USA > North Carolina > History of North Carolina: North Carolina biography, Volume IV > Part 96
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fifteen miles below the present City of Wilming- ton, and laid out a town which he called Bruns- wick, in honor of the reigning family. Nathaniel Moore's plantation, known as York, was situated on a bluff some forty miles from Brunswick.
The year 1719 is memorable in Carolina an- nals for the overthrow of the Proprietary form of government. The Moore family was thoroughly in accord with those opposed to a continuance of British oppression through the Lords Proprietors, and when the people resolved to have a governor of their own choosing, they turned to Col. James Moore, who had been commander-in-chief of the militia in the late Indian war, but was removed for his active opposition to the authority of the Proprietors, and chose him as their leader. He was elected governor in 1719, and subsequently served as attorney-general and judge of the Admiralty Court of South Carolina, and was speaker of the Colonial Assembly, 1722-25.
In 1766, or a generation later, the Moores again became conspicuous as champions of the rights of the people by presenting to Governor Tryon an assurance of the spirit of independence then pre- vailing and which would sustain the people to the extent of armed resistance to the enforcement of the odious stamp act. On this momentous occasion George Moore was selected to challenge the author- ity of the King and of the Parliament. The fear- less Moore, with a force of 150 armed men, ap- peared before Governor Tryon, and through his resolute defiance in the face of two British sloops of war, the government found itself powerless in the premises.
Throughout the memorable struggle of the war for independence the Moore family bore an hon- orable part. In 1774 James and George Moore represented New Hanover County as delegates to a revolution convention, and Maurice Moore was a member of the committee organized to draw up an address to the people of Great Britain setting forth the wrongs of the colonies in North America. His brother, James, was colonel of the First North Carolina troops and was in command during the Battle at Moore's Creek Bridge in February, 1776. He was promoted brigadier-general, was made commander-in-chief of the Department of the South, and received the thanks of Congress for his gallantry.
Such are some of the outstanding facts in the record of this family in colonial and revolutionary times. It now remains to consider more specifically the career of a late citizen of Wilmington whose patriotism, courage, resourcefulness and integrity showed him possessed of all the honorable family traits in the preceding generations and whose career is part of history in modern times.
The late Col. Roger Moore was born in New Han- over County, North Carolina, July 19, 1838, a son of Roger and Ann Sophia (Toomer) Moore. As a young man he rendered heroic service in the cause of the Confederacy. He became colonel of the Third Regiment, North Carolina Cavalry. The greatest achievements of this regiment were ac- complished while it was under the command of Col. Roger Moore, and won for him the unstinted praise and sincere thanks of General Lee. The Third Regiment was originally under the com- mand of Colonel Baker, who was captured at the Davis farm. His command then devolved on Colonel Waddell, who soon resigned on account of ill health and was succeeded by Colonel Moore,
who previously held the rank of major and lieu- tenant-colonel.
Of his military record in the war and in recon- struction time the unpublished manuscript of Sloan's History has this to say:
"Lieutenant-Colonel Waddell is quite favorably mentioned in the official reports of this date. But it was under his successor, Lieutenant-Colonel Roger Moore, that the regiment won its highest honors. This gentleman was no trained soldier, but by mere force of character, unflinching cour- age and capital good sense he accomplished the best results in every kind of service. Under him two of the most brilliant dashes were made; that of Captain McClancey at White Oak Swamp in August, 1864, when he charged into the Yankee lines and brought out prisoners under short range of musketry; and Sergeant Johnston of Captain Hatchett's Company, when he entered the Federal camp on the Warren retreat from Bellfield in De- cember, 1864, and made its whole circuit with a mounted squad of ten men. Half of those daring and gallant fellows were literally chopped to pieces with axes by the Pioneer Corps, but the survivors went ahead all the same.
