Editor’s Note: Western North Carolina is rich with untold stories—many resting quietly in local cemeteries. In this Tombstone Tales series, we explore the lives of people from our region’s past whose legacies, whether widely known or nearly forgotten, helped shape the place we call home.
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW.com) — One of Riverside Cemetery’s most striking mausoleums belongs to Franklin Silas Terry, an industrial leader of the electric age, and his wife, Lillian Slocomb Emerson Terry.
Born May 8, 1862, in Ansonia, Connecticut, Franklin Terry emerged from the nation’s rapidly expanding manufacturing economy to become a leading figure in the early incandescent lamp industry. He helped consolidate lamp manufacturers that later became part of General Electric, where he served as a vice president. His work placed him among the architects of America’s electrified future, lighting homes, streets and factories at the turn of the 20th century…