CHAPTER XXXVII

PROFESSIONAL MEN OF WARRENTON

LAWYERS

Blake Baker commenced the practice of law shortly after the town was established. He was Attorney General of the State from 1794 to 1803 and Judge of the Superior Court for a year in 1802, and then again in 1818.

John Hall, a native of Staunton, Virginia, ar­rived at Warrenton in 1799 and commenced the prac­tice of law. He was appointed a judge of the Supe­rior Court in 1809 and one of the judges of the Su­preme Court in 1818. He resigned in 1832 on ac­count of ill health.

Kemp Plummer, born in Gloucester County, Vir­ginia, in 1769, was educated at William and Mary College, commenced the work of his profession in Warrenton in 1799, and lived there until his death

Robert H. Jones, a native of Virginia, removed to Warrenton early in the nineteenth century. He was irascible in disposition, sometimes showing his temper to the presiding officer of the court, to the brethren of his profession, and to witnesses. I have heard that he had great contempt for the presiding officer of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions. This was Richard ("Dickey") Davidson, a naturalized citizen from England, who, in imitation of Lord Mansfield, wore a wig in the shape of a big coon­skin cap while on the bench. One day, while ap­pearing in the court of Esquire Davidson for a man who had stolen a bolt of cloth, Mr. Jones moved to quash the bill of indictment because the Solicitor had spelt the stolen article cloath instead of cloth. Squire Davidson, always reciprocating Lawyer Jones's inimical feelings, inquired of the lawyer if that were the best he could do for his client. He was told that it was, for his man was guilty, and if the motion to quash was not allowed, he intended to plead guilty for his client and get the Court to have him whipped at the pillory instead of imposing a fine, which his family would suffer from. Imme­diately his client jumped up and said: "Great God, Mr. Jones, I employed you to have a fine put upon me and save me from the whipping post." Where­upon "Colonel" Jones said: "Sit down, you scoun­drel, I know what you deserve and what is good for your family!"           Squire Davidson said to the lawyer: "If that is the best you can do for your client, I make short work of you both. With this court, cloth spells cloth and cloath spells cloth, and the judgment of the Court is that the Sheriff take the defendant and hit him nine and thirty."

On another occasion a Pole was a witness against Colonel Jones's client and delivered some damaging testimony in the case. In his argument to the jury, Lawyer Jones spoke of the witness as "a nigger," whereupon the Pole interfered and insisted that Mr. Jones was hurting his feelings, that he belonged to the noblest race of people in the world and that he prided himself on his olive complexion. The Colonel told him to take his seat, that "he and the jury knew what a nigger was, and that he could see the nigger blood running in his veins."

Mr. Jones was appointed Attorney-General of North Carolina in 1828 and served for about one year. He lived and died in Warrenton.

Oliver Fitts was born in Dinwiddie County, Vir­ginia, in 1771. In his infancy he was brought by his parents to Warren County, where he lived until he moved South. He began the practice of law in Warrenton probably in the last decade of the eigh­teenth century. He was Attorney-General of North Carolina from 1808 to 1810, when he was appointed by President Madison Federal Judge in the territory of Mississippi.

William Miller was a contemporary of Judge Fitts, and succeeded him as Attorney-General. He afterwards became Governor of North Carolina, from 1815 to 1817.

Edward Hall, son of Judge John Hall, commenced the practice about 1815. He was appointed judge of the Superior Court in 1840. He died, never having been married, in 1877, at the Hall home built by his father. 

George E. Badger, a native of New Bern, settled in Warrenton about 1818 and was engaged in the practice of law for a year or more. He lived on the lot on which now stands the handsome home of Walter Boyd. From Warrenton Mr. Badger went to Louis­burg where he lived until 1825, when he removed to Raleigh, where he died in 1866. He was a judge of the Superior Court from 1820 to 1825, Secretary of the Navy from 1841 to 1845, and United States Senator from North Carolina from 1846 to 1852.

William Eaton, Jr., was born in Warren County on Roanoke River in 1808; began to practice law in Warrenton about 1830; was elected Attorney-General in 1856. He died at his home in Warrenton in June, 1881.

