USA > North Carolina > History of North Carolina: North Carolina biography, Volume IV > Part 95
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HON. ABNER CLINTON PAYNE, a former mayor of Taylorsville and former state senator from this district, has won a high place in the legal profession and is one of the ablest lawyers of Alexander County.
Mr. Payne was born in 1871, and while his birthplace was in Caldwell County, it was just over the county line from Alexander County and only eleven miles west of Taylorsville. The Payne family came into this section of North Carolina and established homes and through a number of generations their work and influence have con- tributed to the development and welfare of the section. The Paynes are of English origin and since revolutionary times have lived in the Brushy Mountain section embraced in what is now Cald- well and Alexander counties. Mr. Payne is a great-grandson of Aquilla Payne, who is spoken of in the early annals as one of the first settlers of Caldwell County. His grandfather was Barnett Payne. Mr. Payne is a son of Waller and Eliza- beth (Downs) Payne, both now deceased. The father was born in Caldwell County in 1818, was a substantial farmer and land owner, and in his day a man of wide influence in business and polities. During the war he was captain of the Little River company of Home Guards.
Abner C. Payne grew up at the old home and remained there until he was twenty-two years of age. In addition to the local schools he attended the Taylorsville Collegiate Institute, at that time under Prof. J. A. White. Then and for many years prior to that it was one of the best con- ducted institutions of higher education in this part of North Carolina. Especially before the war when Prof. James Foote and Prof. Theodore Burke were at the head of the institution it at- tracted students from nearly every southern state.
Mr. Payne took his law work in Trinity College at Durham and was admitted to the bar in 1911. He began practice at Taylorsville and has found his time and abilities fully occupied with a grow- ing legal business.
In 1912 he was elected a member of the State Senate from the district embracing Alexander, Caldwell, Burke and McDowell counties. During the session of 1913 he was active in the general work of the Senate, and was particularly instru- mental in good roads legislation. The bill under which the highway from Old Fort to Asheville was
constructed was introduced by him. Mr. Payne made a creditable record as head of the municipal administration of Taylorsville in the office of mayor. He is a member of the Baptist Church and is master of the Masonic Lodge of Taylorsville. In 1898 he married Miss Grace Sloan of Iredell County. They have two children, Sloane and Eunice Payne.
HON. FRANK GOUGH. In making a study of the forces which have combined for the advancement of our men of public, business and professional eminence, the biographer consistently finds that the men to whom others look for leadership in the affairs of life are those who in large degree have been compelled to win their own way to the forefront through their own inherent ability and force of character. The traits upon which these men have depended for their advancement have included industry, integrity, perseverance and self- reliance, and to these, in large part, may be at tributed the success of Hon. Frank Gough, of Lum- berton, merchant, capitalist, extensive farmer, member of the State Senate, and one of the prom- inent citizens and leaders of North Carolina.
Hon. Frank Gough was born in Yadkin County, North Carolina, in 1866, and is a son of Stephen and Pauline (Douglas) Gough, both of whom are now deceased. His father was of English ancestry and his mother of Scotch descent, her mother hav- ing been born in Scotland. Stephen Gough located at Lumberton, Robeson County, in 1875, and died two years afterward. That was the hard-times period in North Carolina, and Frank Gough, a penniless boy, was literally "picked up on the street" by a German storekeeper of Lumberton, the late A. C. Melke, and given work. He subse- quently did chores and accepted any employment around the store or Mr. Melke's home that he could do, and at the age of sixteen years, having" shown ambition and aptitude for business, was sent by Mr. Melke to Eastman's Business College, Poughkeepsie, New York, this being considered by Mr. Melke as a "good investment." Mr. Gough took the business course at Eastman's and this was the only schooling he ever had, with the exception of some little night studying at Lumber- ton. His rise to his present wealth and prom- inence seems quite remarkable, when it is con- sidered that it was not until after he was twenty- one years of age that he was able to pay his father's funeral expenses. While his education was not of an extensive character, experience proved a good teacher and many and valuable were the lessons which he learned under its in- struction, in addition to which he possessed an ob- servant eye and a retentive memory and stored in the recesses of his mind much of value that he turned to account in his varied business career.
