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lion, B. B. WINBORNE,
January, 1901

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DEDICATION.

| DEDICATE THIS BOOK TO THE MEMORY .OF THE
DEPARTED WORTHIES OF HERTFORD COUNTY, AND THE
DESCENDANTS OF THOSE NOBLE PEOPLE.
BENJ. BRODIE WINBORNE.

May, 1906.

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INTRODUCTION,

Hertford County is rich in the character of her families,

and in and deeds of her sons, in war and in peace,

but poor in her records.
On the night of August 22, 1830, the entire records of the

county were destroyed by fire. One Wright Allen was in-

dicted in our Superior Court for forging the name of Tim-
othy Ridley, of Maney’s Neck, and thinking that the note
was in the court-house, and that by burning the same he
could destroy the evidence of his guilt, he touched the torch
to the building, and quickly the court-house and all the
records of the county, from its foundation, were consumed
by the flames. The records of seventy years of the county’s
history were within a few hours blotted from human eyes.
Again on February 20, 1862, the records of this splendid
county, together with the court-house, were ruthlessly burned
by the Union soldiers during the cruel war between the
American States. The date of this fire is hard to deter-
mine. I find reliable authorities fixing it February 20,
March 20, and May 90. It is, however, immaterial. The
will books since 1830, and a few of the old record books of
the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, which happened to
0, where the Clerk resided, were saved.
m why I have undertaken the Hercu-
to reproduce some of the past history of
cticing law in the county since

felt the dire need for these lost

     

lean task of trying
the county. I have been

1875, and I have so of

records. i‘

I beg that my imperfect history may be read with sym-

pathy for its author,» Much of my information I secured
 

 

6
Inrropuction.

from old deeds among my father’s papers

me back to 1812, and one as far back as 1 2, and gives the

aed the first Clerk of the County Court. The deeds
g ‘ :
a 2 wills and copies of records of other families, which
ave been kindly furnished me, hay
5 , e enabled me, with th
old Colonial and State Records of North Cutting ‘
?

; ae to bri
together this imperfect history of a noble people "

Bens. B. Wryzornnz.

May, A. D. 1906.

 

 

 

The Colonial and State Political History
_f Hertford County, N. C.

 

PUBLIC PRIDE.

For centuries and ages, nations and sub-divisions of na-
tions, and governments, have honored their heroic and noble
dead. Monuments, statues, histories, and other records
have been resorted to as far back as recorded time to com-
memorate and perpetuate the deeds, the acts, the successes
and the mistakes of prominent and leading characters. Not

- only that those in the future may live and profit by the noble

deeds of the past, and shun the ignoble deeds and mistakes
of a preceding generation, but to gratify and perpetuate their
pride of their great dead.

We have been unable to find in recorded history of the
civilized world any nation, any government, any state, any
county, or any political division of a territory, that was not
proud of its noble men and women; and in some way were
willing to hand down to future generations the history of the

proud deeds of its subjects and its sublime characters.
Such is the history of religion, of the science of govern-

ments, of literature, of philosophy, of the science of war,

. 7
and everything else. W

to our knowledge of the past.
zation is, to-day, the acme of our knowledge of the past.

We are all the time building on the past, without which we
could not obtain a solid foundation, but would be building on
a sandy foundation. What would we know about our Savior
and the sufferings of Jesus of Nazareth on the cross, and the
beauties and attractions of Heaven, but for the recorded
words in the Holy Bible? What would we know of the
world, and its great men, its inventions, its advancements 1

civilization, and the progress ©
it not for the histories, the monu

Our Christianity, our civili-

f mankind in everything, were
ments, statues and other

hat we know and enjoy to-day is due:

 
   
       
     
 
     
   
      
       
      
      
       
  
      
   
 
   
 
      
   
 
    
    
      
       
    
    

9

 

History or Herrrorp Counry, N. C.
ey) 8 History or Hrerrrorp County, N. C.
|

  

was uninhabited, except by wild beasts and savage tribes of
I diene Where the Indians came from we do not know.
ne ¥ “4 med to be indigenous to the soil. The Great God

es 68 ated and placed them here, as he did the beasts
- sage a Columbus returned to the Old World, his
Beg aly cad told of the New World he had discovered.
native ,

Jd them of its beauties and its attractions. The popu-
i 1 soon became emblazoned with imaginary pictures
= res glories and blessings of this fairy land pees
the broad and deep waters. The whole of Europe ase
excited. Soon, voyages began to be made, in erude mye j
ross the billows of the mighty oceans to reach the new lan
gsession of it and make it the home of

Old England

I | pyramids, written and erected for the guidance of those to
come afterwards ?

A nation, a country, a state, a county that has not pride of
its noble dead, is composed of a mankind fit only for “trea-
son, strategem, and spoils,’ and for the habitation of Hell.
| We have been often asked why we should be interested in

writing a history of the by-gone days of Hertford County.

| Why, they are the most glorious days of our life! All the

) sunshine, all the hopes, and all the beauties of life are in
those days. Ancestors, parents, friends, and other noble
men and women, help to make the grand history of this old
political subdivision of the State. We are proud of its his-
) tory; proud of its dead. We love to sing the songs of its

 

ee

ac
of flowers and take po

co ssed.

! i he free, and the asylum of the oppre
he] praises. being who has no love for his county and the the re Ae he Preise
f noble deeds of its dead has no soul. He is like the “lean quickly proceede 1

of this new and far-off land, about which

become so much aroused by the reports
the land of valor and

and take possession. (
the Old World had

of Columbus, a native of Italy,

and hungry Cassius’”—dangerous. - Let us remember—let us
love until the end of time.
When we think of the true and devoted sons of the Colo-
nial days, of the brave and loyal sons of the Revolutionary
times, of the determined and self-sacrificing sons of the
infant days of the State and Republic, and the gallant and
courageous soldiers of the county whenever the liberties,
rights and freedom of the people of the States were involved,

ach History of the United States is the most de-

Baneroft’s ' sane gare
i i . early and primeval days ©
paaparnvise SBP on Of the discoveries of

Sonti é bt
m Continent the reader can 0 ot
Ke along the musical and poetic borders of the Ri

{

|

Mississippi Valley, the wide-

lap of the Western Continent, the reader can find
ap 7)

the lands

a a a ae SS

st jc s ers O | t ru Ridpath’s rec ent Histor ‘4
i ie 4 i anc e€ .
Histori 8 of 4 [ X1¢ € ‘

written in a most interesting

like exclaiming, “O, fortunate country, who had such sons to
be the herald of thy fame!”

ighty
: ‘ : “ and of the might;
| and the part its great men took in shaping the laws of the HK, )
, | country and in the perpetuation of its institutions, we feel spreading een See a Wedel
- and fascinating
'

of the United States 1s, also,
s ornate and easy. ; p
World experienced grea

and many of them were

AMERICA, style. Its rhetorie 1

The early settlers of the New

i ive Indians, f
ee barbaric natives. The New World

f Amerigo Vespucci, which

. To know well the child we should know its parents,

Columbus discovered America—the New World—the un-
known land—in the year 1492. It was a beautiful part of
Nature’s landseape. Its coasts, its level lands, its hills and
valleys, its magnificent forests, and its grand and placid
streams of water filled the hearts and souls of Columbus
and his companions with untold and indescribable joy. It

murdered by these wild, :
was called America 1n honor 0

‘Was an undeserved honor.

Gist

   
 

 

 

a

 

 

10 History or Herrrorp Country, N. ©.

CAROLINA.

On the 25th day of March, 1584, Queen Elizabeth of
England granted to Sir Walter Raleigh a charter authorizing
him to take possession of an extensive territory of land in
America, extending from the 33d to the 40th parallel of
north latitude, and to people it, and organize a state, to be
governed by Raleigh, as lord-proprietor. This territory
was called Carolina. The granting of this charter was the
first step in the work of English colonization in America.
Five voyages were made under it, but without success in
establishing a permanent settlement. Raleigh’s vessels land-
ed at Roanoke Island, where he landed his colonists and
attempted to effect a settlement, but the hostility of the
Indians was too great. One of his colonies left on the
island, consisting of 108, were lost, and no account of them
has ever been given. It is known as the “lost colony.” The
Indians evidently destroyed them. On the 18th day of
August, 1585, Virginia Dare was born on this island. She

was the first English white child ever born in the New
World. ,

Raleigh finally abandoned his efforts.

Again, on the 20th day of March, 1663, King Charles, the
Second, granted a charter foe Carolina to Edward, Earl of
Clarendon, George, Duke of Albemarle, William, Lord Cra-
ven, John, Lord Berkley, Anthony, Lord Ashley, Sir George
Carteret, Sir William Berkley, and Sir John Colleton, to be
known as the Lords Proprietors of Carolina. They were
granted all the land extending from the north end of the
island called Lucke Island, in the southern Virginia seas,
and with six and thirty degrees of the north latitude, and to
the west as far as the South Seas, and southerly as far as
St. Matthias River, on the coast of Florida. The territory
of country was not named Carolina in honor of Charles ay
as some writers have it, but it was named “Carolina” by
John Ribault, a French navigator, as early as 1562.

 

 

 

 

; ay 11
History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

The Lords Proprietors were invested with power to set My
a form of government of their own, to make laws for the
government of the people, to hold courts, and do all —
and exercise all other powers desired to gratify their lord-
vn. first permanent settlement in Carolina is stated by
Bancroft to have been made ee after the expulsion

, Jirginia in 2.

ee ere ee Ming Charles II. granted the same
ice a iots a second grant, extending the boundaries of
Carolina north and eastward as far as the north end of
Qurrituck River, upon a straight westerly line to Wyanoke
Creek and so on. a

The area of Carolina, under this charter, was a million of
square miles, and included a large part of Mexico, all of
Texas, all our territory south of 36 deg. 30 min. and bie
of Arkansas, and the lands now embraced in the States o
North and South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, jagger
Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana. But the grantees only
had possession of a small part of the territory. ae

In 1669, John Lock, of England, wrote the first constitu

tion for the Proprietary government of Carolina. Ashley
Lords Proprietors, afterwards wrote an

But the framework of the whole fabric
and metaphysical, and it was never
Tt was finally abrogated, in 1693, by

Cooper, one of the
amendment to it.

was too impracticable
fully put in operation.

. Lords Proprietors. ae x
sey ein 30 sth, 1663, Sir Wilham Berkley, Governor

of Vire - the Lords Proprietors of the Prov-
Tireinia, and one of the L ds Proprietors i ent on
ce ; srected to visi e settlement 0
ince of Carolina, was direct d to visit th

id so.
i : government. He did
Albemarle, and organize a regular g

i ‘nor, and a council

vas nted Governor, al
g mmond was appol
oe gc as formed the infant

i i ‘ thus w
of six was also appointed, and a
colony thereafter known as the County of Albemarle.

svn lt il aia aint
 

ee ee ee “it?

 

 

12 History or Herrrorp County, N. C,

NORTH CAROLINA.

In the year 1697 that portion of Carolina lying north of
the Santee River became known and recognized as North
Carolina, and the southern portion as South Carolina. The
County of Albemarle was in North Carolina. Later this
colony became subdivided into three counties,

Hertford County was not one of the original subdivisions
of the territory of the colony of North Carolina, At the
close of the Indian War of 1711, North Carolina was di-
vided into three counties—Albemarle, Bath, and Clarendon.
These counties were subdivided into precincts. Albemarle
was divided into Currituck, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Cho-
wan, Bertie, and Tyrrell precincts. Bath was divided into
Beaufort, Hyde, Craven, and Carteret precincts. Clarendon
County had only one precinct, New Hanover. Bertie pre-
cinct was carved out of Albemarle County territory in 1722.

Northampton County was formed in 1741 from a portion
of the territory of Bertie.

GOVERNORS OF THE COUNTY OF ALBEMARLE.

Geo. Drummond, appointed in fall 1663.

Samuel Stevens, appointed in October, 1667; died early
in 1674.

Sir Geo. Cartwright, President of the Council, 1674. He
returned to England in 1676.

Thomas Miller, appointed, to fill vacancy, in 1677.

CULPEPPER’S REBELLION,

In Nov., 1777, Sir Geo. Eastchurch was appointed Gov-
ernor of the County of Albemarle, and left England, but when
he reached the West Indies he fell in love with a beautiful girl
and lingered there. After making known his devotion they
were married. He then renewed his jou rney to North Caro-
lina. When he reached the shores of the new country he
found that one Culpepper had, in December, 1677, usurped
the government and proclaimed himself governor. East-

 

 

ounTy, N 13
History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

hurch tried to suppress Culpepper’s usurpation, and secured
aid of the Governor of Virginia, but failed, and thereby
1e

by the simple act of a lover, lost his government, and also
by the ver, at, ala
* 1", as he was killed in his effort to assert his authority.
aia wo heir business, as they may lose
Lovers should not neglect their business, as ,

is the lesson here taught. ee
Pen Harvey was appointed President of Council in 1680.
Jo y we

John Jenkins, appointed Governor, June, 1680, and died
sts appointed Governor February, 1681.

Seth ‘Sothel, appointed Governor 1683. This man, Seth
Sothel, was a great rascal. He was expelled as Governor a
the County of Albemarle shortly after his appointment. He
then wroxt to Charleston, in South Carolina, and, in eA
was elected Governor of that county, and was there soreesben
and expelled. An honest public servant 1s a prize to any

‘i insince § nd untrue man ought
people. No mean, insincere, selfish, a

ever to be allowed to hold any office or place of trust.
Philip Ludwell, appointed Governor 1689.
Alexander Lillington, appointed deputy Governor 1693.

i 7 1693.
Thomas Harvey, appointed deputy Governor ,
ti 1693, to 1712, North and South Carolina

had the same governors.
Philip Ludwell, appointed 1693.
Thomas Smith, appointed 1693.
Joseph Blake, appointed 1694,
John Archdale, appointed 1695.
Joseph Blake, appointed 1696.
James Moore, appointed 1700.
Nath’l Johnson, appointed 1703.
Edward Tynte, appointed 1706.
Robert Gibbes, appointed 1710.

 
 

   
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
    

14 History or Herrrorp County, N. OC.

THE GOVERNORS OF NORTH CAROLINA UNDER THE PROPRIE-
TARY GOVERNMENT FROM 1699 To 1729.

They took the oath of office as follows:

Henderson Walker, President of the Council, 1699.

Robert Daniel, Deputy Governor, 1704.

Thos, Carey, Deputy Governor, 1705.

William Glover, President of the Council, May, 1709.

Edward Hyde, President of the Council, August, 1710.

Edward Hyde, appointed Governor J anuary 24, 1712.

Thomas Pollock, President of Council, September 12, 1712.

Charles Eden, appointed Governor May 28, 1714, and
died March 26, 1722.

Thomas Pollock, President of Council March 30, 1722, and
died August 30, 1722.

William Reed, President of Council, September 7, 1722;

George Burrington, Governor, January 15, 1724.
Sir Richard Everard, Governor, July 17, 1725.

Governor Everard remained in office until the Lords Pro-
prietors (excepting John Lord Carteret) sold their interests
in the soil and the rights acquired under the charters from
King Charles IT. to the Crown of England, and thus ended
the Proprietary Government of the Carolinas,

THE BRITISH GOVERNORS OF NORTH CAROLINA FROM 1731 To
THE FREEDOM OF THE COLONIES IN 1776.

The dates refer to the time they took the oath of office,
George Burrington, February 25, 1731.

Nathaniel Rice, April 17, 1734.

Gabriel Johnson, November 2, 1734.

Nathaniel Rice, February 1, 1752.

Matthew Roman, February 1, 1753.

Arthur Dobbs, November 1, 1754.

William Tryon, October 27, 1764,

James Hassel, July 1, 1771.
Josiah Martin, August, 1771.

 

 

Hisrory or Herrrorp County, N. C. 15

All the governors since Governor Martin have held their

offices under the Constitutions of the State of North Carolina.

PRELUDE TO HERTFORD.

The histories of Bertie and Northampton counties consti-
tute a part of the primeval history of Hertford County. So,
to truly understand the history of Hertford, we must under-
stand the histories of its mother counties. We want to know
the men, the families, who controlled and shaped the destinies
and affairs of these mother counties. Many of our ancestors
occupied official positions in those counties. : We speak of
counties. There were only three counties in North Carolina,
until 1738. The other sub-divisions of the territory were
ealled precincts. In 1738 the precincts were dignified by

the names of counties.
BERTIE PRECINCT.

In 1722, Bertie Precinct was carved out of Albemarle
County by the Lords Proprietors under their charters te
King Charles the Second. The boundaries were as a
“That part of Albemarle County lying on the west side -
Chowan River, being a part of Chowan Precinct. Bounde
to the northward by the line dividing the Ha ae sia tg oe
Virginia, and to the southward by gc Albemarle ‘ate an
Moratuck River, as far up as Welsh’s Creek, ne t " "
eluding both sides of said river and the branches t “2 > an
as far as the limits of the government, be, and the same is

hereby declared to be erected into a precinct by the name of

ti inct, in Albemarle County.” :
a oe the boundaries of Bertie Precinct het
fixed i follows: The Roanoke on the oon and west, ia
State line between Virginia and North mages hag
north, the Chowan River and Albemarle Sound on the i

; ip of old Gabriel Johnson, some

During the governorship 0 pein
writ ie it in 1741 and some in 1748, another act of the
ag et mbly was passed, establishing out of the

Royal General Asse
territory of Bertie County, the county of Northampton.

 

 

 

  

.
|

ee
i
 

 

 

 

16 Hisrory or Herrrorp County, N. C.

The representatives of Bertie County in the Colonial As-
sembly from the ending of the Proprietary Government in
1729 to the formation of Hertford County in December,
1759, were as follows:

1731-2. Arthur Williams, James Castellow, Col. Thos.
Pollock, Isaac Hill, Capt. George Wynns,

1733. The same members, except William Kinchen in
place of Col. Thomas Pollock.

1734. Castellow, Williams, Capt. G. Wynns, John Law-
son, and John Harrell.

1735-6. The same as above, except John Hodgson and
John Harrell represented one vote,

1737-8. Thomas Bryant, John Dawson, John Hodgson,
Benj. Hill, James Castellow and Arthur Williams.

1739-40. Benj. Hill, James Castellow, Thos. Bryant,
John Dawson and John Browne.

1741-2. Not given.

Northampton is now formed, and Bertie given three mem-
bers and Northampton two.

BERTIE’S REPRESENTATIVES.

1743. Benj. Hill, James Castellow, and Thos. Bryant.
1744. Benj. Hill, James Castellow, and Thos. Barker.
1745. Benj. Hill, James Castellow, and Thos. Barker.
1746. John Wynns, ———, .

Here the colonial records show that there was a breach
between Gov. Gabriel Johnson, which had been brewing for
sometime, when some of the northeastern counties—Chowan,
Perquimans, Tyrrell, Bertie, and others in the east—refused
to send members to the Assembly, or rather their members
elect would not attend, and the Governor could not get a
quorum to transact business. Gov. Gabriel Johnson was an
arbitrary and unpopular ruler. His trouble with his eastern
counties was that he wanted to deprive them of their proper
representation. He met with the same rebellious spirit as
did later King George the Third, when he and his aristocracy

 

 

ig, Niet OS ete ei Sas kaa

" 5 ee
History or Herrrorp County, N. C. LE

tried to erush the American colonies and deprive them .
proper representation. This deplorable condition ee
about ten years. In 1746, John Wynns was the only member
of Bertie who appeared. The Governor issued his mandates
that the members must attend the sessions and represent the
freeholders. But they defied the commands.

The next time we find Bertie and er va indignant coun-
ies being represented in full was in 1754.
amare 1754-5-6-7-8-9, John Campbell, Thomas
Whitnel, and Benj. Wynus. . |

John Campbell was Speaker of the House for two or more
years. He did not attend in 1756 on account of sickness.
He lived at Coleraine in Bertie County, and was one of the
most distinguished men in the State in his day. a

In 1760, after Hertford County was formed, Bertie’s
members were William Williams and John Hill. eee

The justices of the peace appointed for spas in oa
were Benj. Hill, Esq., Needham Bryan, Wm. Cathcart,
liam Kinchen, Peter West, Thos. Bryan, Thos. Handsford,
Rowland Williams, Thos. Whitnel, John Prat, James Cas-
tellow, John Dawson, and John Edwards.

In 1746, the list of justices of the peace of Bertie Pte
was revised, and George Gould, Wm. Cathcart, James ead
low, Benj. Hill, John Harrell, Needham Bryant, gb
Lockhart, John Brown, Samuel Scally, Samuel income 1 ge
Patterson, Robert Hunter, and Edward Bryan were ap

pointed. , es es
ist was age vised, and Robert Sum
In May, 1759, the list was again rev

ner, Lillington Lockhart, aoe gi Thos. Slater, and
»s Moore were added to the list.

oT ee Needham Bryant, Thos. bicaaees: Edward

Bryan, and Thos. Turner had become citizens of on

nm County, and could not serve. John Harrell, Jr., ha

is ad John Harrell, Sr., Robert Hunter, Robert Sumner,

William Wynns, Jacob Blount, Robert Hardy, and Peter

9

a

POEL LEO STE RAE ee a
i lt ae i

ie ne et ee

 

4
   
 
   
  
  
  
   
     
   
  
   
    
  
  
 
 
   
 
   
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
   
    
    
     
     
           

 

18 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

West had been cut off into Hertford County, and were
dropped from the list.

Benj. Wynns, Clerk of the Court, was also cut off into
Hertford County, and his place was declared vacant. In
1754 the Clerk of the Court of Bertie County was Samuel
Ormes. John Prat was Sheriff in 1739.

CHOWAN COUNTY’S REPRESENTATIVES IN THE ASSEMBLY.

1744-5. James Anderson, Henry Baker, and Dempsey
Sumner.

1746-7. Peter Payne, Joseph Blount, James Anderson,
and John Benbury.

1757-9. Dempsey Sumner, Joseph Blount, Timothy Wal-
ton, Joseph Heron and Edwin Vail.

1754-9. Thomas Barker, for Edenton.

1760. Thomas Child, Thomas Barker, Francis Corbin,
Samuel Johnston, and Edwin Vail.

JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.

1746. John Montgomery, Esq., James Anderson, Thomas
Garrett, Henry Baker, John Sumner, Dempsey Sumner, and
William Hunter.

, CLERK OF COURT.

1754. William Halsey.

NORTHAMPTON COUNTY.

This county was carved out of Bertie County in 1741-3,
and for about twenty years a portion of Hertford, County
was within her borders, hence we are interested in her politi-
cal history during that period when we were nursing partly
at her breast. Northampton County’s first representation
in the Colonial Assembly began, so far as we can find from
the record, in 1744. Her members being as follows (she was
entitled to two) :

1744. Samuel Taylor and John Dawson.

1745. John Dawson and James Washington.

1746. Benj. Hill and James McDowell.

19

History or HerrrorD County, N. ©.

1748. John Dawson and James Washington.

1749. John Dawson and James Washington. nee

The same interregnum in the legislative branch of the a
ernment was participated in by this county, as the 0

counties heretofore mentioned. i
Gov. Gabriel Johnson had made himself extremely offen

sive to the people in the east and their veep ae? He
n
was an arbitrary and bad man. In 1754 James Washingto

and Robert Jones, Jr, were the representatives.
1755. James Washington and Robert Jones, Jr.
1756. James Washington and Robert Jones, Jr.
1757. James Washington and Robert Jones, Jr.

1758. William Murfree and Robert Jones, Jr.

vs oad d Robert Jones, Jr.
1759. William Murfree and ho Hertford County,

J : the bill creating :
\fter the passage of the 760 by James Washington

the county was represented in 1

and Robert Jones, J?-
The justices ot the peace in Northampton County during

the twenty years next preceding the establishing of Hertford

County were; William Catheart, William Kinchen, John

Dawson, Roland Williams, James Washington, James Maney,
?

William Short, John DeBerry, John Moore, John Drew,
Nathan Williams, John Duke, John Gilliam, Osborn Jeffries,

John Lamon, William Battle, and Arthur Harris.

SHERIFFS.

1741-52. John Jones.
1752-3. John Luke.
1754-5. Nathan Williams.

1755-60. John Jones.
CLERKS OF COURT.

1741-4. John Edwards.

1744-6. Robert Foster.

1746-8. John Hooker.
1748-65. John Edwards.

 

 
Men.

 

 
  
   
   
  
   
    
 
  
  
  
  
  
   
 
 
  
  

er

a Nr Pace

 

   
  
 
 
 
 
 
  
 

 

 

20 History or Hrrrrorp County, N. C.

PUBLIC REGISTER.
James Dancy.

Northampton County was known as the N orthwest Parish.
But on account of its great length it was, in 17 58, divided,
by virtue of an act of the Colonial Assembly
parishes, namely, Northwest and St. George.

The following vestrymen were named for the Northwest
Parish: William Murfree, James Washington, James Tur-
ner, Samuel Thomas, Joseph Sykes, Charles Skinner, Wil-
liam Battle, Joseph Smith, Benj. DeBerry, Robert W
James Maney, and John Figures.

The vestrymen of St. George were: William Cathcart,
John Jones, William Allen, Harwood Jones, Thomas Barrett,
William Winborne, Green Hill, John Dukes, William Pace,
Thomas Winborne, and William Short.—State Ree. of N. C.,
vol. 23—499.

This new county included all that part of Bertie County
bounded as follows: “ATI that part of Bertie lying north
and west of Sandy Run and a direct line from the head of
said Run to the head of Beaver Dam Swamp and Meherrin
Creek and River.” This included the Menola section of St.
John’s Township, the most of Murfreesboro Township, and
the whole of Maney’s Neck Township, now in Hertford
County, in the boundaries of the new county of Northampton,

> into two

arren,

HERTFORD COUNTY.

On the 12th day of December, 1758, John Campbell, a
member from Bertie in the Colonial General Assembly of
North Carolina, presented a petition asking for the erection
of Hertford County from the territory of Chowan, Bertie,
and Northampton. On the 18th day of December, 1759,
Benj. Wynns, one of the members from Bertie, was ordered
to prepare and bring in a bill pusuant to the prayer of the
petition, which he did, and the same was presented and
passed and sent to the Council. On December 19, 1759, it

was endorsed and sent to the upper house, where it was first

5 ae
1C v 7
History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

d and passed. The bill was finally passed December 29,
‘aul and the county given two members in the General
Adit. The boundary being as follows: ”

Beginning in Bertie County at the first nee land on he
northwest side of Mare Branch on Chowan _— Pocosin,
running thence by a direct line to Thos. Outlaw’s plantation,

: Seiiey Creek, thence by a direct line to Northampton
iis Nie at the plantation nce ge J sore Mannan gas
erly lived, then along Northampton Cc ounty line 7 ocho
of “Beaver Dam Swamp, then by a line direct. to z ne me ys
most part of Kirby Creek, thence down the creek to : he : e-
herrin River; then up the Meherrin River to a ac
line; then easterly along the ei gives: line ets? ;
Creek; then down Bennett’s Creek to Chowan — <?
across the river to the mouth of the said’ Mare pape ah ie
up the branch to the beginning, and all of said opt a
be known as Hertford County, and parish of St. eS aes

Tn 1764 the line between Hertford and Northampton
chang llows : Bie
ee inn on Kirby’s Creek, where the ria Mie
joins aaa creek, running thence up the creek eat nd 3
théreof (which is in the fork of the Mon oi eee cme :
then up Turkey Creek to Maple Fork; then by a s

es 248 ® 9
urse till it intersects the present dividing line.
eours

 

Te eee

i
:
j
|
;
4

 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
  
 
 
 
 
  
   
   
  
   
  

 

 

 

DECADE I.

1760-1770.

Having traced the history of the discovery of America, the
settlement of Carolina, the division of Carolina into North
and South Carolina, the subdivision of North Carolina into
counties and precincts, then precincts into counties, and the
establishment of Hertford County, which received its name

in honor of Francis Seymour, Marquis of Hertford, a great

friend of liberty and of the American Colonies, and who
introduced in the House of Lords in 1765 a bill to repeal the
infamous Stamp Act; we will now proceed to briefly notice
the prominent events in the history of this little but illus-
trious county of Hertford, and its people who figured in
shaping its destiny and perpetuating its fame. This is not
to be a general history of the State, but purely a county his-
tory. The reader must read other works for general histori-
cal information. For convenience, the writer will divide
his writings into Decades instead of Chapters.

Arthur Dobbs was made Governor of the Province of
North Carolina November 1, 1754, and remained in office
until October, 1764, when he was succeeded by William
Tryon, October 27, 1764, and who remained in office until he
was appointed Governor of New York, June 1, 1771.

The citizenship of the county was of a high type, many of
its men had been educated in the schools and universites of
the old countries. Its women were beautiful and attractive.
Its early settlers were French, Irish, Scotch, and Scotch-
Irish principally. Col, James Jones, of Hertford County,
was a member of Governor Dobbs’ Council and one of the
leading men of the Province. He aided greatly in securing
the establishment of the loyal and graceful little county of
Hertford.

On May 9, 1760, an order for an election of members to
represent Hertford County in the General Assembly was

 

Dercapr I.—1760—1770. 23

the Crown. Notwithstanding the
‘esned by the Olerk of t
parr of dion was issued in May, 1760, we find no record
showing any representation from Hertford County in the

Assembly until 1762.
pera ia" the members elected to first represent Hertford

is gi 801, vol. 6,

:n the General Assembly is given on page 001, vol.
i ten, a Col. Wm. L. Saunders, the compiler, as being
Me nts il Wynns and William Murfree ; but this is a mis-
a “The records do not show that Benj. Wynns was ever

k part in the deliberations of the body.

sworn in or ever too in. t
Benj Wynns was during this time Clerk of the Court. The

yecords do show that William Murfree and Henry bi agie
presented certificates of election from Hertford County, =
they were sworn in and seated as the first greene ae :
Colonial General Assembly of North Carolina from - i :
County. Col. Ree., vol. 6, pages 810 and 916. W ‘5 =
county was formed, Benj. Wynns lived in Winton - base
one of the representatives from Bertie, and William Mu /
lived near the present site of Murfreesboro, and was one

the members from Northampton. Both of these distinguished

f ‘ . ee"
respective counties a
rere cut off from their
gentlemen wer

i i rtford.
din the territory of Hert
Td of the Colony were enacted by an Assembly: com:

d in the several counties. The

gee cree rae owner of at least one wep
m : i

sta of land, and the voter was sca : rapier ye
least fifty acres of land, and the esi tt a Ne Council-
referred to as the Upper Honse 4 ag a the rechnis
men were appointed by the King, et Cree ind: the
mendation of the royal governor of the sistas mio
Council was presided over by the Governor, and some

by the Chief J ustice.
Hertford County was represen
years in the person of Col. James

were:
bers of the Assembly or House one
ag tr Henry Winborne, William Murfree.

ted in the Council for some
Jones. The colonial mem-

alll

 
  
 
 
  

 

    
    
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
   
    
     

       
 

History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

1764-65. Benj. Wynns, Robert Sumner.

1766-68. Benj. Wynns, Matthias Brickle.

1768-70. Peter Wynns, Edward Hare.

1770-72. Benj. Wynns, Edward Hare.

772-74. Benj. Wynns, Sr., Benj. Wynns, Jr.

775. Wm. Murfree, George Wynns.

‘he Assembly was dissolved, or prorogued, at the will of
the Governor. The bills, after passing the House, were sent

‘
7

1
1
fl!

generally by two members of the House, appointed by the
Speaker, to the Upper House or Council. Bills after passing
both branches, if of any political importance, were still sub-
ject to the approval or disapproval of the King, speaking
through his Governor. We will speak briefly now of these
representative citizens.

Wm. Murfree was a former citizen of Northampton Coun-
ty, living in that part of Northampton where the present
town of Murfreesboro is located, when Hertford County was
formed. He first appeared in the Assembly from North-
ampton as the successor of James Washington, resigned, in
1757, and continued as a member of that body until Hertford
was formed, when he became a citizen of Hertford County.
Being a man of ability arid experience, his new county made
no mistake in returning him to the Assembly. He married
Mary Moore, of Northampton, and they were the parents of
the great warrior and patriot, Col. Hardy Murfree, of Hert
ford County. He was the second colonial sheriff of this
county, and served several years after his return from the
Assembly.

Henry Winborne, a substantial planter, living in the
central part of the county, was his collegue in the
House. Winborne came to the county from Nansemond
County, Va., in 1742, with his companion, Bryan Hare,
from the same county. They bought from Daniel Hough,
of ‘Bertie, 400 acres of land on Meherrin (now Potecasi)
Creek, December 8, 1742. A certified copy of the old deed
is now in the possession of the author. He was the great-
grandfather of the late Maj. S. D. Winborne, of this county.

bo
or

Decape I.—1760-1770.

This was his first entrance in political life. He was a man
with a strong and vigorous intellect and was an active and
useful member of the House. He was one of the colonial
justices of the peace of the county, and served his county well
as the presiding member of the Court of Pleas and Quarter
Sessions, which was the chief court of the people in those
davs. He married Sarah Hare, a Quaker lady of Nansemond
County, Va. She died about 1759, and they left, as is
known, two sons, William and Thomas, and one daughter,
Sarah. There may have been other children.

Henry Winborne’s daughter, Sarah, married the first
Starkey Sharp, and they had two daughters, Sarah and
‘Elizabeth, and one son, Jacob. Sarah married Thos. E.
Hare, Elizabeth married Nathan Harrell, and J acob married
a Miss Hunter of Gates County. His son William Win-
borne and his wife Judith were the parents of the late John
Winborne, who lived below Harrellsville. His son Thomas
married Sarah Copeland, aunt of James Copeland, who rep-
resented the county in the House and Senate in the stipe
decade, and they were the parents of Elisha Winborne oe
Sarah A. Winborne. Elisha married Martha Warren, :
Southampton County, Va., and they were the hes oes
of the author. Sarah married John Gurley, and . ‘
are now living in Mississipp!. The author s book,
’ published in 1905, gives a full his-
families in North Carolina.
ame of Thomas, and probably

scendants ing
“The Winborne Family,
tory of all the old Winborne

Henry had a brother by the n

in Nor ton County
resale, f the first two representatives

Henry Winborne was one 0 Apap 9
1 7 7, and his ect de-
j i P the new county, <
in the legislature from
i 7 ‘st Democrat
scendant, Robert Warren Winborne, was the first De
>

elected in the county, in 1884, to the legislature, after the

days of reconstruction and the enfranchisement of the bec
in 1868. Another of his direct descendants, B. B. Winborne,

the author of this book, represented the chivalrous little
county of Hertford in the legislature in 1895 and again in

aeaiinntinn aig tea niaili titania.

 
 

 

 

 

 

26 History or Herrrorp County, N. OC.

1905. The first and last stand 143 years apart on the roll.
He still has younger descendants in North Carolina and
Virginia, bearing his family name to do him honor. Mica-
jah T. Winborne of Alabama, the late Maj. 8S. D. Winborne
of this county, Dr. Robert H. Winborne of Chowan County,
Mrs. Britton Moore late of Murfreesboro, and Richard Win-
borne late of Tennessee, were his great-grandchildren. The
old representative and chairman of the county court owned
about 1,200 acres of land in the central part of the county,
in and around the present town of Union.

Benj. Wynns was a member of the Assembly in 1759 from
Bertie, when Hertford was formed. He lived where the
town of Winton is now located, and had been a member of
the House of Commons from Bertie constantly since 1754,
and was a man of great wealth, long experience asa public
officer and legislator. He drew the bill to create Hertford
County, and was also the author of the bill to incorporate
the town of Winton. Before Hertford was formed Mr.
Wynuns, in 1754, introduced a bill to locate and incorporate
a town on his land at Barfields.. That failed, and ten years
later, while a member from the new county of Hertford, he,
in 1764, introduced a bill to establish a town on his land,
where the town of Winton is located. The bill passed in
1768, and he donated 150 acres of land for the town, which
was named Winton in his honor. Henry Hill, Wm. Murfree,
John Baker, Matthias Brickle, Joseph Dickinson, Henry
King, and Benj. Wynns were appointed commissioners in
the act, to have the town laid off, the streets named, lots num-
bered, and a map made of the town. Fifty acres were to be
set apart for town commons. Godwin Cotton surveyed and
plotted the town. This was the first incorporated town in
the county, and stood alone in its glory for twenty years. It
soon became the centre and the Mecca of Hertford’s digni-
taries. Benj. Wynns owned all the land and river front
from Folly Branch to Hare’s mill-race, besides other large
bodies of land in the county. He was the first Clerk of the

 

 

MICAJAH T. WINBORNE,
irandson of Herry Winborne.

Died in 1813 in Mobile, Ala., of Yellow Fever, aged 23 years.
1a¢ ” a

Great ¢
   
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   

Dercapr I.—1760-1770. 27

 

Court in the county, from 1760-1764, as appears from old
deeds found among the papers of the late Maj. S. D. Win-
borne, and of Oris Parker, Esq., the grandson of the first
Peter Parker. John A. Wynns, of Winton, was also very
probably the son of Benj. Wynns, Jr.

Benj. Wynns and John Wynns were men of prominence in
Bertie Precinet as far back as 1735. They were deputy sur-
veyors under the Surveyor-General of the Crown in 1844,
and their depositions were taken on behalf of the Crown to
prove charges of corruption against Gov. Gabriel J ohnson,
for violating the land-grant laws. The offices held by Benj.
and John Wynns were of great importance in those days, and
only worthy and efficient men were selected to fill them. Both
of them were freeholders and on the jury list of Bertie in
1740. John Wynns was Deputy Clerk of the Court of that
county in 1741, aged 39. Col. Ree., vol. 4, p. 1117. George
Wynns, who was still older, was prominent in Bertie as far
back as 1719.

At the General Court for Chowan Precinct, held at Queen
Anne’s Creek, (Edenton), July 28, 1719, Geo. Winns was a
member of the grand jury. In 1723 he was a witness in a
land suit tried in court, held at A-hot-sky (Ahoskie).. April 9,
1724, Winns was appointed a justice of the peace for Bertie
Precinct. Was Clerk of the Court of his county, and in 1728
is mentioned in the Colonial Records as captain in the militia.
He represented Bertie Precinct, after the Lords Proprietors
surrendered their charter rights to the Crown, in the Assem-
bly of the Province in 1731-2-3-4-5-6. John Wynns was in
the Assembly from Bertie in 1746. William Wynns was a
justice of the peace in Bertie six years prior to the formation
of Hertford, and was also a justice in Hertford. George
Wynns, Jr., was made Major in the colonial militia in 1764,
and entered the Continental Army in 1777. In 1780 he
was captured by the British and carried to London and held

“>

Norr.—Geo. Winns and wife Rose conveyed 150 acres of land on
Wiceacon Creek to John Early, July 14, 1714.

 

   
    

 
  
   
  
  
 
 
 
   
 

~

  
 
 
 
    
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
  
  
  

   

28 History or Herrrorp County, N. O.

as a prisoner of war until the close of hostilities, when he
returned to his native county of Hertford. He was a mem-
ber from his county in the convention of the State in 1788,
to consider the ratification of the United States constitution.
The Americanized Encyclopedia Britannica has it that Gen.
Thomas Wynns was the prisoner. That is a mistake. The
General was never a prisoner.

The Wynnses lived in and around Winton, except George
Wynns, who lived on the farm on which Dr. R. P. Thomas
now resides. Benjamin, John, William and George, Jr.
(who was made major in 1764), must have been sons of
George Wynns, Sr. Benj. Wynns had a son of the same
name, who was Public Register of the county from 1760-64,
and Clerk of the Court from 1764-72, and again in 1802,
and a member of the Assembly in 1773-74. We do not find
John Wynns mentioned in public life after 1746. Peter
Wynns was in the Assembly in 17 69-70, but after this we
lose trace of him.

Benj. Wynns, Jr., left four sons—Benjamin, George, Wil-
liam, and Thomas. The latter was the youngest, and was
born about 1758 or 1759, according to the notice of his death,
published in the Raleigh Register in 1825. His age was
given in the Register at his death as being about 66 years.
Benj. Wynns III., left four
sons—Benjamin IV., Thomas,
James Dean, and William B.
Wynns. The U.S. Census of
1790 shows that at that time
John <A. Wynns, Matthew
Wynns, Maj. George Wynns,
andGen. Thos. Wynns, and Wm.
Wynns were living in this
county and were heads of fami-

 

Bass. Wrens lies. The others had died pre-
The Thira, vious to that date, except Benj,

III. The Wynns families were among the oldest and most

    

DecapE I.—1760-1770. 29

prominent in the county in those days. The official record ot
the county indicates how they were regarded by their fellow-
citizens. The name is printed in various ways in the old colo-
nial and State records. We find it spelt Winn, Wynn, and
Wynns. But the old members spelt it Wynns, as shown by
their signatures seen by the writer. The name is spelt in the
charter of Virginia of 1609, Wynne. Capt. Thomas Wynne,
Capt. Peter Wynne, and Capt. Edmond Wynne are there men-
tioned in the list of grantees in the charter from King Charles
Il. Of this illustrious family, Col. James M. Wynns, of Mur-
freesboro, the only surviving son of William B. Wynns, is
the only survivor of the older Wynns. He and his brother,
the late Thomas P. Wynns, have children living in this
county and in Virginia. Col. J. M. Wynns’ uncle, Benja-
min, has descendants in Florida.

Robert Sumner was a wealthy old bachelor, who lived and
enjoyed life at St. John’s, where courts in olden times were
held. He dressed well, drove fine horses, drank the finest
liquors, enjoyed the standard literature of the times, as well
as the current news, and was fond of entertaining his friends.
He had figured much in public life and was regarded as prob-
ably the strongest and ablest of his compeers in Hertford.
He was the grand-old-man on all public occasions. Moses
and Josiah Sumner, also, lived in that part of the county,
and each served as Sheriff of the county at a later period.
He was in the first list of justices of the peace for the county,
and the presiding officer at one time of the old court of the
county. In the next decade the reader will learn more of
this lofty old gentleman.

Matthias Brickle lived at the old Daniel Valentine place,
near Winton, which is sometimes called Oak Villa. He was
one of Hertford’s most worthy and valued citizens. He came
to the county before its formation. He vied with Col. Rob-
ert Sumner for the mastery in the county. He had a liberal
education as well as Sumner. He had the advantage of Sum-
ner, however, in that he was the head of a most interesting

 

 

ls _ Oe TR a ee
     
 
   
  
 
  
 
   
 
 
 
 
   
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
  
   
  
  
   
 
 
 
 
  
   
 

30 History or Herrrorp Counry, N. C.

and intelligent family of sons and daughters. His father
Rey. Matthias Brickle, of Bertie, was the first pies
preacher west of the Chowan River. He entered upon his
mission about 1730, and preached with great power at old
St. John’s and at old St. Luke’s chapels. The latter chapel
was near the present church Buckhorn. Rev. Brickle died
about 1758, and Rev. Wm. Gurley succeeded him in his
grand work. His son, Col. Matthias Brickle, first married
on N ovember 6, 1748, Rachel Noailles, of a French ee
family. By this marriage he reared several children: Sally
who became the wife of Col. Hardy Murfree; James Noailles
Brickle, who became a notable physician and a distinguished
soldier and legislator. The latter died in Tennessee and was
buried by the side of his brother-in-law, Colonel Murfree

William and Matthias Brickle, Jr., were also sons of this
marriage. He had several other daughters by this marriage.
One of whom: married Maj. John Brown, a retired British
navy officer, who had located in this county near old St.
John’s, long prior to the war of 1776. The late James L.
Anderson owned the place where Major Brown lived and
died. William and Matthias both rose to prominence and
distinction in the county and State. Colonel Brickle was
the first High Sheriff of the county up to 1766, preceding in
that office his worthy contemporary, William Murfree, who
was in the office from 1766-1771. Colonel Brickle’s wife

Rachel, died February 17, 1770, and some time after that he
married Mrs. Nannie Jones, the widow of the second James
J ones, of Pitch Landing, and reared several children from

this marriage. One of his daughters by his first marriage

married Dr. Bryant Bembury, a celebrated physician whe

emigrated to America in 1783, from Clonmel Conity, Ire-

land, and located in Hertford County, where his feild and
his family had preceded him. Dr. Bembury died in Mur-

freesboro, October 15, 1809, and is buried in Winton in the

family burying-ground, between the court-house square and
the river. Dr. John Brickle, a noted physician in Edenton,

   

    

 

 

Decapr I.—1760-1770. 31

a ripe scholar, a philosopher, and an historian, was uncle

to Colonel Brickle. Miss Levinia Bembury Brickle, a grand-
daughter of Colonel Brickle, died in Murfreesboro, July 27,
1799, and was buried in Winton. Godwin Cotton, of Hert-
ford, married Sarah Brown, the daughter of Maj. Jno.
Brown, and granddaughter of Colonel Brickle. Maj. John
Brown and his wife, Sarah, were also the grandparents
of the late John A. Anderson, of Winton, Eliza Brown, wife
of the late James M. Trader, of Murfreesboro, Mrs. Polly
Everett, who lived near old St. John’s, and Dr. Godwin C.
Moore. Col. Matthias Brickle died October 17, 1788.

Capt. Arthur Cotton, son of John Cotton of Bertie, whose
will was probated in 1727, married Elizabeth Rutland, daugh-
ter of James Rutland, who built the house where the bound-
ary lines of Hertford and Northampton corner, and they
were the parents of Godwin Cotton, who married Sarah
Brown. Godwin Cotton, by his marriage with Miss Brown,
reared several children. Their daughter Betsey married
Qol. John Johnson, once prominent in Bertie, but moved to
Hertford County before his death, and died at Mulberry
Grove in 1807, near St. John’s. They left two children—
Rev. Dr. Samuel Iredell Johnson, and Sally Johnson, who
afterwards married James D. Wynns, of Hertford County,
and uncle to our Col. James M. Wynns. Their other
daughter married James Wright Moore, and they were the
parents of the late Dr. Godwin ©. Moore, the late Mrs. Sallie
M. Westray, of Nash County, and the late Mrs. Emeline Le
Vert, wife of Dr. Henry B. Le Vert, of Mobile, Ala. It
was this distinguished physician, Dr. Le Vert, and his good
wife who administered to the comfort of young Micajah T.
Winborne, uncle of the writer, during his last illness in 1843,
in Mobile, away from his loved ones. He was buried in
their private burying ground, and a beautiful monument was
erected at his grave by this noble lady and his other friends
in his distant home. The goodness in our fellow-man excites
admiration. It makes us love to say:

 

 

 
  

History or Herrrorp Country, N. C.

‘* There is so much bad in the best of us,
And so much good in the worst of us,
That it hardly behooves any of us

To talk about the rest of us.’’

 
     
  
    

Edward Hare, one of the representatives from the county
from 1768-72, lived in Maney’s Neck, where the late J. W.
Barnes resided, and belonged to the prominent Hare family
of the county. He and Moses Hare lived in Chowan County
in 1740, and afterwards moved to Hertford. Jesse Hare,
his brother, was one of the colonial magistrates of the county.
Moses Hare lived in the county prior to the Revolution of
1776, and was the father of Jamima Hare, the second wife of
Starkey Sharp, the first, (1743-1791). Since writjng “The
Winborne Family,” a further investigation enables the writer
to give more information of the Hare family. It is there
stated that Thos. E. Hare, son of Edward Hare, who
married Henry Winborne’s granddaughter, Sarah Sharp,
left no children. This was a mistake. They left several
sons—John, Jacob, and Starkey S. Hare. John lived in
Murfreesboro and often served as an election officer. He
’ married Elizabeth R., the daughter of Lewis Meredith, and
left several children—Thomas, John, Emma, Francis, and
Eliza E. Hare. Jacob married a Miss Ware, and served the
county in the Senate in 1830. Starkey S. Hare first married
Mary A. Askew, sister to the late John O. Askew, and after
her death he married Mary E. Askew, sister to the late Dr.
A. J. Askew, of Bertie. They left two sons—Starkey 8S.
Hare, Jr., and Thomas E. Hare. The former married Susan
Brown. These families emigrated to Fayette County, Tenn.
The old colonial law-maker, Wm. Haywood, of Edgecombe
County, N. C., married Charity Hare, of this county, daugh-
ter of Moses Hare. In 1790, Moses Hare, Sr., and Moses
Hare, Jr., resided in that part of Gates County which was
formerly a part of Hertford.

         
     
       
       
     
         
    

eee

    
   
         
       
         
       
       
     
   

 

   
   

 
  

Norre.—Edward Hare’s will dated May 16, 1772. Bryan Hare, Benj.
Wynns, Jr., Isaac Pipkin, and many others, are mentioned. He was
the son of Edward Hare of Chowan.and wife Mary Scott.

 

AUTHOR OF “THE WINBORNE FAMILY,"'
POLITICAL ECONOMY.’

 
 

Colonial ; and State Political History
of Hertford County, N.C

BY BENJ. B. WINBORNE..

MURFREESBORO, N. C,

«* God bless our native land !
Firm may she ever stand
Through storm and night;
When the wild tempests rave,
Ruler of wind and waye,

Do thou our country save
By thy great might!”

A. D. 1906.

PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR BY EDWARDS & BROUGHTON.

  

AND “THE HISTORICAL BRIEF OF

  
 
   

Tage ie ee

 

 
  

Drcape I.—1760-1770. 33

Col. William Haywood was a colonel in the War of 1776,
and married Charity Hare, of Hertford County, in March,
1754. John Haywood (1755-1827), who was State Treas-
urer for forty years; Sherwood Haywood (1762-1829), U. S.
Commissioner of Loans; Wm. H. Haywood (1770-1857),
Clerk U. 8. District Court, and father of the U. S. Senator,
Wm. H. Haywood, Jr.; and Stephen Haywood (1772-1824),
planter and State Senator, were sons of this marriage.

PUBLIC LANDINGS.

The King’s public landings and places of inspection of
flax seed, pork, beef, rice, flour, indigo, butter, tar, pitch and
turpentine, staves, headings, lumber, shingles, and other
commodities, for sale or export, in the county, were, at the
large “warehouses” on Chowan River. Vanpelt’s, on Wyca-
con Creek, and Catharine Creek; Hill’s Ferry and Murfree’s
Landing, on the Meherrin River; Maney’s Landing, on Cho-
wan River; Bennet’s Creek Bridge; at Mt. Sion, and at Win-
ton, on the Chowan. There were warehouses at each of the
above places and an inspector appointed and kept at each
place. This was kept up for many years after the War of
1776. The inspectors were appointed annually by the old
County Courts up to a short time prior to the Civil War
of 1861-5.

COURT OF PLEAS AND QUARTER SESSIONS.

This Court was abolished in North Carolina by the Canby
Constitution in 1868. It existed in England, it was the
Principal court of the people in Colonial times, and was con-
tinued by the State. It was presided over by the justices of
the Peace of the county. When Hertford County was estab-
lished in 1759 the act provided that this court should be
held by the justices of the Peace on the fourth Tuesdays of
May, August, November and February of each year, at Cot-
ton’s Ferry, on Chowan River, which is now known as Bar-

3

 

     
  
  
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
   
 
 
 
  
  
  
  

34 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

field. Under the colonial laws, it had jurisdiction to try
and determine all criminal offenses, not punishable with
death, and to try and determine all civil actions not involving
the title to land, and where the amount involved did not
exceed forty shillings, proclamation money, all matters per-
taining to the settlement of estates, the proof of conveyances,

wills and the like.
JUSTICES OF THE PEACE,

The colonial justices of the peace appointed for Hertford
County after its formation were: Scarbrook Wilson, Henry
King, Jesse Hare, John Brown, John Baker, Henry Hill,
John Brickle, Robert Sumner, Henry Winborne, Peter West,

and Robert Hardy.

They were appointed by the General Assembly for life or

during good behavior, as were all justices of the peace in
North Carolina prior to 1868. Whenever any important
county business was to be transacted, such as levying taxes,
electing county officers, and accepting their bonds, making
contracts for the county, and the like, a majority of the
justices were required to be present and preside. But other
transacted by three justices.

The office of justice of the peace has its origin in ancient
ays been regarded as a dignified, honorable
Peace is the very end and founda-

business could be

times, and has alw
and important position.
tion of civil society, as

law of England, as well as the
egard for the preservation of the peace of

society. This officer has been found necessary, through the
ay, an indispensable officer in the administra-
rderly enforcement of the laws of

great honor and importance, and
honored when clothed with the

dignified and important powers and authority of a justice of
the peace. At common law a justice of the peace had the
power, when a felony or a breach of the peace had been com-
mitted in his presence, to personally arrest the offender, or

Blackstone writes, and the common
American law, has ever had a

special care and 1

ages, and is to-d
tion of justice and the 0
society. It isa position of
every man should feel highly

  

 

 

 

Decapzr I.—1760-1770. 35

com eae
4 “ese apheety = do so, and had the same power to prevent
Delia ee ‘ae which was about to take place in his
presence of the usenet: the crime was not committed in the
except by his ae we, he could not arrest or order an arrest,
Such is still the 1 ie Ar wheres upon oath or affirmation.
tution of tl edie! geheriter this office exists. The Consti-

1e United States directs that “no warrant shall

issue but upon
shia > pon probable cause, supported by oath or affirma-

The j sti y e
ustice or magistr: 2 Ww i
h . ‘at , pagiatent as th king’s main reliance for
. ¢ on of orde Pes i : i
ais ‘ et ut ; Yr, and in America he has been the
a ne pal offi T in the administration of the laws of
a i ice > VS organ-
CONSTABLES.

The office of :
a aoe of constable is another important office, finding
os ee in the remote days of antiquity. The RIP
ag oi ays been the ministerial officer of the justice’s court
ust ¢ : “ :
or ue act whenever commanded by the justice, wh
. within his jurisdiction. . Arrwgerrsce
nN \aroli ;
ae ae € arolina, prior to 1868, the counties were divided
Sales ary districts, called captain’s districts, and in each
Figs was a militia captain, and a constable ‘sacbiatill b
Neetvteng of the peace of the county r
t has i ss] iN
shi ef been impossible to ascertain the names of any of the
er 7 during this decade. But the other ooulity office
ay be found in the “Li ji i ‘ a
ea List of Officers” in the back part of

SOME INTERESTING FACTS.

ne the colonial times the Assembly selected a list of
romeo each county, qualified for jury service, and only
oe we . pin hen In 1740 the following persons
Se aes. e : = some of whom were cut off in 1759
er ae - eee aii eis of many of our citizens,
ge sy nkins, John Worrell, Benj. Hill, Daniel

5 w. Harrell, Abner Harrell, William Hines,

 

.
af
.

.

 

explicate iteilictn te

rl
 

 

 

 

36 History or Herrrorp County, N. ©.

Thomas Barfield, John Taylor, Nich. Tyner, Jr.; John
Brown, Samuel Harrell, Patrick Carter, Isaac Parker, Edw.
Harrell, Jr., William Barfield, John Bird, Edward Bird,
William Rosberry, William Jordan, William Boon, James
Rutland, Sr., Peter West, Thomas Hayes, James Barfield,
Benj. Wynne, Richard Barfield, Thomas Banks, John Grif-
fin, John Beverly,. Henry Jones, James Maney, Joseph
Bridgers, Nathan Joyner, John Vanpelt, Daniel Vanpelt,
Robert Lawrence, James Jones, Benj. Bridges, William
Whitley, James Dukes, Josiah Liverman, David Legatt,
John Harrell, Sr., and John Harrell, Jr. In Chowan Coun-
ty there were on the jury list of same date, John Vann, Wil-
liam Vann, Edw. Hare, Moses Hare, Henry Baker, and
Michael Slaughter. The last four became citizens of Hert-
ford County. Most of these mames are familiar names in
Hertford County to-day.

COLONIAL MINISTERS.

Rev. Matthias Brickle, Rev. Wm. Gurley, and Rev. John
Alexander, of whom King George II. wrote, “He is a curious
and eccentric genious, but true to his church.”

MILITIA IN HERTFORD.

In 1766, there were in Hertford County 1,398 white men
over 18 years of age, capable of bearing arms. At the gen-
eral muster of the Hertford Reg. of Militia, May 28, 1772,
Col. Benj. Wynns made the following report:

“Since last muster day, Lt.-Col. Henry Hill, Capt. Michael
Ward, and Capt. Emelius Deming have died. Capt. Sam.
Cryer has removed from the county. Commissioned officers
in the regiment are: Benj. Wynns, Col.; John Baker,
Maj.; James Boon, Capt. ; John Harrell, Lt.; Benj. Wynns,
Jr., Ens. ; Edw. Hare, Capt. ; Henry King, Lt. ; Isaac Pipkin,
Ens.; Robert Sumner, Capt.; John Speight, Lt.; James
Hooker, Ens.; Moses Sumner, Capt.; Willis Nichols, Lt. ;
Gilstrap Williams, Ens.; Benj. Brown, Lt.; George Wynns,

 

Decapr I.—1760-1770. ST

Ens. ; Jeremiah Brown, Capt.; Ely Eley, Lt.; Abram Jones,
Ens.; James Riddick, Capt.; John Benton, Lt.; Demsey
Parker, Ens.; Lawrence Baker, Capt.; Jethro Harrell, Lt. ;
Jesse Harrell, Ens.; Jesse Williams, Lt.; Hardy Murfree,
Ens. ; Robert Carr, Lt.; Wm. Stephen, Ens. Officers recom-
mended to vacancies: John Baker, Lt.-Col.; Matthias Bric-
kle, Maj.; Benj. Brown, Capt.; George Wynns, Lt.; Benj.
Brown, Jr., Ens.; Jesse Williams, Capt.; Hardy Murfree,
Lt.; James Moore, Ens.; Robert Carr, Capt.; William Ste-
vens, Lt.; William Battle, Ens. Non-commissioned officers:

30 sergeants, 30 corporals. 10 drummers, 621 privates, 10
companies.” :

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

DECADE Il.

1770-1780.

From 1770 to 1775 the Province was in a state of the
greatest excitement. The colonists felt that the mother coun-
try was cruel and oppressive. Governor Tryon had been a
most tyrannical ruler. His previous cruelty to the Cherokee
Indians won for him the appellation of the “Great Wolf of
North Carolina.” The colonists began to entertain the same
notion of him. When the English Parliament insisted upon
enforcing the Stamp Act in the colonies, and refused to
listen to the eloquent appeals of William Pitt (Lord Chat-
ham) in behalf of the colonies, who were being taxed with-
out their consent, and when it became known in North Caro-
lina, the Assembly was in session. The excitement among
the members became intense and threatening. Governor
Tryon, recognizing the fury ahead, prorogued the Assembly
at once. The act was finally repealed, but the feeling be-
tween the mother country, the Governor and the colony was
such that war was inevitable. The King and Parliament
continued their cruelty and refused to listen to the just ap-
peals of the colonies. They began to prepare for war. In
1773, John Harvey, Speaker of the House of Commons, laid
before the House resolutions from Virginia and several other
Provinces, asking that a committee be appointed to inquire
into the encroachments upon the rights and liberties of the
colonies by the British Government. The Assembly did so.
In August, 1774, Governor Martin protested against these
meetings. But the people refused to listen to tyrants, and
on August 25, 1774, the first Congress of the people, inde-
pendent of the King, met at New Bern, composed of dele-
gates from most of the counties. Hertford did not send
' delegates to this congress. When the delegates assembled,
they recognized His Majesty, George III, as the lawful
King of Great Britain, and declared their true and faithful

 

 

  
 
    
  

Drcapr IIl.—1770-1780. 39

allegiance to him as their sovereign. But protested in twenty-
seven resolutions adopted against their treatment by the
mother country, and proclaimed that the very essence of the
British constitution was that no subject should be taxed but
by his own consent, freely given by himself in person or by
his legal representative. The work of this convention was a
profound warning to the British Government, that the Ameri-
can colonies, while they claimed no more rights than other
Englishmen, yet those rights they intended to enjoy. The
resolutions were sent to the King, who paid no attention to
them, The colonies seeing that British tyranny would con-
tinue, councils of safety were at once provided for the whole
Province, and for the several districts. Gen. Lawrence
Baker and Day Ridley, of Hertford County, were appointed
on the Committee of Safety for the Edenton District. The
preparations and preliminaries for a bloody and determined
war at once began on both sides. For the resolutions, the
reader is referred to vol. 9, Col. Rec., pp. 1043 e¢ seg. Edge-
combe, Guilford, Surry and Wake counties, and the towns of
Hillsboro, Brunswick and Campbelton (now Fayetteville),
also, failed to send delegates. to this congress or convention.

The next congress or convention of delegates of the people
was held at Hillsboro, August 21, 1775. Hertford sent to
this convention an able and patriotic delegation, who were,
Wm. Murfree, Lawrence Baker, Matthias Brickle, Day Rid-
ley, and George Wynns. Active preparations for war were
made. Maurice Moore, William Hooper, Richard Caswell,
Joseph Hewes, and Robert Howe were appointed a committee
to prepare an address to the inhabitants of the Province, call-
Mg upon them to unite in defence of American liberty, and
take up arms and assume control of the militia. Col. Ree.,
vol. 10, p- 164. On September, 1775, the following persons
were appointed by this congress, officers. from Hertford
County ; Benjamin Wynns, Colonel; Matthias Brickle, Lt.-
Col. ; Lawrence Baker, 1st Maj.; George Little, 2d Maj. ;
Hardy Murfree, Capt. During the war, Major Baker was

 

ee
    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    
 
 

 

   

40 Hisrory or Herrrorp County, N. C.

promoted to the rank of general, and Captain Murfree pro-
moted to the rank of major and later to colonel.

The Provincial Congress next met in the town of Halifax,
on April 4, 1776. In that body Hertford was represented
by Robert Sumner, Col. Matthias Brickle, Maj. Lawrence
Baker, William Murfree, and Day Ridley. Col. Ree., vol.
10, p. 523. Vast preparations were made by this body for
the war, and members were pledged to secrecy as to the acts
and discussions in congress, under penalty of being expelled
and considered an enemy to America. The officers appointed
in the provincial militia by the congress of August, 1775,
were re-appointed by this congress with same rank. This
congress called upon the people to elect delegates to a congress
to meet November 12, 1776, to prepare a Bill of Rights and a
constitution for the independent and sovereign State of North
Carolina.

Hertford County sent to this congress Maj. Lawrence
Baker, William Murfree, Robert Sumner, Day Ridley, and
James Wright. Col. Ree., vol. 10, p. 913. A committee to
draft the Bill of Rights and a constitution reported, and the
same was adopted by the congress, and it is a lasting monu-
ment to the wisdom, patriotism, and ability of the patriots
of North Carolina in those trying and exciting days. Col.
Rece., vol. 10, p. 1006.

The war was against tyranny and for liberty, and had been
raging for over a year. The first battle was fought at Lex-
ington, Mass., April 18, 1775, which was won by the British,
and they moved on to Concord. The country was wild with
excitement. Americans were determined and loyal to the
cause of liberty. Disloyalty was promptly crushed. The
patriotic call to arms was sounded throughout the borders of
the colonies, and the patriotic hosts of America responded
. with all the courage and determination of true lovers of lib-

 

Norr.—Col. Day Ridley’s will dated March 9, 1777, and recorded in
Edenton. He speaks of his wife and two sons, Timothy Sharp Ridley
and Nathaniel Ridley. Timothy Sharp and Richard Taylor were his
executors.

 

  

Decape I1.—1770—-1780. 41
erty. Little Hertford was not asleep. She furnished her
quota of as brave soldiers as ever followed the flag of liberty.

Who wrote the Constitution of North Carolina which
was adopted by the congress of November, 1776, has been an
unsettled question. On the 6th day of December, 1776,
Thomas Jones, of Chowan, reported that the form of the con-
stitution was ready. Mr. Wheeler, in his history of the
State, says: “It was believed to be the production of Thomas
Jones, Thomas Burke, and Richard Caswell. But this is dis-
puted by Hardy Murfree Banks, of the Murfree family. He
sternly claims that it was written by William Murfree, one of
the members from Hertford County, although he was not a
member of the committee of the congress to draw a constitu-
tion. The Provincial Congress of the State assembled at
Halifax in April, 1776, appointed a committee to prepare a
civil constitution, and an election was ordered to be held
October 15, 1776, to elect delegates to a congress to meet
November 12, 1776, at Halifax, to adopt a constitution and
form of government. It was during this interval, it is
claimed, that William Murfree prepared his form of a consti-
tution. Others did the same. All of them were submitted
to the congress when it met. It is claimed by this distin-
guished gentleman that all the forms submitted were re-
jected except the one drawn by William Murfree, and that
One was finally adopted by the congress.

SOME OF THE HERTFORD COUNTY OFFICERS AND SOLDIERS IN
THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE IN ADDITION TO THOSE
ALREADY NAMED.

Godwin Cotton, aide-de-camp of Col. Howe, of Chowan;
Col. Thomas Wynns, Maj. George Wynns; Maj. George Lit-
tle; Capt. Abner Perry, of St. John’s; Capt. Joseph Walker,
of Murfreesboro; Capt. Isaac Carter; Capt. Thomas Oole-
man, of Maney’s Neck; Capt. Thomas Brickle, of Winton;
Capt. James Jones, of Pitch Landing; Capt. Samuel Jones,
of St. J ohn’s; Capt. Harry Hill, of Maney’s Neck; Lt. John

 

 

      

|
aaa aa en i Ee

   
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
    
  
  
  
  
 
  
   
     

42 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

Winborne, of Winton; Lt. John Baker, of Harrellsville;
Henry Winborne, of Winton; Joseph Dickinson, of Winton ;
Lt. Wm. Murray, Capt. John MeGlaughon, Lt. John Harrell.

There were other officers from the county. Some were
killed, and others advanced in rank. Some who entered as
privates were promoted.’ It is impossible to give the names
of all of Hertford’s sons, as the old records do not name the
counties from which the soldiers enlisted,

The following are a few additional names, contained in
one of Col. Hardy Murfree’s reports: Matthias Brickle,

Ens.; John Burton, Adjt.; Benj. Baker, David Boon, Wil-

liam Butler, Giles Carter, Cesar Chavis, John Duke, Thomas
Davidson, Boble Gay, Thomas Green, James Hall, Kinchen
Hollomon, Richard Johnson, Barnaby Johnson, Jesse Knight,
William Knott, Thomas Lassiter, Jacob Lassiter, Dr. Wil-
liam Lewis, Lewis Lilly, John Morgan, Moses Manley, Mich-
wl MecKeel, Nottingham Monk, Southam Manley, Marma-
duke Moore, James Morgan, Thomas Pierce, Exum Powell,
James Pierce, Stephen Ray.

Hertford County furnished ten companies of true soldiers
to the war. The county should seek to have a complete roster
of her troops.

The American people were true and loyal subjects to the
mother country. They loved the old land, its traditions, its
history, and its families. But they could not supinely sub-
mit to the wrongs and exactions of a bigoted aristocracy.
The colonies took up arms against the old country because
they were forced to do so. The American people did not
belong to a servile race. They breathed the spirit of liberty
and of freedom. The courage, bravery, valor, suffering, and
love of freedom of the Continental soldiers haye never been
surpassed in the history of the world. They were the true

. sons of liberty. Patrick Henry, of Virginia—the immortal

Patrick !—when he exclaimed just before the battle of Lex-
ington, Mass., which was the first battle of the war, that “the
war is inevitable and let it come. The next gale that sweeps

 

Drcape II.—1770-1780. 43

from the north will bring to. our ears the clash of resounding
arms,” ete.—met with a hearty echo and re-echo in the hearts
of the American people. These patriots looked to God for
help. And while the ways of God are mysterious, yet when
they attack, they are like a thunderbolt. Quoting from
Ridpath: “The love of freedom was intense, and hostility to
tyranny a universal passion” with North Carolinians. In
the time of Sothel, it was said of the North Carolinians
“that they would not pay tribute even to Cesar.”

The soldiers in the War of 1776-1782 from Hertford made
a proud record. There were Tories within our borders, as in
other counties, but her true sons won laurels on the fields of
battle, in the war for freedom from the British yoke of op-
pression,

William Murfree, of whom we have written, was a gentle-
man of great prominence and experience in governmental
affairs during the colonial days, leading up to the war, and
@ patriot. He furnished to his county, his State, and to the
American ‘army, a son, who made a record that will perpetu-
ate the fame of Hertford County until the end of historic
time. This son was Col. Hardy Murfree, who entered the
Continental Army as captain, afterwards promoted to the
rank of major, and later to colonel, on account of the most
gallant service to his country. The revolutionary history of
North Carolina, yea, of America, would be incomplete with-
Cut the sublime military record of this great man. He was
™ command of the North Carolina troops in some of the
Most bloody and decisive battles of the war. He was in
Command of the troops in the campaigns in Pennsylvania
and New York in 1778 and 1779. After the Americans had
been defeated in the first engagement at Stony Point on the
Hudson, in New York, General Wayne determined to make
‘n effort to retake it from the enemy. It looked like a hope-
less task, and to attempt it would be like walking in the mouth
of hell. The fort was thoroughly fortified and garrisoned,

and with a full-armed force on the inside. General Wayne

 

 

 

 
 

44 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

called for Col. Hardy Murfree, with his North Carolina
band of patriots to make the assault. Col. Hardy Murfree
agreed to lead in the forlorn hope of attacking the fort in
the dark hours of the night. General Wayne was about a
mile off. Major Murfree, with forty brave and undaunted
North Carolinians, advanced along the deadly causeway and
hillside to reach the side of the fort where the enemy were
not on the lookout. Shortly before midnight, with unloaded
guns and fixed bayonets, through a storm of cannon shot and
musketry, the gallant band of continentals, with Murfree in
the lead, without firing a gun, scaled the heights of the fort
and quietly entered the fort and captured every British sol-
dier who had not been bayonetted in the assault. General
Wayne and the body of his army was about a mile off, and he
received a wound in the head. Some few of Murfree’s brave
band were also wounded. This was one of the most brilliant
feats of arms during the whole war, and filled both armies
and the two countries with wonder and admiration. Major
Murfree’s heroic conduct, gallantry, and soldierly daring on
this occasion is referred to by General Wayne in a letter to
John Jay, with great appreciation. Major Murfree and his
brave and fearless soldiers were like the Saxons, of whom
Sidonius, the Bishop of Clermont, wrote as follows: “They
overcome all who have the courage to oppose them. They
surprise all who are so imprudent as not to be prepared for
their attack. When they pursue, they inevitably overtake:
when they are pursued, their escape is certain. They despise
danger. Tempests, which to others are dreadful, to them are
subjects of joy.”

Murfree was commissioned lieutenant-colonel, April 1,
1778. Lt. John Winborne, of Hertford County, who was
under the command of Colonel Murfree and was one of the

_ brave forty continentals, died from a wound received in this

 

* Nore.—Some writers fix the number at 80. While Maj. Murfree was
moving in the rear Gen. Wayne and Col. DeFleury assaulted the Fort
from other directions. The British lost in the engagement 63 killed and
548 captured. The Americans lost 15 killed and 83 wounded.

 

Decavr II.—1770-1780. 45

miraculous feat of daring soldiers. Henry Winborne, of the
Same county, the oldest known North Carolina Winborne, and
the great-grandfather of Maj. 8. D. Winborne, and who en-
listed in the Continental Army in Capt. Jos. Walker’s com-
pany, May 24, 1777, was also one of the immortal forty,
who was willing to throw himself in the jaws of death to save
the honor of his country. He came out, with his leader, Col-
onel Murfree, unhurt. We imagine that we can see this
strong, courageous and patriotic old private, climbing the
heights of the fort, and with his bayonet-spiked rifle, weeding
his way through the enemy.

Colonel Murfree, who lived in Murfreesboro, married, Feb-
ruary 17, 1780, Sarah, the accomplished daughter of Col.
Matthias Brickle, of Hertford County, and reared three chil-
dren—one daughter, who married a Mr. Burton, and two
sons, Matthias Brickle Murfree and William Hardy Murfree.

Mrs. Burton and her husband, and Matthias B. Murfree,
moved to Tennessee, where they settled. William H. Mur-
free married Elizabeth M. Maney, of Murfreesboro, his
native town, remained in Murfreesboro until about 1823,
when he moved to Tennessee.

Maj. John Brown, of St. John’s, a retired British navy
officer, immigrated to America some years before the war,
and settled in the St. John’s section in Hertford County,
and married before the war another of the daughters of Col.
Matthias Brickle. He was an uncompromising Tory. He
Was too old to enter the war, but had several sons. His son
John Brown, Jr., did not share his father’s sentiments, but
Was a loyal and patriotic continental. His father was so
bitter in his opposition to his son’s sympathies, that the latter
Went to Virginia and joined a Virginia company, and fought
under the command of Gen. La Fayette. When the war was
over he returned to his father’s home, but the old gentleman
Was so unforgiving and so unreconstructed, that young John
Brown left and made his home in Georgia, and is the ancestor
of some of Georgia’s most distinguished people.

 

 
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

46 History or Herrrorp Country, N. C.

During the earlier days of the war, Col. Benj. Wynns, of
Hertford County, the great-grandfather of our Col. James
M. Wynns, was in command of the continental troops at
Norfolk, Va., and there met Governor Dunmore, the former
British governor of Virginia, who was in command of the
. British forces. In a conflict between the two armies, Colonel
Wynns succeeded in driving Dunmore back in a speedy re-
treat. After the victorious campaign of Colonel Wynns’
forces around Norfolk, he returned through the Albemarle
section, which had been in a great state of excitement on
account of the threatened invasion of that section by the
unscrupulous Dunmore and his army, and he (Colonel
Wynns) was met with great rejoicing among the people and
was rewarded with the unbounded praises of the Americans
along his route. Our Hertford County soldiers fought for
the cause of liberty, not only on the soil of Pennsylvania,
New York, and Virginia, but also on the soil of South Caro-
lina, on her own soil, and finally at Yorktown, when Corn-
wallis surrendered his arms.

The war ended in 1782. But the British were still mad.
God was with the oppressed, and it seems that He has touched
the Stars and Stripes with His holy hand.

The war between the British Government and the Ameri-
can colonies for liberation of the colonies from the British
Crown was the most important war and produced grander
results than all the previous wars of recorded time. It was
the Greater Magna Charter of the world.

The Americans were taught to beware of the Englishmen.
Eternal vigilance became the watchword of the American
people. A strong militia was kept organized, and the best
navy that the government was able to support was kept
equipped, for action against the old enemy. It was during

_this period when the American victories were being closely
guarded, that some of her younger sons were advanced in
her well-organized militia and State troops, and received
their military titles.

   

  
    
 

Decapr I1.—1770—1780. 47

While the war was raging, the State of North Carolina
kept up the legislative branch of its government. Richard
Caswell was elected Governor of the State by the convention
of November, 1776, and continued in office until 1779. Hert-
ford was represented in the Senate in 1777, 1778 and 1779
by her grand old bachelor of St. John’s, Robert Sumner.
And in the House of Commons in 1777 by Joseph Dickinson,
an Irishman, who came among us in 1740, and the father of
the late eminent son of the county, Gen, Joseph F. Dickinson,
_ by Joseph Garrett, who lived on the north side of Chowan
ares and who represented Gates County in the House in
td ;

I In 1778, by William Baker, a brother of Gen. Law-
rence Baker, and James M

And in 1779 by Willi
Wynns.

aney, the second, of Maney’s Neck.
am Wynns, a great-uncle of James M.
William Wynns lived west of Winton, at the James
i lace, the parental home of Mrs. A. I. Parker, of
Winton, and by Nathan Cotton, who also lived near Winton.
These sessions of the General Assembly were held under the
new Bill of Rights and new Constitution, adopted in Novem-
ber, 1776. The Constitution provided for a General Assem-
bly, _ be composed of a Senate and a House of Commons.
It will not be amiss to copy a few sections of this famous
document.

i. That the legislative authority shall be vested in two
distinet branches, both dependent on the people, to-wit, a
Senate and a House of Commons.

“2. That the Senate shall be composed of representatives,
aunyally chosen by ballot, one from each county in the State.

