Buncombe County NcArchives Biographies.....Revell, Oliver Davis 1863 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/nc/ncfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 February 23, 2008, 1:01 am Author: Leonard Wilson (1916) OLIVER DAVIS REVELL THE family name of Revell, which is also found under the forms of Revill, Revil, Revel and Revelle, is of French origin, the starting point of the name having been in Dauphine something like a thousand years ago. Following the Norman Conquest of England, a branch of the family emigrated to England and appears under the form of Revel in one of the old rolls of King John's time. From this family there were several English families who to this day use different spellings. The first of the name in America was James Revell, a young man who came to Virginia in 1035, then twenty years of age. Later another came to the eastern States. These two evidently came from England and belonged to the English line. Following the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, two of the Revell families left France, one settling in Ireland and one settling in South Carolina. Neither one of these seem to have multiplied much in number, and nearly one hundred years after this move the South Carolina family only consisted of two heads of families, Paul and Durham Revell, who were settled in Prince George's Parish of Georgetown District in 1790. Evidently, however, some of these South Carolina Revells had crossed over the border, for there were two or three families settled in Robeson County, North Carolina. In the meantime, the descendants of James Revell, who had come to Virginia in 1635, had disappeared from that State, but there were several families of the name settled in Northampton County, North Carolina, who were clearly descended from this emigrant to Virginia. From either Paul or Durham Revell is descended Oliver Davis Revell, of Asheville, one of the most successful business men of this generation in his home State, who was born near Camden, South Carolina, on August 6, 1863, son of Oliver and Winnie (Davis) Revell. Mr. Revell's maternal grandfather was a native of Georgia, and his maternal grandmother was a Justice, an ancient English name. Mr. Revell's father died when he was an infant, and when but two or three years of age his mother moved to Asheville because of the residence in that place of her brother, T. K. Davis. When he was sixteen years old she passed away, and the lad had to face life on his own account. He had received a certain amount of educational training in the public schools, and some commercial knowledge by attending night classes at a business college. In the meantime he had worked at the carpenter's trade, and though but a boy had a sufficient mastery of it to command a man's wages as a carpenter. He worked steadily at the trade for two and one-half years, saved his money, invested in a lot upon which he built a cottage which he rented for $10.00 per mouth, and at the age of nineteen he had gained confidence enough to begin contracting as a builder for other people. Even at that early period of his business career his remarkable aptitude for business made itself plain, the profits of his first year as an independent contractor running over $6,000. The second year of his work as a contractor was perhaps the only year of his career that showed a backset, for his profits in that year were not so large as in the first, only amounting to $3,500. He was. then only about twenty-one, but he had accumulated a capital of about $10,000. Bear in mind that this was thirty years ago before present systems had developed in the building business,, and one can then begin to understand the remarkable foresight of this man, who with his capital of $10,000 began to build small houses, selling them on long time and easy payments to people of small means. There is profit in that sort of business even now, but the profits in those days were better, aud the young contractor's capital increased rapidly and steadily. A total abstainer from liquor and tobacco, and with a strong physique, he was able to stand the hard and laborious work incident to his business from four o'clock in the morning even until midnight. At the age of thirty he had prospered so greatly as to have acquired a modest fortune. He was one of the few men who foresaw the panic of 1893. He realized that the great-speculative movement, which people called a "boom," and which had then for several years been sweeping over the country, had about run its course, and that pay-day was near at hand. Anticipating this he turned every possible dollar of his resources into cash, and when the calamity did come he was richly repaid for his good judgment, because values simply went to pieces, and he was able to acquire valuable properties at one-third of their valuation before the panic. Mr. Revell is one of those men who fully understands that* whatever may be the stress under which the country labors in times of panic, there is always a bed-rock value to the land, and. in every period of hard times he has been able to profit by that. He neither loses his head in "boom" times, nor grows discouraged in times of distress. When the panic of 1893 began to abate, Mr. Revell found himself much richer than he was at the beginning of that period, which caused the country such untold losses. He has large interests in banks and is a director in several banking and other corporations. Mrs. J. B. Gray, now Mrs. Revell, came, about this time, from New York State with her husband, who was in ill health, for the benefit of the climate of Asheville. Mr. Gray did not improve but died, leaving his widow a considerable estate. Some year and one-half after his death, on December 23, 1897, Mr. Revell and Mrs. Gray married. Her fortune added to his own gave him a very large capital, and he began to reach out into other sections. He had been attracted by the opportunities offered in the old Indian territory, which is now the eastern half of the State of Oklahoma, and being a man absolutely without fear, proved the courage of his convictions by making large investments in real estate in that section. An industrial edition of the Muskogee Daily Phoenix, printed in 1911, gave a full page to Mr. Revell and his work in that section. It is a very fine testimony to the business courage which has characterized this Carolinian's life. The Equity Building, the Carolina Building, the Metropolitan Building, and the New Jersey Building, high class business structures, two of them being very large office buildings, are all in a town of about thirty-five thousand population. In addition to his building operations in this locality, Mr. Revell is a large owner of farm and oil lands and has caused several oil wells to be drilled. To carry through these sorts of enterprises involves courage, capital and good judgment, and the man who lacks any one of the three is liable to come to grief. The Muskogee people, themselves full of enterprise, realized this and gave due credit to this North Carolinian and his work. He did not stop with Muskogee, and in other towns and cities in that section, as well as in other sections of the country, to say nothing of his home town of Asheville, where he is one of the largest property owners, he has made huge