William Plummer, son of Kemp Plummer, was born in Warrenton in 1808 or 1809 and commenced the practice of law about 1830. He died in War­renton in 1859.

In connection with Mr. Plummer and Mr. Eaton I recall an amusing story, through Mr. Eaton, con­cerning those two and Mr. Shep Cabaniss, their dear friend and Mr. Plummer's brother-in-law, who had gone out to St. Louis to live and had returned to War­renton on a visit to Mr. Plummer. One evening, while they were reminiscencing, Mr. Cabaniss said: "William, what has become of your old friend Edward Hall?" Mr. Plummer answered: "He has a large plantation on the edge of town; has retired from the practice of the law and is now engaged in farming." "What sort of a farmer does Edward make?" "Steep, please withdraw that question." So indulgent was he to his servants that his brother Weldon, on one of his visits to their old home, remarked, "Brother Ed­ward, you ought to put up a gymnasium." He, in much surprise, replied, "why, what could I want with a gymnasium?" He said: "That your negroes might get proper exercise."

The brothers, John and Thomas Bragg, and brothers of Major, later General, Braxton Bragg of Mexican and Civil war fame, were born in Warren­ton, in the old Bragg home we have written of. They were graduated at the University of North Car­olina, and both practiced law in warren and adjoin­ing counties for several years in the decade 1820-30. Their father built for them a double office across the street, east from the Warrenton Male Academy, after­wards occupied by Mrs. Vines and then by her daugh­ter, Mrs. Rice, and the home of Miss Mary Alice Jones at the time of her death.

The Bragg brothers were lawyers of marked ability and made great success in their profession. In the year 1835 John Bragg removed to Mobile, Alabama, to practice his profession. He was elected judge of the Superior Court of that State and presided as such many years. He afterwards became a member of the House of Representatives of the United States Congress. He was a man of fine physical and moral courage, and was concerned in an affray in his early life in Warrenton, which for many years created so much excitement as to give it unusual interest. Thomas Bragg removed to Northampton County to practice law in the year 1833. He had an extensive practice and made much reputation as a lawyer. He was elected Governor of the State in 1854, and was appointed Attorney-General of the Confederate States in 1863. He died in Raleigh in January, 1872, and was buried in Oakwood Cemetery.

Matt W. Ransom was born in 1826 at Bridle Creek, the home of his father, Robert Ransom, four miles from the county seat. He was graduated from the University of North Carolina, commenced the practice of law when he was twenty-one years old, and was elected Attorney-General in 1848. He married Miss Pattie Exum of Northampton, and moved to that county to live. During the Confed­erate War he was a Brigadier General. He was elected to the United States Senate in 1872, and served until 1896; he was then appointed by Presi­dent Cleveland, Minister to Mexico. He died at his home in Northampton in 1898.

Joseph B. Batchelor was born in Halifax County in 1826. He was graduated from the University of North Carolina and practiced law in his native county several years. He married Miss Mary Cary Plummer, daughter of William Plummer, and moved to Warrenton in 1856, where he continued his prac­tice. He was elected Attorney-General in 1855, moved to Raleigh in 1866, and practiced his pro­fession until his death in 1902.

Nathaniel McLean, a practicing lawyer, removed to Warrenton from Cumberland County in 1854 or '55 and was there until the Warren Guards, of which he was a member, left the town on April 22, 1861. He. was with his company (A, 12th North Carolina Regiment) in camp near Norfolk where he studied chemistry. Within a short while he was discharged and detailed for work in the Department of Chemistry for the Government in Richmond. He did not re­turn to Warrenton after the war.

William A. Jenkins, son of Thomas Jenkins, was born in Warrenton in 1828. He was graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1848. He practiced law after the year 1850 in Warrenton until his death, which occurred while he was attending Halifax Court, on November 9, 1869. He was elected Attorney-General in 1856. He was Lieuten­ant-Colonel of the 46th North Carolina Regiment until 1862, when he resigned.

