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Local figure

Henry A. Whitfield

Henry A. Whitfield, a Chapel Hill lawyer admitted to the bar in 1915, was elected judge of the Chapel Hill recorder's court by the aldermen in June 1942 to fill out Andrew McIntosh's term. He had left his practice in 1917 for the Army and served in France as a second lieutenant in the Aisne and Marne campaigns.

Source: DigitalNC: Chapel Hill Weekly, June 19, 1942, p. 1

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Storylines this person is part of, in date order. Each opens in the chronology.

Chapel Hill town elections, 1933–19491933–1949 · On May 2, 1933 former town manager John Foushee was elected mayor of Chapel Hill over Mayor Zeb P. Council and B. J. Howard, and he was returned in 1935, 1937, 1939 and 1941, twice without opposition. In May 1942 he said he would resign because he was moving to his farm outside the town limits, and on July 8 the aldermen unanimously elected R. W. Madry, director of the University news bureau, as mayor. The Weekly believed no one in the University's service had headed the town government before. No one filed against Madry in 1943. On May 3, 1949 Edwin S. Lanier defeated him 811 to 589, ending his seven years as mayor.

Dated events connected with this person, in date order. See these 25 dated events in the chronology →

  1. Chapel Hill veterans form an American Legion post The Chapel Hill Post of the American Legion was formed with 15 charter members, who elected Henry V. Koonts chairman, Henry A. Whitfield vice-chairman and L. J. Phipps secretary-treasurer. B. C. Brown went as the post's delegate to the state convention in Raleigh on October 30 and was named to the state executive committee; the state constitution printed with the report limited membership to white veterans. People: Luther James Phipps, Henry A. WhitfieldThe News (Chapel Hill), November 6, 1919, p. 1
  2. Chapel Hill's American Legion post votes to adopt a ward in a veterans' hospital At a barbecue and Brunswick stew supper for ex-service men, Chapel Hill Post No. 6 of the American Legion heard State Adjutant Cale K. Burgess on the Legion's civic and hospital work and voted to adopt a ward in one of the government hospitals for disabled veterans, naming Henry A. Whitfield and the Rev. A. S. Lawrence to arrange it. Men from Hillsborough and the rural districts attended, and the post's executive committee took up making it a county-wide post; membership stood at 53. People: Alfred Stratton Lawrence, Luther James Phipps, Henry A. WhitfieldSearch the index · The News (Chapel Hill), October 6, 1921, p. 1
  3. The Chapel Hill Red Cross chapter reports on its public health nurse and elects Howard W. Odum chairman At its annual meeting in the Presbyterian church, the Chapel Hill chapter of the American Red Cross heard that it had helped provide a public health nurse for the schools and homes with the town, the school board and the Community Club, and that its 1921 roll call raised $966.83. It elected Howard W. Odum chairman, referred a memorial to Miss Roper, the nurse who served the students and town in the influenza epidemic, to a committee, and asked its executive committee to work out closer cooperation with the King's Daughters and the tuberculosis seal organization. People: Dudley Dewitt Carroll, Alice Noble, Henry A. WhitfieldSearch the index · The News (Chapel Hill), March 2, 1922, p. 1
  4. Chapel Hill re-elects Mayor W. S. Roberson over Carl Wiegand In the biennial town election Chapel Hill re-elected W. S. Roberson mayor over Carl Wiegand, a young lawyer, by 314 votes to 76, in what the Weekly called the heaviest vote ever cast in the town. D. D. Carroll, G. M. Braune, J. M. Cheek, R. P. Andrews and H. A. Whitfield were elected aldermen, and most of the roughly 100 students who registered were ruled not to be bona fide residents. People: Dudley Dewitt Carroll, Henry A. Whitfield, Gustave M. BrauneSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, May 10, 1923, p. 1
  5. Mayor Council hears charges against drugstores under the Sunday closing law On May 23, 1928, Mayor Zeb Council, sitting as magistrate in the Peoples Bank building, heard charges that Chapel Hill drugstores sold cigarettes during church hours against the town's Sunday law, after one druggist sent an employee to buy from his rivals. The mayor dismissed the first charge, dropped the rest, and urged all merchants to obey, promising police enforcement. People: Henry A. Whitfield, Zeb P. CouncilSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, May 25, 1928, p. 1
  6. Chapel Hill charities agree to keep the nurse serving the Black community At a meeting in late July 1928, the Red Cross, the Community Club and the Tuberculosis Association decided to keep the public health nurse who worked among Chapel Hill's Black residents. The town paid $37.50 a month, the Tuberculosis Association $37.50, and Black residents raised the other $25; the Red Cross, which had given $2,804 since 1920, added $60 toward the 1927 deficit. People: Henry A. WhitfieldThe Chapel Hill Weekly, August 3, 1928, p. 1
  7. The Home Owners' Loan Corporation names Orange County agents and takes local applications The federal Home Owners' Loan Corporation completed its North Carolina organization, placing Orange County in its Raleigh district with Chapel Hill attorney Henry A. Whitfield as county attorney and P. L. Burch as appraiser. By early August about 25 Chapel Hill householders facing foreclosure had applied, 15 of them through Whitfield. People: Henry A. Whitfield, Peter L. BurchSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, July 28, 1933, p. 5
