USA > North Carolina > Biographical history of North Carolina from colonial times to the present; > Part 13
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Truly yours William Hawkins
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came of age, his uncle, Colonel Benjamin Hawkins, invited him to make his home at Fort Hawkins, Georgia, and offered him the office of Assistant Indian Agent. This office young Hawkins ac- cepted, and left North Carolina for his new home in the month of December, 1797. After two years spent at the Agency, Wil- liam Hawkins grew tired of the Indian country, and longed for his native State. At the suggestion of his uncle, however, he decided first to spend several years at Philadelphia, and there renew the study of law, besides perfecting himself in French and other branches of knowledge. Many of the friends made by Benjamin Hawkins while a member of the Continental Congress and Senate at Philadelphia were still residents of that city, so his favorite nephew did not go as an unknown stranger to Pennsylvania's metropolis.
In 1801 young Hawkins returned to his native State, a finished scholar and a man of affairs. About a year after his arrival, Gov- ernor Turner made use of his experience in the Indian country by entrusting to his management the settlement of some troubles with the Tuscaroras. In 1804 William Hawkins was elected to represent Warren County in the North Carolina House of Com- mons ; he was re-elected to the same post in 1805, his colleague being his father, Colonel Philemon Hawkins, Jr. At the sessions of 1809, 1810 and 1811 he represented Granville County in the North Carolina House of Commons. The House of Commons for 1810 elected him Speaker ; he was also Speaker of the House in 18II (November 9th) ; but during the latter session, on Decem- ber 7th, he was elected Governor of North Carolina. Two days later, on December 9th, he was duly inaugurated. He was twice re-elected-serving three annual terms in all-and retired on December 7, 1814, when Governor William Miller qualified.
Nearly the whole of the second war with Great Britain fell . within the administration of Governor Hawkins. On the 23d of June, 1812, an express messenger reached Raleigh, announcing the declaration of war. In his message to the General Assembly (November 18, 1812), Governor Hawkins said :
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"The insolence, the injustice and the complicated aggressions on the part of that nation [Great Britain] towards the United States not only afforded our Government abundant cause of an appeal to arms long be- fore the period when that event took place, but seemed in the most com- manding terms to call for the adoption of that alternative in order to convince the enemy and the world that we possessed the will and the power to maintain and defend that liberty and independence which emanated from and were secured to us by the glorious struggles of our Revolutionary fathers. . . . . Let England be taught to know that the present race of Americans are not of spurious origin-that they are the legitimate offspring of the heroes of our Revolution. She will then respect our rights, and the savage warwhoop will cease to terrify the de- fenceless inhabitants of our extensive frontiers."
Later on in this message Governor Hawkins stated that in the preceding April the President had directed him to detach from the militia of the State seven thousand men (including officers) for service when needed. This quota had been raised, said he, and consisted nearly altogether of volunteers, while many com- panies throughout the State were asking to be sent into the field whenever needed.
On hearing that a landing on our seacoast had been effected in July, 1813, Governor Hawkins left Raleigh on the 19th of that month, accompanied by his aide-de-camp, Colonel Beverly Daniel, and the Wake Dragoons under Major Thomas Henderson, while General Calvin Jones preceded him with another detachment of troops. After inspecting the defences in the vicinity of New- Bern and then going to other points along our coast region, Gov- ernor Hawkins returned to Raleigh on August 20th, and later sent a report of his observations to the Secretary of War.
In his message of November 17, 1813, to the General As- sembly, Governor Hawkins referred to the efforts for peace, say- ing :
"If we weaken ourselves by cherishing internal divisions; if we exhibit ourselves to the enemy as a nation composed of two hostile parties, .each endeavoring to destroy the other, we shall place that object at a distance from us. Great Britain, presuming upon our weakness, thus produced, will not only be more obstinate, but will be encouraged to indulge her ambition and arrogance. Is there an instance recorded where British
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rapacity has yielded to the supplications of the weak? We cannot expect that nation, whose Government is so hostile to ours, will ever grant us peace as a boon. Every American citizen, therefore, who is anxious that it should be restored, will deem it his imperative duty to give his support to the vigorous prosecution of the war as the only effectual means of obtaining it."