William H. Cheek, son of Elbert A. Cheek, was born about twelve miles from Warrenton in 1835. He was graduated from Randolph-Macon College in 1856. He commenced the practice of law in War­renton, and the next year he entered the Confederate service and became Colonel of the most famous Con­federate Cavalry Regiment, the First North Caro­lina. After the war he did not return to the bar, but engaged in business in Baltimore and Norfolk, and then returned to his plantation on Shocco Creek in Warren County. He removed to Henderson in 1884 and died there in 1901.

Thomas J. Foote, son of Henry A. Foote, was born six miles from Warrenton in 1836. He was graduated from Wake Forest College, and com­menced the practice of law in Warrenton about 1857. He and Colonel Cheek formed a partnership under the firm name of Cheek & Foote. He was killed at Cold Harbor on June 27, 1862, serving as Adjutant of the 12th North Carolina Regiment.

Edward H. Plummer, the son of William Plum­mer, was born in Warrenton about 1836. He was graduated from the University of North Carolina and commenced the practice of law in Warrenton in 1860. Two years later he went to Saint Joseph, Missouri. He entered the Confederate service, 12th Regiment, and was dangerously wounded at Malvern Hill on July 1, 1862. After the war he resumed the practice of law in Warrenton and was so en­gaged until he moved to Petersburg in 1874, where he engaged in business. From Petersburg he went to Johnson City, Tennessee, where he was interested in the milling business. He died in that city.

Charles W. Spruill, son of George E. Spruill, was born eight miles from Warrenton in 1838. He was graduated from the University of North Carolina and received his law license but never engaged in practice. He was in the Confederate Army Signal Corps. He died in Warrenton in December, 1873.

Walter A. Montgomery, son of Thomas A. Mont­gomery, was born in Warrenton, on February 17, 1845. He entered the Confederate service, 12th North Carolina Regiment, at the age of 16 years, and served throughout down to Appomattox. He was admitted to the bar in January, 1867, and prac­ticed law in Warrenton until 1873, when he went to Memphis and resided there three years. He was a partner of William Eaton from 1870 to 1873. He returned to Warrenton and continued the practice of law until 1893, when he removed to -Raleigh. He was elected justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina and served from 1895 to 1905.

Henry A. Foote, brother of Thomas J. Foote, was born in 1845. He was educated at Wake Forest and licensed to practice law in 1872. He was in the Confederate service and died in Warrenton.

W. K. Barham was born in Nansemond County, Virginia, in , came to North Carolina, set­tled in Louisburg and practiced law there until 1867, when he came to Warrenton and formed a partner­ship with William Eaton. He died in Warrenton in 1874 at the old Reynolds place, now the Baptist parsonage.

Charles Alston Cook was born in Warren County in 1848. He was the son of the Rev. Charles M. Cook. He was at Chapel Hill for two years, and graduated at Princeton in the class of 1871. He commenced the practice of law in 1872. In 1900 he was appointed justice of the Supreme Court and served two years. Within two years' time after leaving the Bench he moved to Oklahoma to live and practice his profession. He died in Muskogee.

Peter M. Wilson, son of Dr. Thomas E. Wilson, was born in Warrenton in 1848. He was at the University of North Carolina for two years, and then went to Edinburgh, Scotland, where he graduated two years later. He practiced law in Warrenton as a partner with William Eaton from 1873 to 1876, when he went to Raleigh to live. In Raleigh he was engaged in newspaper work until 1893, when he re­moved to Washington, D. C., since which time he has held a responsible place in the office of the Secretary of the United States Senate.

Marmaduke J. Hawkins, son of Dr. W. J. Haw­kins, was born near Ridgeway and educated at the Universities of North Carolina and Virginia. He commenced the practice of the law in 1874, residing in Ridgeway. He was at one time associated in the practice with the late Governor T.  W. Bickett.  At several different times he represented the county in the General Assembly. He died at his home in War­ren County in November, 1920.

B. F. Long, a well known Methodist minister, was licensed to practice law in 1868, and practiced for several years. He afterwards went into the fire in­surance business. He died in Warrenton in 1889, after a lingering illness.

William H. Polk, son of William H. Polk, of Tennessee, was born in Columbia, Tennessee, in 1855. Upon the death of his father in 1862, his mother, born Miss Lucy Williams, brought him and his brother, Tasker, to Warrenton, her old home. He practiced his profession in Warrenton during the years 1882-1886. He then went to Birmingham, Alabama, where he died a short time thereafter.