"Colonel Roger Moore was not only conspicuous as a valiant soldier in the Confederate army, but he did yeoman's service for his section as Chief of the Division of the Ku-Klux-Klan in Wilming- ton. It is not violating the secrets of this organ- ization to state that Colonel Roger Moore, after taking the secret oath at Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1868, organized and commanded a Ku-Klux- Klan at Wilmington, which was made up of the best blood of the South. Many members of this Klan were loyal and devoted soldiers who had served under Colonel Roger Moore. It is now generally known that conditions in the South at the close of the war occasioned the birth of the organization known as the Ku-Klux-Klan. It was organized under the direction of General Nathan Bedford Forrest in 1867-68, to protect the South from the ravages and depredations of the spoilers A who came South immediately after the war. friend of Colonel Roger Moore's and a member of the Ku-Klux-Klan in an adjoining neighborhood in speaking of the debt the citizens owed Colonel Roger Moore said: 'Colonel Roger Moore did his duty in this matter and never allowed his Klan to commit an act that was not justified and en- dorsed by our superiors. He was in every sense a gallant and chivalrous citizen. The people of Wilmington had every cause to thank him and the Klan for the good order that followed. But of course none but the members knew it was he, as it was one of the closest hide-bound secret orders ever known.' "
Late in life the welfare and security of his home city of Wilmington were again entrusted to Col. Roger Moore in the capacity of commander of the general organization of white citizens to protect the lives and homes from the possible negro ravages during the race war of 1898. This war occurred November 10, 1898, and so thoroughly were the demoralized negroes controlled by the white men under the leadership of Col. Roger Moore that the unpleasant conditions were im- mediately changed in a way which meant per- manent good for all concerned.
The early business career of Col. Roger Moore was as a commission merchant trading in turpen- tine and allied products. He subsequently engaged
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in the manufacture of brick and as a dealer in building materials, and thus became the founder of the business house of Roger Moore & Sons Com- pany, a business still continued at Wilmington by his son, Roger Moore, Jr.
Col. Roger Moore died April 21, 1900. He had always been a Christian gentleman, but in 1888, through the preaching of the noted evangelist, R. G. Pearson, became imbued with a profound religious fervor, which was unabated throughout the rest of his life. He served as a steward and trustee of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
His first marriage was to Rebecca Scott Smith, a daughter of Thomas and Mary (Frink) Smith, of Wilmington. Their only son and child, Roger, died in his fifteenth year.
On May 3, 1871, Colonel Moore married Eugenie Berry, widow of George Atkins and daughter of Benjamin W. and Ann Eliza Berry. There were nine children of this union, and five of them reached maturity.
Anne Moore, the oldest of her father's children, is one of the distinguished women of her time. She graduated with the highest average ever at- tained in St. Mary's School at Raleigh, won the degrees A. B., A. M., and honors including a graduate scholarship from Vassar College, and was twice in succession appointed to the Marine Biological Laboratory at Wood's Hole. She had a scholarship in the University of Chicago, which awarded her the Ph. D. degree. For four years she was head of the department of physiology and biology at the State Normal School, San Diego, California, and subsequently became investigator of social conditions in New York City. She is the author of many scientific, sociological and vari- ous popular articles and stories. Perhaps the most noteworthy of her writings is "The Feeble-Minded in New York," published by the New York State Charities Aid Association in 1911, and used as a basis of appeal to the New York State Legislature for improved commitment laws and increased ap- propriations. Her "The Financial Standing of Patients in Fifteen Dispensaries," was published in the New York County Medical Record in Feb- ruary, 1914; "Physiology of Man and Other Animals" was published by Henry Holt & Com- pany. 1909, and she is author of various scientific articles published in the American Journal of Physiology.
Parker Quince, the oldest son of the late Col. Roger Moore, was educated at Capt. Bell's Military School at Rutherfordton, North Carolina, and has twice been elected mayor of Wilmington. He married Willie May Hardin. The third son, Louis Toomer, who finished his education at the Uni- versity of North Carolina, is a member of Davis- Moore Paint Company at Wilmington. Mary Ella, the youngest daughter, attended St. Mary's School at Raleigh and is the wife of Arthur L. Mills of Greenville. South Carolina.
Roger Moore was born at Wilmington October 10. 1879, was educated in private schools at Wilmington. and finished a course in a business college at Baltimore, Maryland. In 1900, upon the death of his father, he took his place as active manager of the old established firm of Roger Moore's Sons Company, and has carried this busi- ness forward on a scale of increasing importance. The leading feature of the business is the manu- facture of brick and the handling of building sup- plies, and the firm employs about forty individuals.
. Mr. Moore is also a director in the Mechanics
Building & Loan Association, is past president of the Rotary Club, is president of the Chamber of Commerce, is a democrat in politics, trustee of Grace Methodist Episcopal Church and president of the Adult Bible Class. He is chairman of the War Camp Community Service work under the Fosdick Commission.