The Adjutant-General of North Carolina (Robert Williams, of Surry) on November 24, 1813, reported that the State militia numbered 51,298 officers and men. At that time all able-bodied citizens were required to attend musters and were considered a part of the militia.
In his message of November 23, 1814, to the last Legislature which met during his administration, Governor Hawkins con- tinues to pour forth his defiance against the enemy and to in- voke a spirited resistance to the unjust demands of England. After recounting some of the incidents of the war, he says :
"When we view the effect which these outrages, and the arrogant and insulting demands of the British Government as the conditions of peace. have produced upon the two great contending parties of our country, we find real cause of exultation. The eyes of all are opened. The character of the enemy stands exposed. Party prejudices and distinctions are done away. The love of country predominates. That determined spirit which animated and nerved the arms of our Revolutionary fathers in achieving the liberty and independence which we now enjoy, pervades this exten- sive Continent. The resolution is now formed to bring into action the united energies of the nation to chastise our perfidious and insolent foe, and to compel him to abandon his iniquitous pretensions and give us peace upon honorable terms."
Speaking of events in North Carolina, the Governor went on to say in this message :
"Since the adjournment of the last Assembly the enemy in small plun- dering parties have made a few hasty incursions on the seacoast, but none of a character to render it necessary or even allow time to call out the local militia. One company, however, was ordered on duty for a short time to relieve a detachment of militia drafts which had garrisoned Fort Hampton, and whose term of service was about to expire. This company was subsequently recognized as being in the service of the United States by Colonel Long, of the United States Army, commanding in this State. who received their returns and informed me they would be paid. Several
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detachments of the requisition of the General Government have, however, been called into service. In the early part of the year a regiment under the command of Colonel Jesse A. Pearson marched to the Creek Nation to aid in suppressing the hostile part of these Indians. I had the grati- fication to learn from the commanding general, and it gives me pleasure to communicate to the Legislature, that this regiment -- in point of dis- cipline, soldier-like demeanor, and promptness in the execution of every command that was given them-could not have been surpassed by any troops who have been no longer in the service. After their term of ser- vice had expired, they were marched to this State, received their pay, and were honorably discharged. Another regiment is now in the service of this State, a third at Norfolk. Virginia, and a fourth is ordered to ren- dezvous on the 28th inst. to reinforce the garrison of that place."
As heretofore noted, the third and last administration of Gov- ernor Hawkins ended on December 7, 1814. On the 24th of the same month a Treaty of Peace was signed at Ghent, and hos- tilities ceased when news of this event reached America.
The erection of the Governor's mansion, which formerly stood at the southern end of Fayetteville Street in Raleigh, but which hạs since been demolished, was begun during the administration of Governor Hawkins; and his successor, Governor Miller, was its first occupant. As late as December, 1815, the building com- mittee reported to the State Senate: "The edifice intended for the Governor's dwelling is not yet completed."
For many years-from 1803 until his death in 1819-Hawkins was one of the trustees of the University of North Carolina, and was ex-officio President of the Board during his term as Governor.
About the year 1805, some years before his election to the office of Governor, William Hawkins removed from Warren to Gran- ville County, and took up his residence on a plantation on Nut- bush Creek, not far from the town of Williamsboro. Previous to this time, on the 24th of December, 1803, he had been united in marriage with Ann Swepson Boyd. To this union were born seven children. They were: Emily, who married James Nuttall ; Matilda, who married Doctor Joseph Nuttall; Lucy, who first married Doctor Littleton W. Coleman, and afterwards Honorable Henry W. Connor, M.C .; William, who married Miss Carson ;
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Celestia, who married Junius Amis; Henrietta, who married Junius Amis after the death of her sister, who was his first wife; Mary Jane, who married Major Benjamin Morrow.
As heretofore noted, William Hawkins spent some of his early years at the Indian Agency in Georgia, as assistant to his uncle, Colonel Benjamin Hawkins. A younger brother of William was Captain Philemon Hawkins, who served in the Army of the United States during the second war with Great Britain, and was honorably mustered out on June 15, 1815. At the urgent desire of his uncle, this young gentleman went to the Creek Agency at Fort Hawkins, but died soon after, March 22, 1817. Colonel Benjamin Hawkins himself had died before this, on the 6th of June, 1816, leaving a large fortune to his wife and children, with the further provision that a child's share should go to his nephew William, who was appointed executor. Governor Hawkins gen- erously declined this legacy, but qualified as his uncle's executor. After this he made visits to Georgia for the purpose of winding up the estate; but being attacked with a pulmonary disease, he himself did not long survive. His death occurred at Sparta, Georgia, on the 17th of May, 1819, while returning from Fort Hawkins to North Carolina.
