USA > South Carolina > Men of mark in South Carolina; ideals of American life: a collection of biographies of leading men of the state, Volume II > Part 4
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Faithfully Beenog File G. Lopez
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JOHN GENDRON CAPERS
South Carolina, with his office at Charleston, in which office he served for one term.
When his successor as United States district attorney assumed the duties of that office, Mr. Capers' law office was at Greenville, South Carolina, and he in addition opened a law office in Wash- ington, District of Columbia, devoting his time to the practice of law in both places.
He was engaged in the practice of law in this way, when, in June, 1907, President Roosevelt appointed him United States commissioner of internal revenue, upon the resignation of Honorable J. W. Yerkes, of Kentucky. Mr. Capers accepted the office for the short term, with the statement and understanding that he preferred the practice of law to government service, even in so high a position.
At first identified with the Democratic party, upon the nomination of Bryan in 1896 he became a supporter of Mckinley and joined the Republican party. He shared in the campaign for Mckinley and Roosevelt in 1900. He was delegate at large from South Carolina to the National Republican convention at Chicago in 1904, and he has been a member of the Republican national committee since 1904.
In 1889, Mr. Capers was married to Miss Sue Keels, sister of his brother Frank's wife, and daughter of John M. and Susan Maxwell Keels, of South Carolina. Always frail of health, she lived little more than a year. Six years after her death, Mr. Capers married Miss Lilla Trenholm, daughter of Frank H. and Mary E. Trenholm, of Charleston, South Carolina, and a grand- daughter of George A. Trenholm, who was secretary of the Confederate States treasury in President Davis' cabinet.
There are no living children by the first marriage. By the second marriage there are two daughters, Charlotte Palmer, eleven years of age, and Frances Trenholm, eight years of age, at this time (1907).
Mr. Capers is a Master Mason, and a Knight of Pythias. He is a member of the college fraternity of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, and has been president of the fraternity and editor of its journal, "The Record." His church relations are with the Protestant Episcopal Church of America. He has found his exercise and relaxation, he says, "in the general out-of-door work about my
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little country summer home at Cedar Mountain, North Carolina." He declines to offer to his young fellow-citizens advice based upon his own experience in life, in these words: "As I am not yet forty years of age, I am myself trying to grow older and wiser in the light of other men's examples."
MARK LEE CARLISLE
O ARLISLE, MARK LEE, D. D., preacher and pastor, Methodist Episcopal Church, South, now of Marion, South Carolina, was born at Pendleton, Anderson county, South Carolina, October 13, 1863. He is the son of the Reverend John Mason Carlisle, "a quiet man, of few words, a clear thinker and a strong preacher." His mother was Elizabeth Catherine (Sharp) Carlisle, and her son declares of her: "My mother has been the largest factor in my life." When he speaks of his "first ambition to be a man 'worth while,'" he mentions the inspiring influence of two of his former teachers, John S. Moore, of Ben- nettsville, South Carolina, and Doctor Charles Forster Smith, now of the University of Wisconsin; but he adds, "first and chiefest, was always my mother." His father's ancestors came from Ireland about a hundred years ago.
His boyhood was passed "mainly in towns," and he early showed a marked taste for reading and study; and in boyhood, as well as through his youth and manhood, his favorite reading has been "history, biographies, travel, and, above all, the Bible." After studying in the common schools and at home, he entered Wofford college, and was graduated (A. B.) in 1883. In Sep- tember of that year he took up the work of a school teacher in Orangeburg county; and he continued to teach there, and at Marion, South Carolina, and in Union county, until December, 1886, at which time he was received into the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, a member of the South Car- olina conference. During the twenty years since his ordination as preacher of the Gospel, Doctor Carlisle has filled the following pastorates: Clifton circuit, 1887; Walhalla circuit, 1888-1890; Camden, 1891-1894; Chester, 1895-1896; Central church, Spar- tanburg, 1897-1900; Washington Street church, Columbia, 1901- 1904; Bethel church, Charleston, 1905-1906, and the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, Marion, South Carolina, at the present (1907) time.
