Bertie County NcArchives History .....Courthouse History 
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Gerald Thomas gerald_thomas00@comcast.net March 24, 2018, 4:37 pm

A HISTORY OF
BERTIE COUNTY’S COURTHOUSES 
by
Gerald W. Thomas
 © 2018

Bertie County is approaching its three-hundredth anniversary, having been formed
as Bertie Precinct from Chowan Precinct in 1722. Chowan was formed in 1670 as a
precinct in Albemarle County and was named in honor of an Indian tribe, the
Chowanoc (also Chowanor), which inhabited the northeastern part of the colony of
North Carolina.1
	By the early 1720s the number of inhabitants residing in Chowan Precinct on the
west side of Chowan River had increased to such an extent that the North
Carolina assembly established Bertie Precinct. During the legislative session in
October 1722, the lawmakers passed an act that defined the eastern boundary of
the new precinct as the Chowan River; the northern, as the North
Carolina-Virginia border; the southern, as Albemarle Sound and the Moratock
River, including both sides of the river and its tributaries; and the western as
extending “as far as the limits” of the government. The region encompassed by
Bertie Precinct was immense—covering areas wholly or partly included in the
present-day counties of Edgecombe, Halifax, Hertford, Martin, Northampton, and
Tyrrell. The assembly stipulated in a separate act that the newly appointed
justices for Bertie Precinct select and purchase land “at some convenient place
at Ahotskey” for the construction of a courthouse.2
	The justices selected a site owned by John Jones Jr. along Timber Branch, a
small stream located between the present towns of Ahoskie and Woodland. Jones
sold one acre of land to the justices for the building of a courthouse. The site
is the present-day crossroads community of Saint John in Hertford County. By
February 1724 – approximately sixteen months after enactment of the law which
established Bertie Precinct – the justices had overseen the building of a
courthouse. On February 10, 1724, five justices – William Maule, George Wynn,
John Holbrook, Nathaniel Hill, and John Dew – convened court “at the Court house
on Timber Branch.” Robert Forster served as clerk.3
	Throughout the 1720s and 1730s, Bertie Precinct’s population continued to
increase as English authorities issued grants to persons for settling land in
the precinct and other individuals migrated into the region to acquire lands and
established their residences. In 1729 the colonial assembly formed Tyrrell
Precinct from Bertie, Chowan, Currituck, and Pasquotank precincts. The assembly,
in March 1739, passed an act changing the administrative designation of
precincts to counties. In 1741 the assembly noted that Bertie County was “very
extensive” in geographic area and contained more inhabitants than any other
county in the province, which rendered it difficult to transact the “Public
Business” of the jurisdiction. In April 1741 the legislators passed an act which
established Edgecombe County from Bertie County. In September 1741 the lawmakers
enacted another statute which formed Northampton County, also from Bertie County.4
The formation of Tyrrell, Edgecombe, and Northampton counties drastically
reduced the area which had originally comprised Bertie’s geographical expanse.
The September 1741 law stipulated that the justices of Bertie County were to
devise “Orders and Rules” for erecting a new courthouse, prison, and stocks at a
place which they deemed “most convenient.” The justices were to issue the orders
and rules within two quarterly sessions of the county court after the date of
passage of the act. Funds previously levied by the justices on residents
residing within the revised bounds of Bertie County for building a gaol (i.e.,
British term for jail, prison, etc.) were to be appropriated for the new
courthouse and associated facilities.5
The next quarterly session of the Bertie County court convened on Wednesday,
November 10, 1741, with three justices – Needham Bryant, William Cathcart, and
Peter West – presiding. The justices quickly moved to consider the location of
the future courthouse. After deliberation the justices determined that the most
convenient site for the courthouse and associated facilities was on the south
side of Stony Creek. The justices ordered that the courthouse, gaol, and stocks
be located on land owned by Joseph Barradail. The courthouse was to be 32 feet
long and 24 feet wide (768 square feet) with a semi-circle pathway and other
approach ways. Also, a prison (24 feet by 12 feet – 288 square feet) and a pair
of stocks were to be co-located with the courthouse. The justices appointed Col.
