logical Survey  with  Professor  S.  L.  Penfield  of  Yale,  engaged  in 
collecting  minerals  for  the  State  exhibit  at  the  Chicago  World's 
Fair.  In  the  Fall  of  1893  he  continued  his  studies  at  Yale,  special- 
izing in  graduate  courses  of  mineralogy,  geology  and  chcmistr>'. 
During  part  of  the  time  that  he  was  engaged  in  these  duties  he 
served  also  in  the  capacity  of  assistant  in  chemistry  and  mineral- 
ogy, and  in  the  Summer  of  1894  he  taught  mineralogy  at  the  Har- 
vard Summer  school.  Through  this  period,  also,  he  spent  his 
Summers  in  North  Carolina,  working  on  corundum,  mica  and 
other  non-metallic  minerals,  in  the  employ  of  the  North  Carolina 
Geological  Survey. 

The  high  level  of  his  work  during  this  period  is  still  testified  to 
by  his  professors.  Says  Professor  H.  L.  Wells:  "His  chemical 
work  was  of  high  quality.  His  thesis  work  for  the  degree  of 
I^h.D.  was  chiefly  in  chemistr>;,  and  his  principal  investigation  was 
'On  the  Double  Halides  of  Czesium,  Rubidium,  Sodium  and  Lith- 
ium with  Thallium'  (published  in  the  American  Journal  of  Science 


i5).  This  was  an  elaborate  and  important  piece  of  work,  in 
which  some  fourteen  new  salts  were  made  aiici  described."  In 
1896  lie  was  awarded  the  degree  of  Ph.D.  From  1895  to  1897 
he  was  instructor  in  mineralogy  at  Vale,  and  found  time  for 
numerous  independent  investigations,  the  results  of  which  ap- 
peared from  time  to  time  in  the  scientific  journals. 

Endowed  as  he  was  with  an  unusual  amoimt  of  energy,  he  did 
not  restrict  himself  to  scientific  activity  to  the  exclusion  of  all  other 
interests.  A  member  of  the  Congregational  Church  and  a  devoted 
Christian,  he  made  himself  so  endeared  to  the  people  by  his  un- 
tiring work  in  Simday-school,  in  city  missions,  as  president  of 
the  Christian  Endeavor  Society,  that  on  his  departure  from  Xew 
Haven  a  public  gift,  to  which  all  had  been  eager  to  contribute, 
witnessed  the  esteem  in  which  he  was  lield.  He  lias  continued  this 
work  since  coming  to  North  Carolina,  and  has  been  instrumental 
in  the  establishment  of  a  number  of  Sunday-schools  in  the  moun- 
tains of  the  State. 

In  1897  Doctor  Pratt  left  Yale  to  accept  a  position  as  assistant  to 
the  general  manager  of  the  Toxaway  Company  of  the  Sapphire 
country  in  North  Carolina,  and  also  to  serve  as  mineralogist  to 
the  N'orlh  Carolina  Geological  Survey.  He  took  advantage  of  this 
opportunity  to  carry  on  independent  investigations  of  the  corun- 
dum properties  of  the  company,  a  field  of  mineralogy  in  which  he 
is  now  recognized  as  an  authority.  While  here  he  met  Marv  Dicus 
Bayley  of  Springfield.  Ohio,  whom  he  afterward  married, 
April  5.  1899.  He  resigned  his  position  with  the  Toxaway  Com- 
panv  after  a  very  short  time  to  devote  all  his  time  to  his  work  as 
State  mineralogist  in  connection  with  the  Slate  Geological  Sur- 
vey at  Chapel  Hill,  and  as  consulting  mining  engineer.  Here  he 
was  made  lecturer  on  Economic  Geology,  and  in  1904  was  elected 
professor  of  that  subject.  With  an  interruption  of  two  years — 
1901-03 — he  has  continued  to  the  present  time  to  ser\-e  the  State 
L'niversity  in  this  capacity.  In  1905.  in  the  absence  of  Professor 
Holmes,  he  was  appointed  acting  State  geologist,  and  in  the  fol- 
lowing year  was  made  State  geologist.  Doctor  Pratt's  researches  in 
mineralogy  have  resulted  in  the  discovery  of  several  new  minerals. 


330  NORTH  CAROLINA 

anionjf  which  are  the  following:  pirssonite,  wellsite  (with  H.  W. 
Foote),  mitchellite  (named  after  Professor  Elisha  Mitchell  of 
the  University  of  North  Carolina),  northiipite,  rhodolite  (with 
W.  E.  Hidden),  a  new  gem  mineral  that  has  only  been  found  thus 
far  in  North  Carolina.  (Published  in  the  American  Journal  of 
Science. ) 

His  private  collections  of  North  Carolina  gems,  gem  minerals 
and  corundum  minerals  have  been  awarded  gold  medals  at  the 
Buffalo,  the  Charleston  and  the  St.  Louis  expositions. 

In  the  department  of  economic  geology  he  has  recently  accom- 
plished an  important  piece  of  work  in  superintending  the  briquet- 
ting  tests  of  the  coal-testing  plant  of  the  L'nited  States  Geological 
Survey,  by  which  it  was  clearly  proven  that  uncommercial  coals 
could  be  made  marketable  by  the  process  of  briquetting,  ( Pub- 
lished in  the  United  States  Geological  Surrey  Professional  Paper 
No.  48,  J).  1389,  1906.) 

He  has  advocated  vigorously  the  construction  of  good  roads 
throughout  North  Carolina,  and  of  State  aid  for  this  purpose ;  and 
believes  that  the  time  will  shortly  come  when,  through  the  assist- 
ance of  the  State,  the  various  counties  will  be  traversed  with 
graded  maca(lam  roads.  Quietly  but  persistently  he  has  worked 
for  the  establishment  of  the  Appalachian  Forest  Reserve. 

His  activity  in  these  various  branches  led  to  his  appointment  on 
the  Commission  of  the  Appalachian  Forestry  Reserve  which  waited 
on  Congress  in  1906.  At  the  St.  Louis  Exhibition  in  1904  he  was 
put  in  full  charge  of  the  North  Carolina  mines  and  minerals,  and 
was  a  member  of  the  International  Jurj'  of  Awards.  He  was 
also  a  member  of  the  Jury  of  Awards  at  the  Portland  Exposition. 

His  abilities  as  a  mineralogist  and  geologist,  made  widely  known 
through  his  publications,  received  recognition  alike  from  various 
mining  companies  and  from  the  United  States  Government.  From 
1899  to  1906  he  was  field  geologist  for  the  United  States  Geologi- 
cal Survey,  and  in  i()02  a  si)ecial  agent  of  the  United  States 
census.  In  1(^02-03  ^^^  ^^'^•'»  secretary  of  the  Engineering  Com- 
j)any  of  America,  and  since  1900  has  held  a  directorship  in  the 
Rogers  Iron  Company  and  the  Gray  Iron  Casting  Company,  both 


JOSEPH  HYDE  PRATT  331 

of  Springfield,  Ohio.  He  has  been  retained  by  numerous  mining 
companies  as  consulting  engineer,  and  in  this  capacity  his  un- 
failing skill  and  knowledge,  together  with  his  incorruptible  in- 
tegrity, have  so  increased  the  demand  for  his  services  that  he  is 
unable  to  satisfy  it.  In  1903  he  received  general  recognition  of 
these  qualities  by  the  offer  of  the  presidency  of  the  Colorado 
School  of  Mines.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Alpha  Tau  Omega  Fra- 
ternity, the  Sigma  Xi  Scientific  Society,  the  Yale  Club  of  New 
York  City,  the  Norih  Carolina  Historical  Society,  the  North  Caro- 
lina Audubon  Society,  the  North  Carolina  Academy  of  Science,  the 
North  Carolina  Good  Roads  Association,  the  American  Forestry 
Association,  the  American  Institute  of  Mining  Engineers,  the 
American  Geographical  Society,  the  American  Chemical  Society, 
the  N'ew  York  Academy  of  Science,  and  a  Fellow  in  the  Geo- 
It^cal  Society  of  America,  and  the  American  Association  for  the 
Advancement  of  Science.  In  unbroken  political  allegiance  he 
has  identified  himself  with  the  Democratic  Party. 

The  value  of  such  a  man  to  the  State  of  his  adoption  cannot  be 
estimated  solely  by  the  measure  of  liis  scientific  activities  in 
bringing  to  light  the  natural  advantages  of  the  State,  however 
far-reaching  these  may  be.  His  character  lends  inestimable 
weight  to  his  achievements.  A  man  of  unlimited  energy  and  in- 
dustry, wholly  accurate  in  his  knowledge,  he  has  unusual  executive 
abilities  in  organization  and  in  the  leadership  of  men.  He  is 
brought  by  his  work  into  contact  with  many  and  various  men,  and 
his  absolute  integrity  and  trustworthiness,  aided  by  his  infinite  tact, 
places  him  at  once  at  their  head.  He  is  a  man  of  most  polished 
manners  and  of  a  commanding  presence.  His  private  life  in  the 
home  is  ideal,  and  his  friends  are  numbered  by  the  number  of 
his  acquaintances.  When  it  might  be  so  easy  to  bury  himself  in 
his  scientific  researches,  on  the  contrary  his  public  interest  makes 
itself  felt  in  entering  heartily  into  the  business  life  of  the  com- 
mtmity  in  which  he  lives,  and  in  supporting  every  movement 
which  tends  to  improve  financially,  educationally,  religiously  and 
aesthetically  the  people  of  his  neighborhood. 

Beginning  with  1894  Doctor  Pratt  has  published  over  one  hun- 


332  NORTH  CAROLINA 

dred  important  papers  and  books.    The  list  is  too  long,  however,  to 
be  embodied  in  this  sketch.    Many  of  the  papers  were  contributed 
to  the  American  Journal  of  Science;  others  are  embraced  in  the 
Mineral  Resources  and  Bulletins  of  the  United  States  Geological 
Survey;  others  appeared  as  bulletins  and  other  publications  of 
the  North  Carolina  Geological  Survey ;  while  still  others  appeared 
in  the  Engineering  and  Mining  Journal,  Mining  and  Metallurgy, 
and  in  the  Journal  of  the  Elisha  Mitchell  Society,    Among  the 
more  important  publications  not  elsewhere  mentioned  are  "Co- 
rundum and  the  Basic  Magnesian  Rocks  of  Western  North  Caro- 
lina," published  in  conjunction  with  Professor  J.  V.  Lewis  of 
Rutgers  College,  a  volume   of   oyer   300   pages,  which  will  un- 
doubtedly be  the  standard  reference  book  on  these  rocks  for  some 
time  to  come  (Vol.  I  of  the  North  Carolina  Geological  Survey); 
"On  the  Occurrence  and  Distribution  of  Corundum  in  the  United 
States,'*  two  bulletins  prepared  for  the  United  States  Geological 
Survey,  Nos.  180  ( 1900)  and  269  ( 1905),  268  pp. ;  "The  Steel  and 
Iron  Hardening  Metals  of  the  United  States,  including  Nickel 
and  Cobalt,  Chromium.  Tungsten,  Molybdenum,  Vanadium,  Tita- 
nium and  Uranium."  representing  several  papers  published  in  the 
Mineral  Resources  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey ;  numer- 
ous papers  on  asbestos,  embodying  the  results  of  investigations 
relating  to  this  mineral,  regarding  which  he  is  now  a  recognized 
authority.    His  papers  on  the  general  subject  of  abrasive  materials 
show  the  grasp  that  he  has  of  this  subject,  being  called  upon  to 
do  special  work  in  this  line;  on  the  tin  deposits  of  the  Carolinas 
(with  D.  B.  Stcrrett)  and  on  the  talc  deposits  of  North  Carolina, 
two  papers  which  take  up  in  detail  the  occurrence,  origin  and 
uses  of  these  minerals.    The  former  was  published  as  Bulletin  19 
and  the  latter  as  Economic  Paper  No.  3  of  the  North  Carolina 
Geological  Survey. 

The  reports  of  Dr.  Pratt  on  the  mining  industry  and  general 
mineral  resources  of  the  State  are  as  important  to  the  commercial 
development  of  the  State  as  any  of  his  publications.  These  ap- 
peared as  Economic  Papers  Nos.  6,  7,  8  and  9  of  the  North  Caro- 
lina Geological  Survey.  George  Howe, 


ROBERT  SMITH    REINHARDT 


?  1  i  li  strength  of  Southern  men  and  their  power 
to  achieve  success  are  weil  exempUfied  in  the 
career  of  R.  S.  Rcinhardt,  the  president  of  the 
American  Cotton  Manufacturers'  Association. 
Tlie  fortitude,  intellectual  vigor,  energy  and 
persistent  endurance  of  toil  and  hardship  that 
were  ilic  cliaracteristics  of  Southern  soldiers  are  traits  that 
wuiikl  naturally  develop  the  high-est  business  capacity  when- 
ever opportunity  should  arise  for  Southern  men  to  engage 
under  favorable  conditions  in  the  vocations  of  peace.  And  so  it 
lias  happened  that  after  the  long  coufljcl,  wilh  the  unfavorable 
circumstances  that  ujion  the  restoration  of  the  Union  pressed  the 
South  down,  had  ended  in  the  establishment  of  prosperous  times 
among  the  people,  we  have  witnessed  an  industrial  development 
that  would  seem  marvelous  if  we  were  not  aware  of  the  power, 
the  energy,  and  the  capacity  of  those  Southern  men  who  have 
wrought  this  great  work  in  their  respective  localities. 

Among  those  who  have  displayed  fine  powers  in  comprehending 
the  questions  and  problems  incident  to  the  manufacture  of  cotton 
at  the  South,  Mr.  Reinhardt  has  been  accorded  by  his  fellow- 
workers  a  most  enviable  position. 

Without  the  advantages  of  higher  education  or  scholastic  train- 
ing, and  without  the  aid  either  of  influential  connections  or  of 
considerable  means,  at  the  early  age  of  fifteen  he  began  a  mer- 


334  NORTH  CAROLINA 

cantile  business  and  did  not  become  interested  in  milling  enter- 
prises until  he  had  attained  his  thirty-first  year.  But  after  fifteen 
years  of  experience  in  manufacturing,  he  finds  himself  president 
of  the  American  Cotton  Manufacturers'  Association,  with  a  mem- 
bership embracing  every  section  of  the  Union  and  extending  from 
New  England  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Still  his  career,  like  that 
of  Mr.  Duke,  the  head  of  the  American  Tobacco  Company,  is 
only  an  illustration  of  the  capacity  of  Southern  men  to  achieve 
success  in  every  field  of  human  endeavor,  and  is  an  exemplification 
of  the  fact  that  Peace  hath  her  victories  no  less  renowned  than 
War. 

Mr.  Reinhardt  is  a  native  of  Lincoln  County, 'North  Carolina, 
and  has  alwavs  lived  in  Lincoln  Countv.and  traces  his  descent  from 
the  sturdy  German  Pathfinders  who  braved  the  hardships  and 
dangers  of  pioneer  life,  and  wrested  the  region  watered  by  the 
Catawba  from  the  savages  of  the  forest.  They  began  to  come 
from  Pennsylvania  to  new  homes  in  North  Carolina  in  small  com- 
panies as  early  as  1745,  but  it  was  five  years  later  before  they 
moved  in  large  bodies  to  the  fertile  Piedmont  country.  Locally 
they  were  known  as  the  "Pennsylvania  Dutch/'  because  they  came 
from  Pennsylvania,  and  because  of  the  peculiar  language  used  only 
by  those  particular  people,  which  was  made  up  of  the  dialects 
found  in  the  ancient  Palatinate,  in  VVurttemberg  and  other  coun- 
tries bordering  on  the  Rhine,  intemiingled  with  English  words. 
which  contiinied  to  be  used  in  their  settlements  for  several  gen- 
erations. 

Christian  Reinhardt.  the  great-grandfather  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  coming  from  Pennsylvania,  where  the  name  is  still 
found,  settled  on  land  that  now  adjoins  the  town  of  Lincolnton, 
and  around  his  house  was  fought  in  the  War  of  the  Revolution 
the  famous  battk^  of  Ramseur's  Mills,  and  the  same  ground  w^as 
afterward  for  two  days  occupied  by  Lord  Cornwallis  and  the 
r>ritish  army,  lie  married  Barbara,  a  daughter  of  Samuel  War- 
lick,  another  ])ionecr,  whose  mill  was  twice  burned  by  the  hostile 
Cherokees. 

Christian  Reinhardt.  Jr.,  son  of  the  pioneer,  married  his  lovely 


ROBERT  SMITH  REIXHARDT  335 

neighbor,  Mary  Forney.  Her  father,  General  Peter  Forney,  was 
a  brave,  active  and  zealons  partizan  officer  in  the  Revolution,  being 
almost  continuous  in  his  operations,  beginning  with  Rutherford's 
campaign  against  the  Cberokces  and  ending  with  Rutherford's 
movement  against  Craig,  which  drove  that  scourge  of  the  Cape 
Fear  from  his  post  at  Wilmington.  He  represented  his  county  in 
the  Legislature  several  times,  and  during  the  War  of  1812  was 
a  Representative  in  Congress:  and  he  was  an  elector  on  the  Jef- 
ferson, Madison,  Monroe  and  Jackson  tickets.  He  was  a  man  of 
energy  and  enterprise,  and  after  the  Revolutionary  War  he  pur- 
chased an  undeveloped  deposit  of  iron  ore  in  Lincoln  County  and 
became  the  most  noted  pioneer  ironmaster  of  that  section.  He 
was  a  son  of  Jacob  Forney,  Sr.,  who,  as  a  pioneer,  had  many  en- 
counters with  the  Cherokees,  whose  frequent  incursions  into  the 
Catawba  region,  seeking  to  drive  the  planters  from  their  new 
homes,  gave  a  hazardous  and  perilous  cast  to  their  frontier  life. 
Like  his  son.  he  was  a  firm  and  unwavering  Whig  during  the  Rev- 
olution, and  contributed  much  by  his  zeal  and  activity  toward  the 
success  of  the  cause  of  Independence.  When  the  British  forces 
were  in  pursuit  of  Morgan  their  progress  was  impeded  by  the 
high  waters  of  the  Catawba,  and  Comwallis  made  his  headquarters 
in  Mr.  Forney's  comfortable  house  for  three  days,  consuming  his 
entire  stock  of  cattle,  hogs  and  pouUry,  as  well  as  all  the  com  and 
forage  on  the  plantation.  Franklin  M.  Reinhardt,  the  father  of 
the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  proprietor  of  Rehobeth  Furnace 
and  a  successful  ironmaster.  He  was  a  man  of  great  enterprise, 
and  noted  for  his  good  sense,  geniality  and  kindness  of  heart.  He 
married  Sarah,  a  daughter  of  David  Smith.  Esq.,  by  his  wife.  Miss 
Amdt,  who  was  a  daughter  of  Rev.  John  Godfried  Amdt,  a 
pioneer  Lutheran  minister  of  great  learning  and  piety.  When, 
in  1773,  because  of  the  absence  of  ministers  and  teachers,  the 
Lutherans  in  North  Carolina  were  obliged  to  send  to  Hanover  to 
get  men  to  supply  their  needs,  Mr.  Arndt  came  over  as  a  teacher, 
and  then  became  a  minister,  and  after  a  notable  service  in  Rowan 
CoTinty.  eventually  settled  in  Lincoln  County,  where  he  laid  sure 
and  deep  the  foundations  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  that  commu- 


336  NORTH  CAROLINA 

ity.  All  of  Mr.  Reinhardt's  ancestors  lived  in  Lincoln  County  and 
were  noted  for  their  energy,  integrity  and  thrift,  for  the  high  re- 
spectability of  their  character  and  their  public  spirit.  The 
earlier  ones,  like  all  their  German  neighbors  residing  in  that 
region,  were  devoted  adherents  of  the  Lutheran  and  Reformed 
churches. 

Mr.  R.  S.  Reinhardt  was  born  at  Rehobeth  Furnace,  Lincoln 
County,  on  the  first  day  of  January,  1858.  In  1867,  when  but  nine 
years  of  age,  he  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  his  father,  and  while 
his  admirable  mother  exerted  herself  to  secure  for  him  all  possible 
advantages,  and  herself  trained  him  in  the  paths  of  a  high  and 
virtuous  manhood,  yet  because  of  the  ravages  of  the  war  and  the 
loss  of  her  husband,  she  could  do  no  more  than  send  him  to  the 
public  schools  of  the  neighborhood,  until  attaining  his  fourteenth 
year,  he  was  placed  for  one  year  at  the  North  Carolina  College. 
However,  under  her  fine  influence  he  had  made  the  best  of  his 
opportunities,  and  his  understanding  and  character  were  de- 
veloped and  he  was  so  well  advanced  in  education  that  when  only 
fifteen  years  of  age  he  was  justified  in  trying  to  begin  work  as  a 
man  on  his  own  account. 

He  started  life  as  a  merchant  in  1873,  establishing  a  general 
merchandising  business  at  Iron  Station. 

Inheriting  from  his  sturdy  ancestors  a  conservative  disposition 
and  strict  integrity,  and  trained  in  habits  of  economy,  he  applied 
himself  with  energy  and  zeal  to  his  business  and  soon  became 
master  of  the  trade  of  his  section.  Courteous  and  kindlv  in  his 
intercourse,  and  possessing  the  entire  confidence  of  his  neighbors, 
who  esteemed  him  for  his  fair  dealing,  he  entered  on  a  prosperous 
career,  which  was  enlarged  when  he  united  to  merchandising  the 
business  of  dealing  in  cotton.  He  continued  his  mercantile  opera- 
tions at  Iron  Station  for  fifteen  years,  when,  becoming  connected 
with  the  Elm  Grove  cotton  mill,  he  removed  to  Lincolnton.  Dur- 
ing the  year  1889  he  was  elected  treasurer  and  manager  of  the 
I^lm  (ifove  cotton  mill,  which  had  been  erected  on  the  Catawba 
about  one  mile  from  Lincolnton  some  three  vears  before.  The 
mill  had  at  that  time  only  about  three  thousand  spindles  and  was 


ROBERT  SMITH  REIN'HARDT  337 

not  prosperous.  Mr.  Reinliardl  and  his  brother.  Mr.  J.  E.  Reiti- 
hardt.  together  with  some  other  friends,  bought  the  control  of  the 
property,  and  under  the  new  management,  with  an  increased 
capacity  and  controlled  by  the  fine  business  sagacity  of  the  Reiri- 
hardts,  it  soon  entered  on  a  career  of  great  prosperity.  In  con- 
nection with  this  subject  it  is  interesting  to  observe  that  the  first 
cotton  mill  ever  erected  in  the  South  was  built  by  Michael  Schenck 
in  1815  within  three  miles  of  the  site  of  Elm  Grove,  the  spindles 
and  machinery  being  made  in  the  local  country  shops,  although 
afterward,  in  1818,  other  machinery  was  brought  from  Providence, 
Rho<le  Island,  and  the  mill  continued  in  operation  until  1863, 
when  it  was  destroyed  by  fire.  It  is  somewhat  remarkable  that 
the  new  industrial  life  of  the  South  now  finds  one  of  its  most 
important  fields  in  the  near  vicinity  of  that  first  attempt  at  South- 
em  enterprise. 

Since  his  connection  with  this  mill  began  Mr.  Reinhardt's  efforts 
have  been  principally  devoted  to  conducting  the  business  of  Elm 
Grove :  but  he  is  also  president  of  the  Piedmont  cotton  mill  of 
Lincolnton.  and  is  connected  with  three  other  mills.  Having  great 
faith  in  the  outcome  of  the  milling  interests,  with  judicious  fore- 
thought Mr.  Reinhardt  purchased  and  has  improved  much  prop- 
erty in  Lincolnton.  which  has  now  largely  appreciated  in  value. 
Since  moving  to  that  town,  his  best  thoughts  and  tiretess  energy 
have  been  devoted  to  the  cotton  mill  industry,  and  he  combines  a 
thoroughly  practical  experience  in  cotton  manufacturing' with  a 
high  order  of  business  ability.  He  is  progressive  and  quick  to 
adopt  improved  processes,  and  his  efforts  have  been  crowned  with 
success  and  have  brought  him  merited  fame  as  one  of  the  progres- 
sive men  pressing  forward  the  industrial  development  of  the 
southern  section.  He  is  one  of  the  four  organizers  of  the  South- 
ern Cotton  Spinners'  Association,  which  was  recently  merged 
into  the  American  Cotton  Manufacturing  Association.  He  has 
been  on  the  board  of  governors  ever  since  its  organization,  and  a 
member  of  the  committee  of  arrangements  for  every  meeting,  hav- 
ing served  as  chairman  at  the  last  four  annual  meetings;  and  at 
the  meeting  in  1904  he  was  elected  president  of  the  National  Asso- 


338  NORTH  CAROLINA 

ciation,  being  now  one  of  the  best  known  and  most  highly  esteemed 
of  the  mill  men  of  the  South. 

Mr.  Reinhardt  has  always  taken  an  active  interest  in  matters 
that  concern  the  welfare  of  his  people,  and  while  he  has  never 
sought  political  preferment  he  has  manifested  his  interest  in 
politics  by  liberal  contributions  and  by  having  served  several  years 
as  chairman  of  the  Democratic  executive  committee  of  his  county. 

He  is  a  consistent  member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  and  is 
liberal  in  donations  to  all  good  works;  he  is  Past  Master  of 
Lincoln  Lodge,  No.  137,  A.  F.  &  A.  M. ;  a  Knight  Templar  and  a 
Thirty-second  Degree  Mason ;  Shriner,  Past  Chancellor  of  Lincoln 
Lodge,  No.  48,  Knights  of  P}'thias,and  member  of  the  D.  O.  K.  K., 
and  is  interested  in  the  works  of  all  these  various  organizations.  A 
man  so  busy  and  so  interested  in  the  matters  that  claim  his  at- 
tention finds  little  time  to  indulge  in  amusements,  and  Mr.  Rcin- 
hardt's  principal  relaxation  and  exercise  have  been  riding  and 
driving  good  horses,  for  which  he  has  a  fondness ;  a  g^ood  animal 
always  exciting  his  admiration. 

He  was  happily  married  on  the  13th  of  February,  1879,  to  Miss 
Laura  Pegram,  a  lady  of  refinement  and  culture.  Mrs.  Reinhardt 
is  active  in  church  work,  and,  indeed,  zealous  in  all  works  of 
benevolence,  and  is  a  favorite  in  the  social  circle  of  which  her 
charming  home  is  the  center.  Their  home  life  is  happy  and  beauti- 
ful. They  have  two  sons  and  two  daughters,  while  they  have  lost 
three  children. 

Contemplating  the  life  and  character  of  Mr.  Reinhardt,  one 
sees  what  prizes  are  open  here  at  the  South  to  the  meritorious. 
Early  bereft  of  a  father's  control  and  guidance,  at  a  tender  age 
assuming  the  responsibility  of  a  business  career,  he  has,  unaided  by 
fortune's  favors,  but  solely  by  the  strength  of  his  own  consistent 
adherence  to  manly  principle,  achieved  a  name  for  himself  that 
places  him  deservedly  in  the  front  rank  of  the  industrial  army  of 
Southern  men. 

S.  A,  Ashe. 


JOHN    REX 


llic  old  city  cemetery  at  Raleigh,  where  the 
"rude  forefathers  of  the  hamlet  sleep."  is  a 
slab  marking  the  grave  of  a  highly  respected 
citizen  of  the  community  who  in  life  was  not 
considered  a  great  man — ^indeed,  one  who  may 
lint  now  be  called  great — yet  whose  memory 
iif  many  of  his  more  pretentious  contempo- 
raries. This  was  John  Rex,  founder  of  Rex  Hospital 
ill  his  adojited  city  of  Raleigh.  The  inscription  on  this  slab 
states  that  he  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  and  one  of  the  earliest 
settlers  in  Raleigh,  who  departed  this  life  on  the  29th  day  of 
January,  a.d.  1839.  aged  seventy-four  years;  that  he  sustained 
dirough  life  the  character  of  an  honest  and  industrious  man;  and, 
at  his  death,  devoted  the  fruits  of  his  industry  and  economy  to  pur- 
poses of  benevolence  and  charity.  When  this  is  read  the  simple 
story  of  his  life  is  before  us;  yet  a  few  more  particulars  may  be 
gathered,  and  these  we  shall  now  give. 

John  Rex  was  a  tanner  by  trade.  His  establishment  was  at  a 
place  called  Rex's  Spring,  well  within  the  present  city  limits  and 
on  a  s<|uare  bounded  by  Lane,  Jones.  Salisbury  and  McDowell 
streets.  In  his  Tucker  Hall  address  on  "Early  Times  in  Raleigh," 
on  August  24,  1867.  Governor  Swain  said: 
■John  Rc> 


was  one  of  the  earliest  citizei 
i  flight.     In  appearance  he 


s  of  Raleigh.    My  acquaintance 
(as  said    to   txar    striking    re- 


340  NORTH  CAROLINA 

semblance  to  that  of  John  Quincy  Adams.  He  was  a  grave,  sedate,  quiet 
retiring,  modest  man.  not  unlike  in  character  his  worthy  contemporary. 
William  Peck.  By  long  years  of  industry,  economy  and  thrift  in  the  man- 
agement of  the  first  tannery  established  in  Raleigh  at  Rex's  Spring,  near 
the  railway  station,  he  accumulated  a  handsome  estate;  and,  like  Mr. 
Peace,  atoned  for  his  failure  to  build  up  a  family,  by  a  liberal  provision 
for  the  children  of  misfortune  and  want.  He  manumitted  all  his  slaves  at 
the  close  of  life,  and  bequeathed  the  remainder  of  his  estate  to  the  endow- 
ment of  a  hospital,  the  construction  of  which  is  said  to  be  in  early  pros- 
pect. The  Rex  Hospital  and  Peace  Institute,  the  latter  far  advanced  to- 
ward completion,  will  constitute  the  appropriate  and  enduring  monuments 
of  these  public  benefactors." 

Mr.  Rex  was  never  married,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  had  few 
near  relations.  To  a  kinsman  and  namesake.  John  Rex,  he  be- 
queathed fifty  acres  of  land  called  the  Broad  Axe  Tavern  tract,  in 
Montgomery  Coimty,  Pennsylvania.  Not  only  were  Mr.  Rex's 
slaves  freed  by  his  will,  but  it  was  also  provided  that  they  should  be 
sent  to  Africa  and  there  settled  in  some  free  state  under  the  aus- 
pices of  the  American  Colonization  Society — expenses  of  transpor- 
tation and  settlement  to  be  borne  by  the  Rex  estate.  It  was  also  pro- 
vided that  any  negro  who  so  desired  might  be  sold  in  America  in- 
stead of  being  freed  and  transported  to  Africa. 

The  American  Colonization  Societv  was  a  Southern  institution 
of  \'irginia  origin,  having  been  created  by  the  Legislature  of  that 
State  in  December,  1816.  It  was  organized  in  Washington  City  by 
a  number  of  Southern  gentlemen,  the  first  president  being  Bush- 
rod  Washington,  the  favorite  nephew  and  principal  legatee  of  Gen- 
eral Washington,  who  remained  at  its  head  for  many  years,  and  it 
was  ardently  supported  by  Henry  Clay  and  other  Southern  states- 
men, who  hoped  through  its  instrumentality  to  prepare  a  way  for 
the  removal  of  many  negroes  to  Africa  and  gradually  to  arrange 
for  the  complete  emancipation  of  the  negro  slaves  of  the  South. 

Mr.  Rex  died  in  1829,  and  it  was  many  years  before  his  benevo- 
lent purj)osc  to  provide  a  hospital  for  Raleigh  was  carried  into 
effect.  The  trustees  of  the  bequest  decided  to  wait  until  the 
fund  had  grown  to  sufficient  dimensions  before  using  it.  They 
managed  it  skillfully,  and  by  1 861  it  amounted  to  nearly  $40,000. 


JUHN  REX  341 

The  investment  was  lai^ely  in  bank  stodcs  and  other  securities, 
which  had  not  only  been  retntmerative,  but  in  times  of  peace  were 
secure,  for  the  North  Carolina  banks  were  admirably  managed  and 
tbe  legislation  of  the  State  in  regard  to  them  was  so  wise  that 
the  Slate  hanks  were  among  the  most  substantial  in  the  Union. 
During  the  war,  however,  the  banks  received  Confederate  money 
and  State  money  in  the  course  of  their  business,  and  as  a  result 
of  tbe  fall  of  the  Confederacy  and  the  enforced  repudiation  of 
State  obligations,  the  whole  banking  system  of  North  Carolina 
went  down  in  disaster.  In  1866  scarcely  $5000  worth  of  property 
remained  to  the  fund.  Again  the  trustees  addressed  themselves  to 
the  duty  of  increasing  it  by  accumulation,  and  so  admirably  did 
they  manage  it  that  by  1893  it  had  grown,  to  about  $27,000.  It  was 
then  decided  to  carry  Mr.  Rex's  purposes  into  effect. 

At  that  time  another  hospital  was  in  operation  in  the  city  of 
Raleigh.  It  had  been  established  by  St.  John's  Guild,  an  organiza- 
tion created  by  Rev.  Mr.  Rich,  the  pastor  of  the  Church  of  the 
Good  Shepherd,  who  by  the  aid  of  his  congregation  and  with  many 
of  the  members  of  Christ  Church,  with  one  or  two  other  benevolent 
citizens,  formed  the  corporation  for  tbe  purpose  of  maintaining 
a  city  hospital.  Dr.  P.  K.  Hines  was  the  chief  surgeon.  Ijcing  as- 
sisted by  some  of  the  other  physicians  of  the  city.  Established  in 
1884,  for  a  decade  St.  John's  Hospital  was  supported  by  voluntary 
subscriptions,  and  was  a  most  beneficient  charity.  When,  in  1893, 
the  trustees  of  the  Rex  Hospital  fund  determined  to  open  a  hos- 
pital in  comformity  with  Mr.  Rex's  bequest,  it  was  thought  that  the 
community  could  not  well  sustain  both  institutions,  and  the  St. 
John's  Guild  considered  it  best  to  discontinue  their  hospital,  and 
it  conveyed  its  building  and  property  to  the  Rex  Hospital,  receiv- 
ing as  the  price  comparatively  a  small  amount,  just  sufficient  to 
pay  all  the  indebtedness  of  St.  John's  Guild. 

In  the  Fall  of  1893  Rex  Hospital  was  opened,  the  city  of  Raleigh 
then  appropriating  S2000  annually  for  its  maintenance,  and  this 
appropriation  has  been  continued  to  the  present  time.    The  insti- 
tution has  been  of  inestimable  advantage  to  the  community. 
M.  DeL.  Haywood. 


il 


\ 


1   . 


*m  '' 


ROBERT  HENRY  RICKS  343 

with  zest  into  such  amusement,  and  being  gifted  with  a  robust 
constitntinii  and  fine  health,  he  excelled  in  all  sports  in  which  he 
engaged.  The  school  facilities  of  his  vicinity  were  limited,  and 
his  education  was  obtained  at  the  local  pnbiic  and  private  schools 
of  the  neighborhood,  which  kept  only  ten  weeks  a  year;  and,  in- 
deed, after  he  reached  tlie  age  of  sixteen  he  ceased  going  to  school 
at  all,  and  was  employed  on  his  father's  farm  until  1859  when, 
being  twenty  years  of  age,  he  engaged  as  a  farm  hand  with 
Mr.  Joel  Wells  of  the  same  county. 

Two  years  later  the  war  broke  out  and  Mr.  Ricks  enlisted  as  a 
private  in  the  Confederate  army,  serving  in  Manly's  Battery  and 
in  other  batteries  of  light  artillery.  This  army  service  at  this 
time  of  life  was  of  great  benefit  to  him,  as  it  proved  to  be  also  to 
thousands  of  others.  It  tended  to  develop  the  sterling  qualities  of 
manhood ;  fostered  courageous  action ;  inured  one  to  danger  and 
hardship;  begat  a  spirit  of  self-reliance,  cultivated  the  powers  of 
obsen-ation,  and  practiced  one  in  habits  of  application  and  a 
methodical  discharge  of  duties. 

Emerging  from  the  war.  the  trained  soldier  with  fine  resolution 
settled  down  to  the  routine  of  fann  life,  determined  to  achieve 
success.  By  1874  he  had  so  far  improved  his  condition  that  he 
felt  able  to  marry,  and  on  the  first  day  of  December  of  that  year 
be  married  Miss  Tempie  E.  Thorne.  and  from  that  time  onward 
his  business  lias  vcarlv  increased.  As  circumstances  permitted  he 
has  branched  out  in  business,  and  has  successfully  engaged  in 
manufacturing  and  in  banking,  thus  aiding  in  the  industrial  de- 
velopment of  his  vicinity.  He  is  a  successful  and  large  farmer,  and 
was  the  pioneer  of  bright  tobacco  cuhure  in  Eastern  North  Caro- 
lina. 

.\l)r.ut  the  year  1889  he  became  a  director  of  the  Rocky  Mount 
cotioii  mills,  and  so  evident  was  his  sagacious  management  of  the 
affairs  of  that  great  corporation  that  in  1899  he  was  elected  its 
president,  a  position  that  be  still  retains.  In  the  meantime,  in 
1894,  he  became  director  and  vice-president  of  the  Bank  of  Rocky 
Mount  anil  of  the  Mayo  cotton  mills,  and  in  1902  vice-president  of 
the  large  Washington  cotton  mills  of  Virginia.     Indeed,  step  by 


344  NORTH  CAROLINA 

step  he  has  advanced  so  surely  and  with  such  good  results  that 
he  is  now  recognized  as  one  of  the  most  prosi>erous,  most  ener- 
getic and  most  useful  citizens  of  that  portion  of  the  State. 

Alwavs  a  Democrat,  Mr.  Ricks  has  been  constant  in  his  efforts 
to  advance  the  interests  of  that  party,  and  has  been  zealous  to 
establish  on  a  secure  basis  the  supremacy  of  the  white  man  in 
Eastern  Carolina.  Being  intent  on  his  business  affairs,  he  has  not, 
however,  sought  political  preferment.  Still  he  has  served  his 
community  as  county  commissioner,  and  under  the  administration 
of  his  friend  and  neighbor.  Governor  Carr,  he  served  as  a  member 
of  the  board  of  directors  of  the  Penitentiary,  but  declined  later 
to  accept  the  same  employment  when  elected  by  the  Legislature, 
He  was  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives  from  Nash 
County  in  the  Assembly  of  1903,  and  was  recognized  as  one  of 
the  most  influential  members  of  that  bod  v. 

Mr.  Ricks  is  not  a  member  of  any  church,  but  is  affiliated  with 
the  Primitive  Baptists,  and  he  attributes  his  first  impulse  to  strive 
for  the  prizes  of  life  to  the  influence  exerted  on  him  by  his  mother, 
a  woman  of  strong  mentality,  who,  while  training  him  morally, 
also  was  potent  in  giving  direction  to  his  life.  Indeed,  he  ascribes 
his  success,  first,  to  the  influence  of  his  mother  and  his  home,  and 
then  to  contact  with  men  in  the  army,  developing  self-reliance  and 
resourcefulness,  and  to  the  ambition  engendered  by  association 
with  worthy  citizens.  He  is  a  member  of  the  A.  F.  and  A.  Masons, 
and  has  always  been  a  constant  reader  of  good  books,  preferring, 
however,  histories  to  other  literature.  In  business  he  has  been 
fortunate,  since  his  application,  industry  and  sagacity  have  so 
uniformly  brought  him  success ;  and  he  suggests  to  young  men 
that  no  true  success  can  be  attained  without  constant  energy  and 
integrity.  S,  A,  Ashe, 


TKE  NEW  YORK 

PUBLIC  LIBRARY 


1; 


■'"  '"•'  •  ^^.-^•:.;ja 


tCf 


346  NORTH  CAROLINA 

period  were  straining  at  the  leash  in  their  eagerness  to  go  out  into 
the  world  and  conquer  for  themselves  a  name  or  a  fortune.  The 
goal  of  their  ambition  was  not  college  honors,  but  remunerative 
w^ork.  Boys  such  as  these  did  not  spring  from  the  loins  of  incompe- 
tents, and  well  have  they  proven  this  since.  The  great  industrial 
progress  of  the  South  for  the  past  thirty  years  has  been  very  largely 
their  handiwork,  and  with  them  still  guiding,  directing  and  leading 
it,  this  once  impoverished  section  is  to  become  erelong  one  of 
the  industrial  centers  of  the  world.  Thus  they  have  testified  to 
the  moral  and  intellectual  stamina  of  the  race  from  which  thev 
sprang. 

Among  the  leaders  in  the  industrial  rehabilitation  of  the  South 
is  Frank  Sheppard  Royster,  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  He  came 
of  the  sturdy  stock  of  gentlemen  farmers,  who,  before  the  Civil 
War,  made  Granville  County  so  attractive  with  its  free  life  and 
abounding  hospitality.  His  father,  Captain  Marcus  D.  Royster, 
w^as  a  successful  merchant  and  farmer  in  that  countv.  He  was 
a  man  of  strong  mind,  took  an  active  interest  in  public  affairs  and 
exerted  considerable  influence  over  them.  He  was,  too,  one  of  the 
presiding  justices  of  the  county  court  for  a  number  of  years. 
His  mother,  Frances  Webb,  daughter  of  John  Webb,  who  lived 
and  died  on  Tar  River,  near  Oxford,  was  a  woman  of  exemplary 
Christian  character,  a  devout  member  of  the  Presbvterian  Church. 
Though  she  died  when  he  was  thirteen  years  of  age,  Mr.  Royster 
is  indebted  to  her  training  and  example  for  the  success  that  has 
attended  him  throughout  his  life.  She  was  of  that  Webb  family 
from  which,  during  the  past  hundred  years,  have  sprung  so  many 
first-class  merchants,  physicians,  law^yers  and  public  men.  These 
even  to  this  day  may  be  found  here  and  there  throughout  six  or 
more  Southern  States,  maintaining  the  traditions  of  their  family 
activity,  intelligence  and  enterprise. 

F.  S.  Royster  was  born  December  24.  1849.  ^^s  first  school- 
days were  spent  at  the  Oak  Hill  Academy,  near  his  father's  home. 
This  was  taught  by  Jesse  P.  Bagby.  At  the  age  of  twelve  he  was 
sent  to  the  Bethel  Acadeniv,  Person  Countv,  under  the  care  of 
Reverend  T.  J.  Horner,  who  afterward  removed  to  Tally  Ho,  Gran- 


FRANK  SHEPPARD  ROYSTER  347 

ville  county.  He  remained  at  the  Homer  school  until  the  close 
of  the  Civil  War,  when  he  returned  home  to  take  a  position  in 
his  father's  store  at  Oak  Hill.  There  he  remained  until  October, 
1870,  when  he  commenced  his  business  career  as  a  clerk  for  O.  C. 
Farrar  in  Tarboro,  North  Carolina.  Mr.  Farrar  was  a  man  of  a 
strong,  rugged  nature,  indomitable  energy  and  great  natural 
ability.  Perceiving  the  business  aptitude  and  sterling  honesty  of 
young  Royster,  he  soon  made  him  his  confidential  clerk,  and  later 
partner  in  the  concern.  The  firm  of  O.  C.  Farrar  and  Co.,  thus 
constituted,  did  an  enormous  business,  remembering  that  it  was 
located  in  a  town  of  1500  inhabitants.  The  larger  part  of  this  was 
in  furnishing  supplies  to  fanners,  taking  as  security  liens  and 
mortgages.  Under  the  strain  and  stress  and  arduous  labor  of 
such  a  business.  Mr.  Royster's  health  failed,  and  in  1876  he  re- 
tired from  the  firm.  In  that  year  he  associated  himself  with 
Mr.  C.  C.  Lanier  of  Tarboro  in  a  general  brokerage  and  com- 
mission business,  itnder  the  style  of  Lanier  and  Royster. 
Mr.  Lanier  was  a  careful,  painstaking,  accurate  business  man,  and 
the  enterprise  flourished  from  its  inception.  In  1882  these  gentle- 
men, desiring  a  larger  field  for  operations,  took  Mr.  Edmund 
Strudwick,  then  of  Hillsboro.  North  Carolina,  now  of  Richmond, 
A'irginia.  into  partnership  and  established  a  cotton  commission 
house  at  Norfolk, \'irginia,  under  the  firm  name  of  Royster  and  Co. 
Mr.  Lanier  remained  in  charge  of  the  office  in  Tarboro,  while 
Mr.  Royster  removed  to  Norfolk.  In  April.  1883, however,  the  firm 
was  dissolved  by  the  death  of  Mr.  Lanier.  It  was  then  reorganized 
under  the  name  of  Royster  and  Strudwick,  Mr.  Royster  returning 
to  Tarboro,  while  Mr.  Strudwick  remained  in  Norfolk.  Mr, 
Strudwick  was  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  promising  of  the  young 
business  men  of  the  period,  and  his  subsequent  career  has  amply 
fulfilled  that  promise.  A  sketch  of  his  life  appears  elsewhere  in 
these  volumes.  This  firm  prospered  also.  In  1891,  Mr.  Royiter 
having  become  interested  in  other  enterprises,  sold  his  interest 
tliercin  to  Mr.  Strudwick. 

Few  persons  of  the  general  public  appreciate  the  important  part 
that  commercial  fertilizers  have  played  in  the  agricultural  develop- 


348  NORTH  CAROLINA 

ment  of  the  South  in  the  past  thirty  years.  Without  their  use  large 
areas  of  productive  lands  would  long  since  have  become  barren 
wastes.  Von  Leibig,  the  father  of  agricultural  chemistry  in  1840, 
showed  the  world  that  the  growth  of  crops  was  a  taking  from  the 
soil  chemical  elements  which  were  its  life.  These  must  be  restored 
from  time  to  time,  else  the  land  would  become  practically  worth- 
less. The  process  of  fertilizing  is  then  nothing  less  than  supplying 
the  land  with  necessary  food,  without  which  it  would-  die — ^a  slow 
death,  it  is  true,  but  one  that  is  absolutely  inevitable  where  the  soil 
is  exhaustible.  The  commercial  fertilizer  is  simply  a  food  in  a 
digestible  form  for  these  hungry,  starving,  worn-out  lands,  and 
thus  preventing  the  wholesale  destruction  of  capital,  has  proved 
itself  a  boon  to  the  country  at  large  as  well  as  to  the  farmers. 

In  1885  Mr.  Royster,  realizing  the  great  future  of  the  manufac- 
ture of  fertilizers,  erected  a  small  plant  in  Tarboro.  The  total 
output  of  this  plant  the  first  year  was  250  tons.  The  enterprise 
proved  successful.  He  could  not  supply  the  demand  for  his  prod- 
uct, and  in  1891  he  determined  to  devote  his  whole  time  to  that 
business.  In  1897  so  extensive  had  it  become  he  transferred  his 
headquarters  to  Norfolk.  The  F.  S.  Royster  Guano  Company 
was  incorporated,  F.  S.  Royster,  President,  and  Charles  F.  Bur- 
roughs, vice-president,  and  a  large  and  complete  fertilizer  fac- 
tory with  a  yearly  capacity  of  75,000  tons  was  erected  on  the 
Southern  branch  of  the  Elizabeth  River.  Since,  there  has  been 
a  constant  increase  in  the  business  of  the  company.  It  now  covers 
the  States  of  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Georgia 
and  Alabama,  distributing  the  product  of  six  plants,  one  at  each 
of  the  following  places:  Norfolk,  Tarboro,  North  Carolina;  Co- 
lumbia and  Spartanburg,  South  Carolina;  Macon  and  Columbus, 
Georgia,  the  whole  valued  at  over  three  millions  of  dollars,  with  a 
capacity  of  200,000  tons  and  sales  verging  close  upon  the  capacity. 

This,  in  short,  is  the  record  of  a  very  remarkable  commercial 
success — a  success  wholly  deserved.  It  has  been  Mr.  Royster  s 
fortune  to  be  associated  throughout  his  career  with  men  of  more 
tlian  ordinary  ability  and  enterprise — O.  C.  Farrar,  C.  C.  Lanier, 
Edmund   Strudwick  and  Charles  F.  Burroughs.     This  in  itself 


is  high  testimony  to  his  own  worth,  but  it  docs  not  account  for  liis 
remarkable  success.  He  knows  his  business  in  detail  and  in  ils 
general  features  thoroughlv.  He  knows  what  is  demanded  by 
the  fanners  in  the  territory  which  his  concern  reaches,  and  he 
strives  earnestly,  intelligently  and  honestly  to  meet  that  demand, 
and  those  who  buy  from  him  know  that  they  are  getting  honest 
goods  at  a  fair  price.  In  al!  this  it  seems  to  me  lies  the  secret  of  his 
success. 

He  has  steadfastly  refused  to  enter  any  combination  of  fertilizer 
manufacturers,  and  so,  with  the  financial  strength  of  his  company 
and  its  annually  increasing  business,  he  is  able  to  occupy  an  inde- 
pendent position  and  to  meet  all  competition. 

