USA > North Carolina > History of North Carolina: North Carolina biography, Volume V > Part 24
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On November 3, 1903, Mr. White was married to Miss Mattie Walker Toms, of Hertford, a daughter of Zach and Susie B. (White) Toms, and to this union there have been born two chil- dren: Susie Frances and Thomas Skinner, Jr. Mr. White is popular as a fraternalist, belonging to the Masons and being a charter member of Eliza- beth City Lodge No. 856, of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. With his family he belongs to the Baptist Church, where he is serving as a member of the board of church trustees.
EDWARD P. BAILEY. A central feature of Wil- mington's industrial prosperity for sixty years has been the Wilmington Iron Works, which was the first institution of the kind located in the city, and was established there by John C. Bailey in the year 1856. It has had an almost uninter- rupted career of prosperity and success, and is now under the executive management of Edward P. Bailey, a grandson of the original founder.
Edward P. Bailey was born at Wilmington January 2, 1885, a son of E. P. and Annie (Empie) Bailey. His father was for many years president of the iron works.
The education of Edward P. Bailey was directed with a view to assuming the responsibilities con- nected with the management of this important industry. In 1904 he graduated with the degree of Mechanical Engineer from the Agricultural and Mechanical College of North Carolina, and in the same year began his official service with the Wilmington Iron Works, of which he is now president. He is also president of the Wilming- ton Marine Railway Company.
Mr. Bailey is affiliated with the Sigma Nu fraternity, is past master of St. John's Lodge No. 1, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, is a member of Concord Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, belongs to the Cape Fear Club and the Cape Fear
Country Club and the Carolina Yacht Club. At one time he served as captain of the Wilmington Light Infantry.
November 14, 1912, he married Charlotte Pleasants, of Wilmington. They have one son, Edward P., Jr., born August 21, 1913.
ROBERT VANCE BRAWLEY, M. D., a physician and surgeon of superior attainments, has been in practice at Salisbury for over fifteen years and is one of the accomplished men in the pro- fessional and social life of that city.
He was born on a plantation in Shepherdsville Township. of Iredell County, North Carolina, a son of James W. and Julia (Caldwell) Brawley.
Preliminary to his career he had a thorough and liberal education, beginning with the public schools of Mooresville, the Agricultural and Me- chanical College at Raleigh, and later was a student both in the literary and medical depart- ments of the University of North Carolina. From there he entered the College of Medicine at Rich- mond, Virginia, and graduated M. D. in 1901.
For a short time Doctor Brawley engaged in the general practice of medicine. He then went to New York, and after extended post-graduate courses returned to Salisbury and has since given his time to his work as a specialist in diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat.
Doctor Brawley married, in 1907, Mary Boyden, a native of Salisbury and daughter of Col. A. H. and Mary (Shober) Boyden. More extended refer- ence to the distinguished members of the Boyden family is made on other pages. Dr. and Mrs. Brawley have two children: Robert Vance, Jr., and Boyden.
ABRAM O. BRAY. As superintendent and general manager of the North Wilkesboro Roller Mill, Abram O. Bray holds a position of responsibility and trust, and is actively associated with the de- velopment and advancement of the manufacturing and mercantile interests of Wilkes County. A native of North Carolina, he was born in Wilkes County, a son of Lacey Jasper and Tassie Lou Alice (Chaney) Bray, of whom a brief sketch ap- pears elsewhere in this work.
Acquiring his rudimentary education in the pub- lic schools of Elkin, Abram O. Bray subsequently took an advanced course of study at the Raleigh Agricultural and Mechanical College. During his boyhood days he worked with his father, and under his instruction gained a practical knowledge of the miller's trade and an experience in milling that has been of inestimable value to him since. Going to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1903, when the final preparations for the exposition held in that city that year were being made Mr. Bray served as checking clerk in the Mines Building during the collection and placing of the exhibits. When the exposition was over he became a commercial sales- man, traveling through various parts of the country, especially in the West, for two years. Re- turning then to Elkin, he was associated with his father in the milling business until 1908, when he assumed his present position in the business ac- tivities of North Wilkesboro.
The North Wilkesboro Roller Mills, of which Mr. Bray has charge, has a capacity of seventy-five' barrels of flour per day, and 200 bushels of meal. It is finely equipped, being amply supplied with the most modern approved machinery, and under the wise supervision of Mr. Bray is well patronized, it being run as a custom and merchant mill.