In 1892 Mr. Melke died, and Mr. Gough suc- ceeded him as the proprietor of the mercantile business, which he continued to conduct until 1895. At a time when his outlook seemed exceptionally bright for the future, Lumberton was practically destroyed by fire, at least the business portion, and the mercantile establishment which he was build- ing up went with it. This would have seemed com- pletely discouraging to many men, but, while Mr. Gough had not been born to an inheritance of wealth, he had the qualities of pluck and patience, and the word fail was not in his vocabulary. At the time of the conflagration he contracted a severe cold which threatened him with lung trouble, and
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Fram Gongle,
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on advice of physicians he took treatment for this trouble and did not at that time re-enter the mer- cantile business. Instead, for nine years following 1895 he occupied business positions with railroads in North Carolina, principally the Seaboard Air Line. In 1907, in partnership with A. E. White, he again entered the mercantile business, under the firm name of White & Gough. Their first store was a very modest venture, occupying what would now seem a ridiculously diminutive portion of their present large establishment on the corner of Elm Street and the Courthouse Square. Their success in this enterprise was instantaneous and has con- tinued without interruption to the present time. Starting in with a stock of goods worth about $2,500, the house now carries an average stock of $80,000, this consisting of general high-class mer- chandise. The firm has made hosts of friends over a wide expanse of trade territory and the estab- lishment is unusually popular with the people. Mr. Gough's success may be said in the business world to hinge upon one thing: Right dealing with his fellow-men-the business is one built upon honor.
Both Mr. Gough and Mr. White are directors and stockholders in the National Bank of Lumber- ton, as well as directors and stockholders in the Lumberton Cotton Mills, the Dresden Cotton Mills, the Jennings Cotton Mills and other corporations. They were public-spirited supporters and contrib- utors in the building of the handsome new Hotel Loraine at Lumberton. Mr. Gough may be ac- credited, in fact, with a fine public spirit in taking hold of every good move that is for the promo- tion of the growth and development of Lumberton and Robeson County. He has been for many years a leading figure in the municipal government of Lumberton, and particularly in the handling and management of the municipal finances his serv- ices have been repeatedly called for and always freely given. He has, in fact, achieved wide reputation for his ability as a financier and an expert in fiscal management. Also, in partnership with Mr. White, he has accomplished a world of good for the agricultural interests of the commu- nity by carrying on modern and successful agri- cultural operations in Robeson County. The part- ners own twelve or fourteen farms in the county, one of them, known as the Wishart farm, being their especial pride, and one that may well be designated as a prize model farm. It consists of about 600 acres of rich and productive land, lying three miles from Lumberton. Their other farms range in size from 40 to 800 acres each, and all are well improved and valuable.
Mr. Gough has been a lifelong straight demo- crat of loyal type. Although an exceedingly popu- lar man and one who has had for years hosts of friends who have urged him to become a can- didate for various offices within the gift of the people, he steadfastly refused all honors in this respect until 1916, when it seemed practically im- possible for him to decline his party 's nomina- tion for the State Senate. He became the candi- date and was duly elected in the November, 1916, election, as state senator for the Twelfth North Carolina District, which comprises Robeson County. He is a director of the Atlantic & North Caro- lina Railroad, this being the railroad that is owned by the state, and the position an appointive one under the governor. He is also member of the board of directors of the state prison and farm. Personally Senator Gough is of clever and engaging
personality and has a wide circle of friends and acquaintances among the prominent people of the state. He is well known in fraternal circles, being a member of practically all the secret and be- nevolent societies, among them being the Masons, in which he has advanced to the Royal Arch de- gree; the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias, the Improved Order of Red Men, the Woodmen of the World and the Junior Order of United American Mechanics. He is also well known in religious movements, being a member and deacon in the Baptist Church of Lumberton, one of the largest and most efficient church organizations in the state.
Senator Gough married Miss Lena Linkhauer, of Lumberton, who is of German ancestry, and they have two children: Miss Lina, who is a grad- uate of Meredith College, North Carolina; and Frank, Jr., who is attending the Lumberton High School.
JAMES HENRY HARPER, M. D. To his lifework as a physician and surgeon Doctor Harper brought an unusual natural talent, trained and matured by extensive association and study in one of the best medical schools of the country, and almost from the beginning of his practice at Snow Hill he has been recognized as a man of exceptional attainments. With professional success he has found opportunities to engage in business affairs, and has a number of important interests in his section of the state.
