pew aur ys yeere oa ee at Aba tee) sire 2 Ord t-Ork btw + oe O-¥ aa qeeiqacuonmneme ees ee Ce a 238 OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. of the Western and Northwestern country to this subject, to investigate it and see whether their interest is not identified with ours sufficiently to justify a joint appeal to the Congress of the United States, through our representatives, for the perfect restoration of Cape Fear harbor. By reference toa report of a committee of the 40th Congress, on the policy of extending government aid to additional railroads to the Pacific, it will be seen that Wilmington on the Atlantic, Memphis on the Missis- sippi, and San Diego on the Pacific, form almost a straight line, and very nearly upon the same parallel of latitude. This line passes through an apparently favorable country for the location of such a road, more direct, and promising much less cost of construction per mile, and far less of mi- leage in crossing the continent, than any other promised or proposed line; moreover, being more exempt from disasters and detentions from the ice and snows of winter. This road will surely be built, and that at no distant day. Would it, therefore be considered presumption in us to aspire to a participation in the trafic of this road and its connections ? Why not, if we are in a con- dition to invite it by sufficient inducements ? “To our Orry,” and its commerce, with all the ramifications of general progress, the benefits would be unbounded—their details would prove too lengthy for this communication. “To our State,” it would be her “pripe” to point to an “Emportum” in every respect worthy of her, which at once, and forever, emancipates her from the humiliating commercial vassalage to other States under which she has so long labored, securing to her own citizens under all the benefits arising from an import and export trade. In conclusion, your Committee beg leave to express the opinion, that the restoration of Cape Fear Harbor and River is the “prvor,” the TURN- ig point, in the future prosperity of Wiuminetox—the Honor ond Granpeur or Norra Carotiwa—while tt places a brilliant jewel in the coronet of the Unrrep States or AMERICA, Henry Nort, Chairman. Resoivtions or THz Boarp or ALDERMEN, OF THE City or WILMINGTON, NoyemsBer 287u, 1870. Wuernas, The importance of farther appropriation by the Congress of the United States to the improvement of the Cape Fear Bar is most ap- parent, in view of the present unfinished condition of the work, and the great benefits daily developing as it progresses. Resolved, That the Mayor and Aldermen of the city of Wilmington do most earnestly urge upon Congress the claims of this work, and re- spectfully ‘request the Senators and Representatives in Congress from this State to bring the matter before their several Houses, and solicit lib- eral appropriations to this truly national work. Be it further resolved, That a copy of this resolution be sent to each member of Congress at Washington. OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. 239 RECOLLECTIONS i -NEWBERN FIFTY YEARS AGO: AN APPENDIX, Including Letiers from Judges Gaston, Donnell, Manly and Gov. Swain. BY STEPHEN F. MILLER. AUTHORS DEDICATION. To Jacob Gooding, Esquire : If you shall take the trouble to peruse this little sketch, you will find in it the names of several hundred citizens of Newbern, most of whor Were personally known to you. After the lapse of fifty years the sarvi Vors are but few. I am gratified that you are among the number. Knowing your personal worth, and your high character as a merchant | from my boyhood, I take great pleasure in inscribing these “Rmcon.we ‘Trons” to you, with assurances of my profound esteem. Columbus, Ga., Sept. 1873. Tue AurHor. —_—— 0:+:-10 —--—— PUBLISHER'S PREFACE. As an effort of memory, after the lapse of more than an ordinary life- time, these ““Reconixcrions” may be considered somewhat rare in extent | and variety, embracing more than fifty occupations and topics, with | about three hundred names oi residents of Newbern. The author, in his ) nineteenth year, removed to Georgia, November 1824. The following brief notice is copied from Appleton’s “New American Oyclopedia ;” ‘“Miiier SrepHen Franxs, an American author and lawyer, born in North Carolina [Nov. 22, 1805]. In early youth he removed to Geor- gia where he was admittad to the bar in his twenty-second year, soon after which the Legislature elected him Solicitor-General of the Southern _Cireuit. When his term of office expired he became a citizen of Ala- bama, where he continued the practice of his profession until a severe _ bronchial affection compelled him to engage in other pursuits ; and from 1840 to 1847 he edited the Monitor, a Whig journal published at Tusea- loosa. In 1848 and 1849 he resided in New Orleans, where he was as- sociated in the editorial management of DeBow’s Review and the Daily Commercial Times. His health failing, he removed to Oglethorpe, Ga. He is the author of the Bencn anv Bar or Grorata, (2 vols., 8vo., Phil- adelphia, 1858) ; “Witxivs Wr per : or, Tax Suconssrut Man,” (1860); and of a Memoir of the late Gen’! David Blackshear.” 240 OUR LIVING AND. OUR DEAD. RECOLLECTIONS OF NEWBERN FIFTY YHARS AGO. One of the sources ot pleasure to a man whose experience runs throngh a period of three score years, or more, is to revive memories of the im when his youthful mind received its first impressions, which are inde the most permanent and influential. My career in life, from imperfect health to some extent, but mainly perhaps from defective judgment, has not been satisfactory to myself, nor so useful to others as I desired to make it. As to what cause soever may have existed of failure or of mis- direction, compared with the possibilities which environed my path, it 2 now useless to speculate. The competitions of life with me are. ende ‘ and the result, whether for good or evil, is upon me with a stability tha cannot be shaken by any efforts, or by any probable turn of fortune now at my command. f ; The amount of physical strength which I at any time Bir has nearly departed, and the shadows of another world are daily ; upon my spirit. Yet cheerful in my condition, and resigned, I have 0 complaints to prefer against my fellow-men for real or imaginary injus tice. So far from it, I desire to communicate from the stores of memory; and from the sympathies of my heart, whatever I can to please or oe tain others, by a narrative of scenes hallowed in the freshness of youth after the lapse of hulf a century, or more. } I was born and-reared seven miles above Trenton, in Jones county) North Carolina, and was occupied on a farm until my seventeenth yeat when, in 1822, I went as a clerk to reside in Newbern. My Maes: tions” then commenced (not on paper) and they will now be arrange for the most part, under separate heads, for more convenient reference t!}), trades and professions. MERCHANTS, 1. Samurr Stuupson was from the country, a portionless outh, who# good qualities attracted the friendly notice of Toggart & Torrans, lead ing merchants in the city. After serving faithfully as clerk for a nuw! ber of years, Mr. Simpson succeeded these men in business, and becan in his turn one of the most prominent and successful merchants. _ 1 we clerk for Mr. Simpson in 1823~’4, and had charge principally of his watt houses and the re attached to his shippin?® interests. His nephet Henry W. Jones, was chief clerk in the store. My employer was uf right in all his transactions, and very systematic and rigid as a busine man. His grandson, Captain John Kirkland, of Hillsboro, was Ass tant Quarter Master at Milledgeville, Georgia, when I saw him in 18 increasing | OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. 241 engaged in collecting and forwarding supplies to Virginia. He stated that it required six thuusand bushels of corn per day to sustain Gen’l Lee’s army. Henry W. Jones, he said, then resided at Petersburg. I well remember when Mr. Jones was paying attentions to Miss Sophia Bryan, whom he afterwards married. She was a sister of William Green Bryan. Mr. Simpson had a clerk from Wilmington, named Lawrence D. Dorsey, who quitted the store a short time before I went into it, Gen’l Kirkland, who, in January 1865, acted a distinguished part in the defence of Fort Fisher, was also a grandson and the second wife of the Hon. M. E. Manly was a daughter of Mr. Simpson. 2. Joun Justice occupied the corner opposite to Mr. Simpson, and had a large country trade. He had two clerks, Benjamin and William Cheney, who, in 1835, were wealthy citizens of Greene county, Alabama. Mr. Justice married a daughter of the late Council Bryan in the vicinity of Newbern. Mr. Bryan had a number of interesting daughters, several of whom I shall have occasion to notice in the course of my narrative. _ 8, Sreruen B. Forses was a short man, but had a long head, if we may Judge by the prudence with which he managed his affairs. James E. Bettner was his clerk and afterwards became his partner. Mr. Forbes, to the best of my recollection, also married a Miss Bryan, and subse- quently a Miss Tisdale. (?) His son, Edward M. Forbes, became an Epis- Copal clergyman, and in February, 1844, delivered a sermon in Mobile before the Hon. Henry Clay, who was in the audience. A daughter of” Mr. 8. B, Forbes married Major George Bush Burgwyn Clitherall, who was Secretary of the Alabama Senate in 1845, and more recently in the quartermaster’s department in the Oonfederate army. 4, Jacon Goopine was in business on Pollock street, and was popular: among my neighbors for the good bargains which he offered, the sound qoslity of his goods, and for the perfect fairness of his dealings. I was. irected to call on him when I had little commissions to execute for my neighbors ; and I think I dealt more with Mr. Gooding, under such cir-- cumstances, than with any other house. He was then a pale, withered little man, with a kind face and very courteous manner. His efficient and obliging clerk, Matthew A. Outten, afterwards went into business on: his own account. The image of Mr. Gooding has an agreeable distinct- ness on my memory, and I am gratified to learn that he is still living (1873) and quite active, though probably eighty years of age. He is one of the old landmarks of Newbern with which my boyhood is associated. 5. James G. Curnpert was an Irishman, and had lost an arm. He Usually kept a good assortment, and though somewhat eccentric in his. Manner and inclined to rough jesting, with a rich brogue, he had large transactions with country people who had great confidence in his inte- Srity. He had sons growing up, who I think assisted behind the counter. 6. Wititam Dunn had a conspicuous store on the corner opposite the: old Episcopal Church, and appeared to be full of business, from the num-. €r of vehicles waiting for accommodation. He had aclerk by the name of Frank Shine, from Duplin county. Mr. Dunn was a strictly honest: an who considered the common practice of “Jewing” as derogatory to. the dignity of a man of integrity. On one occasion a customer commen~ 4 a — S. 4 Ne as ee Sit pet ane ree koa hae eee Se eran { 242 OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. ding the goods exhibited to him asked the price, and then inquired, “Can’t you put it ower, Mr, Dunn?” “No,” replied the honest dealer replacing the bolt on an upper shelf, “J’ll put it higher!” But this was “fifty years ago. 7. Joun and Tuomas MoLin, brothers, kept adjoining stores, nearly opposite the new (1824) Episcopal Church. T. McLin was particularly neat in the display of his goods, and always on the alert to trade profitably. 8. JosrpH Oxiver and Samvurt Oriver, brothers, had separate stores near each other, between Dunn’s corner and Simpson’s corner, on Pollock street. Their two clerks, John and Samuel Battle, subsequently removed to Mobile, Alabama, where they acquired considerable wealth in com- mercial pursuits. One of the principa! hotels in the latter city is called the “Battle Honse,” after one of the brothers. One of them, John, mar- ried a daughter of Mrs. Clitherall who was a sister of Mr. John F. Bur- gwyn, of Newbern, and subsequently married another daughter of Mrs. Clitherall, the widow of Geo. Jones, formerly of Newbern. I became ac- quainted with Mrs. Clitherall at Tuscaloosa, Alabama, in 1847, and also knew her son-in-law, Junius A. Moore, Esq., who died there, He was a graduate of Chapel Hill, in the class of 1816, and a member of the legal profession. A daughter of Mr. Moore married Joel Riggs, an officer in the State Bank, and afterwards Comptroller of Public Accounts. A son ef Mr. Riggs is now Assistant Librarian of the Supreme Court, at Mont- omery, and is named in honor of his virtuous grand-father, “Junius oore” Riggs. Mrs. Clitherall wasan English lady of great cultivation, dignity and refinement. Her son, Alexander B. Clitherall was for many ‘years an officer of the General Assembly of Alabama, was a Judge of the Circuit Court, and the first Register of the Treasury under the Confede- wate Government. 9. Joun Snexp, Joun Coart, Joun G. Kincry and Mr. Pirrman, oc ‘eupied store tenements in a range of brick buildings opposite the Bank of Newbern. Mr. Kincey married Miss Bryan, a sister of Mrs. Justice. A daughter of Mr. Sneed married Dr. Samuel Chapman. 10. Mionart H. Lenres was a very clever merchant. He married a ‘sister of Gen’! John I. Pasteur. His store was near Mitchell’s corner. 11. Wrrtiam 8. Wess, who kept a fine store on Pollock street, dressed fashionably, and made a genteel appearance. He was cross-eyed, which seemed to increase the intelligent expression of his face. It was said that he was quite proficient in mathematics. He married Miss Mary Hall, one of the leading beauties of Newbern. 12. Grorer Sretve & Co., held large stocks embracing a variety of goods so that any customer might be suited. Mr. Seelye was a hand- ‘some man, and married Miss Eliza Finlay, a Roman Catholic lady. 13. Ropert Primrose & Co., were leading dealers in fancy goods, and were, of course, popular with the ladies, who in great numbers waited at ‘the counter daily. Mr. Rob’t Primrose married a daughter of M. C. ‘Stephens, Cashier of the Bank of Newbern. The Messrs. Primrose ((Rob’t and John, who constituted the firm) were Scotchmen, and the re- mark is ventured that it was not their personal beauty which attracted vthe ladies to the-store. OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. 243 14. Jarvis B. Buxton had retired from business before I went to re- Side in Newbern, in 1822. He was one of the first merchants I traded With in my boyhood about the year 1818. I lost sight of him until thirty years afterwards, when I saw a volume of sermons written by him while Rector of the Episcopal church in Fayetteville. In 1865, I be- came acquainted with his son, Ralph P. Buxton, Esq., who was appoint- ed Judge of the Superior Court under the reconstruction acts of Congress. My knowledge of the father and the son embraces a period of more than fifty years. The Rev. J. B. Buxton was a good and useful man, and his memory is held in affectionate esteem by his parishioners, and by all who knew him. In 1865 his widow still resided at Fayetteville. 15. Tuomas Wapsworru sold goods near the county wharf. His eldest son, Thomas, went to New Orleans, where he became prominent as a lawyer and politician; and was supported for Congress. Pending the election he became involved in a quarrel and killed a sea-captain at the St. Louis Hotel, in 1847, or thereabout. He was tried for the offence, and acquitted through the exertions of the Hon. 8. 8. Prentiss, the emi- nent advocate and ex-member of Congress. Mr. Wadsworth died soon after the trial. 16. Francis Lamorre was a French gentleman, whose eldest son was of the paternal name, and chiefly managed his business. They were much respected in trade and in their social relations. 17. Wititam Hotiister dealt heavily in sugar, coffee, iron, salt, liquors, &ec. He had two clerks, one of whom, John Johnson Simpson es Brickell, was a splendid accountant, formerly of Snow Hill. The other clerk was William H. Morning, whose mother lived opposite the market, x Hollister married a daughter of Isaac Taylor, a wealthy retired mer- Chant. 18. Jarvis, West & Co., were mostly engaged in shipping, and had extensive transactions. Mr. John Spence West died in 1822, and the firm thereafter was Moses Jarvis & Co., or Jarvis, Brown & Co., also Prabably carried on a larger business than. any house in town. Mr. arvis had a son, Moses Jarvis, Jr., whose thorough mercantile training and regular habits bid fair to make him a worthy representative of his bold and enterprising father. Mr. Platt H. Wick, who married a daugh- ter of Mr. Jarvis, was a relation of Platt Bull the fat book-keeper in the Counting room, who sang bass in the choir of the Episcopal church, 19. Devereux, Curstrer & Orme belonged to the shipping class of merchants, and had heavy dealings in that line. They occupied a large brick store near Mrs. McKinley’s residence. Mr. Stephen M. Chester removed to the city of New York, and was a member of the firm of W. W. Chester & Co., Carpet Dealers, Broadway, 1836. Through the in- fluence of the Hon. Francis Xavier Martin, Chief Justice of Louisiana, (who in his youth was a printer in Newbern) Mr. Robert V. Orme re- Moved to et Orleans where he was accidentally killed by falling through a trap door. Mr. George Pollock Devereux was stately in his deportment, and had nothing to do, I believe, with the labors of the counting room. His large fortune exempted him from that necessity. 20, James Saunpers occupied the store next to that of Mr. Justice. Dat pe Lar Bore ee ; 3] wy a q is % bee ia 244 OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. He was captured on board of an American privateer in the war of 1812- 714, and confined in Dartmoor prison, England. An eye-witness to the shooting of American prisoners by the British guard, he related to me all the circumstances of that unprovoked massacre. His health was se- verely impaired by his cruel imprisonment, which caused his death from consumption in 1823. Llaving acted as his clerk for several months, my next employment, after his death, was in the store of Mr. Simpson. Mr. Saunders was a clever gentleman, extremely neat in his dress, and up- riglit in his dealings. His devoted wife, who nursed him with great ten- derness, was formerly Miss Avis, a grand-daughter of Nathaniel Street, senior. 21. Exian Criark, and his son, Witt1am W. Ctrark, had a store up the Neuse, above Moses Jarvis’ residence. They were good merchants, and had a large country trade. The list of names I have introduced under the head of “Merchants,” does not include all who were engaged in trade, many of whom will be mentioned under other titles in the course of these “Recollections.” But the principal houses have been noticed, so far as I can reeall them. LAWYERS, 1, Joun STANLY was foremost in age and natural gifts. His voice was strong, clear and musical, and his manner peculiarly graceful and dignified. In repartee and sarcasm I never saw his equal. His efforts in that line were absolutely withering. The composure of no suitor, witness, or rival advocate could survive his pungent criticism. Ever bold and fearless, he at once rose to the breadth of the occasion, always wielding a polished scimiter with the energy of a giant and the skill of an artist. He was a representative in Congress in 1801-3, and also in 1809-711, and is said to have given John Randolph trouble in his pecu- Jiar vein. Mr. Stanly was often in the Legislature, being twice elected Speaker of the House of Commons; and in January, 1827, while on the the floor in debate he was stricken with paralysis, and was caught in the arms of Robert Potter. He was taken to the Speaker’s Chair, whence he adjourned the House. From that hour, he never was himself again. On a visit from Georgia to Newbern in 1829 I called on Mr, Stanly, whose noble features were distorted by affliction. He tried to converse in his former commanding way, but failed. On parting, he gave me a very correct lithograph likeness of himself, which I retained more than thirty years, until it was lost by the wanton depredations on my library and papers, in ff reat er committed. by Eederal soldiers attached to the Freedman’s Bureau, in 1865. I much regretted the loss of this cher- ished memento. Mr. Stanly died August 3, 1833, aged fifty-nine years. His only daughter married Capt. Armstead of the United States army, in defiance of his opposition. It is said that he never forgave her. This worthy officer was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General, and in her old age, Mrs. Stanley found a welcome retreat under his hospitable roof in Virginia, where she died about thirty years ago. Mr. Stanly had a number of sons,—John, Alfred, Frank, Edward, Alexander, Fabius, OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. 