Family of Alma
Mater Composer
Hor)ored by College
Relatives of the late Miss Annie
E. Abernethy, former Henderson
resident, who wrote the words to
Chowan College’s alma mater in
1890, were recently honored by the
college with officials including
President Bruce E. Whitaker,
back row, second from right,
attending. Relatives present at a
dinner included, front row, from
left, Mrs. W. T. Bobbitt, Rich
Square; Mrs. A. C. Broughton,
Raleigh; Miss Katherine Cain,
Raleigh; Mrs. Thomas H. Cain,
Jr. of Knightdale. Back row, from
left, W. T. Bobbitt; Mrs. Birdie L.
Flynn, Phoenix, Ariz.; Sidney R.
Abernethy, Raleigh; Dr. A. C.
Broughton; Dr. Whitaker;
Thomas H. Cain, Jr. Sidney
Abernethy, 90, later was
(vesented a framed color picture
of McDowell Columns, Chowan’s
administration building erected in
1851, with the words of the alma
mater imprinted on it during a
ceremony as part of orientation
for new students in the stadium.
He received a standing ovation
from the students and Chowan
personnel.
Chowan Founder's Descendant Loves Antiques
By RAMONA SCX)TT
Difficult to believe that Hert
ford County could have anything
in conunon with the Smithsonian
Institute? Ask young Jimmy
Moore, they have—a pre-
Stein way piano.
The instrument, along with
many other pieces of furniture
and books that would plunge any
antique dealer into complete
rapture, are in the home of Mrs.
Raynor Moore, Jimmy’s grand
mother.
Book Traces History
From 1848 to Present
From its founding in 1848 to the present ad
ministration of President Bruce E. Whitaker,
Chowan's interesting and exciting history is
detailed in A HISTORY OF CHOWAN
COLLEGE, by Edgar V. McKnight and Oscar
Creech.
Originally released in 1964, the book takes on
new meaning during the current celebration of
Chowan's 125th anniversary.
Chapters of Chowan's history come to life
through ils 330 pages. The book emphasizes the
important roles that various individuals have
played in the bounding anl devetnpment of
Chowan Ctiallenges, obstacles and victories aro
all recoraed to give a picture in depth of
Chowan's mvolvem«»n« :r Christian higher
Mlucation
insights into the heart ano spirit of
Chowan, as well as amusing anecdotes, await the
reader The chapter devoted to the rules that the
young women of decades ago lived under is
especially rewarding and has a ring of "it's true
but hard to believe." It's all in A HISTORY OF
CHOWAN COLLEGE, available by mail from
Chowan for as long as they last. This treasure of
history is $4.00 a copy. Use the accompanying
order form, mail it to Chowan College, and your
copy will soon be on its way to you.
PAGE FOURTEEN
Jimmy, a student at Chowan
College, says there is only one
other instrument in the United
States like that in his home-it is in
the Smithsonian, Washington,
D.C.
The piano, strung vertically
from the back, still has some
operable keys. The rare in
strument was acquired by
Jimmy’s great-great grand
father, Maj. John W. Moore, who
“horse-traded” for it-a real live
horse.
The swap was made in 1870
with Augustus Stein, a close
friend, who later fromed the
Steinway Piano Company.
Directly across the living room
from the Steinway is another
piano, which the Major bought in
1896 at the Chicago Exposition.
Although slightly out of tune, the
piano can still be played. It was
produced by William Knabe and
Company of Baltimore.
Atop a small table fronting a
couch that dates back 150 years,
there rests the huge 1,460 page
family Bible printed in 1851 in
Philadelphia. The pages,
yellowed and loose, are oc
casionally referred to by Jimmy
when there is a question over
dates and facts regarding his
ancestors who have occupied that
particular portion of the county
for eight generations.
490 Volumes
In the library of “Maple Lawn”
are 490 volumes of antebellum
books. Perhaps the oldest is one
just acquired from a cousin
entiUed English Pilot written by
J. Gordy. It contains charts of the
Mediterranean Sea with
notations “made from latest
charts” dated in the 1750’s.
Much of the library was
assembled by Major Moore, an
attorney, historian, poet, novelist
and composer. He lived in
Murfreesboro just prior to the
War Between the States and at
that time his collection was the
largest library in eastern North
Carolina. His home, “An-
niesdale,” located where Parker
Hall of Chowan College now
stands, was burned in 1866 and a
large number of the books were
lost. Those that remained
comprise the library at “Maple
Lawn.”
The oldest volume in the
collection, before receiving the
book of sea charts (the work of
nine generations), is dated 1768.
It is a “Complete List of All the
Common and Statute Law Books
of this Realm,” written by John
Worrall.
Second in longevity is a three-
volume set of Adam Smith’s The
Wea Ith of Nations and published in
1786 in Londao. There is also a
bound copy of the Hibernian
Magazine published in Edin
burg ScoUand in 1790. The
collection varies from works on
law, medicine, chemistry,
mathematics and religion but the
overwhelming majority of the
books deal with English history
and literature-with classics by
such authors as Shakespeare,
Milton, Dryden, Swift, Tennyson
and Byron.
Johnson Dictionary
One of the most interesting
volumes is a Dictionary by the
famed Samuel Johnson, the first
written in the English language,
dating back to 1802. Another of
special interest is the Manual ol
Instruction for the Volunteers
and Militia of the Confederate
States, published in Richmond in
1861 by William Gilham.
Keen Knowledge
Jimmy’s keen knowledge of his
ancestral home, the events
surrounding it and his ancestors
is phenomenal. And the manner
in which he describes the details
of what occurred long before his
time is a revealing deliniation of
his fondness for his home and the
priceless possessions therein.
According to Jimmy’s research
and knowledge handed down
from generation to generation,
the land, a grant of 1,000 acres,
was made to Col. James Jones, a
native of Wales, by King George
n. TTie exact year of the grant
was lost when all records in
Hertford County were burned in
1830.
Originally, the house, which
contained one room and a hall
downstairs and two small rooms
and a hall upstairs, was occupied
by the overseer and later
enlarged by Jinuny’s great-great
grandmother, Elizabeth Jones
Ward Delke.
Unusual—"James"
An unusual thing about her,
Jimmy notes, was that she was
born a Jones and married three
times. The first was Jones, the
second Ward and the third was
Delke and she obtained property
with each marriage. “Her
husbands all had the given name
of James, her father and grand
father were James, whe had a
brother named James, the same
name she gave to one of her
sons,” Jimmy remarked.
Her last husband was present
at the 1848 meeting at the home of
MajorMoore’sfather, Dr. Godwin
Cotten Moore, known as
“Mulberry Grove” near St. Johns
that led to the establishment of
Chowan College.
Mrs. Delke had a daughter,
Anne, during her marriage to
Ward and she was the first in
dividual to receive a diploma,
which Jimmy had preserved,
from Chowan College in 1853.
“Anne was extremely wealthy-
Continued to Page 15
THE CHOWANIAN