Spartanburg County, South Carolina - Chapter 16: The Wofford Family, 1900

Chapter 16: The Wofford Family

Among the very first settlers of the territory of Spartanburg county were the families of Wofford which name has become illustrous in the annals of the history of said county, and deserves more than passing notice.

From the information which we have gathered, it appears that five brothers of this name came from Maryland, and most of them settled in the vicinity of Hill's Factory, on Tyger River. The ancestry of these descended from the North of England, and their names were respectively William, Joseph, James, John and Benjamin. The tradition in the family is that two brothers from the North of England came to America and settled in Pennsylvania near the Maryland line, and that one of these brothers was the father of these five brothers.

William, the elder, was born near Rock Creek, in then Prince George, now Montgomery county, about twelve miles above Washington City, October 25, 1728. Of his early life but little can be ascertained ; but he most likely served among the Maryland troops in the French and Indian war, raging on the frontiers of that and neighboring colonies, in his younger days, and somewhere it seems he obtained the title of colo7iel^ as he was called.

Colonel William Wofford, being a man of enterprise, early migrated, as already stated, to the region embraced in the present county of Spartanburg, and erected on Eawson Fork the noted iron works bearing his name, and which became noted in the pages of Revolutionary history by reason of the battle which was fought near by and which were destroyed by the raid of the noted "Bloody Bill" Cunningham, November, 1781.* He was one of the leading patriots of that region and served as lieutenant-colonel on Williamson's Cherokee campaign of 1776 (for which he drew a pension).

Early in 1779 he was in service in pursuit of the fugitive Tory party under Colonel John Moore, when fleeing from North Carolina to Georgia, and in the spring and summer of that year he served in Georgia and South Carolina under General Lincoln, and doubtless shared in the battle of Stono.

It appears that after this campaign Colonel William Wofford disposed of his interest in the iron works to Simon Berwick and retired to the Upper Catawba in the Turkey Creek Cove, purchasing a tract of 900 acres with improvements, and on this tract he erected a fort,t for his own and his neighbors' protection against the Indians. This was on the line of march of the overmountain men to King's Mountain, and Draper, in his fThe following is a copy of a furlough granted b}' Colonel Wm. Wofford, the original of which is now in possession of Mrs. Nevil Holcombe, at Hobbysville, vS. C. :

" The bearer, James Brown, declares he had a promise from the colonel that after two weeks' duty at their station he should have leave of absence. Therefore he has leave of absence.

The following is copied by General W. T. Wofford from a blank leaf in Boyer's French Dictionary in his possession, written by Colonel Wofford:

" Wm. Wofford was born in the province, now State of Maryland, near Rock Creek, about 12 miles above the federal city, on the 25th day of Oct. 1728, then Prince Georges county, now in the ninety-third year of his age. Wrote without spectacles the 30tli day of July, 1820."

Wm. C. Wofford, son of Colonel Wm. Wofford, was a member of the Georgia Legislature for over twenty years, was several times Speaker of the House, and for a period. President of the Senate. He was a man of strong mind ; his advantages of early education were poor, but in later years he acquired considerable knowledge and experience.

The Wofford Iron Works referred to were known brother names. In Johnson's Traditions they are called Berivick's and in Ramsey's History of South Carolina, Buffi-ugton^ s Iron Works.

After the war of the Revolution was over Colonel William Wofford removed to Habersham county, Ga., where he gave much attention to surveying lands. He was an influential citizen of that State, and left a numerous posterity, among whom is General Wm. T. Wofford, of the Confederate Army, an officer of distinguished ability. He died at the age of ninety-five years, and it is said, was able to read without spectacles to the end of his life.

Joseph Wofford, another brother, is mentioned in history as captain of a company in the famous "snow campaign " which formed a part of the the famous Spartan regiment under the command of Colonel John Thomas, Sr. He mustered before the war at a place called the "Walnut Trees," just beyond James's Creek, near a spring, and near Reuman Newman's place. He was with the troops in Charleston, in command of a company before the fall of that city, and fell back to Ninetysix.

