Long, B. F. (Benjamin Franklin), 1852-1925

Benjamin Franklin Long was a lawyer in Statesville, N.C., and judge of the Superior Court of the Tenth Judicial District of North Carolina. His father-in-law was William McKendree Robbins (1825-1905), lawyer and congressman, and his wife was Mary Alice ("Mamie") Robbins Long (1857-1947).

From the description of B.F. Long papers, 1903-1909 [manuscript]. WorldCat record id: 25533699

Benjamin Franklin Long, son of Jacob Long (circa 1806-1894) and Jane Stewart Long (1811-1902), was born near Graham, Alamance County, North Carolina, on 19 March 1852. After graduating as valedictorian from Trinity College, Randolph County, North Carolina, in 1874, he taught Latin and history at Graham High School for two years. He then attended Judge Richmond Mumford Pearson's law school in Richmond Hill, Surry County, North Carolina. In 1877, Long entered law school at the University of Virginia, receiving a Bachelor of Law degree in 1878. In the same year, he became the law partner of William McKendree Robbins of Statesville, North Carolina. He married Robbins' daughter, Mary Alice (Mamie) on 23 December 1879.

In 1879, Long edited Judge Pearson's Law Lectures from notes taken while he was a student at Pearson's law school. Long served as solicitor for the Inferior Court of Statesville and as attorney for the city of Statesville. He also served two years as mayor of Statesville, resigning to accept the position of solicitor of the Eighth Judicial District, a position he held for two four-year terms. In 1894, he was defeated as Democratic candidate for judge of the North Carolina Superior Court, Tenth Judicial District. In 1902, Long was again nominated for this position and was elected. He continued to serve in this capacity until his death on 14 March 1925.

Long gained wide recognition for his role in the 1907 State vs. Southern Railway Co. et al. case. In February 1907, the North Carolina legislature passed an act setting the passenger rate at 2 1/4 cents and making the violation of that act a misdemeanor. On 29 June 1907, two days before this law went into effect, several railroad companies obtained an injunction from the United States Circuit Court prohibiting the enforcement of that law. Under this injunction, the Southern Railway Company continued to sell tickets at the old rates through its ticket agent, Mr. Green. When the Tenth District Superior Court convened on 8 July 1907 with Judge Long presiding, Green and the Southern Railway Company were indicted and found guilty of a misdemeanor. Upon promising to obey the law, Green was fined $5 and released. The Southern Railway Company refused to stop selling tickets at the old rate and was fined $30,000. Long ruled that the Federal Court could not suspend the laws of the state nor could it protect a citizen who violated state laws. The railroad company, Long held, was guilty of a misdemeanor for commanding Green to commit a misdemeanor. On appeal, the Supreme Court disagreed with this latter ruling, holding that only the person violating the law could be found guilty. The punishment of the railway company was limited to the penalty defined in the act. The Supreme Court agreed with Long on all other rulings.

Long and his wife had two daughters and three sons. One son, William Robbins Long, died in infancy on 8 July 1881. A second son, Benjamin Franklin Long Jr., born in 1882, was killed in a train station accident 16 November 1899, while a freshman at the University of North Carolina.

A third son, McKendree Robbins Long (1888-1976), was a minister, artist, and poet. He married Mary Bell Hill, daughter of Melmouth Wilson Hill (1838-1900) and Bell Murphy Boger Hill. Melmouth Wilson Hill, a physician, was a graduate of Davidson College and the University of Maryland Medical School.

B.F. Long's wife, Mary Alice (Mamie) Robbins, was born 23 September 1857 at Glenville, Alabama. Her mother Mary Montgomery (Millie) Robbins died in 1858. Her father then married his first wife's sister Martha (Mattie). Mamie was active in civic life in Statesville. She was founder and first president of the Statesville Woman's Club, and was also instrumental in the founding of the Statesville Public Library. She was one of the organizers of the local chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy and served as its first president. Mamie Long died 2 June 1947.

From the guide to the B.F. Long Papers, 1903-1909, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.)