The Sad Estate of Burwell Hudson

I ordered the estate records of Burwell Hudson, because he was my Great, Great, Great grandfather. I knew he had died in December of 1862, in Richmond Virginia, during the course of the Civil War. I knew he had left a widow and several small children. I am descended from his oldest daughter, Nancy Caroline Hudson. I told her story in another post:

Sweet Caroline

Burwell Hudson was the son of William Joshua Hudson 1796-1896 and his first wife,  Elizabeth "Betsy" Smith. Joshua was known not only for his longevity, but for his prolificity. 

Burwell was married twice, both times to Sarah's. His first wife was Sarah Ann "Sally" Lee, the daughter of James Calvin Lee and Elizabeth Duke. 

Burwell and Sally were married in Stanly County, NC on January 8, 1852.

Nancy Caroline Hudson, called Caroline, was born slightly over 10 months later on November 21, 1852. 

Burwell's only son, Marion, was born in September of 1854.

Emma Frances Hudson, called Fanny, was born in December of  1858. By the time the estate was settled in 1879, Fanny was not mentioned, so she was likely deceased by then.


On January 17, 1860 Burwell Hudson married Sarah Arrena McSwain, the daughter of Lewis Jones McSwain and Lucinda "Lucy" Randle McSwain. 

Burwell Hudson is only shown in 2 censuses. In the 1860 census, he is shown in the home of his parents, Joshua and Betsy. The transcriber mistook his name for "Ruswell", but upon examination, it can be deciphered as "Burwell". 

18
Birth Year:	abt 1832
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1850:	Ross, Stanly, North Carolina
Gender:	Male
Family Number:	772
Household Members:	Name Age Joshua Hutson 50 Elizabeth Hutson 50 Nancy Hutson 26 Rebecca Hutson 21 Ruswell Hutson 18 Elijah Hutson 17 Elizabeth Hutson 14 Henry Hutson 10 Archd Hutson 10 Lucinda Hutson 8

In the 1860 census, he is shown with wife Sarah and children Nancy (Caroline), Mary (transcriber error for Marion), and daughter Fanny. As the census was taken after the marriage of Burwell and Sarah McSwain, she would have had to be the Sarah in the 1860 census. 

Burwell Hudson
Age in 1860:	28
Birth Year:	abt 1832
Home in 1860:	Stanly, North Carolina
Gender:	Male
Post Office:	Albemarle
Value of real estate:	View image
Household Members:	Name Age Burwell Hudson 28 Sarah Hudson 28 Nancy Hudson 6 Mary Hudson 4 Fanny Hudson 3

Burwell and Sarah Arrena McSwain Hudson had 2 daughters.

Sarah Anne Hudson was born on November 2, 1860, 10 months after the wedding and after the 1860 census was taken.

Lucy Ella Hudson was born sometime in 1862. It is possible that Sarah was pregnant with Ella when Burwell left to fight in the Civil War and that he never met her.  If she was born prior to September 5, 1862, then he may have been able to kiss his newborn daughter goodbye, and she would never have a memory of him.

There is quite a bit of debate about who was the mother of Sarah Anne Hudson, and most people do not even acknowledge the existence of Lucy Ella, or believe that she was a Norwood. But she certainly existed and she was certainly the daughter of Burwell Hudson.


Burwell Hudson died December 7, 1862 in Richmond, Wise County, Virginia. He was a Private in Company C 18th North Carolina Infantry. He was conscripted on September  5, 1862, aged 30 years old.

He was admitted to Chimborazo Hospital No. 3 in Richmond Virginia on December 6, 1862. He died the next day, December 7, 1862 of pneumonia.

Chimborazo Hospital, Richmond, Virginia. 

Sarah Hudson
Age in 1870:	38
Birth Year:	abt 1832
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1870:	Tyson, Stanly, North Carolina
Race:	White
Gender:	Female
Post Office:	Albemarle
Value of real estate:	View image
Household Members:	Name Age Sarah Hudson 38 Camelia Hudson 17 Sallie Hudson 8 Ella Hudson 6

In the 1870 census, Sarah Hudson is a widow. She is living with 17 year old Caroline, (which the transcriber mistook for Camelia), and her two young daughters by Burwell Hudson, Sallie and Ella. Later that year she will marry an elderly widower.