Benjamin Hill, Col. Robert West, and Thomas Hansford as commissioners to
contract with the “proper persons” to construct the buildings and facilities.
The justices approved a two-shillings tax to be assessed to each taxpayer for
financing the project, which included the purchase of a two-acre parcel of land.6
However, Justices Bryant, Cathcart, and West’s decision to have the new
courthouse and facilities built in the Stony Creek area was not popular with
certain county citizens. The next court session convened in February 1742. At
the session James Castellaw, James McDowall, and Thomas Whitmell (all justices)
filed a petition conveying that Gov. Gabriel Johnston had appointed several new
individuals as justices of Bertie County prior to the selection of the Stony
Creek site. The new justices’ commissions had not arrived prior to the sitting
of the last court. The petitioners contended that the selection of the
courthouse site should not have been settled prior to all the appointed justices
having been qualified to serve. The petitioners further positioned that the
small number of justices who made the site decision had no legal authority to do
so. Furthermore, the three men asserted that the Stony Creek site was very
inconvenient to a great number of county residents. Seven justices – Bryant,
Cathcart, West, Castellaw, Whitmell, McDowall, and John Harrell – attended the
February court. The justices directed that the order of the last court for
building the court structures on Joseph Barradail’s land at Stony Creek be
reversed. Justices Cathcart and West dissented.7
Having “reversed” the decision for the Stony Creek site, the justices proceeded
to consider another location. They decided that the “most Proper Place” for
building a courthouse, prison, and stocks was near Red Bud Branch (near
present-day Askewville). Justices Castellaw, Whitmell, and Harrell were
appointed commissioners to purchase two acres of land and to let the necessary
contract(s) for construction of the structures. The dimensions and approach ways
were the same as previously set for the Stony Creek site. Once again, the
justices levied a two-shillings tax on the county’s taxpayers.8
During the three months following the November 1741 court session, a controversy
arose related to the selection of the Stony Creek site. Justice Needham Bryant
publicly declared that he never gave his consent to the building of a courthouse
and related structures at Stony Creek. According to court minutes, Bryant had
signed the order so that “other Publick affairs might not be left undone.”
During the February court session, Thomas Jones, an attorney representing
Justices Cathcart and West, Thomas Hansford, Benjamin Hill, and Peter West (the
latter three individuals appointed commissioners by the last court to let
contracts for the Stony Creek location), appealed to the court that the men be
released from their appointed duties (related to the proposed “Stony Creek”
courthouse). The justices declined the appeal due to Justice Bryant’s
“opinion.”9 No further elaboration is divulged in pertinent court records.
Throughout the 1720s into the 1740s, the Bertie County courthouse remained at
Timber Branch. The final quarterly session of court held at that location was
May 11-13, 1742. On the first day of court Noah Pridham, a county constable and
ordinary (tavern) keeper, appealed to the presiding justices (Castellaw,
McDowall, and Whitmell) for consideration of “the Extraordinary Charge” which he
incurred in building a house for his ordinary that would accommodate persons who
attended court. Pridham had begun work on his building – a structure of 640
square feet – in 1741 prior to the assembly’s enactment of the statutes which
authorized the formation of Edgecombe and Northampton counties. Pridham sought a
court-approved lease for a “Considerable time” for the one-acre lot where the
courthouse stood. The three justices ordered that Pridham be granted a
forty-one-year lease for the land (excepting the courthouse) and that he pay
annually one shilling in rent. A year later – on May 10, 1743 – the Bertie
County justices confirmed the agreement by entering into a forty-year lease with
Pridham for the one-acre lot where the formerly-used courthouse was situated.10
During the last day of the May 1742 session, Benjamin Hill resigned as clerk of
court. The presiding justices – Bryant, Castellaw, Harrell, McDowall, West,
Whitmell, and John Wynns – appointed Thomas Crew, a local attorney, to fill the
position on a temporary basis. Accordingly, Crew took the legislatively mandated
oaths of office.11
The August 1742 quarterly session of Bertie County court convened on Tuesday,
