USA > South Carolina > History of South Carolina > Part 37
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HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
Mr. Ayer's political career was elosed with the end of the war. He had staked everything on that war and had lost. His home was desolated, and with a wife and one child to provide for he became a cotton factor at Charleston for a few years, until his plantation could be restored. He resumed the life of a planter in January, 1868, hut his affairs did not prosper, though his adviee was sought on every hand in business as well as other matters. Soon after the war lie became converted to religion through the influence of his wife and friends, and ever afterward chose the hard path of duty rather than that of pleasure. He surrendered his plan- tation to his sons and became a minister of the Baptist Church, first serving the church at Ander- son, where he had his home during his old age. At a time when most men are willing to retire he also took up educational work, and for several years conducted a flourishing female academy at Anderson. He was the heloved adviser and friend of all young people, and while his knowledge and information were almost encyclopedic, he was especially esteemed for his real wisdom and his depth of sympathy and understanding. He was author of several books and a number of other writings, and was one of the last survivors of the old school of orators who had made the South famous in ante-bellum times. Altogether his was an exemplary life, and its experiences, while not possible to duplicate in any other age of history, resulted in deeds which may well be admired and emulated.
While a member of the Confederate Congress Mr. Ayer married for his second wife, Miss Lillie Moore, a daughter of Rev. Thomas Verner Moore, who was prominent as a Presbyterian minister and for twenty-five years pastor of the First Presby- terian Church of Richmond, Virginia. To this mar- riage were born four children to reach mature years : Hartwell M. Ayer, former editor of the Florence Times, who died in 1917; Marie Louise, wife of the prominent Anderson banker, J. R. Vandiver ; Verna Blythe, wife of Kanute Akerberg, a seulptor of na- tional and international reputation; and Paul Earle Ayer, a resident of Anderson.
A grandson of the late Mr. Ayer inherits his martial spirit and served with distinction in France during the World war. This grandson is Basil A. Vandiver. Rhoda Vandiver, a daughter of Mrs. J. R. Vandiver, married Professor Bradley, who was also a gallant soldier in the war. Mrs. J. R. Vandiver has long been prominent in the social life of Anderson, and was an active leader in all patriotic movements during the great war. She has written much local history, and has many of the characteristics which distinguished her late father.
JAMES PERCIVAL HART. Since completing his edu- cation about nine years ago Mr. Hart has made his work an enthusiasm center around the mechanical and technical trades. He has been recognized for the past few years as an expert in automobile engi- neering and practice, and is one of the most pro- gressive members of the automobile trade cireles of Charleston.
Mr. Ilart is a member of an old family of South Carolina and was born at Martins Point in Charles-
ton County in 1804, son of W. R. and Kate (Sea- brooke) Ilart. His mother's people have had many associations with the low counties of South Caro- lina. The ancestral home of the Hart family is at Martins Point, where W. R. Hart for many years has been a leading planter.
James Percival Hart graduated from the Porter Military Academy at Charleston with the class of I911. For some time he was sales manager for the Army Cycle Company of Charleston. More recently he established his present business, the Hart Auto and Repair Company, of which he is treasurer and manager. This business is housed in extensive quar- ters at Hayne, Church and Pinckney streets. The buildings were especially remodelled for the com- pany's purposes, and furnish 12,500 feet of floor space. The business is a large and important one, not only for Charleston but for the back country. The company distributes the Elcar, Westcott and Jackson motor ears, the Barney Oldfield tires and has the Charleston agency for the International Har- vesting Company's engines, trucks, farm tractors and farm machinery.
Mr. Hart is a member of both the State and Charleston Automotive Trades Association. He married Miss Harriet S. Whaley, adopted daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. Swinton Whaley, a prominent family of Edisto Island. They have one son, James Percival. Jr. Mr. Hart is a member of Jasper Lodge No. 66, Knights of Pythias.
DAVID ALLEN TAYLOR is a business man of wide experience and exceptional ability who for the past fifteen years has applied his husiness knowledge and acumen to farming in Anderson County. In con- nection with the management of a fine farm at Sandy Springs his services are in great demand as an auctioneer.