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HISTORY OF NORTH CAROLINA
ALEXANDER PERRY ECKEL was the first mayor of the city of Greensboro, and for many years was prominent in its affairs as a merchant and citizen. He was born in Jefferson County, Tennessee, in 1826. His father, Peter Eckel, brought his family from Germany and settled in Jefferson County, Tennessee, where he followed farming. Alexander P. Eckel was one of eleven children. His life to the age of twelve was spent on his father's farm in Tennessee. In the meantime his uncle, Charles Eckel, had become a prosperous jeweler at Georgetown, D. C. During a visit to the family in Tennessee this uncle took a fancy to Alexander and induced the latter's father to allow the boy to return with him to Georgetown and grow up as his adopted child, since he himself had no children. Thus Alexander P. Eckel was taken away from his rural surroundings in Tennessee, grew up near the national capital, and was given a good education and learned the jeweler's trade in his uncle's store.
After reaching manhood he came to Greensboro when it was a village, and for many years was engaged in the jewelry business. He finally bought a farm about four miles out of town and operated it with the aid of slave labor until the war. He never moved to this farm, but remained a resident of the city until his death in 1906. He was prominent in local affairs and, as already noted, was elected the first mayor of the city.
He married Mary E. Hill, who was born in Hillsdale in Guilford County, daughter of Wilson and Matilda (Boyd) Hill, both natives of Rock- ingham County. Mrs. Eckel, who died in 1890, was the mother of two children, Charles Eugene, a resident of Guilford County, and Matilda H. Matilda is living at Greensboro, widow of Dr. Henry A. Alford.
WILLIAM BENNETT THORPE. While the active energies of William Bennett Thorpe have been employed in building up a large and successful business as dealer in coal and builders supplies at Wilmington, his interests have not been altogether concentrated on his business, and he is one of the men of Wilmington ever ready to enlist himself in behalf of the success of some institution or public spirited movement for the betterment of the community.
He was born at Rocky Mount in Nash County, North Carolina, November 17, 1873, but for many years has been a resident of Wilmington. His parents were Henry Roane and Lucy S. (Bunn) Thorpe, his father being a successful physician. He started life with only the advan- tages of the public schools, and on leaving school he had his first experience as clerk in a general store.
In 1902 he organized the W. B. Thorpe Com- pany, coal and builders supplies, and at the present time this company offers a strong competition to all other concerns in the line for this branch of business at Wilmington. Mr. Thorpe is president and treasurer of the company and is also a direc- tor of the Wilmington Homestead and Loan Com- pany.
He has been one of the efficient workers in behalf of the Wilmington Y. M. C. A. and is now serving as its treasurer. He is a member of the Cape Fear Club, the Cape Fear Country Club, the Carolina Yacht Club, and of St. James Episcopal Church. On December 8, 1897, he married Miss Margaret Engelhard Meares. They have one daughter, Margaret Mcares Thorpe.
WILLIAM EDGAR WARREN. One of the leading citizens of Wilson, North Carolina, is found in William Edgar Warren, who is one of the ex- tensive farmers of Edgecombe County and is well known in mercantile and banking circles. Mr. Warren is cashier of the First National Bank of Wilson and is a member of its directing board.
William E. Warren was born in Nash County,. North Carolina, October 21, 1857. His parents were Spencer May and Julia (Rackley) Warren. The family came to Wilson in January, 1858, and Spencer May Warren became a man of business. and political prominence here. For many years he was a prosperous merchant and was mayor of the city and also filled the office of register of deeds in Wilson County.
In the public schools and the Wilson Collegiate Institute William E. Warren secured his general educational training and afterward took a course in a business college in Baltimore, Maryland. After he returned he engaged for some years with his father in the mercantile business in Wil- son County and also became interested in agri- culture, this interest continuing and as the owner of valuable farming land is one of the county's most substantial residents. Since April 1, 1894, Mr. Warren has been cashier of the First Na- tional Bank of Wilson and since 1896 has been one of its board of directors. This bank is a sound, solid institution, working with a capital of $100,000, surplus $60,000, profits $45,000, and deposits $1,000,000. In 1902 he assisted to or- ganize the Wilson Trust & Savings Bank, and is a director. His standing has always been high in business circles and Wilson justly refers to him as one of her most upright and dependable citizens.
