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 5
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THEODORE GAILLARD CROFT
later was appointed surgeon for the Southern railway, a position he still (1907) holds. He is examiner for all the principal life insurance companies, and referee for two of them. He was surgeon of the First regiment of South Carolina state troops for eight or ten years. In 1902 he was made a member of the South Carolina state board of medical examiners; from 1879 to date (1907) he has been vestryman and warden of St. Thaddeus's Episcopal church. He served in the Sixteenth regiment, Con- federate States volunteers, and in the battalion of Citadel cadets during the War between the States; about 1878 he became chair- man of the Aiken Central Democratic club. For one year, from 1861 to 1862, he served as sergeant of the Sixteenth Confederate States volunteers; and from 1862 to 1865 he was connected with the South Carolina Military academy.
Doctor Croft is a member of the American Medical associa- tion, of the Medical Association of South Carolina, of the Tri- State Medical association, the Association of Surgeons of the Southern railway, and of the Aiken County Medical association. From 1901 to 1902 he was president of the South Carolina Medical association, and in 1904 he became one of its councilors, an office he still holds; in 1904 he was chosen vice-president of the Aiken County Medical association. Doctor Croft is a Demo- crat in politics. He finds recreation in fishing and hunting. To the young he commends untiring devotion to the work of their choice, allowing nothing to come before it; punctuality in all business appointments, and fair and honest dealing with all.
Doctor Croft has been twice married: First, on April 5, 1877, to Miss Mary Ella Chafee; and second, in July, 1904, to Miss Estelle Allison. Of his six children, four are now (1907) living.
His address is Aiken, South Carolina.
GEORGE BENEDICT CROMER
C ROMER, GEORGE BENEDICT, LL. D., ex-president of Newberry college, South Carolina, lawyer, and three times mayor of Newberry, was born in Newberry county, South Carolina, October 3, 1857. His father, Thomas H. Cromer, was a farmer and merchant, whose ancestors several generations ago came from Germany.
His boyhood was passed in the country, and when not busied in school he did such kinds of daily work as are usually required of a boy on a farm. After several years of study at the school of Thomas H. Duckett, he entered Newberry college, and was graduated in 1877, receiving the degree of A. M. in 1879. In October, 1877, he became a teacher in the preparatory department of Newberry college; and although he continued to teach in connection with the college for four years, he was also studying law; and he was admitted to the bar and began the practice of law in December, 1881. For fourteen years he gave himself to the practice of law. Identified with the Democratic party, although never an active politician, he was chosen mayor of Newberry in 1886, serving until 1890. In 1896 he was elected president of the Newberry college, and his administration of that institution covered a period of eight and a half years, until 1904. In 1905 he was again elected mayor of Newberry.
President Cromer has received the degree of LL. D. from Wittenberg college, Ohio, and from Muhlenberg college, Penn- sylvania.
He was married, on October 11, 1883, to Miss Carolyn J. Motte, who died in 1888. On November 27, 1890, he married Harriet S. Bittle. He has four children living in 1907.
An especial interest attaches to the life history of a man who immediately upon graduation becomes a teacher in the institution from which he was graduated, and who proceeds from the pro- fession of teaching to the practice of law, and so fully gains and keeps the respect and regard of his fellow-citizens, among whom his entire life has been passed, that he comes to be in turn the mayor of the city for six years, again a trusted practitioner of the law, and then president of his alma mater in the same city,
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GEORGE BENEDICT CROMER
and at once, upon his resignation from the presidency of the college, is again chosen to fill the office of mayor of the city, to the service of whose people and institutions his whole life has been given. Even to those who are not familiar with the insti- tution over which he has presided, or the community in which he dwells, it would seem that the life work of President Cromer marks him as "a favorite son" of Newberry.
JAMES WALTER DANIEL
D ANIEL, JAMES WALTER, D.D., minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and now pastor of the Washington Street Methodist Episcopal church, at Columbia, South Carolina, is the author of several books and of a volume of poetry, and has all his life been strongly drawn to authorship, and, rather against his convictions, has been deeply interested in the study of the history and the science of warfare, although his example and his preaching make for peace and righteousness.
