USA > North Carolina > History of North Carolina: North Carolina biography, Volume VI > Part 51
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104
JAMES LEE CROWELL is one of the oldest active lawyers of Cabarrus County and has been con- tinuously in practice at Concord since 1888. Mr. Crowell is a man of high professional connections and has both in and out of his profession found many opportunities to serve the public welfare.
He was born in Stanly County, near New Lon- don, North Carolina, September 26, 1863, a son of Thomas J. and Margaret (Garmon) Crowell. The family in Stanly County has had its home there for a long period of years. Mr. Crowell's father was boru there and it was also the home of his grandfather David Crowell, while his great- grandfather, also named David, was a native of Halifax County, North Carolina, and served as a Revolutionary soldier from that county.
As to the name Crowell an interesting account of the origin is found in Wheeler's History of North Carolina. This history quotes from the old "Annalist" of Philadelphia. According to this account, which has been thoroughly sub- stantiated by the Crowell descendants, two brothers of Oliver Cromwell, fleeing from their native country to avoid the political storm and stress that was the aftermath of the Cromwell Protectorate, came to America and settled in New Jersey. While en route, fearing persecution from the adherents
of Charles II, then on the English throne, they resolved to change their name. This they accom- plished by an interesting ceremony. Each wrote his name on a piece of paper and each cut there- from the letter M aud cast it into the sea.
A number of years before the outbreak of the Revolutionary war two brothers of the family, John and Edward Crowell, emigrated from Woolbridge, New Jersey, to Halifax county, North Carolina. From one of them was descended David Crowell, great-grandfather of the Concord lawyer.
Mr. Crowell's father, Thomas J. Crowell, lived on a large farm and was a farmer, but for many years was also engaged in operations as a gold miner in Stanly county. The Crowell mine, of which he was owner and operator, was one of the most celebrated of North Carolina's deposits of the yellow metal for many years. He owned a thou- sand acres of land, and on different parts of it found gold.
James Lee Crowell had an education in the com- mon schools of his home locality and also in the University of North Carolina. He studied in the University Law School and was admitted to the bar in 1888, beginning practice in Concord the same year. Mr. Crowell is a fine lawyer, enjoys a large practice in the Superior State and Federal Courts, and has served as Mayor of Concord and discharged other duties consistent with his role as a public spirited citizen, among which he built the first public sewerage system for the City of Concord, and later took the leading part in dredg- ing the principal streams in Cabarrus County, re- sulting in reclaiming thousands of acres of wet abandoned land, now producing fine crops and almost eliminating malaria in Concord and along these streams.
Mr. Crowell married Miss Minnie Lee Mauney, daughter of Valentine Mauney. Valentine Mauney was also one of the noted gold miners in the early days of Gold Hill in Rowan County. He was born in Lincoln County and was a member of the well known Mauney family of that section, but spent many years of his life as a gold miner in Stanly and Rowan counties. He was at one time a mem- ber of the mining firm of Barnhardt & Mauney at Gold Hill. Wheeler's History, already quoted, tells that during the period from January, 1843, to July, 1851, this firm took out two hundred thousand dollars worth of gold ore from that de- posit.
Mr. and Mrs. Crowell have reared a very inter- esting family of eleven children: Nannie L., wife of T. C. Newman; Lieutenant J. Lee, Jr., who volunteered in May, 1917, and served in France in the World war with Company G, 321st Infan- try, 81st Division, United States Army; Katherine, wife of P. B. Raeford, Jr .; Miss Valda Mauney Crowell; Miss Mary Davis Crowell; Ruth Crowell; Minnie Lois Crowell; Theresa Crowell; Eleanor Crowell; Sarah Crowell and David Crowell.
PLEASANT DANIEL GOLD. Very generally the professions offer interesting subjects for bi- ography because of achievement. Intellectual development is theirs, and a preacher, doctor, law- yer or journalist pretty surely has seen life from a different angle than the everyday man, and hence a great part of his interest for others, be his personality known or otherwise, particularly if his life and work have been of beneficial in- fluence.
Among the state's highest citizenship stands Pleasant Daniel Gold, preacher, author and
189
HISTORY OF NORTH CAROLINA
journalist, who for forty years has been the able editor of Zion's Landmark, at Wilson, North Carolina, the leading publication of the Primitive Baptist Church in North Carolina. Elder Gold is also at the head of the P. D. Gold Publishing Company, at Wilson, which issues the Daily Times and Semi-Weekly Times.
