USA > North Carolina > Western North Carolina; a history, 1730-1913 > Part 18
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A CEMETERY IN THE CLIFFS. All along the crest of the ridges which terminate in rock cliffs on the bank of the Hi- wassee river about one mile below Murphy are large deposits of human bones, supposed to be the bones of Cherokees. The number of shallow graves on the crests of these ridges, cov- ered over by cairns of loose stones, indicate that this must have been the burial place of Indians for many years.
EARLY WATAUGA AND BOONE HISTORY. The first court in Watauga was held in an old barn near the home of Joseph Hardin one mile east of Boone, Judge Mitchell presiding, and E. C. Bartlett being clerk. The first court house was built in Boone in 1850 by John Horton for $4,000, but was burned in 1873, with the records. The records were restored afterwards by legislative authority upon satisfactory evidence being furnished, and T. J. Coffey & Bro. in 1874 rebuilt the court house for $4,800, the building committee having been Henry Taylor, Dudley Farthing and Jacob Williams. The present fine court house was erected in 1904 by L. W. Cooper of Charlotte for $19,000. Alex. Green, J. W. Hodges and George Robbins were the county commissioners. The first jail was of brick and built by Mr. Dammons for $400, and the second jail was a wooden building of heavy logs. On the sec- ond floor the timbers were twelve inches square, crossed with iron, and when it was torn away by W. P. Critcher in 1909 ยท the logs were made into lumber of the finest grade. A splen- did new jail, with iron cages and rooms, was built in 1889 by Wm. Stephenson of Mayesville, Ky., for $5,000. The follow- ing have been sheriffs of Watauga : Michael Cook, John Horton, Cob McCanles, Sidney Deal, A. J. McBride, John Horton, A. J. McBride, D. F. Baird, J. L. Hayes, D. F. Baird, J. L. Hayes, D. F. Baird, W. M. Calloway, W. B. Baird, J. H. Hodges, D. C. Reagan. The following have been clerks: Mr. McClewee, J. B. Todd, Henry Blair, W. J. Critcher, J.
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B. Todd, M. B. Blackburn, J. H. Bingham, Thomas Bingham, W. D. Farthing.
W. L. Bryan in 1872 started the Bryan hotel and conducted a first class hotel for 27 years. In 1865 T. J. Coffey & Bro. came to Boone, and started the Coffey hotel, where they main- tained an up-to-date stopping place for many years. It is now being conducted by Mr. Murry Critcher.
In 1858 Marcus Holesclaw, Thomas Greene and William Horton ran for the legislature upon the issue of moving the court house from Boone to Brushy Fork, and Holesclaw was elected by one vote. This meant that the court house must be moved; and Holesclaw introduced the bill for that pur- pose; but Joe Dobson represented. this district in the senate, and although he was from Surry county, he managed to keep Holesclaw's bill at the foot of the calendar until the legisla- ture adjourned. Of course, Holesclaw was never satisfied that his bill never reached a vote in the senate.
From ordinary circumstances L. L. Green came from the farm, studied law and became a leader in politics; was elected judge and performed his duties well. His portrait hangs in the court room, to the left of the judge's stand, while on the right is a portrait of his friend, Major Bingham, who was a fine law- yer and a great teacher of law. His name and fame went out over the whole State.
E. Spencer Blackburn was one of the most attractive men this section has produced. His father was Edward Blackburn, and his mother Sinthia Hodges. He was one of nine chil- dren. He was four times nominated for Congress, was elected twice; was assistant district attorney of the United States court, and died at Elizabethtown early in 1912.
W. B. Councill was a student of the learned Col. G. N. Folk, who after being admitted to the bar was elevated to the position of judge of the Superior court of this judicial district. He declined a renomination.
A FAMILY OF PREACHERS. William Farthing came as a missionary from Wake county to Beaver Dams, now in Wa- tauga county, about 1826, but lived only three months after settling there. He bought what was then known as the Webb farm, about one-half mile from the principal Baptist church of that settlement. He had owned many acres near Durham before going to the mountains. His sons and those of John,
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his brother, who soon followed him to Watauga, were men of the highest character and standing. Many of them have been preachers, and four brothers of his family were in the ministry. Like the descendants of the original Casper Cable who settled on Dry Run, just in the edge of Tennessee, no drop of rowdy blood ever developed in any of the descendants of the pioneer Farthings. Dudley, son of Wm. Farthing, was for years judge of the county court and chairman of the board of county commissioners.
