Rock Academy

Rock Academy

Perhaps the longest-lived and most influential school of this period was the Rock Academy and its successor. In 1867 James S. Dameron opened a school in northwestern Caswell County which he called the Ruffin Select School. Shortly afterwards a permanent building was erected and it came to be called the Rock Academy because it was constructed of rock.

Associated with Dameron at one time or another in the operation of this school were Miss Jennie Roberts, Miss Alden Combs, Miss Allen Courts, Elder P. D. Gold, and John W. Gilliam. A large number of young people in the neighborhood were educated here. Among them was John B. Cobb who afterwards left the county to seek his fortune. In 1921 he provided $20,000 for a school building nearby which became the first consolidated school in the county. The building was dedicated to the memory of Cobb's parents and was known as Cobb Memorial School. Cobb and his daughters made further gifts to the school and the plant was enlarged.

Coach Lindsey Philip Page

Former Bartlett Yancey Coach Lindsey Page has been selected for induction into the North Carolina High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame. As the 27th group of inductees to join the prestigious hall, bringing to 148 the number enshrined, Page joins seven others this year: Donnie Baxter of Asheboro, Ronnie Chavis of Pembroke, Lawrence Dunn of Raleigh, Doug Henderson of Greensboro, Larry Rhodes of Gastonia, Robert Steele of Salisbury, and Jim Taylor of Shelby. Page and the others will be honored during special halftime ceremonies at a football at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill on Saturday, Sept. 22, when North Carolina takes on East Carolina. The new class will be officially inducted at a special banquet next spring.

“I’m very humbled by this,” said Page. “As a coach, you never aspire to that.” The induction is two years in the making, and due in large part to the work of Donna Hudson and Kay Satterfield, and numerous local people who vouched for Page. “I share this honor with
the players I coached, the principals that supported me, and the superintendents. I share it not only with the professional people I’ve worked with, but with my entire family. It’s been a good run. So many people have helped me.”

Born in Caswell County and a 1962 graduate of Elon College, Page began his teaching and coaching career right after that at Bartlett Yancey. For 34 years, he was the head men’s basketball coach, winning seven conference championships and a North Carolina High School Athletic Association state 3-A championship in 1988. His teams posted an outstanding 519-325 record during that stretch and the gymnasium was named in his honor in 1988. He also coached baseball at the school for 15 seasons and was athletic director for 20 years. He came out of his coaching retirement in 1999 to coach the women’s team at BY and posted 65 additional wins including a trip to the regional tournament coaching through 2006.

He has been recognized by the NCHSAA before, with a Special Person Award in 1997 and a Distinguished Service Award a year later. He also coached in the North Carolina Coaches’ Association East-West basketball all-star game in 1988. Page has a lot to reflect upon over his stellar career. After playing one year at Elon, he decided he wanted to be a high school teaching coach. “I never deviated from that goal,” said Page. Superintendent Tom Whitley offered him a job at BY, with Buck Page, one of his mentors. The two coach Pages decided the younger would coach girls the first year, and they’d switch the next year, giving him boys. He taught Spanish, math and science for a year, then just health and P.E.

“I started at BY in 1962, and within two years, all the high schools in the county were consolidated into one school. In the late 60s, we had a ‘freedom of choice plan’, and had six or seven black students at our school. And in 1969, we were totally integrated.” Page said everyone had a lot of adjustments to make, and it was the most difficult time of his career. “We had to blend in players from all the different schools, to function as a unit. I told them, ‘you don’t have to like each other, but you have to respect each other,” he said. “These athletes had played against each other. But we were very successful.”

The 1971-72 basketball team went 24-2. “We had a real good ball club. People really caught on to Sleepy (Claude Taylor). When you’re a superstar, you’re sometimes hard to coach. But he was very likeable. And it helped with integration, to be honest.”

By the 80s, Page was proud to have Keith Claiborne and Dana Elliott on his team. “We played in the Dean Dome. I believe everyone in Caswell County was there,” he laughed. “We had a tremendous following. The place would be full. That was the golden era of our basketball.”

Several BY athletes have had their jerseys retired, and have played some college sports. “I’ve always enjoyed watching and following them. I hope they do well. That’s the biggest thing, to be productive citizens. The fact that they’re good athletes just adds to it.”

