Summary of the life of C.L. Shuping

Chapter 1 - Summary of the life of C.L. Shuping

The contributions granddad made to Greensboro and to North Carolina by Jeff Shuping, Jr., grandson of C.L. Shuping, 2006

Some of my fondest memories growing up were spent around my grandfather. I had no idea of who he was or how great his career had been as a politician and attorney in North Carolina. I just knew him as my grandfather and loved to be around him. Our family lived in Whiteville, three hours away and we would visit several times a year. Most of the time when we would visit granddad would invite his other two sons and their families over for a visit. I remember Mom and Dad, Granddad, Roy and Bobbie, Hamp and Margaret sitting around in the den visiting while we played or ran all over the place inside the house and outside. Whenever his sons Roy or Hamp brought their kids over, we really had a ball. Granddad’s house was huge. It had 6 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms. It was built in 1924 and granddad kept a copy of the plans of this house in his papers. Four bedrooms and four bathrooms were on the second floor, one bedroom and one bathroom was on the main floor near the kitchen, and another bedroom and bathroom was in the cellar. We loved this house and would often play hide and seek. Except when granddad got up in the morning or went to bed at night, I never saw him without a three piece suit on. Bryce Holt of the Greensboro Bar said of him, “In speech he was precise and in dress he was immaculate and scornful of slovenliness in appearance.”

I remember from my visits as a teenager, that he had law books all over the house, and built-in bookcases on almost every wall from the floor to the ceiling. In his autobiography, granddad stated that his overall investment in his books was about $50,000, an incredible sum in those days. Based on the opinions of book salesmen and personal friends, he possessed one of the most extensive and best-selected private and legal libraries in the state. He made his law library available to the members of the bar and over the years both the young and old have made substantial use of it. I remember seeing paper tabs in almost every book, an indication that he had read and studied most of the law books that he owned. He also had a number of rare editions and collector’s items. The Greensboro Bar in a resolution of respect to him said, in every case in which he appeared, he applied his efforts assiduously in his research of the law and in the application of the brief of the case. They also referred to a case he handled that went to the Supreme Court and that Justice Barnhill honored granddad in a comment about the briefs presented by each attorney.“

Bryce Holt was a close friend of my grandfather and made this statement in the Greensboro Bar Association Resolution of his memory of him, “That throughout his long years of friendship with him, I was always impressed with his pride in each of you. He never bragged, but when your names were mentioned, his face glowed with an expression of devotion that words could not utter. His boys were, I verily believe, the source of his deepest joy, and this love and devotion carried over to every member of your families. Holt also said that a reference to his boys would cause his face to glow with an expression of joy and devotion that words could not utter”. William Owen Cooke was also a Greensboro Attorney and a good friend with my grandfather. He said, “He enjoyed his company and valued his friendship. He said he would miss his frequent walks with him and their discussions of the affairs of the day.”

I visited the Special Collections at East Carolina University and talked to the curator and several people in Special Collection about granddad and the collection of his papers. They were very proud to have his collection of papers and also said that they believed that granddad was the most famous politician in NC without ever being elected to a public office. The Greensboro Bar Association described him as one of the most colorful political figures in North Carolina and an acknowledged leader of the North Carolina Bar. I have studied his life and made the same discovery. He was very active in Democratic Politics almost all of his life, and his most prominent and remembered contributions were made during the 1920s, and 1930s. The earliest record I have found of his personal involvement in politics was the 1912 F.M. Simmons campaign for NC Senator. He supported Simmons as a volunteer and did a considerable canvassing of voters in F.M. Simmon’s behalf. He documents in his autobiography the record of his activities in this campaign and it shows that due to his efforts, 100 voters committed themselves to Simmons. Of course all voters at that time were men, women could not vote.

