USA > South Carolina > History of South Carolina > Part 20
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HARRY F. BARKERDING. Though not yet forty years of age Harry F. Barkerding of Charleston inight properly claim a business career of a quarter of a century. He went to work when most boys of his age were in school. His experience has been almost entirely associated with the shipping and transportation business centering in Charleston Har- bor. Out of that experience he has achieved recog- nition as an authority on many subjects connected with the Charleston water front, and it was his special equipment of experience and knowledge in that field that led to his appointment as chairman of the Charleston Dock and Warehouse Commis- sion, one of the city officials most actively responsi- ble for planning and carrying out the present great program for establishment of municipal terminals and other facilities at Charleston.
Mr. Barkerding, who is a prominent merchandise broker of Charleston, was born in this city in 1883. His father, Henry F. Barkerding, was a native of Germany, but was only a child when the family settled in Charleston in 1851. Though he went to work on the wharves of Charleston at the age of twelve, Harry F. Barkerding acquired a satisfactory education in private schools and in the Bennett School at Charleston. He worked eight years for the Consumers Coal Company and for several years was with Mr. John T. Leonard. Since then he has been in business for himself as a merchandise broker, and has a very important clientele in that line.
Mr. Barkerding was chosen an alderman from the Sixth Ward in November, 1919, and soon after taking his place in the body in January, 1920, was made chairman of the Charleston Dock and Ware- house Commission. The work to be performed by this commission, of which Mr. Barkerding is chair- man, is regarded as the first essential in the broad civic and commercial program to the carrying out of which the present municipal administration and the business men of Charleston are committed.
Mr. Barkerding is exalted ruler of the Charleston Lodge of Elks, a member of Jasper Lodge, Knights of Pythias, Walhalla Lodge of Masons and a mem-
Jesensency
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ber of St. Andrew's Lutheran Church. He mar- ried Miss Charlotte McGarey, of Charleston, and their family of three children are Harry F., Jr., Theodore Francis and Robert Russell.
JAMES FRANCIS RAFFERTY. While his early death must always be regarded as a calamity considered personally or from the standpoint of his native city, it is comforting to know that the brief and intensive participation given by James Francis Rafferty to industrial affairs coincided with the great revival of industry and commerce in Charleston, and was a practical contribution to that era.
The late Mr. Rafferty came to manhood possessed of a naturally sound judgment and shrewd percep- tion. The family of which he was a representative has for many years been honored in Charleston through its identification with large business enter- prises.
The late Mr. Rafferty, who died suddenly at Brooklyn July 8, 1920, was vice president and man- ager of the Charleston Iron Works. He was born in Charleston June 14, 1896, son of John Francis and Margaret E. (Carney) Rafferty also natives of Charleston. His mother was a daughter of John Carney. In the paternal line he was descended from sterling old Irish stock. His grandfather came to the United States and eventually acquired a home in Charleston, where he spent the remainder of his years.
James F. Rafferty acquired a good practical educa- tion in the public schools of Charleston, graduated from high school and learned the trade of machinist under the direction' of his father, who for years was president and treasurer of the Charleston Iron Works. These works were established in 1844, and today are the largest and most important as well as the oldest concern of its kind in the state. The in- dustry employs some fifty men, and performs every- thing in a general line of machine work, blacksmith- ing, repair and construction work. Through the years this firm has handled many large contracts and enjoyed an enviable reputation because of the quality of its work.
The late John F. Rafferty held the office of presi- dent and treasurer of the company until his death on October 17, 1918. He was then succeeded by his son James Francis Rafferty as directing head of the concern, and he showed all the abilities to deserve these responsibilities during the less than two years that remained of his life. James F. Rafferty is sur- vived by a brother, John Rafferty, who was assistant secretary of the Iron Works.
James Francis Rafferty was active in the Knights of Columbus and Holy Name Society, St. Joseph's Catholic Church, and was a young business man of large acquaintance and widely esteemed for the per- sonal qualities of his character.
HARVEY G. SENSENEY. Several well merited dis- tinctions mark out Mr. Senseney as one of the leading citizens of Charleston. He is a veteran in the operating service of the Southern Railway, having for nearly thirty years been a locomotive engineer with that company. He is also prominent in the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, and has successfully combined his business with a pub-
lic spirited participation in public affairs and is a former member of the Legislature and a present city alderman.
