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 11
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He was graduated A. B. from the University of Mississippi in 1871. From Columbia Theological seminary he received the degree of B. D. in 1875. Special courses of post-graduate study in theology, philosophy, Biblical literature and English literature, he took at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1875 and 1876.
In 1877 he entered the work of the ministry as pastor of three churches, at Henderson, Mills River, and Davidson River, North Carolina. From 1878 to 1888 he was pastor of the Memorial Presbyterian church of New Orleans. He was a director of the "Southwestern Presbyterian," published at New Orleans during the eighties.
In September, 1888, he was chosen professor of moral philoso- phy and chaplain of the South Carolina university at Columbia. The newspapers of New Orleans, in expressions of regret at his leaving the city, spoke in highest terms of his public spirit in declining to leave the city at the time of the yellow fever epidemic in 1878; and dwelt upon his reputation as "a brilliant speaker, an earnest and a popular preacher, and a writer of great force." Bishop Henry C. Potter, of New York, Hon. Jefferson Davis, and ex-President Andrew D. White, of Cornell, wrote in most complimentary terms of his exceptional fitness for the new professorship. The distinguished Dr. Calderwood, of the Univer- sity of Edinburgh, wrote: "While paying attention to theology, he showed special interest in philosophy, giving marked evidence of intellectual acuteness and force." The commendatory words of these gentlemen, as well as of Chancellors Waddell, Garland, Blanton, and Mayes, President Johnson, of Tulane university, Senator Vance, and many others, were justified by the faithful and successful work done by Professor Flinn during the years of his professorship at Columbia. In 1895 Doctor Flinn resigned his position in the university, but, until his death, continued his work in the Presbyterian College for Women, in which insti-
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tution he had lectured, and of which he had been one of the directors since its beginning in 1890. He also preached regularly to churches in the Charleston presbytery.
From early boyhood, exceptionally fond of reading, he had an equally intense love of nature. He was not only a scholar, but an all-round man, taking a keen delight in out-of-door life and in all vigorous, manly exercise, especially mountain climbing.
In Louisiana he was secretary of the Sunday league, chair- man of the executive committee of the Louisiana Sunday school association, and in 1883 and again in 1904, he was a commissioner to the Presbyterian general assembly. In 1894 he was the repre- sentative of the synod of South Carolina in the general assembly, defending the synod's judgment in the appeal against the decision of the synod in the "Sadie Means Telephone case." He represented the Southern Presbyterian church in the International Sunday school convention (1884) at Louisville. In the third general council of the Presbyterian Alliance, at Belfast, Ireland, in 1884, he represented his church; and he was prominently identi- fied with the ecclesiastical and educational work of the Presby- terian Church, South.
The Central university of Kentucky in 1893 conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Divinity.
He was a member of the Phi Sigma literary society and of the Phi Delta Gamma fraternity. He was a member of the New Orleans Academy of science; of the American Institute of Christian Philosophy; of the Victoria institute, England; of the Religious Education association, and of the Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology.
He was one of the Sons of the American Revolution and a member of the United Confederate veterans, serving as their chaplain. In 1868 he was a member of the Ku Klux Klan and Grand Cyclops of a Den in the University of Mississippi.
By political conviction he was identified with the Democratic party.
On the 20th of December, 1876, Doctor Flinn married Miss Jane Ann Adger Smyth, daughter of Reverend Dr. Thomas Smyth, D. D., who was for more than forty years pastor of the Second Presbyterian church of Charleston, South Carolina, of which Doctor Flinn's grand uncle, Doctor Andrew Flinn, was
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first pastor. They have had five daughters and one son, all of whom are living in 1908.
Doctor Flinn's life was remarkable for its varied and inter- esting experiences and for its strong influence upon the com- munities where he has lived. His personal influence upon his parishioners, upon his fellow-citizens, and on the life of the university where he taught was marked and deep. His public discourses and his articles in reviews and periodicals upon theo- logical, historical, philosophical, and literary themes gave him a place among writers of marked power. As a teacher he always led men to higher achievement by recognizing and helping them to know the best that was in them, thus encouraging them to conquer the world by loving and serving Him who made it.
