Laughinghouse, Charles O'Hagan, 1871-1930

Charles O'Hagan Laughinghouse (1871-1930), son of Joseph John and Eliza (O'Hagan) Laughinghouse, was born on the family farm between Grimesland and Greenville. He was the grandson of Dr. Charles James O'Hagan, a prominent Greenville physician. Laughinghouse attended the University of North Carolina and completed his medical training in 1893 at the University of Pennsylvania. A member of the North Carolina State Board of Health for several years beginning in 1911, Dr. Laughinghouse gained respect throughout North Carolina for his innovative ideas to improve the health of North Carolinians. He served as president of the Medical Society of the State of North Carolina in 1916 and 1917 and as State Health Officer from 1926 until his death. Laughinghouse maintained a successful practice in Greenville from 1893, when he joined his grandfather's practice, until 1926, with the exception of 1918 and 1919. During this time he served in the United States and France as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army. He was married to Carrie Virginia Dail (1869-1936) and they had three children: Helen Laughinghouse Stokes, Charles O'Hagan Laughinghouse, Jr., and Haywood Dail Laughinghouse. An advocate of public hospitals, he worked to establish Pitt Community Hospital in Greenville. Laughinghouse engaged in a number of business activities, including management of family farming interests and banking.