USA > South Carolina > History of South Carolina > Part 15
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
JOHN RICHARD PARKER has expended his forcefui business enterprise not only on his plantation and mines, but as a constructive force in the general upbuilding of this section of Aiken County. He is an especial friend of a modern publie school system and has been the leader and instrument in giving this county two of its fine and most modern schools.
Mr. Parker, who has a prominent part in the kaolin mining industry of South Carolina, was born at Richmond, Virginia, son of L. J. and Elizabeth (Odom) Parker. His mother was twiee married. Her first husband was Colonel Lee, a brother of Gen. Robert E. Lee. After his death she became the wife. of L. J. Parker. The latter was a Vir- ginian and served in the Confederate army with Lee in Northern Virginia. In 1882 he established his home at Charleston, South Carolina, and died in March, 1919.
John Richard Parker spent some of his early years in Charleston. As a very young man he be- came a locomotive engineer, and for about five years piloted an engine on the Charleston and Western Carolina Railroad between Charleston and Augusta. . During that time his home was at Edgefield.
Mr. Parker has heen a resident of Aiken County since about 1886. His home is one mile south of
وعنف
المالك
helame Dnoork
Pm. I London
.
59
HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
Langley, on the National Highway. While he owns and gives much attention to the management of a fine farm there, his principal business is kaolin min- ing, an industry in which he has been active for a quarter of a century. His kaolin beds are on the Southern Railway about two miles from Warrenville and Graniteville. The industry is conducted as the J. R. Parker Kaolin Works. This plant produces about 150 tons of kaolin per week. Most of it is shipped to paper manufacturers in the North. Kaolin, it might be explained, is one of the essen- tials in the manufacture of wood pulp paper, and the demand for the material was never greater than at present on account of the mounting high cost of news print paper. Kaolin is also used in the alum- inum industry, in the manufacture of tile and is an ingredient in the manufacture of other commodities. The South Carolina kaolin has a distinct superiority on account of the fact it requires no refining. It is shipped ready for use direct from the chalk beds to the factory.
For fully twenty years Mr. Parker has given his influence, time and means to the promotion of a worthy and adequate school system at Langley and vicinity. He is president of the board of trustees of Langley School District No. 29. Langley now has one of the finest school buildings in the county, largely as a result of Mr. Parker's effective leader- ship. His district also includes the Bath community, and in the fall of 1919 he realized a distinct satisfac- tion when his efforts resulted in the voting of ap- propriate taxation to provide for a new school building to cost about $30,000. This school will be particularly available to the people in the vicinity of Aiken Mills. Mr. Parker was treasurer of the Aiken County Red Cross organization and was a personal worker in other patriotic causes.
He married Miss Emma Foss, of Hepsibah, Geor- gia. She was born in the West Indies of English parentage. Mr. and Mrs. Parker have eight chil- dren: Their son, John R., Jr., entered the Officers' Training Camp at Fort Oglethorpe and went over- seas as a member of the Fourth Division. He was in all the fighting at the front from July to No- vember, 1918, and while in France was promoted to the rank of captain.
WILLIAM J. CONDON. The self-made man has every right to be proud of what he has accom- plished and his rising above conditions and placing himself in better environments than those he had at the beginning of his career. No man rises in this manner without hard and constant work, but his rewards are abundant, and his honors many, and he deserves them all. William J. Condon, president of the large wholesale and retail bakery which bears his name, is one of the prosperous business men of Charleston who owes all he now possesses to his industry, foresight and ability to grasp oppor- tunities as they were presented to him.
William J. Condon is a twin brother of James F. Condon, one of the leading merchants of the city, and these boys were born at Charleston on August 28, 1857. Their father, William Condon, having come to the United States from his native Tip- perary, Ireland, left New York City, where he landed, after a short stay, and came to South
Carolina, and here was married to Fannie Scan- nell, then visiting her brother, both of them also being natives of Ireland, although they hailed from Cork. William Condon settled down to work at liis trade of merchant tailoring, and after the birth of his twin sons planned a long and useful life to be spent in affording them advantages denied him, but conditions arose which made his plans void and took him from his family in 1867, when he was only forty-nine years of age, as the result of the service he gave the section of his adopted country as a private in the Confederate army. The good mother, left widowed, did the best she could for her sons, and lived to see them both prosperous, as she was eighty-two years of age when she passed away in 1894.
