Gc M. t.
975.6 As3b V.5 1742318
re:ynolds hi<=torical
genfalogy '^o! j action
\
3 1833 02397 6647
oflJoill) vxarolina
From Colonial Times to the J'rcsent
ivy
^■'t;^|i
Samuel A . Ashe
Charles L . Van N o p p e n
r r r. 1. 1 s n e r
Greensboro, N. C.
M C M V I
^63
(ff
BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
OF NORTH CAROLINA
■OLD NORTH STATE" EDITION
THIS EDITION IS STRICTLY LIMITED TO SEVEX HUNDRED AND FIFTY REGISTERED A N D NUMBERED SETS, OF WHICH THIS IS SET NUMBER
1742318
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Kemp P. Battle . John C. Buxton TiiEO. F. Davidson
; .. Junius Davis
RuFus A. DouGHTON
j,,, TiioMAS J. Jakvis '' James Y. Joyner .
7 ;, Charles D. J^IcIver
:■' William L. Poteat James H. Southgate Charles \V. Tillett
Chapel Hill
Winston-Salcm
. Asheville
. Wilmington
Sparta
Greenville
. Raleigh
Greensboro
Wake Forest
Durham
. Charlotte
Advisory Board . . ' Contexts .... Portraits .... Contributors . Allen, Eleazar . Belo, Alfred H. . Blue, John DovD, Adam
Bruton, Joitx Fletcher Butler, Joiix . Buxtox, Jarx'is Buxtox, Ralph P. Buxtox, Johx Camerox' Carr, Lewis Au;ert . Carteret, Peter . Catch maid, Cteorge . Clevelaxd, Bex jam IX Clixtox, Richard Cox, Oklaxdo R. . DiCKSox, William Faxxixg, Da\'H) . FoRXEV, Pi::ter . ' . Forsyth, Bexja.mix .
CONTEXTS
GoKi;, Joshua Walker . Gray, Julius Alexander Hall, John .... Hamilton, John . Hassell, Gushing Biggs Hassell, Sylvester . Hawkins, Philemon, Sr. Hawkins, Philemon, Jr. Hawkins, Benjamin Hawkins, William . Hawkins, John D. . Hawkins, Alex.\nder Boyd Hawkins, William J. Jackson, Andrew Jenkins, John Johnston, Gabriel King, William R. JiIcAden, Rufus Yancey jMaffitt, John Xewland RIcIvER, Charles Duncan McIver, John IVIcAIillan Mangum, Willie Person; IMangum, Willie Per.?on, Ji jMangum, Priestley Hinton Metis, James Isaac . Moore, Bartholomew Figu Morgan, Samuel Tate . Pearson, Richmond M. PiTTMAN, Thomas ;Merritt Polk, Thomas Poteat, \\'illiam Louis .
Sr,
["/"■[ I ■- '."'■)
COXTENTS
Pkatt, Joseph Hyde Keixhaudt, Rouekt Smith
Rex, John
Ricks, Roi!Ekt Henry RoYSTER, Frank Sheppard RuFFiN, Thomas . RuFi-ix, Thomas, Jr. . Skinner, Vv''h.liam Stanly, Edward . Starkey, John Stockakd, Henry Jerome Sumner, Jetju^o . Taylor, John Louis . Thompson, George Wakren Van Xoppen, Leonard Charles Walker, Henderson . Watkins, William Henry . Weeks, Stephen Beauregard Whitehead, AL\rceli.us Whitehead, John Whitehead, Richard Henry Whitehead, \\'illiam Henry Williamson, Hugh . Williams, Eenjamtn
Wilkes, John
WiNBORNE, Benjamin Brodie WiTHERSi'ooN, John . Wright, Richard Harvey .
327 333
339 342 345 350 360 367 370 379 383 395 402 407
412
422 426 433 442 446 449 452 458 467 473 480 487 493
Portraits
AlcIviiR, Charles D. . lii'.LO, Ar.rRED H. . . ,
Blue, Joikx
j'.kUiU.N, Joii.N F. . UUXTON, Jarvls 15UXT0X, Rali'ii p. Buxiox, JoHx Cameron . Carr, Lewis At.BERx . Cox, Orlando K. . Gore, Josiil'a Walker Gray, Julius Alexander Hassell, Cusuing Biggs IIassell, Sylvester . Hawkins. Philemox, Jr Hawkins, I'.exjamix . Hawkins, William . Hawkins, John D. . . . }L\WKiNs, Alexander Boyd Hawkins, \A'illiam J. McAdex, Rueus Yaxcev
MclVER. JoIIX :\IC^In.LAN
Man(-,um, Willie Person Mangum, Willie I'eksox, Jr
Frontispiece
facing 8
14
23
" 38
41
" 46
53
79
" 107
110
•' 124
•' 129
■' 139
■' 144
154
160
" 164
" 169
•• 19S
■■ 230
" 236
" 258
l'ORTR.-\ITS
MA^'Gu^r, Priestlev Hintox, Sr. Metts, James Isaac . . Moore, Bartholomew Figures Morgan, Samuel Tate . Peaksox, Richmond M. . PiTTMAN, Thomas Merritt PoTEAT, William Louis . Pratt, Joseph Hyde . Reinhardt, Robert Smith Ricks, Robert Henry RoYSTER, Frank Siierpard RuFFiN, Thomas . Stockard, Henry Jerome Thompson, George Warren Van Noppen, Leonard Charles Watkins, William Henry . Weeks, Stephen Beauregard Whitehead, Marcellus . Whitehead, John Whitehead, Richard PIexry Whitehead, William Henry Wilkes, John . . . . . Winborne, Benjamin Brodie Wright, Richard Harvey .
facing 263
" 267
" 275
" 287
" 295
" 310
" 321
" 327
" 333
" 342
" 345
" 350
" 3S3
" 407
" 412
" 426
" 433
• " 442
" 446
" 449
" 452
" 473
" 480
" 493
Samuel A. Ashe Theo. F. Kluttz
Richard II. Battle, A.R.,LL. D.Patrick R.Law, A.R.,B.D.,D.D.
■G. Samuel Bradshaw, A.M. M. L. J^awrence
James H. Mvrover
John- C. Bu.xton JosEi'H P. Caldwell J. B. Carlyle, A.M. Collier Cobh, A.M. R. D. \V. Connor, Ph.B.
Frank Nash
Louis Julien Picor, M.D. Thomas M. Pittman Edward W. Sik.es, Ph D.
Robert P. Dick, A.M.,LL.D. William C. Smith, A. B.
Benjamin F. Dixon
Al Fairbrother
Robert B. Glenn
J. G. cU: R. Hamilton, A.M.
Marshall De L. Haywood
George Howe, Ph.D.
James H. Southcate, A.B. Leonard C. Van Noppen, A.M. Francis P. Venabll, Ph.D. Stephen B. Weeks, Ph.D., LL.D. George Stockton Wills, A.M.
RoKERT W. WlNBOKNE, A.B.
Thos.II.Hume,A.M.,D.D.,LL.D. Francis D. Winston, A.B. James McNeill Johnson William A. Withers, A.M.
. !
ELEAZAR ALLEN
.5 HE subject of thi
^1
sketch, Eleazar Allen, for sonic fifteen years, during a most interesting , . , period of the development of the Province of
/^^ ^^ North Carolina, played an important part in
r,=»-W^— Jj^l public aft'airs. Xot only, as stated on his tomb- W^r^V?*^, J^C/ ^,tone, "did God endow him with an admirable understanding, and his parents with a liberal education, of both of which he made the most excellent use," but by his family con- nections and his public employment he exerted a strong influence on the course of events.
He was born in Massachusetts in 1692, of English parentage. His grandfather. Reverend John Allen, of Norfolk, England, was educated at Cambridge, where he took B.A. in 1615, and M.A. in 1619. In 1637 he came to America and organized the church at Dedham, Massachusetts, which he served as minister until his death in 1671. One of his sons, Doctor Daniel Allen, graduated at Harvard in 1675, was librarian of the college, and took the degree of !M.A. in 1678. He married Mary Anna Bendall, and had by her, among other chililreii. the subject of this sketch. After the death of Doctor Alien his widow married Samuel Lynde. In her will Mrs. L^nde makes a bequest '"unto my lov- ing son, Eleazar, of Carolina.'" It is interesting to note also that a sister of the subject of this sketch, Katherine Allen, married Josiah W'illard, and bequests were likewise made by ]\Irs. Lynde
r V
XORTH CAROLIXA
to her Willard grandchildren. Circunistances led the footsteps of young Allen to Charleston, South Carolina, where he became a merchant, and tliere at some time prior to 1722 he married Sarah Rhett, the eldest daughter of Colonel William Rliett, who was born June, 1697. Another daughter of Colonel Rhett mar- ried "King" Roger Moore of the Cape Fear, and a niece of Mrs. Allen married Thomas Franklin, an officer of the British Navy, and another niece married William Dry of the Cape Fear.
In 1723 Colonel IMaurice I\Ioore determined on making the set- tlement of the Cape Fear, and sought to interest his connections in South Carolina, as well as those in the Albemarle region, in this enterprise. Roger Moore and his family were among the first to move, and Mr. Allen agreed to join them in their new home. In 1725 he obtained a grant for land on the Cape Fear adjoining the Orton plantation, where Roger Moore built, and tliere later he made his residence, calling his plantation Lilliput.
It appears, however, that Mr. Allen, about that time, returned to Massachusetts and graduated at Harvard in 1726. He was then about thirty-four years of age; and possibly it may have happened that he had left Harvard in his youth without graduat- ing, and he now returned merely to finish his course, perfect him- self in some lines, and obtain his degree. Coming back to Charleston, he was, for some time Clerk of tlie Assembly of the Province of South Carolina, and he remained in his old home until 1734. It was exjiectcd, however, that he would take up his residence on the Cape Fear earlier, and in August, 1730, when Burrington was appniiUeil Governor of North Carolina, he rec- ommended Allen to be one of Iiis Council ; and he was appointed, but he remained in Sonlh Carolina and was not sworn in as a Councillor until November 2, 1734. Governor Johnston arrived at the Cape Fear on October 27th ; on November 6th Governor Burrington met the General Assembly at Fdenton, and most of the Council were in attendance at that place. On November 2d, Halton, Allen and l\oger Moore, being at Brunswick, formed a Council, and Governor Johnston c.Khibited liis commission and began his adminisiratii )n. On the 6th of March following Gov-
ELEAZAR. ALLEN
iTi'.or Johnston appoinixd Allen Receiver-General of the Province in the jilace of John Hainerton, who v.as th.en absent from the Province; and a foriniglit later he appointed him an assistant Jii(lc;e of the Covirt of Oyer and Terminer, and directed that the llrst term of that Court should be held at Newton on the following I3tli of ^lay; and he also appointed Allen one of the Justices of New Hanover Precinct. IMr. Allen's business qualifications, as well, perhaps, as liis fine education, at once gave him prom- inence in public matters, and at the first meeting of the General Assembly, he and Secretary Nr'thanicl Rice were appointed a committee of the Council to draw up an address to the Governor; and the General Assembly recommended to the Governor and Council his appointnrent as Treasurer of New Hanover Precinct in the place of John Baptista Ashe, who had recently died, and the appointment was made.
The matter of the dividing line between North and South Caro- lina had long been unsettled. Originally the Lords Proprietors intended to establish a number of counties in Carolina, each with its local government, but all under a general Parliament. At the very first there were established, with undefined limits, the coun- ties of Albemarle, Clarendon and Craven. At length, about 16S9, when Ludwell was appointed Governor, his commission gave him authority "over that part of our Province lying north and east of Cape Fear."- Then Bath County was established with undefined southern limits, and Clarendon County ceased to ex- ist, probablv in 1667 when the Cape Fear was deserted and re- lapsed into an unoccupied wilderness. When Carteret Precinct was established, it extended south to the limits of North Caro- lina. The South Carolina authorities claimed the Cape Fear River as the boundary, and in 1692, under this claim, a settlement Iiad been projected, if not actually made, on tlie Cape Fear River, and a grant of 40,000 acres to Landgrave Smith had been located about where the town of Brunswick was afterwards built ; and in subsequent years other South Carolina grants were located on the Cape Fear agreeably to this claim on the part of the South Carolina authorities; But Burrington, who v.-as interested in the
NOKTH CAROLINA
settleiTiCiU of the Cape Fear ri;id had two plantations on that river, when he went to England in "1729, on tiie pnrchase of Caro- lina by the Crown, to push his clain; for appointment as first Royal Governor, exerted himself to have the limits of the Prov- ince extended further to the soutlnvard. In 1732, learninr;^ that some South Carohn.a patents were being located on the north side of the Wackamaw River, on lands formerly occupied by the Con- garee Indians, he advertised in the newspaper at Charleston that that section was in ?vorth Carolina. Burrington's instructions were that "the line should begin at the sea thirty miles distant from tlie Cape Fear, and should run at the same distance from that river to its head, and thence a due west course, unless Wackamaw lie within thirty miles of the Cape Fear River; then Wackamaw was to be the boundary." A question arose whether that meant the mouth of \\'ackamaw, or any part of that stream. In consequence of tlie representations made by Burrington and his strenuous endeavors to advance the interests of Xorth Caro- lina, it was ordered that each province should appoint commission- ers to agree upon a proper line subject to the King's approval. Eleazar Allen was appointed one of the commissioners on the part of North Carolina, and the commissioners met at his house at Lilliput on the 23d of April. T735, and agreed that a due west line should be run frcnn Cape Fear along the seacoast for thirty miles, and then 4jrocced northwest to the 35th degree of north latitude, etc.
One week later the coinmissioners began to run the li)ie, and the thirty miles carried them to ten poles from the mouth of Little River. In -Septemlicr they ran the line sevcnt_\- miles to the north- west. In ijT,j the line was extended in the same direction twent\- two miles; and from there in 1764 it was extended due west to Waxhaw Creek-. This line was very much more favorable to North Carolina than any that liad been previouslv proposed. In- deed the South Carolinians liad coutendetl for a boundary that would have thrown into their province the greater part of west- ern Carolina. It is app.arent, therefore, that Mr. Allen and his associates on that occa.Mon rendered the Province excellent service.
KLEAZAR ALLEX
Indeed he was well qualified to discharge the duties that devolved upon him in this and other employments of a public nature, for he was without doubt a man of superior parts and fine attainments. That the Cape Fear could even at that early date boast a society not surpassed in refinement elsewhere in America is a matter highly interesting and creditable. Not only were many of the first settlers men of wealth and ability, but there was a diffusion of education that imparted to the settlement a notable character; and Mr. Allen himself was an example of this culture. His library, according to the inventory before us, contained some 300 English and Latin volumes, including the standard works of that era: the classics, poetry, history, travels and works of fiction, as well as of a religious nature. Besides, there were fifty volumes in French : history, travels, science, poetry, and French transla- tions of Latin authors. The last book in the catalogue is "La Vie de Jesus Christ."
On a careful examination of this inventory of a library in use on the Cape Fear at that early period, one can but admire the fine taste and culture that led to such a collection of standard litera- ture. It is an evidence of a refinement and an elevation of senti- ment that reflects high credit on the community.
Moreover, a similar illustration is found in the will of IMrs. Allen: "I ordain that the said Mrs. De Rossett and Mrs. Dry have the care of all my private papers. . . . As to all my other letters to and from my several correspondents abroad and in America, as also ^^■hat miscellaneous I have of the amusing kind, I commit them entirely to their discretion ;" from which it would appear that ]\Irs. Allen employed herself at times in literary composition.
Mr. Allen's worth was appreciated by Governor Johnston, and in addition to his duties as Councillor and Judge he was Kecciver- Geneial of the province, having the duty of collecting the quit rents.
This last employment entailed no end of trouble and finally brought him into financial difirculty. The original practice, under the Act of 1715, was to pay these rents in commodities at a fixed
:lj Ji, .. ; •]'i: ,V :■■',■--.- f :-■ .!0!
NORTPI CAROLINA
valuation on the plantations. The authorities now undertook to change that practice, and a conflict ensued that led to the cessation of payments. An Act was, however, passed in 1737 that com- promised the points at issue, and all difficulties would have been removed if that Act had not been disallowed in England ; but it was annulled, and there was trouble in collecting the rents. Mr. Allen made frequent representations as to these matters, but with such little avail that after his death a claim was made by the Crown against his estate and his property was held liable for his failure to collect the rents.
Hardly had Governor Johnston gotten warm in his seat as Gov- vernor before he became interested in promoting the growth of Newton, later called Wilmington, to the detriment of Brunswick, throwing himself in conflict with the gentlemen who had settled in the older town. Thus the Governor, along with Murray, Junes, and other Wilmingtoniaiis, came into collision with the Moores and their connections, who were called by the Governor's faction "The family." ^Ir. Allen belonged to "The family," and there was some friction between hiin and the Governor until that matter was finally settled.
On the nth of July, 17^19, Edward ^vloselcy, who was Treas- urer of the Province, died, and I\Ir. Allen at the succeeding ses- sion of the General Assembly, October, 1749, was elected treas- urer in his place. But he himself died the succeeding January, and at the next session, April, 1750, John Starkey was nominated by the Lower Pfouse. the Council proposing another. Starkey was appointed, but that was a bcgiiming of the controversy be- tween the two tlouses over the right to appoint a treasurer, which never was finally settled.
When Burrington came over, he was accompanied by William Smith, then appointed Chief- Justice of the Province. A year or two later Smith returned to England and Burrington appointed Daniel Hanmer Chief-Justice in his absence. Smith died in 1743, and Governor Johnston appointed John Montgomery Chief- Justice. Montgomery died in 1744, and Edward Moselcy was • appointed to succeed him. Enoch Hall seems to have been then
ELEAZAR ALLEX
i apiii'iiitcd Chief-Justice, perhaps being commissioned by the
[ irown. In March, 1748, Eleazar Allen, Edward Aloseley and
i Ro.ircr Moore were appointed Associate-Justices of the Province
I by tlic Governor. In October of 1749 Hall was acting as Chief-
I Justice, but on the i8th of December, 1749, Eleazar Allen took
! the probate of a deed as follows: "Personally appeared before
} me Eleazar Allen, Chief- Justice of the Province," etc.
I On the tombstone of Mrs. Allen is an inscription reciting that
( she was the widow of Chief-Justice Allen. From these facts it
mav be inferred that during the absence of Enoch Hall, the Chief- Justice of the Province, towards the end of the year 1749, Eleazar Allen, being the senior Associate Justice, temporarily filled the office of Chief-Justice by appointment of the Governor. But .Mien (lid not long live to enjoy his new office. He died Janu- ary 7, 1750. On his tombstone the date is stated, January 7, 1749, but evidently that is according to tlie old system when the year began on the 25th of March instead of on January ist; for he certainly was alive in the Fall of 1749. On his tombstone it is recorded that "his life was a constant course of piety and vir- tue," and indeed every memorial that has come down to us in- dicates that he was held in high esteem ; and in a period when there was much jealousy- among the public men, there was no word of disparagement recorded against him. Mrs. Allen sur- vived her husband eleven years, dying February 26, 1761. She passed her widowhood on the Lilli])ut ]ilantation, but appears to have made two voyages to England. Having no children of her own, she felt almost a mother's affection and interest in her nieces, the daughters of Roger Moore and his wife, and of Captain Franklin and of William Dry; and a most affectionate remem- brance of her and of her husband was long cherished by a large circle of friends and connections among the people of the Cape Fear.
The writer of this sketch is much indebted to ^Ir. W. B. Mc- Koy, of Wilmington, for the use of his collection of manuscripts in the preparation of this sketch.
5. J. Ashe.
ALFRED H. BELO
^^^^LFREn H. BELO, soldier, statesman and ^^-^ journalist, was born, May, 1839, in Salem,
Ar^^ Xorlli Carolina. He was of Moravian stock, r^^'X -iti.l tlifl famiU- n^tni^ ran he trarprl back
[^^ and the family name can be traced back to Yws>-s=^,.«yo^,vsi<< 1620. Seeking a home where they could wor- /5^L^S|^!^^ ship according to the dictates of their con- science, his forefathers located at Salem in North Carolina, where thev were well esteemed by their associates. Colonel Belo's father was Frederick Edward Boehlo, but he chose to drop the Frederick and to cut his last name to Belo. lie was a man of good business qualifications, owning an iron foundry, a linseed oil mill, a farm of some four hundred acres, and a wholesale and retail general mercantile store, and was prosjierous. When the subject of this sketch was sufficiently advanced at the Moravian Bovs' School, he entered the Masonic Institute at Germanton, and from there he passed to the care of the celebrated Doctor Wilson in Alamance County, under whose tutelage he completed his education.
His father was a self-reliant man, wlio managed every detail of his large business himself, and when his son returned from school at the ago of nineteen he proceeded to train him as his business associate.
In 1S60, when he had just attained his majority, he was cn- • trusted with the rcsponMljility of making the aniuial purciiascs
^m
>-^
^y^y^ cL^c^
J.^, .^.^.,
ALFRED H. BKLO
j at New York for the stipply of the PjcIo business, having ex-
[ hibitcd unusual capacity as a business man with so short a
I training.
When tlie crisis of 1861 canie on, although he deprecated the precipitous course of the Southern States that seceded, upon the call to arms by North Carolina he raised a company, of which, on May 22, 1861, he was commissioned captain and which be- came Company D of the 21st Regiment, William \\^ Kirkland being the colonel.
