Pog* 2-KIllGS MOUNTAIN HEHALD-TuMday. OclobM 21. 1980
PUBLISHED EACH TUESDAY AND THURSDAY
GARLAND ATKINS GARY STEWART LIB STEWART
Publisher Co-Editor Co-Editor
MEMBER OF NORTH CAROUNA PRESS ASSOCIATION
The Herald is published by Herald Publishing House. P.O. Box 752. Kings Moun
tain. N.C. 28086. Business and editorial offices ore locoted ot Canterbury Road-
East King Street. Phone 739-7496. Second class postage paid at Kings Mountain.
N.C. Single copy 20 cents. Subscription rates: $12.48 yearly in-state. $6.24 six mon
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$8.50. USPS 931-040.
Tribute to the OMMen
CDITORIf^LS&OPIhlOh9
Vote, or don H complain
Two weeks from today - on November 4th
-Americans from all walks of life will be able to have
their say at the polls.
This could be one of the most important elections
in history for the American people as a whole.
Those of us who have the privilege of voting next
month would do well to study the candidates and
issues before entering the voting booth. It would
also be well to keep in mind that elections for Con
gress, state, county, and local positions are probably
just as significant as the Presidential race.
Each of us has the obligation to become informed
and to support the candidates who share our basic
beliefs and vote accordingly. The real test, of
course, comes in determining how each of those
candidates stand on the issus of importance to you,
your state and nation, and that you support those
candidates who besit represent your views.
It does no good to complain of the results of the
general election if you stay away from the polls on
Election Day. A record number of Cleveland Coun
ty citizens are registered to vote on Nov. 4th at
Cleveland County precincts. Kings Mountain
citizens are encouraged to go to the polls in record
numbers two weeks from today and vote their con
victions. Voting is both a privilege and a respon
sibility we should not take lightly.
<Sv
Paper representspublic
We have just celebrated national newspaper
w^’’
Honest newspapers - and majority are - recognize
as their duty the reporting of the news and, par
ticularly on public matters, the duty of interpreting
the news via editorial columns.
Once upon a time, many newspapers took the
position they were infallible and a retraction of
previously put^lished fact was seldom seen. Happily,
this situation doesn’t exist today, the newspapers
realizing that perfection is yet to be attained by any
mortal man.
Newspapering is as simple as this; the reporter is
the representative of the public. His chore is to at
tend the meetings and report the events that the
man on the street is prevented, by other duties,
from attending himself.
It’s the job of the Kings Mountain Herald and all
other newspapers worthy of the name.
A great celebration
Kings Mountain has enjoyed one of its greatest
celebration of the Battle of Kings Mountain and
certainly the impnint of the 200th birthday anniver-
r.aary will remain on the minds of citizens, young and
^lderly„-&^-wt‘l'l aapit the generic face of the area for
^any ^aft to cdtWf.' '
The sun shone, the queens were beautiful, the
Marine Band and Airborne Chorus added pomp
and pageantry to an already colorful event, and all
the marching units and floats were sharp.
General of the Army Willliam Westmoreland,
who was the parade marshal and honorary chair
man, echoed some of the same words aher the
Military Park ceremonies that Governor Jim Hunt,
U.S. Interior Secretary Cecil Andrus, Congressman
Jim Broyhill, and other speakers said during the
Oct. 7th Celebration Day events. “We have learned
the lessons of war but like Kings Mountain, where
'we h^e takeiik stand against aggressicm, peace has
been*secured Sid humanity has been restored.”
Kings Mountain area citizens today benefitted
from last week’s celebration. Nothing gives a com
munity an esprit de corps that such an impressive
community effort does.
Mayor John Henry Moss, as general chairman of
a mammoth five-state committee of nearly 1,500
people, and all participants, whatever their role, are
to be congratulated. It was a great celebration.
First Oi Thrs* Porta
(An appraisol mod* by
Sam I. Enrln. Jr., oi Morgan-
ton. N.C.. in honor oi thoso
who ro-onact aimually as a
patriotic obligation tho otot-
tho-mountain march oi tho
horoos oi King's Mountain
irom Sycomwo Shoals to tho
King's Mountoin battloiiold.)
