USA > North Carolina > History of North Carolina: North Carolina biography, Volume V > Part 100
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Mr. Rose was married first to Miss Fannie Gran- tham, who was born also in Wayne County, North Carolina, and they had three children: Ruth, Robert Barton and William Preston. Mr. Rose's second marriage was to Miss Jennie Pollok, who was born in Virginia.
Mr. Rose is a member of the Goldsboro Cham- ber of Commerce. He is a director of the People's Bank and Trust Company and is extensively interested in farming. He was one of the organ- izers of the famous Algonquin Club. He is public spirited as a citizen but not active politically.
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HENRY BURWELL MARROW, a North Carolina educator, also qualified as a lawyer, is superin- tendent of the public schools of Smithfield, and during the past eight or nine years has enjoyed several of the larger positions and more im- portant responsibilities in connection with the administration of the public schools in the state.
Mr. Marrow was born at Williamsboro, North Carolina, May 4, 1887, a son of Thomas T. and Carrie (Burwell). Marrow. His father . was a farmer and the son grew up in a rural environ- ment, attended the Henderson High School, and for two years taught the eleventh grade of the Henderson public schools. During this period of his teaching he also attended a business college. In 1908, entering the University of North
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Carolina, he pursued the classical course and graduated A. B. in 1912. The following two years he remained at Chapel Hill as principal of the City High School and at the same time carried work in the law department of the State University. In 1915 he was admitted to the North Carolina bar, but so far has found the attractions and duties of educational work too strong for him to resist. From 1915 to 1917 he was principal of the Brattleboro High School, and in May, 1917, was elected superintendent of City Schools of Smithfield, where he has one of the better school systems of the state under his ad- ministration and supervision. He is a member of the North Carolina Teachers' Assembly. On December 27, 1917, Mr. Marrow married Miss Pearl Hildebrand, daughter of Miles Pinckney Hildebrand, a merchant at Morgantown, North Carolina, and Delia (Smith) Hildebrand.
HON. UNION L. SPENCE. The career of. Hon. Union L. Spence, of Carthage, is an illustration of the rewards attainable in a life of industry and probity, and in its range has invaded a number of fields of endeavor. His earliest vocation was that of school teaching, which he followed in order to further his own education, subsequently he entered the law, in which he has risen to a high place among the professional men of Moore County, later he became interested in finance, in which he still continues as president of the Bank of Moore, and at all times he has been a public-spirited citi- zen and an active factor in the affairs of the beau- tiful and thriving little City of Carthage, of which he has been for two or three terms and now is mayor.
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Union L. Spence was born August 20, 1867, in Stanley County, North Carolina, a son of Daniel and Margaret Ann (Reeves) Spence. His father was born in Pasquotank County, North Carolina, and when a small boy moved with his parents to Randolph County, where he grew to manhood, af- terward living in Davidson County and finally lo- cating in Stanley County. He died there in 1877. The home of Union L. Spence, where he was born, was about six miles from Albemarle, the county seat, and about two miles form the present Town of Badin, where is being built the great power in- dustry of the Southern Aluminum Company, op- erated by water power from the Yadkin River. He was reared on the farm, his father being an agriculturist, and his boyhood surroundings were rural in character, his task being that of dis- charging the duties that fell to the lot of most farmers' sons of his day and locality. His pre- liminary educational training was secured in the school at Palmersville, which was taught by Oliver C. Hamilton, and later he attended Oak Ridge In- stitute in Guilford County. Desiring further train- ing and having decided upon a professional career, he began teaching school in order to earn the means for his further education, and after several years as a teacher in smaller schools became prin- cipal of Bain Academy in Mecklenburg County, a post which he retained for two years. Later he also taught at other places, and gained such an excellent reputation as an educator that he would no doubt have risen to a high place in that pro- fession, but his intentions and inclinations were toward the law and all his spare time was devoted to its study, even while his duties as instructor were heavy and exacting. Eventually he enrolled as a student in the law department of the Univer- sity of North Carolina, which he attended in 1892
and 1893. Graduating with his degree in the latter year, he commenced the practice of his profession at Troy, the county seat of Montgomery County, but in 1894 located permanently at his present home, Carthage, the county seat of Moore County. Here he has built up a large and successful law practice in all the courts, being the representative of numerous important interests. He is justly ac- counted one of the thorough and highly skilled legists of Moore County and his connection with numerous prominent cases of complicated litigation has shown the confidence which is placed in his abilities and fidelity. As president of the Bank of Moore he has made this institution one of the most substantial and successful in this part of the state, and in addition he has been a potent factor in business affairs. No enterprise calculated to advance the interests of the community is consid- ered complete unless it has his support, and few men have done more for the community of their residence. It is to the efforts of such men as Sen- ator Spence that the credit for the civic beauty and prosperity of Carthage are due.