Air. Senseney, who has spent most of his life at Charleston, was born at Lexington, Virginia. in 1867, son of James M. and Sarah (Caskey) Sen- seney, and of Scotch-Irish ancestry. The Senseney family for several generations have lived in Vir- ginia. Harvey G. Senseney was seventeen years of age when in 1884 he became a resident of Charles- ton. His service with what is now the Southern Railway has been practically continuous since that date. He started with this company as a brake- man on the old South Carolina Railroad, and from that was promoted to train conductor. His prefer- ence; however, was for the mechanical end of rail- roading, and after a period of service as a locomo- tive fireman he was made an engineer in 1801. He enjoyed one of the highest ranks among the South- ern system's locomotive engineers, and for a num- ber of years has had charge of the finest passenger train operated by the Southern in South Carolina, the Carolina Special between Charleston and Co- lumbia.
He has one of the oldest cards of membership in the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and for twenty years past has been honored with the post of chief engineer of the Charleston Division of that order.
His reputation as a railway man, his good business ability and conservative attitude on all public ques- tions is the basis for the various honors conferred upon him in politics by his fellow citizens. He was Elected a member of the Legislature from Charles- ton County in 1912, and served through the ses- sions of 1913. 1914, 1915 and 1916. At present he represents Ward 12 on the Board of City Alder- men, and also represents the labor organizations of the city as inember of the Board of Directors of the Charleston Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Senseney married Miss Sallie Holsenback, of Charleston. Their five children are James, Harvey G., Jr., Nettie, Mildred and Josephine.
W. A. EDWARDS. An architect is best known by his works. While his professional headquarters since 1908 have heen in the City of Atlanta, W. A. Edwards gained his early distinctions as an architect in his native State of South Carolina, and manv prominent buildings in this state testify to his skill and talent. .
Mr. Edwards was born at Darlington, South Caro- lina, December 8, 1866, a son of Capt. Augustus F. and Elizabeth S. (Hart) Edwards. Capt. Augustus F. Edwards, who served with the rank of captain in the Confederate army throughout the war between the states, was born in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, and was a graduate of South Carolina College. The mother of Captain Edwards was a sister of the Hon. Simpson Bobo, whose reputation is due to a name permanently linked with some of the highest standards set hy the South Carolina bar. Mr. Bobo practiced many years at Spartan- burg. Elizabeth S. Hart was a daughter of Thomas Hart, for whom the Town of Hartsville, South Caro- lina. was named.
Captain Edwards prior to the war was a success-
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ful lawyer at Darlington, but about 1870 abandoned his practice and moved to a plantation which he owned at Palmetto in Darlington County. It was in this plantation that W. A. Edwards spent his youth. He finished his education in the University of South Carolina, receiving his Bachelor of Science degree with the class of 1889. He was a member of the first class in mechanical engineering estab- lished and maintained in the university. This de- partment of instruction was later transferred to Clemson College. He began his career as an archi- tect at Roanoke, Virginia, in 1893 in association with Mr. Charles C. Wilson, also a South Carolinian. In 1896 they returned to their native state and opened offices at Columbia under the firm name of Wilson & Edwards. Mr. Edwards retired from this firm in 1902 and formed another partnership with Mr. Frank C. Walter. They were in practice at Colum- bia under the firm name of Edwards & Walter until 1908, when their offices were moved to Atlanta. This partnership was dissolved in 1910, and Mr. Edwards then practiced under his own name until 1913, when Mr. William J. Sayward of Vermont became asso- ciated with him, since which time his practice has been in the firm name of Edwards & Sayward, with offices in Atlanta, Georgia.
