Two men lived in Caswell County, North Carolina, called A. A. Mitchell: Albert A. Mitchell; and Alfred A. Mitchell. Little is known about them, and there is much confusion because both were referred to in many records as A. A. Mitchell.
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The index to Historical Abstracts of Minutes of Caswell County, North Carolina 1777-1877, Katharine Kerr Kendall (1976) states that the following items are with respect to A. A. or Albert Mitchell (as differentiated from Alfred A. Mitchell). However, it is certainly possible that the A. A. Mitchell entries have been confused:
April 1854: A. A. Mitchell appointed Ranger.
April 1861: A. A. Mitchell licensed to retail liquor.
October: 1866: Execution of a deed from James Poteat, William Lea and James J. Womack to A. A.Mitchell for a house and lot in Yanceyville was duly acknowledged in court by the obligors and on motion was ordered to be registered.
April 1868: Allowed licenses to A. A. Mitchell and to Thomas Groom to retail ardent spirits in Yanceyville upon their entering into bond for $250.
April 4, 1870: Licenses to retail ardent spirits in Yanceyville granted to A. A. Mitchell, Thomas Groom, and Thomas Stephens.
July 3, 1871: James M. Poteat to oversee road from P [Public] Pump in Yanceyville to Red Bottom near Capt. Poteat's country residence with his hands and Hands of Dr. Roan, Dr. P. Roan, Rev. J. Doll, M. W. Norfleet, E. Graves' hands, A. A. Mitchell's, Z. rice, J. M. Swift, and R. H. Williamson, also Jerry Poteat, Henry Rucks, Lewis Evans, Capt. T. N. Jordan.
1850 Census - Town of Yanceyville. Names of persons residing in Yanceyville -- with occupation -- and in some instances place of birth if other than Caswell Co., and age. List mainly of households. See census for family members: A. A. Mitchell, House Carpenter, Virginia.
From Business Directory -- published by Branson and Farrar, Raleigh, N.C. Copy read at Dept. of Archives and History. Data relative to Yanceyville and Caswell County 1867-1868: A. A. Mitchell, proprietor Caswell Hotel.
Source: Historical Abstracts of Minutes of Caswell County, North Carolina 1777-1877, Katharine Kerr Kendall (1976) at 80, 92, 99, 102, 108, 111, 134, and 140.
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The index to Historical Abstracts of Minutes of Caswell County, North Carolina 1777-1877, Katharine Kerr Kendall (1976) states that the following items are with respect to Alfred A. Mitchell (as differentiated from A. A. or Albert A. Mitchell). However, it is certainly possible that the A. A. Mitchell entries have been confused:
April 1846: Alfred Mitchell resigned as Standard Keeper.
April 1849: Ordered that Alfred A. Mitchell be allowed $3 for laying of of public square.
October 1849: Alfred A. Mitchell allowed $142 for ceiling overhead in the court room.
April 1854: Alfred Mitchell allowed $3 for repairs to public stocks; A. A. Mitchell appointed Ranger.
January 1855: A. A. Mitchell licensed to sell spiritous liquors at his hotel in Yanceyville.
April 1858: Licensed to sell liquor: Alfred A. Mitchell in Yanceyville.
April 1860: A. A. Mitchell granted license to retail liquors at his Bar Rum [Room] in Yanceyville.
January 1862: Patrol for Yanceyville to act in squads: . . . 7th: T. B. Atkins, S. Crowder, H. W. Reinheart, Benjamin A. Lawson, and A. A. Mitchell.
October 7, 1868: A. A. Mitchell allowed $6 for repairs to Court House.
March 22, 1869: A. A. Mitchell to sell ardent spirits in Yanceyville.
March 22, 1869: A. A. Mitchell allowed $65 for putting a pump in the public well in Yanceyville. He covenants to keep same in good order.
March 6, 1871: $50 pd. A. A. Mitchell on acct.
The following persons are listed in the account book of Wyatt Walker as having procured goods or coach services from Mr. Walker between the years of 1854-1856: Capt. A. A. Mitchell.
Milton Chronicle (1857): A. A. Mitchell opened hotel in front of court house [in Yanceyville], named Caswell House.
Source: Historical Abstracts of Minutes of Caswell County, North Carolina 1777-1877, Katharine Kerr Kendall (1976) at 70, 74, 75, 80, 81, 84, 87, 91, 95, 103, 104, 110, 136, and 139.
