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 9
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He has been undeviating in his allegiance to the principles and in his support of the candidates and the measures of the Democratic party. He is a Knight of Pythias, a member of the Woodmen of the World, and a master Mason.
His religious convictions identify him with the Methodist church.
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EDMUND LEE HERNDON
From the work of his profession he has found relaxation in active exercise, such as hunting, fishing, riding, driving, and tennis.
He was married in June, 1900, to Miss Clara V. Platt.
To young South Carolinians he says: "Work hard; keep at it; be sober and honest, and you can accomplish much."
His address is Walhalla, South Carolina.
TRACY IRVIN HICKMAN
H ICKMAN, TRACY IRVIN, manufacturer, born at Augusta, Georgia, April 14, 1860, is a son of Hamil- ton H. and Sarah Whatley Hickman. His father was a wholesale dry goods merchant, was for thirty-one years presi- dent of the Graniteville Manufacturing company, and was marked by business ability and integrity. The paternal ancestors of the family were German and the maternal English.
Tracy Hickman was brought up in the village of Summer- ville, Georgia. He had robust health and ample energy, was thoroughly interested in all outdoor sports, and also had a taste for reading. His mother was a good woman, whose influence upon the life and character of her son, intellectual, moral, and spiritual, was in every way strong and helpful. He missed the struggle for an education which has been the lot of so many young Americans, school privileges being at his command from boyhood. Afterward he studied in Richmond academy, Georgia, and then took an elective course in the University of Georgia.
Mr. Hickman's serious work began in 1880 when he became cotton man for the Graniteville Manufacturing company. Of this company, which was one of the pioneer cotton mills of the South and was possibly the oldest mill of any consequence in South Carolina, Mr. Hickman was elected president and treas- urer in 1897 and these offices he now (1909) holds. It is worthy of note that although this company was organized in 1845 it has had but three presidents, the first being William Gregg, the founder; the second Hamilton H. Hickman, and the third his son, Tracy I. Hickman, the subject of this sketch.
Mr. Hickman has given some attention to politics and admin- istration, having served for six years as intendant of the village of Summerville. That his administration was highly appreciated by his fellow townsmen is evidenced not only by the length of his term of service, but by the fact that he was never opposed in his candidacy for this office and that he finally resigned voluntarily. He was a delegate to the convention which, in 1897, nominated John M. Palmer and Simon B. Buckner for president and vice-
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president of the United States on the national Democratic ticket. He also served as a member of the executive committee of that party during the national campaign.
Mr. Hickman characterizes himself as a "goldbug Democrat." In religion he is a member of the Presbyterian church of his com- munity. His recreation is found in horseback riding. On April 14, 1883, he was married to Miss Anna McAlpin. One child, a daughter, has been born of this marriage and is still (1909) living.
The address of Mr. Hickman is Graniteville, South Carolina.
GEORGE CONNOR HODGES
H ODGES, GEORGE CONNOR, for twelve years an enthusiastic and useful teacher and for the last twenty years prominently connected with the life insurance business and interests in his state, was born at Abbeville, October 27, 1851, the son of Samuel Anderson Hodges, a merchant and planter, who had been sheriff and treasurer of Abbeville county and was a man of sound judgment, and unquestioned integrity. His mother, Mrs. Mary (Connor) Hodges, was descended from a branch of the Connor family which moved from Virginia soon after the war of the Revolution and settled in Abbeville county (now Greenwood county), South Carolina. His paternal grand- father, Major John Hodges, served in the war of the Revolution.
As a boy he was robust and vigorous, fond of athletic sports and of fishing and hunting, but fond also of study, and he uniformly stood at the head of his classes in school. When he was but thirteen he lost his left leg by amputation, rendered necessary by a wound received from the accidental discharge of a gun. His early life was passed in the village of Cokesbury. He did not accustom himself to manual labor in boyhood or youth; but he borrowed money from friends and relatives to support him while he studied, and repaid the loans in full after his graduation. In 1872 he entered the South Carolina university and was graduated the same year in the school of ancient languages and literature, attaining "junior distinction" in mathematics and rhetoric. In the fall of 1872 he entered Wofford college, and in 1874 he was graduated from that institution with the degree of A. B. Four years later Wofford college conferred upon him the degree of A. M. After his graduation from Wofford he became principal of the school at Hodges, South Carolina. His choice of teaching he says was determined "mainly because as an educated young man I could find remunerative employment in school teaching without any outlay of capital." He continued to be a teacher for twelve years after his graduation, for most of the time at the Cokesbury Conference school, at Ninety-Six, and at Greenwood.