Pleasant Daniel Gold was born in 1833 but time has touched him gently. His parents were Milton and Martha (Fortune) Gold. His grand- father, Daniel Gold, was born in Virginia and came from there to North Carolina in 1800 and settled in Rutherford County, and his great-great- grandfather was born in England and came to America in 1740, and the name is a familiar one in the British Isles today.
Born on his father's farm, the outlook of the youth was for a future devoted to agricultural pursuits, but nature endowed him with a high ambition which carried with it a craving for knowledge and a longing for wider paths of activity and usefulness. He remained in the home environment as a dutiful son until twenty years of age. A very ordinary accident prevented him doing farm work at this time and made it possible for him to go out into the work.
Being practically without capital, he had quite a struggle to secure the educational training he had determined upon. By using a small sum of money loaned to him by a friend, he was enabled to attend a school in Shelby, North Carolina, and soon after began the study of law in the office of Hon. A. B. Burton, a prominent attorney of that section. In 1856 he was licensed to practice at the bar. For several years he was located in Shelby, North Carolina and Morganton, North Carolina, enjoying a considerable practice. Dur- ing a part of this period he acted as solicitor for one of the Western North Carolina districts. Opposing him in many legal battles was young Zebulon B. Vance, afterward the famous war governor and senator. This acquaintance ripened into a very warm friendship which continued until the death of Senator Vance many years after.
Mr. Gold later became the law partner of Hon. John W. Ellis, afterwards elected governor of North Carolina. His professional future seemed secure.
About this time, however, a decided change in viewpoint was experienced and he became con- vinced that it was his duty to proclaim the "un- searchable riches" of the Lord Jesus Christ rather than to defend legal clients. He felt a call to preach and did not hesitate. After spend- ing several years in Furman University, Green- ville, South Carolina, he entered the Southern Bap- tist Theological Seminary. During the early '60s he was stationed at Goldsboro, North Carolina, being pastor of his church at that place.
He remained with the New School, or Mission- ary Baptist denomination for several years, being a very acceptable minister and pastor. About 1870 he became dissatisfied about some points of doc- trine and felt called upon to change his denomi- national affiliation. This he did, joining the Old School or Primitive Baptist Church, at Old Kehu- kee Church in Halifax County, North Carolina. It was an unusual occasion, in that he joined the church, was baptized, ordained as a minister and preached a sermon all on the same day. Nothing could better illustrate the depth and strength of conviction which this move indicated and which has characterized the entire life of Elder Gold.
Since 1870 he has been elder of the Primitive Baptist Church, preaching as Holy Writ com-
manded, compensated only by that which comes to one who feels he has done his full duty. His pastoral services were given freely, "without money and without price."'
From early manhood Elder Gold has wielded a ready pen. Probably his collected writings would fill several books, but his literary activities have been largely in connection with the editorial duties of Zion's Landmark, a publication which circu- lated largely among the members and friends of his church. One published volume, "A Treatise on the Book of Joshua" has been widely read and enjoyed.
For nearly fifty years Elder Gold has faith- fully held the policy of his paper, Zion's Land- mark, to the advocacy of "The Old Paths which our Fathers have set." He has contributed largely to other publications and as a writer and speaker of pure English he has enjoyed a wide reputation.
For over a generation Mr. Gold has been among the leaders of benevolent movements in his sec- tion in his state. His position in his church has given him a peculiarly strong place for helpful- ness in his state in many things. In times of stress he has been called upon to use his in- fluence in matters of state-wide importance, political and otherwise. While absolutely non- partisan, he has always been willing to throw himself into the breach when righteousness or morality seemed at stake, trusting to the right- eousness of the cause and to the confidence in which he was so generally held.
Elder Gold was married in 1863, at Goldsboro, North Carolina, to Miss Julia Pipkin, who lived with him to celebrate their golden wedding. Eleven children were born to this couple. Four of these died in infancy. The following survive: John D. Gold, Wilson, North Carolina; Mrs. Richard Winstead, Mullins, South Carolina: Joseph M. Gold, Wilson, North Carolina; Charles W. Gold, Greensboro, North Carolina; P. D. Gold, Jr., New York City; Mrs. Williams Spicer, Goldsboro, North Carolina and Mrs. Gilbert W. Clark, High Point, North Carolina.
