USA > North Carolina > History of North Carolina: North Carolina biography, Volume VI > Part 14
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WILLIAM CALHOUN FIELDS, a member of a well known old family of Lenoir County, has earned in his own right a substantial position in business and civic affairs at Kinston.
He was born at Kinston February 22, 1880, and is a son of the late William Council and Ag- nes (Pearce) Fields. His father was for many years a successful real estate dealer, a cotton broker and a broker in fertilizers and other kin- dred materials.
The son was liberally educated, attending the famous Bingham Military School at Mebane, the Drury School at Fayetteville and the Oak Ridge Academy. On leaving school he took a part in his father's business, and after his father's death, on October 14, 1902, became sole manager and has continued it with increasing success to the present time, Mr. Fields was formerly a director of the National Bank of Kinston and is a director of the Orion Knitting Mills Company and the Caswell Cotton Mills. Wherever possible he has used his time and ability to help forward community proj- ects and is an active member of the Chamber of Commerce. He was formerly affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Be- nevolent and Protective Order of Elks. On April 30, 1908, Mr. Fields married Elizabeth Gladys Tull, daughter of Dr. Henry Tull, of Kinston. They have one daughter, Frances, born July 29, 1914.
JOHN L. SCOTT, JR., has carried a heavy weight of business and civic responsibilities in his home city of Graham through a long period of years. As soon as his education was complete he entered ยท cotton manufacturing business, and now for a number of years has been secretary and treasurer of the Sidney Cotton Mills at Graham. and is also president of the National Bank of Alamance. He is president of the board of directors of the North Carolina School for the Deaf.
Mr. Scott was born at Graham, North Caro- lina. April 26, 1859, son of James Sidney and Bettie (Donnell) Scott. His father was a promi- nent merchant and cotton manufacturer. The son was educated in the private school conducted by Horner and Graves, and completed his educa- tion in Davidson College.
Mr. Scott was elected to the State Senate of North Carolina in 1909, was re-elected in 1913, and besides the regular sessions was a member of the special session of 1914. He is a past master of Lodge No. 492, Ancient Free and Ac- cepted Masons, and is past grand chancellor of the Knights of Pythias and supreme representa- tive of that order. Religiously he is an elder of the Presbyterian Church.
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HISTORY OF NORTH CAROLINA
January 9, 1884, Mr. Scott married Fannie Logan Brady of Davidson, North Carolina. They are the parents of six children: Bess, wife of Charles W. Causey, superintendent of the Bogon Cotton Mills at Anderson, South Carolina; Don E., vice president of the Sidney Cotton Mills, and now a major in the Twentieth Infantry, United States Army; Ione, wife of Dr. J. M. Thompson, of Mebane, North Carolina; John, who is connected with the British-American To- bacco Company, stationed at Pekin, China; Blanche, at home; and Rebecca, wife of Farrior Powell, cashier of a bank at Whiteville, North Carolina.
HENRY PAUL BILYEU, whose home is at South- ern Pines in Moore County, is one of the noted horticulturists of the state.' His chief contribu- tion to that industry has been as a pioneer in establishing the dewberry as a profitable crop.
Horticulture has been the business of the Bilyeu family for several generations. Henry Paul Bilyeu was born at Hightstown in Mercer County, New Jersey, in 1849. He is of French ancestry. His father, H. P. Bilyeu, was a New Jersey fruit grower. Mr. Bilyeu's brother, S. G. Bilyeu, was long prominent in New Jersey horticulture. He was especially noted for his peaches, propagated a number of new varieties of the peach, and perhaps the best known is the Bilyeu peach.
Henry P. Bilyeu grew up on a fruit farm, and had considerable experience in the business in his native state. In 1874 he left his home in Mercer County, New Jersey, and came to North Carolina, locating at Ridgeway in Warren County. He was engaged in the business of fruit growing there for fifteen years, but in 1890 he left Warren County and came to Moore County, locat- ing at what has since become the famous winter resort, Southern Pines. He was one of the pioneer settlers there.
