North Carolina booklet : great events in North Carolina history

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Vol. VI. JANUARY, 1907 No. 3
U/}e
North Carolina Booklet
GREAT EVENTS
IN
NORTH CAROLINA
HISTORY
PUBLISHED QUARTERLY
BY
THE NORTH CAROLINA SOCIETY
DAUGHTERS oftHe REVOLUTION
CONTENTS
Page
A Stale Library Building and Department of Archives
and Records 159
By R. D. W. Connor
The Battle of Rockfish Creek - - - - - 1 77
By J. O. Carr
Governor Jesse Franklin -- - - - -185
By J. T. Alderman
North Carolina's Historical Exhibit at Jamestown ELxposition 204
Biographical Sketches ------ 206
By Mrs. E. E. MoflBtt
(ILLUSTRATED)
SINGLE NUMBERS 35 CENTS $L00 THE YEAR
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ENTERED IN THE POST-OFFICE AT RALEIGH, N. C, AS SECOND-CLASS MATTER.
The North Carolina Booklet
Great Events in North Carolina History.
VOLUME VI.
Glimpses of History in the Names of our Counties,
Kemp. P. Battle, LL. D.
A Colonial Admiral of the Cape Fear (Admiral Sir' Thomas Frank-land),
Mr. James Sprunt.
The Indian Tribes of Eastern North Carolina, Richard Dillard, M. D.
Gov. Thomas Burke, . . . Mr. J. G. de Roulhac Hamilton.
Some North Carolina Histories and their Authors,
Professor Edward P. Moses.
The Borough Towns of North Carolina, . . Mr. Francis Nash.
The John White Pictures, , . . . . Mr. W.J.Peele.
Gov. Jesse Franklin, .... Professor J. T. Aldertnan.
Industrial I^ife in Early North Carolina, . . Mr. T. M. Pitiman.
Colonial and Revolutionary Costumes in North Carolina,
Miss Mary Hilliard Hinton.
North Carolina's Attitude to the Revolution, Mr. Robert Cowan Strong.
The Fundamental Constitutions and the Effects on the Colony,
Mr. Junius Davis.
The Booklet will contain short biographical sketches of the writers
who have contributed to this publication, by Mrs. E. E. Moffitt.
The BooKivET will print abstracts of wills prior to 1760, as sources of
biography, history and genealogy.
The Booklet will be issued quarterly by the North Carolina
Society of the Daughters of the Revolution, beginning July,
1906. Each Booklet will contain three articles and will be published
in July, October, January and April. Price, Jgi.oo per year, 35 cents for
single copy.
Parties who wish to renew their subscription to the Booklet for
Vol. VI, are requested to notify at once.
Address,
MISS MARY HILLIARD HINTON.
"Midway Plantation,"
Editors: Raleigh, North Carolina.
Miss Mary Hilliard Hinton,
Mrs. E. E. Moffitt.
LaFayette Examining Canova's Statue of Washington in the Rotunda
OK the State House. 1825.
Vol. VI. JANUARY, 1907. No. 3
IShe
floRTH CflROlilflil BoOKIiET
^^ Carolina! Carolina! Heaven' s blessings attend her
!
While we live we will cherish, protect and defe7id her.''^
Published by
THE NORTH CAROLINA SOCIETY
DAUGHTERS OF THE REVOLUTION
The object of the Booklet is to aid in developing and preserving
North Carolina History. The proceeds arising from its publication will
be devoted to patriotic purposes. Editobs.
ADVISORY BOARD OF THE NORTH CAROLINA
BOOKLET.
Mrs. Spiee Whitaker. Mrs. T. K. Beunee.
Professor D. H. Hill. Mr. R. D. W. Connor.
Mr. W. J. Peele. Dr. E. W. Sikes.
Professor E. P. Moses. Dr. Richard Dillard.
Dr. Kemp P. Battle. Mr. James Spbunt.
Me. Marshall DeLancey Haywood. Judge Walter Clark.
EDITORS :
Miss Maey.Hilliakd Hinton, Mrs. E E. Moffitt.
OFFICERS OF THE NORTH CAROLINA SOCIETY
DAUGHTERS OF THE REVOLUTION,
1906-1908.
regent :
Mrs. E. E. MOFFITT.
vice-regent :
Mrs. WALTER CLARK.
honorary REGENT:
Mrs. spier WHITAKER. .
{Nee Hooper.)
RECORDING SECRETARY:
Mrs. HELEN De BERNIERE WILLS.
CORRESPONDING SECRETARY:
Mrs. W. H. PACE.
TREASURER
:
Mrs. FRANIv SHERWOOD.
registrar :
Miss MARY HILLIAR© HINTON.
genealogist :
Mrs. HELEN De BERNIERE WILLS.
Founder of the North Caeolina Society and Regent 1896-1902:
Mes. SPIER WHITAKER.
regent 1902:
Mes. D. H. HILL, Se.*
eegent 1902-190G:
Mrs. THOMAS K. BRUNER.
*Died December 12, 1904.
THE NORTH CAROLINA BOOKLET.
Vol. VI JANUARY, 1907 No. 3
A STATE LIBRARY BUILDING AND DEPART-MENT
OF ARCHIVES AND RECORDS.
BY E. D. W. CONNOR.
^'The roots of the Present lie deep in the Past, and the
Past is not dead to him who would understand how the
Present came to be what it is."
A people who will constantly bear this great truth in
mind will come to regard their history as something more
than a fascinating story with which to beguile a winter's
evening; they will think of their Past as something better
than merely a subject for Fourth-of-July orations ; they will
study the careers of their great men with higher and nobler
purposes than as stepping stones for membership into the
"Sons" of this or the "Daughters" of that patriotic organi-zation.
jSTot that the romance of history, or the eloquence
of the orator, or the formation of patriotic societies, are to
be put aside as unworthy of serious consideration. But the
study of history does have another and more important side
to it, and a side too that often escapes the notice of those
most in need of a knowledge of their Past. It is this : no
men can safely be entrusted with the control of the Present
who are ignorant of the Past; and no people who are in-different
to their Past need hope to make their Puture great.
This is a lesson which those states of the Union that enjoy
the greatest historical and literary reputation learned many
years ago; it is a lesson which our own state needs to take
seriously to heart. I am happy in thinking that our people
are learning it and that they realize to-day more than ever
160 THE NORTH CAEOLINA BOOKLET.
before tlie value of the steadying ballast which an accurate
knowledge of the Past gives to the Present. But it is a
lesson which, though fully appreciated, will be of little value
unless the material is preserved which is necessary to make
the Past intelligent to the Present and the Future. To this
feature of the lesson I desire your closest attention.
We North Carolinians are very proud of our history and
indulge ourselves in the pleasure of a great deal of boasting
about it. But frequently when this indulgence, like an
opiate, begins to soothe our spirits and we doze away in
blissful contemplation of the greatness of our Past, it comes
like a cold-water shock to find that the World, instead of
gazing in admiring astonishment, is either whirling along
in densest ignorance, or vigorously disputing our most cher-ished
claims. Then we wake up, begin to say harsh things
about our traducers, and clamor loudly about envy and
jealousy. But the critical World, searching the pages of the
great historians of our country and finding no mention of
those "cherished claims," naturally asks for proof; and lo!
we look, and the proof, which we believe would settle our
claims beyond all dispute, has been lost, destroyed, burned,
or stolen by envious partisans. Whom can we blame but
ourselves, for who else should take care to preserve this
proof ? Surely it is an anomaly in our character as a people
and as a state that we should be so proud of our history and
so careless in the preservation of the records that would
establish our claims forever. It may be doubted if any
other of the thirteen original states has suffered more in this
respect than ISTorth Carolina, or is now taking so little care
for the preservation of the evidences of her greatness. Sure-ly
this is modesty run in the groimd
!
Even this very carelessness illustrates the influence of the
Past upon the Present, and the value of a study of the Past
if for no other purpose than to avoid its blunders. Our
A STATE LIBRARY BUILDING. 161
carelessness in tlie preservation of our historical sources
seems to have come down to iis as an unwelcomed legacy
from the Past. As long ago as 1748 Governor Gabriel
Johnston in a letter to the Lords of the Board of Trade
wrote
:
''The Publick Records lye in a miserable condition, one
part of them at Edenton near the Virginia Line in a place
without Lock or Key ; a great part of them in the Secretarys
Llouse at Cape Fear above Two Hundred Miles Distance
from the other ; Some few of 'em at the Clerk of the Coun-cil's
House at JSTewbern, so that in whatever part of the
Colony a man happens to be, if he wants to consult any
paper or record he must send some Hundred of Miles before
he can come at it."*
It seems that our ancestors had no more regard for their
valuable documents than their posterity have.
'No better illustration of the effect of this almost criminal
negligence in caring for our historical sources can be found
than the history of the documents relating to the Mecklen-burg
Declaration of Independence. The people of ISTorth
Carolina are so firmly convinced that their story of this
interesting event is correct that they swear by it spite of lost
documents ; they have placed on the flag of their state the
date, "May 20th, 1Y75," in the face of all Thomas Jeffer-son's
disbelieving sarcasm ; they even lose patience with
anybody who hints that the event might have taken place
on May 31. And yet not one of the leading historians of
the United States, from Bancroft to Woodrow Wilson, has
accepted our version. ^Vhy ? Whose the fault ? The fol-lowing
facts will answer these very natural questions. Dr.
George Graham, whose work on the "Mecklenburg Declara-tion
of Independence" is the fullest and best treatment in
existence, quotes the following paragraph from Martin's His-tory
of ISTorth Carolina
:
*Colonial Eecords of North Carolina, Vol. IV., p. 1165.
162 THE NOE.TH CAROLINA BOOKLET.
''These resolutions [of May 20, 1775] were unanimously
adopted and subscribed by tbe delegates. James Jack, then
of Charlotte, but now residing in the State of Georgia, was
engaged to be the bearer of the resolutions to the President of
Congress, and directed to deliver copies of them to the dele-gates
in Congress from ISTorth Carolina. The President re-turned
a polite answer to the address which accompanied the
resolutions, in which he highly approved of the measures
adopted by the delegates of Mecklenburg, but deemed the
subject of the resolutions premature to be laid before Con-gress.
Messrs. Caswell, Hooper and Hewes forwarded a
joint letter, in which they complimented the people of Meck-lenburg
for their zeal in the common cause."
What has become of these two letters—these very im-portant
letters, either of which would settle the dispute for-ever
? In all the years of controversy over the Mecklenburg
Declaration, no one has produced them, or copies of them.
Is it not strange that documents so valuable should not have
been carefully preserved ? But even this is not all. Dr.
Graham continues
:
"At the meeting of the delegates in Charlotte, John
McKnitt Alexander was chosen secretary, and thus became
custodian of the records. In April, 1800, twenty-five years
after this meeting, these records, including the Mecklenburg
Declaration, were burned in Alexander's house. In the
meantime, however, the old secretary, as he is called, had
transcribed not less than five copies of the original resolu-tions
There is abundant evidence to prove that
at least seven authentic copies of these resolutions were in
existence before the proceedings of the convention were
burned in 1800. Of these seven transcripts, four, at the
direction of the delegates, were transmitted to Congress at
Philadelphia by John McKnitt Alexander, shortly after the
A STATE LIBRARY BUILDING. 163
meeting at Charlotte adjourned. One to the President, and
one copy each to the three members from ISTorth Carolina.
A fifth copy appeared in the Cape Fear Mercury in June,
1775, within thirty days after the declaration was adopted.
A sixth copy was presented by Alexander to Dr. Hugh Wil-liamson,
who was then writing a history of the State. . . .
And a seventh copy of the declaration, which the author says
was obtained before 1800, the year the records were burned,
is preserved in Martin's History of iJ^orth Carolina."
These facts show that at one time there certainly was
plenty of evidence in existence to settle beyond controversy
what took place in Charlotte in May, 1775. What became
of it ? This was an event generally regarded as the proudest
in a proud history. Is it possible that a people proud of
their history and proud that they are proud of it, would
complacently permit every one of these valuable documents
to be destroyed without making one single effort to preserve
them ? And yet read the story as told in Tompkins' History
of Mecklenburg County. He says
:
''The official papers [of the 20th of May meeting] were
burned in the fire which destroyed John McKnitt Alex-ander's
house in 1800."
