USA > North Carolina > History of North Carolina: North Carolina biography, Volume IV > Part 80
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ROBERT G. KITTRELL of Henderson was in former ycars very prominent as an educator, and has been equally successful since taking up the law.
He was born in Vance County, son of George William and Lucy (Crudup) Kittrell. He received his early education in local private and public
scliools, in the Hertford Academy, and in 1899 graduated Ph. B. from the University of North Carolina.
In his work as an educator he filled the follow- ing positions: Principal of academies at Windsor and Edenton; instructor at the Bingham School; superintendent of public schools of Oxford; super- intendent of public instruction of Granville County; superintendent of public instruction of Edgecombe County; superintendent of the city schools of Tarboro, and is now superintendent of the Henderson School.
In the meantime he was making diligent prepara- tion for the profession of law, studying privately and in the University of North Carolina. Since his admission to the bar he has carried some of the chief responsibilities of local practice at Hen- derson. He has also been honored by election as representative from Vance County to the General Assembly. Mr. Kittrell is a Royal Arch Mason and is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Junior Order United American Mechanics.
JAMES EDGAR FOY, whose business experience has been gained in several states, is a banker of thorough training and qualifications, and was one of the organizers and has since been cashier of the First National Bank of Lexington. He is also a member of the prominent real estate firm Foy & Shemwell.
Mr. Foy was born at Eufaula, Barbour Couuty, Alabama, August 14, 1880, son of James Edgar and Viola Gertrude (Cochran) Foy. His paternal grandparents were William H. and Mary (Wilson) Foy and the maternal grandparents were George and Mary Cornelia (Crymes) Cochran. The Foys and Wilsons were old and prominent families of Edgefield County, South Carolina.
James E. Foy acquired his early education in the public schools of Eufaula, and was a student in the Alabama Polytechnic Institute at Auburn. He left school to take a place in the store of his uncles, general merchants and dealers in cotton at Abbeville, Alabama. He was with them two years and then entered the Eastman Business Col- lege at Poughkeepsie, New York, where he grad- uated after a full commercial course in 1901. He was at that time twenty-one years of age and on returning from the North entered the Commercial National Bank of Eufaula and by work in every department learned all the details of the banking business. In 1908 he resigned his position at Eufaula and coming to Lexington was associated with Dermot Shemwell and others in organizing the First National Bank. He was elected cashier, and has filled that post steadily to the present time.
In 1910 Mr. Foy formed a partnership with his brother-in-law, Dermot Shemwell, under the name Foy & Shemwell. They have built up one of the chief concerns of its kind in Western North Caro- lina. They handle real estate, insurance, auto- mobiles and livestock and their business is con- ducted through a number of branch houses, in- cluding one at Denton, North Carolina, one at Chester, South Carolina, and one each at Eufaula and Dothan, Alabama. The partners are owners of upwards of 5,000 acres of farm land besides much city property.
June 12, 1906, Mr. Foy married Miss Lela Mar- tin Bullock. She was born in Eufaula, Alabama, daughter of Edward C. and Eva (Martin) Bul-
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lock. Mrs. Foy died February 15, 1917, leaving three children: James Edgar, Courtenay Bullock and Elizabeth Martin. Mr. Foy is an active mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. His college fraternity is the Sigma Nu and he is also affiliated with Lexington Lodge of the Be- nevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Lexington Council Junior Order United American Mechanics and with the Patriotic Sons of America.
THOMAS F. BAGLEY. From the toil and concen- tration of an active business career, involving ex- tensive commercial interests, including banking at Wilmington, Thomas F. Bagley has withdrawn in later years and devoted himself principally to the development of a suburban home and his farm at Seagate, which in many ways is the last word in intensive agricultural and horticultural produc- tion.
Mr. Bagley is a native of North Carolina and connected with some of its old and prominent families. He was born at Smithfield in Johnston County November 21, 1851, son of Thomas and Tresinda (Pike) Bagley. Three years after his birth his father, who for several years had been clerk of the Superior Court of Johnston County, died. Thomas Bagley was a son of Theophilus Bagley, who was a cousin of the maternal grand- father of Secretary of Navy Josephus Daniels. Thus going back several generations Thomas F. Bagley and Secretary Daniels have a common an- cestry. Tresinda Pike, mother of Mr. Bagley, was of the same family which produced the famous Albert Pike, notable for his services to the Con- federacy and for his achievements as a Mason. For years before his death Albert Pike was sov- ereign grand commander of the Thirty-third Degree Scottish Rite.
