USA > North Carolina > Rowan County > A history of Rowan County, North Carolina > Part 16
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describes it as "a little box of a house fifteen by sixteen feet, and one story high," and built of "shingles," i. e., a framed and weatherboarded house, covered with shingles. This little house was purchased by an enter- prising individual and carried to Philadelphia to the Centennial Exposition, in 1876, as a speculation, though it proved to be a very poor investment. While Jackson certainly devoted a good part of his time to study, yet he was no doubt, as Parton describes him, "a roaring, rollicking fellow, overflowing with life and spirits, and rejoicing to engage in all the fun that was going." He played cards, fought cocks, ran horses, threw the 'long bullet' (cannon ball, slung in a strap, and thrown as a trial of strength), carried off gates, moved outhouses to remote fields, and occa- sionally indulged in a downright drunken debauch." Upon a certain occasion the three law students and their friends held a banquet at the tavern. At the conclusion it was resolved that it would be improper that the glasses and decanters that had promoted the happiness of such an evening should ever be profaned by any baser use. Accordingly they were smashed. The same reasoning led to the destruction of the table. The chairs and the bed were all broken and torn to splinters and ribbons, and the combustible parts heaped on the fire and burned. Of course there was a big bill to settle next day. But it is said that Jack- son's landlord was fond of cards, and that Jackson won large sums from him, which were entered as credits against his board bill. Jackson was certainly not a model young man, and not one in ten thousand
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young men who begin life as he did ever attain to dis- tinction. But there was in him indomitable will, tireless energy, and unflinching courage. He was always willing to "take the responsibility," and he moved on to his aims with a purpose that could not be turned aside. After spending less than two years in the office of Spruce Macay, Jackson completed his studies for the bar in the office of Col. John Stokes, a brave soldier of the Revolution. After this he lived a while at Martins- ville, Guilford County, and from that place he re- moved to Tennessee, in 1788, and settled in Nashville. The reader may follow his course in the legal pro- fession, in the Indian wars, in the battle of New Orleans, in the Presidential chair, by perusing the racy and readable volumes that record his life, by James Parton; but these sketches of him must close at this point.
CHAPTER XXIII
OLD FAMILIES OF ROWAN
While the territory now comprehended in Rowan County was a part of Anson County, or further back still, while it was a part of Bladen County, there were settlers in this region. It was in 1745 that Henry McCulloh obtained his grant of one hundred thousand acres of land on the Yadkin and its tributaries. This was probably about the beginning of the settlement. The deeds and grants between this date and 1753, if recorded, would be registered in these counties. Hence it is not always possible to determine the date of the settlement of a family by the date of its oldest deed, since the oldest deeds may have been registered elsewhere. But among the earliest grants registered here are those of the
BRANDON FAMILY
This family came to Rowan from Pennsylvania, but they were originally from England, where for many centuries the Brandons played a conspicuous part in public affairs, as every reader of English history knows.
Upon coming to Rowan County they settled in three different neighborhoods. In 1752, John Brandon obtained a grant of six hundred and thirty acres of
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land from Earl Granville upon the waters of Grant's Creek. In the same year Richard Brandon obtained a grant of four hundred and eighty acres on the South Fork of Grant's Creek. In 1755, John Brandon pur- chased from Carter & Foster, Lot No. 4, in the South Square of Salisbury, adjoining the Common, and near the courthouse-near where the stocks and pillory then stood. This was near what was known as Cowan's Corner, now Hedrick's Block. It is not certain whether the above-named John and Richard Brandon were brothers, or father and son, or more distant relations.
Another member of the family, William Brandon, said by tradition to be the youngest son, purchased from James Cathey, in 1752, a tract containing six hundred and forty acres on Sill's Creek, beyond Thyatira Church-then Cathey's Meeting-house. He also procured a grant of three hundred and fifty acres adjoining the meeting-house lands and between the lands of John Sill and James Cathey. William Brandon married a Miss Cathey. He was perhaps a brother of John Brandon of Grant's Creek.
Another branch of the Brandon family settled on the north side of Fourth Creek. Here James Brandon, in 1760 and 1762, obtained grants from Granville and deed from Patrick Campbell for one thousand five hundred and ninety-two acres of land. Among the Brandons of Fourth Creek there was one George Brandon whose will, dated 1772, names the following persons, to wit: His wife Marian, his sons John, George, Christopher, and Abraham (the latter residing
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at Renshaw's Ford on South River), and his
daughters Jane Silver, Mary McGuire, Elinor Brandon, and Sidney Witherow. Of these families the writer has no knowledge.
