USA > South Carolina > Men of mark in South Carolina; ideals of American life: a collection of biographies of leading men of the state, Volume III > Part 10
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DANIEL FRANKLIN EFIRD
E FIRD, DANIEL FRANKLIN, eight years a member of the South Carolina house of representatives, and since 1904 state senator, was born in Lexington county, South Carolina, January 25, 1861, the son of Reverend Daniel Efird, a minister of the Gospel and a farmer and merchant, who also served as treasurer of Lexington county. His mother was Hen- rietta (Dreher) Efird, who was a descendant of the Reverend Godfrey Dreher, a prominent Lutheran minister in Lexington county, distinguished as a leader and organizer in his denomi- nation.
D. F. Efird was trained early to labor on the farm and to the general business of a farm and of storekeeping. He feels that as a boy he was "confirmed in habits of industry, carefulness and perseverance," which have been of value to him throughout his life. He declares that he owes much to his mother, who was affectionate and careful in the religious and moral training she gave to her children.
He was prepared for college at Pine Ridge academy; and he completed the work of the junior year at Newberry college, but was not graduated. At the age of twenty-one he was led by his personal preference to take up the business of farming. This he planned to pursue in a way to be reasonably profitable to himself, while it still should not so engross his time as to interfere with his desire to serve his fellow-citizens of his county and his state, for he felt "a natural desire to gain and deserve their respect by such service as he could render them." In 1896 he was chosen a member of the South Carolina house of repre- sentatives, and he was repeatedly reelected, continuing a member of that house until 1904, in which year he was elected to the state senate.
While a member of the legislature he devoted himself suc- cessfully to the effort to get "the finances of his county upon a cash basis." He also advocated strongly the passage of the biennial sessions amendment.
He served for a time as lieutenant of a militia company. He has always been identified with the Democratic party. He is
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a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of the Knights of Pythias.
He is connected with the Lutheran church, in which his ancestors have been useful and distinguished ministers. He has found his favorite form of exercise and his relaxation in hunting.
On October 8, 1891, Mr. Efird married Miss Inez Antoinette Hiller, daughter of Silas D. and Ann A. Hiller, of Lexington. They have had four children, of whom three are now (1907) living.
His address is Lexington, South Carolina.
Men of Markt Publishing Co Washington, DC
yours Truly C. Ehrhardt
CONRAD EHRHARDT
E HRHARDT, CONRAD, was born in Germany, December 13, 1832, the son of Henry Ehrhardt, a farmer of honest character and industrious habits. He early showed a marked interest in machinery; and by study and practice he qualified himself for the work of a general mechanic and for the erection and care of mill machinery. While a boy he began to work in mills in his native country. He says of himself that while the influences of home and of school helped to shape his life, and his love of machinery inclined him to the milling business, "poverty had most of all to do with my advancement in life, for poverty caused me to study more intensely." The graded schools of Germany gave him a fair start in the acquisition of an education. He has never taken a special course of study at any scientific school, but from his boyhood he has been a studious reader of books and journals upon engineering, milling construc- tion and mill management.
He began the active work of life for himself as a laborer in milling, and as a general mechanic, in Barnwell county, South Carolina. The public confidence in him, which has been inspired by a long life of industry, integrity, useful labor, and careful business management, found expression in his choice as county commissioner from 1868 to 1872, a term of four years. From 1869 to 1871 he was county treasurer of Barnwell county. As a miller he was exempt from military service during the War between the States.
He has devoted himself, first of all, with steady assiduity to the management of his own business. In his political affilia- tions he has always been connected with the Democratic party. Identified by descent and conviction with the Lutheran church, he has been an elder in the Mt. Pleasant Lutheran church for over fifty years. He holds no membership in any fraternities or clubs, finding in his church relations the social ties which have most of significance and helpfulness for him.
When the question was put to Mr. Ehrhardt, what sugges- tions would you make, based upon your own experience and observation, for the purpose of helping your younger fellow-
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citizens to form sound ideals of American life and to attain to true success? he wrote in answer: "First of all, build up a character. Next, after that, attend to your chosen business. Try to owe no man anything but good-will, and endeavor to pay that to all."
