Lt. Colonel John Pelham (1838-1863)

Caswell County, North Carolina, is divided into nine townships. Pelham Township, in Caswell's northwest corner, was named in honor of Confederate Lt. Colonel John Pelham (1838-1863). He was Major Pelham when killed at the Battle of Kelly's Ford, being promoted posthumously to the rank of Lt. Colonel.

The following is from The Heritage of Caswell County, North Carolina, Jeannine D. Whitlow, Editor (1985) at 51 ("Naming of Pelham" by Mrs. Louise Fitzgerald):

Caswell County Description: 1896

North Carolina and Its Resources: Illustrated, North Carolina State Board of Agriculture, Raleigh (1896):

Caswell county has a somewhat thin gravelly soil, though with rich bottoms along Dan river, which flows along and through its northern border and along Country Line and Hyco creeks. The larger part of its territory is devoted to the production of bright yellow tobacco, while grain crops occupy a comparatively subordinate position, and are produced principally along the river and creek bottoms which abound in the northern and eastern sections of this county. The northeastern section consists largely of red clay lands, with oak and hickory forests, while the lighter tobacco soils occupy most of the southern and western portions. Caswell ranks third among the tobacco counties in aggregate product. The crop averages annually 2,500,000 pounds, and more occasionally.

Jessie Ethel Thompson (1910-1943)

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First two photographs: Jessie Ethel Thompson early 1940s.

Wallace Henderson Alexander (1824-1872) House

“For and in consideration of the sum of one hundred dollars and for love and affection” are the words that James T. Alexander used when he conveyed ten acres of land and “a new house lately erected” to his elder son Wallace Henderson Alexander. The 1852 deed described the property as adjoining the Town of Lincolnton “on the south side of said town” and bounded on the northwest by the York Road. Built on a center hall, double-pile plan, the one story house with fine Greek Revival details became the home of Wallace H. Alexander and his family.

Kirby Family

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Photograph Courtesy The Caswell Messenger
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William M. Crumpton (1811-1884)

(Spring Hill Cemetery, Lynchburg, Virginia)

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Note that the foregoing obituary incorrectly identifies the deceased as William C. Crumpton. In 1833 he married Mary E. Green. Their son, Robert Thomas Crumpton (1838-1913) was the head of a large family, many members of which lived in Caswell County, North Carolina.
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Washington L. Coleman (1827-1903) Deed (1986)

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