USA > South Carolina > Men of mark in South Carolina; ideals of American life: a collection of biographies of leading men of the state, Volume I > Part 4
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ELLISON CAPERS
In 1866 General Capers was elected secretary of state for South Carolina, and such was the exigency of the time that he remained in that position even while studying for the Episcopal ministry, in which he was ordained in May, 1867, by Bishop Davis. He then tendered his resignation as secretary of state, but it was declined by Governor Orr until the legislature could meet, and General Capers held the great seal of South Carolina until July, 1868, when he turned it over to F. L. Cardoza, a negro representative of Federal usurpation.
For twenty years he remained the well-beloved minister of the mountain parish of Greenville, South Carolina. He then went to Columbia as the rector of Old Trinity, and for five years the people of that parish were blessed in having the guidance of his strong yet gentle hand. He was elected bishop of South Carolina in May, 1893, and consecrated in the July following. The degree of D. D. was conferred upon him by the University of South Carolina in 1892, and by the University of the South in 1893. After the death of the Right Reverend Thomas Under- wood Dudley, chancellor of the last-named institution, Bishop Capers was elected to succeed him in June, 1904. He is a Mason; a member of the S. A. E. Greek fraternity; of Camps Sumter and Hampton, United Confederate veterans; of the Historical committee of the Grand Camp, United Confederate veterans; and of the Historical Society of South Carolina. In 1882, at a Democratic convention, he was nominated, without his knowledge or consent, state superintendent of education. He positively declined to accept the position, deeming it inconsistent with his ministerial duties.
He impressively states that the period of the stupendous struggle of the South for sacred rights were years of feeling, impulse, impression, and resolution, which could but leave their indelible mark and influence in directing brain and heart. "To this impress I owe the convictions and resolutions which ulti- mately brought me to the ministry of the Protestant Episcopal church." To the "Confederate Military History," edited by General Clement A. Evans, and published in Atlanta, Bishop Capers contributed chapters 1-16 inclusive, embracing the Con- federate history of South Carolina. Save for one year spent in Selma, Alabama, he has held no charge beyond his own home state. Upon his consecration as bishop, his devoted parishioners
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there sent him a magnificent Episcopal ring as a testimonial of their regard.
Blessed in a devoted wife, the embodiment of womanly virtues, the guide and inspiration of their seven surviving chil- dren, he resides in Columbia in one of the old-time mansions of the place spared from Sherman's fire and invested farther with the historical reminiscence of having been the one in which General Lafayette was entertained on the occasion of his visit to Columbia in 1825. Here, with nought of regretful retrospect of his own efficiency in the years of our grand Southern struggle, honored and beloved of all, his waning years are peacefully passed.
His address is 910 Barnwell street, Columbia, Richland county, South Carolina.
JAMES PEELE CAREY
C AREY, JAMES PEELE, lawyer, railroad president, and director in many corporations, was born in Oconee county, South Carolina, on April 27, 1858. His father, John W. L. Carey, a farmer and for many years tax collector for Pickens district, combined great popularity with strict integrity and attention to the public business, and was never defeated at the polls. On his mother's side Mr. Carey is a direct descendant of the Kentucky pioneer, Daniel Boone.
Largely dependent upon his own exertions in securing opportunities at school, even in his boyhood, he was early taught the value of time and the need of persistent and continuous industry if one is to succeed in life. He early felt the wish to fit himself for the practice of law; and his first strong impulse to strive for the prizes of life he feels that he owes to "the hardships of a country boy's life and the feeling that there was something higher in life possible," with proper effort. After such opportunities for education as were afforded in the country schools at Old Pickens, he studied at Adger college, where he won all the prizes offered to his class. He was graduated from this institution with first honor and received therefrom the degree of A. B. in June, 1880.
In April, 1883, he began the practice of law at Pickens. In September, 1885, he married Miss Lynda Troupe Lovett. They have six children, all living in 1907.