Mr. Ehrhardt was married February 16, 1851, to Miss Anna D. King; and of their five children, four are still living.
His address is Ehrhardt, South Carolina.
THOMAS KETCHIN ELLIOTT
E LLIOTT, THOMAS KETCHIN, banker, of Winnsboro, South Carolina, was born in Fairfield county, October 8, 1855. His father, Henry Laurens Elliott, was a merchant and banker, and a farmer, characterized by integrity in all his business relations and by warm-hearted benevolence.
Passing his boyhood in the country, Thomas Elliott was early trained to regular tasks which involved manual labor. His earlier years of school life were passed in the country schools near his home; and for a more advanced course of study he attended the Virginia Military institute, graduating at the age of twenty, in July, 1875, ranking third in a class of forty-five men.
In answer to the question, "What principally determined the choice of your occupation or profession ?" Mr. Elliott answers: "Luck." He feels that his life was most strongly influenced by his parents and by the surroundings of his early home, and that "private study" has done more for him than either school, early companionships, or contact with men in active life in later years.
He married Miss Carrie Aiken, November 26, 1879. They have had seven children, all of whom are living in 1908.
In 1875 he took the position of teller in the Bank of Winnsboro. He was again and again promoted until he became its president. He is also president of the Fairfield Cotton mills, at Winnsboro, South Carolina, and president of the Wylie mills, at Chester, South Carolina.
The books which he has found most helpful in fitting him for his work in life are "the Bible and Reverend Frederick W. Robertson's Sermons." His religious convictions find expression in his membership in the Associate Reformed Presbyterian church, in which organization he has been for some years an elder.
Politically his affiliations are with the Democratic party, although he has not sought public office. His favorite form of exercise is horseback riding.
Mr. Elliott is a type of the business man of integrity and faithfulness who devotes himself to what he believes to be the
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best financial interests of the community in which he dwells, and by the successful management of his own business becomes naturally a leader in enterprises which concern and conserve the interests of his fellow-citizens and contribute to the well-being of the community in which he resides.
Men of Markt Publishing Company Washington, D. C.
R. BERLEY EPTING
E PTING, R. BERLEY, M. D., was born August 14, 1857, on his father's farm, near Pomaria, in Newberry county, South Carolina. His father, Jacob Epting, was of Ger- man descent and a man of sterling Christian character, marked by industry and devotion to duty. His farm was poor and unprofitable and required careful husbandry to make it produce the necessities of life, yet his wife managed to make it provide a living for herself and their family of eight small children while he gave his services to the loved cause of the Confederacy. The influence of this most excellent mother has been felt for good throughout the useful life of her son who is the subject of this sketch.
The years following the war were trying ones, full of sacri- fice and privation to South Carolinians. The Epting family was no exception, and each of the eight children had to bear its part of the burden of farm labor or perform his or her share of work in the home. To this early life of trial and simple living Doctor Epting owes much of the physical endurance which has enabled him to successfully practice his profession. As a boy his health was rather frail, and he was not able to accomplish very much in the two years that he was privileged to attend the common schools of his neighborhood. Consequently he was provided with only a meagre education before he began the study of his chosen profession. He was, however, endowed by nature with a strong and well-balanced mind, and from early life he had a love for medicine and a determination to make its practice his vocation. For one in his circumstances the mastery of such a study neces- sarily meant hard and persistent work, but he was not daunted by the difficulties that were to be surmounted in order to accom- plish his cherished purpose. With the exception of the two years spent at school, he worked steadily on the farm until he was twenty-three years old, and he carefully saved his earnings in order to be able to take the necessary college course in medicine. After serving one year as deputy sheriff of Newberry county. under Sheriff D. B. Wheeler, during which time he read medi- cine, he attended lectures for the session of 1883-84 at the Medical
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College of the State of South Carolina, in Charleston. The next year he spent at the University of Maryland, in Baltimore, from which institution he was graduated in the summer of 1885. In the fall of that year he commenced the practice of his profession at Elloree, South Carolina, where he was very successful. In 1888 he took a special post-graduate course at the New York Polyclinic in surgery and diseases of children, receiving certifi- cates for his work. As a means of keeping abreast with the progress of medical science, as well as an occasional diversion from the steady rounds of visiting patients, he has since taken several other special courses in New York hospitals.
