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The NEW BERN
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VOLUME 4
NEW BERN, Ni C., FRIDAY, APRIL 14, 1961
NUMBER 2
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Each Sunday morning, along
#bpui dawn, one of New Bern’s
^eet cleaners tidies up Middle
street so that it will have a re-
^ spectablc Sabbath appearance.
We always meet him when we’re
gohig to or from one of the down
town restaurants for that first cup
of-coffee. He is courteous, calls us
by name, and is numbered among
oim friends.
Last Sunday, as the first rays of
thp sun were breaking through, we
spied him standing by a parking
me|er near the Hlks Temple corn-
,, er. He had paused with his broom,
and was gazing intently at an ob
ject on the sidewalk.
When we arrived at the scene,
he pointed to the body of a cardi
nal lying at his feet. Gone was the
exhuberant song of the proud lit
tle creature, and its once bright
eyes were fixed in the sightless
'Stare of death. Only its brilliant
plumage remained unchanged,
speaking eloquently of past grand
eur.
“I wonder why he died here,”
the soft-spoken Negro street clean
er murmured. “Maybe he struck a
wire and was electrocuted.” This
hardly seemed likely, since touch
ing a single strand that was charg
ed wouldn’t be lethal unless con
tact was made with some other
object.
- You could tell the street cleaner
' wasn’t exactly happy about doing
if it, but he scooped Uie cardinal up,
hesitated a moment, and then de
posited the lit^e bundle of red in
his. trash-bam '
" The early bed^hs ot-suniigm were
-pushing their way 'through ttie
overcast, and across the street in
' Christ-Episcopal churchyard hun
dreds Of more fortunate birds were
.-sih^hg in iinisoh.
- V' Looking rather sad, being of the
sentimental sort, the street clean
er trudged On down the street. -And
I a newspaperman, who loves birc|s
too, continued to the usual restau
rant for his cup of coffee, and
■ some serious afterthoughts about
life and death. —
1 « ^
Most New Bernians either have
implicit faith in . the' honesty of
- other people, or else they’re
thoughtless or mighty careless.-In
i your own case, the chances are
you rarely ever count your change
when you make a purchase, unless
there’s considerable money involv
ed in Uie transaction.
Under such circumstances, it
. would not only be easy to short
change you but make you the vic
tim of a phoney or plugged coin.
-Coihe to think of it, you seldom see
Coins with holes in ^em nowadays,
V although they were fairly preva
lent a generation or so ago.
Apparently money passes
through our hands these d»ys so
quickly that there’s hardly time tq
mutilate it. Besides, Idds probably
did most of the mutilating ifi the
old days, and the modern youngster
is too busy asking for folding mon
ey to bother about filling holes
in unimportant dimes or nickels
« 4i »!> *
If you’re like us, you’ve been
under the mistaken impression
that air conditioning is a moderft
invention. Actually it dates back
at least as far as 1902, and started
in Brooklyn, of all places.
That year, in one of the sultriest
July jponths to ever plague Flat-
bush, a printing plant discovered
that weather changes made its
paper stock expand and contract
to an alarming degree.
In fact, the fluctuation was so
severe the firm couldn’t print its
niulti-color jobs accurately. The
colors missed their mark more oft-
■ en than not, so the ownem of the
plant turned in desperation to a
young engineer named Willis Havi-
land Carrier, who wsis just out of
college.
^He first resorted to a fan that
blew across a continuous strip of
AN INTRIGUING PAST—Historic landmarks abound to~
such an extent in New Bern that they are almost common
place. Few homes, however, here or elsewhere, are as close
ly associated with memorable events of a; bygone dajr &9
this frame dwelling at the corner of Nnw and MetOalf
streets. You’ll agree after reading the article below.
A Million Memories
Within a Stately Old House
By FREDERICK R. BOYD
There are . perhaps some houses
that were built earlier—some more
stately—but It is safe to say that
no other residence~in New Bern;
can approach it in its 190-year-old
religious, fraternal, legal and bus
iness history.
Such a description accurately ap
plies to the large frame dwelling
on the northeast corner of New
and Metcalf streets that the Board
of EducMion of the City of New
Bern recently purchased' and re
stored, for use as administrative
offices of the city school system.
It was once owned by the daugh
ter of one of the founders of New
Bern’s First Presbyterian church.
Three of her 10 children became
Episcopal miniMers. Another, a
prominent attorney, was Worship
ful Master'(rf”St. Johns .Masonic
Lodge for four terms.
The iast Royal Chief Justice of
the Colony of North Carolina or
ganized this Masonic Lodge in New
Bern while an owner of the house.
The first Chief Justice of the
North Carolina Supreme Court, and
the first Attorney-General and la
ter a Justice of the Louisiana Su-
burlap, soiaked in a salt iwlution. It
cooled the atmosphere but rusted
niachinery, so he gave up the idea.
