Leola Williamson Watlington (1950-2009)

Leola Williamson Watlington

Yanceyville, NC – It is with profound sorrow we announce the death of Mrs. Leola Williamson Watlington 59, of 520 Dillard School Dr., who died Wednesday, October 28, 2009 in the Kindred Hospital Greensboro, NC. She was a native of Caswell County, NC the daughter of the late Robert Williamson and Earline Kimber Williamson, born July 3, 1950. She was a member of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Greensboro, NC. Leola received her formal education at Caswell County High School, graduating in 1968. She late attended Piedmont Technical College, where she earned a degree in Cosmetology. She was a self-employed beautician with her own salon located in her home, until her health began to fail. She was also a volunteered her services for several years as a receptionist at WYNC radio station 1540. She was preceded in death by one brother, Harvey Williamson; one foster brother, William (June) Dillard, one foster sister, Margaret Oliver; her best friend, Dianna (Lynn) Jeffries. Her survivors are Husband, Arthur Watlington (Spote) Watlington of the home; one son, Darrell Watlington (Virginia) of Eden, NC; 0ne daughter, Alexia K. Watlington of the home; one brother, David L Williamson (Lois) of Yanceyville, NC; three foster sisters, Hattie Wilson, Shirley Dillard, and Anne Terry all of Danville, Va.; three grandsons, Derrill Watlington of Burlington, Kevin Casey of Eden, NC and Donnell Casey (Angel) of Reidsville, NC; Also close to her heart, her soul sisters, Anita Woods and Rebecca Graves; a host of great grandchildren; aunts; uncles; cousins, nieces; nephews; and other relatives and friends. Funeral service for Mrs. Leola W. Watlington was Saturday, October 31, 2009 2:00 PM at Ebenezer Baptist Church 2700 West Vandalia Rd. Greensboro, NC. Pastor Howard Woods Jr. will deliver the eulogy. Interment was in the church cemetery. A viewing was Friday evening from 2 to 8 pm at Fulton Funeral Home Chapel. The family was contacted at her residence 520 Dillard School Dr. Yanceyville, NC. All arrangements for Mrs. Leola Williamson Watlington were entrusted
to Fulton Funeral Home.

Permalink

Caswell County Courthouses

1. First Courthouse. Located in Leasburg. A commission composed of James Sanders, William Moore, John Payne, Thomas Harrison, and John Atkinson was appointed by the Caswell County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions to find and lay off the place where the courthouse, prison, and stocks would be built and then to see that they were built. The sheriff was directed to collect the taxes levied for this purpose and turn the funds over to the commissioners, less his commission for collecting them.

With work apparently underway on the courthouse, Thomas Combs on October 19, 1784, petitioned for authorization "to build a Shop on the Court House Lot," but the court postponed action for future "Consideration of the Commissioners Hereafter to be appointed." Finally, after nearly eight years without a proper building, the minutes of the Caswell County court for January 17, 1785, recorded that the justices "Adjourned to the New Court House." Until then, the court met in the house of Thomas Douglass. Perhaps in the interval the county had acquired the Douglass house. At any rate, the April court granted permission to "the subscribers of the old Court House" to remove "the said House off the public Lott."

Caswell County Sheriff Officers

Ray McGuire of Yanceyville identified three of the four officers pictured in last week’s photo, above, as Lacey Smith, James “Snake” Ashby and George Hodges. Share your old photos with your Caswell neighbors. Bring them by The Caswell Messenger for publication. Photos can be scanned and returned immediately.