‘3. That the House of Commons shall be composed of rep-
resentatives annually chosen by ballot, two from each county,
and one for each of the towns of Edenton, New Bern, Wil-
mington, Salisbury, Hillsborough, and Halifax.”

A senator was required to have usually resided in the
county for at least one year immediately preceding his elec-
tion, and the owner of 300 acres of land in fee.

Jordan p

 

Nore.— William Wynns married Zilpha Blanchard January 2, 1752.

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   
   

    
 

48 Hisrory or Herrrorp County, N. C.

A member of the House was required to have usually re-
sided in the county for at least one year preceding his election,
and have possessed 100 acres of land in fee for at least six
months prior to his election.

Only freeholders, 21 years of age, owning 50 acres of land,
and who had been citizens of the county for twelve months
immediately preceding the day of election, were allowed to
vote for a senator. All freemen, 21 years of age, who had
resided in the county 12 months immediately preceding elec-
tion day, and who had paid his taxes were allowed to vote for
a member of the House of Commons.

The General Assembly elected the Governor and other
State officers, and appointed the Justices of the Peace for
the counties, who held their offices for life or during good
behavior. In 1779 the county of Gates was formed out of
Hertford, Chowan and Perquimans. All that part of Hert-
ford County bounded by Bennett’s Creek, the southern boun-
dary of Virginia, and the Chowan River was made a part of
Gates, and all of Chowan and Perquimans counties lying
north of Catharine and Warwick Creeks was, also, placed in
the new county of Gates.

By this use of the political knife, Hertford County lost
some of her most valued citizens. For the county officers
during this period, see List of Officers of the county, in the
back of the volume.

  

JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.

After North Carolina became a sovereign State the Gen-
eral Assembly, on December 28, 1778, appointed the follow-
ing justices of the peace for Hertford County: Col. Mat-
thias Brickle, Maj. George Little, Gen. Lawrence Baker,
James Wright, William Murfree, James Boone, John Har-
rell, John Northcott, James Riddick, Edward Hare, Josiah
Sumner, and Benj. Brown, Esquires.

 

 

 

RICHARD WINBORNE,
Youngest Son of Elisha Winborne, and Grandson of Thomas Winborne,
and great grandson of Henry Winborne,
Died in 1862 in LaGrange, Tenn, aged 33.

 
Dercapr IJ.—1770-1780.

GATES COUNTY.

In the year 1779 the county of Gates was carved out of
lertford, Chowan and Perquimans counties, taking from
rtford all that part of her territory lying north of Chowan
Xiver, and between said river, the southern boundary of
Virginia, and Bennett’s Creek. This took from Hertford
County some of her distinguished men, such as Gen. Lawrence
Baker, John B. Baker, James Garrett, and many others of
her most distinguished families, and men who had given lus-
i . Thereafter William Wynns and Henry

dded to the list of the justices for Hertford

resigned in 1783, and Thomas Winborne,

rf Henry Winborne, was appointed. In 1789, Henry
Winborne ar his son, Thomas Winborne, were among the
Justices to hold the county courts. Henry was then

: in his 69th year and Thomas in his 32d year.

Pike ‘COURTS OF GENERAL JURISDICTION.

fie, In 1774, ¢ ‘a lonial assembly established in the Province
% ‘a nS {

parte | Court of Oyer and Terminer, to be presided over by the
Chief Justice and two other justices of the Province. This

hen
aa

court was given general jurisdiction to try all matters and to —
hear appeals from other courts. The terms of this court for —
Chowan, Perquimans, Pasquotank, Currituck, Bertie, Tyr-
rell, Hertford, and Martin counties, were held in Edenton on —
the first days of July and January of each year. Hon. John
Montgomery, of Tyrrell, who was for a long while Attorney-
General in the Province, was appointed Chief Justice by the
King to succeed Chief Justice Wm. Smith in 1740, who had
returned to England. Montgomery was succeeded as Attor-

_ hey-General by Jos. Anderson, Esq., of Chowan, and as

Chief Justice by Geo. Berry. The latter in 1767 was suc-
ceeded by Martin Howard. Chief Justice Maurice Moore
ind Richard ‘Henderson as Associate Justice presided at the

ms of the new court. This court was superseded, in

OR

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

50 History or Herrrorp County, N. ©.

quired to be held annually at the court-house in each county.
The first term of the Superior Court ever held in Hertford
County, was held in Winton in September, 1806, and pre-
sided over by Judge David Stone, of Bertie County. Prior
to the establishment in 1774 of the Court of Oyer and Termi-
ner, there was no court of general jurisdiction in the Prov-
ince. The former Superior Court was abolished in 1773,
on account of trouble between Governor Josiah Martin and
the Assembly. The Superior Court for each county still ex-
ists in North Carolina, presided over by a district judge, and
the criminal docket prosecuted on behalf re State by a
district solicitor, except that the attorney- al of the State
was required to perform the duties of solicitor in the third
district, in which Wake County was located, up to 1868.
‘After that date a solicitor was required to be elected in each
district. W. N. H. Smith, of Hertford County, succeeded
David Outlaw, of Bertie County, as Solicitor of the district
in 1847, and Smith was succeeded in 1857 by Elias C. Hines
of Chowan. Hines was sueceeded in 1863 by Jesse J. Yeates,
of Hertford, and Yeates was succeeded in 1867 by Mills L.
Eure, of Gates. The judges and solicitors, prior to 1868,
were elected by the General Assembly ; since that date they
have been elected by the people. The Superior Court judges
have always been required in North Carolina to rotate and
hold the courts of a different district each spring and fall,
except the period between J uly, 1868, and 1876. Since
1868, Hertford County has not been allowed to remain in
any judicial district long enough for any of her sons to aspire
to judicial honors in the district.

From 1773 until after the Revolutionary War, there were
but little court facilities for the people. The country was in
a state of chaos and uncertainty, as it was during the Civil
War between the States, from 1861-1866, that trials of civil
matters between citizens were almost absolutely suspended,
and only matters pertaining to the public welfare occupied

the attention of the people.

   
     

 

 

 

 

RTT

     

Dercavr IT.—1770-1780. 51

GEN. LAWRENCE BAKER.

In the colonial and Revolu-
tionary times of the American
colonies, Hertford County’s
sons ranked with the best of
the land. If space would per-
mit it would afford the author
wonderful pride to write the
biography of each of her great
men. He has read so much
about these patriots, that he

EN ne S. BAKER, feels that he lived with them
c =.

 

grandeur. But w and saw them in all their
a brief notice ule are compelled to content ourselves with
Among +] ere
eit i Fs galaxy of patriots and high-born gentlemen,
lei ses Pa prominent than Gen. Lawrence Baker,
a > oe home and plantation was located in that
Suds ertford County lying north of Chowan River, at
“ and, not far from the present town of Gatesville.
a ni —— Baker sprang from a long line of noble an-
Ge Ca 1644, Lawrence Baker came from the old. coun-
y and settled in Surry County, Va. He served in the
House of Burgesses from 1660-1676, and died in 1681, leav-
ing a son, Henry, who settled in Isle of Wight County, Va.,
and there died in 1712, leaving also a son, Henry, who lived
“ Buckland, in Chowan County, N. C., but which was cut
on into Hertford County when it was established in 1759.
His wife was Miss Angelico Bray. At his death in 1739,
his son Henry became the owner of Buckland. This Henry
married Katharine Booth, of Southampton County, Va., and
also lived and died, in 1770, at the old Buckland homestead,
leaving surviving four sons—William, Henry, Bray, and
Lawrence. Henry and Bray died young without ever marry-
ing, so far as we can learn. William, under the old law of

in

 

     
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

52 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

primogeniture, inherited the old home, Buckland, and mar-
ried Judith Norfleet, the daughter of our oldest Marmaduke
Norfleet. They left children. Lawrence Baker became the
owner of “Cole’s Hill” plantation, not far from Buckland,
then in Hertford County, and married Anne Jones, daugh-
ter of Capt. Albrighton Jones, of Southampton County, Va.
Captain Jones came from Wales and married the daughter
of Col. Charles Simmons, of England. Gen. Lawrence
Baker left one son by this marriage, Dr. Simmons J. Baker,
who afterwards became distinguished in this State as Senator
from Martin County, and two daughters—Elizabeth and
Agatha. His first wife having died, he married Maria Bur-
gess, a daughter of Rev. Thomas Burgess, an Englishman,
who lived in this country at different times, in Southampton
and Nansemond Counties, Va., and in Halifax County, N. C.
General Baker left by this marriage one son, Dr. John Bur-
gess Baker, and one daughter, Martha Susanna Baker. While
the General’s plantation and home was at “Cole’s Hill,” he
spent much of his time around Murfree’s Landing. After
he was cut off into Gates County in 1779, he continued his
visits to the old place of his many joys in the palmy days
of his useful manhood.

Buckland was first claimed by Nansemond or Upper Nor-
folk County, Va., but the survey of the boundary line be-
tween the Provinces of Virginia and North Carolina in 1727
threw it in Chowan Precinct, N. C. In 1759 it was in Hert-
ford, and in 1779 it was included in the boundaries of Gates
County.

General Baker was one of Hertford’s delegates to the Hills-
boro Convention of August 21, 1775, and he and Day Ridley,
of Hertford, were appointed on the Committee of Safety in
the Edenton District. He was also one of her delegates to
the Halifax Congress of April 4, 1776, and by that body

appointed First Major in the Continental Army, and was
again a delegate from his county in the Congress of Novem-
ber 12, 1776, that framed and adopted the first Bill of

 

        
  

Drcapr II.—1770-1780. 53

Rights and first Constitution of the State. In all of these
important patriotic bodies his wise counsel was of the great-
est value. During the session of the Congress of November,
1776, he was excused from further service, that he might
engage in the active duties of an officer on the battle fields.
Tn 1778 he, with other such men, was named by the Assem-
bly of his State as one of the Justices of the Peace of his
county. The best men in these days filled these places. He
much regretted being cut off from his native county. He
loved the name of Hertford.
BE saa nie he was made General in the State Troops,
ie Clerk og aoa for some years. The last office he filled
itary 0 a Court in Gates County, which office he was
Ge, inca Wee died, about 1806. During the same time
it ° pags ipkin, of Gates, was Public Register. He still
ean anddaughter, Mrs. Susan J. Myrick, living in Mur-
x ay grandsons, Dr. Richard Baker, of Hickory,
ss and Gen. Lawrence 8. Baker, of Suffolk, Va., whose
8s appears above. The latter was one of the famous
generals of the late Confederate States Army, and a grand-
daughter, Mrs, Edw. Neal, now of Washington, N. C.; all of
whom are over 84 years of age and yet are active and in full
Possession of all of their faculties. His grandson, William J.
Baker, late of Norfolk, Va., has children living in that city.

Dr. Simmons J. Baker resided in Martin County, N. C.
He was educated in Scotland, and was an eminent physician
and a wise and intelligent legislator from that county. He
Was in the House of Commons from Martin County in 1814
and 1815, and in the Senate in 1816, 1817 and 1818.

Dr. John B. Baker married Mary Wynns Gregory, and
resided at his father’s place in Gates County, and repre-
sented that county in the House of Commons in 1811 and in
the Senate in 1818, 1820 and 1822.

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

DECADE III:

1780-1790.

The war is still raging. General Cornwallis, with his
army in South Carolina, is winning victories over the Con-
tinentals, under the command of General Gates. Cruel
Tarleton is murdering prisoners. The American nation is
almost bankrupted; the Continental soldiers are poorly clad
and fed, and they are gloomy. General Greene is put in
command of the Continentals in the South, in place of Gen-
eral Gates. South Carolina and Georgia are in possession
of the British, who are cruel and oppressive to the people.
The British next invade North Carolina. The first battle
occurs October 7, 1780, on King’s Mountain, and Colonel
Campbell, with his Continentals, wins a great victory. This
encouraged the Americans. Active war then ceased for two
or three months. The Continentals rested and became ready
to renew the conflict. Benedict Arnold, who had been made
MajotGeneral by Congress in 1777, after the battles of
“Bemis’ Heights,” turned traitor, was court-martialed, con-
victed and severely reprimanded by General Washington.
Afterwards he was allowed to command the American troops
at West Point. He soon again traitorously arranged with
Sir Henry Clinton to surrender West Point, its garrisons
and stores, to the British, in consideration of 10,000 pounds
and a promise of being made a Brigadier-General in the
British Army. THis plans were frustrated, but he made his
escape on the Vulture, an English war vessel. Great Brit-
ain was not only involved in trouble with the Colonies, but
was in disfavor with France, and also became involved in
trouble with the Dutch government. General Greene, after
the battle of King’s Mountain, and after resting his men and
recruiting his army, divided it into two divisions: the West-
ern Division was placed under the command of General Mor-

 

  
 
     
   
 

  

Decave IIT.—1780-1790. 55

gan, who proceeded to pursue Cornwallis and Colonel Tarle-
ton in South Carolina, and the British met inglorious defeat
in every engagement. The two armies next encountered at
Guilford Court-house, and the Americans again won.
Cornwallis becoming disheartened, leaves for Virginia soil.
The Continentals continue the pursuit and struggle until
Cornwallis, on October 18, 1781, surrendered to the trium-
Phant Continental Army. On the next day the terms of
aeerenqer were signed, and General Cornwallis led the whole
British and out of the trenches around Yorktown into an
Pa pend, “where, in the presence of the allied ranks of
8 — trie 1247 English and Hessian soldiers and
Eat bosan, i down their arms, delivered their standard
trol of So P oe of war.” The British still have con-
ha : . i 1 Carolina and Georgia. The King’s army evac-
ee Bay annah July 11, 17 82, and Charleston December
14, 14 82. Thus ended the great war for liberty.
Preliminary Articles of Peace between Great Britain and
the United States were executed November 30, 1782, at
Paris. On September 3, 1783, a final treaty of peace was
re mto at Paris between all the warring nations. In
The Treaty of 1783” the American States were recognized
as independent sovereign States. Great Britain re-ceded
Florida to Spain, and all the remaining territory east of the
Mississippi River and south of the Great Lakes was sur-
rendered to the United States. The boundaries of the Caro-
linas extended from the Atlantic to the Mississippi River.
The thirteen original States covered all of this territory.
This territory of land has been subdivided into States, until
we now have embraced within the borders of the first thirteen
States the following additional States: Tennessee, Missis-
Sippi, Alabama, Kentucky, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan,
Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia, Vermont and Maine. The

State of Florida was ceded to the United States by Spain
in 1819,

 

ci asinine in tit anti

 

 
  
 
 
  
  
    
    
  
 
 
 
 
    
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
  
 
  
 
   

56 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

After the Treaty of Peace there arose the momentous ques-
tions with the victorious Americans of securing and retain-
ing the results of their struggles, and of forming a general
government between the States for their mutual protection.

Liberty, like the Goddess of Justice, needs to be guarded.
Eternal vigilance is to be the watchword of the God-favored
Americans. The property of the Tories and traitors is to be
seized to help pay the great war debt with which the coun-
try was burdened. The wisest statesmanship was needed.
The old Articles of Confederation between the States were
too loosely drawn in 1776 to afford the protection needed
by the States. The sovereign States were willing to join in
a close compact, but were jealous of the plans of some of the
leaders. They had been once pinioned to the British gov-
ernment, and they were careful how they pledged their rights.
The Congress of the United States, which was holding its
sessions under the Articles of Confederation, drew up a
Declaration of Rights and a Constitution for the thirteen
American States, and submitted it to the States for adop-
tion.

As before stated, this is not intended to be a general his-
tory, so the reader should refer to some general history for a
more accurate detail of the movements of the country during
this period.

North Carolina called a convention to meet in Hillsbor-
ough on the 21st day of July, 1788, to consider the Bill of
Rights and Constitution, drawn for the American States to
adopt and ratify. This convention was composed of 288
members. Hertford County sent as her delegates Maj.
George Wynns, Gen, Thomas Wynns, Rev. Lemuel Burkitt,
Maj. William Little and Maj. Samuel Harrell. After an
exciting session, the Convention refused to adopt the Bill
of Rights and the Constitution, and adjourned, members
returning home to consult their constituents.

The State in 1789 called another convention to meet in
Fayetteville, on the 2d day of November, 1789, to again

     

‘Drcapr III.—1780-1790. 57

consider whether North Carolina would join the Union.
The delegates met. Many of the objections that existed to
the Bill of Rights and Constitution, submitted in 1788, had
been removed by amendments, and this Convention ratified
and adopted the same, and North Carolina became a devoted
member of the Union. Hertford County sent to this Con-
vention some of her ablest statesmen—Gen. Thomas Wynns,
Robert Montgomery, Esq., Col. Hardy Murfree, Henry Hill,
Esq., and Henry Baker, Esq. North Carolina was next to
the last of the thirteen original States to join the Union.
Gov. Samuel J ohnson, of Chowan County, was president of
both conventions, Maj. George Wynns and Gen, Thomas
Wynns were brothers, and also brothers of Benjamin Wynns,
Jr., and William Wynns. Thomas was the youngest of the
— brothers, and was colonel in the latter part of the War
of 1776-82. He was made general in the State troops after
the war. George was first made Major in 1764, in the Colo-
nial militia.

Rev. Lemuel Burkitt was a profound and eloquent Kehukee
Baptist divine, and was one of the ablest men in the Conven-
tion. He was well versed in the history of the long strug-
gles of the Baptists and Quakers for Higher Liberty and free-
dom of conscience, and he pointed out the dangers that might
follow by an adoption of the Bill of Rights and Constitu-
tion as then submitted. This grand old man lived near old
St. John’s. Some of his writings on the Old Testament are
at this day referred to as among the clearest explanations of
that Great Book. We are unable to give his ancestry. We
find, however, in 1720 and 1721 and later, the names of
John Burkitt, Sr., and John Burkitt, Jr., mentioned among
the inhabitants of the Albemarle section.

Maj. Samuel Harrell was on the jury list in Bertie in
1740, and had often served his county in the capacity as
Clerk of the Court, and was made major in the State troops
after the war, and resigned the office in 1783. The old vet-
eran private soldier, Henry Winborne, who was one of the

satan tecesatiencetioaty

anit aasiamamms titi

e-alerts

    
   
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
    
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
  
 
 
 
   
    
   
   
  
   
    
  
 
   
 
 
 
  
   
   
  
   
 
    
   

 

58 History or Herrrorp County, N. CO.

immortal forty that climbed the walls of the fort at Stony
Point, was appointed major to succeed Samuel Harrell. Wil-
liam Little was brother of Maj. George Little, of Maney’s
Neck. Of this family we write in the 5th Decade. A new
delegation was sent to the second Convention in 17 89, except
Gen. Thomas Wynns.

Robert Montgomery lived near Montgomery’s Mill, in this
county, and was the owner of that mill. He and his wife
are buried there at his old homestead. He was a lawyer
of splendid ability. He was a descendant of John Montgom-
ery, of Tyrrell County, and afterwards of Edenton. John
Montgomery was Attorney-General under the King for a
number of years, and succeeded William Smith as Chief
Justice about 1740.

Col. Hardy Murfree was the hero of Stony Point, and a
great man. He had served his country gallantly in. war.
He served his State as Commissioner of Confiseated Property
in the Edenton District for ten or more years after the war,
and was holding this office when he was in the Convention,
This was his first civil office. He was an able member of
the Convention, and was said to be one of the handsomest
men of his day, and was regarded by his State as one of its
greatest soldiers, statesmen, and patriots. He was appointed
also by the Legislature of 1784 as one of the commissioners
to have the Albemarle Sound cleaned out to lessen the dan-
gers of commerce. He lived on the hill in Murfreesboro,
near the river. In 1790 he was the largest slave-holder in
the county, and his friend, Maj. Henry Winborne, was the
second (See Census of 1790). For some years they worked
their slaves together in subduing the forest and cultivating
the soil, and making and selling tar, pitch, turpentine, and
tobacco, which were the most. profitable enterprises in those
primeval days of American Statehood. Colonel Murfree,
who had received grants of large bodies of land in the terri-
tory, which afterwards were embraced in the State of Ten-

nessee, moved to that State from Murfreesboro, in Hertford

   

Dercapr III.—1780-1790. 59

County, in 1807, and settled on Murfree’s Fork of West
Harpeth River, near the town of Franklin, Tenn. His wife
died five years before he left Hertford County, and he only
lived about two years after reaching Tennessee. He died in
1809, and was buried in his adopted soil with great Masonic
and military form and ceremony.

On this occasion Gov. Felix Gundy, of Kentucky, delivered
@ most eloquent oration on the life, character, and public ser-
Vices of this great American. The Nashville papers, in
speaking of the oceasion, said: “The surrounding hills were
covered with vast numbers of people, and the awful silence
which pervaded such an immense crowd evinced the feelings
of the spectators for the memory and virtues of the deceased.
Colonel Murfree was said to be really the last survivor who
commanded a regiment during the Revolutionary War.”

He was the eldest child of William Murfree and wife,
Mary Murfree, nee Moore. Colonel Murfree’s eldest son,
William Hardy Murfree, remained in Murfreesboro, N. ©.,
and married Miss Elizabeth M. Maney. To this distin-
guished man we may again make reference.

Henry Hill lived at his father’s old home at Hill’s Ferry,
on the Meherrin River. His and his father’s names, the
author has found, were sometimes spelt Harry Hill. His
grandfather was Harry Hill. He owned a large landed
estate reaching far down the river, taking in the farm of
Miss Sallie Warren. He had served his people before and
after this time in places of public trust. He had only one
child, a daughter, who married a lawyer, Harry W. Long,
who were the maternal grandparents of our George Cowper,
Esq., of Winton.

Henry Baker was a brother of John Baker, and they were

sons of William Baker, of Buckland, nephews of Gen. Law-
rence Baker, and lived in Winton. Both were strong and
able men, and ranked with the best. The Bakers of the lower

part of our county are descendants of these men.

  

 
     
  
   
  
   
 
  
  
 
  
  
    
   
   
   
  
  
   
    
  
   
   
   
  
     
     

60 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

Pleasant Jordan, who represented the county in the Sen-
ate in 1780, lived near Winton, and was the father of Abner
Jordan and David Jordan, and the grandfather of the later
Col. Pleasant Jordan, of Winton. One of his daughters
married Capt. Abner Perry, of revolutionary fame, and an-
other one married Capt. James Frazier, the Tory, of Fra-
zier’s Cross Roads, and father of John Hamilton Frazier.
Abner Jordan by his marriage left two sons, William and
James. David Jordan married a Miss Kinsey, and they left
two sons, Kinsey Jordan and Pleasant Jordan, and one
daughter, Matilda. Kinsey Jordan was for a long time a
justice of the peace in the county. He was a large and
portly old bachelor, and greatly enjoyed entertaining his gen-
tlemen friends. Pleasant Jordan, the second, married the
daughter of Thomas Weston, of Northampton County. They
were the parents of the late Dr. Joseph Perry Jordan, Mrs.
Geo. R. Branch, of Northampton County, and Mrs. Etta P.
Deloatch, of Northampton, widow of the late James I. De-
loatch. James Jordan married Miss Mary Williams, and
they left four sons—Joseph J. Jordan, the late Sheriff of the
county; Richard Jordan, who died in Florida; John Jordan,
who was killed some years ago by the falling of a tree, and
William Jordan, of Winton, and two daughters—Pattie, the
wife of A. I. Parker, Esq., of Winton, one of the County
Commissioners, a justice of the peace, president of the Far-
mers and Merchants Bank of Winton, and the pleasant and
accommodating hotelist at the county seat. This hotel has
had for its proprietors Joseph F. Dickinson, James Cope-
land, W. F. Bynum, Pleasant Jordan, and Joseph J. Jordan.
James Jordan’s other daughter, Mary, married Wade H.
Garriss, of Murfreesboro. They are both dead, but have two
daughters living—Mrs. Susan R. Deloatch, of Jackson, N.
C., and Mrs. John P. Mitchell, of Winton, the parents of
James R. Mitchell, Esq., a young attorney in the county.
David Jordan’s daughter Matilda married William Shaw,
who moved from Bertie County to Hertford about 1830 and

 

 

    

Dercapr III.—1780-1790. 61

settled near Bethlehem Church. They are dead, but have

two sons living in the county—John §. Shaw and William P.

Shaw, merchants in Winton.

W. P. Shaw, Esq., is one of

our most prominent citizens,
and has been for a number of
years a leading and useful
man in the county. He was
born October 18, 1842. His
parents were not able to give
him the educational advantages
they desired, but he made good
use of his opportunities. He
; attended the public schools in
, a his neighborhood, and the Un-
1on Male Academy at Harrellsville, in his native county, a
school of high standing, and for years presided over by Prof.
Edwin Everts, a cultured and scholarly gentleman from New
Hampshire as principal, and Prof. C. F. Lyon as assistant.
Shaw was a gallant Confederate soldier for three years and
lieutenant in Capt. William Sharp’s Co. D, Fourth North
Carolina Cavalry. He was with his company in the Army
of Northern Virginia in many of the bloody engagements of
the war, 1861-65, and remained in the thickest of the fight
until his great leader, the immortal R. E. Lee, surrendered
at Appomattox. When he returned in 1865 from the war
he located’ in Coleraine, in Bertie County, where he was en-
gaged in the mercantile business for four years. In Sep-
tember, 1869, he married Mary R. Askew, daughter of John
O. and Sarah A. Askew, at Pitch Landing, in his native
county, and returned to Hertford County and located in
Winton, where he and his brother John have since been en-
gaged in the mercantile pursuits. Lieutenant Shaw has three
children—W. P. Shaw, Jr., Mrs. D. R. Britton, and John A.
Shaw, by his marriage. In politics Lieutenant Shaw has
always been an unwavering Democrat. He was Mayor of his

 

PLL ee eS ea

 

 

 

  
62 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

town from 1873 to 1877, when he resigned to accept the
position of one of the presiding ofticers of the Inferior Court
of his county—a court of limited criminal jurisdiction—
which position he held with much credit to himself and his
county until 1886. He was one of the two Senators in the
General Assembly of the State from the First Senatorial
District from 1886 to 1890, where he served on a number of
the most important committees and as chairman of the Com-
mittee on Education. He was one of the promoters of the
State Normal College at Greensboro, and for several years
was one of its directors. As chairman of the Board of Edu-
cation of his county for several years and as one of the trus-
tees of the Chowan Baptist Female Institute, he has suc-
ceeded in making himself a recognized leader in his county.
Mr. Shaw after the war began the study of law, but aban-
doned it without obtaining license. He is a refined and
courteous gentleman.

STATE OF FRANKLAND.

Not long after the close of the War of Independence,
North Carolina found herself involved in a serious rebellious
trouble with some of her own citizens. I have heretofore
spoken of the three political divisions of the State, one of
which was Clarendon, with only one precinet, New Hanover.
This county of Clarendon embraced the whole western part
of North Carolina, and the present State of Tennessee to the
Mississippi River. A great portion of the land was unknown
and was only inhabited by savages and wild beasts. At the
close of the Revolutionary War the United States found
themselves burdened with a heavy debt, and their creditors
were somewhat impatient. So Congress called on the States
to surrender to Congress their unoccupied lands, that they
might be sold to settlers and granted to creditors, in pay-
ment of their debts. North Carolina responded to this pa-
triotie call.

Drcapve III.—1780-1790. 63

In April, 1784, the General Assembly at Hillsborough
passed an act authorizing her delegates in Congress to offer
a deed for North Carolina’s western territory, to help dis-
charge these obligations. Some of her citizens objected, and
in August 23, 1784, a convention of the discontents met in
Jonesboro to take some action about the matter. John Se-
vier was chosen president, and Langdon Coster was clerk of
the Convention. This body promptly dispatched a messen-
ger to Congress to get it to accept the offer of the State and
to make an independent State of the territory.

The General Assembly met in October, 1784, and repealed
the offer to Congress. This exasperated Sevier and his fol-
lowers, so they met again at Jonesboro December 14, 1784.
They formed a resolution seceding from North Carolina, and
forming the State of Frankland, at once adopted a Constitu-
tion, had at once a General Assembly organized, declared
themselves independent, and defied North Carolina. John
Sevier was made Governor, and Judges and other State of-
ficers elected, and the like.

Governor Caswell, in April, 1785, issued his proclamation
“against this lawless thirst for power,’ and went vigorously
at work to crush out the rebellion. After about two years
the State of Frankland was conquered, the conspirators cap-
tured, and its rise and fall became a matter of history. And,
strange to say, this same man Sevier was forgiven and was
in Congress afterwards from the State. North Carolina
granted to her soldiers lands in this territory for services in
the late war. Many of her people went out there to live, and
when the State of Tennessee was organized and admitted
into the Union in 1796, it was controlled by former North
Carolinians. Hertford County furnished her part of the
best citizenship of the new State.

John Brickle, who was in the Senate from the county in
1782, and Thomas Brickle, who was one of the members in
the House in 1781, 1782, 1783, 1784 and 1786, were broth-
ers, and sons of John Brickle, to whom Henry Winborne

 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
  
   
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 

 

 

 

 

 

64 History or Hertrorp County, N. C.

conveyed, October 15, 1754, 200 acres of land on Meherrin
Creek. These Brickles were the ancestors of the Brickles of
ortford in recent years.
oa, Hill, pies of the members in the House in 1784
and 1786, was the elder brother of Henry Hill, who was in
the House in 1788, and for several years following. They
were the sons of Capt. Harry Hill, of Maney’s Neck, an
officer in the Revolutionary War. William died in Fayette-
ville in December, 1786, while a member of the House.
James Maney, one of the members in the House in 1785,
was a member of the Maney family, whose first settlement in
this county was at Maney’s Ferry on the Chowan River. A
sketch of this gentleman and his family and his ancestors 1s

to be found in Decade VI.
Col. Hardy Murfree, on his return from the war, was hon-

ored with a grand ball at the house of Capt. Lewis Meredith
in Murfreesboro. He had won lasting laurels in the war. He
was spoken of and written about as a most gallant military
officer, patriot, and a great man. The Legislature of 1784
passed an act directing the Commissioners of Confiscated
Lands to proceed to sell the same. Colonel Murfree, the
Commissioner in the Edenton District, showed great wisdom
and wonderful discrimination in these cases. The Legisla-
tures conferred and consulted with him about these matters

in the State. He m
State on the many complicated questions gr

changed conditions of things.

About December 1, 1790, Sarah Long, of Hertford County,
of the then late Nehemiah Long, of the same county,

i i he great
he Legislature for relief, and through the gr
er on Colonel Murfree, she ob-

tained her relief. The author wonders if they were the par-

widow
magnanimity of this great man,

ents of the old attorney, Harry W. Long?

In 1787 the Legislature enacted many important laws.
Among them were acts against gambling ; trading with slaves ;
for correcting and collating the statutes and laws, by Judge

oulded public thought throughout the
owing out of the

  

 

Decave III.—1780-1790. 65

Iredell ; for recording deeds for lands, and so on; for improv-
ing the navigation of Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds by
opening Nag’s Head Inlet, and to cut the Raleigh Canal in
Tyrrell County. The commissioners for this purpose were
Governor Johnson, of Chowan; Whitmel Hill, John Skinner,
Josiah Collins, Demsey Connor, Col. Hardy Murfree and
Gen. Lawrence Baker, of Hertford County, Charles John-
son, Gen. Isaac Gregory, and others.

The latter part of this decade records some interesting
events. Winton, the colonial town and the capital of the
county, situated on the beautiful Chowan River, about two
miles below the mouth of the historic Meherrin, which had
enjoyed the distinction of being the only incorporated town
in the county for twenty years, was destined to lose much of
its importance, wealth, and many of its prominent citizens
by the establishing of the new town of Murfreesborough, at
Murfree’s Landing on the Meherrin River. Restless nature
in the formation of the earth’s crust, prepared at the latter
place‘a most beautiful and ideal elevated plateau of land for
a town, with natural drains and pure water. This beautiful
spot on nature’s landscape ‘was the home of William Mur-
free, a legislator of State reputation and renown. Near
him resided many others. It was a thickly-settled neighbor-
hood of a high order of citizenship.» Mr. Murfree donated
97 acres of land for a town at Murfree’s Landing, and the
General Assembly of the State, on January 6, 1787, passed
an act incorporating the town of Murfreesborough on said
land. In the act William Murfree, Patrick Brown, Red-
mond Hackett, William Vaughan and John Parker were
appointed Commissioners and Trustees of said town, and
they were empowered to have the same laid off, sell the lots,
and apply the money in the improvement of the streets and
the like. Soon the flag of the new and young rival of Win-
ton floated triumphantly, as the leading town in the East.
Tt drew heavily from the population of Winton. The county

By

   

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
   
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 

 

66 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

capital soon lost its Wheelers, Gurleys, Brickles, Browns,
Dickinsons, Bemburys, Morgans, and other families, who
made their homes in the new town on the high hills. Its
attractions were soon heralded throughout the Northern
States, and its population was being constantly increased
by wealthy and educated people from Virginia and the
more Northern States, who were seeking their abode in a
place where the climate and hygienic conditions were attrac-
tive. It was soon made the centre of education and excel-
lent schools, and churches. From its infancy to the present
time it has been noted for its schools and refined and intel-
ligent citizenship. Even in this age of religio-politico—com-
mercial and money-loving statesmanship, the town retains its
divine reverence and many of its older charms and attrac-

tions.
The beginning of its charter is as follows:

“An Act for establishing a town on the lands of William
Murfree on Meherrin River, in the County of Hertford.”

“Whereas, it has been represented to the General Assem-
bly that on the lands of William Murfree, at Murfree’s Land-
ing on the Meherrin River, there is a very proper situation
for a town; that the place is remarkably healthy and con-
venient to a country which produces large supplies of tobacco,
naval stores, corn, pork, and lumber, for exportation, and
that the convenience for shipping produce at this landing is
greatly superior to what is generally found at other land-
ings; and;

“Whereas, a great number of citizens of this State, inhabi-
tants of the counties of Hertford, Northampton, Halifax,
Warren, Edgecombe, Bertie, Gates, and Chowan, have prayed
that a town may be erected at this place, and William Mur-
free, the proprietor of the soil, hath consented that ninety-

_ seven acres of the land adjoining to the river, which has been
surveyed and laid off, shall be appropriated to this use:
“Be it, therefore enacted by the General Assembly of the

   

 

  

Dercapr III.—1780-1790. 67

State of North Carolina, and it is hereby enacted by the
authority of the same, that the said ninety-seven acres of
land shall be laid out in lots of half an acre, with convenient
streets, and the same are hereby constituted and established
a town, and shall be called by the name of Murfreesborough.

“Ratified the 6th day of January, 1787.” (Acts 1787,
page 166.)

The General Assembly of the State, on the same day it
incorporated Murfreesborough, also incorporated the town
of Princeton, on the lands of Matthew Figures, in North-
ampton County, about four or five miles up the river from
Murfreesborough. The act appointed Howell Edmunds,
James Vaughan, Matthew Figures, Nehemiah Long, Nicho-
las Edmonds, Henry DeBerry and Benjamin Cokeley, Com-
missioners and Trustees for designing and keeping up of said
town. The Commissioners were all influential and promi-
nent men. James Vaughan was a captain in the Revolu-
tionary War, and won distinction as a soldier, and after the
war he and Howell Edmonds became leaders as legislators
from Northampton.

The new town was established and soon became the home
of several families of prominence. Col. James Washington,
the old eolonial legislator of Northampton, became a resident ;
Capt. James Vaughan, Howell Peebles, Capt. Robt. Peebles,
Benj. Williamson, and others, took up their abode in the new
town. But Princeton did not flourish long. The dreams of
its promoters were not realized. Its rival on the hills a few
miles below on the Meherrin possessed too many advantages.
Finally the charter was surrendered, the buildings taken
down and removed, its inhabitants became denizens of other

 

Norr.—Bartholomew Figures Moore, the great North Carolina lawyer
N2s,the grandson of Bartholomew Figures, of Northampton County,
N.C, and grand nephew of Matthew Figures of that county, and of Wil-
liam Figures of Hertford County. B. F. Moore was born J anuary 29, 1801,
and was related to William Law Murfree, of Tennessee, whose great-
grandmother, wife of William Murfree, was Mary Moore, of Northamp

ton County, N.C. Nathaniel and Thomas Figures were younger mem-
bers of this family.

 

  
     
   
 
 
 
 
 
    
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    
  
 
 
 
 
 
  
    

 

 

 

68 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

places, and its beautiful streets and decorated and handsome
residences and lots became parts of a magnificent plantation,
which still bears the name of Princeton, and is now owned by
T. J. and Uriah Vaughan, of Murfreesborough, the great-
grandsons of William Vaughan, one of the original commis-

sioners of Murfreesborough.
Murfreesborough, from its establishment, has been the

home of a wealthy and high class of citizenship, and mem-
bers of its old families are scattered throughout the States.

George Ganey’s patent in 1713 embraced all the lands in
and around the town on the hill. The stream of water from
the E. C. Worrell grist-mill, just east of the town, to the
river, was in olden times known as Ganey’s Creek.

During this decade Col. Benjamin Wynns, Col. Robert
Sumner, Col. Mathias Brickles, Edward Hare, Nathan Cot-
ton, William Winborne. and many others, fall in the arms of
death.

The Hillsboro Convention of 1788, by ordinance, located
the Capital of the State and fixed the seat of the State gov-
ernment on the land of Joel Lane, in Wake County, and
there established the present city of Raleigh. The capitol
was located in Union Square, situate in the centre of the
land purchased from Lane. The capitol and other State
buildings were erected on this land. In 1831 the first capi-
tol was destroyed by fire, and the present capitol was built
soon thereafter, at a cost of $520,000. This building is
found at the present time insufficient to meet the demands
of the State, and it is now being mooted and advocated that
the capitol building be enlarged at a cost of about $400,000.

Tn 1789 the University of North Carolina was established
by the General Assembly, and in 1792 the institution was
located at Chapel Hill. In October, 1793, the corner-stone
was laid, and in 1795 the school was opened for students. It

has made for the State a proud record.

 

 

  
   
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
   
 
   
 

DECADE IV.

1790—1800.

We will begin the Fourth Decade with the first census of
the United States, that we may see what families lived in
the county in 1790, and the number of males and females in
each family, and the number of slaves in the county, and by
whom owned.

The writer is struck with the great similarity of the names
of families then and now, in the historic county of Hertford.
Its citizenship has certainly maintained its purity through
the ages.

As far back as 1725 we find James Howard, a land-owner
on Ahoskie Ridge. His descendants still inhabit that section.
So Jonathan Sears, who was a land-owner in November,
1715, on the Meherrin River and Creek. The Searses of
to-day are still land-owners in that same territory. The de-
scendants of William, Henry and John Willoughby, of the
17th Century, and of Gov. John Jenkins, are still to be found
in our midst.

The first column contains the heads of families, the sec-
ond the number of free white males over 16 years, including
the heads of families, the third the number of free white
males under 16 years, the fourth the number of free white
females, including heads of families, the fifth the number

_ of free negroes, and the sixth the number of slaves owned by

the several families:

1 2 3 4 5 6
MM RMR SL Coe UNI A, sa , + 1 6
SUMO Wy FAM ROR 6s ok cas ca k 5 00k 2 4 8
ALC ie ae 1 1 4 ay 1
Archer, Se ee aa Pe be a 4 it
mmGhor, Miva Pee oo. “ie a we 3
PVCU GE MROBE Ole se cuWid cs cos ‘“ bes pe 8 ¥.
NCNM ee ror Sot x i x és 5
Machen Peggy ee oe ee. Ss hs Ap A 2
eter alan Crete yt hs Se ig Se 5
PG RE i rine kes ince inane 1 1 2 3
Paw, Marries hel cape 1 1 2 aoe

 

Mae ee Ee
Tey So OA
     
      
    
    
 

History or Hertrrorp County, N. C. Dercave IV.—1790-1800. 71

‘i 2 2

 

3 4 5 6 x 2 3 4 5 6
REG EMO yoy a Sas cas oh lS Cb eke 1 5 3 2 Se 1
a MO MRO is oe 5 we A 1 1 3 es Bomhet, Ween a ko se She me ae is 9
ROW, PORATACK 2) bated i es 1 hs 17 TW SRUINOI 50's icc inc oe a 1 2 4 “i
Omen, MeCN es OLR here es i + 5 Bi ; ROMP MOUND, ies uggie ws PKS 4 ak ee 1 1 1 3
Mexendér; Tibbs 2... 6 1 2 | 5 att PRRs SEER 2 Minted s Var se ons ee sk 3 2 ws
Amicew, Chartindy 32 i:.-. 4. Cae 1 5 ine 1 5 MCR SARIN oe Sige a en's ORD whe 2 2 3 2
Andrews, Richard |: 2...) 4: *saniees 1 ‘i 4 a on A ae ee 1 2 g 7
PURO) SONNE oy ce os os a Gta pees 1 2 2 1 6 RE MOM as is CG cw sp ce 1 4 3
CKTG, “ARNON Sey Gas yew 1  : 7 29 OMNI TS PRRDNNe G hhc ad abs ok ale 3 My. 2 10
Benthal), : Sodeph 5 520 tse. 1 3 4 9 ; MURR, RR harks 3 cis Sy yo 1 1 4 Ka
Drowsy, Jeni sto Se enh gs 1 2 a MOONEE, ROME SL shan 6 viv sg odes es 1 3 2 a:
Battle, CORN ci tte eee tie ed 1 she 2 3 ge EA et ae ee 3 2 ll
Battle, Mateagrs. 2 svi ci ets 1 2 4 9 pO a) ea 1 3 2 3
Bolton: THOMAS sti. ees hee 2 3 GE 2 ee 1 is Je
Bell; Jaina 6 Seesaw h 1 EN et in ks ode 1 1 3 Ze
Bennet, William 3:05.05 eee 1 aN pes bs ae EM. oa ors .. s 5s Sua areca os 2 2 a 1 ca
TOOIG, SMT GREERT 10a sd xa eh g dale 3 nay es oh 6 iu ‘ OE SS Sean ey SNe 1 3 3 2
Eta RR AEE es eer. Pe 1 6 ie Meena a eS SS 2 4 3 a 7
MORAN HERP 5 68 Sal Seales 1 nat 1 we PRRNGE SUOMI oso icie. cs caw s Gals 4 ite 2 1
RRO. ..301s wade shige s%0. 1 2 2 3 MpmMPR ORE ei ao ee Oe 3 1 1
AMINE ME CMED: 1 os 5s: Slidtoic G's Bit Swin' othe’ « 2 2 1 OMNES 5.5 Apa bot, x 1 1 2 1
Beaman, Manninp -............. 1 3 1 og Oe SIR Aare ar Pe 1 i 1 —
Brown, Jeremiah. srs 2 5 23 TR aa a ea a : 3 *
ea WRI Pe he ns Soe gs ole es 1 1 3 Bemerai Datiel i... 6.5: os 2 “o 5 is 4
. Peete: JI NOMA kt. se a aac 2 3 ind ESR a aN Re at 4 a
JB oR To 1 A i N N i! ff 2 1 PO IANA BRO eos oo a's verais 1 2 3 5 ;
POON, OOK Sch re ee 1 2 1 Al SPRUE O) DONOR So css 655 56 se sss 5 ean er | 4 i 5
PSHM, OUM 255 ede Ree. inde 1 rei 2 8 Dien, Mboderick™.... oo... lek 1 e's 2 2 3
MBSETIOTY,  DOSMO 2 5 61. ot desis gcse clas dr 3 3 POM PR GINE Ge hh cess ys bs oe ek a iF a ne ll i
PROPOR TNO A Ox (agitate aise 2 ae 3 oa e's PG, BORNE FE oes ok ola ak 1 2 2 3
Brickle, John, de’d by Jordan Barrow, (RE ey Ree 2 2 4
GAP 4,5. has ee a a oe 1 10 Barnes, Randolph .............. 3 + 3 Ee
POO AMERICAS: , eS. Sa. hye rere eae 1 1 3 3 PUG AMIE ET iu ce es abet eke 1 3 4 10
Brow! ‘Baminel 2.0... 2 se 1 4 Ley Sat SEN Re ea 1 2 2 1
Bortwells Adam)... ..d Geaetace 1 1 > 11 ies OAL POSH BGs came Be OE Ma 1 3 2
Bay CR eGR en < 1 4 ie ms ReBb creer sss Paola ls 5 1 4 3 ix
BGO NMI E Mca aie ages 1 4 3 1 5 Boone, Nicholas ................ 1 2 3 1 4
Boroughs; Mardy oleate see 1 1 1 IN a oer foe 15% 6s eek 2 1 2 1
Boroughs, Marah 7 oo koses en 3 #, 2 epdda. (Samos 2 3) 2) es oss ou 1 1 1 a
Baer; BR etal cane Pia 2 2 2 ites hy, ROR a aD 1 2 2 1
Porougue: Pam. fel) wen 1 2 2 Bib I-05 3: Date a 1 7 ou
Daren; nok yes 6 RON eS at 2 1 2 Brown, Elizabeth ............... 2 2 12
VERY MEMORY. Safe ear eid 1 1 2 ay Brune, Abe eben ces 1 ok 2 1
Brown; Lewis: hie ass ek 1 3 5 fe 5 Bruee, Botnet |... . ke. ss sos 1 3 2 1
Sigs THR RS ewes 1 3 5 5 6 OOOO RS o's. dc vce i
Fyre tanner « 1 4 i stpene Ti: ah 3 tO aera | ; 8 3

   

 

 
72 History or Hertrrorp County, N. C. . Drcavre LV.—1790-1800.

1 2
|S ESE RS Ae oe pcg sa

Brickle, Matthias

Brickle, Wm.

Baker, Blake

SGRNUOYS (DOIG. 2.514 eee
Brown, Fred.

Brickle, Jonathan

Bird, Robert

Brown, Lewis

Brown, Richard

Brown, Sarah

Cail, Jeremiah

Cornelius, Martha

Cretchilor, Providence

Carr, Robert

Carr, Matthew

Carr, Lawrence

Calf, James

Christia, James

Cook, Charles

wo ASE BERG Bad Gn a CERNE
RuirepentOny) WE es oa oe
Carter, Lewis

Carter, Isaac

Canidy, John

Cotton, Godwin

Cotton, Wm.

Cherry, James

Cotton, Sam

Cotton, Noah

Cruger, James

Christia, David

Cross, Stephens

Cotton, James

Cotton, Thomas

Carter, Isaac

Copeland, Mary

Copeland, Thomas

Copeland, John

Copeland, Hollowell

Copeland, Eli

Clark, Stephen

Clarke, Kerney

Coleman, Thomas

CIMTRG WIN. oy inky Oo ciate lpen
Copeland, IThog.s al ieskas. < 5's

3
Copeland, James

Copeland, Stephen

Cook, Daniel

Carter, Martha

Carter, James

MUN MIF Ls Uh Sec ose et deey anu ga oh
Shy! aR
Darden, Willis

Darden, John

Darden, Elisha

Darden, David

Dilday, Joseph

Darden, Elisha

Darden, Allen

Darden, Henry

Driver, Sam

Drew, Richard

Davis, Luke

Dunn, George

Dunning, Sam

Driver, Martha

Driver, John

Denton, Polly a
Bi ee aa 2
Deanes, Daniel

Duer, Ann

Dennis, Littleton

Darden, Jethro

Darden, Jet

Deanes, James

MMO No. So) hea ae sak
Davis, Mary

Daughtie, James

Oe WYER ccs Sod Wich otc ve
Daughtie, Jethro

Daniel, Joseph

Ree ee ee Po
»

Ore RPNWNeK WN We

wONwoarhrkheK NEP WNHKRhPONEPNYONWNHeYENKRAD WOOP
a el ee ee ed eS el

fat

oe

Dickerson, John
Davis, Blake

ee ee ee ed
Wee Wwe Ww

aS PFwowaInawnrwrHnNnde pPNONeH Ww:

NWP NrRrRP aANWwnrr wWwor-

 

 
    
    
   
       
  

 

1
RS i Sp Darang aera re a

PME RRO OR Dy eons se’. oc oboe sa um obs
MveRe OMAR. OSes, SSR eit
MOINS S| War oc ss ome
MRRP eR Ne ss 6s Ok. eval ee
Heveeis, Premoie 35.52 ou) lee
Peper: TOMBE keyed
Pies): Stephen 1.33 ges Vin. Sees
WIGHAN: SOAR $2.6 wdsee sore
Boston, Tamee.: we Ana eae, ob
Poweeah, Pid ime eg ae ae es ae
Ripurod, “Ehotnasst iid aia
Bigares,: Wiha) sso s COs ew och
Figures, Taomawerks sss oa03 os
Fairless, Robert. [60 ica eo
Wala, Te i eh ee Beas pas
WeRelens Way nc iad cs os bk ae Sa
MNCs: WEES 5's e's. cis eis tere wake
We PA OR ik eos dm a cla t ae
PER ERGO eek 6a. Ra es ode
RUMEN, SNS 0S Sas SoS 'b be
RIOR PIAVEO. be. 6s Aes ev
Comics. Amanony’ 5 ein. see
emt nig, amiee 7k is ies ck a8
NEARING ERIC OO eg ok. 5d SR
CRPMNTORN, BIOS es cs Sat ok
Ciahnam,; Chancey eco. aes tae
CHa ABINOE) 1 EEOC AK vad o ak
CR RIND s ee eh hE oe
PPR eT, OAADDE si. sins os ose dee oe
Re ODT SO aa are ier aca
Griwin, Barney’ vee 2,'. chinese
eemrat APIA 2 Sinise hee «dsc ee
Gliston, Daniel ..... nines
Gailing, Axl 2.0... visi ss 3 oh
MSGR RG NS, es eke re ole
Gating. Mime 5 ole ee thi
Griffith, Bunnell
Griffith, Hartwell
Gatling, Rachel
Gatling, David
Geng TARA Yoke eae
COR WIN: "Maine y 0) ees poe
Godwin, Barney
Gailing, Jenne: ses Coie 3
Gitter, Wim. fe Ata ae oy ob 2

ds ee Ce Ce Cn)

Hee rwoae:

nee eK pw

re

See

mp!

wo

   

He Dew:

NNYOReE De:

ww

How:

we:

et

Orme:

MP wrppoe:

wwrwmpwmrmwertdw-:

Awa Amd p-

74 History or Herrrorp Counry, N. C.

own oe bt Pp we

nw.

Pee Cas»

16
19

'

tw

10

oo:

Drecape IV.—1790-1800.

 

1 2
Pe nt ie oa. ee ne a rs aoe |
Sa Ss 1
RMN MONI We oe Kas 5 Shy dees 9 Se 1
RI I yates 6 a's 6-2 6 ¥ 424 ole
PEO OIDER SOMONE 2. os oes. ss one 2
MNS WINE Oe rene ss hs GSS gin a om 1
EIN MARIN) pig 4 'n'o: 80g. ares 0° 3.4 000 2
eee a 2
ee a eae ees 1
ee er ee 1
pS eS a a Say eee 2
pS eR Sees 1
Hutchins, —— ........cne eee es 2
MNES RABIED 5. Giese e ss tee eae 2
Handcock, Nehemiah ........... 1
I, TIAGBOR. oases io arcs cies 0% 2
OS SS Sere arr ve | 2
gale er 2
Pecwrehd.  POMBHS 2005. k temic es oe 1
Hamerelt, Baia oie. see eek ese 3
Horton, Matthew «0. 6. we. 0 ese 3
Hipton, War. 9. is. ee verse c sete 1
52 EE sa ee eee iw
Pees; cABYON: 8 ss im os oe 1
Hayes, Marmaduke ............. 2
Bietton, Walliford ©... 6... ess wks 2
TTA, UOMO Sei od oie. Schon He 1
POR ERROR. asic ci sa ean 1
Holloman, Malichi .............. ie
Holloman, Samuel .............. 2
REROMIRTL, PIR CAG A's sd ones vs os an 2
INO OARTN ABNOR 8) 6 0 Scde bs oo oie 3
RS yO, ha es eR? 1
PIMA Ec uuu’. cles oxo’ 1
REE AEREOT i 5k vals’ sv 3ie oy rates Saat 1
Jo ESS aa ae e Sener re 2
RUM soe etic ae dec Cee 1
Mir MMAR hi bk. 5 cae 1
PERO 5 UNOBC. Ssijs. Uo: 2, 0 bo cs aad vo 1
Aitohiborne, John a... ei... oe ck 4
Holloman, Christopher .......... 2
TR WRN ek ar 1
MOMUMN phn: Ae i kes Sha. 1
MERELY, Westies ic. jo Sods odbc eek i
Haine, ARIES ac Aa ans ghd wae sae 1
Holloman, Cornelius ............ 1

prrvny:

HH wep:

PRONNAHYNwW: HPoOHMaNnRawwwrw- Coe Com e-

Ho mon:

o-

wom mp:

we rtm:

on

 

Te 8: me

a:

Pwona:

to to:
ea et i es a RRA a oan

= -=— — _ — a ‘ = 2 Ee

 

 

 

 

76 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.
x 2 3 4
1 ESS ae aaa A. eee 1 ai re
(CEN Bg a ae gE 1 2 3
MUM OMAS NP INS =. 2250's 4 Gsceters wa Ueacahs 2 1 1
CEE a See a ap OAL i 3 4
DEI ARON  e e a certe 2 ei 2
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Holland, Hezekiah .............. 4 2
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Jenkins, Winborne ............. 1 5 4
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—

Drcoavr IV.—1790-1800.

2
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Langston, Luke ................

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McGlaughon, Geo. ..............
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78 History or Herrrorp County, N. C. Dercave IV.—1790-1800.

          

 

 

     
     
       
        
          
      
 
 

1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6
Matthews, Edmond ............. 1 er 2 1 MMar.! HOGG. Cdr cess ous eevee 1 1 3 1
Ree WR WALG 6 dacs cose ke \ 3 B 21 Penrose, Damietsg sis y soe ele es 1 7 4 7
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SS CO a ee a 2 3 2 1 RMMIBR SS MEUM os oo oie se ee a is 1 1 h
Montgomery, Robert ............ 1 2 5 17 Do Bo. SSeS a eae 1 2 4
Montgomery, Elinder ........... R. 1 2 1 PRM RT's Sieve 8 clee sv acpe 5 1 2 1 1
eens, Wins otis. oo Nie ae ri z g OTE) GUM NOR si <8 ws one niin oe vices 1 3 2 7
MOrpan, Nani s os... e bet 1 2 2 “i OE a ee eee 2 x 3
Movedith, Gewie 2c. ts. ck Ss 3 1 2 19 IMEEM Bey Sai... << 0b ak nisteve a ae 1 1 3 td
eo Er, Rea ae ENA Siero 1 3 2 1 ORM 6 chive od veal eb ss Ss 1 1 2 21
3 NAG. IRD. sys he eee 2 3 4 rf Parker, Abigail ................ AP 1
; Wewhorts Nigel. gods os ee ee en 1 4 2 TG a eer 3 3 1 20
Newsom: Charles 323545: (4.4084 1 it 3 5 CLS a 1 2 1 at
| Newson): Bpeeta sii i ee Soe 4 2 7 14 Parker, Wm. ........ 0... geen ee 1 1 5
; He Neweotn Tenn cet cae eS 1 i. 1 ME NS oes os wo deen dime 2 ae + 3
i Nesthioots, Vonks) i478 Re 1 2 ee ET) PDO, 005... La Deu 1 4 3 8
Martinho CURR: Oi kin ne Pes 2 1 4 ee 1 aE Moa Se eas 2 2 6 1
) Nickins, Malichi ............... ae 3 fr 5 _ Parker, Peter ........640.+ees08 8 4 5 1
NG Welly DOM pRey 244. 4 Ba. es 2 2 3 1 Parker ;. Moheaiiey on. s.cey core ak 1 1 3 1
ESS NEE a ED 1 5 2 Pivtie, Mane. ci. «vex cs os ah 1 1 pe i
/ PIOVONG TAME M Sos OLE 1 1 8 ae NES NI a6 0s anv k ee 0 Make oes a ay eo 2
| Northcott, Anthony .2........./. 1 ; 2 1 Paris Mee. sae vias aigitin wiv erely 1 3 4 1
| bE. Rae Dee a en 1 1 4 ¥ Mesa Deipeey so... See a 1 1 1 ae
| I . ACRMIN, MaMOR- Nee 2 Re elu k _ 3 : eee a bods o ok-voe 1 2 2 3
5 MOUUNSR; NVA ses ocr. ees eee ne 4 3 19 OG POONA 6 si s's iss Gi oia'cd ohh 1 Pm
il Oigtiow, nome tee coke 1 3 5 4 IE, CPOE. ie wiso-5 « swine 2 3 3 7
; nay, AER ot ye cone 1 1 2 1 meyuers Thomas ©... ci. 1 ye whi
| Deprians Wanieds 26. 24 a 1 1 2 Bene, Manton i... sd. 5 2 1 ‘oh 3
| Overton, Nath) Vii isin oe | 3 5 cet Rawles, Wm. ............-..6005 1 2 3 12
i MGW: Papaby ie ost ei ai 1 2 1 UME Go hs Kok SS des is Chas 1 3 2
. MaDe, SWIG oi. 5455 «ep eee a el ate 3 AB TRUE, ARPOTR 5 oi SA a ew ek 3 1 6 6
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al pepe’ Abrarn o.:. jeu acca sate 1 4 3 18 ELS, NAME Se vn vie a aie 1 a 3 he
ei, “MDOT: 2.02 aks. Os 88s ] 3 2 Meee e, JGR 595 oes ou oe ca xii ll
PATI, AERDEW? O24 uke ws we 1 1 1 Rasberry, Margaret .......6.0005 2 2g 3 cn
ORCI ned iok fis. ss. Cava ee eA 3 ei 5 Russell, Thomas ........... ein ah 1 1 3
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Rawles, Absalom

MEODEG, WVU 55026 «aie 0 a sale oo euere

Rogers, Jonathan
Revel, Matthews

Revel, Silas
Rider, Nancy

Rogers, James
Rawles, Jesse
Rayner, Amos

Starkey, John ......----++ee0rs
Sanderford, James ....+.-+-+-+++>
Story, John .....---+eeeeeeeeees
Sanderford, Nancy ...---++-+-++>
Sanderford, John ....--.+++++++
Sanders, John P......--+++++++:
Smith, James .....------++++ee>

Smith, Abram .....------+++9+*
Smith, John .....----+ e-reesre>
Sumner, Mary ...---++-+++erere
Spires, Elisha ......---+++++++++
Spires, nA 2h, oi gag 4's acepl toe
Soul) MGw. 5.10. vies ss Said ee oe ye
Sessoms, Ann .......---++eeeees
Sumner, Moses .......---+eeeee-
Sanders, Nathan ..........-++++
Spicey, Daniel ......----++++++>
Simons, Joshua .......-+++++++>
Sewell, Dempsey ....--+++ +++ +
Bonll oun. Ayia ess + waa
Sharp, Gemona .....-+--++++++7+
Sessoms, Rachel ......--+++++-+>
Seull, Elisha ......--2200+++000%

Shepherd, Providence

Skinner, James .....- --++e+s+'°
Strickland, Drew ...-.+++++erre?
Shewinaft, Wm. ......+---++e°*°
eae ORE ig sis sie wi Stee ke Ses
Spikes, Thomas .....----+++-++°
Sanders, David ......-.-esese-+*s
Saunders; Wm: ...:...6.-5°8+++>
Sumner} Eliz. ..........6--200°
Stephens, Ann ........ -.--++0+>
Sanath. Wie is cen ch atk ee ee
Simons, Obediah .......---++++++

History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

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Sorrell, James

Sewell, Richard

Sharp, Starkey

Smith, Thomas
Tyler, Hellen

Tifton, John B
Thomas, Isaac
Thomas, Josiah

Tiley, John
Tritt, Thos.

Tennessee, John
Tyler, Samuel

Thomson, Eliz.
Taylor, Miles

Taylor, Williford
Taylor, Boaz
Vassar, Robert
Vassar, Jesse
Vinson, Wm.
Vaughan, Wm.
Vinson, James
Vinson, Peter

Vanpelt, John
Vinson, Shad.

Vanpelt, Sarah
Vinson, Elisha
Vaughan, John
Valentine, Isaac
Valentine, David
Valentine, Alex.
Williford, John
Winborne, Josiah
Winborne, James
Winborne, John

Winborne, Henry

Wilkins, James

Weaks, Arthur

6

Dercapve IV.—1790-1800.

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History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

Willey, James
Williams, Richard
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Wages; Wan. hes eh ele bes
Weaks, Julian

Whitley, James
Williams, William
Williams, Warner
Worrell, Richard

White, Henderson
Williams, Nathan
Williams, Gilstrap
Weaver, Ned
Webb, Benj. ......--. sense ce eee
Weston, Jordan
Weston, Jesse
Wiggins, Sarah

Ward, Isaac Hill
TEE Oe 5°. RS ae ne ae aa
Williams, Geo.
Williams, Whit
Watson, Micajah
Warren, Obediah
West, James
Worrell, Rhoda

Wilson, Matthew
Wiggins, Wright
West, John
Williams, Sarah
Worthington, Arcada
Worthington, Sarah

Willoughby, John
Wiggins, Sarah
Wiggins, Joshua
Warren, Jordan
Williams, Constant
Wright, Jane
Worthington, Mary
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Walker, Patsy
Wright, Henry
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Drcape IV.—1790-1800. 83
: P rs
WU PDME, MALENOW S32. occ. ss oS + : : . 1
WOES ATBONOO SF ccc oe 4 4 34
enna Cao. 6.2... oe se 1 l 33
waa e, Wier os ok, ees 2 1 5 29
I Une i one 1 3 26
MONON TERPAN (pot et ar PE es 1 6
MNCS) Sekae un ge 1 1 4 7
Reatloby, : Gediiid seeks a exch pee 1 3 4 4

Josiah and James Winborne came to this county from Northampton,

and emigrated to Edgecombe County about 1798. John Winborne was,
also, of the Northampton family.

Gen, George Washington is still serving his first term as
President of the United States. He is the idol of his coun-

try. The large majority of the people of Hertford County
se Federalist in polities, which was the political faith of
\ ashington. During this decade the country is tranquil in
Peace and the people happy and seeking out the pleasant
places for homes. The young village of Murfreesborough
becomes an attractive place to the home-seekers, and many
find an abiding place within her borders. It soon becomes
the centre of refinement, of education and of wealth.

The able, wealthy and benevolent Gen. Thomas Wynns
who was a member of the House of Commons of 1787 pha
of the Convention of 17 89, begins his protracted i as
State Senator from the county from 1790 to 1800, inclusive.
He was the youngest of the four sons of Benjamin Wynns
oe lived below Winton, at the place where the late Fodienims
a Hare resided, and he built the house that now stands on

€ old hill. He also owned the Hare grist-mill. His wife

was Susanna Maney, the daughter of James Maney II, of
Neck. He was elected as Presidential Elector in
a. i Re voted in the electoral college for Thomas Jeffer-
aan r President of the United States. Elected to Congress
® succeed Charles Johnson, deceased, of Edenton, in 1802
and again elected to the Eighth and Ninth Congresses, ake
He declined a further nomination for

Maney’s
1801

ing March 4. 1807.

 

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84 History or Hertrrorp County, N. C.

Congress. Again elected by his countrymen a member of the
State Senate, where he continued to serve his county until
1817, when he retired to private life. He was extremely
fond of his nephews, Benjamin, Thomas, James D. and Wil-
liam B. Wynns. He had no children. His wife died in
January, 1822, and he died in June, 1825. Both are buried

on the old Maney plantation, near the present wharf at Rid-
dicksville, in this county. He was made Major-General in
the State Troops in the First Division, which position he
held a number of years until he resigned to go to the Legis-
lature in 1813. He’was a great advocate of education, and
was one of the first trustees of the State University. The
Raleigh Register of 1825 speaks of him as a splendid and
noble character and as one of the first men of the State. The
paper also states that he had been frequently solicited to
accept the nomination for Governor, but he invariably de-
clined, although his nomination would have resulted in his
election. He was a member of the electoral college in 1809,
and voted for James Madison for President.

Robert Montgomery was another of the county’s represent-
ative men. He was a lawyer of great ability, and took a
leading part in shaping the legislation of the State. He
was a direct descendant of John Montgomery, of Tyrrell
County, who was for a long time Attorney-General in the
Province, and succeeded William Smith as Chief Justice
of the Province, about 1740. John Montgomery settled in
Edenton while he was in office. Robert Montgomery married
Mary Meredith, of Murfreesborough, and left several chil-
dren, of whom we will write in Decade Seven. He died in
Raleigh in 1808, while a member of the State Senate.

Henry Hill, a member of the House in 1788 to 1793, and
again in 1795, lived in Murfreesborough, but owned a large
landed estate in Maney’s Neck, on the Meherrin River. He
was the son of Capt. Harry (Henry) Hill, of Revolutionary
fame, and who lived at Hill’s Ferry, in Maney’s Neck.

 

 

Decapr LV.—1790-1800. 85

Henry Hill, Jr., was a lawyer and a man of ability. He
married Sally Maget. His daughter married lawyer Harry
W. Long, of this county.

James Jones, who represented, in part, the county in the
House for twelve years, was the son of Col. James Jones, of
Pitch Landing, and inherited a large estate from his father.
He lived on his plantation near Pitch Landing. He was
born in 1765 and died in 1816. He married Anne Walton,
sister of Col. Isaac Walton and Timothy Walton. His
widow and several children survived him. His sons were
Dr. William Jones, James Sidney Jones, and Howell Jones,
His granddaughter was the wife of Maj. John W. Moore.
No county in the State was abler represented in 1791 than

the patriotic little county of Hertford.

In 1793 Capt. Jethro Darden, of Maney’s Neck, appeared
for the first time in the House of Commons from Hertford.
He served four terms, and was a man of intelligence and of
large information, and was soon recognized as a leader, and
reflected much eredit on his county. He acquired his mili-
tary title as captain in the militia service. On account of
failing eyesight he was compelled to abandon public life, and
finally, before his death in 1834, he became totally blind.
He left several children—Edward R., John A., Penelope,
wife of James Majette, Samuel A., Jethro R., and Sarah E.
Darden, There was another citizen in the county during
this decade by the name of Jet. Darden.

Nathan Harrell, who had been prominent in the county
during the last decade, was still serving the people as Clerk
of the Court during most of this decade. He married Eliza-
beth Sharp, daughter of Starkey Sharp and granddaughter
of Maj. Henry Winborne. She was born in 1768 and died
in 1840. He reared several children. Their daughter
Nancy married Dr. William L. Smith, who had settled in the
county from Connecticut, and William Nathan Harrell
Smith, the late Chief Justice of the State, was the product
of this marriage. Nathan Harrell died in 1802, leaving his

F 4 Von eae Oe ee
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86 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

widow and other children surviving him—Starkey Sharp
Harrell and Sally Harrell. His widow married widower
George Gordon, who afterwards became Public Register of
the county, and then succeeding General Dickinson as Clerk

‘ of the Court. They left one child, Barsha Gordon. Dr.
William L. Smith died in 1813, and his widow afterwards
married James M. Yancey, formerly of Raleigh, but was
later a citizen of Murfreesboro. They left one son, Antonio
P. Yancey. Starkey S. Harrell, 1786-1830, married Eliza-
beth Simmons, 1788-1861, who were the parents of Mary,
the wife of Lemuel R. Jernigan; of Nancy, the wife of
Thomas Blount Sharp, and Starkey S. Harell, Jr. Nathan
Harrell’s daughter, Sally, married G. H. Bond.

The grave robs the county, during this decade, of Henry
Winborne, William Murfree, Maj. George Wynns, Starkey
Sharp, the former Sheriff and Public Register, Maj. Samuel
Harrell, the old Clerk of the Court, and many others.

In 1794 the General Assembly incorporated the Hertford
Academy, which was located in the town of Murfreesboro.
This was the first incorporated school in the county, though
there had for a number of years existed schools in different
parts of the county. Rev. Jonathan Otis Freeman was the
first principal of the Academy, and he was aided by an able
corps of assistants. The late Edmond B. Freeman, Clerk of
the Supreme Court of North Carolina, was the son of Rey.
J. O. Freeman. Rev. Freeman, as principal of the Acad-
emy in 1819, was succeeded by Thomas O’Brady, an im-
petuous and belligerent Irishman, who was a believer in the
vod in the school-room. It is said of him that he was so
pugnacious that he went on the street one day and engaged in
a fight with one Drew Vinson, a brag fighter from the Canada
section, and Vinson whipped him good. This so humiliated
the Irish bully that he soon resigned and left the town.

O’Brady was succeeded as principal in 1822 by Rev.
James Douglas, a Presbyterian divine, and a good man. Rev.
Douglas was instrumental in establishing the old Presbyte-

 

Decape IV.—1790-1800. 87

vian church in town, and O’Dwyer, in his diary of 1824,
often speaks of his able discourses on the Bible. Douglas
was principal of the department for boys and young men,
and Miss Harriet Sketehly, afterwards Mrs. James Banks,
was in charge of the female department of the school. In
1822 Mrs. James Banks purchased the Academy lot from
John Wheeler, and for years conducted a flourishing high
school for girls. The Male Academy was conducted after
1822 in another building. Rev. Douglas was succeeded sev-
eral years thereafter as principal of the Male School by Rev.
John Lamb Pritchard, and the latter was sueceeded by py i
Ackerman, a young man from New England, who later
studied law and settled in Georgia to practice his profession.
Ackerman became a distinguished lawyer and was appointed
Attorney-General of the United States by President U. 8S.
Grant during his first administration. This school was kept
up until about twenty years ago, with able educators at its
head.

 

 

 
 

DECADE’ V.

1800—1810.

The beginning of this decade found the county in great
excitement. The Presidential election was to be held in No-
vember, 1800. There was great bitterness between the two
political parties, the Federal and the Republican, and also
factional divisions in each party. The Federalist candidates
were John Adams, of Massachusetts, and C. C. Pinckney, of
South Carolina; and the Republican candidates were Thomas
Jefferson, of Virginia, and Aaron Burr, of New York. The
electoral college failed to elect. Jefferson and Burr received

73 votes each, Adams 65, Pinckney 64, and Chief Justice

Jay 1. Congress had to elect, and after a long and bitter
fight in Congress, Jefferson was finally elected President
and Burr Vice-President. Gen. Thomas Wynns was in the
electoral college and voted for Jefferson for President and
Burr for Vice-President.

The names of the old political parties in the United States
did not represent the principles of the political parties bear-
ing the same names to-day. The Whig party was the oldest
political party in this country after the Revolution of 1776-
82. In the formation of the Union and the adoption of the
Constitution of the United States in 1787 the American peo-
ple became divided into two opposing political parties—Fed-
eralists and anti-Federalists. The Federalist was also com-
posed of two elements—the extreme Federalists, as Alexander
Hamilton, who favored a strong government, a national gov-
ernment with an aristocratic Upper House and Presidency,
while the conservative Federalists, as George Washington,
favored a Federal Constitution and government of the States
without any aristocratic features. The extreme anti-Fed-
eralists, as Thomas Jefferson, wanted no Federal government
of any kind, but favored simply a league like the old Articles
of Confederation between the thirteen independent repub-
lies; and the great mass of the party opposed the adoption

Drcape V.—1800-1810. 89

of the new Constitution submitted to the States in 1787.
They divided, however, and the minority element joined the
conservative Federalists in adopting the new Constitution,
hoping that proper amendments would be adopted. And
finally the whole anti-Federalists after a few years accepted
the new Constitution and became the strict Constructionist
party, confining the powers of the Federal government to the
letter of the Constitution, whose principles have been the
fundamental tenets of the Democratic party; while the prin-
ciples contended for by the opposing party, known as the
Loose Constructionists, the advocates of a national govern-
ment and the subordination of State rights to the powers of
the national government, with centralized tendencies, are
now and have been since the battle of Appomattox in 1865,
represented by the Republican party. The anti-Federalist
party became known as the Strict Constructionists, and after
the French Revolution they became known as the Democratic-
Republican party, which has always been the official party
name of the Democratic party up to the Civil War. It was
in olden days spoken of as the Republican party. The old
Federalist and Loose Constructionist became metamorphosed
into the old Whig party, with many of its extreme notions
eliminated, until the creation of the Republican party, of
which Abraham Lincoln, W. H. Seward and others were the
exponents. That is, the Republican party of to-day is the

" suecessor of the extreme Federalists and Loose Construction-

ists. The conservative Whigs and conservative Democrats
after 1868 formed the present Democratic party, the modern
representative of the Democratic-Republican party and Strict

Constructionists.
GABRIEL'S INSURRECTION.

While the slave negroes of the South were kindly treated by
their masters, who placed much value on them as profitable
property, yet the savage treachery of their natures oceasion-
ally caused them to be guilty of brutality of the worst kind.

 
 

 

SSS SSS

ait a

a

90 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

* In August, 1800, Gabriel Prosser, a slave owned by a far-
mer near Richmond, Va., planned an “uprising” of the ne-
groes to assassinate the whites, take charge of Richmond,
and plunder the place. He armed his horde of bandits and
get out on his wicked mission. But he was thwarted in his
nefarious enterprise by a heavy storm of rainfall, which so
swelled a creek in his pathway that he could not reach the
city, and before he could surmount this difficulty his scheme
was discovered, and he and his followers disbanded and took
to the woods. They were finally captured and executed.
Gabriel was hanged October 7, 1800. These occasional out-
breaks of the negroes were invariably caused by some vicious
negro who had been much favored by his white master and
granted many liberties and privileges. They were generally

negro preachers.
In 1801 William Hardy Murfree, of Murfreesboro, the

son of Col. Hardy Murfree, the hero of Stony Point, gradu-
ated at the State University at Chapel Hill, and began the
study of the law at Edenton, and was soon to begin to win
laurels for himself and heap greater honors on his family,
his county, his district and his State. After obtaining his
law license he returned to his native town of Murfreesboro
and opened his law office in the brick building between the
Peter Williams lot and the ravine, on William street. He
soon gave evidence of a great man. In 1805 he and James
Jones represented the county in the House of Commons.
Again in 1812 he was a member of the House, and then for
four years a member of Congress from the Edenton District.

Robert Montgomery in 1801 begins to serve his county in
the State Senate for seven terms, as successor of General
Wynns. James Jones continues to serve in the House until
1807.

In 1801 Capt. Abner Perry, of Revolutionary fame, ap-
pears for the first time as a member of the House, and serves
nine years. His gallant services in the War of the Revolu-
tion, and his estimable qualities as a man, made him a favor-

DrcaprE V.—1800-1810. 91

ite with the people and an influential and useful member of
the House. He lived near old St. John’s, and married the
daughter of Pleasant Jordan, who was in the Senate in 1780.
He died in 1810 and left three sons—Abner J. Perry, An-
drew T. Perry and John B. Perry. His daughter, Patsy,

married John Dickinson, of Winton.
Thomas Deanes, who lived near Murfreesboro, serves the

county as High Sheriff. In 1802 Joseph F. Dickinson be-
gins to serve a long term of twenty years as Clerk of the
County Court, and Mills Jernigan enters upon the duties of
Public Register from 1800 to 1813. He was a county officer

in the Third Decade.

In 1802 Gen. Thomas Wynas is elected to Congress, where
he continues to serve his country for five years, and then
returns in 1808 to his old place in the State Senate, where
he continued until 1817.

Lewis Walters, of Winton, in 1807 makes his first appear-
ance in public life as a member in the House. He served

two terms, and was then defeated by Gen. Boone Felton.

The year of 1803 found the condition of the country in
peace and prosperity, good-will prevailing among the people,
in place of sectionalism and party strife. Murfreesboro was
still the favorite place in the county. It was fast becoming
the Mecea of the east. Over on the hill across the ravine
leading to the river was the residence of Capt. Lewis Mere-
dith. He was a man much valued in his day. He left no
son, but several daughters. One of his daughters married
James Maney, the mother of Judge Thomas Maney, and one
married William Cowper, who was the mother of Lewis Mere-
dith Cowper and Richard Greene Cowper and William Cow-
per, of Gates County, Mrs. Redmond R. Parker and Mrs,
Weed, Another one of his daughters married Dr. Lewis
Meredith Jiggetts, a physician of eminence, and a member of
the House in 1822.

