Influential nineteenth century black politician from Caswell County, North Carolina.
Corbett, Maurice N. The Harp of Ethiopia. Nashville: National Baptist Publishing Board, 1914. 1st Edition. Bound in dark red cloth with gilt decoration and printing, the book is clean, straight & tight. Pages are browned and rather fragile, there are two or three pages with tiny edge tears. Light rubbing and wear at the corners and spine ends. On the front endpage, there is an inscription by the author's child, it is unknown whether it was a boy or girl as initials are used for the first name. The inscription reads "To Dr. & Mrs........ of Muskogee, Okla. Complements of .. Corbett, Works of My late Father Maurice H. Corbett of Washington, D.C. This is a very uncommon book, the only one published by this African-American author -- it is a 7,500 line poem on the black man in America. 8" x 5 1/2"; 276 pages.
"The county Republican convention was held in the courthouse on September 23, 1888. The Caswell News three days later reported that James W. Poe (a black) was made chairman, the Rev. A. L. Johnston, secretary, and the Hon. M. N. Corbett, assistant secretary. A caucus was held and votes taken to determine the strength of various candidates for office. On the floor of the convention Wilson Carey was nominated for the House of Representatives by a vote of 14 to 13 for Corbett. Felix Roan was nominated for Register of Deeds and George O. Wilson for county treasurer. An attempt was made to nominate J. T. Donoho for sheriff by acclamation, but failed and no nomination was made. B. S. Graves, the incumbent, was heavily favored, however. The newspaper reported that the convention adjourned in confusion."
Source: When the Past Refused to Die: A History of Caswell County North Carolina 1777-1977, William S. Powell (1977) at 261.
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1900 United States Federal Census
Name: Maurice N Corbett
Home in 1900: Washington, Washington, District of Columbia
Age: 41
Birth Date: Mar 1859
Birthplace: North Carolina
Race: Black
Ethnicity: American
Gender: Male
Relationship to Head of House: Head
Father's Birthplace: North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace: North Carolina
Spouse's Name: Elvira G
Marriage year: 1885
Marital Status: Married
Years Married: 15
Residence : Washington City, Washington, District of Columbia
Household Members: Name Age
Maurice N Corbett 41
Elvira G Corbett 35
Elbert C Corbett 14
Mary H Corbett 15
Bryan W Thorpe 44
1910 United States Federal Census
Name: Maurice N Corbett
Age in 1910: 51
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1859
Birthplace: North Carolina
Relation to Head of House: Head
Father's Birth Place: North Carolina
Mother's Birth Place: North Carolina
Spouse's Name: Elvira G
Home in 1910: Precinct 9, Washington, District of Columbia
Marital Status: Married
Race: Black
Gender: Male
Household Members: Name Age
Maurice N Corbett 51
Elvira G Corbett 44
Lillie B Corbett 9
Katie B Gunn 50
James T Kendall 32
J Langston Kendall 11
1920 United States Federal Census
Name: Maurice N Corbett
Home in 1920: Washington, Washington, District of Columbia
Age: 60 years
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1860
Birthplace: North Carolina
Relation to Head of House: Head
Spouse's Name: Elvira G
Father's Birth Place: North Carolina
Mother's Birth Place: North Carolina
Marital Status: Married
Race: Black
Sex: Male
Home owned: Rent
Able to read: Yes
Able to Write: Yes
Household Members: Name Age
Maurice N Corbett 60
Elvira G Corbett 54
Lilie Belle Corbett 19
Pollie S Hensley 22
Eugenia N Hensley 14
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The following was posted to the Caswell County Historical Association Message Board by Priscilla Caris 29 August 2009:
My grandmother was Ruth Poteat Bender, daughter of James and Emily Moore Poteat. In her papers were six small typed onionskin copies that were about a Maurice N. Corbett. I do not know for certain who the writer was, but it probably was my grandmother. It is prefaced with this paragraph:
The letter and poem were written by Maurice N. Corbett, whose mother was a slave and owned by my grandfather, Captain James Poteat, of Yanceyville, Caswell County, North Carolina, and in the poem he is referring to my father, James Preston Poteat, my uncles, Dr. William Louis Poteat, of Wake Forest College, Dr. Edwin M. Poteat, of Furman University and my aunts, Linnie and Ida Poteat. Aunt Linnie died in early womanhood and Aunt Ida was the head of the Art Department of Meridith College from its opening until her death, February 1, 1940.