Congresswoman Donna F. Edwards

Maryland Congresswoman Donna Edwards is living the example of her own advice to local students, “you are limited only by your imagination.” Edwards, a Yanceyville native, represents Maryland’s 4th Congressional District comprising portions of Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties. Edwards was sworn in as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 110th Congress in June 2008, when Rep. Albert Wynn resigned his office, and began her first full-term in the 111th Congress in 2009. Edwards grandparents and mother are from Caswell, and many of her relatives still live here. The congresswoman says she doesn’t get out of Maryland as much as she used to, but does come to Caswell for family reunions. When she’s here, Edwards said she loves to visit the church founded and named for her grandfather Henry Albert Graves, Graves Chapel Baptist Church. Edwards said she didn’t stay in Yanceyville long after she was born, since her father was serving in the Air Force, the family moved around a lot. But, in what she calls “a sort of round trip,” Edwards came back to North Carolina to attend Wake Forest University, where she graduated in 1980. After working a stint at NASA, she decided to go to law school in New Hampshire at Franklin Pierce Law Center. Edwards then did a lot of non-profit work, centered mostly around issues of domestic violence and founded the National Network to End Domestic Violence.

When her son was graduating high school in 2006, Edwards said, she decided to run for congress. That attempt failed, as she took on a seven-term incumbent. Edwards continued to work hard and tried again, defeating Rep. Albert Wynn in 2008. Wynn resigned, so Edwards took over in the middle of a congress, and then won her first full term in Nov. of that year. Edwards said spending a summer working on her great uncle Willie Frank Phillips’ farm in Mebane was an experience she will never forget. “It’s where I learned to become a gardener,” she said. “My mother was always a gardener but it’s because of her farm roots.” Edwards said her mother, Mary Edwards, and an aunt now live near her, having migrated to the Washington D.C. area. Edwards said of all her accomplishments, she is most proud of being a mother. For those who, like her, hail from Caswell, Edwards says, “They have to stretch their imaginations.” “They have to imagine themselves where they want to be. I come from really humble beginnings ... I studied a lot in school ... I read a ton ... if you work really hard, it doesn’t matter how you start; it matters how you finish.”
_______________

Source: The Caswell Messenger (Yanceyville, North Carolina), 11 November 2009

Congresswoman Donna F. Edwards of Fort Washington represents Maryland’s 4th Congressional District comprising portions of Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties. She was sworn in as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 110th Congress in June 2008, and began her first full-term in the 111th Congress in 2009.

She serves on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee where she sits on:

• Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
• Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment
• Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management

She serves on the Science and Technology Committee where she sits on:

• The Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation
• The Subcommittee on Energy and Environment
• The Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics

She also serves as a member of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission.

Rep. Edwards has enjoyed a diverse career as a nonprofit public interest and in the private sector on NASA’s Spacelab project. Just prior to serving in Congress, she was the executive director of the Arca Foundation in Washington, DC. During her time at Arca, she gained national prominence in her efforts to:

• Secure a "living wage" for working people.
• Ensure the independence of the federal judiciary.
• End capital punishment.
• Protect Social Security, and
• Promote labor and human rights both nationally and internationally.

Rep. Edwards was the co-founder and executive director of the National Network to End Domestic Violence where she led the effort to pass The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 that was signed into law by President Bill Clinton.

Rep. Edwards completed undergraduate studies at Wake Forest University and received her Juris Doctor from Franklin Pierce Law Center. She is the proud mother of her son who is currently attending college.
_______________

Permalink

Beatrice Foster Gwynn (1917-2009)

Beatrice Foster Gwynn

Nov 17, 2009 - 06:26:15 pm CST (The Caswell Messenger)

Yanceyville, NC - Mrs. Beatrice Foster Gwynn of 1044 Foster Rd., died Sunday, November 15, 2009 in the Brian Center Nursing Facility in Yanceyville, NC. She was a native of Caswell County, NC the daughter of the late James Madison Foster and Lillie McKinley Foster, born January 30, 1917. She was a member of Mineral Springs Baptist Church, where she was mother of the church and a member of the missionary circle. She was also a former member of the senior choir, Pastors Aid, and Sunday school. She was a member of the Order Of Eastern Star #624. She was a homemaker.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Nolden Gwynn; one son, Robert Gwynn; one foster son, Walter Totten; six brothers, Edgar, Jack, Bill, Dorsey, and Jody Foster; five sisters, Anna Watlington, Honey Totten; Maggie Turner, Rebecca Watlington and Nannie Simpson. Her survivors are one daughter, Barbara Gwynn Brown of Yanceyville, NC; one daughter-in-law, Mrs. Louise Gwynn of Blanch, NC; 6 grandchildren; 6 great grandchildren; 2 great great grandchildren.

