Terrelius Theodore Ross (1854-1929)

Portrait courtesy of Ross' genealogy page at Geni.com

  Our month-long stay in North Carolina concludes with Terrelius Theodore Ross, a two-term member of the North Carolina senate from the sixth senatorial district. One of a handful of unusually named political figures who were dentists by profession, Ross was born in Pleasant Garden, Guilford County, North Carolina on October 5, 1854/1855, a son of Addison Shepherd and Nancy Leticia (Hendrix) Ross. A student at the Pleasant Garden Academy, Ross had earned a degree to practice dentistry by 1880 and in November of that year married to Virginia Amariah "Minnie" Scott (1846-1911), and the couple's three-decade union saw the births of four children, including Laura (1883-1968), Arthur A. (born 1887), Flora (1889-1968), and Theodore Nicholas (1892-1927).

  By the early 1890s, Terrelius Ross had established a dental practice in  Nash County, North Carolina and in 1892 became a founding organizer of the Nashville Township Democratic Club, of which he would serve as secretary. Two years later, Ross was elected as a member of the North Carolina State Dental Society, and by 1897 had been acknowledged as one of the leading dentists in his state, with the Weldon Roanoke News reporting that:

"He is undoubtedly one of the best dentists in the State and his work always gives entire satisfaction. Dr. Ross informs us that in the future he will spend the most of his time in his office here...People come here from all sections to have their work done by Dr. Ross and among his customers a good many come from even Portsmouth and other distant points. He has all the latest appliances for painless extraction of teeth and all work done by him is warrented to please in every instance, and is according to the latest methods known in dentistry."

  In addition to his chosen profession, Ross followed farming in Nash County for a number of years,  growing tobacco and other crops, and around 1909 took office as Mayor of Nashville, North Carolina, serving until at least 1910. In that year he was an unsuccessful candidate for clerk of the Superior Court of Nash County, losing out to incumbent T.A. Sills. Ross gained the Democratic nomination for the state senate in 1916 and following his win that November was named to the committees on Claims, Game Laws, Institutions for the Blind, Internal Improvements, Mining, Privileges and Elections, and Public Health for the 1917-19 term.
  Reelected in 1918, Ross's second term saw him chair the Internal Improvements committee, as well as serving on 4 new committees, those being Commerce, Enrolled Bills, Institutions for the Deaf, and Railroads. Little could be found on Ross' life following his last senate term, excepting notice of his death on February 14, 1929, aged 74. He had been predeceased by his wife Minnie in 1911, and both were interred at the Forest Hills Cemetery in Nashville.

Archippus Floyd Barrett (1870-1926)

Barrett as he looked during his mayoralty.

  Alamance County, North Carolina resident Archippus Floyd Barrett served eight years as mayor of the city Burlington, and in addition to his mayoralty carved out a notable career for himself as a pharmacist in that city. Born on March 15, 1870, in Person County, North Carolina, Archippus Floyd "Chip" Barrett was the son of Aaron and Rebecca Ann (Carver) Barrett. Sharing a first name with a figure briefly mentioned in the New Testament, Barrett's first name also has a variation in spelling, being spelled with both a double "p" and a single "p". However, numerous Burlington city directories (as well as Barrett's own death certificate from 1926) record the spelling as "Archippus", and it is that spelling that is given here.

  There exists a dearth of resources regarding Barrett's early life or education, excepting notice of his entering the druggist's trade at an early age. In the 1880s he was employed by the R.A. Morton & Co. drug store in the town of Roxboro and in October 1891 married to Margaret E. Pentecost (1872-1940). The couple were wed until Barrett's passing in 1926 and had five children, Essie Mae (1894-1959), Carl Victor (1898-1960), Raymon Ellis (1899-1971), Clifford Edwin (1902-1978), and Archippus Floyd Jr. (1913-2001). 

  Removing to Burlington in 1894, "Chip" Barrett soon joined the R.A. Freeman Drug Co., where for more than two decades he worked in the prescription department. Sources also denote Barrett and R.A. Freeman as being the co-managers of the Burlington Opera House from 1906-07, their full dates of service remaining unknown at this time. 

  By 1903 Barrett's love for his adopted city and popularity amongst its citizens led to his being nominated for mayor that year. He would win that election and for the next several years was continually reelected, his last term concluding in 1911. Barrett's mayoralty saw multiple improvements made to city infrastructure, including the introduction of city street lights in 1904, and in 1908-09 Barrett and the board of aldermen gave the go-ahead for the installation of:

"Another steam generating unit at the power plant on Hawkins Street; also a deep well; a frog tight reservoir and water and sewer lines. And to furnish sufficient pressure for hydrants, an elevated steel tank was erected on a knoll northeast of the old railroad shops."

