USA > South Carolina > History of South Carolina > Part 60
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Joseph CO. Little
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and Mrs. Campbell are members of the New Pros- pect Baptist Church.
JOSEPH WYLIE LITTLE, while one of the most popular and widely known citizens of Greenville County, counts it sufficient distinction and one of which he is very proud to be considered merely as Joseph Wylie Little of Simpsonville. Simpson- ville means a great deal to him, not only because it is his home and the center of his business as a leading agriculturist, but as one of the real garden spots of Upper South Carolina and a community which aroused his personal pride many years ago and which he has never ceased to promote and advertise hy every means in his power.
Mr. Little, who is postmaster of Simpsonville, was born in Glenn Springs, South Carolina, in 1877, son of William and Catharine ( Montgomery) Little. His father, grandfather and great-grand- father all hore the name of William, and the stock is of Scotch-Irish ancestry. Many of the name have heen prominent in the history of Virginia and other Southern states. His great-grandfather came from Virginia to North Carolina about the time of the Revolutionary war and acquired large tracts of land, on which the town of Littleton, North Carolina, is built, named in his honor. His son William moved to South Carolina and settled in the northwest corner of Union County, his land adjoining Spartanburg County. The center of this community is Glenn Springs, situated in Spartan- burg County. William Little, father of the Simp- souville citizen, served in the Confederate army throughout the war in Hampton's Legion, and three of his brothers were under the same general. His wife Catharine Montgomery is a descendant of the noted North Carolina Revolutionary officer and participant in the battle of King's Mountain, General Montgomery. Members of the Montgomery family were latter prominent in the early history of the State of Mississippi.
Joseph Wylie Little received his education in the local schools of Glenn Springs, and first entered the service of the Clifton Manufacturing Company, cotton manufacturers in Spartanburg County. For several years he continued his associations with the cotton mill industry, and then removed to Green- ville County in 1900 and located at the then small village of Simpsonville to engage in farming. Farm- ing is his choice of vocation, and has continued to be his principal occupation, and from his interests and connections have spread to other affairs. His farm of 277 acres adjoining the Town of Simpson- ville is one of the finest in Lower Greenville County. This is a section of the state noted for its great agricultural wealth and progressiveness, and during the last fifteen or twenty years land valnes have increased so rapidly that Mr. Little's farm in itself represents a considerable fortune.
Mr. Little was appointed in 1915 and served as postmaster of Simpsonville until the spring of 1919, when he resigned. He is a candidate for sheriff of Greenville County for 1920. His enthusiasm can be evoked more readily on the subject of Simp- sonville than any other one subject. He always declares that this veritable garden spot covers an area of five square miles, this district being a
thickly settled community of comfortable homes and farms, and is so closely bound together that it really constitutes one town.
Mr. Little married Miss Janie Goldsmith of Lower Greenville County. Her American ancestor Wil- linin Goldsmith came to this country from England prior to the Revolutionary war and was a Con- tinental soldier under Lafayette. In 1782 he settled in the lower part of Greenville County and his descendants have since constituted one of the coun- ty's most distinguished families. Mr. and Mrs. Little have two children, Mary and Fay Goldsmith Little.
VIVIAN M. MANNING, stock and bond broker at Greenville, is a son of former Governor Richard I. Manning, and was one of six brothers who were volunteers in the great war, one of them being killed in action in France. The case of these six sons gave an enviable fame to the Manning family that spread far beyond the borders of the home state.
Vivian M. Manning was born and reared on his father's farm below Sumter, and completed his education in the University of the South at Sewanee, Tennessee. Locating at Greenville in 1909, he became purchasing agent for cotton mills, and grad- ually developed a business until he represented more cotton mills in the Carolinas and Georgia than any other purchasing agent.
Leaving this well established clientage, Mr. Mann- ing in the early summer of 1918 volunteered for the officers training school at Camp Jackson, and was graduated with a commission as second lieu- tenant. He took intensive artillery training at Camp Taylor, Louisville, and after being promoted to first lieutenant was assigned to duty in the office of the chief of field artillery at Washington, and was scheduled for early departure overseas when the war closed.