In 1916 Elder Gold married Mrs. Eugenia A. Burton, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
JOHN CARLISLE KILGO, former president of Trin- ity College and a bishop of the Methodist Epis- coval Church. South, has been prominently iden- tified with educational and religious activities in the Carolinas for over thirty-five years.
He was born in Laurens, South Carolina, July 22. 1861, son of James T. and Catherine (Mason) Kilgo. He acquired a liberal education from various schools and varied experiences, and was ordained to the ministry of his church in 1882. From 1889 to 1894 he served as agent of Wofford College at Spartanburg, South Carolina, and was professor of philosophy in that college from 1890 to 1894. He holds the degree Master of Arts from Wofford College, awarded in 1892, and that college and Randolph-Macon College conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Divinity in 1895. He holds the degree of LL. D. from Tulane Uni- versity, New Orleans, Louisiana.
The service by which he is chiefly identified with North Carolina was as president of Trinity College at Durham from 1894 to 1910. In May, 1910, he was elected bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Bishop Kilgo served as a delegate to the General Conferences of 1894, 1898, 1902, 1906 and 1910, in 1901 was a delegate to the Ecumenical Methodist Conference at London and
ยท
190
HISTORY OF NORTH CAROLINA
in 1911 to the sessions held in Toronto, Canada. In 1904 he was fraternal delegate from the Metho- dist Episcopal Church, South, to the Methodist Episcopal Church. Bishop Kilgo's residence is at Charlotte. December 20, 1882, he married Fannie Turner.
LESLIE WEIL. The mercantile interests of Goldsboro grow more and more important every year and greatly add to the city 's reputation as a reliable commercial center. These interests are largely in the hands of honorable, progressive business men experienced in merchandising; busi- ness acumen, foresight, and good judgment control their activities. The profits which accrue are the results of stable, legitimate business transactions. One of the representative merchants of this city . ways and means of putting himself through col- is Leslie Weil, who is prominent also in other directions.
Leslie Weil was born at Goldsboro, North Car- olina, June 29, 1876. His parents are Henry and Mina (Rosenthal) Weil. For many years the fa- ther has been a substantial business man at Goldsboro.
Leslie Weil received his early educational train- ing in the public schools of his native city after this entering the University of North Carolina, from which he was graduated in 1895. He has pre- served a lively interest in the university board of trustees. Well prepared for any line of endeavor, Mr. Weil chose a business career and became associated with his father and uncles in a gen- eral mercantile business. He has since become identified with additional interests, among which are the Goldsboro Ice Company, of which he is secretary, and the Goldsboro Savings and Trust Company, of which he is a member of the directing board, and vice president of the Goldsboro Electric Railway Company, organized in 1916.
On June 26, 1900, Mr. Weil was united in mar- riage with Miss Hilda Einstein, and they have children as follows: Abram, Hilda, Henry, Mar- garet and Mina. Mr. Weil and family belong to the Hebrew congregation, of which Mr. Weil is president. He is prominent in all.charitable move- ments and his name is found on every list when relief is sought for those affected by calamity either at home or abroad. He is identified with the various benevolent organizations largely made up of Jewish membership.
Mr. Weil's standing in the business world is indicated by his election as president of the Mer- chants' Association. He belongs to the Odd Fel- lows, to the Independent Order of B'nai B'rith and to the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, be- ing a trustee of this body at Goldsboro, and he was elected president of the Goldsboro Chamber of Commerce in 1917. He is one of the useful men of this city, ever ready to co-operate with others to advance the general welfare while ask- ing no personal honors for himself.
IRA MAY HARDY, M. D. There is one profession, that of medicine, which opens to its devotees an exceptionally broad range of usefulness. Its sphere is many-sided, and it embraces such a vast field of knowledge that the successful physician of today must be a man of varied learning. With a record of more than ordinary accomplishments as a physi- cian and surgeon Dr. Ira May Hardy, of Kinston, has been the recipient of high honors which have brought him into positions of grave responsibility. To these he has brought the fruitful results of scholastic training and the understanding sym- pathy of a man of helpful personality, combined
with inherent talents that have made him one of the most potent factors in the advancement of movements that have been nationally progressive in their results.