   In addition to the numerous structural improvements made during his terms, Barrett's mayoralty also saw the Burlington city hall move to more respectable quarters on the second floor of the C.G. Moore building, prior to the construction of an actual city hall building in 1915. After leaving office Barrett continued as a druggist with the Freeman Drug Co. and in 1913 was named to the city Water, Light, and Power Commission in the wake of the resignation of J. Ed Moore, who had been elected as mayor.
  Archippus Floyd Barrett died at his home in Burlington on March 8, 1926, one week shy of his 56th birthday. His cause of death is given as influenza (as per his death certificate.) He was survived by his children and wife Margaret, who, following her death in 1940, was interred alongside her husband at the Pine Hill Cemetery in Burlington.

Sessler Carlysle Isley (1912-1997)

From the Elon College Alumni News, February 1974.

  The cities of Asheboro and Burlington, North Carolina share the fact that both have elected two oddly named men to the mayoral chair, and after profiling both Chisholm Clark Cranford and Doctor Bulla McCrary of Asheboro, we remove to Burlington and Sessler Carlysle Isley, a two-term mayor of that city as well as a leading figure in the state rotary club. Coincidentally, Isley shares a common theme with Cranford and McCrary as he too was affiliated with the textile industry, serving as a manager for the Standard Hosiery Mills of Burlington. One of eleven children born to Joseph Albright and Estelle Elizabeth (Ingle) Isley, Sessler Carlysle Isley was born on March 10, 1912, in Alamance County. While his first name is certainly curious, most sources mentioning Isley denote him under the abbreviated name "S. Carlysle Isley".

   A graduate of the Burlington High School in the early 1930s, Isley studied at Duke University for a time before transferring to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he earned his A.B. degree. He married in June 1937 to Margaret Plonk (1913-2013), and the couple's six-decade union produced three children, Kay Ellen (1941-2006), Carlysle Scott, and Joseph Plonk Isley. 

  After graduating from the University of North Carolina Isley was employed by the Duke Power Company for a time, and in the 1940s took work with the Burlington Mills, where he was affiliated with its personnel department. In 1946 he joined the Standard Hosiery Mills Inc. of Burlington as its director of personnel and was still employed by that company at the time of his election as mayor. This period saw Isley first gain prominence through his work with Rotary International, being the secretary-treasurer of the rotary club in Burlington in 1949, and from 1966-67 held the presidency of Rotary District 7690, which comprised Alamance, Caswell, Chatham, Davie, Davidson, Forsyth, and Guilford, amongst other counties. 

  S. Carlysle Isley made his first foray into Burlington politics in March 1949 when he entered into the race for Burlington City Council. When the ballots were counted on election day, May 10th, it was Isley who polled the highest number of votes out of the candidates running, and with a total of 1,539 votes, "he was unanimously named to serve as mayor by other elected members of the Burlington city council."

From the Burlington Daily Times-News, March 15, 1949.

  Following his swearing-in ceremony, the Burlington Times-News profiled Isley as a "youthful, energetic, enthusiastic, intelligent Mayor" and that:

"There is no question about his fellow Council members confidence in his ability to counsel with them wisely in the interest of sound economy and community progress, working together for an efficient managment through the Manager employed to advise them and carry out in turn such directive as he receives from them."

  During Isley's first term the Ed Thomas Water Filtration Plant was completed and dedicated in 1950, relieving Burlington's "increased demand for water service." He won a second term as Burlington mayor in 1951, with his term concluding in 1953. After leaving office Isley joined another hosiery firm, the Kayser-Roth Hosiery Co., where he would serve as Vice President of Industrial and Public Relations for an indeterminate period. Named as Alamance County's Citizen of the Year for 1956, Ilsey remained prominent in Burlington civic affairs through the 1960s and 70s, holding the chairmanship of the city school board for nine years, serving as president of the Burlington Rotary Club, and was president of both the Burlington Chamber of Commerce and the local United Way chapter.
  In November 1973 S. Carlysle Isley undertook a career change, leaving the Kayser-Roth Hosiery Co. to accept the post of Director of Institutional Relations for Elon College, located in Elon, North Carolina. His nine-year tenure in this post saw Isley:

"Directly responsible for all external affairs of the college to include development, alumni and parent relations, community services, publications, and information services."

