Sherill's history of Lincoln County, North Carolina

1935·12.8 MB·English

by  Sherrill, William L. (William Lander), b. 1860

Sherill's History of
Lincoln County,
North Carolina
a series of newspaper articles
published in the
Lincoln Times
by
L
William
Sherrill
The Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection
II,3.<hPf„6??$;OD-2.)&?
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2012 with funding from
State of Indiana through the Indiana State Library
http://archive.org/details/sherillshistoryoOOsher
*-
'
Sherrili's
THELINCOLN TIMES, LINCOLNTON,N. C,
History of Lincoln County
Writes Lincoln's History
TIMES PRINTING
COMPLETESTORY
Is Most Complete History of
ThisCountyEverWritten;
IsRead By Many
Rev. William L. Sherrili's history
of Lincoln county which is now be-
ing published in installments in The
Lincoln Times, is being widely ac-
c'aimed throughout Lincoln county.
Hundredsofcommentshavecometo
The Times regarding this outstand-
ing work, and history lovers in this
sectionreportthatneverbeforehave
theannalsofLincolncountybeenso
completely recorded.
Scores of new subscribers have
added their names to The Times'
subscription lists to obtain this his-
toricaldata. Frommanyothercoun-
ties and from several other states,
persons interested in Lincoln coun-
ty's history have become subscrib
ert- to this newspaper.
Mr. Sherrill, who himself is a na-
tiveofLincolncounty,wrotethehis-
tory at the request of the Lincoln
County Historical Society, and The
Times was highly pleased to obtain
exclusiverightstopublicationofthis
work. Mr. Sherrill spent more than
10yearscompilinginformationabout
the county.
The Times began publication of
Athnenahlisstoorfy,Liwnhcioclhn iCsoucnatpyt,i"onoend"JTuhnee REV. WILLIAM L. SHERRILL
27, this year. An installment is be-
ingprintedineachissueandtodate
lessthanone-halfofthehistoryhas
been published.
Below is a biographical sketch of
Mr. Sherrill:
Biography
William Lander Shen-jll was born
in Lincolnton on February 9, 1860,
thesonofthelateSamuel Pinckney
and Sarah Catherine (Lander) Sher-
rill, of Lincolnton. He was educated
et the.old Lincolnton Academy.
Other facts about Mr. Sherrill's
life, taken from '"Who's Who in
America," follow:
MarriedLuettaConnor,ofCatawba
county,May21,1884.Oneson,Henry
Connor Sherrill. Began as pharm-
acistatDallas,N.C,1879;mayorof
Dallas, 1884. Ordained to the minis-
try of Methodist Episcopal Church,
South, 1890. Pastor successively at
Morganton, Connelly Springs, Elkin.
Hickory, Lenoir, Mocksville, Ashe-
boro, Murphy, Pineville, Leaksville,
until 1924.
AssociateeditoroftheN.C.Chris-
tian Advocate, 1906-11. Corresond-
ingeditor 1915-18. SecretaryWest-
ernNorthCarolinaConferenceofthe
Methodist Episcopal Church, South,
since 1894. Secretary-treasurer same
conferenceChristianEducationMove-
ment, (1924-28). Member of general
conference M. E. Church, South,
1910. General Board Church Exten-
sion, 1910-14. Member Mecklenburg
ChapterSonsoftheAmericanRevo-
lution. Home, Charlotte, N. C.
Mr.Sherrillhaswrittenmanyhis-
torical articles for newspapers and
istheauthorofabriefhistoryofthe
Landerfamily;thelifeofRev.Peter
Cartwright, the pioneer preacher of
the middle West; of Gen. James
PinckneyHendersonofTexasandof
General Matthew Locke, of Rowan
county.
PRESS—COONM—MENTS Fr tJhueneLi£n7c,oln193T5imes, Lincolnton, 17.
LINCOLN COUNTY
HISTORY
HISTORY OF LINCOLN
COUNTY
(Gastonia Gazette)
Of interest to many citizens of
Gaston county is the fact thatRev.
