USA > North Carolina > History of North Carolina: North Carolina biography, Volume V > Part 34
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Rufus Patterson was married in 1852 to Marie L. Morehead, daughter of ex-Governor John M. Morehead. By this marriage there were five chil- dren, one of whom is Mr. Lindsay Patterson. The first wife died in 1862 and in 1864 he married Mary E. Fries, daughter of Francis Fries of Salem. The six children of this union were Frank F., Samuel F., Andrew H., Rufus L., John L. and Edmond V. Rufus L. Patterson died at Salem
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in 1879. He was familiary known as Colonel Pat- terson, not for military service but because of his martial bearing and the distinguished position he long occupied in the community. His parents were members of the Episcopal Church, but be- cause of his long residence at Salem and associa- tion with the Moravians he took up that faith and practiced it to the end of his life.
Lindsay Patterson spent his early years at Sa- lem, attended the primary schools, at the age of fourteen entered the Finley High School at Le- noir, going thence to Davidson College, and after four years graduating in 1878 second in his class. His college course ended he attended law lectures at Greensboro under Judges Dick and Dillard, and in 1881 passed his examinations and was adınit- ted to the bar.
Since then Mr. Patterson has been located at Winston-Salem, as a lawyer, and for many years has enjoyed a commanding place in the profes- sion. He was early elected solicitor of the County Criminal Court, and the performance of the duties of that office gave him valuable experience. He has always been a democrat but favored the sound money wing of that party and in 1896 was a delegate to the Indianapolis Convention which nominated Palmer and Buckner as the national candidates, and in the same year he was a candi- date for Congress.
Mr. Patterson was married in 1888 to Miss Lucy Bramlette Patterson, a daughter of Col. Wil- liam Houston Patterson of Philadelphia. Mrs Patterson's grandfather was a soldier in the War of 1812 and afterwards became a major-general in both the Mexican and Civil wars. Mrs. Patter- son has been distinguished for the possession of unusual literary ability, and has done much to encourage literary enterprise and output in her native state.
HERBERT AUGUSTUS WHITE, of Greenville, en- tered business life at a very early age, and has not only attained successful position in business affairs but has exerted his means and influence in various ways to upbuild and contribute to the wel- fare of his home town and state.
Mr. White was born in Guilford County, North Carolina, March 25, 1877, a son of Augustus Bry- an and Emma Flora (McMurray) White. His father spent most of his active years as an em- ploye of the Southern Railroad. The son had a public school education and when only fifteen years of age found work in a small and unimpor- tant role with the Mutual Life Insurance Com- pany at Greensboro. He made a study of the insurance business, was rapidly promoted in suc- cessive responsibilities, and in 1895, when still a very young man, was sent to Greenville, where he established an office and has since developed a large and important agency in handling general insurance.
He is also secretary and treasurer of the North Carolina Cotton Seed Crushers Association, and has been actively identified with that notable in- stitution in North Carolina industry for seven vears. He is a director of the Greenville Banking & Trust Company, the Greenville Cooperage and Lumber Company, and the Home Building and Loan Association.
In a publie way his services have been chiefly appreciated through his work on the board of aldermen, where he served four years, and three years as chairman of the Municipal Water and Light Commission. Mr. White is a Knight Temp-
lar Mason, is past chancellor of the Knights of Pythias and a member of the social order Dramatic Order of the Knights of Khorassan. He is a junior warder in St. Paul's Episcopal Church.
February 10, 1897, he married Miss Jennie James, of Greenville. Their three children are Nelle Douglas, Julian and Dorothy.
THOMAS ARRINGTON AVERA. Among the young men of Rocky Mount there will be found few who have no serious purpose in life. On the other hand, as a body, they are active, enterprising and publie spirited. They have been subjects of the trend of modern education, trained in head, heart and hand, and where one has made a rec- ord in manufacturing, in mechanies or merchan- dising, another has surprised his friends and ac- quaintances by ability in one of the professions and has taken a place of prominence among the representative citizenship. In this connection may be mentioned Thomas Arrington Avera, who is one of the youngest but by no means the least able member of the Rocky Mount bar, and is also a factor in banking circles.
