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 9
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On November 4, 1883, he was married to Miss Ruth Mitchell, daughter of J. A. Mitchell, Esquire, of Lexington county; she died in 1903. Of their six children, four are living in 1907. In 1906 Mr. Dial married Miss Josephine Minter, daughter of Captain J. R. Minter, of Laurens, South Carolina.
The record of Mr. Dial's life (not yet a long one, for he is but forty-five) is an object-lesson in the far-reaching influence of liberally educated young lawyers who, to a fair knowledge of the principles and practice of their profession, add executive and administrative ability and that breadth of view in seeing possible developments of enterprise and business which makes them leaders in the expanding life of the new South. Already the rapidly
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growing manufactures of the Southern states, and in particular the manufacturing interests of South Carolina, which in cotton are now second only to Massachusetts, owe much to the breadth of outlook and the enterprise of her liberally educated young lawyers.
His address is Laurens, South Carolina.
Mer wy Mark Fuchsing - Washington DC
Moms mary Mary
THOMAS A. DILLON
D ILLON, THOMAS A., merchant and banker, was born at Little Rock, South Carolina, August 8, 1861. His father, James W. Dillon, was a merchant and postmaster of his town. Their earliest known ancestor in America was an emigrant from Ireland, Joshua Dillon, who came to Virginia at about the time of the beginning of the Revolutionary War.
In his childhood he attended the village schools of Little Rock. When he was nineteen he went to Poughkeepsie, New York, for a year of study and business training, and was gradu- ated at Eastman's Business college. He early became a salesman in his father's store and familiarized himself with all the details of the business.
On arriving at the age of twenty-one he became the junior member of the firm of J. W. Dillon & Son, doing business at Little Rock and later at Dillon, South Carolina. In 1903 he was made secretary and treasurer of the corporation of J. W. Dillon & Son company. He became president of the Dillon Wholesale Grocery company in 1902. In 1903 he was chosen president of the Peoples bank at Dillon. In 1904 he was made president of the Peoples Building and Loan association; and in the same year he became president of the Dillon Land and Improvement company. He was a director in the Bank of Marion, and a director in oil and cotton mills at Dillon.
By the suffrage of his fellow-townsmen he became warden of the town of Dillon, serving from 1891 to 1905; and in 1905 he was elected mayor of Dillon, his term expiring in 1907. He is identified with the Methodist church. In his political affilia- tions he is a Democrat, having never changed his party allegiance upon any issue. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias. He is also a member of the Commercial club, of Dillon. His fellow-townsmen, if one may judge from the expressions of the local press at the time of his election as mayor, feel for him an unusual degree of confidence and esteem. He has been closely identified with the growth of the town ever since it was incor- porated, and he is regarded as one of the best business men in Eastern South Carolina.
His address is Dillon, Marion county, South Carolina.
JOHN WALTER DOAR
D OAR, JOHN WALTER, journalist and legislator, was born in Georgetown, South Carolina, September 11, 1870. His parents were John W. and Emma C. Doar. His father was a planter and merchant, who was widely known for his kind, sympathetic and generous disposition. He estab- lished the postoffice at Choppee, and for several years was post- master there. The earliest known ancestors of the family to settle in America were David Doar, who came from Germany, and Peter DuBois, who came from France, both of whom settled in Christ Church parish, Charleston county, South Carolina.
In childhood and youth John Walter Doar lived part of the time in town and the remainder in the country. He was strong and well and while fond of reading he also took great pleasure in riding stick and cornstalk horses and hunting 'possums and foxes. When not at school he had many and varied tasks to perform. In writing of the experiences of these days, he says that he drove the turpentine wagon, ploughed the fields, looked after the cattle and other live stock, cleared the land, cut wood and hauled it, and attended to other work to be done on the farm. In stating the effect upon his life and character of these tasks, he says that they made him feel that no necessary work was degrading. He was never ashamed to do it himself, and he never thought less of any man who performed any kind of honest labor.
