Newspapers / The News-Herald (Ahoskie, N.C.) / Jan. 1, 1959, edition 1 / Page 87
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ILESTOM EDITION ( AN INSTITUTION OF COMMUNITY SERVICE SINCE 1909 ) Hertford County 1759-1959 The Herald 1909-1959 8 Pages—This Section Ahoskie. N. C. Milestone Year—1959 Ante Bellum Congregation in Western Hertford: Pleasant Grove Saw Chowan College's Birth Church Story Placid PLEASANT GROVE — Down in the far southwestern section Hertford County is Pleasant Grove Baptist Church. The little “country church” is off the beaten track, set on a comfortable, wooded site in the good farmland between Cuta- whiskie Swamp and A h o s k ' Swamp. “It is located in a section of country known as Ahoskie RidgC; say the minutes of the third an nual session of the West Chowan Baptist Association, meeting Pleasant Grove in 1885. “This area is noted for the fertility of its soil, its advanced agricultural interest, and the generous and unbounded hospitality of its people.” The 1885 report continues: “Near by the church is Mulberry Grove, the home of the late Dr. G. C. Moore, who for thirty-six sessions was chosen Moderator of the Cho wan Association, and pre.sided over that body with such promptness, ability and fairness as to commend him to the respect and love of that Association, which will ever che rish and revere his memory. “...The membership of this church in 1884 was one hundred and fifty-five, representing in point of numbers a fair average of the churches of this Association, and has among the members a num ber of good substantial working brethren,” the minutes remark. “But she has also what is perhaps better—true, zealous Christian sis ters, who .are ever ready to lend their aid to the causes of benevo lence, the Sunday school work, and all other good enterprises of the church demanding their assistance and co-operation. “Fortunate, indeed, is the church which can count among her mem bers true, consecrated, working Christian women, whose deeds de serve not only to be enshrined in the hearts of those who know them best, but to be embalmed in his tory.” This glowing tribute to the wo men of Pleasant Grove is unusual in the annuals of the Baptist churches in Hertford County. But the founder of Pleasant Grove was unusual, himself, and believed strongly in the power of women’s intellect. Dr. Godwin Cotton Moore was born just after the beginning of the 19th century, in 1804. at “Mulberry Grove,” the ample plantation of his parents, James and Ester Cotton Moore. Both of Godwin Moore’s grand fathers had served valiantly in the Revolutionary War: Col. William Edward Moore of the Virginia Con tinentals had left his son James an orphan, to be raised at Mul berry Grove by an uncle, also nam ed James Moore. Godwin Cotton had been aide-de- camp to Col. Robert Howe of Brunswick, who commanded the Second North Carolina Continen tals at the battle of Great Bridge. Godwin Moore was a fine stu dent, and was graduated from the University of Pennsjdvania at Philadelphia in medicine. Return ing to Hertford County, he practis ed medicine at Mulberry Grove and married the beautiful Julia Monroe Wheeler of Murfreesboro. In 1836 Dr. Moore was baptized a member of the Conaritsa Baptist Church, which was almost ten miles from his home, in Bertie County. There he endorsed the Baptist faith so heartOy that he be gan what was to be a lifelong ca reer in the service of the Baptist church. A year later. Dr. Moore became the founding father of another Bap tist church. According to the oldest minutes book of Pleasant Grove, the church was constituted on April 2, 1837, by Elders Stephen Baize- more and Francis Hauley. The building stood on a piece of land donated by Dr. Moore. Although the earlier minutes of the church were burned, a record shows that the first Sunday in each month (and the Saturday before) were set as the time for monthly meetings. Varied Congregation Because of the location of the church, it drew a varied congre gation from three counties—Bertie, Hertford, and Northampton. In three directions, it was only sev eral miles to the county line. Even today, many members of Pleasant Grove live in Northampton, work in Bertie, and worship in Hertford. Only three years after the found ing of Pleasant Grove, the church sent her distinguished member, Dr. Moore, to head the Chowan Bap tist Association as moderator. This post he held for 36 years before his death in May, 1880. It was in the Wynns, Southall, Barnes, Vaughan, Cowper Famous Hertfordians Are Buried In Southall Cemetery in Murfreesboro PLEASANT GROVE—One of Hertford’s oldest ohiuTh buildings is the plain frame meeting house of Pleasant Grove Bapti.s-t Church. Interesting architecturally for its ^severe, classic lines, the building is stinking for its high windows. The buldng has changed Ittle since ante bellum days when it was built. The building has been the scene of several associational meetings of Bap tists, and for many years was home church for Dr. Godwin Cotton Moore, ante bellum Baptist leader who served 37 years as moderator of the Chowan Association. home of Dr. Moore in 1848 that si: Baptist fathers gathered to discuss the question of an education for their daughters. At their urging, the Bertie Union Meeting approved a resolution, passed on to the Chowan Associa tion, for establishment of a school for girls. Chowan Collegiate Insti tute opened its doors on October 11. 