"A copy of the original was sent before the burning of the
house to the historian, Williamson, in ISTew York, and it,
together with the other sources or his history, were (sic)
destroyed by a fire in that city."
"The Martin copy is so called from its publication in
Martin's History of ISTorth Carolina. . . . As to this
particular document of the Mecklenburg Declaration, Mar-tin
. . . obtained it in the western j)art of the State
prior to the year 1800. . . . The papers from which
Martin compiled his history were sent to France and have
disappeared."
164 THE NORTH CAEOLINA BOOKLET.
"A third copy, called the Garden copy, was published in
1828 by Alexander Garden of Lee's Legion, and this is
almost exactly identical with the Martin copy, which is re-garded
as the authentic copy." After showing that Garden
could not have obtained his copy from Martin, Tompkins
says: "The data for Garden's anecdotes has (sic) been lost."
But what about the Cape Fear Mercury of June, 1775 ?
''TSTo copy of the Cape Fear Mercury of June, 1775," says
Tompkins, "has ever come to light except the copy which
Gov. Martin sent to London and which Mr. Stevenson, of
Virginia, borrowed and did not return."
The letter of the President of Congress gone; the joint
letter of the delegates gone ; Alexander's copy burned ; Wil-liamson's
copy burned ; Martin's copy lost ; Garden's copy
lost; the Cape Fear Mercury stolen-—is it any wonder that
Jefferson characterized the Declaration as "a very unjusti-fiable
quiz," saying that for proof it appeals to "an original
book, which is burnt, to Mr. Alexander, who is dead, to a
joint letter from Caswell, Hughes (sic), and Hooper, all
dead, to a copy sent to the dead Caswell, and another sent to
Doctor Williamson, now probably dead."
These facts tell us why the historians do not accept our
story, and they place the responsibility on our shoulders,
where it belongs.
Another illustration of this point is found in the burning
of the State-house at Raleigh in the morning of June 21,
1831. The Raleigh Register of June 23 contained the fol-lowing
account
:
"It is our painful and melancholy duty to announce to
the public another appalling instance of loss by fire, which
will be deeply felt and lamented by every individual in the
State. It is nothing less than the total destruction of the
capitol of our State located in this city. . . . The State
The Ruins of Canova's Statue of Washington.
NOW IN THE hall OF HISTORY AT RALEIGH
A STATE LIBRARY BUILDING. 166
Library is also consumed, and the statue of Washington,
that proud monument of national gratitude, which was our
pride and glorj^, is so mutilated and defaced, that none can
behold it but with mournful feelings, and the conviction
involuntarily forces itself upon their (sic) minds, that the
loss is one that cannot be repaired. The most active exer-tions
were made to rescue this chef d'oeuvre of Canova from
the ravages of the devouring element, nor were they desisted
from until the danger became imminent."
The same paper of June 30 adds this information:
"JSTothing was saved from the Library, nor could any
attempt for that purpose be made by reason of the suffo-cating
smoke which filled the room. It was in its infancy
and the loss can easily be repaired with one or two excep-tions.
We allude to the collection of our old Legislative
Journals, brought down in almost unbroken succession from
1715 to the present day. Lawson's history of the State,
valuable only however for its antiquity, was also burnt."
The Raleigh Star of June 23 tells the story in the fol-lowing
words
:
"G-reat concern was manifested for the preservation of the
statue of Washington, which stood in the center of the
rotunda, and an effort was made to save it; but it was vain
and fruitless ; and this monument, reared by the grateful
and patriotic citizens of ISTorth Carolina, in honor of the
father of our country, at an expense of about $30,000, and
which was said to be the finest piece of sculpture in the
world, was abandoned in despair to share the fate of the
superstructure which it had so long graced."
Unfortunate as was the destruction of this splendid work,
its loss was not the worst feature of the incident; the very
worst feature was the fact that the statue could have been
Baved but for the short-sightedness and parsimony of the
166 THE NORTH CAEOLINA BOOKLET.
legislature. A noble statue of the greatest of Americans,
costing $30,000, a monument no less to the wisdom, patriot-ism
and liberality of our forefathers than to the genius of
the great Italian sculptor, was destroyed because a few poli-ticians,
without courage, mthout the generous fire of patri-otic
impulse, thinking to incur the favor of the populace,
refused to appropriate the sum of $1,200 to secure its safety.
The wretched story is told in the following paragraph from
the Cape Fear Recorder, which, after lamenting the loss
of the statue, says
:
"Alfred Moore, Esq., one of the members from Brunswick
County, made a motion in the first session of the G-eneral
Assembly, after the statue was conveyed to Raleigh, that
it should be placed on rollers, and that the doors of the capi-tol
should be enlarged, so as to render it practicable to move
it from the edifice in the event of a fire. The expense was
estimated at $1,200. The motion of Mr. Moore was renewed
at the following session and was grounded on his observation
of the carelessness and negligence of the menials and work-men
employed about the capitol, and on these facts he pre-dicted
the event which now aifects so extensively and so
deeply the inhabitants of the State; and he rung and re-rung
this prediction in the ears of his colleagues
—
that the
capitol u'ould he hurnedl The warning was unheeded; and
we naturally enquire, on what defensible ground was it?
Is it not to be imputed to those narrow views of economy,
which are not only opposed to the counsels of liberal patriot-ism,
in instances such as this, but also too often shed a blight-ing
influence on the lasting interests and prosperitv of the
public ?"*
* Of this great work of Canova, the Countess Albrizzi in "The Works
of Antonio Canova," illustrated by Henry Moses the great English en-graver,
says:
"In this line composition Canova has not only maintained the dignity
of his subject, but (warmed by admiration of the amiable qualities of
A STATE LIBKAEY BUILDING. 167
A third illustration of our carelessness with our records
occurring in our own time was related to me recently by
Colonel Fred A. Olds, the enthusiastic and zealous director
of the Hall of History. In the basement of the court-house
in Cumberland County a few years ago, as he was informed,
were stored hundreds of records and other documents run-ning
back to the first settlement of Cross Creek. Dust and
cobwebs of course covered them, and this fact, which rather
added value to them in the eyes of the historian and the
antiquary, led the county board of health to condemn the lot
as breeders of germs. At their orders these precious docu-ments
were dumped in the street and reduced to ashes
!
this illustrious man) has also infused into the statue an expression of
the gentleness and benevolence which attempered his severer virtues.
"The hero is sitting with an air of elegant simplicity on an elegant
seat, raised on a double square base. Nothing can surpass the dignity
of the attitude or the living air of meditation which it breathes; and
the grandeur of the style, the force and freedom of the execution, the
close and animated resemblance to the original, all conspire to place
the statue in the highest rank of art. The fine tunic which he wears
is seen only at the knee, being covered by an ample ornamental cuirass;
above which is a magnificent mantle fastened by a clasp on the right
shoulder, and flowing down behind in majestic folds. Beneath his right
foot, which is extended forward, is a parazonium sheathed, and a sceptre,
signifying that the successful termination of the war, had rendered them
now useless.
"The hero is in the act of writing on a tablet held in his left hand, and
resting on the thigh, which is slightly raised for its support. From the
following words already inscribed on it, we learn the subject which
occupies his mind
—
'George Washington to the people of the United
States—Friends and Fellow-citizens' In his right hand he holds the
pen with a suspended air. as if anxiously meditating on the laws fitted
to promote the happiness of his countrjTiien ; a border of the mantle,
raised to the tablet by the hand which supports it, gives a fine effect to
this graceful and decorous action. In his noble countenance the sculptor
has finely portrayed all his great and amiable qualities, inspiring the
beholder with mingled sensations of affection and veneration. This
statue is only in a slight degree larger than life; his robust form cor-responding
with his active and vigorous mind.
"If to this great man a Avorthy cause was not wanting, or the means
of acquiring the truest and most lasting glory, neither has he been less
fortunate after death, when, by the genius of so sublime an artist, he
appears again among his admiring countrymen in this dear and venerable
form; not as a soldier, though not inferior to the greatest generals, but
in his loftier and more benevolent character of the virtuous citizen and
enlightened lawgiver."
168 THE NORTH CAROLINA BOOKLET.
With the ascending smoke vanished forever a mine of his-torical
sources which, had it been opened, would have told
the story of one of the most inspiring events in the history
of ]S[orth Carolina.
Many other instances of the destruction of valuable his-torical
sources through carelessness, negligence, indifference
and ignorance might easily be cited, but they would add no
new force to those already given. The important question
is, What shall we learn from these facts ?
First of all, we ought to learn that ''those narrow views
of economy, which are not only opposed to the counsels of
liberal patriotism, . . . but also too often shed a blight-ing
influence on the lasting interests and prosperity of the
public," can be defended on the groimd neither of economy
nor of patriotism. Was it economy to refuse the appropri-ation
of $1,200 to insure the safety of a work which cost
$30,000 ? Putting it merely on a material basis, how
many times $1,200 would the state have made during all
these years from the visitors who would have come to our
capital city to see this noble work of art ! Who can estimate
the thousands spent annually by visitors to Dresden who go
from the four corners of the earth to see the great Sistine
Madonna ? Was it patriotic—that is to say, was it a faith-ful
fulfilment of the trust imposed in them by their con-stituents,
for the members of the legislature to refuse the
appropriation of $1,200 for the preservation of an object
that would have been a source of inspiration to generations
of their sons and daughters ? It was neither economical nor
patriotic ; nor did the refusal to make the appropriation
come from an honest desire to be either ; it sprang from a
w^ant of trust in the good sense and patriotism of the people.
So it is neither economical nor patriotic to permit our
present State Library, Supreme Court Library and the col-
A STATE LIBRARY BUILDING. 169
lection in the Hall of History to remain day after day in
constant danger of destruction by fire for the lack of a
suitable building. We have a State Library creditable to
ISTorth Carolina. It contains 40,000 volumes exclusive of
the pamphlets and bound newspapers in which the history
of the state is written. "The destruction of this library
would be a calamity to ISTorth Carolina from which there
would be no recovery—thousands of books that could never
be replaced ; hundreds of newspapers nowhere else to be
found ; hundreds of pamphlets that could not be bought with
gold. A very conservative estimate of the money-value of
this library would place it from $150,000 to $200,000. In
addition to the State Library, the same unprotected building
holds the Supreme Court Library, one of the best state law
libraries in our country, containing 17,000 volumes, worth
at the lowest estimate $75,000. Adjoining this building is
the Hall of History, a large hall at one end of the State
Museum. Through the enthusiastic efforts of Colonel Fred
A. Olds, who deserves the thanks of all patriotic citizens for
his unselfish labors, more than 4,000 historic relics, docu-ments,
papers and pictures have been collected there illus-trating
every period and almost every phase of the life of
the state. It is doubtful if any other state in the Union
has a more valuable or more instructive collection of historic
relics. In an interesting story of the Hall of History, Col-onel
Olds says:*
"ISTorth Carolina is yet rich in such objects, notably of the
Colonial and Revolutionary periods ; but until this collection
began, a little over three years ago, nothing had been done,
except in what may be termed very justly a local way, to
gather together such objects. By such failure the State has
suffered enormous loss, due to the burning of court-houses,
public buildings, and, most of all, private homes, in some of
*North Carolina Booklet, October, 1906.
lYO THE NOETH CAROLINA BOOKLET.
which there were extensive groups of objects, the loss of
which is irreparable. But at last the gathering together at
Raleigh, where bj all manner of means the collection ought
to be, has been begun, and the fact that the number of
objects now exceeds the 4,000 mark shows not only zeal
in collecting, but also an awakened public interest. . . .
It is felt that the present Hall of History is what may truly
be termed a stepping-stone to higher things ; in other words,
that it is but the forerunner of a far more noble one, gener-ous
as to space, and built on the most modern lines as re-gards
the elimination of risk by fire. Given such a building,
and the writer can undertake to secure almost an}i;hing in
ISTorth Carolina."