Captain Belo shared in the fortunes of his command and regi- ment, and by his gallantry and bravery won the applause of both his men and his superiors. His regiment was in the battle of First Manassas and was in hot pursuit of the routed Federal Army for several miles, thinking they were going right into Wash- ington ; but to their amazement they were ordered to arrest the pursuit and retrace their steps. The regiment later was assigned to Trimble's brigade and participated in the historic valley cam- paign, performing a great part in the battle of Winchester, where General Jlanks was defeated, routing Shields, and indeed, in re- peated engagements, sweeping away no less than four Federal armies, and then striking McClellan's right in front of Richmond. On the reorganization of the 21st, Caiitain Belo was assigned by Governor Clark as adjutant of the camp of military instruction at Raleigh, and in the Fall of 1862 he served on the staff of Gen- eral Hoke, near \\'inchester, and performed staff duty at Peters- burg, and in ^larch, 1863. he was commissioned major and as- signed to the 55th Regiment, which became a part of General Davis's Mississippi Brigade. In the Spring of 1S63 this brigade constituted a portion of Longstreet's command that was sent to malce an attack on Suffolk, Mrginia. While on this duty a differ- ence arose between Captain Terrell and Captain Cousins on the staff of General Laws and the officers of the 55th that led to an interesting episode. The former had stated that the 55th North Carolina had been assigned to protect a battery which the Federal forces captured, and Colonel Cnnnally, denying that statement, demanded that they should correct their re[>ort, which they de-
m^
NORTH CAROLINA
chned to do. J ner.upon, ou Coionei Coniially's suggestion, it was agreed that the r.eld officers and the captains of tlie 55th should take the matter up and by continued challenges fight it out to the bitter end. Agreeably to this, Coloijcl Connallv challenged As- sistant Adjutant-General Terrell, and Major Belo challenged Captain Cou-.ins. TJie meeting between the four officers "oc- curred at the same hour and with only a ridge of hills separating them. Cousms selected large-calibre rifles and a distance of forty paces. Both fired simultaneously. Major Belo's shot passed through Captain Cousins's bat, and Cousins's shot missed Belo Somewhat dissatisfied with their bad shooting, at the second shot Belo missed Cousins, while Cousins's ball pas.sed through Belo's coat just above the shoulder. Before their third shot, the friends of Colonel Connallv and of Captain Terrell, who had engaged in an effort to make an honorable settlement, succeeded in doin- so; and Captain Terrell, becoming satisfied that he was in error"" withdrew the original cause of offence, which prevented further hostilities between him and Colonel Connally; and this informa- tion was communicated just in time to prevent the exchan-e of a third shot between .Major Belo and Captain Cousins. The affair was then amicably settled.
Alajor Belo's coolness and courage were unsurpassed. From Gettysburg, where he was in command in the railroad cut down through the carnage at Cold Harbor, his spirit and gallantry and persistence were heroic. At Gettysburg he was severely wounded, and there received his promotion as lieutenant-colonel, and he was again wounded at Cold Harbor. But he was engaged in all the great battles up to that time, although because of'his wounds he was unable to serve with hi.s regiment after that. The his- torian of the 55th Regiment says :
-Colonel Eelo's wound was in the arm. half-way belween the elbow atid shoulder jo.r.t; the bone was shattered and the operation of re-section was performed. The loss to the regiment was irreparable. He had been with the regiment m all its hard-fought battles and had the absolute confidence of every man in the regiment. He had a genius for organization and ap- preciated every detail that contributed to the effectiveness or character
ALFRED H. BELO
of a military organization. He was in North Carolina at the time of Gen- eral Lcc's surrender, and he reported to General Beauregard and was as- si(;ned by him to the command of a force."
W'lien Johnston surrendered lie rode off to join the army of General Kirby Smith across the Mississippi, and after all the Confederate armies had surrendered, he pushed on to Texas on liorscback, intent on graining a livelihood. Taking up the first v.ijrk that offered, he taught a small school at Galveston for some time, but soon found employment with the Galveston Nck's, whose owner, Willard Richardson, quickly appreciated his su- ])crior excellence as an organizer and manager and proposed a jiartnership. Entering upon a journalistic career, he became one of the most successful newspaper men and one of the greatest editors of the South. It was a labor vast in its dimensions, for the people were accustomed to the old sentimental Southern way of doing business. The credit system, the sensitiveness of the advertiser and subscriber when the ordinary rules of business were applied to them, made the management doubly difficult. It not only involved a reform in the office, but in education of the people to proper methods of dealing with the newspaper. But through it all the policy outlined by the new manager was un- swervingly enforced. Besides the change in business methods he introduced new purposes in the editorial conduct of the jour- nal. For the most part, the Southern journals had been attached to tlie fortunes of individuals and sought the elevation to office of tho.>e politicians who they preferred should be honored, nat- urally condemning those whose views were antagonistic to the views of the paper, exploiting the virtues of friends and merciless- ly excoriating foes : but under the new departure, put in force by Colonel Eelo, his paper was free from such blemishes. Ab- Siiluto truth, as far as it could be obtained, in the publication of the news, and absolute fairness to all men, were the cardinal principles on which the editorial management was made to stand. The struggle was great. His individual labors extended through- out the day and far into the night. But tlicy were not without avail. Kis impress was recogni'/cd 'i<y the people, and the sterling
Jn'ORTH CAl<C)i.INA
worth of his f.aper became realized by the public. His journal began to pror.pc-r. Its utterances on public affairs at a period when conditions and situations existed that had never before been encountered commanded attention and respect. Its refusal to become an organ of individuals or of political parties called upon it the anathemas of ambitious men ; but it was ahvavs sup- ported by the conservative element of the State, which, realizing the mission of a great nev, spapcr, bulwarked it with an irresistible strength. The grcwtii of the commonwealth was great, but the paper kept step with step in its advance. It became a great power and influence which was wielded for the progress of the people and the advantage of the State.
The immensity of Texas prevented the daily delivery of the Galveston paper to its subscribers in the remote sections. It was therefore determined to establish another and complete paper at Dallas in North Texas, where the immigration into the State had been most important, and the Dallas Ncii<s was the result. Both papers were owned and managed by the A. H. Belo Com- pany. Correspondents were established at Washington and at Austin, who were of the first order of ability and were loval to their papers and to the State, ^^'ires connecting the two plants were installed and the new experiment in the newspaper business was entered upon. This new departure in journalism eventuated in new conditions that had to be met. Special trains had to be run to convey the newspapers eidier to other localities or to overtake or connect with other trains; so that now the Galveston Xctcs and the Dallas Xczi's dispatch three special trains daily to reach patrons who cannot be sjieedily served by the regular mails as established by the Government.
The papers grew marvellously in wealth and their progress was marked by a wider range of influence, which they exerted invariably for the develoi)ment and well-being of the State.. Each newcom'^r from across the border was greeted by them and quickly learned to depend on them for his dailv news. The weekly edition grew into a semi-weekly, and it is doubtful if any paper, not devoted to special lines, has a larger circulation.
ALFRED H. BELO 13
Colonel Belo indeed had I'r.t true idea of the profession of a journaHst. He discussed n-.^— ers from his own standpoint. His newspaper was the vehicle :■:■ the public of his own views on the public questions of interei: :;■ the people. Truth, reason and justice were interwoven in :he presentation of his thoughts and gained the respectful consideri-.icn of the better element througli- out the great State of Texas. His position thus became of the first consequence, and he exerted an influence much greater than tliat which was accorded to ar.y other citizen of the State. Un- trained at first in newspaper nianagement and in the vocation of a journalist, fortunately he was well equipped by his natural char- acteristics and by the business qualities which had been developed under the methods practised ly his father and during his trying experiences of the war, so iha: he rose equal to the demands of his new business, and promptly z.::d eftectively solved the questions of business details as they presented themselves, and solved them so correctly that his papers hzve long stood as a great institution in the most iniportant Southern States.
It has brought him- not r.tere'y wealth but fame and power, which he enjoyed and used t;r the advancement of his State.
At length, however, faihr.e health superinduced by his old wounds required that he shctthi put his house in order, and under the influence of the aflecticr.s of his earlier years he turned once more to the iiome of his chhihood, and in Ajiril, 1901, he died at Asheville, North Carol:-?., and was buried in Salem, North Carolina, according to his re.y.icit. amid the surroundings of his youth.
In 1S68 Colonel Belo wr.s h.ij'pily married to ^^liss Nettie En- nis, of Houston, Texas. T v;. children were born to this union: Alfred H. I!elo, Jr., who v.trthily succeeded his father as Presi-. dent of the A. II. Belo Cc-trany. and carried the business on to even a higher degree of success until his untimely death in April, 1906, and Jeanette, who ntarritd }vlr. Charles Peabody, of Cam- bridge, Massachusetts.
5". A. Ashe.
lOHxX BLUE
^^Vj^^^J^;;^ HE career of John Blue is a fine exemplifica- T^"^^^^^"^^^ tion of success achieved in Hfe by native North ^&)l Carolinians without the aid of friends or other influences than capacity and persistent intclli- y.^^^^ ^v^"-^-^ Rent labor. Me was born on a farm in Oue- ^X^^^^^i^^ whittle Township, Cumberland County, on August 4, 1S45, and so is now just threescore years of age. He was the second son and fiftli child in a family of eleven children, while his father- was the youngest of thirteen. His parents, Neill l\IcK. Blue and Eliza Smith, were sturdy Scotch on both sides. His grandfather, John Blue, was born in the Isle of Jura in 1765 and immigrated to America in early childhood with his father's family and settled in the sandhills of Cumberland County.
The Scotch had begun their settlement on the Cape Eear as far back as 1734. about the time that Governor Johnston, himself a Scotchman, came "to this colony ; and the migration continued until the opening of the Revolution. The causes tliat led to this movement were not all political, but the industrial condition in their old homes had changed towards the middle of that century, and life in the Xcw World ojiened up so many possibilities to improve their fortunes that the emigrants gladly availed them- selves of every opportunity to come to America. The health- fulness, the salubrity, the equable temjierature, and the unfailing w\-iter supply of the ujipcr Cape Fear attracted the hardy Scotch- nieti to those parts, where the record is that nian\- of them have passed the century mark, and as strong as the}' have been in their
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JOHN BLUE 15
physical constitution, equally remarkable are they in the develop- ment of high character, intelligence and Gterllng wortli. The Highlanders of Cumberland County did not generall\- enlist in the cause of American Itidependence, and Peter Blue, the father of John Blue, mentioned above, was allied with the Tory leaders of that region. After Cornwallis had gone north and Greene had returned to South Carolina, the Tories became very active on the Cape Fear. On- one occasion when Colonel Wade and Captain Culp, who were Whigs, v,-ere returning to their homes, a band of Tories, with whom was Peter Blue, fell upon their camp at Piney Bottom and massacred such of the party as were there. To punish them for this. Colonel ^Vade and Culp collected about one hun- dred dragoons under Captain Bogan and raided the section about Drowning Creek, and ascertained the names of all the Tories who were in that affair and began the work of exterminating them. Towards the end of their expedition they reached Rockfish and came to the house of I'eter Blue, where they found him, and, also, Archibald McBride, who v.-as a patriot Whig. Immediately both of them were shot, IMcBride unfortunately being killed on the spot, and Blue badly wounded.
On the return of peace these Scotchmen who had been loyalists during tlte war became entirely reconciled to the triumph of those who liad fought for independence ; and in succeeding generations all those partisan, diiterences have been entirely forgotten, and the families of those who participated in those bloody scenes of partisan warfare have largely intermarried, their descendants reverencing the bravery, spirit and courage of those who fought for their King as well as those who hazarded all for independence.
Mr. Blue's chililhood was spent in moderate, healthful toil. His parents were neither rich nor poor, but occupied the happy middle ground, manhood's cradle, where there is nothing to waste, and no actual want; a typical Scotch couple and faithful prototypes of that parent pair, ^\•here :
"The mntlicr. \vi' her needle and her shears, 1 . ■-[ ■
Gars auld claes look ainaist as weel's the new — ;
Tlie father mixes a' with admonition due."
NORTH CAROLINA
The sublime faith of the mother and the sturdy honesty of the father have left their imprint uneffaceable on the character of their son.
, At the age of eighteen ilr. Bkie became a member of Com- pany B, 6th Battahon, Armand L. De Rosselt captain, and ren- dered such service as was required of him until he was discharged with Johnston's army at Greensboro in ]May, 1865.
Because of the circumstances of the war IMr. Blue's education was limited, but after the close of hostilities his educational train- ing was supplemented by one or two terms in a very efficient high school, which was kept at that time at Jackson Springs by N. D. J. Clark, and he profited very much by the instruction he received at that institution.
In 1867, at the age of twenty-two, Mr. Blue's battle of life be- gan in earnest. He had at that time a capital of not more than $200; but so prudent, so enterprising, so active and industrious was he that every year brought him fresh success and inspired him with hope of better things for the future. He became actively engaged as a turpentine operator, and he continued in that busi- ness for more than twenty years, branching out and constantly becoming a more important factor in that line of work. The secret of his success was that from the first he determined to keep inviolate all his obligations, and his reputation in that regard soon secured him unlimited credit, which, however, he has ever been chary of using. To this he added an extreme care at all times in regard to tlie details of his business, which would have assured him success, even without that intuitive judgment in crises which enabled him to know what to do without apparently having to take the trouble to think it out.
In 1892 i\Ir. Blue chartered and began to build the Aberdeen and Rockfish Railroad, running from Aberdeen eastward through a belt of as fine yellow pine timber as ever grew in the world, large quantities of which he had the foresight to purchase in the days when it had but little money value. This enterprise has proved enormously profitable, and the railroad has been extended until it now forms a connecting link with the Atlantic Coast line,
JOHN BLUE
a few miles south ot Fayettevilie. Besides being the owner of iK:irIy all the stock of this valuable railroad, Mr. Blue has quietly iii\este(l his earnings in large tracts of timber in Georgia and Alabama, so that now he is easily the wealthiest man in ]\Ioore County: but withal he is as unassuming, easily approachable, and as careful of the riglits of others as when he had not thought of ever gaining this distinction.
In 1S74 Mr. Blue married Miss Fannie A. Owen, of Cumber- land County, and to this nr^.riiage there were born eight chil- dren, two of whom died in infancy, the other six still remaining at home with their parents.
In 1 88 1 Mr. Blue, who has always been a member of the Dem- ocratic Party, served his community in the only political ofhce he has ever held. He was elected as State Senator from Cumber- land and Harnett Counties. In that body he took deservedly high rank because of his business qualities and information. He was appointed a member of the committee on the State debt and rendered efficient and valuable service in that connection ; and he was also appointed a member of the committee on claims. Among his fellow-members were some of the best men of the State, and he established himself liigh in their regard.
In his church affiliations Mr. Blue is a Presbyterian, and he served his congregation, Sandy Grove Church, as deacon from 1872 till 1890, and since that time the Bethesda Church as ruling elder. He is deeply religious, with a childlike faith, but entirely free from intolerance and from that spirit which has too often caused cruelties to be committed in the name of the Prince of Peace.
Busy a man as ^Ir. Blue is, he is never too busy to visit the sick in person ; and his many acts of relieving distressed persons by his personal ministrations, which are always done without ostenta- tion, attest his kindness of heart and human sympathy and stand in refreshing contrast to the tendency of some wealthv men to purchase a reputation for human kindness.
/. McN. JoJinsoii.
ADAM BOYD
JDAM BOYD occupied no inconspicuous place in North Carolina at tlic time of tlie Revolu- tion, as well as before and after that war. He was a native of Pennsylvania, born November 25, 1738, and of Presbyterian antecedents, though he himself later became connected (after the Revolution) with the Church of England under its new name — the Protestant Episcopal Church. Mr. Boyd was a son of the Reverend Adam Boyd and his wife, Jane Craighead. In January, 1764, before he began his first work in Wilmington as an editor (or "printer," as editors were then called), Mr. Boyd was initiated into the Masonic fraternity, probably as a member of St. John's Lodge, now No. i, which had been chart- ered ten years prior thereto and is still in existence.
It was on October 13, 1769, that I\Ir. Boyd began the publica- tion of the Cdpc Pear Mercury at Wilmington. This was the second paper published in that town, and its editors used the presses of Andrew Stuart, whose publication was called the North Carolina Gazette. Another North Carolina Gazette was published at New-Bern a little later. In 1767 Stuart's paper was discontinued, and this left the field occupied by the Mercury alone. In the troublous and uncertain days preceding the Revolution, as well as during that war, Mr. Boyd was a firm and uncompro- mising foe to British ojiprcssion, and his paper was the mouth-
ADAM LOYD 19
jiiccc of the patriots of the Cape Fear section as well as elsewhere in North Carolina. Could a full file of the Mercury be obtained, it would settle the long-standing controversy abcnt the Mecklen- burg Declaration of ln(lc])endeTice of May 20, 1775. What pur- ported to be a fac-simile of a copy containing that Declaration appeared in the issue of Collier's Weekly, of Pliikulelphia, for July I, 1905. The paper from which this fac-siniile was made was afterwards examined by Dr. W'orthington Chaunccy Ford, of the Library of Congress, and pronounced by him a "clever forgery." Several gentlemen from. Cb.arlotte, who were deeply in- terested in proving the authenticity of the Declaration, also ex- amined the alleged Mercury and were of the same opinion as Doctor Ford. About the end of the year 1773 I^Ir. Boyd married Mrs. iMary De Rossett, relict of Moses John De Rossett, who had distinguished himself by his patriotic action while mayor of Wilmington in the Stamp Act times, but he died on Christmas day, 1767. \\'hen the troubles with the mother country broke out afresh in ,1774, Mr. Eoyd was a brother-in-law of Colonel James Moore, and otjierwise was connected with leading patriots on the Cape Fear. He himself was an ardent patriot and a member of the conmuttce of safety. He served with Har- nett and others on the local committee of correspondence, and entered with enthusiasm on the execution of measures that the situation required. Upon the opening of active hostilities with Great Britain, 'Sir. Boyd entered the Continental Army on Jan- uary 4, 1776, as ensign in the ist North Carolina Regiment, then commanded by Colonel James Moore, his brother-in-law. On March 3. 1776, Ensign Eoyd was promoted to the rank of lieutenant, but soon thereafter — in ^lay, 1776 — resigned his com- mission. Something more than a year later, IMr. Boyd re-entered the service, being commissioned chaplain of the 5th Regiment on October 1, 1777. By what authorit}- he then acted in a minis- terial capacity is not positively known. In his younger years his religious affiliations were jirobably Presbyterian, and he was not oi'dained in the Protestant Episcopal Church until after the war. In May, 1775, "Reverend Mr. Boyd" presented to the Pro-
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NORTH CAROLINA
vmcial Congress at Hillsboro two luuidred copies of the pastoral letter of the Synod of Philadelphia on the subject of the war; and it is tliought that this gentleman was ^Ir. Adam Boyd, and at that time he was probably a Presbyterian Licentiate. Hav- ing in the first flush of patriotic ardor enlistetl as a soldier, he later appears to have considered it more seemly that he should render service as a chaplain.
On August i8, 177S, Mr. Boyd became brigade-chaplain. Dur- ing his service he went with the army through its terrible north- ern campaign in the Winter of 1777-17/8. and served on a number of courts martial, as well as in other military capacities. He re- signed on June i, 17S0.
After his return home Mr. Boyd was not idle, but set about to devise means for the relief of sutiering among the American prisoners at Charleston. On June 3, 1780, he wrote Governor Abner Nash as follows:
".\s soon as I got home I wrote a letter to General Hogun, requesting him to acquaint n/e of the wants of himself and his fellow-sufferers that I might endeavor to supply them. I took the liberty of assuring him thit ^our Excellency would give me all the assistance therein that was in your
P""'^"" ^^ ^ ani very certain our officers are in great waiit nf
many articles of clothing, I submit it to Your E.xcellency if' it would not be well to send a flag, either with a letter to know their particular wants or with such articles as we know they must stand in need of I shall most cheerfully go in with the clothing, should Your Excellency think proper to grant me a flag, for I think it mv dutv, as a servant of the States, to do every service in my power; but for that corps it is more especially my duty to exert myself in everything."
In the same letter he adds :
"I have a large quantity of paper, very fit for cartridges, both small and large. W ould ,t not be proper for the Commis.sary of Stores, or some other State officer, to get it for the u<e of the State?"
On June 5th, a few days after this letter was written, Mr. Bovd was still at his old home in Wilmington.
When Craig took \\-ilmington, Mrs. Boyd remained at her
ADAM ['.OVD 21
I'.onic, and she witnessed tl'.c cruel treatment of Cornelius Har- nett, who, when taken in Onslow Count}- from a sick-bed and exhausted by tlie fatigue of his journey, was brought into the town, thrown across a iiorsc's back, like "'a sack of meal." Later she herself was driven from towi; by the British commander, and took refuge at the residence of her sister, Jvlrs. Moore, on the North East ; and once that house was bombarded by the enemy, w ho alleged that some of the patriots were harbored there. When later in life I\Ir. Boyd went to the West, she did not accompany him. Indeed, during the last years of her life she was afflicted with total blindness, and ren'ained with her daughter, Mrs. 'i'oomer, a child of her first marriage. Her marriage with Islv. Boyd was without issue.
Just after the Revolution Mr. Boyd aided in organizing the North Carolina Society of the Cincinnati, and was one of the original members of that order. A little later he went to Georgia.
On August 1 8, 1/88, Mr. Bo\d was ordained to the priesthood in the Protestant Episcopal Cliurch, by the Right Reverend Sam- uel Seabury, Bishoy^ of Connecticut, and for a while was rector of St. James's Church at Wilmington. He had remained only a sliort while, however, when the poor state of his health forced him again to leave Wilmington, and return to Georgia. At Augusta, in the last-named State, he held a charge from 1790 to 1799. His health there was poor and he met with little encour- agement. In a letter written to Judge Iredell on Eobruary 13, 1792, he stated that he had sought the post of chaplain in the event that a garrison should be stationed there.