Granddad grew up on a farm in Rowan County, North Carolina. He was born on Feb. 1, 1886, the son of Adam Adolphus and Julia Maria Honeycutt Shuping. Adam Adolphus was the son of William Shuping who served with the Confederate Army and was wounded in battle. Adam Adolphus was a distiller and had a farm. Granddad’s father died as a result of a shooting incident in 1899 and he soon after went to work himself. When granddad’s father Adolphus died, he had three insurance policies totaling $4500. I discovered this from the estate papers of Adolphus from 1899 on file at the Salisbury Public Library on microfilm. One policy was for $3000 through a fraternal organization called the Royal Arcanum, another policy was for $1500 from Crawford Brothers, and another policy was for $500. Apparently Adolphus’ wife was very shrewd with money also. Maria Honeycutt Shuping owned a piece of property herself worth $800 and within one month after Adolphus died, the Adolphus farm estate was sold, a warrant was issued to someone living on the land for $600, and another house was purchased in the town of Salisbury using the proceeds of the life insurance policy paid to her from the Royal Arcanum fraternal organization.

C.L. Shuping was educated in the public schools of Salisbury and by private study. An assiduous interest in reading resulted in his possession of one of the most extensive private and legal libraries in the state. At an early age, he started on his own as a messenger boy for the Western Union Telegraph Company. Later he was employed as a messenger boy in the Office of the General Superintendent of the Southern Railway System, receiving promotions from time to time until he finally won appointment as Chief Clerk in the Engineer of the Maintenance of Right of Way for the company. In 1902, he was involved with a case about the delivery of a telegram to someone’s house. The person’s wife had passed away and was out of town. C.L. Shuping searched for four hours for the client and returned the telegram to his supervisor undelivered. C.L. Shuping was 16 years old at the time and this case went all the way to the NC Supreme Court and he was exonerated. I think this one case contributed to his passion to study law and become an attorney.

While he was working for the Southern Railway Company in 1908, he related to close friends that he was greatly interested in the study of law. He had become convinced that by constant and dedicated self education he could become a successful lawyer. His mom died in January 1908 and soon after he dedicated himself to this to study law and become a lawyer. He purchased all of the books for all of the law classes required by the law school at UNC - Chapel Hill to become a lawyer. He gave up all social activities, hired private tutors and studied day and night for 4 years. In August of 1912 he took the North Carolina State Bar Examination required by the Supreme Court of NC, passed the bar, and was licensed to practice law in North Carolina. Within three years in 1915, he took his first case to the NC Supreme Court and won the case for his client about a shipment of spoiled bananas. In February, 1912, he became a member of the Greensboro Bar Association and in September of that year entered into a brief partnership in law practice with S. Clay Williams, later chairman of the board of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. in Winston Salem.

He lived within a block of Lee Overman who was a NC Senator and became good friends with him and they remained good friends until Overman’s death in 1930. Lee Overman’s friendship with granddad may have also been a major contributing factor to granddad’s getting involved with politics.

In 1914, Shuping and Williams joined in the practice of law with A.L. Brooks and O.L. Sapp under the firm name of Brooks, Sapp, and Williams. From 1917 to 1920, Shuping practiced independently and in 1920 became senior partner in the firm of Shuping, Hobbs, and Davis. In 1924, he and his brother-in-law, G.C. Hampton, Jr., formed the law firm of Shuping and Hampton until about 1941. In later years from 1948 until his death in 1971, he practiced law in the firm of Shuping and Shuping, which he formed with his son, C. Leroy Shuping, Jr. From 1917 to 1919, Shuping served as executive secretary of the United States Fuel Administration for North Carolina. At other times, he directed campaigns for the American Red Cross and for the Near East Relief Funds. In 1928, he furnished all of the modern equipment for a courtroom at the University of North Carolina Law School at Chapel Hill necessary for trial court study.

Few people have been more active in the Democratic Party in North Carolina than Shuping. He began his political career in 1912 when F.M. Simmons ran for Senate. He supported Simmons as a volunteer to canvass voters and was active in Democratic Politics all of his life.

Shuping was the campaign manager for five Democratic elections in North Carolina, the most successful being the 1930 Run for Senate by Josiah W. Bailey. In 1920, Robert Newton Page, a congressmen ran for Governor against Cameron Morrison. Page ran and lost, but he was still able to get 20,000 votes. In 1924, Shuping was campaign manager for Josiah W. Bailey in an unsuccessful bid for Governor against A.W. McLean.