It is impossible to place anything like a money-value on
these three collections—the State Library, the Supreme
Court Library, and the Hall of History. They represent
thousands of dollars and years of patriotic labor. They are
beyond all price, and yet year after year they are left in
buildings inadequate in size and arrangement, hardly credit-able
to a great state in appearance, and totally unprotected
from fire. A fire once started in either would sweep like a
hurricane through both and reduce the whole to smoke and
ashes in spite of all human effort. Is it economy to leave
these public treasures thus exposed to destruction ? Is it
patriotic ? Does not the destruction of the Mecklenburg
Declaration papers teach us a useful lesson ? Has the burn-ing
of the capitol no warning for us, the loss of the library,
the destruction of the great statue of Washington ? And
shall we let these warnings go unheeded ? Is it possible that
the people of ISTorth Carolina care so little for their great
Past, for the development of an interest in their history,
for the cultivation of literature and art among their children,
that they would fro\NTi down an appropriation from their
A STATE LIBRARY BUILDING. iTl
public money for the erection of a fire-proof building in
which these treasures would be safe ? The very question is
almost a slander on the good name of the state.
The state is amply able to erect such a building—a build-ing
absolutely fire-proof, stately in architectural design, and
ample for the purposes to which it shall be devoted. It
would be much more than a library building. Patriotic
societies would have rooms there for their meetings and
records ; the State Literary and Historical Association would
have offices and record rooms set apart for its work; there
too would be ofiices and archive rooms for a State Commis-sioner
of Records and Archives ; a spacious hall would be
dedicated as a Hall of History which would be the instructor
of thousands in the history of IsTorth Carolina :—in a word
it would be the headquarters for all the historical and liter-ary
activities of future generations of ISTorth Carolinians.
The hallways would be lined with statues, the walls with
portraits, preserving the forms and features of the great
men and women who have served the state and nation. On
the walls, too, would hang paintings executed by native ar-tists
of the great events in our history—the landing of the
first Englishmen on Eoanoke ; the famous May-day scene
of '75 at Charlotte; the gTcater event at Halifax in April
of '76 ; the mad charges up the sides of King's Mountain
;
the steady resistance at Guilford Court House; Davie and
his fellows resting under the old poplar on a balmy October
day dreaming of a great university; James C. Dobbin in
the halls of legislation pleading with a power surpassing
eloquence for those who could not plead for themselves; the
long gray line sweeping up the slopes of Gettysburg—all
these and many more such historic scenes would be there to
inspire hundreds of ITorth Carolina boys and girls with a
desire to "serve so good a state and so great a people." And
1Y2 THE WORTH CAROLINA BOOKLET.
there, too, would come students to search its treasures who
would do for North Carolina and the South all that Bryant
and Lowell and Longfellow and Holmes and Emerson and
Bancroft and Fiske and a host of other great names have
done for Massachusetts and 'New England. Visited every
year by thousands, such a building, like a great beacon-light
on a hill, would shed an inspiring light on the historical,
literary and educational life of the state that would be worth
a hundred times over all the money expended in its con-struction.
It is not possible that the people of ISTorth Caro-lina
would regard with disfavor an appropriation for such
a purpose ; sensible and patriotic people will applaud the
legislature that takes this great forward step.
A second lesson equally valuable and equally necessary
which the illustrations I have given ought to impress on us
is the importance of collecting, copying, editing and publish-ing
the historical sources now in existence while they are
yet in existence. I have shown how hundreds of invaluable
documents and other sources have been lost or destroyed
through the carelessness, indifference and ignorance of their
o^vners. Those are hopelessly gone, and with them a mass
of historical wealth that can never be regained. But thou-sands
of others remain which shovild be preserved. I have
in mind now a collection of the papers of one, of ISTorth Caro-lina's
greatest sons containing dozens of most valuable let-ters,
never published, from nearly all of his great contem-poraries
in the state and many in the nation : letters from
Swain, Badger, Graham, Ruffin; from John Randolph of
Roanoke, Webster, Marshall, Story, Hamilton, Kent and
many more. There is no more valuable collection of private
papers in the state and yet for the lack of such a building as
I have described and the absence of a means of making use
of them, they will doubtless soon be lost to ITorth Carolina.
A STATE LIBRARY BUILDING. 173
The owner, who lives in a distant state, has already ex-pressed
her intention of presenting them to the Library of
Congress at Washington, and I must reluctantly confess that
under present conditions I could not urge her to present
them to ISTorth Carolina, although I know they properly be-long
here.
There are many other such collections in and out of the
state, stuffed away in dark corners, and dusty archives, in
pigeon holes, vaults, desks, attics and cellars, containing
thousands of records, public and private letters, and other
manuscripts of great value. Yet as matters now stand they
are as absolutely useless to their o^vners or to the state as
the miser's gold to the miser; but if collected, edited and
published, would be a source of mental and moral wealth to
ISTorth Carolina beyond that which the gold of all the misers
could buy. Many of the owners of these collections would
willingly part with them if the state had a safe place for
their preservation and would provide for their publication.
What then can the state do? The state can follow the
example of Alabama, Mississippi, JSTew York, Wisconsin,
Iowa, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and all the ISTew Eng-land
states, and make appropriations for their preservation
and publication. The states of Alabama and Mississippi
are doing more than any other Southern states for the eluci-dation
of their history and present the best examples for our
own state to follow. Each of these states has created a
State Department of Archives and Records with a commis-sioner
in charge whose duty it is to care for their historical
sources. Let us follow their examples. Such a department,
with a commissioner appointed by the Historical Commis-sion,
would not cost over $4,000 or $5,000 a year—a trifling
sum in comparison with its value to the state. The Ala-bama
act recites the duty of the Alabama commissioner as
follows
:
2
174 THE NORTH CAROLINA BOOKLET.
"He shall have control and direction of the work and
operations of the department, he shall preserve its collections,
•care for the official archives that may come into its custody,
collect as far as possible all materials bearing on the history
of the state and of the territory included therein from the
earliest times, prepare the biennial register hereinafter pro-vided,
diffuse knowledge in reference to the history and re-sources
of the state ; and he is charged with the particular
duty of gathering data concerning Alabama soldiers in the
war between the states."
The biennial register mentioned must contain: "(1) Brief
sketches of the several state officials, the members of Con-gress
from Alabama, the supreme court judges, the members
of the senate and house of representatives of the State of
Alabama; (2) rosters of all state and county officials; (3)
lists of all state institutions, with officials
; (4) state and
county population and election statistics, and (5) miscella-neous
statistics."
We cannot do better in ISTorth Carolina than follow the
example of the state of Alabama. All patriotic citizens
would aid the commissioner in his work. Those who possess
documents of historical value would gladly place them at his
disposal. Thousands of originals or certified copies of church
and court records, letters, maps, old newspapers, portraits,
manuscripts of all kinds, and other material of value to the
student of history, would be entrusted to him for the benefit
of the public and a safe repository would be provided for
their preservation. All material which cannot be parted
with permanently would be returned to the owners after
copies were made; and provision would be made for copying
such documents as the owners are unwilling to part with
at all. The expenses of the work would of course be met
by the department. The material after being carefully
A STATE LIBRAKY BUILDIISTG. 1Y6
edited would be published at the expense of the state and
due acknowledgment would be made to all who aided in the
work. The great value of such work to the state is splen-didly
illustrated by the monumental work of Colonel Wil-liam
L. Saunders and Chief Justice Walter Clark in the
editing and publication of the Colonial and State Records
prior to the year 1790. Until these volumes revealed the
true story of the first century and a half of the state's his-tory,
it was fashionable among historians to pass it over with
slurs and sneers or to ignore it altogether. But such an
attitude now would very justly condemn any author to de-served
oblivion. What citizen of ISTorth Carolina is there
who is not gratified and proud of the rescue by these two
loyal sons of the good name of their mother ?
But as great as this work is, the complete history of E'orth
Carolina can never be written until a similar work is done
for every decade subsequent to 1Y90. It is a work that
cannot be accomplished except through the medium of the
state. It is a work that cannot be accomplished within a
year, nor within two years, but is rather the work of a
generation. Let us earnestly hope that the intelligent
patriotism of the state will demand that it shall be done and
thoroughly done at the public expense through a State De-partment
of Records and Archives.
^eed any one urge upon intelligent men the necessity for
such work ? Says Judge Johnson in his "Life of ISTathanael
Greene" : "There is and perhaps ought to be a clannish spirit
in the states of the Union, which will ever dispose the
writers they produce to blazon with peculiar zeal the virtues
and talents of the eminent men of their respective states.
. . . It will probably happen in future times, that the
states that have produced the ablest writers will enjoy the
reputation of having produced the ablest statesmen, generals
176 THE NORTH CAKOLINA BOOKLET.
and orators." Just so it happens that the World knows by
heart the story of Samuel Adams, but even his own people
have forgotten the equally great services of Cornelius Har-nett;
the praise of Richard Henry Lee is on every tongue,
but no tongue speaks the name of William R. Davie; the
services of John Jay have been justly commemorated, but
the more brilliant judicial career of James Iredell is un-known
among his own people. Had the story of Virginia
Dare occurred in Massachusetts, can it be supposed that no
Longfellow would have been found to wrap it up in immortal
verse ? Consider for a moment how barren is the story of
Evangeline when compared to that of the little heroine of
the Lost Colony; yet the pen of the poet has brought tears
to the eye^ of the royal descendant of him in whose name
the cruel deed was done. The friendship of an Indian chief
probably saved our colony from annihilation, while the hos-tility
of King Phillip came near to destroying the settlement
of the Puritan; but no Irving has told the story of Tom
Blunt. All the World knows by heart the story of the mid-night
ride of Paul Revere because a great poet commanded,
"Listen, my children, and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Eevere."
But no poet has commanded the World to harken to the
thrilling midnight ride of Mary Slocum.
And there will be no Bancroft, no Fiske, no McMaster
to tell our story; no Longfellow and no Irving to write our
literature until the work of preserving and preparing for
use the sources of our history has been done. So long as we
neglect it we need not be surprised, nor will it be manly to
complain, if the "scorner shall snear at and the witling de-fame
us."
THE BATTLE OF ROCKFISH CREEK IN DUPLIN
COUNTY.
BY J. O. CARR.
A period of one liundred and twenty-five years has elapsed
since the battle of Rockfish Creek was fought in Duplin
County on the 2d of August, 1781 ; but not one line has ever
been ^^Titten to commemorate this event, and few historians
know of its occurrence.
In order that the reader may better understand the subject
of this sketch, it is well to give an account of the relative
miovements of the American and British armies in jSTorth
Carolina at that time.
About the first of February, 1781, Maj. James H. Craig,
a British military officer of repute, entered the Cape Fear
River with several hundred soldiers prepared to take and hold
Wilmington, He had been sent from Charleston by Lord
Cornwallis with instructions to seize the to^vn and make it
a place of refuge for the Tories and a place of retreat for the
British army in case of any disaster, while Cornwallis him-self
proceeded to the Piedmont section of the state with the
hope of completing the conquest of ISTorth Carolina.
On the very day that Craig entered Wilmington the battle
of Cowan's Ford was fought, in which the brilliant and gal-lant
William L. Davidson was killed, and Cornwallis and
Gen. ISTathaniel Greene were engaged in the famous cam-paign
of 1781. Craig immediately issued a proclamation
urging the people of ISTorth 'Carolina to renew their allegiance
to the Toyal government, and the Tories throughout the State
were rallying around the standard of the enemy—some be-cause
of their loyalty to the English government, and others
because they saw no hope in further resistance; but there
178 THE NORTH CAROLINA BOOKLET.
were yet many who were willing to die in the cause they had
espoused. It is said that twelve out of fifteen companies of
militia in Bladen County were at heart favorably disposed to
the Crown, though still enlisted in the American cause. To
some extent a similar condition existed in Duplin and IvTew
Hanover Counties, and in June, 1781, out of a draft of 70
in Duplin for the Continental army only 24 appeared (^),
HOME OF ALEXANDER LILLINGTON.
Immediately after arriving in Wilmington, Maj. Craig
began depredations in the county and sent a party up the
ISTorth East River to the "great bridge," which spanned the
river about twelve miles north of Wilmington, where it was
crossed by the Duplin road. The bridge was demolished and
some American store-ships, which lay concealed there for
safety, were burned. It was not easy to understand why the
bridge was destroyed unless it be that Craig feared an at-tack
from the Militia of the adjoining counties. This was
the main crossing into the northern part of New Hanover and
Duplin, and continual vigilance was kept at this post by the
opposing forces. The Militia of 'New Hanover, Bladen and
Duplin, consisting of about seven hundred men, took position
here to prevent incursions into the country. Temporary
(1) Colonial Records, vol. XV, p. 490.