It is but natural for a man of Senator Spence's attainments to take a leading part in public life. He early aligned himself with the forces of the democratic party, and after holding several offices of minor importance, in 1903 was elected to the North Carolina State Senate, representing the dis- trict comprising the counties of Moore, Chatham, Richmond and Scotland. In the deliberations and labors of that distinguished body he gave an excel- lent account of himself. After his return to Car- thage he was elected mayor of the city, a position which he still retains. In this capacity he has done much to attain civic improvements for the place of his adoption, and the finances of Carthage have been handled in a businesslike manner decidedly gratifying to the taxpayers. In 1916 Senator Spence was a candidate before the primaries for the democratic nomination for Congress, but was defeated in a race in which there were a number of candidates, and in which he received the next to the largest vote. Mr. Spence is chairman of the local Exemption Board. He and the members of his family belong to the Methodist Church.
Senator Spence married Miss Mary Worthy, daughter of Alexander Worthy, granddaughter of Sheriff Worthy of Moore County, and a member of one of the oldest families of this part of the state. They are the parents of one son: Union L., Jr.
J. HAMPTON ADAMS. Without the live and quickening energy of Mr. Adams the prosperous industrial history of High Point would doubtless be very different from what it is. Mr. Adams has been a real constructive factor in the life and affairs of that community for many years. If a list were compiled of twenty of the institutions that have most to do with the growth and devel- opment of the city, Mr. Adams' name would be found as an organizer or executive official in at least a third of them. It is an interesting testi- mony to his personal ability that when he came to High Point he was content to fit himself into the community in the humble sphere of a book- keeper. He is in fact a self-made man, having earned his education and every step of advance- ment to his present prominence.
He represents an old colonial family of South Carolina. His birth occurred on a plantation near the Town of Adamsville, in Marlboro County of that state. His first American ancestor was Jonathan
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Adams, who was born in Ireland of Scotch an- cestry. As a young man he came to America and sought a home in the wilds of what is now Marl- boro County, South Carolina. He secured land near the present site of Adamsville, and he and his wife, Mary, were living there when the war broke out with Great Britain. He entered the Colonial Army and fought throughout that entire struggle. He and his wife reared three sons: William, Shockley and John.
It is through the son William that the present line of lineage extends. William was a boy when the Revolution was fought. While his father was away in the army a band of tories raided Marl- boro County. They made a prisoner of the boy, and tried every means in their power to induce him to tell the whereabouts of certain individuals and of certain buried treasure. He refused. When the tories found they could not bribe him they began threatening him with personal violence. He was made of the stuff of real patriots, and though quite young his sense of responsibility was strong and he refused to endanger the life of friends by divulging any facts. His assailants put a rope around his neck, threw it over a limb and drew him up twice, letting him down in the expectation that he would relent. Before pulling him up the third time they said they would let him hang, and when this threat failed to move him they carried out their promise. Fortunately the mother of the boy happened along before life was extinct, let him down and revived him. He lived many years, and was a successful planter and lifelong resident of Marlboro County. He married Mary Marine. Their son William, better known in the community as Branch Billy, was also a Marlboro County planter, and married Sally Fletcher.