In June, 1901, Wofford college conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity. He has been a member of the board of missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church,
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South, since 1902. He has been chairman of the South Carolina conference board of missions since 1903. He is a member of the Chi Phi college fraternity. His convictions have led to his identification with the Democratic party. He has given some attention to physical culture, believing that it is every man's duty to keep his body in good condition, that it may be the efficient servant of his mind and will; but he has never been a devotee of athletics. He finds his favorite exercise and relaxation in gardening, and, when opportunity offers, in mountain climbing. To the youth of South Carolina he commends: "Truth, purity, sincerity, modesty, and a determination to be and to do the best, with a moral and genuinely religious life."
ROBERT THURLOW CASTON
C ASTON, ROBERT THURLOW, lawyer and banker, like many another successful practitioner of the law, began his active work in life as a school teacher. While he is a native of South Carolina, he taught school for some years, first in Kentucky and then in Texas. But through all these six years of teaching he was steadfast in his purpose ultimately to follow the profession of the law. He says: "I expected to prac- tice law from my earliest recollection." In answer to the request to estimate the relative strength upon his life of the influences of home, school, early companionships, private study, and contact with men in active life, he writes that with him the influence of home was strongest; next he would rank the effect upon his life of his intercourse with active and successful men; private study ranks third with him, and his course of study in school he places fourth in order of importance.
He is the son of W. Thurlow Caston, a lawyer, and of Sarah A. (Bryce) Caston. His father's ancestors emigrated from Wales to the United States before the Revolutionary period; and soon after the War of the Revolution the earliest known American ancestor of his mother settled in South Carolina, coming from Scotland.
In his efforts to acquire an education he had to depend in no small degree upon his own efforts.
He was born at Camden, South Carolina. Attendance at the schools of Spartanburg preceded his entrance to Wofford college, from which he was graduated with the degree of A. B. in 1871, receiving the degree of A. M. three years later.
When he had completed a course of law studies preparatory to admission to the bar, he began the practice of law as partner of the late Chief Justice McIver, in December, 1876, at Cheraw.
In addition to the duties which have devolved upon him in the care of his professional business and in safeguarding the interests of his clients, Mr. Caston has served as president of the Bank of Cheraw since November, 1889.
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While he has not held political office, he declares himself to be a "Democrat, straight out," and he has "never changed his party allegiance, though tempted so to do."
He is identified with the Methodist church.
The address of Mr. Caston is Cheraw, South Carolina.
Me- Mark Publish Washington, ES
WILLIAM ERNEST CHESWELL
O HESWELL, WILLIAM ERNEST, president of the Cheswell Cotton mill, of Westminster, South Carolina, is a type of the adopted sons of South Carolina who, coming into the state with the development of manufactures in recent years, have added so largely to the business enterprise and prosperity of the commonwealth. He was born at Newmarket, Rockingham county, New Hampshire, on November 11, 1858, the only son of his parents, Charles Allen and Sarah Rogers Cheswell. His great-grandfather, Wentworth Cheswell, served in the Con- tinental army. The Cheswell ancestry in America dates back to Paul Cheswell, a native of New Hampshire in 1720.
After studying at Newmarket high school he began work in his chosen line of life (that of the manufacture of cotton goods) in the number four mill of the Newmarket Manufacturing com- pany, as oiler and band boy of the ring spinning room. From the first he was a critical observer of all the processes of the mill, and he interested himself in visiting as many as possible of the mills of New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine, while he was still a very young man. After a few years of mill work, he took a position with the Saco Water Power company, in erecting cotton machinery, that he might fit himself more fully to become a manager of mills and a manufacturer. In 1885 he was engaged as overseer of spinning and dressing in the Gibson Cotton mills, at Marysville, New Brunswick, remaining there until July, 1888, when he went to the St. Croix Cotton mills, at Milltown, New Brunswick, a mill with a very large range of pattern work. Attracted by the opportunities offered in the South for young men of ability in the line of cotton manufacturing, Mr. Cheswell accepted the position of superintendent of the Georgia Manu- facturing company, at Whitehall, Georgia, in January, 1890, and remained with them until November, 1892. He was superin- tendent of the Laboratory mills, at Lincolnton, North Carolina, from November, 1892, until January 1, 1894, at which time he accepted the position of general manager of the Courtenay Manu- facturing company, Newry, South Carolina, of which William A. Courtenay was president and promoter. He took charge of
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the work at Newry before the mill buildings and the dam were completed. He superintended the completion of the buildings and the installation of machinery, and started the mill on print cloths. Those who have watched the development of cotton manufacture in the South will remember that the Courtenay Manufacturing company was one of the first mills in the South to start manufacturing on number 28 warp, number 36 filling. On December 12, 1899, the Cheswell Cotton Mill company, at Westminster, South Carolina, was organized by Mr. Cheswell, who was elected president and general manager of the new mill and company, while he still retained the superintendency of the Courtenay Manufacturing company, but fourteen miles distant. In July, 1900, as the result of overwork and exposure, from his double duties while he was completing the Cheswell mill and installing its machinery, Mr. Cheswell was taken seriously ill, and was compelled to resign his connection with the Courtenay company.