Through the years, Page has had opportunities to leave Caswell County. “But there was always something that kept me here. Mainly my family He and his wife Myra have four children, Barry, Steve, Carla, and Leslie. “When you are a coach, it’s not a job, it’s a way of life. I spent an awful lot of time away from home. But Myra was very supportive, and my sons played for me. Leslie played basketball, and Carla cheered for a couple of years. So it was always a family affair. That’s what helped me survive as long as I did.”

For the last 15 years at BY, Page’s teaching load was lightened, and he served as industrial coordinator, keeping tabs on students with jobs. He retired in 1998 after being full-time for 38 years. But the new superintendent asked him to teach driver’s ed. “I’ve been doing that for 14 years, and enjoy it. I go to BY two to three afternoons a week.”

Still being involved with students, Page sees differences in the teens through the years. “This is the ‘me’ generation. But you gotta have collective goals to be successful.“ He offered some advice to the athletes. “You always want be a good representative of yourself, your family, and your school. You always want to be presentable. A pet peeve of mine is sagging britches.” And it brings back a memory from the 70s. “We were in the middle of the Vietnam war, which we couldn’t win. Hair got long. Our team was very good. It was Tim Jernigan and Sleepy’s last season. Tim had long hair. Now, I really liked the kid. But when the season was about to start, I asked him to cut it to a neat length. He said he’d cut it, but wouldn’t cut it again until we lost. But we won 18 in a row! His hair had gotten a little long!”

Page, who turned 73 a few weeks ago, said he doesn’t work for the money, but for good health. He participated in Senior Games, softball, and 3-on-3 basketball. “I’m really taking it one year at a time. I don’t want to be sitting in the house with a remote in my hand all day long. I enjoy getting out,” he said. “I hope to stay active. It would be nice to die at second base, or playing golf, said Page. “It shows you were productive until you passed away.”

Source: The Caswell Messenger (Yanceyville, North Carolina) 22 August 2012.

Womack's Mill

"Womack's Mill was a treasure--a memory for many people of the past. It was where we took our grains to be ground. The millpond was where we waded in the cooling waters and it was there I had my first real date with my future husband--we spread a checked tablecloth on the sandy edge picnicking on cheese sandwiches and cold Pepsi Colas in glass bottles. For our 25th wedding anniversary present, my brother Bill, a photographer, enlarged and framed a beautiful photo of the old mill that was in his archives. I remember well the miller's house across the road--mama would visit the lady of the house, passing the time of day, while the corn was being processed. I am told that Papa (Will Farthing) took bags of grain to Womack's Mill on the family wagon, and the trusty family mule was smart enough to take Papa there with nary a "giddap" ! The trip was so familiar to the four-legged critter that he knew exactly where to turn from the highway, proceeding on his own, the reins in Papa's lap. Such a loss for the community, and would have been a wonderful historical edifice if it could have been preserved...."

Source: Helen Jean Farthing Ledford 26 February 2014 Post to the Caswell County Historical Association Facebook Page.
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Caswell Correctional Center

Caswell Correctional Center

Probably due to the famous 1959 escape by Charles Willis (Yank) Stewart and many of his fellow inmates, Caswell County's Ivy Bluff Prison is well-known. Less well-known is Caswell County's other prison, which is much older than Ivy Bluff (now decommissioned and in private hands). This prison is the Caswell Correctional Center on the County Home Road just outside Yanceyville, North Carolina.¹

The following is from the North Carolina Department of Public Safety:

Caswell was one of 51 county prisons for which the state assumed responsibility with the passage of the Conner Bill in 1931. It was one of 61 field unit prisons renovated or built during the late 1930s to house inmates who worked on building roads. Like many of the era's prisons, Caswell also had a farm worked by the inmates to supply the prison kitchen. The prison farm operated into the 1960s.

Caswell initially housed misdemeanants until 1968, when medium and minimum custody inmates were housed together. In 1974, Caswell was converted into a medium security prison housing 118 inmates. With the addition of triple-bunking (three beds stacked on top of each other), the population rose to 168.

A new dining hall was built at the prison in the 1950s. In the 1970s, inmates supervised by correction engineers built a recreation building and a segregation unit with 24 single cells.

In January 1989, a 104-bed inmate dormitory and support buildings that included a programs building with classroom space and a recreation building, opened. This addition was funded by the legislature as part of a $28.5 million Emergency Prison Facilities Development program in 1987.

