Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1914-10-21
Distinguished Son of Edgefield
Passes Away at Mountain
Home.

About noon Sunday Mr.. Daniel
Augustus Tompkins died at his
summer home in Montreal. For two
years he has been an invalid but his
condition did not become acute un.
til about 10 days ago. The inter-
ment will take place to-day in Char
lotte, where he has made his home
for the past 80 years.
Sixty-two years ago.. October y,
1852. Mr.. Tompkins was born at
Meeting Street, his father being the
late Dr.. Clinton D. Tompkins and
his mother Miss Hannah Virginia
Smyly. After attending the neigh
borhood schools he was sent to the
boys academy at Edgeheld, and
later he attended the South Carroll
ma University. After graduating
from this institution he went to the
Polytechnic Institute at Troy, N.
Y. from which institution he
graduated in engineering i'll 1878.
For number of years he was en-
ployed by several large northern
corporations. In 1882 Mr.. Tomp-
kins came south and located in
Charlotte, embarking in business
on his own account. He was the
pioneer in the cotton seed oil in
dustry, being instrumental in build
ing possibly 200 cotton oil mills
throughout the Cotton Belt. He al
8, took the initiative in the erection
of probably 100 cotton mills. MIR.
Tompkins founded and developed
machine shop in Charlotte which
made that city for years the leading
city in the south for machinery,
factory construction and mill sup
plies of all kinds. He has also been
instrumental in erecting fertilizer
plants, electric light plants, and
modern ginning systems.
Mr.. Tompkins has always been
jealous advocate of vocational train
ing in the public schools of our
country, having rendered valuable
assistance in the establishment of
several textile schools in North
Carolina, South Carolina and Mis-
sissippi. He was a director of the
Agricultural and Mechanical college
located at Raleigh, and it was due
almost entirely to his efforts that
textile department was established
in connection with that institution.
1t can scarcely be questioned that
Mr.. Tompkins has been one Of the
leading factors in bringing the
South to the front industrially.
Without his inventive and con-
structive genius there would be less
spindles by millions in this section
and as to the cotton seed oil industry,
it would still be IN its swaddling
clothes instead of one of the fore
most inAu tries Of TIE !ycrid.
President Mckinley recognized
in him a. man who had but few
peers, appointing him member of
the Industrial Commission. Mr..
Tompkins was also elected direct
or in the Equitable Life Assurance
Society.
Mr.. Tompkins was connected
with a large number of industrial
enterprises, being president of D
A. Tumpkins Company, president
of the Atherton Cotton Mills and
president of the High Shoal Mills
He was one of the founders of the
Charlotte Daily Observer and OWL
cd majority of its stock, being
secretary of the corporation at his
death.
While Mr.. Tompkins was
eminently practical and devoted the
best years of his life to the material
development of the south, yet he
poss 4ssed unusual endowments in
tellectually, devoting much time tc
reading and study. He was the au-
thor Of several valuable books,
among them being a History Of
Mecklenburg county, - american
Commerce: Its Expansion" Cot
ton Mills: Processes and Calcula-
tions, Cotton Mill Commercial
Features" Cotton and Cotton
OIL" Cotton Values in Textii.,
Fabrics. " Several of his books have
been adopted as text books in the
textile institutions. Besides writing
the above named books, Mr.. Tom, :.
kins also wrote numerous articles
for the leading magazines. He was
Il strong advocate of local building
and loan associations, being large
shareholder in several large asso-
Citations.
Mr.. Tompkins' reputation as a