USA > North Carolina > History of North Carolina: North Carolina biography, Volume V > Part 55
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Rominger is the only one still living.
William Harrison Crouse, who was born in South Fork Township in November, 1827, was eight years old when his father died. In spite of his slender years he soon realized an unusual
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sense of responsibility in connection with the upkeep of the household. He assisted his mother, and as soon as possible began contributing to the support of the family. He performed this duty in a manner that gave him a permanent satisfaction all his later years. He remained at home and worked for his mother and sisters until he was twenty-six, and then bought a small farm of his own in South Fork Township. From this farm he went to answer the call of duty to his South- land, and served with the Confederate army from 1864 until the close of hostilities. That was the only interruption to an otherwise prosperous and quiet career as a farmer. At the close of the war he returned home and lived on the farm until his death.
William Harrison Crouse married Caroline Faw. She was born near Friedberg, daughter of Abra- ham and Zilpha (Blackburn) Faw. Both the Blackburns and Faws were pioneers of Forsyth County. The Faws were Dunkards in religious belief and were of German ancestry. The original German spelling of the name was Pfau. Mrs. Caroline Crouse died in 1910. Her ten children were Lewis, Mary, Augusta, Sarah, Jacob F., Laura, Alice, Julia, Emma and William.
As a member of this large household Jacob F. Crouse grew up and was well trained to respect the rights and privileges of others, to observe honesty and the principle of industry, and his home training was supplemented by studies in the district school. He assisted on the home farm and made farming his regular work until his twenty-fifth year.
Seeking larger and better opportunities, he then removed to Winston-Salem and entered the employ of Fogle Brothers as a workman. Two years later he became identified with the A. C. Vogler & Sons Company, and was with that firm twelve years. He then formed his present association with the Huntly-Hill-Stockton Company, which is one of the largest concerns dealing in furniture in the State of North Carolina, and maintains un- doubtedly the most complete undertaking equip- ment in the state. Mr. Crouse is now vice presi- dent of the company and is also buyer and is well known in the wholesale markets of the state and in various northern cities.
Mr. Crouse was first married in 1889, to Mary Ann Vogler, who was born at Salem, North Caro- lina, a daughter of A. C. and Antoinette (Hauser) Vogler. Mrs. Crouse died in 1900 and both her children died in infancy. In 1902 Mr. Crouse mar- ried Henrietta Walker, also a native of Winston- Salem. Her parents were Mr. and Mrs. W. A. Walker. Mr. and Mrs. Crouse have three children : Jacob F., Jr., Elizabeth and Ruth. The family are active members of the Home Moravian Church, in which Mr. Crouse is a member of the board of elders. He is affiliated with Salem Lodge, No. 56, Knights of Pythias, with Salem Lodge, No. 36, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, with Salem Council, No. 14, Junior Order of United American Mechanics, in which he has served as chairman of the board of trustees; and also with Croatian Tribe, No. 27, Improved Order of Red Men.
WILSON DURWARD LEGGETT, present postmas- ter of the City of Tarboro, is one of the most extensive agriculturists in the state. He han- dles farming on a scale of businesslike efficiency. with many hundreds of acres under his manage- ment, and one of the chief individual contribu- tors to North Carolina's satisfactory and sub-
stantial position as an agricultural commonwealth.
Mr. Leggett was born at Palmyra in Halifax County, North Carolina, August 15, 1875, a son of James Wilson and James Margaret (Hodges) Leggett. His father was also a merchant and ex- tensive farmer. The son was liberally educated, attending public and private schools, the Scot- land Neck Military School, the Vine Hill Male Academy and the University of North Carolina.
His first practical experience in business was as a bookkeeper in a general store for two years, after which he was identified with the tobacco business for a time. His career as a practical farmer began in 1900, and at the present time he is individually owner of 1,000 acres, while his operations cover 2,000 acres. Mr. Leggett was appointed postmaster of Tarboro by President Wilson in 1914. He is a member of the Tar Heel Club and of the Episcopal Church.
October 14, 1899, he married Miss Catherine Howard, of Tarboro. They are the parents of five children: Wilson Durward, Jr., William Thomas, Julian Howard, Curtis Baker and Mary.