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For two years, 1886-1887, he was school commissioner of Abbeville county. In December, 1888, he accepted the agency of the New York Life Insurance company, and he has held that position for the last twenty-one years. He was the first president of the "Southeastern Hundred Thousand club" of the New York Life Insurance company, in 1899.
Allied by conviction with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, he has frequently been a delegate to the annual conference of the South Carolina conference of that church, and he has served for many years on various boards and committees of the conference. In 1901 he was elected by the annual conference a delegate to the general conference which met at Dallas, Texas, in May, 1902. At the last annual session of the South Carolina Con- ference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, he was elected, by the laymen of the conference, the conference leader of the "laymen's missionary movement."
In 1886, J. B. Lippincott and Company published a book which he had compiled and edited, entitled "A Book of Short Quotations."
While in college he was a member of the Chi Phi Psi fraternity. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias and of the Knights of Honor. He has been unswerving in his allegiance to the principles and in his support of the candidates of the Demo- cratic party.
In estimating the influences which have prompted him to such success in life as he has attained, he places first of all and beyond all, "my early home life." Next to that he names with gratitude and respect "the influence of such eminent teachers as Rev. S. B. Jones, James L. Leslie and Judge W. C. Benet, my teachers at the Cokesbury Conference school, and the faculty at Wofford college, especially Dr. Carlisle." "The subtle but power- ful influence of a cultured community," he feels has continually stimulated him to achievement.
On December 15, 1880, he married Miss Corinne Waldrop of Cokesbury, South Carolina. They have had three children, of whom two are living in 1909.
To the young people of his state he says: "If I had my life to live over again, I would unflinchingly strive to maintain, first,
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a healthy body ; second, a clean heart; and third, a well-informed mind." "Integrity of character, level-headedness, the power and the willingness to work, and the art of succeeding in every under- taking, are the 'doors of hope' in our American life."
His address is Greenwood, South Carolina.
JOHN WINEBRENNER HORINE
H ORINE, JOHN WINEBRENNER, since 1907 pastor of St. Luke's (Lutheran) church, Philadelphia, Pennsyl- vania, and for many years, while at Charleston, South Carolina, an instructor in the Mt. Pleasant Theological seminary, is a son of Reverend Mahlon Carlton Horine and Emma Francis (Winebrenner) Horine, whose ancestors came from Germany in 1745 and settled in Middletown valley, Maryland, the head of one branch of the family going to Kentucky with Daniel Boone in the early years of the westward immigration to the land of the blue grass.
John W. Horine was born at Smithsburg, Washington county, Maryland, May 23, 1869. As a young boy he was frail in health. His boyhood was spent chiefly in the states of Ohio and Pennsylvania. His fondness for books was pronounced while he was still very young. To his mother he feels that he owes a deep debt for what is best in his intellectual and spiritual life. From his boyhood he has found great joy and profit in the reading and the loving study of the English classics.
He pursued his college course at Muhlenberg college, Allen- town, Pennsylvania, where he was graduated, A. B., with the class of 1889, taking the first honor in his class. The next three years were passed in the study of theology at the Lutheran Theological seminary at Mount Airy, Philadelphia.
His first pastorate was in Philadelphia, from 1892 to 1897, in the Church of the Incarnation. In 1897 he became pastor of St. John's church, Charleston, South Carolina, and he continued in that pastorate until July, 1907, making many friends for him- self, not only by his preaching and his pastoral work, but by his interest in all that concerns the welfare of his fellow-citizens and of the commonwealth of South Carolina. In September, 1907, he entered upon his present pastorate in Philadelphia.
While in college he was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. As to his political relations, he says, "I was born a Democrat"; and he has been unwavering in his allegiance to the principles and the measures of that party.
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His own personal preference was seconded and strengthened by the wishes of his parents in the choice of the Christian ministry as his profession. In shaping his principles of action and his ideals of life, and in forming the habits which have shaped his character, he feels that he is indebted first to the influence of home; second, of school and college; third, of early companion- ships; fourth, of private study; and fifth, to his contact with earnest and sincere men in active life.
