USA > South Carolina > History of South Carolina > Part 42
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Joseph 1 .. Nettles is a native of South Carolina ;
Jos les
Josef Elenkins
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he was born at Manning, Clarendon County, May 24, 18go, a son of Rev. Stephen A. and Sue ( Galluchat ) Nettles. The father has long been active in the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and for many years during his ministry in South Carolina was editor of the Christian Advocate. The son was educated in public and private schools. While still young in years he became a student in Wofford College from which he graduated with the degree of A. B., in 1908. He at once began the study of law, entering Harvard University and graduated in 1911, with the degree of LL. B. It is interesting to note that at the time of finishing his final examinations, he had not yet reached his twen- ty-first birthday, but by the time liis papers had been examined and passed upon, he had attained his ma- jority, and he was given huis degree, with the assurance that he was one of the youngest men to whom the degree had ever been issued by the famous old university at Cambridge.
Mr. Nettles immediately came to Columbia where he has since continued the practice of his profes- sion and his residence. He entered into a partner- ship with Ashley C. Tobias, Jr., of whom a sketch appears elsewhere in this work, and this association continues under the firm name of Nettles & Tobias.
In addition to his professional duties, Mr. Nettles has found time to devote to public and business af- fairs. He is a director of the Bank of Columbia, and a member of the State Board of Pardons, of which he is also secretary.
In social and fraternal circles he is a member of the Ridgewood, the Columbia, the South Carolina, and the Cotillion clubs, and in the time honored Masonic fraternity he is a member of Columbia Commandery, Knights Templar, and Omar Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, at Charleston.
January 4, 1917, he married Harriet Gillespie, of Columbia, and they have one son, Joseph Lawrence, Jr., born February 23, 1918.
JOSEPH EVANS JENKINS. Among the younger busi- ness men of Charleston, whose energy and initiative have proven powerful factors in the modern prog- ress of the city, Joseph E. Jenkins has won promi- nent and conspicuous place.
Mr. Jenkins was born in the City of Charleston, June 24, 1891, a son of Hawkins K. and Josephine (Manigault) Jenkins, of whom a more extended notice is given elsewhere in this work. He was but a child of five years of age when his parents moved to Pinopolis in Berkeley County, and there his boyhood days were spent amidst the surround- ings common to the period and locality. The com- mon schools of the neighborhood supplied the foun- dations for educational training, and this was later supplemented with attendance at the Porter Mili- tary Academy and at Clemson College, from the latter of which he graduated in 1911 with the degree of B. A.
After graduating from college he moved to Ton- goodoo in Charleston County, where he spent the following four years as a practical farmer, applying in large measure the advanced scientific methods in which he had been instructed at Clemson College.
In September, 1915, Mr. Jenkins located in Charleston and at once engaged in the real estate
and insurance business, which he has since con- ducted with marked success. He has been most prominently identified with the development of the Carolina-Florida Realty Company's tract of ninety- two lots, and the Rutledge lfeights addition of 204 lots, both of which additions represent substantial, modern, residential districts with up-to-date im- provements and facilities.
In May, 1917, Mr. Jenkins entered the service of .his country as a volunteer, accepting service in the United States Navy as a petty officer. In a short while he had won promotion to the rank of ensign, and saw service in various naval stations, including Charleston, Key West and New York. He was assigned to the U. S. S. Sachem and was made executive officer of the ship which had been as- signed to the use of Thomas A. Edison and staff for experimental and research work in the develop- ment of anti-submarine devices and other inventions. many of which proved effective in winning the war.
After the close of hostilities and the signing of the armistice Mr. Jenkins returned to Charleston and renewed his business activities.
July 10, 1917, Mr. Jenkins married Johanna Stewart Gadsden, a daughter of John and Mary (Deas) Gadsden, and a descendant of prominent families whose name have been long connected with the history of South Carolina.
In social affairs Mr. Jenkins is a member of the Carolina Yacht Club, the Country Club, St. An- drew's Society, St. Cecelia Society, the time honored Masonic fraternity and of the American Legion.
J. THOMAS ESKEW. A farm in Anderson County that by its improvement and superficial appearance attracts attention, and has long been considered one of the most productive places in the county, is owned by J. Thomas Eskew.