On November 30, 1870, Confederate widow Sarah Arrena McSwain Hudson marries farmer and merchant John Norwood. He was co-owner, with his brother William H. Norwood of the store in which the town of Norwood is named after. Prior to that, it was known as Center. John Norwood was 73 and Sarah was 39.

John Norwood
Age:	83
Birth Year:	abt 1797
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1880:	Center, Stanly, North Carolina
Race:	White
Gender:	Male
Relation to Head of House:	Self (Head)
Marital Status:	Married
Spouse's Name:	Sarah Norwood
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Neighbors:	View others on page
Cannot read/write: Blind: Deaf and dumb: Otherwise disabled: Idiotic or insane:	View image
Household Members:	Name Age John Norwood 83 Sarah Norwood 48 Lucy E. Norwood 18 John Norwood 8 Laura Norwood 6

By the 1880 census, Sarah has had 2 children with Mr. Norwood, who was now 83, John Henry born in 1872 and the youngest, Laura, born in 1874.  Sarah Anne Hudson, Sarah Arrena's oldest daughter, has married J. Wesley Whitaker, by then and Lucy Ella was mistakenly enumerated as a Norwood by the census taker. As she never really knew her father, Burwell, it is likely she was known around the community as a Norwood. I am not certain of the fate of Lucy Ella Hudson. Since her surname was confused, it could be she married and became a brickwall to her descendants. If any of this lines up for anyone, please contact me.

The estate of Burwell Hudson came in two parts. The first part was from October 23, 1866.

There is a page, the narrow front page with considerable doodles and illegible print. I can make out Lafayette Green vs heirs at Law of Burwell Hudson   Petition to make real estate  "asat?"

October Term 1866

Executed by delivery of this petition to each of the defts and also by serving a copy of  "Sub fr?" on the 25 of January 1867.

J Mann  Shff
By W H Randle 

In this petition, Lafayette Green is the Administrator of the estate, and states that all of the heirs are infants, meaning they are below the legal age of inheritance, and Burwell Hudson died intestate, which is to say that he died without leaving a will. 

At this point, Burwell Hudson would have had his widow, Sarah, and 5 children as heir. In 1870, Fanny was still alive. Marion and Fanny are living with their grandparents in the 1870 census.

Merion Hindson [Marion Hudson]
Age in 1870:	16
Birth Year:	abt 1854
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1870:	Center, Stanly, North Carolina
Race:	White
Gender:	Male
Post Office:	Albemarle
Value of real estate:	View image
Household Members:	Name Age Colin Lee 48 Lucy Lee 20 Levi D Lee 6 Merion Hindson 16 Fannie Hindson 12

Again, the transcriber mistaken recorded Calvin as Colin, Marion as Merion and Hudson as Hindson. Calvin Lee was the father of Burwell's first wife Sallie Lee Hudson and Lucy Lee was Calvin's second wife. As you can see in the census, he had a son younger than his grandchildren.

The second document is dated February 15, 1879 and takes 4 pages.

Lafayette Green Administrator of Burwell Hudson, Plaintiff

against: Marion Hudson, Nancy Caroline Hudson, Sarah Ann Whitaker wife of (blank) Whitaker + Ella Hudson.

Notice that Fanny Hudson is not mentioned, but that Ella Hudson is mentioned. Fanny was likely deceased by this date. 

I assume that researchers and Hudson descendants assumed that Fanny and Ella were the same person, but they clearly are not. They both probably died at a young age, but both show up in the 1870 census, Fanny, age 12, in the home of her Grandfather Calvin Lee and Ella, with her mother Sarah.

Lafayette Green states that he has used the balance of Burwell's estate towards the widow's pension and debts.

