USA > North Carolina > Biographical history of North Carolina from colonial times to the present; > Part 24
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J. G. de Roulhac Hamilton.
Yours Truly fr. morgan
SAMUEL TATE MORGAN
ORTH CAROLINA has reason to regard with pride those of her sons who have achieved em- N inence through their military exploits and in the field of statesmanship ; she may well take equal pride in the career of those sons who, entering on the activities of life, have developed into great captains of industry. It is somewhat remarkable that the two men who are at the head of the largest industrial corpora- tions of the world, James B. Duke, of the American Tobacco Com- pany, and Samuel T. Morgan, of the Virginia-Carolina Chemical Company, were born and reared almost in the same neighborhood, in what is now Durham County, and that their environments in .early life were much the same.
Mr. Morgan was sprung from a family connection that inherited fine traits of character. His forefathers for several generations were farmers living easy, independent lives, conscious of an excel- lent manhood, and enjoying the respect and esteem of their neigh- bors and associates. In his veins flows the blood of the Allens and Tates and the Chambers, as well as that of the Morgans. His mother, Talithia A. Tate, was a daughter of Mark A. Tate and Rebecca B. Allen of Wake County ; and his father, Samuel David- son Morgan, was the son of Stevens Morgan, and his wife, Mary Chambers, a daughter of General Chambers, of Person County.
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All of these families possessed strong characteristics and stood well in their respective communities.
Samuel Davidson Morgan was a native of Virginia. 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, were born 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 did it bring sorrows and changes to the Morgan household. At its very opening, in January, when the people were mourning the dire results of the war, Samuel Morgan, the father of the family, died, and in February Mrs. Morgan lost her only brother, and the next month she was also bereft of her father. To the widowed mother there were left only her two young sons, aged nine and seven respectively. And at the very period of this accumulation of sorrow, the retreating Confederate army passed to the west- ward, and the Federal army, to the terror of the people, took pos- session of the country in which she lived-being now a part of Durham County. Their presence was a menace and a horror, and the calamity and distresses of that woeful time of war can neither be portrayed 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- cumulated quite a large quantity of tobacco, which was still on hand at the time when that section was occupied by the Federal army. Indeed nearly all the property of the family, except their land and negroes, consisted of this tobacco-and it was all taken and used by Sherman's marauding troops. The superior quality of the to- bacco raised in that region had gained for it, even before the war, a good reputation, and the distribution of that accumulated by Mr. Morgan, as well as that possessed by other persons in the
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neighborhood of Durham Station, where Sherman's army rested, tended to make famous the Durham tobacco, which in later years became celebrated far and wide for its excellence.
The difficulties that surrounded Mrs. Morgan at that period of affliction, trouble and uncertainty were enough to 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 Mebanesville; 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. But the internal revenue laws were exacting, and were very stringently enforced in those days, so that there was always danger of falling into trouble with over-zealous revenue agents. And so Mrs. Morgan, apprehensive of trouble, required
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her sons to abandon that business ; and the subject of this sketch took up the mercantile and lumbering 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 County 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 Durham, 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 for 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 year 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 by experience
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to be valuable as a fertilizer, 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 fine talents 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 by 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 1889 Mr. Morehead died, and the partnership was dis- solved and was succeeded by a stock company, with a capital stock of $60,000, 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 Blacksburg, South Carolina; and Mr. Mor- gan also organized the Norfolk and Carolina Chemical Company at Norfolk, 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 Durham, but of the State.
In the meantime, while always 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 for 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
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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 Virginia-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 Mr. 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 S. 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 S. 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 1895 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."
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It is to be observed that the use of fertilizers has indeed been of great advantage to the agricultural portions of this country, and especially to the 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 benefit 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 States would hardly have been what it is to-day had it not been for the wonderful development of the South. It has seemed to the Sun 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 them 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."
From 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 besides, 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
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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 Ricli- 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 Crenshaw, 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 Church. 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.
J. H. Southgate.
norester
RICHMOND M. PEARSON
T HE following sketch of Chief Justice Pearson is taken from the memorial address delivered by the late Judge Robert P. Dick at the unveiling of the monument erected to the memory of Judge Pearson in Oakwood Cemetery at Raleigh, by the Pearson Memorial Associa- tion. We do not think any better sketch could be prepared, as Judge Dick was intimately acquainted with Judge Pearson, hav- ing sat with him on the Supreme Court bench for four years, and ever after remaining his devoted friend.
Much of the address is necessarily omitted to bring this sketch withun practicable limits, but we think sufficient is given to do jus- tice to the great Chief Justice as well as his distinguished eulogist.
Richmond Mumford Pearson was born in June, 1805, in Rowan County, at Richmond Hill, the paternal home. His father, Colonel Richmond Pearson, removed from Dinwiddie County, Vir- ginia, and settled in the forks of the Yadkin. He was an officer in the Revolutionary army and was distinguished for his patriot- ism and active and important services in the cause of American freedom. By his first wife, Miss Hayden, he had four children- General Jesse A. Pearson, Honorable Joseph Pearson, Richmond Pearson and Elizabeth, who intermarried with the Honorable John Stokes. His second wife was Miss Mumford, the daughter of
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Robinson Mumford, 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 Pearson, 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-
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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 forum. 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. He was remarkable for his integrity and strict attention to pro- fessional business and his unwearied diligence in the preparation of his cases. He had not the gift of eloquence, of words and imagery, but the clearness and precision with which his argu- ments were made gave them the force of the eloquence of thought
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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 Nash, 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 monument 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 January, 1878, when on his way to the Supreme Court. He was on the
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