PAGE SIX
Remarkable Career •
of Judge Wm. M. Shipp
Represented Rutherford County in Legislature in 1856—Af
te.vards Held High Offices in State-
Member of Noted Family.
Miss Kate Shipp.
William Marcus Shipp was nam
ed for the two best friends of his)
father, Bartlett Shipp. These gentle- 1
men were William Julius Alexander, j
of Charlotte, and Marcus Erwin, of
Morganton, both lawyers of great
distinction.
Bartlett Shipp, a native of Surry
county, was a soldier of the War of
1812. He went to Charlotte to study
law under his compatriot, the Hon. |
Joseph Wilson, the great lawyer and
noted solicitor, who came from
Stokes county to Charlotte aoon af
ter the War of 1812. Mr. Wilson
was one of the leading men of his
day, and many stories are told of his
ability and courage in the prosecu
tion of his duties. Mr. Wilson lived
in what is known to later generations
as the Yates house standing until
recently on the corner of South
Tryon and Morehead streets in Char
lotte. Bartlett Shipp became
a member of the Wilson house
hold as tutor to the children, all
daughters, who grew up to be wo
men of great beauty, high character,
and superior intelligence. They
were Catherine, wife of William Ju
lius Alexander; Roxana, wife of a
beloved physician of Charlotte, Dr.
Pinckney Caldwell; and Laura, who
married first, Marshall Polk, broth-1
er of President James K. Polk; and)
second, Dr. Tate, of Morganton. Mr. i
Shipp was a devoted admirer of Mr. |
Wilson and staunch friend of all his'
family. After securing his law li
cense, Mr. Shipp began practice in
the courts of the district, going from
place to place with Mr. Wilson and
other lawyers, traveling on horse
back, hundreds of miles. In 1818 he
was married to Susan, daughter of
Gen. Peter Forney, of Lincoln county
a soldier of the Revolution, and one
of the leaders in the manufacture of
iron in Lincoln county. General
!
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i Forney had a famil of twelve child-
Jren, and most of them established
themselves on lands near his holdings
i Daniel Forney, the oldest son, built
what was then, and still may be, the
|
/handsomest home in Lincoln county.
It is now the property of Mr. Per
cival Hall. One of Gen. Forney's
daughters married Henry Y. Webb,
of Granville county. Mrs. Webb's
father gave them a plantation, af
terwards bought by Bartlett Shipp;
who in turn gave it as a home to his
daughter, Mrs. W. P. Bynum.
Henry Y. Webb came to Lincoln
about the time the Burton brothers,
from the same county, decided to
settle there. The three were class
mates or at least, college mates of
Daniel Forney, at the University of
North Carolina. The Robert
and Alfred, were both lawyers of
note, and married Lincoln county.
ladies also; daughters of John Fulen-j
wider, pioneer in the iron industry. 1
Webb was appointed U. S. District
Judge for Alabama and moved there
about the time of the exodus of so ;
many Rutherford and Lincoln coun- :
ty people to Alabama in 1834-35.
Seven of Peter Forney's children (
joined the company of emigrants.
Many eminent citizens of Alabama
jare descendants of Forney forbearers
■ Among the sons and daughters of the
'Forney blood who remained on lands
|in North Carolina given them by
their father, were Monroe Forne/,
Mrs. Bartlett. Shipp, Mrs. William
Johnson (mother of General R. D., i
Governor Joseph, Dr. William and
others); and Mrs. C. L. Hunter, wife
of Dr. Hunter, historian and scien
tist. Bartlett Shipp and his wife re
mained at the home of Gen. Forney
for a year or so, and it was there, 1
at Mount Welcome, that their oldest
child and only son was born. Short
ly thereafter, they moved to a prop
erty about a mile from Mount Wel
come, where they spent nearly all
the years of their married life. A few
months before the death of Mr.
Shipp, in 1869, Judge Shipp moved
| his aged parents and his own young
[children to the town of Lincolntor.
Bartlett Shipp was born in 1786,
and therefore died at the age of 1
eighty-three; his father Thomas
Shipp, lived to be ninety-six; but
both were outdone in longevity by 1
the mother of Thomas, Mrs. Nancy '
Shipp, who died, as learned from thti '
I ■
THE FOREST CITY COURIER, FOREST CITY, N. C.
family Bible, in 1828, aged one hun-|i
dred and four years. This remarkable j
old lady was born in 1724, three |
years before the accession of \
George II to the English throne. She
lived in the reigns of all four of the
Georges. In America she survived the
French and Indian War, the Revo
lution and the War of 1812, and
had connections or descendants inj
all of them. We leain from the will |
of her father, John Cox, of Lunen-j
burg county, Va., that she was the
wife of Josiah Shipp, of Surry Coun
ty, N. C. Her son, Thomas Shipp, was
a soldier of the Revolution, and her
daughter, Nancy, married Col. John
Martin, leader of the patriot forces
in the surrounding country. Col. j
John Martin and Nancy Shipp Martin
were the parents of Mary Martin,
who married Hampton Bynum.