On October 31, 1893, he married Miss Helena Laurens. They have had three children, all of whom are now (1909) living.
To young people Mr. Horine writes: "Always do the best that is in you, and so grow better all the while."
His address is 1909 N. Twelfth street, Philadelphia, Penn- sylvania.
WALTER GUSTAVE HOUSEAL
H OUSEAL, WALTER GUSTAVE, one of the most pop- ular and well known physicians of his section, was born at Newberry, South Carolina, May 14, 1861. He was the son of William Walter Houseal and Eliza Caroline Houseal. His father was a merchant, who was honored by his fellow-citizens with the offices of sheriff and auditor of Newberry county, and who was a man of strong Christian character, marked honesty and integrity and modest and peaceful in disposition.
The great great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch was John Adam Houseal who, with his brother Bernhardt Michael Houseal, came to America from Ulm, Germany, in 1752. John Adam settled in Dutch Fork, Newberry county ; his brother, Bern- hardt Michael, a celebrated Lutheran preacher, lived in Reading, Pennsylvania, and in New York. Each of these men had obtained a good education in the schools of Germany. William W. Houseal was also a well educated man. Thus, through heredity, the sub- ject of this sketch received a bent in the direction of scholarship.
Young Gustave passed a happy and wholesome childhood in the town of Newberry. He enjoyed robust physical health; was thoroughly interested in games and play ; loved school, and, in all things, whether work or play, strove to excel. He also enjoyed the advantages of systematic training in productive labor ; he was required to work in his father's garden and on a small farm, hoeing and picking cotton. He was not allowed to leave home without permission and, before leaving, he was required to per- form some task. Thus were formed the good habits of industry and obedience to authority.
Among the influences which cooperated in shaping the char- acter of young Houseal should be mentioned especially that of his mother. She was deeply interested in his education and aided him in all possible ways in laying the foundations of true culture. His collegiate education caused him little anxiety, his father furnishing the necessary means and sending him to Newberry Male academy and Newberry college. From the latter he was graduated in 1881 with the degree of A. B. In 1894 his alma mater honored him with the degree of A. M.
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One of the most valuable factors in his college experience was the opportunity for reading and study afforded him by the college library. Here he found biography, the inexhaustible fountain from which, in all ages, have been drawn inspiration and reso- lution, and by acquaintance with this literature he was imbued with a strong desire to live a worthy life.
On leaving college Mr. Houseal entered upon the work of teaching; taking charge, in the fall of 1881, of a country school in Edgefield county, near Dyson, now Greenwood county, South Carolina. By hard work and close economy during the next three years Mr. Houseal saved enough money to enable him to complete the medical course at the University of Maryland, in Baltimore, from which institution he was graduated in 1886. A post-graduate course was taken in 1893 at the Bellevue Hospital Medical college, New York city.
On leaving the medical school Doctor Houseal entered upon the practice of his profession, which he has since continued with credit to himself and advantage to his community. He is lecturer on hygiene at Newberry college and is a member of the board of trustees of the Newberry graded schools. He is a Knight of Pythias. In politics he is a Democrat and, in religion, he is a Lutheran.
On November 7, 1889, he was married to Miss Sarah Wright. They have had four children, all of whom are now living.
The address of Doctor Houseal is Newberry, South Carolina.
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WALTER HERBERT HUNT
H UNT, WALTER HERBERT, lawyer, president of the Security Loan and Investment company, of Newberry, South Carolina, was born at Newberry, South Carolina, on the 16th of April, 1861. His father, Walter Herbert Hunt, was a merchant of Newberry; and his mother, Mrs. Susan (McCaughrin) Hunt, to whose influence upon his intellectual and moral life the son feels that he is very deeply indebted, was the daughter of Thomas McCaughrin of Newberry, South Carolina.
He is descended from Walter Herbert, who came from Eng- land and settled in New Jersey in 1742.
