USA > North Carolina > History of North Carolina: North Carolina biography, Volume IV > Part 72
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respectively, the dates of their deaths being in the order which their names appear.
Isaac Kuykendall had an undivided interest in this property through his mother Hannah Lawson, who was a sister of Michael and Lawsou Blue. Isaac Kuykendall with his family lived here from 1904 until his death, which occurred iu 1910. He was a consecrated Christian man, a member of the Presbyterian Church, and an elder in the church for about twenty years.
Lucy Rebecca, his wife, was born October 21, 1834, at the home of her father, Samuel Davis, one mile south of Headsville, Mineral County, West Virginia. Her grantfather's name was Joseph Davis, whose wife was Rebecca Dent, both being from Prince Edward County, Virginia. Her grand- father was an Edwards, who owned and farmed a tract of forty acres of land located where Trinity Church, Wall Street, and a part of Broadway are now located. This land was leased for ninety-nine years and expired in 1892.
Lucy Rebecca Kuykendall received her education at a private school known as "Thorndale,"' near Baltimore, Maryland. She was a remarkably well read woman and a fine Christian character, her father and grandfather both being elders in the Presbyterian Church. Her death occurred in Feb- ruary, 1914.
Isaac and Lucy Kuykendall were the parents of eight children, the four eldest being boys and the four youngest girls. Their uames and dates of birth are as follows: James Stuart, born Septen !- ber 8, 1871; Edgar Davis, born August 13, 1873; Isaac, Jr., born October 26, 1875; Samuel McCool, born September 18, 1877; Hannah Susan, born October 22, 1879; Nannie Blue, born November 2, 1880; Lucy Virginia, born October 26, 1881; and Frances Lawson, born October 22, 1883.
James Stuart Kuykendall received a common school education. In 1889 he entered the mercan- tile business as clerk at Huttons, Maryland, and on the 10th of June of the same year accepted a position with Mr. I. H. C. Pancake at Romney, West Virginia, in the same capacity, and worked up to head clerk in a large business. In 1894 he was elected general manager of the mercantile establishment of E. M. Gilkeson at Romney, which position be held until Mr. Gilkeson was elected president of the bank at Parkersburg, West Vir- ginia, and sold the business to James Russell, when he was re-employed by Mr. Pancake to open up a new branch store at Westernport, Maryland, where he remained two years, resigning to enter mercan- tile business for himself under the firm name of Sheppard & Kuykendall, after declining a very lucrative position offered him to go to Johannes- burg, South Africa, to assume the position of general manager for the first ice manufacturing establishment ever established in South Africa. Ten years of close confinement in the mercan- tile business brought about a breakdown, and his physicians ordered a change in climate, and after several months treatment he spent several months with his brother at Nashville, Tennessee, aud At- lanta, Georgia, and in June, 1899, located in Greens- boro, North Carolina, engaging in the mercantile business as clerk three years and in the real estate business about the same length of time. In 1907 he was elected secretary of the Greensboro Cham- ber of Commerce, and was one of a small group of young men who were largely instrumental in pro- curing the location of the White Oak Cotton Mills at that point, one of the largest in the South. Dur- ing his administration as secretary of the Cham-
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HISTORY OF NORTH CAROLINA
ber of Commerce he was appointed a delegate to represent the Fifth District of North Carolina at the Southern Immigration and Quarantine Congress held at Chattanooga. He was an aggressive leader in locating in North Carolina the National Auto- mobile Highway from New York to Atlanta, and given the distinction by the officials of the New York Herald and Atlanta Journal, who promoted the location of this highway, of being the only North Carolinian who was present and whose figure appears on the bronze medal celebrating the event of the linking up of the North and the South with a national highway system.
In 1909 he was offered the position of secretary and treasurer of the board of trade at Winston- Salem, North Carolina, and held this position until 1912, when he became secretary and treasurer of the Standard Building and Loan Association in the same city, which position he still occupies. He was appointed a member of the Local Exemption Board under the selective service draft by President Woodrow Wilson in November, 1917, and elected secretary of the board, which registered 5154 registrants, and was the largest board and fur- nished more men for the war in Europe than any other board in the state, the number inducted being about 3,000 men in class A-1.
He was a deacon in the Presbyterian Church at Romney, West Virginia, Westernport, Maryland, and an elder in the First Church at Winston-Salem and Reynolds, North Carolina, about three miles distant from Winston-Salem.