In obtaining an education he had many difficulties to over- come. Practically all that he secured in this line was gained by his own efforts, though greatly cheered by his mother, whose teachings had a marked effect upon his moral and spiritual nature, and whose encouragement aided him greatly in the devel- opment of his intellectual powers. He studied at public and private schools in his vicinity, but, with the exception of a short. term at a business school, he had no special course of training. His reading, however, was wide and varied. The books that. were most helpful in fitting him for and enabling him to carry on his work he names as the Bible, Shakespeare, standard novels: and historical works.
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JOHN WALTER DOAR
The active work of life was commenced at Georgetown, South Carolina, August 4, 1884, in a newspaper office, in the capacity of "printer's devil." His faithful service won him speedy promotion and opened to him larger opportunities. From 1886-89 he was employed on the Columbia "Daily Register," and he has since served on various papers in Augusta and Savannah, Georgia; New Orleans, Louisiana; and New York city. His ability as a writer brought him into public notice, and in 1902 he was elected a member of the state legislature. Here his services were acceptable to his constituents, and he was reelected in 1904 and 1906. He is now a member of the state Democratic executive committee from Georgetown county, and a member of the fish and oyster commission. For five years he was adjutant of the First cavalry, South Carolina volunteers. When asked to name the source of his first strong impulse to strive for the prizes of life, he says that when a boy he attended campaign meetings to hear the candidates and when a young man he visited the state house in Columbia during the sessions of the legislature and became so interested in the proceedings that he resolved some day to be one of the members of that body. Even in his boyhood days he obtained more enjoyment from hearing a good speech than he did in attending a show. His choice of a pro- fession was governed by his own inclination, but his choice was approved by his parents. In estimating the relative strength of certain specified influences on his success in life, he names that of home as greater than that of all others, and adds that his mother always instilled in him those principles which made him aspire to higher and nobler things. While he is fond of all forms of sport, he finds horseback riding the most enjoyable form of relaxation at the present time. In recent years he has not given special attention to athletics, but in youth he was fond of foot racing and wrestling. He is a Mason and a member of the Knights of Pythias, Knights of Honor, Odd Fellows, Wood- men of the World, Winyah Indigo society, and Palmetto club, and in most of these organizations he has held official positions.
In the social life of Georgetown he has long been prominent, and he has long been an earnest and efficient worker for all that tends to the upbuilding of his city and the welfare of his state. His religious preference is for the Methodist Episcopal church.
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In looking over his life, Mr. Doar feels that he has accom- plished everything that he has undertaken, but he adds the state- ment that this success is the result of hard work. In reply to a request that he would offer suggestions to the young people who read this sketch of his life, as to the principles, methods and habits which, in his opinion, will help them most to attain true success, he says: "Be honest, be temperate, be faithful, be economical, be prompt. Keep all engagements. Let your word be your bond. Never take an undue advantage of your fellow- man. Stand up for principle. Do what is right."
On April 16, 1901, Mr. Doar was married to Miss Elizabeth Sheppard Black. Of their three children, two are now living.
His address is Georgetown, South Carolina.
MILTON LAFAYETTE DONALDSON
D ONALDSON, MILTON LAFAYETTE, farmer and legislator, was born July 29, 1844, on a farm in Green- ville county, South Carolina. His father, Nimrod Don- aldson, farmer and mechanic and captain of state militia, was a man of sterling character, industrious, frugal, and a sincere and humble Christian. His mother, Sarah Reid (Mccullough) Don- aldson, had a powerful and lasting influence upon his moral character and his life. His ancestry is Scotch; his paternal grandfather came from Virginia to South Carolina in colonial days; his maternal grandfather, born in Scotland, came from the north of Ireland to South Carolina. Both were American soldiers in the War of the Revolution.
He was reared in the country, and was early taught to do all kinds of farm work, thus learning much of Nature and her laws, as well as to love and reverence the God of Nature. He attended the common schools of the county, and the high school at Williamston, South Carolina, leaving the latter when he was eighteen, in 1862, to enlist in the Sixth regiment, South Carolina cavalry, in which he served as a non-commissioned officer until the close of the war.
After the war he returned home and worked on the farm, meanwhile taking stock of his capacity and canvassing the limited opportunities open to him. He chose farming for his life-work, and though he has done other things, and has done them well, he has continued to be a farmer, and he loves that calling.
