USA > North Carolina > History of North Carolina: North Carolina biography, Volume IV > Part 43
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Two daughters, Mamie and Nellie Stone, are the only survivors of Pinkney M. Stone's family. They now live in Baltimore, to which place they moved with their mother and one older sister and one brother, after their father's death. The mother was Miss Alice Gosnell of that city.
JOHN MARY SHERROD SALSBURY is one of the comparative newcomers to High Point, and is a successful young business man and one of the ex- ecutive officers in an industry that is one of the group of furniture factories which gives impor- tance to this city among the manufacturing com- munities of the South.
Mr. Salsbury was born on a farm adjoining Hamilton in Martin County, North Carolina. His father, Richard Brinkley Salsbury, a native of the same county, enlisted in the Confederate army when only seventeen years old. He was in service with his regiment until the close of the war and then took up general farming and merchandising at Hamilton, where he had his home until his death at the age of forty-seven. He married Mary Elizabeth Sherrod, who was born in Martin County, daughter of John M. and Mary (Best) Sherrod. The Sherrods were among the pioneers of Martin County, and their descendants are now numerous and widely scattered. Mrs. Richard B. Salsbury also died at the age of forty-seven, and only two of her children are now living. John Mary Sherrod Salsbury and Sallie, the latter the wife of Robert Hodgin of Greensboro.
John Mary Sherrod Salsbury was educated in his native locality and was prepared for college in the schools of Hamilton and was a student in Wake Forest College. After completing his edu- cation he was in the mercantile business, and thus learned the details of merchandising. For a time he was an independent merchant at Hamilton, but finally took up farming on the old homestead. In 1913 Mr. Salsbury came to High Point, and for two years was a traveling salesman. He was then chosen secretary and treasurer of the Ideal Table Company, and has had much to do with the suc- cess and prosperity of this industry.
In 1904 he married Miss Mary Louise Baker, who was born at Hamilton, daughter of Charles H. and Mollie (Sherrod) Baker. Mr. and Mrs. Sals- bury have four children, Richard Brinkly. Charles Baker, Mary Louise and John Mary, Jr. Mr. Sals- bury is a member of the Baptist Church, while his wife belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.
VIRGIL OTIS PARKER. After graduating at Wake Forest College in 1896 Mr. Parker taught school at Morehead City, Smithfield and Clyde. The work of the school room not being congenial he gave this up and came to Raleigh in 1902 and entered the real estate and insurance business.
The most marked achievement in connection with his real estate work was the development of
Cameron Park, which is regarded by many as one of the most attractive suburban residence sec- tions of the south. His most earnest efforts, how- ever, were made in connection with tenement con- ditions in the City of Raleigh. When Mr. Parker first began his work as rental agent the tene- ment houses of Raleigh were far from being at- tractive. By persistent efforts he succeeded in getting the greater part of the poorer houses put in good condition. In many instances when the owners could not be induced to make proper re- pairs he bought the property outright in order that he might put the houses in comfortable shape. Led on by his efforts general improvements were made all over the city, and now tenement condi- tions in Raleigh compare favorably with any town in the state.
For about ten years Mr. Parker has given spe- cial care to state mission work in the Baptist Church of which he is a member. When America joined the war against Germany, he was made chairman of the Young Men's Christian Associa- tion work for the Fourth Congressional District, and conducted these campaigns successfully.
Mr. Parker was born in Wake County, 1871. In 1899 he married Miss Annie Rose of Smith- field. They have one child, Miss Josephine Parker. Having beeu reared in the country Mr. Parker still finds his chief recreation in walking the fields and woods on the farm where he was reared and which he now owns and cultivates.
HON. WALTER CLARK, chief justice of the Su- - preme Court of North Carolina, and without ques- tion one of the foremost jurists of the South, is a native son of North Carolina with a long and dis- tinguished record of service as a soldier, lawyer, judge, student and author.
Born in Halifax County, North Carolina, Au- gust 19, 1846, he is a son of David and Anna M. (Thorne) Clark. As a boy he attended school at the Horner and Graves Academy and at the Hills- boro Military Academy. Early in 1861, when only fourteen years of age, he was one of a number of cadets sent to Raleigh at the request of the gov- ernor to assist in drilling the recruits, then being enlisted in the cause of the Confederacy. He him- self enlisted, and in spite of his youth distinguished himself, and by merit was promoted until at the age of seventeen he was a lieutenant-colonel in the Confederate army. He was the youngest officer of this rank in either the southern or northern army.