1848, the product of Dr. Moore’s idea. The six fathers purchased a lot in Murfreesboro and gave t school its start, but three sold their stock to the Chowan Associa tion in 1859. The school became the Chowan Baptist Female Insti tute in 1852. Dr. Moore was presi dent of the board of trustees from the inception in 1848 until 1865. Photographic Visit to Old Home: Mulberry Grove, Ancestral Of Cotfon, Moore Clans, rk r Home Stands Some of the earliest members listed on the church roll were: Julia M. Moore, July, 1337; Eve line Jacobs, October, 1837; Martha Odom, August, 1838; Susan Odom, November, 1840: Etheldred Odom, August. 1841; and Jordan J. Hor ton, October, 1841. The latter was certainly a “big” addition, for Mr. Horton weighed between 300 and 400 pounds. Ardent Democrat bounds of our territory are piti fully blighted.” In May. 1888. Brother C. T. Deanes reported that he pledged at the late session of the Bertie Union meeting SI. for the erection of a church at Margarettsville. A collection was taken up and the pledge redeemed, the minutes report. Also recorded is the fact that in April, 1899, the church I nfiembers granted thd Friends the : privilege of preaching in the mcet- Dr. Moore, an ardent Democrat ling house one Sunday each month, in the face of many Whigs in-Hert- Keeping up the good missionary ford Coimty, perhaps had a hand \ spirit of the church, 820 m cash in writing.the 15th article of the church covenant. It resolves “that civil government is of divine ap- pointmant for the interest and good order of human society, and that magistrates are to be prayed for, conscicnciously honoured and obey ed, except in things opposed to the win of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the only Lord of the Con science. and the prince of the kings.” No reference to the Civil War is found in the church minutes, ex- and pledges was raised in May, 1906, for a new church at Conway. World War I was impressed upon the church by an agreement in June, 1918. that the names of those in camp were to be called, with the dates when they left. At the next conference, in August, 1918, the handsome sum of S25.50 was raised to be sent to the Jewish Relief Fund, which was one of the major “drives” during the war. War and pestilence went hand hand, for in October, 1918, (Men whose names ring loud in Hertford County history liv ed and died in Murfreesboro. Many of these famous men lie side by side in an equally fa mous old cemetery in the com munity. In this article, prepar ed by a Murfreesboro High School student for the Hertford County Historical Association, the story of these men and of the cemetery paints an excel lent picture of some of Hert ford's leading men of history.) By MARY LOU PARKER If you have ever wandered through a cemetery, then perhaps ; you have pondered as you look ; at each tombstone, and occasion- 1 ally read an epitaph, “Just who j was that person and what did he ! accomplish, that was of worth while value during his life?” ' These are the questions that ' ran through my mind one day as : I rambled through one of the I olde.st cemeterie.s in Murfrees- : boro. ’ The Rea Cemetery, later called I Southall Cemetery, is located on I Broad Street near the pre-Revolu- I tionary Freeman House, known i today as the Murfreesboro Wom- i an’s Club. Surrounded by an old rustic ' fence rest the remains of some of I Murfreesboro’s most outstanding and prominent citizens of the ; early nineteenth century. The first tombstone I noticed iwas that of John W. Southall, . born July 28, 1797, and died July 3, 1873. Mr. Southall was a very wealthy plantation owner in Hertford County. Being a devout Methodist, he spent his money freely to advance the cause of his church. Land for the first Meth odist Church in Murfreesboro was donated by him. He aided greatly in building the Wesleyan Female College in Murfreesboro. He took an active interest in the affairs of Hertford County and also served as magistrate for a number of years prior to the Civil War. The cemetery which I visited is now called Southall Cemetery in honor of Southall, who so gener ously gave this land to the