Receiving an honorable discharge late in 1918, Mr. Manning returned to Greenville, but resumed business in a different field. He has since developed a growing clientage as a stock and bond broker. He married Miss Adair McDowell, daughter of Mr. Malcolm McDowell of New Orleans. They have two children. a daughter Meredith, and a son Mal- colm McDowell.
GEORGE PRENTICE LOGAN has been a Columbia lawyer for twenty years, and as to his success and high standing the testimony of his fellow lawyers and the public generally is unanimons.
Mr. Logan was born at Kingstree, South Caro- line, March 5, 1872, son of R. Columbus and Theresa S. (Scott) Logan. His father was a prominent newspaper man. and editor in South Carolina, hav- ing established the County Record at Kingstree. He was also for some years connected with the News and Courier at Charleston.
George P. Logan attended private schools, also South Carolina College, and graduated from the law department of that institution in 1897. He at once began practice at Columbia and from 1898 to 1914 was associated with H. N. Edmunds as Logan & Edmunds. Since then his partner has been C. T. Graydon, and the firm of Logan & Graydon has a
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large share of the general practice of the local courts.
Mr. Logan has appeared as counsel in a number of difficult and significant cases. He was attorney in the case of Rhodes vs. Granby Cotton Mills. Rhodes was suing for injury sustained as a result of the company's action in putting him on the "black list." It was the first case of its kind in the courts of South Carolina, and Mr. Logan secured a verdict of $10,000 for the plaintiff. He was also attorney in the case of the Carolina Agency vs. J. G. Garlington. This was also a new case in South Carolina. The court had to decide whether an attachment would lie in an equity proceeding. Mr. Logan secured a verdict for the plaintiff.
He has served as city attorney of Columbia and is president of the Co-operative Building and Loan Association. Ile is a member of the Richland County and State Bar Association, of the Columbia Club, is a democrat and a Presbyterian. Mr. Logan is unmarried.
HON. THOMAS S. SEASE. It is a fine measure of esteem that so many men, business leaders as well as lawyers, never neglect an opportunity for a pertinent reference to their associations with the career of Judge Sease of Spartanburg. In an ap- propriate and praiseworthy sense Judge Sease for many years has been a personal landmark in that section of the state, and it is generally conceded that from him have proceeded and radiated many of the influences that are most vital in the welfare of this community.
Judge Sease who was born in Newberry County in 1867 is a son of John Leonard and Martha (Fike) Sease. His great-grandfather was Mark Scase, who came from Pennsylvania directly after the Revolu- tionary war and settled near the extreme castern part of Newberry County in Lexington County, the county line passing near the Sease homestead. The succeeding generations have continued to live in that vicinity for nearly a century and a half, and it was there that Thomas S. Sease was born. The latter's grandfather John Sease. John Leonard Sease was born in Lexington County in 1824 and lived to the remarkable age of ninety-four. He died at his old home in Newberry County in 1918. He had been a planter during his active life .. The main pursuit of the Sease family through several generations has been agriculture. John Leonard Sease had a very modest school education, but was a man of education in the broader and better sense of the term, having acquaintance with men and life and possessed that poise and good judgment that made his advice and leadership esteemed. He was progressive, and impressed his influence upon all local matters such as education, church and agricul- tural methods. He retained his intellectual alertness throughout old age and was conscious to the very moment of his death.
As a brief sketch of Judge Sease's personal career and as graphic evidence of the esteem he enjoys in his section of the state, it would be impossible to improve upon the wording of a resolution sub- mitted by the bar of Spartanburg to President Wilson in May, 1919, presenting the name of Judge Sease for appointment as United States District
Judge for the Western District of South Carolina. The essential parts of this resolution follow :
"Judge Sease was born fifty-one years ago on his father's farm in Newberry County. He attended the public schools, and entered Newberry College at the age of eighteen years, where he remained for one year, leaving to enter the University of South Carolina, at Columbia, from which institution he was graduated in' 1890. Ile entered the Law School of the University, and was admitted to the bar in 1892. He commenced the practice of law in his native county, in the city of Newberry.