245 Cicero, aud James. The former was idiotic from his birth, and was con- fined in the house, helpless as an infant, until his eighteenth year, or thereabout, when he died. Alfred first removed to Alabama, and the last I heard of him he was residing in Fairfax county, Virginia, where he was badly treated by the Yankees in the early part of the late war.(#) Frank Stanly became a Methodist preacher. Edward was elected to Congress, and served from 1837 to 1843, and from 1849 to 1853. He was Attorney General of the State in 1847-48, and was Speaker of the House of Commons from 1844 to 1847, from the county of Beaufort. After his removal to California he again appeared in his native State, holding a commission from President Lincoln as Military Governor, in the hope it was alleged, of prevailing on the people of North Carolina in 1862 to resume their allegiance to the Union. In this object he signally failed, and becoming disgusted by an association with the Abolitionists, and particularly shocked by Federal outrages in Newbern, he resigned his commission in despair and returned to California where he was sub- sequently defeated as the Republican candidate for Governor. It is said that he took orders for the Priesthood in the Episcopal Church. He died within the last four years. The career of Cicero Stanly has been mixed with much that is romantic aud painful, from Texas to Europe. Of Al- exander [dead] and Fabius, [now Admiral U.S. N.,] I have not heard in many years. Mrs. Stanly was a country heiress without cultivation, or opportunity, and inherited from Martin Frank, her father, large es- tates in Jones county which laid the foundation of Mr. Stanly’s prosper- ity. His nature did not harmonize with the taste of his wife; for she was ashouting Methodist, and he a staid Vestryman of the Episcopal Church. During the tedious affliction of Mr. Stanly, his affairs became very much embarrassed, owing in a great measure to the improvidence of his sons. Debts were pressed to judgment, and in this extremity his Warm personal and political friend, Mr. Gaston, protected from sale the fine mansion in which he lived and died. Few instances have occurred of reverses so unexpected tothe public. The fate of Mr. Stanly was per- haps not exceeded in bitterness of spirit by that of Napoleon while lin- gering six years at St. Helena. Both were men of boundless pride and ambition, and of extraordinary gifts. Mr. Gaston wrote a beantitul eulogy on the character of Mr. Stanly, which was published. The last time Mr. Stanly addressed a Newbern audience was in July, 1826, when he pronounzed an eloguent discourse on the public life of John Adams, which was published in pamphlet form, in connection with that of the Hon. John H. Bryan on Mr. Jefferson. | 2. Witii1am Gaston was an ornament of the Bar, of Congress, of the State Legislature, and of the Bench of the Supreme Court, in all of which positions the ascendency of his virtues, intellect and learning was ac- knowledged. He was speaker of the House of Commons in 1803. In his admired description of great men whom he met in Congress in 1816, Mr. R. H. Wilder, of Georgia, referred to Mr. Gaston in company with Randolph, Lowndes, Clay, Calhoun Webster, Forsyth, and Pinckney of Maryland. It was my privilege to hear Mr. Gaston frequently in court, Wrestling with his great professional rival, Mr. Stanly, in all that consti- py 246 OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. tutes and tries the strength of character. I have heard no efforts since equal in ability, logic and eloquence. My youthfal imagination was completely dazzled; and now, in my sixty-eighth year, I recall those scenes as the greatest forensic triumphs I ever witnessed. In some res- pects Mr. Gaston and Mr. Stanly were unlike. The former was diffident and when he first rose to address the court or jury, he trembled percep- tibly, but in a few moments he was self-possessed, and commanded pro- found attention. In criminal cases he was often very pathetic, and I have seen the tears roll down his face, while the jury and andience gave like tokens of sympathy. le increased in the moral grandeur of his sen- timents, and in the brilliancy of his reasoning faculties as his argument progressed. He was uniformly respectful to suitors and witnesses, to the Court and to his brethren of the bar. When he closed a speech, the whole subject matter, both evidence and law had been exhausted by an- alysis and the mind rested with perfect confidence in the conclusions ut- tered. There was no touch of sophistry to mislead, and no mysterious phrase or look to bewilder the jury. All was luminous as a sunbeam. His face expressed the benignity of soul which animated his whole life. Of his domestic relations my knowledge is limited. The first Mrs. Gas- ton was Miss Hay of Fayetteville. She lived but a short time. His se- cond wife was Miss Hannah McClure, who died suddenly in 1814, (leay- ing a son and two daughters—Alexander, Susan and Hannah,) from an alarm at the reported entrance of the British fleet within Ocracoke bar, on its way to attack Newbern. I remember the excitement in the coun- try, and also the sad incident referred to. His third marriage*was with Miss Worthington, of the District uf Columbia, and I think she also died suddenly, in 1819, leaving two danghters—Eliza and Kate. From that time Judge Gaston remained a widower. I do not remember to have seen any of Judge Gaston’s danghters. They were probably at school in the Catholic Seminary at Georgetown while I resided in Newbern. One of them married Judge Manly, and another married Robert Donaldson, formerly of Fayetteville, and since a resident of New York, to which city he removed many years before’ the late war. Alelander F. Gaston, the only son, will be noticed more particularly under the head of “Law Stu- dents.” The third daughter, Eliza, became Mrs. Graham of the District of Columbia, and Kate, the fourth daughter—and only surviving child of William Gaston, the noble daughter of a noble sire—is still unmarried, of course voluntarily so, as she has always been greatly admired, and never more so than on a very recent visit to her old home of Newbern. Owing to a seeming disability imposed by the old constitution on Roman Catholics, Mr. Gaston never held any judicial office in the State earlier than 1833, when, after mature investigation, he accepted the office of Judge of the Supreme Conrt. For eleven years he graced that dignified tribunal, until his sudden death at Raleigh, in February 1844. A letter from Judge Gaston to myself, written in 1834, was published in the first volume of “The Bench and Bar of Georgia.” The original is preserved in my collection of autographs of distinguished men. 3. Epwarp Grauam held a prominent rank at the bar, though when I knew him he had somewhat retired, and appeared only in important y 4 OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. 247 cases. I heard him but once in court, which was sufficient to convince me that he possessed a vigorous mind and great elevation of character. He was apparently the senior of both Mr. Stanly and Mr. Gaston, and earlier in life was often employed. I loved to hear these renowned jurists on intricate legal questions. Mr. Graham maintained a very fashionable style of living. One of his daughters married the Hon. Wil- liam H. Haywood, of Raleigh, and another married John P. Daves, Esq., of Newbern. His son, Hamilton, will be noticed elsewhere. | do not remember the year in which Mr. Graham died, as I then resided in Georgia. He was the second of Mr. Stanly in his duel with Governor Spaight. at. : 4. Franors L. Hawks graduated at Chapel Hill, in the class of 1815, with John H. Bryan, Isaac Croom, Lemuel Hatch, Willie P. Mangum and Richard D. Spaight. In due tite, after a course of legal studies, he Was admitted to the bar, and at once stood among the leaders of his profession. His voice was the richest imaginable, his language copious and beautiful, and his manner very impressive. J was fond of hearing him in argument opposed to the veterans Stanly and Gaston, and my feelings were always on the side of the young prodigy, as I considered Mr. Hawks. In 1821 he was elected to the Legislature as the Represen- tative of Newbern, and won laurels in debate. In 1823 he married a lady in Connecticut, and in a few years settled in Hillsboro where he be- came Reporter of the Supreme Court. From thence he removed to the North to New Haven, and thence to St. Stephen’s Ohurch, New York, and then to St. Thomas’, and had charge ot St. John’s Episcopal Chureh, Broadway, New York. By his exertions to build up a large Female Seminary at Fusbing, under the patronage of his church, he became in- volved in heavy personal liabilities, so that in 1844 when he was before the Episcopal Convention at Philadelphia for consecration as Bishop of the Diocese of Mississippi, some of the unpaid contractors of the Semi- nary filed a complaint, which was triumphantly replied to by the Hon. John M. Berrie, a lay-delegate from Georgia. The Jonvention, how- ever, declined final action, and referred the matter back to the Diocese of Mississippi. He afterwards was called to Oalvary church 4th Avene, which was greatly in debt; and by his unbounded popularity soon re- lieved it. I wrote and published in a newspaper at the time a vindica- tion of Dr. Hawks, which is incorporated in the memoir of Judge Berrie, in “The Bench and Bar of Georgia.” The next I heard of Dr. Hawks he had been called to New Orleans on a salary of seven thousand dollars as Rector of the Church on Canai street. For several years he was also President of the University of Louisiana, with an additional income. From thence he returned to New York and occupied a pulpit in a chureh in 8th street, where he continued to discharge his functions as a clergy- man until the war of 1861, when he changed his residence, temporarily, to Baltimore, trom sympathy with his native South. After the war, he resumed his charge in New York, where he died, September 27, 1866, aged about seventy years. One of his sons, Major Hawks, was in the OCon- federate army. Not only was Dr. Hawks one of the most eloquent Speakers in America, but he was also a chaste and voluminous author. | i 248 OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. Some thirty years ago, with an introduction to the Archbishop of Canter- bury, he visited England to collect materials for a History of the Episco- pal church in the United States, a fragment of which may be seen in his biography of Bishop White. Dr. Hawks has edited some very large works, among them, I believe, the Expedition of Commodore Perry to Japan, and others whose titles I do not at present remember. The first . volume of his History of North Carolina appeared many years ago, and a second has since been published; but the war prevented the comple: tion of the work. The degree of LL. D. was conferred upon him in the prime of life, and most worthily, for he was eminent in letters as well as in oratory. He was the best reader I ever heard. Even a dry statute was interesting under the music of his voice. The church service no man could read better. In the absence of the Rector, Mr. Hawks, as early as 1822, used to read eermors' froin the pulpit, which, to me pos- sessed an interest outside of theology. Subsequently I heard him de- liver sermons of his own composition, first in New York, 1836, and again in New Orleans, 1848. A great change had taken place in his physical proportions. When I first saw him, attending court at Trenton in 1821, and during the time I resided Newbern afterwards, his frame was quite slender. When I saw him at New Orleans thirty years thereafter, he was quite vorpulent, with an increase of fifty per cent over his former weight. His ,ifts and labors considered together, the ancient town of Newbern has never produced another son of such literary accomplish+ ments to adorn the age of her Gaston and Stanlys. When once remon- strate ' with by a parishioner, who, (unwilling to resign his rector toa more lucrative field to which he had just been invited) reminded him that the “young ravens would be fed.” “Ah, yes!” replied the Reverend eee, “but unfortunately there is no such promise for the young awks! _5. Joun Hurtrace Bryan probably came to the bar about the same time that Francis L. Hawks was admitted to the practice by the Supre.ae Court. 1 was not advised under whose direction, whether of Mr. Stanly or Mr. Gaston, they prosecuted their legal studies. Cer- tainly no two young aspirants ever advanced more rapidly to professional distinction. Mr. Bryan was very logical and earnest as a speaker. His popularity may be inferred from his early service in the Legislature, and from the remarkable fact that almost as soon as he was eligible he was elected to Congress without his knowledge (he then being on a visit to Baltimore) and to the State Senate at the same time. Serv: ing from 1825 to 1829 with credit, he declined a re-election to Congress. Mr. Bryan married a daughter of William Shepard, a wealthy citizen of Newbern. After I lett in 1824 for Georgia, I lost sight of Mr. Bryan until I saw that he had removed to Raleigh, and that the Legislature had voted a sword to his son, Lieut. Francis T. Bryan, for his gallantry in the Mexican war. I have not seen Mr. J. H. Bryan within the last forty- nine years; but I have a distinct recollection of his ample forehead, his intelligent face and courteous manner. At a somewhat advanced age he died at Raleigh a few years ago, leaving a character and example of great moral influence. OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. 249 6, Wricar Sranty was an old bachelor, and as it often happens with that class of gentlemen, there was nothing particularly interesting in his history. He was the only member of the bar in Newbern who wore glasses all the time. I have heard him make speeches in courts, but I retain no impression of them half so clear as of the flashes of his spectacles whenever he turned his face in a new direction. His hair was red—his deportment refined and agreeable. He was a member of the State Senate in 1814. Perfectly honorable in his charaeter, he had no enemies, so far as I know. For the last thirty years, or more, he has resided in Mobile as a practicing lawyer. His relations to the Hon. Johu Stanly was not nearer than that of cousin. Probably Mr. W. Stanly had experienced unkindness from the world, as I was informed by a gentleman who heard from his lips (while the topic of conversation was the habit of fishes, the large devouring the small) the remark, that “fishes were not the only ~ oqo ot animated nature that preyed on each other; for man acted thus toward his fellow man.” His widowed sister, Mrs. Ward, and her children, lived with him, for whom he provided with paternal liberality. His hospitalities were unlimited, and the colored race never knew a better or more considerate master than was “Uncle Rectus,” as the ‘-boys” irre- verently called him. 4. Gxorex 8. Arrmore had been recently admitted to practice, and gave promise, by his resolute will and active industry, to overcome dis- advantages which were manifest in competition with such astute breth- ren as he had to encounter in the forum. By bis marriage with a dangh- ter of Mr. Isaac Taylor, Mr. Attmore acquired an influence which he turned to good account in his professional career. After Mr. Stanly was disabled by paralysis in 1827, and some years later when Mr. Gaston was elected Judge of the Supreme Oourt, when Mr. Hawks had gone into the ministry, and Mr. Bryan had removed to Raleigh, the field was clear to Mr. Attmore, and it was then that a high degree of success rewarded his labors. _ By this time a new race of lawyers had grown up in New- bern, of whom I cannot speak for the want of opportunity to witness their exertions. Mr. Attmore has been dead several years. He hada son to represent his professional character and good name. 8. Hon. Joun R. Donnert was in good practice when he was made Judge of the Superior Court in 1819, which office he held until 1836 when he resigned. He was the first judge 1 ever saw preside, which was at Trenton about the year 1820. On one occasion I had seen him before he came to the bench, and that was when I sold him a load of corn in market. After I had delivered it, he gave me a check for the amount ; and such was my extreme youth, that he asked me if I could read writ- ing? On my replying in the aflirmative, he said, “You know then where to get the money.” It was the first bank check that ever greeted my vision. Judge Donnell was always in the habit of attending market to purchase what articles of produce he needed, and was a man of strict in- tegrity, as well as a kind, considerate, generous neighbor. Ile was a rigid economist, and by the skillful management of the large property which he obtained by inheritance from an uncle, and by his marriage with a daughter of Gov. Spaight, he increased it probably to half a mil- —— 250 OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. lion of Collars. His wife died more than thirty years ago. His son, Richard Spaight Donnell, was a Representative in Cougress in 1847’-49, and in 1864 was Speaker of the House of Commons. Judge Donnell never married a second time. He was a quiet, unobtrusive, upright gen- tleman, and used to bear with great equanimity the biting sarcasm which Mr. Stanly was in the habit of thrusting at the court whenever it suited his policy. At the time of bis death at Raleigh, October 15, 1864, while a refugee from his princely house and estates, after Federal occupancy in Newhbern, Judge Donnell was perhaps not less than eighty years of age. His life was exemplary, and his abilities and integrity asa Judge secured him a spotless reputation. 9. Ricnarp D. Spaieur held a commission to practice law, and I have seen him attending the Superior Court in Jones county as well as in Craven, but I never heard of his appearing in a case. He was very rich and very diffident, and was not destitute of fair abilities as a graduate of the University. His object in associating with the lawyers from county to county, was no doubt to enjoy their society, and to improve his mind by legal discussions which constantly took place in his presence. I al- ways suspected that Mr. Stanly was an obstacle to the protessional success of Mr. Spaight, as the former was a man of imperious temper, and, as if not satisfied with having killed the father of Mr. Spaight in a duel twenty years before, he seemed to delight in torturing the son by look and gesture, and intonations of his voice, when other methods were not devised. Mr. Spaight, however, avoided an issue, and once had the pleasure of beating him for the Senate. By the death of his brother Charles G, (who graduated in 1820) Mr. R. D. Spaight had a large ae- cession of property by inheritance. He first represented Craven county in the Legislature in 1819, and from 1820 to 1834—with the exception of 1823 and 1824 when in Congress—-he served continuously in the Sen- ate, and in 1835 he was elected Governor of the State, which was the last bestowal of the oftice by the Legislature, as elections subsequently have been by the people. Gov. Spaight the second died in 1850, aged tifty- four years, and his property came to Judge Donnell’s children. I never heard of any impntation against his honor. He had filled some of the highest offices in the Masonic Fraternity. z 10. Vine Auten often attended the courts; but his modesty, or the boldness of Mr. Stanly, kept him in the background. I will here take occasion to remark that Mr. Stanly, with all his admitted greatness, was dictatorial and exacting toward young men, and even to those of riper age who did not pay willing homage to his judgment. It was a fearful thing to incur his displeasure—it was next to annihilation. Much as I admired his splendid gifts, I am not blind to this infirmity of his charae- ter. Whatever might have been the influence, Mr. Allen was protected by his wealth from the alternative of courting the favor of Mr. Stanly or of retiring from the profession, I think Mr. Allen was President of the Newbern Branch of the State Bank; at least I have seen his name on the bills to authorize this opinion. He was in the Senate from Craven as far back as 1813. When I changed my residence from Newbern in 1824, I lost sight of Mr, Allen, who has no doubt been dead many years. OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. 