Mth TEAR NO. 11.
Beaufort and moreuead city, north Carolina Friday, june 25, mi'
PUBLISHED TUESDAYS AND FRIDAY
in the Nineties
Memories
1
of Beaufort
By Thomas H. Carrow
(Editor's Note: Appearing here U the second part of a lertes
of sketches on Beaufort during the lait decade of the 19th cen
tury. The author, a native of Beaufort, It now living In Philadelphia.)
Education in the Nineties
I am here reminded of the educational situation in Beaufort
and Carteret County in the nineties. It is hard to believe that
some of the citizens, both white and colored, could not sign their
names. This fact recurs to mind because my experience In the
Court House, where I copied mortgages and deeds and issued mar
riage licenses, brought me in contact with many worthy citizens
who used their mark (x) In lieu of signing their names. Indeed,
I observed early in my life that many of our fine citizens had
only a modicum of education. I have known, -for example, Jus
tices of the Peace who could barely write. Charge it to the
ravages of the Civil War for later developments fbowed that our
people had brains aplenty. AH that Was needed was an oppor
tunity for education.
A remarkable thing took place in 1888. Some Northern philan
thropists started, or restarted, a school for the colored children.
That marked the beginning of the end of illiteracy among them.
Then, about the turn of the century, St. Paul's school wae estab
lished for white children with "Miss Nannie" Geoffrey in charge.
I have no direct knowledge of the functioning of this school, but
my impression is that it went a long way toward lifting educational
standards in the community of Beaufort. The late C. R. Wheatly,
Esq., was a product of St. Paul's school, to mention only one. I
also believe the John Todd Noe boys, the younger ones, were
beneficiaries of the St. Paul's school. The Reverend Tom Noe,
the eldest of the boys, got his start In education through the
personal guidance of "Grandpa" Forbes.
Specking of school, I should not forget my beloved teachers,
Mr. A. B. Hill, of Scotland Neck, N C, and Miss Julia Read, of
Beaufort. They presided over the Beaufort High School as late as
1905-6. Up to the time Mr. Hill canie to Beaufort, school facilities
were meager indeed. He first taught in the, Odd Fellows. Temple.
Theahe occupied the school building in the Court House Square.
A photograph of the school dated 1895, shows, som. 50 pupils.
fer. Hill was a remarkable character.' He must have been the
offspring of the finest of southern sioci The, curriculum was
varied. The three R'i were on the list, but psychology, astrono-.
my and navigation, Latin and Greek were all taught by Mr. Hill.
I recall how I envied one of his brilliant pupils when he was
working quadratic equations. This pupil was the present county
health officer, Dr. N. Thomas Ennett. Following Mr. Hill came
Mr. Gibbs, then Mr. Spillman. From then on, I go out of the
picture so far as schools are concerned. By the way, Mr. Alex
Potter also taught the public school for a while. I remember
his making me stand up on a desk in front of the school for' some
dereliction, and when I became fidgety, he tanned my legs.
An incident in Mr. Gibbs' School: We boys chipped in a
penny each and bought five cents worth of cayenne pepper and
when the school was dismissed for lunch, put it on the stove. No
school the rest of the day. The fumes from the pepper came It
impossible. An entry in my diary dated 1-20-98 reads, "Mr.
Gibbs kept us in after school until 6:20 p.m., 2 12 hours, the
longest time 1 was ever kept in. May I always remember it."
I have.. J " ' V , .V-V;. 7 .-4f
Two of Mr. Hill's pupils and my closest school mates, M.
L. Davis and J. F. Duncan, continued their studies in college and
graduated at law. Cecil Taylor took a business course and Tom
Ennett selected medicine. I quit and took to the road.
'.' V - '
Law and Order
The dockets of the law courts in Beaufort today Interest me.
