Maurice N. Corbett

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Influential nineteenth century black politician from Caswell County, North Carolina.

Corbett, Maurice N. The Harp of Ethiopia. Nashville: National Baptist Publishing Board, 1914. 1st Edition. Bound in dark red cloth with gilt decoration and printing, the book is clean, straight & tight. Pages are browned and rather fragile, there are two or three pages with tiny edge tears. Light rubbing and wear at the corners and spine ends. On the front endpage, there is an inscription by the author's child, it is unknown whether it was a boy or girl as initials are used for the first name. The inscription reads "To Dr. & Mrs........ of Muskogee, Okla. Complements of .. Corbett, Works of My late Father Maurice H. Corbett of Washington, D.C. This is a very uncommon book, the only one published by this African-American author -- it is a 7,500 line poem on the black man in America. 8" x 5 1/2"; 276 pages.

"The county Republican convention was held in the courthouse on September 23, 1888. The Caswell News three days later reported that James W. Poe (a black) was made chairman, the Rev. A. L. Johnston, secretary, and the Hon. M. N. Corbett, assistant secretary. A caucus was held and votes taken to determine the strength of various candidates for office. On the floor of the convention Wilson Carey was nominated for the House of Representatives by a vote of 14 to 13 for Corbett. Felix Roan was nominated for Register of Deeds and George O. Wilson for county treasurer. An attempt was made to nominate J. T. Donoho for sheriff by acclamation, but failed and no nomination was made. B. S. Graves, the incumbent, was heavily favored, however. The newspaper reported that the convention adjourned in confusion."

Source: When the Past Refused to Die: A History of Caswell County North Carolina 1777-1977, William S. Powell (1977) at 261.

Revolutionary War Soldiers: Caswell County, North Carolina

Revolutionary War soldier references in When the Past Refused to Die: A history of Caswell County, North Carolina, 1777-1977, William S. Powell (1977), 70-82:

Men of Caswell had belonged to the Militia of Orange County prior to 1777 and many of them were already in active training when the new county was established. To separate these men from those who resided in the now compressed region of Orange County would be a time-consuming task, but in compiling a full roster of Caswell men who saw duty in the American Revolution this might be possible. Enough information exists on men identifiable by residence, however, to understand the role played by typical Revolutionary soldiers from Caswell County. Some time after the war, perhaps in connection with the settlement of land claims of veterans, a list was drawn up of officers and soldiers then residing in Caswell County. Included were:

David Barker, William Berry, Robert Blackwell, Robert Browning, Spill Coleman, Nathaniel Comer, Lewis Corbitt, William Culbertson, John Davis, Major Charles Dixon, Capt. Wynn Dixon, Major Thomas Donoho, Capt. John Graves, Daniel Gwyn, Nathaniel Hart, Berry Hunt, John Ingram, David Johnson, Doct. Lancelot Johnson, Capt. Samuel Johnson, Joshua Kerney, John Kimbrough, James Lea, Capt. Gabriel Lee, Rev. Richard Martin, Robert Martin, John McMullin, Capt. David Mitchell, William Mitchell, William Parker, Col. Robert Parkes, Holoway Pass, John Price, Isaac Rainey, Major John Reed, Capt. William Richmond, Archibald Samuel, George Samuel, Jeremiah Samuel, Col. James Saunders, Major Richard Saunders, William Sawyers, Nathaniel Slade, Thomas Slade, William Slade, Francis Smith, Peter Smith, Jonathan Starkey, Thomas Stephens, William Stephens, John Taylor, James Tuner, John Ware, William Ware, Thomas Wiley, Col. Henry Williams, Col. John Williams, Henry Willis, Jacob Wright

Caswell County School Desegregation

Jeffers v. Whitley, 309 F.2d 621 (4th Cir. 1962)

Alexander JEFFERS and Sylveen Jeffers, minors, and John L. Jeffers and Annie L. Jeffers, their parents and next friends; Nathan Brown, Lunsford Brown, and Sheliah Brown, minors, and Jasper Brown, their father and next friend; and Charlie Saunders, Jr., and Fred Saunders, minors, and C. H. Saunders, their father and next friend, Appellants,

v.

