USA > North Carolina > History of North Carolina: North Carolina biography, Volume VI > Part 30
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ette-making machine, he invented a tobacco-stem- ming machine, and both of these he sold to the great tobacco manufacturing corporations. Many other minor inventions related to the tobacco manu- facture. He also invented the darner for the sewing machine. Captain Underwood died at Fay- etteville in 1907, but his name will always be mentioned among the great American inventors of the past century.
JAMES ALEXANDER SEXTON, M. D. The follow- ing is one of those life stories that serve to en- rich the pages of North Carolina's history. His was a distinctive personality, a career of wonder- ful vitality and service, one inspired by high ideals, conscientious devotion to duty, and a faithfulness in all things that leaves a name long to be re- spected and honored.
James Alexander Sexton was born near Lilling- ton, Harnett County, North Carolina, September 24, 1844, and died in the same county January 7, 1914. He was educated in the common schools then in existence. When a mere youth he volun- teered in the Confederate army, and no braver or more faithful boy ever left his home for the army. He could be relied upon in all the duties and dangers of a soldier and soon gained the love and esteem of the officers and men in his command. When the war was over he returned to his home in Harnett County and engaged in the ordinary pursuits of life, holding offices of trust in his county when only a mere boy.
Later he studied medicine and was graduated with high honors from the University of Mary- land in 1872. He became a really great physi- cian. What distinguishes the great physician from the mass of practitioners and those who merely administer medicine is the power of insight and judgment which presents an analysis as perfect as human mind can make it of a patient's con- dition. Such an analysis is of course a prerequi- site of every physician's action and advice, but it is when the analysis takes on the character of a broad and comprehensive survey of physical, pathological and psychic conditions that it truly amounts to diagnosis. Doctor Sexton was rated as one of the most noted diagnosticians of his time. He was endowed with clearness of vision, lucidity of thought, and thoroughness of judg- ment that made his opinions in his chosen profes- sion of the highest value. From his entrance into medical college his gift of diagnosis was a marvel to his confreres and in later life amounted to genius. After graduation he practiced his pro- fession for several years in Harnett County, later moving to Apex, North Carolina, and still later to Raleigh, where he practiced for over thirty years, making a reputation second to none. He was one of the most skilled surgeons of his day, and was also one of the first physicians in the South to use carbolic acid internally.
The result of his intellect and industry fixed his status in the medical body of his city as a man of acknowledged ability, usefulness and uncom- mon skill. And he was always distinguished by sympathy, exhaustive research. precision, severe analysis and discrimination, unflagging interest toward the suffering .. Fortunate indeed were the patients who called him in as their physician. If he had been content with ordinary practice, leav- ing the care to nurses, and had not labored so con- sistently and earnestly, going without relaxation from one patient to another, and concentrating his powers intensely upon them, his physical con-
stitution, naturally strong, and with habits of life so simple, would have enabled him to pro- long his useful medical career many years. Judged by his robust appearance at the close of the year 1901 he seemed as little likely as any one to fall a victim to overwork, but in that year failing health brought him the admonition that nature re- volted against the constant transgression of her laws.
When nature began to revolt from lack of sleep and constant vigilance over his large circle of patients, he entered the lumber business in the fall of 1901. Moving to Fuquay Springs, he entered that business with Mr. T. B. Renalds, who assumed the active supervision. This partner- ship was ideal. Each man was a complement of the other. Doctor Sexton supplied initiative, courage to take great risk.and a strong will to combat obstacles, while Mr. Renalds possessed executive ability of high order. Together they built up a business in face of odds that meant defeat to many men. They bought Fuquay Springs and 2,000 acres of land from the proceeds of the lumber business, which is still carried on under the name J. A. Sexton Lumber Company at Harnett, to which town Doctor Sexton later re- moved and lived close to his childhood home at the time of his death. As a lumberman the work in the open, midst the sweet smelling pines, great- ly benefited him. The facility with which he could turn from one type of work to another wholly dif- ferent was one of his most notable gifts.