While at Augusta, in 1799, 'Mr. Boyd repulsed from the com- munion table a woman of questionable character, and this gave rise to a controversy which finally caused him to abandon that place. He went to Tennessee, and was at Nashville in iSoo. Sl-.ortly thereafter he went to Natchez, Mississippi, and there re- mained until h's death, on ]\Iarch 7, 1S03. In Natchez he found some friends from North Carolina, and their society was a source of great satisfaction to liim. -
Mr. Boyd was aillicted with almost every physical malady that
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NORTH CAROLINA
human flesh is lieir to during his later years — gout, asthma, lame- ness and other infirmities. On April i8, iSoo, he wrote:
"I shall not repine, and hope to preserve such a sense of the goodness of God as shall secure for my mind such a calmness which is natural to a trust in that Power. Yet with grief and shame I confess I am not as tranquil as I was. Continual disappoi:itments and losses I now fear have an influence I did not expect. If you knew all, or one-half, you would say that to be serene under such a mountain requires more strength of mind than is commonly the lot of man. Indeed, I do not think it attainable without suf'crior aid. Perhaps I failed in this in being too secure or too confident in myself; the first I think the cause: as to the last. I know I have no strength. I am too thoughtless in everything ; hence all, or nearly all, the evils of my chequered life."
Marshall De Lancey Haywood.
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JOHN FLETCHER BRUTON
OHN F. BRUTOX'S success has been marked perhaps as much by tlie obstacles he has over- come as b}' wliat he has done. In either case his career has been one at which he may justly feel gratified. Without a collegiate education, he ha^ become by self-training a learned lawyer anil a cultured scholar. Without wealth, he has become the trusted counsellor of the wealthy. Without help from influential friends, he has won for himself a high place in the confidence and esteem of his people. Paradoxical though it may seem, these very obstacles have had much to do with his success. In the .'Struggle against them was forged the character which lies at the foundation of his career.
John Fletcher IJruton was born at \\'entworth in Rockingham County, North Carolina, May 29, 1S61. His ancestors were Huguenots, who sought refuge in America from the persecutions in France which followed the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Strong men, of deep religious feelings, home-loving and hard- working, their characteristics have reappeared in their posterity. Colonel Bruton's father was David Rasberry Bruton, a IMcthodist preacher of more than average ability. Possessed of great com- mon sense, strengthened and broadened by close and diligent study, a speaker of force and -eloquence, a practical Christian without cant, the influence of his character and life left a deep
24 N'ORTH CAROLINA
trace upon the character of his son. Colonel Bruton's mother, Margaret G. Nixon, died while he was an infant. His father niarried a second wife, Jennie V. Manney, to whom the child's training was committed. She gave him regular duties about the house — cutting the wood, working in the garden, feeding the horse, milking the cow — which taught him early in life the niean- ■ing of responsibility and the value of methodical habits. In more important ways than this, however, the character and influence of the step-mother were felt. At that period educational ad- vantages were limited. The ravages of Reconstruction had de- stroyed the public school system of the State, which had not been full>" restored.
The preachers of the State, however, have ever been warm ad- vocates of education, often preaching its importance from their pulpits, and they have managed to secure for their children primary training at least, and by reason of their deep conviction of its importance have inspired their children to seek academic training. Tli^ father of Colonel Bruton was not an exception to the rule ; he was poor, but by sacrifices he was able to secure for his son the advantage of attendance on private primary schools, and what with the generosity of certain teachers towards preach- ers' children, and especially the faithful and devoted efforts of a loving step-mother, the subject of this sketch gained a fairly good primary training. His step-mother was an ambitious woman of strong character and fine intellect, and it was u;ider her persistent training and efforts that the fire of ambition was first lighted in the boy's soul. He was jiersuaded to believe that the future was pregnant with possibilities greater than the realities about him. She assured him of this many times and compelled him to study. While his father was presiding elder of the Salisbury District, North Carolina Conference, and a resident of Statesville, young Bruton enjoyed the marked advantage of attending the school of J. H. Hill, a well-known and capable teacher. After two years here, he sjicnt two )ears at the famous Bingham School. To the admirable training received under Colonel Bingham he attributes much of his success. Bv this time his ambition had turned to-
JOHN FLETCHER RRUTON
I ward tlic law, but liavinc:^ to pay a part of the cost of his years at
school, he of necessity had to defer his law studies until tlie debt . could be cancelled.
In the Fall of 1881, therefore, he became a teacher in the Wil- son Public School. His success in the classroom met with de- served promotion in June, 1883, when he was elected to the super- ! intendcncy of the schools. After a successful year's work as
i superintendent, he resi.s^ned to enter the Law School at the Uni-
! vcrsity of North Carolina under the instruction of Doctor John
Manning, one of the greatest law teachers the State has pro- duced. In the Fall of 1884 he was licensed to practise in the ' courts of North Carolina, and settled at Wilson, where he had
made many warm friends. \ Closely identifying himself with the interests of the com-
i munity, Colonel Bruton lost no opportunity to give his encourage-
\ mcnt and support to helpful enterprises, whether industrial, in-
[ telleclual, or religious. His community interest, his ability in
j conducting his client^' causes, his fidelity to various trusts con-
fided to him, won his way into the .'confidence and good-will of 1 the people. From th.e first success in his profession was assured.
In November, 1S87, Colonel Bruton was married to ^Nliss Hattie Tartt Barnes, daughter of John T. Barnes, a prominent and in- fluential citizen of Wilson. In her he has found a companion who, sympathizing with his ambitions, has been to him a constant source of inspiration. Three children have been born to them, one of whom died in infancy.
In 1S89 he was elected captain of Company F of the 2d Regi- ment of the State Guard. After three years' capable service, he received a commission as colonel of the regiment. The military training received at Bingham's school, added to natural inclina- tions, made him one of the most efficient officers of the State Guard. Though he was strict in the enforcement of discipline, he was popular with the officers and privates, and when he resigned his commission seven years later, he left the 2d Regiment with- out a superior in the State.
As a member of the I. O. O. F., Colonel Bruton has manifested
26 NORTH CAROLINA
great zeal in promoting its interests, and has received much honor at the hands of his fellows. He was elected grand-master for 1 89 1 and 1892, and the Odd Fellows' Orph.an Hotne was es- tablished at Goldsboro during his term as grand-master, he being among the first advocating it: for 1892-1S93 he was grand-rep- resentative, and again for 1895 and 1896. Tlicse honors came to him as a testimonial from his fellow-members of his devotion to the Order. Colonel Bruton is also a member of the A. T. O. College Fraternity.
An illustration of the estimation in which the people among whom he lives hold Colonel Bruton was given in 1S95, when they elected him without opposition mayor of W'ilson. Kis admin- istration was conducted with much courage, tact and patience, and was in every way worthy of the confidence placed in him. The next year he was re-elected, but much to the regret of his fellow-townsmen he was comiicllcd to resign before the expira- tion of his term. The immediate cause of this step was his elec- tion in JaiHjary, 1897, as president of the First National Bank of Wilson, for the additional duties imposed on him by this new trust made it necessary for him to give up his public service. In July, 1902, the Wilson Savings Bank, afterwards the Wilson Trust and Savings Bank, was organized, and Colonel Bruton was elected president. Both banks are still under his management, and the confidence the business public place in these institutions attests the efficiency of his services. Colonel Bruton was one of the charter members of the North Carolina Bankers' Association and served as its president in 1900 and 1901 ; he is also a director of the North Carolina Home Insurance Company at Raleigh.
Though in the midst of an exacting and constantly growing private business, Colonel Bruton has not refused to give of his time and talents to such public service as demands the attention of patriotic citizens. The educational interests of the community and State have always had a strong hold on his attention. In 1901 he accepted the chairmanship of the Board of Education of Wilson County to which he had been elected by the General Assemblv of North Carolina. During the same vear he obeved
JOHN FLP:TCHER BRUTOX 27
llic call of his church in accepting; a place on the- board of trustees of Trinity College. In 1903 and again in 1904 he was elected a member of the executive committee. He takes an active interest in educational progress and considers the call to such places of responsibility as a call to service.
In politics Colonel Bruton is a Democrat. Though he has never sought oflice at the hands of his party, his advice is frequently sought by the party leaders and always cheerfully given. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. From boyhood his interest in church affairs has been active, and, though broad-minded and tolerant, his loyalty and devotion to his churcli are marked characteristics.
His election by the North Carolina Conference of 1905 as a delegate to the General Conference of Southern Methodism to meet in Birmingham, Alabama, in IVIay, 1906, was an expression of the confidence reposed in him by his church, and is an honor worthily bestowed and justly earned In- his unvarying course in life. ^ ' ' '
Although Colonel Bruton's career has not been one in which the arts of oratory are cultiyated and developed, yet he has de- livered several addresses both in and out of the State that have attracted attention and brought him reputation as a popular speaker. His ideas are always clear, and he presents them not only in eloquent language, but in an engaging and elegant manner. Particularly was an address delivered before the Association of the Virginia Bankers in 1903 on the subject of "The Country Banker" admirably conceived. It bore evidence of his being a student of high ideals along practical lines, and merited the com- mendation bestowed upon it. As an illustration of the views he sought to enforce, we reproduce a paragraph that at the time was the subject of high compliment in several banking periodicals and daily papers :
"The banker to fill his place and meet the demands laid upon him should be an all-round man; he should be possessed of a good conscience, clean; he should enjoy an unobscurcd vision with vocal)ulary to match, clear; he should be without subterfuge, candid; free from the gambling spirit,
NORTH CAKOLIXA
conservative ; thoronglily familinr with life and the art of living, practical ; careful without being cowardly, prudent; familiar with the truth whereby to convince, persuasive; untiring in his efforts to bring things to pass, persistent."
Striking in appearance, pleasing in address, courteous in man- ner, Colonel Bruton possesses the power of attracting and con- ciliating men. In social intercourse companionable and sym- pathetic, in business affairs firm and aggressive, he is modest in estimating his achievements. Throughout his career he has made it a guiding principle never to enter into any undertaking half-heartedly. Whatever he does, he does with his whole heart and mind. Hard-working, thorough, careful in details, methodi- cal in habits, straightforward in his dealings — these character- istics are the secret of his success. Pure in private life, honorable in all public relations, his life and character are an inspiration to men who have an uphill climb to reach success.
R. D. ir. Connor.
JOHN BUTLER
^^^ORTH CAROLINA has ever been a sectional f/i.^j- State. Much of the history of the State is made plain by this fact. The first settlers came from \'irginia into the Albemarle region; the Swiss and Germans located at New-Bern; the ^M,' Scotch took possession of the Cape Fear ; the Scotch-Irish and Germans came direct from Pennsylvania to the middle of the State. At the time of the Revolution fusion had not taken place. The Scotch along the Cape Fear still spoke their native tongue and maintained their ancient customs. The State was thoroughly clannish — especially the more recently settled parts. The people were accustomed to following local leaders. The Moravians had clustered around Salem and had not fused with their neighbors.
Shubal Stearns had made a settlement of Baptists at Sandy Creek, and these had their leader. The same was true of the Jersey settlement on the Yadkin, and the Irish and the German communities of that section.
All these settlements were distinct. Foote in his sketches of the early Presbyterian churches speaks of the "Hawfield con- gregation," and describes the home of a prominent man as being on the "edge of this congregation." There was not yet in the State that social co-ordination which is necessary for highest State life. The result was tlint when the Revolution came on
I^^*^.
30 NORTH CAROLINA
there was little integral action. One community became Whig^ and another Tory.
Not only was this true, but the system of government tended to the formation of classes and parties. The government was centralized. Many local officers were appointed by the central authority. The judiciary was not local. Not only the judges, but the justices of the peace, received their authority from the Assembly. The clerks of the courts received their appointments from the Governor. The executive officers were based on the same models. The sheriffs were appointees of the Governor and looked to him for apjiroval. The military organization at the Revolution was similar; officers of the county mihtia were elected by the Assembly.
Such a system seems to indicate centralization and integration, but one result followed that hindered such a tendency. The Gov- ernment could and did do little for the scattered settlements of the West. They, and not the Government, kept a watch on the Indian and, protected their homes. A dislike for the office-holding class was fostered. This feeling prevailed from Chowan to Anson. The Regulator movement was the most dramatic ex- pression of this feeling, but this feeling was prevalent in nearly 'every portion of the State. The popular party was opposed to the office-holding party.
John Butler, of Orange, belonged to the office-holding party and lived in the Hawfields congregation on the western edge, "near Judge Ruffm's ]\Iill."
He was sheriff of Orange County and testified before the As- sembly in December, 1770, that he had found much difficulty in performing his official duties. The Regulators were opposed to him. Governor Tryon invited the sheriffs of several counties to appear before the Assembly and bear testimony to the difficul- ties that these Regulators put in their way. Butler's own brother, William, was a member of the Regulators of Orange.
What part John Butler took in the Regulator disturbance is not known, but he was of course on the side of the constituted authorities. -. ■.■■•■.■ , .■ . ■■:■ i;-_. ■.<' r. .. . ..
JOHN BUTLER
After the battle of Alamance was over, however, he befriended the Regulators and stayed the hand of the executive authority. He signed many petitions asking pardon for those who had op- posed the Government.
But like Caswell and the others who had put down the Regu- ulators, he joined the revolutionary party against the British Government, and was a member of the District Committee of Safety for the Hillsboro District in 1775.
The Provincial Congress at Hillsboro in the Fall of 1775 real- ized that the hour of forcible opposition and defence had come. Governor Martin, who had fled from his palace at New-Bern at the end of l\Iay, was on board a British man-of-war in the Cape Fear, devising plans to subjugate the people. The whole State was thoroughly organized for defence.
The militia of each county were organized under their colonels ; and John Butler was made lieutenant-colonel for Orange County. In the next year, 17^6, he was made colonel. During these years there was no figlrting in that section, but men were preparing for the conflict that was inevitable. The tide of war had struck North Carolina, but had been rolled back. The British fleet failed to make conjunction with the Scotch Tories of tlie Cape Fear. The battle of Moore's Creek Bridge had shown the \Miigs of the State what to expect, and all was expectancy.
It was at this time that the people of Orange chose Butler to represent them in the two important Congresses that were to meet at Halifax in April and November. By the April Congress he was appointed to purchase arms and ammunition and prepare for the conflict. I^Ioore's Creek had been fought and the strife between revolutionist and loyalist had already begun. The dom- inant party had begim to confiscate the property of the lovalists, especially those tal<en in arms. Butler was appointed to assist in the inventory of this property.
In the November Convention he did not take his seat til! the Constitution had been adopted and the most important legisla- tion had already been enacted. The election of the Orange rep- resentatives was in dispute. Butler was not elected at first. The
2,2 NORTH CAROLIXA
Convention pronounced the election fraudulent and ordered a new- election. At this new election }3utler was chosen. This accounts for his not being present when the first State Convention was adopted. In 1776 brigadier-generals were appointed for the dif- ferent districts; and General Thomas Person was the brigadier for the Hillsboro District. He resigned in 1777, and Butler was chosen by the Assembly in his place. This position Butler held throughout the Revolutionary W^ar and till 1784, when he re- signed and Ambrose Ramsey became his successor. Butler never joined the Continental Line. Ilis services to the American cause were always with the militia. There was no call for military ser- vices as long as the British campaigns were planned against the central States. In 177S the British policy changed, and the scenes of the war began to shift from the North to the South. The scheme was now devised to roll up the colonics as a scroll, and to begin with Georgia, the weakest of the thirteen. Upon this scheme ^King George and Lord George Germaine had set their hearts.- In this year there was skirmishing along the frontier be- tween Georgia and Florida, which had remained loyal to the Crown. General Robert Howe was in command of the southern division, with his headquarters at Savannah. He came into col- lision with the British and met with no success. The South Caro- lina delegates in Congress requested his removal. General Ben- jamin Lincoln superseded him. In November, 1779, Lincoln passed through North Carolina on his way to take charge of the southern army. North Carolina had been busy for some weeks preparing troops to march southward. Butler was ordered by Governor Caswell to get the troops in his district ready for march- ing. In October and November he was busy, and late in the year he sent his men forward under Antony L_\tle. When Lin- coln arrived in South Carolina he had to collect the lowland militia of that State, but could not for fear of a slave insurrec- tion. L'nder John Ashe North Carolina sent two thousand men. But from North Carolina also went loyalists to help the British. Seven hundred loyalists marched from the State to join the British force at Augusta. ^..^v , . .-■■
JOHX };L:TLER 33
On March 3, 1779, Ash-.''s force was cut to pieces at Brier Creek, near the Savannah River. Even before tlie nev;s of this disaster had reached North Carolina, Governor Caswell had ordered Butler to embody more troops in his district and go to the help of Lincoln. The time of the enlistment of those whom he had sent forward under Lytic was about to expire and the new levy was to take their place.
Butler left Charlotte on April nth and reached Lincoln, near Augusta, on the 26th. Lincoln's move into Georgia uncovered Charleston, which was no sooner knov,-n to the British than Gen- eral Prevost crossed the Savannah, and made toward Charleston, raiding as he went. Lincoln, with. Butler's men and others, hastily returned to protect the city. Pievost was forced to retreat, and on June 19th was attacked by Lincoln at Stono Ferry. Butler and Sumner, of Xorth Carolina, were in the thick of the fight. Butler's raw troops fought well. ]n a letter to Governor Caswell he said :
"I can with pleasure assure you tliat the officers and men under tny com- mand behaved better than could be expected of raw troops."
But these troops had enlisted for only a few months. Enlist- ments were generally for three months. On July 15th his men returned home. This was a fault in the polic_\- of using the militia. They were never destined to become inured to the hard- ships of camp life or to the discipline of veterans. When their time expired they left camp and returned home. Like an Arab encampment, in the morning they were not.
Li December. 1779, Butler sent more men to the help of Lin- coln, but did not go himself. Early in 1780, Sir Henry Clinton decided to push the campaign in the South. He took eight thou- sand men from Xe\\- York and brought them South to unite with Prevost. Later he brought Lont Rawdon from New York with three thousand more men. Washington saw that Lincoln needed help, and dispatched from his artny all the troops of North Caro- lina and some from Mrginia.
On May 12, 1780. Charleston was forced to surrender, and
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34 NORTH CAKULIXA
with this fall weuL all the regular troops North Carolina had, be- sides several hundred of iier niiiitia.
Again the militia were called u.pon to come into the field. Gov- ernor Caswell, whose term as Governor had expired, was now invested with the command of all the militia. He made his head- quarters near Clieraw. His three commanders were Rutherford, with the western troops ; Gregory, with the eastern ; and Butler, with the central. In August there v.'ere assembled at Cheraw, awaiting- the anival of Snialhvood's Maryland Brigade, the Dela- ware regiment and sonie Virginia militia, who were following under General Gates, who had been appointed by Congress to command the southern army. The rashness of Gates in march- ing forward without horsemen to gain information resulted in his falling in with the Biitish Army at night.
The fate that met him and his troops is a sad page in our Rev- olutionary history. In front of the North Carolina militia was the \'irginia militia. They gave way and in their flight the North Carolina militia joined them. A part of Gregory's Brigade fought weH ; Dixon's regiment of this same brigade, being along with the Maryland regulars, stood firmly and gained great credit ; but many of the other militia never fired a shot. In fifteen minutes the whole left of Gates's hue of battle, composed entirely of militia, was a mob struggling to escape. Colonel Webster had come down upon them in a furious charge, and was then followed by the fearful Tarleton.
The North Carolina militia fled toward home in any way they chose. On their return they met many pretended friends going to join the American army, who, on learning of its utter discom- fiture, proclaimed themselves friends of the victors. These roving bands plucked the militia as they fled. One of these bands met General Butler and robbcfl him of his sword, remarking by way of consolation, '"You'll have no further use of this."
But Butler was not willing to give up the fight. "He who fights and runs away will live to fight another day." September found him with more militia covering Salisbury and Charlotte, and when retreating before Cornwallis's advance, skirmishing as he fell
1742318
JOHN BUTLER 35
back. He was ordered b\- the Board of War at the same time to guard the provisions that were being brought from the Aloravian settlements. In those days of disorganization Butler gave the dis- consolate State what help he could. He and Sumner patrolled the banks of the Yadkin, watching the enemy and keeping him back.
Ijut in the midst of all this his troops vanished, for their term of enlistment had exinred.
After the battle of King's }vIountain, Cornwallis fell back into South Carolina, and in December General Greene took charge of his scattered forces and began the work of reorganization. He divided his army and sent one part of it west of Charlotte under General Alorgan, and with the other he took post at Cheraw. By February Butler had collected another force, and was ordered to join Lillington in watching [Major Craig, who had taken Wil- mington on January 29, 1781. While Butler was near Wilming- ton, Cornwallis entered the State the second time in pursuit of Morgan after his thrilling victory at Cowpens. Butler was now ordered to hasten to the help of Greene. Cornwallis at Hillsboro wanted to prevent their junction. For several days there was a game of hide-and-seek between these great commanders, but Greene enabled his militia to join him on ]\Iarch nth, and then challenged Cornwallis to do battle at Guilford Court House on iMarch 15th.
Again Butler and his militia were to face the trained veterans of the British Army. In this tight the North Carolina militia under Butler and Eaton were placed on the left of the front line, and the Mrginia militia in their rear. But when the British vet- erans under Leslie fired on them they sought safety by retreat. Brtler tried hard to stop the panic, but in vain. It must be borne in mind that these were not the troops that were with Butler at Camden. He was always in conmiand of raw militia. Again these men scattered and many of them returned home. General Morgan seems to have been the one American general who knew how to pit these raw soldiers against .trained veterans, for at Cowpens they fought well, even against the terrible Tarleton.
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36 NORTH CAROLINA
Butler remained v.ith General Greene while Cornwallis re- treated to Wiiiriinj^lon. Wiien Greene decided to leave Corn- wallis at Wilmington and so push him off the board, himself go- ing into South Carolina, he left Butler at Ramsey's Mill, near the junction of the.Kaw and tlie Deep, to collect provisions and the scattered militia and to watch the enemy. From this place Butler wrote General Sumner on April nth that "we have now in the field 240 men of these that fied from the battle on the 15th ult. They are for one year and will in a few days join head- quarters." In addition to his military duties he was sent to the House of Commons, where he was on the Committee for Defence ; also he was a Councillor of State.