In public and private he often emphasized this truth : "Con- tinued faithful service is not useless because men neglect you while living, or forget you when dead. Stars quenched by the sun are still in the sky affecting all worlds by their force of gravity. Stars that set shine on other climes. Moral power, like physical, is never lost from the universe."
Doctor Flinn's death came suddenly, of heart disease, on December 28, 1907, but as his friends would have wished to have it, in his own home in Columbia. The sudden close of his life called out many expressions of affection, esteem and honor, giving abundant evidence of the far-reaching influence of the life of this earnest and eloquent preacher and devoted Christian teacher.
HENRY CALHOUN FOLK
F OLK, HENRY CALHOUN, merchant, planter, several times mayor of Bamberg, member of the South Carolina house of representatives from 1890 to 1894, president of the Peoples Bank of Bamberg, and master in equity for Bamberg county, was born at Folks Store Postoffice, Colleton county, South Carolina, on the 4th of December, 1859. His father, Henry N. Folk, was a farmer and country merchant, and for some years postmaster of the postoffice which bore his name. His ancestors came from Germany in the seventeenth century.
In early youth he delighted in boyish sports and was fond of fishing and hunting. In early boyhood he worked upon the farm and as a clerk in his father's country store, and he attended the schools within his reach, but the school sessions lasted not more than three months of each year. After two years spent in its preparatory department, he entered Wofford college in 1876; and four years later he was graduated with the degree of A. B., having taken numerous college honors and receiving in his senior year the gold medal for the best essay in an intercollegiate contest among members of the Kappa Alpha fraternity.
Immediately after graduation he began life as a merchant at Bamberg, South Carolina, where his father had established a small mercantile business which the son took under his manage- ment and of which he subsequently became joint owner with his brother, J. F. Folk, and later sole owner.
On the 12th of April, 1883, he married Miss Elizabeth M. Weissinger, daughter of John J. Weissinger, of Blackville, South Carolina. They have had nine children, seven of whom are living in 1907.
In 1887 he added to his mercantile business the management of a farm, and since that year he has been continuously engaged in planting and farming as well as in mercantile business. He gathered from his farm and marketed in Charleston, South Caro- lina, on July 27, 1896, the earliest bale of cotton ever grown in the state, and has almost every successive year since then received the premium for the first bale in the state. He has been one of the directors of the Bamberg Cotton mill since its organization,
Wenot' I. lar, Pudisteag - Washington
yours truly
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and for several years has been its vice-president. He has also been president of the Peoples Bank of Bamberg since its organ- ization, and he is a director and the president of the South End Cemetery company.
Since 1881 he has continuously held some political office. He has been alderman and mayor of Bamberg several times; he was in the South Carolina legislature from 1890 to 1894; he was one of the leaders in the movement which resulted in the . formation of Bamberg county, and when it was established he was elected one of the commissioners to apportion the liabilities between the old and the new counties. He was made county chairman of the Democratic party at the first organization of the party in that county, and he has held that office continuously since. He is also master in equity of Bamberg county, and, though not a lawyer, he is serving his sixth year and has never had one of his decisions reversed by a higher court. He has served as trustee of the public schools, and is a member of the board of control of the Carlisle Fitting school. In the state militia of South Carolina he held for a time the rank of first lieutenant.
Mr. Folk is a Knight of Pythias, has held numerous offices in that organization, and has attended several meetings of the grand lodge.
He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and has for several years served as a steward of his church and a trustee of the property owned by that denomination at Bamberg, South Carolina.
His favorite forms of exercise and amusement he finds in the use of a bicycle and in driving; and in earlier years he was fond of baseball.
Such suggestions as he makes to the young people of South Carolina who wish to attain true success in life, notwithstanding the fact that they are so similar to advice uniformly given by successful men, should gain in weight and not lose influence among the young people who hear them repeated so often. He writes: "Honesty, truthfulness, sobriety, and devotion to duty and to family, will do more than all else to strengthen sound ideals in American life, and will do most to help young people to attain true success in life."
The address of Mr. Folk is Bamberg, Bamberg county, South Carolina.