Lawmakers provided two 104-inmate dormitories, an administration building, operations center and dining hall as part of a $75 million prison construction program approved in July 1990. After a gatehouse and motion detection system was installed, security towers at the prison were removed. With the completion of these additions in January 1993, staff increased to 154 and the inmate population increased to maximum of 484.
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County: Caswell
Mailing and Street Address: 444 County Home Road, Blanch, NC 27212
Phone: (336) 694-4531
Fax: (336) 694-5098
Facility #: 4415
Courier #: 02-53-23
Inmate capacity: 460
Inmate gender: Male
Custody level: Medium
Staff Size: 188
Occupancy: 1930s

Caswell Correctional Center, near Yanceyville, is a medium security prison for adult males. Inmates may be assigned to work on one of seven Department of Transportation road squads clearing right-of-way under the supervision of armed correction officers. They may also work in the prison, typically as kitchen help or keeping the prison clean and in repair. For two years in the late 1990s, as many as 88 prisoners worked on inmate construction crews to build the 600-man housing unit at the nearby Dan River Prison Work Farm.

Piedmont Community College works with the prison to provide vocational courses including welding, HVAC technology, horticulture and industrial maintenance technology. Inmates with less than a high school education may participate in GED preparatory classes or remedial education. Inmates are also given an opportunity to participate in Bible study and worship services.

In 1997, Piedmont CC began to provide instruction in electrical and pneumatic tool repair. Inmates who complete this program are put to work in a small tool repair program, repairing tools for the Department of Transportation and other public agencies.
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The foregoing article referenced the 1931 Conner Bill. Here is more on that law from the North Carolina Department of Public Safety:

In 1931, the General Assembly enacted the Conner bill which enabled the state to take over control of all prisons and inmates. The condition of prison facilities and the need for inmate labor led the General Assembly to consolidate the State Highway Commission and the State Prison Department. This provided new construction money from the Highway Fund for prison renovation.

In the two years before consolidation, the State Highway Commission spent $850,000 for permanent improvements in the road camps that had been operated by the counties. With the help of WPA labor, the renovation and construction program continued after consolidation of the two agencies. In 1933, a $400,000 bond issue provided for establishing and equipping additional prison camps, farms and industries. Lawmakers authorized the State Highway and Public Works Commission to purchase, lease and erect buildings at new road camp sites. These permanent road camps were of a standard design and small capacity. The basic design was for 100 inmates. Camps were located throughout the state, primarily for the convenience of road building and repair.
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Thus, it appears that, at a minimum, a "road camp" was operating in Caswell County at the time the Conner Bill was enacted in 1931. Whether this facility was located on the site of the current Caswell Correctional Center on the County Home Road. What buildings occupied the site is not known.
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Yanceyville, North Carolina
Mar 10, 2016

The Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice has named Mark Carver as the new superintendent at Caswell Correctional Center in Yanceyville, replacing Judy Brandon, who retired.

Mark Carver most recently served as assistant superintendent for custody and operations at Caswell CC and is a 27-year veteran of the state prison system.  He began his career in 1989 as a correctional officer and sergeant in Orange County. He later served at state prisons in Craven and Pamlico counties before returning to Orange Correctional Center as an assistant superintendent.

He is a Caswell County native and graduate of East Carolina University and Bartlett Yancey High School.

Caswell Correctional Center is a medium-security prison housing approximately 480 male inmates in dormitory-style housing.  It employs a staff of about 170 people.
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¹Actually, there is another prison in Caswell County, but one with much less history: Dan River Prison Work Farm.
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Sources

North Carolina Department of Public Safety

Dan River Prison Work Farm

Dan River Prison Work Farm

County: Caswell
Mailing and Street Address: 981 Murray Road, Blanch, NC 27212
Phone: (336) 694-1583
Fax: (336) 694-4084
Facility #: 3080
Courier #: 02-53-24
Inmate capacity: 640
Inmate gender: Male
Custody level: Minimum
Staff size: 166
Occupancy: March 1996

Dan River Prison Work Farm is located on a 187.5-acre site in the west-central area of Caswell County, near Yanceyville. The prison was officially dedicated on March 25, 1996. On July 1, 1998, the prison was named part of the Piedmont Region.

The prison operates with a staff of 166 employees in the custody, food service, medical, programs, fiscal and administrative units, and has an annual operating budget of approximately $11.4 million.

The modern architecture of this facility differs markedly from traditional prisons and was designed to be built and maintained at less cost. The facility has an administration building, central complex building comprised of food service, staff offices, visiting area, clothes house and central control office, and segregation building. The dormitory building is 60,000 square feet that contains 10 inmate housing areas, 10 day rooms, two canteens, 10 shower and lavatory areas, medical and program departments, barber shop, library, classroom, chaplain's office and two control rooms.

