MADISON COUNTY RECORD
Established" June 88, 1001.
FRENCH BROAD NEWS
f Established MftJ 16, 1907. f
, Con.olidated November f, 1011
THE NEWS-RECORD
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COLj OLDS WRITES LETTER TO
JOHN A. HENDRICKS bF ''!.
MARSHALL
How did Marshall get its
faame? This question was ask
ed the publisher' of this paper
recently and thinking it would
be of interest to our readers,
we asked Mr. John A. Hen
dricks to write something of the
history, especially the begin
ning of Marshall and Madison
County. The following is the
result, for which the publisher
of The News-Record
feels deeply indebted to Mr.
Hendriclcs and to Col- Fred A.
Olds. '
School children in the Coun
ty would de well to clip out this
article and keep it for future
reference.
THE PUBLISHER.
Commissioners named by th oct,f
185,3 to locate the county seat nave
done bo and have located it on the
land of R. B. Vance where Adolphus
E. Balrd now lives and have named
it Marshall, and an election shall; be
held in April, 1856. as to whether
this shall remain the location, doubts
having arisen as to the legality of
the decision of the commissioners.
The election by the people was in
favor of Marshall, which had been
called Lapland. R. B. Vance had made
a gift of the 50 acre site.
The courts were, however, actually
held at Jewel Hill (or Walnut) until
1857. In 1856 a jail and courthouse
of brick were finished. The first will
was recorded February 3, 1851, the
first deed, June 20, 1851. This deed
is the strongest ever recorded in the
State. It says: "Being placed by my
daughter, Mary Ann Nichols,' to the
value of $400, and in order to better
provide for her comfort and welfare,
I hereby give her one negro, Caro
line." Signed by Hezekiah A. Barnard.
The first highway, a "Toll Turn
nike" from North Carolina to Tenn
essee was by way of Hot Springs from
Asheville.
Yours truly,
FRED A. OLDS.
The North Carolina Historical Com
mission, Raleigh, North Carolina.
August 11, 1928.
My dear Mr. Hendricks:
It is a pleasure to reply to yours of
the 9th. I gave away 3,000 copies of
my "Story of the Counties" and not
one is now left. So I send you the
facts you need from a detailed story
of Madison.
The County was named for Presi
dent James Madison, the county seat
t .jitinn tn what Col. Fred A,
All quuiviw" - '
Olds has said in his very Interesting
letter, giving the history of Madison
County and the Town of Marsnau,
there appears of record in the Regis
ter of Deeds' office of Madison Coun
ty, a deed executed by Zebulon B.
Vance, dated April zo, inos, in boo.
188h'ich conveyed to the County of
Madison, fifty acres of land for the
purpose of locating thereon the Town
nf Marshall. On both aides of the
French Broad River, being a part of
for" "Chief Justice Jobs-Marshall otpie land -H David Vaneey deceased. A
the U. S. Supreme Court. full description is g i v in, o I
The act of General Assembly creat- ;the tract of land, which memoes
the rimirthouse now stands ana
ing Mauison was fumieu
27 1851, out of the parts of Bun- ithe line ran down the river and across
combe and Yancey, the county having the river below the point of the is
been formed David Settle Reid was land, then up the river on the South
Governor-January 1-1851 to Dec. side, 82 poles, then across the river
8 1854. Nehemiah Blalock, T. C. Pro- jto the north, and back to the beginn
fitt and John W. Peek were named by ing. This deed covered the island
the act as Commissioners to survey! where the schoolhouse now stands
., i j: m, mooting nf : Samuel Chunn. on the 16th day of
. li. nr iAnn ani nimrtAi IffoKmnrv. 1853 also deeded to the leiv.ho- anc citizen Mr. Webster
tne county cuun uj. pican muwi , , i -o- ' ,
Kp,,ion, was held at the tavern of A- County of Madison, a tract of land ad- living. a quiet, peaceful, unob-
dolphus E. Baird, the first Monday in joining the tract deeded by vance
February, 1851, and afterwards at jto the County, containing twenty or
,. - rthniise was twpntv-five acres, and described as
V 11 1 1 U U 3 liaLCD c '
PROMINENT CITIZEN, OF maks
HILL PASSED AWAY
SATURDAY
Fletcher Michael Webster, age 74,
died almost" suddenly at his home at
Mars Hill last Saturday afternoon
about 3:30 o'clock, August 11, 1928.
