USA > North Carolina > History of North Carolina: North Carolina biography, Volume VI > Part 89
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The Horton home was saddened in July, 1917, by the untimely death of Mrs. Horton, who was in her fifty-fourth year. She was a daughter of John Elrod and a relative of Henry C. Elrod, re- cently governor of South Dakota. Mrs. Horton, whose maiden name was Mary Elrod, was a woman of most charming personality and she was dearly beloved by all with whom she came in con- tact. Taking her mother's place, with its varied responsibilities, is an only child, a daughter, Miss Carrie Rebecca Horton, a beautiful and highly cultured young lady. She is especially talented as a painter and has painted several copies of the Horton coat of arms, described in a preced- ing paragraph.
One could hardly imagine a lovelier home than that of Mr. Horton, for "Lynwood,"' as it is everywhere known, is interesting both for its his- torical associations and family traditions, and the beauty and romantic nature of its location and surroundings. The estate consists of about 300 acres, on which general farming and stock raising are conducted with marked success. It is located five miles east of Boone, on the right bank of the New River, the house being situated on a commanding elevation above the river. This lo- cation is in the heart of the Blue Ridge Moun- tains and affords many inspiring views, one, par- ticularly. of Howard's Knob, a few miles to the west. The farm is in the midst of beautiful and luxuriant forests and mountain meadows and is, to an unusual degree, a charming, delightful and restful place of abode. The house itself, al- though of old-time construction, is of enduring and solid material and is large and commodious, additions having been built to it, both by Mr. Horton and by his father. Among other comforts and conveniences is running water, piped by gravity about 2,300 feet from a mountain spring of the purest, cold water. The most attractive feature of the Horton home, however, is the un- failing hospitality extended to all comers. A cheery word and a glad hand is extended to the numerous friends and callers and Mr. Horton and his charming daughter are considered among the most congenial entertainers in this section of the county.
HON. WILLIAM FRANKLIN MCAULAY. By reason of his interest and activities as an extensive farmer and planter, merchant and business man, and in public affairs, William Franklin McAulay of Mount Gilead has attained a noteworthy posi- tion in affairs of Southern North Carolina.
He represents one of the old and numerous fam- ilies of this section of North Carolina. The
McAulays have long been identified with Mont- gomery, Richmond, Stanly and Cabarrus counties. The founder of the family in this state was his greatgrandfather, who was born in Scotland and emigrated from that country early in the nine- teenth century. He located in what is now Mont- gomery County. Since then the family name has been identified with the family interests of the state, and a number of them have become wealthy, large land owners and successful business men.
Mr. MeAulay's grandfather was Aulay McAu- lay. His old home was two miles west of the present Town of Mount Gilead. He conducted business as a merchant at the old Scotch settlement known as Edinburgh, about 212 miles east of Mount Gilead, and spent his final years in that community.
D. C. McAulay, father of William F., was born in Montgomery County, near Mount Gilead, and spent his life in that town and vicinity. He be- gan merchandising at Zoar, five miles north of the present Town of Mount Gilead. His business en- terprise there began a number of years before the war. Subsequently he moved to what was known as Old Mount Gilead, a short distance southeast of the present town. In 1859 he moved his building from its old site to the present Town of Mount Gilead, and gave that community its first business institution. While his work was chiefly expressed through merchandising, he also served eight years as sheriff of Montgomery County. His death oc- curred May 3, 1882.
D. C. MeAulay married Palestine Bruton. This is another name that has more than ordinary dis- tinction in this part of North Carolina. Her fa- ther, James Bruton, was of English descent. He married a Miss Parsons, and the Brutons thus be- came linked with the family history of Joseph Par- sons, the first clerk of the court of Montgomery County, where he located not long after the Revo- lutionary war. A great-grandson of Joseph Par- sons is Hon. Walter L. Parsons of Rockingham, mentioned elsewhere in this publication.
William Franklin McAulay was born at Mount Gilead in Montgomery County February 6, 1863. His brother, Mr. J. A. McAulay, by his connections with agriculture, financial and industrial enter- prises has become one of the wealthy and promi- nent men of the state. William F. McAnlay spent two years as a student in Trinity College. He was there during 1881-82 and then entered busi- ness in a store with his brother, J. A. McAulay, at Mount Gilead. Their relationship was continued until the fall of 1889, since which date Mr. Mc- Aulay has given much of his time to lumber manufacturing and to extended agricultural op- erations. In partnership with Mr. D. S. Hurley he owns a plantation of 1,400 acres a few miles south of Mount Gilead in what is conceded to be one of the richest agricultural sections of North Carolina. Individually Mr. McAulay owns a splendid farm of 300 acres adjoining the Town of Mount Gilead on the north.