W.L.Sherrill,for41yearssecretary
of the Western North Carolina
SouthernM. E.conference,haswrit-
tenahistoryofLincolncounty,dat-
ingback a quarter ofa centurybe-
forethe Revolution.
TheLincolnTimeshasarrangedto
publishtheworkserially,anditwill
begininanearlyissueofthatpaper.
Inasmuch as Lincoln and Gaston
were once part ofthe same county,
backincolonialtimes,thisworkwill
be of keen interest to many inthis
county.Theworkstartswiththeac-
countsofthefirstwhitesettlements,
hithecounty.Someofthehighlights
include the author's own account of
thebattleofRamsourMill,thestory
ofthe march of Cornwallis through
Lincolncounty, the establishment of
Lincolnton 150 years ago, and the
erection of the first court house
building in 1785.
A summary of the chapters indi-
cates that the author has produced
an historical work that irom the
standpoint of most of us will prove
more absorbing than any novel that
couldbewritten.
Thelifeoftheauthor is closely
linked with Catawba and surround-
ingcounties,asrevealedbythecur-
renteditionofWho's WhoinAmer-
ica. He married Luetta Connor, of
Catawba county, May 21, 1884. He
started life as a pharmacist at Dal-
las, N. C, 1879; mayor of Dallas,
1884. Ordained to the ministry of
Methodist Episcopal church, South,
1890.PastorsuccessivelyatMorgan-
ion, Connelly Springs, Elkin, Hick-
ory, Lenoir.
u
•
The
Annals o{ Lincoln CounVvj
\
Bvj William L. Shemll
j
.^ Installment No. 1 .
FOREWORD:
Thefollowinghistory,whichwiltappearserially inTheTimesfor
somemonthstocome,istheoutgrowthofprolongedlaborandresearch
onthepartoftheauthor. ManyfactswerefoundinColonialandState
records,inMajorWilliamA.Graham'slifeofGen.JosephGrahamand
inhishistoryoftheSouthForkBaptistAssociation;Hunter'sSketches;
Dr.Chas.L.Coon'sDocumentaryHistoryofSchoolsinNorthCarolina
and from facts personally supplied by Dr. Coon; Bynum's Marriage
.Bonds ofTryonand Lincoln Counties; and many old newspapers, in-
cludingthenewsitemspertainingtoLincolncountyastheyappearedin
theCharlotteJournalcoveringtheperiodfrom1830to1860.From18G4
forwardnearlyallthehistoryisfrompersonalknowledgeandrecollec-
tionofthefactsastheytranspired.
Surelysomeerrorswillappearinthemanuscriptandinthestory
asitcomesfromthepress,andth2authorwillappreciateitifthosewho
maydiscoversuchwillkindlyremindhimofthem.
Thiswork,longandtedious,ha.<beenalaboroflovetoonewhois
proudofhisnativecountyofLincoln,andwhohas,withoutfeeorre-
ward,striventopreservesomeofthehistorymadebyitspeople.
THEFIRSTPIONEERSTOTHECOUNTRYWESTOF
THECATAWBA RIVER
WehavenorecordofcivilizedmaninAmerica prior to its dis-
coverybyColumbusin1492. Fromthemorningofcreationithadbeen
iwildcountrywherethebearandthebuffalo,thepantherandthewolf
contestedwiththesavageIndiansforsupremacy.
Throughthemilleniumstheseasonscameinorderandthefruitsof
'theearthwasted,savethatconsumedbywildbeastsandwilder men.'
Thebirdssangthesamesongsthattheysingtodaybuttheirmelodies
felluponearsthatknewnotharmony;thefragranceofnativeflowers
waswastedonthedesertair; thestreams, freshand'purefromthe
'heartofnature,silentlyjourneyedtotheseaand onlyan occasional
savagehaltedbytheshoretofish,ortodrinkfromtheflowingstream.
ThroughthelongcenturiesthevirginlandhadbeenreservedbyProvi-
denceforanewandmightypeopletodwellupon.
