USA > North Carolina > History of North Carolina: North Carolina biography, Volume VI > Part 18
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Still other honors have come to him, and in February, 1918, announcement was made of his promotion to the rank of captain in the adjutant general's department, so that he has had three commissions since leaving Fort Ogelthorpe train- ing camp in less than a year.
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الو
Jours trulys Ph Al Nagers
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HISTORY OF NORTH CAROLINA
JUDGE WILLIAM P. RAGAN was the first judge of the Recorder's Court at High Point. That office was created when a new charter was granted to the city and the people of the community felt a special sense of satisfaction in giving the honor and responsibilities to a man so well known, so capable a lawyer, and so able iu the handling of public affairs.
Judge Ragan was born ou a farm 21/2 miles south of High Point April 5, 1868, the fourth son of Amos and Martha (English) Ragan, the father being now deceased, while the mother is still living at the old homestead. The Ragan fam- ily is a very old and prominent one in the vicinity of High Point, including the three adjoining counties of Davidson, Guilford and Randolph. Amos Ragan was born in Davidson County but spent most of his lite in Guilford County, in the vicinity of High Point. He owned a large body of land and was very successful iu farming it. The late John H. Reagan, of Texas, distinguished as the postmaster-general of the Confederacy and later for many years as a United States senator, was born in North Carolina and though his name was spelled slightly different was a member of this family.
William P. Ragan spent his early life on the farm aud attended public schools at Archdale and Springfield, not far from home, and in 1888 en- tered Guiltord College. He was a student there for two years and then taught school at Bethauy and Springfield.
In matters of politics Judge Ragan has always been affiliated with the republican party. Iu 1890 he was appointed assistant postmaster at High Point, and held that office about four years during Harrison's administration. In the spring of 1894 he left High Point and became a representative for the J. Van Lindley Nursery Company of Pomona, North Carolina, selling goods for this firm in the State of Alabama. In the fall of the same year he put into effect a resolution long maturing in his mind to become a lawyer. Entering the University of North Carolina, he took a preparatory course, and in 1895 was ap- pointed deputy clerk of the Superior Court at Greensboro, and while there studied law under Dick & Dillard.
Judge Ragan was licensed to practice in Sep- tember, 1896. From 1897 until 1900 he was as- sociated in the law with Maj. Charles M. Sted- man of Greensboro, and practiced both in that city and at High Point. Judge Ragan has han- dled many cases of importance and interest and is well known for his legal ability in a number of districts in the state.
In 1902 he was nominated for the State Senate by the Guilford County Republican Convention. He made a splendid campaign, led his ticket by about 500 votes, but was defeated. In 1910 he was appointed postmaster of High Point by Presi- dent Taft and he served as such about four years, bringing the administrative efficiency of the of- fice up to a standard which it had never before attained. In 1914 he was elected prosecuting at- torney for the city, and had under the change of charter become first judge of the Recorder's Court, serving in that capacity until he was ap- pointed postmaster. Judge Ragan while post- master was instrumental in the building of a fine Federal Building at High Point. He was elected mayor of High Point in the spring of 1917, and is the present incumbent of the office. During his administration more good streets and
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sidewalks have been built than in any similar time of its history.
He owns one of the most beautiful homes of the city. He and his wife are the parents of three children: William P., Jr., Gilbert and Cam- eron. Judge Ragan is a member of the Quaker Church.
JUDGE ALFRED MOORE, who distinguished himself as one of the Revolutionary patriots of North Carolina, and was at one time an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, was boru in Brunswick County May 21, 1755, son of Judge Maurice aud Ann (Grange) Moore. He was descended frow two very distinct lines, one that of an Irish rebel Roger Moore, leader of the Irish rebellion of 1641, and the other that of an English cavalier, Sir John Yamans. One of. his forefathers was James Moore, governor of South Carolina in 1700. James Moore the second was also governor of South Carolina in 1720. Maurice Moore, father of Alfred, was one of the first permanent settlers of the Cape Fear country of North Carolina, and was one of the three judges of the province at the breaking out of the revolu- tion.