In the spring of 1890 he moved from Elloree to Greenwood, South Carolina, where he has since lived. In his new location Doctor Epting has had to meet strong competition, but has done so in a manner to win not only a large practice but the esteem and good-will of his professional brethren. In all that pertains to the welfare and upbuilding of his adopted town and commu- nity he has taken a prominent part. At considerable personal sacrifice he has served on the board of health and in the town council, entering with zeal into the details of civic improvement and devoting his best efforts to the discharge of his duties as chairman of the council committee on streets. It may be truly said that he has contributed in no small degree to the improve- ment and prosperity of the town.
He is medical examiner for several life insurance companies, and a member of the Seaboard Air Line board of railway sur- geons, being local surgeon at Greenwood for that company. He is also a member of the American Medical association, the South Carolina State Medical association, and the local county associa- tion, and in 1905 was made a member of the national auxiliary committee of the American Medical association. He was one of the active workers in establishing Lander college at Greenwood, and is a member of the board of directors and physicians to that institution, whose faculty and students regard him as a loved physician and devoted friend.
In February, 1888, he married Mrs. Mary A. Pemberton. Of their two children, one is living in 1907. Doctor Epting is a Democrat in politics. His religious affiliation, like that of his parents, is with the Lutheran denomination. He feels that he owes much of his success to the religious influences which sur-
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rounded his early life at home, and to his wise choice of compan- ionship in youth, having made it a point to associate only with those young men who, like himself, appreciated the value of moral character and high ideals. His devotion to duty and to the ethics of his profession-allowing nothing to interfere with faithful, undivided attention to his patients-has won him notable prominence, and has left him but little time for pleasure or social amusement. He is a member of the local lodge of Knights of Pythias, but it is in his home life as husband and father that he finds his chief relaxation and recreation from professional care and study.
The lesson of his life to young men is that steadfast courage and persistent effort will conquer almost insurmountable diffi- culties, and devotion to duty will win success even when opposed by most formidable barriers.
The address of Doctor Epting is Greenwood, South Carolina.
FRANK EVANS
E VANS, FRANK, superintendent of the city schools at Spartanburg, South Carolina, was born at Marion, May 8, 1861. His father, Chesley D. Evans, was a lawyer and commissioner in equity, and one of the signers of the ordinance of secession in 1860, whom his son remembers as characterized by "modesty, gentleness and courage." His mother was Mrs. Sarah Jane (Haselden) Evans, whose great-grandfather came from England and settled near Georgetown, South Carolina, about 1750. His paternal ancestors came from Wales, and one of them settled on the Pee Dee about 1720. The family names of Daniel, Godbold, Bradley and Horry, among his ancestors, indicate a mingling of English, Irish and French blood, and representatives of each of these families from whom he traces his descent settled in Virginia or South Carolina in the first half of the eighteenth century.
Of his parents he says: "My mother's influence was strong, both on my intellectual and my moral life. She insisted upon my having definite work to do, both as a matter of education and of profit. The plantation boy may work ten hours a day, and still have much leisure for reading. My father had a good library and guided me in my reading. I would not exchange the training I got when I was from sixteen to nineteen years old as manager of a plantation for any four years of instruction I have ever had at school."
As would be inferred from the sentences quoted above, his boyhood was passed in the country. He had good health. He was fond of fishing and hunting, and still more fond of reading. In his boyhood and youth he did ordinary farm work, such as clearing new land, cutting timber for lumber, ploughing, attend- ing to the pasturing of cattle and hogs, etc. "A plantation is an excellent school for a boy," he writes. "It develops his executive ability and makes a responsible man of him."
Living three miles from the nearest common school, and to such a degree dependent upon his own efforts that he did not have the means to attend school regularly, he had difficulties to surmount in acquiring an education. But he early learned "the
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advantage of his disadvantages." He fitted for college at the Marion academy, of which W. H. Witherow, J. B. White and J. D. Dunlap were principals. He was graduated with honor from the University of Nashville, Tennessee, in 1883. Since his graduation he has taken six summer courses of study in pedagogy, geography, English, and botany, to fit himself still more fully for his life-work, teaching.