Tasker Polk, the brother of William, was born in Columbia, Tennessee, in 1860. He was licensed to practice law in 1880 and is still engaged in the ex­tensive practice of his profession at Warrenton. He was a member of the Senate of North Carolina in 1915.

Edward P. Green, son of Dr. Simon T. Green, was born near Macon, Warren County. He was grad­uated from the University of Virginia in 1881, and begun to practice law in Warrenton in 1883. After a few years he entered the Episcopal ministry; later he joined the Methodist ministry, and died in that service in Rowan County.

Thomas W. Hawkins, son of Peter B. Hawkins, was born in Granville County in 1857. He went to Littleton to practice law early in the eighties, but divided his time between Littleton and Warrenton. In 1890 he removed, with his family, to Charlotte, where he practiced his profession for a few years, and was then elected Mayor of that city. He was highly thought of there, and very successful finan­cially. He died there recently.

Malvern Hill Palmer was born in Warren County on February 17, 1865. His father, Horace Palmer, Jr., was wounded and disabled at the battle of Mal­vern Hill on July 1, 1862, and named his son for the battlefield. He was graduated from the Univer­sity of North Carolina and practiced his profession from 1892 to 1895, when he died suddenly in Ashe­ville, while serving as State Bank Examiner. When W. A. Montgomery left Warrenton in 1893 he formed a partnership with Mr. Palmer for Warren and ad­joining counties.

Rufus H. Hawkins, brother of Thomas Hawkins, commenced the practice of law in Warrenton in 1887, and continued to practice there until his death in 1918.

John Kerr, the son of Judge John Kerr, was born in Caswell County, North Carolina, and removed to Warren County in 1895. He was graduated from the University of North Carolina and practiced law in Warrenton until he was elected to the Superior Court, in the Third District, serving until his elec­tion as Congressman in 1923.

Henry Milam, Jr., was born in the county, near Roanoke River, the son of Henry Milam. After practicing law in the county in 1886 and 1887, he went to Texas to live, where he is still engaged in the practice of his profession.

Thomas O. Rodwell, son of William Brown Rod­well, was horn in Warren County, and is now engaged in the practice of law in the town. He was a member of the Senate of North Carolina in 1907-1909-1911, was appointed Judge of Recorder's Court in 1915, and reelected each time since.

B. B. Williams, son of Dr. Barker Williams, of Ridgeway, commenced the practice of law in Warrenton in 1906, and is still practicing his profession with success in the old town.

PRACTITIONERS OF MEDICINE

The very earliest physicians in the old town seem to have been Dr. Gloucester, Dr. James Gloucester Brebon, Dr. Philip C. Pope and Dr. Stephen Davis. The first three came from Virginia in the latter part of the eighteenth century, and settled in Warrenton. Dr. Davis was a native of the county. Dr. Brehon was a son of James Somerville, changing his name as already narrated, and was considered a practitioner of note. We are surprised to learn that one of the profession in that early day should have compounded a drug that we now call "patent medicine." Dr. Brehon's was called "Audi-ando-ignatius-opticum­nostrum," "four dollars a drop, cure anything." Much of the practice was done in the county; the doctors were compelled to take long laborious rides in a gig or on horse-back, and over the worst of roads in the winter.

In the early forties Dr. William T. Howard from Richmond, and the Wilson brothers, Thomas and Ben, from Greensville County, Virginia, came to Warrenton to practice medicine. Dr. Pope left for the gold fields of California in 1849. Perhaps about the same time Dr. Henry I. Macon, from the county, and a near kinsman of Nat Macon, settled there for practice. He and his large family lived in the house occupied by the family of James Ransom, the old home of the Lees. Dr. Macon was a most intelligent man, he continued to live in Warrenton, until the war, when he returned to his farm. He had several sons in the service; I think two lost their lives. In the same decade Dr. Robert Pritchard, originally from Virginia, who had married a lady from the county and resided on her farm, came to town to practice medicine.

