USA > South Carolina > Men of mark in South Carolina; ideals of American life: a collection of biographies of leading men of the state, Volume IV > Part 17
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On May 18, 1870, he was married to Rachel Cochrane Sellers; two children have been born to them, one of whom is now living.
His address is Mullins, Marion county, South Carolina.
Washington, DC
SAMUEL MARSHALL ORR
O RR, SAMUEL MARSHALL, M. D., of Anderson, South Carolina, a prominent physician and surgeon, at one time president of the Anderson County Medical association, vice-president of the South Carolina Medical association, and surgeon for the Charleston and Western Railway company, and for the Blue Ridge Railway company, is also actively prominent in many of the leading business interests of Anderson, and is a director of the Anderson Cotton mills, vice-president of the Farmers and Merchants bank, president and treasurer of the Anderson Water, Light and Power company, and president and treasurer of the Orr Cotton mills.
He is the second son of Governor James L. Orr and Mrs. Mary Jane (Marshall) Orr. He was born at Anderson, South Carolina, on the 5th of June, 1855, and his entire life has been spent in his native place. His brothers, Colonel James L. Orr (who died February 28, 1905,) and Christopher Hugh Orr (who died in 1888) were both lawyers. Colonel James L. Orr preceded Dr. Samuel M. Orr in the presidency of the Orr Cotton mills, and at the time of his death was one of the most prominent mill men in the South. Mrs. Martha Orr Patterson, a sister, was the founder of the industrial school for boys now conducted by the state of South Carolina; while another sister, Mrs. Mary Orr Earle, resides in Greenville, South Carolina.
Samuel M. Orr first attended the school of the Rev. Edward R. Miles, and later the institution conducted by Prof. W. J. Ligon. Later he was a student at King's Mountain Military school, at Yorkville, South Carolina, under Col. A. Coward. He then completed a literary course at Furman university. Beginning the study of medicine under Dr. W. H. Nardin, Sr., he was graduated in March, 1879, from the Jefferson Medical college, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Returning to Anderson he practiced his profession successfully for twenty-five years, forming a copartnership with his former preceptor, Dr. Nardin. Dr. Orr was called frequently in consultation by physicians in Abbeville, Greenville, Walhalla, and other neighboring towns. He was lecturer on anatomy and physiology in the Home school, and in Patrick's institute. Gov-
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ernor Richardson appointed him a member of the first board of medical examiners for the state of South Carolina. He has always advocated the highest standards in education for the medical profession. In his large practice as physician and sur- geon he has ministered to many people by his magnetic and hopeful temperament, as well as by that practical good sense and readiness to advise with those who wished counsel on any and all subjects, which has made him the trusted friend and adviser of multitudes of people.
While he always gave the first consideration to his practice and his professional duties, Mr. Orr has given evidence of marked capacity for business and of sound judgment in financial affairs. In 1883 he formed a partnership with E. P. Sloan, under the firm name of Orr and Sloan, druggists. He was a leading director in the first Building and Loan association, which did so much to build up the city of Anderson. He was one of the original trustees of the Anderson graded schools, and he is chairman of the medical board of the city hospital.
In 1875 Dr. Orr married Miss Charlotte Alethea Allen, on one side the granddaughter of Dr. Charles Louis Gaillard, formerly of Charleston, and on the other side the granddaughter of Mr. Bannister Allen, of Abbeville county. Her father's family, originally English, came to South Carolina from Virginia; while her mother's family were French Huguenots. Dr. Orr attributes most of the success he has attained in life to the advice, counsel and untiring help of his wife. They have four children: Harry Allen Orr, electrical engineer, president and treasurer of the Savannah River Power company, and vice-president of the Anderson Water, Light and Power company; Samuel Marshall Orr, Jr., electrical engineer and superintendent of the Savannah River Power company, and two daughters, Miss Mary Orr and Miss Lydia Orr, who are at home with their parents.
Dr. Orr is a communicant of the Episcopal church, and has been a vestryman for over twenty years. Throughout life his motto has been "if you would be happy, make other people happy."