Mr. Taylor was born in Winwiddie County, Vir- ginia, September 13, 1857, a son of Andrew and Senora (Wright) Taylor. His parents were born in Nash County, North Carolina, and after their marriage moved to Dinwiddie County, Virginia, where they spent the rest of their lives. The father was for two years captain of a company in the . Confederate army. For a number of years he was a farmer and livestock dealer at Petersburg, Vir- ginia, where he died at the age of seventy-nine. His wife died aged sixty-six. In their family were twelve children.
David A. Taylor grew up on his father's farm and finished his education in the high school at Peters- burg and later in MeCabe Academy in that city. In 1876 he graduated from the State Agricultural College at Blacksburg, Virginia, and in 1879 received his degree Doctor of Medicine from Bellevne Hos- pital Medical College of New York City. Though thoroughly trained and educated as a physician, Doctor Taylor never followed that as a profession. For a number of years he was in the drug business in Virginia, where he bought and sold several stores. From Virginia he went west to St. Louis, and 'became connected with the Wrought Iron Steel Range Company in that city, and until 1904 traveled in its interests in many states and cities.
In 1904 Mr. Taylor married Miss Rebecca J. Douthit, of Anderson County, South Carolina. After
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marriage he settled down permanently in the Sandy Springs community and has since been a successful farmer, has also dealt in real estate and also does auctioneering. Mr. Taylor is a Master Mason and Knight of Pythias, also an Odd Fellow and Elk, and a member of the Baptist Church. -
JOSEPH HAMILTON MCLESKEY, M. D. A physician and surgeon of thorough training and with talent developed by broad experience, Doctor McLeskey's services are greatly appreciated in his home com- munity of Rock Mill Township, Anderson County, where he has practiced medicine for the past three years.
He was born in Anderson County January 19. 1884, a son of James Franklin and Sarah Rebecca (Clark) McLeskey, also natives of the same county. His mother was a daughter of Ealey Vance Clark, a native of Anderson County. Doctor McLeskey's grandfather was James McLeskey, a native of An- derson County, and his great-grandfather .was Joseph McLeskey, who was born in Scotland and on coming to America first lived in Virginia, later moved to Habersham County, Georgia, and finally to Hart County in that state, where he spent his Jast years. Joseph McLeskey married a daughter of Major Hamilton, and to that ancestor Doctor MeLeskey is indebted for his middle name. Doctor McLeskey's parents now reside at Iva, South Caro- lina, his father being seventy-one years of age. His father spent his life as a farmer and during the war was a Confederate soldier.
Doctor MeLeskey, one of seven sons' and four daughters that reached mature years, spent his early life on a farm, acquired his literary education in the public schools of Iva and Anderson, and for two years was a student in Clemson College. He took two years of his medical course in the University of Georgia, spent one year in the University of Maryland, and his last year in the University of Georgia, where he graduated in 1909. At the be- ginning of his practice ten years ago Doctor Mc- Leskey located at Pendleton, South Carolina, and from there removed to his present home locality in Rock Mill Township July 28, 1916. He is a member of the County and State Medical Societies and the American Medical Association.
Doctor MeLeskey is a Knight Templar Mason, a Shriner and a member of the Knights of Pythias, and he and his wife are Presbyterians. In 1909 he married Miss Catherine A. O'Neal, daughter of Michael J. O'Neal. They have two children, Kathern and Joseph Hamilton, Jr.
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JOSEPHI J. FRETWELL, of Anderson, has achieved before reaching his seventieth year one of the conspicious successes' in business affairs in this state. His success is the more important not for the amassing of wealth, but for the service he has rendered to his community and to the many who have been associated with him at different times in his varied enterprises.
Mr. Fretwell was born 21/2 miles west of An- derson, March 21, 1850, a son of Joseph Y. and Naney Louisa (Russell) Fretwell. His father was a native of North Carolina and his mother of South Carolina. His grandfather, John Fret-
well, came to South Carolina, moving his family and scant household goods in a one-horse wagon. The son Joseph Y. walked behind this emigrant wagon. The family settled in what is now Ander- son County, and the Fretwells have been prominent there ever since. John Fretwell owned several hundred acres of good farming land, had slaves before the war, and laid the foundation of a gen- erous fortune. His son Joseph Y. followed in his footsteps, became a farmer, and by industry and good management acquired extensive possessions.