For  many  years  he  has  been  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
an  official  relation  to  the  church  of  his  mother  that  has  never  been 
nominal.  On  the  contrary  he  has  given  liberally  of  his  time  and  of 
his  means  to  its  service.  Nor  is  his  Christianity  nominal.  It  is 
to  him  a  very  real  thing,  influencing  him  in  all  the  relations  of 
life,  and  constituting  to  him  the  prime  rule  of  action,  I  can  sug- 
gest only  the  benevolence  of  his  character,  for  in  that  be  sounds 
no  trumpets  before  him  that  he  may  be  seen  of  men. 

November  5.  1874.  he  married  Miss  Mary  Stamps,  of  Milton, 
North  Carolina,  a  lady  of  fine  culture  and  great  intellectual  charm, 
and  they  have  four  children  living,  two  sons  and  two  daughters; 
WiJIiam  Stamps,  the  eldest,  is  treasurer  of  the  R  S.  Boyster 
Guano  Company.  Mrs.  Royster  is  a  daughter  of  the  late 
Doctor  William  Stamps  of  Milton,  and  a  younger  sister  of  the 
wife  of  the  late  Judge  George  Howard  of  Tarboro. 

Mr.  Royster  is  still  in  active  business  with  powers  unabated, 
and  in  the  natural  course  of  events  may  look  forward  to  years  of 
usefulness.  Many  a  man  who  makes  more  noise  in  the  world 
could  be  better  spared  than  he.  If  to  make  two  blades  of  grass 
grow  where  one  grew  before  is  to  constitute  one  a  public  bene- 
factor, how  much  more  is  he  who  makes  whole  fields  to  bloom 
where  otherwise  there  would  be  desolation? 

Frank  Nash. 


THU.MAS  RL'I'""FIN  351 

of  Rockingham  County,  Cadwalader  Jones,  then  of  Halifax,  later 
of  Orange,  and  Weldon  N,  Edwards  of  Warren,  who  continued 
through  life  his  intimate  friends,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  entered 
the  College  of  Princeton,  New  Jersey,  and  graduated  with  honors 
in  1805.  He  studied  law  with  Mr.  J.  A.  Robertson,  of  Petersburg, 
and  continued  in  his  office  until  1807.  In  that  year  his  father  re- 
moved to  North  Carolina,  settling  in  Rockingham  County,  and  the 
son  also  coming  to  this  State  completed  his  legal  studies  under 
the  direction  of  Jtidge  A.  D.  Murphey,  and  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  1808.    The  next  year  he  located  in  Hillsboro. 

Just  east  of  that  historic  town,  touching  indeed  its  boundary, 
was  a  rounded  mound,  scarcely  high  or  abrupt  enough  to  be  called 
a  hill,  whose  sides  and  top  were  covered  by  an  open  grove  of  mag- 
nificent oaks,  hickories  and  maples.  Through  this  in  1809  ran 
a  footpath  to  Ayrmount,  the  home  of  the  Kirklands,  a  mile  away. 
In  this  grove,  the  Summer  of  the  same  year,  and  on  3  tree  trunk 
fallen  by  the  wayside.  Thomas  Ruffin,  the  ambitious  young  law- 
yer, with  his  future  already  to  himself  secure,  but  unsuspected 
by  others,  addressed  Annie  M.  Ktrkland,  then  scarcely  more  than 
a  child — not  yet  sixteen  years  of  age — and  was  accepted  by  her; 
and  they  were  married  Dcccmlxr  7,  iSo^.  Miss  K'lrklatid  was  5 
daughter  of  William  Kirkland,  a  prominent  merchant  of  Hillsboro. 

For  the  next  twenty  years  Judge  Ruffin  made  his  home  at  Hills- 
boro. representing  that  town  in  the  House  of  Commons  in  1813, 
1815  and  1816,  when  he  was  elected  as  judge  to  succeed  Judge 
Duncan  Cameron,  but  he  remained  on  the  bench  at  that  time  only 
two  years.  He  had  become  surety  for  Judge  Murphey,  whose 
financial  embarrassments  involved  many  of  his  friends  in  pecuni- 
ary distress.  Judge  Ruffin  was  very  punctilious  about  money 
matters,  and  having  suffered  this  heavy  loss  he  felt  it  incumbent 
on  him  to  retire  from  the  bench  and  seek  to  restore  his  fortune 
by  his  practice  at  the  bar.  Probably  no  other  lawyer  in  the  State 
at  any  time  made  greater  professional  efiforts  than  he  did  at  this 
juncture.  He  extended  his  practice  into  the  courts  of  the  adjoin- 
ing districts,  and  habitually  made  two  courts  in  one  week,  and  for 
forty-lhree  weeks  in  the  year  he  had  his  engagements  in  court,  and 


352  NORTH  CAROLINA 

despite  all  conditions  of  weather,  traveling  in  a  stick  gig,  he  rarely 
failed  to  meet  any  of  them.  Throughout  all  these  years  of  strug- 
gle and  of  striving,  of  disappointment  and  disgust,  his  wife  was 
ever  his  good  angel,  soothing  the  asperities  of  his  temper,  restrain- 
ing his  ardent,  sometimes  intense,  sensibilities,  stimulating  his 
hope  and  ambition  and  sharing  his  disappointments  and  trials. 
Meantime  she  was  caring  for,  guiding  and  controlling  their  grow- 
ing family.  It  is  said  that  she  was  the  only  influence  that  came 
into  the  life  of  this  great  but  rugged  personality  to  which  he  de- 
ferred— the  kind  of  deference  that  is  beautiful  always,  but  strik- 
ingly so  in  such  a  character.  Six  years  of  this  hard,  unremitting 
toil,  however,  brought  its  reward,  and  being  relieved  of  embarrass- 
ment, upon  the  resignation  of  Judge  Badger  in  1825,  he  again  ac- 
cepted an  appointment  of  Judge  of  the  Superior  Court. 

As  an  advocate  Judge  Ruffin  was  very  successful  and  very 
strong.  In  his  addresses  he  was  earnest  and  impassioned,  and 
sometimes  he  would  bend  his  slender,  lithe  form  until  he  could 
strike  the  floor  in  front  of  the  jury  with  his  knuckles,  and  he  was 
eminently  successful  as  a  jury  lawyer,  while  his  thoroughness  in 
the  learning  of  his  profession  gave  him  great  influence  with  the 
Court.  He  had  no  rival  in  the  Supreme  Court  except  the  dis- 
tinguished Archibald  Henderson  and  Judge  Gaston,  and  in  the 
lower  courts  he  had  command  of  all  the  important  cases.  Indeed 
it  may  be  said  that  he  was  the  first  practitioner  in  the  State  when 
he  retired  from  the  bar  and  accepted  a  place  on  the  bench  in  1825. 

In  the  Autumn  of  1828,  however,  because  of  his  fine  business 
qualifications,  he  was  prevailed  on  to  take  charge  of  the  old  bank 
of  North  Carolina ;  and  the  next  year  Honorable  John  Branch,  be- 
ing then  appointed  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  resigned  his  seat  in  the 
United  States  Senate,  and  Judge  Ruffin  was  urged  to  become  a 
candidate  for  that  position,  to  which  he  certainly  would  have  been 
elected ;  but,  like  Judge  Gaston,  he  declined,  declaring  that  he  had 
rather  go  down  to  posterity  as  a  lawyer  than  as  a  |x>litician. 
Thereupon  the  Legislature  elected  him  a  judge  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  and  four  years  later,  upon  the  death  of  Chief  Justice  Hen- 
derson, he  succeeded  to  that  high  office.    In  this,  his  chosen  field. 


THOMAS  RUFFIN  353 

he  won  imperishable  fame.  His  decisions  illumined  the  annals  of 
jurisprudence.  As  great  as  he  was  as  a  common  law  lawyer,  he 
was  even  more  distingruished  for  his  equity  decisions.  His  reputa- 
tion extended  beyond  the  bounds  of  North  Carolina  and  his  opin- 
ions were  quoted  not  merely  in  other  Stales  but  with  approbation 
also  in  Westminster  Hall.  They  were  authority  relied  on  by 
eminent  writers  of  text-books  no  less  than  by  the  justices  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.  Few  judges  in  the  Union 
have  been  of  the  same  class  as  he  in  the  annals  of  judicial  litera- 
ture, li  any  have  had  a  greater  influence  upon  the  development 
of  the  law  in  this  country,  it  was  because  their  decisions  dealt  with 
questions  broader  in  their  scope  and  more  varied  in  their  aspects 
and  not  because  they  were  greater  judges. 

His  style  was  elevated  and  his  language  well  selected,  clear  and 
precise,  well  suited  to  judicial  opinions.  For  twenty-five  years 
he  adorned  the  bench  and  his  opinions  run  through  thirty-five 
volumes  of  the  reports  and  formed  the  bulk  of  our  judicial  litera- 
ture for  a  generation.  They  are  of  unsurpassed  excellence,  un- 
rivaled in  the  jurisprudence  of  any  other  State  or  country;  and 
tliey  constitute  a  memorial  of  North  Carolina  thought,  sentiment 
and  juridical  learning  that  posterity  will  ever  value  as  the  chiefest 
pride  of  our  people. 

Chief  Justice  Clark  has  written  of  him  in  the  History  of  the 
Supreme  Court: 

''The  hunter  in  the  Indian  jungle  discovers  by  unmistakable  signs  when 
the  king  of  the  forest  has  passed  by.  So  the  lawyer  who  turns  over  the 
leaves  of  the  North  Carolina  Reports,  when  he  comes  upon  an  opinion  of 
Thom.is  Ruffin.  instantly  perceives  that  a  lion  has  been  there.  He 
reached  the  rare  distinction  of  being  equally  great  both  in  the  common  law 
and  as  an  equity  lawyer.  Pearson  probably  equalled  him  as  a  common 
law  lawyer,  but  fell  far  short  of  him  in  the  grasp  and  application  of  the 
great   principles   of   equity." 

Judge  Clark  continues: 

"It  is  hi;  singular  fortune  to  have  resigned  twice  from  both  the  Superior 
Court  and  Supreme  Court  bench.  It  is  worthy  of  note,  too,  that  in  1848 
all  three  of  the  Supreme  Court  judges  (Ruffin.  Nash  and  Battle),  the  gov- 
ernor (Graham),  and  one  of  the  United  States  senators  (Mangum)  were 


i 


354  NORTH  CAROLINA 

from  the  single  county  of  Orange.  Already  from  1845  to  1848  two  of  the 
Supreme  Court  (Rufiin  and  Nash),  the  governor  (Graham),  and  one  United 
States  senator  (Mangum)  had  been  elected  from  that  county;  while  at 
the  Legislature  of  1841  both  United  States  senators  (Graham  and  Man- 
gum)  were  elected  from  the  same  county  of  Orange,  in  which  the  chief 
justice  then  resided,  and  from  1852  to  1858  two  of  the  Supreme  Court 
judges   were   again    from   Orange. 

"Take  him  all  in  all.  we  have  not  seen  his  like  again.  By  the  consensus 
of  the  profession  he  is  the  greatest  judge  who  ever  sat  upon  the  bench  in 
North  Carolina,  and  those  few  who  deny  him  this  honor  will  admit  that 
he  has  had  no  superior.  In  political  opinions  he  was  the  follower  of  Jef- 
ferson, hut  this  did  not  prevent  his  reverence  for  Chief  Justice  Marshall, 
who  was  his  personal  friend,  as  was  also  Chancellor  Kent.  Mr.  Frank 
Nash  in  the  course  of  a  discriminating  article  says:  'Judge  Ruffin's  men- 
tal constitution  was  more  like  that  of  the  great  Chief  Justice  Marshall 
than  of  any  judge  of  whom  the  writer  has  knowledge,  but  the  defects  of 
RufHn's  temperament,  assuming  that  he  had  been  placed  on  so  broad  a 
stage,  would  have  prevented  him  from  becoming  so  great  a  judge.  Both 
were  endowed  by  nature  with  what,  for  lack  of  better  term,  we  call  a  legal 
mind;  both  had  great  courage  and  strength  of  will;  both  were  ambitious 
in  and  for  their  profession ;  both  had  a  great  capacity  and  fondness  for 
labor,  both  had  great  vigor  of  understanding,  and  both  loved  the  law  as 
a  science  and  were  thoroughly  imbued  with  its  principles.  Marshall,  how- 
ever, had  a  calm  evenness  of  temper,  a  sweetness  of  disposition,  a  thor- 
ough control  over  his  prejudices  that  Ruffin  never  had,  nor  could  ever  ac- 
quire, so  the  order  of  his  temperament  made  him.  who  otherwise  might 
have  been  a  Marshall,  more  of  a  Thurlow.  So  great,  however,  were  the 
endowments  and  acquirements  of  Judge  Ruffin  that  one  can  but  regret  that 
he  had  not  been  placed  upon  the  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States,  side  by  side  with  Marshall.  What  noble  discussions  of  fundamental 
questions  from  opposing  points  of  view  we  should  have  then  have  had.'" 

And  of  him  Judge  R.  T.  Bennett  says: 

*'I  have  read  every  opinion  delivered  by  the  late  Chief  Justice  Ruffin.  as 
Associate-Justice  and  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  North  Caro- 
lina, and  when  I  completed  these  readings,  I  said  in  my  deepest  thought 
'Chief  Justice  Ruffin  is  the  greatest  judge  who  ever  administered  justice 
in  an  English-speaking  community.'  " 

When  in  the  zenith  of  his  fame,  in  1852,  he  resigned  from  the 
bench,  proposing:  to  retire  from  all  professional  work.  In  1830 
he  had  removed  to  his  plantation  on  Haw  River  in  Alamance 


THOMAS  RL'FFIN'  355 

County,  while  operating  another  on  Dan  River  in  Rockingham 
County,  and  he  had  become  known  as  one  of  the  most  progressive 
and  successful  fanners  of  the  State,  and  that  employment  was 
very  agreeable  to  his  disposition.  Tlie  pursuits  of  tlie  farm  gave 
him  pleasant  recreation,  as  well  as  large  profits,  and  his  home  was 
a  seat  of  culture  and  refinement  and  bounteous  hospitality.  In 
1854  the  Agricultural  Society  of  North  Carolina  elected  him  its 
president,  and  for  six  years  he  continued  in  that  position,  and  by 
force  of  his  example  and  by  his  precepts  he  contributed  largely 
to  the  improvement  of  agricultural  methods  in  the  Stale.  And 
not  only  so,  but  he  availed  himself  of  his  position  to  urge  improve- 
ment in  all  lines  that  would  be  beneficial  to  North  Carolina.  There 
had  always  been  a  great  stream  of  North  Carolinians  seeking 
homes  in  new  regions,  and  in  his  address  before  the  State  Agricul- 
tural Society  in  October,  1855,  he  said: 

"I  cannot  close,  however,  without  asking  you  once  mori'  lo  cleave  tO 
North  Carolina.  Stay  in  her,  fertilize  her,  till  her,  cherish  her  rising 
manufaclnres.  extend  her  railways,  encourage  and  endow  her  schools 
and  colleges,  sustain  her  institutions,  develop  her  resource],  promote 
knowledge,  virtue  and  religion  throughout  her  borders,  stimulate  State 
pride  and  exalt  her  renown," 

Such  indeed  had  been  his  own  course  in  reference  to  the  State, 
and  no  one  could  urge  her  people  onward  and  forward  so  well  as 
this  eminent  citizen  who  hail  reflected  so  much  honor  on  the  State 
and  who  had  set  such  an  example  of  usefulness  and  development 

On  the  death  of  Chief  Justice  Xash,  in  December,  1 858, however, 
having  been  elected  his  successor  by  the  almost  unanimous  vote 
of  the  General  Assembly,  he  again  took  his  seat  as  a  justice  of 
the  Sujircme  Court,  but  sat  only  one  or  two  terms,  returning  to 
private  life  in  the  Fall  of  1859. 

After  his  retirement  from  the  bench  he  was  appointed  a  magis- 
trate for  his  county,  and  for  many  years  he  presided  over  the 
county  courts  of  Alamance  County  and  attended  to  all  the  busi- 
ness of  his  community.  Nor  did  he  abandon  his  interest  in  the 
University,  of  which  he  was  a  trustee  for  nearly  fifty  years,  being 
at  last  retired  in  1868  by  the  Republicans  to  make  way  for  some 


356  NORTH  CAROLINA 

of  those  who  destroyed  the  usefulness  of  that  institution.  He 
worthily  received  the  honorary  degree  of  LL.D.  from  the  Uni- 
versity and  also  from  his  Alma  Mater. 

The  religious  affiliations  of  Judge  Ruffin  were  with  the  Protest- 
ant Episcopal  Church,  of  which  for  more  than  forty  years  he 
was  a  communicant,  and  he  was  one  of  the  most  active  members 
of  the  church  in  the  State  and  more  than  once  he  represented  the 
diocese  in  the  General  Convention  of  the  church  in  the  United 
States. 

Judge  Ruffin  was  from  his  early  years  an  adherent  of  the  Demo- 
cratic Party,  and  in  1824  was  a  candidate  on  the  electoral  ticket 
of  William  H.  Crawford  for  President,  Mr.  Crawford  being  the 
nominee  of  the  caucus  of  the  Democratic  members  of  Congress, 
that  being  before  the  era  of  national  conventions,  and  thus  the 
regular  ticket ;  but  on  that  occasion  North  Carolina  gave  her  votes 
to  Andrew  Jackson,  and  the  election  was  thrown  in  the  House 
of  Representatives,  where  Henry  Clay  gave  his  preponderating 
influence  to  John  Quincy  Adams,  making  that  break  with 
Jackson  that  led  to  the  formation  of  the  Whig  Party. 
Judge  Ruffin  continued  to  adhere  to  the  Democratic  Part>'  and 
was  a  supporter  of  Jackson's  administration.  He  not  only 
held  like  political  views  with  Thomas  Jefferson,  but  in  other 
respects  resembled  him. 

In  the  campaign  of  i860  he  supported  Breckenridge  as  the 
Democratic  candidate  for  the  Presidency,  and  when  toward  the  end 
of  January,  1861,  the  Legislature  of  North  Carolina  made  an  ef- 
fort to  secure  a  peaceful  solution  of  sectional  differences  by  sending 
commissioners  to  represent  the  State  at  Montgomery  and  at  the 
Peace  Conference  called  by  Virginia  to  meet  at  Washington  on 
February  4th,  Judge  Ruffin  was  appointed  a  delegate  to  the  Peace 
Conference  at  Washington.  He  accepted  the  employment  with  the 
purpose  of  preventing  a  rupture  of  the  Union  if  possible.  In  that 
body  he  urged  compromise,  concession  and  conciliation.  Nor  did 
he  confine  his  efforts  merely  to  the  members  of  the  Congress. 
General  Scott,  then  at  the  head  of  the  Federal  army,  was  a  man 
of  potent  influence,  and  he  had  been  a  fellow  law  student  with 


THOMAS  RUFFIN  357 

Judge  Ruflin  at  Petersburg,  At  this  critical  period  Judge  Rutfin 
gladly  renewed  their  former  acquaintance  and  urged  upon  him 
that  there  should  be  an  amicable  arrangement  of  differences,  and 
he  also  sought  to  influence  others  who  bore  relations  with  the  in- 
coming administration.  General  Scott  in  his  Autobiography  men- 
tions that  if  the  sentiments  of  Judge  Ruffin  had  prevailed  the  coun- 
try would  have  escaped  the  sad  inflictions  of  the  war ;  and  Presi- 
dent Buchanan  makes  the  same  statement  in  his  "defense"  of  his 
administration. 

But  the  pleadings  of  this  illustrious  patriot  were  unheeded  by 
the  victorious  partizans  who  were  about  to  possess  themselves 
of  the  Federal  Government.  In  that  Congress  North  Carolina  and 
Virginia  were  unable  to  approve  of  the  conclusion  reached  by  a 
majoriiy  of  the  delegates,  still  as  weak  as  the  report  was  it  was  not 
acceptable  to  those  in  control  of  ihe  Federal  Congress.  The  party 
friends  of  Mr.  Lincoln  had  no  purpose  to  conciliate  or  to  remove 
the  causes  of  apprehension  which  had  led  to  the  action  of  the 
Southern  States.  They  preferred  war  with  all  of  its  horrors  and 
sufferings  ralher  than  live  up  to  the  provisions  of  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States.  The  concessions  and  sacrifices  offered  by 
the  South  were  disdainfully  rejected  by  these  rabid  partizans. 
With  a  heavy  heart  Judge  Ruffin  returned  to  North  Carolina  and 
retired  to  the  quietude  of  his  home.  It  happened  that  the  writer, 
then  a  student  of  the  law  under  Mr.  William  Ruffin,  was  present 
at  the  time  and  daily  listened  to  Judge  Ruffin's  conversation  on 
the  portentous  events  of  that  momentous  period.  There  also  came 
his  distinguished  kinsman,  Mr.  Edmund  Ruffin,  of  Virginia,  and 
his  son,  who  later  married  Judge  Ruffin's  daughter  Jane.  It 
seemed  to  these  gentlemen  that  the  movement  at  the  South  was 
forced  by  the  people  rather  than  led  by  the  public  men,  who  ap- 
peared inclined  to  be  more  conservative  than  the  masses;  and 
hopes  were  still  entertained  that  war  might  be  averted  until  the 
whole  situation  was  changed  by  President  Lincoln's  call  to  arms. 
Then  the  younger  men  of  the  household  and  of  the  family  at  once 
responded  in  defense  of  the  South  and  hastened  to  occupy,  with 
others,  the  forts  on  the  seaboard. 


358  NORTH  CAROLINA 

The  conservative  and  union  sentiments  of  the  venerable  ex- 
chief  justice  were  well  known,  but  he  himself  realized  the  exe- 
gencies  of  the  occasion.  A  public  meeting  was  held  in  Hillsboro 
in  April,  1861,  that  the  citizens  of  the  town  might  express  their 
sentiments  on  the  alarming  state  of  public  affairs.  Judge  Ruffin, 
though  residing  in  Alamance  until  after  the  war,  was  present.  In 
the  course  of  the  meeting  he  called  the  veteran  Democratic  politi- 
cian, General  Allison,  up  to  the  bar  and,  facing  the  audience,  stood 
by  his  side  with  one  arm  about  him,  and  said :  **My  good  old 
friend,  I  ask  you  what  ought  to  be  done  now?"  General  Allison's 
reply  was  inaudible,  but  as  he  was  known  to  be  a  Union  man,  it  was 
guessed.  Judge  Ruffin,  leaving  the  old  general  standing,  ad- 
vanced a  step  toward  the  audience,  and  his  whole  frame  in  a 
quaver  of  emotion,  extended  his  arms,  bringing  them  down  in 
vehement  gesticulation  at  each  repetition  of  the  word,  as  he 
shouted,  *i  say  Fight!  Fight!  Fight!'*  It  was  the  scream  of  the 
eagle  as  he  swoops  upon  his  prey.  The  war  feeling  already 
aroused  became  the  dominant  passion  in  every  man's  breast. 

In  May,  1861,  after  the  war  had  begun,  a  convention  was  called 
to  meet  on  the  20th  of  that  month,  and  Judge  Ruffin  was  elected 
a  delegate  from  Alamance  County.  In  the  Convention  he  sought 
to  avoid  a  declaration  of  a  constitutional  right  on  the  part  of  the 
State  to  secede,  preferring  an  ordinance  merely  declaring  the 
union  between  North  Carolina  and  the  other  States  dissolved  to 
the  one  j)roj)osc(l  by  Mr.  Craige,  which  repealed  the  Ordinance 
of  1789,  by  which  the  State  became  a  member  of  the  Union;  but 
in  this  he  mav  have  been  influenced  bv  considerations  of  tender- 
ness  toward  those  who  had  violently  opposed  the  doctrine  of  a 
constitutional  right  to  secede,  as  well  as  by  doubts  of  that  right 
imdcr  the  provisions  of  the  Constitution.  However,  on  being  over- 
ruled by  a  majority  of  the  Convention,  he  acquiesced  in  the  views 
of  his  associates  and  voted  for  the  Ordinance  of  Secession  pro- 
posed by  the  ultra-States'  Rights  men  and  signed  it,  when  passed. 

The  Convention  continued  in  session  for  a  year,  taking  several 
recesses,  and  Judge  Ruffin  contributed  from  the  stores  of  his  ex- 
perience to  the  promotion  of  the  success  of  the  Southern  cause. 


THOMAS  RUKKIN 

He  advocated  those  measures  that  were  early  adopted  to  put  the 
State  in  a  position  of  defense,  making  large  appropriations  to 
obtain  military  supplies  and  to  equip  soldiers  for  the  field.  His 
action  was  ever  patriotic  and  based  on  the  wisdom  of  a  thoughtful 
statesman. 

At  the  end  of  (he  war  he  found  that  his  farm  had  been  desolated 
in  consequence  of  the  army  having  been  encamped  upon  it,  and  the 
sj'stcm  of  labor  being  abolished,  he  felt  imcqual  to  the  task  of  seek- 
ing to  resuscitate  his  plantation  and  continue  its  cultivation.  The 
calamities  that  had  befallen  him  at  his  age  were  too  great  for  him 
to  successfully  combat.  He,  therefore,  disposed  of  his  estate  and 
again  took  up  his  residence  at  Hillsboro,  where,  in  the  enjoyment 
of  the  highest  respect  and  veneration  of  the  State,  he  passed  his 
declining  years  in  the  midst  of  friends  and  surrounded  by  his 
children  and  grandchildren. 

He  lived  through,  the  period  of  Reconstruction  and  saw  the 
baleful  consequences  of  the  sudden  and  violent  abohtion  of  slavery 
and  the  subversion  of  the  Constitution  and  system  of  laws  which 
for  more  than  half  a  century  he  had  aided  in  perfecting,  and  the 
blighting  and  degrading  effect  of  subjecting  the  State  to  the  do- 
minion of  ignorant  negroes  and  their  allies;  and  at  length,  on 
January  15,  1870.  in  the  eighty-third  year  of  his  age.  after  an  ill- 
ness of  but  four  days,  he  passed  away.  No  man  in  any  coitinumity 
ever  attained  a  higher  eminence  for  virtue,  for  learning  or  for 
integrity  of  character  than  this  exemplary  citizen  of  our  State. 

Mr.  Nash  in  summing  up  his  career  said  of  Judge  Ruffin: 

"He  was  great  as  a  l.iwyer,  great  as  a  judge,  great  as  a  financier,  great 
as  a  farmer— a  rugged,  indomitable  soul  in  a  frame  of  iron,  made  to  con- 
quer,  and   conquering  every  diffieiihy   on   every  side." 

"A   man   resolved  nnd   steady  to  his  trust. 
Inflexible   to   ill   and   obstinately   just." 

S.  A.  Ashe. 


THOMAS   RUFFIN,  JR. 

gllOM  AS  RUFFIX.  the  fourth  son  of  Chief  Jus- 
tice Rufllin  and  his  wife,  Annie  KirkUnd,  also 
an  eminent  jurist,  was  born  in  Hillsboro  in  1824. 
Ho  was  prepared  for  college  by  a  celebrated 
teacher  of  his  day,  familiarly  known  as  "old 
Sam  Smith,"  who  instructed  many  men  that 
afterward  attained  distinction,  and  who  always  regarded  him  with 
affictionatf  voneration.  After  a  thorough  preparatory  education, 
at  the  age  of  sixteen  he  entered  the  University  of  North  Carolina, 
where  he  graduated  with  distinction  in  1S44.  He  was  gifted  with 
a  logical  niitKl  and.  being  a  man  of  fine  attainments,  he  looked  for- 
ward to  a  professional  career.  His  disposition  was  genial  and 
he  was  sociable  b>-  nature  and  fond  of  fun,  and  without  bad  habits 
or  any  inclination  to  dissipation.  He  was  fortunate  in  beingr  in- 
structed in  the  elementary  principles  of  the  law,  and  in  the  prac- 
tice, l>y  his  distinguished  father  and  his  elder  brother,  William, 
who  was  unexcelled  as  a  teacher  of  jurisprudence.  Having  tib- 
taincd  his  license  to  practice,  he  located  in  "Rockingham  County; 
and  a  fc^v  years  later,  in  1848,  he  formed  a  partnership  with 
John  H.  Dillard,  in  whom  he  found  a  congenial  companion,  and 
the  friendship  then  l>egan  lasted  throughout  life. 

Popular  and  attentive  to  their  business,  they  soon  establi^ed 
an  extensive  and  lucrative  practice  and  won  many  friends  in  their 
conniy.     Following  in  the  footsteps  of  his  father,  the  subject  of 


THOMAS  RUFFIN,  Jr.  361 

this  sketch  attached  himself  to  the  Democratic  Party,  and  in  1850 
he  was  elected  as  a  Democrat  a  representative  from  Rockingham 
County  to  the  Legislature,  and  served  with  great  acceptability  to 
his  constituents,  but  he  had  no  liking  for  public  life  and  never 
afterward  sought  any  political  preferrnent.  He  was  ambitious  to 
excel  in  a  professional  career,  and  in  1854  was  elected  Solicitor  of 
his  district,  in  performing  the  important  duties  of  this  office  he 
attained  widespread  celebrhy  for  his  fearless  discharge  of  duty 
and  as  being  a  master  of  the  criminal  law.  He  had  married  early 
in  life  Miss  Mary  Cain,  a  lovely  lady  of  his  native  community, 
and  his  father  being  then  a  resident  of  Alamance  County,  he 
moved  to  Graham,  continuing,  however,  his  partnership  relations 
with  Mr.  Dillaril  in  the  Rockingham  business.  At  that  period 
Mr.  Ritffin  held  rank  among  the  foremost  of  the  younger  lawyers 
of  the  State.  With  a  fine  person  and  a  high  order  of  intelligence, 
he  united  strong  characteristics  and  high  professional  attainments. 
His  home  at  Graham  was  a  center  of  a  charming  circle  and  the 
hfe  of  his  household  was  most  happy  and  enviable. 

While  he  entered  but  little  into  politics,  he  was  much  interested 
in  the  vital  questions  that  convulsed  the  South  in  i860,  and  with 
g-ri-al  earnestness  be  advocated  the  electfotr  oi  Creirkenridg^e,  Che 
nominee  of  the  regular  Democratic  Convention.  Although  he  was 
not  .in  advocate  of  secession  in  the  earlier  stages  of  the  trouble, 
he  realized  that  it  l>ecamc  every  Southern  man  to  stand  shoulder 
to  shoulder  when  war  had  become  inevitable.  When  news  was 
received  of  the  first  gun  being  fired  at  Fort  Sumter,  Mr,  Ruffin  im- 
mediately organized  a  company  in  Alamance  County,  and  on 
April  16th  hastened  with  it  to  Fort  Macon,  and  together  with 
others  seized  that  fort  and  held  it  for  the  State  of  North  Caro- 
lina. I'pon  the  organization  of  military  forces  by  the  State  he 
was  on  Mav  3.  1861,  duly  commissioned  Captain  of  his  company, 
and  he  conlinued  to  serve  with  it  when  it  was  organized  as  a  part 
of  the  Third  Regiment,  later  known  as  the  Thirteenth  Regiment 
of  N'orih  Carolina  Troops.  Its  first  colonel  was  William  D. 
Pender,  who  was  succeeded  in  the  Fall  of  1861  by  Colonel  A.  M. 
Scales.     In  October,   1861,  Judge  Dick,  of  the  Superior  Court, 


362  NORTH  CAROLINA 

died,  and  Governor  Ellis  tendered  the  appointment  to  Captain 
Riiffin,  who  accepted  it,  and  he  held  the  remaining  terms  of  the 
first  court.  But  he  felt  drawn  to  the  military  service  and  resign- 
ing returned  to  his  company  in  the  field. 

On  April  26,  1862,  upon  the  reorganization  of  the  volunteer 
regiments  Captain  Ruffin  was  elected  Lieutenant-Colonel  of  the 
Thirteenth,  which  was  under  General  Colston  and  on  duty  near 
Williamsburg  on  the  Peninsula.  It  was  there  that  the  regiment 
had  its  first  engagement,  Colonel  Ruffin  being  in  command  of  the 
left  wing.  It  was  a  hand-to-hand  fight,  which  lasted  but  a  few  min- 
utes, some  of  the  Thirteenth  being  bayoneted ;  but  if  short  it  was 
hot.  The  companies  engaged  under  the  direction  of  Colonel  Ruffin 
behaved  with  the  greatest  gallantry  and  utmost  coolness.  "Not 
a  man  moved  except  to  the  front."  Colonel  Ruffin  served  with 
distinction  along  with  the  Thirteenth  throughout  the  battles  be- 
fore Richmond  and  in  the  battles  at  Second  Manassas,  South 
Mountain  and  Sharpsburg,  the  regiment  being  then  in  Garland's 
Brigade,  and  he  was  in  command  of  it  on  the  return  from  Mary- 
land. At  South  Mountain,  the  regiment,  under  Colonel  Ruffin, 
covered  itself  with  glory.  Garland's  Brigade  alone  defended  the 
pass  against  a  division  led  by  General  Butterfield.  Brigade  after 
brigade  assaulted  our  line,  but  each  time  they  were  driven  back 
with  heavy  loss.  Never  was  there  a  more  stubborn  contest.  "Ow- 
ing to  the  fact  that  Colonel  Ruffin  was  very  careful  of  the  lives 
of  his  men.  cautioning  them  against  unnecessary  exposure,  the 
casualties  of  the  Thirteenth  were  fewer  than  might  have  been  ex- 
pected, but  it  was  one  of  the  most  heroic  actions  of  the  war.**  In 
that  battle  Colonel  Ruffin  was  severelv  wounded,  and  in  March 
following  he  resigned  his  commission  in  the  army.  It  was  about 
that  time  that  he  was  recommended  bv  the  officers  of  the  Twelfth 
Regiment  to  be  appointed  Colonel  of  that  regiment.  He,  however, 
declined  to  accept  that  position,  but  was  soon  afterward  appointed 
Presiding  Judge  of  the  court  of  Kirby  Smith's  corps  in  the  West- 
ern army,  which  he  continued  to  hold  until  the  end  of  the  war.  On 
the  field  he  had  exhibited  a  fearless  courage  and  unusual  coolness 
in  positions  of  peril  and  difficulty,  and  he  was  distinguished  for 


THOMAS  RUFFIN.  Jr.  363 

his  sympatliy  with  the  soldiers  and  his  care  and  kindness  for 
tliem. 

As  presiding  judge  he  discharged  his  duties  with  considera- 
tion, and  with  a  spirit  that  met  the  approbation  of  the  Confederate 
authorities. 

After  the  war  he  returned  to  his  home  and  sought  to  battle 
with  the  adversities  that  surrounded  the  home  Ufe  of  the  South- 
ern people.  He  was  by  no  means  a  political  agitator;  on  the  con- 
trary, his  breadth  of  view  was  that  of  a  statesman,  and  his  dis- 
position was  to  foster  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  a  complacent  ac- 
quiescence in  the  unfortunate  termination  of  the  struggle  for 
Southern  independence.  He  recognized  the  facts  and  was  not  un- 
mindful of  the  logic  of  events ;  but  the  spirit  of  the  Northern  people 
was  too  intolerant  to  win  his  approbation,  and  he  took  hts  place 
among  his  neighbors  and  friends  in  their  great  effort  to  secure  for 
the  people  of  the  Slate  the  control  of  their  local  affairs.  In  1868 
he  steadfastly  opposed  the  Reconstruction  measures  and  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  Federal  authorities  under  them. 

While  never  a  prominent  leader  in  public  affairs,  he  was  always 
a  faithful  and  steady  friend  to  and  an  advocate  of  all  measures 
tending  to  the  amelioration  of  social  conditions,  and  he  sought  to 
elevate  public  sentiment  and  to  add  by  his  example  and  counsel  to 
the  march  of  virmnits,  enlightened  and  material  progress.  De- 
voting himself  with  patience  to  his  professional  work,  he  became 
well  known  as  one  of  the  strongest  and  most  resourceful  lawyers 
of  the  State.  As  an  advocate  it  has  been  said  that  he  was  truly 
eloquent.  While  his  language  was  not  remarkable  for  its  elegance, 
it  was  pure  and  forcible  and  his  argument  was  convincing  and 
aroused  the  fervid  emotions  of  his  audience.  He  prepared  his 
cases  with  great  labor  and  fortified  them  strongly  with  well-ar- 
ranged evidence  and  selected  his  authorities  with  careful  dis- 
crimination. In  forensic  debate  he  was  a  formidable  adversary, 
fertile  in  intellectual  resources,  well  equipped  and  persistent  and 
energetic  in  maintaining  his  position,  and  ready  with  quick  per- 
ception to  take  immediate  advantage  of  any  mistake  on  the  part 
of  opposing  counsel. 


364  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Judge  Dick  mentions  in  particular  a  speech  that  greatly  im- 
pressed him : 

"The  incidents  and  outside  facts  relating  to  his  client  that  awakened  his 
sympathies  and  called  forth  his  intellectual  powers  were  that  she  was  poor, 
a  woman,  a  widow,  a  stranger,  without  money  and  far  from  friends  and  her 
home.  There  may  have  been  greater  speeches  at  the  bar  than  he  delivered ; 
but  for  clearness  of  statement,  for  force  of  logic,  for  keenness  of  invec- 
tive, for  nobility  of  sentiment,  and  for  tenderness  of  pathos,  I  have  no*cr 
heard  the  speech  equaled  in  any  forum." 

He  again  became  associated  in  partnership  with  Judge  Dillard 
and  conducted  a  joint  business  with  him  until  the  latter  was  ele- 
vated to  the  Supreme  Court  bench  in  1878,  and  after  that  he  con- 
tinued to  practice  alone.  Year  by  year  he  grew  more  and  more 
largely  in  the  public  estimation  and  came  to  be  regarded  as  the 
first  lawyer  of  the  State.  At  the  time  of  the  sale  of  the  Western 
North  Carolina  Railroad  in  1880,  he  was  employed  with 
Honorable  George  Davis  to  advise  the  Legislature  and  to  put  the 
contract  in  proper  shape.  This  work,  because  of  its  delicate  nature 
and  the  many  provisions  the  contract  necessarily  contained  to 
guard  the  interest  of  the  State,  was  highly  important,  and  the 
skill  displayed  by  these  distinguished  attorneys  in  its  preparation 
gained  for  them  unmerited  applause,  which  was  not  diminished 
when  they  avowed  that  on  their  part  it  was  the  work  of  patriotism, 
and  that  they  would  receive  no  compensation  for  their  labor. 

Upon  the  resignation  of  Judge  Dillard  in  1881  the  profession  at 
once  turned  to  Judge  Ruffin  as  his  most  worthy  successor,  and 
Governor  Jarvis  tendered  him  the  appointment  to  the  vacancy, 
which  he  accepted  and  for  a  few  years  adorned  the  bench.  His 
health,  however,  was  now  impaired,  and  the  exacting  service  of 
the  Supreme  Court  bench  did  not  facilitate  a  recover^',  and  on 
September  23,  1883.  he  retired  from  the  bench  and  resumed  the 
practice  of  law  at  Hillsboro  in  connection  with  Major  John  W. 
Graham. 

Judge  Ruffin  had  passed  his  life  as  an  advocate  and  came  to  the 
Supreme  bench  without  any  training  in  a  judicial  career.  As  a 
lawyer  in  full  practice,  the  habit  of  his  mind  had  become  that  of 


THOMAS  RUFFIN.  Jh.  365 

the  advocate,  which  in  some  respects  differs  from  a  judicial  in- 
vestigation of  the  principles  underlying  legal  cases  and  the  prep- 
aration of  judicial  opinions.  He  had  had  no  experience  in  juridi- 
cal composition.  He  therefore  came  to  the  lacnch  under  circum- 
stances somewhat  adverse  to  an  immediate  manifestation  of  his 
superior  excellence.  That  he  was  an  industrious  and  impartial 
and  learned  and  able  judge  is  evidenced  by  his  work  upon  the 
bench:  and  his  opinions  also  show  that  his  views  of  the  law  were 
broadly  comprehensive  and  enlightened,  while  in  his  methods  of 
thought  he  was  judiciously  conservative  and  cautiously  progres- 
sive. His  greatness  as  a  lawyer  frequently  led  to  his  being  com- 
pared favorably  with  his  distinguished  father,  the  great  chief  jus- 
tice; but  he  was  on  the  bench  too  short  a  time  to  develop  his 
capabilities  as  a  writer  of  jurisprudence,  and  while  in  thought  and 
in  learning  he  occupied  the  same  high  level  as  his  father,  he  had  not 
the  oi»portunity  to  attain  ihc  same  training  as  a  writer  of  incom- 
parable judicial  opinions.  Of  him  it  has  been  said  thai  he  "pos- 
sessed dauntless  physical  courage,  but  his  high  moral  courage  was 
far  more  admirable.  He  had  due  regard  for  public  sentiment  when 
he  believetl  it  to  be  right,  but  he  never  quailed  before  the  clamor 
and  prejudices  of  political  bigotry  or  popular  frenzy.  He  dis- 
countenanced all  forms  of  social  disturbance  and  lawless  violence, 
and  by  words  and  acts  bravely  combatted  all  kinds  of  public  or 
private  injustice  and  oppression.  He  was  the  friend  and  defender 
of  the  poor,  the  weak,  the  helpless  and  unfortunate;  and  he  aided 
even  the  erring  in  their  efforts  at  reformation  by  kind  words  and 
acts  of  sympathy  and  enconragement." 

Judge  Dick,  in  tlie  course  of  his  address  on  the  life  and  char- 
acter of  Judge  Ruffin,  says: 

"\Vc  may  reasonably  ask  ourselves  what  were  the  object  and  purposes  of 
his  creation:  what  Ihc  rewards  of  his  toils,  his  sufferings  and  his  noble 
endeavors?  The  fame  which  he  acquired  as  a  brilliant  advocate  may  live 
in  tradition  for  many  years  and  then  he  obscured  by  the  mists  of  time.  In 
a  half  a  century  Ihc  report?  in  which  are  printed  the  memorials  of  his 
genius  and  wisdom  will  he  retired  to  the  dtxst  of  law  libraries.  But  he  had 
a  more  blessed  faith.  He  lived  for  a  nobler  purpose.  He  believed  that 
death   was  only   the  nauiral  process  of  I 


366  NORTH  CAROLINA 

nobler  life.     He  was  cheered  with  the  subh'me  Truth  revealed  by  his  Re- 
deemer and  Saviour." 

In  this  blessed  hope  the  end  came  to  the  fearless  soldier  who, 
amid  the  perils  of  the  most  desperate  hattlefields,  manifested  a 
coolness  and  an  intrepidity  in  entire  harmony  with  his  courageous 
nature ;  a  citizen  no  less  distinguished  in  civil  life  than  in  military 
action,  eminent  for  his  forensic  ability  and  who  bv  his  virtues,  his 
character  and  his  learning  adorned  lx)th  the  bar  and  the  bench  of 
his  native  State. 

His  health  remained  precarious  after  leaving  the  bench  in  1883, 
and  although  he  still  engaged  in  the  practice,  he  did  not  pursue 
his  labors  so  actively  as  in  former  years.  At  length  on  May  23, 
1889,  he  y)assed  away,  greatly  lamented  by  the  people  of  the  State. 

S,  A.  Ashe, 


WILLIAM    SKINNER 


1  OTH  in  peace  and  war  the  Skinner  family  of 
Eastern  North  Carolina  has  borne  an  honor- 
able record.  At  the  time  of  the  Revolution  its 
most  noted  member  was  Brigadier-General 
William  Skinner,  of  the  county  of  Perquimans, 
one  of  the  most  active  patriots  in  the  Albe- 
He  was  the  son  of  Richard  Skinner,  who  died 
in  1752.  To  avoid  confusion,  we  may  here  mention  lliat  there 
were  at  least  two  members  of  this  family  living  in  colonial  times 
who  bore  the  name  Richard  Skinner.  One  of  these  died  in  1746. 
The  town  of  Hertford,  in  the  county  of  Perquimans,  was 
erected  by  Chapter  6  of  the  Private  Laws  of  1758,  which  was 
amended  by  Chapter  22  of  the  Private  Laws  of  1767,  and  by 
Chapter  2  of  the  Private  Laws  of  1773.  By  the  two  amendatory 
acts  last  mentioned,  William  Skinner  was  elected  one  of  the  com- 
missioners or  "directors"  of  said  town.  He  also  served  in  the 
Assembly  of  Xorth  Carolina  during  the  colonial  period. 

In  the  Revolution  Mr.  Skinner's  first  service  appears  to  have 
been  as  a  member  of  the  Provincial  Congress  of  North  Caro- 
lina which  met  at  Hillsboro  in  August,  1775;  and  that  body 
(which  continued  its  sittings  till  the  following  month)  elected 
him  lieutenant-colonel  of  Xorth  Carolina  militia  for  Perquimans 
County  on  September  9th.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Provincial 
Congress  at  Halifax  in  April,  1776;  and  of  a  similar  body  which 


368  NORTH  CAROLINA 

held  its  sessions  at  the  same  place  in  November  and  December, 
1776.  The  last  named  Provincial  Congress  elected  him  a  Justice 
of  the  Court  of  Pleas  and  Quarter  Sessions  for  the  county  of 
Perquimans  on  December  23,  1 776.  On  the  same  day,  December 
23rd,  Congress  passed  a  resolution,  requesting  Colonel  Skinner 
to  take  into  his  possession  the  records  of  the  Inferior  Court  of 
Pleas  and  Quarter  Sessions  for  the  county  of  Perquimans,  and 
also  authorized  him  to  act  as  clerk  {vice  Miles  Harvey,  deceased) 
until  a  clerk  could  be  regularly  elected  by  the  justices  of  said 
court. 

On  December  20,  1777,  Colonel  Skinner  was  elected  brigadier- 
general  of  the  North  Carolina  militia  for  the  district  of  Edenton; 
and,  at  the  same  time  he  was  elected  treasurer  of  the  northern 
counties  of  the  Colony.  These  two  offices  he  held  at  the 
same  time.  He  was  re-elected  treasurer  for  several  terms.  He 
was  also  commissioner  to  settle  the  accounts  of  North  Carolina 
with  the  general  Government ;  and,  on  April  25,  1778,  was  voted 
5,000  pounds  by  the  Assembly  as  compensation  for  that  service. 
The  reader  must  not  be  led  to  think  that  this  five  thousand 
pounds  was  over-generous  compensation,  for  it  was  paid  in  the 
paper  currency  of  that  day.  General  Skinner  himself  in  a  peti- 
tion (or  "remonstrance'*)  addressed  to  the  Assembly  oni  January 
28.  1779,  complains  of  the  great  inconvenience  by  him  in  "con- 
veying great  cart-loads  of  money  through  the  country/'  so  ^'e 
may  safely  assume  that  North  Carolina  was  adequately  supplied 
with  currency  of  its  own  manufacture. 

Having  the  good  sense  to  realize  that  his  want  of  knowledge 
in  military  matters  might  jeopardize  the  lives  of  soldiers  serving 
under  him.  General  Skinner  determined  to  resign  his  commission. 
and  accordingly  did  so  on  May  10,  1779,  when  bodies  of  troops 
were  being  organized  to  serve  beyond  the  limits  of  the  State. 
Addressing  the  General  Assembly,  which  was  in  session  at  Smith- 
field,  in  Johnson  County,  he  said : 

"As  my  experience  in  military  matters  is  very  small,  my  continuing  in 
that  office  might,  perhaps,  be  a  public  injury,  as  well  as  fatal  to  those 


WILLIAM  SKINNER  369 

whose  lives  might  in  a  manner  depend  on  my  conduct.  For  these  rea- 
sons I  take  the  liberty  at  this  lime  of  resigning  that  appointment  which 
I  heretofore  with  reluctance  accepted." 

Two  days  after  his  resignation  as  brigadier-general,  Mr.  Skin- 
ner was  once  more  elected  treasurer. 

When  a  law  was  enacted  creating  the  offices  of  district  treas- 
urer, General  Skinner  became  treasurer  of  the  district  of 
Eden  ton. 

It  is  greatly  to  be  regretted  that  so  little  is  known  of  the  per- 
soTial  history  of  General  Skinner.  He  died  in  the  winter  of 
1797-98.  He  lies  buried  in  the  Yeopim  section  of  Perquiinans 
County,  four  or  five  miles  from  the  town  of  Hertford,  and  a 
marble  slab  marks  his  grave.  He  was  t\vice  married  and  left  five 
children.  By  his  first  wife  he  had  three  daughters:  Penelope 
Skinner,  who  married  Lemtiel  Creecy ;  Elizabeth  Skinner,  who 
married  Josiah  Cotton;  and  Lavinia  Skinner,  who  married  Mr. 
Harvey.  The  two  children  of  General  Skinner's  second  wife 
were  William  and  Caroline  Skinner. 

When  the  first  official  census  of  the  L'nited  States  was  compiled 
in  1790,  General  Skinner  owned  more  slaves  than  any  other  citii^en 
of  Perquimans  County. 

Marshall  De  Lancey  Haywood. 


EDWARD   STANLY 

JDWARD  STANLY,  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
was  born  in  New-Bern  in  1808.    He  was  a  son 

I  of  John  Stanly,  an  ardent  Federalist  and  a 
noted  figure  in  North  Carolina  political  history. 
Edward  Stanly  was  educated  at  the  North  and 
was  graduated  from  Norwich  University  in 
1829  He  studied  law  and  commenced  the  practice  of  the  pro- 
fession in  Beaufort  County,  North  Carolina.  Soon  after  he  mar- 
ried a  daughter  of  Dr.  Hugh  Jones,  of  Hyde  County. 

