Newspapers / The Duplin Times (Warsaw, … / Sept. 1, 1950, edition 1 / Page 9
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-A HISTORY OF PUBLIC EDUCATION IN DUPLIN COUNTY Li :i ldition KENANSVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA, SEPTEMBER 1, 1950 TWO n n - T id u . . - ri1!mE: Dy A. T. OUTLAW KENANSVILLE, K. C ''. Tht history of this old County, formed In 1749, would fill big hnnlr a nit therefore minv interest ing and Important points cannot at " t'.iis time and place be mentioned. lTnaravar a hrlcf outline of the County's foundation should be ap propriate at this time, with the ap proaching mid-century showing of Lam oyru uupuu oimj uiauia, The public records reveal that a I trgt number of our eltizena of to i iy are of the same blood as our Jrst settlers who promptly set out i establish churches and schools various parts of the County. v' le sturdy pioneers Of the early i s would have been a credit and i blessing to any part of the coun- , t ? and their good works are, to a 1 ge extent, responsible for -the f et that our County pf today Is one t A is. largely made up of as good ' t .i noble men and women as the Country affords. The history of any section is little or -nothing more , than that of Its people and the spir it of the forefathers 1s clearly re flected In the lives of their des cendants. Indeed, we should feel a modest pride In the noble char- a sit am aA' Mi4kw aknHI AWmatat4ai r9 eivvva bums, vrya ui jvuivvvmihum v our County's founders and bene factor and be reminded of our own duty to those who shall come after The First Settlements The first settlers in Duplin Coun ty (then upper New Hanover) were Irish, or Scotch-Irish, from north era Ireland, They came to Ameri ca under the patronage of one Hen ry McCulloch about the year 173S. According to .Captain Mathew Row an, the Surveyor-General, the first of McCulloch's settlers came on a ship commanded by one Captain Vre and that some of the free pas sengers on the ship, bound for Charleston, were persuaded to re main here. . McCulloch was a wealthy merchant of London and received from the King (George II) several grants for large tracts- of land In the Caorllnas. He persuad ed the King that he could place col onists on the lands in large num bers and the King was, of course, anxious to colonize the New World. The colonists came and occupied the land of McCulloch upon certain conditions as to title and -McCulloch made certain promises to the King as to the number to be settled and the number of acres to be re ceived. According to the evidence a number of the promises were nev- i19nijl atifl thai l AAtieM. arable dispute about the McCulloch .grants.- The settlers were in three 'groups, as follows: (1) Soracte (now Sarecta), o nthe North East river where .according to Captain Bowan, ten houses had already been built by John PldcoclcJohn Porter and William Lewis. This settlement be- came Duplin's first established town. (2) At Goshen, near- the mouth at what Is now known as Millers bridge and near a large tract of land that had already been granted to Rice Evans; (3) At the Golden Grove near the present town of Kenansville. 1 Other early settlements were at the Bed House near the present towns of Wallace and Teacheys; the neighborhood of what is still known as Beasley's Mill In Magnolia township; on Turkey branch where the Kenans lived; and on upper Goshen which is now the town of Faison. McCulloch claimed four thous and acres at the Golden Grove in 17::s. For a time McCulloch Jived at Sarecta. About the same time as the McCulloch settlers, or soon thereafter, many other families cfime Into the section from Pennsyl vania, New Jersey, Virginia, -the A : emarle section of this State, and from the nearby counties of Dobbs (m Lenoir snd Wayne), Craven, C ilow and New Hanover. Th y re settled mainly along the North r t river and Its principal tribu t a to-wit! BocLiiuh Island X Harwell, Grove, Muddy i. Limestone, 'Goshen and coat' ,' ere la no evidence of any trou I with Indians in this section. . i t Colonial it::;;tia . lonel John Sampson (for whom ion County was named) was rr of the militia in this part Hanover County and about juJ.-ed of our militiamen were 1 !m "upon tl.e alarm (.";anlah) ,.i1r -; in t pt , '.or, 1713. rer 'W cf tU lr nr t re""als i t o 1 t: of 1 fu-t t:.t f yaiet'ea a lnr;- j t ct c r t -, lni" t'.e r s J U, V.. Cur, I ' w, r ' , i ' " i " i. r - I . 'iff '.'. .Vr. VvTH . 'A? .ViTiCv - t f'ti i 1 " - - i .- .-4, t - . :..-fr-MW--jaSflF - ' eph Williams and William McBee.l Jr., Lieutenants John Dicxson ana Robert McRee, Ensign mcnara jui ler, Quarterkasters Thomas Kenan and John Miller, and others. The Formation of the County and "'the-Pariah V:;'. '!: V' Wilmington was then the County seat of New Hanover County and on account of the long distance and inconvenience to the people In the upper part they made several ef forts to create a new county. Fin ally the new county the County of Duplin and Saint Gabriel Parish war-established by an Act of the Colonial Assembly at New Bern In March, 1749. It, was named for Lard Duplin, an English nobleman. The Act provided for holding the first court at the house of William McRee, Sr, of the Goshen settle ment - McRee bad served for sev eral years as a member of the Court in the mother county of New Hanover. The officers of the new county were as follows: Sheriff, William McRae, Jr., Clerk of the Court, Robert McRee; Register, John Sampson, members of