ANGUS WILTON MCLEAN. The blood of some of the most prominent and oldest Scotch families dating from the colonial settlement of the Caro- linas flows in the veins of this well known lawyer, banker, railroad president, cotton manufacturer, political leader and author at Lumberton. Robe- son County was his birthplace on April 20, 1870, and he is a son of Archibald Alexander and Caro- line A. (Purcell) McLean. In the paternal line- age the MacLeans, the MacEachins and MacQueens are all prominently identified with North Carolina history.
The McLeans were one of the most noted of the old Scotch families of what is known as the Cape Fear country of North Carolina. His great- grandfather, John McLean, immigrated to Amer- ica from the Island of Mull in Scotland in 1792, settling in what was then the upper end of Robe- son (now Hoke) County, North Carolina. The grandfather was Dr. Angus D. McLean, who was born in Robeson County, and gained distinction in his profession and in public affairs.
Dr. Angus D. McLean married Mary Jane MacEachin. She was a granddaughter of Patrick MacEachin, who was one of the first Scotch set- tlers in the Cape Fear country. He came from the Highlands of Scotland and settled in what is now Scotland County, North Carolina, near the present village of Riverton in 1765. Later he moved to the east side of the river in Robeson County, at what is known in the old land titles as Patrick MacEachin Bluff. Col. Archibald Mac- Eachin, a son of Patrick and the father of Mary Jane (MacEachin) McLean, was long prominent in the early history of Robeson County. He served as clerk of the Court of Common Pleas and as Master in Equity for many years, positions of much responsibility which required in those days that the incumbent act in the capacity of judge on many occasions.
Col. Archibald MacEachin married Sallie Mac- Queen a daughter of Col. James MacQueen, another noted Scotch character in North Carolina. Col. James MacQueen came to America in 1765, a young unmarried man, and in that year settled in Anson County, North Carolina. Later he re- moved to Robeson County, and after his mar- riage to Ann MacRae, settled on a piece of land on Shoe Heel Creek about ten miles below the present town of Maxton. The settlement that grew
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np there became known as Queensdale, and is the center of much historie interest in North Caro- lina. Col. James MacQueen became a large land owner, owned many slaves and conducted his planting on a large scale, and was also noted in public affairs. He represented Robeson County in the State Legislature in 1792, 1794 and 1803. He was clerk of the court and master in equity for the county.
Archibald Alexander MeLean, father of the Lumberton lawyer, was born in Robeson County, was a planter by occupation, and at the time of his death in 1906 was serving as treasurer of the county. He had served throughout the Civil war in the Confederate army.
His wife, Caroline A. Purcell, who died in Sep- tember, 1914, was a daughter of Alexander Torrey and Harriet (MaeIntyre) Purcell. Her great- grandfather, Malcolm Purcell, emigrated from Ulster, North Ireland, about 1750 and settled in Cumberland County, North Carolina, where the city of Fayetteville now stands. The Purcells were of old Seoteh stock and had left Scotland and had settled in the North of Ireland during the oppres- sive reign of King James. Alexander Torrey Purcell was the son of Jolin Purcell. The wife of Alexander Torrey, Harriet MacIntyre, was the daughter of Rev. John MacIntyre. Concerning this pioneer Seoteh Presbyterian preacher of North Carolina something more than passing mention should be made. He was remarkable both for his mental and physical strength. He came from Appin, Ayrshire, Scotland, to North Carolina, in 1792, first settling in the western part of Cum- berland County and later in the northern part of what is now Hoke County. He acquired a large traet of land, 3,500 acres, and gave it the name "New Garden." He lived to be 103 years old. After he had celebrated his hundreth birthday he dedicated old Montpelier Church in what is now Hoke County. He retained his mental and phy- sical powers almost perfectly until after he had passed the century mark and could easily read without glasses up to the time of his death. His work as a minister was largely as a missionary to the pioneer settlers over a large expanse of terri- tory in both North and South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama. He would preach at regular inter- vals at places far remote from each other. In those settlements that were entirely Scotch he would preach sermons in pure Gaelie as well as in English. It is said that he acquired a proficient knowledge of both Latin and Hebrew after he was thirty-five years of age. It was of such men that the old testament writer spoke when he said: "There were giants in those days."
