USA > North Carolina > History of North Carolina: North Carolina biography, Volume V > Part 30
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Mr. Pettus was married April 23, 1902, to Miss Sue Egerton Blount, daughter of George and Sal- lie Blount, of Wilson. Mr. and Mrs. Pettus are members of the First Baptist Church, of which Mr. Pettus has been clerk and deacon since 1905.
JUDGE ROBERT W. WINSTON. As an example of the great and good lawyer being one of the forces that move and control society, North Carolina can offer none better than the life and character of Judge R. W. Winston of Raleigh.
As a terse and dignified estimate of his career the words used when Wake Forest College conferred upon him the degree LL. B. are especially appro- priate: "Robert W. Winston, a graduate of the University of North Carolina; an eloquent speaker; a brilliant lawyer; an intrepid judge; a cultured and patriotic citizen, with varied gifts and cosmo- politan interests; in season and out of season giv- ing himself without stint and with marvelous effect to constructive work of his state and his people. It is my privilege to present this loyal and distin- guished son of our commonwealth for the degree of Doctor of Laws."
Robert W. Winston was born in Windsor, North Carolina, in September, 1860. After completing his education at the Horner School and in the Uni- versity of North Carolina, he began practice at Oxford, where he was a partner of Judge A. W. Graham. In 1885 he served as state senator, and at the age of twenty-nine was elevated to the Su- perior Court bench. He left the bench in 1895 to locate in Durham, where he was associated with
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W. W. and Frank L. Fuller, his kinsmeu, and after- wards was a partner of V. S. Bryant. On coming to Raleigh in 1909 Judge Winston became asso- ciated in practice with his former friend and college mate Gov. Charles B. Aycock. After the death of Governor Aycock he formed a partnership with Judge J. Crawford Biggs.
In the volume and quality of his practice he is without doubt one of the strongest members of the bar in the South. He is the trusted counsel for many banks, insurance companies and corporations. His advice has been extensively sought in the set- tlement of large estates and in great financial transactions. It is a matter of interest to note that some of his first clients in Granville and Orange counties still employ his legal services. He does a general practice, and for years it has been his rule not to prosecute any litigation in the courts in which his will and conscience do not approve. His practice extends from the Trial Court to the Supreme Court, and through all the United States courts.
Judge Winston has had active and influential associations with all the larger movements for progress in North Carolina. He has served as president of the North Carolina Literary and His- torical Association, is a member of the North Car- olina Bar Association and the National Bar Asso- ciation, and through these and other organizations has accepted many opportunities to address the people of the South and further the cause of im- provement and enlightenment. Many of his ad- dresses have served a vital purpose in increasing state pride, in broadening the movement for the public welfare, and he has been and is closely interested in the work of the public schools, in the facilitation and improvement of court methods, in good roads, in encouraging a conscience in our literature, and in all those more modern improve- ments which affect the welfare and happiness of the rural districts. His home life has been ideal and it has been shared with a host of friends. His residence on Blount Street in Raleigh has been the center where men and women of literary and musical talents gather for recreation and pleasure. Judge Winston suffered a great bereavement four years ago in the death of his beloved wife and companion. He is the father of two sons and two daughters. James H. Winston, his oldest child, has gained distinction in the bar in the City of Chicago, and is a prominent member of one of the foremost firms of that city, Winston, Payne, Strawn & Shaw. His second son, R. W. Winston, Jr., is also a young attorney and a captain now preparing to join the forces of freedom in Europe. The daughters are Miss Gertrude, who married Frank B. Webb, of Durham; and Miss Amy, wife of Watts Carr, living at Durham, North Carolina.
Since the United States entered the great war Judge Winston has thrown his time and means in with his country's. He has canvassed for Liberty bonds and in other ways has done his part. His son Robert W. resigned a "bomb proof" place as a member of the North Carolina Legislature to join the forces being now a captain of the Field Ar- tillery.
PAUL CAMERON GRAHAM is a lawyer at Durham. He has been a member of the North Carolina bar for a quarter of a century, and is widely known in several counties of the state. Mr. Graham has enjoyed some very distinctive places of trust and responsibility which are marks of thorough public esteem and confidence and an opportunity for
public spirited service more than any personal emoluments.