We find no further record of Joseph Wofford as a Revolutionary soldier, but there is no doubt but that he did valiant service until the end of the struggle. Cer- tain it is that he remained a devoted Whig ; was always true to the patriot cause and was influential among the leaders of that cause. Tradition informs us that he was a target for the Tories, whose animus for Captahi Joe^ as he w^as called, was very bitter and hostile, which continued for several years after the war. Some very tragic, interesting and exciting episodes, are related to this day, which occurred between him and certain Tory leaders of that time who were noted for their many acts of violence, murder and burnings perpetrated against the Whigs and their property. His services to his country during these trying times were, therefore, valuable, not so much as a soldier in the ranks, but against the maraudings of these unscrupulous adherents to the Royal cause, whose frequent forays were often made upon unprotected settlements. For this reason, while not in active service, he was known as an outlyer, for fear of being assassinated by the Tories. Assembled oftentimes with his compeers in squads, in out-of-the-way places, with well understood and recognized signals to come together on the approach of danger, he was the recognized leader against these plundering excursions of the British and Tories; hence the bitter animosity displayed against him, which caused his log-cabin to be closely watched. It is related that it was the ingenious and womanly tact of his devoted wife that saved his neck from the halter when arrested by a band of Tories while at home, which was the same night she gave birth to Benjaniiji^ the founder of the Wofford College.

Joseph Wofford was a noted hunter and fisherman in his day, when game and fish aboimded in plentifulness, and there are many interesting traditions lingering among his posterity relative to his old hunting grounds, his fishing holes on the Tyger, and his superior marksmanship.

near the Frank Wofford place on the road between Spartanburg- and Woodruff. He was small and a very infirm man. His wife was a Miss Hoopuck, a Scotch-Irish lady, whom he married in Maryland. He was a staunch Whig, and his descendants are nearly all Baptists. He was buried on his homestead, at his request, under a large oak that he himself had planted, which stood until 1890, when it was destroyed by a thoughtless tenant. He was an ardent supporter of the infant colony, outspoken in behalf of the American cause, and the animosity of the Tories was very great towards him. Ofttimes he was in great danger of losing his life. He was a surveyor, and owned at one time 9,000 acres of land in his region. He had eight children, four boys and four girls. Their descendants are very numerous, many of them going west at different periods, and some of the staunchest citizens around Woodruff are to be found among them. Many of the valiant defenders of the ' ' Lost Cause ' ' are to be found among them, some of whom laid down their lives and lie buried in the soil of the "Old Dominion," while under Lee, Jackson and Longstreet.

Of John Wofford, another of the five brothers, we have but little information ; but from the best that can be obtained, he was an enlisted soldier in the Revolution ; certain it is that he was on the Whig side during that great struggle for American liberty. He was the father of eleven children, viz. : John, James, Isaac, William, Hiram, Precilla, Dorcas, Lienor, Clary, Sarah, and Syntha. Many of the descendants of these live in Spartanburg county, many in Georgia and in other States out west, some of whom have distinguished themselves in war and in peace. Among these was L. J. Wofford, chief of artillery under General S. D. Lee in the western army.

information that he took up arms on either side duringthe Revohitionary war, yet, like many good men in the early part of 1775, his sympathies were with the king. On one occasion he was arrested as a suspect with Colonel Fletchall and others, and was released through the influence of his brother Joseph.

There are many extenuating circumstances why many of the early and best settlers of the up-country of South Carolina adhered to the cause of the king in the beginning of the Revolution, They lived in remote sections of the country where the British oppression complained of was barely known, where the circulation of current news and literature was unknown, and it was almost impossible to obtain any reliable information. Many good men were led off from the path of patriotic duty under these circumstances, and especially under the overpowering influence of Colonel Fletchall, who held the commission of colonel under royal authority, and whose regimental district, at the outbreak of hostilities, covered all the country between the Broad and Saluda rivers. Fletchall was all the time in constant communication with Governor Campbell and other loyalist leaders, and kept his people well informed on the existing troubles from his standpoint ; but as soon as the true inwardness of the situation was well understood, some of them became ardent supporters of the rVmerican cause, and it is to be hoped that Ben Wofford was one of these, and that the pledges he made while his brother Joe was importuningfor his release from custody were afterwards faithfully kept.

