Established 1899
ABEL A. SHUFORD DIES
SUDDENLY AT HIS HOME
Hickory's Giant Figure and one of the State's'
Greatest Captains of Industry Passes
to His Well Earned Rest—City
Terribly Shocked Over
News of His Death.
FOLLOWS 2 DAYS AFTER HIS BROTHER JOHNi
An Immense Congregation Attended the Funeral Sunday Mornin;
at the Reformed Church, Many Coming from a Distance.
A CHRISTIAN SOLDIERJ
He Came off a Farm and by His In-j
dustry and Ability Made a Great;
Fortune Which was Invested inj
Nearly all the Chief Industries of
This City and Section—His Great
est Investment was in Young Men
Beautiful and Just Tribute Paid by
Dr. Murphy.
Less than 24 hours after at
tending the funeral of his broth
er John, Mr. Abel A. Shuford.
Hickory's premier citizen died
suddenly ot heart failure as he
was reclining on a lounge up-|
stairs in his home, at one o'clock
last Friday.
He had not gone to the bank
as usual, complaining of not
feeling very well. At one o'-
clock he was seized with a sud
den rigor. Mrs. Shuford
with him, and at once had theb
physician summoned but in threes
minutes the spirit had
from the fetters of the body, anoj|
was a-wing to the heavenly home?|
to join the departed brother.
Mr, Shuford seemed to have
a slight apprehension about hiflf
condition, as he had expressed: !
the hope to his physician, Dr. H.U
C. Menzies, that the latter wouldLj
not have to go far out in the'rl
country during the day. |
A CITY'S GRIEF.
The news struck the city like
a thunderbolt, and it was well-;
nigh dumb-tounded in the
of sudden grief. It went with?
the wings of the wind. The elec- \
trie current flashed it over the;
wires, and it was amazing howd
soon the suburbs and the countrya
were ringing the centers of thei
city for particulars. Men stood®
in groups on the street, and
spoke of it with sad countenan
ces, and the universal word from
one to another was: "I have lost
a friend."
Mr. Shuford's great strength
of other days had been waning
during recent months, though |
few knew it. He went about hi>|
systematic routine as usul,a to!
bank. to. mill office, etc., and!
lent his cool, quick, unerringl
judgment to the solution of the!
dav's business problems. Tues-|
day before his death he attended
at Morganton a directors meet
ing of the State Hospital. But
he knew the sun was lowering to
the western horizon, and had thej
feeling that his summons would!
come as quickly as that of hisl
father and one of his sisters.!
There is little doubt that
shock of his brother John's!
death two days before helped to!
hasten the end.
A STRANGE COINCIDENCE.
Dr. J. L. Murphy, pastor of
the deceased, and whom he loved
£ nd confided in, as in few others,
was summoned at once from the
meeting of the Reformed Church
Classis at St. Matthews church,
14 miles distant, in Lincoln
county. Mr. Joe Murphy went
for his father, whom he fouud
on the floor of Classis, making
this statement:
That Mr. A. A. Shuford had
stated that if Classis would raise
$5,000 for Catawba CoMege he
would add to it the same amount.
SHUFORD MEMORIAL NUMBER
THE HICKORY DEMOCRAT
Mr. Shuford greatly enjoyed
the recent Laymen's Missionary
Convention in Hickory and die
not miss a meeting.
While Mr. Shuford had accum
ulated a splendid fortune by hi?
business ability, his greatest in
vestment, he always declared,
was in young men. A score of
these, at least, he started into
careers of usefulness, among
them such men as the Chases,
of Huntsville, Ala.; Mr. C. E.
Graham, of Greenville, S. C.; Mr.
A. A. Whitener, of this city. Hi?
judgment in this line of invest
ment seemed to be as accurate
as in buying cotton or selling
yarns. And letters of gratitude
from these men who told him of
their triumphs made one of the
chief pleasures of his life.
One of the leading business
men of Hickory was saying when
i:he*sadnews ofhis death flashed!
over the city, that there was t>|
day when bankruptcy was star
ing him in the face. One thou
sand dollars would save him but
Ine had borrowed up to the limit
Hvhen Mr. Shuford heard of it
jne called him into his back office,
jlistented to his statement of hi.
ise and then himself endorsee
I re note for the needed $l,OOO.
