Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1909-02-05
CAPTAIN w. q. SMITH DEAD.

WholeSouled, sunny tempered, gol-
den hearted Capt. w. Beatty Smith Is
no more. The end came last Wed
nesday afternoon at o'clock, after a
long period Of i'll health and suffering,
borne with the cheerful fortitude that
had characterized a long life Of loyal
endeavor and usefulness. And in Capt.
Smith, passed one Of the cleanest and
best men Of his generation in York
county.
Capt. Smith was a native Of York
county, having been born at the old
family homestead about one-half mile
west Of what Is now the Main street
of Clover, on November 16, 1910. His
father was the late Maj. Myles Smith,
we'll known and highly esteemed far
mer, and he grew to manhood on his
fathers farm. He was one Of the first
volunteers to the war from this coun-
ty, going to the front with the local
military company, the Jasper Light
Infantry, which had been trained by
Micah Jenkins, and which was then
under command Of Capt. Seabrook.
He was a sergeant. In the re-organi-
zation of the state forces, the Jasper
Light Infantry became company G. Of
the Palmetto Sharpshooters, and a
part Of Jenkins's famous brigade. He
was with the company in all its cam
paigns, and received successive pro-
motions until he became captain, which
rank he held at the close Of the war.
That Captain Smith was a good SOL
dier is testified by all his former COM
rades. His heart and soul were in the
cause, and he was upheld by an en-
thusiasm that yielded to no discour-
agement. He was moved by a sense
of duty, and wherever duty directed, he
went regardless Of consequences. And
since the war he has been an 'unre-
constructed rebel" in an ideal sense. He
accepted the arbitrament Of the sword
in good faith, and retained no bitter
ness; but to the day Of his death he
continued loyal to the cause for which
he fought, and no less loyal to all
those with whom he had worn the gray.
On his return from the war, Capt.
Smith went back to his farm and with
intelligence and courage assumed all
the duties Of q citizen Of that trying
time. The war had not ruffled his
cheerful temper, and he was not dis
mayed by the dark problems with
which he was now confronted. With
unlimited faith and hope, and with an
honesty Of purpose that never wavered,
he continued to stand for all that was
highest and best, living a life OF pre-
cept and example that served as
wholesome inspiration to those around
him.
Upon the completion Of what is now
the Carolina and North Western rail-
road from Yorkville to Gastonia, Capt,
Smith moved his family out to the then
unnamed station, took charge of the
railroad agency, built store, put IN
a stock of goods, and began to tell peo-
pie he was going to establish town
tneTe. LIE pIeSeuI to"h Va OO~
evidence of the manner In which he
carried out his promise. That he really
built the town, nobody who Is familiar
with its inception, growth and develop
ment will try to deny. The fact Is too
generally admitted and 1t would be too
easy to establish the truth Of 1t by re-
viewing it's history in circumstantial
detail.
Although 1t would not be fair to say
that It was his greatest work, or even
his most notable achievement, the
plant of the Glover Manufacturing
company is the most striking monu-
ment to Capt. Smiths energy, conn-
dence and far-sightedness. How long
he had had the matter in mind, nobody
knows unless he afterward told 1t; put
It was along about 1889 or 1890 that ne
first began active work toward the or
ganization Of his proposed cotton mill
company. Glover was then village OF
only twenty or thirty homes. There
was not a man in the town or IN hal1
a dozen miles of it who could have got
ten together $4,000 Of his own. II 1t
meant the saving Of his life. Capt
Smith worked out an installment sub
scription plan and going down lper-