"He became active in politics, and was elected chairman of the democratic party in his county in 1894. In 1895, he was appointed Master in Chancery by Governor John Gary Evans, and held that position until 1896, when he was elected solicitor ( Prosecuting Attorney) for the Seventh Judicial District. He was re-elected for two terms without opposition. He was opposed for the third term by Hon. R. A. Cooper, now Governor, but was re- elected. He moved to Spartanburg shortly after his election as Solicitor, and has resided there until the present time.
"In 1909, when Judge Hydrick was elevated to the Supreme Bench, Solicitor Sease was elected by the Legislature, without opposition, Judge of the Seventh Judicial Circuit, the most populous circuit in the State. He has been re-elected continuously since without opposition and now holds the position. We do not believe there is a more popular judge on the Bench.
"Judge Sease's ancestors came from Pennsylvania shortly after the Revolutionary war, settling near the line of the old Newberry district, in Lexington County. They were successful farmers and never aspired to public office; but they were leaders in their communities and most highly respected for their honesty and good citizenship. Judge Sease was married twenty-seven years ago to Miss Lula Caughman, of Edgefield County. Her family was prominent in business and politics in that section of the State. No children were born to them, but they have adopted two orphan girls, who bear his name and are the objects of his love and bounty.
"Judge Sease is a public-spirited, patriotic citizen, and never fails to respond to any call that is made upon him in the name of humanity or his country. "The bar of Spartanburg are proud of Judge Sease, and confidently present his qualifications for this appointment to the President, believing that he is the equal of any in ability and none is his superior in honesty, integrity and fair-dealing, on or off the bench."
The names of the two adopted daughters of Judge Sease are Dorothy and Lillian. Ile and his family are members of the Presbyterian Church.
MAJ. JOHN G. CAPERS, a distinguished lawyer and former Commissioner of Internal Revenue at Washington, who died September 5, 1919, is one of several prominent sons of the late Bishop Ellison Capers and member of a family that is easily one of the most distinguished in South Carolina and the South. The career of the late Bishop Ellison Capers is described on other pages of this publica-
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tion. It may be mentioned, however, that Major Capers' grandfather William Capers was also a bishop of the Episcopal Church and the major's brother Rt. Rev. William T. Capers is now Bishop of the Western Diocese of Texas.
John G. Capers was born at Anderson, South Carolina, April 17, 1866, son of Ellison and Char- lotte Rebecca ( Palmer) Capers. Major Capers lived at Greenville, South Carolina, until he removed to Washington. He was educated in Doctor Port- er's School, attended the South Carolina Military Academy, The Citadel, at Charleston from 18SI to 1885. and received his degree in law from the South Carolina College in 1887. He also studied law in Greenville in the office of Wells & Orr and former Governor Perry. He was admitted to the bar by the Supreme Court in 1888 and in the same year began practice at Greenville. In the early 'gos he went to the City of Washington as secretary to Sen. M. C. Butler, and later took up the prac- tice of law in that city. From 1894 to 1901 he was Assistant United States Attorney of the Depart- ment of Justice and the United States Court of Claims. In 1901 he was appointed United States District Attorney for the Federal District of South Carolina by President Mckinley and was reap- pointed by President Roosevelt, serving four and a half years. This official service brought him back to his native state, but in 1906 he returned to Washington and during 1907 received appoint- ment from President Roosevelt as United States
Internal Revenue Commissioner. After relinquish- ing public life Major Capers practiced his profes- sion at Washington and was a member of the bar of the United States Supreme Court.
Major Capers was a democrat until 1896. In that campaign with many other prominent South Carolinians he refused to endorse Bryan and free silver. Though of a southern family traditionally democratic, ever after that he was active as a repub- lican in national affairs. He was a delegate to the Palmer and Buckner Gold Standard Democratic Convention at Indianapolis in July, 1896. Later he concluded that a third party ticket had no chance of success and he therefore came out as a cam- paigner for McKinley, making speeches in his behalf in Maryland and other southern states. Major Capers was one of an increasing number of public men who believe that the political welfare of the South depends upon the existence of two fairly equal and competing white men's parties, though he realizes the almost insuperable difficulty of bring- ing about such a situation.
