USA > North Carolina > History of North Carolina: North Carolina biography, Volume IV > Part 24
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The library was organized in 1897, and as then constituted the institution is a monument to the efforts and generosity of Miss Lida Ruth Carr (now Mrs. Patten of Kansas City), daughter of Gen. Julian S. Carr. Miss Carr and Mr. and Mrs. T. M. Martin gave the site, which is located in the. central part of the city, and is accessible to all residents.
The money for the building was secured by popu- lar subscription, and there was a generous outpour- ing to this fund, ranging in amount from a few cents to many dollars. The original stock of books was made up of gifts from individuals and also from purchases made by popular subscriptions. The library now has a total of 8,478 volumes. Plans are now being made to secure a gift from Andrew Carnegie for a new building.
For many years the librarian was Mrs. Sallie: Rogers Henderson, who though not specially trained gave excellent and unselfish service and did much to realize the ideals of the founders. In 1911 the library was reorganized, and a trained librarian secured. Mrs. A. F. Griggs is librarian and has had the executive administration of the library since 1911. Mrs. Griggs, whose maiden name was Lillian Baker, was born in Anderson, South Carolina, and was educated in Williamston Female College, now Lander College, in the Agnes Scott College, and took her technical work in the Carnegie Library School at Atlanta. Mrs. Griggs was president in 1917-18 of the North Carolina Library Association.
Since 1914 the privileges of the library have been extended to the rural residents of the county. At that time the board of town commissioners made an annual appropriation to the library of $400, and in 1917 this was increased to $600. This action on
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the part of the commissioners has been of great service and benefit to the county schools and teachers and the public in general. As things now stand the library is supported by an appropriation from the city of $1,750, which combined with the appropriation by the county makes a total of $2,350.
WILLIAM FRANKLIN CLIFTON EDWARDS. Prom- inent in both business and official life, William F. C: Edwards, a leading citizen of Hertford, is known in several counties in Eastern North Caro- lina, and in Gates County owns a large body of ancestral land that has come to him from four generations back. He is particularly well known in Perquimans County because of his efficient administration of the office of register of deeds, which he has filled continuously for the past four- teen years.
William F. C. Edwards was born in Gates County, North Carolina, February 7, 1868. His parents were John Allen and Elizabeth (Goodman) Edwards. His father was engaged in agricultural pursuits during his entire active life.
After a period of private schooling Mr. Edwards entered the Reynoldson Male Institute, an educa- tional institution of some local note, and after completing a course there became a clerk in a general mercantile store, and after four years of business experience in that line, embarked in the same on his own account at Winfall in Perqui- mans County, where he continued until 1895, when he came to Hertford. He engaged here in a general mercantile business until 1900 and then transferred it to Winfall.
In 1904, when elected register of deeds for .Perquimans County, Mr. Edwards returned to Hertford, and here he has taken an active and useful part in civic affairs, being universally looked upon as a man of sound judgment and practical business capacity. Prior to returning to Hertford he served one term as mayor of Winfall, and subsequently became a member of the Hert- ford city council, during which interval and ever since he has demonstrated his interest in the graded schools and served as a member of the board of trustees of the same from 1911 to 1917. In many other directions the interest he has shown in public measures for the benefit of the general public has been very helpful. As an evidence of the confidence and public esteem in which he is held in Perquimans may be cited his seven elections to the office he so admirably fills.
Mr. Edwards was married June 6, 1894, to Miss Pattie Valentine Rawlings, who was born in Stokes County, North Carolina. They have three children, one daughter and two sons, namely: Mildred Elizabeth, John Rawlings and Walter Goodman. Mr. Edwards is a member of the Baptist Church while his wife and family are members of the Episcopal Church. Politically he is a staunch democrat, and fraternally he is a Mason.
Aside from his other interests Mr. Edwards is a man of independent fortune because of his large and profitable land holdings, aggregating 230 acres, all of which he has under careful, scientific cultivation. Thirty acres lie in Per- quimans County, while 200 acres are in Gates County, as mentioned above. This large estate was a grant from the government made to his great-great-grandfather, Harry Goodman, one of the early settlers in that county, and the founder of a family that through the ravages of war and many periods of financial stress clung to the
ancestral home, which is now a heritage of a hundred times its original value.