In 1911, according to the Greensboro Bar Association’s resolution of his life, he wrote a book, consisting of 170 pages, ‘Every Principle of Law’, setting out every principle of law embraced in his self imposed course of study. According to my father, J. Brooks Shuping, he wrote three books in all, including a book on Intersection Law and a book on Child Labor Practices.

From 1917 he was appointed Executive Secretary for the US Fuel Administration for the State of NC which was during World War I. He was appointed this position because of his ability with the law as an attorney. In 1918 he was appointed Director of Enforcement for the US Fuel Administration for the State of NC in which he served until 1919.

In 1928, Al Smith ran for the President of the United States and C.L. Shuping was the Guilford County campaign manager for him. Shuping got a considerable amount of opposition because he was Methodist leader supporting a Catholic for President. Granddad supported him as the Guilford County Manager because he thought he was the best candidate. Shuping had this one trait that followed him all of his life that if he believed in something he would not back down no matter what opposition came his way. Shuping arranged for Smith to stop by Greensboro for a speech in which over 25,000 attended. Also in 1928, F.M. Simmons bolted the
Chapter 1 - Summary of the life of C.L. Shuping

Democratic Party going against his party support to support the Republican candidate Hoover for President. In 1929, Granddad decided it was time for someone else to step into the seat of senate in Simmons’ place. He developed a Democratic questionnaire and sent it to 750 leading democrats and leaders in North Carolina. Not surprising this cased quite a stir in newspapers all over the state. Upon getting the results of this survey, Shuping decided that if a candidate could be found to run against Simmons, they would win with an overwhelming victory. Granddad and Josiah W. Bailey approached Chief Justice W.O. Stacy of the Supreme Court of North Carolina to run but he declined. Granddad and Bailey then turned to Associate Justice of the NC Supreme Court, W.J. Brogden to run for Senate but he also declined. Granddad convinced Josiah W. Bailey to run and Bailey announced his plans to run for Senate and appoint C.L. Shuping for his campaign manager. Bailey made no speeches at the request of Shuping and ran solely on his reputation. Bailey had been the editor of the Baptist Publication called the Biblical Recorder for over 30 years and had run for Governor in 1924. Also when the Simmons camp publicly attacked Bailey and Shuping they made no statements to the press in their defense. Shuping was always more interested in the Democratic Party unity and organization and this would not help. This caused more confusion among the Simmons campaign and friends because no one had ever done this before. Bailey made one speech the night of the campaign and they won with the greatest landslide in the history of the Democratic Party in North Carolina. After this one election, Bailey was known as the giant killer in North Carolina and Shuping was known as Bailey’s miracle man. They won against a man who had been a political power in North Carolina for 30 years and had a reputation that he ‘could not be beaten’.

In 1932, Shuping was appointed by James Farley to be the NC campaign manager for Roosevelt when he ran for the President of the United States. During 1932-33, Shuping served as Finance Director of the Democratic Party of North Carolina, and secured more than 11,000 individual campaign contributions amounting to $51,358 to the Democratic National Committee, the largest number of contributions attained by any individual in the United States. This also helped to relieve the debt of the Democratic National Party which was estimated at one million. Even though Shuping initially supported Roosevelt as his North Carolina Campaign Manager, when the new deal was announced Shuping opposed this to the end. For the rest of the time Roosevelt was in office, C.L. Shuping was the most ardent advocate against the New Deal in North Carolina and was a staunch opponent to Roosevelt’s 2nd, 3rd, and 4th term as President. Shuping was the leading opponent to the breaking of the third term tradition in NC. He believed that the breaking of this term would be dangerous to the American Democracy. His opposition to Roosevelt made local and national newspapers including The New York Times. This position he held against Roosevelt had a huge damper on his political career even though I doubt he could see it at the time. Even mom commented that once granddad took a stand in something he believed in, he never wavered or backed down no matter what the cost was. He was an active opponent of the attempt made by Roosevelt to abrogate the two-thirds rule for the nomination of President and Vice-President at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 1932. Mr. Roosevelt was defeated in this attempt in 1932 and was forced to give up this fight. This was a temporary victory because this rule was abrogated by Roosevelt and the New Dealers at the National Convention held at Philadelphia in 1936. Mr. Shuping did not go to the 1936 convention but sent Julian Price to go who voted against this rule in his place. After this rule was passed, a candidate could get the majority of the convention vote to be nominated under the national party ticket.