While living at Greenville Major Capers was captain of the Butler Guards. In 1890 he was made major of the Third Battalion, First Soutlı Carolina Infantry. In 1919 by appointment of the Secretary of War he was appointed Major and Judge Advocate General of the newly organized National Guard for the District of Columbia. He was prominent in war work as chairman of the Speakers Campaign for each of the Liberty Loan Drives in Washington and was a captain of the Red Cross teams for the District of Columbia.
Major Capers was delegate at large to the Repub- lican National Convention in 1904 and 1908, and was
a member of the Republican National Committee from 1004 to 1912.
June 18, 1895, he married Miss Lilla Trenholm of Charleston, daughter of Frank Holmes Trenholm and a granddaughter of George A. Trenholm, who was Secretary of the Treasury in the Confederate Government. They have three children: Charlotte Palmer, Frances Trenholn, who married Frederick Newton Towers of Washington, District of Co- lumbia, and John G., Jr., who is always called "Jack."
EDWARD DAVID ROY is one of the interesting figures in the textile industry of South Carolina. During the greater part of his career he has been an expert mechanic in the works for the manu- facture of textile machinery, and is now engaged in a growing and highly promising business of his own at Greenville for the manufacture of his own inventions used in textile mills.
He was born in 1872 in Warren, Rhode Island. His parents were Edward and Marguerite (Lam- bert) Roy, both natives of Canada.
Leaving school when a boy, Edward David Roy went to work in a cotton mill at Woonsocket, Rhode Island, and from there entered the great Hopedale works of the Draper corporation, the largest mann- facturers of textile machinery in America. He was not only intent upon earning a living as a mechanic, but even more upon utilizing every opportunity for advanced skill and experience, and during the fifteen years he spent with the Draper concern he ac- quired a thorough grounding in the intricacies of the manufacture and operation of textile machinery, and was eventually assigned to the duties of fore- man for the corporation.
On leaving New England Mr. Roy came South as erecting foreman for the Draper Corporation, of Hopedale, Massachusetts, and later took a position as boss weaver in the mill of the Chiquola Manu- facturing Company at Honea Path. Afterwards he served in a similar capacity at the Orr mill at An- derson, and since 1911 his home has been in Green- ville. He had charge of the weaving rooms of the Brandon Manufacturing Company until 1918, when he resigned to engage in the manufacturing and dis- tribution of special textile mechanical devices of his own invention. This business is carried on under the name Roy Specialty Company, of which he is president.
Mr. Roy has invented a number of labor and money saving devices and attachments, the principal one being an oilless rocker shaft bearing, patented July 31, 1917. Experts have pronounced this a perfect device of the kind, and it is almost universal- ly endorsed by textile engineers and is specified as a standard feature of modern equipment. Mr. Roy is also inventor of a protection rod bearing, also oilless, which is manufactured by the Roy Spe- cialty Company. While this company is young and the manufacture in its infancy, there is an unlim- ited field for development and expansion, and there is every prospect of this growing into one of Green- ville's most important industries.
Mr. Roy married Miss Eva Cornelia Turner, and they have three children, Edward Draper, Rob-
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ert Smith and Eva Beatrice. Mr. Roy is a mem- ber of the Masonic Order.
DR. ROBERT A. BROWN is an optometrist, is secre- tary of the State Association of Optometrists, and is founder and head of one of the leading concerns handling and manufacturing optical goods in South Carolina. He has been a resident of Greenville since IgII.
Doctor Brown was horn at Howard, Taylor Coun- ty, Georgia, in 1882, a son of D. R. and Marjorie (Willis) Brown. His parents are also natives of Georgia. Doctor Brown spent his life in Georgia until coming to Greenville. He was educated in the R. E. Lee Institute at Thomaston, the Mercer University at Macon, and the Gordon Institute at Barnesville. He was educated for the profession of pharmacy in the Atlanta College of Physicians and Surgeons, where he graduated in 1904 with the degree Ph. G. After that he was in the drug busi- ness at Barnesville, Georgia, and in 1911 on re- moving to Greenville continued in the drug business in that city for about two years. He then took the course in Optometry in the Kansas City School of Optometry, and on finishing his work engaged in the optical business at Greenville.
