MECKLENBURG COUNTY
AND THE CITY OF CHARLOTTE
By D. A. TOMPKINS.
t(llffH|ifTtmrfnnirr[ffrf("ttmtmnffmiffrfnTlf[nmmnTTnin^M
■^S^Li~--.'Hi.
1
IM&i
&^zm
ss
v^
History of Mecklenburg County
AND
The City of Charlotte
From 1740 to 1903.
BY D. A. TOMPKINS,
Author of Cotton and Cotton Oil; Cotton Mill,
Commercial Features; Cotton Values in Tex-
tile Fabrics ; Cotton Mill, Processes
and Calculations; and American
Commerce, Its Expansion.
Charlotte, N. C, 1903.
VOLUME ONE— NARRATIVE.
CHARLOTTE, N. C:
Observer Printing House.
1903.
Copyright, 1903,
BY
D. A. TOMPKINS.
"All hail to thee, thou good old State,
the noblest of the band!
Who raised the flag of Liberty, in
this our native land!
All hail to thee, thy worthy sons were
first to spurn the yoke,
The tyrant's fetters from their hands,
at Mecklenburg they broke."
EXPLANATION.
This history is published in two volumes. The first volume
contains the simple narrative, and the second is in the nature
of an appendix, containing ample discussions of important
events, a collection of biographies and many official docu-
ments justifying and verifying the statements in this volume.
At the end of each chapter is given the sources of the in-
formation therein contained, and at the end of each volume
is an index.
INTRODUCTION.
History of a county is closely associated with history of
the State, as the health of an arm is with the condition of the
whole physical structure. An account of the life of a prom-
inent man in a community is a history of that community in
the same way that, the history of a representative county is
a history of the commonwealth. This book is written pri-
marily to preserve Mecklenburg history for the inspiration
of present and future generations of Mecklenburg people,
but the aim extends further than this on the presumption that
this is a typical southern county and hence, by deductive rea-
soning, its growth portrays the effects subsequent to certain
industrial activities throughout the South.
Prominent among the author's incentives was the de-
sire to investigate, from an industrial standpoint, regarding
the lack of industries until within the last half century and
the causes of business revival since. He had no personal
opinions to illustrate, but investigated and brought forth this
accumulation of facts so that he and others might be enabled
to form opinions based on truth. The history preaches no
doctrine and leans to no side. It is the result of five years of
almost continuous work, of painstaking and laborious in-
vestigations, of considerable financial expenditure, and of <j
guiding desire to learn and to record the historical events of
the county.
The author is not a native of Mecklenburg. He was
raised on a farm in South Carolina, and was educated at the
South Carolina College and at Rensselaer Polytechnic Insti-
tute in Troy, New York, and though active participation in
Charlotte life in recent years has made him a thorough citi-
zen, he feels that he can view in an impartial manner
the events herein discussed. The data was gathered
from a library of North Carolina history and literature,
Vlll HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
unpublished State and county records and manuscripts, the
Colonial and State Records, private correspondence and dia-
ries and business records, testimony of aged and reliable cit-
izens, and files of Charlotte newspapers from 1824 to 1903.
D. A. Tompkins.
October 1, 1903.
CONTENTS.
Page.
CHAPTER I i
THE COLONISTS.
An Account of the Settlement of the Original Colonies and of the
Causes Which Prompted Emigration to North Carolina and to
the Piedmont Section.
CHAPTER II 7
INDIANS OF THIS SECTION. (1753 to 1763.)
Troubles Between White People and Indians — Full Report of a Peace
Conference — Wars Among Different Indian Tribes — The Chero-
kees and the Catawbas.
CHAPTER III is
EARLY SETTLERS. (1740 to 1762.)
Original Homes of the Immigrants — Their Nationalities — Traits of
Character — Religious Persecutions in the Old Country, and Sub-
sequent Removal to America and Mecklenburg County.
CHAPTER IV 22
INDUSTRIES AND CUSTOMS. (1745 to 1762.)
How the Settlers Built Their Homes — Their First Mills and Occu-
pations — Trading — Social Life and Diversions.
CHAPTER V 28
FORMATION OF THE COUNTY. (1762.)
Creation of Mecklenburg from Anson — Origin of the Names of the
County and the City of Charlotte — Physical Description of the
Country at that Time.
CHAPTER VI 31
BEGINNING OF CHARLOTTE. (1762 to 1772.)
Influences Which Tended to the Necessity for a Town — Difficulty in
Obtaining a Charter — The First Court House — Laws of the
New Town.
X HISTORY OE MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
CHAPTER VII . .Page 35
EARLY TROUBLES AND REGULATORS. (1762 to 1772.)
Annoyances on Account of a Disputed Boundary Line — The McCul-
loh Land Riots — Surveying the Cherokee Boundary — Oppres-
sive Taxes and Unjust Officers, and the Battle of Alamance.
CHAPTER VIII 41
THE APPROACHING STORM. (1772 to 1775.)
England's Position With Regard to America — Affairs in the Colonies.
— Governor Martin's Dissensions With the Assembly — Rifle Fac-
tory in Charlotte — Polk Calls the Convention.
CHAPTER IX 46
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE; MAY 20, 1775.
Manner of Election and Assembling of the Delegates — Excitement.
— The Addresses and the Committee on Resolutions — News of the
Battle of Lexington — Declaration Unanimously Adopted — Tem-
porary Form of Government Provided.
CHAPTER X 52
GOVERNMENT BY THE COMMITTEE. (1775 to 1776.)
Adjourned Meeting Held May 31 — Adopts Rules of Government Until
"Laws are Provided by Congress" — Proceedings Supplementary
to Previous Convention — The Two Official Declarations Com-
pared.
CHAPTER XI 56
THE REVOLUTION. (1776 to 1780.)
Organization of the State Military Forces — Prominent Parts Taken
by Mecklenburg Men — Scovilite and Tory Campaigns — The Con-
tinental Troops — Governor Caswell in Charlotte.
CHAPTER XII 60
THE HORNETS' NEST. (1780 to 1782.)
Surrender of Charleston — Battle of Ramsour's Mill — Davidson and
Davie Harass the British — Reception of Cornwallis in Charlotte.
— Surprise at Mclntyre's, Battle of King's Mountain and De-
parture of the British — General Davidson Killed at Cowan's
Ford.
CONTENTS. Xl
CHAPTER XIII Page 65
CLOSE OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. (1776 to 1800.)
W;ir Times and County Affairs — Lawyers and Legislative Proceed-
ings — Monetary System — Public Buildings and Industries — An-
drew Jackson and James Knox Polk Born in Mecklenburg.
— George Washington in Charlotte.
CHAPTER XIV 70
EDUCATION BEFORE 1800.
First Teachers and Schools in Mecklenburg— Qualifications of Teach-
ers and Nature of Instruction — Grammar and Classical Schools.
—Queen's College, Queen's Museum and Liberty Hall.
CHAPTER XV 75
RELIGION AND CHURCHES FROM 1748 TO 1800.
hyterians iffosl Numerous in the Early Times — Rev. Hugh Mc
Aden. Rev. John Thompson and Rev. Alexander Craighead the
First Preachers— Seven Noted Churches and Some of Their Cus-
tom.-.
CH \I'TI : .R XVI 80
DOCTORS AND MEDICINES BEFORE 1800.
First Physicians in the County and the Leading Ones of the Period.
— Methods of Practice and the Medicines Used — Prevalence of
Witchcraft and Its Treatment.
CHAPTER XVII 84
SLAVERY BEFORE 1800.
Introduction of the System Was Slow — Conditions of Labor — No One
Owned More Than a Dozen Slaves — Prices, Habits and Ability
of the Negroes — Only a Few Were Skilled Laborers.
CHAPTER XVIII 89
FIRST YEARS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. (1800 to 1825.)
Statistics of Wealth and Population of the County and City — Im-
provements in Public Buildings — Proceedings and Methods of
the Courts— Richest Man in the County Worth $10,700.
Xll HISTORY OF MKCKLENBURG COUNTY.
CHAPTER XIX Page 94
INTRODUCTION OF THE COTTON INDUSTRY. (1790 to 1825.)
First Planting in the Colonies Was Experimental — Little Progress
Made Previous to the Invention of the Cotton Gin — Two Thousand
Saws in Use in Mecklenburg in 1803 — Rapid Development There-
after.
CHAPTER XX 97
EFFECT OF SLAVERY ON INDUSTRIES.
Occupations of First Settlers and the Causes — They Made All They
Used — Slavery Induced Them to Turn Their Entire Attention to
Agriculture — Comfortable and Peaceable Conditions Prevailed.
CHAPTER XXI ioi
LIFE IN THE OLD SOUTH.
A Study of the Negro — Dispositions of Planters and Systems of Agri-
culture — Description of the Plantations, the "Big House" and
the Cabins — Treatment of the Slaves — Social Diversions.
CHAPTER XXII 107
CHURCHES BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR.
Growth of the Congregations in the County and the Building of the
First Churches in Charlotte — Something of the Most Noted Min-
isters and Their Great Influence — Revivals and Various Reli-
gious Incidents.
CHAPTER XXIII in
EDUCATION BEFORE 1860.
First Chartered Schools — County Academies — Ministers Conducted
Excellent Schools — Beginning of the Public System — Military
Institute — Male and Female Institutes — Davidson College.
CHAPTER XXIV 117
GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT FROM 1825 TO 1860.
Population, Wealth and Taxes — Trades and Improvements — Laws
and Courts — Newspapers — Mecklenburg's Part in the Mexican
War — Smallpox — Fairs and Public Exhibitions — The Census of
1840.
CONTENTS. Xlll
CHAPTER XXV Page 124
RAILROADS AND INDUSTRIES FROM 1830 TO 1860.
Realization of Necessity for Better Means of Travel and Commerce.
— Work on the Catawba River — Railroad Agitation in 1833 — The
Old Stage Coach — First Passenger Train in 1852 — County Road
Commissioners — Varied Industries.
CHAPTER XXVI 129
MINING AND THE MINT BEFORE 1860.
Discovery of Gold in 1790 — First Attempt at Mining in 1825 — Foreign
Investors Take Active Interest — Most Noted Mines and Their
Productions — Mint Established in Charlotte in 1837, and Its
Record Since.
CHAPTER XXVII 133
SLAVERY, POLITICS AND SECESSION. (1825 to 1861.)
Dividing Issues Discussed — Customs Regarding Slaves — Political
Animosity — Mecklenburg Strongly Southern in Feeling — County
Declares for Secession Twenty Days Before South Carolina.
— North Carolina Secedes.
CHAPTER XXVIII :.... 138
CIVIL WAR. (1861 to 1865.)
Mecklenburg Soldiers Among the First to Volunteer — Were Promi-
nent in the Formation of the First or "Bethel" Regiment — Dis-
tinguished Officers From Mecklenburg — Conditions in the County
During the War — Last Meeting of Confederate Cabinet Held in
Charlotte.
CHAPTER XXIX 143
RECONSTRUCTION. (1865 to 1875.)
Mecklenburg Escaped the Worst Evils of Those Days — Federal
Officers and Troops in Charlotte — Editor Waring Indicted for
Espousing the Southern Cause — Conduct of the Negroes Com-
paratively Peaceable — Elections in the County.
CHAPTER XXX 149
FIRST DECADE WITHOUT SLAVERY. (1865 to 1875.)
County Affairs in War Times — Emancipation Forced White Men to
Work — Attention Diverted to New Things — This Section an In-
viting Field for Investors — Reasons for the Progress Made.
Death of a Woman Who Remembered May 20, 1775.
xiv HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
CHAPTER XXXI Page 154
INDEPENDENCE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. (May 20, 1875.)
Preparations and Committees for the Event — Great Men Present.
— Marshals Were Confederate Generals — Immense Crowd in
Charlotte — The Proceedings and Interesting Incidents.
CHAPTER XXXII 158
LAST QUARTER OF THE CENTURY. (1875 to 1900.)
Public Improvements — Public Buildings — Medical Society — Law As-
sociation — Newspapers — Farms.
CHAPTER XXXIII .....' 162
THE CHURCHES FROM 1860 TO 1903.
Short Sketches of the Growth of the Principal Congregations of the
Leading Denominations in the City and County, and of the
Other Religious Organizations.
CHAPTER XXXIV..., 166
EDUCATION FROM 1860 TO 1903.
Development of County Public School System — Charlotte Graded
Schools First in the State — Presbyterian, Elizabeth, Davidson
and Medical Colleges — Charlotte Military Institute — Biddle Uni-
versity and St. Michael's Training and Industrial School.
CHAPTER XXXV 173
MINING, BANKING AND THE ASSAY OFFICE. (1860 to 1903.)
Use of Improved Mining Machinery After the War — The Miners
and the Products — Minerals Found in the County — Receipts of
Gold and Silver at the Assay Office — History of the Office.
— Charlotte's Leading Banking Institutions.
CHAPTER XXXVI 176
ROAD BUILDING FROM 1880 TO 1903.
Influences Which Made Better Roads Necessary — Original Methods
and Subsequent Progress — Cost of Roads — Convict Labor Satis-
factory — Lessons Taught by Experience.
CHAPTER XXXVII 180
DEVELOPMENT OF MANUFACTURES. (1865 to 1900.)
Iron Substituted for Wood in Machinery as a Result of the Abolition
of Cheap Labor — Necessity Forces Improvements — First Cotton
Mill Built in 1881 and First Cotton Oil Mill in 1882— Cotton
Compresses — Industrial Progress Attendant Upon Manufactur-
ing—Situation in 1900.
CONTENTS. XV
CHAPTER XXXVIII Page 185
MECKLENBURG AND CHARLOTTE IN 1903.
Population, Taxable Real Estate, Personal Property, Railroads and
Banks — Expenses and Receipts of County and City — Social and
Business Organizations — Incorporated Towns — Farm Products.
— New Buildings.
CHAPTER XXXIX 187
MECKLENBURG'S GREAT CITIZENS.
Sketches of the Lives of President Andrew Jackson, President James
Knox Polk and Senator Zebulon Baird Vance.
CHAPTER XL 193
SUMMARY.
Explanation of the Growth and Development of Mecklenburg and
Charlotte Under Diverse Conditions in Different Periods, in
Comparison With the United States and North Carolina.
INDEX TO ILLUSTRATIONS.
North Carolina State Flag Frontispiece
Map of Mecklenburg Outlines i
Queen Charlotte 29
First Court House 31
News of the Battle of Lexington 47
Sketch of Catawba River 57
Receipt for Tuition in Queen's Museum 71
Bill for Teaching, 1771 73
Receipt Dated in 1810 89
Cotton Plant in September 91
Cotton Plant in November 91
Whitney's Original Model 95
Holmes' Saw Gin 97
Cotton "Square" and Bloom 99
Matured Boll and Opening Boll 99
Open Boll and Empty Boll 99
The "Big House" 101
Spinning Wheel 103
Spinning Wheel and Yarn Reel 103
Ante-Bellum Bed Room 105
Slaves and Their Cabin, 1850 105
Subscriptions to Charlotte Academy, 1823 in
Davidson College, Main Building, 1857 115
Gin House and Screw 119
Modern Steam Cotton Ginnery 1 19
Bill of Sale 123
Notice of Sale 123
County Court House, 1888 159
County Court House, 1898 159
City Hall, 1888 159
City Hall. 1898 159
XV111 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
Railroad Station, 1888 Page 159
Railroad Station, 1898 159
Average Road, 1888 159
Average Road, 1898 159
First Presbyterian Church 163
Tryon Street Baptist Church 163
Tryon Street M. E. Church, South 165
Catholic Church . 165
Davidson College Campus. 167
Presbyterian College 169
Elizabeth College 171
Road Machinery 179
Cotton Mill and Cotton 181
Cotton Mill Operatives 183
Wheat 185
Corn 185
Grapes 187
Cattle 187
Andrew Jackson 189
Jackson's Birthplace 189
James Knox Polk 19 1
Polk's Birthplace . 191
Zebulon Baird Vance 191
Diagram 193
rt fl ri oo
?.§* =
O fl <u w
g floo
> rt H fl "- 1
be O M "*
^ jfl fl o B
• u & fl
o 2 " 2^
u £ O ™ (TJ
fl J} U5
o
si
a fc
4) M-l M ™
CHAPTER I.
THE COLONISTS.
An Account of the Settlement of the Original Colonies and of the
Causes Which Prompted Emigration to North Carolina and to
the Piedmont Section.
October 12, 1492, Christopher Columbus landed on one of
the Bahama Islands named by him San Salvador. He never
touched the main land of North America, though on his third
voyage he visited the coast of South America. In 1499.
Americus Vespucius, a bold and intelligent navigator, pub-
lished a map of the coast of North America, and wrote vivid
descriptions of the lands he visited, so that his contempora-
ries named the continent America, in his honor. In 1497,
an Englishman, John Cabot, discovered the continent of
North America, and hence England assumed the right of ex-
clusive possession on account of prior discovery. In 1498,
John Cabot and his son, Sebastian, explored the whole coast
line from Labrador to the mouth of Chesapeake Bay.
The Spaniards were the first settlers of the new land —
along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, in what is now Mex-
ico. In 1535, Jacques Cartier, a Frenchman, sailed up the
St. Lawrence as far as Montreal, and planted a fort on the
heights of Quebec in 1541. In 1562, and the years following,
the French Huguenots made a settlement in Florida, but
were destroyed by the Spaniards, who had established St.
Augustine in 1565. from which the French were unable to
drive them. The French planted more settlements in what
is now Nova Scotia — then called Acadia, and all the way up
the St. Lawrence, at the beginning of the Seventeenth cen-
tury. From the year 1600. France and England were the
only real rivals for the colonization of North America. The
resistance of the Dutch in the Netherlands and the destruc-
tion of the Spanish Armada broke the power of Spain.
2 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
In 1578, the English fitted out an expedition to settle Lab-
rador. But the hundred settlers were afraid to be left alone
on that bleak coast, and the colony returned without accom-
plishing anything. In 1583, Sir Humphrey Gilbert and Sir
Walter Raleigh, as representatives of England, went through
the form of claiming New Foundland, whose valuable fish-
eries were already supplying Europe with fish, a hundred and
fifty vessels from France and forty from England being en-
gaged in that trade. In 1584, Raleigh sent out two ships to
take a more southerly course from England, and they came
to Roanoke Island, North Carolina. The whole country
then between the parallels of 33 degrees and 45 degrees north
latitude was named by Raleigh, Virginia, in honor of Eng-
land's virgin queen, Elizabeth. The first colony on Roanoke
Island was of men only, and it failed. The idea was explor-
ation rather than colonization. The second colony, on the
same island, contained women and men, and here, April 18,
1687, the first white child born in America, Virginia Dare,
first saw the light. The colony was left in good condition
with promises of succor from England. But when the ships
came, the colonists had all disappeared. The Indians of
Roanoke Island had been described by one of these colonists
to be "most gentle, loving and faithful, and such as live after
the manner of the golden age." The disappearance of the
colony has remained a mystery, though it is claimed that
the whites intermarried with the Indians, and that the Croa-
tan Indians of Robeson county are the descendants of the
mixed race. This is the only answer that has ever been
given to the question, "What became of the lost colony?"
In April, 1607, the first permanent English settlement in
what is now the United States, was made at Jamestown, in
Virginia. The Spaniards had been upon the very spot eighty
years before, but they had given up, and the English re-
mained permanently. After Jamestown came Henrico,
Hampton, New Bermuda, and other settlements in Virginia.
In 1619, a Virginia Assembly met. In that year also a
THE COLONISTS. 3
Dutch vessel brought the first negro slaves, twenty of them,
to America. The Puritans landed on Plymouth Rock the
next year, in 1620, making a permanent colony there. Be-
tween them and the Virginia Colony the Dutch had estab-
lished themselves in the New Netherlands. As early as
1 610, they built a fort on the Hudson at Albany, and had put
up a few log huts on Manhattan Island, which they called
New Amsterdam. Captain Argall was sent from Virginia
to subdue New Amsterdam and did so, but so soon as he
went back the Dutch threw off the English yoke. In 165 1
they conquered a Swedish colony and became the rivals of
the Puritans in trade with the Indians. The Dutch extended
their settlements from Connecticut to the Delaware. In
1664, they gave up their town. New Amsterdam, to Colonel
Nicholas, acting for the Duke of York, and both New Neth-
erlands and New Amsterdam changed their names to New
York.
In 1633, .the Colony of Maryland, with its liberal charter,
was founded by Lord Baltimore, and it was settled from Vir-
ginia, from the New Netherlands and by the Catholic immi-
grants from England. Delaware had been first settled by
the Swedes, who had acknowledged the authority of the
Dutch. The Swedes had also been the first settlers of Penn-
sylvania. In 1681, Charles the Second granted a charter for
the whole country to William Penn, the Quaker, and named
it Pennsylvania. The same year a party from Germany set-
tled in what is now known as Germantown. The Quakers,
who were persecuted in England, came over in great num-
bers. Other Germans followed and colonized Western
Pennsylvania. From about this time began the immigration
of the Scotch-Irish, from Ulster county, Ireland, in scatter-
ing bands, into New England, in larger numbers into New
York and New Jersey, and by the thousand into Pennsylva-
nia, settling Philadelphia and then going beyond the Ger-
man settlements still farther west.
In 1670, a few emigrants from England settled at Port
4 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
Royal, South Carolina, moving the next year to the western
bank of the Ashley river and again to Oyster Point, at the
junction of the Ashley and Cooper rivers where, in 1680, the
foundations of Charleston were laid. They were reinforced
in 1673 by an immigration of Dutch from New York, seek-
ing new homes after the English conquest of the New Neth-
erlands. In 1686 there was a large immigration of the
Huguenots who fled from religious persecution in France.
After long controversies between the English and these
Dutch and French dissenters, the latter were admitted to all
the rights and privileges of the former. The South Carolina
Colony was constantly .threatened by the Spaniards to the
south of them. Later in history, Georgetown became an
important point. The Scotch-Irish also made Charleston a
port of entry. A large Swiss settlement was made near the
coast, but was so much reduced by the too great change in
climate from their native mountains that the survivors moved
westward toward the up country.
"The Carolinas" is the name given by the French who ex-
plored them in 1563, in honor of Charles the Ninth. The
first permanent settlements in North Carolina were made
from Virginia and by English immigrants, along the Chowan
river, adjacent to Virginia. Some of these lands, although
lying in North Carolina, were deeded by Governor Berkeley,
of Virginia, as the boundary line of 36 degrees and 30 min-
utes was not determined until 1728. The first settlements of
importance were made in 1653. All along the border of
eastern and middle North Carolina, the Virginia settlers
poured over the line. The land grants in this colony were
more desirable and the taxes and levies less than in Vir-
ginia. But for sixty years the population was mostly con-
fined to the territory north of Albemarle Sound, which gave
its name to Albemarle county, one of the two divisions of.
the colony. A colony from the Barbadoes settled at the
mouth of the Cape Fear in 1665, but in 1690 the last of these
settlers left and moved south to Charleston. This colony
was called the county of Clarendon. In 1663 the counties
THE COLONISTS. 5
of Clarendon and Albemarle were united under the govern-
ment of Lords Proprietors. There was an open revolt in
Albemarle until the people were persuaded that their liber-
ties would be preserved. This was in 1669, when there met
an Assembly composed of the Governor and his Council and
twelve delegates elected by the people. In 1709 and 17 10,
several thousand Swiss and German immigrants from the
Palatinate settled at New Bern, which was named for the
Swiss city. Baron De Grafrenreid was their leader. There
was a dreadful massacre by the Indians in 171 2, in which
many of these and other settlers lost their lives. So the prog-
ress of the colony was slow. In 171 7. the taxable inhabi-
tants numbered only 2,000, and in 1729 the number had
grown to 13,000. Then the tide of immigration began to
pour in all at once, and on account of late settlement, the
foreign population was greater in North Carolina, and the
immigration from the other colonies as compared with Eng-
lish immigration was also larger. The population of 20,000,
including the negro slaves, in 1730, had grown to 393,000
by 1790. This growth was largely by immigration from
the other colonies.
The first known land grant was made in 1633 to a Quaker
named Durant, at the mouth of the Little and Perquimans
rivers, which became the nucleus for a large Quaker settle-
ment — a refuge for those who were persecuted in both Vir-
ginia and New England. Other dissenters, from Nanse-
mond county, Virginia, one colony being composed of sixty-
seven persons, settled in the territory just over the line.
After Bacon's Rebellion, especially, "fugitives from arbi-
trary tribunals, non-conformists, and friends of popular lib-
erty, fled to Carolina as their common subterfuge and lurk-
ing place." In 1672. there was organized resistance against
England for the oppressive laws, taxing tobacco a penny a
pound and requiring its shipment to England for taxation
before it could be sent elsewhere. The people arrested the
Deputy Governor and Council and elected a Governor of
their own, an Englishman named Culpepper. Says Ban-
O HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
croft of this incident : "Are there any who doubt man's
capacity for self-government — let them study the history
of North Carolina. Its inhabitants were restless and turbu-
lent in their imperfect submission to a government imposed
on them from abroad ; the administration of the colony was
firm, humane and tranquil when they were left to take care
of themselves. The uneducated population of that day
formed conclusions as just as those which a century later
pervaded the country."
The main settlers in Eastern Carolina were English from
Virginia, and as the country was settled along the coast they
gradually moved westward. Henry McCulloh settled a col-
ony of Scotch-Irish direct from Ireland in Duplin county in
1736. From the year 1740 a stream of Scotch-Irish and
German immigrants from Pennsylvania and the Valley of
Virginia poured southward along the whole of the Piedmont
section. In 1746 occurred in Scotland the Battle of Culloden,
in which the Scotch Highlanders, who were still loyal to the
House of Stuart, were defeated. In the following year and
for years afterward colonies of these Highlanders came to
Wilmington and then up the Cape Fear, settling what are
now Bladen, Sampson, Cumberland, Harnett, Moore, Robe-
son, Richmond and Scotland counties. In 1750, the Mora-
vians purchased 100,000 acres of land from Lord Granville,
in Surry County. In the meantime there began an immigra-
tion over the southern line of the colony from Charleston
and Georgetown as ports of entry, and from the several
nationalities that, had already settled South Carolina. This
northward movement from South Carolina and the migra-
tion westward from the settled portions of the eastern coun-
ties, and the movement southward from Pennsylvania and
Virigina, met and mingled in the southern Piedmont region
now occupied by Mecklenburg and adjacent counties.
CHAPTER II.
INDIANS OF THIS SECTION. (1753 to 1763.)
Troubles Between White People and Indians — Full Report of a Peace
Conference — Wars Among Different Indian Tribes — The Chero-
kees and the Catawbas.
American Indians were much the same everywhere. In
the clays when the white people began to settle this section,
they found the American Indian in possession of the land,
it is not necessary to discuss Indian characteristics or to
lament the exit of the Red Man from the field of action, or to
accuse our ancestors of barbarity in their treatment of this
race of people. The Indian was not capable of civilization,
and he, for that reason more than all others, is not with us
today. But the Indian character in its general features was
the same everywhere, and needs no special discussion for the
reason that the Indians originally living in this section dis-
played no marked differences from those found all over the
country when the English began to found their colonies.
Originally, the Catawba Indian nation inhabited the val-
leys of the Catawba river and its tributaries, and claimed all
the country adjacent thereto as far west as the Blue Ridge
mountains. West of the Blue Ridge the Cherokees held
sway. The Catawbas, like other Indians, delighted in
pomp and show, painted their faces and wore feathers and
showy trinkets. Their religion consisted largely in ward-
ing off evil spirits by charms, totems and incantations. They
burned off their hair with live coals, wore furs, used the bow
and arrow and the stone axe. The conjurer and the medi-
cine man were little less than gods among these people. The
dance and the masquerade were similar to those held every-
where by Indians. Their feasts and their methods of war-
fare were the same as among other tribes. Hence, it seems
that these Catawbas were no better Indians than were to be
8 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
found elsewhere on the American continent. If they were
sometimes well disposed towards the whites, it was for rea-
sons other than those springing from innate goodness, as
their history will show.
In order to get an idea of the Indian and his doings in
this section, it will be necessary to note the Indian troubles
which took place here from 1750 and up to and after the
organization of this county. The first thing to be noted is
that foreign Indians were always passing back and forth
through this section, committing all kinds of lawlessness
upon the English settlers at the instigation of the French.
Generally, these roving bands were small in numbers. As
early as June, 1753, three "French Indians" and five north-
ern Indians met thirteen Catawbas about two miles from
Salisbury and fought a small battle. The Catawbas killed five
of their enemies, suffering no loss themselves. The white
people who lived along the routes taken by these roving
bands always suffered either personal violence or loss of
property.
June 16, 1754, Colonel John Clark, of the Anson Militia
Regiment, reported that the Indians had recently killed six-
teen white persons on Broad river. This proceeding was
the work of the Catawbas or the Cherokees, and was thought
to be the beginning of an attempt to cut off the frontiers
from the more thickly settled portions of the province. This
event, as well as the threatening attitude of all the Indians
in this section, led the whites to cultivate closer friendship
with the Catawbas than ever before. The Governor of the
province, at the solicitation of the whites of .this section, ap-
pointed James Carter and Alexander Osborne, of Rowan,
to treat with the Catawbas and settle the troubles then exist-
ing between the two races. Accordingly, on the 29th day of
August, 1754, the commissioners met "King Hagler and
sundry of his head men and warriors" at Matthew Toole's
house, and proceeded to discuss affairs relating to the whites
and the Catawbas, Toole acting as interpreter. At this
meeting the whites presented their grievances against the
INDIANS OF THIS SECTION. 9
Indians and the Indians explained the cause of their own
offenses, and in turn presented their grievances against the
whites. The Indians were accused of going to the mill of
one William Morrison and attempting to throw a pail of
water in the meal trough, and, when Morrison tried to pre-
vent them, of attempting to strike the miller over the head
with their guns. The Indians replied to this charge, that
they only intended to put a few handfuls of meal in the pail
to make a drink, according to their custom.
The whites then brought up the murder of a little girl be-
low the Waxhaw settlement by Indians. Hagler said that
his warriors had killed the drunken Indian who had commit-
ted this crime, forcing the Indian's own cousin to kill the
murderer in the presence of an assembled band of warriors
and whites, thus demonstrating to the white people that the
Indians were willing to punish such an offender. Other
charges were then preferred by various persons, accusing the
Indians of taking bread, meat, clothes, of trying to earn-
away a child, and of attempting to stab men and women who
opposed them in the commission of such petty lawlessness.
In reply to these latter charges, Hagler said that the Indians
were often at war with their enemies, and that it was not
always possible for them to hunt and to get bread for them-
selves ; that under such circumstances they had gone to the
houses of white people and had asked for something to eat,
but that the whites would hide everything from them and
say there was nothing for them. Hagler, continuing, said
the Indians under such circumstances had often searched the
houses of the whites for food and found it. He averred that
one of his wild young men merely pretended he was going
to carry away the child mentioned by the whites in order to
surprise the child's parents and have a joke at their ex-
pense.
The whites then accused Hagler's warriors of other acts
of theft, and Hagler replied that he had some warriors who
had stolen knives, clothes, and the like, although cautioned
not to do so. Hagler told the whites that they themselves
IO HISTORY OE MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
were responsible for many of the crimes they charged against
the Indians, as they rotted grain in tubs and made strong
drink of it and sold and gave it to the Indians, causing them
to get very drunk and to commit all manner of excesses.
Hagler recommended that the whites take some steps to pre-
vent the selling of liquor to the Indians.
The commissioners then presented the charge of horse
stealing against the Indians, a crime which they said was
punishable by death among the whites, Hagler replied by
saying that the Indians had also had many of their own
horses stolen by white people; that they had lately caught
one white man with some of their horses and carried him be-
fore a South Carolina justice of the peace, but the man was
not punished.
The Indians made many speeches during this meeting, all
professing friendship for the whites. In one of his talks
Hagler said that the Great Man Above made us all, as well
as this island; that he fixed the Indian's forefathers here;
that in the early days the Indians had no instruments to
make a living, only bows and arrows of stone ; that they had
no knives, and cut their hair by burning it off their heads
and bodies with live coals of fire; that they had only stone
axes; that they bled themselves with fish teeth, and wore
clothes of skin and furs. But now Hagler said that his
brethren enjoyed the clothes which they got from the whites,
as well as many other conveniences, and that the Indians
wished to live in peace with their white neighbors. Hagler
was very urgent in calling the attention of the commission-
ers to the selling and giving away of whiskey to the Indians,
and asked that such practices be stopped. The chief said
that many of his warriors had lately died from the effects of
whiskey, and that many of the crimes committed by his peo-
ple were directly traceable to the use of liquor. The confer-
ence broke up and a better understanding between the Ca-
tawbas and whites seems to have resulted.
During the year 1755. Governor Dobbs visited this sec-
tion and selected a site for a Eort on Fourth creek, in the
INDIANS OF THIS SECTION. II
territory between Salisbury and the present town of States-
ville. This fort, named in honor of the Governor, was
erected and a company of soldiers under Hugh Waddell sent
to occupy it and to guard the frontiers. It was built of oak
logs, fifty-three by forty feet, twenty-four and a half feet
high, with three floors in it, and room for the discharge of
one hundred muskets at one time. It is said that a garrison
of forty-eight men remained there during the year 1 756.
During 1756, a fort was begun at the Catawba nation.
Governor Dobbs visited the Catawbas in 1755, and no doubt
selected the site for this fort, as well as the one in Rowan.
The government of the province procured a tract of six
hundred and forty acres, on which to erect the fort, at a cost
of £60, but it appears that the work was never com-
pleted, as the Catawbas did not like the idea of its erection
so near them, thinking, no doubt, the whites would use it to
oppress them. When the Indians became restless on account
of its erection, they were, by the Governor's order, given
presents amounting to £42 12s. o,d. The work done at the
fort was finally abandoned after something like £1,000 had
been expended.
While the white people were busy trying to erect the fort
at the Catawba nation, the settlers on Broad river sent an-
other complaint to the Legislature, reciting the perpetra-
tion of several robberies by strolling bands of Indians, pre-
sumably Cherokees, headed by some French and Northern
Indians, who hoped thereby to provoke the settlers to some
violence that they might have a pretext to murder or to
bring on a general Indian war. These acts of villainy con-
tinued all through the summer of 1756, and until late in the
fall. The people on the frontiers said that the. garrison at
Fort Dobbs and the militia aiding that garrison could do lit-
tle in case of a general Indian uprising, and hence the back
settlers were being forced to retire from their lands and
take up their residence in the inner settlements. Many of
the settlers, forced from their homes, took refuge, in the fall
12 HISTORY OE MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
of 1756, with the Moravians at Bethabara, which town was
enclosed with palisades.
Notwithstanding the Catawbas had been well treated by
the whites and had been given guns, clothing and presents
of various kinds, and even a fort had been begun in their
border as a protection both to themselves and to the whites,
and had been abandoned at their behest, these Indians be-
came restless and cruel in the year 1757, and began to insult
the whites and do many acts of petty violence. They went
so far in their violence as .to go to Salisbury while the Dis-
trict Court was in session and insult the Chief Justice.
In May, 1758, the Rowan people informed the Assembly
that the frequency of Indian outrages on the head waters of
the Dan river had caused the settlers on the forks of the
Yadkin to leave their homes and retire "farther inland."
Outrages on the Dan continued, as well as murders and rob-
beries all along the western frontiers, during the year 1758
and in the spring of 1759, so much so that Governor Dobbs
laid the condition of the frontier settlers before the Assem-
bly and Colonel Hugh Waddell was given two companies of
provincial troops and power to order out the militia of An-
son, Rowan and Orange counties to punish the Cherokees.
In the fall of 1759, Governor Lyttleton, of South Caro-
lina, appealed to Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia to
aid him in an expedition against the Cherokees. Colonel
Waddell was requested by Governor Dobbs to order out the
militia of Orange, Rowan and Anson counties and join the
militia with his regular troops and march to the aid of the
South Carolina Governor. But the great body of the militia
refused to leave the borders of the province, only eighty out
of five hundred militiamen remaining with Colonel Wad-
dell ; the others either deserted or went home without leave,
an action on their part which Governor Dobbs attributed to
lack of education and schools and a pious clergy. Waddell's
remaining force was. however, met and turned back, as
Governor Lyttleton had made peace with the Indians and
no fighting became necessary, the treaty being signed Octo-
INDIANS OF THIS SECTION. 1 3
ber 26, 1759. The Indians soon broke this peace, the gar-
rison at Prince George Fort, where the Cherokee chiefs were
imprisoned as hostages, being enticed away and murdered.
This was the signal for a general Cherokee uprising, and
massacre and assassination began. The Creeks were drawn
into the war. Fort Loudon fell and the frontiers of this
province were again at the mercy of the Cherokees.
In 1760 the Cherokee depredations forced the Moravians
to guard their town day and night. Refugee settlers in large
numbers crowded into Bethabara, which forced the building
of Bethany, three miles from Bethabara, for the accommoda-
tion of these refugees and the protection of the Moravians
themselves. Only extreme vigilance and the constant ring-
ing of the church bells prevented an Indian attack. But the
Cherokees were not content to rob and murder the frontier
people and to threaten the Moravians and their refugees;
they openly attacked Fort Dobbs February 27, 1769, and
were repulsed by Waddell and his garrison. Ten or twelve
Indians were killed or wounded, one white boy was killed
and two white men were wounded, one of whom was
scalped.
These events determined the whites to put an end to In-
dian outrages. Troops from Virginia and both Carolinas
were assembled, the North Carolina troops under Waddell.
The Virginians and North Carolinians entered the upper
Cherokee country, while Colonel Grant, with the South Car-
olinians, entered the lower country of the Cherokees. Grant's
forces met the Indians near the present town of Franklin
and defeated them. During the next month the whites de-
stroyed the Indian towns and corn fields and inflicted such a
heavy blow upon the Cherokee nation that it was forced to
sue for peace. This Indian campaign of 1761 broke for-
ever the power of the Cherokees and reduced their strength
so much that they, like the Catawbas. became friends of the
whites, as they knew it was now to their advantage.
These Indian troubles had continued for seven years.
Many of the settlers were driven away, some were killed,
14 HISTORY OE MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
others were scalped. Farming and home-building were
much retarded, and new settlers who would have moved in
from Pennsylvania and other colonies were frightened away.
It was not until the beginning of 1 763 that the frontier peo-
ple began to take up life again where it had been interrupted,
and the militia of Mecklenburg and adjoining counties
could be said to be able once more to feel that Indian troubles
had ended.
CHAPTER III.
EARLY SETTLERS. (1740 to 1762.)
Original Homes of the Immigrants — Their Nationalities — Traits of
Character — Religious Persecutions in the Old Country, and Sub-
sequent Removal to America and Mecklenburg County.
Immigrants to Mecklenburg county came from three direc-
tions. One wave rolled southward from Western Pennsyl-
vania ar.d Virginia — the Scotch-Irish, who had had large
experience in the selection of good lands. These were fol-
lowed closely by the Germans from the same region, who
settled mainly the territory now occupied by Cabarrus, Lin-
coln and Gaston counties, but who also peopled Mecklen-
burg proper and passed over into South Carolina with the
Scotch-Irish, settling the northwestern portion. This wave
of immigrants was met by another wave a little later from
the south, coming by way of Charleston and Georgetown — a
mixed multitude of English, Scotch, Germans, Huguenots
and Swiss, who found in the low country by the sea too great
a contrast to their own mountain homes. While these two
waves were mingling, the third wave rolled in from the east,
mainly English, and finding the best lands taken, settled the
next best or passed through into the lands to the west and
south. The sections which were settled by these different
peoples retain the traces of nationality in their names and in
the churches ; the Scotch-Irish and Huguenots with the Eng-
lish dissenters uniting to build Presbyterian churches, while
the Lutheran and German Reform churches mark the
German settlements. Bv the beginning of the Revolutionary
War the representatives of these different nationalities were
fast intermingling by marriage.
A petition to the Council concerning the lands which were
at first considered in Mecklenburg and then were put in
l6 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
South Carolina show 140 names of English origin, 47
Scotch, 7 German and 6 French.
In 1755, Governor Dobbs visited the present county of
Cabarrus, where he owned large tracts of land, and he found
seventy-five families already settled on his lands. He re-
ported that these families contained eight or ten children
each, and that some "Irish Protestants" had settled together
in order to have a preacher and a school teacher of their
own. There were also twenty-two German and Swiss fam-
ilies on his lands. The actual settling of Mecklenburg
county by permanent home-seekers began about 1748.
From that time on a stream of settlers poured in from the
north. In 1754, they had settled on Broad river and were
asking for protection from the Indians. In 1757 the Selwyn
tracts of land, one of which is now partly occupied by the city
of Charlotte, contained something less than 400 souls.
In 1755, Rev. Hugh McAden made a missionary visit
through Mecklenburg. He found the Scotch-Irish settled
at, Rocky River, Sugar Creek, in the Waxhaws, and on what
is now Broad river, in South Carolina. The earliest land
grants are dated 1749, but between 1750 and 1758 many
hundreds of such grants were issued. There was probably
only a short time generally between the issuing of the grant
and the settlement of the land. Rocky river and its tributa-
ries were the first water courses occupied by the settlers, and
by 1762 all the streams mentioned in the first chapter are
recorded in land grants, patents and deeds.
To understand and appreciate the history of the peo-
ple of Mecklenburg, we must know something of the
origin and history of these early settlers. John Knox,
the great Scottish reformer, was not only the apostle
of religion, but of liberty as well, to his people. When
he said, "If princes exceed their bounds they may be
resisted by force," he set the rights of the people over
against the right claimed for the king and sometimes
called the "Divine right of kings." Mr. Froude calls this
EARLY SETTLERS. 1 7
saying "the creed of republics in its first hard form." Knox
was also .the apostle of popular education. Carlyle says of
him : "He sent the schoolmaster into all corners, saying,
'let the people be taught.' Scotland was a different land
after the life and labors of John Knox.
In the reign of James the First, of England and Scotland,
two Irish nobles rebelled against him, and the king took pos-
session of their lands in the north of Ireland. He wished to
settle this region, about half a million acres of land, with
Protestants, to balance the Catholic power which held the
rest of Ireland, and so he offered inducements to the Scotch
to emigrate to North Ireland. This country was called Ul-
ster. Rev. Andrew Stewart, one of their ministers, wrote:
"The king had a natural love to have Ireland planted with
Scots, as being of a middle temper, between the English
tender and the Irish rude breeding, and a great deal more
likely to adventure to plant Ireland."
The Scotch emigrated to Ireland in great numbers. In
the first fifty years of their settling they numbered 200,000.
