Addison Goodloe Mangum was born on January 17, 1867, in Orange County, North Carolina. A lawyer by training, Mangum served in the North Carolina General Assembly in 1907, 1908, and 1919. He was a senior partner of the Gastonia-based law office of Mangum & Woltz and later served on the board of trustees for the University of North Carolina. He died in Gastonia on May 6, 1930.