In 1883 he became principal of the Laurens Male academy, at Laurens, South Carolina. He had held at the University of Nashville a scholarship which required its holder to teach for at least three years; and this, together with his own convictions, influenced him in the choice of his profession. He continued principal of the Laurens academy until 1891. He served as superintendent of the graded schools of Newberry from 1891 to 1895, and for the last thirteen years, since 1895, he has been the efficient superintendent of the city schools of Spartanburg.
He was married, June, 30, 1886, to Miss Lucy Barksdale, and they have had two children, both of whom are now (1908) living.
The esteem in which he is held by the fellow-members of his profession is shown in his election as president of the South Carolina State Teachers' association for the year 1895-96.
In politics he is independent, having voted against Bryan on the silver issue in 1896. Fond of athletic exercise, he was at one time "devoted to baseball," but he now gets his exercise in lawn tennis out-of-doors, and finds relaxation indoors in playing chess.
Mr. Evans is a member of the Presbyterian church. Three suggestions he offers to the young people of his state: "Think for yourself. Rely on yourself. Do not be superstitious."
His address is Spartanburg, South Carolina.
WILLIAM JOSIAH FISHBURNE
F ISHBURNE, WILLIAM JOSIAH, lawyer and member of the legislature, was born at Walterboro, Colleton county, South Carolina, on September 3, 1848. His father, Josiah Bedon Fishburne, was a physician, the first of whose ancestors in America, his great-grandfather, Col. William Fishburne, came from England.
The tastes and interests which appealed to him most strongly in his childhood he summarizes in these three words, which have had a magic attraction for so many of the boys of his state: "Books, dogs, gun." His father died when he was but six years old, and to his mother, Mrs. Emma Julia (Kershaw) Fishburne, he expresses a debt of gratitude and affection when he writes: "My mother was my all." Until he was fifteen he resided in Walterboro. Although he began at an early age to be interested in history and the classics, which have always been favorite lines of reading with him since he became a man, he had "innumerable difficulties" to overcome in acquiring an education. He studied in the preparatory schools at Walterboro. In the closing year of the War between the States, from 1864 to 1865, he was a South Carolina cadet. He attended the South Carolina university in 1867, but lack of means prevented his graduation. In the follow- ing year, from 1868 to 1869, he taught school in Bamberg. But personal preference was drawing him strongly toward the pro- fession of the law, and he was admitted to the bar in 1870, and began the practice of his profession in Walterboro, South Carolina.
In 1876 he was a member of the "Hampton" state convention. Elected to the lower house of the South Carolina legislature, he served from 1888 to 1889 and several terms afterward. He has been chairman of the conservative party in Colleton county. He has served as a trustee of the Walterboro graded schools and as a member of the city council. Connected with the Episcopal church, he is a warden and vestryman of St. Jude's church, Walterboro. He is also a Mason and a Knight of Pythias.
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On February 14, 1878, he married Miss Mary Carn, daughter of M. E. Carn, Esquire. They have had five children, all of whom are living in 1907.
Mr. Fishburne has found his favorite sport and recreation in mature life as in early boyhood, "with the dog and gun." To his young fellow-citizens he offers this suggestion : "Early appre- ciate the truth that life is earnest; cultivate good habits, remem- bering that a bad habit is an enemy that may chase you down. If we know a man's habits we may prophesy confidently his success or his failure in life."
Mr. Fishburne's address is Walterboro, South Carolina.
JOHN CECIL FLETCHER
F LETCHER, JOHN CECIL, farmer, and inventor of a pea planter, a guano distributor and a cotton plow, residing at McColl, Marlboro county, South Carolina, was born in that county on the 2d of September, 1853. His father, John S. Fletcher, was a farmer. His mother was Mrs. Anna (Gibson) Fletcher. Certain of his ancestors were mentioned for honorable achievement in the history of the Fletcher and Gibson families, by J. P. Gibson, of Bennettsville, South Carolina.