Doctor Hardy was born July 22, 1874, at La Grange, North Carolina, a son of Jesse H. and Martha Ann (Stanton) Hardy. He comes of Revo- lutionary ancestors, and his father, who was a large land owner. and planter of North Carolina for many years, served the Confederacy during the war between the states. The early education of Doctor Hardy was secured in the Davis Military School, following which he attended La Grange Collegiate Institute. At this time he desired to continue his education further, but as the funds were not forthcoming he was compelled to seek
lege. He entered the North Carolina Agricultural and Mechanical College, where, to pay for his tuition, he accepted such employment as could be found around the college, waiting on table, assist- ing his fellow-students in their studies, and founded the first college book store, and in spite of the fact that a large part of his time had to be spent this way, succeeded in winning the scholar- ship from the Goldsboro District. After leaving that college he entered the University of North Carolina in 1896, and after one year of academic work enrolled in the medical department and spent two years therein. There, again, he worked at various tasks to assist in the payment of his fees, but his record as a student remained exceptionally high. His studies were furthered at the Medical College of Virginia, where he completed three years of work in two years and graduated with his de- gree of Doctor of Medicine in 1901. Subsequently he took post-graduate work at the same institution and at the Good Samaritan Dispensary, New York City, and commenced practice at Washington, North Carolina. While residing there he was united in marriage with Miss Mary Eliza Baynor, Jan- uary 1, 1902, and they have had five children: Hattie, Mary Alice, Martha Stanton, Hulda Truitt and Jesse Edwin.
In 1911 Doctor Hardy was the founder and first superintendent and built the first three build- ings of Caswell Training School, and in July, 1912, came to Kinston to accept the superintendency of the School for the Feeble Minded, a position which he held until February 17, 1914. Since that time he has been engaged in a general medical and surgical practice and has built up a large and im- portant clientele. He keeps abreast of the latest developments in his profession, and is a valued member of the Lenoir County Medical Society, and twice its president, the North Carolina Medi- cal Society, the Seaboard Medical Society, of which he is president, the Tri-State Medical Society, the Southern Medical Association and the American Medical Association. Profoundly interested in public health work, he has devoted much of his time and a large part of his energies to labors of this kind. He is a trustee of Thompson Orphan- age of Charlotte. Numerous honors have come to Doctor Hardy in recognition of his learning, ability and interest in public movements. He was ap- pointed in 1909 by Governor W. W. Kitchin as a delegate to the Second National Peace Congress, held at Chicago; in 1910-11, he was a member of the National River and Harbor Congress, at Wash- ington, D. C .; in 1910 he was a delegate to the Third Annual Convention of the Atlantic Deeper Water Ways Association; in 1911-12 to the Na- tional Conference of Charities and Correction; in 1912 to the National Civic Federation, at Wash-
In M. Hardy M.D.
191
HISTORY OF NORTH CAROLINA
ington, D. C .; and in 1913 was appointed by Governor Locke Craig as a delegate to the South- ern Sociological Congress. In the same year he was again a delegate to the National Conference of Charities and Corrections, appointed by Gov- ernor Craig. He belongs to the Sons of the Ameri- can Revolution, and in 1912, at Boston, Massa- chusetts, represented North Carolina as delegate from this state. Fraternally the doctor is affil- iated with a number of orders, being a Shriner Mason and a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Junior Order of United American Mechanics and the Woodmen of the World.
Mrs. Hardy is a member of the Colonial Dames, tracing back her ancestry to eight who served under the Crown prior to the Revolutionary period. She and her husband belong to Saint Mary's Episcopal Church, in which the doctor is serving as vestryman and church treasurer.
HON. JOHN A. BARNHARDT. Though financially connected with some of the biggest cotton mill in. terests of the state, a man of wealth and prom- inence in North Carolina, Hon. John A. Barnhardt is still content to live in the simple rustic environ- ment which has been the home of the family in Cabarrus County for generations. Mr. Barn- hardt's home is at Pioneer Mills, a place hardly considered on many of the maps of the state, and from there he keeps in touch with his big interests in the cities and milling centers.
While his own career has been one of substantial achievement, there are many interesting facts that can be credited to his family and ancestry. The Barnhardts originated in Baden, near the Black Forest region of Germany. Before coming to America one of them married a Barringer and both the Barnhardts and Barringers were prominent among the pioneers of Cabarrus County. The Bar- ringers produced a number of prominent characters in North Carolina history, including Colonel Paul Barringer of Revolutionary fame and General Rufus Barringer of the Confederacy. During the first two or three generations of the family resi- dence in this country German was the household tongue.