In the War of 1812, Mrs. Nancy
Cox Shipp saw, going off to join their
commands, grandsons in the persons
of Bartlett and William Shipp, anJ
Samuel and Joseph Martin, and
Hampton Bynum, who married he'.'
granddaughter, Mary Martin. If the
old lady had lived twenty years
longer, she would have seen her
great granddaughter, Eliza Shipn.
the wife of her great grandson, Judge
William Preston Bynum.
William Marcus Shipp.
i William Marcus Shipp, the subject
of this sketch was born November 9,
1819, and grew up on the planta
tion of his parents having with him
as companions the nephews of his
father, William T. and Albert. Shipp,
sons of John Shipp, who died when
'Albert was an infant. Their moth
er was Elizabeth Oglesby, a woman
of very strong character and reli
gious zeal. It was from her that her
sons received their religious training
which resulted in Albert's becoming
one of the foremost men in the
Methodist church. The three boys
were educated in % the neighborhood
schools, and excellent teachers must
have presided over these schools, for
the young men of that community
were so well prepared for entrance
to the University. One of the teach
' ers was Rev. Patrick Sparrow, a
Presbyterian divine. William and Al
bert Shipp, just the same age, en
tered the University of North Caro
lina together, and graduated in the
class of 1840, tying for first honors.
Albert made the valedictory address
and William delivered the Latin sa
lutatory.
Dr. Albert Shipp remained at
Chapel Hill as tutoi and professor
foi several years, and then entered
the ministry of the Methodist church,
and became president of (Wofford
College, Spartanburg, S. C., and later
dean of the Theological department
of Vanderbilt University.
William Marcus Shipp studied law
in Morganton, and was admitted to
the bar in 1842. Rutherfordton was
then the leading town of Western
North Carolina and many men who
afterwards became leaders in their
professions first hung out their
shingles in that town. Among these
i were the lawyer brothers f General
'John Gray Bynum and Willie P.
Bynum, also Dr. Caloway, who mar
; ried Miss Annie Johnston. All of
I these were connections of Mr. Shipo.
Within a few years of the tim»
that Mr. Shipp began to practice law
iin Rutherfordton, a college friend
lof his, the Rev. Jarvis Buxton, of
| Fayetteville, came to the little j
I mountain town, as rector of the j
. Episcopal church. Mr. Shipp was a
: member of his congregation, as were
all of his relatives who settled in
Rutherfordton. Mr. Buxton had mar
ried Miss Cameron, daughter of Judge
John A. Cameron, of the United
States Court of Florida. Mrs. Buxton's
sister, Miss Catherine Cameron came
to visit her, and the result of the
r visit was the marriage of Mr. Shipp
and Miss Cameron, at Fayetteville,
in 1851. They bought a home in
Rutherfordton, and made delightful
friends there. While residing there
he was elected as a member of the
General Assembly from Rutherford
county. However, a greater oppor
tunity seemed to offer in Hender
sonville, from- the fact that the lead
ing lawyer of that place, Judge John
Baxter, had moved to Tennessee. The
Shipps bought his home, and settled
in Hendersonville about 1857. When
the War Between the States came
on, Mr. Shipp recruited the first
company to volunteer from Hender
son county. He was captain of this
company, which later became Com
pany I, 16th Regiment. While serv
ing in the Army of Northern Vir
ginia, Captain Shipp was notified of
his election by the state legislature, ,
as Judge of the district of which his
old home county, Lincoln, formed a ]
part. The Judges of the Superior ,
court were, until 1868, elected by \
the state legislature, and for life. \
Judge Shipp returned to Henderson, j
sold his home for Confederate mon
| ev, and moved his family to the dis
trict for which he was elected. The 1
:town of Lincolnton was so full of *
refugees that he could not get a 1
house, so he lived, during the winter 1
of 1863-64, in Gaston county, fin- '
ally establishing his family in Lin- ]
colnton not long before the close ]
iof the war. He continued to "ride
I the circuit," until the amendment to
jthe Constitution, in 1868, made the
i judges elective by popular vote, and
for a term of years. Judge Shipp had
been a staunch Whig, and with the
new adjustment of the Reconstruc
tion period, he allied himself with
the Democratic party- When the
next election came off, he was de
|feated by the Republican candidate,
Judge George Logan, of Rutherford- j
ton.