He was twice married and a son, Edwin Gerry Moore, was born of the first marriage. At Wilmington October 14, 1914, he married Miss Alice Wallace Borden, daughter of Edwin and Penelope (Wallace) Borden. Her father was long officially connected with the Atlantic Coast Line Railway. Mr. and Mrs. Moore have one son, Roger, Jr., born August 16, 1916.
JOSIAH CALL EXUM is a young man prominent in business affairs at Snow Hill, and is now presi- dent of the First National Bank. He was liber- ally educated, attending the University of North Carolina, and on leaving college took up a busi- ness career with his father.
He was born at Snow Hill, North Carolina, July 23, 1879, a son of Josiah and Martha (Suggs) Exum. His father for many years has been a well known merchant at Snow Hill. He attended the public schools, the Fayetteville Military In- situte and completed his education in the Uni- versity of North Carolina. His early business experience was acquired with his father in a general merchandise store, and he became a member of the firm J. Exum and Company. In 1916 Mr. Exum turned his attention to banking and organized the First National Bank, of which he was elected president. The bank has a cap- ital of $25,000 and its deposits according to a recent statement aggregate $300,000. The bank has a splendid home, a two-story brick building, with offices on the second floor. The bank was built at a cost of $9,000.
Mr. Exum has done much for his home county. For the past eight years he has served as chair- man of the board of county commissioners and during that time the county undertook the con- struction of the splendid roads which now are a matter of pride to the entire community. Mr. Exum is a member of the Phi Delta Theta col- lege fraternity and is active in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.
In December, 1904, he married Miss Josie Her- ring, of Snow Hill. Mr. Exum has an ideal home life, and his efforts in a business way are inspired by his wife and children. The eight children who have blessed their marriage are: Robert, Grace, Jamie, Mattie, Josiah IV, Susan, Allen and Wood- row Wilson.
WILLIAM HENRY STEWART. Employed in a pro- fession that is peculiarly exacting in its demands, William Henry Stewart, of Salisbury, proprietor and publisher of the Carolina Watchman, one of the oldest publications of the state, is successfully devoting his thought and energy to making his paper bright, newsy, reliable, and, above all, clean, nothing of worth being too small to escape his at- tention, and no topic so large that he cannot handle it with ability. Inheriting in no small measure the brilliant intellect, courageous spirit and the ready command of language that charac- terized his father, the late John Joseph Stewart, himself a noted journalist, Mr. Stewart does his own thinking, and in his criticisms spares no evil doer, instead he "hews to the line, letting the
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chips fall where they will." He is a native born son of Rowan County, his birth having occurred in Salisbury January 17, 1870.
His paternal grandfather, Alexander Stewart, was born and educated in South Carolina. Subse- quently moving to Georgia, he lived for a time in Newton County, but later bought land in Troup County, not far from West Point, and there on the farm which he improved spent the remainder of his years. The maiden name of his wife was Salina Bruner. She was born at Beaver Dam, Montgomery County, North Carolina, being a lineal descendant, it is thought, in the fifth gen- eration of Jacob Bruner, who emigrated from Germany to America prior to the Revolutionary war, the line of descent being thus traced: Jacob, Henrich, Henry, Henry and Salina.
John Joseph Stewart was born June 15, 1827 in Newton County, Georgia, near Covington, and there spent his boyhood days. At the age of seven- teen years he came with his uncle, J. J. Bruner, publisher of the Carolina Watchman, to Salisbury, the uncle having been a visitor at the Stewart home in Georgia, and for a while after coming here attended the city schools. Spending his leisure time in the office and work rooms of the Carolina Watchman, he became familiar with the art preservative and acquired a taste for jour- nalism. He afterwards became a clerk in the store of James Ennis, and later bought out the interests of his employer. While engaged in mer- cantile pursuits he established a paper, the Ban- ner, and continued its publication until the break- ing out of the Civil war. Enlisting then in Company B, Forty-sixth Regiment, North Carolina Troops, he was made first sergeant, and later was twice promoted, first to second lieutenant and then to first lieutenant. With the exception of a while in the hospital while recovering from a wound in- flicted by a minnie ball, and a brief sick leave, he was with his command in all of its marches, cam- paigns and battles until the close of the conflict.