Only a few years before the War Between the States Dr. G. A. Foote, a son of Henry Foote, of the county, located in the town to practice his profession. On the outbreak of the war he enlisted as a surgeon it the service of the Confederacy, and did efficient work. On his return, when peace came, he resumed his practice, and spent the remainder of his life in the community, doing a large and laborious practice.

Dr. Benjamin A. Cheek, after service as a surgeon in the Confederate service, came to Warrenton to practice in 1867 and '68, and at the end of that time he and his wife went to Marion, North Carolina, to live. He was a most amiable gentleman, the son of John Cheek of the county.

In 1870 Dr. Joseph H. Cook returned to his native town to practice his profession, having lived in Alaton to practice medicine. Dr. Pope left for the gold fields of California in 1849. Perhaps about the same time Dr. Henry I. Macon, from the county, and a near kinsman of Nat Macon, settled there for practice. He and his large family lived in the house occupied by the family of James Ransom, the old home of the lees. Dr. Macon was a most intelligent man, he continued to live in Warrenton, until the war, when he returned to his farm. He had several sons in the service; I think two lost their lives. In the same decade Dr. Robert Pritchard, originally from Virginia, who had married a lady from the county and resided on her farm, came to town to practice medicine.

Only a few years before the War Between the States Dr. G. A. Foote, a son of Henry Foote, of the county, located in the town to practice his profession. On the outbreak of the war he enlisted as a surgeon it the service of the Confederacy, and did efficient work. On his return, when peace came, he resumed his practice, and spent the remainder of his life in the community, doing a large and laborious practice.

Dr. Benjamin A. Cheek, after service as a surgeon in the Confederate service, came to Warrenton to practice in 1867 and '68, and at the end of that time he and his wife went to Marion, North Carolina, to live. He was a most amiable gentleman, the son of John Cheek of the county.

In 1870 Dr. Joseph H. Cook returned to his native town to practice his profession, having lived in Alabama for some years. The first years of his life in Warrenton he resided at the old Cook place with his mother, his father having died two years earlier. When Durham began to be the thriving town that it has since developed into, Dr. Cook went there to live.

In 1868 Dr. Joel G. King moved from Louisburg to Warrenton to practice medicine, and continued his residence there for many years, until his death. He had a very large practice in the town and county. A little later Dr. Willis Alston came from his native county, Halifax, to practice his profession. He only remained a couple of years, going to Washington City to live.

After completing his course of medicine at the Baltimore school, Dr. P. J. Macon, grandson of Dr. Henry I. Macon, located in the old town to practice. He has continued his labors more than thirty years, until failing health caused him to retire, and his place in the community is now being filled by his son, Dr. G. H. Macon.

Dr. R. S. F. Peete, from Warren County, was a surgeon of note in the Confederate service, but did not practice his profession after moving to the town to live in 1875. His son, Charles Henry Peete, after completing his course of medicine in Philadelphia, has settled in his home town, where he enjoys the confidence and good will of the citizens of the town and county, and does a large practice.

Dr. Arthur S. Pendleton settled in his native place in 1896 to practice his profession. After a short while his failure in health caused him to go for some months to Arizona for the beneficial climate. On his return from the West he settled in Roanoke Rapids to practice. In a short while a promising opening occurred in Henderson, North Carolina, which he availed himself of. He remained there until he was called to the State Hospital, in Raleigh, as a specialist in brain and nervous diseases, where he remained until he volunteered his services to his country in the World War. He was much of the time in France, where he became conspicuous gas a surgeon. In recognition of the service he rendered, the United States Army Medical Department ap­pointed him to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, and assigned him to Camp Benning, Georgia, for duty, where he is now serving.

Dr. William Rogers, of the town, his grandfather having been a useful citizen in the community more than seventy years ago, has settled in Warrenton, since his completion of his medical course, as a prac­titioner. He already has a good and growing prac­tice. He has the quiet, enviable manner of the family doctor.

There were two physicians of the county that were often called in by the local doctors, for consultation, who were so well known, and so highly thought of, that their names deserve to he enrolled with those I have mentioned: Dr. Robert Edgar Williams, of the Fork section of the county, and Dr. T. P. Jerman, of Ridgeway. As evidence of the high esti­mate placed by the county people on the skill of Dr. Jerman, a friend composed the following couplet

If a man gets well it is Jerman's skill, But if he dies it's the Lord's will.