EDWIN PARKER FROST
F ROST, EDWIN PARKER, cotton merchant, was born in Charleston, South Carolina, October 19, 1846. His parents were Edward and Harriet VanderHorst (Horry) Frost. His father was a lawyer and planter, a "gentleman of the old school," of great earnestness of purpose and strength of character. He was a judge of the state court and a member of the state legislature and of important political conventions. His father's ancestors came from England about the year 1700, and at very nearly the same time his maternal ancestors came to the colonies from France.
In early life Edwin P. Frost passed most of his time in the city of his birth, but the holiday seasons, December and April, were spent on a plantation which belonged to his father. He studied at the best classical schools in his home city, and was graduated with the degree of A. B. from Charleston college in 1868.
The progress of his education was seriously interrupted by the War between the States. He served for two years in the Confederate States army, as a private in the Marion artillery, until the surrender of General Johnston's army at Greensboro, North Carolina. As the country had been devastated by the war, and most of the property of those who had been wealthy was swept away in the general disaster, the young men of that time were obliged to choose some occupation or enter some profession that would furnish them a livelihood. Mr. Frost felt the pressure of necessity and resolutely determined to take some position in which he could provide for his immediate needs and lay the foundation for future success in the business world.
He commenced the active work of life as a bookkeeper for the firm of Gourdin, Matthiessen & Company, cotton merchants, in Charleston. Here he kept the records for the firm and learned the methods and details of the cotton business. After becoming thoroughly familiar with the work he established a business of his own as a cotton merchant and has continued it to the present time, under the firm name of Henry W. Frost & Company, with offices at Charleston, South Carolina, and Savannah, Georgia.
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From the first he has made a specialty of exporting and supply- ing mills in this country with the noted "sea island" cotton. His success has been marked, and he has won a prominent place among the cotton merchants of the South.
He is largely interested in the cotton mills of the state and is closely identified with them, being on the board of directors of seven of the most prominent and successful of them.
He is a prominent member of various social societies in Charleston and Savannah. In politics he is a Democrat, but his alignment with this party is due almost entirely to its position on the race issue. His religious affiliation is with the Protestant Episcopal church, and he is a member and a vestryman of St. Michael's church in Charleston. In reply to a request for advice to young people who wish to attain true success in life, he says : "Decide on what you want, and show continuous earnestness of purpose in securing it."
On January 21, 1875, Mr. Frost was married to Miss Mary Coachman Mckay, youngest daughter of Donald Lanceford Mckay. They have two children.
The address of Mr. Frost is 39 East Battery street, Charles- ton, South Carolina.
HENRY WILLIAM FROST
F ROST, HENRY WILLIAM, merchant, head of the firm of Henry W. Frost & Company, of Charleston and Savananh, was born at Charleston, July 1, 1841. His father, Honorable Edward Frost (son of Reverend Thomas Frost, M. A., fellow of Granville and Caius college, Cambridge, Eng- land), served as judge of the court of appeals and court of errors of South Carolina, and was distinguished for judicial impar- tiality which no personal consideration or no ties of blood could warp or prejudice; and his decisions and his judicial opinions are a source of pride to his family. Judge Edward Frost married Miss Harriet Vander-Horst Horry, a daughter of Honorable Elias Horry, of Huguenot descent. Her father was an ardent patriot of Revolutionary fame, born at Charleston, South Caro- lina, on the 21st of June, 1743, and died in that city, September 7, 1834. The name and public services of Elias Horry are promi- nently identified with the history of his native city, Charleston. He was intendant of Charleston from 1815 to 1818. Having accumulated a large property, he became one of the original projectors of the South Carolina railroad. He was deeply inter- ested in all matters of education; and he was a member of the board of directors of the College of Charleston, serving at different times with such colleagues as Robert J. Trumbull, John Julius Pringle, William Drayton, Daniel Elliott Huger, Langdon Cheves, Henry Middleton, Thomas Grimke, Judge Thomas Lee, Judge Prioleau, Joel R. Poinsett, Stephen Elliott, William Wash- ington, and Sedgwick L. Simons. He was a member of the board of school commissioners for many years, and was chairman of that board from 1832 to 1834. Distinguished for his liberality, he donated ten thousand dollars toward founding the chair of moral and political philosophy at the College of Charleston.