III  That, at the time of his death, the said Intestate was seized in fee simple of the following lands, one tract of land on the waters of Ugly Creek adjoining the lands of Franklin Swaringen, Henry Cooper, Williamson (or Wilkerson) Coley (or Coffey) and others containing 100 acres or thereabouts of the value of $2 an acre, and that said lands descended to his children, to wit:
Marion Hudson aged 23 years, residing in Stanly County, Caroline Hudson aged 25 years residing in Stanly County, Sarah Ann Whitaker wife of (blank) Whitaker aged 21 years living in Stanly County and Ella Hudson aged 19 years and residing in Stanly County. Said lands subject however to the dower of Sally Norwood, wife of John Norwood, the widow of said Intestate, which has been hereforto alloted to her. 

Notice that Ella is only 19, and is listed as a Hudson, not a Norwood and that the widow, Sally, is a Norwood.

Lafayette Green was appointed administrator in 1863. He won his petition to sell the lands in order to cover his expenses as administrator and also debts that had supposedly been incurred by Burwell Hudson or by Mr. Green.

In such a way, many widows and children left orphaned by the Civil War had any property taken from them, as if losing their husband and father was not enough. There is no wonder young widows like Sarah were forced to marry much older men for survival, or young teen-aged girls like Caroline got pregnant outside of the bounds of marriage.

Caroline eventually married and Sarah McSwain Hudson Norwood was left well off when her elderly husband finally passed. Sarah Anne, the daughter, lived a long and fruitful life and Marion Hudson was a story of his own, but moved south of the border into northern South Carolina and is buried in Cheraw.

Civil War Field Hospital

Like many families of the era, the Hudson's world was turned upside down by the Civil War. They were only subsistence farmers who had a small farm. 100 acres was small for the time, as only a portion would have been farmed. Only what the farmer himself, and his family could maintain. They did not own slaves. But they lost their breadwinner, at only 30 years of age, and the effect of this devastation has lasted for generations.

The Devastation of Richmond, Virginia

Stanly County Soup

One of the HUGE pluses of genealogy, and of blogging about it, is meeting new cousins.

Some folks you bump into while researching the same family and realized you are related. Others you find while sharing information on ancestry.com or on genforums somewhere.

I recently met a new cousin in the history room of our library who was from out-of-state and had came to town doing research. It was fascinating to find out we were made out of the same Stanly County Soup.


What I call Stanly County Soup is when your ancestry is from that unique blend of families who all intermarried and lived in Stanly County, North Carolina at some stage of the generations. There was sort of a West Stanly Soup and a South Stanly Soup, and those lines are blurred. If you meet a person with Stanly County Burris roots, you can bet your bottom dollar that they also have Honeycutt (or Huneycutt), Almond, Tucker, Burleson,  Hatley, Furr, Lambert, Eudy, Austin, Efird or Whitley, one, some or all of those surnames in their family tree. That's part of the West Stanly Soup. The South Stanly Soup is actually a bit more diverse: McSwain, Crump, Green, Aldridge, Ross, Simpson, Mauldin, Hudson, Swaringen, Carpenter, Harward, Hill, Hinson, Kimrey, McIntyre, Simpson, Poplin, Davis, Allen, Beachum, Boone, Norwood, Caudle, Cooper, Farmer, Kendall, Scarboro, Rummage, Coley, Thompson or Floyd.

There are also a sort of North Stanly and East Stanly Soup. The North resounds in German names that drifted over from Cabarrus County: Misenheimer, Isenhour, Ridenhour, Ritchie, Barringer, Ballenger, Galloway, Biles, Arey, Culp, Crowell, Mauney, Frick, Parker, Lefler, Pickler.

The Eastern Stanly Soup is from those families who settled along the Northern Stanly edge of the Yadkin River, near and above it's confluence with the Uwharrie River, whose names can be found in the medical register of Dr. Frances Kron and whose names still resound in the locations of old ferries, or in neighboring Montgomery County: Kirk, Lowder, Miller, Dennis, Palmer, Morgan, Hearne, Shaver, Pennington, Huckabee, Russell, Dick, Calloway, Biles, Faulkner, Ledbetter.