Any man might well be proud of such ancestry. A record of distinguished forefathers becomes a distinctive honor to the individual who lives up to the traditions of those who have gone before. Angus Wilton McLean has gone beyond and con- tributed some additional points of prestige to the family name.
He grew up in the country near Maxton, attend- ed the public schools there, afterwards was in the Laurinburg High School under the noted ed- ucator Prof. W. G. Quakenbush, and studied law in the law department of the University of North Carolina. He was licensed to practice in 1891, and in the same year opened his office at Lumber- ton. Abundant success has come to him both as a lawyer and as an able manager of large industrial interests. He practiced in partnership with Judge
Thomas A. MacNeil until the latter was elected to the bench, and then formed a partnership with his cousin, the late Colonel McLean, which con- tinued until the latter's death. Since then Mr. MeLean has been at the head of the firm of Mc- Lean, Varser & MeLean, his associates being Mr. L. R. Varser and Mr. Dickson McLean. This is a firm that handles a great volume of law business both in the state and federal courts.
Mr. McLean is one of the comparatively few men who have a record of distinctive achieve- ment outside of one special calling or profession. In business and industrial affairs he has long played an important part. As an organizer and promoter of industrial enterprises he has done much toward building up his section of the state. He was one of the organizers and became presi- dent of the Bank of Lumberton, and when that was succeeded by the present National Bank of Lum- berton continued as its president. It is an insti- tution of splendid financial integrity, and is housed in one of the most beautiful and best appointed bank structures in North Carolina. Mr. Me- Lean is vice president of both the Lumberton Cot- ton Mills and the Dresden Cotton Mills, is a di- rector of the Jennings Cotton Mills-all three be- ing important local industries. He is a director of the Lumberton Building and Loan Association; promoted the financing and helped to build the Virginia and Carolina Railroad from Lumberton to Hope Mills, and from St. Paul to Elizabethtown, and is president and general manager of that in- dnstrial line; is president of the Robeson Devel- opment Company, president of the McLean Trust Company, is a large land owner and extensively interested in farming in Robeson County, and his financial interests extend to a number of minor con- cerns.
The political responsibilities that have been placed upon his shoulders make him one of the foremost democrats of his generation in North Carolina. He is widely known in both state and national party circles. He is at this time demo- eratie national committeeman from North Caro- lina, is chairman of the financial committee of the national organization for this state, and directed the raising of funds for the national campaign in 1916. He is a member of the Democratic State Executive Committee, and was a delegate to the National Democratie Convention in 1904, and a delegate at large to the National Convention at Baltimore in 1912.
While his business and financial ability have been called upon so liberally to aid his party, he is perhaps even more widely known as an unusually forceful and persuasive campaign speaker. His eloquence, however, is heard on other subjects than political themes. He has well earned a place among North Carolina orators of the present generation. One of his most notable addresses was "Woodrow Wilson, an Appreciation, " deliv- ered before the Literary Society of the Antioch State High School, in 1914. While the subject of this address was one that could well excite the enthusiasm of the author, he showed unusual lit- * erary skill in its handling and treatment, and the address might stand as a literary masterpiece. During 1916 Mr. McLean undertook the com- piling and editing of a history of the early Scotch settlements in the early Cape Fear section of North Carolina, together with biographical and genealogical sketches of more prominent families. That is a work that promises to be a most meri-
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torious contribution to the history of the state, and will be particularly prized by all descendants of the colonial families of Scotch origin.
Hardly a month passes that does not add some- thing to the honors and responsibilities of Mr. McLean. In the summer of 1917, at the meeting of the North Carolina State Bar Association, he was unanimously elected its president. This is a high honor at the hands of his fellow attorneys and is greatly appreciated.
Mr. McLean is a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of North Carolina, is chairman of the Board of Trustees of Flora Mac- Donald College in Robeson County, is a life mem- ber of the Clan Maclean Society of Glasgow, Scotland, has been president of the Scottish Society of America, and is a member and ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church at Lumberton.
Mr. McLean has recently been appointed one of the four directors of the War Finance Corpo- ration. He was appointed by President Wilson upon recommendation of Secretary McAdoo. North Carolina feels that this is quite an honor, because it requires the utmost financial skill and ability to perform the duties of this office. This corpora- tion is the largest financial concern in the world, having capital resources of $3,500,000,000 and has immediate control of the administration of all financial aid by the Government to the necessary and public governmental industries during the war. Mr. McLean's long experience at the bar and as a business man and banker have given him pe- culiar training for the duties of this office.