But his chief work now v/as to keep down the Tories. In North Carolina it was thought that Cornwallis would retreat from Virginia back through North Carolina. Governor Burke was very busy preparing lo assist Greene or to make it unpleasant for Cornwallis if he returned through this State. Butler kept a com- pany encamped on Hav, River. With the departure of Greene and the presence of Major Craig at \\'ilmington, the Tory spirit rose 'again. In Butler's district were Chatham and Moore and Randolph, where there were many Tories. These Tories planned to surprise Butler's camp, but Governor Burke warned him. Then the Tories, learning that Burke was at Hillsboro and not well de- fended, determined that they would surprise him, which they did. He was captured and tl.e Tories began their retreat. With them was the notorious David Fanning, shrewd and capable and bloody-minded. When Butler heard of the capture he set out in hot pursuit. At Cane Creek a desperate fight took place, which was probably a drawn battle. Fie did not rescue the Governor, and the Tories continued to Wilmington. Butler then hurried around Wilmington and fought the Tories in small engagements at Hammond's Creek and Brown Marsh in Bladen. He still kept his troops embodied in 1782 and was in camp near Salis- bury. Flis home and plantation, probably called Mt. Pleasant, had been destroyed by the British under Cornwallis. It was some years before the strife of Tory and Whig ceased in his district.
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JOHN BUTI.ER 37
To re-establish order in the State was a difficult task, and But- ler was charged with a part of this duty. In the Assemblies of 1784 he was chairman of the Committee on Grievances, and tliere were many. His name appears on nearly every page of the proceeding's.
At the November session of 1784 he resigned the brigadier- generalship, and was excused from further attendance on the sessions.
Little is known of his personal traits or characteristics. He must have been a popular man, possessing the confidence and re- spect and esteem of the State, to have had the chief command in his district for seven years, especially during the troublous years of the war. He was in nearly every session of the Assembly, save when he was in the field, and he was several times a Councillor of State. While his troops did not tight well, there is nowhere an} imputation of inefficiency or of a lack of courage on his part. He was too plain and simple a Democrat to indorse the Society of the Cincinnati, and one of his last measures introduced into the Assembly was to preclude any member of that order from sitting in the General Assemblv of North Carolina.
E. W. Sikcs.
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JARVIS BUXTON
ARVIS BUXTOX was born near Washington, '•^^'M"°>.il Xorth Carolina, on February 20, 1820, and died
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ctK, 3t Asheville, Xorth Carolina, March 11, 1902.
v^*^ ilc was the son of Reverend Jarvis B. Buxton, <[^'V/g^"'W^)) ^" Episcopal minister, who soon after his son's 3^2J>.te<5-^C birth moved to Fayettcville, and who was a preacher of fine powers and a man of rare excellence, being greatly beloved by his congregation, and his published sermons have brought much comfort in many homes. The boyhood of Doctor Buxton was passed in Fa\etteville in a community fa- rnous for its culture and virtues. After his primary education, he was sent to school in Flushing, Long Island, where he studied under Doctor Muhlenberg, founder of St. Luke's Hospital, in New York City. He was prepared for college, and, returning to X'orth Carolina for his collegiate course, entered the State University at Chapel Hill. He graduated in 1839, and then, pro- posing to enter the ministry, became a student at the General Theological Seminarv in New York, where he graduated in 1S42. Two years later he was ordained deacon by Bishop Ives, then bishop of the diocese of Xorth Carolina. The early part of his ministry was spent at Valle Crucis, in what is now Watauga County, where he taught and studied in a mission organized by Bishop Ives. In 1S45 '^c took charge of a parish at Rutherford- ton, and the following year removed to Asheville with the purpose
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JARVIS BUXTON 39
of establishing an Episcopal Church there. At that period Ashc- villc was. hardlv more than a secluded hamlet in the mountains, and Doctor Buxton had at the beginning of his work but one communicant.
There being no railroads yet built in that part of the State, Doctor liuxton's trips between his two parishes in Rutherford- ton and Ashcville were made on horseback, and his visits to his old home in Fayetteville were made in the same way.
On January 6, 1S4S, in Fayetteville, Doctor Buxton was mar- ried to Miss Anna Xash Cameron, daughter of Judge John A. Cameron, appointed United States Judge for Florida, and a brother of Judge Duncan Cameron, of Ilillsboro; and this union was blessed with eight children, five of whom still survive.
After his marriage Doctor Buxton returned to his charge at Ashcville, and was ordained priest by Bishop Ives, June 17, 1S49, at Rutherfordton. His work all through the mountain country of western North Carolina was pressed with energy and con- tinued to grow in extent and in importance. He was the first missionary of the Episcopal Church to enter upon a field of labor west of the Blue Ridge, and he not only established the church there, but also established missions all through the country. He likewise had charge of stations at Waynesville and Burnsville. Pie built churches on the French Broad, on Haw Creek and Beaverdam, and it was through him that the valuable Ravens- croft property in Ashcville was purchased for the diocese.
The first church which Doctor Buxton built was found too small for the growing congregation, and during the latter part of his ministry it was torn down and a new church costing some $20,000 was erected.
In 1891, after a ministry of forty-five years, Doctor Buxton resigned the rectorship in Aslieville and with his family removed to Lenoir, in Caldwell County. Here he served St. James's Church in Lenoir, the Peace Chapel near Lenoir and the church in the valley of the Yadkin.
C)n June 30, 1S96, Doctor Buxton lost his wife, and a few years later he returned to his old home in Ashcville, and from that time
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NORTH CAROLINA
until his dentil he was actively engaged in the ministry, especially mission work in North Asheville. riis'sicallv and mentally he was at work until the last days of his life. The devoted life of Doctor Buxton was closely connected with the spiritual and tem- poral growth of Asheville, and his loss was felt by hundreds who admired his noble qualities of mind and lieart, his unselfish devo- tion and his Christian character ; indeed his friendship was not confined to members of his denomination, but he was warmly beloved by all with whom he came in contact.
The missionary sf)irit abounded in Doctor Buxton, and his labors were not limited to the bounds of his own parish. A noble priest, an humble, devoted Christian, who led among his people a most consistent, blameless life, he labored for the good of his fellow-man, to the glory of God, with the judgment of mature years and the energy, buoyancy and perseverance of youth. He thought evil of no man and never despaired of even the most reckless and wayward being brought back to the paths of right- eousness.
Though shadows crossed his path in his later years and sorrow fell upon him, yet no man ever heard him speak except in kind- ness of any one, and his trust in his Saviour was unfailing.
While loyal and devoted to the teachings of his church, he never failed to attend those in sickness and aflliction, whether Jew or Gentile, to whom his ministrations could bring comfort or re- lief, and his presence was a benediction to the community in which he lived. He knew the weakness of men, but he loved them for the good there was in them.
His benevolence v>-as limited only by his means, and despite his advanced years he continued in his Christian eilorts to the last.
He passed away in tlic eighty-third year of his age, lamented by his churcli and greatly missed by the community where he had labored so unremittingly, carrying ever with him the spirit of the Saviour.
/. C. Buxton.
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RALPH P. BUXTON
'TIE subject of this sketch was born in the year 1826 in Washington, North Carohna, and was the son of the Reverend Jarvis Buxton, who, removing to Fayetteville, was the scholarly and beloved rector of St. John's Episcopal Church of that city for many }-ears. In the east wall of this venerable and still beautiful house o'f worship is a memorial tablet, bearing tribute to the virtues of this consecrated man of God, who passed out from among them "carrying his full sheaves." Ralph P. Buxton received a liberal rudimentary and academic training, and graduated vvith distinction from the Uni- versity of North Carolina. He served with 'ability in the con- servation and execution of the law as solicitor of the Fayetteville Judicial District, and in the flush of manhood married Aliss Re- becca Bledsoe, a cultured and accomplished young woman, mem- ber of a prominetit North Carolina family. He allied himself with the Republican Party early after the close of the Civil War, he and his brother-in-law, the late Colonel Thomas S. Lutterloh, being the acknowledged leaders of the party in the upper Cape Fear section, its most trusted advisers, who shaped its policy and directed its campaigns. It is significant that, during those days of reconstruction, an epoch of intense partisan feeling, even Judge Buxton's most bitter political foes never failed to do justice to his honesty of purpose. No antagonist, either in the debate or in
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NORTH CAROLINA
tlie strcniiOiJS conflict on the stump, ever cast the stigma of self- ishness or corruption on his Republicanism : he may have been regarded wrcng-headed, but not wrong-h.earted. Nay, more, though he hved in a community Confederate to the backbone dur- ing the Civil War, and afterwards Democratic always to a white heat, before his iovnblc and irreproachable private character the social ostracism which lashed others shrank abashed before him ; and about the heaifhstone of his refined and hospitable home gathered the best and most notable men and women of the citv— many of the former liis aA'Owed and uncompromising enemies on the hustings.
Judge Buxton was a member of the Convention which met for the amendment of the Constitution, and few men of either partv in that Assembly addressed themselves to the work before them w-ith broader views and a more conservative spirit than he. In truth, while he abhorred the Democracy of the Southern Bourbon, it was a misnomer to call him a "Radical," as the Republicans were known thirty and thirty-five years ago.
He was the gubernatorial candidate of the Republican Party in iSSo, and was defeated by Thomas J. Jarvis, the nominee of the Democratic Party. He left behind him a political record of which few men in his party in the South could boast : that he . was never an aspirant for office, or a seeker after its spoils ; that the honors which came to him were unsolicited, and were tributes to his abilities and integrity.
He was on. the Superior Court bench during the first admin- istration of Governor Hoklen, and afterwards held the same posi- tion by election of the people, defeating the late Bartholomew Fuller, who died at Durham, but was then a member of the Fay- etteville bar. Mr. Fuller was nominated at Rockingham, and at that time the Fayctteville Judicial District was made up very largely of the territory afterwards known as the Charlotte Con- gressional "Shoestring" District. I am unable to give the dates, which are immaterial, but Judge Bu.xton, during the course of his public life, enjoyed the honor of securing a nomination from both the Republican and Democratic Parties.
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RALPH P. KUXTOX 43
On the bench Judge Pliixtcn wns a s^ife ratb.er than a brilHant jiiristj Like the junior counsel, Lynx, of the Yatton trial in War- ren's "Ten Thousand a Year," he crept ratlier than ran over a case — not that he was mentally slow and plodding, but he was constitutionally careful and accurate. The late William B. Wright was a man of gigantic frame, more than six and a half feet in height, with a stalwart build in proportion, though the time was to come when old age "clawed him in its clutch," and bowed and broke the once herculean form. He had a leonine head and grizzled mane, which he shook in the tiumders of juridi- cal polemics at bench, jury and hut, and the other lawyers af- fectionately called him "Father jNIagnus." Mr. Wright had a high opinion of the intellectuality and legal acumen of Ralph r.uxton, and often wondered especially at his mastery of all the minute details of a case. "Buxton," he once said, in his deep, burning voice, as the two were sitting in Mr. Wright's office on Green Street, "the ordinary eye can hardly follow a fly on the wall, but I believe that you could pick out a red bug in a saw- pit !"_
His personal qualities eminently fitted him to be an interpreter and exe(;utor of the law. He was patient : not easily provoked to anger, though like the Laird of Dumbiedikes, in Scott's "Mid- lothian," something dangerous when fully aroused; tolerant of the weaknesses of human nature, affable and courteous to the bar, sympathetic and indulgent to the masses of the people who, as spectators or litigants, sought the interior of the court-room.
Reverend Jar\is Buxton passed ?way when his son Ralph was in his early youth, but the boy retained through life much of the fortifcr in re of his learned and distinguished father in matters of moral principle and even of important concerns of daily life, while he had still more of the suavitcr in inodo which made the women of his family so charming, and especially marked the char- acter of. his sister, Mrs. T. S. Lutterloh, who for many years was an admired leader of Fayetteville society.
Judge Buxton was gifted with a delicate and exquisite sense of humor. He delighted in his hours of relaxation and ease to
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44 NORTH CAROLIXA
meet with his friends at his home or at the houses of his neigh- bors in the enjoyment of an evenin.c^'s reading- or recital. He could always be depended on for "flashes of meVriment to set the table in a roar," and he was no mean elocutionist in didactic selections. His rendition of Cowper's "John Gilpin's Ride" was inimitable. The joke at his own expense seemed to intensify his enjoyment, and his mirth was no whit checked because it' was "one on him." He used to tell with much gusto of one of his early experiences, when he had procured his license, hung out his "shingle," was "raking the woods" for a client, and was at- tending court over in Richmond County. In those days, during the regime of the County Court, before the County Commissioner system of government, it was the time-honored custom for the Judge on the Superior Court bench to call on the newest-fledged lawyer to charge the grand jury, or to assign to him the task'^of defending the toughest minor criminal under the frown of the solicitof. This last duty fell to Buxton; and the case of his client, a negro charged with larceny, looked "blue"— iii fact, the evidence was dead against him. But the young lawyer did his best; and much to his gratification, and perhaps still more to his surprise, the jury brought in a verdict of not guilty. It was a feather in his cap, and in spite of his modestv there was a little strut in his walk as he crossed the Court House green at the noon recess until two or three of the jury met him, 'and one of them said: "Buxton, we all ihought your client guilty, but we didn't want to discourage you at the very outset of your career."
On one occasion, while Judge Buxton was holding a term of Cumberland Superior Court in Fayetteville. looking up from his notes while a witness was being examined on the"'stand, a look of surprise came over his face, succeeded by an indignant frown. "Get down ol? that chair !" he said to the witness. " The man, a bright mulatto, looked astonished and bewildered, and turned his eyes helplessly towards the sheriff. "Get down off that chair!" called the Judge still more sharjily. "Why, Judge," said the sherifl, while his face reddened and Iiis eyes watered in the effort to keep back a guft'aw, "he is not standing on a chair; he is just
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RALPH P. r.UXTON
45
about the tallest man. in Xorth Carolina, nearly seven feet high !" Judf^e Buxton slowly raised himself and leaned forward until he could see the feet of the witness squarely planted on the floor, and sank back in his chair, while a peal of laughter rang through the court room, in which the bencli joined without recourse to the gavel.
The last few years of Judge Buxton's life were passed in re- tirement from the cares and burdens of public life. In his ofificc on Donaldson Street he attended industriously as of yore to the concerns of his profession, his ciDUiisel ever eagerly sought by the other members of the bar. Xever a man of robust physique, his health visibly declined; and every day, as he rode in the early afternoon on a large sorrel horse to his home over Haymount, his friends could sec the mysterious beckoning hand not far away.
The summons came as doubtless his brave soul would have it come, when the harness was loosed and ready to be laid by, when he closed'his brief, made up his case ready for the verdict. He pas^ed away, sitting in his chair at his home, the "Buxton Oaks," known also as the "Dobbin Homestead," where lived for many years" before the war James C. Dobbin, Secretary of the Navy in the administration of President Pierce.
Judge Buxton was a member and vestryman of St. John's Epis- copal Cluirch. He left no children, but is survived bv his widow.
/. H. Myrovcr.
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JOHN CAMERON BUXTON
E often hear tlie expression, "Tell nic where a man was born, and who his parents were, and I will tell you what kind of man he is." If that test were applied to the subject of this sketch, the expression would indeed be a tru- ^- — .-^~,^^jy^ ism, for John Cameron Buxton was born in Ashevdle. Buncombe County, North Carolina, on September 30 • 1852, and was the son of Doctor Jarvis Buxton and Anna Bux- ton {me Cameron), and is just the type of man we would ex- pect to find reared in that vigorous mountain section and by such persons as were his parents. Doctor Buxton was an Episcopal clergyman of broad views, strong common sense, and deep piety while Mrs. Buxton reminded one of the Biblical description of a Mother m Israel, who was loving and gentle, and yet "ruled her household well." .Mr. Buxton's life was spent as was the usual hfe of such boys, except that, living during the period of the Civil W ar, It had more of privation and less of indulgence than fall to those who lived in a different time. He was prepared for college at St. Clement's Hall, Ellicott Citv, Md., where on account of his love of fun and generous disposition, he wa<^ a great favorite, especially among the smaller bovs, whose champion he always was. He despised all tyranny, and 'himself strong, was always the protector of the weak against the insults and domineer- ing of "school bullies." Leaving St. Clement's, he entered Trinity College. Hartford, Conn., where he remained three years Not
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V. .;
JOHX CAMERON BTXTON 47
having the money to continue his studies, he showed his phick and determination to acquire a good education by teaching one year at Edcnton, North CaroHna, this enabling liim to enter the senior class at Hobart College, Geneva, New York, where he graduated in 1874 as salutatorian of his class — thus, in spite of obstacles, standing in the very front rank of a college in which he had spent only one year, and had no help from friends or fron; favoritism.
Mr. Buxton studied law in Asheville, North Carolina, under Judge John L. Bailey, and was admitted to the bar of the State in January, 1875. He immediately moved to Winston, North Carolina, then a very small place, just commencing its marvellous growth, and with it has grown up until both he and the city have reached their present success. His first coming to Winston was both pathetic and amusing. He had no friends in his newly adopted home, was a perfect stranger to all, was utterly ignorant of the practice of his profession, and his worldly goods could have been summed up in these words, "his sheep-skin, a new suit of clothes, a change of underwear, and twenty-five cents in money." His energy, cordial manner, and determination to succeed soon, however, won him many friends. At first he was associated with Colonel J. \\'. Alspaugh, Vi-ho was then a newspaper editor, law- yer, and the general business man of Winston. \'ery soon, how- ever, he started out for himself, and by his faithful devotion to his clients' interests commenced to win a good practice. At this time Watson and Glenn, two of the very foremost lawyers in western North Carolina, Colonel Joseph Masten, and Judges T. J. Wilson and D. H. Starbuck had the entire practice of Forsythe County. The last three named gentlemen soon practically retired on account of age, leaving the field to JMr. Buxton and Messrs. '\\''atson and Glenn. Single-handed, ]\Ir. Buxton continued his practice, each day establishing himself more firmly in the hearts of the people, and winning for himself a splendid reputation both as a counsellor and a trier of causes in the Court House. On October 16, 1877, Mr. Buxton was united in marriage to Miss Agnes C. Belo, of Salem, North Carolina, daughter of the late
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48 NORTH CAROLIXA
Edward Belo and Amanda Fries Belo, Mr. Belo being the first president and prime mover in the building of the N. W. N. C. R. R. (now part of the Southern System), which proved the source and cause of the present wealth and growth of Winston-Salem and that vicinity. In his marriage Air. Buxton was as wise as he had proved himself to be in other matters, for he chose well, hav- ing in his wife an estimable, true, strong Christian woman, who has added not a little to her husband's power and strength. In 1883 Mr. Buxton was elected IMayor of Winston, and by his en- thusiasm and push gave a new impetus to city affairs, many new and beneficial changes being made in its municipal management: In 1884 without any solicitation on his part he was nominated and elected bv the people of the 32nd senatorial district to rep- resent them in the State Senate, and so in Jamiary, 1883, he re- signed his place as Mayor to become State Senator. As a rep- resentative of the people's interests in the Senate Mr. Buxton was always vigilant and alert. He expo.sed everything he felt was wrong, and stood for all that tended towards the elevation of the State. On one occasion he found some bill with an innocent title covering a vast amount of legislation that was very hurtful, and with his accustomed zeal exposed the efforts of its author — who was secretly trying to get it through — until he accomplished its defeat, the author exclaiming, as he saw the end of his pet scheme, "That great big man has sat down on my little bill and killed it."
In the summer of 1884 J. C. Buxton was chosen one of the delegates to the Democratic Convention that met in Chicago, and was largely instrumental in turning the votes of the North Caro- lina delegation, among whom were Senators \'ance and Ransom, from Mr. Bayard, of Delaware, to Grover Cleveland, of Xew York — a favor which i\Ir. Cleveland has never forgotten, as shown by his subsequent acts.
In 1884 the firm of Watson and Glenn by mutual consent dis- continued their partnership for the practice of law, ]\Ir. C. B. Watson forming a partnership with Mr. Buxton, which partner- ship has continued unchanged ever since, except to admit to the firm in 1896 Mr. T. W. Watson, son of die senior member.
'i':: >■■ i.;i.\ ■ii!
JOIIX CAMERON P.UXTOX 49
This firm has been and is now justly considered one of the very strongest in the State, and has always enjoyed a most extensive and lucrative practice. During a period of twenty-one years the author of this sketch has been intimately associated with the firm, and can say of them, individually and as a firm, that in all that time he never knew them to do in their practice a questionable or censurable act. They always tried their cases openly and fairly, using no uncertain methods to influence either judge or jury, proving themselves under all circumstances higli-niinded, able, honest lawyers, who won their victories by merit and knowl- edge, and lost cases by no dereliction of their duty, but because the law or facts were against their clients. In matters requiring exposure, or the unearthing of littleness, Mr. Buxton was par- ticularly strong, and in all cases where the responsibility was tlirown upon him he measured up to the responsibility, and proved himself equal to every emergency. Twice in my life I have heard judges of the Superior Court say, after listening to his powerful, logical presentation of his case, "That was the strongest speech I ever heard in the Court House."
Mr. Buxton has always taken a great interest in the material and educational development of Winston-Salem. For years he has been president of the Graded School Commissioners, and much of the credit for Winston's splendid city schools is due to him. Continuing his zeal in behalf of education, he induced Mr. Carnegie to give $15,000 for the erection of a public library in Winston, which is not only an ornament but a blessing to the entire community.
