Thursday, September 20, 1976
■o®®®«oaoc
Pembroke hosts county
municipal meeting
Left to right: Mayor Reggie
Strickland [Pembroke], Mayor
Lacins KtaUw [St.Paols], the
On Tuesday evening the
Town of Pembroke hosted the
Robeson County Municipal
meeting with Lucius Kinlaw,
Mayor of St. Pauls presiding.
Mayor Reggie Strickland of
Pembroke welcomed the 41
Association members present
,and guests.
Honorable Thad Enre, Secre
tary of State, ConncUman Sam
Dial [Pembroke].
Councilman Sam Dial of
Pembroke introduced the
Honorable Thad Eure, Secre
tary of the State of North
Carolina, who spoke concern
ing the duties and responsibil
ities of his office. In his
preliminary remarks Mr. Eure
noted the vast growth of
Pembroke State University
and also commented on the
long and distinguished service
of Senator Luther Britt in the
General Assembly. He also
noted that this Municipal
Association represents the
largest County in the State,
covering 949 square miles.
In enumerating the func
tions of the office of Secretary
of State, Mr. Eure pointed out
that on file in his office are all
the acts and resolutions pass
ed by the General Assembly,
the records of every corpora
tion in the State, records of
town boundaries and duties of
all towns, the security divi
sion’s laws are administered
from this office, all dealers in
securities for the investing
public are registered here, all
records of elections are kept in
this office, all seat assign
ments in the General Assem
bly are made in the office of
Secretary of State- these are
but a few of the responsibili
ties borne by the Secretary of
State.
There are 525 incorporated
towns in the State of North
Carolina, 450 of 'which are
active. In addition there are
hundreds of small, unincor
porated towns.
The contribution of the
municipalities in affairs of the
state is great and the Robeson
County Municipal Association
is very active in working for
the betterment of their towns.
Their unification aids in their
appeal effort as a group to the
General Assembly.
In closing, Mr. Eure ex
pressed the hope everyone
would become acquainted with
his office which exists to serve
all the people of the state. The
door to the Secretary’s Office
never closes day or night-it has
not closed in 40 years.
Plate Sale
Planned at
PSHS
The Pembroke Senior High
Athletic Department will spon
sor a fish and barbeque plate
supper on Friday, September
24. The price of the plates will
be $2.50 each and they will be
served in the school cafeteria
from 4:30 until 7:30. Following
the supper, the Pembroke
Warriors will host the Fair
mont Tornadoes in high school
football action. Gametime is
8:00 p.m.
Poge 5, The Carolina Indian Voice
The Life and Times of
Henry Berry Lowry
As the reader has probably
noticed, John Taylor was very
much involved in the political
scene in Robeson County. One
learned scholar deduced that
he was head of the Ku Klux
Klan which quickly came into
being following the South’s
defeat. Regardless of Taylor’s
involvement in instilling terror
in the hearts of the freed Black
slaves and Mulattoes (the
label stuck on the Lumbee
(River) Indians by their white
neighbors), many considered
him a friend.
Taylor owned a grocery and
merchantile store which was
connected to the Moss Neck
Depot. He was more than
willing to extend credit to the
destitute Indians and Blacks.
He also owned a terpentine
distillery and his father-in-law,
William C. McNeill owned
and ran a saw mill. When the
former slaves or dirt poor
Indian farmers got up to their
necks in debt to Taylor at his
store, the proposition was
introduced whereby the debtor
was to work in Taylor’s
terpentine distillery or his
father-in-law’s saw mill until
the debt was settled. The
average wages paid by whites
to Indians and Blacks in the
area was $2.00 for a week’s
work. Sad to say, this arrange
ment was legal. Taylor simply
profitted from the two lower
class peoples’ misfortune.
Many Indians and Blacks
stayed in hock to Taylor all
their lives. Ironically, many
felt that Taylor was doing
them a favor.
The more intelligent Indians
and Blacks of the Scuffletown
area realized Taylor’s cunning
and resented being used by
the prominent white. Henry
Berry Lowry was one of the
more intelligent ones. On a
raid in the fall of 1870.
reportedly, the Lowry Gang
burned Taylor’s terpentine
distillery and his adjoining
home. Loss was estimated at
$5,000.
As a result of the fire, Taylor,
his wife and son were forced to
move in with his father-in-law,
William C. McNeill. He was
residing with the McNeills
when Malcolm Sanderson was
so cold-bloodedly murdered.
Taylor’s grocery and mer-
chantine store had also been
robbed on several occasions,
reportedly by the Lowry Gang.
Therefore, one can plainly see
why Taylor was so quick to
take advantage of the chaos
created by the Brandy Raid
(when Angus Leitch’s brandy
distillery was raided). An
interesting fact is that both
John Taylor and Angus Leitch
were among the approximately
200 whites who banded to- •
gether when Allen and his son
William Lowry were blind
folded, tied to a stake and
murdered.
