USA > North Carolina > History of North Carolina: North Carolina biography, Volume VI > Part 88
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
principles and policies that go a long way toward explaining his public record. Throughout he has maintained and acted upon a strong conviction that members of Congress should consider them- selves public servants and be as useful to their constituents, their states and their nation as pos- sible. He is a thorough democrat, not ouly in the partisan but in the universal application of the term, a democrat in spirit and in purpose. He sees no reason for a public servant permitting him- self to think that he is better or bigger than the constituency that honors him with his position and public office. While he should be an enlightened leader, at the same time he ought never to forget that he is a servant nor to neglect the interests of the humblest citizen. For several years, though a lawyer by profession and maintaining an emeritus connection with the bar of his native county, practically his entire services have been given to the duties of his official position in Con- gress, which have grown more exacting from year to year. In periods of vacation, when he has made extensive journeys, covering practically every state in the Union, he has used his powers of observa- tion and his capacity for study to learn something that would be useful to the people of his own home and community. The attractions of distant places or of city life have no permanent appeal with Mr. Small, however. His heart is with his home people always. It would seem quite natural that in the stress of great national and international issues, the almost staggering problems of war, the heat and sometimes bitterness of debate and political strategems, a member of Congress would forget, or at least neglect, the interests and welfare of his people at home, but that is not true of Mr. Small.
For all the influences that have brought to bear upon a man so prominent in national affairs as Mr. Small, he has never been led away from what he considers his obligations to the funda- mental principles of democracy. He has been an outspoken and fearless opponent of all movements designed to curtail local self government or to be- stow upon national government powers that would result in such curtailment. Knowing how deeply imbedded such principles are in his character, it has not been a matter of surprise to his friends and supporters that he took the attitude he did in opposing the prohibition and woman's suffrage amendments to the United States Constitution. His attitude therein is doubtless best expressed in his own words in a speech he made in the House De- cember 17, 1917, in which he said: "I am opposed to this amendment because it proposes to take away from the states an essential right of local self government. It proposes to impair the police power of the state. This is concededly true, else this amendment would not be proposed. If Con- gress had jurisdiction to regulate or prohibit the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors, it would not be necessary to incorporate this legisla- tive provision into the Constitution. The per- petuity of this republic is based upon the mainte- nance of the right of local self-government in each of the states of the Union. When all government is centralized at Washington there will come local and state disaffection, loyalty to the central gov- ernment will be impaired, and ultimately revolution will stalk abroad throughout the land. It may be said that this invasion of a right of the states constitutes only one instance and that other inva- sions will not necessarily follow. In a matter of such supreme import even one invasion of local self government may not be justified; but unfortu-
327
HISTORY OF NORTH CAROLINA
nately this is only one of a number which are now being pressed by zealous reformers. The first error will make easier subsequent efforts. When we have once weakened the fine balance of powers between the states and the Federal Government we will have endangered the stability of the entire structure. "'
Mr. Small married Miss Isabella C. Wharton, daughter of Colonel Rufus W. and Mary L. Whar- ton, both natives of North Carolina. They are the parents of three children: Mary Belle Small, Katherine, wife of Major J. S. Gaul, a surgeon in the United States Army, and John . Humphrey Small, Jr., who is now a lieutenant in the Aviation Corps of the United States Army. Mr. Small, though his duties have kept him almost constantly in Washington for a number of years, still writes his home address as Washington, North Carolina.
HENRY C. SEVERS. The late Henry C. Severs, who for more than a half century was one of the leading business men of Charlotte, entered upon his activities in that city about the time of the Civil war, when the community began to emerge from the condition of a town and to reach out into the surrounding country with those instru- mentalities of commerce which have made it, dur- ing this time, the leading city of its part of the state. The founder of Seversville, as the western part of Charlotte is known, for many years divided his activities principally between the mercantile business and building, and no man in the history of the city was more greatly respected for sterling worth of character. All honorable success, it has been proven, is based upon a definite aim in life and a persistency of purpose which enables a man to persevere in a given course regardless of diffi- culties. Success is measured not merely by the heights which one attains, but by the distance be- tween the altitude which he has reached and the starting point of his career. The distance be- tween the little business of which he was the owner at the outset of his career and the position of prominence and influence in business circles which he had attained at the time of his death proved conclusively that Mr. Severs had traveled . far.
