James Simpson Lynch was born in Rutherford County in 1878. His father was a Confederate Army veteran, who worked as a farmer after the war. His son, James, grew up on the farm.
James attended Rutherford Military Institute, and attended the University of North Carolina. He left college to teach at Ellensboro.
He left teaching to work with a chain of furniture stores, and managed stores in Wilmington and Rock Hill. He joined B. F. Huntley Furniture Company in Winston-Salem in 1915, and became a member of the board of directors, and then vice president.
When the president, B. F. Huntley, died in 1925, Lynch was elected to succeed him. He remained in this position until his death in 1952. His son, James S. Lynch Jr., succeeded his father as president.
Lynch was a director of the Wachovia Bank & Trust Company. He also served as chairman of the board of directors of the North Carolina Baptist Hospital. James S. Lynch Jr. was his only child.
Photo courtesy of Forsyth County Public Library Photograph Collection.
