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HISTORY OF ROWAN COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA
BY REV. JETHRO RUMPLE
THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL
LUX
LIBERTAS
THE COLLECTION OF NORTH CAROLINIANA
PRESENTED BY North Carolina Collection Gift Fund
C971.80 R93.1 c.4
UNIVERSITY OF N.C. AT CHAPEL HILL 00025332952
This book may be kept out one month unless a recall notice is sent to you. It must be brought to the North Carolina Collection (in Wilson Library) for renewal.
A HISTORY OF
ROWAN COUNTY
NORTH CAROLINA
CONTAINING SKETCHES OF
PROMINENT FAMILIES AND
DISTINGUISHED MEN
WITH AN
APPENDIX
BY REV. JETHRO RUMPLE
PUBLISHED BY J. J. BRUNER SALISBURY, N. C. 1881
REPUBLISHED BY THE ELIZABETH MAXWELL STEELE CHAPTER DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION SALISBURY, N. C.
ENTERED ACCORDING TO ACT OF CONGRESS IN THE YEAR 1916 IN THE OFFICE OF THE LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS AT WASHINGTON, D. C. BY ELIZABETH MAXWELLE STEELE CHAPTER DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
CHARLOTTE, N. C. OBSERVER PRINTING HOUSE 1916
8110710
R93.1 c. 4
ELIZABETH MAXWELL STEELE CHAPTER DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
OFFICERS
MRS. EDWIN C. GREGORY Regent
MRS. D. F. CANNON Vice-Regent
MRS. GEO. A. FISHER Recording Secretary
MRS. JOHN McCANLESS Corresponding Secretary
MRS. WM. S. NICOLSON Treasurer
MRS. R. L. MAUNEY
Registrar
MRS. W. S. BLACKMER
Historian
MRS. N. P. MURPHY
Chaplain
MEMBERS
MRS. R. M. ARMSTRONG
MISS FANNIE, V. ANDREWS
MISS ROSALIE BERNHARDT
MRS. LYMAN A. COTTEN
MISS ELIZABETH NICOLSON
MRS. J. R. DEAS
MRS. E. R. OVERMAN
MRS. J. P. GRIMES
MRS. M. C. QUINN
MRS. A. H. GRAY
MRS. J. F. PRESTON
MRS. JOHN STEWART
MRS. THOS. HINES
MRS. J. H. HURLEY
MISS CAMILLE HUNT
MRS. J. P. MOORE
MRS. G. W. MONTCASTLE
MRS. J. W. NEAVE
MRS. J. H. GORMAN
MRS. R. P. TOLMAN
MISS MARY L. SMITH
MRS. W. H. WOODSON
NCC GIFTS FUND
A NEW PREFACE
In republishing the Rumple History of Rowan County, the Elizabeth Maxwell Steele Chapter, National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, has accomplished a twofold purpose, namely: "the encouragement of historical research, and the publication of its results." In fulfilling these primary objects of the Society, it has also furthered the ulterior aim of both editor and author, whose advocacy of these same objects-ten years prior to the organization of the National Society-made this little book possible.
By these recorded "facts of history, biography, and achievement," supplemented by priceless data gleaned from old documents, manuscripts, local tradition, and the personal recollections of many who have since been gathered to their fathers, the author has rendered an inestimable service-not only to the Rowan County of today, but the territory occupied by forty-five counties formed from this venerable mother, which when erected comprehended most of the western part of the State, and Tennessee.
Printed weekly from the galley proofs of the cur- rent newspaper article, on common material, and filed away to be later bound into book form, the first edi- tion was of necessity limited, and was exhausted years
6
HISTORY OF ROWAN COUNTY
ago. In presenting the second edition, the publishers hope to supply a long-felt want. The contents have not been built anew; in a few instances only, supple- mental facts have been incorporated, and the past linked with the present through the medium of a limited number of photographs. In consideration of the ample domain formerly covered by Rowan County, its history is the common heritage of the people of Western North Carolina and a vast number of her sons and daughters who have made homes in other States-particularly those of the Middle West.
A copy of this little volume owned by the writer is thus autographed by its late beloved author : " 'History is Philosophy teaching by example.' So said one who deeply pondered the import of his words. If we would be wise and good, we should learn the best methods from the example of those who have gone before us." Primarily, the mission of this work was to rescue from oblivion the history of Rowan, and to preserve and perpetuate the honorable records of her citizens; and incidentally promote an intelligent interest in the early development of the County, and a more thorough knowledge of the first settlers-peaceable, industrious, and law-abiding men-"composed of almost all the nations of Europe," who came to make homes for themselves and children; "men and women who had suffered for conscience' sake, or fled from despotism to seek liberty and happiness unrestrained by the shackles of a wornout civilization." Intolerant of tyranny, yet characteristically conservative - when constrained to act, they were invincible! No people
7
A NEW PREFACE
has a fairer and broader historic background, as yet almost unexplored. "Ill fares it with a State whose history is written by others than her own sons!"