With the close of his military service he en- tered the University of North Carolina, where he graduated A. B. and in 1867 was given the degree A. M., while in 1888 he became a LL. D.
In 1868 he was admitted to the bar, and since then has devoted himself to his congenial and valuable life profession. He was in active practice until 1885, when he was elected judge of the Su- perior Court. In 1889 he was elected a justice of the Supreme Court, and has been a member of that court now for more than a quarter of a cen- tury. "He has been chief justice since January 1, 1903.
Judge Clark has been an extremely busy man and when not engaged by the duties of his court he is usually in his study working upon some his- torical or legal treatise or on his farm in Halifax County, where he finds both pleasure and recupera- tion. Judge Clark is an author of national reputa- tion, He annotated the "Code of Civil Pro-
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No.8Thornton.
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cedure, " third edition, and compiled and edited "North Carolina State Records, "' sixteen volumes, published from 1894 to 1897, and is also author of "Histories of North Carolina Regiments in the Civil War," published in five volumes. He has issued reprints of all volumes of "North Carolina Supreme Court Reports with Annotations," from volumes 1 to 164 inclusive, edited the article Ap- peal and Error in the Cyclopedia of Law and Pro- cedure, and has been a frequent contributor to magazines of legal and historical articles. He translated from the original French "Constant's Memoirs of Napoleon, " in three volumes, published in 1895.
On January 28, 1874, Judge Clark married Susan W. Graham, now deceased. Her father was W. A. Graham, at one time governor, United States sen- ator, and secretary of the navy. Judge Clark has two daughters and five sons: Mrs. J. E. Erwin of Morganton; Miss Eugenia Clark of Raleigh; David Clark, editor of the Textile Manufacturer; W. A. Graham Clark of Boston; John W. Clark of Dur- ham; Walter Clark, Jr., and Thorne Clark, both of Raleigh.
CHARLES HENRY WOOD. Nothing can be more true than that individuals differ in their natural endowments. When circumstances can be so com- manded as to direct a career along natural lean- ings, undoubtedly a fuller, more satisfactory life is lived than otherwise. Every community has examples of misplaced activities, as it also has of unusually successful efforts. In the banking field, as in others, these differences may be noted. Banking often looks to a youth as he is faced with the necessity of choosing a career as a dig- nified and usually renumerative business. At any time one may visit the different departments of a large city bank and note the scores of young men showing weariness as they toil over the great books of the institution, and a thoughtful onlooker can but wonder how many of them have the accuracy, the mathematical talent, the unlimited patience this work of cold "numbers" entails, without considering the other necessary qualifica- tions, that will lead them from desk to desk until they reach the heart of the bank, the cashier's cage. A young man must have business genius to succeed in this line.
Among the banking institutions of Chowan County, none have a higher rating or a greater list of satisfied patrons than the Citizens Bank of Edenton, of which Charles Henry Wood is first cashier. Mr. Wood's banking experience has prac- tically covered the entire period of his business life, and with all the commercial enterprises with which he is connected his financial talents have received official recognition. For twelve years he has been a resident of Edenton, and during this time, both in business and in civic affairs, has demonstrated sound financial knowledge and un- usual grasp of business.
Charles Henry Wood was born in Pasquotank County, North Carolina, December 3, 1874. His parents were Henry Clay and Malinda ( Harris) Wood. His people were farmers and he was reared in the vicinity of Elizabeth City, first attending a private school, later the public schools and subsequently Elizabeth Academy. His profi- ciency in mathematics led Mr. Wood to decide upon a commercial life and he entered the First National Bank of Elizabeth City as assistant book- keeper, very soon afterward being promoted to
head bookkeeper, in which capacity he continued with the bank for six years.
Mr. Wood by this time had learned much about the banking business and found such environment congenial, so that when he visited Shreveport, Louisiana, he entered the Commercial National Bank in that city and continued until he became associated with J. W. Atkins in cotton and general merchandising at Atkins, Louisiana, where he re- mained two years. On his return to North Caro- lina, Mr. Wood went with the Hertford Banking Company, at Hertford, where he continued until 1905. In 1905 he came to Edenton and in the same year was elected first cashier of the Citizens Bank, which office he still holds. He is treasurer of the Wilkes Veneer Company and has additional interests.