Col. Hardy Murfree was living at the late residence of
his father, Wm. Murfree, on the hill on the opposite side of

 
 

Eee wee ee

SS Ta ene
aS Se a itd

92 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

said ravine from Captain Meredith. Wm. H. Murfree had
just opened his law office. Patrick Brown, of whom Major
Moore speaks as being “a shrewd, honest and long-headed
Scotchman,” erected his home near the old Indian Queen
Tavern, on the street now known as Broad street. He was
an old bachelor and a merchant and a great writer. Dr.
Thomas O’Dwyer, from Clonnel in Ireland, was also a bach-
elor, and lived on the same street near Brown. They were
great cronies and succeeded in accumulating large estates by
trading and note shaving. O’Dwyer died in 1834 in his
57th year, and was buried in Murfreesboro. He kept a
diary which was a valuable document on account of the store
of information it contained, but no copy can now be found
except for the year 1824. Many other families settled in
the town about this time from the Northern States, and
afterwards became leading and eminent citizens in the county
and State. Dr. O’Dwyer, while a speculator, was an honor-
able man, an eminent physician, a great philanthropist, an
‘omniferous reader, and a believer in the religion of Christ,
although not a communicant of any church. No one can
read his writings without forming an exalted idea of the
man. His frequent references to his mother and sister who
were living in Edinburg in 1824, and to his native land,
are sublime. He longs for home in the land of the sham-
rock.

“ O the shamrock, the green, immortal shamrock !
Chosen leaf, of bard and chief,
Old Erin’s native shamrock.”

But little is known of Walters.

General Felton was a man of considerable ability and
courage. He descended from a noble and intellectual an-
cestry. He was a recognized leader in the House and Sen-
ate. He served six terms in the House and one in the Senate.
He married the daughter of William White, of Raleigh, who
was the sister of Governor Swain’s wife, and granddaughter
of Gov. Richard Caswell. General Felton died in Winton,

  

Drcapr V.—1800-1810. 93
October 4, 1821, as appears from the Raleigh Register of
November 2, 1821. He had been elected the second time to
the Senate, just prior to his death. He owned what is
known in the county as the “Cofield Land.” Lewis Walters
is returned to the House in 1810.

In 1805, Col. Hardy Murfree emigrated to Tennessee,
where he owned a large landed estate, and died in 1809. We
find on the death roll during this decade, Robert Montgomery,
the able legislator; Nathan Harrell, Capt. Lewis Meredith,
Thomas Winborne, the late chairman of the County Court,
who left his widow and two minor children—Sarah Agatha
and Elisha Winborne—surviving him. His widow married
a Mr. Roberson, and they had one daughter who died in
Mississippi in 1887 without marrying; his daughter, Sarah
A., married John Gurley, of Murfreesboro. Their descend-
ants live in Tennessee and Mississippi. Mrs. Rebecca Cow-
per, wife of Wm. Cowper, and Emily M. Hichborn, of Mur-
freesboro, and others. In 1809, Murfreesboro gained some
valuable additions to her population; among them was Dr.
Thomas Borland. John Scott, who lived near Harrellsville,
was made general in the militia during this epoch.

DR. THOMAS BORLAND.

This high-minded citizen lived in Murfreesboro, on the lot
now owned by James D. Babb. He was profound as a
scholar, eminent as a physician, haughty and chivalrous in
manner, strong in his love of country, and greatly respetted
by his neighbors. He was thoroughly familiar with all the
classics and could read Greek and Latin fluently, and through
life he enjoyed reading his Greek books. For a long while
prior to his death, in 1830 or 1831, he was one of the wealthy
and aristocratic justices. of the county, and was often seen
presiding over the court. Dr. Borland married Harriet God-
win and moved from Suffolk, Va., to Murfreesboro about
1809. They left the following sons: Euclid, Solon, and
Roseins Cicero. Dr. Euclid Borland first married Eliza-

 

 

    
    

 

94 History or Hertrorp Country, N. C.

beth R. Moore. She died in January, 1850. A few years
thereafter he married Lucy Wilkinson, daughter of Commo-
dore Wilkinson of the U. S. Navy. He spent much of his
time in Mississippi and “Louisiana, where he owned large
plantations, but his home was in Murfreesboro, until about
1856. For some years prior to his death, in April, 1881,
this delightful and chivalrous old gentleman and his wife,
Luey, boarded at the Atlantic Hotel in Norfolk, Virginia.
Like his father, he was fond of the classics, and especially of
the Greek language and Greek characters. His son, General
Euclid Borland, lived in New Orleans, La., and died Septem-
ber 26, 1896, in Norfolk, Va., at the age of 52, while on a

visit to his relations.
Solon Borland emigrated from this county about 1842, to

Arkansas, and became a United States Senator from that
State, April, 1848, to April, 1853, and afterwards was Min-
ister to Nicaragua, 1853 to 1854; General in the Confederate
Army, and died in Texas, January 31, 1864.

We have written of Rosecius Cicero Borland on other pages.

The Borlands were all brave, true, honorable and chival-
rous people. Hertford for some reason never insisted upon
the advancement of her noble and able sons for governmental
honors. They were, however, always appreciated in their
adopted homes.

Most of the Borlands and the members of their families
are buried near Murfreesboro on the Ramsey farm, owned

by the wife of the author.
Augustus Moore, who married Martha A. Bell, nee Ram-

sey, the widow of Samuel Bell, was born in 1784, near
Murfree’s Landing, in Hertford County, and died in Mis-
sissippi in 1843, where he was buried. Some years there-
after his body was exhumed to bring to the burying-ground
near Murfreesboro. When taken up the body was found to
be petrified and as hard as a rock. Tt was in this condition

when it was reinterred at Ramsey.

- teenth century, he

   

Drecapr V.—1800-1810. 95

Phogion A. Borland, son of Euclid, the first, by his first
marriage, was a brave and daring soldier in the army of the
Confederacy, and died August the 15th, 1863, from a wound
received on the field of battle.

In addition to what we have said of the gentleman, the
lawyer, and the chivalric Roscius C. Borland, we have learned
that he stopped the practice of the law and left Hertford
County to visit his brother Euclid in Mississippi on account
of failing health. It is said that he was taken with measles
while on this visit and died from it before returning, but
this is contradicted by some, and the other account is that he
returned to Murfreesboro from Mississippi and resided for
a short while on the lot now occupied by E. C. Worrell, with
his family, and there died. He died in 1847. But we find
nothing’ to indicate that he was buried in the old family
burying-ground, which is strong proof that he probably died
in the South and was there buried. He married Miss Tem-
perance Ramsey, of Hertford County, April 25, 1837, and
left surviving him a daughter, Miss Harriott Godwin Bor-
land, named for his mother, and a son Thomas Roscius Bor-
land, named for his father and himself. His daughter mar-
ried Mr. Thomas Smith, of Suffolk, Virginia, and his son
was a prominent lawyer in Norfolk, Virginia, and U. 8.
District Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and
died while filling that office or shortly afterwards. The
children of Roseius were born in Murfreesboro. He has a
grandson, Armstead Borland, now living in Norfolk, Vir-
ginia, who is the last one of that name. Gen. Euclid Borland

has two married daughters living in Louisiana.

GENERAL SCOTT.

John Scott appears in the census of Hertford County
taken in 1790, as the head of a family of seven, and as the

owner of eighteen slaves. In the early years of the nine-
was a militia general. He married a Miss

Brett, the aunt of the late Elisha D. Brett, of Maney’s Neck,

a
5
.

    
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  

 

 
 

   
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 

 

96 History or Herrrorp Counry, N. OC.

and died January 30, 18192, leaving three sons, William,
James and George. William lived in Maney’s Neck, where
W. H. Henderson now lives, near Riddicksville, when the
author was a boy. He was the father of several children,
one of whom now resides in the county, Winfield Scott.
James, another son, married Martha Ann Rea, of Murfrees-
boro, and lived and died in Baltimore, Maryland. They
were the parents of the late Mrs. H. T. Lassiter, of Mur-
freesboro, and of Mrs. Virginia Yeates, late wife of the Hon.
Jesse J. Yeates. Another son, George, lived and died in
Petersburg, Virginia. William had a son, Andrew, who was
a general in the army of the Confederate States of America,
from Florida.

William Little belonged to a family long famous for its
virtues and patriotism in North Carolina. He was’ the son
of William Little, of Chowan County, and who was Attorney-
General and also Chief Justice under the government of the
Lords Proprietors, and was also one of the commissioners for
the Province of North Carolina in 1727 to settle the dividing
line between the Provinces of Virginia and North Carolina.
The mother of William Little, Jr., was the daughter of Chief
Justice Gale. On November 4, 1790, Nathaniel Macon, a
member of the House of Commons from Warren County,
presented to the House of Commons the petition of William
Little, of Hertford County, protesting against the election of
Henry Hill of that county for the reason that his election
was irregular and void. The petition was referred to a com-
mittee, whose report was adverse to Hill, and a new election
was ordered. Hill and Little were again candidates, and
Hill was duly elected. Both of the rival candidates were
from Maney’s Neck. This was the first contest from the
noble little county of Hertford. His brother, George Little,
of Hertford County, was a major in the militia during the
Revolutionary War.

William Little, Jr., married Miss Mary Ann Person, sister
of the famous Gen. Thomas Person, of Granville County,

  

Drcapr V.—1800-1810. 97

and left one son, William Person Little, who moved to Gran-
ville County and became a man of much prominence in the
State. His daughter, Penelope, married Sharp Blount, a
lawyer living in Winton.

Wm. P. Little married Ann Hawkins, the daughter of
Philemon Hawkins, Jr., of Warren County. Their children
were the late Col. George Little, of Raleigh, aide-de-camp to
Governor Vance during the late Civil War; Thos. Person
Little, of Hertford County, who was once chairman of the
old County Court, Wm. P. Little, J r., and Mrs. Dr. Charles
Skinner, of Warren County. The daughter of Dr. Skinner
married William Hutchings, of Hertford County, who re-
sided where the Rev. H. B. Parker now resides, near Buck-
horn. They were the parents of the late distinguished and
gifted physician of Murfreesboro, Dr. Wm. H. Hutchings.
Thos. P. Little never married. He lived in Maney’s Neck
on the farm known as Old Town, and was passionately fond
of the sport of deer and fox hunting. In the correspondence
between the Winborne brothers we frequently find a refer-
ence to the strong friendship of Thos. P. Little for the late
Maj. S. D. Winborne. Wm. P. Little, Jr., died without
leaving any male representative to perpetuate the family
name. George Little, his brother, left two sons, William
and George. The former was a distinguished surgeon in the
late Confederate Army, and died in Raleigh in 1879. George
Little, Jr., married Miss Momoiselle S. Vann, daughter of
the late Tilman D. Vann, of Hertford County, and died in
1880. His widow and several daughters still survive him.

Among some of the prominent merchants in the county
at the beginning of the last century were Daniel, William
and Joseph G. Rea, of Murfreesboro, and James Rea, of
Winton. They came from the North to this county, and for
a number of years were among the leading business men in
the county, and the descendants and connections of these peo-
ple are large and extensive. The oldest of which we have

7

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AE RE SRI BA gE ni al

 

   

 

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
   
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 

een
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———
Pe egy
 

 

 

98 History or Hertrorp County, N. C.

any information was Daniel Rea, who lived North and mar-
ried in 1764 Rachel Johnson, of New York, and their chil-
dren, Daniel, Jr., William, Sally, James, Joseph G., Martha,
and Sampson, all of whom became citizens of this county.
Daniel Rea, Jr., married Sally, daughter of Alexander Banks,
of this town. William Rea was married four times. His
first wife was Margaret Wynns, of the old Wynns family of
the county. She lived but a short time, when in 1797 he
married Mary Wynns of the same family. His third wife
was Mary Peck, a Northern lady, and his fourth wife was
Julia Blackwell, of Blackwell’s Island, N. Y. Mr. Rea lived
on the lot where H. T. Lassiter now resides, and did business
in the large brick building on the corner of Fourth and Wil-
liam streets. The late Col. U. Vaughan received his first les-
sons as clerk in Mr. Rea’s store. He was a man of industry
and great executive ability and business sagacity. He ac-
cumulated a large estate, and died in New York. No one
was permitted to remain idle about him. When his clerks
were not otherwise engaged, he made them empty nail kegs
and count the nails, or rub hardware in the store, and the
like. His brother and partner, Joseph G. Rea, married
Nancy Canless in 1813, who was the aunt of Mrs. Lewis M.
Cowper, who was Annis Collins, of Portsmouth, Virginia.
He committed suicide by hanging himself in his garden. He
lived at the place now owned by Lloyd J. Lawrence. He left
no children. His widow long survived him. The writer, in
1888, qualified as administrator de bonis non on her estate,
and made during the same year a final settlement. Their
home was beautifully furnished with the most costly furni-
ture and paintings. After his death, Lewis M. Cowper sold
his place to Thomas N. Myrick, which is now owned by
Uriah Vaughan, and moved with his family across the street
to live with the widow, and that became the home of L. M.
Sowper’s family until their death.

 
    

     

  

Decavr V.—1800-1810. 99

James Rea married Mourn-
ing Norfleet, of Gates County,
in 1808, and was a prominent
merchant in Winton. He died
October 24, 1824, and his wife
died March 24, 1849. They
left one child, Hannah Peck
Rea, who was the sole heir of
his estate. She was greatly
admired and much courted by
the beaux of her day. She was
greatly admired by W. D. Pru-
den, Sr., and his family, and they visited her up to her old
age. Her father, James Rea, was born in Boston, Mass.,
October 9, 1779. Miss Rea married, in December, 1836, Jno.
V. Lawrence, son of Elisha
Lawrence of this county
and his wife Polly Vaughan,
a prominent and successful
merchant in Murfreesboro.
They reared eight children:
Capt. L. C. Lawrence, who
married, in 1867, Sue E.
Southall, daughter of Jno. W.
: Southall; Mattie A., who mar-

tone ech elite: ried, in 1869, S. F. Pearce,
of Camden County; James N. Lawrence, who married
Bettie Pruden, in 1870, of Nansemond County, Virginia,
and who are the parents of Lloyd J. Lawrence, Esq., one
of the county’s lawyers; Dr. John C. Lawrence, who mar-
ried Tibbie Joynes in 1875, from Eastern Shore, Virginia.
The Doctor el a very successful and reliable physician
in his native town; he died in 1885, and his widow a
few years thereafter married Judge Hance, of Baltimore
City. The Doctor left no child. Charles A. Lawrence, mar-
ried Anna Weirsdotz, of Norfolk, Virginia, in 1885, where

 

JAMES REA.

 

CRMs KOT ts 52S RRR aR TT eee STE NI pe al om eae

   
  
 
 
 
    
 
 
 
 
 
   
   
 
 
  
   
 
 
 
 
 
  
   
  
 

 

    

100 History or Hrerrrorp County, N. C.

they now live. Annie married, in 1872, her cousin, John N.
Vaughan, a successful commission merchant of Norfolk, Va.
Emily B. married, in 1876,
Dr. Walter Reid, a celebrated
physician in the U. 8, Army.
Dr. Reid died in 1904, leaving
his wife and one daughter sur-
viving him. Their oldest
daughter, Ellen O., married
the late Col. J. N. Harrell, No-
vember 5, 1863. Mr. Law-
rence was for a long time an

MRS. DR. WALTER REID. active justice of the peace in

nee EMILY LAWRENCE. the county, and attended the
terms of the County Court regularly. He was a man of
strong character and was greatly esteemed in the county.
For a number of years he and Col. Uriah Vaughan carried
on a mereantile business as Lawrence & Vaughan, and met
with much success. His children and grandchildren follow
nearly all the avocations of life, and are well scattered. He
died in 1870, and his wife died in 1904.

William Rea, son of Sampson, married Nancy Brown in
1818, and was the father of Margaret, the wife of the late
B. T. Spiers, of Buckhorn, and of the late Sampson Rea,
of Illinois. He died in 1825 and is buried in this town.
His daughter Mary Ann married, in 1822, Col. Benj. B.
Camp, of Murfreesboro, who was one of the old magistrates.
Colonel Camp died October 9, 1833, and left one son, Wil-
liam, who went West and became a Methodist preacher. His
widow married Jos. T. Liles and died in 1888. William
Rea, Jr., married, in 1824, Nancy Cross, of this county. He
soon died, and his widow married Garrison Smith in 1825.
Smith also died early, and she married, in 1828, William
T.. Bynum, late of Maney’s Neck, and was the mother of
Bynum’s daughters Mary and Annie. Bynum was married
three times. One of his wives was a Stallings, of Gates, and

 

 

 

Drcapr V.—1800-1810. 101

the last was the daughter of the late Jethro W. Barnes.
William Rea’s daughter Fannie married King Parker, the
father of Rev. H. B. Parker and brother of Capt. Samuel
Moore’s wife, of Buckhorn.

RETROSPECT 1810.

At the end of the first fifty years of the county’s existence,
we find the United States on the verge of another war with
Great Britain. Let us look back and see what we have done
and the changes that have taken place since the birth of the
county. The Province has been transformed into an inde-
pendent and sovereign State. The yoke of British authority
had been thrown off. We bow no longer at the altar of kings
and royal governors, nor suffer under arbitrary laws, but live
under a constitution adopted by our people, and governed by
officers of our choice. A compact had been entered into by
the thirteen original States for their mutual protection
against their common foes. <A constitution for the govern-
ment of the United States has been framed and adopted.
The number of States by this time had been increased to
seventeen. Schools had been established throughout the
States. The University of North Carolina had been estab-
lished. The academy for boys and girls had been incorpor-
ated and established in Murfreesboro in 1794, and presided
over by able educators. The population of the county had
greatly increased by a highly educated Christian people, its
towns had become inhabited by a wealthy and energetic class
of business men and traders, while many of the old worthies
of the county had filled honorable graves, the living were
taking their places and rapidly advancing to places of great
honor and public trust in the State and country. Her sons
were widely known for their high character, patriotism and
eminent ability. Her daughters were the product of a lofty
and noble Christian civilization. Churches were dotted
throughout her borders and their pulpits filled by ministers
equal to those of the present day. Her profound Lemuel

— incteataamasinDiiiaataaa a
 

     

 

 

102 History or Herrrorp Country, N. C.

Burkitt had been pleading for the Master and for Higher
Liberty with burning eloquence and with great success.
While her Samuel Wells, a follower of the Wesleys, had by
his logic and wonderful discourses, fastened the Wesleyan
Methodism in the hearts of many of her people and estab-
lished the first Methodist church in Murfreesboro in 1806.
With a high civilization and with her gifted sons and noble
daughters, the county moved onward with beatific dreams
for her future goal.

The thirteen original States were Delaware, Pennsylvania,
New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland,
South Carolina, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New
York, Virginia, and Rhode Island. These States first con-
stituted the United States. Vermont was admitted to the
Union in 1791, Kentucky admitted in 1792, Tennessee in
1796, and Ohio in 1802. From the territory west of the
Mississippi, purchased by the United States from France in
1803, the following States have been admitted to the Union:
Louisiana in 1812, Missouri in 1821, Arkansas in 1836,
Towa in 1846, Minnesota in 1858, Kansas in 1861, Nebraska
in 1867, North and South Dakotas, Montana and Wyoming
in 1890, and Oklahoma and Indian Territory in 1906.”

1)

a

 

DECADE VI.

1810—1820.

War clouds are forming. Soon the call to arms will be
heard. The county’s representative in the Senate is not
changed until 1818, when Gen. Boone Felton succeeds. Gen-
eral Wynns, and the former is succeeded in 1819 by his
cousin, John H. Frazier, and the latter is supplanted by the
old Sheriff, Thomas Deanes. There are some changes in the
county’s representatives in the House. Hertford was prolific
in her able men. General Felton is again seen in the House
in 1811, 1813, 1814 and 1817. Capt. Jethro Darden de-
feats William Jones and returns to his old place in 1812.
General Felton is defeated in 1812 by the scholarly, chival-
rous and able lawyer, William H. Murfree, of Murfreesboro.
This was a strong team. No county in the State was better
represented. Mr. Murfree was one of the ablest lawyers in
the State. In the spring of 1813 he was elected to Congress
from the Edenton district over Gen. Joseph Riddick, of Gates,
Lemuel Sawyer, of Pasquotank, and Hinton, of Chowan, by
a majority of 603 votes over his strongest competitor. This
we get from the issue of May 13, 1813, of the Hornet’s Nest.
Sawyer was then a member of Congress. Murfree was again
elected in 1815, serving four years, 1813-1817. He de-
clined a third nomination. In Congress he was an able and
strong defender of the dignity of the United States in its war
With Great Britain. He married Elizabeth Meredith Maney,
daughter of James Maney IV., of Murfreesboro, and they
had a son, William Law Murfree, who was born in Murfrees-
boro, N. ©. In 1823, Hon. William H. Murfree moved,
with his family, to Tennessee to look after his large interests
there which he inherited from his father, Col. Hardy Mur-
free, and died in 1827. His son, Wm. Law Murfree, was
afforded the best advantages for the highest education. Nat-
urally very bright, he became a profound scholar and lawyer.
He graduated at the head of bis class at the University of

   
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
    
  
    
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
   

 

 

104 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

Nashville, Tennessee. He also inherited a large estate from
his father and owned large cotton plantations in Mississippi
and Tennessee. He married Fannie Priscilla Dickinson,
daughter of David Dickinson, and reared three children.
Miss Fanny N. D. Murfree, who is the authoress of a success-
ful novel entitled “Felicia”; and Miss Mary Noailles Mur-
free, who is also an authoress of nineteen volumes of fiction,
published under the non de plume of ‘Charles Egbert Crad-
dock.” She now resides in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, a city
established by her great-grandfather, Col. Hardy Murfree;
and William Law Murfree, Jr., who married Miss Louise
Knostman. William Law Murfree, Sr., was himself an able
writer. In 1881 he moved from Murfreesboro, Tennessee,
to St. Louis, where he edited the Central Law Journal for
three years, 1886, 1887 and 1888. Many of the legal profes-
sion in this State remember well the able articles from his
pen, which were freely copied from in the law periodicals of
London and Dublin, and in Canada and Australia. While
in St. Louis he wrote three law books, viz., “On Sheriffs,”
on ‘Official Bonds,” and “The Justice of the Peace.” He
was also an able contributor to the literary magazines, the
Century, Scribner, and others. He returned to Murfrees-
boro, Tennessee, in 1890, and died in August, 1892. The

Hardy Murfree who graduated at Chapel Hill, N. C., in

1848, was a son of Matthias B. Murfree. There is a town
by the name of Murfreesboro in Pike County, Arkansas.
The Murfrees and Maneys intermarried. Hon. John Bell,
of Tennessee, who was one of the candidates for President of
the United States in 1860, married Louisa, the elder daugh-
ter of David Dickinson and sister to the wife of Wm. Law
Murfree.

In 1811, Col. William Jones first appears as one of the
county’s representatives in the House. He is the younger

 

’ Norr.—Mrs. J. H. Hillman of Pittsburg, Penn., was Miss Sarah Mur-
free Fraser, the daughter of Henry Fraser of Tennessee and wife Eliza-
beth Murfree, daughter of Wm. Law Murfree of Murfreesboro, Tenn.

  

Decaprt VI.—1810-1820, 105

brother of James Jones, who retired from public life in 1806.
He lived and died on the farm later owned by the late Daniel
Vanpelt Sessoms. He served in the house for five terms.

In 1812, the United States became involved in war with
England, James Madison was President of the United
States. George III. was still King of England. His malig-
nant heart had not relented. He cherished malice against
the former colonies. England had a strong navy, and they
began in many ways to interfere with American commerce,
by sending its warships to hover around American ports and
prevent free traffic between Americans and other countries,
and in that way injure our commerce and humiliate the
States. War was declared in June, 1812. Most of the
fighting was near the Canadian borders, yet much fighting
occurred along the Atlantic coast as far down as Norfolk,
Virginia, and in the Virginia waters, and around Charleston,
S. C. Joseph F. Dickinson, of Murfreesboro, entered the
war from Hertford, as Brigadier-General, and was put in
command of the American troops around Norfolk, Va., a
position assigned to Col. Benj. Wynns, of Hertford County,
in the War of 1776-1782. The war ended in March, 1814,
as a result of the capturing of the British “Penguin” off the
coast of Brazil, by the American Hornet. A treaty of peace
between the two countries was arranged and ratified to meet
in the summer of 1814, at Ghent, in Belgium. The com-
missioners on the part of the United States were John Adams,
James A. Bayard, Henry Clay, Jonathan Russell and Albert
Gallatin. The treaty which was agreed upon, was simply to
stop the war and both countries behave themselves in the
future. It was “much ado about nothing.”

Hertford County furnished to this war, in addition to Gen-
eral Dickinson, the following soldiers:

Irwin Jenkins, Capt. ; Everett Garrett, Lt.; Benjamin Hill,
Ensign; Andrew Oliver, Cadet; James Spiers, Cadet; Wm.
Walton, 1st Sergt.; Hardy Banks, 2d Sergt.; Josiah Battle,
3d Sergt.; John Scott, 4th Sergt.; Arthur Booth, 1st Corp. ;

 

  
   

 

106

   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
 

History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

Elisha Horton, 2d Corp.; Charles Jenkins, 3d Corp.; J.
Witherington, 4th Corp.; John Manning, drummer; Wiley
Brown, fifer; James Early, Lemuel Holloman, James Hayes,
Thomas Britton, Luke McGlaughon, Nathan Baker, Corne-
lus H. Godwin, Anthony Brown, Anthony Williams, Noah
Evans, Jacob Sewell, Jethro Sewell, Jacob Hare, John Baker,
John Scull, Thomas Holland, Henry DeBerty J enkins, John
Curl, John Denton, William Ballester, Thomas Clark, Josiah
I. Atkins, Lewis Carter, Jonas Atkins, Henry Brantley,
William Williams, Henry Wiggins, Miles Hobbs, John Ever-
ett, Alexander Booth, Thomas Thorne, Zachariah Brown,
Edward Crump, Anthony B. Lee, John Benthall, Robert
Brantley, Thomas Neal, Alexander Smith, Wm. Brown,
Isaac Pearce, George Askew, Edward Brantley, Henry Eure,
Joseph G. Rea, William Wynns, Thomas Weston, Allen L.
Ramsay, Elisha Mints, James Parker, Benj. Ezell, Britton
Sikes, William Andrews, Isaac Foster, John C. Montgomery,
Reuben Clark, Lewis Boone, Josiah Robbins, Elijah Archer,
Ephraim King, Samuel Boone, Mathuel Archer, James Ral-
eigh, John Weaver, James B. Jones, Hardy Davis, Mills
Walters, Abram Boone, West Boone, John Bizzett.

Muster roll of the detached militia organized in August,
1814; 1st regiment, composed of Chowan, Currituck, Cam-
den, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Gates, Hertford, Bertie,
Northampton, Halifax, Warren and Nash.

HERTFORD’s LIST.

Irvin Jenkins, Captain; Benj. Hill, Lieut.; Henry G.
Darden, Ensign; Benj. Brown, Drummer; Silas Sheweroft,
Fifer; William Brown, James Johnston, Willie Willoughby,
Luke Hare, John Brown, Burwell Eure, Jacob Overton, Eli-
sha Overton, Jeremiah Aikin, William Wynns, Wm. W.
Whitfield, Jeremiah D. Aikin, James Rasberry, Jr., Allen
‘Moore, Wm. Downing, James Barnes, Willie Cullon, Jesse
Harrison, Wm. Sessoms, Geo. Holloman, Jr., Justin Hollo-
man, Samuel Britton, Jethro Sewell, Aaron Hare, Isaac

 

Drcapr VI.—1810-1820, 107

Baker, David Welch, Jr., William Sewell, Thomas Elerton,
Benj. Hoeal, Geo. H. Bond, Isaac Taylor, Wm. Purnell, Wm.
Yeates, Samuel Parker, William Teaster, Benj. Wynns, Sam-
uel Ely, Eli Harrell, Boan Driver, John Dickinson, Thomas
Early, John P. Hare, Stephen Howell, John A. Anderson,
Benj. Blare, Sterling Francis, Arthur Vick, George Whitley,
Jno. Seall, David Williams, James Skinner, Henry Brantley,
Daniel Williams, James Worrell, Thomas Faireloth, Benj.
Williams, Lemuel Sanders, Gray Mahone, John Vinson,
John Vaughan, Jonas Clifton, William Rogers, Nelson Joy-
ner, Wm. Andrews, Robert Montgomery, William Parker,
Mathias Cook, Hilary Vaughan, Joel Grizzard, Hardy M.
Banks, Wm. A. Payne. Walter B. Myrick was in the war
from Southampton County, Virginia.

Below we will give a few names of some of the brave and
patriotic sons of other counties in North Carolina, who faced
the British on the field of battle, when she was attempting to
defeat the American independence and government, viz. :

Capt. Sampson Glenn and Mark Glenn, of Person County ;
Benj. Glenn, of Surry County, and Benj. H. Wortham, of
Granville; John I. Cunningham, Cunningham Sharp, Lan-
caster Cunningham, and Samuel Wellborne, of Mecklenburg;
Duncan Cunningham and Alex. Cunningham, of Richmond,
and Benj. Scarborough, of Greene, and Jesse Scarborough,
of New Hanover; Peter Wynns, of Tyrrell; David Wynns,
Henry Wynns, and George Wynns, of Martin County.

NORTHAMPTON COUNTY.

Capt. James ©. Harrison, Stephen Winborne, Lemuel Win-
borne, Winborne Futrell, David Boone, William Boone, Ar-
thur Tyner, Micajah Futrell, Lemuel Vaughan, Goodwin
Daniel, James Vaughan, Benj. Vaughan, Nehemiah Vinson,
Jiles Lewter, Benj. Griffin, Gilbert Griffin, James Griffin,
Brittain Lassiter, John Jenkins, Benj. Jenkins, Benj. Law-
rence, Nathan Pope, Samuel Warren, Edwin Liles.

  
 

 

History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

BERTIE COUNTY.

Benj. Winborne, Lodswick Pruden, Thomas Hoggard,
Tristram Capehart, Thos. 8. West, Wm. Castellow.

HALIFAX COUNTY.

Lt. John Peebles, Wm. R. Daniel.

GATES COUNTY.

Hardy Williams, Robert Parker, Wm. Pyland, Lt. Isaac
K. Hunter.

HORNETS NEST.

On September 3, 1812, the publication of the Hornets
Nest, a newspaper, in Murfreesboro, was begun. The editor
was Bryant Bramble, Esq., and published by Rea & Hunting-
ton, of Murfreesboro. Mr. L. J. Lawrence, the law-partner
of the author, has several copies of it, and we have had access
to its newsy columns. It was spirited and spicy, and a newsy
paper. It was correctly named. It contains news not only
throughout North Carolina, but throughout Europe, New
England, and all the States of the Union. It was thoroughly
American in sentiment, and for war.

We culled from these issues of this noted paper some in-
formation about the town of Murfreesboro and its people.
The “Hertford Academy” was located here, and the General
Assembly of the State passed a law authorizing George Gor-
don, William P. Morgan (who lived on the lot where the
author now resides), Patrick Brown and Ephraim Wheeler,
of Murfreesboro, to conduct a lottery for the benefit of the
Academy. Tickets were regularly sold for prizes, which
amounted to $8,000.00. —

From this paper we find the names of Alexander Banks,
John Wheeler, William Rea and Joseph Rea, John Dawley,
Abner Williams, and others of Murfreesboro’s business men.
We learn of Jabez Wheeler, of Winton. And of Elisha Fel-
ton, Lewis Walters, Jno. Vann and Joseph F. Dickinson, com-
missioners appointed by the County Court to have the county

Drcavr VI.—1810-1820. 109

court-house and jail repaired. We also learn from it that
Joseph F. Dickinson, in F ebruary, 1813, owned the hotel lot
and the other lots between that and the Chowan River, now
owned by Jordan and Parker, and also the Winton F erry,
and the swamp land across the river in Gates County, and
he offers the whole for sale, as he intends to move to Mur-
freesboro to live. He was then Clerk of the Court. He en-
tered the army in the War of 1812-1814. He was promoted
to the rank of Brigadier-General. His deputy performed
the duties of the office until his return.

Thomas Deanes made his debut as a legislator in 1815,
He had served for a number of years as Sheriff of the county,
and was well known and belonged to a large and influential
family. He was the son of Daniel Deanes, who lived near
where Oris Parker, Esq., now resides. Our Clerk of Court,

' Thomas Deanes Boone, is a descendant of him; so was Gen.

William Deanes Barnes, of Florida.

The elegant Thomas Maney, another of Hertfords’ gifted
lawyers, enters the House in 1817. He was a descendant of
Maj. James Maney, who died in Maney’s Neck in 1754. He
won honors in his profession before leaving the county and
State. In 1825 he moved with his family to Tennessee, and
became a great judge in that State,

The Maneys were among Hertford’s most prominent peo-
ple during the first fifty years of the Republic. James
Maney, the first, a French Huguenot, when he first came to
America, early in the 18th century, settled on Long Island.
Afterwards he moved to Virginia, and thence to North
Carolina, and located on the Chowan River in Hertford
County, near the present Maney’s Ferry. He soon became
the owner of a large body of land bounded by Chowan River,
Buckhorn Swamp, and reaching up as high as Como, taking
in the land of the late Abram Riddick, Capt. J. H. Picot,
Capt. Samuel Moore, and the lands in the Bartonville sec-

tion. He established Maney’s Ferry, which is mentioned in
Colonial Records as one of the King’s places for landing his

LE ae aT er eA IN II 6 ne EMIT aoa 8

   

      
  
 
   
  
 
    
  
 
    
 
 
    
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

110 History or Herrrorp Country, N. C.

army stores. Prior to the formation of Hertford County
these lands were in Northampton. He was Major in His
Majesty’s militia in Northampton County, and also a justice
of the peace as far back as 1744, and died in the year 1754.
William Short was made major to sueceed him. Col. Ree.,
vol. 5, p. 163. He left a son, James, whe married Miss
Susanna Ballard. James Maney, the second, was a vestry-
man in Northwest Parish in Northampton County in 1758,
and one of Hertford’s representatives in the General Assem-
bly in 1778. He left only one son, James ITI., who married
Elizabeth Baker, the daughter of Gen. Lawrence Baker.
They left four children
cilla. Susanna married Gen. Thomas Wynns. Henry died

 

James, Henry, Susanna, and Pris-

while young.

Priscilla married a Mr. Burgess, and James married Miss
Mary Roberts, of Murfreesboro. James alone left children.
Mrs. Mary Maney, the wife of James, the fourth, died Feb-
ruary 13, 1815, aged 46 years and 26 days, and Mrs. Susanna
Wynns, wife of General Wynns, died January 5, 1822, aged
56 years and 5 months. Both are buried with their hus-
bands on the Abram Riddick farm, which was the old Maney
homestead.

 

James IV. left six children—James, Elizabeth Meredith,
Thomas, Mary, Henry, and William. James Maney, the
fifth, was a distinguished doctor in Murfreesboro. He mar-
ried Miss Sallie H. Murfree, and William married Miss
Martha Murfree, daughters of Col. Hardy Murfree, of Mur-
freesboro, N. C., in this county. Elizabeth M. married Hon.
Wm. H. Murfree. Henry married Miss Mary Brown, of
Murfreesboro, N. C., daughter of Samuel Brown. Thomas,
who was a prominent and leading lawyer in Hertford County
and Eastern North Carolina, lived in Murfreesboro, and
married Miss Annie R. Southall of that town, sister of the
late John W. Southall.

In 1790, as appears from the U. 8. Census, James Maney
and Mrs. Peggy Maney resided in Hertford. Thomas Ma-

eae

q
|

 

 

     

ne RE

JupGe THOMAS MANEY.
 

Decapr VI.—1810-1820, 111

ney represented Hertford County in the General Assembly
in 1817. The name is spelt in the State histories ““Manney.”
But on investigation of the old records of N orthampton and
the old Colonial Records of the State, I found that the oldest
as well as the younger members, spelt the name Maney,
which is correct. I foolishly spelt it Manney in the history
of “The Winborne Family” for the first time in all my pro-
fessional life. I fell in the error by seeing it spelt in the
old histories of the State, Manney.

The four Maney brothers—James, Henry, Thomas, and
William—emigrated from Hertford County, N. C., to Ten-
nessee about the year 1825. Dr. James and Henry Maney
settled near Murfreesboro, Tenn., and Thomas and William
at Franklin in that State.

Henry Maney and family left Tennessee early in the fifties
and moved to Texas, where his children now reside.

None of these brothers were in public life except Thomas
Maney, who was elected Cirenit Court J udge about 1839 or
1840, and was re-elected for some sixteen or eighteen years,
and before his last term expired he resigned and enjoyed
private life until his death, April 10, 1864. After his elec-
tion to the judgeship he moved from Franklin to N. ashville,
so as to be in the center of his circuit, which was composed
of Williamson, Davidson, and Sumner counties.

None of the Maneys entered political life in Tennessee
except David Maney, son of Dr. James Maney, who repre-
sented his county in the legislature some few years before
his death, some five or six years since. Henry Maney, the
third living son-of Judge Thomas Maney, was in early man-
hood ed*:.. * the Nashville Gazette, and was also elected to
we legislatn , as floater, of his flotorial district, and who
died soon afer in 1859. Gen. George Maney, the oldest
living son of Judge Maney, was a lieutenant in the First

_ Tennessee Regiment in the Mexican War, and entered politi-
eal life soon after the close of that war and was elected to
the legislature. When our Civil War commenced, he was

 
   
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    
 
   
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    
    
 
 
 

 

 

 

112 History or Herrrorp Country, N. C.

made Colonel of the First Tennessee Regiment, OC. S. A., and
was soon made Brigadier-General, and so served throughout
the war, but during the latter part was incapacitated for
much active service on account of wounds.

Returning home after the war, he was made president of
the Tennessee and Pacific Railroad, and became a Republican
in politics, and was elected to the Senate in the Tennessee
legislature. He had unlimited influence over Governor Sen-
ter during the carpet-bag period, and it was greatly to that
influence that the government was restored to the Confeder-
ates, and the Negro and carpet-bag regime was overthrown,
and the State was then governed by the Confederate Demo-
erats. He represented the United States as minister to
Columbia for four years and afterwards as minister to
Uragua and Paragua for four more.

General Maney died in Washington City on February 9,
1901. James D. Maney, second living son of Thomas
Maney, was living in Petersburg, Va., at_the beginning of
our war, and was captain of a Virginia company; was later
promoted to major and transferred to the Army of Ten-
nessee. After the war he returned to Nashville and entered
the railroad business and was for many years comptroller of
the N. C. and St. Louis Railroad. His health giving away
he resigned and is now living a very private life.

Frank Maney, the youngest son of Judge Maney, was at
West Point Military Academy when the Italian revolution,
under Garibaldi, commenced. He left West Point and
joined the revolutionists, serving on the staff of General
Avenzaza. At the close of the Italian revolution he re-
turned to the United States and entered the Confederate Army
as captain of a battery of artillery, and was captured when
Fort Donelson fell. On his way to prison he escaped in
Ohio, and made his way through Maryland to Richmond,
then back to the Army of Tennessee, when he was made
major of a battalion of sharp-shooters. He was killed soon
after the war, in New Orleans.

 

 

Drcave VI.—1810-1820. 113

Thomas Maney had two daughters. The oldest, Bettie
Maney, married John Kimberly, Professor of Chemistry in
the University of North Carolina, and after the Civil War
was a resident of Asheville, N. C. They both have been
dead many years, and most of their children are residents of
Asheville.

The youngest, Annie, married Major John L. Sehon, a
prominent young lawyer of Nashville, just at the beginning
of the Civil War. On the retreat of our army she accom-
panied her husband South, and died in Augusta, Ga., in
1864. Major Sehon died a few years after the close of the
war.

Dr. James Maney, the oldest of the four brothers, had four
children, three sons and one daughter, all of whom are now
dead. Henry Maney, who moved to Texas in the fifties, had
two sons and three daughters; the eldest son, Henry Maney,
became a judge of one of the courts of Western Texas. Wil-
liam Maney raised a large family of five sons and seven

daughters, all of whom made good and substantial citizens,
but none entered public life. Maney’s Ferry, and that beau-

tiful section of the county, “Maney’s Neck,” took its name

from this family, though it is often spelled “Manney’s
Neck.”

“FUDGE.”

A REMARKABLE CRIMINAL TRIAL.

About the year 1818 Joseph T. Liles, Thomas Faircloth,
James Spiers and William Rogers, four citizens of Mur-
freesboro of good standing, were arrested and brought before
a justice of the peace for a hearing, upon the charge of hav-
ing, the night before, forcibly entered the dwelling-house of
Jethro Pender, who lived at the old Weaver place, on the
hill between Murfreesboro and Maple Fork Branch, and beat
Pender until he was nearly dead, and robbed his house of a

trunk, which was carried out, and $300 and other valuables,
taken and carried off.

 

8 |

 

 
    

 

 

 

    

114 History or Herrrorp Counry.

Liles, Faircloth and Rogers were soldiers in the War of
1812. At the trial the granddaughter of Pender, who alone
lived with him, testified that she was in the house with her
grandfather when three of the men broke into the house, and
one remained on the outside. They were disguised. She
begged them not to kill her grandfather; they beat him
badly and took out the trunk. That she heard them talking
to each other, and she heard them call the names of Jo. Liles,
Jim Spiers, Bill Rogers, and Tom Faircloth. Upon this
evidence these men were put in jail to await a trial in the
Superior Court for their lives. They knew they were not
guilty, but their lives were in great jeopardy. Under the
law at that time they were not allowed to testify. The friends
of each tried to get him to turn State’s witness against the
other three and receive amnesty from the State. Liles,
Spiers and Faircloth declared their innocence, and said they
would die before they would swear to a lie to take the lives
of their neighbors. Rogers yielded to the pressure and con-
fessed his guilt, and testified, implicating the others. They
were convicted, and Liles, Spiers and Faircloth were sen-
tenced to be hanged.

A few days before they were to be executed a message
came to the sheriff of the county from a negro in jail in Suf-
folk, Va., under sentence of death. The sheriff went to
Suffolk and saw the negro. He told the sheriff that the men
in Winton jail under sentence of death for robbing Jethro
Pender, were innocent. That they knew nothing of the
robbery. He confessed his guilt and stated to the sheriff all
the circumstances of the crime and the names of the other
three negroes who were with him. That they disguised
themselves, and that they called themselves Jo, Liles, Jim
Spiers, Bill Rogers and Tom Faircloth to mislead Pender
and his granddaughter. His companions were Willis Fudge,
Harvey Fudge and Aaron Wynns. He informed the sheriff
how they divided the money, and where he could find the
hair trunk. That they took from the trunk, besides $300
in money, a piece of black velvet goods, and Aaron Wynns

       

       

Dercapr VI.—1810-1820, 115

had a jacket made of the goods. That Harvey Fudge bought
a white horse with his part of the money. ‘The sheriff re-
turned and found the trunk in the place where he was told to
look, and other facts just as related to him by the Suffolk
criminal.

Steps were promptly taken to secure the pardon and re-
lease of Liles, Spiers and Faireloth. Spiers survived the
ordeal but a short time. Liles and Faireloth lived several
years and when the end came their bodies were placed to rest
by kind, sympathetic and appreciative friends, in the burial
ground on the river hill.

Thomas Faircloth was an old ancestor of the late Chief
Justice W. T. Faircloth, of Goldsboro, N. ©.

No person charged with crime could testify in his own
behalf in North Carolina, as in many other States, until
1881, nor could one testify in his own interest in civil suits
until March 12, 1866. There is no doubt but that nanum-
bered wrongs have been inflicted under the laws as handed
down to us by our English ancestors,

The facts of the above trial were published in a pamphlet
entitled “Fudge.”

During this decade the county received many valuable
additions to her population. Among them were Seth South-
all and Rev. Daniel Southall, who immigrated from Amelia
County, Va., and settled in Murfreesboro in 1815.

Daniel ‘was born August 9, 1768. Prior thereto, in 1806,
Rev. Samuel Wells became a citizen of the town, and by his
zealous efforts the first Methodist church was established in
the town. He lived at the Willis Warren place, and was the
grandfather of the wife of the late James W. Hill, of Mur-
freesboro. Rev. Southall was a man of great energy and
Success in both spiritual and temporal things. He was a
Methodist and preached with great power and pathos. Dr.
O’Dwyer often speaks of his powerful and persuasive ser-
mons. By his wonderful discourses on the Gospel he soon
established a large membership for the Methodist church and
gave it the ascendency in the town. He was twice married.

 
 

   
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

116 Hisrory or Herrrorp County, N. C.

His first wife was a niece of Gen. Joseph Riddick, of Gates ;
his second wife was the sister of Gov. John Branch, of North
Carolina. Rev. Southall was also a large and successful
merchant. He died in Washington City while there on a
visit, and was buried in’ that city about 1835. He lived in
the house formerly occupied by Dr. R. H. Worthington, the
first compounder and patentee of the famous “Worthington

Cholera Compound.”
Rev. Southall’s eldest son,

John W. Southall, was born
July 28, 1797, and resided in
\ Murfreesboro up to his death,
\ July 38,1878. Like his father,
he was married twice. He
first married Julia, daughter
of Richard and Martha John-
son, of New York, at Buck-
horn Chapel, November 1,
aes 1825. Their daughter, Julia,
nn ae married Thomas N. Myrick,
December 19, 1847. After the death of his Johnson wife
he married, March 4, 1842, Mrs. Mary Wynns, widow of
the late Wm. B. Wynns, and acquired by this marriage a
large estate. By this marriage he had two daughters, the
present Mrs. Capt. L. C. Lawrence and Mary W., who died
young. ‘

John W. Southall was a great Methodist, and spent his
money freely to advance the cause of his church, and was a
devoted friend to the upbuilding of the Wesleyan Female
College of his town. He took an active interest in the affairs
of the county, and served as a magistrate for a number of
years prior to the Civil War. His fine horses were often
commented upon and he took great pride in showing them.
His last wife died March 22, 1900, in her 89th year.

His brother, James H. Southall, married June 7, 1837,
Sarah C., the daughter of John and Sarah Wheeler, and
later moved to Columbus, Miss.

 

 

 

  

Decapr VI.—1810-1820, 117

Rey, Southall had two daughters. His elder daughter,
Annie R., married Judge Thomas Maney prior to his re-
moval to Tennessee in 1825. His second daughter married
Tristram Capehart, who lived where the late Col. J. N. Har-
rell resided. Mr. Capehart’s daughter, Caroline, married
Prof. John Kimberly, the old school-teacher at Buckhorn
and later professor in the University at Chapel Hill. Prof.
Kimberly moved to the county from the North when he was
a young man, and bought the Titus Darden place at Buck-
horn and settled there. His daughter, Miss Rebecca Kim-
berly, now lives in Asheville, N. ©.

_ Another valuable addition was Robert Warren, of Vir-
ginia, who in 1818 settled in Maney’s Neck. He was the
great-uncle of the writer. While he never married, he was
a model citizen, and his example as a noble man and chari-
table neighbor was of untold value. He was the son of Col.
Etheldred Warren, an officer in the Revolutionary War, from
Virginia, and a grandson of Samuel Warren, of Virginia.

Dr. Richard B. Baker, of Hickory, N. C., brother of Mrs.
Sue J. Myrick, of Murfreesboro, and a former citizen of this
county, and a grandson of General Baker, writes that he
knew Robert and his brother Etheldred Warren well. and
that no nobler men ever lived. This grand old uty died
in 1846,

The writers grandmother,
Martha Winborne, often told
him that her brother, Robert
Warren, was said to resemble
George Washington. He was
aristocratic in his dress and
bearing, and was fond of the
music of the chase, and placed
great value on his well-trained
pack of fox hounds. He per-
sistently declined to accept any
office, preferring the liberties

ROBERT WARREN.

     

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

118 History or Hrrrrorp Country, N. C.

of private life. His home was known as “Cedar Hill.” Dr.
Baker speaks in his letter of December, 1905, of Robert’s
brother, Etheldred Warren, as the “old Saxon.” The latter
was a soldier in the War of 1812 from his native State Vir-
ginia; and their father was Col. Etheldred Warren, of revo-
lutionary fame, from Virginia. He was born January 16,
1749, and married Margaret R. Darden, October 15, 1775.
Colonel Warren was the son of Samuel Warren, of Virginia.

Titus Darden, on December 10, 1819, purchased from
Wm. H. Murfree the tract of land where Capt. J. H. Picot
now resides at Buckhorn, it being lot No. 8 in the division
of the lands of James Maney III. Titus Darden was the
brother of Jethro Darden, and died in 1834, leaving a will
in which he mentioned his children, William H., Harriet T.,
James C©., and Elizabeth J. Darden. He made Thomas P.
Little and John Waddill his executors. William H. Darden
married Elizabeth Brett, sister of William and Mills Brett,
and lived near Union. They were the parents of our James
H. Darden, the leading merchant at Union. (See Decade 8).

Maj. John W. Moore, in his History of the State, speaks of

a fashionable wedding in Hertford County in 1803, which
was witnessed by many of the celebrities of the county, and
the handsome beaux and the gay and beautiful belles of the

county made brilliant the occasion; and when under the

strains of the eloquent music of the negro fiddlers, the vener-
able Gen. Thomas Wynns and Robert Montgomery partici-

pated enthusiastically in the dancing.
We will present you with the likeness of a bride of Mur-

freesboro about fifteen years later—Mrs. Frank Jeggitts.

 

     

Decapr VI.—1810-1820. 119

The Jeggitts family was one
of the old and fashionable
families of the Borough. They
were of French-Huguenot de-
scent. The name was origi-
nally spelled Jegitts. Dr.
Lewis M. Jeggitts was in the
House from the county in
1822. His brother David
moved to Mecklenburg Coun-
ty, Va. They were the sons
of William Jeggitts. - John
Jeggitts married widow Barshaba Hill, and left two daugh-
ters, Barshaba and Sallie, who are remembered by many of
our people of to-day. Edw. K. Jeggitts, the old sheriff who
died in 1846, has a daughter living in town now—Miss Mag-
gie Jeggitts, a faithful friend and companion of Mrs. Susan
J. Myrick, the granddaughter of General Baker.

Sheriff Jeggitts first lived near Mt. Tabor Church, but
later at the old William Rea place, now owned by H. T.
Lassiter. Frank Jeggitts was the son of Edw. R. Jeggitts,
and they lived in town where the Rev. C. W. Scarborough
now resides. Frank was extremely fond of dress, and always
looked like he was dressed for a wedding occasion. Mrs.
Jeggitts, whose likeness is seen above, was his second wife.
She was regarded as one of the most beautiful women of her
day. They moved to Tennessee.

The spirit of education continues. In 1820, Samuel Nich-
olson, of Maney’s Neck, established a high school near the
present site of Buckhorn Academy, and for years conducted
a successful school at that place. Many of our old ancestors
in the Neck received their early education at this ancient seat
of learning. Nicholson married the wealthy widow, Sallie
Hill, and died in the 8th decade in New York City. After

 

MRS. FRANK JEGGITTS.

his marriage to the rich widow he gave up the school and was ~

succeeded by a Mr. Durbar, and the latter by a Mr. Warner,

   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 

 

 

 

 

120 History or Hrerrrorp County, N. C.

of Connecticut, and Warner was succeeded by Mr. Bogart,
the father of the late John H. Bogart, of Franklin, Va.

Mr. Bogart was a Northern gentleman and a fine instrue-
tor, but he did not remain long, when he was succeeded by
Prof. John Kimberly, of Brooklyn, N. Y., a gentleman of
culture and refinement, a ripe scholar and a splendid in-
structor. A few of his students at Buckhorn are still living
and they enjoy relating their experiences at this ancient and
classic school. Our father was one of the Kimberly boys,
and before his death he delighted his family in recalling the
fate of some of the boys. Professor Kimberly gave the school
a State reputation as a first-class academy, for the thorough
training and instruction of young men. Professor Kimberly
while teaching this school married Caroline, the daughter of
Tristram Capehart, of Murfreesboro, by his first wife Emma,
the daughter of Rev. Daniel Southall. His second wife was
Bettie, the daughter of Judge Thomas Maney and wife,
Rebecca Southall. Miss Rebecca Maney Kimberly, of Ashe-
ville, N. C., is the daughter of Professor Kimberly by his
last wife. In the early part of the Ninth Decade, Professor
Kimberly was elected a professor in the University at Chapel
Hill and moved to that place. He owned and lived, while
in the county, at the present home of Prof. J. H. Picot at
Buckhorn. Buckhorn Academy was incorporated by the Gen-
eral Assembly on January 9, 1847. Under the act the land
cannot be sold and can be used only for school purposes.
The trustees cannot in any way dispose of it.

Prof. Geo. W. Neal, of Murfreesboro, who married the
daughter of John Hart and wife, Betsy, of the same town,
sueceeded Prof. Kimberly at the Buckhorn Academy. Pro-
fessor Neal was a scholarly and able teacher. Our Judge

 

Nore.—Prof. Neal was a member. of the faculty of the Wesleyan Fe-
male College in Murfreesboro for several years after leaving Buckhorn.
At the beginning of the Civil War he was the Principal of the Male
Academy in the same town. From here he moved to Franklinton, N. C.,
where he conducted a high school for boys. From there he moyed to
New Bern, N. C., where he resided up to his death.

         

 

 

Decapr VI.—1810-1820. pea §

Walter H. Neal, of Scotland County, N. C., is the learned
son of the professor. After several years of successful teach-
ing at the Academy he was succeeded by that elegant, schol-
arly and Christian gentleman, George A. Brett, of that sec-
tion of the county. Mr. Brett was a graduate of Chapel
Hill, and was one of Professor Kimberly’s Buckhorn boys.
He first taught at Williamston, Martin County, where he
married Miss Slade of that county. About 1857 he was
succeeded by our venerable Julian H. Picot, another of the
Kimberly boys, and who delights to-day to talk of those mem-
orable days. Professor Picot has presided over the destinies
of that classic school with splendid success and commensurate
ability from 1857 to the present time, excepting the period
he was serving in the Civil War, training and educating the
minds and hearts of the young men, and is still, in his old
age, its principal, teaching the young idea how to shoot. He
has prepared for college over 2,000 young men, and they can
be found in all the busy walks of life.

Professor Picot was born
May 20, 1832, in Plymouth,
N. C., and was the son of
Peter O. Picot and his wife
Marietta, the daughter of Ed-
mond Blount of that town.
Professor Picot was a Confed-
erate captain in the late Civil
War, and served throughout
the struggle. He was pre
pared for college at Buckhorn
by Professor Kimberly. His
father graduated at Chapel
Hill in 1818 in the class with James K. Polk. Professor
Picot’s grandfather was an eminent surgeon in France and
a close friend of Louis XVI. He came to this country and
settled in Plymouth, N. C., where he died in advanced age in
1847, where jhe and his nephew, Louis Picot, who came to

 

a CAPT, J. H. PICOT.
.

     

   
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 

 

122 History or Hertrrorp County, N. C.

this country in 1836, are buried side by side. His tomb has
the following inscription: “Here lies the exiles of France.”
Captain Picot married Antoinette, the eldest daughter of T.
D. Vann, who lived near Buckhorn, in 1852, and moved to the
county in 1855 and bought the home of Professor Kimberly,
which was the third lot in the division of James Maney’s
lands, and where he still lives, enjoying a happy old age.
His children will be mentioned later.

Captain Picot, after being prepared for college under the
tutorship of Professor Kimberly, and then after two years at
William Bingham’s Military Academy, entered Columbian
College, in the District of Columbia, where he prosecuted
his studies with marked success, always ranking among the
first in his classes. He completed his collegiate studies at
Union University, N. Y., where he received his degree of
A.M. in 1852. He is one of the finest and most polished
linguists in the State.

France cedes to the United States, as the result of Gen.
Andrew Jackson’s great victory at the Battle of New Or-
leans, the territory of Florida in 1819, which was in that
year admitted as a State in the Union.

 

 

FTE EER ERNE RETRE Sr RECS ea ae Ae a ee eR "ai aa ae,

. eae
boas ey

DECADE VII.

1820—1830.

This decade in the history of the county shows many
changes. Gen. Joseph F. Dickinson, who had served the
county for about twenty years as Clerk of the County Court,
and as Brigadier-General in the War of 1812-1814, passes
away on the 6th day of June, 1822, in his 47th year. He
was the son of Joseph Dickinson, Jr., who was born in
England, December 7, 1740, and arrived in America in
1762 and died in Winton in 1784. General Dickinson’s
grandfather, Joseph Dickinson, Sr., was born in England,
February 25, 1712, arrived in America in July, 1774, and
died in Winton, July 23, 1776. The General married the
beautiful and charming Peggy Gregory, and lived in Win-
ton until 1813, when he moved to Murfreesboro and resided
where Col. J. M. Wynns now resides. Mrs. Dickinson’s
brother, Thomas Gregory, has descendants to-day in Salis-
bury. N. C. The General was very wealthy. He left
no children. In his will he devised most of his large
estate to his wife, who some years after his death married
Dr. Isaac Pipkin, of Murfreesboro. He made Gen. Thomas
Wynns and John Wheeler his executors. Dr, Pipkin by his
marriage with the widow Dickinson reared two daughters,
Anne Maria and Mary Ellenor. The former died shortly after
reaching womanhood, and the latter married Capt. Wm. B.
Muse, of the U. S. Navy.

George Gordon succeeded him as clerk. Gordon’s first
wife was Patsy Sharp, daughter of the first Starkey Sharp,
by his second wife Jemima Hare. John Hare Gordon was
the son of this marriage. He succeeded his father as Public
Register for a short while. Father and son soon died.
George Gordon’s daughter, Barsha Gordon, by his marriage
With the widow Harrell, married Dr. Lawrence O’Bryan, of
Murfreesboro.

ari a tale
PRET SE LOO AMy Pe ey Ae eee ae

 

  

NE TS RAT ea Se NATE ag
 

 

 

 

 

124 History or Hrertrrorp Country.

James Wright Moore has passed away, and in 1825 his
widow, Ester Cotton, married Capt. John Jones, of Virginia.
Rev. Daniel Southall on June 5, 1825, preached the funeral
sermon of Gen. Thomas Wynns.

Andrew V. Duer begins a term of usefuiness as Public
Register. Lewis M. Cowper throws on the toga of Clerk of
the County Court, which he wears for about forty years.
He married Miss Oollins, daughter of William Collins, of
Portsmouth, Va., and reared two sons, the late Pulaski
Cowper, of Raleigh, and Dr. R. L. Cowper, of Murfreesboro.
R. G. Cowper, the brother of the clerk, takes charge of the
office of High Sheriff for twenty years, excepting one term
secured by Edw. K. Jeggitts. The office had just been va-
cated by the death of Jesse Deanes.

W. H. Murfree and Thomas Maney leave for Tennessee.
Capt. James Frazier succumbs to the ravages of ripe old age.
Rey. Daniel Southall continues to preach the gospel truths
to the people with great power and pathos, and increases the
membership of the Methodist society, and Jacob Hare and
William Morgan are among the number to join. Rev. James
Douglas thunders away at the Presbyterian church, and young
Rey. William H. Jordan eloquently pleads for Higher Lib-
erty and close communion, and Mrs. John Wheeler, Mrs.
W. B. Wise, Miss Darden and Mrs. Perry Carter enroll their
names as members of Parker’s Baptist church, near Mur-
freesboro, and Elisha Winborne and wife and Mrs. H. D.
Jenkins joined at Mt. Tabor.

In the summer of 1824 Jesse Deanes and Jacob Hare are
candidates before the County Court for the office of High
Sheriff of the county. Deanes received 18 votes and Hare
2. Peter Butts succeeds John H. Gordon as Public Regis-
ter, but who is overthrown by Andrew V. Duer in 1825.

On the night of March 19, 1824, Dr. Thomas O’Dwyer, in
his diary, states that Prince Murat arrived in Murfreesboro
on the stage and puts up at the Indian Queen Hotel, and
placed himself under the care of good old Moses Clements,
the clever and genial proprietor. He remained in town a

Decave VII.—1820-1830. 125

day or so, and then continued his journey to Florida, where
he afterwards died. The Prince was the son of Joachim
Murat, King of Naples, and a celebrated French cavalry
leader, who was court-martialed and shot in 1815. It
seems that a man had better shoot himself than to be a brave
officer in the army of some countries. The Prince was ban-
ished from his country on account of his claims to the throne
of Naples. He died an exile in Florida in 1847. His
mother was the sister of Napoleon Bonaparte.

James Copeland, who represented the county in the House
in 1821 and 1823, and in the Senate in 1824 and 1825, was
the son of John Copeland and lived in Winton and kept the
hotel formerly owned by Gen. Jos. F. Dickinson, located on
the lot on which now stands the hotel of Jordan & Parker.
He was not a man of collegiate education, but he possessed
a strong native intellect, which he had so improved that he
became one of the leading men of his county. He died July
11, 1826, at his home in Winton, and the Raleigh Register
of July 25, 1826, speaks in high terms of this useful citizen.
He left a wife and seven young children to battle with the
world. His wife was a Miss Kilbus,

James D, Wynns, who serv-
ed with Copeland in the
House in 1821, was the young-
est son of Benjamin Wynns,
of revolutionary history, and
the uncle of our _ present
Col. James Wynns. Mr.
Wynns served long as one of
leading justices of the peace,
and as one of the Special
Court of the county for sev-
eral years prior to his removal
to Bertie County. He married Sallie Johnson, daughter of
Col. John Johnson, of Bertie, a nephew of Gov. Samuel
Johnson, of Edenton.

 

JAMES D. WYNNS.

 

 
 

 

*

126 Hisrory or Herrrorp County, N. C.

Mr. Wynns, after his marriage, moved to his wife’s plan-
tation below Coleraine, in Bertie, and later moved to Eden-
ton, where he resided until his death during the Civil War.
He was a gentleman of refinement and education, polished
in his manners and generous and kind to his neighbors.
When young he was a favorite with his uncle, Gen. Thomas
Wynns.

John Hamilton Frazier, one of the county’s representa-
tives in the House in 1818, and her Senator in 1819, was of
an aristocratic Tory family in the county. His father was
Capt. James Frazier, who owned a large body of land around
Frazier’s Cross Roads, from whom the name of the place
is taken. Captain Frazier was a man of great wealth and
when the colonies seceded from the British government he
declined to take sides with the sons of liberty, and com-
manded a company of Tories and fought on the side of the
British in the War of 1776-82. He was a man of polished
and attractive manners and had many strong friends in the
county who deplored his stand in the mighty struggle for
freedom. His large estate was confiscated. After the war
he returned to the county, acknowledged his defeat and be-
gan to ingratiate himself in the esteem of his former friends.
He was an honest man. He was loyal to the old country—
the home of his ancestors. He now agrees to pay fealty to
the American cause. His friends forgive him and he is re-
stored in the confidence of his old friends.

Through the efforts of that great man, Hardy Murfree, he
succeeds in purchasing his former estate which had been
confiscated. His young son, John H., as he grew to man-
hood became a great favorite with the people of his county.
Like his father, he was polished jn manners, brilliant and

highly edueated, and he soon won a place in the hearts of the’

people. Unfortunately, however, he and his cousin, Gen.
Boon Felton, became engaged in some trouble which soon
ended the useful lives of these two men. The name is
spelled by some Fraser, but the better authority seems to be
that it is Frazier. The old magistrate of St. John’s, John
Bembnry, married Jane. daughter of Captain Frazier,

Dercapr VII.—1820-1830. 127

Gen. Bridger J. Montgomery represented the county in the
House and Senate frequently from 1818 to 1832, and served
as Clerk and Master in Equity a short time between the
terms of office of Howell Jones and William M. Montgomery.
He was a militia general and a gentleman of splendid phys-
ique, popular with the people, and possessed many of the
strong intellectual traits of his father, Robert Montgomery.
He married Mary Cowper and died about 1835. His father
Robert Montgomery was born February 23, 1757, married
Mary Jones, and died October 31, 1808, leaving surviving
him four sons—Bridger J., Dr. John C. Montgomery, Col.
Kerr Montgomery, and George W. Montgomery. The latter
married Martha Pipkin, sister of Dr. Isaac Pipkin, and
represented the county in the Senate in 1834 and 1836, and
died in Raleigh while a member of the Senate, leaving sur-
viving him his wife and two daughters, the late Mrs. Isaac
Pipkin and Mrs. Sue Frank, of Murfreesboro. His widow
married the late John W. Harrell, of Murfreesboro. Kerr

Montgomery never held any office except the military office
of colonel in the militia.

William Meredith Montgomery, the old Clerk and Master
in Equity from 1833 to his death about 1864, was the son
of Gen. Bridger J. Montgomery. He married Amanda CO.
Harrell, sister of the late John W. Harrell and Col. Jarrett
N. Harrell, of Murfreesboro. He lived at Frazier’s Cross
Roads and left surviving him several sons and daughters,
among them were the late William Preston Montgomery and
Robert Montgomery, of Norfolk, Va. Mrs. Maggie Mat-
thews, of Winton, Mrs. Kate Blanchard, of the town of Hert-
ford, N. C., and several others of his daughters married in
the county.

Nancy C. Montgomery, daughter of Robert Montgomery,
Sr., married Bembury Walton, a brother of Wm. Walton, who
married Celia, daughter of James Jones IIT, his first cousin.
William Walton died J uly, 1825. The Raleigh Register of
July 26, 1825, contained a notice of the death of this leading
citizen of Pitch Landing, in Hertford County.

 

 

Renan ormeaincn—secneplaeiln
   
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 

 

 

 
 
 
 
   

  
   

128 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

Col. James Brickle and his wife are numbered among the
dead during this decade. Colonel Brickle was the last of
the illustrious family of that name, which had played such
an honorable part in the early history of the county and
State.

In February, 1824, Dr. O’Dwyer says in his diary, that
Dr. Thomas Borland, Moses Clements and Capt. James M.
Yancey qualified as magistrates. Abner Harrell qualified
in 1825.

David E. Sumner represented the county in the Senate in
1822 and 1823. He represented Gates County in the House
in 1819 and then moved to Hertford. He inherited from his
great uncle, Gen. Luke Sumner, of Chowan County, a large
estate, and also inherited a large estate from his great uncle,
Robert Sumner, of St. John’s. He was also the grandnephew
of Gen. Jethro Sumner. His wife was Margaret, the daugh-

ter of Chief Justice John Lewis Taylor, of this State, and
niece of Judge William Gaston. After the death of Chief
Justice Taylor in 1829 his widow resided in this county
with her son-in-law, David E. Sumner. Sumner was dissi-
pated, and, like a majority of young men who inherit large
fortunes, spent it freely. Before many years he had lost the
major part of his patrimony. His widow, after his death,
decided to emigrate with her slaves to Mississippi. The
mode of travel in those days was by private conveyances.
Before reaching her new home she died on the way, it is said,
in a log cabin, alone with her young children and slave ser-
vants.

Some time after the death of Chief J ustice Taylor, his
son, of the same name of his father, resided in Hertford
County and practiced law. He also was very dissipated.
This young man fell on the steps of the Winton Hotel
while beastly intoxicated and died in that’ position. W. T.
Bynum qualified as his administrator in Hertford County

 

Nore.—Chief Justice Taylor married Jane Gaston, sister of Judge
William Gaston.

Drcave VII.—1820-1830. 129

about 1854. In 1855 Bynum, as administrator of Taylor
oLtained an order from the County Court of Hortford
to sell some lots in Raleigh belonging to his estate. The
sale was confirmed November 27, 1855, by the Court In
1849 Taylor was living at the old Jerre D. Askew ad
where Dr. W. H. Sears now resides at Union. pti

HERTFORD COUNTY MAN ASSAULTED IN GATES

The Elizabeth City Star of May, 1824, gives an account
of a deadly assault in Gates County by six negro silted de
a white citizen of Hertford County. The Western Caro-
liman, of Salisbury, N. C., in its issue of May 18, 1824
refers to the occurrence as an “alarming affair!” A dus
holder was passing through Gates County on his way home
when a gang of six negro outlaws, armed with guns veaiak
from a thicket into the road to assault and rob the white
man. Being unarmed he dashed into the woods and made
his escape. No names are given. The paper further states
that this lawless and desperate gang had for some time been
prowling about in the woods and swamps of Gates and other
counties, committing acts of violence and plunder. Our old
fathers had their troubles and dangers as well as those of the
present day.

** Who breathes must suffer; who thi
He alone is blessed who never rg weer

DEATHS OF FINNEY AND RAMSAY.

: W. H. Finney, the owne? of “Finney’s High Hills” and
Lover's Leap,” on the romantic banks of the Meherrin
River, north of the Borough town, on the farm now owned
by the sons of Job R. Hall and wife, Sarah M. Hall, nee
Harrell, died in 1825, and devised his property to his adie
Thomas S. Finney, and Mary, and Elizabeth Banks, daugh-
ters of Hardy M. Banks. .
Henry Ramsay, the owner of the Indian and Queen Hotel
ba in 1827, and devised his property to Henry W. Bell,
—L Elizabeth R. Moore, and her daughter

9

Sip ce ney ss Ba
” ale ERY LRG rest aac eee ae

   

 
 

 

 

130 Hisrory or Herrrorp Country, N. C.

We learn from O’Dwyer’s diary for 1824 that Professor
Peltier, a Frenchman, lived in Murfreesboro and conducted
a dancing school, and that the young people patronized him
liberally. Also, that the people of the town during those
days were not unlike those of the present day. They were
fond of going to the gallery of Mr. Charles Winesdale and
having their likeness taken. He says he went down one day
and had his likeness taken, and when it came the ladies said
it was not a good likeness of him. On one occasion when
he called at Winesdale’s he found Mrs Rea having her like-
ness taken.

The society of the town was gay and festive. He tells us
of the annual dance at the Indian Queen Hotel on the night
of July 4, 1824. He says he went down to the dance and
was surprised to see so few there; that there were only about
fifty couples on the floor dancing, when at the last annual
dance there were 100.

U. S. Senator Branch was a frequent visitor to the town
in those days. We have been told by some of the wise people
that pictures were not taken in those days. They are mis-
- taken. Art and poetry are as old as nations. Sculpture and

painting go back beyond the memory of man. The prin-
ciples of photography were practiced by Schule, the Swedish
‘chemist, as far back as the middle of the 17th century, and
the utilization of Schule’s observation on chloride of silver
in the production of photographje likenesses in England be-
gan in the 18th century and was improved by Joseph Nice-
phore Niepee in the beginning of the 19th century. The
photographers and likeness-takers followed the early emi-
grants to the Colonies, where the art has reached great per-
fection. One should not think that because the. present pro-
cess of taking photographs did not exist beyond a certain
period, that no other process existed.
Dr. O’Dwyer tells of many amusing characters in the town.
There were many Irish families living here, and he was a
man who was greatly respected and a prominent citizen.

Decave VIT.—1820-1830. 131

He was proud that he was an Irishman, and he hated to see

his Irish neighbors act ugly. Barney Usher often received a
lecture from him. Usher would get drunk in spite of every-

thing. He came one day to O’Dwyer to borrow some money
for his wife to visit Norfolk. The doctor loaned it to hie
wife and recorded in his diary, “B. Usher called to borr

money for his wife to visit Norfolk. He wants to get “*¢

wife away that he may enjoy his rum. HTH.
: ‘thee . e should
ashamed of himself. His wife js entirely too good for nay

She remained away for two weeks, and Barney could not
hear from her and he became very much distressed for fear
she would not return. He called to see O’Dwyer and got

his severe reprimand, and sobered up. She returned, and
the old fellow was happy. .

EDUCATION,

There exists a mistaken idea as to the education and intel-
ligence of our early forefathers in America. Some of the
present day think that we have reached a degree of learni
and intellectuality far superior to our forefathers of i776
and of the early days of our republic. For vigorous intel-
lect, clearness of judgment, plainness and purity of language,

logical arguments, and the study of man, they were certainly
our equals, if not our superiors.

Baneroft and Wheeler in their historical works, referring
to the days of the Revolution, wrote that “when reading
the resolves of the Provincial Congress, the Provincial Coun-
cils, the District Committees of Safety, and the addresses
which they published to the country, the purity of the lan-
Suage, the simplicity of style, the cogency of argument, are
So remarkable that they cannot be surpassed by the most
polished productions of the present age. Even in the hand-
writing of the men of 1775, as exhibited in the Journals, will
bear a fair comparison with those of the present ne and
perhaps surpass them in ease and plainness.””

The same is true of the ages preceding. Such shows that

our forefathers had not been inattentive to the objects of

 

" ee ~
he pa NR apt bares ove rage,
 

 

132 History or Hertrorp County, N. C.

practical education. The first Constitution of North Caro-
lina written and adopted by her sons in December, 1776,
and the Constitution of the United States, prepared by the
immortal Thomas Jefferson, the messages of George Wash-
ington to Congress, and his farewell address to the American
people, the State papers and speeches of the early patriots,
are lasting monuments to the wisdom and intellectuality of
the olden times, and they stand out to-day in bold compari-
son with the productions of modern times.

In the N. C. Constitution of 1776 it is declared that “all
useful learning shall be duly encouraged and promoted in
one or more universities” ; and in 1789 the University of the
State at Chapel Hill was established. We find the question
of education in the Province of North Carolina considered by
the government as far back as 1736. There were, even
then, schools in the country where young men were educated,
and many were sent to the old countries, where they received
the highest university education and returned to the Prov-
ince to aid in guiding the destinies of the race. And, fur-
ther, the population was being constantly increased from the
earliest day of the country’s history by learned and scholarly
men and women from the old countries. History repeats
itself, and the progress of mankind in the present day in
many of the sciences, inventions, discoveries, and the like,
have not reached the perfection and grandeur of remote an-
tiquity, as disclosed by the exhumation of the buried cities
of the old countries.

In 1825 the county was honored by a visit from Gilbert
Montier, Marquis de La Fayette, the young French General
in the American Army for freedom. He reached the town
of Murfreesboro from Suffolk, Va., February 26, 1825. The
news of the coming of General La Fayette was made known
throughout the county and the noble sons and daughters of
the county were on hand to greet and honor the distinguished
guest.

Maj. John W. Moore tells in his history that a meeting
was held in the town several days prior to the arrival of the

Dercapr VII.—1820-1830. 133

Breat Revolutionary Hero, to arrange for his reception.
‘Dr. Thomas Borland presided and William Rea ig See-
retary. A committee consisting of Col, James Brickle, Dr
O’Bryan, Lewis M. Cowper and John W. Southall ives a :
pointed to meet the General at Somerton, Va., and escort hin
to the town. He stopped at the Indian lines Hotel ist
owned by Henry A, Ramsay. The brilliant young va na
Thomas Maney, in a speech of welcome, greeted the pg
guished visitor, who graciously replied.” The parlors ve
the grand old hotel were beautifully decorated with .
national colors and patriotie banners, — The brass band filled
the hearts and souls of the assembled multitude with patri-
otic music, the noble and beautiful women of the ae and
county on that occasion would have done honor to a presi-
dential inaugural ball at the present day. A most dignified
and elite reception was held, when all were given an oppor-
tunity to shake hands with the general. At 11 o’clock p. m
they sat down to supper. The people came in from all ite
of the surrounding country the next day to see and shake
hands with the great general and join in the great rejoicings
On Monday following he was escorted to Jackson whnel
Chief Justice John Lewis Taylor was holding oui,
Leonard Martin, one of Hertford’s members in the House
in 1826, had only been a resident of the county for two or
three years. He was a lawyer and moved here from Pasquo-
tank County, which county he had represented in the House
im 1816, and again in 1819 and up to 1822, inclusive. He
died shortly after his return from the session. General
Montgomery and Martin were conspicuous in that body for
their ability and devotion to the duties of their trust. Elisha
Hunter Sharp was elected to the Senate to succeed James
Copeland, deceased, but only served one term. Senator
Sharp was the eldest son of Maj. Jacob Sharp and the grand-
son of Starkey Sharp and his wife, Sarah Winborne, His
mother was a Nancy Hunter, of Gates County. He mar-
ried Sallie Carter, daughter of Major Isaac Carter, and

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

134 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

reared two sons and a daughter. His son, Jacob H. Sharp,
was a brave Confederate soldier from Mississippi, and was
promoted before the end of the conflict to the rank of Briga-
dier General, and is now living in Columbus, Mississippi.
His second son, Thos. L. Sharp, was also a gallant Confeder-
ate soldier from his native county. He entered the army
as Captain, and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant
Colonel, and was killed in battle at Atlanta, Ga., in 1864.
E. H. Sharp had several brothers and one sister. In 1827
Mr. Sharp was defeated for the Senate by David O. Askew,
of Pitch Landing, who was the grandson of Thomas Outlaw,
of Stony Creek, in Bertie County, whose farm is mentioned
in the boundary of Hertford County, and a nephew of the
old legislator and Moderator of the Chowan Baptist .Associa-
tion, George Outlaw, of Bertie. Mr. Askew was in the Sen-
ate again in 1828. Shortly after his return from the Senate
he emigrated to Mississippi, where he still has a number of

descendants. His brother, Dr. George O. Askew, was in the -

Senate from Bertie in 1827, and remained a member of that
body for six years. The eminent physician, Dr. A. J. Askew,
of Bertie, who married Miss Ward, of Norfolk, Va., was also
a brother of the Senator. David O. Askew married Martha
Etheridge. Their cousin, John O. Askew, of Pitch Landing,
was the son of George Askew and wife Annie, the daugh-
ter of George Outlaw, the old

Moderator, and he was the

cousin to the old Congressman,

David Outlaw. The Askews

and Outlaws were people of

wealth and prominence in the

eastern part of the State.

