The Enoch Arden Case of Cabarrus County

In perusing old newspapers, I came across this interesting love triangle between some Cabarrus County German -extracted folk of the names of Earnhardt and Misenheimer. Seeing as the story was labeled an "Enoch Arden" case, I first sought exactly who, or what, Enoch Arden was.

Watercolor called "Enoch Arden" by George Goodwin Kilburne

Turns out, Enoch Arden was a poem published in  1864 by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. The title character to the story, Enoch Arden, is a married fisherman, with a family, who gets marooned on a desert island for a period of time, and is eventually rescued, and returns home to find his wife married to another man, assuming Enoch dead, and having had a child by him. Poor Enoch does not reveal himself to the happy family and dies tragically of a broken heart. Parts of the story remind me a hair of Tom Hanks character in "Cast Away".

Screen Shot of Tom Hanks in "Castaway". 

The Cabarrus County Enoch Arden case took place during the 1870's and 1880's in the Cold Water area of Cabarrus County, shown where Coldwater Creek and Little Coldwater Creek fork on the below map, between the towns of Mt. Pleasant and Concord, and a little south.


The characters involved were William Earnhardt, born around 1836 in the Gold Hill section of Rowan County, and son of James Allison Earnhardt and wife Esther Long Earnhardt. In a sort of a twist, William Earnhardt played the role of Enoch. His wife was Cornelia Elizabeth Dotson, born in 1846 in Iredell County, daughter of George Washington Dotson and wife, Barbara Patterson Dotson. Cornelia's second husband, identified wrongly as "George" Misenheimer in the newspaper article, was actually Henderson Misenheimer, born in 1822 in Cabarrus County, NC, son of Milas Joseph Misenheimer and wife Mary "Polly" Milnster Misenheimer. Also involved in the story was Miss Jane Amanda Sloop, born about 1840 in North Carolina, most likely Rowan County, daughter of George Peter Sloop and wife Mary Shinn Sloop, who became the second wife of William Earnhardt.

The following is the newspaper report:



The Daily Review 
(Wilmington, North Carolina)5 Sep 1877, Wed • Page 2

In 1850, we find William Earnhardt as a 14 year old, living in the home of his father James, with his older siblings, David and Esther. William was the youngest son.

Name:	William Earnheart
Age:	14
Birth Year:	abt 1836
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1850:	School District 3, Rowan, North Carolina, USA
Gender:	Male
Family Number:	1075
Household Members:	Name Age James Earnheart 61 David Earnheart 31 William Earnheart 14 Ester D Earnheart 18

William's father would pass away in 1856, leaving a will, and his mother died in 1840, when William was only 4 years old. William can not be found in the 1860 census, but it is possible that he traveled to Tennessee, and then maybe to Mississippi, with his nearest in age older brothers, George and Joseph, and then decided to return to North Carolina. What is known is that he was in North Carolina, in Cabarrus County on March 12, 1860, when he married Cornelia Dotson.

Name	William Earnhardt
Gender	Male
Spouse	Cornelia Dotson
Spouse Gender	Female
Marriage Date	12 Mar 1860
Marriage County	Cabarrus
Marriage State	North Carolina

Cornelia can not be located in the 1860 census either, so it is possible they were married and were missed altogether.

The 1850 census had Cornelia living with her parents and in 1860, her mother Barbara is a widow living in Mt. Pleasant and Cornelia is not living with her.

Name	Barbra S Dodson
Age	32
Birth Year	abt 1818
Birthplace	Cabarrus Co
Home in 1850	Cabarrus, North Carolina
Gender	Female
Family Number	55
Household Members	Name Age George W Dodson 31 Barbra S Dodson 32 Sarah S Dodson 8 Cornela E Dodson 4 Joseph Dodson 3 Charles T Dodson 1

William Earnhardt, like most men of his age in this time, served in the Civil War.

Name	William Earnhardt
Residence	Cabarrus County, North Carolina
Occupation	Farmer
Age at enlistment	28
Enlistment Date	13 Sep 1861
Rank at enlistment	Private
Enlistment Place	Cabarrus County, North Carolina
State Served	North Carolina
Survived the War?	Yes
Birth Date	abt 1833

 He and Cornelia had three daughters, Margaret, Barbara and Alice, and by 1870, he had abandoned his family.  The 1870 census finds Cornelia (transcribed incorrectly as 'Camillia') living back with her mother. Barbara, and her three young daughters. As Alice, the youngest, was born in 1869, William had not taken off immediately after the war, but likely soon before or after Alice's birth.