Mr. Severs was the son of German parents, who started to America in 1842, a young married couple. Some time before landing at Charleston, South Carolina, a child was born to them on ship- board on the Atlantic Ocean, and was named Henry C. In the fall of 1842 the family arrived at Charleston, where they resided for about seven years, and then removed to Charlotte, North Caro- lina, arriving here in 1849. Charlotte was then only a small and unimportant village, but on ac- count of its favorable location was promising of future growth. Mr. Severs' father, Henry Severs, with good foresight purchased land on the western outskirts of the village, and there established his home, in addition to which he later started a small mercantile establishment. This he conducted dur- ing the remainder of his life, and died in the early '70s.
Henry C. Severs received his education in the early schools of Charlotte, and as a youth went to Salisbury, North Carolina, with the intention of learning a trade. While he was there, however, the war broke ont between the forces of the South and those of the North, and he enlisted in Com- pany K, Fourth Regiment, North Carolina Volun- teer Infantry. His first captain was F. Y. Mc- Neely, who, upon his death, was succeeded by
Capt. W. C. Coughenour, and his first colonel was Bryan Grimes, but the greater part of his service was under the well-known officer Col. E. A. Os- borne, who subsequently wrote a history of the regiment and who is still living at Charlotte. The regiment was organized at Camp Hill, near Garys- burg, North Carolina, in May, 1861, being then sent to Richmond and remaining in that vicinity during the fall and winter of 1861-2. The first great battle engaged in by the regiment was that of Williamsburg in May, 1862, and during the re- mainder of the war Mr. Severs was in constant service with his regiment in General Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, being present at the last act of the war, the surrender of his brave general's army at Appomattox. Mr. Severs served with distinction at the battles of Mechanicsville, Cold Harbor, Boonesboro, Sharpsburg (Antietam), Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Spottsylvania, Winchester, Cedar Creek and Gettysburg. He was wounded twice in battle, once at Boonesboro and once at Gettysburg. At the battle of Sharpsburg Colonel Osborne records in his history that "Henry Severs was another brave Mecklenburg boy who was noticed for conspicuous bravery; he was at the side of his commanding officer, Gen. George B. Anderson, when the latter was wounded, and assisted in helping that noble hero from the field of battle."
After the close of the war Mr. Severs returned to his home at Charlotte and shortly thereafter purchased a part of his father's estate and built a home of his own. He likewise engaged in the mercantile business in a small way, but his busi- ness ability and persistent industry combined to build this up to large proportions and he became known as one of the substantial men of Charlotte even at a very early period of his career. The land where the senior Severs first located, and where his son succeeding him, continued to live and engage in business, hecame in later years one of the valuable parts of the city. This was foreseen by Henry C. Severs, who invested his means heavily in land and homes, and with the growth of the limits of Charlotte to the west became known un- der its present name of Seversville. And it is well named thus, for it was built up by Mr. Severs and owned by him until his death, when its posses- sion was transferred to his children. At the time of his death he owned about seventy houses at Seversville and had built many more which he had sold. He served for some years as tax assessor of Seversville and became so familiar with the city that in after years people would often come to him to consult him as to the value of property, etc. With his marvelous memory, he retained in his mind and could give without hesitation the location and value of every lot and piece of prop- erty in Charlotte, as well as an outline of its title and ownership. Although not a bitter sectionalist, he was devoted to the memory of the old South and especially the heroic soldiers of the Confed- eracy. He attended the first general reunion of the old soldiers after the organization of the United Confederate Veterans, and thereafter each year, as long as he lived, was in attendance at the general reunion, as well as numerous state and county reunions. He also visited most of the battlefields over which he had fought while wear- ing the uniform of the gray. Mr. Severs' career was one of splendid and worthy achievement. He was always a busy man, but not too busy with his own affairs to prevent of his taking an interest in those of his community or of his fellowmen.