Thomas Arrington Avera was born at Rocky Mount, North Carolina, February 20, 1890. His parents are H. D. and Mary Tempie (Arrington) Avera. His father attended Wake Forest Col- lege and until his death was a leading business man of Rocky Mount.
Thomas A. Avera was afforded excellent edu- cational advantages and there was no compelling force to make it necessary for him to hasten through his academic and collegiate courses. He attended the excellent publie schools of his na- tive city and then entered Wake Forest College, where he completed his course in law in August, 1914, and his general academic course in 1915, when he was graduated with the degrees of A. B. and LL. B.
Mr. Avera returned to Rocky Mount with his collegiate honors and shortly afterward opened his law office there and has had his full share of the legal business of the city. He has proved himself a young man of legal worth and personal probity and has steadily advanced honorably and legitimately in his profession. He is a valued member of the North Carolina Bar Association.
Devoted as he is to his profession, Mr. Avera has additional interests, for he is keenly alive to the moment and with diversified talents is able to accept responsibilities in several lines. He was one of the organizers of the Farmers & Merchants Bank of Rocky Mount and at present is vice president of this institution, which bears the reputation of being one of the most carefully officered and soundly financed in Eastern North Carolina. The same attributes and qualities that make him able as a financier contribute also to his success as a lawyer. He has not displayed any patricular activity in political life and has sought no political office, but his sentiments on public questions are well known and his fellow citizens recognize their value and know just where to place him when questions of right or wrong are to be adjusted. While at Wake Forest he was one of the most interested members of the Phi Society and he retains membership in the same and belongs also to the Order of Knights of Py. thias. He is a member of the First Baptist Church, a deacon in the same and superintendent of the Sunday school.
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CLARENCE POE. There will be no difficulty in according to Clareuce Poe, of Raleigh rank as perhaps the most expert authority on all questions affecting the agricultural and rural economics of North Carolina. He has gone to the heart of a number of problems worthy of serious atteution and knows better than any oue else, what the con- ditions and problems confronting the North Caro- lina farmer are. He has also made a close study of numerous social and economic questions, aud is widely known both in and out of the state as a publisher, author, traveler and lecturer.
Born on a farm in Chatham County, North Carolina, January 10, 1881, his parents were Wil- liam B. and Susan (Dismukes) Poe. Mr. Poe in the way of formal education had only the ad- vantages of public schools, beginning newspaper work in his seventeenth year. Ou account of his varied attainments Wake Forest College bestowed upon him the well deserved degree Litt. D. in 1914.
He has been an editor for a longer time than he could vote. He became editor of the Pro- gressive Farmer in 1899, has since held that post, and from 1903 has been president of the Pro- gressive Farmer Company, which now maintains offices at Raleigh, North Carolina, Birmingham, Alabama, Memphis, Tennessee, and Dallas, Texas, the paper having a circulation around 200,000 weekly.
Mr Poe has served as president of the North Carolina Conference for Social Service, the North Carolina Commission on Rural Rate Problems, the North Carolina Press Association, the North Caro- lina Literary and Historical Association, and has been a member of the executive committee of the North Carolina Board of Agriculture, the North Carolina Farmers Union, the North Carolina Anti- Saloon League, the Southern Conference of Educa- tion and Industry, and the National Conference of Marketing and Farm Credits, the National League to Enforce Peace, etc.
Mr. Poe is author of the following titles: Cotton, 1906; The Southerner in Europe, 1908; Where Half the World is Waking Up (Oriental travel), 1911; Life and Speeches of Charles B. Aycock, 1912; How Farmers Cooperate and Double Profits, 1915. He is also author of a number of pamphlets and as a lecturer has been heard on various topics connected with rural problems and southern ques- tions. In 1910-11 Mr. Poe circumnavigated the globe, studying industrial and social conditions in the Orient. In 1912 he was again abroad, studying agricultural co-operation in Ireland and Denmark.
Mr. Poe is a member of the Baptist Church and In politics a democrat. He was married in 1912 to Alice Aycock, daughter of Governor C. B. Aycock. Two sons and a daughter have been born to them.
