Chatham County NcArchives Biographies.....White, Deacon 1913 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/nc/ncfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Connie Ardrey n/a December 16, 2008, 8:24 am Author: Thomas B. Pace 23 Jan 1913 "Deacon White" a Tar Heel - Mr. Pace Says He Was Born in Chatham County and Gives Some Reminiscenses During the long time I have been a subscriber to The Observer you have always tried to keep history straight and see that North Carolina got credit for her sons who became distinguished abroad but in your notice from a New York paper of the death of "Deacon White," you made a mistake. The paper says he was born in South Carolina and emigrated from there to Illinois. I am sure that he was born in the good old county of Chatham, North Carolina. When I was a boy just after the close of the was, I distinctly recollect several visits he and his brother, Fannil White, made to relatives in Chatham County and on one occasion I heard Deacon White tell of his father's emigration from Chatham County to Illinois. It was about 1835 or 1840. He said he was a barefooted boy of about 7 or 8 years old and I remember to have heard him tell of instances of the trip, particularly of their crossing the Ohio River with their wagon and his wading in the water while camping there. I think he was born at and moved from Haw River. His uncle, Calvin White, was an old man when I was a boy and lived near Ore Hill in western Chatham, and the Whites visited him as long as he lived. James White, a first cousin of the Deacon, lived on my father's plantation about 1870 and I recollect the Deacon sent him a very fine gun, a combination of rifle and shotgun which was quite a curiosity in those days. On the Deacon's first visit to Chatham about 1866 the nearest railroad station was Morrisville, about 40 miles from his uncle's and in those days people were slow about doing favors for Northern people and he had much trouble in getting any one to convey him to his uncle. The depot agent was a one-armed Confederate and took great interest in getting some one to convey him. After Deacon White's visit was over and he was returning to New York, he told the agent to order $500 worth of groceries from New York and draw on him for the amount. These and other incidents I recollect and remember both Deacon Van White and his brother. Therefore I am sure he belongs to North Carolina and not South Carolina. Thomas B. Pace Maxton, Jan. 21 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/nc/chatham/bios/white7bs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/ncfiles/ File size: 2.8 Kb