He is also a director of the Bank of Mount Gilead, president of the Mount Gilead Telephone Company, and president of the Mount Gilead Cot- ton Oil Company. Mr. McAulay was elected a member of the State Senate in 1914 to represent the Twenty-second Senatorial District, the coun- ties of Montgomery and Randolph. He was one of the most capable and influential members of the Senate during the session of 1915. One of the measures that he had passed was the wide tire law, the results of which have brought great ben-
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efit to the goods roads movement. His name was also identified with several other pieces of wise and progressive legislation.
Senator McAulay married Miss Mary Frances Ingram. Her father was W. S. Ingram and the Ingram family in this part of North Carolina has a record going back to before the Revolu- tionary war. Mr. and Mrs. McAulay have four children : Mrs. Ethel Harris, Miss Iva McAu- lay, Frank McAulay, Jr., and Margaret Carr Mc- Aulay.
BENJAMIN MOFFITT. One of the oldest residents of Ashboro, a pioneer merchant there, and during his active career identified both in mercantile and manufacturing interests, is Benjamin Moffitt, whose life record is a real chapter in the history of that locality.
Mr. Moffitt was born on a farm twelve miles east of Ashboro, March 10, 1832. The founder of the family in the Province of North Carolina was his grandfather, Charles Moffitt, a native of Londonderry, Ireland, and of Scotch ancestry. Coming to America a young man, he made a pioneer settlement in Randolph County. His landed possessions lay near Buffalo Ford, and he spent his most active years in developing a farm there. Hugh Moffitt, father of Benjamin, was born on his father's farm near Buffalo Ford in Randolph County in 1774, a date which indicates that the Moffitts have been identified with this section of North Carolina for nearly a century and a half. Hugh Moffitt bought a mill and a farm in the locality that came to be known as Moffitt's Mills. He superintended his farm and mill, also operated a tannery, and these various industries made him a man of great importance in the community. He was a slave owner. He lived in his home locality until his death in 1838. He was twice married, first to a Miss Cox, their children being, Sarah, Charles, Mary, Thomas, Hugh and Stephen. The mother of Benjamin Moffitt was his second wife. Her maiden name was Margaret Needham. She was born in the south side of Randolph County, and died in 1868. Her father moved from Ran- dolph County to Alabama and still later to Mis- sissippi, where he spent his last years. Benjamin Moffitt was the youngest of six children, the others being Elizabeth, William B., Julia, Eli N. and Solomon.
Benjamin Moffitt remained with his mother after his father's death, and in addition to assisting in the work of the farm he acquired a good education in the local schools. He made good use of his opportunities and for two terms taught in Randolph County. For two years he was clerk in Doctor Foust's store at Coleridge, and then in 1854 came to Ashboro; and after clerking two years for Dr. J. M. Worth set up in business for himself as a general merchant. It was not an easy matter to engage in merchandising at that day, when this part of North Carolina was devoid of railroad facilities. All his merchandise had to be brought in by teams over the roads from Fayetteville. Mr. Moffitt continued business ex- cept for a time during the war. He furnished a substitute for active field service in the Con- federate army and he himself did duty as a home guard. When the war was over he resumed the mercantile business and in 1876 became one of the organizers of the Franklinville Manufacturing Company of Randolph County. With this corpo- ration he rounded out his service as a business
man and for twenty-seven years was its secretary and treasurer and gave all his time and ability to the company's affairs. He resigned in 1903 and has since enjoyed a well earned retirement.
In 1862 Mr. Moffitt married Martitia E. Bald- win. She was a native of Mississippi, while her parents were natives of Connecticut. She died in 1892. For his second wife Mr. Moffitt married Grizell Bagley, sister of Major W. H. Bagley, who was clerk of the Supreme Court of North Caro- lina for years. Mrs. Moffitt died in 1902. Mrs. Moffitt of the first marriage had only one child, a daughter, Florence, who became the wife of James Hall, of Philadelphia. She died leaving a daughter, Florence M. Hall, who is still living in Philadelphia.
