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 19
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Doctor Murray is a man who has generally succeeded in whatever he has undertaken, and as such his advice to young men should be of special value. He says: "Begin in youth to be temperate, careful, economical, and save your money whenever possible. Let your money be of use in your work. Be truthful, honest, prompt in your duties, and always have a definite object in view."
-Men of Mark Publishing Co
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yours Sincerly
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WILLIAM JACOB MURRAY
In 1884 he was married to Mary A. Connor, daughter of Lewis E. Connor, of Charleston, South Carolina. Of their four children, all are now (1907) living.
His address is 1401 East Gervais street, Columbia, Richland county, South Carolina.
WILLIAM EDWARD NASH
N ASH, WILLIAM EDWARD, was born December 3, 1845, between Fountain Inn and Fairview, Greenville county, South Carolina. He was the son of Miles and Mary Gray Nash. His father was a planter and characterized by decision of character. The earliest known ancestors of the family in America were the Bells and Nashes, who immigrated from England to Virginia about 1775 or 1776.
As a boy he was strong and robust. He was reared in the country and enjoyed outdoor work and sport. His education was obtained in the common schools of the counties of Laurens and Greenville, South Carolina, which, as one of a family of three boys and five girls, he attended with his brothers and sisters. His active life-work began in 1866 as a planter; and he also conducted a milling business in Greenville county. About the beginning of the year 1864 he volunteered in Captain J. B. Humbert's company of artillery, and served during the last two years of the War between the States. He was furloughed from Hospital No. 12, Greensboro, North Carolina. About the middle of May, 1865, he reached home. Finding the negroes freed and everything in confusion or worse, he took his bearings and at once entered into the active business of planting. In this he continued for two or three years. Then he taught for a time. He has engaged in the business of milling, banking, and for the last nine years has been vice-president of the Bank of Laurens.
In politics Mr. Nash is a Democrat, and in religion he is a Methodist. He is a retired capitalist and an alderman of the city of Clinton, South Carolina.
To the young he commends sobriety and strict attention to the meeting of obligations. Having never swallowed a drop of spirituous liquors in his life, Mr. Nash is prepared strongly to commend the habit of temperance to the young.
On November 23, 1869, Mr. Nash was married to Mary E. Wright, daughter of Mr. James M. Wright, of Clinton, South Carolina. Mrs. Nash is still living. Of this marriage have been born three boys and three girls. Of the children the eldest is the Honorable J. Wright Nash, of the law firm of Johnson & Nash,
yours Very Truly W. E. Nash
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WILLIAM EDWARD NASH
Spartanburg, South Carolina. This son is now, for the fourth time, representing the county of Spartanburg, South Carolina, in the state general assembly, and is ably leading the prohibition movement in that body. He is married to Fannie Boyd, daugh- ter of Reverend J. M. Boyd, of Spartanburg, South Carolina. The second son is Mr. Claude Nash, bookkeeper and stenographer, now with his father at Clinton, South Carolina. The third son is Mr. Paul H. Nash, civil engineer, and now naval inspector at the city of New Orleans. These three sons were educated at Wofford college, South Carolina, in which they pursued their literary studies, and at the universities of Wisconsin and South Carolina, where they distinguished themselves in the study of law and engineering. The daughters are Eddie (the wife of H. D. Henry, head bookkeeper of the Religious Press syndicate, at Clinton, South Carolina), who was educated at Columbia college, South Carolina; and Jennie (wife of J. E. Philpot, of Laurens, South Carolina), who was educated at Converse college. The other daughter, Minnie Lee Nash, was educated at Presby- terian college, South Carolina, and Columbia college, South Car- olina, and is now (1908) at Clinton, South Carolina.
It will be noted that Mr. Nash has given to all his children exceptional educational facilities. As he tersely puts it, he has believed that the best gift he could make to his children was to give them the best educational advantages. He believes in "turning money into children instead of turning children into money."
His address is 100 Main street, Clinton, Laurens county, South Carolina.