Funeral services will be Thursday, November 19, 2009 2:00 PM in the Mineral Springs Baptist Church. Pastor Everett Dickerson will deliver the words of comfort. Interment will follow in the church cemetery. A viewing will be Wednesday from 2 to 8 pm at Fulton Funeral Home Chapel. The family may be contacted at her residence 1044 Foster Rd. Yanceyville, NC. All arrangements are entrusted to Fulton Funeral Home.
_______________

Permalink

Watlington Reunion 1928

(click on photograph for larger image)
_______________

Above are two photographs taken at a 1928 reunion of Watlington and related families. The location is the Caswell County, North Carolina, home of Otis Oscar Watlington (1872-1929) and Martha Elizabeth Page Watlington (1876-1965). The first photograph is a separate view of the younger people. The second photograph includes all attendees. To the extent known, the identities of those in the larger group photograph are set forth below:

First Row

1. Clarence Wright Watlington (1904-1979)
2. Not Identified [initially thought to be Wilbur Jones Page (1913-2009)]
3. Marion Arnold Nethery (1906-1990)
4. Albert Edgar Rice (1904-1967)
5. Virginia W. Dix (c.1918) (daughter of Felix Dix and Gertie V. Dix)
6. Bedford Page Dix (born c.1919) (son of Felix Dix and Gertie V. Dix)
7. James A. Dix (c.1915) (son of Felix Dix and Gertie V. Dix)
8. Mary Catherine Gunn (Jones) (1916-2003)
9. Margaret L. Shelton (born c.1918) (daughter of George Henry Shelton and Elizabeth Nethery Shelton)
10. Mary Lou Shelton (born c.1918) (daughter of George Henry Shelton and Elizabeth Nethery Shelton)
11. Barbara Ann Roberts (born c.1928) (believed to be a daughter of Hilliard Woods Roberts and Rosa Shelton Roberts)
12. Ruby H. Roberts (born c.1919) (believed to be a daughter of Hilliard Woods Roberts and Rosa Shelton Roberts)
13. Dorothy Mae Watlington (Stogner) (1924-1993)
14. Anna Elizabeth Watlington (Odell) (1923-2007)
15. Oscar Bryan Watlington, Jr. (1921-1990)
16. Julius Neal Watlington (born 1922)
17. Margaret Susan Watlington (1915-1997) (Hodges, Brown)
18. James Irvin Watlington (1924-2003)
19. Harvey Wilson Watlington (born 1917)
20. Nannie Mae Allison (believed to be the daughter of John Samuel Allison and Martha Ollie Shelton Allison)

Second Row

21. Herman Gunn Page (1904-1979)
22. Robert H. Jones
23. Josie Rudd
24. Betty F. Walters (Rudd) (daughter of Robert F. Walters and Emma Page Walters)
25. Emma Page Walters (1857-1933) (wife of Robert F. Walters)
26. Nettie Alice Page Dix or Gertie Dix (who may be the same person and the wife of Felix Dix)
27. Effie Lenora Page (Gunn) (1882-1954)
28. Sterling Page Gunn (1923-2006)
29. Not Identified
30. Mamie Page
31. Elizabeth Wilson Gunn (1847-1931)
32. Nancy Elizabeth (Nannie) Rudd (Gunn) (wife of Richard Griffin Gunn)
33. Maniza Ann Page (Rice) 1870-1959)
34. Hattie Wilson Page (Vaughn) (1880-1968)
35. Mary Mamie Page (Nethery) (1878-1967) (wife of Joseph Enoch Nethery)
36. Martha Elizabeth (Mattie) Page (Watlington) (1876-1965) (wife of Oscar Otis Watlington)
37. Otis Oscar Watlington (1872-1929) (son of James William Watlington and Laura Ann Jones)
38. Caroline Wimbish Bennett (1872-1952) (Jones) (wife of Robert Henry Jones)

