financial straits the greater part of his
life "and. if tradition be true, the deci¬
sion reflected great credit upon Stokes,
indicating he held a high view of the
responsibly of the office . . ."
Elected Again
Stokes was elected again to the U.S.
Senate in 1816 and served with distinc¬
tion till 1823.
A Virginia native, he lived in Halifax.
Salisbury and Wilkes County and died
in Oklahoma while serving as U.S.
Commissioner of Indian Affairs. In be¬
tween for 56 years he held public posts
of responsibility and importance, in¬
cluding legislator, governor, senator and
boundary commissioner.
Historians say few men were as pop¬
ular and influential, both socially and
politically, as Stokes; and. though in¬
dolent. his superior abilities character¬
ized every job from 1786 when he was
named assistant State Senate clerk,
through tenure as a Superior Court
Clerk, general of the N.C. Militia, and
chief Senate Clerk 1799-1816.
As well. Stokes was an able boundary
commissioner over a long period of
years, beginning in 1805. to settle, first,
the boundary between North and South
Carolina and later, in 1819. that between
North Carolina and Tennessee.
He had moved to Wilkes County in
1812. and represented it in the State
Senate session of 1826 and in the House
of Commons 1829 and 1830. In the lat¬
ter year Stokes was elected Governor
over Richard Dobbs Spaight. Jr., and
served two terms, being succeeded by
David L. Swain when he accepted the
Indian affairs appointment by his old
friend President Andrew Jackson. They
had been boon companions in Salis¬
bury. Two years later he moved to Fort
Gibson. OK (now Muskogee) where for
ten years he supervised settling south¬
ern Indian tribes west of the Mississippi
and negotiating treaties and boundaries
between the tribes. There he died in
1842 at age 80.
Neglected By Historians
It’s recorded that President Jackson
wanted to name him Ambassador to
Mexico in 1824 but could not because
Stokes "sometimes dissipated at a card
table." An anecdote concerns a son.
Montfort Sidney Stokes, returning to
Fort Gibson after a long absence, and
Stokes being so absorbed in a card
game that he did not greet his son till
the hand was over.
Stokes had been variously described
as a "man of genius, learning and cour¬
age," "talents and superior abilities" but
24
known also for his "early habits." "taste
for less sedative employments, "rollick
ing disposition predominating over his
belter qualities."
Historian Henderson cites Stokes also
as an "extraordinary illustration of ne¬
glect" by North Carolina historians. He
reveals that four differ as to his birth¬
place. three as to the spelling of his sur¬
name. and some mention him only in
passing as they review the period in
w'hich he lived and served.
And would you believe it! There was
yet another elected Tar Heel to the U.S.
Cameo
Pottery
Is
Back
Contemporary versions
e«*ho the* tamed Pisgah
Forest work.
By BOII CONWAY
For a number of years some of the
most highly prized art pottery in the
U.S. was “American Cameo" produced
by Walter B. Stephen at his Pisgah For¬
est Pottery near Asheville.
("Cameo" is somewhat similar to
English Wedgwood jasper ware — with
white raised figures on a dark back¬
ground. The primary difference is that
Mr. Stephen created most of his figures
by hand — painting them on the pot¬
tery' in layers with a sharp brush — in
contrast to his English counterparts,
who utilize characters formed in a
mold.)
Mr. Stephen died in 1961. and since
then none of his cameo pottery has been
available except for a few pieces which
turn up occasionally at antique shops,
auctions, or estate sales.
Collectors who never expected to sec
any more new cameo pottery' are now
happy to learn that not one but two
comtemporary versions of this art form
are now being produced in North Car-
Senate who declined to serve.
According to Henderson, in 1814
Judge Francis Locke of Rowan County
was named to succeed Sen. David
Stone. When he set off in his sulky for
Washington, the weather was very bad
and the roads in a shocking condition.
Reaching Lexington he mired up and
had so much difficulty in extricating his
sulky from the mud. which was up to
the hubs, that he turned around and
returned to Salisbury, muttering, "I
don’t want to be United States Senator.
The game's not worth the candle." He
never qualified, and Nathaniel Macon
was named to fill the vacancy’.
The covered wagon was a favorite subject of
Walter B. Stephen as depicted on this
•'Amorican Cameo" vase produced in 1943 at
the Pisgah Forest Pottery near Asheville.
(Photo by Nick Lanier)
olina: one in the Piedmont and one in
the mountains.
"Carolina Cameo”
Catawba County, near Hickory, is the
home base of two talented women: pot¬
ter Marjorie Pittman of Startown and
porcelain artist Judy Petrie of Conover,
who collaborate in the creation of "Car¬
olina Cameo."
Each piece of their work makes three
trips between their homes, which arc
10 miles
арап.
Majorie turns the basic
pottery on a wheel in her basement
workshop. It then goes to Judy, who ap¬
plies the exterior glaze and paints the
cameo figures. Back it goes to Mar
THE STATE. JANUARY 1985