On coming to Moore County Mr. Bilyeu bought twenty acres of land east of the town. This tract he later sold to the Country Club of South- ern Pines and it is now part of the famed South- ern Pines golf course. The estimated value of the land at present is a thousand dollars an acre. In 1903 Mr. Bilyeu bought the land that he has developed into his present magnificent farm, known far and wide especially among horticulturists as . the Pine Knot Farm. It lies four miles west of Southern Pines, and contains about three hundred acres. Originally it was practically waste land, covered with pine timber. From that condition it has been converted under Mr. Bilyeu's man- agement into one of the most beautiful farms in the state. During the berry growing season it has the appearance of a vast garden. His first task in developing the place was to clear a hundred sixty acres of the pine trees. Since then an additional hundred twenty-five acres have been cleared, making two hundred eighty-five acres available for cultivation. The entrance to this farm is through an avenue of arching pine and holly trees. These trees were transplanted for this particular purpose by Mr. Bilyeu. It is said to make the most beautiful entrance to any farm in North Carolina. The entire place has a picturesque setting and its transformation into a highly profitable and productive fruit farm has not been accompanied with corresponding loss of the beauty elements. His success as a horti-
culturist attracted the attention of the Southern Railroad Company, and for several years Mr. Bilyeu has been employed by that company in an advisory capacity to develop the fruit growing interests along the railroad lines.
Mr. Bilyeu also has
some time has been growing Delaware grapes, which he also introduced successfully into Moore County. The Pine Knot Farm also grows con- siderable quantities of wheat and peas, and he raises some fine Berkshire hogs and fancy fowls.
Mr. Bilyeu married Miss Carrie Lee Poe, of Chatham County. She is a member of an old and distinguished family of North Carolina. One of the family was Dr. Clarence Poe, the noted agriculturist and agricultural writer. Mr. and Mrs. Bilyeu have six children: Lucile, H. P., Jr., who is now a member of the United States Army, Emily, Sadie Marguerite, Walter J. and Helen C. .
W. STEELE LOWDERMILK, of Rockingham, is an able member of the North Carolina bar, a leader of the Richmond County democracy, and a citi- zen who has impressed the force and straightfor- wardness of his character upon the community which has witnessed the development of his ca- reer. During the ten years of his practice at Rockingham he has met with a constantly increas- ing success, and his practice, largely of an im- portant character, carries him into all the courts, state and federal.
Mr. Lowdermilk was born in 1882, in Rich- mond County, North Carolina, and is a son of Z. H. and Susan (Steele) Lowdermilk. His father was born in Randolph County, this state, and when a young man moved to Richmond County, settling in the upper part, where he was first en- gaged in farming and later turned his attention to mercantile pursuits. He remained in this coun- ty until 1892, when he went to Georgia and en- gaged in the turpentine business, and remained in that state until his death, which occurred in 1895. The mother of W. Steele. Lowdermilk was a daughter of the late Robert L. Steele, a mem- ber of the old and well-known Steele family of Richmond County, and whose name appears prom- inently on the pages of North Carolina's history. Robert L. Steele was a grandson of Robert John- son Steele, who was born at Carlisle, Cumberland County, England, and who, as a very young man, came to America as a soldier of the English army of Lord Cornwallis. He was badly wounded and left for dead on the field of the battle of the Brandywine, and there was picked up by a daugh- ter of Dr. Richard Grubbs, who noticed him as she was passing by in a carriage. She carried him to her home, where he was attended by Doc- tor Grubbs, who was a surgeon in the Continen- tal army. After the war he came to North Caro- lina, first locating in Granville County and after- ward removing to Montgomery County, where he died. He is buried, however, at the old Steele burying ground at Steele's Mills in Richmond County, to which locality his sons had removed. Robert L. Steele was a first cousin of the late Col. Walter Leak Steele, of Richmond County, who was a man of great prominence in public affairs in his day. He was before the war be- tween the states a member of the House of Com- mons of North Carolina, and of the State Sen- ate. He was principal secretary of the North Carolina Secession Convention in 1861; in 1872 was an elector on the Greeley presidential ticket;
RSilyen
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HISTORY OF NORTH CAROLINA
in 1876 was elected to Congress, and in 1878 was re-elected thereto, serving in that body until 1881.
W. Steele Lowdermilk was reared in Richmond County and attended Farmers' Institute, a pri- vate boarding school in Randolph County. Later he attended Trinity Park School at Durham, and Trinity College there, being graduated from the latter in 1904 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and completed his education by a two-year course in law at Trinity. Admitted to the bar in 1906, he at once began the practice of his profession at Rockingham, and is now a successful lawyer of general practice in the county, state and Federal courts. Always interested in politics, he has con- sistently worked for the interests of the demo- cratic party, takes a prominent part in county and state matters, and is now chairman of the Richmond County Democratic Executive Commit- tee. He is a Mason and a member of the Metho- dist Church.