the As sembly, Dr. William Houston and Captain Francis Brlce. The Justices of the County Court Included Cap tain Francis Brlce, Captain Joseph Williams, Dr. William Houston, Col onel John Sampson, Captain Fred erick Gregg, Andrew Thomson, George Meares, John Turner, John Herring, Nathaniel Hill, William; MoRee, Roger Shell, and others. The vestrymen of the parish In cluded William McRee, Charles Ga vin, Colonel Sampson, , Captain Brlce, Captain Williams, Doctor Houston, John Herring, Anthony Cox, Mark Phillips, George Meares, John Turner and Thomas Suggs. The Reverends William Miller and Robert BrlgSs were the only minis ters of the parish! under the old English system of Joint operation of county and parish. The County Seato ' The County Court was held at the McKee place in Goshen settle ment for only a short time, possibly three or tour years, and was then moved to a more central location on land given to the County by Cap tain Joseph Williams near the pres er t Duplin-Sampson County line 1 near what la now known as '"c, 'a station of the Cllnton v branch of the Atlantic t. ! "rooL This plar" ' t c: 'v s t f ?r - AI!D SCHOOLS - DUPLIN - : FROM County the County seat of Duplin was again moved to a more central location on land given to the Coun ty by Captain James Pearsall, the alto iii what is now the town of Kenansville. It is claimed' that Pearsall's "cool spring waa a deciding factor in locating : the Court House here. Also, accord ing to family tradition this :old spring, still running, waa first dis covered by one Barbara Beverett, wife of a sea captain who was lost at sea, and after his death she mar ried Joseph Carr and became the ancestor of a large and prominent family in Duplin County. The pres ent Court House U the trnra miua Ing on the same site. 4 The town was laid out on the public land during the year .1816 and was nam ed for the Kenan family. :, Early Churches and Schools ; - The first settlers were Scotch Irish Presbyterians and wherever they settled, their log churches ana schoolhouses went up with as much certainty as their log homes. How ever there was no settled minister for many years.' Among the min isters of that denomination in the early days we find the Reverends Hugh McAden, John Robinson, Samuel Stanford, the Tates, Mc Iver, Connerly, and others. Their principal places of worship were at the Golden Grove near the present town of Kenansville, Rockflsh near Wallace, and a place near Goshen in the FaUon - community. Their church at the Grove la generally accepted as the oldest Presbyterian organization in the SUM. This old church and the home site of McAd en, the first regular minister, have been appropriately marked by the State. -'HH' Among the ministers of the Bap tist denomination In the early days we find the Reverends William Goodman, . Charles Hines, Francis Oliver, Silas Carter, William Wells, Jacob Williams, Job Thlgpen, Hir am Stalling, and others. Their principal places of worship were at Bear Marsh, Nahunga, Concord, Island Creek, Muddy Creek, Lima stone and Prospeet The first Methodist minister was the Reverend Beverly Allen, who came after the Revolutionary War. He was followed by other circuit ministers. They organized church es at Maxwell, Rockflsh and Island Creek. For some years they were r f e rnr, Cf Reverend Peter s ' e i i Vie County, an COUNTY COURT HOUSE ; Built In 1911-12 T PENCIL SKETCH BY DON SNIDER tlement waa the first It was estab lished by an Act of the Assembly prior to the establishment of our State University and many of those who attended it became outstand ing men of our County, State and Nation. Prior to this time, howev er ,the County had several school masters and among them was Hen ry Gillman who taught at various places . in the ' neighborhoods of Rockflsh and Maxwell for several years. Prior to the beginning of the public school. system in IMi the County had' aa many as nine private educational institutions and as many aa fourteen more after the year 1841, making aa many as twenty-three In all. in addition to the free school system. It has often been said that this record of edu cational facilities compares favor ably with that of any county in the State. ). Doctor Houston and the Stamp Act ; During the early part of the year 1765 the British Parliament passed a law known as the Stamp Act All legal instruments such as deeds, bonds, notes, required heavy stamp tax. The said Act contained other ruinous and unpopular require ments and the people were aroused. However, all of the disturbance ov er the Act was during a short per iod of time and the resistance to it was strong enough to bring about an early repeal., In London, Dr. William Houston, who lived at Sa recta, had bef . appointed Stamp Distributor for North Carolina; without his solicitation and on ac count of the -extreme unpopularity of the law he was subjected to con siderable embarrassment He re signed without ever attempting to execute the duties. In various place images of him were condemn ed, hanged and burned, and he complained of so much condemna tion without a hearing. 