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 6
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He married, December 16, 1868, Hattie E. Camp, daughter of William C. and Tabitha (Harris) Camp. Ten children were born to them, of whom five-four daughters and one son-are now (1907) living.
His address is 112 North Church street, Spartanburg, South Carolina.
JULIUS DANIEL DREHER
D REHER, JULIUS DANIEL, third president of Roanoke college, was born in Lexington county, South Carolina, October 28, 1846. He is the eldest of the eleven children -ten sons and one daughter-born to John Jacob and Martha Elizabeth (Counts) Dreher. His ancestors on both sides of the house came from Germany and settled in the counties of Lexing- ton and Newberry before the Revolutionary war. His father was a man of influence in his community, a planter and mill- owner, and for many years was treasurer of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of South Carolina. To his strong religious nature were added a conscientiousness and thoroughness that made a lasting impress upon the character of his son.
Julius Dreher spent his boyhood in the country. His fond- ness for books and study had to be restrained for fear of injury to his health. He continued in school, however, until he became of military age in 1864, when he enlisted in the Confederate service, where he remained until the surrender of General Joseph E. Johnston, at Greensboro, North Carolina, in April, 1865. His father's home, lying in the line of Sherman's march, near Colum- bia, was desolated like so many others of that fair region. In the gloom of defeat, and in the face of reverses, the native pluck and the generous ambition of the young man began to assert themselves. He determined upon a college education, and four years were spent in securing the necessary means-part of two years at work on the farm and in his father's sawmill, and the rest of the time in teaching school at Pomaria, South Carolina.
In 1869 he entered the junior class at Roanoke college, Salem, Virginia, and graduated in 1871 with the degree of A. B. Up to this time, and indeed later, his face was turned to the profession of law, but, immediately upon his graduation, his alma mater, recognizing his marked ability, offered him a subor- dinate position in the faculty. This he accepted, but for a year he pursued privately the study of law under the direction of Professor John B. Minor, of the University of Virginia. He was later advanced to the position of assistant professor of ancient languages, and still later to that of professor of English
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language and literature. The latter department he developed along modern lines, and laid the foundation for a thorough English course in the college. In 1875 he was made financial secretary-a position which brought into play his keen business insight and his remarkable energy, forces then much needed, for the college was considerably in debt and had no endowment whatever. Associated with Doctor David F. Bittle, the first president of the college, and entering sympathetically into his plans, he caught the spirit of that forceful and unselfish man and became a real power in the institution. Doctor Bittle died in 1876, and was succeeded in 1877 by Reverend Thomas W. Dosh, D. D., and when the latter resigned, in 1878, Professor Dreher stood forth as his logical successor. He was elected to the position in spite of the fact that he came to it as one of the youngest college presidents in the country. From that time until his resignation, in 1903, after a quarter of a century of loyal and successful service, his name and work became completely identified with Roanoke college, and, in a broader sphere, with the progress of education in the South.
Through his efforts the Bittle Memorial library was built in 1879, to be greatly extended by an annex in 1894. The number of volumes in the library was increased to 23,000. He conceived a broad though definite policy for the college, looking to the enlargement of its constituency, the securing of money for current expenses, the building up of the endowment fund, the improve- ment of its teaching force and facilities for instruction, and the modernizing of its courses of study. In all these he succeeded in spite of difficulties that would have baffled a man of weaker faith and less indomitable will. He encouraged instructors to study abroad with a view of returning to the college as pro- fessors. The institution thus became a more effective teaching force and gathered about it a more decided literary atmosphere. At the end of his administration, five members of the faculty had had an aggregate of seventeen years of post-graduate work in American and foreign universities. Through his influence the college became favorably known throughout the country and received many and often generous gifts and bequests. Patronage was attracted from twenty-five states and the Indian Territory, and also from a number of foreign countries, particularly from Mexico, Japan, and Korea. Three-fifths of the graduates of
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the college up to 1903 received their diplomas at the hands of President Dreher, and he was personally acquainted with every alumnus. Through his acquaintance with students from the Orient and with Japanese, Chinese, and Korean officials, who at various times visited the college on his invitation, he became deeply interested in the development of those countries.