Alfred Moore was sent to Boston to complete his education in 1764 and a few years later witnessed the arrival of the first British garrisou in that city. September 1, 1775, while still under age, he was appointed a captain of the First North Caro- lina Regiment, and participated iu that short and brilliant campaign which resulted in the de- feat of the British forces at Moore's Creek in February, 1776. He was also with his company at Fort Moultrie in Charleston Harbor in June, 1776. He resigued his commission March 8, 1777, but during the rest of the war did much to keep up patriotic resistance in North Carolina, and so influential was he that the enemy made every effort to kill or capture him and burned and completely destroyed his plantation property. He had begun the study of law under his illustrious father before the war. In 1782 the General Assembly of North Carolina, in grateful remembrances of his distin- guished services and in some part too compensate him for his losses and unselfish patriotism, ap- pointed him attorney general of the state to suc- ceed Judge Iredell, who had just resigned. He served as attorney general until 1790, when, in- dignant at what he considered an unconstitutional infringement upon his rights by the creation of the office of solicitor general, he resigned.
"He had a mind of uncommon strength and a quickness of intellectual digestion that enabled him to master any science he strove to acquire. He was small in statute, scarce four feet, five inches in height, neat in dress, graceful in manner, but frail in body. He had a dark singularly piere- ing eye, a clear sonorous voice, and those rare gifts of oratory that are born with a man and not ac- quired. Swift was his model, and his language was always plain, concise and pointed. A keen sense of humor, a brilliant wit, a biting tongue, a masterful logic, made him an adversary at the bar to be feared."'
He was a federalist in politics. In 1795 he was defeated for the Senate of the United States by one vote. In 1798 he was elected one of the judges of the state and took his seat upon the bench. In December, 1799, he was called to the seat upon the Supreme Bench of the United States made va- cant by the death of James Iredell. The only opinion he delivered during his four years with the
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Federal Supreme Court was Bas v. Tingy 4 Vol. 37. It is explained that after Marshall became chief justice the rule and practice was for the court to express its opinions practically . without exception through the Chief Justice.
Failing health compelled his retirement and he resigned in 1804 and died October 15, 1810.
(See publislied address delivered by Junius Davis upon the presentation of the portrait of Judge Moore to the Supreme Court of North Caro- lina, in the publications of the North Carolina Society of the Sons of the Revolution).
HON. JOHN A. OATES. To some individuals are given diversified talents, together with the abil- ity to utilize these gifts for the benefit not only of themselves but of humanity at large. Find- ing a broader and more prolific field in which to carry on their labors, such men are enabled to direct their efforts along diverging lines and there- by reach a diversified class of men, and coming into close touch with such their own sympathies are broadened, their scope of usefulness widened and their own characters strengthened. Of the men of North Carolina who through high talents and energetic labors have contributed to the growth and development of their state and the lasting welfare of its people, few have accom- plished a greater work than has fallen to the lot of Hon. John A. Oates, of Fayetteville. He is a leading lawyer and a member of the North Carolina State Senate, and in both capacities has won distinction, but the position in which he has gained in the greatest degrec the gratitude and commendation of the people is as the origina- tor of and for many years the leading spirit in the Anti-Saloon League of North Carolina, a body which was chiefly instrumental in the ultimate securing of state-wide prohibition.
Senator Oates was born in 1870, on his fa- ther's farm in Sampson County, North Carolina, a son of John Alexander and Mary Jewell ( Ash- ford) Oates, both of English ancestry and both now deceased. The Oates family of North Car- olina was founded in the eastern part of the state prior to the Revolutionary war and has pro- duced a number of prominent characters, some of whom have been and are leading and wealthy cit- izens of their several communities, particularly Charlotte and Asheville. John Alexander Oates, who was a lifelong farmer and carried on opera- tions in Sampson County, died in 1901. During the war between the states he served in the ca- pacity of sheriff of his county.