  Following his retirement from Elon College Isley was affiliated with Coldwell Banker as a realtor in Burlington, and in February of 1992 was named listings leader for "total units listed and total volume listed." He retired from Coldwell Banker in 1996 at age 84 and died one year later on April 12, 1997, one month after celebrating his 85th birthday. Sessler Carlysle Isley was survived by his children and wife Margaret, who died several months short of her 100th birthday in 2013. Both were interred at the Pine Hill Cemetery in Burlington.

From the Burlington Times-News, February 9, 1992.

Doctor Bulla McCrary (1875-1946), Doctor Franklin McConkey (1861-1938)

From the Vass Southern Pines Pilot, February 7, 1942.

   Multi-term Asheboro, North Carolina mayor Doctor Bulla McCrary received passing mention in the article on his mayoral predecessor, Chisholm Clark Cranford, and, like Cranford, had a considerable impact on Asheboro with his being a textile industrialist and head of the city government. Resettling in Asheboro in the late 19th century, McCrary's near five-decade residency in the city saw him as an owner of the Acme Hosiery Mills and the Sapona Manufacturing Company, and with his increased business successes through the early 20th century gained additional repute as a philanthropic benefactor, his generous contributions helping to construct the Randolph Hospital. McCrary returned to government service late in his life as a member of the State Highway Commission and was designated as acting chairman in 1941 and 1942-43. 

  Born on April 11, 1875, in Trinity, Randolph County, North Carolina, Doctor Bulla McCrary was the son of William Franklin (1841-1918) and Frances Evangeline (Briles) McCrary. Endowed with a name that is a misnomer, McCrary wasn't a physician and had no medical background whatsoever! Referred to by most period sources under the initials "D.B.", McCrary's unusual first and middle names may be connected to two locally prominent physicians residing in Randolph County, Dr. Archibald C. Bulla (1820-1895) and Dr. Alexander Bulla (1825-1901). Both of those men engaged in medical practice in that county for many years and are likely candidates for being the namesake of the man profiled here.

   During his youth D.B. McCrary was a student at Guilford County's Oak Ridge Insitute in 1890 and later went on to study at the Trinity College. He resettled in Asheboro in 1898 and within a short period entered into his first business venture, partnering with Thomas H. Redding to form a hardware store and farm implement dealership. In 1901 McCrary married Allie Walker (1877-1944), and the couple's four-decade union produced two sons, Charles Walker (1902-1984) and James Franklin (1907-1979).

   After several years of work in the hardware trade, McCrary and Redding set about furthering their business standing in the community, and in 1907 McCrary became one of seventeen businessmen that founded the Acme Hosiery Company, which would become a manufacturer of cotton socks and women's stockings. The company was incorporated as the Acme Hosiery Mills in 1908 and in January 1909 McCrary was selected as its first president, with Chisholm C. Cranford, the future Asheboro mayor, serving as vice president. Later in that year, McCrary and Redding, after pooling resources with Asheboro banker William J. Armfield Jr., purchased the Acme Hosiery Mills. This business would prove successful and in February 1916 the trio incorporated the Sapona Cotton Mills to further augment their supply of cotton yarn. This purchase, which included the Cedar Falls Manufacturing Co.'s plant, also comprised "4,800 spindles and 100 looms" and later led to the construction of "two-story additions" at the Asheboro factory, and less than a decade after its founding, the business could boast of a daily output of over forty-thousand stocking pairs.

  Following Thomas Redding's death in 1918 McCrary and Armfield continued to head the Acme Hosiery Mills, and during this period advanced into a number of other non-textile areas, including the posts of president (McCrary) and secretary (Armfield) of the Bank of Randolph at Asheboro. McCrary would further add to his business resume with his time as president of the Armfield-Laughlin Realty Co., being a charter member of the Asheboro Chamber of Commerce, a founder of the city's first building and loan association, a stockholder in the Raeford Hardware Co., and in the late 1930s was secretary-treasurer of the Asheboro Grocery Company. Having achieved success in multiple endeavors in Asheboro, McCrary built and resided in the picturesque estate shown below, which was completed in 1905.

  

McCrary's home in Asheboro, from the 1985 "Architectural History of Randolph County."

  By the early-1920s, the name of D.B. McCrary had been cemented amongst the leading industrialists of the Old Dominion State, and through that decade continued his rise through the state's textile industry. In 1924 McCrary saw a three-story addition to the Acme Hosiery plant completed, comprising "fine gauge circular knitting machines." In that same year, the Acme Hosiery Company and the Sapona Cotton Mills employed a total of 400 workers between them and are recorded as having "generated $300,000-worth of cotton and rayon stockings."