Is it vain to hope that some one, among "the lineal descendants and present-day representatives of an illustrious dead"-kindled afresh by the holy fires of patriotism and pride of race-will arise phoenix-like from the ashes of our indifference, and write the noble annals of our State? "Earlier colonized in point of history, full of glorious examples of patriotism and chivalric daring, North Carolina has been neglected by her own sons and others." Too long have we felt the opprobrium of this neglect.
To those who have countenanced this effort, and to the friends who have rendered valuable assistance both by suggestion and contribution, many thanks are due. Should but one reader cease to be a "mute inglorious Milton," and sing inspiredly of the valor and glory of our forebears, then your support and this little book shall not have been in vain.
-BEULAH STEWART MOORE
PREFACE
This little book is an accident. While engaged in collecting material for another purpose, the writer was led to examine the early records preserved in the Courthouse in Salisbury, and in the course of his in- vestigation happened upon a number of things that appeared to be of general interest. Mentioning this fact casually to the editor of the Carolina Watchman, the writer was asked to embody these items of interest in a few articles for that newspaper. This led to ad- ditional research, and to the accumulation of a pile of notes and references that gave promise of a dozen or more articles. These the editor thought should be printed in a pamphlet of fifty or a hundred small pages for preservation, and he began at once to print off a few hundred copies from the type used in the news- paper. As the work went on, other facts were gathered -from traditions, from family records, and from the pages of books written about North Carolina, such as the Histories and Sketches of Hawks, Caruthers, Foote, Bancroft, Wheeler, Lawson, Byrd, Jones, Wiley, Moore, Hunter, Bernheim, Gillett, and from miscellaneous diaries, periodicals, and manuscripts. These were intended to furnish a frame for the picture of Old Rowan, and sidelights that it might be seen to advantage. And thus the little pamphlet has swollen to
IO
HISTORY OF ROWAN COUNTY
its present proportions. It was written in installments from week to week, amid the incessant demands of regular professional duty, and without that care and revision that might have saved it from some infelicities of style or obscurities of expression. Both the writer and the publisher would have been glad to have ex- pended more time and care upon the work, so as to render it more worthy of the noble County whose an- nals it is intended to recover and perpetuate. Still it is believed that very few serious errors have been made. Local traditions have been compared with gen- eral history, and have been found to coincide wherever they came in contact.
The writer has been indebted to a number of per- sons for the facts which he has recorded. Miss Chris- tine Beard, a granddaughter of John Lewis Beard, and of John Dunn, Esq .- now eighty years of age, with a remarkably retentive memory-has furnished personal recollections of the Town of Salisbury, cover- ing seventy years. She has also treasured up the stories heard in her youth from the lips of her ances- tors, running back to the first settlement of the County. Messrs. J. M. Horah and H. N. Woodson, the Clerk and the Register, kindly gave access to the old records in the Courthouse, dating back to 1753. John S. Hen- derson, Esq., Rev. S. Rothrock, Rev. H. T. Hudson, D. D., Rev. J. J. Renn, Rev. J. B. Boone, Rev. J. Ingle, Rufus Barringer, Esq., Dr. D. B. Wood, M. L. Mc- Corkle, Esq., Mrs. N. Boyden, and others, have either
II
PREFACE
prepared papers in full, or furnished documents and manuscript statements that have been of special serv- ice. Mrs. P. B. Chambers furnished the diary of her grandfather, Waightstill Avery, Esq. Col. W. L. Saunders, Secretary of State, and Col. J. McLeod Turner, Keeper of the State Capitol, very kindly furnished, free of charge, a copy of the Roll of Honor of the Rowan County soldiers in the Confederate Army. The revision and completion of this Roll was superintended by Mr. C. R. Barker, who bestowed great care and much time upon this work. Many thanks are due to all these persons. In fact, it has been a labor of love, without hope of pecuniary re- ward, with the Author, and all those who have con- tributed to this performance. With these state- ments, the little book is sent forth, with the hope that it will be of some service to the citizens of North Car- olina, and especially to the people of Rowan.