As a boy he was exceptionally fond of reading, although heartily interested in all out-of-door sports. His early life was passed in the town of Newberry, where he attended the elementary schools, and later the Newberry Male academy. He entered Newberry college; but drawn by the strong desire to engage actively in the practice of the law-which had been his intention from his earliest boyhood-he left college after com- pleting the sophomore year, and began the study of law in a private office. On May 29, 1883, he was admitted to practice; and he has followed his chosen profession, in his native town, for the last twenty-five years.
Mr. Hunt is attorney for two banks, for two cotton mills, and for three loan associations; and his general practice has been such as to give him as his clients an exceptionally large number of the residents of his section of the state.
He has always taken an active share in all movements in his town which look toward the advancement and improvement of the town and of the county ; but he has never sought public office, and he has repeatedly refused to allow his name to be used as that of a candidate for office.
A Democrat by conviction and party relations, he has repeat- edly served as Democratic county chairman. From 1882 to 1888 he was secretary of the Democratic county executive committee.
He is the senior member of the firm of Hunt, Hunt and Hunter, and he is a member of the board of directors of the Com- mercial bank of Newberry and of the Newberry Land and Security company. His law firm has held the position and done
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the work of city attorneys for Newberry for several years; and they are also attorneys for the county. Mr. Hunt has won for himself an honorable place among the leading members of his profession in South Carolina; and he is generally recognized as an effective advocate and a logical, eloquent and forcible speaker. He has served as special judge of the circuit court in several counties, at the request of members of the South Carolina bar. He has served on the staff of Governor Hugh S. Thompson with the rank of lieutenant-colonel.
On the 23rd of Februray, 1887, Mr. Hunt married Miss Lucy W. Baxter, daughter of James M. Baxter, of Newberry, South Carolina.
Mr. Hunt is an Odd Fellow. He is a Knight of Pythias.
By religious conviction and church fellowship, he is identified with the Baptist church.
His favorite form of exercise since his early boyhood has been horseback riding; and to this exercise he feels that he owes in a great measure, his excellent health.
Mr. Hunt is a type of the South Carolina lawyer who by devotion to his profession and at the same time by public- spirited devotion to the interests of the community in which he lives, has made for himself a place in the ranks of the lawyers who have done much as men of mark, to build up and develop the business interests and to advance the social progress of the Pal- metto state.
WILLIAM JEFFERIES
J EFFERIES, WILLIAM, teacher, soldier, planter, and business man, was born in Union district, South Carolina, April 2, 1830. His parents were John Jefferies and Sarah (Goudelock) Jefferies. His father was a planter, a man of strong character and decision, quick, active, an untiring worker, and successful in his business affairs. Among his ancestors were Edward Jefferies, an Episcopalian, who came to the American colonies in 1730 and settled in King and Queen county, Virginia; and Nathaniel Jefferies who came to South Carolina from Vir- ginia about 1760, served as captain in the Indian war, and was afterward an officer in the Continental army in the War of the Revolution. John Jefferies, great-grandfather of William Jefferies, took part with his father in the Revolutionary struggle and was one of the heroes of the battle of King's Mountain.
Young Jefferies was handicapped in youth by feeble health ; nevertheless, he early developed a fondness for study, and especially for the study of history. Outdoor life also attracted him, and his father's farm afforded an outlet for his activities. His father was a believer in the gospel of work, not only for himself, but also for his children; he required of them the per- formance of manual labor and the proper execution of their tasks; and, as a result of this wise regime, the son acquired habits of industry and economy which have been to him of incalculable advantage throughout his subsequent life.
Not less important in shaping his character was the influence of his mother. Although she was taken from him in his early life, she lived long enough to impress upon him the inestimable value of character and integrity, and the supreme worth of truth.
Inadequate school privileges hindered the early progress of young Jefferies. Such education as he acquired at that period of life was obtained with great difficulty. Schools were very scarce, high schools were almost unknown in the state, and college atten- dance from his section of South Carolina was rare. He attended private schools as opportunity afforded and devoured such books as came in his way, especially those on his favorite subject, his- tory. He also acquired an interest in mathematics.
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Mr. Jefferies' early bent was toward medicine; his father, however, dissuaded him from choosing this profession, and the son acquiesced.
Mr. Jefferies' active life began in 1849 with his entrance of the school room in the capacity of teacher. To teaching he devoted fourteen of the best years of his life. The call to arms found him ready to respond, and he enlisted as a private in the Eighteenth South Carolina regiment under Colonel James M. Gatbury. Later he was transferred to the Seventh regiment of cavalry, Colonel A. C. Haskell, commanding.