251 He was very neat and dignified in his appearance, and of tall, athletic frame. I have said nothing of the political opinions of any member of the bar, for the reason that I did not think it necessary, even had I been of an age sufficient to mark this phase of character. Messrs. Stanly and Gas- ton were both avowed Federalists. As to the other gentlemen I venture no speculation, whether they were Federalists or Republicans, the only parties in that day. My aim has been altogether different, and entirely free from political bias, in sketching a group of men who made the most Vivid impressions ov my youthful mind, PHYSICIANS. 1, Dr: Jonn Boyp was prominent, if not the very leading member of the healing art in Newbern. He was a fine looking gentleman, his hair a little more than half grey, and his complexion fresh and perm Appa- rently he was about forty years of age, and in 1864 when I again heard of him, he was still living, in good preservation among the Yankees who held Newbern since 14th March 1862 to the close of the war. Dr. Boyd made his daily visits on horseback, usually in a gentle lope. His fine bay horse, well groomed, and with elegant saddle and hangings, seemed to be conscious of the dignity of his rider; for every movement was graceful, even to the curve of the neck, and the manner of standing at the post. As a bachelor Dr. Boyd was extremely careful of his dress, which was of costly material and made up by skillful tailors. Nothing could exceed the whiteness of his bosom. He shaved, and changed his linen daily, and call on him at any hour, he looked as if just from his dressing room. A lady who happened to see his laundress at the ironing table, counted thirty-six tine linen shirts, elegantly frilled and crimped, belonging to Dr. Boyd. Yet there was no seeming display in his appa- rel. Urery thing was in good taste, as became his grave and polished address. His practice was very extensive. Dr. Edward Boyd his brother, died in 1823, leaying a family in Newbern. ‘ 2. Dr. Perer Custis was highly popular, somewhat blunt and caustic in his manner, and the life of all social companies in which he appeared, I think he married a daughter of Dr. Daniel Carthy, whose death is said to have been occasioned by lock-jaw produced by the trimming of a corn, LT have no recollection of the children of Dr. Custis. Dr, Thomas Carthy had just graduated in Medicine when I first saw him in 1822. He wasa fine looking gentleman, high spirited, and inclined to the code of honor, An affair of the kind with Mr. R. BD. Spaight, after I left Newbern, is Said to have progressed to a journey by the principals and seconds, but Was arrested hy the civil process before the parties had reached the scene of action in another State. ; 3. Dr. Epwarp Pasrrur had, in a measure, retired from the practice in 1822, after a long and successful professional career. He had wealth and great social influence. Ring 63 2 4. Dr. Randolph Dick claimed to be a Virginian, and a lineal descen- dent of the Indian princess, celebrated in history as shielding Captain OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. Smith from the uplifted tomahawk of her savage father. The complex- ion of Dr. Dick warranted the inference that his title of nobility was well supported. He was quite fashionable in dress, and fastidious in ex- hibiting his person to the best advantage. He had the tact, in his move- ments, of seeming to be always in full practice, and may have impressed the idea on others to his profit. His career soon terminated. Under the pretence of consummating a matrimonial engagement with a rich widow in one of the upper counties, he left Newbern in the Fall of 1822, never to return. He was apparently about thirty years of age. The deport ment of Dr. Dick, with his grave, thoughtful visage, would attract favor- able opinions anywhere on first sight. ; 5. Dr. Blount, somewhat peculiar in his habits and disposition, had apparently given up the active labors of his profession. He kept himself much at home, and was rarely seen in the streets, except on an occasional drive or ride for exercise. He married the mother of the Hon. John H. Bryan. SCHOOLS AND TEACHERS. The Town Academy was large enough to accommodate several dis- tinct schools. Among the teachers and classes in the Academy, and those who had rooms elsewhere for pupils, I remember the following gentlemen : 1. Joun Atonzo Arrmorg, whose acquaintance I formed in my seventh year, when he taught a school at the end of Parson’s Lane in 1812 and 713, nine miles above Trenton in Jones county. I was one of his tender upils. The next time I saw my honored perceptor was in Newbern. e always had a large school. Among the pupils of the Academy, I re- member Charles B. Shepard, who was called “Coney” by his schoolmates. Atterwards Mr. Shepard married a daughter of Frederick Jones, and his second wife was a daughter of Judge Donnell. He represented the town of Newbern in the Legislature in 1832 and ’33, and in 1839 and ’41 he was a Representative in Congress. In 1843 Mr. Shepard died at the early age of thirty-six years. Another pupil of the Academy was Fred- erick S. Blount wlio removed to Mobile. He married Miss James of a South Carolina family. In 1858 their daughter Emily became the sub- ject of newspaper notoriety, from the attentions of Cownt Reviere who fought a duel (in armor) with Captain Maury. Mr. Blount opposed the matrimonial intent of the lovers ; but his wife countenanced it from mo- tives of family ambition, to give her daughter the eclat of a supposed no- ble alliance. The scheme involved ‘many curious transactions in New York, Philadelphia, Savannah, and Mobile, of which the newspapers fur- nished many romantic details. Miss Blount was finally relieved from the sete d of the Count, who has since disappeared from public view. r. Blount was a half brother of the Hon. John H. Bryan, and was long @ prominent politician and lawyer in Alabama, where he was much re- apected for his talents and social worth. He has been dead several years. Mr. Atimore continued his vocation as a teacher more than forty years, and his memory is revered by hundreds of grateful pupils. To be Continued.) OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. HATTERAS. BY JO. W. The Wind King from the North came down, Nor stopped by river, mount nor town ; But, like a boisterous god at play, Resistless hounding on his way, Hejshook the lake and tore the wood, And flapped his wings in merry mood, Nor furled them, till he spied afar, The white-caps flash on Hatteras bar, Where fierce Atlantic landward bowls, O’er treacherous sands and hidden shoals. He paused, then wreathed his horn of cloud, And blew defiance long and loud : “Come up! Come up, thou torrid god, That rul’st the Southern sea ! Ho ! lightning-eyed and thunder-shod, Come wrestle here with me ! As tossest thou the tangled cane, T’ll hurl thee o’er the boiling main !” The angry heavens hung dark and still, Like Arctic night on Hecla’s hill ; The mermaids sporting on the waves, Affrighted, fled to coral caves: The billow checked its curling crest, And, trembling, sank to sudden rest: All ocean stilled its heaving breast. Reflected darkness, weird and dread, An inky plain the waters spread— So motionless, since life was fled! Amid this elemental lull, Where nature died, and death lay dull, As though itself were sleeping there— Beealmed upon that dismal! flood, en fated vessels idly stood, And not a timber creaked ! Jim silence held each hollow hull, Save when some sailor, in that night, Oppressed with darkness and despair, ome seaman, groping for the light, Rose up and shrieked | They cried like children lost and lorn : ‘Oh, Lord, deliver while you may! Sweet Jesu, drive this gloom away! Orever fled, oh lovely day ? T would that ] were never born !” or stoutest souls were terror thrilled, And warmest hearts with horror chilled. “Come up! Come up, thou torrid god hou lightning-eyed and thunder-shod, And wrestle here with me !” Twas heard and answered ; ‘Lo! I come From azure Carribee, © drive thee, cowering to thy home, And melt its walls of frozen foam.” HOLDEN. From every isle and mountain dell, From plains of pathless chapparel, From tide-built bars where sea-birds dwell, He drew his lurid legions forth— And sprang to meet the white-plumed North. Can mortal tongue in song convey The fury of that fearful fray ? How ships were splintered at a blow— Sails shivered into shreds of ssow— And seamen hurled to death below ! Two gods commingling, bolt and blast, The huge waves at each other cast, And bellowed o’er the raging waste ; Then sped, like harnessed steeds, afar, That drag a shattered battle-car Amid the midnight din of war! False Hatteras ! when the Cyclone came, Thy waves leapt up with hoarse acclaim And ran and wrecked yon argosy ! For e’er they sank! that lone hulk stands Embedded in thy yellow sands— An hundred hearts in death there stilled,— And yet its ribs, with corpses filled, Are now caressed by thee ! Smile on, smile on, thou watery hell, And toss those skulls upon thy shore ; The sailor’s widow knows thee well: His children beg from door to door, And shiver, while they strive to tell How thou hast robbed the wretched poor ! Yon lipless skull shall speak for me, This is the Golgotha of the sea! And its keen hunger is the same In winter’s frost, or summer’s flame! When life was young, adventure sweet, I came with Walter Raleigh’s fleet, But here my scattered bones have lain And bleached for ages by the main! Though lonely once, strange folk have come, Till peopled is my barren home. Enough are here. Oh heed the ery, Ye white-winged strangers sailing by ! The bark that lingers on this wave Will find it, smiling, but a grave! Then, tardy mariner, turn and flee, A myriad wrecks are on thy lea ! With swelling sail and sloping mast, Accept kind Heaven’s propitious blast ! Oh, ship, sail en! Oh, ship, sail fast, Till thou Gelgotha’s quicksands past— Hast gained the open sea at last! Raxeren, N. C., 186%. 338 OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. Deseviptive and Statistical, O10 RECOLLECTIONS NEWBERN FIFTY YEARS AGO. [Continued from Page 252.] 2. John McMaster was a Scotchman, and acomplaining, harmless and learned sort of oddity. Even with the aid of glasses he seemed to b? very limited in the scope of his vision. In the moral aspects of charae” ter, I was not apprised of any defects in this gentleman. His voice we shrill and piercing like that of John Randolph and Vice-Presidem! Stephens. He had a number of pupils in the class preparing for colleg® 3. Robert G. Moore was an Irishman who cameto Newbern in 1818, and at once established a prosperous school. He was very urbane 7 manner, yet decided and persevering in the enforcement of his rules. am informed that he had a long and nsef 0 i e ha ful career, as a teacher of youth and editor of a Whig journal, the “ Newbern Spectator,” and that b? raised quite an interesting family. His son, Parser Robert 8. Moore, U: S. N., found an ocean grave, dying at sea, of yellow fever, in 1843. Be was the worthy representative of an honorable father. 4. Rev. Freprrioxk Frreman was engaged in preparing young men fot college, which, I believe, was the distinct character of his school, Po sibly he had pupils of another description, and at one time may hav® been principal of the female seminary, with assistants. I am not vey positive as to the class of his scholars, He was regarded as an excellent teacher. Tis healthy complexion, serene face and gentlemanly appeal ance I can never forget. 5. Joserx Hurron appeared in Newbern in 1823 as a tragedian in the theatrical corps of John Herbert & Son. He retired from the stag? and opened a private school. In 1824 I pursued a course of matheme! cal studies under his direction, to qualify myself as a land-surveyor. Mr. Hutton was a good writer and speaker, and of i ; e. On the 4th of July, 1824, he delivered an oration in the Presb)” terian Church, which was much admired by the large audience. He ® favorably noticed in a volume giving biographical sketches of America! Poets. He died about the year 1827, leaving a wife and grown dat b ter, to the latter of whom he had addressed, in the “ Carolina Sentine, some beautiful stanzas, each closing, “ My lovely daughter, Josephin® ji OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. 339 —. This daughter, was for many subsequent years, an honored and a beloved Instructress, in the town of Pensacola, inheriting her tather’s talent for Poetizing. spain 6. Danret Drew, an Episcopalian, was a Latin, Greek and Hebrew Scholar, who opened a select school for instruction in the classics. He ad a number of pupils, but how many, or of what families, I do not re- member, His profound learning and modest, refined manners secured im marked civilities from Mr. Gaston and other leading citizens. Mr. rew, although only a layman, is said to have been quite a master in Speculative theology, and was so gentle in his address that he seemed to 7 unconscious of his vast acquirements. He probably returned to Eng- and, CHURCHES AND MINISTERS. 1. The Episcopal Church was served by the Rev. Richard 8. Mason as Rector, In 1824 the large new brick edifice on Pollock street was dedi- rated by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Ravenscroft, the only occasion on which I eard this excellent prelate. Among the clergy present who assisted in the service was'the Rev. William Hooper, LL. D., Professor in the Uni- Yersity at Chapel Hill from 1818 to 1838, at a later period Professor in the South Carolina College, Columbia. The choir of the church at the dedication was lead by Mr. James B. Ackroyd, as organist. Most of the Influential families in Newbern were represented in the membership and Pews of the church. Mr. Mason married Miss Bryan, and I think re- ®oved to Albany, N. Y., for a short time, but he has long since returned to North Carolina, and the last I heard of him, a few years ago, he was Tesiding at Raleigh. 2. The Presbyterian Church had the Rev. Lemuel D, Hatch as Pastor, though I have heard the Rev. F. Freeman, and others, occasionally offi- Ciate in the pulpit. Mr. Hatch married Miss Dickson, of Duplin county, ®nd removed to Alabama, where in 1835, he purchased, on long time, a large plantation and negro property amounting to $80,000. The place Included Arcola, and a portion of the lands donated by Congress to rench refugees for the cultivation of the grape and olive. Several of Napoleon’s Marshals and Generals, with a few exiled noblemen, occupied the lands in Marengo county : but from some cause the experiment failed. ". Hatch bought this property of Col. Ravesies, a Frenchman, when the price of cotton seemed to warrant the trade. Ina short time, how- ever, the price of the great Sonthern staple declined, and left Mr. Hatch to Struggle with embarrassments, as he had to pay the interest of eight Per cent annually, besides providing for the principal. He was a good man, and the only member of the Hatch family who had assumed the labors of the pulpit. The church in Newbern had a very efficient choir, Consisting of S. M, Chester, Charles Dewey, the two Misses Graham, Miss Mary Hall and Miss Wilkins, whose names I remember. 3. The Baptist Church was edified by theminstrations of the Rev, Mr. Warner, who succeeded the Rev. Mr. Meredith in the pastoral charge. Jas. O, Stevenson led the choir. He and Mr. Meredith married sisters — aren eee eee 340 OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. 56h SSE Ss smn encom nr cree oreo NESE R IES SN Misses Sears, The last I heard of Mr. M. was many years ago, when he was pastor of a Baptist Church in Savannah, Georgia. His fine abilities and christian character made him quite a favorite wherever he was known. 4. In 1822 and 1823 the Methodist pulpit was supplied by the Rev. Ethelbert Drake, who was a stirring and effective preacher, with a slight impediment in his speech. While master of a good style, he cared very little for ornament. His predecessor in 1821, Rev. Amos O. Treadway, was on a different scale, being quite fastidious in his diction and delivery. In one of his sermons he declared, “I had rather be a poor Methodist reacher, travelling over the barren hills of Carolina, receiving my oné ee dollars a year, than to be a Prince seated on his throne.” At the next Conference Mr. Treadway withdrew from the denomination and soon attached himself to the Episcopal Church. I afterwards saw him in his robes, reading the service, and heard him deliver a discourse as ® clergyman of the Church of England. In 1824 the Rev. Francis A. Ward filled the Methodist station, and at the ensuing Conference he was expelled for immorality. On his way to the Conference at Newbern it the early part of 1822, the venerable Bishop McKendree, attended by the Rev. Robert Flournoy, of Georgia, passed a night at the house of my father, James Miller, in Jones county. ROMAN CATHOLICS, There was no house set apart by the Catholics for public worship im Newbern, the membership being too small to support an establishment on their usual scale of expense and ceremony. Attracted by a natural curiosity, and yet with motives of entire reepect I was among a numbet of spectators in the audience assembled at the house of Mr. Gaston on Sabbath morning in 1822, to witness, for the first time, the form of wor ship peculiar to the Catholie Church. The priest who officiated, was, 1 think, the Rev. Mr. O’Donoho. Of the twenty persons, or thereabouf, who took the consecrated wafer, kneeling, were a number of Freneb, Spanish and Portuguese residents. There was a moral sublimity in the scene when Mr. Gaston partook of the sacrament in the midst of his Oa tholic brethren of foreign birth and humble pursuits. Among the cot municants were Capt. Brugman and family, and Miss Eliza Finlay: Subsequently I heard the Rt. Rev. Bishop England preach in the Court House, and also in the Presbyterian Church, in the gorgeous canonicals of his office. He was very logical and eloquent. A large golden eros was suspended from his neck. In the Spring of 18661 reverentially stood by the tomb of this eminent prelate in the church-yard of St. Fine bar, Charleston. JEWS. There was no Synagogue in the town. The first JewI remember t? have seen was an old German trader named Davis, who in 1822 visited Newbern with jewelry, watches and articles of a similar kind, to sell. He had a very elegant dressing case which he said was manufactured for thé | OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. 