He is director and general manager of the East Carolina Electric and Realty Company and is a director of the Snow Hill Banking and Trust Company. Doctor Harper is a member of the Green County, the North Carolina State and the Tri-State Medical societies and the American Med- ical Association.
He was born at Snow Hill October 8, 1884, a son of James Thomas Henry and Martha Eliza- beth (Sugg) Harper. His father not only had a farmi but also conducted a drug store for many years at Snow Hill. Doctor Harper was edu- cated primarily in the Snow Hill Academy, spent two years in the medical department of the Uni- versity of North Carolina, and from there en- tered Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia, where he was graduated M. D. in 1905. After one year of clinical experience in Mercy Hospi- tal at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he returned to his native city and embarked in a general prac- tice. Doctor Harper has served as coroner of Green County since 1906. He is a lodge and chapter Mason and belongs to the Phi Chi Greek letter fraternity.
CHARLES IRVING JONES. A man of good busi- ness ability, enterprising and keen sighted, Charles Irving Jones, a successful cotton broker of Salis- bury, is actively identified with the development of one of the material industries of the state, his influence being recognized in both manufacturing and mercantile circles. A native of Maryland, he was born in Davidsonville, Anne Arundel County, which was also the birthplace of his father, Wil- liam Edward Jones, and his grandfather, John Henry Jones. His great-grandfather Jones was, it is supposed, a native of Scotland, from which country he came with the Stewart family to Anne Arundel County, Maryland, where he spent his re- maining days.
John Henry Jones spent his entire life of seventy-six years in Anne Arundel County, Mary-
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land. Owning not only extensive tracts of land, but many slaves, he employed an overseer to su- perintend his plantations while he lived in town. During the Civil war, although a slave holder, he did not favor secession, differing decidedly with his wife on that question. He married Rachel Jarboe, who survived him a short time, passing away at the age of seventy-seven years. They reared five sons, John H .; William E .; Samuel Morgan, now of Chester, South Carolina; Stephen C .; and Richard B .; and one daughter, Lucy.
William Edward Jones inherited a part of the parental estate, and having purchased the interest of the remaining heirs is there carrying on general farming and stock raising with gratifying results, being one of the leading agriculturists of Anne Arundel County. He married Edith May Fowler, who was born in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, as were her parents, Joseph C. and Catherine (Leitch) Fowler, who were of English ancestry.
Obtaining his rudimentary education in the pub- lic schools of Davidsonville, Maryland, Charles I. Jones subsequently entered Anne Arundel College at Millersville, Maryland, where he was graduated with the class of 1907. Going then to Baltimore, he completed the course of study in Sadler's Busi- ness College, thus fitting himself for a business career. Immediately locating in Chester, South Carolina, Mr. Jones was there engaged as a cotton broker until 1913, when he went to Spartanburg, where he was similarly employed for a year. Coming from there to North Carolina in 1914, Mr. Jones opened an office in Salisbury, and as a buyer and seller of cotton has met with good suc- cess, his business being extensive and lucrative. He has also other interests of a financial nature, being one of the directorate of the Morris Plan Bank of Salisbury.
On June 28, 1911, Mr. Jones was united in marriage with Mary Austin Kempton, who was born in Atlanta, Georgia, a daughter of Joseph F. and Sarah E. Kempton. She is of colonial an- cestry, the immigrant ancestors of the Kempton family having come from England to America with the Massachusetts pilgrims. Two children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Jones, Charles Irving, Jr., and Dorothy. Religiously Mr. and Mrs. Jones are valued members of the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Salisbury. Fra- ternally Mr. Jones is a member of Chester, South Carolina, Lodge No. 18, Ancient Free and Ac- cepted Order of Masons, and of Salisbury Lodge No. 699, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
LEWIS GILES HORNE. An able representative of the agricultural, manufacturing and milling interests of Davie County, Lewis Giles Horne, one of the leading business men of Mocksville, is widely known as a man of integrity and sterling worth. A native of Davie County, he was born in Callahan Township, being a son of Lewis Giles Horne, Sr., and coming from pioneer stock.
His great-grandfather, Howell Horne, the first member of the Horne family of which he has any knowledge, was for many years a resident of the District of Columbia, and owned land that is now included within the corporate limits of the City of Washington.
