Tate's School (Stoney Creek Township, Caswell County, NC)

 

 

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Tate's School (Stoney Creek Township,   Caswell County, NC)

 Source: The Caswell Messenger (Yanceyville, NC), 1972.

"The Buckle" by Jeffery D. Murrie

 The Buckle! 

For many years I assumed it was a copy, because how would anyone be in possession of a buckle that belonged to their gg grandfather [William Washington Murrie]? Well, after being "lost" at my parents house for a few years it finally reappeared about 12 years ago and I decided to take "guardianship" of the item. I searched online for information and was surprised with its rarity and value, thus again assuming it must be a copy.

I searched for an appraiser who would look and everyone said Rafael Eledge from PBS "Antique Roadshow" would be the only person to trust in authenticating and he only does that in person. As luck would have it, Mr. Eledge was attending the annual Civil War show in Charleston, SC and I asked by email if he would take a look at something for me and he agreed. So, off to Charleston I drove to meet Mr. Eledge!

He was not hard to locate due to his popularity on "Antique Roadshow." I approached him and introduced myself and presented him with a small box. Inside rested the buckle. He held the unopened box in his hand and asked how I came to have it. I explained that W. W. Murrie was my great-great-grandfather and it was in the possession of his grandson, Fran Thomas Murrie until it came to me. He opened the box and took the buckle over to a digital scale and nodded in the affirmative! He then measured the buckle, again nodding in the affirmative! His last procedure was to take out a jewelers loop to examine the back and again nodded in the affirmative! He handed me the buckle and smiled saying "You have an authentic buckle and you are very lucky to have something that connects you to your great-great grandfather."

My question was how was he so sure? Mr. Eledge said it had the correct weight and measurements and the back still had particles of the tar that was applied to the back when the buckle was made and for him the evidence of the tar was definitive. Needless to say, I was a very happy person! He then asked what else I had that may have belonged to W. W. Murrie and I started to name them: His coin silver pocket watch, c1870, three images, a coin silver match safe, part of medal (visible in the case with the buckle) and a ribbon from a veterans reunion c.1921. His parting words where, "Do you know how many people at this show would like to own just one item from a Civil War ancestor and you possess so many?"

I am just the caretaker for the time being and glad to share.

Jeffery D. Murrie

Florence, South Carolina

May 13, 2020

North Carolina Illustrated, 1524-1984 by H. G. Jones (1983)

Jones, H. G., North Carolina Illustrated, 1524-1984. Chapel Hill (NC): University of North Carolina Press, 1983. 

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Semora School (Caswell County, North Carolina)

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Semora School (Caswell County, NC) -- Probably 6th and 7th Grades

 (Left-to-Right):

First (front) Row

Willie Allen Wagstaff (1915-1995), son of Willie Hall Wagstaff and Nannie Bell Thomas, married Hazel Mae Barker

Colonel Jasper Owen, Jr. (1921-1967), son of Colonel Jasper Owen and Ruby Virginia Groves, married Janie Clara Stowe

John Morrison Allen (1920-1950), son of Clyde Dodson Allen and Swannie Wilson Taylor, never married 

Luther Guthrie/Gutherie: no more is known

Second (back) Row

John Floyd Mansfield (1919-1987), son of Robert Lee Mansfield and Mary Ann Smith, married Martha Leslye Walker

John Foster (Cotton) Pointer (1920-1999), son of John Luther Pointer and Cora Lee Foster, married Frankie Louise Northcott

Jack Lea Pointer, Sr. (1920-1995), son of Clarence Wimbush Pointer and Willie Susan Lea, married Mary Frances Adams

Aubrey Joseph Barker (1917-1982), son of Thomas Benjamin Barker and Annie Susan Fullington, married Bessie Lee McCann

James Cecil Pointer (1920-1943), son of William Williams Pointer and Luna Emma Allen, apparently never married (died in World War II)

Joseph William (Billy) Chandler, son of Claude Gunn Chandler and Freda Brown Pointer, married Mable Yeatts 

Row Town Store (Caswell County, NC)

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Row Town Store

At one time the Row Town store purportedly was operated by brothers John Scott Blackwell (1820-1900) and James Scott Blackwell (1822-1892).

"Row" is pronounced as with respect to altercations and not boat propulsion.

The Row Town community apparently was so called because some residents there would cause disturbances, brawls, and commotion. Some locals claimed drunkenness led to trouble in the area. As of 1979, the store was still standing (but decaying near the edge of the highway on the Ruffin-Quick Road). It has been used as a dwelling and to store feed. A man named Grandleson Mitchell once clerked at the store and lived in the nearby Joseph Felix Womack home.

From J. Clayton Blackwell (undated):

John Scott Blackwell (1820-1900) was the son of Garland and Mary Scott Blackwell. He married Eliza Jane Jarrell (called Jennie) in 1860. John and his brother Jim ran a store called "Row Town Store." This store still stands on the John S. Blackwell farm. This farm was inherited by his grandson, John Reid Blackwell.