Mr. Webster was apparently in per
fect physical condition about forty
minutes before his death, the cause
of his death being heart failure fol
lowing acute indigestion. He was dead
in about 30 minutes after he felt the
attack. The entire community was
greatly shocked to learn of his sudden
going, as he semed to be in such fine
'health.
Mr. Webster is survived by his wife,
who was before her mariage, Miss Ma
tilda Sams, an aunt of Dr. W. A. Sams
of Marshall. He leaves two sons, Guy
Wphater. of San Antonio, Texas, and
D. F. Webster, of Farrar, Texas, and
three daughters, Mrs. C. C. Metcalf,
of Ashevile, N. C, Mrs. Hoyd iioi
combe, of Mars Hill, and Miss Louise
Webster, of Mars Hill, JN. ne is
also survived by one brother, Mr. G.
A Webster, of Weaverville, N. C,
and one sister, Mrs. Mary Webster,
of Jerome, Idaho.
Funeral services were from the
home Tuesday afternoon at three
nVlnrk conducted by Rev. J. R. Owen
of Mars Hill, and Dr. 0. E. Sams, of
Bluefield, West Virginia, a former
Tarson-Newman Col-
J1 COtUVH V V-
Tenn.. and a nephew of the de
ceased. The closing prayer at the
hnm was led by Rev. J. L. Colville.
Th sneakers stood on the porch
while those attending the funeral
stood in the yard round about under
the beautiful oaks, the family seated
on the porch. The' entire auoienve
was asked to take part in the singing
of the favorite old hymna. Solos -wre
nn bv Miss Vivian Sams, ol mar-
shall, and Mr. Henry (Jlay jsawaras,
of Mars Hill, followed by a duet by
the two. The scripture was read by
Rev. J. R. Owens, who paid u beauti
ful tribute to the deceased and called
on Dr. O. E. Sams to speak. Dr. Sams
made a beautiful talk, speaking most
touchingly of his intimate acquaint
ance and knowledge of the deceased,
his uncle and foster father. He spoke
of what a splendid husband, father
at aaf aKIialimonf. rf fllA IIDW loint
AsMville-Henderson airport trow un
der Wistruotion midway between
th.ik wo cities, will place Asheville
aid the entire "Land of the Sky"
on "the aviation map of the United
State, the airport, which is a private
enterprise, has been successfully
assure through the efforts of citizens
of bothi Asheville and Hendersonville.
The" movement to build the port has
been supported by the Asheville
Chamber of Commerce and by the
governments of the two cities and
nunfaieta directJv benefited by the
new landing field.
Owing to the popularity of Ashe
ville as atourist center the airport
will afford a means for visitors who
wish to pay a visit to this section to
fly here in a few hours from the lar
ger cities of the United Staes. Al
though heretofore poorly equipped
with landing field facilities, Asheville
has entertained a number of aerial
hnH entertained a number of aerial
visitors including Harry Brooks, the
ill-fated Ford aviator who was forced
down at this city during his flight
to Miami.
The new airport which is located
at Fletcher, midway between Ashe
ville and Hendersonville will offer
first class facilities to aviators and
will be in operation shortly after Sep
tember; first, according to officials
in charite. The establishment of the
port will be celebrated with a huge
aerial derby in which army planes
and privately owned machines will
take part. When completed, the pon
will be used by airmail, passenger
and freight machines and will be a
training ground for new aviators as
well as a landing field for privately
owned planes.
The promoters of the Ashevilie
Hendersonville Airport hve overcome
many; difficulties, chief amoug them
. . - . . : j
hi,.V waa the lack ol level ground
cities in this mountain section. T.
J. Roberts of Asheville, is owner of
the airport and will operate the en
terprise, with the advice and assist
ance of a srroup of aviators and en
gineers. J. A. Richbourg of Asheville,
Chairman of the airport comnmi.ee
of the Asheville Chamber of Com
merce has been active in the estab
lishment of the airport and will take
an interested part in the operation of
the new institution.
UNUSUAL FLOOD SWEEPS
Till? PNTIRP ST4TK
M JL 11U till 1 1UU U t
FRENCH
mV$i WELL OUT
ofMs banks
Traffic Tied Up, Both Railroad
And Highway And No Mail
BROAD was nothing to compare with that of
iaio. aeiore we couiu gi to press,
the sky had cleared and the floods are
receding and we believe the worst ie
over.
