Major James Lide Coker (January 3, 1837, in

Society Hill, South Carolina Society Hill is a town in Darlington County, South Carolina, Darlington County, South Carolina, United States alongside the Pee Dee River. It is the oldest community in Darlington County and one of the first towns founded in South Carolina. The t ...

– June 25, 1918, in

Hartsville, South Carolina Hartsville is the largest city in Darlington County, South Carolina, United States. It was chartered on December 11, 1891. The population was 7,764 at the 2010 census. Hartsville was chosen as an All-America City in 1996 and again in 2016. Harts ...

) was a businessman, merchant, industrialist, Christian philanthropist, and

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

veteran, and the founder of

Sonoco Products Company Sonoco Products Company is an American provider of diversified consumer packaging, industrial products, protective packaging, and packaging supply chain services and the world's largest producer of composite cans, tubes, and cores. The company w ...

and

Coker University Coker University is a private university in Hartsville, South Carolina, United States. It was founded in 1908 and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Coker's sports teams, nicknamed the Cobras, compete in NCAA Divi ...

. Coker was the son of Caleb and Hannah Lide Coker and the great-grandson of Revolutionary War Captains Robert Lide, who moved to South Carolina from Roanoke, Virginia, in 1740, and Thomas Coker, who moved to South Carolina from Brunswick, Virginia, in 1735. Both men fought in

Francis Marion Brigadier general (United States), Brigadier General Francis Marion ( 1732 – February 27, 1795), also known as the "Swamp Fox", was an American military officer, planter, and politician who served during the French and Indian War and t ...

's 2nd South Carolina Regiment at Fort Sullivan in 1776 and the

Siege of Charleston The siege of Charleston was a major engagement and major British victory in the American Revolutionary War, fought in the environs of Charles Town (today Charleston), the capital of South Carolina, between March 29 and May 12, 1780. The British ...

in 1779 and were awarded tracts of land along the

Pee Dee River The Pee Dee River, also known as the Great Pee Dee River, is a river in the Carolinas of the United States. It originates in the Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina, where its upper course, above the mouth of the Uwharrie River, is known a ...

following the war. Coker and his descendants' contribution to economic, political, and cultural life in South Carolina is the subject of George Lee Simpson's ''The Cokers of Carolina: A Social Biography of a Family'' (UNC Press 1956). Coker's life and accomplishments have been documented in Dr. Will H. Joslin's ''God, Guts, and Gallantry: The Faith, Courage, and Accomplishments of Major James Lide Coker'' (Westbow Press 2021).

Education and war service

Educated at St. David's Academy in

Society Hill Society Hill is a historic neighborhood in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, with a population of 6,215 . Settled in the early 1680s, Society Hill is one of the oldest residential neighborhoods in Philadelphia.The Center ...

and

The Citadel The Citadel Military College of South Carolina (simply known as The Citadel) is a public senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Established in 1842, it is the third oldest of the six senior military colleges ...

in Charleston, prior to starting his career in

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

, Coker attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

to study heredity, genetics, and the scientific principles of farming. He married Sue Armstrong Stout in 1860, and they were the parents of nine children, six of whom survived childhood: Margaret, James Lide Jr.,

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

, Jennie, Charles Westfield, and Susan. After graduation, Coker enlisted in the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, and fought for the 6th and 9th South Carolina Regiments at

First Manassas The First Battle of Bull Run, called the Battle of First Manassas
. by

Battle of Malvern Hill The Battle of Malvern Hill, also known as the Battle of Poindexter's Farm, was fought on July 1, 1862, between the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, led by Gen. Robert E. Lee, and the Union Army of the Potomac under Maj. Gen. George B. ...

Second Manassas The Second Battle of Bull Run or Battle of Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, in Prince William County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of the Northern Virginia Campaign waged by Confederate ...

, the

Battle of Harpers Ferry The Battle of Harpers Ferry was fought September 12–15, 1862, as part of the Maryland Campaign of the American Civil War. As Confederate Army General Robert E. Lee's Confederate States Army, Confederate army invaded Maryland, a portion of his ...