EDWARD FROST PARKER
P ARKER, EDWARD FROST, physician and surgeon, was born in Charleston, South Carolina, December 16, 1867, son of Francis Le Jau Parker, M. D., LL. D., and Eliza- beth (Frost) Parker, and grandson of Capt. Thomas Parker, who commanded the Abbeville volunteers in the Florida war, and Eleanor Legare Frost. His great-grandfather was also named Thomas Parker, and during the administration of General George Washington, he held the post of United States district attorney for South Carolina just following the Revolution. He is also a great-grandson of William Henry Drayton, one time chief justice of South Carolina, and is a lineal descendant, on the maternal side, of Rev. Dr. Francis Le Jau, rector of Goose Creek church from 1707 to 1717. Both branches of his family have been prom- inently identified with the history of the state from colonial times.
Edward Frost Parker received his general education at the Charleston high school, the South Carolina Military academy, and the University of Virginia. Upon leaving the latter institu- tion, he entered the Medical college of the state of South Carolina, from which he was graduated in 1889, receiving the degree of M. D., with first honors, and the award of the college cup. He then served a year as interne of the Charleston city hospital, and after practicing general medicine for several years, studied eye, ear, nose and throat diseases in England and Germany. In 1895, he received clinical appointments in the Royal Opthalmic hos- pital, and in the Golden Square Nose and Throat hospital of London. Upon his return to Charleston he limited his practice to diseases of the organs of special sense, in the treatment of which he has been unusually successful. He is also professor of physiology and clinical professor of diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat in the Medical college of the state of South Carolina.
Dr. Parker is a member of the American Medical, the Ameri- can Laryngological, Rhinological, and Otological associations, and of various local scientific and social organizations. He is the author of a number of scientific articles connected with his specialty, and has published an essay entitled, "A History of
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Surgery in South Carolina," for which he was awarded the prize offered by the South Carolina Medical association, in 1893, for the best history of surgery of the state.
On November 5, 1907, Dr. Parker married Harriet Horry Frost Prioleau, daughter of E. Horry Frost and Frances Ravenel of Charleston.
His address is Charleston, South Carolina.
ROBERT PAINE PELL
P ELL, ROBERT PAINE, Litt. D., Presbyterian clergyman and educator, president of Converse college, was born June 12, 1860, in Washington, Beaufort county North Carolina. His father, Reverend William E. Pell, clergyman, educator and editor, was an intellectual man of great moral force, strong and vigorous physically, and noted for his courtesy, generosity and charity; his mother, Virginia Caroline (Ramsey) Pell, was a refined woman who powerfully influenced his moral and spiritual life. His family is of English descent on both sides; early pater- nal ancestors were seamen. The Rolfe who married Pocahontas was among his maternal ancestors.
Owing to his father's vocation, he resided during his child- hood and youth in several different places, living in turn in Raleigh, Lenoir, and Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Having suf- fered from poor health in boyhood and youth, he speaks from personal and by no means pleasant experience, when he impresses upon students the value of outdoor exercise to keep themselves in good physical condition.
He received most of his primary education at home, and his preparatory course was taken at the Finlay high school, Lenoir, North Carolina, where he found the public library (of which he made constant use) of inestimable value. Entering the Univer- sity of North Carolina, he was graduated A. B. in 1881; for the two years following he took post-graduate studies there, serving as instructor in English. His affection for his alma mater was strong, and has continued through his career. He says that to it he owes the strongest inspirations of his life. He was a teacher at the North Carolina State Normal school, 1881-1883. He studied at Union Theological seminary for a year, but poor health forced him to discontinue this work. In 1904 the University of North Carolina conferred upon him the honorary degree of Litt. D.
In 1887 he was ordained minister of the Presbyterian church, and at once began missionary work among the mountain folk of North Carolina and continued for eight years, 1887-1891, as
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ROBERT PAINE PELL
evangelist of Orange presbytery ; and 1891-1895, as evangelist of North Carolina synod; he established during the period a system of parochial schools for the children of the mountaineers, which brought about a general educational awakening in that section ; and life in the mountains improved his health.
In 1895 he accepted a call to the pastorate of the Newberry, South Carolina, Presbyterian church, and remained there until the following year, when he accepted the presidency of the Pres- byterian College for Women, Columbia, South Carolina. After six years' administration of its affairs, in 1902, when Dr. B. F. Wilson resigned the presidency of Converse college, Spartan- burg, South Carolina, Dr. Pell became his successor. He advo- cates for the average Southern girl who does not wish to be a specialist, but has home-loving and home-making instincts, a liberalizing course of study; and each year since it came under his control Converse college has grown in popularity and in the number of its students.
