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W. T. Northington was born in Prattville, October 23, 1853. He was educated in the Prattville schools and Alabama Polytechnic Institute at Auburn, Alabama. He later attended the University of Virginia where he received his law degree. For several years Mr. Northington practiced law in Prattville. He married Miss Ella Adelaide Smith on June 24, 1878. Mr. Northington gave up his law practice to become associated with Merrill E. Pratt, his brother-in-law, in the Daniel Pratt Gin Company. Mr. Pratt and Mr. Northington married sisters. In 1892 he joined R. S. Munger in the organization of the Northington Munger-Pratt Company, Birmingham, Alabama, of which company he was made president. Mr. Northington planned and initiated the organization of the Continental Gin Company and was its first president in 1899. He held this position until 1903 at which time he resigned; however, he remained a director until his death on January 24, 1914.
Stephen I. Munger was born in Rutersville, Fayette County, Texas, on November 8, 1855. His father was Henry Martin Munger, a native of Colchester, Connecticut, and his mother was the former Miss Jane Catherine McNutt, a member of the Jackson family of Tennessee. He was educated in the local schools and at Trinity University, Tehuacana, Texas. While at the University he met Miss Trude Terrell, whom he married on December 9, 1877. In 1887 he joined his brother, R. S. Munger, in Dallas, Texas, to organize the Munger Improved Cotton Gin Machine Manufacturing Company of which he was made secretary and general manager. Soon thereafter he was made president of the company. Mr. Munger was a director of the City National Bank of Dallas and the Dallas Trust & Savings Bank; president of the Munger Oil & Cotton Company of Mexia, and a director of the Dallas Oil & Refinery Company. No project for public and religious good ever failed to get the general support of Mr. Munger. He was a member of the board of stewards of Grace Methodist Church of Dallas, and a trustee of the Chatauqua Institute of New York. He was a member of the executive committee of the board of trustees of Southern Methodist University and one of its large financial contributors. When Continental Gin Company was organized in 1899, Mr. Munger was made a director. In 1903 he was made president of the company, the position he held until his death March 28, 1921. Mr. Munger was very prominent in the civic, educational and social life of Dallas, and his donations to worthwhile causes distinguished him as a beloved citizen.
Robert Sylvester Munger was born at Rutersville, Fayette County, Texas, July 24, 1854. His parents, Henry Martin and Catherine Munger, were from Connecticut before moving to Texas. His father was a saw mill operator. His early education was in the local school at Rutersville. Later he attended Trinity University, Tehuacana, Texas. On May 12, 1878, he married Miss Mary Collett of Galveston, Texas. His father moved to Mexia and installed a cotton gin and gave his son Robert the responsibility of its operation. Little did his father realize this son was to become a genius whose patents and ideas would revolutionize the cotton industry in the South. It was while operating this gin, R. S. Munger conceived the idea of transferring cotton from the wagons to the gins with the use of air and distributing same into feeders over the gin with a belt. This later led to the installation of a battery of gins rather than one or two gins which had been the limited number used. The lint from the gins was blown through a common flue to one large cotton or battery condenser rather than to individual condensers. This led to the idea of a double box press in order that the cotton could be baled from one box while the other box was being fed. Handling cotton in this manner naturally reduced labor costs and in addition provided an opportunity for cleaning the cotton, thus assuring a better sample. Mr. Munger patented his ideas. He offered his patents to several gin manufacturers, but they could not be interested. After securing a nominal sum of money he moved to Dallas and began the manufacture of gins under the name of Munger System Outfit from 1884 to 1887. The demands for his machinery being so tremendous that in 1887 he incorporated the Munger Improved Cotton Machine Manufacturing Company and sold stock to secure additional working capital. The Company was successful from its beginning. It was very difficult for the Company to fill orders for the market east of the Mississippi River. The popularity and success of his products led Mr. Munger to seek a location east of the Mississippi, and Birmingham was his choice. Mr. Munger in cooperation with W. T. Northington