Third Row

39. William Edwin (Willie) Gunn (1910-1987) (son of Thomas Edwin Gunn and Effie Lenora Page Gunn)
40. Bedford Allen Gunn (1906-1994) (son of Thomas Edwin Gunn and Effie Lenora Page Gunn)
41a. Benjamin Franklin McKinney, Jr. (1905-1967) (husband of Annie Belle Watlington)
41b. Adolphus (Doth) Page
42. Annie Bell Watlington (McKinney) (wife of Benjamin Franklin McKinney, Jr.)
43. Willard Holderby (this may be the husband of Zettie May Dix Holderby)
44. John Henry Gunn (1882-1962)
45. Zettie Holderby (this may be Zettie May Dix, daughter of Felix Dix and Nettie Alice Page Dix)
46. Louis Oscar Daniel (1904-1973) (husband of Martha Ann Gunn)
47. Felix Dix (born c.1881) (believed to be the husband of Nettie Alice Page Dix)
48. Thomas Earl Gunn (1914-2004)
49. Bill Dix
50. Martha Nethery (possibly the daughter of Joseph Enoch Nethery and Mary Mamie Page Nethery)

Fourth Row

51. Pattie Griffin Gunn (1895-1956)
52. Mary Lucinda Dix (possibly daughter of Felix Dix and Nettie Alice Page Dix)
53. Elizabeth Rice
54. Willard Jackson Page (1874-1962)
55. Robert Hayes Vaughn (1885-1957) (husband of Hattie Wilson Page)
56. Joseph Enoch Nethery (1874-1959) (husband of Mary Mamie (Nannie) Page)
57. Julius Spencer Watlington (1895-1972) (husband of Laura Mae Jones Watlington)
58. Laura Mae Jones (Watlington) (1903-1989)
58. Sara Lou Watlington (Gunter) (born 1926) (being held by her mother Laura Mae Jones Watlington)
59. Fannie Sue Roberts (Watlington) (1897-1981) (wife of Oscar Bryan Watlington)
59. Thomas Earl Watlington (born 1927) (being held by his mother Fannie Sue Roberts Watlington)
60. Oscar Bryan Watlington (1897-1973)

Fifth Row

61. Hubert Hodnet Page (1897-1974)
62. Eugene Rice (1895-1974) or William Gunn
63. Clyde Philip Page (1910-1982)
64. Ludolphus Graham Page (1902-1970)
65. John Oliver Gunn (1892-1992)
66. Not Identified
67. Rosa Shelton Roberts (1893-1972) (wife of Hilliard Woods (Hill) Roberts)
68. Hilliard Woods (Hill) Roberts (1897-1969) (husband of Rosa Shelton Roberts)
69. Martha Ann (Marnie) Gunn (Daniel) (1904-1985) (against post; wife of Lewis Oscar Daniel)
70. Annie Gunn (possibly Annie Elizabeth Gunn, daughter of John Henry Gunn and Hattie Florance Smith Gunn)
71. Hattie Gunn (possibly Hattie Florance Smith Gunn, wife of John Henry Gunn)
72. Janie Page (possibly daughter of Willard Jackson Page and Mary E. Gwynn Page)
73. Louise Page (possibly daughter of Willard Jackson Page and Mary E. Gwynn Page)
74. Virginia W. Dix (believed to be the daughter of Felix Dix and Nettie Alice Page Dix)
75. Elizabeth Page
76. Annie Nethery (possibly Annie Elizabeth Nethery, daughter of Joseph Enoch Nethery and Mary Mamie Page)
77. Marnie Page (possibly Martha Ann Gunn, daughter of Thomas Edwin Gunn and Effie Lenora Page Gunn)
78. Ella Shelton
79. Martha Dix
80. Emma Rice or Eva Page
81. Mamie Roberts
82. Annie Page or Mamie Roberts (against post)
83. Mrs. Adolphus (Doth) Page
84. Katie Shelton
85. Bentley Page (possibly John Bentley Page, son of Ludolphus Brown Page and Parthenia Phillip Hodnett Page)
86. Nettie Shelton (possibly Nettie Malloy Shelton, daughter of William Thomas Shelton and Martha Elizabeth Page Shelton)
87. Nettie Rice (possibly Nettie Page Rice, daughter of Albert Edgar Rice and Maniza Ann Page Rice)
88. Lillie Frances Jones (Fowlkes) (born 1910; wife of Robert Jennings Fowlkes)
89. Naomi Jones (1911-1943) (daughter of Robert Henry Jones and Caroline Wimbish Bennett Jones)
90. Percy McKinney
91. Nellie Althea Jones (Hodges) (born 1913; daughter of Robert Henry Jones and Caroline Wimbish Bennett Jones)
_______________

