Lenoir County, NC - Industrial Issue - 1906

File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by
Allen Barwick <Abarwick@aol.com>


This Industrial Issue of the Kinston Free Press was published in 1906
although there was an earlier Industrial Issue published in 1899. The issue
is composed of both text and numerous pictures of places and people. This
will be a slow project so please be patient.

The text is presented on the Lenoir County USGenWeb Archives and the pictures
on Old Dobbers reached through the Lenoir County GenWeb site -
http://www.rootsweb.com/~nclenoir/

We are grateful to the Free Press for permission to post anything of
historical or genealogical in nature published prior to 1939.


CONTENTNEA NECK TOWNSHIP

Contentnea Neck Township comprises that portion of Lenoir County, which forms a 
neck between Contentnea Creek or Moccasin River and Neuse River. It is a fertile 
portion of the county, and is rather closely settled. There are more Negro polls 
in this township than there are white polls, there being 143 of the former and 
133 of the latter.  But white citizens own all except a small part of the land of 
the township. The total acreage according to the tax books, is 21,162 acres, 415 
of which amount is given in by Negroes and 20,747 by white people. There is 
considerable valuable timber in the township and at least 5,000 acres of swampland, 
capable of being made highly productive under a proper system of cultivation. The 
township is rich in marl only a few feet below the surface of the ground, and 
large deposits are to be found in the lowlands along the rivers.

Contentnea Neck is said to have been the last home of the Tuscarora Indians, 
before their emigration to Oswego County, New York, prior to the Revolutionary war.  
The remains of one of their old forts may be seen on John H. Barwick plantation.

Grifton, one of the progressive towns represented in this publication lies partly 
in Contentnea Neck Township; and Grainger's station on the A. C. L., six miles 
from Kinston, is also in this township. There are about 100 miles of roadway in 
the township thus making all parts easily accessible from the outside.

The township has five white churches and one colored. Rev. S. W. Sumrell, the 
minister at the Bethel Disciple is LIM minister at the Bethel Disciple Church, 
which enrolls about 125 members. The superintendent of the Sunday School is John 
Jones. Rev. B. W. Nash is pastor of the Bethel Baptist Church, which has a 
membership of about 25. The Methodist Church at Sharon has about 125 members. It's 
on the Grifton circuit, which is served by Rev. L. S. Ethredge. The Free Will 
Baptist Church at Sharon has about 76 members; and a Sunday School is maintained 
in connection with the Church. Rev. L. S. Ethridge pastor of Edwards Chapel 
Methodist Episcopal Church. There is an attendance of 75 members, and Mr. W. P. 
Harper is superintendent of the Sunday school.

There are six white and two colored schools in the township. Children from two 
districts of the township attend the Grifton Graded School, which town lays partly 
in Contentnea Neck. The school at Bethel is taught by Miss Dwilla Heath, and has 
an average of 25 pupils. The school at Barwick's schoolhouse has two teachers - 
Jennie Barwick and Annie Rhodes. It has about 40 pupils. So also has the school 
at Hugo, which is taught by Miss Bessie Moore and Mrs. Joseph Rouse. Miss Bessie 
Harvey teaches the school at Sharon; and the one at Graingers is taught by Miss 
Rebecca Pope. The two colored schools enroll about 150 pupils.

Bethel Academy, Just one mile from Grainger's station, was one of the first 
institutions of learning in the State. E. J. Brooks, A. G. Coward, W. H. Rountree, 
M. Spivey, J. L. Ives, R. M. Abbott, Benjamin Phillips and C. T. Barwick 
established it. J. D. Murphy a graduate of the University of North Carolina was 
the first teacher.

                       JOHN HENRY BARWICK

One of the leading citizens of the county is J. H. Barwick, of Contentnea Neck. 
He was born in that township one mile South of his present home; October 9, 1869 
his parents were Craven Tull Barwick and Nancy Ann, daughter of Edward and Mary 
Brooks. Mr. Barwick's father was a Master Mason and was Worshipful Master of 
Bethel lodge at the time of his death. 

John Henry Barwick attended Bethel Academy and was preparing to go to college at 
the time of his father's death. Circumstances then compelled a change of plans. 
He went to farming and has been a farmer all his life with the exception of one 
year, which he spent in the sawmill business. He now owns 617 acres of land with 
250 cleared and under cultivation. He has an excellent range for hogs and raises 
about 150 or 200 for market each year.

Mr. Barwick has always been a staunch Democrat, and received a large vote for 
Register of Deeds at the last primary. He is a Mason, and a member of the 
Christian Church, and a member of the township school committee, of which he is 
secretary. He is enthusiastic in his support of Schools, considering them 
essential to the healthy material and social development of any community.

Mr. Barwick's brothers are Joseph F., a merchant of Ayden and Allen J., 
superintendent of schools of Albany, Ga.  His sisters are Mrs. Fred Brooks, of 
Kinston, Mrs. Susan Griffin, of Goldsboro, Miss Jennie, a teacher in the public 
schools, Miss Nancy, stenographer and typewriter for Einstein Bros., Kinston, 
and Miss Maggie, who attends the State Normal and Industrial at Greensboro.

Mr. Barwick married Miss May, daughter of A. G. and Nancy Stanley Coward. The 
children are Ruth, Mary, Ethel, Sam, Rodney, Rachel, and Susan Winifred.

                          D. W. HAMILTON

D W. Hamilton was born in Greene County, near Ormondsville, May 23, 1861. His 
parents were William and Rebecca Elizabeth Hamilton.  During the Civil War, 
his father was in the Confederate service and was detailed to work in the navy 
Yard at Wilmington. He was a contractor, a Mason, and a great believer in 
education.

