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 20
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In October, 1861, when but seventeen years of age, Mr. Simons enlisted as a private in the Washington Light infantry. He rose to the rank of first sergeant, saw four years of active service in the conflict in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia, was wounded at Secessionville, June 16, 1862, and at Battery Wagner, Morris island, September 7, 1863, was men- tioned in general orders for gallantry at Secessionville June 16, 1862, and was captured by General Sherman in April, 1865.
Dr. Simons has published several articles in journals, memen- toes of medical societies and reports of the state board of health. He is a member of the Landmark lodge of the South; Camp Sumter, No. 250, United Confederate veterans; Washington Light infantry; Washington Light veterans, Confederate states army ; the South Carolina Medical society of Charleston; the South Carolina State Medical association; the American Medical asso- ciation; and of the Huguenot society of South Carolina. He has served as surgeon-general of the division of the Army of North- ern Virginia, United Confederate veterans.
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THOMAS GRANGE SIMONS
In politics Dr. Simons has, through life, been a consistent Democrat. He attends the Protestant Episcopal church.
Dr. Simons believes that in many cases disappointments and failures are the best teachers one can have. In his experience he has found that they have revealed better methods and led to more satisfactory results. To the young he recommends unselfish devo- tion to daily and immediate duties, the cultivation of high and pure ideals, recognition of the fact that city, state and country each has a claim upon the individual, and that one's sympathies should extend to everyone in need.
On November 11, 1879, Doctor Simons married Serena D. Aiken. Of this marriage seven children have been born, five of whom are now (1909) living.
His address is 18 Montague street, Charleston, South Caro- lina.
Men ot Mark Publishing Co Washington, D C
CHARLES H. SIMONTON
S IMONTON, CHARLES H., from 1893 to 1904 United States judge, fourth circuit; before and after the War between the States (except the period of reconstruction), from 1858 to 1886, a prominent member of the legislature of South Carolina; and the author of several standard law books; was born at Charleston, South Carolina, on the 11th of July, 1829, the son of Charles S. Simonton and Mrs. Elizabeth (Ross) Simon- ton. Educated in his father's home and in the schools of Charles- ton, he was graduated from South Carolina college with the highest honors of his class.
Like many others who have attained prominence in the pro- fession of the law, after completing his college studies, Mr. Simonton taught school for a year, thus beginning that course of self-discipline, and of the studied and intelligent effort to convey clearly and forcibly his knowledge and his thought to the minds of others, which the practice of the law and the duties of judge continued throughout his life.
After a year of teaching, he studied law, and began the practice of his profession at Charleston. His interest in public questions as well as in statute law and the theory of jurisprudence, naturally led him toward an interest in the political affairs of his state; and he became a member of the South Carolina legislature in 1858. He at once attained prominence in debate and influence with his fellow legislators through his thorough mastery of the matters under consideration and his judicial point of view.
At the outbreak of the War between the States, he left the legislature to serve in the Confederate army. He was captain of the Washington Light infantry. He was later colonel of the Twenty-fifth South Carolina volunteers. Taken prisoner at the engagement at Fort Delaware he was held in a military prison during the last six months of the war. As soon as the disorders connected with reconstruction and with the domination of the negroes in the state were over, Mr. Simonton was again elected a member of the legislature where he served with distinction, as speaker of the house, and later as chairman of the judiciary com- mittee, until he was made a United States district judge for the
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district of South Carolina, in 1886. He discharged the duties of this position with distinction, and in a way which added steadily to his reputation, until in 1893, he was appointed United States judge of the fourth circuit. For eleven years in this position he rendered most effective service in the administration of justice in the Federal courts.
While still a young man, he had published, in 1857, "Lectures on the Jurisdiction and Practice of the United States Courts"; and "Digest of the Equity Decisions of the State of South Caro- lina," 1857. In 1898, Judge Simonton published another volume, "The Federal Courts, Their Organization, Jurisdiction and Pro- cedure." He died in 1904.
The impress left upon his profession and upon the life of his state, by Judge Simonton, is so marked, that his name is included with the names of the "men of mark" who are now shaping the life and destinies of his native state.