Thomas H. WHITLEY, Superintendent of the Public Schools of Caswell County, David L. Johnson, Chairman, C. N. Barber, J. A. Hodges, N. L. Oliver and J. C. Wilkins, Members of the School Board of Caswell County, Appellees.

United States Court of Appeals Fourth Circuit

Methodist Church History in Caswell County, North Carolina

New Hope United Methodist Church

Purley United Methodist Church
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M. Park Hunter (Pastor at New Hope and Purley United Methodist Churches in Caswell County, North Carolina) kindly provided (a) a paper he authored on Methodism in Caswell County, (b) his extensive research notes, and (c) New Hope and Purley church photographs. The links to these materials are set forth below:

New Hope United Methodist Church 230th Anniversary

Methodism in Microcosm, M. Park Hunter (2008)

Research Notes

New Hope Photographs

Purley Photographs
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Additional materials relating to these churches will be found at:

Cemetery Census (New Hope)

Cemetery Census (Purley)

New Hope United Methodist Church 200th Anniversary

New Hope United Methodist Church Weblog Article
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Caswell church marks 230 years
© Burlington Times-News
July 24, 2009
By Tristan Long

Few churches can claim they’ve been organized longer than the denomination they belong to. New Hope United Methodist Church on 679 Long’s Mill Road in Caswell County is one of those. On Sunday, the church will celebrate its 230th anniversary with a service that will include appearances by the bishop of the North Carolina United Methodist Church, Alfred Wesley Gwinn Jr., Burlington District Superintendent William H. Gattis, and former pastors and their family members. The church traces its beginnings to class meetings led by John B. Davis starting around 1779. Davis, a Maryland native, left the Methodist-influenced area in the 1770s as a teenager. Current church members can trace their lineage to Davis, said Park Hunter, the church’s student-pastor.

At these early meetings, people read scripture and listened to sermons by lay ministers under “a big ol’ oak tree,” said Hunter. Methodist pastors were not ordained ministers until after 1783. Hunter estimated that a dozen or more people would attend these events, but it would be limited to the family members and neighbors in the immediate area. Class meetings were then moved to the Davis home until a log church was built sometime in 1779 near the church’s current location. New Hope is the oldest church in the Burlington District and one of the oldest in the North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church. The church’s foundation comes before the creation of the Methodist Episcopal Church at the Christmas Conference of 1784.

“God is good, truly,” Hunter said of the church’s longevity, “when you look at the ebb and flow of human history. We have tried to be faithful and serve God in the community.” Hunter said a luncheon will follow the service. “This church likes to cook,” said Hunter, who has been at New Hope since 2006. “It’s going to be spectacular.

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Betty Lou Newman Hodges (1938-2009)

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Greensboro (News-Record, 28 July 2009) — Betty Newman Hodges, a loving wife, mother, and grandmother, died peacefully at Beacon Place on Saturday, July 25, 2009, after a courageous year-long battle with cancer. She was 70 years old. Betty was born on October 31, 1938, in Roxboro, N.C., to parents William J. "Bill" Newman and Wilma Coward Newman of Leasburg, N.C. Betty attended schools in Caswell and Person counties and was a graduate of Roxboro High School, Class of 1956. She went on to study at Greensboro College and King's Business School. While attending King's she met and began dating her future husband, Charles Whitted Hodges, of Greensboro. One year later they married, on October 17, 1959, in the Leasburg Methodist Church. This year would have been their 50th wedding anniversary.

Betty's first job was with the Piedmont area Girl Scout Council, starting in the summer of 1959. She eventually was promoted to office manager, holding that position until she left in May of 1964 to await the birth of her first child, Joan. Their second child, Charles "Chuck", was born in 1969. Betty re-entered the workplace at Greensboro Day School in 1979, serving as the first Middle School secretary, a position she held until her retirement in June of 1999. After retirement, Betty enjoyed spending time with her family at home, when traveling, and at the coast and in the mountains. She was the happiest when surrounded by family on these occasions. To her family, Betty was a loving wife, Mom and Grams. To her friends, she was caring and loyal.