CAME OFF A FARM.
iMr. Shuford was the son of
Jacob H. and Catherine Shuford
and was born on their farm fivej
miles south of Hickory. He had!
that grandest of training for lift-1
which comes from communion I
with the morning star, when a!
lad must needs rise before thf g
crack of day to feed the stock;!
jj from drinking the sweet wate j
of the spring out of a calabash;!
from ticklingithe fertile fields j
(to borrow Jerrold's figure) with
plow and hoe till they laughed
with a harvest.
Of the home place, Rev. J. H, Shu
ford some years ago wrote this tender
description:
I3LD FARM ON THE SOUTH FORK
RIVER,
I learn from the Piedmont Press that!
:he old farm has been sold and passed!
jut of the family. Permit me to utterp
i few parting words suggested by the|
Dpcasion. The farm came into the?
■hands of my father by descent from hisp
■father and it was the home of my|j
Iparents from the time of their marriage!
ito the time of their death. Eleven!
Bchildren were born to them on this*
ifarm, eight of whom are still living.
I The old plantation was at its best inj
Ithe days of negro slavery. It was a|
ghome for the blacks, and I doubt not|
lit is a dear spot to the surviving ser|
flvants who labored on it.
It saw the departure of the boys in|
Hgray, who went forth to establish theS
gjindepende *ce of the Southern Con |
gfederacy, and witnessed the return of?
Ball save one, who sleeps in a soldier's
igrave on the battle ground of the
■Wilderness. There was rejoicing on
■the old farm when those boys came
Ehome, such as filled the home of the
Hprodigal son when he returned to his
giather. The farm was near the river,
jjwhose waters afforded a pleasant place
Sfor bathing. Besides the bathing, the
■boys hunted the rabbit by day and the
Sopossum by night. These were ourj
ienjoyments in the happy past. The
Hold farm was the home of hospitality.
BThe traveler found there a resting place
gat night, and the poor were
■turned from its doors empty. The
■words of the Savior, "The poor ye
■always have with you" were true in
■that place. There the minister of the
■Gospel was received with reverence
'■due his sacred calling. The children
■were quiet in presence, and eve»|
HICKORY, N. C., THURSDAY. MAY 9, 1912
negro Dobson assumed a sanctified;
look when he took the parson's horse.
Farewell to the old farm. It has
now passed into the hands of others.
May it be to them a pleasant home, j
He wa3 a powerful youth phys
ically when he first came to Hick
ory in an unsuccessful effort t(
learn the tanner's trade. Therf
ire traditions afloat of his great)
power to lift.
HIS WAR RECORD.
As no new boy was needed at
the tannery, he secured a position
48 clerk in the store of Lev ;
Elias, father of the late Kopt
Elias. When the war came on.
he volunteered at the age of 19
in Co. F., 23rd N. C. Regiment,
tie was quickly promoted to cor
)oral and then to second ser
geant. In his first battle,
Williamsburg:, he carried thf
30 ors of the regiment. Tbrougf
Seven Pines, the Seven Days
campaignto Cold Harbor he went
Sere he was wounded. He re
turned in time for Fredericks
burg and Chancellorsville. At
Gettysburg he was wounded and
captured, and was held at Pt
Lookout for 21 months. He was
jxchanged, and was home on a
furlough when the war closed.
During a truce between the
Yankee and Confederate pickets
ince, he took a package of
obacco in his teeth, and swam
co the middle of a river, to swap
it for a bag of coffee, which an
equally daring Federal soldier
wam out with.
Ik 9 11
JjEm ljj§|||| , . K-, -j-gty. -J© "
/£§ n\
ill 18
IS •> • Hvf;
ABEL ALEXANDER SHUFORD.
In Prof. Hahn's book, "The!