He was born on this estate May 10, 1870, and rep- resents an old and prominent family of the county. His parents, John and Amanda (Burriss) Eskew, were natives of Anderson County. The paternal grandparents were Elliot and Katy (Burriss) Eskew and the maternal grandparents were Rev. Jacob and Nancy Burriss. Rev. Jacob Burriss was a prominent carly day Baptist minister in Anderson county. John Eskew spent his life quietly as a farmer with the exception of the period of the war between the states when he did his part as a Confederate soldier, He died at the age of seventy-five and his wife at seven- ty-two. Her death occurred recently, in February, 1919. Both were members of the Baptist Church. They were the parents of three children : Essie, who married Levi Geer and is now deceased; J. Thomas ; and J. B. Eskew, who was accidently killed at the age of seven years.
The Eskew farm, less than three miles north of Anderson, was the scene of the carly as well as the later exeperiences of J. Thomas Eskew. He was indebted to his parents for his religious training, and he had every incentive to make the best of his own life. It has always been a matter of deep regret that he did not accept the privileges of a liberal edu- cation extended him by his father. He has chosen farming as his career, and as proprietor of the 385 acres in the Eskew farm has made a generous suc- cess. In late years he has operated and built up a fine dairy herd.
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In 1896 he married Miss Estelle Burriss, a daugh- ter of Marcus M. Burriss. They become the parents of four children : Prue, who died at the age of seven years; James Harley; Carobeth; and John Spencer, who also died when seven years old. Mr. Eskew is a democrat and lie and his wife are members of the Baptist Church.
WILLIAM CARROLL. BROWN, M. D. Many of the ablest physicians of the past generation were what would be described as country doctors. The country doctor has been justly celebrated in literature, and probably the American civilization of the nineteenth century produced no finer figure, more devoted char- acter than the physician whose work was remote from cities, covered many square miles traversed only by rough roads, and the labors involved in at- tending practice constituted a burden such as only men of the strongest resolution and physical fiber could endure.
It was a doctor of this type represented by the per- son and career of Dr. William Carroll Brown of Anderson County. He was learned and skillful in his profession, was a natural leader among men, and was successful in his relations as a farmer and good business man.
He was born December 3, 1829, eighteen miles north of Walhalla, Oconee County, and died at his home in Belton, December 18, 1884. He was a son of Mackey and Sallie ( Rice) Brown, and a brother of Joseph Emerson Brown, distinguished as the great war governor of Georgia and probably the most popular of Georgia's long line of chief execu- tives. Joseph Emerson Brown in turn was father of Joseph M. Brown, who also served as governor of Georgia.
Mackey Brown was a native of South Carolina, born February II, 1797, and was a soldier in the War of 1812 under General Jackson at the battle of New Orleans. At the close of that war he married in Tennessee Miss Sallie Rice, but later returned with his family to South Carolina. Mackey Brown died March 24, 1874. Throughout his life he was a hard working farmer and in only modern circum- stances, though he enjoyed the highest respect of every community where he lived. He was a splendid type of the old time Christian and an active worker in the Baptist Church. He and his wife had a family of thirteen children, eight of whom reached mature years. Mackey Brown was a son of Joseph and Jemima (Boyles) Brown. Joseph Brown was a Revolutionary soldier under Colonel Sevier at the battle of King's Mountain and other engagements. He was a son of Joseph and Mary ( Porter) Brown, the former a native of Londonderry, Ireland, and a son of William and Margaret (Fleming) Brown, who with two children came to the United States in 1745 and settled in the Shenandoah Valley of Vir- ginia. From there Joseph Brown, Sr., moved to what is now Washington County, Tennessee, thence to South Carolina. The Brown family through the different generations have possessed those rugged qualities of mind and heart which make such dis- tinguished personalities as the Governors Brown and Doetor Brown no mere accident in the family line.
When Doctor Brown was ten years of age his parents removed to Dahlonega, Georgia, where he
remained to the age of eighteen. He and his brother, who later was Judge James R. Brown of Canton, Georgia, then entered the private school of the just- ly celebrated educator Wesley Leverett at old Pick- ens Court House. They followed their preceptor to Williamston Acadamy in this state and completed their literary education under him.