John O. Askew married Sarah

A., the daughter of Abner

Harrell, of Harrellsville, a de-

scendant of Abner Harrell,

JOHN 0, ASKEW. who was a freeholder and one

Decape VIT.—1820-1830. 135

of the jurors drawn for Bertie in 1740, The Harrells played a
prominent part in the early history of the county. John O.
Askew was a man of wealth and high character, and was
born October 11, 1813, and died in 1878, leaving surviving
him three sons, Dr. Abner H, Askew, John O. Askew, Jr

W. S. Askew, and two daughters, Mary R., the wife of W P.
Shaw, Esq., and Pattie E., who married her cousin, w. D.

Askew, of Mississippi, where he now resides. She died
several years ago.

JOHN 0, ASKEW, JR. MRS. PATTIE E. ASKEW,
Daughter of J. O. Askew.

David O. Askew had three sons, George, Joseph, and W.
D. Askew, who moved to M ississippi with their father when
young. Joseph Askew entered the Confederate Army and
took a courageous part in behalf of the “Lost Cause.” He
received a severe wound, which resulted in the amputation of
one of his legs. After the war he served his State as a mem-
ber of the Legislature, and as Railroad Commissioner. He
married Willie, the daughter of Gen. Jacob H. Sharp, of
Columbus, Miss., and died about 1895. His daughter, Miss
Annie Sharp Askew, of Columbus, Miss., and Miss Sarah
Gravier, of Chattanooga, Tenn., were the maids of honor at
the annual reunion of the Confederate Veterans at New Or-
leans, in the spring of 1906. The newspapers commenting
on these maids of honor, said; “These two young ladies can
boast of Confederate ancestry equal to any in the South.”

 
 

 

136 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

Gen. Jacob H. Sharp is a Hertford County boy. He is
the son of E. Hunter Sharp and wife Sally Sharp, nee Car-
ter, as before stated. E. H. Sharp and wife had three
children, Thomas L., Caroline, and Jacob H. Sharp. Thomas
L. was in the Mississippi Senate in 1857 and was a Colonel
in the Confederate army, and killed at Atlanta, Ga., in 1864.
Caroline married Hunter Walker, of her father’s adopted
State, and Jacob H. Sharp entered the Confederate army,
and was ranked as follows: Major, Lieutenant-Colonel, Col-
onel, and in 1864 was promoted to Brigadier-General. He
married Miss Harris, of Mississippi, the daughter of Judge
Harris of that State. Since the war he has served as State
Senator and at one time was mentioned in connection with
the nomination for the United States Senate. He still lives
in Columbus. He is first cousin to our H. C, Sharp, and
of Capt. William and Col. Thos. H. Sharp.

The little county of Hertford continued to send her ablest
men to the Legislature. While the county was small, her
representatives ranked with the ablest. They were not
windy and noisy members, for that was not the character of
her people. In 1827 she returned Gen. Bridger J. Mont-
gomery and sent with him her gifted young son John Hill
Wheeler, of Murfreesboro, who had just graduated with great
distinction at Columbian College, in the District of Colum-
bia, in 1826, obtained his law license in 1827. It was soon
discovered that the future had in store greater honors for
young Wheeler. In 1830 when in his twenty-fourth year he
was nominated by the Democrats in the Edenton district for
Congress, but he was defeated by the Whig candidate, Hon.
William Biddle Shepherd. He served in the House of Com-

mons for four years. In 1831 he was appointed by the |

President of the United States Clerk of the Board of Com-
missioners under the Convention with France. In 1837 he
was appointed by the President Superintendent of the U. S.
Mint at Charlotte, which office he held until 1841. In 1842

Co... JNO. H. WHEELER,
The Historian.

 

 
 

Decaprt VII.—1820-1830. 137

he was tendered the nomination for the House of Commons
by the Democrats of Mecklenburg County, but he declined
it. In 1842 he was elected Treasurer of the State. He
was married twice; his first wife was Mary Brown, daugh-
ter of Rev. O. B. Brown, of Washington City, and his sec-
ond wife was Ellen, the daughter of Thomas Sully, of Phil-
adelphia. The writer remembers well when he made his
graduating speech in Lincoln Hall, in Washington City, at
the end of his course of study at Columbian University in
1874, this old gentleman was in the audience, and sent the
author a congratulatory note on the rostrum and requested
him to remain; that he wished to talk with him at the close
of the exercises. His kind and gentle words were greatly
appreciated. Colonel Wheeler prepared and had published
in 1857 a most valuable history of the State of North Caro-
lina. The Wheeler family are able to trace their lineage
back to the origin of Charles II. The first one of the name
to settle in America was Joseph Wheeler, the son of Sir
Francis Wheeler, an admiral in the English navy during
the reign of King Charles II. Col. Wheeler’s father was
John Wheeler, who was born June 23, 1771, in New Jersey,
and moved to Murfreesboro about the beginning of the 18th
century and resided here until his death, August 7, 1832,
leaving surviving him his widow Sarah, who died July 15,
1833, and several sons and daughters—Col. J. H. Wheeler,
Dr. Samuel J. Wheeler, the old postmaster of his native town,
and Col. Junius B. Wheeler, Professor of Engineering at
West Point. His daughter Julia married Dr. Godwin C.
Moore. The old merchants at Winton first—later at Mur-
freeshoro—Ephraim Wheeler and J abez Wheeler—were
brothers of John Wheeler.

Elisha A. Chamblee lived near Pitch Landing, and served
in the House in 1829 and 1831. He was a man of means,
but with little experience in public matters. He was a quiet,
but true member. He has representatives in the county
to-day.

 
     

History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

On the 20th of July, 1829, DECADE VIII.

 

 

 

Elisha Winborne, who lived pic
near Winton, and one of the . The decade from 1830 to 1840 was one of the most his-
county’s justices of the peace, torical epochs in the affairs of the county betyeen the War of
and late chairman of the 1812-1814, and the stormy times preceding the Civil War
County Court, died in his 37th [7 of 1861-1865. During the last decade the county had lost
year. A good man and a use- by death and removal some of its most distinguished citizens.
ful and honorable citizen. He Gen. Joseph F. Dickinson, long the Clerk of the County
and his ancestors had been de- Court, a man of great wealth, a brigadier-general in the
voted sons of the county for a War of 1812-14, a man of decided ability and of great use-
f if long while. April 1, 1819, fulness, had gone to eternal rest. George Gordon, the Pub-
ELISHA WINBORNE. he married one of the noblest lie Register of the county for many years and Clerk of the
women of her day, Martha Warren, of Southampton County, County Court for a short time, as General Dickinson’s suc-
Va., and the daughter of Col. Etheldred Warren, an officer F cessor, was taken from the roll. Hon. Wm. H. Murfree, the
in the Revolutionary War of 1776-82. He left his widow 9 lawyer, patriot and statesman, emigrated in 1823 to Ten-
with five small children, all under ten years of age, to battle nessee. The brilliant Thomas Maney also emigrated to Ten-
with the world. His children were the late Micajah T. nessee in 1825. Many other such losses the county sustained
Winborne, of Mobile, Ala.; Maj. S. D. Winborne, of this. ; during these ten years.
county; Dr. R. H. Winborne, of Chowan; Caroline, wife of At the May Term, 1830, of the County Court, the follow-
‘ the late Britton S. Moore, of Murfreesboro, and Richard ing justices of the peace were present: Thomas Duer, Silas
Winborne, of Tennessee. After the death of the father, his Parker, Abner Harrell, James D. Wynns, William B. Wynns,
family was taken to the home of Robert Warren, the bachelor Elisha H. Sharp, Thomas Daniel, Elisha A. Chisan Sisy
brother of the widow, in Maney’s Neck, where they were Abraham Thomas, Thomas Borland, John Vann, Lewis M.
eared for and the children educated by that noble man. : Jeggitts, Jacob Hare, Jerry D. Askew, John Granbury, Carr
Elisha left a fair estate, which Mr. Warren took charge of Darden, Daniel V. Sessoms, Wm. P. Morgan, Kinsey J ordan,
and managed for their good. He was the son of Thomas Watson Lewis, Wm. Nowell, Jacob Sharp, John Winborne,
Winborne and wife, Sarah Copeland, and the grandson of Elisha Sessoms, Sipha Smith, Bridger J. Montgomery.
Maj. Henry Winborne and wife, Sarah Hare. 4 This was a grand occasion in the county, as were all the

May terms of court. Now was the time for the election of

all county officers. All the grand Moguls of the county were

present. It was a grand display of splendid citizenship.

; The follo-ving officers were elected :

John Vann Esq., Chairman of the Court.
Louis M. Cowper, re-elected Clerk of the Court,
Richard Green Cowper, re-elected High Sheriff.

 

RT eee, See

 
   

140 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

      
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  

 

James Sidney Jones re-elected County Attorney.

Andrew V. Duer re-elected Public Register.

Walter Myrick made Foreman of Grand Jury.

L. R. Jernigan made Officer of Grand Jury.

John A. Anderson elected County Trustee.

Thomas Griffith elected Coroner. _

Riddick Cross, Treasurer of Public Buildings.

Miles H. Jernigan elected Entry Taker.

Perry Carter elected County Ranger.

Abner Langston elected County Processioner.

L. R. Jernigan, David C. Cross, Abner Harrell, Edward
K. Jeggitts, Thomas Winborne, Samuel Moore, Starkey
Sharp, Wm. N. Perry, Ebenezer P. Alineman ‘and Edward
Moore were elected Constables of the several captains’ dis-

tricts.
THE APPOINTMENT OF INSPECTORS OF CREEKS AND RIVERS.

Isaac Taylor, of Simmons’ Mill-race to Bertie line; Hardy
M. Banks, at Murfreesboro; Michael Britton, at Pitch Land-
ing; James 8. Scull, from Pitch Landing to Sharp’s Mill.

Under our State laws for many years past there were op-
pointed by the County Court one conductor of elections for
each election precinct, and two judges or poll-holders for
each ballot-box. The Court at this term appointed the fol-

lowing election officers:
Pitch Landing—Abner Harrell, Conductor; John Win-

borne and E. B. Norfleet, Judges for Senate box; Thomas B.
Sharp and W. W. Sessoms, Judges for Commons box ; W. R.

Doughtie and W. P. Britton, Judges for Congress box.
St. John’s—John Granbury, Conductor; D. Carter and

R. Burns, Judges of Senate box; M. E. Newsom and Stephen
Washington, Judges of House box; E. H. Newson and Geo.

Williams, Judges of Congress box.

Murfreesboro—Hardy M. Banks, Conductor; Jas. Banks

and Jno, W. Southall, Judges for Senate box ; Tristram Cape-
hart and Benjamin B. Camp, Judges for Commons box; J. A.

Brown and E. D. Britt, Judges for Congress box.

 

Decape VIII.—1830-1840, 141

Winton—James D. Wynns, Conductor; J. A. Anderson
and G. W. Montgomery, Judges for Senate box; Edw. Shaw
and Pleasant Jordan, Judges for Commons box; R. Cross
and James Jordan, Judges for Congress box.

Deeds were proved and ordered registered ; wills probated ;
overseers of roads, overseers of creeks, guardians for Bt
children, administrators of deceased persons; committees ap-
pointed to examine accounts of executors, administrators
guardians, and report to Court; the poor looked after sik
patrols were appointed; county finances looked after. In
fact, everything of interest to the county was looked after.

John W. Southall, James Banks, Capt. Benjamin B. Camp
Lemuel Valentine, Tristram Capehart, were among the htm.
men. of the grand jury. John Winborne, William Nowell,
David O. Askew, Abram Thomas and Watson Lewis were ap-
pointed a committee to audit the account of Matthias Baker,
administrator of James Banks. And Timothy Ridley, H. L.
Williams, Walter B. Myrick and Tilman D. Vann appointed
a like committee to audit the account of S. D. Clark, adminis-
trator of John Whitey.

The above gives you some idea of the old County Court, its
workings, and the dignity of the office of a justice of the
peace in the olden times. The best and most competent men
were in those days selected to perform all public duties.

This system was kept up until abolished in 1868. All of
our honorable fathers served in all the positions mentioned

_ above. It was a great honor to be a justice of the peace and

preside in the old county courts of ancient origin. They
were the courts of the people, and were of greater advantage
and interest to the people than any other courts they had.
It was an honor to be selected as foreman of the grand jury,
or its officer, or to be elected a constable in a captain’s dis-
trict. The best men were always Selected for all these posi-
tions. They were grand days.

We may mention a few other terms of this historic old
court to show the new men who were brought forward in

  

n ee rt
Ai LLL LAL LE LTO AMT

EES aE Naa a

 
 

 

 

 

   

142 History or Herrrorp County, N. 0.

public life. It was no easy task to be made a justice of the
peace in those haleyon yet dignified days. When a man’s
name appeared on the roll of the justices of the peace in Hert-
ford County it was the strongest evidence that he was a man
of character, of influence, and a worthy citizen of his county.

During the next few years we find added to the list of the
justices the names of Thomas V. Roberts, John G. Wilson
and James Wells, of Murfreesboro; Godwin ©. Moore and
Edw. H. Newsom, of St. John’s; Demsey Vinson and Geo.
W. Montgomery, of Winton district; Thomas B, Sharp and
Kenneth Rayner, of Harrellsville district; Abraham Rid-
dick and Samuel G. Darden, of Manéy’s Neck.

In 1831 L, R. Jernigan was appointed Public Register, to
succeed Andrew V. Duer, deceased. And in 1836 Edw. K.
Jeggitts dislodged the efficient and popular R. G. Cowper
from the office of Sheriff for one term, when the old and
skilful politician recaptured the much-coveted office of High
Sheriff of the county.

SOUTHAMPTON MASSACRE,

Hertford County, on August 22, 1830, sustained an irre-
parable loss in the destruction of her records for seventy
years, by the incendiary act of one Wright Allen, a degen-
erate citizen of Northampton County, who lived about five
miles from Murfreesboro, on the road to Conway.

On the 21st of August, 1831, the “Nat Turner Insurrec-
tion.” or “Southampton Massacre,” began in Southampton
County, Virginia, not far from Hertford’s northern bound-
ary. Nat Turner, a negro slave preacher, then belonging
to Joseph Travis, of Southampton County, was born October
2, 1800, as the property of Benjamin Turner, of that county,
and was a_ black, flat-nosed, thick-lip and heavy-jawed
negro. *
| For months preceding the butchery of the whites Nat had
quietly and secretly organized the negroes in his neighbor-
hood to join him, on August 21st, armed with guns, scythes,

 

Decavrt VIII.—1830—1840. 143

axes, knives, clubs and the like, and to proceed to kill all
the white people—men, women and children—they could
find. They started on their bloody and brutal mission Au-
gust 21st, and the first victims were his master, Joseph
Travis, his wife and three children. They continued rap-
idly from place to place to add to the number of the victims
of their brutish natures, until they slaughtered fifty-five, if
not more, whites, before they were checked and captured.

The whole surrounding country was thrown into a great
consternation. Women and children were sent to the vil-
lages and towns for protection. A large number refugeed
for safety to Murfreesboro, John Wheeler, of Murfreesboro,
raised a company of troops and marched quickly to the scene
of trouble and rendered valuable assistance in quelling the
treacherous and bloodthirsty negroes,

Twenty-four of the devils were tried, convicted and exe-
cuted. One of the suspects was shot and killed in the cam-
pus of the ©. B. F. Institute in Murfreesboro, and there
buried. His mission being to organize the negroes there to
join in the bloodshed. Nat Turner was captured October
31st and executed November 11, 1881.

A complete and illustrated history of “The Southampton
Thsurrection,” by Wm. 8. Drewry, was published by The
Neal Company, Washington, D. C., in 1900, and should be
read by every person desiring to know of some of the trials
and troubles of the Southern people. Southern life had its
thorns and thistles as well as its flowers.

‘ Pleasures are like poppies spread,
¥ou seize the flower, its bloom is shed.”’

 

Norr.—John Wheeler’s Company was composed of 100 men, and a
Company of 75 went from Winton.

 

‘phim:

 
 

 

 

 

 

  
     

History or Herrrorp County, N. OC.

There are several on the
‘oll of honor who made their
debut as legislators from this
county during this decade.
Dr. Godwin Cotton Moore, of
St. John’s, a strong Democrat,
was for the first time elected, in
1831, over Maj. Isaac Carter,
to the House of Commons. Dr.
Moore was a highly educated
and polished gentleman. He
was a direct descendant of the
old, the wealthy, and of the leading families—the Cottons,
Browns and Moores of the county. His ancestry ranked
high and was ancient. He married Julia Wheeler, the
daughter of John Wheeler, of Murfreesboro, and the sister
of the historian John Hill Wheeler, of the same town. Hert-
ford was a Whig county, although a Democrat sometimes suc-
ceeded in being elected. Dr. Moore was a Baptist, and a
great favorite with the members of that denomination, as
well as with his Democratic friends. He was moderator of
the Chowan Baptist Association for 37 years. Having grad-
uated in the collegiate department of one of the leading uni-
versities in our country, he then studied medicine at the
University of Pennsylvania, where he received his diploma
as a graduate in the science of medicine (if you call it a
science), and began the practice of medicine in his native
county and met with great success and reached the highest
standard of a general practitioner in his chosen profession.

His exalted character, his polished manners and his learn-
ing well equipped him for any honors in the gift of his peo.
ple. He was in the Senate in 1842 and again in the House
from 1866-1868. He served for a number of years as one
of the Special Court in the county, and just before the Civil
War was Chairman of the County Court. He was a candi-
date of the Democratic party several times for Congress and

DR. GODWIN C. MOORE.

 

145
DrcabE VIII.—1830-—1840.

; inority party
Presidential Elector, but, belonging to the minority party,

was defeated. His daughter Esther cae ote
Weaver, of Northampton County. He left wie roe
among them being William Moore and J. G. egret
ington City ; Thomas Moore, of New York, and pang
Maj. John W.. Memes We have written of his an

the first decade.
_ In 1830 Jacob Hare, of Maney’s
Bridger J. Montgomery for
nephew of Col. Starkey Sharpe ++-

amiable temper and good conduct |
un fetirceaeall from the Legislature he moved South.

with

Tn 1830 Maj. Isaac Carter was elected to 0 rhein,

John H. Wheeler. Carter was said to be a e : however,
but Dr. G. C. Moore defeated him in 1831. 16)

: 33 and 1834, He
Tecovered and was re-elected in 1832, 18 died in Hertford

; : h
Was the son of Maj. Isaac Carter, wie ©”. the Revolu-

Count 9. and who was a cap me ,
y July 8, 1792, an si
tionary Wan of 177 6. Isaac Carter, Sr., left a will in whi

he appointed his son, Lazarus Carter, mo es ge =
daughter Parthenia married Shadrack gr ‘militia and
12, 1775. Tan Carter, Jr., was a major In the ’
once Sheriff of the county. : $ re-
Dr. O’Dwyer says in his diary that <page of
Covered against Carter in 1824 for gi boa had a good
Some act of his while Sheriff. Major ae death.
estate and owned fifty or more slaves before his

4 in 1833.
John Vann was in the Senate In © 834, was
Sipha Smith, who was in the House in 1833 and 1834,

time, in
one of the old justices of the county, and — es ‘ :
the early years of the State, County Surveyor.

Mill Neck.

rominent lawyé?; hildren of
Pg ps oe £ ¢ A ped of the same town, are grand ¢

Jacob Hare.

10

a

ae

 

Aig,
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

146 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

Thomas V. Roberts served in 1832. He was from Mur-
freesboro, and lived on the same lot where the late Uriah
Vaughan resided. He and the Exums were connected. He
was the uncle of the wife of the late Gen. Matt. W. Ransom,
of Northampton. It is told of him that he could care for and
manage successfully the money of others, but could not man-
age his own. He died in Northampton very poor and almost
friendless. He was an old bachelor, which probably accounts
for his misfortunes. The love, attention and advice of some
good woman would probably have changed his fate. Before
losing his estate he was very popular and was active and
prominent in county affairs. He was often seen presiding
in the old county courts, and was spoken of as being a good
man, a kind neighbor and a true citizen.

«* When sorrows come, they come not as single spies,
But in battalions.”

In 1834 George W. Montgomery succeeded John Vann as
Senator, and died in Raleigh in 1834 during the session of
the Legislature, and was succeeded by John Vann in 1835.

As we have said, on the night of the 22d day of August,
1830, one Wright Allen set fire to the court-house in Winton
and in a few hours the building and all the records and me-
morials of the county from its origin were reduced to ashes.
Tt was the greatest calamity that ever befell the county. The
records contained the proud history of a noble people.

Allen was indicted in court for forging the name of Tim-
othy Ridley to a note, and he thought the note was u. 2
court-house, and his purpose in burning the court-house was
to destroy the evidence of his guilt. But he was mistaken.
The note was in the possession of Lewis M. Cowper, Clerk
of the Court in Murfreesboro. Allen was convicted and
whipped at the whipping-post. No punishment, however,
of the offender, nor any amount of money could or can ever
repair this great public calamity and wrong.

 

Hox, KENNETH RAYNER.

 
 

ac de

   

DECADE VIII.—1830-1840. 147.

CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF 1835.

The growth of the State and increase of its population
demanded a change in the organic law of the State. A Con-

stitutional Convention met in Raleigh, June 4, 1835, com-

posed of delegates from the counties of the State.
The aristocratic Dr. Isaac Pipkin, the polished and re-

served Dr. Godwin ©. Moore, and young Kenneth Rayner
were the candidates in Hertford. The contest was warm and

energetic. It was Rayner’s first appearance as a candidate for
political honors. He was young, bright, aggressive, a splendid
debater, and quite an orator. He was elected as the delegate
to the Convention, and as a member of that body he won lau-
rels that stamped him as one of the foremost young men in the
State. He was also elected to the Legislature that same
year after returning from the Convention.

This was the beginning of a long, brilliant and useful
public life. He soon became the ideal of the Whig party,
of which he was a member. He served in the Legislature
again in 1836, then a justice of the peace in his county, when
in 1839 he was elected from the Edenton District as a mem-
ber of Congress, where he served continuously until 1845.
He declined a further nomination at the hands of his party,
and in 1846 again entered the Legislature of his State and
was a member of the House from 1846 to 1852, and in the

Senate in 1854. The Whig party in 1848 tendered him the

nomination for governor, but he declined it. Charles Manly

was nominated and elected. The last political service he
performed for his county and State was as a member of the
Convention of 1861 that passed the Ordinance of Secession.
After the war he moved to Mississippi and became a Repub-
lican in polities, and was for some years, prior to Cleveland’s
first administration as President of the United States, Solici-
tor-General of the U. S. Treasury in Washington, D. ©.
He was the son of Rev. Amos Rayner, who lived in Harrells-
ville Township where his son was born, and in his palmy

   
    
 
     
    
    
    
   
    
   
   
    
 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
 
   
   
   
   
    
    
     
      
     
    
   
    
     
 

 

      

148 History or Hrerrrorp County, N. C.

days before the war was one of the national leaders of the
Whig party.

Mr. Rayner married Miss Polk, daughter of Col. William
Polk, of Mecklenburg County, and sister of Gen, Leonidas
Polk. His widow is now living in El Paso, Texas. J. J.
Seull’s first wife was Mr. Rayner’s sister.

The young but gallant and high-strung Roscius C. Borland,
of Murfreesboro, appeared at the August Term, 1830, of
the Court, as a young lawyer, with his license written on
parchment and signed by the great jurists Leonard Hender-
son, C. J., and John Hall and Thomas Ruffin, Associate
Justices, and took the oath of an attorney.

In 1835 Borland had won the confidence and respect of
his people and was elected County Attorney to succeed James
S. Jones, Esq., who was then preparing to make his home
in the State of Georgia. Borland was also during this year
elected with Rayner to serve his county in the House of
Commons. John Vann was in the Senate. No county in
the State was more ably represented in the General Assem-
bly. Borland, on his return from Raleigh, devoted himself
strictly to his profession until 1845, when he moved with
his family to Mississippi. He married Temperance Ram-
say, daughter of Henry Ramsay. He was the father of the
late Thomas R. Borland, of Norfolk, Va., who was born in
Murfreesboro. Mr. Borland was one of the sons of Dr.
Thomas Borland. His health failed and he went South to
visit his brothers and was taken sick and died in 1847.

On the death roll during this decade we find the names
of Andrew V. Duer, the Public Register for about eight
years just prior to 1831; John Benthall, one of the ancient
justices; Elisha Lawrence, the father of the late John V.
Lawrence; John Wheeler and his wife Sarah; Elizabeth
Meredith, relict of the late jolly Capt. Lewis M. Meredith ;
Titus Darden; the blind Capt. Jethro Darden, the old legis-
lator; Col. Starkey Sharpe IT; Gen. Bridger J. Montgomery ;
Col. Kerr Montgomery; Isaac Taylor, the grandfather of

 
 

i ot ; i
prrcierss es a Sea GEE

Decapr VIII.—1830-—1840. 149

W. P. Taylor, of Winton; George W. Montgomery; Capt.
Benjamin B. Camp; Joseph R., Julia E., and Leonidas
Camp; Allen Moore; Starkey S. Harrell, Sr., the uncle of
the late Chief Justice Smith; Carr Darden; Charles Gay;
William H. Finney; John Moore; Stephen Graham; Josiah
Bridger, the father of Sheriff John P. Bridger; Jonathan
Jordan; Seth Southall; Rev. Daniel Southall; the old Sheriff
Thomas Deanes; Godwin Cotton; John Hamilton Frazier
and others.

In 1824 Rev. James Delke moved from Surry County,
Va., and settled in Murfreesboro, where he entered upon his
great mission of preaching the gospel with great power and
success. He was an able and eloquent Baptist divine. No
town in the east had abler preachers during this period
than Murfreesboro. Rev. Southall, a Methodist, and Rev.
Delke, the Baptist, turned on the light of true Christianity
with wonderful effect. In 1830 Rev. Delke, as the result of
one of his protracted meetings at Meherrin Meeting House,
baptized one hundred and fifty persons. He was twice mar-
ried. His first wife, and mother of his children, was widow
Susan Bats Kerr, nee Holloway, by whom he had and reared
one son, James A. Delke, and one daughter, Susan.

His second wife was the wealthy widow of James Ward,
who died in 1843—the daughter of James Jones III and
sister of the lawyer, James S. Jones, and the mother of Ann
J. Ward, the wife of Maj. John W. Moore, and who was the
first graduate at the C. B. F. Institute in July, 1853.

Rey. Delke, after his second marriage, drove around in a
fine carriage, with his blooded horses, his driver dressed in
livery. But this kingly style furnished him by his wealthy
wife did not abate his piety or impair his usefulness. He
died December 4, 1862. His daughter married Francis
Nolley, a tailor in Murfreesboro, and brother of Rev. Geo.
W. Nolley, a distinguished Methodist divine in the Virginia
Conference. Their children were Marcellus Nolley, the sol-
dier and scholarly salesman of Baltimore; Emmett.W. Nolley,

pi, See
1 ATER DE LT IEE ae a SRT cE

 
 

 

 

        
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   

150 History or Hertrrorp County, N. C.

who married Miss Julia Tolar, of South Carolina, and now
an honored citizen of Fayetteville, N. C. Their daughter
Fannie married a Mr. Oatis, of South Carolina, and he died
a few years ago. Susan, their youngest child, was a beauti-
ful young lady, and married in 1878 Samuel J. Pearce, of
Chowan County. The author and Miss Nellie H. Vaughan,
who afterwards became his wife, were among the waiters at
the wedding, which took place at the residence of the bride
in Murfreesboro. It is now the home of David A. Day and
wife, Ruth R. McDowell, the second daughter of Rev. A.
McDowell.

Reverend Delke’s son, James A., never married, but de-
voted his life to teaching and became a great educator in Mur-
freesboro in this State, and in Murfreesboro in Tennessee.
Leaving Tennessee he returned to his native town, and for
over twenty years was a professor in the C. B. F. Institute.
He was a ripe scholar and a most excellent man,

JOHN VANN.

This distinguished personage came to Hertford County
about 1800 from Gates County, when about 33 years of age.
He appears on the census of Gates County in 1790 as the
head of a family of five males and two females, with two
slaves. In 1810 he first appears on the census of Hertford
as the head of a family of seven, and owner of eight slaves.
He was prominent in Hertford County affairs from about
1812 to 1850, when in September of the last-named year he
died in his eighty-third year. He served in the county as
one of its justices of the peace for about forty years. At the
May Term, 1830, he was elected Chairman of the Court of
Pleas and Quarter Sessions of the county. He represented
his adopted county in the House of Commons in 1823, 1824
‘and 1825, and in the Senate in 1833 and 1835, and was a
man of exalted character and fine ability. He remained
Chairman of the Court until his death.
At the November Term, 1850, Thomas Bragg, Esq., after-

Decave VIII.—1830-1840. 151

wards Governor Bragg, who attended the courts of this
county, presented to the justices presiding the following reso-
lution:

“Resolved, That we have heard with the deepest regret of
the death, since the last term of this Court, of John Vann,
Esq., the late, and for many years previous, Chairman of the
County Court of Hertford—a man venerable for his years,
estimable for his private and public virtues, and we take this
occasion to pay some tribute to his memory.”

The resolution was unanimously adopted by the Court, and
ordered spread upon the minutes of the Court. This action
of the Justices of the Court and the Bar is a monument to
his worth, and shows how he lived in the hearts of his coun-
trymen.

Mr. Vann left several sons to perpetuate the name, and
the fame of this grand old citizen—Tilman D., Jesse B.,
Albert G., John A., Rensselear, and Cordie. The latter died
when young. TRensselear moved South and married and
reared an interesting family. Jesse B. Vann married the
daughter of Luke McGlaughon of his county, and died about
the close of the War of 1865. He represented his county in
the Legislature from 1862 to 1864. He left two sons—
Thomas J. Vann, of Aulander, N. C., and the late J. J.
Vann, Esq., a prominent lawyer of Monroe, m. ©.

Albert G. Vann married Harriet Boyette, of Gates County,
the aunt of Gen. W. P. Roberts, and served his county for a
number of years after the late Civil War as a justice of the
peace and County Commissioner. The greatest service he
ever did for his county was in the noble children he be-
queathed to his county. He furnished the county with five
sons and several daughters, all of whom any county would
feel proud. His sons were William, John, Thaddeus E.,
Albert C., and Richard T. Vann.

Richard T., who had the misfortune when a boy to have
both hands crushed off in a cane-mill on his father’s farm,

 

 
  

152 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

is an eminent Baptist divine and the President of the Baptist
University for Ladies, at Raleigh, N. C.

in the army during the struggle between the States. Thad-
deus E. is one of our leading citizens in Maney’s Neck,
having served, soon after his majority, as County Sur-
veyor, justice of the peace and later as County Commissioner.
He is still one of our magistrates. He married Miss Au-
quilla Brett, daughter of Henry Brett and his wife Amanda,
who resided where Mr. Vann and his happy family now
reside. She was the granddaughter of Henry L. Williams,
one of the old justices.

Albert C, lives at his father’s old home, and married first
Annie Newsome, the daughter of Joseph Newsome by his
first marriage; and after her death he married the half-sister
of his first wife. He has often served his county in official
positions.

 

John A. Vann, the son of
the old chairman, was much
loved by his people and was
often called to serve them in
some capacity. We first find
him in the office of Constable
in 1840, then Sheriff, next
Clerk of the Superior Court,
in the Legislature from 1864
to 1866, then Clerk and Mas-
ter in Equity, next Treasurer
of the county, and finally a
justice of the peace and County Commissioner. In 1875 he
was the Democratic candidate in the county as a delegate to

 

 

JOHN A. VANN.

Horton, a Republican. The author’s first political speeches
were made, in that campaign, advocating the election of Mr.
Vann. He died full of honors, and leaving surviving him
three sons and several daughters. His sons are Henry B.,

eae

 

William was also a Baptist preacher. He and John died .

the Constitutional Convention, but was defeated by J. J. .

   

    
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
  

 

nent aplasia
+

Decapvr VIITI.—1830-1840. 153

the late Treasurer of the county; Charles Spurgeon Vann,
Esq., of Edenton, a lawyer of ability, and who represented
-the First Senatorial District in the General Assembly of
1901, 1903 and 1905, and John E. Vann, of Winton, who
is one of the county’s leading lawyers. He has served in his
county as Superintendent of Public Schools, Solicitor of the
Criminal Court, County Attorney and as member of the
Legislature in 1903. He married Miss Graves, of Selma,
N. C., and has honored the county with a still younger John
Vann.

The wife of John A. Vann was the sister of the late Dr.
J. E. Newsome and daughter of Michael E. Newsome.

Tilman D. Vann, the oldest son of John Vann, Esq., the
old chairman, lived in Maney’s Neck, a section of the eounty
which has been noted for a great number of years for its ele-
gant population. He married Miss Sarah Shepherd, daugh-
ter of Solomon Shepherd, who lived first where J. G. Majette
now resides, but Capt. J. H. Picot says he was living at the
Tilman Vann place when he died. She was a most excellent
woman.

They left no son, but sev-
eral handsome and attractive
daughters. One of his daugh-
ters, Rowena, married Rev.
R. R. Savage, and they reared
several sons and daughters.
Antoinette married Prof. J.
H. Picot, the veteran school-
teacher at Buckhorn Academy,
who are the parents of the emi-
nent physician, Dr. L. J.
Picot, of Littleton, N. C., and
of our countyman Guy C. Picot.

Homarselle §. Vann married George Little, of Warren
County, a direct descendant of Maj. George Little of revolu-
tionary fame from this county, and of William Little of colo-

 

MISS ROWENA VANN.

7

 
 

 

     
 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
  
   

154 History or Hertrorp County, N. C.

nial fame. Willie, another daughter, married Capt. Thomas
D. Boone, a brave soldier in the Confederate Army, and for
years the efficient Clerk of our Superior Court, which office
he now holds.

Mr. Tilman D. Vann, unlike his brothers, never held an
office except justice of the peace, but he built a monument
to the fame of his county in his children. Among his grand
children are Dr. Louis J. Picot, of Littleton, N. C.; Rev.
Wm. V. Savage, an eloquent Baptist divine of Churchland,
Va.; Mrs. James L. Camp, of Franklin, Va.; Toy D. Sav-
age, an attorney at law in Norfolk, Va.; Guy C. Picot, at
Como, and others.

The Vann family originally belonged to Chowan County,
and John has always been a favorite name in the family.
In 1756 we find John Vann of Chowan signing the official
bond of Thomas Jones, as Clerk of the Crown’s Court in
Chowan (Col. Ree., vol. 5, p. 611). In November, 1758, the
Committee of Public Claims met at John Vann’s house in
Edenton and selected John Starkey as chairman of the com-
mittee and Andrew Knox as clerk (Vol. 5, p. 975). On
page 983 he is again mentioned. It seems that in the forma-
tion of Gates County in 1779 from parts of Hertford, Per-
quimans and Chowan counties, the Vanns were cut off into
Gates. In the U. S. Census of 1790 we find mentioned in
Gates County John Vann, Rachel Vann, Darius Vann and
Thomas Vann. The family has been from its earliest his-
tory people of strong character and of fair ability. Several
of them have attained to considerable prominence and dis-
played great ability. The official record of this county dis-
closes how they stand and have stood with the people of Hert-
ford for nearly a hundred years. In 1740 John Vann and
William Vann were freeholders in Chowan County and were

on the jury list of that county.

Col. Charles Vann of the county was of a different family.
He, after the death of his first wife, married Miss Benthall,

 

Norr.—Jno. Vann, of Chowan, married Feb. 25, 1752, Mrs. Ann Peterson.

 

Drcapr VIIT.—1830-1840. 155

sister of our Jack Benthall, and lived near Benthall’s Bridge
at the home of our Abner A. Carter, and was in his younger
manhood a man of considerable wealth and influence, but
his great kindness in signing bonds and other money obliga-
tions with his friends caused him to spend his latter days
poor and dependent upon the charity of his friends. His
son Jesse Thomas Vann, by his first marriage, died J anuary
5, 1856, while a bright student at the University of Vir-
ginia. Colonel Vann died about 1880. His first wife was
Miss Britt, the aunt of Dr. Thomas P. Britt and Geo. P.
Britt, of Maney’s Neck. His sister married William Britt,
who lived near Union, and they were the parents of Union’s
chief justice, James E. Britt, and of the mother of Union’s
leading merchant, James H. Darden. John Taylor, of Ma-
ney’s Neck, married Elizabeth Britt, the sister of William
and Mills Britt. They are the parents of Richard J. Taylor
and the late William T..Taylor, of Maney’s Neck. William
and Mills Britt both married sisters of Col. Charles Vann.
John Vann, the Chairman of the County Court, had some
true and faithful assistants in the management of the affairs
of the county. Abraham
Thomas, one of the Special
Court, was always at his post
of duty. Mr. Thomas was not
only a faithful public servant,
but a man of unblemished
private character, and respect-
ed and admired by all who
knew him. It is said of him
that during the period of
+ Bs twenty-five years he served his
ABRAHAM THOMAS. church at Bethlehem as clerk,

he was only absent on three occasions. Such fidelity to duty
characterized the man’s whole life. His parents were James
Thomas and wife, Elizabeth Pruden. James was a private
in the Revolutionary War, entering the army in May, 1781,

 

 

nates naataeensos nineteen sigs
 

 

 

        
  
   
   
  
   
  
   
   
   
    
   
 
   
   
   
  
   
  
   
  
  
 
   
 
 
 
    

156 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

serving until its close. Mr. Abraham Thomas married Miss
Nancy Mitchell, of Bertie, the daughter of John Mitchell
and Winnifred Saunders and sister of James S. Mitchell,
who represented Bertie in the Senate in 1842. The latter
was the father of the Rev. John Mitchell.

Mr. Thomas died April 13, 1879. He had eleven chil-
dren, but only four arrived at full age. His daughter Mary
was the wife of Howell M. Jones, son of Howell Jones, the
old Clerk and Master in Equity in the county. Mr. Jones’
father once lived in Murfreesboro and built the house now
owned by Miss Ella Jester. His daughter Martha married
Rey. W. P. Britton. His son John Q. emigrated to Arkan-
sas when young, but returned at the beginning of hostilities
in 1861 and entered the war as a private in the 17th N. C.
Regiment; was promoted to the rank of lieutenant and sur-
rendered with General Lee at Appomattox. He returned
to Arkansas and married Miss Josephine Robertson, of Mem-
phis, Tenn., and is now a wealthy merchant at Vanndale,
Ark. The youngest son, Dr. Rascius P. Thomas, is a model
citizen of his native county. He is an alumnus of Wake
Forest College, University of Virginia, and the Medical
University of New York; was moderator of the West Chowan
Baptist Association from 1883 to 1896, and has been presi-
dent of the Board of Trustees of the C. B. F. Institute since
1887. While an eminent and
successful physician, he aban-
doned the practice of medicine
several years ago and has en-
ergetically, intelligently and
successfully applied his atten-
tion to the cultivation of the
soil. He married Miss Mary
Green Mitchell, of Franklin
County, in this State.

In 1822 the county gained
a valuable citizen in the per-

 

DR. R. P. THOMAS.

Norfolk, Va., and McClure Myrick

Dercave VIII.—1830-1840. 157

son of Walter B. Myrick, of Virginia, who married Ann O.
Neal, of Southampton County, Va. He was a man of sterl-
ing character and belonged to that class of men who by their
unbending honesty and frankness makes a country rich. He
bought and built on the land, where he i ;

death, February 19, 1871, in Maney’s Neck, and where his
two sons, James L, and W. B. Myrick, now live, and who are
chips of the old block. His first wife died in 1834, leaving

five children, Thomas N., John D,. Eli be
‘ - 7 7 th
the wife of Dr. Wm. Massenburg, ee one

Va. Lucy A., who became the wife of Kader Biggs, late of

» who died young. In
ag he married Mary Barrett, of his native county, and by
. he left two daughters, Vrginia and Helen, and three sons,

avid, James L., and Walter B., Jr. The father was often

called upon to serve his county in different capacities, as jus-
tice of the peace, commissioner in the division of lands
allotting dower, foreman of grand jury. On account of his
great honesty his services were frequently demanded. He

served bravely in the W . ‘ bees
Congiay, y e War of 1812 as a private in a Virginia

of Southampton County,

CONSTITUTION AMENDED.

Under the Constitution as amended by the Convention of
1835, the State is divided into senatorial districts, and the
number of Senators fixed at 50. The number of relies of
the House of Commons fixed at 120. Senators were required
to be possessed in fee of 300 acres of land and only white
Persons owning 50 acres of land were allowed to vote for
Senators, and only white persons were allowed to vote for
members of the House. rs

The Governor is now elected by the people instead of by
the Genera] Assembly. Infidels and atheists not Blowed to
hold office or any place of trust under the laws of the State.
There were other minor changes in the Constitution of 1776.

 

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NIE OR APTS ATR TO NM Deity pee tamara

 
 

158 History or Hertrorp County, N. C.

Hertford always boasted of
her fair and beautiful women,
and the chivalry of her sons.
Miss Fannie Southall was the
daughter of John W. Southall,
of Murfreesboro, by his first
] marriage to Miss Johnson.
This picture was taken in
1848. She was regarded as
one of the prettiest and most
fascinating women in her day.

A peerless beauty, exalted and
beautiful character, a universal favorite and admired by the

noble and chivalric beaux of her day. She died September
30, 1852, and her death threw a pall of sadness over the com-
munity. Her beautiful sister, Julia R., married Dr. Thomas
N. Myrick in December, 1847. They lived in Murfreesboro
until just before the Civil War, when they moved to Florida.
Mrs. Myrick died in the State of their adoption in 1859, and
her body was brought home and interred in the family grave-
yard in Murfreesboro by the side of her sister. She left two
sons, John S., now of Texas, and Charles E. Myrick, now of
New York. Her husband, Dr. Thomas N. Myrick, died
July, 1867. In 1860 Dr. Myrick wedded Miss Susan J.
Baker, of Murfreesboro, a most accomplished and elegant

 

MISS FANNIE SOUTHALL.

woman, and for a number of years since his death she had .

charge, as principal, of the musical department of the C. B.
F. Institute. They reared three children, Walter D. Myrick,
of Texas; Lawrence Baker Myrick, of Norfolk, Va., and one
daughter, Fannie, who died soon after she entered matured
womanhood, Miss Baker was the second daughter of Dr.
John B. Baker, of Gates, the son of Gen. Lawrence Baker,

oreo

      
   
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
       
       
   
    
  
  
  
    
  
  
 
  
  
  
   
 
  

  

Decapr VIII.—1830—1840, 159

and whose wife was Mary
Wynns Gregory. P. C. Greg-
ory of Tillery, N. C., one of
the leading merchants in Hali-
fax County, is a direct de-
scendant from this same Greg-
ory family. He is the son of
Casper W. Gregory and wife,
Mary A. Randolph. Gen. Jos-
eph F. Dickerson’s wife, Peggy
Gregory, was a great aunt of
P. C. Gregory. The Gregorys
» and of Camden are of the same family.
ary Wynns Gregory was Mary Wynns, a
n, Major George and Gen. Thomas Wynns,
a Gregory. William Rea, Sr., married
Margaret Wynns, and after her death he married Mary
Wynns. They were daughters of Maj. George Wynns.

The United States is still expanding its territorial posses-
Stons and increasing the number of States in the Union. In
1845 the “Lone Star,” the republic of Texas, joins the United
States and becomes a State in the Union, and adds another
star on the flag of the Stars and Stripes.

In 1846 England yields her claims to the Astoria settle-
ment and the Oregon Territory, and the following new States
have been carved out of that territory: Oregon in 1859,
Washington in 1889, and Idaho in 1890.

From the territory ceded by Mexico to the United Siates in
1848, the following States have been admitted into the
Union: California in 1850, Nevada in 1864, Colorado in
1876, and Utah in 1896, and Arizona Territory includes part
of the territory ceded by Mexico, and the Gadsden’s purchase
in 1853. This territory and the Territory of New Mexico,
the Indian Territory, and the territory of Oklahoma, are
now knocking at the door of Congress, asking to be recognized

 

PERRY C. GREGORY.

of Salisbury, N. ©,
The mother of M
sister of Benjami
and she married

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

   
    
  
    

160 History or Herrrorp County, N. OC.

aud admitted into the galaxy of States in the Union, and
may be admitted during the year of 1906.
Alaska Territory was ceded to the United States by Russia

in 1867. At the present time there are 45 States in the
Union. ‘

 

 

Norg.—Since writing the above, Indian Territory and Oklahoma have
been admitted as one State named Oklahoma, and the other two terri-

tories are admitted as one State, Arizona, if ratified by the voters in the
two Territories.

 

DECADE IX.

1840—1850.

The period between 1840 and 1850 is not marked with
any great events in the county. The loss of many of its
valuable citizens was a sad chapter in its history. But while
she received her losses, at the same time she had her rein-
forcements to heal her wounds. We find added to the list of
Justices of the Peace during these ten years James A. Moore,
Abner a: Perry, Wm. N. Perry, W. W. Mitchell, John A.
Anderson, John V. Lawrence, Daniel Valentine, John W.
Harrell, James Barnes, Jethro R. Darden, Wm. M. Mont-
somery, Benj. Bryant, Capt. Samuel Moore, Dr. Edward
Neal, W. D. Pruden, Henry L. Williams, Dr. George W.
Peete, Wm. B. Wise, Thomas P. Little.

This long list of new Justices shows what havoe death and
removals had played with the select men of the county, who
figured in its affairs during the last decade. For the prinei-
pal county officers during these years see the list of officers in
the back of the book. At the February Term, 1843, John A.
Anderson resigned as County Trustee. Elisha D. Brett, of
Maney’s Neck, was elected for the unexpired term. At the
May Term, 1848, L. R. J ernigan resigned the office of Public
Register, and defeated Brett for Trustee. Patrick Perry was
elected Public Register. James Banks, Tilman D. Vann,
Samuel Moore, Edward F. Dunston, and Thomas J. Deanes
are among the foremen of the grand jury during this period.
The health of the chivalric and high-strung R. C. Borland,
failed, and he resigned as County Attorney, and leaves for
Mississippi in 1845. W. N. H. Smith was elected at the
November Term, 1845, to succeed Borland. Euclid and
Solon Borland, Micajah T, and Richard Winborne, William
J. and Richard Jordan Gatling, and others, leave the county
to make their homes in the far west.

W. B. Wynns, the old High Sheriff of the county, and
another of the faithful assistants of Chairman Vann, on Feb-

11

ners le =

 

Re
 

 

   
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
    
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
    
  
 
 
 
 

162 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

ruary 4, 1840, in the 44th year of his age, passed away,
while in Marianna, Fla., looking after his large interests in
that State. He left an estate valued at about $200,000. He
was the grandson of Benj. Wynns, and nephew of Gen.
Thomas Wynns. He married Martha A. Pipkin, sister of
Dr. Isaac Pipkin, who survived him with two sons, the late
Thomas P. Wynns, son-in-law of R. G. Cowper, and our Col.
James Madison Wynns, of Murfreesboro. Sheriff Wynns
had three brothers, Benjamin, Thomas, and James Dean
Wynns. Their parents died when they were young, and
Benjamin and Thomas went to the Island of Bermuda to
their Dean relatives, to be cared for, while Wm. B. and
James D. were taken by their uncle, Gen. Thomas Wynns.
After the boys grew to manhood they engaged in an extensive
trade between the United States and foreign ports. Thomas
remained on the island, Benjamin was Captain of the Flo-
tilla, one of their vessels, and Wm. B. looked after the busi-
ness at the ports on the Chowan and Meherrin Rivers. They
amassed large fortunes. After the English Government abol-
ished slavery in 1838, Thomas left the island and came to
Jamaica, where he remained a short time, then settled in
Brooklyn, N. Y., where he died. Capt. Benj. Wynns mar-
ried Miss Baker, a granddaughter of Gen. Lawrence Baker,
and in 1824 bought the home of Howell Jones in Murfrees-
boro, and on February 12, 1824, settled in that town. He
continued, for several years thereafter, his voyages on the
water. About 1834 he moved to Florida, where he and his
brother, William B. Wynns, began to purchase lands in the
land of flowers. By his marriage with Miss Baker he had
two children, a daughter who died young, and a son, William
Baker Wynns, who was in his day one of the most promi-
nent men of his State, filling many places of public trust.

Mr. W. B. Wynn, Jr., was married twice. He had no issue
by his first marriage. He had the letter s eliminated from
his surname by an act of the Florida Legislature. His sec-
ond wife was Susan Clarke, of Huntsville, Ala., the daughter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

   

Drcapr: 1X.—1840—1850. 163

of William Clarke and wife
Susan, of Virginia descent.
He was a brave Confederate
soldier and died in prison
in Elmira, New York, in
1864. He left two sons, Judge
Calvert Wynn, of Florida, and
Wm. B. Wynn, of Marianna,
in the same State. Thomas
P. Wynns, son of Sheriff
Wynns, married the daughter
of R. G. Cowper, and died
several years ago in this county. The Sheriff’s son, James
M. Wynns, still resides in Murfreesboro. He has served his
people in important positions. In the 10th decade he served
as Justice of the Peace, and as a member of the Special Court
of the county, entered the Confederate army as Captain,
afterwards promoted to the rank of Colonel. While in the
army he was elected to serve his county in the Senate in
1864 and 1865, and for years served as a member of the
Board of Education in the county. He loaned his county
$4,000 in gold to aid in equip-
ping its soldiers for the war of
1861-5, which he lost, as all
the counties were forbidden by
law to pay any debt contracted
in aid of the so-called rebel-
lion. He lost heavily by the
war, but is still in comfortable
circumstances. In 1865 he
married Miss Jennie Brown,
daughter of S. J. S. Brown, of
King George County, Va. Mr.

Brown was the Clerk of the Court of his county for nearly
a lifetime.

 

COL. JAMES M. WYNNs.

 

MISS JENNIE BROWN.

— "
ee eee ay cts as i a

 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 

 

 

164 History or Hrrrrorp County, N. ©.

Col. Wynns and his wife still live in Murfreesboro at the
beautiful old home of Gen. Jos. F. Dickinson, with their in-
teresting family of three sons and four girls. Col. Wynns is
the only living ex-representative from the county in the Gen-
eral Assembly of the State who served prior to 1868.

‘Tn 1842 the people of Harrellsville, then known as Bethel,
as we are informed by Major Moore, but later named for
Abner Harrell, a most estimable citizen of that place, estab-
lished, in place of the former private schools of that place,
the Union Academy, a school of high grade. Edwin Evarts,
of Vermont, a well equipped instructor, was called to preside
over its destiny, assisted at one time by the late Jesse J.
Yeates, and later by Prof. C. F. Lyon. At this school a
large number of Hertford’s young men received their edu-
cation, which so well prepared them for useful citizenship.

And in the west end of the county, at Elm Grove, about
four miles from the Boro, Alfred W. Darden had conducted,
at his beautiful country home, a high school for young ladies,
with Rev. A. J. Battle as Principal, and several competent
lady teachers as assistants. For years this was a flourishing
and well patronized school. Mr, Darden was himself a
scholarly man, and his children inherited many of his traits
of character. His wife was the daughter of John Moore, the
father of Allen, Alfred, and Samuel Moore. Mr. Darden
and his brother, William S. Darden, of Hertford, were sons
of Rev. Jacob Darden, a Kehukee Baptist preacher in South-
ampton County, Va., and for a long time the pastor of Old
Southquay church in that county. A. W. Darden reared
several children. His eldest daughter, Virginia, married

William E. Bond, of Edenton, who were the parents of law-
yer W. M. Bond, of that town. W. Carey Parker, late of
Wake Forest, married his daughter, Sarah Quinton. John
D. Gatling, of the county, married Lilly, another of his
daughters. His daughter, Miss Indiana Darden, is a highly
cultured woman and has devoted her life to teaching. When

  

   

Decapr IX.—1840—1850. 165

young she was a frequent contributor to the literary maga-
zines of the South. His son, Alfred M., served as a gal-
lant soldier throughout the Civil War. After his return
from the battlefield he married Bettie, the daughter of Wil-
liam J. Holley, of Chowan, and reared several children. He
died in the 14th decade. His wife still survives him. His
brother, A. C. Darden, also served in the latter part of the
war. He resides in Murfreesboro Township, on a tract of
land owned by his grandfather, and which has been in his
family 100 years. He has married twice. His first wife
was Bettie Dunford, and his second was Maggie, the daughter
of Thomas Overby, the loyal-pilot of the blockade at Maney’s
Ferry during the Civil War. His brother Paul died while
a soldier in the army.

In 1840 B. T. Spiers, of Maney’s Neck, was elected to the
Senate.

The amended Constitution of 1835 reduced Hertford’s
representation in the House to one member, and the young
lawyer, W. N. H. Smith, who in 1834 returned to the
county as a graduate of Yale College, was elected to
the House. He came to the bar in 1839 after elaborate
preparation. He was studious and péssessed a great dis-
criminating and admirably balanced mind; he soon became
recognized as one of North Carolina’s greatest men. After
the adjournment of the Legislature he returned and devoted
himself strictly to his profession. In 1845 he was elected at-
torney of the County Court, and remained in office until
August, 1848, when he resigned. Elected to the State Senate
in 1848, and by the General Assembly in 1848 elected So-
licitor of the First Judicial District, which office he held for
nine years. Elias ©. Hines, of Edenton, defeated him for
Solicitor in 1857. Hines received 76 votes and Smith 35.
Elected to the House in 1858. Elected to Congress in 1859,
where he served until the Civil War. In the long and memor-
able contest for Speaker in the 36th Congress he was placed

Se ee
 

 

 

 

    

166 History or Herrrorp County, N. OC.

in nomination, and on one ballot received a majority of the
votes cast for Speaker, but before the - ‘.. was announced
several members changed their votes, uud he was deteatec on
the next ballot. Served as a member of the Confederate
Congress from the beginning to the duwnfall of that govern-
ment. Appointed b;  .verhor Vance @hief J ustice, Jan-
uary 10, 1878, which ofhce he #®™. until his death, November
14, 1889. He was a great © 1 good man. No greater
eulogy can be written, o. any man. His opinions, written
while Chief Justice, will be compared throughout time with
those of the able+ * ges in this country. He was born in
Murfreesboro mber 24, 1812, and resided here until
1869. le, aowe- ¢, never lost his love for his native county
and made his annual visits to his old home throughout life.
He lived in the Lcarts of his people. His father was Dr.
Wm. L. Smit, who came to the county from Connecticut and
married Nancy Harr, the daughter of Nathan Harrell and
granddaughter of the first Starey Sharp, 1741-1791, and
wife Sarah Winborne. Chief Justice Smith married Olivia
O. Wise, the daughter of Wm. Bartelle Wise, a wealthy mer-
chant and leader of Murfreesboro. Thomas Blount Sharp,
who was in the Hove in 1838, Starkey Sharp ITI., 1809-
1867, who was in the House in 1842, and Jacob Sharp, 1814-
1882, who was a member of the House in 1844, were sons of
Jacob Sharp, Sr., and wife Nancy Hunter, and grandsons of
Starkey Sharp I. and wife Sarah. Col. Starkey Sharp II,
1785-1833, was the son of Starkey Sharp I by his second mar-
riage with Jamima Hare. He was the uncle of Starkey ITI,
Elisha H., Thos. B., J. B., and Jacob Sharp. He was
Colonel in the militia, and never married. In his will he
gave $1,000 to the poor of the county and provided for its
distribution. Col, S. Sharp III was thrice married. His
first wife was Mrs. Sallie Simons, widow of John Simons and
daughter of Watson Lewis, Sr. His second wife was Eleanor
Hardy, daughter of Humphrey Hardy, of Bertie. His third

eens sete: nav nec_~ nema eT RET

I
7
|
|

 

  

CHIEF Justice W. N. H. SMITH.

 
 

 

 

wife was Jane Lewis, sister of his first wife. His daughter
Nannie, by his second marriage, first married James Walton.

 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  

Dec. ».. [X.—1840-1850.

The latter died leaving his wife and two daughters surviv-
ing. E. D. Scull later married the widow Walton and left
children. Col. Sharp by his last marriage left two sons,
Starkey IV. and Hunter, and two daughters, the present Mrs.
Dr. John T. Shubrick, of Rocky Mount, N. C., and grandson
of Commodore Wm. B. Shubrick (1790-1874), of U. S.
Navy, and who performed distinguished service in the War
of 1812, and also in the Mexican War. Fannie, who became
the wife of Hen. Thomas R. Jernigan. Starkey Sharp IV.
married Annie, the very attractive daughter of the late emi-
nent physician, Andrew J. Askew, of Bertie. J. Bembury
Sharp also married a Miss Simons, and they were the parents
of the late John, James and Charles L. Sharp. John Sharp
was Public Register of the county from 1857-1866, and was
Sheriff from 1878-1880.

Jacob Sharp, another brother, married Elizabeth Simons,
and they were the parents of Capt. Wm. Sharp, of Confeder-
ate fame ; Col. Thos. H. Sharpe, of the 17th N. C. Regiment
in the late Civil War, and of our H. ©. Sharp, the ex-Register
of Deeds of the county. The Sharps have been prominent
and influential people and of wealth in the county for a long
while, and most of them had military titles, acquired either
in the militia or in the war of 1861-5. The original Col.
Starkey Sharp was the son of William Sharp, who married a
Miss Starkey, of the same family as Edward and John
Starkey, the old colonial legislators from Onslow County, in
this State, and by that marriage the name of “Starkey
Sharp,’ which has been persisted in so long, was acquired.

In 1844 Richard G. Cowper resigned the office of Sheriff to
accept the Whig nomination for the Senate against Dr. G. CO.
Moore, the Democratic candidate. Moore had defeated the
Whig candidate, B. T. Spiers, at the preceding election, but
the old Sheriff was too well drilled in the art and wiles of
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    
   
   
 
 
 
 
   
   
   
 
  

 

 

    

168

 

Hisrory or Hrrrrorp County, N. C.

politics to be defeated, and he was triumphantly elected, to
the joy of his party friends.
He and Lewis M. Cowper
were brothers and were
sons of William Cowper,
whose second wife was the
daughter of Capt. Lewis
Meredith, of Murfrees-
boro. They had a brother,
.William, who lived in
Gates County. Wm. Cow-
per’s first wife was the
daughter of Wm. Rea.
The Sheriff married the
f only daughter of Harry

eg W. Long, of Murfrees-

GEORGE COWPER. boro. Long was a lawyer
who lived on his lands in Maney’s Neck, until about
1824, when he moved to Murfreesboro to live. George Cow-

per, the son of the old Sheriff, is very much like his father
in favor.

 

B. T. Spiers, the Senator in
1840, was a lawyer by pro-
fession, but never practiced.
He resided on his valuable
plantation near Buckhorn, and
enjoyed the frequent visits of
friends. He took life easy.
ie married Miss Margaret
L. Rea, the daughter of
Sampson Rea, and sister of
Sampson Rea ITI.

Mr. Spiers was a high-toned and honorable man, a kind
neighbor, and a splendid citizen. He also had a large landed

 

B. T. SPIERS.

 

Norr.—On July 17, 1714, William Rush and wife Martha conveyed to
William Sharp 200 acres of land on Wiccacon Creek in Hertford County.

 

Decapr [X.—1840-1850. 169

estate in Florida, and when the Civil War ended in 1865 he
had in Florida over two hundred bales of cotton. Cotton in
1865 and 1866 sold as high as 60 cents per pound. This was
a fine fortune, but the burdens of the war were so great he
was not permitted to enjoy his fortune long. But few could
carry the burdens caused by the Revolution and the destruc-
tion of property. Money and property were gone, and debts
and suretyship liabilities remained. He reared several chil-
dren to reflect. honor upon his name. His two most excellent,
refined and intellectual daughters were Lucy and Margaret
L. The former married Dr. Davis Bryant, of Brooklyn,
N. Y., and the latter married E. L. Hill, Esq., of New York
City. Hill died a few years ago, leaving surviving him his
handsome widow, whose likeness, taken in 1904, is here seen.

Mrs. Bryant as a young wo-
man was a most remarkable
woman. She was a splendid
looking woman, lofty and
beautiful in character and
strong in intellect. She and
her husband, with their beauti-
ful daughter, still reside in
Brooklyn. Mr. Spiers has two
sons, Douglas and William,
living in Florida, and one son,

 

MRS. MARGARET L. HILL. .
nee SPIERS. Tyrone, in California, and

another son, H. MeD. Spiers, who lives at the old homestead,

near Buckhorn. This noble old citizen died in the 13th
decade,

MEXICAN WAR.

The trouble between Mexico and the United States
about the boundary line between the two countries culminated
in 1846 in a war, during President Polk’s administration.
A call was made on the States for troops. Hertford County
Was asked for eighteen soldiers. About fifty volunteered
their services, but only a very limited number was wanted.

    
 

 

 

170 History or Herrrorp Country, N. C.

When they met in Winton W. N. H. Smith made them a
patriotic speech and explained the nature and cause of the
conflict. Finally twenty-four were accepted. Among them
were: Drewry W. Beal, William W. Willoughby, Richard
Langston, Tixon Hoggard, and
Junius B. Wheeler, who was a
graduate at West Point and
an officer in the U. S. army.
We have been unable to get all
the names. This little excite-
ment caused the State to de-
mand a reorganization of her

Starkey Sharp, of Harrells-
ville, was chosen Colonel, and

COL. STARKEY SHARP.] Ca. Winborne, of Maney’s
Neck, who was in his 27th year, was elected Major. Win-
Borne had been a student a few years prior at the U. S.
Military Academy at West Point.

In 1845 W. N. H. Smith, Elisha D. Brett, Lawrence Eley,
Harrison C. Lassiter and William Hays were elected as mem-
bers of the Board of Superintendents of Publie Schools, and
in 1846 J. A. Anderson, Capt. Samuel Moore, W. D. Pru-
den and W. W. Mitchell were elected to serve with Mr.
Smith. The people of this county have always taken great
interest in public education.

Mr. Smith, in August, 1848, resigned as County Attorney,
and his half brother, Antonio P. Yancey, ‘was elected, which
position he held until he resigned at August Term, 1851.
He was succeeded by W. D. Valentine, of Winton, an attor-
ney of fair ability, and a man of unstained character. He

 

had served as Clerk of the Superior Court. His diary was -

a,most valuable book, but the writer has been unable to get

a copy.
The death roll during this period contains the names of

Timothy Ridley, son of Day Ridley, of Revolutionary fame,

militia in 1847. In Hertford, |

|

  
   
    
  
   
   
   

      
 
   
  
  
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
   
 
 
  

   

Mas. 8. D. WINBORNE,
1847.
 

 

ee eS ee

 

hers
mt

 

Dercapvr [X.—1840-1850. 171

and once Chairman of the County Court. Miles H. Jerni-
gan, Rev. Amos Rayner, James Worrell, the father of James
A., and Cyrus E. Worrell, Jordan Gatling, Silas Parker, W.
W. Sessoms, Thomas B. Sharp, Leander Tayloe, father of
the late W. S., James, David, and Capt. Langley Tayloe,
Mrs. James M. Yancy, the mother of W. N. H. Smith, and
Antonio Yancey, passes over the river. Capt. Leander Tay-
loe was of the same family as Rev. Jonathan Tayloe, a dis-
tinguished citizen of Bertie, and a great Baptist. The first
Jonathan Tayloe was a freeholder in Bertie as far back as
1711. The second J onathan Tayloe was in the war of
1812-14,
Henry L. Williams, one of the new Justices of the Peace
uring this decade, lived in Maney’s Neck, where Blount
Ferguson now resides, and was engaged largely in the mer-
cantile business, and, also, a large planter. He married the
widow, Mary Chamblee, who had three children by her first
marriage, Elizabeth, William, and John Chamblee. She
had several children by her second marriage to Mr. Williams.
Their daughter, Martha E., married Adolphus Jones, of
Nansemond County, Va., and another daughter, Amanda,
married Henry ©. Brett. The latter were the parents of
Mrs. T. E. Vann and the late George Oulbret Brett. Their

_ Son, Eldridge, married Harriet Darden, daughter of Titus

Darden. He-died leaving his widow and two daughters sur-
Viving him. Their daughter, Aromitta, married Capt. Thos.
Burbage, of Franklin, Va.

James Worrell was twice married. His first wife was
Miss Williams, and they had several children, Richard,
James A., and two daughters, who died young. His second
Wife was Mrs. Martha J. ohnson, nee Wheeler, sister of John

Wheeler, of Murfreesboro. By this marriage he reared two

Sons, the late Dr. Cyrus E. Worrell and John Wesley Worrell.
The late Richard J ohnson, of this county, was the son of
‘Martha Wheeler, by her first husband, Richard W. Johnson.
Miss Wheeler was born in New Jersey in 1749, and died

 
 

   
 
   
 
   
 
   
  
 
 
 
   
  
   
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  

 

 

 

 

 

  

172 Hisrory or Herrrorp Country, N. C.

in Hertford County, May 15, 1827. James Worrell died in
1846. James A. Worrell, like his father, was twice mar-
ried. His first wife was Titus Darden’s daughter, Harriet,
who first married Eldridge Williams, son of Henry L. Wil-
liams. Her daughter by her marriage with Williams was
the first wife of L. F. Lee, the busy magistrate of the Neck.
The widow Williams was the mother of James A. Worrell’s
children. They are the grand-parents of lawyer J. A. Wor-
rell, of Jackson, N. C. Elisha Worrell, a brother of James
Worrell, died March 3, 1824. Their sister married Francis
Williamson. Richard, the brother of James A. Worrell,
married first Betsy Camp, of Murfreesboro, and they were
the parents of Edward and Richard Worrell, Jr. After the
death of his Camp wife, he married Rebecca Hardy, the
widow of Charles Hardy, of Norfolk. Dr. Cyrus E. Wor-
rell was born March 10, 1826. He was educated at Buck-
horn, Chapel Hill, and the University of Pennsylvania with
distinction. He married; in the 11th decade, Miss Beal, of
Southampton County, Va. He died January 6, 1875, leav-
ing his widow and two sons, Julian and Cyrus E. Worrell,
Jr. His widow later married George A. Brett. John Wes-
ley Worrell married a Miss Eason, of Northampton County.
He died a few years ago leaving his widow and several
children surviving. They live at the old James Worrell
homestead. Charles W. Worrell, the son of James A. Wor-
rell, married Miss Rountree, daughter of Capt. A. J. Roun-
tree, of Rich Square, N. C. . Joseph E. Carter, of Maney’s
Neck, married his daughter, Ida, and his youngest son, Wal-
ter Worrell, married Miss Lilly Vick, of Murfreesboro. All
of these people were prominent people in Maney’s Neck.
Miss Vick was a cousin of Mary Vick, the great belle in the
fifties in the Neck, who married Mr. McKenny and moved
to. Marianna, Fla., where she died about four years ago.

 

 

Decaprt ILX.—1840—1850.

    

RICHARD JORDAN GATLING.

Tn 1822 James Gatling, an unlettered but an honorable
man, who years before married Mary Cowper, sister of Wm.
Cowper, died in Hertford County, leaving surviving him two
daughters and two sons, Elizabeth, wife of Charles Gay,
Polly, Wm. Cowper, and Jordan Gatling. His son, Jor-
dan, married Mary Barnes. From this marriage there were
born six sons, the third son being Richard Jordan Gatling,
who became a distinguished American inventor, and was born
in Hertford County September 12, 1818. His celebrated
revolving battery gun, which bears his name, has given him
a world-wide fame. His inventive genius began to show it-
self in his young days. At the age of 19 he began to teach
school, but soon abandoned that occupation and engaged in.
merchandising in his native county at Frazier’s X Roads.
During that time and shortly after his majority he invented
the screw-propeller, now so extensively used in steam vessels.
He applied for a patent for his invention, but, much to his
disappointment and sorrow, he discovered that a patent had
already been granted for such an invention. Not being dis-
couraged, shortly thereafter, about the year 1839, he invented
and had patented a seed sowing machine, designed for sowing
rice, which he afterwards used for sowing wheat in drills.
In 1844 he left his native county and settled in St. Louis.
There he had his seed-sowing machine manufactured and
placed upon the market, which found ready sale. In 1850
he graduated in medicine at the Ohio Medical College in
Cincinnati, and settled in Indianapolis, but did not practice,
but engaged in the manufacture and sale of his machines.
He was the first to introduce this class of farm implements
into the Northwestern States, and probably did more than
any other man to secure the adoption of drill culture in the
West. His skill as an inventor received recognition from
Several distinguished sources, including a medal and diploma
from the Crystal Palace, London, in 1851, and a gold medal
from the American Institute, New York.

— sila ln — z — ae in
BESET ETE RT TNL PERE SIN NS TE TIE GER I CSR RRS SPR
  

 

 

 

174

 
  
  
 
 
 
  
  
  
 
  
    
  
 
   
   
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
  

History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

He made many other inventions, one of them being the
method of using compressed air in working drills in mining
operations and in the construction of tunnels, the invention of
a steam plow. But the invention that gave him a world-
wide fame was the invention of the Gatling Gun.

The idea of the machine gun was conceived by him in
1861, and was first constructed and fired by the inventor at
Indianapolis in 1862.. In 1865 he had twelve of his guns
made by the Cooper Fire Arms Manufacturing Company in
Philadelphia. They were subjected to a severe test under
direction of the United States War Department. In 1866
the United States Government gave an order for 100 of these
guns, which were made at Colts Armory in Hartford, Con-
necticut, and delivered in 1867.

Dr. Gatling then mode bi ome in Hartford and con-
tinued to advertise ’ » world. It has now been
adopted by all the governments uf Europe except Belgium,
and nearly all the South American governments.

Technically described, the Gatling gun is a group of rifle
barrels arranged long " around a central shaft and re-
volving with it. ‘T'} ' are loaded at breech with me-
tallic cartridges while the barrels revolve. "The gun is oper-
ated by two men, one turning the crank, and the other supply-
ing the breech with cartridges, and when in operation it
insures a continuous fire. Dr. Gatling devoted nearly thirty
years of his life to the task of perfecting this wonderful in-
vention and has personally supervised and conducted the
numerous tests of its efficiency before nearly all the crowned
heads of Europe. Everywhere he was received with distin-
guished consideration, but the honors heaped upon him never
changed him. He remained the same well-bred gentleman,
gentle in speech and manner, always preserving that repub-.
lican simplicity which so well befits the American citizen,
and is the surest passport to kindly recognition.

He received many honors from the associations of Tnvent-
ors and Manufacturers, and from scientific bodies, both at

 

.
E
.

  
  
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
   
  

 

Dr. R. J. GATLING,
The Inventor of the Gatling Gun.

 
 

 

 

Derocapr 1X.—1840-1850.

home and abroad. The State of North Carolina may well be
proud of this modest and industrious son. His eminent per-
sonal merit and high scientific achievements reflect honor
upon his American name. He was married at Indianapolis
in 1854 to Miss Jemima Sanders, daughter of Dr. John H.
Sanders, of that city.

Dr. Gatling died February 26, 1903, in New York City,
and was buried at Indianapolis, Ind. His widow and one
daughter and one son survive him. Mrs. Gatling resides
with her daughter, Mrs. Hugh O. Pentecost, in New York
City, and his son, Richard H. Gatling, is a speculator in
real estate in the same city.

Dr. Gatling’s mother was a woman of strong and sublime
Christian character. After the death of her husband in
1848, she was often seen riding about the neighborhood, visit-
ing friends, going to church, and looking after her business

alone, in her top gig drawn by her old gentle gray horse.
The Doctor’s brother, Wm. J. Gatling, was a lawyer by pro-

fession, but after going West bevame a large operator in the
gold mines of Canada, while his brother James H. Gatling
lived at the old homestead in Maney’s Neck, until he was
brutally murdered in the morning of September 2, 1879,
while feeding his hogs, by a crazy man by the name of Vann.
James H. left an estate worth about $25,000, and during the
settlement of the estate by the writer, as administrator, Dr.
Gatling made frequent visits to Murfreesboro. The sad fate
of his brother greatly bereaved him. His eldest brother
was Thomas Barnes Gatling, who married and left two chil-
dren, Isaac and Rebecea; the latter married Jno. T. Peebles,
of Northampton County, where they now have descendants
living. William and James H. never married, but were
men of great industry and ingenuity and both were inventors,
a8 was their noble old father. Mrs. Mary Gatling had three
brothers— Thomas, Jesse and Richard Barnes,

Sarah Purdie, of old, who lived across William street from
H. T. Lassiter’s lot in the Boro Town, was a Miss Sarah

   
   
   
  
 
  
  
   
    
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    
 
   

=
 

 

  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  

 

 

  

176 History or Herrrorp Country, N.C.

Maget, the aunt of the late John E. Maget and James H.
Maget. Miss Maget first married one of the Hills. After
his death she married a widower Blount. She was a prim
little woman and fond of show and the ball-room, where she
delighted the lookers-on by her active and fantastic move-
ments on the well-waxed floor. She was possessed of much
of the world’s riches, and dressed in the tip of fashion.
After the death of her second husband, she married Samuel
Nicholson, of Maney’s Neck. He died in the eighth decade,
while in New York City on a business visit. Sometime
after Nicholson’s death she was courted by Dr. John H.
Purdie, of Enfield, N. C., and she married him. The Doe-
tor was a high-flyer in society, a hard drinker, and was
heavily in debt. This was unknown to the rich little widow.
Soon after their marriage the Doctor’s creditors bounced
down on him, and levied on the personal property of his new
wife to collect their debts. This horrified his little bride,
who had thrice before been a bride, and at the end of about
six weeks they separated and the Doctor was persuaded to
convey all property rights in her property to Dr. Thos. J.
Harper, in trust for the woman he fooled, and she returned
to her old home in Murfreesboro and lived the remainder of
her days alone with her well-trained colored nurses, who
were devoted to her. Their descendants now often speak
affectionately of old Mistress Purdie. Her will was written
July 22, 1840, and probated at May Term, 1850. Dr.
Purdie was a descendant of Alexander Purdie, who was ap-
pointed Public Printer of the Province of North Carolina
in 1762. Col. Uriah Vaughan administered and settled her
estate.

Some of the fashionable marriages in the lower end of the
county in 1848 were: Richard Blount, of Memphis, to Miss
Bartha Sanders, the lovely and admired step-daughter of
Watson Lewis; Watson S. Winborne to the gentle Isabella
Lassiter. In the midst of these festive occasions the death
ef Elleanor Hardy, the young and beautiful wife of Col.