By the beginning of the Eighteenth century they numbered
a million, and they carried with them to Ireland their fond-
ness for education and their love of liberty. They were
thrifty and industrious and they prospered. Their prosper-
ity excited the jealousy of their English rivals in manufac-
tures, and the British Parliament began to pass laws re-
stricting their woolen trade, so the Scotch-Irish, as they were
afterwards called, began to leave Ireland. In 1698, 20,000
of them left Ulster for America. Not content with oppres-
sive taxation, the Parliament began to interfere with the re-
ligion of the Ulsterites. They were forbidden to have school
teachers of their own and forbidden to hold any office higher
than that of petty constable. Their ministers were forbidden
to perform the marriage ceremony, and when they did, the
marriage was declared to be illegal. So the Scotch left
their Irish home in an exodus that has been compared to
the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt.
l8 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
In 1727 six emigrant ships full of Scotch-Irish arrived at
Philadelphia in one week, and all through the first half of
the Eighteenth century it was not uncommon for two or
three emigrant ships a day to reach America from Ireland.
Then just a little after Mecklenburg county was organized,
the rents of the tenants who were left in Ireland were raised
and thousands of them driven from their farms by force.
Two years after this, 30,000 Scotch-Irish came to America
in one year.
Some of them went to New England and settled there.
There was one Scotch-Irish church which had 750 members.
They settled a good part of New York. They peopled New
Jersey. They took possession of the Quaker City, Philadel-
phia, and filled up Western Pennsylvania, with Pittsburg - as
the centre of their colony. Then as the Pennsylvania lands
were taken, they moved southward and westward. They
were among the pioneer settlers of Kentucky and Tennessee.
They occupied the fertile Valley of Virginia and peopled the
western counties so that they soon outvoted their cavalier
brethren in the eastern counties. Thomas Jefferson said of
Patrick Henry, whom he styled "Our leader in the measures
of the Revolution in Virginia," that "his influence was most
extensive with the members from the upper counties."
As these upper counties of Virginia were filled and the
best lands taken, the Scotch-Irish moved southward, as we
have seen, into North Carolina, through Guilford, Orange,
Alamance, Rowan, Iredell, Cabarrus and Mecklenburg coun-
ties. Mecklenburg was the centre of this emigration south-
ward from Virginia and Pennsylvania. Everywhere these
Scotch-Irish people were advocates of education and of lib-
erty. When we come to Revolutionary times, we learn that
the great majority of the patriots in New York were Scotch-
Irish ; that the Scotch-Trish, numbering in Pennsylvania a
third of the whole population, stood as a unit for independ-
ence and contributed a majority of the troops of the Key-
stone State. General Washington said thai if he had been
EARLY SETTLERS. 1 9
defeated at Yorktown, he would have fallen back upon the
Scotch-Irish of the Valley of Virginia. We shall see that the
Scotch-Irish of Mecklenburg were of the same spirit, and
simply gave earlier expression to it than their brethren else-
where.
The first Germans known to have reached this section
were three young farmers. They were all probably Re-
demptioners. This term was used in connection with white
apprentices, and afterwards applied to poor emigrants who
were not able to pay their passage to America and were will-
ing to enter into contracts in order to pay back the funds ad-
vanced for their passage across the ocean. The names of
these three Germans were Barringer, Smith and Dry. When
they had worked out their term of service they started on
their perilous march from Pennsylvania to the South, pass-
ing by a savage Indian camp and the French frontiersmen,
following the old buffalo trail, known as the Indian trading
path, until they reached the Yadkin at the trading fort; but
when they crossed the Yadkin they were surprised to find
that the Scotch-Irish were just ahead of them, having taken
up the choicest spots up and down the Catawba; so these
Germans turned to the left, following the right bank of the
Yadkin, and finally located on the high ground between the
present Cold Water and Buffalo creeks. This was then
Bladen county.
About the year 1745 the news of the good land of free-
dom went back to Pennsylvania and then reached the mil-
lions of the Fatherland. They came from all directions,
chiefly from Pennsylvania, but often from Charleston and
Wilmington, settling the northeastern borders of Mecklen-
burg as well as Rowan and Stanly. These Germans came
from the upper regions of Germany. Wurtenburg, Baden,
and especially from the Palatinate, which had been so merci-
lessly ravaged by Louis the Sixteenth. They were intelligent,
labor loving, industrious Protestants, who fled from persecu-
tion. They built their houses here on high ground, often on
20 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
the tops of the hills, after the fashion of the ancient German
castles. They were hardy, self-reliant, frugal and courageous.
They clung to Luther's translation of the Bible. They tol-
erated no idlers among them. The children were trained
and skilled in all hard labor and handicraft, and they de-
fended their homes heroically when they were summoned
to vindicate the rights which they had secured. They took
part in almost every expedition against the Indians, and a
very active part in General Rutherford's march against
the Cherokees in 1776, a young German called Matthias
Barringer being one of the very few killed. The Germans
traded with Salisbury on the north and with Cross Creek,
now Fayetteville, on the east, rather than Charleston. They
did not figure as prominently in the affairs in which Char-
lotte was concerned on account of the rivalry which grew
up between the Charlotte and Cabarrus sections.
These German Protestants respected just authority, were
God-fearing, peaceful and law-abiding. They had their
sports and their amusements, their Easter holiday and their
Chris Cringle frolics. They were guiltless of dissipation
and debauchery, and even their amusements partook rather
of skill and labor than of useless sport. Their quiltings, corn
shuckings, log rollings, house raisings, all tended to develop
manliness and womanliness as well as to cultivate the social
virtues. Their family government was excellent, combining
for them the State, the Church and the School, and their
thrift and economy laid the foundations for comfort and
wealth.
The French settlers were mostly Huguenots who were
also the victims of religious persecution in the Old World
and sought freedom of conscience in the New. The Swiss
were from the Palatinate and near akin to their German
neighbors in religious belief. A large colony of Swiss in
South Carolina was almost destroyed by the fever of the
lowlands near the coast, where they first settled, and the men-
tion of the Swiss families by Governor Dobbs is probably the
EARLY SETTLERS. 21
explanation of what became of the survivors. They would
naturally tend toward the hill country, as more nearly like
their own home.
Authority : — General Rufus Barringer's Address and
Wheeler's Sketches and Old Records.
CHAPTER IV.
INDUSTRIES AND CUSTOMS. (1745 to 1762.)
How the Settlers Built Their Homes — Their First Mills and Occu-
pations — Trading — Social Life and Diversions.
The early settlers of Mecklenburg were not idlers and
many of them were skilled in various industrial arts. They
had everything to do for themselves in the wilderness in
which they made their home. When they came, there were
no cleared fields, no roads, no schools or churches, no mills to
grind their corn and wheat, no shops to make their hoes and
plows and axes, and not even houses to shelter them. There
were no saw mills and no brickyards. But the settlers had
something that was even better than the possession of all
these things. They had the knowledge and the skill to make
the wilderness blossom as the rose. They knew how to make
things and they made them.
As early as 1750, some of them were doing business with
Charleston. In order to buy what they could not make, they
must have something to sell. They sent to Charleston over
an Indian trail, which passed near Charlotte and which is
now the route of the Charlotte & Columbia Railroad, the
products which their cattle yielded — tallow, cheese, butter
and hull-. Then as they began to raise grain and fruits,
they manufactured whiskey and brandy. With these they
bought in Charleston salt, iron, and household goods, with
now and then a slave to help in the work on the plantation.
As the farmers could not afford to go to Charleston often,
there began to lx.* built country stores in the different neigh-
borhoods — in Paw Creek, Hopewell, Steele Creek, Provi-
dence, Sugar Creek, Rocky River.
The people made their own hats and shoes, and wove their
1 wii cloth. They were hatters and shoemakers and weavers
and tailors. They raised indigo for dyeing. They raised
INDUSTRIES AXD CUSTOMS. 23
flax and made it into linen. Thev raised tobacco and it be-
came quite a profitable crop, as the world was then learning
how to smoke. But at first it was easier to raise cattle than
anything else, and the settlers not only sent them to Charles-
ton, but drove them to Philadelphia. Later Virginia bought
all the cattle sent northward.
These pioneer settlers slept in their wagons until they
built a house to shelter them, cutting down the trees of the
forest and hewing the logs into shape. They daubed the
spaces between the logs with clay and covered the roof with
boards riven out of the logs. These houses had one room
and one door and one window. Sometimes the people could
afford a glass window. Generally they let in the air with the
light and shut out both with a wooden shutter. When they
did not have planks for a floor, they used the floor they
found there — the ground. Inside the house were probably
two beds, a trunk, some pewter dippers and plates, a dozen
spoons, some wooden trenchers and piggins, and a few stools
or chairs. The farmer would have a few plow irons, a h< «
or two, a mattock, some harrow teeth, an axe, a broad-axe,
an iron wedge, two or three mauls, a chisel, and an auger.
These were all he needed at first, and he brought them with
him from North or South. He would have fifty head of cat-
tle, three or four horses, twenty hogs, and a few sheep and
geese. The sheep gave their wool and the geese their feath-
ers to make the folk comfortable by day and night. When
the family began to buy cups and saucers, and glass and
china ware from Charleston, they were considered wealthy.
The things they brought with them began to wear out and
so the blacksmiths built their shops, and the weavers set up
their looms and the tailor brought out his goose. And the
hides were not all carried to Charleston to trade for leather,
but tanneries were built to make leather at home. Then rude
mills were set up on the water courses to grind the wheat and
corn, and the carpenters and blasksmiths together built saw
mills to turn the logs into boards. One of the first saw
mills and flour mills was built on Rockv river and owned bv
24 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
Moses Alexander. Richard Barry had a tanyard in opera-
tion in Hopewell. Thomas Polk had a saw mill and grist
mill near Charlotte before 1767. The mills did a good busi-
ness and leather and flour began to be sold in Charleston in-
stead of hides and wheat. The settlers were learning the
great law of prosperity — that they could keep their money at
home by manufacturing things for themselves and that the
manufactured products brought more money in the markets
than the raw products.
In January, 1767, John McKnitt Alexander made "a
great coat" for Andrew Bowman, which had nine large and
three small buttons, the seam sewed and the button holes
worked with mohair thread. Three yards and three inches
of broadcloth were used, costing two pounds and fifteen shil-
lings ; the buttons and thread cost two shillings. The charge
for making the coat was seven shillings, and Mr. Bowman
was no doubt sumptuously arrayed when he donned this rai-
ment. The women made all their own dresses and the mate-
rial for them. They spun the wool and cotton and wove it
into linsey and checks and colored it according to their own
fancy. When Jeremiah McCafferty set up his store in Char-
lotte, in 1770, he sold persian, camblett, mits, forrest cloth,
oznaburgs, and calico. But with calico at eight shillings a
yard, these were materials that only the wealthy could afford.
Buttons, thread and pins were very costly, and the house-
wives had to be very economical with salt and sugar, as they
were high priced and difficult to get.
Early title-deeds show the occupations of the people who
bought and sold the lands in Mecklenburg, and it is re-
corded that these hardy pioneers were weavers, joiners,
coopers, wheelwrights, wagon makers, tailors, teachers,
blacksmiths, hatters, merchants, laborers, wine makers, min-
ers, rope makers, surveyors, fullers and "gentlemen." "Gen-
tlemen" denoted then a certain rank rather than the posses-
sion of certain qualities. The first Mecklenburgers were pro-
ducers. They believed that any work, so it were faithfully
and honestly done, was worth doing, and that manhood was
INDUSTRIES AND CUSTOMS. 25
more than wealth. Mecklenburg- could have existed com-
fortably cut off from the rest of the world. That makes a
people feel independent. And when a man has built his home
in the woods with his own hands, and furnished it, and
cleared his own little plot of ground, and is beginning to be
comfortable, he does not feel much like paving taxes out of
his small earnings to a King or a Parliament over the seas,
without any representation in the matter for himself and his
rights.
Nearly every farm had a distillery for turning grain and
fruit into whiskey and brandy. These liquors were used
freely by all, but it would be a mistake to suppose that the
people were intemperate. Spirits were deemed a necessity on
the plantations. It was cheaper to distill than to buy. More-
over, the distance from the markets, Charleston being the
nearest, was so great that it was easier to carry the products
of the granaries and orchards in liquid form than in bulk.
Every teacher's account with the farmers contains a credit
of whiskey, and the preachers were also temperate drink-
ers. Among the effects of Rev. Alexander Craighead, sold
at his sale, were a punch bowl and glasses. One custom that
seems singular to us was the use of liquor at funerals. The
people came a long distance and refreshments were served at
the graveyards and churches. Whiskey played a leading
part in these refreshments, though wine, which was more
expensive, was also used. In 1767, seven gallons of whiskey
were consumed at one funeral, costing five shillings to the
gallon, the same being charged to the estate. Another occa-
sion on which whiskey was used was at the "vendue" or sale
of an estate. The amount of whiskey charged to the estate
varied with the size of the sale and the number in attendance.
It seems to have been taken for granted that a liberal use of
the beverage would be repaid in the higher price the buyers
would bid under the mellowing effect of the liquor.
One of the famous institutions of these early days was the
old time tavern. The taverns sprung up along all the pub-
lic roads. There were several in Charlotte. There was a
26 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
good deal of travel through this section, between the North
and the South, from early times. The tavern was not only a
lodging place where meals were served, but a public house
as well, where all kinds of liquors were served and where the
punch bowl was an indispensable piece of furniture. From
the variety of the liquors one is reminded of Dickens' tales
of merry England in the stage coach days. The host of
these early days was a genial and popular fellow, and the
tavern became a meeting place for the men of the commu-
nity, where they exchanged their ideas or confirmed their
prejudices as the case might be, getting now and then from
the travelers passing through, the news of the outside world.
Horse racing, the game of "long bullets," shooting matches
and other outdoor sports of like nature were the diversions
for the early settlers. "Long bullets" was a famous game,
played with a large iron ball, the effort of one side being to
keep the ball from passing their goal and at the same time to
force it beyond the goal of the adversary. One of the first
ordinances passed by the town of Charlotte forbade this
game being played in the streets. Betting at horse races
was common, there remaining to this day evidences of money
borrowed on occasions of this kind in order to indulge the
gambling propensity at Thorn's or Campbell's Race Tracks.
But while gambling was permitted, profanity was sternly
forbidden, and was frequently punished by the county courts.
After 1774, there are numerous instances of people being
fined for profane swearing, the amount of the fine depend-
ing upon the number of oaths of which the culprit was con-
victed.
At the four county courts each year people came together
from all parts of the county, and the court meetings were
great occasions for trading wares and exchanging views.
Then there was an annual election of the members of the
Provincial Assembly, which was the signal for a gathering
of all the leading men. The most prosperous of the people
frequently visited Charleston and even Philadelphia, and
they brought back with them newspapers and publications
INDUSTRIES AND CUSTOMS. 2."]
of the day. But one of .the greatest institutions for bring-
ing- the people together was the muster. While this was at
first nominally a military assembly, it soon became a social
and political occasion. The military companies were kept
in efficient condition for muster day, and it grew to be the
chief opportunity for the public discussion of political issues.
Such questions as theMcCulloh land disturbances, the bound-
ary dispute, the vestry and marriage acts, the Regulation
troubles, and all the questions relating to the issues between
the colonies and the mother country were discussed at the
muster meetings. So the people were by no means ill-in-
formed as to what was going on in the world. The children
generally received six months of "schooling" for two or three
years, and at the outbreak of the Revolution there was a fair
number of college-bred men in the community, perhaps more
in proportion to the population than at present.
The first settlers of the county from Virginia and Penn-
sylvania doubtless brought the currency of those colonies
with them, and this was probably the first paper money put
in circulation in this section. The "hard money" of that
day consisted of English, Spanish and German coins, with
now and then one of French mintage. From the account of
a loan to Jean Cathey by George Cathey, we learn that "ten
silver dollars" were valued at four pounds English money,
while "one dubloone in gold" was worth six pounds. After
Charleston became the principal market for Mecklenburg,
South Carolina currency became common, but there was
never a sufficient volume of currency for the needs of the
population. Chief Justice Hasell, who held Salisbury Court
in 1776, says that there was scarcely any specie circulating
among the people, not enough to pay the stamp tax.
Authority. — Countv and Private Records.
CHAPTER V.
FORMATION OF THE COUNTY. (1762.)
Creation of Mecklenburg from Anson — Origin of the Names of the
County and the City of Charlotte — Physical Description of the
Country at that Time.
In North Germany are two little duchies that, go by the
name of Mecklenburg, Mecklenburg-Sehwerin and Mecklen-
burg-Strelitz. From Mecklenburg-Strelitz, in the year 1761,
went a young princess to be the wife of George the Third
and Queen of England, and her name was Charlotte. The
marriage was a popular one, and there was great rejoicing
in England, and after a while the news of it reached the
Piedmont section of North Carolina, where the people were
just about to make two counties out of one. The name of
the old county was Anson, named for .the Admiral Anson
whose good ship carried the young princess, Charlotte, to
England. The new county was named Mecklenburg in
honor of the queen who had come from old Mecklenburg,
in Germany, and to do her still more honor, they called their
town Charlotte. It must have been very pleasant to the king
to think how loyal to the mother country and the royal fam-
ily were the people of Mecklenburg and its "Queen City" of
Charlotte, in S.t. George's Parish, in the Colony of North
Carolina. It was his own fault if he afterwards had cause
to change his mind about them.
The year 1761 was memorable in the history of the world.
England and France had been fighting on land and on sea,
and some of the land fighting had been done in America.
During the war the Americans learned that they could fight
as well as or better than the English soldiers could in this
wild forest-land. In the year 1762, the war was finished and
the Treaty of Paris was signed. By that treaty .the French
practically gave up North America to the British, and Spain
Ch a r i_o ~r ~r e:
Princess o f- Mecklenburg.
Late:" Queen of England by marriage to George IU.
Hence Cha Hotte. Queen City, Mecklenburg County.
North Carolina
Copyright 1 901 by D . A.TcmpI-
FORMATION OF THE COUNTY. 20,
gave England part of Florida in return for Havana, in Cuba.
The colonists observed another thing in the war. and that
was that they were not so dependent as before upon the pro-
tection of the mother country, now that the French armies
did not threaten them. They began to talk more independ-
ently. In England, there was at that time, and is now, an
"Established Church" supported by taxes levied on the peo-
ple. This was the Church of England, or what is now known
in America as the Protestant Episcopal Church. At home, its
bishops and other clergy had the right, to levy church taxes
or tithes, and this system was put into operation in the Amer-
ican colonies. The next year after the passage of the act cre-
ating Mecklenburg county, a young lawyer stood up before
the judges, in Hanover county, Virginia, to defend the
rights of the people against the oppressive taxation by the
clergy. His name was Patrick Henry, and the jury that
heard his eloquent defence gave the parsons "penny dam-
ages," and the brave words of the young lawyer rang
throughout the colonies.
Arthur Dobbs was Governor of the colony. James Hasell
was President of the Council and John Ashe was Speaker of
the Assembly, when the act was passed creating the county
of Mecklenburg, December n, 1762. The bill had been in-
troduced by Anthony Hutchins into the Assembly, accom-
panied by a petition "of several of the inhabitants of Anson
county;" and Nathaniel Alexander, afterwards Governor of
North Carolina, who represented the Rocky river section,
used his influence in having the wishes of his constituents
carried out as to the new county. December 31, of the same
year, at the meeting of the Governor's Council, Alexander
Lewis, Nathaniel Alexander, John Thomas, Robert McClen-
ahan, Paul Barringer, Henry Foster. Robert Miller, Robert
Harris. Richard Barry, Martin Phifer, Robert Ramsey,
James Robinson, Matthew Floyd. Abraham Alexander,
Thomas Polk and James Patton, were appointed His Majes-
ty's Justices of the Peace for the new county, and they rep-
resented the Rocky River. Clear Creek, Sugar Creek, Wax-
30 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
haw, Hopewell and Broad River settlements. And when,
on the 26th of February, 1763, Moses Alexander, as High
Sheriff, and Robert Harris, as Clerk of the Court and Regis-
ter of Deeds, took charge of their respective offices, the his-
tory of the county may be said to have begun.
This Piedmont country was being rapidly settled, and the
people did not want to travel so far to the county seat to have
their legal business transacted. So, just as Anson was formed
out of Bladen, then the most westerly county, and just as
Rowan and Mecklenburg grew out of Anson, so in Novem-
ber, 1768, a bill, introduced by Martin Phifer, was passed
dividing the original Mecklenburg county into two, one
called Mecklenburg county and St. Martin's Parish, and the
other Tryon county and St. Thomas' Parish. Later still,
in 1792, Cabarrus county was cut off from Mecklenburg,
and again in 1842, Union county was made out of Meck-
lenburg territory. But as Mecklenburg included both Ca-
barrus and Union during the whole Revolutionary period,
the history of one is the history of all three.
It was a wild and strange country which the early set-
tlers found. There was probably little cleared land, though
some accounts speak of the country between Sugar creek
and Rocky river as a fertile plain, covered with pea vines
and grass. But the hills and probably most of the valleys
were covered with primeval forests. The old title-deeds
mention as marks on the dividing lines, an ash, an oak, post-
oak, white oak, black oak, red oak or water oak, a maple, a
poplar, a beech, or a hickory. Through these forests roamed
deer and buffalo, and in the dense undergrowth, panthers,
wild-cats, black bears, and wolves made their lairs. There
were squirrels and turkeys and pheasants in abundance.
There were beaver dams on Paw creek and Steele creek.
The only road was one Indian trail through Mecklenburg,
from the Yadkin river to the Catawba nation, with here and
there the beaten path of the buffalo herds.
Authority : — State and County Records.
a
02
£>
O
tf
D
O
o
Eh
CO
CHAPTER VI.
BEGINNING OF CHARLOTTE. (1762 to 1772.)
Influences Which Tended to the Necessity for a Town — Difficulty in
Obtaining a Charter — The First Court House — Laws of the
New Town.
Mecklenburg county, as at first constituted, contained all
of .the present county, Cabarrus, Gaston, Lincoln and a part
of Union. The total area was four or five times as great as
it is today. In 1766, the population of Mecklenburg was
about five thousand, and this grew to six thousand within the
next two years. Increase in population and development of
the natural resources were rapid and continuous after gov-
ernment was firmly established.
In the latter part of 1765, Henry Eustace McCulloh
donated a tract of three hundred and sixty acres of land to
John Frohock, Abraham Alexander and Thomas Polk, as
commissioners, to hold in trust for the countv of Mecklen-
burg, on which to erect a court house, prison and stocks.
McCulloh was the agent of Augustus Selwyn, who owned
several immense tracts of land on a grant from the king,
making it obligatory upon him to settle them with an aver-
age of one person to every two hundred acres. He foresaw
that the interests of his employer would be advanced by the
location of the county seat on his land. The courts before
this time had been held at Spratts, just outside the present
city limits, and as the proposed .town was near the centre of
the county, circumstances were apparently favorable to his
plans, but objection was made by the people in the Rocky
river section, who desired the court house to be located
nearer to them.
The first representatives of Mecklenburg in the General
Assembly were Martin Phifer, from Rocky river; and
Thomas Polk, who favored the new town. In 1766, Mr.
32 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
Phifer introduced a bill to enable the commissioners of
Charlotte to lay off the town in squares and streets and lots,
and to erect a court house, prison and stocks. Nothing was
said about the county seat or where courts should be held,
and on this account, the bill was defeated by the friends of
Charlotte led by Polk.
In this year, there was a large increase of population west
of the Catawba river, and a new county was proposed. It
was evident that, if this plan succeeded, Charlotte would
not then be in .the centre of Mecklenburg, but her partisans,
with a wise foresight, took advantage of the opportunity
and erected a court house at their own expense. The build-
ing was erected at the intersection of Trade and Tryon
streets, which were named about that time, and was in the
centre of the square. It was a long structure, supported by
pillars ten feet high, and a stairway was on the outside; the
upper room was for court and public meetings, while the
space below was used for a market. Martin Phifer, how-
ever, succeeded in having passed his bill creating Tryon
county, but Thomas Polk had attached to it an amendment
providing that the courts of Mecklenburg should for a period
of seven years be held in the Charlotte court house. It is
very probable that the county seat would have been located
elsewhere had there not been a court house already built in
Charlotte.
Previous to the passage of this bill, all efforts to have
Charlotte incorporated had failed, but the objections were
now withdrawn and the bill making Charlotte a town legally
was enacted and became a law in November, 1768. This
act added Richard Barry and George Allen to the old com-
missioners, and these five men were instructed to lay off one
hundred acres of the town in half-acre lots and to carry out
the requirements of the charier, but no provision was made
for ordinances of the town government. Thomas Polk was
required to give a bond as treasurer.
The law stipulated that for every town lot taken, an an-
nual rent of one shilling should be paid to the town treas-
BEGINNING OF CHARLOTTE. 33
urer, and a dwelling- should be erected on the lot within
three years on penalty of forfeiture. Eighty lots had already
been taken, and on some of them dwelling houses had been
built. The ordinary house was made of sawed or hewn logs,
and the cracks were filled with mud and straw or sticks.
There was one large room twenty feet square, with high
roof, and sometimes the bedrooms were partitioned off from
this room with curtains or planks. Lieht was admitted
through one window, which was generally closed with a
wooden shutter, but sometimes with glass panes. The com-
mon chimney was made of stones, the better one of brick,
and the poorer one of logs covered on the inside with mud.
The roof was made of clap-boards fastened with home-made
iron spikes or nails.
Those early issues of our history occasioned much parti-
san strife and considerable bitterness. In 1769, Martin
Phifer was succeeded in the Assembly by Abraham Alexan-
der, who, with Thomas Polk, continued to represent the
county until 1773, when they were succeeded by Martin
Phifer and John Davidson. Mr. Davidson introduced a bill
to erect a permanent court house at Charlotte, and it passed
both houses of the Assembly, but was vetoed by Governor
Martin. The next year, Phifer was succeeded by Thomas
Polk, and the agitation in favor of Charlotte continued. The
temporary arrangement of seven years was about to end and
some action was necessary. In December, 1773, Polk intro-
duced a bill making Charlotte the permanent county seat and
providing a regular town government, but the bill was not
acted upon because of the dismissal of the Assembly by Gov-
ernor Martin.
Polk re-introduced the bill at the next session, and it be-
came a law in March, 1774. Its passage settled the question
for all time, and allayed much of the bitter feeling that had
been engendered. This act repealed the law of 1768 requir-
ing the erection of a building on every town lot, unless the
lot was located on Tryon or Trade street. Jeremiah McCaf-
ferty. William Patterson and Isaac Alexander were added to
34 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
the commissioners in place of some who were dead or re-
moved from the province. The commissioners were given
power to require every taxable person in the town to work
on the streets six days each year ; any one failing to so work
was to be fined five shillings for each day of such failure.
Before this time there had been considerable agitation re-
garding road-building, and efforts had been made to have
roads laid off and worked from Charlotte to Charleston and
from Charlotte to Tayetteville. Commissioners were ap-
pointed for the latter work in 1771, and others were put in
their places two years later.
In 1774, Charlotte covered less than one hundred acres
of land, but the population increased steadily, and in 1778,
the law was revised to permit the laying off of eighty more
lots, as all the original ones had been taken and most of them
well improved with good buildings. The reasons assigned
for the growth were that Charlotte was well situated for the
inland trade and that Liberty Hall drew in many people to
educate their children.
August 2, 1766, Governor Tryon wrote that this province
was being settled rapidly and that more than a thousand emi-
grant wagons from the North had passed through Salisbury
within a few months. These settlers were reported to be
strong, healthy and industrious, and capable of various occu-
pations.
The government of Mecklenburg was vested in a Sheriff,
Clerk of the Court and sixteen Justices of the Peace. Char-
lotte was governed by the Board of Town Commissioners,
but it seems that there were but few law-breakers, for the
courts were occupied almost entirely with collecting quit-
rents and settling disputes regarding conflicting claims to
land.
Authority : — Colonial and County Records, old Deeds and
Official Papers, and Hunter's Sketches.
CHAPTER VII.
EARLY TROUBLES AND REGULATORS. (1762 to 1772.)
Annoyances on Account of a Disputed Boundary Line — The McCul-
loh Land Riots — Surveying the Cherokee Boundary — Oppres-
sive Taxes and Unjust Officers, and the Battle of Alamance.
When Mecklenburg county was created, the boundary
lines were not definitely determined. The line between North
Carolina and South Carolina had been surveyed toward the
west only so far as the Salisbury and Charleston road, near
Waxhaw creek. This left in dispute practically all the
southern boundary of Mecklenburg, and troubles of various
kinds naturally resulted.
For several years, the sheriff of Anson had been openly
defied. On one occasion he raised a posse to assist him, and
a riot resulted that continued several days, during which
time the sheriff was captured and imprisoned. The people
causing this disturbance were a lawless element who had been
driven out of South Carolina and other provinces, and had
drifted to this region because of the protection afforded them
by the disputed boundary. When North Carolina sheriffs
called on them, they plead loyalty to South Carolina, and
when officers from that section called, they claimed to be cit-
izens of North Carolina. A militia company was organized
on authority of a commission from the Governor of South
Carolina. There were in the unsettled region many honest
men who refused to pay their taxes until it was legally de-
termined to which province they owed allegiance, fearing
that if they paid to one, they would be later forced to dupli-
cate the fees to the other.
In June, 1764, Henry Eustace McCulloh came to Meck-
lenburg to survey the Selwyn tracts of land, to grant titles to
those deserving them and to eject those who refused to com-
ply with the requirements. When he arrived, he was given
36 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
to understand that many of the settlers "would hold to the
South" and oppose the running- of any lines, and was threat-
ened with personal violence if he attempted to carry out his
plans. McCulloh suggested that the "South Men" hold a
meeting and select a committee to confer with himself re-
garding a peaceable adjustment of the differences. This was
accordingly done, and the committee, composed of James
Norris, Thomas Polk, James Flennegin and George Allen,
met the agent, and, after a long conference, reported to the
people they represented that the terms proposed by Selwyn's
agent were just and reasonable, and should be accepted.
McCulloh thought the troubles were now settled, and left
the county, intending to return soon and complete his work,
but when he came back in the following February, he dis-
covered more opposition than at the previous time. Large
bodies of armed men, sometimes numbering two hundred,
and usually led by Thomas Polk, interfered with the survey-
ing parties, broke the chains and continued to make threats.
One party of good men who were surveying on one of the
Selywn tracts, was set upon and beaten severely. McCulloh
was brave and persevering, and the opposition to his work
began to weaken. Thomas Polk was the only really able
man associated with the "South Men," and he appears to
have done so in order to force the attention of the proper au-
thorities to the necessity of surveying the boundary line. In
1765, he became friendly with McCulloh and was appointed
one of Selwyn's surveyors for this county.
Open war with the Cherokee Indians ended in 1761, but
for several years thereafter great annoyance was caused 1>\
the lack of a definite dividing line between Mecklenburg and
the Cherokee country. In May, 1767, Governor Tryon
yielded to the persistent entreaties and marched with one
hundred men to perform the work. The troops in this expe-
dition were commanded by General I high Waddell ; and Col-
onel John Frohock, of Rowan, and Colonel Moses Alexan-
der, of Mecklenburg", were among the subordinate officers.
While this survey could have been made by half a dozen men,
EARLY TROUBLES AND REGULATORS. T)7
yet Governor Tryon's military display had a salutary effect
on the Indians, who cheerfully accepted the line as run and
gave no further trouble until the white people began once
more to encroach upon their territory. The Governor was,
nevertheless, subjected to criticism because of the expense of
the expedition, which some attributed solely to his well-
known love for military glory.
William Tryon, in his first public utterance as Governor
of North Carolina, said he was here to serve the people, but
his actions soon gave ample proof that he was here to serve
the Lords Proprietors and to execute their wishes. That he
did his duty to his employers to the best of his ability, nc
one can deny. Just as he was ingratiating himself in the
good graces of the people, he was called upon to enforce the
provisions of the Stamp Act. The good people of Eastern
North Carolina attended to this matter so that it never much
concerned the people of Mecklenburg, but it had two results
of far-reaching consequence to all the province. First, Gov-
ernor Tryon harshly resolved to regain the lost dignity of his
administration in whatever way he could; second, the people
thereafter looked with suspicion upon anything originating
with the Governor.
The trouble which culminated in the battle of Alamance
began in 1761. The central counties complained of cruel
?nd unjust officers, Tryon's extravagance in building his
palace, extortion, corrupt courts, and of being compelled
to pay taxes in money of which there was not a sufficient
quantity in circulation. These charges were justified in
some counties, but Mecklenburg was happily free from
nearly all of it. This county had not been established long
enough for the Governor to fill the offices with his favorites,
so the sheriff and clerk and justices were among the most
honored and trusted men.
Resistance to the officers in Orange, Anson, Rowan and
other counties grew until it assumed a serious aspect. Men
who were unable to defend themselves alone, banded together
for self-protection and to work together for the regulation
38 HISTORY OE MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
of the injustices. In this way they came to be known as
Regulators. From this state of affairs, Herman Husbands,
a Quaker preacher, organized the discontented men into a
systematic association. Meetings were held and petitions
presented to the Governor, but they were refused or ignored.
It was inevitable that unlawful acts should result from the
bitterness between the opposing parties. One day, in the
summer of 1768, a horse was taken from a Regulator who
had ridden into Hillsboro on business. That night the
friends of the offended man regained the horse by force, and
the same night some one fired into Edmund Fanning's
house. Soon thereafter Husbands and several other Reg-
ulators were arrested and their trial set for the September
court. Fanning was to be tried at the same time for collect-
ing illegal fees, and both sides to the controversy expected
trouble.
In August, Governor Tryon came to Mecklenburg to re-
view the militia, which numbered nine hundred. During
his stay in the county he was entertained by the Alexanders
and Polks and other good families. He reviewed the troops
and secured three hundred volunteers to go to Hillsboro to
maintain order during the sessions of court. These men
began the march September 12, and returned in October, the
expected trouble having been averted. Husbands was ac-
quitted of the charge against him and Fanning was found
guilty, but was let off with a nominal fine. Before the Meck-
lenburg troops disbanded, they were complimented by the
Governor for their splendid behavior.
The situation developed steadily, and in the Spring of
1 77 1, each side prepared for a final test of strength. Hus-
bands, having failed to get satisfaction by law and petitions,
determined to make a show of force. Governor Tryon sent
General Hugh Waddell through Rowan and Mecklenburg
to raise troops for his cause, but General Waddell obtained
only one hundred in this county. These, with nearly two
hundred Rowan volunteers, were intercepted at the Yadkin
EARLY TROUBLES AND REGULATORS. 39
river and turned back by a superior force of Regulators, so
they did not join the Governor until after the battle.
Meanwhile, Governor Tryon was marching westward
with his army ten or twelve hundred strong. On the 17th
of May, he was met near Alamance creek by a large body of
the Regulators led by Husbands, who presented the cause of
his followers. Tryon obstinately refused to make any
promises or concessions, and seemed resolved to fight, even
though he had no better reason than to send back to Eng-
land the news of a "glorious victory."
The Regulators outnumbered Tryon's soldiers, but the lat-
ter had the advantage of military training and were well
armed. Some of the followers of Husbands were not pre-
pared for battle, and none of them had more than a dozen
rounds of ammunition, but they fought like men until all
hope was gone. After the battle ended, Governor Tryon
ordered the immediate execution of a half-witted ignorant
boy named James Few, and six of the prisoners taken were
afterwards hung for treason. A number of Mecklenburg
men were in the ranks of the Regulators, but as they had no
organization among themselves, it is not possible to estimate
their number.
Mecklenburg people recognized the justice of the cause
for which the Regulators shed their blood, but they did not
deem it prudent to make open resistance to authority at that
time. The Phifers, Alexanders, Polks and other prominent
citizens were not the kind of men who strike without care-
fully considering the consequences, but from May 17, 1771,
independence of thought steadily developed into independ-
ence of action.
The young men were not so conservative as their fathers,
and they did not hesitate to express sympathy for the men
who were struggling against oppression. Col. Moses Alex-
ander was commissary for General Waddell, and while his
wagons, laden with powder, were passingthrough the county,
they were captured and the powder was destroyed by nine
boys who have since been known as "The Black Boys of
4-0 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
Mecklenburg.'' They blacked their faces and disguised
themselves as Indians before attacking the wagons, and from
this they gained their name. These boys were afterwards
noble soldiers in the Revolution.
Authority : — Colonial Records, Original Official Docu-
ments, Court and County Records, Caruther's Old North
State, Waddell's Address on the Regulation, and Jones' De-
fense of North Carolina.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE APPROACHING STORM. (1772 to 1775.)
England's Position With Regard to America — Affairs in the Colonies.
— Governor Martin's Dissensions With the Assembly — Rifle Fac-
tory in Charlotte — Polk Calls the Convention.
When England was confronted by the American disturb-
ances, it was not the first time she faced the problem of con-
ciliating a discontented dependency. Three precedents by
which she might have been guided were the reclamation of
Ireland, Wales and Chester. The four were analogous
cases, each being governed by force without mercy until it
became apparent that such government was hopeless; then
the three were won by concessions and the fourth was lost
by obstinacy.
Throughout the colonies, the five years preceding actual
hostilities was a time of emotion and intense suspense. The
feelings of the people were aroused in apprehension of the
final struggle for their abstract rights. England's import
taxes imposed upon the colonies had been practically sus-
pended, but the Americans were plainly told that it was for
expediency and not because of principle, and it was the prin-
ciple for which the patriots contended. British troops were
quartered on American soil at. the beginning of 1775, and
early in that year military strength superseded civil author-
ity in Massachusetts.
When Josiah Martin became Governor of North Carolina.
in 1 77 1, he immediately began dissensions with the Assem-
bly. The State's finances were in good condition and some
of the taxes, being plainly unnecessary, were repealed by the
Assembly. Though the bill was passed unanimously, it was
promptly vetoed by the Governor, and from that time forth
he waged continual war with the representatives of the peo-
ple.
42 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
The Assembly of December, 1773, was dismissed by Gov-
ernor Martin after having been in session only a few days.
Before adjournment, however, a committee of nine good cit-
izens was appointed to carry on correspondence with similar
committees in the other provinces. Martin Phifer and John
Davidson, representatives of Mecklenburg, were both pres-
ent at this session. At this time, Thomas Polk was engaged
in the work of surveying the boundary line between North
Carolina and South Carolina.
Governor Martin having determined that no more Assem-
blies should convene until the people came to his way of
thinking, John Harvey was authorized to call a congress of
the people when he deemed it prudent. Accordingly, the
call was issued for an election of representatives to a Pro-
vincial Congress to meet in New Bern in August of 1774.
Governor Martin was astounded at this bold stroke, but his
threats were unavailing and the Congress met at the ap-
pointed time. Mecklenburg county was represented by
Benjamin Patton. Richard Caswell, William Hooper and
Joseph Hewes were elected delegates to the Continental Con-
gress, which met in Philadelphia, but at the same time a res-
olution was adopted declaring loyalty to the king.
The Governor was now in an embarassing situation as he
felt the reins of government slipping through his fingers,
and, yielding to his Council, he called the Assembly to meet
in New Bern in April, 1775. John Harvey called the second
Provincial Congress to meet at the same time and place.
With but few exceptions, the members of the two bodies
were the same, and Harvey was Speaker of the Assembly
and Moderator of the Congress. Nothing was accomplished
at this session except the return of the same delegation to
the Philadelphia Congress and the agreement of the mem-
bers to not trade with British ports. Mecklenburg was not
represented.
Mecklenburg people had distinguished themselves for con-
servatism, and it was quite evident that they favored no of-
fensive action before affairs assumed a more definite sha])e.
THE APPROACHING STORM. 43
County government had been established little more than a
decade, the homes were hewn from primitive forests, indus-
tries were developing, and just as the people were pre-
pared to enjoy the blessings of liberty and abundance, they
were loath to accept the rumors of war.
They were, however, thinking of the issues of the day and
were preparing to meet them. Edmund Burke, in his speech
on "Conciliation," delivered in Parliament March 22, 1775,
ascribed the independence of Americans politically in a con-
siderable degree to their independence in religion. If it be
true that independence was more rife among dissenters than
others, this partially explains the action of Mecklenburg in
that year, for it is probable that no where in the colonies
did the Church of England have fewer followers. Both
Governor Martin and Governor Tryon wrote of the discour-
agements to the Church in this section.
One phase of industry which had much influence on the
trend of events, was the development of the rifle. The peo-
ple of this region needed a serviceable weapon for aggressive
use, and from the old New England blunderbuss they devel-
oped a long, well-made rifle that was inferior to none in the
world. At the outbreak of the war, there were only three
rifle factories in the colonies, and one of them was in Char-
lotte. The iron was obtained near High Shoals, and was
blasted there. Then the barrel was shaped, bored carefully
and rifled. The wooden stock extended clear to the end of
the barrel, which was four feet in length. General Wash-
ington was presented with one of these Charlotte rifles in
1787, and he praised it very highly. The excellence of the
weapon and the ability with which it was used played an
important part in the war of the Revolution.
It had now become apparent to all observing people that
a rupture of the ties binding the colonies to England was
imminent. Preparations for war were being made and the
Congresses of the people were the real governing bodies.
Troops were being massed by America and England, but
the Continental Congress yet asserted loyalty to the crown,
44 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
and Thomas Jefferson and his followers were endeavoring to
effect a compromise with the mother country.
That North Carolina was among the foremost advocates
of liberty is evidenced by a letter written to James Iredell
by William Hooper, who was one of our delegates to the
Continental Congress. He wrote, April 26, 1774: "With
you I anticipate the important share the colonies must soon
have in regulating the political balance. They are striding
fast to independence, and ere long will build an empire upon
the ruins of Great Britain ; will adopt its Constitution purged
of its impurities, and from an experience of its defects will
guard against the evils which have wasted its vigor and
brought it to an untimely end.''
Governor Martin had lost all control of the government of
the province and was preparing to go on board a British
man-of-war. Rumors were rife of legislation by Parlia-
ment that would subdue the colonies. The best statesmen of
England ralized and admitted the injustice of the taxation
of people by a governing body in which the people them-
selves had no representative. Yet it was apparent to all that
the participation in Parliament of far distant America was a
practical impossibility. The only logical alternatives were
self-government with a mild form of protection or absolute
independence. England declined to concede the first ; Amer-
ica fought for the second.
During these troublous times, the Charlotte court house
was the regular meeting place for the men of this section,
and they often assembled to discuss news of interest. Royal
government in North Carolina ended in June, 1775, and
there was no semblance of royal authority in Mecklenburg
for some time prior to that date. Several meetings were
held among the leading citizens to decide what should be
done. It was necessary to take some definite action, and to
provide a system of government.
Thomas Polk was military commander of the county and
was a leader among the people. He was authorized to call
a meeting of delegates from each militia district whenever,
THE APPROACHING STORM. 45
in his opinion, the proper time had come to act. The first of
May, 1775, Thomas Polk, in accordance with these instruc-
tions, issued notice for each district to elect two delegates to
an Assembly to be held in the court house in Charlotte on
the nineteenth day of May.