The career of Governor Hawkins forms an interesting chapter in the history of North Carolina, filling as he did the highest office in the State at the time of America's second war with Great Britain. In the discharge of his duties he united the wisdom of a statesman with the firmness, energy and incorruptibility of a patriot. Nature endowed him with a pleasing countenance and graceful figure, but denied him the robust constitution which usually marked the members of his family. He was brave when bravery was needed, but the "small sweet courtesies of life" shone brightly in his daily intercourse. Of his ancestry he was proud, but it was a quiet, wholesome pride, far removed from arrogance, and a stimulus to high thoughts, gentle manners and generous actions.
Marshall De Lancey Haywood.
JOHN D. HAWKINS
J OHN DAVIS HAWKINS, a son of Colonel Philemon Hawkins, Jr., of the Revolutionary War, and his wife, Lucy Davis, was born at his father's country seat, Pleasant Hill, in the county of Warren, on the 15th of April, 1781. After necessary preparation therefor, he en- tered the University of North Carolina, and graduated therefrom in 1801. He always felt a deep interest in the welfare of his Alma Mater and was a member of its Board of Trustees for more than fifty years, from 1807 until his death in 1858. Having determined to study law, he became a pupil of Judge John Haywood in Frank- lin County. One of his fellow-students during the time occupied by his legal course was John Branch, afterwards Governor, United States Senator and Secretary of the Navy.
Mr. Hawkins practised law in Raleigh for a brief period and then removed to a plantation owned by him in Franklin County, near the corners of Granville and Warren Counties. This place is now in the county of Vance. He engaged in planting on an extensive scale a single tract owned by him, embracing nearly 10,000 acres. He was one of the foremost men of his section, and for many years was Presiding Justice of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions.
Mr. Hawkins was a Democrat in politics, and an adherent of Andrew Jackson. Like his brother, William Hawkins (then
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Governor of the State) he was a vigorous supporter of war meas- ures during the second conflict with Great Britain. At the ses- sions of the General Assembly for the years 1834, 1836, 1838 and 1840, Mr. Hawkins represented Franklin County with marked ability in the State Senate of North Carolina.
In Warren County, as well as in Franklin, Mr. Hawkins owned large agricultural interests. On Sandy Creek, in Warren County, he owned a large flouring mill where wheat was ground on toll. He was also extensively engaged in the cultivation of tobacco, shipping this product to Petersburg for market.
Realizing the benefits which would accrue from internal im- provements to citizens of the State in general, and especially to those like himself who were compelled to have products shipped over rough scanty roads in order to reach a market, Mr. Hawkins was an early advocate of railroads in North Carolina. In 1848 his kinsman, General Micajah Thomas Hawkins ( former Member of Congress ) was a candidate for the office of State Senator from Warren County, and was known to be opposed to the policy of internal improvements. As the question of chartering the North Carolina Railroad Company and giving it State aid was to come up at the ensuing.session, his kinsman's attitude was a source of a good deal of uneasiness to John D. Hawkins, who finally pre- vailed on A. B. Hawkins (a son of Doctor Joseph Hawkins and not to be confused with Doctor A. B. Hawkins, son of John D. Hawkins) to become a candidate on a platform favorable to the proposed charter and subscription to stock by the State. In the election A. B. Hawkins was successful, and it was well for the rail- road company and for the State that such was the case ; for, in the Senate, a tie vote resulted, and the casting vote of the Speaker, Honorable Calvin Graves, won the fight for the road. Had A. B. Hawkins been defeated by M. T. Hawkins in Warren, a majority of one vote in the Senate against the charter would have resulted. About that time Tohn D. Hawkins, Joseph Hawkins, and George W. Mordecai went personal security to the extent of $400,000 to aid the Raleigh and Gaston Railroad in its building operations. Subsequently the State came to the rescue by making an addi-
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tional subscription of $400,000 to its stock, and these public- spirited gentlemen were thereby saved from loss. After this $400,000 had been subscribed, the State owned one-half the road, and private stockholders the other half.