The grandfather of Mr. Horne was for several years a resident of Iredell County, North Carolina. Removing from there to Davie County, he bought land in Callahan Township, and subsequently
operated it with slave labor, living on his farm until his death. His wife, whose maiden name was Lusana Gatton, survived him a few years, dying on the home farm.
Although Lewis Giles Horne, Sr., was brought up on the farm where, in 1836, in Callahan Town- ship, his birth occurred, he never developed a taste for agricultural pursuits, but when ready to begin life for himself embarked upon a busi- ness career, establishing a tannery at Callahan, which he operated successfully a number of years. He enlisted in Company G, Fifth Regiment, North Carolina, and with his command proceeded to Virginia. While on active duty he was stricken with measles, and, while broken out with the disease was forced to wade the Potomac River. The waters were cold, and the icy chill gave him a shock from which he never recovered. He was taken to a hospital in Richmond, but in spite of the care given him, he died two weeks later, a young man of but twenty-eight years.
The maiden name of the wife of Lewis G. Horne, Sr., was Esther Haseltine Campbell. She was born at Mount Bethel, Iredell County, North Carolina. She was left a widow with two sons, Gaston E., residing in Mocksville, and Lewis Giles. An energetic and capable woman, she superintended the work on the farm, and reared and educated her sons, keeping them with her until each had a home of his own. She is now living with them, and is a mother of whom they may well be proud.
In the days of his boyhood and youth, Lewis Giles Horne attended the rural schools of his district, and assisted his widowed mother on the home farm. Going to Countyline in 1889, he learned the trade of a miller with John A. Butler, and at the end of two years he and his brother bought the Butler mill. It was operated by steam and water power, the latter being obtained from Little Creek, the stream on which the mill was located. In 1893 Mr. Hoyne built, in Winston, the mill which he has since operated, it being now known as the Horne, Johnstone Company Mill. It is finely equipped with all the latest most im- proved machinery used in making flour, and is operated both as a merchant and a custom mill. The Horne Johnstone Company built, own and operate the Mocksville Telephone Exchange, an enterprise that has been of inestimable value to the community. Mr. Horne is likewise interested in agriculture, the farm which he owns being operated by tenants.
Mr. Horne married, in December, 1881, Miss Emma Wilson, who was born in Mocksville, a daughter of William (known as "Tailor Bill") and Lena Wilson. Mr. and Mrs. Horne have five children, namely: Esther, Claude, Iva, Edna, and Lewis G., Jr. Esther was educated at the Greens- boro Normal School, and is now engaged in teach- ing. Claude has completed the course of study at the Agricultural and Mechanical College in Raleigh, this state. Mr. and Mrs. Horne are mem- bers of the Baptist Church, of which he is a deacon and a trustee, and also a teacher in the Sunday School, "having charge of the Bible class. Mr. Horne is a member of Mocksville Camp, Woodmen of the World.
ROGER MOORE. From earliest colonial times in the Carolinas down to the present hardly any fam- ily has shown more vitality, a finer degree of patriotism, greater sturdiness and enterprise in
Hope blood
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business affairs than the Moores, whose principal seat through many generations has been at Wil- mington.
The painstaking work of genealogists has re- vealed many interesting facts concerning the fam- ily both in America and England and Ireland. A Roger Moore, a person of considerable note, lived in County Berks, England, as early as the time of Henry VI. There is evidence that the illustrious family of Moore or O'Moore of Ireland was of the same Anglo-Norman stock. The O'Moores of Ireland have been described as "lead- ers of that proud and spirited class who, vigorously opposed the policies of England in her government of Ireland, and their many valorous deeds made them central figures against English oppression in that portion of Irish territory over which Eng- land held sway for several centuries."