His  success  in  his  profession  was  immediate,  but  his  ambitions 
were  political  rather  than  professional,  and  his  mind  was  soon 
turned  to  politics,  though  he  did  not  enter  political  life  actively 
for  some  time.  From  his  father  he  inherited  an  intense  hatred 
of  the  Democratic  Party,  and  consequently  he  was,  from  the  birth 
of  the  Whig  Party,  an  ardent  believer  in  and  supporter  of  its 
doctrines.  This  intense  hatred  of  the  Democratic  Party,  combined 
with  his  passionate  and  fiery  nature,  led  to  many  difficulties  with 
hi.s  ])olitical  opponents.  He,  like  other  members  of  his  family, 
posscs.icd  .in  uncontrolled  temper  which  often  injured  him  and 
made  for  him  many  hitter  enemies.  But  hke  most  similar  natures, 
he  wa.s  po.s.sesscd  of  3  wonderful  ability  to  make  warm  friends. 
Personally  he  was  attractive,  with  a  great  amount  of  magnetism, 
which  affecled  even  those  who  were  not  personally  acquainted 
with  him. 


EDWARD  STANLY  371 

In  1837  he  was  elected  to  Congress  and  served  for  three  terms. 
While  there  he  distinguished  himself  by  his  ability  as  a  debater 
and  by  his  eloquence  as  a  speaker.  His  repartee  was  exceedingly 
clever,  but  so  sharp  as  to  excite  anger.  His  "Cock  Robin"  retort 
to  Mr.  Preston  was  particularly  memorable.  At  times  he  was 
very  bitter  in  his  denunciation  of  opponents,  and  in  an  attack  upon 
the  Tyler  administration  he  excelled  himself,  and  won  great  ap- 
plause from  his  Whig  associates  in  the  House.  He  also  dis- 
tinguished himself  by  several  personal  encounters.  Henry  A. 
Wise  on  one  occasion  was  so  aroused  by  a  sharp  speech  of  Stanly 
that  he  walked  over  to  the  latter's  seat  and  threatened  him. 
Stanly  refused  to  apologize  and  a  fight  followed.  A  committee 
investigated  the  matter  and  utterly  exonerated  Stanly,  John 
Qiiincy  Adams  taking  occasion  to  make  a  very  complimentary 
speech  in  reference  10  Stanly's  conduct  in  the  affair.  On  another 
occasion  a  quarrel  with  Samuel  W.  Inge,  of  Alabama,  led  to  a 
dnel  between  them.  Neither  one  was  injured.  Thomas  L.  Cling- 
nian  attacked  him  in  the  House  and  a  fight  followed.  But  by  the 
end  of  his  term  he  was  recognized  as  one  of  the  leaders  of  his 
party  in  the  House.  Mr.  Stanly  attracted  so  much  attention  by 
his  Congressional  career  that  when  Harrison  was  elected  presi- 
dent in  1840  he  was  considered  for  the  navy  portfolio.  The  men- 
tion of  the  probability  of  his  appointment  was  most  favorably  re- 
ceived all  over  the  country,  the  press,  regardless  of  politics,  being 
particularly  complimentary.  The  honor,  however,  did  not  fall 
to  him,  but  to  another  North  Carolinian,  Judge  George  E.  Badger. 

In  1844  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  National  Whig  Convention 
in  Haliimore.  The  same  year  he  represented  Beaufort  County 
in  the  House  of  Commons  and  had  conferred  upon  him  the  un- 
usual honor  of  being  chosen  Speaker  at  his  first  session.  This 
was.  of  course,  due  to  the  reputation  he  had  made  in  Congress. 
He  presided  with  dignity,  impartiality  and  ability  and  was  elected 
again  at  the  following  session.  In  1847  he  had  been  made  at- 
torney-general, but  resigned  in  1848  to  go  to  the  General  As- 
sembly and  was  succeeded  by  B.  F.  Moore.  He  was  elected  to 
the  Commons  for  the  third  time  in  1848.  but  failed  to  be  chosen 


372  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Speaker.  On  the  floor  he  was  a  leader,  and  by  throwing  his  in- 
fluence against  the  proposed  railroad  from  Charlotte  to  Danville  de- 
feated what  he  called  ''The  Danville  Sale/*  agreeing  instead  to 
charter  the  North  Carolina  Railroad,  as  proposed  by  W.  S.  Ashe. 

In  1849  h^  ^^'^s  again  nominated  for  Congress  and  defeated 
\V.  K.  Lane  by  a  substantial  majority.  In  185 1  he  defeated 
Thomas  Ruffin,  of  Wayne,  making  his  campaign  on  the  question 
of  secession,  which  at  the  time  was  agitating  the  countr}\  There 
was  no  discussion  in  North  Carolina  as  to  the  advisability  of  the 
State's  severing  her  connection  with  the  L^nion,  the  question  being 
purely  an  abstract  one.  Alfred  Dockery,  who  was  also  a  Whig 
candidate  for  Congress,  declared  that  if  he  should  be  elected,  he 
would  vote  men  and  money  to  whip  South  Carolina  back  into  the 
Union,  in  the  event  of  her  secession,  adding  that  he  would  do  the 
same  if  North  Carolina  was  the  State  in  question.  Stanly  ex- 
pressed somewhat  the  same  sentiments,  and  both  were  elected  by 
large  majorities.  William  W.  Holden,  the  editor  of  the  Stand- 
ard, tried  vainly  to  create  the  impression  that  Stanly  was  an  ab- 
olitionist, and  after  the  election  declared  that  he  was  elected  by 
the  anti-slavery  Quakers  in  Wayne  and  the  adjoining  counties. 
In  1853,  in  consequence  of  the  growing  discontent  in  the  State 
with  the  attitude  of  the  North  regarding  slavery,  he  was  defeated 
bv  Thomas  Rufiin  for  reelection.  In  the  Fall  of  the  same  vear  he 
removed  with  his  family  to  California. 

In  his  new  home  he  attained  great  prominence  as  a  lawyer, 
both  from  his  ability  and  on  account  of  his  past  record.  He  soon 
allied  himself  with  the  Republican  Party,  and  in  1857  ^^^  nom- 
inated for  governor  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  he  still  owned  slaves 
and  was  a  believer  in  the  institution  of  slaverv.  He  made  no 
secret  of  liis  belief  and  on  the  stump  advocated  non-interference 
with  slavery.  Tlic  Democrats  nominated  John  B.  Weller,  who 
had  just  retired  from  the  United  States  Senate.  Weller  was  suc- 
cessful, receiving  a  majority  of  over  32,000  votes. 

Mr.  Stanly  saw  with  alarm  the  gulf  wdiich  was  yawning  be- 
tween the  North  and  the  South,  but  he  never  quite  realized  that  the 
threat  of  the  South  to  secede  would  be  put  into  effect.     Even 


EDWARD  STANXV  373 

after  secession  had  begun,  estimating  public  sentiment  by  what 
it  had  been  nearly  ten  years  before  when  he  left  the  State,  he 
was  confident  that  North  Carolina  would  remain  in  the  Union.  He 
felt  sore  that  the  majority  of  the  people  in  the  State  were  opposed 
to  secession  and  favorable  to  the  Union,  or  at  least  that  they  were 
acting  through  a  misunderstanding.  Consequently,  he  felt  that  if 
the  real  facts,  as  he  believed  them  to  be,  in  regard  to  the  purpose 
of  the  North  could  be  put  fairly  before  them  by  one  whom  they 
felt  was  a  friend  and  one  lo  be  trusted,  they  would  at  once  renew 
their  allegiance  to  the  United  Slates.  He  accordingly  notified  Pres- 
ident Lincoln  of  his  willingness  to  undertake  such  a  commission 
for  the  Federal  Government.  The  President  seemed  to  have 
considered  the  secession  movement  as  merely  a  slaveholders'  re- 
bellion and  without  much  strength,  and  just  at  that  time  was  con- 
sidering a  plan  for  the  restoration  of  the  Southern  States  by  the 
establishment  of  military  governments,  about  which  those  citizens 
who  were  loyal  to  the  Union  might  rally  and  thus  weaken  the 
power  of  the  State  administrations.  The  two  States  where  the 
plan  seemed  most  likely  to  succeed,  according  to  belief  then  pre- 
vailing in  the  North,  were  Tennessee  and  North  Carolina.  He 
accordingly  appointed  Andrew  Johnson,  of  Tennessee,  and  Ed- 
ward Stanly  military  governors  of  their  respective  States  with 
the  rank  of  brigadier- general.  The  appointment  of  Stanly,  for 
sonic  reason,  never  went  to  the  Senate  for  confirmation,  but  he  had 
arrived  in  Washington  in  May.  1862.  and  at  once  assumed  the 
duties  of  his  new  office,  reaching  Ncvv-Ilern.  which  had  been 
chosen  as  his  headquarters,  on  May  26th. 

Hy  his  commission  Stanly  was  empowered  to  perform  all  the 
duties  of  governor,  and  to  appoint  officers,  institute  courts,  and 
suspend  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  during  the  pleasure  of  the 
president,  or  until  a  civil  government  should  be  organized. 
Secretary  Stanton  wrote  him : 

"'Tlie  great  purpose  of  your  appointment  is  lo  reestablish  the 
amhnrity  of  the  Federal  Government  in  the  Slate  of  North  Carolina. 
ami  10  provide  the  meant  of  maintaining  peace  and  secnrity  to  the 
loyal  inh.ibilants  of  thai  Stale  until  they  shall  be  able  to  establish  a 

«ivil  government." 


374  NORTH  CAROLINA 

General  Ikirnsidc,  who  was  in  command  of  the  Federal  forces 
in  North  CaroHna,  was  directed  to  cooperate  with  Stanly  and  to 
furnish  any  mihtary  assistance  that  might  be  necessary. 

So  far  as  his  devotion  to  the  Union  was  coi^cerned,  Mr.  Stanly 
was  a  most  suitable  person  to  "foster  Union  sentiment"  in  North 
Carolina,  as  the  Honorable  John  S.  Ely,  of  New  York,  wrote  him. 
But  his  high  temper  and  his  inability  to  see  but  one  side  of  a 
question  made  him  ill-suited  for  a  conciliatory  mission  such  as 
he  was  engaged  in.  The  fact  that  he  was  a  native  of  North  Caro- 
lina only  made  his  task  more  difficult. 

No  sooner  had  he  reached  North  Carolina  than,  in  seeking  to 
conciliate  the  people  and  to  execute  the  laws  of  the  State,  he  made 
himself  an  object  of  dislike  and  intense  suspicion  to  the  element 
ill  Congress  and  at  the  North  to  whom  the  chief  purp)Ose  of  the 
war  was  the  abolition  of  slavery.  An  enthusiastic  gentleman 
from  New  Enijland,  a  Mr.  Colver,  had  shortlv  before  established 
a  school  for  negro  children  in  New-Bern.  Mr.  Stanly  informed 
him  that  he  had  been  sent  there  to  restore  the  old  order  of  things, 
and  while  he  was  in  full  sympathy  with  charity  to  the  destitute, 
both  black  and  white,  the  laws  of  North  Carolina  forbade  any 
such  undertaking  as  that  in  which  Mr.  Colyer  was  engaged,  and 
that  as  governor  he  could  not  give  his  approval,  as  it  would  injure 
the  Union  cause  if,  at  the  beginning  of  his  administration,  he 
should  encourage  a  violation  of  the  law.  He  gave  permission  for  re^ 
ligious  instruction  to  be  given  the  negroes.  In  regard  to  fugi- 
tive slaves,  also,  Stanly  took  like  ground.  Slaves  were  constantly 
leaving  their  masters  and  coming  into  the  Union  lines,  and  in 
many  instances  they  were  taken  away  by  the  soldiers  and  in- 
formed that  they  were  free.  Whenever  the  owners  would  take 
the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  United  States,  Stanly  had  the  slaves 
restored  to  tliem.  fie  also  threatened  with  confiscation  the  own- 
ers of  vessels  who  carried  slaves  awav  from  New-Bern. 

n.  n.  Helper,  who  held  some  Government  position  in  New- 
Bern,  presunied  to  advise  Stanly  as  to  the  policy  that  he  should 
pursue  as  military  governor,  and  Stanly  at  once  requested  him 
to  leave  New-Bern  on  the  ground  that  his  speeches  to  the  soldiers 


EDWARD  STANLY  375 

and  negroes  were  having  a  bad  effect.  Helper  was  joined  by 
Colyer.  and  the  two  went  North  and  furnished  the  newspapers 
with  a  highly  colored  account  of  Stanly's  actions.  In  conse- 
quence the  House  of  Representatives  passed  a  resolution  re- 
questing the  President  to  furnish  information  in  regard  to  the 
powers  conferred  upon  Stanly  by  his  appointment  as  military 
governor,  whether  he  had  interfered  to  prevent  the  education 
of  children,  black  or  white,  and  if  so,  by  what  authority?  If  by 
the  authority  of  the  Federal  Govenimcnt,  for  what  purpose  were 
such  .'nstructions  given  ?  The  Senate  passed  similar  resolutions. 
Secretary  Stanton  referred  the  matter  to  Stanly,  who  replied,  out- 
lining his  policy  and  asking  for  instructions.  He  acknowledged 
that  he  found  the  negro  question  perplexing.  He  had  restored 
slaves  to  loyal  masters,  for  almost  all  the  inhabitants  of  New- 
Bern  had  gone  awny  and  he  wished  to  reassure  them  thai  if  they 
should  return  they  would  be  well  treated,  believing  that  unless  he 
could  convince  them  that  it  was  a  war  of  restoration  there  would 
be  no  peace  for  years  to  come.  He  said  that  he  had  found  that 
Union  men  of  irreproachable  lives  sincerely  believed  that  the 
Prei-ident  proposed  the  entire  destruction  and  total  desolation  of 
the  S'lUlh.  with  universal  emancipation  and  rnin.  He  thought 
(hat  his  aclion  in  regard  lo  the  negro  school  had  been  wise  and 
had  resulted  in  good  to  the  Union,  but  that  it  had  caused  trouble 
in  the  North,  and  for  that  reason  he  would  like  to  have  some  in- 
structions as  lo  his  duties  and  the  policy  that  he  should  pursue. 
The  following  extract  will  give  some  idea  of  the  difficulties  with 
which  he  was  confronted  almost  daily: 

"When  slaves  are  taken  violently  from  loyal  owners  by  armed  men 
and  negroes,  wlial  protection  can  be  given  for  the  future?  When  per- 
sons connected  with  ihe  army  cause  slaves  to  leave  their  masters,  can 
the  latter,  jf  loyal,  have  permission  and  protection  to  prevail  on  them 
to  return?  Will  authority  be  given  to  prevent  the  removal  of  slave  prop- 
erty by  vessel  withool  the  consent  of  the  owners?  If  the  military  gov- 
ernor should  interfere  with  actions  that  are  in  violation  of  long 
cMablishcd  laws  of  the  State,  and  persons  connected  with  the  army 
should  make  inflammatory  appeals  to  a  crowd  composed  of  several  hun- 
dred negroes,  exhorting  them  to  violence  and  bloodshed,   what  action 


376  NORTH  CAROLINA 

should  be  taken  to  prevent  its  recurrence?  When  slaves  of  loyal  owners 
are  employed  by  the  United  States  authorities,  can  any  steps  be  taken 
to  secure  part  of  their  earnings  for  their  owners?" 

In  addition  to  these  difficulties  Stanly  was  beginning  to  dis- 
cover the  difference  of  oi)inion  that  had  arisen  between  himself 
and  those  with  whom  he  had  been  intimately  associated  in  the 
past,  and  that  Union  sentiment  was  at  a  minimum  in  North  Caro- 
lina. KvQu  in  New-Bern,  occupied  as  it  was  by  Federal  troops, 
very  little  appeared.  This  change  of  sentiment  at  first  seemed 
inexplica])le  and  incomprehensible.  But  at  last  he  began  to  sec 
deeper  into  the  feeling  of  the  people,  particularly  after  a  very 
strong  letter  from  his  kinsman.  Judge  Badger,  outlining  the  posi- 
tion of  the  former  Union  men  in  North  Carolina. 

Mr.  I'adger,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Ely,  but  intended  for  Mr.  Stanly, 
said : 

"There  is  no  Union  feeling  in  North  Carolina,  as  you  suppose,  and  is 
probably  supposed  by  the  generality  of  Northern  men.  There  was  in 
this  State  a  very  strong  Union  feeling — a  strong  love  for  the  Union  as 
established  by  our  forefathers — but  as  soon  as  Mr.  Lincoln's  proclanu- 
tion  of  April,  1861,  appeared,  offering  us  the  alternative  of  joining  an 
armed  invasion  of  our  Southern  sister  States  for  their  subjug^ation,  or 
resisting  the  authorities  of  the  United  States,  our  position  was  taken 
without  a  moment's  hesitation.  From  that  moment,  however  we  may 
have  difFored  in  other  things,  there  has  not  been,  and  there  is  not.  any 
difference ;  hence  our  people  with  one  heart  sprang  to  arms." 

In  the  hope  of  arousing  some  of  the  old  feeling,  he  visited  some 
of  the  Eastern  towns  where  he  was  well  known  and  which  were 
now  occupied  by  the  Federal  forces.  He  made  a  number  of 
speeches  and  interviewed  the  .people,  but  he  accomplished  little 
for  the  Union  cause,  for  he  was  generally  regarded  with  hatred, 
suspicion,  and  contempt  as  a  traitor  to  his  State,  and  this  kept 
from  him  the  support  of  all  men  of  character  and  influence. 

The  policy  of  the  State  Government  and  of  the  Confederate 
officers  was  to  ignore  Stanly's  i)retensions  to  the  office  of  governor 
and  to  communicate  officially  only  with  General  Burnside.  In 
the  l-'all  of  1862  Stanly  wrote  to  (Jovernor  Vance  and  asked  for 
an  interview  with  him  or  with  any  citizens  of  the  State  that  he 
might  select.     He  said  that  he  felt  sure  that  North  Carolina  was 


EDWARD  STANLY  377 

in  the  quarrel  only  through  a  misunderstanding,  and  he  wished 
to  confer  in  regard  to  measures  that  might  lead  to  an  honorable 
peace ;  that  he  was  authorized  to  negotiate  an  exchange  of  po- 
litical prisoners  and  wished  this  interview  with  its  object  should 
be  perfectly  open.  Governor  Vance  declined  to  treat  with  hira  in 
any  way,  as  he  was  without  authority  from  the  Confederate  gov- 
ernment to  treat  for  peace,  and  separate  State  action  was  not  to 
be  thought  of.  A  correspondence  with  General  D.  H.  Hill  and 
General  S.  G.  French  did  not  lead  to  any  more  hope  of  recon- 
ciliation, but,  if  possible,  rendered  it  more  unlikely,  since  Stanly 
provoked  indignation  by  the  violence  of  his  language.  He  was 
greatly  handicapped  in  his  peaceful  efforts  by  the  operations  of 
the  Federal  troops  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  State.  His  argument 
that  they  were  "a  glorious  army  of  noble  patriots"  lost  its  signi- 
ficance in  view  of  the  constant  plundering  and  burning,  and  his 
protests  against  this  were  unavailing.  General  Burnside  had  for- 
bidden all  unnecessary  injury  to  the  property  or  persons  of  the 
inhabitants,  but  when  General  Foster  assumed  command  no  at- 
tention was  paid  to  this  order,  Stan!3''s  last  official  act  was  a 
protest  against  the  conduct  of  the  Federal  troops  in  Hyde  Couniy, 
where  the  so-calle<l  "loyalty"  of  the  population  insured  no  im- 
munity from  outrage  and  violence  at  the  hands  of  the  Federal 
troops. 

In  December  Stanly  ordered  an  election  to  be  held  for  a  mem- 
ber of  Congress  from  the  second  district.  Jennings  Pigott.  a 
native  of  the  State  who  had  been  a  resident  of  Washington  City 
for  many  years,  and  had  only  returned  to  North  Carolina  as  pri- 
vate secretary  to  Stanly,  was  chosen.  A  committee  appointed  by 
the  House  of  Representatives  to  investigate  his  claim  to  a  seat 
decided  against  him,  and  he  was  not  seated. 

In  the  meantime  Stanly  bad  become  convinced  of  the  hopeless- 
ness of  bis  mission.  More  than  that,  he  was  utterly  out  of  sym- 
pathy with  the  policy  of  the  administration  in  regard  to  the  slaves. 
He  protested  against  the  enlisting  and  drilling  of  them  on  the 
groimd  that  they  were,  in  general,  unfit  for  soldiers  in  the  existing 
war,  and  because  it  created  a  danger  of  a  servile  war.     Finally 


378  NORTH  CAROLINA 

on  January  15,  1863,  he  sent  his  resignation  to  the  President, 
giving  at  the  same  time  the  reason  for  his  action.  He  stated 
that  he  had  assured  the  people  of  the  State  that  the  administra- 
tion was  only  trying  to  restore  the  Union  and  would  secure  the 
rights  of  the  people.  But  since  the  emancipation  proclamation 
any  further  assurance  of  the  kind  was  impossible.  Regarding 
the  proclamation,  he  said : 

''It  is  enough  to  say  I  fear  it  will  do  infinite  mischief.  It  crushes  all 
hope  of  making  peace  by  any  conciliatory  measures.  It  will  fill  the 
hearts  of  Union  men  with  despair,  and  strengthen  the  hands  of  the 
detestable  traitors  whose  mad  ambition  has  spread  desolation  and  sor- 
row over  our  country.  To  the  negroes  themselves  it  will  bring  the 
most  direful  calamities." 

He  reviewed  his  course  as  military  governor  and  said  concern- 
ing this: 

"That  I  have  offended  some  is  probable;  but  they  were  those  whose 
schemes  of  plunder  I  defeated — whose  oppressions  of  the  innocent  and 
helpless  I  resisted — those  purposes  seemed  to  have  been  to  join  or  follow 
the  troops,  and  to  encourage  and  participate  in  the  most  shameful  pillag- 
ing and  robbery  that  ever  disgraced  an  army  in  any  civilized  land." 

His  resignation  was  accepted  in  March  and  he  returned  to 
California.  No  successor  was  appointed.  It  is  not  improbable 
that  the  position  seemed  to  the  President  a  very  useless  one.  In 
1864  Mr.  Stanly  wrote  the  President  that  he  had  been  asked  to 
return  to  the  State,  as  it  was  thought  in  New  Bern  that  his  pres- 
ence would  be  beneficial  to  the  Union  cause.  He  said  that  when 
he  could  be  of  assistance  in  any  other  capacity  than  that  of  gov- 
ernor, he  would  be  glad  to  come  back.  He  was  never  needed  and 
so  never  came. 

Gradually  he  got  completely  out  of  sympathy  with  the  Repub- 
lican Party  on  account  of  the  radical  policy  of  Gmgress.  In  1867 
he  opposed  the  Republicans  in  California  and  canvassed  the 
State,  speaking  against  the  election  of  the  Republican  candidate 
for  governor. 

He  died  in  San  Francisco,  July  12,  1872. 

/.  G.  de  Roulhac  HamUton, 


JOHN  STARKEY 


E  LTHOUGH  the  settlement  of  the  Cape  Fear 
had  begun  in  1725,  and  in  1729  the  southern- 
most part  of  Carteret  Precinct  had  been  cut  off 
and  called  New  Hanover,  yet  the  intervening 
territory  between  Beaufort  and  Brunswick  re- 
mained largely  primeval  forest.  On  Biirring- 
toti\  iciiirn  :is  Ttoyal  governor,  he  sought  to  establish  a  colony 
on  Xfw  River,  and  the  Johnstons  later  also  had  interests  there. 
Indeed  ihe  county  seat  of  Onslow  Precinct  was  first  named 
Joliusionville.  Iml  many  years  afterward  it  was  wiped  out  fay  a 
cyclone,  and  when  rebuilt  it  was  called  Jacksonville,  probably  after 
General  Jackson,  On  \ew  River  among  the  early  settlers  was 
John  Starkey,  who  in  1734  was  appointed  one  of  the  justices  of 
the  peace.  It  is  said  that  he  was  a  regularly  ordained  minister  of 
the  Church  of  England,  a  disciple  of  Rurnet  rather  than  of  Laud. 
On  Sundays  be  generally  read  the  services  of  the  church  to  his 
family  and  neighbors,  who  assembled  at  his  house  for  worship. 
He  first  appeared  as  a  public  man  in  the  Legislature  of  1739.  and 
at  once  took  a  prominent  place  among  the  leaders  of  that  body.  In 
1746,  when  the  Committee  on  Proposition  and  Grievances  was 
formed  to  consider  matters  calling  for  redress,  he  was  appointed 
on  that  committee,  and  he  was  fearless  and  persistent  in  seeking 
to  maintain  the  privileges  of  the  Assembly  and  the  rights  of  the 
])eop!c.     To  him  belongs  the  honor  of  having  brought  forward 


38o  NORTH  CAROLINA 

the  first  bill  to  establish  a  free  school  in  North  Carolina.  His  bill 
passed  the  Legislature  April  5,  1749,  but  the  governor,  although 
he  had  long  before  urged  the  adoption  of  measures  establishing 
public  schools,  was  forced  under  his  instructions  to  refrain  from 
giving  it  eflfect. 

On  the  death  of  Treasurer  Eleazar  Allen,  he  was  appointed  by 
the  House  of  Commons  Treasurer  for  the  southern  counties, 
Thomas  Barker  being  then  the  Treasurer  of  the  northern  coun- 
ties ;  but  the  upper  House  dissented  and  a  struggle  ensued.  The 
Council  claimed  the  right  to  nominate  the  treasurers,  while  the 
House  of  Commons  insisted  that  it  was  their  exclusive  privilege 
to  make  the  appointment.  At  the  first  session,  because  of  this  dis- 
agreement, his  appointment  fell ;  but  at  the  next  session,  the  House 
adhering  to  its  prerogatives,  the  Council  assented  and  the  matter 
was  temporarily  adjusted,  to  come  up,  however,  again  on  the 
death  of  Starkey  in  1765.  That  he  was  well  qualified  for  this  posi- 
tion sufficiently  appears  by  the  general  esteem  in  which  he  was 
held,  and  the  carefulness  and  prudence  and  attention  to  details 
that  characterized  his  course  in  life.  It  is  said  that  every  species 
of  domestic  manufacture  was  carried  on  at  his  premises.  That 
there  tailors,  shoemakers,  saddlers,  all  plied  their  trades ;  and  he 
became  the  guardian  of  many  minor  children  and  administrator  of 
many  estates.  When  an  issue  of  paper  money  was  made  for  public 
puri)oscs,  even  before  he  became  treasurer,  he  was  one  of  the 
commissioners  charged  with  the  duty  of  preparing  the  currency 
and  issuing  it.  While  he  antagonized  Governor  Johnston  in  some 
of  his  measures,  there  was  no  personal  hostilities  between  them, 
and  on  the  death  of  Mr.  Samuel  Johnston,  the  surveyor-general. 
and  a  brother  of  Governor  Gabriel  Johnston,  Mr.  Starkey  acted 
as  guardian  for  his  children,  one  of  whom  was  the  distinguished 
Samuel  Johnston  of  the  Revolution ;  and  as  these  children  were 
all  beautifully  educated  and  were  ornaments  of  society,  that  fact 
alone  is  testimony  of  the  superior  excellence  of  their  guardian. 

Toward  the  close  of  Governor  Johnston's  administration,  the 
northern  counties  having  withdrawn  from  the  Assembly,  there 
were  but  few  matters  of  disagreement  between  the  administration 


JUH\  STARKEV  381 

and  the  Legislature,  which  was  acting  in  accord  with  him  on  the 
two  great  subjects  then  agitating  the  province,  the  equahzation  of 
representation  and  the  location  of  a  seat  of  government.  But 
when  Governor  Dobbs  succeeded  to  the  administration  various 
other  questions  came  up  and  Starkey  took  strong  ground  against 
him.  Governor  Dobbs  accorded  to  him  great  influence,  which  he 
ascribed  "to  his  capacity  and  diligence  and  in  some  measure  his 
garb  and  seeming  humility  in  wearing  shoestrings,  a  plain  coat, 
and  having  a  bald  head ;"  by  which  it  is  to  be  understood  that  the 
treasurer  dressed  like  a  plain  man  and  not  like  a  colonial  gentle- 
man with  knee  breeches  and  powdered  wig.  The  governor  also 
regarded  him  as  one  of  the  most  designing  men  in  the  province, 
saying  that  he  was  "a  professed,  violent  Republican ;  in  every  in- 
stance taking  from  his  Majesty's  prerogatives  and  encroaching 
upon  the  rights  of  the  Council  and  adding  to  the  power  of  the  As- 
sembly in  order  to  make  himself  popular.  That  being  treasurer 
and  having  in  charge  the  payment  of  its  members,  he  could  sway 
all  the  unstable  and  impecunious  members  to  follow  him  like 
chickens,  and  he  swayed  the  House  against  the  most  sensible  mem- 
bers." He  held  the  position  of  colonel  of  his  county  as  well  as 
justice  ot  the  peace,  and  being  continuousfy  a  member  of  the  As- 
sembly, he  did  exercise  a  strong  influence.  Having  offended 
Governor  Dobbs  by  influencing  the  Assembly  not  to  allow  a  proper 
salary  to  a  storekeeper  at  Fort  Johnston  because  the  appointment 
of  that  officer  was  not  accorded  to  the  Assembly,  and  for  other 
such  contumacious  acts,  the  Governor  deprived,  him  of  his  com- 
mission as  colonel  anil  as  justice  of  the  peace:  but  this  declara- 
tion of  personal  hostility  in  no  wise  lessened  the  zealous  activity 
of  Treasurer  Starkey  in  promoting  the  liberties  of  the  people  and 
the  rights  of  the  Assembly. 

In  1754  it  appears  that  in  an  Aid  Bill  then  granted,  Mr.  Barker 
and  Starkey  were  appointed  the  treasurers  for  a  time  unlimited, 
and  Starkey  felt  himself  entirely  independent  of  the  governor  and 
Council.  As  years  pas<;ed  and  the  disagreements  became  more 
pronounced,  the  governor  ascribed  to  Starkey  and  those  with 
whom   he   co-operated   advanced  Republican  principles  and  de- 


384  NORTH  CAROLINA 

purity  and  loftiness,  of  that  ennobling  and  spiritual  quality  in 
which  the  poetry  of  her  son  excels.  No  doubt  his  boyhood  on  the 
farm  and  his  early  sense  of  the  responsibilities  of  life  also  helped 
to  give  him  that  habit  of  contemplation  and  that  serenity  of  mind 
which  are  the  foundation  of  all  his  work. 

After  his  academic  studies  at  the  Graham  High  School,  young 
Stockard  took  si)ecial  courses  at  Chapel  Hill.  Here,  encouraged 
by  that  splendid  educator,  Doctor  Thomas  Hume,  of  whose  soul- 
waking  enthusiasm,  erudition,  and  unusual  talents  the  writer  can 
testify  from  personal  knowledge,  the  genius  of  the  poet  rapidly 
developed. 

Thus  equipped  and  honored  with  the  degree  of  A.M.  by  Elon 
College,  he  began  his  career  as  a  teacher.  After  teaching  some 
while  in  the  schools  of  Alamance  he  was  app>ointed  principal  of 
the  Graham  High  School,  and  became  in  succession  County  Super- 
intendent, then  Assistant  Professor  of  English  at  the  State  Uni- 
versity, and  later  Professor  at  Fredericksburg  College,  Virginia. 
He  is  at  present  Professor  of  Latin  in  Peace  Institute,  Raleigh. 

Mr.  Stockard  has  been  a  contributor  to  the  leading  mag^ines 
for  years.  Of  his  poetic  work  I  shall  speak  later.  Some  of  his 
poems  will  be  found  in  Stedman's  Anthology,  in  "Representative 
Sonnets  by  American  Poets,"  and  in  the  *' Songs  of  the  South." 
He  will  soon  ])ublish  **A  Study  of  Southern  Poetry" —  a  text-book 
for  the  use  of  colleges,  and  some  critical  studies  of  "In  Memoriam" 
and  other  classics.    Also  another  book  of  verses  is  in  preparation. 

In  politics  Mr.  Stockard  is  a  Democrat.  He  belongs  to  the 
Knights  of  Pythias  and  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 
His  conversation,  rich  with  a  great  and  varied  culture,  his  sym- 
pathy, his  loyalty,  his  sincerity,  his  capacity  for  friendship,  and 
above  all,  his  heli)fulness  to  others  combine  to  make  a  jjersonality 
as  charming  as  it  is  inspiring.  His  philosophy  of  life  may  be 
summed  up  in  one  sentence :  "The  better  is  the  enemy  of  the  best." 

He  has  been  twice  married :  first,  in  1878,  to  Miss  Sallie  J. 
Holleman.  a  noble.  Christian  woman,  and  after  her  death, 
to  Miss  Margaret  Lulu  Tate,  in  1890.  The  latter — with  whom  the 
writer  is  personally  acquainted — lovely  in  person  and  manner,  ar- 


HENRY  JEROME  STOCKARD  385 

tistic  and  intellectual,  is  at  one  with  her  gifted  husband  in  all 
things.  To  her  sympathy  and  co-operation  is  due  in  no  small 
measure  that  chorus  of  great  words  which  makes  Stockard  the 
voice  of  North  Carolina. 

It  is  no  common  privilege  this — to  appraise  poetry  like  that  of 
Stockard's.  After  an  unintermitting  study  of  English  verse,  after 
this  long  conning  of  masterpieces,  day  and  night,  for  fifteen  years, 
I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  his  little  book  with  its  modest  title, 
"Fugitive  Lines" — this  little  book  that  has  made  so  little  noise  in 
the  large  world — was  in  many  respects  one  of  the  most  important 
literary  events  of  our  time.  It  will  ultimately,  I  feel  sure,  be  uni- 
versally so  regarded. 

As  a  maker  of  sonnets,  Stockard  has  no  living  superior. 
Fraught  with  a  tenderness  "too  deep  for  tears,"  sad  with  the  sad- 
ness of  the  unsatisfied,  throbbing  with  the  anguish  of  the  unat- 
taincd,  his  poetrj'  pulses  with  "The  still  sad  music  of  humanity." 
There  is  in  it  the  appealing  pathos  of  "lost  Eden's  loved,"  the  dumb 
aspirations  of  unconscious  nature  and  all  the  hope  and  melancholy 
of  conscious  man.  His  best  is  bound  to  rank  with  the  best  in  ht- 
erature.  In  grandeur  and  in  sublimity  few  have  lived  that  can 
approach  him,  and  man)'  there  be,  appJauJed  of  the  muhitude, 
that  are  not  fit  to  touch  the  hem  of  his  garment. 

Like  his  own  eagle,  that  lord  of  loneliness,  he  has  a  passion  for 
the  infinite;  and  soaring  into  the  white  ether  of  eternity,  remote 
from  the  reasons  of  time,  he  confronts  hfe  as  a  whole,  gazing  deep 
into  the  glory  which  is  God.  His  poetry  is  in  the  highest  sense 
cosmic.  To  apply  one  of  his  own  lines,  it  is  "tuned  to  the  move- 
ments of  the  joumeying  stars." 

He  has  not — to  compare  him  with  his  foremost  contemporaries 
— the  sensuous  music,  the  color  and  the  motion  of  that  belated 
Greek,  Swinburne,  nor  the  vivid  vizualization,  the  titanic  power 
and  passionate  energy  of  Markham.  that  glorifier  of  the  common- 
place, whose  mighty  lines  lean  down  from  high  places  to  shake 
hands  with  you:  he  has  not  the  chiseled  delicacies  and  the  subtle 
languors  of  LeGallienne  nor  the  limpid  beauty  and  the  intimate 
spirituality  of  Stephen  Phillips;  he  has  not  the  easy  cadence  and 


386  NORTH  CAROLINA 

the  elegance  of  Woodberry,  nor  the  charm  and  unfailing  fancy 
of  van  Dyke ;  he  has  not  the  dignified  diction  and  the  rolling  res- 
onance of  William  Watson,  nor  the  lofty  stateliness  and  the  mystic 
imaginations  of  Moody ;  he  has  not  the  instantaneous  insight  and 
the  startling  phrase  of  Roberts  nor  the  beautiful  abandon  of 
Bliss  Carman :  he  is  distinguished  for  none  of  this.  But  more 
than  any  of  these,  he  has  the  sense  of  vastness,  of  that  spaciousness 
beyond  the  soar  of  wings.  In  this  respect  no  poet  in  our  literature 
surpasses  him — not  even  the  great  Milton  himself. 

Evermore  his  soul  goes  marching  over  mountains ;  yet  often  his 
eyes  also  look  upon  valleys  of  beautiful  surprise.  I  approach  his 
work,  therefore,  with  a  feeling  akin  to  worship,  with  aw-e  and  with 
reverence.  I  shall  quote  where  I  can,  satisfied  that  nothing  I  can 
say  would  justify  my  enthusiasms  as  much  as  will  his  own  incom- 
parable lines. 

Though  he  has  not  shown  the  sustained  epic  flight  of  the  great 
poets,  yet  who,  even  of  these,  has  soared  higher  than  this  sonnet: 

IMAGINATION. 

"Back  through  the  chaos  of  the  primal  past. 

Upon  unfailing  wings  she  takes  her  flight. 

Or  sounds  the  future's  universal  night 
'Mid  worlds  to  elements  resolved  at  last. 
The  gates  of  death  unclose  and  down  the  vast 

Cloud-huildcd   stairs  she  faces  shapes  that  fright, 

Or  wanders  through  Elysium's  fields  of  light — 
For  she  would  fain  all  pang,  all  bliss  forecast! 

But  she  shall  never  on  life's  bourne — ah  me! 
If  ever  on  that  distant  unknown  shore! 

Preen  her  adventurous  pinions  to  explore 
The  date  of  Him  before  whose  veiled  face 

The  universe,  with  its  eternity, 
Is  but  a  mote,  a  moment  poised  in  space!" 

Xow  read  this  sonnet,  culled  from  Harper^ s  Magazine,  a  sonnet 
as  fine  as  that  of  Blanco  White  on  Night: 

MOLLUSKS. 

"Down  where  the  bed  of  ocean  sinks  profound, 
Lodged  in  the  clefts  and  caverns  of  the  deep, 


HENRY  JEROME  STOCKARD 


Where   silence  and  eternal   darkness  keep, 

These  dumb  primordial  living  forms  abound. 

What  know  ihey  of  Ihis  life  in  the  vast  round 

Of  earth  and  air?    How  wild  the  pulses  leap 

At  love's  Bweel  dream — what  storms  of  sorrow  sweep, 

What  hopes  allure  us  and  what  terrors  hound? 

And  scattered  on  these  slopes  and  plains,  below 

This  atmospheric  sea,  one  with  the  worm 

And  beetle,  for  a  momentary  term  : 

What  know  we  more  of  those  ethereal  spheres 

What  rapture  may  be  there,  what  poignant  woe, 

What  towering  passions  and  what  high  careers?" 

Stockard's  poetry  is  a  twilight  full  of  splendid  moments.  A 
far-scouting  roamer  of  uniniagined  solitudes,  no  other  lias  so  well 
suggested  the  measure  of  immensity.  Let  me  illustrate  by  these 
lines  from  his  "Closing  Century" : 

"Yet   what  is  time  itself?     'Tis  but  a  swing 
Of  the  vast  pendulum  of  eternity." 

I  could  quote  much  more  of  equal  sublimity,  but  there  are  other 
phases  of  the  poet's  genius  of  which  I  desire  to  speak.  Stockard 
has  the  poet's  fury  for  perfection,  and  it  is  because  the  ideal  is  hia 
only  real  that  he  is  so  consummate  an  artist.  Yet  ever  before  him, 
as  before  all  that  aspire  to  immaculate  truth,  is  the  realization  of 
the  beauty  beyond  expression,  and  lines  nobler  than  these  have 
never  voiced  the  divine  despair  of  man : 

THE  UNATTAINED 

"The  marble,  bosomed  in  the  mountain  hoar. 

Holds  in  its  heart,  waiting  some  hand  most  skilled. 
Forms   featured   fairer  yet  than   that  which  thrilled 

.\nd   moved  beneath   Pygmalion's  touch   of  yore. 

The  instrument's  keys  await  a  grander  score 
Than  that  whose  faintest  echoes,  haply,  chilled 
Mozart   with   rapture,   and   an   instant   stilled 

His   breath,   (hen   died   away   forevermore. 

There  is  a  scene  no  painter  ever  feigned, 
Of   Eden's   restful   fields — lost   visions  loved ! 
Deail  shores  where  tempests  hoarse,  Titanic  roll — 


388  NORTH  CAROLINA 

A  song  unsung  more  sweet  than  that  which  chained 
The  heart  of  Hades'  King — than  ever  moved 
The  subtlest  chord  of  Shakespeare's  lofty  soul!" 

To  Homer  and  Shakespeare  our  poet  has  reared  imperishable 
memorials.  In  his  **Homer"  is  all  "The  surge  and  thunder  of  the 
Odyssey,"  so  vainly  essayed  in  the  sonnet  of  Andrew  Lang. 

The  following  poem  stalks  through  the  mind  like  a  god  trail- 
ing a  cloud  of  awe.    I  know  nothing  finer  in  all  poetr}- : 

SHAKESPEARE 

"He  heard  the  Voice  that  spake  and  unafraid. 

Beheld  at  dawning  of  primeval  light 

The  systems  flame  to  being,  move  in  flight 
Unmeasured,  unimagined  and  unstayed. 
He  stood  at  nature's  evening  and  surveyed 

Dissolved  worlds — saw  uncreated  night 

About  the  universe's  depth  and  height 
Slowly  and  silently  forever  laid. 
Down  the  pale  avenues  of  death  he  trod 

And  trembling  gazed  on  scenes  of  hate  that  chilled 
His  blood,  and  for  a  breath  his  pulses  stilled, — 

Then  clouds  from  sun-bright  shores  a  moment  rolled 
And  blinded  glimpsed  he  One  with  thunder  shod. 

Crowned  with  the  stars,  and  with  the  morning  stoled  I" 

Stockard  has  that  rare  mastery  of  music  never  absent  from 
great  poetry.  His  tones  are  not  subtle  like  the  sinuous  melodies  of 
Poe,  nor  are  they  hush-compelling  like  the  orchestral  symphonies 
of  Lanier;  but  often,  like  Milton^s,  they  seem  smitten  from  the 
harp  of  the  storm.  \Miat  grandeur  of  utterance  in  the  sonnet  be- 
ginning: 

"Great    Day   of   Wrath    whereof   no   mortal   knows. 
Nor  Angel,  nor  Archangel  of  high  Heaven." 

Then  subsiding  to  a  calmer  mood  he  conjures  with  a  wand  of 
lotus,  low  and  sleepy  sounds,  until  amid  ^Eolian  murmurs  we  can 
hear  the  laugh  of  silence  in  a  land  of  leaves.  But  soon  again  the 
young  thunder,  cradled  in  the  heart  of  the  calm,  wakes  from  his 
sleep ;  and,  shaking  his  cloudy  locks,  leaps  to  a  clime  of  elemental 
wars. 


HENRY  JEROME  STOC 


Both  of  these  moods  find  glorious  expression  here : 

AFTER  READING  A  TREASURY  OF  SONNETS 

"Vague  visions  fill  my  brain  to-night, — high    deeds 
Round  Ilium's  shadowy  wall ;  old  Memnon  grey 
With  vacant  gaze  looks  toward  the  rising  day. 

And  breathes  with  mystic  lips  of  ancient  creeds. 

Through  Morven's  haunted  halls  my  fancy  leads. 
And  Loda's  spirit  bends  o'er  me, — far  away 
On  unblest  shores,  through  cities  of  Cathay, 

By  perilous  passes  where  the  eaglet  feeds. 

Confusing  sounds  awake, — celestial  strings, 
The  clash  of  cymbals,  tramp  of  armed  bands. 
Songs  fugitive,  from  Pelion's  height  outblown: 

Round  Anthemusia's  slumberous  island  sings 
Brave  Orpheus  to  his  comrades,  of  home  lands 

Dim  visioned,  long  across  the  seas  unknown." 

Can  anything  be  more  musical  than  the  following? 

SOME  VERSES  CAROL 

**Some  verses  carol  blithely  as  a  bird 

And  hint  of  violet  and  asphodel; 

While  others   slowly  strike  a  funeral  bell, 
Or  call  like  clarionets  till,   spirit-stirred. 
We  hear  the  mustering  tramp  in  every  word. 

In  some,  the  ocean  pounds  with  sledges  fell, 

Or  Neptune  posts  with  blare  of  trumpet  shell 
By   shores   that   visionary   seas   engird. 
As  soft  as  flutes,  they  croon  the  lullabies 

Of  cradle  years ;  play  clear  as  citherns ;  wail 
Like  harps  .^olian  in  the  grieving  wind : 
Some  are  the  deep-drawn  human  moan  by  pale 
And  silent  faces  'neath  lack-lustre  skies. 
Peering  through  panes  on  darkness  unconfined !" 

In  the  next  sonnet  is  a  variety  of  tone  and  a  potency  of  sugges- 
tion beyond  that  of  any  with  which  I  am  acquainted. 

MY  LIBRARY 

"At  times  these  walls  enchanted  fade,  it  seems, 
And  lost,  I  wander  through  the  Long  Ag< 
In   Eden   where  the   lotus  still   doth  grow. 
And  many  a  reedy  river  seaward  gleams. 


390  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Now  Pindar's  deep-stringed  shell  blends  with  my  dreams. 

And  now  the  elfin  horns  of  Oberon  blow : 

Or  flutes  Theocritus  by  the  wimpling  flow 
Of    immemorial    amaranth — margined    streams. 
Gray  Dante  leads  me  down  the  cloud-built  stair. 

And  parts  with  shadowy  hands  the  mists  that  veil 
Scarred  deeps  distraught  by  crying  winds  forlorn: 
By  Milton  stayed,  chaotic  steeps  I  dare, 

And.  with  his  immaterial  presence  pale. 
Stand  on  the  heights  flushed  in  creation's  mom!" 

Like  Milton,  our  poet  dares  to  come  into  the  open  to  voice  a 
noble  indignation — dares  to  wage  merciless  campaign  against  the 
tyrannies  of  the  time.  Now  fronting  "Wrong  as  with  a  thousand 
spears,"  he  assails  "castled  Error,  mailed  in  guile:"  now,  stand- 
ing lonely  on  Truth's  lighted  tower,  he  challenges  the  lurking  min- 
ions of  the  million-tented  lie. 

As  fine  as  the  best  of  Watson's  "Purple  East*'  is  that  grand 

war-cry  : 

"Nations  of  earth  with  one  firm  purpose  rise 
And  visit  with  vengeance  fell  the  Ottoman  race." 

Already  I  have  spoken  of  Stockard's  melancholy,  which,  like  a 
recurring  monotone,  rises  and  falls,  murmuring  softly  of  un- 
sounded deeps.  He  keeps  tryst  with  cheer  only  in  the  twilight 
and  sadness  is  never  beyond  call.  No  matter  in  what  untroubled 
A  ready  he  pitches  the  tent  of  his  song,  he  cannot  forget  how  fleet- 
ing  arc  the  joys  of  life.  Occasionally  his  musings  remind  me  of 
the  minor  tones  of  some  of  the  younger  Dutch  poets :  of  Kloos.with 
his  passion  for  death ;  of  Helena  Swarth,  to  whom  sorrow  is  be- 
come a  luxury,  and  of'  van  Eeden,  that  philosopher  of  tears. 

He  is  forever  haunted  with  the  beginnings  of  things ;  yet  also  he 
has  that  noble  conception  of  human  destiny  which  makes  the  poet 
a  prophet.  Behind  the  subjective  sorrow  he  sees  the  radiant 
objectivity  of  the  larger  vision — sees 

*'Into  a  day  gilt  with  perpetual  sun." 

All  of  his  words  are 

"Brave  with  the  promise  ol  unrisen  days," 


HENRY  JEROME  STOCKARD 


for  lie  cannot  but  feel 

" lift's  pangs  and  tears 

Parts  of  some  large,  divine-appoinled  Whole," 

All  the  various  phases  of  life  he  beholds  as  gradual  approaches 
to  the  oneness  which  is  God.  His  poetry  is  a  call  to  arms,  a  sum- 
moning to  a  higher  pilgrimage.    It  pulses  with  the  upward  surge 

of  the  soul. 

Surely  poet  never  sang  finer  optimism  than  that  voiced  in  this 
great  sonnet ; 

THE  PAST 
"O  ye  that  pine  for  the  vanished  years,  as  pined 
Odysseus  for  one  glimpse  of  Hellas  more; 
Thai  toward  them  lean,  as  toward  their  fading  shore 
Poor  exiles,   imto  earth's   far  ends  consigned, 
Lean  to  reclaim  some  echo  which,  confined. 
Birdlike  shall  sing  in  memory's  mournful  door — 
Know  this:  life's  earlier  land  lies  on  before — 
Not  over  widening  seasons  far  behind ! 
Anil  wc  shall  find  it  in  the  great  To-Be. 
It  lapses  not  away,  as  to  our  eyes 
Doth  seem,  but  swiftly  and  forever  nearsi 
As  brave  M.igellan  nho  sailed  the  imcharted  sea. 
Full  circling  earth,  saw  his  home  shores  arise. 
So  shall  we  come  again  on  our  lost,  happy  years!" 