Mr. Lowdermilk married Miss Amee Horan, a native of France, she having been born in Paris, and is a young woman of superior intellectual attainments, fine talents and education. One of her brothers is now serving in the great European war as a soldier of France, while a sister is a nurse connected with the French army.
JAMES CRAWFORD THOMAS. With all its wealth of manufacturing and other lines of business, North Carolina is essentially an agricultural state, and those who by their achievements have become conspicuous leaders in that industry are by the same token men of prominence in the state. One of these whose position is one of easy rank in the first place is Mr. James Crawford Thomas, whose extensive farming interests lie in the vicin- ity of Raeford in Hoke County. Mr. Thomas besides farming is a banker and has done much to build up the new County of Hoke and its coun- ty seat Raeford.
Mr. Thomas was born near Ellerbe Springs in Richmond County, North Carolina, in 1864. His lineage includes three well known families of North Carolina, Thomas, Covington and Roper. The Thomas name is of Welsh origin. In earlier generations the family boasted a coat of arms. This coat of arms indicates the sturdiness of character and personal bravery which were marked characteristics of its members. The Thomas an- cestors on coming to America first settled in South Carolina along the Great Pee Dee River. Thence they removed upward along that stream to what is now Richmond County, North Caro- lina, where they have had their home since prior to the Revolutionary war.
Mr. Thomas is a grandson of James and Char- lotte (Roper) Thomas. Charlotte Roper was the daughter of Thomas Roper and a granddaugh- ter. of Frederick Roper, who founded his family in North Carolina. A prominent member of this family in the present generation is Daniel Roper, who has been assistant postmaster general under the Wilson administration and is now a member of the Federal Tariff Commission. He was reared and spent his early life in Marlboro County, South Carolina.
Mr. Thomas is a son of William Jackson and Mary Jane (Covington) Thomas, both now de- ceased. His father was a planter by occupation, served in the Confederate army throughout the war, and died in 1892. His wife, Mary Jane Cov- ington, was born in Richmond County, near Rock-
ingham, and died at the home of her son James C. in December, 1915. The Covington represented some of the substantial interests of Richmond and Anson counties. Mrs. Mary Jane Thomas was the daughter of William H. Covington, and a de- scendant of that Covington family which settled in what is now Richmond County in 1732, being founded there by William and John Covington, both of whom are natives of England.
James Crawford Thomas, who inherits many of the worthy characteristics of his forefathers, was educated in the famous private school of Professor Quakenbush at Laurinburg. On finishing school he remained in Scotland County for several years engaged in farming, and in 1896 removed to his present location in what is now Hoke County, but then a part of Cumberland County. Some of the land included in his present estate he bought over twenty years ago. The Thomas home farm is two miles west of Raeford, county seat of Hoke County. It is situated on the Aberdeen and Raeford Road and on the Aberdeen and Rock- fish Railroad, and a switch track has been built for the accommodation of his farm. His main farm consists of 500 acres, 350 acres in cultiva- tion. He also has three other farms nearby, ag- gregating 300 acres.
As an example of the highest class of farming enterprise there is none better than is illustrated on the land of Mr. Thomas. Not without reason he takes great pride in his establishment, and it is also an object of pride to the entire county. It is situated on the main traveled road, and is con- stantly being pointed out as one of the show places in this section of the state. Without ques- tion it is one of the finest farms in North Carolina. Its topography is such as to afford splendid drainage without the land verging on roughness. The quality of the soil is the sandy loam which is so characteristic of the sand hills section of North Carolina. It is apparently of al- most inexhaustible fertility and has a wide range of productiveness. Mr. Thomas has his staple crop in cotton, but also maintains a large acre- age in corn, wheat and some tobacco. This farm stands on its own basis and is not conducted as an adjunct to a successful career in other lines, and farming is and always has been Mr. Thomas' vocation and he has made wealth through that industry. On his farm he maintains a beautiful country home, situated in ideal surroundings.