In 1890 he was elected president of the First National Bank of Winston, having a capital of $200,000, holding this position until January, 1893, when he resigned to attend to his pressing law business. In July, 1893, when on account of the panic pre- vailing everywhere this bank failc<l, he was appointed by Comp- troller Eccles to re-organize the bank, which he successfully did until it later consolidated with the People's Bank of Winston. Fifteen years ago he was elected president of the W^inston-Salem Building and Lxjan Association, one of the most successful and
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.1. ;■■.«•:: VRVl
NORTH CAROLIXA
helpful institutions of the Twin-City, and has held it ever since. Thus we see that ^Ir. Duxton, as well as being an able lawyer, is likewise a successful man and educator.
Mr. Buxton has always been a loyal, sterling Democrat, ever ready to aid his part\-, even when not himself a candidate, thus not showing the seltish spirit that sometimes marks our political brethren. In addition to being senator and delegate to the Na- tional Convention, he was also chairman of the Democratic State Convention that met in Raleigh in July, 18S7, his address to the Convention being considered of unusual power and force. In 1900 Mr. Buxton was nominated by the Democrats of the Eighth Congressional District to represent them in Congress, and though he was defeated, the majority against him was 1600 less than against the Democratic nominee for president, thus showing it w-as no want of popularity on his part, but the unfortiuiate politi- cal complexion of the district. His defeat was a great loss, for North Carolina has few sons that could and would have made a truer and stronger member of the House of Representatives than Mr. Buxton. In religion Mr. Buxton, inheriting his creed from his dear old father, whom he loved most tenderly, has al- ways been an ardent and influential Episcopalian. He loves his church and the name Protestant Episcopal, and when at the Gen- eral Convention of his church that met in San Francisco in 190 1, to which he was a delegate, an efl'ort was made to change the name of the church, he introduced a resolution against such change, and through the influence of himself and other conserva- tive members who loved the old name the move was lost. He has been senior warden of his church for many years, and one of its most liberal supporters. He also takes a great interest in the Brotherhood of St. Andrew, having made several strong si)eeches in its behalf. To show Mr. Buxton's strong character, as well as his zeal for his church, at the Convention in Boston in 1904, be- ing dissatisfied with the part a certain bishop of the church had taken in establishing a subway tavern where intoxicating liquors could be bought, he introduced a ringing resolution deploring and condemning 'the action of said bishop; and though the chairman
JOHN CAMERON IIUXTOX 51
ruled his resolution out of order, as reflecting on a member of an- other house, to wit, the House of liishops, still later in a speech, with words that carried conviction to every heart, he scathing-ly denounced the efforts of any one, preacher, bishop or layman, who tried to commit the church to the encouragement of saloons.
Mr. Buxton has never aspired to be called an orator, yet at times, in his powerful arraignment of facts and merciless exposure of crime and falsehood, he has risen to heights of sublimity and power to which few men attain.
The author of this sketch has reason to remember with grati- tude his power as a sf)eaker, and still blesses him for his kind words. At the Democratic Convention of 1904 he was requested to place in nomination for Governor Forsythe's candidate, R. B. Glenn. His speech was the last of the many speeches made. This is the description that a hearer afterwards made of the speech: 'Tt wasn't pretty; it wasn't eloquent; it was simply powerful, grand, like the fearful onward rushing of mighty waters, sweeping all before it in its resistless force." The ap- plause it brought attested its power.
Mr. and ]\Irs. Buxton have had born to them four children: Cameron Belo Buxton, a graduate of Chapel Hill, and now hold- ing in Philadelphia a splendid position as traffic agent of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad ; j\Iiss Caro Fries Bux- ton, a beautiful and accomplished young lady, a graduate of Bryn Mawr, Pa., now living with her parents ; Miss Anna Nash Bux- ton, a splendid type of young girlhootl, now attending Bryn Mawr College ; while little Jarvis, the idol of his parents, and loved of all, was taken when ten years old, while pure in heart, to be with God. Of all Mr. Buxton's life, his home life is the best. De- voted to home and family, he seeks his pleasures there, not at the club or lodge, and to know him truly is to know him at home. It is one of the sweetest homes in which I have ever visited, sur- rounded by an atmosphere of love and a reign of peace.
That Mr. Buxton has faults, and has committed errors, none would admit more readilv than he, but no one regrets his mis-
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NORTH CAROLIXA
Jakes or sorrows more over his faults, and this desire to profit bv his faihires has but injured his success.
Mr. Buxton is a large, strong- type, physically, mentally and morally, of American manhood, with a heart as big as his body and a nature too true to be little. To sum up his strong per- sonality and character in a few closing words: He is a lawyer who is diligent, forceful and honest. In his political career he has always proved himself fearless, bold and above a suspicion of using questionable methods to secure his advancement. Witli his strength, however, there is also gentleness, for no one sym- pathizes more deeply with the distressed or lends a more willing hand to relieve suffering. As husband, father, friend, and citi- zen he fills each niche well, at home ruling through love, and in business succeeding by the strength of his intellect, using no un- certain methods.
Mr. Buxton is yet young, just in the prime of his manhood. The State in its present tide of prosperity needs such men to help de- velop its resources and direct its affairs, and it is earnestly to be hoped that John Cameron Buxton may yet be spared for manv more years of usefulness for the promotion of right and the up- building of th.e State.
R. B. Glenn.
/.-'.i-h /. ) n
■r>r^
LEWIS ALBERT CARR
-^3
AiOXG the business men of Durham, a town whose remarkable development has been brouc^ht about by the joint efforts of her enter- prising citizens, there are but few equalling in excellence and usefulness Lewis Albert Carr, the subject of this sketch. Vast and varied are the inlcrots that center in tliat growing and prosperous city, and for twenty years Mr. Carr has been among the foremost of her citizens in energy and in practical accomplishment, every year con- tributing through his enterprise and loyal devotion to her expan- sion and substantial growth.
Mr. Carr is by birth a native of iNIaryland, was trained as a busi- ness man in Baltimore, and has the fine manner of the polished gentleman of that metropolis and all the vigor and enterprise that have distinguished the successful men of that great mercantile and industrial centre.
His father, Lewis Carr, was a farmer, living in Howard County, Maryland, in a region remarkable no less for its salubrity than for the fine scenery of its broken landscape and for the fertility of its well-cultivated fields. It was an ideal country for farm-life, suf- ficiently near to good markets for all farm }iroducts, and thickly settled by a prosperous community.
Unhapi-iily Mr. Carr, the father, died when only forty-six years
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54 >^ORTIl CAROLINA
of age, Icavinjr a family of nine young- c'viidrcn — six of wlioni were boys and three giris. The n^aiiagenicnt of the fanr. and the rearing of the chilchen. thus dv^volved on tlie moth.er, .Mrs. Jane 'M. Carr, who fortunately \v:^s a woman of exceptionally fine sense and judgment and well versed in the practical affairs of life. Neces- sarily the boys, as tb.ey became of sufficient strength, were em- ployed in the duties of their farm-liome. Their work and pas- times, their labor and recreation, were not different from those of their neighbors. They followed the plow and harrow, cured the hay, housed the corn, and marketed the wheat ; and when the farm- work of the year was o\er they attended the country schools that ■■ were taught during the winter months. '■
The schoolhouse vvas tome four miles distant from the Carr <
farm, and the boys durir.g its session made the daily journey of ^
eight miles or more, going and returning. This exercise and their |
farm-work in the open air had a beneficial effect in establishing i
fine constitutions and developing vigorous frames and well- |
rounded mental equipments, in some measure dispensing with the |
necessity of the training afforded by higher school advantages. ^
At length at the age of seventeen the subject of this sketch, ^
realizing that the farm no longer nejeded him, and having a man's J
ambition for a larger life, determined to seek a business career in |
the neighboring city of Baltimore. His education, while not a |
finisiied one, was far from deficient ; he \^■as vigorous, the soul of ,
energy, and prepossessing in manner and appearance. He soon |
obtained employment with Charles A. Gambrill and Company, a j
great house, owning extensive tiouring mills,''renowned for the 1
superior excellence of its Hour and having an established trade 3
throughout tlie entire" South : but being without experience, the -- | compensation he at first received was onl}- $5 per week. . j
Having gained a footing in that establishment, young Carr was «
never allured to other employment. He remained steadfast at his i
work and gradually rose in usefulness, meriting the confidence of j
his employers and receiving manifestations of their good ojjinion. Indeed he possessed those characteristics that were calculated to win his wav in life and bring him fine success.
LEWIS ALBERT CAK'R 53
For thirteen years he served Gamhnll and Ccmpany, constantly growing in efficiency and developinj; liis business tiualities ; and then finding himself able to enter upon an independent career, in 18S3 he forined a parirr.rship with J. W. Wolvington, under the name of Wolvington, Carr and Company, and established a grain and flour business. A thorough master of every detail of the wheat and flour trade, be brought to the new firm ripe experi- ence, and its business was ver_\ successful.
On the 2ist of Xovembej-, 1S78, Mr. Carr was happily married to Miss Clara Watts, a daughter of ^Ir. Gerard S. Watts, a pros- perous merchant of i'altirr.ore. Sh.e was a sister of Mr. George W. Watts; and after his removal to Durham, Mr. and Mrs. Carr were drawn also to locate there. Thus it came about that in 188S Mr. Carr sold out his interest in his Baltimore business and made his home at Durham. He came to Durh.am just as that town was recovering fromi some littie backset in its general course of rapid progress, and he contributed somewhat to giving it the increased momentum that has ever siiice carried it forward in its remark- able development.
The Durham Fertilizer Compain- was then being formed. He made an inve^tment in that enterprise and was elected secretary and treasurer of the comijany ; and from that time his name has been closely associated with all the great enterprises and immense factories and vast interests that have Sfirung from that parent stock.
Active and zealous in promoting every enterprise that would tend tn the advantage .of Durham, he was interested in Xhe con- struction of the Durham and Northern Railroad, and since 1892 he has been a director of that cofnpany. So also he was-apromo- ter of the Durham and Lynchburg Railroad Company, and was a director of that company until it was incorporated into the Nor- folk and \\'estern. The benefit Durham has received from the construction of these additional railroad facilities has been beyond calculation, and the community is largely indebted to tlie vigor and cjiterprise of Mr. Carr for their accomplishment.
He was one of the organizers of the Citizens' Savings Bank of
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56 NORTH CAROL.IXA
Durham, and for five years served as a director of that institution. His interest in the industrial welfare of the city led him to promote the incorporation of the Commonwealth Cotton ]Mills. Since 1899 he has served as a director of the l''irst National Bank of Durham, and the value of his set vice's in connection with finances has been well recognized by his constant re-election as Vice-President of that progressive and well-manag^ed institution.
Besides his connection with th.ese well-known companies, he has been interested in many other enter]jrisc£. not merely those of local interest, but others established in various parts of the State. Nor has he concerned hmiself exclusively with matters of busi- ness. Other lines of work also interest him — such as the Watts Hospital, of which he is a trustee.
Among his most notable enterprises was that of establishing the Interstate Telephone and Telegraph Company. Of this he was the originator, and he achieved a fine success in organizing and putting it into operation. It was the first independent tele- phone companv organized in the South. The work engaged his close attention and called forth his best capacity, and it has been a large success and has conferred a great benefit on many communi- ties in North Carolina. It also has established exchanges in Mary- land and \"irginia.
But as varied and important as have been the indefatigable labors of Mr. Carr in other lines, the chief work of his life is, by common consent, that arising from his connection with the fer- tilizer company. When the Durham Fertilizer Company had demonstrated by its great success the value of that line of business, it was determined to expand, and the Norfolk and Carolina Chem- ical Company was thereupon organized. ^Mr. Carr, who as secre- tary and treasurer of the parent concern exerted a powerful in- fluence in its aft'airs, was a chief factor in organizing the new company, which was owned by the plant at Durham. He was much employed in the construction of the large works at Pinner's Point, and was secretary and treasurer of the Norfolk Chemical Company until it was merged in the \'irginia-Carolina Chemical Company. So fine a field of intlustry was here opened that, with
'r::-]^'/:
LEWIS ALP.ERT CARR 57
a comprehensive grasp of the business interests involved, ]\Ir. Carr and his associates, in 1895, determined to bring the different properties manufacturing fertihzers in the State, and some else- where, under the direction of one management ; and the Virginia- Carolina Chemical Company was formed with that object. Mr. Carr, who had achieved such remarkable success in the manage- ment of the Durham Company and of the Xorfolk and Carolina Chemical Company, now became Managing Director of the North Carolina Division of the \'irginia-Carolina Chemical Company, and he held that important position until the reorganization in 1903. At that time various changes were made in the system of management, and to Mr. Carr was committed the very important work of Manager of the North Carolina Sales Deijartnicnt of the Company. In connection with the affairs of this great company, one of the largest industrial organizations of the world, Mr. Carr has been a director of the Southern Cotton Oil Company, and is a director of the Navassa Guano Company of Wilmington, and of the Charleston ^Mining and ^Manufacturing Companv of Charles- ton, South Carolina.
In all the large duties of his several positions Mr. Carr has ex- hibited a comprehensive intelligence, a careful thought, a rapid determination, and an unwavering attention to business that have gained for him high rank as a manager of affairs and brought him fine reputation for administrative ability.
As a citizen he has ever been quick to join others in advancing the interests of his community, and has been among the foremost of those men who have placed Durham on her substantial basis of prosperity. While never seeking political preferment, he has, in order to be useful to his town, served four years as Alderman of Durham. In politics he is a Democrat ; and he is zealous for the advancement of his friends, while not caring for public applause or station for himself.
His religious affiliations are with the Presbyterians, and he is a member and a deacon of the First Presbyterian Church of Dur- ham, and contributes liberally, not merely to his church but gen- erally to all the charities that appeal to his benevolence.
NORTH CAROLINA
Busy as he is, he lias but Httle leisure to pass in recreation, but he is very fond of the hunt and occasionaUy joins his frien<ls in that sport.
Mr. Carr's home at Durham from tlie time of his first arrival has ever been a notable feature in the social life of his com- munity. But after twenty years of happy wedded life he had the misfortune to lose his first wife, who, dying on March 12, 1898, was survived by four children : one son and three daughters. The eldest of these daughters was married on November 7, 1900, to Mr. George L. Lyon, a grandson of the late ^Ir. Washington Duke. On May 2, 1900, Mr. Carr was married to Miss Jessie B. Carroll, a daughter of 'Sir. O. T. Carroll, of Raleigh, and one of the loveliest of her sex.
S. A. Ashe.
n. . .,■>,.,...
,^oI
PETER CARTERET
^p^ X the death of Samuel Stephens, about the end
"^ of the year 1669, he was succeeded by Peter
?/ Carteret, who was piobably chosen President
by the Council at that time, and a few months later was appointed by the Proprietors in Eng- land. At the meeting of the Proprietors in January, 1670, Sir George Carteret named Peter Carteret as his Deputy, and probably they were of the same family. Peter Car- teret came to Albemarle in the Fall of 1664. In the first letter of instructions to Sir William Berkeley the Proprietors mentioned that they reserved the nomination of a surveyor and a secretary as officers particularly charged with taking care of their interests. They mentioned that Sir George Carteret had recommended Monsieur Lepreyrie for surveyor and Lord Berkeley had recom- mended Richard Cobthrop for secretary, who promised to be ready to go out within a month. These gentlemen, however, did not go, but instead, Thomas Woodward was the surveyor, and Peter Carteret the first secretary; and it appears that Carteret brought over with him the commission and instructions for Governor Drummond in the Fall of 1664. His oflice of secretary was of importance, as he kept the record of all the surveys, and it was upon his certificate that the Governor made the grants. Thomas Woodward says of Carteret in his letter of June 2, 1665 : "I make "no question but Mr. Carteret, our secretary, will answer all your
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6o XORTII CAROLINA
expectations, for I assure yen that hvT is diligent." It may be assumed that from that time onward Peter Carteret was the Dep- uty and representative in Carolina of Sir George Carteret. It is said that he was Speaker of the Assembly of Albemarle.
The instructions sent him as Governor in 1670 required him to put in force the grand model of Government as near as may be — "'and not being able at present to put it fully in practice by reason of the want of Landgraves and Cassiqucs and a sufficient number of people, however, intending to come as nigh it as we can in the present state of affairs in all the colony of our said Province, you are therefore required to have the four precincts elect five representatives each, and then, the five persons chosen bv us being added, and who for the present represent the Xo- bilitv. are to be the .Assembly." The .\ssembly was to elect five persons, who, being joined with the five deputed by the Pro- prietors, were to compose the Council. The Governor and the five Deputies were to be the Palatine's Court. The Governor, with the consent of the Council, was to establish other Courts. The Assembly was to make the laws, which, being ratified by the Gov- ernor and any three of the five Deputies, were to be in force as under the Fundamental Constitutions.
It is to be noted that the changes in the polity required by these instructions, which supplanted and took the place of the Funda- mental Constitutions, were neither numerous nor important. There being no nobility, that element in government provided for in the Constitution found a substitute in the Deputies and in five other persons elected by the representatives of the people; and this addition to the Council of persons chosen by the .Vs- sembly made that body more responsive to the will of the people. In that respect the change was towards popular rights.
It is true that one of the provisions of the Constitutions was that the people should take an oath or affirmation to observe them and to abide bv them ; but yet the Constitutions had no vitality or operation beyond what was contained in the instructions to the Governors. Still they hung somewhat as a cloud over the people, and there are traces of popular discontent. During the Miller
■^^ ',,(1 --->r,'' ■■,'"^(ff
FILTER CARTEKET 6i
troubles some of the people raised the cry that "they did not want Landgraves and Cassiques," but the leaders in tliat affair quickly told thcni not to say that ; they were not quarreling with the Lords Proprietors.
There was, however, a matter of more vital import that caused dissatisfaction. Under the Great Deed the rent was a farthing an acre, payable in commodities ; while the Coristitutions prescribed a rent of as much silver as is contained in a penny, thus increasing the rent fourfold and making it payable in money. This provision, however, was never enforced. When the Proprie- tors later gave instructions that such rents should be collected, the people demurred, and the Proprietors eventually recognized the validity of their agreement contained in the Great Deed.
So far as the changes inaugurated in Carteret's time were of interest to the people, they seemed rather to subserve the public convenience than to be a cause of irritation and discontent. The county was laid off into four precincts, and Precinct Courts were established and other changes were made that came naturally with the growth and development of the colony. At the session of the Assembly in April, 1672, more than fifty-four Acts were passed, which, however, probably embraced all former laws then re- enacted.
While the administration of Carteret is thus historic because of the alteration in the system of government, it is also historic because it witnessed the introtluction of the Society of Ericnds among the people. P.oth under the Concessions and the Consti- tutions there was absolute freedom of conscience and religious toleration. In 1672 Ednumdson and George Co.x both visited Albe- marle. The latter says that he found only one Quaker tliere, Phillips, who had not seen a Friend for seven years. The former mentions having borrowed a canoe and "with this boat we went to the Governor's. The Governor, with his wife, received us lov- ingly; but a doctor there would needs dispute with us." From this it appears that Carteret was married and that he was a man of kindly disposition. Fox continues: "We tarried at the Gov- ernor's that night; and next morning he vcrj- courteously walked
62 NORTH CAROLINA
witli us himself about two miles through the woods to a place whither he had sent our boat about to meet us." The visits of these Quaker preachers marked the rise of the Quaker sect in the . colony.
In 1672, during his administration, new navigation laws and customs duties were passed in England, and it was required by the Crown authorities that these laws should be enforced in Albe- marle, and they interfered with the established trade of the Col- ony. The new element introduced into the Council by the ad- mission of five inhabitants elected by the Assembly changed the ■ attitude of that body toward public measures and brought it under - the rule of the people themselves. The Council was no longer
V in harmony with the Governor. Carteret's efforts to compose
i . differences were fruitless. He wearied of the attempt ; and his
\ three years' term being about to e.xiMre, he laid down his office
and went to England, probably with the hope that he might suc- t ceed in having the causes of dissatisfaction remedied. On the
25th of j\Iay, 1673, a Council was held at the house of Thomas '•• ' Godfrey. Carteret had then sailed for home, and Colonel John
i.' hr.vc Jenkins, the senior member of the Council, presided as Deputy- Governor. It does not appear that Carteret ever returned.
S. A. Ashe.
.1, -liiti rr.
GEORGE CATCHMAID
^~J^^JP^J?)^E0RGE CATC I BI AID, the first Speaker of % .fr^ "^-^-^^ffeg^ the Assembly of whom there is any particular mention, is an interesting character in our his- torical annals because of the events and inci- dents with which he was connected. Of his personal history but little is known. He is de- scribed in the grants made to him as being of the rank of "Gen- tleman," and "of Treslick." He came to Carolina in 1662; is said to have brought into the settlement sixty-seven persons ;'■ was the Speaker of the Assembly at the session of the Summer of 1666;- shortly afterwards he died, and his widow married Timothy Biggs. lie left no children ; and many years afterwards Edward Catchmaid, of London, claiming to be his nephew and heir, sought to obtain possession of his lands hi Albemarle. This is a brief- statement of the known facts of his life. But in connection with him several important matters relating to the settlement of Albe- marle and concerning the early inhabitants have been incidentally recorded.
Some writers have thought that the first settlement on the Chowan was under a grant to Roger Green, which was made bv the Grand Assembly of \'irgima in 1653, on behalf of himself and certain inhabitants of Xansemond River. This grant offered 10,000 acres of land to the first hundred persons who should seat
' Bancroft, Vol. : '■ C. R., Vol. I, p.
135.
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64 NORTH CAROLINA
themscKes on Roano'lce River and on tlie soutli side of the Chowan River and its branches. It was made after Virginia had sub- mitted to I'arhanient and wlien there was not only no oppression of dissenters in Mrginia, but when every freeman in the Old Dominion had the right to vote, and the Legislature elected tlie Governor and all other ofikers. and the only religious restriction was one forbidding the use of the Prayer Book in churches. There is no evidence that any settlement was ever made under this grant ; and Bancroft says particularly "that these conditional grants seemed not to have taken effect."' It is to be further ob- served that the lands explored by Roger Green and mentioned in this grant were not on the shores of the Sound, but south of the branches of the Chowan, which was not in the limits of Caro- lina. The authorities in Virginia well knew that the territory south of the 36th degree of latitude had been long since granted by the Crown under the name of Carolina, and was not under their jurisdiction.