Hauling out some equipment he
had been* utilizing to t^ Steam
heaters, he substituted cold' water
for steam, and ran'it through the
heating coils. It couldn’t compare
with today’s air conditioning, but
the system provided steady humidi
fy and was a reliabie forerunner
of the conditioning we know today.
preme Court each lived in it.
The first recorded owner of the
lot was Robert Palm^ of Bath-
town, a member of the Colonial
Council. He purchased-it from the
Town of New Bern for 20 shillings
in 1767. He sighed an agreement
with me Town Commissioners that
he would erect a building, without
shed, of at least 24 feet long by 16
feet wide within 18 months, or else
the property would revert to the
town.
Martin Howard, first Worshipful
Master and fotmder of the local
Masonic Lodge, and Chief Justice
of the Royal Colony of North Car
olina from 1767 to 1773, bought the
property in 1771-for 375-pounds.
He owned a plantation—“Rich
mond”—in Craven county near
New Bern, so it is possible that
the residence on New street could
have been his “Town House.’' How
ard was prominent in coionial af
fairs in Rhode Island^ from whence
he came, and in North Carolina.
Though a-loyalist, he was greatly
respected, especially by members
of the legal profession.
Judge Howard possibly added to
or completely rebuilt the house on
this property, for William ’Tisdale
paid 600 pounds when he purchas
ed Itnn 1776.
Tisdale was a gold and silver
smith. He also was an engraver.
The first General Assembly of the
State of North Carolina commis
sioned him to engravS the first
Great Seal of the State' of North
parolina.
Francois Xavier Martin, de Font-
gate, patriot, prominent attorney,
printer and long an active leader
in St. Johns Lodge, purchased the
home in 1796 for 600 pounds.
Two law books he printed in the
I790’s are now owned by the ’Try-
on Palace Commission. He was ap
pointed a Federal judge in the
Territory of Mississippi, and after
the Louisiana Purchase became
the first Attorney-Generjll and la
ter‘Chief Justice of Louisiana.
Martin spld the house and lot
to John Louis Taylor for 550
pounds in 1798. Taylor Was ve^
prominent in Masonic leadership,
and as an attorney. He was a broth
er-in-law of Judge William Gaston.
He was Worshipful Master of St.
Johns during the year 1806-7. Ger
trude Carri^way writes in “Years
of Light”, Page 110, “As the fifth
Grand Master of Masons in this
state, Taylor was one of the most
prominent Masons for many years
in New Bern and North Carolina.”
On Page 75 she writes: “ The Mc-
’Clure funeral (General William
McClure, Revolutionary surgeon)
was held here November 18, 1804,
from the residence of the Most
Worshipful Grandmaster J. L. Tay
lor of the Grand Lodge of North
Carolina. His house was on the
northeast corner of New and Met
calf streets on *property he pur
chased in 1798 from Francis X.
Martin and sold in 1812 to Asa
Jones.”
He was Grand Master of the
Grand Lodge of N. C. 1803-5 inclu
sive, and again 1815-17 inclusive.
In January 1819 he became the
fii’st Chief Justice of the first Su
preme Coimt of North Carolina,
and kept this high position imtll
he died in January, 1829, in Ra
leigh.
Asa Jones paid $3,500 for the
property. He had lived in his home
on the comer of Uni&n (now John
son) and East Front streets, next
door to the brick residence now
owned by D. L. Ward. This house
was sold to Dr. Moses Jarvis for
$7,688. (Book 38, Page 395, Register
of Deeds.)
His wife, Sally Bryan, suffered
from “swamp fever”—^now known i
i as mMaria—and on their doctor’#
advice moved to a dwelling oa
higher ground. Jones was a vesftry-
man in Christ Church, and at one
time, was .an officer of St. John#
Lodge.
His main interests were turpen*>
tine stills and "shipping. ‘The still#
were located at the northwest cor*
ner of . Eden and South Front :
streets (Mrs. F. C. Robes’ “Old /
Inhabitants of New Bern”)—^just \
across from where the beauMCul
Maude Moore Lathan Memorhd
Garden is now.
Asa Jones was a large laiid own
er and possessed many slaves. “His
grandfather, Evans Jones, udioie
brother Roger was beheaded by In
dians, settled in Craven coun^ on
Clubfoot and Slocum creeks abotid »
1710” (Vass’ New Bern Presbyteti-^
an Church, Page 131.)
When Jones died a widower and
childless in 1840, ho wiUed hie.
property to John M. RoberfS( a
banker who had married his favo*
rite niece, Mary. Her father, John
Jones, was one of the foundeta «i
the New Bern Presbyterian ChUrch,
(Vass, Page 131.)
Robert was for many yetn g.
(Cotttinued en Bade Page)