Authority: — Colonial Records. Burke's Speech on Con-
ciliation, County Records, Moore's History, Johnson's Rem-
iniscences and Hunter's Sketches. The item about the Rifle
Factory in Charlotte was obtained from an article by W. H.
Robarts in the Washing-ton Post, June 16, 1901.
CHAPTER IX.
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE; MAY 20, 1775.
of Election and Assembling of the Delegates— Excitement.
-The Addresses and the Committee on Resolutions — News of the
ittle <if Lexington — Declaration Unanimously Adopted — Tem-
porary Form of Government Provided.
mel Polk, by authority of the power previously vested
in him, issued the notice for the election of two delegates by
ii of the nine militia districts in the county. There should,
therefore, have been eighteen delegates to the convention.
When it assembled on the 19th of May. however, so many
prominent men were present that a dispute arose as to who
uld be termed delegates, and a compromise list containing
the nai twenty-seven of the best citizens was finally ac-
•ed. Rev. Humphrey Hunter, in his memoirs, says he
■it. being twenty year- of age, and that half of the
id Mecklenburg county were in Charlotte that day.
Delegates and some other leading citizens obtained seats
in ' in house, w'aile th< ee who could not get in gathered
in groups and discussed the issues among themselves. Or-
nization was perfected by the election of a chairman in
n of Abraham Alexander, who had been a magis-
trate and chairman "f the Inferior Court and a representa-
klenburg in the General Assembly. John Mc-
K nil t nder, who was also an honored magistrate, was
mat ry.
•n was intense, a- il became apparent that the
proclamati 1 f the King and the Governor made necessary
Ction on the part of the people. Every one
lized the importance of deliberate consideration before
declaration that could never be recalled. Rumors
NEWS OF THE BATTLE OF LEXINGTON.
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 47
were plentiful of offensive legislation by Parliament and of
other efforts to subdue the colonists and to quench the spirit
of freedom so rife among them. The colonies were prepar-
ing for war, and the time had come for all men to choose be-
tween England and America. Mecklenburg promptly de-
cided between the two, and then she went further in the be-
lief that if war must come, it should be fought for a purpose
rather than for a grievance. A revolution was more to be
desired than was an insurrection.
The addresses made to the convention demonstrated that
all the delegates were searching for truth and eagerly desir-
ing to know what was proper to be done. Among the lead-
ing speakers and advisers were Colonel William Kennon. a
distinguished lawyer of Salisbury; Rev. Hezekiah J. Balch,
an honored Presbyterian minister, and Dr. Ephraim Brevard.
The chief topics considered were the alarming condition of
the province which was being threatened yet was not arm-
ing, the restraint of provincial and export trade, unjust tax-
ation and the necessity for a form of government.
While the convention was thus occupied and the specta-
tors were intent upon the proceedings, a horseman galloped
into town, shouting as he came, the news of the battle of
Lexington. When he reached the court house, the people
surrounded him and listened with amazement to the news in
detail. Just one month before, the British troops had fired
upon a crowd of Americans and more than a score of them
were killed. Then the minute men responded and the Brit-
ish troops were forced to beat a precipitate retreat.
This news had a double effect on the delegates : the sac-
rifice of the patriots incited their sympathy, and the rout of
the British encouraged them in making a bold stroke for
liberty. Men who had cautioned against aggressive action
now shouted for a positive declaration of independence. The
last doubt was conquered and opposition was useless. A
committee composed of Dr. Brevard, Colonel Kennon and
48 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
Rev. Hezekiah Balch, was appointed to draw up resolutions
for the consideration of the convention.
During the absence of the committee, a new phase of the
situation developed. This was occasioned by an inquiry as
to how the delegates were to avoid the obligation of the oath
of loyalty imposed upon them after the defeat of the Regu-
lators. Some replied that the question did not deserve con-
sideration, but others discussed it seriously. The consensus
of opinion was that the king absolved the obligation of loy-
alty on the part of the Americans by declaring them in a
state of insurrection and out of his protection.
The various suggestions and resolutions were carefully
considered by the committee, and as a result, their report was
not submitted until after midnight. It was read by the sec-
retary and apparently gave entire satisfaction to the dele-
gates, as they at once began clamoring for its immediate
adoption. At 2 o'clock in the morning of May 20, the chair-
man put the question to a vote and the delegates and specta-
tors shouted : "Aye, Aye." The twenty-seven delegates then
went forward and signed the document as representatives
of all the people. It was agreed that the Declaration should
be proclaimed from the court house steps at noon, and at
that time it was read by Colonel Polk in the presence of
several thousand persons, who cheered the resolutions vvitli
great enthusiasm.
Captain James Jack was deputized to go to Philadelphia.
where the Continental Congress was sitting, and give copies
of the Declaration to the President of Congress and to each
of North Carolina's representatives. When he arrived in
Salisbury, he was induced by Colonel Kennon to tarry there
in order to allow the Declaration to be read in court, which
was in session. All who heard the reading expressed ap-
proval except two lawyers, Dunn and Booth, who called it
treason and endeavored to prevent Captain Jack's intended
trip to Philadelphia. They were foiled in the attempt and
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 49
were afterwards brought to Charlotte and punished for "un 7
faithfulness to the common cause." George Graham and
Colonel J. Carruth were among- the dozen men who went to
Salisbury and arrested the lawyers.
Meanwhile, Captain Jack arrived in Philadelphia June
2$, the day that General Washington left to take command
of the Continental army. He was met that day by William
Alexander, of Mecklenburg, who was there on business, and
who in his old age often told that he met Captain Jack at
that time and the Captain said he was there with copies of
the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence adopted May
20. Congress was then preparing the address to the king,
which was agreed to July 8, and which declared loyalty to
the king and repudiated the charge of a desire for independ-
ence. Hence it was not deemed prudent to publicly con-
sider the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, and
Captain Jack so reported the views of the President and our
representatives.
June 30, Governor Martin inclosed in a letter to the Earl
of Dartmouth a copy of the Cape Fear Mercury containing
the Mecklenburg Resolves of May 31. The Governor wrote
that the proceedings of that convention "surpasses all the
horrid and treasonable publications that the inflammatory
spirits of this continent have yet produced, and your Lord-
ship may depend its authors and abettors will not escape
my due notice, whenever my hands are sufficiently strength-
ened to attempt the recovery of the lost authority of govern-
ment. A copy of these resolves, I am informed, were sent
off by express to the Congress at Philadelphia as soon as
they were passed in the committee." August 8, he issued a
proclamation denouncing the action of the Mecklenburg peo-
ple as "most infamous" and "treasonable."
50 HISTORY OE MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
The Declaration, as signed, was as follows :
"ist. Resolved, That whosoever directly or indirectly
abets or in any way, form or manner, countenances the inva-
sion of our rights as attempted by the Parliament of Great
Britain, is an enemy to his country, to America, and the
rights of man.
"2d. Resolved, That we, the citizens of Mecklenburg
county, do hereby dissolve the political bands which have
connected us with the mother country ; and absolve ourselves
from the allegiance to the British Crown, abjuring all polit-
ical connection with a nation that has wantonly trampled on
our rights and liberties, and inhumanly shed the innocent
blood of Americans at Lexington.
"3d. Resolved, That we do hereby declare ourselves a free
and independent people, that we are and of right ought to be
a sovereign and self-governing people under the power of
God and the general Congress ; to the maintenance of which
independence we solemnly pledge to each other our mutual
co-operation, our lives, our fortunes and our most sacred
honor.
"4th. Resolved, That we do hereby ordain and adopt as
rules of conduct, all and each of our former laws, and the
crown of Great Britain cannot be considered hereafter as
holding any rights, privileges, or immunities amongst us.
"5th. Resolved, That all officers, both civil and military,
in this county, be entitled to exercise the same powers and
authorities as heretofore; that every member of this delega-
tion shall henceforth be a civil officer, and exercise the pow-
ers of a justice of the peace, issue process, hear and deter-
mine controversies according to law, preserve peace, union
and harmony in the county, and use every exertion to spread
the love of liberty and of country, until a more general and
better organized system of government be established.
"6th. Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be trans-
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
51
mitted by express to the President of the Continental Con-
gress assembled in Philadelphia, to be laid before that body.
Ephraim Brevard.
Hezekiah J. Balch,
John Phifer,
James Harris,
William Kennon,
John Ford,
Richard Barry,
Henry Downs,
Ezra Alexander,
William Graham,
John Oueary,
Hezekiah Alexander,
Adam Alexander,
John McKnitt
Charles Alexander,
Zaccheus Wilson,
Waightstill Avery,
Benjamin Patton,
Matthew McClure,
Neil Morrison,
Robert Irwin,
John FlEnnegin,
David Reese,
John Davidson,
Richard Harris,
Thomas Polk,
Abraham Alexander,
Alexander."
Authority: — Same as Previous Chapter, Jones' Defense,
Wheeler's History, Wheeler's Reminiscences, and Special
Investigations in the Libraries of Charleston, S. C, and Lon-
don, England.
CHAPTER X.
GOVERNMENT BY THE COMMITTEE. (1775 to 1776.)
Adjourned Meeting Held May 31 — Adopts Rules of Government Until
"Laws are Provided by Congress" — Proceedings Supplementary
to Previous Convention — The Two Official Declarations Com-
pared.
Jt will be observed that the Declaration did not make ade-
quate provisions for the government, of the county. In the
convention of May 20, the all-absorbing topic of interest was
the dissolution from Great Britain, and it remained for the
next meeting to complete the arrangements for laws and of-
ficers. The adjourned meeting was held May 31, and twenty
resolutions were then adopted. These resolutions are gen-
erally known as the "Resolves," while those of May 20 are
termed the "Declaration."
The Declaration was divided into five different parts or
resolutions. The first asserted that the cause of the Declara-
tion of Independence was "the unchartered and dangerous
invasion of our rights, as claimed by Great Britain." The
second dissolved the political bands connecting us with the
mother country, while the third declared our independence.
The fourth revoked all British authority and laws, but
adopted the latter "as a rule of life," and the fifth ordained
that each delegate present should thereafter be a "Justice of
the Peace in the character of a committeeman."
This document and the minutes of the various meetings
were in possession of John McKnitt Alexander, and were
lost in the fire that destroyed his house in 1800. Several
copies of the Declaration had been previously made : one
which was sent to Dr. Hugh Williamson, the historian, was
lost, but another sent to Judge Martin, which is known to
have been in his possession in 1793, was preserved. Soon
after the fire. John McKnitt Alexander re-wrote the Decla-
ration from memory, and this production is almost word for
GOVERNMENT BY THE COMMITTEE. 53
word like the Martin copy, thus showing Mr. Alexander's
familiarity with the famous document. The proceeding's of
the convention of May 31 were printed in the Cape Fear
Mercury in June, 1775, but the only known copy of the paper
was borrowed from the British Colonial Office by Hon. An-
drew Stevenson, the United States Minister to Great Britain,
in the year 1837, and was not returned.
The Resolves were also published in June in the South
Carolina Gazette and Country Journal, and copies of this
paper are now preserved in Charleston and in London.
These Resolves extend the actions of the convention of May
20, accepting as settled the new order of affairs following
the separation from England. The Resolves were drawn up
by Dr. Brevard, and signed by him as clerk by authority of
the committee, and they superseded the fourth and fifth reso-
lutions of May 20 and supplemented the Declaration of Inde-
pendence by definitely defining the authority under which the
county should be governed.
Independence having been declared eleven days previous-
ly, the Resolves begin with the reasons for the establishment
of the forms of government therein contained. The first
paragraph recites that all previous laws and commissions
were established by the authority and consent of the king,
and that they were suspended when the king declared the col-
onies out of his protection, and therefore could not be in
effect unless re-established. Recognizing the legitimate au-
thority of the Continental and Provincial Congresses, the
laws and regulations following were enacted "for the inter-
nal government of this county, until laws shall be provided
for us by the Congress."
It was then stipulated that each militia company should
assemble at some convenient point and choose from their
own number two men to serve as "Selectmen." A Select-
man had jurisdiction over all matters of a civil nature
wherein not more than twenty shillings was concerned, and
two Selectmen sitting together could try cases involving as
much as forty shillings. One constable was provided for
54 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
each of these officers, and authority was given them also to
commit to confinement any person accused of petit larceny.
The eighteen Selectmen in the county were to meet four
times a year to try all cases not in the jurisdiction of any of
them separately, and to hear appeals. All money for rents
and public and county taxes was to be paid into the hands of
the chairman of the committee and "disbursed as required by
public exigencies." The militia was advised to equip them-
selves with arms and accoutrements, and hold themselves in
readiness to execute the commands of the general Congress
or of the committee, and Thomas Polk and Dr. Joseph Ken-
nedy were directed to purchase three hundred pounds of
powder, six hundred pounds of lead and one thousand flints.
Thus it will be noted that the Convention of May 20 rein-
stated the old laws and officers with a few changes, and the
Resolves allowed these officers to be elected by the people.
The officers and laws, however, remained practically as be-
fore the Declaration, though it was expressly stated that the
officers should "exercise their powers independent of the
Crown of Great Britain."
Ample provision was made for the collection of debts.
Persons owing so much as forty shillings could be prevented
from leaving the county, and property could be levied on for
the amount. Any Selectman could issue the warrant upon
oath of the creditor. The government was strong and ef-
ficient, and there was but little opposition to it. When a
person desired to leave the county, a certificate was given
him stating that he was a friend to the "common cause."
The third Provincial Congress met in Hillsboro August
20, 1775, and Mecklenburg was represented by Thomas
Polk, John Phifer, John McKnitt Alexander, Samuel Mar-
tin, Waightstill Avery and James Houston, the four first
named having signed the Mecklenburg Declaration of Inde-
pendence. At this session, a provisional government was in-
stituted for the State, with Cornelius Harnett at the head,
and the State was divided into six general militia districts.
The Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge was fought February
GOVERNMENT BY THE COMMITTEE. 55
27 following, at which time the Patriots won a decisive vic-
tory over the Tories.
John Phifer, Robert Irwin and John McKnitt Alexander
represented the county in the Congress that convened April
12, 1776, and they were instructed by the county committee
to declare for independence. The Congress took this action,
and was the first of the thirteen to so instruct her representa-
tives in Philadelphia. The Constitution of North Carolina
was adopted December 18, 1776, and this provided for com-
mittees of safety to govern each county. While the govern-
ment of Mecklenburg was not modified, yet this action super-
seded the authority of the conventions held in May, 1775,
and the laws then adopted "until laws shall be provided for
us by the Congress."
Authority : — Same as Previous Chapter, and an Original
Copy of the South Carolina Gazette and Country Journal of
June 13, 1775.
CHAPTER XI.
THE REVOLUTION. (1776 to 1780.)
Organization of the State Military Forces — Prominent Parts Taken
by Mecklenburg Men — Scovilite and Tory Campaigns — The Con-
tinental Troops — Governor Caswell in Charlotte.
The Provincial Congress of August, 1775, arranged for
three classes of military troops in the State. First were two
continental regiments under Colonels Moore and Howe, and
in the first of which George Davidson and George Graham,
of Mecklenburg, were officers. Six battalions of minute
men were provided for, each battalion to consist of two com-
panies of fifty men each, and Mecklenburg's levy was one
hundred men. Of the county militia, the officers were Colo-
nel Thomas Polk, Lieutenant-Colonel Adam Alexander,
Major John Phifer and Second Major John Davidson.
April, 1776, four additional continental regiments were or-
ganized, and Colonel Polk became commander of the Fourth
regiment. At the same time the militia was reorganized
on account of resignations and because some of the first of-
ficers were disloyal. The Mecklenburg officers were pro-
moted after Colonel Polk left the militia, and George A.
Alexander became Second Major. In November of 1775, a
bill was passed authorizing a company of volunteer rangers
in the county, and the officers were Captain Ezekiel Polk
and Lieutenants Samuel Watson and William Polk.
Thomas Polk was one of the most active men in the State,
and he and William Kennon were on the committee to pre-
pare a temporary plan of government. Waightstill Avery
was a member of the Provincial Council of thirteen, of which
Cornelius Harnett was chairman. There were six district
committees of safety, and Mecklenburg was represented in
the Salisbury district committee by Hezekiah Alexander
and Bejamin Patton. Then there were thirty-six county
SKETCH o///lt C ATAWBA K IV E R at ~W COWANS FORD .
l.ngraved ror Sled man * Hiltory or Ihi American War.
THE REVOLUTION. 57
•committees of 21 members each, which met four times a
year to take action against Tories, and to attend to questions
of confiscation and other military affairs. Two companies
of "light horse" were raised in the Salisbury district, and
Martin Phifer was captain of the Second. May 11, 1776,
the Provincial Council was superseded by the State Council
of Safety, of which Hezekiah Alexander was a member.
In December, 1775, Colonels Rutherford, Graham, Cas-
well, Martin and Polk, with six hundred men, went to South
Carolina and assisted General Richardson in his campaign
against the Scovilites, a lawless band of men who defied all
authority. This was called the Snow Camp Campaign on
account of the snow falling so heavily during the march. A
notable declaration made at this time was by the young ladies
of Mecklenburg, who resolved to have nothing to do with
any boys who had not volunteered for the march against the
Scovilites.
In the summer of 1776, General Rutherford was engaged
in a campaign against the Cherokee Indians. Several skir-
mishes were fought in the neighborhood of the present town
of Franklin, and the Indians were reduced to quietude and
signed a treaty of peace in the following May. On this ex-
pedition. Captain Charles Polk commanded a company of
Mecklenburg militia which was accompanied by Dr.
Ephraim Brevard. Colonel Adam Alexander, Lieutenant-
Colonel John Phifer, Major John Davidson and Jesse A.
Alexander also participated in the expedition. Waightstill
Avery was active in the work of preparing a constitution and
the laws for State government, and became Attorney Gen-
eral immediately after the constitution was adopted. Decem-
ber 18, 1776.
The North Carolina brigade of 9,400 men, was formed at
Wilmington in July, 1776. William Davidson was at this
time Lieutenant-Colonel of the Third regiment, William
Polk was Major in the Ninth, and Charles Alexander was a
Lieutenant in the Fourth regiment, of which Thomas Polk
was Colonel. The brigade remained in North Carolina and
58 HISTORY OF MECKLKNBURG COUNTY.
South Carolina until March, 1777, when it was ordered
north and arrived in Philadelphia the first of July. The
Mecklenburg troops were in the battles of Brandywine and
Germantown, and in the latter, Major William Polk was
slightly wounded. They spent the winter with General
Washington at Valley Forge, and in May, 1778, they were
consolidated into four regiments, numbering in all only
1,157 officers and men. Three thousand North Carolina
militiamen were drafted in the continental service for nine
months, and, with Washington's army, took part in the cam-
paign in the winter of 1 778-1 779.
When the continental regiments were consolidated. Colo-
nel Polk resigned his commission and returned to his home.
He did not hold a position of prominence again until Sep-
tember 15, 1780, when he was appointed Commissary-Gen-
eral by General Green, who succeeded General Gates, in
Charlotte, December 3, 1780, but in the meantime he was ac-
tive in county affairs and in the defense of the home people.
The notable services of Polk and of his sons are worthy of
all honor. Captain Thomas Polk, Jr., was killed at Eutaw
Springs while fighting bravely September 8, 1781. William
Polk was wounded in the Scovilite campaign and also at
Germantown, and Captain Charles Polk was active through-
out the war. During Colonel Polk's service as commissary
for General Greene's army, money was scarce and Colonel
Polk expended all his private funds in the public cause, part
of it, however, being afterwards returned to him.
In February, 1779, a Tory insurrection gained considera-
ble strength in Tryon county, and troops were collected to
suppress it. David Wilson commanded a company of Meck-
lenburg "light horse" in this campaign, which was in every
way successful. May 1, a levy for clothing for the conti-
nental troops was made, and this county was called upon to
supply 72 hats, 144 pairs of shoes and stockings, 304 yards
of linen and 144 yards of woolen or double- woven cloth.
The term of service of nearly all the North Carolina
troops expired in April, 1779. and the soldiers returned to
THE REVOLUTION. 59
their homes. The General Assembly directed the Governor
to draft 2,000 of the militia, most of whom were to be sent
to the defense of Charleston. Governor Caswell and the
State Council came to Charlotte April 10, and here reviewed
the soldiers who were to go to Charleston, and the next day.
General Butler, with 700 troops, began the march. While
here the Governor commissioned "William R. Davie a lieu-
tenant in the light horse company, of which William Bar-
nett was captain.
During these trying times, the men of Mecklenburg were
nobly doing the duty of true patriots. This county sent
soldiers to fight under Washington, to help South Caro-
lina and Georgia, to drive back the Indians and to suppress
insurrections ; and when the task of defending their homes
devolved upon them, they put up a fight that is one of the
noblest in history. While the men were doing these things,
the women were no less zealous in their patriotism. They
made clothes for the soldiers, nursed the sick and wounded
and encouraged the feeble-minded by their sacrifices and
their courage.
Authority : — Colonial Records, Personal Correspondence,
Eggleston's History of the United States, and Johnson's
Reminiscences of the Revolution.
CHAPTER XII.
THE HORNETS' NEST. (1780 to 1782.)
Surrender of Charleston — Battle of Rarusour's Mill — Davidson and
Davie Harass the British — Reception of Cornwallis in Charlotte.
— Surprise at Mclntyre's, Battle of King's Mountain and De-
parture of the British — General Davidson Killed at Cowan's
Ford.
Charleston surrendered to the British forces May 12,
1780. At this time General William Caswell and Colonel
Buford were at Lanier's Ferry, on the Santee river, with 400
men each. The British marched from Charleston to Cam-
den, and Caswell fell back to Cross Creek, N. C, where he
was June 2. Buford, with his small force, retreated towards
Charlotte, but was intercepted at Waxhaw by Lieutenant-
Colonel Tarleton with a superior force, and his detachment
was cut to pieces on the 29th day of May. Shortly after this
engagement, Mrs. Jackson, the mother of Andrew Jackson,
moved with her children from Waxhaw and lived for some
time with a widow at Sugar creek, and Andrew was often
in Charlotte.
The patriots in the vicinity of Charlotte, as well as all
in North Carolina, were much discouraged. Nearly the
entire military strength of the State had been surrendered
at Charleston, leaving the country practically without
any means of defense against the approaching invaders.
General Rutherford, with a small body of troops, was watch-
ing General Rawdon at Hanging Rock when he received in-
telligence of a Tory uprising in the neighborhood of Ram-
sour's Mill. Being unwilling to leave Charlotte unprotected,
he ordered Colonel Francis Locke to raise troops to quell
the Tories, he himself intending to join Locke before the at-
tack. Colonel Locke, with several capable assistants, col-
lected about 400 men, and without waiting for reinforce-
ments, fell upon the 1,100 Tories June 20, and inflicted upon
the hornets' nest. 6i
them a crushing defeat. General Rutherford appeared on
the scene before the battle had ended, and his cavalry assisted
in the pursuit of the vanquished Tories. William and Ezra
Alexander were captains in General Davidson's battalion at
this event.
Rutherford's command now joined General Gates, and par-
ticipated in the battle of Camden August 16, which resulted
in the disastrous defeat of the Americans, General Ruther-
ford being taken prisoner. The command of Rutherford's
brigade thereupon devolved upon General Davidson, who
camped eight miles below Charlotte to recuperate his troops.
Caswell and Sumner formed a camp of militia in Charlotte,
but retreated toward the north when Cornwallis left Cam-
den September 8. Davidson and Davie, with their inferior
forces, were all that opposed the entry of Lord Cornwallis
into the State, but they prepared to defend their homes to
the bitter end.
These intrepid soldiers did all in their power to harrass
the British, and succeeded in impeding their progress con-
siderably. They captured sentries and spies, and so alarmed
Cornwallis by capturing small foraging parties that he would
not send out less than a regiment for that purpose. Every
step of the British march was greeted with a rifle shot
from the woods and the determined persistent opposition
did much to dishearten the conquering army.
Major Davie surprised the British at Captain Wahab's,
near the South Carolina line. September 21, and inflicted
damage upon them, the killed and wounded numbering about
60. At various other times he attacked and routed small
bodies of foragers and guards, and he was continually near
the British army. September 10, he, with General David-
son, annihilated a body of Tories two miles from the British
camp, which was then at Waxhaw. General Davidson then
located at McAlpin's creek, eight miles south of Charlotte,
with 400 men. At midnight of September 25, Davie, with
one hundred and fifty cavalry, entered Charlotte, where he
was joined by Major Joseph Graham, the young hero who
62 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
had done much fighting with a small band of volunteer's.
Cornwallis left Waxhaw September 24, and about 1 1 o'clock
September 26, his advance guard entered Charlotte, ap-
proaching from the south by Trade street.
Davie and Graham had made ample provision for a strong
resistance, and it is superfluous to mention the bravery of
these patriots who resisted so gloriously a victorious army
outnumbering them 15 to 1. Major Graham was in com-
mand of a company that advanced along East Trade street,
protected by the houses and fences and trees on each side.
Another company was dismounted and placed behind the
stone wall surrounding the space underneath the court house,
while the others were held in reserve. Tarleton's cavalry,
under the immediate command of Major Hanger, formed
in line within three hundred yards of the court house, and
were supported by solid ranks of infantry. The order to
charge was given and obeyed, and then the Americans, who
had kept quiet, calmly delivered a galling fire which threw
the attacking party into such confusion that they turned
and galloped back in disorder. Two other charges were
similarly repulsed, but meanwhile the British infantry had
steadily advanced, and it became apparent that the work of
the day was about completed, and the retreat was begun.
The noble defenders were vigorously pursued, but under
cover of nightfall, succeeded in avoiding capture. Lieuten-
ant George Locke and four privates were killed, and Major
Joseph Graham and five privates were wounded, and the
enemy lost 45 in killed and wounded.
Cornwallis remained in Charlotte sixteen days, during
which time his position fully justified him in naming the
town "The Hornets' Nest." As an illustration of the re-
spect he had for his enemies, he sent Major Doyle with 450
cavalry and forty wagons on a foraging expedition, October
3. The country people saw them passing gaily along the
road, and Captain James Thompson and Captain George
Graham, with about a dozen armed men, followed them to
Mclntyre's farm. Here the foragers began loading the
THE HORNETS' NEST. 63
wagons with the fat of the land ; the dogs were set to chasing
chickens, a bee hive was turned over and the bees chased the
soldiers, and altogether it made a merry scene. A red faced
captain was standing on the doorsteps laughing boister-
ously, when one of the men in ambush said to his compan-
ions, "I can't wait any longer; let every one pick his man;
the captain is mine." At the fusillade that followed, the
British were confused and ran madly about the yard looking
for a place of refuge from what appeared to be a complete
ambuscade. Major Doyle hurried up and the troops at once
set out toward Charlotte; patriots all along the road took up
the fight, and the flight was precipitate and disorderly until
Charlotte was reached.
October 5, 1780, General Sumner retreated across the
Yadkin, leaving the enemy in force in this county. Two
days later, the Board of War wrote to Governor Nash that
Josiah Martin, who called himself Governor of North Caro-
lina, was in Charlotte signing official papers and offering in-
ducements to Tories. The battle of King's Mountain was
fought October 7. Colonel Patrick Ferguson, an able and a
favorite officer of Lord Cornwallis, had been sent out some
time before to head off the Whigs, who were retreating to-
ward the mountains, and his command, which originally
consisted of no regulars and about the same number of
Tories, included a full thousand men at the time of the bat-
tle. Colonels Campbell, Shelby, Hambright, Sevier, Win-
ston, McDowell, Cleveland and Williams combined and
raised a force to "catch Ferguson," who was openly boast-
ing of things he was going to do. These officers, with an
army nearly as large as Ferguson's, pursued him and came
upon him on King's Mountain. The fighting began about
3 o'clock in the afternoon, and in little more than an hour,
Ferguson was killed and all his men killed, wounded or cap-
tured.
These events so affected Lord Cornwallis that he resolved
to leave this section, and on the twelfth day of October, he
departed from Charlotte, leaving behind much plunder that
64 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
he was unable or unwilling to carry with him. Though he
had been very unwelcome, he was not even allowed to de-
part in peace, for General Davidson, who had been at Camp
McKnitt Alexander, in the northern part of the county, be-
gan to impede his progress, and he was ably assisted by
Davie, Graham and others.
General Rutherford was released from prison about this
time, and he at once raised three companies of dragoons and
two hundred cavalry. Assisted by Colonel Robert Irwin
and Major Joseph Graham, he marched toward Wil-
mington, defeated the Tories at Raft swamp and another
body near Wilmington, and Colonel Gagney near Lake
Waccamaw. In December, Major Joseph Graham enlisted
fifty riflemen, captured the British guard at Hart's Mill,
was with Lee at Pyle's hacking match and Clapp's mine, and
with Colonel Washington at Whitsell's mill. February 1,
1 78 1, the Grahams and the Polks were with General David-
son when he, with three hundred men, intercepted Cornwal-
lis at Cowan's Ford, where the Americans were defeated and
General Davidson was killed. Richard Barry, David Wilson
and other soldiers took the body of the dead general to the
home of Samuel Wilson, St., where it was prepared for
burial and interred by torchlight in the Hopewell cemetery.
Authority : — Same as Previous Chapter. Wheeler's His-
tory and Hunter's Sketches.
CHAPTER XIII.
CLOSE OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. (1776 to 1800.)
War Times and County Affairs — Lawyers and Legislative Proceed-
ings — Monetary System — Public Buildings and Industries — An-
drew Jackson and James Knox Polk Born in Mecklenburg.
— George Washington in Charlotte.
The transition of the power of government from the king
to the people occasioned no marked change except in the au-
thority. There was no< revolution in laws and officers in
Mecklenburg, but affairs remained much as they were before
the Declaration of Independence. People in this county
were fortunate from the first in having officers of their own
choosing, it being customary for several good men to be sug-
gested to the Royal Governor for his selection for each of-
fice.
During the war, confiscation commissioners were appoint-
ed at different points in the county, their duty being to seize
any property of Royalists and to watch suspected parties.
The old county court, composed of the justices of the county,
met four times each year to try appeals and cases out of the
jurisdiction of themselves separately. It was their duty also
to elect the sheriff" and register and clerk of the court. An-
other department of the government was the commissioners
for the poor. They employed a man as superintendent to
look after the destitute, and in 1872, he reported his expenses
for the year at $80.
Counties were then divided into sections called militia dis-
tricts. There was a captain of the militia, a tax lister and
two magistrates in each one; taxes were listed during the
last six "working days" of July. In 1775, there were only
nine of these districts, but the number was increased to sev-
enteen in 1777. and to nineteen in 1784, at which number it
remained to the close of the century.
66 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
Mecklenburg did not lack for lawyers in the early days.
In 1774, when Charlotte contained less than 200 inhabitants,
there were rive local lawyers, and at every court several from
other counties were present. Waightstill Avery came about
1767, and he was the leading lawyer during the Revolution
and for some time afterwards. At the court held in October,
1778, Spruce McKay presented a license to practice law,
signed by Judges Samuel Spencer and Samuel Ashe. Wm.
R. Davie was the attorney for the State at the October term,
1779, and in 1783, Adlai Osborne was county attorney, and
his pay was £10 for every court attended. Within the last
quarter of the century, about thirty lawyers were licensed to
practice in the Mecklenburg court, but not more than ten or
twelve lived in the county at any one time.
Fees to lawyers were not different from what they now
are. In 1764, Richard Henderson was paid £34 for prose-
cuting Berry for the murder of Hugh Irwin. November 12,
1773. Wm. Smith received £7 for services as administrator
of an estate. In 1794, Daniel Brown was paid two guineas
for prosecuting two suits for John Bigham in the Lancaster,
S. C, court, and in 1796, Wm. J. Alexander received £4
from Allen Reed for fees in a suit in chancery.
Legislatures were much occupied during this period with
local laws. In 1779, the Rocky river fish law was enacted,
prohibiting obstructions in the river which had been built to
catch the fish, and in 1786, several other rivers were included
in the provisions of the act. In 1779, the county was divided
into two military divisions on account "of Charlotte being in
an uncentral position and the necessity for all men to attend
court-martials and other military duties." When water
overflowed as a result of a mill dam, and damaged land, the
law provided that the land owner should give ten days' notice
and make application to the county court to order the sheriff
to make an investigation and assess the amount of damages
to be paid by the mill owner.
Until the United States monetary system was organized,
there was great inconvenience caused by the money in circu-
CLOSE OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. 6/
lation. Paper money was subjected to all manner of fluctua-
tions during the war times, and was not worth its face value
in "solid money" at any time. Gold and currency were used
here with the stamp of North Carolina, South Carolina,
Continental, Spanish and English, and exchange was con-
sequently very annoying. The amount in circulation was
also insufficient, and before and after the war, efforts were
made to have certain commodities made legal tender for
debts and taxes, but the plan did not meet with general
approval.
The permanent location of the capital of the county in
Charlotte, in 1774, was the first impetus to progress that the
town received. The second incentive was the incorporation
of Liberty Hall Academy in 1777. These events contribu-
ted much to the growth of Charlotte, causing people to
purchase lots and move to the village for purposes of trade
and to enjoy the educational advantages not to be obtained
in the country.
Public buildings in the town in 1775 consisted of a jail,
court house and stocks. In the county charges of 1774, fifty
pounds was taxed for a jail, and in the next year an
equal amount was again expended on the buildings. The
court house, which was built in 1767, was repaired in
1773 and again in 1774. In July, 1778, the county court
ordered Sheriff Thomas Harris to employ workmen to make
such "alterations and repairs within the court house as he
may think proper in order to render the same more conven-
ient for lawyers and other officers of court to execute their
respective duties without interruption or confusion."
In October, 1779, Thomas Polk and Duncan Ochiltree
were appointed commissioners to "impale or otherwise in-
close the under part of the court house" in order to make it
agreeable as an exchange, and a stone wall was accordingly
built around it. The court house was so damaged at the
time of the British invasion and occupation of 1780 and
1 781, that court was held in Joseph Nicholson's house until
April of 1782.
68 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
In September, 1786, the total population of Charlotte was
276. Of these 123, or nearly one-half, were negroes; of the
remaining 153 white people, 69 were females and 84 were
males. The population of the entire county at this time was
about 9,000, which increased to 19,439 by the close of
the century. The value of town property in 1796 was re-
turned as $4,264. In 1795, the number of acres of land
listed for taxation was 211,533, ar *d in 1797, it was 273,284.
The variance in the figures is accounted for by the failure of
some to list their property.
There was no United States postofnce in Charlotte before
1792, in which year the local officers for the first time took
the oath of allegiance to the Federal government. Edward
Waine and Ephraim B. Davidson held the position as post-
master before 1800.
The only industries in Charlotte at the close of this period
were a flour mill, saw mill and a blacksmith shop. Besides
these, however, might be mentioned a number of taverns, a
maker of rifles, and the merchants, tailors, weavers and hat-
ters. Jeremiah McCafferty opened a store in Charlotte as
early as 1771, and three others were doing business prior
to the Revolution. The firm of Ochiltree, Martin & Co.
were merchandising as late as 1780, and in 1783, the same
firm was doing business under the name of Ochiltree & Polk,
and there were many other traders in the town and county.
Andrew Jackson, seventh President of the United States,
was born in the southeastern part of Mecklenburg, six miles
from the present town of Waxhaw, in what is now Union
county, March 15, 1767, and soon after his birth, his wid-
owed mother moved with her children into South Carolina.
In the records of the October term of the county court in
1787, is this entry:
"\V. Copples, Andrew Jackson and Alexander McGinty,
Esquires, come into Court and produce License from the
Honorable, the Judges of the Superior Court of Taw and
Equity, authorizing them to practice as Attorneys in the sev-
CLOSE OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. 69
eral County Courts within this State, and having taken the
oath of office, ordered that they be admitted accordingly."
November 2, 1795, James Knox Polk, eleventh President
of the United States, was born between Hopewell and Hun-
tersville, at the home of his mother's parents, Mr. and Mrs.
James Knox. His father, Samuel Polk, was a son of Ezekiel
Polk, and in 1806, when James Knox Polk was eleven years
of age, moved with his family to Tennessee.
George Washington was in Charlotte May 25, 1791,
being on a tour through the South. He dined with Gen.
Polk with a party of the most prominent citizens of the
county, who had been invited to meet the distinguished
guest.
Authority: — Colonial and County Records. The birth-
place of Jackson was decided definitely by Parton's Biogra-
phy. Appleton's Encyclopedia, the Land Records and Col.
S. H. Walkup's Publication.
CHAPTER XIV.
EDUCATION BEFORE 1800.
First Teachers and Schools in Mecklenburg — Qualifications of Teach-
ers and Nature of Instruction — Grammar and Classical Schools.
— Queen's College, Queen's Museum and Liberty Hall.
The first school teachers in Mecklenburg of whom there
are any records, were at their work in 1762, about the time
the county was established. So that, properly, the history of
education in Mecklenburg begins with the history of Meck-
lenburg itself. February 9, 1762, Charles Moore, who lived
in the lower part of the county, which is now in South Caro-
lina, gave to Andrew Armon a receipt for four pounds and
fifteen shillings in full payment of a note from his father for
"schooling." As this teacher was practicing his vocation
in a part of the county then most thinly settled, it is within
the bounds of proper inference to say there must have been
teachers before that time in the neighborhoods of Rocky
river. Sugar creek. Steele creek, and Providence. Moses
Ferguson taught near where the Barringers lived, and later
at Steele creek before 1762, and he was one of the teachers
mentioned by Governor Dobbs in 1755 as being employed
by a number of Irish Protestant families who had banded
together in order to have their children educated.
There were but few school houses in the county before
the Revolution, it being the custom for the teachers to work
at their homes or at the homes of the patrons. By 1775,
however, there were school buildings in Charlotte and at
Rocky river, Clear creek, Sugar and Steele creeks, Provi-
dence, Hopewell, Beatty's ford and one between Providence
and the present town of Monroe. The Sugar creek gram-
mar school was one of the most noted in this section. Some
teachers would teach in one community a few months, and
then move to another, and in this way were engaged in their
k \
*-$*£
en
en
H
or
o
D
o
H
CM
I— H
H
O
w
EDUCATION BEFORE l80O. J I
work during the whole year. They did not depend for their
living entirely upon tuition, as records are plentiful. of teach-
ers "crying sales" and "trading horses."
Writing, reading, spelling and arithmetic were the sub-
jects taught in these first schools. The Bible was often
used as the text book for reading, but considerable difficulty
was encountered in securing a sufficient number of arithme-
tics. The teacher, of course, possessed one, and he or the
pupils would copy portions of it for the use of the school.
Some books were kept for sale by the merchants in Meck-
lenburg, but these were of a religious character, and the text
books were usually purchased in Charleston and brought
back by the traders.
People of those days had practical ideas about everything.
It was deemed important that children be taught the rudi-
ments of education, and some were sent north to college,
but the things most highly considered were religious and in-
dustrial training. Parents believed it essential that the-ir
children be given instruction in the Bible, Catechism and re-
ligious doctrines, and that each one be trained in some trade.
Provisions were made by wills and otherwise for a child to
be given a certain amount of "schooling" and to be bound
to some man who would agree to instruct him in "the art
and mystery of weaving," "tailoring" or any of the similar
industries. It was customary for all orphans to be bound in
this way until they became twenty-one years of age, and
thus each one was fitted to earn an independent living.
There are many records of bills, charges against estates
and receipts for "schooling" prior to the Revolutionary war.
In September, 1775, John Patterson, schoolmaster, circu-
lated articles of agreement to teach a school in the northern
part of the county. The contract stipulated that the master
should "well and truly teach, according to custom, spelling,
reading, writing and arithmetic," and that the patrons
should "cut and lay convenient to the school house a suf-
ficiency of firewood for the year." The school opened Octo-
ber 5, 1775. and continued six months, the teacher's remu-
72 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
neration being "equivalent to six months' wages with board
and lodging." Teachers were paid the same wages as com-
mon hired men.
After the Revolution there were several popular schools
in the county. Dr. McCorkle taught at Thyatira, Dr. Rob-
inson at Poplar Tent, Dr. Wilson at Rocky river, Caldwell
at Sugar creek and James Walters at Providence. Besides
these men, who were located permanently in their respective
neighborhoods, there were many traveling teachers. In
1773, Kerns Henderson taught the two children of Joseph
Sample at a "musick school." Elizabeth Cummins, who
taught a four months' school in the county in 1774, was
Mecklenburg's first lady teacher. Clio's Nursery and Sci-
ence Hall were taught by Rev. James Hall, the pastor of
Fourth creek, Concord and Bethany.
Elijah Alexander taught a school at his home in 1791,
and boarded a number of "scholars." In some of the best
schools by this date, geography and Latin were added to the
usual course of instruction. As early as 1787, John Mc-
Kemey Wilson was at school away from home, and in 1790,
Thomas Polk spoke of James Polk as "soon to leave for
Williamsburg for school." Boarding schools in the county
were rare, but it was not uncommon by the close of the cen-
tury for boys to be away from home attending school.
December 5, 1770, Governor Tryon suggested to the As-
sembly the wisdom of establishing in the back country a
school for "higher learning," and the idea met with the
prompt approval of the representatives. A committee was
appointed to consider the matter, and the chairman. Edmund
Planning, soon presented a bill establishing and endowing
Queen's College, in Charlotte, and it was enacted and ap-
proved by the Governor January 15, 1771. The board of
trustees included the most distinguished men in the county,
and they met March 1, 1771, and elected Edmund Fanning
president, and three tutors, of whom Rev. Joseph Alexander
was one; and Thomas Polk was elected treasurer. This in-
stitution began with favorable indications of success, but it
-^
F5
S
I
3N
>
4
3 £ ^ >
•O
tr-
e-
es
— I
X
o
<
O
J
J
s
EDUCATION BEFORE l8oO. 73
was hampered by the dissensions in the county, caused by
the court house controversy, land troubles and Regulators.
In June, 1773, Governor Martin issued a proclamation giv-
ing notice that the king had disallowed the charter. The only
apparent reason was that the college, being in a Presbyterian
stronghold, would tend to encourage dissenters from the es-
tablished Church of England. The school continued for
some time without a charter, though the patronage was not
encouraging.
In 1773, Martin Phifer endeavored to get a new charter
for the Charlotte school under the title of Queen's Museum.
Though his effort was unsuccessful, the people of the town
in the next year began a school under that name as successor
to Queen's College, which had been abandoned. Thomas
Polk, Abraham Alexander and others, persevered in the
face of repeated disaster in their desire to have a high grade
school in Charlotte. John McEwen was given a diploma by
Queen's Museum in 1776, but about that time the name was
again changed, this time to Liberty Hall Academy.