It is only in rough outline that this sketch can note the original capacities and their develop- ment, the strong will power and intense devotion to work, the high moral qualities and principles, early struggles and final successes, the conflicts and triumphs that make up and fill out the well rounded career of Doctor Sexton. Mention might be made of the fact that he was educated in the common schools in the early days. But in the making of his career there were involved many other qualities, including patience and courage, toils and trials in overcoming early disadvantages, and a tremendous amount of physical and mental exertion in acquiring the splendid intellectual equipment which he exhibited. He read books for what he could get out of them that could be turned into practical account, and he studied men and things as well as books. His favorite pastime was literature, in which he showed talents as marked as in his chosen profession. Doctor Sexton con- tributed to the leading medical journals of his time. These sketches and his short verses are gems. Anything that he cared to remember he wrote in verse. His writings were a spontaneous expression of personal feelings, simple, direct, with always a tracery of correct English. Had his life been less practically busy he would have been one of the sweet singers of the South.
He was a strong man full of resources, conscious of his power, self reliant, and in self-help he put his chief dependence. He knew his own capacity for work, had faith in the strong fibre of his mind and body; and withal was very modest as to per- sonal vainglory and never sought public recog- nition in any way. He was essentially a practical man and reason in all things was his guide. Doctor Sexton did not practice his profession for financial gains. He had a positive aversion to sending bills to a patient who had suffered the tortures of the flesh. He made it a rule never to charge a widow or an orphan. One special object of his liberality was the Methodist Orphanage at Raleigh. He had
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his own standard of the proper conduct between man and man. That standard was founded on a sound morality, which he lived up to scrupulously and consistently. He was plain, direct and unos- tentatious rugged in his honesty as he was blunt in his address. He was often brusque, sometimes to his detriment, and he never affected the ac- complishments that did not belong to his nature.
Doctor Sexton loved Fuquay Springs with a love begotten of the sacrifice he had made for it. His dream during his declining years was to make of its healing waters a place where the suffering might be benefited, and that the medicinal qual- ities of this wonderful water might be free to the needy. His dream was not fulfilled, but there was probably never a time in his later years when the project was altogether out of his mind. He gave very liberally to all improvements at Fuquay Springs. He donated the lots on which the Metho- dist and' Baptist churches were built and con- tributed largely to their building. He gave a lot for the Presbyterian Church and also presented the town with ground for a cemetery. There were many other worthy objects that owed much to his liberality. In that and other communities, when the hour for his going struck a rude shock was felt, and the memory of his kindness and useful- ness is not likely soon to be dissipated. Those whose thoughts and affections still revert to him daily recall his greatness, rejoice for a heart that lavished its benefactions on the poor and suffering, and derive special satisfaction from the fact that he lived fully and then entered into "an inher- itance incorruptible, undefiled and that faded not away." If his epitaph were limited to a single sentence in accord with his modest life work it would be, "' A friend to the suffering."
COLL H. SEXTON, M. D. It is not possible to proportionate credit in exact measure to the vari- ous individuals who have been concerned in the upbuilding and enrichment of any particular community. It is generally known that the eastern section of Harnett County, particularly the region around Dunn, is today one of the richest parts of North Carolina and from the agricultural stand- point, and that point of development has been attained in comparatively recent years. No one would question the assertion that a considerable share of the personal credit for the improvement of the rural districts and their present high stand- ards and also the growth and development of Dunn as the market and civic center of this region belongs to Dr. Coll H. Sexton, who has been in the practice of medicine there almost from the time Dunn took its place as one of the stations along the main line of the Atlantic coast line.
Doctor Sexton has doubtless responded to the urge of patriotic loyalty in some part of his exer- tions, since he is himself a native of Harnett Coun- ty, born four miles east of Lillington in 1856. His family connections are of the very best and the stanchest stock of North Carolina. His par- ents were William M. and Mary (McLean) Sex- ton. The Sextons are English, and on coming from their native land settled at Wilmington, North Carolina, and gradually extended throughout the Cape Fear region to Harnett and other counties. Doctor Sexton on his mother's side is of Scotch ancestry. His maternal grandmother was a Mc- Allister, a name famous in the Scotch history of Eastern North Carolina. One of the founders of this family was Colonel Alexander McAllister, whose name appears in frequent and honored asso-
ciations with the colonial and revolutionary his- tory of the state. He served as an officer in the Revolutionary War, and was one of the founders of the state government following the Declaration of Independence.