Mr. Warren was married December 21, 1881, to Miss Nannie Sugg, who died August 19, 1896. She was the mother of the following children: Nannie, who is the wife of J. B. Gray, secretary and treasurer of the Wilson Hardware Company; Malie, the wife of A. N. Daniel, who for seven. years has been manager of the W. T. Clark Com- pany at Wilson; Ethel Alice, who resides at home; Irene, the wife of Dr. G. W. Mitchell, whose home is at Macclesfield, North Carolina, but he is now in the medical service of the United States Army and stationed at Ohiotown, Tennes- see; Edward, who is teller in the First National Bank of Wilson; and George Spencer, who is now first lieutenant in the army and on his way to oversea service. Mr. Warren was married to his present wife November 24, 1897. She was Miss Irene Sugg. The parents of Mrs. Warren were Dr. G. C. and Nannie (Bynum) Sugg.
For a period of ten years Mr. Warren was identified with the military organization known as the Wilson Light Infantry. He enlisted as a private in Company F in 1889 and steadily climbed through the ranks, through election, un- til he became adjutant of the Second Regiment, with rank of captain, serving as such for two years, then became major in the Second and when he resigned in 1899 he held the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He has been honored by his fellow citizens by election to responsible offices and served twelve years as treasurer of the Town of Wilson and fifteen years as treasurer of the- school board. He attends the Methodist Episco -- pal Church, and belongs to the Country Club.
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HISTORY OF NORTH CAROLINA
JAMES MEIGS FLIPPEN, M. D. With the profes- sional standing and prestige brought by over thirty years of active experience and thorough capabilities, Doctor Flippen is now one of the well known specialists in Western North Carolina and is prac- ticing to a large clientage in Mount Airy. Doctor Flippen is of a family of physicians, and is a son of the venerable Dr. Samuel Meadows Flippen, who is now nearly eighty years of age and is still look- ing after his work as a physician in Mount Airy. A more complete sketch of this honored old time doctor will be found on other pages of this publi- cation.
James Meigs Flippen was born at Westfield in Stokes County, North Carolina, attended the Friends School in that village and also a preparatory school at Dalton taught by the noted educator Professor Flynt. He began the study of medicine under Dr. Joseph Hollingsworth of Mount Airy and subse- quently attended lectures at the College of Physi- cians and Surgeons at Baltimore, where he was graduated Doctor of Medicine in 1884.
Doctor Flippen has practiced in various local- ities, including a year and a half at Westfield, five or six years at Pilot Mountain, five years at Thomasville, twelve years at Salisbury, and for a few months he lived at Oklahoma City., Returning to North Carolina, he began practice at Winston- Salem, but on account of the ill health of his daugh- ter he removed to Mount Airy. .
Doctor Flippen has not only had unusual oppor- tunities in the scope of his own experience but has constantly kept abreast of the advances made in medicine and surgery. In 1886 he took a post- graduate course in Jefferson Medical College at Philadelphia. Spent portions of the years 1894-95 in the New York City Post-Graduate School, and in 1907-08 took special work in genito-urinary surgery at Johns Hopkins University at Baltimore. This latter branch he has made a specialty for a num- ber of years.
Doctor Flippen was married December 28, 1889, to Cora Marion, who was born in Surry County, daughter of Daniel and Matilda Marion. They have one daughter and two sons: Ruth, Eugene L. and James Meigs, Jr. Ruth is the wife of Murray Carleton, and they have a son named Meigs Flip- pen Carlton. Eugene L. is now a student in Balti- more College.
Doctor Flippen is a member of the Surry County and the North Carolina State Medical societies and the American Medical Association. He is an active member of the Friends Church and is affiliated with Granite City Lodge No. 322, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; Mount Airy Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Piedmont Commandery No. 6 of the Knights Templar and also belongs to Winston Lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
ALBERT EDGAR WOLTZ. While the law has been his jealous mistress and he has been devoted to its practice for the past five years, Albert Edgar Woltz, of Gastonia, has made himself a factor in too many different lines to be subject to only one classification of vocation. It is a case where inheritance of sound abilities from his worthy ancestors, liberal advantages of education and training, and exceptional talents in a business way have accomplished large results and benefit when Mr. Woltz is still numbered among the younger generation.