Liberty Hall Academy was incorporated in 1777, and Rob-
ert Brownfield, of Mecklenburg, was president for the first
year. He was succeeded by Dr. McWhorter. of New Jersey,
who held the office until the institution was closed in 1780 on
account of Cornwallis' invasion. It enjoyed great prosper-
ity during the first years of its existence, but the war im-
peded its progress until finally it was forced to suspend.
In 1760, Crowfield Academy was established about two
and a half miles northeast of the present site of Davidson
College. It continued in great usefulness until the British
invasion in 1780, during which time instruction was given
to many men who afterwards became prominent.
These first schools of "higher learning" included Latin,
Greek, Hebrew, Philosophy and Theology in their course of
instruction, in addition to that of the common schools. They
were supported by tuition, donations, a tax on liquor, and
occasionally lotteries were allowed to assist them. Girls did
not attend them, as the necessity for their education equal
with bovs was not then manifest, and all the instruction thev
74 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
received was merely enough to equip them to study the Bible
and Catechism.
The more prominent citizens of these times possessed con-
siderable libraries, but among the poorer classes books were
scarce. At the close of the eighteenth century, a few books
of a substantial character were owned by almost every fam-
ily. The Bible was the most popular, and the others gener-
ally used were the Westminster Confession among the Pres-
byterians, Luther's Bible and Catechism among the Ger-
mans, and the Book of Common Prayer among the few ad-
herents of the Established Church. The Almanac was about
the only current literature obtainable, except in rare in-
stances, when the leading men would go to Charleston to
trade and would bring back some newspapers.
Authority : — County Records, Bills, Receipts, Personal
Accounts, Raper's Church and Private School History, and
Charles Lee Smith's History of Education in North Caro-
lina issued by the Federal Government in 1888.
CHAPTER XV.
RELIGION AND CHURCHES FROM 1748 TO 1800.
Presbyterians Most Numerous in the Early Times — Rev. Hugh Mc-
Aden, Rev. John Thompson and Rev. Alexander Craighead the
First Preachers — Seven Noted Churches and Some of Their Cus-
toms.
It has been already stated that the two principal classes of
the people who settled Mecklenburg were the Germans and
the Scotch-Irish. The Germans were Lutherans and Ger-
man Reform in their religious beliefs, while the Scotch-
Irish, who were their superiors in numbers, were Presbyte-
rians. In 1755, when Governor Dobbs made his visit to this
section of the province, he reported that these Scotch-Irish
had joined in bands of twenty or more families in order to
have teachers and preachers of their own choosing.
A deed recorded in 1765 mentions the '"old meeting
house" on Rocky river, which was probably built in 1758, as
Dobbs would no doubt have recorded the fact had there been
a church in the county at the time of his visit. In 1755,
however, the congregations of Rocky river and Sugar
creek petitioned the New York Synod for a preacher, but
none was sent at that time. Rev. John Thompson was
preaching in the county in 1752.
In October and November of 1755, Rev. Hugh McAden
made a missionary journey through the county, and reported
that he preached to "some pretty serious and judicious peo-
ple," and that "all had great desire for the Gospel and took
much interest in spiritual things." He preached at the homes
of Moses Alexander. Major Harris. David Caldwell, James
Alexander, and in the Waxhaw settlements. November 23,
he was at the church "five miles from Henry White's,"
and this was the first church ever used in the county.
Rev. Alexander Craighead, of Augusta county, Va.. ac-
y6 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
cepted the call to the Rocky river and Sugar creek congre-
gations in 1759, and at this time both the congregations
had churches. When McAden visited the county he found
the Presbyterians divided into two parties, one of which was
called the "New Side" and favored the revivalist practices of
Whitfield, while the "Old Side" was opposed to them. Craig-
head was a revivalist and a follower of Whitfield, and a
majority were in his favor, but. after his death, in 1766, the
"New Side" lost prestige and never regained it except for a
brief while in 1800, when the great revival swept over this
part of the State.
The career of this first minister is full of interest. That
he was independent and fearless in thought and action is
evidenced by his withdrawal from the Philadelphia Synod
in 1 741, at which time he was accused of "irregularities" in
his teachings, and he in turn accused his accusers of coldness,
formality and Pharisaism. He was courageous and felt
strongly, but he controlled his feelings within the bounds of
reason and order. The Scotch-Irish were loyal to the gov-
ernment, but demanded the right to choose their own reli-
gious instructors, believing the prevention of it meant de-
struction of religious liberty.
The years intervening between 1755 and 1770 may be
termed the formative period of the county, in religious af-
fairs as in all others. The unsettled conditions, the bound-
ary dispute, the hostility of the Indians and the fierce
struggle for existence in a country with no roads, markets
far away and little or no currency, makes it wonderful that
even a little was accomplished in the higher walks of life.
The settlers of Sugar creek selected a site for a common
burial place in 1763, and the oldest marked grave in that
hallowed spot bears the date of that year.
Before 1770, there were Presbyterians, Lutherans. Ger-
man Calvinists, a few Baptists, and some extreme followers
of Whitfield known as "New Lights," in Mecklenburg coun-
ty. Presbyterians and Germans alone had established
churches by that time. The churches at Steele creek, Hope-
well. Center, Sugar creek. Rocky river, Poplar Tent, New
RELIGION AND CHURCHES FROM 1 748 TO 180O. JJ
Providence, Coldwater, the German churches west of the
Catawba and the Clear creek church had all assumed a per-
manent place in our local history and had begun the impor-
tant part they afterwards accomplished in the development
of the county.
With the more perfect organization of the Presbyterian
churches and the settlement here of several preachers of that
faith who claimed equal authority with ministers of the Es-
tablished church, the question of removing the restrictions
which prevented Presbyterian ministers from performing the
marriage ceremony, began to be agitated. A justice of the
peace was permitted to perform the ceremony provided a
license had been obtained from the clerk of the court, for
which a fee of twenty shillings was charged. In January,
1 77 1, the Assembly enacted a law, introduced by Edmund
Fanning at the instigation of Thomas Polk, which allowed
Presbyterian ministers to solemnize the rites of marriage by
publication in their assemblies or by license.
After the coming of Rev. Joseph Alexander to Sugar
creek, in 1767, the churches in this county made great prog-
ress for several years. This was due to the more frequent
preaching, the cessation of Indian outrages, and the end
of the old religious controversy. The churches did not en-
joy peace even after this, for a new dissension arose over the
discussions as to whether or not it was right to sing any-
thing but the Psalms in the churches. Craighead had used
no other hymns, and Rev. Joseph Alexander followed in his
footsteps, and Rev. H. J. Balch did not raise the question in
his day. The question was opened by the advent of Revs.
James McRee. Thomas H. McCaule and Robert Archibald,
who desired to use Watt's hymns. The agitators finally
won. but a new church was formed by some whose con-
sciences would not allow them to sing anything except "in-
spired psalmody."
During the year 1770, those members of Providence
church who lived near Clear creek established a church more
convenient to their neighborhood, and united with Provi-
dence in securing the services of a pastor. Revs. Reese,
7& HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
McRee, Archibald and Barr ministered to them until 1792,
when Rev. James Wallis became their pastor and served the
churches until his death in 1819. Sardis church was formed
about 1794 by some members of Providence and Clear creek
who were dissatisfied with the introduction of Watt's hymns
by Rev. Wallis. Lower Steele creek church was organized
in 1794 by Rev. William Blacksocks, of the faith of Asso-
ciate Reformed Presbyterians.
During the war, especially in 1780 and 1781, the churches
were greatly disturbed. After peace was declared, the doc-
trines of the French skeptics began to be discussed. A soci-
ety composed of prominent church members was formed for
the purpose of considering the new theories, and some men
openly avowed disbelief in all things. For ten years the
power of the society grew, and the dissensions attracted
much attention, but the whole movement was combatted
from the very first by all the ministers. Efforts to check the
growth of the skepticism were unavailing, and the churches
suffered much until the great revival at Providence in 1802,
when many of the infidels were converted.
Growth of the churches was attended with many other
difficulties, as the worldly-minded were as plentiful then as
at any time. Dancing, horse racing, gambling, card play-
ing, drunkenness and neglect of public worship were the
sins that enticed the church members. Then there were
always some differences of belief. Rev. Robert Archibald
was suspended from the ministry in 1794 because he preach-
ed the doctrine of universal salvation. In 1779, Little Steele
creek church was formed by members who left Lower Steele
creek church because of a dispute as to whether it was neces-
sary to fast the day before the administration of the Lord's
Supper. Regeneration, baptism, total depravity, original sin,
and free moral agency were also discussed. Considering
all these difficulties, it is wonderful that the churches made
any progress. Their final victory can only be accounted for
by the fact that they stood as the representatives of that
higher spiritual life without which society can not long exist.
One method used to raise money for church purposes was
RELIGION AND CHURCHES FROM 1 748 TO 180O. 79
the renting of pews. A member was usually appointed every
quarter to collect these rents. Thirty-two shillings a year
was charged for one seat or pew, but free seats of some kind
were provided for those who could not afford to pay. Be-
fore 1800, the Presbyterian church had more strength than
all other churches in the county combined. The Methodists
built their first "meeting house" just before the close of the
century, and it is yet Harrison M. E. church, near where
the Charlotte and Lancaster, S. C, road crosses the State
line. James Jonathan and Daniel Mills were the founders
of this organization.
Authority: — Personal Accounts, County Records, Pam-
phlets and Church Records.
CHAPTER XVI.
DOCTORS AND MEDICINES BEFORE 1800.
First Physicians in the County and the Leading Ones of the Period.
— Methods of Practice and the Medicines Used — Prevalence of
Witchcraft and Its Treatment.
When Mecklenburg county was formed, it is doubtful
whether there was a resident doctor in the county, except
such as modern science would regard as nurses. The first
regular physician of whom there is any record of his prac-
ticing in Mecklenburg was Dr. John Newman Oglethorpe,
of Rowan, in 1764. In 1766, the administrator of Valen-
tine Dellinger reported that he had paid a "Doctor Cantzon"
twelve shillings. Dellinger lived in what is now Lincoln
county.
The first resident physician and the first man of medical
education who practiced his profession in the present county
of Mecklenburg was Dr. Joseph Kennedy. A record of this
physician's labors bears the date of 1766, but it is likely that
he practiced a few years earlier than that date. Dr. Ken-
nedy died in 1778. The next resident physician was Dr.
Ephraim Brevard, who certainly began the practice of his
profession as early as 1772, when he began to have accounts
against several estates for "medicine and visits."
In 1773 and 1774, "Dr. Newman" practiced in the Hope-
well section of the county. He probably lived in Rowan. In
1777, Dr. Felix Pitt was a resident physician. In his ac-
count with William Barnett, in 1778, such items as a "visit"
at eight shillings, a "large blister Plaister" at fifteen shil-
lings, "seven Aperient powders" at seventeen and one-half
shillings, and "a Pectoral Mixture" at one pound two and
one-half shillings, were charged.
In 1780, Dr. Thomas Henderson, who was a Mecklenburg
school teacher in 1774. appeared in the records as a physi-
cian. For nearly thirty-six years afterwards he seems to
DOCTORS AND MEDICINES BEFORE l8oO. 8l
have been the leading physician in this county, his practice
extending to every part of it. About the same time Dr.
Henderson began to practice in Charlotte, Dr. James R. Al-
exander began to practice at Hopewell. When Isaac Alex-
ander's services as teacher in Queen's Museum terminated in
the Fall of 1776, he began the study of medicine, but it was
not until 1782 that he began active practice. When Dr.
Ephraim Brevard's property was sold at public sale in 1782,
Dr. Isaac Alexander, Dr. Thomas Henderson, Dr. James
R. Alexander and a Dr. Dysart are noted as purchasers of
"physic." It is more than likely that they were the only res-
ident physicians in this county at that time.
In 1780, when the smallpox was epidemic in the county,
having been brought here by the British and the American
armies, Dr. James Alexander vaccinated many of the people
of his section. In one family he vaccinated ten persons,
charging one pound currency for each "innoculation" — prob-
ably depreciated continental currency. While this epidemic
was prevailing, Catherine Blackwelder, of Cabarrus, acted
as a nurse and no doubt saved many lives by her care and
self-sacrifice. Some of those who were the recipients of her
attentions paid her, but the money was the almost worthless
continental currency of the time, so that she never received
any adequate compensation for her heroic efforts to save the
lives of her friends and neighbors. Henry Probst, of
Cabarrus, in 1789, rendered an account against one of
his neighbors for "four fisicks and rideing." He was not
a physician, but no doubt had some knowledge of medicine.
It. is a fact not now generally known that some of the
early settlers in this section regarded many diseases as
directly due to the power and influence of witches. These
ideas especially prevailed among the ignorant of all nation-
alities. However, there is no record in this county from
which it could be inferred that anyone was ever punished
for witchcraft, witches generally being regarded here as
spirits of evil influence who made their journeys at night
and brought their baneful influence to bear on horses, cattle,
and human beings. There were those in every neighborhood
82 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
who professed to be able to drive away witches or relieve
those who had been put under their influence. The methods
of these so-called "witch doctors" were often ludicrous. For
instance, children who were said to be "bewitched" were sub-
jected to a treatment which consisted in placing a ladder on
end against a building and passing the bodies of the children
up through the successive rungs of the ladder after the fash-
ion of weaving, then repeating the process from top to bot-
tom.
There are traditional instances which relate how the
"witch doctors" tried to cure cases of serious sickness by
means of methods which border on those now practiced by
the faith healers. In the particular cases referred to, the
"witch doctors" began their treatment by reconciling any
family differences with neighbors, even to the extent of re-
turning all borrowed property, after which the treatment
consisted of "words" or "prayers," sometimes accompanied
with anointing the parts of the body which seemed to be
the seat of the "witches" with concoctions, the making and
compounding of which was a secret to all except those initia-
ted. Even after 1800, they who professed to cure the evils
brought on human beings by witches were found in many
parts of the original territory of Mecklenburg.
Investigation discloses the fact that women in rare in-
stances were regarded as possessing the power of witches.
In such cases they were shunned by the superstitious. Men
could teach women how to cure certain diseases attributed to
the power of the witches, but men could not initiate men into
the mysteries of such an art, that being only possible to a
woman. It is not. known how the first man acquired the
power which enabled him to drive away witches or to relieve
the sufferings supposed to be due to their influence.
By the year 1790, three other physicians had begun to
practice in this county. They were William Strain, who
lived in what is now Cabarrus, and Alexander Cummins,
who resided somewhere in the northern part of the county,
and Thomas Donnell. A year or .two later, Dr. Charles Har-
ris began the practice of his profession. He lived in what is
DOCTORS AND MEDICINES BEFORE l800. 83
now Cabarrus. Dr. Harris was an educated man, and with
Dr. Henderson and Dr. Alexander, seems to have enjoyed
a large practice.
Between 1790 and 1800, the other Mecklenburg physi-
cians were Frederick Croner, William Morrison, Joseph Mc-
Knitt Alexander, and Cyrus Alexander. Dr. Joseph Ram-
sey and Dr. John Sibley, both of Rowan, practiced in parts
of the county during this period, as well as Dr. Samuel C.
Dunlap, of Lancaster county, South Carolina, and Dr. Wil-
liam Kerr, of York county, in the same State.
Of all these men, Dr. Croner, who lived in Charlotte,
seems to have taken most pains to display his knowledge of
Latin. His accounts were full of such phrases as per noctem
and codcm die, among other peculiarities. All these doctors
put great confidence in a drug known as "cooling powders,"
as well as "blisters," "sulphur," "magnesia," "bark," "unc-
tion" and "cream tartar."
During this period there were many women in various
parts of the county who had some skill in the treatment of
diseases, especially of a disease which the people called
"white swelling." Several bills and receipts remain, all
signed by women, for services in treating this affection.
Authority: — County Records, Official Papers, Personal
Correspondence, Family Traditions and Business Accounts.
CHAPTER XVII.
SLAVERY BEFORE 1800.
Introduction of the System Was Slow — Conditions of Labor — No One
Owned More Than a Dozen Slaves — Prices, Habits and Ability
of the Negroes — Only a Few Were Skilled Laborers.
The first immigrants to Mecklenburg brought with them
but few slaves. Those settlers who came from Pennsylva-
nia and Maryland were searching for a new and freer land
wherein to dwell, and in the uncertainty of their ultimate
location, it is improbable that they were encumbered with
.slaves, who would then and for some time afterwards have
been more trouble than their services would justify.
Those who came from Virginia brought a few slaves ; they
knew where they were going, were acquainted with the na-
ture of the country and did not have to move so far as
those from the North.
Another reason why the introduction of slavery into the
county was so slow, was that most of the settlers were poor
people and could not afford servants. They were searching
for a region where they could live by their own industry
without fear of tyrannical and arbitrary interference. The
work of pioneers was not suited to the slaves, and the un-
settled condition of the country offered too many induce-
ments to them to run away. After government was firmly
established and these first settlers had achieved some success
in worldly riches, the growth of slavery was steady.
It was so easy in those days to live independently that hired
labor of every kind was scarce. Each man built his little
cabin and began work for himself. Game was plentiful, and
not much industry was necessary for obtaining necessities of
life. Hence it was very difficult to hire anyone, and each
farmer had to' do his own work until he could by diligence
and economy save enough to buy a slave. Governor Dobbs
said that from 1750 to 1764, "the number of laborers and
SLAVERY BEFORE l8oO. 85
artificers in comparison with the number of planters was
small." Laborers were paid from three to six shillings a
day for work which was much less than a day's work in Eng-
land, so the price of labor in Mecklenburg was higher than in
the mother country.
When a farmer accumulated enough money to buy a slave,
he would go to Charleston and buy what the first sale lists
called a "negro wench" or a negro man; paying for a female
an amount about equal to four hundred dollars, and for an
able-bodied man perhaps as much as one hundred dollars
more. When the county was formed in 1762, there were
only a few slave owners in this section. The first recorded
sale of a negro at auction in Mecklenburg was at Hugh
Irwin's sale in 1764, when a "negro" was sold for seventy-
five pounds. Previous to 1774, not more than two slaves
were disposed of at any public sale of an estate, though it is
certain that some persons owned more than that number be-
fore that date. At Moses Alexander's sale in 1774, "a negro
wench and child and fellow" were sold for one hundred and
seventy-five pounds, "a negro wench and child" for one hun-
dred and thirty pounds, one "negro man" for sixty-nine
pounds and another for one hundred and twenty-three
pounds, a "negro wench" for eighty-eight pounds and a
"negro child" for thirty-six pounds. This was the largest
slave sale held in the county before the Revolution, Moses
Alexander being the largest slave owner of his day.
By this time, slaves had learned how to run away from
their masters. In 1769, George Cathey charged Archibald
Cathey three pounds and four shillings for going to New-
bern "after runaway negroes." The sparsely settled coun-
try then afforded many avenues of escape to the runaways,
and their capture was attended with difficulties. There were
in the county a few white "indentured servants" who had
been sent over from England because of debt or crime, but
this class entirely disappeared with the Revolution. One of
these, Johnston Clark, was sold at Archibald Cathey's sale
in 1777, and was purchased by Josiah Cathey for twenty-one
86 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
pounds. Hezekiah Alexander freed an "indented slave" in
1772.
Even before the Revolution, there was opposition to slav-
ery because of economic reasons. The Rowan county com-
mittee of safety, August 8, 1774, adopted resolutions which
fairly expressed the views of a majority of the people of this
whole section, declaring: "That the African trade is in-
jurious to this colony, obstructs the population of it by free-
men, prevents manufacturers and other useful emigrants
from Europe from settling among us, and occasions an an-
nual balance of trade against the colonies." During the
Revolutionary war, the progress of slave trade was very
slow, and not until after the United States government was
fully established did it take on new life.
The British invasion in 1780 and the events of the war
during the next year caused slave owners much annoyance
in the control of their slaves. The British promised free-
dom to all slaves who would join their forces, but only a few
accepted the invitation and nearly all these were finally re-
gained by their owners. A great number, however, took
advantage of the exciting times and endeavored to escape.
John Sample owned one who ran away seven times in 1781
and 1782, but was caught every time.
In the year 1791, the county court empowered the sheriff
to seize and sell at auction all horses found in the possession
of slaves who were off the plantations of their masters. The
reason given for this action was that "danger to life and in-
juries of various kinds would likely result from the posses-
sion of horses by negro slaves." Two years later, the court
ordered the officers to arrest and confine in the county jail
all negroes "ranging at large during public meetings in the
town of Charlotte except such as carried passes from their
masters," and that "in case of an arrest, of this kind, the
owner of the slave shall pay all costs of the action." The
reason assigned for this proceeding was that "sundry inju-
ries have arisen to the owners of slaves by the promiscuous
SLAVERY BEFORE l8oO. 87
mingling of the negro population with the whites on public
occasions."
In 1 79 1, a negro man named Ben was tried by the court
and sentenced to death for burglary, and in 1793 a slave
named Simon was similarly sentenced for a like offense. One
Sunday in the Spring of 1793, Ben, Joe and Sam, slaves liv-
ing near Providence, came to Charlotte and stole a ten gallon
keg of whiskey from a spring house. After getting drunk,
they stole a horse from a pasture and rode off, but were soon
apprehended, tried and sentenced to receive fifty lashes on
the bare back. Their owners were taxed with all costs, and
in this trial slaves served as witnesses, but were not sworn.
During the last decade before 1800, the largest slave
owners in the county were T. Hood, John Ford and James
Walkup, who owned eight, nine and twelve slaves respec-
tively. The names of slaves are interesting in view of the
fact that they often suggested the character and education
of the owners. Hood's were named Jacob, Charlotte, Weyer,
Dinah, Hannah, Josiah and Prudence; Ford's were Phebe,
Dinah, Sylvia, Charlotte, Jack, Dice, Will and Julius.
Walkup's slaves were sold in 1798 for prices ranging from
twenty-five to four hundred and twenty-five dollars each,
and among them were Titus, Farrabo and Prince. Rev.
Samuel Kennedy called his : Romulus, Juno, Daphne, Al-
pheus, Joseph and Terah.
By the will of John Wilson, who died in 1795, it was pro-
vided that one of his slaves, a negro man named Plumb,
should be given his freedom. The county court in the next
year recommended Plumb to the General Assembly as worthy
of emancipation and his freedom was secured. This pro-
ceeding was not uncommon in Mecklenburg in the latter
part of the century.
Before 1800, it was rare that a slave owner taught his
slaves to do anything but farm work. In 1785, David Alli-
son charged James Cannon, of the Hopewell section, twelve
pounds for one month's work of two negro tailors, and some
negroes were employed in wagon shops and other places of
88 HISTORY OE MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
the kind, but there was a widespread prejudice against the
use of slave labor in occupations of skill on account of its
competition with free white labor. With the invention of
the cotton gin and the resultant increase in cotton produc-
tion, slave labor increased to such an extent that it was util-
ized in nearly all occupations. This left the poor whites no
alternative but to work in competition with the slaves trained
by the whites in more fortunate circumstances, who had, as
a consequence, ceased to work.
Authority: — County and Private Records, Printed No-
tices, Receipts and Bills.
:»
•
R
r — ^
<o
*^i
QB
"
K,
i.
^
«
3
-
,3
tt
-—
""•"4
ft
3
J5 \\
1*5
>
5*
^
»)
<£>
tm
ts
'--.
o N
^
-*-
v-
c
1
fi
CO
H
* ■
! \
-esj
\
*s
•
5
a *■
— •
■ a
<u
' i
O
s
.___^
J
o
00
P
P
I— I
H
O
H
CHAPTER XVIII.
FIRST YEARS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. (1800 to 1825.)
Statistics of Wealth and Population of the County and City — Im-
provements in Public Buildings — Proceedings and Methods of
the Courts — Richest Man in the County Worth $10,700.
Statistics recorded in the early years of our history are
very conflicting and unsatisfactory, the cause being that the
monetary system was unstable and oscillating so that money
values were not always the same; a great portion of prop-
erty was not returned for taxation, people paid taxes where
they lived on property wherever it might be, and the dif-
ficulty attending travel made the duties of the officers hard to
fulfill. Some people would list their taxes one year and omit
the duty the next. People living in Charlotte would list all
their slaves in the county as though they lived here, thus
causing it to appear that the blacks greatly outnumbered the
whites in the town.
Tax returns in 1800 for Mecklenburg county included
293,145 acres of land, and town property in Charlotte valued
at 2,835 pounds. The county tax was 4 pence on 100 acres
of land and 1 shilling on each poll and each 100 pounds val-
uation of town property. All white men between the ages
of twenty-one and fifty were subject to poll tax, and they
numbered 1,247; a ^ negroes between the ages of twelve and
fifty were subject to the tax, and they numbered 854. James
Neel was sheriff of the county in 1800, and continued in
that capacity until 1802, when he was succeeded by Robert
Barry, who, the next year, was succeeded by William Beatty,
who lived but a few months, his unexpired term being filled
by John Cook. In those years, the law allowed the county
jailor 2s. 6d. a day for each prisoner, and the rations for the
prison inmates consisted daily of "one pound of wholesome
bread, one pound of good roasted or boiled meat and all the
water needed."
go HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
At the July term of court, 1802, Thomas Alexander was
deputized to erect a whipping post and stocks near the jail,
and Edwin Jay Osborne was admitted to the practice of law.
James Potts had been licensed the preceding year. The State
tax in that year amounted to 627 pounds in Mecklenburg,
and of this amount 253 pounds was paid on cotton machin-
ery and three pounds on town property. The tax levied by
the State then was 8d. on 100 acres of land, 2s. on 100
pounds valuation of town property, 2s. on each poll, an an-
nual tax of ten pounds on peddlers and a tax on the amount
of goods sold by stores. Mecklenburg's State tax in 1803
amounted to 546 pounds, 654 in 1804 and 632 in 1805, In
the latter year, 212 pounds tax was paid on cotton gins,
Mecklenburg leading all the other counties in the number of
gins.
In 1803, David Cowan was appointed standard keeper of
weights and measures, and $58 was allowed him with which
to purchase the necessary outfit. Samuel Lowrie was ap-
pointed State's Attorney at the July court, and Dr. Nathan
Alexander, David Cowan and John Sharpe were appointed
a committee to investigate and report upon the advisability
of building a new jail. They reported in favor of the new
building. Cowan resigned as standard keeper in the follow-
ing year and William Davidson was appointed to the vacan-
cy at the October court. The same court licensed John Beat-
ty to keep a tavern in Charlotte, and sentenced Henry Price
to confinement for one-half an hour in the stocks for quar-
reling, and fined Henry Emberson five dollars for a similar
offense.
At the April term of court, in the following year, Gen.
George Graham, Capt. William Davidson and Isaac Alexan-
der were appointed commissioners to investigate the condi-
tion of the public buildings and the finances of the county.
Though they and the sheriff recommended that a new jail
should be built, all that was done was to appropriate ten
pounds for repairs. John Black was appointed county sur-
veyor. At this time the system of patrolling was in full
rt i
M
t A *
%\M>
COTTON PLANT IN SEPTEMBER.
COTTON PLANT IN NOVEMBER.
FIRST YEARS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 91
force, and six patrols were appointed for the Charlotte mili-
tia district, and these patrols were of much service in pre-
venting troubles among slaves and in apprehending the run-
aways. In 1805, Nathaniel Alexander, of Mecklenburg,
was elected Governor of North Carolina, and he occupied
the office for one term.
Charlotte's charter was amended by the General Assembly
in 1807, and the commissioners appointed were William Da-
vidson, Archibald Trice, Joseph Faires, William Allison and
William Carson. They were empowered to make all neces-
sary rules and regulations for the government of the town
and to enforce them. The body was also made self-perpetu-
ating; they elected their own successors.
The General Assembly, in 1806, provided for Superior
courts, and divided the State into six judicial districts,
Mecklenburg being in the sixth. The first Superior court
was accordingly held by Judge Francis Locke in this county
in the following January. David Cowan was the first Su-
perior court clerk, and Winfield Mason was appointed mas-
ter in equity. Elections in those times were held at the res-
idences of John Ray, Robert Hood and Margaret Davidson,
to provide for all sections of the county, though any resident
could vote at the court house if he preferred. The election
was held on the Tuesday preceding the second Thursday in
August, and began at noon and ended at sunset, when the
ballot boxes were sealed and carried immediately to the
court house in Charlotte.
Adlai L. Osborne was admitted to the practice of law in
1808, and at the same court several other matters of inter-
est transpired. An additional ten pounds was appropriated
for repairs on the jail. Two slaves, Ephraim and Moses,
were acquitted of the charge of killing Jack, a negro belong-
ing to Joseph Spratt, and Charles Richmond and James
Summers were fined five dollars each for an affray in the
presence of the court. The next year, William Carson was
appointed standard keeper, George Hampton sheriff, Thomas
Alexander treasurer, and John McKnitt Alexander county
92 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
trustee. Archibald Henderson, an attorney, presented to
the court the naturalization papers of John Patterson, this
being the first instance of the kind on record. Authority was
given to sell the old jail, as provision for a new one had been
made. That year is notable for the fact that the United
States currency law went into effect, and thereafter transac-
tions were made in dollars and cents. In 1810, at the July
court, James Lewis Crawford transferred to William Alli-
son the Mecklenburg rights of Freeman's patent washing
machine for a term of fourteen years, and the contract was
registered. In this year also, a new court house was erected.
The war with England in 181 2- 14, did not directly con-
cern the people of Mecklenburg, and the issues were of no
material consequence to them. However, this did not pre-
vent the people from assisting to expel the foreign forces,
and five companies of Mecklenburg troops served through-
out the war and did noble service for their country. There
were nearly five hundred men in the five companies.
After the defeat of the British at New Orleans, Colonel
Joseph Graham was sent with his regiment against the Creek
Indians in Alabama, but Gen. Andrew Jackson had com-
pletely defeated them when he arrived.
In 1814, there were in Charlotte 237 town lots, valued at
$36,000; five stores, seventy-eight white polls and 228 blacks.
It is to be borne in mind that most of these negroes were liv-
ing on farms outside of Charlotte. In 181 8, there were sev-
enty families in the town district. In the next year the town
lots were valued at $41,400, there were 118 tax payers in
Charlotte and there were thirty stores in the county. In
1830, the town property was valued at $46,300, and there
were eleven stores in the town.
The court held in July, 1823, ordered that the notices
should be published in the Western Carolinian. In that year
also, the General Assembly incorporated the New Provi-
dence Library Association, which was organized for the pur-
poses of general reading and literary culture. The Centre
Library Society was incorporated in 181 7. In 1825, there
FIRST YEARS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 93
were 258 town lots returned for taxation; William Smith
was postmaster in Charlotte, and there were ten other post-
offices in the county. At that time the population of Char-
lotte was about seven hundred. The public buildings consist-
ed of the court house, jail and postoffice; there were fourteen
stores, several taverns and a number of persons engaged in
the industries of tailoring, weaving, wagon making and
other employments requiring skill. Mills and shops of vari-
ous kinds were in operation in the county. There were per-
haps ten lawyers in the county and as many physicians.
Drs. McKenzie and Caldwell were the leading practitioners.
In 1 819, William Davidson was the richest man in the coun-
ty; he owned twenty-three slaves, 1,835 acres of land, and
his total assessed property amounted to $10,700. Thomas
G. Polk's property was valued at $10,611, and eight others
in the county were worth more than five thousand dollars
each.
Authority : — Countv Records and Personal Accounts.
CHAPTER XIX.
INTRODUCTION OF THE COTTON INDUSTRY. (1790 to 1825.)
First Planting in the Colonies Was Experimental — Little Progress
Made Previous to the Invention of the Cotton Gin — Two Thousand
Saws in Use in Mecklenburg in 1803 — Rapid Development There-
after.
The history of the cultivation of cotton goes back to a
thousand years before the Christian era. Details of the first
planting, and even the introduction of it into the United
States, do not immediately concern us except to demonstrate
the wonderful evolution from its cultivation for mere house-
hold use to the leading industrial feature of the South.
In the course of this phenomenal growth and expansion,
there are some points of peculiar interest.
It is well known that the first colonists who came over
from England were experimenters and adventurers. They
came for the novelty of new experiences, and consequently
accomplished but little. When it was realized that the New
World needed men who were willing to endure hardships
and toil for poor remuneration, the settlers were not so eager
to come, but those who did venture to' undertake the task of
building a new country were of a practical kind. However,
they continued to experiment, always hoping to find an
easier way to live.
Cotton planting was begun by the first permanent settlers
in Virginia in the early part of the seventeenth century.
They hoped that something good would come of it, but they
were hoping without reason, for cotton was not then a prac-
tical industry. The first exportation of cotton, consisting of
eight bags weighing 1,200 pounds, was made from Virginia
in 1784. When Mecklenburg was settled, between 1740 and
1760, the pioneers were slow to undertake the planting of
cotton. They were busy with the building of their homes,
WHITNEY'S ORIGINAL MODEL.
INTRODUCTION OF THE COTTON INDUSTRY. 95
with their defense and with the sustenance of life. The small
amount of ground which was tilled was for the necessities
of life, and cotton was not one of them. Nearly everything
used by them was produced by the users, and, therefore,
there was no use for cotton except in the home. Then the
difficulty and tediousness of separating the seed and the lint
served to retard the growth of the industry.
Ten years after the county was organized with an estab-
lished government, the Revolutionary troubles began. Dur-
ing the war, all occupations were more or less paralyzed,
and it was certainly no fit time for introducing a new one.
After the war, from 1782 to 1795, considerable cotton was
planted in the county, though all of it Was for use in the
family. The lint was laboriously picked from the seed by
hand, and was then put into practical form by means of the
spinning wheel or spinning jenny and the loom. A demand
for cotton goods sprang up and people began to plant it for
purposes of sale. The great and constant annoyance was
the necessity for picking the cotton by hand ; and the import-
ance of a machine to replace this tedious process was plain.
Eli Whitney, a young New Englander, had gone to
Georgia to teach school, and was living at the residence of
the widow of Gen. Greene, near Savannah. There he heard
so much talk of the necessity for the invention that he gave
his attention to the matter. In 1793, he made the model of
his "gin," and a patent was obtained in the following year.
In 1796, Hodgen Holmes, of Augusta, Ga., made a very im-
portant improvement by substituting the saw for the wire-
spiked roller, and he obtained a patent on his "gin." As a
result of these two patents, there was much litigation and
ill-feeling, and it was said that Whitney was not treated fair-
ly in the South, though the three States of North Carolina,
South Carolina and Tennessee gave him a total of $90,000
for his patent, part of which he utilized in an attempt to form
a monopoly west of the Savannah river, and the balance he
used as a basis to begin the manufacture of firearms in New
Haven. This invention was the first great incentive to the
96 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
cotton industry, and its growth from that time was rapid
and steady. The expansion of cotton planting naturally in-
creased the demand for slave labor, and the increase of slave
labor increased cotton planting, so these two forces in
southern life were linked together and were, in a sense, de-
pendent upon each other.
In 1802, the Legislature of North Carolina bought the
patent right for this State, agreeing to pay Whitney for it
by a special tax of two shillings and six pence on each saw
used in a gin within the State for a period of five years. The
tax was collected and paid to the inventor. It amounted to
about thirty thousand dollars. This tax, which amounted to
an average of $7,500 a year, indicates that there were about
thirty thousand saws in use at that time.
In the settlement of the taxes for Mecklenburg, made No-
vember 30, 1802, the amount of cotton gin tax was 253
pounds and 16 shillings, which shows that there were about
two thousand saws in use in this county. Mecklenburg led
all the other counties in the amount of this tax. In 1803,
the tax amounted to only 182 pounds. In 1804, Mecklen-
burg paid 212 pounds, and Lincoln county was second in the
State with 56 pounds. In 1805, the tax amounted to 213
pounds, and Mecklenburg continued at the head of the list of
cotton producing counties. This first cotton gin was a prim-
itive affair, being nothing more extensive than a box about
three feet long, two feet high, and two feet wide. Inside
the box was the simple machinery that separated the seed
from the lint about five times as fast as it could be done by
hand. The principal feature of Whitney's original model
was a wooden cylinder carrying annular rows of wire spikes,
which was subsequently superseded by Holmes' improve-
ment, which consisted of shaft carrying collars separating
circular saws, which passed through narrow spaces between
ribs, through which the seed could not pass.
Authority : — State and County Records, and Photographs
and far similes of Original Patents.
CHAPTER XX.
EFFECT OF SLAVERY ON INDUSTRIES.
Occupations of First Settlers and the Causes — They Made All They
Used — Slavery Induced Them to Turn Their Entire Attention to
Agriculture — Comfortable and Peaceable Conditions Prevailed.
It is a well established fact that contentment is not con-
ducive to progress. People who are satisfied with their con-
dition in life have no desire to go forward, or to explore
new and untried fields of endeavor. The settlers of this
county came here because of dissatisfaction with conditions
existing where they had been living, and they were, there-
fore, willing to risk what little they possessed for a chance
of winning more. They built their rude homes in the for-
est, and were eager to accept any device or any phase of in-
dustry that would tend to economize labor or to simplify the
difficulties of their existence.
These first citizens became mechanics, carpenters and trad-
ers. They built shops and made wagons. They tried to pro-
duce everything needed for themselves and something else
that might be sold for gain. If they were favored with
abundant crops, the surplus was sold in Charleston and the
money laid by or invested in property or comforts of life.
The crops, however, did not afford sufficient means for
trade and industrial expansion, and their attention was turn-
ed toward occupations requiring skill or special care. Cattle
raising became important, and was developed to large pro-
portions, the cattle being sold in Charleston or in Virginia,
and sometimes even in Philadelphia. Weavers, millers and
tailors manufactured goods for sale, as did wagon makers,
basket makers and coopers. The liquor traffic began quite
naturally; poor farmers would raise a few bushels of corn
and distill it into liquor, which was easier to carry to mar-
ket and easier to sell, and commanded a better price than
98 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
the original product. Inventions and improvements were
being made, and the people were progressing into wider
channels of commercial intercourse.
"Necessity is the mother of invention," and invention is
the avenue to progress. Hence, among the first settlers the
scarcity of labor and the distance from market made inven-
tion necessary, and thus made advancement and expansion
natural and continuous. When there was the work of three
men for one man to do, the one man turned his thoughts
to other and better modes of doing the work, but when there
were three men to do the work of one man, there was but
little necessity for thought of any kind. People never focus
their mental powers except for cause, and without concen-
trated mental application, nothing can be created; and we
would continue forever in the same old rut if we did not
create a new and better one.
Whitney's and Holmes' inventions in connection with the
cotton gin had more lasting effect upon the life of our peo-
ple than any other invention ever made. There was a double
necessity for the invention ; it greatly reduced the amount of
labor required, and did the work better than it could be done
by hand. To say that it increased cotton production would
but poorly express the truth, because, for all purposes of
commerce, the invention of the cotton gin began the cotton
industry. The gin reduced the amount of labor needed for
the separation of the cotton from the seed, but, in the enor-
mous increase of cotton planting, it created a larger demand
than ever for slave labor. The farmers realized to what use
the slaves could be put, and the slave traffic assumed large
proportions. It was evident that there would be a steady
market for cotton, and as slaves could do the farm work bet-
ter than any other kind of work, cotton gradually super-
seded all other industries until it was not only the leading
one, but the only one of any consequence. The shops which
had been productive of trading were closed to the public, and
were utilized only for what was needed on the plantation.
The plantations generally produced a little of everything, but
o
o
pq
Q
<
at
m
o
H
O
O
o
pq
><
H
P-.
H
Q
o
cq
Z
H
PL,
o
EFFECT OF SLAVERY ON INDUSTRIES. 99
cotton was the only product for trade and gain. Labor was
•cheap and plentiful under the domination of slavery, and
the controlling element of white people ceased to work for
themselves. The result was that there were no industries re-
quiring skill or thought, and there was no necessity for sci-
entific farming or anything else scientific. Nothing was
more natural than that the white population should be con-
tent with the situation. Slavery not only demonstrated that
people will not think unless it is necessary, but also that they
will not work unless it is necessary. The planters, of course,
were busy and had responsibilities, but riding around and
giving orders does not tend to intellectual growth in the
direction of material progress.
Within three decades after the invention of the cotton gin,
slavery had accomplished its revolution. The people whose
minds had been occupied with diversified industries and in-
dustrial expansion were narrowed down to the develop-
ment and growth of cotton. There is no denying the fact
that in this period the southern white people were happy
and prosperous and contented, but it was discernible that at
some time the cotton production would reach its limit, the
demand would be supplied, the price would decrease and the
backward and retrogressive movement would begin. The
mills and shops lay idle, the abundant natural resources
were ignored, and everything staked upon one occupation,
because it could be carried on by slave labor and the fami-
lies of the planters could have all they needed without think-
ing of other means of obtaining wealth. There was sim-
ply no need for anything else right then.
The production of cotton with slave labor was an industry
requiring much land per capita. It appears that the limit
of population under this system was reached about 1830.
The system of agriculture also rapidly exhausted the fer-
tility of the soil. These two conditions conduced to a con-
stant emigration to the northwest and southwest. Part of
this emigration was of people who wanted to escape the
system altogether, and the other part was of people who went
IOO HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
where more and better land was to be found, which was nec-
essary to take care of the increasing population in connection
with what was practically a single industry — the production
of cotton.
The attention of men of education and great mental force
was given to the professions, and the South furnished the
statesmen for the nation, while the North got rich by the
manufacture of the raw product taken from the South. The
soil, the climate and the cheap labor were all favorable to
agriculture, and particularly to cotton planting, and as the
people could easily and comfortably live by this occupation
alone, they did not care to engage in manufacturing or any-
thing similar. All the work was done by slaves, and agricul-
ture was the only work for which they were fitted. The
capital of the people consisted of slaves, and that was a form
of capital that could not be invested except in one depart-
ment of labor. One of the chief reasons for the peaceable
prosperity of the South was the freedom from agitators and
struggles between labor and capital, caused by conditions
wherein labor and capital were one and the same.
Summarizing, we find that the result of the introduction
and growth of the system of slavery was revolutionary; it
turned the energies of the people almost wholly to the
cultivation of cotton; it practically destroyed all other in-
dustries; it developed a landed aristocracy; it gave ample
leisure time to the white men for the study of professions ;
it unfitted the white men for manual labor, and it ultimately
resulted in the hazardous risk of making the entire material
wealth of a people dependent upon a single issue.
Authority : — County Records and Personal Records and
Business Accounts; Newspapers and Statistics of Popula-
tion and Wealth.
CO
O
M
O
s
H
H
CHAPTER XXI.
LIFE IN THE OLD SOUTH.
A Study of the Negro — Dispositions of Planters and Systems of Agri-
culture — Description of the Plantations, the "Big House" and
the Cabins — Treatment of the Slaves — Social Diversions.
