USA > North Carolina > History of North Carolina: North Carolina biography, Volume IV > Part 26
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General Bond was well educated and reared in a home of distinctive culture and refinement. He was twenty-three years old when the war broke out and was captain of a company of infantry of the Maryland National Guard. He went to Virginia in May, 1861, and enlisted as a private in the First Virginia Cavalry and General Bond was on constant duty, accepting every hazard and risk of a soldier's career with this organization until he was severely wounded at Hagerstown. That precluded further active service in the field. He was at the first battle of Bull Run as a private. On August 1, 1861, he was promoted to lieutenant at Fairfax, Virginia. About that time he and others organized Company A of the First Mary- land Cavalry, and in November, 1862, was pro- moted to captain of the company. At the battle of Gettysburg he was in the thickest of the fight throughout the three days and under the personal orders of General Ewell, one of the three corps commanders' under General Lee. During the re- treat from Gettysburg at Hagertown, Captain Bond with only a handful of men met and routed a large force of Federal troops that had followed along after the Confederates. It was a brilliant cavalry charge and achieved all that was expected, but Captain Bond himself was badly wounded and disabled. While thus wounded he was cap- tured by the enemy a few days later and im- prisoned at Fort McHenry. While in that prison he met and became a friend of Colonel, afterwards General Leaventhorpe of North Carolina. After they were exchanged, on the invitation of General Leaventhorpe, Captain Bond became adjutant general with the rank of major in Leaventhorpe's North Carolina Brigade. As such he was on duty in North Carolina until paroled at the close of the war at Greensboro with General Johnston 's army.
Perhaps the best testimony to General Bond's efficiency as a soldier is found in an interesting letter which for nearly half a century has been carefully kept by General Bond among his papers and possessions. This letter, dated September 12, 1871, was written by the late Burton N. Harrison, private secretary to President Jefferson Davis of
the Confederacy. At the time Mr. Harrison was practicing law in New York City, and in this letter he certifies that while he was acting as private secretary to the president of the Con- federacy a petition signed by the privates, non- commissioned and commissioned officers (except Captain Bond himself) of the First Maryland Cavalry Regiment, requested the appointment of Capt. Frank A. Bond, Junior Captain of the Regiment, as colonel in place of Col. Ridgely Brown, who had recently died. Mr. Harrison in the letter further stated that the petitioners ex- pressed the utmost regard for and confidence in Captain Bond as a soldier, officer and comrade, and affirmed that he was fully qualified by experience, fortitude, gallantry and skill as an officer to command the regiment in the capacity of colonel. Mr. Harrison mentioned in the letter that he himself called President Davis' attention to the petition at the time as a remarkable tribute to the merits of Captain Bond, in whom, to quote the words of the letter, he "then and now feels a most friendly interest." The Harrison letter stated that the petition was referred by the presi- dent to the secretary of war for official action.
This letter has still another feature of interest, perhaps even more than what has been quoted. On the last page of Mr. Harrison's communication is an endorsement written by Mr. Davis himself, dated November 6, 1871, at Memphis, Tennessee, and reading as follows: "'Though I do not recollect the petition referred to by my former secretary Mr. Burton N. Harrison, my knowledge of his character does not permit me to doubt the accuracy of his statement. An applica- tion by a whole regiment to have a junior captain promoted to be its colonel is such an extraordinary testimonial and appreciation as must be conclu- sive of the question of meritorious service." (Signed) "Jefferson Davis."
A word of explanation is required as to the fate of this petition. It was presented about the time Captain Bond was badly wounded and disabled at Hagerstown, as above noted, and as a result of his wound and subsequent imprisonment the vacancy had to be filled by another appoint- ment so that it never devolved upon the authori- ties of the Confederate War Department to for- mally take up and answer the petition.
After the war General Bond returned to the old plantation at Jessups and was actively engaged in farming there for many years. His successful position as a planter and his fine record as a soldier naturally made him a prominent public figure and for eight years he had the honor to serve as adjutant general of Maryland. He first served under appointment from Gov. James Black Groome and by second appointment from Gov. John Lee Carroll.
General Bond married Miss Elizabeth P. Hughes. Her grace and dignity and efficiency have served to add many of the charms to the Hunter's Lodge. Mrs. Bond was born in West Virginia, but was reared in Maryland, where she and the general were married.