Of  Stockard's  lyrics,  I  have  space  for  only  a  few  words.  In 
these,  as  in  his  sonnets,  he  is  altogether  himself.  Full  of  fine 
brooding  is  the  poem  "Come  Tenderly,  O  Death";  and  richer 
melancholy  than  that  of  "Pallida  Mors"  is  nowhere  to  be  found. 

Splendid  is  the  "Review  of  the  Dead."  where  before  us  march 

"Battalion  on  battalion,  riders  pale 
On   dim,   mysterious  chargers." 

This  has  all  the  qualities  that  make  for  permanence: 

"The  Hand   that  binds  the  star 

In  its  far  center,  and  around  it  rolls 
Through  space  il?  worlds,  with  never  halt  nor  jar, 
No  less  my  step  controls. 


392  NORTH  CAROLINA 

The   same   unfailing   Hand 

Hath   led   me  forth   from  still  eternity, 
'Twill  guide  me  onward  through  star  vistas,  and 

I   follow  trustingly." 

"Lead  me,  O  God,"  not  inferior  to  Newman's  great  hymn,  thrills 
with  the  same  Christian  trust.  ''Bethlehem,"  too  long  to  quote 
here,  J.  H.  Boner  called  *'an  immortal  poem."    The  following  is  a 

triumy)h  :  THE  LOW  INN 

"Pilgrim,   what   though  prone,  belated. 
You  are  hastening  but  to  win 
Somewhere  down  the  lonely  valley 
The  low  inn. 

"It  has  housed  full  many  a  traveler 
Peasant,   monarch,  prophet,   Christ, 
And  the  cheer  that  it  dispenses 
Has  sufficed. 

"Drink  the  slumber  giving  beaker 
And  forget  the  hurting  cold 
While   the   gradual    shades   of   evening 
Arc  unrolled. 

"Sleep,  nor  fear,   for  you  shall  weaken 
To  the  warden's  call  at  dawn ; 
And  a  child,  in  some  glad  morning, 
Journey  on." 

Sonic  of  Stockard's  serenades  and  lullabies  are  among  the  best 
in  the  lang^nage.  Here  is  a  lyric  which  any  poet  might  be  proud 
to  have  written  :  NOCTURNE 

"Night  closing  in  on  reaches  gray 

Of  marsh  and  dune  and  shingle  lone. 
Whose  hush  brings  out  the  far  away 
Eternal  moan. 

"Darkness,    unbcaconed.   unconfined, 
A  mist  along  the  void  that  sleeps; 
A   lost   forlorn  and  crying  wind 
From  central  deeps. 

"O  ship  that  sailed  with  canvas  black 
Into   the  dolorous   waste  of  sea, 
From  its  uncharted  zones  bring  back 
My  love  to  me." 


HENRY  JEROME  ST(         ^      ) 


I  have  not  yet  spoken  of  Stoclcard's  patriotic  poems.    T 
Charge  at  Appomattox,"  one  of  the  greatest  of  war  lyrics, 
finest  memorial  of  the  Lost  Cause.    Here  are  two  stanzas : 

"Scarred  on  a  hundred  fields  before, 
Naked  and  starved  and  travel-sore, 

Each  man  a  tiger  hunted. 
They  stood  at  bay  as  brave  as  Huns, 
Last  of  the  Old  South's  splendid  sons, 
Flanked  by  ten  thousand  shotted  guns. 

And  by  ten  thousand  fronted. 


*'But  the  far  ages  will  propound 
What  never  sphinx  had  lore  to  sound 

Why  in  such  fires  of  rancor 
The  God  of  Love  should  find  it  meet 
For  Him,  with  Grant  as  sledge,  to  beat 
On  Lee,  the  anvil,  at  such  heat 

Our  nation's  great  sheet-anchor.' 


tf 


There    are    many    other   poems    in    which   the 
old  North  State  is  heard  beating  in  every  line;  ot       ; 
bolizc  *'the  great  renascent  South,"  but  these  we  mi       fo 

Even  finer  than  that  fine  fragment  of  Tennyson's,  by  which  it 
seems  to  have  been  suggested,  is  this  lyric : 

THE  AMERICAN  EAGLE 

"Brooded   on   crags,   his  down,   the  rocks, 
He  holds  the  skies  for  his  domain : 
Serene   he  preens   where   thunder  shocks 
And  rides  the  hurricane. 

'The    scream    of    shells    is    in    his    shriek; 
His  wings,  as  swords,  whiz  down  the  air; 
His  claws,  as  bayonets,  gride;  his  beak, 
As  shrapnel-shards,  doth  tear. 

''Where  Shasta  shapes  its  mighty  cone, 
Where  Mitchell  heaves  into  the  skies, 
Silent    he   glares,    austere,   alone. 
With   sun-outstaring  eyes !" 


394  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Set  to  appropriate  music,  what  a  magnificent  national  hymn  this 
would  make!     It  is  one  of  the  most  notable  songs  ever  written. 

Stockard  is  not  prodigal  of  his  genius.  Now  and  then  a  song 
or  a  sonnet,  long  prisoned  in  the  silence  of  his  mind,  flashes  out 
like  a  splendor  of  surprise. 

Here,  however,  is  the  man  chosen  by  nature  to  write  the  great 
epic  of  the  South.  Could  he  but  be  given  the  leisure  to  devote  him- 
self to  this  work,  he  would  more  than  justify  the  privilege.  Such 
poetry  as  his  is  too  sublime  to  be  popular,  and  I  fear  it  will  be 
long  before  our  poet  shall  enter  into  his  heritage  of  fame.  But 
when  he  is  known,  as  known  he  must  be,  I  am  confident  that  he 
will  occupy  a  niche  not  lower  than  that  of  Poe  and  of  Lanier. 

Leonard  Charles  van  Noppen. 


JETHRO    SUMNER 

THE  settlement  of  Granville's  territory,  from 
I  Edgecombe  County  to  Granviile  inclusive,  was 
chiefly  made  by  immigrants  from  Virginia, 
among  whom  wore  many  families  of  conse- 
ence  whose  various  members  attained  distinc- 
n  in  North  Carolina.  Among  these  were  the 
,■  Sumner  often  represented  Chowan  County  in  the 
Provincial  Congresses  and  was  chairman  of  the  Committee  of 
Safety  of  his  county  and  rendered  important  service  during  the 
Revolutionary  War.  David  Sumner  likewise  was  a  member  of  the 
Provincial  Congress  of  August,  1775.  was  a  member  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  Safety  of  Halifax,  and  lieutenant-colonel  of  militia. 
James  Sumner  was  lieutenant  in  the  company  of  Light  Horse. 
Robert  Sumner  represented  Hertford  County  in  the  Provincial 
Congress  of  1776.  Elizalicth  Sumner  married  Eiislia  Battle,  who 
was  a  Representative  from  Edgecombe  in  the  Revolutionary  Con- 
gresses, and  from  her  are  descended  that  family  of  Battles  that  has 
been  so  prominent  in  North  Carolina.  The  most  eminent  of  all 
of  the  Sumners,  however,  was  Jethro  Sumner,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch.  AH  of  these  kinsmen  were  grandchildren  of  William 
Sumner,  who  was  a  freeholder  in  Virginia  about  the  year  1688, 
and  who  was  associated  with  the  substantial  families  of  the  Old 
Dominion.  Jclhro  Sumner  was  bom  on  his  father's  plantation, 
called  Manor,  about  one  mile  from  the  town  of  Suffolk,  in  the  year 


396  NORTH  CAROLINA 

1733.  When  about  twelve  years  of  age  he  had  the  misfortune  to 
be  deprived  of  his  father's  care,  but  his  early  life  seems  to  have 
been  passed  amid  circumstances  of  affluence. 

In  1758  Governor  Dinwiddie  gave  him  a  letter  of  recommenda- 
tion to  Colonel  Washington,  who  was  then  on  duty  in  western 
Virginia,  and  young  Sumner  was  appointed  a  lieutenant  in  a  Vir- 
ginia regiment  of  which  William  Byrd  was  colonel,  and  which  was 
attached  to  the  forces  of  General  Forbes  on  an  expedition  against 
Fort  Du  Quesne.  Sumner  remained  in  the  service  until  his  rai- 
ment was  disbanded  in  1761,  receiving  at  that  time  three  years* 
training  that  was  of  invaluable  service  to  him  in  after  life.  That 
he  made  his  mark  as  a  young  officer  is  manifest,  for  on  November 
26,  1760.  Colonel  Boquet,  his  commander,  committed  to  his  trust 
a  separate  command  at  Fort  Bedford ;  and  on  two  occasions  Sum- 
ner marched  with  his  regiment  down  the  Holston  River  against 
the  Chcrokees,  who  were  then  being  reduced  to  subjection  after 
their  horrible  massacre  of  the  garrison  of  Fort  Loudoun,  which 
was  just  west  of  the  present  county  of  Swain.  When  peace  came 
and  his  regiment  was  disbanded,  young  Sumner  lingered  a  few 
years  in  \^irginia  and  then  removed  to  North  Carolina,  settling 
at  the  court  house  of  the  new  countv  of  Bute,  which  was  located 
near  the  dividing  line  between  Warren  and  Franklin  Counties. 
There  an  inn  was  established,  kept  by  one  Elliott,  but  owned  by 
Sumner;  and  from  its  accounts  it  appears  that  Sumner  had  lo- 
cated in  Bute  {)rior  to  November,  1769.  In  1772  Sumner  was  ap- 
pointed sheriff  of  Bute  County,  having  already  attained  a  posi- 
tion of  prominence  in  his  new^  home.  He  had  married,  had  a 
goodly  estate,  and  was  leading  the  life  of  a  prosperous  gentle- 
man. In  1774  a  captain  in  the  British  Army,  J.  F.  D.  Smyth,  who 
was  making  a  tour  through  the  Colonies,  recorded  his  impressions 
of  Sumner,  saying  that  he  was  **a  facetious  man"  and  **one  of 
violent  principles." 

Sumner's  first  appearance  in  a  representative  capacity  was  at 
the  Ilillsboro  Congress  of  August,  1775,  he  being  then  in  full 
sympathy  with  tlie  other  patriots  of  the  province.  At  that  time 
the  militia  was  organized,  two  regiments  of  Continentals  raised. 


JETHRO  SUMNER  397 

and  six  battalions  of  Minnie  Men,  and  Sumner  was  appointed 
major  of  the  Minute  Men  of  the  Hahfax  district.  In  November, 

1775,  Governor  Dunmore  of  Virginia  seized  Norfolk,  and  North 
Carolina  hurried  troops  to  the  aid  of  the  Virginians,  Colonel 
Howe  marched  his  regiment  there,  and  on  (he  28th  day  of  Novem- 
ber the  Committee  of  Safety  ordered  Colonel  Long  and  Major 
Sumner,  with  what  Minute  Men  and  volunteers  they  could  raise, 
to  press  forward  with  the  utmost  dispatch.  The  North  Caro- 
linians gained  great  credit  in  that  campaign ;  and  while  the  part 
that  Sumner  played  was  not  particularly  recorded,  yet  his  action 
was  so  highly  appreciated  that  at  the  next  meeting  of  the  Provin- 
cial Congress,  when  four  more  Continental  regiments  were  raised, 
Sumner  was  awarded  the  colonelcy  of  the  first  of  the  new  regi- 
ments. Colonel  Sumner's  regiment  was  during  that  Summer  in 
South  Carolina,  and  perhaps  participated  in  the  defence  of 
Charleston.  At  any  event  it  accompanied  General  Lee  on  his  expe- 
dition to  take  St.  Augustine  in  Florida.    On  the  3d  of  September, 

1776.  the  condition  of  his  regiment  at  Savannah  being  distressing, 
by  direction  of  General  Lee,  Colonel  Sumner  himself  returned  to 
North  Carolina  in  order  to  obtain  for  his  soldiers  the  equipments 
of  which  llicy  stood  in  need.  In  his  orders  to  Colonel  Alston  he 
said: 

"Yon  ought  to  be  particularly  careful  of  the  discipline  and  to  your 
utmost  keep  up  a  good  imderstaniling  among  the  officers  and  soldiers. 
Yon  arc  at  all  times  to  keep  up  strict  discipline,  but  to  reserve  a  mode 
of  clemency,  as  being  among  young  troops.  Be  careful  in  seeing  no  fraud 
is  done  them  by  tlic  commissaries  and  their  pay  regularly  to  a  month 
delivered  to  them  by  their  captains." 

These  directions  give  a  keynote  of  Sumner's  management  of  his 

On  the  15th  of  March,  1777,  the  North  Carolina  Regiments 
moved  north  to  join  Washington.  General  Nash  was  in  com- 
mand of  the  brigade,  which  was  a  part  of  Lord  Stirling's  divi- 
sion, and  the  North  Carolinians  displayed  courage  at  the  Battle  of 
Brandywine,  and  won  still  greater  renown  on  the  4th  of  Octo- 


398  NORTH  CAROLINA 

ber  at  the  battle  of  Germantown,  where  Sumner's  regiment  lost 
heavily.  The  brigade  endured  the  sufferings  of  Valley  Forge; 
and  at  Monmouth,  being  on  the  left  flank  of  the  army,  rendered 
particular  and  notable  service.  The  North  Carolina  troops  suf- 
fered heavily  at  the  North,  and  on  account  of  their  diminished 
numbers,  in  May,  1778,  they  were  consolidated  into  three  regi- 
ments commanded  respectively  by  Colonel  Clark,  Colonel  Patten 
and  Colonel  Sumner;  and  on  January  9,  1779,  Sumner  was  pro- 
moted to  be  brigadier-general  and  was  ordered  South  to  aid  in  the 
defence  of  Georgia  and  South  Carolina.  His  brigade  had  the 
post  of  honor  in  the  attack  on  the  enemy  at  Stono  Ferry  on  June 
20,  1779.  ^<^  insure  success  he  ordered  his  men  not  to  fire,  but 
to  use  their  bayonets  only.  They,  however,  met  with  such  a  deadly 
fire  that  they  could  not  be  restrained  from  returning  it.  They 
behaved  with  great  spirit ;  but  because  of  the  failure  of  a  part  of 
the  plan  intrusted  to  Moultrie,  General  Lincoln  deemed  it  best 
to  abandon  the  movement.  Shortly  after  that  battle  active  opera- 
tions ceased,  and  Sumner  having  fallen  a  victim  to  the  malarial 
fever  of  tlic  South  Carolina  swamps,  in  July  returned  to  North 
Carolina  to  reestablish  his  health,  also  being  engaged  in  forward- 
ing recruits  for  his  depleted  brigade.  In  November,  however,  he 
was  again  with  Lincoln,  rendering  efficient  service ;  but  later  he 
was  detached  to  raise  four  new  regiments  of  Regulars  in  North 
Carolina.  He  thus,  fc^rtunatcly,  was  not  with  the  army  Avhen  Lin- 
coln capitulated  at  Charleston  in  May,  1780,  surrendering  the 
entire  Continental  Line  and  a  brigade  of  North  Carolina  militia 
that  had  joined  in  the  defence  of  Charleston.  The  situation  at 
the  South  now  was  full  of  peril,  and  the  North  Carolina  Assembly 
recognized  it. 

To  assist  Gcncrnor  Nash  a  board  of  war  was  organized :  Cas- 
well was  appointed  major-general  in  command  of  all  the  militia, 
and  Sumner  and  the  other  Continental  officers  in  the  State  were 
seeking  to  form  Continental  battalions.  On  June  13th  Gates  was 
appointed  to  the  command  of  the  Southern  Department,  and  De 
Kalb  was  sent  South  along  with  a  Maryland  brigade  imder  Gen- 
eral Small  wood,  a  Delaware  regiment,  and  a  brigade  of  Virginia 


JETHKO  SUMXER 


militia  under  General  Stevens.  De  Kalb's  camp  was  established 
on  Deep  River,  and  Caswell  moved  with  the  North  Carolina  militia 
to  Cheraw.  Gates  on  the  2Sth  of  July  reached  De  Kalb's  camp, 
and,  moving  forward,  on  ihe  7ih  of  August  joined  Caswell  and 
met  with  disaster  at  Camden  on  the  I5tli  of  August. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  somewhat  earlier  General  Lillington, 
in  command  of  a  brigade  of  militia  in  South  Carolina,  had  called 
particular  attention  to  the  value  of  the  services  of  Major  Hall 
Dixon,  of  the  Continental  Line,  who  was  with  him;  and  in  the 
Battle  of  Camden  Major  Dixon  had  command  of  some  militia 
who  covered  themselves  with  glory.  The  advantage  of  thus  em- 
ploying experienced  Continental  officers  at  this  critical  juncture 
was  very  apparent,  and  Governor  Nash  seems  to  have  realized 
it.  He  called  for  a  second  draft  of  militia  and  formed  a  brigade 
of  1 200  men,  which  he  placed  under  the  command  of  General 
Sumner,  who  moved  to  Salisbury  and  then  lo  the  south  of  Char- 
lotte. Gates  was  at  that  period  reforming  his  Continentals  at 
Hillsboro.  Towards  the  end  of  September  Comwallis  took  posses- 
sion of  Charlotte,  and  Sumner  fell  back  to  McGoin's  Creek,  where 
early  in  October  he  was  joined  by  General  Butler's  brigade  and 
by  General  Jones's  Halifax  brigade.  Perhaps  at  Gates'.s  sugges- 
tion General  Smallwood,  who  claimed  credit  for  valuable  service 
at  Camden,  and  who  was  now  the  officer  next  in  rank  to  General 
Gates,  was  appointed  by  the  Legislature  major-general  and 
offered  the  command  of  the  North  Carolina  militia,  and  he  ac- 
cepted the  appointment.  General  Sumner  was  with  his  command 
on  the  Yadkin  on  the  loth  of  October  when  General  Davidson 
reported  to  him  the  defeat  of  Major  Ferguson,  and  he  transmitted 
the  inicliigonce  to  General  Gates.  A  few  days  later,  however. 
General  Smalhvood  arrived  in  his  camp  and  took  command. 
Comwallis  having  withdrawn  from  the  State,  it  seems  that  the 
militia  returned  to  their  homes.  Sumner  felt  keenly  and  resented 
Smalhvood's  appointment  over  him.  On  the  2d  of  December 
General  Greene  arrived  at  Charlotte,  and  superseding  Gates,  took 
command.  He  at  once  directed  General  Sumner,  as  the  senior 
officer  of  the  Continental  Line  in  the  State,  to  use  renewed  activity 


400  NORTH  CAROLINA 

in  reestablishing  the  North  Carolina  Continentals,  and  Sumner, 
ably  aided  by  the  other  Continental  officers  in  the  State,  was  en- 
gaged in  organizing  the  new  troops  and  equipping  them.  Early 
in  February,  on  the  return  to  the  State  of  Lord  Cornwallis  in  pur- 
suit of  Greene,  Sumner  tendered  his  services  and  those  of  all  the 
Continental  officers  to  the  Governor  and  urged  their  employment. 

On  the  27th  of  January,  1781,  the  Legislature  met  at  Halifax. 
The  Board  of  War  was  then  discontinued  and  a  Council-Extraor- 
dinary was  substituted  for  it,  the  members  being  General  CaswelU 
Alexander  Martin  and  Allen  Jones.  General  Caswell  was 
again  ap])ointed  major-general  and  assigned  to  the  command  of 
the  militia  of  the  State.  Towards  the  close  of  Februar>'  Corn- 
wallis was  at  Hillsboro  and  Greene  was  in  the  hills  of  Orange 
awaiting  reinforcements  of  militia  to  give  battle.  General  Greene 
now  directed  General  Sumner  to  tender  again  the  services  of  the 
Continental  officers  to  discipline  and  command  the  militia,  and 
Governor  Nash  utilized  some  of  the  officers  in  that  way,  and 
Sumner  hoped  to  have  the  command  of  a  brigade. 

Indeed  Colonel  Alexander  Martin,  when  at  the  head  of  the 
l>oard  of  War,  had  so  employed  some  Continental  officers;  but 
for  some  reason  General  Caswell,  who  was  now  at  the  head  of 
the  Council-Extraordinary  as  well  a^  in  command  of  the  militia, 
did  not  utilize  these  experienced  soldiers  in  the  hour  of  the  State's 
great  need.  There  was  apparently  some  friction  between  Caswell 
and  Sumner. 

After  Cornwallis  had  marched  from  Wilmington  to  Virginia 
Sumner  continued  to  make  extraordinary  exertions  to  form  new 
Continental  battalions,  his  camp  being  at  the  site  of  Oxford ;  and 
at  one  time  he  had  orders  to  lead  what  forces  he  had  collected 
to  the  aid  of  Baron  Steuben  in  Virginia;  but  later  these  orders 
were  countermanded  and  about  the  middle  of  July,  having  re- 
ceived a  supply  of  arms  from  Baron  Steuben,  among  them  250 
excellent  muskets  with  bayonets,  he  marched  with  a  brigade  of 
TOGO  men.  formed  into  three  battalions,  commanded  by  Colonel 
Ashe  and  Majors  Armstrong  and  Blount,  to  reinforce  Greene 
in  South  Carolina.     At  that  time  and  for  several  months  before 


JETHRO  SUMNER  401 

the  entire  region  from  Guilford  Court  House  to  the  ocean  was 
the  scene  of  a  fierce  warfare  between  the  Tories  and  the  patriots. 
Major  Craig  was  in  possession  of  Wilmington,  and  the  Tory 
bands  were  often  more  powerful  than  the  Slate  forces  combating 
than.  Early  in  June  Governor  Nash  had  asked  General  Sumner 
to  send  some  of  his  Continentals  into  that  region,  but  his  orders 
from  General  Greene  to  hasten  to  his  aid  he  considered  too  per- 
emptory for  that,  and  lie  did  not  comply  with  the  request. 

General  Sumner  having  joined  Greene  towards  the  end  of 
August,  General  Greene  prepared  for  a  conflict  with  the  enemy, 
which  occurred  on  the  8th  of  September  at  Eutaw  Springs.  This 
was  one  of  the  bloodiest  battles  of  the  war,  and  the  North  Caro- 
linians behaved  nobly  and  suffered  severely.  General  Sumner, 
his  officers  and  men,  indeed  won  great  glory.  Shortly  after  that 
battle  General  Sumner  himself  was  directed  to  return  to  North 
Carolina  and  send  forward  to  General  Greene  all  the  twelve 
months'  men  that  could  be  raised  and  secure  clothing  and  supplies 
for  Greene's  army,  and  he  continued  actively  employed  until 
peace  was  declared  and  the  amiy  disbanded.  On  the  23d  of 
April,  1783,  furloughs  were  granted  to  the  North  Carolina  sol- 
diers and  they  returned  to  their  homes,  and  CejieraJ  Sumiicr  re- 
tired to  his  plantation  in  Warren  County,  near  old  Bute  Court 
House.  It  was  about  that  time  apparently  that  he  suffered  a 
.severe  bereavement  in  the  loss  of  his  wife.  Only  once  did  he 
afterwards  leave  his  privacy.  On  April  13,  1784,  he  presided  over 
the  North  Carolina  division  of  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati. 

He  died  March  18.  17R5,  leaving  three  children,  all  minors. 
One  of  them,  Jacky  Sullivan,  married  Thomas  Blount,  a  brother 
of  Major  Reading  Blount,  and  eventually  changed  lier  name  to 
Mary  Sumner  Blount.  He  left  two  sons,  who  died  without  issue. 
General  Howe,  General  Sumner  and  General  Rutherford  were  the 
three  most  useful  military  men  furnished  by  North  Carolina  in 
the  struggle  for  independence. 

S.  A.  Ashe. 


JOHN  LOUIS  TAYLOR 

f  HE  Supreme  Court  of  North  Carolina  was  or- 
f;aiiized  In  its  present  form  in  the  year  l8l8, 
and  tlie  first  cliief-jusfice  of  that  tribunal  was 
John  Louis  Taylor.  This  eminent  jurist  was 
born  of  Irish  parentage  in  the  city  of  London 
on  March  r.  1769.  His  father  dying  during 
his  childhood,  he  remained  under  the  care  of  his  mother  until  he 
reached  the  age  of  twelve,  when  he  came  to  America  with 
James  Taylor,  an  elder  hrother.  Jn  the  same  ship  came 
Pierce  Manning  (whose  daughter  was  afterward  adopted  by 
Taylor)  and  John  Devcrcux,  an  ancestor  of  a  well-known  North 
Carolina  family. 

With  the  assistance  of  his  brother,  young  Taylor  entered  Wil- 
liam and  Mary  College  in  the  State  of  Virginia,  but  left  that  insti- 
tution before  graduating.  Later  coming  to  North  Carolina,  he  en- 
tered upon  the  study  of  law  without  any  instruction;  yet,  despite 
this  disadvantage,  he  had  made  such  progress  that  he  was  licensed 
to  practice  before  he  became  of  age.  He  was  sworn  in  before  the 
County  Court  of  Guilfonl  in  1788,  and  before  the  Superior  Court 
of  Hilisboro  District  on  April  11,  1789.  He  took  up  his  residence 
in  the  tnwn  of  Faycttcvilic :  and  while  still  a  very  young  man  he 
was  elected  to  represent  that  Ijorough  in  the  North  Carolina  House 
of  Commons  at  the  sessions  of  1792,  1793  and  1794.    At  a  subse- 


JOHX  LOUIS  TAYLOR  403 

quent  period  (late  in  I7()6  or  early  in  1797)  Mr.  Taylor  removed 
to  New-Bern. 

While  he  remained  at  the  bar,  Taylor  easily  ranked  with  the 
first  lawyers  of  North  Carohna.  Talents  of  a  high  order,  which 
he  possessed,  were  improved  by  education  and  self-culture;  and 
as  a  forceful  and  convincing  speaker  he  was  equalled  by  few.  He 
was  also  well  versed  in  the  classics  as  well  as  in  the  polite  litera- 
ture of  more  modem  times.  All  this,  added  to  a  handsome  per- 
sonality, attractive  and  engaging  manners,  and  a  generous  nature, 
made  him  one  of  the  most  popular  men  of  his  time.  It  was  in 
1798  that  he  was  elevated  to  the  bench  of  Superior  Court  (then 
the  supreme  judicial  tribunal  of  the  State),  and  this  post  he  oc- 
cupied until  1818,  when  a  still  higher  honor  fell  to  his  lot.  In 
i8[o,  prior  to  the  establishment  of  the  present  Supreme  Court,  it 
was  deemed  advisable  to  have  a  tribunal  to  fulfill  the  functions 
of  a  Court  of  Appeals.  The  Legislature,  therefore,  enacted  that 
the  Superior  Court  judges  should  meet  in  a  body — should  sit  in 
banc,  to  use  the  old  English  phrase — and  should  have  power  to 
select  one  of  their  number  as  presiding  justice.  By  common  con- 
sent the  latler  honor  was  assigned  to  Judge  Taylor.  As  already 
mentioned,  the  present  Supreme  Court  of  North  Carolina  was 
established  in  1818.  The  first  members  of  that  tribunal  were 
Jolin  Louis  Taylor,  chief  justice;  and  Leonard  Henderson  and 
John  Hall,  associate  justices.  This  court  was  first  opened  on 
January  i,  1819. 

Chief  Justice  Taylor  remained  at  the  head  of  the  Supreme  Court 
until  his  death  more  than  ten  years  later.  Judge  Taylor  became 
a  citizen  of  Raleigh  about  the  year  181 1.  His  home  was  on  Hills- 
boro  Street  in  tlie  house  now  occupietl  by  Captain  Samuel  A. 
Ashe.  This  was  built  by  him  and  afterward  owned  by 
Judge  Gaston,  who  conveyed  it  to  Judge  Romulus  M.  Saunders. 

While  Andrew  Jackson  was  a  practicing  lawyer  in  North  Caro- 
lina, prior  to  his  removal  to  Tennessee,  a  strong  friendship  sprang 
up  between  him  and  Judge  Taylor.  In  after  years,  when  Jackson 
was  a  candidate  for  the  office  of  President  of  the  United  States, 
Taylor  voted  for  him,  though  perhaps  not  fully  in  accord  with  his 


404  NORTH  CAROLINA 

political  principles.  After  his  elevation  to  the  office  of  chief  jus- 
tice, Mr.  Taylor  paid  a  visit  to  relatives  in  England;  and  while 
there  a  handsome  miniature  of  him  was  painted.  Both  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  the  State  and  the  Masonic  Grand  Lodge  own  oil 
portraits  copied  from  this  miniature. 

In  April,  1828,  Georgetown  University,  in  the  city  of  Washing- 
ton, honored  Chief  Justice  Taylor  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Laws. 

Few  men  have  ever  lived  in  North  Carolina  who  were  more 
prominently  identified  with  the  Masonic  fraternity  than  was 
Judg^c  Taylor.  He  was  deputy  grand  master  from  December  4, 
1799,  till  December  12,  1802;  grand  master  from  December  12, 
1802,  till  December  12.  1805;  and  again  grand  master  from 
November  26,  18 14,  till  December  7,  1817.  He  was  not  a  Mason 
merely  in  name,  but  was  an  active  worker  up  to  the  time  of  his 
death  ;  and  when  his  earthly  career  came  to  an  end,  Hiram  Lodge, 
No.  40,  in  the  city  of  Raleigh,  laid  his  remains  to  rest  with  Masonic 
honors.  In  1803  F'rani^ois  Xavicr  Martin,  of  New- Bern,  compiled  a 
work  entitled  "Ahiman  Rezon  and  Masonic  Ritual/'  which  he  dedi- 
cated to  Grand  Master  Taylor  "as  a  tribute  of  esteem  for  his  amia- 
ble virtues,  respect  for  bis  learning  and  talents,  and  fraternal  grati- 
tude for  the  zeal  and  fidelity  with  which  he  presides  in  the  chair." 
In  this  work  is  published  (among  other  matter)  a  Masonic  ad- 
dress which  Grand  Master  Taylor  delivered  before  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  North  Carolina  at  Raleigh  in  1804.  In  the  course  of 
that  address  Taylor  said  : 

**Thc  purest  system  of  ethics  does  not  recommend  any  virtues  which 
are  not  inculcated  by  the  principles  of  Masonry.  If.  unfortunately,  its 
lessons  have  failed  to  produce  their  proper  effect  with  some  men:  if  a 
few  unhappy  Brethren  continue  to  abandon  themselves  to  vice  and  in- 
temperance, notwithstanding  the  instruction  and  correctives  they  have  re- 
ceived, such  examples  are  sincerely  deplored  by  all  real  Masons.  For  they 
ardently  desire  that  every  Brother  should  exemplify  in  his  conduct  the 
tenets  of  his  science,  and  they  utterly  disown  all  those  in  whom  a  long 
course  of  immorality  has  extinguished  the  hope  of  reformation." 

In  the  first  volume  of  Devcreux's  Equity  (i6th  North  Caro- 
lina Supreme  Court  Reports),  page  309,  is  a  memoir  of  Chief  Jus- 


JOHN  LOUIS  TAYLOR 


tice  Taylor,  written  shortly  after  his  death,  which  has  this  to  say 
of  his  career  on  the  bench : 

"How  he  discharged  his  duties  during  the  Iwenly  years  he  administered 
justice  on  the  circuit,  it  is  impossible  that  the  bar  or  tlic  community  can 
have  forgotten.  He  was  pre-eminently  a  safe  Judge.  It  was  difficult  to 
present  a  question  for  his  determination  upon  which  his  reading  had  not 
Stored  up.  and  his  memory  did  not  present,  some  analogous  case  in  which 
it  had  been  settled  by  the  sages  of  the  law.  And  with  him  it  was  3  re- 
ligious principle  la  abide  by  Ihe  landmarks,  'stare  decisis.'  Uniting  in 
an  extraordinary  degree  suavity  of  manners  with  firmness  of  purpose,  a 
heart  tremblingly  alive  to  every  impulse  of  humanity  with  a  deep-seated 
and  reverenliai  love  of  justice,  the  best  feelings  with  an  enlightened  Judg- 
ment, he  made  the  law  amiable  in  the  sight  of  the  people,  inspired  re- 
Bpcct  and  alTectinn  for  its  institutions,  and  gained  for  its  sentences  a 
prompt  and  cheerful  obedience. 

Of  his  opinions  on  the  Supreme  Bench  the  same  writer  says: 
"While  all  may  be  read  with  profit  and  are  entitled  to  respect, 
there  are  many — very  many — which  may  be  regarded  as  models  of  leg>I 
investigalion  and  Judicial  eloquence.  There  is,  indeed,  a  charm  in  all 
his  compositions,  seldom  to  be  found  elsewhere,  which  has  induced  not 
a  few  to  regret  that  the  Chief  Justice  had  not  devoted  himself  entirely 
to  a  literary  life.  He  would  pribably  have  proved  one  of  the  most  elegant 
writers  of  bis  day.  He  who  could  render  legal  truth  attractive  could 
not  fail  to  have  recommended  moral  excellence  in  strains  that  would  have 
found  an  echo  in  every  heart." 

Chief  Justice  Taylor  was  author  of  a  short  biographical  sketch 
of  .Associate  Justice  .Mfred  Moore,  of  the  United  States  Supreme 
Court.  This  was  re-pnblishcd  many  years  after  Taylor's  death  in 
the  North  Carolina  Umversily  Magazine  for  October,  1844.  In 
the  same  periodica!  for  March,  i860,  is  a  sketch  of  the  life  of  Tay- 
lor himself,  written  by  Judge  William  H.  Eattlc.  Another  notice 
of  Taylor  will  be  found  in  the  North  Carolina  Supreme  Court  Re- 
ports, volume  107,  page  985, 

In  the  Grrcn  Bag  Afagadiie  for  October,  1892,  Chief  Justice 
Clark  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  North  Carolina  gives  the  follow- 
ing synopsis  of  the  legal  writings,  etc.,  of  Chief  Justice  Taylor: 
■'s  Reports,  which  now  form  a  part  of  the 
1  Reports.'     In   1814  he  published  the  first 


4o6  NORTH  CAROLINA 

volume  of  the  'North  Carolina  Law  Repository/  and  in  1816  the  second 
volume  of  the  same,  and  in  1818  Taylor's  'Term  Reports.*  These  three 
volumes  arc  now  united  in  one,  known  as  '4  North  Carolina  Reports. 
As  originally  printed,  the  'Repository'  contained  much  interesting  matter 
(other  than  decisions  of  the  court)  which  has  now  been  omitted  in  the  re- 
print. In  181 7  he  was  appointed  by  the  General  Assembly  jointly  with 
Judge  Henry  Potter,  of  the  United  States  District  Court  for  North  Caro- 
lina, to  publish  a  revision  of  the  statute  law  of  the  State.  This  revisal, 
known  as  'Potter's  Revisal,'  came  out  in  1821.  In  1825  Judge  Taylor 
published  a  continuation  of  this  work,  including  the  Acts  of  1825.  This 
is  known  as  'Taylor's  Revisal.'  He  also  published  a  treatise  on  executors 
and  administrators.  He  possessed  a  singular  aptitude  for  literature,  and 
would  have  excelled  in  composition  if  his  'jealous  mistress,*  the  law.  had 
given  him  opportunity.  His  elocution  was  the  admiration  of  all  who 
heard  him.  His  style  of  writing  is  preserved  to  us  in  his  opinions,  and 
in  beauty  of  diction  they  are  not  surpassed,  if  equalled,  by  any  of  his 
successors.  Chief-Ju<tice  Taylor  came  to  his  post  at  forty-nine  years  of 
age,  and  during  the  ten  years  he  presided  in  the  new  court  his  opinions 
form  at  once  his  judicial  record  and  his  lasting  eulogy.  His  charge  to 
the  Grand  Jury  of  Edgecombe  in  181 7  is  a  model  of  style  and  subject  mat- 
ter.    It  was  published  by  request  of  the  Grand  Jury.'* 

Chief  Jtjstice  Taylor  was  twice  married.  His  first  wife  was 
Jtilia  Rowan,  and  by  her  he  had  an  only  daughter,  Julia  Rowan 
Taylor,  who  married  Major  Junius  Sneed,  and  was  mother  of 
Associate  Justice  John  Louis  Taylor  Sneed,  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  Tennessee.  The  second  wife  of  Chief  Justice  Taylor  was 
Jane  Gaston.  By  her  he  had  an  only  son  and  namesake,  who  died 
unmarried,  and  an  only  daughter  who  became  the  wife  of  David  E. 
Sumner,  and  left  descendants.  The  second  Mrs.  Tavlor  was  a 
sister  of  Judge  William  Gaston,  and  a  daughter  of  Doctor  Alex- 
ander Gaston,  who  was  killed  in  the  Revolution.  Sketches  of  both 
of  these  gentlemen  will  be  found  elsewhere  in  the  present  work. 

The  death  of  Chief  Justice  Taylor  occurred  on  January  29, 

1829.    His  remains  were  interred  on  his  premises  in  Raleigh,  but 

later  removed  to  the  State  plot  in  Oakwood  Cemetery,  where  they 

now  repose  by  the  side  of  those  of  Chief  Justice  Pearson  and  other 

public  servants,  who  now,  after  duty  well  done,  rest  from  their 

labors. 

Marshall  De  Lancey  Haywood, 


T   Z  IIEVI  YOM 


4o8  NORTH  CAROLINA 

age  one  of  the  substantial  and  influential  men  of  the  county — so 
much  so  that  in  1844  he  was  urged  by  the  people  to  become  a 
candidate  for  the  State  Senate.  This  was  before  nominating 
conventions  were  held  by  either  the  Democratic  or  Whig  Part}', 
being  tlie  parties  in  which  the  voters  of  the  State  were  then  di- 
vided ;  though  the  Whigs  often  called  the  Democrats  Loco-focos. 
Candidates  announced  their  candidacv  in  the  most  effective  wav 
they  could,  and  the  following  paragraph  is  to  be  found  in  the 
Raleigh  Register,  a  Whig  paper,  of  May  28,  1844: 

"\Vc  learn  that  several  of  the  candidates  for  seats  in  the  Legislature  pre- 
sented themselves  before  the  Grand  Jury  of  this  county  last  week,  it  being 
that  of  our  County  Court,  and  declared  themselves  as  such.  The  gentle- 
men composing  the  tickets  are:  Charles  Manly  (Whig)  and  George  W. 
Thompson  (Loco)  for  the  Senate.  For  the  House  of  Commons.  Henry 
W.  Miller.  Samuel  P.  Norris  and  Charles  L.  Hinton  (Whigs)  ;  James  B. 
Morgan,   Gaston    H.   Wilder  and  James   B.    Shepard    (Locos).  .  .  ." 

At  that  time  Charles  Manly,  a  man  of  decided  ability,  and  after- 
ward g(ncrnor  of  the  State,  was,  with  the  probable  exception  of 
Weston  R.  C^ialcs,  then  editor  of  the  Register,  the  most  popular 
Wlii;^  in  the  county,  and  the  parties  were  not  far  from  evenly  di- 
vided, but  Mr.  Thompson  was  elected  by  a  safe  majority.  He  was 
re-elected  by  increasinfj;  majorities  in  1846  and  1848,  his  opp>onents 
bein^-  resj>ectively  Samuel  P.  Xorris  and  Edward  Hall,  both  good 
men  and  with  influential  connections  in  the  county.  At  that  time 
one  of  the  (lualitlcatit^ns  of  a  senator  was  that  he  should  own 
300  acres  of  land,  and  of  a  voter  for  the  Senate  that  he  should  own 
50  acres  of  land.  During  the  campaign  of  1848  there  was  pro- 
posed an  amendment  to  the  Constitution  by  the  legislative  mode, 
to  j)nn'i(le  for  "free  sufTrage"  for  the  Senate  and  Mr.  Thompson 
annoimced  himself  as  favoring  it;  though  the  amendment  was  not 
perfected  initil  nearly  ten  years  later.  He  was  a  JefFersonian 
Democrat,  while  his  father  had  been  a  Federalist  and  was  a  WTiig. 
It  is  said  that  when  he  first  became  a  candidate,  the  trend  of  affairs 
and  his  stncly  of  the  constitutional  history  of  the  country  having 
convinced  him  that  it  was  his  duty  to  ally  himself  with  the  Demo- 
cratic Partv.  he  told  his  father  and  a  brother  that  he  wished  them 


GEORGE  VVAKREN  THOMPSON  409 

to  vote  for  their  principles,  and  they  dtd  so,  easting  their  ballots 
for  his  opponent. 

After  his  third  term  of  service  in  the  Senate,  Mr.  Thomp- 
son retired  from  public  life  and  devoted  himself  to  his  in- 
creasing business.  In  or  about  1854  the  Democratic  Party 
in  the  district  nominated  him  for  a  seat  in  the  national 
House  of  Representatives ;  but  he  declined  and  suggested  for  the 
nomination  the  name  of  L.  O'B.  Branch,  who  had  recently  moved 
back  to  North  Carolina  from  Florida  and  afterward  became  a  dis- 
tinguished Confederate  general  and  was  killed  at  Sharpsburg.  He 
would  have  been  elected,  as  Mr.  Bran<:h  was,  but  he  preferred 
life  at  home  and  among  his  neighbors  to  that  in  Washington  City, 

In  1858  the  late  Major  William  A.  Bledsoe,  a  popular  Democrat. 
led  a  revolt  from  his  party,  and  was  supported  by  the  Whigs  and 
members  of  the  N'cw  American  Party  on  an  issue  of  ad  valorem 
taxation.  The  Democratic  Convention  called  Mr.  Thompson  from 
his  retirement  by  nominating  him  as  Major  Bledsoe's  opponent. 
.Able  and  active  men  were  nominated  for  the  House  on  both  sides. 
There  was  a  very  spirited  campaign,  and  Mr.  Thompson  was  de- 
feated by  a  very  close  vote.  He  could  not  be  induced  again  to 
enter  public  life.  In  1871  he  was  nominated  by  the  Conservative 
Democratic  Parly  with  ex-Govcmor  Thomas  Bragg  and 
Honorable  Daniel  M.  Barringer  for  a  seat  in  a  Constitutional  Con- 
vention, the  vote  upon  the  c.illing  of  which  was  to  be  taken  on 
April  30,  1871 :  but  he  declined  the  nomination.  To  the  last,  how- 
ever, he  look  an  interest  in  public  affairs,  and  exerted  a  wholesome 
influence  for  Democracy  in  his  section  of  the  county.  During  the 
war  between  the  Slates  he  gave  a  cordial  support  to  the  cause  of 
the  South,  and  al!  three  of  his  sons  were  volunteers  in  the  Con- 
federate army.  His  conduct  and  counsel  during  the  war  and  the 
period  of  rcconstructinu  after  it  were  dignified  and  conservative. 
He  never  lost  courage  or  hojic  that  things  would  come  out  right 
in  the  end.  Especially  was  his  counsel  deemed  invaluable  in  the 
uncertain  |)eriod  which  fo!!owe<l  the  overthrow  of  the  Confederacy, 
when  because  of  new  conditions  never  before  experienced,  all 
public  affairs  and  private  matters  were  involved  in  the  utmost  con- 


41  o  NORTH  CAROLINA 

fusion.  At  that  time  Mr.  Thompson's  advice  was  sought  by  lead- 
ing men  even  in  distant  parts  of  the  State,  and  his  influence  was 
exerted  to  the  benefit  and  advantage  of  the  people  of  the  State. 
His  integrity  and  prudence  in  business  and  his  kindness  as  a  neigh- 
bor caused  his  services  to  be  sought  before  and  during  the  war 
as  executor,  guardian,  etc.,  and  these  fiduciary  relations  during 
the  "chaotic  times'*  which  followed  gave  him  much  concern.  Dur- 
ing the  last  year  of  the  war,  when  the  value  of  Confederate  money 
had  sunk  to  25  or  50  to  i,  while  he  never  refused  to  take  the  de- 
preciated currency  in  payment  of  his  own  debts,  he  took  and  fol- 
lowed the  advice  of  counsel  about  declining  to  accept  it  in  dis- 
charge of  claims  he  held  as  executor  or  guardian.  Nor  did  the  de- 
nunciation of  some  extreme  Confederates  move  him  to  violate 
his  duty.  His  settlement  of  complicated  estates,  after  the  ma- 
chinery of  the  courts  was  running  smoothly,  was  satisfactory  to 
all  concerned. 

Mr.  Thompson  was  a  great  suflferer  from  facial  neuralgia  for 
many  years  before  his  death,  and  he  could  frequently  be  seen  driv- 
ing to  town,  in  inclement  weather,  twelve  or  fifteen  miles,  with  a 
thick  green  veil  over  his  face ;  and  the  wTiter  whom  he  honored 
with  his  friendship  could  not  but  admire  the  patience  with  which 
he  bore  his  suffering.  Never  did  a  complaint  or  murmur  escape  his 
lips. 

He  was  a  member  of  the  Missionary  Baptist  Church  for  over 
sixty  years  before  his  death,  and  his  consistent  conduct  during 
all  these  years  was  testimony  of  his  faithfulness  to  his  religion. 

Firm  in  his  own  faith,  he  was  ever  tolerant  of  the  religious  opin- 
ions of  others.  In  manners,  while  approachable  to  all,  he  was 
dignified  and  courteous,  ever  a  gentleman  of  the  old  school.  As  a 
conversationalist  he  was,  as  the  result  of  reading,  exf)erience  and 
accurate  observation,  interesting  and  instructive.  As  a  public 
speaker  he  was  easy,  self-possessed,  logical  and  accurate  and  edify- 
ing in  his  statement  of  facts  and  principles.  The  arts  of  the  dema- 
gogue he  was  too  honest  and  true  to  practice. 

He  was  a  member  of  the  first  Board  of  Trustees  of  Wake  Forest 
College  and  was  the  last  survivor  but  one  of  that  board.    He  con- 


GEORGE  WARREN  THOMPSON  411 

tinned  to  be  a  member,  and  always  a  regular  attendant  at  its  meet- 
ings until  tbe  last. 

Mr.  Thompson  married  Miss  Frances  Crenshaw,  danghter  of 
William  Crenshaw  and  a  sister  of  the  venerable  Major  John  M. 
Crenshaw  of  Wake  County.  She  was  ever  a  helpmeet  to  him  and 
survived  him  a  few  years.  They  had  three  sons  and  a  daughter, 
who  lived  to  maturity.  Their  son  William  Marcellus  was  killed 
at  Malvern  HiH,  having  gone  into  the  army  as  a  lieutenant  of  the 
Oak  City  Guards.  Their  son  Henry  A.  died  a  few  years  after 
the  war  from  disease  contracted  by  exposure  in  the  war.  Their 
son  A.  Judson  became  a  physician,  and  died  a  few  years  since  in 
Moore  County,  respected  by  the  community  in  which  he  lived  for 
his  skill  in  his  profession  and  his  urbanity,  in  which  he  followed 
the  example  of  his  father.  The  only  daughter,  Sarah  Frances, 
is  the  wife  of  Mr.  Samuel  T.  Morgan,  who  was  raised  her  ne^h- 
bor  in  Wake  County,  but  is  now  the  president  of  the  Virginia- 
Carolina  Chemical  Company  and  resides  in  Richmond.  Virginia. 

Among  the  brothers  of  Mr.  Thompson  was  Michael  Thompson, 
Esquire,  near  his  own  age,  who  lived  in  his  immediate  vicinity, 
and  between  them  there  was  always  a  most  affectionate  and 
brotherly  sympathy  and  association.  Michael  Thompson  was  one 
of  (lie  most  esleenied  citizens  of  the  county,  &  mag-istrate,  and 
long  a  member  of  the  Special  Court  of  the  county.  He  was  the 
father  of  John  W.  Thompson,  Esquire,  once  clerk  of  the  Su- 
perior Court  of  Wake  County,  and  of  Doctor  S.  W.  Thompson, 
who  also  enjoyed  the  esteem  of  all  who  knew  him. 

The  influence  of  the  life  of  George  W.  Thompson  was  potent 
for  good,  and  for  good  not  only  in  his  generation ;  and  it  is  well 
that  his  mcmnry  should  be  preserved  in  a  biography  of  leading 
North  Carolinians.     He  truly  was  worthy  of  imitation. 

R.  H.  Battle. 


n 


Z",,,,  yi^.-y   V"*r.V 


1  •   NO?.   AND 

L 


LEONARD  CHARLES  \AN    NOPPEN  4'3 

came  miicli  esteemed  and  was  on  tlic  bright  road  to  prosperity 
when,  in  1887,  at  the  age  of  forty-seven,  he  was  killed  in  an  acci- 
dent. Proud  of  his  American  citizenship,  he  strove  in  every  way 
to  be  worthy  of  his  adopted  country.  Also  he  labored  assidnously 
for  the  education  of  his  children,  whose  aspirations  he  ever  en- 
couraged. 

The  sweet  wife  and  affectionate  mother,  amiable,  homc-loving 
and  charitable,  had  the  grace  and  charm  pf  the  French  tempera- 
ment. Unhappily  she  lived  only  a  few  months  after  the  death  of 
her  husband.  Leonard  inherits  her  artistic  nature  and  quick  sensi- 
bility. 