The conspicuous figure of the family in Irish history, and the more important in this sketch because his generation is approximate to the date of the immigration of the Moores to America, was the illustrious Col. Roger Moore, who died in 1646 and was descended from a long line stretching back through fifty or more generations of Irish ancestors. Col. Roger Moore was the "Rory O'More" of popular tradition in Ireland, and to his courage and resources in a great measure were due the formidable Irish insurrection of 1641. An Irish historian has described him as follows: "Roger Moore was the head of a once powerful Irish family of Leinster. His ancestors in the reign of Mary had been expelled from their princely possessions by violence and fraud and their sect harassed and almost extirpated by military exe- cution. They were distinguished by a hereditary hatred of the English which O'Moore of Queen Elizabeth's reign expressed by the violence and obstinacy of his hostility. The resentment of Roger was equally determined, irritated as he was by the sufferings of his ancestors, his own in- digence and depression, and the mortifying view of what he called his rightful inheritance pos- sessed by strangers rioting in the spoils of his family. But his conduct was cautious and delib- erate; for he had judgment, penetration and a refinement of manner unknown to his predecessor. He was allied by intermarriages to several of the old English families and lived in intimacy with the most civilized and noblest of their race. Some part of his youth had been spent on the con- tinent, where his manners were still further pol- ished and his hatred of the English power con- firmed by an intercourse with his exiled country- men. He attached himself particularly to the son of the Earl of Tyrone, who had obtained a regi- ment in Spain and who was caressed at the Court. It was natural for such companions to dwell on the calamities of their fathers, their brave efforts in the cause of their countrymen, and the hopes of still reviving the ancient splendor of their fam- ilies. With such men in such a place an aversion to that power which had subverted all the old establishments in Ireland was heroic patriotism. The spirit of Moore was on fire. He vowed to make one brave effort for the restoration of his brethren, was applauded by his associates, and returned to Ireland totally engaged by the bold design. From the moment that the idea had first dawned in his mind, Moore wisely contrived by every possible measure to conciliate the esteem and appreciation of the native Irish; he had the qualities most effectual for this purpose, a person
remarkably graceful, an aspect of dignity, a courteous and insinuating address, a quick discern- ment of men's characters, and a pliancy in adapt- ing himself to their sentiments and passions. The old Irish beheld the gallant representative of one of their distinguished families with an extrava- gance of rapture and affection; they regarded him as their glory and their protection. They cele- brated him in their songs and it became a pro- verbial expression that their dependence was on 'God, Our Lady and Rory O'Moore.'
"Writers of Irish history who concur in noth- ing else, agree in representing Roger Moore as a man of the loftiest motives and the most passionate patriotism. None of the excesses which stain the first rising in Ulster are charged against him. On the contrary, when he joined the Northern army the excesses ceased, and strict discipline was estab- lished as far as possible among men unaccustomed to control and frenzied with wrongs and suffer- ings. "'
The first conspicuous American of this lineage was James Moore, a grandson of Col. Roger Moore of the Irish rebellion. James Moore was appointed governor of North Carolina in 1700. He was born in Ireland in 1640, immigrated to America in 1665, and settled on his grant of land in the Goose Creek section of the colony. A year later he married Margaret, daughter of Sir John Yea- mans. Several of his sons became conspicuous, including James, who died unmarried November 19, 1740, and Maurice, who died November 19, 1740, within an hour after his brother, James; Nathaniel, who was a member of the Colonial Assembly, 1738-39; and Roger, known as King Roger.
The title King Roger was bestowed partly on account of Roger's kingly bearing and unflinching courage. As he practically drove the Indians from the surrounding country he merited, owing to his authority and forcefulness, the title. He was for many years a member of Governor Gabriel John- son's council. He is described as a man of great wealth, possessing immense tracts of land in the surrounding country. He was a builder of the his- torie mansion called "Orton" still standing.
Some items of history concerning the famous brothers of this generation should be noted. In 1711, when the Tuscaroras were massacreing the colonists in Albemarle and threatened to exter- minate the white people in North Carolina, Col. James Moore, 2d, with a body of South Caro- lina troops hastened to the scene and waged a vigorous campaign which restored peace. He was re-enforced by an army under the command of his younger brother, Maj. Maurice Moore, who remained in Albemarle a year, when he was sum- moned to South Carolina with his forces to sub- due a serious Indian uprising. He marched along the coast, crossing Cape Fear River near Sugar Loaf, and was so favorably impressed with these river lands that he conceived the idea of set- tling them. He could not carry out the project until 1725, as the lord proprietors had prohibited a settlement within twenty miles of the river banks. His brother, Roger Moore, had married a daughter of Landgrave Smith, who had located a grant of 48,000 acres on the Cape Fear in 1692, and this may have had an influence in bringing about the settlement. King Roger Moore came with his hundreds of slaves and built "Orton, " one of the finest examples of pure colonial architecture in America, and here he lived in princely style. Maurice Moore selected a bluff site near Orton,
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