Gatewood Is Sheriff of Caswell County, NC (1930)

Gatewood Is Sheriff of Caswell County, NC

Initials are incorrect. The name is John Yancey Gatewood. Source: The Bee  (Danville, VA), 5 November 1930, p. 2.

Other names mentioned: George Anderson (Clerk of Court); C. W. Higgins (Solicitor); S. Porter Graves; E. A. Hatchett; Bailey; Frank Congress; E. A. Allison; E. W. Carter; B. S. Graves; J. T. Buntin; E. S. Walton; and W. P. Cook.

Gatewood Coal Co. (Danville, VA)

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 In the 1955 advertisement: Ed Gatewood; Mrs. Ed Gatewood (Ota Hunter Gatewood); Mrs. Waynell Dix; James Kernoodle; Clem Walker; Alfred Allen; and Willie Garrett.

Ed Gatewood is Edwin Edison Gatewood (1906-1959).

The "Heritage of Caswell County" provides: "Operated Gatewood Coal Company at the dry bridge in south Danville, Virginia, for many years."

"This month marks the 25th year of serving the people of Danville and this community. We have endeavored to supply the best coal we could obtain and give the best service possible. A quarter of a century is a fairly long time, and I sincerely appreciate the patronage and good will of all customers during these 25 years. I sincerely hope it will be my privilege to continue for many more years. ED GATEWOOD"

Edwin Edison Gatewood is the second-great grandson of Dudley Gatewood in whose Caswell County home slept US President George Washington.

Caswell Academy 1802

Caswell Academy (Caswell County, NC) 1802

An Act to Establish an Academy at the Court House in Caswell County. 1802 - Chapter XXXVII The Laws of North Carolina of 1802 - Page 25

Whereas a number of the citizens of said county, are desirous of establishing an Academy for the promotion of Learning, at the court house aforesaid, having by subscription, erected a convenient building on a lot appropriated to that purpose, and Trustees being already appointed by the subscribers to carry the same into effect, and it is proper that they should be incorporated, therefore:

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of North Carolina, and it is hereby enaced by the authority of the same, That Thomas Donoho, Solomon Graves, Jesse Carter, Alexander Murphy, David Mitchell, Richard Sampson, Marmaduke Williams, Michael Montgomery, John McAden, James Yancey and Henry Atkinson, esquires, shall be, and they are hereby declared to be a body politic and corporate, to be known and distinguished by the name of "The Trustees of the Caswell Academy," and by that name shall have perpetual succession; and that they, the Trustees, and their successors by the name aforesaid, or a majority of them, shall be able and capable in law, to take, demand, receive and possess all monies, goods and chattels that shall be given for the use of the said Academy, and the same apply according to the will of the donors; and by gift, purchase or devise, to take, have, receive, possess and enjoy and retain to them and their successors forever, any lands, rents, tenements and hereditaments of what kind or nature soever, in special trust and confidence, that the same or the profits thereof, be applied to and for the use and purposes of establishing and endowing the said Academy.

II. And be it further enacted, That the said Trustees, or a majority of them, shall have the power to make such laws and regulations for the government of the said Academy, and the preservation of order and good morals therein, as are usually made in such Seminaries, and as to them may appear necessary, and shall be able and capable to act and do all things whatever for the promotion of said Seminary, in as full and ample manner, as any body politic or corporate can or may by law.

III. And be it further enacted, That upon the death, resignation, inability, refusal to act, or removal of any of the said Trustees, it may be lawful for the remaining Trustees, or a majority of them, to elect others in the room of such Trustee dead, resigned, refusing to act, unable to attend or removal, and that the Trustee or Trustees so elected, shall have equal power, authority and capacity with the Trustees hereby appointed. 

Read three times and ratified in General Assembly, the 17th day of December, Anno Domini, 1802 William White, Secretary

Joseph Riddick, S.S.

Stephen Cabarrus, S.H.C.