On June 23, 1909, James Stuart Kuykendall was united in marriage to Ruth Wharton at the home of her parents in Greensboro, North Carolina. Her father being John W. Wharton, son of John Wharton, whose father was Elisha, son of Watson Wharton, whose father was Hinman Wharton, of an old English family whose name appears in the historic records of both the Revolutionary and Civil wars. Maria Edwards, wife of John W. Wharton, and mother of Ruth Wharton Kuykendall, traced her ancestry back to the New York Edwards, who were also the ancestors of Lucy Rebecca Kuyken- dall, mother of J. Stuart Kuykendall. James Stuart Kuykendall and wife, Ruth, have one daugh- ter, Ruth. born October 23, 1914.
John W. Wharton lost a limb at the battle of Plymouth, North Carolina, in the Civil war, and was a member of Company M, Twenty-first Regi- ment, North Carolina Infantry. He was born Sep- tember 1, 1833, and died April 21, 1910.
Edgar Davis, second son of Isaac and Lucy Kuykendall, was educated at Peabody Normal Col- lege. He was president of the Literary Society of that college. was a noted football player, and had charge of all the athletics of this institution and graduated second in his class in 1896, after which he completed a two years' law course in one year at Lebanon ( Tenn.) Law School, second in a large class. Immediately after graduating he begun the practice of his profession in Nashville, Tennessee, where he remained until 1902, when he removed to Greensboro, North Carolina, for the practice of his profession, and in 1912 was elected prosecuting attorney in the Municipal Court, which position he held until the declaration of war with Germany, when he was promoted to the position of major of the Third Regiment, North Carolina Coast Artillery. He was married in 1908 to May Lehman. To them were born two children, Edgar, Jr., and Harry.
Isaac, the third son of Isaac and Lucy Kuyken- dall, was educated at Potomac Academy, Romney, West Virginia, was sent to China as a missionary,
and was there during the Boxer Uprising, where he remained eight years, after which he returned home and completed his theological course at Union Theological Seminary, Richmond, Virginia. His death occurred in February, 1913. He was un- married.
The youngest son, Samuel McCool, received his education at Potomac Seminary, Romney, West Virginia. He was married to Anna DeBerry of Garret County, Maryland. To them was born one son, Dent Kuykendall.
Hannah and Frances, the oldest and youngest daughters, received their education at Potomac Seminary. Hannah took a special course in Phila- delphia, in Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, Maryland, and also in New York City, and is now a trained nurse. She volunteered for home or foreign serv- ice and has been called for service with the Red Cross. Frances married Charlie Blue and resides at Hanging Rock, Hampshire County, West Vir- ginia, on a part of the old Blue farm, formerly the property of her ancestors and now owned by her husband. Nannie and Lucy completed their edu- cation at the Mary Baldwin School, Winchester, Virginia. Nannie is principal of the graded school at Keyser, West Virginia, and Lucy married Wil- liam Washington, near Springfield, West Virginia. They have one daughter, Lucy Virginia.
JAMES D. PROCTOR. It is not every son of an illustrious father who is able to reach distinction in the same field of endeavor as that in which the parent won honors, but in the case of James D. Proctor, of Lumberton, it would appear that through high intellectual attainments he also has reached eminence in his profession, inheritance and environment by no means having been neces- sary factors. While he perpetuates a reputation for professional skill earned by his honored father, his own place in the ranks of law has been gained through force of merit. For more than ten years he has been engaged in practice at Lum- berton, where he is junior partner of the well- known law firm of McIntyre, Lawrence & Proc- tor.
James D. Proctor is a native son of Robeson County, North Carolina, and was born in 1885, at Lumberton, his parents being Edward K. and Elizabeth Gray (Dick) Proctor. The family has been in America since 1835, when the great- grandfather of James D. Proctor brought his family from Kent, England, and located in Prince George County, Virginia. There he became a prominent citizen and extensive planter and rounded out a long and successful life, his last resting-place being the old Blandwood Church- yard at Petersburg, Virginia. Edward K. Proc- tor, Sr., the grandfather of James D. Proctor, was born in Kent, England, in 1825 and was ten years of age when brought by his father to the United States. He grew up amid rural surround- ings in Prince George County, Virginia, and dur- ing the middle '50s came to Robeson County, North Carolina, locating at Lumberton. Here he became a large land owner and a prosper- ous and successful man. Mr. Proctor had the full confidence of the people among whom he lived, and on various occasions was called upon to serve in offices of trust and responsibility, being eventually sent to the North Carolina Leg- islature, in which body he served with distinc- tion for two terms. When he was called in death his community lost one of its best and most energetic citizens, and he left behind him
John J . Mackey
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HISTORY OF NORTH CAROLINA
not only a host of friends, but a large number of admirers, who had come to believe in his ster- ling integrity and worth of character.