He was born in Laurens, South Carolina, August 27, 1857. His father, James Wright Daniel, was a merchant and farmer, a justice of the peace, and, in the words of his son, was charac- terized by "integrity, independence of thought and action, perfect memory, good judgment, quick perception, a fine sense of humor, and by public spirit, liberality and piety." His mother, Eliza (Anderson) Daniel, was a woman of great common sense, of soundest principles, of thorough education, and of sincere piety of spirit and life; and her influence on her son was strong. Mr. Daniel's family is of Huguenot descent, having come to Virginia from France, immediately after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685), John Daniel, his great-grandfather, was a soldier of the American Revolution. He married Priscilla Harrison, a daughter of Benjamin Harrison, the signer of the Declaration of Independence. His mother's grandfather, William Anderson, came from County Antrim, was a staunch Presbyterian, a psalm-singer, and landed at Charleston, South Carolina, on Christmas eve, 1792, with his wife and five children, one of whom, Thomas Anderson, was the grand- father of the Reverend Doctor James W. Daniel. With his family, William Anderson proceeded at once to the upper part of Abbeville county and bought a plantation which included within its boundary lines the present town of Due West, "the mecca of the denomination to which he belonged." Accord- ing to the traditions of his family, immediately after coming into possession of the place he gave land for a school house, and that school later developed into Erskine college, where Eliza
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Anderson, Doctor Daniel's mother, was educated. The history of the Harrison family with whom the Daniels intermarried is well known, from their earliest settlement in Virginia, through successive generations, with two presidents of the United States among its sons. Peter Daniel, a judge of the supreme court of Virginia, was a direct progenitor of Doctor Daniel.
Where the family line is clearly traced and the family spirit and family traditions are strong, it is sometimes interesting to note the ideals and the estimate of themselves which are cherished in such a family connection. Doctor Daniel writes: "The tradition of my family is that no Daniel was ever tried or convicted of any crime in any court of justice. Another tradition is that our branch of the family, coming from France, were originally Jews. A Jewess and her five sons were converted to Christianity about the tenth century. Thus the name is accounted for. And it is a little remarkable that the Jewish physiognomy still makes its appearance in the family. John Moncure Daniel, the prominent Confederate editor, was frequently taken for a Jew. Driven out of France by the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, a part of the family came to Virginia, and have been permanently connected with all the interests of that state from its early colonial history."
Perfectly healthy in childhood and youth, James Walter Daniel was a country boy, fond of boyish sports, but reading much, especially history and biography. Until he was seventeen his life was spent upon a farm, and he says: "My father required of us work on the farm when we were not in school. He taught us never to be ashamed of any legitimate work, and this early training has been helpful to me all through my life." After studying at the ordinary country schools near him in his boyhood, at seventeen he entered the preparatory department of Newberry college. He was graduated in 1879 with the degree of A. B. The college gave him the degree of A. M. three years later.
In the early winter of the year of his graduation from college he was ordained as a junior preacher on the Pickens circuit, Pickens county. His choice of a life work was due to "no influ- ence other than the impression of duty to God; I was converted and felt deeply impressed that it was my duty to preach the Gospel."
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JAMES WALTER DANIEL
In his boyhood he had written several stories, some of the earliest of which were published in the "Home Circle," of Charleston, when he was eighteen. From his earliest recollection he has been fond of writing fiction. He says: "I have striven against the desire, yielding three times and publishing three novels. Composition has always been a recreation, especially composition of fiction. I have never cultivated it."
His early home had been one where the great Methodist preachers of the days of his childhood were frequently enter- tained. He ranks as the strongest influence in his life, after the ideals of his family and the training of his early home, the frequent contact and the kindly and familiar intercourse with these prominent ministers.