With regard to the Brandons of Grant's Creek, we have more definite historical and traditional knowl- edge.
John Brandon appears among the Justices who pre- sided over our County Courts in the year 1753, along with Walter Carruth, Alexander Cathey, Alexander Osborne, John Brevard, and others. We would infer from this fact that he was somewhat advanced in life, and of prominence in his neighborhood and the county. When the Rev. Hugh McAden passed through Rowan, he stopped a night with Mr. Brandon, whom he styles "His Own Countryman," that is from Pennsylvania, where McAden was born. From a deed dated 1753, we learn that John Brandon's wife's name was Eliza- beth.
John Brandon had three sons, namely: Richard, William, and John. Richard Brandon married Mar- garet Locke, the sister of Gen. Matthew Locke. The children of Richard Brandon and Margaret Locke were John Brandon, Matthew Brandon, and Eliza- beth Brandon. The latter is the fair maiden who furnished the breakfast for General Washington, and who married Francis McCorkle, Esq. John and Matthew Brandon resided in the same neighborhood.
Col. John Brandon, brother of Matthew, and son of Richard named above, resided about five miles southwest of Salisbury, on the Concord Road.
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Among his children was the late well-known Col. Alexander W. Brandon, who resided in Salisbury, and died here about the year 1853. Col. Alexander W. Brandon never married. While in Salisbury he boarded with his nephew, James Cowan, in the old historic "Rowan House," where General Jackson once boarded (the house now owned by Theodore F. Kluttz, imme- diately opposite the Boyden House). Colonel Bran- don possessed a considerable estate, was a general trader, a dealer in money, notes, and stocks. By his will be provided that his body should be laid in Thyatira churchyard among his kindred, and left four hundred dollars to the elders of the church, as trustees, for the purpose of keeping the graveyard in repair. He also bequeathed three thousand dollars to Davidson College for the education of candidates for the ministry, besides legacies to his nephews, Thomas Cowan, James L. Cowan, James L. Brandon, Leonidas Brandon, Jerome B. Brandon, George Locke; and to his brother, John L. Brandon. Colonel Brandon was an upright, steady, moral man, of fine appearance and dignified demeanor.
Besides Alexander W. Brandon, John Brandon left a son named John L. Brandon, and two daughters. One of the daughters, named Sally, was married to James Locke, son of Gen. Matthew Locke, and after his death was married to a Mr. Dinkins, of Mecklen- burg. The other daughter, named Lucretia, was the first wife of Abel Cowan, Esq., of Thyatira.
To return a generation or two, we find that Richard Brandon had another son, besides Col. John Brandon,
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whose name was Matthew. This Matthew Brandon was the father of two daughters. One of these daughters, named Elizabeth, became the wife of Gen. Paul Barringer, of Cabarrus, and the mother of the late Hon. D. M. Barringer, Gen. Rufus Barringer, Rev. William Barringer, Victor C. Barringer, Mrs. Wm. C. Means, Mrs. Andrew Grier, Mrs. Dr. Charles W. Harris, and Mrs. Edwin R. Harris. All these were well-known and honored citizens of Cabarrus and Mecklenburg Counties.
The other daughter of Matthew Brandon, named Elvira, became the wife of the Rev. James Davidson Hall, then pastor of Thyatira Church, and left no children.
Not far from Thyatira Church, many years ago, there lived two brothers named John Brandon and James Brandon. They were the sons of William Brandon, who settled there as early as 1752. Wm. Brandon's first wife was a Cathey, the mother of John and James. After her death he married a Widow Troy, of Salisbury, and moved to Kentucky. From William Brandon and his second wife there descended in the second generation a family of Davises. Two ladies of this name, granddaughters of William Brandon, lived for a while in Salisbury with Miss Catherine Troy, afterwards Mrs. Maxwell Chambers. One of these young ladies married George Gibson, and moved to Tennessee. The other died in Salis- bury, after a short residence here.