Doctor Dreher has traveled in every state and territory in the Union, has visited Alaska, and has made one tour in Europe. He has an unusually wide acquaintance among men of distinc- tion in all walks of life, particularly among those engaged or interested in educational work. He has been a member of many associations and conferences that had in view the promotion of education, of international arbitration, and the social and moral betterment of all classes, including the Indian and Negro, and has been for years a vice-president of the Indian Industries league.
There are few, if any, men in the South better informed than he in regard to the educational movements in our country since the War between the States. He was a member of the Provisional committee which in 1898 called, and aided in organ- izing, the Conference for Education in the South. He has manifested much interest in the improvement of library facilities in the Southern schools and towns. He has written much on education and kindred themes, on the training of Japanese, Korean, and Choctaw Indian students at Roanoke, and on ques- tions of public interest, particularly in condemnation of lynching and all forms of lawlessness. Besides his inaugural address, he has published many others, including "College Endowments," delivered before the Educational Association of Virginia; "The Benevolent Spirit and Higher Education," before the same body ; "Colleges North and Colleges South," before the National Edu- cational association; "Education in the South," before the Amer- ican Social Science association; "Public Libraries as a Means of Popular Education," before the Conference on Race Problems; "Education During and After School Days," before the Confer- ence for Education in the South; and "The Education of the Negro in the South," before the Southern Educational association.
Doctor Dreher believes that one of the most important prin- ciples that can be instilled into the minds of young Americans is the lesson so constantly pressed upon him by his father, that
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whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well. That he learned this lesson thoroughly appears in all that he does. No man is more careful even of minute details than he. But in analyzing his career and accounting for his success, there must be associated with this habit of thoroughness his concentrated energy of purpose, his executive ability, his polished address, his broad grasp of principles, and his high standard of honor and integrity.
In a career crowded with arduous duties, Doctor Dreher has never neglected the amenities of life. With the social instinct well developed, and with an immense fund of anecdote and inci- dent, he is everywhere a welcome visitor, and nowhere more so than where there are children. For relaxation he relishes a good novel, and he enjoys an occasional jaunt with rod and line. While deeply interested in politics, he prefers to be independent of strict party lines. In his religious views also he is equally broad, though he has been a lifelong member of the church of his ancestors-the Evangelical Lutheran. For many years he has been a vice-president of the Evangelical Alliance for the United States, and he has always taken a lively interest in the work of the Young Men's Christian association.
Doctor Dreher's mother, a woman of strong character and energetic nature, is still (1907) living. Seven of her eight living sons were educated at Roanoke college, and she may well be proud of the contribution of her family to the cause of education. One son has taught at Selwood, South Carolina, for years; another has been for twelve years superintendent of the city schools of Columbia, South Carolina; and a third, now corre- spondent of the Associated Press in Berlin, Germany, taught for some time in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
In addition to other honors that have come to him, Doctor Dreher received in 1874, from Roanoke college, the degree of A. M .; in 1881, from Williams college, Massachusetts, the degree of Ph. D .; and in 1905, from his alma mater, the degree of LI. D., being the first alumnus upon whom she bestowed this honor. His resignation at the Semi-Centennial of the college in 1903 was the occasion for words of the highest commendation on the part of the newspapers North and South, and of tributes by distinguished commencement speakers, such as Governor
.
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Montague, of Virginia; President Dabney, then of the Univer- sity of Tennessee; President Denny, of Washington and Lee university; and Professor Charles W. Kent, of the University of Virginia.
In the report of the United States Commissioner of Educa- tion for 1903, pages 1313-1314, an appreciative tribute is paid to Doctor Dreher's work for Roanoke college and the cause of higher education.
