William Edgeworth Beattie,
Greenville, SC
Greenville, SC
William Edgeworth Beattie (1859 - )
William Edgeworth Beattie was born on September 25, 1859 in Greenville, SC, the son of Hamlin Beattie and
grandson of F.F. Beattie of Virginia. The grandfather moved the family from Virginia and set up a mercantile
business. His father continued the business and founded the First National Bank in 1872. Beattie graduated
from school in Greenville, attended Princeton University and graduated in 1882. His father hired him into the
bank and there he labored for 22 years to become the Cashier. He learned banking under his father’s tutelage.
In 1889, Mr. Joe D. Charles, who had served as President and Treasurer of the Reedy River Manufacturing
Company, died. The mill was reorganized as Conestee Mills and bought by Mr. Lewis Parker, Mr. F.F. Beattie
and Captain Ellison A. Smyth. William was named President and Treasurer but still remained as Cashier at
First National Bank. At the same time, Parker was President of the Victor Mill in Greer, SC as welll as other
mills. Beattie was elected to the directorate.
Meanwhile a vacancy was created in the Presidency of Piedmont Manufacturing through the death of Col.
James L. Orr. Col. H.P. Hammett, who served as President for many years, organized the plant in 1873.
Upon his death, Mr. R.L. McCaughrin succeeded to the Presidency for a short time and then to Orr, the son-in-
law of the founder, Hammett. Upon the death of Orr in 1905, Beattie was elected President and Treasurer of
Piedmont. He gave up his positions with the Reedy River Manufacturing Company and the bank.
In 1914, the Parker Cotton Mills Company, the result of the merger in 1911 of 16 mills by Lewis W. Parker
became insolvent. Following re-organization, the company continued as Victor-Monaghan Company with M.C.
Branch as President and Beattie as Vice-President and Treasurer. In 1920, Branch resigned and Beattie was
elected president for three years. The combination of Piedmont and Victor-Monaghan gave Beattie command
of one of the largest group of spindles in the South.*
*The greatest number of spindles in the South. Victor-Monaghan Group with eight mills according to Mill News
in 1920:
· Monaghan, Greenville, S. C.
· Victor, Greer S. C.
· Greer, Greer, S. C.
· Apalache, Arlington, S. C. (a suburb of Greer)
· Seneca, Seneca, S. C.
· Walhalla, Walhalla, S. C.
· Wallace, Jonesville, S. C.
· Ottaray, Union, S. C.
One of the most unusual clubs is what is known as the Fixit Club within the Victor-Monaghan Mills. It is
composed of the superintendents, overseers and section men of the mills. They hold monthly meetings for the
purpose of discussing practical questions of how to improve their work. There they swap ideas and get the
other fellow's opinion. Once every three months the superintendents and overseers of all the mills meet for
joint discussion. This club has developed into one of the best organizations of the mills. Mill News
In 1923, at age 64, Beattie turned over operation of Piedmont to his oldest son, Samuel Marshall Beattie. The
Victor-Monaghan portion was turned over to Thomas M. Marchant.
No obituary can be found by electronic search (GM). Beattie was apparently alive in 1934 when Jacobs wrote
The Pioneer and included Beattie as one of the leading textile minds in the South.
Sources:
1) Jacobs, William Plumer.1935. The Pioneer. Clinton, S.C.: Jacobs & Co. Press.
2)
http://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/millnews/millnews.html Vol. XXII, No. 16 Oct 14,1920 Victor-Monaghan Group page
62-3 Accessed April 17, 2008.
William Edgeworth Beattie was born on September 25, 1859 in Greenville, SC, the son of Hamlin Beattie and
grandson of F.F. Beattie of Virginia. The grandfather moved the family from Virginia and set up a mercantile
business. His father continued the business and founded the First National Bank in 1872. Beattie graduated
from school in Greenville, attended Princeton University and graduated in 1882. His father hired him into the
bank and there he labored for 22 years to become the Cashier. He learned banking under his father’s tutelage.
In 1889, Mr. Joe D. Charles, who had served as President and Treasurer of the Reedy River Manufacturing
Company, died. The mill was reorganized as Conestee Mills and bought by Mr. Lewis Parker, Mr. F.F. Beattie
and Captain Ellison A. Smyth. William was named President and Treasurer but still remained as Cashier at
First National Bank. At the same time, Parker was President of the Victor Mill in Greer, SC as welll as other
mills. Beattie was elected to the directorate.
Meanwhile a vacancy was created in the Presidency of Piedmont Manufacturing through the death of Col.
James L. Orr. Col. H.P. Hammett, who served as President for many years, organized the plant in 1873.
Upon his death, Mr. R.L. McCaughrin succeeded to the Presidency for a short time and then to Orr, the son-in-
law of the founder, Hammett. Upon the death of Orr in 1905, Beattie was elected President and Treasurer of
Piedmont. He gave up his positions with the Reedy River Manufacturing Company and the bank.
In 1914, the Parker Cotton Mills Company, the result of the merger in 1911 of 16 mills by Lewis W. Parker
became insolvent. Following re-organization, the company continued as Victor-Monaghan Company with M.C.
Branch as President and Beattie as Vice-President and Treasurer. In 1920, Branch resigned and Beattie was
elected president for three years. The combination of Piedmont and Victor-Monaghan gave Beattie command
of one of the largest group of spindles in the South.*
*The greatest number of spindles in the South. Victor-Monaghan Group with eight mills according to Mill News
in 1920:
· Monaghan, Greenville, S. C.
· Victor, Greer S. C.
· Greer, Greer, S. C.
· Apalache, Arlington, S. C. (a suburb of Greer)
· Seneca, Seneca, S. C.
· Walhalla, Walhalla, S. C.
· Wallace, Jonesville, S. C.
· Ottaray, Union, S. C.
One of the most unusual clubs is what is known as the Fixit Club within the Victor-Monaghan Mills. It is
composed of the superintendents, overseers and section men of the mills. They hold monthly meetings for the
purpose of discussing practical questions of how to improve their work. There they swap ideas and get the
other fellow's opinion. Once every three months the superintendents and overseers of all the mills meet for
joint discussion. This club has developed into one of the best organizations of the mills. Mill News
In 1923, at age 64, Beattie turned over operation of Piedmont to his oldest son, Samuel Marshall Beattie. The
Victor-Monaghan portion was turned over to Thomas M. Marchant.
No obituary can be found by electronic search (GM). Beattie was apparently alive in 1934 when Jacobs wrote
The Pioneer and included Beattie as one of the leading textile minds in the South.
Sources:
1) Jacobs, William Plumer.1935. The Pioneer. Clinton, S.C.: Jacobs & Co. Press.
2)
http://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/millnews/millnews.html Vol. XXII, No. 16 Oct 14,1920 Victor-Monaghan Group page
62-3 Accessed April 17, 2008.