ALEXANDER MARTIN SMITH. A man of distinc- tive energy, sound judgment, and rare business qualifications, Alexander Martin Smith, a promi- nent shoe manufacturer and tanner of Elkin, Surry County, North Carolina, has gained prestige in in- dustrial circles, and won a splendid success in the business world-his prosperity in life being due entirely to his own efforts. Self supporting since
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his boyhood days, he has surely been the archi- tect of his own fortunes, and a brief resume of his life may be of interest and benefit to the younger people of this and succeeding generations.
He was born April 3, 1867, on a plantation in the historic Charlotte County of Virginia. In this county both his mother, Hallie Lawson, and his father, Captain Jack Smith, and his grandfather, John D. Smith, were born and reared. The Smith ancestors came from Georgia-having belonged to the family of Smiths from which the famous Bill Arp sprung. On the maternal side he is descended directly from two famous Virginia families, his grandmother being Angeline Mar- shall, a direct descendant of the noted jurist, John Marshall; his grandfather, George Lawson, a mau proudly inheriting the traits of this noble and ancient English family.
His father, Jack Smith, was noted for his energy and public spirit, being an inspiration for education and all forward movements in his county. He served gallantly in the Confederate Army, having been made captain for conspicuous service at the battle of Gettysburg. As most Southern families of note, Mr. Smith's family were crippled financially at the close of the war, having dedicated their means as well as their sons, fathers and brothers to the Lost Cause. So this made it necessary for Alexander M. Smith to stop school at an early age, for we find him at the age of twelve years a clerk in a general coun- try store at Cole's Ferry, Virginia. Much of the trade at that point was with farmers, many of whom, after doing a day's work, came a long dis- tance to buy supplies, the store often being open until midnight, making the lad's day many hours long.
After four years in this position he went to Lynchburg, Virginia, and was employed as a ship- ping clerk by Witt & Watkins, wholesale shoe dealers. He worked in the house one year and then went "on the road" as a "drummer boy" for the firm. He kept this position for nine years. At the end of this time he went into business with Berry, Gilliam & Co., and travelled for the house.
In 1892 Mr. Smith came to Elkin, Surry County, North Carolina, and established a tannery and shoe factory on the banks of the Elkin Creek, be- ginning in a small way with $600 worth of second hand machinery, six vats in the tan yard, and a force of eight men. Previous to this time, several shoe factories had been started in the South, each one proving a failure, so failure with a capital F was predicted for Mr. Smith. Evidently he thought it a risky venture, as he continued as a travelling salesman for two years. With the qualities of unbounded energy, courage, hope and sterling hon- esty, Mr. Smith's effort could only spell success. He had the ambition to make the longest lived shoe in America and he succeeded. Throughout the Piedmont and mountain sections of North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee, Elkin Shoes are household words. The brand "Elkin Home Made Shoe" is a guarantee to the working people, and to them means a more lasting and better wearing shoe than anybody else can make. The merchants say the farmers demand them. Mr. Smith's motto was, "Not how much money I can make out of a pair of shoes, but how much real service and durability I can put into a pair." He holds to the Emersonian idea that if you can do any- thing better than somebody else the world will make a beaten path to your door; and this has been literally true. For many years Mr. Smith
employed no salesmen and the shoes actually sold themselves.
In 1909, owing to the demands of constantly in- creasing business, Mr. Smith erected a modern brick factory and tannery, equipped throughout with the most up-to-date and approved machinery. All the leather used in the shoes is tanned in his yard.
Mr. Smith has been three times married. He married first, in 1892, Miss Frances Gwyn of El- kin, a daughter of Richard and Mollie Dickinson Gwyn. On the paternal side Mrs. Smith was a descendant of Gen. William Lenoir and Col. Thomas Lenoir of Revolutionary fame. Both the Gwyns and Lenoirs have been conspicuous names in the history of Western North Carolina for gen- erations, members of the family holding the most responsible positions in public and private life throughout the years.' Mrs. Smith passed to the higher life in 1896, leaving two children, Richard Gwyn and Harriet Marshall. The second time Mr. Smith married Carrie Gwyn, a daughter of Thomas and Amelia (Dickinson) Gwyn of Elkin, a double first cousin of the first wife. She lived but one short year after their marriage.