The children of Captain Joseph Wofford, one of the five brothers already mentioned, and Martha Lewellyn, his wife, were Martha, Benjamin, Joseph, Jeremiah, Rebecca, and Nancy. Only three, Josesph, Nancy and Martha, died leaving children. Joseph, the elder, married

Jane Hiickabee. He chose early in life the avocation of a farmer, and lived and died near where his father had settled before the Revolntion, in the bend of Tyger River above Beard's Shoals. His educational advantages were limited. He was a very successful farmer, and raised a large family of children; was one of the pillars of the Methodist Tabernacle Church, near by, and whose mother was one of the principal founders. He was loved, honored and respected by his neighbors, and one of the leading citizens in that part of the country. He was a magistrate, and for a long period one of the Commissioners of the Poor for Spartanburg District. His children were Harvey, Benjamin, John, Westley, Jerry, Joseph Lewellyn, Rebecca, Sallie, Nancy, Pattie, and Jane.

Harvey Wofford, the eldest, married Nellie White, an estimable, good woman, and settled across the river from the old homestead, near Hebron Church. He was a plain, practical, hard-sense farmer. His term in school consisted of only' three months, yet by dint of perseverance around the pine-knot fire at night, studying and reading every chance moment he could get, at the age of twentyone he had a fair English education, and was able to teach, which he did for a year or so, in a neigborhood school. He never sought preferment of any kind, being retiring in his disposition. The office of major in the militia was thrust upon him nolens volens^ and the office of magistrate was held by him nearly all the years of his mature life. He was especially noted for his official capacity as a magistrate and surveyor, as well as in his private capacity, throughout the lower part of the county; as an "arbiter" his services in this respect were almost constantly in demand, and many a quarrel, feud, dispute or misunderstanding was amicably settled without appeal to the courts. No one doubted his word, and all had implicit confidence in his judgment as to what ought to be done in all matters of controversy or dispute. He was a steward in the Hebron M. E. Church for over forty years of his life. Also the active executor of the estate of Rev. Benjamin Wofford, the founder the Wofford College, and a trustee of the same to the close of his life. Given to hospitality, the rich and poor alike were always welcome to his table. He was a wellrounded, modest citizen, but, more than all, was estimated in the community in which he lived for his strong Christian character, whose life was a benediction to all.

His eldest son, Sergeant Wm. B. Wofford, was killed at the battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia, being shot down with the foremost men on top of Mayre's heights.

Jerry Wofford, brother of Harvey, married Rachel Shands, a lovable good woman, and he, like his elder brother, lived the plain, practical life of a farmer, on the river Tyger near the old homestead, loved and respected by his neighbors and a large number of friends throughout the county.

Rebecca married C. C. Layton, well known in the Cross Anchor section, and among her children were Dr. J. T. Layton, who died in the city of Spartanburg in 1894.

Sallie married John Lanford, of I^anford Station, I^aurens county, S. C. She was the mother of Captain Benj. W. Lanford, who at one period of the war was commander of Company G, 3d South Carolina Regiment Volunteers, and for one term sheriff of Laurens county.

Nancy married Willis Layton of Walnut Grove. Among her children was the Hon. A. Baxter Layton, a member of the lower house of the South Carolina Legislature in 1896 and '97. Also, during the civil war, a lieutenant in Company K, 3d Regiment S. C. V.

Martha, daughter of Captain Joseph Wofford, married Moses White, who, about the year 1839, moved to Mississippi, whose descendants there are very numerous. Her son. Captain John W. White, born in Spartanburg District, a talented and prominent man, was killed while leading his company of Mississippians at the bloody battle of Chickamauga, in Georgia.

Nancy, the only other daughter that died leaving children, married John Tucker, a young Revolutionary soldier from Maryland. Of them were born six children, all of whom went west except Samuel and Nancy. The latter married Emanuel Allen, an estimable and worthy citizen in the lower part of the county. They were the parents of Drs. Wade and Garland x\llen, both noble young men, who gave up their lives in the service of their beloved Southland. The former, Dr. Wade, was a brilliant young man, and an officer in Company D, 3d Regiment S. C. V., and heroically distinguished himself at the battle of Knoxville, Tenn., under Longstreet, where he fell.

Samuel W. Tucker married a daughter of James Howard, a soldier of the Revolution, named Laodicea, His education was limited, but being endowed with a strong, vigorous intellect, excellent judgment, strong determination, and by a liberal use of the pine knots, became one of the most prominent citizens of the section of the country in which he lived ; was devoted to his church (Methodist), and was honest and fair in all his dealings. His sons were Joseph W., John A., and F. Marion.