the tenth, at John Collins’ residence on Red Bud Branch. Justices Bryant,
Castellaw, Harrell, Whitmell, and Wynns were present. No items of business
related to the proposed new courthouse at, or near, Red Bud Branch are reflected
in the session’s minutes.12
The November 1742 and February 1743 court sessions were similarly held at John
Collins’ residence. During the November court the justices ordered that no tax
for funding courthouse construction would be collected until the courthouse,
prison, and stocks were completed. No other entries are found in the sessions’
minutes related to the courthouse.13 The absence of entries in the court minutes
related to the highly important topic of a new courthouse is puzzling. Clearly,
little progress was being achieved for erecting a courthouse in the vicinity of
Red Bud Branch. Most logically, county leaders were at odds over the Stony Creek
and Red Bud Branch sites. At least some of the members of the provincial
assembly, however, had taken note.
In April 1743, the assembly – whose ranks included Thomas Barker, James
Castellaw, and Benjamin Hill as Bertie’s representatives – enacted a law which
mandated that a new courthouse, prison, and stocks be built in Bertie County.
The law also stipulated that the county’s inhabitants each be taxed up to £0.2.6
for one year to generate funds to defray the cost of acquiring land and
constructing the buildings and facilities. The lawmakers acknowledged that
disputes had arisen among the county’s citizens concerning the location of the
courthouse. More than a year and a half had passed since the legislature had
enacted the law directing the justices to select a site for the new center of
government in Bertie. The legislators were dissatisfied with the sluggish action
by the county’s leaders, noting that the courthouse, prison, and stocks “have
not … been built.” Therefore, the legislature acted to prevent further delays.
The law directed that the new court building and related structures were to be
built between Cashy [Cashie] Bridge and Will’s Quarter Bridge (present-day area
known as Hoggard’s Mill). The law directed the county’s justices to purchase one
acre of land “Between the bridges” for the courthouse, etc., and to let a
contract with the proper persons for the construction. The law also stipulated
that “all and every” contract made by the justices relating to the building of a
courthouse and facilities at or near Stony Creek were null and void. All persons
employed pursuant to the contracts were discharged from performing any further
work or services. However, individuals who had purchased materials and conducted
work under the contracts were to be paid.14
  The assembly’s legislative mandate prompted the Bertie County justices to act.
The court next met at John Collins’ abode on Tuesday, May 10, 1743. Justices
Castellaw and McDowall recommended that the courthouse be of the same dimensions
as proposed for the Stony Creek site. The other justices agreed. The justices
approved a £0.2.6 tax to be assessed to each taxpayer for paying for the
courthouse and related structures and defraying expenses incurred by John Wynns
in furnishing materials for the Stony Creek building. The session was the last
held at John Collins’ residence.15
The August 1743 court session was held in a warehouse near Cashie Bridge. On May
10, 1744, Castellaw sold to the county justices an acre of land situated on the
north side of Cashie River and the south side of Will’s Quarter Swamp for the
building of the courthouse, etc. The county justices awarded Castellaw and
McDowall the contract for construction of the public buildings. On November 13,
1744, the two men requested the court to inspect the prison. This was done and
after several changes were made, the building was accepted as the county’s
public gaol on February 15, 1745. The courthouse was completed and accepted by
the justices on August 11, 1747.  In 1748 the justices contracted with John
Sallis for the addition of locks, window bolts, a table, a whipping post,
stocks, and a fence about the courtyard.16
Clearly, James Castellaw prominently influenced the decisions and actions to
build a courthouse at the Cashie River – Will’s Quarter Swamp location. First,
he was an actively-engaged justice of the court during the reversal of the Stony
Creek decision. Second, he was a Bertie County representative to the North
Carolina assembly which passed the statute to build a new courthouse between
Cashie River and Will’s Quarter Swamp. Third, he owned the land between the
streams upon which the courthouse was to be built. And fourth, he, in