During the summer following his resignation, Doctor Dreher continued in the service of the college in order to prosecute further the work of enlarging and remodeling the main building, an enterprise set on foot and carried far toward completion through his efforts. After that, although not lacking opportu- nities to engage in other work, he resided at his ancestral home at Selwood, South Carolina, devoting the greater part of his time to reading, study and writing, until he was appointed, on August 2, 1906, a consul at Tahiti, Society Islands, by President Roosevelt, whom Doctor Dreher has known personally for some years.
On September 5, 1906, Doctor Dreher married Miss Emeline Kirtland Richmond, of Richmond Hill, Scranton, Pennsylvania, who was educated at Vassar college, and who, like her husband, has traveled extensively in America and in foreign lands.
Doctor Dreher entered upon his duties at Tahiti, October 30, 1906. He will there have an opportunity to continue, under favorable conditions, the study of ethnology, to which he has long devoted special attention. His whole life work has proved his deep interest in the solution of that question of race-traits and race-relations which is so intensely vital to the future of the United States.
WILLIAM WALLACE DUNCAN
UNCAN, WILLIAM WALLACE, D. D., LL. D., clergy- man and bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, was born December 20, 1839, at Boydton, Meck- lenburg county, Virginia; the son of David Duncan and Alice Amanda Needler (Piedmont) Duncan. His father was a teacher, devoted to his work, not merely as a duty, but as a delight, and with those characteristics of personal habit and punctuality which are essential in that calling; while the mother had no less influence on the intellectual as well as the moral and spiritual training of the boy. He was a genuine boy, healthy in body, fond of the outdoor life of his country and village homes, but also a great reader, especially interested in literature, history, biography, and poetry, as well as in books on religion and morals.
Under such conditions it was inevitable that he should have an education; and fortunately the way to one was not as hard as it is with some. He studied at the preparatory school of Randolph-Macon college, and entering Wofford college at Spar- tanburg, South Carolina, he was graduated in June, 1858, at the age of eighteen. A strong sense of duty made him choose the ministry as his profession; and the year after graduation he was admitted to the Virginia annual conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and was stationed at Elizabeth City, North Carolina.
During nearly all the time of the War between the States he served as chaplain in the Confederate army, and then returned to service in the pulpit. After occupying several stations, in 1875 he was elected professor of metaphysics in Wofford college and remained there until 1886, when he was elected a bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. He received the degree of D. D. from Emory college, Georgia, and Central college, Mis- souri, in 1880, and that of LL. D. from Trinity college, North Carolina, in 1903. In politics he has always been a loyal member of the Democratic party.
On March 19, 1861, he was married to Medora Rice, daugh- ter of Benjamin Herndon and Caroline Wallace Rice, of Union,
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South Carolina. They have had three children, all of whom are (1907) living.
Respect for the rights of others, strict attention to one's own duties, and constant maintenance of absolute trustworthiness, as taught by his parents, he commends to young men of the present day as, in his belief, the basis of true success in life.
His present address is Number 155, North Church street, Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Men of Mark Publishing Company Washington, D. C.
Sincerely yours J.D. Eidrow .
JOHN DANIEL EIDSON
B IDSON, JOHN DANIEL, farmer and merchant, was born in Edgefield, South Carolina, December 3, 1845. His parents were James Russell and Caroline (Bouk- night) Eidson. His father was highly esteemed for kindness and liberality and served his community as trial justice, school trustee, and captain of a company of militia.