September, 1900, saw the Cheswell mill ready for its equip- ment. Few, if any, of the cotton mills in the South, of anything like its size, have been built so quickly. Mr. Cheswell designed the entire plant, and has equipped it with all the known modern appliances for producing the best goods at a minimum cost. He personally superintended the construction, equipment and starting of the mill; and although it began to turn out goods at a time when old-fashioned firms found it difficult to sell their goods in an overstocked market, the Cheswell mill soon secured a ready market for its entire production, and at remunerative prices.
Mr. Cheswell is still (1907) president and general manager of the mill which bears his name. He devotes himself with singleness of purpose to the business enterprise he has in hand. And he conducts that enterprise by methods and upon principles which he believes will inure to the economic profit and the social welfare of the state and of the community in which the mill is situated.
Identified with the Democratic party, in his religious con- victions he is affiliated with the Baptist church. He is a Mason, an Odd Fellow, a Knight of Pythias.
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WILLIAM ERNEST CHESWELL
Those who are interested in the prosperity of his community and his county regard Mr. Cheswell as a strong addition to the citizenship of his adopted state, since he is one of the best equipped, strongest and most practically successful of the man- agers of the new cotton mills in the South.
His address is Westminster, South Carolina.
WILLIAM FORCE CLAYTON
C LAYTON, WILLIAM FORCE, teacher, farmer, lawyer, member of the state board of education, was born at Athens, Georgia, August 17, 1843. His ancestors of the Clayton family in Virginia, Delaware, North Carolina and Georgia came from England and settled in these colonies; the branch of the family from which he is descended settled in Culpeper county, Virginia. The Harpers, with whom his grand- father's family intermarried, were from Abbeville, South Caro- lina. Through his father's mother he is descended from the Carnes and the Armours, who came from Ireland. His great- grandfather Carnes was a circuit judge; his grandfather, Augus- tin S. Clayton, was a judge and a member of congress, and was chairman of the first nullification meeting held in Georgia in 1832. An uncle, Judge George R. Clayton, was a candidate for governor of Mississippi on the platform against repudiation when that was the issue; but the opposing party won the election.
He is the son of Philip Clayton and Leonora Harper. Philip Clayton was for some years second auditor and assistant secretary of the United States treasury, residing at Washington, District of Columbia, where most of the boyhood of William Force Clayton was passed. His father was afterward consul at Callao, Peru, where William Force Clayton acted as vice-consul. Philip Clayton, his father, was also assistant secretary of the treasury department of the Confederate States of America, during the short existence of that government. He is remembered by his son as a man "jovial in disposition, but strong in his affections, with a high sense of honor, and very firm in his religious belief -a member of the Episcopal church."
William Force Clayton spent most of his boyhood at Wash- ington, District of Columbia, attending the Union academy, the Rugby academy, and other preparatory schools at Washington; but the War between the States prevented his acquiring a colle- giate education. As a boy he had had an especial interest in matters connected with the navy; and on the outbreak of the war he entered the Confederate navy as midshipman, and as passed- midshipman he served four years during the war. After the
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war he had some experience in the service of an express company at Atlanta, Georgia; and after the failure of that company he moved to Marion county, South Carolina, and taught school during the years 1868 and 1869. From 1870 to 1892 he was a farmer and planter. Having studied law, he was admitted to the bar when nearly fifty years old; and after some experience in the service of a railroad at Macon, Georgia, he began the practice of law at Florence, South Carolina, in 1893. In 1895 he was chosen a member of the Constitutional convention of South Carolina. He has been magistrate, school trustee, clerk of the board of county commissioners, member of the county board of control; and for four years he has acted as member of the state board of education of South Carolina.