THE BROWNS OF WATAUGA. Joseph Brown came from Wilkes to Watauga long before the Civil War, and settled at Three Forks, where he married Annie Haigler, and reared eight children. Captain Barton Roby Brown of May Mead, Tenn., was a grandson, and married Callie Wagner in 1864. He was in the Sixth North Carolina cavalry, and a gallant soldier.
THE MAST FAMILY. Joseph Mast, the first of the name to come to Valle Crucis, Watauga county, was born in Randolph county, N. C., March 25, 1764, and on the 30th of May, 1783, married Eve Bowers who had been born between the Saluda and Broad rivers, South Carolina, December 30, 1758. Joseph was a son of John, who was brother of the Jacob Mast who became bishop of the Amish Mennonite church in Cones- toga, Pa., in 1788. They had left their native Switzerland together, and sailed from Rotterdam in the ship "Brother- hood," which reached Philadelphia November 3, 1750. John Mast was born in 1740, and shortly after becoming 20 years of age left his brother Jacob, who had married and was living near the site of what is now Elverson, Pa. John wandered on foot through many lonely forests, but finally settled in Randolph county, where Joseph was born. There he married a lady whose given name was Barbara. From Joseph and Eve Mast have descended many of the most substantial and worthy citizens of Western North Carolina, while the Mast family generally are people of influence and standing in Penn- sylvania, Ohio, Nebraska, Iowa, Montana, Oregon, Florida, Illinois, Missouri, California, Kansas, and in fact nearly every State in the Union. C. Z. Mast of Elverson, Pa., in 1911, published a volume of nearly a thousand pages all of which are devoted to an excellent record of all the Masts in America. John A. Mast was born on Brushy creek Sep-
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tember 22, 1829. He married Martha Moore of Johns river, December 5, 1850. He died February 6, 1892. His pater- nal grandfather, John Mast, and maternal grandfather, Cut- liff Harman, were among the pioneers of this section, and were Germans, settling on Cove creek. His wife, Martha Mast, was born April 13, 1833. She died February 15, 1905.
THE MORETZ FAMILY. John Moretz came from Lincoln- ton long before the Civil War and settled on Meat Camp, seven miles from Boone, where he built and operated a large mill, which was burned but rebuilt. He prospered greatly, and his descendants are numerous and influential.
THE SHULL FAMILY. Philip P. Shull was born at Valle Crucis, February 15, 1797, and married Phoebe Ward of Tennessee. He died January 9, 1866. His father, Simon Shull was one of the first settlers of this country, having been a German, and settled near Valle Crucis. His wife, Phoebe- was born May 28, 1801, and died September 29, 1882. Jo- seph Shull, who was desperately wounded in May, 1863, at the Wilderness fight, is a son of Philip P. Shull.
THE COUNCILL FAMILY. Jordan Councill, Sr., was the first of the name to settle in Watauga, then Ashe county. He mar- ried Sally, the daughter of Benjamin Howard, and from them have descended a long line of virile men and lovely women, who for years have been the backbone of this section.
OTHER FIRST SETTLERS were Amos and Edward Greene near Blowing Rock; Ransom Hayes at Boone; Jackson, Steven and Abner Farthing at Beaver Dams, James McCanless, Elisha Coffey, Amos Greene, Isaac Greene, Lee Foster and Joel Moody, at and near Shull's Mills; Malden Harmon, Cal- vin Harmon, Seaton Mast, Lorenzo Whittington, and George Moody, on Cove creek. Henry Taylor came to Valle Crucis long before the Civil War and married a Miss Mast.
FORGOT HOW TO MAKE AN "S." In the graveyard of the old German Reformed church, one mile from Blowing Rock, is an old gravestone which, tradition says, was brought by a Mr. Sullivan from the Jersey settlement in Davidson county for the purpose, as he stated, of "starting a graveyard." On it are carved or scratched the following letters and numbers: E E S 1794.
This stone is said to mark the grave of the pioneer who brought it to Blowing Rock. But whether he died or was born
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in the year given, is not known. It is quite evident that he had forgotten in which way an "S" is turned.