BEVERLY SYDNOR JERMAN. In the field of bank- ing Beverly Sydnor Jerman is easily one of the foremost men of North Carolina. He has been identified with the banking and financial life of Raleigh for thirty-five years and for the greater part of that time has been connected with the Commercial National Bank of Raleigh, of which he is president. Besides his record as a constructive financier the people of his home city admire him for his equally evident public spirit and devotion to everything that affects the welfare of Raleigh.
Of a fine old South Carolina family, Beverly Sydnor Jerman was born November 4, 1861, at Ridgeway, Warren County, North Carolina, a son of Dr. Thomas Palmer and Lucy Beverly (Sydnor) Jerman. In spite of the devastation wrought by the war he received good advantages both at home and in the Ridgeway public schools and the Wil- liams Academy. At the age of twenty he came to Raleigh and as an employe of the Citizens National Bank soon showed unusual capacity for every duty entrusted to him and was marked as a rising young man in the financial world.
After ten years with the Citizens National Bank Mr. Jerman in 1891 assisted in the organization of the old Commercial and Farmers Bank of Raleigh. Capt. J. J. Thomas was the first president, Mr. Jerman cashier, and H. W. Jackson assistant cashier. In 1908, following Captain Thomas' death, Mr. Jerman became president and in the same year the institution was reorganized as the Commercial National Bank of Raleigh. Few banks in the state have had a more prosperous history than the Commercial National Bank. It began with a capital stock of $50,000, which has been increased to $300,000, and there is a surplus of $140,000. Since Mr. Jerman became president its deposits have increased from $1,000,000 to more than $4,000,000. Since becoming president Mr. Jerman has also brought about the construction of a new home for the Commercial National Bank, and this is one of the largest and most modern office buildings in North Carolina, the banking room being considered the most artistic in the country.
The determination, integrity and judgment which have made him an able banker have also brought him many other interests in the business and civic affairs of Raleigh. He is connected with the W. H. King Drug Company, the J. M. Pace Mule Company, the North Carolina Home Insur- ance Company, Enterprise Real Estate Company and the Parker-Hunter Realty Company. In a pub- lic way he has served as city treasurer and com- missioner of the sinking fund and his assistance and influence have more than once been instru- mental in the successful carrying out of movements instituted by the Chamber of Commerce, of which he is an active member. For a number of years Mr. Jerman has been treasurer and a trustee of the Olivia Raney Library at Raleigh.
He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, belongs to the National Geographic Society, the Navy League of the United States, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Coun- try Club and the Capital Club. His favorite diver- sion is fishing and it is said that he rivals in skill and patience any of the most ardent devotees of that pursuit. He is a member of the Neuseco and several other fishing clubs.
In 1888 Mr. Jerman married Miss Julia Borden
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of Goldsboro. By that marriage he has one son, William Borden of Richmond, Virginia. In 1895 he married Miss Isabelle Montgomery of Concord, North Carolina, who is survived by a daughter Miss Julia Borden. In 1912 he married Miss Edith Macdonald of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They have a son Donald Sydnor and a daughter Edith Macdonald.
REV. GEORGE WILLIAM LAY is one of the promi- nent ministers of the Episcopal Church in America and for thirty years has devoted his time pri- marily to the church school, which is a real depart- ment of the ministerial profession. Since 1907 he has been rector of St. Mary's School at Raleigh. He was born at Huntsville, Alabama, February 26, 1860, a son of Henry Champlin and Eliza Withers (Atkinson) Lay. Mr. Lay's ancestry might be classified as about one-fourth New England and three-fourths Virginia. It includes many families and individuals who have been prominent in the professions, in military and civil life, since Colonial times. He is descended from John Lay who settled in Lyme, Connecticut, in 1648. His grandfather John Olmsted Lay repre- sented both the Lay and Olmsted families in Con- necticut. Through the Olmsted line he is related to Frederick Law Olmsted and also to the two Bishops Olmsted. John O. Lay, his grandfather, married Lucy Anna May, who was descended from the May, Fitzhugh, Digges and Harrison (Bran- don) families, all of Virginia.
Mr. Lay's father, Rt. Rev. Henry Champlin Lay, was made missionary bishop of the Episcopal Church in the Southwest in 1859, and during the Confederate Government was bishop of Arkansas. From 1865 to 1869 he was missionary bishop in Arkansas, and at the latter date was made Bishop of the Diocese of Easton, Maryland, where he remained until his death on September 17, 1885.