As a veteran soldier is entitled in his biography to the record of the successive engagements and promotions which have marked his life, so even a brief biography of a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church cannot be written to the satisfaction of his friends and former parishioners unless it mentions his successive stations and pastorates. Beginning with his ordination, in December, 1879, he served on the Pickens circuit until December, 1880; then on the West Anderson circuit, December, 1880, to December, 1881; on the Fork Shoals circuit, Greenville county, December, 1881, to 1883; the Pendleton circuit, December, 1883- 1886; Bennettsville station, Marlboro county, December, 1886, to December, 1890; Chester station, from December, 1890, to Decem- ber, 1893; Sumter station, from 1893 to 1897; Abbeville station, from December, 1897, to 1900; as pastor of Trinity church, at Charleston, South Carolina, from December, 1900, to December, 1903; at the Bethel church, Charleston, for the next year; and since December, 1904, he has been pastor of the Washington Street Methodist Episcopal church, at Columbia, South Carolina.
From his colleagues in the ministry he has received recog- nition repeatedly. At the session of the South Carolina confer- ence in December, 1897, he was elected a delegate to the general conference, held at Baltimore, Maryland, in May, 1898. In December, 1901, he was again elected to the general conference held at Dallas, Texas; and he acted as secretary of the publishing committee of that body in May, 1902.
In June, 1899, his alma mater, Newberry college, conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity.
Vol. II .- S. C .- 5.
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JAMES WALTER DANIEL
His published books are: "The Girl in Checks" (1891) ; "Out from Under Cæsar's Frown" (1892) ; "A Ramble Among Surnames" (1893) ; "A Maid of the Foothills" (1905) ; and "Cateechee" (1898), a short poem which gives the meaning of the Indian names in upper Carolina. He has written two poems not yet published, of the same order, designed to give in popular and poetic form the meaning of the Indian names in lower and middle Carolina.
Doctor Daniel has received many letters in acknowledgment of the service he has done in reclaiming from oblivion the meaning of the Indian place names of his state.
A Democrat by conviction, he has always been identified with that party. He is a Mason. From his boyhood he has found the study of bird life especially interesting, and he gets his out-of-door exercise chiefly in long walks, in which he observes the phenomena of nature, and particularly the life and habits of birds.
He was married to Miss Emma Hunt, at Greenville, South Carolina, December 8, 1880; of their nine children, seven are living in 1907.
To the young Americans of his state he offers these sugges- tions: "Without patriotism no man can be a truly great man. Cultivate it. Christianity, pure and simple, must be the founda- tion of every truly successful life. Avoid association with people of loose morals. Master some one thing in life. Never let any habit master you. Be yourself, never making any man your model, save the perfect man, Jesus Christ."
The address of Doctor Daniel is Columbia, South Carolina.
Men Markt Publishing Co. Washington, DC.
yours Truly 6 Andavis
CHARLES MCQUEEN DAVIS
D AVIS, CHARLES McQUEEN, farmer, merchant, state senator, was born in Clarendon county, South Carolina, . December 6, 1848. His father, T. J. M. Davis, was a farmer, a captain of militia, stern and positive in his convictions and his character. Through both his father and his mother he is of Irish descent.
He had a sturdy and vigorous boyhood, which was passed in the country; and he says that he very early felt a strong desire "to make and to have property of my own." He writes: "I performed manual labor on the farm and was taught to rise early and get at work. At the age of sixteen I was made a full hand on the farm; and for the benefit of others who have to work I will say that work always agreed with my health." His opportunities for attending school were limited to "about three years of old-field schooling." When but sixteen he served for a time during the War between the States in the militia of his state. He began his active business life in Richland county.
On February 9, 1869, he married Miss Mary T. Bynum. They have had ten children, nine of whom are living in 1907.
Two years after his marriage he returned to his native county, Clarendon, where he has since resided. He was president of the Davis Station Cotton mill, after consolidation. He was one of the directors of the Independent Cotton Oil company, and resident manager of the Davis Station Cotton mill. He says: "From as early a date as I can remember I have had the belief that push, energy, economy and honesty would 'win out'; and these principles I have striven to put into my life work."
In 1894 he was elected a member of the house of representa- tives of his state; and he was reelected in 1896, serving until 1898. He was a candidate for the state senate, but was defeated by Louis Appelt. In 1901 he was again a candidate, and he defeated his former opponent. Senator Davis's term expired in 1906. He is identified with the Democratic party. He is a member of the Methodist church. He is also a Mason. He has found his favorite exercise and amusement in bird and duck shooting, and in hunting deer.
