Macon County NcArchives Biographies.....Billings, Montgomery April 15, 1876 - January 9, 1942 ************************************************ 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: Wayne Billings wbill@charter.net February 26, 2009, 10:56 am Author: Wayne P. Billings MONTGOMERY DEVEREAUX BILLINGS April 15, 1876 - Jan. 9, 1942 Montgomery Devereaux (M.D.) Billings, the second of seven children born to Bayless Winslow and Rachel M. Cooley Billings, was born April 15, 1876 in Surprise, Roane Co., TN log home of his parents. Little is known, with certainty, of M.D. s early life; he probably attended the one room elementary school at Concord, TN which was about a mile from his boyhood home. He may have attended high school in Decatur, TN. Loudon Co., TN marriage records list the marriage of M. D. Billings to Sarapata Pope on Jan. 18, 1887, accompanied by the notation, issued, not executed. This could not have been Montgomery D. Billings since he would have only have been about eleven years old at the time. According to East Tennessee Letters of the 19th Century by Willie Reeves Hardin Bivens M.D. graduated in a class of eight from Hiwassee College near Madisonville in Monroe Co., TN on May 13th, 1899 at half past nine Oclock and was chosen to write the class will. In 1993 Andrew B. Dunsmore, the director of alumni affairs at Hiwassee College informed this writer that M.D. Billings is listed in an old Hiwassee College catalog with seven of his classmates as graduates in Hiwassees class of 1899. The book Tennessee Post Offices and Postmaster Appointments indicates M. D. served as postmaster at Surprise TN from 9 Sept. 1897 to 2 Sept. 1899. This is most likely the way he worked his way through Hiwassee college. The book Tennessee Post Offices location by county and date of operation, gives Meigs Co., TN as the location of the Surprise post office. A clipping from the August 11, 1899 issue of the Madisonville Democrat newspaper announces the marriage of Montgomery D. Billings to Miss Kate May (Mai) Clark of Hiwassee College near Madisonville, TN. She was born Oct. 1870 the daughter of Capt. Ed Clark, b. VA, and Mary Bruner Clark, Ed Clark was born in VA, while Mary Bruner was born in Greenville, TN. Sandra Grist Woods informs this writer that she owns one of Kates school books in which Kate had written her name as Kathryn Mai Clark. Mrs. Woods Mother, Mrs. Paul Grist, taught in the Macon Co., NC school system and was a close friend of Montgomery Devereaux. The Franklin Press newspaper dated April 3, 1941, published in Franklin, NC, states that M.D. and wife Kate moved to Franklin, NC in 1899 and that Kate taught at Franklin High school for twenty years when the school was located in the brick building of the Franklin Terrace. A Newspaper add dated Aug. 20, 1902, for the Franklin High School in The Franklin Press, is the first evidence we have that M. D. Billings has become the principal of Franklin High School. These adds were placed by the acting principal of Franklin High School each year. None of the previous years mentioned either M. D. or wife, Kate. The book, Franklin County North Carolina, lists M. D. Billings as principal of Franklin High School. Mr. and Mrs. M. D. Billings are listed as two of four teachers at the Franklin High School in a 1904 newspaper ad placed by M. D. for the school. On page 591, Macon Co., NC deed book R-3, it appears that M. D. and Kate Billings may have acted as agents for The Methodist Church of Franklin in the sale of the Franklin Terrace on May 13, 1915. Articles in the 1919 The Franklin Press describe M. D.s efforts to improve the county school system. Miss Mary Kilgore, who taught in Macon Co. schools from 1919-1925, said  Professor Billings became superintendent (of Macon Co., NC schools) in 1906 and encouraged teachers to be all they could be. He went out to every school and you never knew when he was coming. Mr. Billings formed Teacher associations, whose meetings teachers were expected to attend. The teachers were taught at these meetings plus they were expected to go to Summer school and were encouraged to graduate college.” Miss Kilgore continued, travel was difficult in those days. On more than one occasion the superintendent, who was a rather stout individual, had to pick his way across a log that formed the only bridge to a rural school. Nevertheless, he visited all the schools in the county. He didnt even have a secretary to help him with his duties but he spent 30 years building the county school system into the best in the state. He always had a story to tell, sometimes humorous, always appropriate. On March 26, 1923 The Franklin Press ran an article by M. D. , which outlined the way male teachers were expected to dress and behave. M. D. said, A man should not attempt to teach school in the same clothes he would wear to the cornfield, he should wear a clean shirt and collar and shave at least every other day. No objection like this is made of any woman teacher but some of them could add to the appearance of the schoolhouse and grounds. He warned all teachers , you are in the district to teach school, not to mix in any neighborly fuss. A good idea is to mind your own affairs. A Jan.15, 1942 article in The Franklin Press states, “M.D. Billings was once the Principal of the Franklin High School. Today the old school at Franklin Terrace is a bed and breakfast hotel named The Franklin Terrace, which is owned by Ed and Helen Henson. Ed is the Mayor of Franklin. At some point of their lives in Franklin, M. D. and Kate Billings built or bought a home on Main St. in Franklin. Mrs. Rhonda Thomlinson says  if you are on Harrison Street waiting for the traffic light where Harrison Street intersects Main Street, and you are facing south, the old Billings home is directly in front of you. Your headlights will shine on it. The old Billings home is known today as The Beshears House which is a bed and breakfast hotel that is furnished with antiques. Later, the Billings bought a brick home on Harrison Avenue in Franklin and became members of the Methodist church near their