It is appropriate to make some special reference to the professional work done by Mr. Edwards in his native state. Among the large number of build- ings designed and erected by him either alone or in association with his partners should be noted: The Union National Bank Building (now the Liberty National Bank Building), of Columbia; "Heath- wood," the residence of Mr. M. C. Heath ; residence of Mr. John J. Cain, now owned by J. Pope Mat- thews; the MeMaster and Taylor school buildings; the Law Building of the State University, all in Columbia; the training school, dining hall, two dor- mitories and all the recent buildings at Winthrop College, Rock Hill, South Carolina; County Court Houses of Darlington, Sumter, Kershaw, Lee, Abbe- ville, Dillon, Calhoun, Jasper and York in South Carolina; the Agricultural Building at Clemson Col- lege, South Carolina; and the graded school build- ings at Manning, Hartsville and Laurens in South Carolina. His firm is employed as architects for the remodeling and reconverting of the State Deaf and Blind School at Cedar Spring, South Carolina. Mr. Edwards was the professional adviser of state super- intendent of education, Mr. O. B. Martin, and many of his ideas have been expressed in the rural school buildings of South Carolina.
Mr. Edwards and associates have laid out and built in their entirety all of the "institutions of higher learning" in Florida, including the "Univer- sity of Florida," at Gainesville, the "Florida State College for Women" at Tallahassee, the "Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind" at St. Augustine, having served as architect for these institutions for fifteen years. They are also architects for the "South Georgia State Normal College" at Valdorte, Georgia, having laid out the scheme of this institu- tion and built all of its buildings. His firm are architects for the Southeastern Fair Association of Atlanta, and all the buildings of that institution are the fruit of Mr. Edwards' professional firm.
Mr. Edwards is a member of the American In-
stitute of Architects, and also of the Association of Technical Societies of Atlanta. He married Miss India Pearl Brown, of Wellford, South Carolina. Their three children are W. A., Jr., Araminta and Harrison Griffith.
JOHN KNOX SNELLING. The people of Barnwell County are too familiar with the career of Judge John K. Snelling for the biographer to call special attention to his record other than give the salient facts in the same, for here he has spent practically his entire life and has gained a prominent place in the esteem of the people and is universally respected, fair dealing being his watchword in all his transac- tions. He is the representative of one of our old families, the several members of which took an active part in the improvement and upbuilding of the section in which they lived. Because of his splendid personal qualities, his business success and his public spirit, he enjoys to a notable degree the confidence and good will of all who know him.
The present probate judge of Barnwell County was born at Snelling Station, five miles west of Barnwell, on October 7, 1859, and is the son of Jeremiah and Helen Mary (Johnston) Snelling. The father, who also was born and reared in the same locality, en- listed in the Confederate army at the age of twenty years as a private, became a sergeant, and had a fine military record for courage and efficiency. On his return home at the close of the struggle he re- sumed his work on the farm, in which he was much more than ordinarily successful, so that in the course of time he became the most intensive farmer and planter in the county. As a result of his inten- sive methods at one time he raised twenty-seven bales of cotton on nine acres and 134 bushels and fifty-four pounds of corn on one acre of land. He won the first prize on cotton at the Augusta, Georgia. Exposition and was the fourth man in the United States as a winner of farm prizes. He owned at one time over 2,000 acres of land in Barnwell County. He lived to be seventy years of age. His father, William Wesley Snelling, settled abont seven miles west from Barnwell in about 1815, their family being among the first to locate in that section of the state. Judge Snelling's mother was the daughter of Rev. John Knox Johnston, of Chester, South Carolina, where he was the pastor of the Baptist Church. Jeremiah and Helen Snelling became the parents of three children : John K., William W. and J. J. of Florida, all of whom grew to maturity and are living at this time, John K. being the oldest. Jeremiah Snelling married for his second wife Hannah Frances Duncan, November 4, 1876. By this mar- riage there is one son, Paul Bartholomew, of Aiken County, South Carolina. Mrs. Hannah Snelling is deceased.