Mr. Lay's mother, Eliza Withers Atkinson, was a niece of Bishop Thomas Atkinson of North Caro- lina. She was descended from the Atkinsons, Pleasant, Mayo, Tabb, Poythress, Bland, Randolph, Withers and Grammer families, all of Virginia. Her first cousin is Bishop Gibson of Virginia. A brother of the late Bishop Henry C. Lay was George William Lay, who graduated from West Point, was General Scott's military secretary in the Mexican war, and afterwards served in the Confederate Army.
George William Lay of this sketch had a broad and liberal education for his profession. He attended St. Paul's School at Concord, New Hampshire, from 1876 to 1880, Yale College from 1880 to 1882, receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree in the latter year, the General Theological Semi- nary of New York City from 1882 to 1885, and was graduated Bachelor of Divinity there in 1886. In 1915 he received the degree of D. C. L. from the University of the South at Sewanee.
Ordained a deacon in 1885 and a priest in 1886, he was assistant minister at St. Paul's Church at Erie, Pennsylvania, from 1885 to 1887, and assist- ant of St. George's Church at Newburgh, New York, from 1887 to 1888. His work has been in the schools maintained under the auspices of the Episcopal Church. He was master of St. Paul's School at Concord, New Hampshire, one of the foremost preparatory schools of the country from 1888 to 1907, and since that date has been rector of St. Mary's School at Raleigh. From 1895 to 1907 he was secretary of the board of missions of the Diocese of New Hampshire, and since com- ing to North Carolina has been a member of the
Southern Educational Association and of the Social Service and Religious Education Commis- sions of the Diocese of North Carolina. He has been actively identified with the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce since 1907, and is a member of the North Carolina Good Roads Association, the National Forestry Association, the Raleigh Natural History Society, and the North Carolina Academy of Science. He is a member of the college frater- nity Psi Upsilon, and of the Farmers' Union. Politically he is a democrat.
On June 26, 1894, at Baltimore, Maryland, Mr. Lay married Anna Booth Balch, a daughter of Admiral George Beall and Mary Ellen (Booth) Balch. Admiral Balch served with Perry in the first Japan Expedition. During the Civil war he commanded the Pawnee. He was superintendent of the Naval Academy, and at one time commanded the Asiatic Station or the Pacific squadron of the United States Navy. Mary Ellen Booth, his wife, of Newcastle, Delaware, was the daughter of Thomas Booth and the granddaughter of Thomas Booth, both of whom were chief justices of Dela- ware. Mrs. Lay has many army and navy con- nections. Lieut. James Lockwood of arctic fame and the wife of Admiral Sigsbee are Mrs. Lay's first cousins. Mrs. Lay is president of the Raleigh Woman's Club for the year 1917-18.
Mr. and Mrs. Lay have had eight children: George Balch, Elizabeth Atkinson, Ellen Booth, Anna Rogers, Lucy Fitzhugh, Henry Champlin, Virginia Harrison and Thomas Atkinson, the youngest, who died in 1915 at the age of four years.
DANIEL WEBSTER ANDREWS. In a prominent place upon the list of Durham's men of business who have won their way to the forefront in indus- trial circles should be placed the name of Daniel Webster Andrews, upon whom devolve many of the heavy responsibilities connected with the great tobacco industry whose seat is at Durham.
Mr. Andrews was born in Alamance County, North Carolina, June 4, 1867. His parents were Alexander Addison and Julia (Martindale) An- drews. His father was a tobacconist, and from early youth to the present time Daniel W. Andrews has never been out of the atmosphere of that in- dustry. He acquired a public and private school education and his first regular employment was as a cigarette maker. He was thus engaged with W. Duke Sons & Company for three years. Upon the organization of the American Tobacco Company he was given the position of foreman, which he filled ten years, and in 1901 became superintendent of the Blackwell Durham branch of the American Tobacco Company. This is one of the largest in- stitutions of the kind in North Carolina. Under the direction of Mr. Andrews a small army of 850 people are working in different capacities, and throughout the growth and development of the business Mr. Andrews has steadily maintained his position as the man best fitted for the executive duties of superintendent. He is well known in business and social circles at Durham, is a member and former steward of the Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church, but outside of the factory he gives most of his time and devotion to his home and family.