These were the three generations of the family preceding the father of J. Hampton Adams. He was Jonathan Adams, who in ante-bellum days operated the plantation in Marlboro County and employed a number of slaves. When the war came on he donned a Confederate uniform and was in the struggle to the end. Later he superintended his plantation with free labor and lived there until his death at the age of seventy-two. Jonathan Adams married Martha Jane Newton, who is now living at McColl, in Marlboro county. She was the mother of ten children, nine daughters and one son.
J. Hampton Adams had a high school education in his native county. His instincts and inelina- tions were all toward a business career, and while he had no capital he was willing to work and con- tent to abide by the decisions of the world as to his ability and usefulness. For a time he served as bookkeeper with W. B. Adams & Company. After a year and a half he gave up this work to improve his educational opportunities by attending Oak Ridge Institute. After that for two and a half years he was bookkeeper for F. P. Tatum at McColl, South Carolina, and in January, 1899, came to High Point.
His first experience at High Point was as book- keeper for the Eagle Furniture Company. But he was too resourceful a man to be kept down and at the end of a year and a half he organized the High Point Overall Company, and was secretary and treasurer of that prosperous concern for five years. In the meantime his interests rapidly ex- panded. He organized and became secretary and treasurer and is now president and manager of the High Point Hosiery Company. He also organ- ized and is president and manager of the Pied-
mont Mills, is organizer, president and manager of the Highland Cotton Mills No. 1 and No. 2; is organizer and president of the Kernersville Knit- ting Company at Kernersville, is president of the Ragan Knitting Mills Company of Thomasville, which was established in 1918; is vice president of the Bank of Commerce at High Point, and is president of the Consolidated Mill Company, a firm of commission merchants which was organized in 1906. With all these connections to his credit it is not difficult to understand what his associates say of him that he has done as much as any other one man to make High Point what it is.
In 1906 Mr. Adams married Elizabeth Barnes. She was born in Marlboro County, South Carolina, daughter of James and Ellen (Leggett) Barnes. They have two daughters, Nell and Elizabeth. Mr. and Mrs. Adams are active members of the Wesley Memorial Church, and he is serving on its Board of Stewards. Fraternally he is affiliated with Numa F. Reid Lodge No. 344, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; High Point Chapter No. 70, Royal Arch Masons .; High Point Commandery No. 24 Knights Templar, and Oasis Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Charlotte.
JAMES M. VAUGHN, of Madison, has had a busy career as a farmer, merchant and banker and is member of one of the oldest and most interesting families in that part of Rockingham County.
His grandfather was of Scotch ancestry and a native of Virginia. Considering the time of his youth he acquired a very good education. When a young man he came to Rockingham County and for a number of years earned his living by teach- ing country schools. He married a daughter of Dr. Theophilus and Diana (Mallory) Carter. Her father was a native of Virginia and served as a surgeon in the Revolutionary war.
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Joseph Mitchell Vaughn, father of James M., was born in his parents' log house near Rocky Springs in Rockingham County in 1834. There were few schools which he could attend, and from an early age he was self supporting. He began his business career working in a tobacco factory, and later traveled over the South as a tobacco sales- man. It was from a number of years of hard work in this line that he accumulated the modest capital with which he embarked in a mercantile business for himself. His success as a merchant was pronounced and he enlisted his profits in farm property. In 1874 he bought the estate long known as Rural Retreat, a part of which is in the village of Madison. Its lands extend across the Dan River and comprise several hundred acres of fertile valley soil. It is a picturesque as well as valuable property. The commodious brick house in colonial style was constructed more than a hundred years ago and has always been kept in the best of repair, and is one of the fine homes of that locality. It is surrounded by ample grounds, covered with various shade trees and fruit and shrubs, and the view from the grounds is an impressive one stretching across the Dan River Valley to the hills beyond. Joseph Mitchell Vaughn lived there in honorable retirement and with all the comforts of life until his death June 21, 1916. He married Cassandra Black, who is still living in Rural Retreat. She is a member of the Presbyterian Church, while her husband was a Methodist. She was born in Madison and her father, Pleasant Black, was born in Virginia. Left an orphan at an early age, he had to depend upon his own resources and was earning his living when
t
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a boy. When a young man he came to Rocking- ham County and was one of the first settlers of Madison. That was long before any railroads were built. He kept a hotel and stage station on one of the main traveled roads, and provided large pens and yards in which horses, cattle and hogs could be corraled over night. Such local stock stations were necessary at a time when all stock was driven overland, and large numbers of cattle and other livestock from northern markets were at that time driven south into South Carolina and Georgia. He also had a store and usually hauled his merchandise from Fredericksburg, Virginia, with a four-horse team. Occasionally a load of merchandise was brought up the Dan River by boats manned by a crew of his slaves. Pleasant Black lived in that locality until his death at the age of ninety-four. He was three times married and the mother of Cassandra was Matilda Dalton, a native of Rockingham County who lived to be eighty years of age. Joseph M. Vaughn and wife had four children: Edgar, James M., Robert G. and Luola, wife of Harry J. Penn.