As mere lads the brothers attended the public schools of Charleston, but when eleven years of age started out, bravely determined to fight their battles. as had their father the ones of the "Lost Cause," bravely and without complaint. William J. Condon worked at different jobs assisting brick masons and other laborers, and finally in 1870 commenced to learn the trade of a baker. This was a fortunate move, for in this line of work he found congenial labor and a field for opera- tions of his own. After giving O. G. Margenhoff a faithful service, during that period learning the details of the business, William J. Condon started in 1885 a very small bakery of his own, his sole capital being $500. In spite of the fact of such small beginnings, so skillful had he become and so impressed was he of the necessity for giving his customers first class articles that it was not long before he had more than he could handle in his small quarters and had to enlarge. Finally, in 1911, his business had assumed such propor- tions that he decided to incorporate it, taking into it at that time his two elder sons, the other two coming into the company later on. About seventy- five persons are employed in the bakery, and in addition to the extensive wholesale trade a retail department is maintained and is patronized by careful buyers who appreciate the privilege of obtaining dependable goods at prices as low as is consistent with their quality. Mr. Condon is vice president of the Citizens Bank, and president of the Master Bakers' Association. Like his brother hie belongs to the Knights of Columbus, Catholic Knights of America, Woodmen of the World. He is also a member of the Chamber of Commerce, and the Fraternal Aid Union and is the vice presi- dent of the Aladin Motor & Tire Company and a director of the Francis Marion Hotel, also of the Camden Coke Company of which he is president and treasurer and is president of the Quaker Realty & Investment Company.
In 1880 William J. Condon was married to Eleanor F. Mooney, born at Charleston. Mr. and Mrs. Condon have seven children, as follows : William J., Henry G., James P., Frank E., all of whom are in business with him; Marie, who is the wife of T. E. Powers, of Savannah, Georgia ; Ruth, who is the wife of Francis E. Conway, of Charleston ; and Ethel, who is at home.
60
HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
ROBERT FOSTER MORRIS for years has been one of the most substantial citizens of the old community of Willington, formerly in Abbeville County and now in McCormick County.
The old home place of the Morris family is five miles from the town of Willington, and was in- cluded in that territory taken to form the County of McCormick in 1916. Robert Foster Morris was born there in 1860, a son of James H. and Elizabeth (McCaslan) Morris. He is of English ancestry through his father, while his mother was of Scotch descent. James H. Morris was a soldier in Hamp- ton's Legion, and was killed in the battle of Tre- villian Station in Virginia in 1864.
Robert Foster Morris was a small child when his father lost his life, and he grew up on the old home- stead. One of the famous schools of his day was the old Clear Spring Academy, not far from his home. He finished his education there. He has always been a farmier, but for the past twenty years he has also engaged in the mercantile business at Willington, his farm adjoining that town. Since 1906 he has also served as mayor of Willington. Mr. Morris is an elder in the Presbyterian Church and is a member of the Masonic Order. During recent years Mr. Morris has acquired valuable and extensive interests in the great oil fields of Texas. The prin- cipal center of his investments is Clarendon on the edge of the Texas Panhandle.
Mr. Morris married Mary Elizabeth Cowan. They are the parents of eight children, seven daughters and one son. The only son is Lient. James J. Mor- ris, who entered the Officers' Training Camp at Camp Sevier and Camp Gordon, was on duty throughout the war, and since being mustered out has been in business with his father.
ALFRED O. HALSEY, president of the Halsey Lumber Company of Charleston, one of the lead- ing concerns of its kind in the city, belongs to one of the pioneer families of this country, repre- sentatives of the Halsey family having come to the American Colonies in 1640, locating at South- ampton, Long Island, New York, their original home being England. There the family remained until Elisha L. Halsey, born on Long Island in 1800, left for the South and came to South Caro- lina. His son, Edwin L. Halsey, was born at Charleston, was reared in the city and during the war between the states served gallantly as a cap- tain in the Confederate army. Upon his return to civil life he embarked in a lumber business, and conducted it until his death, October 12, 1903. He was married to Maria T. Olney, a daughter of George W. Olney. The Olney family also originated in England, from whence representatives of it came to America, locating at Providence, Rhode Island, and later in South Carolina. George W. Olney died at Charleston. His father, Capt. Stephen Olney, commanded a company of troops during the American Revolution. Edwin L. Hal- sey and his wife had eleven children born to them, of whom Alfred O. Halsey is the second in order of birth.