341 ESE Emperor Napoleon, for which he asked $300, and he warranted it to contain forty ounces of silver in the finishing. I do not know that he Ound a purchaser. At his request I wrote several letters for him, ad- dressed to merchants in New York, as he said he was unable to _express imself in English, a fact to which I could testify from the specimen he ave me in dictation. Probably a number ot Israelites resided in New- ern, engaged in traffic of some description, but whose names and loeali- les have escaped my memory. QUAKERS. The only members of the Society of Friends in Newbern, were the Wite and daughter of my uncle Martin Miller, who lived up Pollock Street in the house formerly occupied by Capt. Dempsey Wade. I have Seen a number of Friends from Wayne, Randolph and other counties en- Joying their hospitality. They called names without any prefix. For ‘astance my uncle, who was a stately, grey-headed man (said by Allen Backhouse to be the exact resemblance of Gen. Washington when he Visited Newbern in 1791) was styled Martin; my old aunt was-ealled €cilia, and my grown cousin answered to Maria, not only when ad- ressed by the seniors, but when spoken to by the Quaker youths of fif- teen and twenty. This seeming abruptness was no departare from comt fesy or good breeding, in the estimation and practice of the I riends, Had they been introduced to President Monroe when he was in. New- bern, in 1819, they would have called him friend Jamezs. Thee, ard thant, 8nd thine, was the language of conversation whenever their gravity would Permit them to open their lips. At table they invoked a blessing in revs frent silence. Their lung faces and rigid solemnity of deportment Seemed to evince physical suffering. Joseph Everett of Wayne county, Was a rich Quaker who nominally emancipated his slaves, but contrived to obtain their labor by a system of compensation which is said to have been more profitable to him than slavery itself. Frieud Joseph was im the habit of driving to Newbern every winter from 200 to 800 fat hogs, Which he usually sold from 3 to 5 cents nett per pound. He was so Skilled in estimating the weight of hogs on their feet, that he frequently 8eld without trying the scales, as all persons had confidence in his judg- Ment and integrity. He had a son, Jobn Everett, who was amiable and Promising. I could mention other families in different counties were It Necessary, My cousin Maria Miller married Samuel Hill of Randolph Sounty, who gave freedom to her slaves, twenty or thirty in number, and S€nt them to Ohio. After his death she intermarried with Jolin Martin Franks of Onslow county. By her first marriage my aunt Cecilia was the Mother of James and Abner Harrison of Jones county, the latter of whom died in 1820, and the former in 1844. The widow ot James Har- "son, (Cassandra, my mother’s sister) died in the John Stanly house in 1861, and her youngest son, John Martin Franks Harrison, late a mer- Chant in Newbern, died at High Point in October, 1864.4 refugee from 8 cherished home. He married a daughter of the Hon. William 8. Blackledge, While on the subject of Quakers, I may sotiee that in fb 342 OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. intial nsctdipasiniaene 1822 a visiting lady of that sect preached in the Methodist Church im Newbern, to a large audience, the Hon, John Stanly being present. few years previously the Rev. Lorenzo Dow occupied the same pulpit. Since my youth, in Newbern, I have become better acquainted with the Friends elsewhere, especially in Philadelphia, and this additional know! edge has caused me to entertain the highest respect for their opinions and character. ; TOWN OFFICERS. The intendant was David Shackelford, who, with a half dozen com missioners, formed the police government. I do not recollect the name of the commissioners. my remembrance, and James McMain, city constable. REPRESENTATIVES IN THE LEGISLATURE. In 1822 there was a very animated canvass, F, L. Hawks being de feated by Edward E, Graham, his competitor for town representative, and R. D. Spaight succeeded over John Stanly tor the Senate, owing mainly, it was believed, to a hand-bill issued by the latter, declaring that through five hundred gallons of liquor was started against him he would not treat, as was then customary in elections. At night there was a pro cession with music and illuminated banners. On one of the latter Mr Stanly was represented as stricken down by the Goddess of Liberty, who held a drawn sword over him. After the street parade there was a great abundance of punch given to the public at the residence of Mr. Spaight John M. Bryan and James CO. Cole were elected Representatives for the county. In 1823 Mr. Stanly, and 1824 Mr. Gaston, was elected borough representatives. COUNTY OFFICERS. __1 was present in the court-house when James ©. Cole was elected Shet iff by the Justices of the Peace, the Hon. John Stanly among the nua ber, who voted for Mr. Cole. The latter gentleman married Miss Kitti@ Sneed, a half-sister of Dr. James G. Rowe. James G. Stanly was Olerk of the County Court, and Claiborne Ivey chairman of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, which tribunal consisted ot Justices of the Peace, and who were addressed by the lawyers as “ Your Worships.” The names? the Clerk of the Superior Court, Tax Collector and Coroner have slipped my memory. BANKS. At the time of his sndden death on the fourth of February, 1819, Ja® McKinley was President of the Bank of Newbern. John Stanly was elected his successor. Marcus Cicero Stephens was the cashier, and Jn0 W. Guion was the teller. Among the officers of the Bank was Alexa der Henderson, whom I saw in 1840 on a visit to his son-in-law, Dr. Rob Stephen B. Forbes was city clerk, to the best of | D. OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. 343 So i etek ee ee eee ener eee ee oe ert H. Dalton, of Livingstone, Alabama, Lieut. Henderson, who per- ished in'the massacre of Dade’s command by the Indians in Florida, in 1835, was a son of Wm. Henderson. Samuel Gerock, senior, a gentle- a of the olden school, who wore knee breeches and cocked hat, was a 0ok-keeper in the Bank. : Of he trench of the State Bank, John M. Roberts was cashier and ames Carney teller; Charles Dewey and Frederick J. Jones were book- keepers, Mr. Roberts married a daughter of John Jones, Mr. Dewey Married Miss Webber, and Mr. F. J. Jones married Hannah, only daugh- ter of Col, James Shine, of Jones county. Mr. Dewey’s beautiful pee Manship was first known to me by his entries in the hand-books farnish- €d depositors, stating their aecount in Bank. HOTELS. 1. The Washington Hotel, near the market, was owned and kept by Mr. Joseph Bell. He had a number of regular boarders, besides a large transient custom. The family name of his wife was Slade, which ac: counts for the name of their oldest son, Samuel Slade Bell, who graduated at the State University in the class of 1823. He had another grown soe ashington Lovett Bell, and two grown danghters, Nancy and Drusilla. The last time Isaw Mr. Bell and his family was about the year 1841, in Mobile, where they then resided. 4 2. Mitchell’s Hotel, on the corner opposite the old Episcopal —S Was a good deal patronized. Three of the sons of the proprietor, Jaco ; Charles and Harry Mitchell, removed to Alabama, where they acquire Wealth. One of Mr. Wm. Mitchell’s daughters married Dr. Loomis, and another married Basil Orme, of Trenton, who drowned himeelf in Hatch’s Millpond. Robert V. Orme, of the house of Devereaux,Chester & Orme, and William Orme, merchant at Trent bridge, were brothers of Basil Orme. 3. Moore’s Hotel, kept by Wallace Moore, at the head of Broad street, Was a popular resort for farmers, and other members of the comes Who preferred quiet accommodations, with a slight reducti¢ 1 of the usna charges, After the death of Mr. Moore, the house was coutinued by his 80n, Lovick Green Moore, who married Miss Nancy Hazzard, of Trentog, His oldest sister, Miss Sarah, removed with him to Alabama. The other Sister, Eliza, married Joshua B. Oliver, son of James Oliver, of who lived perase the bay opposite Newbern. Samuel Moore was the youngest rother. sy. The rates of the hotels in Newbern fifty years ago, and within a some- What later period, were; $12.50 per month for board and lodging, and 10 for board alone. To transient persons the charges were $1.50 for Man and horse-feeding ; $1 for man alone ; 30 cents a single meal, and 10 Cents for lodging. Horse fed, 75 cents per day, or 30 ceuts for @ single feed. panier MARKET, There was a large quantity of produce from the country offered each 344 OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. ; la cag i phe ctaetineanesee morning (except on Sundays] at the Market House. Corn and meal va ried from 40 to 50 cents per bushel ; flour, $5 to $6 per barrel ; pork 4t0 6 cents per pound ; beef. from 5 to 7 cents ; bacon, 8 to 10; chickens, 20 cents each ; turkeys, from 50 to 75 cents, and for extra large, 10 cents pet pound ; butter, 15 to 20 cents; eggs, 10 cents per dozen, and other art clos in like proportion. The stalls were kept regularly supplied with butchers’ meat of different kinds by Wallace Moore and others who had slaughter-pensin the vicinity. Fish were also in abundance ; large white shad‘often at 10 cents a pair, and fresh oysters at 50 cents per gallom At the wharf, oysters in the shell usually sold at 20 to 30 cents per bush el, at which rates almost every country cart and wagon carried home quantity. No market in the State was better furnished, generally, and in no town was living so cheap to those who practiced a judicious econd- my. The-house keepers of Newbern were noted for comfort and plenty at all times, and for a liberal hospitality. CUSTOM HOUSE. _ The entry and clearances of shipping formed an important item. Frat- cis Hawks was the Collector, and kept his office on Pollock street. He was the father of the distinguished Dr. F. L Hawks, and also of the Rt. Rev. Cicero S. Hawks, since Bishop of the Diocese of Missouri, and of the Rev. Wm. N. Hawks, Rector of the Episcopal church in Columbus, (& Tn 1822 one of the daughters of Mr, Francis Hawks married Walkef Anderson, of Hillsboro, who removed to Florida, and whose sons acted with distinguished gallantry in the late war between the States, I am in clined to believe that Mr. Taylor, brother of James F. Taylor, and Mr. Wilkins, were officers in the Custom House. APOTHECARIES. The principal establishment for the sale of drugs and medicines was owned by Dr. Elias Hawes, when I went to Newbern in 1822, That Fall he brought with him from the North a gentleman, Dr. Sanders, who suceeeded him in business. Dr. Sanders married Miss Drusilla Bell- After his death she removed to Alabama, where I saw her in 1845—her bachelor brother, 8. 8. Bell, residing in her family. It was common for practicing physicians in Newbern to keep their own medicine in a ae tor the purpose, and to sell in small quantities when persons preferre buying of them, to ensure a genuine article. Dr. Hawes was a very ac tive and useful man, and after he retired from the drng store he was ap pointed by the County Court to superintend the poor house in the vicinity: MERCHANT TAILORS. 1. Cuartes Srewarr had the largest establishment of any merchant tailor in town, constantly employing a number of journeymen and ap- prentices. A daughter of Mr. Stewart married Major Cook, and for awhile business was carried on under the firm of Stewart & Cook i in 1836 After the death of his wife, Mr. Cook removed to Alabama, and in "40 was ‘in ana partnership with Thomas W. pied ro Robert Kornegay, of Trenton. Mr. Stewart had several pers eons . ters, all of whom, with himself, were members of the Met odist Episco- al © : . . iA . 2. a: P. Wauus and Grorer W. Drxon, just out of their sr ticeship, formed a connection in 1824 under the style of On sini and had quite a run of patronage. They were good —_ - ye ees and faithful in the execution of jobs. Mr. Dixon marrie _ Prime Nette Hunt, and I think had : me caeties sti favor fo y ear member of the Methodist Church, : ay Dvranp worked in his shop opposite the Bank of aye bern. He was a sedate man, very rarely seen in any promiscuous ae Where light and jovial conversation was carried on. _ core skilful journeymen, and always delivered faithful work an Mo ashio 7 8tyles to his customers. Mr. Durand was much respected for his perso Qualities, a JEWELLERS. 1. Con, Natway Tispave carried on the watch repairing person Was a gentleman of great reading and intelligence. He was wert Of the Fort at Beacon’s Island, near Portsmouth, in the war = ae Where hundreds of soldiers died from exposure, and hep gn 8 a Test of the garrison had their constitutions ruined. ne s ar re Several daughters, one of whom, I believe, married spo oodin sere another became the second wife of Stephen B. Forbes. Lis me a ry . Tisdale, was clerk in Mr. Gooding’s store, and in bs is gn Zant penmanship, he was very expert in making bales an Figg ta Pews in the Episcopal Church were numbered by his oe Pron Style of art. Col. Tisdale, with his sons Joseph and Nat per By Parco wmarried danghters removed to Mobile, where I saw them about 30 ye ago. 2. Tuomas W. Macuen, had ashop for similar work, and for a of articles of jewelry. He was very industrious and i we its. His son, Henry D. Machen, was a young gentleman of Inteilig and riety of deportment. ! 3. oe Pete i dio’ thaekeh, was an ingenious man, po es himself on his literary attainments. I think he was from the ri chor 8 relative of Mr. Fitch of Pennsylvania, who, many years be ore * = ulton applied steam as a motive power, gave specimens ot — yt that line, and predicted the triumph of steam in the propulsion _ > Chinery, ” Mr. Fitch was inclined to solitude, or at least_he mani € pe W taste for society. He married a sister of Miss Louisa Morning an ili i o, : 4. By ie haans- Wonlite a gaily dressed widower and sepa pens Came from Philadelphia in 1822, and lived at the Washington ote m8 Tal months before he indicated his artizan qualifications as * o - Maker, He opened an office seemingly for the mere employment 0 al and OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. time, and afterwards married Maria, the heiress of Edmund Mumford, & wealthy citizen of Jones. Mr. Waples had seen the world extensively, and was quite interesting in his social relations. His second wife was most exemplary, refined and gentle lady, Miss Susan Green, a daughter of Dr. —— Green, of “ Green Hall,” Craven county. CABINET MAKERS. 1. Gaseret M. Rats had the largest Cabinet worksin town. His son, John Rains, graduated at Chapel Hill in 1823, and studied law, and his sons, Gabriel and George, (since both Generals) completed a course a8 cadets at the West Point Military Academy. Of the other members of his family I have no knowledge, although I believe he had two daughters besides the sons. above mentioned. Gen. Gabriel Rains joined the Con- federate army in the late war, still lives in South Carolina, and is the in- ventor of the “ torpedo” system of warfare, which should insure him al immense fortune, and for which Russia and some other foreign countries have been negotiating with him. He is also the inventor of other war like systems, one of which he calls. the “ Peacemaker,” as it must, if car- ried into operation, command and control Opposing armies, ‘I'he world will learn more anon of the deep researches of this man of science ; it is hoped that the knowledge will be acquired soon enough to inure to the benefit of the deeply-thinking soldier and engineer. Gen’l George Rains, a brother of the above, who was also a graduate of West Point, and who quitted the U. S: service for that ot the Confederate States, was a brave and gallant soldier, and extremely useful during the war in the mant- facture of powder in Augusta, Ga., exemplifying clearly that “ the boy is father to the man,” for as a mere boy, his mother was wont to say of him, “ George is certainly one of the best of sons, but I can’t keep the boy decent ; he burns up with his ‘ chemicals,’ as he calls them, the best clothing I can have made for him, I never feel sure that he has a single suit not in holes.” Gen, George Rains is still an honored citizen of AU gusta, and there are perhaps in the whole land few men who are more Beemplery, and more intellectual than Generals Gabriel and George ains. 2. Mr. Louts Oxtver was also a cabinet maker, but on a smaller scale, doing most ot the work himself, which work exhibited skill and fidelity. He was somewhat advanced in years, and had a son who passed consid- erable time at the North, learning the art of shaving and hair cutting, who, after his return, opened a shop in Newbern. Le was the first white man I ever saw acting in the capacity of a barber. CARRIAGE MAKERS, 1. Roperr Hay, an elderly gentleman, had a shop near the site of the Colonial Governor's Palace, for the manufacture of vehicles of all sorts— chairs, gigs, coaches and wagons. I have seen much of his work in use which was generally approved. He was a pious man, an Elder, and @ regular attendant on the services of the Presbyterian church. A more de- ee i n earth, Vout or better man than Robert Hay has Reser Es teeth — Leading a life of hard manual labor, his thoughts assaf ea ed al vas to be of Heaven. And there we —— a rasa about him although he continually spoke to the res ge clone ane infidels who visited his work-shop, (and all, from spies tiagatentie to® cen ther,Hay), of “ the dear Savior who ane iy dag iegiine of" th: t itesed Mary who chose the blessed part,” 0 faa Pa cate man, beloved of Christ,” of “Peter, the wt i pin see depending on his own righteousness, which was bu ac me, Reriitic anecdote of this good and honest man oc nab In is old age, the earnings of his life of industry press Dididh aria io» to pay the debts of a brother-in-law, an insolvent ban is catastro- ing lawyer of Newbern, grieved, as were all men there, at th S x isi t his work-shop, where, Phe to a man so blameless, visited Mr. Hay, £ ie ror oA: a “age gaa wage eta ee ‘old Christian still wrought os Snows of perbaps eighty winters, rd pep Bas We x 7 "Gresting him sympathisingly, gs wads a FN is will mister do, Mr. Hay. Your house must amen PM baage "a be turned out homeless in yeunole anes pigscsna pi Apel ys ihe i . ise W n ; t devise ways and mea ave: pal yon % ei: plea upon his implements ores i ith er press py a < O } is face, thoughtful, the old man suddenly turne Seotch accent ; “Weel, George, : Wards his friend, exclaiming, in his strong Scote eT my mon, save my hoose if ye can, George} but, mon, tad Jirst m How many in this age hte peda ve oT ae 8 j so engaged i 2. SamuEt GEROOK, jr., was & gag i i i lisment ing, and I believe connected a epee paige si mys Where most of the carriage springs and particular w Ow Rn ins pect 10n 1n e pr ocess. i is younge rothe was named th Cc 1 5 rou th r Clar les. . N . CHADWICK car ried on the same business, confining himself y f4 ily rriages and fine gigs which he painte and lain] to makin Ta carr ge 5°) d finished W ith considerable skill. His work compared favorably Ww ith that of Northern shops. — MASTER BUILDERS. | as one ofthe leading mechan- in the construction of fine ent was necessary. He respected, James O. 1. Martin STEVENSON occurs most teredt ies of Newbern. He was much employ . +s dwellings and offices where a great dea + on Was prompt, skilful and industrious, and highly and Martin Stevenson, jr., were his sons. ick, it’ be Qe ; s, superinten ; 2. Mr. Joun Dewey, father of Charles, suy + he connected with > a aa personally work at the carpenter's preiles ree pee: con ae | it the manufacture of cabinet articles, ee bes ~ contallall gaged in the mechanic arts, and that he mainta ods quel eee My recollection of the other carpenters and builders distinct to enlarge the list. : i peepee a ; Es Willis, of Swift Creek, in Oraven county. Isaac ©. Patridge married Elizabeth, third daughter of Joshua, who died \. at Chapel Hill in 1872, leay ing two sons anda daughter, Gales and Isaae and Sarah. Gales is dead, Isaac has disappeared from the view of his relatives, and Sarah still lives and resides at Chapel Hill. 2. Bennerr Franner was among the leading men of his line, and com- pleted the new Episcopal cht irch edifice in 1894. He was bold, fearless and persevering. He moved on the scaffolding high in the ai , ly with as much indifference as if i saw him stand erect near] less than 150 feet high, with no other