After managing the NC State Campaign for Roosevelt's nomination for President in 1932, he was a delegate in the Chicago convention that year and was a member of the convention Committee on Permanent Organization. From 1934 to 1936 he was the Democratic National Committeeman for North Carolina. In 1937, he was appointed advisory and consulting member of the committee of the American Bar Association on Simplification and Improvement of Appellate Practice in Federal Courts, and in 1938 was a member of a Special Committee for North Carolina on Procedural Reform. He was a member of the advisory committee to the North Carolina Democratic Executive Committee during 1932-1938. During the National economic depression, Shuping served as the North Carolina Chairman for the administration of the National Industrial Recovery Act.

Granddad’s most notable accomplishments probably include the formation of the Young Men and Women’s Democratic Clubs of America in Greensboro which played a pivotal role for volunteers in the 1930 Senatorial election of Josiah W. Bailey. He was also well known for the transfer of three Federal Offices to Greensboro in 1934-1935 which over 35 years added an aggregate total of 466 million dollars to the Greensboro economy. In 1950 Shuping became an active member of the State-wide Campaign Committee for the Democratic Nomination of Willis Smith who was elected to the NC Senate.

C.L. Shuping was immensely efficient at raising money for any cause and held a number of fund raising campaigns in North Carolina. Some of those efforts include: raising $25,000 for Ehringhaus’ campaign for Governor, a clothing campaign for the Near East campaign, Raising over 50,000 for the Democratic National Committee, and over $15,000 for the NC Democratic Committee, and a leader for a fund raising campaign for Guilford College, a Quaker College. Guilford College was stunned that someone who wasn’t even a Quaker would raise money for a Quaker College and sent him a letter of appreciation for his efforts. Everything project that Shuping believed in and got involved in, he did an outstanding job. The Greensboro Bar resolution about him says, “Mr. Shuping possessed a natural courtesy that rested on a deep moral foundation. He was a man of deep convictions and with a courage based upon a firm resolve of reason and character, he stood firmly by them. As a person of firm opinion he was dedicated to the conservation of established principles of order and justice. In 1936, Shuping made an offer to buy the Greensboro Daily News which the stockholders turned down. During his lifetime as an attorney his practice involved most of the aspects of civil law including commercial and corporation law, dispositions, estates, real property, probate, insurance, banking, municipal, negligence, and automobile law in all state and federal courts. His clients included R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., General Motors Acceptance Corp., Motors Insurance Co., Universal Credit Corp., Commercial Investment Trust of N.Y.

After the 1930 election, the Simmons forces seized all of the ballot boxes in North Carolina and demanded a recount of all ballots. Shuping was convinced that no committee of the United States had any right or power to initiate such an action and made a careful search of the law on the subject. Shuping concluded that the Federal Courts, including the Supreme Court of the United States had held that such an action count not be maintained and prepared a brief covering the subject. After meetings with Bailey, Governor Gardner and Attorney General Brummitt he filed an order in the US District Court to vacate these orders and the ballot box count was stopped thereby putting an end to this litigation.

One of the most influential things Shuping did was to have three federal offices transferred to Greensboro from other cities in North Carolina. In 1934-1935, Shuping transferred three federal offices to Greensboro with state-wide jurisdiction: Home Owners Loan Corporation, Internal Revenue Service formerly Collector of Internal Revenue, and the Federal Housing Administration. Shuping did this for two reasons. First, Greensboro was recognized as the fasting growing city in North Carolina at that time, and because of his understanding of economics in 1935, that for every dollar that enters circulation, it is worth five times its value. Shuping kept up with the income for these three offices for 35 years until a year before his death, and the total impact to the Greensboro economy was over 466 million dollars. To give this perspective, in 1929 during the great depression, the total amount of all deposits in all the banks in North Carolina was 465 million dollars. James Farley came and visited the Democratic Club in Greensboro and was inspired to start a nationwide club in New York which became instrumental in the nomination of Roosevelt for President in 1932. Shuping was an active member in the Greensboro Bar Association, the North Carolina Bar Association, and the American Bar Association. Shuping held various offices in these Bar Associations including President of the Greensboro Bar in 1950 and Vice President of the North Carolina Bar in 1919, and 1932, and 1940.