While Mr. Carey has never desired to be known as anything else than a public-spirited lawyer, he has served the community in various other ways. He is president of the Pickens Railroad company; he is a director in most of the corporations of the county, and is attorney for many of them. He has acted as special judge in the courts of South Carolina. In 1906 he was elected by the opponents of the state dispensary a member of the legislature and received the most flattering vote ever cast in Pickens county. At a conference held before the legislature convened, Mr. Carey, and Mr. Cothran of Greenville county, were chosen to draft a bill to be presented to that body. They prepared the "Carey-Cothran Local Option bill," which passed
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both houses, was signed by the governor, and made the dispen- sary system in South Carolina a thing of the past.
He early became a member of the Presbyterian church; and he has been an elder in that church for nearly twenty years. Politically, he is identified with the Democratic party. He has found exercise and relaxation in hunting, fishing and gardening. To the young people of his state he commends as the key to success the cardinal virtues, "truthfulness, honesty, reliability, strict attention to business, and performance of duties without regard to consequences."
His address is Pickens, South Carolina.
JAMES HENRY CARLISLE
C ARLISLE, JAMES HENRY, LL. D., educator, was born at Winnsboro, Fairfield county, South Carolina, May 4, 1825. His parents were William and Mary Anne (Buchanan) Carlisle, who came to America from County Antrim, Ireland, about 1818. His father was a physician of excellent character and attainments, and his mother, though for many years an invalid, was a woman of firm yet gentle character and exerted a powerful influence for good upon the mental and spiritual life of her son.
In early life James Carlisle lived in the country. He had no regular tasks which involved manual labor to perform, and his tastes and interests were those common to boys of his age and place. His health was good and he had no special difficulties to overcome in securing an education. He studied in the common schools of Mount Zion, Winnsboro, and Camden, in South Caro- lina, and after securing his preparatory education he entered the South Carolina college at Columbia, from which he was graduated as second honor man with the degree of A. B., in December, 1844. Want of means prevented him from taking a post-graduate course and compelled him to enter at once upon the active work of life. Conditions, as well as personal inclina- tion, favored his becoming an educator, and in January, 1845, he commenced teaching in Columbia, South Carolina. His college education, together with well-directed private reading in the fields of general literature, more especially history and biography, furnished him with an unusually good equipment for his pro- fession, and his success as a teacher was both marked and rapid. In 1854, Wofford college, Spartanburg, South Carolina, was organized, and Mr. Carlisle was elected professor of mathematics, which position he held until 1890, when he became professor of moral science and astronomy. In 1875 he was chosen president of the college. He discharged the duties of that office until 1902, when he resigned and became president emeritus.
In 1872 the degree of LL. D. was conferred upon him by the Southwestern university, Georgetown, Texas.
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Not only in the line of his profession as an educator has he won distinction, but, in recognition of his worth and ability, and with confidence in his wisdom and patriotism, he was chosen by his people a member of the famous convention of 1860, which passed the ordinance of secession, and was also elected to the state legislature, in which he served from 1863 to 1865. His unwavering courage and high determination to faithfully and loyally serve his state during those crises in her history were exemplified in such manner as to place his name high upon the scroll of patriots and statesmen who gave their best services to South Carolina in the time of her greatest need.
The war over, he continued the quiet pursuit of educating the young, and by precept and example taught his pupils not only the learning of books, but also the great lessons of how to meet and conquer adversity and how to lay broad and deep the foundations upon which the South was to renew the structure of its civil life and show the world the most wonderful example of a people triumphing over defeat and oppression that its history has ever recorded.
Doctor Carlisle has led too active and busy a life to have much opportunity for writing books, but he has done some literary work of a high order, among which may be mentioned the editing of the "Lives of Arnold and Ascham" for the Chau- tauqua circle. His religious connection is with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, of which he has long been an honored and efficient member.
On December 12, 1848, he married Miss Margaret Jane Bryce, daughter of Robert and Jane (Shand) Bryce, of Colum- bia, South Carolina. Of their three children, two are living in 1907.
At the ripe age of eighty-two, Doctor Carlisle is still vigor- ous both in body and in mind, and in the evening of his days, full of years and honors, the object of the love and veneration of hosts of friends and former pupils, all of whom join in wishing him the brightest blessings and the most peaceful joys.
The address of Doctor Carlisle is Number 174 College Hill, Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Men of Mark Publishing Company Washington, D.C.