John Brandon, the son of William Brandon, of Thyatira, married Mary, the daughter of Major
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John Dunn, of Salisbury. This couple died childless. Their residence was on the west side of Cathey's Creek, a mile from Thyatira Church. The place was known of late years as the residence of Dr. Samuel Kerr, and still later as the home of our fellow-citizen, James S. McCubbins, Esq. The other son of William Brandon, known as Col. James Brandon, married Esther Horah, sister of Hugh Horah, and aunt of the late William H. Horah. He resided near Thyatira Church in his early married life. After the Revolu- tionary War he was "entry-taker," and lost nearly all his property by the depreciation of continental money in his hands. In his latter days he lived in what is now Franklin Township, where William R. Fraley now resides. Col. James Brandon died about 1820, and left a number of children.
I. Among these was a son named William Brandon, who was a merchant in Salisbury, and kept his store about the place now occupied by Enniss' drug store. He never married, and died young, about the same time that his father died.
2. Priscilla Brandon married William Gibson, and their children were Dr. Edmund R. Gibson, late of Concord, James Brandon Gibson, now an elder of Thyatira, George Gibson, who moved to Tennessee, now dead, and Mrs. Margaret G. Smith, now living with James G. Gibson.
3. Margaret, who never married, and died about 1828.
4. Clarissa Harlowe, who married Thomas Kin- caid. These were the parents of Mrs. Mary Ann
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Bruner, Mrs. Jane E. Fraley, and William Mortimer Kincaid, Esq.
5. Sophia Gardner, who never married, and died in 1846.
6. Mary, who married William Hampton of Rowan. Their children were Nancy Reed, the wife of Hon. Philo White; Margaret Gardner, wife of Montfort S. Mckenzie, Esq .; Mary Ann, wife of John C. Palmer, of Raleigh; and James, who died young.
7. Elizabeth, who married Francis Gibson. Their children were Clarissa, the wife of Benjamin Julian, of Salisbury; Esther, the wife of Jesse P. Wiseman, Esq .; and Emmeline, the wife of Rufus Morrison.
Of the Brandons it may be remarked that they were a thriving, industrious, and prosperous family in their day, devoting their chief attention to agriculture and local affairs. Some of them wore the military titles of the day, and were doubtless leaders of public opinion in their neighborhoods, resembling the Eng- lish country squires, who took deeper interest in the sports and institutions of the country than in national affairs. Though the Brandons did not generally aspire to legislative and judicial honors, yet some of them were elevated by their fellow-citizens to places of trust and dignity. Matthew Brandon, son of Richard, and brother of the second John, represented Rowan County four times in the House of Commons, and once in the Senate, of North Carolina. Col. Alexander W. Brandon was once a member of the House of Commons.
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Though they were generally men of substance they did not seem to desire for their sons a college educa- tion, preferring that they should walk in the peaceful avocations of an independent farmer's life. But they were a race possessed of intellectual force, and many of the scions of this house have achieved success as scholars, as lawyers, legislators, and divines. These branches of the family are scattered over many counties of North Carolina, though the historic name of Brandon has almost disappeared from the land of their forefathers.
JOHN PHIFER AND GEORGE SAVITZ
On the headwaters of Grant's Creek, in the neighborhood of the present village of China Grove, there dwelt in the early times two families very closely connected. About 1760, John Phifer, with five brothers, came from Pennsylvania and settled in Rowan and Cabarrus (then Mecklenburg) Counties. The family is said to have been of Swiss origin, and the name was originally written Pfeiffer. In 1763, John Phifer married Catherine, the daughter of John Paul Barringer, and sister of Gen. Paul Barringer, late of Cabarrus. He settled about a mile south of China Grove, and their union was blessed with two children -Margaret and Paul B. Phifer. While only seven years old, little Margaret Phifer performed a deed of heroism worthy of commendation. Some ruffian Tories and British soldiers visited her home, and with lighted torches ascended the stairs with the purpose of setting the house on fire. Little Margaret fell on -
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her knees and, throwing her arms around the nearest of the marauders, implored him to spare their home. Their hearts were melted by the tender pleading of the child, and they withdrew and left the house stand- ing. This child, growing up, became the wife of John Simianer, of Cabarrus County, and the mother of Mrs. Adolphus L. Erwin, of McDowell County. The son, Paul B. Phifer, married and died early in life, leaving two sons, both of whom removed to the Southwest. One of these sons, Gen. John N. Phifer, had an only son who was graduated at the University of North Carolina. He was a lieutenant in the late war and has been widely known as Brig .- Gen. Charles Phifer. His father, Gen. John N. Phifer, represented Cabarrus County in the Senate of North Carolina in 1818.