His various business interests, to which he has diverted considerable capital, have always been incidental to his main interest in life. Mr. Thomas is a half owner of the Johnson-Thomas Building, a substantial business block at Rae- ford, and is financially interested in other proper- ties in that thriving and fast growing little city. He has done all in his power to build up the county seat and was active in the organization of the new county of Hoke, formed from a part of Cumberland. He is a partner in the MeLaugh- lin Company, conducting the largest mercantile house in the town, and is president of the Bank of Hoke. He has done something to assist every local industry and every worthy enterprise of Raeford. Mr. Thomas is now chairman of the board of county commissioners of Hoke County.
Mr. Thomas married for his first wife Miss Anna Arena Benton, who was born near Wades- boro in Anson County and died some years ago. She was survived by three children: Marshall W., James Benton Thomas and Mrs. Ina Lentz. Mr
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HISTORY OF NORTH CAROLINA
Thomas married for his present wife Miss Lillie F. Lentz, of Stanley County. They have one son, Crawford Lentz. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas are mem- bers of the Methodist Church.
EDWARD SANDERS PAKKER, JR. Many solid and substantial achievements are at the basis of Edward Sanders Parker's reputation as a lawyer at Graham, and his affiliations have all been hon- orable and straightforward and have brought him increasing reputation among the able lawyers and citizens of the state.
Mr. Parker was born at Graham, North Caro- lina, March 1, 1871, son of Edward Sanders and Ellen Carolina Parker. His father was also a lawyer before him. The son was educated in the Oak Ridge Institute, and in 1894 graduated from the law department of the University of North Carolina. He has had more than twenty years experience as a member of the bar, and besides the general practice he has handled he has made some important connections with business affairs. He is connected with the Piedmont Railway and Electric Company, is a director of the National Bank of Alamance, the Alamance Loan & Trust Company, the Piedmont Railway and Electric Company and is president of the Graham Water Company.
Mr. Parker served three or four terms as mayor of Graham and has been chairman of the Public School Board since its organization. He is now and several times in the past has been chairman of the County Executive Committee of Alamance County, and is oue of the most influen- tial leaders in the democratic party in that sec- tion of the state. Mr. Parker is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, is a Presbyterian and member of the M. & M. Club of Greensboro. June 3, 1897, at Raleigh, he married Miss Mary E. Mebane, daughter of W. G. Mebane and grand- daughter of Giles Mebane, one of the most dis- tinguished characters in North Carolina history and especially identified with the founding of Ala- mance County. Mr. and Mrs. Parker have one child, Caroline Mebane Parker, born in 1907.
GEORGE ALEXANDER MARTIN. One of Anson County's most flourishing towns is Morven. That it is a good town in a moral sense, a well ordered and regulated community, that it is a thriving place of trade and business and is developing on a solid foundation, is due to the genius and wisdom of George Alexander Martin as a town builder more than to any other individual factor. Mr. Martin is properly credited with having been the founder of the present town.
Persons who have known him long say that Mr. Martin makes a success of anything he un- dertakes. While prosperity has come to him in generous measure, most of his undertakings have had something of a public character and public benefit, and have been intimately associated with the welfare of several communities. Mr. Martin is an extensive farmer, is a large land holder and dealer, is a banker and merchant, and has become widely known and influential as a campaign sneaker and leading democrat in his section of the state.
His birthplace was just two miles east of the present Town of Morven, at Old Morven in Anson Countv, where he was born in 1857. a son of G. W. and Susan ( Adams) Martin. His paternal an- cestry is Scotch. Many years before the Revo-
lutionary war the Martins came to America and located at Roanoke Island, North Carolina, and later members of the family came to what is now Anson County. The Martins are related to the Wall and Leake families of what is now Richmond County but originally a part of Anson County. G. W. Martin was born at Blewett Falls, Anson County, on the Great Pedee River. In the early '40s he moved down the river about twelve miles to Old Morvan, a settlement that had been estab- lished by Scotch families. Two of the sons of G. W. Martin, both older than George A., were soldiers in the Confederate army. One, J. A. Martin, was killed at the battle of Petersburg. The other, W. T. Martin, was captured and con- fined in Elmira prison and as a result of the pri- vations and hardships he endured there he died soon after the war.