At a Hawkins family re-union at Pleasant Hill, the country home of his father, Colonel Philemon Hawkins, Jr., in Warren County, in 1829, John D. Hawkins delivered an address on the life and career of his grandfather, Colonel Philemon Hawkins, Sr. This pamphlet was one of the earliest works of its kind in America, and in 1906 was reprinted by Doctor A. B. Hawkins, of Raleigh, one of the sons of John D. Hawkins, its author.
The death of John D. Hawkins occurred on December 5, 1858. He was buried in Franklin County, but later his remains were re- moved to Oakwood Cemetery, near Raleigh, where they now re- pose. The wife of Mr. Hawkins (who is buried by his side) was Jane A. Boyd, a daughter of Alexander Boyd, of Boydton, in Mecklenburg County, Virginia. This lady was born December 25, 1784, and died November 30, 1875.
The sons of John D. Hawkins were James Boyd Hawkins, of Matagorda County, Texas, who was a sugar-planter, and left descendants, among whom is James B. Brodie, of Henderson, North Carolina; Frank Hawkins (mentioned below), Doctor William J. Hawkins, of Raleigh, of whom there is a separate sketch; John Davis Hawkins, of New Orleans, who married Miss Ann Clark and was a large commission merchant in New Orleans; he left two sons, Weldon Edwards Hawkins, who was a planter at Swann Lake in Mississippi, and Edward Hawkins, a lawyer, residing at Seattle. Philemon Benjamin Hawkins (another son of John D.) married his cousin, Fanny Hawkins, and had a daughter Bettie, who became the wife of Mr. Walter Boyd, of Warrenton ; this P. B. Hawkins was State Senator from Franklin County. Doctor Alexander Boyd Hawkins was the youngest son of John D. Hawkins, and his biography will appear elsewhere in this work. Besides these sons John D. Hawkins left the following daughters : Ann Hawkins, who married Colonel Wesley Young ; Lucy, who married Thomas Kean, of New-Bern ;
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PONAD FUTON
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Mary, who married Protheus E. A. Jones; Virginia, who mar- ried William J. Andrews, one of their sons being Colonel A. B. Andrews, Vice-President of the Southern Railroad; and Jane A. Hawkins, who died unmarried.
The members of this family have been particularly noteworthy for their culture and high social station in life. While inheriting the fine qualities of their father, the influence of their mother on them was most decided and of great advantage. She was a lady of surpassing excellence, and inspired her children with unusual devotion, with the happiest results in elevating their characters and fostering a refinement that distinguished them in after life.
Frank Hawkins married Ann Read, of Halifax, North Carolina, and located at Winona, Montgomery County, Miss- issippi. They had a son, John, who early died in Winona, Mississippi. He married Miss Sallie Falkner, of Warrenton, and left Frank Read and Ann Read Hawkins. A second son, Rhesa, while yet a boy, volunteered in the Confederate Army and served with patriotic devotion. He married Miss Herring and resided at Vaiden, Mississippi; Frank, a third son, who also married a Miss Herring, and on her death married Miss Alberta Coleman, of Macon, Georgia, is now the President of the Third National Bank of Atlanta.
Besides these sons, the elder Frank Hawkins left a daughter, Jane Boyd, who married Mr. James C. Purnell, of Winona, Mississippi. He also is a planter and banker. Indeed the suc- cess of Rhesa Hawkins, Mr. Frank Hawkins and Mr. Purnell in life has been most noteworthy. They are all bankers and have been very prosperous, and are men of culture and influence both in church and State matters. Rhesa Hawkins and Mr. Pur- nell are esteemed among the foremost laymen in the diocese of Mississippi. They enjoy the highest reputation for their zeal as churchmen and their practical Christianity.
Marshall De Lancey Haywood.
Need sworld coinat aids le enadenom ofl'T
ALEXANDER BOYD HAWKINS
A MONG the sons of John Davis Hawkins and Jane A. Boyd was Doctor A. B. Hawkins, who was born at his father's residence in Franklin County on January 25, 1825. There he passed his youth in the midst of a circle of cultured kinspeople and friends and surrounded by all the happy circumstances that affluence and prosperity bring to a coun- try home. He was taught by a private tutor and then for a year studied under the famous teacher, John B. Bobbitt, at Louisburg. When sixteen years of age he was sufficiently advanced to enter the University, and he took his degree of A.B. at that institution in 1845.