At the close of the war Mr. Jefferies returned to the school room, where he continued until 1867. Later he entered business, serving as merchant, planter, and director of banks and of cotton mills; but most of his life has been spent on plantations and farms. He has also participated in politics, representing the Union district in the state legislature in the session of 1858 and 1859. While a member of this legislature Mr. Jefferies voted against the secession of South Carolina. Perry of Greenville also voted the same way. He again represented Union county in the "Wallace house" of 1876, 1877, and 1878, and Cherokee county in the senate in 1897 and 1898, being the first senator from that county.
Mr. Jefferies is a Mason, a Democrat in politics, and a Meth- odist in religion.
On April 3, 1860, he married Miss Ramath L. Hames, of Jonesville, South Carolina. Of this union were born six children, of whom the following five are still living: Dr. C. A. Jefferies, Gaffney; Mrs. J. D. Goudelock, Gaffney; Mrs. C. O. Allen, Greenville; Mrs. D. B. Wood, Pacolet; and Miss Mary Jefferies, Gaffney, all in South Carolina.
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WILLIAM JAMES JOHNSON
J OHNSON, WILLIAM JAMES, merchant, banker, nine years a member of the house, and since 1904 state senator, of Ridgeway, Fairfield county, was born September 13, 1857, in Fairfield county near the town where he now resides.
His father, Hampton Johnson, like his immediate ancestors for four generations, was a successful planter and agriculturist, who lost a large property in slaves by the war, and was much reduced in means during the years immediately following the war, but by his ability and perseverance regained property, and for some years before his death, in 1879, was known as the wealthiest farmer in the county of Fairfield. He married Dorcas Juline Joyner. His earliest known ancestor in America was William Johnson, a Scotch-Irishman, who came to the colonies about 1721. About 1766 his descendants settled in Newberry county, South Carolina, and became leading farmers and planters. Senator William James Johnson is the first prominent member of the family to leave farming and planting for a mercantile and political career.
His early life was passed on his father's farm near Ridgeway. In boyhood his health was delicate. He was but eight years old at the close of the War between the States. His father's large property in slaves was, of course, lost by emancipation; and during the five years which immediately followed the war the circumstances of the family were so painfully reduced that his own education was sadly interfered with, and he gave up all idea of fitting for college and devoted himself to working on the farm to help reestablish the family fortunes. His own choice of a profession would have been the law. But the "troubles of the times" compelled him to attempt only a good common school education until after he was twenty-one, when he read law under Judge Melton, not intending to practice and not seeking admis- sion to the bar, but finding pleasure in a course of study the results of which have been most beneficial to him as merchant, banker, and legislator.
In September, 1879, after the death of his father, he entered mercantile life at Blythewood, South Carolina, where he con-
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tinued in business until 1889, when he removed his business to Ridgeway, where he has resided for the last twenty years. His choice of a business life was made rather against the wishes and advice of his older relatives and his father's family, who prided themselves on their long-continued connection with agriculture.
In 1882 he was elected warden of the newly incorporated town of Blythewood, and he was later intendant of the same town. His own private business and his connections with the banking interests of Ridgeway occupied his attention to the exclusion of any attempts to hold political office until 1892. In that year he was elected (a Democrat) to the house of representatives of his state. He was reëlected in 1894, and again in 1898. He also served for part of an unexpired term in 1901, and was reelected for a full term in 1902, thus serving some nine years in all, in the lower house. In 1902 he succeeded in "carrying through" the anti-trust bill advocated by the farmers. In 1904 he was chosen state senator (over Honorable H. A. Gaillard, "one of the ablest orators in the State"), and in November, 1908, he was again elected for a term of four years. Though he was opposed by two prominent candidates Mr. Johnson won this election by a hand- some majority. While he was a member of the house one of the newspapers of the state said of him: "Captain Johnson is unques- tionably one of the leading members of the house, and can easily hold his own in debate with the best trained lawyers of the body." "It is not too much to say that after his efficient service in the house he will make himself fit for the senate." "He is a fluent and earnest speaker, and eloquent in debate." His course since he entered the senate has proved that the good opinion thus expressed was fully deserved.
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