USA > North Carolina > History of North Carolina: North Carolina biography, Volume VI > Part 71
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Mr. Daniels has been twice married. He was married in 1881 to Miss Sallie Potter, daughter of Nathanial Potter of Pamlico. There are three sons of this union. Claude H., Carl L. and Charles A. In 1895 Mr. Daniels married Ruth Hope Fowler. daughter of Stephen H. Fowler. Mr. and Mrs. Daniels have four children : Cecil E .; Nettie Carroll. a student at St. Mary's College in Raleigh; Steven Fowler: and Louis Goodwin, Jr. The sons Carl L. and Cecil E. are both in the United States army.
THOMAS M. ROBERTSON is a North Carolina man who for a quarter of a century has been a resident
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of Washington and continuously identified with some branch of the Federal Government. He. is now special examiner and assistant chief economist for the Federal Trade Commission, a commission which was created by Act of Congress approved September 26, 1914, and is a body sup- planting the former Bureau of Corporations and endowed with general and specific powers of in- vestigation, supervision and regulation of corpo- rations and commerce in general with a special view to the prevention of unfair methods of com- petition.
Mr. Robertson went to Washington from Ran- dolph County, North Carolina. He was born September 27, 1857, in Alamance County, this state, a sen of Michael S. and Lucy Eleanor (Euliss) Robertson, both of Alamance County, and a grandson of Nathaniel Robertson. Mr. Robertson was well educated and was a successful teacher and school administrator before going to Washington. He was at one time principal of the Pleasant Lodge Academy in Alamance County, and later he founded and was principal of the Liberty Academy in Randolph County. After going to Washington he studied and received his LL. B. degree in 1896 from Columbian University, now George Washington University. He also had some experience in public affairs, having repre- sented Randolph County in the Lower House of the State Legislature.
Mr. Robertson went to Washington in 1893 to become assistant chief of division in the Census office. Later he spent some time in the Treasury Department in the Bureau of Internal Reve- nue. He was special agent in the Depart- ment of Labor, and was special examiner in the Bureau of Corporations prior to the creation of the Federal Trade Commission. As special ex- aminer for the Bureau of Corporations Mr. Rob- ertson was in charge of the investigations of water power and the cotton and lumber industries. He was called as an expert to assist the Senate Finance Committee in the tariff legislation of 1913. From 1915 to the time he assumed his present duties he was assistant chief economist and member of the Joint Board of Review for the Federal Trade Commission.
As special examiner and assistant chief econ. omist for the Federal Trade Commission Mr. Robertson has directed several important investi- gations of various national industries in con- nection with the prosecution of the war, among them being the print paper industry, leather in- dustry, boot and shoe industry, cotton seed oil and lard substitute industries. He also continues as a member of the Board of Review (successor to the Joint Board of Review), which board handles all the complaints that come before the commission in regard to unfair practices. .
There are few men better qualified by experience and training to meet and handle the innumerable complexities of national commerce and industry than Mr. Robertson. His services are of especially great importance and value to the country at this time. Since the beginning of the war the matters he has directed from his offices in the Federal Trade Commission Building have kept him con- stantly busy.
Mr. Robertson is a former president of the North Carolina Association of Washington and is a member of the American Economic Associa- tion. He is a democrat in politics, a member of the Baptist Church and of the Masonic Order. He married Miss Sarah Decette Albright, of
Alamance County. They have four children: Capt. Durant W. Robertson, Pearl, Lucy Bell and Lieut. Thomas D. Both their sons are in the army. Captain Durant is a graduate of the Agricultural and Mechanical College at Raleigh and Thomas D. took his literary studies in the Oak Ridge Insti- tute. Both daughters are graduates of the State Normal School.
COL. SAMUEL HILL BOYD is one of North Caro- lina's business men who have been drawn into the larger service of the nation during the past five years. In establishing himself as a man of high ideals, integrity and sound business acumen, Colonel Boyd has done what would be expected of a member of this branch of the Boyd family in North Carolina.