John A. Oates was reared amid agricultural surroundings, and spent his boyhood much the same as other farmers' sons of his day and lo- cality. After attending the rural schools of his home community he went to Wake Forest Col- lege, paying his own way. He received the de- gree of Bachelor of Arts in 1895, and subsequently entered upon the study of law in the same insti- tution, being graduated in the law class of 1910. Prior to his taking up the law as a profession' he had been for several years identified with jour- nalism, as editor of the North Carolina Baptist, a successful and influential denominational paper of 7,000 circulation published at Fayetteville. He began the practice of law in that city in 1910, and within the short time that he has de- voted to his professional labors has become one of the leading legists of this part of the state, with a large and important practice in all the courts. In 1913 he was elected judge of the
County Court for Cumberland County. At this time he is a member of the law firm of Oates & Herring, his partner being R. W. Herring, and the important matters of jurisprudence success- fully handled by this firm make it one of the mnost formidable combinations to be found. The general election of 1916 found Mr. Oates a can- didate for the office of state senator from Cum- berland County, he having been nominated without opposition. He was elected by an over- whelming majority, to serve in the session which began in January, 1917. He has already shown himself a hard-working member of that distin- guished body, being chairman of the important committee on public education. His past record makes it an assured fact that his constituents' interests, as well as those of his county and state, will profit through his legislative activities. Mr. Oates has for many years been a prominent mem- ber of the Baptist Church at Fayetteville, to the movements and work of which he has been a gen- erous contributor.
In educational and religious lines, he has been very active, being superintendent of the Sun- day school of his church for more than twenty years; president of the board of trustees of Wake Forest College; president of the Baptist State Convention; founder and chairman of the execu- tive committee of the Baptist Seaside Assembly ; trustees of the Dell School; chairman of the board of trustees of the Fayetteville graded schools; for ten years chairman of the board of education . of Cumberland County, and trustee of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. But, as above noted, Senator Oates is perhaps most widely known and distinguished for his great work and leadership in the Anti-Saloon League of North Carolina, of which he was the "father," he having brought about its organi- zation and for several years being the active sec- retary of the league. This organization forms an important chapter in the history of North Carolina, particularly as being the most vital of modern reform movements in the state and the one most directly affecting its welfare and pros- perity. The beginning of this movement may be outlined, briefly, as follows: In December, 1901, the Baptist State Convention met in the First Baptist Church of Winston, at which time Mr. Oates presented a resolution for the appointment of a committee on temperance by the convention. This resolution was duly passed and Mr. Oates was appointed chairman of the committee, and immediately wired to the Methodist Conference, which was in session at the same time, suggesting a similar committee for that denomination, which was favorably acted upon at once. He was also the means of having such committees appointed and set to work by other religious and social or- ganizations. Continuing to take the initiative in the movement, Mr. Oates invited representatives .. from the several religious denominations of the state to gather in a general convention at Raleigh. This meeting took place at the state capital in January or February of 1902, on which occasion the Anti-Saloon League of North Carolina was organized and Mr. Oates was elected the secre -:: tary. He then proceeded to mobilize a volunteer committee of 100 representative citizens all over the state, and with this organization as a foundation set actively to work in bringing about this most notable of all reforms ever attempted in the history of the commonwealth, and which eventually led to the accomplishment of state-
John 7 Rue
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HISTORY OF NORTH CAROLINA
wide prohibition. In the prosecution of the work of this organization during the term of his sec- retaryship Mr. Oates assumed all responsibility. In the early stage of the movement there was lit- erally not anything to be done that he did not do. His soul, his courage, his sanity, his enthu- siasm, won friends for the work. After the or- ganization was effected in its entirety and the work enlarged he continued to give of his best to the movement's success. His was for the most part an unheralded work, but it was far-reaching in its results and an unmixed blessing to thou- sands who but for that work would have known only the somber, and perhaps even the more tragic, aspects of life. And no one will attempt to disagree with the statement that the accom- plishment of this great enterprise has made North Carolina a greater state, bigger, better and more prosperous in every way, a pride to its citizens and a credit to the nation. He was chairman of the executive committee and manager of the state campaign for prohibition in 1908, when the state went dry by 44,198 majority.