Many can recall that before the war, and for some years after, the medical men in their practice car­ried their saddle bags, filled with ordinary drugs, which they compounded as the need might be. Not many practitioners of medicine were men of means, most were poor, and until they made a name for themselves the struggle was hard. The life of a doctor in a small town and country involved great hardship, all self-sacrifice. As illustrative of the small beginning of the average young doctor, it was told of a young "country doctor" that, when the marriage ceremony was being performed, and he was endowing his young bride "with all my worldly goods," her mischievous young sister said in an audible whisper, "There goes the saddle bags and the little white nag."

DENTISTRY IN EARLY WARRENTON

As old people remember, it was rare that small towns, as Warrenton was then, could boast of a resi­dent dentist, as very few persons were careful to keep their teeth in the best condition. Those that were, waited until they visited a large city, where they could obtain the service of a graduate dentist. If a tooth was to be drawn, it was done by the fam­ily physician, and we now know it was done in a very primitive and barbarous manner.

The first dentists of the town, that I know of, must have been Drs. Skelton and Tatum. I have mentioned that Dr. Skelton did not remain in the town very long, but sold his residence to Mrs. Good­rum, who presented it to Dr. Howard. Dr. Tatum had married one of our most admirable town ladies, a daughter of William Plummer, and continued to practice his profession in the town for many years, several years after the War Between the States. The incident that I shall relate, in which Dr. Tatum played an important part must have occurred not long after he came to Warrenton to live. It is very illustrative of the uncurbed violence of our civiliza­tion at that period (1855-56).

There was a gathering of the social life of the town on a picnic occasion, at Turner's mill-pond about three miles off, which was largely attended, and resulted in a social upheaval which for some years destroyed the peace of the citizens.

Dr. "Jim" Alston, a practicing physician of the county, unmarried, was driven to the scene in his buggy by his manservant, Cameron, and on alighting he told him to remain where he left him until his return. Immediately after, Dr. Frank Tatum, a dentist who practiced in the town, drove up in com­pany with a young lady of Warrenton, whom he was courting. He ordered Cameron to drive out of his way. The servant refused, replying that he had instructions from his master to remain where he was, whereupon he was slashed several times with a buggy whip in the hands of Dr. Tatum.

Alston, being informed of what had occurred, rushed up in a passion and attacked Tatum. The friends of each party took up the difficulty and for weeks nothing was spoken of in the town but the Tatum-Alston affray. But in a short time the Tatum-Alston affair was lost sight of in the intro­duction of a collateral matter growing out of it which most seriously divided the people of the town in factions.

Shortly before this time Dr. Gregory and his family had come from Richmond to reside in War­renton. Mrs. Gregory was of distinguished family in Virginia (a Miss Taylor). Dr. Gregory became the violent champion of Dr. Alston. On the occa­sion of a visit made by Mrs. Daniel Turner, born Miss Anna Barton Key, (whose husband, Daniel Turner, was a friend of the Tatum connection) to Mrs. Gregory, the ladies in the course of the con­versation mentioned the recent all-absorbing topic, when Mrs. Turner made some disparaging remark about Dr. Alston and in approval of Dr. Tatum. In the same conversation Mrs. Turner declared that the best element of the people in town were in sym­pathy with Tatum, and that it was unfortunate that Dr. Gregory, a comparative stranger, should have aligned himself with Alston and his friends, especially as Dr. William T. Howard of Warrenton, originally from Richmond, Virginia, had said many disparaging things of Dr. Gregory's social position in Richmond, which had caused his removal from that city to Warrenton. Dr. Gregory at once sought to hold Dr. Howard responsible for his words, and sent a challenge to fight a duel, which Howard de­clined to accept on the grounds that Gregory had forfeited his claims to be a gentleman by his ill con­duct- in Richmond. Dr. Taylor, a brother of Mrs. Gregory, then living in Richmond, being informed of conditions, made a visit to Warrenton. On ar­riving there he sent a challenge to Dr. Howard in the place of Dr. Gregory. Dr. Howard declined to fight, out and out, whereupon Dr. Taylor had printed at the office of the Warrenton News large posters in which he denounced Howard as a slanderer and a coward. With a negro and a bucket of paste, and himself armed with a pistol, he was sticking up the posters on the trees and posts of the town, when the Mayor interfered, had the constable remove the pos­ters, and forbade Dr. Taylor to proceed further. Dr. Howard's course, while it had no injurious ef­fect on him as a practitioner of medicine, yet so affected his character as to manhood and courage that his friends and patrons were deeply mortified. The excitement over it was very great and the people for many years were arrayed in hostile groups over the matter. Mr. Turner at the time was President of the Warrenton Female College and a gentleman of character. Being of an amiable disposition, he chafed under conditions and in a year or two, re­ceiving a naval appointment from the United States Government, removed to Mare Island to enter upon his duties. His wife and family followed him after a couple of years.