In 1902 Mr. Smith was married to Miss Mar- garet Purcell of Red Springs, North Carolina, a daughter of John Edwin and Cornelia McCal- lum Purcell of Robeson County. Both Mrs. Smith's maternal and paternal ancestors have been influential in the history of the Cape Fear section of North Carolina since Colonial days, and her kinfolk on both the McCallum and Pur- cell side are still making history for that fine Scotch section of "the Old North State," proving that no peoples are the superiors and few the equals of the "Scotch Irish."
Mr. Smith is a man of great modesty and of a most retiring disposition, so his name has been very little in the public eye. His influence, though, is felt in the community and he is unquestionably on the right side, and invariably his heart is in the right place, and his hand reaches to his pocket book for the public good even when he has nothing to say.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith and children are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and generous contributors to its support. Mr. Smith has been a prodigal giver, among his larger donations hav- ing been one of $10,000 to the Orphanage in Win- ston-Salem and one of $5,000 to a hospital in Huchow, China, and a recent gift of $2,000 to the superannuate members of the Western North Caro- lina Conference. He likewise pays the salary and expenses of Doctor Manget, the physician in charge of the institution.
SAMUEL W. CROMER. Almost continuously from the day he was released from a northern prison at the close of the war between the states, Samuel W. Cromer has been engaged in merchandising, and through an active half century he has tasted of satisfying success and those honors and the posi- tion due to the substantial business man and pub- lic spirited citizen.
Mr. Cromer was born on a farm at Round Meadows in Montgomery County, Virginia, March 3, 1842. He is of German ancestry. His grand- father was born in Germany, and on coming to America located in Montgomery County, Virginia, where the rest of his life was spent. He died com- paratively young, leaving his wife a widow with several children to care for. Eight years after his death she went West to live with a daughter.
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William Cromer, father of Samuel W., was born in Montgomery County, Virginia, and his birth occurred four months after his father's death. Thus deprived of a father's care he came face to face with the serious responsibilities of life at a very early age. When his mother went West he remained in Montgomery County with an older brother, and he soon put his strength to test in a self-supporting career. Fortunately he had been reared to good habits, was industrious, and being thrifty he saved his earnings and a few years after his marriage was able to buy a small farm. This was subsequently sold in order to buy a larger one. In his ambition to provide for his family he went to the extreme in hard work, frequently exposed himself, and finally lost his health. At the age of fifty-six he sold his farm and bought a home in the Village of Auburn. Later he exchanged that for a small tract of land 'adjoining the village and lived there quietly until his death at the age or seventy-eight. The maiden name of his wife was Deborah Lucas. She was a native of Mont- gomery County, Virginia, daughter of Samuel and Catherine (Davis) Lucas and member of an old Virginia family. The Lucases owned and occupied a farm in the locality known as Rough and Ready in Montgomery County. Mrs. William Cromer died at the age of fifty-six. Her eight children were Mary, Andrew, Samuel W., Virginia, Charles, Olivia, Eveline and Franklin.
When the work of the home farm did not require his attention Samuel W. Cromer attended the country schools, and in that way he spent his years until he was eighteen. At that age he became clerk in a general store at Auburn, and was mak- ing fair progress toward independence as a busi- ness man when the war broke out and in 1861 he left the counter to enlist in Company F of the Eleventh Virginia Infantry. Many times he was in the thickest of the fighting, he marched many weary miles, and he experienced all the hardships of a soldier's life and all its dangers. Neverthe- less he escaped any serious injury. Once a bullet grazed his arm but without making it necessary for him to leave the ranks. On the first of April, 1865, he was captured by the enemy and taken to Point Lookout, Maryland, where he was retained a prisoner of war until June.
On being released he returned home becoming clerk in store at Christiansburg, Virginia, later he opened a store at New Port, Tennessee, and after about fifteen months of successful merchandising he returned to Auburn, Virginia, where he organ- ized a tobacco and mercantile business. From there he removed to Danville, Virginia, where he was in the livery and mercantile business. Sold out there in 1892 and opened his present business, wholesale grocery, being twenty-five years in busi- ness at Winston-Salem.