328
HISTORY OF NORTH CAROLINA
A man of many excellencies of mind and heart, he was eminently deserving of the universal re- spect and esteem in which he was held and of the numerous friendships which he formed during his long residence at Charlotte.
As has been noted, Mr. Severs possessed a re- markable memory and his mind was a storehouse of history and of thrilling and interesting events of his own life. His intellectual attainments were exceptional. In his life he was essentially prac- tical and simple, and in particular he loved old things and antiquities, anything that would re- mind the present generation of the best things of its forefathers. It was this latter sentiment that led him to establish a museum in his home, one that contains perhaps the largest individual collection of relics and antiquities in the South. He erected a building especially for the housing of this collection, and therein is gathered such a great number of objects of historic interest that one could well spend hours, or even days, in their profitable examination. Perhaps the most notable collection in the museum is that of Confederate currency. It is hardly conceivable that there could be a larger or more interesting collection anywhere. There are hundreds of bills of every possible denomination, and of every issue during the life of the Confederacy; there is a collection of fractional currency, also of state and Confed- erate bonds, notes and all sorts of obligations re- sorted to in order to secure money for the Con- federate government and the cause of the South. There is also a fine collection of old coins, of ancient date and from strange foreign countries, and the same can be said in regard to the col- lection of stamps.
Of even more fascinating interest in regard to the war between the states is the collection of old firearms-guns, pistols and rifles of now obsolete type, but which rendered faithful service during the dark days of 1861-65. Also are to be seen a number of swords of that period, some with in- scriptions and of peculiar historic interest. Mr. Severs during his visits to old battlefields had also picked up a large number of cannon balls, shells and projectiles of various kinds, as well as canteens and other articles of the soldiers' equip- ment which are often lost or discarded in the heat of battle.
Among other things are numerous interesting Indian relics, collected principally in North Caro- lina; these include arrow-heads, beads, pipes and various Indian paraphernalia, and the skull of a warrior. As showing how broad was Mr. Severs' interest in everything antique, he collected for his museum specimens of old-time laces, knitted fab- rics and articles of women's wear, including sev- eral samples of the old-fashioned hoopskirts of the war period. There are to be found likewise old- fashioned devices and articles of household use and ornament, such as candle moulds, candle sticks, and wooden articles of various kinds, wooden shoes and very old clocks; a shoulder-beam, such as used in Germany during the earlier days, made of wood and so fashioned as to fit over the shoulder and carry a bucket of water or other burden at each end of the beam; an old-time kettle supported by pot-hook, and other ancient cooking utensils, copper measures, pans, etc. Several spinning wheels furnish an example of the kind of ma- chinery with which our grandmothers and great- grandmothers worked. At the time of the dis- continuance of the United States assay office at Charlotte Mr. Severs purchased a large assortment
of mineral specimens from that institution and added them to his collection. These are mostly North Carolina specimens, and with them Mr. Severs bought a number of scales and measuring and testing devices, including a furnace for melt- ing ore and several gold moulds. The museum contains also many old letters, old legal documents, old books, a large collection of badges and em- blems of various kinds which he collected at Confederate reunions; several large scrap books filled with interesting clippings from papers of the long ago, and a valuable collection of news- papers beginning with dates of the early '50s, and particularly Charlotte and Charleston papers that were published during the war.
The Severs home, on Severs avenue, built by Mr. Severs, is a large two-story frame structure, which in its simplicity, sturdiness and comfort, reflects the character of its builder. On the grounds of the Severs place there are three flowing springs of the purest water which furnish an in- exhaustible supply of the finest drinking water not only to the Severs families, but to a number of others in the vicinity as well. For the latter purpose water is pumped from one of the springs into a reservoir, from which it is piped to several neighboring houses.
Before her marriage Mrs. Severs was Miss Mary Primm, who was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, a member of an old-time family of Scotch ancestry, and who survives him. There are five children: William R., Lawrence A. and Fred Severs; and Mrs. Mamie P. Kistler and Mrs. Ralsteen Lingle. Two of the sons, William W. and Lawrence A., have stores at Seversville, where they continue in an honorable manner the old- time mercantile interests established by their hon- ored father.