THE BATTLE OF ROCKFISH CREEK. 179
fortifications were made and after some skirmishing across
the river Craig's men returned to Wilmington, and the
^^ /?<^ y Militia under com-
^^"^^^^-Z^^^ ander Lillington con-
^'""^ ^"^O tinued to hold the
post until the army of Cornwallis entered Wilmington in
April, 1781. Realizing the impossibility of holding the place
longer, Gen. Lillington ordered a hasty retreat to Kinston,
where he disbanded the Militia, except one company, on the
28th of April, 1781, at which time Cornwallis had proceeded
to the center of Duplin, where he was carrying consternation
to the hearts of the people. Checkmated and outgeneraled
by Greene in his marvelous retreat through the State, Corn-wallis
was wreaking vengeance on the inhabitants and was
leaving behind him desolation and ruin. He left Craig still
in charge at Wilmington for the purpose of rallying the
Tories and keeping the Whigs subdued in the surrounding
country, and there did not remain a semblance of an Ameri-can
army in ISTorth Carolina. However, Craig's repeated ex-peditions
into ISTew Hanover, Duplin and Onslow made it
necessary to reorganize the Militia, and four hundred men
were collected in Duplin under Col. Kenan, and quite a num-ber
in Bladen under Col. Bro^m.
After the departure of Cornwallis, Craig's forces first pro-ceeded
toward iN'ew Berne with the purpose of subduing all
the country east of the ISTorth East River, and on June 28th,
1781, Gen. Lillington sent a dispatch from Richlands, Ons-low
County, to Major Abraham Molton in Duplin, informing
him that the British with about eight hundred Tories and
regulars were advancing from Rutherfords Mill (^) towards
(1) Rutherford's Mill was east of the Northeast River, between Wil-mington
and Richlands.
180 THE NOETH CAROLINA BOOKLET.
Richlands, and instructing liim to^ muster all the forces he
could without delay (^). Molton immediately informed Gov.
Burke of the situation and proceeded to raise a levy of troops
in Duplin. It seems that Col. Kenan was otherwise engaged
at this time, probahly guarding the crossing at Rockfish Creek.
On Jidy 6th, Col. Kenan wrote Gov. Burke that one hun-dred
Duplin men had marched to join Gen. Lillington at
Eichlands Chapel and fifty others were ready to go. Again
on July 9th, he wrote the Governor that the enemy, which
was moving toward Richlands, had returned to Rutherford's
Mill, and that he had ordered a draft of two hundred men to
be made from Duplin immediately, but that he had no pow-der
nor lead
—
7iot one round—and urged the Governor to
supply them with ammunition, as they could not take the
field until supplied. And again on July 15th, he wrote the
Governor that the enemy had moved out of Wibnington and
were rebuilding the "long bridge"; that it was their inten-tion
to give no more paroles, but would sell every man's
property who would not join them ; that they had one hundred
light horse, well equipped, and four hundred and seventy
foot ; and that he was informed that they were determined to
be at Duplin County House the next Monday. (') He further
stated that they had no ammunition and could get none, and
rene^ved his request to be supplied. On July 24th, Gen.
Alexander Lillington wrote the Governor that a part of Cas-well's
army had reached Rockfish, in Duplin County, which
was then held by Col. Kenan, and that Col. Kenan had
informed him by letter that he had no ammunition. (^) It is
apparent from all these communications that Kenan, Caswell
and Lilling-ton regarded the situation as serious, and thought
(1) Colonial Records, vol. XV, pp. 496 .and 499.
(2) Colonial Records, vol. XV, p. 535.
(3) Colonial Records, vol. XV, p. 567.
THE BATTLE OF EOCKFISH CREEK. 181
it very important that Craig's army should be checked in its
march through the State. The importance of this resistance
is readily seen when we consider the fact that Cornwallis had
traversed the State and had just passed into Virginia with-out
serious damage to his o^vn army; for, while he had won
no decisive victory, yet he had, in effect, subdued the State
Thi Battle Geound.
and had left it with no organized army ; and Craig's expedi-tions
were intended to give courage to the Tories, who were
ready to support the enemy at any time.
182 . THE NORTH CAROLINA BOOKLET.
Kockfish Creek, now the dividing line between Duplin and
Pender Counties, was then the boundary between Duplin and
New Hanover. The old Duplin road leading from Wilming-ton,
along which Cornwallis had marched, crossed the creek
about a half mile east of the Wilmington and Weldon Eail
Eoad, and passed a few yards west of where the present
county bridge now stands. This was the most convenient
place for an army to make its passage, but it was hoped, and
without much reason, that the Militia would be able to entrap
the British here and mn a signal victory, and likely such
would have been the result had our troops been supplied with
ammunition. Col. Kenan, who was chief in command at this
time, and who had planned the attack, fortified himself on
Rockfish Creek, at the crossing above described, by throwing
up dirt-works just north of the ford, slight traces of which
can now be seen, and waited the approach of the enemy. The
fortifications were well planned so as to give the Militia every
possible advantage as the enemy was crossing the creek, for
their only hope was to make an attack while a crossing was
being attempted. Craig had light artillery, some cavalry and
over four hundred footmen, all well equipped, and was more
than prepared to resist any force that the Whigs could put
in the field. On the 2d of August, 1781, he attempted to
cross the creek and was vigorously attacked by the brave
Militiamen under Col. Kenan, though without ammunition
sufficient to even give hope of success. Craig used his entire
force, including his artillery, and the inevitable result was
the defeat of our troops, outnumbered and unequipped as they
were. There is now in existence an old cannon ball, about
three inches in diameter, which was left at the place of battle
by the British army ; and while it is insignificant as com-pared
with modern instruments of warfare, yet it was much
superior to anything used by the Duplin Militia.
The accounts of this battle have only been preserved by
THE BATTLE OF KOCKFISH CREEK. 183
two eye-witnesses, and these are not as complete as we would
like to have them ; however, they throw some light on the
matter, and without them we would have nothing reliable.
Col. Kenan on the same day wrote the Governor as fol-lows
: (
'
)
Duplin, August 2d, 1781.
SiK:—I imbodied all the Militia I Could in this County to the Amount
of about 150 men and was reinforced by Gen'l Caswell with about 180
and took post at a place Called rockfish. The British this day Came
against me and the Militia again after a few rounds Broak and it was
out of my power and all my Officers to rally them. They have all
Dispersed. Before the men Broak we lost none, But the light horse
pursued and I am afraid have taken 20 or 30 men. I Cannot Give You
a full acct., but the Bearer, Capt. James, who was in the Action, Can
inform your Excellency of any Particular. He acted with Becoming
Bravery during the whole action. I am now Convinced this County
with Several others will be Overrun by the British and Tories. Your
Excellency will Excuse as I cannot Give a more full accot.
I am Sir Your very humbl St.
^^^/^^<^
On the 30th of JSTovember, 1784, "William Dickson, who
participated in the fight, wrote a letter to his cousin in Ire-land,
which contained the following reference to the battle:
"Col. Kenan's Militia had not made a stand more than ten
days when Maj. Craig marched his main force, with field
pieces, defeated and drove us out of our works, and made
some of our men prisoners (here I narrowly escaped being
taken or cut down by the dragoons). The enemy stayed
several days in Duplin County (this being the first week in
August, 1781). The Koyalists gathered together very fast,
and we were nov/ reduced again to the uttermost extremity.
(1) Colonial Records, vol. XV, p. 593.
184 THE NORTH CAROLINA BOOKLET,
The enemy were now more cruel to the distressed inhabitants
than Cornwallis' army had been before. Some men collected
and formed a little flying camp and moved near the enemy's
lines and made frequent sallies on their rear flanks, while
others fled from their homes and kept out of the enemy's
reach. Maj. Craig marched from Duplin to l^ewbern, plun-dered
the town, destroyed the public stores, and then im-mediately
marched back to Wilmington to secure the garri-son."(^)
The battle of Rockfish is not one of the important battles
of the Revolution, and its result, whatever it might have been,
could in no way have affected the ultimate issue of the war.
However, it throws some light on the history of the times and
shows us what the brave home guard of the Revolution had
to contend with, and how important a part of the great army
it was. Without the '^'Militia," life would have been intoler-able
in Duplin during the great struggle, and Toryism would
have deterred the people from giving support and aid to the
far-away soldier, who was doing battle for our freedom.
After the defeat of the "Duplin Militia" at Rockfish, Craig
laid his cruel hand upon the inliabitants of Duplin, robbed
them of their property, and inflicted upon them every indig-nity
and outrage known to merciless warfare.
Note.—Sir James Henry Craig was born in Gibralter in the year 1749.
He entered the English Army at the age of fourteen and was Avell trained
in the art of soldiery. He came to America in the year 1774 and was
in service here from the battle of Bunker Hill until the evacuation of
Charleston in 1781. He was thirty-two years of age when he took pos-session
of Wilmington and began his work of devastation in the sur-rounding
counties. In 1807 he was made Governor-General and Com-mander-
in-Chief of Canada. He was a soldier of fair ability, but as a
civil officer was a petty tyrant and oppressor. His administration as
Governor of Canada was a failure, and he returned to England in 1811,
where he died the following year,
(1) Dickson Letters., p. 17.
GOVERNOR JESSE FRANKLIN.
BY J. T. ALDERMAN.
The name Franklin suggests an ancestry worthy of noble
sons. The name may have eome down from an illustrious
family of l^orman nobles which established itself in Britain
after the ISTorman Conquest. It may have originated from
an expression signifying "free-man." We leave a discussion
of this to the antiquarian and the philologist.
True nobility will assert itself even among the hills and
forests of frontier life. When home and country call for
men to face the oppressor and break away the tyrant's yoke,
noble sj^irits and brave hearts lead the way. He who vali-antly
wields his sword in a cause that is just, yielding to
neither difficulties nor discouragements, reveals a s|)irit that
is noble born.
It was during the dark period of the Revolution, when
home and liberty were in jeopardy from foreigTi foe and
internecine strife that Jesse Franklin appeared in the full
strengih of young manhood. He was born on March 24th,
1Y60. His parents Avere Bernard and Mary Franklin, who
at the beginning of the Revolutionary war lived in Orange
County, Virginia. He was the third of seven sons. Owing
to the turbulence of the times his educational opportunities
were very limited. He, however, acquired the rudiments of
a practical education.
When he was about seventeen years old, during the year
1777, he volunteered in the Continental service and held a
lieutenant's commission in Washington's army. It is not
known how long he remained with the army or where his
service took him. Wlien his term of enlistment had expired
he returned to his father's home.
186 THE NORTH CAROLINA BOOKLET.
Attracted by the excellent range and fertile valleys of
Piedmont North Carolina, a large number of good people
had, before the Revolution, left their Virginia homes and
moved to occupy the unbroken forests. Among them was
Col. Benjamin Cleveland, a brother of Jesse Franklin's mo-ther.
Before the breaking out of the Revolution, Bernard
Franklin had determined to go to North Carolina, as so
many of his neighbors and friends had done. In the summer
of 17Y8 he sent Jesse, who was then at home from the army,
to select lands suitable for the settlement and to erect build-ings
for the accommodation of the family when they should
arrive in the fall. The fact that the father trusted such
responsibilities to his eighteen-year-old son is an earnest of
the confidence he placed in him. The young shoulders which
were destined to bear in after years the burdens of state
and nation were thus early put in training by duties and
cares in sharing the responsibilities of his father's family.
His father was not disappointed. Jesse selected for their
future home a beautiful valley near the head-waters of
Mitchell's River, and provided for the coming of the family.
The two older brothers, Bernard and Jeremiah, remained in
Virginia. In the fall of 1778 Jesse's parents, with four
sons and two daughters, the oldest of the children being under
fifteen years of age, moved to their new home in Surry Coun-ty,
North Carolina. This homestead was to become the seat
of patriotism and honor, culture and refinement.