town. Fannie Southall The most beautiful monument in the entire cemetery stands , watchfully over the grave of his ; lovely daughter, Fannie Southall. She was regarded as one of the I prettiest and most fascinating women of her day. Her noble and beautiful character brought her much admiration from the eligi ble young men. She died on September 30, 1852, and her death caused deep sad ness throughout the community. My attention was soon attract ed to a plot covered with thick green ivy which replaced the usual slab. Beneath this pall lay the body of Jarret Norfleet Han-ell, According to the marble monu ment standing at the head of the grave, Jarret was born January 24, 1824, and died November 4, 1892. He and his brother owned the largest mercantile business in ■ Hertford County. At the outbreak of the Civil ! War, Jarret left his business and I entered the Confederate Army as a captain. Because of his out- j standing leadership, this tall, j .striking-looking man was even- j tually promoted to the rank of , major and then later to colonel. ; Perhaps one of the oldest i graves in the cemetery is the one j in which the bones of Thomas • Wynns are interred. The exact, date of his birth is not known. I However, the Raleigh Register 'records 1758 or 1759 as the ap- ; proximate date. I Belonging to one of the oldest i and most prominent families in Hertford County, he was elected to Congress in 1802 and served hLs county in this capacity for five years. In 1808 ho returned to his old seat in the North Carolina State Senate, where he remained until 1817. At his death in 1825 at the age of sixty-six, not only did his na tive town of Murfreesboro grieve ' his passing, but the state and na- 1 tion as well. j Resting beside General Thom as Wynns is Colonel Benjamin V/ynns, his father. Colonel Wynns I lived in the early 1700’s. His age- jOld weather-beaten marker does not reveal the dates of hi.s birth and death. I was told that, as a young man, he served the Gencr- al Assembly in the year 1759. During the Revolutionary War I he was in command of Conti- Inental troops at Norfolk. He met Governor Dunmore, a former British Governor of Virginia, who was in command of British forces there. In a conflict between the two armies, Colonel Wynns suc ceeded in driving Dunmore back in a speedy retreat. After the victorious campaign of Colonel Wynns’s forces around Norfolk, he returned through the Albemarle section, where he and i his men received great praise ’ from the people along his route. ' Indeed, Murfreesboro was proud I to have had such a groat man as ! a citizen, ! Benjamin Wynns I Still in the Wynns plot, I notic- j ed he marker of Colonel Ben- I jamin Wynns’s great-grandson, James M, Wynns. , He is said to have served his I people in important positions. In ’ the mid-I800’s he served as Jus- I tice of the Peace, as a member of I the special court of the county, and as a captain in the Confed erate Army, from which position he was later pron^sted to the rank of colonel. While in the army he was elect ed to serve his county in the Senate in 1864 — 1865 and for years served on the County Board of Education. He loaned Hertford County $4,000 in gold to aid in equipping the soldiers for the Civil War. This money, in cidentally, he lost. His death in the late 1800’s was a great loss to this town. At the back of the cemetery enclosed in an iron fence of its own, I discovered the final rest ing place of Honorable David A. Barnes. Ho was an aide-de-camp to Governor Vance dui'ing the Civil War. Having graduated from the University of North Carolina, he became quite a reputable lawyer and in time was a member of the House of Representatives in 1844, 1846, 1850, and 1854. The silver- haired bachelor mamed the youthful, fascinating, and much- admired B e 11ie Vaughan, a daughter of Colonel Uriah Vaughan. On June 24, 1892, David Barnes died leaving his lovely widow, three daughters, and his only son, David Collin Bames, who today is Hertford County’s oldest lawyer. Having often heard of Miss Settle Vaughan’s father. Colonel See HERTFORDIANS, Page 6 '■'* ‘ ‘ ’ J itS MULBERRY GROVE-DISTINGUISHED OLD HOME MIRRORS HERTFORD HISTORY MULBERRY GROVE—Site *of male school that later became cept that the time of meeting was | church clerk A. R, Harman of Au- changed for a short time at the | noted “On account of the I beginning of 1863 “for the conveni- ‘ ence of the beloved pastor at that [time, Rev. John Mitchell.” Still later, the meeting was changed to the second Sunday of each month, and the Saturday before. In the records of the conference held on the second Sunday o f September, 1883, is the note: “Pro ceeded to the election of dele gates to attend the meeting of the several churches west of the Cho wan River to be held at Cashie Church