No attempt is made to point out typographical er- rors. They are generally of such nature as to be readily corrected by the intelligent reader. The follow- ing errors may be noted: On page 171, it is stated that no man knows where the grave of John Dunn, Esq., is. Further inquiry, however, revealed the fact that the spot is still known. The correction is given on page 228.
On page 285, Matthew Brandon is represented as having had two daughters. A fuller account reveals the fact that he had three other daughters-one who
I2
HISTORY OF ROWAN COUNTY
married a Mr. McCombs, of Charlotte; another who married Wm. Smith, of Charlotte; and still another who married George Miller, of Salisbury. A daughter of the last-named couple married Lemuel Bingham, Associate Editor of the Western Carolinian, in 1820- 23. These were the parents of the Binghams now of Salisbury.
On page 288, John Phifer is represented as setting in Rowan, near China Grove. Further inquiry seems to show that John Phifer never lived in Rowan, but that his widow moved to that place after her marriage with George Savitz.
On page 394, it is stated that the Rev. W. D. Stro- bel and Rev. D. I. Dreher were ministers to the Salis- bury Lutheran Church. This statement does not ap- pear to be correct. It further appears that the Rev. S. Rothrock's first term of service in Salisbury was in 1833, and his second in 1836; and that the Rev. Mr. Rosenmuller came between Mr. Reck and Mr. Tabler.
The reader will observe in these sketches occasional reference to the Mecklenburg Declaration of May 20, 1775, and to its signers, with no expression of doubt as to its authenticity. This course has been pursued because the writer did not feel called upon to settle, or even discuss, that vexed question, and he did not feel authorized to set at defiance the conclusions that seem to be sustained by the bulk of the testimony, and to adopt instead the deductions of critics derived from real or supposed inconsistencies and contradictions in
13
PREFACE
that testimony. With an array of documents before him, he prefers to allow Mecklenburg to settle that question for herself, while at the same time he is per- fectly satisfied that the Mecklenburg patriots of 1775, either on the twentieth or thirty-first of May, or upon both occasions, acted in such a noble manner as to surround their names with the glory of patriotic de- votion and heroic courage.
9. Rumple
SKETCH OF AUTHOR
-
REV. JETHRO RUMPLE, D. D.
Nearly a century ago, in an unpretentious farm- house in Cabarrus County, N. C., the subject of this sketch, Jethro Rumple, was born. Amid these humble surroundings, the life of the boy was developed, and so the first work of his hands must have been the homely chores of the farm, and the first regular jour- neyings of his boyish feet in the straight line of the furrow, as he followed the plough in the cornfield.
The first artificial illumination for his eyes was the light of the candle or smoky pineknot on the hearth, flickering on the leaves of the old "blue-backed spel- ler," as he reclined at close of day in that first studious attitude of childhood, for the little Jethro must have been born with the love of books in his heart. He went to the little neighboring school, and between the jobs of the farm we can see the barefoot boy trudging the long way to the rough schoolhouse from which the first ambitions of his life must have come to him. Be- yond the horizon of the wheatfield he early found the vision of better and higher things, viz .: classical education, and a place among the scholars of the land. Some years later, with this end in view, and after many struggles to raise or make arrangements for the
16
HISTORY OF ROWAN COUNTY
necessary funds, we find him entering Davidson College, where he was graduated with distinction in 1850.
Teaching school and studying alternately, again, he spent the necessary three years of his theological education at the Seminary in Columbia, S. C .; and under the patronage of Concord Presbytery, of which he was for the remainder of his life a member, he was licensed in 1856 to preach the gospel. A little later he was ordained and installed as the pastor of Provi- dence and Sharon Churches, in Mecklenburg County, N. C. After holding this pastorate for four years, he was called to the First Presbyterian Church of Salis- bury, N. C., and was installed as its pastor, November 24, 1860. There he found his life work. Taking up the burden of this church with a membership of ninety, he continued to be their faithful and beloved pastor for the remaining years of his life on earth, and forty- five years later he laid it down with a living member- ship of four hundred thirty-four souls, a glorious harvest for the Master. Eight young men have en- tered the Gospel ministry, and two-Rev. Dr. John W. Davis, of China, and Rev. Robert Coit, of Korea- the foreign missionary field.
Dr. Rumple developed, early in his work, a vigor and breadth of mind and heart that was felt by all denominations in his town, and abroad as well. Not content with working in his home field, he was one of the pioneers in the home missionary work in the mountains of North Carolina, giving his vacations often to that work. He organized the Presbyterian
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF SALISBURY, N. C., WHERE DR. RUMPLE WAS PASTOR FOR FORTY-SIX YEARS
****
17
SKETCH OF AUTHOR
Church at Blowing Rock, N. C., and was largely in- strumental in raising the funds for the first building. The second structure, a picturesque and unique gothic building of rough mountain stone, stands as a beautiful memorial to his labors and life.