Jolin K. Snelling received his elementary education in the common schools, completing his studies in the Seven Pines Academy, where he was graduated in 1886. He then accepted employment as bookkeeper for E. T. Moore, with whom he remained for two years. He then engaged in farming, which has com- manded his attention during the greater part of the time since. In 1898 Mr. Snelling entered politics and was elected to the office of judge of probate of Barnwell County, in which he is still serving, his
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long retention in this responsible position being a marked testimonial to his efficiency and faithfulness to the duties of the office. He had served as post- master of Snelling from 1880 to 1808, so that- he has thus completed the unusual record of having held public official position in his community for forty consecutive years. During a portion of this period he also held a commission as notary public. He has taken an active interest in everything pertaining to the public welfare in any way and has been especially active in Sunday school work, being secretary of the Barnwell-Bamberg Baptist Sunday School Conven- tion for about six years. He is secretary, treasurer and general manager of the New Sentinel Publish- ing Company at Barnwell, publishers of the Barn- well Sentinel, and general manager of the Barnwell Insurance Agency. In many ways he has contributed to the development and upbuilding of the community and enjoys an enviable reputation as a public spir- ited and enterprising citizen.
In 1885 Judge Snelling married Indiana Green, the daughter of George W. Green of Rosemary Township, Barnwell County. They are the parents of four sons: George Norman, James Loyal, John Albert Sidney, and Thomas Erwin who at the pres- ent time is a student in the University of South Carolina.
The predominant characteristics of Judge Snelling, and upon which his success in life has been deter- mined, are his strong individuality, intense loyalty to his friends and his obligations, and his splendid de- termination, industry and faithfulness.
J. ELLISON ADGER, one of the substantial men of Charleston, is managing the large plantation of G. W. Williams on Yonges Island. He was born at Pendleton, South Carolina, August 2, 1866, a son of Joseph Ellison and Susan Cox (Johnson) 'Adger, both natives of South Carolina, and grand- son of James Adger, who was born in Ireland, but came to the United States and located in South Carolina in young manhood. Joseph E. Adger and his wife had thirteen children, of whom J. Ellison Adger is the tenth in order of birth.
J. Ellison Adger was reared and educated at Charleston, his parents having moved there when he was a child, and he was given the advantage of a year's attendance at the University of Virginia. From' the time of his leaving the university, he was engaged at Charleston, Pelzer, to which he went in 1888, and Greenville, to which he went in 1910, and remained until he assumed the responsi- bilities of his present position in 1917. He main- tains his residence at 131 Broad Street, Charleston.
Mr. Adger was married to Irene de Griffin Mac- beth, who died April 18, 1917. They had one daugh- ter, named after her mother. She is the wife of Robert Lee Scott of Greenville. Mr. Adger is known over a wide territory as a man of sterling characteristics, and is held in the highest esteem.
M. RUTLEDGE RIVERS is rounding out thirty years of continuous practice as a lawyer at Charleston. llc represents one of the old and prominent families of the seacoast of South Carolina, and his own Vol. 111-6
career as a lawyer has given him many well earned distinctions in Charleston and the state.
He was born at Mt. Pleasant, near the City of Charleston, May 13, 1868, son of Constant HI. Rivers. a native of that city, and a grandson of William Rivers, also a native of Charleston, his paternal ancestors having come from England, and his great- grandfather having been among the earliest settlers of this section of the state. His father, grandfather and great-grandfather were South Carolina planters. His father lived to be past seventy years of age and had the distinction of having seen service in two wars. Upon the death of Gen. Arthur M. Mani- gault, adjutant and inspector general of the state, Col. C. H. Rivers was nominated as his successor in the following language appearing in the public prints of the day :
"Colonel Rivers has served the state in her hour of peril, not with loyalty of expression only, but in two wars, exposing his person in defense of her honor. A vohinteer in the Palmetto Regiment for the Mexican War when only a boy of eighteen years, he served through the trials of that war to the city of Mexico, and in the Confederate War on the or- ganization of the first regiment of regular infantry by Governor Pickens, Colonel Rivers was appointed lieutenant, soon attained the rank of captain and after the battle of Bentonville was, in order of pro- motion, major of that regiment, serving from the first roll call until the last shot was fired and the flag of the fallen country folded forever, not with newspaper illustration but in the steady line of duty. Courteous and simple in his bearing and firm of purpose, Colonel Rivers will be a worthy successor of the late adjutant and inspector general on whose staff he has served for many years."