HON. JESSE FRANKLIN, who distinguished him- self as one of the most fearless of the patriotic leaders from the mountains of Western North Caro- lina during the Revolution, and subsequently gained the highest post at the gift of his fellow citizens in North Carolina, serving both as United States senator and governor of the state, was born in Orange County, Virginia, March 24, 1760. He was a sou of Bernard and Mary (Cleveland) Franklin. His mother was a sister of Col. Ben Cleveland of Wilkes County, North Carolina. Bernard Franklin was a son of Lawrence and Mary (Payne) Franklin of Virginia. Bernard Frank- lin and wife had six sons: Jeremiah, Bernard,
Jesse, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and one daughter Mary.
Governor Jesse Franklin married Meeky Per- kius. Their family consisted of three sons and five daughters: James Macon, Hardin Perkins and Bernard, the sons; while the daughters were Sarah Panill, Aun P., Mary Clevelaud (who mar- ried Gen. Solomon Graves) and was the mother of the late Judge Jesse Franklin Graves of Surry County), Elizabeth, and Matilda C.
In order to present the career of Governor Franklin more fully to the readers of this publica- tion the following paragraphs largely follow the language of Prof. J. T. Alderman in an article published in the "North Carolina Booklet" of January, 1907.
In 1777 Jesse Franklin, then seventeen years . of age, entered the Continental service and held a lieutenant's commission in Washington's army. When his term of eulistment expired he returned to his father's home. Attracted by the excellent range and fertile valleys of Piedmout, North Caro- lina, a large number of good people had before the Revolution left their Virginia homes and moved to occupy the unbroken forests. Among them was Col. Ben Cleveland, brother of Jesse Frank- lin's mother. Before the breaking out of the Revolution Bernard Franklin had determined to go to North Carolina, as many of his neighbors had done. He accordingly sent his son Jesse to select lands suitable for the settlement and to erect buildings. Jesse selected for their future home a beautiful valley near the headwaters of Mitchell's River in Surry County and made pro- visions for the coming of the household. In the fall of that year his parents, with four sous and two daughters (the two older sons, Bernard and Jeremiah, remaining in Virginia), moved to their home in Surry County. This homestead was to become the seat of patriotismn, honor, culture and refinement.
The American people were not united in the desire for separation from the mother country. During the war the tories in some sections be- came so aggressive and bold in their depreda- tions that the whig families were forced to build a fort for protection. One of these was near Mocksville and another near Wilkesboro. Fortu- nately there were men in most sections of the state whose names struck terror to the hearts of the tories. Among them was Col. Benjamin Cleveland. As a partisan leader he had few equals. He kuew no fear and seemed ubiquitous to friend and foe. His services in checking organized toryism have never been fully recognized.
When about eighteen years of age Jesse Frank- lin joined his uncle's forces and for two years assisted in maintaining order in Piedmont, North Carolina. He served with him in many skirmishes with the tories and gained the confidence of his unele as a bold and fearless patriot. At the close of the summer of 1780 the British had overrun the whole of South Carolina. Cornwallis had for months been arranging to invade North Carolina. He sent General Ferguson with a large body of British troops to overawe the whigs and enroll the tories in the western counties. The appear- ance of the British among the hills had an unex- pected effect. Those dauntless patriots who knew no fear rallied to the standard of liberty. Led by the brave Colonels Shelby, Sevier, Campbell and General McDowell, they rushed down the mountain like a torrent. They were joined by the
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men from Surry and Wilkes under the intrepid Colonel Cleveland with Jesse Franklin as his aide. Ferguson had selected the top of the ridge known as King's Mountain for the encounter, from which he said God himself could not drive him. The patriots surrounded the mountain be- fore Ferguson was aware of their presence and at- tacked from all sides. A cloud of smoke en- compassed the mountain, shutting the British army from sight. Jesse Franklin rode forward through the smoke and finding the British in con- fusion and shooting above the heads of the patriots called to his men to charge, assuring them of vic- tory. They advanced till within range and fired. Colonel Ferguson fell and confusion overwhelmed the enemy. Captain Dupeyster, the ranking of- ficer, assumed command, but was unable to restore order. Captain Ryerson's efforts were alike fu- tile. He surrendered and handed his sword to Captain Franklin, saying to him, "Take it, you deserve it, sir." This sword was in the Franklin family many years. In 1854 the hilt was in the possession of Ambrose Johnson of Wilkes County.