Dan River houses felon and misdemeanant minimum custody adult male offenders. Inmate work assignments include food service, maintenance, janitorial and other institutional jobs. Dan River also has three litter crews that work in Alamance, Guilford and Randolph counties.

Other assignments include working at Correction Enterprises Laundry, maintenance work at Caswell Correctional Center and the inmate construction program.

A joint venture with the N.C. Wildlife Commission and Dan River has offenders working restoring forest land, parks and lakes all across North Carolina.

In cooperation with Piedmont Community College, the facility operates the Roxboro Satellite Training Center, which uses the building that once housed Person Correctional Center. The Training Center's programs include carpentry, masonry, information systems technology, horticulture, basic electricity, and human resource development for 130 inmates.

Visitation

Visitation takes place in alphabetical order three times a day on Saturdays and Sundays. Inmates in segregation are allowed visitors on an appointment basis Monday through Friday.

The visitation policy requires all visitors to complete an application prior to visitation.

Directions

From East/Raleigh, take I-40 west. Take the Hillsborough exit. Proceed through Hillsborough onto NC 86 N. Take NC 86 N to Yanceyville. In Yanceyville, turn right onto NC 86 N toward Danville, Va. At the second stoplight (intersection of NC 86 and 158), turn right onto County Home Road. Go approximately a quarter-mile and turn left onto Murray Road. Follow Murray Road for approximately 1 mile. Dan River Prison is at the end of Murray Road.

From West/Greensboro, take I-40/85 east, then get on NC 29 N toward Danville, Va. In Reidsville, take the NC 158 exit to Yanceyville. Proceed through the stoplight (intersection of NC 86 and 158), onto County Home Road. Go approximately a quarter-mile, turn left onto Murray Road. Follow Murray Road for 1 mile. Dan River Prison is at the end of Murray Road.

Source: North Carolina Department of Public Safety

Josiah Baker Bible

Perfect Information, Imperfectly Sourced Judy G. Russell, 11 Aug 08:15 AM

There is nothing The Legal Genealogist loves more than a good source of family information. Even when it’s not perfect.

Thanks to a family Bible, kept by my third great grand uncle Josiah Baker and passed down through his family, I can peg when Josiah and his full siblings were born — including my third great grandfather Martin Baker.

According to the Bible, there were seven children born to my fourth great grandparents, David Baker and his second wife Dorothy Wiseman:

Susanah Baker was born Sept 6th 1795

Martin Baker was born Dec. 9th 1797

Dorothy Baker was born Aug. 11th 1799

David D. Baker was born Jan. 9th 1801

Josiah Baker was born, Oct. 20th 1802

Sophia Baker was born, July 6th 1804

Charles Baker was born Dec 2nd 1806.1

It’s not a perfect source, of course: the Bible was published years after any of these folks were born and the entries — likely made by Josiah, since they list his parents and siblings and not anything about his wife Julia’s family — made close to the end of his life. But as far as sources go, in my family, that’s a good source, and I’m grateful for it. Especially when I can take note of that family birthday — Dorothy Baker, my third great grand aunt, was born 219 years ago today.

But the Bible only gives birth dates for Josiah’s siblings. It doesn’t say who and when they married, or when and where they died. And there’s no surviving marriage record for Dorothy in North Carolina where she lived. Oh, there are unsourced published family histories that say she married their cousin David Davenport.2 Now if that’s right, then Martin and his family and Dorothy and her family picked up stakes and moved around the same time, to what was then Macon County (and later became Cherokee County), North Carolina — appearing one after the other on the same page in the 1840 census of the newly formed Cherokee County.3

Martin continued to be on the move, ending up in Texas,4 while Dorothy and her growing family stayed in North Carolina and set down roots, deep into the soil of the westernmost part of that state. They were there in 18505 and 18606 and 1870,7 after their area of Cherokee County became Clay County.8 

Dorothy was still there as a widow in 18809 and that’s where she died in 1885.10 From these we know David Davenport’s wife was named Dorothy. But how can we know whether the Dorothy who married David Davenport was Dorothy Baker — and not someone else? I’ll put my money on it, because, after all, there’s the letter.