For two years William Carroll Brown taught school in Belton, and in the meantime was reading medicine under his uncle, Dr. George Reece Brown. In 1855 he graduated from the Jefferson Medical College at Philadelphia and at once took up his chosen work at Belton, succeeding to the practice of Dr. George Reece Brown. From that time until his death nearly thirty years later he gave liis sery- ices to a large clientage, and his friends and neigh- bors were the only ones in a position to appreciate just how inuch of his service was given gratuitously and without thought of compensation. Along with his medical duties he combined farming and the man- agement of a large plantation.
At the beginning of the war he volunteered his services to the Confederate army, and had reached Atlanta, Georgia, when as a result of a petition from the citizens of Delton and vicinity he was sent home to continue his work in that community. One thing for which Doctor Brown is remembered is his pioneer efforts in improving and raising the standards of agriculture as practiced in his community. He fre- quently introduced new types of machinery, and in every sense was a thorough progressive. While he never sought such conspicuous honors in politics as his distinguished brother in Georgia, he was an ef- fective worker in the democratic party and in the cause of good government. He was a leader in his home locality in the campaign of 1876 when white rule was restored, and in that year was elected a member of the Legislature from Anderson County and re-elected for a second term. He was active in the Baptist Church and for many years superinten- dent of its Sunday school.
September 4, 1856, Doctor Brown married Miss Anna Louisa Dean. She was born near Belton, April 28, 1838, and died there August 24, 1912, having survived her husband nearly thirty years. She was a daughter of Rev. Charles Pienkney and Lucinda Caroline (Horton) Dean. Her father, for many years a prominent Baptist minister, was born in Greenville County June 4, 1806, and died at Belton, January 25, 1879. For many years he owned and inanaged a farm in Anderson County and in con- nection served as pastor of the surrounding Baptist Churches. Rev. Mr. Dean's wife was a native of Anderson County and a daughter of Grief and Jemima (Broyle) Horton, and a granddaughter of Major Aaron Broyles of Shady Grove, South Caro- lina.
Doctor Brown and wife had the following chil- dren : Sarah Alice, who is the widow of the late United States Senator Ashury C. Latimer of Belton ; George Thadeus, who has achieved distinction as a physician and surgeon at Atlanta, Georgia; Nora Anna, who married James Alfred MeDaniel ; Mattie Eloise, wife of John T. West of Belton; William Carroll, Jr., a prominent farmer occupying the old homestead in Belton, who married Lillian Blake,
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DM W Laurin.
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HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
daughter of Col. Julius Blake of Charleston. There were four other children who died in infancy.
Cot .. DANIEL W. McLAURIN. When in March, 1919, Col. Daniel W. MeLaurin was elected state pension commissioner and took charge of that office at Columbia, he was by no means a stranger at the state capital, since as a member of the Legislature and as former state land commissioner he has been a well known figure in state public life for many years.
Colonel MeLaurin can never call any place home except his plantation in Dillon County. He was born in Marlboro County December 16, 1843. Of the MeLaurin family it is hardly necessary to speak at length. It is a name distinguished not only in South Carolina but in other parts of the South. Colonel MeLaurin's great-grandfather was Daniel MeLaurin, a native of Scotland. The grandfather of Colonel MeLaurin was John McLaurin who came from Scotland in 1783 at the age of eighteen, and located on land long known as the MeLaurin plan- tation near the present town of McColl. Two of his older brothers had preceded him to South Carolina, reaching this colony prior to the Revolutionary war. The MeLaurins have always been prominent people in Marlhoro County and the adjoining county of Scotland in North Carolina. In 1832 a part of the family removed to Mississippi. Colonel MeLau- rin is a cousin of the late Senator MeLaurin, who was born and spent his life in Mississippi and was one of that state's most distinguished sons, having been governor and United States senator for a long period of years. He died while a member of the Senate. Colonel MeLaurin's father Laughlin L., was also born on the MeLaurin plantation near MeColl.
Daniel W. MeLaurin soon after the beginning of the war between the states in 1861 volunteered as a private in Company G of the Twenty-Third South Carolina Infantry. He served the full period of the war, four years. He was corporal and sergeant. He was in Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, in General Evans' (later Wallace's) Brigade, and al- most constantly on duty in Virginia except for a period when the brigade was assigned to duty dur- ing the siege of Vicksburg in Mississippi. He was three times wounded while in the war, and one month and seven days before the final surrender was captured and taken to Point Lookout. Mary- land, and not released until July 3, 1865. His companion in service was his twin brother Hugh L. McLaurin, who is still living on the old MeLaurin plantation at MeColl.
