Samuel Bason

Samuel Murphey Bason, known as Sam Bason (December 3, 1894 – January 15, 1986),[1] was a banker in Yanceyville, North Carolina, who served nonconsecutively from 1947 to 1959 as a Democrat in the North Carolina State Senate[2] for District 15 in Caswell and Rockingham counties.

Samuel Murphey Bason
Bason in undated early photo
North Carolina State Senator for District 15 (Caswell and Rockingham counties)
In office 1947–1948, 1953–1954, – 1959
Personal details
Born	(1894-12-03)December 3, 1894 Swepsonville, North Carolina U.S.
Died	January 15, 1986(1986-01-15) (aged 91) Danville, Virginia, U.S.
Resting place	Yanceyville Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Yanceyville, North Carolina
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Martha Eliza Hatchett "Marnie" Bason (married 1921-1986, his death)
Relations	Russell B. Long (son-in-law)
Children	Carolyn Elizabeth Bason Long William Hatchett Bason Dorothy Helen Bason Burke Five grandchildren
Parents	William Henry and Flora Green Murphey Bason
Residence	Yanceyville, Caswell County North Carolina
Alma mater	Burlington (North Carolina) High School Oak Ridge Military Academy
Occupation	Banker; Insurance agent
Military service
Branch/service	United States Army
Battles/wars	World War I

Biography

Bason was a son of William Henry Bason (1847-1927), a veteran of the Confederate Army of the American Civil War, and the former Flora Murphey (1866-1948). He attended Burlington High School, where he was a pitcher for their baseballteam; the institution is located in Burlington in his native Alamance County in northern North Carolina. He then attended the nearby Oak Ridge Military Academy in Oak Ridge in Guilford County. He served for twenty-two months in the United States Army in World War I. He began working at the rural Bank of Yanceyville, which used the motto: "The Bank Whose First Interest is Caswell". The bank temporarily closed during the Great Depression, but Bason worked feverishly and successfully to reopen it. Prior to stepping down after fifty-two years of service, Bason managed to merge the Bank of Yanceyville with a larger institution, Northwestern Bank. Bason also established Caswell Insurance and Realty Company which sold fire, life, and hail insurance to tobacco farmers. In 1937, Governor Clyde Hoey appointed Bason to a four-year term on the North Carolina State Highway Commission. In 1947, he began serving three nonconsecutive terms in the North Carolina Senate.[1]

Bason and his wife, the former Martha Eliza "Marnie" Hatchett (1896-1993), had three children, Carolyn Elizabeth Bason Long (1922-2015), William Hatchett Bason (1924-2000), and Dorothy Helen Bason (1926-2011).[3] Carolyn Long, a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro , worked for Clyde Hoey, who after his gubernatorial service became a U.S. senator. When Hoey died in office, she became the long-term secretary to his successor, Sam J. Ervin, Jr. In 1969, she became the second wife of Senator Russell B. Long of Louisiana, to whom she was married until his death in 2003. Carolyn Long was active in a plethora of charitable and civic causes and historical preservation during her 34-year marriage to Senator Long.[4]

In 1979, after suffering from a series of strokes, Bason entered the Roman Eagle Memorial Home in Danville, Virginia. He died early in 1986 at the age of ninety-one. Bason, his wife, and children are all interred at the Yanceyville Presbyterian Church Cemetery. He was a deacon, elder, and Sunday school superintendent at the church. He was also active in Rotary International and the Masonic lodge.[1] His son-in-law, Russell Long, is interred in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

References

1. Jeannie D. Whitlow with Carolyn Bason Long (1985). "Caswell County Family Tree". The Heritage of Caswell County, North Carolina on wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
2. Bason, Samuel, The Political Graveyard
3. "Samuel Murphey Bason". findagrave.com. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
4. "Carolyn Elizabeth Bason Long". The Baton Rouge Advocate. Retrieved July 29, 2015.