, and

Antietam The Battle of Antietam ( ), also called the Battle of Sharpsburg, particularly in the Southern United States, took place during the American Civil War on September 17, 1862, between Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virgin ...

. In October 1863, Coker was wounded at the

Battle of Chickamauga The Battle of Chickamauga, fought on September 18–20, 1863, between the United States Army and Confederate States Army, Confederate forces in the American Civil War, marked the end of a U.S. Army offensive, the Chickamauga Campaign, in southe ...

, and after a time as a prisoner of war, returned home to spend the rest of his life nursing a shattered hip. In March 1865, Coker set out with a large box of food supplies for the Confederate forces in Richmond. On his return to Hartsville, he learned that General Sherman's army had destroyed his family's farm.

Business acumen

Coker embarked upon his career in the post-war economy with the stubborn conviction that the South's future hinged on the introduction of scientific principles to farming, coupled with the development of industry. At the cessation of armed hostilities in April 1865, the Coker family began rebuilding. Although Sherman's army had left no work stock, Coker had cotton seed and seed corn, which he planted with the use of an old

mule The mule is a domestic equine hybrid between a donkey, and a horse. It is the offspring of a male donkey (a jack) and a female horse (a mare). The horse and the donkey are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes; of the two ...

and a pair of

oxen An ox (: oxen), also known as a bullock (in BrE, British, AusE, Australian, and IndE, Indian English), is a large bovine, trained and used as a draft animal. Oxen are commonly castration, castrated adult male cattle, because castration i ...

borrowed from an uncle. He planted of cotton and of corn, which yielded 25 bales of cotton and 300 bushels of corn. At the prevailing prices, 25 bales of cotton brought $1,700, a small fortune in that time. Using those funds and others derived from mortgaging some of his land, Coker founded several businesses that were highly successful, including a cotton and naval trade post in Charleston, the Darlington Manufacturing Company, the Hartsville Cotton Mill, the Hartsville Oil Mill, and the Pedigreed Seed Company.

, has enjoyed lasting benefits from his decision to build his own railroad spur (at his own expense) when other town merchants wouldn't agree to help fund construction. In 1881, he organized and was elected president of Darlington National Bank, the only bank in the county. In 1890, Coker and his eldest son, James, began a search for a way to turn Southern pine trees into pulp for papermaking, and three years later, they had perfected a process. Shipping costs for the pulp made this business unprofitable, so Coker purchased his own papermaking equipment. That resulted in the formation of Carolina Fiber Company. With precious few nearby customers for paper, in 1899, Coker organized the Southern Novelty Company, later renamed

, to use some of the paper to produce cone-shaped yarn carriers. Today, Sonoco has over 19,900 employees in more than 335 operations in 33 countries, is a member of the Fortune 500 and the S&P400, and is South Carolina's largest corporation in terms of sales.

Philanthropy and altruism

Coker was the driving force in the establishment of Welsh Neck High School, which later became Coker College for Women in 1908; he gave the college a $50,000 endowment and an additional $600,000 during his years as president, which have played a large part in ensuring its continued existence. In 1909–1910, he funded construction of Davidson Hall; it was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1983.

Memorial Hall A memorial hall is a hall built to commemorate an individual or group; most commonly those who have died in war. Most are intended for public use and are sometimes described as ''utilitarian memorials''. History of the Memorial Hall In the aft ...

was built in 1913 and 1916, and added to the National Register in 1989. Coker served his community as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

of Hartsville, president of the Pee Dee Historical Society, and a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives, where he introduced the first bill for universal public education in South Carolina. As a faithful community servant, Coker also taught the boys' Sunday School at First Baptist Hartsville for thirty-eight years. Coker was inducted into the South Carolina Business Hall of Fame in 1986.

References

External links

1921 Biographical Sketch
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Coker, James Lide 1837 births 1918 deaths People from Society Hill, South Carolina Harvard University alumni The Citadel alumni Confederate States Army officers American slave owners American Civil War prisoners of war held by the United States Coker University faculty University and college founders