For two or three years after leaving the neighborhood school that he attended, 
Mr. Hamilton worked on the farm. Then he left the farm and went to Lizzie, Greene 
County, to clerk. In the year 1890, he went out to Texas and Mississippi on a 
prospecting tour. But he returned to North Carolina during the latter part of 
the same year and come to Lenoir County where he entered the mercantile business. 
He has been postmaster at Graingers for seven years. He has there a general 
merchandise store and owns some lots near the station. He owns residences in 
Kinston, one on Caswell, one on Washington and one on Bright Street. He is a 
stockholder of the Orion Knitting mill and of the Bank of Kinston. He went to 
Graingers before it had become a station, and established the first store there.

On the 24th of April 1895, he married Miss Ada Frances Speight, daughter or B. P. 
and Mollie Speight. She died in 1902, leaving two children, Roy Seth, and Berry 
Lee. B. P. Speight lives on the old Moore estate In Contentnea Neck Township. 
He was born   Greene County, near Ormondsville, May 13, 1843. His parents were 
Blaney and Rebecca Speight and his mother was a daughter of James Ormond.  His 
father was a contracting carpenter and was at one time a commissioner of Greene 
County. The subject of this sketch came to Lenoir County in 1895, located in 
Neck Township and has always been so counted a successful farmer. He now 
cultivates about 100 acres of excellent land.

During the civil war, he was a Confederate soldier. In 1863, he enlisted in 
Co. E., under Capt. D. W. Edwards in Col. Whitfield's battalion. He was 
detailed as a courier during a portion of his service and carried dispatches 
during the battle of Kinston.

Mr. Speight married May Eliza, daughter of William and Elizabeth Speight (nee 
Harrell.) The children are Delaney, Seth, Ada, Frances, (deceased) Daniel and 
Lucy Elizabeth. Their family group appears on previous page.

                         REDDING WILLIAM POPE

One of the Confederate veterans of the county, a Jeffersonian Democrat and a 
hard and earnest party worker is R. W. Pope, of Contentnea Neck township. He 
was a member of Co. E. 3rd. N. C. Calvary. He fought through the campaigns of 
the army of Northern Virginia. Mr. Pope was born in Greene County near Enfield, 
Jan. 17, 1835. His parents were Redding and Nancy Pope, his mother being the 
daughter of Lemuel and Nancy Byrd. Mr. Pope is a Master Mason and has been a 
Mason for 45 years. He is a member and trustee of the Sharon Methodist Church, 
of which he was a steward for a number of years. He was formerly superintendent 
of the Sunday school, connected with the Church and now holds the position of 
assistant superintendent. For four years, he served Lenoir County as coroner. 
At the last primary election, he was before the people as a candidate for 
county treasurer, and received staunch support, but not enough to nominate. 
He has for some time been a member of the Democratic executive committee 
of Contentnea Neck Township. He owns two farms of about 140 acres each-one in -
Contentnea Neck and the other in Vance. He lives on his Contentnea Neck farm, 
which consists of about 75 acres of cleared land.

Mr. Pope married Miss Olivia C., daughter of ex-sheriff William Fields.  The 
children are Miss Crissie Mrs. Julia Leonard, now in Fla., J. W. Pope, of 
Winston, Frank Bryan, now in Fla., Miss Rebecca, and Oppie R.

Mr. Pope stands well in his community and is respected by all, and has a 
comfortable home and hospitable family in Contentnea Neck.

                          C. J. JOHNSON

C. J. Johnson was born in Contentnea Neck Township, September 28, 1854. His 
parents were Granville M. and Elizabeth Johnson. His father was an Odd Fellow, 
always a Democrat, and a deacon in the Baptist Church. Mr. Johnson has always 
been a farmer, is now and has been a school committeeman for some time, and has
been a justice of the peace for eight years. He is a member of the Christian 
Church, a Mason, belongs to the Knights of Harmony, and is a member of the 
Farmers Alliance.

Mr. Johnson married Miss Mary S. daughter of N. B. and Sarah A. Johnson. The 
children are Ralph E., Addie L., G. Edward, Rosa, Verna and three who are now 
dead.

                        LOUIS KILPATRICK

One of the oldest citizens of Lenoir county is Uncle Louis Kilpatrick, born 
in the county on the eighth of July 1819, in the section now known as "The Neck," 
and has always resided there. Mr.  Kilpatrick now owns a tract of 150 acres, a 
part of the ancestral homestead of 500 acres. Although he is now in his eighty-
seventh year, he is active on his farm; but his age and the scarcity of farm help 
together have caused him to move recently to Grifton, where he will reside for 
the future. 

About 35 years ago, the subject of this sketch became a member of the Methodist 
Church and has been a Mason for 62 years, having joined the St. John's lodge in 
Kinston. He is now a member of the Rountree lodge near his home. Uncle Louis was 
a strong Whig before the war and when the Whig party died, he determined himself 
to die politically. However, when the race issue arose in politics he could 
restrain himself no longer, but became an enthusiastic Democrat.  Two or three 
years ago, even at his advanced age, he walked from his home of twelve miles to 
attend a county convention, it not being so that he could ride, so great was his 
zeal in the cause.

Mr. Kilpatrick has been married three times. He was first married to Miss Patsy 
Newborn, of Lenoir County in April 1844. From this union were five children-John 
Lewis, Mrs. Elizabeth Rountree, Bryant Cox, now in Florida, Jimmie, also in 
Florida, and Levi, who is in Texas. His wife was Miss Ann Lane, of Craven County, 
whom he married in 1878. The children are Robert Lee, Mrs. Ada Wilcox, Ralph and 
Albert, all of whom are living and engaged in various occupations in the State. 
Mr. Kilpatrick's last wife was Miss Nettie Wortherington, of Pitt County, whom 
he wedded in 1894. There are no children of this marriage.

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