july 2009 - historical publications

Archaeological Investigations Resume at Fort AndersonFor the first time in forty-one years, a research-oriented archaeological investigation

was undertaken on the mile-long Civil War-era earthworks that weave through Bruns-wick Town/Fort Anderson State Historic Site. During April 6–9, assistant state archaeolo-gist John J. Mintz, with the assistance of site manager Brenda Bryant and historicinterpreter Jim McKee, supervised the excavation of gun emplacement #3 on Battery B ofFort Anderson. Madeline Spencer of the Underwater Archaeology Branch of the Office ofState Archaeology managed the field laboratory and organized the field notes, maps, anddrawings, as well as the collection and short-term curation of all recovered artifacts. Thisdig marked the resumption of active field investigations at Brunswick Town last con-ducted by Dr. Stanley A. South in the 1960s, and the first time that archaeology has been

CarolinaComments

Published Quarterly by the North Carolina Office of Archives and History

Volunteer Bert Felton (left) takes measurements from one of the test pits excavated in Battery B ofFort Anderson, while Jessica Sutton (right), historic site assistant at Fort Fisher, records the data. Allimages courtesy of the Office of Archives and History unless otherwise indicated.

purposely utilized within the confines of the earthworks to answer specific questions relat-ing to the construction of the gun emplacement and the battery. The overall objectives ofthe excavation were to locate any structural or architectural evidence of the original plat-form that supported the thirty-two-pound seacoast cannon in gun emplacement #3 and torecover and document any significant cultural material that may have been associated witheither the construction of the gun emplacement, the operation of the cannon, or theartillerymen who manned the works.

Fort Anderson, situated within the confines of colonial Brunswick Town, was thelargest defensive work along the interior Cape Fear River and is one of the best preservedearthen fortifications in the world. It was originally named Fort St. Philip, in honor of thecolonial-era Anglican church whose ruins were within the works. Construction of the fort

6 6 C A R O L I N A C O M M E N T S

For the Record

At this writing the North Carolina General Assemblystill has not passed a budget for the 2009–2011 biennium.In past columns I have hinted at the depth of the budgetreductions being proposed. As the revenue picture instate government has deteriorated further throughout thespring, the demands for further reductions have increased.The governor’s budget began with a 7 percent cut. Thestate Senate budget increased the reduction to 9 percent.The state House budget contemplated cuts of up to 15percent but ended up proposing about 10 percent in cuts.

To say that state government is facing the worst budgetcrisis since the Great Depression is not an overstatement. A look atother recessions in the past three decades confirms this stark picture. The recessionthat began in July 1981 and persisted until November 1982 created a shortfall of 9.2percent in state revenues. The recession from July 1990 to March 1991 reducedrevenues by 8.1 percent. Although equally brief, the recession from March toNovember 2001 shrunk revenues by 10.8 percent. The current recession began inDecember 2007, already has surpassed the 1981–1982 recession in duration, andaccounts for a 15.2 percent drop in revenue.

Perhaps more revealing are the overall revenue numbers. The governor andGeneral Assembly faced a $4 billion deficit for the 2008–2009 fiscal year. Projectedrevenue for the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2009, was $17.68 billion. Projec-tions for the 2009–2010 fiscal year were even leaner: $17.516 billion. The Housebudget included about $780 million in new taxes, which thus increased potentialrevenue for 2009–2010 to more than $18 million. Indeed, the Fiscal Research Divi-sion of the General Assembly does not foresee revenues returning to the $20.8 billionoriginally budgeted for the 2008–2009 fiscal year until 2013–2014.

What do these figures mean? In brief, programs, services, and staff of the Office ofArchives and History and of the Department of Cultural Resources at large will becurtailed severely. We are focusing on core missions. Given projections for the fiscalyear 2009–2010, we cannot be sure that current bans on travel, hiring, and purchas-ing will ease. Archives and History will have to do more with less. We will have todepend even more upon the many nonprofit organizations associated with theDepartment of Cultural Resources and especially with state historic sites and muse-ums to support staff and programs. Together, we will get through this budget crisis.As Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “When you get to the end of your rope, tie aknot and hang on.”

Jeffrey J. Crow

began on March 24, 1862, under the supervision of Lt. Thomas Rowland, who, withconscripted slaves, free blacks, Native Americans, and North Carolina soldiers, erectednearly a mile of earthworks that ran from the Cape Fear River to the headwaters of OrtonPond. The fort was subsequently improved and enlarged while under the commands ofmajors William Lamb and John J. Hedrick. On July 1, 1863, the name was changed toFort Anderson to honor Brig. Gen. George Burgwyn Anderson, who had been mortallywounded at Antietam.

At the time the fort was taken by combined Union army and naval forces on Febru-ary 19, 1865, the two main batteries (A and B) surmounted a crescent-shaped bastion thatstood twenty-four-feet high and was approximately thirty to thirty-five-feet thick. BatteryA faced the river and could direct point-blank, plunging fire from its four pattern 1840smoothbore thirty-two-pound guns on any ships that tried to pass the fort. Battery B wasable to fire its two rifled thirty-two-pounders and three smoothbore thirty-two-poundersat ships that approached from downriver. The land faces of the fort were protected by athirty-two-pounder “of the oldest pattern” and a number of field pieces, including aWhitworth rifle.

Maj. Thomas Sparrow reported on November 3, 1863, that gun emplacement #3 wasarmed with a “32-pdr long,” and Lt. Col. Hypolite Oladowski, chief ordnance officer ofthe Department of North Carolina, noted on February 5, 1865, that Fort Anderson wasarmed with two rifles, two of the “oldest pattern of the United States,” and five pattern1840 smoothbore thirty-two-pounders. Based on these reports, it has been determinedthat gun emplacement #3 of Battery B mounted a pattern 1840 smoothbore thirty-two-pound gun on a front pintle barbette carriage. The cannon weighed 7,100 pounds and thecarriage 4,200 pounds. The effective range of the gun was 1,900 yards. Only fifty pattern1840 thirty-two-pound guns were cast at three foundries (the District of Columbia:twenty; West Point, New York: nineteen; and Bellona, Virginia: eleven) between January1841 and April 1843. The guns mounted at Fort Anderson were “hand-me-downs” fromother Confederate fortifications along the lower Cape Fear.

For the dig in April, twelve excavation units totaling approximately one thousandsquare feet were laid out within gun emplacement #3. Eight of these units were eithertotally or partially excavated with masonry trowels and shovels by more than eightyvolunteers working four-hour shifts. Because of the unstable sandy soil, units placed paral-lel to the concave sides of the earthworks were “stepped back” to prevent massive soil fail-ure or slump. From these areas, more than four vertical feet of overburden was removedbefore the 1862 soil surface was encountered. By contrast, only four to six inches of soiloverlaid the section of the platform in the center of the gun emplacement.

Contrary to somenews reports, the exca-vators did not uncovera complete cannon orplatform in gunemplacement #3.Items found includedthe in situ charred

V O L U M E 5 7 , N U M B E R 3 , J U L Y 2 0 0 9 6 7

Assistant statearchaeologist John J.Mintz demonstrates tovolunteers the careful useof a trowel to remove alayer of soil from thebanked earthen walls ofFort Anderson.

wooden planks of the platform that most likely supported the seacoast cannon. Sleepers, orsupport beams, also were discovered in two test pits. These wooden beams were part ofboth the gun platform and the foundation of the fort itself. Rectangular postholes and ruststains, representing deteriorating iron and metal bolts, spikes, and nails, in other test pitsrevealed the locations of additional beams and construction elements of the gunemplacement.

Perhaps one of the most significant findings confirmed the long-held assumption thatthe earthworks of Fort Anderson were built of soil removed from its interior paradeground. While it seems fairly obvious that the interior of the fort is not level with thesurrounding grounds, it is now clear that the difference in elevation resulted from thetransfer of earth to erect the works. During the excavation, several pieces of Native Amer-ican pottery were recovered, along with colonial and Civil War-era pottery sherds. Sur-prisingly, the Native American artifacts were uncovered first, colonial pieces were foundslightly deeper in the soil, and nineteenth-century artifacts were mixed throughout. Inundisturbed soil, the Native American artifacts would be found in the deepest layer, colo-nial artifacts above those, and Civil War pieces closest to the surface, reflecting the chro-nology of the area. The displacement of artifacts indicates that the soil was moved fromanother area; the topsoil was removed first and piled beneath the formerly deeper layers.

Another interesting discovery occurred in the southeast corner of excavation unit one:a large (approximately two-feet-wide by three-feet-deep) relic-hunters pit. This cavityproduced a soft-drink bottle that dates from ca. 1974, allowing an estimation of the yearthat the pit was dug. This is by no means an uncommon occurrence at many archaeologi-cal and historic sites throughout the United States. Fortunately, the diligence and profes-sionalism of Division of State Historic Sites and Properties staff members have kept thistype of destruction to an absolute minimum at State-owned sites in North Carolina.

The Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson staff and the Friends of Brunswick Town areworking to raise funds to install a working replica of a gun on Battery B. In order to per-fect the replication, a gun platform must also be constructed. By studying elements of theoriginal platform, as well as contemporary drawings by Confederate engineers, an accuratereproduction of the original gun emplacement can be built. The information obtainedduring the recent archival and archaeological investigations will be used in conjunctionwith some donated items (poster board, easels, etc.) to develop temporary topic-specificinterpretive displays for upcoming Civil War sesquicentennial commemorative programsbeginning in 2011. Other donated items, such as trowels and buckets, are being used toinvestigate the area that was disturbed by the Americans with Disabilities Act-compliantwalkway currently under construction.

The excavation of gun emplacement #3 was sponsored by the Friends of BrunswickTown through public donations and sales in the visitor center gift shop. The site receiveda generous donation of tools and supplies from Stewart True Value Hardware in South-port. Food Lion of Southport and Leland, Lowes Foods of Southport, Harris Teeter ofLeland, and Orton Plantation all provided bottled water for staff members and volunteers.The Friends purchased additional supplies and educational materials for use during theexcavation. Labor and technical assistance were provided by Office of Archives and His-tory staff members and volunteers from Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson, Fort Fisher,Bentonville Battleground, Somerset Place, Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens, theUSS North Carolina Battleship Memorial, the North Carolina Maritime Museum at Beau-fort, and the Underwater Archaeology Laboratory at Fort Fisher. Additional volunteersincluded staff members from the Cape Fear Museum in Wilmington, University of NorthCarolina at Wilmington and high school students, and members of the Friends of theNorth Carolina Maritime Museum at Southport, the Sons of Confederate Veterans, theBrunswick County Historical Society, the Southport Historical Society, and the Friends ofBrunswick Town. Volunteers came from all over the state and as far away as Jacksonville,Florida, to participate in the dig.


Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson also formed a partnership with Peace College, withassistance from the Division of State Historic Sites and Properties, the Department of Cul-tural Resources, the Friends of Brunswick Town, Wake Technical Community College,and the Office of State Archaeology in conjunction with the Office of State ArchaeologyResearch Center (OSARC) and the Coe Foundation for Archaeological Research, toconduct an archaeological field school from May 19 through June 12. Dr. VincentMelomo of Peace College and Thomas E. Beaman Jr. of Wake Technical CommunityCollege directed the excavations. Approximately twenty-one students, some from as faraway as California, archaeologically investigated the Civil War component of the site.Archaeologists and students excavated what are believed to be Confederate barracks,located within the existing Fort Anderson earthworks behind Battery A. They hoped torecover details about construction and use of the barracks, which would assist in under-standing what life was like for soldiers stationed there from 1862 to 1865. The fort wasalso used as a temporary camp for African American refugees in the spring of 1865. Therefugees had followed Gen. William T. Sherman’s army from Georgia and South Carolinato Fayetteville and were sent down to Wilmington. A large number of them lived at FortAnderson until homes could be found, and it is believed that they used the barracks astemporary quarters while at the fort. All recovered artifacts will undergo analysis, conser-vation, and curation at the OSARC. Eventually some of those artifacts will be returned toBrunswick Town/Fort Anderson to be exhibited during the Civil War sesquicentennialcommemorations.


Volunteers young and oldjoined in the dig at FortAnderson, includingCaroline Sawyer (center).

Dr. Stanley A. South(right), who conducted themost recent archaeologicalinvestigations at BrunswickTown in the 1960s,discusses the history of thesite with instructorThomas E. Beaman Jr.(second from right) andstudents in the PeaceCollege summer fieldschool.

300th Anniversary of John Lawson’s Book to be CommemoratedIn 1709 English naturalist and explorer John Lawson published his richly detailed

account of a 57-day, 550-mile journey through the unexplored backwoods of Carolina. ANew Voyage to Carolina meticulously described the flora, fauna, topography, and nativeinhabitants that Lawson and his companions encountered. The book was heartily receivedby European audiences and was reprinted several times in English and in German. InOctober 2009, the Office of Archives and History will commemorate the three-hundredthanniversary of the publication of Lawson’s book with a two-day symposium in Raleigh.Experts on Lawson, colonial North Carolina, and botany will examine a variety ofrelevant topics.

John Lawson: A Carolinian’s Life and Times will be held on October 9–10 at the NorthCarolina Museum of History and the State Capitol. The first day of lectures will focus onbotany and natural history, and the second day on Lawson and his times. Mark Laird,senior lecturer in the Department of Landscape Architecture, Harvard University GraduateSchool of Design, will deliver the keynote address after dinner on Friday evening. Histopic will be “English Plant Collecting and the American Connection.” Other scheduledspeakers and their subjects include:

Vincent Bellis, professor emeritus of biology at East Carolina University: “Lawson’s NorthCarolina Plant Specimans, 1710–1711”

Lindley S. Butler, historian for the Queen Anne’s Revenge Shipwreck Project: “JohnLawson’s North Carolina, 1701–1711”

Charles R. Ewen, historical archaeologist in the Department of Anthropology at EastCarolina University: “Lawson’s Bath: A Subterranean Perspective”

John Hairr, site manager of the House in the Horseshoe State Historic Site: “Lawson’sObservations on the Animals of Carolina”

Bea Latham, assistant site manager at Historic Bath State Historic Site, and Patricia Sam-ford, former site manager at Historic Bath and current director of the Maryland Archae-ological Conservation Laboratory: “Botanist, Explorer, and Town Founder: JohnLawson and Bath”

Kathy McGill, lecturer in history at George Mason University: “ ‘The Most IndustriousSex’: Lawson’s Carolina Women Domesticate the Land”

Perry Mathewes, education program manager at Norfolk Botanical Gardens and formercurator of gardens at Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens: “John Lawson theNaturalist”

E. Thomson Shields Jr., associate professor of English at East Carolina University anddirector of the Roanoke Colonies Research Office: “A New Voyage to Carolina:Publication History of a Classic of North Caroliniana”

Marcus Simpson Jr., vice-chairman of the Department of Pathology and director of clini-cal laboratories at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center: “Lost Heritage: JohnLawson’s Plans for a ‘Compleat History’ of Carolina.”

The $25 registration fee for the symposium will cover two days of lectures, a receptionon Friday afternoon, dinner that evening in the Museum of History lobby, and a conti-nental breakfast in the State Capitol on Saturday. To register, send a check payable to theNorth Carolina Literary and Historical Association by October 2 to Parker Backstrom,Office of Archives and History, 4610 Mail Service Center, Raleigh NC 27699-4610.

Ed Southern Retires from State Records CenterDr. G. Edwin Southern Jr., head of the Government Records Branch (GRB) of the

Archives and Records Section and administrator of the State Records Center, retired onJune 1, 2009, after many years of distinguished service to the state. Before joining the StateArchives, Southern served as assistant university archivist at Duke University and as


director of the Office of Records Management and University Archives at AppalachianState University. He began work at the State Records Center in November 1992 asrecords management analyst supervisor. Southern became acting head of the GRB inNovember 2003 and was promoted into the position on January 1, 2004.

Under Southern’s leadership, the GRB made notable advancements in the manage-ment of the traditional paper records of state government and, even more significantly, inthe management and preservation of electronic records. Southern was responsible for thedrafting of a general schedule to facilitate the disposition of records common to most stateagencies. Kelly Eubank, head of the Electronic Records Unit of the GRB, noted thatSouthern “played a major role in planning for electronic records and preparing the StateArchives to address and archive electronic records.” According to state archivist DickLankford, no one has provided greater service to records management in the capacity ofassistant state records administrator than did Southern. Dr. David Brook, director of theDivision of Historical Resources, expressed sentiments shared by many when he said: “Iregret that we are losing such an experienced and superb steward of the state’s records.Whether he was guiding his staff, assisting the public, formulating policy on interagencycommittees, or speaking before legislative forums, Ed eminently represented our agencyand its mission of service. Ed brought to his job an unsurpassed blend of intellectualability, judgment, dedication, and professionalism. He will be greatly missed.”

Southern was honored at a retirement ceremony at the North Carolina Museum ofHistory on May 18. Lankford and GRB supervisors Eubank, Laura Hensey, Ron Leach,and Becky McGee-Lankford reflected on their years of shared experiences with Southern.Haley Haynes, deputy secretary of state, praised Southern for his service as co-chair of theNorth Carolina Electronic Recording Council and his role in the drafting of electronicrecordation standards that were approved by the secretary of state in 2006. She presentedhim with a Capitol Citation in recognition of his pioneering efforts in the preservationof electronic records. Southern also received the Order of the Longleaf Pine for hiscontributions to the advancement of records management in the state.

New Highway Historical Markers ApprovedAt a meeting on December 16, 2008, the North Carolina Highway Historical Marker

Advisory Committee approved the following markers: FORT SAN JUAN, BurkeCounty; RICHARD WARFINGTON, Franklin County; DAVID SCHENCK, GuilfordCounty; PLOTT HOUND, Haywood County; JAMES McCONNELL, Moore County;REDNAP HOWELL, Randolph County; BURNT SWAMP ASSOCIATION,Robeson County; CHIMNEY ROCK, Rutherford County; and METHODISTORPHANAGE and EUGENICS BOARD, Wake County. Details concerning each ofthese new markers can be found at www.ncmarkers.com.

Over the past twelve months, marker dedication and unveiling programs have beenheld in Carthage, Chapel Hill, Charlotte (2), Clemmons, Hillsborough, Jacksonville,Louisburg, Maxton, Southport, and Waynesville. Linda A. Carlisle, secretary of theDepartment of Cultural Resources, has appointed Dr. Gail O’Brien of North CarolinaState University and Dr. Mark Thompson of the University of North Carolina atPembroke to five-year terms on the Marker Advisory Committee.

Office of Archives and History Receives Summer InternshipsThe Office of Archives and History will be the beneficiary this summer of the assist-

ance of ten college students who were awarded ten-week internships by the State YouthAdvocacy and Involvement Office. Remarkably, Archives and History received one-tenthof the one hundred internships presented throughout state government this year. Four ofthe interns will assist at state historic sites, two in state history museums, two at the NorthCarolina State Archives, and one each in the Eastern Office in Greenville and the Western


Office in Asheville. The students began work on May 26 and will continue through theend of July. The recipients, their schools, and the host agencies include:

Aaron Cusick, North Carolina State University, Special Collections Branch of theArchives and Records Section

Hannah Harrison, University of North Carolina at Asheville, Roanoke Island FestivalPark

Krystal Hicks, East Carolina University, Tryon Palace Historic Sites & GardensLeonard Lanier, Louisiana State University, Museum of the AlbemarleJoanna McKnight, North Carolina State University, Eastern OfficeCarrie Misenheimer, North Carolina State University, Information Management

Branch of the Archives and Records SectionAnna Peitzman, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Western OfficeKathryn Pennington, North Carolina State University, Duke Homestead State Historic

SiteAmanda Runyon, Appalachian State University, North Carolina Museum of HistoryMichael Shapiro, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Bennett Place State

Historic Site.

North Caroliniana Society Awards Fellowships for 2009–2010The North Caroliniana Society has awarded Archie K. Davis Fellowships to nine

scholars for the 2009–2010 cycle of grants. The recipients, their institutions, and topics ofresearch are as follows:

James J. Broomall, University of Florida: North Carolinians as soldiers and citizens,1860–1890

Andrew McNeil Canady, Rice University: North Carolina connections of Willis DukeWeatherford

Michele K. Gillespie, Wake Forest University: R. J. and Katherine Smith Reynoldsand the making of the New South

Bettina Hessler, Northwestern University: Moravians in eighteenth-century NorthCarolina

Sergio Lassana, University of Warwick: male slave networks in North CarolinaBenjamin Lee Miller, University of Florida: North Carolina chaplains and missionaries

during the Civil WarMarie Molloy, Keele University: single white females in North Carolina, 1830–1880Nicholas S. Popper, California Institute of Technology: Sir Walter Raleigh and the

culture of the late RenaissanceDiane Miller Sommerville, Binghamton University: suicide, gender, and the Civil War

in North Carolina.

Since the inception of the program in 1987, the North Caroliniana Society has grantedmore than 290 Archie K. Davis Fellowships, named in memory of the longtime presidentof the society. Designed to encourage research in North Carolina history and culture, theprogram awards modest stipends to cover a portion of travel and subsistence expenseswhile fellows conduct research. The annual deadline for proposals is March 1. For furtherinformation, visit the society’s Web site, www.ncsociety.org, or contact H. G. Jones,secretary of the society, at UNC Campus Box 3930, Chapel Hill, NC 27514-8890.


News from Historical Resources

Archives and Records SectionThe week of May 11–16 was a particularly busy one in the Search Room of the North

Carolina State Archives. The National Genealogical Society (NGS) held its 2009 FamilyHistory Conference in Raleigh from May 13 to 16, with preconference events on the12th and numerous attendees arriving early to do research. In order to accommodate asmany researchers as possible, the Search Room expanded its seating capacity, extended itsoperating hours each day, and opened on Monday, May 11; the Search Room is normallyclosed on Mondays.

The theme for the annual conference was “The Building of a Nation from Roanoketo the West.” Approximately fifteen hundred attendees came from across the United Statesand several foreign countries to the new convention center in Raleigh. Preconferenceevents included lectures, workshops, tours of downtown Raleigh, a Life in the Old Southtour, and a research trip to Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at ChapelHill. The conference featured 102 speakers in more than 165 sessions. Several Departmentof Cultural Resources employees spoke during the week. Pam Toms, Cheryl McLean,and Michelle Czaikowski of the State Library of North Carolina presented “Creating andMaintaining Specialized Collections and Services for Genealogical Researchers.” DruscieSimpson of the State Archives joined Michelle Czaikowski in a presentation of “Geneal-ogy 2.0: Using Digital Tools to Trace Your North Carolina Roots.” Debbi Blake of theState Archives gave two lectures: “Plantation Papers at the North Carolina State Archives”and “Land Records in Private Collections at the North Carolina State Archives.” ArchivistMary Hollis Barnes also spoke twice, concerning “North Carolina’s Cemetery Survey andStewardship Program” and “Using North Carolina Supreme Court Records for Genea-logical Research.” Correspondence archivist Chris Meekins discussed “Gone for Soldier,Maybe: The Case of Thomas Basnight.”