Mr. Andrews married February 10, 1886, Mary Christian of Durham. They are the proud parents of a family of twelve children named Floy, Lottie Thomas, Clarence Webster, Arthur Seward, Julia Christian, Mamie Ruth, Claiborne Lee, Nannic Mozelle, Clinton T., William Horace, James Addi-
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son and Mary Webster. Most of these children are still in the home circle. The oldest, Floy, is the wife of W. B. DeVault of Durham. Lottie T. married R. C. Christmas, manager of a book and stationery company at Fayetteville. Clarence W. is a traveling salesman, and Arthur S. is a fore- man of the American Tobacco Company. 1
WALTER D. JOHNSON. Among the enterprising men who have assisted in the remarkable develop- ment of St. Pauls during the last decade is Walter D. Johnson, who is president of the W. D. Johnson Lumber Company, a very important indus- try of Robeson County. Mr. Johnson was born in 1885, in the northern part of what is now Scot- land County, then Richmond County, North Caro- lina. His parents were Duncan MePhatter and Sarah Jeannette (McNatt) Johnson, both of whom are now deceased.
Both the Johnson and MeNatt families are of Scotch ancestry. The paternal line of Mr. John- son was founded in North Carolina by his great- grandfather, Neill Johnson, who came from Scotland before 1800 and settled in what is now the northern part of Scotland County, the old Johnson home being at Fontcol, where now is located the modern town of Wagram. The fore- bears of Mr. Johnson displayed the usual fore- sight and good judgment attributed to the Scotch in locating in what is one of the richest and most productive agricultural regions of North Carolina.
Duncan MePhatter Johnson was a son of Archi- bald Johnson and was born in North Carolina and died in 1895. In 1897 the Johnson family moved from Scotland County to Robeson County and the mother of Mr. Johnson died here in 1899. Her sister, Margaret Elizabeth McNatt, had married the late Lauchlin Shaw, of St. Pauls, whose death occurred in 1915. On the death of Duncan Mc- Phatter Johnson, Mr. Shaw became the guardian of Mr. Johnson's children, and it was through his generous management and benevolent guardian- ship that they were afforded superior educational advantages and properly prepared for their future careers. Mr. Shaw may be recalled as the "first citizen" of St. Pauls, for he was the father and founder of the present town. It is built on land that was owned by him and he was the leader and financial backer of the various business and indus- trial enterprises that, beginning with the building of the railroad through the place in 1907, have made St. Pauls a remarkable example of rapid growth and development. The maternal grand- father of Walter D. Johnson, James MeNatt, was at one time a man of wealth and influence in Robeson County. He owned the land on which the town of Parkton now stands and thousands of acres surrounding. He was an extensive planter and slave owner, and during the palmy days of the turpentine industry was a large operator.
Walter D. Johnson, as indicated above, was generously educated and in 1906 was graduated from Davidson College. He spent one year as a schoolteacher, but in 1908, in partnership with Alexander R. McEachern, went into the lumber manufacturing business at St. Pauls and has con- tinued until the present, being president of the company that bears his name. The company owns a large, modern plant at St. Pauls, well equipped, and the business is the manufacturing of long and short leaf yellow pine, both rough and dressed. He is also secretary and treasurer of The Ernald- son Manufacturing Company of St. Pauls, of the
Hosiery Yarn & Knitting Mill, and a director of the Bank of St. Pauls. Mr. Johnson in his busi- ness affairs and in his political and social life justifies the respect and esteem his fellow citizens entertain for him.
Mr. Johnson was married April 23, 1913, to Miss Edna Duke, daughter of James C. and Margaret C. Duke, originally of Virginia, but now of Ham- let, North Carolina. They have two sons: James McLean Johnson and Duncan MePhatter John- son.
ABEL GRAHAM CLICK. Practically a self-made man, Abel Graham Click, a prosperous and high- ly esteemed resident of Elkin, Surry County, has in truth been the architect of his own fortunes, his prosperity in life being due solely to years of persevering industry, to keen perceptive powers, and to a native good sense and sound judgment in the management of his business affairs. He was born on a farm in Olin Township, Iredell County, North Carolina, February 1, 1858, a son of Godfrey Click, and grandson of John Click, a pioneer of the northwestern part of this state. His great-grandfather on the paternal side came from Germany to America with a brother when a young man, and after living a few years in Maryland made a permanent settlement in North Carolina.
John Click was brought up on a farm in North Carolina, and spent his life as an agriculturist. He bought a farm which included the fertile strip of land in Yadkin County known as Horse Shoe Neck, and was there engaged in his favorite pursuit until his death. His wife, whose maiden name was Raats, was also of German parentage, and like him spoke the German language fluently.