Mr. Graham was born December 5, 1869, son of John Washington aud Rebecca B. (Cameron) Graham. He comes of a prominent old family of the state. His grandfather, Gen. Joseph Grahanı, was an officer iu the Continental army and as commander of North Carolina troops took part in some of the battles of the Revolution fought around Charlotte. Mr.
Graham through his mother is a great-grandson of a chief justice of North Carolina and oue of the eminent lawyers of his time in the United States. John W. Gra- ham, his father, was for many years a successful attorney at Hillsboro, North Carolina.
Paul C. Graham received his early education in private schools, attended Fray and Morton Academy at Raleigh, and from 1887 to 1891 was a student in the literary and law departments of the University of North Carolina. He was admitted to the bar in September, 1892, and then returned to Hillsboro and became a partner with his father in the firm of Graham & Graham. In, January, 1895, he removed to Oxford, North Caro- lina, and in January, 1897, came to Durham, where he has been an active member of the bar for the past twenty years. During the first year the firm was Graham, Green & Graham, until the death of Mr. Fred Green. Since then it has been Graham & Graham.
Mr. Graham served as chairman of the County Democratic Executive Committee during the Con- stitutional amendment campaign of 1900. From 1901 to 1905 he was county attorney, and dur- ing the same period was member of the Board of Education of Durham County. From May, 1905, to May, 1909, he filled the office of mayor of Dur- ham for two terms. He is now in his third successive term as recorder of the Recorder's Court at Durham, having begun his first term in January, 1915, and his third in January, 1918. Mr. Graham is an active member and former vestryman of St. Philip's Episcopal Church.
November 19, 1901, he married Mary Courtenay Chestney of Macon, Georgia. Mrs. Graham is a daughter of Major Theodore O. and Kate P. (Murphey) Chestney, her father a prominent Georgia banker. Her great-grandfather was Archi- bald Debow, and she is a granddaughter of Capt. Peter Umstead Murphey, one of the gallant naval commanders of the Confederacy. He was com- mander of the Confederate Man of War Selma, and was captured during the battle of Mobile Bay. Mr. and Mrs. Graham have one daughter, Kate Chestney Graham.
SOLOMON GALLERT, a resident of North Caro- lina since 1890, is a northern man by birth and training. For a quarter of a century his name and reputation as a lawyer and leader in public affairs have been steadily growing, and he is well known over the state as well as in his home Town of Rutherfordton.
Mr. Gallert was born at Waterville, Maine, Oc- tober 19, 1868, son of a substantial merchant of that place, David Gallert, and his wife, Rosalie Gallert. Solomon Gallert prepared for college in the Waterville Classical Institute. In 1888 he graduated from Colby University, now Colby Col- lege. Following his collegiate career he had some interesting experience in journalism, being staff correspondent for the Boston Globe in 1889, and for the Boston Advertiser in 1890. From there he came to Rutherford County, North Carolina,
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and for several years was engaged in lumbering and gold mining. He had in the meantime studied law, and was admitted to the North Carolina Bar in September, 1893. For fourteen months he was a partner with J. A. Forney, until the latter's death in December, 1894. Since then he has con- ducted a general practice alone, and besides his large private clientage has served for many years as county or city attorney. In 1907 he was a member of the State Legislature, and almost con- tinuously since 1896 has been a member of the State Democratic Committee. He was a delegate to the National Democratic Convention at Kansas City in 1900, and to that at Denver, Colorado, in 1908.
Mr. Gallert served as commissary general on the military staff of Governors Aycock and Glenn. He . is an active member and also a student of Mason- ry and gives much of his time to that order. He is a Thirty-Second Degree Scottish Rite Mason, and as a Shriner was chosen representative to the Imperial Council of the Shrine of North America. He is also past chancellor of the Knights of Pythias, past counsellor of the Junior Order United American Mechanics, and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Phi Delta Theta college fraternity.
