"Big Daddy" Hathcock; Thomas Alexander Hathcock, JR.

Dr. Thomas A. Hathcock, Jr. c.1930

         My Great-grandfather Hathcock is one of my Village "elders". When my imagination visits my family history in North Carolina, his is one of the first images recalled.  Always somber in photographs, spoken of with great respect by my grandfather, this man I never knew had great influence over the men and women in my family for at least three generations.  He was a wealthy man in his area and time, involved in many professional, business, civic, and church enterprises.

         I have wondered if my teenage appreciation of the works by Williams and Faulkner was enhanced by my relating to the "Big Daddy" in their Cat on a Hot Tin Roof  and A Long, Hot Summer. Their characters may have resided in Mississippi, not Norwood, NC, but that small geographic shift was completely lost on me.  It was years before I wasn't convinced my ancestor had rocked on this front porch and spoken just like Burl Ives.

vintage side view of Hathcock home on Whitley Street, Norwood, NC

        
      

                                                  Thomas Alexander Hathcock, JR.
                                                                    1865-1943


Thomas, Jr. was born the sixth of seven children to Thomas Alexander Hathcock and Sarah Caroline Shoffner, in Albemarle, Stanly County, NC. His father was a Captain in the Home Guard in the mid 1860s, not always an enviable position since he was charged with capturing deserters, runaway slaves, and draft evaders. Thomas, Sr. was a farmer and in the 1870 census had $4000 in real estate. He could afford to have several of his children educated at college.

Thomas, Jr. attended Trinity College, the University of North Carolina, and then, Baltimore Medical College, at the University of Maryland in Baltimore.

        An article in "The Vidette", published in Norwood, NC, October 1,1891 reads, "Mr. T. A. Hathcock, who lives about 5 miles Southwest of this place, boarded the train here this morning for Baltimore, where he goes to attend Medical lectures in the University of Maryland.  Tom is a steady, talented young man, and we wish him a bright and useful career in his chosen profession."


       A social news item in The Southern Vidette reads, "Three of our young friends have left here to enter college: U. B. Blalock for Durham Trinity College, W. H. Turner for A & M College Raleigh NC, and T. A. Hathcock for Baltimore Medical College."


After his graduation in 1894, Thomas, Jr. returned to Norwood to practice medicine. He was soon elected as a County Commissioner. In November that year, he married the mayor's daughter, Estelle Dunlap, a graduate of the Greensboro Female College. The following year 1895, he was elected Mayor of Norwood and his first child was born, my grandfather, Bernard Dunlap Hathcock.

The office where Dr. Hathcock maintained his medical practice was located on North Main Street in Norwood.  Built around 1895, it is considered one of the notable historic properties due to its architectural interest.  It is a two story brick building with elaborate pressed tin covering the front, from the top of the first story to beyond the roof overhang.  Over the years, the first floor has been remodeled extensively, at one time housing a motion picture theater.  The basic structure and details have remained the same.

T. A. Hathcock building Norwood, NC Jan 2001

By January 1915, their family included eight children. Bernard Dunlap, James Shoffner, Joseph Weinstein, Mary Agnes, Fanny Myra, Thomas A. III, Estelle Polly, Sarah Catherine. One daughter, Anna Caroline, died of whooping cough in 1901 as an infant. I heard my grandfather share the story of Anna's illness and death, just once, when he was emphasizing to my mother the need for immunization shots. He was only six years old at the time, but the horror of her pathetic coughing made a tremendous impression on him. (I had the privilege of meeting and interacting with all of the adult siblings during my childhood. Due to geography, I saw some more frequently than others. My grandmother, Faye, wife of Bernard Dunlap, was the great family promoter. She instigated most family gatherings.)

Dr. Hathcock continued to serve as a public official on the school committee or Board of Commissioners, in addition to his medical practice, until 1917.