and Daniel Pratt of Prattville, organized the Northington-Munger-Pratt Company. The officers of this new enterprise were W. T. Northington, President, R. S. Munger, Vice President, and Daniel Pratt, Treasurer. At the time Continental Gin Company was organized in 1899, all patents in which Mr. Munger had interest were sold to this new company. Mr. Munger was elected a director and vice president of Continental Gin Company. He was also a director of the Birmingham Trust & Savings Company. Mr. Munger was a deeply religious man and contributed freely to every institution which encouraged the building of character. He gave liberally to many worthy causes including churches, educational buildings and institutions of higher learning. He was instrumental in merging Southern University of Greensboro, Alabama, with the North Alabama Conference College in Birmingham to form Birmingham-Southern College. He was chairman of the building committee and for many years the chairman of the board of trustees. There are several buildings and facilities on the campus of Birmingham-Southern College which now bear the name of MUNGER as memorials. When the Southern Methodist University was established in Dallas, Mr. Munger was the first contributor to that institution. He contributed liberally to the Birmingham Y. M. C. A., both in time and money. He was chairman of the building committee and served as president of the Y. M. C. A. He was a member of the board of stewards of the First Methodist Church until he moved his membership to the Highlands Methodist Church, which was located near his residence. At the Highlands Methodist Church he served as chairman of the building committee and as a member of the board of stewards. In 1921, upon the death of his brother, S. I. Munger, he became president of Continental Gin Company, which position he held until his death in 1923. One of the highest honors that could be paid a citizen of Birmingham is to be selected "the most useful citizen." Mr. Munger achieved this honor the year before his death with great public acclaim, an honor well deserved.
L. R. Munger, son of S. I. Munger of Dallas, was born September 4, 1878, on a farm west of Mexia, Texas. He attended public schools and Burleson College. Leaving college before graduation, he entered the employ of the Munger Improved Cotton Gin Machinery Manufacturing Company at which time his father was president. Approximately five years later he joined John Means in a partnership handling the sales of Continental Gin machinery at Shreveport, Louisiana. Remaining in Shreveport only a short time he returned to Dallas and to the employ of the Continental Gin Company. Due to ill health he was forced to resign his position. He spent two years on a ranch in Bordon County, Texas, and recovered completely. In 1909 he entered the automobile business, handling several makes of cars, later securing the agency for the Cadillac which he handled for approximately fourteen years, as president and owner of the Munger Automobile Company. In 1925 he sold his agency. Upon the death of R. S. Munger in 1923, he was elected president of Continental Gin Company which position he filled until February 1926. At this time the majority of the stock of the company changed hands. Mr. Munger was president of the Dallas Country Club. He was a very active member of the First Baptist Church of Dallas.
Thomas Elliott was born in Durham County, England, in 1863. Coming to America as a young man, he became associated with the mechanical department of the Reading Railroad Company and later as mechanical-electrical superintendent of the Street Railway interests of Knoxville, Tennessee. From Knoxville he went to Atlanta where he was in charge of the mechanical and electrical maintenance of the Atlanta Street Railway Company. While in Atlanta he designed and constructed two power houses, new shops and equipment. He also constructed the power house for the Atlanta Electric Light Company. After leaving Atlanta, he became vice president and general manager of the Pittsburgh-McKeesport and Connellsville Street Railway Company, and the West Penn Electric Company located in Pittsburgh. He later became associated with the Cincinnati Street Railway Company and enlarged and rebuilt their power house. He was also power plant engineer for the Ohio Interurban Railway Companies of the Schoept interests. He was president of the Cincinnati Car Company for several years, and it was from that company that he came to the presidency of the Continental Gin Company in February, 1926. During the four years he served Continental Gin Company many patents for the Company were brought out. Mr. Elliott resigned in February, 1930. He died in Cleveland, Ohio, September 25, 1938.
