August 5, 1933
THE STATE
OLD E DENTON-
Page-. Thirteen
Some Customs, Incidents ond
Episodes of its Early Days.
By RICHARD DILLARD DIXON
There are few towns
in America which are
richer in historical as¬
sociations than is Eden*
ton- -the Cradle of the
Colonies — beautifully
located near the junc¬
tion of the Chowan
River and Albemarle
Sound.
A progressive little
city, is the Edenton of
today, but passing gen¬
erations have witnessed
many changes in cus¬
toms, laws and other
things. It is interest¬
ing to look back to those
stirring days of the
early history of the
town and compare cus¬
toms with those of to¬
day. For instance:
A marriage in those
early days was something uot to be en¬
tered into lightly but was a ceremony
carrying many requirements ami legal
preparation. “That all regular Minis¬
ters of the Gospel of every Denomina¬
tion, having the CUKE OF SOULS,
shall be empowered to solemnize the
Rites of Matrimony; that any person
applying for a Marriage License shall
give bond, with sufficient security, in
the sum of Five Hundred Founds, with
condition that there is no lawful cause
to obstruct the marriage and that every
Minister is authorized to publish the
Banns three Sundays in the Congre¬
gation immediately after or during
divine worship and may demand and
take for his services the sum of four
shillings, and no more.”
In those days the process of getting
a shilling changed into pennies took
more time than is today required in
getting a long-distance call to San
Francisco. First the cashier at the old
bank would unlock a small door in the
brick wall; from this hole in the wall
is taken a brass key (weight two
pounds) ; with this key a massive
wooden door is opened; then an inner
door of steel is unlocked, exposing n
vault built into the house, a dungeon-
like place; then a lighted taper is
brought and within the recesses of the
vault an old hair-covered trunk is
opened and the change made.
Registrations of deeds and mortgages
awaited the sitting of the court, meet¬
ANCIENT St. Paul's Church — almost 200 years
still being used regularly for religious services,
of the best known landmarks of Edenton. (Pen
sketch by Louise Badham Dixon.)
old, and
It is one
and ink
ing four times a year and presided over
by the Chief Justice and the justices
of the peace of the county. No deed
or mortgage could be recorded until this
court went through a long examination
of the paper, hear sworn testimony of
the witnesses to the transaction and
question the parties thereto. If the
instrument was found in order and “in
compliance with His Majesty’s stat¬
utes in such cases made and provided,"
the paper-writing was with deep sol¬
emnity ordered spread upon the
records.
During its long history of two hun¬
dred and seventy-five years Edenton
naturally lias passed through many
vicissitudes of fortune. Fires, storms
and other calamities have taken their
toll but probably no one occurrence in
its career threw such apprehension of
certain doom into its inhabitants as
on a morning in April, 1781. On that
morning, as was his wont, Jeremiah
Mixson, 80-year-old town crier, started
on his daily rounds of the town. But
that day unusually shrill and nasal was
his voice ami there was a nervous
rapidity to the clang of his big bell
with which he called the |>cople to each
corner before crying out the news. The
citizens soon sensed that something out
of the ordinary was in the air. Infor¬
mation had come that a strong British
force, then near Suffolk, had orders to
proceed to Edeuton and to destroy it
for having been one of the centers of
resistance to English
authority. Panic en¬
sued. People ran to and
fro, knowing not what
to do. Alarms were
sounded, bells rung and
soon every man and
woman had congregated
on the green, seeking
some way to escape
their impending peril
and the loss of their
homes.
A small s|ieck is seen
at the mouth of the
Chowan and soon a
bateau touches the sand
on the shore of the bay.
Out jumped a messen¬
ger, telling the excited
crowd: "1 am from
Windsor. We, too, have
heard of Kdenton’s dan¬
ger. Our commission¬
ers invite you to take refuge in our
town. All public and private buildings
are offered you as shelter. Come."
Renewed activity and hope. The
people hastemnl to their homes and all
night the streets were filled with the
inhabitants, lugging their possessions
to the docks. All craft of every kind
were pressed into service. Into these
piled the folks with their belongings.
At dawn the strange armada moved
westward, headed for Windsor. Xo liv¬
ing jierson was left in the town. Even
the stock, dogs and cats were carried
away. For seven days tin; town was
like a city of the dead; houses empty,
streets and stores deserted. Windsor
was overrun, but the hospitable citi¬
zens there received the refugees and
made them as comfortable as means
and facilities permitted.
Then better news came. Cornwallis,
hard pressed on his way to his last
stand at Yorktown, recalled the Suf¬
folk detachment to his army; the in¬
tended invasion and destruction of the
town was rescinded; the people re¬
turned and Edenton still carries on.
Doesn't Fear Law
Lexington, — Here’s a thief who has
neither fear of nor respect for the law
and its enforcers. The home of County
Judge A. J. Xewton recently was
robbed during the night, the marauder
stealing a wrist watch, forty cents in
money, and a cedar chest.