 

   

Drcapr IX.—1840—-1850. 17%

Starkey Sharp III, brings sadness in the gay and festive
neighborhood of Mill Neck. Miss Saunders had been a
great belle in the lower end of the county, as were Misses
Mary Vick and Annie Waddill, in Maney’ Neck,
a stout heart of our young men was pained
make her home in the far West.

and many
at her decision to

William Dossey Pruden was
born in Gates County, Febru-
ary 22,1812, and died in Hert-
ford County, N. C., January
15, 1874. He was the son of
Rev. Nathaniel Pruden and
Marcella Newsom, his wife.
His parents on both sides were
of English extraction, his
grandfather James Pruden
having come to this country in

the latter part of the seven-
teenth century, or early in the eighteenth, and the Newsom

family before that time. Rev. Nathaniel Pruden was one
of the pioneer Baptist preachers of Eastern North Carolina
whose career commenced at the beginning of the chaditiiaile
century and continued to his death, about 1818. He was
one of the founders of the North Carolina State Baptist
Convention. His son was named for the Rev, William Dos-
Sey, 4 prominent Baptist preacher of that day. He was very
young at the time of his father’s death and, his mother hav-
ing died before his father, he was taken to Hertford County,
N. C., where he became an inmate of the family of his uncle,
Capt. Michael B. Newsom. Having very little estate, he was
deprived of early educational advantages, but availed him-
self of such as he had and acquired knowledge rapidly. When
he was about twenty years of age he became a school-teacher,
among his pupils being the famous Richard J. Gatling, the
tmventor of the Gatling Gun, and many others, who became
Prominent in the county. In 1835 he married Martha G.

12

 

W. D. PRUDEN.
    
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
   

 

 

 

178 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

Riddick, the daughter of James Riddick, of Hertford County.
He was always deeply interested in agriculture, as his an-
cestors had been before him for generations, and shortly
after reaching full age he became a farmer and devoted his
entire life to that vocation. He pursued it with unusual
energy and intelligence, and was always successful. About
1835 he bought valuable lands in what is known as the Mill
Neck district of Hertford County, remarkable for the pro-
ductiveness of its soil, for which he gave his notes. These
notes he paid promptly when they came due, and at the time
of his death he owned the farm which he first bought, with
other valuable lands in that community, which lands are still
owned by his children.

Of his marriage eight children were born, three of whom
died in infancy, and two sons, when they were approaching
manhood, one of them at the University of Virginia, where
he was pursuing his education ; three survived him, of whom
one died shortly thereafter, and his only representatives now
are Mrs. Horatio Hayes, who lives at the old home, and
W. D. Pruden, a lawyer of Edenton.

He was a man of great independence of thought and action.
Early in life he joined the Methodist church, the first one of
his family in this country who belonged to any other church
but the Baptist. He always, however, had great respect and
attachment for the Baptist church, in which his father and
his ancestors had worshipped. For more than forty years he
was an active member of the Methodist church, and one of
its official body. He frequently represented his church in its
annual and quarterly conferences, and took great interest in
everything which pertained to it. He died in its faith.

In polities he was a Whig, until the Whig party ceased to
exist, and was a good representative of that class of worthy
citizens who largely composed the Whig party in North Caro-
lina. After that he became a Democrat, and remained one
until his death. He neevr sought or desired office. Fre-

 

Dercavr 1X.—1840-1850. 179

quently he presided at the county conventions of his party,

aya for many years one of the justices of the peace
ie =. county and a member of the Special County Court.
dened « ise pg Union man up to the time President Lin-
Sesiiaseuae "ah og aang calling for troops to coerce the
aed cag lieved in the right of secession, but did not
> psig at the time practicable or necessary. He
ee fai ad Ae the old flag, and to the history and tradi-
i hincntabhen on The discussions between him and some
Wed Gtersuee who took a different view, at the neighbor-

mgs, were frequent and earnest. He believed

and when that proclamati issued
‘aia , proclamation was issu
e of his i
sesisigeaiaal nent neighbors, who was an earnest
: , “From this time on I am as strong as you in
ab of the Southern Confederacy.” No man was more
oyal thereafter to the South; no man gave more liberally

and willingly of his means and his talents

the Southern cause. 0 Ss Cele

His sons, exce
: ‘pt one, were too young
to go into the army. That one did go, with his approval and

ee ee and was in the army at the close of the war.
te nia om war closed, like others he found his estate reduced,
Poa ae and conditions generally unsatisfactory
stat oomy, but he took up arms vigorously against these
tis es and overeame them, and prospered until his death
tL 874, leading all the time the quiet life of a farmer. His
“has died in 1867, and he never married again, but devoted
imself to the care and comfort of his children. He was a
believer in education, and spent a large part of his income
mM educating his children. All of them who reached matu-
tity Were given every advantage that the schools of the day
afforded. His oldest daughter, Mrs. Horatio Hayes, now
Approaching seventy, a well-educated woman, lives ie the

a oe es x .
DRA Pe eID SR taal

    

eee SY
 

180 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

. a ancestral home, and his eldest son, W. D. Pruden, of Eden-
| ) ton, has been a lawyer in active practice in the First Judi-
cial District for more than thirty years.
The record of the courts and the history of Hertford
‘ County bear ‘estimony to the active and faithful labor of this
man, and his children and friends are justly proud of the
record,

oad

In 1703, in the second year of the reign of Queen
Anne of England, and during the government of the Lords
Proprietors of Carolina, at Edenton, in the county of Albe-
marle, John Pruden was a vestryman of St. Paul’s Church,
the established church of England. It may be he was the
forerunner of the Prudens in this country.

 

 

 

GEN. W. D. BARNES.

Judge William Deanes Barnes, of Florida, was a native
of Hertford County. His parents were Thomas Barnes and
wife, Sarah Barnes, nee Deanes. They lived about five miles
back of Murfreesboro, at the home of the late W. T. Brow.
Mrs. Sarah Barnes was the daughter of the old Sheriff Thos.
Deanes. Thomas Barnes and Mrs. Jordan Gatling were
brother and sister. They moved to Jackson County, Fla.,
in 1847 while their son W. D. was at the University of the
State. After he graduated he studied law and located in
Marianna, Fla. He was in the Confederate Army and was
promoted to the rank of brigadier-general in the army. After
the war he devoted himself to his profession. The writer
visited him in 1877 and again in 1879 on professional busi-
ness. He was a most delightful gentleman and had a lovely
family. His wife was a Miss Cotton, of Raleigh, and sister
of the wife of Col. W. L. Saunders, the late Secretary of
State of North Carolina. In 1854 he was elected Solicitor

of the Western District of Florida. In 1879 he was Presi-
dent of the State Senate. From 1880 to 1890 he was Comp-
troller of the State. In May, 1890, he was appointed Judge
of the First Judicial District of his State, which office he

was holding when he died in 1896. He was born in 1836

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DECADE X.

1850—1860.

During the 8th and 9th decades of the county the Baptist
and Methodist denominations had grown strong. The Meth-
odists were in the lead in Murfreesboro, and had established
themselves strongly in Winton, Harrellsville, Union (form-

erly Blue Water), and other places in the county. A rivalry
between these two denominations for mastership began, and

their ministers in Eastern Carolina instigated a most unwise
custom of discussing their creeds and doctrines in public
debate. To the writer such vanity seems strange and un-
accountable. Why peeople striving to glorify the one great
common Lord and Master should permit their differences as
to the mode of worship and the like, to so excite their pas-
sions and prejudices to that extent that will cover up their
love of Christ and of their neighbors, which is the essence of
Christianity, is incomprehensible to the writer.

We were intended to differ, and our differences should not
breed intolerance. Who is to be the judge? We cannot
expect perfection on earth.

Plato of old dreamed of a perfect and happy republic,
when every officer would be guided in his conduct by the
most rigid rules of moral ethies. But he never realized the
millenium of his dream, nor will we who differ in our notions
of religious creeds and modes of worship, ever settle the ques-
tion as to who is right. Love of Christ and of our neighbors
is the only test of true Christianity. But sometimes these con-
troversies, which seem on the surface to be productive of so
much unhappy strife, produce the most happy results. This
honorable rivalry between these two strong Christian denomi-
nations caused the Baptists of the Chowan Association, which
received its origin at the Meherrin church (Parker’s) near
the town -f Murfreesboro, to establish the Chowan Baptist
Female Institute in Murfreesboro in 1848. It supplanted
the Banks’ school, and during its primeval days was con-

ras

 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
     

mys
 

 

 

    

182 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

ducted in the Banks’ School building under the auspices of
the Baptist denomination of the Albemarle section. The
Baptists kept at the head of this institution of learning from
its origin to the present time, the foremost teachers of their
times.

The first president was Rev. Martin Rudolph Forey, a
native of New York, and a graduate of Madison University
of that State. Mr. Forey was a Christlike man, of great
literary culture, and of wonderful energy and business sagac-
ity. He gave the school a high standard, and its reputation
was quickly heralded throughout the States. Dr. Forey was
succeeded as head of the institution by that great scholar and
Baptist divine, Dr. William Hooper, the grandson of the
illustrious William Hooper, one of the signers of the immor-
tal Declaration .f Independence in 1776, and whose picture
uow hangs on the wall in Independence Hall in Philadelphia,
reflecting the intellectuality of that wonderful man.

The distinguished Dr. William Hooper was succeeded by
Rey. Archibald McDowell, of South Carolina, who was a
sublime Christian gentleman and a ripe scholar. Dr. Me-
Dowell died in 1881, and Prof. John B. Brewer, of Wilson,
N. C., a graduate of Wake Forest and a grandson of Presi-
dent Wait of that college, was put in charge of this famous
institution of learning and shaped its onward course for a
number of years, when he was succeeded for a short period
by Prof. W. O. Petty, of South Carolina. The present chief
officer of the institution and successor of Professor Petty, is
Hon. John C. Scarborough, who for sixteen years held the
office of Superintendent of Public Instruction in North Caro-
lina, and who so ably guided the educational interests of the
State.

There are now about 100 or more young ladies whose
hearts and minds are being trained at this institution of
learning. Its first commencement was held in 1849.

That same honorable rivalry caused the Methodists in
Eastern North Carolina and Virginia to establish in the

 

 

‘GOATIOO WIVNAA NVAQTISAM

 
 

 

eee ad

 

Droapr X.—1850-1860. 183

same town the Wesleyan Female College, and, like the Bap-
tists, they kept at the head of their institution of learning the

ablest teachers in the Virginia Conference of the M. E.
Church, with a most capable faculty. Rev. J oseph H. Davis,

a man of great learning and a devout Christian, was their
first president. He was succeeded by Rev. D. P. Wills, a

gentleman who kept the college up to the high standard fixed
by his predecessors. Then came the eloquent and gifted
Rey. Cornelius B. Riddick at its head, who presided with
great success for several years when he was succeeded for a
brief period by Rev. James D. Coullings. The latter was sue-
ceeded by that great scholar and divine of the Virginia Con-
ference, Rev. Paul Whitehead, who is the Chief Justice of
that distinguished body. Then followed as its chief officer
the eloquent, scholarly and chivalrous Rev. William G. Star,
who was at the helm when the magnificent building of the
famous college was destroyed by fire in 1877. The college
was rebuilt in 1881. In the meantime the dividing line be-
tween the Virginia and North Carolina Conferences had been
changed by throwing Eastern Carolina into the North Caro-
lina Conference. After the rebuilding of the college it was
presided over first by Prof. E. E. Parham, of Warren County,
N..C., and secondly by Rev. R. P. Troy, of the N. C. Con-
ference, when it was again destroyed by fire in 1893. It
has never been rebuilt since the last fire.

The incalculable benefits received by North Carolina and
Virginia from the above two female colleges in sending out
within their borders educated Christian mothers are lasting
Monuments to the founders and friends of those two foun-
tains of knowledge and of wisdom. If denominational con-
troversies and rivalry will always produce such wonderful
and happy results, let them continue.

John A, Anderson for a number of years had filled places
of important trusts. He had served for years as County
Trustee, as a member of the Governor’s Council during Goy-
ernor Manly’s administration, and on the death of John

 
 

 

     
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
    

184 History or Herrrorp County, N. ©.

Vann, Esq., in 1850, he was elected Chairman of the County
Court, and served with marked ability for several years,
when he resigned in 1857, and was succeeded by Dr. G. C.
Moore. In 1861 he was again elected Chairman of the
Court and held the position to his death, in June of the same
year.

Mr. Anderson had a large circle of friends, and was espe-
cially a favorite with the members of the bar, who greatly
enjoyed his hospitality during the sessions of the Court. He
was the owner of a large estate, which was settled by his per-
sonal friends John A. Vann and W. D. Holloman. He was
a descendant of Maj. John Brown, the old Tory of St. John’s.

John A. Anderson was married twice. His first wife,
Elizabeth, died February 10, 1825, and he afterwards mar-
ried the young widow of Dr. John C. Montgomery, who was
Harriet, the daughter of Leven Duer and his wife Margaret,
and sister to Andrew V. Duer, the Public Register, who died
April 17, 1831. At the Spring Term, 1824, of Hertford
Court, the suit of Miss Harriet Duer against Dr. Lawrence
O’Bryan for breach of promise of marriage was tried in
Winton. The jury rendered a verdict in favor of the plain-
tiff for $218. The costs was said to be about $400. This
would indicate that quite a number of witnesses were exam-
ined. The old bachelors, Patrick Brown and Dr. Thomas
O’Dwyer, had taken considerable interest in the trial and
thought their friend O’Bryan got out very easy. O’ Bryan
afterwards married Barsha Gordon and moved South. Brown
said to O’Dwyer on his return from court on the day of the
trial:

“A pretty girl who gets a kiss and runs and tells her mother,
Does what she should not do, and doesn’t deserve another ”’

Miss Duer shortly thereafter married Dr. John C. Mont-
gomery, brother of Bridger J. and G. W. Montgomery. He
only lived about six months after his marriage.

 

    

DrcapE X.—1850—-1860. 185

Naney, the widow of Howell Jones, Esq., died January,
1808, and was buried in the Duer graveyard. Howell Jones

was Clerk and Master in Equity for a number of years, and
was the father of Howell Morgan Jones.

John A. Anderson died in 1861 in his sixty-fourth year,
and his wife in 1866. His son, James L. Anderson. who
represented the county in the House in 1889 and 1891, died
in 1896, aged 57 years. Mr. Anderson had two Shuititers~
Mrs. J. W. Faison, of Winton, and Mrs. H. B. Knox, of New
Orleans. The latter was regarded as a great beauty in her
younger days.

Lemuel R. Jernigan was one of the most substantial and
influential men of his day in the county. He descended
from a long line of influential and honorable ancestors. In
1831, when a young man, he was elected Public Register to
succeed Andrew V. Duer, deceased, which office he filled
until 1843, when he resigned to accept the office of County
Trustee (which was the same as Treasurer), to which he was
elected in February, 1844, over E. D. Britt by a vote of 19
to 10. J. A. Anderson, John Vann, James L. Grimes and
Dr. Edw. 8. Neal voted for John L. Jenkins, the father of
our bank cashier, Paul E. Jenkins. This office he held
until 1854. His official position did not oceupy the whole
of his time, as we find him during the whole period of
his official life engaged in the mercantile pursuits with
William B. Wynns at Barfields, and later with his
brother-in-law, Starkey S. Harrell, Jr. He lived a busy
and active life and accumulated a considerable estate. He
kept well posted on all public questions, and those seeking
official position courted his influence and aid. He was too
old to enter the Confederate Army, but he served his county
and his State in various ways in providing for and looking

 
 

 

 

186 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

after the families of the sol-
diers in his county. He mar-
ried Mary, the daughter of
Starkey S. Harrell, Sr., and
granddaughter of Nathan Har-
rell. His wife was first cousin
to Chief Justice Smith. His
father was Miles H. Jernigan,
whose will was probated in
February, 1843, and his grand-
father was Mills Jernigan, who.
was Public Register in the
county from 1800 to 1813, and was Entry Taker shortly after
the War of 1776-1782. Hon. Spencer Jarnagan’s father was a
relative of Mills Jernigan, of Hertford County, and emigrated
to Tennesse before it became a State and while it was a part.
of North Carolina. He graduated at Greenville College in
1813, studied law and was elected to the U. S. Senate from
Tennessee as a Whig in 1843 and served from December 4,
1843, to March 3, 1847. He spelt his name different from
_those in North Carolina, but we have found the name Jarna-
gan in the old State records and also in old papers in this
county. It is pronounced in that way even now by the un-
lettered.

L. R. Jernigan died December 8, 1866, at Barfields, leav-
ing his widow surviving him and two sons and one daugh-
ter—John H., Mary H., and Thos. R. Jernigan.

Mr. Jernigan was succeeded in 1854 as County Trustee by
Elisha D. Britt, of Maney’s Neck, who held the office until
1861. Jethro W. Barnes, the neighbor and friend of Britt,
was County Surveyor from about 1834 to 1858. John P.
Bridger was elected Sheriff at the November Term, 1848,
and remained in office until August Term, 1856, when he
was succeeded by John A. Vann, son of the old chairman.
Bridger succeeded Abner J. Perry, who succeeded Preston

Perry.

 

L. R. JERNIGAN.

   
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  

 

aa

eae

   

Drcapr X.—1850-1860. 187

Among the foremen of the grand jury during this decade
we find John W. Southall, Uriah Vaughan, L. R. Jernigan,
Elisha D. Britt, 8S. D. Winborne, Jethro W. Barnes. The
Jolly W. B. Day is frequently on hand as the special officer of

the grand jury, a position which had been frequently held
by Edw. F. Dunston and Constable Thomas Winborne ITT.

J. B. Slaughter served for a short time as Clerk of Supe-
rior Court just prior to G. W. Beverly. He resigned to be
a candidate for the House in 1856 against W. L. Daniel, and
was elected.

Among the new justices of the peace found presiding in

the county courts during this decade are Samuel Moore, Jno.

V. Lawrence, Drewry Vinson, James Barnes, William Dar-
den, W. M. Montgomery, Howell M. Jones, John W. South-
all, Jacob Sharp, A. G. Vann, Daniel Valentine, J. B.
Sharp, James A. Riddick, T. D. Vann. In 1857 the fol-
lowing new justices of the peace qualified: John P. Lee,
S. D. Winborne, L. R. Jernigan, Watson Lewis, Jr., W. L.
Daniel, James M. Wynns, B. A. Capehart and Jesse ©.
Powell. .

In August, 1851, A. P. Yancey, on account of bad health,
retires as County Attorney and W. D. Valentine, the former
Clerk of the Superior Court, is elected to sueceed Yancey.
At February Term, 1855, W. N. H. Smith qualified as ad-
ministrator of his half brother, A. P. Yancey, and Daniel
Velentine, at November Term, 1856, qualified as adminis-
trator of his brother, W. D. Valentine. Jesse J. Yates was
elected County Attorney at August Term, 1855, and served
until 1860.

A notice of the late John V. Lawrence, who was active and
Prominent in county affairs during this period will be found
im the 5th decade, with the Rea’s, one of whom he married.

The wealthy and elegant and aristocratic cavallier, John
W. Sonthall, another of the county’s dignitaries of these

times, is sketched, with the notice of his father, in the 6th
decade.
   
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
  

 

   

188 Hrsrory or Hertrorp County, N. C.

John Winborne, of the east end of the county, who was
for a long while one of the county’s worthies, died in 1847,
and his highly esteemed son, William J. Winborne, of the
same section, succumbs to fever in the prime of life during
this period. Elisha Vaughan of the west end follows.

Edward F. Dunston, of whom we have mentioned, was
one of the old worthies of the Borough town. He married
Miss Mary Louise Vaughan, of the upper Southampton
Vaughans, of Virginia, and of revolutionary fame. Edward F.
Dunston was a descendant of John Dunston, a distinguished
Englishman, who came to America in 1723 to fill the office
of Commissioner of Customs at Edenton. He was a man
of fine ability and great prominence. Edward’s children by
his marriage were Dr. Henry V. Dunston, of Windsor, N. C.;
Josephine J. Dunston, Gussie,
and William E. Dunston, now
of Elizabeth City. Gussie has
never married. Josephine, at-
ter the late Civil War, married
Capt. John J. Dyer, a brave,
daring and handsome Confed-
erate soldier. He was from a
long line of a soldiery ances-
try. His splendid military
bearing was convincing proof
of his noble ancestry. They
reared a daughter and a son. The daughter was a handsome
and stylish woman, but lived but a few months after marry-
ing. Their son, R. O. Dyer, of Richmond, Va., has much of
the military bearing of his father and of the intellectuality
of his mother. All of the Dunston children were highly in-
tellectual. Mr. Dyer after his marriage bought the large and
valuable Henry Jenkins plantation at Joynersville, in South-
ampton County, where he resided until his death a few years
ago, and which is now the home of his widow. Dr. Dunston
is Bertie’s leading physician, and one of her most intellectual
citizens.

 

- MISS: JOSEPHINE J. DUNSTON.

 

DrcapE X.—1850-1860. 189

Nearly all of Mrs. Dunston’s family were killed in the
Nat Turner insurrection in 1831. Her sister was also killed.
Her brother of 19 was permitted to fasten the rope around
Nat Turner’s neck that swung him into eternity. Mr. Dun-
ston died before the conflict of 1861, but his widow was
patriotic to the core. She made and unfurled the first Con-
federate tlag in Hertford County and furnished one gallant
Son to the cause, he being the only one old enough to enlist.

Daniel Van Pelt Sessoms, of Pitch Landing, was sent in
1850 by the county to the Senate, as successor to W. N. H.
Smith, who declined a re-election. Mr. Sessoms was an
‘compromising Whig in politics, but an amiable and popu-
lar gentleman. Although his occupation was that of a planter,
Yet he found time to read and keep well posted in the current
literature of his day, and was familiar with the political
issues of the time. He had a
strong und vigorous mind,
and was a most entertaining
conversationalist. Notwith-
standing the Democrats were
in the majority in both branch-
es of the Legislature, he re-
ceived good consideration as a
member of the minority. He
served on some of the most im-
portant committees. He served
his people as a justice of the
Peace for many years before and after the Civil War. Mr.
Sessoms was born May 9, 1809, and died October 4, 1888.
He was the son of William Sessoms, whose will ‘was probated
in 1844, and his first wife, Elizabeth, was the daughter of
Daniel Van Pelt, of this county, and sister of Henry B. Van
Pelt, who was Public Register of the county in 1845 and
1846. Mr. Sessoms was married twice. His second wife
‘was Eliza Freeman, who was a great help to him in the accu-
mulation of his estate. He left children by both of his wives.

 

DANIEL VANPELT SESSOMS.

     
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
   
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 

 

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  

 

190 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

He has a son now living in the county bearing his name.
Charles C. Sessoms is a child by his second marriage. He
had two brothers, W. W. Sessoms and H. B. Sessoms, the
latter being the father of Dr. Jos. W. Sessoms, of Bertie, and
of Mrs. J. J. Perry, the mother of J. W. Perry, of Nor-
folk, Va.

Hon. Kenneth Rayner was in the House during the ses-
sion of 1850, and by his eloquence and public zeal he con-
tinued to reflect great honor on the Hertford people, by whom
he was greatly admired.

Albert Moore, a Whig, was defeated for the office of Sher-
iff by John P. Bridger. Mr. Moore lived in Maney’s Neck,
and was brother to Capt. Samuel Moore, of Buckhorn, Alfred
Moore and Henry Moore, the prince of merchants in the
Borough. Their father was Allen Moore, the brother of J ohn
Moore, who was the father of Mrs. A. W. Darden. The
Moores were leading citizens in their day.

Dr. Edw. 8. Neal, who resided in town, where E. C. Wor-
rell now resides, passes away with the end of this decade.
He married Annie Baker, granddaughter of Gen. Lawrence
Baker, who is now living in her ninetieth year in Washing-
ton, N. ©. The late Thomas N. Neal of the county was his
brother, and Maj. John B. Neal, of Scotland Neck, N. C.,
is his son.

Major Neal is still a gallant and chivalrous son of Hali-
fax County. He entered the Confederate Army April 14,
1861, as a private in Dreux’s Battalion of Infantry, in
Louisiana, as from Hertford County, N. C. Later, in 1861,
he was transferred to Company I, 1st N. C. Cavalry, and
elected 2d lieutenant; later made captain of the company,

and in August 1, 1863, was promoted to the rank of major,
and still later appointed lieutenant-colonel, but the war was
erded before he received his commission. He was porn Feb-
ruary 4, 1839, and after reaching manhood and completing
his edueation married Annie E., daughter of Richard H.
Smith and wife, Sallie Hall, the daughter of former Judge

    

Dercapge X.—1850-1860. 191

Hall of our Supreme Court. After her death he married,
February 22, 1883, Sallie, the oldest daughter of Dr. Archi-
bald MeDowell, of Murfreesboro. Major Neal’s paternal
grandfather was Thomas Neal and his paternal great-grand-
father was Francis Neal. His father came to Murfreesboro
from Mecklenburg County, Va. His sister, Mary S. Neal,
married in 1857, Robert Perkins, of Burke County, N. C.
His other sisters, Annie E. and Sarah T. Neal, married, we
think, a gentleman living in Pitt County.

Prof, Geo. W. Neal, the old school-teacher, married Fan-
nie, the daughter of John Hart and wife Bettie Hart, nee
Dillard, of Murfreesboro. Professor Neal’s family came
from Southampton County, Va. Professor Neal and wife
are the parents of our Judge Walter H. Neal.

A FAMOUS LAWSUIT.

In 1854 the Murfreesboro Gazette, edited and published
by John B. Drinkard and Canozio Fraetor, in the town of
Murfreesboro, was the county newspaper, which often in-
volved in trouble those fond of getting their criticisms
in print. The “Know-Nothing,” a secret political party,
whose motto was “America for Americans,” and their
pass-word was “Sam,” was flourishing about this time.
It was composed largely of Whigs, but a few Democrats were
allowed to join the Winton Lodge. Alfred W. Darden, a
Democrat, joined, but withdrew and published in the Gazette
a very denunciatory article, in which he criticised the order
and its members and exposed many of its secrets. A com-
mittee, consisting of John A. Anderson, R. G. Cowper and
others, acting on behalf of the “Know-Nothing” Lodge at
Winton, published in the Gazette some resolutions of that
body, touching on the conduct of Darden. The latter deem-
ing the resolutions libelous, sued the committee in Hertford
County for $10,000 damages, but afterwards he secured the
removal of the suit for trial to Washington County, on ac-
count of the great popularity and influence of the defendants.

 

 

 
 

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  

 

 

 

192 Hisrory or Herrrorp County, N. C.

Judge Heath, P. H. Winston, Col. David Outlaw and John
P. Jordan appeared for the plaintiff, and W. N. H. Smith,
D. A. Barnes, H. A. Gilliam and Thos. M. Garrett repre-
sented the defendants.

The case was tried before Judge Caldwell. The very
nature of the suit necessarily caused great excitement, inter-
est and feeling in the county. The “Know-Nothing” party
existed in several of the States. Many people from this
county attended the trial. The speeches of the attorneys
were sharp, spicy and able. The jury gave the plaintiff a
few dollars damages and that was the end of the great
“Know-Nothing Suit.”

Mr. Garrett, one of the attorneys, was reared near Cole-
raine, in Bertie County, and was prepared for college by
Prof. John Kimberly at Buckhorn Academy, in Hertford
County. He graduated at Chapel Hill in 1851 and was a
brilliant lawyer; was colonel in the war of 1861-65, and one
of the bravest of the brave. He was killed in the battle of

the Wilderness.

“SOUTHERN STAR.”

Maj. J. W. Moore has furnished us with some information
showing the great energy and enterprise of some of Murfrees-
boro’s men. In 1856 there seemed to reappear the revival
of the ancient commercial spirit once so noticeable among the
sons of Hertford. Jesse A. Jackson, who had settled in the
town several years prior, was from New Jersey, and was a
man of great energy and ingenuity. He is now well remem-
bered by some of our citizens. He for years operated a saw-
mill across the river, where the saw-mill of E. ©. Worrell
is now located, and also made the bricks for the two female
colleges in the town, from which he realized a fair profit.
He conceived the idea in 1856 of building a large steamship

to make regular trips from Murfreesboro to New York,

carrying both freight and passengers. He secured financial

aid from Glines & Graham, a New York commission firm,

 

  
 
   

Decape X.—1850—1860. 193

and several of the wealthy citizens of Murfreesboro. Thirty
thousand dollars were consumed in building the steamer in
Murfreesboro. Her engines were built at Wilmington, Dela-
ware. Its model was beautiful and a thing of beauty, and
Jackson’s ship was destined to become famous. The New
York firm failed and his home friends became uneasy about
their investment and declined to invest any more money in
the visionary project of Jackson. This greatly embarrassed
poor Jackson and brought about his insolvency. The writer
now has some of his unpaid obligations. The great floating
palace was soon sold, and John W. Southall and Capt. Thomas
Badger became the purchasers. She was christened the
“Southern Star.” Southall and Badger sold her to the U. S.
government. The government had her rechristened “Cru-
sader,” and she became famous as one of the swiftest keels in
the water and won renown in chasing steamers engaged in the
unlawful business, just before the Civil War, of importing
wretched Africans into our Gulf States by, the enemies of
the South, in their efforts to make slavery as odious as
possible.

In 1852 R. G. Cowper defeated W. W. Mitchell for the
Senate.

Watson L. Daniel represented the county in the House in
1852 and 1854 as a Whig in polities. Captain Perry was
his opponent in 1852. In 1852 he voted for Matthew W.
Ransom, a Democrat, for Attorney-General of the State, who
was then a brilliant young lawyer in Warren County. This
vote soon ended Mr. Daniel’s career as a legislator, and young

attorney J oseph Blount Slaughter defeated him in 1856 for

Daniel, it made General Ransom his life-long friend. Attor-
ney-General Ransom afterwards became a distinguished gen-
eral in the Civil War and a United States Senator of national
fame. Major Daniel later served his county as major in the
militia, justice of the peace, chairman of the County Court
and Register of Deeds. He was the son of Capt. Belcher
Daniel and his wife, Julia Flower.

13

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
    
  
  
 
 
  

2 ttn See PDE pir init tain stl

 

at MINER

ae ais
 

 

 

 

194 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

Captain Daniel was the son of a sea captain who came
from Ireland about 1760 and settled on Roanoke Island.
Capt. Belcher Daniel was born in 1776 and moved to Hert-
ford County and settled at Pitch Landing in 1820 and died
in 1831. His wife belonged to the same Flower family from
which the late Governor Flower of New York descended.
They left three children, all of whom were born on Roanoke
Island—Watson L., Nancy, and Spencer. The latter became
a celebrated physician and died in 1858. Nancy married
Samuel M. Aumack, Sr. Major Daniel died in December,
1889, or January, 1890, while holding the office of Register
of Deeds in the county. For a long while he and Daniel
Valentine were engaged as partners in the mercantile busi-
ness at Oak Villa, the old home of Col. Matthias Brickle,
near Winton. Daniel Valentine married Miss Duer, and
they were the parents of the wife of John O. Askew, Jr.
Mr. Valentine was the brother of the old Clerk of the Supe-
rior Court, the bachelor lawyer, and County Attorney, W. D.
Valentine.

John Blount Slaughter, the member of the House in 1856,
was the son of Wm. Slaughter, who married a Miss Blount
and died in 1844. Young Slaughter read law under W. N.
H. Smith. He was not a man of much mental calibre and
force, but he secured the confidence of the people and re-
tained it throughout life, as will be seen from the record of
the county affairs. He lived to a ripe old age and married
shortly before his death, for the first time.

’ Watson Lewis, Sr., was for a number of years a leading
magistrate and a prominent citizen in the Harrellsville sec-
tion of the county, and his descendants are numerous and are
well scattered. He came to the county during the first quar-
ter of the nineteenth century from Baltimore, Maryland, and
settled in the section above stated. He was thrice married.
His first wife was the sister of John Winborne, who married
Nancy Simons, of the east end of the county, and son

Dercapr X.—1850-1860. 195

of William Winborne and grandson of Henry Win-
borne. By this marriage he had two children—Edward D.,
and Sallie Lewis. Edward married Levinia Askew, daugh-
ter of David Askew, and niece of Dr. A. J. Askew. They
had two children—Sallie D. Lewis, who became the wife of
John H. J ernigan, son of L. R. Jernigan, and Emma Lewis,
who was the second wife of Joseph J. Perry.

Watson Lewis’ daughter Sallie married John Simons. He
lived but a short time, and later she married Ool. Starkey
Sharp and they reared one child, Nannie, who first married
James Walton and reared two daughters, one of whom mar-
ried John Nichols, of Bertie, and the other Walton daughter
married J. H. Flythe, of Northampton County, but now of
Augusta, Ga. After the death of Walton his widow married
E. D. Scull, of Harrellsville, and they reared several boys.

The second wife of Watson Lewis was Fannie, the daughter
of Capt. Belcher Daniel, and by his marriage he had seven
children—Nannie, who became the wife of James B. Cham-
blee ; Watson Lewis, Jr., who married Anna Crutchelow, of
Martin County; Fannie Lewis, who married Thomas Rid-
dick, of Gates County, and Dr. John Lewis, who married
Mary Sparrow, of Norfolk, Va. His daughter Jane was the
third wife of Col. Starkey Sharp. Caroline married Hiram
Harrell, of Bertie County, and his youngest son, Dr. Daniel
W. Lewis, married Annie Williams, of Martin County, where

they now live.
Watson Lewis’ third wife was Sarah Saunders, of Gates-

Ville, ' They left no issue.

Watson Lewis, Jr., died in the 13th decade, leaving his
widow and several children surviving him.

Thomas Riddick and wife Fannie are the parents of Sarah
Riddick, who was a most accomplished and cultured lady.
She married a Mr. White, of New York City; and of Cora
Riddick, who was a very attractive young lady when the wri-
ter began the practice of his profession. She married W. D.

McAnges, of Suffolk, Va., where they now live.

 
   
  
 
  
  
  
  
 
  
  
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
  
  
   
 
  
 
 
 
  
   
 
 
  

 

 

   

196 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

Dr. John Lewis, who lived near Norfolk, left several
daughters, one of whom the author has seen. She was large
and tall and a handsome and splendid looking woman, with
a bright and cheerful disposition. She married Col. Alex-
ander Savage, of Norfolk, Va. Mrs. Chamblee left one
daughter, who married William D, Adkins.

Mrs. Hiram P. Harrell died several years ago, leaving sev-
eral children and her husband surviving her.

Col. Starkey Sharp and his wife Jane are the parents of
Mrs. John T. Shubrick, of Rocky Mount, N. C.; of Mrs.
Thos. R. Jernigan, and Hunter Sharp and Starkey Sharp IV.

Dr. Daniel W. Lewis was an officer in the Confederate
Army. He is still a leading physician in Martin County.

He has no issue.
Abner Harrell, late of Har-

rellsville, and for whom the
place was named, was a most
worthy man and a man of a
large estate. He deseénded
from one of the oldest fami-
lies in the county. He was the
son of Maj. Samuel Harrell,
who resigned his military office
in 1783. Samuel Harrell was
a soldier in the War of 1776-
1782, a member of the State
Convention of 1788, and a son of Abner Harrell, a free-
holder in Bertie County in 1740, as appears from the jury
list of that county. Major Harrell left the following chil-
dren: Noah, James, William B., Willis, Isaac, Andrew, and
Abner, Mary and Nancy. George T. Harrell, of Gates
County, is a grandson of Major Harrell, and the mother of
the late Hon. Jesse J. Yeates was the granddaughter of Major
Harrell. Abner Harrell, the subject of this sketch, was for
a long while a justice of the peace in this county. He was
married four times. His first wife was Jennie Yeates, an

 

ABNER HARRELL.

Dercapp X.—1850-1860. 197

aunt of Hon. Jesse J. Yeates. They were the parents of
the wife of John O. Askew, Sr. His second wife was Miss
Norfleet, his third was Miss Nancy Jones, and his fourth was
Miss Mary Womble. He died May 10, 1864, leaving sur-
Viving him the following children: Mary, who married the
late Rev. Joshua Garrett, a distinguished divine of the Vir-
ginia Conference of the M. E. Church, South (Rev. Garrett
left one daughter, who married Benj. Thach, of Perquimans
County), Mrs. John O, Askew, Sr., Mrs. Benj. F. Beverly
of Union, Mrs. D, W. Reed, Wm. J. Harrell, and A. B.
Harrell,

Abner Harrell’s son, A. B. Harrell, married Anna Man-
sard, a lady of large intellectual endowments and strong char-
acter. They were the parents of the late John Abner Har-
vell; Herbert B, Harrell, the owner of the Harrell’s Printing
House at Weldon; L. R. Harrell, a planter in Louisiana ;
Artemus Harrell, a business man in Pittsburg, Penn. Their
daughter, Melissa Harrell, married Henry Hughes, of Vir-
ginia, and later of Lexington, Ky. She died leaving a large
family of children, who are scattered in the States.

In 1853 the Whigs renominated and elected Col. David
Outlaw, of Bertie, to Congress. Colonel Outlaw was a lawyer
of consummate ability and a regular attendant upon the
Courts of Hertford, where he had many kin and a large cli-
entage,

Thomas Bragg, of Northampton, another compeer with
Outlaw and Smith at the Hertford bar, and a favorite of the
People of the patriotic county of Hertford, was elected Gov-
ernor of the State in 1854 and made Hertford’s son, Pulaski
Cowper, his private secretary. Tn 1859 Governor Bragg was
elected U. § Senator to succeed David S. Reid. U. 8.
Senator Asa Biggs was appointed U. S. Judge for North
Carolina, as successor of Judge Henry Potter, who had re-
cently died in: the ninety-sixth year of his age. Potter was
*ppointed judge in 1801 to sueceed U. 8. Judge Sitzgraves.
Thomas f, Clingman succeeded Biggs in the Senate. W. N.

   

 

 
 

  
  
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
   
 
 
  
   
   
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
   
  
  
  
   
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
   
  
     

 

   
   

198 History or Hertrrorp County, N. CO.

H. Smith was elected to Congress over Henry M. Shaw by a
majority of 514 votes, and the immortal Zebulon Baird Vance
was first elected to Congress in 1859 from the mountain dis-
trict.

THE ROBERTS FAMILY.

The wife of the late Matthew Whitaker Ransom, a general
in the war of 1861-65 and a United States Senator from
North Carolina from January, 1872, to March 3, 1895, was
from one of Hertford County’s old families. She was Miss
Pattie A. Exum, of Northampton County, N. C. Attorney-
General Ransom and Miss Exum were married in Petersburg,
Va., January 19, 1853.

About the middle of the eighteenth century, Jonathan Rob-
erts moved to and settled in the territory now embraced in
the boundaries of Hertford County. On July 8, 1766, Wil-
liam Griffith, the then owner of the tract of land near the
present town of Murfreesboro and known as the “Meredith
Field,”’ and on which he resided, sold and conveyed the same
to Jonathan Roberts. Griffith built the first grist mill on
Ganey’s Creek where the E. C. Worrell Mill is now located.
Roberts and his wife, Elizabeth, had several children. Their
son Jonathan Roberts, Jr., married Esther Wilkinson, of
Norfolk, Via., and they left several children—Benjamin,
Mary, and others. After the death of Jonathan Roberts, Sr.,
his widow married Capt. Lewis Meredith, by whom she reared
quite a family of children. Mary Roberts married James
Maney. Benjamin Roberts married Martha Vaughan, of
Murfreesboro, and lived in Murfreesboro at the residence of
the late Col. Uriah Vaughan. Mr. Roberts died young,
leaving his widow and several children surviving. Dr. Thos.
O’Dwyer, in his diary of 1824, speaks of visiting the widow
Roberts and her maiden sister, Miss Sallie Vaughan, and the
Roberts children. Benj. Roberts’ children were Mary, La-
vinia, Esther Wilkinson, Dr. Thomas Vaughan, and Benja-

min, Jr. The latter died while young. Dr. Thomas V.
Roberts never married. We have before spoken of him.

Decape X.—1850—1860. 199

Mary disappointed Gen. Boon Felton and married Matthias
Brickle Murfree, a son of Col. Hardy Murfree, of Murfrees-
boro, and they emigrated to Tennessee. Hardy Murfree,
who graduated at Chapel Hill in 1848, was their son. La-
vinia Esther Wilkinson Roberts married Joseph J. Exum,
of Northampton County in 1829. Their daughter, Mary
Thomas Exum, married Dr. W. B. Meares, of Wilmington,
N. C., and died in 1881. Their daughter Martha A. (Pat-
tie) Exum married Matt. W. Ransom. Mrs. Ransom is still
living.

Joseph J. Exum was the son of Capt. James Thomas
Exum, whose mother was a Miss Thomas, the aunt of Gen.
Geo. H. Thomas, of military fame in the war of 18615.
His father was from Sussex County, Va.

Matt. W. Ransom was a descendant of James Ransom,
Whose will was probated in Surry County, Va., in October,
1740. James Ransom, the second, married Amy Davis, of
Virginia. The third James Ransom of Surry County, and
the grandfather of Matt. W. Ransom, moved to Warren
County, N. C., in 1763, and married Priscilla Jones in
Greenville County, Va., daughter of Edward Jones, of War-
ren County, and widow of Gideon Macon, the father of
Nathaniel Macon, of North Carolina.

John Waddill, of Maney’s Neck, was one of the county’s
foremost citizens for many years prior to the Civil War.
He came to the county from Virginia during the first quarter
of the nineteenth century. He married the daughter of Sol-
mon Shepherd, of Maney’s Neck, and built the house w:
our Joseph G. Majette, chairman of the County Board of
Commissioners, now resides, and lived there.

Mr. Waddill was a man of great wealth and culture,
while he was aristocratic in his bearings, he was a warm
friend of worthy young men and often showed his apprecia-
tion in, various ways. His two daughters, Margaret and
Annie, were great belles, and many a poor fellow was made
sad by the laconic answer, “No.” They were noble women.

and

 

arpa "

 

2 SA

 
 
 
  
 
  
  
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
   
 
 
  
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
   
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

  

200 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

Finally they married. Margaret became the wife of Edward
Chambers, of Boydton, Va., and Annie became the bride of
the celebrated Dr. William Howard, of Baltimore. His son,
John Waddill, Jr., entered the Confederate Army as lieu-
tenant in Company F, 31st Regiment N. C. State Troops,
but was taken ill and died before entering active service.
John Waddill, like many of our wealthy people, became in
the forties the owner of valuable cotton plantations in Flor-
ida, where he spent much of his time, and where he died
in 1854.

The decision of the U. S. Supreme Court in the ever
famous Dred Scott case in 1858 greatly angered the Republi-
ean party. The Democratic party was still boastful in the
United States. The other parties were in a chaotic condition,
and the followers of the tottering political organizations
united and fought under name of Opposition. R, G. Cowper
for the Senate and W. N. H. Smith for the House were the
nominees of the Opposition. The Democrats nominated John
W. Moore for the Senate against Cowper. The latter was
elected by 17 majority. Dr. R. H. Worthington, who was
defeated for the House before as the Democratic nominee,
declined to again become a candidate and Smith was elected.
The Whigs and the Americans or Know-Nothings were be-
coming disheartened. The Democrats were boastful, warlike
and defiant. On July 14, 1858, was issued the first issue of
the new Murfreesboro paper, “The Citizen,” owned and edi-
ted by Dr. Samuel J. Wheeler, a Democrat, and a strong
and spicy Democratic organ. In 1859 Wheeler sold “The
Citizen” to Charles H. Foster, late of Norfolk, Va., but a
native of Maine, and C. ©. Nicholson. Mr. Foster became
a citizen of the town and soon married the gentle Susan E.
Carter, daughter of Perry Carter, of Murfreesboro, a woman
of great musical gifts and sunny disposition. Mr. Foster
was educated at Bowdoin College and was noted for his schol-
arship, and grace as a writer. When the struggle came in
1861, on account of his offensive political views, he found it

Decape X.—1850-1860. 201

wise to make his eseape between the suns and seek shelter ?
a more congenial clime in the North. Before leaving he sol
“The Citizen” to S. R. Olmsted. He returned to the county
after the cessation of hostilities and joined the “Carpet-Bag-
gers” in their nefarious work against the Southern whites.
At the next election R. G. Cowper and Kenneth Rayner
became so displeased with the platform of their dying party
that they sulked. Cowper refused to again run for the Sen-
ate, and Slaughter was elected, and Yeates elected to the
House. The Whigs, although their flag did not float as tri-
umphantly as in former days, the brave adherents in Hert-

ford were determined to die in a fearless charge. So to off-

hs itizen.”’ eured the brave and brilliant Thos.
set “The Citizen,” they secu e edie

J. Garner, of Northampton County, to come to © which with

and edit the new Whig paper, “The Southron, -
vehemence shelled the camp of the fire-eaters and warlike

Democrats. The war destroyed all of the old political parties
in the South. New parties were formed after reconstruction
in the next Decade.

At the commencement of the Chowan Baptist Female In-
stitute in Murfreesboro, July 1, 1857, the beautiful Susan
Deanes graduated, and to complete the grandeur of the eae
sion, just at the close of the concert, and before the melody o
the sweet strains of music ceased to please and charm, Rev.
Reuben Jones, of Virginia, who later became pe of
tLe Portsmouth Baptist Association, came forward with Miss
Susan Deanes and in the midst of her sister graduates were
united in the holy estate of matrimony by Dr. Wm. aes
Their youngest daughter, Jessie, is now the most interes “
Wife of the author’s brother, Samuel Pretlow Winborne, who

reigns at the old Winborne Homestead.

  

 

 

 
      

 

  

History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

Miss Bettie Pretlow, whose
likeness here appears, is the
maternal aunt of the author.
She is the daughter of Joseph
Pretlow and wife, Mary Pret-

She and her ancestors were
Quakers. She was thoroughly
educated in the schools of her
sect, and was a most gentle,
refined and accomplished wo-
man. She never married, but
was greatly admired and beloved. She was born February
12, 1835, and died July 10, 1863, at the home of Major
Winborne in Maney’s Neck, who married her sister, Mary H.
Pretlow. This Pretlow family was one of the purest and
finest families in the old Commonwealth. “The Winborne
Family” gives the genealogy and history of this Pretlow
family. The Winbornes are religiously crossed with believ-
ers of nearly all the Protestant churches. The Winbornes
have been for ages Baptist. But they did not believe in mar-
rying in their own church. Henry Winborne, who came to this.
State in 1742, married a Quaker lady; his son, Thomas, mar-
ried a Quakeress; his grandson, Elisha, married a Baptist;
his great-grandson, Samuel D. Winborne, married a Quaker-
ess, and the younger ones have married Episcopalians, Meth-
odists, Presbyterians, Christians, and S. P. Winborne, alone,
married a Baptist. Is there anything more sublime and at-
tractive than the modest and pure-looking Quaker girl?

MISS BETTIE PRETLOW.

SLAVERY.

This institution was as old as the country. The first
slaves imported to the Colonies was as early as 1619, if not
earlier. A company was incorporated in England, known
as the Royal African Company, to carry on the business of
importing savage negroes to England and its possessions for
sale as slaves. Queen Anne of England held a large block

 

low, nee Hare, of Virginia.

of the stock in this company. At the beginning of the Revo-
lution of 1776 slavery existed in all the Colonies. But in
the North it was not as profitable as in the South, and after
the Revolution those States began to import their slaves to
the South for sale. After disposing of their slave property
to the Southern States they became active in their opposi-
tion to the institution of slavery. Such a change of front
necessarily engendered resentment. Thus began the strife
which ended in bloodshed between the two sections of our
common country.

“ Let fate do her worst; there are relics of joy, x
Bright dreams of the past, which she cannot destroy.

“ ”
THE OLD SLAVE MAMMY.

This sublime old character in the Southern home 1s
a relic of the past. Hardly any refined Southern home,
blessed with children, was without her. She was a well-
trained nurse; she was polite, respectful, gentle, and
loving in her nature. She was the devoted maid ¢
Mistress and Old Mistress, and generally the “wet nurse’
of the young child of Mistress and the true and de
Voted friend of the family. Their separation always brought
tears on the cheeks of “mammy” and the children. She was
never neglected by Master and Mistress, and frequently the
recipient of bounties from “little Mistress and young Mas-
ter.” Nothing but kindness was her share in life. They are
a noble part of the history of the Old South. ae

This brings us up to the stormy days just preceding
Voleanic days of the next decade.

JOHN BROWN’S RAID.

s of the Southern slaves were
and their teachings. In
f Connecticut, formed a

The occasional outbreak
Breatly due to Northern fanatics

1859 John Brown, a white man 0

diabolical plot to bring about the emancipation of slavery in
the slaves to rise In mmsur-

Brown was born May 9,

the Southern States by inciting
rection and kill out the whites.

 

 

 
 

  
  
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
   

 

 

    

204 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

1800, and grew up to be a sore-eyed fanatic. He engaged
in many enterprises in various parts of the country, but
failed in all. He then conceived his fanatical plan for eman-
cipating the slaves, so he got him up a company of twenty
armed men, and on the night of October 16, 1859, seized
the U. S. Arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, Va., to secure arms and
ammunition with which to arm the negroes, whom he ex-
pected to join him. The negroes failed, however, to meet
him. He was captured October 17, 1859, by Col. Robert E.
Lee with a few U. S. troops, tried for treason October 27,
1859, at Charlestown, Va., and hanged December 2, 1859,
“to a sour apple tree.” This raid of Brown, while it was
insignificant in itself, he had just made himself odious
to the South by his fanatical partisan teachings in the admis-
sion of Kansas into the Union as a State, and his acts were
taken by the Southern people to be the result of the Northern
literature on slavery and the speeches of the abolitionists in
Congress. The whole Southern country became aroused, in-
dignant, and excited. No doubt but such acts and teachings
on the part of these half-crazed fanatics hastened the war and
prevented the settlement of the troublesome questions be-
tween the two sections of our country.

About this same time an insurrection was threatened in the
neighborhood of Murfreesboro, in Hertford County, and the
men were armed and placed on guard to protect the town and
the homes. The “Norfolk Blues” were dispatched for, and
upon their arrival things quieted down. The “Blues” re-
mained in Murfreesboro until things became quieted and the
fears of the people were dispelled. The late Gen. Lawrence
D. Groner, of Norfolk, Va., was one of the officers in com-
mand of the Norfolk company. Such things were eon-
stantly happening throughout the slave-holding States. Sev-
eral of our citizens remember distinctly this exciting oecur-
rence. With such re-occurring events resulting in the South
from Northern teachings, war was inevitable. Conservatism
and pleas for peace found no place in the minds of men.

Decapr X.—1850-1860. 205

tical teachings of the abolitionists

Such acts and the fana
to gradually

checked the growth of the sentiment in the South

abandon slavery.
Now as we look back in the kaleidoscope of the past one

hundred years, and take a view of the struggles and victories
of the American people and watch the rise and progress of its
magnificent civilization and growth in the arts and sciences
and in Chrstianity, and see the noble part the sons and
daughters of Hertford County have taken in this mighty
drama, and the splendid citizenship she has exhibited to -
world, it makes us feel proud that we have lived, and tha

our noble ancestors were among its heroic

making a glorious history for a Christian and liberty-loving

people. The war with Mexico had settled the troubles be-

tween that country and our country, and peace sae
The older Wynnses, Brickles, Joneses, Summers, —
Maneys, Murfrees, Winbornes, Ridleys, ; Bakers, mi 8,
Sharps, Cottons, Harrells, Moores, Dickinsons, J re
Montgomerys, Littles, Perrys, Walkers, Colemans, Dardens,

Feltons, Carters, Vanns, Askews, Wheelers, Borlands, South-

alls, and many others of the old worthies have long since
ing in the valley of

crossed the river of life and are sleep md
death. But as we look around and about us * t 1% 6
Closing decade of the first century of the county's existence,

tive sons and daughters of her wea
old families—Wynns, Jones, Baker, Ridley, Hill, Sharpe,

Cotton, Moore, Harrell, Winborne, Montgomery, —
Jernigan, Vann, Capehart, Lewis, Askew, talaoigy™ ye
all, Smith, Rayner, Yeates, Slaughter, Cowper, Hc “
Spiers, Wii ek Waddill, Brett, Perry, me “ “a
ings, Lawrence, Vaughan, Sessoms, Pruden and beverly

ble to maintain the old stan-
d of the fathers and to add
of the county they so
shaded by

and many others ready and capa
dard and continue the proud record oF
new and additional laurels to the crown
much loved, Yonder in its beautiful campus,

eC RON 5 A EET A ME EM A TEI
a wit Bind Laie

 

|
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——

 

PPO ea ee Re ee Ye aE Cee ee a

 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  

 

 

 

206 Hisrory or Herrrorp County, N. C.

lovely shade-trees of almost every variety, stood, on the
southern border of the Borough town, the grand and magnifi-
cent building of the Chowan Baptist Female Institute; and
just a little north of that stood in the same town the classic
and beautiful building of the Wesleyan Fumale College,
erected for the higher and nobler education of the noble
daughters of North Carolina, Virginia and other States, pre-
sided over by faculties composed of the best and most efficient
educators. But this magnificent civilization, and this happy,
chivalric, lofty and Christian people, were unconsciously
standing over the foaming billows of an angry revolution
which was soon to follow and did follow in the next decade.

Hertford County was simply a representative county in
its civilization and people in the Southland, which country
was the wonder and admiration of the civilized and intel-
lectual world. The history of the Southern States and of
the Southern people will always be read with pride by all
true lovers of lofty and chivalric manhood and of noble and
beautiful womanhood.

 

  

DECADE XI.

1860—1870.

The black and angry clouds of war are again casting their
-. Jand. Around every fireside

our troubles are discussed ; in the Houses of Congress stormy

debates are heard ; crimination and yecrimination are echoed
ad, reason de-

throughout the land; patriotism seemed m
throned. Newspapers are filled with exciting appeals, sup-
plications for peace are unheeded, and the American people
stand trembling on the brink of a gigantic war between the
two powerful sections of our common country, which means
a mighty revolution. The Constitution is bleeding and the
Union weeping. Our calm, placid and peace-loving Smith
is in Congress pleading for the Union. Slaughter in the
State Senate and Yeates in the House of Commons, trying
to calm the waters of discord, but of no avail. Some of the
States secede, and North Carolina is asked to follow. ; The
Question of holding a convention to consider what action to
take was submitted to the people and at the same time to vote
for delegates. John H. J ernigan, a brilliant young lawyer
‘mn the county, who had graduated with high honors at the
University of Virginia in 1859, and who was orator at the
annual celebration of the Columbian Club of that University
on April 12, 1859, was nominated by the people of Bee
4s a delegate to the convention. The election took place - -
Tuary 7, 1861, and the convention was to meet eleven days
thereafter, if a majority of the voters in the State were 1m
favor of it. J ernigan was elected, but the call for the con-
Vention received but a few votes in Hertford and was de-

feated in the State, showing that the “secessionists” were
ord’s organ, T'he Citizen,

shed in Murfreesboro,
We clip from the issue
short poem written

im the minority in the State. Hertfi
edited by S. R. Olmstead, and publi
then eloquently pleaded for the Union.
ss January 17, 1861, of The Citizen, a

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  

 

 

    

208 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

by one of our fair Hertford ladies, showing the true feeling

of our people. She had. just returned from church on the —
solemn day set apart by our Chief Magistrate of the State as —

a day for humiliation and prayer, that our Great Father
might subdue the rebellious spirit of man, restore order and
peace again to our country and save our beloved Union from

dissolution :
“TORD, TEACH US HOW TO PRAY.”

By ANNIE.

‘“‘ Within this earthly court to-day,
Dear Lord we meet to fast and pray
That all discord and strife should cease,

That thou might grant our Nation peace.

We know no other power can bless,
No other hand can give us rest,
And now we come, Dear Lord, to thee,

Bowed down in deep humility.

On thee alone for help we call;

Thy word can make us stand or fall.
And now with humble hearts we plead
That our loved country may be freed.

Oh! drive away the gloomy cloud,
That hangs around us like a shroud,
With strife and discords on its folds,
Sending dismay to human souls.

Now stay the mighty torrent, Lord!
Tf ’tis consistent with thy word,

And change the hearts of sinful men,
And bid them live in peace again.

Lord, save our dear loved Union, save!
Let it not sink beneath the wave!

Let not the din of battle’s roar

Be heard upon our country’s shore.

Lord, teach thy children how to pray!
And let them pray from day to day,
Till North and South together meet,
And sisterly—each other greet.

 

Drecapr XI.—1860-1870.

But oh! my Lord, if war must come,
Help us say, ‘Thy will be done!”’
On Thee, alone, our hopes are staid ;
To Thee, alone, we look for aid.

To Thee, dear Lord, to Thee we cling;
Order out of confusion bring!
Control man’s vile, rebellious mind
And peace around our Union bind.”
“Ep Corrace, January 4, 1861.”’

Such were our dear women. Such was our patriotism and
love of the Union. Such was the sublimity, beauty and love-
liness of the fair women of the. South. Where else in the
Wide world, could such sweet and noble women be found
‘ It was about this time the author’s first distinct recollec-
tion of his father begins. Around the fireside at night, after
returning to the bosom of his family from the busy walks of
life, we nestled around his lap in the presence of mother and
grandmother, and listened to his description of the horrors of
War, and his love for the Union.
The chivalrous Southern soldiers are willing to fight for
Dixie Land,” the home of heroic and lovely women of the

South.
THE WAR OF 1861-65.

North Carolina was slow to withdraw from the Union.
She wanted union and peace. She was slow to enter the
Union, being next to the last of the original thirteen States
Mie enter, which was November 21, 1789. And she did not
Withdraw until she was forced to decide either with the North
or the South. But when this important hour came she did
not hesitate longer. She, in the Spring of 1861, called her
Convention to meet in May, 1861, in Raleigh, and on the
vise day of that month her delegates passed the resolution
Of secession and joined the Confederate States. On June
i 1861, the convention elected Hons. W. W. Avery and
hg Davis as Senators to the Confederate Congress, and

-N. Gf. Smith, of Hertford County; Thomas Ruffin, T.

14

— mead aE

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210 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

D. McDowell, A. W. Venable, J. M. Morehead, R. C.' Pur-
year, Burton Craig, and A. F. Davidson, as Representatives
in the House. Hertford County was represented in this
Conyention by her brilliant son, Hon. Kenneth Rayner. The
Convention adjourned over, from time to time, until about
the last of 1862.

Hon. W. N. H. Smith was a member of the U.S. Congress
when his State withdrew from the Union, and he was re-
clected as a member of the Confederate Congress, and re-
mained a member until the government ended. In 1859
there was a protracted contest over the election of a Speaker
of the House of Representatives in the U. S. Congress on
account of the divisions in party lines. Hon. W. N.
Smith was placed in nomination and received a majority of
the votes, but before the result was announced several North-
ern members, who had voted for him, changed their votes
and defeated him by one vote on next ballot.

This sanguinary war between a highly-civilized and Chris-
tianized people seems to have been the inevitable result of
the puritanic, selfish and money-loving spirit of the North
on the one side, and the unyielding chivalry and honorable
spirit of the cavaliers of the South on the other part.
Slavery was at the bottom of this great struggle. For half ,
a century this sectional fire had been smouldering and the
flames were increasing with the years, until the final conflict
came.

Slavery first existed in the New England States. On ac
count of the coldness of the climate and the nature of the

negro, who came from the warm climate of Africa, this class —

of labor was found unprofitable in the North. So the slaves of
the North were brought South and sold to the planters of the
South, where the climate was better suited to the negro na-
ture. After disposing of their slaves to Southern citizens,
the New Englanders at once became fanatically opposed to —
the institution of slavery in any of the United States. Or-
ganized societies were formed in the North to disseminate

 

 

 

 

Decape XI.—1860-1870.

COL. THOS. H. SHARP. MAJ. JNO. W. MOORE.

 

CAPT. L. C. LAWRENCE.

Hertford’s sons go to war in defence of her noble women,

and Southern homes.

   
    

 
 

 

 

 

 

  

212 Hisrory or Herrrorp County, AR OA

poisonous and slanderous literature throughout the Northern
and Western States against the South, and the institution
of slavery. This strife continued, and ended, in the unhappy
and bloody war of 1861-65. The South regarded the elec-
tion of Abraham Lincoln as’ President of the United States
as the culmination of a wicked and vicious assault upon its
constitutional rights and its sacred institutions. The debates
in Congress for years had been extremely bitter, sectional
and stormy between the members from the two sections. The
temper of the two contending sections made it plain that they
could no longer live together under the Constitution adopted
in 1787 to 1789 by the States. The country was wild and
mad with excitement. South Carolina, Georgia, Florida,
Alabama, Missississippi and Louisiana claimed the sacred
compact was broken ; that the final clash had come. They
at once seceded from the Union, withdrew their members
from the United States Congress, and, by their delegates in
convention assembled in Montgomery, Alabama, on February
4, 1861, declared their independence. On February 8, 1861,
they formed a union between themselves as the Confederate
States of America, and adopted a constitution for their
mutual protection and government, and invited the other
Southern States to join them. The Constitution adopted
was fashioned after the United States Constitution. Section
7 provides that the importation of African negroes from any
foreign country other than slave-holding States of the United
States is hereby prohibited. And that Congress shall have
power to prohibit the importation of slaves from any State
not a member of this Confederacy.

Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, was chosen President, and
Alexander H. Stephens Vice-President. On the same day a
peace conference of delegates from twenty-one States met in
Washington to try to avert the great. pending calamity, but

the United States Congress turned a deaf ear to all messages

of peace and compromise. The ery was war and hate. In

December, 1860, South Carolina passed her resolution of

are ey ae ES ES sis mp GR a SL eae a

ik
Prone

DrcaDE XI.—1860-1870. 213

secession and withdrew from the Union. In January, 1861,
President Buchanan ordered a re-enforeement of the garri-
son at Fort Sumter, in South Carolina. This State claimed
to be an independent State, and that no other government had
the right to invade her domain without her consent. And

when the United States steamer “Star of the West”? was ap-

proaching the harbor of Charleston on April 13, 1861, with
provisions and re-enforeements for the port, it was fired on

and driven back by a Confederate battery. The war was
as flashed over the country, and

now begun. The sad news W
Lin-

preparations for a great conflict rapidly progressed.
coln gets to Washington and takes the reins of government.
A call is made on the non-seceding States for troops. This
Was the test. What will the other Southern States and the
Southern soldiers in the United States army do? They
joined hands with their kith and kin of the South—joined

the Confederate States of America and took up their cause. —

The bloody struggle continued to April 9, 1865, when Gen.
Robert E. Lee, at Appomattox, Va, surrendered to Gen.
U.S. Grant the Army of Northern Virginia.

Never was such bravery, endurance and skill in war ex-
hibited by any part of the civilized world as was exhibited
by the Southern army and Southern people in this mighty
Conflict. Suecess crowned the Confederate army in the early
battles of the war. The soldiery of the South was superior
to that of the North, and it was not until the Northern army
Was re-enforeed by the multitudes of all Europe, thereby
Placing in the Northern army, on the fields of battle, almost
ten men «to one on the Confederate side, that the North was
able to drive back its Southern foe. North Carolina fur-
Nished aq larger number of soldiers than any Southern

State, and Hertford County sent her full quota of her fairest

and bravest sons, A large per cent of them fell at the altar

ee the “Tost Cause,” and their bodies were left sleeping in
stant lands where they surrendered their lives in defence
of what they believed to be right. We miss them now.

tii

 

   
 

 

 

214 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

May the Great God of Nations receive their souls in his
wonderful love, and bless them throughout eternity. Noble
heroes were they!

“ Soldier, rest! thy warfare is over,
Dream of fighting fields no more. ©

O cruel war, what sorrows and pains it entails! At the
close of the conilict the survivors of the “noble boys” returned
home, with a record that excited the admiration of the world,
to see wife, daughter, sister and other dear ones. Some
are found. Some are dead and gone. Homes are dilapi-
dated; need and almost poverty in place of plenty ; money
and property gone; homes burned ; briars in place of stalks
of cotton, corn and other food plants and money products ;
teams old and poor; farming implements worn and unfit to
reclaim the fallow lands; the old people at home sad and
depressed. Mother, wife and sister, who had been accus-
tomed to ease and comfort, now driven to the cook-room and
wash-tub; father and uncle, who had always commanded and
ordered, now at the plow-handles with their bended shoulders.

Such was the picture presented to the returning Southern
soldiers in the Spring of 1865.

SAD, YET SUBLIME.

There was much suffering in the South. The brave moth-
ers and tender children were forced by the condition of the
- Southland to drink from the eup of sorrow and pain. In
1863 Confederate money had so depreciated that it could
hardly be denominated money. It was only worth about five
cents on the dollar. Provisions were searce, fathers were on
the battlefields, and feeble mothers and little babes were not
able to labor and secure the necessary sustenance for health.
The following incident illustrates much of the sadness of
those days in the South:
In 1863 Edward Cooper, a brave and gallant Confederate
soldier, was tried before one of the courts-marital of the
Army of Northern Virginia upon the charge of desertion.

a

aaa

a

 

DrcapE XTI.—1860-1870. 915

Cooper declined to employ counsel. The Judge Advocate
opened the case and Cooper’s guilt was clearly shown, and he
was then asked to produce his evidence, if any he had. He

It read as follows:

“My Dear Epwarp:

T have always been proud of you, @
Confederate army, I have been prou
Would not have you do anything wrong for veer
Edward, unless you come home, we must die. Lack me ey
by little Eddie’s crying. I called and said, ‘What is the matter, Eddie,

And he said, ‘O mamma, I am so hungry.’ And Lucy, Edward, your
; he is growing thinner and

der of you than ever before. I
1d; but before God,
ht I was aroused

The members of the Court were melted into tears. They
asked the brave soldier what he did upon the reception of
the letter. He replied that he made three ineffectual at-
tempts to obtain a furlough, and then resolved at the expense
of his life he would visit Mary and the children. That upon
Meeting his wife, she was proken-hearted at learning his
absence from his post of duty was without leave. Now,
gentlemen, said Cooper, I am here, not brought back by mili-
tary power, but in obedience to the command of Mary, to
abide the sentenee of your Court. Under the unbending

rules of the military code, Cooper was ordered to be shot.

The papers and evidence were sent to that great Christian

chieftain, Gen, R. E. Lee, for review before the sentence of
the Court was executed. Under military law the general
was bound to approve the sentence, but he immediately par-

doned Cooper, and ordered him to report for duty to his

battery » and dispatched a courier to the home of Cooper to
Such was the

have Mary, Eddie and Lucy provided for.
Suffering of many of our women and children, and such was

the patriotism of our women in those trying days, and the
nobility of’ the Southern soldier and the humanity of the

onfederate generals.

etic oh Sa

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216 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

  
  

The following persons were exempt from military service
by an Act of the Confederate Congress, approved May 1,
1863:

Justices of the Peace, if appointed prior to May 11, 1863;
County Trustees; County Solicitors; Publie Registers; Tax-
collectors ; Sheriffs; one Deputy Sheriff in each county ; Con-
stables, if bonded prior to said date; Clerks of Courts; one
Deputy Clerk; one County Commissioner in each county to
distribute provisions amongst soldiers’ families; agents ap-
pointed by the General Assembly, and Commissioned Officers
of the Militia, and some few others,

At a general muster of the county militia on March 11,
1861, at Oak Villa, near Winton, Dr. John T. Lewter, of
Murfreesboro, was elected Colonel in place of Col. Starkey
Sharp, and Samuel D. Winborne, of Maney’s Neck, was
elected Major, a position to which he was first elected in
1847.

BRIEF SKETCH OF SOME OF HERTFORD 'S SOLDIERS.

The war records are in many respects incomplete, but those
accessible will show that Hertford County was not behind
her sister counties in her contributions of men and material
to the Confederate Army. The first company organized in
the county was known as the Hertford Light Infantry, and
had for its officers Thomas H. Sharp, Captain; W. B. Wise,
Jesse A. Perry and Julian G. Moore, Lieutenants. By the
promotion of Captain. Sharp to Major and Lieutenant Colo-
nel of the 17th N. C. Regiment, W. B. Wise and L. F. Ever-
ett became captains in succession, and William J. Lattomer,
John Q. Thomas and William Carey Parker were commis-
sioned as lieutenants. The Hertford Light Infantry became
Co. C, of the 17th N. C., Regiment. When the Federal
fleet assaulted the weak and incomplete works at Hatteras
and effected a landing, this company, with the rest of the
garrison of seven companies, was captured and for a time
held as prisoners of war. Having been exchanged early in

   

q

ED

DrcapE XI.—1860-1870. OxT

the war, they did good service and sustained the reputation
of North Caroline as hard fighters in Eastern North Caro-
lina, and later in the Army of Northern Virginia. There
were from first to last ninety-eight (98) rank and file in this
company, all of whom, except five (5) enlisted from Hert-
ford County.

Quite a manne of the members of this company still sur-
Vive, among whom the names of the following are recalled:
Julian G, Moore, William Carey Parker, Joseph Barnes,
hy: T Barnes, P. P. Parker, Epenetus Creel, Arelius Britt,
LW, Worrell, K. R. Maddry, J. E. Jones, J. R. Beal, G. W.
Banks, Geo. L. Arps, F. Q. Copeland, J. B. Evans, R. B.
Gatling, J. T, Modlin, Joseph Weed, and H. L. Worthing-
ton. They are widely seattered now, but wherever they cast
their lots Wie have PSR good and useful citizens. They
Were of the heat of Hertford’s young manhood. The second
company, according to the time of organization, was called
“The Hertford Grays”—afterwards Co. F, of the Ist N. C.
Regiment of Infantry. The name of Hertford Grays was mis-
leading, as there were more men from Northampton County in
the company than there were from Hertford. The company,
however, was organized at Murfreesboro, and the officers were
mainly from Hertford. The officers chosen upon the organi-
zation were: J. N. Harrell, Captain; William 8. Shepherd,
Cicero F, Lyon and James P. Jenkins, Lieutenants. Lieu-
tenant Lyon, a teacher in this county for years, was a naliee
oe Pasquotank, and died of wounds received at Ellyson's
Mill, August 7, 1862, in Petersburg, Va. Lieutenant Wil-
liam g, Shepherd, a native of Suffolk, Va., the older brother
of James EK. Shepherd, late Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court of North Carolina, was killed in an action at Sharps-
burg, Md., September 17, 1862, and left on the field. Lieu-
tenant James Pp. Jenkins, of Northampton County, was
wounded at Sharpsburg, and having returned to active ser-
Vice too soon, contracted pneumonia and died at Strasburg,
™ the Shenandoah Valley, and was buried there close by the

   

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218 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

Lutheran church, in November, 1862. Thomas D. Boone
succeeded Lieutenant Lyon, and upon the death of Shep-
herd and Jenkins and the promotion of Captain Harrell as
Major, became Captain of Co. F, a position that he held
when he surrendered it at Appomattox Court-house.

Time would fail to tell of the number of battles and the
killed in action, from this company. A remnant, growing
less and less as the years glide swiftly by, still survive to
fight their battles over in memory. Here are the names as
they recur to me now: Thomas D. Boone, Lewis C. Law-
rence, R. J. Askew, James P. Darden, C. T. Deanes, James
H. Griffin, John Jenkins, W. P.. Montgomery, H. T. Parker,
John Reams, Edwin Ricks, Asa Saunders, Elias R. Vick,
Britton C. Vick. At the proper place no mention was made
of the fact that L. C. Lawrence and James F. Adkins were
made lieutenants to fill vacancies in the company. IL. C.
Lawrence was promoted to Captain A. C. S. of the 68th N. C.
Regiment, and still lives, honored in his old age. The num-
ber of Hertford County men in this company was forty-six
(46). There were at least ten from Bertie County; the re-
mainder of the original company enlisted from Northamp-
ton County.

Company “D” of the 17th N. C., was composed almost.
entirely of Hertford County men, and was officered as fol-
lows: J. M. C. Luke, Captain; Starkey Sharp, Norman L.
Shaw, and Dorsey Taylor, Lieutenants. Upon the resigna-
tion of Captain Luke, N. L. Shaw became Captain, and some
time during the war Richard W. Askew and Isaac Lafayette
Taylor were made Lieutenants. Among the surviving mem-
bers of that company may be mentioned the names of Dorsey
Taylor, R. W. Askew, H. H. Overton, and others whose
names do not occur to me at this time.

Company “G,” of the 31st N. C. Regiment, was also com-
posed entirely of Hertford County men. The captains, from
time to time, were Jesse J. Yeates, Julian H. Picot and Isaac
Pipkin. The lieutenants who served with the company were

      

Decapr XI.—1860-1870. 219

John D. Gatling, S. B. Pool, John A. Slaughter and John L.
Everett. Jesse J. Yeates was promoted major upon the
°rganization of the regiment, and was succeeded by Julian
i. Picot and Isaac Pipkin as captains as above indicated.
Captain Picot, at a ripe old age, still survives, and his friends
hope that many years will pass away before he crosses the
river. Among the members living may be mentioned John
D. Gatling, W. P. Taylor, who served as lieutenant in 68th
N. ©, Regiment, Samuel Barnes, H. D. Harrell, at one time
County Surveyor, E. W. Nolley,, M. J. Nolley, Charles N.
Pruden, W. E. Taylor, Richard J. Taylor, and perhaps oth-
ers. There were 95 men in the company from Hertford
County,

In the 19th N. C, Regiment (2d Cavalry it was called)
there was Company ©, in which was James M. Wynns, 1st
Lieutenant, and afterwards Captain, may be found the names

of more than forty (40) as good soldiers as ever drew sabre.
Nicholas Harrell, 2d Lieutenant, commissioned in 1864, pro-

nounced by his commanding officer the bravest man he ever
knew, was from Hertford County.

Tn the 3d Battalion of Artillery, commanded by Major .

John W. Moore—an honored citizen of Hertford County,
still living—there was Co. C, of which Juhan G. Moore, of
Hertford County, was Captain, and Alfred M. Darden 1st
Lieutenant, from the same county. In this company the
Tecord shows that at least seventy (70) by actual count were

“itizens of Hertford County.

The 4th Battalion of Cavalry, S.
“pon its rolls the names of twenty-two (22)

not ashamed to call Hertford their home.

ee Company D, 59th N. ©. Regiment, known as the 3d
Wavalry, William Sharpe was Captain; Thomas Ruffin, of
sh County, Daniel W. Lewis and W. P. Shaw, of Hert-
Poin County, were Lieutenants. Of these commissioned of-

J. Wheeler, Major, had

men who were

 

 

a aie Ee
 

 

220 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

the survivors we find the names of Luther R. Tyler, R. T;
Brett, Richard A. Cook, S. J. Doughtie, Media Evans, J. J.
Hoggard, W. D. MeGlaghon.

In the 68th N. C. Regiment there were two (2) companies
from Hertford County—D and E, according to Moore’s Ros-
ter; but unfortunately the record does not contain a list of
the enlisted men. This ought by all means to be supplied
and recorded before it is too late. Company D had Hillory
Taylor and Len Askew as Captains, with W. P. Taylor and
David A. Parker as Lieutenants. The late Langley Tayloe
was Captain of Company E, with Benjamin B. Williams,
John Brett and Joseph Holloman, Lieutenants. W. P. Tay-
lor, an enterprising, public-spirited citizen, who has been
honored by his native county, survives and is an active busi-
ness man. -

The 15th Battalion of Cavalry, of which James M. Wynns
was Lieutenant-Colonel, had at least one Company A in it;
M. M. Wise and J. T. Beaman were Captains; H. J. Jen-

kins and A. J. Cobb, Lieutenants. There are no records to 4

show how many and who were the men that composed the
enlisted men of the company. This is an omission that needs
to be remedied as soon as possible. It is a pleasure to record
that Col. Wynn still lives. There were a large number—
how many cannot now be ascertained—who were citizens of
Hertford County, and several in companies from other coun-
ties, for whom Hertford gets no credit. There are a number

of Confederate soldiers now living in Hertford County who 7

served in other commands, both in and out of the State. Geo.