Joseph Wofford Tucker, the eldest, was educated at Cokesbury, South Carolina ; studied law and began j^ractice in the town of Spartanburg, and was for sev- eral years associated with Dr. Peter M. Wallace in the editorial management of the CaroliJia Spartan. He also, for several terms, represented the district of Spartanburg in the State Legislature, and was the first president of the Spartanburg Female College. He resigned this position and removed to St. Louis, Mo., where he resumed the practice of law; became a judge; was editor of the Missouri State Journal^ and so pronounced an advocate of States' rights the paper was suppressed by Federal bayonets.

During the civil war bet w e e n the States he accompanied the army of General Sterling Price southward from St. Louis, and published regularly a paper called "The Army Argus." He soon entered the special secret service of the Confederate States, in which he remained to the close of the war. A reward for his arrest was offered. He went to Bermuda and remained for several years. When the amnesty proclamation was proclaimed he returned to his native land and settled in Florida, and remained there to the close of his life. He was a lay delegate to the great Ecumenical Conference held in London. He was a man of varied and extensive information, a ripe

Francis Marion Tucker was a physician of ability, and at the breaking out of the war he raised a company of volunteers, composed of the best material the country afforded, and fell at the second battle of Manassas while gallantly leading his men in charge, loved and mourned by his comrades. He married to Miss Addie Nesbitt on Enoree.

The daughters of Samuel Tucker were: Louisa D., who married James Madison Eanham ; Nancy, who married J. W. Durham; and Annie W., who married Capt. John McCravy. They all reared quite a number of children, and among them Hon. S. W. T. Lanham, now of Texas, who, while }'et a beardless boy, joined Company K, 3d Regiment S. C. v., under Longstreet in Tennessee, and distinguished himself as a private on a number of battlefields from then to the close of the war. After the war he married Miss Sallie Meng of Pacolet, S. C. , moved to Texas in a two-horse wagon, taught school and read law, was admitted to the bar, elected solicitor of his circuit, and entered politics, and for seven terms he has represented one of the largest districts in the State in the Congress of the United States, and only a few 3'ears ago was a prominent candidate for governor, and missed the nomination by only a few votes. His many friends believe that he will yet preside over the destinies of one of the greatest States in the West, and occupy the Executive ]\Iansion.

A younger brother. Dr. J. Marion Lanham, is one of the most popular citizens in the county of Spartanburg, and also one of its leading physicians, being yet comparatively young, active and progressive in his profession.

Another also, is Samuel Tucker McCravy, Esq., one of the leading members of the bar at Spartanburg, and one of the progressive, influential members of the city council, and efficient secretary of the Wofford Memorial Association, which meets annually at Tabernacle church. His great-grandfather was Archibald McCravy, a stalwart, sturdy, fearless soldier of the American Revolution. He was in Captain John Nelson's company in the Fourth Regiment in the line of the State of North Carolina, commanded by Colonel Polk, who, we have stated in another volume, figured prominently in the famous "snow campaign," in the winter of 1775.

Those who can justly claim Captain Joseph Wofford and his wife Martha Lewellyn as their common ancestors, run into the thousands, and are intermingled with hundreds of families in Spartanburg county.

From the Confederate rolls, which we publish in another place in this volume, showing the number - as we have been enabled to secure - of troops furnished by Spartanburg District to the armies of the Confederacy, it will be seen that there were about thirty of the Wofford family that donned the gray, scattered among the forces on the seacoast, in Virginia, and in the West, not one of whom, so far as known, was not true to the flag of his country, and while only a few of them rose to higher positions, yet they all possessed and exhibited a high degree of bravery well worth the cause which they espoused.

prominence in the Wofford family, including the Tucker branch of the same already mentioned, are the late Dr. Benjamin Wofford of Spartanburg, Dr. Joseph Lewellyn Wofford at Cherokee Springs, Hon. John W. Wofford at Hendersonville, N. C, and Rev. Benjamin Wofford , founder of Dr. ^>H^7. Wofford. Wofford College.