Discussion of southern plantation conditions before the
Civil War must necessarily include the study of the insti-
tution of slavery, because the life itself was dependent upon
the work of the slaves. Had it not been for the system of
slave labor, the noted southern aristocracy would have been
impossible.
Measured by Anglo-Saxon standards, a low type of uned-
ucated negro was one bundle of contradictions. He could
sleep more and exist with less sleep, eat more and exist with
less food, than could ordinary humanity. In honesty and
dishonesty, in strong - affections and violent passions, in un-
paralleled loyalty and savage disloyalty — his mood often
moving with rapidity from one extreme to another — he was
governed by his immediate surroundings and influences.
It is totally at variance with Anglo-Saxon character to
live in absolute subjection and yet love the master. On the
other hand, the negro was readily submissive and admired
and loved his owner. The life on the plantation was one of
absolute mastery on one side, and of absolute subjection on
the other, with amicable personal relations between the two
and affection on each side.
There were as many different types of negroes as there
are of whites. Some of the slaves brought to America were
totally savage, while others enjoyed a considerable degree of
civilization. The highest type included those from the in-
terior of Africa, who had developed a partial civilization and
were seldom enslaved ; the lowest type was undoubtedly the
West Coast Guinea negro, who was entirely savage, and the
[02 HISTORY OF MKCKLENBURG COUNTY.
worst kind of cannibal. These latter in America were called
"blue gum niggers," and the other negroes believed that the
bite of a "blue gum" was deadly poisonous. The higher
class came to be known as the "Dinka" negroes, but much
the larger portion caught and brought to this country were
naturally of the inferior types.
The slaves, when first brought across the ocean, were filled
with terror at the new conditions. They could not under-
stand the strange language and the many wonderful things
about them, and expected some such fate as usually befell
their tribesmen in Africa when overtaken by misfortune.
The planter, living on his plantation, was always at hand to
quell disturbances. The influence of his family was of man-
ifest importance in keeping the better nature of the negroes
to the fore. The negroes looked upon the whites with awe,
and imitation of the ways of the whites was natural. It is
easy to comprehend the great power the whites had over the
characters of the blacks. A very generous and friendly kind-
ness has an immense and far-reaching influence; that the
kindness was real and that it bore fruit is amply proven by
the world-astounding loyalty of the slaves to their masters
during the Civil War.
Many people who were opposed to slavery have persist-
ently represented the planter as a furious fighter or "fire-
eater." Frequent duelling seemed to confirm this belief. As
a matter of fact, the average planter, while amply coura-
us, was the most amiable, friendly, hospitable and unag-
gressive of men. He was slow to take or to give offence,
and never carried a pistol or otherwise went prepared for a
fight. When he felt himself offended by an inferior, he
afflicted an ordinary chastisement; when his veracity or
courage was questioned by an equal, there was a well formu-
lated "Code Duello" printed in book form, in accordance
with all the regulations of which he must, as a gentleman,
proceed. The idea thai the planter was indolent, an indif-
ferent business man. and always a spendthrift, is totally in
error, lie was ever on the alert, was judicial minded, ener-
SPINNING WI1I0KI..
SPINNING WHEEL.
YARN REEL.
LIFE IN THE OLD SOUTH. IO3
getic, usually well educated and always well trained in every-
thing pertaining to the management of a plantation.
The system of agriculture operated by the planter was re-
markably successful. Besides developing the production of
cotton so as to give the world a better and cheaper supply
than ever before, he at the same time produced more grain
per capita, more meat per capita and more home supplies
than the people of any other part of the United States. The
methods of the organizations and of training the organiza-
tions were unsurpassed. The farmer before the war raised
all the supplies needed at home, and sold his cotton or tobac-
co for clear gain. The fact that the support of all the
humanity was produced on the plantation made profit cer-
tain, and even with cotton at 4 cents a pound, the planter
would clear from 8 to 10 per cent, on his investment. The
crop was generally laid out on the basis of twenty-five acres
to one man and one mule. Of this land, ten acres would be
put in cotton and the remainder in wheat, corn and oats.
About one-half of the labor, including the strongest men,
were selected for plow hands, and the older men, the strong-
est women and the youths did the hoeing, handling of the
grain, picking the cotton and all miscellaneous work. The
work of the able-bodied men was, of course, not confined to
plowing; in season they did the blacksmithing, cleared land.
made and repaired farm tools and ginned the cotton and
hauled it to market.
The average southern plantation contained about three
thousand acres and one hundred slaves, and such a one
would be equipped with something like twenty-five plow
hands, twenty-five miscellaneous hands, fifty women and
children, twenty-five mules, four horses for family use, six
hundred hogs, twenty-five head of cattle, one hundred sheep,
ten goats and fifteen dogs, and chickens, guineas, peacocks,
turkeys, geese and ducks. Then there were the blacksmith
shop, wheelwright and other woodworking shops, twenty-
five negro houses, a grist and flour mill, and a store. Such a
plantation was worth $100,000, would produce about 100
104 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
bales of cotton and would make a clear profit of from $10,000
to $20,000 a year, according to the way it was managed.
Some planters were thrifty and economical, and accumulated
wealth continuously; others employed overseers to look af-
ter the estate, and spent the profits in travel or in local ex-
travagance.
It was customary for the planter and his family to live on
the plantation, because the maintenance of the organization
made their presence necessary. This afforded abundant
leisure time to each member of the family, and the planta-
tion home was always a hospitable place. The host and his
family had ample service, horses, vehicles, plenty of home-
raised food, excellent cooks and various amusements, such
as hunting and fishing, with which to entertain their guests.
Negroes were fond of music and supplied it whenever called
upon, though no compulsion was employed in such cases —
none was necessary. A slight suggestion by a young lady
fn >m the "big house" would bring forth a tender of services
fn iin everyone on the plantation who could play the fiddle
or any other instrument. Besides being fond of music, the
negroes enjoyed nothing more than the gayety and finery of
dances; on such occasions they would stand in crowds on the
outside of the open windows and enjoy the scene thoroughly.
The publicity of all plantation life was good training for
the young men, and accustomed them to appearing in public
and contributed to make them public speakers and states-
men. •
Previous to about [845, most of the negro houses were
built of logs, and the houses of many planters were similarly
constructed. After 1845, most of the houses for planters
and for slaves were frame buildings, those for the planter
being usually large and pretentious, while those for the
slaves were the ordinary little houses with two or three
rooms. The log house was covered with boards six inches
wide and from two to four feet long, which were riven or
split from logs. Frame houses were covered with shingles.
All these cabins were periodically whitewashed, and were
ANTI'M'.KI-U'M KUimOOM.
LIFE IN THE OLD SOUTH. 105
generally kept fairly clean. All the slaves had to work when
they were able to do so, but at no other time, and they all
knew they would be cared for in old age and in sickness.
The old negroes were much respected, and each one would
have his little cabin, and perhaps a garden, and there, with
his family about him, would pass his last days in peace.
Some of the negroes would spend their evenings and holi-
days in hunting; others would work a little plot of garden
and produce something and thus earn a little extra money,
which would be expended in any way they desired.
Well regulated plantations were generally in the immedi-
ate control of the owner, but if he chanced to be a profes-
sional man, fond of travel or otherwise engaged away from
home, he employed an overseer. There was a wagon shop
on nearly every plantation. Wagons had wooden axles and
were lubricated with pine tar made in a "tar kiln." In the
smithshop they used charcoal made in a "coal kiln." Col-
lars for mules were made at home of corn shucks or poplar
bark. Much cotton and wool was spun at home, a small
quantity woven, and wool was frequently exchanged at a
factory for cloth. The planter's wife overlooked the weav-
ing and making of the clothes, though the work was done
by the negroes. The ladies in the family provided the very
best attention for the slaves when sick, and guarded care-
fully against any unavoidable suffering. Nearly all ladies
were good horseback riders, and could handle horses not
only easily, but so well as to make it a real pleasure.
Churches were liberally provided, and master and slave at-
tended services regularly, a gallery being arranged in all
churches for the negroes. In the summer, when the crops
were "laid by," there would be protracted and camp meet-
ings, which would draw the people from far and near.
Plantation amusements were various and numerous. In
all of them the negroes took interest, and in some partici-
pated. Fox hunting was very popular. Some few planters
kept as many as twenty-five or thirty fox hounds. It was
not uncommon for ladies to take part in the chase. Almost
IOG HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
every planter kept a few pointer or setter dogs, and hunted
partridges. Besides these dogs kept by the planter himself,
his sons and the negroes had a miscellaneous collection of
rabbit dogs, coon dogs and "possum" dogs. Fishing was
common and popular. Horse racing, chicken fighting,
wrestling and boxing were all popular and were conducted
with decorum. Betting was not common, but sometimes it
would be carried to the extreme by some event of unusual
interest. House parties, dances and picnics were frequent
among the young white people, while the older ones indulged
in barbecues with political speaking or impromptu speeches
of any kind. The white boys and the negroes hunted rab-
bits in day time and coons and opossums at night.
.Much of the work was turned into frolics. Negroes from
different plantations would be gathered together at "corn
shuckings," where they would be divided into two parties,
each with a huge pile of corn, and with singing and laughter
would have an exciting contest. Plenty to drink and eat
was supplied, and the white people would stand around and
witness the fun. Similar combinations were effected for
clearing land, house raisings and log rollings, while the
ladies had their quilting parties and other pleasant gather-
ings.
Authority: — "The Old Plantation," by James Gordon
Avirett; Newspapers, and the Recollections and Personal
Investigations of the Author.
CHAPTER XXII.
CHURCHES BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR.
Growth of the Congregations in the County and the Building of the
First Churches in Charlotte — Something of the Most Noted Min-
isters and Their Great Influence — Revivals and Various Reli-
gious Incidents.
Charlotte, in 1815, set apart a lot on Trade and
Church streets to be used for religious purposes and for a
cemetery. The people of the town combined and erected a
o nifortable building, which was for many years used by
preachers of all denominations. There had been considera-
ble bitter feeling in the county between the members of the
various religious organizations, and this union house of
worship in Charlotte began a charitable friendliness among
the local churches which has never ceased.
In 1 82 1, the Charlotte members of the Sugar Creek Pres-
byterian church petitioned to be formed into a separate con-
gregation. Rev. S. C. Caldwell, the pastor at Sugar creek.
had been preaching in Charlotte once a month since 1805,
and continued to do so until his death in the Fall of 1826.
June 8, 1827, Rev. R. H. Morrison was installed as pastor
of the congregations of Charlotte and Sugar creek, and he
served these churches until April 3, 1833, when his pastoral
relation with "the church of Charlotte" was dissolved.
The Presbyterians secured control of the town church in
1832, and in the following year, erected a better building.
On the fourth Sunday in August 1833. the new church was
occupied and "David Parks and Nathan B. Carroll were ap-
pointed elders." Soon after this, a revival was conducted
by Revs. Morrison and Leavenworth, assisted by Revs. Fur-
man and Barnes, of the Baptists. As a result of the meet-
ings, thirty-six new members were received into the church.
Rev. A. J. Leavenworth was pastor from 1834 until March
IOS HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
12. 1839. Revs. Thomas Owen, John M. M. Culpepper and
Harper Caldwell served from 1839 t0 I ^ , 4 2 ', R- ev - J- F. W.
Freeman from 1842 to 1846; Rev. Cyrus Johnston from
1846 to 1855; Rev. A. W. Miller from 1855 to 1857; Rev.
Alexander Sinclair from 1857 to x 865. William Carson,
who died November 22, 1846, bequeathed $1,000 to the
Presbyterian church and $5,000 and his library to Davidson
College.
January 7, 1833, an auxiliary of the American Tract Soci-
ety was formed in Charlotte. Isaac Alexander was chair-
man, Rev. A. J. Leavenworth secretary, and David Parks
treasurer. The purpose of the society was to circulate tracts
and other printed matter for the stimulation of religious in-
terest. January 7, 1834, a Sunday School Union was
formed in the town, and $100 raised to promote the work.
Rev. David J. Allen, a Methodist, was stationed in Char-
lotte in February, 1834, succeeding Rev. J. J. Allison. The
Methodist congregation had been organized since 181 5,
and the town church, which has since become Tryon Street
Methodist Episcopal church, grew from the original congre-
gation at Buck's Hill, seven miles northwest of Charlotte, on
the Beatty's Ford road. Their first church was erected on
Seventh street in 1834, and it served until the present site
was occupied in 1859. D. R. Dunlap and Brawlcy Oates
were the leaders in the organization of the congregation in
[815. This church was one of a circuit until 1833, when it
was made a station. The Harrison Methodist church, in the
southern part of the county, was established in 1785. An-
other, of which Andrew Moore was founder, was built at
"llethesda," in the western part of the county, about
[810. In June, 1853, there was a Methodist revival and
quarterly conference in Charlotte, which was attended by
Presiding Elder Durant, Evangelist Baker, of Texas, and
Rev. Mr. Jenkins, who had been a missionary in China. The
missionary had with him a Chinaman and some Chinese
images which excited much comment. Great interest was
manifested in the meeting, a large amount was raised for
CHURCHES BEFORE THE CIVIE WAR. IOO-
foreign missions, and fifty persons were converted. In
April, 1858, another revival, lasting three weeks, added
forty-five members.
Rev. Mr. Barnes, of the Baptist denomination, was
preaching in Charlotte in 1833. During that year and the
next, he and Revs. John Culpepper and Wait preached oc-
casionally in the county court house. In 1839, the church
was erected on Fourth street, but it was sold a few years
later and a better one was built at the corner of Seventh and
Brevard streets.
Rev. G. D. Berkheim was in Charlotte in the early part
of 1859, to organize a Lutheran church. The building was
erected in March, and Revs. Bittle and Berkheim were the
preachers for the congregation. The Episcopal church was
organized in 1845, an d a new church occupied June 22,
1858. Rev. Mr. Parker, of Salisbury, served the church
until a regular pastor was secured.
Rev. Joseph Stokes, in 1824, was the first Catholic priest
to visit this section. Rev. John Maginnis succeeded him in
Charlotte in 1827. He taught school at his house and
preached, and gradually drew around him a Catholic congre-
gation. Rev. J. J. O'Connell was appointed to the mission
in 1 85 1, and in the same year built the first Catholic church
in Charlotte.
The Associate Reformed Presbyterians did not have a
church in Charlotte before i860, though several of that be-
lief resided in town. In the county, however, they were
second only to the Presbyterians in getting started. Gilead
church was formed in 1788, and Little Steele creek in 1795,
and there were also Associate Reformed Presbyterian
churches at Coddle creek, Prosperity, Hopewell and Sardis.
Among the able men who served these churches were Revs.
James McKnight, John Boyce, Alexander Ranson and John
Hunter.
From 1800 to i860, the noted seven Presbyterian
churches of Mecklenburg were all prospering, and new ones
were being formed in the county, principally by members
IIO HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
of these old churches. Pleasant Hill church was formed
by members of Steele creek in 1836, and began with forty-
two members. In the latter part of May, 1858, there was a
revival at Hopewell, conducted by Rev. S. C. Pharr, the
pastor, who was assisted by Rev. R. H. Morrison. As a
result of the meeting, fifty members were taken into the fold.
In 1 83 1, Sharon church was formed by the members of
Providence who lived north of McAlpin's creek.
Camp meetings and revivals were annual events of im-
portance. There was in every section a camp meeting
ground with a large arbor for preaching, and little cabins for
the accommodation of the people. Many of the people
would carry tents with them, and they would remain for
weeks at a time. The best preachers were obtained for such
occasions, and sometimes the excitement was intense and
large numbers were converted.
The ministers were generally well equipped with this
world's goods. In 1819, Rev. John Williamson owned 504
acres of land, and his property was valued at $2,312. Rev.
S. C. Caldwell owned property amounting to $2,702; Rev.
Humphrey Hunter was worth $1,500; Rev. James Wallis
$3,526, and Rev. Isaac Grier $1,200. They each owned
several slaves and large tracts of land. Rev. S. C. Caldwell
had 904 acres of land and eight slaves.
Authority : — Newspapers and Church Records and
Sketches.
Charjotte Male and Female Academy.
» t
■\>it »utrt«V«lM-A. vv>v»>'->' Ca v tt > tl\e SJU»% MVeroAij unnexvit to
for the uurymse ot (Meting ft AtftYe «i«\ Vtmnle .\cai\v\to) in
our n»\ut».
the Town of CV»v\otte, MetVAcnburi; count)' •, ■which mnijs we ururaisc
Vo y>»\ \o the Trustees, In the VoUosSVo; in*lnWeul», \iv. ^' tine-fourth
on the ls\ oV December next, \\m\ thf lva\;\ur,- In two numuil vft)meuts,
tl»a\ U to sn\ f , onc-h«lf in Decs-tuber, l$*2.»the other hn\f in lleiember,
\S:^ Witness ouv lionus, this 'ZSth i\n>- of t'cbruarj, lS^
K. It. U is cusrecil t>) the Trustees. th • those who ym) their subscriyi-
ttotu in vvovuurv -\u\llha\c a discount of lO \»er cent.
srh-i mftkits 1 Sam^s
■■').* mm
*S{*
y
/&-*<
■
~7r:
r
&**$&# *&< ' '<■' ■" • ^ I \^^Jhr^ z ^-¥ /**■
J*ss , //tSf.^j/, r 'ftrtf-^ Vsy ■
'7
7
'Si*'
>/'////> Z
c
/> '"_/,->
■
f
SUBSCRIPTIONS TO CHARLOTTE ACADEMY, 1823.
CHAPTER XXIII.
EDUCATION BEFORE 1860.
First Chartered Schools — County Academies — Ministers Conducted
Excellent Schools — Beginning of the Public System — Military
Institute — Male and Female Institutes — Davidson College.
There was little difference in the general aspect of Meck-
lenburg county schools before 1800 and between that time
and i860. At the principal churches in the county, excellent
schools were maintained by the ministers, nearly all of whom
were accomplished scholars. A number of these schools
were chartered and had a regular course of instruction.
Previous to the beginning of the public school system, about
1840, there were numerous teachers other than the minis-
ters, who were regularly engaged in school work, and from
1840 the ministers were gradually supplanted in the work
by men who could give their entire time to it.
Rocky River Academywas incorporated in i8i2,and New
Providence Academy was chartered in 181 1, at which time
James Wallis was principal. A high grade school was main-
tained there for many years. In 1852, there were two
schools in the neighborhood. Miss H. G. Graham was con-
ducting Providence Whitehall Academy, and Miss Sarah J.
Parks was principal of Providence Female Academy. In
1853, W. B. Pressly taught at Sugar creek, and two years
later the school was under the direction of John B. Parkey.
T. M. Kirkpatrick, who had taught at Davidson, began
Sharon Female Academy, seven miles from Charlotte, in
February, 1849. He continued in charge of it until his
death in 1855, being succeeded by Miss Eliza Parker. In
1854, Rev. R. F. Taylor began a classical school at Rock
creek, and in 1855, Miss Susan Rudisill was teaching a
school for girls at the residence of Mrs. Margaret Grier, in
the Paw creek section.
112 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
S. W. Irwin was at the head of a classical school at Mal-
lard creek church in 1834, and in the same year, Rev. John
Maginnis was teaching a preparatory school on Tryon
street, in Charlotte. J. C. Denny, who had taught two ses-
sions in Charlotte, was at Steele creek in 1853. Robert G.
Allison began the third session of the Charlotte English
and Classical School in October, 1855. Rev. J. M. Cald-
well and his wife taught at Sugar creek for several years be-
fore 1845. Then Misses Gould and Chamberlain conducted
Claremont Academy, near the Sugar creek church, for
several sessions, and in 1852, Miss Mary Ann Frew was
teaching there. About that time, a daughter of J. R. Alex-
ander was teaching a girls' school at her father's residence,
half way between Charlotte and Davidson College. S. D.
Wharton, of Alexandriana, was teaching at Hopewell in
July, 1850, and in 1853 Mt. Carmel Academy was taught
by Miss Brandon. Good schools were also conducted at
Harrisburg and Cedar Grove.
Some of the teachers and many of the ministers, about the
middle of the century, were highly educated. In June, 1847,
Prof. Pliny Miles lectured in the Female Academy on the art
of improving the memory. November 16, 1848, Rev. J. W.
F. Freeman delivered* an astronomical lecture in the Pres-
byterian church "preparatory to forming a night class for
the study of astronomy by aid of Mathison's splendid dia-
grams." In 1853, Prof. R. H. A. Koch was teaching music
in Charlotte, and in the following year Adolphus Evvette, a
Frenchman, was giving special instruction to ladies in the
"new system of drawing." There was usually a dancing
school, and sometimes as many as three or four. September
1 7. 1 839, Mr. A. G. Powers was teaching writing and short-
hand in the town.
In 1837, North Carolina received $1,500,000 from the
United States as her share of the funds which had accu-
mulated from the sale of public lands. This amount, with
some other then on hand, was used as a public school fund,
and a literary board was organized consisting of the Gov-
EDUCATION BEFORE i860. 113
ernor and three others by him appointed. In 1839, the
counties were divided into school districts, six miles square,
and each county voted whether or not to have public schools,
all but one voting in favor of it. Mecklenburg's vote was
950 for and 578 against, and in Charlotte it was 314 to 51.
The county school tax assessed was six cents on the poll
and three cents on the $100 valuation of property. The
county schools were under the control of a board of seven
superintendents, and each school had three committeemen.
The income from the State fund was supplemented by a
tax levied by the county courts, and the court was authorized
to levy, on any district having as many as fifty school chil-
dren, a tax sufficient to build a school house.
Rather than pay the tax, the people preferred to build the
houses, so rough log buildings were erected, though there
were a few neat frame structures in the county. Where
there had- not previously been a school, new teachers were
employed, -and as they could only be employed for a part of
each year at a meagre salary, they were not of the highest
order. In other places, however, the public schools were
combined with the old schools. In 1849, the public money
in district No. 50 was paid to Alexandriana Academy and
used wholly for the poor people. Mrs. E. Wilson, the
teacher, kept account of the number of days attended by
children whose parents were unable to pay tuition, and this
was charged to the public fund. Mecklenburg's portion of
the public money, together with the county tax, amounted to
$2,149 m I &49> an d to $3,449 in 1850, in which year it was
the second largest county fund in the State. In 1841, there
were seventy-seven school districts in Mecklenburg. The
salaries of teachers ranged from fifteen dollars to thirty dol-
lars a month, and the books used included Webster's speller,
North Carolina reader, Davie's arithmetic and Smith's
grammar.
January 8, 1838, the Charlotte Male Academy opened,
in charge of Rev. A. J. Leavenworth, and about forty stu-
dents were enrolled. Mr. Leavenworth was followed by
114 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
Thomas A. Avery, and he by Robert G. Allison. Mr. T. C.
Pomeroy, of New York, was the next principal.
October 9, 1848, Rev. J. W. F. Freeman was in charge
of the Academy. He was followed the next year by Prof.
J. \Y. Harrington, a graduate of Columbia College, of New
York, who held the position until 1851. During that time
the trustees of the institution were D. R. Dunlap, Leroy
Springs and J. D. Boyd. Prof. W. D. Johnston conducted
the school from 1854 to 1858.
July 26, 1858, the corner stone of the Charlotte Military
Academy was laid with impressive ceremonies, participated
in by the Masonic fraternity in a body. V. C. Barringer and
Ex-Governor Graham were the orators, and a large crowd
was present. The building was erected in the southern part
of the city, and is now used by the graded school. It was
completed in 1859, and in the fall of that year the school
was opened by Gen. D. H. Hill, Gen. Jas. H. Lane and Col.
C. C. Lee. R. M. McKinney, C. P. Estill, Marshall and
Bynum were also teachers before the war.
An advertisement of the Charlotte Female Academy, in
1832, stated that the course of instruction included the com-
mon and higher studies, drawing, painting, music, Latin,
1 1 reek, French and Italian. Mrs. S. D. Nye Hutchison
was in charge of the school from 1836 to 1839, and Miss
Sarah Davidson was music teacher. Rev. A. J. Leavenworth
was principal in 1840, and Rev. Cyrus Johnston from 1846
to 1853. August 15, 1849, the school opened with Rev.
Johnston, Miss Mary Dayton and Miss Josephine C. Kerr
as teachers. The building was burned March 26, 185 1, and
no effort was made to rebuild until two years later. Then
bids were received for erecting a brick building three stories
high and 92 by 53 feet in size. The work was completed in
1859.
The Charlotte Female Institute was organized and opened
during the fall of 1857, with Rev. Robert Burwell and his
wife, who had been conducting a school in Hillsboro, in
charge. A good building was provided by the people of
X
'J
I— I
p
I— I
p
(—1
<1
'J
55
O
Q
>— i
>
EDUCATION BEFORE i860. II5
Charlotte, and the institution was successful. In 1859, the
building was enlarged and completed, and the faculty in-
creased by bringing in J. B. Burwell, a son of the principal,
graduate of Hampden-Sidney College, and a teacher of ex-
perience. Mrs. J. A. Crittenden was teaching a school for
girls in Charlotte in 1838 and 1839. There had been for a
long time a school in Charlotte at intervals, known as the
Female Institute. In 1838, it was being conducted by Mr.
and Airs. Gustavus Spencer, who were considered excellent
teachers.
After the close of Liberty Hall, the people of Mecklen-
burg did not give up their hope of having an institution of
higher learning in the county. The subject was much talked
ut. and at a convention held at Lincolnton in September,
1820, and attended by North Carolina and South Carolina
Presbyterians, the first definite move was made. A board
of trustees was selected, and later in the year a charter was
obtained for Western College. The reason for the pro-
posed school was "that the more western counties in the
State are distant from Chapel Hill, which renders it incon-
venient for their youth to prosecute their education there."
Friends of the University opposed the new school, and the
trustees being unable to agree as to the location, and not
having much encouragement, abandoned the project in 1824.
Resolutions tending to the establishment of a Presbyte-
rian college were adopted by the Concord Presbytery, at
Prospect church, in the Spring of 1835. The object of the
movement was for the promotion of liberal learning "pre-
paratory to the Gospel ministry." The committee appointed
to carry out the plans included Revs. R. H. Morrison, John
Robinson, Stephen Frontis, Samuel Williamson, and Rob-
ert Burton, William Lee Davidson, John Phifer and Joseph
Young. In the summer of 1836. William Lee Davidson
donated a large tract of land for the building site, and prep-
arations were made to begin the work. Subscriptions to the
amount of $30,000 had been secured by Revs. Morrison and
P. J. Sparrow. The institution was named Davidson Col-
Il6 HISTORY OE MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
lege, in honor of General William Davidson, who was killed
at Cowan's Ford, about seven miles from the present site,
February i, 1781. The college was opened in March, 1837,
with 66 students and the following faculty: Rev. R. H.
Morrison, president, Rev. P. J. Sparrow and M. D. John-
ston. The Legislature granted the charter December 28,
1838. The manual labor feature was introduced, but proved
unsuccessful and was dispensed with after four years' trial.
In 1855, Davidson College was placed on a strong financial
basis by the bequest of Maxwell Chambers, of Salisbury,
which amounted to $258,000. The institution was prosper-
ous until the beginning of the Civil War. In 1840, Dr. Mor-
rison was succeeded as president by Rev. Samuel William-
son, who served in that capacity until 1854, and was suc-
ceeded by Dr. Drury Lane, who continued in office until
i860. It was for a long time customary for the college to
hold public examinations semi-annually, at which the exer-
cises consisted of "speaking, both selected and original com-
position and a debate."
Authority : — Records of the Schools, Official Information
and Newspapers.
CHAPTER XXIV.
GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT FROM 1825 TO 1860.
Population, Wealth and Taxes — Trades and Improvements — Laws
and Courts — Newspapers — Mecklenburg's Part in the Mexican
War — Smallpox — Fairs and Public Exhibitions — The Census of
1840.
In the first part of the nineteenth century, the country
was scantily settled, roads were bad, modes of travel were
tedious, and consequently the census taking could not be
thorough. Emigration movements often assumed vast pro-
portions and the variability of the slave population would
sometimes make the total number of inhabitants at one cen-
sus much smaller than at a preceding one. Some years nearly
all the property was listed and at others only a portion of it.
In 1842, Union county was made from portions of Meck-
lenburg and Anson.
In 1820, the population of Mecklenburg was 16,895; m
1830, it was 20,073; in 1840, 18,273; 1850, 13,814, and in
i860, 17,374. The population in 1825 was about the same
as it was in i860. From 1835 until 1850 there was a great
emigration to the West. In 1825, the population of Char-
lotte was 700, and in i860, it was 1,336. The
census of 1830 disclosed the facts that there were in the
county sixty-one unnaturalized foreigners, one white man
105 years old, one white woman 101 years old, and three
negroes 100 years old.
Charlotte did a considerable merchandise business during
this period. In 1832, the merchants' tax amounted to $220
and the peddlers' tax to $250. The tax on each peddler was
$10.00, so there must have been twenty-five men regularly
engaged in that work. They traveled into all portions of the
country, and did a good business with the people who lived
a long distance from town. Stores were in all parts of
Il8 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
the county, but they were supplied only with the necessi-
ties of life; for anything else it was necessary to come to
Charlotte. There were a number of grist and flour mills in
the county, and a few saw mills which did work for the pub-
lic. The merchants knew how to advertise, and stores as
early as 1840 were selling their "entire stock of goods below
cost." There were usually two or three milliners in the
town, and they advertised the latest fashions and best work.
The newspapers in 1833 announced that "the balloon sleeves
are going out of fashion," and a hope was expressed that
the same fate would befall the "ladies' big hats, some of
which are two or three feet broad."
The Mansion House was the chief hostelry in town in
1840, and it and the Charlotte Hotel were popular in i860.
Taverns and saloons were noted places for men to assemble
for public discussions of all kinds. Licenses were granted
to whiskey dealers, and the traffic became so common that in
1833, an organization of the "Sons of Temperance" was ef-
fected. The campaign occasioned some excitement and
served to retard the growth of the liquor business, but had
little other effect. A saloon keeper advertised that he had
just received a fine consignment of liquors and one "special
preparation for the members of a certain society in this
town," and the liquor men said that the doctors were push-
ing the temperance movement so they could get to sell all
the liquor. In 1842, the Washington Temperance Society
of Mecklenburg County was organized with 145 members.
In 1853, Burton Craige was elected to Congress over James
W. Osborne, and the charge was made during the campaign
that Osborne was a "Son of Temperance," but it was not
proved. The local election in the same year was also fought
on the liquor question, and the "dry" candidate was over-
whelmingly defeated.
The county tax in 1826, was thirty cents on the poll and
ten cents on each $100 worth of property, but in 1836. it
was reduced to twenty-five cents and eight cents respectively.
In addition, there was a "pour" tax ranging from fifteen to
ft;
1
1 1 I
. v
H
o
Q
H
CO
D
O
H
g
3
o
o
o
H
E->
03
H
q
c
GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT FROM 1825 TO i860. I 19
twenty-five cents on the poll, and from five to ten cents on
each $100 valuation. In May, 1828, commissioners were
appointed to build a poor house, and the work was completed
in January, 1833, and a man and his wife employed to take
charge of it. In 1829, the old court house, which was
erected in 1810, was thoroughly overhauled and repaired,
and in 1845, a new building was erected on West Trade
street. June 1, 1849, J- B. Kerr, the town treasurer, adver-
tised for sealed bids for repairing the "horse racks and the
streets in Charlotte." The first fire engine was purchased in
1830, $100 being paid for it. A regular fire company was
kept up, but was very ineffective. In 1858, gas lamps were
purchased for the streets and public buildings, at a cost of
$1,015.40. In 1803, William Davidson and William Alli-
son had charge of the Charlotte division of the Mutual Fire
Insurance Company. In 1855, the Charlotte Mutual Fire
Insurance Company was organized with R. C. Cowan pres-
ident, John Irwin vice president, J. F. Irwin secretary and
treasurer, William Johnston attorney, and W. L. Winston
agent.
Whipping posts and stocks remained in use until after the
war. The laws were rigidly enforced, and whipping and
branding were the usual modes of punishment for minor
offenses. Courts were always kept busy while in session,
and a number of lawyers lived in the county. Among them
were J. C. Spears, F. L. Smith, James H. Wilson, S. J.
Lowrie, James W. Osborne, V. C. Barringer, A. F. Bre-
vard, F. H. McDowell, W. J. Keahey and William Johnston.
In 1835, R- ev - Isaac Grier was elected delegate from Meck-
lenburg to the constitutional convention over William Lee
Davidson, the issue being Davidson's announced intention
to propose an amendment allowing Catholics to hold office.
In 1834, a town ordinance was in effect making it a misde-
meanor, punishable by a $5.00 fine, to leave wood boxes on
the street, to dig sand or dirt from the street or to keep more
than one dog. The first election of town officers by the
people was held January 17, 1852, when A. Graham was
120 HISTORY OE MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
elected intendant, and six prominent citizens were elected
councilmen. Previous to this time, the mayor had been
elected by the aldermen.
The dispensation of justice was vested in the county mag-
istrates ; a county court presided over by three magistrates,
and which met quarterly; and a Superior Court of law and
equity, which met twice a year.
In the year 1858, there was snow on the 26th day of
April. Snow fell in Atlanta thirteen days before, and on
the 15th there was a frost in Mecklenburg. The weather
was extremely cold for some time, fires being necessary for
comfort until the end of May. April 15, 1849, there had
been a similar snow and cold spell, the snow being several
inches deep and all the fruit being killed, and in the Spring
of 1840, all the fruit was killed by a cold spell. In the Fall
of 1858. three comets were reported as being visible, and
were objects of much interest to Charlotte people.
Mecklenburg's first newspaper was Holton's North Car-
olina Whig, which was established in 1824. The name was
•changed to the Journal in March, 1832, and back to Whig
January 26, 1852. Holton remained in charge of it, and
from 1852 until 1855, A. C. Williamson was connected with
it. June 28, 1834, it appeared in mourning with black ruled
columns on account of the death of Lafayette. D. Asbury
was one of the editors in 1841.
January 13, 1848, James Fulton succeeded J. W. Hamp-
ton as editor of the Jeffersonian, and in the next year left to
take charge of the Wilmington Journal. Samuel C. Craw-
ford edited the Jeffersonian in 1844. In 1848, J. L. Badger
was connected with the Journal, and a year later was pub-
lishing the Hornets' Xest. The Hornets' Nest and the Jour-
nal were the only papers published in Charlotte in 1850. July
10, [852, the Western Democrat appeared, edited by R. P.
Waring, and in 1 S 5 5 , Dr. II. M. I'ritchard was editor. In
[854, the Whig, Democrat and Wilmington Journal cn-
;ed in a discussion relative to the Independence Monu-
ment Association, which was organized in Charlotte several
GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT FROM 1 825 TO i860. 121
years previous, and the Charlotte papers said it had been
abandoned because some people persisted that the name of a
certain Tory should be put on it. May 17, 1859, the Daily
Bulletin began publication under the management of E. H.
Britton & Co.
May 17, 1848, Raymond & Waring' s great zoological
exhibition appeared in Charlotte, with lions and tigers and a
brass band. About the same time, Dr. Shannon advertised
that he was in Charlotte for a short time to practice and
teach "pathetism," and that the fee for a full course was
$10.00. He announced that he would cure headache, tooth-
ache and slight cases of rheumatism free; for curing any
chronic disease he was to be paid one year after the cure was
effected. In 1847, W. Barth passed through the county
practicing "animal magnetism." In March, 1833, "Mr.
Prosser, the American Fire King," appeared at the Masonic
Hall and exhibited "his power of withstanding high degrees
of heat, eating melted lead, blazing sealing wax and live
coals." April 28, 1852, Mr. John Vane was in the county
teaching people how to dectect counterfeit money. Daguer-
reotype artists often spent several weeks in town and were
widely patronized.
Lectures, circuses, shows and exhibitions of all kinds were
numerous. The Odd Fellows and Masons generally cele-
brated on May 20th or July 4th, and the young people held
festivities on May day- The Charlotte Jockey Club was the
source of much entertainment, and their races, May 1, 1838,
were attended by large crowds. At a 4th of July celebration
at Providence in that year, a cannon exploded, killing Wil-
liam L. Patton and wounding Jonah Boyes and Hugh Peo-
ples. In October, 1855, the Mecklenburg County Agricul-
tural Society held a fair in Charlotte, and the society was re-
organized, and fairs were thereafter held every year until
the beginning of the war. May 20, 1848, was the occasion
of a large celebration with processions; speeches by Rev.
Cyrus Johnston, William S. Harris, of Cabarrus, and Hon.
J. W. Ellis; music by the Providence band, and a big dinner.
122 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
July 4, 1847, there was a celebration and free barbecue in
town. Rev. H. B. Cunningham opened the exercises with
prayer, the Declaration of Independence was read bv S. Nye
Hutchison, James A. Fox delivered the oration, and rail-
id speeches were made by J. W. Osborne and J. H. Wil-
son.
North Carolina furnished one regiment of infantry for
the Mexican war in 1846, but Mecklenburg had no part in
the formation of the regiment. Some of the enterprising
patriots volunteered and obtained permission to raise a com-
pany of "light horse dragoons.'" G. W. Caldwell was captain,
and E. C. Davidson, J. K. Harrison and A. A. Norman
were lieutenants, and D. C. Robinson was a sergeant. They
left Charlotte in April, 1847, went to Charleston, and from
there to Vera Cruz, where they joined the American forces
and engaged in several battles. The Governor of the State
at that time was William A. Graham, of Orange county, a
son of Gen. Joseph Graham, and it is also worthy of notice
that a native of the county. James Knox Polk, was President
of the United States.
In November, 1848, a medical society was organized in
Charlotte for the purpose of uplifting the profession. In
1850. the smallpox spread throughout the county. In No-
vember of that year the doctors published a signed statement
declaring that the disease was not smallpox, but in Decem-
ber. Dr. Mcllwaine declared that it was smallpox, and de-
manded that precautions be taken against it. January 3,
[851, a board of health was formed by the authorities and a
it was submitted showing that at that time there were
I caso of the disease in Charlotte, 16 others in the county
and that 9 negroes and one white man had died with it. The
epidemic continued through [851, and increased rapidly
until the warm weather began. Among the physicians in
arlotte and Mecklenburg from iS^o to 1860. were D. F,
Caldwell, C. J. Pox, Pritchard, Taylor. Hutchison, Robert
Gibbon, I). R. Williamson, William Parham, j. C. Rudi-
sill, M. O'Reilly, P. C. Caldwell. Mcllwaine. I M. David-
' ^
.«— O «- ■ •»
tf&o "^
^V^
a^i
/:£****
fL^<(^ /£_ &>^-j f+
'•f-
/
^T- aS-
BILL OF SALE.
t^Notice!
Negroes for Sale.
On the 18th day of lleeember
in vt, at the Plantation of the late Obtilir.net Dinkins. deed.
I will offer far sale
12 likely NEGROES,
viz: 5 Mm, 3 Womm. 'I Boy*, and '£ f,ir/>. a quantity of
Cotton, Corn and Fodder,
1 Horse, *2 Co*v*- *»nd- e air e *,
1 Cotton Gin A: Gearing,
Farming Tools,
Household «fc Kit elien Furniture
with other articles not mentioned. The -ale will continue
from daj to day, yntil a11 }irr " ol(l - A credit of twelve
months "will be given. Bond and approved security re-
quired.
Snm'l. Cox, JEareciilor.
If/iite Hall. JT. C.Vor. 11). 1838.
>. B. All persons Inning claim- against the late Obedinirt
M)inl;ins. tired., will present them pro perl) attested within
the time the law directs, or this notice will be plead in bar
of their recovery.
>1HL COX, Executor.
NOTICE OF SALE.
GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT FROM 1825 TO i860. 123
son, E. H. Andrews, a dentist, and J. M. Happoldt, an eye
specialist and surgeon, at Providence.
The census of 1840 gives full particulars of Charlotte and
Mecklenburg at that time. There were in Charlotte 849 per-
sons, of whom 548 were white and 301 were negroes.
Among the other things enumerated are twelve stores, one
bank agent, three taverns, one tannery, one printing office,
one weekly paper, two academies, one common school, two
ministers, six lawyers, six doctors, four miners and fifty,
mechanics. The population in 1830 was 717, and in 185 1
it was 1,186. At this latter date the town property was
valued at $122,740, and in addition, the 41,976 acres of land
in the militia district was valued at $162,540. The tax lists
also included gold and silver plate worth $350, thirteen
pleasure carriages, eighty-three gold watches, thirty-eight
silver watches and twenty- four pianos.
In the whole county were 11,909 white people and 6,841
negroes; 1,692 persons engaged in agriculture, 234 in manu-
facturing and trades. 49 in commerce, 94 in mining and 58
in learned professions. One hundred and eighty-seven white
persons more than twenty years of age could not read or
write. One college had 81 students, 5 academies had 185
and 25 common schools had 475. Only twenty-four pen-
sioners lived in the county. There were 9 tanneries, 15 dis-
tilleries, 15 gold mines, 1 carriage factory, 11 flour mills,
23 grist mills, 32 saw mills and 32 stores. In 1850, the
county contained 712 town lots, valued at $124,345, and
289,522 acres of land valued at $1,059,968. The total tax
was 70 cents on the poll and 30 cents on each $100 valuation
of property.
Authority: — Newspapers, County Records, and Census
Reports.
CHAPTER XXV.
RAILROADS AND INDUSTRIES FROM 1830 TO 1860.
Realization of Necessity for Better Means of Travel and Commerce.
— Work on the Catawba River — Railroad Agitation in 1833 — The
Old Stage Coach — First Passenger Train in 1852 — County Road
Commissioners — Varied Industries.
Many years before the war, the people of Mecklenburg
were beginning to realize the importance of diversified in-
dustries. The agitation for the proposed railroads and the
excitement attendant upon the construction of them, acted
as awakening influences. Discovery of gold was an impor-
tant factor, and much interest was manifested in the estab-
lishment of the mint. The great improvement of cotton
mill machinery also had its influence. The primary reason,
and perhaps the most important one, was that the country
was divided into a comparatively small number of landed
estates ; there were no farms for sale, and hence the new pop-
ulation was forced to give attention to something besides
agriculture. An industrial crisis was imminent, and the
problem would have solved itself by natural agencies within
a few mure years, had not sectional differences brought on
the war.
As early as 1797, there was legislation for the purpose of
rendering the Catawba river navigable. In 1801, a stock
company, at the head of which was Waightstill Avery, was
formed under the provisions of this law. The capital stock
of the company was $15,000, and the income was to be de-
rived from tolls on the river trade. In 1809, the Legislature
passed an act allowing a lottery to raise five thousand dol-
lars to aid in the enterprise. In 1 S 1 — , a resolution was
passed relative to a proposed canal to connect Rocky river
and the Catawba. The Catawba Navigation Company, in
[829, was given f\\^ more years in which to complete the
RAILROADS AND INDUSTRIES FROM 183O TO i860. 1 25
work. As population increased and the necessity for a better
mode of transportation became apparent, the Mecklenburg
people gave more thought than ever to the river navigation,
but about then the railroad talk began, and that at once com-
manded the attention.