W. Grimes, living in Murfreesboro, where he is postmaster, 4

was 1st Lieutenant in Company G of the 17th N. C. Regi-

ment. In one of the battles in which his regiment was en- —

gaged he was severely—thought to be mortally—wounded.
In the incomplete record of his company no mention is made
of this, or of any facts that would assist the future historian
in giving credit to whom it is due. :

‘

 

      
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  

bo
bo
part

Decape XI.—1 860-1870.

The above sketch of Hertford’s soldiers was furnished the
author by Capt. Thomas D. Boone, who is mentioned in the
sketch. The captain is, and has been for years, the Clerk
of our Superior Court. He was a brave and gallant soldier
and fought in many of the great battles of the war, and noth-
ing delights him more to-day than to discourse to a circle of
friends about the scenes and dramas of the war. In addition
to the soldiers mentioned by Captain Boone from the county,
the author recalls the names of N. J. Battle, James W. Bat-
tle, John Battle, James L. Myrick, Walter B. Myrick, Doug:
las Spiers, George Cowper, Pompey Darden, Samuel A. Rid-
dick, James Maget, James P. Massenburg, Euclid Howell,
Watson S. Howell, J. D. Brett, William Brett, J. E. Brett,
of Maney’s Neck, J. A. Carter, J. B. Parker, J. E, Vaughan,
J.N. Lawrence, John N. Vaughan, J- C. Vinson, A. C.
Darden, T, K, Warren, W. B. Wise, of Murfreesboro. The
county should secure a record of all of her soldiers. She.
Could do no prouder deed.

dees
daughters would thank her on bended knees. Their recor
Brave soldiers!

rd is

i ’
@ lasting monument to the county’s fame. ‘
ighout all after ages. You

Your praises will be sung throv
n the history of the

acted nobly your part in the greatest war!
world.

You, your country will never forget,
And may God, your souls protect;
Your noble deeds of valor we love;

May you enjoy, with the angels, God’s love.

The war was a bloody and devastating strife. It was
fought principally on Southern soil, and our people PC .
left almost in poverty. Gen. W, T. Sherman ac rere
amny, foaming with aa ‘hate, to cap the climax of ease
Mm the closing days of the great struggle, burned Atlanta ns
made a raid ae the South to the sea of 250 miles, with
his army, othtug ae towns, cities, insulting the noblest
and purest women of our beloved Southland, and destroying
“verything that came within his reach. Its wickedness has
© parallel in the history of civilized warfare, and can oa

In after days her sons and “

a a e 2
7 So ee
ale a a ica i i Mas

ae eed

 

 
 

 

 

 

222 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

find its approach in the barbaric wars of ancient times. It

was a shame and disgrace to the Northern soldiery. He -

boasted of his shame.
“QO shame, where is thy blush?”

He reported: “I have pursued mine enemies and destroyed

them; and turned not again until I consumed them.” His ©

allies shouted in joy over his barbarism.

The Civil War is ended. The whole Southern country is 4
weeping. But it was “Majestic, though in ruin.” Our”
sorrows continue. Jefferson Davis, the beloved chieftain, is |
arrested upon the charge of treason and thrown in a dark —
prison cell at Fortress Monroe, hands and feet fettered with

chains.
f “* Black it stood as night,

Fierce as ten furies, terrible as hell.”’

Not yet satiated with wicked deeds, our immortal Governor
) Vance is also imprisoned in Washington City, and General

Schofield is made Military Governor of the State to rule over
our people, until W. W. Holden, a traitor to his people, was

made Provincial Governor.

Our sorrows, sufferings, and calamities are great, but the

worst is yet. to come.

Why should the secession of 1861 have been considered

treason, and why should those who left the United States

service have been regarded as traitors? The Federal Con- —
stitution did not make allegiance to the’ Union paramount —
to that of the State. Secession as a right, had at various
times in the history of our country been asserted by Massa-_
chusetts, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and other —
States, long before the secession of the Southern States. The —

right of secession on the part of the States in the Union was
generally recognized and actually taught in the U. S. Mili-

tary Academy at West Point as late as 1863, and that a |
citizen’s paramount allegiance was to his State. This lesson —
was taught the men commanding the U. S. Army at the time ©
the Southern States seceded. Virginia, New York and Rhode

 

  
 
   

Decapr XI.—1860-1870. 923

Island expressly affirmed the right of secession when they
adopted the Federal Constitution. New England was the
hot-bed of secession in the early periods of the Republic, and

those States were constantly threatening withdrawing from
the Union. Their right was not denied. They did not

regard it treason when they desired to withdraw. Then

Why was it treason in the South?
Slavery was an institution as old as the government. It

lime, but all wrong when it became unprofitable in the
North, but profitable in the South. Had there been no war,
Slavery would have been gradually abolished in the South.
That sentiment had been growing in the South for years.
After the battle of Appomattox, if the North had inaugu-
rated gradual emancipation of the slaves, or paid the owners
Some reasonable price for the slaves, by the General Gov-
ernment, the restoration of the Union would have been
Speedy, and much hardship, bloodshed, hatred and suffering
Would have been avoided, and the negro would not have be-
Come the hater of the whites, with whom he had to live. But
the heart of the North was enthroned in passion. Men who
never fired a gun nor faced danger, but remained in safe
Places during the heroic strife, shaped the policy of the
North after the war. Grant and his brave soldiers would
have inaugurated a different policy. A brave soldier ad-
Mires and loves his brave adversary.

The State and counties kept up their governments as best
they could during the war. Some times selecting her civil
Officers from the military ranks. Col. Henry T. Clark,
President of the Senate, on the death of Governor Ellis on
July 7, 1861. acted as Governor of
8, 1869. In August, 1862, Col. Zebulon B. Vance was
elected Governor of the State, and called from the ranks of
the army to serve as Chief Magistrate of the State. He
entered his new office September 8, 1862, and became the

Great War Governor of North Carolina.

a
—— ee

|

 
 

 

  
 
 

224 Hisrory or Herrrorp County, N. C.

Joseph Blount Slaughter was Hertford’s Senator during
the war to 1864, when Col. James M. Wynns was elected

Senator and called from the ranks to serve during the sessions
of the Senate. Jesse B. Vann and John A. Vann were at

different times in the House.
The terms of the Superior Courts were occasionally held m™
the county. After 1862 the terms of Court of Pleas ané
Quarter Sessions were very irregular, and when held they
were at Union and other places in the county.
On February 20, 1862, another awful calamity befel the
county. On that day three warships of the Union navy
passed up the Chowan River by Winton and were fired upot
by Colonel Williams’ command. They fell back to Barfield’s
Ferry, about a mile off, and fired bomb-shells from theif
heavy guns on the town of Winton for some hours. The!
they landed a portion of their armed forces, who moved of
the town, and finding the town unguarded and unprotected,
and to gratify a most ruthless and malignant spirit, set fi d
to the town and court-house, and burned every house in thé
town, except a small house on the lot on which J. S. Mitchell
now resides, and owned once by Capt. Hiram Freeman, thé
grandfather of our present Register of Deeds, and the old
Methodist church building. The old Franklin Hotel build
ing,
derson, was destroyed in this fire. The court-house wit
all of the county records, except a few record books of th
County Court, since the fire in August, 1830, were again aly
solutely destroyed. We are satisfied that were it possibl
for those who committed this terrible calamity, since the pa
sions of war have subsided, to undo this great wrong, the’
would gladly do so, and ask God to forgive them.
In the midst of the troubles and sadness of our Southlané
our people continued to wed. In 1860 Dr. Richard #
Weaver and Esther Cotton, daughter of Dr. G. C. Moor
were united in holy wedlock, a few days thereafter Dr. #
N. Myrick was wedded to the elegant Susan J. Baker. -

    
    
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
  

which stood adjoining the residence lot of John A, Am

Decape XI.—1860-1870. 225
1865 Col. J. M. Wynns captured the beautiful Jennie
Brown on February 21. On June 6, Dr. Wm. H. Daughtry,
of Southampton, steals from Hertford her accomplished
daughter, Helen Myrick. On June 29 the gallant Maj.
Isaac Pipkin celebrates his marriage with the beautiful
Georgie W. Montgomery, and on the same day Capt. Julian
G. Moore’s marriage to Emily Bland Southall is announced,
and November 29 John T. Mebane weds the attractive Julia
M., daughter of Col. Samuel J. Wheeler.

While these happy festivities were going on death was
claiming her victories. Rev. Wm. A. Vann, of the 53d
N. C. Reg, falls asleep April 29, 1864. May 6, 1865, Maj.
Benj. Porter, father of the late Epinetus Porter, passes
away, and he is followed on the 10th by Capt. Abner Harrell.
Wm. Bartelle Wise, on November 7, 1865, enters for good
his well-prepared grave, which he had caused to be arranged
Several years prior. March, 1866, the body of Dr. L, M.
Jegeitts is brought home from Mississippi for interment;
he is followed March 19th by Perry Carter. In July, 1867,
T. N. Myrick sucoumbs to the fate of all mankind. The
Wesleyan Female College loses her President, Rev. J. D.
Coulling, on November 28, 1866, and the county hears the
farewell words of her faithful son, L. R. Jernigan, on De-

cember 8, 1866.

Tn the sessions
the county was represented in the Senate

and Godwin C. Moore in the House.
strumental in the session of 1866-7 in having restored in

North Carolina the common law right of dower, which was
abolished in 1784, ‘The act was ratified March 2, 1867.
The whipping post, one of the modes of punishing eriminals,

was abolished August 22, 1868.
RECONSTRUCTION,
The so-called Reconstruction Period following the ending

of the war between the States is the most hellish and black-
st page in the history of the United States Government.

15

of the legislature in 18667 and 1867-8
by James O. Barnes,

Mr. Moore was in-

.

iia a
— cee ae

a
Bite internet carta
‘

   
 

 

 

226 History oF Hxrrrorp County, N. C.

General Lee surrendered the army of Northern Virginia
April 9, 1865, to General Grant on liberal terms; General
Johnson formally surrendered the army under his command
April 26, though he sent a proposal to Gen. Sherman April
14, for surrender. Also, on April 26, General Kirby Smith
surrendered the Confederate forces west of the Mississippi.
That crazy fanatic, John Wilkes Booth, an actor, on the
night of April 14, 1865, shot and killed President Abraham
Lineoln in Ford’s Theatre, in Washington, an act that
greatly added to the sufferings of the Southern people, who
sincerely regretted the sad catastrophe. Andrew Johnson, a
North Carolinian by birth, and a U. S. Senator from Ten-
nessee, who had been elected Vice-President with President
Lincoln in 1864, by the Republicans, was sworn in as Presi-
dent of the United States the next day. Lincoln’s death was
a great calamity to the South. His idea of reconstruction

was, that, all who would take the oath to support the U. 8.

Constitution should be allowed to vote, if 10 per cent of the

voting population of any State, recently among the Confeder- —

ate States, took the oath, they could reorganize a State gov-

ernment. Under this plan the Southern States would have —

soon been back in the Union, and much hardship and hu-
miliation that followed would have been averted. The cow-
ardly act of Booth entailed upon the Southern people woes
unnumbered. Johnson tried to carry out Lincoln’s policy.

But not having the great influence with the Republican mem-
bers of Congress as Lincoln would have had, as Johnson was —
not a Republican, but a Union Democrat, he had little in- ©

fluence with the members of that party. Congress, which

met in 1865, ignored Johnson’s actions, and refused to recog- —
nize the representatives who had been elected to Congress —
from the late seceding States, under a proclamation of Presi- |

dent Johnson. Congress then inaugurated a policy of re-

construction, the horrors of which have never been realized, —
except in the South. It was worse than the war. It was —

hate and humiliation.

Derecape XI.—1860--1870. 927

President Johnson, on May 29, 1865, issued his famous
Amnesty Proclamation, in which a general pardon was eX
tended to all persons, except those who had participated in
the organization and defense of the Confederacy, upon their
taking the oath of allegiance to the United States. Those
excepted in the proclamation were required to file with the
President a special application for pardon, which was
granted or refused at the will of the Great Chief. Our
father was one of the excepted class. An election was or-
dered by the military satrap of North Carolina, under the
direction of the President, for delegates to a Constitutional
Convention of the State to meet in Raleigh, October 2, 1865.
Hertford sent her faithful son, Richard G. Cowper, as her
delegate to this convention. E. G. Reade, of Person, was
president of the convention. The convention at once repealed
the Ordinance of Secession, October 9, 1865. It also passed
an ordinance abolishing slavery in the State, and providing
for holding an election in the several counties on the second
Thursday in November, 1865, for the election of members
of the General Assembly, members of Congress, and a Gov-
ernor. Only those could vote who had been pardoned by the
President of the United States. Of course the vote was
small. Qandidates were required to be from the class who
Were allowed to vote. This was not regarded, and many
were not allowed to enjoy their victory. The time fixed for
the meeting of the General Assembly was the fourth Monday
of November, 1865. Hertford sent R. G. Cowper to the
Senate and W. N. H. Smith to the House. It was an able
body, and one of the most important sessions since the days
following the Revolution of 177682. Smith of Hertford
‘was a leading member. He introduced and secured its pass-
age an act to permit negroes to testify in the courts in legal
Proceedings, also the act to permit parties in interest to testify
™M suits, thereby changing an ancient law that had worked

& reat wron gs.

ms li ata 5 cael a Rt iii. alae bai acts

Sr aeeet

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   
 
 
 

 

   

 

       
 
 
 

228 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

Holden was still Provincial Governor, and he and Jona-
than Worth were candidates at said election for Governor,
and Worth was elected. The ordinances repealing the Ordi-
nance of Secession and of abolishing slavery were also sub-
mitted to the people for ratification or rejection. There was
in Hertford 83 votes cast for repealing the Ordinance of
Secession and 21 against. The ordinance abolishing slavery
received in Hertford 37 votes for and 29 against. County
officers were also elected. The sheriffs of the counties were
required to send the returns of the elections to the Provincial
Governor, and he was to canvass and declare the result. None
of the congressmen elected at this election were allowed to
vote. The convention of October, 1865, met on October the
19th and removed from office every officer in the State who
had taken the oath to support the constitution of the Confed-
erate States, and disqualified them from holding any office or
place of trust and profit which he held when he took the oath,
until he was re-appointed or re-elected to the same, and then
declared all such offices vacant.*

J. B. Hare was elected Sheriff, Geo. W. Beverly elected
Clerk of the Superior Court, L. M. Cowper elected as Clerk
of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, John A. Vann
re-appointed Clerk and Master in Equity, W. W. Mitchell
made Chairman of the County Court, with S. D. Winborne
and W. P. Beaman as members of the special court, S. M.
Aumack appointed County Trustee, William Sharp elected
County Attorney, Joseph P. Jordan elected Public Register.
Terms of the officers elected at the November election began
at the end of the terms of the officers of the Provincial Gov-
ernment.

Hare resigned as Sheriff at February term, 1868, of the
County Court, and Isaac Pipkin was appointed by the jus-
tices as his suecessor.

 

* Norr.--Art. 14, Oct. 19,1865. This was in harmony with the previous
action of the General Government at Washington. U.S. Government

sy all acts and appointments to office under the C. 8S. Government
void.

 

 

Decape XI.—1860-1870. 229

The justices of the peace during this period were W. W.

* Mitchell, W. D. Pruden, W. L. Daniel, A. G. Vann, 8. S.

Harrell, J. W. Harrell, Oris Parker, Daniel Valentine, W. S.
Tayloe, D. V. Sessoms, Miles Mitchell, H. T. Lassiter, W. D.
Holloman, 8. D. Winborne, Jno. D. Gatling, W. P. Beaman,
G. W. Beverly, Seth Nowell, J. M. Wynns, G. C. Moore,
Zeph. Askew, Alex. Brett, H. C. Maddry, A. P. Hines,
Langley Tayloe, J. M: Trader, Kindred Hollomon, G .A.
Brett.

At the November term, 1867, Judge Smith qualified as
administrator of Starkey Sharp, deceased, and Jno. W.
Harrell qualified on the estate of Wm. M. Montgomery, the
old Clerk and Master in Equity, who died several years
prior thereto. J. B. Slaughter succeeded Sharp, resigned,
as County Attorney. This grand old court of the people
held its last session in February, 1868, and was presided
over by S. D. Winborne, W. P. Beaman, Oris Parker, and
several others. This ancient court, which had been the joy
and pride of its people for over one hundred years, was soon
to be abolished by the “Carpet-Baggers.”

Upon the election of Jonathan Worth as Governor, some
hope of peace was entertained by our people, but it was soon
dissipated when the U. S. Congress, December 13, 1865,
passed an act refusing the admission of Southern Senators
and Representatives recently elected to Congress, and repudi-
ated President Johnson’s whole policy. These States were
not allowed to participate in the making of laws by which
they were to be governed. The hatred of the North seemed
to boil over and become more malignant than ever. Congress
passed the Civil Rights Bill, March 13, 1866, to force social
equality between the races in the South, but it was promptly
defeated by Johnson’s veto.

At the August election in 1866, the work of the convention
of October, 1865, amending the State Constitution, was sub-
mitted to the voters of the State and rejected by a good
majority. This angered Congress, and on February 20, 1867,

James cag enses Pesan er eee TTT

ae a elem earlier

iieiehiioaieaataiaatiiiaie iittala cesuapelninipiatn ee
sila RESEND PAE rte SS wi

icin Sti AI cla as as OM a Bie Nn

i oe

—————

i> =e
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

230 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

an act was passed by the Mad Congress, over the veto of the
President, destroying all civil government in the South.
Governor Worth was removed from office and Gen. Edw. S.
Canby, of the U. S. Army, was military ruler with unlimited
power over North Carolina. This Military King ordered an
election to be held in the counties, October 19, 1867, for the
election of delegates to a State constitutional convention, to
convene in Raleigh, January 14, 1868. In Hertford, Jack-
son B. Hare, Charles H. Foster, and L. Wash Boone, a
colored preacher, were the candidates. Hare was elected
to the convention. Over 20,000 of the best citizens of the
State were denied the right to vote. The work of this con-
vention is too well known. Its members were mostly “Car-
pet-Baggers” of the North. The ex-slaves had been given
the right to vote, while a large per cent of their former
masters were disfranchised and not allowed to vote or hold
office, until pardoned by Congress. The Constitution, gen-
erally known as the “Canby Constitution,” had incorporated
in it many objectionable features. It was submitted by
General Canby to the recent slaves, the “Carpet-Baggers,”
and a few of the true native white sons of the State for rati-
fication at an election held April 21, 22 and 23, 1868. The
ex-slaves voted three days, under the direction of corrupt
“Carpet-Bag” leaders. The returns of the election in each
county, like the returns of the preceding election for dele-
gates, were ordered to be sent to General Canby, and his will
became the result of the election. The Constitution was
declared ratified. Arbitrary power and humiliation of the
white people of the South alone gratifies the passion and hate
of the North. Love finds no place in their hearts.

The judges appointed by the Provincial Governor and
General Canby were allowed to continue in office until July
1, 1868; so were many of the county officers allowed to re-
main in office until the officers elected under the Canby
Constitution should take charge. Among the judges ap-
pointed by Holden, in December, 1865, were D. A. Barnes,

 

Decapr XII.—1870—-1880. 231

of Northampton; D. G. Fowle, of Wake, and A. 8S. Merri-
mon, of Buncombe. Holden first appointed Jesse J. Yeates
Judge of the First District, but Yeates declined it and re-
quested the appointment of D. A. Barnes. Fowle soon
resigned, and General Canby appointed in his place Alexan-
der Little, of Anson. Judge Merrimon received a command
or order from the Military Ruler which he refused to obey,
and resigned, and the Ruler appointed a Northern man by
the name of Cilley, who was an officer in the Federal army.

At the April election, the Governor and other State officers,
members of the legislature, judges for the courts, and all
county officers, were elected. W. W. Holden was elected
Governor. E. T. Snipes, of Quaker proclivities and an hon-
est and fair man, was elected in Hertford by the Republicans
to the House of Representatives of the State. S. S. Harrell,
elected Clerk of the Superior Court (the County Court had
been abolished), James M. Trader elected Register of
Deeds (the name of the office of Public Register had been
changed), Isaac Pipkin elected Sheriff, J. J. Horton elected
Treasurer (the name of County Trustee being also changed).
The other officers will be found in the list of County Officers.

The reign of dishonor in the State begins. These were
sad times among our true native people. Lost all, but their
honor, by the war. Humiliated and oppressed by their vie-
torious foe. Life was sad and burdensome, and many of the
noblest and bravest fell under the weight of their sorrows
and the tyranny of their ignominious rulers.

On goes the reign of plunder.

«* Fate never wounds more deep the generous heart,
Than when a blackhead’s insult points the dart.”’

saeuennnetinananianan

SE Ne ote ar nr oe er A PTD

i ne are ae
GRAIL NO MELT eR NT

See ORI Ee ee eS en ee ee ce

2, Boel aan.
  
   
    
    
 
 

Decape XII.—1870—1880. 233 ) i

:
the county. W. D. Newsom and William Reed were both q
colored. From 1870 to 1872 we had five very efficient and 4
excellent members. The next term there was only one Dem- ii
ocrat on the board, 8. D. Winborne. He succeeded, how-
ever, in checking much reckless management of the affairs
of the county. The chairman, E. T. Snipes, was a fair-
minded, honest man, and in him Winborne found a good
right bower. From 1874 to 1876 there were two Democrats,
Winborne and Vann, who, with the aid of Snipes, controlled
the board. From 1876 to 1878 for the first time in the his-
tory of the county it was under the control of five Republi-
cans. After that to the present time her Commissioners
have been Democrats except during a short period between
1894 and 1900.

The Canby Constitution was still resting heavily on the
people, and they were determined to have a Constitution of
their own, framed by her own sons and adapted to the needs
of her best citizenship. On August 4, 1875, an election was
held for the election of delegates to a Constitutional Conven-
tion, to convene in Raleigh on September 6, 1875. The
Democrats of Hertford nominated John A. Vann, and the
Republicans nominated Jordan J. Horton. The Republi-
can party in the county was composed of a few whites, some
of whom were sincere and honest people, and some were ex-
ceedingly vicious. They, with the negroes in the county,
had about 250 majority of voters, and Horton was elected.
He was u planter and a very weighty member, as he weighed
between 300 and 400 pounds. Many changes were made in
the organic law, but not as many as were needed or desired,
as the Democrats had only one majority. One of the chan-
ges made enabled the General Assembly to relieve the eastern
counties of inefficient and corrupt county officers. The jus-
tices of the peace were to be elected by the General Assembly,
and they were to elect the County Commissioners. It also
authorized the Legislature to provide Inferior Criminal
Courts for the counties, which was done by the Legislature

DECADE XII.

1870—1880.

\

The State and most of the counties in the State are still in
the hands of “Carpet-Baggers” and corruptionists, and rob-
bery and plunder of the State and county treasuries continue
by this horde of vipers. In November, 1870, the Democrats
secured control of the Legislature, and Governor Holden was
charged with High Crimes and Misdemeanors in Office, tried
and impeached, and disfranchised. The Republicans still
have the governor and the judges, but the Legislature pro-
ceeds to bring order out of chaos as far as it is possible. It
was slow work. Most of the eastern counties were still sub-
merged by the negro vote and carpet-bag radicalism. Hert-
ford is represented in the Senate by a Republican, and
in the House by W. D. Newsom, colored. Newsom was

er not a vicious or bad man, but a_ respectful free-born

negro, but thoroughly incompetent. In 1871 the Gen-
eral Assembly passed an act, ratified February 8, 1871,
providing for an election to be held in the State on

April 13, 1871, at which would be submitted the question

of holding a Constitutional Convention, to convene in Ra-

leigh on the 4th Monday in May, 1871, and for the election

of delegates to the Convention. The Democrats of Hertford
nominated J. J. Yeates, and the Republicans George H.

Mitchell. Yeates was elected by a majority of 11, but,

however, he did not serve, as the people voted not to hold the

Convention. Some needed changes were, however, made

by the General Assembly of 1872, which was largely Demo-

eratic. Hertford County did not suffer near as much as
many of the eastern counties in her local affairs, as she had
most of the time some good men on her Board of County

Commissioners. From 1868 to 1870 the late John W. Har-

rell, the late Robert S. Parker, of Murfreesboro, Samuel

Holloman, of Union, were members of the board—all good

and honest business men and true sons to the best interest of

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
     
   
     
   
   

 

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234 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

    
     
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
       
        
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
     
      
    
   
   
     
 
    

at its session of 1876-77. The Inferior Court, with a lim-
ited criminal jurisdiction, was established in Hertford. The
presiding officers were to be three, and to be selected from
the body of the county by the justices of the peace. The
officers can be seen by reference to the “list of officers.” Many
of the noblest men and women during the last decade suc-
cumbed to the troubles wrought by the revolution of 1861-65,
and during this decade they fell rapidly and continued
through the succeeding decades to drop off until now there
is scarcely any left to tell of the Old South.

The old Public Register, W. J. Perry, had died in 1862,
and William Porter, of Maney’s Neck, died in 1865. Wil-
liam Bartelle Wise, the father of Mrs. Judge Smith, also
died in 1865. Mr. Wise was a man of much wealth and was
always ready to assist worthy young men and his neighbors
when in trouble. Before settlmg in Murfreesboro he was
engaged in the coast trade on the high seas, and in that busi-
ness he made most of his large estate. He married twice.
His first wife was Christianna Deanes, by whom he left
one son, Capt. Marshall M. Wise. His second wife was
Sarah Copeland, of Northampton County, N. C., and by
her he left one son, Major William Wise, and one daughter,
Mary Olivia, who became the wife of W. N. H. Smith.
Captain Marshall M. Wise first married a Mississippi wo-
man, and their children were William B, Wise, who went
South after the war; W. D. Wise, who married J. W. Hill’s.
daughter, of the Borough, a brave soldier, who carried a leaden
ball in his body until death. He died in Durham, N. C.,
a few years past; George W. Wise was a soldier in the army
from this county, but moved to Mississippi after the war and
became the private secretary to the governor of that State
and married his daughter; Sallie Wise, who became the wife
of Walter M. Griffin, near Murfreesboro, died without
issue; Annie L. Wise married Robert Parker, formerly of
of this town, but later of Norfolk. Marshall’s youngest son,
June M. Wise, married Miss Sauls, and now lives near his

 

Drcape XII.—1870-—-1880. 935

fathers’s old place. M. M. Wise’s second wife was Mollie
Ellis, of Northampton; they left one child, Lula.

Early in the year 1870 faces which had been so familiar
to our people began to yield to the havoe of time—men too
noble to survive the bitter hate and oppression of the North.
Dr. William H. Hutchings, a celebrated physician in the
County, suddenly passes away in death. He was tall, erect
and commanding in appearance, scholarly and chivalrous
and aristocratic in bearing, and quick to resent an insult.
He was the soul of honor. His parents were Col. William
Hutchings, who lived where Rev. H. B. Parker now resides,
until he removed to the Borough several years before his
death, which took place November 16, 1821, and his wife
the widow Skinner, nee Little. The doctor lived in town
up to his death. A few days prior to Dr. Hutchings’ death
his friend and a distinguished physician in Winton, Dr.
R. H. Shields, fell dead in Hutchings’ office, while on a visit
to the man he so much admired. Shields came to the county
many years before the war from Virginia. Neither of these
two old Southern gentlemen ever married, but it was not due
to a want of the highest admiration for noble women. They
failed to secure the jewels they loved. In their devotion for
each other they were like the old bachelors, Patrick Brown
and Thomas O’Dwyer, of remote days.

Abram Riddick, who resided on the old Maney plantation
on the Chowan River, was in 1871 covered in his grave. He
was born in Nansemond County, Va., in 1801, and moved
to this county in 1825, and soon became one of Hertford’s
most worthy and useful citizens. For a long while prior to
reconstruction he was one of her faithful magistrates, and
successful business men. At the beginning of the war his
home was palatial and the buildings for his large plantation,
which were kept painted and whitewashed, resembled a town
of several hundred inhabitants. He was kind to his neigh-
bors and humane to his slaves. He was married several
times. His first wife was the daughter of Benjamin Brett,

 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
   
   
 

 

 

236 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

who lived at the residence of the late W. D. Bryant in Ma-
ney’s Neck, whom he married October 5, 1824. We think
his second wife was a Miss Battle. His third wife was
Anne Maria Dillard, daughter of James Dillard, of Nanse-
mond County, Va. By this marriage he had several chil-
dren, two sons and four daughters—Samuel A., who was in
the Confederate Army and died or was killed in Pennsylva-
nia when Lee’s army invaded that State. His other son,
J. D. Riddick, now resides at his father’s old home. His
daughter Pattie married Rev. James Murray, a Presbyte-
rian minister in Virginia. His daughter Virginia R. mar-
ried George Cowper. His last wife was widow Lavinia

Whedbee, nee Leigh, of Perquimans County. His Dillard’

wife was the mother of his children. His father was James
Riddick, of Virginia, and his mother was a Miss Oross. The
old worthies are rapidly departing. John W. Southall, R.
G. Cowper, the old Sheriff and legislator; Lewis M. Cowper,
the old Clerk of the former County Court, and others are
numbered among the dead in 1873. J. A. Worrell, John
G. Wilson, the old Presbyterian merchant of our town, who
married the daughter of Abner Harrell, followed in 1874.
John B. Sharp, Robert S. Parker, of the Borough town, and
the old accountant to whom was often referred the state-
ment of complicated accounts by the courts, and a close
friend of W. N. H. Smith, followed in 1875. Lewis T.
Spiers, the handsome, polite and well-dressed old merchant
of the Borough, died in 1879, and his worthy partner, Jas.
W. Hill, in 1888, and his friend W. W- Mitchell in 1897.
Mr. Mitchell was one of the patriarchs of the county. He
was chairman of the County Court from June, 1861 to 1866,
and had served the county as one of its leading justices for
twenty-five years. He was a man of stern and positive char-
acter and a strong member in his church and denomination
from early manhood to his death, and a great advocate of
education. He was an uncompromising Baptist in his re-
ligious faith, and gave liberally of his large means to the

 

 

 

      

Drcape XII.—1870—-1880. 237

advancement of its cause. He
was one of the prime movers
in the building and establish-
ment of the Chowan Baptist
Female Institute, and con-
tributed largely to the ex-
pense, and was chairman of
its board of trustees for a
number of years until his
health became so enfeebled
that he declined further elec-
tion. During his active life

‘the was always ready to respond to its needs, and faithfully
attended all meetings of the trustees, and his face was fa-
miliar on the rostrum at the annual commencement exercises.
He married the sister of the late Rev. Jno. Mitchell, who was
so well known throughout North Carolina. She was the daugh-
ter of James 8. Mitchell, the legislator from Bertie in 1842.
He left several children—three sons, James S., John P., and
W. J. Mitchell. The first married Miss Owen, whose par-
ents came to the county from Granville, and John P. married
Mary, the daughter of Wade H. Garriss, and is the niece of
Mrs. A. I. Parker, of Winton. John P. is now the cashier

 

WwW. W. MITCHELL.

of the bank in Winton. William J. married Sallie, the

daughter of the late John A. Vann. James and John, with
their families, live in Winton, and William and his family
live near Ahoskie. Chairman Mitchell’s oldest daughter,
Mary, married the late James L. Mitchell, an attorney at
Winton for some years before his death about 1878. His
second daughter, Sallie, married Lt. W. P. Taylor, of Win-
ton. Pauline, the third daughter, first married W. D. Hol--
loman, and after his death she married C. W. Mitchell, of
Aulander, N. C., an influential Baptist, an intelligent legis-
lator and successful merchant and planter. The youngest
daughter, Bettie, married Thomas J. Vann, son of Jesse B.
Vann, Hertford’s representative in the House in 1862.

 

 

 

+ eer

 

i i Bil é

itis ie estab Rieti AMI cai An cele neal Et te
             

238 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

Jesse was the son of the old chairman, John Vann, of the
County Court. Lt. W. P. Taylor was the son of Maj. Hil-

lory Taylor, of Mill Neck.

In 1872 Hon. D. A.
Barnes, of Jackson, N. C., the
silver-haired bachelor lawyer
of Northampton, and aide-de-
camp to Governor Vance dur-
ing the Civil War, married
the young, fascinating and
much-admired Bettie Vaughan,
‘hird daughter of Col. Uriah
Vaughan, and settled in Mur-
freesboro with his young bride

and became a citizen of Hert-
Judge Barnes had been well and long known to our

people, as he had been a regular attendant upon our courts
for a number of years. He was the eldest son of Collin W.
Barnes, a wealthy planter of Northampton, by his second
marriage to his cousin Louisa Barnes. Judge Barnes re-
mained with us until his death in 1892. His widow, three
daughters and only son, Da-
vid Collin Barnes, still live
at his beautiful
erected by him in 1874 in the
old town of the many worth-
ies of olden days.

 

JUDGE D. A. BARNES.

ford.

His son
is one of our promising young
lawyers and the president of
our town bank. Judge David
A. Barnes graduated in 1840
at the University at Chapel
Hill and was one of the Rep-
resentatives in the House of his State in 1844, 1846,

1850 and 1858 from his native county of Northampton.

 

MISS BETTIE VAUGHAN.

 

 

residence

DrcapE XII.—1870-1880. 239

 

A member of the Secession Convention of 1861.  Ap- |

pointed Provisional Judge of the Superior Court in the |

First Judicial District by the Provisional Governor, W. W.

Holden, in December, 1866, which office he held until July

1, 1868. Candidate of the Conservative party in 1870
against ©. L. Cobb for Congress, but was defeated by a large
majority. Judge Barnes was a lawyer of considerable repu-
tation. His jury speeches were unique in style, but very
effective. Like most of the older lawyers of the State who
were trained under the old practice, he never became recon- .
4 ciled to The Code practice. The judge never married until {
| “late in life. He was much the senior of his bride in 1872, |
she being at the date of her marriage in her 24th year. He
had two brothers—the late Joseph B. Barnes, of Northamp-
ton, who married Bettie, the daughter of Henry C. Edwards Tt
of his native county, and George Badger Barnes, late mem-
ber of the commission house of Vaughan & Barnes, of Nor-
folk. George never married and survived his brother David
A. Barnes but a few years. He had three sisters—Mrs. Wil-
liam Faison, of Northampton; Mrs. William H. Drewry, of
Southampton County, Va., the mother of John C. Drewry,
of Raleigh; and Mrs. Jesse Moore, of Northampton County.
Judge Barnes’ father, Capt. Collin W. Barnes, represented
his county in the State Senate in 1829 and 1830. He was
a native of Nansemond County, Va., but moved to North-
ampton County when young and became a large property
holder and an influential citizen.

Joseph W. Perry was Clerk of the Superior Court from
1870 until he resigned in 1872. He was appointed by the
judge of the district to fill the vacancy caused by the resigna-
tion of S. S. Harrell. Mr. Perry was a young and active
business man in Winton when he was appointed. He in the
latter part of this decade moved to Norfolk and engaged in
the cotton commission business, and has been extremely suc-
cessful. His parents were Joseph J. Perry and wife, who
Was the daughter of William Wynns Sessoms. His grand-

 
240 History or Hrrrrorp County, N. C.

   

father was Freeman Perry and his great-grandfather was
Josiah Perry, who married a lady in Edgecombe County.
On April 11, 1873, Gen. Edw. S. Canby, the former mili-
tary potentate of North and South Carolina, was killed in
the rocky jungles of “The Land of Burnt-out Fires,” in the
State of Oregon, by Captain Jack, 2 Modoc Indian Chief.
An account of this treacherous act can be found in the Sep-
tember number, 1905, of the Metropolitan Magazine. Such
was the fate of this man who took part in the humiliation of
the proud and good people of the South during the days
called reconstruction. q
At the August election in 1875 Jesse J. Yeates, of Mur-
freesboro, was elected by the Democrats to Congress from
the Edenton District to succeed Clinton L. Cobb, who had
served six years but was defeated in this election by Yeates.
Congress had again tried to pass another Civil Rights Bill
and force social equality between the races in the South,
Cobb, who was a bitter Republican, voted for the measure. 4
. Yeates was eloquent in this campaign in denouncing this _
effort of Congress and this vote of Cobb. White men and
white women flocked to the appointments of Yeates to hear
him. Men cursed and women wept under his powerful ap-
peals for the wives and daughters and homes of the Southern 4
whites. The women electioneered on the white men who _
had been voting with the negroes and “carpet-baggers”’ to
save them. The result was the triumphant election of Yeates.
He was re-elected for the two following terms, serving in
Congress from December 6, 1875, to March 3, 1881. 7
Yeates was a lawyer of great power and eloquence. He
had filled many offices. They were: County Attorney, mem-
ber of House of Commons, Solicitor of First. Judicial Dis- 3
trict for six years, Major in the army, Council of State
during ‘the short time Worth was Governor, appoint
Judge of the First District by Provincial Govern
Holden, but declinedit. He was born May 29, 1829, and
died about 1893, in Washington City. He was married

  
 
 
    
  
  

 
  
  
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  

    

ve

 

Hon. JESSE J. YEATES.

FO ARE MR ne SRN RRO OIE RONG PTT ENEMIES BEEBE NS ae aR a RE

 

 
Se ea i Te ead —F PRET ET PME ey Te

 
 

R. W. WINBORNE, Esq
Attorney-at-Law,
Roanoke, Va

 

 

 
 

 

RI Raa ac nN lita aS nad abt

 

 

Drcapr XII.—1870-1880.

twice. His first wife was Miss Maria Piper, of Virginia.
She died August 21, 1854, about two years after their mar-
riage, leaving one daughter, Janie, who after reaching
womanhood married her cousin, Dr. Edw. Yeates, of Missis-
sippi. His second wife was Virginia, the daughier of James
Scott, of Baltimore, and granddaughter of Gen. John Scott,
of Hertford County. She was sister of Mrs. H. T. Lassiter,
and cousin to General Scott of Florida. She preceded him
several years to the grave. They left four sons and one
daughter—Charles M. Yeates, of Washington City; Wil-
liam Seott Yeates, of Georgia; J. J. Yeates, of Birmingham,
Ala.; George Yeates, of the U. S. Army. His mother was
the sister of Abner Harrell, and his father was James Yeates,
of this county, who was the son of Jesse Yeates, whose name
appears in the U. S. Census of this county in 1790. His
daughter, Jennie, married Daniel L. Smith, a lawyer of
New York, and they are now living in Boston, Mass. She
Was a very handsome and a representative Southern woman.
His father died when he was young, leaving several chil-
dren. Jesse J. Knight, who lived near Union, married his
sister. Major Yeates had a hard struggle to secure his edu-
cation and prepare himself for his profession. Another of
his sisters married Hezekiah Revel, of Bertie, and later of
Murfreesboro, and still later of the western part of’ this
State.

While the old fathers are falling thick and fast, their
Worthy sons are coming boldly to the front in defence of the
honor of the South, the purity of its noble women, and the
Sanctity of their homes, and repelling the cowardly attacks
of the Republican Congresses with indignation and scorn.
The South begins the brave and glorious work of driving from
Power the “carpet-baggers,” the Benedict Arnolds of the
South, and the enemies of the virtuous homes of that fair
Southland, which had been the honor and glory of America
for over a hundred years. It was the land of patriotism and

Statesmen, the home of the purest and noblest women of the
16

  

  

 

    
 
 

  
 
    
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 

 

Se ee

OS alias

Serle tai

Cet Pe ees
Reg

ee
 

       
  
   
 
    

242 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

civilized world, without which no people can be great. Many
of the Southern States are securing the election of their ablest
and truest men to Congress. North Carolina sends the bril-
liant and gifted Gen. M. W. Ransom and A. S. Merrimon to
the U. S. Senate in place of the “earpet-bagger” Joseph C.
Abbott, and John Pool, one of the Judases of the South.
In 1874 she elects a large majority of both branches of the
Legislature, and the act was passed calling the Constitu-
tional Convention of 1875. In the House, Hertford was
still represented by a Republican—Solomon Parker—but
in the Senate sat two Democrats from the northeastern coun-
ties, including Hertford, and comprising the First Senatorial
District—W. B. Shaw, the son of the old Congressman,
Henry M. Shaw, of Currituck, and Thos. R. Jernigan, of
Hertford. Mr. Jernigan was the son of one of Hertford’s
noblest anti-war gentlemen, Lemuel R. Jernigan, and brother
of the brilliant young lawyer of 1861, Jno. H. Jernigan. He
was a graduate from the University of Virginia, well versed
in general literature, familiar with the political history of the
country, a lawyer of ability, chaste in his diction, incisive
in his orations, and brave as Julius Cesar. It was the be-
ginning of a useful public life. He had been defeated in
1870 and 1872 for the House. He made an enviable repu-
tation in the Senate, and was often after that a candidate
before the people for Presidential Elector, for the State
Senate, and other honors. But like his brother John H., he
early became deaf and had to abandon his profession. Presi-
dent Cleveland appointed him Consul to Japan in 1885,
which office he held until 1889. Returning home he devoted
his attention to’ journalism, and ably edited for several years

in Raleigh The Intelligencer, which the editor declared as

its head lines, the words “Impartial, not neutral; and de-
voted to the best interest of North Carolina, inseparable from

Democratic principles.” In 1895 he was appointed by Pres-  __

ident Cleveland Consul-General to Shanghai, China. After
the expiration of his office he took up his residence in Shang-

 
 

 
  
 
 
 
  

 

Hoy. THOS. R, JERNIGAN.

a
 

 

 

 

Bs.

oe

Nd
;
t

. ee,
_
.

 

ee.

_ the South goes nobly on. In 1877 the justices of the peace ‘a

Decapre XIT.—1870—1880.

 

hai, where he now resides. He has written the commercial ee ‘a
history of China from 1864. He was born in 1847, and in +:
1885 married Fannie, the youngest daughter of Col. Starkey
Sharpe III. His brother, John H. Jernigan, grew very

deaf in his early manhood and was compelled to abandon

his professiot#; was disqualified by his want of hearing from

serving in the army, where he would like to have been. He 4
was born in 1836 and died in 1870. In 1861 he married :
Sallie, the daughter of Watson Lewis, Jr., who was the aunt PE
of his brother Thomas’ wife. She was said to be the pretti-
est woman in the county at that time. He left two sons, one
of whom, John Hunter Jernigan, is living. Mrs. Sallie

 

Mitchell, of Winton, the handsome wife of our young lawyer a :
J. R. Mitchell, is his granddaughter. “a
H. ©. Maddry, Democrat, successfully contested the seat eee.

of Jordan J. Horton, Republican, in the House in 1876. ee. |

The Wesleyan Female College closed its session in June, ia
1877, with a roll of 177 young ladies, under the presidency
of Rey. William G. Star, and the college building was myste-
riously burned during the vacation, which caused widespread
Sorrow and regret among the non-communicants and commu-
nicants of all religious denominations. A mighty calamity.
It was rebuilt in 1881, and again destroyed by fire in 1893.

The Chowan Baptist Female Institute goes on in her grand os
work of educating minds and hearts of noble young women aa
for the elevation of mankind. Be

The brave work of rebuilding the shattered fortunes of "4

 

are appointed by the Legislature and they elect the County
Commissioners from her truest sons, as may be seen by ref-
erence to the list of officers. We will make a brief sketch of
the retiring county officers and their successors :

Capt. Isaac Pipkin, who left the office of Sheriff in 1876,

was a grandson of Gen. Isaac Pipkin, of Gates. He was a
Democrat in polities, was a gallant soldier in the Confeder-

   

a
a=.
   
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
  
 
 
   
  
   
  
 
 
 
   
  
 
 
  
 
  

 

 

244 History or Herrrorp County, N. ©.

ate Army, and a very polite and attractable gentleman. He
had married Georgie, the daughter of the late George W.
Montgomery, of this county. He and his wife are both dead.
Their two sons, Isaac and Thomas W. Pipkin, now reside
in the old Borough village. Their daughter, Georgie, mar-
ried Lewis ©. Lawrence, Jr. ¢

His successor from 1876 to 1878 was Jackson B. Hare,
who had been an officer in the county during the war and
during reconstruction. His son, John Hare, survives him.
His second wife was the daughter of Lemuel Howell, of
Maney’s Neck. He was greatly her senior. She and their
little child survived him. Subsequently she married John
Holloman, and they are living at his late residence.

James M. Trader, who was Register of Deeds in the
county from 1868 to 1876, and who was also postmaster at
Murfreesboro for a number of years, was a unique yet inter-
esting character. Not industrious, but economical and sav-
ing, carless about his dress, yet proud and quick to resent
any reflection on his character. Not studious, but possessed
of a strong mind well-stored with a wonderful amount of
information: He obtained license after 1868 to practice
law under a statute allowing any one to obtain license by
proving good moral character and paying a tax fee of $20.
He never practiced in any of the courts, except probably in
the courts of justices of the peace, but wrote deeds, wills and
the like for those seeking cheap work. He was the son of
William Trader, of Murfreesboro, and his wife, Betsy Dar-
den. Williams’ wife Betsy died in 1822, and in 1824 he
married Mary Gatling. He died in 1826, leaving surviving
him one daughter and five sons by his first marriage—W. H.
Trader, who emigrated to Arkansas; John Trader, who died
in Washington, D. C., while holding a government office;
D. C. Trader, who emigrated to Memphis; Henry G. Trader,
who was a prominent merchant like his father, in Murfrees-
boro for a number of years. Just prior to the Civil War he
moved to Mississippi, and James M. Trader, who spent his

 

   

Drcape XII.—1870-1880. 245

days in his native town. He married Mary E. Brown, the
daughter of Samuel Brown and wife, Nancy, and grand-
daughter of Maj. John Brown, the old Tory of colonial
times. Dr, Godwin C. Moore and John A. Anderson were
also grandsons of the old Maj. John Brown. Samuel Brown
lived in Murfreesboro, at the home of the late Edw. F. Dun-
ston. William Trader’s daughter was the last wife of Ely
Carter, of this place. The old Register of Deeds and post-
master died in 1882, leaving one son, John B. Trader, one
of our present magistrates and chief justice of the town.

Trader’s successor in the
office of Register of Deeds was
Henry ©. Sharp, a member
of the ancient and prominent
Sharp family of this county,
and the son of Jacob Sharp
II, who married Eliz. Simons.
Mr. Sharp was born in 1844,
graduated at the University of
Virginia, and ranking high in
his class. W. D. Pruden,

De sea emi Esq., says Henry C. Sharp is
the best mathematician in the world. He is a quiet and
unoftending man, economical and saving, accurate and square
in his dealings with his fellow-man. He served in the Con-
federate Army. As a civil officer he was honest and effi-
cient. Col. Thomas H. Sharp and Capt. William Sharp,
two of Hertford’s brave soldiers, were his brothers. Both
of them died in Charleston, S. ©.

Henry ©. Sharp married the widow of his cousin, Charles
L. Sharp, the son of J. Bembery Sharp and wife. She was
the sister of James M. Powell, of Harrellsville. He is still
& worthy citizen of the county.

Samuel D. Winborne, the chairman of the Board of
County Commissioners, had long served his countymen in
different positions of honor. He was born March 7, 1821.

 

 
 

 

 

246 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

He was the son of Elisha Winborne, who died about the end
of the 7th decade, and his wife Martha Warren, and grand-
_ son of Thomas Winborne, and great-grandson of Maj. Henry
Winborne, of colonial times and revolutionary fame in 1776-
*82. On his maternal side he was grandson of Col. Ethel-
dred Warren, of the Revolutionary War, from Virginia, and
the great-grandson of Samuel Warren, of that State, and
who purchased the Warren homestead in 1736 from William
Gooch. Young Winborne was appointed a cadet to the Mili-
tary Academy at West Point in 1839, by Hon. Kenneth
Rayner. He entered the Academy in 1840, and in the fall
of 1841 his health, failed, and after remaining in the hospi-
tal four months he resigned and came home. In 1847, when
the State militia was reorganized, he was made major in his
county, which office he held for some years. March 30,
1850, he married Mrs. Mary Hare Massenburg, nee Pretlow,
of Southampton County, Va., who was the mother of his
children. About 1854 he was appointed a justice of the
peace in the county, a position which he held up to within
a few years of his death on April 3, 1895. He was one of
the “Special Court” when the Court of Pleas and Quarter
Sesssions was abolished in 1868. A strong Whig before the
war and a consistent and positive Democrat since reconstruc-
tion.

On March 11, 1861, there was a battalion muster of the
Hertford militia at Oak Villa, near Winton. Dr. John T.
Lewter, of Murfreesboro, succeeded Col. Starkey Sharp in
command of the regiment, and Maj. Samuel D, Winborne,
of Maney’s Neck, was again elected major. The terms of
these officers was three years. The above military facts we
get from an old county record furnished us by Major Moore.
This regiment, was composed of several companies in the
county.

Most of the time from 1862 to the close of the war, Major
Winborne was a purchasing agent of the Confederate Gov-
ernment of supplies for the army, at one time delivering his

4

©

 

 

DrcapE XII.—1870-1880. 247

purchases to Maj. Roger Prior, at Franklin, Va. Major
Prior later became Gen. Roger Prior. He was a friend to
the families of the Confederate soldiers and the poor. He
served his county as County Commissioner from 1872 to
1890, excepting the term from 1876 to 1878, when he was
defeated by William Reed, a
colored preacher near Mur-
freesboro. The war stripped
him of his comfortable estate,
\ except his land. Before his
death, by wise and prudent
management he had nearly re-
gained his former estate. He
dropped dead at his dining
table in the 74th year of his
age, from a third stroke of
paralysis, in the presence of

his family and only sister, who was on a visit to him. Mod-
esty prevents me from saying more of this good man. Let
others write his epitaph. His eldest brother, Micajah
Thomas Winborne, died in Mobile, Ala., in 1843; his young-
est brother, Richard, died in La Grange, Tenn., in 1862.
His other brother was Dr. Robert H. Winborne, who gradu-
ated at the University of the State at Chapel Hill in 1847,
and settled in Chowan County. After graduating in medi-
cine at the University of Virginia and the University of
Pennsylvania, he became’a distinguished physician. He rep-
resented that county in the Constitutional Convention of
1865, and died in October, 1898, aged 72, leaving behind

Nore, —Ti Vann writes, ‘‘that Robert Henry Winborne is the
finest couna cane mnaiees county has ever produced.” Young Win-
borne graduated at Chapel Hill in the class of 1847, with J. J. Pettigrew,

-W. Ransom, John Pool and others. Pettigrew took the first honor.
Gen. M. Ww. Ransom has told the author often of the long and close
Struggle between himself and Bob Winborne for the second position in
that illustrious class. Ransom finally won, after a protracted contest,
On some catch question. He in his latter days loved to talk to the
author about this class contest and of his admiration for “Bob Win-

me.’ The latter was made the valedictorian of the class. They were

of the warmest friends through life.

 

MAJ. 8. D. WINBORNE.

 

 

——
 

 

 

248 History or Hrrrrorp County, N. C.

him an honored name. His sister Caroline, wife of Britton
Moore, of Murfreesboro, died November 1, 1898, in Eden-
ton. Maj. S. D. Winborne left surviving him his widow,
three sons and two daughters. Mrs. T. I. Burbage, of Ma-
ney’s Neck, and Mrs. Leroy J. Savage, of Norfolk, Va., are
his daughters; and Samuel P. Winborne, who lives at the
old homestead, Robert W. Winborne, of Roanoke, Va., and
the author, are his sons. He was a man of strong and stain-
less character, a devoted husband, a true neighbor, model
citizen, and the companion of his children. The author’s
book, “The Winborne Family,” gives a sketch of all the old
Winborne families in North Carolina. Several of them
in early days emigrated to Tennessee and other Southern
States, and the far West. In March, 1906, Harry Win-
borne, a rich miner of Colorado, was killed by a snow-slide
on a mountain side.

Samuel M, Aumack, one of
the new County Commission-
ers, has long been a faithful
and useful citizen in his
county. When a young man
he studied law, but never prac-
ticed. As County Trustee,
County Commissioner, Super-
intendent of Public Schools,
and as justice of the peace, he
has honored his county. His
father of the same name was
born in Edentown, N. J., in 1807, and when a young man,
in 1835, he moved to Hertford County and settled at Pitch
Landing, then a thrifty little village. In 1838 he married
Nancy Daniel, the sister of the late Major Watson L.
Daniel, of Hertford County, and the daughter of Capt.
Belcher Daniel, who married a Julia Flower. Samuel
M. Aumack, Sr., died in 1843, leaving surviving him his
son and his widow. The latter died in 1887, aged 75. S.

 

S M. AUMACK,

a ae

        
  
  
  
 
  
  
  
 
  
  
  
 
 
     
    
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
  
  

 

i
{
|
i

Decapr XII.—1870-1880. 249

M. Aumack, Jr., has been married three times. His second
wife was the daughter of the late John L. Jenkins, and his
present wife was a widow Gillam, and daughter of Dr.
Joseph W. Sessoms, of Bertie County. He is still one of

the leading justices of the peace in the county.
Another of the new Com-

missioners was one of Hert-
ford’s brave Confederate colo-
nels in the War of 1861-65.
Hewas Jarret Norfleet Harrell,
a descendant of her old Harrell
families, from which she so
often selected her officers. He
was born January 24, 1824,
and was the youngest of a
family of four sons and one
daughter—Joseph, John W.,
Andrew J., Jarret N., and Amanda ©. Harrell. Their par-
ents were John Harrell and Winnifred Harrell, nee Bell, of
Enfield. The father, John Harrell, was the grandson of
Lt. John Harrell, who was Sheriff of Hertford County from
1774 to 1777, when he enlisted in the Continental Army and
was ranked as lieutenant. Colonel Harrell’s father died
when he was very young. After the death of his father,
ex-Sheriff William B. Wynns, a friend of the family, took
charge of Jarret and his brother John W., and stood in loco
Parentis to them. Mr. Wynns was then living at Barfields, and
conducted a large mercantile business as one of his enter-
prises. John W. Harrell was clerk in Wynns’ store, and
when he grew to manhood Wynns made him a partner in his
business, and Jarret N., who had become qualified by age and
edueation, was made head clerk in the store. After reaching
Matured manhood he and his brother moved to Murfreesboro
and began the mercantile business under the firm name of
J. W. Harrell & Bro. , and met with fine success. His brother
John W. was considered one of the best business men in our

 

COL, J. N. HARRELL.

 

 

ae no asia
RTT
 

 

250 History or Hrrrrorp County, N. ©.

county. Colonel Harrell was twice married. On June
17, 1856, he married Susan Ruffin, of Surry Court-house,
Va., and sad to relate, she died August 14th of the same
year. He entered the Confederate Army at the cail for
arms, as captain, and soon promoted to the rank of major.
On November 5,,1863, Major Harrell married the patriotic
and attractive Ellen O., eldest daughter of John V. Law-
rence, of Murfreesboro, and the granddaughter of James
Rea. Later Major Harrell was promoted to the rank of
colonel. Colonel Harrell at the close of hostilities returned
to his old home and he and his brother John W. renewed
their former mercantile business at the same place, which
was continued during the remainder of their lives. The
colonel was frank, honest and positive in manner, but very
fond of young society and always made himself pleasant and
entertaining. He was tall, erect and large, and a splendid-
looking man. He had a commanding and military bearing.

He served his county as County Commissioner from 1878 to.

1890, and always took an active part in politics and county
affairs. He died November 4, 1892, leaving surviving him
his widow and two daughters,
Gertrude and Linda. Ger-
trude married her cousin,
Charles T. Vaughan, son of
the late William Vaughan,
and they are living with the
widow at the beautiful home
of the late Colonel Harrell.
Linda married Isaac Walke,
of Norfolk, Va., where they
MRS. C. T. VAUGHAN, live.

nee GERTRUDE HARRELL. . Amanda C. Harrell married
William M. Montgomery, the old Olerk and Master in
Equity, of whom we have written. J. oseph Harrell lived in
Northampton and died many years ago, leaving surviving
him his widow and several young children, George and Cola

 

    

ee

        

i

Decapr XII.—1870—-1880. 951

R. The latter is chairman of the Board of Commissioners
of his county, and once served his county in the Legislature.
He married his cousin, the youngest daughter of his uncle,
Andrew J. Harrell, and is now a prominent merchant at
Potecasi, in Northampton County. George was in the com-
mission business with his uncles, John W. and J. N. Har-
rell, when he died September 30, 1888. The sister of George
and Cola married Everet B. Lassiter, of Potecasi. She died
two or three years ago, leaving several children. Mr. Lassi-
ter, on June 22, 1905, married Miss Boyette, daughter of
Charles Boyette and wife, Tempance O. Godwin, of Mur-
freeshoro. Andrew J. Harrell married Mary Deanes, and for
a number of years was a prosperous merchant at Woodland,
N. ©. Later he moved to Norfolk, Va., and conducted success-
fully with his brothers, John and Jarret, a commission busi-
ness. He died in Norfolk in January, 1890. Like his brother
Jarret he was a handsome and fine-looking man. He left
several children, two sons and two daughters. His elder
daughter, Roberta, married Dr. P. C. Jenkins, of Roxobel,
N. C., and his younger daughter, Mary, married, as before
Stated, Cola R. Harrell. His elder son, Cecil W. Harrell,
of Woodland, married Bessie, the second daughter of the
late John E. Maget, and his younger son, Paul, married Miss
Viola Hall, of Nansemond County, Va. John W. Harrell,
the eldest of the brothers, and the survivor of all of them,
was a leading citizen of Murfreesboro for a great number
of years. He was widely known as a most excellent busi-
ness man and leading Methodist, and a hospitable gentleman.
He married the widow of George W. Montgomery, who was
Martha Pipkin, the sister of Dr. Isaac Pipkin, and by her
he reared two daughters, Sarah M. and Florie. The latter
died without ever marrying, and the former married the late
Jub R. Hall, of Ahoskie, but after his marriage he became
a citizen of Murfreesboro. Their daughter Florie died
young. He reared three sons—John H., Charles E., and

aay

 

eee . i iat . caainss sipaliuaed tn
ea oe Te oa
 

 

252 History or Herrrorp County, N. OC.

Marvin Hall. The boys are married and doing well. John
H. is in Baltimore, Charles is in Norfolk, and Marvin in
Pittsburg, Pa.

Another member of the new Board of Commissioners was
John A. Vann, of whom we have written in the 8th decade.

James Thomas Wynns, the fifth new Commissioner, lived
in Union, and was one of the county’s most successful mer-
chants and a faithful officer. He was born January 8,
1823, and received only a limited education at the public
and neighborhood schools. He was a good man, a just and
correct man, and-an energetic citizen. He married Sarah A.
Dunn. She was born August 31, 1823, and died December
10, 1891. He always took a deep interest in trying to rescue
the county and State from the Republican party. His
father was Benjamin Wynns, a son of William Wynns.
Benjamin Wynns lived and died near where the town of
Union is now located, and married Polly Carter, a sister of
Perry and Eley Carter, of Murfreesboro. James Thomas
Wynns died July 2, 1900, and left only one child, Annie,
who married Dr. W. H. Sears. They live at her father’s
home. Dr. Sears’ mother was the daughter of Thomas Grif-
fith, who was born December, 1780, and died April 19,
1848. His father was John Griffith, who was born March
12, 1754. Thomas Griffith was married three times. His
first wife was Temperance Gatling, his second Martha Jen-
kins, the mother of Mrs. H. ©. Maddry and the grandmother
of Dr. Sears. His third wife was Mrs. Elizabeth Weston,
nee Warren. She left no issue. Griffith’s daughter mar-
ried first William H. Sears, of Gates, and they were the
parents of Dr. W. H. Sears, the husband of Miss Annie
Wynns. Sears, Sr., died and his widow married the late
H. Carter Maddry, of Northampton, who after his marriage
moved to Hertford, where he became a prominent and lead-
ing citizen and office-holder. Mr. Maddry died after a pro-
tracted illness in 1893, without issue. His widow still sur-

        
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
   
  
 
 
  
   
 
 
  
 
 
   

Droapr XII.—1870-1880. 253

vives and lives with her son. Edgar G. Sears, of Maney’s
Neck, and Mrs. W. J. Boyette, of Mapleton, are first cousins
of Dr. W. H. Sears.

The Griffiths and the Wynns are among the oldest families
of the county. The author found an old deed which recited
the following interesting facts: That George Ganey, in
1713, secured a patent for all the lands in and around where
the town of Murfreesboro is located, and sold it off in smaller
tracts. The tract now known as the old Meredith Field was
sold to William Griffith, and he in 1766 sold it to Jonathan
Roberts, who in turn sold it to Captain Meredith. It was
willed by Meredith, subject to his wife’s life estate, to James,
William and Henry Maney; also the gristmill now owned
by E. ©. Worrell was owned by James Maney, and the creek
from the mill to Meherrin River was known as Ganey’s
Oreek. The above-named Maneys sold the Meredith tract to
the late John G, Wilson.

George W. Wynns, the Coroner of the county for many
years, and the older brother of the Commissioner, was mar-
ried several times and worked diligently to comply with the
Biblical command to “Go forth, multiply and replenish the
land.” He was the father of eighteen children, most of
Whom he reared, and they are scattered in every direction,
carrying out the Divine injunction. This Biblical injunc-
tion, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth,
and subdue it,” is not obeyed in these days of higher eivili-
zation as much as in the honest days of olden times.

The grand work of rebuilding the bleeding South and pro-
tecting her noble and dear womanhood still goes on. ‘The
basic walls of Northern hate are undermining. The better
class of Northern citizenship are showing their admiration
for the nobility and brave men of the South, whose efforts
have been unrelenting in the defence of their civilization and
the honor of their homes and dear ones. But many of her
politicians continue to flirt the red shirt and prevent the

 

at rn na pa tee
 

 

 

  
 
   
 
 
 
    
 
  
  
   
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
  

254 History or Herrrorp County, N. ©.

healing of the wound, that they may retain power. Victory
will yet come.

Samuel J. Tilden was elected in 1876 President of the
United States by the Southern and Northern Democrats
over R. B. Hayes, the Republican nominee. But the Radi-
eal politicians of the North refused to permit them to reap
the benefit of their great victory. Their greed for power
was too great. A great popular upheaval and revolution is
threatened, but the cool and patriotic people of America sub-
mitted to the mighty wrong. The insult was in time
avenged. The immortal Z. B. Vance succeeds Judge A. S.
Merrimon in the U. S. Senate from North Carolina March
18, 1879, and locks hands with the gifted and scholarly
Ransom. Our State also has in the House, with her Yeates,
Seales, Bob Vance, Robbins, Steele, and Waddell, some of
her bravest, ablest, most chivalrous sons. Georgia sends her
Gordon and her Ben Hill. Mississippi sends her great
scholar and philosopher, Lamar, and the other Southern
States augment the brave and brainy defenders of Southern
honor and Southern womanhood, who by their consummate
ability, courage and eloquence dash back, with stunning ef-
fect, into the faces of the traducers of the honor and virtue
of our dear Southland, their insults and vile efforts to force
amalgamation of the races in the South. God never in-
tended such should be, and His curses have always been and
will always be visited on those who attempt such an impious
deed. The South is still gaining friends among the better
people of the North, and the haters are weakening. The
horizon grows brighter and brighter as the years roll around.

 

ee
Same

 

DECADE XIII.

1880—1890.

As we approach this epoch in our history, we find Thomas
J. Jarvis in the governor’s chair in our capitol at Raleigh.
He is one of the State’s truest sons and a descendant of Capt.
John Jarvis, one of the State’s brave and gallant officers in
the mighty struggle of 1776-82. The Legislature of the
State is still in the control of her loyal sons. The last of
the judges belehed up by the evolution of reconstruction are
numbered among the things of the past, stripped of power.
The elegant and profound jurist, W. N. H. Smith, is Chief
Justice, in place of Richmond M. Pearson, who was learned
in the law but who in that awful hour during Governor Hol-
den’s reign of terror and lawlessness, when Holden was im-
prisoning honorable citizens of the State to gratify his
venom and passion, application was made to Chief Justice
Pearson for the enforcement of the great writ of habeas
corpus, he quacked out that the writ of liberty was suspended
and “the judiciary was exhausted.” We had returned to the
rule inaugurated by the fathers, of the Superior Court judges
rotating, by riding a different district each term. R. B.
Hayes is still usurping the seat of Samuel J. Tilden as Presi-
dent of the United States. The Republican politicians are
still waiving the bloody shirt and trying to keep open the
half-healed wounds of former days. Hot debates in Con-
gress break out at times» like young voleanoes. In 1881
James A. Garfield, a Republican, but a great and humane
man, was sworn in as President of the United States and
called around him as members of his cabinet strong and con-
Servative members of his party. The South breathed easier
and was more ‘hopeful. The National Republican party
Was on the eve of dissolution. Imperialism had been the
dream of many of the leaders of that party. Garfield did
not belong to that school. The dreamers of absolute power
were in the minority, and their hopes were dissipated. The

 

ane nena om eee

ae
  
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
  

256 History or Hrerrrorp Counry, N. C.

President quickly began the work of civil service reform.
But the American people were soon to be robbed of their
victory, for on July 1, 1881, he was cowardly assassinated
in Washington by a mad man. Chester A. Arthur was in-
augurated September 20, 1881, as President.

In the State House of Representatives Hertford is still rep-
resented by a Republican. Col. Geo, H. Mitchell, the member
in 1883, lived in Winton. He was a kind and good-hearted
man, and his Republicanism was always a surprise to his coun-
trymen. During the days of reconstruction he and two others
were arrested and lodged in prison by order of a military
Brevet in 1865, for whipping a negro girl. In 1867 Gov-
ernor Holden appointed him colonel of the militia in Hert-
ford, and he allied his fortunes with the followers of Holden.
He thas been thrice married. His first wife was the eldest
daughter of Luke McGloughon, of this county. His second
wife was Jesse B. Vann’s widow, and sister to his first wife.
His third wife was James Northcott’s widow, by whom he
had no children. He is again a gay widower and looking
out for his fourth. He has two sons living in the county
by his second marriage—Dr. Jesse H. Mitchell, of Ahoskie,
an able physician and strong Democrat, and Arthur Miteh-
ell, of Ahoskie, another Democrat.

For the first time since reconstruction the noble little
county of Hertford in 1884 became tired and weary of not
being represented in the House of Representatives in her
State by one of her brave and gallant Democrats. She put
forth a powerful effort and elected by a majority of 65 her
able and polished young attorney, Robert W. Winborne, of
Murfreesboro. Young Winborne was in his 24th year, but
he served in the session of 1885 with marked ability. His
ability and well-trained mind soon won for him laurels in
that deliberative body. He had graduated with distinction
at the University of the State in the Class of 1881, obtained
his license to practice law in February, 1883, and settled in
Murfreesboro and formed a partnership with his brother,

tithe IRL

lt Saath AE TELLIER REAR IOP nee

nr allel ill

Drcape XITI.—1880-1890. Q57

the author, and they practiced law under the firm name of
Winborne & Bro. He was very popular, pleasant in his
manners, well-versed in the principles of the law, apt in their
application, and smooth, attractive and convincing in his
arguments before the jury. He married, November 24,
1887, the beautiful Dora M. Merrifield, of Valpariso, Indi-
ana, youngest daughter of Judge Thomas J. Merrifield of
that State, and by her had two children—Roger M. and
Robert W, Winborne, Jr. In 1891 he moved with his family
to Buena Vista, Rockbridge County, Va. In 1897-'98 he
Was one of the Representatives from that county in the
House of Delegates of Virginia. In 1903 he was a candi-
date for the Democratic nomination as one of the delegates
from Rockbridge to the Constitutional Convention of, Vir-
ginia, Hon. Heury St. George Tucker being his opponent
for the nomination. After a protracted balloting, a dark
horse was nominated. He was one of the leading attorneys
in his adopted county. For a number of years he was Com-
Monwealth Attorney in Buena Vista. His wife, who was a
most talented woman, died January 21, 1900. On Febru-
ary 3, 1903, he married the stately and accomplished Rosa
Vaughan, of Murfreesboro, N. ©., the fifth daughter of the
late Col. Uriah Vaughan. They resided in Buena Vista
until the year 1904, when he moved with his family to
Roanoke, Va., where he is enjoying a very lucrative law
Practice. He was born October 2, 1861, and was the second
Son of Maj. 8. D. Winborne and his wife, of Hertford
County. He was educated at Buckhorn Academy and took
his degree of A. B. at the University of the State in 1881.
Young Winborne declined a ré-nomination and applied him-
bole Strictly to his profession. He was sueceeded in 1887 by
E. T. Snipes, a Republican, of the Menola section. Mr.
Snipes was a planter with strong Quaker proclivities. We
have spoken of him before. He still lives and is a worthy
and reliable citizen, He is not an educated man, but he is
Utilizing his means in trying to educate his children. He
17

 

   
  

   

 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
   
  

 

    

258 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

now has two of his sons at the University at Chapel Hill,
who are taking a good stand among the best students. They
will reflect credit and honor on the old father and mother,
who are making the sacrifice and effort to give them such
excellent advantages. Would that all the parents would do
likewise.

In 1889 the Democrats are again triumphant in the elec-
tion, and send James L. Anderson, of Winton, to the House.
Mr. Anderson was the son of the late John A. Anderson, who
figured so prominently in the Whig party in the county
before its dissolution. Mr. Anderson was a deformed man,
caused by a fall when an infant, but he had a strong and
clear intellect. He was educated before the Civil War at
the University at Chapel Hill, to which institution he was
devoted throughout life. He was re-elected in 1890. The
following year his health began to fail, and he died. He
was too unwell to serve in the session of 1891.

Lt. W. P. Shaw, of whom we have written, served in the
Senate from the First Senatorial District as a Democrat, in
the sessions of 1887 and 1889, and was a safe and prudent
legislator, serving on some of the most important committees.

In 1880 Maj. John W. Moore, of Pitch Landing, who had
been a conspicuous citizen of the county for twenty-five
years or more, had published his most excellent History of
North Carolina from 1584 to 1876, in two volumes. This
history is far superior to any history of the State that has
ever been published. He was the son of Dr. Godwin C.
Moore and wife, Julia Wheeler. His paternal and maternal
ancestry had been for generations people of great refinement
and culture. Major Moore graduated at Chapel Hill in
. June, 1853, and in September of that year ne married Miss
Anne J. Ward, of this county, who was the first and only
graduate at the C. B. F. Institute in July, 1853. She was
the daughter of James Ward and wife Anne, who was the
daughter of James Jones IIT, of Pitch Landing. When Mr.
Jones moved South he sold the old ancestral home of the

    
  
    

Drcape XIII.—1880-1890. 259

James Joneses to his son-in-law, James Ward, who moved
there from Bertie to live. Miss Ward when she married
young Moore was very wealthy. The young barrister, who
had obtained his law license, bought the tract of land near
the Borough, just back of the C. B. F. Institute, where Jef-
ferson Davis Gatling resides, and built a magnificent South-
ern mansion on that beautiful site overlooking the town, and
moved there to live in 1855 and opened his law office in Mur-
freesboro in the same year. Moore was cultured and liter-
ary, handsome and with pleasing manners. He was a Demo-
crat in polities like his father, and this being a Whig county
and in a Whig district, he was never elected to office, though
often a candidate before the people for Congress and other
high and important positions. He was elector on the Breck-
enridge and Lane ticket in 1860, which was elected in the
State. He served in the Confederate Army as Major of the
3d Battalion of Artillery. During the war his beautiful
home near Murfreesboro was destroyed by fire, with his valu-
able furniture and a goodly part of his valuable library.
His family lived in a small house in the yard until after the
Close of the conflict. On his return home he moved with his
family to his wife’s farm in the lower end of the county,
near Powellsville, in Bertie County, where he has since re-
Sided. This home was the ancestral home of the James
Joneses, and has been in the family for nearly 200 years.
Maj. James Wright Moore, his brother, and a gallant soldier
of the Confederacy, féll dead in 1862. In 1881 Major
Moore had published his most interesting volume, “The
Heirs of St. Kilda,” a beautiful story of the Southern past.
In 182 he published his school history of North Carolina,
and also his Roster of North Carolina Troops in the Civil
War of 1861-65, in four volumes. By his historic writings
he has built a monument to the glory of his State more last-
‘ng and more beneficial than the deeds of those who have
held high offices. When the Inferior Court was established

 

oe enna nRe NR oS

a A
 

 

 

 

 

  

260 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

in the county in 1877 he was elected its chairman, which
office he filled with ability and great satisfaction to his
people. or a likeness of Major Moore, see beginning of
Decade XI.

Hertford has always been able to boast of her historians.
In 1901, Denny Worthington, the son of Dr. R. H. Worth-
ington, of the Borough, contributed to the literature of his
State “The Broken Sword,” a pictorial page in reconstruc-
tion, which he dedicated to the daughters of the confederacy,
whose fathers had followed the Southern Cross. Worthing-
ton came.to the Hertford bar about 1870, but after a few
years moved to Windsor, Bertie County, and married the
widow Mebane, daughter of Col. 8. J. Wheeler, late of Hert-
ford County, and who won his renown in the bloody battle
of Mt. Tabor, when in the imagination the earth was cov-
ered with the dead bodies of Union soliders, and the waters
of the noble Potecasi Creek was running red with their blood,
notwithstanding no one was hurt and no damage was done,
except a cabbage cart distributed its cargo along the road
from Hill’s Bridge to Murfreesboro, and the horses of the
gallant band were soon windless from the speedy retreat from
the ghost of Banquo.