SAMUEL SANDERS TOLER. Of the contracting builders of wide and well-established reputations who have contributed much to the past of Rocky Mount, and who, because of their superior per- sonal equipment and progressive ideas, may be counted on to share in the development of the future, particular mention is due Samuel Sanders Toler. The trade of building, of housing the people and enterprises which make up a com- munity, is not only one of the oldest known to man, but its ranks have included a far greater number than those of any other kind of skilled labor. There is no place in the civilized world where the builder is not an absolute necessity, and as the possibilities of the calling include few cross-cuts to wealth and influence, its followers al- most invariably are men of moderate and tem- perate habits, calm judgment and patient indus- try. Possessing genuine ability in his line of work, the journeyman advances to the highest compensations of his calling, in which event the remuneration often places him on a financial basis at par with successful men in other avenues of business endeavor. Mr. Toler undoubtedly be- longs to the most skilled, capable and intelli- gent class of contracting builders, and evidence of his ability and good workmanship abound on every side at Rocky Mount, although his opera- tions have also taken him to numerous other com- munities throughout the southeastern states, from Delaware to Florida.
Samuel Sanders Toler was born in Johnston County, North Carolina, February 22, 1867, be- ing a son of Nathan and Dizy (Stevens) Toler. His parents were farming people and he remained on the home place until he was twenty-two years of age, in the meantime securing a limited edu- cation in the public schools and at Fremont Mil- itary Institute. As a young man he mastercd the carpenter trade, and when he left the home- stead came to Rocky Mount, where he accepted a position with D. J. Rose, a contractor and builder of standing here, who took him into part- nership in 1900, under the firm style of D. J. Rose & Company. During the ten years that this
association continued in existence the reputation of the firm extended all over this section, Mr. Toler being usually in charge of the construction end of the business, in which capacity he built the shops at South Rocky Mount, the Hales & Edwards Building, the residence of Judge Taylor, the Masonic Temple, the Bank of Rocky Mount Building, the Shore Building, the store of W. D). and C. A. Cochran, the Ricks Hotel, the Cam- bridge Hotel, and numerous other structures; factories for the F. S. Royster Guano Company, the works of the Dutton Phosphate Company at Jacksonville, Florida, and numbers of buildings the completion of which called for the expendi- ture of hundreds of thousands of dollars. In 1910 the partnership was dissolved and since that time Mr. Toler has continued alone, his op- erations as a contractor having gained him a position among the foremost men in his line in this part of the state. He built, among others, the Young Men's Christian Association Building, the Textile Building, the buildings of the Agri- cultural and Mechanical College at Raleigh, and the residences of Dr. J. P. Battle, T. W. Cole- man and J. W. Hines. A writer, in comment- ing upon Mr. Toler's success, has said: "In every case, Mr. Toler has conclusively proven that he has been equal to the situation, and that he has known how to satisfactorily complete the largest contracts, and, moreover, that he has known how to handle men. One thing that has been characteristic of his work and partly accounts for the high esteem in which he is held by the business firms and corporations for which he has worked, is the fact that he so constructs his build- ings and other works that they not only may be satisfactory at the time of construction, but that in the future they may evidence that every foot of material and labor put into them was honest work." Mr. Toler has been financially successful and has a number of business interests. He is fraternally affiliated with the Knights of Pythias, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He is a man of strong and forceful personality and solid merits of character, and his standing in business circles is evidenced by the high esteem in which he is held by his associates and all those who have had business dealings with him in any way. He belongs to the Stony Creek Club, takes a help- ful interest in civic movements and the cause of education, and is a man who touches and im- proves life on many sides.
Mr. Toler was married December 22, 1896, to Miss Carrie E. Stevens, of Goldsboro, North Caro- lina, and they are the parents of three children: Carrie Louise, who is a student at Saint Mary's School, Raleigh; Samuel S., Jr., and William Henry. The beautiful family residence is lo- cated on Rosc Street, in one of the finest resi- dential districts of the city.
HON. WILLIAM T. CARTER. A better known busi- ness man and citizen in Western North Carolina does not exist than William T. Carter of Winston- Salem. He was one of the early merchants at old Winston, and for a number of years has been head of the leading brick and tile manufacturing busi- ness in that city. He has also served his people faithfully as a member of the Legislature, and his public spirit has been prominent in many ways.
Mr. Carter was born on a farm near Spring Garden in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, November 30, 1853. He is of worthy American ancestry. He
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traces his lineage back to Thomas Carter, who with his two brothers Robert and William emigrated from England and settled in Virginia in 1646. Mr. Carter's grandfather married Rebecca Winn, and both of them spent all their lives in Virginia.