October 7, 1833, a public meeting for the discussion of in-
ternal improvements was held in the court house and dele-
gates were appointed to a railroad meeting in Salisbury. At
a convention held in Salisbury, October 10, 1836, Mecklen-
burg and eighteen other counties were represented by a total
number of 131 delegates. Resolutions were adopted ask-
ing the Legislature to aid in the building of railroads, which
was of so great importance to the western counties. About
the same time, Mecklenburg sent three representatives to
the Knoxville railroad convention, which met to consider
the advantages to be secured by building the Charleston and
Cincinnati railroad. It was agreed that "It will form a bond
of union among the States which will give safety to our
property and security to our institutions." Similar conven-
tions were held at short intervals in Charlotte, Salisbury,
Knoxville and other interested cities for a number of years.
A regular organization for the promotion of improve-
ments was kept up in Charlotte after 1845, an d the commit-
tee of correspondence included the best men of the county.
April 27, 1847, a railroad meeting was held to take definite
action regarding the railroad to Columbia. It was stated
that the road would not be built to Charlotte unless a suf-
ficient amount of stock was subscribed by Charlotte people.
The work of securing subscriptions was begun at once, and
in May, 1849, tne contract was made for the grading of the
road, which was to be completed by January 1, 1851.
Previous to the advent of the railroad, the public means of-
travel was the stage coach. There was usually only one
trip made each way even- week, but on some of the more
popular routes, two trips were made. The arrival and de-
parture of the stages were, ordinarily, the chief events of in-
terest. People living on the line from Fayetteville through
126 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
Charlotte to Lincolnton, received mail twice a week, it
being carried in four-horse coaches. There were other
routes from YYilkesboro to Charlotte, Greensboro through
Salisbury to Charlotte and on to Yorkville, S. C,
and from Charlotte to Camden and Columbia. Mail was
not of much importance, as people rarely expected to receive
any. In 1831, the Charlotte postmaster advertised eighty
letters that had not been called for, some of them addressed
to people living in the town. The high rate of postage, and
the fact that it had to be paid by the ones who received the
mail, probably had something to do with the condition.
The first goods by freight over the road to Char-
lotte was received by a merchant October 6, 1852,
though the track had not then been completed into town.
October 21, 1852, the arrival of the first passenger train
was greeted with a tremendous celebration. Crowds came
from Columbia, Chester, Winnsboro, and the surrounding
country, and the newspapers stated that twenty thousand
people were present. The Columbia band furnished the
music, and John A. Young was chief marshal. Gen. Young
made the address of welcome in behalf of Charlotte, and
James W. Osborne for North Carolina, and President Pal-
mer, of the railroad, responded to the addresses, and he was
followed by Ex-President Goldsden and John W. Ellis. The
barbecue was given on the grounds of the Female Academy,
and at night there was a dance and a display of fireworks.
C. Banknight was .the first railroad agent in this city, and,
November 3, 1852, he advertised daily passenger trains be-
tween Columbia and Charlotte.
In 1856, the road from Goldsboro to Charlotte was com-
pleted. Until that time, the Democratic party had opposed
State aid to internal improvements, and many persons open-
ly proclaimed that the whole movement was impractical and
would eventually fail. Gradually everyone was brought to
realize the importance of the innovation, and then there was
no further objection to State aid. and the system was ex-
tended rapidly. A large number of roads were chartered
RAILROADS AND INDUSTRIES FROM 183O TO i860. 12J
between 1840 and i860, but many of them were never car-
ried any further. The two roads put Charlotte into connec-
tion with the North and South, and drew the attention of the
county to inter-state commerce. It was quite evident that
the cultivation of agricultural products was not sufficient
for the maintenance of an increasing- population, and there
was much said and written about the value of manufactur-
ing cotton and wool.
Daniel Alexander announced, July 16, 1833, ^ at ^ e ^ ia< ^
removed his wool carding machine to his lower mill, on
Mallard creek, where he would card wool for six and one-
quarter cents a pound. Three years previously, Z. H. Bissell
was engaged in rope making at the St. Catherine mine.
In 1839, W. H. Neel was conducting the Sugar creek mills,
five miles southwest of Charlotte, and was also carding
wool. Wilson Parks was running a wool carding machine
on McAlpin's creek, eight miles below Charlotte, in 1842.
The Rock Island Factory began operations in February,
1849, an d in April, 1852, was working two sets of cards,
480 spindles and thirty looms. At this factory, black and
gray cassimeres were made, some of which were being sold
in Wilmington, in February. 1851. for 87-i cents a yard.
Tweeds, jeans and kerseys were also made, and wool was
bought at 25 cents a pound. November 14. 1854. steam
power was used for the first time in Leroy Springs' mill,
which had a capacity of two hundred bushels of flour a day.
This was the first steam engine used in Charlotte. Feathers
were generally used for beds and pillows, and in 1838, a pat-
ent feather renovator was in operation in Charlotte. The
Charlotte Gas Light Company was chartered and began
supplying gas for lighting purposes in 1858. At that time,
W. D. Pinckney & Co. were manufacturing hydraulic
presses and other machinery ; P. Savers was a local architect
and civil engineer; J. D. Palmer was manufacturing candy,
and Alexander & McDougal were operating the Charlotte
machine shops.
In 1778. there was a regularly organized board of road
128 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
commissioners in Mecklenburg. The county was divided
into thirty-eight sections, over each of which was a superin-
tendent. Before 1S10, the commissioners, at their meeting,
had many petitions for roads and bridges to consider. The
Salisbury and Camden road was the first one in the county,
but even before the Revolution, efforts had been made to
have others surveyed. The Legislature, in 1817, provided
for a road to be surveyed and opened from Fayetteville,
through Mecklenburg to Morganton. In the next year,
Thomas G. Polk and others were authorized to lay off and
open a road from Milton, in Caswell county, to Salisbury,
Charlotte and the South Carolina line. In 1825, all white
men between the ages of 18 and 45, and all negroes between
the ages of 16 and 50, were required to work the public
roads. The county court, in May, 1827, appropriated two
hundred dollars for a complete survey of ,the county roads,
bridges, water courses, hills, towns, villages, factories and
other details. This work was done by Joab Alexander,
Thomas G. Polk and William Lee Davidson. In 1830, there
were twenty-five public roads in the county, and when the
railroad agitation began, there was much talk of plank roads
to connect the railroad stations with the country. In 1849,
a plank road from Charlotte to Lincolnton was proposed. In
1 85 1, the road to Taylorsville was begun, and several others
were planned and some of them were built.
Authority: — State and County Records and Newspapers.
CHAPTER XXVI.
MINING AND THE MINT BEFORE 1860.
Discovery of Gold in 1790 — First Attempt at Mining in 1825 — Foreign
Investors Take Active Interest — Most Noted Mines and Their
Productions — Mint Established in Charlotte in 1837, and Its
Record Since.
In 1790. a little son of Conrad Reed, who lived in what
is now Cabarrus county, found a large nugget of gold at a
place afterwards known as Reed's mine. Soon thereafter,
some nuggets were found near Rozzel's Ferry, in Mecklen-
burg. For twenty years after the discovery of gold, the
people did not know of its true value. It was used chiefly
for lining the powder holes in rifles, as it would not rust,
and though a considerable quantity was found, it was not
put to any mure practical use. All of it was known as
"branch gold," being picked up, for the most part, in
creeks.
The first attempt to follow a gold vein was made by Sam-
uel McComb, on his land near Charlotte, in 1825. He oper-
ated the mine for several years, and then disposed of it to a
mining company. Gold mining machinery was scarce and
ineffective, and as a consequence, the development of the in-
dustry was slow. The McComb mine was later known as
the old Charlotte mine, and still later as the St. Catherine
mine, and is located one mile west of the city. It was well
equipped for that period, and w r as considered prosperous for
a number of years. Capp's mine was being worked in 1826,
and is located five and one-half miles from Charlotte.
In 1830, Chevalier Rivafanoli, an Italian and an agent
for a London mining company, arrived in Charlotte to en-
gage in mining. He brought with him several foreigners,
who were experienced miners, and he leased the property
owned by Bissell & Baker. He possessed considerable
capital, and his ventures met with success. About the same
130 . HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
time, some northerners came to this section and also took
an interest in the search for gold. Immigrants to Mecklen-
burg were numerous for several years, until the discovery
of gold in California in 1847, when the tide of immigration
turned the other way.
Some of the newspapers expressed a fear that the min-
ing would have an injurious effect upon agriculture, and
would encourage idleness as the natural result of easily
secured wealth. On the contrary, it was a stimulus and en-
couragement to all industrial pursuits. There was an in-
crease of trade and of employment for mechanics, new
buildings were erected and all the vacant ones were filled,
and as a consequence of the new inhabitants and the tem-
porary speculations, the circulation of money was more gen-
eral.. Value of property increased all over the county, and
those who did not wish to sell their lands and buildings,
could easily rent or lease them on good terms.
Capp's mine, in 1830, represented an investment of $20,-
000. The weekly product of gold averaged eight hundred
pennyweight, and the weekly expenses amounted to $125.
Thirty-eight, negroes were employed to do the hardest work.
A fourteen horse-power steam engine was used to pump
the water from a ninety foot shaft, and it also furnished
power for two mills for grinding ore. On Mallard creek,
six miles from the mine, were four grinding mills and
eighteen pounders, all operated by water power.
The Dunn mine and Rudisill's mine were worked from an
early period, and a large number were opened in various
parts of the county, most of them being abandoned after a
few years. Dunn's mine was first worked by Dr. Samuel
Henderson, who was called "the gold pioneer." In 1831,
the property was transferred to Fanoli. The cradle and
sluice were the only means of recovering gold for many
years. Crushing machinery was in use in 1830, and the
first stamp in the county was put up at St. Catherine's mine
in 1840. This was the work of J. Humphrey Bissell, whose
services to the county and to the science of mining were val-
MINING AND THE MINT BEFORE i860. I3I
uable. Among the others who helped to build up the indus-
try were Thomas Penman, Dr. Daniel Asbury. Commodore
Stockton and Admiral Wilkes. In 1843, J- Gibson took out
a patent for a location on Catawba river, remarking that he
cared nothing for the water, but was after the gold in the
sand at the bottom. The sand was scooped up with long-
handled shovels by men on a float.
March 28, 1834, John Harrison gave to J. B. S. Harris a
receipt for $188.12 "for the building of a gold machine."
In 1833 and 1834, the Legislature incorporated the Wash-
ington, Franklin, Mt. Island, Mecklenburg, North Carolina,
Hope, Campbell's Creek, American, and Claremont gold
mining companies in Mecklenburg county. The list of in-
corporators includes nearly all of the leading citizens of the
county at that time. There were ten mines in operation in
the county in 1850.
\\ . Morrison was local agent for the Bank of New-
bern in 1830, and in January, 1832, a meeting was
held in Charlotte to discuss plans for securing a branch
of the United States Bank, but the effort was unsuccess-
ful. In 1834, a branch of the North Carolina Bank was
secured. Previously there had been so little money in circu-
lation that there was no need for a bank. The gold mining
ventures caused an increase in the circulation, and the new
citizens agitated the matter until the agency of the State
Bank was established. Thomas J. Hogg, of Raleigh, was
agent for the bank in 1855, J. J. Blackwood in 1842, W. A.
Lucas in 1852, and Thomas W. Dewey in 1853. In 1852,
H. B. Williams was local agent for the Bank of Camden.
April 19, 1853, the Bank of Charlotte was organized, with
an authorized capital of $300,000, divided into shares of
$50 each. H. B. Williams was president, W. A. Lucas
cashier, and the board of directors consisted of T. H. Brem,
J. H. Wilson, D. Parks, S. P. Alexander, A. C. Steele, W.
R. Myers, and H. B. Williams. Most of the money used
was State bills, and they were generally discounted.
From the time gold was first mined in the county, there
13- HISTORY OE MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
was a demand for a branch of the United States mint in
Charlotte, by counties in this section both in North and
South Carolina. In 1830, the North Carolina General As-
sembly appointed a special committee, under the chairman-
ship of Gideon Glenn, to investigate the subject. Their re-
port stated that the annual production of gold in the State
amounted to $500,000, at a cost of $150,000, and recom-
mended the establishment of a mint. Acting upon this rec-
ommendation, the United States Congress appropriated
$50,000 for the purpose, March 3, 1835. The corner stone
was laid with impressive ceremonies January 8, 1836, and
the mint was opened December 4, 1837, and did a large
amount of business from the start.
Col. John H. Wheeler was the first superintendent, and he
was succeeded in 1841 by B. S. Gaither. Green W. Cald-
well was appointed to the position in 1844, and resigned
two years later to volunteer for the Mexican war. He was
succeeded by J. W. Alexander, who served until 1849.
James W. Osborne was appointed in 1849, an d i^eld the po-
sition until G. W. Caldwell was reappointed in 1853. Dr.
John H. Gibbon was assayer during the whole period
preceding the war. The mint was burned in July. 1844, and
most of the machinery was thereby ruined. D. M. Barrin-
ger, representative in Congress, secured the passage of a
bill appropriating $25,000 for rebuilding, in February, 1845.
Superintendent Caldwell received instructions regarding
the proposed work on the 18th of April, and within three
'lays had contracted with H. C. Owen to do the work for
$20,000, thus saving $5,000 for the government. The mint,
during t he first year of its existence, coined gold to the
amount of $84,165, the expenses being $17,466, and bullion
being received to the amount of $131,698. This gradually
increased until [849, when the bullion value was $390,731,
and the coinage was $361,229.
Authority. — Records on File in the United States Mint.
Newspapers and County Records.
CHAPTER XXVII.
SLAVERY, POLITICS AND SECESSION. (1825 to 1861.)
Dividing Issues Discussed — Customs Regarding Slaves — Political
Animosity — Mecklenburg Strongly Southern in Feeling — County
Declares for Secession Twenty Days Before South Carolina.
— North Carolina Secedes.
The Missouri compromise, which divided the nation into
a slavery and a nun-slavery section, was effected in 1820.
The administration of James Madison, from 181 7 to 1825,
has gone into history as the era of good feeling, but it was
only a calm before the storm. By the time it ended, the term
"abolitionist" was being applied to certain inhabitants of
"free" States, who were clamoring for the suppression of
the slavery system. The North was not directly concerned in
the industry which was the chief source of wealth to the
South, and to the continuance of which the negro was con-
sidered essential. Hence, it was quite natural that the two
sections should have different opinions on the subject.
According to the laws of 1826, the time for selling and
hiring slaves was the first day of the Superior Court, which
met twice a year. The Legislature of the same year made
it illegal for free negroes to come into the State. At that
time, there were 1,500 negroes in .the county, not counting
the few free ones. Several persons owned as many as
twenty-five salves, and 80 persons owned more than six
each. The highest price received for one at sale in that
year was $568, and the value ranged from that down to
$100 for a small boy. In 1850, there were 678 slave owners
in the county, and they owned 2,713 slaves, and 155 men
owned as many as six each.
Hiring slaves and the custom of employing overseers
gave rise to much .trouble. Few overseers were employed in
this county, but the practice of hiring out the negroes was
134 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
common. Such a contract usually stipulated that the lessee
should "control the negroes as if owner" for one year, and
that he should provide them with articles of clothing, which
were mentioned. He was also required to protect their
health and strength, and to otherwise care for them.
August 8, 1859, three negroes who belonged to J. H. and
W. E. White, discovered that the railroad bridge across the
Catawba had been damaged by a storm, and succeeded in
stopping the train and thereby saving many lives. They
were liberally rewarded by the passengers for this act.
A special tax of 25 cents was levied on each negro to pay
the expenses of the patrollers. The value of slaves increased
rapidly, and in 1841, Leroy Springs sold a negro shoemaker
to Samuel A. Harris for $1,500. By that, time, the free ne-
groes were causing trouble by inciting the slaves to run
away. September 20, 1852, a public meeting in Charlotte
was largely attended to determine what steps should be
taken in regard to these matters.
October 25, 1830, an editorial in the Charlotte Journal
called attention to the state of affairs wherein talk about dis-
solution of the Union had become so common as not to ex-
cite horror, as it once did. The readers were counseled that
such things should not be. May 8, 1832, another editorial
mentioned the evil effect of "treating" at elections, and said
it should be prohibited. Until the secession talk began, the
Whigs and Democrats were about evenly matched, but after
that, the Democrats led easily, because all Whig secession-
ists voted with them. The presidential campaign of 1848
was fought on the slavery issue, with particular reference to
its exclusion from Texas, and Zachary Taylor, the Whig
candidate, was elected, and received a majority in Mecklen-
burg county, but the county was otherwise Democratic. In
the next year, G. W. Caldwell was elected to Congress as an
Independent candidate. In 1852, Franklin Pierce. Demo-
crat, was elected President, and Reid, for Governor, received
in the county 1,421 votes, to his opponents's 731. Pierce
was succeeded by Buchanan, also a Democrat. August 5,
SLAVERY, POLITICS AND SECESSION. 135
1855, a public meeting was held in Charlotte to discuss the
issues of the day. and the idea of secession was popular,
though some questioned its expediency and advised against
talking of it. There were 1,280 voters in Mecklenburg in
1856, the creation of Union county having reduced the num-
ber from more than two thousand.
In 1835, the State Legislature passed resolutions, in view
oi the proceedings of abolitionists in the Eastern and Mid-
dle States, defining the position of North Carolina on the
negro question. It was claimed that the States had the sole
right to regulate slavery, and that the constitution delegated
no such authority to the Federal government. Congress was
petitioned to restrict the circulation of incendiary abolition-
ist literature in the South, and to prevent the abolitionists
from stirring up strife.
Gradually the sectional slavery issue became a political
issue, and this made the feeling more bitter and more open.
The State Democratic convention in 1858 convened in Char-
lotte, and 477 delegates were present, representing 'j'j
counties. Hon. J. W. Ellis, of Rowan, was nominated for
Governor, and was elected in August by 12,000 majority,
receiving 553 majority in Mecklenburg. At the same time,
W. F. Davidson was elected to the State Senate, and Dr.
H. M. Pritchard and M. W. Wallace to the House of Rep-
resentatives. William J. Yates was appointed a member
of the Governor's Council. Governor Ellis was re-elected
in i860; John Walker was elected Senator, and S. W. Davis
and J. W. Potts Representatives.
In the presidential campaign of i860, there were four
candidates — Breckinridge, Bell, Lincoln and Douglass. The
vote in Mecklenburg was: Breckinridge, 1,101; Bell, 826;
and Douglass, 135. The Charlotte Whig said that the
"Union" party in this section had "gone up higher than a
kite." The feeling was strong, as it was generally believed
that Lincoln's platform and speeches made it clear that the
rights of the South would be ignored. J. E. Herrick, a
northerner, was in Charlotte in November, i860, and it
I36 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
being reported that he had "a touch of abolitionism." he
was politely advised to depart from, the county.
December 1, i860, there was held in the court house a
public meeting which has but one equal in the history of the
county — May 20, 1775. A tremendous crowd was in at-
tendance, the best men coming from every section. James
B. Robinson, of Providence, was chairman, and John E.
Brown and M. L. Wallace were secretaries. Speeches were
made by A. C. Williamson, S. J. Lowrie, W. Kerr, Gen.
Young, J. H. Wilson and others. Major Hill and Lieu-
tenant Lee were called upon for speeches and declined, say-
ing they were ready to act, but not to talk. A committee
of eleven reported resolutions declaring that the election of
Lincoln predicated the subversion of the constitution, and
that there should be a State convention to consider what ac-
tion was necessary. S. W. Davis presented the petition to
the General Assembly December 5th. South Carolina
seceded December 20th.
January 30, 1861, the Legislature ordered an election to
be held February 28th to elect delegates to the convention,
and at the same time to determine whether or not there
should be a convention. A public meeting, February 9th.
nominated James W. Osborne and William Johnson as dele-
gates. The election in the State went against the proposed
convention by a small majority, but Mecklenburg's position
was clearly presented by the vote, which showed only seven
votes in Charlotte and 252 in the whole county against the
convention.
Public meetings were frequent, and a State mass meet-
ing in Goldsboro, February 22d and 23d, was largely at-
tended by Mecklenburg people. The assembly adjourned to
meet in Charlotte May 20th, and elaborate preparations were
made for the event, but it was forestalled by Lincoln's requi-
sition on Gov. Ellis for troops. The Governor at once
called the Legislature in special session, and it ordered a
convention to convene May 20th. Osborne and [ohnson
SLAVERY, POLITICS AND SECESSION. 1 37
represented Mecklenburg, and on the first day of the pro-
ceedings, the ordinance of secession was passed by a unani-
mous vote.
Authority : — State and County Records and Newspapers.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
CIVIL WAR. (1861 to 1865.)
Mecklenburg Soldiers Among the First to Volunteer — Were Promi-
nent in the Formation of the First or "Bethel" Regiment — Dis-
tinguished Officers From Mecklenburg — Conditions in the County
During the War— Last Meeting of Confederate Cabinet Held in
Charlotte. ■
Early in 1861, the drilling of soldiers began in Meck-
lenburg county. There were frequent musters and parades
and exhibitions by the military companies. Fort Sumter,
in South Carolina, was surrendered by the Federal forces to
the State April 12th, and at that time seven States had se-
ceded. Eight days later, the United States mint in Charlotte
was seized and occupied by the local militia, under the com-
mand of Col. J. Y. Bryce. Just one month later, on the
eighty-sixth anniversary of the Mecklenburg Declaration of
Independence, the State of North Carolina dissolved the
l".nds which bound her to the Federal Union.
Mecklenburg county was ready for the crisis, and took
a remarkably prominent stand at the very first of the trouble.
The Legislature, which met in Raleigh May 1st, provided
for the Governor to raise ten regiments of troops for the
State. At that time, North Carolina had not decided what
stand to take, but as the states north and south of her had
seceded, she realized the necessity of being prepared for any
emergency, and when President Lincoln's requisition for
troops came, the State was ready to cast her lot with the
sister commonwealths in the common cause. William John-
son, of Mecklenburg, was appointed commissary-general
for the State, and though he held the position but a short
time, lie did valuable service by his prompt and energetic
work.
The entire history of the Civil War does not include a
CIVIL WAR. 139
nobler example of valor and patriotism and efficiency than
the First North Carolina Volunteers, commonly known as
the "Bethel Regiment," and Mecklenburg- county has just
cause to feel proud of its remarkable record. The Charlotte
Grays (Company C), and the Hornets' Nest Rifles (Com-
pany B), were among the first to be mustered into the ser-
vice of the State. The two companies left Charlotte April
1 6th, and the occasion of their departure was made memora-
ble by a hearty celebration, and flags were presented to the
young captains, E. A. Pass and L. S. Williams, by the young
ladies of the county. The faculty and cadets of the Char-
lotte Military School were all taken to Raleigh to drill the
troops, and the regiment was organized in Raleigh by suc-
cessive orders dating from April 19th to May 16th. D. H.
Hill was colonel, Charles C. Lee lieutenant-colonel, James H.
Lane major, Rev. E. A. Yates chaplain, all these men going
from Charlotte. Three of the companies were in Richmond
May 1 8th, and the other seven arrived three days later, and
within the succeeding twenty days they fought and won a
battle, and a member of the Edgecombe company shed the
first blood for the Confederacv.
The personnel and equipment and general efficiency of the
regiment occasioned the highest praise, and the Virginia
papers united in the opinion that it was the equal, if not the
superior, of any in the nation. It included the best military
ability of the State, and its accoutrements were all that any
body of troops could desire. The battle of Bethel was
fought June 6th. The total number of Confederate troops
engaged was 1,408, and 800 of them were members of the
First North Carolina Regiment, the others being Virginians,
A victory was won over the 4,400 Federal troops, and in
the fighting, the two Charlotte companies bore -conspicuous
parts and were complimented for bravery and discipline.
September 3d, Col. Hill was made a brigadier-general, and
Lieutenant-Colonel Lee was elected colonel. September 21,
Lieutenant-Colonel Lane became colonel of the Twenty-
eighth regiment, then being organized at High Point.
140 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
October 12th, the "Bethel" regiment was mustered out of
service, and reorganized later at. High Point as the Eleventh
regiment, in which the Mecklenburg men were honored by
promotion.
Mecklenburg county furnished one company for the first
regiment of artillery, and one for the first regiment of cav-
alry, known respectively as the Ninth and Tenth North
Carolina regiments. Both companies were organized in
May, the first by Captain Thomas H. Brem, and the other
by Captain J. M. Miller. The Ninth regiment was en-
gaged in one hundred and fifty battles during the war, and
the Tenth also took an active part. In these first days of the
war, the ladies of the county did their duty as nobly as
did the men, and they took as much interest in the conflict.
They made clothes and sent provisions of all kinds for the
soldiers. During the month of June, the "Jewess ladies"
of the town raised $150 to assist the volunteers, and every
one did all that could be done.
In the election of 1860. 2,062 votes were cast in Meck-
lenburg; and between i860 and 1865, the county furnished
for the Confederacy, .twenty-one companies, which, with re-
cruits, included 2,713 soldiers. Besides these, there were
many who joined other commands as privates or officers.
The students of the Military Academy were made drill mas-
ters, and nearly all of them became officers. Col. Hill was a
lieutenant-general at the close of the war, and J. H. Lane
was a brigadier-general. Col. C. C. Lee, of the Thirty-
seventh North Carolina regiment, was killed at Frazier's
Farm, in Virginia, June 30, 1862.
Col. R. M. McKinney, of the Fifteenth, was killed near
Yorktown, April 16, 1862. Major E. A. Ross was killed at
Gettysburg, July 1, 1863. Hamilton C. Jones was lieutenant
colonel of the 57th, which was organized at Salisbury July 6.
1862. and he became colonel of the regiment in 1865 ; was at
the battle of Gettysburg and other important engagements,
and served throughout the war. Colonel William A. Owens,
who left Charlotte as lieutenant of the Hornets' Nest Rifles,
CIVIL WAR. 141
was killed at Snicker's Ford, Ya., in August, 1865. Lieut.
Gen. Leonidas Polk was a grandson of Thomas Polk of
revolutionary fame.
At a public mass meeting held in the Mecklenburg court
house, August 29, 1863, the administrations of Governor
Vance and President Davis were endorsed by a unanimous
vote. The public spirit was active, and when Gen. John H.
Morgan passed through the city, December 24, 1863, the cit-
izens of Charlotte raised $4,000 to aid him in equipping a
new cavalry force. January 13, 1864, Captain Raphael
Semmes delivered an address in the court house, and was
enthusiastically received.
Gen. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House, Va..
April 9, 1865. Johnston surrendered to Sherman near Dur-
ham, April 26. Sherman had occupied Raleigh April 13, and
Fort Fisher surrendered April 15. President Davis and the
Confederate cabinet, accompanied by a thousand cavalry, ar-
rived in Charlotte late in the evening of April 15. Mr.
Davis proceeded to the home of Mr. Bates, at the corner of
F< nirth and Tryon streets, and there made a short talk to the
crowd which had assembled. Before entering the house, a
telegram was handed to him, and as he read it, he exclaimed,
"Can this be true? This is dreadful. It is horrible. Can it
really be true?" He then handed the message to Col. Wm.
Johnston, who read it and announced to the crowd the first
news which had been received in Charlotte of the assassina-
tion of President Lincoln.
The Confederate officials were hospitably entertained
during their stay in the city. The official headquar-
ters were in the building now occupied by the Charlotte
Observer, and President Davis' private room is now the
office of the chief editor. The last meeting of the cabinet was
held at the residence of Mr. William Phifer, on the morning
of April 20, and immediately thereafter the cabinet and the
cavalry departed from Charlotte. Gov. Vance held a con-
sultation with the President in Charlotte, April 16, but noth-
ing of importance was accomplished. A Cast-iron slab marks
142 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
the spot where the President was standing when the news of
Lincoln's assassination reached him. At the close of the war,
the Charlotte hospital, under the direction of Dr. Ashby and
Rev. F. M. Kennedy, contained twelve hundred sick and
wounded soldiers.
July 7, 1863, the General Assembly provided for mobiliz-
ing a "Guard for Home Defense," which came to be known
as the Home Guard. All able-bodied men between the ages
of 18 and 50, who were exempt from Confederate service,
were enrolled, except a few stated exceptions. The whole
number in North Carolina was 12,500, and each county was
commanded by a major if it contained less than five compan-
ies, and by a lieutenant-colonel if it contained more than that
number. Lieutenant-Colonel T. H. Brem commanded the
Guard in Mecklenburg, and did much good in protecting the
countrv from marauders, in enforcing .the conscript law and
in capturing deserters.
Authority : — Clark's Regimental Histories, County Rec-
ords and Newspapers.
CHAPTER XXIX.
RECONSTRUCTION. (1865 to 1875.)
Mecklenburg Escaped the Worst Evils of Those Days — Federal
Officers and Troops in Charlotte — Editor Waring Indicted for
Espousing the Southern Cause — Conduct of the Negroes Com-
paratively Peaceable — Elections in the County.
In June, 1865, Col. Willard Warner, with the 180th
Ohio regiment, took charge of the city of Charlotte, and
Capts. N. Haight and Andrew Smith were appointed pro-
vost marshals. July 1, Gov. Holden appointed Dr. H. M.
Pritchard mayor. These summary changes of government
were without even a semblance of justification, and the good
spirit in which they were received was sufficient evidence of
their uselessness. A few days later, Brigadier-General
Thomas succeeded Major-General Ruger in command of the
Twenty-third corps of the First division with headquarters
in Charlotte, and he reviewed the troops, which numbered
four thousand.
General Thomas was popular and preserved good order.
The sale of liquor was prohibited, and a request was made
that all crimes should be promptly reported to the military
authorities. All men doing business of any kind were re-
quired to take the iron-clad oath. This resulted in the sus-
pension of all industries, as no one who had aided the Con-
federacy could take the oath. Another obnoxious order was
that all arms and ammunition should be surrendered to the
Federal authorities. There was, of course, much miscella-
neous stealing and petty misdemeanors, but there was no
clash between the citizens and soldiers nor between the citi-
zens and the idle negroes. There was said to be in the
county a regular band of thieves, who stole horses, cows,
and anything else which they could secure. The band was
composed chiefly of negroes, but was led by white men.
144 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
Some of the stealing was attributed to the soldiers, but not
proved.
Col. Warner, who was afterwards a United States Sena-
tor from Alabama, was succeeded as commander of the post
by Cul. J. C. McQuiston with the 123d Indiana regiment,
and in August he was succeeded by Col. C. S. Parrish who
issued an order that no citizen's clothing should be given or
sold to the Federal troops. In January, 1866, S. A. Harris
was elected mayor of Charlotte, but he was under the super-
vision of the military commander. July 4, 1865, was ap-
propriately celebrated. Col. Packard, of the 128th Indiana
regiment, delivered a Aery proper address, Gen. Thomas
read the Declaration of Independence, and the military
band played Yankee Doodle and Dixie.
In the election in November, 1865, the Democrats, or
Conservatives, carried Mecklenburg county by a vote of
534 to 353, and Charlotte by a vote of 277 to 120. Prof. A.
-M elver and T. N. Alexander were elected delegates to the
•constitutional convention. Most of the troops had been re-
moved from the city at that time, and Capt. Frank M. Hen-
ton, with one company, was in command in December.
Christmas day, Editor R. P. Waring, of the Charlotte
Daily Times, was arrested and taken to Raleigh on a charge
of treason, which consisted in vigorous editorial denuncia-
tion of the "carpet bagger-." He was tried by court-martial
and was fined $300. The vote on the constitution, which
was submitted to the people in August, 1866, was 277 to
1 14 in the county, and 20 to 51 in the city, in favor of rati-
fication. In the October following. Worth, the Democratic
candidate for Governor, carried the county by a vote of 334
to 11.
Captain H. M. Lazelle commanded the troops in Char-
lotte from April to December 18, 1867, at which time the
troops left the city. On the occasion of their departure,
Mayor Harris presented the captain with a resolution
adopted by the board of aldermen, thanking the soldiers
fur good behavior and expressing regret at their leaving.
RECONSTRUCTION. I45
The captain acknowledged the courteous act with a pleasant
note in which he declared his gratitude for the hospitality
of the people of Mecklenburg. Sergeant Bates, of the
United States army, on his trip from Washington to Vicks-
burg as a test that he could carry the national flag through
the South without molestation, passed through Charlotte
March 26, 1868, and was met by officials, escorted into the
city in a procession, and cordially entertained during his
short visit.
Negroes in the county were generally idle, and it was not
unusual for five hundred to congregate in the town. Out
of such a condition arose many crimes of small degree, and
a few of the vilest nature, but there was no open disturbance
or disorder. Hangings were unusually frequent, but there
were not more than ten in the ten years following the close
of the war. Some criminals were summarily punished, but
both the hangings and lynchings were regardless of race,
color or previous condition of servitude. The Union League
was organized and parades were common, but the white peo-
ple ignored such things. Negroes manifested interest in
politics for a while, but quit it when they found they would
not get the "forty acres and a mule." Two of the three dele-
gates to the Republican State convention in 1867 were
negroes. At the subsequent election, an old colored man
came into town to vote, but when he was unable to get any-
thing for it, he refused to vote at all, and said he was going
back home to work. The Ku-Klux played no part in Meck-
lenburg affairs, and though there were a few members in
this section, there was not an organization in the county.
For the election of delegates to the constitutional conven-
tion, November, 1867, the registration in the county was
1,668 whites and 1,645 blacks; in the city, 566 whites and
726 blacks. Of the 1,645 blacks in the county, only 764 were
listed for taxation. The vote was in favor of a convention
by a majority of 1,538, and the Republican candidates, E.
Fullings and S. N. Stillwell, were elected by a vote of 790
to 520, which was the only time during the period that the
I46 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
county went Republican. April 16, 1868, on the eve of
election, Major H. M. Lazelle and a company of troops ar-
rived in Charlotte very unexpectedly. The election resulted
in a majority of 220 against the "Canby" constitution, and
in favor of the Democratic candidates, J. W. Osborne for the
Senate and R. D. Whitley and W. W. Grier for the House
of Representatives. ' The Legislature, in which the Meck-
lenburg representatives and their Democratic friends were in
a hopeless minority, assembled July 1, 1868, and during the
session made appropriations amounting to $26,970,000.
In July, 1868, Governor Holden, without explanation, ap-
pointed a mayor and board of aldermen for Charlotte. E.
H. Bissell was mayor during August, and he was succeeded
by Pritchard and he by Bissell again December 1. January
4, 1869, Major C. Dowd was elected mayor by 228 majority
out of 738 votes. He held the office for two years, after
which John A. Young was mayor two years, W. F. David-
son succeeding him in 1873, and being himself succeeded in
May, 1875, by William Johnston. There were, during those
years, eight policemen, of whom two or three were usually
negroes, and several of the twelve aldermen were negroes.
In the November election of 1868, the county went Demo-
cratic by 200 majority, and Charlotte was Republican by 200
majority. The election was peaceable and the negroes be-
haved well. A company of troops was in the city for a few
days. Col. H. C. Jones was elected State Senator in Sep-
tember to succeed Hon. James W. Osborne, who died
August 1 t.
Col. Jones was re-elected to the Senate in 1870, and J. S.
Reid and R. P. Waring were elected representatives. This
Legislature, November 29, elected Vance to the United
Slates Senate, but he was not allowed to take the seat. Wil-
liam M. Shipp, of Mecklenburg, was at the same election
chosen Attorney General of North Carolina. Mecklenburg
voted against the proposed convention in August, 1871, by
63 majority. In 1872, the county and city were Democratic
by 200 and 100 majority respectively, and in August, 1873,
RECONSTRUCTION. 147
a small majority was returned against the constitutional
amendments. In 1874, R. P. Waring was elected Senator
and J. S. Reid and J. E. Jetton representatives.
This county escaped the worst evils of those times. There
was some trouble with Judge Logan who was plainly incom-
petent, and the lawyers of the 9th judicial district met in
Charlotte June 2, 1871, and united in signing a petition to
the Legislature stating their views clearly. The action was
approved by a public mass meeting in the court house on
the first day of the following January, but no action was
taken and the judge served out his term. In September,
1 87 1, the authorities discovered a plot among some trifling
negroes to burn the city, and seven negroes were arrested
and one convicted. There were many small fires and one
large one November 17, 1870, and another exactly one year
later, most of them believed to have been of incendiary ori-
gin. The last of the Federal troops left Charlotte in the
early Spring of 1872. During this whole period, there was
only one disturbance of any consequence, and that occurred
in the afternoon of Christmas, 1875. A drunken white man
from the country engaged in a quarrel with a large crowd of
negroes at the intersection of Trade and College streets.
Policeman Joe Orr arrested the white man and then the
negroes attacked them with stones; other whites interfered
and a general fight resulted, extending up Trade street to the
square, and lasting half an hour. About thirty shots were
fired, and one negro was killed and ten were wounded, while
many others, white and black, were injured by rocks and
sticks.
The campaign of 1876 closed the era of reconstruction.
The color line was sharply drawn, and the negro voters in
Mecklenburg were outnumbered by 375 majority, though
Charlotte township was 300 majority the other way. Z. B.
Vance was nominated for Governor in Raleigh June 14, and
was given a hearty reception when he returned to Charlotte
the next day. He and Settle spoke in the city September
21, to a crowd of 4,000 people, and though it was Vance's
I48 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
home, his opponent was treated with all kindness and respect.
In November, Vance and the new constitution carried the
county by a vote of 3,428 to 2,588, and the city by 1,166 to
1.038. Dr. T. J. Moore was elected to the Senate and W. E.
Ardrey and R. A. Shotwell to the House of Representatives.
Authority: — County Records and Newspapers.
CHAPTER XXX.
FIRST DECADE WITHOUT SLAVERY. (1865 to 1875.)
County Affairs in War Times — Emancipation Forced White Men to
Work — Attention Diverted to New Things — This Section an In-
viting Field for Investors — Reasons for the Progress Made.
Death of a Woman Who Remembered May 20, 1775.
War did not cause the cessation of all industries in Meck-
lenburg county. Most of the able-bodied men were in the
armies, and the people did less trading, but the men who re-
mained at home found plenty to do in providing for the sol-
diers in the field. The families made everything possible on
their farms, and not only supported themselves, but sent
quantities of clothing to the armies. There was much suf-
fering and poverty, but this immediate section fared better
than many others, because it was in good condition when
war began and it escaped the blight of invaders. More an-
noyance was caused by the difficulty of procuring household
necessities, such as salt and sugar, than by the impossibility
of obtaining luxuries, for the minds of all were upon war
and bare existence, and every energy was exerted to sustain
life and .to encourage the brave troops who were fighting
against overwhelming disadvantages.
Taxes in 1863 were 40 cents on the $100 valuation of
property and $1.20 on the poll, and this increased considera-
bly during the next two years; in 1864, it was $1.20 and
$3.60 respectively. The total sum raised in the county by
taxation in 1863, was $129,044; $91,000 was invested in
liquor and $40,000 in cotton and woolen factories. The
North Carolina powder mill was located at Tuckaseege
Ford, twelve miles from Charlotte. This mill was blown
up and five men were killed by the explosion May 23, 1863,
and in August of the following year, three men were killed
by another explosion. S. W. Davis was president and man-
150 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
ager of the property. January 7, 1864, the Charlotte depots
and warehouses, containing vast amounts of Confederate
supplies, were completely destroyed by fire at a loss estimated
at ten million dollars.
One of the noticeable features of the times was the lack of
trouble with the slaves. They staid at their work without
bothering about the war which was being waged with their
freedom as an issue. Slaves who sold for a thousand dol-
lars in 1 86 1, were worth three thousand dollars in 1864, and
the highest price recorded in that year was $6,100. There
were but few sales after 1864, as it was apparent that the
end of the war was a question of a few months. Deprecia-
tion of Confederate currency became so rapid that trade al-
most ceased in the last year of the war. There was no polit-
ical strife, and Mecklenburg people were inclined to palliate
errors and faults rather than to criticise. In the guberna-
torial election of 1864, the vote of the county was 1,690 for
Vance and ] 12 for H olden, and the city of Charlotte voted
700 to 1.
The effect of emancipation upon all phases of industrial
life was immediate and revolutionary. The population of
the county was 17,374 in i860, about 15,000 in 1865, and
24,298 in 1870. Charlotte contained a population or 1,366
in i860, and 2,212 in 1870. This refers to the population in-
side the corporate limits. The population of the city, with
the suburbs, was about 2,000 in i860, 1,500 in 1865, and
5,000 in 1870. Under the system of slavery, the population
of the county and city did not increase from 1825 to i860,
and wealth and prosperity were in the same condition. The
rapid increase in population and wealth after the war was
accelerated by several things in addition to the revival of
interest in manufactures caused by the abolition of slavery.
Charlotte was a central point fur a large section of good ter-
ritory, the railroad advantages were good, and the county
enjoyed a better condition of government than those around
it. Hence, the people from the more turbulent sections
moved into Mecklenburg. At the close of the war. the county
FIRST DECADE WITHOUT SLAVERY. 151
contained about four thousand white men and nearly as
many negro men; the whites were not accustomed to farm
work and could not hire the negroes to work, and the result
was that the attention was diverted to something else.
In June, 1866, there were sixty-six stores in the county.
In the first six months of 1867, twelve stores and seventy-five
other buildings were erected in Charlotte, and a thousand
structures of various kinds were built in the city in the five
years following the war — almost one a day. New life and
progress were at work everywhere. Northern capitalists
opened the gold mines, and the money put in circulation
enlivened all branches of .trade. In 1867, three banks were
in operation — the First National, Dewey's Bank, and the
Bank of Charlotte. To these was added the Merchants' and
Farmers' National Bank in 1871. The Rock Island
Woolen Mill, which had been established on the Catawba
in 1847, was moved to Charlotte after the war, and was said
to be the greatest establishment of the kind in the South.
John A. Young was president and John Wilkes was treas-
urer, and the mill employed one hundred hands. January
15, 1870, it was sold at auction for a mortgage, and was
purchased for $29,000 by J. H. Wilson.
Cotton commanded high prices. In February, 1868, it
sold for 27 cents a pound, and the first bale of the season in
September, 1869, brought 35 cents a pound. There were a
number of cotton dealers in the city, and their trade of 1868
in Charlotte amounted to nearly two million dollars. The
total tax in that year was 30 cents on the $100 and $1.50 on
the poll, and the total receipts of the county amounted to
$26,749, which more than paid the expenses. The county
debt was $82,000. The tax in 1871, was $1.16 and $2.00 for
county and State purposes, and 75 cents and $3.00 for the
city. At this time, .there were only six postoffices in the
county, and the number was not increased until 1870.