In a suit growing out of George Catchmaid"s settlement in Carolina, the record of which is preserved by Doctor Hawks in his second volume, page 132, some account is given of those who first seated themselves on the shores of Albemarle Sound. From that record it appears that George Durant came in company witli the "first seatcrs," but for two years he occupied himself with finding out the country and selecting a good location. Having done that, he purchased from the King of the Ycopim Indians a certain neck of land on Perquimans River, receiving his deed on the first day of March, 1661 ( 1662) ;- and from this it would ap- pear that the "first seaters" came in 1659 or 1660. George Durant, while beginning his clearing, encouraged Catchmaid to seat a tract of land adjoining his own, and Catchmaid sent in 1662 Richard Watridge with three hands to settle and seat the said lands ; and a month later Catchmaid, having come to Alijemarle, informed Durant that Governor Berkeley had then lately returned from England, and had announced that the settlers at Albemarle should
' Bancroft. Vol. 2. p. 134. ^'.•\t that time the year btgan March 25th, and not January ist.
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GEORGE CATCf^:'.LAID 65
hold 110 longer under liiJian titles, but that lie would grant patents to those desiring them: and Catchniaid proposed to take out pat- ents for the land occupied by both Durant and himself.
As a matter of fact Governor Berkeley did go to England, and while there mentioned to the King these new plantations in Caro- lina outside of Mrginia, and asked for instructions, and the King directed that he should require those settlers who had bought their lands from the Indians to take out patents and giants from Virginia. Berkeley returned ir the Summer of 166^': so Wat- ridge's arrival on Durant's Neck was in the Eall of 1662.
Catchmaid accordingly procured a patent for 3,333 acres of land, the date of the same apparently being prior to the 13th day of March, 1662 (1663), for on that day he made an agreement in writing to convey Durant's part of the land to him, which, however, he failed to do ; and thus arose the occasion of the law- suit many years after his death.
Besides this grant of more than three thousand acres, made before March, 1662 (1663), Govertior Berkeley, as Governor of Virginia, also made another giant to Catchmaid for importing thirty persons into the Colony of \''irginia, dated 25th of Sep- tember, 1663, six months later. This last grant was in the vicin- ity of the former one, but appears to have been entirely distinct from it. It would seem that in addition to the sixty-seven per- sons that Bancroft says "Catchmaid established in Carolina," he also brought into the Colony of Virginia thirty other persons. On that same day, September 25, 1663, Governor Berkeley made grants, which have been preserved, for lands at .Albemarle, indi- cating that at least one hundred persons had been brought into Virginia by those to whom these lands were granted. It would therefore seem that planters of considerable sul)stance were con- cerned in this first settlement ; such indeed is the statement of John Lawson, the first historian of Xorth Carolina, who wrote in 1708 and knew what the people of .Mbcmarle said about it. He says:
"A second settlement (after Waher Raleigh's) of this country was made about fifty years ago. in that part we now call .Mbemarle County, and chietly in Chowan Precinct, by several substantial planters from Virginia and other plantations."
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After mentioning- some of the difficulties of the new settlement, he continued :
"Nevertheless, I say, the lame of this new-discovered Suninier cou7itry spread through the neigliboring Colonies, and in a few years drew a con- siderable number of fannhcs tliereto."
The next resident to write of North Carolina was Doctor Brickell, who, after residing in Albemarle, substantially repeats what Lawson wrote: and so Lawson's account of the settlement would seem to have lieen in agreement with local traditions.
Conditions of freedom continued to exist in Virginia until after the Restoration, when a political revolution set in which eventu- ated in restoring the old order of things, religious as well as tem- poral. If Roger Green, clerk, was a minister of the Church of England, and in 1653 designed to lead his flock into the wilder- ness because of the overthrow of the Church of Virginia, ten years later the requirement that the whole Liturgy should he read, and that no Nonconformists might teach even in private under pain of banishment; doubtless tended to drive the Independents into Caro- Hna. Thus it may be that after the first settlements, subsequent accessions to the inhabitants of Albemarle were influenced by re- ligious intolerance in the Old Dominion; and after the grant of Carolina to Governor Berkeley and his brother and the other Pro- prietors, Berkeley probably viewed such a movement with satisfac- tion, as it promoted his personal interests. Yet it is to be remem- bered that Woodward, the surveyor, in 1665, does not mention such an influence as aiding the settlement of the Colonv. In 1664 Drimimond was appointed governor, Carteret the secretarv, and Woodward the surveyor. The Proprietors limited grants to fifty acres and charged half-penny an cere quit-rent, while in \'irginia the rent was one shilling for fifty acres. The first Assembly that met petitioned the Proprietors for the same terms as existed in Virginia, and Woodward in June, 1663, wrote urging their ac- quiescence. He mentioned that he had manv years been en- deavoring and encouraging to seat Albemarle, and he urged a larger aiiporlionment than fifty acres to the person, saying: "To
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think that any men will remove iroin Virginia upon harder con- ditions than they can live there, will prove, I fear, a vain imagina- tion, it being land only that t'ney come for." This would seem to be in line with the traditions of the settlement as perpetuated by Lawson, and apparently negatives the idea that the settlers were seeking the wilderness to escape from religious oppression. But however it may have been in regard to the Independents, it is quite certain that the Quakers did not make the first settle- ment. In 1671, ten years after Durant's party had built their cabins, Edmundson came to Albemarle and found only one Friend there, Phillips, and he had been there only seven years. He and his wife came from New England. However, Edmundson made several converts at that time ; and Fox, vv-ho followed him the next year, says that he also made "a little entrance for the truth among the people in the north part of Carolina." Three or four years later Edmundson again visited Albemarle and "turned several to the Lord ;" "people were tender and loving, and there was no room for the priests, for Friends were finely settled, and I felt things were well among them." Indeed, from a memorial made by the Quakers in 1677 it appears that there were then at least twenty members of that faith in the Colony who had settled in Carolina as early as 1663 and 1664. Necessarily their conversion was the work of Ednunulson and Fox, and the Quaker element in the Colony is to be dated from that period, some ten or twelve years subsequent to the original settlement. To the same effect is the statement of Governor Walker in 1703,^ who then wrote:
"George Fo.x, some years ago, came into these parts, and. by strange infatuations, did infuse the Quaker principles into some small number of the people; which did and hath continued to grow ever since very numer- ous, by reason of their yearly sending in men to encourage and exhort them to their wicked principles."
While the Friends constantly grew in strength, it was not until the end of the century that any other denomination of Christians had either a minister or a house of worship in Albemarle. It
' C. R., Vol. I, p. 572.
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would tlius seem that the inhabitants were not particularly de- voted or interested in their religious affiliations.
Catchmaid was probably Speaker of the first Assembly, held prior to the month of June in 1665. He was Speaker of that held in the Summer of' 1666. Tobacco-planting- in Albemarle was then so considerable that in June, 1666, Alaryland appointed commissioners to arrange with Virginia and "the Southward plantations" for the cessation of planting tobacco for one year in the three colonies ; and the Legislature of Carolina assented to this. In transmitting the Act authorizing this agreement in the Summer of 1666 there was some delay because of an Indian War which prevented the messengers leaving Carolina.
It was doubtless while Catchmaid was Speaker that the Act was passed providing for civil marriages, similar to the law in Virginia from 1654 to the Restoration ; and another providing that settlers should be exempt from actions for debt, that being a law earlier in force in \'irginia. Certainly the Speaker of the As- sembly exerted no little influence in the new settlement and con- tributed much to its growth. It is apparent tiiat a considerable number of settlers were received from Massachusetts, and that at a very early day New England traders est.i.blished connections in Albemarle and sought to engross the trade and commercial dealings of the settlement. As Catchmaid was not only a man of substance, but a leader in directing public matters and a man of some social standing, "'a gentleman," he must have made an impress as such on the colony.
His widow married Timothy Biggs, Deputy of the Earl of Craven, and Comptroller and Surveyor-General of His Majestv's Customs. His action as a customs officer had much to do with bringing on Culpepper's Rebellion in 1677. Biggs had the sym- pathy of the Quakers, but does not seem to have been of that faith; at any rate he was belligerent, for in 1678, when he had gone to England, he recommended to the Lords Proprietors to send an armed vessel to Albemarle, and to enlist a body of troops in Virginia to suppress the rebels. The Proprietors, however, warned him tn hold his peace, and his bloody plan was not favorably considered. 5". •'!. Aslic.
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BENJAMIN CLEVELAND
F all the fierce frontiersmen whose activity spread consternation among the partisans of King George in the Southern campaigns of the American Revolution not one stood higher than Colonel Benjamin Cleveland, who was born ^lay 26. 173S. Thanks to the splendid histori- cal effort of Doctor Lyman C. Draper in his volume entitled "King's Mountain and Its Heroes," as well as to the works of less importance, we are enabled to present for the consideration of our readers a sketch of the career of this remarkable man. Prince William County, Virginia, was the birthplace of Ben- jamin Cleveland ; and his father's home was on Bull Run, a stream whose name was later to be knov/n in all quarters of the globe as the opening scene of the greatest of American wars in 1861. While still a child young Cleveland was carried sixty miles west- ward to Orange County, \'irginia, when his father removed to the latter locality. His new home was about si.x miles above the junc- tion of Bull Run with the Rapidan River.
The personal prowess for which Cleveland was distinguished in the maturity of life was manifested in early childhood, and Draper tells us that at the early age of twelve he seized his father's gun and jiut to flight a party of drunken rowdies who were rais- ing a disturbance at his home while John Cleveland, the father, was absent. Having "an unconquerable aversion to the tame
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drudgery of farm-life," young Cleveland soon became famous as a hunter, and ranged the great forests of his neighborhood in search of big game. To him the life of a hunter was a source of profit as well as pleasure, for the hides, furs, and pelts won by his rifle brought him no inconsiderable income. Tradition says that Cleveland saw some service in the French and Indian War and there received his first schooling as a soldier. Before leaving ^'irginia he married, in Orange County, Mary Graves, daughter of a gentleman of some fortune, who later came with his own family and that of his son-in-law to North Carolina.
It was about the year 1769 that the above party settled in North Carolina. Cleveland first cultivated a farm on the waters of Roaring Creek, a tributary of the Yadkin River, later removing to a river bend of the Yadkin which (from its horseshoe shape) was called "The Round About." In after years, when the cele- brated Daniel Boone was a resident of the Yadkin Valley, his tales of the hunting-grounds to the westward so stirred the rest- less blood of Cleveland that in 1772 he set out with a party of four companions— five men in all— to Kentucky. These men were set upon by a large band of Cherokee Indians, who robbed them of all their belongings, guns included, and ordered them to return to the place from whence they came. After a painful journey the half-famished hunters finally succeeded in reaching the settle- ment of the white race once more. Cleveland later returned to the Cherokee country for the purpose of recovering his horse, and accomplished that object with the help of some friendly In- dians furnished him by Big Bear, a chief of the Cherokee nation.
At the beginning of the Revolution Cleveland was com- missioned an ensign in the 2nd North Carolina Continental Regiment, commanded by Colonel Robert Howe, on September i, 1775: he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant in January, 1776, and became captain in November, 1776, later resigning from the Continental Line, or Regulars, and entering the militia. He bore some part in the Moore's Creek campaign in the Spring of 1776. In the Spring of 1777 Cleveland commanded a company of volunteers against the Cherokees ; but in the following July
BENJAMIN CLEVELAND 71
peace with tlie Indian:', was effected by the treaty of the Long Island of Ilolston.
The County of Wilkes was formed in 1777, chiefly through the instrumentality of Captain Cleveland, and he was made colonel of the militia forces of the new county in August, 1778. In 1778 Colonel C'leveland represented Wilkes in the North Carolina House of Commons, and was State Senator therefrom in 1779. In this county he was also Presiding Justice of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions.
To tell in full of the desperate encounters in which Cleveland engaged would fill a volume. He was constantly engaged against the enemy, in 1777 serving in Indian campaigns, going on the ex- pedition to Georgia in 177S, and returning in 1779, and after- wards marching against the Tories at Ramseur's Mill, though he did not reach that place in time for the battle which was fought there on June 20, 1780.
"Old Round About," as Cleveland was familiarly known (tak- ing that sobriquet from his plant;ition of the same name), prob- abl}- had a hand in hanging moie Tories than any other man in America. Though this may be an unenviable distinction, he had to deal with about as unscru])uIous a set of ruffians as ever in- fested any land— men who murdered peaceable inhabitants, burnt dwellings, stole horses, and committed about every other act in the catalogue of crime. Draper gives a number of instances where this fierce partisan avenged with homp the wrongs of his neigh- borhood. But Cleveland was not always a man of a relentless mood. On one occasion, related by Draper, a particularly ob- noxious character was finally captured, and Cleveland called out : "Waste no time ! — swing him off quick !" Instead of being ap- palled by his approaching doom, the man turned to the colonel and remarked with perfect coolness: "Well, you needn't be in such a d — d big hurry about it." Struck with admiration at this display of bravery, Cleveland exclaimed: "Boys, let him go!" This act of magnanimity, from a source so unexpected, completely won over the Tory, who at once enlisted under Cleveland's banner and became one of his most faithful and devoted followers.
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Says the historian above quoted :
"Cleveland was literally 'all things to all people.' By his severities he awed and intimidated not a few — restraining them from lapsing into Tory abominations ; by his kindness, forbearance, and even tenderness winning over many to the glorious cause he loved so well."
The battle in which Cleveland gained his greatest renown was that fought at King's Mountain on the 7th of October, 1780. The rendezvous preparatory to this ever-memorable engagement was at Quaker IMeadows, a plantation owned by the ^IcDowell family in Burke County, near the present town of Morganton. Here the members of Cleveland's command were joined by their com- patriots. The battle of King's Mountain was fortunately a great and overwhelming victory for the Americans ; and among all the desperate fighters there engaged not one showed more personal courage than Colonel Cleveland. A description in detail of the battle could not he placed in a brief sketch such as the present, and so for fuller particulars we must refer the reader to works which have been devoted to that great event. When the victory was complete, and the British commander, Colonel Ferguson, had been killed, that officer's horse was. by common consent, turned over to Colonel Cleveland because the latter "was too un- wieldy to travel on foot," and had lost his own horse during the battle. In view of Cleveland's size — weighing, as he did, more than four hundred pounds — it is wonderful that he could have led a life of such activity.
After the victory at King's Mountain more than thirty Tories were condemned to death, and nine were executed — the others being reprieved. The executions here alluded to were, for the most part, punishments for past crimes — house-burnings, out- rages against women, desertions and betrayals, assassinations of non-combatants, etc. These measures were also in retaliation for past British cruelties— a few days before this eleven Americans having been hanged at Ninety-Six in South Carolina, and many more having been accorded similar treatment at other times. Cleveland was a member of the court (or court martial)- — the nature of the tribunal being of a perplexing character — which
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tried and condemned these Tories. Tiie Battle of King's I\Ioim- tain restored comparative order to western Xorth Carolina, yet there was more fighting to be done, and Colonel Cleveland as usual bore more than his share, serving under General Griffith Rutherford.
After the war Colonel Cleveland's plantation, "The Round About," in North Carolina was lost to a liiigant who had a better title therefor, and Cleveland soon removed to South Carolina, where he became, first, an Indian fighter, and a judge, after peace with the Cherokees had been effected. Before he died Cleveland attained the enormous weight of four hundred and fifty pounds.
The death of Colonel Cleveland occurred in what is now Oconee County, South Carolina, in October, 1806. He left two sons and a daughter, and many of his descendants are now living. Gov- ernor Jesse Franklin (elsewhere noticed in this work) was a son of Cleveland's sister. Robert and Larkin Cleveland, brothers of the colonel, and "Devil John" Cleveland, the colonel's son, were all brave and efficient officers in the Revolution, as was also Jesse Franklin, above mentioned.
By Chapter g of the Laws of 1S40-4T a county was formed out of Lincoln and Rutherford and named for Colonel Cleveland. In this act the name was misspelled Cleaveland, but by another legislative enactment — passed many years later — the error was remedied.
Marsha!! Dc Lanccy Hayn'ood.
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RICHARD CLINTON
HE county-seat of Sampson County is called Clinton, as a compliment to Colonel Richard Clinton, one of the Revolutionary patriots of that vicinity. The Clintons along with the Kenans an.d others came over from Ireland with Colonel Sampson about 1736, and were among the first to settle in the wilderness on the head-waters of the northeast branch of the Cape Fear. Because of this Irish set- tlement it was at first proposed to call that region the county of Donegal, but when in 1749 the upper part of New Hanover was cut ofT to form the new county it was named Duplin, in honor of Lord Duplin, one of the Board of Trade at that time; and Duplin County during the Revolution extended far to tlie west, embrac- ing the territory of Sampson County and covering a large and ex- tensive region.
\\'hether the subject of this sketch was born before or subse- quent to this first Irish settlement is unknown: he may have been one of the verv first white children born in that part of the State. It is said that he was a nej)hew of Colonel Charles Clinton, the father of Governor George Clinton and of General James Clinton, of New York ; and in person and characteristics hewas not inferior to those distinguished gentlemen. He was remarkably handsome, was always cool and self-possessed, a thoughtful man, and one of nuich dignitv of character.
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RICHARD Cl.IXrOX 75
On Xovember ^g, 1768, Governor fiyou commissioned him one of the justices for the county of DupUn; so at that early age he had attained a position of influence and was a man of conse- quence in his community ; and by successive appointments he held this position until the Revolutioa.
His military career began in the civil commotions which dis- turbed North Carolina prior to the Revolution, he being a major in Governor Tryon's army, which marched against the Regulators and routed them at the Battle of Alamance. Before tliat time, be- tween 1762 and 1765, he married Penelope Kenan, a sister of Colonel James Kenan, and hr; was a man so highly regarded that he held the office of register of the county of Duplin under the Crown.
When the troubles with the ^.lother Country came on he was an active Whig, and was elected to represent Duplin County in the Provincial Congress which sat at Hillsboro in August and Sep- tember, 1775. By that body he was elected lieutenant-colonel of Duplin County, when the militia of the State was organized for Revolutionary purposes on September 9, 1775. The next Provincial Congress, April, 1776, selected him as one of the com- missioners to procure arms and ammunition for the army, and he was energetic and efficient in that service. When the last Pro- vincial Congress met in December, 1776, it adopted a State Con- stitution and established a State Government and organized Courts of Pleas and Quarter Sessions under the Constitution, and lie was appointed by the Congress a justice for Duplin County. In the early stage of the Revolution the Provincial Congress had adopted a Test Oath, which all the Revolutionists took, and the Legislature at its session of November, 1777, prescribed an Oath of Allegiance and Abjuration. This oath was taken by the citi- zens of the different counties, and the record is preserved wherein Colonel Cliriton took it in Duplin County. He represented his county in the House of Commons continuously from 1777 to 1784. In that year Sampson County was formed out of Duplin, and he represented Sampson County in the Senate in 1785 and until 1793, with the exception of one year. He thus served his
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people in the Legislature during nearly the whole period of the Revolutionary \\'ar, and participated in the adoption of those measures which were relied on to protect the State from the in- cursions of the enemy.
After the Battle of Aloore's Creek and the departure of the British fleet from the Cape Fear in the early Summer of 1776, quiet reigned in Xorth Carolina until the opening of 1781, al- though detachments were sent to the aid of South Carolina wlien that State was invaded. What share Colonel Clinton had in tlie operations to the southward is not recorded, nor has the par- ticular part he played in 1781 been perpetuated. He was, how- ever, the right arm of his brother-in-law, Colonel Kenan, during the troublous times that were ushered in when Major Craig oc- cupied Wilmington on the 28th of January, 1781. At that time the militia of Duplin and of other counties weic ordered down to the great bridge twelve miles above Wilmington ; but Craig had hastened to demolish the bridge, and had then returned to the town, which he immediately fortified to protect the garrison. When Colonel Kenan, Colonel Clinton and their forces had reached the bridge and found it destroyed, they fortified themselves on the northern bank to hold that pass and prevent the enemy from mak- ing excursions into the country. There were about seven hun- dred militia collected there under General Lillington w-hen about the first of ALarch Major Craig attacked them with artillery from across the river, the contest being maintained for two days, and then having accomplished nothing the British returned to their fortifications at Wilmington. In April Cornwallis began his march nortlnvard, and Lillington retreated to Kinston, where on the 28th of April he discharged all the militia, and the men re- turned to their homes to protect their several communities from the Tories, who became very active in Duplin as well as in every part of the country where the British Army had passed. .At length Colonel Kenan and Colonel Clinton got together in Julv some four hundred men and took jxjst near Rockfish Creek, when ALnjor Craig marched out against them with his main army and field pieces and dispersed the militia, wlio were badly armed and hatl
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RICHARD CLINTON
but little ammunition. Major Craig' remained several days in Du- plin and then marelied on to New-Rern. The Tories were reani- mated by the presence of this British force and were more auda- cious than ever. Kenan and Clinton collected some light-horse and formed a little flying camp and made frequent sallies on their ene- mies ; and when Craig heard that General Wayne was approaching Halifax, and hurried for protection to his fortifications at Wil- mington, the Whigs of Duplin embodied to the number of eighty light-horsemen, and marching quickly into the neighborhood where the Tories were embodied, surprised them, killed many, and put to instant death all the prisoners they took. This bloody ac- tion struck such terror into the Tories of Duplin that they sub- sequently gave but little trouble. During that period Colonel Clinton and his associates were as active and as zealous as any of the famed partisan leaders of the Revolution.
After peace was won he continued to enjoy the respect and es- teem of his people, and by his wise counsels in the halls of the Legislature promoted their interests and welfare, and was re- garded as one of the most patriotic statesmen of that part of the State.