After the death of his father Thomas F. Bagley was reared at the home of his grandfather Theo- philus Bagley at the Bagley plantation, postoffice of Bagley, twelve miles from Smithfield, in Johnston County. Mr. Bagley attended school at different places and in 1872, at the age of twenty-one, came to Wilmington, a city and its environs which has ever since been his home.
His dignified position in business affairs has been strictly a matter of self achievement. In earlier years he was content to perform the humble role of a bookkeeper. After that he embarked with a modest capital in the wholesale wood, coal and cement business, and built one of the largest con- cerns of its kind. He remained active in those lines until failing health caused him to sell out. For several years he sought health by travel, and when once more restored to strength he established the Wilmington Stamp Works, with a job printing busi- ness in connection. A little later he was instru- mental in establishing the Tidewater Trust Com- pany, of which he was president, and which finally was merged with the Citizens Bank, which he con- tinued to serve as president for two or three years.
It was at this point in his career that on account of another failure in health he retired from active business affairs. He soon afterward bought land for a suburban home at Seagate on Bradley 's Creek on Greenville Sound, about seven miles east of Wilmington on the interurban railroad. This place he began improving by the construction of a modern residence and other suitable buildings, and by developing a. number of acres to a high state of cultivation. Mr. Bagley was practically the pioneer of what is now the thrifty little Village of Seagate. When he went there only two or three
small, poor buildings comprised the hamlet. He acquired a large amount of property in that vicinity and still remains the largest individual property holder, having about seventy-five building lots besides his suburban home. The interurban railway passes in front of his house. His lands slope gently to Bradley's Creek, a salt water stream emptying into Greenville Sound.
The Bagley farm comprises about 220 acres, much of which is highly cultivated. It might well serve as an example of the possibilities of intensive farming in this section of the state. Its orchards include peach, apple, pear, plum and other varieties of fruit trees and many pecan trees. Some of the land is devoted to trucking, chiefly for home con- sumption. The truck crops are lettuce, tomatoes, cabbage, potatoes, beans, peas, collards, etc. The Wilmington Corn Show has awarded several prizes to the Bagley exhibits of canned and preserved fruits and vegetables. In recent months the entire nation has been aroused by an educational cam- paign to reach the individual communities and the individual consumers of the market so as to allow the regular stream of production and supply to flow unimpeded to the armies and the suffering populations of Europe. As a practical response to this movement few farms could show a better record than that of the Bagley farm. An interest- ing proof of this can be found in the record of the season of 1917 when 1,178 jars of fruit and veg- etables were preserved, including the following: Fig, peach, apple and watermelon preserves; peach, apple and grape jelly, tomato preserves, tomato chow-chow, cabbage chow-chow, cucumber pickles, spiced grapes, canned : beets, canned pears, canned apples, canned peaches, plum jam, canned beans, field peas, garden peas, huckleberries, apple vine- gar, vegetable soup, etc. With such an abundance in store, it follows that the Bagley family has made a minimum demand upon the public markets.
The Bagley home is a spacious, modern, two-story structure on an elevation that furnishes a fine view of the surrounding country. Approaching the resi- dence is a beautiful avenue of Texas umbrella trees, with pecan trees interplanted. The well tilled fields, orchards and gardens would gratify the eyes of those accustomed to the closely cultivated and adorned gardens that represent centuries of labor and care in the older countries of Europe. It is an ideal country home, combining the advantages of city life because of the short ride on the interurban or by automobile on the hard roads that are the pride of New Hanover County. Another important feature of the Bagley place is its artesian well, said to be the finest in this section. It furnishes a flow of eleven gallons per minute, and by means of an hydraulic ram this water is supplied under pressure throughout the residence and other build- ings and over the grounds. Even with this brief description it is possible to understand why the "Bagley Place at Seagate," as it is familiarly known, is a home of great charm, rest and com- fort.