My mother was made of South Stanly Soup. My father of West Stanly Soup.  South Stanly Soup centered in Cottonville, Aquadale and Norwood. West Stanly Soup centered in Ridgecrest, Locust-Stanfield and Oakboro.

Some of my cousins are also made of Stanly County soup. My cousin Julian, who is my 3rd, 4th, 6th and 8th cousin, depending on which line you go down, when all put together might equal the DNA equivalent of a first cousin, so I just refer to him as my cousin, is made of  Homemade South Stanly Soup.

I knew of Julian's grandparents, but not of Julian. We met through his reading of this blog.

I've met other wonderful cousins through the same genealogical research: my cousin Darlene in South Carolina who has shared books with me, My cousin Bryan who is a fellow Davis and our great-grandfathers brothers, my cousin Roxy in Eastern Stanly where her Burris ancestor migrated from Stanly County to, my cousin Brenda who is also made of a mix of South and West Stanly soup. I also recently connected with a couisn Gene from Texas. This Gene is a lady in her 80's full of spunk and vinegar who had made quite the effort to get in touch with me. We have spoken by phone and emails and she is a descendant of John Floyd Howell who migrated west during the mid-1800's. What is amazing is she has Stanly County roots on both sides of her family and neither of her parents realized it when they married.

It seems as if the families that intermarried here and later migrated south and west, then stayed in close contact there and intermarried more. Perhaps they attended the same churches, even generations later, not realizing their historical connections.

In researching Virginians, I found that the same families that intermarried in Virginia, intermarried after they had migrated in North and South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama, and on to Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi or Missouri. Friendships between families can last a long time.

I met another distant cousin through ancestry dna named Mike. He has an identical twin here in Stanly County who I've met several times. Mike lives in Texas and also has Stanly County roots. Both his Burris line and his Efird line lead back to Stanly County. The families may have migrated together.

I guess they also serve Stanly County soup in Texas.

The March Meeting of the Stanly County Genealogical Society

The Albemarle Opera House in Earlier days courtesy of snaponline.com What is going on with the Street?





View of the Opera House Today

The March meeting of the Stanly County Genealogical Society was held on Monday, March 25 2013. A presentation on the old Stanly County Opera House was given by Mr. Louis Bramlett. 

Mr. Bramlett is a descendant of Frances Eugene Starnes, or F. E. as he was better known. F. E. Starnes came to Albemarle about 1898 from Monroe. He was the founder of Starnes Jewelry Store, which is still currently located in one of the street-level sections of the old Opera House. Today, the business is owned and operated by Mr. Gene Starnes, an uncle of Mr. Bramlett.

The Jewelry Store opened about 1909, after the building was finished. Mr. Starnes would expand the store and open branches in Salisbury, Lexington, Southern Pines and Badin. When F. E. Starnes died in 1932, his wife and son took over the business, located on the East side of the building,  and the rest, as they say, is history. 

Various businesses have occupied the West side of the building. The earliest was a store called New York Dry Goods, operated by Adam Nathaniel Dry. Next, about 1914 was Black & Pickett. 

J Feldman and Sons, from Salisbury, held the space for a few months after that and next was the Bostian Shoe Store. Mr. Bramletts Great, Great Uncle Parker invested in the Bostian Shoe Store as well as a man called "Doc Frank". 

Next, another shoe store called the 'Bell Shoe Store' operated there in the late 1920's and early 1930's. 

Merit Shoe Store followed and occupied the space for an extended period of time, from the 1930's and into the 1970's. Merit was operated by Mr. Gene Langley and it was said that he lived for a time upstairs over the store. 

Other  businesses that held one of the street level spaces was Economy Auto and Moose's.

The Gold Shop was a store that sold high fashion ladies wear for the younger generation. I can remember the ladies, Linda and Brenda who ran it. It was Albemarle's "Mall Store" uptown.

Top Dollar Pawn and the Bridal Boutique now occupy the buildings to the West of the old Opera House.

