Southampton County Virginia USGenWeb Archives Obituaries.....Vaughan, Cecil C. Jr., 1929 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/va/vafiles.htm ************************************************ DEATH CLAIMS GEN. VAUGHAN, SOLDIER AND STATESMAN LEADING MEMBER VA. SENATE AND ROADS ADVOCATE End Comes for Eminent Citizen of Franklin, Long Prominent In Military and Civil Life of the State, At Early Hour Today WAS BORN AND REARED IN SOUTHAMPTON COUNTY Served His Country in Spanish-American War, Rising to High Rank In State Militia, But Most Notable Service Was in Cause of Roads. Funeral services for General C.C. Vaughan, who died last night at the Protestant Hospital in Norfolk, will be held tomorrow afternoon from the residence in Franklin with Dr. George S. Spooner of the High Street Methodist Church officiating, he will be assisted by Dr. George E. Booker, of Richmond. Lieutenant Governor West has designated Senators Lesner, Holt, Rogers and Wilson as a committee to represent that body at the funeral tomorrow. General Cecil C. Vaughan of Franklin, member of the state senate, banker, good roads advocate and leading citizen of Tidewater Virginia, died at 4:20 a.m. today at Protestant Hospital, Norfolk, from a complication of disease. In failing health for a year General Vaughan condition became serious in December and an operation failed to give permanent relief, although some improvement followed. For the last week, the end had been expected at any moment. Cecil Crawley Vaughan, Jr. was born in Southampton County sixty-one years ago next July. He was educated in public and private schools, graduating from Randolph-Macon College at Ashland, and later taking a course in Banking at Poughkeepsie, N.Y., after which he became cashier of the private banking house of Vaughan and Company at Franklin, headed by the late C.C. Vaughan, its founder. At the death of his father he became active head of the house, whose affairs he had managed for some years previously. Three-Fold Career The career of General Vaughan may be said to have been three-fold; business, military and public. As a business man he was recognized as having a keen knowledge of conditions in the agricultural district in which he lived as well as in the financial and manufacturing development of that section. He was recognized as a banker of sound judgment and he'd been helpful in stabilizing condition in that area. In public life, he first attracted attention as an advocate of good roads in Virginia, and was the first president and one of the organizers along with Senator John A. Leaner, of Norfolk, of the Virginia Good Road Association. The so-called Ridge Route, the first concrete highway connecting Norfolk with Richmond and running by way of Suffolk and Franklin to Petersburg, was one of General Vaughan's accomplishments and was his pride. General Vaughan was one of the early leaders of the Tidewater Automobile Association and was its first vice-president from the time of its organization until his death. He was a regular attendant at the monthly meeting of its directors until his health failed making the trip from Franklin by motor on the evenings of the board's sessions. When Junius E. West, of Suffolk, was elected Lieutenant-governor in 1921, General Vaughan was named to succeed him in the state senate, and was re-elected twice without opposition. In the senate he served on the roads, finance, fish and game and other important committees and had developed great influence. The general assembly in 1927 honored him by naming a bridge over Nottoway river, south of Franklin for him. General Vaughan had frequently been mentioned as a candidate for governor, for congress and for other political honors, but he appeared to have to inclinations in that direction. The state senatorship was the only elective office he sought, and he entered that race only after considerable pressure was brought to bear on him. In military affairs for more than 20 years, General Vaughan was the ranking officer of the Virginia National Guard, serving as brigadier-general of the state's infantry brigade from 1907 until the command was mustered into the federal service twenty [sic] years later at the outbreak of the World War, when it became part of the 29th division. He was mustered out of the federal service for physical disability and was placed on the retired list of the Virginia National Guard with his rank. At the outbreak of the Spanish-American War he was captain of Company 1, Fourth Virginia Infantry, and with his company volunteered for service with the army of occupation in Cuba after the regiment had not participated in actual fighting before the Spaniards' surrender. When the Fourth Virginia was reorganized after the Spanish-American War, Captain Vaughan was made Lieutenant-colonel under the late A.M. Higgins, of Norfolk, and was promoted to command the regiment, when Colonel Higgins died. At the organization of the infantry brigade during the term of Claude A. Swanson as Governor, General Vaughan was recommended for appointment as brigadier general and was so named by Governor Swanson. In that position he maintained the three Virginia regiments at a high state of efficiency, commanding the brigade on the Mexican border in 1916, where it was highly commended. He took the brigade to Anniston, Ala, where at Camp McClellan it was merged into the 29th Division. Surviving General Vaughan are his wife, who was Miss Katherine Keith of Tennessee, and four children, Captain C.C. Vaughan, III, cashier of the Vaughan & Company Banking House; Mrs. Clifford Cutchins, Misses