While Mr. Bagley still retains a home in the city he has of late years spent most of his time at his Seagate place. He is a member of Wilmington Lodge No. 319 Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. Mr. Bagley married Miss Annie J. Johnson, a native of Wilmington. They have one daughter, Ara, wife of Mr. E. Norfleet. A son, Thomas Payne Bagley, died in 1908, at the age of twenty- seven. He was a graduate of Davidson College and had made a very successful start in his business career.
THOMAS F. BAGLEY
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R. FULLER BURTON, a native of Virginia but a resident of North Carolina since early youth, was for many years identified with the railway service at Marion, but is now most widely known all over that section of the country as a banker and is a man whose financial ability and judg- ment are accepted with the confidence they deserve.
Mr. Burton was born in Mecklenburg County, Virginia, near Chase City, March 4, 1866, son of Rev. Robert and Elcanor (Jeffress) Burton. His father for many years carried the burdens and responsibilities of a minister of the Baptist Church. The son was educated in the Red Oak Grove High School in Virginia and completed his training in the high school at Ridgeway, North Carolina. He located at Statesville in 1885, wlien he became chief clerk and operator in railroad office, continuing until 1893. He was then ap- pointed joint agent for the two railroads at New- ton. In 1900 he came to Marion, occupying the same position until 1907, when he was elected cashier of the Merchants and Farmers Bank, to the management of which institution he now gives practically all his time. He is also vice presi- dent of the McDowell Building and Loan Asso- ciation, and was one of its organizers. Mr. Bur- ton is a Knight of Pythias and is an elder in the Presbyterian Church.
October 21, 1891, he married Miss Crissie Wins- low, of Statesville, North Carolina, daughter of Capt. James D. and Julia (Castex) Winslow. Her father was a wholesale grain merchant and also an insurance adjuster. Mr. and Mrs. Burton have a talented daughter, Julia Castex Burton, who was educated in the Peace Institute at Raleigh, a pupil of Dr. James P. Brawley, and is a thor- oughly trained musician.
WILLIAM AUGUSTUS BRISTOL. Of the men of Iredell County whose energies are devoted to the profession of law, few bring to bear upon their calling better natural talents or higher gifts of scholarship than does William Augustus Bristol, one of the leading members of the younger genera- tion practicing at the Statesville bar. Far from starting upon his life work in the untried en- thusiasm of extreme youth, the choice of this ener- getic practitioner was that of a mature mind, trained to thoughfulness by years of experience in other fields of endeavor and to full realization of the responsibilities and possibilities which con- fronted him.
Mr. Bristol is by birth, nurture and training a representative of the Old North State. He was born February 2, 1879, at Morganton, Burke County, North Carolina, a son of Lambert Augustus and Mary Ann (Todd) Bristol, the latter of whom is deceased, while the former is still residing at Morganton. The Bristol family of which he is a member was founded in America by Henry Bur- hope Bristol, who came to this country from Eng- 000 000 land in 1654. and was the great-great-great-grand- father of William A. Bristol. The family orig- inated in Bristol, England, and the family of Henry Burhone Bristol was one of forty that founded the Town of Cheshire, in New Haven County, Connecticut, where succeeding generations have resided ever since, and where the name of Bristol is well represented at this day. The son of Henry Bristol was Jonathan Bristol, and the latter's son, Gideon Bristol, was the father of Benedict Bristol, the grandfather of William A. Benedict Bristol came from New Haven County, Connecticut, to North Carolina some time between
the years 1800 and 1812 and settled in Burke County, about six miles from Morganton. He was a large landholder and slave owner, originally owning one square mile of land. He became a prosperous planter and a man of large affairs, and his plantation home was noted for its hos- pitality and entertainments during ante-bellum days. Benedict Bristol married a Miss Elizabeth McCall, whose mother was a Miss Smith of Patrick County, Virginia.
Lambert Augustus Bristol was born in Burke County, North Carolina, and was the youngest of his father's sons, by the latter's second marriage. When the Civil war came on he ardently desired to go to the front as a Confederate soldier, and when parental permission was denied ran away from home and succeeded in accomplishing his de- sire. He was but fourteen years of age at this time, but was accepted as a drummer boy, and the regiment with which he was connected was attached to the Army of Northern Virginia. He saw serv- ice in many engagements and then took part in the great Battle of Gettysburg, but not long after that big engagement his mother, because of his extreme youth, secured his release and compelled him to return to his home. His release necessitated a special order by Governor Vance. A short time after his return home the Confederate government called the seventeen-year-old boys and he was elected captain of the Junior Reserve Corps, of Burke and Caldwell counties, in which capacity he served faithfully and efficiently until the close of the war. He was probably the youngest captain ever in military service.
