Leroy McAfee
| Leroy McAfee | |
|---|---|
| Born |
December 17, 1837 North Carolina, U.S. |
| Died | 1873 |
| Education | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
| Occupation | Lawyer, politician |
| Spouse(s) |
Hattie Cameron Agnes Adelaide Williams |
| Relatives | Thomas Dixon, Jr. (nephew) |
Leroy Magnum McAfee (1837 – 1873) was an American Confederate veteran and politician. He was a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives.
Early life
Leroy Magnum McAfee was born on December 17, 1837 in North Carolina.[1] He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1858. McAfee's nephew was Thomas Dixon, Jr..[2]
Career
McAfee worked as an attorney in Shelby, North Carolina.[1]
During the American Civil War of 1861-1865, McAfee served as an officer in the Confederate States Army.[1] He was commissioned as a Major on April 12, 1862, in the 49th North Carolina Infantry.[1] He was promoted to the rank of Colonel on November 1, 1862.[1]
McAfee served as a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives from 1870 to 1873, representing Cleveland County, North Carolina.[1][2] He was a member of the Ku Klux Klan.[1][2] According to his nephew Dixon, McAfee helped impeach Governor William Woods Holden.[2]
Personal life, death and legacy
McAfee was married twice. His first wife was Hattie Cameron and his second wife, Agnes Adelaide Williams.[1]
McAfee died in 1873, and he was buried in Rose Hill Cemetery in York, South Carolina.[1] In 1916, his nephew Dixon planned to erect a statue of McAfee on the courthouse square of Shelby, North Carolina.[3][4] The project was initially met with enthusiasm,[3] until it was announced that Dixon wanted McAfee to wear a Ku Klux Klan mask in the statue.[4]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Allardice, Bruce S. (2008). Confederate Colonels: A Biographical Register. Columbia, Missouri: University of Missouri Press. p. 258. ISBN 9780826218094. OCLC 227191547.
- 1 2 3 4 Dixon, Thomas, Jr. (August 27, 1905). "The Ku Klux Klan: Some of Its Leaders". The Tennessean. p. 22. Retrieved September 28, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. (registration required (help)).
In North Carolina, my uncle, Col. Leroy McAfee, was elected to the Legislature from Cleveland County, and as the representative of the Klan on the Judiciary Committee, impeached Gov. Holden, removed him from office and deprived him of his citizenship.
- 1 2 "Cleveland Cullings". The Gastonia Gazette. Gastonia, North Carolina. September 22, 1916. p. 7. Retrieved September 28, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. (registration required (help)).
The announcement that Thomas Dixon will erect a monument on the Shelby court square to the memory of Col. Leroy McAfee is hailed with delight.
- 1 2 "Cleveland County Is Resenting Dixon's Plan". The Charlotte Observer. October 29, 1916. Retrieved September 28, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. (registration required (help)).
Whether or no Thomas Dixon suspected that such a project would meet with spirited opposition all over his home county and as a piece of news, become circulated widely by newspapers of the South, is another matter but if Mr Dixon wants to stir up things and keep his name before the public to better advertise his productive "The Fall of a Nation", he could not have selected anything more timely. Mr Dixon proposed to erect this monument to Colonel McAfee in Shelby, the county seat of Cleveland County, where "Tommy" was "brought up" and to include a Ku Klux masque.