CULPEPER, John, representative, was born in Anson County, N.C., in 1761. He was
probably a descendant of John Culpeper, surveyor-general of the Carolinas, who
laid out the city of Charles Town in 1680. He was a Baptist preacher, a
representative in the 10th congress, 1807-09; was unseated, Jan. 2, 1808, and
re-elected, February 23, serving the balance of the session. He was a
representative in the 13th, 14th, 16th, 18th and 20th congresses, and was
defeated for the 15th, 17th and 19th congresses. He was agent of the Baptist
state convention of North Carolina. He died in South Carolina at the residence
of his son, the Rev. John Culpeper, in 1837.
Biographies of Notable Americans: The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Volume III;
article by Erastus Dean Culver, 1904
HOUSTON, William Churchill, delegate, was born in 1746; son of Archibald and
Margaret Houston. His father was a planter of distinction and property, and was
one of the earliest settlers of Anson County, N.C., having immigrated from
Scotland or the north of Ireland, probably the former. He was a prominent member
of the Presbyterian church, which fact probably influenced his son in his
selection of a college after having received such education as the local school
afforded. He entered the freshman class of the College of New Jersey, Princeton,
serving as tutor in the grammar school connected with the college, to pay his
way; was graduated, A.B., 1768; A.M., 1771, and was tutor there, 1767-71, and
professor of mathematics and natural philosophy, 1771-83. He was admitted to the
bar in 1781, and in 1783 resigned his professorship and practised law in
Trenton, N.J. During his life at the college he took part in the war of the
American Revolution, commanding a scouting-party in the defence of Princeton and
the neighborhood, and was commissioned captain in the 2d battalion, Somerset
guards, Feb. 28, 1776. When order was restored at the college he resumed his
duties and with Dr. Witherspoon constituted the entire faculty of the college
till 1779. He was a member of the general assembly of New Jersey from Somerset
county in 1777; a member of the council of safety in 1778; a delegate from the
county of Middlesex to the Continental congress, 1779-82, and 1784-85, and
receiver of Continental taxes, 1782-85. During his congressional career he took
a prominent part in the debates and was associated with Monroe and King on the
committee predating the well-known report on foreign and domestic relations. He
was elected a delegate from New Jersey to the convention of commissioners at
Annapolis, Sept. 11, 1786, which paved the way for the convention at
Philadelphia that framed the Federal constitution. He attended that convention,
taking part in several debates, and it is related that at one time, being in
very delicate health, he was carried into the hall in order to make a quorum.
While he does not appear as a signer, there is every reason for stating that he
heartily advocated its acceptance by the state of New Jersey, though his
declining health prevented any very active participation. He was elected the
first comptroller of the treasury, 1781, but declined to serve. He was clerk of
the supreme court of New Jersey, 1784-88. He was married to Jane, daughter of
Caleb Smith, and granddaughter of President Jonathan Dickinson, of the College
of New Jersey, Princeton. He died of consumption, while on his way south in
search of health, in Frankfort, Pa., Aug. 12, 1788, and was buried in the
Presbyterian churchyard at Fourth and Pine streets, Philadelphia, Pa.
The
Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans: Volume V;
Houstoun, John
TERRY, William Leake, representative, was born in Anson County, N.C., Sept. 27,
1850; son of William Leake and Mary (Parsons) Terry. He removed with his parents
to Tippah county, Miss., 1857, and to Pulaski county, Ark., 1861. He was the
protégé of Gen. Francis A. Terry, who had charge of his education. He attended
Bingham's Military institute, N.C.; was graduated from Trinity college, N.C.,
A.B., 1872; studied law in the office of Dodge & Johnson, Little Rock, Ark., and
was admitted to the bar, 1873. He served in the state militia under Governor
Baxter in the Brooks-Baxter troubles, and was second officer in command of
Hallie Rifles in the fight at Palarm, May, 1874; was a member of the city
council, 1877-79; a state senator, 1878-79, serving as president at the close of
the session, and city attorney, 1879-85. He was the unsuccessful Democratic
candidate for the 50th congress in 1886, and was a Democratic representative
from the fourth Arkansas district in the 52d-56th congresses, 1891-1901. He was
married first, Oct. 6, 1875, to Mollie C. Dickson of Texarkana, Ark., who died
July 6, 1895; and secondly, Nov. 22, 1899, to Florence Faishe of Texarkana.