Mrs. Oates, a native of North Carolina, was before her marriage Miss Emma Cain.
JOHN T. REES has been one of the thriving business men of Greensboro for a considerable period of years, and is now head of one of the city's most important industries, the El Rees So Cigar Company, manufacturers.
Mr. Rees is a native of Greensboro, and is of old American stock, tracing his ancestry origi- nally back to Wales, where his great-grandfather, William Rees, Sr., was born and on coming to America settled in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, where he spent the rest of his days. He was the father of two sons, named William and Richard. William, Jr., was born in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, and in early youth learned the trade of blacksmith. In 1849 he brought his family to North Carolina, locating near Greens- boro, where he conducted a blacksmith shop and was an honored resident of that locality until his death at the advanced age of eighty-four. He married Sally Bryant, a native of Pittsyl- vania County, Virginia, and she died at the age of seventy-nine. Both were lifelong and faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Their remains now rest in the Green Hill Cemetery. In their family were five sons, named William, Calvin, Samuel, John and Monroe.
John T. Rees, Sr., father of the cigar manu- facturer of Greensboro, was born in Pittsylvania, Virginia, in 1836, and was about thirteen years old when the family came to North Carolina. At the age of twenty-one he went to Summerfield and clerked in a mercantile establishment there until after his marriage, when he returned to Greensboro and conducted the Planters' Hotel and also a livery and sales stable until his death at the age of thirty-nine. He married Lavinia Brim, who was born near Summerfield, North Carolina, daughter of Peter and Martha (San- ders) Brim. Her parents were natives of Guil- ford County. Mrs. Lavinia Rees died at the age of sixty-three. John T. Rees, Sr., was a Confederate soldier, and his early death was largely due to the fact that he was severely wounded while in the war and never fully re- covered from his injuries. He and his wife had three children, William Henry, Sallie and John T.
The oldest, William Henry, was for fifteen years assistant postmaster of Greensboro, then for sev- eral years was a merchant of that city, and is still living in Greensboro. He married Alice Wolfe, a native of Virginia, and daughter of John M. and Mary (Brown) Wolfe. They have four children. Sallie Rees married James W. Forbes and is the mother of three children.
Mr. John T. Rees has spent nearly all his life at Greensboro. He was educated in the public schools there, and one year at Oak Ridge Insti- tute. About his first regular employment was as floor boy in a tobacco warehouse, employed by J. F. Jordan and later by W. F. Cable. After about one year in warehouses he went into the factory of J. L. King, a chewing tobacco manu- facturer, was there two years, and then spent a year in the cigar factory of W. E. Bastine. These varied experiences gave him quite a thor- ough knowledge of the tobacco business in the different departments and he then extended his knowledge to the general retail tobacco business by opening a cigar and tobacco store at Greens- boro, which he has continued uninterruptedly to the present time.
However, his big achievement was begun in August, 1913, when he established the El Rees So cigar factory. How successful this business has been can best be understood by the quota- tion of a few figures. In the month of 1915, following the establishment of the factory, its output was 240,000 El Rees So cigars. The cor- responding figures of output for subsequent years have been: 1914, 975,000; 1915, 2,445,000; 1916, 7,889,000, and 1917, 15,000,000 cigars. The fac- tory is equipped with all modern appliances and implements, is thoroughly sanitary in its arrange- ments and facilities, and. the popularity of the products is by no means confined to the home State of North Carolina.
Mr. Rees married in September, 1909, Miss Ethel McDowell, daughter of J. C. McDowell, and member of a prominent family of North Carolina. Mr. and Mrs. Rees have one daughter, named Hazel. Mr. Rees is well known in busi- ness circles in Greensboro, is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, and is affiliated with the Knights of the Maccabees and the Improved Order of Red Men.
ASA BIGGS, who before he was fifty years of age had filled nearly every office in the gift of the people of his state-including United States Senator, Judge of the District Federal Court, Judge of the Supreme Court of the State-was born in Martin County, North Carolina, February 4, 1811, and died at Norfolk, Virginia, March 6, 1878. His father, Joseph Biggs, was a small merchant and preacher of the Primitive Baptist Church, and gave to his children all the elements of education to the extent of his ability.