surface of support than the twenty or thirty inches diameter on which his feet rested. Mr. Flanner after- wards removed to Wilmington, where I saw him in 1858. His son, Jo- > | seph Flanner, killed Dr, Wilkins in a duel. The affair, I learn, origi nated in no personal malice, but was entirely the result of political in- fluences. HOUSE PAINTERS, Though I have seen a number of houses in Newbern, all thei cept that of William Cha In my tenth year I saw Mr. Charlott Col. James Shine, in Jones county, in which he entertained President )) onroe and suit in 1819, including the Hon. John ©, Calhoun, then See- retary of War. } GUN SMITHS. MACHINIsTs, Crartes Roaou was by far the most skilful artizan in town. the son of an Englishman, and born on Swift Physiognomy of strikin He was Creek, with a head and § cast, very much resembling the busts of Shakes- ing i cate machinery which his He made anid repaired all kinds of locks, 349 OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. ee : h from a valise to a bank. It has been said that merely for amusement he : i ould Used to pick the locks of a night, and next meen I eae fing "ts of the bank open, with old Roach 173 oa” Beet? touched, Polite salutation, assuring them that nothing inside bad moral character, Which aan to be the fact, althonen ae rs zg Shade and trading a tin jail for receiv a+ ole =p nk gre Ha landscape aig ee mone pi nei plan in- ipo from nature CEO eee dic bimect to higher aims, there he is li d had he appli , : ood o hag ws a nay si da faculties might have 4 ae a bd was tankind “But he had chosen to degrade himself, a ‘ho ‘saa ae Coupled with infamy. He was an abies of ae peavey: deportment Wainted with his character and exploits; yet in his f all human beings, x appeared pad Sp a area ike dae cal the expression of ; : syes glistened like ids, } J : oth anne le Sh which he felt in mysteriously annoying Men beyond redress. SADDLERS. . mber of 1. Danret Suackerrorp had an extensive ert: Praga gis pri: Workmen employed in manufacturing saddles anc Se vector “che pha lenelpts oie i ngs eee aks ch chief magistrate ai : rk, ; aoe is ye with Miss Eroul he bat tees children, oS “ 1824 he found a second Beeb PARR 2S of chon. aa daughter of Lott Humphrey, of Onslow on yy clieet ‘detehter Gea um hrey, Jr., afterwards married Mary, the — eat clock aud ia hackelford and removed to Tennessee. The sages P u lak ee of Mr S in his large business, was Brice Battle, a Mice Dudley in the ture, and: excelled in mathematics. He marrie geo Ar inet rial the corner opposite the hes Ben a tke was “gil Ba a te saddle and harness Rigi paace! pe! Jolly, fat, red-faced Irishman, and quite a wag in h peas IS ee ing his wit and humor with decided success in oem a4 pees efficient English foreman named Hutchinson, mbes, Mr. Pempleton’s ® neat confectionery opposite the Washington a nly offered —-fai favorite toast, in the days when “toddy” was freq ony oe eee Yet there was but little drunkenness in the Jand,) ye owkee” San absent friends, at home] and abroad, perenn or pr Nome ye Source of pleasure to him was to fill the pie go bs poe. : ee tail coat, with oranges, confectioneries, &c., ae nen Oe eae he ites among the little school-girls on the street, ; e phages &bout-face,” turn his back, and busy little han st ie: bab aping in said deep pockets, bringing to light the pa ro ne vonilen, ie ta Was, of course, no more popular citizen, among j kind-hearted Irishman. 350 OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. HATTERS. James Rices manufactired hats o Was proprietor of the only establishment of the kind in ber seeing large quantities of skins at his door, such as beaver, 0 and raccoon. Forty or fifty years ago silk hats had not been it and all genteel coverings for the hea Even the ladies adorned their heads i bonnets. town. BOOT-MAKERS. 1. Apam Scorr was en turned out handsome, substantial work. His daughter, Amanda Melvina Fi son, a member of the Legislature. 2. Exssan Scorr, brother of Adam his work was equally popular, were very much respected and clerk in the store of T. McLin. 3. Francois ALEXANDER k recollection of his carr He had several beautiful danghters wh? admired, Brice Scott, his son, was-4 ept a shoe store, though I have no certail ying on the manufacture. Tle married Miss Naney Bell. He had a brother named Enoch who, I believe, assisted in the store. John G. Willis was a boot maker, just out of his apprenticeship, who I presume set u p for himself. A man named Hutchins also worke at the trade. I remember his son, a sprightly lad, who was educated by some benevolent persons, and I hay re understood that his future talents and culture fully justified the kindness, SAIL MAKERS. The shipping in port required sails to be made all of which was under the direction of Lucas Benners Heritage, a get acter, who in my presence committed to thé flames the first copy of Paine’s “Age of Reason” I had seen, which he had found on the table of a young friend in whose spiritual welfare lie took an interest. Mr, Heritage married Miss Eliza, daughter of Rev Rufus Wiley, a Methodist preacher. FAMILY GROCERS. 1, Boruic Campseny GILLESPIE, a Scotchman, had a store near the market for the sale of sugar, coffee » tea, molasses and articles of prim? necessity to housekeepers. I learned the alphabet under his tuitio® when in 1810 he taught school in Jones county, where he married Mrs. Penelope Hargett. After her death he removed to Newbern and engaged in busines His second marriage was with Mrs. Lane. He had a nephew at scho? with me, Dr. James G. Rowe who married in Charleston a daughter ? Judge William Johnson of the Supreme Court of the United States, and =. pposite the Bank of Newbern, and T remem tter, mink ntroduced d were wrought of fur material. n winter with beautiful fur or plush ] gaged in the boot and shoe man ufacture, and He had a son named Oscat- tzallen, married Andrew H. Richard , followed the same oceupation, and , adjusted and repaired, — y j OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. Nl i ee ee) ee removed to Alabama, where he died in 1863, aged 58 bomen os — pie was pious and kind hearted, though very grave — Pieris 2 in his deportment. He was a member of the Metho : whi d ofticial relations. : 2 ‘Alaa are (pronounced Backus) also kept a ate bay yer Market, stocked with articles for rae am vagy aan = i, . His son, John A. Backhouse, I school wien T did and was a youth of great intellectual race > Was an orator trom his boyhood. After graduating at the University 1 the ministry. ' pie an Moma, in Jadition to the office of Tow: Come ercised the vocation of a merchant in the sale of family artes : wh & tall, muscular, well formed man, and kept his handsome ae frie we it could be seen by persons visiting his — He ie So eiiad peg e was a corporation tax on dogs, which ‘ stable to kill al the sisienepuibin who Pet ines in -” ali py minindeh ? . By this regulation | hav Collars furnished by the Treasurer. D; anwar are rc perish un fir m the Newfoundland to the common Span P d tho alnttir ne constable as with his strong left hand he inflicted the pen al : + in open market, and elsewhere. ba: 4 Saas sat the market, was represented by his wite, abv nae children named Morris by a former marriage.) She did the Povesenes of produce aud articles in the market, and the drumming for . and officiated as principal behind the counter,—Mr. ror: Pi ing. chief-clerk to his more active companion. Their son, Alfred Jones, ’ i . . ae . oe rat renes Wicker was also represented by his wife in Oe same a cinity. He was at home only during the intervals between rage at i Their grown son, William, was something of a beau in : — and quite pompous in his walk, All this was a — evan “ withent in the least degree impeaching his moral worth. wees — clined to admire the grand carriage of Mr. Wicker, junior, ai ful itality and self-approbation. ‘ se Dounoan bakieged to the market group of Ka chai sides keeping up his provision establishment, he was a note pad: — profits ion , be inferred by his exacting a discount of twenty-five p ns On ninet a paper weil endorsed. Persons in distress for —_ Particular times yielded to his rates, and no fraud was imputed to . ished in his finances. ‘ ete an James ©, STEVENSON, Dae Se oe severally in trade, but whether EWey and Cartes SLovER were several!) + bat wheter dry goods line, or as family grocers, | do not remember. ot & few dealers near the wharf, and also in the upper part o : ne ‘tained, or have forgotten. ; : 8. Nathaniel Street, Sr., had a store in which he kept the lenerene “i ticles for family consumption. * 7 Dar Satan f ager ue 1 heat law f William R. Street and Samue ‘ect, owned a bridge across Neuse river known by his name. He had a son, af OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. ie erin Nathaniel Street, Jr., who was a cadet at the West Point Military Acad- emy. Mr. William R. Street married a sister of James Saunders. . BOARDING HOUSES, Literary Department. boarders, but one—Mrs. Conner, who resided between mit dled corner and «79 Spelling of Mr. Lamotte, on Pollock streets Se Lae ‘ol ne of her permanent boarders was Mr. Kay, a Scotch gentleman, whose , “ emplo Saeet have forgotten. He was a member of the Presbyteriaa A SHADOW OF THE PAST. Chureh ; and a story is told of him, that at a prayer meeting, while leading the devotions, he suddenly paused in the midst of his prayer, when it was discovered that he had accidentally blown out the candle . F A Sketch from Real Life. by which he was reading his beautiful petition. At onetime Mrs, Con- be ner had a class of boarders who, though of very decent behavior, wer@ acne not usually given to religions observances ; several of the actors of Mr. Herbert’s Theatrical Company in 1823, having become members of her family for the time being, among whom was Mrs. Waring, the perfection (ae of youth and beauty on the stage. AsI passed the door of Mrs. Con- I ner daily, I had the opportunity of seeing the popular actress wnpainted. Cuarrse I. Her artificial charms had entirely vanished. I was busy copying briefs. My Jamus Barney, near the county wharf, kept a house of entertainment One cold afternoon in November 1872, ry the 5 Pas ae of Gould & for sea-faring people, whose boisterous merriment, and good natured, Uncle and partner, John Gould, the gage an important case which singular phrases afforded amusement to passers-by, except when these Hammond, was looking up a point in ay the Superior Court. The day sons of Neptune quaffed too freely the fames of Bacchus. On gueh occa Was on docket for the approaching term of the Sup izzling rai j menced, and sions they often had to be quieted by the police. Mr. Barney was a droll had been dark and cloudy. A drizzling rain had just com f mbled for want of wit himself, and knew well how to manage his noisy guests but for excess of business we would have doubtless gear bled Se : : ived. amusement in the small town in which we live aved, and on FRUIT SHOPS. old, many of them in need of repairs, the ae hoc et not often Tainy days a pedestrian was seldom seen. t a than a Signor Some- A number of persons, mostly foreigners, had shops for the sale of West ) °ceupied by a person or troupe more. qr leqer de main, a phrenologi- India fruits. As I never had occasion to know much about them person- \ body with a magic-lanteri. or a proficien we 4 who could ‘not obtain pa- ally, all their names have perished from my memory, except that of Cal lectnrer, or a band of wandering he ts were all reported “en- Antonio, an Italian, who kept a handsome sail-boat which he was in the tronage elsewhere. The young-lady nad a helor, I did not meet with habit of hiring to pleasure parties. In this way I formed his acquaint Saged,” and as my uncle was a cynical o x: was his only sister. 1 ance. After 1 lett Newbern he killed a Mr. Johnson and was executed Much encouragement to visit them. My ne tleve he wrote my mother for murder, Poor Antonio had deep blue eyes, a lively and expressive Was named for him, and the summer I d ig i : face, and was obliging to patrons. The stiletto, so much used by hié . the following note which perhaps shaped my destiny : : : y a countrymen in passion or revenge, proved his ruin, “Dear Mary :—Send my namesake, John Gould iene ter Son as ib gets his diploma. He must be a lawyer. I wi Of his law education, and make him my sole heir. ‘sian Goeae brother abies ae we P. 8. I see acti callege ‘catalogue his name appears J. Gou yi oad? Hammond, Tell him for my sake to be John G. Hammond h to get into the F i John G, Hammond, not so muc ge old Poe Feaphcg aay coin, though I liked his money well enough, bu the Change had ae y suggested itself to me. 5 BY MRS. CICERO W. HARRIS, OF WILMINGTON, N. C. 448 OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. Tarboro. 17th. Terrible accident on the Central North Carolina Rail: rogd ; 5 cars destroyed, engineer and three colored hands killed, and many others wounded. 24th. Corner stone of Weaverville Colleg® Buncombe county, laid, Gov. Vance orator of the occasion. St. John* Day celabrated by Masonic Fraternity at Raleigh in behalf of Nar Asylum—Rey. A. W. Mangum orator. Thermometer 101 in thes ade at Raleigh. 26th. Terrific gale in Robeson, Richmond and adjoining counties. Jury.—4th. Laying of corner stone of Postoffice in Raleigh, by AD cient York Masons, Judge E. G. Reade, orator. Meeting of Mexica® war veterans in Raleigh, Judge W. J. Clarke, President. 5th. Terrifi¢ hail storm near Bethel, Pitt county, duration of storm 30 minut® Some of the hail stones weighed a pound and a half, loss $100,000: 4 9th. Twenty-fifth annual meeting of the Stockholders of the North Carolina Railroad. Meeting of the stockholders R. & G. Railroad at Raleigh, Dr. W. J: Hawkins elected President. Steamer R. E. Le running between Wilmington and Fayetteville burnt, loss $8,000. Aveust.—5th. Lutheran Church organized at Gold Hill, Rowa? 1 county. 6th. Election of Congressmen, members of Assembly, Judg® and Superintendent of Publie Instruction. First bale of new cotto? sent from Middleton, Hyde county, to Portsmouth. 27th. Destructi¥? fire in Wilmington, loss $120,000. Sepremper.—S8th. The first number of Magazine series of Our Li ING AND Our Dean, published at Raleigh. 22d. Mecting of Good Tem plars at Newbern, N. B. Broughton, elected G. W. C. Templar. Ocroprr.—14th. First frost of the season. 15th. U.S. Dep, Marshall Rice shot and killed Andrew Woody, at Spring Creek, Madison 00 25th. Total eclipse of the moon, visible throughout the State. 37th. U.S. District Court at Newbern. 30th. Baptist State Sunday School Convention met in Raleigh. Novemprr.—lIst. Destruction by fire of the old St. Charles Hotel, at . Kinston, Lenoir county. Yearly meeting of the Friends at New Gat den, Guilford county. 2d. The trains on the Central Railroad rat through to Monroe, Union county. 2d. The Fair ofthe Carolinas held ? at Charlotte., First annual Meeting of the Eastern Medical Associi tion at Newbern. 4th. Meeting of the Baptist State Conventton a Wilmington. 7th. Annual Fair of the New Garden Agricultural Society in Guilford county. 10. Cumberland county Fair held at Fayetteville 11th. The annual Fair at Hickory, Catawba county, held three day® 15th. Meeting of the Virginia annual Conference at E. City. 16th Meeting of the General Assembly of North Carolina. 17th. Meeting State Council, F. of T., at Kinston. 19th. Meeting. of the 1st District Convention of I. O. G. 'T. at Goldsboro. 25th. Sampson county Agt® cultural Fair at Clinton. 26th. Thanksgiving day appointed by pr clamation of Gov. Brogden. Decremprr.—2d. N. C. Conference, M. E. Church, at Raleigh, BishoP Marvin, of St. Louis, presiding. The largest attendance ever know” 21st. Legislature took a recess until January 18th, 1875. 15th. Cap? Fear Agricultural Fair met at Wilmington, continuing several day* OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. RECOLLECTIONS NEWBERN FIFTY YEARS AGO. Continued from Page 352. STEAM MILLS, eee first steam mill erected at Newbern, or in its vicinity, was that . an liam Shepard, who is said to have applied to this object his share the e valuable cargo ofa British merchant ship captured as a prize in ded bay of 1812 by the celebrated privateer “Snap Dragon,” comman- she y Captain Otway Burns, in which vessel Mr. Shepard was a large are tholder. His mill was situated on the Trent, about one mile aay the Court House. It was worked prosperously until a rival es- Neishment, on a larger scale, sprung up at Union Point, where the “oh se and Trent rivers come together, which proved a great public ry Rpm odation, as well as a source of liberal income to the owner, Bu, erick Neasted, a very enterprising German. I once saw Captain : rae op. us. may te AEE er a Representative from Carteret county. s pitaph on the monument over the remains of Mr. 4epard, are these words— “How silent the sleep of death! How low the pillow of dust !” LAND SURVEYORS. Crarnorne Ivey, presiding Justice of the Quorum, was also public Surveyor, and had the reputation of skill in his employme Street had qualified himself, by diligent study and praetite es aelea ®ny description of land surveys that might be required. After I had Prepared myself in Trigonometry and the usual branches of Naviga- ton and Surveying, I took private instruction from Mr. Street, which inabled me to manage the compass and field notes for that gentleman Ss, & most intricate survey of about three thousand acres of land on wift Creek, embracing several water courses where triangulation was Necessary. This work was performed in the summer of 1824. T eal- ulated the area by latitude and departure, purposely avoiding the wee convenient, but less accurate method of using” Gunter’s scale. ki en I was on the eve of leaving Newbern for Georgia, Mr. Street was md enough to hand me the following paper: a This is to certify that Stephen F. Miller having prosecuted and dibleted the study of surveying (both theory and practice) under my Irection, I believe him to be a good and accurate surveyor. JNo. Newbern, N. ©., October 29th, 1824.” ipa me With this certificate to introduce me, I was fully of opinion that it Ould make my fortune in Georgia, as fresh domains of land were ac- 450 OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. quired from the Indians for distribution and settlement. But circum stances prevented an offer of service, and after the lapse of forty-nine years, disease has obliterated my early skill, and I am now in a meas ure incapable of working out the necessary tables as a surveyor. MILLINERS. Mrs. Tisdale, wife of the Colonel, contributed the ingenuity of het needle to the service of her lady patrons, and usually kept a handsome supply of articles in the millinery line. Mrs. McLin (widow) had 4 similar establishment, and I believe Mrs. Conner added to her boarding house cares her skillas amantua-maker. Atalleyents the fashions wer? well maintained in Newbern, as the ladies were fine examples of tast® and propriety in dress. THEATRE. The first performance I ever witnessed was in the Newbern Theatre when in 1823 Herbert’s dramatic company gave a series of representa -tions. ‘The actors whose names I remember were Messrs. Herbert, Sts — J. Herbert, Hutton, Page, Drummond and Richards, and the lady pet formers were Mrs. Waring and Mrs. Hutton. Mr. Herbert played Richard III, and was quite successful in genteel comedy in the chat acter of an old man. His son, J. Herbert excelled in low comedy. Mr Hutton wrs stately in “Virginius,” and in dignified situations, espec ially asa Roman Senator. Mr. Page sustained his character hand- somely, and was a good singer. I can never forget the melody of “Those evening bells.” Mr. Drummond was most effective in gay scenes, representing fast young men, and Mr. Richards was exquisite as “Billy Fribble.” In Goldsmith’s admired comedy, “She Stoops 1 Conquer,” Mrs. Waring made a brilliant display as widow Cheerly- Mrs. Hutton exhibited good judgment and fidelity to nature in het coer rn of an elderly dame. Such, I think, is ajust outline of the eading qualities of each player. Thomas.A. Pasteur, a