Rock Hill City Manager 1948-1950
Information written and contributed to R&R by P.M. Gettys, 2015
Francis A. Jacocks was born on March 21, 1908 in Tarboro, North Carolina, the son of Thomas Baker Jacocks (1874-1923) and Mary Howell Jacocks (1875-1939). The Jacocks family had been in North Carolina for several generations. Census records show that the family remained in Tarboro throughout Francis’s childhood.[1] He had an older brother and sister. His father died in 1923[2] when Francis was 15.[3] We
have no record of Francis’s early education, but he attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he received a degree in electrical engineering and later a Master’s Degree in sanitation engineering. From the 1940 Census, we learn that Francis was married, and he and his wife were lodgers in a home in Clinton, N. C., where he was employed by a state government agency as “state health worker”.[4] His wife was the former Helen Burnette (1913-2002). She was born in Greenville, North Carolina and attended East Carolina University. The couple was married in 1936.[5]
Later in 1940, Francis was enrolled in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was probably in graduate school for his Master’s Degree. He registered for the World War II draft that year, and the couple was living in an apartment in Chapel Hill.[6] At this point, a military record has not been found, so it is possible that Francis did not serve in the war.
Francis had a number of positions related to his education. He worked with General Electric Company, the North Carolina State Highway Commission, the North Carolina State Board of Health, the U. S. Public Health Service, and served as County Engineer for Edgecombe County, N. C. In 1946, he was named the Director of Sanitation for the City of Charlotte, N. C.[7]
Rock Hill selected Jacocks as City Manager in May 1948. The position had been held for eight years by J. J. Rauch, who left in May 1947 to accept the position of City Manager in Greenwood, S. C.[8] William M. Kennedy was named Acting City Manager after Rauch left, and he held the position from May 15, 1947 to May of 1948.[9] At the last meeting of the City Council at which Kennedy held his position, Frank Jacocks was an observer, and was named to take over the position.[10] He began work at 8 a.m. on May 15. When he took office, Rock Hill reported income for 1947 of $920,343 and disbursements of $914,374.[11]
One of his first initiatives was to recommend a policy governing the extension of city utilities, as he felt that a uniform manner of handling these requests was important.[12] He also continued working with the improvement of the street system, including widening and paving projects. In July 1950, the city purchased a site for a new landfill off Friedheim Road. Jacocks explained that the new landfill method would be more sanitary that the old system, and would provide for covering the trash each day.[13] Undoubtedly, his experience as Director of Sanitation with Charlotte was important in this initiative.
By 1950, Jacocks reported to the City Council that the financial condition of the city government had been improved during his tenure. At the end of 1948, there was a $50,000 deficit. By the beginning of 1950, the city had a surplus of $161,000. Jacocks stated that this surplus was the result of careful spending and placing capital expenditures under a bond issue.[14]
At the Council meeting on September 25, 1950, Jacocks submitted his resignation with a letter that stated: “I am submitting to you my resignation as City Manager so that I may assume a similar position in Spartanburg…I wish to express my sincere thanks for the cooperation you have shown me while in Rock Hill. I could not ask for any greater cooperation as you have done all in your power to make this position as easy as possible to handle. It is with sincere regret that I write this letter as I feel very strong in my convictions that Rock Hill is truly the ‘Good Town.’”[15]
Jacocks began work as City Manager in Spartanburg on October 13, 1950 and continued until March 1, 1954.[16] There is a record of the couple living in Mission Kansas in 1963, where Francis was working as a sanitary engineer.[17] Frank’s final job was in Washington, D. C., from which he retired in 1972.[18] In retirement, the couple returned to North Carolina, where they lived in Washington, N. C. from 1972 to 1989. At that point, they moved to a retirement home in Raleigh.[19]
Helen did not work outside the home, but was active in garden clubs, the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Episcopal Church in the various communities in which they lived.[20]
While living in Raleigh, Helen died on March 3, 2002 at the age of 89. Almost a year later, Francis died on February 13, 2003 at the age of 94. He was living in Henderson, N. C. at his death.[21] They were both cremated and their cremains were placed in the Columbarium at Saint Michaels Catholic Church in Cary, N. C.
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The Jacocks were survived by two children, based on the obituary at Helen’s death in 2002. Their daughter is Mary Ethel McCorkle, who is married to John Timothy McCorkle. They live in Henderson, N. C. Their son is Francis Atherton Jacocks, Jr., who lives in Richmond, Virginia.
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[1] U. S. Census Reports, 1910 and 1920.
[2] North Carolina Death Records.
[3] Death Certificate, Edgecombe County, NC.
[4] U. S. Census Reports, 1940.
[5] Raleigh News Observer, March 5, 2002.
[6] World War II Draft Registration Card, 1940.
[7] Rock Hill Herald, April 24 and May 11, 1948.
[8] Rock Hill Herald, February 2, 1948.
[9] Rock Hill Herald, April 20, 1948.
[10] Rock Hill Herald, May 11, 1948.
[11] Rock Hill Herald, May 15, 1948.
[12] Rock Hill Herald, June 1, 1948.
[13] Rock Hill Herald, July 11, 1950.
[14] Rock Hill Herald, January 2, 1950.
[15] Rock Hill City Council Minutes, September 25, 1950.
[16] Interview, Connie McIntyre, City Clerk, Spartanburg, SC, August 20, 2014.
[17] City Directory, Mission, Kansas, 1963.
[18] Raleigh News Observer, March 5, 2002.
[19] U. S. Public Records Index.
[20] Raleigh News Observer, March 5, 2002.
[21] North Carolina Death Indexes.
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