home. Due to the recession the Bank of Franklin had been forced to close Dec. 16, 1930. In a Franklin Press article dated March 12, 1931 M.D. Billings announces he is the liquidating officer for the Bank of Franklin and states the conditions which must be met by depositors in order to reopen the bank. A Franklin Press article of April 30, 1931 announces M.D.s appointment to the Bank of Franklins board of directors. An article on the history of the Bank of Franklin published in the Jan.15, 1942 issue of The Franklin Press indicates the bank was successfully reopened Feb. 14, 1934 without loss to any of the depositors, which was very uncommon during the depression era. Later in his career M.D. was to become vice president of the Bank of Franklin. The April 15, 1937 issue of The Franklin Press reported, At a meeting of the board of education Friday night, M. D. Billings was re-elected superintendent for Macon County schools for another term of two years. This makes Mr. Billings sixteenth term. At some point in his career M.D. also found time to serve on the Franklin board of Aldermen, become Mayor of Franklin and to become the Macon Co. Superintendent of Education for twenty five years according to articles dated Jan. 15,1942 in The Franklin Press and The Asheville Citizen Times. Mrs. M.D. (Kate) Billings died at her home on Harrison Avenue on March 31,1941 following an illness of several months, per an article in The Franklin Press dated April 3rd 1941. The article continued, Funeral services were held at the Methodist Church where she was a devoted member. A large congregation of friends filled the church. Most of the schools in Macon Co. closed as an expression of sympathy to Mr. M.D. Billings, Macon Countys former superintendent of education. Mrs. Billings was lain to rest in Franklin Cemetery (Now know as Woodlawn cemetery). Death certificate # 7, registration district # 57-50,, Franklin, Macon Co. , NC, informant - M. D. Billings, Full name of deceased- Kate May Billings, occupation - housewife, birthplace - Hiwassee College, TN, date of birth - Sept. 19, 1870, cause of death - carcinoma of the colon and date of death - March 31, 1941, age - 70 yrs. 6 months and 12 days. An article in the Franklin Press details the day of M. D.s death. In 1941 Mr. M.D. Billings had announced his plans to run for the state legislature and appeared in good health as he talked to a number of people on the streets of Franklin on the morning of Jan. 9, 1942. He had just driven home, accompanied by Mrs. Paul Grist, when he suffered a heart attack at about 5 P.M. and died instantly. Less than a year after the death of Kate Mary Clark Billings the Methodist Church was once again filled with mourners, this time to honor one who had spent his entire adult life in the service of Macon Co. and the city of Franklin. M.D. was buried beside his Kate in Franklin Cemetery. Franklin Cemetery is today known as Woodlawn Cemetery. The Graves of M. D. and Kate are marked by a rust-pink, double size, marble tombstone with the large single word BILLINGS engraved on it. To find their graves, enter Woodlawns West entrance off Old Murphy rd. Look to your left, the tombstone for M. D. and Kate is near the cemetery office and before reaching the first East/and West cross drive in the cemetery. Tombstones for Hurst and Massey are near the road and the Billings graves are the fourth row behind Hurst and Massey. Could it be that M. D. chose this cemetery as a way of remaining near his beloved Macon Co. Board of Education? The building housing this institution is only a stones throw away today in 1996. Death certificate # 3, registration district # 57-50, Franklin, Macon Co., NC. Full name of deceased - M. Devereau Billings. Informant- Mrs. Paul Grist. Birth date of deceased - April 15, 1876. Age - 65 yrs. 8 months 24 days. Occupation - retired school superintendent. Date of death - Jan. 9, 1942, 5 P. M. Sandra Grist Wood, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Paul Grist, says her Mother, Eliza Cobb Grist, was much akin to being M. D. and Kate Billings adopted daughter or Niece and that during their later years M. D. and Kate depended on Mr. and Mrs. Grist for care and assistance. Mrs. Eliza Cobb Grist is listed as Montgomery Devereauxs executrix in a notice placed in The Franklin Free Press on January 22, 1943. Mrs. Wood owns books, shaving gear and other thing once belonging to M. D. Billings family members in Tennessee say that once his mother died M.D. never returned home and they fondly recall the numerous books and fruit he would send them for Christmas. The Franklin Press had this to say of M.D. Billings; He was known and honored by perhaps a greater number of people than any other Macon citizen, his place will not easily nor soon be filled. Two generations of school children remember him, some of them helped by him in a quiet way to continue their education. His intellectual and mathematical acumen stretched out from the class room to unsnarl the ledgers of his county bank when a general panic forced the closing of the bank. His lifelong interest was the development of the Macon Co. School system. The Asheville Times had these remarks of M.D. Mr. Billings temperament and character represented a fine blend of the ideal and the practical. Coming to Macon a stranger, he knew most of Macons citizens by name in his later years. Many came to him seeking advice on questions ranging from college education to financial investments. Mr. Billings brought Macon Co. Schools into the front rank of the states public school system . He was one of the leaders in the state movement for compulsory school attendance. He was a most useful citizen whose influence will persist after him. Compiled and written by Wayne Paul Billings, Great Nephew of Montgomery Devereaux Billings, with great appreciation for the invaluable assistance of Mrs. Rhonda Tomlinson of Franklin, NC. Sept. 22, 1997, revised Feb 2009. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/nc/macon/bios/billings78gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/ncfiles/ File size: 12.8 Kb