Henry William Frost, in his early boyhood, attended the schools which were taught by Searle, Miles, and Sachtleben,- famous schools in Charleston in the middle of the last century. When the time came for him to choose his life-work he made a notable departure from the unwritten law, which has seemed to be that the sons and grandsons of men who are in the profession
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of the law, of ministry, or of medicine, shall follow in the steps of their fathers and grandfathers. Mr. Frost chose to begin the active work of his independent life by taking a position in the office of Gourdin, Matthiesson & Company, merchants, at Charleston. He became a member of the firm, retaining his interest in it from 1871 to 1880. In 1880 he withdrew from that company and established the firm of Henry W. Frost & Company, of Charleston and Savannah.
At the outbreak of the War between the States he at once entered the service of his state, and later of the Confederate States, and served as a lieutenant in the First regiment of the South Carolina artillery throughout the war.
On the 14th of January, 1879, he married Miss Susan Frances Hampton Preston, a lady descended from and connected with many of the most distinguished families of South Carolina. She was a daughter of General John S. Preston, of the Confederate States army, orator and scholar; and a granddaughter of General Wade Hampton, the first of that name. Mr. and Mrs. Frost had four children, two of whom are living in 1908. Mr. Frost was married, the second time, to Miss Caroline Hampton Darby, at Charleston, February 27, 1908.
Mr. Frost has been steadily identified with the Democratic party. By religious convictions and family associations he is identified with the Protestant Episcopal Church, South, in which he is a communicant.
In the rapidly increasing commercial prosperity in South Carolina, which was founded upon the development of cotton culture and of trade in cotton, with the new manufacturing estab- lishments which have grown up in South Carolina and Georgia in the later years, Mr. Frost has had a prominent part. While his abilities in business have been recognized and duly rewarded, he has been mindful of all duties of a public-spirited citizen, and in the social life of the city he has had a prominent part. He is president of the Charleston club, and a member of the Commercial Yacht club. He is also a member of the Country club, and a member of the St. Cecilia society.
His address is 53 South Bay street, Charleston, South Caro- lina.
EUGENE BLACKBURN GARY
G ARY, EUGENE BLACKBURN, legislator, from 1890 to 1893 lieutenant-governor of South Carolina, and since 1894 associate justice of the supreme court of South Carolina, was born at Cokesbury, Greenwood county, South Car- olina, on the 22d of August, 1854. His father, F. F. Gary, was a physician, and for some time a member of the state legislature; and he also held the position of most excellent grand high priest of the Masonic order. He was president of the South Carolina State Medical association ; he served as surgeon in the Confederate army, and he was chairman of the state board of health. Quick perceptions, studious habits and a most genial disposition char- acterized Dr. Gary and made for him many friends. He married Miss Mary Caroline Blackburn, daughter of Stephen Blackburn, of Newberry county. The earliest known ancestor of the family in America was John Witherspoon, who came to Williamsburg county, South Carolina, from Ireland in 1734. He traced his descent from the famous preacher, reformer, and statesman, John Knox, of Scotland.
Eugene Blackburn Gary passed his boyhood quietly in the village of Cokesbury. He had excellent health; he was fond of reading and of all out-of-door sports. The circumstances of his family were such that he was not required to engage in any regular manual work in his boyhood and youth, and the best educational advantages were given him. He attended the Cokes- bury high school and there prepared for a college course; he became a student at the South Carolina university, and was graduated in 1872. For the first year after graduation he taught school at Hodges, South Carolina.
Mr. Gary found himself strongly attracted to the study of law. He read law in the office of his uncle, Major-General M. W. Gary, at Edgefield, South Carolina, and was admitted to the bar in 1874.
He established himself at Abbeville for the practice of his profession. In 1889 he was elected a member of the house of representatives in the South Carolina legislature. Since 1889 a large part of his time and attention has been given to public
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life and to the duties of public office. In 1890 he was chosen lieutenant-governor of South Carolina, serving until 1893. On the 29th of July, 1894, he became associate justice of the supreme court of South Carolina, a position which he still occupies, and in which he has made for himself an enviable reputation, both for his learning in the law and for the keen sense of equity and justice shown in his decisions.