Joseph J. Fretwell has never been ashamed of the fact that he was born in a log cabin and that he spent his early life in the humble tasks of the farm. On the farm he learned many lessons that have been valuable to him in later life. Especially he learned to work and to appreciate the value of industry. His early education was acquired in the old field schools near his home, and the old school- house which he attended as a boy now stands on his own plantation. At the age of seventeen, soon after the close of the war, Mr. Fretwell left home to make his own living, at a time when all the South was greatly impoverished. At Anderson he was fortunate in the choice of his employer. In the store of the late Sylvester Bleckley he was given tasks of sweeping and cleaning out the store- room and performing a general utility service. He did his work well, attracted the attention of Mr. Bleckley, and was soon numbered among the trusted employes. Five years later he was made a member of the firm, and when another three years had passed he was given co-partnership with Mr. Bleckley.
The business association of the two men became further cemented when Mr. Fretwell married Mary Catherine Bleckley in 1879. Following his marriage he took active charge of the business and for twelve years or more was New York buyer for the con- cern. Finally the Sylvester Bleckley Company was organized, and four young men employes were given a chance to succeed to the ownership. After this had been accomplished Mr. Bleckley and Mr. Fret- well retired from merchandising.
In the meantime Mr. Fretwell had been interested in other lines and has achieved a conspicuous sue- cess as a livestock dealer, particularly in the han- dling of horses and mules. As a boy on the farm he was interested in livestock, and after giving up his place as a merchant he concentrated most of his time on the horse and mule business. The headquarters of this business are both at Anderson and Atlanta, Georgia, and it comprises connections and a volume of transactions probably the largest enjoyed by any concern of the kind in the South. Mr. Fretwell finally retired in 1910, his sons sue- ceeding him. two of them taking over the Ander- son business and two others having charge at Atlanta.
Probably nothing will indicate his character as a business man and citizen better than his relations with farming and farm development. Interested in agriculture for its own sake, he has broad visions and ideals of constructive work in that field. Sev- eral years ago he entered the real estate business, not merely as a broker, but for the purpose of handling and developing lands in such a way as
Heartwill
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to augment the prosperity of the county. Ile has been particularly interested in getting the poor but well qualified young man properly started in farming. In the course of his operations he has acquired extensive farm lands and sold them to tenant farmers, in the meantime using his capital to build good homes and barns and prepare the land for production, and a number of prosperous farmers of Anderson County have bought and paid for their lands through the opportunities and sys- tem presented by Mr. Fretwell. Mr. Fretwell takes no credit to himself for philanthropy in this respect, since the business was done on a business basis and at a profit, and yet the results are seen in the development of large areas of unutilized land and the creation of at least a small but influential group of self-respecting home owners.
In Anderson County are rich deposits of mica, and Mr. Fretwell has done much to develop the mining of this product. He owns four mica mines, three of which he operates and one, the Gifliard, is the richest in the entire country.
Through the extensive operations thus briefly outlined Mr. Fretwell has become one of the wealthy men of the South, but has won his wealth in such a way that none would begrudge him its possession and enjoyment. His business career constitutes in itself a real public service, and there need be no apology for his name never having appeared in connection with public office.
Mr. Fretwell was happy in his marriage and for over forty years had the sustaining and comfort- ing companionship of his good wife. Mrs. Fret- well died in 1918. She was the mother of nine children, one of whom died in childhood. The sur- viving children are: Ruth, at home with her father; Langdon, engaged in the mule business at Ander- son ; Raymond, president of the Fretwell Mule Com- pany at Anderson; Joseph J., Jr., secretary-treasurer of the Fretwell-Oglesby Mule Company at Atlanta; Sylvester, who was in the United States army and was stationed at Camp Jackson; Elizabeth and Catherine, both at home. While Mr. Fretwell has a home at Anderson, he and his charming family spend their summer months in a country home 21/2 miles west of Anderson, known as Sunset Forest, a beautiful place, the residence of twenty rooms being situated near a large spring surrounded by almost virgin forest.
SYLVESTER BLECKLEY. During a residence of more than forty years at Anderson Sylvester Bleckley ac- quired a fortune as a merchant, and identified him- self so completely with the life and spirit of the community that he deserves permanent memory as one of the builders of the city.