Men of Mark Publishing Co Washington, D. C.
Inversely Yours rund
Mr. L. Qniet
MENDEL LAFAYETTE SMITH
S MITH, MENDEL LAFAYETTE, 1903-1905 speaker of the South Carolina house of representatives, was born July 5, 1870, at Smithville, South Carolina. His father, L. M. Smith, was a most useful and substantial citizen of Smithville; and his mother, who is still living, has been all her life a strong influence-a woman of remarkable energy and executive ability.
The subject of this sketch attended the common schools of Smithville for a while, and later came to Camden, where he attended the graded schools of that city. Leaving the graded schools of Camden he attended Wofford college one year, and during that year a very warm friendship was formed between himself and Dr. James H. Carlisle; and Mr. Smith almost invariably visits Dr. Carlisle when in Spartanburg. After the year spent at Wofford, Mr. Smith matriculated at the South Carolina Military academy in 1885, and spent four years at this institution, from which he was graduated in 1889. At this insti- tution he made a record of which any young man might well feel proud. He took a law course at the University of Virginia, and was admitted to the practice of law in South Carolina in 1895. As a criminal lawyer he ranks with the very best in the state, and on the civil side of the court he has been very successful, having been engaged in some of the most important cases heard in the courts of his county and elsewhere. He is an eloquent and con- vincing advocate, and his services are frequently sought after not only in his home city, but also in other parts of the state.
Mr. Smith is a prominent secret order man. He has been a member of Kershaw Lodge No. 29, A. F. M., for a number of years and is also a Shriner, an Odd Fellow, J. O. U. A. M., and Pythian. He is the past grand chancellor of the Knights of Pythias of his state, having been elected grand chancellor in Anderson in 1907.
He has quite a fondness for athletic sports, and during his school days took an active part in baseball. He was at one time president of the South Carolina State league baseball clubs.
The first public position he held in his home community was
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that of chairman of the board of school trustees for Camden district, which embraces the city of Camden. He held this posi- tion for some time, resigning in 1899. In 1900 he was elected to the South Carolina house of representatives from Kershaw county at the head of the ticket. He was reelected to the legislature in 1902 and again in 1904, each time at the head of the ticket and with the largest vote ever accorded any candidate from Kershaw county for this position. He was elected speaker of the house in 1903, and made one of the finest presiding officers that body had ever had. He declined to stand for reelection in 1906, but in 1908 he was again induced to stand for election to the house of repre- sentatives, and the vote given him in that election was even greater than he had received in former campaigns, and was decidedly the largest vote ever given to any candidate in Kershaw county.
For some time he was captain of the Kershaw guards, a military company that the city of Camden has just cause to feel proud of, and while not an active member of the company now he is held in high esteem by the officers and members of this splendid military organization.
He was married in April, 1895, to Miss Anna Dixon. They have four children.
He is a member of the Baptist church, and he has charge of a Bible class composed of young men.
There are few young men in South Carolina who have made a finer record than has Mr. Smith. He is a man of splendid physique, very affable manners, and altogether one of the most compan- ionable of men. He is gifted as an orator, and has perhaps addressed more bodies than any other young man of the state. At commencement exercises, fraternal meetings, and various other meetings where a speaker has been desired, his talents have been brought into play. Not only is he gifted as an orator, but his educational qualifications are such as to make his addresses very instructive and he steers clear of the stereotyped form employed by so many public speakers.
His address is Camden, South Carolina.
EMANUEL STERNBERGER (
S TERNBERGER, EMANUEL, of Greensboro, Guilford county, North Carolina, merchant, president of the Clio Gin company at Clio, South Carolina, and president of the Revolution Cotton mills at Greensboro, North Carolina, was born at Grunstadt, in Bavaria, Germany, on the 17th of October, 1859. His father, Jonas Sternberger, was a teacher, president of the Teachers' association of Greensboro, and an officiating minister at the Jewish synagogue.