The Upstairs offices in the building have also held a menage of occupants and tenants.
Six attorneys have had offices there and two optometrists, F. E. Starnes, himself and Dr.  Cecil Duckworth during the 40's and 50's.

A US Commisioner, Lula Shaver, held an office there. A U. S. Commissioner was an earlier version of a Magistrate today.

A dentist, Dr. J. R. Laton had an office there and from 1914-1916, J. D. Spinks and by 1919 another Dr. Miller. 

Several Beauty shops were also located in the upstairs offices:
Baltimore Beauty Shop ran by Ruth Peeler Healer was located there during the 1930's and 1940's. It was followed by "Margaret's", and then by Modern Beauty Shop.

Albemarle Dental was there in 1947-1948 ran by James L Norton, Sr.

But it was the Performance Hall that held the big draw.

Despite the rise in technology, the human condition and it's need for entertainment has always been around. Theaters and opera houses abound in small towns from coast to coast during the Victorian era and into the early years of the twentieth century. Troves of actors and performers would travel from place to place putting on shows and singers would travel and draw people to the venue from all over the county.

A clipping from the Albemarle Press,  an early Stanly County newspaper, said the Opera House was 'not a discredit to the town'.

 The ornate windows upstairs in the Opera House today.

The seating capacity of the old Albemarle Opera House was said to be 800. Oldsters about town can remember the 40's when the Opera House was said to be a 'Modern House with a large curtain, ticket office, and a large stage.

Graduation ceremonies were held there, and a variety of Vaudeville Shows.



Albemarle Graded School put on a play there called  "Danger Signal".

View from one of the old Upstairs Offices.

According to Mr. Bramlett, several musicians had played at the Opera House. Holt Miller was a Pharmacist who was also a muscian. He was known for having invented Sargeants Dog Food. He played at the Opera House. Supposedly recordings still exist of him, but you can't find them on You Tube. If you google "Holt Miller", however, you do end up in Stanly County, NC with a story of how Stanly native, Country Singer Kellie Pickler, shaved her head to honor her friend Summer Holt Miller, a Gospel Singer and also a Stanly County native. It's an endearing story, but the wrong Holt Miller.

Other entertainers included the Wake Forrest Quartet.

Several plays were performed, including "Temptest and Sunshine", "St. Elmo's Fire" and "The Clansman", with performers from New York. The show was renowned for using live horses. The Albemarle stage was upstairs and they were unable to get the horses up there, so the play was performed without them.



Several traveling Orators also visited the Albemarle Opera House and gave speeches. Among them were Oscar Haywood, Henry Smith from Davidson College and Attorney General Pickett.




Magicians performed, including Wilfred the Wizard.


Mr. Bramlett told the story of two local boys of the era, W. T. Huckabee and Spence Kirk. They had been paid to sweep upstairs. While sweeping the boys came across a nickel, a real treasure for the day, and there was some disagreement on to whom the nickel belonged. W.T. Huckabee kept the coin and promised his friend Kirk that the next money that was found would belong to him. They added the anecdote that Spence Kirk grew up to become a banker. He also had a concrete slab placed over his grave plot so no one else could be buried there. It is debatable how much the nickel incident affected Mr. Kirks later life.


Movies and talking pictures entered the scene between 1914 and 1916. Called "Talkies" they changed the face of entertainment venues. In Albemarle, the Opera House would gain competition in the form of the Alameda Theater about 1916.

A visit or presentation by John McGraw, baseball manager was mentioned.

Wikipedia article on John McGraw

Another show that was mentioned was the "Jethro and Mamie" Bible and Moving Picture Show and Circus. This act purportedly wintered in Albemarle. There was a movie made about them in Albemarle. The movie cost $800 to make, which would equal to $17,000 today, an estimate given by Mr. Jason Palmer to Mr. Bramlett.