Passing his boyhood on a farm, with but limited opportu- nities for attending school, he became familiar not only with ordinary farm work but with all the mechanical appliances which are used about a farm, and, so far as investigation by him was possible, with the methods of making farm machinery. He took up the study of mathematics by himself in evenings in his later boyhood. His love for machinery and his interest in all mechan- ical devices was the chief reason for his wish to study mathe- matics. In his early manhood he passed some years in learning to work at carpentry and in iron.
On the 16th of February, 1882, he married Miss Bettie A. Gibson, daughter of R. F. and Lizzie Gibson, of Gibson, North Carolina. They have had two children, both of whom are living in 1908.
He has devoted himself all his life to the careful and system- atic improvement of the farm on which he lives. "The News and Courier," of Charleston, offered a prize of one hundred dollars for the best all-round farm in his section of the state, and twenty years of intensive farming had so improved the condition of the farm which Mr. Fletcher took in 1876-it was then very poor- that this prize was awarded to him for his model farm in 1896.
His interest in mechanics led to three or four inventions for lightening farm labor and making it more effective. His pea planter, guano distributor and cotton plow are evidence of the practical use to which he has put his knowledge of farming and of mechanics.
Men of Mark Publishing Co Washington, D. C
Helping yousee
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In the production of cotton he has been very successful. In 1897 he raised twenty-four bales on thirteen acres of land, and in 1905 he raised eighty-six bales on sixty acres.
Mr. Fletcher has never sought political office. He has been interested in the schools of his community and has had a share in their management and direction. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and has been an office-holder in his church.
While Mr. Fletcher modestly disclaims for himself any right to be regarded as one of the men of mark of South Carolina, the public-spirited interest which he has always shown in the affairs of his community, his helpfulness to his neighbors, his inventions in agricultural implements, and the far-reaching influence of his example in improving and bettering his farm, have led his friends and neighbors to feel that his life has made its mark upon the community and the state.
His address is McColl, South Carolina.
Vol. III .- S. C .- 10.
JOHN WILLIAM FLINN
F LINN, REV. JOHN WILLIAM, D. D., was born in Marshall county, Mississippi, on the 11th of July, 1847. His father, Andrew Meek Flinn, a farmer, from the age of twenty-five an elder in the Presbyterian church, was characterized by "Christian piety, moral courage, and love for his family and his church." His mother, Mrs. Sarah Ann Work (Means) Flinn, an earnest Christian, stimulated the intellectual life of her son and strongly influenced his moral and spiritual ideals. She was descended from Cyrus Hutchinson, a hero in the siege of Carrick Fergus, who came to America early in the eighteenth century with his three daughters, one of whom became Mrs. Jackson, the mother of President Andrew Jackson. The Erwins, Wilsons, Vances, Jacksons, Burys, and Phifers are descended from the daughters of Cyrus Hutchinson. On his father's side, Hannah Moore, of Edinburgh, a woman of strong and noble character, was Professor Flinn's great great great- grandmother. Of the Flinn, Wilson, and Means families, many were soldiers in the War of the Revolution.
A strong and healthy boy, when not in school he was occupied in such tasks and out-of-door amusements as were common to boys on a Southern plantation fifty years ago. This varied work promoted good health, quickened his intelligence and moral earnestness, and broadened his sympathies with men and their work. His studies were carefully directed in his own home, and later he attended a private school at Hernando, Mississippi.
In March, 1862, although he was not quite fifteen years old, he entered the Confederate army, serving as a soldier for three years in Longstreet's corps, McLaw's (Kershaw's) division, Barksdale's (Humphrey's) brigade, Seventeenth Mississippi regi- ment, Company G. He was in eighteen great battles and in numberless skirmishes, and he was wounded four times and was twice taken prisoner.
This experience matured his character rapidly, and at the close of the war he formed a determination to become a preacher of the Gospel. His father, although the war had not left him means to provide a college course for his son, encouraged his
Men of War Publish - Was wanton, I C
Yours faithfully J. W~ Flinn
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plans for college study. Working during his vacations, "hoeing cotton, picking cotton, cutting cord wood, teaching school, teach- ing vocal music, and writing for the newspapers," he earned the money to pay for his books and his college expenses. Determined that nothing should stop him, whatever hardships he met, and whatever severe economies he practiced, he was happy with his goal always in view.
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