State

John A. Gilmer There неге only two Sonlherner* whom Lincoln considered in forming Ills cnhinel. Gilmer и ns one of these men lint he de¬ clined the honor of an appoint iiienf. ТИЕ calibre of men is not to lip determined bv the number or character of offices which they hold, for many of our ablest men never seek or hold any public office. My subject poccMed one of the most powerful intellects in Carolina, and was one of the state’s most brilliant lawyers, yet he held but few public offices. Gilmer was born in Guilford County; the son of a small farmer with twelve children, and therefore he largely hud to enrvo out his own des* liny. The success which came to him was the result of his own pluck, pa¬ tience, perseverance and persistence, for these were his only assets. Raised on the farm, his days were spent between the plow handles, but when night came Gilmer did as Presi¬ dent Lincoln pored over the English classics until he became fairly well educated, so much so that his first position in life was that of the teacher of a small neighborhood school. With the earnings from this source, he was enabled to enter the school at Greens¬ boro. conducted by the famous head¬ master. Rev. Eli W. Carrot hers, his¬ torian of Carolina; and at this school he remained for two years contracting a debt for his education by borrow¬ ing money from a friend. By reason of his excellent mental equipment, and the hardest sort of foil, he be¬ came an excellent scholar, well versed not only in English literature, but also in Latin, Greek and the higher math¬ ematics. lie llii'ti wished to enter up¬ on the study of the law. hut as he was already in debt, and bad no resources, he went to South Carolina where he taught three year*; and with his earn¬ ing* from this source he was able to indulge his wish to 1ич*ошс a lawyer. He therefor.* entered the office of the distinguished Judge Archibald I*. Murphoy, where he pursued his stud¬ ies diligently and was admitted to the Bar in IS32. He entered at once upon the practice at Greensboro, where the rest of his life was spent. No Outside Help He had no rich friends or power¬ ful influences to push him forward iu his profession, and Greensboro at that time possessed a most able bar, in- »!/ II. C. LAWRENCE eluding Judge Murphev, Governor John M. Moreheail, Judge Thomas Settle, Congressman James T. Mon- head, and other lawyers of front rank. But notwithstanding his poverty, hi» lack of influential connections and the able older lawyers against whom he had to contend. Gilmer by the sheer power of his intellect rose* rap¬ idly in his profession. He was one of the ablest trial lawyers of bis day. po-.e.sing a deep insight into human nature; and the brilliance of his mind was such that he was able to compete on eoual terms with the more rx|K*ri- eneed lawyers who were his adver¬ saries in the contests of the court¬ room. lb* was a Whig in polities, and as a meniher of this party he was elected to the State Senate in IS Hi, where he was largely instrumental in piloting through that body the bill chartering the North Carolina Rail¬ road, in which his county was so vi¬ tally interested. The bill encountered Midi fierce opposition that it wa- filially pasted only by the deciding vote of Speaker Calvin Graves in breaking a tie vote in favor of the charter. Assisted Morehead So soon as the session was over, lu* took the Hold to assist Governor More head iu raising the one million dol¬ lars in private subscriptions which had to be obtained liefore the condi¬ tional subscription of two million made by the state could become avail able. He spent several months in thi» patriotic work, for which he received no compensation, and he nl»o bur¬ dened himself with a much larger personal subscription than his ineati» justified. He became one of the origi mil directors of this railroad, and 140 Million Dollars Jefferson Standard Life Insurance in force in North Carolina continued to serve in tin- capacity for a number of years. He served several terms a* Senator from («nil- ford, and took a leading part iu the «ession- of which he wn» и member. Prior lo the Civil War he wa* elect. -d a* a meral-r of Congress. He was a pronounced Union man, strong¬ ly opposed to secession and to the taking of any step* by tin* South which would load to the di-solution of the Union. Those view* lie -tro-sed strongly upon the people of tin и to until after Lincoln made hi* demand upon Governor Ellis for troops to aid in subduing the other Southern States. After that took place, Gilmer became a socessioni.t with extreme reluctance, for he foresaw, as did other of our leading state-men, that the South could not possibly win in the war upon which she had em¬ barked. Writes to Lincoln As soon as Lincoln was iuinigu- inted, Gilmer addressed to (|. new President a letter in w pressed the hope that Li make public a “clear and iMIvltlllfl" lit lltc VUitVi Alt I he ox- ould 1 dot initr Vi III* » iv И U|| Г which were then dividin * j. c X ort ll and South. Lincoln repl views had all been printe* . . that his his hub* lie speeches, and that if 1 new declarations they " me appear as if I rcpi crime of having been elct И' II Woll Hide Id n 1 1 any inkc* MIC. •ted 1 01 and mi* was anxious to apologize and gi Velios*." Lincoln gave page, where Gilmer ro. answers to certain of the beg the • | I la 1 for for- spooilie find the •lion, he hail propounded. Lincoln ”1 have no thought of r<- tl.e abolition of slavery in of Columbia, nor the slave the slave states, and if 1 such a recommendation clear that Congress wool 1 1 Hi¬ led : ling i *-{..# I..»*.. d u. ll fo long ink.- niff» II .... it." Then Lincoln added this terse and forceful sentence: “On one point only i* there substantial difference between us. You think slavery is right and ought to lx* extended; we think it i* wrong and should l*e restricted. For this neither has any just occa»ion to In* angry with the other." ( Continued on page lumly-tiro)