Edward K. Proctor, the younger, was born at Lumberton in 1862, and liere his entire life was passed. He was educated for the law, a profes- sion in which he spent his career aud in which he gained an excellent standing. He was also a prominent and substantial citizen of Lumberton and became the owner of large tracts of city and country property. He owned the land upon which the Town of Proctorville was built, this town be- ing named in his honor, and also had numerous other interests of an extensive nature which made his name well known in business and railroad cir- cles. Mr. Proctor was a man noted for civic pride and for his efficiency and thoroughness, not only in business affairs, but in all other avenues of life as well. It is recalled that he displayed these qualities in church movements, and as a promi- nent member and official of the Baptist Church he was forcibly instrumental in having the church 's business and financial affairs carried on in a thorough and systematic manner, this policy be- ing the means of avoiding debt and deficit and building up a thrifty and prosperous church or- ganization. He was one of the powerful and cour- ageous leaders in the prohibition cause in North Carolina during the pioneer days of the crusade against the great liquor interests, at a time when it was personally and decidedly dangerous for . any individual to openly espouse the cause of prohibition. In fact, Mr. Proctor's outspoken views upon the subject frequently exposed him- self and family to attack by the liquor element, and on several occasions he and his loved ones had narrow escapes from the most serious harm. He always publicly advocated his principles in regard to the prohibition question, and it was his fortune. to live to see North Carolina begin to throw off the curse of liquor. He was deeply interested in the affairs of his town, and through his efforts the town installed its first public im- provemeuts in the shape of a modern water and sewerage system and pure drinking water. His death occurred in 1902, when he was but forty years of age, his early demise cutting short a most brilliant and successful career. Mrs. Proc- tor, who survives her husband and lives at Lum- berton, is a daughter of the late James Dick, whose brother, Hon. Robert P. Dick, was for many years United States judge for the Western Dis- trict of North Carolina and a member of the law . firm of Dick & Dillard, of Greensboro, their fa- ther having been Hon. John M. Dick, who was a judge of the Superior Court of North Carolina for thirty years in the first half of the nineteenth century. Messrs. Dick and Dillard for several years conducted a notable law class at Greens- boro in which were educated many lawyers who have since ranked among the highest in the state and nation. Edward K. Proctor received his pro- fessional training in this school.
As a pupil in the public schools at Lumber- ton, James D. Proctor showed himself possessed of a bright and retentive mind, and when still a youth he displayed a desire to enter his father's profession. He attended Wake Forest College, from which well known institution he was gradu- ated in 1905, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and then entered upon his professional studies at the University of North Carolina, com- pleting with the class of 1906. Returning to Lum- berton, he at once embarked in practice and here he has continued his labors with signal success.
He is now a member of the law firm of McIntyre, Lawrence & Proctor, accounted one of the strong- est legal combinations to be found in Eastern North Carolina, who practice in all the courts. Mr. Proctor is interested in various activities of his native city, is mayor of Lumberton, as was his father and grandfather, and at present is a member of the board of trustees of the Univer- sity of North Carolina. He is popular in social circles and has uumerous friends, both in and outside of professional life.
JOHN J. MACKEY. An important contribution to the history of a great state is that which calls atten- tion to the representative citizens of each com- munity. That they are representative means that through their activities, their sterling character, their personal influence and trained faculties, most worthy things have been accomplished. More ofteu than not these representative men are found in public life, having been called to assume official responsibilities by their fellow citizens who had faith in their capacity, and continuing long in office because of their ability and trustworthiness.