James M. Vaughn was reared in Madison, at- tended the local schools there, and later was a student in Oak Ridge Institute and the Bingham School at Mebane. His business career began as clerk in his father's general store at Madison. Later he used his own capital to establish and manage a store and was in the mercantile business for a number of years. In the meantime he had bought some farm lands and has continued the oversight of his fields and crops. In 1917 Mr. Vaughn organized and has since been president of the Farmers Bank at Madison.
In his twenty-fourth year he married Florence Payne. She was born six miles south of Madison, daughter of Thomas and Mary (Fay) Payne. Mr. and Mrs. Vaughn have one son, Thomas Payne, who is the soldier of the family in the great war and now at the front in France. He graduated from the Madison High School and is now serving with the American Expeditionary Forces in Company L of the Eleventh Infantry.
J. FRANK WILKES. In the large manufac- turing interests of a country are undoubtedly found the stable foundations upon which indus- rial prosperity rests, and the successful devel- opment of enterprises in the manufacturing field determines a country's importance both at home and in foreign lands. Opportunities may lie on every hand and the time may seem ripe for the launching of concerns in many directions, but without men of power, foresight and business acumen to take advantage of conditions, nothing is done and naught accomplished. It is through the efforts of individuals who seem naturally equipped with the talents making for leadership that enterprises are developed from small begin- nings into vast aggregations of capital and efficiency, and in this latter class is found J. Frank Wilkes, manager of the Mecklenburg Iron Works of Charlotte, and one of the city's lead- ing public officials.
Mr. Wilkes was born at Charlotte, in 1864, a member of a famous family the name of which is inseparably linked with the history of the United States Navy and its splendid achieve- ments, The family is of the same stock as the historic John Wilkes of England, who flourished in the eighteenth century and was a notable political character of his day. On account of his relentless agitation in England on behalf
of liberty for the American colonies he became known as "Liberty John,"' although he never came to America himself. In every generation of the Wilkes family since its first establishment in America there have been members of it who have been fighters on the sea. When J. Frank Wilkes recently attended the graduation of his son at Annapolis, there were a total of thirteen members of the Wilkes and closely-related fam- ilies who were in the academy.
Captain (afterward Admiral) Charles Wilkes, the paternal grandfather of J. Frank Wilkes, was commander of the United States cruiser that captured, during the war between the states, the English boat Trent and removed therefrom the two Confederate commissioners, Mason and Sli- dell, who were on their way to England, an exploit that at the time threatened serious com- plication between this country and England, but which was settled in a manner that reflected only the highest credit upon Captain Wilkes, who received the thanks of Congress. He was born in New York City, April 3, 1798, entered the navy in 1816, and became a lieutenant in 1826. In 1838 he commanded an exploring ex- pedition sent by the United States Government to the Antarctic regions. He visited South Amer- ica, Samoa, the Fiji, Hawaiian and other islands in the Pacific; and made a voyage around the world, returning in 1842. About that time, with his cousin, Edward Renwick, he came to North Carolina, after securing a leave of absence, to investigate certain gold discoveries. They came to Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, and began the work of developing what became known as the Saint Catherine mine, a short distance south of Charlotte (now within the city limits), and another discovery known as the Capps mine, about six miles west of town; later they took up another prospect. The two young men worked these three properties with success, but lost con- siderably through the speculations of one Cheva- lier de Rivefrinola, an Italian, who had been employed by them. However, Captain Wilkes did well with his gold mining operations, both individually and as manager for a large concern that had gold mining interests in this vicinity. In 1843 Captain Wilkes was made commander, and in 1855 was promoted captain, and it was while serving in this capacity on the San Jacinto that he became involved in the Trent affair. In 1862 he was promoted commodore, after which he commanded several fleets during the war, in- cluding that on the James River, and a squadron in the West Indies, and in July, 1866, was made a rear-admiral. Not long thereafter he retired from the navy and for a time lived at High Shoals in Gaston County, North Carolina, where he engaged in iron mining and iron manufactur- ing. Later he again came to Charlotte, but in 1875 went to Washington, D. C., and there passed the remainder of his life, dying February 8, 1877. He wrote a "Narrative" of his expedi- tion (6 vols. 1845), "Western America,"' etc., (1849), "Theory of the Winds" (1846); etc.
