LSP - Miscellanea: Prominent People (1906)

PROMINENT PEOPLE
of North Carolina
Brief Biographies of Leading People for
Ready Reference Purposes
ASHEVILLE, N. C.
Evening News Publishing Company
1906 [sketches of Roanoke-Chowan natives] [footnoted text added by David Powell]

[p. 11]

[preceded by a photograph]
EDWARD CHAMBERS SMITH Was born in Murfreesboro, North Carolina, August 21, 1857. His father was Chief Justice William N. H. Smith, who died in 1889. His paternal grandfather came from Connecticut. His parents moved to Raleigh in 1872 and his academic education was obtained at Lovejoy's Academy and the "Old Bingham School." He graduated from Davidson College in 1881, taking the debater's medal. At the Kappa Alpha general convention held at Atlanta, Ga., in 1881, he won the medal for the best essay over contestants from twenty-five Southern colleges. In 1901 he was elected Knight Commander of the Kappa Alpha fraternity and was re-elected in 1903 and again in 1905.
He began the study of law in 1882 under Dr. Manning, of the University of North Carolina, and later under Prof. Minor, of the University of Virginia. He was admitted to the North Carolina bar in 1883, and up to 1890 practiced with Fuller and Snow, attending to their Supreme Court practice. He has since then been practicing alone, giving particular attention to insurance law. He is general attorney for several large insurance companies and other corporations.
In 1886 he was appointed by Gov. Scales a member of the Board of Internal Improvements and held the position continuously until 1896. While absent from home he was appointed by Gov. Carr State's proxy for and later a director of North Carolina railway, and is now a member of the finance committee of that road.
In 1888, as a member of the Board of Aldermen, he caused to be constructed Raleigh's present fire alarm system. He was a delegate to the National Democratic Convention in St. Louis in 1898 and chairman of the committee on rules. In 1892 he was delegate-at-large to the National Convention at Chicago, and was a delegate to the National Democratic convention in 1904 and North Carolina member of the committee on resolutions. In 1890 he was unanimously elected chairman of the State Democratic Executive Committee and though less than 33 years of age was in charge of Gov. Vance's campaign for re-election to the United States Senate and the Democrats carried the State by 42,000, up to that time the largest majority ever given any political party. He was re-elected in 1892, but declined.
He was nominated for State Senate in 1894 for Wake county, and has been several times mentioned for Congress and was leading candidate for Attorney General in 1892.
He married Miss Annie Badger Faison, daughter of Col. Paul F. Faison, and granddaughter of Hon. Geo. E. Badger, in January, 1892. They have five children.
He is a large stockholder and director in the Caraleigh Mills Co., and the Caraleigh Phosphate and Fertilizer Works and a member of the executive committee of both companies, and also interested in many other industrial enterprises.

[p. 20]

ROBERT WATSON WINSTON Was born in Windsor, North Carolina, September 12, 1860. His father was Patrick H. Winston, an attorney who was several times a member of the State Legislature and a delegate to the convention of 1865, having been a Confederate judge and president of the council of state of Governor Worth. His mother was Miss Martha Elizabeth Byrd, daughter of Francis Wilder Byrd, a farmer. Judge Winston was educated in the Horner school and at the University of North Carolina, from which he graduated with the class of 1879, taking the Willie P. Mangum medal for oratory. He was admitted to the bar in 1881 and began practice in 1881 at Oxford, North Carolina. After five years' practice, he formed a partnership with Judge A. W. Graham, the style being Graham & Winston, and this association continued until Judge Winston went on the Circuit Court bench in 1891, where he remained four and a half years and resigned. He then in 1895 moved to Durham, N. C., and formed a partnership with W. W. Fuller to practice law under firm name of Winston & Fuller. This firm was dissolved in 1903 and Judge Winston associated with him Victor V. Bryant, the new firm being called Winston & Bryant, and still continues. In 1885 Judge Winston was a member of the State Senate from the 19th senatorial district and judge of the Circuit court from 1890 to 1895 and said to be the youngest judge ever elected, his age then being twenty-nine years. He was married in 1882 to Miss Sophronia Horner, a daughter of J. H. Horner, LL. D., and founder of the Horner school of Oxford, N. C., and a sister of Bishop J. M. Horner, of the Asheville Diocese of the Episcopal church, and is the father of four children. His eldest, James Horner Winston, was the first Cecil Rhodes student to go from the United States to the University of Oxford, England, and has become the champion tennis player of that ancient seat of learning. Judge Winston was for many years president of the Durham Chamber of Commerce, and was one of the first trustees of the Durham Public Library. He is a trustee of the State Fair Association, attorney and director of the First National Bank of Durham and Chapel Hill. He was one of the leading attorneys who defended Josephus Daniels on the charge of being guilty of contempt and defended Kilgo. He recovered the largest amount of money ever given by a jury in North Carolina for personal daamge for C. H. Norton, from the North Carolina Railroad, the sum of principal and interest being $22,000.