beginning Tuesday after the 2nd Lord’s Day in October, 1883, for the purpose of organiz- ! ing a new association which re sulted in the election of brethren Jos. W. Wliite, W. W. Jenkins, J. R. White, and R. J. Dunning alter nate.” With the establishment of the West Chowan Baptist Association, S2.25 was collected and sent by the Pleasant Grove church for the minute fund. On Saturday before the second Sunday in March, 1888, “the sab bath school question was brought up and thoroughly discussed and the question was asked whether or not the church desired a sab bath school and the church voted unanimously in favor of the school.” Brother J. R. White was unanimously elected superintendent of this first Sunday school. Helped Others ! epidemic of Spanish influenza their was ho meeting.” The flu epidem ic lasted so long that the church was also prevented from holding a conference in Novem ber of 1918. After World War 1, Pleasant Grove settled back into much the same course it had traveled be fore, until the 1930 depression years. Then the church lost its pastor, who had received only SlOO of the $300 annual salary he was due when he resigned, and found it extremely difficult to find and keep a pastor. In 1932, the Rev. K. E. Bryant agreed to preach once each month for S150 yearly, and served until June, 1935. The Rev. W. V. Tarlton of Rich Square served as supply pastor until December, 1935. At that point, services were dis-; continued “on account of b a d i weather and bad roads.’’ The i church was without a pastor then' until August, 1936. By that time, i the situation had improved some what, and the Rev. B. L. Davis of Roxobel agreed to become pas tor at Pleasant Grove. New Interest This revival of interest came ■ just in time, for the church cele-! brated its 100th anniversary o d [ May 30. 1937, with an all - day ; homecoming. In Ramsey Graveyard: Other Hertford Names on Stone one of the earliest settlements in Hertford County is famed Mul berry Grove, the ancestral home of the Colton family and later of the Moore family. Located west Chowan College. In the yard of the house today, giant, gnarled mulberry trees arc a reminder of the big house’s namesake. These trec.s, some ovei ears old, arc offshoots and of presenl-day Sami Johns the descendaiit.s of trees planted in the brick house is now (1959) oc-[ jj,,, eentury. eupied by tenants. The home site I ,rees which later gave the present was occupied by settlers in the • — early years of the 18th century, and the house that stands today was originally built sometime in the latter part of that century. Nearby is Pleasant Grove Baptist Church, where Dr. Godwin C. Moote of Mulberry Grove and others met to plan a Baptist fe- manor house its name. The trees are located in the back and side yards of the house. In 1860, Mulberry Grove was at its height as a plantation house. A map of the era shows four build ings on the house side of the road, eight other houses in neat rows directly across the road (which At the start of Pleasant Grove’s As one of the few churches in I second hundred years, the mem- est). These were Association almost 50 year.'Jbers raised the pastor’s salary to 'old in 1885, Pleasant Grove felt a|$250 yearly, appointed officers for responsibility to help others. j church and Sunday school, and “The Association pledged itself ordered the membership divided into active and inactive lists. Several revivals were held, with was a direct east-west route from -Vinton to the ’ lave quarters and outbuildings for he extensive farming interests of he owner. ] to an honest effort to raise $1,- At the time. Dr. Godwin Cotton i 350 for the Baptist Orphanage dur- .'Vloore wa.-^ head of the manor, j ing the year,” the minutes of 1885 ending Democratic Party leader, a founder of Chowan College, and extensive farmer. His son, young John Wheeler Moore, was on the eve of service in the Confederate army, after which he would become the com piler of the roster of North Caro lina soldiers who served in the war, and Hertford County’s earliest novelist. read, “and the work mapped out for the coming Associational year is much larger than that of other years. We know in some re spects the financial outloor for in creased liberality with us is not favorable. Stock gambling and bank speculations have disturbed the needed confidence in business and trade, while the crops i n many of the fields within the good additions as a result. But World War II put another, damper on the church's enthusi asm. In September, 1942. the Rev. ^ Mr. Davis resigned as pastor be- i cause of the distance he had tc i travel, considering the gasoline shortage. Until March, 1943, the church was again without a pastor. The Rev. J. B. Folds of Aulander was See GROVE, Page 6 (Many of the famous people