John J. Mackey, one of Buncombe County's rep- resentative men, has been register of deeds here for more than a quarter of a century. He belongs to one of the old families of the state, is of Irish extraction, and his people settled in McDowell County, North Carolina, long before his birth there, which took place October 9, 1845. His parents were Charles and Mary Ann (Jordan) Mackey. For many years his father was an extensive farmer in McDowell County, but when the war between the states came on he put aside his personal interests, and in May, 1864, like many fathers in the present troubled times in the land, saw his son of seven- teen years become a soldier, and the home after the war was in Buncombe County.
John J. Mackey obtained his education in private schools and remained with his father until he en- listed in Company K, Sixth North Carolina Cav- alry, in which he served until the end of the war. He then completed his education in Weaverville College, and ever since has devoted himself entirely to the interests of Buncombe County.
Mr. Mackey has been active to some extent in the business field, as a hotel keeper and a merchant, but a great part of his life has been passed in public office. He was yet a young man when he was elected superintendent of the County Home of Buncombe County, and during his seven years of administration of its affairs order was brought out of chaos, the inmates were admirably cared for and the taxpayers were saved needless expenditure. Possessing executive ability, he conducted the home as any other business enterprise, and the results were creditable to himself and gratifying to the county.
Afterward Mr. Mackey established a private hotel on the Murphy Branch Railroad and conducted it very successfully for eighteen months, and then embarked in a general mercantile business at Ashe- ville. Merchandising in this beautiful city is a business of great importance. While the county seat's normal resident population is large, with its many flourishing manufacturing plants, it is greatly augmented during the year because of its renown as a health resort and as the home of some of the state's best educational institutions. To please and satisfy in the mercantile line so large a number of usually affluent patrons makes mer- chandising in Asheville ahnost as important a com- mercial enterprise as it is in a metropolis. Mr. Mackey was one of the leading merchants of the
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city for six years, retiring at that time in order to assume the duties of his present office, to which he was elected in 1888. Mr. Mackey has the dis- tiuction of having served in the office of register of deeds a longer time than any of his predeces- sors, his service being continuous, with the excep- tion of four years, since first elected.
In many ways Mr. Mackey has been a good and helpful citizen and one direction in which he is zealous is his advocacy of good roads, and he is a valued member of the Good Roads Association, an organization that has done much for the county in this regard. For many years he has been identi- fied with fraternal bodies, which he has found con- genial in their spirit and aims, these including the Junior Order of United American Mechanics, the Knights of Pythias aud the Odd Fellows, with their auxiliary societies. Few men are better known in Buncombe County than John J. Mackey.
Mr. Mackey was married in 1869 to Matilda Gill. They had two children: Leona, who died at the age of about three years, and the sou Lucious, who died wheu about eighteen months old. Mrs. Mackey died about 1874. Mr. Mackey was mar- ried in 1879 to Sue Stockely of Tennessee. To this union there were born three children, all of whom died before reaching five years of age. The mother died about 1891. The third marriage of Mr. Mackey was to Alberta B. Davis of Asheville, North Carolina. She died in 1906. There were no children of this union.
JOHN ALPHEUS GREEN. A fine representative of the keen, elcar-headed and prosperous business men of Davidson County, John Alpheus Green, secretary, treasurer, and general manager of the Thomasville Spoke Works Company, is actively identified with the manufacturing and mercantile affairs of his community, and is likewise prom- inent in fraternal circles. A son of Joseph Green, he was born, in 1853, in Thomasville Township, Davidson County, of pioneer stock.
His grandfather, John Green, was born, it is supposed, in Abbotts Creek Township, Davidson County, where his mother died at an advanced age. He bought a tract of land in that locality soon after his marriage to Betsey Kennedey, and there both spent the remainder of their lives, being industrious, thrifty members of the farming com- munity. They were Methodists in religion, and active in church work. Their son Jesse lost his life in the Confederate service, aud another son, Robert, was severely wounded while serving in the Confederate army.
Born on the home farm in Abbotts Creek Town- ship, Joseph Green obtained a practical knowledge of the three "r's" in the district schools, and be- came familiarly acquainted with the various branches of agriculture on the home farm. During the Civil war he was detailed as a mechanic to build wagons for the Confederate Government, the factory being located in Thomasville Township. There, after his marriage, he settled on a tract of land that had come to his wife by inheritance, and began farming on his own account. Succeed -- ing well in his operations, he subsequently bought a tract of adjoining land, and was there engaged in general farming until his death, at the age of seventy-two years. He married Hannah Gordy, who was born in Thomasville Township, a daughter of Laban Gordy, who married a Miss Murphy. Mrs. Green died at the age of fifty-eight years, leaving three daughters and two sons, namely : Naomi, Sarah, Mary, John Alpheus, and Julius
Cicero. None of the daughters are living, but both of the sons are, Julius being engaged in the furniture business at Thomasville.