Mr. Woltz was born at Dobson, Surry County, North Carolina. He is a son of Dr. John R. and
Louisa (Kingsbury) Woltz. The Woltz family is of Holland Dutch ancestry. The first of the name came out of Holland and settled with the compatriots in New York. Later a branch moved south into Virginia. Mr. Woltz's paternal grand- father, Dr. L. F. Woltz, was a native of Virginia, enlisted from that state and served as a surgeon in the Confederate army and was also a representa- tive in the State Legislature several times. He stood high in his profession and he allied himself by marriage with Miss Jane Early, a cousin of Gen. Jubal Early, one of the most distinguished cavalry leaders produced by the South during the war. Dr. John R. Woltz, father of the Gastonia lawyer, has had a successful career as a physician. After the war he removed to Surry County, North Carolina, and married Miss Louisa Kingsbury, . who has died within recent years.
Albert E. Woltz grew up at Dobson in Surry County. He was graduated from the University of North Carolina with the class of 1901. He is one of the university's leading alumni, and has always taken an active interest in the affairs of his alma mater. In the interval between his gradu- ation from university and his taking up the prac- tice of law Mr. Woltz was chiefly engaged in educa- tional work. He established the graded school system at Granite Falls and Lenoir in Caldwell County, and spent seven years there as superintend- ent. He took a similar position in the schools of Goldsboro, and served two years, and in 1909 was appointed Bursar of the University of North Caro- lina, a position he held until 1912. This business connection enabled him to continue his studies in the University, and he was in the law department and was admitted to the bar in 1911.
In August, 1912, Mr. Woltz began practice at Gastonia. Though he has been in the profession a comparatively short time only, he has already won an enviable place and is recognized by his colleagues as both an able and successful lawyer. He is law partner of Hon. A. C. Mangum, the firm being Mangum & Woltz. It has been Mr. Woltz's ambition to excel in the law, and conse- quently he has placed his professional interests first and above all, though many other affairs have claimed more or less constant attention.
His resourcefulness as a business man is indi- cated by his prominent connection with enterprises in Gastonia and Gaston County. He was the organ- izer and is one of the officials of the Lloyd Cotton Mills, Incorporated. This company owns and op- erates a cotton mill of 3,200 spindles near Stanley. With other associates Mr. Woltz developed and sold a large amount of city and suburban property in Gastonia and he promoted the Arlington Heights property, a suburb; the Gray Mill property on West Franklin Avenue; the property at Loray Mill; and other subdivisions.
Much prominence has been given in the news- papers of late to the "Morris Plan" bauks, which originated in New York City and which have been established in many industrial and metropolitan centers. It is strictly a business institution, though its object is to afford financial assistance on a business basis to the poorer classes and those with ready collateral for loans. Gastonia has such a bank, organized in the latter. part of 1916, and Mr. Woltz was one of the local citizens who brought about its establishment and is a director of the bank.
One of the most important of his outside enter- prises, and one in which he justly takes a great deal of pride, is his stock farm with its herd of
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HISTORY OF NORTH CAROLINA
registered Holsteins. This farm, situated about two miles northeast of Gastonia, consists of 157 acres of land. It is considered one of the model stock farms and dairies of the state. Mr. Woltz has installed a fine herd of thoroughbred Holstein cows, and operates a modern dairy, the product being sold in Gastonia and vicinity. His herd of Holsteins is headed by the registered bull Korn- byke Hygeia Beryl, purchased from the famous Haynes stock farm at Winston-Salem. While the farm furnishes recreation, Mr. Woltz regards it strictly as a business enterprise and it has also been a factor of incalculable value and an incentive to Gaston County farmers, who thereby have been stimulated to grade their stock and devote more attention to high grade cattle.
Mr. Woltz is an active member and a director of the Chamber of Commerce, and during the past . four or five years has allied himself with prac- tically every undertaking for the benefit and bet- terment of the city. He is a member of the Methodist Church and belongs to most of the local lodges and fraternities, including the Masons, Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias. Mr. Woltz mar- ried Miss Daisy Mackie of Granite Falls, Caldwell County. They have four children: Elizabeth, aged twelve; Katharine, aged five; John Henry, aged three; and William Kingsbury. The youngest was named for his great-great-grandfather.
JOHN H. NIGGEL. Beginning only with his expert individual proficiency as a stone cutter, John H. Niggel has developed and built up the largest monument and stone business in North Carolina, being secretary, treasurer and general manager of the Carolina Cut Stone Company.