Doctor Sexton grew up on his father's planta- tion in Harnett County. When the facilities of the local schools had been exhausted he took up the study of medicine under the late Dr. John McKay. Later he took the full medical course in the University of Maryland at Baltimore, where he graduated with the class of 1890. Only two years before a branch line of railway had been con- structed through Harnett County, now part of the main system of the Atlantic Coast Line, and Dunn had been established as a village. This community Doctor Sexton chose as his first prac- tice and has been there continuously for over twenty-five years, attending patiently and skill- fully to the needs of a large general practice, and throughout his part has been that of a construc- tive factor, building up and restoring sick bodies, spreading the ideals of preventive sanitary science, and also working side by side with other business men in promoting the interests of the city and surrounding country.
Doctor Sexton is a director of the First National Bank of Dunn, but aside from his professional practice his interests are chiefly represented in extensive land holdings, some of which are the scene of model and intensive operations at farm- ing. One of his farms comprises 800 acres and is two miles east of Buie's Creek, another, also of 800 acres, is situated on the Raleigh-Fayette State Road between Buie's Creek and Lillington, and about four miles east of Lillington, 175 acres, is the old Sexton homestead.
Doctor Sexton is a man of high standing in his profession and former president of the Harnett Fourty Medical Society. He is a deacon in the Presbyterian Church and in politics a democrat. In 1898 he married Miss Irene Mckay, daughter of Daniel McNeill Mckay. Mrs. Sexton died in 1900.
MAJOR L. CARSON SINCLAIR, who has relations with a number of prominent characters in North Carolina history, is a thoroughly trained lawyer by profession, but gave up the law in order to give his whole time and energy to the business of furniture manufacturer at High Point in Guil- ford County, where he resides. Many of the older residents of North Carolina will welcome a notice in this connection of his distinguished father and grandfather, both of whom were in their time useful as well as distinguished citizens.
Rev. John C. Sinclair, the grandfather. was born on the Island of Tyree, Argyleshire, Scotland, where his ancestors had lived for several generations, a strong and virile race of Scots. He possessed a fine mind and the courageous and direct character of his people. These natural qualifications were improved by a most liberal education. He attended the University of Glasgow, the University of Edin- burg, and several theological seminaries of Scot- land. Rev. Mr. Sinclair married Miss Julia Mac- Lean. of another noted family of Scotland. Their marriage was celebrated by Rev. Alexander Fraser, a noted theologian and divine of the Scotch Presbyterian Church. In this connection it will not be out of place to mention the fact that the wife of Major L. C. Sinclair is a direct de- scendant of that noted Scotch theologian.
In 1838 Rev. John C. Sinclair brought his wife
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and family to the American continent. His first location was at Pictou in Nova Scotia. Later he lived at Newburyport, Massachusetts. Still later he was at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and became minister of a Presbyterian Church in that city. Pittsburgh and vicinity is of course a noted strong- hold of Scotch Presbyterianism. In 1858 Rev. Mr. Sinclair came to North Carolina as minister of his church, and was especially active in Cumberland County and in the Cape Fear section. He was a mau of remarkable force, of deep piety and his convincing authority made him a power for good and in the constructive religious influences of a large district. His scholarship equalled his re- ligious fervor. He preached to the Scotch Pres- byterians of this state not only in English but also in Gaelic. His first charge was Galatia in Cumberland County, where he installed a church in 1859. From there he carried the Gospel to numer- ous other and often far distant communities. His name appears prominently in North Carolina his- tory, particularly in the history of the church. Late in life Rev. Mr. Sinclair removed to Wheel- ing, West Virginia, where one of his daughters lived, and he died there.