Capt. Reuben H. Carter, father of William T., was born near Halls Crossroads in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, and as a youth learned the trade of tanner. For some years he operated a tannery in Pittsylvania County, subsequently bought a large farm reaching from White Oak River to the mountains and tended its fields with the aid of his numerous slaves. He served with the rank of cap- tain in the Virginia State Militia, and would have given his active service to the Confederate Govern- ment had it not been for ill health. He died in the spring of 1862, when only forty-nine years of age. Captain Carter married Pamelia Fallin. She was born in Halifax County, Virginia, and died in 1857. Her six children were named Mary, Eliza- beth, Phoebe, Robert, Reuben and William Thomas.
William T. Carter was early left an orphan, being four at the time of his mother's death and only nine when his father died. After the death of his father he went to the home of an uncle, with whom he lived until he was thirteen. There were many circumstances that conspired to limit his edu- cational opportunities, though such as there were he wisely improved and has benefited much by constant attendance in the school of experience. At the age of thirteen, going to Chatham, the county seat of Pittsylvania County, he laid the foundation of his business career by working as a clerk in a general store. Seven years were given to the duties of clerking, and with what he was able to save from his earnings he became an in- dependent merchant in his native county. Under the firm name of William T. Carter & Company he carried a stock of general merchandise and was in business there until 1879, when he came to Win- ston, North Carolina.
At Winston Mr. Carter engaged in the dry goods business under the name of Carter, Reeves & Com- pany. A year later he bought his partner's inter- est and was alone for three years. Other local mer- chants at the time were T. J. Brown and W. B. Carter. Mr. Carter finally consolidated all these interests under the firm name W. T. Carter & Com- pany. This firm flourished, developed its trade over a wide section of the surrounding country, and improved the stock until general merchandise was carried sufficient in quantity and classification to meet every demand made by the home or the farm. After seven years Mr. Carter sold his part in the W. T. Carter & Company and since then has been largely a manufacturer of brick. He began mak- ing brick and tile at Bethania Station, his partner being B. J. Shephard. In 1900, having bought Mr. Shephard's interest, he incorporated the Winston Brick & Tile Company. This company has a large investment in land, kilns and other equipment, and has supplied much of the demand for high grade brick and tile in this section of the state. Mr. Carter is president, treasurer and general manager of the company.
Outside of business Mr. Carter is widely known over his part of the state for his leadership in the democratic party. He cast his first presidential vote for Samuel J. Tilden in 1876. Before coming to North Carolina he served as deputy sheriff in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. In 1906 Mr. Carter was elected a member of the North Carolina Gen- eral Assembly, attending the regular session which convened in January, 1907, and the special session
of 1908. He was a member of the committee on appropriations, town, city and county committee, public building committee, committee for the deaf, dumb and blind and the liquor traffic committee. Fraternally Mr. Carter is affiliated with Salem Lodge No. 36, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and with Salem Encampment No. 20.
On March 25, 1883, Mr. Carter married Miss Hattie Gaskins. Mrs. Carter died in 1884, and her only child died in infancy. On June 28, 1890, he married Mrs. Ada S. (Slater) Masten. Mrs. Carter, who is a woman of distinctive culture, is also a member of an old and prominent family of the South. She was born in Salisbury, North Carolina. Her grandfather, Fielding Slater, was a native of Maryland, when a young man came to North Carolina, locating in Rowan County, and there acquired a large plantation, which was operated . with the aid of his slaves. He was also elected sheriff of the county, but died before his term expired. Fielding Slater married Alice Smith, daughter of Col. James Smith, who served with that rank and title in the American army during the Revolutionary war. Mrs. Carter's father, James A. Slater, was born in Salisbury, fought with the North Carolina troops in the Confederate army, and was in Gen. Jubal Early's brigade. Following the war he removed to New York City, where for many years he was a successful merchant. In 1903, having retired, he came to Winston- Salem and lived with his daughter Mrs. Carter until his death in 1912, in his eightieth year. He married Adelia Von Ritter. She was a native of New York City, daughter of Carl and Charlotte Augusta (Wells) Von Ritter. Carl Von Ritter was a native of Württemberg, Germany, came to America when a young man and was a merchant in New York City until his death. His wife was a native of New York, while her father, John Wells, came from Wales to this country when a young man and at New York City owned one or more vessels engaged in the foreign trade. His last years were spent in New York. Another connection of this family was the grandfather of Augusta Wells, Maj .- Gen. John Henry Tuttle, who was born on Long Island and took part as a soldier in the Revolutionary war. Mrs. Carter's mother died at Raleigh, North Carolina, at the age of forty-nine, leaving four children: Ada, Henry Fielding, James H. and Florence Wells.
