The farmer and mechanic., 1914-02-03
,E, c. S. WOOTEN.)

brother John Pugh Williams Wooten
He vas the oldest child OF Council
and Eliza Wooten,. OF Lenoir county,
and aas born May, 1926. He was
NAMED after Col. John Pugh Williams
OF the Revolution, who was relative
of williams Isler. OF Jones county, my
mothers father. The subject or TINS
sKetch was prepared for college ps
-. J. Bingham, al his celebrated
scnooi at Oaks. in Orange county. he
was we'll grounded in LATIN. Greek
and mathematics At that time Mr..
Bingham's school was the best pre-
paratory school in the South. Ny
youngest brother, l. i. Wooteh Was
AT the Bingham school when the Wa.
commenced. / have always regretted
that | did not go 10 that school, Dut |
I was prepared at home III private
school by G.. L. Loyejoy. son OF }. M |
Lovejoy, Of Raleigh. and }. G. tltch-
ford, Of Warren County poth hne
scholars and excellent teachers. l-len|
Wooten, after leaving Mr. Bingham s.
did not go to college, but devoted NM
self to the charming pursuit OF
Southern planter. His grandfather
John Wooten, when he died IN 1852
devised him tract OF iand in A'tnoi.
and WAYNE counties OF one thousand
acres and my father gave him some
negroes. and he entered upon the dig-
pified and independent life or
Southern planter Having no TASTE
for literature. he addressed hlmseT
to his work with energy and lnteiil-
gence and was one Of the best farm
rrs i'm the community. He made all
his supplies on his plantation ana
sold every year pork and corn, De
sides cotton, which was the money
crop. lie made annually from his
farm net income of three thousanu
dollars. AS he had a valuable planta-
ton he invested his money in negroes
and was fast improving his LANDS. so
that in a few years he would have
had il in the highest state OF cutli-
vation. He never married ana as MS
farm joined my fathers he made ms
house his home, coming there 10
spend the night and returning 10 ms
business the next morning he EN-
pIoyed an oyerseer 10 look after hE
farm. so after returning in the morn
ing he would find his business ana
work on the farm in proper condl-
ton, he would ride to some nelghoor
house to spend the day, thus leading
the idle life of the Southern planter.
His cousin John Wooten, lived about
three miles from him and they loNeu
each other like brothers. and he spent
almost half of his time with hlm
John Wooten was my fathers nephew
ried my mothers niece, Rebecca
isler. n woman Of great beauty who
was one of the finest characters as q
woman I ever knew. Her rather
dying when young, my mother raised
her. so she was almost like a sister
in the family These two young mer
OF the same age. possessed OF land:
and negroes and ample means, de
voted themselves to pleasure. and hat
good time in this life. They neve
allowed anything to worry them, ant
when as a boy l saw them l though
they were the happiest men l eve
knew John Wooten was finely physi
cally developed. about six feet high
broad-shouldered and weighing owe
two hundred pounds. They wer
jolly rollicking fellows. always rod
horseback, and would have made fin
specimens of knights during the as
of chivalry in the middle ages. Will
they would tease and joke other fel
lows and have fun at their expenS
yet they never joked each other.
They were AS kind to their negroe
az "A father to his children. and nevs
allowed the overSeers to oe cruel I
them The planters of those time
were hospitable and kind and d.
lighted in company, ana We're neve
better pleased than when they had
house fun of visitors. The peopl
had the leisure To devote to com pan
,
thing to. eat on every farm and ser,
ants to attend to the company. so tt
entertainment was not burdenSon
but was q pleasure 1t is not So wit
the people today. for they have II,
the servants or the means. III tn
respect We are becoming TankeeiZe
Lieutenant WOoten was man
,ery broad. liberal ideas, little. rnea
thought never entered his mind. +
vas about six feet high and Wou
weigh an hundred and eighty pound
we'll propoctioued., and was iii
horseman. He was brave, chiyalri
tender. gentle and independent al
despised f,atterer or parasii
whom the poet describes as
A mere court butterfly
That fiut.ers in the pageant OF
monarch
While he WAS = strong partiz
pemocrat in his politics and alWa
took an, active interest IN the elect
"a; friends }t. never