Dewey, Charles, 1798-1880

Charles Dewey was born in New Bern, N.C. He began his banking career in 1820 with the New Bern branch of the State Bank of North Carolina. In 1827, he was elected cashier of the main branch in Raleigh. After the Civil War, he was elected cashier and later president of the Raleigh National Bank. In 1837, Dewey married his third wife, Julia Ann Haylander (1804-1886), a native of Philadelphia. One of Charles Dewey's children was Charles Francis Dewey (b. 1825), an 1844 graduate of the University of North Carolina, who became a physician in Goldsboro, N.C.

Charles Dewey (1798-1880) was born in New Bern, N.C., the son of John Dewey (1767-1830), born in Stonington, Conn., an architect who built the Masonic temple and theater in New Bern. Charles Dewey's mother was Mary Mitchell Dewey, a native of Elizabeth, N.J., who died in 1839 at the age of 67.

Virtually nothing is known about Dewey's early life. He began his career in 1820 as a clerk with the New Bern branch of the State Bank of North Carolina. In 1826, he was appointed cashier of the Fayetteville branch of the bank. The following year, he was elected cashier of the main branch in Raleigh. In Raleigh, Dewey served as cashier of the Bank of North Carolina and its successor, the Bank of the State of North Carolina. After the Civil War, when the Bank of the State of North Carolina was closed, he was elected cashier and later president of the Raleigh National Bank. He served as president until his death.

Dewey married three times. In 1822, he married Catherine M. Hall of New Bern. His second wife, Ann Letitia Webber, was born in New Bern in 1803 and died in Raleigh in 1835; the date of their marriage is not known. On 5 January 1837, Dewey married Julia Ann Haylander (1804-1886), a native of Philadelphia, who had moved to Raleigh at an early age. Charles Dewey was survived by four children. One son was Charles Francis Dewey (b. 1825), an 1844 graduate of the University of North Carolina who became a physician in Goldsboro, N.C. Another son, Thomas W., married Bessie Lacy, daughter of Drury Lacy, pastor of Raleigh's First Presbyterian Church. Charles Dewey was a faithful member of that church for over 50 years, serving as superintendent of its Sunday school and as a ruling elder.

Although he owned a few slaves and a moderate amount of property, Dewey never accumulated great wealth. He left a house and lot in Charlotte, N.C., to Anna Maria Dewey, wife of his son Frank H., who resided there. Bonds, notes, stocks, and other property were willed to his wife and his daughters Mary Ann and Rachel D. Wilder.

(Adapted from the entry by Memory F. Mitchell in the Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, volume 2, 1986.)