   McCrary would again expand his business territory in 1927 with the establishment of the McCrary Hosiery Mills, a two-story steel frame structure that would manufacture full-fashioned silk stockings. Further expansion followed in 1931 when the Acme Hosiery Mills purchased the nearby Parks Hosiery Mill, and seven years later increased its spread with construction beginning on a plant in the neighboring town of Ramseur. Fifteen years following D.B. McCrary's death in 1946, the Acme Hosiery Mills and the McCrary Hosiery Mills merged to form the Acme-McCrary Corporation in March 1961. This business still continues today, although its manufacturing assets were purchased by a Sri Lankan based company in 2017.

Doctor Bulla McCrary, from the Chowan Herald, December  10, 1942.

   While McCrary's numerous business endeavors remain the focal point of his prominence in Asheboro, his time in the political arena is also an integral part of his overall story. He began his career in local politics with his election to the Asheboro board of aldermen in the early 1910s, and by 1915 was serving as the chairman of that board. In June of that year mayor Chisholm Clark Cranford, who'd recently been elected to a second term, presented his resignation, and, under the Asheboro town charter, board chairman McCrary succeeded to the mayoralty. McCrary served out the remainder of Cranford's term and in 1917 was elected to a term of his own which concluded in 1919. This four year spread as mayor saw Asheboro employ its first town constable, and in a January 1918 edition of the Asheboro Courier McCrary authored a lengthy write-up on his city's positive attributes, highlighting Asheboro's businesses, schools, churches, improved sewer lines, water systems, roadways, and tax rate. After noting that his mayoralty was a "live, business-like administration", McCrary further related that:

"With 3,000 happy and prosperous people; with an ideal climate; with abundant and good water; with fine streets and side walks; with our big schools, churhces and factories, two big railroads and fine back country, the garden spot of the south, we believe we have a bright future. If you live here, we ask you to help us realize this wish. If you do not live here we extend to you a most cordial invitation to come see us and we'll prove to you that Asheboro is a good place to call home."

   D.B. McCrary's second term as mayor concluded in August of 1919, and on August 14th honored the members of his administration, along with the Asheboro Fire Company, with a banquet held at the city's Ashlyn Hotel. In 1925 McCrary was returned to the mayoral chair by the Asheboro citizenry and during the 1925-27 term, the city saw a bond "issued for water, street and sidewalk improvements" as well as the creation of a second city lake.
   Long an advocate of improved roadways in his state. D.B. McCrary returned to government service in 1937 when he was appointed by Governor Clyde Hoey as a member of the State Highway Commission. Named for a six-year term as commissioner for the sixth district, McCrary's office comprised the counties of Chatham, Davidson, Harnett, Hoke, Lee, Madison, Moore, Randolph, Robeson and Scotland. He would be reappointed to the commission by Governor J. Melville Broughton and on two occasions served as acting chairman of the commission, and "declined to accept the chairman's salary" during his time in that post. 

D.B. McCrary, from the January 10, 1943 North Wilkesboro Journal Patriot.

   McCrary's second stint as acting chairman extended from December 1942-December 10, 1943, when he resigned from the commission, citing "his duties at home and his own business affairs." Active in church work and philanthropy in Randolph County, McCrary was a leading financial booster in the development and completion of the Randolph Hospital. Upon his death in 1946 McCrary left a substantial bequest to the hospital for its expansion and upkeep and later was honored by having the D.B. McCrary wing named after him. Widowed in September 1944, Doctor Bulla McCrary survived his wife Allie by a little over two years, dying on October 28, 1946, at age 71. He was survived by his sons Charles and James and later was entombed at a mausoleum at the Asheboro City Cemetery. Political service would continue in the McCrary family with D.B. McCrary's son James Franklin, who was elected to two terms as mayor of Asheboro, serving from 1949-1953.

From the Raeford News Journal, October 31, 1946.

From the 1921-22 Missouri Blue Book.

   In a January 29, 2020 update to this article, another political officeholder named "Doctor" has been found--Doctor Franklin McConkey of Taney County, Missouri. Like Doctor Bulla McCrary before him, McConkey was given the title Doctor as his given first name and was never a medical practitioner. A two-term member of the Missouri House of Representatives from Taney County, McConkey was born in Vandalia, Illinois on July 29, 1861, the son of George and Sarah (Lee) McConkey.