Itwasfull250yearsafterColumbuscamethatthewhitemanfirst
beheldthebeautyoftheCatawbavalleyandthehillstotheWestofit.
Whencountieswerefirstorganized on the seacoast their western
boundariesreachedtothe Mississippi river, which was the British
frontier.Thus NewHanover,established in 1728 includedall t,he wild-
ernesstotheWest,untilBladen,organizedin1734,fellheirtoit.Later
Anson,formedin1749,embracedall theWesternCountryuntilRowan
in1753andMecklenburgin1762absorbedthatterritory.In1769Tryon
County,namedfortheRoyal'Governor,WilliamTryon,wasestablished
andincludedalltheterritoryWestoftheCatawbariverexceptthesec-
tionNorthoftheEarlGranvillelinewhichwasattachedtoRowanuntil
absorbedbyBurkein1777.
ItisnotknownforcertainwhowerethefirstsettlersWestofthe
Catawba. ThelateAlfredNixontowhomweareallindebtedforvalued
serviceinpreservingourCountyhistory,statedthat"thefirstpaleface
V>setfootonLincolnsoilwasJohnBeatty,"whocrossedtheCatawba
in1749atthefordwhichbearshisname,andsettlednearthepresent
UnityPresbyterian Church. Wefeelsurethatwhen he made that
statementhehadinmindthepresentcountyofLincolnandnottheter-
ritorycoveredbythelargercountyasorganizedin1779.
aPbeonuntsIty1l7ivs4a5nc.ilaaimined17b4y2,sowhmielethtahteHCeonlornyialWeRiedcnoerrd(sWtmatteesnetrhajtcahmeecfarmoem
WoreiigdiTnnhealerWlceaatimedenJeuardbgoheuotmMe.174iLn5.CaManctdCaowrtbkhalate,Choeautnstatya,rmteMemdaoyrWie3as0l,ts1fe8r8r4vo,imceAshtdeaaltdemdaSthtehtrah-te
rkinllo'sw,natlaSnhderirinlhla'bsitFeodrdb,ywwiitlhdoubteapsitlsotanordchoosmtpialneiosna,vagteos.explGoorienganWeusnt-
AabPtfaehbdrrreooadkum.imttnwsSsoS,hEihexlerssrsrtefrievreilweelelhrtl'a,aesmllrsoteFnhRogceoJr,obudmpiwdienhgohsieneolteneoedMsgrieca,stCachtoanoeorndrvkdm.elraoeteHthhdheaeesrwttskwhat,eartaaseddnScidoaatutrimthlomeaohnetndg^FtookwHrhniekitnfaShreahyt^eawretHhWgrhleueePi^n.dipn/noetpirhtn^,ehteaTbwsaJhhcroear«hrbe.n-le
eerisg,htcrsoosnssedinthceomCpaatnaywbwaitahtSJhoehrnrilPle'rskiFnosr,dRionbi1n7s4o7n.s,Weidnerandoth-
JohnBeatty'slandgrantbearsdateJuly1749.
