74 Chroneles of the Cape Fear River

dozen cheeses were included and several gross of black tacks.
Instead of the cheeses, they sent a dozen English chaises, and
for the tacks there was sent an immense number of black jacks,
as they were called, a kind of japanned-tin drinking mug; his
correspondent apologizing for not completing the order as to the
cups, as he had bought up all that could be found in the shops
of London. Mr. Quince either spelled badly or wrote illegibly,
probably a little of both. :

There was one of the Quinces, who, for some family reason
or other, adopted the name of Hasell—William Soranzo
Hasell.1 He was much esteemed and the intimate friend of
many of the gentlemen of his day. When party polities ran
high between the old Federalists and Republicans he edited a
paper called The Minerva, advocating the principles of the
Federal party, and was well sustained and caressed by his
friends. He must have been a man of fine literary taste, judg-
ing from the number of old volumes of the best English litera-
ture with his name and coat of arms inscribed on them, which
I have come across in the old libraries.

Rock Hill was handsomely located on a bluff commanding a
fine view of the river. It was in olden times the residence of
Mr. Jehu Davis, and more lately of Mr. Thomas J. Davis, his
son. The name of Davis, both in early and later times on the
Cape Fear, has always been associated with all that was highly
respectable and honorable, and it has been most eminently sus-
tained in the person of Hon. George Davis, of Wilmington, and
the late Bishop Davis, of South Carolina.

Proceeding farther down, but not immediately on the river,
was once a place known as Nesces Creek, on a creek of that
name, which before the Revolution was the residence of Arthur
Mabson, Esq., a gentleman noted for his great energy and indus-
try, by which he had accumulated a considerable estate, but he
died the first year of the war, at the early age of forty. This

place was long ago abandoned, and I do not suppose there is a
vestige of its improvements left.

Crossing Nesces Creek and going a mile or so farther on, we
come to where once stood Fair Fields, also gone totally to ruin.
Here lived Mr. John Hill, a gentleman of note in his day, fre-
quently representing the county in the Legislature. He had
been a soldier in the Revolution, entered the army while quite

*He took the name of his mother, who was Susannah Hasell, a grand-
daughter of Chief Justice Hasell.

Permanent Settlement 75

young, and served with General Greene in his southern cam-
paigns.

Passing on, we come to Sans Souci. Of the early history of
this place the writer knows nothing. For many years past it
has been the residence of the late Mr. Arthur J. Hill.

Crossing Smith’s Creek, we come to Hilton. This was the
residence of Cornelius Harnett, Esq., and the old mansion was
erected by him. It is not surprising that this point should have
attracted the admiration of those who first selected it and built
upon it. A fine bluff, near the junction of Smith’s Creek with
the river, it has a commanding and extensive view up and down
the stream. Although much out of repair and the grounds
mutilated by the deep cut of a railroad passing through them,
it is still the most attractive spot near the city of Wilmington.

Cornelius Harnett was about the most noted and conspicuous
personage of his day in the whole Cape Fear region. No man
more entirely commanded the confidence and admiration of the
community in which he lived.

Either on account of feeble health or advanced life, Mr.
Harnett was not an active participant as a soldier in the War
of the Revolution; both heart and means were nevertheless en-
listed in the cause, and after Wilmington was occupied by the
British, he was wrested from a sick bed and confined in their
prison, where he died in consequence of their harsh and brutal
treatment.

Mr. Harnett, I believe, left no descendants, and in after times
Hilton became the property and the residence of William H.
Hill, Esq. This gentleman was said to have possessed fine
qualities of both head and heart. Genial of temper and fond of
conviviality, he attracted many friends around him, and was
always the life of his company. He was a leading spirit among
the gentlemen of the Federal party, when politics ran high, and
represented the Wilmington district in Congress during the
administration of the elder Adams.

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