The Bobbitt Family In America

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William Bobbitt is a member of Dilworth Methodist Church, Charlotte.

Joseph Wallace King, a well known portrait painter, who painted a portrait of the Queen of England, painted a portrait of William H. Bobbitt. The painting hangs in the Mecklenburg County Court House and was given to the county by the 26th Judicial District Bar Association.

One of the best Newspaper articles about William H. Bobbitt was published on May 9, 1971 by The News and Observer. It was written by Bob Wilson, a staff writer. Excerpts from the article give an insight into the character and personality of William Bobbitt.

"Come into the modest office of the Chief Justice of North Carolina, meet Bill Bobbitt, and begin to absorb the essence of a man devoted to what Tennyson called "reverence for the laws ourselves have made.

"A word of warning, first. He remembers names, goes out of his way to learn names, so don't be surprised if you pass him on the street and receive a hearty greeting. And another thing you'll notice right away; behind the self effacing comments, the anecdotes and a casual air that quickly puts any visitor at ease is a mind that works with awesome precision.

"He is such a nice person," one of his colleagues on the high court said recently, "that he won't even show people the door. "

'That's true. Not long ago, a Durham workman, upset because a case in which he was a state's witness was being inexplicably delayed, came to see Bobbitt. Now, the chief justice is a busy man with little time to devote to minor matters such as this. Only Bobbitt saw beyond the surface aspects of the interruption.

"The workman was losing money as he sat in court day after day, the solicitor never calling the case. The workman had had enough. He went straight to the top.

"He was bothered and rightly so," Bobbitt said recently. "I sympathized with the man's problems and suggested to whom he might talk. I also called in my administrative assistant and asked him to check on it." The case was tried promptly.

"Bobbitt neither seeks nor expects special consideration,