Permalink

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine 1840-1841

The University of Pennsylvania is the oldest and one of the finest medical schools in the United States. Penn is rich in tradition and heritage and at the same time consistently at the forefront of new developments and innovations in medical education and research. Since its founding in 1765 the School has been a strong presence in the community and prides itself on educating the leaders of tomorrow in patient care, biomedical research, and medical education.

Included in the 1840-1841 University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine class were eight students from Caswell County, North Carolina.

CATALOGUE OF THE TRUSTEES, OFFICERS, & STUDENTS
OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
PHILADELPHIA,
MEDICAL CLASS.-SESSION 1840-41.
MATRICULANTS.

Name County State
Anderson, John Q. Caswell, North Carolina.
Collins, Allen T. Caswell, North Carolina.
Currie, Shelby S. Caswell, North Carolina.
Price, James A. Caswell, North Carolina.
Walker, James C. Caswell, North Carolina.
Watt, William M. Caswell, North Carolina.
Wright, Weldon E. Caswell, North Carolina.
Yancey, Albert G. Yanceyville, North Carolina.
_______________

REGULATIONS CONCERNING THE MEDICAL
DEPARTMENT.
THE Medical Department is under the immediate government of the Medical Professors, who constitute the Faculty of Medicine, subject to the rules and statutes of the Board of Trustees. It includes:

A Professorship of ANATOMY,
A Professorship of the PRACTICE OF PHYSIC, and CLINICAL MEDICINE,
A Professorship Of MATERIA MEDICA and PHARMACY,
A Professorship Of CHEMISTRY,
A Professorship of SURGERY,
A Professorship of OBSTETRICS, and the DISEASES OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN,
A Professorship of the INSTITUTES OF MEDICINE.

The Medical Faculty hold meetings for the purpose of arranging and conducting the business of their department, and establishing proper rules and regulations for the preservation of order and decorum among the medical students. They appoint one of their own members to act as Dean, whose duty it is to keep the Minutes of the Faculty, to arrange the business of examining the candidates for medical degrees, to conduct the business of the Faculty at their meetings, and to attend to correspondence. The Session for the Medical Lectures begins annually on the first Monday of November, and ends in March.

The Commencement for conferring Medical Degrees is held by a special mandamus of the Board of Trustees, early in April, and within as short a time as possible after the examinations of candidates are over.

The following are the regulations at present in force in relation to the degree of Doctor of Medicine.

1. Every candidate for this degree must have attained the age of twenty-one years, have applied himself to the study of Medicine for three years, and have been, during that time, the private pupil, for two years at least, of a respectable practitioner of Medicine.

2. The candidate must have attended two complete courses of the following lectures in this Institution:

Anatomy,
Practice of Physic and Clinical Medicine,
Materia Medica and Pharmacy,
Chemistry,
Surgery,
Obstetrics and the Diseases of Women and Children,
Institutes of Medicine.

3. He must also have attended one course of Clinical Instruction in the Philadelphia Hospital, (Blockley) or the Pennsylvania Hospital, or some other Institution approved of by the Faculty of Medicine.

4. Medical students who have attended one complete course in a respectable Medical School, where the attendance on two complete courses is necessary to a degree, where the same branches are taught as in this, and which is placed upon the ad Eundem
of this school, are permitted to become candidates by attendance here for one full course.

5. When candidates for a Medical Degree apply to the Dean for admission, they must exhibit their tickets to prove that the above regulations have been complied with.