Coming to South Carolina at the age of fourteen, after he had already attended for several years the public schools and the Latin school of his native city in Germany, he undertook to support himself by his own efforts from the time of his arrival. For five or six years he worked as a clerk in the store of his brother, D. Sternberger, at Florence, South Carolina. He began business for himself as proprietor of a store at Clio, South Caro- lina, in September, 1879. He feels that the influence of his father and mother-a "home influence making for strict honesty and truthfulness"-has followed him through all his life.
His business interests at Clio and in Greensboro have steadily grown in extent and importance. For some years he was presi- dent of the Bank of Clio, and he is now president of the Clio Gin company and of the Revolution Cotton mills.
Mr. Sternberger married on the 25th of April, 1900, Miss Bertha Strauss of Mayesville, South Carolina. They have had two children, both of whom are living in 1909. Mr. Sternberger is a member of the Blue Lodge council of the Masonic order. He is a Knight of Honor and a Knight of Pythias. He has always been identified politically with the Democratic party. He is of the Jewish religion. Devoting himself closely to business for most of the year, he takes every summer a trip to the mountains in the West or to some seaport resort.
The address of Mr. Sternberger is Greensboro, North Caro- lina.
Vol. IV-S. C .- 19.
ALBERT BROOKS STUCKEY
S® TUCKEY, ALBERT BROOKS, lawyer, was born in Bish- opville, Sumter (now Lee) county, South Carolina, Novem- ber 3, 1858. His parents were John Wesley and Anne Elizabeth (Reames) Stuckey. His father was a farmer by occu- pation, but his high character and remarkable efficiency brought him so favorably to public notice that he was called to fill various responsible positions-among them being that of magistrate, captain of a militia company, and for thirteen years in succes- sion tax collector for Sumter county. It is said that his motto was: "My word is my bond," and that he always lived up to its requirements.
The early life of A. Brooks Stuckey was passed upon a farm. He was well and strong. While he liked books he was especially fond of oratory. When not in school he helped on the farm and at the age of fourteen he plowed as a full hand. On some occa- sions he gained time for rest by doing in about a day and a half the work that had been allotted for two days. He read com- paratively little, but took the necessary preparatory studies, entered Wofford college, from which institution he was graduated with the degree of B. S. The active work of life for himself was commenced as a teacher in Bishopville, in 1878. After teaching for two years he engaged in farming. It had long been his pur- pose to become a lawyer, but he had not been able to equip himself for that profession. In 1885, although he had a wife and two children, and was burdened with debt, he studied law in the office of R. W. Boyd, at Darlington, South Carolina, and in the follow- ing year he commenced practice in Timmonsville, in the same state. In 1887 he removed to Sumter and was made trial justice in place of George E. Haynsworth, who is said to have fired the first gun in the War between the States and who was killed while performing his duty as a court officer. After serving for several years as trial justice he resigned in order to accept the position of auditor of Sumter county, which he retained until 1896. During this time he kept up the practice of his profession. In 1899 he was elected mayor of Sumter for two years. He was reëlected in 1901 without opposition, but did not seek a third
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term. He has been the chairman of the Southern Cotton Growers association of Sumter county. For several years he has been a member of the Knights of Pythias.
Mr. Stuckey says that he owes much to his mother for her influence upon his moral nature. The first impulse to strive for the prizes in life which he has won came while he was at school in Bishopville, in the form of ambition to become a public speaker and an attorney. He was then only twelve years of age. For a time circumstances forced him into other lines of work, but he never gave up his purpose to become a lawyer. His indomitable will and persistent effort enabled him to surmount the many obstacles in his path and pass from the farm to the chair of the magistrate and to the highest civil office in the city in which he lived. When asked for suggestions to young people as to means for securing true success in life he advised "Carefulness in small things, scrupulous honesty, cherishing an ambition to do some- thing worthy of life, tireless energy and patient endurance of hardships and disappointments."
As a lawyer Mr. Stuckey became specially prominent because of his connection with the land case of Garrett vs. Weinberg. This celebrated case was in the courts for seven years and was carried to the supreme court of South Carolina five times. In this great contest Mr. Stuckey won several of the appeals, but finally lost by the verdict of a jury, but his zeal and energy in this case secured for him a reputation for skill, judgment, and tenacity which has brought him a large number of land cases and also increased his general practice.