  8. The Home Owners' Loan Corporation closes more than 40 Orange County loans as it stops taking applications When the Home Owners' Loan Corporation stopped accepting applications on November 20, 1934, its Orange County representative, H. A. Whitfield, had closed more than 40 loans worth roughly $100,000, most of them to homeowners in Chapel Hill and Carrboro. The fifteen-year loans refinanced mortgages and sometimes back taxes, assessments and repairs, and Whitfield said many of the homes would otherwise have been sold under foreclosure. People: Henry A. WhitfieldSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, November 30, 1934, p. 3
  9. Black homeowners on West Franklin Street turn to federal loans to pay their paving assessments The Weekly reported in November 1934 that Black property owners on West Franklin Street, assessed $7.70 a running foot for the paving and curb-and-gutter laid several years before, still owed the town about $30,000, with 60 owners behind on a ten-year payment plan. Town officials gathered the figures and the Home Owners' Loan Corporation agent, H. A. Whitfield, helped owners apply for fifteen-year federal loans; by the end of November three of them had settled with the town that way. People: Henry A. Whitfield, Peter L. BurchThe Chapel Hill Weekly, November 16, 1934, p. 1
  10. Chapel Hill aldermen elect C. P. Hinshaw town attorney and Roy McGinnis prosecutor The aldermen nominated C. P. Hinshaw and H. A. Whitfield for town attorney and Roy McGinnis and John Manning for prosecuting attorney in the recorder's court. Both ballots split three to three, and Mayor John M. Foushee broke the ties for Hinshaw and McGinnis. People: Henry A. Whitfield, John M. Foushee, Clarence P. HinshawSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, May 28, 1937, p. 2
  11. A portrait of former mayor William S. Roberson is unveiled in the new Town Hall courtroom The family of William S. Roberson, mayor of Chapel Hill for a quarter of a century, gave the town a portrait of him, which the aldermen hung over the judge's seat in the new courtroom. Foy Roberson Jr. presented it, a great-nephew unveiled it, Mayor Foushee accepted it, and Henry A. Whitfield presided over tributes from members of the bar and townspeople. People: Henry A. Whitfield, John M. FousheeSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, April 14, 1939, p. 1
  12. Chapel Hill American Legion post calls for a national emergency and conscription The post adopted resolutions, first drafted by retired Rear Admiral Percy W. Foote, asking Congress to declare a national emergency and give the President full powers, to expand the armed forces by at least a million men beyond the National Guard and reserves, and to adopt conscription for military service and for industry. The resolutions were sent to the Legion's state and national commanders and North Carolina's members of Congress. People: Henry Roland Totten, Alexander H. "Sandy" Graham, Henry A. WhitfieldSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, June 7, 1940, p. 1
Show all 25 dated events
  1. Chapel Hill organizes a chapter of Federal Union (Union Now) Members of Federal Union, Inc., which worked for a federal union of the United States, Britain, the Dominions, and Eire, met at the Town Hall, elected an executive board, and chose John M. Booker chairman, H. A. Whitfield vice-chairman, Elizabeth Bain secretary, and R. H. Wettach treasurer. A group had begun organizing after Clarence Streit spoke at the Human Relations Institute in April. People: John M. Booker, Robert H. Wettach, Henry A. WhitfieldSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, May 23, 1941, p. 5
  2. Chapel Hill forms a United Service Organizations committee with Mayor Foushee as chairman At a meeting in the Town Hall Chapel Hill organized a branch of the United Service Organizations, which provided recreation for soldiers and sailors off duty, with Mayor John M. Foushee as chairman and W. E. Thompson of the Bank of Chapel Hill as treasurer. Its canvass, led by Henry A. Whitfield in town and Henry Brandis on the campus, had raised $516 by late July. People: W. E. Thompson, Henry A. Whitfield, John M. FousheeThe Chapel Hill Weekly, July 4, 1941, p. 1
  3. Chapel Hill aldermen elect Henry A. Whitfield judge of the recorder's court The aldermen elected Henry A. Whitfield to fill out the term of Andrew C. McIntosh, who had resigned as judge of the recorder's court, and Whitfield held his first session on the night of June 16. A lawyer since 1915, he had served in France in the First World War. People: Henry A. WhitfieldSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, June 19, 1942, p. 1
  4. Chapel Hill aldermen hold a hearing and find police mistreatment charges not sustained At a hearing attended by Recorder's Court Judge H. A. Whitfield, a group of white citizens and a group of Black citizens including Rev. J. H. Jones and Rev. C. T. Boyd, the aldermen read the complainants' affidavits and the officers' denials. In a statement published with all the affidavits, the board said it could not commend an officer's striking of a prisoner but found the charges not sustained, voiced confidence in Chief Sloan and the police, and rejected the Tar Heel's criticism of the Recorder's Court. People: Robert W. Madry, William T. Sloan, Henry A. Whitfield, Kenneth JonesSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, December 11, 1942, p. 5