6. Each candidate, at the time of his application, which should be on or before the first day of February, must deliver to the Dean of the Medical Faculty, a Thesis, composed by himself, on some medical subject. This Thesis* is referred to one of the
Professors who shall examine the candidate upon it and must be written uniformly on paper of the same size, the alternate pages being left blank.

10. General bad spelling in a Thesis, or general inattention to the rules of grammar, will preclude a candidate from examination for a degree.

11. A Thesis may be published by the candidate if he desire it, the permission of the Professor by whom he was examined thereon being first obtained; but no alteration shall be made therein without the consent of the Professor.

12. The voting on the case of each candidate is by private ballot, and three negative votes reject him.

13. Each candidate shall pay the fees of graduation, at the time of his examination, or before receiving notice of his success; and before his name can be entered on the Register of passed candidates, for the purpose of being reported to the Board of Trustees and included in the mandamus for a degree.

14. Candidates who have passed their examination, and in other respects complied with the regulations, are to be reported by the Dean to the Provost, who will communicate such report to the Board of Trustees, in order that, if approved of by them, their mandamus be issued for conferring the degree.

15. The degree will not be conferred upon a candidate who absents himself from the public commencement, except by special permission of the Medical Faculty.

16. Graduates of Medical Schools, on the ad Eundem list, by attending one complete course in this Institution, are put upon the same footing with students who have attended two complete courses here.
_______________

*The Essay must be written on Thesis paper, which can be procured at the Medical bookstores; this is for the purpose of convenient binding together into volumes.
The following form of the title page is to be observed:

An Essay on Medicine in the University of Pennsylvania, by
(name in full) of Town
Residence in City,
Preceptor,
Duration of studies,
Presented (date;
for the Degree of Doctor of
County, State of

Rule of Examinations for the Degree of Doctor of Medicine.

The names and essays of the candidates are to be presented to the Dean on or before the first day of February in each year. The candidates are then to be divided, either by their own arrangement or by that of the Dean, into classes of eight persons
each. These classes will be designated numerically and according to lot. The examinations will begin on the last Monday in February or the first Monday in March, and be so conducted as to have the commencement early in April. No person's name will be received on a class unless his essay is in possession of the Dean-neither is his name to be attached to a class by any other than the Dean, except he has signified his desire to that effect.

The classes are to call at the houses of the several Professors, or at some other place designated by the latter; and when in attendance, each of the individuals composing a class is to be examined separately, and in the order of his name on the list of his class.

Each Professor is to keep a list of those examined by him, and opposite to the name of each individual examined is to note the result, so as, on consulting his paper, to be able to vote in the affirmative or negative as to the qualifications for a degree. As the examinations of each group of classes shall be completed, the Faculty is to meet-the names of the candidates examined are to be read by the Dean-and as each name is called off, the Professors are to consult their memoranda, and if no remarks be made, are to proceed to vote by ballot. If there shouldnot be three negative votes, the candidate is to be considered as having passed, and is to be entitled to his degree. Should three black balls be cast against any individual, he is not to be considered as absolutely rejected, but is to have the privilege of another examination before the whole Faculty in general session.

If, upon the name of a candidate being called out, one or more of the Faculty have any remarks to make in relation to his gualifications, they are to be heard before the vote is taken.

At the close of each meeting, the Dean is to make known the result of the ballot, by note, to each of the successful candidates, who is to pay his graduation fees before the note referred to will be delivered by the Janitor.

The candidates in classes being thus disposed of, the Faculty is then to proceed to the examination of those who may have preferred the old plan, and afterwards of those who, having received three negative votes, may still choose to avail themselves
of the opportunity of a final examination offered by the Faculty.

If any candidate who may not have succeeded in the first ballot, shall decline an examination before the Faculty in general session, he is to have the privilege of withdrawing his Thesis, without being considered as rejected.

If a Thesis be found remarkable for any good quality, the fact is to be reported by the Professor possessing it to the Faculty at their meeting, who may take upon it such action as they may deem advisable.
_______________

Permalink