For some years my good
friend. Colonel Hugh C. Ben
nett, and other patriots have
been re-enacting the over-the-
mountain march of the heroes of
the Battle of King’s Mountain
from Sycamore Shoals on the
Watauga to the battlefield.
In so doing, they perform a
”two-fold patriotic service. First,
they commemorate one of the
most thrilling events in our
country’s ptast; and, second, they
remind present-day Americans
of this everlasting truth which
was cherished and exemplified
by the heroes Of King’s Moun
tain; It is better for men to die on
their feet fighting an oppressor
for liberty than to live on their
knees aptpeasing him.
Some of those who fought for
freedom at King’s Mountain
were of English or French
Huguenot ancestry. The over
whelming majority of them,
however, were Scotch Irish.
The Scotch-Irish were the
blood descendants of the
Lowland Scots whom England
induced to migrate from their
native Scotland during the
16(X)’s and settle on the con
fiscated lands of Irish rebels in
North Ireland which the King
had given to some of his
favorites and which were known
to history as the Ulster planta
tions. At the outset those lands
were leased to the Lowland
Scots at low rents.
The belief underlying the
establishment of the Ulster plan
tations was that the presence of
the Lowland Scots in North
Ireland would aid the English to
retain their dominion over the
rebellious Irish whose hatred of
English rule knew no limits.
This belief proved valid. The
Lowland Scots fought valiantly
in the armies of William of
Orange in the Irish Wars in
which the rebellious Irish and
their French allies suffered
defeat.
Notwithstanding their
reliance upon them, the English
King and Parliament and their
landlords grossly mistreated the
Lowland Scots. Since they were
devout Presbyterians rather than
members of the established
^ - W r • ^ 1 1 members of the establishe
support United r und Reader Dialogue
Church of England, the
Lowland Scots and their
descendants in North Ireland
were barred from holding
political office, required by law
to pay taxes for the support of
the established Church of
England whose doctrines they
rejected, and denied various
religious rights, including that of
having their marriages solemniz
ed by ministers of their own faith
instead of the clergyman of the
established church.
DespHte these tyrannies, the
Lowland Scots and their descen
dants in North Ireland were a
hard-working folk and achieved
a measure of economic well be
ing by raising sheep, growing
flax, and other endeavors. As the
generations came and went,
their prosperity increased, and
during the years preceding the
American Revolution, the
descendants of the Lowland
Scots in North Ireland manufac
tured and exported excellent
woolens and linens whose sales
encroached severly upon
markets previously monopolized
by similar English products.
The British Parliament
thereupon added economic
tyranny to the political and
religious tyrannies which had
been long visited upon the
descendants of the Lowland
Scots. It enacted laws imposing
oppressive tariffs upon woolens
and linens made by them in
favor of those of English
manufacture. Their landlords
augmented the resulting
economic woes by raising rents
to a confiscatory degree.
The economic, political, and
religious tyrannies to which they
were subjected in North Ireland
engendered an undying hatred of
the British government in the
hearts of the descendants of the
Lowland Scots, and impelled
multitudes of them to migrate to
America in quest of the
economic, political, and religious
freedom denied them in North
Ireland. Hence, they were ripe
for revolt against Britain when
their feet touched American soil.
After they reached America,
they were caUed Scotch Irish to
distinguish them from both the
Highland and Lowland Scots
who migrated directly from
Scotland to America and the real
Irish.
Their hatred of the British
government did not diminish
after their settlement in
America. The head of local
government in each colony was
a royal governor who responded
to the desires of the British
Crown rather than the wishes of
the colonists, and they and the
other colonists were deprived of
much political freedom. Besides,
eight of the thirteen colonies rob
bed them of the religious
freedom they craved, and the
British Parliament imposed upon
all the colonists taxes they deem
ed unjust.
After the colonies declared
themselves to be independent
states and united to fight for
freedom, they relied on two
groups to wage their battles —
the Continentals and the militia.
The Continentals were
recruited by the Continental
Congress for long periods. They
were well trained for combat,
and when properly armed were
able to confront any enemy in
open warfare.
The militia were recruited by
the states for short periods.
Often they had no uniforms, and
furnished their own weapons.
Despite their valor, they were
not disciplined by adequate
training, and found it difficult to
stand eHectively against a con
ventionally trained energy in
open combat.