J. CRITTENDEN HORTON. Americans are begin- ning to realize the moral as well as the histori- cal significance of genealogical foundations. A nation which relies upon the record of its homes for its national character cannot afford to ignore the value of genealogical investigation as one of the truest sources of patriotism. The love of home inspires the love of country. There is a wholesome influence in genealogical research which cannot be overestimated. Moreover, there is a deep human interest in it.
The Horton family is one of distinguished line- age and ranks as one of the oldest families not only in North Carolina but in the United States. According to the "Horton Genealogy or Chron- icles of the Descendants of Barnabas Horton of Southold, L. I., 1640," published in Philadelphia in 1876, and complied by Dr. George F. Horton, the family was founded in America in 1633 by Barnabas Horton, who came to this country in the ship "Swallow" and landed in Massachu- setts, in the port of Hampton, whence he went to Southold, Long Island, in 1640. The old Hor- ton homestead. erected by Barnabas Horton in 1660, was still standing at Southold in June, 1873. Barnabas was a son of Joseph Horton, of Leicestershire, England, and was born in the lit- tle hamlet of Mouseley, that shire.
The founder of the Horton family in North Carolina was Col. Nathan Horton, of Revolution- ary fame. Col. Nathan Horton was born at Ches- ter, New Jersey, February 25, 1757, and he married Elizabeth Eagles in New York City, July 10, 1783. She was a daughter of John Eagles and was born in the City of New York December 1,
329
HISTORY OF NORTH CAROLINA
-
1766. Nathan and wife moved to North Caro- lina about 1785, and in this state all their chil- dren were born with the exception of Hannah, whose birth occurred at Chester, New Jersey, October 15, 1784. William was born on New River, August 15, 1786; James, February 28, 1789; David Eagles, May 5, 1792; Phineas, grand- father of James Crittenden Horton, of this sketch, January 9, 1793; Sarah, September 19, 1794; John, June 11, 1800; Elizabeth, September 15, 1803; and Jonathan, February 26, 1806. Col. Nathan Horton died at New River, July 22, 1824, and his cherished and devoted wife died there May 19, 1854. Among the Horton heirlooms is a grand- father clock, seven feet high, with a mahogany case and face showing the rising and setting of the moon, a hand to mark all the seasons and several other devices. This belonged to Nathan Horton and he hauled it all the way from New York to New Jersey and then to North Carolina. It is now in J. C. Horton's home. There is also in the family a shot gun or rifle with a bore capa- ble of chambering three buck shot, on top of which a bullet the size of the barrel was rammed home encased in buckskin, thus making a load that was certain of results. It has a flint-lock and it was used by Nathan in guarding Major Andre when' the latter was executed as a spy. Col. Nathan Horton was buried in the Three Forks Churchyard and on his tombstone is carved the fact that he was a soldier in the Revolution- ary war. He was several times a member of the North Carolina Legislature and it was he who built the wagon road through Cook's Gap and on the Beaver Dams, called Horton's Turnpike. Fol- lowing is an extract bearing on the Horton fam- ily in North Carolina, taken from the work en- titled "A History of Watauga County," edited by John Preston Arthur:
"Nathan Horton settled in Rowan, near the Jersey settlement, but afterwards moved to a farm near Holman's Ford in Wilkes county. Then he came to Cook's Gap in the Blue Ridge, the very gap through which Daniel Boone, in May, 1769, had passed on his first trip to Kentucky. With Horton came also his wife and William Miller and wife, Mary, and their son, David Miller, and Ebenezer Fairchild and family. Horton went into a hunter's camp at Cook's Gap, Miller into an- other hunter's camp at Buck's Gap, while Fair- child went on to what is now called Howard's creek. All these became members of the Three Forks Baptist Church, which had been organized in November, 1790. There is a tradition in the Horton family to the effect that the camp into which Nathan went belonged to Richard Green, and that on one occasion, when the fire went out and Mrs. Horton went to a neighbor's several miles distant to get some live coals, she found this Green in possession of the camp, this being their first acquaintance with each other. But there are among the Fairchild papers receipts from Jonathan Tompkins, tax collector for 1780, showing that he collected taxes in this settlement at that early date. There is also a knob of the Blue Ridge, near Deep Gap, which bears his name. There is also a tradition that the Greens were members of the Jersey Settlement, and that James Jackson, William Miller, the three Bucks, Tompkins and Horton himself were members of the Jersey Settlement. They were all members of the Three Forks church between 1790 and 1800, and the probability seems that Richard Green told Horton where his camp was and in-