The position came entirely unsought and with- out his knowledge until the recommendation for his appointment was made. He accepted the posi- tion at great sacrifice to his private interest, be- cause he felt that it was an opportunity to serve the Government in this crisis. Most of his time is now spent in Washington in the performance of his official duties. He is a member of the Cape Fear Club of Wilmington, North Carolina, the Capital Club of Raleigh, North Carolina, and of the Metropolitan Club of Washington, District of Columbia.
He married Miss Margaret French, daughter of James MacD. and Edna (Godwin) French of Robe- son County. Their two children are Angus Wilton, Jr., and Margaret French McLean.
KAY DIXON is a financier of wide experience in business and banking affairs and is now vice president of the American National Bank of Asheville, one of the larger institutions in the state. This bank has a capital stock of $100,000, and its total resources aggregate over a million and a half.
Mr. Dixon was born at Kings Mountain, North Carolina, November 14, 1884, son of John Kelly and Hester Cleone ( Wilson) Dixon. His father was a railroad man, working in all branches of the service up to agent in Georgia and North Caro- lina until 1900. Since then he has been a cotton mill man and is president and treasurer of the Trenton Cotton Mills at Gastonia, North Carolina.
The son was well educated, attending public schools, and during 1903-05 was a student in the University of North Carolina. After the family removed to Gastonia in 1900 he went to work as clerk in the First National Bank of that city, and had a place in that institution during 1901-02. For another two years he had some valuable exper- ience as private secretary to Congressman E. Y. Webb, and came to know prominent men and politi-
cal conditions at the national capitol. For two years he was assistant cashier of the First Na- tional Bank of Gastonia and left that position to become first assistant state bank examiner for South Carolina. He resigned September 1, 1913, and has since been a resident of Asheville. He was assistant cashier of the American National Bank until elected to his present office as vice presi- dent in January, 1916.
Mr. Dixon is also vice president and treasurer of the Asheville Board of Trade, president of the Asheville Clearing House Association, a member of the Asheville Club and the Country Club, and has affiliations with the Masonic Order.
HON. ROBERT LEE WRIGHT. Well versed in the intricacies of law and deeply impressed with its dignity, responsibilities and duties, Hon. Robert Lee Wright, of Salisbury, holds a position of prominence not only among the leading attorneys of Rowan County, but of North Carolina, and also occupies a place of note in business, political and fraternal circles. A son of John L. Wright, he was born in Wilkes County, North Carolina, on a farm lying in the vicinity of Hunting Creek, near the present home of Professor C. C. Wright.
His paternal great grandfather, Hon. Thomas Wright, was born in Patrick County, Virginia, being a lineal descendant of one of three brothers who came from England to America as young men, one settling in New Jersey, one in Virginia, and the third one in Georgia, where he became prominent in public matters, serving as governor of that province. Migrating from Virginia to North Carolina, he bought land in Surry County, and with the help of slaves carried on farming until his death. A man of ability and influence, he served as a member of the House of Commons from 1802 until 1804, and of the Senate, with the exception of one year, from 1807 until 1827, in- elusive. (See "Wheeler's History, " Surry County.) At the time of his death he was high sheriff of Surry County. He married Mary Williams, a native of Virginia, and a sister of the noted Wil- liams mentioned in "Wheeler's History,'' espe- cially the part referring to Surry County.
Born in Surry County on a farm, in 1818, John L. Wright was brought up on the home farm and educated in the district schools. Starting in life for himself, he embarked in mercantile pursuits in the Hunting Creek locality in Wilkes County. Com- ing from there to Davie County and thence to Rowan County in 1876, he located on the Concord road, four miles from Salisbury, and was there engaged in farming for several years. Moving then to Salisbury, he opened a general store, which he managed until his death, carrying on a good business. The maiden name of his wife was Mary Shoafe. She was born in Davidson County, North Carolina, a daughter of Samuel and Annie (Brink- ley) Shoafe, natives respectively of Davidson County, and of what is now Davie County. She died in 1896, leaving six children, as follows: Ellen, wife of G. H. Heilig; Alice A., wife of John A. Murphy; George W .; Henry M .; Robert Lee; and Dr. James T.
