Hertford County, NC - Biography of Stephen Barton, Jr. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ STEPHEN BARTON, JR. Many of the early builders of Murfreesboro and Hertford county were New England Yankees who came here in quest of fortune in the days before the Civil War. A Murfreesboro store in the last years of the 18th century was operated by a grandfather and granduncle of Harriet Beecher Stowe. When Boston’ William Hill Brown, American’s first novelist, died at Murfreesboro in 1793, he was staying at the home of his sister and her Boston-born husband. Dr. William lay Smith, father of N.C. Chief Justice William N.H. Smith, was a Connecticut Yankee and Amos T. Akerman, U.S. Attorney General under President Grant, was a New Hampshire man who once taught school in Murfreesboro. Stephen Barton, an enterprising Massachusetts lumberman, was a familiar figure in Murfreesboro in the last years before the Civil War. He was the elder brother of Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross. Stephen Barton came to Hertford County in 1856 and bought a large tract of virgin woodland on the Chowan River. The site, located a mile or two north of the mouth of the Meherrin, already had a large steam saw mill. Aided by some twenty New England craftsmen and laborers, Barton in the next five years built living quarters, wharves, a schoolhouse, ice house, grist mill, store, barns, stables, and other facilities on his land. He gave his little mill-town the name Bartonsville and opened a post office there. His wharves became a regular stop on the Murfreesboro-to-Edenton steamboat route and he began trading in lumber with many northern posts by way of the schooners and sloops, which called frequently at Bartonsville. The central feature of the Bartonsville operation was a factory for producing low beams and plow handles. Opened in 1860, the plant utilized sophisticated machinery patented by A.V. Blanchard and Company, a Massachusetts firm. Business was slow because of the tense political situation in the country but Stephen Barton remained optimistic and kept his factory and mills operating at capacity until the war broke out. Then he was forced to permit all his New England men to leave for their homes and close down for the duration of the fighting. Stephen Barton vowed his opposition to slavery and secession but adamantly stayed on at Bartonsville lest by his departure he should forfeit his property and have it seized the Confederate government. On the understanding that he would take no part in the war on either side, Confederate authorities left him alone and resolved to tolerate his residence at Bartonsville. This made for an uncomfortable relationship for all concerned. In the lonely months that followed at Bartonsville, Stephen Barton and a few hired Negroes tended the fields and livestock and awaited a more favorable turn of events. He was unable for long periods of time to communicate with his sister Clara or other members of his family. The appearance of Union unboats on the Chowan during 1862 made it possible for him to get occasional letters sent out and to receive welcome news of his relations. Clara and others wrote long letters appealing to Stephen to come home. During a federal landing at the burned-out village of Winton in 1863, a Union gunboat officer who knew the Barton’s, pressed Stephen to come out with him but Bartonsville’s proprietor could not be budged. In the fall of 1864, there was much suffering among families in the vicinity of Bartonsville, especially among families of Confederate soldiers. Barton and several other landowners hit upon an idea for providing some relief. Procuring a pass to trade within Union lines, they made arrangements to sell limited amounts of their cotton to traders around Norfolk and to buy grain, meat, and other stapes there for free distribution among the poor of Hertford county. On a trip to arrange such a trade in September 1864, Stephen was arrested by a Union cavalry company on suspicion of trading illegally. As a result of this misfortune, he was imprisoned for several weeks at Norfolk under wretched conditions. His health broke and he was in emaciated condition when Clara Barton learned of her brother’s plight and used her influence to free him. Stephen now joined his sister at a field hospital near Richmond where Clara had become a celebrity for her sacrifices on behalf of wounded soldiers. Together they went to her home in Washington, D.C., where, in spite of Clara’s efforts, Stephen’s health failed further and in early March, 1865 he died. Clara Barton accompanied her beloved brothers’ remains to their home in Oxford, Massachusetts and arranged his burial in the family cemetery. She always felt that she had lost the one person in her life with whom she shared the deepest spiritual bonds. Left untended in the final months of the war, Bartonsville was prey to thieves and the raids of the notorious Buffalo bands that infested nearby swamps and harassed neighboring plantations. But the place was still intact and its warehouse tightly-packed with lumber and manufactured articles on April 1st, 1865 when it was visited by a party of Union cavalry from Norfolk. A young Yankee cavalry officer, thinking it was confederate property, and anxious to make some kind of signal to Union gunboats thought to be further down river, ordered the whole place set afire and within a few hours Bartonsville lay in smoldering ruins. A week later the war ended. Not all the New Englanders who came to Hertford county were so unfortunate. The Rea brothers of Boston became prosperous Murfreesboro businessmen, as did the Hichborns, Vallintines, and others. Elkanah Watson,a merchant from Plymouth, Massachusetts, who inaugurated the county fair movement in America and who promoted the Erie Canal to its completion, was among those who went on to fame after their sojourns in Murfreesboro. But Stephen Bartons dreams were shattered. The life of his famous sister was the lasting memorial to his tenacious energy and his compassion for the unfortunate. Authored by: Tom Parramore Graciously submitted for use in the USGenWeb Archives by E. Frank Stephenson, Jr. from his book, "Renaissance In Carolina II" - published report for current and future contributors for the worthy restoration activities of The Murfreesboro Historical Association, Inc., and the Historic Murfreesboro Commission. Barbara Mulder muldeb@chowan.com __________________________________________________________________ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Barbara Mulder ___________________________________________________________________