Village Hotel in Yanceyville
When this hotel was built is not known. Nor is known its exact physical location in Yanceyville. An early reference I found is an 1846 newspaper advertising its sale:
"Village Hotel, at Yanceyville For Sale"
"On Monday the 29th June next [1846], (being the first day of the Caswell County Court,) by Virtue of a Decree of the Court of Equity, I will sell at public Auction on the premises, in the Town of Yanceyville, the Lot and Tavern recently owned and occupied by the late Capt. Wm. Graves, together with all the appurtenances.
"The main building is large and well arranged, the out houses, numerous and convenient, constituting this one of the most desirable and valuable Hotels in this State. This property is so well and favorably known that a minute discription [sic] of it is deemed needless. A credit of nine months will be given -- bond and security required, and the title retained until the purchase money is paid.
"At the same time and place, and on the same terms I will sell four other Lots in the Town of Yanceyville."
Calvin Graves, Ex'r. and Com'r.
May 15th 1846.
603-4t.
Source: The Weekly Standard (Raleigh, North Carolina), 24 June 1846.
__________
The deceased is believed to be Captain William Graves (1780-1845), son of Captain John Herndon Graves (1746-1829) and Ann Slade Graves (1749-1807).
The executor of the estate is Calvin Graves (1804-1877), brother-in-law of the deceased.
However, why the property was being sold pursuant to a court decree is not understood. The deceased died with a will. Was it the probate of this will that in some way resulted in sale of the hotel and related property?
__________
It appears the hotel property may not have been sold. At least it continued to be operated by a Mrs. Graves. Whether this was the wife of the decedent mentioned above is not known. If so, this was Ann Lea Graves Graves (1794-1857), the second wife of William Graves (1780-1845). Here is a relevant newspaper item from 1851:
Village Hotel, Yanceyville, N.C.
"Corbett & Richmond, would respectfully inform the public that they have recently taken charge of this spacious Hotel, formerly kept by Mrs. Graves, which has lately been repaired and is now in complete order for the accommodation of Travellers and Boarders. The rooms are comfortably and neatly furnished; the Table shall always be provided with the best that the market affords; the Servants will be found polite and attentive, and their Stables will be constantly supplied with an abundance and variety of provender and unsurpassed Hostlers. This magnificent establishment is pleasantly located convenient to the Court House, and persons attending Court at Yanceyville and stopping at the Village Hotel, may rest assured that the Proprietors will spare no pains to please them. Their prices will be found moderate and precisely the same charged by the other Hotel in the Village.
"Drovers will find every accommodation that large and roomy Stables and as spacious Lots can afford."
The Milton Chronicle (Milton, NC), 17 April 1851.
_______________
We know the Village Hotel was in operation as early as 1838:
(From the Milton, N C, Spectator, Oct. 9)
Democratic Dinner,
Complimentary to the Senators and Republican Members of Congress from N. Carolina,
Agreeably to arrangements previously made, a sumptuous dinner was furnished by Capt. Wm. Graves, proprietor of the Village Hotel at Yanceyville, on Friday, the 28th ult.; a day which will long be remembered by the citizens of Caswell.
At 20 minutes past 12 o'clock, General Barzillai Graves, the President, took his seat at the centre wing of the immensely long table, which was richly and bountifully supplied with every good thing the market affords. Majors Wm. A. Lea and James Kerr assisted as Vice Presidents, and being seated at the right and left ends of the main table, at the centre of which and fronting the President, were placed the invited guests.
Richmond Enquirer (Richmond, Virginia), 16 October 1838.
_______________
Note that the 1850 US Census (Yanceyville, Caswell County, North Carolina) shows an Ann L. Graves (56) apparently operating a hotel in Yanceyville, North Carolina. This has not been confirmed as the same Ann Lea Graves shown here, and is reported only for research purposes. Those in the household (hotel) were:
Ann L. Graves (56)
William P. Graves (30)
M. F. Graves (18)
C. W. Graves (15)
V. Y. Graves (12)
Nancy Walker (35)
C. R. Rice (21) (clerk)
John N. Richmond (26) (grocer)
Samuel P. Hill (26) (lawyer)
Samuel N. Fuller (26) (lawyer)
However, she was shown as the head of the household, and the Ann Lea Graves of this entry lost her husband in 1845. William P. Graves probably was William Pinkney Graves, a son of William Graves and his first wife, Isabella Graves. Also, M. F. could be Fanny, C. W. could be Cornelia W., and V. Y. could be Virginia Y. However, where was the hotel. See the entry for Samuel P. Hill for more on this subject. Note that the next entry in the 1850 census is for Abisha Slade. His house was where the parking lot is today (2007) for the Harrelson Funeral Home (immediately across the street from the White Hall Apartments. Thus, the hotel may have been located in this section of Yanceyville.
But, another neighbor is the James Poteat Hotel. Accordingly, it is possible that the small hotel operated by Ann Lea Graves at the time of the 1850 census is the building that today houses the Richmond-Miles History Museum on the Square in Yanceyville, North Carolina. Arguing against this, however, is that the property that today is the Richmond-Miles History Museum apparently was willed by William Graves to Ann Slade Graves, a daughter by his first marriage. But, she died in 1848, and her stepmother could have owned this property at the time of the 1850 census.
_______________
Village Hotel in Yanceyville
An immediately preceding post discussed this 19th century hotel. Here is material suggesting it may have been the building that today is the Richmond-Miles History Museum in Yanceyville (photograph: left is the Museum; right is the old Poteat Hotel).
The 1850 US Census (Yanceyville, Caswell County, NC) shows an Ann L. Graves (56) apparently operating a hotel in Yanceyville. This has not been confirmed as the same Ann Lea Graves associated with the Village Hotel. Those in the household (hotel) were:
Ann L. Graves (56)
William P. Graves (30)
M. F. Graves (18)
C. W. Graves (15)
V. Y. Graves (12)
Nancy Walker (35)
C. R. Rice (21) (clerk)
John N. Richmond (26) (grocer)
Samuel P. Hill (26) (lawyer)
Samuel N. Fuller (26) (lawyer)
However, she was shown as the head of the household, and the Ann Lea Graves of this entry lost her husband in 1845. William P. Graves probably was William Pinkney Graves, a son of William Graves and his first wife, Isabella Graves. Also, M. F. could be Fanny, C. W. could be Cornelia W., and V. Y. could be Virginia Y.
However, where was the hotel? Note that the next entry in the 1850 census is for Abisha Slade. His house was where the Blackwell Funeral Home (was the Harrelson Funeral Home) parking lot is today (immediately across the street from the White Hall Apartments). Thus, the hotel may have been located in this section of Yanceyville.
But, another neighbor is the James Poteat Hotel. Accordingly, it is possible that the hotel operated by Ann Lea Graves at the time of the 1850 census is the building that today houses the Richmond-Miles History Museum on the Square in Yanceyville, North Carolina.
Arguing against this, however, is that the property that today is the Richmond-Miles History Museum apparently was willed by William Graves to Ann Slade Graves, a daughter by his first marriage. But, she died in 1848, and her stepmother could have owned this property at the time of the 1850 census.
No comments:
Post a Comment