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This article is from the Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, 6 volumes, edited by William S. Powell. Copyright ©1979-1996 by the University of North Carolina Press. Used by permission of the publisher. For personal use and not for further distribution. Please submit permission requests for other use directly to the publisher.

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Efird, Ireneus Polycarp

by Frank P. Cauble, 1986

6 Jan. 1834–11 Dec. 1902

Ireneus Polycarp Efird, farmer, schoolmaster, and textile manufacturer, was born in Montgomery County. A descendant of pioneer Jacob Efird who came to North Carolina from Pennsylvania abut 1783, he was the son of Solomon and Eliza Furr Efird. A firm believer in education, he erected a log school building near his home in Stanly County and for many years taught the children of the community. He also operated a gristmill and a cotton gin and served fourteen years as a county commissioner of Stanly County. In 1896 he, his son, John Solomon, and J. W. Cannon erected at Albemarle the Efird Manufacturing Company, the first textile plant in Stanly County. This firm was merged with the American Yarn Company in 1952.

Efird, who married Mary Catherine Treece on 13 Apr. 1856, was the father of twelve children: John Solomon Melanchthon, James William Franklin, Paul Joshua Cornelius, Eliza Lavinia Emarelda, Joseph Ireneus Luther, Judah Ida Rosanah, Daniel Ephraim, Adam Alfred, Flora Belzora, Margaret Melinda, Arthur Lee, and Killian Polycarp.

He was a leading member of St. Martin's Lutheran Church in Stanly County and was buried in St. Martin's Cemetery.

References:

Efird, Oscar Ogburn. The History and Genealogy of the Efird Family. 1964.

Additional Resources:

Bishir, Catherine W. and Southern, Michael T. A Guide to the Historic Architecture of Piedmont, North Carolina. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2003.

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From:

Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.

1 January 1986 | Cauble, Frank P.