Catawba Soldier," Mr, Henry P,§
Rudisill says that he and fives
other men, getting scattered at |
Chancellorsville, suddenly found j)
themselves within the enemy's I
picket lines. He continues: "Wej
saw two of the enemy's pickets
lying behind a log sighting, ready >
to shoot at us; one of us (aj
prominent man of this county), j
fired and shot one of the pickets
through the head and killed hi ml
instantly. He felt very sorry|
for having killed a man, or|
rather knowing that he had!
killed a man, and begged me not|
to tell it on him at home." And|
it was never told in print that it|
was Mr. Shuford who tired thatjj
shot. His tender heart always!
hated the thought, though it was*
ii war, and self-defence, too.
AFTER THE WAR.
Mr. Shuford and A. L, Shu
ford, his brother, went into thej
mercantile business after the.
war and later William H. Ellis;
became a partner under the name
of Ellis & Shuford, and when Mr.
Ellis eventually retired, H, D.
Abernethy and Herbert Chase
entered the company, which
became the A. A. Shuford Co,
When Mr. Chase went to Alaba
ma, the business was closed outj
With the failure of the old
Schuler bank, Mr. Shuford asso
ciating with himself K. C. Men
zies, 0. M. Royster and others,
organized the Citizens' bank,
vvhich was later merged into the
present First National bank.
This was in 1890, and Mr. -Shu
ford remained its president until
lis death, Today it is one of
the strongest institutions in
western North Carolina.
Mr. Shuford was connected
vvith most of the business in
terests of the city. He was
president of the Hickory Manu
facturing Co.; Hickory Electric
Co., and Shuford National Bank,
Newton; secretary and treas
urer of the Ivey Mill Co., and
Granite Falls Mfg. Co.; treasurer
>{ the A. A. Shuford Mill Co.,
md director of the Piedmont
>Vagon and Mfg. Co.; Dudley
Shoals Cotton Mills, First Nat-
lional Bank, of Morganton; Jef
ferson Standard Life Insurance
Co.; one of the Greensboro fire
insurance companies; the Lenoir
Telephone Exchange.
i He was also for years a direc
| tor in the Morganton Hospital,
i and Catawba and Claremont col
| leges.
J Mr Shu ford was a Democrat from
5 principle and was intensely interested
in the success of his party. He ai
rways spent election day at the polls for
SJhis party, never begging men to vote
his verv nrespnce was a great lev-
erof influence, For 15 or 20 years he
was chairman of the executive com
mittee of the county and it was in those
palmy days that Catawba was the ban
ner Democratic county of North Caroli
na. When the county first went Re
publican he sent a telegram to his life
long friend and associate, on the Mor
g.inton Hospital board, Mr. J. P. Cald
well, editor of the Charlotte Observer,
asking if there was room for him in
Mecklenburg, as he did not see how he
could live in a Republican county.
There was a great deal of this quiet
humor in the man.
In 1873 he married Miss Alda
V. Campbell, the beautiful and
attractive a daughter of Dr. O.
Campbell of Newton and eight
children gladdened their lovely
home. One, Archie Campbell,
died in childhood.
THE FUNERAL.
The immensity of the crowd,
the beauty of the tribute paid
the dead by his old pastor,"the
sympathy of the prayers, the
glory of the flowers, all went to
gether to make the funeral ser
vice at 10:30 Sunday morning in
the Reformed church an event
never to-be forgotten in Hicko
ry. The first six seats in the
centre were reserved for the
family. Everywhere was a caa
of sympathetic faces, dim under
the beautiful stained glass win
dows of the Sower, the Master
knocking at the door, and thei
Good Shepherd, as the soft light l
streamed through, itself lessened;
by the clouds outside, for Nature
herself was in a mournful mood,
and mingled her tears with those
of human friends. Had it not
been a rainy day the congrega
tion outside would have been lar
ger than the 200 or so who could
not, as it was, get into the
church.
Grief bowed its head behind
its black crape but Hope, the
anchor in leif's storms,
throbbed and thrilled in every
sentence of the pastor's mes
sage, and the fragrant flowers,
massed in variegated glory, for
three tiers high in front of the
chancel, themselves the herald
ing archangels of the Year's res
urrection from the death of win
ter, in letters of beauty answered
"Yes" to life's greatest ques
tion: "If a man die, shall he live
again?"