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CHARLES M'QUEEN DAVIS
To young South Carolinians, Senator Davis offers these suggestions for success in life: "Honesty; careful observance of promises; faithfulness in the discharge of duty; regularity of habits; economy, and 'push'."
His address is Summerton, South Carolina.
Ler Company
yours Sincerely Saschavis
JAMES EVANS DAVIS
D AVIS, JAMES EVANS, lawyer, was born in Barnwell, South Carolina, September 17, 1856. His parents were James L. and Alpha (Evans) Davis. His father was noted for his public spirit and for his noble and generous impulses. He was of a social and kindly nature, given to hos- pitality, and in all respects a worthy type of the old-fashioned Southern gentleman. Although largely engaged in planting, he had a fine literary taste and was a close student of books and of men. He held the office of court clerk of Barnwell district, and was a gallant soldier in the Confederate army, in which he won the rank of major, though by his friends he was usually called colonel. The mother of the subject of this sketch was a woman of rare sweetness and purity of character, and she exerted a powerful and an enduring influence for good on the intellectual and moral life of her son.
Until James Davis was thirteen years of age he lived in the country upon his father's farm. His tastes and interests were those of the average boy of his time and place, but the war, which began before he was five years old, and the absence of his father during the conflict, interfered greatly with his home life and his educational advantages. When his father returned from the army he found that a large part of his property had been swept away and that what remained had greatly depreciated in value. He undertook, however, the task of restoring his fortunes as far as possible, and, as a means to this end, he began the cultivation of his plantation. When James was thirteen years of age he also went to the plantation and commenced active work in the fields. He was strong and well and cheerfully and resolutely gave himself to the performance of all kinds of labor required of an ordinary field hand. While thus engaged, he improved every possible opportunity for study and reading. Fortunately, his taste was for books of standard excellence, and he was able to obtain Gibbon's Rome, Macaulay's England, and many other historical works, including a number which were devoted especially to the history of his own country. In this
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JAMES EVANS DAVIS
reading and study he not only obtained a great deal of valu- able information, but he also disciplined and developed his mind along other lines of thought. He remained on the plantation until he was nineteen years of age. The outdoor life and the active labor in which he had been engaged had developed his physical powers and given him a large measure of strength and endurance.
From early childhood James Davis had desired to become a lawyer. Through all the changes he had passed and the diffi- culties in securing an education, and knowing that because of the disasters of the war his father could not help him, his ambition never left him. Although there was no hope that he could obtain a college education, he resolved in opening manhood that he would carry into effect the purpose of his early life. In order to secure the necessary means for doing this, he taught school in the fall and winter months and during the remainder of the year studied law in the office of the Honorable James Aldrich, who was then a prominent lawyer and afterwards elevated to the bench, becoming one of the most eminent jurists in the state. By close application to study he was, in a comparatively short time, sufficiently advanced to take the examination, and on December 13, 1880, he appeared before the supreme court of South Carolina, and, after passing a most creditable examination was admitted to the bar. On March 31, 1881, he began the practice of his profession in his native town of Barnwell. He was successful from the first and his energy and ability, industry and integrity, during the intervening years, have given him a lucrative practice, both in the nisi prius and the appellate courts, and given him a high rank among the lawyers of the state. In the examination of witnesses he shows a remarkable degree of skill, and when pleading his causes he is an eloquent and impres- sive speaker. In 1900 he was elected solicitor of the second circuit. He filled this position so acceptably that in 1904 he was reelected for a term of four years. In this office he has shown absolute fearlessness in the prosecution of evil-doers, and has won high rank among the prosecutors in the state. Many of his friends predict that Mr. Davis will contiue to advance, both in politics and as a lawyer, and that higher honors than he has yet received will crown his efforts to win a place in the first rank of the distinguished men of South Carolina.
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JAMES EVANS DAVIS
In politics Mr. Davis is a Democrat. In religion his denomi- national preference is for the Methodist Episcopal church.
Mr. Davis was married January 28, 1886, to Miss Mary Ella Bronson. They have one child living in 1907.
The postoffice address of Mr. Davis is Barnwell, South Caro- lina.