Mr. Cromer was married January 12, 1870, to Miss Mary Rowena Jack, a native of Tennessee, and a daughter of William and Elizabeth (Dewitt) Jack. Mr. and Mrs. Cromer have reared five chil- dren: William Jack, who married Selina Reid; Charles Dewitt, who married Carrie L. Crutchfield and has two daughters, Alice Rowena and Lillian Ruffin; Elizabeth D., who is the wife of John L. Brugh, associated with Mr. Cromer in the business; Mary B., wife of C. R. King, and Clarence F., who is unmarried.
Mr. and Mrs. Cromer are active members of the Centenary Methodist Episcopal Church at Winston- Salem. He is one of its trustees while his son Charles is on the board of stewards. Mr. Cromer
is affiliated with Winston Lodge No. 167, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and Winston Chapter No. 24, Royal Arch Masons, and mingles with old army comrades in Norfleet Camp of the United Confederate Veterans.
EDWARD CHAMBERS SMITH, son of William N. H. Smith, chief justice of North Carolina 1878- 1889, and Mary Olivia (Wise) Smith, was born at Murfreesboro, North Carolina, August 21, 1857. He was prepared for college at Galt's School at Norfolk, Virginia, at the Lovejoy Academy in Raleigh, and at the famous Bingham (Military) School then at Mebane, North Carolina. In 1877 he entered Davidson College, from which he was graduated with honors in 1881. While at David- son he became a member of the Kappa Alpha (Southern) fraternity, and in the general conven- tion of that fraternity at Atlanta in 1881 he was awarded the essayist 's medal over twenty-five com- petitors from southern colleges, and in the same year he was awarded the debaters' medal by his college. His interest in his fraternity continued after the close of his college career, and from 1901 to 1911, and from 1912 to 1913 he served as knight commander, the highest official in the na- tional fraternity.
In 1882 Mr. Smith entered the Law School of the University of North Carolina under the late Dr. John Manning, and in 1883 completed his law course at the University of Virginia under the late Dr. John B. Minor, thus having the advantage of being prepared for his profession under two of the greatest law teachers of their generation. In 1883 he was admitted to the bar of North Caro- lina and became associated with Fuller and Snow, a leading legal firm at Raleigh, with whom he con- tinued in practice until 1890. Since then he has practiced his profession alone, building up an extensive clientele as a corporation lawyer. He was for many years attorney for the North Caro- lina Car Company, the Caraleigh Cotton Mills, and the Caraleigh Phosphate and Fertilizer Works. In each of these corporations he is a director. He is also a director in the North Carolina Home In- surance Company, the King Drug Company, Farm- ers Cotton Oil Company, and other corporations. He was state's proxy in the North Carolina Rail- way Company, and afterwards served for many years on its board of directors, and as chairman of its finance committee, of which he is still a member.
Mr. Smith has always taken an active interest in public affairs. His political affiliations are with the democratic party. From 1886 to 1896 he served as a member of the State Board of Internal Improvements. In 1888 he served as an alderman of the City of Raleigh, and at the same time as chairman of the Wake County Democratic Executive Committee. His success in this small field led to his election in 1890 as chairman of the State Democratic Executive Committee, and as such he successfully directed one of the most im- portant political campaigns in the history of North Carolina, involving among other important results, the re-election of Zebulon Baird Vance to the United States Senate. He was re-elected in 1892 but had to decline. In 1888, 1892, and 1904 he was one of the delegates from North Carolina to the national democratic conventions, and served as chairman of the rules committee in the convention of 1888, and as a member of the platform commit- tee in the convention of 1904. In 1915, without
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solicitation on his part, Mr. Smith was appointed by Governor Craig as member and was elected as chairman of the North Carolina Fisheries Commis- sion Board, created by the General Assembly of 1915 with full control over the regulations of the fishing industry in North Carolina. In this ca- pacity he has rendered conspicuous service to the state in the development of this important in- dustry.
On January 12, 1892, Mr. Smith was married to Miss Annie Badger Faison, a granddaughter of George E. Badger, distinguished as a lawyer, cab- inet official, and senator. They have five children, one girl and four boys, three of whom are (1918) in the military and naval service of the United States Government, while a fourth is in training at the Virginia Military Institute.
JOHN JAY BLAIR, widely known over the state as a prominent educator, has been superintendent of the city schools of Wilmington since January, 1899. In that period of eighteen years he has been a thoughtful and energetic leader in the improvements and uplift of the city school sys- tem, and at the same time has identified himself closely with general educational movements.