Mr. Wood was united in marriage on November 12, 1913, to Miss Edith Foster Bond, who was born at Edenton, North Carolina. She is a daughter of Henry A, and Emma C. (Hudgins) Bond. Her father was engaged in the fishing business.
In political matters Mr. Wood takes a good citizen 's interest as a public duty and ever since locating here has lent his influence to promoting the city's best interests. As an able business man and trustworthy one he was elected treasurer of the city and is still serving. He belongs to Unanimity Lodge No. 7, Ancient Free and Ac- cepted Masons, Edenton, of which he is past master, and to the Chowake Club, of which he is treasurer. He is also a member and treasurer of the Baptist Church at Edenton.
COL. MARCELLUS EUGENE THORNTON, The City of Hickory in Catawba County has no more interesting citizen than Colonel Thornton. He has long been prominent in business and industrial affairs and has been perhaps mainly responsible for the development of electrical power in this section of the state. But business is not his only field and interest. He practiced law for a number of years, and was a boy soldier of the Confederacy. He is a member of a prominent and aristocratic old Southern family, and has the literary tastes and interests of so many Southerners and has turned his attention to authorship not without credit and distinction.
Colonel Thornton was born in Pike County, Georgia, in 1848, a son of Capt. Simeon Willis and Mary Roby (Ford) Thornton. Capt. S. W. Thornton was also born in Pike County, Georgia, a son of Elijah Thornton and grandson of Wiley Thornton. Elijah Thornton died young and Cap- tain Thornton was reared in the home of his grandfather Wiley Thornton. Wiley Thornton was an aristocratic gentleman of English ancestry and had come to Pike County, Georgia, from Virginia. He was a man of unusual dignity and bearing. The Thornton ancestors arrived in America about the same time with the ancestors of Washington, to whom they were related.
Simeon Willis Thornton was married in 1847 to Miss Mary Roby Ford, formally of Warren County, North Carolina, a daughter of Samuel Ford of that county, and a relative in the ma- ternal line of the Castlebury family of Warren County. In 1853, Capt. S. W. Thornton re- moved from Milner, Pike County, Georgia, to Atlanta, where his children were reared. Before the war he served as a railroad conductor. Though opposed to secession he enlisted in the Confederate
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army when the war broke out. He had already had some military training as a member of the Fulton Dragoons of Atlanta, and with that organi- zation he became a part of Cobb's Legion in the Army of Northern Virginia. At the battle of Yorktown he was badly disabled and after coming home on furlough, Governor Brown commissioned him a captain of the Georgia State Reserve In- fantry. In that capacity he assisted in the de- fense of Atlanta. His home in that city was oc- cupied by the family during the siege of Atlanta, and was not abandoned by them until it was being ruined by the artillery fire of Sherman's forces. Captain Thornton after the war resumed railroad work and was killed in a railroad acci- dent in 1870.
Marcellus Eugene Thornton's earliest recollec- tions are of his home city of Atlanta. He was only fourteen years of age when he managed to get himself accepted into the Confederate service at Atlanta. His officers considered him too young to bear arms, and he was consequently assigned to a position in the commissary department. His duties there required him to travel over various sections of the South, and his duties were largely for the requisition of supplies for the army. Thus "he did his bit" during the war in spite of a youthfulness which gives him an almost unique distinction among the soldiers on both sides in that conflict. The title of colonel he enjoys not from his Confederate service but through his posi- tion with that rank on the staff of two governors of Georgia.
Prior to the war Colonel Thornton had at- tended school at Griffin, Georgia. He resumed his studies in that town after the war and also studied law there. He was admitted to the bar October 22, 1867, in Henry County, Georgia, and in 1868, went to the State of Alabama and for several years practiced law successfully at Gadsden and in other towns in the judicial circuit of which Gadsden was the center. He was looked upon as a lawyer of rising renown, but was finally com- pelled to give up active practice on account of an affliction of an asthmatic nature. For some years Colonel Thornton lived at Washington, D. C., and handled the responsibilities of a position in the Interior Department.
In 1881 Colonel Thornton married Mrs. Eliza- beth Camp (Denison) Rutherford. Her first husband, John Rutherford, Jr., of Burke County, North Carolina, was member of a wealthy and in- fluential family of the state. Colonel Thornton's wife died at their home in Hickory, North Carolina, in May, 1916.