During the period of the war and the years that followed North Carolina had hardly a more interesting figure, and certainly not one of more positive convictions and personal fearlessness and courage, than the late Col. Peter J. Sinclair, father of the High Point business man. Colonel Sinclair was born on the Island of Tyree, Argyle- shire, Scotland. in 1837, and was brought to America when a year old. Much of his early boy- hood was spent in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he attended school. His inclination was for com- mercial lines and as a boy he acquired considerable training as clerk in a local store. He acquired an expert knowledge of goods and salesmanship. When, a few years before the war, he came to Fayetteville, Cumberland County, North Carolina, he established a newspaper known as the North Carolinian and remained its editor until the break- ing out of the war.
Though he had been in the South only a few years he readily threw his fortunes with his home state and volunteered his services to the Con- federacy. He went out as captain of Company-A from Fayetteville in the Fifth North Carolina Regiment of Volunteers. This regiment was formed in the camp of instruction at Halifax, North Carolina, in July, 1861, and at the close of the same month took part in the great battle of Manassas or Bull Run. In the winter of 1861-62 he was promoted to the rank of major. About that time his regiment was assigned to duty in Early's Brigade. He and his regiment won un- dying fame by gallant conduct at the battle of Williamsburg in May, 1862. Colonel Sinclair in that battle had a horse shot from under him, but he led his men in charge and counter charge and his regiment occupied the pivotal point in the battle. For his conspicuous bravery on that field he was promoted to lieutenant colonel in command of the regiment. He led it; in the battle of Seven Pines and in the series of battles around Richmond while the regiment was part of the brigade com- manded by General D. H. Hill. In December, 1862. Colonel Sinclair led his regiment into Maryland and stood with General Hill in the grand stand made at South Mountain, where this part of the Confederate army saved the day and fought against heavy odds. It will be recalled that the
Confederate forces were divided and made their stand against superior forces.
Soon after the battles around South Mountain Colonel Sinclair resigned from his position in the army and returned to Fayetteville. It is due to his record as a soldier to speak briefly of the rea- sons which brought about his resignation. Even in the grim processes of warfare there are personal factors. Colonel Sinclair was not only a brave soldier but the independent spirit which made him the idol of his followers did not hesitate to ex- press his independent convictions on matters of public policy. Through his newspaper and in other ways he had criticised the administration of President Jefferson Davis. Such criticism could not be entirely forgotten even though his gallant personal services as a soldier entitled him to con- tinued promotion. Thus he was practically super- seded in the command of his regiment, and feeling that his further usefulness in the army was ended or at least seriously handicapped he resigned his commission and returned to Fayetteville.
His bold independent spirit was well illustrated during the two or three years of his residence at Fayetteville. He had resumed the editorship of the North Carolinian, and at the beginning of the reconstruction period he refused to be dismayed by the military domination which seized and paralyzed all civic activities. He spoke through his paper with the utmost frankness and candor his very unfavor- able and condemnatory views of the reconstruction- ists. His utterances were often exceedingly bitter. Such was his personal character and ability, how- ever, that he was never brought to book for these utterances. His scathing attacks ou reconstruction measures are still well remembered by old timers in Cumberland County and Fayetteville.
As far back as history goes the Sinclair clan of Scotland and its representatives in America have produced men of fighting blood. One of Col. Peter J. Sinclair's brothers was Col. James Sinclair. He was a Presbyterian minister and active in his work in North Carolina when the war broke out. He enlisted in the Fifth North Caro- lina Regiment, was made chaplain, but not being satisfied with the duties of that position, at the first battle of Manassas in July, 1861, he grasped a sword and got into the actual conflict. He assisted in rallying his regiment and acted with such conspicuous bravery that he was personally complimented by General Longstreet, who pre- sented him with a sword. A short time later Rev. James Sinclair was elected colonel of the Thirty- fifth North Carolina Infantry and thus became a fighting officer instead of a praying chaplain.
