Du Brutz Cutlar Moore (1895-1965)

Portrait from the 1956 North Carolina State Manual.

   Following the lengthy write-up on  May 8th centering on Zanesville, Ohio Mayor Epaminondas L. Grigsby, we journey south to North Carolina for today's profile. The unusually named Du Brutz Cutlar Moore served five terms in the North Carolina State Senate and further distinguished himself in a variety of business endeavors in his home county of Robeson, North Carolina. Moore would gain additional distinction through his service as chairman of the State Board of Alcoholic Control, being named to that post by Governor Clyde Hoey.
  Du Brutz Cutlar Moore was born on August 6, 1895, in Pender County, North Carolina, the son of John Bailey and Serena Lee Moore. Moore attended the University of North Carolina from 1913-1914 and later was stationed in Europe during the First World War as a private with the Seventh Anti-Aircraft Battery. He married in June of 1922 to Ms. Ruth Robeson Norment, and three children were eventually born to the couple, Du Brutz Jr. (1923-2003), Ruth Moore Morgan (died 2004) and Mary Moore Warner.
   At the conclusion of his service in WWI, Moore returned to Lumberton, North Carolina, where he would be employed as a district manager for the Mutual Life Insurance Company. During the 1930s he became active in local politics and from 1934-36 held the post of secretary for the State Democratic Executive Committee. During the 1936 state gubernatorial election season Moore was affiliated with the campaign of Clyde Hoey, who, after winning the governorship, named Moore as the Chairman of the Alcohol Control Board of North Carolina in 1937. As the inaugural head of a board that was responsible for a "system of control of the sale of alcoholic beverages" in the state, Moore chaired this board until 1941, with his service later being lauded in the 1941 book North Carolina, the Old North State and the New, which stated:

"He is a man in the real sense of the word. His motto is 'Do the right thing under all circumstances.' He has proven the exception to the rule that a prophet is not without honor save for within his own country. Robeson County and Lumberton are proud of Cutlar Moore and his record, but if folks knew Cutlar's mother they would all understand why any trust committed to Cutlar Moore would be faithfully and conscienciously carried out."

   In addition to his involvement in the insurance business, Moore's 1965 obituary in The Robesonian newspaper also denotes his being a real estate developer and member of the North Carolina Association of Realtors. In 1952 Moore was elected to his first term in the North Carolina Senate from the 11th senatorial district and during the 1953-55 session was a member of the committees on Appropriation; Banks and Currency; Conservation and Development; Mental Institutions; Public Welfare; and Salaries and Fees. Moore was returned to the senate in the elections of 1954, 1956, 1958 and 1960, and in 1957 briefly held the post of state highway commissioner. His final senate term saw him named to several new committees, those being Agriculture; Banking; Education; Finance; Propositions and Grievances; Public Roads; and State Government. He would resign in 1961 to take on the post of U.S. Collector of Customs at Wilmington, North Carolina, where he would serve until his death. Moore is also recorded in his obituary as being the president of the Carolinas Broadcasting Company.
   While still attentive to state political affairs, Moore was also an active civic leader in Robeson County, being a deacon in the First Presbyterian Church and also was a member of the American Legion, Masons and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. Named as Robeson County Man of the Year in 1956, Moore received further honors in the year prior to his death when he was bestowed the Liberty Bell Award from the Mecklenburg County Bar in recognition of his "service to the community and the law." Du Brutz Cutlar Moore died at the Duke Hospital in Durham, North Carolina at age 69 on March 27, 1965, after having been admitted for surgery a few days prior. He was survived by his wife and children and later was interred at the Meadowbrook Cemetery in Lumberton. 

 From the March 29, 1965 edition of the Lumberton Robesonian.

Ippie Purvis Graham (1889-1962)

From the 1949 South Carolina Manual of the legislature.

   Following on the heels of the April 18th article on Fleetus Lee Gobble, today's write-up highlights the life and accomplishments of another North Carolina State Representative--Ippie Purvis Graham. This interestingly named man served alongside Fleetus Gobble in the North Carolina legislature for several years, and one can wonder if these two funny-named politicians ever went palling around the state capitol together. I can almost imagine someone falling over with laughter when they were introduced to representatives "Ippie" and "Fleetus"!

   All humor aside, Ippie P. Graham's curious name didn't keep him from pursuing a lengthy career in public service. His story begins on February 3, 1889, when he was born in Proctorville, North Carolina, the son of Charles William and Mary Jane Hedgpeth Graham. Graham received the unusual first name "Ippie" in honor of his uncle, a North Carolina Baptist minister named Ippie Purvis Hedgpeth, and the only available biographical source on Graham is a brief write-up in the North Carolina Manual published during his service in the legislature. His birth year is variously given as either 1889 or 1890, although a good majority of the sources mentioning him give 1889 as the correct year.

  Graham received his education at the Stinson Institute and later studied at the King's Business College from 1911-1912. The majority of Graham's life was centered around farming pursuits in his native town, and he is listed by the North Carolina Manual as being the proprietor of a cotton gin. In addition to his being a farmer, the Manual mentions Graham as being a cashier at the Bank of Proctorville and also as a Sunday school superintendent for the Proctorville Baptist Church. Graham later married Ms. Athesia Powell (1895-1974), with whom he had three children, Hal, Paul, and daughter Stennett Graham McLeod (1927-2016).

                                          Ippie P. Graham, from the May 31, 1942 edition of the Robesonian.

   Ippie Graham's first candidacy for public office came during the First World War when he was elected as Mayor of Proctorville, serving from 1917-1919. Graham's obituary in the 1962 Robesonian newspaper also gives note that he served as judge of the Fairmont Recorder Court for six years, 1933-1939. In Graham's last year of service on that court, the citizens of Robeson County elected him to the first of four terms in the North Carolina State House of Representatives, and he began his first term in January 1939. His service in the legislature lasted nearly a decade (except the 1941-43 session) and during his tenure held seats on several committees, including the following: Agriculture; Appropriations; Banks and Banking; Congressional Districts; Counties, Cities, and Towns; Court and Judicial Districts; Drainage; Education; the Journal; Military Affairs; and Printing.

Ippie Graham receiving the Adrian B. McRae Award for Robeson County Man of the Year, in 1961.

   At the conclusion of his legislative service in 1949, Graham returned to his home in Proctorville and later held a seat on the Proctorville Board of Education from 1949 until he retired from public life in 1961. He served as the chairman of this board from 1950 until the fall of 1960. The Robesonian also notes that Graham was honored by his fellow citizens as Robeson County Man of the Year for 1961. In addition to this accolade, Graham was a longstanding member in the Masonic Lodge of Proctorville.

  Ippie Purvis Graham died at a hospital in Lumberton, North Carolina on February 10, 1962, at age 73 and was later interred at the Proctorville Cemetery in Fairmont, North Carolina. The obituary below for Graham marks the second picture that I've located of the man, and I'm extremely happy to have located it (via the website newspaperarchive.com!)

Graham's obituary as it appeared in the Robesonian on January 12, 1962.