Growing up at Charleston, Alfred O. Halsey first attended its grammar and high schools, and then the University of Georgia, from which he
was graduated in 1893. Upon his return to Charleston, Mr. Halsey went into business with his father, and after the latter's death the busi- ness was re-organized in 1904 as the Halsey Lum- ber Company, with his son Alfred O. Halsey as president, and he is still at the head of the con- Cerii. This is the oldest lumber company of Charleston, and also one of the most reliable, and the same honorable standards raised by the father are maintained under the leadership of the son.
On November 26, 1903, Alfred O. Halsey was married to Lucile Bonnoitt, of Darlington, South Carolina. Mr. and Mrs. Halsey have one daugh- ter and two sons, namely: Lucile, Alfred O., Jr., and Marion B. Mr. Halsey belongs to the New England Society and the South Carolina Society, being active in both organizations. Grace Episcopal Church holds his membership and receives his benefactions. He is a man possessed of sound qualities, is genuine, hroad and public spirited, and his influence upon his community has always had a constructive trend.
JOHN MARSHALL. To the true American the pos- session of ancestors who bore a part in the founding and 'development of this government is the highest possible honor. A man who can trace his descent from men whose names are enrolled on the pages of his country's history has a heritage no money can buy or political prestige supply. It has been said that the southerner thinks more of his forebears than those of the more northern states, but no one could be insensible to the honor of belonging to the family which has as an immediate ancestor the il- lustrious Chief Justice John Marshall, whose name is accorded equal rank with that of Washington and Jefferson. One of the descendants of this distin- guished American bears his name and is a resident of Charleston, John Marshall, his great-grandson.
John Marshall, of Charleston, was born in Fau- quier County, Virginia, January 10, 1865, and he also has the honor of tracing back to another im- portant factor in the history of the United States as a great-grandfather, Robert Morris. Carefully educated, Jolin Marshall first turned his attention toward scholastic work, being professor of French and German at Wofford College from 1886 to 1890, but the confinement of the schoolroom irked him and he sought broader fields of expression in the journalistic arena, forming connections with the News and Courier of Charleston, first as reportorial writer, then as city editor. His facile pen and fear- less expression of the policies of his paper caused him to be given charge of the editorial page, and later he was made acting managing editor, he con- tinuing with this newspaper from 1892 until 1906. Once more he sought a change in occupation and established himself in business as a stock and bond broker. His wide acquaintance and thorough knowledge of affairs, combined with excellent judg- ment and a reputation for sterling honesty in every respect, brought him a large patronage of those who seek sound and reliable investments with a concern in which they can place implicit trust. During his life at Charleston Mr. Marshall has become one of the well known men in politics, and not only has he
ـلاد أخضساط
சாரா
خالد
Richard J. Monis
7
A
61
HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
been one of the determining factors in municipal affairs, but also in state matters.
John Marshall was married to Mildred R. Thom- son, a daughter of Col. J. S. R. Thomson, of Spar- tanburg, South Carolina, Mr. Marshall is a man of vision, courage and initiative. He has always been able to look into the future with an educated man's keenness, and when he realizes that his business did not measure up to his ambitions, did not hesitate to change it. Early in life he learned to work for knowledge and to hold on to what he learned, and has always been thoroughly prepared to take ad- vantage of the opportune moment. Always admir- able in whatever he undertook, he has exerted an in- fluence that has been effective and dignified, and his connection with any movement secured for it serious consideration.
RICHARD J. MORRIS. Although now retired from active business life, Richard J. Morris for a long period was one of the factors in the commercial life of Charleston, and has always taken a prominent part in its civic life, for the past sixteen years rep- resenting his ward in the City Council. He was born in County Kilkenny, Ireland, June 24, 1840, a son of Patrick and Margaret (Hogan) Morris, both of whom were born in the same county as their son. When he was seven years of age the family came to the United States, and after a ' stop in New York City, where they landed, they came south to Charleston, where the father engaged in handling grain, and continued in it until his death, both he and his wife passing away at Charleston. Their children were as follows : Thomas, John, Richard J., James, Patrick, Michael, Johanna and Catherine, all but Catherine having been born in Ireland, and now all deceased with the exception of Richard J.