In 1908 and 1909, The New York Dramatic Mirror, gave a review of this act.
New York Dramatic Mirror Review


In about 1918, an Undertaker, 'PJ Huneycutt and Co. Furniture and Undertaking' occupied the space beside the Opera House, as can be seen in the photo at the top.  This was the year of a horrendous outbreak of the Spanish Flu. Stanly County citizens were succumbing to the epidemic and falling by the hundreds. The story was that a hole was knocked in the wall to access the next building to allow storage area for the bodies waiting to be processed and interred. Steve Aldridge of Stanly Funeral Home has old undertakers records dating  back for decades. He said wakes were held in homes back then and it was unlikely that 200 bodies were warehoused.

Spanish Flu Pandemic


By 1937, the Old Opera House was being used as a Meeting Hall for  the local VFD. According to an attendee who remembered, they met every Friday at 7:30.

The space was used as a Dance Hall during the late 30's and into the early 1940's.

Sanborn Map of Albemarle in 1922.


The Tarheel Club Orchestra, including the Furr Brothers performed. The link below includes a photo and article on them.

The Old Time Herald

After the 40's, the Opera House was used primarily for storage. The City of Albemarle stored their Christmas decorations there. Another person had remembered large curtains and mannequins being store there, perhaps from the neighboring Belk store.

The final portion of the presentation by Mr. Bramlett was concerning the ghost stories. The Old Opera House has been plagued by ghost stories for decades. Some thought the residual spirits could have been those of past performers.

To find out the truth concerning the ghost stories, the Starnes' have invited several 'ghost hunters' to come and investigate. Mr. Bramlett played some recordings of these investigators 'talking' to the ghosts. In one conversation, the investigator asks "Can you tell me your name?" and the answer is "Roxy". In another one, when asked "Can you tell me how old you are?", the voice answers in a low tone "Get Out". When the investigator then asks, "Do you want us to get out", the voice replies "Yes".

Link to Starnes site concerning the Opera House

There are but a few remants that remain of the Albemarle Opera House and it's grand past: Scenery boxes labeled Sossman and Landis;  Beautifully ornate tin ceiling tiles, one of which Mr. Bramlett has had framed; an Estey Organ crate, no doubt used to ship an instrument used for performances in the Opera House, and a 1915 Postcard Mr. Branlett bought off of Ebay.

Below is linked to the Opera House site and an Interesting story taken during a tour.

Albemarle Opera House Dot Com

I had gone to a presentation and tour back during the summer given by The Stanly County Musuem and took the tour. I took a great deal of photos, and some of them came out very smoky or eerie. It is easy to believe that spirits who have not passed on would find this beautiful and elegant building a suitable place to dwell.

If you have never been to the Starnes Store or to the Opera House, I encourage you to visit. It's a lovely piece of Americana and an important part of Albemarle history. Still owned and operated by the Starnes family, the jewelry store is without compare.

A big thankyou to Mr. Bramlett and the rest of the Starnes family for sharing the history of this building with us.

Family.

Over the past few weeks I have been doing quite a bit of traveling doing research in other counties and even another state.

Genealogy is a journey, a quest, an adventure. It's a search for knowledge, but at its very base, its about family.
While genea-treking is fabulous fun, and seeing new sites, or old sites in a different way, has its rewards, the bottom line of truth is that while I am out, driving about, and plundering through old graveyards and foreign archives, I am not spending time with my family. Genealogy is not only about those who came before, but also about those who come after. And, not only about those who have gone on, but those who are still here.

 I am on the second rung from the top of a four rung ladder: I have parents above me and children below me and a grandchild below that, with another to arrive this summer.
It doesn't get more exciting than the anticipation of a new member of the next generation.

The foot of my Grandbaby due in June

So I've decided to take a break. A hiatus from research.

My youngest growing up too fast

I will answer emails. I will probably even finish up a few blog posts I've already started, in the wee hours of the morning before work,and before anyone else has risen.
I've tossed out a fishing line or two, and if I get a bite, I will pull it in.
I've also sent off for more records, and if they arrive and reveal anything worthy of note, I might just have to share them.