Despite his prominence in public affairs, Colonel McLaurin has been true to the traditions of the family, and has given the best years of his life to planting and agriculture. For many years his home has been in what is now Dillon County, that por- tion which originally was a part of Marion County. Colonel MeLaurin represented Marion County in the Legislature for six years. He was state land commissioner for twenty-two years. His military title is due to his service on the staff of Governor Evans. He has held various official positions in the United Confederate Veterans in South Caro-
lina. Colonel MeLaurin has been an elder of the Presbyterian Church for half a century.
He and Mrs. McLaurin, whose maiden name was Martha C. MeLucas, have been married more than fifty years, as they were married November 25, 1868.
ASBURY CHURCHWELL LATIMER. Of South Caro- lina's representatives in national life and affairs a distinguished place is enjoyed by the late Asbury Churchwell Latimer, who entered Congress in 1892, served five successive terms, and was then chosen to a seat in the United States Senate. He did not complete the six years' term in the Senate, since death overtook his labors at Washington toward the close of the term. He died in the national city February 20, 1908.
The late Senator Latimer, whose home for many years was at Belton, where Mrs. Latimer still lives, was born in Abbeville County, near Lowndesville, July 31, 1851, son of Clement T. and Frances Beulah (Young) Latimer. His grandfather, Dr. James Latimer came from Charles County, Maryland, to South Carolina about 1800 and practiced medicine for many years in Abbeville County. Senator Lati- mer's father was a farmer and devoted his time to his farm interests until his death in 1876. His wife, who died in 1874, was also a native of Abbeville County and a daughter of a prominent farmer and citizen, William Young.
Ashury Churchwell Latimer grew up on his farm near Lowndesville, made good use of the opportuni- ties of the common schools and the Lowndesville Academy, and his youth and early manhood were spent in the period of the war and reconstruction, when the entire state suffered and so many normal opportunities were denied. He first took an active interest in politics in 1876, when the campaign for restoration of white government culminated in the triumph of the democratic party and the election of Wade Hampton. He was a member of the troops that took possession of the South Carolina State House at that time. Governor Hampton tendered him a position on his military staff. However, just at that time his father died and the pressing need for his services on the home farm obliged him to de- cline.
Senator Latimer removed to Belton in 1880. He always retained large and important farm interests, and was also active in business affairs. Several times he was chairman of democratic committees, but only reluctantly came into polities as a candi- date. In 1890 he was urged by numerous friends to accept the nomination for lieutenant governor on the ticket headed by Ben R. Tillman. He declined this honor. In 1892 he was elected a member of Congress, and served continuously for ten years. In 1903 he was elected United States Senator and he served until his death, about a year before the end of his term.
Senator Latimer is remembered in South Carolina politics as a man of high principles, of sound views, an effective student and worker, and his services were of a quality which entitle him to a high place among the state's public leaders. At the age of ten years he united with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and for many years was an official member
1
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of the church and also interested in Sunday school work.
June 26, 1877, he married Miss Sarah Alice Brown, daugliter of the late William Carroll Brown, of Belton, whose life record is sketched elsewhere. Mr. and Mrs. Latimer had five children: William Carroll Latimer, an attorney at law of Atlanta, Georgia; Mamie Brown, who married Luther Mar- tin Heard, of Elberton, Georgia; Anna Beulah, who married Grange S. Cuthbert, of Summerville, South Carolina; Olive Young, who married James II. Pal -. len, of Washington, District of Columbia ; and Miss Sarah Alice Latimer. Mrs. Latimer, who lives at Belton, has traveled extensively, has been distinguished by an unusual ability in handling busi- ness affairs, is prominent in socal life, and for several years has given much of her personal atten- tion to the management of her extensive farming interests.
JOSEPH WATSON MAJOR has a record of half a century of farming activities in the Sandy Springs community of Anderson County, and has lived there ali his life, achieving respect and esteem for his own worthy qualities, which have been consistent with those of a long and honorable ancestry.