Very July
Two bleary
JOHN CURTIS CARY
C ARY, JOHN CURTIS, was born in Oconee county, near the site of old Pickens court-house, eight miles north- east of Seneca, South Carolina, July 10, 1848. He is the son of Captain John W. L. Cary and Martha M. (Curtis) Cary. His father was a carriage builder and, in later years, a farmer. For twelve years he was tax collector for Pickens dis- trict. For a few months in 1863 he was captain of his company in the Confederate army. While on the South Carolina coast he was kicked by a horse and permanently disabled.
John Curtis Cary is descended from an ancient and illus- trious English family. Its earliest known ancestor was Adam DeKarry, Lord of Castle Karry, of Somerset county, England, in the twelfth century. The name originally was Kari. Henry Cary, Lord of Kursdon, was, through his mother, Mary Boleyn, a cousin of Queen Elizabeth. For many years he served as governor of Berwick and warden of the borders. It was he who suppressed the rebellion of the north. From him were descended the earls of Devon and Monmouth. Patrick Cary, the poet, was a member of this family, as were also two members of the cele- brated London company of 1620, namely, Sir George and Sir Henry Cary. The son of Sir George, a second Sir Henry Cary, fought in the army of Charles I, and, upon the success of par- liament, was heavily fined. In 1651 he was again put under the law, and his large estate, Cockington, was confiscated. Three years later he emigrated to Virginia, but, on the restoration under Charles II, returned to England, where he died.
The son of Sir Henry, above noted, was a celebrated literary character. He was dignified by James I with the Scotch title of Viscount of Falkland. His son, Lucius, the second Lord of Falkland, was secretary of state to Charles I and was the typical cavalier of his race.
Among the members of this family who came to Virginia was Colonel Miles Cary, who came over from Bristol, England, and served in the Colonial Council of Virginia under Governor Berkeley.
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Not all, however, of the Cary family were supporters of royalty. A notable exception was afforded by Archibald Cary, a member of the Virginia convention of 1776, and conspicuous for zeal and ability. He was a type of the Colonial capitalist, owning a large iron furnace and mills, which Tarleton, of unsavory memory, committed to the flames.
Archibald Cary was familiarly styled "Old Iron." This sobriquet was appropriate for more reasons than one, for Archi- bald Cary suggested iron, not only by his commercial dealings, but by his character and conduct. He was as pronounced a patriot as some of his ancestors were royalists. To him a mon- arch by any other name was equally odious; and when, as later, some misguided spirits proposed to make Washington king, others equally misguided proposed to make Patrick Henry dicta- tor, Archibald Cary hurled his defiance at the popular hero in these words: "The day of your appointment will be the day of your death; for, before the sun sets, you will find my dagger in your heart !"
One of these early Englishmen in Virginia was the father of James Cary, who was the father of Captain John W. L. Cary, who in turn was, as stated, the father of John Curtis Cary.
John Curtis Cary's maternal ancestry dates back to the famous Kentucky hunter and pioneer, Daniel Boone. Martha M. Cary was born in what is now Oconee county, and was the granddaughter of Nathan Boone, a descendant of Daniel Boone.
In youth John Cary was healthy and strong. His early life was spent in the country, and he was trained to perform all kinds of farm work customary at that time. His early life and development were materially influenced, in every way, by his mother. Being but thirteen years old when the War between the States broke out, and left at its close in poverty, he encountered great difficulty in acquiring an education. Nevertheless, he derived general culture from early study of that best of classics, the Bible. Then, and later, he was interested in reading the lives of men who have left their impress upon the times, among whom he names George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Grover Cleveland.
John Cary studied in the common schools of the country, and prepared for college in Thalian academy, taught by Rev- erend J. L. Kennedy, a famous educator of that time. While at
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the academy, in 1864, he responded to the call for sixteen-year- old boys, and enlisted in the Confederate army. He served six months, was second lieutenant of Company I, First regiment of South Carolina militia, with which he remained until the close of the war. On returning home he promptly reentered Thalian academy, where he studied until August, 1866. In the fall of that year the appointment of beneficiary from Pickens district to South Carolina college was offered him, but as his father had recently died, he declined to leave home. During 1867 he studied under Professor W. J. Ligon, of Anderson, while the year 1868 he spent at home on the farm.