Members  of  both  families  have  for  generations  been  prominent 
in  the  professions.  Three  are  to-day  clergymen  in  the  Established 
Church  of  Holland,  and  only  recently  a  cousin.  Doctor  Marinus 
van  Melle,  was  chosen,  at  ihe  age  of  twenty-eight,  Professor  of 
Philosophy  at  the  University  of  Amsterdam,  the  youngest  man 
ever  to  achieve  that  distinction.  A  paternal  grandfather  accom- 
panied Napoleon  to  Moscow.  Another*  ancestor.  Admiral  Jose 
de  Mixir,  who  prevented,  by  his  defeat  of  Spinola,  tlie  junction 
of  the  united  fleets  with  the  anny  of  .'Alexander  of  Parma,  was 
an  important  factor  in  the  annihilation  of  the  Spanish  Armada. 
On  the  maternal  side  the  dc  Bois  connection  was  for  several  hun- 
dred vcars  one  of  the  wealthiest  and  most  infltiential  famihes  of 
rianders. 

During  their  first  years  in  North  Carolina  this  interesting 
household,  then  located  near  New  Garden,  was  brought  into  close 
association  with  the  Society  of  Friends,  of  which  both  parents  be- 
came menilwrs,  while  the  three  sons  received  their  academic  train- 
ing at  what  was  then  New  Garden  Boarding  School. 

After  the  death  of  their  father,  whose  labors  they  assisted  for 
several  \'ears  with  becoming  industry,  Leonard  and  Charles  re- 
turned to  Friends'  School,  now  become  Guilford  College,  where 
Leonard  took  the  degree  of  A. It.  in  1890.  Later  he  continued  his 
studies  in  literature  at  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  where 
lit-  was  graduated  R.Litt,  in  1892. 

At  Chapel  Hill  he  had  the  inspiration  of  the  larger  circle  and 


414  NORTH  CAROLINA 

made  a  splendid  record  as  a  student.  Quickened  by  his  environ- 
ment, encouraged  by  his  teachers  and  kindled  by  the  example  of 
his  friend,  Henry  J.  Stockard,  he  gave  evidence  of  his  latent 
p>owers  by  some  vivid  poetical  compositions.  Furthermore  he 
used  his  pen  with  vigor  and  effectiveness  as  the  editor  of 
The  IVIiite  and  Blue,  a  paper  established  by  him  and  others  in 
opposition  to  the  secret  fraternities,  which  they  believed  had  en- 
croached upon  the  rights  of  the  student  body. 

In  1893  he  took  his  A.M.  at  Haverford  College,  Pennsylvania. 
Here  he  had  the  rare  advantage  of  study  under  that  eminent 
scholar.  Doctor  Francis  B.  Gummere.  The  next  Fall  he  returned 
to  Chapel  Hill,  where  he  took  the  law  course  under  Doctor  John 
Manning  and  Chief  Justice  Shepherd.  He  successfully  passed 
the  examination  before  the  Supreme  Court,  and  in  1894  received 
his  license  to  practice. 

The  literary  instinct,  however,  soon  revived,  and  in  1895,  acting 
on  a  sudden  inpulse,  he  went  to  Holland  to  study  the  literature 
of  his  forbears. 

During  the  two  years  of  his  first  visit  to  Holland,  he  not  only 
learned  to  speak  the  language  fluently,  but  also  he  achieved  his 
metrical  version  of  Wmdcl's  "Lucifer,"  the  prototype  of  "Paradise 
Lost."  This  translation  appeared  in  1898  and  was  hailed  by  the 
scholars  of  Europe  and  of  America  as  a  masterpiece.  Doctor 
Gerard  Kalflf,  Professor  of  Dutch  Literature  at  the  L'niversitv  of 
L'trecht,  said  of  it :  "The  spirit  and  character  of  Vondel's  tragedy 
are  folt,  understood,  and  interpreted  in  a  remarkable  manner:  and 
an  extraordinarily  difficult  task  has  been  magnificently  done." 
Doctor  Jan  Ten  I>rink,  professor  at  Leyden.  was  not  less  en- 
thusiastic. Doctor  Francis  Gummere  said  it  "filled  a  g^p  in  the 
Miltonic  criticism."  Professor  Kittredge  of  Harvard  and 
Doctor  William  H.  Carpenter  of  Columbia  bore  witness  to  its  dis- 
tinction and  general  excellence.  Doctor  C.  Alphonso  Smith  in 
Modern  Lanj-uGiT^e  Notes  praised  its  metrical  effects  and  its  fidel- 
ity :  while  Mayo  W.  Hazeltine  devoted  five  columns  of  the  New 
York  Sunday  Stui  to  a  discussion  of  its  merits,  which,  he  con- 
cluded, were  "not  unworthy  of  the  great  original."    Many  English 


LEONARD  CHARLES   VAN   NOPl'EN  415 

reviews,  furthermore,  among  olhers  London  Literature  and  The 
Athentrum,  acclaimed  it  as  an  event  of  unusual  significance. 

Nor  was  there  lack  of  interest  among  the  literati.  Ed- 
mimd  Gosse.  Doctor  Henry  Van  Dyke,  Joel  Benton,  Vance  Thomp- 
son, George  Henry  Payne,  James  Huiieker,  Walter  Blackburn 
Harte,  Henry  J.  Stockard,  E.  C.  Stedman  and  Edwin  Markham 
all  expressed  their  appreciation  of  its  poetic  value.  Richard  Wat- 
son Gilder  said  it  was  "the  most  notable  literary  performance  of 
a  decade."  To  this  chorus  of  praise  also  the  distinguished  Dutch 
poets  Nicholaas  Reels.  Albert  Verwey,  Frederic  van  Eeden  and 
A.  T.  A.  Heyting  added  eloquent  tributes. 

To  illustrate  the  case  and  the  vigor  of  the  style,  we  give  one 
of  the  speeches  of  Lucifer : 

"Now  swear  I  by  my  crown,  upon  ihis  chance 
To  venture  all,  to  raise  my  seat  amid 
The   firmament,   the   spheres,   the   splendor  of 
The   star.*  above.      The  Heaven  of  Heavens  shall  ihcn 
My  palace  be.  the  rainbow  be  my  throne, 
The  starry  vast,  my  tonrl ;  while,  down  beneath, 
The  Earth  shall  be  my  footstool   and  support. 
I  shall,  then  swiftly  drawn  through  air  and  light, 
Hfgh-sealcd  on   a   chariot  of  cloud. 
With   lightning  stroke  and  thunder  grind  to  dust 
Whate'cr  above,  around,  below,  doth  us 
Oppose,  were  it  God's  Marshal  grand  himself. 
Yea,  ere  ive  yield,  these  empyrean  vaults. 
Proud  in  their  lowering  masonry,  shall  burst 
With   all   their   airy   arches   and   dissolve 
Before  our  eyes:   this  huge  and  joint-racked  earth, 
Like  a  misshapen  monster,  lifeless  lie; 
This  wondrous  universe  to  chaos  tall. 
And  to  its  primal  desolation  change. 
Who  dares,   who  dares  defy   great   Lucifer?" 

In  consequence  of  this  work  the  young  author  was  selected  to 
deliver  four  courses  of  lectures  on  Dutch  literature  at  Columbia 
L'niversity.  Recommended  by  W.  D.  Howelts,  he  gave  also  two 
courses  at  the  Lowell  Institute  in  Boston,  and  later  lectured  at 
Princeton,  at  the  Brooklyn  Institute,  and  elsewhere. 


4i6  NORTH  CAROLINA 

When  not  engaged  in  lecturing  at  the  American  universities,  he 
continued  his  studies  at  Leiden  and  at  Utrecht.  And  he  is  to-day 
regarded  not  only  as  the  first  authority  on  the  sources  of  Milton, 
but  also  as  the  only  American  specialist  in  Dutch  Hterature. 

Scholarship,  however,  has  not  smothered  his  creative  instincts. 
He  has  written  some  significant  poems;  and  is  ranked  with  the 
best  of  our  younger  poets. 

Here  is  a  sonnet  from  The  Century  entitled  "Chillon": 

CHILLON 

''I   stand  within  the  grandeur-girdled  room 
Where  Bonnivard  heard  the  dull  oozing  hours 
Drip  from  his  stagnant  life :  here  where  the  powers 
Of  shuddering  death  from  shadows  hewed  a  tomb. 
1   feel  the  horrors  crawling  through  the  gloom, 
And  Judgment   frowns,  and  trembling  Conscience  cowers. 
Here  broods  the  Night,  and  Hell's  grim  terror  lowers. 
And  all  the  air  is  dread  with  coming  doom. 
The  mountains  o'er  these  dungeons  of  despair 
For  ages  kept  their  silent  sentinel, 
Guarding  the  ghastly  secret  of  the  waves. 
Then   Byron   woke   the   spectres  slumbering   there: 
Once  more  is  heard  the  midnight-shivering  bell, 
And  the  dumb  waters  are  alive  with  speaking  graves!" 

The  following  sonnet  api)eared  in  Tom  lVatson*s  Magazine: 

MARTYRDOM 

"The  world  cries  loud  for  blood;  for  never  grew 
One  saving  truth  that  blossomed,  man  to  bless. 
That  withered  not   in  barren   loneliness. 
Till  watered  by  the  sacrificial  dew. 
Behold  the  prophets  stoned — the  while  they  blew 
A  warning  blast — the  sad  immortal  guess 
Of  Socrates — the  thorn-crowned  lowliness 
Of   Christ!     And   that   black  cross  our  Lincoln  knew! 

Tis  only  through  the  whirlwind  and  the  storm 

That  man  can  ever  reach  his  starry  goal. 

Some  one  must  bleed  or  else  the  world  will  die! 

l^pon  the  flaring  altar  of  reform 

Some  heart  lies  quivering  ever.     To  what  soul 

That  dares  be  true,  comes  not  the  martyr's  agony?** 


LEONARD  CHARLES  VAN  NOPPEN 

The  San  Francisco  earthquake  evoked 

A  SUPPLICATION 

"Prostrate  before  the  triumph  of  Thy  Face, 
O  Lord  of  Desolations,   millions  fall: 
Anguish  is  all  their  glory,  and  a  pall 
Blots  out  the  sun;  and,  humbled  to  their  base. 
The  groaning  mountains  cower  into  disgrace  I 
Death  walks  the  world,  and  doomed  cities  call 
Out  of  the  flame  and  sink  to  silence,  all, 
Granite  at  dawn,   crushed  by  some  mighty  macel 
The  planet  trembles  and  her  quiet  dead 
Feed  the  loud  greed  of  the  abysmal  grave; 
And  all  our  pride  is  shaken  into  dust. 
Great  God  of  Judgment,  be  Thou  more  than  just 
Be  merciful,  and  quench  Thy  lightnings  dread; 
Revoke  Thy  thousand  thunders,  save,  O  save!" 

A  propos  of  the  Russian  massacres  are  these  daring  lines : 

ANSWER,  O  RUSSIA! 

"Answer,  O  Russia!  that  appealing  blood. 
That  human  wine  from  living  chalice  shed. 
Whereof   made   drunken,   thy   oppressors   dread, 
Flush  to  make  feast  on  yet  a  dearer  food. 
Let  from  thy  broken  heart  no  Neva  flood 
Leap  to  a  silent  sea.     O  heed,  instead, 
That  crimson  cry,  and  answer  red  with  red — 
With  thunders  like  the  throbbing  heart  of  God  I 

"Answer  with  death  that  ancient  Wrong  and   dark! 
Dethrone  one  tyrant  that  a  million  thrones 
Rise  regnant  from  his  mighty  ruin.     Hark! 
The  Judgment,  and  the  knell  of  midnight  hour 
Dooms !     To  the  Morning  from  that  mist  of  moans 
The  Age  of  Freedom  passes,  shod  with  power!" 

Not   without   interest   are   these   lines   on    Napoleon,   entitled 

THE  EXILE 

"Lo !  on  a  sudden  island  in  the  dark. 
Behold,  encircled  by  a  sea  of  death, 
Lone  in  a  bleak  and  black  futurity. 
The  figure  of  an  exile,  stern  and  proud : — 
Some  king  of  triumphs  by  a  star  betrayed ! 
Who,  chafing  at  his  doom  inglorious, 


4i8  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Long  with  a  tiger-pacing  peacelessness 

Paves  the  bare  edges  of  a  brine-burnt  coast: — 

One  that  pavilioned  in  august  renown 

Once  arrogantly  summoned  to  Assize 

Earth's   aged    potentates — all   throned    Powers 

Between  the  far  Antipodean  Poles ; — 

One  that  in  midnight  Councils  like  the  moon 

Rose  but  to  rule,  and  awed  the  ancient  men ; 

Who,   monarch  of  the  moment,  could  achieve 

Ages  of  battle  by  his  angry  brows ! 

Who,  wilful,  in  his  mad  ambition,  wont 

To  juggle  with  the  starry  dice  of  fate. 

Made  splendid  hazard  and  to  win  the  world 

Threw   in   his   soul,   to   tilt  the  even  scales! — 

One  like  a  lion  in  the  wilds  of  war, 

Whose  look  was  like  the  lion's  when  he  roars; 

Who  in  the  sessions  of  the  peers  of  peace 

The   Prince  stood  of  the  proudest;  who,   self-crowned. 

The  Pontiff  of  a  million  destinies, 

Armed  with  a  thousand  armies,  poising  dread 

His  clouded  threat  of  many  thunders,  like 

Some  mitred  moon  stood  plotting  the  eclipse 

Of  hoary  empires, — then  from  zenith  pride 

Plunged,   like  a  comet,  down  the  drowning  night, 

Dragging   to   darkness   all   his   bright  dream   world  !*' 

Mr.  \'an  Xoppen's  metrical  version  of  VondePs  **Samson,"  the 
source  of  ?^Iilton's  "Samson  Agonistes,"  soon  to  appear,  will  be 
published  with  critical  addenda  suited  to  the  needs  of  the  class- 
room. According  to  scholars,  it  promises  to  revolutionize  the 
study  of  Milton.  The  "Lucifer"  was  inscribed  to  the  author's 
brother  Charles,  whose  timely  aid  made  the  effort  possible;  and 
this  volume  will  be  dedicated  to  Mr.  George  W.  Watts  of  Durham, 
without  whose  generous  assistance  this  exhaustive  study  could 
not  have  been  continued.  Basing  his  scheme  to  some  extent  upon 
the  plot  of  X'ondeFs  play,  Mr.  Van  Noppen  also  has  written 
"Samson  :  A  Drama  of  Revolution.*'  From  this  original  tragedy, 
symbolistic  of  the  triumph  of  truth  and  of  labor,  we  cull  a  few 
passages :  Chorus. 

'"Rut  how  fell  Samson,  how  did  Samson  die? 
What  mighty  bolt  laid  low  that  mighty  oak?" 


LEONARD  CHARLES  VAN  N 

Messences 
"ll  sEcms  some  falling  pillar,  with  no  bruise 
Crazing   his  bosom,   brought   forgetfulness ; — 
Yea.  like  a  miracle  of  mother  hands 
Pitied  hii;   tears  and  hushed  his  weeping  heart, 
And  so  delivered  him  from  life  of  dole. 
Thus  he.  our  foe.  magnificently  died, 
Despite  his  humbled   state,  died   like  a 
And  from  the  dark  his  tall  star-staturea  si 
Crashed,   like  a  cornel,   through  ol 

Dragging  a   shining   sorrow   after   Uiml 
And  still  he  lords  the  scene,  who  long  against 
Thai  armied  menace  stood  antagonist, 
A  tower  of  blindness  in  a  sea  of  eyes! 
King  of  a  troop  of  thunders,  lord  of  dooms, 
Hurler  of  sudden  death!     Who  with   one  swift- 
One  fierce,  terrific  wrench,  with  might  Iremcndoua, 
Buried  a  nation,  shook  a  kingdom  down; 
Who  in  that  sea  of  triumph  like  a  towcr 
Fell,  ruin  rippling  from  him  to  the  lini! 
So  with  one  blow  a  bannered  host  be  ■■lew 
And  like  no  mortal  blotted  out  the  sun; — 
So  wrought  his  vengeance  throughly,  emperor  . 
Of  desolations,  which  he  rules  in  death  ; 
And  like  a  god's  his  Name  walks  down  the  years!" 

Chorus 
"His  words  were  princes,  but  his  deeds  are  kings! 

A  PROPHECY  OF  THE  CHRIST 
"Now  comes  a  silence  as  of  brooding  love 
And  there  i-;  hush,  as  if  the  winds  held  brealh, 
As  if  a  whisper  moved  around  the  world, 
Mothering  closely  a  most  holy  Name; — 
All   other  names  forgotten   in   that   Name! 
Then   all   the   tongues   that   bode   of  times   to   com 
Unfiint  that   frozen   fiame  of  prophecy 
And.  blading  into  royal  rapture,  make 
Annunciation  of  a  King  of  Kings! 
And  all   the  maiden   Silences  that  pause, 
Conscious  of  unappareni  conqueror, 
Unveil  [heir  hearts  and  blush  into  one  Name! 


420  NORTH  CAROLINA 

And  now  the  soothsayers,  the  sages  gray 

And   miracle-commanding  magi :  these, 

And   the  shrill   bards  of  battle,   clear  their  gaze, — 

Beholding  all,  mid  pealing  jubilee, 

'Mid    singing   silver   and    the   laugh   of   gold, 

The  advent  of  a  Triumph  through  the  air. 

So,  seeing,  tremble,  seeing,  are  amazed. 

Awed   into  voicelessness,   previsioning 

One  coming   from  the  Country  of  the  Soul, 

Godly  of  mien,  grave,  noble  and  benign. 

Throned  upon  music:     One  whose  lifted  orbs 

Are  shining  prophecies !     Upon  whose  brow, 

Haloed  with  brightness,  like  a  rainbow  broods 

Beautiful  benediction !    And  He  seems 

Exceeding  lovely,  altogether  fair, 

Most   joyous-virginal,   exhaling   youth 

Immortal :  One  undimmed  by  dying  years. 

With  Face  too  fair  to  die!     A  Presence  mild, 

Pure  as  the  dew  on  lilies,  white  as  dawn. 

Arrayed  in  resurrections  like  the  sun ! — 

A    King  of   Mercies   burning  through  the  dark, 

Bowered  in  buds  that  break  in  roses,  blooms 

Like  wonderful,   like  world-devoted  wounds  I 

And  round  His  head,  a  mystic  aureole; 

And  in  His  eyes  the  after-glow  of  dreams: — 

Such  dreams  as  angels  dream  that  sleep  in  God 

And  waken,  praising — wonder  in  their  song!" 

This  is  from  a  passage  devoted  to 

THE  MILLENNIUM 

"And  He  shall  build  the  Right  upon  a  Rock, 
Wrestle  with  ancient   Wrong  and  overthrow 
The  triumphs  of  Untruth,  shall  banish  cloud, 
Found  chanting  temples  open  to  the  Light 
And    shall    restore,   like   peace  that   follows   storm. 
Beautiful   Sabbath,  tracing  on  the  sky 
The  Rainbow  as  His  arch  memorial! 
And  He  shall  guide  the  erring  heart  and  be 
The  shining  pilot  of  the  utter  lost. 
And  surely  to  the  Sun  of  Suns  shall  lead 
The  long  night-marches  of  humanity! 
Yea.  through  the  midnight  like  a  spirit-moon, 
Over  earth's  dim-communing  multitudes. 


LEONARD  CHARLES   VAX   NOPrEN  421 

Brightly  shall  walk  the  darkness,  leading  tip 
All  tides  of  meditation  into  God! 
Then  after  time's  dark  anguish,   after  all 
The  darts  of  death   are  showered,   He  sha!!   rise 
Rejoicing,   crowned   with   sudden  resurrect ion», 
A  mighty   Morning,   robed  with   rising  suns; — 
Who.  shepherding  salvations  to  the  dawn. 
Joyfully  singj,  and  lifts  his  gladness  high. 
Leading  like  lambs   His  white   millenniums  1" 

It  is  needless  to  comment  upon  such  work.    It  speaks  for  itself. 

While  in  Holland  Mr.  Van  Noppen  rendered  valuable  assistance 
to  the  Boer  cause.  Often  consulted  by  the  various  leaders  to  de- 
vise means  and  methods  to  prolong  the  campaign,  he  carried  the 
propaganda  into  America.  He  made  the  English  version  of 
President  Stein's  Independence.  Proclamation  which,  transmitted 
to  the  English  Government,  severed  the  relations  of  the  Orange 
Free  State  with  the  British  Empire  and  was  received  as  a  declara- 
tion of  war.  Afterward,  in  Paris,  he  met  Kruger  and  Leyds.  and 
on  his  return  to  Holland  assisted  the  Boer  Press  Bureau  at 
Dordrecht. 

At  Jamestown,  New  York. September  28,  1902.  Mr.  Van  Noppen 
was  married  to  Adah  Maude  Stanton  Becker,  a  connection  of  the 
family  that  gave  two  generals  to  the  War  of  1812,  and  later  Lin- 
coln's Secretary  of  War.  He  Hves  at  present  at  Westerleigh, 
Staten  Island.  He  has  a  warm  and  grateful  memory  of  his  friends 
in  North  Carolina,  and  his  new  friendships  do  not  weaken  the 
gra'ip  on  his  heart  of  those  sacred  old  associations. 

Thomas  Hume. 


HENDERSON  WALKER 


3ENDERSON  WALKER,  President  of  the  Pro- 
vincial Council  of  North  Carolina  and  later 
Governor  of  tlie  colony,  was  born  in  the  year 
1660.  He  appears  to  have  come  into  the  colony 
about  1682,  just  after  he  became  of  age.  By 
profession  he  was  a  lawyer.  "In  1695,"  says 
-■cords  of  the  court  show  that  he  fell  under  the  dis- 
pleasure of  tilt  judges  for  some  act  of  contempt,  and  he  was  pro- 
hihiteil  from  ajuicaring  professionally  before  them.  He  probably 
purged  hiinsclf  of  the  contempt  very  soon,  as  in  October  of  the 
same  year  he  was  sworn  in  as  Attorney-General."  Walker  soon 
became  a  member  of  the  Council,  and  on  March  17,  1699,  was 
commi.ssioncd  {together  with  Daniel  Akehurst)  to  act  in  ccm- 
junctioii  with  representatives  from  Virginia  in  running  the  boun- 
dary between  the  two  colonies.  For  years  this  boundary  was  a 
subject  of  dispute,  and  it  was  not  settled  definitely  until  a  long 
time  thereafter. 

For  several  years  Mr.  Walker  was  one  of  the  justices  of  the 
General  Court  of  the  province.  The  original  minute-book  of  this 
tribunal  is  now  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  at  Raleigh. 
Upon  the  death  of  Governor  John  Harvey,  on  July  3,  1699, 
Walker  was  chosen  his  successor,  and  presided  over  the  govern- 
ment of  the  colony  until  his  death. 

.\l  first  gdvcrnors  wore  appointed  for  the  county  of  Albemarle, 


HENDERSON  WALKER 

but  about  i68q  Philip  Ludwell  was  appointed  Governor  of  "that 
part  of  Carolina  that  lies  north  and  east  of  Cape  Fear,"  and  he 
appointed  a  lieutenant-governor  for  North  Carolina.  Thomas 
Harvey  was  Deputy-Governor  of  North  Carolina  under  Governor 
Archdaie  from  1694  and  until  his  death,  and  then  Henderson 
Walker,  as  President  of  the  Council,  succeeded  to  the  admin- 
istration ;  and  during  the  decade  the  colony  was  under  their  rule 
there  was  contentment,  quiet,  progress  and  development.  They 
were  among  the  principal  inhabitants,  and  promoted  the  interests 
of  the  people. 

In  his  History  of  North  Carolina  (Vol.  2,  p.  502),  Doctor 
Hawks  sums  up  tlie  character  of  Governor  Walker  and  the  merits 
of  his  administration  in  the  following  language: 

"The  characler  of  Henderson  VVailtcr  deservedly  stood  high.  Without 
much  brilliancy,  he  possessed  a  found  mind,  and  was  not  unskilled  in  hii 
profession.  Naturally  amiable,  he  was  conscientiously  religious ;  and  few 
of  iho;e  occupying  elevated  positions  in  his  day  did  more  than  he  did  to 
obtain  and  perpetuate  in  Albemarle  the  t>enelits  of  Christianity.  ...  It 
was  during  the  administration  of  Walker  that  a  very  important  change  was 
made  in  the  jndiciarj'.  Up  to  this  time,  the  General  Court— the  highest 
tribunal  in  the  province — had  been  held  by  the  acting  governor,  the  dep- 
uties of  the  Lords  Proprietors,  and  two  assistant?.  In  addition  to  the 
fact  that  the  judges  were  much  too  numerous  (two  more  would  have  been 
enough  for  a  jury),  there  was  the  greater  evil  arising  from  the  circum-. 
stance  that  there  was  never  any  security  to  the  people  that  a  majority  of 
the  court  would  know  anything  about  the  law,  for  ihcy  were  not  trained 
to  the  profession,  ,  .  ,  To  remedy  this  evil,  the  Proprietors  (notwith- 
standing Chalmers  says  they  look  no  notice  of  Albemarle  for  seven  years) 
appear  to  have  issued  a  commission  appointing  five  justices  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  two  of  whom  were  named  of  the  quorum,  and  the  presence  of  one, 
of  which  two  was  necessary  lo  constitute  a  court." 

To  the  above  observations  Doctor  Hawks  adds  the  remark: 

'"Walker's  rule  was  exceedingly  mild  and  judicious,  if  we  may  judge 
from  the  testimony  of  contemiwraries,  and  the  favorable  report  he  left 
behind  him,'' 

In  a  list  of  American  governors,  with  the  manner  of  the  election 
of  each,  made  about  the  year  1700,  we  find  this  entry; 


424  NORTH  CAROLINA 

"Henderson  Walker,  Governor  of  North  Carolina,  chosen  by  the  Coun- 
cil only,  in  ye  room  of  Thomas  Harvey,  deceased." 

In  his  religious  tenets  Governor  Walker  was  an  adherent  of  the 
Church  of  England,  and  was  elected  one  of  the  vestrymen  of 
Chowan  Precinct  in  1701.  The  vestry  of  which  he  was  a  member 
gave  a  contract  in  November,  1701,  for  putting  up  a  church 
building.  Thus  was  founded  St.  Paul's  Parish,  at  Edenton, 
though  the  present  house  of  worship  there  is  of  more  recent 
construction.  In  a  letter  dated  October  21,  1703.  and  addressed 
to  the  llishop  of  London,  Governor  Walker  gives  some  interesting 
information  concerning  the  condition  of  affairs  in  Albemarle,  and 
incidentally  mentions  some  important  points  in  the  history  of 
the  colonv.  lie  savs :  "We  have  been  settled  near  fiftv  vears 
in  this  place,"  which  would  make  the  original  settlement  some- 
what earlier  than  1660;  and,  'T  may  justly  say  most  part  of 
twenty-one  years,  in  my  own  knowledge,  without  priest  or  altar; 
and  before  that  time,  according  to  all  that  appears  to  me,  much 
worse.  George  Fox  some  years  ago  came  into  these  parts,  and,  by 
strange  infatuations,  did  infuse  the  Quakers'  principles  into  some 
small  number  of  the  people,  w'hich  did  and  hath  continued  to  grow 
every  since  very  numerous,  by  reason  of  their  yearly  sending  in 
men  to  encourage  and  exhort  them  to  their  wicked  principles." 

From  this  statement  it  appears  that  there  were  no  Quakers 
to  speak  of  among  the  first  settlers,  but  that  the  Quaker  element 
had  its  rise  about  the  time  of  Fox's  visit,  in  1672,  some  twelve 
years  after  the  settlement. 

Governor  Walker  continues,  and  says  that  **some  time  alwiit 
four  years  ago"  ( 1699)  Doctor  Bray  sent  to  Albemarle  Mr.  Daniel 
Brett,  a  minister  appointed  to  this  place,  who  was  the  first  minister 
of  the  Church  of  Fngland  to  come  to  Albemarle.  **We  did  about 
this  time  two  years,  with  a  great  deal  of  care  and  management, 
get  an  Assembly,  and  w-e  passed  an  act  for  building  of  churches 
and  establishing  a  maintenance  for  a  minister  among  us ;  and  in 
pursuance  thereto  we  have  built  one  church,  and  there  are  two 
more  agoing  forward."  But  up  to  that  time  that  act  had  not  been 
ratified  by  the  Lords  Proprietors,  and  Governor  Walker  urged 


HENDERSON  WALKER 


+25 


the  bisliop  to  have  it  ratifieil  and  "to  send  some  worthy  good  man 
among  us  lo  regain  the  flock  and  so  perfect  us  in  our  duty  to 
God." 

Governor  Walker  married  Ann  Lillington,  a  daughter  of 
Major  Alexander  Lillington.  After  Walker's  death  this  lady 
became  the  wife  of  Edward  Moseley,  one  of  North  Carolina's 
most  noted  colonists. 

Governor  Walker  died  April  14,  1704,  and  was  first  buried 
five  miles  below  Eclenton,  but  recently  his  remains  have  been 
removed  to  the  burial  groimd  of  St.  Paul's  Church,  in  Edenton. 
Of  this  parisJi,  as  has  been  noted,  he  was  a  vestryman.  His  epi- 
taph refers  to  him  as  one  "during  whose  administration  the  prov- 
ince enjovetl  that  tranquillity  which  it  is  to  be  wished  it  may 
never  want." 

Marshall  De  Lancey  Hayuuutii. 


v'z  t:e\v  YOl^lt 

rUBLi:  LIBRAKY 


.   Ll'NOX  AND 


WILLIAM  HENRY  WATKINS 

It  is  of  one  of  these  we  write,  and  his  unstained  name  is 
William  Henry  Watkins.  The  name  is  Welsh.  The  earliest 
known  ancestor  was  James  Watkins,  who  came  from  Wales  to 
this  coimtry  more  than  two  centuries  ago.  Four  other  ancestors 
on  Ihe  patt-rna!  side  were  Captain  Carraway  Watkins,  of  Mary- 
land; Lieutenant  Watkins,  of  Massachusetts;  William  Watkins, 
of  Virginia,  and  Captain  Cassaday  Watkins,  who  served  with  dis- 
tinction in  the  war  of  the  Revolution.  The  last  named  won  more 
distinction  than  any  other  member  of  the  family  in  that  war  and 
was  afterward  a  member  of  the  Cincinnati  Society. 

The  name  of  the  father  of  william  Henry  was  Culpepper  Wat- 
kins, who  was  a  farmer  and  hved  in  the  county  of  Stanly,  North 
Carolina,  on  January  5,  1839,  where  and  when  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  born.  The  name  of  his  mother  was  Ann  Marshall 
Tomlinson,  whose  ancestry  has  been  traced  back  to  Captain  John 
Dejamette,  who  fought  under  General  Marion  of  South  Caro- 
lina. The  Dcjarnettes  were  Huguenots,  of  the  best  blood  of 
^France.  The  line  extends  down  through  the  Tomlinsons,  the 
Co\-ingtons  and  the  Marshalls — the  best  families  of  Nortli  Caro- 
lina and  Virginia.  The  great  grandfather  on  the  maternal  side 
was  James  Marshall,  whose  mother  was  Mary  Malone.  He  mar- 
ried Miss  Ann  Harrison,  sister  to  William  Henry  Harrison,  whose 
name  has  been  preserved  in  all  succeeding  families.  It  is  to  be 
observed,  loo,  that  the  Marshalls  played  a  conspicuous  part  in  the 
Revolution.  Colonel  Thomas  Marshall  made  an  enviable  record 
for  giillantry. 

The  limits  of  this  sketch  forbid  more  than  a  passing  reference 
to  the  heroic  services  rendered  by  the  members  of  this  family  in 
the  Revolutionary  War  and  in  the  late  war  between  the  States. 
There  never  was  a  draft  made  by  the  country  upon  the  courage  or 
patriotism  of  any  member  of  this  family  which  went  to  protest. 
In  the  darkest  hour  of  war  their  names  will  be  found  on  the  roll 
nf  those  who  stood  and  fought  and  bled  and  died  for  what  they 
believed  to  l)e  right. 

William  Henry  Watkins  is  worthy  of  the  noble  ancestry  behind 
him.    In  the  early  days  of  1861,  this  young  man,  whose  days  had 


428  NORTH  CAROLINA 

been  spent  in  the  corn  and  cotton  fields  of  his  father's  farm,  with 
no  e(hicational  advantages  save  those  afforded  by  the  **old  field 
schools"  of  his  neighborhood  and  one  term  at  Jonesville  High 
School,  responded  to  the  call  of  his  State.  Proud  of  and  inspired 
by  the  record  of  a  line  of  ancestors  who  had  never  faltered  or 
wavered  in  the  face  of  danger,  and  by  the  memory  of  a  sainted 
mother  encouraged  and  sustained  by  the  confidence  of  a  fond 
father,  ambitious  to  bring  honor  to  both  and,  withal,  victor\'  to  the 
cause  he  had  espoused,  he  dropped  a  tear  in  the  rapture  of  his 
high  resolve  to  put  the  scenes  of  childhood's  affections  behind 
him  and  to  meet  with  knightly  nerve  the  stem  demand  of  every 
duty  of  the  dark  future.  Enlisting  at  the  call  of  his  State,  he 
was  ])lace(l  in  the  Fourteenth  North  Carolina  Regiment  of  the  anny 
of  Northern  \'irginia,  in  which  he  scored  four  years  of  suflFering. 
sacrifice  and  hardship,  sharing  with  his  comrades  the  joy  and  the 
bitter,  the  defeat  and  the  glory,  of  that  bloodiest  of  all  wars  in 
the  annals  of  time. 

Returning  with  the  scattered  remnant  of  that  glorious  army,  he 
found  the  scenes  of  his  boyhood  and  the  face  of  the  old  common- 
wealth, in  whose  name  and  at  whose  bidding  he  had  given  of  his 
life's  wealth.  strip])ed,  torn  and  bleeding — prostrate  and  helpless, 
in  ruin — in  ashes — in  poverty  and  in  the  depths  of  sorrow.  De- 
feated in  name  but  unconquered  in  spirit,  bruised  of  body  but  un- 
dainited  and  luistained  in  soul — he,  like  his  comrades,  faced  a  new 
field  recjuiring  and  exacting  a  higher  courage  and  a  stouter  nerve 
than  the  bloody  field  of  battle.  It  was  the  stupendous  task  of  re- 
])airing  and  rebuilding  home  and  State.  The  accomplishment  of 
this  task  makes  a  record  not  less  glorious  than  the  historic  pages 
on  which  arc  preserved  the  deathless  deeds  of  valor  of  a  thousand 
fields  of  battle.  There  is  no  man  in  North  Carolina  who  has  been 
more  diligent  or  more  faithful  or  more  steadfast  in  his  share  of 
this  great  work  than  William  Henrv  Watkins. 

With  little  or  no  capital,  save  his  character,  energy  and  in- 
domitable j)luck.  he  began  the  active  work  of  life  as  a  merchant  at 
Norwood  in  his  native  county  in  the  year  1865,  where  he  suc- 
ceeded as  he  did  everywhere.     Three  years  later,  on  March  17, 


WILLIAM  HENRY  WATKINS  4^j 

1868,  lie  was  happily  married  to  Miss  Louisa  Eunice  Smitlicrnian 
of  Troy,  Korlli  Carolina,  daughter  of  Mr.  Jesse  Smithernian.  one 
of  the  leading  and  most  prominent  citizens  of  Montgomery  County, 
The  issue  of  this  marriage  was  six  children,  four  of  whom  are 
still  living.  Shortly  thereafter  he  moved  to  Troy,  North  Caro- 
lina, where  he  met  with  continued  success  as  a  merchant  until 
the  year  1S79.  In  the  meantime,  he  was  elected  to  and  held  the 
office  of  Sheriff  of  Montgomery  County  from  1874  to  1878.  In 
the  year  1879  he  was  attracted  by  an  unusual  opportunity  for  in- 
vestment in  a  manufacturing  site  on  Deep  River  in  the  county  of 
Randolph,  at  a  place  then  known  as  Columbia  and  now  known  as 
Ramseur.  After  purchasing  this  property  he  moved  the  same  year 
to  this  place,  his  present  home,  and  now  a  growing  and  thrifty 
town,  which  is  the  terminus  of  a  branch  of  the  Southern  Railway 
and  in  which  is  located  the  large  mills  of  the  Columbia  Manufac- 
turing Company  and  the  plants  of  the  Ramseur  Furniture  Com- 
pany and  the  Watkins-Leonard  Company.  The  Columbia  Manu- 
facturing Company  is  now  one  of  the  most  flourishing  cotton  mills 
of  the  State  and  its  success  is  due  to  the  wise  management,  sleep- 
less vigilance  and  tireless  energy  of  Senator  Waikins,  who,  from 
the  organization  of  the  compam-,  has  been  its  active  secretary  and 
treasurer  and  general  manager,  as  well  as  its  largest  stockholder. 

He  is  also  president  of  the  Sanford  Cotton  Mills,  located  at 
Sanford,  Xorlh  Carolina:  vice-president  of  the  Ramseur  Furni- 
ture Company  and  the  Wat  kins-Leonard  Company,  and  also  a  di- 
rector in  all  nf  Ihcm  and  in  several  banks  of  the  State,  in  all  of 
which  he  is  largelv  interested. 

Success  has  rewarded  him  in  every  field  of  his  activity.  The 
town  of  Ramseur  in  iS/Q  was  scarcely  more  than  a  country  post- 
office  with  a  small  store  and  one  mill,  and  was  then  called  and 
known  as  Columbia.  The  name  of  the  place  was  later  changed 
In  that  of  Ramseur,  in  honor  of  General  Ramseur  of  Confederate 
fame,  who  was  Mr.  VV'atkins's  commander  in  the  late  war.  The 
growth  of  this  place  into  a  town,  the  expansion  of  the  mill  into 
one  of  llie  largest  manufacturing  plants  of  the  county,  the  estab- 
lisliTucnl  of  other  industrial   and  manufacturing  plants,  the  ex- 


430  NORTH  CAROLINA 

tension  of  a  branch  railroad  to  this  place,  the  establishment  of 
churches  and  schools  are  largely  the  result  of  his  labor,  his  fore- 
sight, his  fine  judgment  and  his  superior  business  tact  and  ability. 
His  has  been  and  is  now  the  leading  spirit  and  gliding  genius  in 
the  upbuilding,  not  only  of  this  town  but  of  the  immediate  sec- 
tion of  the  county  adjacent  thereto. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  in  building  for  others  he  has  built  for 
himself  and  has  accumulated,  since  the  dark  days  of  1865,  a  com- 
fortable fortune.  More  than  that  and  above  all,  he  has  built  for 
himself  a  character  which,  in  the  financial,  commercial,  social  and 
political  circles  of  North  Carolina  and  elsewhere,  commands  the 
unstinted  confidence  of  his  fellow-men. 

In  politics  Senator  Watkins  is  a  Democrat  of  the  Samuel  J. 
Tilden  brand.  While  loyal  and  courageous  in  conviction,  he  is 
brave  enough  to  be  independent  and  broad  enough  to  be  tolerant. 
This  is  another  way  of  saying  that  he  accords  to  every  fellow-man 
the  right  of  opinion  and  the  freedom  to  express  it  at  the  ballot- 
box  or  elsewhere.  His  independence,  his  tolerance,  his  fairness, 
his  superb  courage  and  inflexible  honesty  have  given  him  a  high 
place  in  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  the  people.  This  is  amply 
attested  by  the  fact  that  he  was  never  defeated  in  his  life,  although 
more  than  once  a  candidate  in  the  face  of  decided  Republican 
majorities  against  him.  Time  and  again  has  he  been  importuned 
to  permit  the  use  of  his  name  for  political  honors,  but  of  late  years, 
with  two  exceptions,  he  has  resolutely  refused.  In  1897  ^^  ^^ 
luctantly  accepted  a  place  on  the  County  Board  of  Education, 
which  he  filled  for  two  years,  and  in  1904,  at  the  urgent  solicitation 
of  the  people,  he  accepted  the  Democratic  nomination  for  State 
Senator  in  the  Twenty-third  Senatorial  District,  composed  of 
the  counties  of  Randolph  and  Montgomery.  It  is  to  be  noted  that 
in  this  contest,  as  well  as  in  every  other  political  contest,  he  al- 
ways led  his  ticket.  It  is  superfluous  to  add  that  in  these  public 
po-sitions  he  brought  to  the  discharge  of  public  duty  the  same 
vigilance,  diligence,  punctuality  and  fideHty  which  have  marked 
every  page  of  his  private  life. 

He  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  and 


WILLIAM  HENRY  WATKINS  431 

backs  his  faith  with  his  purse  and  his  works.  While  modest  and 
iinassuming  in  all  things,  he  responds  to  the  roll-cail  of  duty  in  all 
movements  looking  to  the  uplifting  of  his  community  and  the  bet- 
terment of  his  fellow-men.  His  public  spirit  is  written  into  every 
enterprise  and  institution  of  his  community.  He  is  a  most  lovable 
man.  Gentle  as  a  woman,  modest  as  a  school  boy.  generous  and 
forgiving  in  thought  and  in  speech,  highminded  and  cleanhanded 
in  his  intercourse  with  his  fellows,  of  knightliest  nerve  and  kind- 
liest impulse,  of  sunny  nature  and  amiable  spirit,  brave  and  true  as 
steel,  he  loves  his  fellow-men,  and  were  it  within  his  power  thi.s 
life  would  be  longer,  fuller,  larger,  richer,  better  and  sweeter.  If 
the  writer  was  called  upon  (o  express  it  all  in  one  word — it  would 
be  kindliness — the  ereatest  thing,  after  all,  in  the  affairs  of  this 
life. 

This  a  running  sketch  of  a  man  whose  years  have  covered  the 
most  momentous  and  stupendous  events  of  his  country's  history 
and  witnessed  the  most  wondrous  transformations  in  every  phase 
and  department  of  human  life,  and  who  has  woni  and  borne 
through  them  all  and  amid  it  all  "the  white  flower  of  a  blameless 
life."  It  is  worth  while  to  have  lived  these  years  and  won  success 
in  the  fierce  and  rapid  clasli  of  change  and  growth.  The  sca.rs  ol 
the  battlefield  are  now  tender  memories  whose  aroma  adds  sweet- 
ness to  the  fleeting  hours  of  the  evening  of  life.  The  hard  and 
fierce  struggles  for  victory  in  the  bloodless  fields  of  commercial 
warfare  and  in  all  the  cvcry-day  Hnes  of  life  and  human  endeavor 
have  brought  the  comfort  of  rich  reward  to  the  declining  years  of 
a  strenuous  and  eventful  life.  The  sixty-seven  years  of  this  life 
have  been  full  of  toil  and  trial  and  struggle.  In  war  and  in  peace, 
the  full  mca.sure  of  dutv  has  been  met  at  every  point  and  in  every 
crisis.  There  is  not  a  blot  on  a  single  page  of  its  fine  record.  As 
a  .soldier  he  wore  the  white  plume  of  a  Murat  in  every  test  of  cour- 
age and  sacrifice  and  hardship.  In  the  peaceful  pursuits  of  private 
life,  he  has  illustrated  every  virtue  of  the  correct  business  man 
and  emphasized  every  trait  of  the  model  citizen.  Truly  he  has 
done  well  his  ]>art.  He  belongs  to  the  flower  of  North  Carolina's 
chivalry. 


432 


NORTH  CAROLINA 


It  is  not  a  matter  of  wonder  that  Time  has  dealt  gently  with  this 
sunny,  sweet-spirited,  lovable  and  strongly  built  man.  Nor  is  it 
stranq^e  that  as  he  enters  the  realm  of  the  lengthening  shadows, 
his  thoughts  should  turn  more  fondly  and  constantly  to  the  church 
of  his  faith  and  his  choice,  in  which  he  is  now  a  leader  and  a  pillar 
of  strength  and  at  whose  altar  he  will  watch  and  wait  for  the 
serene  and  beautiful  sunset  of  his  busy  career. 

G.  S,  Bradshcnv. 


PUtUJ  UCDiRY 

M'  <  -.  LL-.HOX  AMD 


434  NORTH  CAROLINA 

The  later  period  was  characterized  by  a  body  of  bright  and 
gifted  writers,  including  Mrs.  Cornelia  Phillips  Spencer,  Major 
Sloan,  Doctor  Battle,  Doctor  Huffham,  Doctor  Kingsbury,  Colonel 
Saunders,  Judge  Schenck,  Major  Moore,  Doctor  Bemheim. 
Colonel  Waddell,  Captain  Ashe,  Bishop  Cheshire,  Chief  Justice 
Clark,  Colonel  Creecy,  Major  Graham,  Doctor  Vass,  Doctor 
Taylor,  Doctor  Clewell  and  others  worthy  of  high  mention.  In 
this  enumeration  the  younger  writers  have  been  purposely  omitted, 
because  it  is  conceived  that  they  represent  a  distinct  class  and  a 
new  departure  in  this  field  of  literature.  It  is  to  be  noted  that 
none  of  those  named  were  trained  to  historical  investigation,  and 
none  of  them  except  the  venerable  Doctor  Battle  have  followed 
it  as  a  profession.  The  seminary  method  did  not  characterize  their 
work,  and  there  were  times  when  it  was  difficult  to  discover 
whether  the  statements  of  some  rested  on  authoritv  or  tradition. 
Thev  had  liberty,  and  sometimes  used  it  with  much  freedom. 
Their  culture  was  broad  and  their  view  was  large.  They  were 
freciuently  weak  on  fact,  but  strong  on  interpretation.  They 
Lindcrstood  the  bearing  of  things,  and  translated  Avy  details  into 
living  pictures  of  real  life. 

Xcar  the  close  of  the  century  a  new  school  of  historical  writers 
came  to  the  front,  composed  of  ,the  younger  men,  who  were 
trained  in  the  science  of  historical  investigation,  principally  at 
Johns  Hopkins  University,  which  they  adopted  as  a  profession. 
The  old  school  sought  such  details  as  were  needed  for  the  picture 
in  hand.  The  new  school  was  not  picturesque.  It  sought  to 
complete  the  record  by  giving  all  the  facts  and  noting  the  authority 
for  every  statement.  The  one  was  strong  in  its  generalization 
and  its  interpretation,  the  other  in  its  investigation  and  complete- 
ness of  detail.  It  is  not  intended  to  discredit  the  accuracv  of  the 
one  nor  the  understanding  of  the  other,  but  to  note  the  existence 
of  the  two,  and  to  show  the  trend  and  emphasis  of  each.  Among 
the  leaders  of  the  new  school  are  Stephen  B.  Weeks,  Charles  Lee 
Smith,  J.  S.  P>assctt,  E.  W.  Sikes,  C.  L.  Raper,  W.  E.  Dodd  and 
M.  De  L.   Haywood. 

Stephen  Beauregard  Weeks  is  second  of  these  in  point  of  time 


STEPHEN    BEAUREGARD   WEEKS  435 

and  6rst  in  ihe  extent  of  his  writing.  He  was  bom  in  lower 
Pasquotank  County,  Noith  Carolina,  February  2,  1865,  of  English 
and  Huguenot  ancestry. 

The  Weeks  family  was  of  Devonshire,  England,  extraction,  and 
appeared  in  North  Carolina  as  early  as  1727,  when  Thomas 
Weekes  settled  in  Perquimans  County,  where  he  died  in  1762, 
leaving  five  sons  and  a  daughter.  He  was  a  large  landowner, 
and  is  mentioned  in  the  old  records  as  "gentleman"  and  "school- 
teacher." He  appears  to  have  possessed  considerable  education 
and  to  have  occupied  a  position  of  influence  and  leadership.  He 
was  sheriflF  of  the  county,  representative  in  the  Assembly  and 
for  many  years  one  of  the  justices  of  the  county.  In  the  fourth 
generation  from  Thomas  Weekes,  James  Elliott  Weeks,  father 
of  the  subject  of  our  sketch,  was  born.  The  same  sturdy  {jualities 
that  marked  the  career  of  his  earliest  known  ancestor  characterized 
his  life.  He  was  without  political  ambition,  and  his  only  office  was 
in  the  militia.  He  was  a  Methodist,  with  Ihe  industrious  habits 
of  those  excellent  people,  and  was  looked  up  to  as  a  leader.  He 
died  when  Stephen  was  eighteen  months  old,  leaving  him  a  fair 
estate  for  the  times. 

DfMrtor  W'ceks's  mother  was  Mary  Louisa  Mullen  (formerly 
Moullin).  and  his  earliest  known  maternal  ancestor  in  this  country 
was  Abraham  Moullin,  of  Huguenot  family,  who  came  from  Vir- 
ginia and  settled  in  Perquimans  County  prior  to  March,  1732. 
Through  his  mother's  mother,  who  was  a  McDonald,  he  claims 
descent  from  I'rvan  McDonald,  who  was  slain  at  Glencoe. 