grantThweasfirisstsuSehderirnil1l75g0r.ant is dated April 5, 1749 the Weidner
tbamlouabatcltskytetetTohtrfhfeloseernBlewefsiieiatogrttslsmhttetbyeososw,rfethstioSttmlhhheeeeacrrdasrpCimrcalliehltioosvariefwcdiartbensoaftdoa.ftrrWhitebvfTheirherddo.eanmbteererstestahceolgrwaiCdenvsordeuesndnotwciehynrnitocstathehiaentidtlrehyotefyleaarmAnomodncincsnugegoprniattenhhadteensdpffriaorfcbsoItt-rt
prhfeeirrtmo.u,mrVntoLPehlaedautntemntrsoehyeHlh8veel,ianvnowrefiedyanCatroatilbvoboepnaureictaakwclie1tt7Roh4we5icPthoeeharnrndndhssaiysnlssdevtItaanttandleiiesayda,ontuohtmnnahaetriHrgneHihaneebmrndoeryrdystor^ivnCMWedorae,nirrwdyaanndseMarumaleYldotcdraaaefmnpored-r
TCohuenstey.werecertainlythefirstDutchsettlers in the larger Lincoln
folloJwaecdobmuFlotrinteuydesanootfhenrewofptehoepleea,rliienrcpluidoinnegersthceamneamiens17o5f2Jaonhdnstthoenn
Abernethy,McCorkle,McLean,Howard,Reid,Dickson,Munday,Thomp-
son,Gabriel,Wilkinson,andlaterBin-ton,Brevard,Graham,Pulenwider
GLCoourocndkeseloyin,u,s,KBiaSnlhgle,alrtdCo,hne,BrurArysc,bhu,KriyLn,ocnagNi,idx,oPnrB,oacrtcColoran,yn,oHra,ByreostH,haegPreatrio,nne,,HLLuootcwckehmi,saonRn,o,biLnisBtoetnll,le''!
Rutledge, Moore, Chronicle, Hambright, Rankin, Jenkins, Henderson,'
Davenportandmanyotherearlysettlersreachingalong the eastern
partfromLookoutShoalstotheSouthCarolinaline.
ThenfollowingHenry Weidnertherecame intothe Central and
WesternportionofoldLincolnasteadystreamofDutchpioneersfrom
Pennsylvania,amongwhomwerethjfollowingfamilies:Ramsour,Wil-
fong, Mull, Yoder, Schenck, Cansle^, Hoke, Coon, Costner, Quickel,
Shrum,Conrad,Rudisill,Finger,Seagle,Yount,Hoover,Killian,Loretz,
Rhyne, Reinhardt,Lineberger, Hoffman, Carpenter, Miller, Friday,'
Rendleman,Shuford,Bandy, Dellinger, Houser,Motz, Setzer, Hauss[
Heavner, Hoyle,Crouse, Sigmon, Lowrance, Rhodes, Cline, Stroupe,'
taRheneedpC,tartuCeao,uwlbstaoe.r,thTLatuhtezb,yCoB1uo7ny7td5y,toShfeurmTemreywroarosww,aascSomnoisrtighdaenraianzbdeldemaipnnopy1u7l6oa9tthieoarnnsdwweiotsrtwtahosyf I1
thesepeopleandthosewhocamewiththem,wholaidthe foundations
uponwhichwehavebuilded,anditistheirhistorythatwewouldpre-
serve,forifweshouldfailtowriteclowntheirdeeds,otherpeoplewill
notpreservethem.
NorthCarolinians havealways been modest and when they chose
the State motto "Esse Quam ViderV which being interpreted means
"tobe,rather than seemtobe," modestyandsincerity,twoloftyvir-
tues,havebeenwovenwarpandwool,intothecharacterofourcitizen-
ship.Whileourpeoplehavedonemorethantheirshareinallthestrug-
tgelreistyofantdheouNrathiiosnt,ortihaenyshunatvielrweictehnotutyebaorassthinagv,elbeefetnthseilernetsualbtosuttotphoesi-r I
achievements.Theypreferred"tobe,ratherthanseen,tobe,"knowing