Hundreds of Southern families will always recall with bitterness the Sherman invasion of the South. In a material sense hardly any one family in North Carolina suffered more from this raiding army than the Martins, but they hold no malice toward the northern people or Sherman's army. When Sherman's army came up through North Carolina, General Kirkpatrick's Division encamped at the Martin homestead at Old Morven. General Kirkpatrick took possession of the Martin resi- dence and homestead for his temporary head- quarters. Every building on the place except the house was burned during that occupancy. Up to that time G. W. Martin had been a large and affluent planter, and before the Federal troops came through Anson County, he had five hundred bales of cotton, six thousand bushels of corn and about thirty head of horses and mules. This property was confiscated by General Kirkpatrick, and when he and his raiders departed they took with them all the food, provisions and everything of possible value they could carry and had in the meantime destroyed and burned what could not be moved or used. The only thing left for the family was a quantity of shelled corn that had been scattered about the premises and had been trampled upon by the cavalry horses. This corn was carefully gathered up and ground into corn meal, and that was the family's sole sub- sistence for nearly two months.
While the family was passing through this ordeal of war times George Alexander was about seven or eight years of age. On account of the ravages of the war and the reconstruction period that followed he was practically deprived of any school education. He was himself sensible of the advantages and need of intelligent training, and largely as a result of his ambition he carried on his studies by the light of a pine knot fire and laid a good ground work for a culture which he has continued by observation and study and ex- tensive reading all his life. His abundant suc- cess in life indicates that he has kept himself abreast of the times and has exercised the qual- ities of a mind of great natural vigor and of good common sense.
For upwards of twenty-five years he continued to live on the old Martin place, and put in most of his time as a practical farmer. About 1886, when the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was being built through the county, Mr. Martin recognized the special advantages and the possibilities of the future connected with a site two miles west of Old Morven through which the new railroad passed. At that time only three houses stood on the ground.
G. A. Martino
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HISTORY OF NORTH CAROLINA
Mr. Martin as a result of his years of hard work and thrifty accumulations had a cash cap- ital of about seven hundred dollars. He used six hundred dollars of this to purchase a hun- dred twenty-five acres of land at the new Town of Morven. That was only the beginning of his extensive dealings and transactions in local real estate. His farm lands alone today, linked to- gether, extend from the east side around sonth to the west part of the town, covering a distance of two miles. It is all exceptionally fertile land. There is a single field of cotton comprising three hundred acres, and besides a large acreage is devoted to corn and other crops. In 1916 Mr. Martin turned his enterprise to fruit growing, and experimentally has set ont about fifteen hun- dred apple trees. One of the most important purchases in this large estate was the Stubbs place, known as one of the finest farms on the edge of Morven. Mr. Martin paid five thousand dollars for it and it is now worth not less than eight thousand dollars. Later he paid twelve hundred dollars for the Dann farm, and fifteen hundred dollars for the W. T. Martin estate, both of which have since greatly increased in value. For a portion of the Davis estate near Morven he paid a thousand dollars, and that property is now worth fully twice the amount. For the Cy Bennett farm he paid four thousand dollars, and its value is now over five thousand. The Kilgo farm, for which he paid a thousand dollars, has had offers of three thousand dollars recently. A part of Mr. Martin's lands lie on the waters of Mill Creek near the Great Pedce. Those who are in a position to judge say that Mr. Martin's property holdings at Morven and vicinity are now worth at least one hundred thousand dollars.
His interests are not altogether local. He has long been interested in the mountain country of Western North Carolina, and owns a valuable farm in Allegheny County. This adjoins the land near Sparta and lies within a quarter of a mile of the famous mountain resort Roaring Gap. The farm is well watered. One spring runs twenty gallons per minute. The farm is located in the midst of one of the finest sections of the country for apple orchards, and the value of the land ranges from forty to fifty dollars per acre.
Mr. Martin was by no means a speculator pure and simple when he invested in lands at Morven. His personal enterprise has been a large factor in the increased value of his holdings. Be- sides farming, he engaged in merchandising at the new town, also handles real estate, and before the establishment of a regular bank he was en- trusted with the care of the money by his neigh- bors and ran a private banking house. In later years his efforts as a merchant have been confined chiefly to handling buggies and other vehicles. He is one of the chief cotton buyers on the local market. Mr. Martin was one of the founders of the Bank of Morven, a flourishing financial insti- tution with a capital stock of twenty thousand dollars, a surplus of twelve thousand dollars, and deposits running from one hundred to one hundred thirty thousand dollars. He is vice presi- dent and one of the large stockholders of the bank. The bank's record is very gratifying, since it has never lost a dollar and has never been compelled to sue a customer.
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