Shuping had 59 cases that he was involved with that went to the NC Supreme Court and 2 cases that went to the US Supreme Court. He also had 3 cases that went to the NC Court of Appeals, and 3 cases that went to the NC District Court. He was very active as an attorney and was general counsel for about a dozen large clients every year. During the late 20s he and George Hampton also handled quite a number of property sales as part of their caseload.

C.L. Shuping also turned down at least 8 appointments. Governors, senators, and even president Roosevelt tried to convince him to accept the appointments, but were unable to. The only reason I have been able to find is that he did not want to run for public office. These positions he declined were: 1. an appointment to the legal department of the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in 1919, 2. an appointment to succeed Senator Lee S. Overman as senator upon Overman’s death in 1930, 3. an appointment to Judge of the Superior Court of the Twelfth Judicial District in 1930 offered to him by Governor Max O. Gardner, 4. an appointment as the U.S. Commissioner of Revenue in 1932, 5. an appointment as Superior Court Solicitor of the Twelfth Judicial District, 6. an appointment of the position of Internal Revenue Collector for North Carolina, 7. an appointment for Federal District Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina, 8. an appointment to the position of Assistant (Deputy) U.S, Commissioner of Revenue.

C.L. Shuping married Ruth Hampton in June of 1916, daughter of George Coggin Hampton and May Brooks Hampton of Greensboro and had three sons, Roy, Hampton, and Brooks. Roy was born in 1919, Hamp in 1922, and Brooks in 1927. Roy went to UNC-Chapel Hill and took two years of law school and became an agent in special intelligence in the FBI during World War I. After his graduation from UNC Chapel Hill, he became a law partner with his father for the next 20 years until his father’s death in 1971. Roy continued to practice law independently until his death in 1987. Hampton joined the Navy Reserves in 1944 during World War I and was promoted to skipper of LCI 343. After the war, Hampton went to work for J.P. Stevens and stayed with them for most of his life. Brooks graduated from UNC Chapel Hill and went to work with GMAC with whom he worked for over 40 years.

Granddad’s wife, Mrs. Ruth Shuping was very active herself. For three years she had served as legislative chairman of the American Association of University Women and took an active part in the discussion during the afternoon. Long a member of West Market Street Methodist Church, she was active in the women’s work and particularly of her own circle. She was a Charter member of Rachel Caldwell Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution started in 1934 and active in the Reviewers’ Book Club, of which she was treasurer. Since graduation from Women’s College in 1914, she had been actively identified with the work of the Alumnae Association of Greensboro Women’s College and was an ex-President of the Guilford County Alumnae Association of North Carolina Colleges and a member of the league or women voters.

She attended meetings of the organization of parent-teacher associations in the city and had served as president of the Greensboro Council of Parents and Teachers. Mrs. Shuping was was keenly interested in city beautification and was a leader in the organization of garden clubs and in the Greensboro Council of Gardens. For a number of years she had been a member of the city planning council. She was also a past President and member of the Gardenmakers garden club. Granddad’s wife, Ruth died in 1944. I thought it was interesting that granddad seemed to have all but practically resigned from politics about this time period and this may have been partly due to his wife’s death. From this time forward, he devoted most of his time to the practice of law and to his family. The Greensboro Bar said of granddad, “He was an extremely devoted husband and father. An exceedingly strong bond of love and affection existed between him and his boys. A reference to his boys would cause his face to glow with an expression of joy and devotion that words could not utter. We have lost a most capable lawyer and counselor and who was an outstanding citizen of our state and community.“


Chapter 1 - Summary of the life of C.L. Shuping
Bibliography

A Book of the South
Portraits of many of the South’s active citizens who are doing things today p. 308, 354 Picture and biography of C.L. Shuping