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Returning then to Salisbury, John Joseph Stewart continued to publish the Banner as a daily, semi- weekly and tri-weekly for a while, and also taught school a few terms. About 1880 he published The Examiner and in 1885 established the Salisbury Truth, a family and political newspaper. He kept himself well informed on local and national affairs, but did his own thinking, and never did he hesitate to publish the results of his mental activities, great names and exalted positions inspiring him with no dread. He was of an intense nature, and a master of strong, trenchant language, which he could use daringly and most effectively. Although an invalid during the latter part of his life, he edited his paper until his death, June 20, 1896.
The maiden name of the wife of John Joseph Stewart was Clara Lois Bruner. A daughter of John Joseph and Mary (Kincaid) Bruner, she was born in Salisbury, and there reared and educated, with the addition of several sessions at the Statesville Female College. Her paternal grandfather, Thomas Kincaid, married Clarissa Brandon, a daughter of Colonel James and Esther (Horah) Brandon. Of the marriage of John J. and Clara Lois Stewart, ten children were born, as follows: Beulah, who married James P. Moore; John Joseph married Grace Morton; William Henry, the special subject of this brief review; Mary Esther married Edwin Cuthrell; May Pearl married Henry D. Abernathy; Clara Grace married Henry M. Armistead; Charles F. married
Lucy Brittingham; Bruner A. married Louisa Abernathy; Annie Viele married Frank M. Hood and Lois Dunbar married Walter L. Meek.
employed in
Having completed the course of study in the Salisbury schools, William H. Stewart the office the was Examiner, a weekly paper published in Salisbury by his father. Having in the year of 1883 been appointed
mounted messenger in the United States Senate, he spent the following two years in Washington, District of Columbia. Returning to North Caro- lina in 1885, Mr. Stewart was engaged in jour- nalistic work in Salisbury for five years. Going to Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1890, he remained there three years, having first been associated with the Chronicle, now the Observer, and afterward with the Charlotte News. In 1893, having accepted an appointment in the folding room of the United States House of Representa- tives, he lived for two years in Washington. Re- turning then to Salisbury, Mr. Stewart assumed charge of Salisbury Truth, a weekly paper referred to above, and managed it for about four years. Forming then a company, in which he was the chief stockholder, he conducted the Salis- bury Daily Truth-Index. Later he purchased the plant, and at the end of eighteen months he bought out the other share holders and became sole proprietor. Selling the paper to Varner and Spillman in 1903, Mr. Stewart retained the presses and published the paper for his successors for a year. Mr. Stewart then resurrected the Carolina . Watchman, and has since devoted his time and attention to its interests, making it one of the best and most popular journals of the kind in the city.
Mr. Stewart married Charlotte A. Davidson, a woman of culture and refinement. True to the religious faith in which he was brought up, Mr. Stewart is a member of the Presbyterian Church. Mrs. Stewart is a member of Saint Luke's Episco- pal Church. Fraternally Mr. Stewart belongs to Winona Council No. 18, Junior Order of United American Mechanics, which he represented in 1916, 1917 and 1918 at the State Council; to Bagley Council No. 5, Sons and Daughters of Liberty; and to the Patriotic Order Sons of America.
EUBERT LYERLY. In the remarkable industrial development that has made Hickory, North Caro- lina, one of the manufacturing centers of the state, the Lyerly family has borne an important part, their business enterprises having been potent factors for almost half a century. A prominent bearer of the name, and a sharer in the industrial fame that attaches thereto, is Maj. Eubert Lyerly, a retired officer of the National Guard of North Carolina, and a third owner of the Elliott Knitting Mills here.
Eubert Lyerly was born in 1877, at Hickory, North Carolina, and is one of three sons born to the late J. L. and Addie (Walker) Lyerly. One brother, Walker Lyerly, is an extensive manu- facturer of lumber. The other brother, Capt. George Lyerly, is in the active service of the United States Army, in the World war.
J. L. Lyerly, the father, was born in Rowan County, North Carolina. During the war between the states, he served in Company K, in the famous Fourth North Carolina Infantry, of which he was quartermaster sergeant, and participated in many of the struggles that made this regiment one of the noted organizations of the Confederate Army .. About 1869 or 1870 he came to Hickory and is
& M Boroder
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credited with being largely the founder of its industrial life. He found here a simple country village, with no railroad connection. His start was in the lumber business, and he established and operated the first circular saw in Western North Carolina. He helped to build the Western North Carolina Railroad, now the Asheville branch of the Southern, and in a general way his business enterprise was the needed impetus that gave Hickory a start as a manufacturing town. He furnished the lumber and was the contractor for the building of the way stations along the line of this railroad. The station at Bridgewater, constructed more than forty years ago, is still standing and is in good condition. He was an able business man and a constructive citizen of the highest rank. He was permitted to live to see Hickory grow into a model manufacturing city teeming with industries, its great wood-work- ing plants, its textile mills and other industries sending its name to far distant sections. In all this he had part, practically retiring from business activity in 1892, but surviving until 1903.