 He entered the Army 4 Aug 1917  as a 1st Lieutenant and served at the Medical Officers Training Camp,  Greenleaf, Chicamauga park. Later, he was at  Base Hospital, Camp Wheeler, Macon, GA; he was promoted to Captain 24 April 1918.  At Chicamauga Park evac. Hosp. No. 52, in 1918, he was discharged after the Armistice as a Major.

Thomas A. Hathcock, Jr. 1917

His wife, Estelle, died in 1928 leaving him with two daughters still at home.

He was superintendent of the Sunday School at Norwood Methodist Church for 36 years and was superintendent emeritus at the time of his death.  He was a member of the city school board for 25 years.

He was president of the Stanly Oil Co, president of Riverview Milling Co, and president of the Norwood Electric & Water Co, president of the Norwood Development Co, and president of the Bank of Norwood.

He served as the local surgeon to Southern and Norfolk-Southern railroads.

He was affiliated with the Rush Medical Club, the Stanly County and NC Medical Societies, Knights of Pythias, Mason, Woodsmen of the World and the Junior Order D.O.K.K.

It has been said by a few of his grandchildren, who called him "Big Daddy", that Dr. Hathcock was a very pleasant but strict man.  At the time of his death, there were sixteen grandchildren.   He was always interested in them but not inclined toward signs of affection. Reportedly, he also was very tight with his money and the grandchildren carried along stories from their parents.  Dr. Hathcock saw to the college education of all of his children and he left a considerable estate that added to the security and comfort of his children throughout their adult life.  My grandfather told me the children all received equal shares and the females were encouraged to maintain "their own money" separate from their husbands.  We can't know Dr. Hathcock's motivation for this, a mistrust of his sons-in-law or a respect for his female offspring, but a couple of his daughters ended up depending upon their inheritance for their later years' support. Bernard Dunlap Hathcock, my grandfather and the eldest son, was involved for many years with the management of some of the portfolios provided by his father's estate. Bernard was a lawyer who served with the Treasury Department and the Tax Board in Washington, D.C. Later, he was an investment advisor.  He supervised the trading in brokerage accounts long into retirement with the advice of Ray Abernathy, his longtime trusted broker. As has happened in many families, the wealth that grew during the lives of T. A. Sr. and Jr. was mostly dissipated by the time of the death of the next generation.

Bernard Dunlap and Faye Parker Hathcock, Bernard Jr, Anna, William, Irma

They left us some good stories but no gold!!

One story is told of Dr. Hathcock that he refused to spend money on plumbing the interior of his Norwood home despite the fact that his wife, Estelle, had purchased new bathroom plumbing fixtures with money saved from selling eggs. Estelle kept chickens in the rear of their Norwood home.  Dr. Hathcock considered indoor bathroom plumbing a completely unnecessary extravagance even though he owned one of the largest homes in Norwood and indoor plumbing was fairly common in the 1920's.  The fixtures remained stored in their barn until after Estelle's death. Interestingly, the fixtures were later installed as a condition of Thomas' marriage to Lesca Freeman.  The grandchildren recall 'Miss Lesca' as a kind and caring woman who took on the job of managing the doctor's household.  The marriage is reported as one of "convenience" according to several grandchildren.  However, Lesca was a woman of considerable "social standing" in many society news mentions. Lesca had been helping with the household and cooking for the children when they were at home. When Estelle died, two daughters were still at home full time, one came back between teaching sessions, and their sons visited on holidays. After a time, it was just more convenient for her to move in.  Their marriage took place just over one year after Estelle's death.

All was not good news in the doctor's later years. On September 29, 1942, Dr. Hathcock was arrested on federal drug charges. Charges were unlawful sales of narcotics. Bond was posted for $1000. This was first reported on page 9 of The Greensboro Record on August 29, 1942.

He received a probated sentence, was banned from writing prescriptions and paid a $500 fine.  He had been writing morphine prescriptions to a Mr. Hub Efird who was then selling the drug in Albemarle.  The Federal marshal said he had been watching the large number of prescriptions being filled in the local pharmacy for 10-12 years. A. D. McNeil, trading as Norwood Drug company, was also charged.

 Thomas died June 16, 1943.