Great Grandfather (William Mellard Connor II)

Two weeks back and I'm only now getting around to visiting mama.  Amazing how priorities shift when you're chasing after a Hawt Chick™. 

At any rate, I stumbled upon a "Who's Who in South Carolina: 1934-1935" on her family bookshelf.  Inside was a write-up of my great-grandfather (maternal so I don't have to change his name to Carpenter to post this).

I've always shied away from those Who's Who deals because they mostly seemed to be sketchy rip-off deals at best and shameless self-aggrandizement at worst, but having gotten an opportunity to learn about my great-grandfather, I think maybe they're a pretty cool, or at least useful, way to pass on family history to future generations.

William Mellard Connor II, Lawyer; Judge Advocate General's Department, U.S. Army, Major.  Born Charleston, S.C., August 31, 1878.  Son of William Mellard and Theresa Olivia (Moorer) Connor, of the Connor and Moorer families of old Orangeburg and Colleton Counties.  Educated: Public and High School of Charleston; Wofford College, A.B.; Law School, University of Virginia, LL.B.  Fraternities: Kappa Alpha.  Assistant Attorney and ex-officio prosecuting attorney for Moro Province, 1903-08; attorney for Moro Province and ex-officio member of Legislative Council thereof, 1908-13; city attorney of Manila, 1914; Judge, 18th Judicial District, Philippine Islands, 1914-17; Major and Lieutenant Colonel, Judge Advocate, U.S. Army (World War emergency); Major, Judge Advocate, Regular Army, July 20, 1920, to date.  By War Department Orders dated May 14, 1934, detailed as Professor of Law at United States Military Academy, West Point, New York, effective July 1, 1934; Judge Advocate Philippine Islands, member of War Department Special Clemency Board; General Board of Review, Office of the Judge Advocate General; detailed as assistant to Major General E. H. Crowder during his special service in Cuba, 1921; served on War Department General Staff as Personal Representative of President Wilson, 1921-24; member S.C. Bar Association; admitted to practice before Supreme Court of the Philippine Islands an Supreme Court of the United States; by request of Chairman, detailed in 1932 and again in 1934 as Special Assistant to Military Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives.  Author: "Reviewing Authority Action in Court-Martial Proceedings"; "Philippine Criminal Procedure" in Virginia Law Review.  Mason.  Unitarian. Clubs: Army & Navy Club, Washington, D.C.; National Sojourners.  Married Artemisia Katherine Peyton (daughter of Chancellor E. G. Peyton, Miss., granddaughter of Chief Justice E.G. Peyton, Mississippi Supreme Court), October 26, 1911.  Children: William Mellard Connor, Jr. Home Address: Spartanburg, S.C.

That's pretty damn cool, but I have a long way to go before I can feel like I'm keeping up with the family history.