Atlas Thomas Uzzell (1854-1911)

From the Raleigh News and Observer, March 9, 1905.

  Sharing a first name with the famed Greek mythological figure that was responsible for bearing the heavens on his shoulders, Atlas Thomas Uzzell was a leading Wayne County, North Carolina farmer who was elected to two consecutive terms in his state's house of representatives. The son of Thomas and Tirzah (Smith) Uzzell, Atlas T. Uzzell was born in Wayne County on October 21, 1854.

  A student in schools local to Wayne County, Uzzell married in December 1879 to Eliza Peel (1863-1929), to who he was wed until his death. The couple had two sons, Floyd Harold (1881-1957) and Robert Peel (1884-1929). A farmer in Wayne County for the majority of his life, Uzzell later owned and resided in his family's ancestral home following the death of his father Thomas (1814-1875), who is mentioned as a wealthy plantation and slave owner prior to the Civil War.  During his life, Atlas Uzzell accumulated 600 acres of land and entertained neighbors and friends with lavish dinners and barbecues at his home, including a 1907 gathering for the Goldsboro Tobacco Association.

   Active in local politics, Uzzell would win election to two terms as county treasurer and was a member of the Wayne County Democratic Executive Committee. Nominated for a seat in the North Carolina House of Representatives in 1902, he won the election that November and during the 1903-05 session was named to the committees on Agriculture, Engrossed Bills, Internal Improvements, and Propositions and Grievances.  This term also saw Uzzell introduce the Land and Tenant Bill, later remarked by the Goldsboro Weekly Argus as "one of the best measures ever passed to protect the farmers of Wayne County."

  Reelected in November 1904, the 1905-07 session saw Uzzell as a member of the committees on Appropriations; Counties, Cities, and Towns; Fish, Oyster, and Oyster Interests; Liquor Traffic; Propositions and Grievances; and Public Roads and Turnpikes. Uzzell's and in March 1905 represented Wayne County at the State Farmer's Convention held in Raleigh. 

From the Goldsboro Weekly Argus, July 26, 1906.

  In 1906 Uzzell's name was put forward for a third term by the Goldsboro Weekly Argus, which noted his previous service, remarking:

"Mr. Uzzell is better fitted for the place than a new man because he has served in this capacity before, and as the old saying goes, "knows the ropes", and our people would make no mistake in again electing him to office."

 Ultimately Uzzell would be passed over for renomination, and in November 1906 J.M. Edgerton was elected as one of two Wayne County representatives. Little is known of the remainder of his life, excepting note of his death in 1911. He was survived by his wife and sons and was interred at the Uzzell-Peel Cemetery in Goldsboro, North Carolina.