He was born in Reidsville, Rockingham County, North Carolina, on April 15, 1865, and is the eldest son of Col. Andrew Jackson Boyd and Sarah A. (Richardson) Boyd. His father spent his entire life in Rockingham County, and was widely known as a successful banker and one of the ablest lawyers of the state. He served as a lieutenant colonel in the 45th North Carolina Regiment in the war between the states. In every way he was a man of commanding prestige and influence. and his life was one of usefulness. He always took an active interest in public affairs, but had little political ambition; however, during his . early manhood he served as a member of the legis- lature, and under Cleveland's administration he was collector of internal revenue for the Fifth District of North Carolina.
Samuel Hill Boyd completed his education in the Bingham Military School. In 1882 he entered the Bank of Reidsville, of which his father was president and one of the founders. There he quickly qualified himself for advance responsi- bilities in financial detail and management. He served in different capacities and eventually left the bank in order to become cashier under his father in the office of the collector of internal l'evenue.
For ten years, from 1883 to 1893, Mr. Boyd was actively identified with the North Carolina State Guard, and after a rapid rise from the ranks he was commissioned as colonel of the Third Regi- ment of Infantry. During the administration of Governor Alfred Moore Scales he tendered his resignation and retired from military service.
In 1896 Colonel Boyd moved to Greensboro, North Carolina, where he was actively engaged in business until 1913. During the years of his residence in Greensboro he interested himself in the development of the city, and as a member of the Board of Aldermen he rendered valuable ser- vice for years. Upon his resignation as an alder- man the Board attested its appreciation by adopt- ing the following resolution : .
"Resolved: By the Board of Aldermen of the City of Greensboro, N. C., that, while it believes that every member of this Board has done his duty and has given much time and labor freely to the city, the Board wishes especially to record in some way the high estimation in which it holds the services of Colonel S. H. Boyd, who has labored incessantly in looking after the city 's affairs. That he has not only given most freely of his time as chairman and member of some of the most import- ant committees of the Board, but that he has also devoted much of his time to the work of the cemetery as a member of the Cemetery Commission, and that the Board believes that he has merited,
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to the fullest extent, the thanks of his fellow citi- zens.''
Immediately after the passage of the Income Tax Law-the first income tax law to be passed in the United States after the adoption of the Con- stitutional Amendment providing for a tax on in- comes-Colonel Boyd was offered a position by the treasury department, which he at first declined but finally agreed to accept. In October, 1913, he entered the Government service as chief of the Personal Income Tax Division, which division had not been organized at that time. Having an in- herent liking for financial problems, Colonel Boyd, from the time he entered upon his duties in 1913, has been a constant and indefatigable student and investigator of the income tax laws and their administration. He made exhaustive studies not only of the previous attempts at income tax in this country, including the almost forgotten tax of 1864, but also of the income tax laws and systems of administration in England and other European countries. As an expert he appeared before the Senate Finance Committee in its consideration of the amendment of the Income Tax Law and the passage of the Excess Profits Tax Law, and as- sisted in formulating and putting into effect an entirely new system of taxation, a system that is truly epochal in American affairs, as it overcomes prejudices of more than a century's standing, in- . volving the collection of revenue by direct instead of indirect taxation. In the reorganization of the treasury department in 1917 he was made assist- ant Deputy Commissioner of Internal Revenue, and put in charge of the entire income tax and excess profits tax work of the Federal Government. Those who know the quality and quantity of the service he rendered regard as most deserved the tribute paid to him by former Commissioner of Internal Revenue W. H. Osborn, who said: "Mr. S. H. Boyd is not only a man of sterling integrity and excellent business judgment, but I regard him as the best posted man in the United States on the Federal Income Tax Laws."
In January, 1918, Colonel Boyd resigned his position with the Treasury Department in order to accept the presidency of the Federal Tax Ser- vice Corporation, which was organized to meet the demand for expert advice on all federal tax matters. The main offices of this Corporation are in Washington, and its clientele includes individu- als, companies and corporations from all sections of the country.
In 1892-Colonel Boyd was married to Miss Eliza- beth Settle, daughter of the late Judge Thomas Settle, of Greensboro, North Carolina. Judge Settle was one of the most eminent representa- tives of the old colonial stock of North Carolina, and was conspicuous as a lawyer and republican statesman. He was minister to Peru during the Grant administration and was the republican can- didate for governor against Gov. Zebulon Vance in the historic campaign of 1876.