1
ALVIN H. DEAN
D EAN, ALVIN H., lawyer and state senator, was born near Duncan's, in Spartanburg county, South Carolina, March 22, 1863. His father, Captain A. H. Dean, was a farmer who served for two terms, 1898 to 1902, as a member of the house of representatives of the state, and during the War between the States was captain of Company E of the Sixteenth South Carolina cavalry. His mother was Mrs. Eugenia (Miller) Dean.
In his boyhood he lived on a farm in the country, and attended the country schools. He was sturdy, strong and fond of study; and he worked willingly on the farm in his boyhood and youth. He attended the high schools in Spartanburg county, and later took a course of study at Furman university. His professional course of study in the law was taken at Vanderbilt university, by which institution he was "licensed to practice" in 1884. In the same year he began the practice of the law at Greenville, South Carolina, where he has since resided. A natural inclination to this profession he felt even in his boyhood; and this inclination was strengthened by what his friends regarded as a natural talent for oratory. He has always been ready to express clearly, forcibly and with a good degree of rhetorical finish, his convictions upon all public questions, and his influence with his fellow-citizens has been in large part due to his power of clear and convincing expression.
He was chosen alderman of Greenville in 1892, serving until 1896. In 1895 he was elected state senator, and he was reelected in 1899, serving until 1904.
The newspapers of his district at the time of his candidacy for the senate spoke of him as "a lawyer of rare qualification and superior ability, recognized as one of the strongest advocates in . the state; in speech, eloquent and magnetic, graceful in delivery, and especially forceful in the presentation of facts."
He is a Knight of Pythias and an Odd Fellow. He belonged to the college fraternity of Sigma Alpha Epsilon.
Early identified with the Democratic party, he has uniformly voted for its candidates and has supported its party measures.
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ALVIN H. DEAN
By religious conviction he is a Presbyterian, and has been a deacon in that church for the last ten years. For exercise and amusement he has always delighted in the use of good horses, riding and driving a great deal.
In March, 1886, he married Miss Lida Byrd, who died in 1894. In August, 1898, he was married a second time to Miss Sally Preston, of Seven Mile Ford, Virginia.
Among the active and outspoken legislators of South Caro- lina of the younger generation, Senator Dean has already made for himself a prominent place in the esteem and confidence of his fellow-citizens.
His address is Greenville, South Carolina.
HENRY MONTGOMERY DIBBLE
D IBBLE, HENRY MONTGOMERY, was born October 12, 1859, in Marshall, Calhoun county, Michigan. His father was Charles P. and his mother H. J. Dibble. His father was a merchant and a banker, and, for a time, held the office of mayor of Marshall. He was noted for his public spirit and his active interest in the schools and industries of his city.
Henry Dibble's early life was passed in Marshall; his early health was excellent; he was always a great reader and especially fond of history and biography. He studied in the Marshall public schools, graduating in 1879 from the high school. The years of 1879 to 1882 he spent in Cornell university, graduating in 1882 with the degree of Lit. B., his course having been liter- ary. In the choice of his work he was largely influenced by the wish of a relative.
After leaving the university, Mr. Dibble studied law for one year at Grand Rapids, Michigan. The confinement of office work, however, caused a breakdown in his health, and he was ordered south by his physician. In the fall of 1883 he went to Aiken, South Carolina, and, finding that the climate agreed with him, soon bought the property known as the "Vale of Mont- morenci," lying seven miles southeast of Aiken, where he has since made his home. Soon after, he started the dairy farm, which is now among the largest in the state, having about one hundred and fifty thoroughbred Jersey cows. In 1884 he built what was probably the first silo ever erected in South Carolina.
Mr. Dibble's farm is famous for its beautiful scenery, its large masses of rock, which are a curiosity in that section of the state, and for its beautiful artificial lake.
Since 1895 Mr. Dibble has been president of the Bank of Aiken, and since 1898 president and treasurer of the Carolina Light and Power company. Mr. Dibble also assisted in organ- izing the Aiken Library association and is its president; he is also treasurer of the Aiken Cottages, a charitable organization for the treatment of young men with pulmonary troubles, which institution has in ten years accumulated an endowment fund of
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