Captain Franklin was a conspicuous actor at Hillsboro on February 25, 1781. He led a band ' of mountaineers who did good service and was the last to leave the ground when General Greene ordered a retreat. Many other thrilling narra- tives have been told of Jesse Franklin during these years of ceaseless vigilance. The plundering tories feared him and trembled for their lives when it was known that Franklin was in their community. They well knew that if taken they would be pun- ished according to their crimes and they de- termined to destroy him. One evening he was attempting to reach home by a circuitous route when suddenly he was surrounded by a strong band of' tories. Resistance was futile. They tied his hands behind him and using his bridle as a halter made ready to hang him to an overhanging limb. They commanded him to take the oath of allegiance. He refused and they strung him up. One of the men struck the horse upon which he sat to make it move from under. The halter broke and Franklin retaining his seat in the saddle dashed away to safety.
After the close of the war Jesse Franklin settled in Wilkes County and in 1784 was elected to the Legislature and re-elected each year until 1793, when he moved to Surry County. The same year he was elected to represent Surry County. In 1795 he was elected a member of Congress and served two years. He was again chosen to the State Legislature in 1797 and in 1798. The Legislature of 1799 elected him United States senator and he served the full term until 1805. In 1806-07 he was again a member of the State Senate and at the close of his term was elected United States senator for the term which expired in 1813. As a legislator he was universally trusted and though one of the youngest members was placed at the head of important committees. As early as 1785 he was found publicly advocating more opportunities for educating the people. He was a close student and acquired a broad fund of information. He was a strong advocate of the War of 1812 and urged Congress to grant per- mission to individuals to put out vessels for privateering and destroying British commerce. He declined a re-election to the Senate in 1813. Tn 1815 President Monroe annointed. Jesse Frank- lin, Andrew Jackson and General Merriwether commissioners to treat with the Chickasaw In-
dians. The treaty was made near the present site of Memphis, Tennessee.
In 1820 he was elected governor of the state. When his term of office expired he returned to the quiet of his mountain home and resided there until his death, September 29, 1823. His remains now repose in the National Park at Guilford battle ground.
Jesse Franklin was a product of the times, but like others who were born to co-operate in shap- ing the destinies of the nation, his horizon was broad, his conception of a government for the masses was clear, and his good judgment gave him power in the state and national assemblies. His astute statesmanship won him the admiration of his peers. For thirty consecutive years he rep- resented his people and was a conspicuous figure in the state and national capitals.
Some interesting details concerning his personal and family life are presented in a letter written by Governor Franklin 's great-granddaughter, Miss Isabel Graves, to Professor Alderman.
"Governor Franklin would not have a portrait made of himself. He said he preferred to be remembered by what he had done and not by how he looked. In looking over the old records I find that Meeky Perkins was born in 1765 and died February 20, 1834. I have not been able to find the date of her marriage to Jesse Frank- lin, but from other dates given it was probably some time before 1790. He had been prominent as a soldier during the Revolution and it is quite probable he was sent on missions of importance to Philadelphia before the adoption of the con- stitution in 1789. In passing to and from Phila- delphia on horseback with his wardrobe in his saddlebags, he happened to stop over at Mr. Per- kins' and saw his daughter Miss Meeky, a tall, graceful, black-haired and black-eyed maid, very handsome and accomplished for that period. He fell in love with her and after the usual court- ship married her. There were very limited modes of conveyance then, indeed much of the country did not have even so much as a wagon road. After the marriage, which was celebrated with a wedding feast, a Presbyterian minister officiating, Jesse Franklin and his bride rode on horseback by way of Lynchburg to his home in North Carolina. On the way they were given receptions at the residences of several of the relatives of the bride, the Redds and the Pannills, and also at the home of the uncle of the groom. The baggage came later in a sort of two-horse wagon.
"Notwithstanding Jesse Franklin was a demo- crat and took great pride in the wearing apparel made at home, his daughters indulged in silk dresses made in Philadelphia on occasions re- quiring such dress. One of these dresses is pre- served in the family. Governor Franklin, while not a member, inclined to the Bantist Church. His wife was a member of the Methodist denomination. Ho did not care for hunting and other sports, but was a great student and reader and in his leisure from public duties and private business was devoted chiefly to reading. His correspondence was extensive for that time, and one of his daugh- ters usually assisted as his secretary. He was noted for kindness to his neighbors and considera- tion for people less fortunate than he. He re- strained his children from jokes at the expense of other people's feelings.