In his political convictions he is a Democrat. He has all his life been exceptionally fond of reading. His mother, whose influence on his moral and spiritual life was strong, early made the Bible, Shakespeare and some of the best English prose writers his favorite reading; and as he grew older he became a constant reader of the best English poetry. He has occasionally contrib- uted articles to newspapers and to magazines. The exercise on which he has depended to keep his health good he has taken "in the care of a good garden." He reckons the influence of his early home as the strongest power for good in his life. In his boyhood and youth he saw much of the "statesmen of ante-bellum times," and from his acquaintance with these men he received an impulse to make the most of his life. He says it has been the chief ambition of his life "to do my duty in the sphere of life in which I might be placed." "My ambition to be a naval officer was ended with the fall of the Confederacy; and as an humble citizen I have made a living, have accumulated little, but having had food and raiment, I have always been content." His family have always been affiliated with the Episcopal church; and while his convictions upon certain ideas and forms which are adhered to by Christians of certain denominations have kept him from becoming a member of any church, he says: "I recognize the fact that the church is doing much good. I seldom go to church, but I have all my children go, as they cannot contemplate the matter as I do, and they might be led astray. I remain at home on Sunday, read the Bible and other books and papers, and observe
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the day as a day of rest, and grieve to see it desecrated by railroads and others while the church keeps silent."
His advice to the young people of his state is: "Fear God and keep his commandments; be guided by principle; keep good company; avoid liquor, cards and impurity; do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
On December 22, 1869, Mr. Clayton married Miss Elizabeth Brown. She died November 10, 1898. Of their eleven children, eight are living in 1907.
His address is Florence, South Carolina.
ZECHARIAH THORNTON CODY
C ODY, REVEREND ZECHARIAH THORNTON, D. D., pastor of the First Baptist church of Greenville, South Carolina, was born near Franklin, Henry county, Ala- bama, on the 21st of May, 1858. His father, Reverend Edmund Cody, was a minister of the Gospel and a planter, whose life was marked by sanity, integrity and piety. His mother, Mrs. Sarah (Henderson) Cody, was a true helpmeet to her husband. His earliest ancestor in America was James Cody, who emigrated from Ireland about 1740 and settled in Virginia.
Attending the country and village schools which were within his reach in early boyhood, he fitted himself for college and entered Mercer university at Macon, Georgia. After a year at that institution he studied at Carson-Newman college, in Ten- nessee; but his college course was cut short by lack of funds, and he did not take a degree. From 1883 to 1887 he was a student in the Southern Baptist Theological seminary, at Louisville, Kentucky, from which institution he received, in 1887, the degree of Master of Theology. Looking back over his life from the mature years of pastoral service, he feels that the books and the lines of reading to which he owes most are the Bible, the writings of Frederick Denison Maurice, and (in later years) Jonathan Edwards, and Charles Darwin. He has received the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity from colleges in Missouri and Georgia.
In 1887 he took up the work of the pastorate, preaching for the Baptist church at Mays Lick, Kentucky. After 1885 he served as pastor in Louisville, Kentucky, Mays Lick, Kentucky, and Georgetown, Kentucky, where he had been a useful pastor for twelve years when he accepted the call of the Baptist church of Greenville, South Carolina, on November 1, 1901, the pastorate which he now (1907) fills with the cordial support of his church and the esteem of the community.
Doctor Cody has always been allied with the Democratic party. He is a member of the Thirty-nine club, of Greenville, South Carolina. His favorite form of out-of-door sport for exer- cise has been baseball. He has contributed articles to newspapers
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and periodicals, some of which, with certain of his sermons, have been published in pamphlet form.
On the 9th of November, 1887, he married Miss Susan Isabella Anderson, daughter of Henry David Anderson, of Ken- tucky. They have had two children, both of whom are living in 1907.