He believes that beneficiary education should be accepted only as an absolute necessity, and then only with stipulation that in after years it shall be fully repaid. He is a member of Kappa Sigma college fraternity.
On January 2, 1889, he was married to Annie Haske Shep- herd. They have had two children, both of whom are now (1909) living.
His address is Converse college, Spartanburg, South Caro- lina.
CHARLES PETTY
P ETTY, CHARLES, for twenty-eight years editor of "The Spartan," Spartanburg, South Carolina, ex-member of the provisional legislature from 1865 to 1866, and a mem- ber of the "Wallace house," was born near Gaffney, Spartanburg (now Cherokee) county, South Carolina, on January 15, 1835. " He is descended from good old revolutionary and colonial stock, two of his great-grandfathers, Absalom Petty and John Leak, having served in the Revolutionary war. His father, James Petty, was a farmer, "a plain, blunt man, of fixed opinions," known and esteemed for his energy and industry.
He says that he passed his early life "in the country, there being no cities or villages from 1835 to 1845." He "worked on the farm when he could not help it," he declares; and while the instructors of the old-field schools he regards as "poor teachers", they drilled him in "Webster's Blue Back" in such a way that he is grateful for being accounted a good speller. He also says, "we had no books, and only an open eighteen by twenty-foot log house, with a four by twelve-foot fire place"; so that he feels that "in his early schooling he had many difficulties to overcome." Yet he per- severed in study. The influence upon his character of his father, James Petty, and his mother, Ruth (Cannon) Petty, was in every way strong and good, in stimulating and strengthening his moral and intellectual life by the inculcation of sound principles. After his earlier experience in the country schools, he attended D. D. Rosa's school, at Limestone, and Saint John's academy at Spar- tanburg, where he was prepared for college.
Wofford college gave him his collegiate training; and he was graduated in 1857. He began at once to teach school; and this profession he followed until June, 1861. In August, 1861, he volunteered in the Confederate service; and he was actively engaged until April 10, 1865; serving as lieutenant of Company C, Thirteenth regiment of South Carolina volunteers, in General Lee's army. After the war, he taught school for two or three years, and then engaged in farming for several years. Since 1880 he has been editor of "The Spartan."
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In the year immediately following the war, he served as a member of the provisional legislature; he was also a member of the "Wallace house." From 1877 to 1879 he served on the state board of education.
He is identified with the Democratic party, and he has never swerved from party allegiance. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
On April 12, 1859, Mr. Petty married Julia D. Davis, daughter of John Davis and Mrs. Mary Ganning Davis. They have had eight children, five of whom are now living.
HARRISON RANDOLPH
R ANDOLPH, HARRISON, LL. D., was born December 8, 1871, in New Orleans. He was the son of John Feild Randolph and Virginia Winder Dashiell Bayard Ran-
dolph. The elder Randolph was a physician and, for a time, surgeon and brevet lieutenant-colonel in the United States army.
The earliest ancestor of the family in America was William Randolph of Turkey Island, Virginia, who immigrated from Warwickshire, England. Bayard, another ancestor, was a nephew of Peter Stuyvesant. Colonel John Bayard served in the first Pennslyvania company in the Revolutionary war, while Judge Samuel Bayard was special minister to England and participated in negotiating the Jay treaty.
The early life of Harrison Randolph was passed in Char- lottesville, Virginia. He was blessed with robust health, and enjoyed freedom from routine duties. His mother was to him a source of inspiration and uplift in every way. To her excellent management he is indebted for good educational advantages from the first. Being always a wide reader, he supplemented his school- ing with the treasures of the library. Afterwards he studied in Pantops academy in Charlottesville, Virginia; and later, at the University of Virginia, graduating from the latter institution in 1892 with the degree of M. A. From 1892 to 1895 he studied in the University of Virginia, specializing in mathematics. In 1899 he was honored with the degree of LL. D. from Washington and Lee university and, in 1905, with the same degree from South Carolina college.
In 1890 Dr. Randolph became an instructor in mathematics in the University of Virginia, a line of activity to which he was drawn by personal taste. This work he continued until 1895, when he became professor of mathematics in the University of Arkansas, where he continued two years. In 1897 he became president and professor of mathematics in the College of Charles- ton, a position he still (1909) holds.