In early life John Eidson was strong and well. His home was in the country, and, while he liked his books, he was fond of horses and of outdoor life. After he became large enough to help on the farm he had regular, but not excessive, tasks to perform. He attended the schools near his home until he was fifteen years of age, when the War between the States broke out and he entered the Confederate States army, in which he served for three years. Returning from the war, he had no opportunity to continue his education, but commenced work as a farmer under the guidance of his father. In 1868 he taught school, but a year later he gave up his position and became a merchant. In con- nection with the business of the store he also carried on the work of farming, and he has been continuously engaged in these lines until the present time. Some years ago he added brokerage to his other interests, and it has grown to considerable importance. He owns and controls two four-gin outfits, the Munger & Smith systems (up-to-date in every respect) ; one in the town of John- ston, and the other about one mile east of that place. He is also proprietor of the Johnston Roller Flour mills, located in the town of Johnston, and one of the largest flour mill properties in the state. His natural ability, together with close application to business and strictly honest dealing, has brought him great success and given him an enviable reputation. In January, 1907, he was elected president of the Bank of Johnston, a strong financial institution.
He has been warden and intendant of his home town (John- ston), and president of the Johnston Educational Joint Stock company. He is a member of the Masonic order, a past dictator in the Knights of Honor, and a past chancellor commander in the Knights of Pythias. In politics he has not been an active
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worker, and has never held or sought public office, but he votes regularly with the Democratic party. His religious connection is with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in which he is an active and efficient worker, and has held the offices of steward and district steward.
In estimating the relative strength of various influences which have been helpful in his efforts to win success, he places contact with men in active life first of all. As in boyhood days, he still enjoys getting out of doors, and has a marked taste for fine horses, of which he keeps several at his farm. For recre- ation he chooses traveling, and by this means he has become acquainted with a large section of the country.
Mr. Eidson is interested in all the great movements of the day, and especially those which tend to the betterment of the conditions under which we live. He believes that righteousness should be both preached and practiced, and in response to a request that he would make some suggestions regarding the habits, methods, and principles which in his opinion will help the youthful readers of his biography to attain success, he says: "Young men should strive to be independent by seeking positions of usefulness, honestly performing duty, never shirking, and never using intoxicating liquors or tobacco in any form."
On December 18, 1873, Mr. Eidson was married to Miss Anna Herbert. Of their four children, three are living in 1907.
The postoffice address is Johnston, Edgefield county, South Carolina.
Men of Mark Publishing Cc Washington, 55
P. a. Emanuel
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PHILIP ALBERT EMANUEL
E MANUEL, PHILIP ALBERT, son of Simon and Maria Cochrane Emanuel, was born at Brownsville, Marlboro county, South Carolina, May 3, 1847. His father was a merchant and planter. For forty years he was captain of militia and postmaster of his village. He was noted for uprightness of character and business integrity. His political influence was weighty. He also exerted great influence in the religious circles of his community. At the time of his death he was deacon in the Baptist church of Brownsville. On his father's side, Mr. Emanuel's earliest known ancestors came to America from Eng- land; on his mother's side, they were Scotch-Irish. The history of his mother's family is found in "Thomas's History of Marl- boro." Many of the relatives of his mother were distinguished in the Revolutionary war.
From childhood, Philip Emanuel was subject to severe attacks of asthma. He was a lover of books from an early age, and a great reader of all kinds of literature and of science. His early life, until he was fourteen or fifteen years of age, was passed at Brownsville. He was reared on a farm and learned to plough and hoe, and also to keep his father's mercantile and post- office accounts. His mother's influence on his intellectual, moral and spiritual life was notable.
Up to the beginning of the war young Emanuel studied in Brownsville academy and in a private school. These studies he followed with a course at Hillsboro Military academy. Through- out his course he read omniverously, devouring religious, politi- cal, philosophical, and scientific works, as well as other lighter reading. His reading taught him that an ambition to rise to the issues of life and meet them like a man is noble. This he has endeavored, step by step, to do, though conscious that his health and environment had placed limitations upon his probable success. He was among the leaders in forming a cadet company, rebelling, and leaving Hillsboro, North Carolina, Military insti- tute, for Charleston, South Carolina, in the late summer of 1863. That was the end of his schooling.
