PAGE 2—THE HERALD, Ahoskifc N. C—MILESTONE YEAR 1959
In Hertford During 1830-60 Period:
Whig Party Dominant in Politics
Politically, Hertford County
was a Whig center in a land of
Democrats during the 1830-61
period.
In fact, the entire Roanoke-
Chowan section except for Gates
County, was an historic center of
eastern North Carolina Whiggism.
This party was formed early in
the 1830’s and represented inter
ests which wanted the state of
North Carolina to pull itself out
of a slough that had earned it the,
name of “Rip Van Winkle State.”
The party grew to power in the
1840’s and from then until its
breakup just before the Civil War,
it was dominant in North Car
olina politics. The center of Whig
power was in the Piedmont and
mountain areas, but the Roanoke-
Chowan section was an enclave
of Whig strength in the slavehold
ing, Democratic, east.
Hertford County became domi
nantly Whig shortly after 1830.
Although Hertford County voted
heavily against the new state
constitution in 1835, (the forces
About 700
Were Voters
During the entire 1830-61 peri
od, Hertford County—with rare
exceptions — returned majorities
for the Whig Party in national,
state, and local elections.
The total vote during the entire
period varied between 450 and
700 votes.
North Carolina elected Whig
governors during the 1840-50 pe
riod, Democrats thereafter. But
Hertford County voters continued
to give majorities to the Whigs.
Representative election results:
In 1836, Whig gubernatorial
candidate Edward Dudley receiv
ed 376 Hertford votes to 264 for
Democrat R. D. Spaight. Dudley
was elected. (Governors were
elected for two-year terms.)
In the Presidential election that
year, Hugh White, Whig candi
date, got 253 Hertford votes to
Democratic Martin Van Buren’s
214. Van Buren was elected.
In 1840, Whig gubernatorial
candidate John M. Morehead got
394 votes in Hertford to 231 for
R. M. Saunders. Morehead was
reelected to a second term.
In 1850, the year the Democrat
ic Party recaptured the North
Carolina Governorship, Hertford
gave unsuccessful Whig candidate
Charles Manly 270 votes to 171 for
Democrat D. S. Reid.
In 1860, when the Whig Party
had split apart on the secession
issue, Hertford cast its majority
for John Bell, the southern Whig
candidate. He got 418 votes to 246
for John Breckenridge, the south
ern Democratic candidate and 20
for Stephen A. Douglas the “reg
ular” Democrat candidate.
Transportation
(Continued from Page 1)
then until the Civil War and
^terwards it was operated by
Boone Harrell and his family. It
was located between Harrellsville
and Cofield, where the present-
day Wiccacon River bridge is lo
cated. During the entire 1842-60
period, the Harrells received $80
a year for keeping the ferry. In
1854, Harrell sought to give up
the job. The County Court ap
pointed a committee to “entreat”
with him to continue as keeper
and authorized that a new ferry
boat or “flat” be built. In that
year, Harrell died, and Mrs. Ann
E. Harrell took over as Hertford’s
only woman ferry keeper. She
v/as still keeping the ferry, re
ceiving $80 a year, in 1860.
TAR LANDING FERRY—This
ferry crossed the Wiccacon River
at present-day Harrellsville and
was kept by the namesake of
that town — Abner Harrell. He
received $30 a year as keeper of
the ferry. First mention of the
ferry is in 1847, when Harrell
was paid $14.67 for its keep. After
that, he received $30 a year. In
1854, he received $45.25 for build
ing a new boat for the crossing.
PETTY’S SHORE FERRY—
This ferry crossed at another an
cient Chowan River crossing
south of present-day Tunis. In
1858, it was announced that a new
ferry had begun operating here
and ferry rates were set for it.
Other ferries, privately-run,
crossed the Chowan at Winton
and at ‘The Harbor,” near pres
ent-day Christian Harbor in the
southeastern section of the coun
ty.
Mehenin Names
Place names along the Meherrin
River have gradually fallen into
disuse as the river’s commercial
use declines.
Even as late as 1915, however,
Hiere were ten place names listed
on a soil survey map of Hertford
County along the Meherrin in the
county.
They included (starting from
the mouth of the river and going
■^vestward): Parker’s Ferry, Mit
chell’s Landing, Dunn’s Fishery,
Sear’s Wharf, Mudhole Fishery,
Hill’s Ferry, Griffin Landing,
High Hill, Worrell’s Landing,
Skinner’s Bridge I..anding and
Murfreesboro.
which sought this more democra- |
tic document later became the
early strength of the Whig party),
it sent a young lawyer to the Con
stitutional Convention who was
to be one of North Carolina’s
most influential Whig leaders.
Kenneth Rayner was only 25 at
the time, the youngest member
of the Constitutional Convention.
He opposed sections of the pro
posed constitution which would
take the vote away from free Ne
groes, and wanted the section
granting complete religious tol
eration (his father, Amos Rayner,
had been an early Baptist preach
er west of the Chowan River).
Rayner’s active role in the con
vention marked him as a new po
litical figure. He came back to
his home county and was immed
iately elected to the General As-
setmbly.
The new constitution changed
the method of Assembly repre
sentation. Hertford before the
new document had elected one
senator and one member of the
House of Commons.