Dr. Randolph attributes his success chiefly to contact with men in active life. He is a member of the A. T. O. fraternity,
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HARRISON RANDOLPH
the Tilka society of the University of Virginia, and the Charles- ton club. In politics he is a Democrat; in religion, an Episco- palian. His chief relaxation he finds in musical practice on the piano and organ. He has never been married.
His address is 24 South Battery, Charleston, South Carolina.
ALEXANDER MAY REDFERN
R EDFERN, ALEXANDER MAY, son of David T. and Mary May Redfern, was born March 21, 1862, at Anson, North Carolina. His father was a planter, who from 1874 to 1876 served his county as a representative in "the Wallace house" of the state legislature; in 1878 he was returned for the third time to the state house of representatives; from 1882 to 1886 and from 1890 to 1894 he served in the state senate; and from 1891 to 1903 he was a trustee of Clemson college. David T. Redfern was a quiet and determined man, interested in all the duties of a private citizen and especially in schools and the equip- ment of his children for life.
His earliest known paternal ancestor in America, David Redfern, came from Ireland to North Carolina in the middle of the eighteenth century. His maternal ancestors, the Jacksons, Blakeneys, and Mays, Scotch-Irish, came from the north of Ireland, and from Virginia after Braddock's defeat.
His youth was passed in the country. When out of school, he was required to do light work about the farm. He attended the academy at White Store, North Carolina, and at Chesterfield, South Carolina. Afterward he studied at Furman university, Greenville, South Carolina, and at Wake Forest college, North Carolina, where, in 1884, he was graduated with the degree of B. S.
Wishing to become a physician, he proceeded to equip him- self for this profession as fully as possible. From 1884 to 1886 he studied in the Long Island college hospital, New York, grad- uting in 1886 as valedictorian of his class and with the degree of M. D. Afterward, he took post-graduate courses in the New Orleans Polyclinic and in the New York City Post-Graduate school and hospital. In 1886 he began the practice of medicine in Chesterfield, South Carolina. Since that date he has con- tinuously practiced his profession. From 1888 to 1893 he was county physician ; and, since 1893, he has been surgeon of Clemson college.
Dr. Redfern is worshipful master of Clemson lodge, No. 254, A. F. M .; secretary of Living Arch Chapter No. 21, R. A. M .;
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ALEXANDER MAY REDFERN
Knight Templar and Shriner. In politics he has always been a Democrat. In religion, he is a Baptist. His professional duties he varies with farming. On June 4, 1891, he married Annie Strayhorn. Three children have been born to them, two of whom are now (1909) living.
His address is Clemson College, Oconee county, South Caro- lina.
ARTHUR GAILLARD REMBERT
R EMBERT, ARTHUR GAILLARD, educator, was born May 30, 1860, in Charleston county, South Carolina. His father, Edward James Rembert, M. D., physician and planter, was widely known and much esteemed for his many sterling qualities; his mother, Esther Gourdin (Gaillard) Rem- bert, a most estimable woman, was the strongest and most lasting influence in his life. His ancestry is Huguenot on both sides. The family was founded in America by Remberts and Gaillards, who left France during the Huguenot persecutions under Louis XIV, and settled in lower South Carolina.
He spent his youth in the country. Frail, and more inclined to reading and sedentary habits than to play, he assisted in looking after the details of plantation work, but more from a sense of duty than because such work was congenial. His early education was received at home and in private schools. In 1884, he was graduated, A. B. and A. M., from Wofford college, Spar- tanburg, South Carolina; and several years later he took a year of post-graduate work at the University of Chicago. During his senior year he was elected instructor in French and Greek at Wofford college. The work attracted him, and he turned from the law, which had been his first choice as a profession, and decided to make teaching his life-work.
In the fall following his graduation he began his work as a teacher in the high school at Laurinburg, South Carolina. In 1886-87, he was principal of the Dothan, South Carolina, high school; in 1887, he returned to Spartanburg to become head master of Wofford Fitting school, a position he filled until 1892, when he joined the faculty of Wofford college as professor of Greek. In this position he has earned and received recognition as one of the leading educators of the state.
Next to that of his mother, which has been all-embracing, the strongest influences for good in his life came from his asso- ciation with two teachers, one in a preparatory school and one in college. He is (1909) a member of the state board of education ;
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ARTHUR GAILLARD REMBERT
of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and of the Knights of Pythias. In politics he is a Democrat.