Name:	Camelia Earnhard
Age in 1870:	25
Birth Year:	abt 1845
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1870:	Township 4, Cabarrus, North Carolina
Race:	White
Gender:	Female
Post Office:	Concord
Value of real estate:	View image
Household Members:	Name Age Barbara Dotson 52 Sarah Kinninger 27 Mary Kinninger 4 Delphus Kinninger 1 Camelia Earnhard 25 Margt Earnhard 9 Barbara Earnhard 4 Alice G Earnhard 1

Some time between 1870 and 1877, when the newspaper article came out, Cornelia, held in the community as a moral and hardworking lady, heard that her husband was dead and went into mourning.


Henderson Misenheimer was a much older widower, and a businessman in the Cold Water Community.  He had likely known Cornelia since birth, as her mother was a Patterson of the Mt Pleasant/Cold Water community and Henderson was in business with her relatives.



The Concord Register
(Concord, North Carolina)4 Apr 1876, Tue • Page 1


Henderson Misenheimer had married Mary Esther Downum, known as "Polly" as many Mary's were nicknamed in that day, at the age of 20 in 1843. Together, they had 4 children, Elizabeth, Mary, son Jesse and daughter Margaret, known as "Hettie". The 1850 through 1870 census records show them as an intact family, and the children growing older. Henderson was also wealthy enough to have an employee living with them each time as well.

Name:	Henderson Messenheimer [Henderson Misenhimer]
Age in 1870:	48
Birth Year:	abt 1822
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1870:	Township 5, Cabarrus, North Carolina
Race:	White
Gender:	Male
Post Office:	Concord
Value of real estate:	View image
Household Members:	Name Age Henderson Messenheimer 48 Mary Messenheimer 44 Jesse A Messenheimer 21 Hetty Messenheimer 18 James M Dorman 13

Henderson was a skilled craftsman and businessman, as well as a farmer, as most people were. He lost his wife Mary in 1873. His children were grown and even his youngest daughter Hettie, would be married in 2 years to a David Irwin, so Henderson did not need a wife to raise his young children. Most likely, he saw the young hardworking widow with 3 small daughters and thought they would bring joy and youth back into his home again.

Name:	Henderson Misenheimer
Gender:	Male
Marriage Date:	14 Jul 1873
Marriage Place:	Cabarrus, North Carolina, USA
Spouse:	Cornelia E Earnhardt
Spouse Gender:	Female
Event Type:	Marriage

On July 14, 1873, Henderson Misenheimer married Cornelia Dotson Earnhardt for the first time.

But what of  William Earnhardt?  Around the same time that his wife Cornelia was expecting their second child, Barbara, named obviously for her maternal grandmother, William Earnhardt had fathered another little girl, named Mary Elizabeth Sloop, called Betty, with Jane Amanda Sloop, known as Jennie.

In 1860, Jane Amanda Sloop was living with her father, George and brother Joel, in Rowan County.

Name:	Amanda Sloop
Age:	20
Birth Year:	abt 1840
Gender:	Female
Birth Place:	North Carolina
Home in 1860:	County North of the NC RR, Rowan, North Carolina
Post Office:	Laural Branch
Family Number:	1022
Value of real estate:	View image
Household Members:	Name Age George Sloop 65 Amanda Sloop 20 Joel G Sloop 19

In 1870, she was living still with her father, and her 4 year old daughter.

Name:	Jane A Sloop
Age in 1870:	28
Birth Year:	abt 1842
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1870:	Atwell, Rowan, North Carolina
Race:	White
Gender:	Female
Post Office:	Salisbury
Value of real estate:	View image
Household Members:	Name Age George Sloop 76 Jane A Sloop 28 Mary E Sloop 4

George Misenheimer must have been lurking close. His habits may have gotten him into a bit of a fix, too. He was having medical issues that made the post.




The Sun
(Concord, North Carolina)29 May 1877, Tue • Page 3


So about 1877. Ol' Bill Earnhardt, after a successful surgery, decided to show back up on his abandoned families doorstep and what does he find? His wife remarried to Henderson Misenheimer and 2 small kids to boot. The newspapers report what happened next.  The story was published near and wide.