To go back to Dr. Gregory, it is of interest that this far reaching, unhappy episode also caused him and his family to give up their residence in Warren­ton and move-elsewhere to live.

Only a few years before the war Dr. R. D. Flem­ing, a native of Warren County, and just graduated from the Dental College in Baltimore, settled to practice in Warrenton. He had an unusual me­chanical gift, and as it was recognized very quickly that he was a very skillful practitioner, he soon had a very large and remunerative practice. He had well furnished and equipped rooms, -over Mr. Parker's store. He served in the Confederate ser­vice several years. On his furloughs home his pa­tients were eager to obtain his services. He then used the parlor of his sister's home, Mrs. Albert Egerton. In 1872 he removed, with his family, to Hopkinsville, Kentucky, to continue his practice, remaining there only a few years when he returned to his native State, settling in Raleigh, where he made a State-wide reputation for his skill in his profession. After a few years there he returned to Warren County, as the health of his father-in-law, Mr. Watson, had so declined as to require his ser­vices to manage the large estate. The death of Mr. Watson soon after left a very large property to Mrs. Fleming which required Dr. Fleming's time and constant management.

It was in 1868 or '69 that Dr. Vines Turner came from Henderson, North Carolina, to Warren­ton to practice dentistry. He lived in the town only a few years when he removed to Raleigh to live.

Dr. Robert E. King came to the town from Louis­burg in 1874 to practice, and made it his home for many years, then moving to Portsmouth, Virginia, to live. While in Warrenton Dr. King was also connected with a drug business.

Dr. John E. Dugger, son of Captain Dugger, com­pleted his dental training in Baltimore in 1890, and settled in his native town to practice. He was a young man of unusual mechanical skill, and had he lived would have made a fine reputation as a dentist. He died in a very few years, unmarried.

Dr. Walters, son of a well known professor of Wake Forest College, settled in Warrenton in to practice and is still a successful practitioner.

Dr. Taylor, from Virginia, has practiced den­tistry in Warrenton, very successfully for the past twenty years.

THE DRUG STORES OF WARRENTON

It was during the forties that a Mr. Perkinson kept a drug store in what was afterwards the "White Block." When that was improved he occupied a part of the first floor of the Thespian Hall. Later, just before the war, that store was occupied by Jack Nicholson as a drug store. Very soon after the war Dr. C. A. Thomas opened a very large and com­plete drug store, just a door south of the Bellamy Ho­tel, while Dr. Tom Bellamy used one of the front rooms of the hotel, opening on the long front porch, for a drug store. That period was a golden harvest for quacks; and numberless drugs, with curious names, and amusing and striking combination of letters, marked the bottles. Often these were sold from the top of a bog placed at the corner of the Court Square, or from the back of a wagon, in which the quack traveled with his wares.

Later Mr. Frank P. Hunter of the county, and his brother-in-law, Dr. Robert E. King, from Louis­burg, kept a very large drug store.

Montgomery, Lizzie Wilson; Sketches of old Warrenton, North Carolina; traditions and reminiscences of the town and people who made it, Raleigh, Edwards & Broughton printing company, 1924.

©2004 by Nola Duffy & Ginger L. Christmas-Beattie. 

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