North Carolina Land Grants

North Carolina Land Grants

North Carolina Land Grant Procedure 1777-1800

Land Entries, Land Warrants, Land Surveys, & Land Grants in North Carolina (1777-1800):

In 1777 the legislature of the "new" state of North Carolina passed an act allowing the state to take over the title to all "vacant" land within its borders. This land had formerly been the property of the King or the Earl of Granville. In the same year, the legislature also passed an act creating a procedure for selling the land to almost anyone who had the money to pay the required fees. These "instruments" were called grants, but that does not imply the free gift of land.

Hamer Missionary Baptist Church (Caswell County, North Carolina)

The following is from In the Beginning . . . The Churches of Caswell County, Jean B. Scott, Compiler (2000), and authored by Katie Lipscomb Williams and Elaine Jefferies Cunningham (December 1997):

In the year of 1870 under a big oak tree a small group of concerned and devout Christian men and women based the beginning of the Hamer Missionary Baptist Church. 1870-1881 has been characterized as a sluggish period in Caswell County's history, so it was not until 1881 that the first church was actually organized and built of logs. It was known as the Hames Chapel Baptist Church.

Unidentified Wrenn Family Photograph

This photograph was found in the the belongings of a Wrenn family from the Caswell County/Person County area of North Carolina. If you can help identify the person please email me at: rick@ncccha.org. Thanks. Rick Frederick

Milton Photograph c.1948/1949

(click on photograph for larger image)_______________

Left-to-Right:

Front Row: Martha Ann Bradsher; Evangeline (Van) Newman.

Second Row: Unidentified Woman (light dress); Unidentified Woman (dark dress with light collar); Unidentified Woman (necklace); Unidentified Woman (wearing hat); Mother of Evangeline (Van) Newman (light dress with flower; maiden surname Glidewell); Newman Brother (suit and cigarette; father of Evangeline (Van) Newman).

Third Row: Unidentified Man (partial head only); Unidentified Woman (head only, tilted to left); Unidentified Man (partial head only); Possibly Jay or John Foote (are twins; tall, wearing suspenders); Possibly Mildred Newman (head only, wearing lipstick); Jacob Thompson Bradsher (tall, open shirt); Newman Brother.

Fourth Row: Unidentified Man (top of head only).

Photograph courtesy Martha Bradsher Spencer.

Thomas Day Secretary in Boston

The Boston Globe
A Story of Acquisition
By Sebastian Smee
Globe Staff/May 29, 2011

For many years, curators at the Museum of Fine Arts have been trying to get their hands on an excellent piece of furniture by Thomas Day. Day was a fascinating figure: a free African-American cabinetmaker who worked in North Carolina in the 1840s and ’50s. Besides being one of North Carolina’s most accomplished furniture craftsmen, he was a great entrepreneur. He trained both free and slave apprentices, and even hired slaves himself. “We’ve had him on our wish list forever,’’ said Kelly L’Ecuyer, an MFA curator of decorative arts and sculpture. The problem was that exceptional pieces by Day rarely come up for sale.

One such piece, a secretary in the empire style, was slated for sale at auction in New Orleans last year. L’Ecuyer and her colleagues were excited. But there was a catch: The auction was scheduled for Nov. 20. That was the day the Museum of Fine Arts’ new Art of the Americas Wing opened to the public. Amid the fanfare and celebrations — it was a free Community Day — all hands were needed on deck. Undeterred, the museum sent Christine Schaette, one of its furniture conservators, down to Louisiana to check out the piece shortly before the sale. And on Nov. 20, just as the new wing was being overrun by enthusiastic hordes, Gerry Ward, a senior curator of decorative arts and sculpture, made a successful phone bid. The Day piece, which is in conservation ahead of its eventual display, is a momentous addition to a collection that continues to grow at a terrific clip.

Caswell County Heritage and Living History Day (2011)

Old Lea Bethel Baptist Church (Caswell County, North Carolina)

Old Lea Bethel Baptist Church

Lea Bethel Baptist Church was established on December 29, 1883, at its present site, with land deeded by Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Allen. The original church building was a one-room frame structure. it also was an offspring of Beulah Baptist Church. On May 21, 1939, a new church building was organized in the Lea Bethel Building. Mr. Noell was the moderator of the Beulah Association at that time. At this first meeting, Mr. Tom Murray was elected moderator, and Mr. B. C. Woody as clerk. Church records indicate an initial enrollment of thirty-seven members, with five additional members by letter. it was decided by the membership and the Beulah Association's moderator that it should be named Old Lea Bethel Baptist Church. The first pastor was Rev. C. E. Sullivan.