My father having been Recorder of Deeds four years, I had an
opportunity to become familiar with the courts and the case they
tried. The scene has changed. Some of the crimes and misde
meanors perpetrated today are the same as in years gone by, but
I notice that at every court, there are a good many divorces. In
my day there were practically none. I cannot recall a single divorce
having been granted in my boyhood. , , l-
' One "reason is that women were then totally dependent on
men." They are not today! I think also that women were then
unduly submissive. Too, I fancy divorce would have been a 'stigma
upon the woman. Beyond this, there is a moral Aspect to the ques
tion.' Loyalty to, one's spouse was more general in the last cen
tury, at leasjt on the surface.4 ' ' v's ''
Facilities for "fast"! living have led some from the path of
rectitude who would not have "fallen" if they had been sheltered
as they were in the '90 It is my very certain Impression that
marriage to not regarded today as an indissoluble union by many
men and women. ' T '' ."" , '
Drunkenness was a common offense in my day among few, -both'
white and black, andthe heavy drinkers were well-known In '
the community. Beaufort went dry in 1897 largely because of the
preaching of the Rev. Mr. Tuttle. Then, of course, dealing in moon
shine whiskey became a comparatively lucrative business. The
corn whiskey ' bootleggers , flourished in Carteret County then
Just as they did all over the country, in the Prohlbitfon'era.,; IV.
can recall a number of names on the bootlegger list One, I recall,
was sent to jail, out he managed to get access to the whole court
' house square and did some horsetrading while he was "in Jail
I can jecall only one lynching. The victim imurdertd a' t
many
A . : torekeeper on Bogue Sound.' A gang took the fellow from the
Jail and carried him back to the point of the crime and did away
i With hint J Those are the only two homicides I can recall in Car-j
r teret County. There was not one case of capital punishment
' '.' - ; The absence of crime; in the Wa to attested by the fact that
the Superior Court convened only twice a year, and often all,
businesawaa concluded 3 There ware
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Pictured here are the pupils of
Beaufort High school, 1895. The
school building, in front of which
the pupils are ' standing, is the
present town hall in Beaufort, and
originally stood across from its
present site in what is now the
court house square. In years fol
lowing 1895, the porch was remov
ed.' . t
Standing at the left of the pic
ture, leaning against a porch post
is A. B. Hill, 'principal who is no
longer living. ' Reading left to
tight, the others are Annie Noe
who later married John Rice, Beau
fort, Annie Jones, sister of the
late C. D. Jones, Annie Davis, now .
the wife of J. B. Jones, Jr., Maud
Davis, sister of M. Leslie Davis.
"Miss Maud," who became the
wife of L. L. Dameron, died last
June. , .'
Wearing the large hat and fac
ing the camera is Li)lian Pierce,
aunt of Ada, Ethel and Mildred
Whitehurust, of Beaufort, in front
Of her is Lilly Webb, now Mrs. R.
T. Willis, Morehead City, and in
front of Lilly Webb is Corinne
Chadwick, sister of Cooch Chad
wick, who later became Mrs. T. A.
Uzzell, of New Bern. Looking to'
the right of the picture toward
Mr. Hill is Emily Duncan, sister
of J. F. Duncan, who was stricken
with typhoid fever and died before
reaching 20. To her left is Lucy
Davis, also sister of M. Leslie Da
vis, who died two years ago.
On the step above her is Tom I and Tom Jones, with derby, who is
unnctt, now neairn officer of Car- no longer living.
teret county. Next is Hugh Fodrie
who is no longer living, then M.
Leslie Davis, now county solicitor.
Standing next to the post holding
his fingers up is Charles Thomas,
now living on Turner street, Beau
fort. At his left shoulder is Louis
Fulford and then Ed Davis, both
of whom are dead.
In front of Charles Thomas,
leaning against the post, is Jim
Potter, now owner of Potter's
Grocery, Beaufort, and next to
him is Charles Skarren, who is no
longer living. To Charles Skar
ren's left is Bill Delemar, now liv
ing in Beaufort, then Bert Hill,
now a retired Methodist preacher,
At the left elbow o( Jim Potter
is Julo Duncan, Beaufort attorney,
whose left arm is resting on the
shoulder of Murray Thomas, now
a county deputy sheriff.
In the lower row, reading left
to right, are Lela Russell, who
later became the wife of Charles
Thomas and is no longer living,
Betty Davis, aunt of Alonzo Thom
as, Addie Thomas, who later mar
ried Dr. C. S. Maxwell, Ella Da
vis, who is still living in Beaufort.
Seated on the ground is Jack
Dickinson, now living at Wilming
ton, N. C, Ed Potter, brqther of
Jim and now operator of Beaufort
Ice plant, Dollie Davis, now Mrs.