This section was an inviting field for those whose homes
had- been destroyed and who were seeking a favorable loca-
tion. In the latter part of 1867, three generals (D. H. Hill,
152 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
Rufus Barringer and R. D. Johnston), were citizens of
Charlotte, and besides them were Ex-Governor Vance, six
colonels, two lieutenant colonels, six majors, twenty-four
captains and twenty-six lieutenants, all of whom were active
in rebuilding the properties of the country. Gen. R. E. Lee
was in Charlotte March 31, 1870, and Jefferson Davis was
here May 25, 1871. Both were cordially welcomed.
April 16, 1870, a public meeting was held in the court
house to consider the question of issuing bonds to aid the
railroads. At the election held May 19, the county voted to
subscribe $200,000 to the Atlanta road and $100,000 to re-
build the Statesville road, which had not been in operation
since the close of the war. The Charlotte Board of Trade,
which has been an important factor in the progress of the
county and city, was organized July 25, 1870, with J. Y.
Bryce as president. In June of the same year, Charlotte
\< ited $3,000 to aid the Mecklenburg Agricultural Society,
and annual fairs have been held since that time with more
or less irregularity. Among the business establishments then
in the city were Wilkes' Iron Foundry, Charlotte Hotel, Man-
sion House which became the Central Hotel in January,
1873; W. 1\ Cook's farming implements factory, five drug
stores, marble works, three book stores, three carriage shops,
two harness makers, several wholesale merchandising stores,
one distillery and four retail liquor dealers, J. W. Wads-
worth's livery, and about fifty miscellaneous stores and
shops.
The market house at the corner of College and Trade
streets was completed and occupied in the latter part of 1871.
A new jail was built in 1874, at a cost of $20,398. Sample &
Alexander were then running a shoe factory in Charlotte.
and I). I\. Leak and J. rleineman were operating' tobacco fac-
tories. B. S. Guion and E. H. Woods established a spoke
and handle factory in [872; an ice factory was in operation
in [874, and in July of the same year, a new opera house.
with a seating capacity of one thousand, was completed.
April 7, 1873. Mrs. Catherine Williams, aged 113. died
FIRST DECADE) WITHOUT SLAVERY. 1 53
at the residence of John D. Hunter, in Mallard creek town-
ship. She was well and in full possession of her mental
strength until two weeks before her death. In her youth,
she was a near neighbor of John McKnitt Alexander, and
she remembered well the events of May 20, 1775.
In 1873, the expenses of the county government were
854,368 and the receipts $60,012. The county debt was
$373,530, and the city debt was 845,840. These debts were
contracted mainly in the issuance of railroad bonds. The
first passenger train from Charlotte to Spartanburg was run
March 31, 1873, and the occasion was celebrated, as was als< 1
the running of the first train to Greenville April 28. Decem-
ber 15, 1874, passenger trains began running between Wil-
mington and Charlotte. Until that time, a regular stage line
was kept up between Charlotte and ^'adesboro. Stock law
went into effect in the city January 1, 1876.
At the election August 5, 1874, there were 1.540 votes
cast in Charlotte township and 4,180 in the whole county
and in the municipal election in May. 1875. there were 1.157
votes cast. A local census in February, 1876, showed that
there were in Charlotte 1,730 buildings and eight thousand
inhabitants. During the last thirty-five years of slavery, the
county and city made no appreciable advance in -wealth and
population. During the first decade after emancipation,
both wealth and population doubled in the county and
trebled in the city.
Authority :- — -Same as Previous Chapter.
CHAPTER XXXI.
INDEPENDENCE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. (May 20, 1875.)
Preparations and Committees for the Event — Great Men Present.
— Marshals Were Confederate Generals — Immense Crowd in
Charlotte — The Proceedings and Interesting Incidents.
Anniversaries of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Inde-
pendence were regularly celebrated in Charlotte and at other
places in the county after the war, and preparations for the
centennial anniversary began nearly a year before the event
occurred. January 4, 1875, a joint meeting of the Char-
lotte board of aldermen and the county commissioners was
held to take official action. The public meeting held on the
same day resulted in the formation of an organization of
which Mayor W. F. Davidson was chairman and J. P. Cald-
well was secretary.
A general executive committee of ten members was ap-
pointed at a subsequent meeting, and Dr. Joseph Graham
was made chairman. The committee on orators included
Gov. Z. B. Vance, Hon. W. M. Shipp and Gen. D. H. Hill.
The other chairmen were : Gen. J. A. Young, of the com-
mittee on subscriptions; J. H. Wilson, on finance; W. J.
Yates, on the press; J. H. Orr, on fire and military com-
panies; Col. Thomas H. Brem, on artillery and fire-works;
and Col. II. C. Jones, on county affairs. In addition to
these was one auxiliary committee in each township in the
county. The committees met often and discussed the situa-
tion and perfected plans for the centennial day.
Wednesday, May 19, 1875, dawned bright and fair as was
the day one hundred years before, but the contrast between
the two occasions was wonderful, even though they were so
close together in patriotism and sympathy. Then a few de-
termined men assembled in a little log court house in a
straggling village and severed the cord that bound them to
INDEPENDENCE CELEBRATION. I 55
their only hope other than themselves; today, in a city of
eight thousand inhabitants, with the buildings clothed in
flags and every heart full to overflowing with patriotic pride,
amid the booming of cannon and the stirring strains of
martial music, men, women and children gathered from all
parts of the re-united nation to do honor to the men who
were first to* evince the courage of their convictions.
At noon a large crowd collected in the square to witness
the raising of the "stars and bars" to the top of the pole
which had been prepared for it. As the emblem rose higher
and higher and began to flutter in the breeze, the Citizens'
Band, of Newbern, played "The Old North State," and the
crowd joined in the words of the song:
" Carolina, Carolina, Heaven's blessing- attend her ;
" While we live, we will cherish, protect and defend her."
Flags waved on all sides and shouts of enthusiasm rent the
air.
Seated on the stand which had been, erected under the flag
were Governor C. H. Brogden, Mayor William Johnston
and Dr. Joseph Graham. When the music ceased and the
noise subsided, Mayor Johnston delivered the address of
welcome in behalf of the city of Charlotte. He reviewed
the thrilling scenes of the Revolution in which Mecklen-
burg was most concerned, regretted that no monument com-
memorated the Declaration, extended a cordial welcome to
all, and introduced the Governor of North Carolina. Gov-
ernor Brogden congratulated the people of the county on
the success of the occasion, mentioned the deep patriotism
of Mecklenburg, the progress of the State and the county,
and, as Governor, welcomed the visitors. The Newbern
band then played the "Mecklenburg Polka," which was com-
posed for the occasion and which was highly complimented.
At the conclusion of the speaking, the Raleigh Light Artil-
lery, under the command of Captain A. B. Stronach, fired
thirty-eight guns, one for each State in the Union.
Thursday, May 20, was ushered in by the firing at day-
156 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
break of one hundred guns by the Raleigh artillery, and the
Richmond Howitzers, commanded by Captain Bidgood. By
sunrise, the streets were crowded, and from that time until
midday, trains brought vast crowds, and wagons and equi-
pages of all kinds brought in the people from the country,
and by 7 o'clock the whole city was packed with one moving
mass of humanity. The total number present was variously
estimated at from 25,0x30 to 40,00x3, but the conservative es-
timate was about 30,000. Six fire companies arrived on an
early train, and were met by the Charlotte companies and
welcomed by Captain J. C. Mills.
At 9 o'clock, Gen. W. R. Cox, the chief marshal, began
to form the procession. His aides were Gen. Bryan Grimes,
of Tarboro; Gen. Johnson Hagood, of South Carolina;
Gen. Bradley T. Johnston, of Richmond; Gen. Thomas F.
Drayton, of Charlotte; Major Charles Haigh, of Fayette-
ville; Dr. C. Mills, of Cabarrus county, and Dr. T. J. Moore,
of Charlotte. With the marshals galloping through the
crowded streets, the eager thousands shouting and singing,
ladies leaning from windows and balconies, flags waving
on all sides, bands playing and cannon booming, the scene
was one to inspire every soul present and to be remembered
until death. It was nearly noon when the procession, in-
cluding eighteen fire companies and twelve military compa-
nies, began the march to the fair ground, where the exer-
cises were held.
The proceedings of the day were opened by Ex-Governor
William Graham, who announced that Rev. A. W. Miller,
D. D., would invoke the divine blessing. After the prayer,
the band played "The Old North State," and then Gov.
Graham, in a few words, introduced Major Seaton Gales,
of Raleigh, who read the Declaration adopted May 20, 1775.
I [on. T^hn Kerr was the next speaker, and he was followed
bv Hon, John M. Bright, a member of Congress from T'en-
11c— it. At night, there was speaking from the stand in In-
dependence square, the orators being Judge Davidson, of
Tennessee; Gov. Chamberlain, of South Carolina; Gov.
INDEPENDENCE CELEBRATION. I 57
Hendricks, of Indiana; Gov. Vance; Ex-Governor Walker,
of Virginia; Col. Thomas Polk, of Tennessee; Generals
Cox and Clingman, and Mayor William Johnston. At the
conclusion of the speeches, Mr. E. P. Jones, of Greensboro,
seconded by Capt. Smith, of Georgia, moved that the thanks
of the visitors be tendered to the people of Charlotte for the
kindness and hospitality which had been extended to all, and
the motion was accepted with cheers.
One of the most pleasing incidents of the day was the
cordial greeting - on all sides to Gov. Hendricks, of Indiana,
who made a pleasant impression upon everyone. Several
accidents occurred in the discharge of firearms and fire-
works, though no one was killed. Among those on the
speaker's stand was James Belk, of Union county, who was
born February 4, 1765, and was consequently one hundred
and ten years old. Senator Merrimon, Col. John H. Wheeler
and many other distinguished men were present. Col.
Wheeler delivered a lecture on Mecklenburg history in the
court house May 24, being introduced by Gov. Vance. The
Mecklenburg Monumental Association was organized June
25, with Z. B. Vance, president; Dr. Joseph Graham and J.
H. Wilson, vice presidents, and T. W. Dewey, secretary and
treasurer. The Mecklenburg Historical Society was organ-
ized May 7, 1875, with the following officers: President. C.
Dowd; vice presidents, Z. B. Vance and D. H. Hill; secre-
taries, T. J. Moore and W. W. Fleming.
Authority: — Charlotte Newspapers of 1875.
CHAPTER XXXII.
LAST QUARTER OF THE CENTURY. (1875 to 1900.)
Public Improvements — Public Buildings — Medical Society — Law As-
sociation — Newspapers — Farms.
The history of Mecklenburg and Charlotte during the last
quarter of the nineteenth century is chiefly an account of
the growth of the manufacturing industries. As manufac-
tures grew, agriculture and the trades were developed to sup-
ply the increased demands, and as the city grew, public
buildings were erected and improvements made for the ben-
efit O'f the public.
January i, 1899, the city purchased the water works plant
from the Charlotte Water Works Company, for $226,000.
The plant was established in 1882. Two hundred hydrants
afford protection from fire, and water is supplied free to the
charitable institutions. The water is filtered by the best
known mechanical process, and since the city assumed con-
trol of the management, the cost has been reduced one-half.
Gas lights have been in operation in Charlotte since 1857,
and electric lights were introduced in 1887. Street cars were
running in 1887, and the electric power was substituted for
horse power in 1893. In 1883, the Southern Bell Telephone
Company was granted permission by the board of aldermen
to erect their poles in the city, with the provision that the
city could place the fire alarm boxes on the poles. The first
ordinance prohibiting the sale of tobacco on Sunday was en-
acted August 20, 1877. The county chain gang was organ-
ized in 1868, the new cemetery was first used in 1867, the
sewerage system was established in 1881, and the crema-
tory for the disposal of city refuse was established in 1896.
The new city hall was built in 1891. It is made of North
Carolina brown-stone and granite, and cost $40,000. The
county court house was built in 1896, of terra cotta and
LAST QUARTER OF THE CENTURY. 1 59
brick, at a cost of $50,000. The United States Federal
building, containing the postoffice, was erected in 1891, at a
cost of $85,000.
In 1890, the Legislature chartered the Charlotte Consoli-
dated Construction Company, which has come to be known
as the "4 C's." It was organized with a capital stock of
$200,000, and with E. D. Latta as president and J. L. Cham-
bers as secretary and treasurer. The company has since
purchased the Charlotte Electric Company, Charlotte Street
Railway Company and Charlotte Gas Light Company, and
the three were combined under a new charter as the Char-
lotte Electric Railway, Light and Power Company. The
"4 C's" engineered the building of Dilworth, and owns a
considerable portion of the property.
There were nine physicians in Charlotte at the close of the
war. There are now about fifty in the county, among them
being some of the most prominent in the State. The Char-
lotte Medical Society was organized under an act of the
Legislature of January 28, 1897. with R. J. Brevard presi-
dent and G. W. Pressly secretary and treasurer. The of-
ficers now are R. L. Gibbon and J. C. Montgomery. This
association has been productive of much good, and only phy-
sicians of high standing are allowed to become members of
it. The Charlotte Medical Journal was begun in 1892 by
Dr. E. C. Register and Dr. J. C. Montgomery. The latter
withdrew from the management in 1902. and it has since
been conducted by Dr. Register alone.
As- lawyers devote more time to public affairs than other
men, it is but natural they should be the more widely known.
Charlotte has for fifty years been distinguished and honored
by an able bar, and the reputation increases with each year.
In the ten years after the war were such men as A. Burwell,
J. W. Osborne, Jones & Johnston, W. M. Shipp, Vance &
Dowd, J. H. Wilson and W. P. Bynum. There are now
thirty-eight lawyers in the county. The Charlotte Law As-
sociation was chartered January 13, 1885. The library of
the association, in the Piedmont building, is one of the best
l6o HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
ti • be found in any city of similar size, one of the prominent
features of it being the annual Supreme Court reports of
every State in the Union.
There have been twenty-five different newspapers and
periodicals published in Charlotte since the war, of which
only a few survive. The Charlotte Evening News was es-
tablished by Wade H. Harris in 1888, and was continued by
him until 1894, when he was succeeded as editor and propri-
etor by \Y. C. Dowd. Dr. A. J. McKelway succeeded Mr.
Dowd as editor May 23, 1903. The Daily Carolina Ob-
server was established in 1869 'by Smith, Watson & Co.
Francis Justice was editor from January to August, 1870.
Mr. Justice was followed by J. W. Wright, J. Jones and
C. R. Jones. The latter conducted it until 1883. The Char-
lotte Chronicle was begun in 1887, and in 1892 was sold to
D. A. Tompkins and J. P. Caldwell, who changed the name
to the Daily Observer, and J. P. Caldwell began his duties'
as editor February 1, 1892. The Chronicle was revived as
the Charlotte Evening Chronicle May 25, 1903, with How-
ard A. Banks as editor. The first telegraphic news service
received in Charlotte was by the old Observer in March,
1874. The Observer issues a semi-weekly edition, and the
News also issues a semi-weekly known as the Times-Demo-
crat. Besides these are the Mill News, the Peoples' Paper.
Southern and Western Textile Excelsior, Carolina Medical
Journal, Star of Zion by and for colored people; Presbyte-
rian Weekly Standard, and Quarterly, and the publications
• >i' the colleges.
It is noticeable that as Mecklenburg has grown richer and
more populous, the farms have increased in number and
decreased in size. The average number of acres in a farm
in the county is seventy-five. There is only one which con-
lain s more than a thousand acres, and 64 per cent, of them
contain less than one hundred acres. There are 227,995
acres of land, and the 4.190 farms are occupied bv 1.226
owners, 290 part owners, 22 owners and tenants, 55 mana-
ger-. '131 cash paying tenants and 1,966 share tenants.
TRANSITION PERIOD; COUNTY COURT HOUSE, 1SS8,
00
OS
00
H
CO
£>
O
O
D
O
O
Q
O
o
<
Eh
TRANSITION PKRIOD: CITY MAI, I.. ISSN.
TRANSITION PERIOD: CITY HALL, 1898.
oo
00
oo
o
<
H
Q
<
O
<
w
E
Eh
O
CO
Q
O
5
H
Ph
o
CO
Eh
00
00
oo
Q
<
o
H
o
<
<1
Q
O
5
Ph
z
o
x.
r.
Q
<
O
tf
H
<
as
>
p
O
ai
o
73
as
LAST QUARTER OF THE CENTURY. l6l
Sixty per cent, of the farms are occupied by white people,
and 40 per cent, by colored people. The number of build-
ings in the county of all kinds, according to the census of
1900, is 632,922.
Notes: — Information Obtained from County and City
Records; Officials of the County, City, 4 C's, Medical and
Law Associations ; City Code, Newspaper Files and Census
Reports.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
THE CHURCHES FROM 1860 TO 1903.
»rt Sketches of the Growth of the Principal Congregations of the
Leading Denominations in the City and County, and of the
Other Religious Organizations.
There are nearly two hundred churches in Mecklenburg
count), representing numerous creeds and denominations,
and being about evenly divided in number between the white
and colored races. In Charlotte and the immediate vicinity
are sixty-four houses of worship, of which twenty-seven are
for colored people. In 1868, there were only seven churches
in the city — Methodist, Presbyterian. Baptist, Episcopal,
Lutheran and Catholic. The growth and development of
the various religious sects has been in proportion to the
growth of the city and county.
St. Peter's Episcopal church was organized in 1844. and
firsi building was erected in the same year. The present
church on North Tryon street was built in 1857. and was re-
built in [892. The property is worth about $40,000, and
Peter's has 325 communicants. St. Mark's, in Long
('reek township, was established in 1885. There are four
pels in the county, and the total Episcopal membership is
about 450. St. IVter's Hospital, for white people, was es-
tablished January 1, [876, and the Good Samaritan Hospi-
tal, for colored people, in [890. Thompson's Orphanage
was established in [887, has property worth $20,000. and
"alarly cares for about seventy orphans. St. Michael's
colored Episcopal church is located on South Mint street,
and the pastor also has supversiotl of St. Michael's Training
and Industrial School for colored people.
The Firsi Presbyterian church has occupied its present
site since [821. The old building was many times improved
and repaired, and in [892 and the following year, the beau-
MUST IMIKKHYTKKIAN CHl'ItCH.
TRYON STREET BAPTIST CHURCH.
THE CHURCHES FROM i860 TO I903. 163
tiful edifice now in use was erected at a cost of $31,000. This
church has 650 members. The Second Presbyterian church
was organized October 22, 1873, in the old court house, with
seventeen members, and Dr. W. S. Plumer was stated sup-
ply for eighteen months. A building was erected on the
present site, at a cost of $10,000, in 1875. and the present
church was built in 1892, at a cost of $58,000, and has 1,004
members.
Tenth Avenue Presbyterian church, which was formerly
known as Graham Street church, was organized with sixty-
two members March 2, 1890. The new building was com-
pleted and occupied in November, 1902, and the property is
worth $25,000. The membership is more than four hun-
dred.
Westminster congregation was begun in the old graded
school building in 1896, by Dr. J. W. Stagg. Atherton Sun-
day school was combined with it, and in 1897, the building
was completed at a cost of $15,000, and the church has
eighty members. Most of the bequest of Miss Jennie E.
Johnson to the Second church was used in building West-
minster church. Besides these prominent churches in the
city, the Presbyterians have twenty-six others in the county,
with a total membership of 6,600.
The Presbyterian General Assembly of the Confederacy
met in Charlotte, May 5. 1864. and the first meeting of the
Mecklenburg Presbytery was at Big Steele creek church,
April 21, 1870. The Presbyterian Standard, official organ
of the North Carolina Synod, was moved from Wilmington
to Charlotte in 1898, and has since been edited by Dr. A. J.
McKelway. The Presbyterian Hospital is practically the
city hospital, and the Presbyterians have established a home
for aged and helpless women and the Alexander Rescue
Home for children.
In 1873, the first church of the Associate Reformed
Presbyterians was organized in Charlotte. A new build-
ing, at the corner of Tryon and Third streets, was completed
in 1890. at a total cost of $20,000. The Second Associate
164 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
Reformed Presbyterian church was built in 1899, at a cost
1 i $6,000. The First has 190 members and the Second has
290, and there are five other churches of this denomination
in the county.
The First Baptist church in Charlotte was built in 1833,
at the corner of Third and College streets. A better build-
ing, which cost $1,800, was erected in 1855, at the corner of
Seventh and Brevard streets; and the structure now occu-
pied by the First Baptist church was completed in 1884.
This church has 500 members. In 1895, the Twelfth Street
Baptist church was built, and it has 300 members. There
are seventeen Baptist churches in the county.
Tryon Street Methodist Episcopal church is the largest
of the nineteen congregations of that denomination in the
county. A building was erected on Sixth and Tryon streets
in 1859, and it was worked over after the war, and was re-
built in 1891. The property is valued at $31,000, and the
church has 650 members. Trinity Methodist Episcopal
church was organized and built in 1896; has 500 members
and property worth $40,000. Brevard and Calvary churches
have 350 members each, and Hoskins has 300, and the total
membership in the county is about 4,000, divided among
nineteen churches.
St. Mark's Lutheran church was organized in 1859. The
first building was at the corner of Seventh and College
streets, and the present building on North Tryon street was
built in 1885, at a cost of $18,000, and the church has 175
members. Morning Star Lutheran church, in the south-
eastern part of the county, is the only other of this denomi-
nation in Mecklenburg. The Catholic church was built in
[851, and the new building in 1893, and has a membership
of 500. The Jewish population have a congTegation known
a- '"Sliaaray Israel," but they have no synagogue.
There are about seventy-five colored churches in Meck-
lenburg, nearly all of which have been built since the war.
The /.ion Methodist is the leading colored denomination,
having fifty churches, and issuing a religious paper from the
TRYON STREET M. E. CHURCH, SOUTH.
CATHOLIC CHURCH.
THE CHURCHES FROM i860 TO I903. 165
Zion Publishing House in Charlotte. The Clinton Chapel
of the Zion Methodists and the First and Second Baptist
churches (colored) each have 300 members.
The Charlotte Ministers' Conference was organized Octo-
ber 14, 1 89 1. The Young Woman's Christian Association
was established in 1902. The Young Men's Christian As-
sociation, which has 635 members, was organized November
11, 1874, with sixteen active members and seven associate
members. The Association has had only five presidents —
A. S. Caldwell, Rev. W. M. Hunter, R. N. Littlejohn, W.
A. Truslow and George B. Hanna. Prof. Hanna has been
president since 1880, except for six months filled by Mr.
Truslow in 1885. R ev - P- J- Carraway, pastor of Tryon
Street Methodist Episcopal church, was active in the work
of organization. The present Y. M. C. A. building, on South
Tryon street, was occupied in 1888, and the Association
owns property valued at $40,000.
Notes: — The information for this Chapter was obtained
from Church Records, Printed Sketches. Newspapers, and
Officials of the Various Organizations.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
EDUCATION FROM 1860 TO 1903.
Development of County Public School System — Charlotte Graded
Schools First in the State — Presbyterian, Elizabeth, Davidson
and Medical Colleges — Charlotte Military Institute — Biddle Uni-
versity and St. Michael's Training and Industrial School.
During the war, the income from .the county school tax
was donated to the use of the soldiers, but the amount re-
ceived from the State was used for the support of the schools.
In 1863, Mecklenburg- public schools cost $3,860.08 There
were also a number of academies in the county from i860
i" 1870, the most prominent ones being at Providence, Da-
vidson, Claremont, and Steele creek. The North Carolina
Educational Association convened in Charlotte, November
• v . [864, and Rev. R. Burwell was elected president. The
Educational Association of the Confederate States was in
session here at the same time, and Calvin 11. Wiley was
elected president. Rev. R. II. Griffith and Annistead Bur-
well taught a boys' school in Charlotte in 1865; and from
[867 to [869, Rev. A. G. Stacy, with a strong faculty, con-
ducted the Mecklenburg Kemale College in the Military In-
stitute, and the school was well patronized.
COUNTY M'llooi.s.
In [870, the public school system of the State was reor-
ganized, and in thai year the schools of Mecklenburg cost
■- In 1874, [6 white schools, with [,702 children, cost
$5,346, and _vi colored schools, with [,814 children, cost
948. In [876, there were [02 schools in the county, and
total COSl was $9,9] |. In those days, the schools were
cruel hy a board of education, and the teachers applied
for license to a county examiner. The educational board
-till exists, but the tendency has been to make the examiner
EDUCATION FROM i860 TO I903. 1 6/
more and more important, until now. under the title of super-
intendent of education, he is the real head of the public
schools of the county. In 1873. many teachers taught two
or three schools in one year, as the terms continued only from
two to five months. Teachers were paid $25 or $30 per
month; or if the number of pupils was small, one dollar for
each one in attendance.
There are now 141 public schools in the county, of which
61 are for colored people, and the total cost in 1902, was
$42,512.55. There are 10,869 white school children and
' 7,927 colored children, and the school terms range from four
to eight months, with an average of a little more than five
months. The census of 1900 credits Mecklenburg with
10,370 illiterate persons who are more than ten years of
age. Of these, 7,861 are negroes. Among the teachers
.are seventeen male and thirty lady graduates ; white male
teachers receive from $30.00 to $50.00 a month, with an
average of $38.00; the average for white lady teachers is
$28.00, and the colored teachers receive $20.00 or $25.00
a month. Ten schools have three teachers each, and
thirty have as many as two each. Among the best schools
in the county outside of Charlotte are the Belmont Graded
School, Bain Academy, Davidson Academy. Matthews High
School, Pineville High School, Xewell Academy. Zion
Academy, Huntersville Academy and the Atherton Graded
School.
CHARLOTTE GRADED SCHOOLS.
In the fall of 1873, Rev. J. B. Boone organized in Char-
lotte the first graded school in North Carolina. The first
session was begun October 21, in Miss Hattie Moore's dwell-
ing house, in the rear of the Episcopal church, and was con-
tinued for eight months, with an average daily attendance of
lyS and at a total expense amounting to $2,901.75; closing
June 19. Gen. Rufus Barringer. Major C. Dowd and Capt.
John Wilkes composed the school board, and the teachers
were Misses M. H. Barber, Hattie Moore, S. C. Miller, F.
A. Walsh, and M. N. Lucas, and Mrs. S. E. Waring. Miss
[68 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
Moore was succeeded in March by Miss A. B. Carr, and she
in May by Miss Sue M. Johnston. September 7, 1874, the
second session was begun in two houses on opposite sides
f Seventh street, next to the railroad, and was continued
eight m< >nths lacking one day, closing May 6, because
of lack of money. The expense for the second year was
$2,674, and the average attendance was 225, the largest en-
rollment in any one month being 340 in December. The
teachers were Misses Barber, Walsh, Lucas, M. S. Griffith,
Sallie A. Bethune, S. H. Miller and Mrs. Waring. Pupils
the white school were properly graded, as were also the
pupils <>f the colored school, but the two were not in any way
o mnected.
When the graded school was begun, $1,700 was on
hand, and $600 was received from the Peabody Fund
the first year and $1,000 the second year. Some vol-
untary contributions were received, but there was no
charge for tuition, and the only other source of in-
come was the county school fund. The apparent lack of
funds and public approval of the work, aided by Mr. Boone's
efforts, served to begin an agitation for a special tax. A
bill providing a special charter and allowing a tax to be lev-
ied, was introduced into the General Assembly by Senator R,
P. Waring, and was ratified March 22, 1875. Before it
should go into effect, it was stipulated that a majority of
"those voting" should vote in favor of it. Several elections
were held without securing a majority of the registered
voters, during which time the school was suspended. On
the firsl Monday in June, 1880, the election resulted in a
vote of Si 5 to 1 in favor of schools. There were 1,679
names on the registration books, and there had been no new
;istration for the election, but before the result was an-
nounce. 1, the aldermen erased [33 names and then declared
that the m \ majority had been obtained. A tax-payer
carried the matter into court, and the aldermen were sus-
ned by the lower court, and finally by the Supreme Court,
in the Fall session of [881. The eight school commissioners
H
O
H
O
O
PQ
03
w
Pi
0.
«*^<
EDUCATION FROM i860 TO I903. 169
met June 10, 1880, and organized and elected Capt. Fred
Nash treasurer, which position he held until 1901.
The school opened September 11, 1882, with 480 white
and 253 colored pupils — the white school in the Military In-
stitute building, and the colored school in the basement of
the colored Episcopal church. T. J. Mitchell, of Ohio, was
superintendent from the opening until August 9, 1886.
when he resigned to become president of the Alabama State
Normal School. J. T. Corlew succeeded Mr. Mitchell, and
served until January 28, 1888. Alexander Graham has
been superintendent since February- 7, 1888. During the
first session under Superintendent [Mitchell, there were
twelve white teachers and six colored teachers, the local tax
was ten cents on the $100 valuation of property and thirty
cents on the poll, and there were five hundred white pupils
and three hundred colored pupils. The Charlotte Military
Institute, which was leased in 1882. was purchased by the
schools in 1883, and the North Graded School building was
erected in 1900. A manual training department was es-
tablished in 1891, and was very successful, but was discon-
tinued because of lack of room.
During the session of 1901-1902, the total enrollment of
pupils was 3,056, of whom 1.978 were white and 1.078 col-
ored. The average daily attendance was 1,456 whites and
632 colored. The income from the city tax of twenty cents
on the $100 valuation and sixty cents on the poll, was $16,-
006.12, and $11,250.00 was received from the county,
making a total of $27,256.12. The white teachers were paid
$20,806.00, and the colored teachers $5,419.00. The forty-
seven white teachers received salaries of $40 or $50 a month,
and the sixteen colored teachers were paid from $30 to $40.
Miss Sallie Bethune has been teaching in the public
schools regularly since the opening day in 1882, and enjoys
the distinction of having taught more children to read than
any other teacher in the State. There are ten grades, and
departments of music and drawing, and the schools continue
for nine months each vear.
I/O HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
PRESBYTERIAN COLEEGE.
President R. Burwell continued the Charlotte Female In-
stitute during the war. In 1863. he had four assistants,
nine in 1868, and eleven in 1872. The school prospered un-
der his administration, and it was much regretted by the pa-
trons that in the last year mentioned the president resigned
tn assume the control of Peace Institute in Raleigh. Rev.
R. H. Chapman, D. D., was president from 1872 to 1875,
and he was succeeded by Rev. S. Taylor Martin, of Virginia,
who, with seven assistants, remained in charge until 1878.
Rev. \Y. R. Atkinson, who had been teaching in Peace In-
stitute, assumed control in 1878, and continued until he re-
signed to go to< Columbia. The institution was then closed
until Miss Lily Long re-opened it as the Presbyterian Col-
lege in 1895. In 1896, the city of Charlotte released all
claim to the property, and it has since been in control of the
Presbyteries of Mecklenburg and Concord. Rev. James
R. Bridges, D. D., lias been president since 1898, and the
building has been rebuilt at a cost of $70,000. The college
has a faculty of twenty instructors, and during- the session
of 1901-1902 enrolled one hundred and six in the collegiate
department, thirty-eight in the preparatory and forty-three
in the primary. It has also departments of music, art and
elocution.
MILITARY INSTITUTE.
In February, 1872, the old Military Institute property was
sold to S. W. Saunders, J. H. Carson and S. B. Alexander.
< >ctober 1. 1873, Col. J. P. Thomas was in charge of the
tool, and continued it until he left Charlotte in 1883, in
which year the building was sold to the city graded schools.
Capt. \V. A. Barrier founded the Macon school in T870, and
conducted it until lie died in November, 1 890. Capt. J. G.
Baird purchased the building and F. L. Reid was principal
from 1890 to [891. Capt. Baird then assumed control of
the vein Mil and has since conducted it. and in 1894, the name
was changed to Charlotte Military Institute. The present
building was occupied in [901. The school has high school
EDUCATION FROM i860 TO I9O3.
171
and primary departments, and is highly considered for
efficient training. Since its beginning in 1870, it has given
instruction to thirty-five hundred boys.
St. Mary's Seminary in Charlotte was established in 1888,
and is conducted by the Sisters of Mercy, who also conduct
the Academy of the Sacred Heart near Belmont.
MEDICAL COLLEGE.
North Carolina Medical College was established by Dr.
J. P. Munroe at Davidson in 1893, an d the property is worth
$10,000. It had four instructors and eleven students the first
year, and in the session of 1902- 1903, there were seventeen
instructors and sixty-seven students. The institution is
controlled by three directors known as the board of control.
ELIZABETH COLLEGE.
Elizabeth Female College was established in 1897 D . v ^ e
United Synod of the South of the Lutheran church. It is
beautifully located on a site of twenty acres, and has prop-
erty worth $250,000. Dr. C. B. King, as president, opened
the institution in the Fall of 1897, with sixteen instructors
and ninety-four students. In 1903. there were twenty-two
instructors and one hundred and twenty students. The
course of instruction is thorough and complete, and the col-
lege has from its beginning been classed among the best
female schools in the countrv.
The school now known as Biddle University 1 for colored
people) was established in 1867, the principal movers being
Revs. S. C. Alexander and W. G. Miller, and Mrs. Mary
D. Biddle, of Philadelphia who gave $1,400 for the building.
Col. W. C. Myers donated the eight acres of land on which
the building is located, and ten thousand dollars was receiv-
ed from the Freedmen's Bureau. The school was estab-
lished in the present quarters in 1869, during which year
Rev. S. Mattoon was elected president, and he served until
1884 when he was succeeded bv Rev. W. A. Hollidav. who
1^2 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
was president a short time, and was followed by Rev. W. F.
Johnson. Rev. D. J. Sanders, D. D., the present head of
the institution, was elected in 1891. Biddle University is
under the care of the Northern Presbyterian church, includes
religious, literary and industrial instruction in the curricu-
lum, and enrolled two- hundred and forty students in the
session of 1902- 1903. The president and teachers are col-
ored people.
St. Michael's Training and Industrial School, under the
auspices of the Colored Episcopal church, was established
in 1 89 1, has property worth $7,000, three instructors, and
regularly trains more than a hundred pupils.
DAVIDSON COLLEGE.
Davidson College, under the administration of Dr. J.
L. Kirkpatrick, continued its sessions during the war, and at
the close the president and three professors were faithfully
performing their duties. Dr. Kirkpatrick resigned in 1866,
and the presidents since have been Rev. G. W. McPhail, D.
D., L. L. D., from 1866 to 1871 ; Prof. J. R. Blake (chair-
man of the faculty), from 1871 to 1877; Rev. A. D. Hep-
burn, D. D., L. L. D., from 1877 to 1885; Rev. Luther Mc-
ECinnon, D. D., from 1885 to 1888; Rev. J. B. Shearer, D.
D., L. L. D., from 1888 to 1901 , and Henry Louis Smith,
M. A., Ph. D., from 1901 until the present time. The col-
lege owns seventeen buildings, which cost, with equipment,
$165,000, and the endowment fund amounts to $125,000.
The scientific laboratory is equal to any in .the South, and
the course of instruction, faculty and students rank with
the best. During the session of 1902-1903, there were eight
pn.fessors, eight instructors and assistants, and 225 stu-
dents.
Authority: — Catalogues and Historical Sketches of the
Various Institutions, Officials, County and City Records.
and Charlotte Newspapers.
CHAPTER XXXV.
MINING, BANKING AND THE ASSAY OFFICE. (1860 to 1903.)
Use of Improved Mining Machinery After the War — The Miners
and the Products — Minerals Found in the County — Receipts of
Gold and Silver at the Assay Office — History of the Office.
— Charlotte's Leading Banking Institutions.
At the close of the Civil War, there was only one mine in
operation in Mecklenburg, and it was the Rudisill. The
United States mint was seized by the Confederate authorities
in 1861, and held by them until 1865, and for two years
thereafter it was occupied by the Federal military authori-
ties. By 1867, the mining and banking interests of Meck-
lenburg were beginning to take on new life. Investors and
speculators from all parts of the world were in this section
examining and considering the various natural resources.
In that year there were three banks in Charlotte, and the mint
was re-opened as an assay office under the supervision of Dr.
Isaac W. Jones.
Humphrey Bissell, who was a learned mining engineer,
erected the first improved California stamp battery in the
county in 1866. The methods of mining were many and
various. Forty-eight different processes for the treatment
of ore are known to have been tried in the county within the
past fifty years, but only two survived .the test of time (clori-
nation and smelting), though the cyanide treatment has en-
couraged hope that ultimately it may be widely applicable.
The chief elements in the problem of the extraction of the
precious metals from ore are pulverization, concentration,
roasting (or expelling the sulphur with incidental oxidiza-
tion), and the extraction of the gold and the silver.
There are 83 mines in Mecklenburg which have been
worked and can again be worked. The Rudisill, near Char-
lotte, has a shaft 400 feet deep, and has 3.500 feet of levels.
1 74 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
This mine has produced gold amounting to< $2,600,000. The
St. Catherine, also near the city, has a shaft 450 feet deep.
Capp's mine, six miles west of the city, has yielded $2,300,-
000. Capp's, and the Surface Hill mine, twelve miles from
Charlotte, and the Wilson mine, are worked intermittently.
The Wilhelmina, in Paw Creek township, is producing con-
siderable gold, and is the only mine in the county operated
regularly. The ore in the county assays from $50 to $180 a
ton, and some rich veins are occasionally struck, and nug-
gets are not uncommon.
Silver is found, but there has been no regular mining for
it. It is generally in small quantities in the gold ore.
Throughout the county are quarries of red, white and gray
granite, sandstone, slate, hornblend and leopardite, the lat-
ter being a black spotted granite found only in Mecklen-
burg. Iron, lead, zinc and thirty-three other minerals have
been found, but not in sufficient quantities for practical pur-
poses.
The mint, which is really only an assay office, has not
done any coinage since before the war. The comparatively
small amount which would be done can be done at the Phil-
adelphia mint much cheaper than here. There have been six
assayers in charge since Dr. Jones : Calvin Cowles, 1869 to
1885; R. P. Waring, 1885 to 1889; Stuart W. Cramer,
1889 to 1893; W. E. Ardrey, 1893 to 1897; W. S. Clanton,
1897 to [903, and D. Kirby Pope in 1903.
Though the assay office was opened in the Summer of
1867, no work was done until the following March, and in
that year the receipts were $4,851.95. The total receipts
from the establishment of the mint up to June 30, 1873,
were $5,129,217.28. In 1873-74, $8,763 worth of gold and
silver was received; the next year it amounted to $6,690; in
1X77 it was $10,382; 1878, $54,345. From that year, the
receipts increased annually until 1888, when they amounted
to $283,619, which is the highest mark attained. For the
year ending June 30. T902, the receipts were $267,804; and
for the last six months of 1902, 152,080. The total receipts
MINING, BANKING AND THE ASSAY OFFICE. 1 75
at the office up to January i, 1903, were $10,163,000. Of
this, $30,455 was silver, and the yearly receipt of silver now
is from $1,000 to $1,500.
There is a practically inexhaustible source of wealth in
the mines of Mecklenburg county, and it is a cause for con-
gratulation that new interest is being taken in them. Capi-
talists are investigating the situation, and the renewal of
the work will result in an increased circulation of money and
a consequent and natural increase in wealth and prosperity.
New banking institutions have been established in Charlotte
recently, and there is an abundance of capital available. The
Charlotte National Bank was organized February 1, 1897,
with a capital of $125,000; Southern Loan and Savings
Bank. July 6, 1901, with $25,000 capital; Southern States
Trust Company, July 15, 1901, with $100,000 which has
been increased to $200,000; and besides these are the three
old banks — the First National, Commercial National and Mer-
chants' and Farmers' National; Mechanics Perpetual Build-
ing and Loan Association. Mutual Building and Loan Asso-
ciation, and Charlotte Building and Loan Association.
These strong financial institutions have combined assets of
nearly six million dollars, which is double what it was in
1890.
Authority : — Records of the Mint, Newspapers and Bank
Officials.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
ROAD BUILDING FROM 1880 TO 1903.
Influences Which Made Better Roads Necessary — Original Methods
and Subsequent Progress — Cost of Roads — Convict Labor Satis-
factory — Lessons Taught by Experience.
Development of manufactures, and consequent increase of
wealth and population in the city, necessitated a greater trade
in country produce, and the more frequent traveling- between
country and city soon emphasized the manifest importance
of a system of good roads. Manufactures render good
roads necessary, and at the same time make them more feasi-
ble by the increased income from taxes; and wherever and
whenever factories are established, the road question imme-
diately begins to command attention.
Agitation for better roads in Mecklenburg began soon
after the war, and some desultory work was done on them,
but the movement which has resulted in the present excellent
highways did not begin until about 1885. January 26, 1881,
Gen. John A. Young and T. L. Vail appeared before the
board of aldermen in an attempt to get the city to aid the
county in improving the public roads. June 2, 1885, Mayor
William Johnston recommended an issue of bonds, and this
was the first notable move in the right direction. November
8, 1887, under the administration of Mayor F. B. McDowell,
who had succeeded Col. Johnston in May, the city voted an
issue of $50,000 of bonds for street improvements.
The bonds were sold February 6, 1888, at their par value,
and the improvement of the city streets was then begun in
earnest. The first plan adopted was to have stone broken by
hand, and laid on the streets to a depth of five or six inches,
after having made an equivalent excavation. In this way.
about five miles of streets were put in fair condition; but
after the issue of bonds, machinery for crushing rock was
ROAD BUILDING FROM l88o TO I9O3. 1 77
purchased, and the work was thus made both swifter and
cheaper. The city now owns a well-equipped rock-crushing-
plant, and the macadamizing has been continued by succes-
sive administrations, with a constant improvement in
methods.
As street building in Charlotte progressed, the authorities
of Mecklenburg county undertook the task of improving
the highways outside the city. In 1884, S. H. Hilton, of
the board of county commissioners, was appointed to take
charge of the county road building. The Legislature au-
thorized the county commissioners to put to work on the
roads the prisoners of the city or county many of whom
were thereafter sentenced to a term "on the roads," and to
levy a special road tax of from seven to twenty cents on
each $100 worth of property. Mr. Hilton, with three pris-
oners and a $500 team, began work on the Providence road
near the present site of the Thompson Orphanage. Mud
was so deep in the road that one load of stones would be
thrown in and then the laborers would get on the pile and
scatter other stones around, and when the mud holes were
filled, the stones on top were broken with hammers. Five
hundred yards of this kind of work was done there, and then
the force, which was being increased, transferred their at-
tention to others of the worst roads in the county. Within
that year, a crusher was purchased for $900, and as more
prisoners were sent out, and the supervisor — by investiga-
tions of similar work elsewhere — familiarized himself with
the best methods, the work improved in efficiency and prac-
ticability. When Mr. Hilton left the office, in 1893, the
county road force consisted of eighty-five convicts and equip-
ment worth about five thousand dollars ; and thirty miles of
roads had been macadamized. There are now more than
one hundred miles of macadam roads in Mecklenburg.