Dr. Benjamin Wofford

a son of Joseph Wofford, born on Tyger River, attended the Methodist High School at Cokesbury, S. C, studied medicine under Dr. C. P. Woodruff at Woodruffs, S. C, and received his diploma from the medical college at Augusta, Ga. He married Miss Julia Woodruff, a lovely, industrious, frugal woman. He lived and practiced his chosen profession near the old homestead for twenty- three years. As a physician, he was as faithful in attendance upon the poor as he was to the wealthiest slave-owner in his large, extensive practice . After the death of his first wife he married Miss Corrie Farrow, who survives him. He was fond of children and they all loved him. He served as captain of a company of reserves during the latter part of the war, and did some service at Charleston, S. C. After the war he removed to the town of Spartanburg and for a few years engaged in merchandizing. He was then elected to the office of probate judge for two terms, one term as county auditor, and two terms as school commissioner. He was one of the executors of his uncle's estate (the Rev. Benjamin Wofford), and for quite a number of years was a trustee of the college his uncle had founded. Very few people had more good staunch friends in the " old iron district " than he had. He was the first president of the Wofford Memorial Association. He was a total abstainer and a life-long advocate of temperance. In his private life, in his extended official capacity, in his church relationship, many bear witness to his uprightness, and his sterling integrity of character. He outlived his two sons, Charles Pinkney Wofford and John Young Wofford. The former was a graduate of Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn., and at his death was superintendent of the Central Methodist Sunday-school at Spartanburg, and was a young, rising, prominent lawyer at the Spartanburg bar. John T. Wofford attended the school at Ridgefield and some others in the Hebron neighborhood and prepared himself at Marietta, in Greenville county, to enter the West Point military school, having received the appointment thereto from Hon. J. D. Ashmore, then member of Congress from his district. He remained there for nearly two years, when his native State passed the ordinance of secession. He then sent in his resignation. About this time some Northern cadet, in his presence, said something unsavory about South Carolina and Cadet Wofford resented it and a very severe personal altercation fol- lowed. On his return at the organization of Co. K, 3d S. C. Regt., S. C v., he was elected first lieutenant and served until the expiration of the first twelve months' term of enlistment. He then came home, assisted in organizing another company, was again elected a lieutenant in 13th S. C. Regt., and died at Jordan Springs, in Virginia. His superior officers speak highly of his efficiency and his calm, cool bravery in time of action. He was a studious, brilliant young man, and stood high in

Dr. Jos. L. Wofford

Joseph Lewellyn Wofford, whose picture we present herein, and whose familiar face is well known to the people of Spartanburg, is a son of Joseph Woft'ord, who married Jane Huckabee, as stated in a preceding page, and was born January 17th, 1833, and received in the schools of his county a good education ; after which he read medicine and graduated at Augusta, Ga., in 1853. Returning to his native county he located in the practice of his profession at Cherokee Springs, at which place he still resides.

When South Carolina called for volunteers at the beginning of the war between the States, he entered the service in Captain Joseph Walker's company (Spartan Rifles) , which was attached to the 5th Regiment, S. C. V., commanded b\' Colonel Micah Jenkins, and was for some time, at the beginning of hostilities, stationed on Sullivans Island, S. C.

When the regiment enlisted regnlarly in the Confederate service, he returned home and raised a company which formed a part of the 13th Regt. , S. C. V., commanded by Colonel Oliver E. Edwards, and went to Virginia, where it performed gallant service on different battle-fields. Dr, Wofford rose by promotion and was commissioned as major of the 13th Regt., but was wounded in the battle at Fredericksburg, which incapacitated him from further service in the army. He represented his native county as a Democrat in the State legislature of 1871 and '72. He is still practicing his profession at Cherokee Springs.

Hon. John Wesley

attended the common neighborhood schools, and at the breaking oiitof the war was attending school at Antioch, near Glenn's Spring, taught by Professor P. J. Oeland ; was preparing for college at the breaking out of the war between the States. He entered the service at the first call for troops and remained a private in Co. K, 3d Regt., S. C. v., until the battle of Gettysburg, soon thereafter receiving a commission as lieutenant in said company, and after the recovery from a wound received at the battle of Chickamauga he assumed the command of the company from that time to the close of the war.

being in command of the infantry and rear-guard that brought up the rear from Bentonville, on one of the main roads of retreat from the last battle of the war.