JACKSON COUNTY. While the late Michael Francis was in the senate and R. G. A. Love was in the house from Haywood in 1850-52, Jackson county was formed with Webster as the county seat. Daniel Webster had just died, and the naming of this town for him was a graceful concession to the Whig element of the country, while giving to "Old Hickory" the honor of naming the county for him pleased the Democrats. Col. Thaddeus D. Bryson, a son of Daniel Bryson of Scott's creek, was the first representative in the house from Jackson, while Col. W. H. Thomas represented it in the senate. John R. Dills, a member of the large and influential Dills family of Dillsborough, represented this county in 1856. Joseph Keener, an influential and valuable citizen represented the county in 1862, followed by W. A. Enloe, a representative of the ex- tensive and leading Enloe family of Jackson. Following are the names of some of the more prominent legislators : J. N. Bryson, E. D. Davis, G. W. Spake, F. H. Leatherwood, J. W. Terrell, J. M. Candler, R. H. Brown, W. A. Dills, C. C. Cowan, and John B. Ensley. The late John B. Love lived near Webster, and kept a store, W. H. Thomas being a part- ner for a while. Mr. Love owned much of the land in that section, and his sons settled on Scott's creek from Addie to Sylva. He also owned the famous "Gold Spring," near the head of Tuckaseegee, in the basin of which a small amount of gold was deposited each morning; but a blast ruined even that small contribution. He married a Miss Comans of Wake county. Philip Dills was another pioneer, and was born in Rutherford, January 10, 1808, and came with his father to Haywood soon after his birth, and about the time Abraham Enloe settled on Soco creek. He was a useful and respected citizen. Abraham Battle was born in Haywood in 1809, and his father was one of the three men who came from Rutherford to Haywood with Abraham Enloe. Wm. H. Con- ley was another important citizen of Jackson before Swain was taken from it, and was born in 1812 within fifteen miles of Abraham Enloe's Ocona Lufty place, his father, James Con- ley having been the first white man to settle on that stream. James W. Terrell was born in Rutherford county, December 31, 1829, and at sixteen years of age, came to Haywood and
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lived with his grandfather, Wm. D. Kilpatrick, till 1852, when he went into business with the late Col. Wm. H. Thomas. In 1854 he was made disbursing agent for the Cherokees, was a captain in the Civil War, and in the legislature for sev- eral terms. The late Daniel Bryson kept a hotel or stopping place on the turnpike road below Hall's and above Addie, in the turn of the road, where all the judges and lawyers stopped while attending the courts of the wetsern circuit. He was a most excellent and useful citizen, and left several sons who have been prominent and influential citizens. Rev. William Hicks lived in Webster after the Civil War, where he taught school for two years; but in 1868 he was appointed presiding elder and moved to Hendersonville where he remained till 1873, when he returned to Webster and resumed his school. Later he moved to Quallatown where he taught school till he was appointed to a district in West Virginia, where he afterwards died. He was a fine public speaker, a Confeder- ate soldier, a member of the Secession convention from Hay- wood in 1861, and with Rev. J. R. Long, in 1855, built up a large school near the junction of Richland and Raccoon creeks, giving the place the name of Tuscola. This school flourished till the beginning of the Civil War. Mr. Hicks also edited The Herald of Truth, a newspaper in Asheville, for a few years. He was born in Sullivan county, Tennessee, in 1820, became a Methodist preacher and came to Buncombe in 1848, hold- ing that year the first conference ever held in Haywood, the meeting being held at Bethel church.
WEBSTER AND THE RAILROAD. With the coming of the railroad, Webster, the county seat, found itself about three miles from that artery of trade and travel; and, soon after- ward, an agitation began for the removal of the court house to Dillsboro or Sylva, and has continued ever since. The question was submitted to the people but they voted to retain Webster as the county site; a new court house was built, and it was supposed that the matter had been settled forever; but in 1913 a more vigorous movement was started to change the county court house to Sylva, which offered a bonus in case it should be done. The legislature of 1913 authorized the people to vote on the proposition, and the result changed the county site to a point between Dillsboro and Sylva, May 8, 1913. Webster is a pretty little town with many attractive and
W. N. C .- 13
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useful citizens. The improvements along the line of railroad from Hall's to Whittier have been remarkable. The talc mine and factory of C. J. Harris at Dillsboro, the nickel mine nearer Webster of W. J. Adams, and the tannic acid plant at Sylva contribute much to the prosperity of these towns and to that of the county generally. With a railroad up Tuckaseegee a large tract of timber will find an outlet, and the copper mine on that stream may come into development. Jackson is a rich and productive county and its people are thriving and energetic. Lake Fairfield and Inn, and Lake Sapphire are in this county on Horsepasture creek. Ellicotte mountain is near the extreme eastern end of the county. Cashiers Val- ley, Chimneytop, Whiteside Cove and mountain, Glenville, East LaPorte, Cullowhee and Painter are places of interest and importance.
