Vaughan, William Le Roy, 1880-1956.

Vaughan researched and wrote local history and life histories, 1930-1939, with the Federal Writers' Project in Beaufort County, N.C.

William Le Roy Vaughan was born 29 January 1880 in Halifax County, North Carolina, the sixth child of Martha Gray and William Thomas Vaughan. Both Vaughan and his older brother received their bachelor's (1902) and master's (1906) degrees from Wake Forest College. They were both admitted to the North Carolina Bar in 1907.

After working briefly at Wake Forest as an instructor and then as an editorial assistant on a Halifax county newspaper, William Vaughan established a law office in Washington, North Carolina, in 1908. While in Washington, he served as superintendent of Beaufort County Schools, 1909-1913; judge of Recorder's Court, 1914-1916; and legal council for the Beaufort County Land Company, 1916-1919. From 1919 to 1933, he confined his professional activities to his legal practice.

In 1911, Vaughan married Carrie Simmons, the daughter of another Washington lawyer. She died in February 1920 while bearing her fifth child.

Vaughan lost the use of his legs and right arm in May 1933 in an automobile accident in which one of his children was killed. Vaughan remained an invalid until 1938, when he began work as an interviewer for the Federal Writers' Project, responsible for collecting information on the history of Beaufort County. After the termination of the project, he worked as a Gallup poll-taker and later as customs officer for Washington, North Carolina.

In 1947, Vaughan left Washington to live with his daughter. He died in February 1956.