Upon  his  mother's  death,  when  he  was  three  years  old,  he  was 
cared  for  by  an  annt.  Mrs.  Robertson  Jackson,  of  Pasquotank 
County,  who  with  her  husband  reared  him  as  their  own  child.  He 
was  recpiired  to  work  on  the  farm,  and  was  well  grounded  in 
habits  of  industry,  economy  and  sobriety.  He  pays  this  high 
tribute  to  the  faithfulness  and  affection  of  these  foster  parents: 
"I  knew  no  other  home.  ...  I  became  to  them  as  a  son.  They 
were  most  surely  all  that  parents  could  have  been.  ,  .  .  God 
never  made  a  nobler  man  than  Robertson  Jackson,  quiet,  peace- 
able, unambitious,  unassuming,  uneducated,  but  withal  one  of 


436  NORTH  CAROLLN'A 

nature's  noblemen,  to  whom  all  his  neighbors  looked  up  for  com- 
fort, advice  and  help  of  any  sort  that  was  needed — one  of  the 
gentlest  of  men." 

Young  Weeks  attended  the  rather  poor  country  schools  of  his 
neighborhood  until  he  reached  the  age  of  fifteen  years,  when  he 
left  the  farm  and  entered  the  school  of  T.  J.  and  W.  D.  Horner, 
at  Henderson,  North  Carolina,  where  he  was  prepared  for  en- 
trance to  the  State  University,  at  Chapel  Hill.  This  schcK)l  justly 
ranked  as  one  of  the  best  preparatory  schools  of  the  State,  and 
was  noted  for  the  thoroughness  of  its  work.  Both  principals 
were  men  of  fine  scholarship  and  studious  habits,  and  the  younger 
was  a  graduate  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina.  The  senior. 
Reverend  T.  J.  Horner,  was  a  Baptist  preacher,  who  ministered 
principally  to  churches  in  Granville  County.  He  was  a  younger 
brother  of  the  late  James  H.  Horner,  of  Oxford,  with  whom  he 
was  associated  in  teaching  for  many  years.  He  was  distinguished 
for  his  .scholarship  and  fine  teaching  ability,  and  was  very  highly 
esteemed  in  his  community.  His  age  and  failing  health  and  the 
bad  health  of  his  son  and  associate,  Mr.  W.  D.  Horner,  led  to  a 
suspension  of  the  school  about  the  year  1886.  He  has  been  dead 
several  years.  The  son  yet  lives  in  Henderson,  highly  esteemed 
by  his  neighbors.  Doctor  Weeks  writes  of  the  father:  **His  influ- 
ence was  elevating  and  ennobling,  and  inspired  and  encouraged 
me,  as  did  that  of  Herbert  B.  Adams,  of  the  Johns  Hopkins." 
This  association  of  these  two  names  is  a  high  but  just  tribute  to 
Mr.  Horner,  who  gave  to  Doctor  Weeks  his  first  real  intellectual 
impulse. 

Vrnm  Henderson  young  W^eeks  went  to  the  University  of  North 
Carolina,  where  he  took  the  degree  of  A.B.  in  1886.  During 
two  }cars  of  post-graduate  work  there  in  English  language  and 
literature,  German  and  Latin,  he  took  A.M.  in  1887  ^"d  Ph.D.  in 
1S88.  lie  says:  "These  two  years  were  among  the  most  valuable 
of  my  life  in  giving  me  ideals  and  ability  to  write,  and  acquaintance 
with  the  masters."  The  three  following  years,  1888-91,  were 
spent  as  honorary  Hopkins  scholar  at  Johns  Hopkins  University 
in  the  study  of  history,  English  language,  political  science  and 


STEl'HEX    BEAUREGARD   WEEKS  437 

political  economy.  These  latter  studies  were  more  emphasized  at 
first;  later,  by  force  of  what  he  calls  "invincible  attraction,"  he 
turned  to  history,  and  made  that  his  life  work.  From  this  Uni- 
versity he  received  the  Ph.D.  degree  in  1891. 

At  tlie  close  of  his  student  work  at  the  University  of  North 
Carolina,  he  was  on  June  12,  1888,  united  in  marriage  with 
Miss  Mary  Lee  Martin,  daughter  of  Reverend  Joseph  Bonaparte 
Martin  of  the  North  Carolina  Conference,  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  from  1844  until  his  death  in  1897.  Mr.  Martin 
was  a  grandson  of  General  Joseph  Martin,  pioneer.  Indian  fighter, 
Indian  agent,  early  settler  of  Tennessee  and  legislator  in  Virginia 
and  North  Carolina;  he  was  a  man  of  marvelous  devotion  to  his 
work,  and  more  pleased  wilh  its  fruitage  than  concerned  for  its 
emoluments.  Mrs.  Weeks  died  May  19.  1891 ;  two  children  were 
bom  of  this  marriage,  and  one,  Robertson  Jackson  Weeks,  a  youth 
of  seventeen  years,  sllr^'ives  his  mother. 

His  second  marriage  was  with  Miss  Sallie  Mangum  Leach,  at 
Trinity  College,  North  Carolina,  June  28.  189.1.  She  is  the 
daughter  of  Colonel  Martin  W.  Leach  of  Randolph  County,  North 
Carolina,  and  niece  of  General  J.  Madison  Leach,  member  of 
Congress,  who  i=.  yet  remembered  as  one  of  ihe  most  remarkable 
and  versatile  i)olitical  campaigners  in  the  State.  She  is  grand- 
daughter of  Honorable  Willie  P.  Mangum,  representative  and 
senator  from  North  Carolina  in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States, 
and  president  of  the  United  States  Senate,  1842-45,  whose  career 
was  highly  distinguished  and  altogether  honorable  to  the  State. 
She  is  also  a  descendant  of  the  Cain  and  Alston  families.  There 
have  been  four  children  of  this  marriage,  of  whom  two  are  now 
living. 

The  active  career  of  Doctor  Weeks  began  with  his  entrance  upon 
the  professorship  of  history  and  political  science  at  Trinity  Col- 
lege (old  Trinity,  Randolph  County),  in  September,  1891.  He 
continued  wilh  the  college  during  the  first  year  after  its  removal 
to  Durham,  and  successfully  organized  its  Department  of 
History,  established  the  Trinity  College  Historical  Society, 
created  an  interest  among  the  students  in  historical  work,  and  or- 


438  NORTH  CAROLINA 

ganized  the  college  library,  which  has  since  grown  into  such 
splendid  proportions  under  intelligent  administration  and  the  lib- 
eral gifts  of  the  Messrs.  Duke.  He  resigned  in  June,  1893,  owing 
to  differences  between  President  Crowell  and  members  of  the 
faculty  and  spent  the  Summer  lecturing  in  Philadelphia,  and  in 
historical  investigations  in  Wisconsin.  In  the  Fall  he  returned 
to  Baltimore  and  spent  the  following  year  as  a  fellow  by  courtesy 
in  Johns  Hopkins  University,  giving  a  portion  of  his  time  to  the 
study  of  Roman  law  and  comparative  jurisprudence,  and  the  re- 
mainder to  original  investigations  along  historical  lines. 

Even  before  this  time  Doctor  Weeks  had  become  interested  in 
North  Carolina  history,  and  a  collector  of  the  historical  materials 
of  the  State.  His  first  impulse  in  that  direction  came  from  his 
appointment,  1884-87,  by  the  Philanthropic  Society  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  North  Carolina,  to  edit  its  register  of  members.  He 
writes :  ''By  my  study  of  the  old  register  I  became  acquainted 
with  the  great  men  of  the  University ;  they  became  my  familiar 
friends,  and  I  knew  them  as  perhaps  no  one  else  has  known  them ; 
from  these,  through  Wheeler's  Reminiscences,  I  branched  out  into 
the  general  history  and  biography  of  the  State  and  the  work  was 
done."  He  became  an  untiring  collector  of  everything  pertaining 
to  North  Carolina.  It  has  been  a  hobby  in  which  he  has  surpassed 
all  others.  He  now  has  more  than  3300  books,  pamphlets  and 
magazines  dealing  in  whole  or  in  part  with  that  State.  It  is  prob- 
ably the  most  complete  collection  of  books  on  North  Carolina; 
certainly^  outside  of  newspapers  and  State  publications,  it  is  better 
than  any  owned  by  the  State.  To  a  collector  a  most  interesting 
feature  of  this  collection  is  one  in  which  Doctor  Weeks  himself 
takes  great  pride  and  for  which  he  makes  this  claim : 

"I  have  beyond  question  one  of  the  finest  collections  of  North  Caro- 
lina autographs  in  existence,  inchiding  the  greater  part  of  the  corre- 
spondence of  Calvin  H.  Wiley,  that  of  Daniel  R.  Goodloe,  the  extensive 
and  varied  correspondence  of  Willie  P.  Mangum  and  a  part  of  that  of 
Willie  P.  Mangum.  Jr.  Speaking  roughly,  I  have  perhaps  3000  letters  and 
autographs  from  men  who  have  been  prominent  in  North  Carolina  from 
the  Lords  Proprietors    to  the  present  day." 


STEPHEN'  BEAUREGARD  WEEKS  439 

During  liis  educational  period  of  which  we  have  spoken, 
Doctor  Weeks  had  already  given  to  the  pubHc  the  first  fruits  of 
his  studies  in  tlie  following  monographs:  "History  of  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  Movement  in  North  Carolina. 
1857-88"  (Raleigh,  1888)  ;  "The  Tress  of  North  Carolina  in  the 
Eighteenth  Century"  (Brooklyn,  1891 ) ;  "The  Lost  Colony  of 
Roanoke;  its  Fate  and  Survival"  (New  York,  1891);  "The  Re- 
ligious Development  in  the  F'roviiice  of  North  Carolina"  { Balti- 
more, 1892) ;  "Church  and  State  in  North  Carolina"  (Baltimore, 
1893) ;  "The  Historj-  of  Negro  Suffrage  in  the  South"  (Boston, 
1894) ;  "General  Joseph  Martin  and  the  War  of  the  Revolution 
in  the  West"  (Washington,  1894). 

Of  the.iie,  the  two  dealing  with  religious  conditions  in  North 
Carolina  touched  upon  controverted  questions,  and  from  the  fact 
that  they  did  not  give  entire  satisfaction  to  any  of  the  parties  to 
giich  controversies  it  may  be  fairly  inferred  that  he  acteil  with 
independence  in  his  study.  At  any  rate,  a  student  must  accept 
these  books  as  able,  thoughtful  and  painstaking  contributions  to 
the  subjects  with  which  they  deal,  and  as  a  distinct  advance  ujKjn 
any  previous  work  of  like  character. 

In  July,  1894,  Doctor  Weeks  accepted  a  p'lsilioti  with  the  I'nilcd 
States  Bureau  of  Education,  nominally  as  confidential  clerk  of 
the  commissioner.  In  reality  he  became  associate  editor  of  the 
commissioner's  reports,  passing  upon  everything  that  went  into 
them  and  making  such  editorial  changes  and  emendations  as 
seemed  well.  He  was  also  a  contributor  of  monographs  to  these 
reports  from  year  to  year  until  1899.  It  was  a  position  that  gave 
him  opportunitv  for  indulging  his  taste  for  historical  investiga- 
tion. Indeed,  much  of  his  official  employment  was  along  that  line, 
and  he  issued  ibe  following  additional  contributions: 

■■.-\  I'.ibliography  of  the  Historical  Literature  of  North  Carolina" 
(Cambridge.  Massachusetts.  1895')  :  "Libraries  and  Literature  in 
North  Can.lina  in  the  Eighteenth  Century"  (Washington,  1896)  ; 
"Address  on  the  I'niversity  of  North  Carolina  in  the  Civil  War" 
(Richmond,  1896"!  :  "Soiuhern  Quakers  and  Slavery"  (Balti- 
more, 1896) ;  "Prclinnnary  List  of  American  Learned  and  Edu- 


440  NORTH  CAROLINA 

cational  Societies"  (Washington,  1896)  ;  *'On  the  Promotion  of 
Historical  Studies  in  the  South'*  (Washington,  1897)  ;  ** Anti- 
Slavery  Sentiment  in  the  South"  (Washington,  1898)  ;  ** Begin- 
nings of  the  Common  School  System  in  the  South;  or,  Calvin 
Henderson  Wiley  and  the  Organization  of  Common  Schools  in 
North  Carolina"  (Washington,  1898). 

This  last  of  his  publications  in  book  form  is  probably  the  most 
complete  and  exhaustive  work  yet  undertaken  by  any  one  upon  any 
phase  of  North  Carolina  history.  Indeed  one  will  hardly  read 
any  of  his  monographs  without  an  impression  of  his  wonderful 
diligence  and  capacity  in  gathering  and  using  materials. 

In  April,  1896,  during  his  connection  with  the  Bureau  of  Edu- 
cation, he  assisted  in  the  organization  of  the  Southern  Histor\' 
Association,  in  co-oi)eration  with  Doctor  Colyer  Meriwether,  of 
South  Carolina ;  Doctor  Thomas  M.  Owen,  of  Alabama ;  Doctor 
K.  P.  Battle,  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina ;  Doctor  J.  L.  M. 
Curry,  General  M.  C.  Butler,  Thomas  Nelson  Page  and  a  number 
of  other  distinguished  Southerners.  He  has  been  since  its  or- 
ganization a  member  of  its  Administrative  Council  and  of  its  Pub- 
lication Committee.  The  Publications  of  the  association,  of  which 
some  ten  volumes  have  been  issued,  are  of  high  historical  value 
and  importance.  Doctor  Weeks  has  been  a  frequent  contributor 
to  these  papers,  and  has  also  written  for  the  Magazine  of  American 
History,  the  Yale  Rez'icic.  the  *' Papers  and  Reports  of  the  Ameri- 
can Historical  Association,"  the  "Studies  in  Historical  and  Politi- 
cal Science  of  the  Johns  Hopkins  University,"  the  American  His- 
torical  Rcvic7i\  the  ''Bibliographical  Contributions  of  Harvard 
University,"  and  the  "Papers  of  the  Southern  Historical  Society." 
He  is  an  active  member  of  the  American  Historical  Association. 
honorar\-  life  member  of  the  Southern  History  Association,  cor- 
responding member  of  the  Wisconsin  Historical  Society  and  the 
Maryland  Historical  Societv.  . 

The  l^ill  of  i8()9  witnessed  another  turn  in  the  tide  of 
Doctor  Weeks's  affairs.  His  health  became  so  seriously  affected 
that  he  was  compelled  to  change  his  residence  and  employment. 
He  obtained  a  transfer  to  the  Indian  service  of  the  National  Gov- 


STEPHEN   BEAUREGARD  WEEKS  441 

eminent  and  was  stationed  at  Santa  Fe,  New  Mexico,  as  principal 
teacher  in  an  Indian  school.  He  was  made  assistant  superintend- 
ent of  the  school  in  July,  1903,  and  the  same  month  was  transferred 
to  Arizona,  as  superintendent  of  the  San  Carlos  Agency  School 
on  the  San  Carlos  Apache  reservation,  where  he  is  surrounded  by 
the  Apaches,  who  a  few  years  ago  were  going  on  the  warpath  and 
killing  every  man  in  reach.  At  Santa  Fe  he  was  brought  in  daily 
contact  with  Pueblos,  Navajoes,  West  Shoshones,  Utes,  Pimas» 
Papagos,  Uklahs,  Puyallups,  Wascos,  Osages  and  other  Indians 
of  the  Southwest.  He  finds  great  interest  in  observing  the  work 
of  civilization  among  them,  and  speaks  hopefully  of  their  progress. 
This  enforced  severance  from  his  chosen  work  and  from  asso- 
ciation with  scholars  of  like  tastes  and  interests  has  been  extremely 
trying  to  Doctor  Weeks.  But  it  has  meant  life  to  him.  His  health 
has  been  restored.  Friends  continue  to  remember  him  in  his  far- 
away home  and  demand  the  services  of  his  pen.  Wake  Forest  Col- 
lege recognized  his  services  by  conferring  upon  him  the  degree 
of  LL.D.  in  1902,  and  he  still  has  his  books  and  his  work.  He 
yet  follows  the  ruling  passion  and  is  engaged  in  the  preparation  of 
an  Index  to  the  North  Carolina  Census  Records  for  1790,  an  In- 
dex to  the  State  and  Colonial  Records  of  North  Carolina,  a  Bib- 
lioirra|)liy  of  North  Carolina,  a  History  of  Education  in  the  South- 
ern States  diirinp:  the  Civil  War,  and  a  Life  of  Willie  P.  Mangum. 
These  would  he  a  fair  life's  work  for  manv  men,  but  no  one  can 
ff>resee  what  the  active  mind,  the  persistent  curiosity  and  the  rest- 
less energy  of  this  frail  student  of  our  history  may  yet  search  out 
and  spread  befc^re  his  fellows.  He  offers  only  one  word  to 
searchers  after  success,  "work." 

Thonxas  Af.  Pitttnan, 


I 


1  » 


MARCELLUS  WHITEHEAD  443    , 

tinciicii  in  many  walks  of  life.  One  of  thein,  Thomas  Whllehead, 
was  honored  by  his  constituents  willi  a  seat  in  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives, in  the  43d  Congress  of  the  United  States,  and  was 
afterward  commissioner  of  agricultitre  of  the  Statt  of  Virginia; 
another,  Edgar  Whitehead,  was  a  leading  man  of  afifairs,  and, 
like  Thomas,  was  a  captain  in  the  Confederate  army;  another, 
Robert,  was  one  of  the  leading  lawyers  of  Nelson  County,  while 
still  another.  Reverend  Paul  Whitehead,  D.D.,  has  achieved  em- 
inence in  the  ministry  and  councils  of  the  Methodist  Church,  and 
at  this  writing  is  presiding  elder  of  the  Norfolk  (Virginia)  dis- 
trict. Marcellus,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  another  son,  achieved 
eminence  in  his  chosen  profession  of  medicine.  This  is  truly  a 
remarkable  family,  and  in  patriotic  service,  in  statesmanship,  in 
law.  in  divinity,  and  in  medicine,  its  sons  have  done  honor  to  their 
Christian  rearing.  Marcellus  Whitehead  received  his  academic 
training  in  the  excellent  academies  and  high  schools  of  his  native 
section,  and  after  being  graduated  with  honor,  from  the  Rich- 
mond Medical  College  of  Richmond,  Virginia,  came  lo  Salisbury 
in  1845,  and  among  strangers,  began  the  practice  of  medicine. 
Young,  handsome,  neat  and  faultless  in  dress,  and  of  engaging 
manners,  he  quickly  made  friends  and  acqriired  a  practice,  which 
determined  his  location  for  life.  Having  firmly  established  him- 
self, he  returned  to  \'irginia  for  the  bride  of  his  choice,  and  was 
married  February.  1846.  in  Caroline  County,  Virginia,  to 
Mi*:s  \'irginia  G.  Coleman,  daughter  of  Thomas  Burdage  Cole- 
man, a  wealthy  and  influential  citizen  of  that  county.  Mrs.  White- 
head was  a  woman  of  fine  intelligence,  a  devoted  wife  and  mother, 
and  a  consecrated  member  of  the  Baptist  Church.  She  survived 
her  husband  by  several  years,  and  to  her  memory  a  large  and 
beautiful  stained-glass  window  has  been  dedicated  in  the  hand- 
some new  Baptist  Church  in  Salisbury.  To  this  union  were  bom 
a  number  of  children,  of  whom  only  Doctor  John  Whitehead  of 
Salisbury.  North  Carolina,  and  Doctor  Richard  H.  Whitehead  of 
the  University  of  \'irginia  survive. 

Doctor  Marcellus  Whitehead  would  have  worthily  adorned  any 
profession  which  he  might  have  chosen,  and  in  his  chosen  pro 


444  NORTH  CAROLINA 

fession  of  medicine  he  was  facile  princeps.  Of  splendid  physique, 
of  magnetic  presence,  with  features  cast  in  a  noble  mold,  and  with 
an  irresistible  charm  of  manner,  he  was  the  very  spirit  of  light  and 
comfort  and  hope,  in  sick  room  and  hospital  ward.  His  almost  in- 
tuitive quickness  of  perception  made  him  a  very  master  of  diag- 
nosis and  prognosis.  During  the  greater  part  of  his  iorty  years 
of  professional  life,  there  was  little  of  the  present  specialization 
in  the  profession,  and  it  was  his  lot,  in  a  large  practice,  to  be  at 
once  physician,  surgeon,  obstetrician,  gynaecologist,  aurist  and 
oculist. 

So  proficient  was  he  in  every  branch  of  his  profession  that  his 
patients  came  from  many  surrounding  towns,  and  he  was  sought 
in  consultation  by  his  professional  brothers  of  a  wide  territory. 
During  the  Civil  War  he  was  chief  surgeon  of  the  large  and  im- 
portant Wayside  Hospital  at  Salisbury,  to  which  he  not  only  gave 
his  best  work,  but  his  entire  salary,  and  most  of  his  income  besides. 

In  1872  Doctor  Whitehead  was  elected  President  of  the  State 
Medical  Society  of  North  Carolina,  of  which  he  had  long  been  a 
prominent  member,  and  at  the  next  meeting  at  Statesville,  North 
Carolina,  in  1873,  delivered  a  notable  and  eloquent  address,  of 
which  the  report  in  the  Statesville  American  of  that  day  says: 

"Doctor  Whitehead,  on  retiring  from  the  chair,  delivered  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  addresses,  not  only  of  the  session,  but  that  we  ever  listened 
to.  The  subject  was  the  Advancement  of  Medical  Societies,  and  the  duty 
of  the  Profession  Therein.  He  deprecated  the  idea  of  members  of  the 
profession  dabbling  in  politics,  as  it  lowered  the  standard  of  the  pro- 
fession." 

On  March  20,  1875,  the  General  Assembly  of  North  Carolina 
passed  an  act  to  establish  the  State  Hospital  for  the  Insane  of 
Western  North  Carolina,  and  on  April  20th  of  that  same  year 
Doctor  Whitehead  was  elected  a  member  of  the  commission  to 
select  sites  and  to  do  whatever  was  necessarv  to  build  the  institu- 
tion.  He  was  instrumental  in  selecting  the  beautiful  site  at  Mor- 
ganton,  and  in  planning  for  the  building  and  government  of  such 
an  institution  as  meant  a  breaking  away  from  the  old  North  Caro- 
lina ways  of  indifference  to  public  buildings,  w-hich  has  not  only 


MARCELLUS  WHITEHEAD  445 

proved  a  boon  to  tlic  unfortunate  and  a  credit  to  the  State,  but 
has  been  largely  followed  as  a  model  by  other  States  since  that 
time.  Doctor  P.  L,  Murphy,  the  acconiiilished  and  successful 
siiperinlendent,  in  a  letter  to  the  writer  says: 

■■personally.  I  am  very  graleful  to  Doctor  VVhiteliead  for  ilie  interest 
he  look  in  me.  and  indeed  it  was  by  his  influence  that  I  was  elected 
superintendent,  I  haie  always  felt  very  grateful  to  him  for  his  extreme 
kindness  aitd  courtesy  to  me  when  I  came  here,  an  untried  man.  I  re- 
member how  much  I  was  cheered  by  him  in  my  ardtious  undertaking.  He 
took  n  prominent  part  in  the  organization  of  the  institution,  and  was  of 
great  service  to  the  local  oflficerE  by  his  advice.  By  reason  of  failing 
health  he  resigned   in   18S3." 

Doctor  Wliilehead  was  a  public- spirt  ted  citiEcn.  and  interested 
himself  in  everything  that  made  for  the  good  of  his  fellow-men. 
While  never  connecting  himself  with  any  church,  he  was  a  de- 
vout believer  in  the  great  verities  of  religion,  and  the  Baptist 
preachers  who,  in  passing,  made  his  liouse  their  home  were  al- 
ways hospitably  and  reverently  entertained.  Eschewing  active 
participation  in  politics,  he  was  yet  an  unswerving  Democrat  after 
the  war,  as  he  had  been  a  Whig  in  antebellum  times. 

By  failing  health,  he  was  gradually  withdrawn  from  active  work 
after  t88_^.  Stricken  wilh  that  fatal  malady,  Bright's  disease, 
whose  inevilahlc  end  lie  knew  only  too  well,  he  never  murmured 
nor  rc'jjincd.  but  with  unbroken  spirit  and  much  of  his  old-time 
chei'rfiilness  calmly  awaited  the  coming  of  the  Destroyer.  Sur- 
rounded by  bis  loving  family,  he  calmly  '■fell  on  sleep"  on  the 
second  day  of  January,  1885,  in  the  sixty-fourth  year  of  his  age, 
lamented  by  every  citizen  of  Salisbury.  Every  business  house  in 
the  place  was  closed  during  the  hours  of  the  funeral,  and  an  im- 
nietisc  CDiicDursc  attended  as  he  was  laid  away  under  the  Winter's 
snows. 

"The  earth  which  hnlds  him  dead. 
Hears   not   alive  a   knightlier   gentleman."' 

Theo.  F.  Klults. 


/. 


JOHN'  WHITEHEAD 


sion.  when  he  returned  to  Salisbury  in  1880;  and,  entering  into 
partnership  with  his  distinguished  father,  began  a  practice  which 
was  at  once  successful  and  remunerative,  and  which  has  so  con- 
tinued to  this  day.  Always  a  student,  fond  of  original  investiga- 
tion, keeping  well  abreast  of  the  literature  of  his  profession,  and 
of  all  the  advancements  therein,  Doctor  Whitehead  has  achieved 
a  deserved  success  as  a  practitioner,  such  as  is  vouchsafed  to  few. 
His  practice  is  limited  only  by  his  physical  ability  to  answer  the 
incessant  and  widespread  calls  which  are  made  for  his  services, 
and,  unlike  too  many  of  his  professional  brethren,  it  has  been 
remunerative  and  profitable  as  well. 

Absolutely  correct  in  his  habits,  neat  in  his  dress,  courteous  and 
gentle  in  his  ministrations  in  sick-room  and  hospital,  as  well  as 
in  his  intercourse  with  his  fellows,  it  is  no  wonder  that  he  is  loved 
and  honored  as  few  men  have  been, 

A  surgeon  of  rare  skill  himself,  he  early  appreciated  the  crving 
need  of  his  community  for  a  hospital,  and  after  unsuccessfully 
trying  the  experiment  of  a  charity  hospital,  he  founded  what  is  now 
the  Whitehead-Stokes  Sanitarium,  whose  capacity  is  constantly 
taxed  by  patients  from  many  surroimdiwg  communities,  who  come 
to  receive  surgical  relief  at  the  hands  of  Doctor  Whitehead  and  his 
accomplished  associate.  Doctor  J.  Ernest  Stokes.  This  institu- 
tion has  ])roven  what  Doctor  W'hilehead  designed  it  should  be,  a 
blessing  to  suffering  hiimanitv. 

Following  in  the  footsteps  of  his  sainted  mother.  Doctor  White- 
head is  a  devoted  ami  consistent  member  of  ihe  Baptist  Church, 
and  is  rarely  absent  frnni  its  services  or  its  communion.  He  was 
largely  insirnmental  by  personal  effort  and  financial  contribution 
in  the  ercctiim  and  the  furnishing  of  the  present  modem  and 
handsnmc  new  church  edifice  of  that  denomination  which  was 
recently  dedicated  in  Salisbury, 

Doctor  Whitehead  is  a  member  of  the  county  and  Slate  medical 
societies,  and  has  served  his  fellow -citizens  as  city  alderman,  and 
as  a  member  nf  the  water  commis.sion,  in  which  position  he  has 
been  largely  instrumental  in  securing  and  maintaining  pure  water 
and  efficient  sewerage  for  the  city.     His  abihty  as  a  surgeon  has 


44«  NORTH  CAROLINA 

been  recognized  by  his  appointment  as  local  surgeon  for  the 
Southern  Railway  Company  at  Salisbury,  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant i)oints  in  the  State,  which  position  he  has  acceptably  filled 
for  twenty  vears. 

Of  rare  business  sagacity,  Doctor  Whitehead  was  among  the 
first  to  appreciate  the  possibilities  of  the  new  railroad  town  of 
Spencer,  which  lies  just  out  of  Salisbury,  and  while  the  engineers 
were  staking  it  off,  he  purchased  adjoining  property,  which  he  im- 
proved, and  which  as  the  town  grew  apace,  netted  him  handsome 
returns.  In  commemoration  of  this,  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
parts  of  the  now  thriving  little  city  is  called  Whitehead  town. 

In  every  movement  for  the  moral  and  material  improvement  of 
his  ccMiimunity,  Doctor  Whitehead  has  always  been  among  the 
foremost,  and  his  charities  have  been  liberal  and  unostentatious. 
Never  actively  engaging  in  politics,  he  has  yet  always  taken  an 
intelligent  interest  in  public  affairs,  and  has  always  supported  the 
Democratic  Party. 

On  October  24,  1889,  Doctor  Whitehead  was  happily  married 
to  his  cousin,  IMiss  Rose  Irwin  Morris,  of  Fairfax  C.  H.,  Vir- 
ginia, who  was  a  daughter  of  Edward  Morris,  a  son  of 
Kichard  Morris,  who  was  known  as  the  silver-tongued  orator  of 
\'irginia  in  the  days  long  gone.  Mrs.  Whitehead  is  connected 
with  many  of  the  best  and  oldest  families  of  Virginia.  To  this 
union  three  children  have  been  born,  two  of  whom,  Edward  Morris 
antl  Susie  Morris,  survive,  little  Marcellus  having  died  at  an  early 
age.  In  his  hospitable  and  beautiful  home,  surrounded  by  his 
happy  family,  secure  in  the  love  and  confidence  of  his  people. 
Doctor  Whitehead  is  the  model  physician  and  gentleman. 

Theodore  F.  Kluttz. 


J 


450  NORTH  CAROLINA 

He  took  post-graduate  courses  in  the  University  of  Pennsylvania 
and  in  the  New  York  Post  Graduate  School. 

When,  in  1890,  the  University  of  North  Carolina  was  looking 
over  the  field  to  secure  a  professor  of  anatomy  and  dean  for  its 
newly  established  medical  department,  Doctor  Richard  H.  White- 
head was  strongly  recommended  by  the  faculty  of  the  University 
of  \'irginia.  His  election  was  unanimous,  and  he  entered  upon  his 
duties  in  the  Fall  of  1890.  Doctor  Whitehead  began  with  energy 
the  building  up  of  the  new  department.  He  showed  the  qualities 
of  the  born  teacher,  and  by  his  forceful  presentation  of  his  sub- 
ject, lucid  exi)lanation  of  difficulties  and  careful  individual  work 
with  his  students,  he  sent  them  out  so  thoroughly  prepared  that 
the  reputation  of  the  department  was  established  on  a  high  plane 
and  it  has  been  maintained  ever  since. 

His  style  of  lecturing  is  clear,  simple,  with  a  convincing,  logi- 
cal sequence  and  a  contagious  enthusiasm.  Beginning  with  about 
half  a  dozen  in  the  first  year,  he  has  built  the  department  up  until 
it  numbers  a  hundred  students. 

Wtv  justly  Doctor  Whitehead  attributes  his  success  in  part  to 
his  private  study.  This  he  has  kept  up  with  his  accustomed  energy 
and  consistency.  Perfecting  himself  in  one  modern  language  after 
another,  he  has  oi)ene(l  for  himself  all  of  the  important  literatures 
of  the  scientific  world.  Each  year  a  part  of  his  vacation  has  been 
sj^ent  in  working  in  some  well-equipped  Northern  laboratory,  pur- 
suing some  favorite  investigation  or  perfecting  his  methods  of 
teaching,  thus  keeping  fully  abreast  of  the  times. 

He  has  contributed  a  number  of  articles  to  various  medical  jour- 
nals and  has  written  a  book  on  the  **Anatomv  of  the  Brain,"  which 
has  been  highly  commended  and  is  used  as  a  text-book.  He  has 
also  taken  an  active  part  as  a  member  of  the  North  Carolina  Medi- 
cal Society,  the  American  Medical  Association  and  the  Association 
of  American  Anatomists. 

His  (levf^tion  to  his  work  as  a  teacher  has  led  him  to  withdraw 
gradually  from  active  practice  as  a  physician,  eventually  restrict- 
ing himself  to  practice  among  the  students  of  the  University  and 
the  families  of  a  few  friends. 


RICHARD  HENRY  WHITEHEAD  451 

Doctor  Wliitehead  was  married  to  his  cousin,  Virgllia  White- 
head, June  4,  1891.    They  have  no  children. 

He  finds  his  chief  recreation  in  hunting  and  fishing  and  has  the 
family  fondness  for  fine  horses.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist 
Church,  and  of  the  Democratic  Party,  and  \vliile  at  college  joined 
the  Kappa  Alpha  Frateniity. 

Doctor  Whitehead  ranks  as  one  of  the  best  teachers  of  anatomy 
in  the  country.  He  has  on  several  occasions  been  approached  with 
tempting  offers  to  go  to  other  educational  institutions.  On  July  21, 
1005,  Doctor  Whitehead  was  elected  Professor  of  .'\natomy  and 
Dean  of  the  Medical  Dqiartment  of  the  University  of  Virginia. 
which  to  the  regret  of  his  North  Carolina  friends  he  accepted. 
In  this  distinguished  position  he  is  more  than  meeting  the  expec- 
tations of  his  friends,  and  adding  to  tlie  luster  of  an  already  bril- 
liant reputation.  Quiet,  modest  and  somewhat  reserved,  yet  with 
a  fund  of  genial  humor  he  has  many  devoted  friends  and  has  won 
the  respect  and  esteem  of  all. 

Frauds  P.  Venahk: 


!l 


1 


t! 


I    < 


I  I 


\ 


Vj  *'    *-  ■ 


1   , 


and  enjoy  it  to  the  utmost  in  all  her  varying  moods  in  the  woods 
and  by  the  gentle  flowing  streams  of  his  Eastern  home.  Like 
many  prosperous  farmers  of  that  period,  Doctor  Whitehead's 
father  bred  and  reared  good  horses.  The  breaking  of  these  fur- 
nished an  outlet  for  some  of  the  boy's  pent-up  energy,  and  culti- 
vated a  love  for  the  race  horse,  that  noble  animal  illustrating  to  his 
mind  more  fully  than  anything  else  his  own  conception  of  intense 
energy  in  action.  During  his  vacations  from  the  neighborhood 
country  schools,  he  helped  at  times  actively  in  the  cullivation  of  his 
father's  farm,  gaining  thereby  a  knowledge  and  experience  in  agri- 
cultural interests  that  have  served  him  many  useful  purposes,  It 
not  only  strengthened  his  muscles  and  expanded  his  youthful  mind, 
but  taught  him  the  nobility  and  dignity  of  human  labor.  To  this  be 
added  the  proud  satisfaction  of  having  been  of  material  help  to 
his  father  and  mother,  lifting,  although  a  mere  boy.  many  burdens 
and  cares  from  their  minds.  The  work  on  the  farm  early  demon- 
strated to  his  mind  the  necessity  and  begot  the  habit  of  exercising 
judicious  economy.  He  was  taught  to  recognize  that  the  profits 
on  farm  products  were  generally  small  even  under  the  best  condi- 
tions. He  was  also  taught  the  proper  respect  and  sympatliy  for  the 
laboring  man.  The  care  of  animals  intensified  the  spirit  of  innate 
kindHncss  and  pity  not  only  for  the  helpless  dumb  beast,  but  in 
after  years  for  his  fellow-niorlals.  Very  much  of  his  success  in 
after  life  can  well  be  attributed  to  the  lessons  in  economy  and  in- 
dustry learned  during  his  early  days  spent  on  the  farm.  But  a  small 
boy  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  he  attended  the  country  schools  dur- 
ing that  period,  and  at  its  finish  one  year  at  Graves  and  one  year  at 
Horner's  School,  Oxford,  where  he  studied  the  full  course,  in- 
cluding the  classics,  taught  at  that  institution.  He  was  obhged  to 
leave  school  to  work  for  two  years  at  the  time  he  began  to  feel  the 
greatest  need  for  an  education,  and  after  working  for  this  period, 
at  the  immature  age  of  nineteen,  when  his  father's  property  had 
been  swept  away  by  Ihe  fortunes  of  war,  moved  by  the  strong  and 
generous  impulse  to  provide  comforts  for  his  mother,  all  conscious 
of  its  grave  responsibilities  and  heavy  cares,  he  took  up  his  life's 
work — the  study  of  medicine.    This  he  diligently  pursued  for  two 


454  NORTH  CAROLINA 

years  at  the  medical  department  of  the  University  of  Maryland. 
Graduating  from  tliat  college  in  the  class  of  1870,  he  located  for 
the  practice  of  medicine  at  Battleboro,  a  small  village  on  the  At- 
lantic Coast  Line  Railroad.  The  usual  drawbacks  to  the  young 
physician  attended  him,  but  patience,  industry,  prudence  and  ever- 
increasing  knowledge  of  his  art  gradually  overcame  these  in  a 
few  years  and  brought  to  him  a  large  country  practice  among  the 
best  people  of  tliat  intelligent  and  thrifty  community.  Confidence 
in  himself  begot  the  confidence  of  his  patients. 

He  has  been  twice  married  and  happily :  first  to  Miss  Bettie  C. 
Powell,  January  16,  1872,  and  second  to  Miss  Bettie  M.  Marriott, 
now  living,  the  daughter  of  Doctor  Robert  Marriott,  a  high-class 
physician  of  the  old  school,  November  29,  1882.  Two  children 
were  born  from  each  marriage :  one,  a  son,  Doctor  Joseph  White- 
head, his  father's  partner,  an  accomplished  and  competent  young 
physician,  and  inheriting  nnich  of  liis  father's  talent  and  profes- 
sional zeal.  I'or  twentv-one  years  at  Battleboro  and  the  countr\' 
surrounding,  Doct(»r  Whitehead  worked  faithfully  and  well,  gain- 
ing an  enviable  reputation  as  a  general  practitioner  and  surgeon, 
performing  many  operations  requiring  great  moral  courage  and 
skill  far  beyond  that  of  the  general  practitioner.  Much  of  his  work 
was  single-handed  and  alone.  In  1873  he  allied  himself  with  the 
State  Medical  Society, at  once  taking  the  most  intense  interest  in  all 
the  work  and  progress  of  that  body.  Attending  regularly  its  yearly 
meetings,  he  was  recognized  by  its  ablest  members  as  well  fitted 
for  any  j)osition  within  its  gift.  He  was  elected  by  one  of  the  most 
flattering  votes  ever  accorded  a  member  of  the  State  Board  of 
Medical  Examiners,  and  by  that  board  unanimously  its  president. 
This  was  the  highest  gift  and  gravest  trust  belonging  to  the  State 
^Fcdical  Society.  His  term  of  office  lasted  from  1890-96.  He  was 
the  examiner  in  surgery.  His  large  experience  had  thoroughly 
fitted  him  for  the  work  in  this  most  important  branch  of  medicine. 
His  examinations  were  recognized  as  of  the  most  practical  kind 
and  characterized  by  a  spirit  of  perfect  fairness  to  the  applicant 
for  license.  The  rejected  candidate  never  complained  at 
Doctor  Whitehead's  decision  as  to  his  unfitness,  and  expressed  his 


WILLIAM  HENRY  WHITEHEAD  455 

belief  of  having  had  even-handed  justice  from  him.  His  fidelity 
to  his  work,  gentle  and  thoughtful  courtesy  to  the  other  members 
of  the  board,  aijd  fairness  to  the  young  applicants  won  for  him 
many  new,  and  served  to  strengtlien  the  ties  of  attachment  of  old 
friends.  Doctor  Whitehead  has  been  urged  many  times  to  accept 
the  presidency  of  the  Stale  Medical  Society,  but  always  firmly 
declined  that  honor,  and  gladly  gave  place  to  one  of  his  many 
friends,  thus  showing  a  rare  degree  of  unselfishness  and  sacrifice 
to  the  interests  of  others. 

Attracted  by  his  reputation  as  a  surgeon,  the  Atlantic  Coast  Line 
Railroad  Company  appointed  him  chief  surgeon  to  its  hospital  at 
Rocky  Mount,  to  which  place  he  moved  and  has  lived  since  1891, 
enjoying  a  large  and  lucrative  practice  in  that  progressive  and 
rapi<lly  growing  town,  and  being  the  chief  consultant  to  the  physi- 
cians of  the  adjacent  towns.  He  is  local  surgeon  to  the  Southern 
Railway,  and  consulting  surgeon  to  tlie  Pittman  Sanitarium  at 
Tarboro,  North  Carolina.  He  is  also  special  surgeon  to  the 
Atlantic  Coast  Line  Railroad  Company.  This  position  was  created 
for  him,  he  being  the  first  lo  occupy  it.  It  is  one  of  high  trust 
and  grave  responsibility,  its  duties  requiring  skill,  knowledge  of 
men,  tact,  and  at  times  delicate  and  intricate  diplomacy.  No  better 
qualified  pliy.Mcian  could  fill  this  office.  The  position  carries  with 
it,  as  it  should,  a  handsome  salary,  and  is  considered  a  life-long 
engagement. 

Doctor  Whitehead  is  a  Mason.  Knight  Templar,  Shriner,  Odd 
Fellow  and  Elk,  and  feels  great  interest  in  each  of  these  orders — 
especially  of  the  high  purposes  of  Masonry. 

His  religious  affiliations  are  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  In  politics  he  has  been  a  life-long  Democrat.  While 
taking  an  active  interest  in  county  and  Slate  politics,  he  has  never 
held  or  wished  to  bold,  a  political  office,  and  has  repeatedly  re- 
fusc<l  all  overtures  in  this  direction. 

He  is  a  member  of  the  State  Board  of  Health,  this  being  a 
branch  of  the  State  Medical  Society.  In  1902  he  was  appointed 
by  Governor  .\ycock  a  <lirector  of  the  State  Hospital  for  the  In- 
sane at  Raleigh. 


456  NORTH  CAROLINA 

To  the  management  of  this  institution  he  has  brought  his  years 
of  accumulated  business  experience.  His  judicious  counsel  is 
sought  and  highly  valued  by  his  fellow  members.  His  sympathies 
for  the  poor  unfortunates  under  his  directorship  are  fully  enlisted, 
and  the  best  effort  of  his  life  is  now  being  exerted  for  the  lighten- 
ing of  their  affliction.  He  was  active  in  securing  the  necessary 
appropriation  for  the  building  of  additional  room  by  which  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  more  female  patients  can  be  admitted. 

In  whatever  cause  his  interest  or  sympathy  is  enlisted,  it  can 
be  safely  said  that  he  is  never  satisfied  or  relaxes  his  vigilance. 
To  his  persistence  in  many  lines  of  effort  is  due  his  marked  suc- 
cess in  all  of  his  life's  undertakings.  In  all  of  the  various  branches 
of  medicine  he  is  widely  and  thoroughly  read,  but  his  love  for 
surgery  has  directed  his  reading  more  fully  in  that  branch.  To 
keep  pace  with  all  of  its  wonderful  and  rapid  advancement  in  late 
years,  he  has  taken  two  post-graduate  courses  in  surgery  at  differ- 
ent periods  at  the  most  modern  and  best  equipped  New  York 
hospitals.  As  an  operative  and  consulting  surgeon,  and  authority 
ui)on  surgical  subjects,  he  has  but  few  equals  and  no  superior  in 
the  State.  His  great  physical  strength,  power  to  resist  fatigue, 
coolness,  self-possession  in  emergencies,  capacity  to  think  clearly 
and  quickly  have  made  him  the  successful  surgeon.  Coupled  with 
these  attributes  of  the  surgeon,  he  has  a  broad  mental  grasp  and 
sound  judgment.  With  no  vagaries,  no  hobbies,  and  a  follower  of 
no  fads,  he  accci)ts  in  science  all  that  has  been  proven. 

Although  a  lover  of  general  literature,  because  of  his  work  but 
little  time  has  been  given  him  to  indulge  in  its  pleasures.  His 
sincerity,  candor  and  cheerful  help  to  his  brother  practitioners 
always  aj^peal  to  their  respect  and  confidence.  His  high  profes- 
sional and  personal  honor,  added  to  his  consideration  for  the  young 
doctors,  has  made  his  help  widely  sought  for  by  that  class. 
Doctor  Whitehead  is  methodical  and  svstematic  in  matters  of  busi- 
ness.  and  by  industry,  economy  and  judicious  investments  has 
laid  by  a  c()mj)etence  for  his  advancing  years. 

lie  has  always  been  held  in  high  esteem  for  his  executive  ca- 
pacity, and  his  advice  has  been  sought  by  his  friends  in  matters 


WILLIAM   HENRY   WHITEHEAD  457 

of  business.    He  is  public- spirited  and  eager  for  the  advancement 
of  the  interests  of  his  community. 

He  is  genial  and  social  in  his  nature,  companionable,  a  warm 
and  sincere  friend.  Courageous,  physically  and  morally,  inde- 
pendent in  spirit  and  action,  with  well  pronounced  opinions  as  to 
men  and  measures,  he  has  never  "bent  the  pregnant  hinges  of  his 
knee  where  thrift  might  follow  fawning."  But  he  is  tolerant  of 
the  opinions  of  others.  Of  striking  personal  appearance,  he  is 
courtly  and  dignified  in  manner  without  any  show  of  pomposity. 
He  is  charitable  to  the  poor  and  afflicted,  without  ostentation,  and 
has  given  largely  of  his  time  and  services  to  that  unfortunate 
class.  He  is  generous  to  his  friends,  kind  and  affectionate  to  his 
family.  His  hospitality  is  so  marked  that  the  "latch  siring  to  his 
house  hangs  outdoors." 

Still  in  the  prime  of  vigorous  manliood,  long  years  of  honor 
and  usefulness  should  be  left  him. 

L.  J.  Picol. 


HUGH    WILLIAMSON 

?ORTH  CAROLINA  has  always  warmly  wel- 
comed strangers  within  her  borders.  In  the  de- 
velopment of  a  new  country  it  follows  naturally 
that  the  few  natives  who  have  had  opportunities 
of  education  sufficient  to  make  them  leaders 
must  be  assisted  by  new  blood  from  the  out- 
side in  llie  organization  and  upbuilding  of  infant  commonwealths. 
The  history  of  North  Carolina  in  this  respect  is  more  like  that  of 
the  newer  States  than  of  the  older  ones.  True  the  State  was  set- 
tled as  early  as  1663,  but  the  settlements  were  few  and  far  be- 
tween, and  there  was  hardly  a  continuous  and  certainly  not  a  har- 
monious development.  Add  to  this  the  further  fact  that  no  other 
American  colony  saw  its  efforts  for  local  self-government  and 
control  more  frequently  and  ruthlessly  broken  into  than  North 
Carolina,  and  we  have  some  of  the  reasons  why  her  development 
was  retarded.  It  is  true  to  say  that  the  period  from  which  the 
real  growth  nf  North  Carolina  may  be  said  to  date  is  much  nearer 
1763  than  it  is  1663.  and  this  will  account  for  the  further  fact  that 
so  few  of  her  leaders  in  the  Revolution  were  natives.  Thus  Har- 
vey, Hawkins.  Moore.  .Ashe,  Bloodworth,  Blount,  Harnett,  Hill. 
Allen  and  Willie  Jones,  Sitgreaves,  and  Spaight  were  natives, 
while  Caswell,  Martin,  Person.  Penn,  Hooper,  Hewes,  Henderson. 
Davie.  Johnston.  Iredell.  Rurke,  Nash,  John  Williams  (of  Gran- 
ville). .Sumner,  and  Williamson  were  natives  of  other  States  or 
countries. 


HUGH   WILLIAMSON  459 

But  while  North  Carolina  lias  welcomed  outsiders  to  her  fire- 
side, the  conditions  of  her  setllement  and  growth  have  not  been 
such  as  to  make  her  as  attractive  a  residence  to  men  of  thought  as 
to  those  of  action.  IJeing  a  rural  State,  with  no  large  cities  then 
or  now,  with  no  large  collections  of  books  or  other  literary  or 
scientific  materials  where  investigations  might  be  conducted,  with 
no  literary  feeling  and  no  sympathy  for  scholarship,  she  could 
offer  few  inducements  to  a  man  of  the  scholarly  tastes  and  habits 
of  Hugh  Williamson,  and  yet,  by  reason  of  inherent  ability  and 
sheer  force  of  character,  he  made  while  in  the  State  a  most  worthy 
reputation  for  usefulness. 

The  parents  of  Hugh  Williamson  were  John  Williamson,  an  in- 
dustrious tradesman  of  Dublin,  and  Mary  Davison,  a  native  of 
County  Derry.  They  came  to  America  aljout  1730  and  are 
thought  to  have  been  of  Scotch-Irish  stock.  It  is  certain  that  they 
showed  the  qualities  of  frugality,  honesty,  industry,  and  fear  of 
God  which  have  characterized  that  remarkable  people.  Hugh,  the 
eldest  son,  was  born  in  West  Nottingham  township,  Chester 
County,  Pennsylvania,  December  5,  1735.  His  preliminary  edu- 
cational training  was  received  at  the  academy  cslablished  at  New 
London  Cross  Roads  by  the  Reverend  Francis  Alison,  and  after 
leaving  this  school  he  devoted  himself  closely  to  the  study  of  the 
mathematical  ."sciences.  He  entered  the  first  class  of  the  College 
of  Philadelphia  (now  the  University  of  Pennsylvania)  in  1753; 
at  the  first  commencement  of  the  college  in  1757  he  received  the 
degree  of  A.B.,  and  while  a  student  had  been  employed  as  a 
teacher  in  both  the  Latin  and  English  schools. 

