The Charlotte Inn is named for a
distinguished member of the Mecklenburg County Bar who concluded
his career on the North Carolina Supreme Court, William Haywood
Bobbitt. Justice Bobbitt was born in Raleigh, N.C. in 1900. His
grandfathers were Methodist ministers; his father was a pharmacist
who developed patent medicines.
Justice Bobbitt attended the University of North Carolina
where he was Phi Beta Kappa, Order of the Golden Fleece, and an
outstanding debater. He was a classmate of Jonathan Daniels who
became the publisher of the Raleigh News and Observer, Luther
Hodges who became Governor of North Carolina, and Thomas Wolfe, the
renowned novelist. During World War I he accepted an appointment at
the U.S. Naval Academy. After the war he read law at the offices of
Stewart & McRae and took the bar receiving the highest score at
that time.
In 1992 he argued, and lost, his first case before the N.C. Supreme
Court. It involved the manufacture of spirituous liquors. He later
practiced with John J. Parker who became a U.S. Circuit Court Judge
and John McRrae who was a candidate for Governor. He served for
sixteen years on the Superior Court bench, ran for the Supreme
Court, lost, and was later appointed to it by Governor Umstead. He
ended his career on the N.C. Supreme Court as Chief
Justice.
He was remembered for his "great mind" and "merry twinkle." When
the Charlotte Inn was founded, noted Senior Resident Superior Court
Judge Frank Snepp proposed that it honor the memory of Justice
Bobbitt by naming the local chapter after him. The proposal was
unanimously adopted.