But for the next few weeks, I'm going to concentrate on the living.  I've been doubly, triply and quadrupley blessed. Not only with parents who are incredible human beings, but with children of whom I am more than proud. And with those who've married into the family, I could not ask for better ones. Then the icing on the cake: a little man who astounds me with his brilliance, but aren't all grandchildren amazing?

My Wonderful Grandson

So its time to put a dustcover on the computer and shelve the census books. The dead can wait. The living can not.

My Eli

Crossing the Cape Fear

Hay Street Methodist, my first stop

Ancient home near the location of Job's Lot in need of repair.

Unusual shaped buildings line Old and Hay Streets

I love the Market square roundabout

I crossed the Cape Fear River on Thursday, but no less beautiful than the Catawba, which I crossed on Friday, or the Yadkin-PeeDee, which I cross everyday. I had ventured into Cumberland County to do research in Fayetteville and to plot out an 1825 deed detailing the purchase of a house and land on Hay Street in downtown Fayetteville of my Great, Great, Great, Great Grandfather and the namesake of this blog: Job Davis. 

The Edgar Allen Poe House

The deed was fairly clear in its description, and I had hopes, that even now, 188 years later, I might be able to acertain a reasonable estimate of where the house had been located, although I had no actual hopes that the house still stood. 

View heading into town. 

near the foot of HayMount, where Job's lot would have been located is Davis Street. A Coincidence? I would like to think not. 

Liberty Point is still recognizable from old pictures. 

The description read that the house was brick and located on the "South side of Hay Street near the foot of HayMount" and that one corner was at the "intersection of Hay St with the Orchard Alley in the new brick buildings on the south side of Hay street running with arched alley south 70 and a half feet east and 20 feet to  a stake and partition of the Brick house beginning being Lot # 4".  It also mentions the property having been a deed from William Moore to Abel Turner, Abel Turner being the gentleman from whom Job had purchased the property. 

The Huske family was one of Fayetteville's Oldest and Most inflluential

The Arts Building, an old Courthouse, I believe

The library in Fayetteville is an impressive,  modern, high tech building. Well-staffed and very organized, it was a delight to explore. The History Room is one of the better ones I've visited, and the librarian reigns there is one of the best, most professional and helpful I've ever encountered. It is easy to see that Ms. Arletha Campbell loves what she does and I loved meeting her.  

The Lawyers Building

Hay Street

In 1844, Job Davis, then 71 years old, would sell the house and lot to his stepson, John Winfield Howell, as he and his wife Sarah were presumably getting too old to make the 93 mile trip from their plantation in Stanly County to Fayetteville. 

I found Fayetteville to be enchanting. I had been there several times before, but never to her historic heart and center and what a treat I was missing. 

Downtown Fayetteville reeks of history. A large number of historic retail buildings and historic homes have been lovingly maintained and restored. Beauty abound. A trip to the library allowed me to copy off a collection of historic maps. Although much has changed, the general layout of the streets and the location of the creeks from which the town gained its original name of Cross Creek were still there and traceable. HayMount Hill rises clearly from where Hay street crosses Rowan and an Inn on the side of the hill stills stands and is marked as such. 

The last thing I was looking for on my trip was the old Crosscreek Cemetery where I know from an old cemetery book, holds the grave of my (several greats) Uncle John Winfield Howell, and most likely his wife Clarrisa Harlow Phelps Pearce Howell as well, and probably his brother Jordan Howell whose obituary in the Fayetteville Observer noted that he had been interred in "the usual place", which one could assume would be the Cross Creek Cemetery.

Link to the Fayetteville Observer

It was getting dark as I arrived at Cross Creek Cemetery and the first grave I encountered was that of a Mr. John L. Kennedy, which makes me want to look into who he was.

Link to Cross Creek Cemetery


Cumberland County now makes the Nineteenth County in which I've traveled for Genealogical Research. Begining with Stanly, Anson, Cabarrus, Rowan, Davie, Davidson, Montgomery, Union, Richmond, Moore, Hoke, Guilford, Forsyth, Burke, Iredell Counties in North Carolina and Marlboro, Chesterfield and Lancaster Counties in South Carolina. I feel like I am forgetting a few.