PATRICK HENRY NELSON
N ELSON, PATRICK HENRY, senior partner in the law firm of Nelson & Nelson, was born in Camden, Kershaw county, South Carolina, October 3, 1856. His father, Patrick Henry Nelson, a planter, was a man of literary taste and scholarly attainments, who was graduated with first honors from South Carolina college in 1844. He fought for the South in the War between the States as a lieutenant-colonel in Hagood's brigade, and was killed in battle near Petersburg, Virginia, June 24, 1864. He had married Miss Emma Sarah Cantey, a daughter of General James Willis Cantey, and a descendant of General Richardson, Captain John Cantey, and others, of Revolutionary fame. The Nelsons are descendants of Captain John Neilson, who came from Ireland prior to the Revolution and settled in South Carolina. He fought with the patriots in the Revolutionary war. About 1790 he dropped the "i" from his name, writing it "Nelson."
At the University of the South, at Sewanee, Tennessee, where he was a student, owing to lack of means he was unable to complete his course. As a clerk in the law office of General (afterward Judge) Kershaw, he prepared himself for the legal profession. In 1877 he was admitted to the bar, and formed a partnership with General John D. Kennedy, in Camden. In 1896 he removed to Columbia, where he practices law in partner- ship with his son, William Shannon Nelson.
Mr. Nelson has taken an active interest in local and state politics. In 1885 he was elected to the legislature from Kershaw county for an unexpired term, and the following year he was chosen for the full term. In 1887 he was appointed solicitor for the fifth judicial circuit. He was elected to this position in 1888 and again in 1892, thus serving for more than nine years. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity. He attends the Protestant Episcopal church.
He married, in 1879, Miss Henrietta McWillie Shannon, daughter of the late Colonel William M. Shannon. They have had one child, a son, who is his father's partner.
His address is 1106 Barnwell street, Columbia, South Caro- lina.
Sites of Mary Pas wohnung 5 Washington, DC
yours Truly Isleholy
LUCIUS TOMBES NICHOLS
N ICHOLS, LUCIUS TOMBES, who since his early manhood has been identified with railroading in all its branches, from telegraph operator through successive promotions to the position of general manager of an important line, was born at Bloomsburg, Halifax county, Virginia, on the 27th of August, 1858. He believes that his early lifelong interest in railroading is perhaps traceable in part not only to the fact that his father was engaged in railroading, but also to a strain of heredity in the family which has shown itself in their deep interest for several generations in all that concerns transportation by land and water. His father, Giles Young Nichols, Jr., in early youth, toward the close of the War between the States, was engaged in the railroad business; and after the war he became interested in commercial enterprises for a few years, but only to return to railroad service in later life, in which he continued until he recently retired from active business. His mother was Mrs. Jannie LeGrande (Watkins) Nichols. His father's father, Giles Young Nichols, built batteaux and (by proxy) operated them on the rivers of his state, and early placed his son in the employment of the Richmond and Danville railroad, where he served as a terminal agent of the old Piedmont railroad; and, moving his tents forward with each mile of the road's extension, received government supplies to go to the front; while after the war he was located as railroad agent at Danville, Virginia. Among his ancestors, maternal and paternal, are immigrants of Scotch, English, Irish, and French families.
His boyhood fell in the years of the War between the States, and in the decade which followed that most serious disturbance of the social and commercial life of his state and of the South. He was compelled while still young to undertake work for his own support. He worked on a farm and in various positions in villages and in the country near his father's home. The father's occupation-railroading and promoting railroad transportation- called him away from home during the years of the War between the States, and left the son for much of his boyhood without daily companionship with his father. He early became self-
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reliant, and his boyish interest in railroading led to his choice of a life work. His opportunities at school had been very limited, and were found chiefly in the "old field schools."
When he was eleven he began to assist his father in milling timber, etc., between periods of school attendance; and in 1874, at the age of sixteen, he began his life work in railroading, as assistant agent at Randolph, Virginia, then known as Roanoke.
From this early position he has been gradually advanced in the service of various railroads (the Richmond and Danville; the West Point Terminal; the Columbia and Greenville; the Charlotte, Columbia and Augusta; the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia; the South Carolina railroad; the Lancaster and Chester, and the Caldwell and Northern,) until he has reached the position of general manager of the Carolina and North- western and Caldwell and Northern railroads.