Sheriffs of Caswell County, NC

SHERIFFS OF CASWELL COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA

Tony Durden Jr. 2017-present

Michael L. Welch 2002-2017

James Isaac Smith, Jr. 1978-2002

Bobby E. Poteat 1966-1978

Frank B. Daniel 1958-1966

Lynn Banks Williamson 1953-1958

J. Whitt Powell 1951-1953

John Y. Gatewood 1950-1951

John H. Gunn 1936-1950

John Y. Gatewood 1929-1936

John H. Gunn 1920-1929

Will Burton 1919-1920

Thomas Nathaniel Fitch 1907-1919

Abner Walker Fitch 1900-1907

John T Donoho 1894-1900

T. P. Womack 1891-1894

Barzillai Graves 1879-1891

Jesse C. Griffith 1860-1879

Christian Strader 1856-1860

Jesse C. Griffith 1856

Frank A. Wiley 1850-1856

John K. Brooks 1842-1850

Thomas L. Lea 1832-1842

George Williamson 1815-1832

Nathan Williams 1814-1815

John Stamps 1806-1814

Archibald Samuel 1805-1806

Samuel Johnson 1804-1805

William Rainey 1802-1804

Gabriel Lea 1801-1802

William Muzzle 1799-1801

James Williamson 1797-1799

Azariah Graves 1795-1797

Adam Sanders 1793-1795

William Swift 1792-1793

Thomas Brooks 1790-1792

Spillsby Coleman 1789-1790

Robert Parks 1787-1789

James Saunders 1785-1787

John Douglas 1783-1785

David Shelton 1780-1783

James Rice 1780

John Atkinson 1780

Thomas Rice 1779-1780

David Shelton 1777-1779

Caswell County Elections 1966

Caswell County Elections 1966 

Aldridge May Not Seek Re-Election To Caswell Board of Commissioners: Poteat Candidate For Sheriff

Yanceyville, N.C. -- Irvin Aldridge, chairman of the Caswell County Board of Commissioners, said Thursday he doubts that he will seek re-election. Aldridge is a candidate for president of the North Carolina Jaycees. If he wins that post, "something's got to give," he said. He said he wants to discuss the matter with other members of the board next Monday before making an official statement, "but as of right now, I'm not running." As Aldridge has all but bowed out of the May 28 Democratic primary, to other candidates entered.

One of these is Bobby Poteat, who said he will oppose Frank Daniel as sheriff. The other is Weldon Duncan, a Yanceyville businessman, who declared for Aldridge's seat on the Board of Commissioners. Duncan's decision to run for commissioner was not made in consultation with Aldridge, however.

Oscar Watlington, a former member of the board from Yanceyville, is reported considering seeking his old seat back.

Poteat's announcement assured Caswell of at least one county contest in the upcoming primary.

It could be a lively one. Poteat, who lives at Providence, has been under pressure for some time to challenge Daniel and is expected to give Daniel his most serious competition since Daniel first was elected in 1958. Poteat served as a deputy under Daniel until last month when he resigned. Before becoming a deputy in August, 1957, he was a constable of Dan River Township.

A member of Providence Baptist Church, he married the former Margaret Murphy in 1950. They have a son, 6, and daughter, 11. He served in the Army during the Korean War.

Sheriff Daniel announced this week that Brooks Arnold, 57, of Pelham, has been appointed deputy sheriff to succeed Poteat.

Duncan has been active in numerous civic affairs in the county since returning here after World War II. The Army veteran was president of the Caswell County Fair Association for two years, held every office in the Caswell Jaycees, including president, and has held offices, including commander, of the local American Legion post. He also is a senior vice commander of the local VFW.

In discussing his plans, Aldridge said his campaign for N.C. Jaycee president will be opened this Saturday night at a regional meeting in Jaycee. At present, there are no other candidates for the post. Now a national Jaycee director, Aldridge said he thinks his chances of winning the state job are good.

"In fact, if this wasn't looking as promising as it is, I probably would go ahead and run for commissioner again," he said. The new officers will be elected at the state Jaycee convention May 14 in Raleigh. [Aldridge won.]

A graduate of Elon College and the University of North Carolina Law School, Aldridge has experienced nothing but success in his political ventures in his native county. He ran for County Solicitor during his senior year in law school and won easily. Later, however, when he took a job as office manager of Graphic Systems, Inc., he resigned this post but then ran for County Commissioner from his old Anderson-Hightower Township. He was elected and, two years later, was reelected from Yanceyville Township when [Oscar] Watlington retired. He has served as chairman for the past four years.

Source: The Danville Register (Danville, Virginia), 4 March 1966, Friday, Page 11

George Irvin Aldridge 1966

Aldridge May Not Seek Re-Election To Caswell Board of Commissioners

Photograph: Caswell County Board of Commissioners 1962-1963 (left-to-right): Robert Briggs; O. B. Watlington, Jr.; George Irvin Aldridge (chairman); James Blackwell; and A. D. Swann.

Yanceyville, N.C. -- Irvin Aldridge, chairman of the Caswell County Board of Commissioners, said Thursday he doubts that he will seek re-election. Aldridge is a candidate for president of the North Carolina Jaycees. If he wins that post, "something's got to give," he said. He said he wants to discuss the matter with other members of the board next Monday before making an official statement, "but as of right now, I'm not running." As Aldridge has all but bowed out of the May 28 Democratic primary, to other candidates entered.