graduate of West Point, who commanded the “Newbern Guards,” derived so mucb pleasure from seeing Mrs. Waring on the stage, that he followed her Charleston to feast upon her dramatic exhibitions. The last I heard of him, he edited a paper in Washington, Georgia. There was a Thespian Society in Newbern, composed of young me? whose representations I also witnessed. Inthe “Honey Moon,” Jaméeé W. Bryan did full justice to the young Duke Avanza, in the costum? of aSpanish cavalier. In the play or in the afterpiece, Alexander Fr. Gaston sustained a character in knee-breeches. Persons who hav? seen the figure of thts gentleman, stooped in the shoulders, yet six fee and four inches high and his knees bent inward, can well imagine thé comic effect he produced on the audience. It was the climax of thé entertainment. John Rains was admirable as “Caleb Quotem.” Th¢ other characters I have forgotten. OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. DISTILLERIES. J Tn the upper pari of town, the brothers John Jones and Frederick ig each had turpentine distilleries which turned out large quanti- “les of naval storss. When the wind passed over them, the atmosphere i the vicinity was pleasant and refreshing from the odors exhaled as ie stills were emptied of their boiling contents, and the pure rosin re- Mained in solution. r As a personal reminiscence, I may add, that George L. Jones, son of - Jones, was a pupil of Mr. Hutton’s school where I took lessons in Mathematics, ‘The last time I saw him was about twenty-five years tee in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where his mother-in-law, Mrs. Clitherall, ten resided. After his death his widow married Mr. John M. Battle of Mobile, whose first wife was her sister. LAW STUDENTS. During several years, with more or less constancy, several youn: foutlemen were engaged in a course of reading in Mr. Gaston’s law of- Pe some of whose names I remember, viz: John Rains, Edward G. asteur, Samuel S. Bell, Spyers S. Smith and Alexander F. Gaston. I om not certain that Bryan S. Croom belonged to the law-class, He aa} tate in their company, and his taste, like theirs, was quite con- al. Bat oun Rarys removed to Alabama where he married Miss Bondurant, z a F rench family, and was several years a Senator from Marengo. a ROEY. in the Legislature, acquiring for himself a high reputation in. ebate. His life was closed in its meridian, in 1889. ALrxanper F. Gastron married Eliza, a highly educated, beautiful and sonomplished young lady, daughter of Dr. Hugh Jones. After Marriage the lovers were settled on a rich plantation remote from city- ‘fluences. The young wife became an admirable manager, sold the: whe® laid in supplies, and by water-craft visited Newbern on business. enever necessary. After the death of his first wife he removed to Burke county, in the: Mountains, where he formed a second marriage. He has been dead Many years. i G. Pasteur, son of Abner Pasteur, was sober, studious and exem- Plary, and was for many years Judge of the county court of Greene “ounty,; Alabama. zota -S. BEL, though not a toper, never applied himself with energy to. hin business, and, if living, is no doubt a dried up bachelor in spite of 8 social, disposition. i f Of Spyers Suvcieron Situ I have heard nothing within the last Y years. So far as I know he was not addicted to open intemper- 452 OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. BOOK STORES. There was no competition, and the courteous Salmon Hall had the entire market to himself. He kept the usual variety of books, in which the trade was somewhat active. He had a “Circulating Library,” vol umes from which he allowed to be taken away for a specified ‘time ab the rate of five or ten cents for perusal. The first novel I ever read was “Bracebridge Hall,” by Irving, which I obtained from this library in 1822. Mr. Hall had a son named William, who, I think succeeded his father in business. LITERARY MEN. Several gentlemen in Newbern deserve notice under this head, espe cially Hardy B. Croom and Stephen M. Chester, who carried on 4 newspaper controversy on some moral topic with the elegance of schol arship and the dignity of gentlemen. Mr. Croom was the son of Gen. William Croom, of Lenoir, and graduated at the State University in 1816. He married a daughter of Nathan Smith, a wealthy citizen of 7 Newbern. In 1837, while returning with his wife and two daughters from New York, where the latter had just completed their education, they all perished on the steamer Home in a gale off Cape Hatteras. A law suit lingered in the courts fifteen or twenty years, was the conse- uence of this calamity, which left no lineal heir to a very large-estate- he main question was, Who survived the other, Mr. Croom or his wife? If he survived for even one minute, the inheritance was'cast oD his next of kin ; and if she survived, all the property which she brought to her husband on marriage would enure to her next of kin, the Smith family. As to the fact of survivorship the testimony was not conclu: sive. The last that was seen of Mr. Croom and his family group on the wreck, he was standing motionless as a statue, his wife clinging his neck, and his a clasping his knees in the agony of despair. The next wave carried them all overboard together, and they disap- peared from view. On the part of Mr. Croom’s kindred the argument was advanced that as he was physically the stronger party, it was nat ural to conclude that he held out the longest while struggling in the sea. On the other hand it was contended, that from the buoyancy of her dress, the wife remained afloat beyond the strength of her husband, who had been for many years in feeble health, and of a consumptive habit. The case was tried in Florida, where Bryan S. Croom, brother of the whole blood, resided in charge of the property. The decree oF _judgment was taken up by a writ of error to Supreme Court, and it the course of the proceedings I believe the litigation was compromised— ‘on what termsjl am unable to state. My impression is, that the de ceased gentleman was bred to the law. If so, his fine talents and ac quirements would no doubt have secured him a high position at the Bar, had not his ample fortune and delicate health rendered the pro- -fession irksome to his genius, and induced him to forego that sphere of OUR LIVING AND OUR’ DEAD, &mbition. His walk in society was that of a hightoned and chivalrous Sentleman. His antagonist, Mr. Cuestrer,whoin newspaper controversy was differ- &nt in many respects, yet not the less worthy in all the essentials of character, has been already noticed as a merchant. LEADERS OF SOCIETY, While I have adopted this title to indicate a certain line of charae- ter which must necessarily exist in all communities, I am somewhat ata loss to apply it to Newbern where there was'so much general res- Pectability. I will venture, however, to mention a few individuals °, more than forty years ago, were prominent in fashionable life, d wielded much social influence. Pas begin with the ladies, I find myself drawn to Miss CARroLinE . APMAN and the two Misses Granam, who were equally conspicuous 10 all the advantages of person and accomplishments which give pre- Cedence, The style they maintained was rather in advance of any Other single ladies. The equipage of Mrs. Asa Jones was perhaps More costly, and her dressing was in proportion ; but of course she did Rat aspire to any conquest, and only preserved ‘the exterior dignity of Wealth. The daughters of Mr. Gaston were then from home at school, oat Mr. Stanly’s only daughter was married, and resided in Virginia. dino other families furnished handsome and intelligent young la- 1s. Miss Chapman married Mr. Waring, a merchant of New York. f the gentlemen then unmarried, whom I may designate as leaders Society, were R. D. Sparcut, F. L. Hawks, Grorer Pottock Drve- Ux and S. M. Cuxster. There were others as. worthy, and perhaps Rot second in intelligence, who had not so good an opportunity to as- add their claims to attention. There was no contest for leadership by Ndividuals, and each was arranged in the social scale according to rit and the force of circumstances. DUELLING TRADITIONS, ti 1. In 1783, Gen. Richard Dobbs Spaight was a member of the Con-. in gata Congress ; in 1785 he was Speaker of the House of Commons’ ts 1787, as a delegate he signed the Federal Constitution ; in 1788, he Go. & member of the ratifying Convention ; in 1792, he was elected Con mnor of the State, and in 1798-1800, he was a Representative in ad Xgress when the Alien and Sedition Laws were passed under the ly wnistration of John Adams. In 1802, Gen. Spaight and John Stan- R took opposite sides in the political canvass. fy common with the *publican party Gen. Spaight denounced the policy of President Ad- jaa and Mr. Stanly vindicated it, and accused Gen. Spaight of “dodg- abl, om pretense of sickness when the vote was taken on the objection- ~ Measures. This led to bitter personalities in the canvass, and to . challenge which was sent by Mr. Stanly and accepted, and the duel 454 OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. was fought on the same day, Sept. 5th, 1802 (a Sabbath afternoon) be hind the old Masonic Hall in the outskirts of Newbern. An eye-wit ness (Thomas Brown, since Postmaster at Trenton) informed me that on the second fire the bullet pierced the coat collar of Mr. Stanly. On the fourth fire Gen. Spaight fell, mortally wounded and died the next day. Dr. Edward Pasteur, whom I have frequently seen, was his second on the field, and probably his surgeon. Criminal proceedings were instituted against Mr. Stanly, who, in a communication to Goy- Williams, stated the circumstances and the compulsion under | which he acted, and his right to Executive clemency. I never heard of his being brought to trial. At the time the duel was fought, Gen. Spaight was perhaps not less that fifty, and Mr. Stanly was about twenty-sevell years of age. 2. Of the duel in which Thomas Stanly was killed by Louis D. Hen- ry, | have no precise information. It probably occurred about the year 1812 when Mr. Henry was not exceeding twenty-four years of age, and Mr. Stanly was perhaps not his senior. The origin of the difficulty 18 said to have been the playful toss by Mr. Stanly of a piece of cake across the table which fell into a cup of tea, and splashed the liquid oB Mr. Henry’s vest, at a party given by Mr. Gaston. A lady at the side of Mr. Henry made a thoughtless remark which aggravates the trifle between personal friends. An insult was imagined, a hasty reply giv en, and then followed a chadlenge to mortal combat which terminat fatally. On being consulted by his young brother, it is said that the Hon. John Stanly advised the hostile meeting. Mr. Henry died at Raleigh in 1846, at the age of fifty-eight years. 8. Another tragedy occurred in which Richard Stanly, brother of the preceding gentlemen, also perished by the code of honor. The name of his antagonist, if I ever feevd it, has escaped me, as well as the time and place of the duel. My impression is that small swords were used, and that the fatal meeting was in one of the West India Islands. - remember that the widow of Mr. Richard Stanly residedin Newber? at the time her daughter married George W. Howard, about the year 1824. As to the pursuits or intellectual promise of the brothers Thom as and Richard Stanly, or the moral qualities of ‘either, I have 10 knowledge or information. I conclude that they were pupils of the Harry Hotspur or Percy school, who needed a counsellor less impet uous than their elder brother, whose brow had been encircled by # bloody wreath of honor. While the Hon. Edward Stanly was a member of Congress, he fought a duel with the Hon. Samuel W. Inge, a Representative from Alabam® Fortunately, neither party was injured by the exchange of shots. SWISS NOBILITY. Baron DE GRAFFENRIED from Switzerland planted a colony in Ea* tern North Carolina, the town of which, founded in 1709, he called “New Berne,” after the canton of Berne in his native country. Several OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. 455 rs his lineal descendants are living in the South. The late Dr. De Graf- jeutied of Columbus, and Col. B. B. De Graffenried, late Mayor of Mil- dseville, Georgia, and the late W. K. De Graffenried of Macon, be- ®nged to this family stock. The Hon. (hristopher B. Strong, of still Nearer blood, was entitled to the large possessions of the Baron in Switz- €rland which he would probably have recovered had his claim been g ported a few years earlier. A history of this claim by the late Col. 4muel T. Bailey, who visited Switzerland in 1840 to make the inves- ligation, is given in the memoir of Judge Strong, in the second yolume of “The Bench and Bar of Georgia.” I am not apprised that any fam- ilies now in North Carolina trace their descent to the Baron, though I think it quite probable that such relatives exist. . While in Newbern I frequently saw the Ipocks who lived in the yi- ty: They were regarded as a very obscure class of people. From ‘clr features, complexion and habits they had the appearance of Ipseys, and seemed to keep entirely to themselves, haying as little ©ommunication with others as their necessities would permit. I was Not aware, then, that the Ipocks belonged to the Swiss nobility who yume over with the founders of Newbern. I have since been informed, Owever, that such is the fact, and I make this allusion for what it is Worth,—the original name being Ebach in Switzerland, which has de- Senerated into Ipock in the marshes and brambles of Craven county, FINE ARTS. aj 1. In 1822 a collection of wax figures was brought to Newbern, and isplayed in Broad street,—two box wagons being placed side by side, Pata the partitions removed. I read the bills announcing the exhibi- ann of the fine arts, and I became a patron. The Emperors Alexan- €r and Napoleon, King George IV, Queen Caroline, and Sir Henry tho sham her Attorney General,—the Rev. John Wesley, John Eleves, M. eccentric miser, the Duke of Wellington, Empress Josephine and li 4ria Louisa, Andrew Jackson, and other historical personages, were dete ing in respectful silence to the hand organ which was grinding elightful music within, and to the anxious group of boys outside who Clamored for admission. I had never before seen life size imitations of wen and women dressed neatly and fashionably in broad cloth, silks, “ces and ornaments proper to their rank as if living persons. To my artless mind it was quite a triumph in scientific manufacture. Many amilies and other persons visited the collection, which was really a 800d thing of its kind. 8 2. The next display of the “Fine Arts” was altogether different. A jpanish ship, laden‘with indigo, had been driven by stress of weather in the port for repairs. Many of the crew seem to have cultivated : “ir musical faculties, and of nights perambulated the streets singing, Fai playing on their guitars in a strain which would have done credit to ni ® troubadours. The words were in Spanish and Italian, and the va- lous qualities of the voice, from the baritone to the falsetto, accompa- 456 OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. nying a dozen guitars, formed a style of music as novel as it was pleas ing to the inhabitants of the good old town of Newbern. . But these entertainments were closed by a frightful tragedy. A man named Berry from a neighboring county was killed by one of the Spaniards. The offender was committed to prison, and in due time was tried for murder. He was acquitted through the exertion of that truly great lawyer, Mr. Gaston, who appeared for him on receipt of one thousand dollars in doubloons. his fee on the occasion. 3. Departing from music an instant, I notice the visit of an accom plished miniature painter whose name, I think, was James A. Wise. man. In many families no doubt specimens of his work may be found. In his fine personal appearance, he was himself a representative of Na- ture’s best school. He had a seat in the Presbyterian Church. 4. And now from painting I pass again to music, merely to observe that James B. Ackroyd, a skilful composer, gave lessons on tne pian and organ to the entire satisfaction of his many patrons. He was of ganist in the Episcopal Church, and married Miss Bettner.. The lastl heard of him, he was residing.in Memphis, where he raised an interes ting family of daughters. BEAUTIFUL WOMEN. But one opinion has prevailed among those who have seen the la- dies of Newbern—that they were exceedingly beautiful. Such I know was the fact forty or fifty years ago, the period to which I refer. When so many could be named to advantage, I will not discriminate, as com- paratively few are now living to contest my opinion. One incident will dispose of this delicate question, which, though it places one lady on, a high eminence, leaves the rest in the sunshine without being at all obscured by the comparison : Thomas H. Daves had deposited 125 loads of fertilizing materials on a single acre of land in the purlieus of Newbern, which he planted im corn. The crop was truly luxuriant, and refreshing to behold. Noth- ing like it had been seen in that part of the country. Mr. Graham,the sound lawyer and finished gentleman, was in raptures over the grow- ing corn which he declared, next to Mary Hall, was the most beautiful sight he ever beheld. So I pronounce on good authority, knowing the force of the complimeut, that Miss Mary Hall was the leading beauty of Newbern. ‘The production of the acre was 13 barrels (65 bushdla) which was considered without a parallel in upland agriculture. think proper to add, that after her marriage with Mr. Webb, this ad- mired lady became deeply pious, and that for more than twenty years her companionship has been with angels in Heaven, HANDSOME MEN, No merit is claimed for the gentlemen I introduce under this head, on account of their advantage of person; but I refer to names for the OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. 457 purpose of letting the present generation know, who, in the past, were %oked upon as handsome young men in Newbern. In this connee- tion I may specify Hamilton Graham, Alfred Stanly, George W. How- ard, Bryan §, Croom, Richard N. Torrans, James W. Bryan, and Fur- nifold Eonters Green. My sketch of them will necessarily be brief: _ 1. Mr. Granam was the son of the lawyer I have frequently men- tioned, and as to figure, complexion and. gentility he was one of the Tinest specimens of young manhood. Having just returned from col- ge, he had not engaged in any pursuit at the time I used to reside in Newbern, in 1824. What has. been his career, or whether he is now IVing, I have no means of stating. 2. Mr. Sranty has been noticed in the sketch of his father, and I have very little in addition to remark concerning him. I formed his *equaintance slightly in 1821 on board the schooner “Collector;’ Cap- tin Francis W. Nelson, on the passage from a Methodist camp-meet- ing on. Adams Creek, thirty miles below Newbern. The Hon, William - Blackledge and his family were on board. Mr. Stanly expressed a Warm preference for Mr. John P. Daves who was. then a competitor of t, Blackledge for Congress, which was. natural, as his father had al- Ways been opposed to the Blackledges, who were Republicans, Mrs. B. Was the daughter of Edmund Hatch who resided within six miles of €whern. Miss Maria Hatch, the daughter of “Tennessee” Edmund Hatch, of Jones county, was also a passenger, and the young Captain Of the vessel was paying her special attentions. Twenty five years af- forwards I saw Captain Nelson in Alabama, who was then a grand- ‘ther, and his wife Maria a grandmother. Ata later period I shared the hospitality of “Tennessee” Edmund Hatch in Mississippi. Se Much by way of association on the “Collector.” 