On the 17th of December, 1885, Mr. Nichols married Miss Bowen, daughter of James C. Bowen, of Atlanta, Georgia. They have had six children-five sons and one daughter-all of whom are living in 1908.
Mr. Nichols, in his political relations, styles himself "a Demo- crat of the Cleveland persuasion." He has never changed his party allegiance. While not himself a member of the Baptist church, he is descended from parents who were members of that church, and, with his family, he is identified with the interests of that denomination.
His good health, which has been remarkable since his earliest childhood, he preserves by making a recreation of "anything that has in it life and some clean form of amusement, which can be caught up in spare moments to take one out of the grind and leave him in condition for better work." He believes that "rowing for pleasure" is the most healthful exercise possible; and while he greatly enjoys this form of exercise, he has been able to command but little time for the practice of it. He ranks exercise on horseback next in value to rowing. He is now engaged in an effort to secure the establishment of a Mountain Home club at or near Edgemont, North Carolina, the northern terminus of his railroad lines.
To the young people of his state he says: "Remember that character-building starts with your heritage, and is carried for- ward by the influence of playmate, of the Sunday school, the
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day school, and the church, and should lead up, not only to faithfulness in business, but to the building up of a home, in which center influences which will improve and uplift the gener- ation which comes after you. The 'man with a home' is likely to be a far better citizen than the homeless wanderer, dweller in boarding-houses and hotels."
The address of Mr. Nichols is Chester, South Carolina.
EMSLIE NICHOLSON
N ICHOLSON, EMSLIE, president of the Nicholson Bank and Trust company, president of the Excelsior Knitting mills, president of the People's Building and Loan association, president of the Bank of Jonesville, South Car- olina, banker and manufacturer of Union, Union county, South Carolina, was born in the town where he still resides, and with all whose interests he is so prominently identified, on the 14th of March, 1863. His father, William A. Nicholson, was a banker of integrity and of activity and industry, whose interest in business affairs led to his election as a member of the state con- stitutional convention. He was born in Aberdeen, Scotland; his wife, Mrs. Rebecca E. Nicholson, was born in London, England, and her son speaks of her as "a devoted Christian mother, whose influence over his life has been strong and good."
His early life was passed in the village of Union. He had excellent health; and, while fond of out-of-door sports, he found keen delight in reading. He attended the local schools, and in particular at the Bingham school he completed his preparation for a college course. Attending Davidson college, he was grad- uated with the degree of B. S. in 1882. His own personal choice, as well as the choice of his father, led to his beginning active life at once in the banking office of his father, William A. Nicholson, in 1882. His interest in people and his public-spirited attention to the property interests and the needs and wishes of his father, as well as to the social and commercial prosperity of his town, led to his becoming identified, while still a comparatively young man, with several of the leading commercial and manufacturing companies of his part of the state.
Besides the important companies above named, of which he is president, Mr. Nicholson is a director in the Monarch Cotton mills, a director of the Union-Buffalo Mills company, and a director in the National Loan and Exchange bank, of Columbia, as well as president of the Bank of Jonesville, South Carolina.
While he is allied with the Democratic party, he has not sought or held political office.
On the 17th of September, 1889, he married Miss Kathleen Gray Murphy, daughter of Doctor John Murphy, of Durant, Mississippi. They have had two children, both of whom are living in 1907.
FRANCIS QUALE O'NEILL
O NEILL, FRANCIS QUALE, banker, was born in Charleston, South Carolina, on the 13th day of July, 1857. His parents were Bernard O'Neill and Elizabeth (Quale) O'Neill. His father was a merchant and banker, a member of the state legislature and an alderman of the city of Charleston. His marked characteristics were firmness of char- acter and integrity.
Francis Quale O'Neill's early life was passed in the city of Charleston and the surrounding country. His home influences were of the very best; his mother's influence being particularly strong upon the development of his moral and intellectual char- acter. He was graduated from the College of Charleston in 1878, with the degree of A. B. and the first honor of his class.