Cora and Katherine Vaughan, a sister, Mrs. R.J. Camp, also survive. In speaking of the death of his close personal friend and political supporter, Col. J.E. West said: "In the death of Gen. C.C. Vaughan, Jr., Virginia has lost one of its outstanding citizens and leaders. His district has suffered an almost irreparably loss. His greatest service to his state, outside of his military career, was in creating sentiment for good roads to which cause he gave his utmost efforts. His passing will be deplored not only in his own community but throughout Tidewater whose interest lay close to his heart and to which he gave the most devoted service." photographic portrait included with article, labelled "Photo by VA. STATE CHAMBER," headed "State Mourns," captioned: C. C. VAUGHAN In the death of Gen. C.C. Vaughan, soldier and statesman, his district and state have suffered a great loss. ****************************************************************************** GENERAL C.C. VAUGHAN, JR. FRANKLIN LOSES ITS FOREMOST CITIZEN GENERAL VAUGHAN General C.C. Vaughan of Franklin died at the Protestant Hospital, Norfolk, early Thursday morning, March 21, in the 61st year of his life. He had been at the hospital constantly since November 28, 1928, except for a few days stay in his home here about a month ago. He had been in ill health for several months and members of his family and intimate friends who knew of his condition had been unable to entertain hope for his recovery during the last few weeks. Cecil Crawley Vaughan, Jr., was the son of the late Cecil Calvert Vaughan and Mrs. Antoinette Gay Vaughan, both members of prominent Southampton families, and was born at the Ellis place in the Franklin community July 8, 1868, which General Vaughan had recently obtained and converted into a model dairy farm. He was educated at the old Suffolk Military Academy and at Randolph-Macon College. In 1886, he formed with his father the banking house of Vaughan and Company, which has developed into one of the strongest financial institutions in Virginia. General Vaughan was cashier of the bank from its organization, and for many years had been its directing head. His interests in other industrial enterprises was large and varied, and for the last few years he had derived much pleasure in supervising the operation of his farms and was keenly interested in promoting dairying and tobacco growing in this and section. A NOTABLE MILITARY CAREER It was quite natural that General Vaughan should have been, by inclination, a soldier, since his father served through the War Between the States with an honorable record for bravery and gallantry; his great-grandfather was a veteran of the War of 1812, and his great-great grandfather a soldier in the American Revolution. His connection with the militia dates back to 1892 when he joined old Company "I" of this town, rising through the ranks to the captaincy of the company of the company, a position he held during the Spanish- American War and until the muster-out of the troops in April, 1899. Upon the reorganization of the old Fourth Virginia Regiment after the Spanish-American War, the Franklin company was the first to be reorganized with General Vaughan as its captain. At the formation of the 71st Infantry Regiment, he was elected lieutenant colonel, and was unanimously chosen to succeed the late Colonel A.M. Higgins in February, 1906. Just one year later, on February 16, 1907, upon his unanimous selection by officers of the three Virginia regiments, was appointed by Governor Swanson as Brigadier-General of the Virginia Volunteers. Following several months service at Camp McClellan, Anniston, Alabama, during the World War, he was retired with the rank of Major General. ACTIVE IN FRATERNAL ORDERS His interest in affairs also extended to fraternal orders, and he held a high place in Virginia Oddfellowship, being Grand Master of the order in 1908, and one of the founders of the Odd Fellows Home in Lynchburg. Until only a few months ago, he was President of the Home and had been on its board of trustees since its establishment. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity and a Shriner, holding his membership with Khedive Temple, Norfolk. Among other clubs and organizations to which he belonged were: the Army and Navy Club, Westmoreland Club of Richmond, Virginia Club of Norfolk, Fitzhugh Lee- Higgins Camp Spanish-American War Veterans of Norfolk, Southampton Post. No. 73, the American Legion, and the local camp Sons of Confederate Veterans. VIRGINIA’S PIONEER ROAD BUILDER In no field of endeavor, however, has his service to his State been more conspicuous than as a road-builder, and he might very fittingly be called the father of improved highways in Virginia. The same foresight which made him successful in business and banking enabled him to visualize for in advance of the average man what the invention of the automobile would mean, and as early in automobile history as the year 1907, he mapped out a road from Norfolk to Petersburg, accompanied by his father, who was chairman of the Board of Supervisors of Southampton County at the time. The trip was made in a Stanley steamer, one of the first cars ever owned in this part of the State, and from that date until he laid down his work a few months ago, building better roads for Virginia was ever in his thoughts, and to this cause he had given of time and means as no other man in Virginia has done. As President of the Virginia Good Roads Association, an official in the Tidewater Automobile Association, and for the last nine years a member of the