  McConkey's formative years were spent on his father's farm and would attend the public schools in his region. In his early twenties, he removed to Iowa to follow a teaching career and in 1885 permanently resettled in Forsyth, Taney County, Missouri. In 1887 he took work in the Taney County clerk's office and began reading law in the late 1880s. Following his passing the state bar exam in 1891 he established himself in practice in Forsyth, and also built up a prosperous farming and ranching career. He married in 1900 to Kate Smith (1866-1956) and later had four children, Maggie, Kate, George, and Forest G.

  Doctor F. McConkey began his political career when he was named U.S. Postmaster at Forsyth, serving in that capacity from 1897-1904. In April 1907 he won a special election for the Missouri House of Representatives, this special election being occasioned by the death of sitting representative J.M. Depuy. During the 1907-09 session, McConkey held an unknown number of committee assignments and later was appointed to a term as prosecuting attorney for Taney County due to the resignation of J.C.L. McKnight.

From the Missouri Blue Book, 1907-08.

  McConkey returned to politics in 1920 with his reelection to the Missouri legislature and during the 1921-23 session chaired a special committee "to investigate the feasibility of the establishment of a state printing and binding plant." This term also saw him sit on the committees on Constitutional Amendments, the Judiciary, and Redistricting. McConkey continued residence in Forsyth following his term and died on July 12, 1938, shortly before his 77th birthday. He was survived by his wife Kate and both were interred at the Sapp Cemetery in Forsyth.

Chisholm Clark Cranford (1875-1955)

Portrait from the 1940 "Ash-Hi-Life".

   The city of Asheboro, North Carolina can take pride in the fact they have elected not one, but two curiously named mayors since its first mayor took office over a century ago, and the man profiled today, four-term mayor Chisholm Clark Cranford, left a lasting legacy in the city with his roles as a prominent Randolph County industrialist and leader in civic improvements. In addition to his mayoralty, Cranford further aided his city and state by serving in the state senate, where he represented Randolph County for one term. Born in Concord township, North Carolina on February 2, 1875, Chisholm Clark "C.C." Cranford was one of eight children born to Zimri and Rozina Maria (Lassiter) Cranford. Little is known of Cranford's formative years or education, excepting that he attended the public schools of Randolph County. 

  At age twenty Cranford left the family homestead, and within a short period had taken work with the Asheboro Roller Mill as a flour delivery driver. He married in November 1896 to Mary Annie Davis (1877-1959), and the couple's near six-decade marriage saw the births of four children, Edward (1900-1957), Vivian (1903-1994), Clarence Charles (1907-1939), and Samuel Davis Cranford (1910-1971).

  After several years of work and investment in the Asheboro Roller Mill's stock, Cranford rose to become manager of that enterprise. He later sold off his interest in the mill and with this capital elected to go into business for himself. In short order, he established the Crown Milling Company in the early 1900s, which he would continue to operate until selling it in 1913 to the Southern Milling Company. At the time of that mill's sale, Cranford had already developed a financial interest in several other area business enterprises, including the Randolph Chair Company and the Acme Hosiery Company. While he would soon sell off his interest in the latter business, Cranford purchased the Randolph Chair Company, a business that he would later transform into the Cranford Chair Company, a manufacturer of caned chairs. This business would continue on until Cranford decided to convert it into a hosiery mill.

   Cranford continued to expand his textile business acumen in 1917 when he established the Asheboro Hosiery Mills, which would manufacture both men and women's legwear. This mill comprised then state-of-the-art textile equipment, including "thirty seamless hosiery machines" as well as "steam engines powering electric generators and electric lights." The Asheboro Hosiery Mill proved to be only a small part of Cranford's overall business legacy, as he would have a hand in organizing multiple Asheboro manufacturing concerns, including the Bentwood Chair Company, the Cranford Furniture Company, the Asheboro Veneer Company, the Standard Tytape Company, the National Chair Company, and the Piedmont Chair Company. Two of these companies, Asheboro Veneer, and Piedmont Chair, would be managed by Cranford's brothers, Elsie Herman (E.H.) and Charles L. (C.L.). This textile and furniture manufacturing complex comprised three substantial brick buildings and an office, and would later become known as Cranford Industries. This vast manufacturing complex, now vacant, still stands today and in December 2011 was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

  While viewed as one of the leading industrialists in his city, Chisholm Cranford also achieved success in business outside of textiles and furniture, being the director of the First National Bank of Asheboro and president of the Asheboro Drug Company. His prominence was also not limited to Asheboro, with his serving as a director for the Southern Chair Company of High Point, North Carolina.

  

From the "History of North Carolina: Noth Carolina Biography", 1919.