In 1880, Joseph J. Jordan, of Winton, brother of our
present William Jordan of that place, succeeded John Sharp
as Sheriff of the county. Mr. Jordan had only a limited ed-
ucation, but had been successful in business enterprises. The
Republicans still had a safe majority in the county, but the
Democrats had made white Republicanism in the South so
odious, that many whites who had been affiliating with the
negroes and scalawags for office, were becoming ashamed of
their associations. They felt the just indignation of the
white women and their decent white fellow-citizens, and
many were seeking a way to get into the Democratic ranks.
Neither of the political parties made any nomination this
year for the office of sheriff. The Democratic committee

 

|

Decape XIII.—1880-—1890. 261

quietly got Jordan to declare himself an independent candi-
date fou sheriff. Soon thereafter James H. Matthews, of
Winton, also, declared himself an independent candidate for
the same office. Both had been life-long Democrats and
true to their race since Reconstruction times. Both were
seeking in this fight for Republican votes, and they were
timid in declaring their political dogmas. During the cam-
paign the county candidates met in Murfreesboro to address
the people. Jordan and Matthews were on hand dodging
on the outskirts of the assembled crowd. When the nomi-
nees concluded their speeches, the voters vociferously called
for Jordan and Matthews. Matthews made his escape and
declined to declare his colors. Jordan finally mounted the
platform, with the promise of the writer that he would stand
bchind him and tell him what to say. He was to repeat
what the writer uttered from behind, which he did, to the
great amusement of his hearers. Here is the speech: “Fel-
low Citizens: I am a candidate for the office of Sheriff. If
T am elected I will fill the office to the best of my ability.
am a Democrat. Where is my opponent? What is his
polities? Come up here Matthews (in a very loud voice),
ding your soul, (a common expression of Jordan) and tell
these people what are your politics.” Matthews did not
Show up and Jordan was elected by a handsome majority.
The negroes refused to vote for Jordan because he declared
himself a Democrat, and refused to vote for Matthews be-
cause he would not get-up and declare himself a Republican.
We Democrats worked every ingenuous plan that our minds
could suggest to secure the election of the white man’s can-
Cidates. The writer led the brave Democratic hosts m the
county for many years in their battles against Southern
radicalism. He was much criticised as being the king, the
ruler, the ring-leader, by those who were ready to accept office
at the hands of the negroes, but were deterred from joining
thet party by the brave and bold stand of that noble and

eee

Sr eae
 

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
  
  
  
  
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
  

he i a iS NISRA TA Pa a il ll CT ||

ra a a A ai 2 a
Dai ath tai AR: -

262 History or Herrrorp County, N. C. : Decape XIII.—1880-1890. 263

immortal band of loyal Democrats who contested every elec- : and Archer McDowell, now of Scotland Neck; Sallie, the
tion as if the life of the Republic depended upon their efforts. late wife of Maj. John B. Neal, of Halifax County; Ruth,
Jordan was re-elected in 1882. He died in the 14th the wife of D. A. Day, of Murfreesboro, and Eunice, an
decade, leaving one child, Etta, who now lives with her highly educated and worthy daughter, who is devoting her
aunt, Mrs. A, I. Parker, in Winton. In 1884 he was suc : life to teaching. Wm. Vaughan, near Murfreesboro, falls in
ceeded as Sheriff by James S. Mitchell, a Democrat, and’ 4 1884, and he is followed in 1885 by that courteous gentle-
son of our worthy citizen, W. W. Mitchell, of whom we have ; man of Maney’s Neck, Captain William J. Majette, who was
written. Mitchell made a good and efficient officer. Captain in the Home Guard during the late Civil War.
The old bachelor and Christian gentleman and Democrat, : Then follows the energetic Joseph Newsome, near Winton,
Wm. J. Gatling, of Harrellsville, who entered the Clerk’s ; in 1886, and the bright and cheerful D. V. Sessoms, of
office in 1872, still holds forth, and Maj. W. L. Daniel, 1 Pitch Landing, in 1888, and others whom we do not now
another good Democrat, presides with great efficiency in the 4 recall,
office of Register of Deeds from 1882-90. A kind Provi- In 1884, the closing year of the first quarter of the second
dence seemed to be favoring us. The Republicans would j century of the SPR existence, finds the Southern people
almost invariably elect their candidates at the polls, but rejoicing as in olden times. At the November election the
their blunders often lost them the fruit of their victories. ; Democrats North and South succeeded in electing that great
We recall one of their blunders in those trying days that re- man, Grover Cleveland, of New York, President of the
sulted in seating the Democratic candidates. The Republi- ; United States, and on March 4, 1885, he takes the oath of
ean poll-holders in St. John’s precinct, in making out their office and enters upon the duties of his great office. Thomas
election returns at that voting precinct, did not write out the q A. Hendricks, of Indiana, is also elected by the Democrats
number of votes their candidates received, as the law re- q Vice-President, The hearts of the noble women of the

quired. To illustrate, they returned as follows, Smith being " South pulsate with indescribable joy and they sing praises to

the Democrat and Jones the Republican: the brave and untiring efforts, for years, of the loyal sons of ‘

Smith received one hundred votes. the beautiful Southland. Honest and fearless Cleveland
Ta he ‘ “é “ end ninety wonton. calls around him in his cabinet some of the country’s truest if
The returning board only allowed Jones ninety votes. It . and ablest statesmen, such as Thos. F. Bayard, of Delaware;
is said that the Republicans who made out that return have Daniel Manning, of New. York; Lucius Q. C. Lamar, of Mis
never made a ditto mark since, and declare to-day that it is : Sissippi; W. ©. Endicott, of Massachusetts; W. C. Whitney,
unlawful to make a ditto mark. of New York; W. F. Vilas, of Wisconsin, and Augustus H.
The cold hand of death has not failed to touch some of Garland, of ‘heb With this band of patriots in charge
our most worthy citizens. Dr. Godwin C. Moore is taken in 4 the country is safe and they move placidly on in the patriotic ;
1880. The good and greatly beloved Rev. Archibald Me- F Work of Sdansing the political household, reforming - ;
Dowell, the President of the C. B. F. Institute, succumbs in ; abuses of power, breaking down sectionalism, bringing to-
1881, and leaves his grand and noble wife, Mary Owen, q gether the North and the South, and extending the right-
surviving him, with several children—Dr. W. O. McDowell, !
iis gia

= \ a ET
EE ena <A ST RENTAL NIL DT I A TRI OF
 

History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

hand of fellowship and plant-
ing flowers in the South in-
stead of placing crowns of
thorns on the heads of its
pure and lovely women, and
spears through the hearts of
its sons. The President hon-
ors the South in making his
appointments to office. He
honors North Carolina in
many instances, and honors
Hertford County in the ap-
pointment of her chivalrous son, Thomas R. Jernigan, as
Consul of the United States to Japan. Such was the crown-
ing glory of the long, heroic and bitter struggles of the loyal
whites of our Southland for twenty long years. We had
won the admiration of a vast number of our Northern fellow
citizens. True courage, noble and pure womanhood, and
lofty and brave manhood will always in the end receive its
wreath of flowers and the love of mankind. The lower
House of Congress is, also, Democratic, but the Senate is
Republican, and while Democratic principles cannot be en-
acted into law, yet no harm can be done the South.

Now, as we look back over the pages of the decades since
1860, we grow pale and awe-stricken. Beneath the grandeur
and beauty of 1860 we see our fair land painted with the
blood of her noblest sons, we see our homes reduced to ashes,
our fathers and mothers bending and groaning under the
weight of care and hardships, and our beautiful young
women opening the sacred trunks where the sacred garments
of mother, grandmothers, and other dear ones have been
stored away as mementos of the departed dead, to secure
clothing for themselves. The greatest war known to the
world has been fought on our Southern soil, and after four
years of bloodshed and desolation it ended. Slavery an in-
stitution as old as the government, has been abolished, and

 

MISS FANNIE SHARP.

      

Decape XIII.—1880-—1890. 265

we thank God for that. We see the horrors of Reconstrue-
tion, and the unholy effort to force social equality between
the white sons and daughters of the South with the ex-slaves.
We see county offices in the possession of the untutored ne-
gro men. We also find them on the bench, in the legislative
halls of the States, and also in both Houses of Congress.
We find them also presiding as Governors in some of the
Southern States. We hear that the Great Writ of Liberty
is suspended and the Chief Justice of our State crying out,
“the judiciary is exhausted.” We see the Governor im-
peached for high crimes in office. We ‘witness the gradual
overthrow of Carpet Bagism in the State and in the South.
We behold the slow rehabilitation of the South and its
people. We witness and engage in the mightiest struggles
in modern times of a brave and noble people to rise up and
shake off the incubus of misrule and shame, and throw
around their homes and their pure women the impenetrable
shield of honor and brave manhood. And we rejoiced in
the grand climax in the election of 1884.

FREEMANS—BEVERLYS.

The diseases of which the human flesh is heir to have been
successfully baffled for years by Murfreesboro’s senior phy-
sician, Dr. William G. Freeman. He was born August 19,
1840, in Bertie County, and was educated at the neighbor-
hood schools and at Wake Forest College. After leaving
Wake Forest College he began the study of medicine at the
University of Virginia and completed his course of study at
the Medical University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated
with honors in 1861. His patriotic impulses caused him to
enlist in 1862 as a private in the Sussex Light Dragoons of
Virginia, which was Company H, 13th Va. Confederate
Cavalry. He braved the fate of battle until 1864, when he
was seriously wounded. After returning to the ranks he
was captured at Apperville and held as a prisoner of war,
but was shortly exchanged and allowed to return to his com-

: sad LT eT eT ON TN
a Sonne RRB ATS TO
ge eae a Ce a

 
  

 

  

266 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

 

mand; he, in the spring of 1864, applied for and obtained
from the army medical examining board a commission as
Assistant Army Surgeon, which position he held in different
hospitals until the end of the conflict. In January, 1866,
he located at Union, in Hertford, to practice his profession.
In 1868 he removed to Harrellsville, where he practiced his
profession with great success. On February 25, 1869, the
Doctor married the beautiful and intellectual Miss Luey T.
Boone, of Northampton. In 1874 he moved with his bright
and attractive young wife to Murfreesboro to live, where he
has since and is still engaged in baffling the ills of the flesh
and restoring the sick to health. Doctor is the son of John
Freeman, who was Sheriff of Bertie County for about
twenty years just prior to 1850, and was a man of a large
estate, and one of the largest land-owners in the county. He
His first wife and the mother of his
children was Sarah King, of Bertie. Gates was his native
county, where he was born in 1801, but after his marriage he
moved to Bertie, where he resided until 1856. His wife
died August 26, 1852, leaving surviving two sons and one
daughter. The sons were Dr. William George Freeman,
and James P. Freeman. Their daughter was Mary E. Free-
man. Sheriff Freeman, in 1854, married Annie Smith, of
Norfolk, Va., and in 1856 he moved to Norfolk, where he re-
sided until his death in 1865. Sheriff Freeman by his last
marriage had two daughters, Sallie and Julia. The former
married W. F. Bynum, son of W. T. Bynum and his Stal-
lings wife, of Maney’s Neck, but now of Richmond, Va.
Julia married W. A. Perry, the faithful Constable and Tax
Collector at Harrellsville, and son of the old Public Register,
W. J. Perry. Dr. William G. Freeman’s wife was the
daughter of Mr. William Boone and wife Julith Boone, nee
Deanes, of Northampton. Mrs. Boone was the daughter of
the old Sheriff and legislator of Hertford, Thomas Deanes,
of whom we have written. William Boone, and the late
Chief Justice William T. Faircloth were kin. John Boone,

was twice married.

i - ‘ tae = =
aS SA a SS li

|

Decape XIII.—1880-1890. 267

the father of William Boone and the mother of Judge Fair-
cloth, were half brother and sister. Dr. Freeman’s son,
George, married Carrie Hart, of Emporia, Va., the grand-
daughter of Dred Hart, of Southampton County, Va., who
Married a Suitor, of Northampton. Mrs. Dr. F reeman’s
Paternal grandmother was Lucy Tyner, daughter of Nicholas
Tyner, J r., of Northampton County, by his first marriage.
We cannot ascertain his wife’s maiden name, but we learn
from O’Dwyer’s diary of 1824 that Nicholas Tyner’s wife
died September 29, 1824, Mr. Tyner was the son of Wil-
liam Tyner and grandson of Nicholas Tyner, Sr., of Dobbs
County, who took out a patent for a large tract, of land on
the Meherrin River, from the Lords Proprietors in 1724. He
Conveyed 640 acres of this land January 12, 1761, to his
Son, William Tyner, of Northampton County. William Ty-
ner’s other children were Drew, Mary, Sarah, Priscilla, Mil-
dred, Arthur, and William. Lucey Tyner’s sister, Lucretia,
married Etheldred Peebles, an ancestor of Judge ya
Peebles, O’Dwyer also tells that in September, 1824, Tur-
ner Peebles’ daughter married a Stancell.

Mrs. Dr. Freeman is the sister of Thomas D. Boone, the
Clerk of the Superior Court of Hertford. Dr. Freeman and
Wife have only one child living. He is George King Free-
man, the efficient railroad agent at Conway, N.C. Mrs. Dr.

reeman is regarded as one of the best read and most. schol-
arly women in the State. :

Dr, Freeman’s brother, James P. Freeman, lives at Union
and has for a number of years been one of the county’s sient
cipal officers. For years ‘after the war he and his brother-in-
law, George W. Beverly, conducted successfully a mercantile

Usiness at Union under the firm name of Beverly & Free-
man. He was one of the County Commissioners for several
Years and later served the county as her Register of Deeds,
an. office which he resigned in 1905.

OLS eee it SAS NR ak (i Os OCR ma

. Nore.—Nichola: T n April 1, 1707, conveyed to William Wil-
liams 300 acres oF lant oa which Sarah Sowells lived.
 

 

 

 

     
    
        
     
      
    
   
   
   
   
   
     
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

268 History or Hertrorp County, N. ©.

In 1867 he married Mary E. White, of Bertie, and by
tLis marriage he reared one son, John Freeman, now of
Union, and one daughter, Lila, who first married John Eley,
of Union. Since his death she married, in 1905, Dr. J. H.
Mitchell, of Ahoskie.

Sheriff Freeman’s daughter, Mary E., married about 1858
George W. Beverly, of Hertford County, the son of Allen
Beverly, and grandson of Benj. Beverly, of St. John’s. The
Beverly’s have been among Hertford’s prominent people for
over 150 years. They were among the earliest settlers of
Ahoskie Ridge. Mr. Geo. W. Beverly served his county in
many official positions, as will be seen by a reference to the
list of officers in the back of the volume. He died several
years ago. Benj. F. Beverly, his brother, resides near
Union, and is a substantial planter and worthy citizen. He
married Abner Harrell’s daughter by his last marriage. A.
Bascom Beverly, the younger brother, is a prosperous mer-
chant and planter in Florida. Geo, W. Beverly left no issue.

Rev. Joseph E. Carter, the late eloquent Baptist divine, so
well known throughout the State and the other Southern
States, was a Murfreesboro boy. Hertford has had no son
who reflected more renown and finer character than this man.
He was born in Murfreesboro February 6, 1836, and in his

early manhood he was attracted to the study of the law. He
first read law under the late Chief Justice W. N. H. Smith
in his native town, then continued his study of the law at the
law school of the late Chief Justice Pearson, and from there
he applied for and obtained his license from the Supreme
Court about 1857. He only continued on Hertford’s roll of
attorneys but a few years. On January 30, 1859, he closed
his law office and decided to become a minister of the gospel.
He was a brilliant young man, but had been a little wild and
dissipated in his habits, and his sudden change from the
legal profession to the pulpit was somewhat a surprise. But
it was one of those irresistable changes in one’s life that was
brought about by divine power. He at once entered the

 

LY V9 LTT

 

       
  
  

a ami lenient CNTs SAS TUNA ante RS a a ae RnR RI
es A MN ti on al aaa — ; ;

Decape XIII.—1880—-1890. 269

Theological Department of the Union University of Mur-
freesboro, Tenn., ‘and from that institution he received his
degree of graduation June_16, 1861, and on June 30 was
formally ordained to the ministry in his native town. Me
administered the ordinance for the first time im Meherrin
River at his native town on the following 15th of Septem-
ber. During this month he moved to West Tennessee and

began his great career as an eloquent, able, forcible and pro-
found expounder of the teach-

ings of our Lord, the great

Saviour of human souls. On

May 14, 1862, he married

Miss Priscilla Burton, of

Murfreesboro, Tenn., a grand-

| daughter of Col. Hardy Mur-

free, and settled there to live
in August, 1862, serving as
pastor of one of the Baptist
churches of that place. In
1863 he was called to the pas-
torate of the church in Rome, Ga. At various times he
served the principal churches in Tennessee, Georgia, Ken-
tucky and Alabama as pastor, up to January, 1880, when he
was called to Wilson, N. C., where he remained two years
and accepted a call at Hendersonville, N. C., and was pastor
of the Baptist church at that place until 1885, when he be-
came the editor of the Western N. C. Baptist, and when this
paper became consolidated with the Biblical Recorder, in
1888, he remained the western editor of the Recorder until
his death, February 24, 1889, at his mountain home, in his
53d year. His remains were brought to his native town and
interred by the side of his parents and sisters, March 1,
1889, in the presence of a large concourse of people, friends,
kindred, old schoolmates, who knew his life, his renown,
all of whom loved and cherished him. Several of his old
friends and classmates spoke eloquently of this good and

   

MISS PRISCILLA BURTON.

 
—_—

    
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
   
   
  
  
 
    
 
   
  
  
  
 
  
  

 

270 History or Herrrorp County, N. ©.

gifted and saintly man at the grave. He was not only a true
Christian man and a powerful and effective pulpit orator,
but a fluent and forcible writer. He was a great contributor
to the Baptist church literature. In 1875, while as pastor
in Lebanon, Ky., he wrote and had published a brief but
valuable treatise on “Baptists and Higher Liberty,” showing
the leading part the Baptists took in all the struggles for
religious and civil liberty. And again, in October, 1883,
he wrote and had published another book, titled “Distinctive
Baptist Principles.” His writings are of the clearest style,
and logical, strong and convincing. He left his impress in
the hearts of many people. He was tall and thin, energetic

and untiring. He put his whole soul and strength in his

work. His motto seemed to be—

‘* Live while you live; Life calls for all your powers;
This instant day your utmost strength demands,

He who wastes himself, who stops to watch the sands
And, miser-like, hoard up the golden hours.”

His parents were Perry Carter and Priscilla Carter, nee
Warren, of Southampton County, Va., daughter of Col.
Etheldred Warren. His mother was the sister of Martha, the
wife of Elisha Winborne. Mr. Perry Carter was a man of
great energy and a thrifty business man and large property
holder. The beautiful old ancestral home still stands on the
corner of Main street and Seminary Ave., well preserved,
and is now the home of Rev. Carter’s only living sister,
Miss Ellen V. Carter, and his niece, Miss Priscilla W. Wil-
liamson. His parents died a few years after the close of the
Civil War. His wife, who survived him, died a few years
ago. His daughter married Prof. John E. Ray, of Raleigh,
N. C. His sons are living in the Northwest. His cousin,
Edw. J. Carter, to whom he was so much attached in his
younger days, was killed in battle in 1863, while a soldier
in the Confederate army. Edward was the son of his uncle,
Eley Carter, of his native town, and his wife Mary the

Te cat ce? ee

 

         
     
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
      
       
   
   

DrecapE XITI.—1880-1890. 971

daughter of Edw. Murphy, of the same town. They were
married April 20, 1824. Mrs. Wm. J. Echols, widow of
the late Wm. J. Echols, a wealthy merchant and banker
in Fort Smith, Ark., was also his cousin. Mr. Eley Carter,
after the death of his first wife, married Miss Martha Trader,
of his town, and she is the mother of Mrs. Echols, Mrs. Bok.
Rice and J . A. Carter, of Murfreesboro, of John Carter of
Newport News, Va., and of Dedge and Tom Bragg Carter,
of Memphis, Tenn. T. Jefferson Deanes, the old coach
maker and the father of our W. D. Deanes, was married
twice, and each time married the sister of Eley and Perry
Carter. W. D. Deanes, our housebuilder and contractor, mar-
ried Norma L., the daughter of the late Benj. Spiers, of the
Boro, who was for a long time the steward of the Chowan
Baptist Female Institute.

A. B. Adkins, of Bethlehem, near old Pitch Landing, de-
serves to be noticed as one of the untiring and zealous friends
of the Chowan Baptist Female Institute, and of education.
While he has no issue of his own, he takes the place of a
father of several needy and worthy young girls, and has
them educated at the above institution of learning. He was
very active in raising by voluntary contribution, money to
aid in the construction of the recent additions to the main
building of that institution. He is the son of Thomas Ad-
kins and wife, who was the daughter of Maj. W. P. Britton.
The late Wade H. Adkins, of Murfreesboro, was his uncle,
and Thomas and Wade were sons of David Adkins and his
wife, who was a Miss Bullock, of Edgecombe County.

 

Nore—Boro and Borough refer to Murfreesboro.
  
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
  

Dercape XIV.—1890-1900. 273

Republic of Chili, also, became involved in trouble. The
DECADE XIV. Republic of Chili was having some domestic trouble. Those

1890—1900. opposing the existing government were known as the Con-

The beginning of this decade finds the country tranquil gressionalists. They needed arms and ammunition for car-
and in peace. Daniel G. Fowle, of Wake, is still the Chief rying on the insurrection against their government. They
Executive of the State. Hon. A. S. Merrimon had succeeded secured a steamer belonging to the South American Steam-
Chief Justice Smith in that high office. At the head of the F ship Company, to take on a load of arms and other ammuni-
United States Government sat Benjamin Harrison, of Indi- tion of war at one of the Pacific ports of the United States,
ana, as President. Hon. Thomas G. Skinner is in Congress to take over to Chili for the insurgents. The U. S. Govern-
from the First District, and in the U. S. Senate from North ‘ ment ordered that the ship be not allowed to leave her waters
Carolina sit the great statesman M. W. Ransom and the with the cargo, and an officer was placed on the steamer to
matchless commoner Z. B. Vance. No State was represented guard same. One night the crew on the steamer put the
in Congress by abler men. In the State Senate from the j officer off in a small boat and sent him ashore, and sailed at
First District are P. H. Morgan, of Currituck, and James once for her destination. This affair came near causing the
Parker, of Gates, both Democrats. In the House was the ; United States to enter the domestic troubles of the little
wide-awake little James L. Anderson. The ‘legislature and Republic of Chili and force both contending factions to
all the State offices were under the control of the Democrats. behave themselves and cease their unjust and barbaric strife.
But these quiet days were soon to be followed by a little gale In 1891, the people of Hertford became desirous of a

‘in the United States, and a storm in the State. Such dis- - change in her courts. The Inferior Court had become un-
turbances generally follow a calm. In 1891 our Governor popular in the county, for the reason that to make a court
Fowle dies, and Thomas M. Holt takes the oath of Governor. 4 efficient it should be presided over by a judge trained in the
The U. S. Government gets in trouble with the Italian Gov- ; law. So the legislature of 1891 abolished the Inferior Court
ernment, on account of mob violence in New Orleans, where ; of Hertford and established in its stead a Criminal Court of
the Italians of that city had become so extremely obnoxious Record, and required that the presiding officer should possess
to the Americans, by their secret organization, the Mafia — the same qualifications as a judge of the Superior Court.
Society, where doctrines wholly unamerican were taught. The act creating the court gave it full criminal jurisdiction
Some of its lawless members were suspected of committing ; except over capital cases. The author was induced by his
great outrages in the city, and of killing the Chief of Police people to surrender a lucrative criminal practice to accept the
of that city. Sufficient evidence could not be obtained to judgeship of the new court at a small salary, but was allowed

convict, and the people were so exasperated that a mob broke to keep up his civil practice, and to practice in other courts.
open the jail, and eleven of the Italians were put to death. In 1893 the General Assembly gave the Criminal Court of

The Italians in America and the Italian Government took Hertford full and complete criminal jurisdiction, with the

serious offense at such treatment of their fellow countrymen, right of appeal to the Supreme Court from the rulings of the

and that war between the Italian and the United States gov- 4 judge on questions of law; and required that the judge
ernments was barely avoided. The United States and the . should be commissioned by the Governor of the State as other

judges of courts of record.
18

 

 
    

     
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

274 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

Blount Ferguson, the member of the Board of County
Commissioners from Maney’s Neck from 1890-92, is a sober
and thoughtful citizen. He had before and since then served
his people in local offices and has the respect and confidence
of those who know him. He was born July
27, 1850, and received a business education at the Buckhorn
Academy in his native county. His father, Joshua Fergu-
son, married in 1842 Catherine Gatling, of the Buckhorn
section, a cousin of Dr. Richard J. Gatling. Joshua Fergu-
son was a substantial and highly respected citizen. He was
murdered about 1861 by one of his slaves, and his body
burned in a pile of logs.

He is a farmer.

The writer remembers the shock-
ing news of his death and the several days search for the
absent man. The negro was caught and hanged. His son
Blount married Julia Gilliam, of Mississippi, in 1872. He
lives at the home of his father and previously the home of
Henry L. Williams, the old merchant and magistrate, and
grandfather of Mrs. T. E. Vann.

W. T. Brown, the chairman of the Board of County Com-
missioners from 1890 to 1896, was a farmer, and lived near
Murfreesboro at the home of Wm. Dunning, who purchased
it from Thomas Barnes before he moved to Florida in 1847.
Mr. Brown moved to this county from Bertie and married
Jennie, the daughter of Mr. Dunning, by whom he reared
one son, Wm. D. Brown, of this county, and one daughter,
Grace, who married J. P. Holloman, of Rich Square. After
her death he married Ida, daughter of John E. Maget, of
Northampton. By this marriage he reared two sons, Thos.
E. and Archer Brown, and one daughter, Bettie.
died June 5, 1904. His widow, her two sons, and daughter,
reside at the homestead. Thos. E. Brown graduated at
Wake Forest College in 1902, and taught school in Elizabeth
City one year, and is now the Superintendent of Public In-
struction in the county. He was born March 17, 1881, and
married, January 10, 1906, Miss Martha Broadus Farrar,
of Culpepper County, Va.

 

Mr. Brown —

Decape XIV.—1890—1900. 275

J. T. Williams was a member of the Board of Commission-
ers from Harrellsville from 1894 to 1896. He was born
February, 1851, his father being Rev. B. B. Williams, a
Baptist divine, and his wife Elizabeth, the daughter of
Harrell. Mr. Williams has followed the mercantile pursuits
since manhood and is an energetic business man. In Oeto-
ber, 1892, he married Addie C., the daughter of P. H. Me-
Dade and wife, who was a Miss O’Donal. He is a Democrat
in polities. Rev, Williams was the son of Capt. Jack Wil-
liams and wife, Mary Ward, of Bertie, and grandson of
Francis Williams and his wife, who was the daughter of
Benj. Brown, a Welchman. Francis was the son of Jno.
Williams, Esq., born March 1, 1776, and died March 30,
1816. The ex-commissioner has a very promising nephew,
now in the University at Chapel Hill studying medicine. The
Commissioner B. F. Williams, from 1900 to 1904, is a
younger brother of J. T. Williams. He and his brother Tom
have been engaged in the mercantile business for a number
of years under the firm name of Williams Bros. Frank is a
great wit and enjoys a good joke. He is an old bachelor, a
successful merchant, and a favorite in his county. Their
father, Rev. Williams, was born August 28, 1824, and died
January 17, 1900. John, the brother of the Divine, was

 

born May 4, 1799, and died April, 1875.

In 1892, the Farmers’ Alliance began to disturb the calm
waters of politics in the State. It was an organization or-
ganized several years prior ostensibly for the mutual protec-
tion of the farmers and growers of the State. The farmers
and those interested in securing better prices for their pro-
duets were in great need of organized action. All other in-
terests were organized, except the farmer. He was left an
easy prey to his foes, who were fixing the prices of the
farmer’s produce at which he must sell, and also fixing the
prices of those articles that the farmer had to buy from them.
The original idea and purpose of the Alliance was good, and
a great number of them in the State joined, with no idea of

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  

cbenainabaite re
: . ees ae

SS eeheniies eo

 

276 History or Herrrorp Country, N. C.

aiding unscrupulous office seekers to bring shame on the
State, and returning to power the devils of 1868, and again
painting the banner of white supremacy with all the horrors
of Carpet-Bagism in those shameful days that followed Re-
construction. Their meetings were held in secrecy, and its
members were sworn not to reveal the doings of the Alliance.
Soon unscrupulous politicians and office seekers obtained
control of the Alliance and began their devilish work of de-
struction and shame. Many of their members were dele-
gates to the State Convention in 1892. Among these mem-
bers were some of the men who were trying to convert this
noble society, composed principally of many of our truest
citizens, into a secret political organization, upon which to
elevate themselves to power. The idea of their leaders was
to secure enough of their men as delegates to this convention
to control it, take charge of the Demoeratic party, and build
their ignoble government on the ruins of this party of the
people. In this they failed. Many of the Alliance men
were honest believers in the tenets of their society as first
organized, which were for their mutual protection in the
markets of the world, but were unwilling to sell themselves
to corrupt and designing men, who were simply after power

and spoils. Failing to control the convention, Marion But .

ler, the leader, and a number of his like, left the convention
and called a convention of Alliance men and organized “The
People’s Party,” in a convention held in Raleigh, and nomi-
nated a full ticket in the State and counties. The Demo-
erats nominted for Governor Elias Carr, of Edgecombe Coun-
ty, one of the largest farmers in the State, and an ex-presi-
dent of the Alliance, and then a member of that organization.
The Democrats elected their State ticket and had control of
the General Assembly of 1893, but the party was greatly
weakened and its majority in the legislature was much re-
duced. Tt was evident by the action of the Alliance mem-

bers, in that body, that the Alliance had become a secret

political organization, and had drifted from its noble prin-

JupGE B. B. WINBORNE,
1895.

    
    
 

Decape XIV.—1890-1900.

ciples. Their leaders were of the most unscrupulous office
seekers. There was a money crisis in the country during
this period, and the great political head of the Alliance, Col.
L, L. Polk, who was ambitious to be Governor of the State,
and his successor, Marion Butler, an arch enemy of the
people of his State, sueceeded in making many of the Alli-
ance people believe that the Democratic party was the cause
of their ills and woes, and taught them, in “those hard times,”
to look upon the members of the Democratic party, who were
not members of the Alliance and who did not agree with their
extreme and passionate views, expounded by these leaders, as
followed them. Strange power of influence! We could not
- understand the magic power of these corrupt leaders. Their
charms and fascinations seemed to be more wonderful, even,
than Aladdin’s Wonderful Lamp. Lifelong friendships were
sundered. Men who once had our confidence and respect, now
look upon us with suspicion and hatred. Men who had
trusted us, and who had always found us true to our trust,
now regarded us worse than criminals.

In the Democratic County Convention in 1892, when the
author, who had been a lifelong Democrat and the chairman
of the party in the county for many years, appeared as a
delegate to the convention from his township, the question
was being asked in every direction by the Alliance men,
What right has Judge Winborne to enter this convention ?
as if they constituted the Democratic party, and that I and
all of our kind had been expelled from the party. Such
was the result of the corrupt teachings of our plain, honest,
and inexperienced farmers in the wiles of the corrupt and un-
scrupulous demagogues, political hypocrits, and enemies of

personal liberty and individual happiness.
We elected in Hertford, in 1892, William P. Taylor, of

Winton, to represent the county in the House in the session
of 1893. Mr. Taylor was a staunch Democrat, and was a
valuable member of that body, which had to deal with many

i eM 5

ERR,

om

9

ak a ae aa

~~

_—

 
 

 

  

278 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

delicate questions in the effort
of the true patriots of the
State to avert a most horrible
disaster to our people. Mr.
Taylor was an old Confeder-
ate soldier and had some expe-
rience in dealing with men who
were controlled by passion.
He was a native-born of Hert-
ford, and had been one of the
author’s right-bowers in the
county for years, in fighting
radicalism. He was the son of Maj. Hilory Taylor and
grandson of Isaac Taylor, of the east end of the county. He
married the daughter of W. W. Mitchell.

James S. Mitchell, who was put in the office of Sheriff in
1884,. and who had continuously served in that office since
1884, allied his fortunes with that of the People’s or Popu-
list party and left his old friends and supporters.

In the election of 1894 the State was all excitement; the
Republican and Populist parties had “fused.” The Repub-
licans, the old enemies of the State and of good government,
and who had written the blackest pages of its history, said to
the leaders of the Populist Party, let us join hands, divide
offices, and whip out our common enemy, the Democratic
party. They wear clean linen and look with scorn upon us.
Break aloose from them and join with us and we will give you

 

W. P. TAYLOR.

great power and make you the lords of the State. It was

another case of the spider and the fly.

‘Walk into my parlor said the spider to the fly,
It is the prettiest parlor you ever did spy.”’

All remember the fate of the fly.

Harry Skinner, a former Democrat, had joined the Popu-
list party and was elected by the fusionists to Congress from
the First District, defeating the Democratic candidate, W. A.
B. Branch, of Beaufort County; E. T. Snipes, Republi-

Decapr XIV.—1890-—1900. 279

ean, of Hertford, and Theo. White, of cused a
former Democrat, but a devotee of the Poputist a y>
were elected in the First District to the State N pee
And the author was nominated by the Democrats in Her ren
against John F. Newsom, the fusion aieecmaneat: e B. in-
borne received the certificate of election and was = ~. in .
Hertford’s member in the House in the memorab e se o
1895 of the General Assembly. The sete psioancy, ; : = =
- hs of the counties 0: e Ste )
oan agen The Republicans ee Paar:
had elected a large majority of the members of on : ¥ om
The Democrats had elected four Senators out of 50, nt
out of 120 in the House. It was a thunderbolt of surprise
itical parties.
> eee an. while his parties were 80 a in ie
State, was defeated and dislodged from his re i i. phate
and quiet W. E. Cullen, of Harrellsville, the ee! 2 wits
Commissioner. Hertford elected at this election a ze
county officers. The author, a few days before oe e ae
resigned as judge of the Criminal Court, in sere ee - ke
himself eligible for election. The General Assem : ioe oe
January, 1895. All were wild with excitement. o 1e ; : S
of all the eastern Democrats had been, under the ent ve
Populist leaders, contested. We appeared in oo ar
so mad were the political victors that we were told tha —
would not be allowed to be sworn in, but our seats would
given to our contestants without any hearing. eae
were drunk with the idea of power. It was @ sad ene "
the State. Its political horizon began quickly to Lite “~
and gloomy. The little band of the unterrified nt ¥
members, like Spartan soldiers, stood firmly at our pos _
duty. No soldiers, no patriots, and no se aaa men, = :
stood firmer and braver, and guarded the State’s mcm
and welfare with more courage aig dayotion than 6 ore
little squad of intrepid Democrats m the session of 186 :
This mad passion grew wilder as the session progressed.

 
280 History or Herrrorp County, N. C. Decape XIV.—1890-1900. 281

  
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  

   

The cunning and foxy Marion Butler succeeded in perfecting and the warring elements embrace each other like twin
complete “fusion” of the Republicans and Populists. It sisters. Then the little fat Ewart would cease firing his
was an incongruous combine, and could not survive long. scorching denunciation of Dr. Butler and pace up to the
The team did not work smoothly. They see-sawed and thin Casiuslooking Butler behind the Speaker’s desk and
balked, but Dr. Butler knew how to talk to them and charm ; fall in the arms of the hungry Oasius and look sweetly in the
them and make them pull. Again the new harness galded face of the dangerous man and plead for forgiveness.

and they would fret and threaten to kick, but Dr. Butler When the combine was in a voleanic condition and destruc-
knew how to relieve against the pinching of the new harness tion threatened, the patriots quietly looked on and enjoyed
and heal the galded places, and thus they moved on. Dr. : the belching and the rise and fall of the thermometer. But |
Marion Butler, of Sampson County, editor of the “Cau- as soon as the voleanic disturbances subsided in the camp of
casian,” and president of the Farmers’ Alliance, succeeded the combine and they fell asleep to recover from their riotous

in having himself elected United States Senator to succeed : revelry, then the patriots began to storm them with por er-
the scholarly statesman, Hon. Matt. W. Ransom. He prom- ful shells from Democratic guns and create awe and dismay

ised the Republicans, so they claimed, that if they would 7 in the camp of the combine. They had contested about 18
elect the Doctor, the patentee of the healing oil and a tonic ; of the patriots’ seats—one-half. The combine could not get
for sulky men, to the U. S. Senate, then in 1897 the com- 4 time to consider the contests. They only found time to con-
bine would elect Jeter ©. Pritchard, the chairman of the : sider four of them. Three of the patriots they arbitrarily
Republican party in the State, to sueceed Thos. J. J arvis, if turned out. The committee reported unanimously that L. L.
who was filling the expired term in the U. 8. Senate of Z. B. 4 iy Smith, of Gates, was entitled to his seat. The report was
Vance. During this great storm of political hatred and unanimously adopted. Up to this time the member from
madness, many amusing scenes happened which were much ¥ Gates sat under the clock waiting for his sentence. After
enjoyed by the patriotic Democrats. The two elements of 4 ? the vote was announced by the Speaker that Mr. Smith was
the “combine” often gave exhibitions of a want of confidenee q entitled to his seat, the irrepressible little member from
m each other. There was not much love between these two Gates immediately arose and addressed the Speaker and be
allied forces. Many of the Populists were not Republicans. ‘ gan to argue the evidence in the contest for his seat, and
and they would often revolt and storm out in rage when Rs: desired to prove to the House that he was honestly elected,
eyes were being opened to the designs and selfish purposes of j when the hairless-head member from Northampton, another
their leaders to carry them into the Republican party, and a of the patriots, arose to interrupt the member from Gates.
forswear further allegiance to the hellish combine. Dr. - Permission was give, and Capt. R. B. Peebles, addressing
Butler would at once appear on the scene with his wonderful a the Speaker, stated that as the member, from Gates seemed
tonic. Then probably, on the next day we would hear the not to be satisfied with the action of the House, he moved that
Republicans using all manner of vile and opprobrious epi- 4 the vote by which the gentleman from Gates was declared
thets towards the Populist leaders. Dr. Butler would get a entitled to his seat be reconsidered. Smith threw bad ca
behind one of the large columns and, like the hissing snake, a hands and exclaimed, No! No!! No! anil fell in his seat
whisper to them, Democrat! Democrat!! Democrat!!! At 3 like a lead ball. This ended the scene.

once the trouble and angry waters of passion would subside, P| Later on in the session the Republicans demanded of the

 

—- pe

ee ee ne ee ee eee ee

i eT aes eR SRM Prati teria cn 5 Seen re
pee Reh} areas a pee ee nee gee Per alo
 

  
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
  
  
  
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
  
  
 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   

282 History or Herrrorp Country, N. C.

Populists that the negroes should share in the offices. They
were dependent upon the negro votes for suecess, and there
were negro members in the House for the first time in many
years. This was distasteful to the Populists, and they again
raged and threatened destruction to the combine. The Re-
publicans then threatened that if their demand was not
granted they would vote for the candidates of the patriots.
Dr. Butler was summoned at once. He arrived and ad-
ministered his tonic and the political waters were calmed.
When the session of 1895 went into history the people of the
State gave a sigh of relief.

In all of this political madness we formed friendships that
will linger with time.

There is good in all men.
There is bad in all men.
All of us love for the good in us to be noticed.
All of us love for the bad in us to be unnoticed.

enemies, and make the best use of it in behalf of our State.
The author adopted that rule of action in this mad hour, and
thereby did much good and kept off much harm. In matters
not political he secured the passage of many bills for his
political friends, and defeated: several malicious and wicked
non-political bills. He introduced the first. bill to prevent
a greater rate of interest than six per cent, but he was not
allowed to get the credit as being the father of that law. No
Democrat was allowed to receive credit for such legislation.
The author served on the Committees on Judiciary, on Edu-
cation, the Joint Committee for Selecting Trustees for the
University, and other committees. W. T. Lee, the patriot
member from Haywood, and the author, were the only Demo-
crats on the above joint committee, and we succeeded in get-
ting six staunch Democrats on the board of trustees. It was
marvelous. The author prepared, introduced and secured
the enactment of chapter 14, Publie Laws 1895, for the pro-

 

 

     
     
      
       

So it behooved the patriots to look for the good in our —

    

 

Decapr XIV.—1890—1900. 283

tection of the estates of minors, which is the latter part of

ris 1905.
ion 2768 of the Revisal of
ae us perpetuate the names of the patriot members of the

General Assembly of 1895:

    
   
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
    
    

HOUSE.

R. C. Higgins, Alleghany County.
*J,. D. Robinson, Anson County.
*A_ S. Rascoe, Bertie County.
J. L. Nelson, Caldwell County.
Il. M. Harrelson, Columbus County.
W. C. Gallop, Currituck County.
J. B. Etheridge, Dare County.
*J. H. Baker, Jr., Edgecombe County.
*W. O. Howard, Edgecombe County.
*L. L. Smith, Gates County.
*J. N. Grizzard, Halifax County.
*J. A, House, Halifax County.
W. T. Lee, Haywood County.
*B. B. Winborne, Hertford County.
J. F. Reinhardt, Lincoln County.
*Lee Crawford, McDowell County.
J. Frank Ray, Macon County.
M. T. Lawrence, Martin County.
E. J. Harrington, Moore County.
J. D. McCall, Mecklenburg County.
J. T. Kell, Mecklenburg County.
John G. Alexander, Mecklenburg County.
Herbert McClammy, New Hanover County.
*R. B. Peebles, Northampton County.

Rudolph Duffy, Onslow County.
D. R. Julian, Rowan County.

J. W. McKenzie, Rowan County.
R. L. Smith, Stanly County.
J. S. Woodard, Swain County.
 

284 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

R. L. Stevens, Union County.

*W. C. Monroe, Wayne County.

*J. H. Edwards, Wayne County.

*J. Tomlinson, Wilson County.

J. H. Higgins, Yancey County.

*T. B. Hooker, Pamlico County,

*R. L. Payne, Robeson County.

*S. G. Mewborne, Greene County.

*A. A. Lyon, Granville County.

*A. OC. Ward, Pender County.

*D. D. Carlyle, Robeson County.

Those marked * their seats were contested.

We entered the House with 40 Democrats. The “eom-
bine,” by the use of the political guillotine, beheaded six of
the patriot members.

In the Senate sat four powerless but brave Democrats—
A. S. Abell, of Johnston; W. J. Adams, of Moore; W. C.
Dowd, of Mecklenburg, and ©. W. Mitchell, of Bertie. The
latter’s seat was contested, but the axe was not applied.

After this notable session of the General Assembly ad-
journed, the author resigned his seat and Gov. Elias Carr
re-appointed him Judge of the Criminal Court of Hertford.
He returned home in March in time to see for the last time
his old father, Major Winborne, who was so proud of the
record of his son. On April 3, 1895, this grand old citizen

fell dead in his dining-room. The sad news was wired to °

the author, who was then in Norfolk, Va., with his family.

In 1896 the Fusionists again captured the State and elected
Daniel Russell, an old 1868 Republican, Governor of the
State, and elected a large majority of the members of the
Legislature.
Republican, Starkey Lowe, a young man who had just ac-
quired his law license. He was adopted by Jackson B. Hare

a few years prior thereto, and he then adopted the name of
Hare.

This year Hertford elected to the House a °

        
     

Decape XIV.—1890—1900. 285

The Fusionists of the session of 1897 repealed nearly
every law that had been enacted by a Democratic Legislature
which had not been repealed by them in 1895, and enacted
most offensive laws to the white people of the State. They

flooded the State and eastern counties with negro officers.
In their madness they abolished about all non-constitutional

officers, and created others and filled them from their ranks.
They abolished Hertford’s Criminal Court and took off the
judicial head of the author, and painted the political canopy
of the State black as the darkness of Egypt. The Republicans
gloated in the wickedness of their shame and abuse of power.
The true Populist and Alliance men, now saw plainly the
evil desires of their leaders and forswore further allegiance
to the unholy combine, and returned to the party of their
first love, where the olive branch was extended, and they
kindly and lovingly received in the homes of their fathers,
litical friends.
pe ‘asia. of 1898 approaches, and the white people of
the State rise up in their mighty indignation and proclaim
in a voice that thunders throughout the State, that their
patience is exhausted, and that this is the white man’s State,
and white man’s government, that they will no longer submit
to the indignities and insults and misrule of the unworthy
leaders, whose ambition for power and spoil has no limit,
but that they will drive from power the hater of Anglo-

   

~ Saxon blood and forever consign them to graves of dishonor

and shame. The Alliance men who had been deceived and
misled, joined in this mighty cry of the Anglo-Saxon race.
The Democrats triumphantly redeemed the State from negro
thraldom and placed it in the control of her noble and loyal
sons. The Democrats had a large majority in both Houses
of the Legislature, and they prepared and passed an Amend-
ment to the Constitution to be submitted to the voters of the
State for ratification, at the election in 1900. Hertford was
again represented by 2 Republican, in the person of a

young man, Isaac F. Snipes, the son of E. T. Snipes, who
 

 

 

  

286 History or Herrrorp County, N. OC.

 

was conservative and fair minded like his father, Hon. T. G.
Skinner, of Perquimans, and George Cowper, of Hertford,
Democrats, were in the Senate from the First District. Mr.
Skinner was an ex-member, of Congress, and Mr. Cowper
was an able attorney at Winton and son of the old legislator
from Hertford, R. G. Cowper.

This Legislature was composed of some of the State’s
ablest men, and they entered nobly upon the grand work of
bringing order out of chaos, and making it impossible for
a return of negro rule. We mean by negro rule the rule of
men who were willing to ride into power by misleading the
negro voter, that they might plunder and disgrace the State.

In 1896 and in 1898 the Fusionists elected all of the
county officers in Hertford. In 1896 they elected as County
Commissioners Geo. W. Mitchell, of Winton; J. B. Vaughan,
of Maney’s Neck, and E. T. Snipes, of St. John’s. In 1898
they elected as commissioners Geo. W. Mitchell, J. B.
Vaughan and J. M. Eley. The General Assembly on Janu-
ary 19, 1899, increased the number of Commissioners for
Hertford to eight and appointed A. I. Parker, J. C. Vinson,
Jesse H. Mitchell, Joseph G. Majette and B. F. Williams,
all of whom were Democrats. They were sworn in and be-
came members of the board and controlled it. In 1900,
under the “Fusion law,” Hertford was only allowed to elect
three Commissioners. The Democrats elected Majette, of
Maney’s Neck, A. I. Parker, of Winton, and B. F. Wil-
liams, of Harrellsville. In order to give each township a
member, the Legislature on January 31, 1901, appointed
J. C. Vinson, of Murfreesboro, and Jesse H. Mitchell, of St.
John’s, members of said board.

James S. Mitchell in 1896 was returned by the Fusionists
to the office of Sheriff, which he held until 1900. He was
a graduate of Wake Forest College, and made a good officer,
but his political somersaults for the past few years brought
upon him much criticism by his former friends,

Ba iar a a a me oer or

Pc iii

Drcape XIV.—1890—1900. 287

   

At the election in 1900 the Constitutional Amendment
was to be voted upon, which, if ratified, the horrors of 1895
to 1898 could never again occur in North Carolina. It
threw around the right of suffrage such safeguards that would
eliminate the ignorant negro voters from the ballot box and
thereby disarm the vicious Republicans and consign them
to a place of long rest, where they might repent of their
shameful revelries in the past. The campaign was the most
exciting one in the history of the State. The amendment
was ratified by a tremendous majority, and the Demotrats
elected a great majority of the members of both Houses of
the General Assembly. Hertford redeemed herself and
elected to the House Lloyd J. Lawrence, the law partner of
the author, over‘James S. Mitchell, the strongest man in the
opposition party. Lawrence was defeated in 1898 by E. F.
Snipes, of St. John’s. The State is now safe and the trou-
bles of the past forty years are settled. Peace now reigns
throughout our beloved State. The young and brilliant
Charles B. Aycock is called to the chair of the Chief Execu-
tive of the State. The future historian will write impassion-
ate history of these mysterious years. Let charity and for-
giveness and justice guide our every step. Let the curtain
fall and hide from view the strife that so divided and embit-
tered our honorable people.

During this decade we feel the loss of several of the majes-
tie men who had for so long graced the annals of Hertford’s
fair name. In 1892, Rev. R. R. Savage, of Buckhorn, who
had so long labored with us and whose name is indelibly writ-
ten in the religious and educational history of Hertford,
sleeps the sleep of death; then in 1893 the untiring and loyal
H. C. Maddry shakes our hand and bids us farewell. For
years and vears we had labored together in the great battles
of democracy. Judge David A. Barnes had preceded him
on June 24, 1892. Col. Uriah Vaughan, after a long, hon-
orable and successful life, on January 19, 1890, succumbed
to the will of his Master. Colonel Vaughan was one of
 

    

288 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

 

Hertford’s most remarkable men. In his young life at the
age of 15, in the year 1828, he became restless to embark in
the mercantile business, so he left school and came to Mur-
freesboro and hired himself to William Rea, a leading mer-
chant in town, as a clerk. He soon developed such remark-
able talent for the mercantile business that he became the
wonder of all who knew him. Within a few years he
launched out in his own boat to fight the fight of a busy life.
Success crowned his efforts on every hand. With great en-
ergy, clear perception, great foresight, and with a quick and
discriminating mind, he walked easily up the ladder of for-
tune. Always bright and cheerful, until when it became
necessary to become serious and courageous, then he was
ready for the occasion. A master of politeness, inborn chiv-
alry, pure in thought and God-loving in his life, he stamped
his impress on the lives of those who knew him best. He
had made a large estate before the Civil War, but most of
it was swept from him by the war. After that sad tragedy
in our history he renewed his energies, and when he died
January 19, 1900, he was the wealthiest man in his county.
His father was John Vaughan, of Hertford, who was a sol-
dier in the War of 1812. His mother was Sarah Rogers,
daughter of Jonathan Rogers, of this county. His paternal
grandfather was William Vaughan, a continental soldier in
the War of 1776. Colonel Vaughan when a young man
married Sarah A., the daughter of Henry DeBerry Jenkins,
of this county,‘and a soldier in the War of 1812. Mr. Jen-
kins died September 8, 1856. A fuller history of these
people can be found in “The Winborne Family.” The sons
and daughters of Colonel Vaughan and his wife Sarah are

- the late Mrs. George L. Arps, of Norfolk, Va.; Mrs. David

A. Barnes, Mrs. R. H. Stancell, Mrs. B. B. Winborne, Mrs.
R. W. Winborne and Mrs. T. W. Hawkins. He left two
sons, Thomas J. and Uriah, who are prominent merchants in
the town of their father. The Vaughan family is an old fam-
ily in this county and have in all ages been noted for their

‘the court in Edenton bi ol Roland Buckley on an account

DrecapE XV.—1900-1906. 289

business qualifications. Col. Vaughan was a natural-born mer-
chant and trader. The traits of character that had been
dormant in his family for one or two generations were pro-
duced prominently in him. The oldest male member of this
Vaughan family, that we have any information of, is Wil-
liam Vaughan, who in 1709 purchased from Thomas Bay-
field the sloop “Roanoke” for £184. On March 31, 1713,
William Vaughan & Co., merchants, recovered judgment in

for goods sold. And in’ 14 William Vaughan is a witness
in court at Edenton to prove a power of attorney witnessed
by him in Boston, Mass. The next William Vaughan, sup-
posed to be his son, we notice was some years later put under
bond to keep the peace for fighting, and later he filed his
petition asking to be released from his bond, as he had kept
good the order of the Court. In 1714 Capt. William Vaughan
of the militia under the government of the Lords Proprie-
tors, is ordered to command a squadron of militiamen and
visit the Indians at Poteskey Toune and complete some nego-
tiations with them on the part of the Lords Proprietors.

J. B. Slaughter, who had for many years been a public
servant in the county, and who was always faithful to his

trusts, died in 1893. That grand woman, Mary A. South-
all, in her 89th year goes to her Master.

Yh

19

 
  
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
  

 

As we approach the closing years of our work we look out
and see that peace and good will reigns throughout our
State. The political waters are calm. The young men of
the State are coming to the front to relieve their aged fath-
ers who had stood faithfully by the ship of State. The young
and gifted Charles B. Aycock, of Goldsboro, a graduate of the
State University, who was elected governor by the Democrats,
takes the oath of office, and enters upon a grand campaign
of education in the State and soon attracts the notice of the
leaders of thought throughout the States. He is now spoken
of in many of the newspapers, North and South, as the
next Democratic candidate for Vice-President of the United

States. He has a bright future before him.

L. J. Lawrence, Hertford’s young attorney, and partner
of the author, enters the House of Representatives in Ra-
leigh in 1901 as the member from Hertford, takes the oath
of a law-maker, and beholds the beautiful forms and faces
-in the gallery, and pleads for the upbuilding of the State,
and for its moral and educational advancement. It is now
evident everywhere that the sons of the fathers must come to
the front. The old guard is fast passing away. The schools,
colleges, and University are fast preparing our young men
for the responsibilities of a high citizenship.

Our colleges and schools for young women are training
the hearts and minds of our young women for the higher
elevation of man. The Chowan Baptist Female Institute
in our own county is still doing a erand and noble work along
this line. The ancient and classic academy at Buckhorn,
under the tutorship of the aged pedagogue, Prof. J ulian H.
Picot, has prepared at this-academy for the battle of life
ovef2,000 young men, and Who is still earrying on the noble
work, and not only adding to his own fame, but building a

lasting monument to its founders.

 

     
  

DecapE XV.—1900—1906. 291
In July, 1900, the town of Murfreesboro sustained a great
loss in the death of her distinguished physician, Dr. John
Turner Eldridge. Dr. Eldridge moved to Murfreesboro in
1885 to sueceed Dr. John ©. Lawrence, deceased. He was
intelligent, highly educated in his profession, and a success-
ful physician. Doctor Eldridge was born in 1834, and well
edueated in the best schools of the country before he studied
medicine. His mind developed young. He graduated in
medicine at Jefferson — cal College in 1851, when very
young. He served as physician and surgeon in the U. S.
Army prior to the Civil War. His parents were John Eld-
ridge, of Halifax County, Va., and wife, Miss Turner, of
Southampton County, Va. His father was a merchant in
Halifax County until he moved to Texas prior to the war
and became a large planter. The doctor married Alberta,
the daughter of Capt. J. M. S. Rogers, of Northampton
County, N. C., who was frequently in the Legislature from
Northampton between 1828 and 1850. Doctor Eldridge
had by his marriage several daughters. L. J. Lawrence mar-
ried Eva, his youngest daughter. She lived cnly about a
year after their marriage. His third daughter, Rydie, soon
followed her sister Eva, then soon followed their mother.
The death of his daughters and wife rendered the doctor
very unhappy, and he never recovered entirely from his be-
reavement. Dr. Roderick H. Gary, of Northampton, mar-
ried his daughter Cora, and Rev. C. W. Seasbeeeiah mar-
ried his eldest daughter, Anna. After the death of Doctor
Eldridge his son-in-law, Dr. R. H. Gary, moved to Mur-
freesboro in August, 1900, and became the owner of the
beautiful home of the late doctor and succeeded him in his

practice. Dr. Gary is a very successful physician and a

natural-born doctor. He was born December 10, 1856, and

graduated in medicine in 1881 at the College of Physicians
and Surgeons of Baltimore. Doctor Gary comes from an
honorable ancestry. His father was Richard Henry Gary

2 : i

 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    
 

 

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

292 Hisrory or Hertrrorp County, N. C,

of Halifax County, N. C., who married a Bailey, of Sussex
County, Va. His great-uncle was Roderick B. Gary, of
Northampton, who represented that county as one of its
members in the House of Commons from 1821 to 1831 con-
tinuously, then again in 1832, 1835 and 1836. The late
Gen. Thomas J. Person, of Northampton, was his great-

uncle. He was named Roderick Henry for his father and“

great-uncle.

The State still moves on in the grand work of education
and development and opening up her mighty possibilities.
She is in the lead of many of her sister States in education,
in manufacturing, in development of her hidden resources
and mines of unlimited wealth. Her white population is in-
creasing with surprising rapidity. Her towns are growing
marvelously in wealth, in factories, in population and in
everything that tends to make progress and advancement.
The most perplexing question with us is the labor question.
The negroes are becoming tired of work, and they cannot be
depended on as reliable workmen. The solution of this ques-
tion will command our best thought and philosophy. In
1893 Hertford sends her true son, John E. Vann, of Winton,
to the House, where he reflects honor on his county, as well
as on the name of his prominent ‘ancestors.

Ta the county her affairs are honestly and faithfully looked
after by a board of commissioners noted for their loyalty to
duty. They are (1) J. G. Majette, chairman; (2) John C.
Vinson, (3) ©. W. Parker, (4) A. IT. Parker, and (5) Wil-
liam E. Cullens.

Majette is the son of Capt. William J. Majette, of Maney’s
Neck, and the grandson of Capt. James Majette and Capt.
Jethro Darden, the old legislator from Maney’s Neck. His
mother was Virginia, daughter of George H. Barnes and
wife, Priscilla Parker, who after the death of Mr. Barnes
married Alexander Brett. He was educated in the schools
of his county, and is an energetic and thrifty business man.
He married Blanche, the daughter of W. T. Bynum by his

 

5

1

 

 

3 4

COUNTY COMMISSIONERS.

1. J. G. MAJETTE, Como, Chairman,

2. J. C. VINSON, MURFRFESBORO.
3. C. W. PARKER, MENOLA.

4.

ow

A. I. PARKER, WINTON,
W. E. CULLENS, HARRELLSVILLE.

 

 

 
Decape XV.—1900-1906.

last marriage, who was the eldest daughter of the late Jethro
W. Barnes and wife, Miss Brett, the sister of Elisha D. Brett,
of the same section of the county. Mr. Majette is a planter
and successful lumberman.

J. ©. Vinson, of Murfreesboro, was a soldier in the last
year of the Civil War. He entered the army under the call
for young men as low down as 17 years of age. He joined
Captain Holloday’s ca company. These young soldiers
did mostly picket duty in the counties where the Buffaloes
were committing their robberies and plundering. He is the

son of J, Henry oy of Northampton, and wife, Martha
Vinson, nee Wells. His mother was the daughter of honest
Brooks Wells and wife Mary, of Maney’s Neck, who was
Mary Gilliam, of Southampton, Va. Brooks Wells died
prior to 1830, and ‘this widow appears on the Census of 1830
as the owner of 13 slaves. Vinson married, April 8, 1869,
Mary W., the daughter of Deloatch and wife Kezia, of
Northampton, who was the mother of his children. Mr.
Deloateh and Mr. V ’s father were men of large estates
and men of high character. After the death of his wife,
which happened August 3, 1885, he in December, 1889, mar-
ried widow is, of Washington County, N. C. She did
not live long, and since her death he has remained single.
After his removal to the county he took an active interest
in the polities 0 county, and did most valuable work for
his party. He is a planter, and operates several large farms.
Mr. K. S. Deloatch of our town is brother to the first Mrs.

J. ©. Vinson.
C. W. Parker is a planter and successful merchant at Me-

nola. He was born May 29, 1857. His parents are Joseph
Parker, a prosperous farmer near Menola, who married Mary
C., the daughter of the late William Vaughan and wife
Betsey, the daughter of Elisha Lawrence. Mr. Vaughan
was the older brother of Col. Uriah Vaughan and the father
of John N. Vaughan, of Norfolk, Va., and C. T. Vaughan,
of Murfreesboro. He was named for his grandfather, who

 
 

 

 

       

294 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

bore the name of his ancestors. His daughter Sarah married
Peter Garriss; Martha married J. G. Edwards, of North-
ampton, and Hester married A. J. Allen, of Northampton.
Commissioner Parker, on January 31, 1883, married the
handsome Janie J., the only daughter of the late Jordan J.
Horton, of St. John’s. He has inherited much of the busi-
ness sagacity of his uncle John N. Vaughan. He is an advo-
cate of education and is giving his children such educational
advantages as will give them excellent social positions.

Alfred Isley Parker; familiarly known as “Ike Parker,”
lives in Winton and dispenses wholesome food at the Winton
Hotel, which stands in front of the court-house on the lot
where stood the hotel owned by General Dickinson early in
the 19th century, and afterwards presided over by James
Copeland, W. T. Bynum, Col. Pleasant Jordan and others.
Mr. Parker was born in Nansemond County, Va., in 1839.
He was the son of Willis Parker and wife Elizabeth Parker,
nee Benton. He entered the Civil War as a Confederate
soldier at the beginning of hostilities and served through the
entire war in Co. I, Nansemond Cavalry, under Captain
P. H. Lee, and experienced much of the hardships of those
days. He was taken a prisoner of war in 1865 a short time
before the fatal battle of Appomattox and imprisoned at
Newport News, Va. He was released July 3, 1865, and
reached home the next day. In 1866 he removed to Gates
County. On February 22, 1872, he married Pattie, the
eldest daughter of James Jordan, of Hertford, and settled
in Winton and began his life work, and is now one of our
most substantial citizens. In addition to his hotel he is en-
gaged in farming, merchandizing, and is president of the
bank in his town. His brother-in-law, William Jordan, of
Winton, is his partner in his hotel and mercantile business,
their firm name being Jordan & Parker.

William E. Cullens lives in Harrellsville. He was born
February 16, 1861, and is the son of Nathaniel L. Cullens
and wife Sarah, the daughter of William Lassiter and wife,
Parthenia Scull, of that part of the county. Watson S. Win-

DecapE XV.—1900-1906. 295

borne, who lived in the east end of the county, married Ara-
bella, another daughter of Mr. Lassiter. Mr, Cullens was
first elected a Commissioner when quite young. He resigned
in 1894, and was that year the successful Democratic can-
didate for Sheriff. His pursuits have been in the mercan-
tile line. On December 19, 1889, he married Willie Pau-
line, daughter of William Powell and wife, Augustine Par-
ker. Re-elected Commissioner in 1904.

A. E. Garrett, of Ahoskie, the present Sheriff of the
county, was born in 1864 and is interested in farming and
merchandizing. He is not a native of the county, but has
been with us for a number of years and is a most efficient
officer and a gentleman of unsullied character. In 1900 he
did some brave work for the cause of white supremacy. He
is a brave and fearless man in the discharge of his duty. In
April, 1889, he married Minnie, the daughter of T. C.
Hayes and wife, Fannie Hayes, nee Montgomery, daughter
of William M. Montgomery, who lived near the present town
of Ahoskie.

John Northeott, who was one of the first justices of the
peace appointed in 1778 for this county, and a relative of
James Northeott, the great portrait painter in London, is
still represented in the county in the person of our present
Register of Deeds, John A. Northcott. The latter was the
son of Andrew J. Northcott and wife Bertie, the daughter
of Capt. Hiram Freeman and wife, Louisa Freeman, nee
Knight, of Hertford County. Mr. Freeman was a Northern
mar. who eame to our waters before the war and made his
home in Winton. He was noted for his courtly manner and
he quickly made friends wherever he went. Andrew J.
Yortheott was the son of James Northcott and his wife,
Naney Northcott, nee Stephenson. Andrew J. was for a
ing while postmaster in Winton, and at one time the entry-
taker in the county. He was a very competent business man.

Much of the time while the author lived in Winton, from

1875 to 1880, Andrew J. was the efficient and polite agent

 

arteritis tees eiairenan iva SSeS AS el aaa

   
 
   
 

      
 
 

296 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

at Winton of the Albemarle Steam Navigation Company.
Both he and his father, James, were magistrates in the
county during their day. Widow Elizabeth Northcott, the
mother of James, died in 1834. Andrew J. Northcott
died about 1882, and the author was his administrator
and the guardian of his son and daughter. Young John
A. Northcott was for years, before he was appointed
to his present office by the County Commissioners, the effi-
cient agent of the Atlantic Coast Line at Tunis. He, on
April 27, 1902, married Mamie, the daughter of W. J. Las-
siter and wife Imogen, of Rich Square, in Northampton.
Without intending any disparagement of the efficiency of his
predecessors, James P. Freeman, Geo, A. Brown, W. L.
Daniel, S. E. Marsh, it is a fact that he is one of the most
competent officers in the State. George A. Brown, now of
Winton, filled the office with great satisfaction from 1890 to
December, 1896, and was one of the working Democrats.
He married in 1872, Mary E., the daughter of Alfred Rid-
dick, the son of the older James Riddick, an honorable
man, and a member of a family of the county long re-
spected for its high character. By this marriage Mr.
Brown reared several daughters, of whom our county is
proud. Miss Janie Brown, a member of the faculty of
the C. B. F. Institute, is one of these worthy daughters.
So are Mrs. E. B. Vaughan and Mrs. David Parker, of
Mapleton. His second wife was Miss Rosa Story, of Gates,
the daughter of J. B. Story and niece of Parker Story, of
Southampton County, Va., whom he married in 1902.

Capt. Thos. D. Boone, the intelligent and capable Clerk
of our Superior Court, is one of the heroes of 1861-65. We
have before written of this worthy man and his charming
wife, Willie Vann, daughter of Tilman D. Vann, of Maney’s
Neck. Captain Boone’s father was William Boone, of North-
ampton, and his wife, Judith Boone, nee Deanes, the daugh-
ter of the old Sheriff, Thomas Deanes, of Hertford. His
grandmother on his paternal side was Lucy Tyner, the daugh-

 

Decapre XV.—1900-1906. 297

ter of Nicholas Tyner II, of Northampton. Sheriff Thomas
Deanes’ daughter Susan married Rev. Reuben Jones, and
his daughter Malissa Anne married John E. Maget, of
Northampton. The old Sheriff was married twice. By his
first marriage he reared two sons, Mike and Thomas Deanes,
Jr. The mother of his daughters was Susan Perry, a daugh-
ter of Capt. Abner Perry, of revolutionary fame, and who
died in 1810.

Dr. Jesse H. Mitchell, of Ahoskie, is the present chairman
of our County Board of Education. He is the son of Col.
Geo. H. Mitchell, of Winton, and grandson of Luke Me-
Glaughon, of Ahoskie. He has married twice. His first
wife was the daughter of William M. Montgomery by his
first marriage, and is the mother of his children. He mar-
ried in 1905 the widow of the late John Eley, of Union, the
daughter of J. P. Freeman. He was educated at Wake For-
est College, and the Medical University in Baltimore, Md.

Samuel P. Winborne, another member of the Board of
Edueation, lives in Maney’s Neck, at the home of his father,
Maj. S. D. Winborne and of his great-uncle, Robert Warren.
Of him we have written. He is a direct descendant of
Henry Winborne, who figured in early history of the county.
He married Jesse, the daughter of Rev. Reuben Jones and
wife, Susan Jones, and the granddaughter of Sheriff Thomas
Deanes, who lived at the home of Tulley M. Forbes, Jr., near
Murfreesboro.

The other member of the Education Board is Elisha Hun-
ter Joyner, of old St. John’s. He has been all through life
an uncompromising and unforgiving Democrat. He is about
52 years of age, and failed to marry until a few years ago,
when he married Miss Baker, of his neighborhood, a lady
of respectable parentage.

The author a few days ago was reflecting, and the sad
fact appeared that in the county he could only recall four
persons living in the county who held a civil office prior to
1868. They were our yenerable and Christian townsmen,

TELE STR TN NP EIT TE SAT AS

   
  
 

 

298 History or Hrerrrorp County, N. C.

Henry Thomas Lassiter, who was one of the magistrates

and was on the bench at the last session of the Court of Pleas

and Quarter Sessions in February, 1868. The second was

Oris Parker, who still lives near the Borough, who was a
magistrate and sat on the bench at the same time with Mr.

Lassiter. Mr. Parker is the son of Silas Parker IT, a jus-
tice in his day, and brother of Carey W. Parker, Peter P.

Parker and the late David Parker, of Mapleton. His grand-
father was Peter Parker and his great-uncle was Silas Par-
ker, both of whom were magistrates in their day. Mr. Par-
ker is still a justice of the peace, and his son, Oler S. Parker,
is also one of our young justices. The third old officer is
Samuel M. Aumack, who was County Trustee from i8¢4
to 1868. The fourth is Col. James M. Wynns, of the
Borough. He was a justice in the 10th decade and a mem-
ber of the Special Court, and he is the only living ex-repre-
sentative from the county in the General Assembly of the
State who served prior to 1868. While he has been in poor
health for the last few years, we hope he will be with us for
many years to come. His mother lived to reach the ripe old
age of 89 years. He lives at the beautiful old Southern resi-
dence purchased by Gen. Joseph F. Dickinson in 1812 from
William H. Murfree, surrounded by an affectionate wife and
his beautiful daughters and noble sons.

Among the old worthies yet living in addition to those
four named, who figured in the ante-bellum days in the
county, are Maj. John W. Moore and Prof. Julian H. Picot.
It makes us sad, sad indeed. ‘For thirty-one years we have
been intimately thrown with the business people of this
county, and had been with many of them for years prior
thereto. We now feel lonely and deserted.

Albert B. Adkins, of Bethlehem, near old Pitch Landing,
deserves to be noticed as one of the untiring and zealous
friends of the C. B. F. Institute and of education. He mar-
ried, but was not blessed with issue to train and educate.
He, however, assumed the place of a father of several needy
and worthy young girls and had them educated at the above

   

Decape XV.—1900-1906. 299 -

institution of learning. He was very active in raising, by
voluntary contributions, money to aid in constructing the
recent additions to the main building of the Institute. He
is the son of Thomas Adkins and wife, who was the daughter
of Maj. W. P. Britton, of the Pitch Landing section. The
late Wade H. Adkins, of Murfreesboro, was his uncle.
Thomas and Wade were the sons of David Adkins and wife,
who was a Miss Bullock, of Edgecombe County.

Winton, the old colonial town of the county, is awaking
from its slumbers and putting on new life and marching on-
ward and upward in the glorious work of educating and
refining its citizenship. Churches and academies of high
grade are seen in place of the old bar-room. The young little
town of Ahoskie, on the Atlantic Coast Line, which traverses
the county, is increasing her population, erecting homes for
its citizens, and, with her churches and academy, standing
out in bold contrast with former days is moving on to take
her place in the young and enterprising towns of the 20th
century. Harrellsville, the town of the Sharps, the Har-
rells, the Prudens, the Rayners, the Jernigans, the Sculls,
of John and Watson Winborne, and many others of the old
landmarks and heroes, is still the pride of the east end of the
county, while the ancient village of Pitch Landing, the home
of the James Joneses, the Watsons, the Aske-vs, the Daniels,
the Wards, the Sessoms, has long since folded her flag and
surrendered her streets and gardens to the plowman, and the
ancient and colonial court green ‘and colossal oaks of old St.
John’s, around which clustered the Sumners, the Granburys,
the Perrys, the Cottons, the Moores, the Browns, the Bever-
leys, the Tayloes, the Everetts, and others, has long ago ex-
isted only in name, and the famous Ahoskie Ridge is now
one of the most fertile farming sections in the eastern part
of the State. The little town of Union sits quietly and se-
renely in the central part of the county and chants her beau-

 

Norr.—Maj. W. P. Britton was the father of Rev. W. P. Britton who
married the daughter of Abraham Thomas.

 
 

     

 

300 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

tiful music in praise of the older Winbornes, her Hares,
her Wynns, her Beverleys, her Bretts, her Browns, her
Dunns, her Dukes, her Tayloes, her Montgomerys, her As-
kews, her Knights, her Vanns, and her other sons, who did
so much in building a monument to their county’s fame.
Maney’s Neck, the home of the old James Maneys, the Hills,
the Warrens, the Colemans, of Edward, J acob and Thomas
Hare, the Ridleys, the Littles, the Worrells, the Gays, the
Barneses, the Gatlings, the Myricks, the Riddicks, the
younger Winbornes, the Cowpers, the Spiers, the Vanns, the
Peetes, the Bakers, the Whitleys, and many others who were
bright stars in the galaxy of Hertford’s sons and daughters,
is still the home of many of the county’s most prosperous,
refined, and cultured people, nestling around their beautiful
embryotic little capital, Como, which is destined to become
as famous as the Neck and its people.

Yi ‘Murfreesboro, the beautiful and healthy town of 1787, on
the Meherrin, the home of many of Hertford’s wealthy and
fashionable and patriotic citizens—Murfrees, Reas, Dickin-
sons, Gordons, Deanses, Carters, Smiths, Yanceys, Vaughans,
Jenkinses, Parkers, Wells, Hills, Longs, Mannings, Hutch-
ings, Morgans, Murphys, Wheelers, Moores, Merediths, Wil-
sons, Southalls, Capeharts, Browns, Traders, Banks, Finneys,
Foreys, Spiers, Jeggitts, Maneys, Pipkins, Neals, Harts,
Borlands, O’Briens, O’Dwyers, Wynnses, Cowpers, Law-
rences, Ramseys, Clementses, and many others of the old
worthies, is still the town of refinement and beauty in the
west end of the county. The old fathers of 1787 made no
mistake when they petitioned the legislature to establish a
town on the elevated plateau of land at Murfree’s Landing,
on the south side of the Meherrin, It is eighty feet above
the water of the river, which is drained’ by nature’s water-
ways. Its beauty, its healthfulness, and the pure and liealth-
giving quality of its water makes it an ideal home. The
late Civil War greatly marred the beauty of the town, im-
poverished many of its noblest citizens, and brought sorrow

DecapE XV.—1900—1906. 301

and pain in many of its homes, where once existed wealth,
true manhood, noble womanhood, happiness and joy. While
she has not been able to recover her former glory and renown,
she has retained her air of refinement and culiure, and the
beauty and loveliness of her homes. As we look out through
our window this beautiful May morning, we behold the town
of our aristocratic and Christian fathers, guarded by their
descendants and successors and clothed in her lovely spring
costume, quietly resting beneath the covering of her classic
and spreading shade trees, with the air around us reverbera-
ting with the sweet strains of perfect music, as its waves
spread out through the parlor windows of her fair daughters,
reminding us that the joyous days of old and the happy gath-
erings of the fair daughters and noble sons of bygone days, in
the beautiful parlors of the Indian Queen Hotel, and in the
hospitable homes of her honored sons, still have their equals
to-day.

On May 17, 1906, ¢ ebration of the fifty-eighth anni-
versary of the Chowan Baptist Female Institute took place,
and we give below the reported account of this occasion,
written by F. B. Arendell, of Raleigh, and published in the
News and Observer, of Raleigh, of May 19, 1906:

“Murfreesboro, N. ©., May 18.—I sat yesterday under
the shade of the towering oaks and majestic elms of Mur-
freesboro, and witnessed the coming together of a conclave
of the best type of folks that live in this or any other land.
They came with attire akin to the prevailing bloom of spring-
time—nothing gorgeous—merely bright and beautiful. They
came from homes ripe in history, rich in tradition, and com-
plete in the development of the purest and best civilization
and citizenship.

“The day’s attraction at Murfreesboro was two-fold in its
importance. For the fifty-eighth time that grand old head-
light of learning, the Chowan Baptist Female Institute, was
to hold its commencement, and on the programme was a lit-
erary address by Eastern North Carolina’s distinguished

 
 
 

~*~

 

 

 

    

 

302 Hisrory or Herrrorp County, N. C.

 

orator, statesman, jurist and scholar, Lieutenant-Governor
Francis D. Winston, ¢

“The people came from Hertford, Chowan, Bertie, North-
ampton and Gates until the hospitable old town almost over-
flowed. The venerable college, planted by Forey and his
compeers, watered by Hooper of blessed memory, and nour-
ished by the immortal McDowell, guided later on by Brewer
and Petty, and at present so well directed by that strenuous
genius of teaching, J ohn ©. Scarborough, threw open its
broad gates, its broad doors, and its broader hearts. Even
the hundreds of spreading elms that shade the broad and
beautiful campus seemed to whisper a generous welcome.

“The Institute—fifty-eight years old to-day—has never
yet had its doors closed in war times or in peace. Grand
old nursery of mental and moral training, it has retrans-
plantd its tender, blooming plants, equipped for beautiful
and useful womanhood, into hufgareds of the homes of East-
ern North Carolina. ty

“Tts annual commencements have for more than half a
century constituted important epochs in the history of this
great tide-water country. The exercises on this occasion
were delightfully pleasing. The concert on Tuesday evening
was charming, enchanting.

“The salutatory, the valedictory, and the other essays by
the ten graduates were particularly classical and scholarly.
And then came the masterly address by Governor Winston.
In touch, it was, with the chaste, refined environment, in
line with the classics of the graduates, and the beautiful
thought embraced in their essays. In harmony, too, with the
budding womanhood all about him and the beautiful, bloom-
ing woodland and winding rivers that encircle the good old
town.

“He spoke of woman, not the new woman—not the old
woman—but woman. The woman changed because of changed
conditions, the woman with a mission greater than of old—

the woman with prerogatives broader and greater than of 7

“¥

DrecapE XV.—1900—-1906. 3038

yore, the woman with opportunities transcending any en-
joyed in by-gone days. He spoke with feeling and power,
with force and logic, with unmatched eloquence, his charac-
teristic humor, his pathos, his sweeping flights of eloquence
played over the vast audience, and left it now enrapt in
smiles, now in tears, and then in bursts of vociferous ap-
plause.

“Fis subject—a fruitful one—his power as an orator al-
most unmatched—his audience sympathetic—appreciative—
his friends, his neighbors, his kinfolks. It was a real, royal,
literary feast, a glorious finale of a brilliant oceasion.

“And I rode over and about old Murfreesboro, set up on a
beautiful plateau some eighty feet above the winding Me-
herrin River, a hundred years old and more. The chief town
of old. Hertford County—itself more than a century and a
half old. In the heart of the fertile Chowan section, dedi-
cated before the Revolu to culture, refinement, virtue
and bravery, inhabited the and now with brave men and
braver women, they have written history, thrilling, interest-
ing history, on every foot of this sacred soil, and written their
own names on the fabric of Carolina to remain there forever.

‘Down yonder are the ruins of the old home of Hardy
Murfree, one of the blazers of this forest and a hero of the
Revolution. Near by stood the old Indian Queen Hotel,
where LaFayette was royally entertained some years after
the Revolution had ended. Over yonder lived and still live
the Bakers—the Vaughans, the Winbornes, the Wynnses,
the Harrells—and elustered about them were the Carters,
the Cowpers, the Freemans, the Smiths, the Moores, the
Wheelers, the Myricks, the Worthingtons, and others. Inde-
pendence winners, history makers, civilization builders.