One should note that both
Andrew Strong and Malcolm
Sanderson were related to
Lowry Gang members. Strong
was Henry Berry Lowry’s
brother-in-law. Sanderson was
married to Jack Oxendine’s
daughter Martha Jane. Mar
tha Jane was Henderson Ox
endine’s sister. Henderson
Oxendine had a $6,000 bounty
on his head and wastheonly
Lowry Gang member tried and
convicted. He was hung in the
Lumberton Jail yard.
Taylor immediately began
preparations with Martin Ran
som. an Indian spokesman for
Sanderson’s family, when he
arnveo m Scuffletown a free
man to arrive at some type of
monetary agreement. The fa
mily was more interested
however in justice. The blood
money was turned down.
Tension was in the air Henry
Berry Lowry let word .lip that
if the courts failed lO prose
cute Taylor in a fair and
impartial manner that he
would kill him.
Months passed. By January,
1871 Taylor was still walking
around a free man. He was not
idle during this time however.
He knew that Henry Berry's
was no idle threat. He had
begun preparations to sell his
va.st property in order to leave
the county. There was some
hold up in disposing of his
land.
January 14, 1871 Taylor and
Malcolm McNeill (Taylor’s bro
(her-in-law who also, along
with his brother Sandy, par
ticipated in the Sanderson
murder), were walking to
Taylor’s store after enjoying a
refreshing and tasty breakfast.
They were walking along the
mill dam in sight of Moss
Neck, at approximately the
same location that Sanderson
had been murdered 3 months
prior. A Federal Camp (federal
troops looking for Henry Berry
Lowry and his gang) was
located about two hundred
yards away. In full sight of one
of the soldiers, Henry Berry
Lowry shot the Ku Klux
Klansman. The blast scorched
McNeill's face and Taylor
crumpled instantly dead at his
feet. A portion of his head was
blown away, his brains were
scattered in the river. McNeill
looked through the blood
trickling down his cheeks.
There before him, not 8 feet
away, was Henry Berry Lowry.
The Lowry Gang leader calmly
removed a pistol and $50 from
Taylor’s pockets. He drew the
body to the spot where he had
stood when he fired in order to
be out of sight from the depot.
Henry Berry Lowry disappear
ed into Bear Swamp below the
dam.
The federal soldier who was
witness to the gory death
arrived at the scene shortly
and gave chase. He followed
Henry Berry through the
swamps for approximately one
half mile. Probably realizing
that the Lowry Gang was
famous for setting up am
bushes and waiting for their
pursuers, the soldier conven
iently lost track and returned
to the scene of the crime. The
remainder of the federal troop
had arrived by this time. A
message was sent to Lumber-
ton requesting reinforce •
ments. The troops who were
camped in Lumberton arrived
shortly along with Sheriff
McMillan and a posse of
twenty men. All set out on the
trail of Henry Berry Lowry.
The search was to no avail
however. The whites were no
match for the Indian who had
been raised and reared in the
jungle-like swamps. Henry
Berry Lowry escaped once
again. There is some consola
tion in the thought that all
Taylor’s wealth and influence
failed to save him when it
came down to the final straw.
He was tried, convicted and
sentenced by the only law that
existed for Indians and Blacks
during those turbulent years of
Reconstruction -Henry Berry
Lowry--just like Henry Berry's
father and brother were tried,
convicted and sentenced by
Taylor and his friends in 1865.
Continued next week.
Marriage
Announced
Mr. and Mrs. George Lock
lear of Jacksonville, Florida,
announce the marriage of their
daugher, Marion Lynn to
James Adrian DeWees son of
Mrs. , Adrian DeWees and the
late Adrian DeWeesof Yohum,
Texas, Friday, September 10,
1976 at 7 p.m. at the home of
Dr. and Mrs. John Douglas
James in Witchita, Kansas.
Mrs. DeWees attended San
Antonio College in San Anton
io. Texas and Patricia Stevens
Finishing School in Jackson
ville, Florida.
Mr. Dewees is a graduate of
Texas A & M. He is now a
junior executive for Pizza Hut
Enterprises in Witchita,, Kan
sas where the couple will make
their home. '
The bride is the niece of Mr.
James F. Bell of Pembroke,
NC.
66th birthday observed
Mrs. Pemishle L. Scott of
Maxton was honored Saturday
September 18th, at Smith
Township Church of God Fel
lowship HaU. The occasion
was to celebrate her 66th
birthday and also her fourth
generation. Shown on the
picture are the honoree, Mrs.
Pemishle Scott [foorth from
left]; her son William M.
Locklear
[second from left], his son
Thomas Locklear [second from
rlghtl and her three great
grandchildren: [from left to
right] Thomas K.Locklear, Jr.;
Belinda D. Locklear; and Le-
china Lyn Locklear [far right].