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During the War between the States, Mr. Emanuel was a member of the Washington Light infantry, Company A, Hamp- ton legion, Gary's brigade, Army of Northern Virginia. After the surrender of Lee's army at Appomattox, in 1865, Mr. Emanuel began clerking for Francis Murphy, in Charleston, South Carolina. In 1876 he commenced the study of law on his plantation on John's Island. In February or March, 1877, he removed to Aiken, read law under D. S. Henderson a few months and, in 1877, was admitted to practice at the bar. However, he did not confine himself to the practice of law. He planted, and operated a cotton mill and gins on John's Island until 1877, his brand of cotton being regarded with favor in Europe. He was one of the founders of, and is now (1907) attorney for, the recently organized Farmers and Merchants Bank of Aiken, South Carolina.
Mr. Emanuel has been a deacon and is now an elder in the Presbyterian church. He has never cared for political life as it has existed in South Carolina since 1877. He was a member of the State Democratic convention which sent delegates to Chicago to nominate Grover Cleveland. He has served as mayor of Aiken. During his term he helped to bring about the electric railway connection with Augusta, Georgia. His administration disentangled the finances of his city and placed its credit upon a solid basis.
Mr. Emanuel has also been interested in practical science. He discovered that sulphate of aluminum and sulphur heated together in a closed retort produced a remarkably good quality of oxide of aluminum, and the sulphur could be recovered as sulphurous oxide (or acid gas). This process he patented about 1890. In 1898 he also patented in the United States and Europe improved galvanic batteries. In order to develop manufactures of products of Aiken county clays into alumina, he demonstrated in a laboratory the practicability of his method. The panic in 1893 compelled him to abandon his investigations, but, before doing so, he convinced himself that the clay mines of South Carolina would, in the future, become the basis of an immense investment of capital, the only problem being that of available fuel supply.
Mr. Emanuel has been commander of Barnard E. Camp No. 84, United Confederate veterans, but declined reëlection. He
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has since been elected colonel of the regiment composed of all the camps of United Confederate veterans of Aiken county, South Carolina. He is a Democrat in politics. His relaxation is found in field sports of all kinds. His ideal in life has been not so much to shine in any profession as to make the most of the opportunity afforded by his environment to be a useful member of human society. He has been ambitious to make his life a success, but to be a good, rather than a great, man. His biogra- phy has been published by Garlington and others.
On December 24, 1868, he married Miss Amelia Josephine Wilson, daughter of Major I. R. Wilson.
His address is Aiken, South Carolina.
Vol. I-S. C .- 6
JOHN GARY EVANS
E VANS, JOHN GARY, lawyer, legislator, veteran of the Spanish war, ex-governor of South Carolina, was born at Abbeville, October 15, 1863. His father was Nathan George Evans, a soldier, who neither sought nor held any public office, and whose most marked characteristic his son declares to be that he was "a fighter." His mother was Ann Victoria Gary, and her son feels that her influence was strong upon his intel- lectual development and in his moral and spiritual life. A full genealogy of the Evans family has been compiled by James Evans, of Philadelphia.
Passing his boyhood in a village, and possessed of fairly good health, he found his two strongest tastes and interests during childhood in books and fishing. While Governor Evans, like other boys who were born at about the time of the War between the States, was trained to the performance of "chores about the house," he does not think that this had any particular effect either way upon his character.
By the easy circumstances of his family, the way to a liberal education was opened to him without the need of work by him for self-support. He was prepared for college at Cokesbury Conference school. He entered Union college at Schenectady, New York; but left that institution in his junior year. His habits of reading were already formed; and from his boyhood he had found especial delight in history, biography, and essays. The law as a profession was his own personal choice; and he began the study of law as a clerk in the office of his uncle, William T. Gary, in Augusta, Georgia. He was admitted to the bar of South Carolina in 1887, and settled in Aiken, South Carolina.
In 1888 he was elected a member of the house of represen- tatives of South Carolina, and in 1890 he was reelected, from Aiken. In 1892 he was elected (still from Aiken) to the state senate, where he served for two years. In 1894 he was chosen governor of South Carolina, serving until 1897. In 1895 he was elected president of the State Constitutional convention.
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