When Sampson County was estalilishcd he owned the land that is now the site of the town of Clinton, and when it was laid off he donated five acres for a public square and Court liouse antl also a lot for a public school.
Colonel Clinton died in 1796, leaving two sons and four daugh- ters. William, the eldest son, married Aliss Seawell, a daughter of Judge Seawell, and had two sons, William and James. Rich- ard Clinton married Ferebce Hicks and moved to Georgia. None of Colonel Clinton's descendants bearing his name now live in North Carolina. His daughter ^lary married Mr. Roland, of Robeson County ; his daughter Rachel married ]\Ir. Rhodes and left one son, Doctor Richard Rhodes. Elizabeth married David Bunting, of Quaker descent, originally of Pennsylvania but set- tling in Sampson Count)-, and left eight children, one of whom, Penelope Bunting, became the wife of Colonel Thomas K. Iklorisey, who was her cousin, being the son of George Moriscy,
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of Cork, Ireland, and of Jai.o Kenan, a sister of ^Irs. Penelope Clinton. The young-est child of Colonel Clinton, Xancy, married Owen Holmes, a brother of Governor Holmes, and left five sons and three daughters. One of her sons, Owen, was a distinguished lawyer, located at Wilmington, was a member of the Constitu- tional Convention, mariicd Betsy Ashe, a daughter of Colonel Samuel Ashe, of Rocl;y Point, and left three children : Owen, who died unmarried; I'ettie, who married Doctor John Aleares, of Wilniino.ton ; and Sara Ashe Holmes, v\-ho married Alary Strudwick, of Alabama. These removed to California.
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ORLANDO R. COX
AR from the madding crowd's ignoble strife," there be men who in the even tenor of their way and in the quiet pursuit of their ideals are doing the real work that counts most largely in the inventory of the substantial assets of a State. The student who turns the pages of North Carolina's history for the last quarter of a century will look in vain for the names of many men who have wrought and built for their communities, their churches and themselves. The chief- est value of this volume and its highest mission are that it brings to light and places on historic record the names of a large number of the unknown who have contributed most largely to the rebuild- ing and upbuilding of this commonwj^tlth and who arc not known outside of their respective communities and tlie limited commer- cial circles in which they operate in the conduct of their daily business. ]Men of genius, merit, and real worth, who are absorbed in the steady and serious prosecution of tlieir life's work, shrink from the empty honors and notoriety which come to smaller men. The man who has no definite work before him and is without a definite object in life is to be pitied. He loses the real joy of ex- istence. He never feels the uplifting enthusiasm which comes to a man whose every faculty is at work in the accomplishment of a task or the serious and earnest pursuit of the object of his ambition. , , _.
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There is nothing more interesting than tlie study of the build- ing of the cliaracter of a man whose plans are jointed or dove- tailed, and made to fit as one by one they mature and take their places in the splendid structure of a superbly built and success- ful life. It has been the good or ill fortune of the writer to touch life at many points in his checkered career and to know something of the lives of many men of many minds and many vocations. Within the range of his observation there has rarely come a life so rounded, so smooth, so straight, so unaffected, so serious, so earnest and so successful as that of Orlando R. Cox. From the humblest beginning it has grown and expanded each and every day until at its meridian we find its impress upon nearly every enterprise and institution of his church and his native county. Nor has the sphere of his influence and usefulness been limited by the confines of his county. His name is linked with a chain of financial and commercial institutions throughout the State, and in their management his fine business judgment is invoked in the capacity of a director.
He comes from one of the oldest, largest and most substantial families of the county of Randolph. Born at Cox's Mill on the 26th of August, 1844, he remained on the farm until the year 1 868, when he began work as clerk or salesman in the general store of Hugh T. ^loffitt at Moffitt's Mills, North Carolina. Here he was engaged for about one year, after which he accepted a position as clerk in the company's store at Cedar Falls, North Carolina. His earliest ancestor of whom there is public record was .-\bel Cox. a citizen of sterling virtues. The name of his own father was Micajah Cox, who was a farmer and millwright by occu])ation. He was well known and is still well remembered by the older citizens of the county. He was fond of hunting and fishing, and manv amusing incidents of his hunting exploits still live in the traditions of his people. It is told that many a wild buck fell a victim of his deadly aim and many a timid doe lay lifeless at his feet. He was a leader in his community, an en- thusiastic Mason, a devout member of the Methodist Protestant Church, and was Justice of the Peace of his county for thirt_\-one
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ORLANDO R. COX
years. The name of the mother of our s'lbject was Matilda John- son Cox. It was from these plain, lionfst,. industrious and God- fearing parents of simple life that Orlando R. Cox inherited the fine traits, the rugged virtues and the sterling qualities which have marked his steadily successful career. It was in the year 1869 that Orlando R. Cox, the plain farmer boy, with limited education acquired from the "old field schools" and two terms with Professor Holt, came as a clerk, as before told, in the com- pany store at Cedar Falls at a very small salary. Here began the real work of his life, and it was not long before he, by diligence and fidelity, had made himself an essential, individual factor in the management of the business of the company as well as a val- uable and popular citizen of tha county. Seven years thereafter, in 1S76, without solicitation on his part, he was elected sheritt of the county. Before the expiration of his term he violated the political epigram : "Few die, none resign." He grew tired of political office, tendered his resignation as sherifif, and accepted the position of secretary and treasurer and general manager of the Cedar Falls Manufacturing Company — a position whose duties were more congenial and more in keeping with the ambition of his life. This company had been organized and created the year before and had become the purchaser and owner of what was
known as the Cedar Falls property, including the cotton mill.
store, sites, tenement houses and everything. Cedar Falls Cotton Mill is the oldest in the county.
Cedar Falls takes its name from a cluster of majestic cedars which grew around a rugged shoal in Deep River, on the banks of which the village is built about midway between Randlcmaii and Ramseur on a branch of the Southern Railway. It was away back in 1S48 that this first cotton mill in the county was built, and for more than half a century the winds that blow through the venerable cedars that grow there liave been vibrating with the nuisic of its bus}- machinery. It has been a training school for some of the cotton mill men who are to-day among the South's loaders. It was here that the Flliotts, the Makepeaces, the Odells and others learned the practical part of the cotton mill business.
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It was here that Benjamin EUiott, the first man who inspired tlie building of a cotton mill in Randolph County, lived and pros- pered, and beneath those cedars sleep the remains of this pioneer and benefactor. It was near here that the late George Makepeace lived. Of him the late Reverend Doctor Braxton Craven said in his sermon, dedicating the Naomi Cotton Mills :
"George Makepeace was the very genius of organization, and few men could govern men, women, and children with less annoyance or greater eflfect. In spirit and life he was a model man; quiet, considerate, cool- headed and warm-hearted, he said and did tlto right things at the right time and always with the happiest results."
Mr. George Makepeace was the grandfather of C. R. Make- peace, cotton mill architect and builder, now of Providence, R. I.
Cedar Falls and its surroundings are rich in interesting biog- raphy and industrial reminiscences. These mills were here before Greensboro, Charlotte, Wilmington, Rockingham, Fayetteville or Raleigh had a railroad. Its founders were Henry B. Elliott and Philip Horney. Of these two men Doctor Craven further said in the sermon referred to :
"There was Philip Horney, a man whose heart was young when his body was old. He made money and spent il, or a part of it, as a true man should; he was an ardent friend and supporter of the church; his table was always spread for the hungry; his sympathy reached towards all who needed it. and everybody called him friend. There was Henry B. Elliott, one of the noblest of Randolph's noble citizens. He had something of the bearing of an English nobleman, but withal the courtesy and self-sacrific- ing generosity of a warm-hearted and true man. He was gifted in in- tellect and finely cultivated in extensive learning and enthusiastic in every- thing that seemed to promote good for the country."
There was inspiration in such associations for a young man of ^Ir. Cox's determination and ambition. He reckons these names and associations among the strongest influences which stimulated him in the great task he had set for himself.
Following and succeeding these men was Doctor John Milton Worth, whose wise counsel and far-sightedness as president of tins cotupany constituted the strongest support Mr. Cox had for many years. Under the vigorous and successful management of
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ORLANDO R. COX 83
Mr. Cox, aided by Prosidenl Worth, .he Cedar Falls Mills have more than trebled in tlu number of spinilles and capacity, and he has been enabled to build a new mil! with two hundred lixims at the same places. He is a practical mill man, with all the word implies. His knowledge was acquired around the spindles and in personal work and attention to every detail of the complex opera- tion of a cotton mill. Some conception of the magnitude of the task may be formed when it is reinembercd that at the time he as- sumed control of this magnificent property, in the early days of 1878, the value of its assets did not exceed the amount of its in- debtedness. Without name or credit or backing, save that which grim grit and tireless pluck gave, he assumed a burden from which others had shrunk, and steadily for years toiled at his desk and in the mill through the long hours of day and the heavy hours of night until he had lifted every dollar of encumbrance and made the stock of this company the most desirable and valuable in the markets of the State. It is doubtful if there can be found in the State a man who has given his time more constantly, un- selfishly, and unreservedly to the promotion of the interests of his company. In the meantime, b} close economy and the most frugal habits he was enabled to purchase from time to time stock until he became the largest stockholder of the company, and is to-day the practical owner of the two mills.
In more recent years he has been induced to invest some of the fruits of his toil in other plants and institutions. He succeeded Doctor J. I\I. Worth as president of the Bank of Randolph, the largest and strongest bank of the county, in which he has been a stockholder and director from its incorporation. He also suc- ceeded Doctor Worth as president of the Asheboro Furniture Company, in which he had been a stockholder and director since its incorporation. He is a stockholder in the Asheboro Chair Factory, the Concord Wholesale Grocery Company of Concord, North Carolina, J. W. Scott and Company of Greensboro, North Caro- lina, the Wachovia Loan and Trust Company of Winston-Salcm, North Carolina, and the Greensboro National Bank. He is also a charter shareholder and director of the Greensboro Loan and
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84 NORTH CAROLINA
Trust Compau}', the strongest financial institution in the Gate City, as well as in the North State Fire Insurance Company and Greensboro Life Insurance Company of the same city. There are other corporations in which he is interested and holds stock. This list, however, will sufSce to show the value of his career to his community, his county and his State. It tells its own story. It is liis own work. He is the architect of his own fortune.
Twice married, he was blessed by his first marriage with six ciiildren, three of whom are dead and three living. The issue of his last marriage are five children, all of whom are living. Nor is this all. There is another field in which we may note the harvest froin the good seed he has sown. He is and has been from earliest young manhood a member of the Methodist Prot- estant Church, and for }-ears has been one of the leading and most influential laymen of that church in North Carolina. Time and again he has been selected as delegate to the annual and quad- rennial convocations and for the highest positions of trust and honor in that church. At his home he is a faithful communicant and liberal supporter of his church and all of its enterprises. In the Sunday-School and elsewhere he is as prompt, as active, as enthusiastic and as earnest as he is in the prosectition of his busi- ness affairs. It is to be recorded, too, that while, as a rule, he has resisted the flattering inducements to enter politics he has, from a sense of public duty, served his county four years as a County Commissioner and ten or twelve years as a Justice of the Peace.
He is the upright man and the model citizen. He meets and measures up to every exaction of Church and State. He has wrought well in his day and generation. His record is a proud heritage for his children. His is a life whose lesson is worth pre- serving. It may not be written in bronze or brass or stone, but it will live in the ever-widening circles of the lives it has touched. When the old county of Randolph comes to make up the roll of her native sons who, in the last three decades, have done the most for her material growth, her credit and her good name, there will be on that roll no name ahead of that of Orlando R. Cox.
G. S. Bradshaw.
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WILLIAM DICKSON
R. JA;\1ES O. CARR, a distinguished member of the Wihnington bar, has rendered the State notable service by the pubhcation of "the Dick- son Letters," which form an interesting and valuable addition to our literature, covering the dark period of 1781 in the Cape Fear section and the period when the Federal Constitution was adopted. In this sketch the writer will follow the Introduction made by Mr. Carr to the Dickson Letters, whose preparation shows painstaking research.
The Dickson family in Duplin County trace their descent to Simon Dickson, who was a stern English Puritan and an ardent adherent of Oliver Cromwell, and received as his reward for his services a grant of 400 acres of land in County Down, Ireland. There he settled and had a numerous offspring. John Dickson, fifth in descent from Simon, was born in Ireland in 1704, and died in Duplin County, Xorth Carolina, on the 25th of December, 1774. W'h.en thirty-four years of age he emigrated from Ireland and located in Chester County, Pennsylvania, where he resided a few years and where three of his sons were born. He then moved to Maryland, but after a short while located in Duplin County some time previous to 1743. He had eight sons and one daughter. The eldest son, Michael, moved to Georgia; William, the subject of this sketch, was the third; Robert, another son, towards the
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close of the Revolution moved to Mrginia, but returned to Duplin in 17S4. He served in the House of Commons in 1777 anil con- tinuously from 17S4 to 17SS. Joseph alsu left the county about the close of the Revolution, but returning served as Register of Deeds and County Surveyor and was in the House of Commons in 1780 and 1797. Alexander likewise emigrated to Virginia in 1781, but returned in 1784. He was a public-spirited and patriotic man and highlv esteemed in his county. He left no children, and in his will devised the bulk of his property "to the use of a free school or schools for the benefit of the poor of Duplin County." In 1817, when his estate was settled, this fund amounted to $12,621. It has always been known as the "Dickson Charity Fund," and until after the Civil War the income was applied to educational pur- poses, and since the war to the Public School Fund. Edward Dickson, another son, was one of the most respected and pros- perous citizens of Duplin County. His granddaughter, Ann Wil- liams, married Doctor Stephen Graham, and their daughter, Sarah Rebecca Graham, married Honorable Owen R. Kenan, and be- came the mother of Colonel Thomas S. Kenan, of Raleigh, North Carolina ; James G. Kenan, of Kenansville, and the late William R. Kenan, of Wilmington.
William Dickson, the subject of this sketch, was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania, on the loth of January, 1739, and was brought by his father to Duplin County during infancy. His ed- ucational advantages were limited, as he was reared among the early settlers in the wilderness before the establishment of schools. Still he appears to have been well taught at home ; wrote with un- common ease, and was a man of comiirehensive ideas, good judg- ment, and great wisdom. He discussed political questions with in- telligence, and forecast the future with intuition and remarkable foresight.
He had just reached manhood when the exciting period of the Stamp Act troubles fostered unrest and mental activity among the colonists; and this was followed by the tr_\ing times of the Revolution, during which he was recognized as one of the trusted leaders of his communitv.
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\\JLLIA:M DlCisSON 87
Pie wns a dclccrate from Duplin Counry to the first Provincial Contcrcss held at Xew-Bcrn on tlic 25th of August, 1774; and he was a member of each successive Congress, and participated in the deliberations of the body ihat framed the Constitution of the State. On the establishment of county courts in \']']7 he was elected clerk of that court for Duplin County, and it is said that he held that position for forty-fov.r years. While he did not serve in the Continental Army, he v/as active in the militia, especially in the year 1781 after Major Crai.^;" took possession of Wilming- ton and the Tories rose in the Cape Fear country. He was with Lillington and Kenan when they held the Great Bridge from February until April, retiring in front of Cornwallis. In his letter of 1784 Mr. Dickson gives a graphic account of the devastation of Duplin County during that April and June. "At length," he said, "we got collected about fmir hundred men under Colonel Kenan in Duplin and made a stand." About the 20th of July Colonel Kenan was joined by a part of Brigadier-General Caswell's Brigade, making his total force the number above stated. Breast- works were thrown up about one mile east of the present village of Wallace, where the county road crosses Rockfish Creek, and on August 2d Colonel Craig's force of Regulars, about five hun- dred strong, moved up and attacked them. Colonel Kenan had but a few rounds of ammunition, and when this was exhausted his militia gave way, and in the stampede some thirty or forty men were captured, besides the loss in killed and wounded. After this encounter tiie \Mng forces were dispersed and the enemy stayed several days in Duplin, the Tories gathering very fast and taking possession of the county. J-Iajor Craig, having marched to New-Bern, returned towards Kinston, proposing to move north- ward, but heard that General Anthony Wayne was approaching Halifax, which deterred him from further operations, and he sought safety in his fortifications at \\'ilmington. This retreat gave renewed courage to the Whigs, who now embodied, William Dickson being among them. They organized about eighty light- horsemen, marched into the neighborhood where the Tories were, surprised them, cut many to pieces, took several and put them to
88 NORTH CAROLINA
death. During all those troublous times, though Mr. Dickson had many narrow escapes, he received but one wound, which was a shot through his right leg. About the middle of October General Rutherford and General Butler, with 1500 militia from the back country, came down the Cape Fear and suppressed the Tories. As Rutlierford drew near to Wilmington intelligence was re- ceived oTthe surrender of Cornwallis, and Major Craig hastily sailed away for Charleston, and the troubles of the Revolution were over.
William Dickson was a patriotic and progressive citizen. His interest in the establishment of the Grove Academy at Kenans- ville indicates tlie importance he attached to education. He men- tions that about Christmas, 1785, "we made up a small school of fourteen or fifteen boys, which is the first attempt that has ever been made to teach the languages in this part of the country." In 1787 he states that "at our Grove Academy there are yet but twenty-five students under a master, who teaches only the Latin and English Grammar and the Latin and Greek languages."
In that sarrie letter he refers to the Constitution of the United States, then submitted to the Legislature of each State for con- currence, and sa\s :
"Our General Aisenibly for this State are now convened and have it «ndcr coniideration. We hear that debate runs high concerning it, also the popnlace and the country are divided in their opinion concerning it. For my own part I am but a slmllow politician, but there are some parts of it I do not like. However. I expect our Legislature will adopt it in full."
In a subsequent letter he says of the Federal Constitution :
"I think that it is formed so as to lay the foundation of one of the great- est empires now in the world, and from the high opinion I have of the illustrious characters who now hold the rein^ of government. I have no fear of any revolution taking place in my d.iy. Since I wrote to you on the subject I have become reconciled to it."
He adds :
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"It was a matter of necessitv rather than choice |
when the Convention of |
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North Carolina received it about twelve months |
ago, we being the last |
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WILLIAM DICKSON 89
State except one (Rliode Island) which came into the measure. Virginia, though with much reluctance, and the other Stales around us, having pre- viously adopted the Federal plan, the State of North Carolina could not remain independent of the Union and suppoit the dignity of the State itself. Had Virginia only stood out with us, I think North Carolina would not have been in the Union yet. It appears to me that the Southern States will not receive equal benefit in the Government with the Northern States. . . . The Southern States will have their vote, but will not be able to carry any point against so rowerful a party in cases where either general or local interest are the object. Some attempts which were made in the course of the last session of Congress have much alarmed the South- ern people. The most strenuous exertions were made by some of the Northern representatives to liberate -^nd emancipate the slaves in the United Stales, and though they did not carry their point, they seemed de- termined never to drop the matter until they do. This, if effected, will be arbitrary, cruel and unjust."
These extracts of letters made contemporaneously with the events they refer to are not only interesting of themselves, but in- dicate that William Dickson was a man of profound thought and a good writer. That he exercised a great influence in his com- munity cannot be doubted.
He died January 20, 1S20, at the age of eighty-one )ears. He married in 1767 Mary \\'illianis, a daughter of Joseph Williams of Onslow County, and a granddaughter of Benjamin Williams, who is said to have been descended from Frances, a daughter of Oliver Cromwell, and settled near Halifax, North Carolina, prior to 1750.
William and Mary Dickson had nine children. One of their descendants became the wife of Leroy Polk Walker, Secretary of \\''ar in President Davis"s Cabinet, and later a brigadier-general in the Confederate Army; another descendant was Albert Pickett, author of a "History of Alabama." A son of William Dickson, Doctor William Dickson, of Tennessee, was a member of Cong- ress for three terms, and the county of Dickson in Tennessee was named for him.
S. A. Ashe.
DAVID FANNING
(^|c^,i?^^ AVID FANNING, one of the most extraordi- nary men evolved by the Revohitionary War, was born about the year 1756. His parentage and his birlb.i)lace are obscure. In his "Sched- ule of Property lost to' him on account of his attachment to the l^>ritish Government, filed and sworn to at St. Augustine in November, 17S3," he mentions "550 acres of land in Amelia County in the Province of \'irginia, with dwelling-house, etc., orchards and large enclosed improvements valued at 6S7 pounds ; and 550 acres of land near said plantation, heir to the estate of my father, and some improvements with a dwelling-house, 412 jiounds ; three saddle-horses, twelve planta- tion horses," etc. Prom this it would appear that Colonel Fanning was a native of Amelia County, \'irginia. Governor Swain, however, in tracing his career stated that he was born in that part of Johnston County which has since been embraced in Wake, and that he was apprenticed to a Mr. l.'r'.an, from whom he ran away when about sixteen years of age, finding a teiu]3orary home at the house of John O'Deniell, of Ilawfiekls in Orange County. He was untaught and unlettered, and he had the scald head, that became so offensive that he did not cat at the table with the family; and in subsequent life he wore a silk cap so that liis most intimate friends never saw his head naked. In the course of two or three \cars he left North Carolina and settled on Rae-
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DAVID FANNING 91
burn's Creek, a branch ci Reedy River in Laurens District, South Carolina, and engaged in trafficking witli tlic Indians. Tliat part of the coimtry \\ as inhabited by the Scovellites, who had been sup- pressed about the time of the Regulation movement in North Carolina, and like the Regulators they sided with the King rather than with the \Miigs.
David Fanning left a journal from which the events of his career are collated.