It was decidedly otherwise,
however, when the battlefield
consisted of rough or forested
terrain. Militiamen who lived on
the frontier or in sparsely settled
areas were great hunters and
skilled marksmen, and knew
how to maximize the cover from
exposure to the enemy afforded
by rocks or trees. As a conse
quence, they were deadly foes to
a conventionally trained enemy
in rough or forested terrain.
Although some of them were
Tories during the Revolution,
the Scotch Irish as a whole were
numbered among Britain’s most
formidable foes in that struggle.
In an effort to terrorize them
into submitting to the British
Crown, some British officials
and their Tory allies perpetrated
upon the Scotch Irish inhabiting
the frontier regions of northwest
South Carolina, western North
Carolina, southwest Virginia
and the over-the-mountain areas
in what is now Tennessee, and
the Scotch Irish living along the
Santee, Black, and Pee Dee
Rivers and Lynches Creek in
South Carolina atrocities befit
ting Attila in Hun. I will indicate
briefly the nature of these
atrocities and refrain from
stating them in detail.
During early Revolutionary
days, British agents incited the
Cherokees to make surprise at-
Turn to page 3
The annual Kings Mountain United Fund Cam
paign is off to a good start and there’s not an unwor
thy appeal among the several included in the 1981
Kings Mountain appeal for funds.
The drive seeks a goal of $53,500 and continues
through November with a checkup luncheon by
committee workers on Oct. 27th, a final reports lun
cheon on Nov. 10th, and an awards banquet on
Nov. 18th.
Give liberally and let’s go over the top in collec
tions again this year.
Enjoyed article on Long Creek
A tribute to fall
Fat, yellow pumpkins around Otis Falls Service
Station on King St. call attention to Autumn, that
beautiful season of Indian Summer weather for our
section of Carolina.
Nowhere was Autumn more apparent than in the
gorgeous arrangements of flowers, foliage and crafts
on display at Wednesday’s Fall Floral Fair (Com
munity Festival) at Kings Mountain Woman’s
Club. Much credit is due the hardworking club
members who brought out outstanding displays.
The Fall color was also evident at the KM Na
tional Military Park during the recent drama perfor
mances and during the 200th Celebration and its at
tendant festivities. With good weather, ‘Then Con
quer We Must” played to a packed house at almost
^1 performances. The reaction to the revised drama
is further credit to the writer, the producer, the
director, and the very large cast of area citizens for
their good work and its success. It now appears that
public demtmd will virtually require another and
longer run in 1981.
Dear Editors,
I really enjoyed the writeup you had in the
Herald about Long Creek Presbyterian Church and
cemetery.
I was bom less than a mile West of the Church
near the original old Rohm house on March 4,
1893. The first school 1 went to in 19(X) was a little
one room school at the back of the church. The
Rohms went to Long Creek Presbyterian Church.
My father and mother and his famly are buried in
the cemetery. I have lived in and around Kings
Mountain most of my life. I can remember when
there were only a couple of stores in Kings Moun
tain. I knew a lot of people there. 1 moved down
here in the Chapel Grove Community in 1947, near
the South Carolina line. I get my mail in South
Carolina. I still have a good memory. 1 always wish
ed I could do what you are doing.
MRS. LIZZIE ROHM TALBERT
CLOVER, S.C.
The history of the Hamb right family
Spociol To Tho Herald
By MUs Vera Hardin. Historian
The Hambright Family
Our family, the descendants of Col. Mark Bird
and Mary Ross, planned a tour to Pennsylvania
where our ancestors lived before the Revolutionary
War. We chartered a Greyhound bus for August
13-17,1979 and on the morning of the 13th we left
the Antioch Baptist Church, Grover, N.C. with 42
passengers from North Carolina, South Carolina,
and Florida. One of the most rewarding tours any
had ever taken!
The first night we spent at a motel at In
dependence Mall, Philadelphia. The next day we
toured the spots so rich in our family history - In
dependence Hall, Christ Church, Cemetery at
Christ Church, Congress Hall, Quaker Meeting
House, Betsy Ross House, etc. We had three uncles
who were signers of the Declaration of In
dependence.