The American people were not united in the desire for
separation from the mother country. The division of senti-ment
was sharp and in many communities was a source of
extreme bitterness and strife. Loyalists and Tories were
found in all the colonies. Virginia, Maryland, and New
England were perhaps less infested than any other sections
of the continent. John Adams said: "New York, Pennsvl-
GOVERNOK JESSE FRANKLIN. 18Y
vania, and JSTorth Carolina were about evenly divided between
Whig and Tory sentiment; in South. Carolina there were
more Tories than Whigs, and Georgia virtually swung back
at one time to the crown as a royal province." As to the
number of Tories in the Carolinas, the estimate of Mr.
Adams is no doubt too large.
While all who were opposed to the American cause were
classed as Tories, there was a difference between the Loyalist
and the characteristic Tory. Many of those who adhered to
the crown were people of excellent character and most valu-able
citizens—^men who were above the piratical practices of
the ordinary Tory. Many of the Scotch Highlanders in the
Cape Fear section were Loyalists, but were men of high
moral worth. They had but recently, after the battle of
Culloden, sworn allegiance to the crown and were unwilling
to violate that oath. There were other notable exceptions.
But what excuse can be made for the predatory bands of
plundering Tories roving the country, burning houses, mur-dering
the best men in the communities, and creating con-sternation
and misery among helpless women and children
!
They destroyed the growing crops of defenseless citizens and
appropriated to their own use the farm supplies and what-ever
valuables could be found in the dwellings.
They were mainly irresponsible men, in whose breasts there
existed no thrill of patriotism, whose only ambition was to
gratify some personal grudge, and tO' satisfy their necessi-ties
by plundering and robbing. Their heredity has come
down through the decades of our national history. When
our southland was in arms for the defense of home and lib-erty,
the sons of these men were "bush-whackers" and de-serters.
They now run illicit distilleries and debauch their
communities ; they object to civic and educational advance-ment.
Tap their veins and you find Tory blood. During
188 THE NORTH CAROLINA BOOKLET.
the war the Tories in some sections became so aggressive
and bold in their depradations that the Whig families were
forced to build forts for protection. One of these was near
the present to^\Ti of Mocksville ;^ another was near Wilkesboro.
Fortunately there were men in most sections of the State
whose names struck terror to the hearts of the Tories. Among
them was Col. Benjamin Cleveland. As a partisan leader
he had but few equals. He knew no fear and seemed ubiqui-tous
to friend and foe. Colonel Cleveland's services in
checking organized Toryism in that part of the State have
never been fully recognized.
When about eighteen years of age Jesse Franklin joined
his uncle's forces and for two years assisted in maintaining
order in Piedmont iSTorth Carolina. He served with him
in many skirmishes with the Tories and gained the confi-dence
of his uncle as a bold and fearless patriot.
At the close of the summer of 1780, the British had ovei>
run the whole of South Carolina. Cornwallis had for inonth3
been arranging to invade ISTorth Carolina and take vengeance
upon the men of Mecklenburg and other Whigs of the State.
He sent Major Ferguson with a large body of British troops
to overawe the Whigs and enroll the Tories in the western
counties. The appearance of the British among the hills
of ISForth Carolina had an unexpected effect. Those daunt-less
patriots who knew no fear rallied to the standard of
Liberty with a determination which had never seized them
before. Led by the brave Colonels Shelby, Sevier, Camp-bell,
and General McDowell, they rushed down the moimtain
1 Some of the timbers of which this fort was constructed were moved
to Mocksville about forty years ago by Col. A. M. Booe and used by him
in building a tobacco factory, which is still standing. Colonel Booe
ornamented this factory with a brass weather vane brought from
Heidleburg by some German Lutherans who settled on the banks of
Dutchman's Creek and placed it upon a church, which they built in 1765.
GOVEENOK JESSE FRANKLIN, 189
like a torrent maddened by the opposing elements. They
were joined by the men from Surry and Wilkes under the
intrepid Colonel Cleveland, with Jesse Eranklin as his aid.
IsTowhere in Revolutionary times could be found a more
heroic band. With incredible swiftness this little army of
militia and volunteers rushed over creeks and rivers, ridges
and forests, covering a distance of about seventy miles in
twenty-four hours. Halting for a council of war, they se-lected
nine hundred of the best equipped men and rushed
forward to meet the foe. Eerguson had selected the top of
the ridge known as King's Mountain for the encounter, from
which, he said, ^'God Himself could not drive him." The
patriots surrounded the mountain before FergT.ison was aware
of their presence and attacked him from all sides at once.
As the British and Tories charged from one side of the moun-tain
the American lines wavered, only to rush forward with
redoubled fury. The British were hurled back, only to be
met by the rifles and shouts of the men on the opposite side
of the hill. A cloud of smoke encompassed the mountain
shutting off the British army from sight. Jesse Franklin
rode forward through the smoke, and finding the British in
confusion and shooting above the heads of the Patriots, he
called to his men to charge, assuring them of victory. ' They
advanced till within range and fired. Colonel Ferguson fell
and confusion overwhelmed the enemy. Captain Depeyster,
the linking officer, assumed command but was unable to re-store
order. Captain Ryarson's efforts were alike futile. He
surrendered, and handed his sword to Jesse Franklin, saying
to him : "Take it, you deserve it, sir." ^ The sword was
in the Franldin family many years, but a party of gentlemen
2 Accounts of the battle of King's Mountain vary. This sketch fol-lows
the statement of Judge J. F. Graves, who received it from John
Boyd, a soldier of the Revolution, and an eye-witness to this incident,
3
190 TPIE NORTH CAROLINA BOOKLET.
on one occasion, in testing the temper of the mettle, broke
it into fragments. The hilt was in possession of Mr. Am-brose
Johnson, of Wilkes Conntj, in 1854.
The victory at King's Monntain was complete. Xine hun-dred
inexperienced militia had vanquished a superior force
of regular British and Tory troops, consisting of 1125 men.
With the loss of twenty-eight killed and sixty wounded, they
had killed, wounded, or captured the entire British force.
The effect was electrical. The Tory s23irit was crushed, and
hope stirred the hearts of the patriots. The prisoners were
hurried to a place of safety. Cornwallis immediately left
Charlotte and retired to his protected camps in South Caro-lina.
A record of the many daring adventures and marvelous
escapes of Jesse Eranklin during those years of ceaseless
vigilance would make a thrilling narrative. A few only
have been rescued from oblivion. The plundering Tories
feared him and trembled for their lives when it was kno^vn
that Franklin was in the community. They well knew that
swift vengeance would be dealt to those guilty of murder
and that all if taken would be punished according to their
crimes. They determined to destroy him, but they realized
that he was more than a match for them in any bold move-ment
on their part. Bands were often in hiding along the
approaches to his father's house. One evening he was at-tempting
to reach his home by a circuitous route when sud-denly
he was surrounded by a strong band of Tories. Re-sistance
in the face of a dozen rifles was futile. They tied
his hands behind his back, and using his bridle as a halter,
they made ready to hang him to an overhanging limb. When
all was ready they commanded him to take the oath of allegi-ance.
He refused and they swung him up. One of the men
struck the horse to make him move from under Franklin;
GOVERNOR JESSE FRANKLIN. 191
just as lie did so the halter broke and Franklin fell into his
saddle as the horse dashed away. The rifle halls whizzed
by his head. His escape was miraculous and Franklin in
after life often referred to it as an intervention of a Kind
Providence.
Three months after the battle of King's Mountain, Morgan
gained another glorious victory over the British at the Cow-pens.
Cornwallis was stung by his defeat and the loss of
so large a part of his army and hastened to cany the war
into ^orth Carolina. Greneral Morgan knew that Cornwallis
would endeavor to recapture the prisoners and immediately
hurried them off toward Virginia. Thus began the race of
Cornwallis and the Americans across the state of ITorth
Carolina. General Green joined Morgan near Salisbury and
assumed command of the army. The details of this retreat
across the State are facts common in all our histories.
Cornwallis reluctantly gave up the chase of Greene and
turned aside to Hillsboro. Greene, having received reinforce-ments
from Virginia and some militia from the eastern por-tion
of Xorth Carolina, recrossed the Dan River, thus showing
a determination to meet the British in battle. Cornwallis said
that he was greatly disappointed at the failure of the Tories
in not rallying to the British standard and enlisting as sol-diers
in his army. The most of the Tories who did attempt
to reach him were cut off and destroyed by scouting parties
of Whigs sent out by General Greene to intercept their move-ments.
The most notable of these encounters was perhaps
the destruction of Colonel Pyle and his band of Tories near
the present town of Graham. Cornwallis immediately moved
west across the Haw River to succor those who should come.
Greene sent William Washington, Lee, and Williams to in-tercept
the marauding parties of British and Tories. Capt.
192 THE NOKTJI CAKOLINA BOOKLET.
Jesse Fraiiklm was at the head of one of these skirmish
lines near Hillshoro on February 25th.
General Greene was near the state line about 25 miles north
of Hillsboro and began a westerly movement toward the little
town of Martinsville^ then the county seat of Guilford, which
he had before selected as a suitable ground for the inevitable
battle. He arranged his forces with skill and awaited the
approach of the enemy. Cornwallis accepted the challenge
and on the evening of March 15th the battle took place.
Greene withdrew and Cornwallis held the ground, but his
doubtful victory was the final undoing of the British in
ISTorth Carolina.
In this battle Jesse Franklin was a conspicuous actor. He
led a band of mountaineers who did good service, and was
among the last to leave the grounds when General Greene
ordered a retreat. The horses of his men had been tied in
the woods and as they were mounting to retire some British
cavalrymen killed a part of his men before they could mount
and get away. Franklin escaped, but soon returned and se-cured
the horse and arms of one of his neighbors, a Mr.
Taliafero, and carried them to the family of his friend.
Cornwallis retreated to Wilmington and soon left the State,
to be captured at Yorktown. Greene was now on the aggres-sive,
but gave up the pursuit and went to South Carolina.
While history has not been lavish in recounting the move-ments
of Jesse Franlvlin, enoiigh has been recorded to give
us an idea of the military career of the youthful hero.
Franklin was at this time under 21 years of age. America
had gained its independence.
Hostilities had ceased, but the relationship of the former
Whig and Tory elements were extremely trying in many
sections. Bitter animosities and recollections rendered al-most
impossible the return of friendly intercourse. Tories
GOVERNOR JESSE FRAISTKLIN. 193
had committed outrages and murder. The Whigs had found
it necessary to retaliate in order to check their unbridled
ravages. Some sections had been almost depopulated ; in
others a spirit of lawlessness was prevalent. It was a task
perhaps gToater than the Revolution itself to bring order out
of chaos and construct a nation, and people grew restless
under suspense and delay. The Whigs had been under a
supreme tension from the beginning of the war, and when
that tension was removed it was natural for a reaction to
follow. Lethargy and untimely contentment might lose for
them the vantage ground which had been secured at so dear
a price. Schools and churches were in many places still
closed and the moral senses seemed blunted. Under such
conditions as these there was need of the best and most patri-otic
men to guide in public affairs. The experienced and
wary, like Caswell ; the vigorous and hopeful, like Franklin,
were immediately summoned to the councils of the legislative
halls.
After the close of the war, Jesse Franklin settled in
Wilkes County. In 1784, at the age of 24, he was elected
to the Legislature from Wilkes County, and, with the excep-tion
of 1788, he was re-elected successively every year until
1793, when he changed his place of residence to Surry Coun-ty.
The people of Surry knowing his value as a public citi-zen
immediately elected him to the Legislature for the year
1793, and returned him in 1794. In 1795 he was elected
member of CongTess and served two years. In 1797 and
1798 we again find him in the Legislature. The Legislature
of 1799 elected him United States Senator for the full term
ending in 1805. In 1806 and 1807 he was a member of
the State Senate and was, at the close of his term, again
elected United States Senator for the term to expire in 1813.
As a legislator Jesse Franklin was universally trusted.
194 THE NORTH CAROLINA BOOKLET.
Although he was one of the youngest of the members of the
Legislature, he was placed at the head of important com-mittees.
He made but few speeches; these were mainly
short, pointed and forceful. In February, 1795, one Jere-miah
Early jDetitioned the Legislature for a premium or
bounty to help and protect him in the manufacture of steel.
Franklin was chairman of a committee appointed to investi-gate
the merits of the petition and made the following re-port:
''After due consideration it is our opinion that it is
not expedient for the State to grant premiums or bounties for
the manufacture of steel, being well assured that any person
manufacturing that article will be amply compensated by the
sale thereof."