It is due to the memory of Col. John Phifer, the elder, to say that he was a conspicuous and leading man in his day, and acted in the foreground of the great movement which terminated in our glorious in- dependence. Though originally settling in Rowan County, it appears that he had such interests in Cabarrus (then Mecklenburg County) as drew him into co-operation with the patriots of Mecklenburg, and his name is found appended to the Mecklenburg Declaration of 1775. But he found an early grave, passing away during the first years of the Revolution- ary War, and after a few years, his widow (Catherine, daughter of John Paul Barringer) became the wife of George Savitz, commonly called "Savage." In 1768, Richard Brandon executed a deed to George Savitz, for a tract of land on both sides of Grant's Creek,
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above a certain mill pond. In 1778, George Savitz, Jr., and his wife Catherine, executed a deed for a tract of land on Mccutcheon's Creek, a branch of Cold- water, and by purchasing a tract here and there the Savitzes became the proprietors of a large body of land adjoining the Brandons and Lockes, on the head streams of Grant's Creek, in the region of the present village of China Grove. From these deeds we learn that John Phifer had died before 1778, for at that period George Savitz, Jr., had married Katrina, his widow, that is Catherine, the daughter of John Paul Barringer. Here George Savitz and his wife lived, in the house that was saved from the torch by little Margaret Phifer. That house was about a half-mile west of the place where the two churches, Lutheran Chapel and Mount Zion, now stand. The old church stood near the graveyard, west of the railroad, and was popularly known as Savage's Church. Here the Lutherans and German Reformed worshiped to- gether. After the disruption of the Lutheran Church, in 1819, the adherents of Dr. Henkel built a church a mile west, and still later the Lutherans built a house where the Chapel now stands, and the German Re- formed where Zion Church stands. But to return. George Savitz, Jr., and Catherine, his wife, had two daughters, named Mary and Catherine. Mary was first married to Charles Mckenzie (afterwards she was the wife of Richard Harris, still living). Three children were born to this couple-the late Montford S. Mckenzie, Esq .; Maria, who became the second
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wife of Abel Cowan; and Margaret, the wife of the late John McRorie, of Salisbury.
Catherine Savitz, the other daughter, married Noah Partee, Esq., and resided at the home place. Their children were Hiram and Charles Partee, who moved to the West, and have recently died. A daughter of Noah and Catherine Partee, named Elizabeth, was married to the late George McConnaughey, of Rowan. Another daughter, named Maria, married the late Major Robert W. Foard, of Concord, and still sur- vives. Still another daughter was married to the late Robert Huie, of Mississippi, and resides in Concord.
The Savitz family were of German lineage, and with the industry and prudence characteristic of that race they amassed a large amount of property. They were originally adherents of the Lutheran Church, though their descendants have entered different churches- some Presbyterians, some Methodists, and some Epis- copalians. The Brandons on the other hand, though English, and having an affinity for the Church of England, appear as a general rule to have been Presbyterians. One or more, however, of the family of Richard Brandon were adherents of the Episcopal Church. The Brandons of Cathey's Creek, especially Col. James Brandon's family, were earnest Presby- terians. Thyatira in those days was the great rallying point of the Presbyterians. In the earlier years of this century there was not a church of any denomina- tion in Salisbury. The old Lutheran Church had gone down, and the Methodists, Presbyterians, and
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Episcopalians had not yet organized their churches. Thyatira was the center for the English people.
While the fertile lands lying on the tributaries of the Yadkin were rapidly taken up by the eager immigrants from Pennsylvania, or rather by the Scotch-Irish and Germans, who came through Pennsyl- vania to Carolina, many drifted on further, attracted by the no less fertile lands of the beautiful Catawba. Here the Davidsons, Brevards, Whites, Winslows, and others gathered in the neighborhood of Beattie's Ford, and on both sides of the river. This region was peo- pled quite early, their title deeds dating from 1752 and onward. Among these was
THE FAMILY OF THE MCCORKLES
A member of this family, Francis Marion Mc- Corkle, of Tennessee, has gathered up the traditions of this family, and his manuscript furnishes the basis of this article.