John Wilkes, the son of Captain Wilkes, and father of J. Frank Wilkes, was born in New York, was a graduate of the United States Naval Academy, and was in the service of the navy some time before the war. In 1854 he resigned from the navy and came to Charlotte to become connected with his father's gold mining and other interests, and never rejoined the navy, con- tinuing to make his home at Charlotte during
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the remainder of his life and dying in this city in 1908. He was one of the representative and substantial citizens of Charlotte, and one of the first to promote its industrial life. He estab- lished a flour mill, which he operated in connec- tion with his gold mining business, and this mill was later developed into the old Rock Island Woolen Mills. He organized and was the first president of the First National Bank of Char- lotte, and, with his father, established the Meck- lenburg Iron Works shortly after the close of the Civil war, the first location being on East Trade Street, the site of the old "Confederate States Navy." During the past forty years the shops have been located at the present loco- tion, West Trade Street, at the crossing of the Southern Railway.
J. Frank Wilkes was reared at Charlotte, where he secured his early education in the public schools, subsequently attending the University of North Carolina and Stevens Institute of Tech- nology at Hoboken, New Jersey, from which latter institution he was graduated in 1885 with the degree of Mechanical Engineer. He has, in addition, other degrees. On returning from col- lege Mr. Wilkes became associated with his father in the Mecklenburg Iron Works and has continued the operation of this important industry since his father's death. This plant manufac- tures mining and mill machinery of various kinds, hydraulic machinery, structural iron, etc. Mr. Wilkes is a highly specialized and expert me- chanical engineer, and has what is known as the business "sense,"' that combination of qualities which is found in all men who, through their own efforts and individuality, win in any field of com- mercial or industrial endeavor. He is a member of the Chamber of Commerce and of other civic organizations. As a public-spirited citizen he has always been ready to give of his services in be- half of the community 's welfare, and was for six years a member of the board of aldermen of Charlotte and chairman of the finance committee of that body.
Mr. Wilkes was married in 1898 to Miss Frances Lucas, of Darlington District, South Carolina, and they have two children: John and Miss Carrie McIver. John Wilkes is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy, class of 1916, and is now a lieutenant. It is rather interesting to note that he is now in service on the battleship Mary- land, on the west coast of Mexico, and that his great-grandfather and grandfather, in 1847, were in service on the east coast of that country.
LOUIS COTTON SKINNER, M. D. Recognized as one of the ablest physicians and surgeons of Pitt County, Doctor Skinner has well deserved success. He has given years to study and preparation, has worked indefatigably since leaving college, and in addition to industry and conscientious fidelity possesses more than an ordinary degree of those natural talents which make the abler practitioner.
Doctor Skinner was born in Bertie County, North Carolina, May 15, 1880, a son of Charles and Har- riet (Cotton) Skinner. His father was a general merchant and also a hotel proprietor. The family moved to Greenville in 1882, and here Doctor Skin- ner attended the graded schools. He also spent some time in the Agricultural and Mechanical College at Raleigh and studied medicine in the Uni- versity of Maryland, where he finished his course in 1901. The following year he had the experience of one year as an interne in the University Hos-
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