His personal preference was for a business career. In 1879 he began the active work of life as a clerk. He rose rapidly in his chosen field, and became president of the Hibernia bank, the Combahee Fertilizer company, and the Standard Truck Package company. He has also been a director of the First National bank and in various companies. In 1894 he was mayor pro tem. of the city of Charleston, and since 1898 he has been an alderman. He is (1908) chairman of the ways and means committee. He is a trustee of the College of Charleston and of the Charleston Library society, and of the Charleston Orphan house, and has been commissioner of various public boards. He is a member of the Charleston club, the Country club, the Commercial club, the Chamber of Commerce, the Merchants Exchange, the Hibernian society, St. Andrew's society, etc. He was at one time president of the Country club and a member of the managing committee of the Charleston club and the Yacht club. He has always been a Democrat. He is a member of the Catholic church. His favorite amusements are golf and hunting. He is fond of athletics, but has not recently given special attention to any modern system of physical culture.
His address is No. 1 East Battery, Charleston, South Caro- lina.
JAMES O. PATTERSON
P ATTERSON, JAMES O., lawyer and member of congress from South Carolina, was born in the town of Barnwell, Barnwell county, South Carolina, on the 25th day of June, 1858, of the marriage of Edward L. Patterson and Sarah L. Patterson. His father was a planter by profession and never held a public office. Founders of the Patterson family in South Carolina brought from Scotland all the virtues of good citizen- ship, love of country and family and friends, hatred of falsehood in word and wrong-doing in act, and high ideals in personal conduct. These qualities have descended from generation to generation, and none of the name has forgotten or been false to the family tradition. Honorable Angus Patterson, the grand- father of the subject of this sketch, was president of the senate of South Carolina for twenty-seven consecutive years. His por- trait adorns the walls of the senate chamber at Columbia, South Carolina.
James O. Patterson spent his early life on a farm in the country. He was a strong and healthy boy of eight years of age when the War between the States closed. Much of his father's property had been swept away as a result of the war, and he began life as a farmer's boy, learning in the fields by day the lessons of self-reliance and endeavor, and in the winter evenings and during the brief terms of the country schools planting in his young mind the seeds of learning to bear their full fruit in his later life. His mother's influence was very strong upon his moral and spiritual life.
After completing his school education at the academy in Augusta, Georgia, he returned to South Carolina and resumed the life of a farmer. While engaged in this occupation he gave such leisure as he could command to his studies, and after thorough preparation he was admitted to the bar. After successful prac- tice as a lawyer he was twice elected probate judge of Barnwell county, holding that office for six years. He served three terms in the legislature of South Carolina, and in November, 1904, he was elected to the fifty-ninth congress of the United States from
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J. O. Patterson
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JAMES O. PATTERSON
the second district of South Carolina, and in November, 1906, he was reëlected to the sixtieth congress.
Mr. Patterson is a Mason and a Knight of Pythias. He has always been identified with the Democratic party, and has never changed his political or party allegiance. He is a member of the Methodist church. His career in congress has been useful and practical, and he has made his influence felt in many ways. On November 30, 1876, he married Hattie A. Holman. They have had eight children, all of whom are now (1908) living.
The address of Mr. Patterson is Barnwell, Barnwell county, South Carolina.
Vol. III .- S. C .- 18.
WALTER PEYRE PORCHER
P ORCHER, WALTER PEYRE, M. D., was born February 25, 1858, in Charleston, South Carolina. He is the son of Francis Peyre Porcher and Virginia Leigh Porcher. Francis Peyre Porcher was a physician, author, and botanist, famous over both continents for his contributions to medical literature and his lifelong devotion to the advancement of the medical profession. He was at one time vice-president of the American Medical association, president of the South Carolina Medical association, fellow of the College of Physicians and Surgeons, etc. Isaac Porcher, the earliest known ancestor in America, was an immigrant from France. Thomas Walter, another ancestor, was a distinguished botanist.