Senate of Virginia, he had worked faithfully and tirelessly to the end that his senatorial district in particular and the State at large might have the benefit of permanent, hard- surfaced roads, the vital factor in accessibility and modern transportation. In his service in the State Senate, no act has been of greater benefit and consequence than the successful passage in the General Assembly of 1928 of the Vaughan Road bill, which added 1,586 miles to the system of State highways in Virginia. Two of the notable milestones in his work for better highways were the pouring of the first concrete in Southampton County on July 4, 1919, beginning the first link in the Ridge Route, and the opening of the Franklin- North Carolina highway and the River May 13, 1926. This bridge was officially named the "General C.C. Vaughan Bridge" by act of the General Assembly of Virginia in 1927, and is one of many lasting memorials in this section to our great citizen and road builder. A LEADER IN THE STATE SENATE One September 22, 1921, he was the unanimous choice of a Democratic district convention in Suffolk to succeed Lieutenant-Governor Junius E. West to the State Senate from the Fifth Senatorial District. He was unopposed for the Democratic nomination in 1923 and 1927, and has easily been one of the outstanding members of that body, holding the chairmanship of the important committees on Roads and Finance, accomplishing at every session a great deal of worthwhile legislation for his constituents. General Vaughan was chairman of the Senate committee of the World War Memorial commission, appointed to erect a carillon in Richmond, and had given much time and thought to this measure which was authorized at the last session of the General Assembly. He had been prominently mentioned for the governorship, and numbers of his friends had importuned him to offer for that honor, both four years ago and in the approaching campaign. In 1888, he married Miss Katherine Keith of Athens, Tenn., who survives him with four children: Miss Cora Vaughan, Mrs. Clifford A. Cutchins, Miss Katherine Vaughan and Cecil Vaughan, III. He also leaves one sister, Mrs. R.J. Camp, and three grandchildren. TRIBUTE BY GOVERNOR BYRD When the news of General Vaughan’s death reached the Governor, he immediately ordered the flag on the State Capitol at half-mast until after the funeral here, and paid the following tribute to Senator Vaughan’s worth as a legislator: "General Vaughan was one of the ablest men that has ever sat in the State Senate, and Virginia will always revere his memory for his pioneer work in behalf of good roads, his sound judgment and advice in shaping legislation that has given the State its modern road system. He was a valuable legislator, a man of high character and broad vision. His death is a great loss to the State." Other expressions of regret at the death of General Vaughan and in appreciation of his work were made by Lieutenant-Governor West and Senator John A. Lesner, president of the Tidewater Automobile Association and his life- long friend. Governor West had appointed the following committee from the Senate to represent that body here at the funeral this afternoon at 3 o’clock: Senators John A. Lesner of Norfolk, Saxon W. Holt of Newport News, W.O. Rogers of Sussex and J. Belmont Woodson of Nelson. A delegation of directors from the Tidewater Automobile Association will also be in attendance when the funeral services will be held from his late residence in North High Street today. As a tribute of respect from the whole town, the stores and business houses will be closed today during the funeral hour by proclamation of the Mayor. FUNERAL TODAY AT 3 O’CLOCK Dr. Geo. H. Spooner, pastor of High Street M.E. Church, will conduct the funeral services this afternoon, assisted by Dr. Geo. E. Booker, presiding elder by the Richmond District, and a boyhood friend of General Vaughan’s. Interment will follow in the family plot in Poplar Spring Cemetery here. The Masons of the country will participate in the service, and the ritual of the Spanish-American War Veterans will be recited by a delegation of his former comrades from Norfolk. The State of Virginia is sending an escort of troops to fire the customary volley over the grave of the soldier, and a bugler to sound taps. General Cecil Crawley VAUGHAN, Jr., State Senator, banker, veteran of the Spanish-American War & WW-I, b. 8 Jul 1868, Ellis place, Franklin, d. 21 Mar 1929, Norfolk, interred in Poplar Spring Cemetery (Section 1, Plot 32*), Franklin, 22 Mar 1929, "Smithfield (VA) Times," Thurs., Vol. 8, No. 40, Mar. 21, 1929, p. 1; "Tidewater News" (Franklin, VA), Vol. 24, No. 24, Fri., Mar. 22, 1929, p. 1 *Additional information: His father & his son (all in same plot), were named Cecil Calvert, rather than Cecil Crawley; notwithstanding, they were designated Sr., Jr. & III. Southampton County Historical Society {SCHS} Cemetery Project, Poplar Spring list: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/southampton/cemeteries/poplar1.txt His mother's obit ("Tidewater News," Aug. 22, 1913) is posted at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/southampton/obits/v250a1ob.txt His widow's obit ("Tidewater News," Mar. 7, 1941) is posted at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/southampton/obits/v250k2ob.txt Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Carolyn Keen (VAHistoricHouses@aol.com) & Mrs. Bruce Saunders (bs4403@verizon.net), and re-formatted by File Manager. file at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/southampton/obits/v250c4ob.txt