SCOTT'S CREEK. As this creek was on the eastern border of the Cherokee country from which the Indians were removed, and as Gen. Winfield Scott was in charge of their removal in 1835-38, some suppose that the creek took its name from him; but in two grants to Charles McDowell, James Glascow and David Miller, dated December 3, 1795, (Buncombe Deed Book No. 4, p. 104) the State conveyed 300 acres on the waters of Scott's creek, waters of Tuckaseegee river, including the forks of Scotts creek and "what was said to be Scott's old lick blocks," and on the same date there was a further grant to the same parties to 300 acres on the same stream, including a cane brake, with the same reference to Scott's old lick blocks. (Book 8, p. 85.) But a careful search revealed no grant to any Scott in that section at or near that time; and the Scott who gave his name to this fine stream was doubtless but a landless squatter who was grazing and salting his cattle on the wild lands of that day. He probably lived in Haywood county, near the head of Richland creek.
MADISON COUNTY. It was formed in 1851 from Buncombe and Yancey; it was named for James Madison, while its county seat bears the name of the great chief justice, John Marshall.
JEWEL HILL OR LAPLAND? It is almost forgotten that the postoffice at what is now Marshall was called Lapland in 1858, and that it used to be said that pegged shoes were first made there because the hills so enclose the place that it would be impossible for a shoemaker to draw out his thread to the
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full width of his arms, and consequently had to hammer in pegs, which he could do by striking up and down. It is also uncertain whether the name of Madison's first county seat is Jewel Hill or Duel Hill. One thing, however, is certain, and it is that there once was a spirited contest over keeping the seat of government there. There were several "settle- ments" which desired to become the county seat of Madison county, Lapland, on the French Broad river, being barred by the act of the legislature (1850-1), which provides that the "county seat is to be called Marshall which is not to be within two miles of the French Broad river. The principal candidates for this honor were "Bryants," Barnards and Jewel Hill. The last named was selected at first and several terms of court were held there.
The location of the county site at Jewel Hill soon proved unsatisfactory, and the legislature of 1852-53 appointed a com- mission to fix the plan for a county government. They de- cided on what is now Marshall "on lands of T. B. Vance where Adolphus E. Baird now lives." But a doubt as to the legality of this selection was immediately raised, though the county offices remained at Jewel Hill. But David Vance, in order to comply with the terms of the act, deeded to Madison county fifty acres of land for a town site, by deed dated April 20, 1853. 33
The location of the county site entered into the politics of that year, and the legislature of 1854-55 (ch. 97, Pr. Laws) passed an act which provided for an election to be held the first Thursday in June, 1855, to determine whether the new location should stand or another location be chosen. In case a new location should be decided on, a commission of nine citizens was named, any five of whom might determine the new location; or if five did not agree, then they were to name two places, one of which should be on the French Broad river, one of which was to be chosen by a majority of the voters at an election to be held at a time to be fixed by the county court.
The act further provided that "if the Supreme court now sitting [February, 1855] should decide that the location of the county seat at Adolphus Baird's" was lawful, then this act should be null and inoperative. Pursuant to this act the question as to whether the location of the county site at Adol- phus E. Baird's should stand or a new location be chosen was
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decided at a popular election held on the first Thursday in June, 1855, pursuant to the act of 1852-53, and an order of the county court made at its April term, 1855.34 The votes for and against the present location, however, is not stated in the minutes; but there is a tradition that Marshall won by only one vote. At the fall term, 1855, of this court, a building committee was appointed and the building of a brick court house decided upon, which was ordered to be built in 1856. The records show, however, that the county court was still held at Jewel Hill up to the fall of 1859. There appears to be no record of any litigation to test the legality of the selection of the commissioners under the Act of 1852-53, notwithstanding the allusion to such a suit in the act itself.
OLD RESIDENTS OF MADISON. Dr. W. A. Askew was born on Spring creek in August, 1832, his father having been G. C. Askew, and his mother Sarah H. Lusk, daughter of Wm. Lusk, and a sister of Col. Virgil S. Lusk of Asheville. There were only four men living on Spring creek when G. C. Lusk settled there in 1820, and they were Wm. and Sam Lusk, a Mr. Craw- ford and Wm. Garrett. Later on Wm. Moody and Josiah Duckett of South Carolina, a soldier of the Revolution, came. Wm. Woody also lived there, and his son Jonathan H. Woody moved to Cataloochee and married, first Malinda Plemmons, and afterwards Mrs. Mary Caldwell, a widow. The Gaha- gans and Tweeds lived on Laurel, while on Turkey creek Jacob Martin, James Alexander, A. M. Gudger, R. L. Gudger, Wm. Penland, Robert Hawkins, Irwin West and John Alexander lived and prospered. Col James M. Lowrie, a half-brother of Gov. Swain, with John Wells, John Reeves, lived on Sandy Mush. Ebbitt Jones also lived on Sandy Mush; and on Lit- tle Sandy Mush G. D. Robertson, Jackson Reeves, Jacob and John Glance and others lived. Nathaniel Davis, Nathan Worley and the Worleys lived on Pine creek. James Nichols married a Barnard and lived at Marshall. Robert Farnsworth lived and died at Jewel Hill, where Mrs. Clark now lives, and was a son of David Farnsworth who kept a stock stand on the French Broad. James Gudger and his wife Annie Love also lived in this county, and Col. Gudger was a delegate to the State convention of 1835.