A native of Davie County, Godfrey Click was born in 1818, in the locality known as Horse Shoe Neck, and was there reared to habits of industry and thrift. Taking advantage of every oppor- tunity for advancing his knowledge, he acquired a good education, and as a young man taught school. In 1857 he bought land in Olin Township, and with the assistance of slaves improved a good farm. During the Civil war, in common with his neighbors and friends, he met with very heavy losses, but he continued to reside on his farm until after the death of his wife. Subsequently re- moving to Olin, he there spent his remaining days, dying at the age of sixty-seven years.
The maiden name of the wife of Godfrey Click was Margaret Graham. She was born in Rowan County, a daughter of Abel Graham, a Scotch- Irish farmer, and a man of sterling worth and integrity. She died when but fifty-four years old, leaving five children, namely: Abel Graham, Mary Lou, Margaret, Henry and Ella.
Abel Graham Click was early initiated into the mysteries of agriculture, as a boy assisting in the work of the home farm, in the meantime attending the short terms of the district school. He subse- quently continued his studies at Olin College, and at the age of eighteen years began life as a teacher, having charge of a school at Cherry Hill, in Davie County. Succeeding in his profession, Mr. Click afterwards taught in Monroe, having the supervision of the primary department in the school of which Prof. J. D. Hodges was the prin- cipal, and still later taught at both Athens and Liberty. Retiring from his profession, Mr. Click was for a short time a clerk in the general store of Richard Gwyn, in Elkin. Desirous of bettering his financial condition, he was clerk in a grocery
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at Statesville for awhile, from there going to Olin, where he was engaged in mercantile pursuits for three years.
Coming to Elkin from Olin, Mr. Click served for a year and a half as bookkeeper for the Elkin Manufacturing Company. Then, with C. H. Gwyn as partner, he bought the store of the Elkin Manu- facturing Company, and at the end of two years bought Mr. Gwyn's interest in the concern. Two years later he sold a half interest in the business to the Chatham Manufacturing Company, and was made secretary, treasurer and general manager of the company 's business. The business being closed out in 1904, Mr. Click became prominent in the organization of the Elkin Veneer & Manufacturing Company, of which he was chosen secretary and treasurer. Subsequently, when the Elkin Furniture Company was formed, he was made general man- ager of the Elkin Veneer & Manufacturing Com- pany as well as being its secretary and treasurer, and a director of the Elkin Furniture Company. Mr. Click has shown a marked aptitude for busi- ness, and in the numerous responsible positions which he has been called upon to fill has displayed rare business tact and ability. He is much inter- ested in fruit culture, and is now general manager of the extensive peach and apple orchards owned by the Elkiu Veneer & Manufacturing Company.
Mr. Click married, February 1, 1881, at States- ville, Miss Nannie A. Alexander, who was born near Mooresville, Iredell County, a daughter of Cowan and Susan Alexander. Into their pleasant home four children have been born, Willie, Eugene, Margaret and Harold. Mr. and Mrs. Click are faithful and valued members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in which he has served as steward, and as teacher, and superintendent of the Sunday school.
Mr. Click has always evinced an intelligent in- terest in public affairs, and has filled with much acceptance various official positions. At the age of twenty-one years he was elected surveyor of Iredell County; has served as town commissioner; having been a member of the board when the water system was installed; and has likewise served as chairman of the Elkin Board of Road Commis- sioners. One of the promoters of the Elkin and Alleghany Railroad, he served as secretary and treasurer of the company. Fraternally Mr. Click is a member of Elkin Lodge, No. 454, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; of Piedmont Lodge, No. 96, Knights of Pythias, of which he is chancellor; and of Elm Camp, Woodmen of the World.
WILLIAM ALLEN BLAIR, long prominent as an educator, civic leader and business man at Winston- Salem, is vice president of the People's Bank of Winston-Salem, member of the finance committee of the Jefferson Standard Life Insurance Company, and treasurer of the Slater Industrial and State Normal School for Colored Youth.
Mr. Blair was born at High Point in Guilford County, North Carolina, where his family have been prominent for several generations. His father, Solomon I. Blair, was a native of Randolph County and that was also the birthplace of his grandfather, John Blair. The Blairs came origi- nally from Scotland and through many generations were of the Quaker faith. Solomon I. Blair was educated at Guilford College, taught school in early life, and was one of the very successful citi- zens of Guilford County. He married Abigail Hunt. Her great-grandfather William Hunt was a noted preacher of the Friends Church. Her grand-
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