  5. Paratroopers from Fort Bragg drop on the Horace Williams airport Six planes dropped 120 paratroopers from Fort Bragg on the Horace Williams airport in a training maneuver watched by hundreds in the village. Judge Whitfield adjourned the recorder's court in the Town Hall so that all present could watch from its north windows. People: Henry A. WhitfieldThe Chapel Hill Weekly, March 12, 1943, p. 1
  6. Chapel Hill Legion post receives a plaque for its members serving in both world wars At the American Legion divisional meeting in Chapel Hill, D. M. Horner gave the Chapel Hill post a plaque naming its present and past members who served in the First World War and were again on active duty. L. J. Phipps presented it and H. A. Whitfield accepted. People: Luther James Phipps, Herman G. Baity, Henry A. Whitfield, John P. GraffThe Chapel Hill Weekly, April 2, 1943, p. 6
  7. No one files against Chapel Hill's mayor, aldermen and recorder in the 1943 town election When nominations closed for the May 4 town election, no one had filed against Mayor R. W. Madry, aldermen R. J. M. Hobbs, R. H. Wettach and P. L. Burch, or recorder's court judge H. A. Whitfield, so their reelection was automatic. People: Robert W. Madry, Richard Junius Mendenhall Hobbs, Robert H. Wettach, Henry A. Whitfield, Peter L. BurchSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Weekly, April 30, 1943, p. 1
  8. Chapel Hill reelects Mayor Madry and Judge Whitfield and adds Edwin Lanier to the aldermen About 700 Chapel Hill voters reelected Mayor R. W. Madry without opposition (616 votes) and returned Henry A. Whitfield as judge of the recorder's court with 417 votes to 90 for Tom Henry and 17 for Paul Robertson. For three aldermen they chose R. B. Fitch (493), newcomer Edwin S. Lanier (456) and Bruce Strowd (398); F. O. Bowman, an alderman for eight years, lost with 375. People: Edwin Sidney Lanier, Bruce Strowd, Paul H. Robertson, Henry A. Whitfield, Frederick O. BowmanSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 10, 1945, p. 5
  9. Judge Whitfield orders a taxi driver and the Tar Heel editor to explain a letter criticizing his court After the solicitor read in Chapel Hill Recorder's Court a letter from taxi driver Max Weaver, printed in the Daily Tar Heel on May 4, charging the court with unfair treatment of traffic violators, Judge Henry A. Whitfield ordered Weaver and editor Bob Morrison to appear at the next session to explain it. Weaver had cited a taxi driver fined $50 for speeding while others paid far less. People: Henry A. WhitfieldSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 9, 1946, p. 1
  10. Veterans organize a Chapel Hill-Carrboro post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Overseas veterans set up a Chapel Hill-Carrboro post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the second VFW post in the county after Hillsboro's, and elected University engineer Arthur R. Hollett commander. Fifty-one veterans were accepted as charter members. People: Henry A. Whitfield, Arthur R. HollettSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), September 26, 1946, p. 1
  11. Chapel Hill re-elects Mayor R. W. Madry and Recorder's Court Judge Henry Whitfield A near-record off-year turnout in Chapel Hill re-elected Mayor R. W. Madry over insurance man Paul H. Robertson, 419 to 261, and Recorder's Court Judge Henry Whitfield over John T. Manning, 385 to 304. P. L. Burch, R. J. M. Hobbs and Obie Davis won four-year seats as aldermen and E. B. Patterson a two-year seat, all unopposed. People: Paul H. Robertson, Henry A. Whitfield, Peter L. BurchSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 8, 1947, p. 1
  12. The League of Women Voters holds a candidates' meeting for Chapel Hill's town election At a public meeting in the Elementary School auditorium sponsored by the Chapel Hill League of Women Voters, mayoral candidate Edwin S. Lanier pledged to seek abolishing the elected mayor's post, and Mrs. Roland McClamroch, the first woman to run for the Board of Aldermen, backed parking meters and annexation. Every candidate present agreed that Black citizens should be represented in all phases of town government. People: Edwin Sidney Lanier, Robert W. Madry, Henry A. WhitfieldSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), April 28, 1949, p. 1
  13. John T. Manning unseats Judge Henry A. Whitfield in the Chapel Hill recorder's court race In the town election that made Edwin S. Lanier mayor, John T. Manning, who favored keeping jury trials in the Chapel Hill court, beat Recorder's Court Judge Henry A. Whitfield 830 votes to 575. People: John Manning, Edwin Sidney LanierSearch the index · The News of Orange County (Hillsborough), May 5, 1949, p. 1

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Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors. Site locations from the N.C. State Historic Preservation Office survey, Open Orange, Orange County GIS, OpenStreetMap and a few other published sources named on each site’s page; town and community pins show approximate locations.

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