In the department of literature, Dr. Rumple also made a place, for in addition to this History of Rowan County, first published in 1881, he wrote and published, in the pages of the North Carolina Presbyterian (the predecessor of the Presbyterian Standard), a History of Presbyterianism in North Carolina. This was in- tended to have been published later in book form, but the writer, amid the increasing duties of church at home and abroad, never found the time to completely finish and arrange it.
As a public speaker, Dr. Rumple was much in de- mand, and in 1887 he edited the "First Semi-Centenary Celebration of Davidson College, containing the ad- dresses, historical and commemorative, of that occasion ;" and in this publication he is the author of an excellent and well-written sketch of Davidson College.
While not professing to be an evangelist, in the present accepted meaning of that term, Dr. Rumple was often called to preach away from his home church, conducting the meetings of quarterly communion in the different churches ; and he was quite sucessful in his work, the Spirit of God being manifest in these meetings, and giving him the blessing of many souls brought to Christ. He was a preacher of the old school, not disdaining the elaborate introduction to his sermons ; and his style was clear, his diction elegant,
18
HISTORY OF ROWAN COUNTY
and his moral always helpful and practical. Two generations of his hearers rise up and bless his memory, and we might have said three, for he lived to baptize the grandchildren in some instances of his early mem- bers, and having always kept up his interest in and attendance on the Sunday School he knew all the children of his congregation personally, and loved and was loved by them.
Quoting from the memorial sketch written by the Rev. H. G. Hill, and adopted by the Synod of North Carolina : "Dr. Rumple was a strong man in every part of his nature. His physical manhood was un- usually vigorous and well developed. His intellectual powers were active, well-balanced, and capable of sus- tained exertion. His moral nature manifested ex- cellence in all the varied relations of life. His spiritual attributes were plainly the graces wrought by the Holy Spirit. His gifts, his graces, and his rare capacity for work, caused him to be constantly employed, after entering the ministry, for about half a century. As pastor and preacher and presbyter, he was a zealous and faithful laborer. In the judiciatories of the church, which he habitually attended, he was a wise counselor and an active member. As a trustee of Davidson College and of Union Theological Seminary for many years, he could always be depended on to perform effciently any duty that devolved upon him. As the first president of Barium Springs Orphans' Home, he did more for founding and sustaining this institution than any member of our Synod. In his private and social relations, Dr. Rumple was a typical
19
SKETCH OF AUTHOR
Christian gentleman, hospitable towards his brethren, considerate of the views and feelings of others, and genial in all his social intercourse. He had his per- sonal and family sorrows, but they never led him to murmur at the orderings of Providence, nor to be- come morose in disposition, nor to cease active work for the Master. Down to the last months of his life, he held official positions, and amid growing infirmities discharged his duties with conscientious fidelity. He dropped the oar of toil only to receive the crown of life. 'The righteous shall be in everlasting remem- brance, and the name of Jethro Rumple shall be hon- ored among us as long as virtue is cherished and piety revered.' "
In October of 1857, Dr. Rumple was married to Miss Jane Elizabeth Wharton, daughter of Watson W. and Malinda Rankin Wharton, of Greensboro, N. C. She was a faithful and efficient home-maker, and a sympathetic helpmate in his work. Besides this, being possessed of musical ability and some training, she for years maintained a little musical school, thereby helping to furnish the means whereby the three children-Watson Wharton, James Walker, and Linda Lee-were educated. The first only reached eighteen years of age, dying in his senior year at Davidson College. The second, James W., became a lawyer of promise, but only lived to be twenty-nine, being drowned in the Shenandoah River in Virginia. He had, about two years previous to his death, been married to Jane Dickson Vardell, and one son, James Malcolmson, had blessed their union. The daughter,
20
HISTORY OF ROWAN COUNTY
Linda Lee, in October. 1891, was married to Rev. C. G. Vardell, then pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Newbern, N. C., but for the past eighteen years the president of the College for Women at Red Springs, N. C., known first as the Red Springs Seminary, and afterwards the Southern Presbyterian College and Conservatory of Music, and recently the name has been changed to "Flora MacDonald College." Mrs. Vardell has been the organizer and musical director of the Conservatory. one of the largest and highest grade conservatories in the South. It was at the home of his daughter, in Red Springs, N. C., after a decline of several months, that Dr. Rumple passed away from earth to the home above, on January 20, 1906.