FOUR PRISONERS
LEAVE BASTILE
ONE IS CAUGHT
.MarshiiH' is in for its part of the' Three prisoners escaped from the
sdorm which has been sweeping the i jail here jast Friday afternoon about
Atlantic Coast states for the pastfive dock jn the afternoon and are
several days. A steady down pour of isti at iarge, a fourth prisoner made
rain a large part of Tuesday night h5g escape ab0ut 10 o'clock Friday
and all day Wednesday, covering ni ht wnen he ran out over the officer
practically all of North Carolina and or trusty who had been sent to lock
other states caused the French Broad tne main door of the jaji. in the after
Rive to( begin swiftly rising Wednes- noollj accordjng to Piney Randall, the
day Aafterrtoon, and by night it had jajier the prisoners had been cleaning
lsen to, the point that the residents up the jail down stairs, but had been
of Marshall began to ieei uneasy, bu moved back up stairs. He was in an
much so that quite a number of them !other part of the building, he said, and
did not, sleep at all Wednesday nignt, !the only way he can acc0Unt for the
and the furniture of many of the resi- j escape 0f the three who took leave in
dences on the lower streets was moved ; the afternoon was that a boy, de-
out on. to the porches ready to be j ijver;ng ice, must have picked up the
trucked , to the hills. Not since 1916 door kev and Piaced it in the lock. The
has. such a flood swept our town, and prisoners, it is thought, had reached
the memory of that disaster comes i through the door and unlocked it.
back with striking vividness to those
who experienced the loss of their pro
perty in that memorable year. Ihen
the flood was July 16, 1916. Now one
month biter in the summer, August 16
1928, partly a repetition ol tne same
is evident. Up to the time we go to
press; io serious damage has been
done the business or residences of the
town. The railroad is perhaps the
moat damaged of all. Since early
Wednesday night the railway track
has been inundated and traffic has
ceased. No mails could come in or go
out of the town except by carrier.
MarahaJhij? by no means the only
tWn imd6 water. Reports from Ashe
parts ,f that city are unaer waier,
. ... . - 1
They jumped on a passing truck
and were carried a short distance out
of town. The truck driver became sus
picious and came back to town to
make inquiries and. learned that three
prisoners corresponding to the three
men who rode on his truck, escaped.
The three men are Bud Carver,
charged with a statutory offense, Lyda
Massey, larceny, and Till Cogdill, lar
ceny. Each prisoner was awaiting a
trial in Superior Court.
i Bony Randall, the fourth man to
escape, was from the Anderson branch
section, 'who was in jail following a
fight in which he was shot in the leg. ,
Running over the party who was sent
to, lock ifce ;rl(iiffl;'Ja Jj
wly to the street an3 oato"ffiebridge, ...
built. The location of the site for the
courthouse was by the act directed to
be selected by John Roberts, Joshua
follows: Beginning at the mouth of a
laree branch below Case Bold's board
and island of said river and running
Young, John A. Fagg, Noah Morgan, 'up said river east 18 poles to a gum,
William Baldwin. Thomas Gardner j locust and asn supposeu tu u
and Charles Moore. The act directed
that the county seat should be called
Marshall. The act directed that in
case five of the seven commissioners
named could not agree on one point
as the location of the county town
they should name two points, one of
which should not be in two miles of
the French Broad River) and that in
such a case the duly qualified voters
should make the choice. The Com
missioners' were ordered to obtain,
by gift or purchase, not less than
twenty-five or more than one hundred
acres end set apart lots for the court
house, jsiL a male academy, a female
academy and four lots for churches,
on which churches were to be built by
if such denominations as applied for
them; these lots to be given to the
schools and churches without cost
The first county court, which met
February 3, -1861, was composed of
.. . i XT At. ..Aarnnff tVlA
ce s line; wience jw""" "" -main
road to a stake in the old road
to Barnard station, thence to the
beginning. Both the Vance tract and
the Chunn tract were donated with
out charge to the County. It appears
that Vance made the deed in behalf
of the Vance heirs. This was the
f,,T,Hation of Marshall, which em
braced about seventy-five-acres of
land. The County now owns tne
Courthouse site and where the jail
stands. All told less .than one acre
nnd the county after building the new
courthouse bought from other parties
nf the courthouse lot The strip
lying between the courthouse and the
French Broad Bank. It wouia, m (wj
difficult to trace down- 4 where t the
other seventy-four- acres, donated to
the County of Madisoa for the Town
of Marshall has gone. I wish to thank
Col,' Olds rery kindly for .Ms letter.