1818 Baker Letter

It’s not the original letter, of course. It’s a transcription by a man who was a professional geologist — and an amateur genealogist. He was also the second president of Stanford University in California and — not for nothing — a cousin of mine (a third cousin three times removed or a fourth cousin four times removed, depending on which line you’re counting in). His name: John Casper Branner.11 Branner was born in Tennessee in 1850. His mother was a Baker cousin, and late in his life, after writing a history of his father’s family,12 he decided he wanted to know more about his Baker kin. His methods would curl the hair of any modern genealogist, but he used the tools he knew at the time: he wrote to everyone he thought he even might possibly be related to and gathered up whatever bits and pieces of information and documentation they had. The results, today, are in what is called the Baker genealogy, part of the John Casper Branner papers, 1882-1921, in the Stanford University Libraries. When I first arranged to acquire a copy, it cost me a fortune in copying costs. Today — sigh — they’re online, free. And one of those bits and pieces that Branner collected was a copy of a letter, from my fourth great grandfather David Baker — father of Martin and Dorothy and Josiah — to his brother Charles in Georgia. It’s dated the 27th of January 1818, and Branner carefully copied David’s signature.

Now… he may have made mistakes in his transcription. He may have missed something I wish he hadn’t missed. But, overall, the contents ring true to what I know of the family (old Martin Davenport was dead by 1818, for example), and his rendering of the signature matches examples we have of David’s handwriting. And as to the question of who Dorothy married, it says: “all my Children that is mared is living just by me my Second Daughter by Second wife is mared to David Davenport”.13 No, it’s not a perfect source. But as far as sources go, in my family, it’s a really good source, and yeah, personally, I’m going with it:

Dorothy — David Baker’s second daughter by his second wife — really did marry her cousin David Davenport.

SOURCES

Josiah and Julia (McGimsey) Baker Family Bible Records 1749-1912, The New Testament of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (New York : American Bible Society, 1867), “Births”; privately held by Louise (Baker) Ferguson, Bakersville, NC; photographed for JG Russell, Feb 2003. Mrs. Ferguson, a great granddaughter of Josiah and Julia, inherited the Bible; the earliest entries are believed to be in the handwriting of Josiah or Julia Baker.

See e.g. John Scott Davenport, “Five Generations Identified from the Pamunkey Family Patriarch, Namely Davis Davenport of King William County,” in The Pamunkey Davenport Papers, CD-ROM (Charles Town, W.Va. : Pamunkey Davenport Family Association, 2009), 19.

See also Maribeth Lang Vineyard and Eugene M. Wiseman, William Wiseman and the Davenports (Franklin, NC: Genealogy Publishing Service, 1997), 42.

1840 U.S. census, Cherokee County, North Carolina, population schedule, p. 239 (stamped), line 7, David Davenport household, and line 8, Martin Baker household; digital image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 9 December 2002); citing National Archive microfilm publication M704, roll 357. Martin died in Parker County, Texas, in 1868.

Baker Cemetery (Baker Community, Parker County, Texas; on Baker Road approximately four miles south of the intersection with Doyle Road, Latitude 323503N, Longitude 0974338W), Martin Baker marker; photograph by J.G. Russell, 3 May 2003. 

1850 U.S. census, Cherokee County, North Carolina, population schedule, p. 25 (back) (stamped), dwelling/family 324, David Davenport household; digital image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 21 Mar 2007); citing National Archive microfilm publication M432, roll 625.

1860 U.S. census, Cherokee County, North Carolina, Shooting Creek, population schedule, p. 168 (penned), dwelling/family 1098, David “Debenport” household; digital image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 10 Apr 2007); citing National Archive microfilm publication M653, roll 892. 1870 U.S. census, Clay County, North Carolina, population schedule, Hayesville Post Office, p. 469(B)-470(A) (stamped), dwelling 40, family 40, David Devenport household; digital image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 Oct 2011); citing National Archive microfilm publication M593, roll 1130.

David Leroy Corbitt, The Formation of the North Carolina Counties 1663-1943 (Raleigh : Division of Archives and History, North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, 1987), 67.

1880 U.S. census, Clay County, North Carolina, population schedule, Shooting Creek Twp., enumeration district (ED) 64, p. 457(D) (stamped), dwelling 29, family 29, Dorothy Davenport household; digital image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 12 Oct 2011); citing National Archive microfilm publication T9, roll 958.

