Wayne County, NC - Heritage Series Reprinted with permission of the Mt. Olive Tribune and cannot be reproduced without permission. The Hooks-Faison Place "Our Heritage" By Claude Moore Four miles east of Faison is still standing the old home of the Hooks & Faison families in the ante-bellum glory of its past. It was originally built prior to 1830 by the Honorable Charles Hooks, a member of Congress. Later, it was remodeled by William Wright Faison (1810-1861) & much later restored by the late Nick Kalmar & is now owned by his widow, Claire Kalmar of Wilmington. This plantation was part of a large survey granted to William Taylor & in 1770 Thomas Hooks of Bertie County purchased part of this tract & received a land grant himself. Thomas Hooks married twice & had nine children. Among these children was a daughter, Mary (called Polly) who married Captain Ezekiel Slocumb & lived on a plantation called Pleasant Green on Brooks Swamp north of Mount Olive. It was she who made the ride to Moore's Creek Bridge on the night of the battle on February 27, 1776. On February 27, 1976, we commemorated this ride at Mount Olive College in connection with the Bicentennial of the American Revolution. Some of Mary Slocumb's descendants were present. Ezekiel & Mary Slocomb were originally buried at their plantation, but in 1927 they were reintered at the Moore's Creek Battleground. Charles Hooks (1768-1843), a son of Thomas Hooks married (1) Betsey Williams (2) Kitty Dickson (3) Ann Hunter & he settled at the Hooks-Faison place. He served in the legislature & for four terms in the U. S. Congress. He had 10 children. In 1826 he moved along with other Duplin families to Montgomery, Alabama. A few weeks ago a descendant, Molton Williams & wife of Birmingham, Alabama, came to see me & we visited a number of sites associated with his forebears. William Wright Faison bought the Hooks plantation & completly rebuilt the house. The drawing accompanying this article is taken from a sketch of the house before present owners remodeled it & added the impressive portico. Faison had married Elizabeth Ann Oates of Faison, a daughter of John Oates (1775-1826) & Susan Cogdell Oates (1786-1861). They had the following children: Mrs. Susan Almira Lanier who lived in Mount Olive; Mrs. Cordelia Ann Pearsall who lived in Mount Olive; Mrs. Augusta Brown who lived in Florida; Mrs. Frances Faison Fryar of Faison; Mrs. Sarah Faison of Faison; Laura Faison Thomson (1848-1916), the wife of Willis Thomson, C.S.A. & they were the grand parents of J. Faison Thomson, Jr. of Goldsboro; Dr. Julian Faison of Bennetsville, S. C.; Wentworth Peirce Faison of Faison; Lilia Faison died young; & Eloise May Faison (1856-1897) who married Thomas Perrett & lived in Faison & they were the grandpharents of Mrs. Betty Ray McCain of Wilson & Dr. Horace Ray of Warsaw. William Wright Faison owned much land & many servants. In 1861, Faison died & after the War Between the States, his wife moved into Faison & in 1877 she was one of the founders of St. Gabriels Episcopal Church. The home was then occupied by her son, Wentworth Faison & his family. The plantation passed out of the Faison family in my lifetime. The late Nick Kalmar & his wife, Claire, remodelled the old house & made it one of the show places of Duplin. On the plantation in the woods is a large slab making the grave of Eliza Jane Hooks (1799-1820), the wife of Lemuel Hatch. In a cemetery near by are the graves of William Wright Faison, his little daughter, Lilias; his mother-in-law, Susan Oates; & others. Much history has transpired on this ancient plantation & on neighboring plantations. ============================================================== 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 Guy Potts ==============================================================