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" 7 Sept. 1984 STALLINGS FAMILY WELL KNOWN IN DUPLIN The STALLINGS family, well known in the annals of the history of Duplin County, had their beginnings with Major Shadrach STALLINGS, who settled on Rockfish Creek during the colonial period. According to the 1790 Census for Duplin, there were eight members of the Shadrach STALLINGS family and he owned six slaves. Meshach STALLINGS listed twelve members of his family and one slave. Shadrach STALLINGS served in the American Revolution and was given land grants in Duplin for his services. He was probably a member of old Wells Chapel Baptist Church which was organized in 1756. He was a prominent political leader and represented Duplin in the State House of Commons for the year 1790, 1792, 1798, and 1801. STALLINGS was one of the promoters of Grove Academy which was chartered in 1785. He married and had the following children: John STALLINGS, who married Ann BRYAN, the daughter of Captain Kedar BRYAN and Ann Dickson BRYAN; Mary STALLINGS, who married Thomas WELLS; Jane STALLINGS, who married Joseph GILLESPIE; Martha STALLINGS, who married Joseph BRICE; Elizabeth STALLINGS, who married Timothy NEWKIRK; Winnifred Ann STALLINGS; Emily STALLINGS; and William STALLINGS, who lived near Concord Baptist Church. Meshach STALLINGS was a hatter, a merchant, and operated a water mill on Rockfish Creek. He married and had the following eight children: Shadrach STALLINGS; Hugh STALLINGS; Wiley STALLINGS, who married Susanna MURPHY; Rhoda STALLINGS, who married John BUXTON; Winnifred STALLINGS, who married a Mr. BONEY; Alice STALLINGS; Clary STALLINGS, and the Rev. Hiram STALLINGS, who married Mary SANDLIN and served several of the older Baptist churches in Duplin. The Rev. Hiram STALLINGS had several children among whom was the Rev. John Nicholas STALLINGS, D.D.; who was born in 1832 at Hallsville where his father was pastor. The Rev. John Nicholas STALLINGS attended Grove Academy and later the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he graduated. He studied law and settled down in Kenansville to practice in 1857. He served as solicitor in the state courts. In 1860, STALLINGS was ordained as a Baptist minister but he continued to practice law. At the close of the War Between the States, he organized a local police organization to help keep order and put down any trouble that might arise from the freedom of the slaves. He was a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1875. He also taught school for many years at Warsaw, Magnolia, and at the Clinton Female Institute. During his busy life as lawyer, minister and teacher, he found time to establish the Clinton Caucasian, a newspaper which was later edited by the Hon. Marion BUTLER. He gave up the practice of law in 1886, and became President of Thomasville Female College in Thomasville. Rutherford College conferred a doctor of divinity degree on Mr. STALLINGS in 1889. For eighteen years, he was moderator of the South Yadkin Baptist Association. He organized several churches in piedmont North Carolina. Stallings Memorial Baptist Church in Salisbury is named for him. Dr. STALLINGS was married in 1858 to Elizabeth HOUSTON of Duplin and they had the following children: Catherine STALLINGS, who married T.N. WOODRUFF; Mary STALLINGS; Annie STALLINGS, who married D.A. GRAY of Little Rock, Ark.; Irene STALLINGS, who married Dr. W.A. LAMBETH of the University of Virginia; William H. STALLINGS; John Nicholas STALLINGS, Jr.; who married Bessie LYTTON; Eugene STALLINGS; Dr. Robert E. STALLINGS, who married 1)Eva JONES and 2)Sadie KREIDER; and Elizabeth STALLINGS, who taught at the University of Virginia. Dr. STALLINGS died on February 2, 1913. Reference: A.T. OUTLAW and Faison W. MCGOWEN. ============================================================== 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 ==============================================================