[p. 67]

F. D. WINSTON Was born at Windsor, N. C., October 2, 1857, a son of Patrick Henry Winston, an attorney who was twice a member of the General Assembly, a member of the Board of Internal Improvements, the Council of State, and the North Carolina Court of Claims.
His mother was Miss Martha Elizabeth Byrd, a daughter of Wilder Byrd, who died at the age of thirty years. ¹
He was educated in the Horner school, Oxford, N. C., Fetters school at Henderson, N. C., Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y., the University of North Carolina, Dick & Dillard's Law School, Greensboro, N. C.
He was a State Senator in 1887, a member of the House of Representatives in 1901 and 1903; clerk of the Superior court from 1881 and 1882; judge of the Superior court from 1901 to 1902; lieutenant governor of North Carolina in 1905, and has been trustee of the University of North Carolina since 1887.
He is a Mason and an Elk. He is now Grand Master of Masons in North Carolina. He is a member of the Episcopal church and is junior warden of St. Thomas' Parish.
He married Miss Rosa Mary Kenney, a daughter of Dr. S. B. Kenney, late of the U. S. A., of Portsmouth, Va., who now lives in Windsor, N. C.
¹ Francis D. Winston's grandfather, Wilder Byrd, must be the person to live to only age 30, as Winston's mother, Martha Elizabeth (Byrd) Winston, lived to age 75 --dying on 19 March 1899. "Windsor Ledger", issue of Mar. 23, 1899

[p. 68]

W. D. PRUDEN Was born in Hertford county, N. C., February 2, 1847, a son of William Dossey Pruden, a farmer who was for many years a justice of the peace and a member of the old county court. His mother was Miss Martha Garrett Riddick, a daughter of James A. Riddick, a farmer. He was educated at Union Male Academy of Harnellsville ¹ , Hertford county, N. C., and in the University of Virginia.
He has practiced law for the past thirty-six years, and has devoted his entire energies and ability to his chosen profession. He was mayor of Edenton in 1875 and 1876.
He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, a vestryman in the Episcopal church and has been twice married. In 1872 he married Miss Mary G. Norfleet, a daughter of James E. Norfleet, a merchant of Edenton, who died in 1889. His second wife was Miss Annie A. Wood, a farmer of Edenton, N. C. He is the father of James Norfleet Pruden, his law partner; Miss Mary W. Pruden and Miss Margaret H. Pruden, children of his first wife; and Wm. Dossey Pruden, Jr., son of his second wife.
¹ Harrellsville --formerly known as Bethel-- was the town in which Union Male Academy was situated. John W. Moore "Historical Sketches of Hertford County" Liberty Shield Press c) 1998

[pp. 75 & 76]

GEORGE TAYLOE WINSTON Born in Windsor, N. C., October 12, 1852, son of Patrick Henry Winston, attorney and planter, and Martha Elizabeth Byrd. The Winston and Byrd families came from Virginia, and were famed for wealth, culture and talent. Colonel William Byrd, of Westover, was Governor of Virginia and founder of the city of Richmond. Sarah Winston was the mother of the Revolutionary orator, Patrick Henry.
George T. Winston was educated at the Horner School, University of North Carolina, United States Naval Academy and Cornell University. He was instructor of mathematics in Cornell University 1873-74, during his senior year there; and was graduated June, 1874. He was professor of Latin in the University of North Carolina 1875-91 and president of the same University in 1891-96. He was president of the University of Texas, 1896-99. Since 1899 he has been president of the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts.
Married Miss Caroline Sophia Taylor, of Hinsdale, N. H. Has three sons: Lieut. Hollis Taylor Winston, U. S. N.; Lieut. Patrick Henry Winston, U. S. A.; and Lewis Taylor Winston, soon to graduate from the A. & M. College.

[p. 121]

HALLET S. WARD Was born in Gates county, North Carolina, on the 31st day of August, 1870, the seventh child of a family of fourteen children; missed his title to a birth-right according to the Jewish dispensation by reason of his having two sisters older than himself, which prevented his being the seventh son; was limited in his preparation for the duties of life, which he has assumed, to the very strait and difficult surroundings of a limited country life, in that period when the public schools were less efficient than now, and by very limited means His first and only scholastic training, outside of the public schools, was with Captain Julien Picot, at Como, Hertford county. Went to the University in 1893 and read law with Dr. Manning and Judge Shepherd in the summer session and obtained license at the following court, having studied with Mr. George Cowper at Winton prior to that time. On being admitted to the bar or soon thereafter, located at Plymouth, North Carolina, where he married three years thereafter Miss Aileen Latham. Was elected to the State Senate from the Second District in 1898 and re-elected in 1900. Was appointed Solicitor of the First Judicial District by Gov. Aycock and afterwards elected to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of George W. Ward, who was made Judge.
Afterwards moved to Washington, North Carolina, where he has since practiced law and discharged the duties of his office as Solicitor. Is now associated in the practice of law with Mr. Junius D. Grimes, the son of General Bryan Grimes and brother of J. Bryan Grimes, Secretary of State.
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