During Society Night on Wednesday evening, state archivist Dick Lankford and Pub-lic Services Branch manager Debbi Blake staffed a table for the Friends of the Archives.The event was designed to give historical and genealogical societies an opportunity tospeak about their organizations with conference attendees. Traffic was very steady at theFriends of the Archives table, and many valuable contacts were established.

On Thursday evening the Search Room remained open until 9:00 P.M., and manyconference goers took advantage of the extended hours as nearly two hundred patronsvisited the Archives that day. There was also a dessert reception that night at the NorthCarolina Museum of History sponsored by the North Carolina Genealogical Society, theNorth Carolina State Archives, and the State Library of North Carolina.

During the week of the conference, the Search Room had 410 unique visitors withmore than half returning on subsequent days, for a total of 674 patrons. Genealogicalresearchers from thirty-five states, the District of Columbia, Canada, and India visitedduring the week; several came to the Search Room every day of the conference. Tuesday,Thursday, and Friday were especially hectic, with more than one hundred patrons on eachof those days. On Thursday, the busiest day, the Search Room staff pulled 620 boxes of


records and 255 reels of microfilm. Several visitors stayed in Raleigh the week after theconference to extend their research time, so the Search Room remained busy that week aswell.

The last time the annual conference was held in Raleigh was in May 1987. Genealogyas a hobby was then relatively young, following the strong surge of interest created by thepublication of Roots. At that time the Search Room received 783 visitors during the week,about 110 more than during the 2009 conference. As in 1987, employees from allbranches of the Archives and Records Section helped in the reference room. At leastforty-five of the seventy-seven employees of the section worked in the Search Room.Ansley Wegner, a former Public Services Branch employee who now works in theResearch Branch of the Office of Archives and History, returned to help behind thereference desk several times during the week. Five volunteers also assisted. Patrons wereuniformly complimentary concerning their research experience.

During the NGS conference, the State Library of North Carolina and the NorthCarolina State Archives unveiled their newest collaborative digital collection, NorthCarolina Family Records Online (http://statelibrary.ncdcr.gov/dimp/digital/ncfamilyrecords/).Nearly two hundred conference goers—librarians, genealogists, history buffs, and the generalpublic—attended two interactive presentations concerning this and other online collectionshosted by the two institutions.

North Carolina Family Records Online currently contains nearly 220 family Biblerecords—notations of birth, marriage, and death information typically written inside offamily Bibles—from the State Archives, as well as entries from the six-volume Marriage andDeath Notices from Raleigh Register and North Carolina State Gazette: 1799–1893, an 1,100-page compendium of marriage announcements and obituaries compiled in the 1940s and1950s by state librarian Carrie L. Broughton. The digital collection has a narrow scope atpresent, containing only a tenth of the more than two thousand Bible records in the cus-tody of the State Archives, but it is anticipated that the online collection will continue togrow. All of the Bible records selected for digitization contain family history informationdating from the 1700s or earlier and span more than 150 years, with the majority of thematerials dated between 1750 and 1900. Each record has been scanned and transcribed byarchivists or librarians and is available on the Web at no charge. Because the mostly hand-written materials have been transcribed, the entire collection is full-text searchable,enabling users to search by name, location, or other subject words and phrases.

Because of the content and period of time covered in North Carolina Family RecordsOnline, the collection reflects but a small segment of North Carolina’s diverse popula-tion—namely literate, Protestant Caucasians of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.However, twenty-five Bible records contain documentation of the births of slaves, andmany of the records include information about governors, legislators, and other prominentpolitical or military leaders. The State Archives continues to collect family Bible recordsthat predate 1913 (when the official recording of births and deaths was required statewide)


Archivist Alison Thurman(center) and the othermembers of the referencestaff of the North CarolinaState Archives had a hectictwo weeks in mid-May asattendees of the NationalGenealogical Society’sannual conference flockedto the Search Room.

from all North Carolinians, with the hopes of compiling a broader representation of thestate’s citizenry.

Historical Publications SectionThe highlight of the last quarter occurred at the National Genealogical Society Family

History Conference 2009, held May 13–16 at the Raleigh Convention Center. BillOwens, the section’s marketing specialist, prepared and manned a double booth for theduration of the meeting. Susan Trimble assisted him in selling more than $3,000 worth ofinventory over the course of three and a half days. Editors Mike Coffey, Denise Craig,Anne Miller, and Jan Poff, and section administrator Donna Kelly assisted in transportingmaterial to and from the Convention Center.

In other areas of out-reach, two staff membersaddressed Dan Fountain’spublic history class atMeredith College. EditorJan Poff spoke on April 2concerning the ColonialRecords Project. OnApril 7, Donna Kellypresented an overview ofthe section. On the eve-ning of June 16, a booksigning was held at QuailRidge Books in Raleighfor Liberty and Freedom:North Carolina’s Tour ofthe Bill of Rights, a collec-tion of essays edited byKenrick N. Simpson and published by the section in February. Jeffrey J. Crow, deputysecretary of the Office of Archives and History, spoke generally about the Bill of Rights,and authors William S. Price Jr., Willis P. Whichard, W. Dale Talbert, and Karen Blumeach briefly discussed their essays in the book.

The section has published the seventeenth volume in the popular North CarolinaTroops, 1861–1865: A Roster series, edited by Matthew M. Brown and Michael W.Coffey. Volume 17 contains the history and rosters of the North Carolina Junior Reserves,seventeen-year-old boys drafted in the last months of the war, when the Confederacyfaced a disastrous shortage of manpower. Between the spring and fall of 1864, NorthCarolina raised eight battalions of junior reserves that were later consolidated into threeregiments and one independent battalion. These young men were originally intended toguard bridges and depots in the state, but the exigencies of the war drew them into com-bat. The junior reserves saw action in a number of minor clashes in eastern NorthCarolina and southeastern Virginia, as well as the battles of Fort Fisher and Bentonville.

An authoritative 120-page history of the junior reserves opens the volume, followedby a complete roster and service records of the officers and men who served in the organi-zation. The service records include the individual’s name, rank, county of birth and resi-dence, occupation, place and date of enlistment, and age, as well as notations of wounds,capture, hospitalization, parole, transfer, promotion, and death. A thorough indexcompletes the volume.

Matthew M. Brown received a B.A. in history from the University of Virginia and aJ.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Michael W. Coffey earned aPh.D. in history from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Volume 17 of North Carolina Troops, 1861–1865: A Roster (hardbound; pp. xvi, 509;index) costs $63.38 ($58.04 for libraries), which includes taxes and shipping charges. Order


Marketing specialist Bill Owens set up and operated this doublebooth for the Historical Publications Section at the NationalGenealogical Society Family History Conference at the RaleighConvention Center.

from the Historical Publications Section (CC), 4622 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC27699-4622. For credit card orders, call (919) 733-7442, ext. 0, or visit the section’ssecure online store at http://nc-historical-publications.stores.yahoo.net/. Volume 17 isalso available through Amazon.com.

The Fifty-second Biennial Report of the North Carolina Office of Archives and History, editedby Kenrick N. Simpson, is now available in print and online at http://www.history.ncdcr.gov/2006–2008_br.pdf. A limited number of copies are available for purchase for $12.81(pick up) or $21.35 (delivery via UPS).

State Historic Preservation OfficeOn May 8, state and local officials gathered at the recently renovated Robert Lee

Humber House in Greenville for a rededication ceremony, open house, and unveiling ofthe exhibit, Robert Lee Humber 1898–1970: A Life of Service and Achievement. As the eventoccurred during National Preservation Month, Dr. Jeffrey J. Crow, deputy secretary of theOffice of Archives and History, opened the program with remarks concerning the eco-nomic impact of historic preservation across North Carolina in general and in Greenvillespecifically. He thanked the Humber family, local and state officials, and others whoworked diligently to accomplish the renovation of the historic Humber House. FollowingDr. Crow were guest speakers Scott Elliott, Pitt County manager; Greenville mayor PatDunn; and John Humber, son of Robert Lee Humber Jr. Humber relayed the family’sappreciation for this project and mentioned some of the achievements of his father,including his work with Rep. John Kerr of Warren County to establish the NorthCarolina Museum of Art. Humber gave special thanks to LaRue Evans of Winterville,who was foremost in generating support for the renovation of the Humber House. Other

honored guests includedformer senator John Kerr(son of RepresentativeKerr), Senator Don Davis,and state representativesMarian McLawhorn, EdithWarren, and ArthurWilliams. Members of theHistoric PreservationCommission of the City ofGreenville assisted with theopening-day activities.

The program wasattended by approximately150 people who also had theopportunity to tour therestored house. The renova-tion project included major

structural and woodwork repairs; a new roof; new heating and air conditioning systems;upgrades to the electrical system; a sprinkler system; new fire-escape stairs and accessibilityramp; and exterior and interior painting. The exhibit concerning Robert Lee Humber wasprepared and installed by staff members of the North Carolina Museum of History. StanLittle, administrative assistant in the Eastern Office, collaborated with the museum staffand John Humber to prepare the text and documentary photographs for use in the exhibit.

Since its establishment in 1983, the Eastern Office of Archives and History has beenlocated in the Humber House. The Eastern Office serves twenty-seven counties and ishome to field staff of the State Historic Preservation Office. The renovated HumberHouse is open for tours, and now includes a conference room and kitchen available forpublic meeting space during normal business hours. For further information, contact ScottPower, eastern regional supervisor, at (252) 830-6580 or [email protected].


John Humber addresses the crowd gathered for the rededicationof his late father’s renovated home in Greenville, headquarters ofthe Eastern Office of Archives and History since 1983.

News from State Historic Sites and Properties

East Historic Sites RegionThe Governor Charles B. Aycock Birthplace has recently enjoyed a great deal of activ-

ity as it continues to recover from the fire that damaged the home, prepares for the 150thanniversary of the governor’s birth, and works with the East Carolina University Depart-ment of History on new exhibits in the lobby area. On April 18, the site held its first vin-tage baseball game as part of a yearlong celebration of the sesquicentennial of Aycock’sbirth. Aycock was a baseball fan and liked to attend games while he was governor. Thesite staff contacted the Greensboro Patriots, a vintage baseball team whose roster includesDivision of State Historic Sites and Properties Piedmont regional supervisor Dale Coats, toplay an exhibition game against a team of local players. Spearheaded by Aycock BirthplaceAdvisory Committee member and team captain Danny Davis, a group of local volunteerscame together to form the Nahunta Nines. They chose the name to honor Aycock’shometown of Fremont, which was originally incorporated as Nahunta. Members of theteam included former high school baseball players, Historic Sites personnel, and volunteerswho regularly participate in site activities. The game was played by 1860 rules, which havesome similarities to those of the modern game but significantdifferences as well. The diamond has the same dimensions, there are three outs per halfinning, and a caught fly ball is an out. However, gloves are not allowed, no base stealing ispermitted, and an out can be made if a batted ball is caught on first bounce. While theNahunta Nines were apprehensive about facing a team that had been playing together forseveral years, they gallantly took the field. But the Patriots scored three runs in the firstinning and six more in the second to build an insurmountable lead. Nahunta fought backover the next seven innings before ultimately falling by the score of 19–11. More thaneighty visitors turned out to watch the game. The interest in vintage baseball has sparkedan effort to make the Nahunta Nines a permanent fixture at Aycock Birthplace.