In  the  choice  of  a  profession  Williamson's  thoughts  first  turned 
to  the  ministry.  In  1759  he  went  to  Connecticut  to  pursue  theo- 
logical studies,  was  licensed,  and  admitted  as  a  member  of  the 
Presbytery  of  Philadelphia.  He  preached  for  about  two  years 
only,  was  never  ordained,  and  never  took  charge  of  a  congrega- 
tion. His  leaving  the  ministry  seems  to  have  been  caused  in  part 
by  ill-health  and  in  part  by  the  quarrel  then  agitating  the  Presby- 
terian Church  between  the  followers  of  Whitefield,  or  New  Lights, 
and  the  old  orthodox  party. 


46o  NORTH  CAROLINA 

In  1760  Williamson  was  made  an  A.  M.  by  the  College  of  Phila- 
delphia and  appointed  professor  of  mathematics.  This  position 
he  held  for  about  three  years  and  then  resigned.  In  1764  he 
sailed  for  Europe  and  entered  the  University  of  Edinburgh  as  a 
medical  student ;  he  studied  also  in  London  and  then  in  Utrecht, 
from  which  university  he  received  his  medical  degree.  On  his  re- 
turn to  America  he  practised  for  some  years  in  Philadelphia  with 
success ;  but  his  health,  always  more  or  less  delicate,  and  his  natu- 
ral tendency  towards  speculative  studies,  drew  him  off  from  medi- 
cine, induced  him  to  embark  in  mercantile  pursuits,  and  later 
brought  him  to  North  Carolina.  In  the  meantime  his  philosophi- 
cal studies  were  eagerly  follow^ed.  He  was  a  member  of  the  com- 
mittee appointed  by  the  American  Philosophical  Society  to  ob- 
serve the  transit  of  Venus  across  the  sun's  disk  June  3,  1769. 
He  wrote  the  report  of  that  committee  and  also  published  numer- 
ous other  papers  on  kindred  subjects  in  the  ^'Transactions"  of  the 
society.  He  was  also  on  the  committee  to  observe  the  transit  of 
Mercury,  November  9,  1769,  was  interested  in  the  comet  of  that 
year,  and  evolved  a  comet  theory  of  his  owm.  His  publications 
on  this  and  similar  subjects  in  abstract  science  brought  him  recog- 
nition from  the  scientific  men  of  Europe  and  the  degree  of  LL.D. 
from  the  University  of  Leyden. 

In  1772  Doctor  Williamson  made  a  tour  of  the  West  Indies  in 
the  interests  of  an  academy  at  Newark,  Delaware,  of  which  he  was 
a  trustee;  in  1773  a  tour  for  a  similar  purpose  was  undertaken  in 
England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland.  It  was  during  this  tour  that,  by 
a  l)ol(l  stroke  of  diplomacy,  he  came  into  possession  of  the  Hut- 
chison-Oliver letters,  which  when  published  in  the  colonies  tend- 
ed still  more  to  widen  the  growing  breach  with  the  Mother  Coun- 
try, and  Lord  North  is  reported  to  have  said  that  Williamson  was 
the  first  man  to  suggest  to  him  civil  war  as  the  logical  conclusion 
of  the  ])oIicy  which  he  was  then  pursuing. 

AVilliamson  returned  to  America  March  15,  1777,  and  found  the 
American  army  organized  and  every  position  on  the  medical  staff 
tliat  he  could  with  propriety  accept  already  filled.  He  thereupon 
resolved  to  retire  to  private  life,  and  undertook  a  mercantile  specu- 


HUGH    WILLIAMSON 


461  ^ 


lalion  to  Charleston,  South  CaroHna,  with  a  younger  brother.  The 
brother  sailed  to  the  West  Indies,  and  Dr.  Williamson,  with  as- 
sistance, purchased  a  sloop  in  Charleston,  loaded  her  with  a  suit- 
able cargo  for  Baltimore,  and  ordered  her  to  stop  at  Edenton, 
North  Carolina,  then  a  port  of  considerable  importance.  In  the 
meantime  General  Howe  had  entered  the  Chesapeake  on  his  way 
to  Ptiiladelphta.  and  this  fact  determined  Williamson  to  remain  in 
Edenton,  from  which  he  traded  to  the  neutral  islands  of  the  West 
Indies  and  resumed  (he  practice  of  medicine.  It  was  not  long  be- 
fore he  acquired  the  confidence  of  the  people  of  Edenton,  and  was 
soon  invited  to  New-Bern  to  try  the  newly  discovered  remedy  of 
vaccination. 

It  does  not  appear  that  Williamson  entered  public  life  in  North 
Carolina  till  1780,  when  the  Slate  was  preparing  to  send  aid  to 
Charleston,  where  General  Lincoln  was  then  besieged.  In  Octo- 
i)er,  1779,  the  Assembly  had  passed  an  act  by  which  the  Governor 
was  authorized  to  send  300Q  men  to  the  aid  of  South  Carolina  and 
Georgia.  In  April,  1780,  the  Assembly  passed  an  act  by  which 
4000  men  were  to  be  enlisted  for  three  months  and  sent  to  South 
Carolina,  and  a  supplementary  act  under  which  8000  others  were 
to  be  sent  later  if  "absolutely  necessary."  Of  the  levy  of  4000 
North  Carolina  militia  Richard  Caswell  was  made  major-general, 
and  he  appointed  Williamson  his  snrgcon -general  (North  Caro- 
lina State  Records,  XIV,  452).  Vvom  this  time  till  the  end  of  the 
war  Williamson  was  intimately  connected  with  the  North  Carolin.T 
trr>ops  and  served  tliem  faithfully  and  well.  He  was  at  the  disas- 
trous defeat  at  Camden,  made  a  report  on  the  wounded  and  prison- 
ers there,  and  of  his  own  motion  was  sent  with  a  flag  of  truce  to 
care  for  the  sick  and  wounded  who  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of 
the  enemy.  He  remained  with  thenn  two  months,  rendered  essen- 
tial service,  and  was  held  in  such  high  esteem  by  the  British  that 
he  was  called  in  as  consulting  physician  during  the  illness  of  a 
general  officer. 

In  the  Fall  of  1780,  the  British  having  taken  possession  of  Nor- 
folk and  Portsmouth,  MrRinia,  a  camp  of  American  troops  tnidcr 
of  General  Isaac  Grcg^ory,  who  had  done  good  work 


L^ 


462  NORTH  CAROLINA 

with  the  raw  mihtia  of  Eastern  North  Carolina  at  Camden,  was 
estabhshed  on  the  borders  of  the  Dismal  Swamp.  By  special  re- 
quest Williamson  was  permitted  to  serve  with  him,  and  as  a  win- 
ter campaign  was  expected  he  was  anxious  to  see  how  far  atten- 
tion to  diet,  dress,  and  lodgings  would  preserve  the  health  of  the 
troops.  By  giving  particular  attention  to  diet,  sanitation,  and 
sleeping  quarters  Williamson  so  far  overcame  the  silent  foe  of 
armies  that  in  six  months,  with  from  500  to  1200  men  in  camp. 
only  two  died  from  disease  and  none  were  furloughed  on  account 
of  sickness. 

This  work  seems  to  have  closed  the  career  of  Williamson  as  an 
army  surgeon  in  the  field.  He  was  now  to  render  the  same  sort 
of  valuable  service  in  the  council  chamber.  He  was  a  Member  of 
the  Assembly  from  Edenton  in  1782  and  from  Chowan  County  in 
1785 ;  when  in  the  legislature  he  became  at  once  a  working  mem- 
ber and  took  high  rank.  He  served  on  the  committees  on  privi- 
leges and  elections,  propositions  and  grievances,  on  depreciation, 
on  North  Carolina  Line,  on  claims,  and  on  many  special  commit- 
tees ;  was  active  in  the  introduction  of  measures  which  were 
thought  to  be  of  advantage  to  eastern  North  Carolina,  and  in  1785 
brought  in  and  secured  the  passage  of  a  bill  for  securing  literary 
property — an  early  instance  of  a  copyright  law.  (North  Caro- 
lina State  Records,  XMI,  281.) 

That  Williamson  imj)resscd  his  fellow-legislators  is  evident  by 
the  fact  that  as  early  as  May,  1782,  he  was  elected  a  delegate  to 
the  Continental  Congress.  This  honor  he  accepted  and  was  in 
]^hila(lelj>liia  as  early  as  July  2y,  1782,  perhaps  as  early  as  June 
(North  Carolina  State  Records,  XVT,  338,  630).  He  was  elected 
again  in  April,  1783,  and  in  April,  1784,  and  so  served  three  terms 
continuously. 

lie  was  a])p()inte(l  with  others  as  one  of  the  commissioners  to 
meet  at  Annapolis  in  September,  1 786,  to  consider  the  trade  of  the 
States  iuul  of  the  United  States.  Nash,  Blount,  and  W'illiamson 
accepted  apj)ointnients,  but  the  latter  was  the  only  one  who  actu- 
ally represented  North  Carolina.  He  collected  statistics  on  ex- 
ports and  eoninierce  for  use  there,  but  poor  traveling  facilities  kept 


HUGH    WILLIAMSON  463 

him  from  reaching  the  city  before  the  Convention  rose  on  Sep- 
tember 14th.    Of  this  service  he  says : 

"As  I  accepted  of  this  appointment  froin  a  zeslons  desire  lo  promote 
the  mercantile  interests  of  this  State,  I  should  on  the  same  principles  have 
attempted  faithfully  to  discharge  the  duties  of  the  appointment,  though 
they  had  been  much  more  arduous,  without  the  expectation  of  reward." 
(N.   C.   S,    R.   XVIII,   ?;2-3.   655.) 

The  Annapolis  Convention  of  1786  was  of  importance  only  as  it 
led  up  to  the  Philadelphia  Convention  of  1787,  of  which  William- 
son was  appointed  a  member  by  Governor  Caswell  in  March,  1787, 
TiVc  Willie  Jones,  who  declined  to  serve.  The  Constitution  is 
signed  on  behalf  of  North  Carolina  by  William  Blount,  R.  D, 
Spaight,  and  H.  Williamson,  although  Alexander  Martin  and  W, 
R.  Davie  were  present  during  some  of  the  sessions.  Williamson 
was  present  in  Philadelphia  as  early  as  June  14,  1787,  and  there  as 
elsewhere  he  showed  by  his  devotion  his  "constant  and  sincere  de- 
sire to  serve  the  State." 

There  was  present  here,  as  everywhere  else,  the  unseemly 
scramble  which  has  always  disgraced  our  political  annals  for 
power  between  the  North  and  the  Sotith,  and  Williamson  came  up 
to  the  full  measure  of  his  duty  in  stipporting  as  thoroughly  as 
might  be  the  interests  of  his  adopted  State, 

In  December.  1787,  Wiiliamson  was  again  chosen  a  delegate  in 
the  Continental  Congress,  and  was  still  planning  to  be  at  his  post 
when  the  Old  Congress  died  of  inanition  in  1789,  for  on  March 
9th  of  that  year  he  writes  to  Governor  Johnston : 

"On  the  fourth  instant  ,  .  ,  sundry  members  of  the  New  Congress 
.  .  .  met :  .  .  .  since  that  time  the  members  of  the  Old  Con- 
gress have  not  attempted  to  form  a  House ;  some  of  them  are  in  the  New 
Congrcsi.  the  remainder  are  chiefly  gone  home."  (N.  C.  S.  R.  XXI,  533.) 

In  his  capacity  as  delegate  in  the  Continental  Congress  William- 
son was  a  steady  worker  and  a  tireless  correspondent  who  kept 
the  executive  of   North  Carolina   informed  of  everything  that 


464  NORTH  CAROLINA 

seemed  of  State  or  public  interest,  seasoned  with  occasional  flashes 
of  wit  or  biting  sarcasm.  His  letters  show  a  devotion  to  the  in- 
terests of  the  State  which  no  other  man  could  have  surpassed. 
Painfully  diligent  in  business  and  even  morbidly  eager  to  gain  the 
good- will  of  his  fellow-citizens,  a  reading  of  his  letters  while  in  the 
Continental  Congress  must  be  followed  by  an  increased  admira- 
tion for  the  man  who  wrote  them.  As  he  himself  expresses  it : 
**With  whatever  fidelity  or  abilities  I  may  serve  the  State,  the 
journals  will  show^  that  I  have  not  eaten  the  bread  of  idleness;" 
and  again :  "Whatever  inclination  I  may  have  had  occasionally  to 
borrow  a  holiday,  I  have  it  in  my  pow-er  to  assure  you  that  from 
the  time  I  received  the  instructions  of  the  State  I  have  not  been  ab- 
sent from  the  Chamber  of  Congress  a  single  day  at  the  usual  time 
of  meeting,  lest  the  forming  of  a  Congress  shotild  chance  to  be 
prevented,  and  the  interests  of  the  State  suffer  by  such  absence." 
(N.  C.  S.  R.  XX,  495  and  XXI,  534.) 

In  December.  1788,  Williamson  was  elected  along  with  Abishai 
Thomas  by  the  Assembly  as  agent  to  superintend  the  settlement  of 
the  army  accounts  between  North  Carolina  and  the  United  States. 
He  was  then  in  the  Continental  Congress,  but  his  duties  as  dele- 
gate were  nil,  for  the  Old  Congress  was  dying.  He  worked  on 
the  accounts  during  1789  and  1790,  resigning  in  December.  1790. 
lie  reports  time  and  again  on  the  carelessness  with  which  North 
Carolina  had  conducted  the  raising  of  troops.  While  other  States 
sent  not  a  militiaman  into  the  field  without  obtaining  in  advance 
orders  from  the  Continental  Congress  or  from  the  proper  Conti- 
nental officer.  North  Carolina  poured  out  such  troops  whenever 
there  was  need  and  rushed  them  into  service — patriotic  but  re- 
gardless of  history  and  accounts.  The  result  was  that  North 
Carolina  was  in  danger  of  losing  for  lack  of  sufficient  proofs  much 
of  the  money  justly  due  her  for  Continental  services.  William- 
son urcred  the  collection  of  muster  rolls  and  similar  documentar\' 
evidt  iKc  of  service,  and  we  are  no  doubt  largely  indebted  to  him 
for  the  small  amount  of  material  of  this  sort  which  we  possess  on 
our  first  War  of  Independence. 

Doctor  Williamson  was  not  a  member  of  the  Convention  which 


HUGH    WILLIAMSON  465 

mci  in  Hillsboro  in  1788  and  delayed  ratification  of  the  Federal 
Constitution,  being  at  that  time  employed  in  the  Continental  Con- 
gress, but  he  represented  Tyrrell  County  in  the  Fayctteville  Con- 
vention of  1789  which  adopted  that  Constitution,  and  there  favored 
the  ratification  of  the  document  which  two  years  before  he  had 
assisted  in  framing.  On  the  adoption  he  was  elected  a  represen- 
tative of  North  Carolina  in  the  New  Federal  Congress  of  the  Uni- 
ted States,  where  he  affiliated,  as  he  had  done  in  the  Stale,  with 
the  Federalist  party.  He  took  his  seat  March  ig,  1790,  being  the 
first  representative  from  North  Carolina  to  qualify,  and  served  the 
remainder  of  the  first  Congress  and  through  the  second,  retiring 
March  4.  1793. 

This  was  the  end  of  Williamson's  public  career.  As  we  have 
seen,  he  was  earnest,  honest,  painstaking,  industrious,  not  unmind- 
ful of  the  opinions  of  others,  of  unblemished  private  life,  but  by 
no  means  an  orator.  That  he  was  highly  esteemed  by  the  execu- 
tives and  other  officials  of  the  State  whom  be  so  faithfully  served 
there  is  the  most  abundant  evidence  in  their  letters  and  in  the  vari- 
ous votes  of  thanics  passed  by  the  Assembly  for  his  services  in  the 
Continental  Congress.  The  querulous  Archibald  Maclaine  alone 
sounds  a  discordant  note  when  he  writes  to  Edward  Jones: 

"U  Ihi'  all-knowing  Doctor  Williamson,  instead  of  being  on  the  road 
to  attend  to  his  duty  as  a  representative  of  the  United  Slates,  torturing 
hi'-  ingeniiilj-  how  to  evade  the  l.iws  of  that  body  of  which  he  has  the  iin- 
de'Tved  honor  to  be  a  member?  He  would  have  made  a  good  pettifog- 
ging -iitorney,  but  nature  never  intended  him  for  a  legislator."  (N.  C.  S. 
R.,  XXI.  574-5.) 

Doctor  Williamson  had  married  in  January,  1789,  Miss 
Maria  .■\]>thorpe,  a  datightcr  of  Honorable  Charles  Ward  Ap- 
thorpc  of  New  York.  Hy  Iter  lie  had  two  sons,  and  her  death  fol- 
lowed close  on  the  birth  of  the  second.  This  event  hastened  his 
resolution  to  retire  from  public  life  and  devote  himself  to  study, 
which  we  have  .seen  he  did  after  the  end  of  the  second  Congress. 
He  settled  in  Xcw  York  City  and  never  again  appeared  in  public 
life  except  in  1805,  when  he  was  a  member  of  a  medical  committee 


466  NORTH  CAROLINA 

to  examine  into  the  origin  and  character  of  the  yellow  fever  then 
prevalent  in  that  city. 

His  time  was  devoted  to  the  preparation  of  his  work  on  Climate, 
published  in  1811,  which  serves  as  an  introduction  to  his  "History 
of  North  Carolina."  The  latter  work  appeared  in  two  volumes  in 
1812  (Philadelphia).  In  the  preparation  of  this  work  Williamson 
labored  under  many  and  great  disadvantages.  The  material 
was  inaccessible.  The  result  was  that,  while  the  historv  shows 
evidence  of  honest  and  faithful  w^ork,  it  is  a  lamentable  failure. 
Williamson  was  no  more  a  historian  than  he  was  orator  and  poet. 
His  book  presents  but  few  facts,  and  these  are  of  slight  importance ; 
it  is  lacking  in  historical  perspective ;  it  is  without  imagination  or 
the  graces  of  style,  and  the  blunders  in  mere  statement  of  fact  are 
innumerable,  while  that  period  of  the  State's  history  where  he 
could  have  spoken  with  the  weight  of  an  original  authority — the 
Revolution  and  after — is  untouched.  Never  did  an  earnest  and 
conscientious  man  miss  his  calling  more  completely  than  did  Wil- 
liamson w  hen  he  undertook  this  work,  but  his  high  standing  and 
reputation  in  other  fields  gave  his  history  a  rank  w^hich  it  could 
not  otherwise  have  commanded. 

Besides  papers  published  in  the  ''Transactions"  of  the  Ameri- 
can Philosophical  Society  and  in  those  of  the  Royal  Society,  Doc- 
tor Williamson  published  in  1786  a  series  of  essays  against  paper 
currency.  He  contributed  also  to  the  American  Medical  and  Phil- 
osophica!  Register  and  to  the  Medical  Repository,  was  interested 
in  the  New  York  Historical  Society  and  in  the  organization  of  the 
New  York  Literary  and  Philosophical  Society,  and  contributed  to 
the  growth  and  development  of  various  charitable  medical  organi- 
zations. He  died  in  New  York  City,  May  22,  1819,  leaving  no 
descendants. 

This  brief  sketch  of  the  very  active  life  of  a  man  who  ser\'ed 
well  his  adopted  State  is  based  on  the  North  Carolina  State  Rec- 
ords and  on  Hosack's  Memoir  (New  York,  1820). 

Stephen  B,  Weeks, 


BENJAMIN  WILLIAMS 


JENJAMIN  WILLIAMS,  an  officer  of  the 
American  army  in  the  war  of  tlie  Revolution, 
I  and  Governor  of  North  Carolina  after  inde- 
pendence had  been  won,  as  well  as  a  member  of 
Congress  and  of  balh  branches  of  the  State 
Legislatnre,  was  born  Januarj-  i,  1752.  He 
as  the  SO!)  of  Jolin  Williams,  and  his  wife.  Ferebee  Pugh,  a 
daughter  of  Colonel  Francis  Pngh.  John  Williams  was  the  son 
of  William  Williams,  a  native  of  Wales.  Ferebee  Savage,  wife  of 
Colonel  Francis  Pugh,  was  a  granddaughter  of  Captain  Thomas 
Savage,  an  early  Virginia  colonist,  who  was  brought  to  the  James- 
town settlement  when  a  child. 

A  brother  of  Governor  Benjamin  Williams  was  John  Pugh 
Williams,  captain  in  the  Fifth  Continental  Regiment  and  later 
colonel  of  militia  during  the  Revolution,  who  was  also  elected 
Brigadier-General,  but  declined.  This  gentleman  is  often  con- 
fused with  Colonel  John  Williams,  of  Caswell,  who  commanded 
the  Ninth  Continental  Regiment. 

From  the  l>eginning  of  the  troubles  with  Great  Britain, 
Benjamin  Williams  sided  with  the  colonies,  and  rendered  services 
to  the  State  both  of  a  civil  and  military  nature.  On  August  25, 
1774.  the  first  North  Carolina  Provincial  Congress  to  meet  in 
defiance  of  the  Royal  government  assembled  at  New-Bern.  In 
that  body  Benjamin  Williams  appeared  as  a  delegate  from  the 


468  NORTH  CAROLINA 

county  of  Johnston.  He  was  also  Johnston's  representative  in  the 
Provincial  Congress  which  met  at  Hillsboro  on  August  20,  1775, 
and  continued  its  session  until  September  loth.  On  September  9th 
he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Committee  of  Safety  for  the  dis- 
trict of  Xew-Bern. 

The  military  career  of  Benjamin  Williams  began  on 
September  i,  1775,  when  the  Provincial  Congress  at  Hillsboro 
clectetl  him  Lieutenant  in  the  Second  North  Carolina  Continental 
Regiment.  Less  than  a  year  later,  on  July  19,  1776.  he  was  pro- 
moted to  the  rank  of  captain  in  the  same  regiment.  The  three 
successive  colonels  of  the  Second  Regiment  were  Robert  Howe, 
Alexander  Martin  and  John  Patten.  Under  these  officers  Wil- 
liams served  throughout  the  campaigns  against  Lord  Dunmore  in 
X'irginia  and  Sir  Henry  Clinton  in  South  Carolina, as  well  as  under 
Washington  in  the  Northern  States,  and  bore  a  part  in  the  many 
battles  of  that  period  wherein  the  Second  Regiment  participated. 
He  resigned  his  commission  as  a  captain  of  Continentals  on 
January  i,  1779.  In  1779  he  represented  Craven  County  in  the 
North  Carolina  House  of  Commons. 

During  the  British  invasions  of  1780-81  Captain  Williams  was 
j)romoted  to  the  rank  of  colonel  (July  12,  1781)  and  placed  in 
command  of  a  regiment  of  North  Carolina  State  Troops.  Prior  to 
this  he  had  fought  as  a  volunteer  officer  at  the  battle  of  Guilford 
Court  House,  and  rendered  valuable  services  elsewhere.  Toward 
the  close  of  the  war,  and  for  some  years  thereafter,  he  was  often 
in  the  Legislature — representing  at  different  times  the  counties 
of  Craven,  Johnston  and  Moore.  He  was  State  senator  from 
Johnston  in  1781,  1784  and  1786;  from  Craven  in  1785  and  1789; 
and  from  Moore  in  1807  and  1809.  In  1788  he  also  represented 
Craven  in  the  North  Carolina  House  of  Commons. 

In  i7()3  Colonel  Williams  was  elected  a  member  of  the  3d  Con- 
gress of  the  United  States,  his  service  therein  extending  from 
I)eccml)cr  2,  1793,  till  March  3,  1795.  He  was  four  times  elected 
Ciovernor  of  North  Carolina,  but  was  in  office  only  four  years,  as 
the  term  of  a  chief  magistrate  was  then  one  year.  The  time  he 
filled    tliat    high    station    was     from     November    24,    1799,    till 


liENJAMIN  WILLIAMS  4'>J 

December  6.  1802 ;  and  from  Movember  24,  1807,  till  December  12, 
1808.  He  was  first  elected  on  November  22,  1799;  and.  as  above 
stated,  was  inducted  into  office  on  the  day  following.  His  annual 
term  having  expired,  he  was  re-elected  on  November  26.  1800. 
On  being  officially  informed  of  his  re-election,  he  accepted  with 
an  expression  of  dissatisfaction  which  wotdd  be  quite  amusing  if 
used  at  the  present  day.     Said  he: 

"While  I  beg  you  to  be  assured,  gentlemen,  that  I  receive  with  due 
sensibility  this  added  proof  of  the  contidenee  of  my  country,  and  of  your 
continued  regard,  I  trust  il  will  not  be  thought  a  departure  from  the  re- 
spect I  fee!  and  wish  on  every  occasion  to  manifest  for  the  representatives 
of  the  people,  to  observe  that  the  value  of  ihe  distinguished  appointment 
yon  have  ihoiighl  proper  to  confer  on  me  would  have  been  much  enhanced 
in  my  estimation  had  the  vole  which  called  me  to  it  been  more  tmani- 


Dinnng  the  lime  when  Governor  Williams  occupied  the  execu- 
tive chair,  the  most  noted  duel  in  the  history  of  North  Carolina 
occurred  in  \ew-Bern  on  Sunday,  September  5,  1802.  between 
the  Honorable  John  Stanly  rtnd  ex-Governor  Richard  Dobbs 
Spaight  { father  of  Governor  Richard  Dobbs  Spaight,  Jr.)- 
Spaight  was  mortally  wounded  and  died  on  the  following  day. 

There  had  liccn  some  controversy  between  Stanly  and  Spaight, 
who  were  antagonists  politically,  and  both  resided  at  New-Bern. 
Stanly  had  made  an  explanation  with  which  Spaight  had  expressed 
himself  satisfied,  and  their  difFcrence  was  thought  arranged.  But 
on  Sci)temher  4th  Spaight  published  a  handbill,  denouncing  Stanly 
as  a  "liar  and  a  scoundrel."  and  saying  that  if  Stanly  should 
ask  fnr  satisfaction,  it  would  not  have  to  be  asked  a  second  time." 
Stanlv  immediately  asked  satisfaction.  They  met  the  next  day, 
Sunday,  in  the  outskirts  of  New-Bern,  in  the  presence  of  a  large 
concourse  of  citizens,  and  Spaight  fell  mortally  wounded.  A  week 
later  Stanly  presented  all  the  papers  and  correspondence  to 
Governor  Williams  with  a  petition  for  pardon.  He  declared  that 
he  liad  not  sought  the  duel  until  it  was  forced  upon  him  and  there 
was  no  escape  from  it.  Governor  Williams  granted  the  pardon. 
The  Legislature  met  on  October  15th,  a  month  after  the  duel,  and 


470  NORTH  CAROLINA 

while  the  entire  State  was  excited  over  the  shock  of  this  termina- 
tion of  a  political  controversy  between  two  such  distinguished 
men.  Wheeler  says  that  Stanly  applied  to  the  General  Assembly 
for  a  pardon,  and  that  body  declined  to  take  action  because  the 
pardoning  power  was  vested  in  the  Governor.  Nevertheless,  it 
appears  that  the  application  was  first  made  to  Governor  Williams, 
who,  however,  may  not  have  acted  on  it  until  after  the  Legisla- 
ture in  October  had  refused  to  consider  a  similar  petition.  Be- 
cause of  this  duel  the  Legislature  at  that  session  passed  a  stringent 
act  against  the  practice  of  duelling.  By  that  act  all  persons  who 
should  carry  a  challenge  were  rendered  ineligible  to  hold  any 
office  in  the  State ;  and  the  act  made  it  a  capital  offense  as  to  the 
principals,  and  declared  that  all  aiders  and  abettors  should  be  held 
accessories  before  the  fact,  should  either  of  the  parties  be  killed. 

Not  being  eligible  for  a  fourth  consecutive  term,  Governor  Wil- 
liams retired  from  office  on  December  6,  1802,  when  Governor 
James  Turner  was  inaugurated  as  his  successor.  Colonel  John 
BaT)tista  Ashe  had  at  first  been  elected  Governor  to  succeed  Wil- 
liams, but  died  before  being  inaugurated. 

In  a  brief  farewell  message  to  the  General  Assembly,  under 
date  of  November  19,  1802,  (lovernor  W^illiams  said:  "The  feel- 
ings which  necessarily  grow  out  of  my  present  situation,  when 
on  the  eve  of  bidding  adieu  to  a  body  of  men  by  whom  I  have 
been  so  highly  favored  and  distinguished,  are  more  easily  con- 
ceived than  expressed.  I  have  not  language  to  describe  them; 
but  would  beg  you,  however,  gentlemen,  to  be  assured  that  a 
grateful  remembrance  of  your  indulgence  and  support,  and  the 
warmest  wishes  for  your  prosperity  and  happiness  shall  not  only 
be  retained  by  me  in  private  life,  but  shall  be  among  the  last  senti- 
ments which  die  with  me."  To  this  message  the  Assembly  re- 
turned a  polite  and  appreciative  reply  on  the  day  following. 

When  first  elected  Governor,  Colonel  Williams  seems  to  have 
been  a  citizen  of  Raleigh,  as  the  Raleigh  Register,  in  noting  his 
first  inauguration,  refers  to  him  as  ''Colonel  Benjamin  Williams  of 
this  city."  After  his  retirement  from  the  office  of  Governor  in 
1802,  he  removed  to  Moore  Count v,  and  was  sent  from  his  new 


BENJAMIN'  WILLIAMS  471 

honie  to  the  North  Carolina  State  Senate  in  1807.  At  the  same 
session  (November  24,  1807)  he  was  ag^in  elected  Governor,  and 
inaiiRurated  six  days  later,  on  December  ist.  He  served  until 
December  12,  1808,  when  his  successor.  Governor  David  Stone, 
was  inducted  into  office. 

In  1800,  the  year  after  his  final  retirement  from  the  executive 
cliair,  Governor  Williams  was  again  elected  Stale  Senator  from 
the  county  of  Moore. 

At  his  home  in  Moore  County,  on  July  20,  1814,  Governor  Wil- 
liams died.  Copies  of  the  monumental  inscriptions  over  himself 
and  wife  will  be  found  in  the  North  Carolina  University  Magasine 
for  1889  (New  Scries,  volunu'  8,  page  158).  In  noting  the  death 
of  Governor  Williams,  the  Raleigh  Register  of  July  29.  1814,  said: 

"Died:  At  his  seat  in  Moure  County  on  the  20lh  in?!.  Colonel 
Benjamin  Williams,  a  native  of  Nonh  Carolina,  somewhat  upward  of 
sixty  years  of  age.  He  embarked  at  an  caflj-  period  of  his  life  and  in  the 
begiiming  of  the  Revohitionary  War  in  the  service  of  his  country  as  a 
captain  in  the  regular  army.  He  was  subsequently  appointed  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  Stale  troops,  ordered  to  he  raised  hy  North  Carolina,  with 
the  rank  of  i-.ilinii.-l :  and  was  at  the  battle  fousht  at  Guilford  Court  House. 

nil'' ■!   »as  given  him. 

-   ilosed  his  military  career  with  reputation,  and  has 

■  1 11  called  to  Ihp  first  appoinlments  in  the  power  iil  his 

felU™  iiii/iii>.  1(1  tn-itow,  or  in  the  gift  of  the  State — having  been  long  a 

member  of  the  flencra!  .Assembly,  for  some  years  a  meml>er  of ,  Congress, 

and  siib-«iiieully  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  State. 

"He  clied,  as  be  bad  lived,  much  respected  and  highly  esteemed  by  those 
who  knew  liim  ;  and,  from  bis  general  demeanor  and  devout  professions 
as  well  previrnisly  to  as  ihiring  bis  last  illness,  has  left  to  bis  relations 
and  more  intimate  friends  the  cheering  consolation  that  he  died  a  be- 
liever, re-igncrl  ,-iiirl  happy,  in  the  hope  of  mercy,  through  the  atonements 
and  merits  of  the  Redeemer." 

The  wife  of  Governor  Williams  (to  whom  he  was  married  on 
August  10,  1781)  was  Elizabeth  Jones.  This  lady  (bom 
Augtist  ,V-  17*12)  was  a  half  sister  of  the  great  Revolutionary 
patriots  Willie  and  .Mien  Jones,  and  a  daughter  of  Robert  or 
"Robin"  Jones,  who  was  allorney-general  of  the  colony  of  North 
Carolina  under  Guvcrnors  Dobbs  and  Tryon,    Her  mother,  whose 


472 


NORTH  CAROLINA 


maiden  name  was  Marv  Eaton,  was  the  second  wife  of  Attomev- 
General  Jones.  Mrs.  Williams  died  on  November  24,  1817,  at 
New- Bern,  but  her  remains  were  afterward  carried  to  Moore 
County  and  buried  by  the  grave  of  her  husband.  The  epitaph  on 
her  tomb  contains  (in  part)  these  words:  "Reader!  Under  this 
marble  are  the  mortal  remains  of  an  aflfectionate  wife,  a  tender 
mother,  and  one  whose  memorv  is  now  embalmed  in  the  hearts  of 
the  poor  of  this  extensive  neighborhood.** 

By  his  marriage  with  Elizabeth  Jones,  Governor  Williams  left 
an  only  son,  Benjamin  William  Williams,  who  was  bom  on 
February  28,  1797,  and  died  on  February  8,  1828.  His  middle 
name  was  not  always  used  by  him.  Referring  to  his  death  in  its 
issue  of  February  22 y  1828,  the  Raleigh  Register  said : 

Died:  In  Moore  County  on  Thursday  last  [sic]  Colonel  Benjamin 
Williams,  deceased.  He  was  highly  esteemed,  and  his  death  is  regretted 
by  a  large  circle  of  relatives  and  friends." 

Colonel  Benjamin  Williams,  last  named,  was  twice  married: 
first  (October  9,  1820)  to  Mary  Chalipers ;  secondly  (January  2, 
1823)  to  Mary  McBride.  By  his  first  wife,  nee  Chalmers,  he  had 
a  son,  Benjamin  C.  Williams,  M.D.,  born  on  December  20,  1821, 
and  married  (April  20,  1858)  to  Catherine  McDougal.  The  gen- 
tleman just  mentioned  was  the  last  of  his  line,  and  hence 
Governor  Williams  has  no  descendants  now  living. 

Marshall  De  Laneey  Haywood, 


rns  NEW-YORK 

^^^liC  UBRAR7 


Ar- 


."^•r^y 


AN!0 


.^'^.S 


474  NORTH  CAROLINA 

born  in  Warren  Street,  New  York.  In  1833  Lieutenant  Charles 
Wilkes  removed  to  Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  to  establish 
and  take  charge  of  the  First  United  States  Naval  Observator}'. 
In  August,  1838,  he  sailed  in  command  of  the  first  exploring  ex- 
pedition sent  out  by  the  United  States  and  was  absent  four  years. 
The  expedition  discovered,  surveyed  and  chartered  many  islands 
and  reefs  in  the  Pacific  Ocean  and  was  the  first  to  discover  the 
Antarctic  continent,  sailing  for  many  hundreds  of  miles  along  its 
northern  coast,  making  drawings  and  surveys.  These  charts  of 
the  Pacific  and  other  oceans,  made  by  this  expedition,  are  still  in 
use,  and  are  considered  the  most  reliable  in  existence.  In 
1858,  under  the  direction  of  the  secretary  of  the  navy.  Admiral 
Wilkes  made  an  exhaustive  and  valuable  examination  of 
the  coal  and  iron  deposits  in  the  Deep  River  region  of  North 
Carolina. 

While  his  father  was  absent  on  his  exploration  in  1841, 
John  Wilkes  received  his  appointment  as  Midshipman  in  the  navy, 
and  according  to  the  usage  of  that  period  was  sent  to  sea  im- 
mediately. His  first  voyage,  as  a  boy  of  fourteen  to  sixteen,  was  in 
the  United  States  Ship  Dchivare,  under  Commodore  Charles 
Morris,  to  the  South  Atlantic  and  then  to  the  Mediterranean. 
Thus  being  so  early  thrown  upon  his  own  resources  while  hard 
ui)on  a  boy  fresh  from  home  developed  his  character  and  taught 
him  many  things  quite  as  needful  as  seamanship. 

The  control  of  men — the  personal  responsibility;  the  neatness 
and  particularity  in  small  things,  and  the  many  occurrences  which 
form  character  an<l  self-reliance,  all  tended  to  strengthen  and  per- 
fect his  natural  ability 

He  was  afterward  on  duty  on  board  the  United  States  ship 
Mississippi  in  the  Gulf  Squadron,  during  the  Mexican  War.  and 
participated  in  the  attacks  on  l^razos,  and  Vera  Cruz,  and  other 
services  performed  by  the  navy  in  support  of  the  army  under  Gen- 
erals Taylor  and  Scott. 

In  1846  he  was  ordered  to  Annapolis,  where  the  Naval  Academy 
had  just  been  established,  for  a  year's  study  and  examinations.  In 
1847  Mr.  Wilkes  graduated  No.  i  in  a  class  of  135,  which  com- 


JOHN  WILKES  475 


prised  some  of  the  brightest  intellects  that  have  adorned  liie  naval 
service. 

He  is  now  ( 1906)  the  oldest  living  alumnus  of  the  Academy. and 
is  president  of  the  Alumni  Association,  and  is  still  known  as  "No  i 
of  the  '41  date."  At  that  time  classes  were  known  by  the 
<late  of  their  appointment,  and  not,  as  now,  by  the  date  of  gradu- 
ation. 

He  afterward  served  in  the  United  States  Ship  Albany  as 
master,  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  His  last  sea  duty  was  in  the  sloop 
of  war  Marioit  as  lieutenant,  on  board  of  which  he  spent  nearly 
three  years  on  the  China  station,  at  Hong  Kong  and  Canton,  and 
visiting  many  ports  of  the  far  East,  including  Manila.  He  re- 
turned to  the  United  States  in  June.  1852. 

Tlie  most  startling  event  of  this  cruise  was  the  explosion  of  a 
magrazine  on  the  Portuguese  ship  of  war  Dona  habrUa  Sesiinda, 
lying  in  the  harbor  of  Macao  close  by  the  Marion.  Three  hundred 
of  the  crew  and  officers  were  killed,  and  only  two  saved.  In  charge 
of  the  Marion  at  the  time  of  the  explosion,  Lieutenant  Wilkes 
showed  his  courage,  coolness  and  promptness  in  going  with  the 
boats  of  his  ship  to  the  rescue,  but  those  taken  off  tlie  burning  ship 
all  died  save  two. 

When  Commodore  Perry  was  preparing  for  his  Japanese  ex- 
pedition, he  asked  for  John  Wilkes  as  one  of  his  officers,  and  the 
appointment  was  tendered  to  him  while  at  Hong  Kong.  But  he 
was  eager  to  return  home,  and  declined  the  flattering  offer.  On 
his  return  to  the  United  States  he  was  assigned  to  shore  duty  for 
a  year,  and  then  given  a  year's  leave  of  absence.  In  December, 
[853.  he  came  to  Charlotte  to  supervise  some  mining  and  milling 
proi>erty  and  has  made  that  city  his  home  ever  since. 

In  .\pri].  1854,  he  married  Jane  Renwick  Smedberg  of  New 
York.  This  lady  was  the  daughter  of  Charles  Gustave  Smedberg, 
a  Swedish  gentleman,  and  the  second  son  of  a  wealthy  iron  mer- 
chant of  Stockholm  and  Gnthcnberg,  interested  also  largely  in 
mining  and  mamtfacturing  iron,  .^t  an  early  age  the  son  was 
sent  111  the  Fast  Indies  as  supercargo  in  one  of  his  father's  ships. 
Later  he  resiclcd  in  England,  entering  the  employ  of  Irving  and 


i 


476  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Company,  bankers.  In  1812,  he,  being  a  neutral,  was  sent  by  the 
firm  to  New  York  as  their  confidential  agent  to  manage  their 
American  business  during  the  war  between  Great  Britain  and 
America.  There  he  met  Miss  Isabella  Renwick,  the  eldest  sister 
of  Mrs.  Charles  Wilkes,  to  whom  he  was  married  in  December, 
181 5.  He  then  settled  permanently  in  New  York,  where  his 
daughter,  Mrs.  John  Wilkes,  was  born. 

In  the  October  following  his  marriage  Lieutenant  Wilkes  re- 
signed from  the  navy.  He  took  up  his  abode  for  four  years,  about 
two  miles  from  Charlotte,  at  what  was  called  St.  Catherine's 
Mills.  The  flour  mill  here  was  of  ante- revolution  date,  and 
romance  and  superstition  wove  many  tales  about  it. 

In  1858,  in  conjunction  with  the  late  William  R.  Myers,  he 
bought  the  Mecklenburg  Flour  Mills,  erected  by  Leroy  Springs 
on  the  railroad  between  East  Trade  and  East  Fifth  streets.  For 
several  years  he  devoted  all  his  energy  and  ability  to  this  business 
and  made  it  a  success.  Much  wheat  was  then  raised  in  South  and 
North  Carolina,  and  the  mill  was  chiefly  supplied  from  these 
States. 

The  flour  bore  a  high  reputation  and  brought  good  prices  in 
Charleston  and  New  York,  competing  successfully  with  the  famous 
Richmond  Mills. 

When  the  unsettled  state  of  affairs  in  i860  and  1861  beg^n  to 
affect  the  country,  John  Wilkes  bore  his  part  as  a  public-spirited 
citizen  of  Charlotte,  in  the  vigilance  committee  at  first,  and  then 
in  the  Home  Guards,  feeding  the  troops  as  they  passed  and  help- 
ing the  destitute  who  w^ere  left  at  home  The  mill  w^as  one  of  the 
sources  for  supplying  the  army  in  Virginia. 

As  the  war  went  on,  the  great  need  of  railroad  communication 
was  more  and  more  felt.  The  Atlantic  Coast  Line  was  the  only 
railroad  from  North  to  South,  and  it  was  early  threatened  by 
Northern  troops,  so  that  great  inconvenience  and  danger  resulted. 
A  railroad  from  Greensboro,  North  Caolina,  to  Danville,  Vir- 
ginia, to  j(^in  the  North  Carolina  road  from  the  South  to  the  Vir- 
ginia roads  was  a  military  necessity,  and  John  Wilkes  and  his 
brother  Edmund  undertook  the  part  from  Greensboro  to  Danville 


JOHN  WILKES  477 


tinder  direction  of  tlic  engineer  of  the  Confederate  Goremmenl, 
Captain  A.  S.  Myers. 

In  the  latter  part  of  1861  the  work  b^an.  and  was  pushed  with 
all  the  energy  of  both  brothers,  under  many  difficuUtes  and  dis- 
couragenients.  Incompetent  labor,  vrant  of  tools,  trouble  in  feed- 
ing the  large  force  nnplo>ed,  etc.  It  was  completed  tn  1864  in 
time  to  aid  the  Confederate  Government  in  transporting  men  and 
supplies,  and  then  to  serve  as  the  line  of  sorrowful  retreat. 

The  brothers  then  bejjan  building  the  TBilroad  from  Raleigh  to 
Lockville  and  were  so  employed  when  Sherman  occupied  that  sec- 
tion and  stopped  their  work. 

In  1859  Mr.  Wilkes  estaUished  the  foundry  since  known  as  the 
Mccklenbiirij  Iron  W'orks.  In  1861  the  Confederate  Government 
moved  the  machinery  and  men  from  the  Gosport  Xavy  Yard,  and 
took  possession  of  the  foutiilr^'.  It  was  a  large  factor  in  supplying 
the  Confederate  navy  «'ilh  shells  and  machinery,  and  with  repairs 
for  its  vessels  frnm  Richmond  to  Mobile.  In  1865  it  came  again 
into  Mr.  Wilkes's  possession. 

Immediately  after  the  close  of  the  war  Mr.  Wilkes  set  about 
some  work  to  support  his  family,  a  wife  and  five  litlle  children. 
He  found  ihc  situation  a))paliin};.  ITic  country  had  no  money,  no 
crc<lit.  nn  means  of  starting  necessary  enterprises.  He  went  to 
Washington  in  1865  and  obtained  a  pardon  from  the  Government 
(a  preci'ins  scrap  nf  paj>er  still  in  his  possession).  In  August, 
1X65.  he  ]>rociire'l  a  charter  for  the  First  National  Bank  of 
Charlntte.  the  first  national  l>ank  chartered  south  of  the  Poto- 

It  was  an  institution  greatly  needed  for  the  business  of  the  town, 
and  aided  largely  in  its  restoration  to  prosperity.  Mr.  Wilkes 
was  its  first  president.  ]9^^-<y>.  resigning  to  devote  himself  to 
manufacturing  interests,  in  which  he  has  since  been  engaged. 

As  wheat  culture  had  almost  ceased  in  North  and  South  Caro- 
lina, the  flour  mill  was  no  longer  profitable,  so  he  entered  into  part- 
nership with  General  John  A.  ^'onng  and  Miles  Wriston.  and  re- 
Tnr>ved  their  I^>ck  M.in.l  Wo.,len  Mills  to  Charlotte  and  operated 
them  at  the  place  of  the  flour  mill,     .\fter  some  years  the  woolen 


478  NORTH  CAROLINA 

mills  met  with  failure,  and  General  Young  and  Mr.  Wilkes  were 
financially  ruined. 

Then  Mr.  Wilkes  turned  his  whole  energ)"^  to  the  Mecklenburg 
Iron  Works,  and  that  speedily  became  a  marked  success.  As  the 
Seaboard  Air  Line  needed  the  foundry  property,  Mr.  Wilkes  in 
1874  sold  it  to  the  railroad,  and  purchased  the  Doctor  Hayes  lot 
on  the  west  end  of  Trade  Street  along  the  Southern  Railroad, 
erected  buildings  for  the  iron  works,  and  in  1875  established  his 
family  in  the  old  house  built  by  W.  A.  Elms  in  1853.  Here  the 
iron  works  has  since  been  conducted  with  a  wide  reputation  for 
ability,  good  work,  and  fair  and  generous  dealing  with  its  cus- 
tomers. Many  of  the  workmen  have  grown  gray  or  died  in  its 
service,  and  there  has  never  been  any  dispute,  unpleasantness  or 
strike  amonc:  them.  Thev  are  all  devoted  to  **the  Old  Man"  and 
his  sons.  Now  the  personnel  has  perforce  changed  in  the  forty 
years  since  the  works  were  begun,  and  younger  men  fill  many 
places  left  vacant  by  age  or  death  among  the  old  hands. 

In  all  that  concerns  the  interests  of  Charlotte,  Mr.  Wilkes  has 
always  been  prominent.  Several  times  elected  Alderman,  he  has 
fully  justified  the  confidence  of  his  fellow-citizens.  Repeatedly 
solicited  to  be  a  candidate  for  the  mayoralty,  he  has  felt  obliged 
to  decline,  being  fully  occupied  with  the  large  business  under  his 
management.  • 

To  the  church  he  has  always  given  loyal  service  and  steady  sup- 
port. A  vestryman  of  St.  Peter's  parish  since  1856,  its  senior 
warden  since  i860,  for  thirty  years  its  lay  reader,  as  its  treasurer, 
as  Sunday-school  teacher  and  superintendent,  as  its  representa- 
tive in  church  councils,  he  has  always  proved  himself  ready  to 
spend  and  be  spent  in  his  Master's  service.  He  has  been  chosen 
delegate  to  the  Diocesan  Convention  annually  since  1856,  with  the 
exccpticMi  of  one  or  two  years,  and  has  represented  the  diocese 
of  North  Carolina  in  the  General  Convention  of  the  Episcopal 
Church  since  1886 — seven  consecutive  conventions. 

Since  i860,  as  lay  reader,  he  has  kept  St.  Peter's  Church  open 
durini^  intervals  of  rectorship,  and  has  upheld  and  aided  succes- 
sive rectors  in  their  work,  and  has  strengthened  the  church  by  his 


JOHN  WILKES 


presence,  example  and  money.  Many  of  those  now  its  supporters 
look  back  to  his  influence  and  training  in  Sunday-school  and 
church,  and  are  the  better  men  and  women,  and  the  stronger 
churchmen  because  of  his  example. 

His  fellow-citizens  respect  and  eslecm  him.  His  workmen  love 
and  trust  him.  And  the  State  of  his  adoption  has  no  more  de- 
voted and  useful  citizen  than  John  Wilkes. 

Captain  Wilkes  has  had  nine  children.  Two  girls  died  in  in- 
fancy and  one  at  ten  years  of  age.  One  son  died  aged  eighteen, 
and  another  aged  twenty-eight.  Two  daughters  and  two  sons 
are  living,  all  married. 

Mrs.  Rosalie  Wilkes  Jones,  with  one  daughter,  lives  with  her 
parents.  The  sons.  John  Frank  and  James  Renwick  Wilkes,  arc 
their  father's  assistants  in  the  Mecklenburg  Iron  Works.  Each 
has  a  son  and  a  daughter. 

Mrs.  Agnes  Wilkes  Rankin  lives  in  Hartford.  Connecticut, 
where  her  husband,  A.  G.  Rankin,  has  a  large  shoe  business.  They 
have  three  sons  and  two  daughters.  The  eldest  son.  John  Wilkes 
Rankin,  entered  the  United  States  Maval  Academy  at  Annapolis 
in  1904,  and  worthily  upholds  the  Wilkes's  name  and  traditions. 
/.  P.  Caldwell. 