Book 65, P. 972 in the Office of Register of deeds of Guilford County North Carolina Board of Health Bureau of Vital Statistics Democratic Party Dissension in North Carolina 1928-1936, by Elmer H. Puryear (1962)
pp. 23, 24, 26, 31, 33, 122, 145, 153, 155, 224

Governor O. Max Gardner, a power in North Carolina & New Deal Washington (1971), by Joseph L. Morrison - pp. 70, 155, 167

Greensboro North Carolina, the county seat of Guilford, by Ethel Stephens Arnett, 1955

Josiah W. Bailey, candidate for governor of North Carolina, 1922-1924, by John R. Moore,
a thesis, Duke University, 1960
pp. 94, 105, 106, 107, 108, 119, 120, 121

Josiah W. Bailey of North Carolina & the New Deal, 1931-1941 (1962), Law School Association, University of North Carolina (1928), by Albert Coates, pp. 9, 11, 12

North Carolina and the New Deal (1981), by Anthony L. Badger, pp. 77, 78 – When C.L. Shuping, Bailey’s campaign manager, publicly denounced the North Carolina and the New Deal, 1932 – 1940 (1981), by Carl Douglas Abrams Chapter 8, Footnote # 24, 27, 27, 54, 316, 318, 340

Obituary of C.L. Shuping, Greensboro Daily News, 3/25/1971

Senator Josiah William Bailey of North Carolina, a political biography (1968), by John Robert
Moore, Publisher – Duke University Press, Durham, NC
p. 34, 46, 60-64, 72, 87, 89, 121

The History of Guilford County, North Carolina, USA to 1980, AD, by Robinson P. Blackwell of UNCG (to 1890), and Alexander R. Stoesen of Guilford College (from 1890)
pp. 161, 122

New York Times Index, a book of record, Annual Cumulative volume, 1936, Li-Z
C.L. Shuping – Newspaper article attacking Roosevelt creates political furor p. 2666, January 26, Section IV, page 11, and col. 1

The North Carolina Historical Review, Volume XLII, winter 1965, Number 1, Article – A Southern Democratic Primary: Simmons vs. Bailey in 1930, by Richard L.
Watson Jr., pp. 27, 28, 39, 44

The Shuping genealogy collection (1993), by J. Ross Shuping, Greenville, NC, 366 pages

The autobiography of C.L. Shuping (Clarence Leroy Shuping), Parts 1, 2 from the Clarence Leroy Shuping Papers, 1920-1975, (Manuscript Collection #553)
Joyner Library Special Collections, Manuscript Collection, East Carolina University

Timeline and chronology of the life of C.L. Shuping, written by Jeff Shuping, Jr. (2006)

The Bar Association of the City of Greensboro, North Carolina (1937)

The Greensboro Bar, pictures and biographical sketches of its members, including practicing attorneys and judges (1939), Published by Greensboro Bar Association
pp. 27, 50, 60, 61

The Greensboro Bar Association, 1956, pp. 4,73,74,91

The Greensboro Bar Association Resolution of Respect, 04161971, passed in memory of C.L. Shuping which includes a summary of his life

North Carolina, rebuilding an ancient commonwealth, 1584-1925, Volume 3 of 4 (1929), by R.D.W. Conner,
p. 50 - biography of C.L. Shuping
p. 51 - picture of C.L. Shuping in 1928

North Carolina, the old north state & the new (1941), Volume #3 of 3 volumes, edited & written
by Archibald Henderson
p. 514 - picture of C.L. Shuping in 1941
pp. 515, 516, 517 - biography of the life of C.L. Shuping

Principles of political economy, by John Stuart Mill (1902), Vol. 2.

Who’s Who in North Carolina, a biographical dictionary of leading men and women of the Commonwealth, Volume One (1947), by Larkin, Roosevelt & Larkin, LTD.
p. 847 – Biography of C.L. Shuping

Who’s Who in America, a Biographical Dictionary of Notable Living men and Women of the United States, edited by Albert Nelson Marquis
Vol. 19, 1936-1937, two years, p. 2222, col. 1
also listed in volumes 20-33

LexisNexis Online Legal Law System (Court transcripts to all Supreme Court cases)

Over 600 North Carolina Newspaper references

Interviews with my father J. Brooks Shuping about his father C.L. Shuping