The mother of the subject of this sketch was Mary E. Minott, a native of Charleston County, daughter of John B. F. Minott, a planter on James Island and a descendant of the Minotts who were French Huguenots and came to South Carolina from France. M. Rutledge Rivers was the tenth in a family of twelve children, six of whom reached mature years. He received his early advantages in the grammar and high schools of Charleston, and graduated A. B. from the College of Charleston in 1890. He took his law work in the University of Virginia, and was admitted to the bar by the Supreme Court of Virginia in September, 1890, and in December of the same year was admitted to the courts of South Carolina. Since then he has diligently practiced law. While he has never sought political honor, many positions of trust and responsibility have been se- lected for him, and he has filled every one with a high degree of credit to himself and all concerned. He has been especially interested in educational mat- ters. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the College of Charleston, and by appointment from Governor Manning of South Carolina was a member of the State Board of Education, seven members from different parts of the state constituting that board, together with the governor and state superin- tendent of education. Under appointment of Gover- nor Cooper he was also a trustee of the Medical College of South Carolina. He is now a member of the Board of School Commissioners of the public schools of the City of Charleston. He has been
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corporation counsel for that city, having been unani- mously elected by the city council in January, 1918. For nearly fifteen years he was chairman of the vestry of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, the third old- est parish of that religions faith in the city. He has been master of Orange Lodge No. 14 of Masons, upon completion of his term of office having been presented with a handsome jewel in acknowledgment of the services rendered to the lodge. He is also a past grand chancellor of the Knights of Pythias of the State of South Carolina, is past exalted ruler of the Elks, is now president of St. Andrew's Society, the oldest Scotch society in the United States, hav- ing been organized in 1729, and is a member of vari- ous other fraternal and social organizations. He also belongs to the .Chamber of Commerce of his city, and is an active member of the committees on law and legislation and education of that organiza- tion. He likewise is a member of the State Bar Association and has held position on committees thereof. In February, 1893, he married Eliza Ingra- ham Buist, daughter of the late Hon. George L. Buist. They have four children: Mary E., wife of Charles Webb; Capt. George L. Buist Rivers; John Minott and Arthur L. Capt. George L. Buist Rivers served with the Eighteenth Field Artillery in France, was at Chateau Thierry and other points in the great American offensive, and since his return home has been studying law in the Harvard Law School, and is now a member of the firm of Hagood, Rivers & Young, composed also of the subject of this sketch and of Messrs. B. A. Hagood and Arthur R. Young, both well known and highly esteemed members of the bar of this state. In the issue of the News and Courier, the morning daily newspaper of Charleston, of October 15, 1918, there appeared the following article written by the Washington Correspondent of that publication :
Orders just issued to Capt. G. L. Buist Rivers, of Charleston, sending him to Camp Kearney, Cali- fornia, with the Forty-eighth Field Artillery, make it pertinent to call attention to the remarkable record of this young officer, who was unable to obtain a commission in the army a year and a half ago be- cause he was under age.
As soon as young Rivers reached the age of 21, in the spring of 1917, he was allowed to take the examination, and in the summer received his com- mission as second lieutenant in the Eighteenth Field Artillery. In a few more months he was promoted to first lieutenant and sent to Fort Bliss, Texas. Last February he was detached and sent to France in advance of his command for special training at the school of fire.
When his regiment came to France. subsequently Lieutenant Rivers assisted in training it, and in July, accompanied it to the front, where he took part in the Chateau-Thierry-Fismes engagements as exccu- tive officer of Battery E. For conspicuous bravery in rescuing wounded under shell fire at Fismes he was commended by his battalion and battery com- manders, and his work was characterized officially.
He is entitled to wear shoulder braid decoration for gallantry as "excellent at all times."
At the close of the Chateau-Thierry-Fismes cam- paign Lieutenant Rivers was promoted to captain and
selected for return to America to help train troops on this side. He left France in September on the Mount Vernon, which was torpedoed, but not sunk.
This is certainly a striking and thrilling career for a soldier who entered the service of a little over a year ago. It adds another to Charleston's roll of distinguished honor in the field of arms.
K. F. M.
SAMUEL LAFAYETTE REID. As a publicity agent for South Carolina's wonderful agricultural re- sources, Samuel Lafayette Reid enjoys a position and wields an instrument of the greatest power and effectiveness as editor and publisher of the Caro- lina Farmer and Stockman of Charleston.
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