H. A. Hamlin of Clearwater, Fla.,
Ella Dill, sister of John Dil, who
is living now in New Bern, Etta
Davis, now Mrs. H. L. Potter,
Beaufort, and behind her, Martha
Thomas, who is no longer living,
Helen Gibble, who later married
Bill Delemar, Chattie Hatscll, sis
ter of Charles Hatsell, Beaufort,
Elva Abernethy, sister Of former
Congressman C. L. Abcrricthy.
Standing on the first step is
Tom Lindsay,) who is no longer
living, next to him, his head tilted,
is Tom Carrow, the author, next
to him in the fedora hat is Wilbur
Whitehurst, now living in Norfolk.
At Tom Carrow's left shoulder,
only his face showing, is Jerry
Thomas, now living at Suffolk,
Va., then Cecil Taylor, oldest son
of Mr. and Mrs. N. W. Taylor who
is retired and living in Boston,
Earle Dickinson, with his right '
hand extended and resting on bat,
who is no longer living.
To his right is John Chapman,
now living in Beaufort, then Jim
Duncan, brother of Jule, who is
now practicing law at Greensboro, '
Emmitt Chapman, only his face ,
showing, now is a county deputy
sheriff, Jule ' Whitehurst, and
Frank Smith. ,
Of, trjo boys sitting, in the win
dow, only two can ,be identified;
Frank Skarren, seated, with his
hands on his knees and next to '
him, Cooch Chadwick. '
only, two lawyers in Beaufort in the '90's that I can recall Mr.
Claud Felton and Mr. C. L. Abernethy.
When lawyers were needed by Beaufort people they usually
retained men from New Bern. The Wards and Clarks, Moores and
Guions were the leading New Bern lawyers. Mr. W. W. Clark was
a brilliant lawyer.
1 Many interesting incidents came to my attention while work
ing in the courthouse with my father who was Recorder of Deeds,
1894-1898. There was a rather simple-minded colored fellow in
Beaufort named Garfield. I don't remember his last name, but he
came to my father's office one day and asked,
"How much is a marriage license, Mr. Carrow?" My father
replied, "Three dollars, Garfield."
"I ain't got but $2.50, I'll have to go borrow another half dol- ,
lar," Garfield said and walked away. He didn't return. How for-
tunate for the ladyt , - 1
One day I issued a license to Frank Small, a man well up in
.his, 20'sto marry a girl under 18. After he got the license,' some- k
one told him he had to have the written permission of the girl'f I
parents. He scurried out of towit with the license and married .:
the girl as soon as possible, fearing he .might be unable to get
parental consent
. '- "' , V' ' ' - ' 1 ""
' VI '
Distinctive Men
It seems to me men were more distinctive in my boyhood .
than they are in my age. I can recall a dozen or more of Beaufort
whose personalities were altogether unique.' To mention a few:
Capt. Dave Morse, Mr. Math Phelps, Mr. Dick Rice.'Mr." Dory ;
Adair, Capt. Mark Mason, Mr. Jim Davis, "Grandpa", Lewis For-
law, Mr. Lou Skarren, Mr. Dave Sanders, MrMat Marshall. They
were not particularly briliant men, but different" Perhaps the
reason was they forged their own personalities whereas fifty years t
. later everything tends toward standardization even-in personality.
A boy goes to school, he goes to college, he follows tbe.law, me-
dlcine, engineering, or he becomes a skilled worker or a common
laborer, and all the white he to making his life Jit a pattern made I
before he was born, in former times, a man made pattern of ,j
life for himself.'; It was often poor but it waa at least original and ;
1 unique. ,: ' - ' ' . , v.."
x .Health and Water .' ' , 1 '.,
The late Dr. Osier to quoted aa saying tha' average life of
English speaking people who has beer doubled in the last 300
years. I have no statistics on the subject but so far as Beaufort
alone is concerned, I am inclined to think life expectancy has
been very materially increased since the turn of the century
because of the availability of medicine, surgery, and improved
hygiene' , .atJH
The doctors of the '90's were a band of noble souls. They
utilized the comparatively meager knowledge they were able to
acquire to the very best advantage, but their facilities and their
techniques were crude indeed in the light of the advancement
that has been made since, say 1900. '
I recall the names and faces of only three doctors of Beaufort
in the '90's, Dr. King, Dr. Tom Delamar, and Dr. Ben Davis.