After giving up the editorial management of the North Carolinian at Fayetteville, Col. P. J. Sinclair removed to Charlotte, where he was a mer- chant, and subsequently went to Gaston County and followed farming. While a young man at Pittsburg he studied law and he was licensed to practice in that profession. However, he did not avail himself of this profession until he removed to Marion. the county seat of McDowell County, in 1870. Thereafter he attained rank as one of the leading lawyers in North Carolina. He was especially strong as a lawyer in land and eject- ment cases. Through his work in that specialty he won wide renown. One of the notable land cases in which he was granted a decision was the famous case Duggan vs. Mckesson. This was de- cided by the North Carolina Supreme Court. Colonel Sinclair was general counsel for the old
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C. C. & C. Railroad, now part of the Southern System. He was twice married. At Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he married Miss Ellen Arthur, daughter of John Arthur of that city. She died at Fayetteville about the close of the war. In 1874 at Marion, Colonel Sinclair married Miss Margaret Carson. She was a member of the well known Carson family of McDowell County, North Carolina, and a daughter of the late J. L. Carson, a prominent farmer in the Pleasant Garden com- munity.
Major L. Carson Sinclair was born at Marion, McDowell County, North Carolina, November 6 1883, a son of Col. Peter J. and Margaret (Carson) Sinclair. His mother is still living. He was reared and educated at Marion, attending the public schools there and later the Agricultural and Mechanical College and the State University. Three months before attaining his majority Major Sinclair was licensed to practice law and was granted a special certificate for proficiency in the law course prescribed at the university. He began his career as a lawyer and as special counsel for the C. C. and C. Railway bought most of the right of way and passed on the titles to the road- bed of this railroad through North Carolina.
On December 19, 1905, Major Sinclair married Miss Isla Myrtle Fraser, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. H. W. Fraser.
In 1906, the year after his marriage, Major Sinclair removed to High Point and has since been actively associated with Mr. Fraser in the Myrtle Desk Company. Major Sinclair is now secretary and treasurer of this company, giving the enterprise his entire attention. He gains his title as a member of Governor Craig's staff with the rank of major. Major Sinclair has taken an active part in public affairs, has served on the Board of Aldermen and as secretary of the School Board. In 1915 he was elected exalted ruler of the High Point Lodge of Elks. In 1917 he was appointed district deputy of the Elks for North Carolina.
Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair are the parents of three children : Carson Fraser, Henry Maclean and Ira Hayworth Sinclair.
L. MACON MICHAUX, postmaster of Goldsboro, has had a long and active business career and for a number of years was president and general manager of the leading wholesale grocery estab- lishment.
He was born in Franklin County, North Car- olina, September 27, 1856, a son of Rev. John L. and Sarah (Macon) Michaux. His father, who died at the age of seventy-three, was one of North Carolina's pioneer newspaper editors and publishers. He established the first daily paper at Goldsboro, called the Daily Workman. Dur- ing the war he conducted the Messinger and Har- binger. In 1874 he established the Central Pro- testant, an organ of the Methodist Church, and was long active in behalf of that denomination.
L. Macon Michaux was educated in private schools and in his father's printing houses. From 1883 to 1910 he was a traveling salesman, and in the latter year became president of the whole- sale grocery business in Goldboro whose destinies he has since conducted with such creditable suc- cess and energy. Mr. Michaux was appointed postmaster of Goldsboro in 1913.
He has long exercised a large influence in the democratic party in this state and among other positions of trust he has filled was that of direc- Vol. V1 -8
tor of the North Carolina Railway, having been appointed by Governor Aycock.
Mr. Michaux was married in 1892 to Loulie Miller, daughter of Dr. John G. Miller. They are the parents of three children: Sarah Borden, Mary Louise and Edward Randolph. The son, who was a sergeant in the North Carolina Na- tional Guards, and has had one year in the Vir- ginia Military School, is a first lieutenant in the Sixtieth Regular Army and now at the front in France. The family are active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
JAMES MARSHALL BROWNING. In the develop- ment of Burlington during the last twenty years as one of the prominent mill centers of North Car- olina, one of the chief individual factors has been James Marshall Browning, who has served the cotton mill interests and the industrial and civic life of that community in many different capac- ities but always usefully and faithfully not only to his own success and advancement but to the wel- fare of all the interests and people whom his life has touched.
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