Mallie Asa Griffin
At the forefront among those active in the commercial and industrial life of Wendell is the subject of this sketch, whose devotion to the welfare of his community is attested by the fact that he is president of the Wendell Industrial & Development Club.
Born at Stanhope, in Nash County, where his ancestors for several generations had lived, M. A. Griffin grew up among the man-making influences of rural life. He was the son of Pressly and Margaret
(Sullivan) Griffin. After laying the groundwork of his education in the public schools of the neighborhood, he attended Wakefield High School, where his scholarship was so promising that he was encouraged to take a college course, which he did at the University of Nashville, Tenn., from which institution he graduated with honor in 1891. with the degree of L. I.
The first occupation to claim the attention of Mr. Griffin after graduating was that of teaching, in which he engaged with marked success for eight years, Wendell and Spring Hope being the communities favored with his valued services to the rising generation. After nearly a decade of school-room work, he turned his attention toward a different career, engaging in the tobacco warehouse business, first at Spring Hope and afterwards at Dunn. Later, for two years, he was general agent of a life insurance company at Raleigh.
It was while he was prosecuting the insurance business with great success in the capital city that Mr. Griffin heard the call to the new and rapidly growing town of Wendell, and he decided to cast in his lot there, having already learned from previous residence that the possibilities of its future were almost unbounded. Two lines of enterprise were especially inviting to him, viz., real estate and lumber, and he decided to engage in both. His success in these branches of industry has fully justified him in becoming a citizen of the new town and future city.
Mr. Griffin is a vigorous thinker in regard to matters that concern the public welfare, much of which he justly attributes to his discriminating habit of reading the best newspapers and magazines published in North Carolina and other parts of the Union. His value to the communities in which he has lived is evidenced by the calls his fellow-citizens have made upon his services. For five years he was a justice of the peace in Nash County; for two years he was Mayor of Spring Hope; and at the present time, as well as for several years past, he is an alderman of Wendell.
In the General Assembly, at its session of 1913, Mr. Griffin was one of Wake's Representatives in the lower house, and inaugurated and promoted much valuable legislation, both of a local and State-wide character. He was a member of the following committees, in the conferences of which he rendered efficient service: Education, Agriculture, Counties, Cities and Towns, Institutions for the Blind, Regulation of Public Service Corporations, and was chairman of the Committee on Public Roads and Turnpikes.
The views and opinions of Mr. Griffin are much sought after in his community. Being asked for a suggestion as to how the best interests of Wake County may be promoted, he said: "If the people of Wake County will become more interested in the improvement of their road system and their public schools, and see to it that permanent roads are built—at least one in each township—with the present road taxes, the people will have before them an object-lesson that will teach them the absolute necessity of having good roads all over the county; then they will be almost a unit for a bond issue of at least a million dollars, which is needed to build the necessary roads leading to Raleigh and the dozen progressive young towns in the county. Each school district in Wake should be a special-tax district and should have a commodious and attractive building, having a school term of at least six months.
If we would have a highly enlightened and progressive citizenship in Wake County, then we must open wide the school-house doors in every district for at least half the year."
A matter in which Mr. Griffin takes a worthy pride is the fact that he named Wendell. It is said that he knows as much about the town as any other citizen, and possibly a little more. Doubtful it is if any other man in the place is doing more for its upbuilding than he.
Mr. Griffin, in politics, writes the name of his party Democratic, with a big D. He is a prominent secret and fraternal society man, holding membership in the Knights of Pythias, Odd Fellows, Junior Order United American Mechanics, and the Farmers' Educational and Co-operative Union of America.
The charms of domestic life led Mr. Griffin into the matrimonial state in his young manhood. He married Miss Sallie J. Richardson, daughter of Josiah A. and Tempie A. Richardson. To this union nine children were born, the following of whom are living: Pauline H., Erdine M., Christine A., Irene M., J. Harold and William H. He is raising them up to believe that they will live to see Wendell one of the livest, most progressive and most prosperous cities in North Carolina.
(Source: Historical Raleigh With Sketches of Wake County (From 1771) and its Important Towns (Moses Amis, 1913) Submitted by Amy Robbins)