University of North Carolina Chapel Hill - Yackety Yack Yearbook (Chapel Hill, NC)

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HON. WILLIAM PRESTON BYNUM, LL. D. r N the fall of 1903 it was announced that a new gymnasium had been donated to the University by one of its friends. This building, which has recently been completed, fills a long felt want. Its equipment is complete in every respect and affords every opportunity for healthful exercise. The building, a cut of which appears on another page of this volume, is one of the handsomest on the University campus. When the Yackety Yack editors met to dedicate their work, it seemed very fitting that they express the appreciation of all University men for this gift by inscribing this book to the donor. Hon. William Preston Bynum was born in Stokes County, N. C, on the 20th day of June, 1820, of distinguished Revolutionary ancestry. His elder brother, Judge John Gray Bynum, graduated at the University at the head of his class and later became one of the foremost men of the state. His portrait now hangs in the Philanthropic Hall. William received his education at Davidson College, in the days when students were required to do with their hands. This fact has proved of value to Judge Bynum, espe- cially in preserving his health. He graduated in 184? with first distinction. In 1875 he received the degree of LL. D. from the same institution. Soon after graduation he read law under Chief Justice Richmond Pearson, and in a short while received his license from Justices Ruffin, Daniel and Gaston, then on the Supreme Court bench. Judge Bynum first engaged in the practice of law at Rutherford ton, but later removed to Lincoln County, where he soon rose to prominence in his profession. In politics he was a Whig, and was warmly attached to the integrity and preservation of the Union. He therefore opposed the doctrine of secession. But when his state withdrew from the Union, he gave her his allegiance and threw himself into the Southern cause. In 1861 he was commissioned Lieutenant-Colonel of the Second North Carolina Regiment and served in the Army of Northern Virginia. After the battle of Sharpsburg he was promoted to the rank of Colonel, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Colonel Tew. In 1863 Colonel Bynum was elected by the Legislature as Solicitor of the Sixth Judicial District, and returned home to fill this office. By appointment and re-election he continued to hold this position for eleven years. Though he had often to prosecute both Union men and secessionists for infractions of the law, growing out of the war, he discharged his duty with fidelity and impartiality. After the war, Colonel Bynum was elected by the people of Lincoln County to the convention to form a new Constitution. In the next year he represented the counties of Lincoln, Gaston and Catawba in the State Senate.

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In 1873 ne was appointed to the Supreme Court bench, where he remained for five years. The Supreme Court reports for this period well attest his abilities, his unflinching impartiality and his strict fidelity to a great trust. His opinions are lucidly written and exhibit a great power of analysis. His portrait now hangs in the Supreme Court room at Raleigh. At the expiration of his term of office, Judge Bynum declined to be a candidate for re-election, and retired from public life. He has since been repeatedly solicited to become a candidate for Governor of the State. After having once been nominated by his party for the office of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, he refused to allow the use of his name. Since retiring from the bench Judge Bynum has continued the active practice of the law. He now lives in Charlotte at the age of eighty-five, enjoying vigorous health and possessing a tall, erect figure. He married Miss Ann Eliza Shipp, who died in 1885. Their union was blessed with two children, the Rev. W. S. Bynum and a daughter, Mary, who died young. Though always averse to any sort of display, Judge Bvnum has shown a generous liberality. Besides his recent gift to the University he has given a chapel to the State Normal College, and another to the Thompson Orphanage, in Charlotte, the latter in memory of his daughter. His intellect, his attainments and his liberality give Judge Bynum a high place among the men of his state. We are glad, therefore, of an opportunity to pay him this tribute of esteem. J. K. Y.