His purpose was to pursue a professional career, and so on graduating he entered on the study of medicine at the Jefferson Medical School in Philadelphia, whose faculty at that time were men whose names are still honored for their distinguished ability and professional learning. After graduating at that institution, Doctor Hawkins remained in Philadelphia attending the hospitals, and profited much by this experience. In 1847 he returned home, and began the practice of his profession in Warren County.
It so happened that Doctor John Malone, who had a good prac- tice in the vicinity of Shocco Springs, desired to remove to an- other State, and Doctor Hawkins was fortunately able to purchase his business, and thus from the first had a practice that closely
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engaged him and was amply remunerative. For seven years he remained the physician of that community, enjoying the estcem of a large clientage and realizing a handsome remuneration for his services and constantly growing in reputation and usefulness.
In April, 1858, he married Miss Martha L. Bailey, a daughter of General William Bailey, of Jefferson County, Florida, who was one of Florida's most successful and distinguished citizens ; and he abandoned his practice and removed to Florida, where he . engaged in the business of planting. He made his home in Leon County, and soon entered on as successful a career as a planter as had distinguished him as a physician. His planting operations yielded him an ample income and he devoted himself assiduously to the improvement of his estate. It was not long before his suc- cessful management was so pronounced that his reputation became extended as a sagacious planter, and he attained a high standing in his new home.
One who knew him well at that time says :
"He resided for some years on his plantation in Leon County, where he and his most estimable wife dispensed a generous hospitality, known only to the plantation life of antebellum days. Doctor Hawkins was not only a genial gentleman, but one of the fine business men of the South. His success as a large planter was soon demonstrated, and he at once took a stand as one of the successful young men of the county."
The management of a large plantation indeed called for the exercise of a high order of ability, and gave a mental training that developed the business capacity of Southern gentlemen. Prudence, carefulness, patience, a thoughtful consideration of the elements involved in the problems of plantation culture, were all requisite to achieve success and to bring good results. And so plantation life, while full of enjoyments and admitting of the finest hospitality, yet developed administrative abilities, fostered busi- ness habits and business sagacity. Thus it has been that Southern planters have from time immemorial been well versed in affairs and of superior excellence in those characteristics that lead to success.
After the war Doctor Hawkins removed to Tallahassee, where
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he resided in the palatial brick building on Park Avenue, now known as "The Columns." There the hospitality which he had dispensed on his plantation broadened out, and "few public men of note who visited the capital cannot but recall with pleasure the cordial greetings of Doctor and Mrs. Hawkins at their elegant home." "He displayed remarkable ability in everything he under- took. Indeed he was soon recognized throughout the State as one of Florida's most reliable and successful business men. His use- fulness as a citizen was demonstrated in many and various chan- nels, and everything he touched felt the quickening influences of a well-trained business intellect."
Honorable P. W. White, a gentleman of large experience and now of great age, in a letter speaks in the most approving terms of the part Doctor Hawkins took "in the most trying times of our history." He says, in speaking of his eventful career while a citi- zen of Florida :
"Doctor Hawkins's political affiliations were with the Democratic Party, of which he was a conservative member, and he always stood firmly for the old States Rights doctrines and principles of the party. I do not think he ever sought or accepted a political office; but as a private citizen he always showed his interest for the public good by taking an active part in all of the proceedings and conventions of his party. In this manner he exerted a strong influence in the selection of men best qualified for public office."
He was frequently a delegate to the State Democratic Conven- tion, and his influence was always felt in political action.
His standing as a man of high character throughout the State and his recognized sound judgment as a financier gave him great influence in public affairs-of which indeed the State still feels the beneficial effect. Judge White continues :
"Doctor Hawkins's business habits were ever characterized by prudence and careful thought, and in whatever business he engaged he always acted on business principles. In the destructive days of Reconstruction he saved not only his own but many other estates from wreck. He excelled all the men of my acquaintance in the wise and successful administration of all estates and trusts committed to his management."
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