He was born in the City of Chicago, Illinois, May 22, 1877, a son of John H. and Wilhelmina L. (Knapple) Niggel, his father having also followed the trade of stone cutter. After being educated in public and parochial schools John H. Niggel served a thorough apprenticeship at the stone cutter's trade and followed it as a journey- man for several years.
It was in 1905 that he came to Wilmington and organized the Carolina Cut Stone Company. In addition he is also chairman of the Atlantic Coast Veneer Company, which is capitalized at $100,000 and has a splendid business in all kinds of cut stone work and finishing. He is a member of the finance committee of this organization.
He is a member of St. Mary's Pro-Cathedral, of the Knights of Columbus, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Royal Arcanum, the Germania Club, the Hanover Seaside Club, and is identified with the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce and is president of Post G of the Travelers Protective Association. On May 20, 1906, Mr. Niggel married Catherine Carroll, of Wilmington.
GEORGE HACKNEY. During a long and active career George Hackney has upheld and developed much of the business and industrial prosperity of Wilson and has concerned himself with prac- tically everything that is vital to the good and welfare of that community.
The Hackney family has supplied much of the enterprise as the result of which Wilson has become one of the manufacturing towns of North Carolina. The birth of George Hackney occurred in Wilson September 19, 1854. In January of that year his father, Willis Napoleon Hackney, had located his shop in the town as a wagon and buggy manufacturer. For a number of years
Willis N. Hackney made these vehicles almost entirely by hand, and he turned out buggies which were noted for their strength and durabil- ity. That was the beginning of the Hackney wagon industry which now includes several im- portant plants in the state. Willis N. Hackney was born in Nash County, North Carolina, and his ancestors, of English origin, came to North Carolina about 1800. Willis N. Hackney mar- ried Martha Douglass Turner.
Mr. George Hackney grew up at Wilson, at- tended the public schools and the Horner Mili- tary Institute and from early boyhood was fam- iliar with the wagon shop of his father. At the age of eighteen he began learning the trade, and his knowledge of the business includes every technical as well as business detail. For several years he was a member of the firm Parker, Mur- ray & Company, his part in the business being "the company." Subsequently he became head of the wagon manufacturing plant of Hackney & Murray and still later Hackney & Son, and since 1886 the business has been conducted as Hackney Brothers. The proprietors are Mr. George Hackney and his brother Willis Douglass Hackney.
Besides .Hackney Brothers Mr. Hackney is a director of the Hackney Wagon Company, of the First National Bank of Wilson, the Wilson Trust and Savings Bank, is vice president of the Dixie Fire Insurance Company at Greensboro, is vice president of the Underwriters Fire Insurance Company of Rocky Mount, North Carolina, and is president of the Washington Buggy Company.
In a public way he is serving as chairman of the Wilson School Board and is also chairman of the Board of Trustees of Atlantic College at Wilson, to which he has given liberally of his time and means since this institution was estab- lished. For twenty years he has served as an elder in the Christian Church, and is a member of the Wilson Country Club.
Mr. Hackney was married September 15, 1886, to Miss Bessie Acra, who came from Gloucester County, Virginia. Seven children have been born to their marriage: George, Jr., of Washington, North Carolina; Thomas J .; James Acra, who is secretary and treasurer of the Washington Buggy Company; John Needham, associated with his father in the wagon business; Bessie Acra, wife of William D. Adams, a wholesale grocer; Lula Roane, wife of Harvey B. Ruffin, a member of Ella, who is a graduate of the Atlantic Christian the Branch Bank Company of Wilson; and Mary College and is still at home.
Thomas Jennings Hackney, son of Mr. George Hackney, was born at Wilson, April 25, 1889, was educated in the public schools, in the Bing- ham Military School, and in 1910 graduated from the University of North Carolina. Since then he has been superintendent of the Hackney Brothers plant at Wilson. He served as alder- man of the city from 1913 to 1915, and in 1915- 16 was chairman of the board of city com- missioners. He is also general superintendent and director of the Wilson Buggy Company, and di- rector of the Hassell Supply Company of Wash- ington, North Carolina. He is a Knight Templar Mason and member of the Soudan Temple of the Mystic Shrine, belongs to the Commonwealth and Country clubs, and is treasurer of the Christian Church at Wilson. He married April 25, 1917, Evelyn E. Jones, of Washington, North Carolina, daughter of Walter H. and Helen Jones.
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