"And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord and their works do follow them."-Revela- tion 14: 13.
-MRS. LINDA RUMPLE VARDELL
J. J. BRUNER EDITOR AND PUBLISHER
JOHN JOSEPH BRUNER, EDITOR
John Joseph Bruner was born in Rowan County, N. C., on the Yadkin River, about seven miles from Salisbury, on the twelfth of March, 1817. He was the son of Henry Bruner, and Edith his wife, who was the youngest daughter of Col. West Harris, of Montgomery County, N. C. Colonel Harris married Edith Ledbetter, of Anson County, and was a field officer in the Continental army.
When the subject of this sketch was a little over two years old, his father died, and his mother re- turned with her two children, Selina and Joseph, to her father's house in Montgomery.
In the year 1825, he came to Salisbury, under the care of the Hon. Charles Fisher, father of the late Col. Chas. F. Fisher, who fell at the battle of Bull Run. Mr. Bruner's first year in Salisbury was spent in attending the school taught by Henry Allemand. This was about all the schooling of a regular style that he ever received, excepting after he grew up. The re- mainder of his education was of a practical kind, and was received at the case and press of a printing office.
At the age of nine years, he entered the printing office of the Western Carolinian, then under the editorial control of the Hon. Philo White, late of Whitestown, N. Y. The Carolinian passed into the hands of the Hon. Burton Craige, in 1830. and then
22
HISTORY OF ROWAN COUNTY
into the hands of Major John Beard, late of Florida, Mr. Bruner continuing in the office until 1836. In 1839, the late M. C. Pendleton, of Salisbury, and Mr. Bruner, purchased the Watchman, and edited it in partnership for about three years. The Watchman had been started in the year 1832, by Hamilton C. Jones, Esq., father of the late Col. H. C. Jones, of Charlotte. The Watchman was a Whig and anti- nullification paper, and was intended to support Gen. Andrew Jackson in his anti-nullification policy.
In 1843, Mr. Bruner retired from the Watchman, and traveled for a while in the Southwest, spending some time in a printing-office in Mobile, Ala. Re- turning home, he was united in marriage to Miss Mary Ann Kincaid, a daughter of Thomas Kincaid, Esq. The mother of Mrs. Bruner was Clarissa Har- lowe, daughter of Col. James Brandon of Revolu- tionary fame, who married Esther Horah, an aunt of the late Wm. H. Horah, so long known as a leading bank officer in Salisbury. Col. James Brandon was the son of William Brandon, who settled in Thyatira as early as 1752, and whose wife was a Miss Cathey of that region. Having married, Mr. Bruner pre- pared for his life work by re-purchasing the Watch- man, in partnership with the late Samuel W. James, in 1844. After six years, this partnership was dis- solved, and Mr. Bruner became sole proprietor and editor of the Watchman, which he continued to pub- lish until the office was captured by the Federal sol- diers in the spring of 1865. After a few months, however, Mr. Bruner was permitted to re-occupy his
23
JOHN JOSEPH BRUNER
dismantled office, and resume the publication of his paper. Three years later, Lewis Hanes, Esq., of Lexington, purchased an interest in the paper, and it was called the Watchman and Old North State. Re- tiring for a time from the paper, Mr. Bruner entered private life for a couple of years. But his mission was to conduct a paper, and so in 1871 he re-pur- chased it, and the Watchman made its regular appear- ance weekly until his death. At this date, the Watch- man was the oldest newspaper, and Mr. Bruner the oldest editor in North Carolina. He was one of the few remaining links binding the antebellum journalist with those of the present day. The history of Mr. Bruner's editorial life is a history of the progress of the State. He was contemporary with the late Edward J. Hale, Ex-Governor Holden, Wm. J. Yates, and others of the older editors of the State. When he began to publish the Watchman, there was not a daily paper in North Carolina, and no rail- roads. In the forties and fifties, the Watchman was the leading paper in Western North Carolina, and had subscribers in fifty counties. None now living in Salisbury, and few elsewhere in the State, have had such extensive personal acquaintance and knowledge of men and things in the early years of this century. Names that have almost ceased to be spoken on our streets were familiar to him. He knew such men as Hon. Chas. Fisher, Col. Chas. F. Fisher, Rowland Jones, Esq., Dr. Pleasant Henderson, Hamilton C. Jones, Esq., Hon. Burton Craige, the Browns, Longs, Cowans, Beards, Lockes, Hendersons, and hosts of
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