wtheatcavimretuferiosmitasnodwwnharetwawredr.etWheecshhaorualcdt,erhioswtiecvsero/fwoaunrtftoorekbneaorws.wheWree '
shouldnotbesobroadastoobliteratealllocalattachments. Theland
rLoeiflnaoctuoerldnnaCtoiuvnittyysthhoautldpabretdoefartehsetSttoatues.toNowrhtihchCawreolianrae-imsotshteiSnttaitmeataenldy
p
.^^
The
JiAAmuilsof
UcolnCounful
By William L. Shemill
jj
Installment No. II
^«ttWehheheenonmteTmcatrhr^ahoesdrsesoapeeuniddngdohm.ntdee.h0tene^hWrreniCcsalhePotmteinattdeliw]lebbyerysassnJitfoyfo£hu"H£n.Prdof^qnn*Jo«t*«hh,e^,,aZminna«^^aet*v"hhe^eerhhk*"on*Two*hw**n^tgh3e"wS?od^kl"yvbe.»as^v"*sd^.theThcoo»s'*de
^
mTt£heh»hoeeenuyrtnchewothfeefruowsy^rmuet5cnarerthodireh,nne,>^oyn«poopw^plihfoltapldrhirdstnai.utn^bpnceieitepTthnayehlyeof^ycpobiprrthwraioetezv^nhsreeeensefds,eddttsehPtveb*en'eor^llUeoeXTvipeemt're''yn-^ttTi„o0z^ie*/n"8^^'te0whraeairiUse*tr,""0ii"tnogra*nfllaile°a"i.t*undeSseen-dtthT—«Jh^«ebeurpydttSoth™wewedewheererbs>rIeey"e
[! ttf^hhoetuu°ih"gr..hdltovoeWureanbdcatatsnlacersnieTfavhineceerdy.tphaaeuywgehtdthetdsho.ewimrnc*t*bheL'a'nf?doreWtoT0m'*e"nd',et"VhGeeoJtohdd6PeSeabedtndtwhtetahoteothewpillelsati^tfnhoeyr'
-fptashn-cRweteastaldbteTateohtmrscehieolesdoiymeofmaanepomtt^nifehosoj;ennoneygfcaoeeoatfrdrfrus^eoern,srl,aeteeitassbustasiersnnre;o,B.dv?pahenTte£rchhrfreeme«o%ciyrfttiitsvd%huwTi^£Vnh1'"'?e?L<^^cTh*e•mJUr*fnPl^e'm°MCm°O£h,ineWlaSidd—•tIWvreieednlr£i'n*dzee«espd*«s«e«*nnl£!"dig^"»ed-«nuc"ap"*e*hno,.dn
fslssriah»c-rucahvsrfntotmifofgewilIc,cnno„r4lionuonastflglsh*adeesdadepepnldeSvudfraottihytdoceisetdoononniCwoaqsahfluthti.oeaacerwdhxmebutTedtarhty,aretdivhyieaaelfdgfaV,iamctcentcuhec„leeTetdppsifteeaaes^nr!dfhodouWaoTWth""'^"eit"v,ht^dlT^u^?l*Tft**^Wn*"*e<Pn"**t^t"idk^"Se*ndt^P"hohheo*wai,iiscal'edrsn^ynst'toh«tep^rhieytiono.nn**dg-^pu.wierthr-o«hionftde
setaa-ePeotlpvaiceepteu,nsmilrrttleiisyaentelsyyteadsc.sp.naotedmnwlafdehTgonmiehrdfecnetinehgyetrhnwsatwthhleeawilrbrdicytaethachtbikthntofueehtadehirh,icetera;nabscncaeaohdnvninndalqqthTgdUu"hreeeeces^irvn\^oeedduI^2vhtoeTbDfHeeeenfwWeoV^+l.ed1U^»thrhTe'y'T^mT°c'°ho*udeWlC?Mda&^c*hTfhmhtitSehn^hedtyehae"p*^n^>e'Ud«MaBc«*k™e*li*awnh-aeede™tnkdr.*hed,eed
fortOhneythhaedjoonulrynpeayckfrhoomrsethsetofacrarnroyrtthhethbeuyrdbernosuogmhetlmoeaadgs,reansduppwlhieens
tthheeycrsaectktsledwewreestdaoufbetdhewiCtahtamwubda,,sptlhietsclaabbisnswewreereusbeudilftorwirtohoofuitngnwaiiltsh
satnodnewsmdto.weTihgehtdotohrsemwedroewns,ecluerstedthbeyrwoooofdebne thoirnngesawaanydbtyhertehewasstornmo
sfgplrraoismnsgc.fatotrTleht'ehaeyndwhiehnwodegodsw,sd,woowrnTkhetedhethfhoourrsoeeussgtsh,wtebhrueieltlbourniaglitldafinyenscveaaslnldetyoksepprctoltosewecatttccohrotbphyse
night,lestprowlingsavagesmightdothemviolence.