partnership with James McDowall, was given a contract to construct the courthouse. 
	The courthouse between Cashie River and Will’s Quarter Swamp remained in use
for more than a quarter of a century. In 1759 Hertford County was formed from
Bertie, Chowan, and Northampton counties, reducing Bertie County’s geographical
area and the number of residents to be served by public officials at the
courthouse. While the area about the courthouse became a center of commercial,
social, and governmental activities, by the 1760s significant commercial
interests were established at Gray’s Landing, a couple of miles downriver from
the courthouse community. William Gray, an influential Bertie County resident,
owned the land along the Cashie River about Gray’s Landing. Gray offered one
hundred acres about his landing for the founding of a town. In February 1766,
certain Bertie County citizens petitioned provincial lawmakers “praying that a
certain tract of land at Gray’s Landing be erected into a town.” Other citizens
opposed the new-town proposition and in November 1766 petitioned the assembly
that a town be erected on Cashie River where the courthouse and other public
structures were located. The members of the legislature’s Lower House appointed
Cullen Pollock, Edward Vail, James Blount, Matthias Brickell, Jacob Blount,
Benjamin Wynns, and Jasper Charlton “to view the places” mentioned in the
petition. They, or a majority of them, were to report to the lawmakers during
the next session of the assembly which location they determined to be the “most
convenient and best to erect a Town.” When the assembly met in December 1767,
the individuals reported that Gray’s Landing was the most favorable site for the
new town.17
	During January 1768 the colonial assembly passed an act for establishing a town
at Gray’s Landing on Cashie River. The town, to be known as Windsor, was to be
located on the one hundred acres of land made available by William Gray, one of
Bertie County’s representatives to the assembly. The location was advantageous
for promoting trade and navigation on Cashie River, negating the need for
merchant vessels to traverse the narrow and crooked two-mile section of the
waterway to the warehouses and public facilities co-located with the county
courthouse farther upriver. The law designated five influential county citizens
– Cullen Pollock, John Dawson, Thomas Ballard, William Williams, and David
Stanley – as directors and trustees for planning and effectuating the building
of the town. A site plan had already been prepared and submitted to the
lawmakers who stipulated in the act that four designated lots were reserved for
William Gray and his heirs. As of the date of passage of the act, individuals
had already subscribed to purchase the majority of the lots.18
	The statute authorizing the establishment of the town of Windsor contained no
provisions which indicated or inferred that the town, once it was sufficiently
developed, would become Bertie’s seat of government. Related, the statute
contained no provisions concerning the building of a new courthouse and
associated structures. However, later in 1768 a bill was introduced in the
assembly to relocate the courthouse and prison to Windsor. Citizens who desired
that the courthouse and other public buildings remain at the Cashie River –
Will’s Quarter Swamp site, opposed the legislative proposal and no law ensured.19
 	Bertie County’s quarterly court sessions continued to be held at the
courthouse upriver from Windsor. Approximately five years passed as lots were
sold, and residential and commercial buildings were constructed in Windsor. No
concerted efforts were undertaken to influence provincial lawmakers to authorize
moving county governmental operations to the “up-and-coming” town. Then, in
1773, more than ninety individuals – some of whom were high county officials –
petitioned the colonial leaders to have the county’s courthouse situated in
Windsor. The petitioners advised the leaders that houses, stores, and
entertainment enterprises (taverns, dining establishments, etc.) had been built
in the town, which made the village “fit and convenient” for holding court and
conducting other public business. The petitioners further noted that the present
courthouse was inconveniently situated for a great number of county residents
and did not have sufficient entertainment establishments to accommodate the
sizeable number of persons who attended court sessions. Also, the courthouse was
reportedly so rotten and decayed that repairing it was not feasible,
necessitating the construction of a new building. The petitioners urged Gov.
Josiah Martin and lawmakers to pass an act authorizing the building of a
