Thursday, May 7, 2015

Cephas Benjamin Moomaw (1849-1915), Cephas Perry Quattlebaum (1851-1929)

Portrait from "The History of Roanoke County", published in 1912.

  What isn't funny about a name like Cephas Moomaw? This funny-named man was a resident of Virginia for the entirety of his life and was regarded as a leading legal figure in the counties of Botetourt and Roanoke, serving as a city solicitor and circuit judge in the latter county. In 1913 Moomaw was elected as Mayor of Roanoke and served in this capacity until his death two years later. 
   One of twelve children born to Joseph and Mary Stover Moomaw, Cephas Benjamin Moomaw was born on October 23, 1849, in Botetourt County, Virginia. He was afforded a fine education in the "private schools" of his native county and on December 24, 1873, married Sarah Elizabeth Mangus (1850-1926), with whom he had four children: Edith Mae (1874-1953), Annie Lillie (died in infancy in 1883), Hugh Mangus (1885-1959) and Joseph Frank (1894-1941).
   Moomaw began reading law in the early 1880s and after being admitted to the bar in 1882 began a law practice in the Botetourt County town of Fincastle. During his residency there he served as a supervisor and county school board member, and in 1887 relocated to Roanoke, Virginia. Soon after his arrival, he launched a law partnership with John W. Woods (1858-1912), whom he would succeed as Mayor upon the latter's death in 1912. This partnership would continue for several years and in 1897 Moomaw entered the office of Roanoke City Solicitor, serving in that post until 1905. 
   In 1905 Moomaw was appointed by then Virginia Governor Andrew J. Montague to a vacancy on the Twentieth Judicial Circuit Court of Virginia. At the expiration of that term, Moomaw returned to practicing law, operating the firm of C.B. and H.M. Moomaw with his son Hugh Mangus, who would later become a distinguished attorney in his own right.
   On December 23, 1912, Moomaw's former law partner, Judge John William Woods, died at age 54. Woods had been elected as Mayor of Roanoke in September 1912 and served only three months in office before his death. In February 1913 Cephas Moomaw was elected "by the people" to succeed him, and, like Woods, would serve only a short period of time. Several months before his death Moomaw entered into a state of declining health and a day prior to his passing was admitted to a Roanoke hospital, afflicted with gallstones. Moomaw underwent surgery but failed to rally from his illness, dying on October 18, 1915, five days short of his 66th birthday. Following his passing, the former mayor was interred at the Evergreen Burial Park in Roanoke and was survived by his wife Sarah, and three of his children.

Portrait courtesy of Find-A-Grave.

  Recognized as the first mayor of the incorporated city of Conway, South Carolina, Cephas Perry Quattlebaum was a longtime attorney residing in Horry County in that state. Born in Lexington, South Carolina on May 19, 1851, Cephas Perry Quattlebaum was the son of multi-term state representative and senator Paul (1812-1890) and Sarah Caroline (Jones) Quattlebaum. As the son of a prominent local political leader, young Cephas was taught by private tutors and at an early age began reading law under Henry A. Meetze.
  Admitted at age 23 to the South Carolina bar, Quattlebaum removed to the settlement of Conwayborough and in 1874 began a law practice with J. Monroe and W.D. Johnson. In December 1884 Quattlebaum married Janette Taylor McQueen (1852-1927), to whom he was wed for over forty years. The couple would have one son, Paul (1886-1964), who went on to have a political career of his own, serving in the South Carolina Senate from 1935-44.
  The name of C.P. Quattlebaum grew to be a prominent one in Horry County and was a leader in the fight to see Conwayborough incorporated as a city. Upon its incorporation as the city of Conway in 1898, Quattlebaum was selected as its first mayor, serving one term in office. In addition to his service as mayor, Quattlebaum was a leading Mason and member of the Knights of Pythias, attaining high rank in both organizations. Widowed in 1927, Quattlebaum died on July 20, 1929, and was interred alongside his wife at the Lakeside Cemetery in Conway.

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