On Wednesday, May 13, Gov. Beverly Perdue honored the firefighters of theAntioch, Fremont, and Pikeville-Pleasant Grove volunteer fire departments who helpedput out the fire that severely damaged the childhood home of Governor Aycock in Janu-ary 2008. The governor also commended the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department forapprehending two suspects in the case. Representatives from the fire departments and thesheriff’s department were invited to the governor’s office at the State Capitol, whereGovernor Perdue presented them with a copy of the following proclamation:

WHEREAS, North Carolina has many outstanding volunteer firemen and lawenforcement officers; and

WHEREAS, on the night of January 24, 2008, an arsonist set ablaze the Gov. Charles B.Aycock boyhood home, one of North Carolina’s state historic sites; and

WHEREAS, volunteer firefighters from local departments responded quickly to thealarm and saved the historic site from total destruction; and


WHEREAS, the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department worked quickly to identifythe arsonists and bring them to justice; and

WHEREAS, this week North Carolina is honoring our peace officers and firstresponders, who truly deserve our appreciation for keeping us safe from harm;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Gov. Beverly Eaves Perdue, do issue this proclamationto the following organizations in heartfelt appreciation for their efforts in saving one ofNorth Carolina’s state historic sites and bringing to justice those who would destroythis site:

Pikeville-Pleasant Grove VFDAntioch VFDFremont VFDWayne County Sheriff’s Department

After the ceremony, the honored guests enjoyed a reception with Linda A. Carlisle, secre-tary of the Department of Cultural Resources.

The following Sunday, the birthplace held its own program of appreciation. Firemenand law enforcement officers and their families were entertained by the Water BoundDulcimers before being addressed by Jim McKee, a historic interpreter at BrunswickTown/Fort Anderson, who portrayed Governor Aycock. The 170 guests enjoyed aluncheon catered by McCall’s Barbecue and Seafood Restaurant of Goldsboro. After themeal, the firefighters were commended for their efforts to save the boyhood home ofGovernor Aycock by Keith Hardison, director of the Division of State Historic Sites andProperties; Secretary Carlisle; and Charles Ellis, president of the Governor Charles B.Aycock Birthplace Advisory Committee. Site manager Leigh Strickland presented plaquesto each of the fire departments and the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department. “GovernorAycock” invited all the guests and their families to visit his newly repaired home. Theevent was sponsored by the Dean Whitley Insurance Agency, Edgerton Accounting ofPikeville, the Tri-County Electrical Membership Corporation, the Fremont High SchoolClass of 1959, and the Governor Charles B. Aycock Birthplace Advisory Committee.Decorations were provided by Mrs. Nancy Norwood.

Programs at Historic Bath included a visit on April 4 by members of the Carolina Liv-ing History Guild, who interpreted the lives of sailors during pre-Revolutionary timesthrough period attire, displays of nautical instruments, leatherworking, and demonstrationsof swivel guns and muskets. On May 16 the fourth annual Bath Fest event was held. Thistownwide event is cosponsored by the historic site, which at the same time recognizedNational Tourism Week with an open house. In addition, a croquet tournament was pre-sented on the grounds, raising money for Beaufort County Community College scholar-ships in the names of Historic Bath’s first site manager, Dot Tankard, and her husbandJohn, as well as for textile refurbishment projects at the site. Other highlights of Bath Festincluded period music performed by Simon and Sara Spalding of New Bern andeighteenth-century country dancing by the Carolina Colonial Dancers of Madison. AnAmericans with Disabilities Act-compliant access ramp was appended to the Van Der VeerHouse. After the salt-treated wood has dried, the ramp will be painted to match the house.

On April 26, Bentonville Battlefield and the Harper House/Bentonville Chapter of theUnited Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) commemorated Confederate Memorial Daywith a ceremony in front of the ca. 1855 Harper House, which served as a hospital duringthe Battle of Bentonville. UDC officers welcomed the more than eighty invited guests andvisitors to the program. Site manager Donny Taylor recited the list of North Carolinaregiments and battalions that participated in the battle, while program coordinator DerrickBrown delivered a short address concerning the purported Confederate mass grave on siteproperty.

On May 16 and June 6, the first two of three summer seasonal living history programswere presented at Bentonville. The May program featured reenactors from the EighteenthRegiment North Carolina Troops portraying the Fifty-third Pennsylvania Volunteers.


This allowed visitors a rare opportunity to view a living history program from the Federalperspective. Most of Bentonville’s events include Union reenactors, but they are usuallyheavily outnumbered by Confederates. On June 6, gray once again held sway as reenactorsfrom the First/Eleventh North Carolina Troops demonstrated daily life in a typical NorthCarolina Confederate regiment. Visitation was strong for both events, with nearly fivehundred people attending the May 16 program.

At the CSS Neuse/Governor Richard Caswell Memorial, work on the design for thegunboat enclosure continued as the architectural firm of Dunn and Dalton made its firstsubmittal to the State Construction Office on June 5. A twelve-foot-long replica of a6.4-inch Brooke rifle was purchased by the division for display beside the gunboat. Thisimportant teaching tool gives visitors a sense of the enormous size and power of the ship’sordnance. The Caswell cemetery waysides have been completed by the Design andResearch branches of the Museum and Visitor Services Section, and artwork and othermaterials have been ordered. This has been a joint project involving the division, theMosley-Bright Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Kinston-Lenoir County Tourism Development Authority.

At Historic Edenton, the move of the Bandon Kitchen to the grounds of the JamesIredell House was completed on April 2, when Worth H. Hare and Son House MovingCompany brought the kitchen’s brick end wall to the site. The fireplace and two brickovens were filled with temporary blocking to create a solid wall in preparation for themove, and the wall was then sandwiched between bracing boards that were wired intoplace. The fourteen-mile trip took three hours, as the move was halted several times whileproblems were addressed. TheNorth Carolina Highway Patrolcleared the route and escorted theconvoy.

North Carolina Department ofTransportation officials have noti-fied the Town of Edenton and theDepartment of Cultural Resourcesthat enhancement project fundinghas been identified for restorationof the Roanoke River Lighthouse,in recognition of its singularimportance in the state’s transpor-tation history. It is the only surviv-ing original screw-pile lighthousein North Carolina. The lighthousewas donated to the State by theEdenton Historical Commissionand, once restored, will be oper-ated and interpreted as one of theproperties of Historic EdentonState Historic Site.

On April 4, Fort Fisher StateHistoric Site participated in theannual Civil War PreservationTrust Park Day. Eighty-five youthsand adults volunteered to helpbeautify the grounds of the site,making it the largest Park Day at Fort Fisher in recent memory. Local scouts and volun-teers picked up trash and tree debris, painted trash cans, weeded flower beds, and moved afence at Battle Acre. Following lunch at the site, the volunteers learned Civil War fieldartillery drill as part of Fort Fisher’s new interpretive program, Cannoneers Attention!


The Roanoke River Lighthouse, pictured here soon afterits construction in 1886, is the last of the screw-pilelighthouses that once aided navigation of North Carolina’ssounds and coastal rivers. Moved to Edenton in May 2007,the lighthouse will be renovated with enhancementproject funding from the North Carolina Department ofTransportation. Image courtesy of The Mariners’Museum, Newport News, Va.

Visitors and volunteers alike delighted in the firing of the twelve-pound Napoleon to capoff the day’s activities.

Besides Cannoneers Attention! staff members have added a number of new interpre-tive programs for both field trip participants and walk-in visitors. Developed by two grad-uate students at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, the Junior ReserveActivity Booklet targets visitors ages four to thirteen. The concept is modeled after theJunior Ranger program of the National Park Service. Children who complete the activi-ties in the booklet receive a Junior Reserve patch and certificate. Debuting during NewHanover County’s Be a Tourist in Your Own Hometown event on March 1, the pro-gram proved so successful that Fort Fisher exhausted the initial printing of one hundredbooklets in five weeks. A second printing has readied the site for summer. Another Uni-versity of North Carolina at Wilmington student intern developed several field trip activi-ties concerning Civil War-era coded communications. Students can learn the wigwagalphabet and send coded messages up and down Fort Fisher’s airstrip with signal flags andcipher discs. A version of this program, titled Semaphores and Signal Flags, was wellreceived by the public on June 13. Fourth- and eighth-grade students also have the oppor-tunity to search the exhibit hall during a Morse code scavenger hunt. Students decode dotsand dashes to find artifacts and interesting stories. Both the signal flag and the Morse codefield trip activities were developed in accordance with the North Carolina standard courseof study.

Historic Halifax hosted this year’s Halifax Day program on Easter Sunday, April 12.Sponsored by the Historical Halifax Restoration Association, the event commemoratedthe 233rd anniversary of the adoption of the Halifax Resolves. The resolution calling forindependence from England was adopted unanimously by North Carolina’s Fourth Pro-vincial Congress, which met at Halifax in the spring of 1776. The historic site’s buildingswere opened for tours guided by costumed interpreters. A formal program and receptionwere held in the visitor center with guest speaker Neil Fulghum, who recently retired askeeper of the North Carolina Collection Gallery at the University of North Carolina atChapel Hill. Fulghum gave an enlightening presentation concerning “Horse Racing in theSouth.” On May 16, Historic Halifax hosted the spring meeting of the Society of ColonialWars in North Carolina. After a luncheon in the Tap Room, the society unveiled twonew wayside exhibits, which it funded for the historic site. The market square andgovernment buildings waysides will be informative interpretive enhancements.

Through the end of May, 1,852 students from twelve North Carolina counties andNorfolk, Virginia, had participated in the interpretive hands-on educational program atSomerset Place this year. The two-hour course focuses on change over time and engagesstudents in grades four through twelve in the diverse cultures and life-styles of the planta-tion’s nineteenth-century residents. Students study the plantation system, societal mores,living arrangements, farming technology, and developments in the legal system during the


Young volunteers help relocate afence at Battle Acre during the 2009Park Day at Fort Fisher StateHistoric Site.

1840s, allowing them toidentify similarities anddifferences with present-day life-styles. In May, agroup from NorfolkAcademy, an independ-ent, co-educational,college preparatory dayschool in Norfolk,Virginia, participated inthe program. The acad-emy was one of the firstschools to engage in theprogram when it beganmore than fifteen yearsago and continues toattend each spring. Visit-ing students made can-dles, rope, sedge brooms,reed baskets, and cottonpin cushions to takehome. A few wereafforded the opportunityto mix and cook cornbread over an open hearth. Shortly after the visit, the interpretivestaff at Somerset Place received a large envelope in the mail stuffed with handwrittenthank-you notes from fifth-grade students.