courthouse, gaol, and stocks in Windsor. Lastly, the petitioners supported the
implementation of a poll tax on all county taxpayers sufficient to fund the cost
of the structures.20
	In March 1774 the assembly passed an act that authorized the building of a
courthouse, prison (gaol), and stocks in the town of Windsor. The county’s
petitioners had achieved their objective. The lawmakers’ rationale for having
the new public buildings erected in Windsor was consistent with the petitioners’
claims – the current courthouse and prison were in “ruinous condition” and
persons who were required to attend court sessions were subjected to hardships
and inconveniences due to poor accommodations and lack of entertainment
establishments. The statute stipulated that effective June 1, 1774, Bertie
County court was to be “constantly held” in Windsor. The lawmakers appointed
William Gray, Thomas Ballard, Thomas Clarke, Zedekiah Stone, and David Stanley
as trustees and directors to oversee the building of “a good and convenient
Court house and Clerk[’]s Office, and a sufficient Prison, Pillory & Stocks.”
The men were responsible for entering into contracts and agreements with
competent persons for “compleating [sic] and finishing” the structures.
Furthermore, the law provided that a poll tax of three shillings was to be
levied on each taxable person in the county for a period of two years to finance
the purchase of a lot and the new construction.21
	During the May 1774 session of county court, the justices ordered the clerk of
court, John Johnston, to post notices at various places across the county that
the courthouse, gaol, lot, and public warehouse were to be sold at public
auction. The sale was to take place on the Monday before the next court session
(August 1774).22
	In accordance with the 1774 law, the county justices convened the August 1774
court session in Windsor. However, without a courthouse, quarterly sessions were
held in citizens’ houses, namely William Williams and Samuel Milburn. For more
than a decade most sessions were convened in Milburn’s house, which also served
as a tavern and boarding house. The justices approved payments to Williams and
Milburn for the use of their houses.23
	Seemingly, the gaol continued to be used by the county after the court was
moved to Windsor. During the August 1774 court session, Sheriff Arthur Brown
informed the justices that the public gaol was insufficient to detain prisoners.
The justices ordered Brown to adequately repair the gaol to hold prisoners until
a new detention facility could be built in Windsor. The county would reimburse
Brown for his out-of-pocket expenses.24
On October 14, 1775, Samuel Milburn sold to the trustees and directors charged
with building the courthouse a one-half acre lot (number 98 in the town of
Windsor plan) specifically to be used for the courthouse. Milburn was paid £10
for the property. (The lot is the same site upon which the present Bertie County
courthouse is situated.)25
In April 1775, the Revolutionary War erupted in Massachusetts as the American
colonies sought their independence from Great Britain. The war lasted more than
eight years and negatively impacted Bertie County’s citizens from erecting a
courthouse and other public structures in Windsor. Circumstances and hardships
imposed upon the county’s citizens during the war made it impossible for them to
acquire nails and other necessary building materials. As a result, houses,
commercial structures, and public buildings intended to be constructed in
Windsor could not be completed. Previous laws passed by the assembly imposed
time limits on individuals who purchased lots in Windsor to erect their
structures. During the spring of 1777 – in the midst of the war – North
Carolina’s lawmakers passed an act that extended timeframes for completing
buildings in Windsor. Furthermore, generating tax revenue to fund a new
courthouse and associated structures became problematic for the justices and
sheriff (who, by law, was charged with collecting taxes).26 No courthouse was
erected in Windsor.
 	The General Assembly convened in April 1782 simultaneously as peace talks
between the United States and Great Britain opened in Paris, France. The war,
which had been ongoing for seven years, was coming to a close. The North
Carolina lawmakers met in Hillsborough and one item of business on their agenda
was completing the courthouse and constructing a prison in Windsor. (The
previous prison had burned.) The legislators passed an act that appointed
William Gray, David Stanley, Richard Dawson, and David Turner as commissioners
