Southgate-Jones Family

Mr. Southgate was a teacher and educational administrator who later opened the first insurance business in Durham. He was a member of the Royal Arch Masons and the Knights Templar. After his career at Louisburg Female College, he served as president of Olin College in Iredell County, N.C. Among his children were James Haywood Southgate (1859-1916) and Mattie Logan Southgate Jones (1864-1936).

Mr. Southgate attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill briefly before entering the insurance business. He played a principal role in J. Southgate and Son from the 1880s onward, serving as President until his death. He was the first in Durham to enter the banking business. Southgate was active in Democratic and Prohibition politics, and served as President, Director, or Trustee of a number of civic and professional groups including the Durham Chamber of Commerce, the Durham Land and Security Company, the North Carolina Peace Society, the Durham County Fair, the Citizens' National Bank, the YMCA, the Durham Public Library, and the Southern Conservatory of Music. He was Secretary of Durham Masonic Lodge No. 352 and a member of the Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church.

Mr. Jones was a dealer in fancy leaf tobacco, a business which he expanded profitably in Durham, N.C. He had two children, including a son, James Southgate Jones. He was a member of the Durham Tobacco Association and the Durham Chamber of Commerce.

Mrs. Jones attended Reverend Harris's College in Staunton, Va. Among the positions she held were President of the Durham Equal Suffrage League, President of the Durham Civic Association, and Chairman of the Fifth District of the Equal Suffrage Association of North Carolina. She was a member of the North Carolina Federation of Women's Clubs.

Mr. Jones also attended Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va. Before opening the People's Bank, he was employed at the First National Bank of Durham. He was a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity, the Masonic and Pythian Lodges, and the Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church. He was a charter member and treasurer of the Durham Chamber of Commerce and President of the Durham YMCA.