Colonel and Mrs. Boyd have six children: Eliza- beth Settle, Mary Settle, Andrew Jackson, Caro- line Reid, Samuel Hill, Jr., and Thomas Settle.
JAMES ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL. At the beginning of this article it may be well to recall an oft repeated assertion that "an institution is but the lengthened shadow of a man." This does not necessarily mean that the man is more important than the institution, but in the instance now un- der consideration the man is the driving power, the spirit, the life and the means of fulfillment of
the purposes of one of North Carolina's best known educational institutions, the Buie's Creek Academy, and for that reason there need be no apology in mentioning the name of the founder and the principal of this school before the school itself. In fact to those who have followed the fortunes of the school and have appreciated its benefits, the phrase Buie's Creek Academy is in- terchangeable with and synonymous for the name James Archibald Campbell. The school has been a big part in the life of Mr. Campbell and with- out him Harnett County would never have had such a stimulating and valuable institution in its midst.
It is therefore impossible to separate the story of Mr. Campbell's individual career from the his- tory of the school. As Mr. Campbell personally comes first in point of time, it seems reasonable to consider some of the facts of his life and tell something regarding his ancestry. James Archi- bald Campbell was born near the present Town of Angier in Black River Township of Harnett Coun- ty January 13, 1862, son of Rev. Archibald Neill and Humy (Betts) Campbell. Both parents are now deceased and his father was a life-long Bap- tist minister. Professor Campbell's great-great- grandfather, James Campbell, was the founder of the family in North Carolina, a Scotchman in blood but coming to this country from the North of Ireland prior to the Revolutionary war and settling in what is now Harnett County. Some of his descendants have lived in that county ever since. The great-grandfather of the Buie's Creek educator was Ransom Campbell, and the grand- father was also Ransom Campbell.
James A. Campbell was prepared for college at Oakdale Academy, began teaching at the age of eighteen. in 1880, in his home district, and in 1885 entered Wake Forest College, where he was a stu- dent 11/2 years. He did not actually finish his work at Wake Forest until 1911. He was ordained a minister of the Missionary Baptist denomina- tion in 1886 and has been continuously doing pastoral work in addition to his duties as an edu- cator. His first nastorate was at his home place, then known as Hector's Creek Church, and now Chalybeate Springs Church in Harnett County. The founder of this church was the late Rev. Archi- bald Campbell, father of Professor Campbell, and the latter was the first person baptized by his fa- ther. Rev. James A. Campbell now has the pas- toral supervision of four churches, at each of which he preaches twice a month, namely Angier, Buie's Creek and Coats in Harnett County, and Spring Branch Church in Sampson County. Of the lat- ter church he has been pastor twenty-nine years. It is one of the historic churches of the Baptist denomination in North Carolina, and it was within its walls that the noted minister Matthew Yates was ordained. The four churches in Mr. Camp- bell 's pastorate have an aggregate membership of 1,309, and in 1917 they contributed $1,853.78 to missions and $4.960.45 to all purposes.
At this point there should be introduced as a better interpretation and description of Mr. Camp- bell's life and work an editorial which appeared in the Biblical Recorder of April, 1916, written by the editor of that journal, Hight C. Moore. Mr. Moore begins his editorial with the following para- graph :
"A teacher into whose class-rooms have been gathered thousands of students from many states and other lands; a pastor of village. and country
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churches which uniformly have been pleased and prosperous under his ministry; the most influen- tial and useful citizen in his native county of Har- nett, being a prophet with honor in his own coun- try ; a denominational leader whose worth and work are acknowledged afar-James Archibald Camp- bell of Buie's Creek, North Carolina, is a minis- ter and man whose career by a white life, by sac- rificial service, by constructive genius, by inde- fatigable industry, has been and is a career of inspiration. Surely none who knows it or reads it can fail both to emulate and to admire."'
Then Mr. Moore refers to his birth during the dark days of the Civil war on a farm in the north- ern part of Harnett County, and also to the fact that though he came into the world the child of poor parents he inherited good Scotch blood and fine moral principles.