Mr. Cary's active life work began in 1869, as a clerk in a general merchandise store at Walhalla. Later he held engineer- ing positions with various railroads; was employed as bookkeeper and paymaster for a railroad contractor; on account of the panic of 1873 returned to the farm for a brief period, assisted in the survey of a railroad from Greenville, South Carolina, to Ashe- ville, North Carolina; and then became a clerk in a general merchandise store at Seneca, South Carolina, where he remained until 1876.
In the fall of 1876, that memorable year in the history of South Carolina politics, Mr. Cary became a candidate for county clerk. He was an enthusiastic admirer of General Wade Hamp- ton, and he threw into the campaign all the ardor and energy of his young manhood. Though defeated, he received a flattering vote. Mr. Cary now turned his attention again to business. This he could not enter on his own account; for, from the close of the war till this time, he had saved not a cent for himself; every dollar of his earnings, above his necessary personal expenses, having gone to his mother and to the support and education of younger brothers. He accepted the agency for the great cotton merchants, George H. McFadden & Brother, of Philadelphia and Liverpool, and up to 1890 he was their representative for western South Carolina and northeastern Georgia. In addition to his service for the firm, he improved many opportunities to do business for himself, and thus laid the foundation for his more recent operations. He built the well-known Keowee hotel, at Seneca, in 1880, and sold it in 1889. In the year last named he organized the Lockhart Railroad company, was elected its presi- dent and treasurer, and had the road open for business by June,
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JOHN CURTIS CARY
1900. Mr. Cary owns about 2,000 acres of land in Oconee county and gives much attention to practical farming. He is president of the Seneca Oil Mill and Fertilizer company, and is an earnest promoter of the manufacturing interests of the New South.
In 1893 he sold his water power on Little river, in Oconee county, to Charleston capitalists and superintended the construc- tion of a large cotton mill for the Courtenay Manufacturing company. In the following year he purchased of the officers of the Lockhart mills their water power and other property, which had been obtained for the purpose of erecting a cotton mill at Lockhart Shoals, on Broad river, Union county, South Carolina. He reorganized the company and erected Mill No. 1 with 25,000 spindles and 800 looms. This mill was completed in 1895 at a cost of $650,000. Mr. Cary was treasurer and general manager of the company from its reorganization in June, 1894, until November, 1895, when he was elected its president and treasurer, which positions he still (1907) retains. On May 25, 1905, the capital stock of Lockhart mills was increased to $1,300,000 for the purpose of building Mill No. 2, which has been completed. This mill contains 25,000 spindles with a full complement of looms and other machinery.
In politics Mr. Cary is a lifelong and active Democrat of the gold wing. He has represented his county in several state conventions of his party, and, in 1884, he represented it in the congressional convention of the third district of Seneca. In this convention, in a brilliant speech, he renominated Mr. D. Wyatt Aiken for congress. Mr. Aiken received the renomination from the convention and was reelected. In the same year Mr. Cary was a delegate to the Democratic National convention which nominated Grover Cleveland.
Mr. Cary is deeply interested in the schools of his town, and has served as a member of the board of trustees and as secretary of the board. He is a Mason. In religion he is a Presbyterian, holding the office of elder in this church. To the young he advises soberness, integrity, and perseverance.
On February 12, 1885, Mr. Cary was married to Miss Mary Frazer Livingston. They have had one son, Whitner Livingston Cary, who is now (1907) living.
Mr. Cary's address is Lockhart, Union county, South Carolina.
JAMES LIDE COKER
C OKER, JAMES LIDE, LL. D., manufacturer and finan- cier, was born at Society Hill, Darlington county, South Carolina, January 3, 1837. He was the son of Caleb and Hannah (Lide) Coker. His father was a merchant and planter, whose business was extensive. He held no public office except that of magistrate for his district. He was distinguished for integrity, close attention to business and for sound judgment. His family, and that of Mrs. Coker, were representatives of the highest type of character. On his paternal side, James Coker was descended from Thomas Coker, who came to South Carolina from Virginia about 1740. On his maternal side, his early ancestors in this country were John Holloway, who was born in Virginia in 1719, and whose parents are supposed to have come from England; and Robert Lide, who was born in Virginia in 1734 and was of Welsh descent. These all settled on the Pee Dee river, and their descendants are still numerous in that locality. Robert Lide was a major in Marion's celebrated brigade in the Revolution, was commissioner for the Cheraws in 1784, and the following year he was a justice in Darlington county.