In 1867 Mrs. W. M. Shipp died
in Lincolnton, and Judge Shipp
broke up his home there, and took
his children to the home of his par
ents in the eastern part of the
county.
Judge Shipp established himself
in Charlotte for the practice of law,
and kept his office there until elect
ed, by the first Democratic victory
after the War, to the office of At
torney-General of North Carolina.
After the next election, when there
was a Republican victory, Judge
Shipp returned to Charlotte, and a
gain opened his law office, with Mr.
W. H. Bailey as a partner. In 1872
he married Miss Margaret Iredell,
daughter of Governor James Iredell.
They resided in Charlotte, at the
corner of North Tryon and 11th
Street. In 1881 Judge Shipp was ap
pointed by Governor Jarvis to fill
out the unexpired term of office of
Judge of the ninth district, made
vacant by the resignation of Judge
Schenck. Elected by the people at
subsequent general elections, Judge
Shipp held this office until his death
which occurred June 28, 1890.
He was buried in Elmwood ceme- j
tery, in Charlotte.
William M. Shipp filled the high
offices to which he was elected or
appointed with honor to himself and
his country. He was a man of super
ior intellectual endowments, with a
fine appearance and commanding
presence. He had all the attributes of
a judge—calm, unbiased in his opin
ions, charitable in his judgments,
unwavering in his stand for the
right, courageous to the highest de
gree. On more than on occasion his
life was threatened by disgruntled
persons, and once desperadoes de
clared that he should not enter the
court house of one of the more dis
tant mountain counties. He was urg
ed to arm himself, but replied that
a civil officer must never go arm
ed, and ordered the sheriff to con
vene the court. As the judge walked
towards the court house, a mountain
eer of great strength and heroic
proportions crnstituted himself an
advanced guard and, walking in front
of the judge, loudly ordered every
one out of the way, under promise
of dire punishment if his orders were
not obeyed. The court went on un
interrupted. The late James C. Mac-
Rae told the following story: "while
holding court in one of the more
remote parts of hte state, news was
received that a jail delivery was
threatened. To prevent the gather
ing of any mob, Judge Shipp order
jed the sheriff to swear in enough
j deputies to disperse any gathering
of men. The orders were not to al
low more than two men to be seen
conversing together. In a small town
of a sparsely settled community,
these orders were not so difficult to
carry out, and no mob violence was
possible. By his common sense the
judge saved the county's name as
one of the law-abiding districts of
the state.
Judge Shipp was a constant stu
dent of the law, and a great reader
of all kinds of good literature. He
was a most constant and studious
reader of the Bible, and a firm be
liever of its inspired teachings. He
especially admired and adhered to
the King James version, and the law
yers laughingly said he would not
even allow a witness to be sworn
[on, any other translation. He was a
member of the Episcopal church fron;
his early manhood, and an active
participant in the activities of that
church in whatever community he
lived. In each town where he made
his home, he held the office of ves
tryman. At the time of his death he
was a member of the vestry of St.
Peter's church, in Charlotte, and his
funeral was the last held in the old
church.
Judge Shipp was noted for his
keenness of wit, and his readiness at
repartee. These gifts he inherited
from his father, who had, in addition U
what his son did not possess: a bit- j.
ing sarcasm. No hurt was ever in his 1
mind or speech. His calmness of dis
position, his cool judgment, his
breadth of sympathy came from his
mother, Susan Forney Shipp, a wo
ma of rare qualities of mind and
character, always quiet, dignified,
reserved, fair and just in her deal
ings with everyone.
Children of Judge Shipp.
The children of Judge Shipp and
his first wife, Catherine Cameron
Shipp, were two sons and two daugh
ters.
The oldest child was Anna Camer
on Shipp, who married Dr. Summer
Mcßee, of Lincolnton. She was left
a widow while still a young woman, j
and thereafter lived chiefly with her
sister, Miss Kate C. Shipp. The two
taught in several private schools,
chiefly at St. Marys, Raleigh, where
both had been students. After a
number of years in private schools,
the sisters determined to launch an
enterprise of their own. Preparatory
to this work, Miss Shipp entered the
Teachers' College of Cambridge Uni
versity, England, and secured a di
ploma there, which entitles her to
membership in the Association of A
merican University of Women. In
her travels in Scotland Miss Shipp
visited the ancestral home of the
Camerons. She took the name of one
of these homes as that of her schoo l .