Bethabara, Clay County, North Carolina, “Dorothay” Davenport marker; digital image, Find A Grave (https://www.findagrave.com/ : accessed 27 Sep 2013). Wikipedia (https://www.wikipedia.com), “John Casper Branner,” rev. 23 Apr 2018.

John Casper Branner, Casper Branner of Virginia and his Descendants (Stanford, Cal. : p.p., 1913). 

David Baker to Charles Baker, 27 January 1818, transcription by John Casper Branner 1910 of original held by Mrs. Carrie Baker of Tishomingo, Oklahoma; Baker genealogy; John Casper Branner papers, 1882-1921, Stanford University Libraries; PDF of digital images, Stanford Digital Repository (https://searchworks.stanford.edu/ : accessed 10 Aug 2018). (Emphasis added)

Milton Buildings

Milton Buildings

This 1940 photograph shows two substantial buildings in Milton, Caswell County, North Carolina, at the east end of what is known as Milton's "Commercial Row."

The two-story building to the right (beside the large tree), which no longer stands, was the home of Albert G. Ferguson (1832-1905).

The 1893 Sanborn-Perris insurance map of Milton dated 1893 shows what appears to be a one-story brick building just down the street from the frame Albert Ferguson house in this photo (to the right, but not the building the roof of which can be partially seen). In Charles B. Motley’s book, Milton, North Carolina: Sidelights of History (1976) he provides the following:

"There are two schools of thought as to the location of the Milton Branch of the North Carolina State Bank. Some are of the firm opinion that it was in the Walker home, that the State of North Carolina erected this home as a State Bank with living quarters for the banker.

"Others are just as firmly of the opinion that the State Bank was never located in the Walker home but rather on the lot of the home which was later purchased by Albert G. Ferguson, on the corner of Broad Street and Warehouse Street (Sycamore St.). It is said that Ferguson dismantled the portion that was the Milton Branch of the State of North Carolina Bank when he renovated the home.

"The writer is simply passing along opinions and shall leave it to others to determine the location of the Milton Branch of the North Carolina State Bank."

Caswell County Court System

"This year in 2016 we are celebrating the beginning of the unified court system," Judge Osmond Smith told the crowd that gathered in the courtroom to celebrate the anniversary. "In 2016 we also celebrate 50 years since the creation of the district court."

"The court system of North Carolina has been in existence since it became a state in 1777. Caswell County is the first county of the state," explained Smith. "It was established when we became a state in 1777. We have had a variety of courts over those years."

Smith said that there were superior courts, municipal courts, court of supports, justice of the peace courts, and others before a constitutional amendment in 1966 unified all of the courts in North Carolina. "We should be celebrated around the country because our unified court system has been adopted as a model."

"I have been a lawyer 40 of those 240 years- so has George Daniels and Mike Gentry. Lee Farmer is the senior active lawyer with about 43 years," said Smith. "We also have a lawyer that has more than 50 years- Retired District Judge, Robert R. Blackwell."

John Satterfield, the Clerk of Superior Court, then spoke on Marlene Watlington who has been with the Unified Court System for all but 10 of its 50 years. "2016 brings many things. It brings the milestone of the unified court system," said Satterfield. "Of course it brings another milestone in that Marlene Watlington, who is the Assistant Clerk of Superior Court in Caswell County, is celebrating her 40 years of service with the North Carolina Judicial System. Marlene began her career in the court system in 1976 as a judicial assistant working for Judge James Long and then in 1981 she came over to the clerk's office."

Satterfield presented Watlington with a framed letter from Chief Justice Mark Martin and the Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts Marion Warren who extended their congratulations. Satterfield then gave Watlington a clock that she had chosen as her service award.

"We look forward to your continued service and all of your efforts you have made for the state of North Carolina and the citizens of Caswell County," said Satterfield.

"This isn't a retirement ceremony," laughed Smith.

"Someone told me a long time ago that if I have a job that I enjoy, I will never work a day," said Watlington. "And I have enjoyed it."

"Marlene has been here as long as the courthouse has been here," added Smith. "And while she has seniority over all of us, she also has seniority over Mr. Lee Farmer in that she started in the law office of Judge Blackwell in his practice in 1972."

"I learned as a lawyer early on, the best friend you can have in the courthouse is the clerk," continued Smith. "They are the one that can save you from falling face first into something. She and her colleagues in the clerk's office have been great friends to the court system to the lawyers the judges as they mentor us and help us through. We thank you for your service. I appreciate your service and the citizens of Caswell County and North Carolina have benefited from it."