"Like a story runs the record of his efforts for an education. At the age of six he registered in a little subscription school at Harnett Chapel near his home, his first teacher being Mr. A. D. Hol- land, now a resident of Durham-a gentleman of whom he always thinks in fond remembrance. When he was ten he and his father attended to- gether a two months' grammar school, nothing being taught but grammar; they were in the same classes, each studying grammar for the first time, and in the 'cutting down' process on recitation, victory would alternate between father and son.
"It was about this time that the elder Camp- bell began preaching, his first work being at the. Eli Carter schoolhouse near Chalybeate Springs. Here in October, 1872, he organized Hector's Creek (now Chalybeate) Church; the same month he was ordained at the meeting of the Raleigh Association; and his son, the subject of this sketch, not then eleven years of age, was the first person he baptized.
"The boy being the only child (a younger brother having died at three years of age), he and his mother cultivated the farm, while his father worked in the blacksmith shop and preached. They did not own their home, and the churches paid the faithful pastor an aggregate of less than two hundred dollars a year, most of which went right back into the Lord's work, especially in church building, which was greatly needed, as there were then in the county only five Baptist churches with fewer than five hundred members. In this way the sacrificing shepherd began and led in building good houses of worship at Hector's Creek, Baptist Grove, Holly Springs, Averysboro, Pine Forest and New Life (now Angier), besides helping on many others. All this made it impos- sible for the aspiring boy to go to school as he de- sired.
"However," to continue the story of his life as written by Editor Moore, "at the age of sev- enteen he had advanced far enough to begin the study of Latin and in 1880 he went to Apex to school to the late Professor John Duckett, one of the gifted teachers of the time. In the fall of that year he taught his first school; it was near Chaly- beate and the salary was twenty-two dollars and a half a month. After taking special lessons in penmanship he accepted in 1881 a position as teacher of penmanship in Oakdale Academy, Ala- mance County, thus paying his own tuition and a dollar and a half a month on his board; and he taught special classes on Saturdays which enabled him to pay the balance of five dollars a month due
for board. This arrangement continued for two years. In 1884 he was principal of Union Acad- emy near his old home.
"On the day he was twenty-two years of age, he entered Wake Forest College. He could not have gone to college but for the generous and time- ly aid of Mr. Len H. Adams of Raleigh. His fa- ther had for years been a customer of Mr. Adams, coming from his home in Harnett twenty miles through the country. Young Campbell came to Raleigh one day and told Mr. Adams that he wanted to go to college and had no money. Mr. Adams said that he had no money he could lend him, but that he owned several scholarships at Wake Forest which Mr. Campbell could sell and use the money thus secured. Though the Camp- bells owned no land, the son's note with his father as security was accepted. Thus the way was opened to Wake Forest, where two invaluable years were spent.
"But in May, 1886, money failed and the young man began selling 'The Story of the Baptists,' and 'The Story of the Bible' in order to repay the money borrowed and to save the little home bought upon his grandmother's death while he was in college. While canvassing for books he spent a night in the home of the late Mr. William Pear- son in the Buie's Creek neighborhood. When Mr. Campbell was leaving the next morning Mr. Pear- son asked him what he was going to do. Mr. Campbell replied that he had no job except to sell books and serve Hector's Creek, his old home church, to which he had just been called. Mr. Pearson said: 'I wish you could teach in our com- munity. But we have no house.' After Mr. Camp- bell left Mr. Pearson canvassed the community and secured three hundred fifty dollars with which a one-room schoolhouse was erected. Here in Janu- ary, 1887, at the age of twenty-five Mr. Campbell laid the foundations of the great school which stands there today, a monument to his ability and industry.
"On the first Sunday in November, 1886, at tlie meeting of the Little River Association held at Juniper Springs Church, Mr. Campbell was or- dained to the full work of the ministry. To his high calling he has been faithful and true, ren- dering a service as acceptable as it lias been effi- cient. He served Friendship and Mount Tabor churches in 1888; moved to Dunn in 1889 and spent a year there, returning then to Buie's Creek as teacher and pastor; accepted in July, 1889, the care of Spring Branch Church, which he has served continuously since; served Benson, Friendship, Holly Springs (Wake county), Green Level and other churches; built good houses of worship at Duke, Coats, Green Level, Spring Branch and Buie's Creek, and has promoted and witnessed the growth of his various flocks in faith and works.