It is Fassifern, a possession of the
chief of the Cameron Clan, Lochiel.
During a visit to North Carolina a
few years ago, Lochiel paid a visit
to Fassifern, in Hendersonville, and
made a very interesting talk to the
students about the original Fassi
fern in Scotland. Fassifern was op
ened in Lincolnton in 1907. In 1911
it was moved to Hendersonville,
where the opportunities for such a
school seemed greater. The school
flourished from the start, but in 1923
Mrs. Mcßee succumbed to ill health
and died in Florida. Soon afterwards
Miss Shipp sold the school to Rev.
Joseph Sevier, of Tennessee, who
now operates it. Miss Shipp was prin
cipal of Fassifern from 1907 to 1825.
The oldest son of Judge W. M.
Shipp was William Ewen Shipp, Ist
Lieutenant, U. S. A. who was killed
while leading a charge on San Juan
Hill, in the Spanish-American war.
1 AT. LAST! j
|5 The great multitude of people who I
j§ suffer from that most dreaded and most |
ig dangerous of all diseases, namely Pyor- |
| rhea of the gums, you now have cause to jS
| rejoice, for the Magic Medicine Co. of |
S Forest City, N. C., is manufacturing and |
S selling a medicine that has been success- 5
1 ful in effecting a cure of pyorrhea. icjl
S We positively guarantee satisfaction with each 3
§ bottle or your money will be refunded without a ques- g
.gj tion. Pyorrhea Kill penetrates to the roots of the 5
g teeth, destroying the pus bag that is formed on the g
3 root of each tooth. It cures sore, itching and bleeding 5
S gums. It rids you of that disagreeable taste in the g
g mouth and that bad breath that is so offensive to
fi others. Pyorrhea is a disease that poisons the system S
h and causes other diseases, such as stomach troubio, §
g kidney trouble, rheumatism-and neuralgia. Pyorrhea S
S works at the root of the teeth for several years, then jS
jS it will begin eating the gums away from the teeth and 2
;g they will become loose. Physicians say that about g
!g 90 percent of the people, including children, have §
■g pyorrhea. This is due to the fact that it is very con
q tagious. Owing to the fact that it causes compara- H;
g tively no pain, people very often neglect it, allowing jgj
Q it to poison their system, and also allowing their chil- g;
C dren and friends to contract it from them. Years ago Jj3j
2 pyorrhea, or scurvey, as it was then called, was only 3
C noticeable among very old people. It has spread un- g
E til today about 90 percent of the people have it. It is g
I high time that we take steps to cure and stop the S
spreading of this terrible disease. S
Pyorrhea Kill is a highly scientific antiseptic, used g
as a mouth wash and treatment of pyorrhea. It sell- 3
for 50c a bottle with a money back guarantee. It can Ej
be obtained at our laboratory, which is located at the 5
rear of Padgett's Barber Shop. The entrance is through 5
the barber shop. If you order by mail, order two bot- S
ties or more, as we do not ship less than two bottler, g
If you bring or send this advertisement it will en- &
title you to a 50c bottle of Magic Pain Kill for only jjj
25c. Magic Pain Kill is a linimint that stops all kind
of aches and pains in a very few minutes and is ex- £
cellent for treating colds and sore throat.
Sold By |
Magic Medicine Co. |
Fred H. Burwell, General Manager.
Forest City, N. C. %
AGENTS WANTED g
Thursday, November 20. 1 03||
A monument to his memory
on the Government pronertv •
of the old U. S. Mint i n
This token of respect and
of the people of Charlotte and
ity was unveiled by Lieut
two little sons, on May 2Oth
One of these sons, Major \y lr
Shipp, a graduate of West Pr
like his father, is now in the v .I**'
of the Government as assistant
tary attache, in Rome, Italy
younger son, Capt. Fabius B u
Shipp, was killed in an acciden*
Fort Huachuca, Arizona, i n jvv
Both were officers in the serviced
their country throughout the W-,'i!
War. Their mother was Miss Mv
et Busbee, of Raleigh, N. C.
Inow in Rome with Major W p
Shipp.
Miss Mai/y Shipp, daughter f
Judge W. M. Shipp and his . e
ond wife, Miss Iredell, is living \
Raleigh, and is employed in the U
S. Revenue Department there.
Judge Shipp's youngest son Was
Bartlett Shipp, a lawyer of g rea |
ability, who died in Hendersonville
in 1914. He married Miss Crouse
of Lincolnton, and has a son, Cam'
eron Shipp, an Editor. i n
Hills, N. Y.
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