ALLEGHANY COUNTY. 35 "Alleghany" is, in the language of the Delaware Indians, "a fine stream." Up to 1858-59 Alleghany
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was a part of Ashe. Wm. Raleigh and Elijah Thompson of Surry, James B. Gordon of Wilkes, and Stephen Thomas and John F. Green of Ashe were appointed commissioners by the act creating the county to locate the county seat, and had power to purchase or receive as a gift 100 acres for the use of such county, upon which the county site, to be called Sparta, should be located. In April, 1859 Wm. C. DeJournett, a Frenchman, of Wilkes, made a survey and plat locating the center of the county; James H. Parks and David Evans donated 50 acres where Sparta now stands, near the geographical center located by DeJournett, but the deed was destroyed by a fire which burned Col. Allen Gentry's house, and another deed was executed in 1866. In 1859 the county court ap- pointed commissioners to lay off and make sales of town lots, but at the next term revoked their appointment and directed them not to proceed. A mandamus was asked and the Supe- rior and Supreme courts both ordered that it be granted; but nothing further seems to have been done till the April term, 1866, when the county court appointed F. J. McMillan, Rob- ert Gambill, Sr., James H. Parks, Morgan Edwards and S. S. Stamper commissioners to lay off and sell lots from the tract donated for a county seat, etc .; and at the October term following these commissioners were directed to adver- tise for bids for building a court house, etc. But, at the Jan- uary term, 1867, all bids were rejected and the plans altered so that the court house and jail should be in one and the same building. This was the first term held in Sparta, and the court was composed of Morgan Bryan and Wm. L. Mitchell. The first term of the Superior court was held at Sparta in the spring of 1868, with Anderson Mitchell as presiding judge, J. C. Jones, sheriff, and W. L. Mitchell as foreman of the grand jury. Stephen Landreth was officer in charge of the grand jury.
BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. It seems that there were no settlers in Alleghany prior to the Revolutionary War; but it had been visited by hunters both from Virginia and the cen- tral part of this State, among whom were three brothers named Maynard from what is now Surry, who crossed the Blue Ridge and built cabins along Glade creek. This was about 1786, and they had lived there about six years when Francis Bryan, from Orange county, in 1793, located within five miles
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of them. About the same time Joel Simmons, Wm. Wood- ruff and - Crouce settled along the top of the Blue Ridge, thus making seven families in the county. But this was too much for the Maynard brothers, and claiming that the country was too thickly settled, they moved to Kentucky. But who was the first white man to visit this section is un- known; though Wm. Taylor, the Coxes, Gambills and Reeves probably lived in the borders of what is now Alleghany during the Revolutionary War. Two men named Edwards settled here also at an early date, viz: David and William Edwards. John McMillan came from Scotland in 1790 and was the first clerk of Ashe court. Joseph Doughton from Franklin county, Va., was an early settler, and represented Ashe in the House of Commons in 1877. Joseph Doughton was the youngest son of Joseph. This family has always been prominent in the county. H. F. Jones built the present court house for $3,475, and it was received September 4, 1880, J. T. Hawthorn and Alex. Hampton, building committee.
PRINCIPAL OFFICE-HOLDERS. The following are the names of those who have held the principal offices in the county.
Senators: 1879, Jesse Bledsoe; 1880, F. J. McMillan; 1893, W. C. Fields; 1899, W. C. Fields; 1906, Stephen A. Taylor; 1909, R. L. Doughton; 1911, John M. Wagoner.
Representatives: 1869, Dr. J. L. Smith; 1871, Robert Gam- bill; 1873, Abram Bryan; 1875, W. C. Fields; 1877, E. L. Vaughan; 1879 and 1881, E. L. Vaughan; 1883, Isaac W. Landreth; 1885, Berry Edwards; 1887, R. A. Doughton; 1891, R. A. Doughton; 1893, C. J. Taylor; 1895, P. C. Higgins; 1897, H. F. Jones, 1899; J. M. Gambill; 1901, J. C. Fields; 1903, R. A. Doughton; 1905, R. K. Finney; 1907, 1909, 1911, 1913, R. A. Doughton.
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