Mr. Major was born near Sandy Springs April 20, 1848. The Major ancestry is traced back in direct line for three centuries to England. The successive ancestors are: Richard Major, who was born in 1615; John Major, born in 1654; John Major, born in 1722; John Major, born in 1755; John Perry Major, boin in 1775; and John Wesley Major, born in Abbeville County, South Carolina, January I, 1821. John Wesley Major spent his active life as a farmer, served three years as a Confederate soldier and died in Anderson County March 19, 1885. He married Sarah Ann Eliza Holland, who was a native of Pickens County, South Carolina. They were members of the Methodist faith and were the parents of fourteen children.
Joseph Watson Major was reared on a farm and as most of his boyhood and youth were spent in the period of the war and reconstruction his school advantages were limited. Practically ever since the close of the war he has given his best efforts to farming and has been one of the progressive and public spirited citizens of his community. He has long been a member of the Methodist Church and is a Mason in fraternal affiliation.
In 1869 he married Miss Maggie E. Webb, who was born in Anderson County in 1848, a daughter of James and Nancy (Smith) Webb. She died, the mother of five children. In 1902 Mr. Major married Miss Ella Garrison, a daughter of Edmund B. Gar- rison, of Greenville County.
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THEODORE COLUMBUS POORE, whose active life has been identified with the agricultural community of Anderson County, was born in that county August 7, 1853, a son of Holland and Mary or Polly (Ra- bourne) Poore. His father was also a native of Anderson County and a farmer, a son of Samuel Poore, who was born in this state of Irish lineage.
Theodore C. Poore grew up on the home farm. In 1886 he married Miss Nannie Lewis, daughter of Jonathan Berry Lewis. He is well known in Ander-
son County history and one of the founders and builders of Belton. Mr. and Mrs. Poore have a daughter, Leda. She is a graduate of the Greenville Woman's College with the class of 1911. Both she and her mother had part of their education from the same woman, Miss Mary C. Judson. Mr. and Mrs. Poore reside in the old Jonathan Berry Lewis homestead, a beautiful place, the main structure of which was erected by Mrs. Poore's father in 1852.
JONATHAN BERRY LEWIS. Belton has a high rank among the small cities of South Carolina, and its present size, importance and enterprise stand as a monument to its first merchant and one of its real builders, Jonathan Berry Lewis.
Jonathan Berry Lewis was born in South Caro- fina in 1810 and died in 1891. He was a son of Jesse .Lewis, a native of South Carolina and a grandson of William Lewis, who was of Welsh an- cestry and was born in County Down, Ireland, in 1740. After his marriage he came to America, located in Loudon County, Virginia, and the tradi- tion is that he was with the Continental Line in the Revolutionary war. Later he came to South Caro- lina and lived first in Union and later in Washing- ton County, where he died in 1820. His children were Major, Elisha; Samuel, James, John, Thomas, Jesse and William, also two daughters.
Jonathan Berry Lewis not only established the first store but did much to build up a business com- munity at Belton. He was progressive, acquired con- siderable wealth, and left a deep and lasting impres- sion on his community. In 1852 he built the old home which is still the residence of his daughter Mrs. T. C. Poore.
Jonathan Berry Lewis married Mary Gambrell. Of their eight children two died young. The others were named Charles Berry, Robert Augustus, Amer- ica, Rachel Margaret, Nannie and Luther Hayne. Only the two daughters Rachel and Nannie now survive, Nannie being the wife of Theodore Colum- bus Poore.
WALKER HALIBURTON POWE, M. D. An interest- ing proof of the fact that Greenville is rapidly attaining the importance of a great metropolitan center is the tendency of its business and profes- sional interests to be considered in groups rather than as separate enterprises or as individuals. This tendency has extended to the medical profes- sion which comprises some of the ablest men in the state. In this professional group Dr. Walker Haliburton Powe is a physician and surgeon of real distinction. He served with the rank of captain in the Medical Department of the National Army.
He was born at Darlington, South Carolina, in 1886, a son of Gideon Walker and Jessie Amelia (Murdock) Powe. His parents still live at Darling- ton. Both his father and mother are connected with some of the old and distinguished families of the state. His paternal ancestor Thomas Powe came from Virginia about 1760 and settled at old Cheraw. South Carolina. He was born in Wales. He took a prominent part in civil affairs in colonial days and after the winning of American indepen- dence became a member of the South Carolina State Senate. A son of this Thomas Powe was Gen.
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