Rev. Messers. Harte of the
Baptist and Garth of the Presby
terian churches were it the pul
pit with Dr. Murphy and with
Rev. Messers, Peeler, of Lenoir
and Rowe of Newton. The Re
formed ministers, after the sing
ing of Nearer my God, to Thee,
read Scripture lessons, when Dr.
Murphy offered the following
prayer:
"Oh, God, our Father, and the
God and Father of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ, we look to
Thee, rejoicing in the great love
thou hast manifested toward us
in providing redemption through
the blood of Christ. We thank
Thee for manifesting Thy father
ly care for us, and that Thou
hast revealed to us that there
remaineth a rest for the people
of God, and a life beyond this
Vale of Tears, better, sweeter,
nobler, purer, and where all is
good and upright and true, and
where there is no need of the.'
physical sun, because the glory!
of God is the light thereof. We
thank Thee for all the sweet;
promises of Thy word, full off
comfort and the assurance of Thyj
love, and that Thou hast said: 4 I
am the ressurrection and the]
life; he that believeth on Mej
shall never die'; and that 'When
thou passeth through the waters!
i Will b3 With the.' farrived Sunday morning at 7 o'clock.
"We thank Thee for the beauti-I Thcre was some confusion over a tele
t'ul life Of fidelity and usefullnessi& ram which led them to think they were
of our departed brother. Wef rcceivin & a delayed message about Mr.
'thank Thee for his influence fort John Shufords death. The funeral had
jgood, for his wonderful tender-| th erefore to be postponed till Sunday
ness Of heart and spirit; that he* from Saturday at 3p.m.as at first ar
iived among us and that we can^ ran £ ed
inherit the legacy Of his life,! Mrs - Shuford was on the arm of the
'Give grace to and throw thinef ol^est son > r - A - Shuford, jr., and
arms around these weeping OneS,fj the others were Dr. and Mrs. H. c.
and enable them say. 'The Lord? Menzies » Mr - and Mrs - B - B - Biackwei
gave and the Lord hath taken? d er, Mr. and Mrs, James C. Shuford, and
ia way, blessed be the name of| Misses Rosa CampbeH and Mary Camp
!the Lord. ]bell Shuford.
•'Bear »:p, too, in Thy comfortj SOME OF THOSE PRESENT
this great Congregation. Were-jl The active pall-bearers were Messrs.
member all his friends. We re | A s Abemethy, K. c. Menzies, J. L.
member his business o C ia teS t * j Bowles, George F. Ivey, N.
the COnSlStory of hIS Church, his^fg Dasher, Judge W. B. Councill and
Sunday School class, and his own.| w c Feimster , of Newton .
immediate family. Let pi onorar y : p. G. Moore, Granite Falls,
hear thy words; fe believe in| Dr John McCa mpbeU, I. I. Davis,
God; believe also in Me. Igo togp Scroggs, Morganton, Dr* Ander
prepare a place for you. It wi.ll on Richmond . j. G . H ali, Lenoir; A.
not be SO long till He Will .Link and Dr. W. H. Nicholson,
igain and we will all be reunited| Hickory
Iga in forever with Him. e| s ome of t h e out-of-town attendents
Jive the praise to Him who I were Mrs. R U s Se il Sh err ill, of Raleigh;
washed us in His hlood, Amen. ■ an( j Mrs j Craig, Statesviiie;
After the hymn f, ! Paul Allen and Thomas Stewart, Char
the righteous when he dies ,■ i otte; Arther Ingold, Morganton; J. G.
o 0m i Hall, M. M. Courtney, Dr. A. A. Kent,
1 Kl. 7:22, and Rev, 3:12. | Dr c B McNairy, Maj. G. w. F. Har-
And upon top of the j H Bea n, Lenoir; W. B. Gaither,
was lily work. F e i mster > A. H. Crowell, Mrs.
Him that overcometh will IBFTAIPH L. Little, Byron Shuford, S. H.
make a pillar in the temple of and Mrs. F. M. wniiams, New-
God, P ton; P. G. Moore, J. M. Allred, D. H.