Mr. Moffitt was one of the organizers of Bal- four Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, but is now a non-affiliating member. In politics he began voting when the whig party was a strong organization in North Carolina and throughout the South. With the disbanding of that party he naturally affiliated with the demo- crats. Though never a very active partisan, he has always tried to do-his duty at the polls, and was honored with election and for four years served as county treasurer.
WALTER CLARK ASHWORTH, M. D. In order to give his abilities and experiences a larger useful- ness Doctor Ashworth for the past ten years has conducted the Glenwood Sanitarium at Greensboro, one of the best institutions of its kind in the state. Almost from the time of its establishment it has cared for patients to the maximum of its capacity, and its material facilities and service personnel have been kept up to the high standards repre- sented by the ideals of its founder. Glenwood Sanitarium has its home in a commodious frame structure, with wide open verandas, set in the midst of grounds of unusual beauty and attractive- ness, and adorned by oak and pine trees that in themselves furnish restfulness that supplements the medical care and attention given by the doctors and attendants.
Doctor Ashworth was born on a plantation in Ce- dar Grove Township of Randolph County, North Carolina. His grandfather, Hon. Joel Ashworth, was a native of Montgomery County, North Caro- lina, and moved from there to Randolph County. buying a plantation in Cedar Grove Township. Be- sides general farming he was also associated with J. A. Spencer in operating a store and a flour, grist and saw mill. This locality became known as Spencer's Store. Joel Ashworth remained a resident of that community until his death at the age of ninety years. He was one of the highly influential citizens of that section and represented his county in the Legislature in 1868 and 1869, during the time of the reconstruction of the South. He married Elizabeth Woolever, who died at the age of sixty-two. They had only one child, Wil- liam Russell Ashworth, who was born in Randolph County in 1845. He had a very good education during his youth, and long before reaching his majority entered the Confederate Army and was still under age when the struggle closed and he came home a veteran soldier. He then taught school for a time, afterwards was elected register of deeds and sheriff of Randolph County. Being an only son, he inherited his father's estate, and is still living on the old Ashworth homestead, five miles south of Ashboro. He married Perlina
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Brookshire. She was born in Montgomery County, North Carolina, daughter of Enoch and Rebecca Brookshire. She died at the age of sixty-five.
Doctor Ashworth, like his father, is an only child. As a boy he attended rural schools, also the Ash- boro High School, was a student of Guilford Col- lege, and began the study of medicine under Doctor Walker at Randleman. He finished his education in the Ohio Medical College at Cincinnati and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Baltimore, where he was graduated in 1892. Doctor Ashworth has had a long and interesting experience as a physician and surgeon covering a period of a quar- ter of a century. For a number of years he prac- ticed at Kernersville in Forsyth County, and from there moved to Greensboro, where he handled a growing general practice for a number of years. In 1908 he established the Glenwood Sanitarium, which is located just outside the corporate limits of the city.
Doctor Ashworth has taken a number of post- graduate courses in the New York Polyclinic and also abroad in Vienna. He is a member in high standing of the Guilford County Medical Society, the North Carolina State Medical Society, the Tri- State Medical Society, the Southern Medical As- sociation and the American Medical Association.
In 1893 he married Miss Birdie Sapp, who was born at Kernersville, daughter of Wesley Sapp. They have two daughters, Pearl and Myrtle. Doctor and Mrs. Ashworth are members of the West Mar- ket Methodist Episcopal Church. Fraternally he is affiliated with Greensboro Lodge, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and Kernersville Council Junior Order of United American Mechanics.
WILLIAM HENRY RAGAN is one of the pioneers of High Point, was a merchant there when it was an unpretentious village without a single factory or industry, and had much to do with the planning and upbuilding of some of the industrial features which now characterize that center. Mr. Ragan has also been prominent in public affairs and has now served for a number of years as chairman of the board of trustees of the A. & E. College at Raleigh.
He was born on a farm near Franklinville in Randolph County. His father, Thomas Ragan, was born in Montgomery County, and his grandfather, Bryant Ragan, was a native of Pennsylvania and of Irish ancestry, descended from one of three brothers who came to this country in colonial times and located in the Province of Pennsylvania.
Thomas Ragan as a youth learned the trade of miller. He moved to Randolph County in early days, and owned and occupied a plantation and operated a flour mill near Franklinville. About 1866 he sold his possessions there and moved to Jamestown in Guilford County, where he likewise followed farming and merchandising. He died at Jamestown in 1902. The maiden name of his wife was Delany C. Craven, whose father was a planter and slave owner and lifelong resident of Randolph County. She was born in Randolph County and died in 1898. In the family were two children, Elizabeth and William H. Elizabeth is now deceased. Her husband was Nathan A. Hanner.
