Wayne County, NC - Heritage Series Reprinted with permission of the Mount Olive Tribune and cannot be reproduced without permission. Transcribed by Sloan Mason. "Our Heritage" by Claude Moore. Mt. Olive Tribune, Goldsboro, N.C. THE DUPLIN COURTHOUSE There has been much interest lately in the history of the first Duplin Courthouse (1750-1784) and the exact location, and more especially since the Duplin and Sampson Historical Societies have plans for marking this site. I well remember the old courthouse building, which stood at the intersection of the New Bern Road and the Wilmington-Hillsboro road, but even then (some 70 years ago) the local people reminded us that it had been moved a few hundred yards from the original location. The land on which the courthouse was built was purchased from Joseph WILLIAMS and was located near Turkey Creek. In 1750, the area was very sparsely settled, but land grants were soon made to settlers who came from Virginia and from the counties around the Roanoke and Tar Rivers. Thomas KENAN, Sr. received several land grants near the courthouse and built a house nearby. Thomas KENAN, Sr. married Elizabeth JOHNSTON, the sister of Gov. Gabriel JOHNSTON. His brother, Felix KENAN, the first sheriff of Duplin, lived nearby. James KENAN (later Lt. Col. Or Brig. General) son of Thomas KENAN, married Sarah LOVE and received many land grants in Duplin. West of the courthouse on the south side of Turkey Creek, land grants were made to Thomas HICKS, Daniel HICKS, Joseph HERRING, and James FAISON. Between the courthouse and Buckhall Branch land grants were made to Joseph WILLIAMS, Capt. James THOMPSON, David THOMSON, William POLLOCK, William THOMAS, James KENAN, Daniel WILLIAMS, Robert HICKS, John ATKINSON, Henry HOLLINGSWORTH, Thomas WATKINS, David WATKINS, Stephan BOONE (1779). Buckhall Branch flows into Stewart's Creek, which rises in Warsaw and flows into Six Runs, south of Turkey. West of the courthouse on the north side of Turkey Creek, land grants were made to Henry Eustace MUCCULLOH, Daniel LOVE, James KENAN; James LOVE (married Jane KENAN and later she married George MORISEY), Thomas ROUSE. Ten Mile Swamp and the Thomson Mill Branch parallel Turkey Creek and flow into Six Runs. Land grants on the latter were made to Andrew THOMSON (1753), David THOMSON, Joseph SCOTT, George BELL, Archibald BELL, Samuel STANFORD (Presbyterian Minister and soldier of the American Revolution) Orson BELL, Benjamin BLOUNT, David CLARK, George CLARK, Alexander MCCULLOH, Felix KENAN, William GUY, and Jesse JERNIGAN. On the east side of Turkey Creek and north of the courthouse to which is now Warsaw, land grants were made to: Michael JOHNSTON, Thomas KENAN, John TORRANS, Daniel WILLIAMS, William NERTON (1778), Rawley MILLS, Robert WILKINSON, William DICKSON and Christopher BIRCH (1766). During the American Revolution, Gen. Charles CORNWALLIS, enroute from Wilmington to Virginia, spent one night at the home of Capt. David DODD, west of the courthouse on the New Bern Road. This plantation was later sold to James and Jane LOVE, and after she married George MORISEY, it was known as the Morisey Place. The old house, used as a barn during my lifetime, was torn down about 25 years ago and I moved the stairway to my Cabin Museum. ============================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. The electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Sloan Mason ==============================================================