The
Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans: Volume X; Terry,
William Richard
BENNETT,
Risden T., was born June 18, 1840, in Anson County, N. C. He entered the
Confederate Army as a private April 30, 1861, and rose through the several
grades to the colonelcy of the Fourteenth North Carolina Troops. He was
solicitor of Anson County in 1866-67; was a member of the legislature of North
Carolina in 1872, and delegate to the Constitutional Convention of the state in
1875. He was judge of the Superior Court in 1880, and resigned to accept the
nomination for Congress as Congressman at large from North Carolina; and was
elected to the Forty-eighth and Forty-ninth Congresses.
Herringshaw's Encyclopedia of American Biography of the Nineteenth Century, page
105
CULPEPPER,
John, clergyman, congressman, was born in Anson County, N.C. He represented that
state in congress from 1807 to 1808, when his seat was vacated by resolution of
the house. He was re-elected, and served from 1813 to 1817, from 1819 to 1821,
and from 1823 to 1825. He was a Baptist preacher; and was elected to the general
assembly, but his seat was vacated on constitutional grounds.
Herringshaw's Encyclopedia of American Biography of the Nineteenth Century, page
268
PICKETT,
Albert James, author, was born Aug. 13, 1810, in Anson County, N.C. He was a
writer of Montgomery, Ala., who published a History of Alabama. He died Oct. 25,
1858, in Montgomery, Ala.
Herringshaw's Encyclopedia of American Biography of the Nineteenth Century, page
742
TERRY,
William Leake, soldier, lawyer, congressman, was born Sept. 27, 1850, in Anson
County, N. C. He was elected to the city council of Little Rock, Ark., in 1877;
was elected to the state senate in 1878, and was elected president of the senate
at the close of the session in 1879. He served eight terms as City Attorney of
Little Rock; and was elected to the Fifty-second, Fifty-third, Fifty-fourth and
Fifty-fifth Congresses as a Democrat.
Herringshaw's Encyclopedia of American Biography of the Nineteenth Century, page
921
ASHE,
Thomas Samuel (nephew of John Baptista Ashe of North Carolina and cousin of John
Baptista Ashe of Tennessee and of William Shepperd Ashe), a Representative from
North Carolina; born in Hawfields, near Graham, Alamance County (then a part of
Orange County), N.C., July 21, 1812; attended Bingham's Academy, Hillsboro,
N.C., and was graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in
1832; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1834 and commenced practice in
Wadesboro, Anson County, in 1835; member of the State House of Commons in 1842;
Solicitor of the Fifth Judicial District of North Carolina 1847-1851; elected to
the State Senate in 1854; Member of the Confederate House of Representatives
1861-1864; elected to the Confederate Senate in 1864, but did not serve due to
the termination of the Civil War; served as State councilor in 1866;
unsuccessful candidate for Governor of North Carolina in 1868; elected as a
Conservative to the Forty-third Congress and as a Democrat to the Forty-fourth
Congress (March 4, 1873-March 3, 1877); declined to be a candidate for
renomination in 1876; resumed the practice of law at Wadesboro; elected
associate justice of the State Supreme Court in 1878; reelected in 1886 for a
term of eight years and served until his death in Wadesboro, Anson County, N.C.,
on February 4, 1887; interment in East View Cemetery.
Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1949, Biographies, page
793
BENNETT,
Risden Tyler, a Representative from North Carolina; born in Wadesboro, Anson
County, N.C., June 18, 1840; attended the common schools and Anson Institute;
was graduated from Cumberland University and from Lebanon Law School, Tennessee,
in 1859; during the Civil War enlisted in the Confederate Army as a private on
April 30, 1861, and left the service as colonel of the Fourteenth North Carolina
Troops, having been wounded on three occasions; solicitor of Anson County in
1866 and 1867; member of the State House of Representatives 1872-1874; delegate
to the State Constitutional Convention in 1875; judge of the Superior Court from
1880 until his resignation in 1882; elected as a Democrat to the Forty-eighth
and Forty-ninth Congresses (March 4, 1883-March 3, 1887); engaged in the
practice of law in Wadesboro, N.C., and died there July 21, 1913; interment in
the family cemetery near Wadesboro, N.C.
Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1949, Biographies, page
841
CULPEPPER,
John, a Representative from North Carolina; born near Wadesboro, Anson County,
N.C., in 1761; attended the public schools; became a minister in the Baptist
Church; presented credentials as a Federalist Member-elect to the Tenth Congress
and served from March 4, 1807, until January 2, 1808, when the seat was declared
vacant as the result of a contest on account of alleged irregularities;
subsequently reelected to fill the vacancy declared by the House of
Representatives and served from February 23, 1808, to March 3, 1809; elected to
the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Congresses (March 4, 1813-March 3, 1817);
unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1816 to the Fifteenth Congress; elected
to the Sixteenth Congress (March 4, 1819-March 3, 1821); unsuccessful candidate
for reelection in 1820 to the Seventeenth Congress; elected to the Eighteenth
Congress (March 4, 1823-March 3, 1825); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in
1824 to the Nineteenth Congress; elected to the Twentieth Congress (March 4,
1827-March 3, 1829); declined to be candidate for reelection in 1828 and retired
from public life; died at the residence of his son in Darlington County, S.C.,
in January 1841; interment in the cemetery at Society Hill, S.C.
Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1949, Biographies, page
1042
DEANE,
Charles Bennett, a Representative from North Carolina; born in Ansonville
Township, Anson County, N.C., November 1, 1898; attended Pee Dee Academy,
Rockingham, N.C., and Trinity Park School, Durham, N.C., 1918-1920; was
graduated from the law department of Wake Forest (N.C.) College in 1923; was
admitted to the bar the same year and commenced practice in Rockingham, N.C.;
register of deeds of Richmond County 1926-1934; attorney in the Wage and Hour
Division, Department of Labor, Washington, D.C., in 1938 and 1939; engaged in
administrative law and in the general insurance business since 1940; chairman of
the Richmond County Democratic executive committee 1932-1946; trustee of Wake
Forest College; elected as a Democrat to the Eightieth Congress (January 3,
1947-January 3, 1949). Reelected to the Eighty-first Congress.
Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1949, Biographies, page
1068
HOLLAND,
James, a Representative from North Carolina; born in Anson County, near the
present town of Rutherfordton, N.C., in 1754; received a very limited education;
was a major in the State militia and also saw service in the Continental Line
1775-1783; Sheriff of Tryon County from July 1777 to July 1778; Justice of the
Peace of Rutherford County 1780-1800; Comptroller of Rutherford County from July
1782 to January 1785; member of the State Senate in 1783; served in the State
House of Commons in 1786 and again in 1789; delegate to the second State
Constitutional Cnvention in 1789 that adopted the Federal Constitution; member
of the first board of trustees of the University of North Carolina 1789-1795;
studied law; was admitted to the bar on October 15, 1793, and commenced practice
in Rutherfordton, N.C.; elected as an Anti-Federalist to the Fourth Congress
(March 4, 1795-March 3, 1797); declined to be a candidate for reelection,
preferring to serve in the State senate; again a member of the State senate in
1797; resumed the practice of his profession and also engaged in agricultural
pursuits; elected to the Seventh and to the four succeeding Congresses (March 4,
1801-March 3, 1811); was not a candidate for renomination in 1810; retired from
public life and in 1811 moved to what is now Maury County, Tenn., engaging in
agricultural pursuits near Columbia; justice of the peace 1812-1818; died on his
estate in Maury County, Tenn., May 19, 1823; interment in the Holland Family
(now known as Watson) Cemetery, nine miles east of Columbia, Tenn., in District
Four, Maury County, Tenn.
Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1949, Biographies, page
1323
LOCKHART, James Alexander, a Representative from North Carolina; born in Anson
County, N.C., June 2, 1850; attended the common schools; was graduated from
Trinity College, Durham, N.C., in June 1873; studied law in Charlotte, N.C.; was
admitted to the bar in 1874; settled in Wadesboro, N.C., where he practiced his
profession; mayor of Wadesboro in 1875; member of the State House of
Representatives in 1878; served in the State senate in 1880; presented
credentials as a Democratic Member-elect to the Fifty-fourth Congress and served
from March 4, 1895, to June 5, 1896, when he was succeeded by Charles H. Martin,
who contested his election; resumed the practice of his profession in Wadesboro,
N.C.; died in Charlotte, N.C., on December 24, 1905; interment in Eastview
Cemetery, Wadesboro, N.C.
Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1949, Biographies, page
1470
MARTIN,
Charles Henry (great-grandson of Nathaniel Macon), a Representative from North
Carolina; born near Youngsville, Franklin County, N.C., August 28, 1848;
attended [p.1506] the common schools and the preparatory department of Wake
Forest (N.C.) College; was graduated from Wake Forest College in 1872 and from
the University of Virginia at Charlottesville in 1875; studied in the Southern
Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Ky.; principal of the high schools at
Badin and Lumberton, N.C.; professor of Latin in the female college at
Murfreesboro, N.C., and later taught in Wake Forest College; studied law; was
admitted to the bar in 1879 and commenced practice in Louisburg, Franklin
County, N.C.; moved to Raleigh, N.C., and continued the practice of law;
ordained as a Baptist minister in 1887; successfully contested as a Populist the
election of James A. Lockhart to the Fifty-fourth Congress; reelected to the
Fifty-fifth Congress and served from June 5, 1896, to March 3, 1899; was not a
candidate for renomination in 1898; resumed his ministerial duties and had
charge of a Baptist church at Polkton, Anson County, N.C.; died in Polkton,
N.C., April 19, 1931; interment in Williams Cemetery.
Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1949, Biographies, page
1506
PRATT,
Eliza Jane, a Representative from North Carolina; born in Morven, Anson County,
N.C., March 5, 1902; attended the public schools of Morven and Raeford, N.C.,
and Queens College at Charlotte, N.C.; newspaper editor at Troy, N.C., in 1923
and 1924; served as secretary to Members of Congress from the Eighth
Congressional District of North Carolina 1924-1946; elected as a Democrat to the
Seventy-ninth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of William O.
Burgin and served from May 25, 1946, to January 3, 1947; was not a candidate for
renomination in 1946; employed with the Office of Alien Property, Washington,
D.C., since May 27, 1947; is a resident of Lexington, N.C.
Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1949, Biographies, page
1700
ROBINSON,
Leonidas Dunlap, a Representative from North Carolina; born in Gulledge
Township, Anson County, N.C., April 22, 1867; attended the common schools; moved
to Wadesboro in 1888; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1889 and practiced
in Wadesboro; delegate to every Democratic State convention 1888-1941; mayor of
Wadesboro 1890-1893; member of the State house of representatives in 1894 and
1900; appointed solicitor of the thirteenth judicial district in 1901; elected
to the same office in 1902 and served in that capacity until 1910, when he
resigned; became president of the Bank of Wadesboro in 1910; delegate to the
Democratic National Conventions in 1912, 1920, and 1924; elected as a Democrat
to the Sixty-fifth and Sixty-sixth Congresses (March 4, 1917-March 3, 1921);
declined to be a candidate for renomination; resumed banking and also engaged in
agricultural pursuits until his death; died in Wadesboro, N.C., November 7,
1941; interment in Eastview Cemetery.
Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1949, Biographies, page
1749
TERRY,
William Leake (father of David Dickson Terry), a Representative from Arkansas;
born near Wadesboro, Anson County, N.C., September 27, 1850; moved with his
parents to Tippah County, Miss., in 1857 and to Pulaski County, Ark., in 1861;
attended Bingham's Military Academy, North Carolina, and was graduated from
Trinity College, North Carolina, in June 1872; studied law; was admitted to the
bar in November 1873 and practiced; member of the city council 1877-1879; member
of the State senate in 1878 and 1879, serving as President of the senate in the
session of 1879; city attorney of Little Rock, Ark., 1879-1885; unsuccessful
candidate for election in 1886 to the Fiftieth Congress; elected as a Democrat
to the Fifty-second and to the four succeeding Congresses (March 4, [p.1906]
1891-March 3, 1901); unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1900; resumed
the practice of law in Little Rock, Ark., and died there November 4, 1917;
interment in Calvary Cemetery.
Biographical Directory of the
American Congress, 1774-1949, Biographies, page 1906