Mrs. Carter married for her first husband Lee W. Masten. He was a native of Salem, North Carolina, son of Col. Joseph and Antoinette (Shultz) Masten. Lee W. Masten died at the age of fifty-four. Mrs. Carter reared one daughter by her first husband, Ada Lillie. This daughter married De Bruce Cutler, and both are now de- ceased. They left an infant daughter, Lillie Fielding Cutler, who is now being reared by her grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Carter.
While Mrs. Carter is of the Episcopal faith, Mr. Carter is a prominent member of the First Baptist Church of Winston-Salem. He served as trustee of the local church for twenty-five years and as treasurer for fifteen years. When a young man he began teaching in the Sunday school, and was superintendent of the Baptist Sunday School at North Winston for several years.
C. F. WILL REHDER has one of the finest green- houses and floral businesses in North Carolina, located at Wilmington. He is an old and expert hand at the business, as were his father and mother before him.
82031Lean
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Born at Wilmington October 17, 1872, he is a son of Henry and Johanna (Koeper) Rehder. His father was a native of Bremen, Germany, and arrived in America October 26, 1856, and soon afterward located at Wilmington, where he engaged in the grocery business. It was his wife, Mrs. Rehder, who started on a small scale the growing of flowers, and through her unusual skill and success in that line was developed the large Rehder floral industry.
Will Rehder attended the public schools of Wilmington, for a time clerked in the general store of his brother J. H. Rehder, and he then spent two years in New York learning in all its details the florist business. On returning to Wil- mington he became associated with his father and mother in the greenhouse, and in 1905 pur- chased the business, which is now conducted as Will Rehder, Florist. His greenhouses have seventeen thousand square feet under glass and the service is taxed to the uttermost to meet the demands for the Rehder grown flowers.
Mr. Rehder is not only a successful business man but is widely known in Wilmington ' through his social connections. He is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of St. Johns Lodge No. 1, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, Jefferson Lodge of the of the Knights of Pythias, the Royal Arcanum, the Germania Club, the Hanover Seaside Club, the Rotary Club and the German American Alliance. He and his family are communicants of St. Paul's Lutheran Church.
In 1905, in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, he married Miss Jessie C. Stewart. They have three children in their home: Jessie Clifford, Henry Burbank and William Stewart.
JOHN DAVIDSON BREVARD MCLEAN, former sher- iff of Gaston County, is one of the leading repre- sentatives of a family that for nearly a century and a half has been identified with the community around Belmont. Mr. McLean's fine farm and plantation is known as "Seven Oaks" and is lo- cated about seven miles south of Belmont.
It was not far from his present home in South Point Township, Gaston County, that Mr. McLean was born in 1852. He is a son of Dr. John and Martha E. (Bigger) McLean. Besides his own family name he bears the names that have a dis- tinction in North Carolina genealogy. His grand- father married a member of the noted Brevard family of Lincoln County, and through that family Mr. McLean is also connected with the Davidsons, and with the Alexander and Morrison families, all distinguished names in North Carolina.
The McLean family of this state was founded by his great-grandfather, William McLean. He was of Scotch parentage, and on coming from Pennsylvania first located in what is now Robeson County, North Carolina. A few years before the Revolution he moved to what is now Gaston but was then Lincoln County. The locality where he established his home has been the scene in which the McLean family has lived ever since, for about 150 years. The McLeans are a splendid race of people, betokening an origin of historic promi- nence in Scotland, and their record in North Caro- lina has lost them none of the prestige of ancient times. Before the war they were extensive planters and slave owners, and nearly all of the race have lived close to the soil.
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