“Murfreesboro is both old and. new; but there is nothing
old here—that is, too old—not even the well-preserved vine-
clad colonial homes. There is nothing new that is too new,
not even the artesian well. There is a blending—a beauti-
ful blending—a blending of tradition and trade—a blending

 
 

   

 

tts
      

304 Hisrory or Herrrorp County, N. C.

of history and hustle—a blending of colonial coronets and
caromels—a blending of slavery days and sulky plows—a
blending of the old and the new all aleng the line in this
beautiful Chowan country and fertile, venerable, hon-
orable, healthful, and happy.”

In 1904 your humble servant engaged in a quadrangular
contest in the county primary for the Democratic nomina-
tion for the House. He was nominated, and elected in
November of that year. At the opening of the session of
the General Assembly in January, 1905, he entered another
quadrangular contest for the Speakership, but did not meet
with the same success as in the first. O. H. Guion, of
Craven, was nominated, and Hertford’s member was made
chairman of the Judiciary Committee of the House, and
appointed on the following other committees: Claims, Con-
stitutional Amendments, Courts and Judicial Districts, Elee-
« tion Laws, Rules, Regulation of the Liquor Traffic, and the
Joint Committee on the Revision of the Laws. In January,

1906, Governor R. B. Glenn appointed the author one of the

pire from North Carolina to a gongress composed of
delegates from all the States, to meet in Washington City,
February 19, 1906, to draft a uniform divorce code, to be
submitted to the several State legislatures for ratification.
The writer was educated at Buckhorn Academy, in his
native county, at Wake Forest College, and at Columbian
University in the District of Columbia. He studied law at
the law school of that University in addition to taking a
collegiate course of studies, and received his degree of B.L.
‘in June, 1874, in the 20th year of his age. In Septem-
ber, 1874, he sitetiind the law office of Smith & Strong, in
aetna as clerk, and in February, 1875, he applied for and
obtained his license to practice law, but not then being of full
age his license was held by Judge Smith, under direction of
the Court, until his majority, April 14, 1875. In June,

1875, he located in Winton to practice his profession. He

at once identified himself with the Democratic party and

 

 

 

 

 

NELLIE H. VAUGHAN,
Became Mrs. B. B. Winborne Dee. 28, 1879.

 

 

   

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305

took an active part in all cc u agai. In 1876, while

Times, a newspaper edited in Findsor , N. C., by the late
P. H. Wir ston, Jr. This. Brief has since been ‘pebiihed i in
book form. In 1877 he was made chairman of his party,
which position he held, +wo short intervals, until 1901.
On December 23, 1879, h ried Miss Nellie H. Vaughan,
the fourth daughter of Col. riah Vaughan, of Murfreesboro.
In Jannary, 1880, he moved to the town of his bride, where
they have since lived. In 1895, he was elected to the House
from Hertford, and served on several important committees.
Tn 1896 he was excted a delegate from the First Congres-
sional District to the ol Democratic Convention, in
Chieago, and voted for Wm. J. Bryan, as the Democratic
nominee for President. in 1896, his friends wanted
to nominate him for Co ut he declined to receive the
nomination. He has o ved on the district and State
committees of his pa n the State Convention of 1904,
which met in Gre oro, he was appointed on the Platform
Committee. Judge of Criminal Court from 1891 to 1897,
except the period from October, 1894, to March 14, 1895,
While he serve a a member of the legislature. In 1905 he
wrote aod published a history of “The Winborne Family,”
for which he bas been much complimented. By his mar-
riage he has had be nto him four sons—Uriah V., Stan-
ley, Micajah, and Benj, B., Jr. The first and third died
young. Stanley | is y closing his junior examinations at
the University Carolina, and Benjamin is with
his parents.

The author was born April 14, 1854, and reared on a

  
 
 
  
 
  
 

  
  
   
   
   
 
 
 
  
  
  
 
   
 
 
 
   
  
   
 

farm, and i | a fondness for stock raising and of farm-

ing. He in ung days cheerfully and energetically per-

formed all | of plantation work. From the age of seven

Years he has been watching the struggles of men. He never

buckled d the hard study of books, until aia went to
* 20

}

 
 
 

 

     
    
 
   

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306 History or Herrrorp Counvy, N. ©.

the Columbian University im September, 1872. His father
was always a busy and active man. His mother was a brigh
cheerful and energetic Christian woman, and a valuable aid
to her husband in his long struggle. The writer took mt
notice of the events of war times and the melancholy days
succeeding the civil strife and became familiar with the
public affairs by his intimate associations with his fat. od
other public men. After he came to the Bar, he continuea 118
study of the law, and has been a busy lawyer for at
twenty-eight years. It seems that we have lived more *
a generation. On February 26, 1902, his health suddenty
gave way, and he was taken ill in his office and became un-
conscious within thirty minutes, and remained so for several
weeks, suffering with pneumonia and pleurisy. He was
finally resurrected from the Valley of the Shadow of Death.
lingered in wretched health,
and his recovery was mira louis. The writing of “The
Winborne Family” and of this beck would have probably
never been undertaken had he not met this.greai oi okness.
The author, in 1887, joined others iMorganizing an avi
cultural fair, to be held annually in Mureseesboro: He was
made President of the organization, and for'ca’ “ME ye
was one of the best fairs in the State. Among the disvin-
euished speakers at its annual meetings were Hon. Kemp.
P. Battle, as President of the University of North Caro-
lina, U. S. Senator Hon. M. W. Ransom, the peerless states-
man, the ripe scholar, and the magnetic orator; Governor
Thomas M. Holt, and U. S. Senator Hon. Z. B. Vance, the
great’ commoner and patriot. The fair went down about
1892, and was revived in 1905. The writer was again
made its President, and in October of that year the Great
Fair was again opened. Col. John S. Cunningham, of
Person County, made the opening speech, and on Thursday,
October 12, Gov. R. B. Glenn, the able, eloquent and Chris-
tian Governor of North Carolina, delivered to an audience
of several thousand people one of the finest addresses that

  
  
 

For two and one-half years

a

Mrs. MARY H. WINBORNE,
Nee PRETLOW.
Wife of Maj. S. D. Winborne.

Died Angust 24, 1900, aged 72 years and 7 months.

  
 

 

Decape XV.—1900-1906.

has ever been delivered to an argricultural people. At the
end of his great speech he held a ption, when thousands
of people gladly grasped his han - In July preceding, the
Confederate veterans of the county held their annual re-
union in Murfreesboro, when they were addressed by that
brave old soldier and ornate orator, B. F. Dixon, the Audi-
tor of the State. This w iS ; i

In 1901, the writer obtained from the General Assembly a
charter for a telephone company, and began the work of con-
necting the towns of the county by telephone lines. In 1904
the company was re ized, and now, under the efficient
management of President L. J. Lawrence and General Man-
ager A. E. Garrett, we have a complete system of phone
service. We can now sit at our desk and talk to people at
any village or town in Hertford, Northampton and Bertie
counties, and at the tow: ng the line of the Seaboard
Air Line from Boykins, Norfolk.

Among the sons of | who have reached prominence
in their adopted home in Norfolk, Va., and who have not
been heretofore mentioned, are J. W. Perry, the successful
commission merchant and Vice-President of the Citizens’
Bank of Norfolk, Va.; John N. Vaughan, Charles A. Law-
rence, Wallace E. Lawrence, Robert Montgomery, Hugh Pete
and George A. Williams, sons of the highly respected Peter
Williams, one o old merchants of the Borough; Na-
thaniel Beaman, ~ ent of the National Bank of Com-
merce of Norfolk, Beaman is a native of Murfreesboro
and the son of the late W. P. Beaman and wife, Annie Bea-
man, of Sleepy Hollow, Va. His father died in the 12th
decade, and a few years thereafter his mother, with her three
children, moved to Norfolk. Young Beaman, when young,
was a bright and thoughtful boy, and his wonderful success
in life is positive preof that he is no ordinary man.

Among our young men who are off at school this year are
Stanley Winborne and Edgar Thomas Snipes, at the Uni-
versity at Chapel Hill. The latter is soon to become a full-

    
 

   
  
  

   
 
   
  

 

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308 Hisrory or Herrrorp Counry, N. C.

fledged lawyer. A. M. Brown, G, V. Brown, H. J. Brown,
K. R. Curtis, W. L. Curtis, L. Hale, Herbert Jenkins and L.
A. Parker at Wake Forest College. Jesse Powell at the
College of Physicians and Surgeons in Baltimore. Paul
Jernigan at Randolph-Macon College. Robert Jernigan,
Landon Burbage and Benj. Sears at Randolph-Macon Acad-
emy, Bedford City, Va. J. O, Askew, Jr., at Franklin, Va.
Pembroke Baker at Norfolk Business College. At the A.
and M. College, Raleigh, N. C., are W. W. Taylor and M. R.
Herring, of Winton, and J. E. Overton, of Ahoskie.

At the end of 146 years of the county’s existence, we look
back and view the struggles, the triumphs, the defeats, and
the victories, of our ancestors and our beloved country, its
progress and advancement, and as w look upon this pano-
rama of the past, it fills our souls with greater hopes for the
ive. Our State has passed
a century since 1759. The

  
 
    
 

victories and triumphs of the
through a war in each quarter.
war with Great Britain 1776-8 e Rebellion in the State
in 1784-5, and the attempted esta lishment of the State of
Frankland. The war of 1812-14 with England, the Semi-
nole war of 1818-19, the Mexican war of 1846-48, the
Civil war of 1861-65, and the Spanish war of 1898. In
the war of the United States with Spain the patriots who
wore the blue, and those who wore the eray in the civil strife
by side under the
glorious old flag of the Union and rej 1 together over the
victories of the defenders of the can Union. The
Angel of Peace had returned to remain with the brave foes
of the 60’s and with their sons and daughters. We here
quote from the recent speech of Cardinal Gibbons on the
“Triumphs of Peace,” delivered in New York. He is too
pacifie in his reference to the warfare of 1861-65.

 
 
   

in 1861-65, and their sons, fought si

 

DecapE XV.—1900-1906. 309

angellic host singing ‘Glory to God in the Highest, and on
Earth Peace, Good Will to Men.’

“Christ’s mission on earth was, above all, to break down
the wall of partition that divided nation from nation, that
alienated tribe from tribe, and people from people, and to
make them all of one family acknowledging the Fatherhood
of God and the Brotherhood of Christ.

“When looking back and contemplating the wars that have
ravaged the Christian world during the last twenty centuries,
some persons might be tempted at first sight to exclaim in
anguish of heart that the mission of Christ was a failure.

MISSION ITAS NOT FAILED.

“My purpose, in the brief remarks which I shall make, is
to disabuse the faint hearted of this discouraging impression
and to show that Christ’s mission has not failed, but that the
cause of peace has made decisive and reassuring progress.

“Tt is by comparisons and contrasts that we can most
effectually gauge the results of Christian civilization.

“Compare the military history of the Roman Empire from
its foundation to the time of Augustus Cesar, with the mili-
tary record of our American Republic from the close of the
Revolution to the present time.

“In pagan Rome war was the rule, peace was the exception.
The Temple of Janus in Rome was always open in time of
war, and was closed in time of peace. From the reign of
Romulus to the time of Cxsar, embracing 700 years, the
Temple of Janus was always open, except twice, when it was
closed for only six years. It was subsequently closed at the
birth of Christ, as if to symbolize the pacific mission of the

Redeemer of mankind.

AMERICA’S FOUR WARS,

Cardinal Gibbons said in part:
ee : a . 7 * °
“Nearly two thousand years have rolled by since the birth taeda a akg hs yeaa — ca ad
e hundred an yventy , e

of the Prince of Peace, whose advent was announced by the
)

 

 

go

 
     
    

History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

  

310

Revolution. During that period we have had four wars:
the war with England, from 1812 to 1815; the war with
Mexico, from 1845 to 1848; the Civil war, from 1861 to
1865, and the recent Spanish war. The combined length of
these campaigns was about ten years. Hence we see that the
United States has enjoyed twelve years of peace for one year
of war, while the Roman Empire enjoyed less than one year
of tranquility for every century of military engagements.

“But the blessed influence of our Christian civilization
has been experienced not only in reducing the numbers of
wars, but still more in mitigating the horrors of military
strife.

“Prior to the dawn of Christianity the motto of the con-
queror was ‘Va victis’—‘Woe to the vanquished.’ The cap-
tured cities were pillaged and laid waste. The wives and
daughters of the defeated nation became the prey of the ruth-
less soldiery. The conquered generals and army were obliged
to grace the triumphs of the victors, before they were con-
demned to death or ignominious bondage.

     
   
    
   
    
   
    
 
   
    
    
   
   
   
    
   
   
 

   

  
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 
      

ALEXANDER AND SCOTT.

“Alexander the Great, after the capture of the city of
Tyre, ordered 2,000 of the inhabitants to be crucified, and
the remainder of the population were put to death or sold
into slavery.

“How different was the conduct of General Scott after his
successful siege of the City of Mexico. As soon as the
enemy surrendered, not a single soldier or citizen was sacri-
ficed to the vengeance of the victorious army, and not a single
family was exiled from their native land.

“During the siege of Jerusalem in the year 70 of the
Christian era, under Titus, the Roman general, more than
a million of Jews perished by the sword and’ famine. Nearly
100,000 Jews were carried into captivity. The sacred ves-
sels of the Temple of Jerusalem were borne away by the
blood-stained hands of the Roman army. Simon, the Jewish

 

 
 

Decapr XV.—1900-1906. 8T1

chieftain, with the flower of the Jewish troops, was conducted
to Rome, where he graced the triumph of the Roman general,
and then a rope was thrown around his neck and he was
dragged around the forum, where he was cruelly tormented
and put to death. And yet Titus was not accused by his
contemporaries of exceptional cruelty. On the contrary, he
was regarded as a benevolent ruler and was called the ‘delight

of the human race.’

TREATMENT OF CONFEDERATES.

“Let us contrast the conduct of Titus toward the Jews with
General Grant’s treatment of the defeated Confederate forces.
When General Lee surrendered his sword at Appomattox
Court-house, he and his brave army were permitted to return
Without molestation to their respective homes.

“Tmagine General Lee and his veterans led iy chains to
Washington, followed by the spoils and treasures of Southern
homes and Southern sanctuaries. Imagine the same Con-
federate soldiers compelled to erect a monument to commem-
orate their own defeat. Would not the whole nation rise up
in its might and denounce a degradation so revolting to their
humanity ?

“A hundred years ago disputes between individuals were
commonly decided by a duel. Thanks to the humanizing
influence of a Christian public opinion, these disagreements
are now usually adjusted by legislation or conciliation. Have
We not reason to hope that the same pacifie agencies which
have checked the duel between individuals, will in God’s own
time, check the duel between nations ?

BULLY NATIONS.

“In our school-boy days the most odious and contemptible
creature we used to encounter was the bully who played the
tyrant towards the weak, but cringed before his stronger com-
panions. But still more intolerable is a bullying nation that
picks a quarrel with a feeble nation with the base intent of
Seizing her possessions.

ze

   

gs ay cee
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

     
 
 

312 Hisrory or Herrrorp County, N. C.

 

“J can recall at least four instances in the last twenty years
in which international conflicts have been amicably settled by
arbitration.

“The dispute between Germany and Spain regarding the
Caroline Islands was adjusted by Pope Leo XIII. in 1886.

“The Samoan difficulty between Germany and the United
States was settled by a conference held in Berlin in 1889. A
treaty of peace between the United States and Mexico was
signed in Washington at the close of Cleveland’s administra-
tion. And a few weeks ago a war between France and Ger-
many, perhaps a general European conflict, was averted by
the Algeciras conference in Morroeco.”

While we may not exactly agree with the Cardinal in all he
says, we can but admit that in the main he pictures forceably
the progress of the United States of North America. While
it is true we are having our troubles with the trust, which is
the evil of great aggregation of capital in the hands of a few,
and which cause many to have fears of the speedy downfall
of the Republic, yet we have hopes in the wisdom and pa-
triotism of the American people, that they will in due time.
strike down this would-be assassin of our Republic. And we
strongly believed that the conservatism and patriotism of the
South will be appealed to by all true Americans to perform
this great mission. History repeats itself, and the sons of
those who did most to create the Republic will be the ones
called upon in the erucible hour to save it from destruction.

WAR IS CRUEL AND EXPENSIVE.

Tt has been the custom of nations for all ages to resort to
arms and bloodshed in order to settle civil differences. This
is, and always has been, wrong. Wars are the result of the
ambition of selfish men. Such men are willing to crucify
the people at the cross, to gratify their ambition and selfish-
ness. These men have existed in all ages and in all countries.
Tt is time that the civilization and Christianity of the present

 

DreoapE XV.—1900-1906. 313

day to put an end to such cruelty and barbarity. The United
States have paid out for war, to say nothing of the Indian
wars, the following astounding sums of money, in addition
to the numberless lives that were sacrificed :

The Revolutionary War, 1776-82.. $135,193,703.00

The War of 1812 ....----+-+e+e> 107,159,003.00
The Mexican War .....----+++++-> 66,000.000.00
The Civil War ...------- eee cece 6,500,000,000.00
The Spanish-American rer a 55 6 59 150,000,000.00

What becomes of the advocates of war and strife ? Here
presents a great moral question.

CONCLUSION.

After much hard and the most fatiguing labor, I have suc-
ceeded in getting together much of the hidden information
about the history of Hertford County and its people. The
flames had consumed the records of these people for the first
132 years of the county’s existence. To get the facts found
in this volume I resorted to the Colonial and State Records
of North Carolina, Wheeler’s and Moore’s histories of the
State, Dr. Thos. O’Dwyer’s diary for 1824, and old deeds,
wills, and copies of old court records, found among the papers
of many of the old families of the county. My letters reached
many points in several of the States seeking information. I
have compiled the result of my labors. IT know it is not per-
fect, and TI, also, know my effort to save from oblivion some
information of our people will be severely criticised by many.
Some who possessed some information declined to put me in
possession of it, while most others were glad to render what
aid they could. To Maj. John W. Moore, of Hertford, and
Miss Mary Murfree, of Tennessee, and others in that State,
and friends in New Jersey, and H. C. Sharp, of Harrells-
ville, and all others who gave me facts, I return my thanks
for the valuable aid rendered me. I am glad I have done
this work. It has given me information about the county, the

   

ae oie, aca ob ia a
      
   
 
  
 
  
  
 
   
  
   
   
 
  
 
   
  
 
  
  
 
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  

 

 

314 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

State, and country at large, that otherwise I would mot have
obtained. In my writing, I often felt like avandering off
into the realms of metaphysics and moral science and general
history, and discoursing on the mysteries of life and of death
and of resurrection, and paint, in a feeble way, the picture
of eternity—the end of measured time—as it appears to me;
but such thoughts would have been out of place in such a book
as this, which was only intended to gather the facts for the
future historian of the State, that the noble people of Hert-
ford County, whose records have been destroyed, may not be
overlooked and forgotten. Untrue history is the curse of a
people. True history is the glory of a people.

“The book is completed,
And closed like the day ;
And the hand that has written it
Lays it away.

Dim grow its fancies ;
Forgotten they lie;
Like coals in the ashes,
They darken and die.’’

Bens. B. WinzorRNE-
Murfreesboro, N. C., May 24, 1906.

 

 

 

HERTFORD COUNTY’S LIST OF OFFICERS.

Lawyers of Hertford County, 1906, and the times of their
respective admissions to the Bar:

Winborne & Lawrence, Murfreesboro, N. C. Benj. B.
Winborne—February term, 1875; Lloyd J. Lawrence, Febru-

ary term, 1892.
George V. Cowper, Winton, N. C.—June term, 1878.

Jno. E. Vann, Winton, N. (.—September term, 1887.
David Collin Barnes, Murfreesboro, N. ©.—September

term, 1896.
Roswell C. Bridger, Winton, N. C.—September term,

1899.
Jas. R. Mitchell, Winton. N. C.—Anueust term, 1901.

Wm. W. Rogers, Winton, N. C.—February term, 1903.

HERTFORD S CONGRESSMEN.

1802-07—Gen. Thomas Wynns, near Winton.
1813217—William Hardy Murfree, Murfreesboro.
1839-45—Kenneth Rayner, near Harrellsville.
1859-61—W. N. H. Smith, Murfreesboro.
1875-81—Jesse J. Yeates, Murfreesboro.

CONFEDERATE CONGRESS.

January, 1862-April, 1864—W. N. H. Smith.

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS.

1801—Gen. Thomas Wynns.
1809—Gen. Thomas Wynns.
1848—Kenneth Rayner.
1860—John W: Moore.

MEMBERS OF GOVERNOR’S COUNCIL.

Col. James Jones, Col. Matthias Brickle, Gen. Thomas
Wynns, John A. Anderson, Maj. Jesse J. Yeates.

    

 
 

 

History or Hertrorp County, N. C.

CONSULS AND MINISTERS.

1855—John H. Wheeler, Minister to Nicaragua.
1885-’89—Thos. R. Jernigan, Consul to Japan.
1895—Hunter Sharp, Consul to Japan.

1893-97—Thos. R. Jernigan, Consul to Shanghai, China.

1831—Clerk of the Board of Commissioners under the
Convention with France: John H. Wheeler.

1837—Superintendent of U. S. Mint at Charlotte: John
H. Wheeler.

184244—Treasurer of the State: John H. Wheeler.

U.S. Senate from Arkansas: April, 1848-53—Solon Bor-
land, a Murfreesboro boy.

Solicitor of First District: 1849’58—W. N. H. Smith;
1860-’66—Jesse J. Yeates.

Chief Justice of the State: January, 1878-November,
1889—W. N. H. Smith.

Judge of Criminal Court: 1891"97—B. B. Winborne.

Chairman of Judiciary Committee in House of Assembly:
1800—Robert Montgomery ; 1905—B. B. Winborne.

First Constitutional Convention of November 12, 1776:
Delegates—Lawrence Baker, William Murfree, Robert Sum-
ner, Day Ridley, and James Wright.

Hillsboro Convention of 1788, to consider the adoption of
U. S. Constitution: Delegates—Maj. Geo. Wynns, Gen.
Thomas Wynns, Rev. Lemuel Burkitt, Maj. Wm. Little, and
Maj. Samuel Harrell.

Fayetteville Convention of 1789, which adopted the U. S.
Constitution: Delegates—Gen. Thomas Wynns, Robert
Montgomery, Col. Hardy Murfree, Henry Hill, and Henry
Baker.

Constitutional Convention 1835: Kenneth Rayner.
Secession Convention of 1861: Kenneth Rayner.
Constitutional Convention of 1865: R. G. Cowper.
Constitutional Convention of 1868: Jackson B. Hare.
Constitutional Convention of 1875: Jordan J. Horton.

Hrrrrorp County’s OFFICERS. 317

Hertford County was represented in the Colonial Assem-
bly and in the Senate and House of the General Assembly of
North Carolina from the time it became a sovereign State m
December, 1776, up to the present time, as appears below.

Its Colonial representatives were as follows:
176263—Henry Winborne and William Murfree.
1764-’65—Benj. Wynns and Robert Sumner.
1766-68—Benj. Wynns and Matthias Brickle.
1769-70—Peter Wynns and Edward Hare.
1771°72—Benj. Wynns and Edward Hare.
1773-74—Benj. Wynns, Sr., and Benj. Wynns, Jr.
1775°76—William Murfree and George Wynns.

After North Carolina declared her independence of the
British Government and adopted its first constitution, Hert-

‘ ford’s representatives in the General Assembly of the State

have been as follows:
1777—Senate, Robert Sumner; House, Jos. Dickinson,

James Garrett.
1778—Robert Sumner; Wm. Baker, James Maney.
1779—Robert Sumner; William Wynns, Nathan Cotton.
1780—Pleasant Jordan; William Wynns, John Baker.
1781—John Baker; Lewis Brown, Thos. Brickle.
1782—John Brickle; William Wynns, Thos. Brickle.
1783-—John Baker; Lewis Brown, Thos. Brickle.
1784—John Baker; William Hill, Thos. Brickle.
1785—Robert Sumner; James Maney, Robt. Montgomery.
1786—Robert Sumner; William Hill, Thos. Brickle.
1787—Robert Sumner; Thos. Wynns, Robt. Montgomery.
1788—Robt. Montgomery ; Henry Baker, Henry Hill.
1789-—Robt. Montgomery; Henry Hill, Henry Baker.
1790—Thos. Wynns; Robt. Montgomery, Henry Hill.
1791—Thos. Wynns; Robt. Montgomery, Henry Hill.
1792—Thos. Wynns; Henry Hill, James Jones.
1793—Thos. Wynns; Jethro Darden, Henry Hill.
1794—Thos. Wynng; Jethro Darden, Robt. Montgomery.

 
 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    

 

gomery.

Martin.

Wheeler.

318 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

1795—Thos.
1796—Thos.
1797—Thos.
1798—Thos.

1799—Thos.
1800—Thos.
1801—Robt.
1802—Robt.
1803—Robt.
1804—Robt.
1805—Robt.
1806—Robt.
1807—Robt.
1808—Thos.
1809—Thos.
1810—Thos.
P 1811—Thos.
1812—Thos.
1813—Thos.
1814——Thos.
1815—Thos.
1816—Thos.

1817—Thos.
1818—Boone Felton; Jno. Hamilton Frazier, B. J. Mont:

Wynns; Henry Hill, Robt. Montgomery.
Wynns; Jethro Darden, James Jones.
Wynns; Jethro Darden, James Jones.
Wynns; Robt. Montgomery, James Jones.
Wynns; Robt. Montgomery, James Jones.
Wynns; Robt. Montgomery, James Jones.
Montgomery ; James Jones, Abner Perry.
Montgomery ; James Jones, Abner Perry.
Montgomery; James Jones, Abner Perry.
Montgomery; James Jones, Abner Perry.
Montgomery ; Jas. Jones, Wm. H. Murfree.
Montgomery; James Jones, Abner Perry.
Montgomery; Lewis Walters, Abner Perry.
Wynns; Lewis Walters, Abner Perry.
Wynns; Boone Felton, Abner Perry.
Wynns; Boone Felton, Lewis Walters.
Wynns; Boone Felton, William Jones.
Wynns; Wm. H. Murfree, Jethro Darden.
Wynns; Boone Felton, William Jones.
Wynns; Boone Felton, William Jones.
Wynns; Thomas Deans, William Jones.
Wynns; Thomas Deans, William Jones.
Wynns; Boone Felton, Thomas Maney.

1819—Jno. H. Frazier; B. J. Montgomery, Isaac Carter.
1821—Thomas Deans; Jas. Copeland, Jas. D. Wynns.
1822—David E. Sumner; Isaac Carter, Lewis M. Jeggitts.
1823—David E. Sumner; James Copeland, John Vann.
1824—James Copeland; John Vann, Isaac Carter.
1825—James Copeland; John Vann, Isaac Carter.
1826—Elisha H. Sharpe; B.

1827—David O. Askew; B. J. Montgomery, John H.

 

J. Montgomery, Leonard

  

   
  
 

Herrrorp County’s OFricERs. 319

1828—David O. Askew; B. J. Montgomery, John H.

Wheeler.
1829—B. J. Montgomery ; Elisha A. Chamblee, John H.

Wheeler.
1830—Jacob Hare; Isaac Carter, John H. Wheeler.

1831—B. J. Montgomery; Elisha <A. Chamblee, Godwin

C.. Moore.
1832—B. J. Montgomery ; Isaac Carter, Thos. V. Roberts.

1833—John Vann; Isaac Carter, Sipha Smith.
1834—Geo. W. Montgomery ; Isaac Carter, Sipha Smith.
1835—John Vann; R. C. Borland, Kenneth Rayner.

The amendments to the Constitution in 1835 reduced
Hertford’s representation in the House to one member and

made the sessions biennial.

1836—Geo. W. Montgomery; Kenneth Rayner.
1838—Thomas B. Sharpe; Kenneth Rayner.
1840—B. T. Spiers; Wm. N. H. Smith.
1842—Godwin C. Moore; Starkey Sharpe.
1844—Richard G. Cowper; Jacob Sharpe.
1846—Richard G. Cowper; Kenneth Rayner.
1848—William N. H. Smith; Kenneth Rayner.
1850—D. V. Sessoms; Kenneth Rayner.
1852—Richard G. Cowper; W. L. Daniel.
1854—Kenneth Rayner; W. L. Daniel.
1856—Richard G. Cowper; Joseph B. Slaughter.
1858—Richard G. Cowper; W. N. H. Smith.
1860-61—J. B. Slaughter; Jesse J. Yeates.
186162—J. B. Slaughter; Jesse J. Yeates.
186263—J. B. Slaughter; Jesse B. Vann.
1863"64—J. B, Slaughter; Jesse B. Vann.
1864-’65—James M. Wynns; John A. Vann.
1865-’66—R. G. Cowper; W. N. H. Smith.
1866-67—James C. Barnes; Godwin C. Moore.
1867-68—James C. Barnes; Godwin C, Moore.

 

        
      
       
    
 
     
     
     
    
   
    
     
      
         
     
    
      
    
    
       
 
      
    
      
     
   
      
     

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320 Hisrory or Herrrorpgounry, N. C.

In 1868 a Constitutional Convention was held in North
Carolina to alter the fundamental law of the State. The
delegates to the convention were composed chiefly of “Carpet-
Baggers” from the most vicious element of the Northern
army and its sympathizers, who, after the cessation of hostili-
ties, remained in the South, to rob and plunder the Southern
States. But few of the true and loyal sons of the State were
allowed to participate in the deliberations of the political
bodies of those times. Jackson B. Hare was the delegate
from Hertford County. The Constitution prepared by this
posthumous or illegitimate convention was submitted to a
portion of the people of the State for ratification, at an elec-
tion held on the 21st, 22d and 23d days of April, 1868. The
ex-slaves voted three days. A large per centum of the best
and truest citizens of the State were disfranchised and not
allowed to vote, and in their place the recent slave negro men
were armed with the ballot and allowed to vote at the election
as directed by these “Carpet Baggers” and the native traitors
to our State. General Canby, the military potentate of
North and South Carolina, sitting in Charleston, 8. C., de-
clared the Constitution ratified by the voters of the State.
The chivalrous and proud people of the State had no alterna-
tive but to submit to the indignities heaped upon them by
such cowards as Thad. Stevens and W. H. Stewart, the haters
of the South, and its own Benedict Arnolds.

Under the Constitution of 1868, Bertie and Hertford coun-
ties formed the Fifth Senatorial District, and given one sena-
tor in the General Assembly. The terms of office of the
members of the Assembly began with their election and con-
tinued for two years. The General Assembly met annually
on the third Monday in November. The Fifth Senatorial

District was represented as follows:

186869—J. W. Beasley, R., Bertie County.
1869-70—J. W. Beasley, R., Bertie County.
1870-71—J. W. Beasley, R., Bertie County.
1871-72—J. W. Beasley, R., Bertie County.

 

Herrrorp County’s OFrricers. 321

The legislation and corruption of the above sessions of the
General Assembly form the blackest pages of North Caro-
lina’s history. It is a lasting shame and disgrace to the
Republican party of the State. It will never be forgotten by
the true and honorable people of the State and their descend-
ants. In the summer of 1872 the white people of the State
sueceeded in electing a large majority of the members of the
General Assembly, and that body, by an act ratified January
19, 1872, by a three-fifths vote of all the members, amended
the Constitution of 1868 in several particulars. One of the
amendments was in changing the sessions from “annual” to
“biennial.” That same body, by an act ratified February 2,
1872, re-appointed the representation of the State, and put
Hertford County in the First Senatorial District, with the
six other counties east of Chowan River, and they were given
two members. The members from the First Senatorial Dis-
trict, thereafter, were as follows:

1872-74—John L. Chamberlain, R., Camden County ;
C. W. Grandy, R., Pasquotank County.
187476—Wm. B. Shaw, D., Currituck County ;
Thomas R. Jernigan, D., Hertford County.
1876-'78—Octavius Coke, D., Chowan County.
W. ©. Mercer, D., Currituck County.

In 1875 another Constitutional Convention was held in
North Carolina, and presided over by Edmond Ransom, of
Tyrrell County, who was elected as an independent to said
convention, The members of the Republican and Demo-
eratie parties were about evenly divided. The Democrats
secured the co-operation of Mr. Ransom by electing him
President of the convention. This gave the Democrats one
majority on the floor. Many important amendments were
made in the organic law of the State by this body. Much of
the sting of the Canby Constitution of 1868 was eradicated.
No man of the majority could afford to be absent from his

seat during this all-important session. The devotion of the
21

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

3822 History or Herrrorp County, N. C. Herrrorp County’s Orricers. 323
Democratic members of this convention was never better q 1900-01—C. S. Vann, D., Chowan County;
shown than during the days of this momentous session of this W. H. Bray, D., Currituck County.
exciting convention. Hertford County was represented in 1902-03—C. 8. Vann, D., Chowan County ;°
this convention by Jordan J. Horton, a Republican. P. H. McMullen, D., Perquimans County.

The time for the biennial meetings of the General Assem- 190405—C. S. Vann, D., Chowan County ;

S. M. Beasley, D., Currituck County. |

 

bly was changed from the third Monday in November next
after the election of its members, to the first Monday after

the first Monday in January next after the election of its HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

era
members. The General Assembly of 187677, by an act snhatke ST halon
ratified March 12, 1877, provided that the general election ; 1660270 t,t R
in the State should be held in the year 1880, on the Tuesday q ~70—E,. T. Snipes, Kt. AN
Soc NT : 1870-71—W. D. Newsom, Col., R.
after the first Monday in November, and every two years ; ag4.!04_.W. D. N Col. B | |
thereafter. The members from the First Senatorial District eee. Owsom,: \/0l., 1 .
continued : ; 1872-73—J ames Sharp, R. fl
: 1873-74—James Sharp, R. a
1878"79—Geo. H. Mitchell, R., Hertford County ; : 187475—Soloman Parker, R. |
Rufus White, R., Perquimans County. ;
: 1880’81—W. H. Manning, D., Gates County ; 1876-77—J. J. Horton, R., was given certificate of elec-
] tion, but his seat was contested by H. C, Maddrey, D., and

J. M. Woodhouse, D., Currituck County.

1882"83—W. W. Speight, R., Gates County ; Maddrey was seated.

J. M. Woodhouse, D., Currituck County. ’ 1879—J. J. Horton, R.
1884’85—Wm. M. Bond, D., Chowan County ; 1881—E. T. hic, R. |
James Parker, D., Gates County. 1883—George H. Mitchell R. Hl
1886-87—W. P. Shaw, D., Hertford County ; : Snar._Rohet Wiaeiabione: D. a Be
W. J. Griffin, D., Pasquotank County. j 1887—E. T. Snipes, R. ; yo
1888-89—J. K. Abbott, D., Camden County ; ; 1889—James L. Anderson, D. |
W. P. Shaw, D., Hertford County. 1 604-cTeunen L. Andateo ce D. }
1890-91—P. H. Morgan, D., Currituck County ; 1893—_W. P. Taylor, D. |
James Parker, D., Gates County. 18 95—Benj. B. Winborne, D.
1892"93—J. K. Abbott, Camden County ; | 1897—Starkey Hare, R. MH
J. J. Gatling, D., Gates County. 1899—Tenac F. Snipes, R. i
1894~95—E. -T. Snipes, R., Hertford County ; 1901—Lloyd y Hawrence, D: i ih
Theo. White, P., Perquimans County. ine Solie E. Vann, D. ; cE
1896’97—J. L. Whedbee, R., Perquimans County ; . 1905—Benj, B. Winborne, D. By

Jno. F. Newsome, P., Hertford County.

189899—T. G. Skinner, D., Perquimans County ;
George Cowper, D., Hertford County.

 

   
324 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

 

THE INFERIOR COURT.

At the election of 1876 the Democrats elected the Gov-
ernor, all the State officers and a large majority of the Gen-
eral Assembly. The Constitution had been amended in 1875
in many respects and the amendments had been ratified by
the people at the August election in 1876. The negro popu-
lation had so crowded the criminal dockets of our courts in
the East that there was a demand for additional court facili-
ties to relieve the Superior Courts of the criminal work, that
the civil cases might be tried. The Legislature of 1876-77
appointed the justices of the peace for the several counties, and
empowered them to establish Inferior Criminal Courts for
their respective counties, which courts were given a limited
criminal jurisdiction. They were to be presided over, where
established, by three suitable persons to be selected by the
justices of the peace from the body of the county. This
court was established in Hertford in August, 1877. The
officers at different times were as follows:

1877-79.

Maj. J. W. Moore, Chairman ; G. V. Cowper and W. P.
Shaw. Cowper resigned in August, 1878, and H. C. Mad-

dry was elected to fill the vacancy.
1879-81.

W. P. Shaw, Chairman; H. C. Maddry and J. B. Slaugh-
ter. Slaughter resigned in August, 1880, and S. M. Aumack

elected to fill the vacancy.
1881-83.

W. P. Shaw, H. C. Maddry and J. B. Slaughter. Slaugh-
ter resigned in February, 1884, and George W. Beverly
elected to fill vacancy. They continued in office until Au-

gust, 1887.
1887-89.

David A. Barnes, H. C. Maddry and George W. Beverly.

 

 

    

Herrrorp County’s OrricERs. 325

1889-1891.
George W. Beverly, H. ©. Maddry and S. M. Aumack.

SOLICITORS.

1877 to August, 1883—B. B. Winborne.
1883 to October, 1884—R. W. Winborne.
1884 to August, 1889—B. B. Winborne.
1889 to February, 1891—R. W. Winborne.

THE CRIMINAL COURT.

Here the Inferior Court ended, and there was a popular
demand throughout the county for the abolition of this court
and for the establishment of a Criminal Court, with full
criminal jurisdiction, to be presided over by a judge with all
the qualifications of a Superior Court Judge. This was
done by the Legislature of 1891. By the almost unanimous
demand of the county the author was elected Judge of the
new Criminal Court. He accepted the office at a great sac-
rifice to himself. He remained Judge of the Court until
1897, except for the short period from October, 1894, to
March, 1905, when he resigned to serve in the Legislature of
the State. After the adjournment of the Legislature of 1905
he was re-appointed Judge of said Court by Governor Carr.
He served as Judge until the Court was abolished in 1897
by the Fusion Legislature. About 600 eases were tried be-
fore him, covering all grades of criminal offences, statutory
and common-law crimes. And only one appeal to the Su-
preme Court was taken from his rulings, and he was affirmed

in that—State v. Harrison, 115-706.

SOLICITORS AT DIFFERENT TIMES.

Peter B. Picot, Esq.
John E. Vann, Esq.

George Cowper, Esq-

 
  
   

326 History or Herrrorp, County, N. C.

 
 

CLERKS.

The Clerks of the Superior Court were ex-officio Clerks
of the Inferior and the Criminal Courts. xs

 
 

COUNTY OFFICERS.

It may be of interest to some to know the names of the
officers of the county from its formation to the present time:

SHERIFFS.

 
 

1762"66—Matthias Brickle.
1766’71—William Murfree.
1771274—Nathan Harrell. "A
177477—John Harrell. 7 pants
177782—Starkey Sharp I.
1782-~84—James Boon.
1784-/86—Josiah Sumner.
1786-"88—Moses Sumner.
1788"90—Starkey Sharp I.
1790-94—William Wynns.
1794’98—Matthias Brickle, Jr.
1798-1800—James Cherry.
1800-12—Thomas Deanes.
181217—Isaace Carter.
1817-24—William B. Wynns.
1824-25—Jesse Deanes.
1825-36—Richard Greene Cowper.
1836-’38—Edw. K. Jeggitts.
1838 to May, 1844—R. G. Cowper.
May, 1844, to August, 1844—Preston Perry.
1844 to November, 1848—Abner J. Perry.
1848 to August, 1856—John P. Bridger.
1856-60—John A. Vann.
1861-67—Jackson B. Hare.
1867-76—Isaac Pipkin, D.
1876"78—Jackson B. Hare, R.

 

 

     
 
    
     
     
   
  
 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
 
   
   
   
   
    
 
  

Herrrorp County’s OFrricEeRs. 327

1878-80—John Sharp.
1880—A. C. Vann, Tax Collector.

1880-’84—Joseph J. Jordan.

1884 to December, 1894—James S. Mitchell.
1894-96—William E. Cullen.
1896-1900—James S. Mitchell.
1900-03—William H. Tayloe.

1903/06—A. E. Garrett.

CHAIRMEN OF THE OLD COUNTY COURT PRIOR TO
war oF 1776.

Robert Sumner.
Henry Winborne.

AFTER THE WAR.

Col. Matthias Brickle.

Thomas Winborne.

Thomas N. Brickle.

Timothy Ridley.

Thomas P. Little.

1829—Elisha Winborne.
1830-51—John Vann.
1851’57—John A. Anderson.
1857-61—Dr. Godwin C. Moore.
1861, to June 18, 1861—John A. Anderson.
June, 1861766—William W. Mitchell.

1866’68—Watson L. Daniel.

CLERKS OF THE COURT OF PLEAS AND QUARTER SESSIONS.

1760-’64—Benjamin Wynns.
176472—Benjamin Wynns, Jr.
1772-"78—-George Wynns.
1778-’80—Benjamin Wynns.
1780-90—Samuel Harrell.
1790-94—Nathan Harrell.
1794’97—William Wynns.
1797-1802—N athan Harrell.

   

 

 

 

   
     
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
    
    
     
    
  
   
   
   
 
    
   
   
   
   
   
 
    
    
    
   
    

328 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

180203—Benjamin Wynns, Jr.
1803-22—Joseph F. Dickinson.
1822~23—George Gordon.

1823-58—Lewis M. Cowper.

1858 to August, 1861—Starkey S. Harrell.

1861 to May, 1868—Lewis M. Cowper.
CLERK AND MASTER IN EQUITY.

1806-33—Howell Jones.
1833-35—Bridger J. Montgomery.
1835-63—William M. Montgomery.
1863"68—John A. Vann.

 

COUNTY ATTORNEYS DURING THE DAYS OF THE OLD -
COUNTY COURTS.

1777-90—Henry Hill.
1790-1800—Robert Montgomery.
1800-05—Sharp Blount.
1805-"12—William H. Murfree.
1812-20—Thomas Maney.

1820-35—James S. Jones.
1835 to November, 1845—Roscius C. Borland.

1845 to May, 1849—W. N. H. Smith.
1849 to August, 1851—A. Poma Yancey.
1857 to August, 1855—W. D. Valentine.
1855-60—Jesse J. Yeates.
1860’62—John H. Jernigan.
1862-65—Joseph B. Slaughter.
1865-66—William Sharp.

1866-68—J. B. Slaughter.

 

CLERKS OF SUPERIOR COURTS.

1848-51—William D. Valentine; resigned August, 1851.
1851-54—John A. Vann.
1854’58—Starkey S. Harrell, Jr.
1858-68—George W. Beverly.

 

 

 

HertTFrorD County’s OFFICERS. 329
5, 187 0—Starkey S. Harrell.
1872—Joseph W. Perry.
1886—William J. Gatling.

9—Thomas D. Boone.
1889 to December, 4890—William J. Gatling.
1890 to December, 4898—Thomas D. Boone.

1898 to March, 1901—John F. Newsome.
1901 to December, 1906—Thomas D. Boone.

1868 to October
1870 to January 2,
1872 to December,
1886 to April, 188

NATIVE-BORN LAWYERS OF THE COUNTY, AND WHO PRACTICED

IN THE COUNTY.

iat ME eye ae es. nF EY PS Murfreesboro.
Robert Montgomery .-----+--ss 00 Murfreesboro.
SO SESS Sa Serene ate ee Winton
William Hardy Murfree.....--+++--0007"" Musfreesboro
pS Be REN 3 aN ahd ilgea et Murfreesboro.
Tinns Meee <i coe Murfreesboro.
James Sydney Jones..-----++s78 700700" Pitch Landing.
Roscins Cicero Borland....-..%--ss++***"" Murfreesboro.
ohn Hill Wheeler ..:------s eset Murfreesboro.
William Nathan Harrell Smith...----+++*° Murfreesboro.
Antonio Poma Yaneey.-.-----fss707 tt Murfreesboro.
Jesse Johnson Yeates. .-<e.+--+r rent" Murfreesboro.
William Darden Valentine....-------****"2"""? Winton
John Wheeler Moore...-++-+++2errttttt ts Murfreesboro
Joseph Blount Slaughter. .---++++++++++"* Pitch Landing
John Hunter Jernigam..<----escseeerscr Harrellsville
Maina Share oo cesta eee ey Harrellsville.
Pialedkl Gowpet: hee eS Murfreesboro.
Joseph BE. Carter esses err scene Murfreesboro
James Lawrence MEN 02 2h i= no 81 eres eee Winton
Denny Worthington ------++-77007077 07" Murfreesboro.
Thomas Robert Jernigan..----+--+: 0" Harrellsville.
- William Dorsey Waaleni s+. ssscr sere Harrellsville.
Benjamin Brodie Winborne...--++ssrrrt Murfreesboro.
Pll Seale, Valco hth ee Winton

 

 

 
330 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

George Cowper... 6. eee een c eee eee cwees Winton.
Robert Warren Winbornes:.. 00.05.36 6844 Murfreesboro.
Charles Spurgeon Vann.........0. see eceweedees Winton.
Willts.C, W arvensis 328 30) aunt oe cee Murfreesboro.
Lloyd Jennings Lawrence..........++-+++- Murfreesboro.
John Eley Vann ......csce es dice nee eseeds ... Winton.
Peter Blount Ricotiis4 4 in cee eens 2 eae ens Winton.
David :Gollin-Barnéects ois. osc vee ae Murfreesboro.
Roswell’ O.. Bridger. . 0 s:ei00. cis ern ne ene aie bess Winton.
James ke. Matchellioe cs ic area Se Rhee oe aretha ae Winton.
William: We Rogertacoac (5s Peis ache oce sats Winton.

Judge David Alexander Barnes moved to the county from
Northampton County in 1875 and resided in Murfreesboro
until his death in 1892. Hon. Kenneth Rayner and Brack-
ney T. Spiers studied law and obtained license, but did not
practice. Charles H. Foster and James M. Trader obtained
license to practice law under a strange statute enacted by the
“carpet-bag” Legislature of 1868-69, which permitted any
one to secure license by paying a license tax of $20 (Laws
1868-69, ch. 46).

PUBLIC REGISTERS.

176064—Benjamin Wynns, Jr.
1770"74—Joseph Worth.
1780-1890—Nathan Harrell.
1790—’91—-Starkey Sharp.
1791"97—Nathan Harrell.
1797-98—Jacob Sharp.
1798-1800—Jacob Sharp.
1800’13—Mills Jernigan.
1813-20—George Gordon.
1820-24—John H. Gordon.
1824~25—Peter Butts.
1825-’31—Andrew V. Duer.
1831~48—L. R. Jernigan.

       
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    

831
Herrrorp County’s OFFICERS.

1843/45—Patrick Perry.
1845 to August, 1846—Henry B. Vanpelt.

. .
1846 to February, 1857—William J. Perry.

1857-66—John Sharp.
1866-68—Joseph P. Jordan.

REGISTER OF DEEDS.

1868-76—James M. Trader.

1876-82—Henry Clay Sharp.
1882 to January, 1890—Watson Lewis Daniel.

1890 to December, 1896—George A. Brown.
1896 to December, 4900—S. E. Marsh.
1900 to October, 1905—James Pp. Freeman.
1905-06—John A. Northcott.

COUNTY TRUSTEES PRIOR ro 1790.
Samuel Harrell.

Nathan Harrell.

George Wynns.

Starkey Sharp I.

arrer 1790.

183043—John A. Anderson.
1843 to May, 1844—Elisha D. Brett.

484454—Lemuel R. J ernigan.
1854-’61—Elisha D. Brett.

1861-62—James Barnes.
1862-66—Starkey S, Harrell, Jr.
1866-68—Samuel M. Aumack.

COUNTY TREASURERS.

1868270—Jordan J. Horton, R.

1870-76—John A. Vann, 5b
1876’78—Joseph J. Brown, R.
Since 1878 the Sheriff of the county

Treasurer of the county.

has been ex-officio

     

 
   
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    

History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

ENTRY-TAKERS PRIOR TO THE WAR OF 1776.

Matthias Brickle.
Henry Winborne.
William Wynns.

AFTER THE WAR.

Mills Jernigan.
Andrew J. Northcott.
The Register of Deeds is now ex-officio entry-taker.

COUNTY SURVEYORS PRIOR TO WAR OF 1776.

1762-66—John Baker.
1766"70—Godwin Cotton.

SINCE THE WAR.
Pleasant Jordan.
John A, Wynns.

: 1800’10—Samuel Bell.
1810-’33—Sipha Smith.
1833-54—Jethro W. Barnes.
1854-’68—Zepheniah Askew.

since 1868.

Thadeus E. Vann.

J. W. Jessups.
John F. Newsom.

H. D. Harrell.
J. D. Parker.

COUNTY COMMISSIONERS.

1868 to 1870—John W. Harrel, Chairman; R. 8. Parker,
William D. Newsome, William Reed, Samuel Holloman.

1870 to 1872—J. W. Harrell, Chairman; G. A. Britt,
Langley Tayloe, Jackson B. Hare, W. J. Gatling.

1872 to 1874—E. T. Snipes, Chairman; W. B. Alexander,
William Reed, 8. D. Winborne, L. 8S. Davis.

1874 to 1876—S. D. Winborne, Chairman; A. ©. Vann,
William Reed, W. B. Alexander, E. T. Snipes.

 

 

initiations

nes

 

 

 

William Reed, James L. Elliott,

J. Norfleet Harrell, John A. Vann,

J. L. Anderson, J. P. Freeman,

A. I. Parker, J. P. Freeman,

MiscELLANEOUS INFORMATION. 333
Chairman; W. B. Alexander,

A. D. Godwin.
Chairman; S. M. Aumack,

J. T. Wynns.

1876 to 1878—E. T. Snipes,

1878 to 1880—S. D. Winborne,

County Attorney—B. B. Winborne.
1880 to 1882—S. M. Aumack, Chairman ; J. N. Harrell,

John A. Vann, 8. D. Winborne, J. T. Wynns.

County Attorney—B. B. Winborne.
1882 to 1886—J. N. Harrell, Chairman ; S. M. Aumack,
S. D. Winborne.

B. Winborne.
Harrell, Chairman ; S. M. Aumack,

S. D. Winborne.

County Attorney—B.
1886 to 1888—J. N.

County Attorney—B. B. Winborne.
1888 to 1890—J. N. Harrell, Chairman; J. P. Freeman,

J. F. Newsome, J. D. Riddick, W. FE. Cullens.
County Attorney—B. B. Winborne.
1890 to 1892—W. T. Brown,

Blount Ferguson, John F. Newsome,

County Attorney—B. B. Winborne.
41892 to 1894—W. T. Brown, Chairman; W. E. Cullens,

George W. Beverly, John F. Newsome, J. B. Vaughan.

County Attorney—d. J. Yeates.
1894 to 1896—W. T. Brown, Chairma
T. E. Vann, J N. Holloman, J. T. Williams.

Attorney—J. J. Yeates.
1898—G. W. Mitchell, Chairman, J. B. Vaughan,

n; A. I. Parker,

County
1896 to
E. T. Snipes. :
County Attorney—George
1898 “ 1900—J. H. Mitchell, Chairman ; G. W. Mitchell,
J. B. Vaughan, J. M. Eley, A. I. Parker, J. ©, Vinson,
J. G. Majette, B. F. lagna!
County Attorney—George owper.
1900 to 1902—J. G. Majette, Chairman; A. I. Parker,
asks, Williams, J. C. Vinson,
County Attorney—John E.

owper.

J. H. Mitchell.

Vann.

   

 

 

 
 

334 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

1902 to 1904—J. G. Majette, Chairman; J. C. Vinson,
A. I. Parker, C. W. Parker, B. F. Williams.

County Attorney—L. J. Lawrence.
1904 to 1906—J. G. Majette, Chairman; J. C. Vinson,

A. I. Parker, C. W. Parker, W. E. Cullens.
County Attorneys—Winborne & Lawrence.

U. s. CENSUS OF 1900.

Population of United States ......0seeeeeeees 84,907,156
Population of North Carolina......---++++++> 1,893,810
Population of Virginia. ....-..-+ese+se err eee 1,854,184

Population of Hertford County, N. Ole aso ser 14,294

TOWNS IN THE COUNTY.

Murfreesboro—Incorporated 1787. Population in 1906
about 900.

Average Temperature for Degrees.
Jamwary «2. ees cece e tees tneseecsees 45 11-14
February. ....:.+-as-sespeccesesinns: 42
March: |... s. can hehe eee hee eten mae + 503
KRiptil opin s me ne Bente aie es. +fe oe 60 23-30
May ...ccecece cece r ert eeee ee ceeeees 674
Pee Mei be Be ce he ha et a 724
i 5 | Sa ange Gene arene i 8 77
ae ge 76 5-28
September ........-+esseerseneeeens® 72
OGHOWAE 3.5 ca orein io wpb lala eee em 59 2-3
November... 63. 0s. ds eee 2S 49 3-5 |
December .....-.cesccececcertteceere 45 1-3

' This average temperature of Murfreesboro was ascertained
by an accurate diary of the thermometer kept for each day

throughout the year.
Winton—Incorporated in 1768. Population in 1906

about 800.
Union—Incorporated in 1889. Population in 1906

about 150.

ssc amar inmeareammmaanreni lane

  
   
  
 
 
  
 
 
  
  
  
   

    

Miscettanreous INFoRMATION. 335

Harrellsville-—Incorporated in 1883. Population in 1906
about 400.

Ahoskie-—Incorporated in 1893.
about 300.

Mapleton—Incorporated in 1901:

about -L0.

In nddition to the newspapers mentioned in text, which
have been published in the county, are the Murfreesboro
Enquirer, from about 1876 to 1883 ; edited by E. L. ©. Ward.
That was followed by the Murfreesboro Index, which still
lives, and edited by John W. Hicks. The Hertford Herald
is also published by A. J. Conner, of Rich Square, North-
ampton, and it hails from Ahoskie, N. C.

Population in 1906

Population in 1906

 

——s

a

 

=

 
_
338 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

Name. County-seat. When created.
SPADES. ie Se ain PTalishoras oes ks ee 1751.
MPEP LIGO G's s018. 4,00 es eeaate Bayboro ....----+++eeee- 1872.
Pasquotank.......-.+-- Elizabeth City ......-..-. 1729.
PONG; .-.:x/5 2 eee me Burgaw. oj ves ae es eel ve 1875.
Porson >: f-ireee eae tee Gx Oro cc tao eters oon 1791.
Perquimans. .....++++++ errords. 22.9% % Prior to 1729.
PE fee ik ere ae FESR CTE oon FOSS eRe 1760.
Aen et e Lieks Geek ati eee BURG hr aiiuy te hab eeseecceae parts nese perenne aa 1855.
Randolph. ....--++++++5 MSHBODO ys cic cess yaaa 1779.
Rickinondy') a4 s>s bas Rockingham ......-+-++-- TET,
Robeson {5.3 hbase eee Paamiherton ose ais ss es 1786.
Rockingham. ....---+++5 Wentworth ........ tees 1785.
Rowan. STL eer pe Salisbury .....+.e+e-+++ 1753.
Rutherford....--+++-+++5 Rutherfordton ..........: 1779.
Sampson. .....2-+++5e> Clinton “ssh. 5 = sis ae 1784.
Scotland As = si sen Laurinburg .....--++++++ 1901.
Rams Ve vic a 505.2 cee Albemarle (fo. /aiee & os 1841.
Stokes CE ee tree Darby sa sgt s e068 1789.
re] EE ee Mt Airy 7 apes... ae 1770.
Slate Bee oi ices a ohne ate Bryson City .........++-- 1871.
Transylvania......-+e+% Pevard |... +s. epee .1860.
Tyrell Bnei stave <a: 8 Colimbia:.isa4ge Prior to 1729.
l Fate coe! eRe ete ete e st + h MOT TOC ss "3:5 05s = aco a 1842
CA SER Re A et Henderson s... sss er es 1881.
21 ee ae a eae Raleigh ......++eeeees ee 1770
2 (ee SPREE Pee Warrenton ....-++-seeees AT 19
Washington. ....-.--++- Plymouth ...-+++ee reese 1799.
Watauga.......seeeeee Toone’. i asthe ei e's <9 oem 1849.
Wayne ab aes ee i heap eine Géldshore. ce Mae ee see L779.
ie eae Mian oas atte data {TTT.
MRIS OT © ho ibs gee eae Ae Py « ROO aa eam 2 1855.
Mme 6 ec hha cares 9 Yadkinville«... 265 0). dean's 1850.
Yancey......-+-seeeese TRIB VALIO soso cis. wk tocalaitin a 1833.

he
aa
ir

 

 

   
  

    

Misceitangous INFORMATION. 339

LORDS PROPRIETORS,

The times of the Lords Proprietors and their government
dates from the settlement of Carolina up to 1729, when all
the Lords Proprietors except Lord Carteret sold their rights
to the soil of Carolina and franchises aequired under the
charter of King Charles II., to the King of England for
$45,000.

The oldest of the Lords Proprietors was made the Palatine

or President of the Lords who claimed rights under the Great
Grant of Carolina.

COLONIAL TIMES.

The Colonial days of North Carolina were from 1729 to
November, 1776.
STATEHOOD DAYS,
The days of Statehood of North Carolina date from No-
vember, 1776.
COLONIAL GOVERNORS.

Date when sworn in—
1730—George Burrington.
1734—Gabriel Johnson.
1753—Matthew Rowan.
1754—Arthur Dobbs.
1765—William Tryon.
1771—Josiah Martin.

STATE GOVERNORS OF NORTH CAROLINA.
ELECTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

Dates when sworn in. Names, Counties.
Poet Abard: VORSWELL oo - . 5.3.5 > ergs vo ea Ee Lenoir
4779—-Abner Nash .....-...... ain ol Fe ees Craven.
Pree Diomas: Pre, . .<'. hs bs oo no cae ieee Orange.
ai toe Milowiacdow AEBPTIN >...) 6.5 oc cee oe Guilford
Tee IGWALE ORBWELL 45h 6 ok a e0:S tO we oe ote Lenoir.
eee rene! AOMNMOEY. «ss oes < ¢ i <5) Saeed wa ba Chowan.

a

 
 

The Constitutional Convention of 1835 amended the Con-
stitution of 1776, and since then the Governors have been
elected by the people at the ballot-box.

1837—Edward B. Dudley ....+-+++++++*° New Hanover.
1841—John M. Morehead ....----+-++22e000'""! Guilford.
1845—William A. Graham ....----serrrrrtt tts Orange.
1849—OCharles Manly «2.5.5 00+ +5 seb aap res ss mee Wake.
1851—David S, Reid .....5-+++-se228tsr Rockingham.
1854—Warren Winslow, ex officio ...+++++++ Cumberland.
Pons Ehomas Brage ss. ssa oars teens on Northampton.
CORRS Tihn W. Filia os os cs oe ae OR 8 res Rowan.
1861—Henry T. Clark, ex Officio... seer eens Edgecombe.

 

= = ——
340 Hisrory or Herrrorp County, N. C.

Dates when sworn in. Names. Counttes.
1789—Alexander Martin .....-----+++sreeerrs Guilford.
1792—Richard Dobbs Speight, Sr. .-.-++-++++++ Craven.
4795—Samuel Ashes oo .i ss ote s ene y es New Hanover.
1798—William R. Davie .....---+eeereerreres Halifax.
1799—Benjamin Williams .....----+0reeerrrtt: Moore.
1809-—James Turner... 0506 tenses sec en ese sere Warren.
14805—Nathaniel Alexander ....----+++++0 Mecklenburg.
1807—Benjamin Williams ....----+++eerrerrre' Moore.
1808——-David Stone: . 0... oad cane cie y's songs * he Bertie.
1810—Benjamin Smith ....----++seeererees Brunswick.
4811—William Hawkins ....-----+-seeerrteees Warren.
1814—William Miller ......-.+-eee eee recteeee Warren.
1817—John Branch ....---++eeeeeeees eters Halifax.
1890—Jesse Franklin ....---s++eeeeseresrecces Surry.
1891—Gabriel Holmes ....-----sseerrrrreees Sampson.
1824—Hutchings G. Burton ...----++seeerrreee Halifax.
1897—James Iredell... . ese Ver esos sees sannte Chowan.
4998—John Owen. ...+5* csabeeensse* sewer e * Bladen.
41830—Montford Stokes ..-+--++s+s+r+ss erect Wilkes.
4832—David L. Swain ..----ssererrrrrtt . Buncombe.
1835—Richard Dobbs Speight, Vi Cae ss ss anne Craven.

‘ee AR

 

Miscetianeous INFORMATION. 341
ARG SI IRE NGS oy Ale eas yA pie oA Buncombe.
1866—W. W. Holden (provisional) ............-- Wake.
1866—Jonathan Worth ....-- 2.222 eeeee cence Randolph.
$O08~ W. W. Holden . . i. 0s se ess cine te tin metres Wake.
4970—-Tod. R. Caldwell)... 06.064 see cee sc ceieags Burke.
1874—Curtis H. Brogden .......-+ +e e eee eee Wayne.
UG AR eM AN0G, «<6 oe ode oss + ote tem a oie Buncombe.
MEO ID Vols abc ALVIS. cca le 6 6 on sae oo one's ah pene Pitt.
1885—Alfred M. Seales ......--0 eee ee eee eens Guilford.
1889—Daniel G. Fowle ....----s eee cece ce ee tees Wake.
AOd Moning: Meo OR i). sass Sella es ees . Alamance.
sos Sisal scree 0): 2 ea Aa ee sae a CN Edgecombe.
Ree anil ie Tiseell sos New Hanover.
aed tnariva B. AYCOCK . 4.5.8. kee ene? Wayne.
19Gn-—eobert. By Glenn. 6.8. sik oes seas «we qin eng eee Forsyth.

STATES IN THE UNION.

THIRTEEN ORIGINAL STATES.

The dates given show when they entered the Union by
ratifying the Federal Constitution.

NATO ..e5 OM et Skid’ G ish go win ge 98 Dec. 7, 1787.
Pennsylvania ......-e-seeespe cess eeees Dee. 12, 1787.
ites Fae sco ad Cea: PRONE Be hn 0 68 wey Dee. 18, 1787.
Georgia .....- sees eect t erent eee eens Jan. 2, 1788.
SEE EO OE PEER EN EE eo) ee Jan. 9, 1788.
ET ee ee re ees re er Feb. 6, 1788.
Maryland ......-+2 0s e eee ener eee reece April 28, 1788.
Gianth Oarolivia .. 2-6: <0 esse ede an ences May 23, 1788.
New Hampshire ...--+-+++++++s+2+0e0005 June 21, 1788.
Virginia 2.0... cece eee tet e tenn e ees June 25, 1788.
eC Gry ee a scala ain.syeit «ale 2 ep eee hete July 26, 1788.
Mbt CATOlMAG, ¢ 5 s%.65 «2 = 0s hha ot ee eS Nov. 21, 1789.:
Rhode Island .......---s eee eee eee eeeeees May 29, 1789.

 
 

 

     
  
  
  
 
  
 
 
  
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
  
  
  
 
  
   
  
   
 

342 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

The following States were admitted into the Union by a
vote of Congress:

RIO G 2)! 330.5 Ho ROA EER oan noma are Mar. 4, 1791.
PERILS S's 5\c-< seg bahar mith tes Meaney or Ege Ne June 1, 1792.
WORTLOSSBE | 65s: gesnalg eter Races Mace AR oar aaa June 1, 1796.
0). Gene N ey ine Stent ect erga eye kta et Nov. 29, 1802.
Poetry ev ass Bk ee a in
Trdtan aes sa bale Wate Ge onda Pe ie eee Ce eae Lae
MA BSt BS p piiices: cick Liaise gia oral ans since ere ees Dec. 10, 1817.
PURGE e B Si aE ee ee Dec. 3, 1818.
Ada Barns « & sips cic Se vs 8 Pace eae a Dec. 14, 1819.
Niece os Sa Geass are ied ert e ee Oe Mar. 15, 1820.
WigsoGrt ser aces AWA KM MIhG ss Gare Wa otha’ Aug. 10, 1821.
ARR Behe 3. oes acts ote aro Wee haven ae wee June 15, 1836.
Michigat <0 a ON Ee Jan. 26, 1837.
OTE see Oe die «oy Seep ened Mar. 3, 1845.
Wins cso eta ahaa Gas alae li'y Weta he ie ee ee Dec. 29, 1845.
DOW Bese hosed aoe eh ees ea he ee Ns Se Dee. 28, 1846.
WSCON SID 550s 2 o.5¢- ah eal oie SE pinata nh natal May 29, 1848.
Oalifornia > «i «sc :4% sols sage che aaa aan re eeennes Sept. 9, 1850.
WE MminbaOteL.. 2 cA. «vie arsteiitecs ete ede aneneincaum anes May 11, 1858.
ORSON wise oS cA Ree es Deeg ss Feb. 14, 1859.
CHIGRS s P ar eect ate > ote ck eo piel pleieies Jan. 29, 1861.
West Virginie ii oe eee ee ens June 19, 1863.
ANSARI SIMMS Si eyo osc a oe 8 ee ew NEED Oct. 31, 1864.
RDPB Pei debe. Kole eee ae Mar. 1, 1867.
REACH cidite ochre ins cciw-0-0 gute nacre verter aeaanaa Aug. 1, 1876.
SNe Lobia EERE 5 555g’ Sioa at shcgerd oh Pa ie agape sane Nov. 2, 1889.
SOME Waa bR Os cans Syke mo wear 9 edncie cea Nov. 2, 1889.
WNAIRUB TIERS. T1641. ys abe cin OR pes tisy tale 9 pee nee tN Nov. 8, 1889.
We BO ti lai os kee aie wena ae eg Noy. 11, 1889.
RENT, tee Seek Sis coe as Sle: qheb haste eS July 3, 1890.
Weert ok a a es Fe rm meen July 10, 1890.
MRNA Cite tele gist oeie 2 oe Ric Dee Jan. 4, 1896.

Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Indian Territory
will probably be admitted within the next year. The two

 

 

      
   
    
    
        

MisceLLaNnrous INFORMATION. 343

former territories will be admitted as one State, and the
latter two as one State.

Note.—Since writing the above, Oklahoma and Indian
Territories have been admitted in the Union as one State
named Oklahoma, and the other two were admitted upon the
condition that their admission as one State, Arizona, is rati-

fied by the voters.

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.

Elected for the following terms—

1789-1796—George Washington.

1796-1800—John Adams.

1800-1808—Thomas Jefferson,

1808-1816—James Madison.

1816-1824—James Monroe.

1824-1828—John Q. Adams.

1828-1836—Andrew Jackson.

1836-1840—Martin Van Buren.

1840-1844—William H. Harrison.

1844-1848—James K. Polk.

1848-1852—Zachary Taylor. He died, and Vice-Presi-
dent Millard Fillmore was sworn July 9, 1850.

1852-1856—Franklin Pierce.

1856-1860—James Buchanan.

1860-1864—Abraham Lincoln.

1864-1868—Abraham Lincoln. He was elected, but as-
sassinated April 14, 1865, and Andrew Johnson, Vice-Presi-
dent, on April 15, 1865, was sworn in as President, and

impeached and acquitted May 26, 1868.
1868-1876—U. 8. Grant.
1876-1880—R. B. Hayes.

 

1880-1884—J. A. Garfield was elected, but was assassina-
ted September 19, 1881, and Vice-President Chester A.

Arthur sworn in as President, September 20, 1881.

1884-1888—Grover Cleveland.
1888-1892—Benjamin Harrison.
344 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

1892-1896—Grover Cleveland.

1896-1900—William McKinley.

1900-1904—William McKinley. He was assassinated Sep.
tember 6, 1901, and Theodore Roosevelt, Vice-President, was
sworn in as President, September 15, 1901.

1904-1908—Theodore Roosevelt.

Henry Clay was defeated for President three times. Dan-
iel Webster defeated once. John C. Calhoun was never a
nominee for President. James G. Blaine defeated once, and
William J. Bryan defeated twice. Thomas Jefferson was
defeated once before he was elected. The eloquent John C.
Breckenridge could never be elected President. It is no
criterion that an officer is the greatest man and better qualified
than others to fill the office. It very often happens that very
inferior men are elected to fill the most important offices.

SOME USEFUL RULES FOR THE FARMER
AND BUSINESS MAN.

HOW TO KEEP HAMS.

Rule 1.—After smoking them, take them down and thor-
oughly rub the flesh part with molasses, then immediately
apply ground black pepper, as much as will stick to the mo-
lasses, then hang them up to dry. They will keep perfectly
sweet, and insects will not appear on them.

Rule 2.—After your hams have taken salt, smoke them
well, then take them down and dip them for a few seconds in
boiling water. This will kill all eggs of insects, if any, then
roll them in dry ashes while wet and rehang them. Re-
smoke them if you choose. The shoulders and sides may
be treated in the same way. With this treatment bugs and
skippers will never appear.

REMEDY FOR PEAR-TREE BLIGHT.

Mix one pint of common salt with four times its bulk of
ashes. Spread around the roots a foot or moré from trunk
of tree, but do not let the mixture come in contact with tree.

 

 

Miscettaneous INFORMATION. 345

HEALTH.

Avoid hog-pens near your residence. They breed fevers,
sickness and death.

A DURABLE WHITEWASH.

The U. S. Government formula. The author has tried it
and found it almost equal to oil paint.

To ten parts of good slack lime add one quart best hy-
draulie cement, or any other good quality of cement. (The
Portland is the best cement.) Mix well with salt water and
apply quite thin. There is no other whitewash equal to this.

HOW TO LOOK AFTER YOUNG CHICKENS.

Chicken lice go to the head of the chicken at night. When
the young chicken is four or five days old, grease its head
with lard. You may mix a little coal-oil with the lard if

you choose.
YOUNG PIGS.

The summer is the time to look after your pigs and keep
them healthy and in a thrifty condition. Never feed them
with the larger hogs. Always have a pen with a slip for the
pigs to get in, and feed them separate. You can teach the
sow and pigs quickly to govern themselves to fit your rules.

HOW TO KILL IRISH POTATO BUGS.

Mix an ounce of London purple with three gallons of
water, and by the use of a watering pot sprinkle the vines of
the potatoes. The London purple is better than the Paris
green.

HOW TO KEEP POTATOES.

Dust the floor of your bin with lime. Then lay the pota-
toes over six or seven inches deep, then dust well with lime
again, and repeat the layer of potatoes, and so on. One
bushel of lime will do for forty bushels of potatoes. The
lime will improve the flavor of the potatoes, and is harmless.

ee ty eee eee ee Se

ee ee
 
 
    
 
 
  
  
 
  
 
 
 
   
  
 
 
  
   
 
   
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
  
  

346 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

HOW TO MEASURE CORN IN BULK.

Level the corn so as to get an even depth throughout the
pile, then measure the length and breadth of the pile, and
multiply the length by the breadth, which will give the num-
ber of cubie feet of the bulk of corn. Divide the product
of the multiplication by 12, and the quotient will be the num-
ber of barrels of shelled corn in the bulk. Should there be
a remainder, it will be so many twelfths of a barrel of shelled
corn over.

LAND MEASUREMENT TABLE,

625. SG): damier cei coh sie i ae ea 1 pole.
1.6. poles’) dit sae aahee ace haga Gerais 1 sq. chain.
10 :8q. -GWAENS cea en oe liyina lets we Bere,
G40 Bored. sci g oe oe wrens, seas 1 sq. mile.

An acre is the unit of land measure, and is 10 sq. chains.
A rood is a quarter of an acre, and contains 25,000 sq. links.
A perch, or pole, or rod, is the 160th of an acre, and con-
tains 30} sq. yards, or 625 sq. links. The Gunter’s chain
used by surveyors is 22 yards long, and divided into 100
links of 7 92-100 inches each. An acre embraces 10 sq.
chains, or 100,000 sq. links. The outside measurements of
land is estimated by running chains and links, and the con-
tents by sq. chains and links.

HOW TO MEASURE LAND.

Multiply the length by the width (in rods) and divide the
product by 160, and this will give the number of acres and
hundredths of an acre. When the sides of the land are
irregular and of unequal length, add them together and take
one-half forthe main length or width. Multiply this by the
depth and divide by 31}. This will give the number of acres
in the piece of land. 21,500 cubic inches will contain ten
bushels of shelled corn, but the same space filled with corn
in the ear will shell out rather more than five bushels. These
21,500 eubie inches contain 12 cubic feet and 764 cubic

 

 

 

 

 

MisceLLaANeous INFORMATION. 347

inches over. Tiwo barrels or ten bushels of corn in the ear
will generally in shelling overrun these 764 cubic inches.

HOW TO RID YOUR LAND OF STUMPS.

In the autumn bore a hole one or two inches in diameter,
according to the size of the stump, about 18 inches deep.
Fill this hole with one or two ounces of saltpetre, then fill
the hole with water and plug it up close. Next spring take
out the plug and fill it with kerosene oil and ignite it. The
fire will soon burn the stump down to and throughout its

roots.
HOW TO LAY OFF LOTS OF LAND.

In laying off small lots the following measurements will
be found accurate and correct:

524 feet square, or 2,7224 square feet, is 1-16 of an acre.

74 2-3 feet square, or 5,415 square feet, is $ of an acre.

1044 feet square, or 10,590 square feet, is } of an acre.

1474 feet square, or 21,780 square feet, is } of an acre.

208 2-3 feet square, or 43,560 square feet, is 1 acre.

HOW TO ASCERTAIN THE NUMBER OF FEET IN SCANTLING,
JOISTS, PLANKS, SILI.S, ETC

For scantlings, sills, joists, ete., multiply the width by the
thickness and then multiply the result by the length, then
divide the product by 12. This will give the number of
square feet in the piece of timber. To measure boards mul-
tiyly the length (in feet) by the width (in inches) and divide
the product by 12. The result will be the number of square

feet the board contains.
HANDY RULES TO CALCULATE INTEREST..

Rule 1.—For finding the interest on any principal for any
number of days, multiply in each case the dollars by the num-
ber of days, and for ascertaining at the rate of

4 per cent, divide the amount by 90.

5 per cent, divide the amount by 72.

eee ee Nee.

Pasta cilia

staan tg a Sit onal Sl

|

 
    
 

 

 

348 History or Herrrorp County, N. C.

6 per cent, divide the amount by 60.
_8 per cent, divide the amount by 45.

9 per cent, divide the amount by 40.

I hope interest will never get higher, so I will annex the
table.

Rule 2.—Multiply the principal by the number of days;
separate the right hand figure from the product and divide
by 9, if the rate of interest is 4 per cent. If 5 per cent,
multiply by number of days and divide by 72. If 6 per
cent, multiply by number of days, separate the right hand
figure and divide it by 6. If 8 per cent, multiply by the num-

ber of days and divide by 45.
The author never calculates interest according to the above
rules, but follows the old established rules given in the

academic arithmetics.

Rule 3.—For finding the interest on any principal for any
number of days, the answer in each case being in cents, sepa-
rate the two right hand figures to express it in dollars and

cents. Four per cent, multiply the principal by the num-
ber of days to run; separate the right hand figure from the

product and divide by 9. Five per cent, multiply by num-
ber of days and divide by 72. Six per cent, divide by 60.
Sever per cent, divide by 57. Eight per cent, divide by 45.

FOR CHOLERA INFANTUM.

Two whites of two eggs well beaten; mix with pure water
and one tablespoonful of orange-flower water and a little
sugar, and give a tablespoonful every hour. It is said to
cure the worst cases of cholera infanutm. The eggs cool and

heal the bowels.
FOR CROUP.

Dip a flannel cloth in a mixture of sweet oil and kerosene
oil and tie it around the child’s throat at night, and he will
be well by morning. The sweet oil prevents the kerosene oil
from burning and taking the skin off.

 
    

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 

 

Sind salen clas Sl