"As a pastor he is especially attentive to the sick and distressed; a good organizer of his forces for worship and work; a leader who points the way to greater efficiency without underrating or overtaxing his fellow workers. As an evangelist he has steadfastly sought the salvation of the lost in his congregations; and that his labors have been singularly blessed is shown by the fact that into the fellowship of one of his churches-that at Buie's Creek-he has baptized seven hundred students since 1900. As a preacher he is direct and practical, a faithful expositor of the Word,
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always interesting and at times eloquent, his words vital with the driving power of a consistent life, and his soul white-hot with devotion to his Lord."
As Editor Moore says: "His most conspicuous work has been as founder and builder of Buie's Creek Academy. He began, as we have seen, in the day of small things. In faith he laid the mudsills when friends were few and funds were meager. He faced difficulties that would have chilled and checked most workers less courageous than he."'
Interrupting the sketch found in the Biblical Recorder, some of the more important facts con- nected with the history of the growth and devel- opment of Buie's Creek Academy should be stated. In January, 1887, the first school building, 48 by 22 feet, was completed and Mr. Campbell opened school hoping to continue five months if the pat- ronage would justify. Many of the best citizens of the community thought it would be impossible to continue that long. The school was a success, and in order to give the children better advan- tages it was decided to build a room for the pri- mary department. In the summer of 1887 a room 18 by 24 feet was added to the east side of the main building. In the summer of 1893 a room 18 by 30 feet was added to the west side. Still the school grew and flourished, and in 1896 a new academy, 50 by 36 feet, three stories high, with a projection in front 14 by 16 feet, was built. This well arranged and furnished academy build- ing was destroyed by fire December 20, 1900, at the hands of an incendiary. In the meantime, in the spring of 1898, a large open tabernacle, 80 by 90 feet, had been built for commencement ex- ercises. It was a splendid auditorium, accommo- dating at least 2,000 people. After the fire of 1900 the tabernacle was fitted up for schoolroom work, and school was resumed on January 8, 1901, without serious interruption because of the fire. At the same time work was undertaken to con- struct what is now the main building of the academy, costing $30,000, and built from brick made on the school grounds. The cornerstone was laid May 23, 1901, and the building was occu- pied for use on November 2, 1903. The building as it stands is a monument not only to Mr. Campbell's efforts but to those of his students and the many friends the institution had rallied about it as a result of its work and service. The main building furnishes many of the recitation and work rooms used by the school, including music rooms, offices for the commercial depart- ment, society halls, library, etc. In August, 1913, was completed the Treat Dormitory for Girls, which was named in honor of M. C. Treat of Penn- sylvania, who contributed $1.000 to start a fund for the erection of the dormitory and which grew by other contributions until the present structure was built at a cost of $15,000. The dormitory is under the control of trustees appointed by the Little River Baptist Association. The third im- portant building on the campus is the William Pearson Building, for use of the primary grades. It was first dedicated to use on December 28. 1915. It was named in honor of the man who made the first canvass for the school, and who always helped by word and purse to aid the school. Mr. Pearson died May 25, 1915.
As an institution Buie's Creek Academy stands secure on the foundation of unselfish service and the highest ideals and objects. To describe its work dur- ing the thirty years since it was founded and apportion credit where credit is due would be
impossible. There has been no lack of expression and writings which have sought to give credit to the school and its master and some of the most eminent men of North Carolina have gone out of their way and indicated supreme pleasure in being able to commend a school and its work which was so eminently deserving. It is possible here to quote from just one of these men, and that an editorial in the News-Observer written by its edi- tor, Josephus Daniels, present Secretary of the Navy. Secretary Daniels wrote the editorial three years ago. It reads as follows:
"If I were called upon to give a single con- crete object lesson of progress-educational or otherwise-in North Carolina in the last twenty years, I would name Buie's Creek Academy and the surrounding country.
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