   With his name firmly established in the Asheboro business community, Chisholm C. Cranford entered the political life of his region with his service on the Asheboro town board. In 1913 he was elected to his first term as mayor of Asheboro, and this term would see the construction of the first of Asheboro's city lakes "to augment the town's well-fed water system." Cranford won a second term in May 1915 but would serve only briefly, as he resigned that June due to the illness of his wife Mary. Following his resignation, Cranford was succeeded as mayor by another unusually named man, Doctor Bulla McCrary, who, like Cranford, achieved lasting prominence as an Asheboro industrialist and civic leader.

   Through the late 1910s and into the 1920s Cranford continued to expand Cranford Industries, erecting a two-story building in connection with the Asheboro Hosiery Mills, which increased not only the knitting mill's size but also its knitting machine number to over 500. The Cranford Chair Company also saw pronounced improvements, with its original structure being demolished and replaced by "a long, rectangular, one-story brick woodworking and chair manufacturing facility", as well as a two-story frame structure that was used to house varnishing and painting equipment. 

   In 1921 Cranford was selected by then Governor Cameron Morrison to serve as a member of the board of directors for the State Hospital at Morganton, North Carolina. Cranford served until his resignation in 1925, and in 1922 reentered local politics by serving as a member of the board of Randolph County Commissioners. In 1927 Cranford was returned to the Asheboro mayoral chair, serving a third term which extended until 1928, when he resigned due to his election to the state senate from the 12th senatorial district. During the 1929-31 session, he sat on the following committees: Commerce, Corporations, the Corporation Commission, Finance, Fish and Fisheries, Immigration, Insane Asylums, Insurance, the Journal, Manufacturing, Propositions and Grievances, and Public Health. 

From the 1929 North Carolina Senate composite portrait.

  One year into his senate term Cranford was called to political "double duty", as he was elected to a fourth term as mayor of Asheboro in 1929.  This term extended until 1931 and would see Cranford figure prominently in the construction of the Randolph Hospital in the city. Completed in 1932, Cranford served on the hospital's first board of directors and in 1930 was honored as the namesake of the C.C. Cranford Citizenship Cup, which would become an annual award given out to the "most outstanding citizen" picked from the Asheboro High School's senior class.

   After leaving politics in the early 1930s Cranford's business pursuits again took center stage, and in 1941 saw that the Asheboro Hosiery Company underwent an extensive renovation, with interior and exterior remodeling and the installation of over two hundred new full-fashioned and seamless hosiery machines. During the Second World War, Cranford aided in the war effort when he and business manager W. Clyde Lucas used the Cranford Furniture plant to manufacture goods that would aid in the Allied effort overseas, including "fabricated stretchers forms, medicine cabinets, convalescent rockers, mess tables, specialty chairs, and hospital beds."

   In 1946 the then seventy-year-old Chisholm Cranford undertook another ambitious project, overseeing the construction of a nearly sixty-thousand square foot, two-story factory on the outskirts of Asheboro that would later be sold to the National Carbon Company of Cleveland, Ohio, which used the facility to manufacture batteries. The latter part of that decade saw Cranford and his son Samuel lead in the construction of three commercial properties in downtown Asheboro, and in 1949 Cranford himself suffered a stroke from which he eventually recovered. He continued to reside in Asheboro until his death at home from a heart attack on May 16, 1955, aged 80. Cranford was survived by his wife Mary, who, following her death in 1959, was interred alongside her husband at the Oaklawn Cemetery in Asheboro.

Chisholm Cranford in old age; from "Farmer, Yesterday and Today", 1981.

From the Gastonia Gazette, May 17, 1955.

Clingman Webster Mitchell (1860-1921)

From the Kinston Free Press, May 10, 1916.

   A multi-term member of both houses of the North Carolina legislature, Clingman Webster Mitchell was a standout figure in the political life of Bertie County in the late 19th and early 20th century. Acknowledged by the Raleigh News Observer as one of the leading Democratic orators of his day, Mitchell again sought elective office in 1916, launching a campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives. Hoping to wrest the congressional seat from Claude Kitchin (a near twenty-year incumbent), Mitchell would lose that primary race in a very lopsided contest. The son of William J. and Mary Elizabeth Winnifred Mitchell, Clingman Webster "C.W." Mitchell was born in Bertie County, North Carolina on August 16, 1860. Mitchell looks to have been given his first name in honor of Joseph Lanier Clingman (1812-1897), one of the preeminent political figures in Antebellum North Carolina and at the time of Mitchell's birth, a sitting U.S. Senator from that state. 