On June 19, 1889, he married Alice Piedmont Duncan. Four children have been born to them, of whom two are (1909) living.
His address is 244 College Place, Spartanburg, South Caro- lina.
JAMES HENRY RICE, JR.
R ICE, JAMES HENRY, Jr., a resident of Spartanburg, South Carolina, "teacher, fiduciary man, and editor," sec- retary of the Audubon society of South Carolina, and state game and fish warden, was born near the town of Ninety- Six, in Abbeville county, South Carolina, July 2, 1868.
His father, James Henry Rice, lawyer and planter, was a member of the South Carolina house of representatives in 1878 and 1879; and from 1886 to 1890 was the state superintendent of education, known through the entire state for his administration of that office. His mother, Mrs. Annie (Lawton) Rice, had a strong influence on the intellectual and moral life of her son. His paternal grandfather, Ezekiel Rice, died at Charleston, 1839, and was the husband of Margaret Burch, a daughter of Sarah Carew, whose father, James Henry Carew, had been prominent in the Irish Rebellion of 1798 and died at Calais, his children emigrat- ing to Charleston, South Carolina.
He lived in the country until he was ten years old, his health perfect; and in a village until he was fifteen. He became familiar with the ordinary kinds of work on a farm, and accustomed to the "tending of sheep and cattle." Hunting and fishing were his favorite forms of amusement.
After attending country schools in his earlier boyhood, he was graduated, with the first honor of his class, from the Ninety- Six high school. He took a college course, of which he writes: "I consider my college course the most lasting injury I ever received." As his opinion differs so decidedly from that of most men who have been at college, his own expression concerning it is given here that it may have such weight as it is entitled to have with young people. "Home, and contact with men in active life," he reckons the strongest influences for good in his life.
The active work of a self-supporting life, he began as a clerk in a law office in the village of Ninety-Six, when he was eighteen years old. But he did not complete his law studies for admission to the bar. Instead, he became a teacher, he did edi- torial work, and he also acted as agent for D. Appleton company,
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the publishers. He also represented in a fiduciary capacity the Chamberlin Land and Investment company (Rothschilds), and acted as an especial representative of Charles R. Flint, agent of the Mutual Life Insurance company of New York. In 1895 he became the editor of the "Colonial Record of South Carolina."
Previous to accepting his present positions Mr. Rice regarded the following as his most important public services: "Dividing the Constitutional convention (1895) between factions; editing 'Colonial Record'; with others, forming the Atlantic Coast Lum- ber company (the greatest in the world) and discovering and exploiting Horry county."
Since April, 1907, Mr. Rice has been secretary of the Audu- bon society of South Carolina, acting by appointment of the governor also as state game and fish warden. His work has received honorable mention from Dr. T. S. Palmer, in charge of game protection United States department of agriculture; from Frank M. Chapman, curator museum of natural history, Central park, New York city, and from other eminent authorities throughout the country. Referring to his work for the Audubon society, "The State" of Columbia, one of the leading newspapers of South Carolina, said last year: "One officer of the Audubon society has done more to enforce law within one year than have all the sheriffs and constables of the state in twenty years."
On April 30, 1892, Mr. Rice married Miss Jennie Mauer. They have five children.
Asked to name the strongest impulse to strive for such prizes as he has won in life, he writes: "I have won no prizes; the other fellows always got the plums. I knocked them down."
He is a Democrat in politics. In church relations he is iden- tified with the Presbyterian Church, South. He names baseball, shooting, chess and billiards as his favorite forms of exercise and recreation.
His address is Spartanburg, South Carolina.
WALTER MERRITT RIGGS
R IGGS, WALTER MERRITT, was born in Orangeburg, South Carolina, January 24, 1873. His parents were Harpin and Emma Julia (Gowan) Riggs. His father was a carriage maker and manufacturer of building material. He was marked by energy and blunt honesty, and was a strong champion of temperance. He was a native of Connecticut, but moved to South Carolina about twenty years before the war. At the age of seventy-eight he died, having lost both arms, one at the age of about sixty-five in a planing machine, and the other soon after the war in a needle saw gin. He was a man of indomitable spirit, whom no misfortune could daunt. He was an officer in the Presbyterian church at Orangeburg, of which church the whole immediate family were members.
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