Mr. Blair was born at High Point in Guilford County, North Carolina, and is a graduate of Haverford College in Pennsylvania. His first im- portant work as a school man was done at Win- ston, where he was principal of the high school and subsequently superintendent of the city school system. From there he came to Wilmington, as already noted.
Mr. Blair is president of the North Carolina State Teachers' . Association, an office which in itself indicates his standing in educational circles. He is also president of the City Superintendents? Association.
JOSEPH H. PHILLIPS for many years was ac- tively identified with the lumber industry in and around Winston-Salem, and operated also lum- ber businesses in several adjoining towns. His family is one of the very earliest to locate in Forsyth County, North Carolina. The City of Winston-Salem lost an esteemed citizen through the death of Mr. Phillips on April 10, 1917.
Mr. Phillips was born at Waughtown, Septem- ber 3, 1866. Tracing his ancestry back several generations he is a descendant of John and Ann Phillips, whose son David Phillips was born Feb- ruary 1, 1781. David married Sarah Pike, who was born September 9, 1780, a daughter of Nathan and Elizabeth Pike. Both the Phillips and Pike families were among the pioneers of what is now Forsyth County. Joseph Phillips, a son of David and grandfather of Joseph H., was born in what is now Forsyth County December 6, 1801. He owned and occupied a farm in Broad Bay Town- ship, and died there October 8, 1853. The maiden name of his wife was Rebecca Wright, and she was a daughter of Charles and Mary Wright and was born October 29, 1803, and died January 28, 1875. Both she and her husband were active members of the Primitive Baptist Church. Their two children were named William W. and Craw- ford Tatum.
Crawford Tatum Phillips, father of Joseph H., was born in Broad Bay Township of Forsyth County and during his early manhood served an apprenticeship in Phillip Nissen's wagon factory. Later he enlisted and served during the war be- tween the states in Company E of the Twenty-
first Regiment, North Carolina Troops. When the war was over he resumed work at his trade in the Nissen factory, and continued there until 1876. In that year he bought a farm at Union Cross in Abbott's Creek Township and from that time forward until his death, at the age of fifty- seven, he applied his efforts successfully to gen- eral farming. He married Lucinda Spach, who was born in Broad Bay Township, a daughter of Christian and Mrs. (Swain) Spach. She was a lineal descendant of Adam Spach, ancestor of many of the best known families in Western North Carolina. Crawford T. Phillips and wife reared seven children: Joseph Hilton, Samuel L., Nancy E., Lucius D., John R., Mary Magda- lene and Charles Isaac.
When Joseph H. Phillips was ten years of age his parents moved out to the farm, and he grew up in a country atmosphere, getting his knowl- edge largely through country schools. Soon after he was eighteen years of age he married and re- moved to Walnut Cove, where for a few years he had a mercantile experience. It was with rather limited capital that he entered the lumber' in- dustry. He bought a portable sawmill and a tract of standing timber, and for several years used his mill in converting that timber into merchant- able lumber. He operated in that way until 1893, when he sold his mill and began .dealing in lumber at Winston-Salem. He had as a partner M. D. Smith, and subsequently they incorporated the business. After two years in the corporation Mr. Phillips sold his interest, but soon afterward resumed business on his own account. He estab- lished a yard at Centerville and another at West Highland, and these yards he conducted until his death, supplying practically the lumber used in those communities.
Mr. Phillips was first married in 1884 to Miss Virginia Willard, who was born in Guilford County, a daughter of Joseph Willard. She died in 1899. For his second wife Mr. Phillips mar- ried Carrie Pardue, who was born in Wilkes County, a daughter of William and Susan (Adams) Pardue, both of whom spent all their lives in Wilkes County, where her father was an active farmer. Mrs. Phillips' brother, Elbert Martin, was a soldier in the Confederate army.
By his first marriage Mr. Phillips had three children: Cora, Carrie and Percy. There are also three children of the second marriage, Pansy, Ollie and Stokes P. The daughter Cora is the wife of J. Wilbur Crews, and her four children are Sherrell, Alline, Selina and Eloise. Carrie married Alvin W. Linville and had two children, Joseph Dwight and Dorris. Percy by his mar- riage to Lulu Hastings has a daughter, Kathleen Virginia. Pansy May is the wife of Beecher Heit- man.
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