Each ran a drug store in connection with his profession. My
memory of Dr. Davis is more distinct than of the other two. He
was a mamraonth figure, well above six feet tall and well pro
portioned. His going to and from the homes of the sick was a
very important feature of the Beaufort scene; his drug store was
a mecca for the halt and the lame and the diseased who were
able to get to see him. My recollection is that the price for
medicine included his charge for professional advice. And such
a' price! Probably 10 cents for a dose of calomel, to mention
only one ,yery common prescription. '
I believe the prospective mothers of Beaufort put great
faith in Dr. Davis as an obstetrician. And heaven knows he had
ample practice. Among my own relatives, for instance, I think
he must hsve been present at 8 or 10 births. He administered to
the people in the country as well as in the town. I think they
came for him and brought him 'back. ' He kept no horse and
buggy. ' . ' ,(;;
Dr. Davis must have had many emergency cases, but I have
no recollection of his ever exceeding his comfortable pace. How '
unlike the present doctors who are always going at top speed
whether afoot or in an automobile. Even then, they have a
difficult time to treat all their patients. In fact, many doctors of
today have their work arranged oi the assembly line basis.
One of my p doctor friends recently told me he performed five
abdominal operations in one afternoon and I heard the late Dr.
Deever say he had removed 31,000 appendixes. I am hot sure
that people had appendixes in Dr. Davis' day at least I never
heard of one being removed J. , '" - v . 1 -
My memory of Dr Davis is accentuated because he treated
.me through a 30-day siege of continued fever. Also I Used to
spend time with him sitting on his front porch atop where he
would regale me with interesting snd helpful stories. He alwaya
kept a pail of cistern water on a shelf in the middle of his drug
store and many a weary soul quenched his thirst at this pail, He
chewed tobacco constantly. ";
Water! That was always a problem in Beaufort. Town - '
pumps of which I can remember the locations of 8 or 10 were i
the principal source although a great many families had their1
own pumps or cisterns for rain water. Some had wells. Water:' )
stands out in my memory because at the age of 10 or 12, I had1
to carry all that, was consumed in our family, and the pump was'
just one square from our home. Some of the town pumps were '
known for their good water while the reputation of others was' '
not so good: ' '
Some people feel proud of themselves for keeping clean when ,
they have "city" water and a hot water heater. But those who
Jteep clean when they have to carry water an eighth of a mile '
and heat it on a wood stove are heroic that's a jobl Turning on' ,
a spigot and jumping in and out of a tub is a joy. My sistfr,' 1
who had a large family, properly aya that the one thjng that
modern times has brought her that she appreciates most is run- ,
ning water, Bread may be the, staff of life but you must have
water to make it. I suspect that some of the sickness visited upon' "
our people was due to an Inadequate supply of good water. '
'A -V viu ; - 7
V. Business 7 ''.;
On my annual visits to Beaufort, the present grocery and -dry
goods stores remind me of the business enterprises and the '.
men who directed them in the '90's and prior thereto.
There were Chadwick and Jones who ran a combination hard-, j
ware, boat material and grocery store. This was the biggest busU
ness Jn town. Next, was Capt. Thomas Thomas' business1. In my
day, he was assisted by his son, Alonzo. Captain Thomas had
two other sons each of whom ran a farm on the North River'
Road. v CapUin Thomas, formerly - a ship captain, I think, was
noted for holding tight the cash that came his way. That's why
he was "rich' as we used to think. 4 He castigated me one day
for "chunking" shells n the water, "because," said he, "it will
will fill up the river," ' ,
., There were- many other small businesses around the"" town.
Mr. Benn Noe in "back landing" and John Stanley Smith "'down
east" to mention only two. ; Mr, Bill Dill kept a afore for many ,
years where the "Standard" gas station now stands. Mr. C. P;
Dey had a rsther large general business about where the C D. '
Jones Company is. John Arrington waa his , dynamic bead clerk
::7:V;t;:'vv7:"r;-:' Jde Be Continued Vr, v tV:
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