James Coker had no difficulties in obtaining an education, and the schools which he attended were of the best. He studied at Saint David's academy, Society Hill; the Arsenal academy ; and at the South Carolina Military academy, known as the Citadel, 1853-57, but did not graduate. Later he attended the Harvard University Scientific school, in which he studied chem- istry and botany and attended lectures on zoology, in 1858, but did not take a degree.
The active work of life was commenced in 1858, as a planter at Hartsville, South Carolina. His own personal preference determined the choice of his occupation. With his work of planting he, after the war, united that of merchant and carried on affairs until 1905. From 1874-81 he was a member of the firm of cotton factors known as Norwood & Coker, at Charleston, South Carolina. He also entered the banking business and engaged in manufacturing. He became president of the National Bank of Darlington, of the Bank of Darlington, and is now
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JAMES LIDE COKER
president of the Bank of Hartsville. In the manufacturing line he has been president of the Carolina Fiber company, making paper from wood fiber, since 1890; president of the Southern Novelty company since 1899; was director of the Darlington Manufacturing company, 1885-1902; and director of the Harts- ville Cotton mills since 1902.
On the opening of the War between the States he entered the Confederate service as captain of Company G, Ninth South Carolina infantry. In 1862-64 he was captain of Company E, Sixth South Carolina volunteer infantry, and 1864-65 was major of the same regiment. In 1863 he was so severely wounded as to be disabled for active military service, and was elected a member of the legislature, in which capacity he served for two years. He published (1899) "The History of Company E, Sixth South Carolina Volunteer Infantry," which is interesting to the sur- viving members of that company and their families, to the relatives of members who have died, and to the general reader; while it may be valuable to the future historian. Mr. Coker has been deeply interested in education, and, as it was his earnest desire that the facilities for study keep pace with the growth of the town, he urged the establishment of an advanced educational institution at Hartsville, and was practically the founder of the Welsh Neck high school, which, with its strong faculty and hundreds of students, has become one of the principal centers of learning in that part of the state.
On March 28, 1860, Mr. Coker was married to Susan Arm- strong Stout. Of their ten children, seven are now (1907) living.
That in early manhood Mr. Coker chose a wide field for usefulness, and that his opportunities in that direction have been well improved, the present condition of Hartsville, as compared with its past, amply proves. When he commenced operations there in 1857 he had a plantation. There was a postoffice near by, and a few scattering houses-and that was all. In the Hartsville of today there are churches, academies, stores, facto- ries, banks, railroads, the telegraph and telephone, and a marked development of agricultural resources. The credit of the incep- tion of the plan of enlargement and improvement belongs to Mr. Coker, and, in a great measure, the conversion of the plan into tangible results has been due to the genius, the energy, the good judgment, and the business ability which he has displayed.
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JAMES LIDE COKER
He has proved himself a patriot, an unselfish worker for the good of others, a man of high ideals and noble purposes, together with the graces of culture and piety. His achievements have been remarkable and his conspicuous success has been fully deserved. In recognition of his character and services, South Carolina university, when celebrating its Centennial, in 1905, conferred upon him the degree of LL. D.
The postoffice address of Mr. Coker is Hartsville, Darlington county, South Carolina.
CHARLES JONES COLCOCK, JR.
C OLCOCK, CHARLES JONES, JR., educator, principal of the Porter academy, of Charleston, South Carolina, was born in Beaufort district, South Carolina, on Jan- uary 17, 1852. His first American ancestor on the father's side, Doctor Henry Woodward, came from the Barbadoes; and inter- married with his descendants were men and women from England, Scotland, and others of French Huguenot stock. Captain John Colcock came from Essex, England, to Charlestown, South Carolina.
Among the distinguished ancestors of Principal Colcock have been his father; his great-grandfather, Charles J. Colcock, of the court of appeals of South Carolina, who was president of the bank of the state; and Judge William Smith, of the supreme court of New York.
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