3. Mr. Howarp was agreat admirer of John Stanly, and to the best res my impression pursued legal studies by his advice. At all events ‘© married his niece, and I think removed to Tennessee, since which time I have entirely lost sight of him. " 4. Mr. Croom had fortune and leisure at his command, and if he Studied law at all, it was merely for form’s sake without any desire to ke it a profession. He was the centre of gay companions in high 1fe, and freely criticised all church establishments and church people is being under the influence of superstition. He married Miss Eve- Pha Hawks, daughter of the widow Hawks, of Newbern, and remoyed © Florida where he added to his property, though the settlement he Ay called upon to make with the Smith family somewhat diminished -48 revenues. He was open hearted, intelligent and agreeable in social Mtercourse. From Florida Mr. Croom removed to Alabama, and now Tesides near Montgomery. Roy Mr. Torrans was the son of an old and successful merchant, of he firm of Taggart & Torrans, who had gone out of business and had I ©n succeeded by Mr. Simpson before my day in Newbern. All that + know of young Mr. Torrans, was in 1822, when I frequently saw him ‘2. company with his friends R. S. Croom and F. H. Green, and under- 458 OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. stand that he had just returned froma Northern college. In person he was decidedly handsome, and from that circumstance he is name in this classification. He was reputed to be wealthy and highly culti- vated ; but I have never since heard of him either in business or i? any ofthe learned professions. I think it probable that he died early in life. 6. James W. Bryan, brother of the Hon. John H. Bryan, was tall and slender and always made a fine appearance. He came to the ba? after I left Newbern, having graduated in the State University in 1824 in a class of thirty-four with Thos. Bragg, afterwards Governor of the State and Senator in Congress; William A. Graham, likewise Gover- nor, and also Secretary of the Navy; Mathias E. Manly, late a Judge of the Supreme Court, and Edward Dromgole Simms, who diedin 1845 while Professor of English Literature in the University of Alabama. Mr. Bryan represented Jones county in the House of Commons in 1836. I have not heard of him in many years. I am under the impression that he removed to New York and engaged in commercial pursuits. Mr. GREEN wasthe personification of chivalry and was as observant of the rights of others as he was tenacious of his own. I believe he was a graduate of the West Point Military Academy. He was tall and spare in person and deliberate in his movemeats, as if every word and gesture had a classical bearing. The first time 1 saw him was in 1821, at the wedding of his relative, Furnifold Green Herritage, who mat- ried Penelope, daughter of Richard Koonce, of Jones county. Mr Green married Miss Laura Pearson from one of the upper counties, who was so beautiful that complimentary verses were addressed to het; through the Carolina Sentinel, on her queenly appearance in the dress circles of the Newbern Theatre. The last intelligence I had of him he commanded a government vessel stationed at the mouth of the Missis- sippi river, and at New Orleans, for the enforcement of the revenue laws before the war. Whether Captain Green is now living, and if service, I am not prepared to say. He was a native of North Carolina SHIPPING. A number of vessels belonged to the port of Newbern, mostly en- pases in the coasting trade and in commerce with the West Indies. the docks were frequently filled with shipping, and business on the wharves was quite animated. I remember the names of only tw schooners, the Collector, owned by Captain Dempsey Wade, and the Javs owned by Captain John D. Frion, a Frenchman. A son of the latte; bearing his exact name, removed to Wetumpka, Alabama, where he was killed by a Mr. Jennings, in 1841. His widow married D. Lymat Beecher, a lawyer of Wetumpka, whose memory was so retentive, and his faculties for imitation were so perfect, that he electrified the Tipp® canoe Clubs in the Presidential canvass of 1840, by repeating almost word for word, with voice and gesture, so like the original, that pet sons who heard the great speech of Col. William C. Preston, at Macoty OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. 459 Georgia, pronounced it a faithful counterpart. Mr. Beecher afterwards Settled in New Orleans, where, in 1848, at a public dinner given to xen. Persifer F. Smith, on his return from Mexico, he offered as a sen- timent— “The universal Smith family. Although their name is legion, the Hero 4 Contreras has performed deeds of valor sufficient to immortalize em all.” SHIP CHANDLERS. _It is quite probable that other merchants were in the habit of far- Nishing ships with stores for their voyages, and supplying other articles M the line; but I remember only the firm of J. Brown & Co., which Which consisted of Jeremiah Brown and his brother Parsons Brown, Whose business location was near the county wharf. They had a clerk Named Jeremiah Allen. Mr. J. Brown was clerk of the U. 8. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina; over which Judge Henry Potter presided. SHIP MASTERS. These gentlemen were usually excellent citizens, though some of em were stern and reserved in their manners, while others of the raft were pleasant in society, and full of witand humor. I remember aptain Jerkins, whose son Alonzo was a promising youth, Captain Willis, who was the father of Abner D., and John G. Willis. His daughter Mary was quite handsome. And there were Captains Wade, ion, Wicker and Brugman. ‘The latter had retired from command. is son obtained great celebrity afterwards as a traveller in the Rast. I think that Captain Morris was also in the merchant service. Captain Hinkley had been disabled by a wound in the war of 1812, and receiy- €d a pension from the Government. He boarded atthe Washington Hotel. In 1824 I formed the acquaintance of Captain Alexander Jones, Who, after an absence of twenty years had returned to Newbern on a ief visit. He was a gentleman of the older school, about sixty years Of age, wore large frills in his bosom and similar ornaments on his Wrists. He had commanded vessels a number of years from the port, and knew all the old merchants, of whom he gave me a history. I Walked with him to several wharves, and he pointed out the changes that had taken place. He was very polite and dignified in his man- Ners, and interesting in conversation. During his stay he called on Many families, all of whom seemed gratified at his visit. Capt. Jones resided in the West Indies where he possessed a competency for old 4ge. The only regret I heard him express concerning himself, was, that he had remained a bachelor. = oe ange EE Si a en py ee == 460 OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. WEST INDIA TRADE. Large quantities of ram, brandy, sugar, coffee, molasses, and articles of tropical production, were imported from the West India Islands m exchange for naval stores and lumber shipped from Newbern, The retail prices varied occasionally; but the average may be stated “ab $1.50 per gallon for best Jamaica rum; $3 for brandy; 10 cents per pound for sugar; 14 cents for coffee; 45 cents per gallon for molasses and 50 cents per bushel for salt. Oranges, pineapples, figs, bananas, almonds, raisins, filberts, cocoanuts, &e., were in great abundance, ab very moderate prices. FREE PERSONS OF COLOR. Previous to the amended Constitution, in 1835, free persons of color were allowed in North Carolina to vote in the same manner as’ white men voted, for President of the United States, for Representatives m Congress, and in the General Assembly without restriction; and for the Senate on possessing the same freehold of forty acres of land which entitled a white man to vote for Senator. I have seen Messrs. Stanly, Gaston, Hawks, Spaight, E. E. Graham, and other candidates paying special civilities to the colored voters} nothing, however, to the extent of undue familiarity. The most prom- inent free persons of color in Newbern were— 1. Jouy C. Sranty, (known as Barber John, to distinguish him from the great lawyer) was originally a barber by trade, and had acquired large property. He owned two. or three plantations or farms, and@ considerable number of slaves, two of whom, Brister and Boston, were skilful barbers, and kept the shop in good reputation. They were both — and dressed neatly. Brister related the circumstance of Dr. Hugh ones once taking his seat for a shave, and, drawing the sword from his cane, threatened that if he was cut or scratched by the razor, hie would run his sword through the body of the operator. The shavit, was completed without any accident. On being asked if his hand di not tremble with such danger before him, Brister replied, that. he had made up his mind to save his own life by cutting the throat of Dr. Jones, if it became necessary. He also made a remark as to the pecu- liarity of Bishop England’s beard, which I have forgotten. J. ©. Stan- ly was a man of dignified presence, and lived in fashionable style, his sons and daughters being well educated, and always making a good appearance as bright mulattoes. No citizen of Newbern would hesitate to walk the streets with him. _He was uniformly courteous and unob- trusive. 2. Joun Stewart Sranty, eldest son of the preceding, had a nt store well stocked with goods, and transacted a heavy business. was correct in his dealings, and customers had great confidence in his integrity. OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. 461 8. Joun R. GREEN was a tailor, employing several journeymen and *pprentices, who turned out a good style of work. He was’ much re- Spected for his modest, unassuming behavior, though he possessed Wealth enough to put on airs, had he been less deserving of publie fay- or. He was a bright mulatto, and always dressed in the latest fashion, Making his own figure an advertisement of his. proficiency in the art Improving the looks of men. . 4. Doxum Mumrorp was copper-colored, and carried on the bricklay- wine plastering business with slaves, a number of whom he owned, enever a job wasto be done expeditiously, he was apt to be em- Ployed, as he could always throw upon it a force sufficient for its rapid ®xecution. He owned a farm in the vicinity, and several houses and lots in town. : 5. Synvester Pruporton, the butcher, was in market at early dawn fach morning. His stall was plenteously supplied with meats which he handled and cut with great dexterity, as he was called upon to try his scales, from one pound to one hundred. He was uniformly patient &nd accommodating, and always had a pleasant remark for those he Served in his vocation. Besides his trade as a butcher, he was a good peimmer, and on military occasions he was a conspicuous figure in the nd. There was quite a large population of the free negro class, who lived Chiefly to themselves in the outskirts of the town. Some of them were industrious and inoffensive ; but the greatest number were idle vaga- bonds who picked up a precarious living, honest or otherwise, as cir- Camstances permitted. YANKEE INFLUENCE. The Northern character was not so infused into the business, or Schools, or churches, or society of Newbern, as to. constitute any recog- Nizable element. There were some half dozen merchants from the North, such as Mr. Lente, George Seelye, W.S. Webb and Mr. Pitt- tran, and a small proportion of mechanics and artisans ; but they all Seemed to be content with our domestic regulations, and never inter- fered, or even expressed opinions showing that reform was necessary. t the period to which I refer there was no Yankee intermeddling with avery, and Northern men and women were received into confidence, 8nd admitted to all social privileges, as their moral and intellectual Worth might render just and proper, without any discrimination as to hativity NEWSPAPERS. The Carolina Sentinel had been established many years before I be- Came a resident of Newbern, and I had been a reader of it from my boyhood. Thomas Watson and John I. Pasteur were the editors and Proprietors. ‘The former was a mild, business gentleman who attens = — ee ee oer erm Re Ee — Se ee ee 462 OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. ded to the mechanical details of the office, while his partner was a Ma- jor General of militia, and a vigorous writer. The first, time any of my manuscript appeared in print, was in the Sentinel of November 21, 1831, as follows : “Married in Jones county on 19th instant, by Benjamin Harrison, Mr. James B. Suine to Miss Resecca Harrison, daughter of Simmons Harrison,E sq. I had been a schoolmaster of the young couple, and I felt gratified at iving their happiness publicity, and in seeing my own words in print. r. Shine afterwards resided in Newbern, and thenee removed to Mis- seipp where two or three of his sons volunteered in the Mexican war, nd died in the service. In 1822 a few numbers of the Miscellaneous Register appeared,—a ver, mall sheet issued by Isaac Cheek Patridge, who was learning the trad f a printer in the office of the Sentinel. Several communications were inserted, one signed “Juventis,’ written by Frederic S. Blount, a pt- ‘pil of Mr. Atmore’s academy. Two or three columns of poetry, by Al en Fitch, adorned the little Register. _The publication proved trouble some to the office, and not at all remunerative, and was soon discontin- ued. Mr. Patridge had rendered me service in proposing my name for a clerkship, and had given other proofs of his attachment. He re- moyed to Chapel Hill wltere he published the Harbinger in 1834 under the management. of the students of the University. The last time I saw him wasin the Summer of 1838 at the Brandon Springs. He then resided in Mississippi, and was connected with a paper published }, Mr. L. A. Besancon of Natchez. In the following year he died of yel low fever. At the commencement of the late war, his son, Gen. Isaac M. Patridge, edited a paper at Vicksburg, and was subsequently an of ficer in the Confederate army. PLANTERS RESIDING IN TOWN. a I do not pretend to remember all the gentlemen in Newbern who owned plantations in the country. Some of their names occur to me: 1. Grorce PotLock was among the wealthiest men of the State, owning a half dozen plantations or more, and some fifteen hundred slaves. He kept a a furnished mansionin town, in which President Monroe and his suite, including Mr. and Mrs. Calhoun, and their two children Andrew Pickens and Ann Maria, were entertained in 1819. At the public dinner given to the President, Mr. Stanly proposed— “Our distinguished guest, the President of the United States. The laurels of his youths, unwithering as the amaranth, retain all their luxuriance amid the snows of age.” Mr. Pollock passed his summers generally at Philadelphia and in Europe, and was probably in Newbern but once a year for a short time after having inspected his plantations and their management. It was said that the order of knighthood had been conferred on him by the & OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. 463 King of Great Britain, and that his true title was Sir George Pollock. As he never sought or desired office, he was not incommoded by the ©onstitutional prohibition as to titles of honor and nobility from for- pen Princes. I saw Mr. Pollock only on two occasions, once in New- ern, and at another time in his carriage on the road attended by two Sutriders in livery. He was a tall square built man, of striking phys- l0gnomy, and was a fine specimen of Nature’s nobility, without the aid Of Royal letters-patent. He was accidentally killed in 1839 at his Roanoke plantation, by a spirited horse rearing up and falling back Upon him while he was in the saddle. Mr. Pollock never married. 18 immense property was inherited, I believe, by the Deveraux and Burgwyn families his next of kin. Connected with the visit of Mr. Calhoun. to Newbern, I may remark that his son, then apparently about ten years of age, afterwards married a daughter of Gen. Duff Teen, and that Anna Maria, then aged about eight years, became the wife of Mr. Clemson, late charge de Afjairs to Belgium: 2. Joun Deverraux was the father of George P. Devereaux, mer- Chant of Newbern, and of Thomas P. Devereaux, a lawyer of Raleigh. 18 wealth and dignified character had a sensible influence on society, ‘nd in business circles his name was similar to that of Rothschild in Europe. When I was a boy, he entrusted me with a package of deeds Whien I delivered to Thomas Spight, Register of Jones county. et Joun Fannrna Burawyn was by marriage connected with Mr. Ollock and Mr. Devereaux, and was an Englishman by birth, or of English extraction. He was somewhat haughty in his manner, and Judging by his fresh looks and ruddy complexion, he was do doubt fond of good things at table, including wine which then formed part of every Sentleman’s hospitality. I have seen accounts of the gallantry of Cap- tain J. HK. Burgwyn, who was killed in New Mexico in 1847 while attached to the first regiment of U. 8. dragoons; but whether he was a ‘on. of John Fanning, or of George Burgwyn, who resided near Wilmington, I am not informed. The family was high minded and Patriotic, and I have no doubt wherever the blood prevails there are 800d fighting qualities. 4. Joun P. Daves was of the number who held the highest rank in SOciety, as well from individual character as from wealthy connections. pe was a brother of the whole blood to Mrs. Collins, of Edenton, whose Desband was said to be the largest property holder in the State. Mr. I aves was also a half brother of Mrs. McKinley, widow of James Me- Sinley who died without issue, leaving the most valuable estate owned Y any citizen of Newbern. Aside from these influences, Mr. D. was nstitutionally of great elevation of character, and though popular in gh circles, he was by no means a favorite with the masses. It was foPossible for him to condescend to electioneering ingenuity, and his de- Hie for Congress, in 1821, by Mr. Blackledge was the natural result. Pe 1s first marriage was with Miss Hatch; his second wife was a sister f Louis D. Henry, and the present Mrs. Daves was Miss Graham. Mr. John P, Daves died in 1839. The late Gov. Ellis married his daughter. CO hi a SA EEE ae ERE SRE IRR I a ET 464 OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. The residence of Mr. Daves, in Newbern, was on, or very near the site of the Palace of the Royal Governors of North Carolina, previous to the Revolution of 1776. By design or accident it was burned dow? long before my day; but it must have been a costly edifice, judging by the size and quality of the stables, the brick walls of which were more than twenty feet high. The roof had fallen in, or was destroyed by the conflagration ; yet the walls remained in 1824, and I presume still remains, as a vestige of Royalty interesting from the associations of the past. Josiah Martin, an Englishman, was the last Royal Governor who occupied the Palace. John Hawks, the grandfather of F. L Hawks, was the architect. General Miranda visited the Palace in 1783, and assured Judge Martin, the historian, “that the structure had no equal in South America.” A beautiful engraved representatition of it is given in Lossing’s Pictoral Field Book of the Revolution, Vol. II, p» 364. 5. Tuomas H. Daves,a brother of the preceding gentleman, was the very reverse of him in popular fayor, and had been sheriff of CraveD county just for the sake of mixing with the people, and doing them acts of kindness. His fortune was sufficient to enable him to do with- out office of any kind. He had a pleasant word for everybody, and seemed to declare, by the benevolent expression of his face, that his own happiness consisted in making other people happy. I am not clear cnough in my recollection to state positively whether he married Miss Bryan, or a daughter of General Durant Hatch. I believe he married both, as he was at one time'a widower. Mr. Daves removed to Greene county, Alabama, where he died. I do not remember his children, except that he had a son named Durant Hatch Daves. 