He is a life member of the board of trustees of Clemson Agricultural and Mechanical college. He was president of the South Carolina State Farmers alliance, 1891-1892, and for two years manager of its exchange.
He has been active in politics as an unchangeable Democrat. He was elected to the South Carolina house of representatives in 1878, and served creditably four years. In 1890-1894 he was a member of the national Democratic executive committee. In 1898 he was elected to the state senate. Of his political experi- ence he has said: "If I have failed in politics, it has been because I would not sacrifice a good conscience for temporary success ;
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and I commend that course, and failure if need be, to ambitious young men."
He is a deacon in the Baptist church. He is a Mason.
He believes that the preservation of a good conscience and the maintenance of absolute integrity is true success, without which all other achievement is worse than failure.
On January 23, 1866, he married Margaret Louisa Ware, daughter of Doctor J. H. and Margaret Johnston Ware.
His address is Greenville, Greenville county, South Carolina.
ALEXANDER SCOTT DOUGLAS
D OUGLAS, ALEXANDER SCOTT, of Winnsboro, lawyer, in 1882 and 1883 member of the legislature of South Carolina, was born in Fairfield county on Christ- mas day, 1833. He is the son of Alexander Douglas, a farmer and planter who was a member of the board of commissioners of public roads of the Fairfield district and was active and energetic, taking a great interest in all the public matters of his community. His mother was Mrs. Jennet (Simonton) Douglas; and while Mr. Douglas received his systematic education from his father, he writes that his mother was most influential in molding his moral and spiritual life. His paternal grandparents, Alexander Douglas and Grace (Brown) Douglas, came from county Antrim, Ireland, in 1790, and settled in Fairfield, South Carolina.
His boyhood was passed in the country. He had excellent health until he was fifteen, but from that age until he was twenty he suffered severely from malarial fevers in the summer. He was fond of fishing and hunting; and he "sometimes did farm work on Saturdays, or when not going to school, but he never did much manual labor."
He was prepared for college at New Hope academy, the preparatory school of Erskine college; and from this latter insti- tution he was graduated with the degree of A. B. at the age of twenty, in 1853. From October, 1853, to August 15, 1854, he studied law under ex-Governor B. F. Perry in Greenville, South Carolina, and then took the full course of law at the University of Virginia. In 1856 he began the practice of law at Spartan- burg, South Carolina.
During the three eventful years from January, 1857, to August, 1861, he was editor of the "Spartanburg Express." He was a delegate from Spartanburg to the state Democratic conven- tion which elected delegates to the national Democratic convention at Charleston in 1860, where candidates were nominated for president and vice-president of the United States in the campaign which immediately preceded the secession ordinances of Southern states.
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ALEXANDER SCOTT DOUGLASS
In August, 1861, he resigned his position as editor, and entered the Confederate army as second lieutenant of Company C, Thirteenth South Carolina volunteers, McGowan's brigade, Jackson's corps, Army of Northern Virginia. He continued in active service until the surrender at Appomattox, on April 9, 1865, being then a lieutenant in Company C, Thirteenth South Carolina volunteers.
After the war, in January, 1866, Mr. Douglas began the general practice of his profession at Winnsboro, South Carolina. He has continued in practice at that place until the present time (1908). He was attorney of the Winnsboro National bank from 1886 until 1896; and for the ten years since 1896 he has been attorney for the Winnsboro bank, as well as attorney for the Fairfield Cotton mills since that company was incorporated. He is also a director in all of these corporations.
Mr. Douglas has been twice married. On November 6, 1860, he married Miss Mary E. Byers, by whom he had three children, two of whom are now (1908) living. He was married a second time, on December 17, 1878, to Miss Sallie McCants, who died on September 20, 1901. Of their four children, three are now living.
Led by his own preference to the choice of the law as a pro- fession, Mr. Douglas has allowed himself to be drawn aside from the steady practice of his profession only by his work as an editor from 1857 to 1861, by his service in the Confederate army from 1861 to 1865 and by one term in the legislature of his state during the sessions of 1882 and 1883. He has always been identified with the Democratic party, never changing his allegiance to it. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, and has been an elder in the church at Winnsboro since 1866. He has served as superintendent of the Presbyterian Sunday school from 1866 to the present time-a term of forty years.