   In his youth, Clingman W. Mitchell studied at the Elm Grove Academy in Chowan County and from 1877-81 attended Wake Forest College. He would marry in February 1883 to Pauline Holliman, to who he was wed until his death. The couple would have five children, Herbert Hawthorne (1884-1912), Clingman Webster Jr. (1894-1979), Carrie, and two other children that died in infancy. 

  By the late 1880s, Clingman Mitchell had established himself in business at Aulander, North, Carolina, where he was the proprietor of a corn mill. The succeeding years saw him gain further prominence in that area's business sector, owning his own general merchandise store, as well as being the founder and president of the Bertie Cotton Oil Company, an extensive business that housed not only an oil mill but also a fertilizer plant and a cotton gin. Mitchell later added further business successes to his resume with his time as president of both the Aulander Live Stock and Supply Co. and the Bank of Aulander. He is further noted as having engaged in farming for a good majority of his life, as well as having lumber interests in his region. Mitchell also etched his name into local area history when he erected the first hotel in Aulander, the Choanoke, which was completed in the late 1890s and was damaged by fire decades later.

  As a leading Baptist in North Carolina, Clingman Mitchell held the post of moderator of the West Chowan Baptist Association for many years and was a delegate and former president of the Baptist State Convention. For an indeterminate length of time Mitchell served on the board of trustees of the Thomasville Baptist Orphanage, and in his hometown of Aulander was a longtime Sunday School and Bible class teacher. In addition to church work, Mitchell was heavily invested in educational matters in his state, being a trustee of both his alma mater, Wake Forest College, as well as the Chowan College in Murfreesboro. Further notice is given to Mitchell's importance to the school system in Aulander, with his 1921 obituary noting:

"His interest in education is best evidenced by the magnificent school building and equipment in his home town, due very largely to his efforts and organization."

  Clingman Mitchell's business achievements and popularity in Bertie County eventually led to calls for him to run for public office, and in 1892 he did just that, gaining the Democratic nomination for state senator from Bertie and Northampton County. He was elected that November and during the 1893-95 session was named to the senate committees on Agriculture; Banks and Currency; Enrolled Bills; Deaf, Dumb, and Blind Asylums; and Propositions and Grievances. Mitchell's first senate term proved to have a profound effect on his constituents in Northampton County, who in the 1894 election year gained the turn to elect a senator. The residents of that county were so satisfied with Mitchell's service they "insisted upon nominating Mr. Mitchell on account of his popularity and strength in the district" and was one of just five Democrats elected to the senate for the 1895-97 session. Mitchell's second term saw him sit on twelve new committees, those being Claims; Counties, Cities, and Towns; Federal Relations; Finance; Fisheries; Insurance; Military Affairs; Penal Institutions; Pensions and the Soldier's Home; Public Health; Public Roads; and Railroads and the Railroad Commission. 

Clingman W. Mitchell as he appeared in the Raleigh News and Observer, March 19, 1905.

   By 1898 Clingman Mitchell could look back on two successful senate terms, and had gained additional repute as an orator of "great power and in demand for all sorts of occasions." Following a third senate win in 1902 (serving in the 1903-05 session), Mitchell was elected to the state house of representatives from Bertie County in 1904. The 1905-07 term not only saw him chair the committee on House Expenditures but also serve on the committees on the Democratic Caucus, Finance, Fish and Fisheries, and Liquor Traffic. The Raleigh News and Observer would also take special note of Mitchell's oratorical prowess during this session, remarking:

"He was said, by many, to be the most eloquent speaker in the House. Certainly there was no speaker more effective or eloquent. He spoke only on matters of great importance, such as his powerful speech on the divorce question, on the Ward bill, for reform in criminal trials, for legislation promoting the welfare of the state. He stood for everything that would benefit the State, would make its citizens better, make it more prosperous, and he led in some of the most important fights of the session."

  Following the conclusion of his house term in 1907, Mitchell returned to the state senate for a fourth term, having won reelection in November 1906. This term saw him chair the Agriculture committee and was named to the committees on Education, Finance, and Railroads. This term would also see Mitchell pull political "double duty", as it were, as he was named to the North Carolina State Board of Agriculture in 1907, where he served until the year of his death. 

From the 1903-05 North Carolina Senate composite.