After his marriage, Colonel Thornton returned to his old home at Atlanta, Georgia. For some years he was engaged in the newspaper business, being one of the editors of the old Atlanta Herald, and a partner of the late Gen. Isaac W. Avery, in the ownership of that paper. In the meantime having acquired valuable interests in Burke and Catawba counties, North Carolina, Colonel Thorn- ton removed to the state in 1892, and for over twenty-five years his home has been at Hickory. Much of his time, however, has been spent in looking after his business interests, largely in Kentucky. He had much to do with the develop- ment and the management of the coal business in Kentucky operated by the Main Jellico Moun- tain Coal Company, a company that was engaged both in mining and shipping coal. The headquar- ters of the company were in Kensee, Whitley County. Of this company Colonel Thornton was
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both president and general manager for a number of years.
It was Colonel Thornton who promoted the Water Power Electric Company, a North Carolina corporation, of which he is now president. He was formerly president of the Thornton Light and Power Company of Hickory. The Water Power Electric Company owns a fine water power site on Colonel Thornton's land on the Catawba River, four miles above Hickory. For several years Colonel Thornton has given his chief time and at- tention to this project. When the development work is completed it will result in a hydro-electric power plant 9,000 primary horse power. The project also includes the building of a great electric furnace for manufacturing steel direct from the manganese and other ores on another property owned by Colonel Thornton in Catawba County, twelve miles below Hickory.
On account of his prominent connection with electrical power interests, Colonel Thornton is a member of the Jovian Order, and a member of the National Electric Light Association.
Almost from childhood Colonel Thornton has as- sociated with men of distinction in various walks of life. His literary work has been pursued as a diversion and means of recreation chiefly. Two works of fiction have been published with his name on the title page. The first came out in 1899 under the title "My Buddie and I," and the sec- ond published in 1901 is "The Lady of New Orleans." Colonel Thornton now has in manu- script an epic poem, "Our Immigrant." All his writings have a distinctive literary flavor, and show not only the skill of the technical writer, but the imagination which gives vitality to every literary production. Colonel Thornton has a rec- ollection rich in personal reminiscences, and those reminiscences themselves would constitute litera- ture of the finest kind if committed to writing. As a youth he knew personally such great southern characters as Alexander Stephens, Gen. Robert Toombs, the two Governor Browns, father and son, of Georgia, Gen. Isaac W. Avery the journ- alist and historian, Henry W. Grady, Joel Chandler Harris and many others. Colonel Thornton's younger brother Mr. Scott Thornton, now deceased, had a stage career and achieved no little dis- tinction as a tragedian.
F. EUGENE HESTER. When Mr. Hester was graduated from the law department of the Uni- versity of North Carolina in 1910, he at once attacked with characteristic vigor the problems of building up a professional reputation and handling with success such interests as were entrusted to his charge, and in the subsequent years has gained rank as one of the very able and skillful attorneys of the Wake County bar.
He was born in Franklin County, North Caro- lina, July 22, 1879, and spent his early days on a farm. His parents were William Henry and Louie Virginia (Goswick) Hester. As a boy he attended the country schools, also the Wendell High School, and spent three years in the literary department of the University of North Carolina. He afterwards returned to the university to take his law course, and on gaining admission to the bar located at Raleigh. He has since practiced there and at Wendell, his old home, where he built up a promising clientage.
Mr. Hester is a republican in politics and a member of the Baptist Church. He was the republican nominee for the State Senate in 1915
Henry W Warner
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and was secretary of the County Executive Com- mittee in 1917. On September 25, 1912. he mar- ried Miss Maude E. Baker, of Icusville, North Carolina.
JEFF D. LOOKABILL, EsQ. An enterprising, prosperous and progressive agriculturist, and a citizen of prominence, Jeff D. Lookabill, Esq., of Southmont, is a typical representative of the active, industrious, and able men who are so well conducting the business affairs of this part of Davidson County. A native of Davidson County, North Carolina, he was born August 15, 1861, in Conrad Hill Township, which was also the place of birth of his father, Jacob Lookabill, and of his grandfather, John Lookabill.
Mr. Lookabill's great-grandfather Lookabill came to this state from Maryland as a young man, and was a pioneer settler of Conrad Hill Township, where he cleared a farm. He reared a large family of children, one of whom, Henry Lookabill, was one of the original trustees of Becks Church.