BEN'JAMIN   BRODIE  WINBORNE  481 

Sessions  of  his  county.  When  the  Revolutionary  war  came  on, 
lie  enlisted  as  a  private  in  the  company  commanded  by  Captain 
Joseph  Walker,  belonging  to  the  Seventh  Regiment  of  the  Conti- 
nental Line  of  North  Carolina,  and  for  three  years  was  a  soldier 
in  the  War  for  Independence. 

."Vfter  the  war  he  was  commissioned  major  by  the  State,  and 
he  was  appointed  a  Jnstice  of  the  Peace  of  the  county.  In  this 
capacity  he  served  as  one  of  the  Special  Court  of  the  Court  of 
Pleas  and  Quarter  Sessions,  and  as  one  of  those  who  adminis- 
tered tlie  public  affairs  of  the  county.  His  son,  Thomas  Winbornc, 
was  later  also  appointed  a  member  of  this  court,  and  ser\-ed  at  the 
same  time  with  his  father,  Thomas  Winbonie  married  Sarah 
Copeland,  a  Quakeress  of  Hertford  County;  and  of  this  union 
Eiisha  Winborne,  the  grandfather  ol  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
was  born  on  Movember  6,  1792.  He,  like  his  father  and 
grandfather,  was  a  member  of  the  County  Court,  and  was 
held  in  such  high  esteem  that  ahhough  he  died  in  1829,  at  the 
age  of  thirty-seven,  he  was  acting  as  chairman  of  the  court  at  that 
time.  At  the  age  of  twenty-seven  Eiisha  Winborne.  on  April  i, 
1819.  married  Martha  Warren  of  Southampton  County,  Virginia 
( ii'lio.so  ancestors  were  from  Surrey  Couiily  in  that  Stalt^^,  and  on 
March  7.  1821,  their  son.  Samuel  Darden  Winborne,  was  bom. 

Samuel  Darden  Winborne,  the  father  of  Benjamin  Brodie,  wasa 
man  of  marked  individuality  and  force.  In  early  life  he  aspired  to 
a  military  career  and  sought  and  received  from  Honorable  Kenneth 
Rayner  an  appointment  as  a  cadet  at  West  Point,  where  he  was  ad- 
mittt'ilnn  July  1,  1840.  After  remaining  there  about  one  and  a  half 
years,  bad  health  forced  him  to  resign  and  return  to  his  home 
in  Hertford  County.  Here  he  devoted  himself  with  great  energy 
and  success  to  fanning  and  to  the  management  of  the  affairs  of 
his  widowed  nioihcr.  and  he  soon  became  a  well-to-do  planter.  He 
was  appointed  niaj<ir  in  the  militia  in  1847,  and  was  noted  for  the 
loyalty  of  his  devotion  to  his  State  and  county,  and  he  was 
esteemed  by  all  who  knew  him  as  an  exemplary  citizen.  He 
never  snngju  nfticia!  station,  but  took  a  deep  interest  in  all 
public   questions.     He   served  for  several  years  as  one  of  the 


482  NORTH  CAROLINA 

**Sj)ccial  Court"  in  his  county  just  before  the  abolition  of  the 
court  in  1868.  Before  the  Civil  War  he  was  a  staunch  Whig,  but 
lie  afterward  became  an  ardent  Democrat.  For  a  number  of  years 
following  the  Reconstruction  period,  and  when  a  majority  of  the 
l)oar(l  were  Republicans,  he  served  his  county  as  one  of  its  county 
commissioners,  and  it  may  be  justly  said  that  it  was  due  in  a 
large  measure  to  his  watchfulness,  good  judgment  and  unflinching 
courage  that  the  deplorable  conditions  which  existed  at  that 
time  in  so  many  other  eastern  counties  of  the  State  never  pre- 
vailed in  Hertford.  The  mother  of  Mr.  Winbome  was  Mary 
Prettow  of  Southampton  County,  Virginia,  a  member  of  the  old 
and  cultured  family  of  that  name  that  were  among  the  early  settlers 
of  the  county.  She  was  a  lady  of  many  personal  charms,  and  of 
the  most  beautiful  Christian  character.  She  was  trained  in  the 
best  schools  c^f  her  day,  and  finished  her  education  at  a  high-grade 
institution  in  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  controlled  by  the  relig- 
ious sect  (Quakers)  to  which  she  then  belonged.  She  was  twice 
married — her  first  husband  being  James  Massenburg  of  her  na- 
tive county,  who  lived  less  than  one  year.  After  marriage  she 
formed  other  religious  associations,  but  retained  through  life  all 
of  the  j^entle  modesty  and  consecration  to  duty  so  characteristic  of 
her  (Juaker  progenitors. 

With  such  ancestors  Mr.  Winborne  acquired  by  inheritance  the 
virtue  oi  directness,  and  a  corresponding  dislike  of  all  shams  and 
hyp(X'risy.  The  active  and  useful  lives  of  his  parents  and  their 
ueii^hlx^rs  taught  him,  at  an  early  age,  the  lessons  of  independence 
and  self-reliance,  and  these,  perhaps,  are  the  most  prominent 
characteristics  of  his  maturer  vears.  In  vouth  he  attended  Buck- 
horn  Academy,  a  flourishing  classical  school  about  two  miles 
fn^ni  his  hc^nie,  of  which  Captain  J.  H.  Picot,  a  graduate  of  Co- 
hmihia  C(Mlege  of  Xew  York,  and  a  gentleman  of  gresit  learning 
and  literary  attainments,  was  principal.  As  was  usual  in  such 
academies  at  that  time,  nuich  attention  was  paid  to  training  young 
nun  in  juihlic  ileclamation  and  debate:  and  here  doubtless  the  sub- 
ject oi  this  sketch  first  acquired  and  developed  the  tastes  which  in- 
clined him  {o  tiie  law.    Indeed,  a  number  of  men  now  prominent  in 


BENJAMIN  BRODIE  WINBORNE  483 

public  and  private  life  in  the  State  and  in  other  States  received 
their  early  training  at  this  ok!  academy,  the  glory  of  which  is 
now  but  a  memory.  And  may  we  not  remark  here  without  being 
considered  an  enemy  of  education  that  these  o!d  country  acade- 
mies have  in  the  past  trained  many  notable  men  for  the  State; 
and  is  it  not  worth  while  to  consider  if  the  public  school  is  cal- 
culated to  develop  the  same  high  character  and  culture?  In 
1871  Mr.  Winbome  entered  Wake  Forest  College,  where  he  re- 
mained for  one  year,  and  thereafter  continued  his  studies  in 
Columbian  University  in  Washington,  D.  C. — 'receiving  from 
the  latter  the  degree  of  B.L.  in  June,  1874.  He  then  studied  for 
oiie  year  in  the  office  of  Judge  W.  N.  H.  Smith  and  Hon.  George 
V.  Strong  in  Raleigh.  North  Carolina,  and  began  the  practice  of 
law  in  June,  1875,  in  Winton,  North  Carolina — the  county  scat 
of  his  native  connty — having  received  his  license  from  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  State  in  Febrnary  preceding,  and  before  he  had  at- 
tained his  majority.  When  he  commenced  to  practice  a  number  of 
able  lawyers  were  members  of  the  Winton  bar.  and  his  early 
experiences,  not  unlike  those  of  the  average  young  lawyer,  had 
their  discouragements  and  disappointments.  But  he  applied  him- 
self with  great  diligence  to  his  books^ca  re  fully  reviewing  all  of 
his  text  l)ooks.  both  academic  and  law,  and  studying  such  others 
as  he  had  added  to  his  library.  His  patient  industry  and  indom- 
itable will  to  succeed  scon  brought  their  reward,  and  in  a  few 
years  he  won  hi?  place  among  the  foremost  members  of  the  bar. 
This  position  he  has  since  maintained,  and  for  a  number  of  years 
he  has  been  one  of  [lie  leailing  and  most  successful  lawyers  in 
the  eastern  part  of  the  State,  During  this  period  his  practice  in  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  State  has  been  extensive,  and  as  appears 
from  the  reports  of  that  court,  he  has  been  counsel  in  much  im- 
portant litigation  as  well  as  in  many  leading  cases  involving  the 
most  intricate  and  controverted  legal  principles. 

On  December  23,  187^.  he  married  Miss  Nellie  H.  Vaughan,  a 
beantifid  and  accomplished  woman,  the  daughter  of  Colonel  Uriah 
\'atighan  of  Murfreesboro,  North  Carolina,  and  in  January.  1880, 
he  removed  lo  that  town,  where  he  has  since  resided.     In  1877  he 


484  NORTH  CAROLINA 

was  elected  Solicitor  of  the  Inferior  Court  of  Hertford  Court — a 
court  of  limited  criminal  jurisdiction — and  served  in  that  capacity 
for  a  number  of  years.  In  1891  this  court  was  abolished  and  a 
criminal  court  of  general  jurisdiction  was  established  in  its  stead. 
In  response  to  the  almost  unanimous  demand  of  the  people  of  his 
county  he  agreed  to  accept  the  judgeship  of  the  latter  court,  and 
was  accordingly  commissioned  by  the  Governor,  and  served  for 
a  term  of  six  years,  except  for  a  brief  interval  when  he  resigned 
to  serve  in  the  Legislature  of  1895 — being  reappointed  after  its 
adjournment.  As  judge  he  added  to  his  reputation  as  an  ac- 
curate and  learned  lawyer,  and  displayed  the  firmness,  high  sense 
of  justice  and  other  qualities  of  head  and  heart  which  eminently 
qualify  him  for  judicial  station.  In  1905  he  wrote  and  had  pub- 
lished a  most  interesting  history  of  the  Winborne  family;  and 
he  is  now  writing  a  history  of  Hertford  County  and  its  people. 

Mr.  Winborne  has  been  unswerving  in  his  allegiance  to  De- 
mocracy, and  since  1875  has  taken  an  active  part  in  the  politics 
(^f  his  county  and  State.  He  first  attracted  attention  by  a  series 
of  articles  on  the  progress  of  political  science,  published  in  the 
Albemarle  Times — at  that  time  a  weekly  newspaper  of  wide  circu- 
lation in  eastern  Carolina,  edited  and  published  in  Windsor, 
North  Carolina,  by  the  late  P.  H.  Winston,  Jr.  These  sketches 
have  been  recently  published  in  book  form. 

From  1878  to  1902  he  served  as  chairman  of  the  Democratic 
Executive  Conmiittce  of  Hertford  County,  and  it  was  under  his 
able  and  aggressive  management  that  the  county  was  first  re- 
deemed from  Republican  rule  in  the  Fall  of  1884,  when  his 
brother,  R.  W.  Winborne,  now  of  Roanoke,  Virginia,  was  elected 
to  the  House  of  Representatives.  For  some  years  Mr.  Winborne 
served  as  a  member  of  the  Democratic  Executive  Committee  of 
the  .State,  and  in  1896  he  was  one  of  the  North  Carolina  delegates 
to  the  Chicago  Convention.  In  the  campaign  of  1894  he  was  the 
Democratic  candidate  of  his  county  for  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, and  was  one  of  the  stalwart  thirty- three  in  the  entire  State 
who  came  out  triumphant  from  the  political  upheaval  of  that  year. 
In  the  Legislature  of  1895,  though  in  the  minority  and  at  a  time 


BENJAMIN'   BRODIE  WIN130R.\E  485 

when  political  fee)ing  in  the  Slate  was  bitter,  his  influence  was 
felt.  By  his  ability  and  conrage  he  won  the  respect,  and  by  his 
courtesy  the  esteem,  of  his  political  opponents  in  that  body;  and 
thus  he  was  enabled  to  secure  the  enactment  of  important  meas- 
ures, as  well  as  the  defeat  of  mudi  bad  legislation.  Thereafter 
he  continued  to  dcvoie  himself  assiduously  to  his  large  practice 
until  1904,  when  he  was  again  a  candidate  for  the  House  of 
Representatives,  and  while  there  were  other  good  men  seeking  the 
nomination,  he  was  nominated  at  a  party  primary  by  an  over- 
whelming majority,  and  was  subsequently  elected. 

In  the  Legislature  of  1905  he  was  at  once  recognized  as  a  lead- 
ing member,  being  appointed  chairman  of  the  Democratic  caucus, 
chairman  of  the  Judiciary  Committee  and  a  member  of  a  number 
of  the  other  most  important  committees  of  the  House.  He  was 
the  author  of  much  important  legislation,  look  a  leading  part  in 
the  debates  of  the  session,  and  as  a  member  of  the  Committee  on 
the  Revision  of  the  Statutes,  his  familiarity  with  the  law  made 
him  of  the  greatest  usefulness  to  his  associates  and  the  Slate. 

In  addition  to  being  a  strong  lawyer,  Mr.  Winborne  is  a  public- 
spirited  man,  and  always  a  leader  in  the  progressive  enterprises 
of  his  section.  He  still  retains  his  devotion  to  the  farm,  and  not- 
H'iihslandiiig  the  strenuous  exactions  of  his  professional  life,  is  a 
successful  farmer,  largely  interested  in  planting  and  stock 
raising. 

In  personal  intercourse,  Mr.  Winborne  has  pleasing  manners, 
and  enjoys  ilie  imlmunded  confidence  of  those  who  know  him  best. 
He  is  a  popular  man,  but  it  is  the  popularity  of  a  positive  and  ag- 
gressive character.  His  fidelity  and  loyalty  to  his  friends  and 
clients  are  proverbial,  and  while  the  zeal  with  which  he  espouses 
another's  cause  sometimes  excites  antagonisms,  he  is  so  honor- 
able and  open  as  an  adversary  as  to  command  the  respect  of 
his  opponents.  Warm  hearted  and  generous,  he  is  easily  moved 
bv  suffering  or  misfortune,  and  gives  with  a  free  hand.  His  con- 
victions of  duty  are  strong,  and  whatever  he  undertakes  he  per- 
forms conscientiously  and  thoroughly,  whatever  the  cost  or  sacri- 
fice to  himself;  and  in  this,  doubtless,  is  to  be  found  the  secret 


486  NORTH  CAROLINA 

of  his  success.  He  is  intensely  devoted  to  North  Carolina,  and 
glories  in  her  traditions  and  her  history,  and  his  profession  he 
loves  as  a  jealous  mistress.  In  the  discharge  of  his  public  duties 
he  has  won  the  esteem  and  admiration  of  his  associates.  Per- 
haps no  more  accurate  characterization  has  been  given  of  any  of 
our  public  men  than  is  to  be  found  in  an  editorial  of  the  Raleigh 
Morning  Post,  March  8,  1905,  concerning  the  subject  of  this 
sketch : 

''Judge  B.  B.  Winborne.  member  of  the  House  from  Hertford,  goes 
home  with  a  legislative  record  that  marks  him  pre-eminently  one  of  the 
safest,  as  well  as  ablest,  leaders  in  the  State.  He  it  was  who  led  the  fight 
in  the  House  for  the  principal  provision  in  the  Divorce  Law  as  the  Senate 
passed  it,  and  in  which  the  House  finally  concurred.  His  argument  on 
that  question  in  the  House,  on  the  night  the  Divorce  Bills  were  discussed, 
will  long  be  remembered  as  one  of  the  really  great  speeches  that  have  been 
made  in  that  hall.  Then  his  stand  for  the  granting  of  new  trials  in 
criminal  cases  for  newly  discovered  evidence  was  a  notable  effort,  one 
that  of  itself,  if  he  had  done  nothing  else,  would  have  singled  him  out  as 
a  strong  and  just  man." 

Robert  W,  Winborne. 


JOHN  WITHERSPOON 

I  OHN  WITHERSPOON.  an  eminent  divine. 
Moderator  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  and  founder  of  the  first 
church  of  any  denomination  ever  established  in 
Hillsboro,  was  bom  at  "Pembroke,"  near  New- 
Bern,  in  1791.  He  died  on  September  25, 
rc).  He  comes  of  a  family  of  divines,  scholars 
He  was  the  son  of  David  Witherspoon.  a 
prominent  member  of  the  bar  of  New-Bern.  The  Federal  census  of 
i/yo  shows  that  David  Withersjjoon  was  ibe  largest  slave-owner 
in  Craven  County  al  that  time,  having  one  hundred  amitljjtee;! 
slaves.  Tht-  [lattriinl  prandfalher  was  lievariiinl  John  VVidierspooii, 
D.D..  LL.D.,  meml>er  of  the  Continental  Congress  from  New 
Jersey,  signer  of  tlie  Declaration  of  Independence,  president  of  the 
CollcRc  of  New  jersey  (Princeton)  for  many  years,  and  teacher 
of  many  of  the  patriots  of  the  Revohition.  An  uncle.  Major  James 
Witherspoim.  was  aide  to  General  Francis  Nash,  and  was  killed 
at  Gcrmantnwn  by  a  part  of  the  shell  which  killed  his  ilhistrious 
commander.  An  aunt,  Frances  Witherspoon,  was  the  wife  of 
the  historian,  David  Ramsay  of  South  Carohna.  Another  aunt, 
Anna  Witherspixin,  was  the  wife  of  Samuc!  Stanhope  Smith  (who 
succeciled  her  father  as  president  of  Princeton)  and  the  grand- 
mother of  John  C,  I'rcckcuridge.  member  of  Congress,  Senator 
and  X'ice-l'rcsident  of  the  United  States,  major-general  and  secre- 


488  NORTH  CAROLINA 

tary  of  war  of  the  Confederate  States.    The  signer  was  the  son 
of  Reverend  James  Witherspoon,  parish  minister  of  Yester,  Ho(l- 
dingtonshire,  Scotland,  and  Anne  Walker,  his  wife,  who  was  her- 
self the  daughter  of  Reverend  David  Walker  of  Temple  Parish  and 
Margaret  Peterson,  his  wife.     The  family  name  was  originally 
spelled  Wodderspoon,  and  the  coat  of  arms  bears  the  motto  "Deo 
Jiivante/'     The  mother  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  Mary 
Jones,    widow   of    Governor    Abner   Nash,   and   a   great-g^nd- 
daughter  of  Frederick  Jones,  who  was  chief  justice  of  the  colony 
of  North  Carolina  from  171 7  to  1721.    Through  her  mother,  Mary 
Jones  was  descended  from  William  Bradford  of  the  Mayiioivcr, 
the  second  and  many  times  governor  of  Plymouth. 

On  the  1st  of  July,  1813,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  married 
Susan  Davis  Kollock  of  Elizabeth  town,  New  Jersey,  who  was 
the  daughter  of  Captain  Shepard  Kollock,  a  Revolutionar}-  soldier, 
member  of  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati,  and  a  prominent  editor; 
and  sister  of  Shepard  Kosciusko  Kollock,  w^ho  was  Professor  of 
Logic  and  Rhetoric  in  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  1819  to 
1825.     At  the  age  of  eight  or  nine  John  lost  his  mother.    His 
father  removed  to  Princeton  and  died  shortly  afterward.    By  the 
will  of  his  father,  John  was  placed  under  the  guardianship  of 
Doctor  Samuel  Stanhope  Smith  of  Princeton,  and  Doctor  John  C 
Osborne,  a  well-known  physician  of  New-Bern.    John  received  his 
earliest  school  training  at  Baskenridge,  New  Jersey,  in  an  academy 
of  which  the  Reverend  Doctor  Findlay  was  principal,  "a  man  justly 
celebrated  as  a  teacher  and  a  divine."    After  a  time  he  was  taken 
from  this  school  by  Doctor  Smith  and  placed  under  the  care  of  his 
other  guardian,  Doctor  Osborne,  who  resigned  his  charge.    His 
half-brother.   Chief  Justice   Frederick   Nash,   then  assumed  the 
guardianship.     T.'pon   his   return   to   New- Bern   he  entered  the 
acadcni}',  which  was  under  the  charge  of  Doctor  Irving,  **a  man  of 
science  and   full   of  learning  and   an   excellent   instructor,  who 
trusted  more  to  the  rod  than  to  moral  suasion."  Doctor  Irving  later 
turned  his  attention  to  the  ministrv,  was  dulv  admitted  to  Orders 
in  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  installed  as  a  priest  at  New-Bern. 
Several  of  his  pupils  in  after  life  achiev-ed  eminence,  among  them 


JOHN  VVITHERSPOON 


Judge  William  Gaston.  John  then  entered  the  preparatory  de- 
partment of  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  which  was  then 
in  charge  of  Reverend  Abner  Clopton.  He  entered  the  University 
in  1808.  and  was  graduated  in  1810  as  a  Bachelor  of  Ans.  Among 
his  classmates  was  James  Fauntleroy  Taylor,  with  whom  he 
lied  on  the  senior  examinations,  and  who  subsequently  became 
attorney-general  of  the  State.  The  Latin  salutatory  was  as- 
signed to  Witlierspoon.  and  the  valedictory  to  Ta\'lor,  the  latter 
being  the  better  speaker.  Witherspoon  and  Taylor  entered  the 
law  office  of  Chief  Justice  Nash,  and  were  in  due  lime  admitted 
to  the  bar. 

White  on  a  visit  to  Philadelphia,  Mr.  Witherspoon  heard  a  ser- 
mon by  Reverend  Doctor  Thomas  Skinner,  a  native  of  this  State, 
and  from  it  he  dated  his  first  serious  impression  upon  the  subject 
of  religion.  Laler,  under  the  preaching  of  that  eminent  man  of 
God,  Doctor  Robert  Chapman,  then  president  of  our  University,  he 
made  profession  of  faith,  and  was  admitted  to  membership  in  the 
Presbyterian  Oiurch  at  Chape!  Hill.  He  then  decided  to  throw 
aside  his  law  books  and  to  devote  himself  to  the  Gospel  ministry. 
He  thus  verified  the  prediction  made  for  him  by  his  first  teacher. 
Doctor  Findlay,  who  said:  '"No  doubt  JoJjh  hvJJ  yet  become  a 
preacher  of  the  Gospel ;  that  there  never  had  been  a  time  since  the 
death  of  John  Knox  inwhich  there  was  not  a  minister  of  the  Gospel 
in  direct  line  from  him."  To  prepare  himself  for  the  ministry  he 
removed  with  his  family  to  Elizabethtown,  New  Jersey,  and  com- 
pleted his  theological  studies  under  his  brother-in-law,  the 
Reverend  Doctor  John  McDowall.  then  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  of  that  place,  and  who,  in  1820,  was  Moderator  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly.  In  the  Spring  of  i8t6  he  was  ordained  a  minister  of 
the  Presbytery  of  New  Jeniicy.  He  returned  the  same  year  to  his 
native  State  and  located  at  Hillsboro.  "At  that  time  Hillsboro  was 
destitute  of  the  forms  of  religion;  no  house  dedicated  to  the  ser- 
vice of  .Mmighty  God  existed  within  its  precincts;  nor  was  there 
any  organized  church  of  any  faith:  nor  was  there  any  regular 
worship.  Its  Sabbaths  were  silent  Sabbaths,  undisturbed  by  the 
'church-going  bell,'   and   for  many   a  year  previous  thereto  a 


490  NORTH  CAROLINA 

moral  or  a  religious  darkness  had  spread  over  the  community. 
But  a  great  reformation  had  recently  begun  under  the  preaching 
of  Doctor  Chapman.  In  1816  (September  25th)  the  first  Presby- 
terian Church  that  ever  had  been  formed  in  Hillsboro  was  organ- 
ized by  Mr.  Witherspoon,  who  was  ordained  its  pastor ;  and  there 
continued  to  labor  as  such  until  1832."  "While  pastor  of  the  church 
in  Hillsboro,  seeing  the  destitution  of  the  place  in  a  literary  point  of 
view,  there  being  no  academy  there,  he  instituted  one  there,  and 
associated  with  himself  a  gentleman  of  the  name  of  Rogers." 
Mr.  Rogers  had  been  educated  for  a  Roman  Catholic  priest,  but 
had  abandoned  that  purpose,  and  had  become  a  midshipman  in 
the  navy.  Happening  to  reach  Wilmington,  he  resigned  and  was 
employed  there  as  a  private  tutor,  and  then  he  taught  at  Hills- 
boro, where  he  married  a  daughter  of  Colonel  William  Shepperd. 
He  was  a  fine  teacher.  "Under  their  joint  labors  the  academy  rose 
rapidly  into  public  favor.  Many  of  the  young  men  of  our  State 
in  public  life  received  under  these  gentlemen  the  rudiments  of 
their  education."  "In  1832  he  removed  to  Camden,  in  South  Caro- 
lina, upon  a  call  from  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  that  State.  He 
continued  to  labor  there  until  he  received  and  accepted  a  call 
from  the  church  in  Columbia  of  the  same  State."  After  laboring 
several  years  in  the  church  of  Columbia,  Mr.  Witherspoon's 
health  having  given  way,  he  returned  to  his  native  State  to  die. 
"His  life  was  mercifully  spared  for  several  years  after  his  return, 
and  though  a  life  of  suffering  and  sorrow,  he  bore  all  his  trials 
with  meekness,  submission  and  resignation.  Nor  did  he  relax  his 
ministerial  labors,  visiting  the  poor,  the  sick  and  the  afflicted,  and 
ministering  to  their  spiritual  wants  with  tenderness  and  unbroken 
zeal."  "Being  young  when  he  lost  his  mother,  and  the  only  sur- 
viving child  of  a  father  broken  in  health,  he  never  was  subject  in 
his  earliest  days  to  that  restraint  so  necessary  in  forming  the 
character  of  the  future  man.  His  mother's  death  occurred  too 
earlv  in  his  infancy  for  him  to  have  derived  anv  benefit  from  her 
judicious  care  and  management.  At  the  time,  then,  when  he  was 
placed  under  the  care  of  Doctor  Findlay,  he  was  a  wild  and  reck- 
less boy,  spurning  at  an  authority  which  was  new  to  him.''     But 


JOH\  WITHERSPOON  491 

the  influence  of  a  long  line  of  godly  and  scholarly  men  became 
more  and  more  assertive,  and  erelong  prevaired.  He  became 
a  brilliant  student  and  later  a  beloved  minister.  "With  manners 
mild  and  gunllc,  a  voice  sweetly  and  musically  toned,  with  a  sound, 
discriminating  mind,  well  stored  witli  learning,  and  with  a  heart 
overflowing  with  love  to  his  fellow-men,  he  was  fully  equipped 
for  battle.  In  private  life  he  was.  especially  among  those  with 
whom  he  was  familiar,  extremely  cheerful  in  conversation,  seek- 
ing to  please  as  well  as  to  instruct.  In  the  pnlpit  he  was  ever 
solemn,  giving  apparently  his  whole  soul  to  the  subject  before 
him.  \o  levity  of  conduct  or  of  speech  ever  escaped  him — he 
was  there  solely  to  instruct  and  persuade.  By  man\'  he  was  con- 
sidered a  fine  pulpit  orator:  he  was  so,  as  far  as  a  minister  of  the 
Gospel  in  the  pulpit  can  be  so  who  uses  little  or  no  action.  Mr, 
WitherspDon  u.sed  none  or  very  little.  His  presence  in  the  pulpit 
wa.s  commanding  and  solemn,  his  enunciation  clear,  his  language 
chaste  and  pure,  and  his  sweet  voice  penetrated  to  the  remotest 
corner  of  the  church.  The  leading  feature,  perhaps,  of  his  mind 
was  his  knowledge  of  human  character.  .  .  .  This  power  or 
faculty  enabled  him  to  adapt  his  discourse  to  his  audiences  in  a. 
most  effective  manner.  Especially  was  he  successful  in  addressing 
the  young  and  his  colored  hearers.  His  language  and  his  illus- 
trations then  were  suited  to  their  comprehension,  and  with  both 
classes  lie  was  a  favorite." 

He  assisied  Reverend  Doctor  WiUiam  McPheeters  with  the  ser- 
vices on  February  7,  1S18.  dedicating  the  first  church  building  of 
the  First  i'resbyterian  Church  of  Raleigh,  and  with  two  others  he 
assisted  in  the  organization  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Green  slid ro. 

He  was  the  recipient  of  the  honorary  degrees  of  A.M..  D.D.,  and 
I-I-.D,  The  first  was  conferred  by  the  University  of  North 
Carnlina  in  1815.  and  by  the  College  of  New  Jersey.  The  degree 
of  D.D.  was  conferred  in  1836  by  the  College  of  New  Jersey  and 
by  Lafa\clte  Collcjie.  His  church  bestowed  many  honors  upon 
him.  He  wm  clcdcd  Moderator  of  Orange  Presbytery  in  1822, 
1827  and  i8,i!.  a  very  unusual  honor,  as  one  year  is  the  usual 


492  NORTH  CAROLINA 

term  of  service.    At  the  end  of  the  session  in  1827  he  was  made 
Stated  Clerk.    In  1836  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  which  met  that  year  in  Pittsburg,  elected  him  Moderator, 
which  is  the  highest  honor  in  the  gift  of  the  church,  and  it  has 
been  said  that  *'he  was  found  equal  to  the  task,"  and  that  **he 
made  the  finest  impression  on  the  whole  church  as  to  his  ability 
and  impartiality."     According  to  custom  as  retiring  Moderator, 
he  preached  the  opening  sermon  on  the  following  year.    The  text 
of  his  sermon  was  i  .Cor.  i  :io,  11.    At  that  time  the  church  was 
convulsed  with  vital  controversies,  in  which  he  took  an  active  part, 
contributing  many  energetic  articles  to  the  Philadelphia  Presby- 
terian.    He  took  the  position  that  the  grave  political  questions 
which  were  agitating  the  nation  were  not  matters  upon  which  the 
church  as  a  church  should  legislate. 

Shortly  after  his  death  Orange  Presbytery  met  at  Milton,  and 
during  its  session  resolutions  were  adopted  in  reference  to  Doctor 
Witherspoon,  in  which  he  is  alluded  to  as  **gifted  with  talents  of 
a  high  order,"  and  as  ''having  enjoyed  opportunities  of  instruction 
better  than  most  men  of  his  day."  This  estimate  of  him  appears 
in  the  resolutions :  **As  a  popular  speaker  he  was  excelled  by 
none,  the  silvery  tones  of  his  voice,  the  grace  and  eloquence  of 
his  manner,  his  ready  flow  of  language,  combined  with  a  re- 
markable memory,  a  fervid  imagination  and  vigorous  powers 
of  thought  made  him  a  most  attractive  preacher.  For  his 
success,  however,  he  was,  perhaps,  not  less  indebted  to  his  quali- 
ties as  a  man  than  as  a  preacher — gentle,  courteous,  affable  and 
kind,  he  was  a  pastor  greatly  beloved."  Such  a  tribute  is  a  price- 
less inheritance  to  his  children. 

W.  A,   Withers. 


1 

T:iU  Vt\i  YORK 

PUbUJ  LIOKARY 

irrttR.  LENOX  AND 

r                   1. 

1 

J 

494  NORTH  CAROLINA 

truth  of  the  homely  adage,  that  ^'keeping  everlastingly  at  it  will 
hriiig  success"  hrought  home  to  us  in  the  early  years  of  his 
struggles  and  amhitions ;  and  we  have  set  before  us  from  the  very 
first  mile  jx^st  that  he  passed  an  ideal  which  was  his,  and  a  char- 
actor  formed  in  the  light  of  that  ideal  that  withstood  all  tempta- 
tion, and  which  proved  the  strength  and  foundation  of  all  his 
undertakings.  So  in  recording  the  important  events  in  his  hfe 
we  arc  not  without  materials ;  but  for  the  shades  and  shadows 
which  illumine  many  pictures  of  successful  men  the  reader  must 
su])])ly  them,  for  they  have  not  been  given  to  the  limner. 

Richard  Harvey  Wright  was  born  near  Louisburg,  North 
Carolina,  I^Vanklin  County,  in  the  year  185 1,  on  the  13th  day  of 
July.  His  father,  Mr.  Thomas  D.  Wright,  was  a  country  gentle- 
man, horn  in  North  Carolina,  his  father  being  an  Englishman 
who  settled  in  the  South.  As  Mr.  Wright  was  early  left  an  orphan, 
his  father  dying  when  he  was  but  six  years  of  age,  and  his  mother, 
Mrs.  l^lizaheth  Ci.  Wright,  ])assing  away  when  he  was  but  four- 
teen years  of  age,  Mr.  Wright  never  had  opportunity  to  learn 
anything  of  imj)()rtance  about  his  ancestors.  He  found  himself 
alone  in  the  world  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  in  delicate  health,  and 
decided  to  enter  into  the  mercantile  business.  He  had  gone  to 
Horner's  School,  and  there  pre|)ared  for  a  collegiate  course,  but 
finding  himself  financially  unable  to  continue  his  studies,  there- 
fore reluctantly  he  closed  his  books  for  the  time  being,  went  to 
Oxford  and  became  an  ai)])rentice  in  a  general  merchandise  store, 
agreeing  to  work  three  years  for  his  employer.  'He  was  to  re- 
ceive his  board  and  washing  and  $50  per  year  for  the  three  years. 
Those  >ears  were  i86(),  1870  and  1 87 1.  And  while  we  see  the 
young  man,  an  orphan  boy,  toiling  through  the  day  selling  general 
merchandise,  and  knowing  that  he  was  to  receive  practically 
nothing  in  monev  for  his  services,  it  turned  out  that  he  was  better 
paid  than  many  a  young  man  receiving  a  hundred  dollars  a  month. 
While  at  school  the  teacher.  Professor  T.  J.  Horner,  had  filled 
liini  with  ambition,  and  many  were  the  long  nights  that  young 
Wright  laid  on  his  bed  or  sat  at  a  table  before  a  dim  light  and 
read  and  reread  the  lives  of  great  men;  followed  them  in  their 


RICHARD  HARVEY  WRIGHT  495 

struggles  willi  adversity ;  wept  with  ihem  in  their  defeats  and 
rejoiced  with  tlieni  in  the  final  triumphs.  It  was  here,  when  he 
was  an  apprentice,  that  the  character  which  has  stood  him  in  such 
splendid  stead  was  formed;  ii  was  here,  in  these  midnight  hours, 
that  he  dreamed  a  road  and  way  for  himself  tiirough  what  seemed 
an  impenetrable  forest.  The  writer  of  this  sketch  asked  him  what 
else  he  read,  and  he  told  him  that  many  of  the  poems  of  Long-  , 
fellow  had  inspired  him  and  made  his  burdens  light.  He  was  not 
asked  what  particular  poem  sn  strongly  appealed  to  him,  but  we 
dare  say  that  "The  Rainy  Day"  and  the  "Psalm  of  Li  fc"  were  some 
that  he  many  times  read,  and  resolved  that  he  would  "be  up  and 
doing,  with  a  heart  for  any  fate;  still  achieving,  still  pursuing" — 
he  could  labor,  hecould  wait !  After  three  years  of  apprenticeship 
were  passed,  Mr.  Wright  formed  a  copartnership  with  his  em- 
ployer under  the  firm  name  of  Hunt  &  Wright.  They  opened 
a  store  at  Tally  Ho,  in  Granville  County,  and  ran  it  imtil  1874, 
and  one  night  it  burned  to  the  ground,  and  not  a  cent  of  insurance 
was  to  be  collected,  for  the  insurance  policy  had  expired.  After 
the  fire  Mr.  Wright  found  himself  worse  off  than  nothing  by  sev- 
eral thousand  dollars ;  all  that  the  firm  owed  he  was  in  duty  bound 
to  pay  his  part,  which  he  did  uncomplainingly — and  he  also  figitred 
that  his  seven  years'  work  and  toil  were  in  that  ash  heap,  because 
he  diiln'l  thfu  see  Imw  he  could  enga^tjp  in  general  merchandise. 
But  lie  never  lost  heart.  He,  however,  was  up  against  a  propo- 
sition. He  was  away  from  home  when  the  fire  came,  and  he  was 
naturally  feeling  blue,  downhearted  and  despondent.  It  hap- 
pened that  the  famous  lecturer,  Josh  Billings,  who  not  only  had 
an  original  way  of  spelling,  but  an  original  and  striking  way  of 
presenting  a  proposition,  was  to  lecture  that  night  in  Raleigh. 
Young  Wright  thought  he  would  go  and  hear  the  lecture,  as 
Josh  Billings  was  then  justly  famous,  and  he  told  the  writer  that 
that  lecture  was  worth  to  him  a  thousand  times  what  it  cost. '  As 
slated,  he  was  feeling  at  odds  with  the  world;  he  had  lost  all  he 
hail,  was  .several  diousand  dollars  in  debt,  and  he  was  really  blue, 
with  all  the  term  implies.  In  his  quaint  way,  and  among  the  first 
things  lie  said  on  the  pl.itforni,  Billings  remarked:  "Young  man. 


496  NORTH  CAROLINA 

never  grieve  over  spilt  milk,  but  pick  up  your  milk  pail  and  go 
for  the  next  cow."  Mr.  Wright  said  that  any  other  time  per- 
haps he  would  not  have  noticed  the  import  of  this  philosophy, 
but  it  seemed  to  be  directed  to  him  alone;  he  took  it  all  to  him- 
self— and  that  was  about  all  he  heard  or  remembered  of  the 
lecture.  All  through  the  programme  he  saw  another  pail  ma- 
terializing ;  he  saw  the  cow,  and  he  saw  that  the  thing  to  do  was 
to  get  another  pail  and  keep  on  a-milking.  He  went  to  his  hotel, 
and  that  quaint  sentence  still  rang  in  his  ears;  it  was  there  the 
next  day  and  it  refused  to  leave  him.  He  saw  things  in  a  differ- 
ent light,  and  it  was  from  what  Billings  said  that  he  saw  he  had 
a  heart  for  any  fate,  and  he  at  once  commenced  to  look  around, 
and  in  a  short  time  he  was  again  in  business,  this  time  in  Durham, 
with  his  old  partner — and  the  firm  did  well. 

But  after  seven  years  of  active  merchandising  as  a  proprietor, 
in  1877  Mr.  \\'right  took  with  him  another  partner  in  another 
line,  and  commenced  the  manufacture  of  smoking  tobacco  at 
Durham,  under  the  firm  name  of  R.  H.  Wright  and  Company. 
After  a  year  in  a  rented  building,  in  1878  he  built  a  factory,  and 
remained  in  it  a  year  alone,  having  purchased  his  partner's  inter- 
est. It  was  while  running  the  factory  alone  that  he  went  out  into 
the  world — went  after  business — traveled  the  West,  and  while 
older  concerns  sent  traveling  men  in  the  same  territor)', 
Mr.  Wright  seemed  somehow  to  be  able  to  secure  more  orders, 
to  sell  more  goods,  than  all  of  them  put  together,  and  naturally 
enough  his  business  began  to  attract  widespread  attention  in  the 
trade,  lie  continued  a  year  in  his  new  factory,  and  was  building 
up  a  large  business.  His  factory  was  just  in  the  rear  of  the 
factory  of  W.  Duke  Sons  and  Company,  and  it  happened  that 
this  firm  was  attracted  to  the  business  being  done  by  Mr.  Wright, 
and  especially  had  Mr.  Washington  Duke  been  made  familiar 
with  the  success  of  Mr.  Wright  on  the  road  from  the  fact  that  they 
had  traveled  together,  and  Mr.  Wright's  orders  surprised 
^Ir.  Duke  to  the  extent  that  he  was  offered  a  chance  to  purchase 
W.  Duke's  interest  in  that  concern.  So  in  1880  he  became  one 
of  the  partners,  and  for  five  years  there  was,  in  the  parlance  of 


RICHARD  HARVEY  WRIGHT  497 

to-day,  "something  dcjing."  Not  only  in  America,  but  in  all  the 
foreign  countries  of  the  world,  Mr.  Wright  went  with  his  samples, 
and  his  energy,  and  his  tactful  ways,  and  blazed  the  way  for  what 
afterward  became  one  of  the  greatest  commercial  successes  iii 
t!ie  United  States.  It  was  in  these  five  years,  these  strenuous  years 
of  travel,  that  Mr.  Wright  became  a  true  cosmopolite;  became  a 
traveler  distinct  in  his  class  for  miles  traversed ;  familiarized  him- 
self with  trade  and  social  conditions  of  the  world  and  rememl>ereii 
what  he  saw ;  was  alert  to  all  the  stopping  places  of  opportunity, 
as  was  evidenced  in  after  years.  Whether  in  Kimberley  or  Johan- 
nesburg, Alexandria  or  Khartoum,  Bombay  or  Singapore,  Canton 
of  Tokio,  Melbourne  or  Auckland,  Manila  or  Porto  Rico,  Calcutta 
or  Algiers,  Mr,  Wright  was  "at  home" — there  were  friendly  hands 
to  clasp  his  and  familiar  faces  to  greet  him. 

After  ha^-ing  been  four  years  in  this  exciting  game  of  travel, 
Mr.  Wright  was  married  in  June,  1884,  to  Miss  Mamie  Exum, 
of  Wayne  County,  North  Carolina.  This  estimable  lady  lived 
a  little  less  than  a  year,  and  again  Mr.  Wright  plunged  into  the 
Old  World,  and  returned  to  sever  his  relations  with  the  Duke 
concern  and  take  up  another  line. 

In  September,  1885.  he  moved  to  Lynchburg,  V'irginia,  and 
purchased  an  interest  in  the  Lone  Jack  cigarette  factorj-.  and  was 
managing  director  until  December,  1888,  when  he  retired  to  take 
llic  sole  agcncv  of  ihc  Bonsack  Cigarette  AJacJjine,  of  which  he 
was  then  and  still  is  a  large  stockholder,  in  the  countries  of  China, 
Japan,  the  I'hilippincs,  India  and  Africa.  Since  that  time 
Mr.  Wright  ha.s  sj>cnt  a  great  deal  of  his  time  in  travel.  He  has 
circled  the  globe  a  dozen  tiines,  and  thinks  no  more  of  going  to 
Europe  than  the  average  man  does  of  going  to  some  city  a  half 
hundred  miles  away.  In  a  financial  way  Mr,  Wright  has  been 
successful  far  beyond  his  wildest  dreams.  He  has  made  his  money 
because  of  his  ability  to  grasp  the  significance  of  events;  because 
of  his  industry  and  his  honesty.  He  has  never  soiled  his  hands 
or  mind  with  any  get-rich-quick  proposition.  He  has  deliberately 
laid  out  liis  campaigns  of  commerce  as  a  shrewd  general  lays  out 
his  plans  of  battle,  and  if  he   saw   Opportunity  sitting  in  the 


498  NORTH  CAROLINA 

shadows  of  the  Pyramids,  he  was  in  Egypt  before  the  ordinary 
man  would  be  through  discussing  with  himself  whether  he  should 
go  or  not.  Mr.  Wright  never  believed  in  the  mystic  thing  called 
"luck."  He  ever  believed  that  there  must  be  determination  and 
steadfastness — there  must  be  a  purpose  back  of  all  human  en- 
deavor, and  when  he  gets  on  a  ship  and  the  purser  tells  him  the 
only  stateroom  he  has  is  number  thirteen,  Mr.  Wright  says  thir- 
teen is  as  good  as  any  if  it  is  as  good — that  the  name  or  number 
has  nothing  to  do  with  him. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  attempt  a  recital  of  the  different  busi- 
ness enterprises  in  which  Mr.  Wright  is  interested.  He  is  presi- 
dent of  Wright's  Automatic  Tobacco  Packing  Machine  Company, 
and  has  supplied  this  machine  to  a  large  part  of  the  tobacco  manu- 
facturers of  the  United  States.  He  also  owns  Wright's  Cigarette 
Packing  Machine ;  is  director  in  the  Wright  Coal  and  Coke  Com- 
pany, Prince,  West  Virginia;  and  the  Stonewall  Coal  and  Coke 
Company,  of  Stonewall,  West  Virginia ;  is  interested  in  the  United 
Machine  Company,  of  London,  and  is  president  of  the  Durham 
Traction  Company,  and  a  large  real  estate  owner  in  Durham. 
Mr.  W>ight  has  also  aided  in  the  perfection  of  many  patents, 
notably  the  machine  for  making  crimp  laps  on  cigarettes  instead 
of  using  paste,  and  a  machine  for  wrapping  and  boxing  laundry 
soap. 

In  all  this  busy  life  Mr.  Wright  has  never  sought  political 
honors  or  social  distinction,  and  yet,  because  of  his  quiet  and  unob- 
trusive ways,  he  counts  his  friends  by  the  score.  He  belongs  to 
but  one  secret  organization — the  Masonic  fraternity.  He  is 
affiliated  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  lives  a  life 
in  accord  with  the  teachings  of  that  denomination.  In  his  political 
choice  he  has  always,  except  when  the  free  silver  craze  swept  the 
country,  voted  the  straight  Democratic  ticket,  and  has  always 
aided,  loyally  and  patriotically,  in  the  upbuilding  of  the  South. 
In  his  cliarities  he  has  ever  followed  the  modest  teachings,  and 
seen  to  it  that  they  vaunted  not  themselves;  and  only  once  in 
public,  to  tile  writer's  knowledge,  did  he  allow  it  to  be  known  that 
he  was  giving  from  liis  wealth  to  relieve  distress.    That  was  when 


RICHARD  HARVEY  WRIGHT  499 

the  terrible  story  of  San  Francisco's  cataclysm  had  been  wired 
to  the  world  and  the  miitc  appeal  for  alms  called  coinirmnities 
together  to  take  measures  to  relieve  the  distress  of  the  suffering. 
In  a  public  meeting  in  Durham,  Mr.  Wright  thought  all  should 
give  something — and  he  wrote  bis  check  for  a  neat  sum,  remark- 
ing that  there  was  more  if  needed. 

Mr.  Wright  is  yet  a  young  man ;  there  is  much  before  him,  and 
it  must  be  with  a  pride  indescribable  that  he  looks  back  to  the 
time  when  he  was  an  apprentice  boy  at  Oxford,  working  three 
years  for  the  scant  sum  that  he  received,  and  compares  it  with 
the  present,  when  he  feels  secure  in  this  world's  gooila;  when  he 
knows  that  he  has  been  as  successful  as  most  any  man  of  his  time; 
when  he  realizes  that  all  his  successes  have  come  to  him  clean- 
handed, and  tliat  his  record  for  honesty  and  probity  has  never  been 
assailed,  "To  make  a  great  success,"  said  Mr.  Wright  to  the 
writer  upon  one  occasion,  "one  must  select  a  business  for  which 
one  has  a  natural  talent  and  taste,  and  master  it  until  he  loves 
it  above  all  other  pastimes  or  amusement."  This  is  expressed 
more  fully  in  the  idea  of  Carlyle,  who  said  that  "witbout  labor 
there  is  no  ease." 

As  said  elsewhere  in  tliis  brief  skelcb,  Mr.  Wright  does  not 
believe  in  the  thing  called  "luck,"  and  wants  nothing  to  do  with 
sii])erstition.  Discussing  those  two  phantom  things,  lie  once  said 
to  tlic  wriicr:  "Circumstances  may  assist  a  man,  but  sterling 
honesty  and  integrity,  truthfulness,  sobriety  and  good  morals, 
courlfsy,  untiring  energy,  industry  and  a  determination  to  do 
ones  full  duty,  coupled  with  good  judgment  and  practical  common 
sense,  will  soon  put  a  yonng  man  in  the  front  ranks  of  life,"  and 
sureiy  tlie  acliievcmcnts  of  Mr.  Wright  bear  full  testimony  to  this 
projKisition. 

AltliougJi  tile  shadow  on  the  dial  of  time  has  lengthened  to  the 
middle  point  since  Josh  Billings  incidentally  suggested  to  a  mixed 
audience  that  those  wlio  had  been  unfortunate  in  having  their  milk 
pail  upset  should  gel  another  pail  and  go  to  the  next  cow,  and 
while  misfortune  and  lack  of  funds  in  the  early  years  kept  him 
from  graduating  at  a  school  of  letters,  in  that  larger  institution 


500  NORTH  CAROLINA 

of  learning,  the  University  of  the  World,  he  has  graduated  with 
splendid  honors.  In  deportment,  in  scholarship  which  has  made 
him  familiar  with  men,  in  travel,  in  broad-mindedness  and  capa- 
bility, he  is  at  the  head  of  a  class  of  successful  men ;  and  perhaps 
the  hard  lines  of  his  youthful  career — the  long  hours  spent  at  the 
dim  oil  light  in  his  Oxford  home  after  a  hard  day's  labor,  his 
association  with  the  lives  of  great  men — only  in  the  cold  tyi>e  of 
books — and  the  solace  found  in  the  matchless  lines  of  the  im- 
mortal Longfellow,  proved  a  more  valuable  tutor  than  had  he 
entered  a  college  with  money  to  burn  and  received  from  lettered 
professors  the  mysteries  found  in  the  Greek  and  Latin  of  the 
curriculum  of  a  famed  and  fashionable  institution  of  learning. 
Richard  Harvey  Wright  has  written  "success"  after  his  name, 
and  who  shall  say  that  that  is  not  more  satisfactory  than  had  he 
had  better  opportunity  in  his  early  life  and  been  given  authority 
to  write  *'LL.D.,"  which  might  or  might  not  have  indicated  a 
valueless  distinction  ? 

Al  Fairbrother, 


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