to have built a “good and sufficient prison for … the county” and to complete
the courthouse. A tax of eight pence specie (coin) was to be levied during 1782
on each £100 value of taxable property within the county. The resulting funds
were to be used to finance construction of the prison. An additional tax of six
pence specie was to be levied on each £100 value of taxable property to finance
the completion of the courthouse.27
	The date that the Bertie County courthouse was finally completed and placed
into use is not known. Court minutes reveal that Samuel Milburn was last paid
during the May 1785 session for the use of his house. Minutes for quarterly
sessions from August 1785 through August 1786 do not reveal the location of
those courts. The November 1786 was “opened and held … at the Court House in
Windsor.”28 Therefore, the courthouse was apparently completed between May 1785
and November 1786.
	The courthouse served Bertie County citizens for a century, but by the
mid-1880s county leaders determined that a new building was needed. In December
1886 county’s commissioners requested legislative authority from the General
Assembly to build a new courthouse. On January 17, 1887, Francis D. Winston,
state senator from Bertie County, introduced a bill in the assembly to authorize
the raising of funds for repairing and enlarging, or rebuilding, the county’s
courthouse. However, support for the initiative was not unanimous among Bertie
County’s citizens. Some individuals opposed the levying of a special tax
(proposed in the amount of $8,000) to rebuild the courthouse. A group of
citizens gathered in Windsor on January 22, 1887, and prepared resolutions for
presentation to North Carolina’s lawmakers. Under the guidance of A. J.
Pritchard, George A. Mebane, and W. C. Etheridge, the citizens noted that the
current courthouse, with offices for all the county’s top officials, was “amply
sufficient … for dispatching the business of the county;” the county had an
outstanding debt of $5,000 and had recently lost approximately $4,300 due to the
failure of the National Bank of Norfolk (the institution in which the county’s
funds were on deposit); and the current courthouse could be repaired for $3,000,
the amount of which the citizens positioned did not need to be raised with the
imposition of a special tax on county residents. The citizens believed that
legislatively empowering the county commissioners to levy a tax of $8,000 for a
courthouse was “unwarranted [and] subversive of the rights of the people.” The
group’s resolutions were forwarded to Sen. W. P. Shaw (Hertford County) and
Turner R. Speller, a member of the House of Commons from Bertie County.29
On March 3, 1887, Senator Winston’s bill was passed and ratified by the
lawmakers. The resulting act authorized the Bertie County commissioners to
borrow $8,000, and thereafter issue bonds, to finance the courthouse project. No
taxes were to be levied on the county’s residents for funding the construction
of the courthouse, although a special county tax was to be assessed to pay the
interest on the bonds.30
	Work commenced on June 1, 1887. The existing courthouse was demolished and on
Saturday, October 1, 1887, a “large crowd” – estimated at 3,000 individuals –
gathered at the site for the ceremonial laying of the cornerstone for the new
structure. The stone was laid at 12 noon by the Masons and dedicated by C. H.
Robinson, Grand Master of North Carolina. Senator Winston spoke to the crowd and
the Edenton Silver Coronet Band provided entertainment. Following the ceremony,
a public dinner was held for all those persons who wished to partake.31
	Lafayette Thrower was architect of the new courthouse and Theo Ralph, a
twenty-nine-year-old builder from Edenton, the contractor. Early in 1888 work
was halted for a time as laborers walked off the job seeking higher wages. The
striking workers were fired, new laborers were hired, and construction resumed.
The courthouse was completed in 1889 and is a Neoclassical style building – an
early example of that style architecture in North Carolina which supplanted the
Victorian style in the early 1900s. In 1941 wings were added to the main
structure, as well as a larger portico. A rear addition was attached in 1974.32
Throughout the history of Bertie County, the courthouses have served as
gathering sites for residents to support and oppose political movements, to
rally for, and bolster, national and state leaders in times of crises, and to
celebrate momentous events. The courthouse is listed on the National Register of
Historic Places. It is located on the edge of the Windsor commercial district at
the corner of South King Street and Dundee Street.