helpeTdhetowoclmeearntehnedufroerdesthsaradnshdipwsorekventhegrecartopesrtahnadnbtehseidmeesn,pefrofrortmheedy I
Jagloalsretmphehen'tshso,cuosapetah,toclbhduetddutthtieheyse.mwTohorfektyeednnotuthnetoinlglayrtdhceeonyo,kewmdeirltekheedafsotohdem,acmnoawydse,cwtohalesohrmeeeddagtrhaees |i'
clothes,workedthecottonpatchandthenwiththeirfingersseparated
tthheectohtrteoandfirnotomctlhoethsefeod,rsgpaurnmetnhtescoatntdonblaanndketwso.o.liInntdoetehdreatdheandwowmoeven |:
workedatall tasksandnevercomplained. It must havebeenone of
likeexperiencewhowrotetheoldcouplet:
"Aman'sworkisfromsuntosun,
Butawoman'sworkisneverdone."
Thesepioneerwomenwerestrangersto themodernbeautyparlor
andhadnoneedforoneforthesignofhealthwaswrittenupontheir
faces. Theylivedsoclosetonaturethattheirruddy cheeks bespoke
theirhealthandvigor. Theyexercisedthebody,livedinthegreatout
ofdoors,breathedinvigoratingair, baskedin thelifegivingsunshine,
andhadpoorreasonto use lipsticks or other superficial methods of
convertinguglinessintobeauty. Therewereno stores, and fashion;
cpolmatfeosrtwseroefnliefveetrosseeeenkofuitnsaildleytahebest(taeprorltife.towns.Thepioneersleftthe.
TheyOnhatdhelofgrornotlileirngsn,eihgohubsoersraliesairnnges,dctohrenmsehaunciknigngsofandneqiugihlttoirnlginepjasr.-.
ttihees,peaonpdlet.hoTsheeywhwoerreefiunsdeudsttroiohueslpanindnpeoisgshebsosreldydveaerdisedlosgtifctasstew.h^riifcchhi
servedthemwellintheirnewenvironment. Theyhadlearnedto,work
withtheirhands. Therewereblacksmiths,carpenters,cabinetmakers,
millwrights,tanners,shoemakers,saddlers,sailors,hatters,skilled!work-
ersiniron. Theseallworkedtheirfarmsandalso worked at their
tradeswhenneeded. Sothe people were notonly farmers hut manu-
facturersfromthestart,andsuppliedtheirneighborswithsuchasthey
cwoounldderpfruolduhcoewbythheayndf.ounNdecessusbisttiytubteeisngfotrhemmaontyherthoifngisn.ventTihoen,yituwsaesd.
honeyorsorghumfor sugar,parchedrye for coffee,ashesand waste
greasecombinedwereconvertedintosoap. Cornandwheatwereground]
byhandandthepeopleneverheardofappendicitis.
Back of all their splendid traits there shone a radiant faith, for
theybroughttheChurchwiththemandneverlostthehabitofcongre-
gationalworship. The Lutheran, German Reformed, Presbyterian and
BaptistChurcheswerethefirsttobeestablished, and later on the
nEepsisscaopmaolngantdheMepetohpoldei.stTChheuyrchhaedstahlelBciobmlbeianneddwtoorsprheispeprevdeGroidghtineotuhse- I'
wilderness,"wherethegroveswereGod'sfirsttemples."
Thesefirstsettlerswerenotignorant people,evenif,for lack of
csocuhlodolswrimtaenylegoifblytheainrdcshpielldlrefnaircloyulwdelnl,otburteadt.hecMhainldyreonfwtehreepsioorufsoerrasy. I
at!thetaskofkeepingthewolffromthedoor,andwithnoteachersto
instruct,thatmanyreallywelltodo,evenaslateas1860, could not
writetheirnames.
(CONTINUED IN NEXTISSUE)