Doctor Porcher's early life was passed on a plantation in Middle Saint John's, Berkeley, South Carolina. As a boy he engaged in all the pursuits of a healthy country lad. His mother died when he was but seven years old, but her influence has never been forgotten by him. His early education was obtained at the Holy Communion Church institute, Charleston, South Carolina, and at the Carolina Military institute, Charlotte, North Carolina. His reading included Walter Scott, Homer, Shakespeare, and the classical authors. Serious study he began only when he took up medicine. His father and grandfather before him having been physicians, he inherited a taste for the practice of medicine. To prepare himself for this profession he went, in 1876, to Union college, at Schenectady, New York, where he spent two years preparatory to attending the Medical College of the State of South Carolina. After a three years' course at the latter insti- tution he was graduated, in 1881, with first honor. In a large class he had the good fortune to compete evenly with Doctors John Keith, of Richland county, and George G. Kinloch, of Charleston, South Carolina; and the unusual distinction was made that year by the faculty of the college of conferring a first honor medal upon three men, an event which had not occurred before in the history of the college. By virtue of his stand in the class, Doctor Porcher was appointed house physician to the Roper hospital, and in 1882 was elected by the city council of
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Charleston clerk to the city registrar. In 1883 he was appointed to a choice position as city physician in charge of the Shirras dispensary, and he spent the following three years in laboring for the sick poor of the city. After devoting three years more to private practice, he became convinced that he was incompetent to do full justice to the whole field of medicine, and determined to take up a specialty. He therefore, in 1887, took post-graduate studies in New York and in the Allgemeine Polyclinic of Vienna. Returning home, he announced that thereafter he would limit his practice to diseases of the throat, nose and ear. In 1892, Doctor Porcher received the compliment of a fellowship in the American Laryngological association, the membership of which is limited to seventy-five persons in America. In 1900 he was elected presi- dent of the South Carolina Medical association, and had the honor of serving at the semi-centennial celebration in his native city and the birthplace of the association.
Doctor Porcher has made numerous contributions to medical literature, many of which were read before the South Carolina Medical association during his long membership in that body. His most elaborate articles, however, have been the chapter on "The Neuroses of the Larynx and Pharynx," and "Dysphagia," in Burnett's "System of Diseases of the Nose, Throat and Ear," published in Philadelphia in 1893. More recently he has pub- lished the chapter on "Atrophic Rhinitis," in "The American Text-book of Diseases of the Eye, Ear, Nose, and Throat," by DeSchweinitz and Randall, in 1899.
In 1903, Doctor Porcher was elected vice-president of the American Laryngological association. His presidential address before the South Carolina Medical association, on the occasion of his inauguration, was favorably commented on by the medical journals in the North and South, and was pronounced by distin- guished medical men to be a notable medico-literary production. To perfect himself in his specialty, Doctor Porcher has twice visited Europe; and to keep himself abreast of the profession, he makes regular visits to the large medical centers.
On September 27, 1897, Doctor Porcher was married to Miss Mary Long Porcher. Four children-two boys and two girls- have been born to them, all of whom are now (1908) living.
His address is 85 Broad street, Charleston, South Carolina.
THOMAS HOBBS RAINSFORD
R AINSFORD, THOMAS HOBBS, farmer, financier and politician, was born in Edgefield county, South Carolina, January 21, 1861; and throughout his life he has con- tinued to reside in the county of his birth.
His parents were John Rainsford and Mrs. Sarah (Hobbs) Rainsford. His father was characterized by a deep and quiet love of the farm on which he lived; and he is remembered as one of the men whose roots had struck deep into the soil of his native county, and whose life was fully identified by friendly interest with the lives of all his neighbors. The earliest known American ancestors of the family were John and Thomas Rains- ford, who came from Cheltenham, England, in 1773, settling upon the farm which from that time to this has been owned in unbroken succession by their descendants and now belongs to the subject of this sketch.
In his boyhood, living upon a farm, he was ardently fond of farm work and of the sports which charm the boys whose early life is spent on a farm-hunting, fishing, etc. Throughout his boyhood he was in school; and his father took pains to give him the best advantages for acquiring a liberal education. From the common schools and private instruction he went to Washington and Lee university. He won high standing in mathematics, taking the Taylor prize scholarship for efficiency in that branch of study. After his course at Washington and Lee university he became a student at the Rensselaer Polytechnic institute at Troy, New York, and he was graduated there, in 1881, with the degree of civil engineer. The special training for his profession which he received at this well-known institution has been supplemented by wide and steady reading, not only along lines of his profes- sional study, but in general literature, in which he has always had a warm interest.
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