Mr. Stuckey was married December 24, 1879, to Leila C. Dixon. Of their nine children six are now (1909) living.
The postoffice address is Sumter, South Carolina.
JOHN CALHOUN SWYGERT
S WYGERT, JOHN CALHOUN, was born in Lexington county, South Carolina, August 10, 1847. His parents were Orro Haltiwanger Swygert and Mary Ann Swygert. His father was a merchant who had held various minor county offices. Mr. Swygert, the grandfather of John Calhoun Swygert, was of German descent; he held important offices in the state of South Carolina. His grandfather on the mother's side was of English descent.
When John Swygert was but a youth of ten years he lost his father. As a result, serious responsibility devolved upon him, including the support of his mother, two brothers and a sister. The first sixteen years of his life were spent in the country. During this period he enjoyed no educational opportunities; nevertheless, he struggled manfully to acquire the rudiments of knowledge.
Home, school, early companionship and private study all combined as vitally important factors in molding the character and determining the bent of John Swygert. His active work began in 1863, at Pomaria, South Carolina, where he was employed on a railway. In 1866 he was offered a position at Union, South Carolina, in the office of the secretary and treasurer of the S. and W. railroad. From 1867 to 1874 he was occupied in railway, express and commercial work. From 1867 to 1874 he was cashier and general manager for a wholesale and retail mer- cantile house; the trust reposed in him is indicated by the fact that no bond was required of him for this responsible work. From 1875 to 1883 he was agent for the Greenville and Columbia and the R. D. S. and U. railway companies. Ten or fifteen years later he engaged in the mercantile business.
During twenty-eight or thirty years he was a church officer; for from twelve to fifteen years he has been a school trustee, and he is a director in important corporations. He is a master Mason, and, for eleven consecutive years, has been master of Pomaria lodge, A. F. M., No. 151 of Peak, and president of the joint council of Bethel charge, which consists of nearly six hundred persons.
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JOHN CALHOUN SWYGERT
Through life he has been a Democrat. In religion he is a Lutheran, being a member of the South Carolina synod. His favorite form of recreation he finds in hunting.
To the young man he commends honesty, truthfulness, sobriety, responsibility, trustworthiness, promptness, energy, econ- omy, politeness, high regard for all fellow men, and, above all, the fear of God.
On February 4, 1877, he married Georgia Anna Swygert. Five children have been born to them, four of whom are now (1909) living.
His address is Peak, Lexington county, South Carolina.
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WILLIAM KNOX TATE
T ATE, WILLIAM KNOX, principal of the Memminger Normal school at Charleston, son of William and Mary Rebecca Lowell Tate, was born September 8, 1870, near Tate Springs, Grainger county, Tennessee. His father was a farmer noted for his strict honesty and his progressive spirit. His earliest known ancestor in America was David Tate, whose wife was Catherine Thornton Tate; they came to America in the time of the French and Indian war, in which David Tate served as an English officer.
William Tate was always physically strong and studiously inclined. His early life was passed in the country. His father moved, in 1873, to Benton county, Arkansas, where William was reared near what is now the site of Siloam Springs. The country at that time was a part of the western frontier. William Tate was brought up to perform the usual duties of a farmer's boy. His early education was obtained at the country school, where he attended for short terms. These he followed with a course in Peabody college for teachers, Long Island, in 1891, receiving the degree of A. B. in 1892. The years 1896 to 1898 he spent at the University of Chicago as a graduate student. In 1900 the Univer- sity of Nashville conferred upon him the degree of A. M. Natural inclination and love of study turned him to educational work. As early as 1888 he began such work in the capacity of principal of schools at Siloam, Arkansas, a position he held until 1890. From 1892 to 1894 he was a teacher in the high school of Tyler, Texas. From 1894 to 1898 he was principal of this school, and from 1898 to the present time (1909) he has been principal of the Memminger Normal school at Charleston. He is also assistant superintendent of the Charleston city schools. In the summers of 1904 and 1905 he was an instructor in the Summer school of the South, at Knoxville, Tennessee. From 1904 to the present time he has been a member of the state board of education of South Carolina, and for this year he is president of the State Teachers' association. In addition to these educational duties, he has held various offices in state and national educational associa- tions.