In 1916 the Brown-Sloan Optical Company was formed, with Doctor Brown as president. The en- terprise had a rapid growth. In May, 1919, Mr. J. T. Sloan retired from the firm, and his interest was taken over by Mr. F. L. Wittkamp, who had been formerly connected with the firm and is a skilled technical man in the manufacturing lines of optical goods. As the Brown-Wittkamp Optical Company the business is continuing its rapid growth, and is an institution in keeping with the metropolitan city . in which it is located.
In April, 1919, Doctor Brown was honored by being re-elected secretary of the South Carolina State Association of Optometrists. Doctor Brown, with two or three other prominent members of this association, was instrumental in having enacted by the State Legislature a law regulating the practice of optometrists in South Carolina. This was a piece of legislation much needed. and it has served to put South Carolina in the same class as forty- five other states having similar laws. The law pro- vides for a state hoard of examiners to regulate the practice of optometrists and opticians.
Doctor Brown is a member of the Pendleton Street Baptist Church, is a Shriner, Elk and Knight of Pythias.
He married at Greenville Miss Anna Lula Wingo. She is a sister of Maj. I. Dean Wingo. To their marriage were born two children, Robert A., Jr., and Anna Marjorie.
JOHN JAMES NORRIS of Greenville has had a busy career, was formerly an expert electrician, and during the past ten years has been a pioneer in giving Greenville an industry for the utilization and manufacture of neanut products. This business is known as the Norris Packing Company. and is the first and most successful institution of its kind in Upper South Carolina.
Mr. Norris was born in Savannah Township of Anderson County, South Carolina, ahout forty years
ago. His parents Peter Keyes and Caroline (Sand- ers) Norris are both deceased. His mother was born on one of the islands near Charleston, a daughter of Dr. C. P. Sanders. For a number of generations the Norrises have been prominent in Anderson County. Among the notable men of the name was the late Col. D. K. Norris, a figure of state-wide prominence in the public affairs of South Carolina. Mr. Norris of Greenville was named for the late John James Norris, a distinguished lawyer. Capt. Peter Keyes Norris his father was captain of a company from Anderson County in the Con- federate army. Col. J. W. Norris, a Confederate officer of prominence, was a brother of Capt. Peter K.
When John J. Norris was a boy his parents moved from Savannah Township to the City of Anderson. He acquired his education in that city, and had his early business experience there. During some years of employment with the Southern Power Company he became an expert electrician and electrical en- gineer. He had charge of the construction of the power wires for this company between Rock Hill and Charlotte.
Since 1907 his home has been at Greenville. Here he has met with the success in business that a man of his ability and initiative is entitled to. He founded and owns the Norris Packing Company. This company manufactures the various peanut food products, both for food and confectionery purposes, that have become staple articles of con- sumption within a comparatively recent period. The company also does a large business buying and selling peanuts. From Greenville the company does a large jobbing trade throughout Upper South Carolina.
In May, 1919, in association with Mr. H. Frank Smith he bought the brick warehouse building on River Street in which his own plant and two or three other enterprises are located. This old warehouse is to be torn down and replaced with a larger and more modern structure to house the Norris Packing Company and a number of other wholesale con- cerns.
Mr. Norris is a member of the First Presbyterian Church and is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias fraternity. He married Miss Helen H. Hill, a native of Western North Carolina. Mrs. Norris is a woman of education, has a thorough literary eul- ture, and is deeply interested in problems of educa- tion as affecting her community. They have three children, Helen Keyes, Dorothy and John James, Jr.
B. A. BUTLER gave Greenville one of its important industries, The Butler Marble & Granite Works, of which he was president. Mr. Butler is member of a very distinguished family of South Carolina, his an- cestors having lived in this state for several genera- tions. At one point his ancestry coincided with that of Governor Pierce Mason Butler, who was governor of South Carolina from 1836 to 1838. Governor But- ler's nephew. Gen. M. C. Butler, is one of the most distinguished names in South Carolina's military annals.
William Thomas Butler, father of the Greenville manufacturer, was born in Newberry County. a son of David Butler. The latter when William T. was
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four years old, in 1837, moved to Georgia. William T. Butler has for over eighty years been a resident of Georgia, his present home being at Marietta. He was all through the war between the states as a sol- dier in the Thirty-Sixth Georgia Infantry. He mar- ried Charlotte L. Woods, who was born in Georgia and is now deceased.
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