Leaving the public schools in his youthful days, Robert Lee Wright was fitted for college under the preceptorship of Professor Hill, and in the Presbyterian High School, taking the Johns Hop- kins University course, and subsequently studied law. Being licensed to practice in 1889, he opened a law office in Salisbury, and has since met with great success as a lawyer, advocate and jurist.
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being devoted to the interests of his many clients and giving them attention to the full extent of his abilities. Mr. Wright is likewise interested in financial matters, having been one of the organizers of the Peoples Bank, and one of its directorate until it became a national bank; and was also one of the organizers and a director of the Salisbury Savings Company until it was sold to the Wachonia Bank & Trust Company.
Mr. Wright married, in 1893, Sallie B. Oakes, a daughter of Professor John A. and Lucy N. (Walser) Oakes, and a descendant on the paternal side of Thomas Oakes, a prominent farmer and lawyer, and on the maternal side being a grand- daughter of Hon. Henry Walser, who in his day was one of the most influential citizens of Davidson County. Professor John A. Oakes was a man of much talent and culture, and taught school until the outbreak of the Civil war, when he entered the Confederate service, being later chosen as one of General Lee's body guard, a position that he held until the close of the conflict. Suffering all the hardships and privations of a soldier's life, he lost his health while thus employed and never recovered his former vigor.
Mr. and Mrs. Wright are members of the Presby- terian Church and liberal contributors towards its support. Active in the administration of public affairs, Mr. Wright has served as a member of the board of aldermen, and for eight years was city attorney. In 1901 he was chosen to represent the county in the State Legislature, and in 1905 was elected state senator. In 1916 he had the distinc- tion of being elected judge of the County Court, a position for which he is amply qualified. Fra- ternally Mr. Wright is a member of various organ- izations, including the Royal Arcanum Cordon Lodge, No. 168, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; Winona Lodge, No. 18, Junior Order of United American Mechanics; and the Woodmen of the World.
JOSEPH RAY MORGAN. The bar of Haywood County has one of its ablest members in Joseph Ray Morgan, who has practiced at Waynesville thirteen years and has made a record of special efficiency both in his private cases and public du- ties.
Mr. Morgan was born at Clyde, North Carolina, March 3, 1883, a son of Jasper Lafayette and Lo- rena (Caldwell) Morgan. His father was a mer- chant and is now a flour miller at Clyde. In his native locality Mr. Morgan attended the Clyde High School, now known as the Haywood Insti- tute. From there he entered Wake Forest Col- lege, from which he was graduated in the classi- cal course in 1905. During his junior year he took up law and received his LL. B. degree from Wake Forest in 1907. In the meantime he had begun practice at Waynesville in June, 1905, es- tablishing a partnership with George H. Smath- ers, under the name Smathers & Morgan, which continued until 1913. In the latter year the firm became Morgan & Ward.
Mr. Morgan has probably excelled as a coun- selor and he now specializes chiefly in office prac- tice. He is local counsel for the Southern Rail- way, is attorney for various corporations and is member of the legal advisory board of Haywood County.
In 1908 Mr. Morgan was appointed by the board of aldermen as mayor of Waynesville, and for five years was a member of the board of education, until other duties obliged him to re-
sign. In May, 1917, he was elected police jus- tice of the Town of Waynesville. One of Hay- wood County's best institutions and one in which the citizens take special pride is the County Fair, conducted by the Haywood County Stock Rais- ers and Farmers Association. Mr. Morgan was treasurer of this association seven years. He is a member in good standing of the North Carolina Bar Association and a deacon in the Baptist Church.
August 24, 1910, he married at Tuscola Cora Ward, daughter of Admiral Eugene and Mary (Long) Ward. They have one son, Jasper Eu- gene.
RICHARD S. WHITE. To the numerous distinc- tions surrounding the White family in Bladen County, where it has lived through several gen- erations, Richard S. White, of Elizabethtown, has contributed his own share of work and honor as an able lawyer and a forceful and resourceful leader in public affairs. Mr. White has practiced the law for over thirty years. He has been a member of the Legislature and has been mayor of Elizabethtown, and above the material re- wards of a successful professional career he has found his chief satisfaction in being able to ren- der public spirited service to his community.
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