In discussing his plans, Aldridge said his campaign for N.C. Jaycee president will be opened this Saturday night at a regional meeting in Jaycee. At present, there are no other candidates for the post. Now a national Jaycee director, Aldridge said he thinks his chances of winning the state job are good. "In fact, if this wasn't looking as promising as it is, I probably would go ahead and run for commissioner again," he said. The new officers will be elected at the state Jaycee convention May 14 in Raleigh. [Aldridge won.]

A graduate of Elon College and the University of North Carolina Law School, Aldridge has experienced nothing but success in his political ventures in his native county. He ran for County Solicitor during his senior year in law school and won easily. Later, however, when he took a job as office manager of Graphic Systems, Inc., he resigned this post but then ran for County Commissioner from his old Anderson-Hightower Township. He was elected and, two years later, was reelected from Yanceyville Township when [Oscar] Watlington retired. He has served as chairman for the past four years.

Source: The Danville Register (Danville, Virginia) · 4 Mar 1966, Fri · Page 11

Caswell County NC Speakers of Senate and House

Speakers of the Senate and of the House of Commons of North Carolina, from 1777 to 1856-1857, Inclusive

An intelligent and well-informed friend, who takes an interest in statistics and in historical facts, especially such as are connected with our own State, has kindly furnished us for publication with the following list of the Speakers of the two Houses of the General Assembly, from 1777 to the present times. 

The Speakers of the two Houses, it will be observed, have been chosen for the space of eighty years from twenty-eight Counties, to wit: . . . Caswell . . . .

The longest continuous service of any of the Speakers, was that of Mr. Yancey, of Caswell, who was Speaker of the Senate from 1817 to 1827, inclusive, eleven years.

Chowan . . . can boast of having given Speakers to the two Houses for twenty years our of the eighty years; Caswell County stands next in rank in this respect, having had Speakers for seventeen years. 

Caswell had the Speakers of both Houses in 1819 and 1820 -- Mr. Yancey, of the Senate, and Mr. Saunders, (now Judge,) of the Commons. . . . 

Of the sixty-one persons who have occupied the Speaker's chair of the two Houses since 1777, the following we believe, only survive, to wit [only Caswell County listed]: Bedford Brown; Romulus M. Saunders . . . .

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Speakers of the Senate

1817: Bartlett Yancey, Caswell 

1818: Bartlett Yancey, Caswell

1819: Bartlett Yancey, Caswell

1820: Bartlett Yancey, Caswell

1821: Bartlett Yancey, Caswell

1822: Bartlett Yancey, Caswell

1823: Bartlett Yancey, Caswell

1824: Bartlett Yancey, Caswell

1825: Bartlett Yancey, Caswell

1826: Bartlett Yancey, Caswell

1827: Bartlett Yancey, Caswell

1829: Bedford Brown, Caswell

1848-1849: Calvin Graves, Caswell

Speakers of the House of Commons

1819: Romulus M. Saunders, Caswell

1820: Romulus M. Saunders, Caswell

1842-1843: Calvin Graves, Caswell

1854-1855: Samuel P. Hill, Caswell

Source: Semi-Weekly Standard (Raleigh, North Carolina), 25 Mar 1857, Wednesday, Page 3.

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Bartlett Yancey, Jr. (1785-1828)

Bedford Brown (1795-1870)

Calvin Graves (1804-1877) [served as speaker in both houses]

Romulus Mitchell Saunders (1791-1867)

Samuel P. Hill (c.1824-1874) [first president of the Bank of Yanceyville]

Congressional Ball: Ralph Scott (NC)

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Left-to-Right

Front Row: Unidentified (but probably one of Congressman Scott's staff); Lynn Banks Williamson; William A. (Billy) Cobb; George Malloy Harris

Back Row: Unidentified; Unidentified; Irene Jones Lunsford; Jake Lunsford; Congressman Ralph Scott; Mrs. Scott; Lois Winn Harris; Unidentified; Inez Harris Powell.

Lakewood Pool (Caswell County, NC): Long History of Segregation

Lakewood Pool, County Home Road, Caswell County, NC

Here are the two bi-racial children refused admission to Lakewood Pool in 2006 purportedly because of their skin color.

Television station WRAL reported:

"When Yanceyville residents Mary and Don Able brought their biracial cousins to the Lakewood private pool, the family swimming trip was allegedly stopped short by the sting of segregation.

"It was just so sad seeing the little ones cry," said Mary Able.

"Mary Able said a woman who identified herself as a pool associate told them the 10-and 8-year-olds were not welcome because of their race.

"She said, 'Blacks are not allowed in the pool. We as board of directors have made a decision, and there are no blacks in the pool,'" said Mary Able.

"She wrote a letter to the Caswell Messenger expressing her outrage. Her family is also no longer members at the Lakewood pool.

"When WRAL brought cameras to the pool to ask about their policy, employees called police and told the reporter to leave, saying that the crew was trespassing on private property.

"WRAL also tried calling the pool association president and manager, but they were unavailable for comment."