Richard J. Morris was reared at Charleston, and attended its public schools. With the out- break of the trouble between the North and South he enlisted in the Confederate army, and rose to be corporal and then sergeant. Coming back to Charleston after the close of hostilities, he went into business for himself, although his sole capi- tal was an English sixpence. A tin roofer by trade, he opened a tinware store and also handled plumbing, and was very successful, continuing in this line of business from 1865 until he retired on January 1, 1911. During this period he was at his present address, No. . 130 King Street. The old home which stood on the site, an old colonial residence, was destroyed by the earthquake in 1886, and the present house was built two years later.
.
On April 5, 1866, Mr. Morris was married to Bridget A. Fallon, a native of Ireland. They have no children. Both are devout members of the Roman Catholic Church. Stanch in his support of the democratic party, he has been its success- ful nominee to the City Council several times, and is influential in its ranks. Following the close of the war Charleston experienced a good deal of trouble during the reconstruction period with the newly freed colored people, and it was deemed necessary to have some kind of an organization to protect the whites. Mr. Morris joined the
Washington Artillery Rifle Club, and saw much service, especially during the campaign of 1876, at one time the men being called out to quell a disturbance which could not be settled without the use of cannon. With the inauguration of Governor Hampton a more settled state of affairs was brought about, so that there was no further necessity for drastic action by the citizens. From the time Mr. Morris returned from war to the present day he has been one of the constructive workers for the good of Charleston, and has secured many improvements for his ward and the city, and supported and secured the passage of numerous ordinances which provide for the pro- tection of the people and the advancement of the community. He possesses a genial personality which wins for him many warm, personal friends, and he is a man who has been working during all of his mature years for the oppressed and down- trodden, and is recognized as one of the most public-spirited citizens of the city.
JOHN D. CAPPELMANN. A Charleston lawyer, John D. Cappelmann has been in practice for about forty years. He has never been without clients, and the numerous individuals and interests that have employed his services have long proven him as one of the safe counsellors. He is a man of great in- dustry and sound ability on all problems of law and general business.
The Cappelmann family had a conspicuous part in the early history of the very interesting com- munity of Walhalla, South Carolina, where John D. Cappelmann was born July 24, 1857, son of Eimer and Dorothea Cappelmann. Eimer Cappelmann was a member of the Colonization Society organized in Charleston which founded Walhalla in 1850. The late Gen. John A. Wagener, it will be remembered, was the first president and chief organizer of this society. Cappelinann's Mill, which was established by Mr. Eimer Cappelmann in 1850, was a well known and popular institution of Walhalla. It was located on Martins Creek, a mile and a half north of the town. This mill was patronized for the grinding of wheat and rye from the mountainous sections of Upper Georgia, South Carolina and Northwestern North Carolina.
The first schools attended by John D. Cappelmann were the private schools of G. H. D. Cramer of Charleston and of C. H. Spears, well known edu- cators of Old Pickens District. When Newberry College was relocated at Walhalla in 1869 he entered the freshman class. At that period of his boyhood his health was rather delicate, and on the advice of the family physician, Dr. James Sloan, a well known sur- geon of the Confederate Army, he was taken from school and for more than five years he worked in his father's mill and on the farm, and as strength per- mitted pursued private studies. In 1878 Mr. Cappel- mann took up the study of law in the office of Keith & Verner at Walhalla. He has been a resident of Charleston since 1879, having continued his studies in that city and was admitted to the bar in De- cember, 1883, successfully passing a rigid examina- tion conducted by Cols. J. S. Cothran, of Abbeville;
62
HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
Edward MeCrady, of Charleston, and E. Keith Dar- gan, of Darlington.
For twenty years Mr. Cappelmann was in part- nership in the practice of law at Charleston with the Hon. James Simons, distinguished by his long serv- ice as speaker of the House of Representatives of South Carolina, as a soldier in the Confederate Army and former president of the Charleston News and Courier. Since the dissolution of this partner- ship, Mr. Cappelmann has practiced law individually.