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WILLIAM KNOX TATE
Professor Tate is a past chancellor in the Knights of Pythias and a past master in Orange lodge No. 14, A. F. M. and A., in Charleston. He is a Democrat in politics, and in religion he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Gardening is his favorite exercise.
Professor Tate's advice to the young man is: "Hold steadily before yourself some worthy purpose or ambition which is in line with your tastes and capacities; prepare yourself thoroughly for the work you are to do; and regard your work, whatever it is, as your contribution to the sum total of the forces which make for human well being and the progress of civilization."
On September 9, 1896, Professor Tate was married to Lizzie J. Harris. They have had five children, all of whom are now living.
His address is 131 Corning street, Charleston, South Caro- lina.
BENJAMIN WALTER TAYLOR
T AYLOR, BENJAMIN WALTER, M. D., physician and surgeon, was born February 28, 1834, at Edge Hill, in Richland county, near Columbia, South Carolina. His father, Benjamin Franklin Taylor, planter and member of the South Carolina house of representatives, was a man of fine per- sonal appearance, genial, strong in his convictions, with mind well balanced, and possessing good business qualifications. His mother, Sally Webb (Coles) Taylor, a devout Christian and a woman who always did her duty, was a powerful and lasting influence in his intellectual, moral and spiritual life. The founders of the American family, James Taylor and his second wife, Mary (Gregory) Taylor, came from Carlisle, England, and settled in Caroline county, Virginia, about 1635, and their descendant, Colonel Thomas Taylor, was a gallant and distinguished officer, under General Sumter, in the War of the Revolution.
Until he reached manhood all his life, when not at school, was spent on his father's plantation. He was robust and healthy, fond of all out door sports and games, and of such work as gardening, looking after orchards, riding colts and forming their gait, and he was constantly busy. This kind of life not only improved his naturally good health, increased his strength, and added to his power of enduring fatigue, but it also taught him self-reliance and gave him facility to turn his hand to any sort of work. He retains all his youthful love of outdoor recreation, and still finds his most enjoyable as well as helpful relaxation in hunting and in farming.
He was educated at the Columbia Male academy, where he took his primary course; Mount Zion college, Winnsboro, South Carolina, where he did his preparatory work; South Carolina college, where he was graduated A. B. in 1855; a summer medical school, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which he attended one session, in 1857; and the Medical college of South Carolina, from which he was graduated M. D. in 1858. He also read medicine under Dr. R. W. Gibbes and his son. Early in 1859 he began the practice of medicine, a profession chosen by himself solely because of his love for it, in Columbia, and was just beginning to enjoy a
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BENJAMIN WALTER TAYLOR
large practice when it was interrupted by the War between the States. His war record began just prior to the fall of Fort Sum- ter, when he was appointed assistant surgeon at Fort Moultrie; later, he was assistant surgeon of the famous Hampton legion; and surgeon of the Second South Carolina cavalry regiment. When General Wade Hampton was made a division commander Dr. Taylor became his division surgeon, and following the death of Dr. Fontaine, he was made medical director, cavalry corps, Army of Northern Virginia, with the rank of colonel, in which capacity he served until the close of the war. Though he regrets that he was not able to take a post-graduate course at some of the great European institutions, it is doubtful whether the same time spent in European study and hospital practice would have been as valuable to him as was his medical and surgical experience in the Confederate army.
After the war he returned to Columbia and resumed his practice with marked success. As a physician he has a reputation second to that of no man in his section, and as a man and a public-spirited citizen he holds an undisputed place in the front rank. He was member of the board of regents of the South Caro- lina hospital for the insane from 1877, and in 1894 was elected president of the board; he has been president of the Columbia medical society, and of the State medical society ; is a member of the American medical association, and of the Southern surgical and gynecological association.
He rates home and school, in the order named, as the strongest beneficent influences in his life. His advice to young men desiring to succeed in life is : "Get educated; be truthful and honest; be systematic." He is a member of the Protestant Epis- copal church, and in politics has always been a Democrat.
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