William Henry Ragan was well schooled during his youth, and was trained to the life of the farm. At the age of eighteen he went to Franklinville and for a time was employed in a cotton mill. He rose in degrees of responsibility until he was as- sistant to the general manager. Resigning this
position in 1867, Mr. Ragan came to High Point and established a store. At that time High Point was a village, had not a single factory of any kind, and still relied upon the old plank road as its main artery of transportation. For a number of years he continued merchandising and in the mean- time became interested in local cotton mills and did much to develop local real estate.
In 1867 Mr. Ragan married Martha H. Cox, a native of Randolph, County and daughter of Nathan M. and Eleanor Cox. She died in 1883. In 1885 Mr. Ragan married Ada L. Coffin, a native of Guilford County and daughter of Dr. S. G. and Laura M. Coffin. She is a lineal descendant of Tristram Coffin, distinguished in history as the first settler of Nantucket, Massachusetts.
Charles Ragan, son of Mr. Ragan's first mar- riage, married Elizabeth Dillard, and they had two sons, William, who is now deceased, and Dil- lard Ragan. By his second marriage Mr. Ragan has a daughter, Berta L., wife of Dr. W. W. Dins- more of Montgomery, Alabama.
Mr. and Mrs. Ragan are members of the Wes- leyan Memorial Church and he has served as a member of its official board upwards of forty years. He has been chairman of the board of trus- tees of the A. & E. College at Raleigh for seven- teen years, and at the expiration of his present term will have served twenty consecutive years. The first time he ever missed attendance at a board meeting was in 1918 and that was due to illness. He is also chairman of the finance committee of the college. Many other positions of trust and responsibility have been conferred upon him. For ten years he was a member of the board of county commissioners, was seven years its chairman, and has served his home city as an alderman and city treasurer. He is a member of the board of trus- tees of the Methodist Protestant Home for Chil- dren. Fraternally he is a member and for seven years was master of Numa F. Reid Lodge No. 344, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons.
HORACE E. FLACK, PH. D. Among North Car- olina men whose activities outside the state re- flect honor upon the home commonwealth is Dr. Horace E. Flack, who since its creation has been executive of the Department of Legislative Ref- erence for the City of Baltimore. Doctor Flack is a noted scholar, especially in the field of mu- nicipal science and research, and is one of the leading men among the North Carolina colony in the City of Baltimore.
Doctor Flack was born near Rutherfordton, Ruth- erford County, North Carolina, May 14, 1879, a son of Millard Benton and Alice Jane (Kilpatrick) Flack. The family is of old Scotch-Irish stock. They have lived in Rutherford County since be- fore the Revolutionary war. Doctor Flack's par- ents are still living at the old Flack settlement in Rutherford County, eight miles north of Ruther- fordton. In this community his great-great- grandfather, John Flack, a Scotchman from the North of Ireland, settled about a century and a half ago. The sturdy old pioneer house, a long, roomy two-story structure, is still standing and is now owned by Doctor Flack and his brother, Dr. Roswell E. Flack of Asheville, North Caro- lina. Members of the family have lived here continuously since the days of John Flack. The lands embracing the farms of the present de- scendants comprise about 1,000 acres. In his day John Flack was a county judge or justice in Rutherford County. There are records extant in-
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dicating that he sentenced to punishment vari- ous persons for Tory activities. He was a Revo- lutionary patriot. Altogether people of the name have been a strong, sturdy race. Originally all of them were Presbyterians in religious faith, but for the sake of greater convenience of worship or for other reasons many have joined other de- nominations.
Doctor Flack is an alumnus of Wake Forest College, where he received his A. B. and A. M. degrees in 1901. In 1903 he came to Baltimore to enter Johns Hopkins University and received his Doctor of Philosophy degree from that insti- tution in 1906. In 1912 the University of Mary- land conferred upon him the degree of LL. B. Doctor Flack was also honored with election to the honorary scholarship fraternity Phi Beta Kappa by the Johns Hopkins University. The thesis which he offered as candidate for his doctor's degree was a treatise on "The Adoption of the Fourteen Amendment."' . He also wrote a mono- graph on the "Diplomatic Relations Preceding the Spanish-American War. '' While at Johns Hopkins Doctor Flack specialized in political sei- ence, history and political economy.