of Hertford County history are now but names in a book, or on a gravestone. Such is the Bor land family, which was at one time an aristocratic leader in Hertford. In a graveyard near Murfreesboro, much of the story of the Borlands is found on weathered stone of grave sites. This article, prepared by a Mur freesboro school student for the Hertford County Historical As sociation, tells of the graveyard and of the famous family in Hertford history.) By GERALD BYRD The Ramsey farm is located two miles North of Murfreesboro on the Severn Road in Hertford County near Vaughan’s Creek. The farm was bought by Dr. Thomas Borland around the year 1809. The old Ramsey house is no longer standing. The only thing that remains of the old house is the crumbled down old brick chimney. The chimne.v is now surrounded by a thick growth of vines and bushes. The farm is now owned by the Winbornes, who inherited it from the Ramseys. The Ramsey graveyard is locat ed on a high hiU a few hundred yards from the place where the house used to stand. The grave-, yard can be seen from the road during the fall and winter months when the growth of bushes and vines is not so thick. The old graveyard is a very in teresting place to visit and read the epitaphs on the old tomb stones. There arc ten visible graves in the old cemetery and probably more but they have been covered by nature’s blanket of leaves and grass. Borland Family Dr. Thomas Borland married Harriet Godwin and moved t o Murfreesboro from Suffolk, Virgin ia in 1809. Thomas Borland had three sons by his wife. They were Euclid Borland, Solon Borland, and Roscius Cicero Borland. Dr. Thom as Borland was one of the wealth iest men in Murfreesboro. He was also a judge in Hertford County. Thomas Borland died in 1830. The first grave in the cemetery is that of Dr. Euclid Borland, the first son of Thomas Borland and Harriet Godwin. Ho was born in Suffolk, Virginia. October 27, 1809. Euclid died in Norfolk. Virginia, April 28. 1821. From there he was sent to be buried at Ramsey with the rest of the family. Beside the grave of Euclid Bor land is a second grave which is that of Euclid’s first wife, Eliza beth R. Moore. Elizabeth was born in North Carolina. Decem ber 24, 1818. Elizabeth had two daughters and four sons. She died January 15, 1850. The youngest daughter, Fanny Borland, was born in Mississippi, October 10, 1846, and she died No vember 15, 1849. The oldest daughter of Elizabeth Borland was Elizabeth Borland. Elizabeth was born February 14, 1845 and she died November 15. 1849. Several years later the bodies of Elizabeth R. Moore, Fanny Bor land, and Elizabeth Borland were exhumed to be buried at Ram sey. When they were reinterred they were all buried in one grave. ; On their tombstone was written this inscription; “The remains of these loved ones were brought here from Louisiana and reinterred here in 1852.” General’s Grave A third grave is that of General Euclid Borland, the first son of Dr, Euclid Borland by his first wife Elizabeth R. Moore. General Euclid was born in New Orleans in 1844. He died in Norfolk, Vir ginia. September 26, 1896, at the age of 52. From Norfolk he was sent to Murfreesboro to be buried with his father. Beside the grave of General Eu clid Borland is a fourth grave, that of Charlotte Wilcocks McCall, the wife of General Euclid. Char lotte McCali was born June 8, 1852, and she died February 1, 1885, The body of Lucy Wilkinson, Dr. Euclid’s second wife, lies in the fifth grave. Lucy was born in Nor folk, Virginia, May 23. 1819. After her death she was sent to Mur freesboro to be buried with her husband. She died in Brooklyn, New York, May 10, 1881. Lucy Wilkinson had one child. It was a boy whose name was Lucin Borland. The small body of Lucin Borland lies in the sixth grave. Lucin was born in Mar shall County, Mississippi, Febru- ! ary 23, 1842. Lucln’s tombstone is very simple. Lucin died in Mur- I freo.sboro. North Carolina, October i 4. 1845, at the age of three years, i five months, and twelve days. VTio I knows what caused his death? It I could have been Yellow Fever or i the Flu Epidemic. Only tho^ at i Ramsey who are resting v' .i him i at the family graveyard will know I this answer. The second son of Dr. Euclid and Elizabeth Borland was Solon Borland who came to Hertford County from Arkansas in 1842. So lon was a General in the Con federate Army and he died in Texas, January 31, 1864. There "n no visible evidence of his being buried in the family graveyard. A third son of Euclid and Eliza beth was Roscius Cicero Borland. Roscius practiced law in Hertford County but he later moved to join his brother in Mississippi because of his poor liealth. On his way it was said that he See RAMSEY, Page 7
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