Means, Paul Barringer

7 Apr. 1845–19 Apr. 1910

Paul Barringer Means, lawyer, legislator, and university trustee, was born near Concord, the son of Catherine Jane Barringer and General William C. Means, a progressive farmer in Cabarrus County. His father was among the first to implement the newest inventions in farm machinery such as the grain mower and reaper.

Means attended private school in Concord and then Dr. Alexander Wilson's School at Melville in Alamance County. In 1862 he entered The University of North Carolina but interrupted his studies to join the Confederate army. During the Civil War he served as a member of the Sixty-third Regiment, North Carolina Cavalry, and as a special courier to General Rufus C. Barringer. Returning to the university, he was graduated with honors in 1868. With his father's encouragement, he studied law under Chief Justice R. M. Pearson and entered practice in Concord in 1879. During his legal career, he was counsel for the Southern and Old Richmond and Danville railway companies.

An avid Democrat, Means served several terms as state senator from Cabarrus County. In the legislature he drafted the "No Fence Law," supported internal improvements, and rallied support for university funding.

As an alumnus of The University of North Carolina, Means became a trustee in 1873 and served for over thirty-two years. He was persistent in his efforts to upgrade the level of funding for the university. Means was the author of a history of the Sixty-third Regiment, North Carolina Cavalry, and published several articles on the issue of free silver.

In 1894 he married Mrs. Moselle Partee Foard of Concord, and the couple had one daughter. Means died at age sixty-five and was buried in the cemetery of Saint James's Lutheran Church, Concord.