Museum and Visitor Services SectionEvery other spring semester, Museum and Visitor Services Section staff members col-

laborate with Prof. John Tilley’s public history class at East Carolina University to installan exhibit at one of the division’s sites in the eastern part of the state. This year, studentscreated two temporary exhibits for the lobby area of the Governor Charles B. AycockBirthplace. The first exhibit, The Education of the Blind and Deaf in North Carolina, openedin early May, with assistance from the Governor Morehead School for the Blind inRaleigh, the North Carolina School for the Deaf in Morganton, and the Eastern NorthCarolina School for the Deaf in Wilson. The exhibit chronicles more than one hundredand fifty years of efforts in the state toward the education of students with visual or hearingimpairments, including Governor Aycock’s role therein. It features artifacts, such as earlyBraille writing machines; historic images of architect A. G. Bauer’s buildings at the variousinstitutions; and an interactive area where children can learn to write their name in Braille.The North Carolina Museum of Art donated previously used exhibit cases in which todisplay the artifacts. The second exhibit, to be installed in January 2010, will explore theprocess of integrating segregated schools in North Carolina.

North Carolina Transportation MuseumIn April, the museum hosted Bernie Harberts for his program, Hoofing It by Mule

across North Carolina. After several years at sea, Harberts decided to reconnect with hishome state by traveling with his mule, Woody, from the coast to the mountains. Theprogram focused on his journey and the little-known towns through which he passed. Tohelp relate his story, Harberts brought along Woody the mule and Dolly the pony, whichhe added to his menagerie during the journey.


Two interpretive wayside exhibits, funded by the Society of ColonialWars in North Carolina, were unveiled at Historic Halifax on May 16.Pictured (front row, left to right) are Dr. W. Keats Sparrow, governor ofthe society; Keith Hardison, director of the Division of State HistoricSites and Properties; and David White, past governor of the society.

During the Learning to Fly event on May 9, cockpits from the Carolinas AviationMuseum in Charlotte were brought to the Transportation Museum, giving visitors a viewfrom the pilot’s seat. A Black Hawk helicopter landed on the museum grounds andsubsequently took off. Children also enjoyed a walk-in hot air balloon.

The museum’s annual Rail Days weekend in June brought visitors closer to classicrailroad equipment while showcasing the impact of the Norfolk Southern Railway on theNorth Carolina Piedmont. The two-day festival featured regular train rides, as well ascaboose and motor car rides. Locomotives of all types were on the turntable during theParade of Power, allowing visitors the opportunity to take photographs of the rolling stockand to hear the history of the engines on display. As a special addition to Rail Days thisyear, Norfolk Southern officials were on hand to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of theLinwood Yard, located about ten miles north of the museum. Music by Tom Fisch andthe Norfolk Southern Lawmen, a chili cook-off, and model railroad displays were alsoamong the activities.

Debuting during the Rail Days Festival, recent improvements to the railroad trackshave resulted in a new route for train rides. The tracks at the museum have been in usesince the early 1900s, when the grounds were known as the Spencer Shops repair facility.This major improvement to the tracks, the first in the twenty years that the museum hasoffered train rides, will showcase even more of the museum’s fifty-seven acres, while par-alleling U.S. 29 and the town of Spencer. Interpretive historians can now better relate thehistory of the town, which grew alongside Spencer Shops during the first half of the twen-tieth century. New display track has also been added near the operational turntable toallow visitors an even closer look at the historic rail equipment.

Piedmont Historic Sites RegionThe Sons of Confederate Veterans Col. Charles F. Fisher Camp 813 sponsored a

school day and Civil War encampment that drew more than three hundred visitors toAlamance Battleground State Historic Site on April 3–5. Attendees learned about soldier-ing during the Civil War through the encampment, weapons demonstrations, and exhib-its. The public was also invited to participate in a period dance. Fifty descendants of JohnAllen II, builder of the ca. 1780 John Allen House now located at Alamance, gathered for


This worm’s-eye view of the North Carolina Transportation Museum at Spencer shows the newtrack (right) leading to the museum’s operational turntable.

a reunion at the site on April 18. Having traveled to Alamance County from all over theUnited States, these Allen descendants embraced the opportunity to meet one another,share information, and visit the historic log dwelling so important to the family. Site staffmembers shared available genealogical information, showed the Alamance orientationvideo, demonstrated a Brown Bess flintlock musket, and fired the site’s three-poundcannon.

On May 16–17, Alamance Battleground commemorated the 238th anniversary of theBattle of Alamance with a Patriots’ Day celebration. A total of 532 people enjoyed thetwo-day event, which included special activities and living history demonstrations ofcolonial military and domestic life. Linda A. Carlisle, secretary of the Department ofCultural Resources, was the guest speaker during the program on Saturday evening. TheAlamance Battleground Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, the AlamanceBattleground Friends, the Alamance County Historical Association, the Battle of AlamanceChapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Guilford Militia allcontributed to the success of the program.

On April 25–26, Bennett Place observed the 144th anniversary of the largest surrenderof the Civil War, that of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston to Gen. William T. Sherman. Guestsincluded National Park Service ranger Patrick Schroeder of Appomattox Court House,Jim Wise, Ernest Dollar, and Jeff Toalson. Civil War reenactors and two period bandswere on hand both days. The weekend events culminated with a memorial ceremony atthe Unity Monument, attended by representatives of the Sons of Confederate Veterans,the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the Sons of Union Veterans, and the Daughtersof Union Veterans. In May, Confederate Memorial Day and Memorial Day were alsoobserved with living history programs at the site as reenactors discussed the origins andsignificance of the two days honoring American soldiers.

The Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum hosted a public preview of its facilities andprogram master plan on May 14. Approximately thirty people heard presentations byArthur Clement of Clement and Wynn Program Managers of Atlanta; Keith Hardison,director of the Division of State Historic Sites and Properties; and Mark Cooney of theDepartment of Cultural Resources Capitol Projects Unit.

The House in the Horseshoe held its annual spring militia muster on April 28.Reenactors demonstrated various eighteenth-century military drills, with both small armsand artillery. Staff member Roy Timbs’s demonstration of Revolutionary War-era medicaltechniques, complete with surgical implements of the period, was particularly popular.

The Friends of Town Creek Indian Mound, a nonprofit support group for the site,helped to fund an archaeological investigation in late June. Dr. Tony Boudreaux of theEast Carolina University Department of Anthropology directed the excavation, withassistance from Dr. Stephen Davis and Dr. Brett Riggs of the University of NorthCarolina at Chapel Hill Research Laboratories of Archaeology. Graduate students, Friendsmembers, volunteers, and site staff helped excavate several ten-feet-by-ten-feet trenches inan attempt to uncover a structure believed to have been a home that dates to the LateTown Creek Phase (1250–1350 A.D.) of occupation. Using equipment and techniques notavailable during excavations performed in the 1950s and 1960s, the researchers hoped toglean a better idea of the daily life and activities of the Pee Dee Culture. This marked thefirst fieldwork to be performed in an unexcavated area at Town Creek since 1987. In con-junction with the dig, the Friends of Town Creek held its annual membership drive.Members old and new viewed the archaeological process and many joined in. TheFriends’ annual dinner meeting was held at the Ford Place Restaurant and Pub inMt. Gilead on June 28, where Dr. Boudreaux discussed the latest findings and plans forfurther on-site research.

Roanoke Island Festival ParkThe Manteo historic site will commemorate the 425th anniversary of the first English

landing in the New World with a week of special programming in July. The celebration


will commence at 6:00 P.M. on Monday, July 13, with the lighting of 425 candles on thestage of the park’s outdoor pavilion, sponsored by Dominion Power. Throughout the parkduring the week, performers from the Guilde of St. Andrew and the Renaissance Faire,both from Raleigh, will demonstrate Elizabethan manners, games, textiles, arms, andarmor, and offer samples of period food and drink. The reading room of the Outer BanksHistory Center will present an exhibit of memorabilia from the America’s Four Hun-dredth Anniversary commemoration that was held at Manteo in 1984. The Outer BanksStamp Club will offer for sale in the museum store commemorative cachets that includethe 1984 Roanoke Voyages stamp and the 1937 Virginia Dare stamp, as well as sponsor acomprehensive exhibit of commemorative stamps and first-day covers. The U.S. PostalService will provide a special stamp cancellation at the park on July 13, which will also beavailable at the post office in Manteo for thirty days thereafter.

Tryon Palace Historic Sites & GardensOn April 8, 1959, North Carolina’s first permanent colonial and state capitol reopened

its doors after lying dormant for nearly two hundred years. Since then, more than threemillion visitors have enjoyed learning about the state’s early history through tours,programs, and innovative special events at Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens.

More than two hundred guests came to New Bern in April 2009 to commemorate thefiftieth anniversary of Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens and to see the new exhibit,Hats Off to the Dreamers: Rebuilding and Furnishing Tryon Palace, which celebrates the vision-aries who were responsible for the restoration. Dur-ing the golden jubilee celebration, Kay PhillipsWilliams, director of Tryon Palace, honored twobrothers who have continued the work begun bytheir father. The Honorable D. L. Ward Sr. servedon the first Tryon Palace Commission in 1945.David L. Ward Jr. was a member of the commissionfrom 1972 to 1989 and served as president of theTryon Palace Council of Friends from 1994 to2009. Under his leadership, the Council of Friendssupported the development of first-person interpre-tations and various educational programs, includingthe Tryon Palace Fife and Drum Corps, AfricanAmerican research initiatives, and an ever-growingnumber of special events. His brother, John A. J.Ward, an active member of the Tryon Palace Com-mission since 1989, has acted as its legal counsel andhas been an untiring advocate for the preservationand maintenance of natural features in the palacegardens and grounds. He has consistently promotedenvironmentally sustainable practices for the NorthCarolina History Education Center, as well as forthe operation of Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gar-dens, leading to the adoption of “green” gardening practices and the inclusion of steward-ship of the historic landscape in the site’s mission.

The Tryon Palace Fife and Drum Corps visited Colonial Williamsburg on May 15–17to participate in Drummer’s Call, an annual gathering of fife and drum groups from acrossthe country. The corps marched and played in three performances as part of the week-end’s events: an afternoon procession down Duke of Gloucester Street; the Grand ReviewConcert; and a torch-lit parade on Saturday evening. This was Tryon Palace’s secondyear of participation in the event, and the corps from New Bern joined groups fromConnecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Virginia in the showcase of regimental field


Brothers David L. Ward Jr. (left) andJohn A. J. Ward (right) were honored inApril for their many years of service tothe Tryon Palace Commission.

music. Musicians’ calls were an important element of eighteenth-century warfare, as thefifes and drums served as a primary means of communication between commander andtroops in battle. Their music also rendered a more mundane function in daily camp life bysignaling time for meals, drills, and inspections.

Less than four years old, the Tryon Palace Fife and Drum Corps has already developeda solid reputation and has been invited to participate in a military tattoo at Yorktown thisOctober and in Michigan next year. The corps performs during events at Tryon Palacethroughout the year, most recently opening for the North Carolina Symphony on June 22.The Tryon Palace Fife and Drum Corps is composed of approximately twenty talentedstudent and adult musicians from Craven and surrounding counties. The group will hold arecruiting camp for interested new members on July 27–31; no musical experience is nec-essary. To obtain more information about the corps or the camp, contact Katie Brightmanat (252) 514-4939 or [email protected].

West Historic Sites RegionSpringtime generally brings heavy school group visitation to West Region sites.

Despite some field trip restrictions placed on public schools because of the State’s budget-ary shortfall, visitation by school groups increased at President James K. Polk State HistoricSite, Fort Dobbs, and Reed Gold Mine. All of the sites in the region adopted a new lawnmaintenance plan that will result in a more accurate depiction of the natural historic land-scape, as well as reduce the cost of mowing grass. Lawn maintenance contracts were can-celed at several sites, and staff members will add this chore to their duties. With thereallocation of a vacant position in the division office to the President James K. Polk site,there are no longer any sites with only two permanent employees. The addition of thismaintenance mechanic position will allow for the cancellation of Polk’s mowing contractand provide for better upkeep of the facility in Pineville.