What follows is a letter from Maurice N. Corbett to Ida Poteat:
653 Acker Street, Washington, D.C.
May 22, 1908
Dear Miss Ida:
I heard that your mother was somewhere in the Mountains and was sorely afflicted with paralysis.
I have been meditating upon the duty of each member of a well reared family and I have concluded that I have been derelict both in the performance and of the true conception of said duty.
Of course you remember that I was adopted by your sainted father to be the "Black Sheep" of the family, as he had reared a family free from the blighting influences which tend to destroy the moral fabric upon which upright lives are erected. I send to you a poem composed by me, and which bespeaks my sentiments and will be a reminder to you that I have always held the family to be superior to all of the descendants of father Adam. I also send an invitation to the graduating exercises of the Howard University Law School, when my son will take his degree and don the gown and hood of the L.L.B.
Please remember me to every member of the family. I am so very interested in everything you do.
Aunt Kate is with me and she is always speaking of "Miss July and the babes." I wish is was possible for her to spend her last days near your mother because she cares more for her than she does for her own old mistress.
Will someone answer this that I may know it is received in the spirit it is sent?
(Signed) Maurice N. Corbett
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Note: Aunt Kate referred to in the foregoing letter is thought to be Kate B. (Katie) Gunn, who is identified in the 1910 US Federal Census (District of Columbia) as a 50-year-old aunt of Maurice N. Corbett (widowed, female, mulatto, born in North Carolina).
Dear Group:
I wonder if anyone knows anything about a man named Maurice N. Corbett, born roughly in 1860 in Caswell County. He was an African-American, taught schools in Yanceyville, was an organizer for the Republican Party, was elected to the state legislature, and then worked in Washington D.C. first for Congressman Tom Settle and then for the printing office. He also wrote a book of poems called The Harp of Ethiopia, which was published in the 1910s in a small run.
I am an historian and am writing a scholarly book on North Carolina politics in the 19th century and have become interested in Corbett first through his letters to Settle, preserved in the Settle Papers at UNC, and then through his book of poetry and a few colorful mentions in state newspapers (when Settle named Corbett his private secretary, it caused a stir in the press since he replaced a white man.)
If any one knows anything about Corbett or has connections to any of his descendants (if they still live in the area) I would be very grateful. I would love to get just a little more background on him and to share what I know with anyone connected to him.
Thank you for your time and attention.
Sincerely,
Gregory Downs
Assistant Professor of History
The City College of New York
gregorydowns1@juno.com
27 May 2008
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The following is placed here for research purposes only. Note that the birth date precludes this person from being the Maurice Nathaniel Corbett born March 1859:
1900 United States Federal Census
Name: Maurice Corbett
Home in 1900: Yanceyville, Caswell, North Carolina
Age: 14
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1886
Birthplace: North Carolina
Relationship to head-of-house: Boarder
Race: Black
Household Members: Name Age
Ed Mebane 42
Arnie J Mebane 35
Bessie L Mebane 15
Maurice Corbett 14
Alice Bigelow 14
Cardice Bigelow 9
Bettie Bigelow 1
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From the papers of Ruth Isabella Poteat Bender
"The Black Sheep" by Maurice N. Corbett
May 22, 1908
Washington, D.C.
He who in distant countries roam
Life’s curios to seek,
Can find near his native home
A puzzling nature freak
As great as weeds upon the sea
Or burning mountain steep,
Should he beneath the spreading tree,
Behold a large black sheep.
The animals of earth we find,In color disagree;
Though of a kindred stock or kind,
Opposing hues we see,
The birds that navigate the air,
The monsters of the deep,
Are robed in rainbow colors rare,
But white should be the sheep.
Nor does God’s greatest product - man,
This novelty escape
Of joining nature’s misfit plan,
In color and in shape;
Some there are good and there are some
Themselves in vices steep,
Till the disgraced, are called at home,
The family Black Sheep.
In almost every home we see
Sad lines upon the face
Of mother, for the child which she
Sees bringing her disgrace;
Though seeming not to have a care,
The heart wound is as deep
And lasting as the garments are
Of that despised black sheep.
A family do I recall
In Carolina mild,
Which was a model, one and all,
Without a wayward child.
The father was an upright man
Throughout his useful life;
The mother proved God’s ideal plan
For Maid and wife.
The oldest child was Preston, who
Was modest and refined;
The world’s dark ways he never knew,
Nor unto sin inclined.
The second, Louis, from his youth
Was very near a Saint,
A lover of the right and truth,
Whom sin could never taint.