The Maryland Legislature of 1906 amended the Baltimore Charter by incorporating a provision for the creation of a department of legislative reference, and when this department went into operation in . 1907 Doctor Flack was the first executive. Legislative reference departments are comparatively a new thing in America aud the pioneer institution of the kind was established by Wisconsin as an adjunct of the state government. To Baltimore belongs the credit of establishing the first department of legislative reference pri- marily intended for the .city. However, under Doctor Flack's administration this department has always served a much wider scope, its facili- ties have been placed at the disposal of the state government during its sessions at Annapolis, and through an act of 1916 Doctor Flack was author- ized to establish a similar department for the state. His active duties in that position, which he combines with the Legislative Reference Library at Baltimore, began at the session of the Legis- lature in Annapolis in January, 1918. Fortu- nately for the usefulness of the department the provisions creating it provided for non-political control. The department at Baltimore is under control of a commission composed of the mayor, the city solicitor, the president of Johns Hopkins University, president of the Municipal Art So- ciety, and president of the Merchants and Manu- facturers Association.
Doctor Flack served as secretary of the new Charter Revision Commission of Baltimore in 1909-10, was secretary of the City-Wide Congress of Baltimore in 1910-12, was secretary of the charter board, 1917-1918, and since 1910 has been state secretary of the National Municipal League. At the Pittsburg meeting of the National Munici- pal League in 1908 Doctor Flack was author of the address, printed in the proceedings of the league, on "Municipal References Libraries." Be- sides this and other literary work already men- tioned he has been editor of "Notes on Current Legislation " for the 'American Political Science Review from 1910 to 1914, and is a contributor to the Encyclopedia of American Government. He is a member of the American Political Science Association, a democrat in politics, a member of the Baptist Church and belongs to the Johns Hop- kins and City clubs of Baltimore. On October 12,
1909, Doctor Flack married Miss Edith Henning of Baltimore. They have one daughter, Mary Alice, born in 1915.
HON. HUGH REID SCOTT is a native of Rocking- ham County, North Carolina, a son of William Scott, who was a native of the same county, and who was a son of David Scott, who lived and died in the same county. The wife of William Scott, and mother of the subject of this sketch, was Rhoda Settle Reid, a daughter of Reuben Reid and his wife, Elizabeth Settle Reid, all natives and residents of Rockingham County. Among the children of Reuben and Elizabeth Reid was David S. Reid, who was distinguished in his day, being a member of Congress, governor of the state, United States senator, and one of the mem- bers of the celebrated peace commission during the Civil war. Elizabeth Settle Reid was a sister of Thomas Settle, who was a man of great prom- inence and many years a member of Congress and judge of the Superior Court. One of Mrs. Reu- ben Reid's sisters married Robert Martin, a promi- nent planter of Rockingham County, and her daughter was the wife of Stephen A. Douglas, the "Little Giant" of Congress, celebrated in the annals of the nation and remembered particularly for the distinguished debates between himself and Abraham Lincoln when they were candidates for president. Mrs. Douglas is buried in the old Set- tel Graveyard near Reidsville, which is now owned by Mr. Scott.
Reuben Reid owned the land where the Town of Reidsville is now located in Rockingham County, and his daughter, Rhoda Reid, was born here, and William Scott was born four miles south of this place.
Thus Mr. Scott is "to the manner born." He is now in his sixty-fourth year and his life has been spent in this county. He graduated at Wake Forest College in 1877 with one of the two hon- ors of his class; spent two years at the Law School of Judge R. M. Pearson, the distinguished chief justice of North Carolina, obtained his li- cense to practice law in June, 1877, and has since then been engaged in his profession as a lawyer, and has been in many ways successfully identi- fied with banking and other enterprises. He re- sides at Reidsville, has an attractive home, ad- mired by many for its architectual beauty, and among his real estate holdings, which are exten- sive, both in the City of Reidsville and in various parts of the county, he feels great pride in own- ing much land that formerly belonged to his an- cestors, particularly the site of his home, which he calls Melrose, and a tract of about 500 acres in the suburbs of the city, which he calls Hugo- mont, this being the place upon which the first Reid whose name was Hugh Reid settled when he migrated to this county from Pennsylvania just after the Revolutionary war. Mr. Scott is not as active in practice now as he has been, but has been considered a lawyer of good ability and a good business man, prudent and sagacious. He married Miss Brewer in 1909, the issue of the marriage being one child, a bright little daugh- ter, Cecilia Reid Scott.
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