"Mrs. Franklin was occasionally in Washington with her husband, but not often. The journey
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from her mountain home to Washington was a long and tiresome one, the meager pay of the members of Congress (at that time not more than $5 per day) would not well support two in good style. She became a noted housekeeper. Her home-made cotton dresses for herself and daugh- ters were always of the neatest make and finest shades of coloring. The homemade jeans and linsey were the best, her linen the finest and whitest made in the county from flax grown on the farm and spun with her own hands. My father had often seen his grandmother's old flax wheel at the homestead of his uncle Hardin Franklin on Fish River, where she died. She was a most elegant hostess and entertained her friends and her husband's friends in the best style possible. She had several daughters and sons, and they had much company. Governor Franklin lived in an isolated neighborhood; about four families made up the community-Jesse Franklin, Micajah Oglesby, Meshack Franklin and Mr. Edwards, and they were all intelligent and well-to-do. They kept up the most cordial social relations; they visited and had parties and dances to which their friends from a distance were invited. From all the concurrent traditions there was never any- where a happier community during the lifetime of Governor Franklin. His wife was the leader and chief spirit among the ladies. There are other traditions, but these will serve to give a picture of the times."
HON. JESSE FRANKLIN GRAVES. Of a dis- tinguished family, the late Jesse Franklin Graves made his own career distinctive as an upright and capable lawyer, a wise counsellor, a courageous leader in public life, and one of the ablest, most painstaking and conscientious judges who ever sat on the Superior Court bench of North Carolina.
He was born in August, 1829, and death came to him in the maturity of his usefulness, on November 9, 1894.
His lineage is traced back to Capt. Thomas Graves, who was a native of England and arrived in the Virginia colony very early in the seven- teenth century, not long after the landing of Captain Smith at Jamestown. He located in Accomac County, and his numerous posterity is now found in many of the Southern and West- ern states. His son John was born in Virginia and located in Elizabeth County of that colony, where he spent his last years. He married a Miss Perrin. Their son John was also a native of Virginia, but the name of his wife has not been preserved. In the next generation was also a John Graves, who was born in Virginia and married Isabella Lee, of Virginia. They came to North Carolina in 1770 and settled on County Line Creek in Caswell County, near where the Town Yanceyville now stands.
Barzillai Graves, grandfather of the late Judge Jesse Franklin Graves, was born in 1759. He be- came a Baptist minister, distinguished for his elo- quence and powerful intellect. He married a lady of like mind and heart and culture, Ursula Wright. Their seven children were: Solomon; Barzillai, who died unmarried; Elizabeth, who married James' Lea; Isabella, who married Hosea McNeill; Margaret, who married William Lipscomb; Jer- emiah, who married Delilah Lea; and Mary, who married Thomas W. Graves. Rev. Barzillai Graves died July 14, 1827.
General Solomon Graves. father of Jesse Frank- lin Graves, was born in 1784, and died April 28,
1862. He acquired the title of general through his service in the state militia.
After completing his literary education Solomon Graves studied law under Hon. Bartlett Yancey of Caswell County. When admitted to the bar he mnoved from Caswell and located in Surry County. There he soon became prominent as a lawyer of sterling worth and ability, and for several terms was a member of the General Assembly, serving both in the House and Senate. For thirty-two years he was clerk and master in equity for Surry County, and was also for many years a trustee of the State University. Patriotism was a key- note to his character and he possessed a depth and sincerity of conviction beyond most of his contemporaries.
In a time when little attention was given to the subject he was a strong advocate for tem- perance. About . 1818 General Graves married Mary Cleveland Franklin, daughter of Jesse Franklin, whose career as an early governor of North Carolina and subsequently United States senator is the subject of a sketch for other pages of this publication. Mrs. Solomon Graves died about four years before her husband. They had seven children: Meeky Ann, who married Rev. Miles Foy; Sarah Emily, who married Maj. J. W. Hackett; Mary Ursula, who married Col. Harrison M. Waugh; Elizabeth Franklin; Jesse Franklin; Margaret Isabella; and Barzillai Yancey.
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