As early as 1785 we find Franldin publicly advocating
more opportunities for educating the people. He was a close
student and acquired a broad fund of general information.
He married Miss Meeky Perkins, of Rockbridge County,
Virginia. The date of his marriage has not come to the
writer, but it was some time before 1790, as collateral cir-cumstances
indicate. His home life was beautiful and in-spiring,
shedding a wholesome influence for culture and re-finement
in the circle of his friends and associates.
In 1784 he received grants of land in Wilkes County. The
Federal census of 1790 shows that he was then a citizen of
Wilkes County. As has been stated, he moved to Surry
County in 1793.
Franklin was a Democrat in his feelings and mode of life.
He was one of the people and on all occasions manifested
his devotion to them in wdiatever might appeal to their sensi-bilities
or prejudices.
While the Legislature was in session in Llillsboro he was
in need of some shirts. The seamstress had made them
with ruffles, according to the fashion of the times. "When
GOVERNOR JESSE FRANKLIN. 195
he came to put them on, he thought the frills did not become
the representative of so plain a people as his constituents, and
so he cut them all off with his pen knife before wearing
the shirts."
In personal appearance Franklin was erect and command-ing,
somewhat above medium height, and, in his latter years,
weighed over two hundred pounds. He was a man of strong
personality, of few words, of unusual discretion and sound
judgTQent. He was easily provoked to deeds of charity and
unselfish service to those less fortunate than himself. His
sympathy for the distressed widow and orphan was easily
touched ; even in his younger years his strong, manly courage
brought comfort and hope to those in distress around him.
Moore, the historian, says of him: '^' Jesse Franklin, like
ISTathaniel Macon, was dear to the i^eople because he typified
their best qualities. He did not shine in debate like Davie,
or out-wit his competitors like Alexander Martin, but he was
strong in the simplicity and directness of his character. He
loved truth, peace and justice, and they shone in his life and
made him a beacon and an assurance to all who knew him."
His uniform and well recognized integrity, the soundness of
his judgment on the great questions which so deeply agitated
the public mind, his purity of life and exalted patriotism
made him a trusted leader of men.
In 1795, when Jesse Franklin was elected to the jN'ational
Congress, the young Republic was feeling its way toward a
safe adjustment of internal organizations and at the same
time striving to avoid external complications until it should
realize a firm place in the hearts and confidence of the
American people and gain respectability among the great
family of nations. It had so recently set up business for
itself that there was much and most important legislation to
be made. Consequent upon the devastations of a long war,
196 THE K^OETH CAROLINA BOOKLET.
there was a spirit of unrest in every quarter. Families were
breaking up and moving to the western frontiers ; resistance
to taxation embarrassed the local authorities, and there were
those who seemed to prefer the flesh-pots of their former
conditions to the uncertain experiment as an independent
nation. Sections were jealous of supposed encroachments
upon their local interests. I^ew England was ready at the
slightest provocation to withdraw from the Union. The
South was guarding suspiciously against any attempt to med-dle
in her affairs. Many of those who had been Loyalists
and Tories, having lost their standing in their communities,
were forced to seek other places to make their homes ; some
went to the West Indies, some to the British possessions, but
the greater number went west and settled among the moun-tains
of East Tennessee and Kentucky, where generations
later their descendants arrayed themselves against the armies
of the South. Many of the brave Continental soldiers re-ceived
the pay for their long services in grants of land be-yond
the Ohio, and the states were poorer by the loss of
these brave men. State and national debts were hanging
ominous over the treasuries, for the magic hand of Hamilton
had not yet given stability to the country's finances, convert-ing
a national debt into a national blessing.
Internal trafiic was hampered for want of an acceptable
circulating medium. Commerce on the high seas was at the
mercy of the piratical practices of every nation. The same
conditions which existed in IsTorth Carolina prevailed
throughout the country. French customs and vices had per-meated
the social and moral fabric. French skepticism, re-enforced
by Tom Payne's "Age of Reason," was undermining
the church and the sanctity of religion. Harvard, William
and Mary, Princeton, and Yale colleges were sending out
a limited number of scholars, but for two decades and more
GOVERNOK JESSE FRANKLIN. 197
the halls of learning had been almost deserted. There were
no public schools, and the parochial and private schools had
been forgotten in the common struggle for material existence.
Conditions afforded but little time for social intercourse or
intellectual development except among the more favored few.
The masses were illiterate and appeared satisfied to remain
so. There were but few newspapers or publications of any
kind. There were but few who aspired to become authors.
Books were rare. It was a period of relaxation and intel-lectual
depression. J^orth Carolina was the first to break the
spell and establish a State University; others followed.
Jesse Franklin was a product of the times, but like others
who were born to co-operate in shaping the destinies of the
nation his horizon was broad, his conception of a government
for the masses was clear and his good judgment gave him
power in the State and national assemblies. His astute
statesmanship won the admiration of his peers. For thirty
consecutive years he represented his people and was a con-spicuous
figure in the State and national capitals.
It has been the custom of the historian to pass rapidly over
this period. The records were meager and many of them are
not accessible to the reading public. In our times it is diffi-cult
to discover what questions were of paramount interest
to the men who served in the ISTational Congress or how they
disposed of them. There were great problems with which
our representatives must grapple. England and France had
continuously shown indignities to the American flag. It was
a matter of great concern to protect our merchant marine;
foreign emissaries were endeavoring to engender strife among
the states and weaken the national unity. It required the
patriotism and statesmanship of great men to save the young
nation from universal disaster. Jefferson and Adams and
their adherents were alike patriotic; they had staked all for
198 THE NORTH CAROLINA BOOKLET.
American institutions. Adams was a devout Federalist and
espoused the policy of a strong centralized government. Jesse
rranklin, like Jefferson, the great leader of popular rights,
was as thoroughly convinced that the ideal form of govern-ment
was that in which all national authority should origi-nate
with the people who were to he governed, and that those
in authority were amenable directly to the people. While
in Congress he served on a large number of important com-mittees.
During his first term as United States Senator, Congress
held its last session in the Quaker City. In 1800 the public
ofiices and records were transferred from Philadelphia to the
new Federal capital on the Potomac.
In 1801 Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr received the
same number of votes for president. In accord "with the pro-vision
of the constitution, it devolved upon the Lower House
of Congress to name the President. Jefferson was chosen
and Burr became Vice-President. In 1805 Jefferson was re-elected
President, Avith George Clinton as Vice-President.
Burr allowed the sting of defeat to lead him astray. He
entered into schemes for dismembering the western settle-ments
and organizing a new republic. The story of his trial
in Richmond is an old one. In 1807 John Smith, an ac-complice
of Burr in his adventure, was Senator from the
state of Ohio. Jesse Franklin had been appointed chairman
of a committee to investigate the matter, and on l^ovember
13, 1807, made the following report: "It is the opinion of
the committee that it is not compatible with the dignity of
the Senate of the United States for elohn Smith to occupy a
seat in the Senate." The trial before the Senate Avas a long
and memorable one. The greatest orators of the times were
engaged on one side or the other. The speeches were re-ported
in full and are models of eloquence and power. Smith
GOVERNOR JESSE FRANKLIN. 199
was acquitted by one vote, but Franklin's masterly manage-ment
of the trial had convinced the public that Smith was
guilty. Smith immediately resigned and left Washington.
Another imi^ortant historic fact is brought out by the ser-vices
of Franklin. After the Declaration of Independence
the Articles of Confederation were adopted as the supreme
law of the land and were in force till the adoption of the
Federal Constitution in 1789. The old Congress under the
Articles of Confederation was in session on July 11, 1787,
in jSTew York, and adopted a form of government for the
territoiy north and west of the Ohio River. The sixth arti-cle
of this ordinance provided for the exclusion of slavery
and involuntary servitude except as punishment for crime.
At the same time this Congress was in session a great conven-tion
was in session in Philadelphia framing the Constitution
which soon superseded the "Articles of Confederation." The
ordinance of the Congress of 1787 was disregarded by the
Constitution. In 1805 a number of exiled Cubans desired
to settle with their slaves in the rich plains north of the Ohio.
A conflict was about to arise and the Congress at Washington
appointed a committee to report on the matter. Franklin as
chairman of the committee reported : "Resolved, That it is
not expedient at this time to suspend the sixth Article of the
Ordinance of 1787 for the government of the said territory."
Franklin was a strong advocate of the war of 1812 and
urged Congress to grant permission to individuals to fit out
vessels for privateering and destroying British commerce.
It is an interesting coincidence that while Jesse Franklin
was presiding as president pro tempore in the Senate, JSTa-thaniel
Macon was Speaker of the House of Representatives.
It was a red-letter day for North Carolina.
These references will serve to show the confidence the na-tion
placed in Jesse Franklin during his term of service at
the national capital.
200 THE NORTH CAROLINA BOOKLET.
He declined a re-election to the Senate in 1813 and retired
to liis home. In 1816 President Monroe appointed Franklin,
Andrew Jackson and General Meriwether conunissioners to
treat with the Chickasaw Indians. The treaty was made near
the bluffs of the Mississippi where the city of Memphis now
stands.
In 1820 he was elected governor of ISTorth Carolina. After
serving one term he declined a re-election. His message to
the Legislature is dated jS^ovember 20, 1821. It is still
preserved in the files of the old Raleigh Register. It shows
that he was a strong writer and a statesman of no ordinary
powers.
He calls attention to the necessity of reforming the State
court system ; more efficiency in the militia. He says : "All
nations have military force of some kind ; the militia is the
one preferred by our State. It behooves us then to encourage
its efficiency and make it strong in order to render a standing
army unneccessary ; for precisely in the same degree that the
one is neglected you create the necessity for the other." He
encourages internal improvements. He mentions the survey-ing
of the lines between IS^orth Carolina and Georgia; also
the line between ISTorth Carolina and Tennessee, and a num-ber
of other matters for the consideration of the Legislature.
When his term of office was out he again returned to the
quiet of his beautiful mountain section. He was not per-mitted
to enjoy the pleasures of his home long, for death came
to him September 29, 1823.
The following letter from Miss Isabel Graves, a great
grand-daughter of Governor Franklin, will be found full of
interest, and is inserted by her permission
:
Nov. 28, 1906.
Dear Sir:—I cannot add much to the sketch written by my father for
Caruthers' Old North State Series. Governor Franklin would not have
any portrait made of himself. He said he preferred to be remembered
by what he had done and not by how he looked.
GOVEENOE JESSE FEANKLIN. 201
In looking over the old records I find that Meeky Perkins was born in
1765, and died February 20, 1834. I have not been able to find the date
of her marriage to Jesse Franklin, but from other dates given it vras
probably sometime before 1790. He had been prominent as a brave
soldier during the Revolution, and it is quite probable that he was sent
on missions of importance to Philadelphia before the adoption of the
Constitution in 1789.
Notwithstanding Jesse Franklin was a Democrat and took great pride
in the wearing apparel made at home, his daughters indulged in silk
dresses made in Philadelphia on occasions requiring such dress. One of
these dresses is preserved in the family.
Governor Franklin, while not a member, was inclined to the Baptist
church. His wife was a member of the Methodist church. He did not
care for hunting and other sports, but was a great student and reader,
and his leisure from public duties and private business was devoted
chiefly to reading. His correspondence was extensive for that time, and
one of his daughters usually assisted as his secretary.
He was noted for his kindness to his neighbors and consideration for
people less fortunate than he. He restrained his children from jokes at
the expense of other people's feelings. The story of "Dicky Snow of
Fish River Scenes" he never allowed a member of his family to tell, and
it only became known when Dicky Snow told it on himself.
My father used to tell us stories of his grandparents which always
interested us. He said that Hardin Perkins was a well-connected and
iofluential farmer of Rockbridge County, Virginia. Jesse Franklin in
passing to and from Philadelphia on horseback with his wardrobe in his
saddle-bags, happened to stop over at Mr. Perkins' and saw the daughter,
Miss Meeky, a tall, graceful, black-haired and black-eyed maid, very
handsome and accomplished for that period. He fell in love with her,
and after the usual courtship, married her. There were very limited
modes of conveyance then, indeed much of the country did not have even
so much as a wagon road. After the marriage, which was celebrated
with a wedding feast, a Presbyterian minister officiating, Jesse Franklin
and his bride rode on horseback by way of Lynchburg to his home in
North Carolina. On the way they were given receptions at the resi-dences
of several of the relatives of the bride, the Redds and the Pan-nills,
and the uncle of the groom. The baggage came later in a sort of
two-horse wagon.
