Wayne County, NC - Heritage Series Reprinted with permission of the Mount Olive Tribune and cannot be reproduced without permission. Judge Grady - One-Time Mount Olive Mayor "Our Heritage" By Claude Moore When I came to Mount Olive College seventeen years ago my good friend, Malcolm L. Grady of Albertson in Duplin County, asked me to write a sketch of his brother the late Albert S. Grady. Albert S. Grady was one of Mount Olive's foremost citizens. He gave me the facts but could never find the photograph to accompany the article. Malcolm Grady lived at his ancestral home called "Waterloo" built in 1826. It is now owned and has been restored by Dr. Dan Fagg, onetime Academic Dean at Mount Olive College, and a relative of the Grady family. Albert Sidney Grady was born in 1871 at "Waterloo" in Duplin County and was the son of William Henry and Emmaline Simmons Grady. His father and mother were both teachers and were born in the community where the Gradys and Simmons families had lived since the Colonial period. William Henry Grady was the first man in Duplin to volunteer for the Confederate Army and served during the four years of war. Albert Sidney was the oldest of eight children all of whom have long been deceased. Young Grady studied under his parents and was brought up in a home where emphasis was placed on reading widely and the development of the inquiring mind. His parents were staunch Presbyterians and were among the founders of old Hebron Presbyterian Church. When Presbyterian ministers came to the community they usually stayed with the Gradys. Mrs. Grady played the piano and organ and there was always music and singing. Young Grady also attended several private schools. While still quite young, Albert Sidney Grady studied law under his cousin, Leonidas V. Grady, an attorney in Kenansville. He later entered the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He studied law under Dr. John Manning and Judge J. E. Shepherd at the University. He was admitted to the bar in September 1897. On January 19, 1898 he opened his law office in Mount Olive in the Williams Building on the corner of Center and East James Streets. He had a large civil and criminal practice and was much respected for his legal knowledge and for his integrity and honesty. He served for several years as Recorder's Court Judge of Wayne County. Judge Grady was a conservative Democrat in politics and was active in party affairs. He was elected Mayor of Mount Olive and served for several years. He was an active member of the Mount Olive Chamber of Commerce. He was much interested in public education and served for many years on the Board of Trustees of Mount Olive High School. Judge Grady was married to Miss Carrie English in 1906. They had several infants to die and Mrs. Grady died in 1921. In 1924 Judge Grady was married to Miss Sammie Way of Greenville, S.C. and they had one son, Daniel Henry Grady who is married and now living in Wilmington. The Gradys lived on East College Street in Mount Olive. He was an active member of the Mount Olive Presbyterian Church, and served as elder and clerk for many years. He died in the 1950's and is buried in Maplewood Cemetery in Mount Olive. ============================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. The electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Guy Potts ==============================================================