   In 1916 Clingman Mitchell "received the urgent request of many Democrats" to seek the Congressional seat held by popular Democratic representative and House Majority leader Claude Kitchin (1869-1923), who had served uninterrupted terms in Congress since 1901. This primary contest extended from Kitchin coming out against President Woodrow Wilson's "programme for national defense", which, in turn, soured many constituents in Kitchin's district. With news of this contest making the papers as far away as New York, Mitchell hit the stump and made note that he believed that:

"The country needs not so much fluent speakers as men who will think for and labor for a constructive legislative program conducive to the industrial progress of the South and Nation."

 On primary election day in June 1916, it was Claude Kitchin who proved successful at the polls,  besting Mitchell by a several thousand votes and even carried Mitchell's home county of Bertie. Following this defeat, Mitchell continued service on the state board of agriculture, and in 1917 took part with the other members of that board in planning for that year's state fair. Clingman Webster Mitchell died at his home in Aulander on June 20, 1921, aged 60. After his passing, Mitchell was memorialized by his friend Francis Winston, a former North Carolina Lieutenant Governor, as an outstanding figure in state politics, religious work and civic affairs, remarking:

"To some it would seem that he died young. In good done and work accomplished he lived long. Any life here, if it leads to a worse life hereafter, is too long. Any life here, if it leads to a better life hereafter, is long enough. Clingman Webster Mitchell therefore lived long enough."

  Clingman W. Mitchell was survived by his wife Pauline and two of his children, with burial occurring in Aulander in a private cemetery on the farm of his grandfather, James Mitchell.

From the Raleigh News Observer, June 22, 1921.

Mackamie Jay Harris (1874-1941)

Portrait from the 1937 Albemarle City Directory.

  Following on the heels of July 13th's profile on Stanly County, North Carolina resident Crayon Cornelius Efird, another curiously named resident of that county is accorded a write-up here, Mackamie Jay "M.J." Harris. A multi-term mayor of Albemarle, North Carolina (the Stanly County seat) Harris served over two decades as mayor of that city, and this article would not have been possible without the efforts of Lewis Bramlett, a Stanly County historian and fan of this site who graciously sent along not only several articles and photos concerning Crayon Efird, but was also kind enough to send me a 1941 obituary for Mayor Harris, as well as information regarding Harris' full dates of service. Without Lewis's input and help, this article would not have been possible!

  Born in Cabarrus County, North Carolina on March 23, 1874, MacKamie Jay Harris was the son of Mcamy and Margaret Harris (as per the 1880 census.) Recorded by period sources under the initials "M.J." or "M. Jay", Harris' first name was located via Find-a-Grave, which denotes that name as it is inscribed on his tombstone. His middle name, Jay, was revealed via the 1940 Albemarle city directory. Nothing is known of Harris' early years or education in the county of his birth, and around 1900 he removed to Albemarle in Stanly County to take work with the Cabbarus Bank and Trust Company, which had established a branch there. Harris would marry in Mecklenburg County on October 30, 1901, to Margaret Louise Caldwell (1875-1959), who survived him upon his death in 1941. The couple would have at least one son, Mackamie James, who died age two in 1910 after being afflicted with "toxine poisoning".

  A short period following his resettlement in Albemarle, M. Jay Harris was named as the assistant cashier for the Cabarrus Bank and Trust Company's Albemarle branch, a post he would continue to hold for a number of years afterward. He would later assume the post of cashier for that bank, serving in that capacity until his death in 1941. In addition to his banking interests, Harris served for a time as Secretary-Treasurer of the Albemarle Building and Loan Association and also was a 33rd degree Mason, being remarked as "the only 33rd degree Mason" residing in the city.

  M. Jay Harris entered the political life of his city in 1911 when he took office as Mayor of Albemarle. He would be continually reelected until at least 1918, when he resigned from office, shortly after a board of aldermen vote that repealed "the blue laws which had recently been placed in effect and of which the mayor was sponsor." By 1925 Harris had been reelected as mayor, and, according to the records of Lewis Bramlett and various Albemarle city directories, was continually reelected until retiring from the mayor's office in May 1941. 

  In addition to his long mayoralty, Harris was a senior elder in the First Presbyterian Church of Albemarle and in 1927 was appointed by the board of county commissioners as chairman of the board of trustees of the Stanly County Public Library, which had been established a short time prior. Just one month after stepping down as mayor M. Jay Harris died on June 17, 1941, at his Albemarle home of a heart attack, aged 68. Following burial at the Old Albemarle Cemetery, he was memorialized in the Stanly News and Press as:

"A man of high ideals, loyal to his friends and to the community. He was always in the forefront in movements designed to improve the community, and he was always held in high regard by all those who knew him."

From the Stanly News and Press, June 20, 1941. Courtesy of Mr. Lewis Bramlett.