John Lookabill chose farming for his occupa- tion, and in course of time became one of the large landholders of Conrad Hill Township. There were no railroads in the state at that early day, and no convenient markets for the extra farm products. He, therefore, like many others, op- erated a distillery, the productions of which he took with teams to Fayetteville to dispose of. He was influential in local matters, and served for many years as magistrate. To him and his wife, whose maiden name was Charity Bowers, two sons and three daughters were born, Jacob, Frank, Polly, Bashia and Emily.
Jacob Lookabill was reared on the parental homestead in Conrad Hill Township, and as a boy was well drilled in the various branches of agriculture. He was a natural mechanic, and, without serving an apprenticeship, became an expert carpenter, brick masou and millwright, and worked at all of those trades. On account of a crippled hand, he was exempt from active service in the war between the states, but he was in the employ of the Confederate Government as a mechanic. In ' 1874 he bought the Feezer home, in Silver Hill Township, and was there a resident until his death, November 19, 1886, at the age of eighty-six years. He married Julia Ann Loughlin, and they reared three sons, Wil- liam, John F., and Jeff D., and three daughters, Laura A., Emily A., and Julia I.
Leaving the public schools, Jeff D. Lookabill attended the Moravian Falls Academy for awhile, after which, for six years, he taught school during the winters, and farmed summers. In 1885 he bought, in Southmont, then called Fairmont, the farm he now owns and occupics, and in the small log cabin that stood upon the place he and his bride began housekeeping. But a small bit of the land at the time of purchase was cleared, but by dint of energetic and intelligent labor he has since improved the greater part of it, placing it in a tillable condition. He has also bought adjoining land, a part of which he has sold for house lots. After living for awhile in the log cabin, Mr. Lookabill built a small frame house, and in 1895 erected his present commodious dwelling, which is modern in style and equip- ments, and a most desirable home.
Mr. Lookabill married, in 1885, Ellen Maude McClanny, of Silver Hill Township, and into their household ten children have been born,
namely: Joe S .; Ida Mav; Cail E. wed at the -, of twenty-four years; Maude; Winnie S. died when nineteen years old; Clyde D .; Lloyd E .; Asa Lee; Jackie; and Hester V. Joe S. married Miss Harvey, and they have one daughter, Winnie Lee. Ida May, wife of C. A. Surratt, has five children, Carl Gilmer, Willie May, J. D., Reba Lee, and Clyde A. Maude is the wife of W. S. Beckner. Mr. and Mrs. Lookabill are members of the Bap- tist Church, and he is an active worker in the Sunday school. He has served as justice of the peace the greater part of the time since attain- ing manhood, and he is now one of the directors of the Federal Loan Bank.
OSCAR ALONZO SNIPES. Perhaps more value is placed on old names in many sections of the South that on great fortunes, because the latter may be acquired through questionable as well as legitimate means, while the former to have been honorably preserved must have represented sterling attributes and citizenship qualities that were fully recognized. A bearer of an old name of Eastcru North Caro- line is found at Rocky Mount in the person of Oscar Alonzo Snipes, who has 'been the efficient and popular postmaster since his appointment by President Woodrow Wilson in 1913.
Oscar Alonzo Snipes was born in Chatham County, North Carolina, February 27, 1869. His parents were Presley and Permelia (Ward) Snipes. His father was a civil engineer by profession.
Oscar Alonzo Snipes was reared in his native county and was educated in the public schools. He was variously employed for a time and then learned the barber's trade. Later he moved to Halifax County and resided at Scotland Neck until 1906, when he came to Rocky Mount, where he soon became identified with its business and political life.
Mr. Snipes was married January 27, 1895, to Miss Anna Reed, who was born at Baltimore, Maryland. Mr. and Mrs. Snipes have one daughter, Elsie Blanche Snipes, who has been care- fully educated.
Mr. Snipes was reared to revere the principles of the democratic party and to believe that politics have an established place as a part of a man's public life. Hence he has for years been active in his party and to some extent an organizing force. He has ever been loyal to party and friends and his appointment to the office he now fills so well was considered by his friends but a just recognition of his merit. The postoffice at Rocky Mount, with a population of more than 14,000 souls, is one of much importance and the proper and prompt methods whereby the govern- ment work is carried on reflects credit on Mr. Snipes' business ability and executive capacity. He is as well known in fraternal as in political circles and belongs to different Masonic bodies and also to the Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias.
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