Soon after the war he married Miss Margaret Ann Nesbitt, daughter of Mr. Madison Nesbitt, and went to farming ; was his father's successor in the office of magistrate in the neighborhood ; was a delegate (straightout ) in the Democratic State Convention that nominated Wade Hampton for governor in 1876. Soon thereafter he was nominated and participated actively in the campaign which followed, and which led to the overthrow of carpetbag misrule in South Carolina ; was elected and became a member of the historic Wallace House ; was again elected to the lower house for two more years in 1880 and '81, and to the State Senate for two years to fill the unexpired term of the Hon. Edwin H. Bobo, after which he retired from politics, but frequently being elected to represent the county in State conventions, and devoted his time thereafter to his farm and the building up and improvement of his county in agricultural matters. He was, while he held his residence in Spartanburg county, a member of the State Agricultural vSociety, and an officer in the State Grange, and for a number of years master of the county grange, and was the first known advocate in the county for terracing lands.

He is progressive and practical in his ideas. Although a Methodist by profession and a useful member in his church, yet he is broad-minded and public-spirited in all his views. He takes a special interest in preserving the history of his ' country, the memory of his Revolutionary ancestry, and the memories of the heroes of the great civil war. He also takes a special interest in collecting and preserving the battle-flags of the Confederacy,

Rev. Benjamin Wofford

Within a few steps of the residence of Mr. Levi Allen, and only a short distance from Chapel (M. E.) Church, in the present county of Spartanburg, repose the mortal remains of Benjamin Wofford beside those of Anna Wofford, his wife.

The memory of no man deserves to be more fondly cherished in the pages of history than that of Benjamin Wofford, the founder of the Wofford College at Spartanburg - one of the foremost institutions of learning in the South,

Benjamin Wofford was the first Methodist to give $100,000 to education, and whose gift, it is said, has never been duplicated by any one man in the Southern Methodist Church.

Benjamin Wofford, son of Joseph Wofford, a soldier of the Revolution whose memory and patriotic service to his country we have already noticed, was born (1780) during the stormy period of the Revolution, near the south bank of Tyger River, within the limits of Spartanburg county. He commenced his life of usefulness with the beginning and growth of this great American Republic. He was born of pious parentage, who, doubtless, early impressed upon his mind the principles of honesty, integrity, frugality, and the truths of the Christian religion. He received only such advantages of education as could be afforded in his day and time, to which he added by close and constant research into the things which alwa}'s tend to adorn and elevate the human character. Being called to preach the gospel, he was a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church for nearly a half century. It is said that he possessed a strong and active mind, imbned with plain republican principles, and always stood firm in his ardor for the rights and honor of his native State. He lived, the larger portion of his life, at his old homestead place, near Chapel Church (the present residence of Mr. Allen) , where his remains were interred, as stated, but died in the town of Spartanburg, S. C, December, 1850. It is recorded of him that, first and last, thousands shared his generous hospitality. In his last will and testament it was found that he had made one of the most magnificent bequests ever made in South Carolina. This was for the purpose of establishing and endowing a college for literary, classical and scientific education, to be located in his native District, Spartanburg, and to be under the control and management of the Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church of South Carolina. In other words, it was found that, for the benefit of the young generations surviving him and for generations yet unborn, he had, in order to advance religion and science, bestowed the garnered fruits of a long and busy life. It has been asserted that one of the causes which led him to offer this princely gift to his church was largely due to the influence of a good, intelligent mother who died in 1826, with a well-read volume of Clarke's Commentary on her lap ; and it has also been stated that his excellent wife, Anna Todd, who died in 1835, suggested his impulse to do something for the further promotion of education. Certain it is this noble beqiiest will always prove a sufficient memorial of his affection and devotion to the church of which he was a faithful member and minister.

' ' Entombed beneath are the mortal remains of the Rev. Benjamin Wofford, son of Joseph and Martha Wofford, who was born the 19th day of October, A. D.

1780, and departed this life, in the full triumphs of the Christian faith, the 2d day of December, A.D. 1850, aged 70 years, i month and 13 days.

"For 48 years he was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church ; for 46 years a minister of the Gospel. He gave to the country and the church an institution for the benefit of which countless thousands yet unborn may have reason to be thankful and reverence the donor's name. Peace to his ashes."