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Next to enter service after the three companies from Caswell County in the Thirteenth Regiment was a unit known as "Caswell boys." It was enlisted on June 6, 1861, and sent to a camp of instruction near Company Shops (now Burlington). Shortly it became Company H, Sixth Regiment North Carolina State Troops. Captains at various times were Alfred A. Mitchell (a druggist in civilian life), William J. H. Durham, Thomas J. Ruffin; and Jeremiah A. Lea; lieutenants were Quintin T. Anderson, William Fleming Covington, Samuel P. Hill, Monroe Oliver, and Levi Hardy Walker. There were 192 non-commissioned officers and privates in the company.
A rather unusual personnel change in this unit occurred when Quintin T. Anderson, who had joined as a Second Lieutenant, resigned his commission in August, 1861, "by reason of disability." He was sufficiently recovered by February, 1862, to rejoin the company, this time as a private. In August, 1863, he was made regimental Sergeant Major, but three months later he was captured by the enemy and held in prison until the spring of 1865. This regiment was commanded by such distinguished men as Colonel Charles F. Fisher (who lost his life at the first battle of Manassas in 1861 while "gallantly leading his men"); William Dorsey Pender, who became a general; and Isaac E. Avery. . . . The history of this regiment in most respects parallels that of the Thirteenth, both being present at First Manassas, Seven Pines, and Gettysburg, and many places in between.
Source: When the Past Refused to Die: A History of Caswell County North Carolina 1777-1977, William S. Powell (1977) at 200-201.
Note the possibility that William S. Powell confused Alfred A. Mitchell and Albert A. Mitchell. In 1861, Alfred A. Mitchell, born c.1817, would have been around 44 years old. At that age, did he really enlist in the North Carolina State Troops? Note that this assumes that the following census records are with respect to Alfred A. Mitchell (showing a birth year of c.1817).
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1850 United States Federal Census
Name: A A Mitchell
Age: 33
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1817
Birth Place: Virginia
Gender: Male
Home in 1850 (City,County,State): Yanceyville, Caswell, North Carolina
Household Members: Name Age
Levi Chavis 11
A A Mitchell 33
Arkansas T Mitchell 3
Eunice Mitchell 33
G A Mitchell 9
John K Mitchell 5
Josephine A Mitchell 1
V F Mitchell 12
William D Mitchell 8
1860 United States Federal Census
Name: A A Mitchell
Age in 1860: 42
Birth Year: abt 1818
Birthplace: Virginia
Home in 1860: Yanceyville, Caswell, North Carolina
Gender: Male
Post Office: Yanceyville
Household Members: Name Age
A A Mitchell 42
Unice Mitchell 42
R W Hamlet 24
V A Hamlet 21
Wm D Mitchell 17
Arkansas Mitchell 12
P A Mitchell 4 (possibly Palo Alto Mitchell)
J H Johnston 26
W L Fowler 28
A Fowler 25
J G Fowler 3
M Phillips 23
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At the other end of the age bracket were newly eligible men between 45 and 50. One unit of such men from Caswell County was formed and it served as Company F, Seventy-Seventh Regiment (Senior Reserves). Most of the enlistments are dated June 23, 1864. The company commander was Captain A. A. Mitchell and the lieutenants were J. S. Glass, A. M. Fuller, and J. J. Chandler. There were 65 privates, and included among them were some distinguished names: Blackwell, Baynes, Coleman, Flintoff, Gwynn, Gunn, Gatewood, Graves, Hinton, Herndon, Jones, Lashley, Lunsford, Malone, Page, Pool, Rudd, Sartain, Strader, Stamps, Stephens, Walker, Warren, and Yates. The record of this regiment is not always clear, but it seems to be correct to say that it was used at first on guard duty at the Confederate prison in Salisbury, later to round up deserters in the Cane Creek Mountains of southern Alamance County, and finally to help defend Savannah, Georgia, when Sherman's forces approached. The men afterwards headed toward home ahead of the Federal army as it swept through the defenseless South. They were participants in the Battle of Bentonville. A comparison of the rosters of the Junior Reserves and the Senior Reserves presents the distinct possibility that there may have been several fathers and sons engaged in that three-day fight. The regiment rested near Smithfield and then made its way to Raleigh where the men were given twenty-day furloughs which in effect were discharges.
Source: When the Past Refused to Die: A History of Caswell County North Carolina 1777-1977, William S. Powell (1977) at 209.