Mrs. Franklin was occasionally in Washington with her husband, but
not often. The journey from her mountain home to Washington was a
long and tiresome one, the meager pay of the members of Congress, at
that time not more than five dollars per day, would not well support two
202 THE NORTH CAROLINA BOOKLET.
in good style. She became a noted housekeeper. Her home-made cotton
dresses for herself and daughters were always of the neatest make and
finest shades of coloring. The home-made jeans and linsey were the
best, her linen the finest and whitest made in the country from flax
grown on the farm and spun with her own hand. My father had often
seen his grandmother's old flax-wheel at the homestead, of his Uncle
Hardin Franklin on Fish River, where she died. She was a most ele-gant
hostess and entertained her friends and her husband's friends in
the best style possible. She had several daughters and sons, and they
had much company.
Governor Franklin lived in an isolated neighborhood; about four
families made up the community—Jesse Franlvlin, Micajah Oglesby,
Meshack Franklin, and Mr. Edwards, and they were all intelligent and
well to do. They kept up the most cordial social relations; they
visited and had parties and dances, to which their friends from a dis-tance
were invited. From all the concurrent traditions there was never
anywhere a happier community during the lifetime of Governor Frank
lin. His wife was the leader and chief spirit among the ladies.
There are other traditions, but these will serve to give a picture of the
times.
Yours truly,
Isabel Gra\^s.
Gov. Jesse Franklin was Snrrj County's greatest son. He
reflected honor upon tlie whole State. It has not been the
purpose of the writer to idealize him, but it is right that the
noble heroes who risked their lives for American liberty,
and whose long period of public service did so much to estab-lish
our national greatness, should have a proper setting in
the records of the nation. It is a distinct loss to the State
that so little is known of those men who so greatly honored
our State in the early period of its history.
The remains of Governor Franklin have recently been re-moved
to the ISTational Park at the Guilford Battle Ground.
This is right. To a great extent the lives of those great and
strong men constitute our State's history. They served well
the State and we should accord to their memory that honor-able
fame they so richly deserve.
GOVERNOR JESSE FRANKLIN. 203
j
Note.—The following authorities have been consulted: i
Wheeler's History of North Carolina; ^ '
^
Wheeler's Eeminiscences
;
Caruthers' Old North State Series; i;
Lossing's Field Book of the Revolution; !{
King's Mountain and Its Heroes; j
Judge Schenek's Guilford Battle Ground; ,]
Moore's History of North Carolina; :
Constitution and Rules of United States Senate; i,
Journals of U. S. House and Senate; j
Journals of Legislature of North Carolina; '
Files of Raleigh Register; i
Colonial Records of North Carolina. ]
NORTH CAROLINA'S HISTORICAL EXHIBIT AT
JAMESTOWN EXPOSITION.
The Jamestown Exposition in 1907 is to be pre-eminently
an historical exposition. All the states, and especially the
original thirteen, are concentrating their energies on a display
that will show to the world what share each has had in the
settlement and development of the country, and later in that
momentous struggle with England wdiich transformed weak
colonies into a great nation. That each claims the lion's share
in that transformation, goes without saying. What is of more
consequence, each state is planning to prove its faith by its
works, and prove its works by its exhibit at Jamestown.
Pennsylvania has already spent thousands of dollars, and will
spend thousands more; Virginia says that she can't compete
with J^orth Carolina, either agriculturally or in manufac-tures,
but in her historical collection she will lead the coun-try.
So the story goes, with but one exception—*'the good
old !N^orth State, heaven's blessings attend her," and she is
sitting down peacefully wdth her knitting, wondering plaint-ively
wdiy other states know so little of her past and that
little to her discredit. For the first time in her existence an
opportunity has come to her to set right once and for all
time the mistakes and sneers of ignorance. Her state pride
as well as "a decent regard to the opinions of mankind,"
should make her send such a display that her brave, faithful,
modest past, shall be the glory of her future, and that here-after
men shall not come to ISTorth Carolina to teach, but to
learn. The Daughters of the American Eevolution and the
Daughters of the Eevolution are making an effort to gather
together a great historic exhibit, but it is not for their organ-izations
they are working; it is for their state, and thev ask
EXHIBIT AT JAMESTOWN EXPOSITION. 205
all patriotic orders—tlie Colonial Dames, the Cincinnati, the
Sons of the Revolution, all patriotic men and women—to
join with them in this labor of love. They cannot do the
work alone; they would be ashamed to do it if they could,
for it would be an admission that patriotism was sleeping or
dead. That they are leading in the matter is a mere hap-pening,
and they would be just as proud to follow, for they
are ]l*^orth Carolinians first and Daughters afterwards.
The ladies ask the loan of anything that will illustrate
the history of the State—and particularly the life of Colonial
and Revolutionary days—letters, manuscripts, school books,
furniture, portraits, clothing, maps, silver, china, etc. All
articles will be sent to Raleigh and placed in the care of
an experienced person, who will see to their packing and
shipping; their arrangements is locked cases at Jamestown;
be with them during the exposition and then repack them
afterwards. They will, of course, while there be in a fire-proof
building. The amount allowed the ladies for getting
up this exhibit is so small that they fear the success of their
efforts will be hampered by the necessity for strict economy,
but they will try to make the wisest possible expenditure of
the funds at their disposal. Their plans are not yet fully
matured. When they are, all details will be given in the
State papers. The ladies in charge feel that an appeal to the
patriotism of the State cannot be in vain.
Mes. Lindsay PattersoN;,
Chairman Jamestown Historical Committee.
Miss IIaky Hilliabd Hinton^
Chairman Committee for Eastern North Carolina.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF CONTRIBUTORS.
COMPILED AND EDITED BY MBS. E. E. MOFFITT.
ROBERT DIGGS WIMBERLY CONNOR
Mr. R. D. W. Connor, whose address on the urgent need
of a fire-proof state library building, delivered before the
State Literary and Historical Association at its last session,
and published in this number of "The Booklet," was born in
the town of Wilson, September 26, 1878. He is the fourth
child and the third son of Judge Henry G., and Kate Whit-field,
Connor.
Mr. Connor was prepared for college in the public schools
of his native toT^m and entered the University of l^orth
Carolina in the fall of 1895. At the University he was a
member of the Philanthropic Literary Society, the SigTtia
Alpha Epsilon fraternity, and The Gorgon's Head, a junior
class organization. He was one of the representative speak-ers
of his society at the commencement of 1898, and in 1899
was the winner of the debater's medal in his society. At the
commencement of 1899 he was selected as one of the senior
speakers. He w^as editor, and then editor-in-chief of The
Tar Heel, the college weekly, editor and business manager
of the Hellenian, the college annual, and editor of the Maga-zine.
In his senior year he won the John Sprunt Hill His-tory
Prize, offered for the best original essay dealing with
ISTorth Carolina history. His subject was a study of the
Ku Klux Klan in l^orth Carolina. Mr. Connor was gTad-uated
in 1899.
After leaving the University Mr. Connor was elected a
teachei' in the Public High School of the city of Winston. In
February, 1902, he resigned his work there to become super-
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 207
intendent of the Public Schools of Oxford, "but remained
there only a few months, resigning in the summer of 1902
to accept the principalship of the Public High School of the
city of Wilming-ton. After two years' work there he ac-cepted
work in the office of the State Superintendent of Pub-lic
Instruction, where he has charge of the Loan Fund for
building school houses, and is secretary of the Education
Campaign Committee, composed of the late Dr. Charles D.
Mclver, Hon. J. Y. Joyner, Hon. Charles B. Aycock and
Governor R. B. Glenn. He is also secretary of the [N^orth
Carolina Teachers' Assembly, and is now serving his second
term.
When the General Assembly of 1903 created the ISTorth
Carolina Historical Commission, Governor Aycock appointed
Mr. Connor one of the commissioners. He was elected sec-retary
of the Commission. He was reappointed by Governor
Glenn in 1905. Mr. Connor has done a little work in the
history of J^orth Carolina. To The BooTdet he has con-tributed
a sketch of Cornelius Harnett; to the Biographical
History of ^orth Carolina he has contributed sketches of
Cornelius Harnett, John Harvey, Calvin H. Wiley, James
C. Dobbin, Thomas J. Hadley, Richard H. Speight and John
P. Bruton. More elaborate sketches of Harnett and Harvey
by Mr. Connor have appeared in the Sunday editions of the
Charlotte Ohserver. Mr. Connor is a member of the JSTorth
Carolina Literary and Historical Association and of the
Southern History Association.
On December 23, 1902, he was married to Miss Sadie
Hanes, of Mocksville, ^t, c.
Mr. Connor is gifted with the energy to explore through
the by-paths of our State's history and his researches, should
he live to continue them, will prove of great value to future
historians. ISTorth Carolina has a history to be proud of and
208 THE NOKTH CAROLIjSTA BOOKLET.
at the present time more general interest is being shown than
in any former period. In the mass of authentic material
that has been collected in the past twenty-five years, and
especially in the last decade, and with the impetus that is
being given to the youth of our state by the Captains of Edu-cation—
by the strong, decisive stand taken by the Press
—
by the efforts of the Literary and Historical Society, the
Sons of the Eevolution, the Daughters of the Eevolution and
other like organizations, there is hope that a great historian
will develop who will secure for i^orth Carolina the place
that rightfully belongs to her in the galaxy of States, showing
that she had not lagged behind the other colonies in the asser-tion
of her rights.
JAMES OWEN CARR.
J. O. Carr was born in Duplin Coimty, ISTorth Carolina,
near Kenansville. He was prepared for college by S. W.
Clement at Wallace, N^. C, and entered the University of
ISTorth Carolina in September, 1891, graduating cum laude
in the class of 1895 with the degree of Ph. B. In 1896 re-turned
to the University where he studied law under the late
Dr. John Manning and Judge James E. Shepherd. He
received his license before the Supreme Court in September,
1896, and returned to his native county, Duplin, and began
the practice of law at Kenansville. In 1898 he was elected
as a member of the lower house of the General Assembly
from Duplin County and served in this capacity in the Legis-lature
of 1899. In the following April he moved to Wilming-ton,
where he continued his practice as a member of the law
firm of Roimtree and Carr, which relation still exists. He
has taken considerable interest in historical matters pertain-ing
to the State. Inheriting the spirit of his forefathers, who
were true to tlie principles of liberty, he is a descendant of
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 209
the Dicksons and Carrs who played a distinguished part be-fore
and during the Eevolutionary war and one of whom
was a signer to the Oath of Allegiance and Ahjurgation pass-ed
at ISTew Bern the 15th of E'ovember, 177T. The original
document is now on file in the clerk's office of Duplin County,
thus preserving the names of those patriots who were true
to their country, their homes and their God. Mr. Carr is
a writer of ability and thus early in his career has made an
enviable reputation as a literateur. He is the author of the
'^Dickson" letters, consisting of a series of letters ^vritten
immediately after the Revolution and of much historical
value. He is a member of the Sons of the Revolution and
his descent is contained in the manuscript archives of the
jSTorth Carolina Society.
PROF. J. T. ALDERMAN.
The Booklet for this month is enriched by an admirable
sketch of Governor Franklin. The paper is from the pen
of Prof. J. T. Alderman, the able and successful superin-tendent
of graded schools in Henderson, IST. C. Writing of
Professor Alderman and his work. Rev. J. D. Hufham, D.D.,
long a leading minister of the Baptist church, says : "Profes-sor
Alderman has devoted his life and all his splendid
powers to the cause of education, mainly in JSTorth Carolina,
and has no small share in the educational restoration of the
commonwealth. Some particulars of his life and work seem
to be called for as a contribution to the history of the period.
"The Aldermans, as their name indicates, are of Anglo-
Saxon stock; of property and social standing in England.
Members of the family were among the early settlers in this
country. John Camden Hotten, of London, in his "original
list of Persons of Qualitie emigrated to America," includes
"Grace Alderman," who came "in the ship Paula, July,
210 THE NORTH CAROLINA BOOKLET.
1635." In 1715, Daniel Alderman, son of John, was born
in London. In 1740 he married Abigail Harris and in 1750
removed to 'New Jersey, whither others of the Aldermans
had preceded them. In 1755 Daniel and his wife came to
ISTorth Carolina and settled on Black River in Pender Coun-ty.-
Three sons, John, Daniel and David, were bom to them.