The Southern Home
(Charlotte, North Carolina)12 Jul 1878, Fri • Page 3





The Wilmington Morning Star
(Wilmington, North Carolina)13 Jul 1878, Sat • Page 1







Weekly Raleigh Register
(Raleigh, North Carolina)13 Sep 1877, Thu • Page 4




On July 25, 1878, 5 years and two weeks after his first marriage to Cornelia Dotson Earnhardt, Henderson Misenheimer married her again and went, as the papers said, about legitimatizing his children by her.

Name:	Henderson Misenheimer
Gender:	Male
Marriage Date:	25 Jul 1878
Marriage Place:	Cabarrus, North Carolina, USA
Spouse:	Cornelia E Earnhardt
Spouse Gender:	Female
Event Type:	Marriage

The 1880 census records show two children for the couple, more may have been born and died.

Name:	Henderson Misenhiemer
Age:	58
Birth Year:	abt 1822
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1880:	Misenheimers, Cabarrus, North Carolina
Race:	White
Gender:	Male
Relation to Head of House:	Self (Head)
Marital Status:	Married
Spouse's Name:	Cornelia E. Misenhiemer
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Neighbors:	View others on page
Occupation:	Farmer
Cannot read/write: Blind: Deaf and dumb: Otherwise disabled: Idiotic or insane:	View image
Household Members:	Name Age Henderson Misenhiemer 58 Cornelia E. Misenhiemer 35 Vicka Misenhiemer 5 Amais Misenhiemer 3

But they were not the only couple to get married that year.

Name:	Jane A Sloop
Gender:	Female
Marriage Date:	8 Aug 1878
Marriage Place:	Cabarrus, North Carolina, USA
Spouse:	William Earnhardt
Spouse Gender:	Male
Event Type:	Marriage

On  August 8, 1878, after his divorce was final, William Earnhardt made an honest woman out of Jane Sloop.


The 1880 census shows them living together with their daughter Betty, now 14.

Name:	Betty Earnhart
Age:	14
Birth Year:	abt 1866
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1880:	Atwell, Rowan, North Carolina
Race:	White
Gender:	Female
Relation to Head of House:	Daughter
Marital Status:	Single
Father's name:	William Earnhart
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's name:	Jane Earnhart
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 William Earnhart 45 Jane Earnhart 40 Betty Earnhart 14

The twenty years between the 1880 and the 1900 census is a huge leap of time. During that time, William Earnhardt disappears, presumably actually dead this time.

ame:	Mary Overcash [Mary Earnhart]
Age:	33
Birth Date:	Jul 1866
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1900:	Steele, Rowan, North Carolina
Race:	White
Gender:	Female
Relation to Head of House:	Head
Marital Status:	Widowed
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's name:	Jane A Earnhart
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother: number of living children:	1
Mother: How many children:	1
Occupation:	View on Image
Neighbors:	View others on page
Household Members:	Name Age Mary Overcash 33 Locke I Overcash 5 Jane A Earnhart 59

Jane, a widow, is living with her only daughter, Mary "Betty" Overcash and Mary's 5 year old son Locke. Both women are listed as being the mothers of one child and one child living.

Betty had married several times. Her first husband was a Goodman, possibly William Goodman. She had married William Overcash in 1886, at the age of 20. Her first son, Locke Triplett Overcash was born in 1895.  Mary Elizabeth would marry again, on November 6, 1901 to Horace Shehan (or Shinn).

Name:	Mary E Shean
Age in 1910:	43
Birth Year:	abt 1867
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1910:	Steele, Rowan, North Carolina
Street:	Concord Road
Race:	White
Gender:	Female
Relation to Head of House:	Wife
Marital Status:	Married
Spouse's Name:	Horace Shean
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Native Tongue:	English
Able to Read:	Yes
Able to Write:	No
Years Married:	8
Number of Children Born:	3
Number of Children Living:	1
Neighbors:	View others on page
Household Members:	Name Age Horace Shean 30 Mary E Shean 43 Locke J Overcash 15 Robert F Shean 7

By 1910, although their 8 years of marriage had produced 3 children, only one of them, Robert Ford Shehan, survived.  She would have one son, whose tombstone would survive, Lemuel A. Shehan, who was born on September 21, 1906 and pass away as a toddler on July 29, 1908.

Horace Shehan would die on August 20, 1921of TB,  and was buried in the same cemetery as his son Lemuel, Lebanon Lutheran Church in Cleveland, North Carolina. His wife, listed as Mrs. Betty Shehan, was living, but no more is known of her.

Henderson Misenheimer passed away in 1920.


The Stanly News-Herald
(Albemarle, North Carolina)14 Dec 1920, Tue • Page 6