GOLFERS FROM FIFTEEf STATES
IN ASHEVILLE TOURNAMENT
Joshua Young, Noah Morgan, Thomas
Gardner, Charles Moore and William-i
Baldwin. ? This Dooy ; men cmwu
out of the magistrates which the fcen
eral Assembly appointed for the coun
ty was by resolutions applied for by
citizens required to locate the county
seat at Jewel;HilL which was also
called Walnut which, place the majo
. rii of the. Commissioners named , by
North Carolina who has donated o
mucH valuable time and labor for the
nrrfiervatlon fltf interesting jfcWtory
in different parts of the State.
Cot Olds Is so vigorous: ana active
I am sure that he would not appre
ciate being called Tthe grand old man
of North Carolina,", but he ia entitled
to all of this except the word MoW.
h hiaf it tof ' reader of the
Record, I wish to say that Col. Old
SSuel ted naTspent the major portion o hjs
JSwCleri'and until he life correspondent for many he
gave bond. February 25, 1861. Robert fading W,,-Sv.
B Vance was made acting V Clerk. States and miliomr of . people
S W was the firrtReglster rel CoL Olds' Morle. written about
Sh. word ought . . f t-'rir
"registrar -)., Thoma... .W. . Bray, . . - - - mnd
Sheriff. The firrt Superior ? uur,- , th. detail, of
the history Of the State of North Car
olina, and especially of the.eounties,
cities, and towns. "
JOHN A. HBflUWi-a
met at Jewel Hill In October, .1851,
with Judge WUliara Horn Battle, pre
siding, J. W. Andrews, Clerk. . ,
Aa act of the General Assembly
trusive life, not so much in the lime.
light, but a genuinely good citizen
and home maker. Dr. Sams stressed
the importance and sweetness of home
life and how he himsell was at nome
there.
Almost the entire assemblage went
to the Mars Hill cemetery, where ..in
terment followed. Messrs. Holcombe
and Tilson, undertakers very grace
fully carried out their part on tne
program, assisted by neighbors and
friends in the filling of the grave.
The floral offerings were many and
beautiful, covering well both the new
made grave as well as that of his
12-year old son who died in 1917.
The active palbearers were: .Messrs.
Fred Sams, Theron Sams, Tom Sams,
Paul Sams, Troy Sams, L. J. Bailey,
Edgar Phillips ,and Harry Webster.
Honorary pallbearers were: Messrs.
T. J. Muray, Joe Brown, Rome An-
I1 ATM ATI . J. Lfa Colville, A. E. Carter,
Sr., Wayne Peek, W. M. Edwards,
N. B. McDevitt, N. J. Runnion, Fred
Roberts, R. L. Moore, W. L. George,
Dave Lawson, E. N. Holcombe, ano
Dr.. Walter N. Johnson.. ,
Mr. Webster was a Mason, a mem
ber of the- lodge at Flag Pond, Tenn.,
before moving to. Mara Hill more
than twenty years ago. He was a mem
ber' pf the Presbyterian church ana
at the time of his death was chairman
of th" public school committee at
Mars HilL ,
' AU his children were- present at
the, funeral except D. F. Webster,
of Farrar, Texas, who will come later.
The other son, Guy, arrived in good
time having come-part of the way
by aeroplane.- - - -
i Ur. Webster lived to: see tne xuit
ffllment - f one of his enerisneo
wishesi the graduation of his youngest
daughter, Mlss-Eouise, who wm oe a
member of the Marshall School fac
ulty next session.
Quite a number of relatives of the
family ' from Tennessee, : and . ether
distant points attended the funeral.
:-
! Farmers of Chowan County will
ship 0 cars of fat hogs cooperative
ly thiaaH. .. C . J
AT WALNUT NEXT
WEEK
French Broad Association ThuriJay
And Friday Of Next Week
The French Broad Association will
meet with the Walnut Baptist church
next Thursday and Friday, August
24 and 25. An interesting program
has been arranged and dinner will be
served on the grounds. It is hoped
that the attendance will be large.
Ships That Never Come
All young people have their dream
ships and they expect them to come
Much through automobile traffic has nd ot t0 the feland where he was
been held up in Marshall, but if not caugnt. He could not make his escape
held up here, it would have to wait on account 0f his leg.
some 'where, as there are washouts an ' A later report is to the effect that
over the .state, except that they came t)ese prjsoners have been caught at
earlier.'4n the eastern sections, ine Flag pond Tenn., and returned to the
Roanoke river in the east was so . jajl
much risen.that traffic had to be rout- j
ed other, ways.