Of these sons, Daniel was the ancestor of the eminent head
of the University of Virginia. From David have come the
Aldermans of Greensboro. John married Mary Cashwell.
They had among other children a son, John, who married
Anna JSTewton, and among their children was Amariah Biggs,
father of the subject of this sketch. He was a student at
Wake Forest College 1845-'4:6-'4:7, and afterwards devoted
his life to the Baptist ministry. He married Penelope How-ard.
Among her ancestors was Fleete Cooper, a prominent
and active patriot during the Revolution and afterwards a
preacher of renown among the Baptists. Another ancestor
was Minson Howard, a soldier of the Revolution. Still an-other
was Capt. John Williams, an officer in the American
army during the Revolution ; a fearless and active soldier
and a terror to the Tories. These facts indicate with suffi-cient
clearness the sort of people through whom the life has
come down to Professor Alderman. In the old world and
the new, they have been quiet, thoughtful, brave and earnest
men, commanding the confidence of the public and achieving
success. In North Carolina five of them have been preachers,
many of them have been teachers and all of them advocates
and supporters of education.
"Professor Alderman was born June 26th, 1853. His fa-ther's
home lay in the line of Sherman's march, not far from
the battlefield of Bentonville, and after that struggle the
family had to begin life anew. To educate themselves with-out
neglecting the labor needful to the home was not easy,
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 211
but the boys all achieved it. Professor Alderman graduated
at Wake Forest College 1880, and at once gave himself with
singleness of heart to the business of teaching, from which
he has never turned aside. In his native county, Sampson,
and in Da^^e County, he taught with singular success. He
was superintendent of the schools at Reidsville, 1891-'94.
He was assistant superintendent of city schools of Columbus,
Ga., the finest system of schools in the South, and also prin-cipal
of the high school in that city. In all these positions
he had given entire satisfaction and had shown his capacity
for even greater things. In 1899 the call came which brought
him back to his native State and to the largest work of his
life—to lay the foundations and construct a system of graded
schools for the town of Henderson. It was a great under-taking,
but success has cro'vvned every step of it and it may
be doubted whether there is in any part of the State a system
of schools superior to this, whether we consider buildings
and equipment, spirit or management. It is Professor Al-derman's
greatest work, but he is still in the fulness of
manly vigor and there may be even greater things for him
to do in the years to come. He is profoundly interested in
the histoiy of North Carolina, and the teaching of it holds
an important place in his schools. He also keeps in touch
with the work of education in the State. He is an enthusi-astic
Mason and is held in high honor by the members of
the Fraternity of every degree.
"In 1894 he married Miss Lillian Watson, of Warrenton,
]^. C, a gifted and accomplished woman, who is interested
in every department of his labor and finds her chief joy in
his success."
SARAH BEAUMONT KENNEDY.
COLLECTED AND COMPILED BY MRS. E. E. MOFFITT.
Tlie Booklet is indebted to Mrs. Kennedy for that very
interesting monograph, on "Colonial I^ew Berne," which was
published in jN^o. 2 of volume first, which edition was so
popular that it is now out of print. She wrote a beautiful
story of that heroic and long-suffering people, the Palati-nates,*
who inliabited that picturesque portion of Germany
situated on both sides of the Rhine. These Protestants who
were no longer able to endure the persecutions which fol-lowed
the revocation of the Edict of ISTantes, fled from their
country, a large proportion joining De G-raffienried's colony
of Swiss in 1710, to America, and founded jSTew Berne;
calling their new settlement after the Swiss capital in the
far-away Alps.
Sara Beaumont Kennedy's parents were both jSTorth Caro-linians,
her father having been Dr. Robert H. Cannon, of
Raleigh, and her mother Nora Devereux, daughter of Thomas
PoUok Devereux, so widely known through the South.
Through her maternal grandfather she is a direct descendant
of Jonathan Edwards, whose daughter Eunice married Gov.
Thomas PoUok, and was the grandmother of Thomas Pol-lok
Devereux. (Gov. Thomas PoUok was twice appointed
governor.) Through her maternal grandmother, who was
Catherine Johnson, of Stratford, Conn., she is a lineal de-scendant
of William Samuel Johnson, who, as one of the
most talented and forceful members of the Constitutional
Convention, helped to frame the l^ational Constitution. On
this same line Mrs. Kennedy is descended from the Living-
*A further account of this settlement is given in the •'Booklet," of
April, 1905, by Judge Oliver P. Allen.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 213
stons, one member of which, family was a signer of the
Declaration of Independence, and another played a star part
in the purchase of Louisiana. The line goes back, without
a break, to the Briices, of Scotland. On her father's side
Mrs. Kennedy inherits French Huguenot blood, an early
ancestor of that faith and nationality having settled in ]N^orth
Carolina, where his three daughters married respectively
a Hill, a Cannon and a Battle.
Mrs. Kennedy was born in Somerville, Tenn., but her
father having died, her mother returned to the Devereux
homestead in Carolina. There and at St. Mary's, Raleigh,
most of her childhood was spent, she having graduated from
the above named school at the age of sixteen. Mrs. Cannon
again removed to Tennessee and Sara, after teaching awhile,
was married, in 1888, to Mr. "Walker Kennedy, editor and
novelist. Almost all of their married life has been spent
in Memphis, Tenn., where Mr. Kennedy is editor-in-chief of
the leading newspaper. Mrs. Kennedy began her literary
career with "A Jamestown Romance," the first story that
had as a heroine one of the tobacco-bought wives of the early
colony. This ran as a serial in a magazine. Then shifting
her scene, she wrote a series of short Colonial stories, with
ISTew Berne and Hillsboro, IST. C, as the backgrounds. Her
two novels are "Jocelyn Cheshire" and "The Wooing of
Judith," both of which have won high praise from the critics.
She writes a great deal of verse, but has never collected this
class of her work into book form. As a reader she is ranked
with the best on the professional stage, although she appears
only as an amateur, reading her own stories and poems.
During the past year she has done very little with her pen
because of serious trouble with her eyes.
The North Carolina Booklet
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"Greene's Retreat," Prof. Daniel Harvey Hill.
Vol. II
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" Indian Massacre and Tuscarora War," Judge Walter Clark.
"Moravian Settlement in North Carolina," Rev. J. E. Clewell.
" Whigs and Tories," Prof. W. C. Allen.
"The Revolutionary Congresses," Mr. T. M. Pittman.
" Raleigh and the Old Town of Bloomsbury."
" Historic Homes—Bath, Buncomb Hall, Hays," Rodman, Blount,
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"County of Clarendon," Prof. John S. Bassett.
" Signal and Secret Service," Dr. Charles E. Taylor.
" Last Days of the War," Dr. Henry T. Bahnson.
Vol. Ill
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" Volunteer State Tennessee as a Seceder," Miss Susie Gentry.
"Historic Hillsboro," Mr. Francis Nash.
" Life in Colonial North Carolina," Charles Lee Raper, Ph. D.
"Was Alamance First Battle of the Revolution ? " Mrs. L. A. McCorkle.
" Governor Charles Eden," Marshall DeLancey Haywood.
" Colony of Transylvania." Judge Walter Clark.
"Social Conditions in Colonial North Carolina," Col. Alexander Q.
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" Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge, 1776," Prof. M. C. S. Noble.
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" Quaker Meadows," Judge A. C. Avery.
" Convention of 1788," Judge Henry Groves Connor.
" North Carolina Signers of Declaration of Independence, John Penn
and Joseph Hewes,'' by T. M. Pittman, and E. Walter Sikes.
" Expedition to Cartagena, 1740," Judge Walter Clark.
" First English Settlement in America," W. J, Peele.
"Rutherford's Expedition Against the Indians," Capt. S. A. Ashe.
" Changes in Carolina Coast Since 1585," Prof. Collier Cobb.
,' Highland Scotch Settlement in N. C," Judge James C. McRae.
"The Scotch-Irish Settlement," Rev. A. J. McKelway.
" Battle of Guilford Court-House and German Palatines in North Caro-lina,"
Major J. M. Morehead, Judge O. H. Allen.
Vol. v.— (Quarterly).
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"St. Paul's Church, Edenton, N. C, and its Associations," Richard
Dillard, M. D.
" N. C. Signers of the National Declaration of Independence, Part II,
William Hooper," Mrs. Spier Whitaker.
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" History of the Capitol," Colonel Charles Earl Johnson.
" Some Notes on Colonial North Carolina, 1700-1750," Colonel J. Bryan
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"North Carolina's Poets," Rev. Hight C. Moore.
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D. H. Hill.
" Celebration of the Anniversary of May 20, 1775," Major W. A.
Graham.
No. 4.
t' Governor Thomas Pollok." Mrs. John W. Hinsdale.
" Battle of Cowan's Ford," Major W. A. Graham.
" First Settlers in North Carolina not Religious Refugees," Rt. Rev,
Joseph Blount Cheshire, D. D.
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MEMBERS
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Raleigh, N. C.
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Commission wishes to be informed of the
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but if these can^iot be secured, arrangements will
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to the owners. The possessors of such documents
are urged to co-operate with the Commission in
their efforts to preserve and render available the
sources of the history of our State.
All cotnmunieations should be addressed to
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Based on the lines which govern
the growth of a child's intelligence
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DESIRABLE BOOKS
That Should be on the Shelves of the
Libraries of Every North Carolina Home
Lutie Andrews McCorkle's Old-Time Stories of the Old North.
State.
Warren's Stories from English History.
Pratt's America's Story for America's Children. Five Vols.
Katherine B. Massey's Story of Georgia.
Stone & Fickitt's Every Day Life in the Colonies.
Bass' Stories of Pioneer Life.
Horton's The Frozen North.
Kufifer's Stories of Long Ago.
Hyde's Favorite Greek Myths.
Firth's Stories of Old Greece.
Brown's Alice and Tom.
Stone & Pickett's Days and Deeds of a Hundred Years Ago,
Starr's Strange Peoples.
Starr's American Indians.
Fairbank's The Western U. S.
Heath's Home and School Classics ( 39 Vols, of the finest litera-ture
for young people in the world )
.
Eckstorms' Bird Book (a natural history of birds).
These or any other publications from our large and valuable list
may be secured from your local book seller or from
D. C. HEATH & COMPANY
225 Fourth Avenue
NEW YORK
iiilil isif i ill Mm
11
SAM'L A. ASHE, Editor-in-Chief CHAS. L. VAN NOPPEN, Publisher
GREENSBORO, N. C.
The publisher desires to say without fear of contradic-tion
that there has never been anywhere in the United
States any other State Biographical venture equalling
the Biographical History of North Carolina in scope,
selectness of subjects, excellence of literary and his-torical
matter and general mechanical and artistic
book-making.
The Biographical History will cover the entire history of the
State and will contain sketches signed by authoritative writers of
All the Governors.
All the Chief-Justices.
All the United States Senators.
All the Federal Judges.
All those who have held Cabinet and Diplomatic
positions.
Nearly all those distinguished in the Confederate service.
Nearly all the Supreme Court Justices.
Many of the Superior Court Judges.
Distinguished Generals, Military Men and Naval ofiBcers.
All the more prominent Editors, Educators, Ministers,
Authors, Doctors, Lawyers, Agriculturists and Politicians.
All the more prominent Industrial and Commercial
workers.
The most distinguished women.
In a word, as complete a publication as possible of all
those who have adorned the annals of North Carolina.
Write for Booklet of Reviews and Testimonials.
GHAS. L. VAN NOPPEN, Publisher,
GREENSBORO, North Catolina
Norrh Carolina Stare Library
Eaiejgh
TRENT'S SOUTHERN WRITERS _^
extensively used in Women's Clubs,
Should be on the shelves of every
public and private library.
^HE IVICMILLAN COMPANY
4th National Bank Building, ATLANTA, GA.
Send for descriptive circular or call and examine the books at our Summer School
text-book exhibit in Raleigh.
Miss Dixie Washington Leach
MINIATURES ON IVORY OR PORCELAIN
Access to State Library where copies can be made on Minia-ture
from old portraits.
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