President James K. Polk site manager Scott Warren met with Charlotte-MecklenburgSchools (CMS) officials regarding the required third-grade field trip program. Approxi-mately twenty-seven CMS elementary schools will send all of their third-grade students tothe Polk site in 2009–2010.

The new visitor center at Horne Creek Living Historical Farm was substantially com-pleted by May 1, and staff members began occupying the building. Work on cabinetry andtemporary exhibits is ongoing, and a grand opening will be scheduled in the fall. TheHorne Creek Living Historical Farm Committee is assisting with the funding of the cabi-nets and exhibits. The office trailer that served for years as the visitor center will soon beremoved. A collection of farm-related items was received from Bill Wise of Winston-Salem. The maintenance mechanic position at Horne Creek was transferred to FortDobbs, but the employee, Wayne Steelman, will be able to help at Horne Creek whenneeded for special events or projects.

Fort Dobbs welcomed Linda A. Carlisle, secretary of the Department of CulturalResources, to the War for Empire event on April 18. Accompanied by Division of His-toric Sites and Properties director Keith Hardison, Carlisle inspected the garrison and wit-nessed the many unique demonstrations that are part of the annual three-day event, whichdrew more than 3,500 visitors. The feasibility report for the site’s capital campaign hasbeen completed by Capital Development Services. This campaign, expected to commencein 2010, will provide funds for the reconstruction of the fort. Haley Sharpe Design ofLeicester, England, was selected to assist in development of the site’s long-range interpre-tive plan. Funded by an Institute of Museum and Library Services Museums for Americagrant, the plan will outline the visitor’s experience at Fort Dobbs and guide site and divi-sion staff members in the development of exhibits, traffic flow, signage, and interpretation.Planning meetings with Haley Sharpe are now under way. Wayne Steelman, the site’snew maintenance mechanic, has already improved the appearance of the grounds andorganized and repaired much of the equipment at Fort Dobbs.


Vance Birthplace took advan-tage of the painting skills of D. J.Patterson, an environmental tech-nician, to improve the appearanceof the exhibit area. The text pan-els have been painted a warmbrown with gray lettering. Thesecolors contrast nicely and aremore pleasing to the eye than theformer bright green and silver.Historic interpreter Tammy Walsh repositioned many of the artifacts during this process tomake them easier for the visitor to view. Amy Sawyer of the division office is working onnew graphics that will complete this transformation. Planning is under way for additionalprogramming for 2009–2010 in hopes of improving visitation. Some increase has alreadybeen noticed since the reopening of a section of the Blue Ridge Parkway that had beenclosed for more than a year as the result of a rockslide near Craggy Gardens.

Reed Gold Mine welcomed large numbers of schoolchildren, especially for the twodays of the Carolina Heritage Festival in late April, which attracted approximately twothousand fourth-grade students from five counties. The installation of a new HVAC sys-tem in the visitor center, a major project that involved replacement of ducts and someceilings, was completed in April. The reconstructed headframe over the Morgan Shaft wasinstalled in the mid-1970s as part of the mine’s reconstruction. It was composed of fourtelephone poles and several large treated boards. The site staff has been concerned aboutboth the historical accuracy and the safety of the headframe after being in place for morethan thirty years. Norman Long and Sharon Robinson drafted a design based on historicalphotographs of a headframe located near the mine. This design was approved and thework awarded just before most state spending was suspended, and an impressive new pieceis now in place.

News from State History Museums

Museum of the AlbemarleBlackbeard’s crew took over the Museum of the Albemarle recently to deliver a taste

of the pirate life to visitors. On May 15, the museum sponsored a “Dine with the Pirates”event for more than 250 guests, who rubbed elbows with the hungry buccaneers.


Linda A. Carlisle, secretary of theDepartment of Cultural Resources,inspects the fort’s garrison duringthe War for Empire program at FortDobbs on April 18.

The pirates entertained the crowd bysinging sailors’ songs, performing magictricks, and even kidnapping a few of thevisitors, holding them for ransom. Manyof the younger guests arrived in pirategarb, eager to join the motley crew.The pirates camped for two days on themuseum green, where visitors got a close look at their life-style with cannons firing,weapons training, cooking, and navigation instruction.

That same weekend the museum honored Currituck County, one of the thirteencounties in the facility’s interpretive area. Focus was placed on artifacts that represent thecounty, and a checklist was distributed to direct visitors to those items. County dignitariesand residents toured the main gallery as Jack Cox of Currituck demonstrated his skills asone of the country’s premier decoy carvers.

The newest exhibit at the museum, From Lights to Flight: United States Coast Guard ArtCollection, relates in art form the many missions that the U.S. Coast Guard performs daily.The works span the organization’s history from the earliest days of the Revenue CutterService to its role in modern-day conflicts. A sister exhibit, Art from Our Guardians, usesphotographs, sculpture, and figurines to present the history of the Coast Guard.

Museum of the Cape Fear Historical ComplexThe Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex will conduct its sixth annual sum-

mer archaeology field school for teachers during the weeks of July 13–17 and July 20–24.Ken Robinson, director of the public archaeology program at Wake Forest University,will conduct excavations of Arsenal Park for the teachers, who can receive renewal creditsby participating in the program. The field school is funded by a trust established specifi-cally to encourage the teaching of archaeology in the classroom.

North Carolina Museum of HistoryThe North Carolina Museum of History has one of the nation’s largest collections of

Confederate battle flags. However, conservation of these banners requires expensive,


Young visitors share a meal with pirates at theMuseum of the Albemarle in May.

Members of the Twenty-sixth Regiment North Carolina Troops, Reactivated, provided funding toconserve the battle flag of the Fifty-second Regiment North Carolina Troops, shown here.

specialized textile treatment, costing approximately $7,500 per flag. To help fund thisneed, the museum has formed a thriving partnership with the Twenty-sixth RegimentNorth Carolina Troops, Reactivated, the state’s largest Civil War reenactment group. TheTwenty-sixth Regiment recently unveiled the second flag it has helped to conserve: thebattle flag of the Fifty-second Regiment North Carolina Troops. Carried into the Battleof Gettysburg, the banner was captured during the Pickett-Pettigrew-Trimble charge onJuly 3, 1863, by a soldier of the Fourteenth Connecticut Volunteers. The colors were sentto the U.S. War Department in Washington, D.C., and not returned to North Carolinauntil 1905. The flag is on exhibit at the museum in A Call to Arms. The initial flag conser-vation project of the Twenty-sixth Regiment North Carolina Troops, Reactivated,resulted in the treatment of the colors of the original Twenty-sixth North Carolina thatwere captured at the Battle of Burgess Mill on October 27, 1864. A third banner is cur-rently undergoing treatment, and the reenactor group is raising funds through a statewidegrass-roots effort for the conservation of a fourth flag in the museum’s collection.

On May 8, more thantwo hundred people attendedthe opening reception forWorkboats of Core Sound, aphotography exhibitshowcasing the work of Law-rence S. Earley, author, pho-tographer, and former editorof Wildlife in North Carolina,the magazine of the NorthCarolina Wildlife ResourcesCommission. Attendees metEarley, toured the exhibit,and enjoyed seafood andlively entertainment byaward-winning musician andauthor Bland Simpson, amember of the Red ClayRamblers. The exhibit’sblack-and-white images ofhand-built trawlers, skiffs,

and runboats, combined with excerpts of interviews with fishermen, boatbuilders, andother Core Sound residents, illustrate the history and culture of the rapidly disappearingfishing communities of “Down East” North Carolina. Workboats of Core Sound will runthrough May 3, 2010.

During a reception at the museum on May 13, members of the North Carolina SportsHall of Fame unveiled the #3 racecar driven by Dale Earnhardt Sr., a legendary figure inNASCAR history. The Richard Childress Racing #3 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet, a2000 Monte Carlo body style, will be on exhibit at the museum for an extended period.Earnhardt’s car is parked near the 1963 Chevrolet Impala #3 that Robert “Junior” John-son drove during the 1963 NASCAR season. Johnson, Earnhardt, and Childress are allinductees in the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, a part of the Museum of History.

Staff Notes

In the Division of State Historic Sites and Properties, Scott Stroh, executive director ofRoanoke Island Festival Park since 2003, resigned on May 8. Kim Sawyer, easternregional administrator of the Department of Cultural Resources, was appointed actingexecutive director of the state historic site in Manteo. Longtime assistant site manager, his-toric interpreter III, and historical weapons expert Fred Burgess retired from Bentonville


Lawrence S. Earley’s photograph of the fog-bound harbor atAtlantic is featured in the Workboats of Core Sound exhibit ondisplay at the North Carolina Museum of History. Imagecourtesy of Lawrence S. Earley.

Battlefield after eighteen years at the site. Historic interpreter I Derrick Brown will serveas both programs coordinator and interim assistant manager until the statewide hiringfreeze is lifted. S. Victor Burgess retired as historic site assistant at the Vance Birthplace.Christy Hyman resigned as historic interpreter at Somerset Place, effective March 31.Robert Dreher joined the staff of the President James K. Polk State Historic Site on May 1as maintenance mechanic II. Tony Rocha was hired as maintenance mechanic II at His-toric Stagville on May 1. Betsey Vogedes resigned as historic interpreter II at Stagville,effective June 30. On May 20, summer intern/volunteer Chris Bell began work atBentonville Battlefield. A recent graduate of Western Carolina University, Bell will tran-scribe the wartime letters of Confederate soldier John H. Curtis, which were received byBentonville last year.

Obituaries

Pioneering historian John Hope Franklin, the James B. Duke Professor Emeritus ofHistory at Duke University, died in Durham on March 25 at the age of ninety-four. Asthe foremost practitioner of African American historiography in the twentieth century,Franklin made history while he recorded it. A native of Oklahoma, he earned a bachelor’sdegree in history from Fisk University and a masters and doctorate from Harvard Univer-sity. When he arrived at the North Carolina State Archives in 1939 to conduct researchfor his dissertation, he found that there were no segregated facilities set up for AfricanAmerican scholars. After he had waited for three days, a separate room was prepared forhim, but none of the white archival pages was willing to retrieve records for a blackresearcher. Franklin was therefore given a key to the stacks so that he could pull recordsfor himself, a “privilege” that infuriated white researchers who had to wait to receive onerecord at a time. That same year, he began teaching at St. Augustine’s College in Raleigh.During World War II, Franklin assisted the North Carolina Historical Commission incollecting war records relating to African Americans.

His dissertation was published by the University of North Carolina Press in 1943under the title, The Free Negro in North Carolina, 1790–1860. His scholarly reputation wasestablished with the publication of his second book, From Slavery to Freedom: A History ofAfrican-Americans, in 1947. Franklin also taught at the North Carolina College for Negroes(present-day North Carolina Central University) before moving on to Howard University,Brooklyn College, and the University of Chicago; he chaired the history departments atthe latter two institutions. Franklin returned to North Carolina in 1982 to join the historyfaculty at Duke University. He retired from that department three years later to teach legalhistory at Duke Law School. In 1995, the John Hope Franklin Collection of African andAfrican American Documentation was established in the Rare Book, Manuscript, andSpecial Collections Library at Duke. The John Hope Franklin Center for Interdisciplinaryand International Studies opened at Duke in 2001. A newly endowed chair at Duke LawSchool will be named in his honor. A celebration of his life and that of his late wife,Aurelia Whittington Franklin, a native of Goldsboro, was held at Duke Chapel onJune 11, which would have been their sixty-ninth wedding anniversary.