Soon after the new constitution,
the Whig Party was formed, ad
vocating a program of internal
improvements and advocatirig
strong national government.
For the next 30 years, until the
Whig Party broke up on the eve
of the Civil War, North Carolina
was a strong two-party state, with
the Whigs in control much of the
time.
In Hertford County, Whiggism
became quickly triumphant and
remained so until The Civil War.
From 1836 until 1860, the coun
ty sent Whig representatives to
the General Assembly and the
' iinty’s voters consistently cast
Whig majorities in elections for
Governor.
HERTFORD VOTING DISTRICTS: 1830-60
Polling Places: 1830-60
Hertford Countians voted at
five places during the 1830-60
period.
Polling places were located
at Winton, Murfreesboro, Saint
John’s and Pitch Landing
throughout the p'eriod.
Bethel, later Harrellsville,
became a polling place in 1850,
in place of Pitch Landing.
“However, later in the year.
Pitch Landing again replaced
Bethel as southeastern polling
place. In 1854, Harrellsville was
added to the four other points
as a polling place.
Elections were important
times. They were held every
year for some public offices.
The County Court appointed
election officials for each poll
ing place, and politicking was
spirited at the polls,
times. The County Court ap
pointed election officials for
each polling place, and politick
ing was spirited at the polls.
Results of elections were usu
ally entered into a voting rec
ord book and were also im
mediately sent to party news
papers in Raleigh.
Winton polling place usually
had the largest vote in the coun
ty, ^although Murfreesboro at
times was first. Pitch Landing
was usually third, but some
times Saint John’s vote was
larger.
Top Leaders
Some of the top leaders of the
Whig Party during the period in
cluded: KENNETH RAYNER —
Served as representative in 1835-
6-8, again in 1846-48-50 and in the
General Assembly Senate in 1854-
Whig member of Congress in
1839-45. Leader in Congress,
where he._was known as a “State’s
Rights Whig.” Could have had
vice presidential nomination in
1848. Favored secession after
break with party in 1857. But
later critical of Confederate
government. Moved to Tennessee
after the war, became Republican.
Named Solicitor of the Treasury
in 1877 until death in 1884.
B. T. SPIERS —- Lived in
Maney’s Neck. State Senator in
1840. Had cotton plantation in
Florida. Ruined by Civil War.
RICHARD W. COWPER —
Served as sheriff in 1825-36 and
1838 until 1844. During the period,
he resigned three times to run for
and be elected to the State Senate,
in 1844-46, in 1852 and 1856. In
1958, he ran against the surging
Democrats as candidate of the
“Know Nothing” Party—a frag
ment of the dissolving Whigs—
and was elected to the Senate. He
served again just after the Civil
war. He died in 1873.
W. N. H. SMITH — A graduate
of Yale, a native of Murfreesboro,
Smith was State Senator for
Hertford in 1848 at the age of 36.
He had been elected to the House
of Commons in 1840. He later be
came a U.S. Congressman before
•the Civil War, and was member
of the Confederate Congress dur
ing the entire war. Afterwards
he was Chief Justice of North
Carolina. He died in 1889.
DANIEL VANPELT SESSOMS
—A resident of Pitch Landing on
Chinkapin Creek, State Senator
from Hertford in 1850. He was
known as an intellectual leader
of his party. During the time he
was in the Assembly, the Demo
cratic Party had the majority, but
he was respected as an able
legislator even by his bitter po
litical enemies. He died in 1888 at
■the age of 79.
WATSON L. DANIEL — Hert
ford Whig representative in Gen
eral Assemblies of 1852 and 1854.
He bolted the party in 1852 to
vote for Matt Ransom, a Demo
crat, for state attorney-general
and was defeated for the Whig
nomination by Joseph Blount
Slaughter. A young man then, he
went on to be a militia major, a
post-Civil War officeholder. He
was register of deeds 'in 1882-90.
LEWIS M. COWPER — Al
though he stayed above the parti
san political strife, no record of
ante bellum Hertford officehold
ers would be complete without
the name of this Murfreesboro
man. A brother of Sheriff Cow-
per, h.e served as clerk to the
Court of Pleas and Quarter ses
sions from 1823 until 1858 and
again during the Civil War until
1868. He died in 1873. He was an
escort for the Marquis de Lafay
ette when that famous man vis
ited Murfreesboro in 1824.. He was
the father of Pulaski .Cowper,
who was clerk to several North
Carolina governors and head of
the North Carolina Conscript Bu
reau during the Civil War.
1933-1959
-
Sp.-l,'*
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Most women don't boast about their age but we are proud of our
quarter of a century of beauty service to the ladies of the Roan-
oke-Chowan area. Your patronage through the years have made
it possible for us to build our new salon to offer .you a most com
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V/e join our fellow citizens
in celebrating the
200th Anniversary
of Hertford County
.and the
70th ANNIVERSARY
of AHOSKIE
MYRTLE’S
BEAUTY SALON
415 Peachtree St. Phone 2314
Aheskie, N. C.
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THE PLACE TO BANK
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ENTHUSIASTIC PERSONNEL
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OUTSTANDING BOARD OF MANAGERS
MODERN BANK FACILITIES
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