Hugh Glen Horton

Hugh Glen Horton. Image Source: News and Observer, Sept. 22, 1959, p. 1.

Hugh Glen Horton was named to the ECTC board in 1945. He was one of five new trustees appointed by Governor Robert Gregg Cherry (1891–1957) as he, Cherry, sought, in the wake of the resignation of former president, Leon R. Meadows (1884–1953), to purge the pro-Meadows trustees who earlier voted to exonerate, as the opinion of the board though somewhat outrageously, the criminally indicted Meadows of any hint of financial wrongdoings. As the terms of pro-Meadows trustees expired, Cherry did not reappoint them, instead bringing in, by the end of his administration in 1949, 11 new trustees on a 12-member board. Horton, a veteran state legislator representing Martin County, served only one five-year term, from 1945 to 1951.

Horton was joined by Radford M. “Ralph” Garrett (1886–1955) of Greenville, Henry Clay Belk (1898–1972) of Goldsboro, C. P. Morris (1888–1959) of Hertford, and Thomas J. Hackney (1889–1971) of Wilson. Although the new members were billed as replacing the pro-Meadows faction, when presented with a motion by Arthur Corey to reinstate three faculty — Dr. Herbert Rebarker (1894–1979), Dr. E. L. Henderson (1884–1990), and Martin L. Wright (1882–1945) — whom Meadows had earlier fired, with the support of the 1944 board of trustees, the newly constituted board declined to do so. Furthermore, when Corey moved that the matter be investigated, the board again declined to do so, apparently not wanting to return to the Meadows scandal in any way, even to correct an injustice towards three notable faculty

A native of Ahoskie, Horton attended local schools before enlisting in the U.S. Army in August 1918. He was discharged six months later, in January 1919, shortly after the end of WWI. While in the army, he served as a private in the 156 Depot Brigade at Camp Jackson, S.C. until November 1918, and then with Field Hospital #280 until his discharge. After leaving the armed services, Horton studied at Wake Forest Law School, graduating in 1922. Shortly after, he began practicing law in Williamston with the offices of Dunning and Moore. In 1923, he was elected mayor of Williamston, and in then 1935, to the state house of representatives. He was reelected to the house twice, in 1937 and 1939. Following his service in the state house, Horton was elected in 1941 to the state senate. He went on to serve four terms — in 1943, 1947, 1951, and 1953.

Horton distinguished himself as a state senator by co-authoring a bill providing for a nine-month public school term. Earlier, while serving as a state representative, he chaired the House Education Committee. And, in February of 1941, Senator Horton sought passage of the so-called Unemployment Compensation Bill broadening coverage and increasing payments for the state’s unemployed.

Horton’s final years, however, were troubled ones. On June 27, 1953, he was charged with driving under the influence just outside Washington, N. C. He was subsequently convicted on that count. It was later revealed that Horton had settled out-of-court for his complicity in a hit-and-run incident in Williamston on the very same night. Apparently, while in Williamston, Horton hit a car owned by “an unidentified Negro minister” who subsequently, in exchange for dropping the charges, received a substantial settlement. Although charges were written up, officers decided not to formally press them due to the out-of-court settlement. In 1959, he took his own life by asphyxiation at his home in Williamston.

Sources

• “Attorney Hugh G. Horton Kills Himself in Martin.” News and Observer. September 22, 1959. Pp. 1, 6.
• Baskervill, J. C. “Governor’s School Stand Pleases Education Forces.” Rocky Mount Telegram. January 13, 1937. P. 5.
• “Bill Would Widen Coverage by UCC.” News and Observer. February 8, 1941. P. 1, 2.
• “Five New Members Named to ECTC Trustees’ Board.” News and Observer. August 18, 1945. P. 2.
• “Hit-Run Warrant Not Served Against Sen. Hugh G. Horton.” News and Observer. September 3, 1953. P. 1.
• “Hugh G. Horton Is Suicide Victim at Martin Home.” Durham Morning Herald. September 22, 1959. P. 3A.
• “N.C. Solon Pleads Guilty in Drunken Driving Case.” News and Observer. September 22, 1953. P. 1.
• “State Senator Horton Convicted of Drunken Driving in Beaufort.” News and Observer. August 8, 1953. Pp. 1, 2.
• “Trustees Refuse to Act on ECTC Faculty Issue.” News and Observer. September 5, 1945. P. 8.
• Williams, Robert E. “39 House Members Join In Offering School Bill.” News and Observer. January 23, 1943. P. 1.

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