NOTES 
		

1. David Leroy Corbitt, The Formation of the North Carolina Counties, 1663-1943
(Raleigh: Division of Archives and History, North Carolina Department of
Cultural Resources, 1987, 2000), 25, 65 (hereafter cited as Corbitt, North
Carolina Counties).

2. Walter, Clark, ed., The State Records of North Carolina, 16 vols. numbered 11
through 26 (Raleigh: State of North Carolina, 1895-1906), 23:98, 100-102
(hereafter cited as Clark, State Records).

3. William L. Saunders, ed., The Colonial Records of North Carolina, 10 vols.
(Raleigh: State of North Carolina, 1886–1890), 2:526 (hereafter cited as
Saunders, Colonial Records); Weynette Parks Haun, comp., Bertie County, North
Carolina, County Court Minutes, 1724 thru 1739, Book I (Durham: the compiler,
1976), 12-13 (hereafter cited as Haun, Court Minutes I); Bertie County deed
A-298, Bertie County Register of Deeds Office, Windsor (hereafter cited as
Bertie County deed with pertinent number).

4. Corbitt, North Carolina Counties, xx, 25, 26, 95, 163, 206; Clark, State
Records, 23:158, 164-165, 25:211-213.

5. Clark, State Records, 23:205-206. 
During the May 1741 quarterly session of court, the justices levied a tax of
five shillings on each taxpayer in the county to raise funds for the
construction of a new gaol and stocks at the courthouse on Timber Branch.
Weynette Parks Haun, comp., Bertie County, North Carolina, County Court Minutes,
1740 thru 1743: 1758 thru 1762, Book II (Durham: the compiler, 1977), 15
(hereafter cited as Haun, Court Minutes II).

6. Haun, Court Minutes II, 18. Needham Bryant’s surname is also recorded in
colonial records as “Bryan.”

7. Haun, Court Minutes II, 19; Harry Lewis Thompson, “The Lost Town of ‘Cashy’”
(unpublished research report dated October 1961, Search Room, State Archives,
Raleigh) (hereafter cited as Thompson, “Lost Town of Cashy.”)

8. Haun, Court Minutes II, 20.

9. Haun, Court Minutes II, 20.

10. Haun, Court Minutes I, 107; Haun, Court Minutes II, 15, 23-28; No. 247,
Court to Noah Pridham, 1743 lease, Bertie County Miscellaneous Records,
010.408.3, North Carolina State Archives; Alan D. Watson, “Ordinaries in
Colonial Eastern North Carolina,” http://www.ncpublications.com.

11. Haun, Court Minutes II, 28.

12. Haun, Court Minutes II, 28-31. During the August 1742 court, Henry Delon
produced a commission from Gov. Gabriel Johnston appointing him as clerk of
court. Delon took the required oaths for the office and became the clerk. Haun,
Court Minutes II, 30.


13. Haun, Court Minutes II, 31-39.

14. Clark, State Records, 23:207, 215-216; John L. Cheney Jr., ed., North
Carolina Government, 1585-1979: A Narrative and Statistical History (Raleigh:
North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State, 1981), 41 (hereafter cited
as Cheney, North Carolina Government).
The sheriff was authorized to collect the special tax levy and remit the funds
to the justices.

15. Haun, Court Minutes II, 39-40; Bertie County deed F-538.
	During the February 1744 court session, the justices ordered James McDowall,
Bertie County sheriff, to pay John Wynns £69.11.0, the balance due Wynns for
expenses incurred related to the Stony Creek site. (The justices appointed
McDowall as sheriff in May 1743.) The court had previously approved a £250
reimbursement to Wynns. Haun, Court Minutes II, 48-49.

16. Thompson, “Lost Town of Cashy.”
Court sessions for November 1743 and February 1744 were also held at the
warehouse near Cashie Bridge. Haun, Court Minutes II, 45, 47. Bertie County
court minutes after February 1744 until July 1758 have apparently been lost or
destroyed as Haun did not include transcriptions of any minutes for that
timeframe in her publications.