Asa Biggs attended Williamston Academy, which his father had helped to found in 1820. His physical and mental powers rapidly matured and at the age of fifteen he was giving a good account of himself in commercial affairs. His am- bition to become a real lawyer caused him to fore- go the attractions and profits of commercial life, and by reading and study at home he was qualified to practice law in July, 1831, when not yet twen- ty-one years of age. He soon had an extensive practice and one that paid him liberally according to the standards of the day. He was a man of
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utmost simplicity in tastes, and always lived well within the limits of his income. June 26, 1832, he married Miss Martha Elizabeth Andrews. One of his sons was Hon. J. Crawford Biggs, a former president of the North Carolina State Bar Asso- ciation. He and his brother Henry both became Confederate soldiers, the former attaining the rank of captain and Henry being killed at Appo- mattox the day before Lee surrendered.
In early life Asa Biggs left the party of his forefathers and became a democrat. In 1835 he was elected to the Constitutional Convention and was the youngest member of that body. He was chosen a member of the House of Commons in 1840 and 1842. During the campaign of 1842 he gave a striking illustration of his courage and inde- pendence by refusing to treat the voters with liquor, which for years had been an unbroken custom in practically every election in the South. Contrary to the expectations of his friends and advisers his course proved a popular one and he was elected. In 1844, after a three cornered cam- paign, he was elected to the State Senate and in 1845 was nominated for Congress, and after a remarkable campaign against one of the foremost whigs of the day was elected by a narrow margin. He went into the United States Congress when only thirty-four years of age, but quickly im- pressed his ability and was regarded as one of the leaders in the National Legislature. In 1847 he was a candidate for re-election and then for the first time tasted political defeat.
Asa Briggs shared with Judge B. F. Moore the credit for the great task of revising the statutes of North Carolina known as the Revised Code of 1854. During that year he was a member of the General Assembly, which owing to the failure of the previous Legislature to elect a United States Senator had the responsibility of electing two can- didates to represent North Carolina in that body. Without any solicitation on his part or active effort to influence the Legislature in any way he was chosen for the six year term, and became a member of the United States Senate at the age of forty-three. He was a leader in a number of debates involving the momentous questions of sla- very, and throughout expressed his decided con- victions as to state's rights. Mr. Biggs resigned his seat in the United State Senate in 1858 to accept appointment from President Buchanan as judge of the United States District Court in North Carolina. This court, which had fallen into con- siderable disesteem through the age and ill health of its previous incumbent, Judge Biggs at once reorganized and made thoroughly efficient. He sent his letter of resignation to President Lincoln in April, 1861, and under the newly organized Con- federate Government was appointed and commis- sioned judge of the Confederate Government Dis- trict Court April 15, 1862. That office he held until the surrender of Lee at Appomattox.
After the war Judge Biggs practiced for sev- eral years at Tarboro. In the spring of 1869 he was one of the signers of a document drawn up by a number of North Carolina lawyers as a protest against what they regarded as improper interfer- ence in political affairs by the judges of the Su- preme Court. Then followed the historic rule adopted by the Supreme Court calling upon the signers of the protest to show cause why they should not be attached for contempt and requir- ing that each protestant should duly apologize before being permitted to practice again in the court. Judge Biggs had signed the protest with
characteristic deliberation and rather than accept the penalty imposed by the court voluntarily ex- patriated himself from the state and from its bar. Afterwards he wrote: "Nothing ever gave me more pain than my removal from North Carolina in 1869." He moved to Norfolk, Virginia, taking up the practice of law anew when nearly sixty years of age, and remained there until his death nine years later.
JOHN WASHINGTON STEWART is one of the fore- most capitalists and business directors at New- bern, from which city his interests extend to many outside corporations and enterprises. He has exhibited some of the real leadership in in- dustrial affairs and his success has been worthily and honorably won. His early life was not with- out struggle and overcoming of obstacles in order to develop his abilities. For some years he was a farmer and from the cultivation of the soil
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