The references here he said were| Warlick , Granite Falls . c F C i ine and
to a pillar of the temple, which] w A WariiC k, Gilkey; L. H. Baithis
was at once strong and beautlful-I and c E Carpenter, Gastonia, and Mr.
iy ornamented. In building a |T nd Mrs . G eo. S. Powell, Asheville.
character two things were essen-1 Among the floral tributes, the
tial, strength>and lily work j pi rst National Bank sent a beau
wv? u;j? fVm rhlwreath of lilies and roses;
? ere »^?hrnthpri the Shuford Bank in Newton and
tian life of the departed brother J j vey cot t on mill, American
de inherited the strength of pious|g eauty roses; chase Bros ,of Al
ancesters. This kind of life had| a^ a anc j Whitener &
been lived be the five ™^ a purple wreath; Hickory
of the family whom he had een |Eiectric Co. a crescent; Shuforo
l ay forest. _ __§Hdw. Co. an upright piece; San-
Faith in God makes a & Orr, Charlotte, a wreath,
strong. As a young man Abel].., scores 0 f others
A. Shuford heeded the call tog besl(les scores 01 otners *
arms of his country but before| COLORED FRIENDS' KINDLY
going to the field he went to old! OFFICES.
Bethel church, and kneeling beg .
tore the altar consecrated his life! The steel vault encasing the
to God. Pcasket was lowered into its place
He had the convictions and! by ten colored men, who were
purpose of a strong man. One! glad to have their part in the
mark was bis fidelity. He was| last sad ministry of love, and by
open to convictions but once set-1 special request of the family the
tied he could not easily be moved.! following colored men filled the
He never wavered from c his po-| grave: George Feimster, Sam
litical and religious convictions.! Brown, Lee Gaither, Frank
He x was strong because he wasi Bost, Tom Davis, and Ivey Scott.
I sincere. | The rain had ceased and the
His strength was seen in the jclouds were lifting when the
business world. But the beauty was lowered to its place,
of his life, its lily work, was seenland covered with flowers, and
in its benevolences, and whogthe clear, sweet notes of a wooo
hasn't been helped by him? grobin rang out at intervals from
"Another ornament was hislthe dripping greenery of the trees
tenderness. I have been his pas-jalmost as if
tor for 22 years and I never heardSbeen the echoes of the bell that
him say an unkind word. Hejhad just ceased its tolling in the
i was most guarded in his utteran-Ichurch belfry across the town.
Democrat and Press, Consolidated 1905
ces. Still another was his readi
ness to help people, especially
young men and start them in bus
iness. 'Here is a letter that
gives me comfort', he would say.
It would be from some young
man whom he had helped to get
a start in life. He believed in
young men and has always told
me that they yielded him the best
investments he ever made. He
loved best to helpHhe old veter
ans, and always sent a substi
tute to the reunion when he could
not go himself.
Another ornament was his de
sire for peace, and he lived the
the beatitude that makes one a
child of God.
His CHURCH LIFE.
"In his church was where the
beauty of his character was most
strongly manifested. This church
was organized 43 years ago and
he was a charter member. He
never would consent to being
made an elder, insisting that he
could serve best as a deacon. He
always taught a Sunday school
class, and for the 22 years that
I have been pastor he never
missed a service except when
indisposed or absent from the
city, and then he always made it
a point to give me his reason.
He was always in chutvh on the
coldest or the hottest day or the
darkest night.
"The other day he became
tired and went to sleep, waking
up in the presence of God. Only
a few days before he had said to
his brother, 'John, cheer up. You
will get better and we will gc
over into Alexander county to
the Springs and take a good
long rest together.' The broth
ers indeed have gone off together
to rest forever in that rest that
remains to the people of God,
and they are drinking from those
springs of living water that flow
out from the throne into the
iriver of life."
After a tender prayer by Mr.
[Rowe, the choir sang Lead,
: Kindly Light, and the services
were concluded at the grave.
j All the children and grandchildren
were present. Mr. and Mrs. Gordon H.