He was born at Clayton, Rabun County, Georgia, July 16, 1832, son of Judge James and Catherine (Lutz) Bleckley. Grandfather James Bleckley was a North Carolinian of English and Irish lineage and a teacher by profession. Judge James Bleckley was born in Lincoln County, North Carolina, in 1803. His wife was a native of Burke County in the same state, born in 1800, daughter of John Lutz and granddaughter of George Lutz, who came from Ger- many, settling first in Pennsylvania and afterward in North Carolina. James Bleckley and Catherine
Lutz were married in 1823, and soon afterward moved to Rabun County, Georgia, where they were early settlers. Though a farmer. James Bleckley was a man of great influence in his community and filled successively the offices of sheriff, clerk, ordi- nary and judge of the County Court. Ile died in 1870 and his wife in 1874. The late Chief Justice Logan E. BJeckley of Georgia, was their son.
Sylvester Bleckley grew up on a farm in his native county, acquired a fair education at Clayton, and at the age of nineteen was working as a clerk and bookkeeper at Athens, Georgia. In March, 1853, at the age of twenty-one, he canie to Anderson and forthwith became a member of the firm England, Bleckley & Company, gencral merchants. He soon became the leading spirit in the organization and finally sole proprietor, and continued the business alone until he admitted his son-in-law, J. J. Fretwell, as a partner. He was engaged in business with Mr. Fretwell at the time of his death.
He was a democrat, but held only minor positions of a political nature. He was a member of the Baptist Church, and his influence was always sought in support of every public spirited enterprise. He is remembered as a gentleman of fine appearance, large, portly and dignified. He died at Anderson in 1896. In September, 1856, he married Miss Ann Elizabeth Hammond. She was born in Anderson County, a daughter of Benjamin F. Hammond, and she sur- vived her husband several years. Mr. and Mrs. Bleckley became the parents of five daughters: Jo- sephine, widow of John E. Peoples, of Anderson; Mary C., who married J. J. Fretwell and is de- ceased ; Ella, wife of William Laughlin, of Ander- son; Annie M., who is married to Albert G. Means, of Anderson; and Zoe, wife of Fred Maxwell, of Anderson.
WILLIAM ALEXANDER WATSON. That men of broad and varied experience are best fitted for the vocation of farming is doubted by no one familiar with the intellectual and general demands placed upon present day exponents of scientific agriculture. Especially is a knowledge of business an important item in the equipment of those who conduct the basic industry of the world, and it is this advantage which has largely contributed to the success of William Alex- ander Watson, whose home and diversified interests are to be found just north of Anderson, in Center- ville Township, Anderson County.
Mr. Watson was born in this county February 10, 1866, a son of William Berry and Phoebe Ann (Roberson) Watson. His father was a native of Anderson County, born in 1828, a son of Daniel Keith and Susan (Gary) Watson, and a grandson of Jonathan Watson, a native of Virginia, and a son of an Irish emigrant. Jonathan Watson was a pioneer settler of Anderson County. The Gary family is also of Irish origin, numbers among its members John Gary, a Revolutionary patriot, and came at an early day to South Carolina from Vir- ginia. William Berry Watson and his brothers, Seaborn H. and Daniel Sanford Watson, served in the war between the states as Confederate soldiers, and at the close of that struggle Mr. Watson engaged in farming, a vocation in which he met with marked success. He always resided in Anderson County,
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where his death occurred in 1899, while his wife, who was likewise a member of this county, died here when seventy-one years old. Their children were: Zulie, who died unmarried; William Alex- ander ; and Sue A., the widow of N. E. Seybt. The parents were faithful members of the Baptist Church, were people of splendid traits of mind and heart, and were held in the highest esteem by all who knew them.
William Alexander Watson grew to maturity on the home farin, in the neighborhood of which he secured his educational training in the public schools, also attended Furman University at Greenville, and when he reached the time to embark upon a career of his own chose farm work as the medium through which to gain his success. Farming has been his real life's occupation, but he has also shown marked ability in his activities as a business man, and at the present time has a number of important connections at Anderson. He resides in the old parental home- stead in the north of the town, where the family has been known for many years, 'and where Mr. Watson is accounted a worthy representative of the honored name which he bears.
The maiden name of Mrs. Watson was Mary A. Bell, and she is a daughter of Ernest Bell, of An- derson County. She and her husband have one son, William Eugene, and all are members of the Baptist Church. Mr. Watson professes republican attachment, and has always felt a keen interest in local undertakings, although he has not sought political office. He is one of the prominent and substantial men of his section, exerting a wide in- fluence in general affairs and contributing to the welfare of the community a sterling character and large capacity for general usefulness.