Next came our darling Ida gay,
To be of children third;
Though many suitors came her way,
She single life preferred.
In childhood ne’er was she reproved
For mind on mischief set;
In womanhood was she beloved,
And all men love her yet.
The playful Edward, fourth was he
To join this bright array,
And those false prophets said he’d be
The one to go astray;
And though from morning until night
He’d dance and run and play
And if imposed upon, would fight,
He failed to go astray.
The last was winsome Linnie dear,
An angel from her birth,
Too good to dwell with mortals here
Upon this sinful earth;
And when upon her cheeks, the bloom
Of womanhood was seen,
Was called her body to the tomb,
Her soul to pastures green.
So good was this whole family,
(This thought I will not hide)
That I believe quite honestly
That they were sanctified.
Within the village, every one
Was chatting of their ways,
The white, the black, the old the young,
Naught else could do but praise.
But trouble filled that father’s heart
Which would not roll away,
For of the thought was he possessed
That one must go astray.
In every home, it mattered not
How much might parents weep
That home could not remove the blot
Of raising one black sheep.
So presently, that good old man
Began to ruminate,
As how ‘twere best that he should plan
To miss so sad a fate.
At length, within his anxious mind,
The thought began to creep
That he’d adopt, if he could find
Somewhere, a real black sheep.
A colored youth dwelt on that place,
An orphan, though supplied
With aunts and uncles, who with grace
Would for his wants provide.
The good man said this urchin, he
Would in his household keep,
And rear him tenderly, to be
The family black sheep.
Thus Maurice, in the house was reared.
And this good man obeyed,
The comforts of the home he shared,
And with the children played.
Him imitative nature soon,
The fact began to tell,
That it would proved his greatest boon,
With these good folks to dwell.
That father, as the children grew,
Would point to them with pride,
And boast that he was one of few
Who nature’s Law defied;
The black sheep that must bring disgrace,
His flock would never know
For he had reared one black of face
But white his deeds would show.
The years roll by, the father sees
That stage in life begin
When must his seed take their degrees
As women and as men.
Life’s duties call, they must obey,
And leave this pleasant home,
And for man’s uplift, far away
In other fields must roam.
Our Preston tried, by business,
A family to raise,
But honesty is profitless
In these ungodly days.
Our Louis, true to Horoscope,
Donned a Professor’s gown
And with the dainty Microscope,
Has won the world’s renown.
Amongst the Baptist ministry
Of this and other lands,
For culture known, and piety,
Our noble Edward stands.
With brush and easel well in hand,
Has Ida leaped to fame,
And mongst great artists of the land
Won for herself a name.
Loved Linnie, as I’ve said before,
With happy angel bands,
Before the throne on Canaan’s shore,
With love, enraptured stands.
The Black Sheep, Maurice, whimsical
To public life inclined,
And at the Nation’s Capital
To duty is assigned.
The Black Sheep’s hand has penned these lines
That he may doubly prove
Unto that flock and other minds,
How deep is set his love.
Though storms of racial hate may rise,
And waves of distrust sweep the deck,
Unsevered are the ties,
Which bind this flock of sheep.
That father has to Canaan gone,
With Linnie dear to be,
And there before the Savior’s throne,
He’s waiting patiently
The Shepherd’s calling of the roll
Of those who trouble stood,
And landed safe within the fold
Through His own precious blood.
And when the flock receives the call,
The black sheep with the rest,
Down at the Savior’s feet will fall
To be forever blest;
And when on golden pinions bright,
They through the heavens sweep,
Sailing in robes of spotless white
Will be this saved Black Sheep.
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The Harp of Ethiopia (for sale October 2009)
8022 National Baptist Publishing Board Nashville 1914 1st Edition VG+/NONE Hardcover; 1st Printing 10, 20, 42, 49, 51, 60 1st edition/1st printing. On the front endpage, there is an inscription by the author's child, it is unknown whether it was a boy or girl as initials are used for the first name. The inscription reads "To Dr. & Mrs. ........ of Muskogee, Okla., Complements of .. Corbett, Works of My late Father Maurice H. Corbett of Washington, D.C.". Bound in dark red cloth with gilt decoration and printing, the book is clean, straight & tight. Pages are browned and rather fragile, there are two or three pages with tiny edge tears. Light rubbing and wear at the corners and spine ends. This is a very uncommon book, the only one published by this African-American author -- it is a 7,500 line poem on the black man in America. ; 8" x 5 1/2"; 276 pages $450.00USD
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