Throughout his professional life he has found his principal exercise and relaxation in walking.
His address is Winnsboro, South Carolina.
WATSON BOONE DUNCAN
D UNCAN, WATSON BOONE, Ph. D., pastor and preacher, born March 19, 1867, at Blacksburg, York (now Cherokee) county, South Carolina, is the son of J. D. F. Duncan and Dulcenia (Hopper) Duncan. His grand- father, Decatur Duncan, was of Scotch-Irish descent.
He attended the country schools near his father's farm, working "outside school hours." He took a preparatory course of study in Cherokee and Broad River academies; but just as he was ready to enter college his father met with financial reverses which made it impossible for him to meet the expense of a college course for his son. The son had made up his mind to have an education, and he persuaded his father to let him have a plot of ground to plant in cotton. With the assistance of horses and tools which his father loaned him, he ploughed, planted, hoed, and picked the crop which paid for his first year in Wofford college. After that he taught, sold books, acted as clerk, and did many other kinds of work to meet his own expenses, until he secured his degree of A. B. after two years' study at Wofford and two years at the Polytechnic college. He took the usual theological course of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and commenced his pastoral duties in Sumter county in 1888, serving later at Timmonsville, Allendale, St. George, the First Church in Laurens, and St. John's church, Rock Hill.
The ambition for study, however, did not fail, and he not only kept up his reading, but took an A. M. degree from both Wofford and Erskine colleges, pursued a four years' Chautauqua course, and took some special courses of study under the advice of professors in Vanderbilt university. He received the degree of Ph. D. from Central university in 1906. He has been repeatedly made a member of important committees and boards. He was a delegate to the First General Missionary conference of the Southern Methodist church, held in New Orleans in 1901. He has been called on for many addresses on public occasions, besides preaching frequently at school and college commencements. His published writings include "Character Building" (1890) ; "Our
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Vows" (1895) ; "Twentieth Century Sketches" (1901), and a number of articles for magazines and papers.
A loyal member of the Democratic party, he is also a Mason and a member of the Knights of Pythias, in which last order he has held the office of chancellor commander.
He was married February 6, 1899, to Lizzie Huggins, and has had four children, of whom three are now living.
His present address is Rock Hill, South Carolina.
WHITEFORD McKENDREE DUNCAN
D UNCAN, WHITEFORD McKENDREE, for more than twenty years a preacher and pastor in the South Caro- lina conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and now presiding elder of the Greenville district, South Carolina, was born in Cleveland county, North Carolina, Sep- tember 24, 1857. His father, a farmer, J. D. F. Duncan, is remembered by his acquaintances because of his "genius for friendship" and his warm-hearted generosity. The family is of Scotch-Irish descent.
A healthy and happy boyhood was passed in the country, where Whiteford Duncan early became familiar with the ordi- nary labor of the farm, learning "habits of industry, love of nature, and self-reliance," from the daily tasks given him on his father's farm.
While fond of sports, he early showed a bent of mind toward serious study. He worked to earn the money to pay his way through college. After the Bible and the books of theology, which he has studied with most profit, he feels that in his reading the lives of good and great men have had the strongest influence in shaping his own life. He attended the country schools near Blacksburg, South Carolina, where his boyhood was passed. After pursuing preparatory studies he entered Wofford college and was graduated with the class of 1884. In December of that year he entered the South Carolina conference of the Methodist church, having pursued the conference course of theological studies. He became pastor of the Methodist church at Aiken, South Carolina, filling that position until 1888.
On November 15, 1888, he married Miss Susie Legare Bruns, a daughter of Professor Henry M. Bruns. They have had four children, all of whom are now living.
He feels that his greatest inspiration to high and noble endeavor has come from private study and reading, although he has also been much helped by contact with strong and upright men in active life. Allied by political convictions with the Democratic party, he has uniformly voted for its measures and
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WHITEFORD M'KENDREE DUNCAN
its candidates. He is a Mason, a Knight of Honor, and a Knight of Pythias.