He has never been active in politics on his own be- half, though in 1885, by a flattering vote, he was elected representative in the Legislature from Charleston County and served four years. His sery- ices have been much' in demand on the stump as speaker in various political campaigns, and partic- ularly in behalf of R. G. Rhett and T. T. Hyde as candidates for mayor of the city of Charleston. Mr. Cappelmann was one of the efficient men of the city administration as a member of the City Council with T. T. Hyde as mayor. He was govern- ment appeal agent of the Local Board No. 2 during the war.
October 26, 1882, he married in Walhalla Miss Julia A. Pieper. Of this marriage four sons and one daughter survive. The eldest, John D., Jr., was a chief yeoman in the navy for the World war, and after the war resumed his place in the office of the well known carriage and automobile supply house of C. D. Franke & Company in Charleston. The second son, F. William, an attorney of Columbia. South Carolina, went for overseas service in Field Artillery as a first lieutenant. The third son, E. Henry, who saw real service overseas during the war as captain of the Machine Gun Company, was admitted to the bar after his return and is now in partnership with his father in the present firm of Cappelmann & Cappelmann at Charleston. The fourth son, Scherer, eighteen years of age, is still attending school. The only daughter, Gertrude, is a pianist and teacher of marked ability, whose suc- cessful work reflects her undoubted capability and her deep devotion to her profession.
EDWARD MITCHELL WHALEY has spent prac- tically all his life at Charleston, and is member of one of the old and prominent families long identified with Edisto Island, where he was born December 18, 1867. His father, E. Mitchell Whaley, and his grandfather, William Whaley, were both natives of the same locality. His grand- father was a lawyer and politician, and one of the leading men in his time in the state. His father was a captain in Company F of the Second South Carolina Regiment in the war between the states, and afterward followed planting. His mother was Caroline Mitchell, a daughter of John E. Moore Mitchell.
Edward Mitchell Whaley was the oldest son in his parents' family. He was educated Charleston and Edisto Island. He is one of the magistrates of the City of Charleston, and is a member of the Masonic Order and the Knights of Pythias.
JOSEPH S. PALMER, M. D. As a physician and surgeon Doctor Palmer has a practice at Allendale
which would completely tax the energies of a less able man. It is the marvel of his friends how he finds time to attend also the many other engagements of a business, civic and social character.
Doctor Palmer comnes of a noted family of pro- fessional men. He was born at Cartersville in Florence County, South Carolina, on October 6. 18go. A kinsman of the family was the late Dr. B. M. Palmer, of New Orleans, distinguished as one of the ablest Presbyterian ministers the South has ever had. The grandfather was Orron Palmer, who was a captain in the Confederate Army. His parents were Dr. George Goldston and Mary (Bean) Palmer. An uncle is the noted Judge Bascom Pal- mer, of Lakes City, Florida. One brother of Doctor Palmer, George G. Palmer of Cartersville, South Carolina, who died recently, was a highly esteemed planter and stock man and was the first breeder of high class stock to introduce the Duroc hog into South Carolina. Doctor Palmer has four living brothers : Capt. O. A. Palmer, of the Fourth Cavalry, United States Army, at McAllen, Texas; another brother, Bascom W. Palmer, has just been graduated from McAllen College and will return to make his home at Allendale; B. M. Palmer is a graduate of Charleston College, and the youngest brother is Lockwood Palmer. Doctor Palmer has one sister, Mrs. Rebecca ( Palmer) Moore, of Tim- monsville, South Carolina. The mother of Doctor Palmer is still living. His father, Dr. G. G. Pal- mer, was born at Liberty, North Carolina, was a graduate of the University of North Carolina, the Medical College of the State of South Carolina, and for many years practiced his profession at Carters- ville. Two of his older brothers were killed in the battle of Gettysburg.
Joseph S. Palmer was given every advantage of the best schools of the time and the cultured at- mosphere of his early home. He attended and graduated from the Cartersville High School, the Welsh Neck High School, and the Presbyterian High School at Florence, spent two years in the University of South Carolina, attended the Shock- ley Business College at Asheville, North Carolina, and graduated with the class of 1914 from the Med- ical College of the State of South Carolina.
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.