On the 3d of April, 1877, Mr. Gary married Miss Eliza Tustin, daughter of Hiram F. Tustin, of Abbeville, South Caro- lina. They have had nine children, six of whom are living in 1908. He is a brother of Mrs. James M. Eason, of Charleston, of Circuit Judge Ernest Gary, and of United States Senator Frank B. Gary, and is a nephew of Circuit Judge W. F. Gary, late of Augusta, Georgia.
In his political affiliations Mr. Gary is a Democrat, and he has uniformly acted with his party. He is identified with the Protestant Episcopal church. Asked for suggestions for the young men of his state who wish to attain true success in life, he commends to them two absolute essentials in character and business habits, which, in his opinion, go far to insure success, viz .: "Promptness in business and scrupulous regard for financial obligations and for your promises."
Mr. Gary's address is Abbeville, South Carolina.
JOHN MATTISON GEER
G EER, JOHN MATTISON, president and treasurer of Easley Cotton mills, at Easley, South Carolina, and of the Franklin mills, at Greers, South Carolina, was born at Belton, Anderson county, South Carolina, on May 15, 1858. He is the son of a farmer, Solomon M. Geer, "a man of great piety and earnest convictions." His mother, Mrs. Mary E. Geer, left a deep impress upon the intellectual and the spiritual life of her son. His earliest ancestors in America were English, and came to the colonies as missionaries of the Episcopal church.
His early life was passed in the country on a farm, and as a boy he learned to do all the kinds of work which are required in raising crops of corn and cotton. He thus acquired habits of application and industry, and early became aware of the value of time and of the money-earning value of persevering labor. He says: "The high school and collegiate education which I obtained was paid for with the money I had made during my vacations." He attended the high school of his native place and Anderson Collegiate institute, and, entering the University of Nashville, he was graduated in 1881. In the same year he began business for himself as a merchant in Belton, South Carolina, his own personal preference and the circumstances of his family conspiring to lead him to a mercantile life.
Mr. Geer recognizes most frankly and in generous language the influence of his mother and his wife when he writes: "What success I have attained, I attribute very largely to my home life, both while I was single and since I have married." To the wife to whom he thus refers, Miss Ella McGee, he was married November 21, 1888; and they have had four children, of whom three are living in 1908.
Mr. Geer was for several years the general cotton buyer for the Piedmont Manufacturing company. He is president and treasurer of the Easley Cotton mills; president and treasurer of the Franklin mills, at Greers, South Carolina; and he is also a director in each of these corporations. He is a director of the Glenwood Cotton mills, at Easley; a director of the Easley Loan and Trust company; a director of the Calumet Manufacturing
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company, at Liberty, South Carolina; a director of the Perkins mills and of the Bank of Greers, at Greers, South Carolina. He has never had any aspirations after political office. His convic- tions upon political questions have led to his identification with the Democratic party. He is a member of the Baptist church. He finds his favorite relaxation and amusement in driving.
To the young people of his state he commends "a Christian life; abstinence from exciting beverages; the habit of doing things from honest conviction and actuated by honest motives; an active and earnest application to a chosen profession, which should never be anything but an honorable one."
His address is Easley, South Carolina.
SAMUEL B. GEORGE
G T EORGE, SAMUEL B., of Lexington, South Carolina, clerk of the court of Lexington county since 1900, was born at Laurel Falls Homestead, near Lexington, on the 27th of July, 1871. His father, E. J. George, was a planter and miller, who married Miss Bedia Taylor. The first American ancestor of the family was Ludwig George, who came from Switzerland during the Revolutionary war and joined the Amer- ican army at Charlestown, near the end of the war, soon after- ward settling in the Dutch Fork in Lexington county, where he died about 1807.
The excellent health which he knew in his boyhood he owes perhaps in part to the healthful surroundings of the farm life in which his boyhood was passed. His father trained him, even in early boyhood, to strict attention to certain regular duties, and he was taught to "work with his hands" at any and all kinds of farm work, as well as to help about the mill. His opportunities for attending school were limited to three months each year at "a free school" for three years in the country, and later to three months each year for three years in the public schools of the town of Lexington. He feels that the education which has fitted him for life was acquired chiefly by study at home, and at night, and he acknowledges with gratitude his indebtedness to one or two of the leading newspapers of his state, and to certain scientific periodicals, for a fund of knowledge and a training in thought which he feels they have given him as a careful reader.
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