His exercise and relaxation he has found chiefly in pastoral visitation in the interest of the church work which has been under his care.
Perhaps a Methodist preacher, the custom of whose church makes his pastorate in any one place of short duration, by the very fact of his residence in many different communities has an exceptional opportunity to bring to bear upon the lives of many of his fellow-citizens whatever power he may have of uttering truth and whatever influence he may possess as an example of upright and helpful living. Certainly it would be a very difficult task to attempt to trace all the power for good of an active and devoted minister of the Gospel, the years of whose pastorates have been divided among a dozen or twenty different parishes. But the secret of the influence which Mr. Duncan has sought to exert may be found in his suggestions to young Americans: "Regard life as a great responsibility." "Look at every oppor- tunity of learning truth or of doing good as 'golden,' and do not neglect it." "Regard every duty as important, however trivial it may appear." "Hold in contempt everything that degrades body, mind, or spirit."
His address is Greenville, South Carolina.
JOHN HERIOT EARLE
E ARLE, JOHN HERIOT, attorney at law, general manager of the Carolina Loan and Trust company, rail- road commissioner of South Carolina since January 1, 1905, was born in Sumter county, South Carolina, July 10, 1873. His father, Joseph Haynsworth Earle, was a lawyer, a member of the South Carolina house of representatives, senator from Sumter county, judge of the eighth circuit, attorney-general of the state, and United States senator from South Carolina. Through several generations of ancestors, who have been distinguished by public spirit and public service, Mr. Earle is descended from John and Mary Earle, who came from Dorset county, England, to Virginia in 1678. His mother, Mrs. Annie (Wilton) Earle, has left a deep impression upon her son's life, and has inspired his intellectual work and his moral and spiritual aspirations.
His early life was passed in Sumter, South Carolina, where he attended the Dick and McIntosh high school. Later he was at the University school at Petersburg, Virginia. He was grad- uated from the South Carolina Military academy, at Charleston, South Carolina, in 1893, with the degree of B. S .; and, studying law in his father's office, he was admitted to the bar in December, 1894. He at once began practice at Greenville, South Carolina, as a member of the law firm of Mooney & Earle. It was natural that the son of a distinguished lawyer and statesman should find his preferences early leading him towards his father's profession ; and his own personal inclinations, as well as the wishes of his parents, were influential in his choice of the law. The influence of his early home he places first in the shaping forces of his life, and contact with men in active life he ranks second, placing both rather above the influence of school and college, or early com- panionships, or private study. In addition to his general practice as an attorney at law and counselor, Mr. Earle has been for some time the general manager of the Carolina Loan and Trust company.
At the outbreak of the Spanish war he volunteered for service, and was commissioned major of the First South Carolina volunteer infantry, United States volunteers, May 3, 1898, serving
Vol. III .- S. C .- 9.
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JOHN HERIOT EARLE
until November 11, 1898, at Chickamauga, Jacksonville, Columbia and Savannah. During the Darlington riots he had served as lieutenant-colonel of the Fifth South Carolina regiment.
On November 14, 1901, Mr. Earle married Miss Eliza Mays Beattie, daughter of John Edgeworth and Mary S. Beattie.
In August, 1904, Major Earle was elected one of the board of railroad commissioners for the state of South Carolina. His commission bears the date of January 1, 1905.
He is a Mason (Blue Lodge, Chapter, Commandery, and Shriner). He is a Knight of Pythias and a member of the Elks fraternity.
He is identified with the Democratic party, and he has always been of the opinion that he could do more for the welfare of his community and his state, as well as for the whole country, by acting with the Democratic party in support of its measures and its candidates, than he could accomplish by departing from strict party allegiance to support measures or men not indorsed by his party.
In his religious convictions he is associated with the Epis- copal church. While at college he gave some attention to athletics and modern systems of physical culture, but since his entrance upon professional life he has not continued his interest in them.
Many friends of his father and of his family look with great interest to the future public service of one who has so much to inspire him in the achievements of his father and his family- of one who, while still a comparatively young man, has made so prominent a place for himself in the state.
The address of Mr. Earle is Greenville, South Carolina.
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