Growing to manhood beneath the parental roof tree, John A. Green was graduated from the Abbotts Creek High School, and soon after receiv- ing his diploma became associated with his father and brother-in-law in the manufacture of lumber. At the end of three years he came to Thomasville to accept the superintendency of the spoke mill, then owned by E. S. Parmalee, a non resident of the town. At Mr. Parmelee's death, Mr. Green organized the Thomasville Spoke Works Company, of which he was elected secretary, treasurer, and general manager, positions of responsibility which he has since filled with much credit to himself, and to the satisfaction of all concerned. In 1896, Mr. Green, with characteristic enterprise and fore- sight, established a lumber yard, and has since carried on a profitable business as a dealer in dressed lumber.
Mr. Green married, in 1878, Almeda Jane Hoover. She was born in Thomasville, a daughter of P. Absalom and Jane (Holmes) Hoover, and maternal grand-daughter of Moses and Anna (Riley) Holmes. Mr. and Mrs. Green are both active and valued members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in which he has served as steward and trustee, at the present time being identified with its Sunday School as a member of the business men's class. He has ever taken a lively interest in public affairs, and has served as a member of the Thomasville town commis- sioners, and for two terms was one of the county commissioners. He is also a director of the First National Bank of Thomasville. Fraternally Mr. Green is a member of Thomasville Lodge No. 214, Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons; of Thomasville Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; of Salisbury Commandery, Knights Templar, and Oasis Temple, Charlotte, North Carolina.
JULIUS CICERO GREEN. A prominent and active citizen of Thomasville, Julius C. Green occupies a place of influence in business circles, and in the various publie positions to which he has been called has invariably devoted his time and energies to the duties of his office, being mindful of the interests of the people. A native of Davidson County, he was born in Thomasville Township, a son of Joseph and Hannah (Gordy) Green, and grandson of John Green, a lifelong resident of Abbotts Creek Township.
An ambitious student in his youthful days, Julius C. Green completed the course of study in the public schools, after which he attended a normal school. Developing and cultivating the musical talent which he had inherited, Mr. Green, at the age of twenty-one years, began teaching music. Retiring from the profession at the end of a year, he embarked in mercantile pursuits at Forest City, Rutherford County, where he re- mained for fifteen years, being the leading under- taker and furniture dealer of that place. Returning then to Davidson County, Mr. Green has since been similarly employed in Thomasville, where he has met with excellent success, being popular as a business man and as a citizen.
In 1889 Mr. Green was united in marriage with Miss Dora Tate. She was born in Rutherford County, North Carolina, a daughter of H. G. and Caroline Tate. Nine children have been born of their union, namely: Paul, Vera, William T., Julius A., Jesse, Eugene, Dora May, Walter, and.
P
mathews
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Robert Tate. A prominent member of the Metho- dist Episcopal Church, South, to which Mrs. Green also belongs, Mr. Green has served as steward of the church; as district recording secretary; and as superintendent of the Sunday School. Ever ready to do his bit in promoting the advancement and prosperity of the community in which he now lives, Mr. Green has never shirked the responsi- bilities of public office, but has served as mayor, town commissioner, and as justice of the peace. Fraternally Mr. Green belongs to Thomasville Lodge No. 214, Ancient Free and Accepted Order of Masons; and to the Woodmen of the World.
ELMER LUCIUS MATHEWS. Through his hard work and enterprise Mr. Mathews has built up one of Wilmington's promising and important indus- tries. He was not yet nineteen years of age when in May, 1899, he came to Wilmington in the employ of the Atlantic Coast Line Railway, having been transferred from Florence, and in the service of this company he remained until 1906. Having in the meantime studied the prospects of an indepen- dent business career and having saved from his salary toward that end, he launched out in 1906 in the business of manufacturers and jobbers of candy and confectionery. From the start the E. L. Mathews Candy Company has more than held its own and is now oue of the chief concerns of the kind in the state. The business is incorporated, with Mr. Mathews as president and general man- ager.
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