investments in land and then proceeded to improve the land. He does not belong to that type of speculators who buy the well selected lands and wait for somebody else to make the improvements that will enhance the value of their properties. It is questionable if Mr. Revell would care to again go through what he endured in those early days in the Indian Territory for even twice the large profits which he made. He frankly acknowledges that it was about as Godless a country as one could conceive, and that the hardships were very great. However, the sufferings of the early days, when the country was so crude and undeveloped and cursed with outlaws and fugitives from justice, have been rewarded by the influx of Godly and law-abiding citizens. The building of churches and schools has helped matters greatly. These institutions rank with those of any city three times the extent and possessing a far larger population than Muskogee which is now called the "City of the South West." The law and order now maintained there is creditable in the extreme. Mr. Revell's sound judgment had dictated the policy, and he carried it through in that resolute way which has characterized all of his operations. Aside from city property in which he has invested so largely in various places, lie is also a large owner of Oklahoma farm lands, of residence and prospective store property and also of oil lands on which several wells have been drilled. Mr. Revell is not to be considered a speculator. He is a true developer. He does not wait for someone else to make value to his holdings, but proceeds to improve his own and thereby to make value for the others holdings as well as his own. With all his courage he has never relied entirely upon himself. He has abiding faith in an Over-ruling Providence, and has never been ashamed of his religious faith, nor of asking help of God in his affairs. A man of kindly heart and a good judge of character, he has made a practice of utilizing young men, training them and giving them a start in life. Sometimes he had done this on his judgment after other men had become convinced that these men were not capable. He has not often been disappointed in his judgment in this matter, and has the profound satisfaction of knowing that there are many young men whose success in life is largely due to his advice and help. He believes strongly that young men of Christian training and religious tendencies are to be preferred, and that these will develop into more useful citizens than those of godless dispositions. He has made it a point in his selection of clerks and managers to secure God-fearing men, and his experience has shown that it is from such men that one obtains the best results. He has, through life, consistently been opposed to the liquor traffic, and strongly advocates a constitutional amendment which will make prohibition of that traffic nation wide. In a less degree, he is opposed to the use of tobacco, which, if not as harmful as liquor, certainly is of no advantage. For many years he has served as a deacon and trustee of the French Broad Baptist Church in Asheville, and has always been ready to help, to the extent of his opportunity, every good cause. His business has made him an extensive traveler in his own country, in addition to which he has traveled to some extent for pleasure. He has made several trips to Europe as a matter of recreation and information, and he shows the broadening effects which all men get who mix much with their fellow men over a wide area. He holds membership in the Elks Lodge of Asheville, the Muskogee Town and Country Club, Ozark Club, Motor Club, Phoenix Lodge, and Knights of Pythias, Oklahoma. Referring back to the Revells, there are some rather interesting facts in the old records bearing on the family that shows it to be of great antiquity. In addition to James who came to Virginia in 1635, John came over in 1652 in company with Robert Elam, and was the patentee of a tract of land in Henrico County. The fact has already been mentioned that the name disappeared from Virginia before the family was comparatively numerous in Northampton County, North Carolina, down on the Virginia border, and these were evidently the descendants of James and John. In France the family appears to have been settled in the Province of Dauphine at a very early date, and was classed among the nobility. In the year 1080 the name of Hugh de Revell is recorded as having been Grand Master of L'Ordre of St. John, one of the numerous organizations of that day of a semi-religious character. The name appears on the roll of Battle Abbey, England, in "Thierry's Norman Conquest," and from this follower of the Normans William was descended, the Revell previously mentioned as living in the time of King John, being also descended from Sir William Revell, of County Warwick, England. They claimed descent from the French family of Dauphine. In Dugdale's "Ancient Warwickshire," we are told that this "William had sons, John and Robert, whereof John was Lord of this place in the ninth year of Edward II. He was an active man, of great trust in his time, and was in commission for the living and receiving scrutage for the King's army. He also served as one of the Knights for the County in the Parliament held at Westminster. John was succeeded by William, who was of the retinue of Thomas, Bishop of Durham." In addition to Oliver Davis Revell in our own country Alexander H. Revell, of Chicago, has been one of the greatest figures of the business life of that city in our own generation. He is descended from the Irish Huguenot branch of the family. Fleming H. Revell, of New York, has been equally prominent. Oliver Davis Revell is what we call in this country a self-made man, which, incidentally it may be said, is not a correct statement, though the idea conveyed to our mind by the phrase is a definite one. There is, however, no such thing as a self-made man. Our so-called self-made men are the men who have been able to grasp opportunity when it came their way, the men of sound judgment, of good courage, of industry and of foresight. Most of these qualities are born in men, and when we say "self-made" we simply mean that the man in question has developed his talents to the limit of his strength. This has been true of O. D. Revell. He started life with a capital better than money. He marked out a course which he has followed strongly and definitely. His business life has been based on integrity, courage and confidence. Naturally, he has won, and he is entitled to a full measure of credit for the success attained. Additional Comments: Extracted from: MAKERS OF AMERICA BIOGRAPHIES OF LEADING MEN OF THOUGHT AND ACTION THE MEN WHO CONSTITUTE THE BONE AND SINEW OF AMERICAN PROSPERITY AND LIFE VOLUME II By LEONARD WILSON, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ASSISTED BY PROMINENT HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL WRITERS Illustrated with many full page engravings B. F. JOHNSON, INC. CITY OF WASHINGTON, U. S. A. 1916 Copyright, 1916 by B. F. Johnson, Inc. Photo: http://www.usgwarchives.net/nc/buncombe/photos/bios/revell37gbs.jpg File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/nc/buncombe/bios/revell37gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/ncfiles/ File size: 14.8 Kb