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Clinton [Masonic] Lodge, No. 107, meeting in Yanceyville, was chartered in December, 1842, and among is members were Junius Dillworth, Richard Ferguson, James L. Graves, William P. Womack, William A. Lea, Henry Willis, James H. Atkinson, Wm. R. Neal, James Clark, Moses Clark, N. M. Roan, Virgil M. Rainey, John A. Graves, Alfred A. Mitchell, and Alfred M. Ellington. . . .
Source: When the Past Refused to Die: A History of Caswell County North Carolina 1777-1977, William S. Powell (1977) at 425.
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Below are combined the entries shown above for Albert A. Mitchell and Alfred A. Mitchell to allow chronological comparisons:
April 1846: Alfred Mitchell resigned as Standard Keeper.
October 1849: Alfred A. Mitchell allowed $142 for ceiling overhead in the court room.
1850 Census - Town of Yanceyville. Names of persons residing in Yanceyville -- with occupation -- and in some instances place of birth if other than Caswell Co., and age. List mainly of households. See census for family members: A. A. Mitchell, House Carpenter, Virginia.
April 1854: A. A. Mitchell appointed Ranger.
April 1854: Alfred Mitchell allowed $3 for repairs to public stocks; A. A. Mitchell appointed Ranger. [Note the distinction here between Alfred Mitchell and A. A. Mitchell.]
The following persons are listed in the account book of Wyatt Walker as having procured goods or coach services from Mr. Walker between the years of 1854-1856: Capt. A. A. Mitchell.
January 1855: A. A. Mitchell licensed to sell spiritous liquors at his hotel in Yanceyville.
Milton Chronicle (1857): A. A. Mitchell opened hotel in front of court house [in Yanceyville], named Caswell House.
April 1858: Licensed to sell liquor: Alfred A. Mitchell in Yanceyville.
April 1860: A. A. Mitchell granted license to retail liquors at his Bar Rum [Room] in Yanceyville.
April 1861: A. A. Mitchell licensed to retail liquor.
January 1862: Patrol for Yanceyville to act in squads: . . . 7th: T. B. Atkins, S. Crowder, H. W. Reinheart, Benjamin A. Lawson, and A. A. Mitchell.
October: 1866: Execution of a deed from James Poteat, William Lea and James J. Womack to A. A. Mitchell for a house and lot in Yanceyville was duly acknowledged in court by the obligors and on motion was ordered to be registered.
From Business Directory -- published by Branson and Farrar, Raleigh, N.C. Copy read at Dept. of Archives and History. Data relative to Yanceyville and Caswell County 1867-1868: A. A. Mitchell, proprietor Caswell Hotel.
October 7, 1868: A. A. Mitchell allowed $6 for repairs to Court House.
April 1868: Allowed licenses to A. A. Mitchell and to Thomas Groom to retail ardent spirits in Yanceyville upon their entering into bond for $250.
March 22, 1869: A. A. Mitchell to sell ardent spirits in Yanceyville.
March 22, 1869: A. A. Mitchell allowed $65 for putting a pump in the public well in Yanceyville. He covenants to keep same in good order.
April 4, 1870: Licenses to retail ardent spirits in Yanceyville granted to A. A. Mitchell, Thomas Groom, and Thomas Stephens.
March 6, 1871: $50 pd. A. A. Mitchell on acct.
July 3, 1871: James M. Poteat to oversee road from P [Public] Pump in Yanceyville to Red Bottom near Capt. Poteat's country residence with his hands and Hands of Dr. Roan, Dr. P. Roan, Rev. J. Doll, M. W. Norfleet, E. Graves' hands, A. A. Mitchell's, Z. rice, J. M. Swift, and R. H. Williamson, also Jerry Poteat, Henry Rucks, Lewis Evans, Capt. T. N. Jordan.
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The [Azariah Graves] storehouse [in Yanceyville] was apparently a common type of architecture in Yanceyville before 1860. Mentioned in deeds and minutes are the storehouse of Thomas D. Johnston, Calvin D. Vernon on NW side of the square; of William Childs a cabinetmaker, south of the square, and of Alfred A Mitchell on SW corner of the square -- all now demolished. No brick structure in Yanceyville can be proved to be older than this building.
Source: The Heritage of Caswell County, North Carolina, Jeannine D. Whitlow, Editor (1985) at 329 (Article #409, "A. Yancey Kerr" by George Yancey Kerr).
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