To the young he says : "Above everything, a sound religious and moral character is the chief element in success. Next to this, habits of industry, wise economy, and true liberality. The highest success is hardly possible without a thorough education ; and no young man is worthy of citizenship who does not take an interest in all that pertains to the economic welfare and the civic righteousness of our people."
Doctor Cody's address is McBee avenue, Greenville, South Carolina.
att Covington
HENRY KEMPER COVINGTON
C OVINGTON, HENRY KEMPER, farmer and dairyman, of Bennettsville, Marlboro county, South Carolina, was born on the 28th of September, 1861, in the town where he still resides. His father, Tristram Covington, was a planter, "pensive and unobtrusive by temperament." He served for years as county commissioner. His mother was Jane Covington, daugh- ter of Thomas S. and Sarah Covington, of Marlboro county. The family trace their descent from the Covingtons and Cooks, who immigrated to the American colonies in the seventeenth century.
His boyhood was passed in the country. He had excellent health. His taste, even in boyhood, was strongly for the study of mathematics. While he was taught to have regular tasks involving manual labor, he was fond of reading, particularly in those branches of natural science which bear upon practical agriculture. He attended the schools within reach of his home and fitted himself for Wofford college, from which institution he was graduated with the degree of B. S. in 1882, having given especial attention to courses in chemistry, physics, analytical geometry, and trigonometry.
His early home training was perhaps the influence which was decisive with him in choosing farming as his life work. He has given some especial attention to the work of dairy-farming; but his principal work has been that of a farmer and planter. He has invented a pea-huller which has had considerable sale.
On the 19th of November, 1883, Mr. Covington married Miss Mary J. Fletcher; and some time after her death he married, on the 20th of January, 1904, Miss N. O. Wells. He had three sons by his first marriage, all of whom are living in 1907.
While at college he was a member of the Delta chapter of the Kappa Alpha fraternity. In political relations he is identi- fied with the Democratic party.
He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.
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His favorite amusement and recreation is music, and he has always been fond of playing the piano, finding in this devotion to music delight, recreation and relief from the cares of business.
His advice to young South Carolinians who would succeed is: "Select carefully your vocation ; pursue it assiduously. Shun the common vices. Have confidence in God and your fellow-men. Success will follow."
Mar of Mark Publishing CO Washington, D.C.
Hours Viny hely. IG Craft. /
THEODORE GAILLARD CROFT
C ROFT, THEODORE GAILLARD, son of Theodore Gaillard and Eliza Webb B'Oley Croft, was born at Greenville, South Carolina, July 10, 1845. His father, a physician and planter, was characterized by determination, firmness and fearlessness, combined with great courtesy and kind- ness of manner. Edward and John Croft, the earliest known ancestors of T. G. Croft, migrated from the West Indies, or direct from England, to Charleston, South Carolina, about 1700. John Gaillard, uncle of Doctor Theodore Gaillard Croft, was United States senator from South Carolina for twenty-four years. Theodore Gaillard was judge in South Carolina for many years.
The subject of this sketch was in childhood healthy and strong, fond of reading, but devoted to outdoor sports; his early life was passed in the country. His duties were light, involving nothing more than at times helping on the farm. The influence of his mother upon his moral and spiritual life was strong and helpful. His education was interrupted by the war; his pro- fessional education he won only as a result of his own labor, no pecuniary assistance coming to him from others. For reading he was fond of biography, especially of the men who have impressed themselves upon the world's history. The influences which have affected him have chiefly been the teachings of home life, supplemented by contact with men in the world outside.
He attended Pierce's school and also Furman university in Greenville, South Carolina; these courses were supplemented by study in the Citadel academy, Charleston, and in the University of Virginia.
Mr. Croft began the active work of life at Rome, Georgia, in 1869, as superintendent of a draying outfit and of hauling trucks. He continued in this work until 1871; from 1872 to 1873 he was outdoor superintendent of the Aetna Iron Works, Georgia. From childhood, however, he had a strong desire to be a physician. To fulfil this purpose he attended the Medical College of South Carolina, at Charleston, and completed the course, graduating March 5, 1875, valedictorian of his class. Doctor Croft then became a general practitioner of medicine and
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