She is survived by her husband of nearly 50 years, Charles Whitted Hodges; daughter, Joan H. Machanic of Summerfield and husband, David; son, Charles "Chuck" Newman Hodges of Durham and wife, Elina; grandson, Stephen H. Machanic and granddaughter, Catherine Marie Machanic, both of Summerfield. She is also survived by a brother, John G. Newman of Greensboro; nephew, Will Newman; niece, Beth Newman; mother-in-law, Marie D. Hodges; sister-in- law, Irma W. Hodges; and, a special first cousin, Ann Gunn Everitt of Yanceyvillle. The family will receive friends from 6:30 until 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 28 at Forbis and Dick, North Elm Street Chapel. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, July 29, at Greensboro Day School- Westminster Presbyterian Church, Lake Brandt Campus. A second memorial will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, August 8, at Leasburg United Methodist Church, Leasburg, N.C. Remains will be interred in the Leasburg Community Cemetery. The family would like to thank the physicians and staff at Moses Cone Regional Cancer Center for their care and concern. They would also like to thank the wonderful people at Hospice and Palliative Care of Greensboro and their Beacon Place facility. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Hospice and Palliative Care of Greensboro, 2500 Summit Avenue, Greensboro, NC 27405, or to the charity of one's choice.

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Yanceyville, North Carolina Post Office History

The Heritage of Caswell County, North Carolina, Jeannine D. Whitlow, Editor (1985) at 78 ("Yanceyville Post Office" by Jeannine D. Whitlow):

The post office at Yanceyville was first called Caswell Courthouse or Caswell. The name was changed to Yancey, no date given, and finally to Yanceyville March 2, 1835 while Thomas Graves was postmaster.

As near as can be determined at this time, Thomas Bouldin, appointed March 8, 1798, was Yanceyville's first postmaster. Succeeding postmasters in order of their appointment dates are:

Henry Atkinson, March 17, 1800
Richard E. Matthews, January 23, 1802
Thomas Graves, May 10, 1804
Thomas Graves, April 22, 1819
Abner Miles, September 16, 1839
Edmund R. Fowler, February 10, 1854
William B. Graves, April 30, 1856
William Brown, June 13, 1856
Alexander McAlpin, October 5, 1867
(Mrs. Mary O. Kerr lists Lazarus Fels next with comment, Confederate period?)
M. V. Paylor, April 1, 1868 (shown on Mrs. Mary O. Kerr's research as Mrs. Mary B. Paylor)
Wilson Carey, August 21, 1869
Thomas J. Brown, November 23, 1869
James L. Roberts, December 9, 1872
Robert Bigelow, October 22, 1873
Thomas J. Brown, June 7, 1875
Allen Gunn, December 19, 1876
Felix Roan, June 22, 1881
Jerry [Jeremiah] Graves, November 12, 1884
Jeremiah Graves, November 19, 1884
W. H. Thompson, July 16, 1885
Jeremiah Graves, March 26, 1889
James B. Poteat, May 31, 1893
Eliza C. Kerr, December 26, 1894
Drury F. McKinney, January 8, 1898
Archie C. Lindsey, December 17, 1910
Henry W. Perry, April 15, 1914
Sallie W. G. [Willie Graves] Perry, May 2, 1916
Albert Y. Kerr, May 29, 1918
Addie Slade, March 2, 1923
Thomas J. Henderson, June 11, 1923
Thomas D. Boswell, May 8, 1933
Garnett C. Cooper, September 30, 1953
Hugh Dorsey Bradner, June 16, 1955
James R. Graves, Jr., October 1, 1983
[Fred A. Smith, January 9, 1993]
[Dinah L. Marshall (January 25, 2003 - July 31,2012)]

Sources: Arthur Hecht's Postal History of N.C. 1789-1795, Mrs. Mary O. Kerr's research from William S. Powell's book, When the Past Refused to Die, A History of Caswell County, 1777-1977, and research of James R. Graves, Jr., Postmaster, Yanceyville, N.C.

----- Jeanine D. Whitlow


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Anderson, Caswell County Post Office History

Anderson Postmasters

Name, Date Appointed

Quintin Anderson, 8 August 1818
Anderson B. Walker, 22 December 1854
Mary A. McNutt, 27 May 1867
George Anderson, 29 April 1892

The Anderson Postoffice was discontinued 1906.
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