Rachel, a sister of Col. Mark Bird was the first
wife of that most distinguished statesman, James
Wilson, signer of the Declaration of Independence,
a Framer of the Constitution of the United States,
and one of the first Trustees of the Supreme Court
appointed by General Washington.
Mary Ross Bird was the daughter of Rev. George
Ross, and the sister of George Ross, signer of the
Declaration. She was the sister of Gertrude Ross, se
cond wife of George Read, a signer of the Declara
tion and a Framer of the Constitution. She was the
sister of the wife of Col. Edward Biddle, a member
of the Continental Congress, and another was the
wife of Gen. William Thompson who commanded
first troops from many colonies south of New
England to join Washington before Boston in 1775.
She was also sister of John Ross, one of the leaders
of the Colonial Bar and for years Attorney General
for the Crown for lower counties on Delaware; and
of Rev. Aeneas Ross, whose son John was the hus
band of Betsy Ross, the flagmaker.
Our next stop was Valley Forge where we had
about an hour bus tour. It was here that my ggg
grandfather. Col. Mark Bird sent 1,0(X) barrels of
flour to George Washington’s starving army.
On our way to Hopewell Village we visited Bird-
sboro. Here Thomas Adams, Birdsboro borough
manager joined in the tour, and Nicholas DeSantis
served as the guide for a ykit through the William
Bird Mansion now the Community Memorial Hall.
This was built by William Bird (father of Mark Bird
and Rachel Bird Wilson) in 1751 who married
Bridgette Hulling. James Wilson and Rachel Bird
were married at the Episcopal Church in
Douglasville and the reception was held at the Bird
home here. Mrs. DeSantis stated that there was no
juvenile delinquency in Birdsboro. This home plays
a part in this since it is used for the YMCA and pro
vides wholesome entertainment.
Finally we arrived at Hopewell Village, Mark
Bird’s ironworks, which is not a National Park.
Mark Bird, like many other ironmasters, was an ar
dent patriot. In 1775, when the Revolutionary War
came, he served as Lieutenant Colonel of the Se
cond Battalion, Berks County Militia. Later in
August 1776, as Colonel Bird, he outfitted 300 men
with uniforms, tents, and provisions - all at his own
expense. This force marched under his command to
Washington’s relief after the Battle of Brandywine
late in 1777.
Mark Bird’s cheif services to the American cause,
however, were those of a patriotic philanthropist
and munitions maker, rather than a soldier. Many
of his ironworks, gristmills, and sawmills supplied
the Continental Congress with the sinews of war.
The minutes of the Continental Congress for June
24, 1,977, March 11, 1778, April 8, 1780 and
September 10,1783, refer to large quantities of iron
Learn from past
Dear Editors,
The great rule of moral conduct is, next to God,
to respect time. As a shadow plays with the
sunbeam, so no life can be all radiance.
The waves which sorrow lashes around us stand
high between us and the world, and make our ship
solitary in the midst of a haven full of vessels.
Life is divided into three terms, that which was,
which will be.
Let us learn from the past to profit by the present,
and from the present to live for the future.
EVERETTE PEARSON
KINGS MOUNTAIN. N.C
supplies received from him. In 1777 eleven men
were discharged from the militia to help in the can
non foundry and nail works for the use of the
United States. Orders of $50,0(X) and $125,691
were issued in 1778 and 1780 in Birds favor by the
Continental Congress. It is doubtful if he ever col
lected on the large amounts owed to him by the
United States. On September 15,1783 he asked that
the Great Chain which had been stretched across
the Hudson River at West Point to keep the British
out be delivered to him in part payment of his ac
count. This was denied on the grounds that he was
a creditor of the United States along with others.
It was a thrill to tour the Village and see the liv
ing history reinacted where our ancestors lived and
labored for our freedom. Mark Bird gave his fortune
for the cause and then moved to North Carolina
where he died a poor person. He is buried at Con
cord Baptist Church, Bostic. Not a forgotten
patriot! He has a number of descendants in this area
who gather each year at the Antioch Baptist
Church to refresh our memory of the history. Mark
Bird’s son, Edward was the first clerk of this church
- organized 1813. His two grandsons, William and
Robert were the architects and carpenters for the
present sanctuary erected in 1885.
A visit to anyone’s ancestors home is rewarding!