Although he had scarcely attended school him- self, after the close of the war Captain Bristol secured a position as a school teacher in his native County of Burke. When still a young man he was married to Mary Ann Todd, who is now deceased, the daughter of Rev. William Todd, a Methodist minister and a representative of one of the old families of Mecklenburg County. Her mother was Sophia (Moore) Todd, the Moores being another of the old and prominent families of Western North Carolina.
During the early '70s Captain Bristol engaged in the mercantile business at Morganton for several years, and was successful and accumulated a small fortune, to which he added by good investments. In political life, upon the organization of the old liberal party, he left the democratic party and became a liberal. When that organization was dissolved he transferred his allegiance to the re- publican party, with which he has been affiliated ever since. Under the administration of President Benjamin Harrison he was postmaster at Morgan- ton, and after serving very acceptably as mayor of Morganton for four or five consecutive terms was made a candidate for the North Carolina Legisla- ture during the time of the constitutional amend- ments, but met with defeat, as he was with the party that was hopelessly in the minority. In 1900 Captain Bristol was nominated by his party for the office of clerk of the county court of Burke County, was successfully placed in that office, and has served faithfully and efficiently to the present time, through succceding elections, his record of sixteen years of clean, able and conscientious duty being a remarkable oue. Captain Bristol is one of the prominent characters of his day and locality, and holds a recognized place in the estecm and affection of all who have come into contact with him.
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William Augustus Bristol is the second son of his parents. His early education was secured in the public school at Morganton, and in 1898, when nineteen years of age, came to Statesville, Iredell County, and embarked in the steam laundry busi- ness. This work not proving congenial, he next went on the road and represented various houses as a traveling salesman, a vocation in which he met with well-merited success. During his leisure moments while on the road, he began the study of law, and followed up these studies by attending the law department of the University of Virginia Summer School. Later he went to the summer school of law at Wake Forest College, in North Carolina, and was licensed to practice law in Sep- tember, 1909, locating at Statesville on October 30 of that year. From the start his advancement has been rapid and continuous, and he has steadily risen to a recognized position as one of the ablest among the younger members of the state bar. He has splendid qualifications for his chosen calling, and his success in a number of complicated and highly important cases has demonstrated his versatility, his resource, his thorough mastery of the principles of his calling, and the natural talent that a lawyer must possess if he hopes to rise to a high place in his calling. Among his fellow- practitioners he is held in high esteem, being known as one who respects the highest ethics of his honored vocation. In politics, like his father, Mr. Bristol is a stanch and unwavering republican and is one of the active and vigorous forces keep- ing his party in a position to be reckoned with in North Carolina. Personally, he is already high in the councils of his party, having been chairman of the Iredell County Republican Executive Com- mittee for several years. Mr. Bristol is a Pres- byterian, and is fraternally affiliated with the Ma- sons, the Knights of Pythias and the Junior Order United American Mechanics.
Mr. Bristol married Miss Mabel Finger Laughenour of Statesville, daughter of the late Doctor Laughenour, one of the oldest and most distinguished physicians and surgeons of Western North Carolina. They have one son: William Au- gustus Bristol, Jr., and one daughter, Sarah Eliza- beth.
BENJAMIN ROBINSON GRAHAM, M. D. All the work and experiences of Doctor Graham since he began the practice of medicine twenty years ago mark him as a man of special ability in his pro- fession, and with a specially happy equipment of personal qualifications that serve to supplement his power as a physician and popularize him as a citizen. Doctor Graham practiced many years at Wallace, his native town, but since 1915 has had the larger sphere of the City of Wilmington.
He was born at Wallace in Duplin County in 1868, son of Dr. Daniel McLean and Elizabeth Ann (Murphy) Graham, of well known families on both sides. Both the Murphys and Grahams are Scotch. The Murphys were pioneers in the Black River section, in what is now Pender but was originally a part of New Hanover County. The family was founded here by Cornelius Murphy, grandfather of Mrs. Elizabeth Ann Graham. Her father was Hanson Murphy.