Caswell County Extension Service Reports

1946

The Extension personnel working in the county the entire year consisted of: Miss Louise Homewood, Home Agent; J. E. Zimmerman, Farm Agent, and Miss Helen Williamson, Secretary. Helen Payne was Negro Home Agent and Dewey Williamson, Negro Farm Agent.

M. Q. Plumblee, Principal of Anderson High School, worked as Assistant agent from June 3 until August 17. Mr. Plumblee worked with the 4-H club boys.

Ralph Aldridge, former Assistant Agent, returned as Assistant Agent October 1 following his honorable discharge from the Army.

The County Agricultural Council, while not an Extension organization, was effective in coordinating the activities of different agricultural agencies workin in the county. This council met on the third Monday of each month.

Source: Narrative Report (Caswell County) - 1946. J. E. Zimmerman, County Agent

Maud Florance Gatewood Works: Catalogue Raisonné

Maud Florance Gatewood

The purpose of this article is to list all the known works of Maud Florance Gatewood (1934-2004): a Catalogue Raisonné. This initial list is in no particular order. Later we may reorganize by date, medium, etc. Click image to see a larger version. Work in progress.

1. "Idyll" (1989), acrylic on canvas, 30" x 40"

2. "Figure in a Train Car" (    ), oil on paper, 19.5" x 20.75

3. "Abstraction No. 1" (    ), gouache on paper, 15" x 22.5"

4. "Abstraction No. 2" (    ), gouache on paper, 15" x 22.5"

5. "Beach Umbrella Day" (    ), watercolor on paper, 28.5" x 22.5"

North Carolina Clerks of Court Confusion

Caswell County History

For much of its judicial history, North Carolina counties had two "Clerks" -- a Clerk of the Superior Court and a Clerk of the County Courts. Over the years this has caused confusion. Even local historian M. Q. Plumblee conflated these positions.

Example: In 1841, Major John K. Graves was elected Clerk of the Superior Court, and Abisha Slade was elected Clerk of the County Courts. Slade, a Democrat, defeated long-serving Paul Anderson, a Whig. 

Today, there are no county courts.

Jeems Goslin

Jeems Goslin is the pseudonym used by Thomas Satterwhite Harrison (1842-1927).

Thomas Satterwhite Harrison (see photograph), buried in family cemetery on Ralph Harrison property, Old Blanch Road. Father Samuel Satterwhite Harrison, mother Louisa M. McDaniel. Source - family bible in possession of EDD, Jr. Obituary states that TSH was a veteran of Confederacy. "Possessing a most wonderful memory and writing with a facile pen, Mr. Harrison has contributed richly to the historic life of Caswell. Under the pen name of Jeems Goslin, J.P., Mr. Harrison's writings were widely read with the keenest pleasure."
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Ann of the Ku Klux Klan, Tom Henderson (1942)  at 9-10:

[Henderson attributed the following to George A. Anderson]

It was then that Governor Holden sent for Squire Thomas Satterwhite Harrison, a white Republican of high honor, who then represented Caswell in the legislature and said to him: "Mister Harrison, you enjoy the respect of all the Negros of Caswell and of the best of her white citizenship. Property is in jeopardy there and human life is unsafe. I need a personal representative on the grounds. Will you accept this responsible position?"

"Governor," replied Tom Harrison, "I thank you for your complimentary remarks, but I'm not hankering for the job and cannot accept."

"Can you not, then," continued the Governor, "recommend to me some man of our party in Caswell who is worth of my trust?"

"Governor," answered Tom Harrison, "there happens to be in Raleigh at this moment one John Marshal Wooding, from Milton. He is a courageous gentleman, a daring horseman and an unbeatable poker player. He might consent to serve you."

Governor Holden requested Tom Harrison to get in touch with Wooding, and have him come to the executive's office. This was quickly accomplished.

"Mister Wooding," opened up Governor Holden, after introductions, "you have been highly recommended to me by the Honorable Mister Harrison. Will you accept the responsible appointment of my personal representative in Caswell? You will have the backing of your Governor, the State Militia and President Ulysses S. Grant."

"I thank you, Governor," said the Milton man, "but I can't accept the appointment."

Then, showing considerable perturbment, Governor Holden gruffly demanded: "Why not?"

"Well, Governor," replied John Marshal Wooding, "you see, it's this way. You and the State Militia will be in Raleigh, President Grant will be in Washington, and I'll be in hell with my throat cut."