* * *

Author, historian, and civic leader David Stick died in Elizabeth City on May 24 at theage of eighty-nine. Stick was born in New Jersey in 1919 to illustrator and artist FrankLeonard Stick and his wife, Maud Hayes Stick. The family moved to the North CarolinaOuter Banks in 1929, the beginning of David Stick’s love affair with the natural history,culture, and community of the region that he would call home. Stick’s diverse accom-plishments and multiple career paths reflected his interest in North Carolina history andculture, his belief in the importance of creating and sustaining fruitful community relation-ships, and his natural gifts of ingenuity and enterprise. He was instrumental in the forma-tion of several civic organizations, including the Dare County Tourist Bureau, the Outer


Banks Community Foundation, and the Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce. He servedas chair of the Dare County Board of Commissioners and lobbied for adoption of theCoastal Area Management Act, later acting as chair of the Coastal Resources Commission.

Stick is best regarded for his scholarly writing and editing of eleven books, includingGraveyard of the Atlantic: Shipwrecks of the North Carolina Coast (1952); The Outer Banks ofNorth Carolina, 1584–1958 (1958); Roanoke Island: The Beginning of English America (1983);and An Outer Banks Reader (1998). Two of his books—Dare County: A History (1970) andNorth Carolina Lighthouses (1980)—were published by the Office of Archives and History.Out of practical necessity, he became an antiquarian book dealer, collecting and subse-quently selling many of the books he needed for his research and writing. In 1986, withthought to future scholars, Stick donated a vast library of published books, journals,reports, manuscripts, maps, photographs, coastal charts, and other research materials andnotes to the Department of Cultural Resources to form the core collection of the OuterBanks History Center (OBHC). There were three stipulations attached to the gift: 1) thecollection would remain intact in Manteo; 2) the collection would be housed in an appro-priate structure and environment; and 3) the State of North Carolina would maintain,protect, and preserve the collection for use by the public. He also went a step further andcreated the Frank Stick Memorial Fund within the Outer Banks Community Foundationto provide an additional funding stream for the OBHC. Today writers, scholars, reporters,researchers, and the general public use its resources daily. A memorial service for DavidStick was held at the outdoor pavilion at the Wright Brothers National Memorial in KillDevil Hills on June 15.

Call for Papers

The Office of Archives and History, through its Civil War Sesquicentennial Commit-tee, invites papers for three upcoming symposia that will explore various facets of the CivilWar as part of the 150th commemoration of the conflict (www.nccivilwar150.com). Eachbiennial symposium will approach the study of the war through a different theme: in 2011,Memory; in 2013, Freedom; and in 2015, Sacrifice. Submissions are not limited to NorthCarolina subjects, but the committee strongly recommends the inclusion of NorthCarolina topics in any proposal. New interpretations and areas of inquiry are encouraged.Suggestions for panel discussions are also welcome.

The Memory symposium is scheduled for May 20–21, 2011, at the North CarolinaMuseum of History in Raleigh. Historian David Blight will be the keynote speaker.Topics may include but are not limited to monuments; heritage groups; historiography;iconography; media depictions; slave narratives; the home front; Confederate and Unionveterans’ groups; and the “Lost Cause.” The deadline for submissions is September 15,2010. Proposals should include a working title, a three-hundred-word abstract, and acurriculum vita. Submissions should be sent by e-mail as attached Word documents. Finalpapers should be approximately thirty minutes in presentation length. Send submissions orinquiries to Chris Meekins at the North Carolina State Archives, 4614 Mail ServiceCenter, Raleigh NC 27699-4614; by phone at (919) 807-7305; or by e-mail [email protected].

The committee is organizing two additional symposia in connection with the sesqui-centennial. The Freedom symposium is scheduled for May 17–18, 2013, at Wake ForestUniversity. Topics may include but are not limited to emancipation; freedmen’s colonies;slave narratives; secession; African American soldiers; the Underground Railroad; slavery;abolition; dissent within the Confederacy or the United States; and women’s issues. TheSacrifice symposium is scheduled for May 22–23, 2015, at the University of NorthCarolina at Wilmington. Topics may include but are not limited to enlistment and/orconscription; training; desertion; women’s issues; the home front; casualties; blockade-running; financing the war; suicide; and destruction of property.


“A Window on North Carolina in 1849,” Part I

By Maurice C. York

EDITOR’S NOTE: Maurice C. York is the assistant director for special collections at the J. Y. JoynerLibrary at East Carolina University. He authored an article titled, “Alexandre Vattemare’s System ofInternational Exchanges in North Carolina,” in the spring 1998 issue of North Carolina Libraries.

Housed at the New York Public Library, thepapers of Nicolas Marie Alexandre Vattemare(1796–1864), a French ventriloquist, impersonator,and philanthropist, contain a small group of lettersthat reveal much about the natural resources andeconomy of North Carolina in the mid-nineteenthcentury. On a visit to Raleigh in early 1849 topromote his international exchange program,Vattemare invited legislators and other interestedpersons to write essays describing their sections ofthe state. These hastily penned reports depictNorth Carolina at a relatively prosperous and pro-gressive time in its history. The statements gener-ally reflect their authors’ pride in their regions andtheir optimistic view of the state’s future.1

While traveling throughout Europe during theearly nineteenth century to demonstrate his skillsas a ventriloquist and impersonator, Vattemareoften visited libraries and museums. He observedthat the collections held by many of these institu-tions contained duplicate books, documents, arti-facts, and works of art. To remedy this wastefulsituation, Vattemare envisioned a system of inter-national exchange that would enable countries toshare knowledge of their cultures, economies, andnatural resources. During a tour of the UnitedStates between 1839 and 1841, Vattemare garnered support for his exchange programfrom Congress and several states. Returning to France, where he received limited financialassistance from the French government and obtained publications from French agenciesfor distribution, Vattemare formally established a central exchange agency.2

Vattemare returned to the United States in 1847 to seek broader participation in hisexchange program, and by 1850, when he departed for France, Congress and seventeenstates had made commitments to support the enterprise. The Frenchman arrived in Raleighearly in 1849, and on January 9 he addressed a joint session of the General Assembly. Leg-islators accepted Vattemare’s gift of books, documents, and pamphlets for the State Libraryand, later in January, voted to participate in the exchange program. They authorized theappropriation of $300 annually to support the central agency in Paris and directed thegovernor to provide copies of various state documents and histories for exchange.3

North Carolina’s enthusiastic support of Vattemare’s exchange program was evidenceof the progressive spirit and relative prosperity prevalent in the state. Dominated since thelate 1830s by the Whig Party, the General Assembly had supported the development ofpublic schools, railroads and other transportation improvements, and a school for the deaf,among other initiatives. During the session of 1848–1849, legislators chartered the NorthCarolina Railroad and authorized a hospital for the insane. They also incorporated the


New Leaves

Pencil sketch of Alexandre Vattemareby William Walcutt, n.d. Walcutt, bornca. 1819 in Columbus, Ohio, was aportrait painter and sculptor whostudied in Paris in the early 1850s andlater worked in New York. Imagecourtesy of the New York PublicLibrary, New York, N.Y.

Mecklenburg Agricultural Society, which reflected a growing interest in scientific farmingmethods in the state—a trend that fostered higher crop yields. Fisheries and turpentine dis-tilleries in parts of eastern North Carolina, a fledgling textile industry, and small-scale coal,gold, and iron mining operations in the Piedmont and western sections contributed tolocal economies, although agriculture provided the state’s chief source of income.4

In their letters to Vattemare, at least eight legislators described the natural resources andprincipal economic activities of their legislative districts or counties. Four additional men—lawyers, farmers, and a merchant—also contributed statements. Topics include farming,manufacturing enterprises, and mining activities. The importance of transportation to thestate’s economy emerges as a recurring theme in most of the documents. Although varyingin length and detail, these primary sources as a whole add depth to our understanding ofNorth Carolina during the antebellum period. Space limitations will not permit verbatimtranscriptions of these letters. In each of them, the heading, greeting, complimentary close,and signature have been omitted, and in most cases preliminary sentences have beenremoved. Omissions of text are denoted with ellipses. Some of the senders’ paragraphindentions have been deleted as a further economy of space, while others have beenretained to avoid excessively long passages. The original spelling and punctuation havebeen retained insofar as possible, although periods have been substituted for dashes at theend of sentences. Spelling errors are noted with [sic] and, for the purpose of clarity, someadditions are included in brackets.

[Andrew Murchison,5 Raleigh, January 19, 1849]In the County of Cumberland there are 45 saw mills, yielding on an average 150,000

feet of lumber each per annum, making in all 6750,000 feet; seven cotton factories givingemployment to 500 hands, with a capital altogether amounting to $375,000; two turpen-tine distilleries. This county produces annually 10000000 feet of timber and 5000 barrelsof turpentine. On the Cape Fear River there are 7 steamboats running, of which six areowned by citizens of Cumberland County[.]

[William B. Albright,6 Senate Chamber, January 19, 1849]The Specimens of Bituminous Coal that I Gave you, was taken from a very extensive

bed of Coal lying on both Sides of Deep river for the Space of about ten Mil[e]s, in theSouth Side of Chatham County. The Specimen of Soap Stone was taken from the same


This map of North Carolina reflects the political appearance of the state in 1849, as it includesAlamance County (formed that year) but not Yadkin (formed in 1850). It was published in 1853 inFanning’s Illustrated Gazetteer of the United States.

Section of Country. The Specimen of Iron ore was taken from what is here known as theore Hill on Tick-Creek about ten Miles from the Coal pits.7 [A]bout fifty or Sixty yearsSince, there was a furnace erected and worked at this ore Hill, by a Man named Wilcox,8who erected a forge on Deep river at a place known as the Gulph Post Office,9 within afew hundred yards of one of the Coal pits. The ore was pronounced rich & good, but forwant of Capitol [sic] and Skill, the works went down and the property fell into hands thathave had no talent or taste for a business of this kind. The ore Hill now belongs to a Manby the Name of Temple Unthank, who is desirous of working the same, but has not I feargot Suffici[e]nt Capitol [sic]. Deep river is the South fork of the Cape fear river, and wouldbe very easily made navigable for Slack water Steam boat Navigation, some ten or fifteenMiles above the Coal & Iron mines. This river has recently been Survey[e]d by a Compe-tent engineer, and he states that it Can be made navigable to Cape Fear about forty Mile[s]for about Sixty five thousand Dollars, in doing of which Several dams would have to bebuilt, which would furnish water power to work any amount of Machinery that any onemight desire.10 I am anxiously looking to the time when this river will be made navigableand our Coal will Go into the Market of the world, and that this inexhaustable [sic] bed ofIron ore will be worked effectually & that the old North State will yet take a Standamongst her Sister States No[.] 1[.]

