The Three Manly Brothers
They were resident* of C'liuthnm County.
®ne was a |>roiuiiient Episcopalian. the sec¬
ond was a distinguished Catholic, and the
third was a devout llaplist.
IN Chatham you may start out
I gunning for a lowly rabbit and
I wind up by bagging an elephant.
From this county came the famous
Tory David Fanning, who raided
the Colonial capital at Hillsboro
and carried Governor Thomas
Burke a captive to Wilmington.
Fanning was so notorious a Tory
that after the Revolution he was.
by name, excepted from the pro¬
tection of an act of amnesty then
passed. From Chatham came At¬
torney General James Fauntle-
roy Taylor and Attorney General
Hugh McQueen.
No one could call Chatham a
deep water county, although the
Federal Power Commission might
hold that Deep River is navigable
for canoes during the Spring
freshet as far upstream as Ram¬
sey's Mill, where Lord Cornwallis
built a bridge during the Revolu¬
tion. Notwithstanding its inland
location. Chatham produced the
two most famous sailors in Caro¬
lina history. From his Chatham
home “Rockrest" came Captain
Johnston Blakeley, commander of
the Wasp in the war of 1812, who
went down with his ship. From
Pittsboro came Captain James i.
Waddell of the Confederate cruiser
Shenandoah. Any student of Caro¬
lina history should know the Cap¬
tain’s middle name.
Carolina has been the home of
many famous brothers — such as
the Ransoms of Northampton, both
of whom were Confederate Gen¬
erals: Governor Zebulon B. Vance
and his brother General Robert B.
Vance; the Kitchinsof Halifax; the
Dukes of Durham; the Connors of
Wilson; the Pous of Johnston; the
Winstons of Franklin; the Fries or
the Hanes brothers of Winston; the
Poteats of Caswell. From Burke
there came three brothers who
were Colonels in Lee's army, all
of whom were killed on the field
of battle.
Here are three Manly brothers
from Chatham: one a distinguished
Episcopalian; one a distinguished
THE STATE. JULY 17. 1948
»!/
II. C. LAWRENCE
Catholic; one a distinguished Bap¬
tist. They were as diversified in
their fields of service as they were
in their religious beliefs, and until
someone can come forward with
a better record. I claim primacy
for these brothers as servers of
three different faiths.
The First Brother
The Episcopalian CHARLES
MANLY was born in 1795 and
graduated from the University.
He served as reading clerk for the
House of Commons for a number
of years. His length of service as
a University trustee almost
equalled that of Federal judge
Henry Potter of Cumberland. Mr.
Manly became a University trustee
as early as 1821 and continued to
serve on the executive committee
or as secretary and treasurer of the
Board of Trustees until 1868
nearly fifty years. I le was attorney
for Chatham County for thirty
years, and was presidential elector
in 1840. He was a Whig in politics,
and was elected as Governor in
1848 by the uncomfortably small
majority of 843 votes.
During the Civil War "Manly's
Batten.*" was recruited from Ra¬
leigh. It was named in honor of
the Governor’s son. Major Basil C.
Manly, who after the war was
seven times elected as Mayor of
Raleigh.
The Second Brother
The Catholic MATHIAS E.
MANLY was born in 1801 and was
graduated from the University in
1829. Later, the University con¬
ferred the degree of LL.D. upon
him. Judge William Gaston is the
most famous Carolina Catholic,
unless Governor Thomas Burke be
entitled to that distinction. At any
rate Mr. Manly married Hannah,
daughter of Judge Gaston, and this
no doubt accounts for his con¬
version to the Catholic faith. Judge
Manly was a member of the Com¬
mons, and in 1840 was elected as
a Judge of the Superior Court,
which position he retained until
his election as a member of the
supreme court in 1860. He was a
member of the Convention of 1865;
he served as Speaker of the Senate
in 1866; he was elected to the
United States Senate in 1867. As
was his brother Charles, he served
as trustee of the University from
1835 to 1868 and again after his
party regained political power
from 1874 until his death in 1881.
Clement Manly, the knightly
leader of the Winston bar. was a
son of Judge Manly and he. like
his father, was a devout Catholic.
The Third Brother
The Baptist Reverend Doctor
BASIL MANLY was an outstand¬
ing minister, not only of Carolina
but of the South. Along with those
other two fathers of the Baptist
faith. Reverend Doctors Boyce and
Broadus. Dr. Manly founded at
Greenville. South Carolina, the
institution known os the Southern
Baptist Theological Seminary,
which was later moved to Louis¬
ville. Kentucky, and where for
more than fifty years it has served
as the principal training school for
Southern Baptist preachers.
Dr. Manly was such an outstand¬
ing preacher that when Jefferson
Davis was inaugurated as Presi¬
dent of the Confederate States at
Montgomery. Alabama in 1861.
Dr. Manly was selected to deliver
the prayer.
In our county of Moore there is
a town named Manly. It could,
with propriety, have been named
for any of these three brothers.
To which of the brothers does this
honor belong?
The famous phrase. "First at
Bethel, Furthest at Gettysburg.
Last at Appomatox." was coined
to distinguish North Carolina's par¬
ticipation in the War Between the
States.
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