Page Four
THE NEW BERN MIRROR, NEW BERN, N. C.
Friday, May 4, 1973
THE NEW BERN MIRROR
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Published {very Friday at 410 Johnson Street
New Bern, N. C., by the Sole Owner
J. QASKILL McOANIEL Editor and Publisher
Historical
Gleanings
SUBSCRIPTION RATES:
One Year
I
—By—
ELIZABETH MOORE
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Second Class Postage Paid at New Bern, N C.
A PERSONAL LOSS
To many New Bernians and millions of other
Americans, the death of Irene Ryan was almost like
losing a member of the family or a favorite neighbor.
So believable as Granny was she that she appeared
for real in the role.
Hie rest of the actors and actresses who performed
yew after year in the Beverly Hillbillies televised
series seemed pretty far fetched. Granny alone
reminded us of somebody else, encountered along
life’s way.
She was woefully ignorant, strongly opinionated,
and at times utterly ridiculous. So what, aren’t we
all? Granny couldn’t write a thesis for a master’s
degree, but how many intellectuals know how to milk
a cow?
For that matter, is there one among us who could
have come into sudden wealth, as Granny did,
without getting above our raising and flaunttog our
riches? In a largely phoney world, she was genuine.
Sure, she was loaded with pride, but there’s a lot of
difference between pride and vanity, just as there’s a
lot of difference between book learning and wisdom.
Don’t kid yourself. Granny had plenty between the*
ears.
Truthfully, she was the kind of woman who jour
neyed unflinching to the untamed West in a covered
wagon in pioneer days; the kind, we mig^t add, who
gathered her broken dreams when the Old South was
crushed to earth, and built new hope and a new life
iqx>n the agony and ashes.
Granny, as was intended by producers of the
television success in which she starred, came across
hilariously on the screen. Underneath, however,
th«re was tenderness, and pathos.
These were dimensions that Irene Ryan gave the
role, and they were qualities that emanated not from
her long theatrical experience, but from ttie depths of
her compassionate and tremendoudy generous
heart.
Even as Granny, Irene for most of her life knew
Mliat it was to have little of this world’s wealth. Later,
like Granny, she became rich, but it didn’t change
hOT one iota.
WhUe living she devoted much of her fortune to
scholarships. In deatti she left the remainder for this
same purpose. Most people in show business are
noted for their generosity, but few have approached
Irene Ryan in this respect.
Money meant little to her, as little as it did to
Granny. Entertaining others was her life, from early
childhood, and she was still going at it with en
thusiasm when sticken with a stroke while on stage in
New York.
Her last role, in the Broadway play “Pippin” was
far removed from her image as Granny, but
audiences weren’t that easy to forget. At every
performance, the moment £^e appeared, she was
given a standing ovation.
The final curtain has fallen for the two of them,
Irene Ryan and Granny, leaving this troubled land of
ours, vdiere genuine compassion is in scant supply, a
sadder place.
As we said at the outset, losing Granny was almost
like losing a member of the family. Irene Ryan, of all
people, would have understood and appreciated such
bereavement.
JAMES RIGGS VS.
BENJAMIN TILLMAN
AND CHURCHILL RICE
North Carolina, Craven
County. 1822-1823.
The deposition of WILLIAM
JONES, a witness for the
plaintiff, before EDWARD C.
KING, one of the Justices of the
Peace for Craven County, on 12
February 1823:
Many years ago, I believe in
the year 1791 or 1792 I was
present at the running of the
GALES patent on JONES BAY,
near the mouth of BAY RIVER,
beginning at a live oak caUed
GALES corner having
cross DITCH CREEK and
DOWDY’S CREEK
COLONEL HENRY TILLMAN,
who was the surveyor m the
occasion, then mentioned there
was vacant land between the
line and the River, and if
some of them did not enter it, he
would. The survey was made by
COLONEL TILLMAN as a
private surveyor for JOHN
DOWDY to show where his land
lay that he had bought out of the
GALES PATENT from
SPARROW and DELAMAR, or
one of them. There were present
at the time JOHN DOWDY, his
son WILLIAM DOWDY, JONAS
JONES, DAVID JONES, ED
WARD CREEKMAN, and
JAMES RIGGS, SR., THOMAS
SHANAWOLFF and myself
were the chain bearers. The last
line was run to show AMOS
SQUIRES where his land was,
which was likewise included in
the GALES PATENT.
SWARMING
Bugs come out in springtime.
That’s vdien they incubate;
How we have some new ones.
Those bugs at Watergate.
No one wants to claim them.
Their praises won’t be sung.
And a lot of politicians
Hope they won’t get stung.
Whose hide will be punctured.
We’ll have to wait and see;
Which proves that insects know
Much more than you and me.
—JGMcD.
Deponent further saith he
was present the second of the
same lines by JOHN ALLEN,
who was then surveyor of
BEAUFORT COUNTY, the
lines were run the same and
distances as before and ap
peared intently to correspond.
The second running was to lay
off a tract of land to JONAS
JONES, which he also bought
out of the GALES PATENT
from SPARROW and
DELAMAR, or one of them.
Some time after the survey by
ALLEN, I believe Uie next
season, THOMAS JONES and
JAMES RIGGS had their en
tries of vacant land, which they
had taken up, surveyed by
THOMAS BEASLEY, the
Deputy Surveyor of
BEAUFORT COUNTY. JONES
land was run out first, b^in-
ning at a stake in the mouth of
the ditch at the Head of DUMP
CREEK, running 80 poles to a
gum standing in the line which
COLONEL TILLMAN and Allen
had run as GALE^ lines, the
gum is a tall and notable tree,
and has been shown by me to
Messrs. R. SHIPP, STREET
and RICE. The gum was then
and there marked as FRANCIS
JONES’ second comer, at this
gum JAMES RIGGS b^an his
survey. Myself and HARDY
JON^, I think, were the chain
bearers....
OFFICE 638-3586
HOME 637-4208
(^ifn ~^nJre{
W6
REALTOR
p. o. BOX 2742
NEW BERN, N. C. 28560
1911 TRENT BlVD.
Ceramic Tile
Quarry Porches
Marble Fireplaces
Rubber & Asphalt
Tile.
G. H. BRYAN
TILE CONTRACTOR
637-5418
In 1792 or 1793 JAMES RIGGS
settled on this land which he
entered in 1793, he built a house
on it. AMOS SQUIRES assisted
him in building it, which house
he lived 20 years or longer, and
continued to live there until he
was depossessed by the Sheriff,
after the termination of a suit
brought against him by
COLONEL HENRY THXMAN
or his heirs. Deponent being
cross examined by the defen
dant, says I never heard
any dispute about he
dividing line between RIGGS
and the GALES PATENT, untU
after COLONEL TILLMAN
bought from SQUIRES
There was no dispute to my
knowledge between COLONEL
'HLLMAN AND RIGGS about
the land. I was with REDING
SHIPP, when for our own
satisfaction we ran the last line
of RIGGS’ PATENT
(Signed) William Jones, ^ore
Edward C. King, Justice of the
Peace. J. W. Guion, C. C. by J.
G. Stanly, D. C. (Clerk’s Lwse
Papers, (fraven County, N. C.)
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