There lived in Scotland, during the troubles arising from the efforts of Charles Edward, the Pretender, to seize the throne, a family of McCorkles that sought a safer and quieter home in Ireland. Here the parents died, and a son of theirs, named Matthew McCorkle, married a lady by the name of Givens. Ned Givens, a brother of Mrs. McCorkle, was quite a character in his way. At the age of fourteen Ned entered the army and was redeemed by his father at great cost. He soon re-enlisted and was a second time redeemed by his father for a large sum, and assured that if he repeated the project he should take his chances. About this
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time Matthew McCorkle and his wife were about to remove to the American Colonies, and Ned, not yet tired of adventures, proposed to go with them, but his father refused to let him go. When, however, Mc- Corkle arrived at the port from which he was to sail, to his surprise he found Ned there awaiting his arrival, and determined to go. His persistence was rewarded, for McCorkle paid his passage, and the party arrived safely in Pennsylvania, and after a short stay there proceeded to North Carolina and entered lands near Beattie's Ford, some in Mecklenburg, and some in Rowan (now Iredell). Here Matthew Mc- Corkle and Ned Givens both settled down, and each of them raised large families, and here they ended their days. Givens had already showed that he had a strong will, and he was reputed to have had an un- governable temper. From him were descended some of the most reputable families of South Iredell, as for instance the family of Whites.
Matthew McCorkle had two sons, Thomas and Francis, and several daughters. One of these sons, Francis, married Sarah Work, by whom he had five children. As his family increased he entered more lands. The second entry was on the west side of Catawba River, on one of the tributaries of Mountain Creek, in the limits of the present County of Catawba. Here he started a farm, planted an orchard, and by industry and skill began rapidly to accumulate prop- erty. He was said to have been a man of amiable dis- position and of a fine personal appearance (of florid complexion, auburn hair, and about six feet in height).
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When the Revolutionary War came on Francis Mc- Corkle promptly took his place on the side of the patriots. In 1774, he was appointed a member of the Committee of Safety of Rowan, along with John Brevard, Matthew Locke, and others. (See Wheeler's Sketches, Vol. 2, page 360.) Though full thirty miles from his home, he is recorded as present in Salisbury at the regular meetings of the committee, and is named in the records as the captain of a Company. He was in the battles of King's Mountain, Ramsour's Mill, Cow- pens, and Torrence's Tavern. His patriotic course excited the animosity of the Tories, and he was in consequence frequently compelled to keep away from his home to escape their vengeance. A morning or two before the battle of Ramsour's Mill, Francis Mc- Corkle and a man by the name of Smith rode out be- fore day to learn the whereabouts of the Tories, know- ing that they were in the neighborhood. Arriving at a neighbor's house near the head of the creek about daylight, they inquired of the lady if she knew where the Tories were. She replied that she was expecting them every moment. Upon this the party wheeled and rode home in a hurry to arrange matters. After brief preparation they left home, and were scarcely out of sight before the Tories arrived, and searched the house from garret to cellar for McCorkle. They found there some salt, which they appeared to want, and left word if McCorkle would come and bring them some salt all would be well, but if not they would come and destroy everything in his house. Instead of joining them, McCorkle and Smith hastened to the patriotic soldiers
John 8. Henderson .
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that were centering at Ramsour's Mill, and were in the battle there.
The tradition of the McCorkle family is that Colonel Locke, a friend of Francis McCorkle, fell in the battle of Ramsour's Mill. Dr. Foote states that he was killed at the Kennedy place, near Charlotte, and Dr. Caruthers says he fell at Torrence's Tavern. Dr. Foote is evidently mistaken, for it was Lieut. George Locke, a brother of Colonel Francis, that fell at Char- lotte. It is probable also that the McCorkle tradition is a mistake, since Tarleton, in his Memoirs, accord- ing to Caruthers, preserves a letter written by General Greene to Col. Francis Locke, about the time of the affair at Cowan's Ford, dated Beattie's Ford, January 31, 1781. But the battle of Ramsour's Mill was fought on the twentieth of June, 1780, seven months before this time. Besides, there is no record of any adminis- tration upon his estate, but there is a will of Francis Locke on file, dated 1796, with the known signature of Col. Francis Locke. He doubtless survived until this date. But to return. After the battle of Ram- sour's Mill, Smith returned and reported that Mc- Corkle was killed. But to the great joy of the family he soon rode up alive and unharmed. He then ven- tured to sleep in his own house for a few nights. But about the third night he was suddenly awakened by the sound of horses' hoofs. Hearing his name called, he answered, and was told to get up and come to the door. He requested time to put on his clothes, but with abusive words they told him it was no use, as they intended to kill him. They then asked him
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