[Henry W. Connor,11 Senate Chamber, January 19, 1849]With very great pleasure I give you such information as I possess in relation to the

minerals of the countys I represent in the Senate—being Lincoln, Catawba, and Gaston.Iron ore is not only abundant—but the mines or Banks thought by many to beinexhaustable [sic]—in the county of Lincoln there are three furnaces—constantly in oper-ation also—Forges for the refining and making Iron three. . . . There is also in Gaston aFurnace & Forge in daily operation—in Catawba Two Forges[.] These Iron establishmentssupply the country around and much of it is taken into So[.] Carolina. There are in thesecounties Gold mines some yielding well, and generally in the neighbourhood of the Ironmines. . . .

[John Y. Hicks,12 Raleigh, January 19, 1849]At your request I take this opportunity to give you . . . statistics of the County of

Macon, which I represent. . . . It has several saw mills, I believe eight. No timber is madefor market except such as is used at home. It has perhaps about twenty five grist mills, butno merchant’s mills. It contains many Gold mines, but none very rich, as has yet appeared.It also contains Iron of an excellent quality. Its productions are Indian corn, oats, wheat,rie [sic], hay, Irish and sweet potatoes, buckwheat and cabbages. Also fruits of various sorts,particularly apples, which are of the very best quality. It raises hogs, cattle, horses, mulesand sheep. Perhaps there is no county that contains better “sheep walks” than Macon. . . .13

[M. Shaw,14 Raleigh, January 19, 1849]The town of Washington . . . is situated . . . upon the north side of the Pamplico river

and about 90 miles from the Atlantic. Vessels from sea reach it by passing over the bar atOcracoke & pass thence in nearly a straight line to its wharves. . . . The depth of water isabout 6½ to 7 feet and the vessels used are flat bottom’d. Its trade is coastwise and to theWest India islands, and consists chiefly of turpentine as it is collected from the pine, and inits distilled state, tar, pitch, rosin, shingles, staves, sawed lumber, corn and fish. It has twosteam mills for sawing lumber, four turpentine distilleries, one academy a Catholic chapel& churches or edifices for Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Methodists and Baptists, a Masonicand odd fellows hall, a town hall, market house, a branch of the bank of Cape Fear is here,and it is the seat of justice for its County.15 Its inhabitants number about 2500. [I]t isenlarging in size & increasing in commerce.

[A. H. Shuford,16 Raleigh, January 22, 1849]Catawba county, in which I reside, lies on the Catawba river in the South Western

part of the State, and is, I believe, one of the richest counties in the State for its mineraltreasures. A range of mountainous country runs from N.E. to S.W. On the eastern side ofthis range lie vast beds of Iron ore, & next to the Iron, Gold ore found in great quantities.


On the western side of the ridge is found common limestone & marble. The soil of thiscounty is principally a tenacious red clay, enterupted [sic] occasionally and especiallytoward the South & East by a greyish sand. The chief agricultural productions are wheat,maize, and cotton. Its manufacturing works are almost exclusively those of Iron i.e.furnaces & forges for smelting & forging the iron.

[Kader Biggs,17 Commons Hall, January 23, 1849]At your request, it affords me much pleasure to give you such information with regard

to the fisheries on the Albemarle Sound in the North Eastern part of the State as is in mypossession. . . . Its width varies from 12 to 20 miles. It has on it no less than 37 seines forthe taking of fish varying in length from 700 to 3500 yards. The larger seines make gener-ally when not interupted [sic] by winds three or four Hauls per 24 hours. They vary verymuch in profit to the owners and often the operations are carried on with great loss to theoperators. The fish usually caught are Shad Herring Rock or Bass. I have seen very largequantities of these fish caught at one Haul. During the Season before the last, (and here Iwould remark the Season commences about to [sic] 10th March and ends 10th May) I saw250,000 Herring taken at one Haul. These fish are about twice as large as the Scotch Her-ring and very much resembling them in shape. A Haul was made in 1845 or 46 of 18,000Rock or Bass at one of these seines, 8,500 of which averaged 40 pounds Each. The beachwas 50 yards wide and 150 yards long and one could walk on fish from one side to theother. This however was a haul unprecedented. To give you some idea of the very largeand important interest engaged in fishing I propose to give you the following statisticswhich I have procured. I informed you there were 37 seines on the Sound. I will furtherinform you that in order to pay expenses at each seine the operator during the season hasto take 1500 Barrells [sic] fish—these taking the average price $3 per Barrel amounts to$166,500. Necessary number of Hands at each seine 70—in all 2590. Number of Bushelssalt consumed 85000. Number of vessels engaged in the business to convey the fish tomarket One Hundred & Eleven averaging 500 barrels [illegible] Each. Each seine valued at$3000—$111,000[.] 2590 hands are worth (during the season about 45 days)—$90,000.56000 barrels to hold the fish are worth $20000[.] Amount invested in each fishery at least$8,000. You will perceive Sir from these statistics that the fishing interest in the Easternpart of North Carolina is indeed a large and important interest. Skilful [sic] hands to workthose seines can obtain one dollar per day and many obtain more. You will also perceive itis a very hazardous business and while many amass (by peculiar deligince [sic] and attentionadded to the good fortune of obtaining good sites) immense fortunes very many lose themall in one season. The fishing operations are also very laborious and those operating are lia-ble to very great exposure, and it is peculiarly important to have a perfect Knowledge ofthe Matter before commencing operations. . . .

[D. W. Spivey,18 Raleigh, January 23, 1849]I take pleasure in giving you a statistical statement of the principal articles that are cul-

tivated and raised in my County—Franklin—Corn, wheat, tobacco, cotton, oats, rye, peasand potatoes[.] The climate is well adapted to the cultivation of the above named articles[.]The fertility of the soil is good[.] Tar river runs through the County from west to east. Itis a small stream shoaly, and does not admit of navigation. There is one large manufactur-ing flour mill upon it. There are several saw mills in the County that cut up a large quan-tity of lumber annually. Growth in the forest consists of oak, pine[,] hickory, maple andsome few walnut[.] Religious Societies—Methodists Babtists [sic] Presbyterians, and Epis-copalians. Louisburg is the County seat. It is a small village situated on the North Bank ofTar River. The County throughout is well watered with small creeks and branches andhas an innumerable number of Springs flowing from almost every hill side. The surface ofthe County is moderately undulating. The scenery is [blotted] and pleasant.

Notes1Correspondence (1838–1864), Letters Arranged by Place of Origin, New York–North Carolina,Microfilm Reel 4, Alexandre Vattemare Papers, Manuscripts and Archives Division, New York PublicLibrary, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations.


2 Dictionary of American Biography, s.v. “Vattemare, Nicolas Marie Alexandre”; Elizabeth M. Richards,“Alexandre Vattemare and His System of International Exchanges,” Medical Library Association Bulletin32 (October 1944): 414–422, 426; Dictionary of American Library Biography, s.v. “Vattemare, Nicolas-Marie-Alexandre”; George Burwell Utley, The Librarians’ Conference of 1853: A Chapter in AmericanLibrary History, ed. by Gilbert H. Doane (Chicago: American Library Association, 1951), 174;Proceedings of the General Assembly of North Carolina on the Subject of International Exchanges, Session1848–’49 (Raleigh: Seaton and Gales, Printer for the State, 1849), 37.3 Enthusiasm for the exchange program soon faded throughout the country; North Carolina withdrewits support in 1851. Dictionary of American Library Biography, s.v. “Vattemare, Nicolas-Marie-Alexandre”; Richards, “Alexandre Vattemare,” 426–429; Utley, Librarians’ Conference, 175;Maurice C. York, “Alexandre Vattemare’s System of International Exchanges in North Carolina,”North Carolina Libraries 56 (Spring 1998): 12–14.4 William S. Powell, North Carolina through Four Centuries (Chapel Hill: University of North CarolinaPress, 1989), 282–296, 308–317; Laws of North Carolina, 1848–1849, c. 1, 82, 120.5 Andrew Murchison, a farmer from Cumberland County, represented District 20 in the senate. John L.Cheney, ed., North Carolina Government, 1585–1979: A Narrative and Statistical History (Raleigh: NorthCarolina Department of the Secretary of State, 1981), 316; Seventh Census of the United States, 1850:Cumberland County, North Carolina Population Schedule, National Archives, Washington, D.C.(microfilm, Verona Joyner Langford North Carolina Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, Greenville).Hereinafter, this source will be abbreviated as 1850 Census, with the appropriate county.6 William B. Albright, a farmer from Chatham County, represented District 31 in the senate. Cheney,N.C. Government, 316; 1850 Census, Chatham County.7Tick Creek rises in western Chatham County and flows northeastwardly into Rocky River.William S. Powell, The North Carolina Gazetteer (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press,1968), 493.8 John Wilcox (1728–1793) developed a blast furnace at Ore Hill near Mt. Vernon Springs, in westcentral Chatham County. Powell, N.C. Gazetteer, 533.9 Gulf, located in south central Chatham County, was a center of trade and coal mining during the earlynineteenth century. Powell, N.C. Gazetteer, 206.10 Possibly William Beverhant Thompson, a civil engineer whose “Report upon the Cape Fear andDeep Rivers” was published in the February 14, 1849, edition of the Weekly Raleigh Register, and NorthCarolina Gazette.11 Henry William Connor (1793–1866), a farmer and congressman, represented District 46 in thesenate. Cheney, N.C. Government, 316; Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, s.v. “Connor, HenryWilliam.”12 John Y. Hicks represented Macon County in the House of Commons. Cheney, N.C. Government,317.13 Grassland used as a pasture for sheep.14 Mathew Shaw, a native of Scotland, practiced law in Washington. Louise Miller Cowell, comp.,Beaufort County, North Carolina 1850 Census: Population Schedule (Washington, N.C.: Beaufort CountyGenealogical Society, 2000), 9.15 Created in 1804 by an act of the General Assembly, the Bank of Cape Fear was the first private bankin North Carolina. With headquarters in Wilmington, it operated a number of branches during theantebellum period. Encyclopedia of North Carolina, s.v. “Bank of Cape Fear.”16 Andrew H. Shuford, a farmer, represented Lincoln County in the House of Commons. Cheney,N.C. Government, 317; 1850 Census, Catawba County. Another letter with similar content, written thesame day and signed by A. H. Shuferd of Catawba County, is not included here.17 Kader Biggs, a merchant, lived in Windsor but also farmed. In 1850 he owned thirty-seven slaves.Stephen E. Bradley Jr., comp., The 1850 Federal Census, Bertie County, North Carolina (All Schedules)(Keysville, Va.: Stephen E. Bradley Jr., 1991), 38, 58, 88.18 David W. Spivey, a lawyer, represented Franklin County in the House of Commons. Stephen E.Bradley Jr., comp., The 1850 Federal Census, Franklin County, North Carolina (Keysville, Va.: Stephen E.Bradley Jr., 1990), 36; Cheney, N.C. Government, 317.


His

tori

calP

ublic

atio

nsSe

ctio

nO

ffic

eof

Arch

ives

and

His

tory

4622

Mai

lSer

vice

Cen

ter

Ral

eigh

,NC

2769

9-46

22

Tel

epho

ne(9

19)7

33-7

442

Fax

(919

)733

-143

9w

ww

.ncp

ublic

atio

ns.c

om

Pre

sort

edSt

anda

rdU

.S.P

osta

geP

aid

Ral

eigh

,NC

Per

mit

No.

187

Car

olin

aC

omm

ents

Jeffr

eyJ.

Cro

w,E

dito

rin

Chi

ef(I

SSN

0576

-808

X)

Ken

rick

N.S

imps

on,E

dito

r

july 2009 - historical publications

Documents