vited him to take possession of it and that Buck extended the same invitation to Miller with re- gard to his own camp nearby. Nathan Horton lost his little daughter, Hannah, at Hagerstown, Md., on his way from New Jersey, she having sickened and died there. William Horton was an infant in arms when the Horton family ar- rived at Cook's Gap, and he became the grand- father of Hon. Horton Bower, afterwards mem- ber of Congress, William having married Millie Dula and settled at Elkville, Wilkes county. James, another of Nathan's sons, married a daughter of James Webb and settled where Noah Brooksher now lives on South Fork of New River, half a mile below the Three Forks Church. David Eagles, named for his mother, married Sallie Dula and settled one mile above Elkville. Phineas, an- other son, married Rebecca Councill, daughter of the first Jordan Councill, and settled on the land now occupied by J. C. Horton, his house having stood in the bottom in front of J. C. Horton's present home, though Phineas afterward built a log house on the ridge, just above the present J. C. Horton home. Sarah and John, two of Na- than's children, died when children, while Jona- than, another of Nathan's sons, married Malinda Hartzog and settled where R. F. Vannoy now lives. Elizabeth, daughter of Nathan, married Zephaniah Horton, of Yancey county.''
At this point it is interesting to take note of the Horton coat of arms, a description of which follows: A stag's head, silver; attired, gold; crest out of the waves of the sea proper, a tilting spear, erect, gold; enfiled with doplin, silver, finned, gold, and charged with a shell. Motto: "Quod vult, valde vult."' "What he wills he wills cordially and without stint."
The children of Phineas Horton were: William; Nathan, who married Juliette Gentry, of Jeffer- son, and settled on the New River opposite the J. C. Horton home and on the place now owned by J. C. Horton and Brothers; and Jonathan and James, both of whom died in the Civil war.
William Horton, father of James Crittenden Horton, whose name forms the caption for this review, was born in Watauga County. North Car- olina, in the year 1828 and his demise occurred in 1876. He served several terms in the North Carolina Legislature. He married Rebecca Blair and settled on the present J. C. Horton place. His wife is now 84 years of age and still resides there. The following children were born of this union : James Crittenden, of whom, further anon; Jonathan Blair, who married a Miss Smith, of Elkin; Julia, who died unmarried; William Phineas, who married Emma Wyn, of Warren County, North Carolina; Emma, who married Lewis P. Moore, of High Point; Addie; Elizabeth, who married J. S. Winkler, of Boone; Henry Walter, who married Susan Usher, of Charlotte, and lives in North Wilkesboro; and Sallie Hill, who died at the age of eight years.
James Crittenden Horton, first in order of birth of the children born to William and Rebecca (Blair) Horton, is a native of Boone, Watauga County, where his birth occurred in 1861. He was reared on the old Horton homestead, on which his great-grandfather originally settled, and he was educated in the neighboring schools. In addition to managing the fine old farm on which he now lives, he was for several years democratic county chairman while living in Boone. For four years he was in the employ of the Government in the
330
HISTORY OF NORTH CAROLINA
internal revenue service and for a time he served most efficiently as a member of the board of county commissioners of Watauga County. In the latter connection he was particularly active as a pioneer in the building of the good roads of Watauga County. He also was clerk to the Leg- islature and was appointed as inspector for the department of agriculture, which position he held for ten years. It is most unfortunate that Mr. Horton for the past ten years, as the result of a stroke of paralysis, has been an invalid, He is confined to his home but his general health, his bright mentality and his genial, good spirits are in no way affected. He has a multitude of loyal, good friends, whose delight it is to visit him in his hospitable home and to enjoy frequent chats with him.
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.