'Careful study of the matter reveals that the Indignation of the people was not against Doctor Houston personally but against the principle of the Stamp Act. All of these demonstra tions did not In any way affect the standing of Doctor Houston In his home county where he was highly respected and honored by his fel low citizens. He was a man of un usual ability, a physician and sur geon at Sarecta and waa prominent ly identified with public affairs for more than forty years. . Doctoi Houston's ns." t.as' bn --" I BRITISH TYRA11HY The Revolution In the Revolutionary War large majority of the people of this Coun ty were enthusiastic American pa triots and played an important part from beginning to end. Two Brit ish armies invaded the County dur ing the War, the first under Lord Cornwallis in his march from Wil mington to Virginia during the month of May; 1781, and the second under Major James H. Craig in his march from Wilmington to New Bern during the month of August, 1781. General Kenanvand his mi litia, and others, engaged Major Craig at old Rockflsh bridge near the present town of Wallace but Major Craig succeeded in his pur pose to Invade the County and en camped at the home of Colonel Routledge in the Grove settlement for several days. The old site of the battle of Rockflsh baa been ap propriately marked by the State. General James Kenan and General Joseph Thomas Rhodes are gener ally regarded as the County's most outstanding military leaders of that time.; General Kenan waa the head of the Duplin militia and perform ed conspicuous service in various parts of the country. General Rhodes was an officer In the regu lar army and served in the north, locally, and in battle at Eutaw Springs in South Carolina where he and his company of Duplin sol diers were highly commended for bravery in action. This was the hardest fought battle of the War for the. number engaged an donly a small number of General Rhodes company came away unharmed. Other Revolutionary leaders who have been mentioned for conspicu ous service Include Majors Shad rack Stalllngs and James Gillespie, Captains Daniel Williams, George Miller, Jamea Love, Bourden, Moul ten, Routledge, and many others. In the beginning of the War .our County was well represented in the battle at Moore's Creek bridge on February 27, 1776. A company of minute men under Captain James Love was in active service. Young John Grady, a private in that com pany, lost his life In the battle and hla name, is recorded in history as the 'first martyr for American In dependence in North Carolina. A monument to his memory stands on the battlefield. , Later In the War, trave Captain J-ove.and a group of ' 's were taken by surprise and "y p"r?red by the Erlt.'. h r - Vs tw"n fi MID THE REVOLUTION - THE RAILROAD British invasio nof Duplin County was marked by much cruelty, burn ing of homes, stealing, etc., and for a time the Tories were very trou blesome. A common practice with the Tories was to terrorize, murder and plunder under cover of the darkness. Colonel Owen Kenan, a brother of General Kenan, was one KNOWS HIS HISTORY AlUrt T. By j GERTRUDE CARRAWAT Aert Timothy Outlaw, Duplin "-'s I '- n r""'rnord:rin!re, of their victims. The Railroad The Railroad was started by the faith of a few citizens of Wilming ton and was at first meant to con nect Wilmington and Raleigh and bore the name of those two cities. The course was later changed to form a Junction at Weldon with another road and then became known as the Wilmington and Wel don Railroad, later the Atlantic Coast Line. The State, first and last, put a large amount of money into the stock of this railroad. At the time it was one of the longest roads in America and said to be longer than any in Europe. An issue of the old Wilmington News, dated August, 1838, carried the following story: "The Wilming ton and Raleigh Railroad is now open to the depot at Mrs. Teacheys 42 miles north of Wilmington, and the cars will run regularly to that point. Within three weeks ten more miles will be thrown open to travelers. The heidge across Neuse River is ready for laying down the iron an devery hour diminishes the distance traveled over the stages." Mrs. Teachey above referred to waa Mrs. Mary Holmes Teachey, widow of Captain Daniel Teachey, and the depot was what is now the town of Teachey. Another news report, dated Feb ruary, 1839, is as follows: "We re gret having been unable to attend the big celebration in Waynesboro on February 22, in connection with the completion of the railroad be tween Wilmington and Waynesbo ro. This is an important event and will mean much to the development of the State. Farmers near Waynes boro are now shipping their hogs and produce to Wilmington and the shipment is less than a day in tran sit." Old Waynesboro here refer red to was on Neuse River Just southwest of the present city of Goldsboro. By March, 1840, the railroad was fully completed all the way between Wilmington and Wel don. Within a short time after the advent of the railroad the towns of Wallace (formerly Duplin Roads), Teachey, Rose Hill, Magnolia (for merly Stricklandville), Warsaw (for merly Mooreville and Duplin De pot), Bowden, Faison and Calypso, sprang up and the territory along the railroad soon became thickly populated and the County as a whole was rated among the best In the State. A full and just description' of this period in pur history would re quire considerable time and space. Then, too, this brief and hurriedly written outline is intended to cov- . er only the historical foundation of Duplin County. Outlaw efforts through the past quarter of a century. His research Into the outstanding record of this ancient county has been one of the most
The Duplin Times (Warsaw, N.C.)
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Sept. 1, 1950, edition 1
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