George W. Woodruff was born August 27, 1895. He was educated in the public schools of Atlanta, the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. On April 17, 1918 he was married to Miss Irene Tift King. In World War I he served in the U. S. Medical Corps. After the war he was associated with Atlantic Steel Company and later became engineer for Atlantic Ice & Coal Company. From 1920 to 1926 he was manager of the Atlanta branch of the White Motor Company. From 1926 to 1930 Mr. Woodruff was assistant to the president of the Continental Gin Company. In 1930 he became president of the Company, the position he held until 1934, then becoming chairman of the Board of Directors, the position he has held since. Mr. Woodruff is a director of the following companies: Atlantic Steel Company, Atlanta, Georgia; Coca Cola Company, Atlanta, Georgia; Trust Company of Georgia, Atlanta, Georgia; Continental Gin Company, Birmingham, Alabama; West Point Manufacturing Company, West Point, Georgia; Dixie Mills, Columbus, Georgia; Cabin Crafts, Inc., Dalton, Georgia; Wellington-Sears Company, New York City; Columbus Manufacturing Company, Columbus, Georgia; Equinox Mills, Anderson, South Carolina; Coca Cola Bottling Company, Stamford, Connecticut. He is a trustee of Rabun-Gap Nacoochee School (chairman) Rabun Gap, Georgia; Emily and Ernest Woodruff Foundation, Atlanta, Georgia; Agnes Scott College, Atlanta, Georgia; Crawford W. Long Memorial Hospital, Atlanta, Georgia; Georgia Tech Alumni Foundation, Atlanta, Georgia; Highlands Community Hospital, Highlands, North Carolina; Y. M. C. A., Atlanta, Georgia; Georgia Motor Club (director) Atlanta, Georgia; Georgia Heart Association, Atlanta, Georgia. Mr. Woodruff is a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Atlanta. When a resident of Birmingham he served on the board of deacons of the Independent Presbyterian Church.
Algernon L. Smith, a great nephew of Daniel Pratt, founder of the Pratt Gin Company, was born January 9, 1868, at Prattville, Alabama. He was educated in the Prattville schools and later attended Howard College, then located at Marion, Alabama. In 1886 due to ill health he left college two months before graduating and joined his brother, Howard F. Smith, the Pratt Gin Company representative for territory west of the Mississippi River, in Houston. From 1886 to 1889 he traveled Texas and Louisiana, establishing agencies for the Daniel Pratt Gin Company. In 1889 with his brother, he purchased controlling interest in the Barbour Machine Works of Anniston, Alabama, manufacturers of cotton presses, of which he was president. While in Anniston he married Miss Carrie J. Brown on April 20, 1893. In January 1898 he went to Fort Worth as president of the Texas Machinery Company, a subsidiary of the Smith Sons Gin & Machine Company of Birmingham, which handled their business in the West. After the organization of the Continental Gin Company in 1899 he remained in Fort Worth one year liquidating the Texas Machinery Company. He then joined the Continental Gin Company in January 1901, as purchasing agent. After serving three years as Purchasing Agent, Mr. Smith was placed in charge of sales for the territory east of the Mississippi River. In 1910 he was placed in charge of all sales, including export, as general sales manager. Later he was made vice president in charge of sales, which position he filled until 1934, at which time he was elected president. In December 1938 he resigned and became vice chairman of the board of directors. Mr. Smith is a member of the Southside Baptist Church, of which he has been a deacon since 1901. He is a director of the Birmingham Sunday School Council, having served for over forty years as a Board member and two years as its president. He has been a trustee of Judson College, Marion, Alabama, for many years. He is a past president of the Rotary Club of Birmingham.
Merrill E. Pratt, a great-great nephew of Daniel Pratt, was born October 15, 1889. He was educated in the schools of Prattville and at the University of Alabama. After graduating from the University in 1910, he worked in the Prattville plant of the Continental Gin Company about a year. He then attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he was graduated in 1916. On September 4, 1912 he married Miss Florence Marks of Montgomery, Alabama. After graduating at Massachusetts Institute of Technology he came to Birmingham and began work in the Machinery Improvement Department of the company he now heads. However, due to ill health, Mr. Pratt was forced to discontinue working for nearly a year. In April of 1918 he enlisted in the Coast Artillery and became a second lieutenant. After the Armistice he returned to Birmingham and resumed his work with the Company in the General Superintendent's Department. After a short time Mr. Pratt was transferred to the Sales Department. In 1932 he was made chief sales engineer and in 1934 he became vice president in charge of engineering. In December 1938 he was elected president of the Company, which position he was well qualified to fill, due to his varied experience and knowledge in all departments. Mr. Pratt served as president of the Birmingham Country Club and president of the Rotary Club of Birmingham. He is a member of the Newcomen Society of England. He serves on the vestry of the Church of the Advent. He is president of the Cotton Ginning Machinery Manufacturers Association. He is a member of the Water Works Board of the City of Birmingham. 05/09/2007
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