Lenoir County NcArchives....Glenwood Allen Fields Collection ***************************************************** 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: Glenn Fields, gnfields@msn.com, August 9, 2020. Glenwood Allen Fields Collection, La Grange, NC. Introduction After the death of my great-grand aunt, Alice Cornelia Hines Warters in 1972, my family came into possession of a set of letters. "Aunt Al's" mother was Nancy Parks Cotton Sutton Hines, who was first married to Henry Sutton. They had two sons, Thomas Hardy and William Henry. Most of these letters are correspondences from Henry to Nancy. Henry was killed during the Civil War on September 17, 1862 in the Battle of Sharpsburg, Maryland (Antietam). Later Nancy married Daniel Hines, Jr. I bring to light this second marriage for two reasons. First, some of the people named in the latter letters, which were written to Nancy, are relative to this union. Second, even though Henry Sutton was my twice great-grandfather, I would not exist if it had not been for this second marriage of twice great-grandmother, Nancy. Henry Sutton was my maternal twice great-grandfather and Daniel Hines, Jr. was my paternal twice great-grandfather. My mother and father were half second cousins. An interesting related fact is that, if Henry Sutton had not been killed, Nancy would not have been free to marry Daniel Hines, Jr. Therefore, I and many other descendants would never have been born. So, in essence, I owe my very existence to the death of Henry Sutton. In transcribing these letters, the original spelling, punctuation and grammar were retained. For this reason, certain sections of particular letters may be difficult to read but definitely not as hard as the originals were. Henry and Nancy, along with her brother, William Cotton, lived on a farm that Henry's father, Benjamin Sutton, Jr. bought from Warren (Worry) Kilpatrick. The farm was in the Lane's Chapel community of Craven County, NC. In Benjamin's will, that farm was listed as "lying south of the Neuse River on each side of Moseley's Creek." Moseley Creek is the county line between Lenoir and Craven Counties. The farm contained about 600 acres. It is the custom now, and probably was then, to have land that lies in two counties listed in the county where the owner's homeplace house was situated, which, for Benjamin, was Lenoir. I could find no record of this land in the Craven County Courthouse. The Lenoir County Courthouse and its records were destroyed by fire; therefore, no record exists there concerning that farm. After New Bern was occupied by the Union forces, Henry felt that it was not safe for Nancy and their children to remain in Craven County. He had them moved back home to be with his family, the Suttons, and her family, the Iveys and Parks, her mother being Edith Ivey. Edith was married to Louis Cotton. For the rest of the time represented by these letters, Nancy received her mail addressed to either Jericho, White Hall or Moseley Hall Post Offices. The first two Post Offices were in what is now the Seven Springs area and the latter now being La Grange. She continued to reside in this same neighborhood for the rest of her life which ended on November 2, 1923. Below is a directory of people and places mentioned in the letters along with the relationships of the people, if known. Also, a "subscript" may have been added to some of the letters to provide the reader with some extra insight into that particular letter or the people. Alexander: Alexander Sutton, Henry's brother, six years younger. Alex: Same as Alexander above. Ann: Could have been Alexander's girlfriend. Arab: Unknown. Arnold, Bryant: Unknown. Arnold, Mr.: Mr. Bryant Arnold. Aunt Betsy: Unknown. Barrow, James: Private in Co. C, 27th from Lenoir County. Barrow, Jesse: Private Jesse H. Barrow, Co. C, 27th. Barrow, Rachel: Unknown. Batcheler Creek: Batchelder's Creek in Craven Co. NE of New Bern. Betsy: Unknown. Betsy Ann: Daughter of Wm. Cotton, reared by Nancy and Daniel. Billey: William B. Cotton, Nancy's brother. Brother Pinkney: Nancy's cousin Pinkney Page, Oct. 25, 1863 letter. Brother William: Nancy's Cousin Wm. Page, Oct. 25, 1863 letter. Brother William; Unknown, Oct. 18, 1861 letter. Camp Black Jacka: A Confederate camp between Kinston and New Bern. Camp Gatlin: A Confederate camp on the Neuse River near New Bern. Captain Whitfield: George F. Whitfield, Commander of Co. C, 27th. Casa, Bill: Possibly Sgt. William Casey Co. C, 27th. Ceal: Unknown. Chloey: Chloea Miranda Sutton, Henry's second oldest sister. Cob, Doctar: Dr. Cobb. Cook, Colonel John R.: Confederate Colonel, 27th. Cosen Amanda: Unknown. Cosen: Cousin Nancy Sutton, Henry's wife. Cotton, Nancy: Wife of Henry Sutton. Cotton, Wm. B.: Nancy's brother. Cussin exline: Unknown. Daniel: Daniel Hines, Nancy's 2nd Husband, Nov. 22, 1891 letter. Daniel: Daniel Sutton, Henry's oldest brother. Dea: Dee Hines, son of Nancy and Daniel. Doity, Nancy: Unknown Doity: Old man Doity and Sally Doity. Echobud: Unknown. Edith: Edith Cotton, daughter of Wm., reared by Nancy and Daniel. Elijah: Elijah Fields, husband of Henry's sister Winnefred. Eliza: Unknown Father: Benjamin Sutton, Jr. Fields, Sallie H.: Nancy's cousin. Fields, W J: Winnie J. Fields, sister of Henry and wife of Elijah. Fillis: (Phyllis) Ivey. Fort Layne (Lane: Confederate camp on Neuse River near New Bern. Harris, Jack: Unknown. Herane, Miss Sarah: Miss Sarah Herring. Herring, Joe: Brother of Annie Sutton. Herring, Miss: Probably Annie Sutton's and Joe Herring's mother. Hines, Tessa: Wife of Dee Hines. Hunter, Morgan: Unknown. Isler, Alberta: Unknown. Ivey, John: Cousin and neighbor of the Sutton family in Wayne Co. Ivy, Miss Sarah: Unknown John: John W. Sutton, Henry's brother, eight years younger. Johnson, Mrs.: Unknown. Kennedy, E J: Cousin to Nancy and William. Kilpatrick, Worry: Warren Kilpatrick, landowner in Craven Co. Lee: Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Little Biley: William Henry Sutton below. Little William Henry: Henry's and Nancy's youngest son. Luther: Unknown. M S A: Unknown. Mary Ann: Mary Ann Swinson Ivey, wife of John Ivey. Measley, James: Unknown. Measley, Luby: Husband of Edith Cotton, daughter of William. Milly: Uknown. Miss Pasence: Possibly Thomas H. Sutton's wife, Patience Outlaw. Moses, Mrs.: Unknown. Old George: George F. Whitfield, Captain Co. C, 27th Infantry. Old Stonewall: Confederate General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson. Old Uncle Poke: Unknown. Old Woman Betsy: Probably Ben Sutton's third wife, Elizabeth. Our Colonel: Confederate Colonel John R. Cook. Page, J J: Cousin of Nancy and William. Parks, John: Henry's brother-in-law, husband of Chloea Miranda. Percy: Unknown. Piney Grove: Piney Grove Church, 2 miles north of Seven Springs. Ransom, Colonel: A Confederate General. Ruffin, Thomas: A Confederate officer. Seymore, John: A Confederate soldier. Sister Rebeckar: Sister to J. J. Page and cousin to Nancy. Sutton, Annie: Wife of Henry's brother, Thomas. Sutton, Aunt Nancy: Unknown. Sutton, Benjamin: Henry's father. Sutton, Ivy: Samuel Ivey (S. I.) Sutton. Sutton, Mrs.: Nancy Sutton. Sutton, S. I.: Samuel Ivey Sutton. Sutton, Thomas: Henry's third oldest brother. Swinson, Miss Sarah: Unknown. Thomas: Thomas Hardy Sutton, oldest son of Henry and Nancy. Thomas: Thomas Sutton, Henry's third oldest brother. Union Mills: A post office in Jones County. Unke John: John Ivey. Uzzle, Winnie: Unknown. Wardsworth, Mr.: Unknown. Whitfield, G. F.: Colonel George F. Whitfield, 27th Infantry Reg. William: William Cotton, Nancy's brother. Wm. B. C.: William B. Cotton, Nancy's brother. Wooten, John P.: Lt. John Pugh Wooten, Co. C, 27th Infantry. Zenobith: Zenobia, daughter of Nancy and Daniel Hines.