Eubert Lyerly was reared at Hickory and secured his education in the local schools and in the David Military School at Winston-Salem, from which he was graduated. For about ten years after- ward he was in the railway mail service and then became interested in the knitting mill business and subsequently, with his two brothers, became the owner of the Elliott Knitting Mill, a modern plant equipped with sixty-four knitting machines for the manufacture of hosiery. Its product is high grade and its contracts liave never been more numerous than at the present time.
Major Lyerly was the organizer in Hickory, of Company A, of the North Carolina National Guard, and was elected its captain and served as such for several years prior to being promoted major, being succeeded as captain by his brother George, who, as noted above, has gone to a wider field of service.
Major Lyerly was united in marriage with Miss Josephine Bonniwell, and they have one daughter, Josephine. The father of Mrs. Lyerly, the late George Bonniwell, was of French origin and his name was formerly spelled Bonneville. He came from New York to North Carolina and in the early '70s located at Hickory, where, in associa- tion with the father of Major Lyerly, he founded the famous Piedmont Wagon Company, which was the first large industry in the town. These wagons have been sold all over the country and the factory remains today one of the largest and most profitable of Hickory's industries. Subse- quently Mr. Bonniwell left the wagon company and engaged extensively in the manufacture of sash, doors, blinds and building material, and for several years his plant furnished all the material used in the construction of buildings at Hickory and in adjacent territory.
Major Lyerly is active and influential in all that concerns the further development of Hickory, cooperating with his fellow citizens along every line of worthy endeavor and steadfastly maintain- ing the high business standards for which his family name has always stood.
JOHN R. BOWDEN. One of the solid, substantial citizens of Cumberland County, the owner of a fine plantation and the proprietor of the leading general store at Wade, is John R. Bowden. Mr. Bowden is recognized as one of the successful business men of this section and he has deserved
this success because he has built up his fortune from the very bottom entirely through his own in- dustry and perseverance. Left fatherless in child- hood, he had fewer opportunities than many others in the way of education and business opportunity, and it was through the discipline of adversity that his character was developed and his struggle for a business footing was successful.
John R. Bowden was born in 1861, at Wade, his birthplace being within a few yards of his present residence. His parents were William and Susan (Cook) Bowden. William Bowden was born in Duplin County, North Carolina, and came to the site of the present Town of Wade in the middle '50s, accompanying his father, Mitchell Bowden, and others of the family. Many Bowdens still live in Duplin County, where the family was established by the English Bowdens when they came to North Carolina before the Revolutionary war. They gave the name to the present Town of Bowden in Duplin County. William Bowden enlisted in the Confederate army when the war between the states broke out, and was a brave and efficient soldier until he was captured by the enemy and was con- fined in a Federal prison until the war was over. He was able to return to his home but exposure and hardship had done their work and he died shortly afterward, leaving a widow and children but illy provided for. He was a man of good in- tention and fine character and was a member of the Presbyterian Church.
John R. Bowden came upon the scene of life at an unhappy time in his country's history, and innocent although he, with thousands of others, was, he had to face and contend with hard condi- tions in youth and early manhood. As soon as he was able he assumed as much responsibility as he could in taking care of his over-burdened mother and his brothers and sisters, and eagerly accepted every offer of work, even distasteful ones, for there was little money in the county at that time and his wages were pitifully small. He presevered, how- ever, and by dint of industry and self denial, finally accumulated sufficient capital to start a store at Wade, in a small way, and from that has succeeded through honorable methods and superior business capacity in building up a mercantile enterprise that is both profitable and prospering. He sup- plies the needs of a large territory, is personally known and esteemed by practically every one in this part of Cumberland County, and is rated com- mercially in the first rank as to business stability. For some years Mr. Bowden has also been accumu- lating farming land and now owns about 400 acres extending north of the Village of Wade and his yearly crops of cotton and corn are satisfying. This is becoming one of the most productive agri- cultural regions in the state, largely because of the system of drainage by canals that has been established, bringing enhanced value to Mr. Bow- den's and his neighbors' lands.
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