The great-grandfather of Mr. Barnhardt was Mathias Barnhardt, who was born in Philadelphia in 1752 and came to what is now Cabarrus County, North Carolina, about the close of the Revolution- ary war, or possibly earlier. The old Barnhardt home place, where he settled, was near Mount Pleasant.
Mr. Barnhardt's grandfather was Colonel George Barnhardt, who was born near Mount Pleasant in 1791. His title of Colonel came from acting with that rank in the State Militia of North Carolina. In his day he was a man of wealth, prominence and large affairs. He is especially well remembered for his connection as a pioneer in the gold mining industry of North Carolina. He owned and oper- ated for ten years the famous Reed Gold Mine on Meadow Creek in the southeastern part of Cabarrus County. He wrote for Wheeler's History of North Carolina, published in 1851, a sketch of the discov- ery and history of the Reed Mine, which is said to have been the first gold mine in the United States. It seems, to recount this history briefly, that a son of John Reed, whose home was on Meadow Creek, a boy of twelve years old, while out shooting fish accidentally discovered a piece of heavy yellow sub- stance and carried it home to his father, who ex -. amined it, but not knowing of gold in those days did not realize what it was. It was about the size of a "small smoothing iron." It was kept on the
floor in Mr. Reed's house for a number of years, used to hold the door from shutting. In 1802, on going to Fayetteville to buy supplies, he took the piece along and asked a jeweler in Fayetteville to ascertain what it was. The jeweler asked him to leave it and he would flux it, which he did, result- ing in a piece of shining metal in the shape of a bar six or eight inches long. Still Reed did not know what it was. The jeweler asked him what he would take for it, and Reed, somewhat diffi- dently, fearing he was asking too much, said "three dollars and a half,"' and the trade was closed. After returning home Reed examined the surface along the creek and found gold. He then became associated with three of his neighbors in prospecting for and mining gold, and in 1803 they found a piece of gold in the creek that weighed twenty-eight pounds, one of the largest on record. Subsequently numerous nuggets were found weigh- ing from sixteen pounds down to the smallest par- ticle. The whole surface along the creek for nearly a mile was very rich in gold. The veins of the mine were discovered in 1831 and they held a large quantity of ore.
Colonel George Barnhardt married Martha Reed, a daughter of the John Reed mentioned above. After working the Reed mine for ten years, he went to what later was named Gold Hill in the southern part of Rowan County, and became discoverer of the first vein of gold at that place. The shaft to- day is still called Barnhardt Shaft. He began his operations at Gold Hill in 1842, and remained there several years. A statement of the amount of gold found in and about Gold Hill by the different com- panies from January, 1843, to July, 1851, showed that Barnhardt, Mauney & Company, the largest operators, had taken out two hundred thousand dollars worth of ore during that short period. Be- sides this interesting historical connection with gold mining, Colonel George Barnhardt was elected to the General Assembly in 1834, and became a member of the House of Commons on January 1, 1835.
A son of Colonel George and Martha (Reed) Barnhardt was the late Colonel J. C. Barnhardt, who was born near Mount Pleasant, Cabarrus County, in 1826. Going with his father to Gold Hill he became a merchant and miner, but in 1859 removed to Pioneer Mills in the extreme southern part of Cabarrus County and founded a store and general merchandise business, which, expanding and becoming more successful from year to year, brought him a comfortable fortune and made for his children a rich legacy. During the war between the states he served as a Colonel of the Home Guards for Cabarrus County. The last few years of his life were spent in Charlotte, where he died in 1896, and he and his wife are buried in Elm- wood cemetery of that city. Although caring noth- ing for public life, he was in 1872 elected a mem- ber of the State Senate, and served for one ses- sion. He was an unusually successful business man and of the highest type of character.
His wife, Jane Adeline Melchor, was a daughter of Christopher Melchor and of a pioneer German family in Cabarrus County. Christopher Melchor was an influential leader in public and political affairs of the county and state, and was elected to the House of Commons and the State Senate as long as he would consent to his candidacy. He was in the House of Commons as early as 1819, when a very young man, and served until 1823. He was again elected in 1829, 1830 and 1831, and in 1836 was elected State Senator and again filled that position in 1838, 1840 and 1846. When an old
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.