In the paternal line Doctor Graham is a mem- ber of the brilliant Graham family of North Car- olina, long distinguished by their genuine scholar- ship and superior intellectual attainments. Doctor Graham is a cousin of Dr. Edward K. Graham, the able president of the University of North Carolina.
Both acknowledge the same grandfather, Archi- bald Graham. Alexander Graham, for many years head of the public school system of Charlotte, is an uncle of Dr. Benjamin R. Graham.
Dr. Daniel McLean Graham, who died in 1898, was born in Cumberland County, North Carolina, in 1833, had his primary education in the schools of that county and Harnett County and was prepared for college in Donaldson Military Academy at Fayetteville. He entered the University of North Carolina, from which he graduated in the early '50s. He began the study of medicine at Fayette- ville with Dr. Benjamin Robinson as his preceptor, but in 1858 took his degree from the Jefferson Medical College at Philadelphia. Afterwards, dur- ing the war, he was an assistant surgeon in the Confederate army, and with the restoration of peace between the North and South he resumed private practice in the Moore's Creek section of what is now Pender County, then New Hanover County. He married there and subsequently lo- cated at Wallace in the southern part of Duplin County. This was his home during the remainder of his life. He practiced medicine forty years. Most of his work was done in a country community, and throughout that district, a large one, no char- acter was more greatly beloved and esteemed for the qualities of his heart and mind as well as for his professional attainments than Dr. Daniel Gra- ham. He had other interests outside his profes- sion, and is said to have been the first man to start a commercial truck garden in Eastern North Car- olina. His name thus stands at the head of the list of what has since developed as an important industry in this part of the state.
Benjamin Robinson Graham was educated in Clements Academy at Wallace and took medical courses in the University of Virginia, where he graduated in 1895. He also spent one year in hos- pital work at Richmond, and in 1897 returned to his native town of Wallace, where he quickly gained the confidence of the home people in his ability, and he succeeded to the large practice developed by his father at the latter's death. He remained engaged in his duties at Wallace until September, 1915, when he moved to Wilmington. In this much larger center the promise of his earlier years has been brilliantly justified. Doctor Gra- ham is known as a hard worker, is constantly busy in looking after his extensive general practice, and is a physician of most genial and happy presence. He is a member of the County and State Medical societies and the American Medical Association.
Doctor Graham married Miss Edith Bolles, of Wilmington, daughter of the late Maj. Charles P. Bolles, whose long and distinguished career is told on other pages of this publication. Doctor and Mrs. Graham have eight children, Marie, Elizabeth, Frederick, Charles, Edith, Mary, Flora and Mar- garet.
JOHN WALLACE WINBORNE is a lawyer and dur- ing an experience of twelve years has shown un- usual ability in handling interests entrusted to his charge, and is prominent both in the business, professional and civic and patriotic affairs of Ma- rion, his home city.
Mr. Winborne was born in Chowan County, . North Carolina, July 12, 1884, son of Dr. Robert H. and Annie (Parker) Winborne. He grew up in the home of that well known physician of that county, was educated partly at home, pre- pared for college in Horner's Military School, and in 1906 graduated A. B. from the Univer-
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sity of North Carolina, and in August, 1906, was admitted to the bar of the North Carolina Su- preme Court. For about a year he taught at Bingham Military School and in June, 1907, be- gan practice at Marion. He formed a partner- ship wtih J. W. Pless under the name Pless & Winborne.
Mr. Winborne has answered the call to assume many responsibilities in connection with war ac- tivities. He is chairman of the local organiza- tion of the Red Cross, is chairman of the County Council of Defense, chairman of the Food Ad- ministration for McDowell County, and is a mem- ber of the Local Board of Exemption. He is also first lieutenant in Company Nineteenth of the North Carolina Reserve Militia or Home Guards.
Mr. Winborne served four years as chairman of the Democratic Committee for McDowell County and has served as a member of the city council six years. He is a director of the Cross Cotton Mill, a member of the North Carolina Bar As- sociation, and a warden in St. John's Episcopal Church. March 30, 1910, he married Charlie May Blanton. They have two children, Charlotte Blan- ton and John Wallace, Jr., born December 20, 1916.
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