William Terry Shumate

Title

William Terry Shumate

birthday

11-28-1827

Birthplace

South Carolina

Death Date

06-25-1916

Occupation

Confederate army, sheriff, business, railroad speculation

Biographical Text

William Terry Shumate was a South Carolina native and resident of Greenville, SC for most of his life. He and his wife Helen J. Shumate (Hellen G.) shared eight children, only five of which survived childhood: Albert R., Mary S. (May E.), Lillie L. (Lily, Lilly), Frank F., Willie W., and Helen H. (Hellen). Shumate had many occupations throughout his life. He served in the Confederate Army and as sheriff of Greenville County. However, his most significant contributions to the city of Greer came as a result of his work as a businessman and railroad speculator.
In 1869, Shumate served as part of a Greenville committee that was working with the Atlanta and Richmond Airline Railroad. After learning that the railroad planned to construct on the old Hugh Bailey plantation property, Shumate purchased 200 acres from the then-owner Manning Greer. Shumate divided the property into parcels which he offered to the public, and, after a shaky start, had sold nine of the forty-five sections in 1874, about a quarter of the entire property. He also encouraged religious growth in the area by offering land to Methodist, Baptist, and Presbyterian congregations.

Bibliography

Belcher, Ray and Joada P. Hiatt. Greer: From Cotton Town to Industrial Center. Arcadia Publishing, 2003.

"WM. T. Shumate to be Buried Today." The Greenville News, 27 June 1916, p. 2.

1870, 1880, 1900, 1910 United States Federal Census for William T. Shumate, ancestry.com