;Cilley, and children, of Philadelphia,
'-JOHN M. SHUFORD.
jtjSplendid Citizen Passes Quietly
Away to His Rest.
st Mr. John M. Shuford died
n i May Ist at the Richard Baker
d Hospital, which was built within
st che past year by his gifted son,
; £ Or. J. H. Shuford, He bad lin
r- *ered for long months with a
i_ wasting disease, which pitiously
d tapped his strength. Nothing
cheered him more h* his last days
j. than visits from his brother
' e Abel.
a Mr. Shuford's pure kindly
face under a shock of snow
white hair will never be forgot
ton by those who knew him as
e neighbor and citizen. He was an
)t industrious and successful busi
h ness man and a modest but earn
d est Christian. The rare privilege
e enjoyed by few men m this life
g was his of having his entire un
e broken family grow up and
e live neighbor to him till his
>1 death.
it The Reformed church was
r filled to overflowing on last
n Thursday afternoon when the
eßfuneral was preached by his
tlpastor, Dr. Murphy, who had
l.fjbeen summoned from Classis at
e|3t. Matthews church to perform
ell this last sad honor, as he was
summoned again a few days lat
e ar to do.
g The following is a biography
y 3f Mr. Shuford prepared by his
o brother, Rev. Julius H, Shuford,
u }f King's Creek, in his book "A
c Historical Sketch of the Shuford
0 Family."
1 John M. Shuford.
t
j- John M. Shuford is a son of Jacob
t |H. Shuford. Jacob EL Shuford is a
[ t laon of Jacob Shuford, who died in
,1 11844. Jacob Shuford is a son of Mart
jv « n Shuford, who died in 1780. Martin
elshuford is a son of John Shuford, who
■died in 1790,
• t I John M. Shuford was born in Cataw
-1 Sba County, N. C., March 9, 1847.
sgHis father was a successful farmer in
jgCatawba County, N. C. John M.
>n ßshuford was raised upon his father's
I llarm. When 17 years of age he be
a Bcame a soldier in the Confederate
i.BArmy. He was captured at the fall of
Fort Fisher December 25 1864 and
was held as a prisoner of war until June
20 1895 when he returned home
Deing released from prison.
He became heir to that part of the
farm upon which his parents lived and
farmed and farmed and took care of
'them during their last days.
While farming on the old home
stead he was considered one of the
best farmers in Catawba County N. C.
Some time after the death of his
parents he moved to Hickory N. C.
for the purpose of educating his child
ren. His two daughters were educat
ed at Claremont College Hickory N.
January 13 1870 he married Alice
Wilson a daughter of Maj. Wilson
of Catawba County N. C. There are
four children of this marriage. The
children are: Ada C. Shuford, Carroll
Shuford, Suehonor Shuford and Jacob
ihnford,
Since John Shuford has been living
at Hickory N. C. he has been farming
and merchandising and has been suc
cessful m both.
He and his wife and children are
members of the Reformed church of
U« S. He was deacon in the Reform
ed church at Bethel for many years.
This is the church Where he was
raised and where his parents worship
ped in their day. He held the office of
deacon in the Reformed church at
Hickory for some years. He now
(1901) lives at Hickory N. C. His
wife was born January 16 1851.
Ada Catherine the oldest daughter
of John M. and Alice Wilson Shuford
was born November 9 1780 and was
married to G. Harvey Geitner on the
17th of August 1892 by the Rev. J.
L. Murphy. Mr. Geitner is a Penn
sylvanian and was born at Lititz, Lan
caster County of that State and belong
ed to the well known Moravian com
munity which is noted for the thrift
and substantial character of its mem
bers.
On coming to North Carolina Mr.
Geitner who was but a boy settled with
his father's family in the town of Hick
ory, He identified himself with the
Piedmont Wagon Company of that
town.
On settling in Hickory he connected
himself with the Reformed church and
has served the congregation as a ruling
elder and is one of the most liberal
supporters.
The children of Mr. and Mrs. Geit
ner are John George who was born
June 15 1893 and Frances Royer who
was born July 10 1896
Carroll M. Shuford was born March
22 1872. He took a course of phar
macy at the Maryland College Balti
mere Md, He owns a drug store and
is a successful business man. His
home is in Hickory N. C. He has
a fine home at that place. Carroll
Shuford married Miss Elizabeth Chris
tine Zahring of Columbia Mo. July 14
1898.
Mrs. Carroll Shuford was a teacher
of science in Claremont College and is
(Continued on last page.)