In April, 1775. Colonel Fletcher, the colonel of Laurens County, who was a Royalist, directed the captains to muster their com- panies and present two papers to be signed, to see who were friends to the King and who would join the Whigs. Fanning, then in his nincteentli year, was sergeant of his company, and at the muster on the 15th of May he presented the papers, and 118 men signed in favor of the King. There were sharp collisions be- tween the Loyalists and their Whig neighbors during that year; and that Autumn, when it was learned that a large quantity of ammunition was being sent to the Cherokee Nation by the new Whig Government, as was customary. Fanning and his friends intercepted the pack-horses and secured the powder. Because of this, the "Snow Campaign" of December, 1775, was under- taken by Colonel ^lartin, Colonel Rutherford, and others, with North Carolina forces, and the Loyalists dispersed and tlie am- munition recovered. In July, 1776. the Indians made their foray on the western frontier of Nortli and South Carolina, in accord- ance with the plan devised by Governor ^Martin for the subjuga- tion of North Carolina, beginning their massacre on the very day of the bombardtuent of Fort Moultrie. Planning hastened to join the Indians, carrying twenty-five of his neighbors with him. and they attacked a fort in South Carolina containing 450 Whigs, but the assailants were driven off. and Fanning came to North Caro- lina. After experiencing numberless hardships, however, he re- turned lo his home in March, 1777. From the beginning, in May, 1775. he had been constantly active as a zealous Loyalist, always on the warpath, and undergoing many vicissitudes ; and this course he continued to pursue, being entirely irrepressible.
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In March, 1778, he was chciscii commanding officer of the Loyalists of his region, and there were daily conflicts between his followers and the Whigs, until at last the Loyalists were dis- persed, and for three months he was obliged to remain in the woods, living only on what was killed in the wilderness.
Eventually there were embodied some 500 Loyalists determined to go to St. Augustine, but the Whigs having intercepted them and dispersed them. Fanning unrlertook to make his way to Hoi- stein River, but later returned to Raeburn's Creek; and after a great many thrilling experiences he agreed to live peacefully at home under a conditional pardon. For a year he observed the terms of his surrender, but on the reduction of Charleston in Mav, 1780, he and one William Cunningham, known as "Bloody," con- cluded to embody a party of men, and they were rapidly joined by many Loyalists. They captured the fort at Xinety-Six and the fort at White Hall, together with 300 men. Fanning now with a small party scouted on the frontiers, and he fell in with Colonel Ferguson's detachment five days before the destruction of that force at King's Mountain, but did not join it. After that battle, the Whigs in upper South Carolina took heart, and Fanning's situation becoming alarming, he left that State and came to Deep River, where he remained quiet, but all the while discovering who were friends to the King.
In July, 1780, when South Carolina was entirely submissive to the British and the North Carolina Loyalists were bold and exulting. Major Ferguson arranged for their organization and commissioned seven captains with their subordinates for com- panies in Randolph ; six captains for Chatham ; four for Cumber- land; three for Anson and two for Orange; and so the organiza- tion and nucleus of a loyal militia force in that part of Xorth Caro- lina was substantial. These officers, however, remained inactive until Craig took possession of Wilmington and Cornwallis reached Hillsboro and issued his proclamation for the Loyalists to embodv. Captain John Rains, of Randolph County, was the first to begin to embody his compan\-. Doctor John Pyle, who was a physician and an estimable man, one of the Regulators, feeling conscien-
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D.U'in FAXXIXG 93
tiously bound by his oath, also responded and was assigned the command of some 300 men, the first Loyalists to collect. On their way to join Cornwallis at Hillsboro they fell in with Colonel Lee and his troops, on the 25th of February, 1781, near the site of the town of Burlington, and were cut to pieces. At that time, however, Fanning was still on Deep River, with a smaller party, arousing the Loyalists to action.
He joined Cornwallis at Dixon's Mills on Cane Creek, but after accompanying him as far as Cross Creek, he separated from the army and began the career of murder and rapine that has made his name infamous. It must be said, however, that he was one of the boldest men, most fertile in expedients and quick in execution, that ever lived in Xorth Carolina. Had he been on the Whig side, his fame would have been more enduring than that of any other partisan officer whose memory is now so dear to all patriots. Foraging on the country, seizing what he wanted, slaying, slaughtering, burning homes and butchering in cold blood according to his mood, he became a terror and a scourge.
His headquarters were at Coxe's Mill on Deep River, and from there he sallied forth in every direction, intercepting all parties passing to and from General Greene's camp in South Carolina, and terrorizing all that region. Early in June Colonels Collier and Balfour led a detachment to dislodge him, but Fanning by a forced march was enabled to make a night attack upon them and drove them off. For a time then Colonel Christopher Dudley oc- cupied Coxe's Mills with a force of 300 Virginians, but could not suppress this indefatigable partisan. Emboldened by the protec- tion and by the presence of the British Army, the Tories of Cum- berland, Bladen and Duplin had likewise become very active and the Whigs had been driven from their homes, while many who were not resolute partisans had submitted to the dominion of the Loyalists. In Chatham, Randolph, Anson and Cumberland, Fan- ning and his coadjutors were in absolute control; and all that region was dominated by the Royal adherents.
About the first of July there was a muster of the I^:yyal militia at Fanning's camp, and he was chosen colonel, and thereupon
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set out for Wilmington to obtain a commission : and on the 5th of that month Major Craig commissioned him colonel of the L<.iyal militia in Randolph and Chatham Counties. On his return he at once collected about 150 men and began active operations. A few days later, about the middle of July, there being a general muster and a court-martial at Pittsboro, Fanning made a descent upon that place and took fifty-three prisoners, including all the militia officers of the county except two, a Continental captain and three members of the Assembly. He parolled some and carried others to Wilmington. It was a great advantage to these Tory bands that they could obtain all the ammunition that they needed from the British Army, while the Whigs v/ere entirely without am- munition and were very badly armed.
Fanning's next exploit was to attack Colonel Alston's party at his house; and on the nth of August he again passed on down to Wilmington to obtain supplies and ammunition. Returning towards the end of August, he found Colonel Slingshy at Eliza- hethtown, and the night that he separated from Colonel Slingsby occurred the Battle of Elizabethtown, in which Slingsby was killed and the Loyalists were routed by Colonel Brown. A day or two later he joined Colonel McNeil on Drowning Creek, who was threatened with attack by Colonel Wade. Fanning, however, be- came the assailant, and won a victory. On the 9th of September, being joined at Coxe's ^lills by Colonel McDougal with 200 men from Cumberland, and Colonel Hector McNeil with his part\- from Bladen, and having himself some 950 men, he proposed to put in execution a plan he had long had in mind of capturing the Governor of the State. General Butler and Colonel Robert Mc- 'bane lay within forty miles of Coxe's Mills, and Fanning let it be understood that he proposed to attack them. He marched to Rocky River, and then, changing direction, pressed on to Hills- boro without stopping. At seven o'clock on the morning of the 1 2th he entered the town in three divisions, killed fifteen, wounded twcnt)', and took upwarils of 200 prisoners, including the Gov- ernor, Burke, his Cotmcil, and many officers of the Continental Line and sevcntv-one Continental soUliers. At noon that dav thov
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DAVID FAXXIXG 95
left Hillsboro and early the next morning reached Lindsay's Mill on Cane Creek, where General Butler intercepted them. At the first outset eight of the Tories fell, including Colonel McNeil ; but after a four hours' conflict I'utler's troops were driven off. Fan- ning, however, lost heavily : twenty-seven killed, si.xty so badly wounded that they could not be moved, and thirty others slightly wounded. Fanning himself received a shot in his left arm, break- 'ing the bone in several places; and his loss of blood was so great that he had to be secreted in the woods on Brush Creek. His army, however, proceeded under Colonel AIcDougal and the prisoners were safely delivered to Major Craig at Wilmington. In this Battle of Cane Creek Butler lost twenty-four men, killed, and left ninety wounded on the ground, and the Loyalists took ten prisoners. Of the killed were Colonel Luttrell and Major Knowlcs. It is of interest to record that Colonel Pyle, who was a humane man and a plnsician, attended these wounded Whigs so carefully that he was pardoned by the Whig Government, and became a quiet, peaceful citizen during the remainder of the war. A month elapsed before Colonel Fanning was able to move about. Then having received a fresh supply of ammunition, and embodying about one hundred and fift\- men, he sallied forth again. But the Whig forces pressed him so closely that, learning of Cornwallis's surrender and of Craig's evacuation of Wilming- ton, he divided his followers into small squads, continuing, how- ever, to scour the country. On the loth of December Colonel Isaacs led a party from the west and took possession of Coxe's Mills, and after this Fanning was in the woods and kept moving with a small party as occasion required. Daily he performed some extraordinary feat, until at length in January he proposed terms for an armistice. Pending these negotiations, he was more quiet, but when they fell through, receiving a message from Colonel Balfour that "there was no resting-place for a Tory's foot upon the earth," on the 12th of ]March he set out for Balfour's planta- tion. 'A\'hen we came upon him." says Fanning in his Narrative, "he endeavored to make his escape : but we soon prevented him, fired at him and wounded him. The first ball he received was
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96 \ORTH CAROLINA
through one of his arms and ranged througli his body ; the other through his neck, wliich put an end to his committing any more ill deeds." Miss Balfour's account of this murder is given else- where in this work.
Hard and bitter indcetl was the conflict during those bloody months between the Tory and Whig elements ihroughout the en- tire Cape Fear section from Guilford County to the sea. All that region was a scene of turmoil, rapine and fierce warfare, but the fires of patriotism were nut extinguished, and the trials, suffer- ings, sacrifices and endurance of the Whig people were heroic. A momentary view of what they suffered is given in the Nar- rative of Fanning, after he had murdered Balfour:
"We then proceeded to their Colonel's (Collier'), belonging to said county of Randolph. On our way we burnt several rebel houses and caught several prisoners. The night coming on, and the distance to said Collier's was so far that it was late before we got there. He made his es- cape, having received three balls through his shirt. But I took care to destroy the whole of his plantation. I then puj>sued our route and came to one Captain John Bryan's, another rebel officer. I told him that if he would come out of the house I would give him p.irole, which he re- fused. With that I immediately ordered the house to be set on' fire, which was instantly done. As soon as he saw tlie flames of the fire increasing, he called out to me and desired me to spare his house, for his wife and children's sake, and he would walk out with his arms in his hands. I immediately answered him that if he walked out that his house should be saved for his wife and children. When he came out he said, 'Here, damn you, here I am.' With that he received two balls through his body; he came out with his gun cocked and sword at the same time."
And so it was almost every day during the period th.at Fan- ning was raiding in North Carolina, burning homes, nuirdering, and hanging. On the other side there was equal violence, and many Tories were hanged and many shot without quarter, par- ticularly when taken bushwhacking and marauding in small squads.
Fanning's proposition for a truce was for a neutral territory twenty miles north and south, thirty miles east and west, Ham- mond Coxe's Mil! being the center, to be totally clear of the Whig Light-Horse; to be no plundering or murdering; all public roads
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97
to be travelled by any person or company unmolested ; the Loyal- ists to have free trade with any port. And that was to last until the end of the war. This proposition was finally rejected about the middle of March ; and in April Fanning, together with two of his captains, took unto themselves wives on Deep River, and early in May left North Carolina with their wives and property for the peace-ground on the Pedee in South Carolina. Remaining there a month, on the 17th of June, 1782, he departed for Charleston, and on the 2Sth of September, together with the other Loyalists at Charleston, he took passage for St. Augustine, Florida, where he remained two years. After peace many of the Loyalists returned to North Carolina. But Fanning's career had been too bloody for him to find a resting-place among the people he had so outraged. Flis remorseless rapine and murderous exe- cution were without a parallel. Besides individual hangings and minor encounters, he had participated in thirty-six bloody en- gagements ; and the plantations he had ravaged and despoiled, leaving ruin and sultering in his path, were innumerable. The General x-\ssembly extended amnesty and pardon to all Tories with the exception of three, and. Fanning was among those pro- scribed. His crimes and butcheries were beyond forgiveness.
In September, 1784, he located near St. John's, New Bruns- wick, and later resided at Digby, Nova Scotia, where he died in J825.
■' ' : S. A. Ashe.
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PETER FORNEY
'■^ETER FORNEY was a soldier of the Revolu- tion, a lawgiver for the State and Nation, and the founder of the iron industry in western North Carolina. He was the son of one of the most distinguished of the early settlers of Lin- coln County, and was himself the progenitor of many whose names are upon the honor-roll of this and other States. He was born in Lincoln (formerly Tr}on) County in April, 1756, and died there ist of February, 1834, in the seventy- eighth year of his age. He was the second son of General Jacob and Mariah (Bergner) Forney. His mother was a nati\'e of ^Berne, Switzerland. She came to America on board the same ship which brought the young man to whom she afterwards gave her heart and hand. General Jacob Forney was born about 1721 in Alsace upon the Rhine, to which place his father, who was a Huguenot, had fled after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes ' in 1685. About 1735 he \vent to Amsterdam, then to Pennsyl- vania, and about 1754 joined tlic tide of emigration for tlie South, and settled in Lincoln County. In 1781 Cornwallis, while in his pursuit of Morgan, made his hearlquarters for about three days at the house of General Jacob Forney, and during that time con- sumed much of his food supplies and forage, and carried oft" his gold and silver, amounting to about one hundred and twenty pounds sterling. The Forney log house, in which Cornwallis
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PETER FORNEY 99
was an uiuvclconic guest, was still standing a few years ago, and perhaps is now. Tlie name was originally spelled Farney, but was changed by the grandfather of the subject of this sketch dur- ing his residence in Alsace.
Peter Forney entered military service in 1776, about the first of June, and marched under command of Colonel \Mlliam Graliani and Captain James Johnston to Fort ]\IcFadden (Rutherfordton) to protect the inhabitants of that section against the Indians. He joined a detachment of one hundred men and pursued the fleeing red men for several da\s. Failing in overtaking them, he re- turned to the fort. His next expedition was against a body of Tories assembled near the South Carolina line. In this expedi- tion he served as lieutenant in the company of Captain Charles Reid, the detachment being in command of Colonel Charles Mc- Lean. The detachment brought back several prisoners who were conveyed to Salisbury. Lieutenant Forney was then transferred to the company of Captain Kuykendal, and was frequently out on expeditions for suppressing and intimidating the Tories. In the Fall of 1779 he volunteered with a party to go to Kentucky (Harrod Station), where lie remained Init a short while. Lieu- tenant I-'orney then joined the militia company of Captain Neal, which was preparing to march for the relief of Charleston. While in waiting at Charlotte for the assembling of more troops, he was promoted to the captaincy in place of Xeal by Colonel Hampton and Lieutenant-Colonel Hambright. He marched to Charleston under command of Colonel Hall. The militia of the State was then under command of General Lillington. While at Charleston the period of enlistiTient of most of Forney's men expired, but he succeeded in persuading them to remain for about six weeks, at which time fresh troops were expected. Immediately after his return from Charleston, which was the Spring of 1780, Captain Forney volunteered under Lieutenant-Colonel Hambright and went in pursuit of Colonel Floyd, a Tory leader, on Fishing Creek, South Carolina. Returning from this expedition, he found the Tories assembled at Ramseur's Mill under Colonel John Moore, and another bodv of them near jMountain Creek. He
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NORTH CAROLINA
went at once to report tliese facts to General Rutherford, whom he found encamped at Colonel Dickson's on the Catawba, three miles northwest of Tuckaseege Ford. He attached liimself to Ruther- ford's force and marched to Ramseur's, but did not arrive until two hours after the battle. Captain Forney participated in the battle at Cowan's Ford on the ist of February, 1781. When the gallant Davidson fell the militia was repulsed. Forney retreated acro.ss the Yadkin and remained upon Abbott's Creek about si.x; weeks, during which time he had no regular command, but as- sisted the American cause wherever he could do so most effec- tively. His last service in the Revolution was to command a com- pany of dragoons under IMajor Charles Polk in the expedition of General Rutherford to Wilmington. When these troops ap- proached that city, ]\Iajor Craig, having heard of Cornwallis's sur- render, fled, and thus carried away from the soil of the State the last red-coat.
Having devoted several years of his life to military operations. Captain Forney now turned his attention to matters of a more peaceful nature, but none the less profitable to his country. He fortunately became the owner of the "Big Ore Bank," located seven miles east of Lincolnton. His brother Abram (who had participated in the battle of King's ^fountain) was associated with him for a while. It is recordetl in a small note-book of his that he produced hammered iron in his forge on the 26th of August, 17S8. This is believed to be the first manufacture of iron in the western part of the State. This iron deposit was "granted" by the State in 17S9 to Peter Forney and others whose interests he subsequently purchased. In 1791 he sold a ])ortion of ■this bank to Captain Alexander Brevard, Major John Davidson and General Joseph Graham. \^esuvius Furnace on Anderson's Creek and IMonnt Tirzah Forge were erected by this company. Forney erected a forge near his home (now the property of Mrs. Hall), bought other lands, and about 1S09 erected Madison (Derr) Furnace on Beeper's Creek about live miles from Lincoln- ton. These works supplied the Government with cannon-balls during the War of 1S12. Madison Furnace was washed awav bv
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PETER FORxXEV
a freshet about 1868, and the Mariposa Cotton Alills, owned by Captain Joseph G. Morrison, now occupy tlie site.
Having served as a soldier and as a ■'C'lptain of Industry," Captain Forney hatl attained to such a position of confidence and respect in tlie hearts of his fellow-countrymen that he was called upon by them for service in the political affairs of the State. In the meantime he had been appointed by the Legislature to the posi- tion of brigadier-general in the State IMilitia. He was elected a member of the House of Commons in 1794, 1795 and 1796, and of the State Senate in 1801-02. His services here were so satis- factory that he was elected to membership in the Thirteenth Con- gress over his former partner, General Joseph Graham, one of the most prominent and distinguished men in the State. He served from the 24th of iMay, 1813, to the 3d of ^larch, 1815, and had the honor of being succeeded by his son, David M. Forney. He was Presidential Elector several times : at first on the Jeffer- son ticket; then in 1813 on the JMadison ticket, and again in 1825 and 1829 on the Monroe ticket.
In 1783 General Forney married Nancy, the daughter of David Abernethy, a lady of great moral worth, goodness of heart, and Christian benevolence. Five sons and seven daughters blessed this union. They and their children have proven themselves worthy of their illustrious ancestry.
General Forney passed away at his home, "Mount Welcome," at a ripe old age. In the language of Wheeler, he was "a bright example of the useful citizen and upright man. Generosity, can- dor, integrity and freedom from pride and vain show were prom- inent traits of his character."
,-....,.. IV. A. Withers.
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I ri »n (1 I;
BENJAxMIN FORSYTH
Stokes Count\-,
^V an act of the General Assembly of Xorth - Carolina ratified on the i6th day of January, 1S49, Stokes County was divided, and out of it was created the county of Forsyth, the nair.e (as the act states) "being- given in honor of the memory of Benjamin Forsyth, a native of ho fell on the northern frontier in the late war with England." Stokes County had been named as a compliment to Colonel John Stokes, who lost his right arm in a fight with Tarleton's Dragoons during the Revolution; and it was just and proper that its daughter county of Forsyth should bear the name of another soldier who made a still greater sacrifice — even life itself — in defence of America's rights during our second conflict with Great Britain. Benjamin Forsyth's first entrance into the army was as second lieutenant of the Sixth Infantry on April 24, iSoo; but he was honorably discharged a few months later, on June 15th. This ver_\- brief service was possibly due to a temporary increase in the army on account of the imminent probability of war growing out of the strained relations with France at that time. Returning to his native State, "Mr. Forsyth took some part in the politics of that day. In two successive sessions of the North Carolina House of Commons, which met on the i6th of Novem- ber, 1807, and on the 21st of November, iSoS, he represented Stokes Count}'. Before the meeting of tiic latter session Forsyth
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f BEXTAMIN FORSYTH 103
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f had again been commissioned an ofticer in the army, but remained
[ in North CaroHna to serve out his term in the Assembly, wliich
[ atljourned on the 23d of December, 1809. Hence he did not nc-
I tivcly enter upon his miUtary duties until 1809, though his com-
( mission bore date July i, 1808. He was assigned to the Rifle
j Rfgiment with the rank of captain, and held this position when
I the second war with Great Britain ojiened in 1812. His first ex-
\ ploit ill that war was in September of that year. On the 20th of
I tliat month he embarked at Cape \'incent on the St. Lawrence River in New York, and went down in boats to the towns of Gananoquc and Leeds on the Canadian side, for the purpose pri- marily of destroying the King's store-house at one of those places.
, In Captain Forsytli's party were seventy riflemen from the reg-
i nlar army, and thirty-four militiamen. They landed before day-
1 break on the 21st without being observed, but were discovered
I shortly after sunrise and fired upon by a body of 125 British
I regulars and militia. This fire was returned ; and, after a sharp
I skirmish, the King's forces fled, leaving ten or more of their num-
I ber dead on the field, while others fell into the stream. Eight
I British regulars and some of the militia were made prisoners by
I the Americans, who destroyed the store-house and returned to
( Cape Vincent with many captured military supplies, after paroling
5 the militia prisoners. In this expedition the United States forces
I had only one man killed and one slightly wounded. On Janu-
\ ary 20, 1813. Captain Forsyth was promoted to the rank of
I major. He was an officer not only of great bravery, but of
5 unusual dash, vigor and enterprise.
\ While commandant of the post at Ogdensburg, New York, on
I I'cbruary 6, 1813, Major Forsyth gathered together a force of
I about two hundred regulars and volunteers, and with these pro-
i cceded in sleighs up the river to I^Iorristown. At three o'clock in
I the darkness of the following morning they crossed over the river
I to Elizabethlown, surprised the guard and took fifty-two prisoners.
I among whom were five officers. They also captured 120 muskets,
■ I twenty rifles and several boxes of ammunition : and returned to Ogdensburg without the loss of a man. .\ few davs later, on
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XORTil CAKOI.IX,
February 2Tst,. tlie British g-.ituored a force of more tlian twice the number under Forsyth, who was at Ogdcnsburg, and finally suc- ceeded in