17. Corbitt, North Carolina Counties, 122; Harry L. Thompson, “A History of
Windsor, 1768-1968,” The Windsor Story, 1768-1968, (Windsor, N.C.: Windsor
Bicentennial Commission, 1969), 77-78 (hereafter cited as Thompson, “Windsor
History”); Saunders, Colonial Records, 7:369-370.

18. Clark, State Records, 23:688, 755-756; Cheney, North Carolina Government, 51.

19. Clark, State Records, 23:688, 755-756; Thompson, “Windsor History,” 80.

20. Weynette Parks Haun, comp., Bertie County, North Carolina, County Court
Minutes, 1763 thru 1771, Book III (Durham: the compiler, 1978), 64, 67, 71, 75,
80, 84, 87, 90, 96, 100, 105, 108, 112, 116, 119; Weynette Parks Haun, comp.,
Bertie County, North Carolina, County Court Minutes, 1762-1780, Book IV (Durham:
the compiler, 1979), 1, 5, 8, 10, 14 (hereafter cited as Haun, Court Minutes
IV); Saunders, Colonial Records, 9:804-806.

21. Clark, State Records, 23:931, 958-959.

22. Haun, Court Minutes IV, 24. The author did not identify a deed documenting
the sale of the property among the records of the Register of Deeds office.

23. Haun, Court Minutes IV, 23, 28, 32, 44, 51, 53, 59, 72, 78, 89, 94, 99, 104,
109, 114, 118, 120, 121, 124; Weynette Parks Haun, comp., Bertie County, North
Carolina, County Court Minutes, 1781 thru 1787, Book V (Durham: the compiler,
1982), 4, 18, 24, 30, 34, 45, 74, 80 (hereafter cited as Haun, Court Minutes V).

24. Thompson, “Windsor History,” 81.

25. Bertie County deed M-617; Thompson, “Windsor History,” 81.

26. Clark, State Records, 24:1, 19; Gerald W. Thomas, Rebels and King’s Men:
Bertie County in the Revolutionary War (Raleigh: North Carolina Department of
Cultural Resources, Office of Archives and History, 2013), 184 (hereafter cited
as Thomas, Rebels and King’s Men.)

27. Clark, State Records, 24:413, 469-470; Thomas, Rebels and King’s Men, 170.

28. The Democrat (Scotland Neck), January 28, 1887.

29. The Democrat (Scotland Neck), January 28, 1887.

30. Laws and Resolutions of the State of North Carolina Passed by the General
Assembly at its Session of 1887 (Raleigh: Josephus Daniels, State Printer and
Binder, 1887). 388-391; Windsor Public Ledger, October 12, 1887.

31. Windsor Public Ledger, October 5, 1887.
	At the stone-laying ceremony, the Masons performed the usual formalities for
such occasions by depositing a box containing tokens and items of the present.
Some of the articles deposited were: the oration delivered on the occasion by
Sen. Francis. D. Winston; a copy of the Windsor Public Ledger containing
resolutions of respect in memory of W. P. Gurley, late official of Charity Lodge
No. 5 (Windsor); a copy of the act of the North Carolina legislature which
authorized the rebuilding of the Bertie courthouse; a photograph of Lorenzo H.
Webb, the oldest citizen of the town of Windsor; a photograph of the former
courthouse; the names of the Presidents and Vice Presidents of the United
States; the names of the officers of the state of North Carolina; the names of
the officers of Bertie County; and the names of the officers of the town of
Windsor. The Semi-Weekly Fisherman & Farmer (Edenton), October 7, 1887.

32. Mary Ann Lee and Joe Mobley, “North Carolina County Courthouses: Bertie
County Courthouse,” (n.d.), National Register of Historic Places – Nomination
and Inventory, North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office (hereafter
cited as Lee and Mobley, “Bertie County Courthouse”).




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