Chapter Seventeen

February 16, 1939

Mr. Chauncey C. Gettys was born and reared in Duncan’s Creek township. He was the son of Esq. Joseph and Phoebia (Crowder) Gettys. He attended the county public schools. He was a very bright young man. He attended school at Mooresboro for a while.

Prof. B. H. Bridges was principal of this school and it is said that he was one among the best teachers in the state. Mr. Bridges was a number of years later elected superintendent of public instruction for Rutherford county and I want to say here that he was a good one.

After Mr. Gettys attended this school for sometime he attended school at Rutherford College for one or two years. He then taught in the public schools for some years, I don’t recall how many. In 1889 Capt. John B. Eaves was appointed United States Collector of Internal Revenue for the western district of North Carolina and he appointed Mr. Gettys as clerk in his office in Statesville. He served in this place about two years, but for some reason the United States Senate refused to confirm Mr. Eaves appointment, so W. W. Rollins, of Asheville, was appointed collector in Mr. Eaves’ place. Mr. Rollins moved the office to Asheville and he retained Mr. Gettys as clerk. He served four years in this capacity. At the expiration of Mr. Rollins’ term of office, Mr. Gettys came home and within a year or two was appointed superintendent of public instruction for Rutherford county, and served in that position from July 1897 to April, 1899.

By this time Mr. Gettys had saved up some money and he went into the finance business and loaned money to the farmers to buy land and took first mortgage on their land. At that time interest rates were high and Mr. Gettys had no trouble in loaning money at from ten to fifteen percent interest. He followed this business as long as he lived. He was an elder in the Presbyterian church. He believed in the principles of the Republican party and always took an active part in politics.

He died on August 1, 1912, leaving an estate worth about $45,000, which was considered very large estate at that time. He was buried in the cemetery at Duncan’s Creek Presbyterian church, near the place where he was born.