Ir 1897, tne Legislature created the "Mecklenburg Road
and Convict Commission," which consisted of three persons,
and assumed the authority for road construction hitherto
held by the county commissioners. Two years later, the old
I78 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
system was restored, and all that the county is now doing in
building - , reconstructing and repairing streets and roads is
divided into three departments : First, in the city of Char-
lotte, under direction of the mayor, city council, city en-
gineer and supervisor of streets; second, in the county at
large, under direction of the county commissioners, county
engineer, and superintendent of convicts; third, in each
township, through its board of trustees, are expended for
local work in road repairing the proceeds of the road tax
raised within the township.
A road outfit costs about $5,000, and consists of a steam
roller, crusher, bins, portable engine, road machine, and a
screen made of boiler plate perforated to separate the crushed
stones into three sizes. The city of Charlotte owns an outfit,
Charlotte township owns one, and the county owns two.
The first macadam roads built in Mecklenburg cost from
$2,700 to $4,000 a mile, according to the amount and kind of
grading required. The cost is now from $1,600 to $2,500 a
mile. The present county road tax is eighteen cents on the
$100, and this raises twenty thousand dollars a year, which
is expended in building roads by convict labor. In addition,
each township levies a tax ranging from seven cents to
fifteen cents on the $100, and the proceeds are expended by
the township trustees in improvements and repairs. The
county fund is supplemented by special appropriations by
the commissioners to the extent of ten or fifteen thousand
dollars annually.
The question of good roads is not one of construction
alone, but of development and maintenance as well. The
trustees of Charlotte township find it necessary to expend
$330 a mile every five years for repairs. Three hundred and
fifty cubic yards of stone, costing forty cents a yard, are re-
quired, $140 being thus expended for stone alone. This
stone is purchased of the farmers, who thus get paid for
something which would otherwise be worse than useless.
There is also the cost of spiking, distributing, rolling, crush-
ing, harrowing and other labor. Careful observation teaches
ROAD BUILDING FROM l88o TO I903. 1 79
that the use of broad tires in place of narrow ones would
reduce this expense to one-third of what it now is.
Convict labor is regarded with great favor. The reports
show that the cost of feeding, clothing and guarding the
prisoners amounts to about twenty-five cents a day for each
one, which is less than the county would pay for their board
in the county jail. Formerly, the roads were constructed by
rounding up the roadbed, cutting drain ditches on each side,
excavating twelve feet in the middle to a depth of nine
inches, and then filling in the excavated portion with stone
broken by hand. The system has been developed until not
only is the stone crushed by steam power and the processes
otherwise improved, but the roads are often re-located and
graded, becoming practically new roads.
Experience taught the authorities that when the roads
are dry, the clay bed is preferable to macadam, because of
the less wear and jolting of vehicles and of the better effect
on the feet of the horses. The location of the macadam in
the middle of the road left either side too narrow for vehicles,
so the plan of having the macadam on one side was adopted.
On these roads, the macadam is used in winter, and is saved
from the wear of the summer traffic, because in summer the
clay bed is preferred.
The result of the work here outlined is that Charlotte has
been lifted out of the mud and made a city of clean streets
and attractive appearance ; the country has been benefited by
the easier accessibility of markets, besides furnishing pleas-
ant driveways for the people of city and county. All this
has been accomplished within a few years, without imposing
any burdens upon the people in a section where, from the
earliest times, the roadbeds were comparable to the temper-
ing pits of a brickyard.
Authority : — County Records and Road Officials.
CHAPTER XXXVII.
DEVELOPMENT OF MANUFACTURES. (1865 to 1900.)
Iron Substituted for Wood in Machinery as a Result of the Abolition
of Cheap Labor — Necessity Forces Improvements — First Cotton
Mill Built in 1881 and First Cotton Oil Mill in 1882— Cotton
Compresses — Industrial Progress Attendant Upon Manufactur-
ing — Situation in 1900.
The end of the Civil War left the negroes free, but with-
out any of the habits or feelings of free men, and the ac-
quirement of them required the slow process of time. It soon
became difficult for farmers to secure enough negro work-
men to gin a crop of cotton, so demoralized had the freed-
men become. To them the idea of freedom was absolution
from work and restraint of all kinds. This difficulty of ob-
taining labor was augmented by the advent of the system of
farming under which the negroes rented small quantities of
land and began farming on their own account. Being una-
ble to get as much labor as the old system demanded, the
planters began to manifest a spirit of interest in the introduc-
tion of mechanical appliances tending to reduce the number
of hands necessary for their work.
Wooden cogs and wallowers of gin running gear, used
for transmission of power, and similar machinery, wore rap-
idly and required frequent renewal. When these renewals
were made by labor which cost nothing, such machinery was
satisfactory, but when the labor had to be paid for in money,
a demand immediately arose for cast bevel wheels. This
application of cast-iron gearing was probably the first move
in the direction of labor-saving devices. Wrought band iron
replaced ropes for binding the bales of cotton, both as a
matter of economy and for safety from fire.
The "feeder" and the "condenser" were inventions of
much importance; the first was a contrivance into which the
I.
i 4 '.v~;
)f*r: • ■
!
o
H
O
o
Q
<!
5?
o
O
o
DEVELOPMENT OE MANUFACTURES. l8l
seed cotton could be put, and which would, with proper ad-
justments, feed the gin; the other attachment caught the lint
cotton between two skeleton wire-cloth bound rollers, and
delivered it from the gin in a continuous "bat," instead of
like feathers in a gale. Next came a compact press capable
of pressing a bale by the power of two stout laborers. Then
the steam power began to be used, and instead of every
planter owning his own gin, the larger ones only owned one,
and they ginned for the public. Following these adapta-
tions were well-designed modern steam ginneries, equipped
with labor-saving appliances. About 1885, exhaust suction
fans came into use, and they made possible the unloading of
cotton direct from the wagon through a pipe or flue into the
gin feeder or into bins partitioned off in the gin house.
These changes may be said to have forced themselves
upon the plantation. They were not the result of any exer-
tions on the part of the planter or tenant to find better or
cheaper methods, but each feature was introduced as a mat-
ter of necessity ; not as a preferable way, but as the only way
the crop could be prepared for market. Similar innovations
and improvements were being made in all kinds of work.
The plantation tools of 1870 were the wooden plow stock
with a small variety of small iron plow-shares, a weeding
hoe, a scythe and a wagon. On the same plantation, ten
years later, could have been seen modern reapers, sulky
plows, cotton planters, finely made harrows and like imple-
ments.
For a few years after the war, when the price of cotton
was so high that anyone could live by a small amount of
farming, the land was cultivated extensively; but when the
cultivation reached its limit, and the price of cotton became
lower, the farmers and home capitalists realized that the
only way their condition could be bettered was by manufac-
turing the raw product at home. In 1873, there were thirty-
three cotton factories in North Carolina, with a total capi-
tal of $1,130,900, and earning a profit of twelve per cent, on
the investment. September 15. of that year, a public meet-
l82 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
ing was held in Charlotte to discuss plans for a mill here,
and committees were appointed to investigate and report.
March 6, 1874, another meeting was held, and yet another at
Davidson College March 31. A company was then formed
to built a factory at Spring's Shoals, on the Catawba. The
Charlotte Cotton Factory Company met in Charlotte Sep-
tember 24, 1874, and organized with A. B. Davidson presi-
dent, A. Macaulay vice president, and F. H. Dewey secretary
and treasurer. About the same time, the owners of the Rock
Island woolen mill organized to convert it into a cotton fac-
tory, with R. I. McDowell president, and A. S. Caldwell sec-
retary and treasurer.
Though these movements did not materialize, the agita-
tion consequent upon them did later result in the beginning
of cotton manufacturing in the city. The Charlotte cotton
mill was the first, and it began operations in the Spring of
1 88 1. It was established by R. M., J. E., D. W. and J. M.
Oates, with a capital of $131,500. Only spinning was done
in the mill for ten years, and then the weaving department
was added. In 1896, there were five cotton mills in Char-
lotte, and the development since that time has been remark-
able. There are now seventeen mills in Charlotte, with a
combined capital of three million dollars, nearly three thou-
sand looms, about 125,000 spindles, 6,000 operatives, and
a weekly pay roll of $30,000. There is also one cotton
mill at Davidson, one at Pineville, one at Huntersville, and
one at Cornelius.
Cotton seed, not needed for planting, were formerly scat-
tered over the fields for fertilizer, but as their value for oil
and other purposes became known, oil mills w r ere built. The
first one in Charlotte was established in 1882, and there are
now two in the city and one at Davidson College. There are
also two cotton compresses, which together handle about
1 50,000 bales annually. These compresses were originated
because of the importance of having the bales as small as
possible, especially for shipment across the sea. Two* large
warehouses supply good services to fanners who thus have
>
i— i
H
<
H
O,
O
o
H
H
O
O
DEVELOPMENT OF MANUFACTURES. 1 83
an opportunity to secure cash advances on their cotton while
holding it for higher prices by paying a small rental fee.
The average cotton trade in Charlotte amounts to about
$1,200,000 every year.
Within a radius of one hundred miles around Charlotte
are nearly 300 cotton mills, operating more than 3,000,000
spindles and 85,000 looms, and having a capital of $100,-
000,000, which not only shows that Charlotte is a manufac-
turing centre, but the remarkable fact that one-half of the
looms and spindles of the South are within one hundred
miles of this city. In Charlotte are companies which build
and equip cotton factories and oil mills, and a number of
other agencies for miscellaneous supplies and machinery.
While cotton manufacturing is the chief industry of
Mecklenburg county, other manufactures have developed
along with it, and represent forty per cent, of the total man-
ufacturing capital. The Mecklenburg Iron Works and the
Liddell Company are the oldest establishments in the county.
There are three other machine shops and foundries, five
clothing factories, and a fertilizer factory, and almost every
other kind of manufacturing plant on a more or less exten-
sive scale. More than half the manufacturing capital of the
county is invested in cotton factories, but the remaining
forty per cent, leaves a wide latitude for diversified indus-
tries.
Mecklenburg county has 181 factories, with a capital of
$5,108,591, and of these Charlotte has 112, with a capital of
$4,112,342. In the county, according to the census of 1900.
were 3,988 wage earners, of whom 2,210 were men, 1,102
were women and 676 were children under sixteen years of
age; and the average yearly earnings were $219. Materials,
mill supplies, freight, power and heat cost the factories an-
nually $3,500,000; wages, $875,000; total cost, $4,375,000;
value of products, $5,736,000. From these -figures it is
found that the gross profit to the county (not to the manu-
facturer) from manufacturing raw material at home is thirty
per cent., and the annual profit on the capital invested is
[84 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
twenty-six per cent. Mecklenburg, in 1902, produced 28,40/
bales of cotton*, for which the fanners received about one
mill ion dollars. Manufactured into various products, it
would be worth from fifteen to forty-five cents a pound, or a
/c/(// of from two million to sis million dollars. Mecklen-
burg's cotton factories increase the value of the annual cot-
ton product of the county from one million to two million
five hundred thousand dollars.
Authority. — County Records, Newspapers and Officials.
<
H
a
o
o
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
MECKLENBURG AND CHARLOTTE IN 1903.
Population, Taxable Real Estate, Personal Property, Railroads and
Banks — Expenses and Receipts of County and City — Social and
Business Organizations — Incorporated Towns — Farm Products.
— New Buildings.
The total taxable value of real estate and personal prop-
erty in Mecklenburg county in 1902 was $11,717,404, and in
the city of Charlotte the value was $8,248,660. Consider-
ing .the fact that Mecklenburg and Charlotte are one hun-
dred and forty-three and one hundred and thirty-five years
old, respectively, there is nothing phenomenal in this devel-
opment. Other sections have grown more rapidly, some
cities have sprung up within a year, but few have equaled the
record for steady, reliable and lasting growth. The county
and city have ever been free from everything akin to a
"boom ;" genuine work and merit do not depend upon excite-
ment for recognition. An important rule of the business
organizations has been the refusal to< pay a "bonus" to get
any enterprise to enter the city. Xew industries are wel-
comed, but not subsidized, and as a result, everything which
comes into the county, comes to stay.
General county expenses in 1902 amounted to' $92,542,
and city expenditures for general purposes amounted to
$141,227. The county indebtedness is $300,000; city.
$515,000. The county buildings, court house, jail, road
machinery, etc., are worth about one hundred thousand
dollars. The city owns the city hall, water works, three
school buildings, about thirty acres of land, three town lots,
latest improved fire alarm system, and two fire departments.
The streets are macadamized, and the city owns and keeps
up a crematory for the disposal of refuse, and a sewerage
system. There are one hundred miles of macadam roads in
1 86 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
the county, forty of which are in Charlotte township. These
roads cost from $1,500 to $4,000 a mile, with an average
cost of $2,000 a mile.
Though vast improvements have been made in city and
county, the general taxes have not increased to< any considera-
ble extent. County tax is $1,162-3 on the $100, and a $3.50
poll tax; the city taxes are $1 and $3 respectively. Taxable
real estate and personal property in the county increased in
valuation $917,929 between 1900 and 19025318,121 acres of
land are valued at $3,092,296, and 4,017 town lots at
$4,293,761. Six railroads enter the city, and twelve of the
fifteen townships of the county have railroads, their total
valuation in the county being $1,369,917. The assessments
are about sixty per cent, of the true value.
A municipal census, January 7, 1901, ascertained the pop-
ulation of the city to be 27,752. The last government census,
taken in 1900, gives the population as 18,091. The latter
is of the city inside the corporate limits, while the former
census is of the suburbs also. By the 1901 census, the
population of each ward was : First, 5,942 ; Second, 5,242 ;
Third, 4,556; Fourth, 4,162; total in wards, 19,902;
number outside of wards, 7,850; grand total, 27,752. Of
these, 11,983 were colored people. The census of 1900
gave Mecklenburg a population of 55,261. In 1903, the
population of the county is about seventy thousand, and of
the city thirty thousand.
The administration of the city government is vested in a
mayor, recorder and board of aldermen, and the city owns
and conducts the water works and fire departments. There
is a health department which takes every possible precaution
against the spread of contagion and in the interest of the
health of the people. There are in the city three daily news-
papers, two semi-weekly papers, three weeklies, two medical
monthlies, two religious papers, and two college annuals,
and there are five job printing establisments.
Nearly all the well known fraternal and benevolent socie-
GRAPES.
H
O
MECKLENBURG AND CHARLOTTE IN I903. 1 87
ties are represented in Charlotte. The Manufacturers' Club
is the most noted, and there are also the North State Club,
Chamber of Commerce, a literary and library association, a
Scotch-Irish association, six musical organizations, a medi-
cal society, a law association, historical association, Carnegie
Library Association, country club, five military organiza-
tions, composed of Hornets' Xest Riflemen, drum corps and
artillery ; post of the Grand Army of the Republic, camp of
Confederate Veterans, and fifteen others.
There are four incorporated towns in the county : Mat-
thews, with a population of 378; Davidson, 904; Hunters-
ville, 533; Pineville, 585. Derita. Xewells and Mint Hill
are growing unincorporated towns. There are fifty-nine
postoffices in the county. The general elevation of Mecklen-
burg is 700 feet above sea level, and the soil is well adapted
to successful farming. Farmers average to the acre thirty
to sixty bushels of corn, twenty to fifty of wheat, three hun-
dred of potatoes, three to five tons of hay. Grapes thrive
abundantly, and orchards and vineyards are carefully cul-
tivated.
One thing which attests continued growth and promises
a bright future, is the building of suburban towns. Char-
lotte is growing larger as it grows better and richer. There
are several hotels in the city, and a number of attractive
public buildings. Among them are the postoffice, assay
office, court house, city hall, Carnegie Library, colleges and
graded schools. The street car and lighting plants are as
good as the best, and Latta Park, at the southern extremity
of the car line, is a popular pleasure resort. A long distance
and two local telephone companies and two telegraph com-
panies afford excellent service. One of the established insti-
tutions of the county and city is the Mecklenburg Fair Asso-
ciation, the annual exhibits of which are events of inter-
est.
The Carnegie Library was completed in the latter part of
May, 1903, at a cost of $40,000, and will be maintained by
the city by an annual appropriation of $2,500. The Vance
1 88 HISTORY OE MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
Memorial Association of Charlotte was organized in 1902,
for the purpose of raising the funds necessary to place a
monument of Vance in the library.
During the past four years, the outlay for new buildings
has averaged $500,000 a year, and the average for new
dwelling houses has been more than 600 annually. The nine
financial institutions represent a combined capital of $i,ioi ; -
703; total assets, $5,582,519, and have deposits amounting
to about three million dollars. Charlotte wholesale merch-
andise establishments keep on the road two hundered travel-
ing salesmen. The construction of macadam roads, and the
system of free rural mail delivery and county telephone lines,
connect the whole county directly with the city, and serve to
increase the value and attractiveness of the countrv districts.
Authority: — County and City Records and Personal In-
vestigations.
ANDREW JACKSON.
f
1 ■ 'in s&
Cabin Near Waxhaw, (Site now in Union, but Then in Meck-
lenburg), in Which Andrew Jackson. Seventh President of the
United States, Was Born March 15, 1767.
CHAPTER XXXIX.
MECKLENBURG'S GREAT CITIZENS.
Sketches of the Lives of President Andrew Jackson, President James
Knox Polk and Senator Zebulon Baird Vance.
Andrew Jackson, seventh President of the United States,
was born in the southeastern part of Mecklenburg county,
March 15, 1767. The ruins of the cabin are yet to be seen
and are about six miles south of Waxhaw and five hundred
yards from the South Carolina line, in what is now Union
county. There, in the home of George McKemey, whose
wife was a sister of Jackson's mother, the child was born.
His father, Andrew Jackson, Sr., had died about a month
before, and when ,the boy was three weeks old, his mother
moved with her three children to the home of James Craw-
ford, just over the line in South Carolina. There he lived
until the invasion by Cornwallis, in 1780, when his brother,
Hugh, was killed at the battle of Stono. Andrew and his
brother Robert, were one day ordered by some British sol-
diers to black their boots. Refusing to do so, they were
severely injured by the soldiers, and were sent to prison in
Camden. They were soon released, but Robert died from the
effect of his wounds, and Mrs. Jackson died a few days later.
Andrew, left alone in the world, spent the next few years in
the old Waxhaw settlement, and part of his time in Char-
lotte and Charleston. During this period, he attended school
for a short time and acquired a rudimentary education.
He was strong, healthy, self-reliant and independent.
Resolving to be a lawyer, he entered the office of Spruce
McKay, in Salisbury, and under the instruction of McKay,
who was afterwards a judge, and Colonel John Stokes,
he was prepared for the bar. His first practice was
in Randolph county, in the old court house at Brown's Cross
Roads, which is still standing. He left there after a year.
I90 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
and in 1789. was appointed solicitor of the Western district
of North Carolina, and he located in that section which
seven years later was made the State of Tennessee. In
Nashville, he married Mrs. Robards, with whom he lived
happily until her death in 1828. In 1796, Jackson was
elected to Congress, and the next year he was appointed
to the Senate, but resigned a year later. He was then
elected a judge of the Supreme Court of Tennessee, which
position he resigned in 1804, and retired to private life until
the beginning of the War of 181 2. In that war he
made a national reputation by winning the battle of
New Orleans, January 8, 181 5. He was appointed com-
mander-in-chief of the southern division of the army, and,
in 1 81 7, he conducted to a successful conclusion the
Seminole War in Florida, and became Governor of the
new province. In 1824, he was a candidate for President,
and led all the other candidates, but the election was
thrown into the House of Representatives, and John Quincy
Adams was elected. Jackson defeated Adams in 1828, and
he was elected for the second term, defeating Henry Clay
in 1832. The most important events in his administration
were his opposition to the idea of a centralized national bank
controlling all government deposits and having the exclusive
right of issuing national bank notes, and to nullification. In
all things and at all times, he was firm almost to severity,
persevering and persistent. He retired to "The Hermitage"
in the Spring of 1837, and died there June 8, 1845.
POLK.
James Knox Polk, eleventh President of the United
States, was born eleven miles south of Charlotte, near Little
Sugar creek church, November 2, 1795. His father. Samuel
Polk, who married Jane Knox, was a son of Ezekiel Polk,
nephew of Thomas Polk of revolutionary fame, grandson
of William Polk, and great-grandson of John Polk, and
great-great-grandson of Robert Polk, who came to this coun-
try from Ireland in 1735. In 1806, the father of the Presi-
dent-to-be moved with his family to the southeastern part of
k
^
JAMES KNOX FOLK.
El
{ izx .
^ i ■ ■
■ > ■
V.
- 4
»l
v.
ar>^— rif3
Cabin Near Pineville, Mecklenburg County, in Which James Knox
Polk, Eleventh President of the United States, Was Born No-
vember 2, 1795.
ZEBULON BAIRD VANCE.
MECKLENBURG S GREAT CITIZENS. 191
Tennessee. After attending a grammar school, James Knox
Polk was sent to the University of North Carolina, from
which he was graduated in 1818, in the same class with Rev.
R. H. Morrison, Bishop W. M. Green, H. C. Jones, Hugh
Waddell, and William D. Mosely who was afterwards Gov-
ernor of Florida. He did not miss a recitation during his
entire college course, and received the highest honors of his
class. He read law with Felix Grundy, and was licensed
to practice in 1820, and was elected to Congress in 1825,
remaining there for fourteen years and being Speaker from
1835 to 1838. In 1839, he was elected Governor of Ten-
nessee, and in 1844 was elected President. In his accepta-
tion of the nomination for President, he declared he would
serve only one term, and his administration was one of glory
and prosperity, being marked by the war with Mexico,
which resulted in the annexation of Texas. He died in
Nashville, June 15, 1849, an d on his tomb are inscribed these
words :
"By his public policy he defended, established, and
extended the boundaries of his country. He planted the
laws of the American Union on the shores of the Pacific.
His influence and his councils tended to organize the
National Treasury on the principles of the constitution, and
to apply the rule of Freedom to navigation, trade and
industry."
VANCE.
Zebulon Baird Vance, grandson of Col. David Vance
who was wounded at the battle of King's Mountain, was
born in Buncombe county, May 13. 1830. He was educated
at Washington College, Tenn., studied law at the University
of North Carolina, was admitted to the bar in 1852, and was
elected county attorney the same year. Possessing a mind
of comprehensive ability and a wonderfully retentive mem-
ory, he met with success in the practice of law, but his incli-
nations early turned his attention to politics. In all his
career he was distinguished for sterling honesty, clean
methods, fair and open dealing, and a manly, generous and
1<)J HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
humorous disposition. He "was elected to the State Legisla-
ture as a Whig in 1854, to Congress in 1857 and in 1859,
and at the end of his service in Congress, he entered the
Confederate army as a captain in the Fourteenth regiment.
His gallantry won the admiration of the soldiers ; and in
August of 1 86 1, he was elected colonel of the Twenty-sixth
regiment. In the trying days in i860 and 1861, he was
conservative and opposed secession, but when his State
seceded, he was among the first to volunteer his services. In
August, 1862, he was elected Governor, was re-elected in
1864, and continued in the office until the Federal forces
seized the government in April, 1865. In August, 1863.
he was married to Miss Harriet Epsey, by whom he had
four sons. He was in Charlotte with President Davis, April
16, 1865, and then went to join his family in Statesville. He
was arrested by Federal authority in May, and spent several
months in the Old Capitol Prison, in Washington. He was
released near the end of the year, and returned to make his
home in Charlotte, and was active in patriotic work in this
county for ten years. In 1876, he was nominated by the
Democrats for Governor and was elected, and January 1,
1877, he took the oath of office as Governor for the third
time. In 1878, he was elected and assumed the duties of
United States Senator, which position lie held until his
death, April 14, 1894.
Notes: — This chapter is founded upon information con-
tained in the popular biographies of the three men, from
Wheeler's Peminsicences, Senator Ransom's Eulogy on
Vance, Walk-up's Pamphlet on the Birthplace of Jackson,
and from Personal Investigations of the P>irthplace of Jack-
son and of Polk.
CHAPTER XL.
SUMMARY.
Explanation of the Growth and Development of Mecklenburg and
Charlotte Under Diverse Conditions in Different Periods, in
Comparison With the United States and North Carolina.
From the time of the first Federal census, in 1790, until
the twelfth, in 1900, the population of Mecklenburg county
increased from 11,395 to 55,268, being a total of 385 per
cent., and an annual average of 3.5 per cent. During the
same period, the yearly average for the United States was
16.8 per cent., and for North Carolina, 3.4 per cent. So
that though the county has not grown nearly so rapidly as
the nation, its average is almost identical with that of the
State, and hence its record fairly represents the result of
the conditions which have existed in North Carolina. The
population of the State and nation has steadily increased
every year, though at times not so fast as at other times,
while the population of Mecklenburg has fluctuated from 3.2
per cent, decrease to 3.9 per cent, increase. The earliest
census report of the city of Charlotte was in i860, when
the population was given as 1,366. The total increase from
then until 1900 was 1,225 per cent., with an annual average
of 30.6 per cent. From 1870 to 1900, the increase in Char-
lotte averaged 24 per cent, a year; in Mecklenburg, 7 per
cent.; in North Carolina, 2.5 per cent, and in the United
States, 3 per cent.
Previous to the census of 1790, all sections of the country
were being continuously developed. By that year, the coun-
try was well settled, and had an organized and efficient gov-
ernment. In the last decade of the eighteenth century,
Mecklenburg's population decreased from 11,395 to 10,439.
This was caused by the creation of Cabarrus, in 1792, which
took about 4,000 people from Mecklenburg, but this number
194 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
was almost regained within the following eight years, so
that in 1800 there were only 956 less than in 1790.
By 1800, the simultaneous introduction of slavery and
cotton planting had been accomplished. The invention of
the cotton gin, in 1796, has been recorded as the greatest of
all blessings to the South, and ultimately it may be so, but
before i860 it was nearer anything else than a blessing.
It was primarily responsible for the system of slavery, which
reached its limit in the South Atlantic States by 1830, and
then retarded all growth until it was abolished. Cotton is
now deemed a necessity, and in its manufacture it is the life
of the South, but we could probably have done as well with-
out it until we began to manufacture it.
The decade between 1800 and 1810 was the most prosper-
ous in the county before the Civil War, the rate of increase
in population being 2.5 per cent, a year. This was the result
of the beginning of the cotton industry, and within that
short space of time nearly all the land in the county was
divided into large plantations, and there was no more room
for growth. During the next twenty years, the rate of
increase was 1.9 per cent, a year, and in 1830, population
began to decrease, and continued to decrease one per cent, a
year until 1840, and between 1840 and 1850 the annual
decrease was 3.2 per cent. When the downward movement
began, it was precipitated by a great emigration to- the north-
west and southwest, which was attributable to the desire of
the people either to go where they could have more land
for the operation of slavery or to escape the evils depend-
ent upon it, which were even then being realized.
The rapid fall between 1840 and 1850 was caused by the
creation of Union county in 1842, which took about 5,000
of Mecklenburg's population. The extent of emigration is
shown by the facts that between 1830 and 1840, the State
of Alabama increased 90 per cent, in population; Arkansas
increased 221 per cent.; Illinois increased 202 per cent;
Indiana, 99 per cent. ; Louisiana, 63 per cent. ; Michigan,
570 per cent., and Mississippi and Missouri, 175 per cent.
SUMMARY. 195
each. During the same ten years, Virginia and South Caro-
lina increased 2.3 per cent, each, and North Carolina only
2.1 per cent., thus showing quite plainly from what sections
came the settlers of the northwest and southwest.
The emigration movement ended about 1850, and the
thoughtful men at home, who had fully realized the futility
of cotton planting as a source of wealth and prosperity,
began to turn their attention to other things. Public high-
ways and waterways were improved, canals were worked
on, factories were being planned, and the revival of the long
dormant interest in important phases of industry served to
turn the tide of emigration. In the ten years before the war,
the population increased from 13,914 to 17,374, being an
annual increase of 2.5 per cent. Then came the war, which
paralyzed all progress for five years, and left the county
poorer in wealth and population in 1865 than it was in i860.
The increase in the State from 1840 to i860 was at the rate
of 15 per cent, every ten years.
Immediately after the war there was a revival of indus-
trial life. Mecklenburg was favored by home seekers,
because of the settled and peaceable state of affairs pre-
vailing here, while all around was turmoil and strife. Inves-
tors and speculators and capitalists considered it an inviting
field for commercial development at first, and later for
industrial development. The natural resources, mines and
rich soil, and the healthfulness of the climate, were attrac-
tive features. Between i860 and 1870, the population of
the county increased from 17,374 to 24,299, or 39 per cent.,
while the city population increased from 1,366 to 2,212, or
62 per cent., and all this increase was between 1865 and
1870, as there was no growth during the war. In the same
decade, the population of the United States increased 22.6
per cent., and of North Carolina, 7.9 per cent. The growth
was greater from 1870 to 1880, being 44 per cent, in the
county, 32 in the city, 30.7 in the state, and 30.1 in the
United States. This decade between 1870 and 1880, was
the most prosperous in the history of the county, as calcu-
I96 HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
lated from the average annual increase of population. This
growth was caused by the complete change in all phases of
life, as the result of emancipation, by the stirring up of new
ideas and the beginning cf new things, by Charlotte's becom-
ing a market for the exchange and distribution of all kinds
of produce for wide territory which was taking on new
life, and by the interest manifested in gold mining in the
county which put money into circulation and built a large
machinery trade in the city.
Cotton manufacturing was begun in Charlotte in 1881,
and the first cotton oil mill was established in 1882. From
1880 to 1890, the increase in population was 24.9 per cent,
in the United States, 15.6 in North Carolina, 24 in Meck-
lenburg and 62 in Charlotte. During this period, manu-
facturing became the chief object of interest in the develop-
ment of the county and city. In the following decade, from
1890 to 1900, the manufacture of cotton assumed such pro-
portions as to be considered the life of the community, but
other manufacturing plants were being built and the manu-
factories were being diversified. The manufacture of cloth-
ing was developed to a degree of considerable importance, as
were also the manufactures of cotton oil and machinery.
The population increased in this time 20.7 per cent, in the
nation, 17. 1 in the State, 29 in the county and 56 in the city.
It is not difficult to comprehend the causes actuating the
variability in the rate of increase in the nation. State, county
and city. In order that they should be similiar, it would
Ik- necessary that at all times there should be perfect uni-
formity in the birth rate, death rate and immigration, which
condition is obviously inconceivable. The increase in the
nation is the balancing of the sundry conditions prevailing
in the separate states, and it has never varied from the
average more than one per cent, a year. North Carolina
has varied as much as one and one-half per cent, a year,
Mecklenburg county as much as tun per cent., and Char-
lotte as much as thirty per cent. This is plainly accounted
for by the fact that the conditions causing the abnormal flue-
SUMMARY. 197
tuations affect only a small section, and the smaller the sec-
tion the greater is the fluctuation.
Since the first Federal census in 1790, there have been
three general influences exerted. From 1790 to 1830 was
the period of development in the South under the system of
slavery, and the increase during the forty years averaged
yearly 7.5 per cent, in the United States, and 2\ per cent in
North Carolina and in Mecklenburg county. From 1830
to i860 was the period of retarded growth attendant upon
the slavery system having reached the limit of usefulness,
and the average annual increase was 8 per cent, in the nation,
1.1 in the State and less than one per cent, in the county,
after having allowed for the decrease caused by the creation
of Union county. It is noticeable that during this period,
under the domination of slavery, the nation prospered more
than during the preceding period, while the growth of the
South was barely perceptible. When slavery attained to the
greatest possible production of agricultural products, the
North was prospering and the South was almost at a stand-
still. The third movement was the industrial expansion
which grew from the business revival in the years following
the war. Between 1880 and 1900, the increase was at the
rate of 1.6 per cent, a year in the State, 2.3 in the nation, 2.9
in the county and 5.6 in the city. The fact that during this
later period, the city grew faster than did the nation or
State or county, is evidence of the superb natural advantages
of Charlotte as a center of manufacturing industries, and
is an encouraging forecast of greater things yet to come.
Note: — The statistics included in this Chapter were ob-
tained from the Census Reports.
INDEX.
Alamance Page 37
Alexander, J. M 24, 46, 52, 83
Alexander, N 29
Alexander, A 29, 31, 33, 46
Alexander, M 30, 36, 39, 85
Alexander, 1 33, 81
Alexander, Wm 49
Alexander, H 56, 86
Alexander, J 77, 81
Allen 32
Amusements ...20, 26, 106, 121
Appropriations 146
Archibald 78
Area 31
A. R. P. Church 78, 10y
Ashe 29
Author vii
Avery, W 54, 56, 66, 124
Baicn 47, 48
Bancroft 5
Banks 131, 151, 175
Baptists 1C7, 109, 164
Barringer, 20, 21, 29, 132, 152,
167.
Barry 29, 32, 64, 89
Barr 78
Bates 145
Beatty 89
Bethel Regiment 139
Bethune 168, 169
Biddle University 171
Bissell 146, 173
"Black Boys" 39
BlacKwelder 81
Board of Trade 152
Bonds 152, 153
Boone 167
Booth 48
Boundaries 35
Brem 140, 142, 154
Brevard 47, 80
Broad Tires 73
Brogden 155
Brownfield 73
Bryce 138
Buford 60
Burke 43
Burwell 114, 115, 166, 170
Cabarrus 30, 193
Cabot l
Caldwell.. 72, 93, 107, 110, 132
Caldwell, J. P 154, 160
Camp Meeting 110
Cape Fear Mercury 49, 53
Carlyle 17
Carter 8
Carruth 49
Carraway 165
Caswell 59, 60
Catawba 124
Catawbas 7
Cathey 27, 85
Catholics 164
C. C. C. Co 159
Celebrations 121, 153, 154
Cemetery 107,158
Center 76
Chain Gang 158
Chambers 116
Charlotte 31, 34
Charlotte ( Queen ) 28
Charlotte Grays 3y
Charleston 19, 22
Charter 32, 91, 116
Cherokees 7, 36
Chesapeake Bay 1
Churches 75, 107, 162
City Hall 158
Civil War 138
Clark 8, 85
Claremont 166
Clear Creek 77
Clubs 187
Coin 27
Coldwater 77
Colonists 1
Columbus 1
Committee 52
Compress 182
Confiscation 65
Convict Labor 179
Cornwallis 62
Cotton, 94, 151, 181, 183, 194, 196
Cotton Gins 90, 95
Cotton Seed 182
Courts 65, 91
Court House 31, 33, 158
Cowan's Ford 64
200
HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
Cox 156
Craighead 25, 75
Crematory 158
Crowfield 73
Curr3ncy 27
Customs 22
Dartmouth 49
Davidson, John 33
Davidson, Wm., 57, 61, 64, 93,
115, 116, 154.
Davidson College, 73, 115, 116,
172.
Davie 59, 61, 66
Davis 141, 149, 152
Declaration 46, 49, 50, 57
Description 30
Discovery 1, 2
Distilleries 25
Dobbs 10, 15, 20, 29, 70, 84
Doctors 80
Dowd 46,167
Dunlap 108
Dunn 48
Education 70, 111, 166
Elections, 91, 118, 119, 134, 135,
140, 144, 145, 146, 153, 168
Elevation 187
Eleventh Regiment 140
Elizabeth College 171
Emancipation 150
Emigration, 1, 18, 34, 117, 194
England 1
Episcopal Cnurch 162
Established Church 29
Explosion 187
Factories 152, 181, 183
Fairs 121, 152, 187
Fanning 38, 72, 7'.
Farms 160, 187
Federal Troops 143, 147
Female Academy 114
Female Institute 114
Fire Company 119
Floyd 29
Foster 29
Freedmen's Bureau 171
Frohock 31, 36
Froude 16
Gas 158
Gates 58
Gazette 53
Germans 15, 19, 75
Gibbon 132
Gold 129
Graham. G 49
Graham. J... 61, 64, 92, 122. 154
Graded School 167
Green 58
Grier 110, 146
Guion 152
Hagler 9
Hanna 165
Harris 29, 30
Harrison M. E. Church, 79, 108
Hasell 27, 29
Henry 18, 29
Hill 136, 139, 140, 151, 154
Hilton 177
Historical Society 157
Holden 146
Holmes 95, 98
Home Guards 142
Hooper 44
Hopewell 76
Hornets' Nest 62
Hornets' Nest Rifles. . .139, 187
Hospitals 142, 162, 163
Hotels 118, 152
Huguenots 20
Hunter 34, 46, 110
Husbands 38
Hutchins 29
Immigrants 15. 84
Incorporation 32
Independence 46
Indians 7
Industrial Education, . .71, 162,
169, 172.
Industries. .22, 68, 97, 118, 123,
124, 127, 131, 149, 152, 181,
195.
Influences 197
Insurance 119
Iredell 44
Ireland 17
Jack 48. 49
Jackson 60, 68, 92, 189
Jefferson 18, 44
Jews 140, 164
Jones 140, 146, 154
Johnston. 114, 138, 146, 152, 155,
176.
Justices 29
Kennedy 80. 142
Kennon 47, 56
King's Mountain 63
Knox 16, 17
Ku-Klux 145
Labor 84, 98, 99. 179
Land Grants 16
Lane 116, 139, 140
Latta Park 187
Law Association 159
Lawyers 66, 119, 146. 159
INDEX.
2or
Leavenworth 108, 113, 114
Lee 139, 140, 141, 152
Lewis 29
Lexington 47
Liberty Hall 73, 115
Libraries 74, 92, 159, 187
Lincoln 141
Liquor 25, 97
Locke 60
Logan 147
Lutherans 164
Machinery 180, 183
Magistrates 29, 120
Mail 126
Male Academy lib, 114
Manufactures 180, 183
Manufacturers' Club 187, 196
Market House 152
Martin (Gov.) 41, 44, 49, 63
Martin (Judge) 52
McAden 16, 75, 76
McCafferty 24, 33, 68
McClenahan 29
McCulloh 6, 31
McDowell 176, 18Z
Mclntyre's 62
McKelway 160, 163
McKenzie 93
McKinney 140
McRee 78
McWhorter 73
Mecklenburg Created 28
Medical College 171
Medical Society 159
Medicine 80, 108
Methodists 79, 164
Mexican War 122
Military Districts 54, 65
Military 56
Military Academy, 114, 140, 170
Miller 29, 140, 156
Mining 129, 173
Ministers' Conference 165
Mint 129, 173, 174
Money 67
Monument Association 157
Moore's Creek 54
Moravians 6
Morgan 141
Morrison, 9, 107, 110, 115, 116
Muster 27
Negroes 101, 102, 164, 180
"New Lights" 76
Newspapers 120. 160
Ninth Regiment 140
Oates 108, 182
Ocniltree 68
Oglethorpe 80
Ordinances 119, 158
Orphanage 162
Orr 147, 154
Osborne, 8, 66, 90, 91, 118, 132,
136, 146.
Owens 140
Parliament 17
Pass 139
Patterson 33
Patton 29, 5b
Persecutions 15, 20
Pew- renting 79
Pharr 11G*
Phifer 29, 31, 73, 115
Physicians 80, 122, 159
Plank Roads 128
Plantations, 101, 103, 104, 105,
194.
Pleasant Hill 110
Politics 132, 146, 150
Polk, L 141
Polk, T., 29, 31, 33, 36, 42, 44, 56,
58. 72.
Polk, T. G 73
Polk. J. K 69, 122, 190
Poor 65
Poplar Tent 76
Population, 16, 31, 68, 93, 117,
123, 150, 153, 186. 193.
Postoffices 68, 93, 187
Presbyterians 107, 162
Presbyterian College 170
Pritchard 146
Providence 76
Public Buildings, 67, 90, 93, 119,
159, 185, 187.
Queen's College 72
Queen's Museum 73
Racing 26
Raft Swamp 64
Railroads, 22, 125, 126. 152, 153,
186.
Ramsey 29
Ramsour's Mill 60
Reconstruction 143
Redemptioners 85
Reese 77
Register 159
Regulators 35
Religion 75
Resistance 5
Resolves 49, 52
Revolution 56
Rifle Factory 43
Riots 35, 147
Road Building, 34, 128, 176, 185
202
HISTORY OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY.
Road Commission 177
Robinson 29, 115
Rocky River 16, 75, 76
Ross 140
Rutherford 20, 57, 61, 64
Sardis 78
Schools 70, 111, 166
School Houses 113
Scotch-Irish 15, 18, 75, 76
Scotland 17
Scovilites 57
Secession 132, 134, 136, 13b
Selectmen 53
Selwyn 16, 31
Semmes 141
Settle 147
Settlement 1, 15, 22, 97
Sharon 110
Sherman 141
Shipp 146, 154
Shotwell 148
Slave Names 87
Slavery, 84, 97, 101, 133, 149, 194
Smallpox 122
South Carolina 6, 15, 16, 57
South Men 36
Spaniards 1
Sparrow 115
Spratts 31
Stages 125, 153
Steele Creek 76, 78
Stevenson 53
Stewart 17
St. Mary's Seminary 171
St. Michael's School 172
Stock Law 153
Stocks 90, 119
Street Cars 158
Streets 34, 177
Stores 22, 151
Stronach 155
Sugar Creek 16, 76, 107
Summary 193
Tarleton 60, 62
Taverns 25
Taxes, 65, 89, 96, 113, 118, 123,
134, 149, 151, 186, 187.
Teachers 70
Telephones 158
Temperance 118
Thomas 29
Thompson 75
Tompkins viii
Towns 187
Tryon County 30, 32
Tryon (Gov.) 34, 37, 72
Ulster 17
Union County 30, 117, 194
Union League 145
Valley Forge 58
Vance 141, 147, 154, 187, 191
Vespucius 1
Virginia 2, 15, 29
Waccamaw 64
Waddell 13, 36, 38
Wadsworth 152
Wahab's 61
Wallis 78. 110
Walters 72
Waring 152. 167
War of lai2 92
Warehouses 182
Washing Machine 92
Washington, 18, 43, 49, 58, 59, 69
Water Works 158
Watt's Hymns 77
Waxhaws 9, 16, 60, 61
Wealth, 68, 92, 123, 160, 185, 186
Western College 115
Wheeler 21, 132, 157
Whipping Post 90, 119
Whitney 95, 96, 98
Wilkes 152, 167
Williams 139, 152
Williamson, ...52, 110, lis. 116
Wilmington 64
Wilson, 58, 64, 72, 87, 15i, 154
Witchcraft 81
Women 59, 81, 82
Yates 139, 154
Y. M. C. A 165
Young 146, 154, 176
Y. W. C. A 165
Us
M\M^\<v