SAMUEL A. JONES is one of the self-made and prosperous farmers of Anderson County. His youth fell in that particularly trying period when the state and most of its men and resources were engaged in Civil war, and consequently he had little education and no capital beyond his ambition and willing de- termination. Farming has been the means by which he has risen over the successive obstacles to success. l'or thirty-nine years he has lived on his present fine farın of 456 acres in Rock Mill Township of Ander- son County. He has made many improvements, and is regarded as one of the most successful agricul- turists in his part of the state.
He was born in Anderson County September 23, 1850, a son of William and Elizabeth (Dean) Jones and a grandson of James Jones. William Jones was born in Greenville County August 10, 1826, and was a soldier throughout the war between the states. Samuel A. Jones grew up on a farm, and at the age of twenty-two, in 1872, married Miss Mary Jane Stevenson, a daughter of George and Sallie (Dean) Stevenson. Mr. and Mrs. Jones have shared the adversities as well as the good fortune of life to- gether for nearly half a century. They are the parents of three children : James L., born March 31, 1873; Clarence D., born September 12, 1879; and Eunice, who was born January 29, 1888, and is the wife of Maj. A. McCowan. Mr. and Mrs. Jones are members of the Methodist church, and he is affiliated with the Masonic Order.
CAREY DANIEL CHAMBLEE started life with his principal capital consisting of a pair of mules and a wagon and buggy, also with a considerable experi- ence as a practical South Carolina farmer, and with unlimited energy and determination has achieved a place as one of the wealthy men in agriculture in Anderson County.
Mr. Chamblee, whose home is in Rock Mill Town- ship, was born in Anderson County January 7, 1870, son of Daniel Seaborne and Elmina (Burriss) Chamblee. This family has been identified with Anderson County for over a century, His grand- father, James B. Chamblee, was born about 1819 in Anderson County and died in 1879. Daniel Sea- borne Chamblee was born in 1837 and died in 1896, spending liis active life as a farmer. For four years he was a Confederate soldier, going out with Orr's Rifles. He married in 1867, and his wife was a daughter of Reuben Burriss, who was born in Anderson County. She lived to the age of seventy- three. Both were active members of the Mountain Creek Baptist Church. Their children were: Ina, widow of Arthur W. Hall; Maggie E., wife of Robert H. Norris; Carey Daniel; Viva, who mar- ried E. C. Martin; Oscar R .; Anna L., who never married; and Mamie A., widow of Robert Kay.
Carey Daniel Chamblee received only the ad- vantages of the common schools, but is a man of thorough information, having been a reader of good literature all his life. He lived at home with his parents to the age of twenty-six.
December 26, 1895, he married Minnie L. Free- man, daughter of Wilburn J. Freeman, of Anderson County. Mr. and Mrs. Chamblee's children are Gladys, Helen, Rodger, Ernest, Albert and Nora.
Mr. Chamblee has made his farm in Rock Mill Township one of the best in the county. Altogether he owns 1,300 acres. His home is on Rural Route No. 4 out of Anderson. He has had some losses, including the burning of his home, but it was replaced with a substantial frame residence in 1913. Mr. and Mrs. Chamblee are members of the Baptist Church.
WILLIAM GARY WATSON. One of the best and most favorably known citizens in Anderson County, the late William Gary Watson, spent a life close to the soil, was always a farmer, though from his land in the country his interests extended to business in the city. He had fought with bravery and devotion in the Confederate army, and by his substantial character, his industry and good management, had played an important part in redeeming his native state from the ruinous effects of the war.
He was born in Anderson County July 9, 1831, and died on his farm August 8, 1903. His parents were David M. and Mary (Gary) Watson. On both sides he was of Revolutionary ancestry. His grand- father, Jonathan Watson, was a native of Virginia and of Irish lineage, and his name appears among the Revolutionary soldiers of that commonwealth. Soon after the winning of independence he settled in Anderson County, South Carolina. David M. Watson was born and reared in Anderson County and spent his life there as a farmer. His wife, Mary Gary, was born in Newberry County, daugh- ter of John Gary, a native of Virginia, and grand-
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