6. Jostan Howarp owned an extensive plantation in Jones county; and had his family residence in Newbern, where he passed a portioD of his time. His wife was Narcissa Hatch, who was a pious lady and a member of the Episcopal Church, while ‘her husband was averse t0 religion. At her reqtiest the Rev. R. 8. Mason attended the bedside of Mr. Howard in his last illness, to offer him spiritual consolation if he desired it. The minister, it was said, met with no encouragement iD his labor of love. Mr. H. died in July, 1822: A post mortem examin® tion was made by Doctors Boyd and Custis, which showed a complica ted disease of the chest. He left two sons, George W. and James W. Howard, the latter of whom represented Jones county in the House of Commons in 1881, 1835 and 1836, and in the Senate in 1842 and 1846. Mrs. Howard was occasionally visited by a beautiful relative—Miss Narcissa Whitfield, of Lenoir, just matured into womanhood, who was highly accomplished, particularly excelling in musical gifts and cul- ture. She was too pure for earth—her disposition was angelic—and in 1823 her gentle spirit ascended to Heaven. An intelligent write! (Mr. Lovick Vail) published in the Sentinel, a glowing, yet merited tr bute to her memory, in which he introduced with happy effect, a pas sage from the touching lines of Dr. Young on the death ‘of his step’ daughter, “Narcissa.” The parallel between the lovely maidens, ret” OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. 465 ered the quotation from the “Night Thoughts” very appropriate, aside Tom the identity of names: *‘Sweet harmonist ! and beautiful as sweet ! And young as beantiful ! and soft as young! And gay as soft! and innocent as gay ! And happy (if aught happy here) as good |” 7. Joun Frinx Surru was a gentleman somewhat advanced in age, 4nd had quite a large family of children. His eldest son I have no- ticed under the head of “law students.” The grown daughters were andsome and pious, and with their father were members of the Meth- Odist Church, The first time I saw them was at a camp-meeting near Trent bridge in 1820, when the Rey. Lewis Skidmore, the presiding elder, preached with his accustomed success in revivals. Two of the Tisses Smith became happy, and embraced their father, who mingled 4s rejoicing with theirs at the altar. The scene had a sympathetic in- Yence,and many other Christians were similarly affected. Mr. 8. 1as. long since passed to his reward, and his daughters are probably With him’ to i beets in heaven the joys which began on. earth in the Service of their Redeemer. At this camp-meeting I heard a very im- Pressive discourse by the Rey. Henry B. Howard, of Wilmington, who had been educated for the bar.. His infidelity had been subdued by a Perusal of the Scriptures induced by an old Christian servant, whose Serene countenance after death told that he washappy. A full account of the experience of Mr. Howard appeared in the Methodist magazine. 8. Ex1 SMAuiavoop was successful in accumulating property. His Marriage with Mrs. Blackwell, a Northern lady, took Nie just betore My remoyal from Newbern, and his character for shrewd financial Management was then well-established, although he was not, in 1824, Probably over thirty years of age. Whether he is still aliye I haye no efinite information, When I last saw Mr. Smallwood forty-nine years go, I considered him a fine looking gentleman. Time is quite capri- ©lOus in its work on man, howeyer lenient toward the softer sex whose ces, if permitted to represent the youthful condition of their hearts, Never grow old. 9. Asa Jones was a goodly specimen of the wise planter and the “Courteous city gentleman. He was uniformly neat in his dress, as much from his own individual taste, no doubt, as to pay tribute to that of his fashionable wife, who was Miss Bryan, one of the half-dozen sisters, so Tequently noticed in these “Recollections.” Whatever may have been the congeniality of disposition between Mr, and Mrs. Jones for their mutual happiness, there was a very great disproportion in their size,as the former was a withered, diminutive specimen of humanity, weigh- Ing about one hundred pounds, while his better half was probably not legs than two hundred on Fairbank’s patent, Nothing in the way of Personal contrast, could haye been more remarkable. He was pale and *maciated, yet from the buoyancy of his moyements his general health 5 466 OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. seemed to be good, while Mrs. Jones had a complexion rivaling the rose in freshness, and was not less cheerful than her consort, though from necessity not so active. It has been said by those best acquall ted with her, that she was quite entertaining in the drawing-room,wit an address of peculiar affability.. She appeared almost daily in her st perb carriage and equipments, which rather eclipsed all competition 1? town. The milliners liberally participated in her large expenditure’ for the adornment of her person. She had no children to share het affections, and therefore she was compelled to lavish them upon some other object. Next to loving her husband, of which she gave abundant proof, it was natural that she should cultivate the fashions. The last time I saw Mr. Jones was in New York in 1836, cordial and gentle manly as ever. Newbern could boast no worthier citizen. OLD CITIZENS. Nathan Smith, Isaac Taylor, Nathaniel Street, Abner Pasteur, John Jones, Samuel Garrick and John Frink Smith, were gentlemen mor? advanced in age, apparently, than any other citizens of Newbern, with in my knowledge, in the years 1822, 1823 and 1824. PASSING REMARKS. From the multiplicity of names introduced it is possible that some errors may have been committed, especially in Christian names; but think the errors, if any, are not frequent. The events and circumstal ces as related are accurate in substance, and I have no doubt many 2 them will be recognized by most of the inhabitants who were then ol enough to remember, and who still survive. My object in referring 8? minutely to pursuits, marriages, children and family incidents will not, I hope, be misapprehended. The pictures in my mind haye beet given, not only to recall the past more vividly as a source of agreeable entertainment to myself, but to afford the new generation which has sprung up in Newbern, or from Newbern ancestors, a kind of local knowledge, more or less biographical in its scope, which probably might not be communicated ‘by any other witness. Nothing iia been mingled with these “Recollections” either to reflect on the memory of the dead, or to wound the sensibilities of the living. - What I have said touching manual occupations can certainly give no offence to a heal thy mind, which has worked its way to position from a subordinate origin. Success of this kind is more honorable and meritorious those who achieved it. I have no doubt omitted names which ought to have been speciall noticed, and failed to chronicle many interesting particulars ; but as have depended on memory alone in the narrative, after the lapse of half a century, or thereabout, I may reasonably expect that no such ‘emission will be attributed to design. On the contrary, I have endeav- ered to preserve as many names and occurrences as I could remembe?; OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. 467 Which I thought would be interesting to others, as they certainly are to myself after so long an interval. With much propriety I could haye introduced the names of many Sentlemen having a social and business connection with Newbern who ees ng sti Pte Among these I might include Gen. N. . WwW a / . te pie field, Zokm "West ington, John A. Cobb, pad Blount Coleman, enoir; and Dr. Alexander Sledge, Dr. Levi B. Lane, Simmons Harrison, Joseph Bryan, Nathan B. Bush, Daniel Y. Shine, Simmons Conce, John B. Hargett; Isaac B. Hathaway, William B. Hatch, Fred- erick Isler Becton, Hardy Brown, Jacob Giles, Nathan Foscue, and illiam Harrison Green, of Jones county. T As an act of justice merely, 1 here mention James W. Carney and homas B. Carney, brothers, who were clever and intelligent young Sentlemen, but whose vocation I am unable to specify. They were ex- yollent scribes, and well skilled in accounts and book-keeping, and I elieve they were employed in the Banks, or in some nobis office in €whern. James Knight Green was likewise a pleasant young man “pparently well read, and blended in his manner something of the tra- §1co-comico, if such an expression may be allowed to denote a very °Yiginal and singular character. CONCLUSION. Having completed my “Recollection,” I may be excused for a brief’ allusion to the misfortunes which came upon the people of Newbern, ©n the capture of the town by the naval and military forces of the en- €my, on the 14th of March, 1862. From an article in Harpers’s Weekly ‘lustrating the conquest, I make the following extract : ‘The fruits of the victory were six forts, thirty-four heavy guns, six team boats, and public property to the amount of two millions of dol- i * * * * * * ‘The next day (March 15th) was the Sabbath. Y order of Gen. Burnside, all the churches were thrown open, the {army chaplains officiated, and thanks were returned to God for the. Signal yictory he had granted the patriot armies.” Knowing the practices of the Union army, to desolate and plunder yherever they marched or conquered, I thought at the time of readin ie order of worship, that there was more form than piety in these Fed- €ral ministrations in the sanctuary. While the army chaplains were Proclaiming “peace and good will to man,” through muskets and cannon ble terrified inhabitants were flying from their cherished homes,. with eeding hearts;—many of them to suffer more than language can ex- Press, and some to die in exile. The gloom of that calamity still lin- gers over the town, and a similar fate to the entire South is yet spread- ine its pprelonie vapors. I speak without malice to the invaders and she: SP ismen, Newbern was the home of my youth, and itis en- of ned in my affections. I love its ancient prestige; I love to think 1 the great and good men I have seen and heard there, and I sincere- Y hope it may be my privilege to visit the dear old place once again, ®nd meditate among its hallowed monuments. Tue Enp. 582 OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. at $142,000,000; the expenses for the year 1874, for running the city este ge were $37,000,000. 5th. The pews in Beecher’s church, 12 rooklyn, rented for $13,000 more than last year. Senator Thurmat introduced a resolution into the U. 8. Senate regarding the use of the army in Louisiana. Sheridan telegraphed to Washington, asking the President to declare the people of Louisiana banditti, and promising 0 treat them as such. Orangeburg, S. C., nearly destroyed by fire—los over half million—caused by the carelessness of a servant girl. This is the third destructive fire in that place within afew years. 6. French Ministry resigned. The Board of Underwriters and eminent Clem men, of New Orleans, pronounce Sheridan’s telegram as unqualifiedly false. 7. President MacMahon, refuses to accept the resignation of the French Ministers, until he can form a new Ministry from the majority who oppose him. In the U.S. House, one Mr. White offered a resolur tion thanking President Grant for what he had done in Louisiana; ob- jected to. 9. Extremely cold in the Northwest—27° below zero at Des Moines. 10. Weather very cold in New York City—9° below zero— several persons froze to death. Count Valmaseda offered the post of Captain General of Cuba. 11. The Alabama Investigating Committee disproves the charges of political intimidation in Sumter county. Carl Schurz made an eloquent speech in the U. S. Senate in behalf Louisiana. Steamer Kathleen May lost at sea—26 persons perished. ASHEVILLE, N. C. The author of the “UnKNown,” a novel published in the Yorkville Enquirer, thus describes Asheville > Perhaps in all the Southern States, there is not a more beautifully lo cated town than that of Asheville, N.C. Around, on every side, rise mountains like giant sentinels guarding the pretty village of the table land below. Peak on peak arises, and the beauty of the evening hour ¥ wonderfully enhanced by the gorgeous sunsets gilding their summits Therefrom blow bracing breezes, delightful to comers from a flat cout try, and especially attractive has this region been to the dwellers of lows et South Carolina. The rugged wilderness of the broken conntry, 801? contrast to their waste of sand and monotonous pine lands; the dashing turbulent mountain streams, fairly startling, opposite as they are the sluggish flow of their placid rivers; and above all, the pure, strengthed- ing air, instead of the humid heated air of their swamp lands, draW them to this climate for recuperation, and the section is dotted aro Asheville, the natural beanty of the situation is enlivened by handsomé seats, with well laid out grounds and tasteful buildings. One of these the most admired, was the residence of Mr. OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. RECOLLECTIONS NEWBERN FIFTY YEARS AGO. Continued from Page 467. APPENDIX. It has been my privilege to receive letters from several distinguished Citizens of Newbern, three of which I here subjoin—one from Judge Gaston, in 1834, marked No, 1; from Judge Donnell, in 1855, No. I; and from Judge Manly, in 1858, No. II. I also received a letter in 1858, No. IV, from ex-Gov. Swain, who was then President of the Uni- versity of North Carolina. As all these letters areso many connecting links with the Past, the occasions of which are pleasant to recall, I make free to insert them in the Appendix to my “Recollections of New- bern,” as a tribute to my native State. NUMBER I. z Raleigh, Feb. 25, 1834. Dear Sir: I received, a few days since, your very polite letter of 28th of January, and have been in daily expectation ever since, of re- ceiving also the pamphlet to which you refer as accompanying your letter, but which has not yet come to hand. Sensible of the proof of your esteem which is given, by thus deferring to my opinion in a mat- ter which concerns the honor of the legal profession, I have nota little curiosity to see the pamphlet, and trust that you will have the good- ness to transmit it to me. Your admiration of my deceased friend, Mr. Stanly, is well-founded. He was, indeed a great man, distinguished pre-eminently for acuteness of intellect, capacity of conception, a bold, vigorous and splendid elo- quence. How unfortunate it has been for his family, that he lived so much for others and so little for himself! For the flattering sentiments you have been pleased to express to- wards me individually, I am very grateful. Although I have ever been anxious that my conduct should be regulated by a higher and more certain standard of right than the opinion of any set of men, I cannot but feel much satisfaction whenever I discover that I have obtain- ed the appreciation of those who are qualified to decide upon what is just and honorable. I am, dear sir, very respectfully, Your obedient servant. WILL: GASTON. ; \ i i ret 584 OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. NUMBER II. Burlington, N. Jersey, Sept. 23, 1855. Dear Sire: Your very kind letter of the 11th instant, addressed to me at Newbern, has been forwarded to me at this place, where (and at Philadelphia) I usually pass my Fall months. The number of the Review* has not been forwarded to me, butt shall meet it at home, a month hence, and will value it for the article to which you refer. The memory of my relative, Gov. Spaight, is very dear to me, because I knew him to have been one of those pure, ami able and excellent men, and true patriots, so seldom found among the public men of the present day. His son, my deceased brother-in-law, the last Gov. Spaight, whom you may probably recollect, was, in all respects, worthy of his name and parentage. He has been taken from me within a few years, and left me almost without a very near, or deat old friend. I recollect ycur uncle (Martin Miller) very well, a very retiring, un- assuming and respectable man, with whom, I think, I never had much acquaintance. The incident to which you refer, of the check given you, I do not recollect; but that you were the “obscure country lad,” as you say of yourself, would neither then, or at any time, have been any reproach in my estimation. I was an “obscure lad” myself, so far as fortune, or distinguished parentage—distinguished, I mean, in its usual acceptation. My Father was distinguished, in its true and better sense, for integrity, and all that makes the truly good man; and though not highly educated, endowed with a good mind, well in- formed. The Almighty has blessed me with a very large share of good for- tune through life. “ Mens sana in corpore sano,’+ were enough; but iM addition to these, I have had much to be thankful for—good, kind, and useful friends at the time I needed them and, true, I had to give up the best and most valuable friend of all others, the portion of my joys and sorrows at middle age—the period of life at which such a sep* aration is the most severe. May you never have any one, of what! recollect to have seen stated to be the three greatest ills of life—* In youth to bury one’s Father; at middle age to lose one’s wife; and being old, to have no son.” I thank my Heavenly Father that he has, as yet, visited me with only one of these ills. My Father, ata ripeand honorable old age, has been buried but a few years. I am blessed with a son, a respectable member of our Bar, and three dutiful and beloved daughters. Enough of myself, however. *DeBow’s Review for September, 1855, containing an article from my pen, entitled, “Chronicles of the Government and People of the United States,” in which the name of Gov. Spaight was introduced among the statesmen and patriots of the Revolution. #** A sound mind in a sound body.” OUR LIVING AND OUR DEAD. 585 Of the names you mention at our Bar, Gaston, Stanly, F. L. Hawks, J. H. Bryan and G. 8. Attmore, only the latter remains at Newbern, a worthy, respectable man, and still a member of the Bar. J. H. B. re- sides at Raleigh, and the destiny of F. L. H. isa matter of history. You are tight in saying that my deceased friend and preceptor, in whose office I studied law, was the greatest of all the distinguished members of our Bar. I knew him well,and loved him much. I have had much opportunity of seeing and hearing distinguished men. Our Gaston deserved better the enviable title of the “ truly great man,” than any person I have ever known. Very respectfully and truly yours, Joun R. DoNNELL. NUMBER III. Hillsboro, July 12, 1858. Dear Sir: I was gratified a few days since (before I left home) at the reception of your letter of the 2d instant. The books to which you refer, “ The Bench and Bar of Georgia,’ were duly received at my house in Newbern; and as my leisure afforded opportunity, I have taken pleasure 11 looking over their pages. Iam indebted to them for much agreeable reading and information. You are remembered in the Simpson family with kind and respect- ful regards ; and I may add, with a sympathy in, and a solicitude for, the success of your pursuits. All take an interest in your welfare, and desire for you 4 long life of eminence and usefulness. The amount of judicial labor which a Circuit Judge in North Caro- lina is at this day called upon to perform, is so great as to exclude almost any thing else. I have not seen, and have not therefore had an opportunity of reading the letters as published in the Times.* I hope to be able to. do so before long. The object of these letters, as indicated by you, 18 the great want of the day—* to give high moral tone to the youth of the country, and to direct their energies aright.” In this object you ltave my hearty sympathy, and shall have such co-opera- tion as my station will enable me to give. No apology is necessary tor what you are pleased to call troubling me with your letters. They are received with pleasure, and I desire to assure you of my sincere esteem. M. E. Mantx. #A series of ‘Letters to a Young Friend,” written by me, and first published in a newspaper in 1858 and 1854 with the hope of doing good, now included in the Appendix to the 2d volume of the ‘‘ Bench and Bar,” and republished in the Greensboro (N. CO.) Times. etree tata