At, ten' o'clock Thursday morning
cars could hardly pass over the street
r v.n Anlir tVio higher makes of
cars attempting it by staying well Golfers from f.fteen states and the
up on the sidewalks. The island is District of Columb.a are represented
, ifi ,nvprpd and cuite a few in the list of 225 entries taking part
trees ion the island have be.n swept m the annual Mens Invitation Tourna-
down. The rock wall built for protec- ment neia mis weea at .e uM..x.
Hon of the school building is being rorest ou.u.y uu, .
rKurn::;7;; whih was i: -d
holding back the on-rushing floods eastern states. The field this year
from sweep ng the foundation oi tne ' ,
building away While the water stands hailing from as far south as Miami,
Wgh around the building and well up Florida, and north to Providence B.
Khe Wment, the water is not I., JL
sweeping around the building with one cues le
any-appreciable force, so that it is nament.
hoped that instead of washing the Among the prominent entries in the
dirt from the island, it will have a event are ; Kayton Smith, of Savannah
tendency to fill the lower places and Ga., winner of the tournament last
eventual help rather than harm the year, who defending hie Harry
wi nmnprtv. On account ol the in- cme, ui "'" x.u.
teruption in the mail service, we
But dream ships have a way of
drifting farther and farther out to
sea until they finally disappear. The
ahin that comes in is the one captain
ed by Common Sense, with Vision for I
a mate, and a crew made p or in
dustry, Persistence, Ambition, De?,
termination and Enthusiasm.
A ship thus manned will reach the
harbor, but the one with Idle Watchr
inflr for a captain. Thoughtlessness for
a mate, and a crew made up of Delay,,
Indecision Fear and Faint Hope, nev
er calls at a port ?U
Dream- all you will, but see to W
that your dreams are not merely fa,
ciful pictures.. To fix upon a possible
,nH desirable objective and to thin
of it-stent and day, to work towatd
it hour after hour, Is sot idle dreast-.
ing; it is the practical thing tnat eu
ables men and women to nse aoove
their, fellows In the scale of accom
plishment r - 1 - ;Vl
; -Southern News suneun.
Damare by insects, soil conditions
and disease cut the strawberry crop
nn some farms in Columbua Cousty
at least one-fourth to one-half sfhe
crop. ' . . r,f-'
I A1n CUh A A a ViA-
not. know when this paper will reach, campion . -u o .
?t8 readers, and the conditions may ville, champion of the Carolines,
have materially changed before that Finals in the event w,l be played Aug-
time. However, as we write ws, : t. .ntr
ihines occasionally and we trust - -
th worst is over. , . . ,
Since the above was written, tne ment wu. -
water has risen still higher than it vine uoii ana
wStS Veral business, house, have (the week oi Augus 20 with the final
MOd &V'goods to higher sneive acneuu.cu - " " " .
or to higher buildings. The uapimv omivn, Wi . "" - -
SuShaB fied with rchanidse her laureh he
v several lam- event uunere " j .
rm onev-" " . - to LXDected to be represented in the
.Tl.,,! field of entries taking part in
nigw a1"""" ,
do Amateur Champion, Toomy Aycock,
4.t..4.n.,ahn1(l belongings as well.
In the midst of all this excitement
flr. sires' sounded. The lime
storediiyhe Builders Supply Com-
pany ba oecome wy
was smoking- This was soon over-
. Kt: the manager, Mr. J. Mor-
large
the tourney.
? Asheville's eighth season of summer
grand, open has attracted many music
lovers, to the city, upemng
13 with "La Boheme" the San Carlo
Company wil present a total of 8
operas ending their engagement on
August 18. Asheville is one of the few
' i . ' -' . i. - j 1... . frliAiiorht
jfarf-Jlamsey. statea ,- ,h and United
he -was damaged oo.t r WWA have
water.1 ' The rTencn orow ,v -" ; .. ...
T . tt..i tint out Inreaened . grand opera on a
iiSSjl Z audiences from many cities
. . . mjw niiinir aixhiwu aaw i vs. . v
which have
paying
the tearoom of Mrs. A. . c
adjoiblnxVwere completely under wa
t:. that is. the floors were, and no
) ' 1. ..luM MIId M QOOI uiew -
Farmers of wusos vouuty 7 "w.t Marshall were
liahed a curb market at; Wilson 6n a, sumbet of .,PJmBM
Saturday, July 81.
BerVot lea. damaged, but the damagebe, wrong.
'Why are you so angry at JohsT"
- ,"Well, you'd be angry too.' He put
his arms around me and told me ev
erything he touched today seemed t
i -.. ....
, ratified February 15, 1855 said "tut
x.v.