Wayne County, NC - Old Southern Plantations OLD SOUTHERN PLANTATIONS FARMERS OF WAYNE AND GREENE [& LENOIR] By C.S. Wooten, LaGrange, NC, June 7, 1902 Charlotte Observer, June 22, 1902 Elegant Types of Gentlemen Who Dispensed (Genuine) Southern Hospitality - Mr. Wooten Again Reverts to the Ante-Bellum Dinners - An Egg-Eating Match - An Article Reminiscent of the Good Old Days - Personal Recollections of Men Prominent in the history of the Eastern Section of the State. To the Editor of the Observer: I had thought when I wrote my last article on the old plantations, that I would write no more on this subject but several gentlemen from Wayne and Greene counties suggested that I write something of the big farmers of those counties. As I live in the county adjoining these two I am familiar with the history of their people. Wayne County, before the war, had a number of large slave holders. I have already written of those who lived just across the line from Lenoir County, so I will speak of those who lived around Goldsboro and on the south side of Neuse River. Wayne County Col. G.W. Collier's farm was just across the river from Goldsboro, and was the best farm in the county. It contained a large number of acres of bottom land which was very fertile and produced excellent crops of cotton and corn. He had a large number of Negroes. He was a large man, weighing about 200 pounds and was a typical Southern aristocrat. He was rather reserved in his manner, but with his friends, he was genial and social, refined and cultured, and possessed every quality that the old- time ante-bellum gentleman was distinguished for. Near his were the farms of John and Daniel H. Everett, W.C. Cobb, who married Col. Collier's sister, William Carraway and Samuel Smith. Before Goldsboro was established as a town, these gentlemen built houses for their families on the sand hills south of Neuse River about 6 miles south of Goldsboro, and named the place Everettsville. They had a good school for the education of their children and being kind- hearted and charitable, as all Southern gentlemen of the old school were, they allowed their poor neighbors to send their children free of tuition. John Everett and Samuel Smith built a Presbyterian church in the village, being the first church of that denomination in Wayne County. These planters' farms were on the river while their families lived on the upland where they were healthy, and being in the same village it was almost like one family. Where could you find more happiness than in a state line this? Most of them were Whigs in politics but they never aspired in any office. Years before the war the wealth and intelligence of the South belonged to the Whig party, and in social circles of the first class, it was considered a disgrace to be a Democrat. It is a significant fact that the largest slaveholders of the South did not desire war, for every species of property is always a coward in war. It is the man who has nothing that wants revolution. During the war gold being timid sought refuge in the vaults of the bankers while the green-back being braver went to the front with the soldier and remained there. On one occasion Col. Collier, D.H. Everett and William Carraway went to Dudley, a little depot on the Wilmington & Weldon Railroad a few miles from their homes. It was in the winter and soon after arriving it began to rain, so they told the merchant to go to cooking eggs and it was agreed that the one who ate the fewer eggs should pay for what they all eat. The merchant began boiling eggs, they commenced eating and when they finished the meal this was the result. D.H. Everett had eaten 48 boiled eggs, Col. Collier 32 and Carraway 27, so Carraway had to pay the bill. That night Carraway was taken sick and sent for a doctor and when he came he asked him if he had heard from Everett and he said he had not. Carraway said "I want you to hasten to his house, for I expect he is dead, as he ate twice as many eggs as I did." The doctor went to Everett's house, but found him all right. I heard D.B. Everett relate an incident that happened in Goldsboro soon after Sherman's army devastated that county. He said when Sherman came through he had barns full of corn, a smoke house full of meat and a lot full of mules and horses and indeed everything that was necessary for the comfort of man. When Sherman came he took everything and he said that was the first time in his life that he ever realized that he wanted anything, for he had always lived in abundance and luxury and when he saw everything destroyed he felt sad and did not feel like he would ever want to laugh again. For some time afterwards he went to Goldsboro in this state of melancholy, and he and several gentlemen were sitting in the plaza of the hotel relating in plain-like tones their experiences, when Col. J.J. Baker came up smiling, as he always did, and said "Gentlemen you ought not to abuse Sherman, for he is the greatest business man who was ever through this country. I have been trying for 20 years to settle up my business and I could not do it, but Sherman did it in five minutes and he has settled the business of all of you." Everett said he smiled, which was the first time since the army passed through. Col. Baker was jovial, full of wit and humor and was the life of every crowd he was in. I never saw him when he looked dispirited or cast down, and he was a noble, kind and good man. When the Yankees took Goldsboro they arrested Col. Baker and Col. Moses and put them in jail. I heard Col. Baker relate his imprisonment. He said they took him and placed him on a blanket and four men got to the corners and by a concerted movement they sent him up several feet and he said he was up so high he could see all over the court house. It was amusing to hear him tell about it in his humorous way. He had a red face and had the appearance of a drinking man, while he was a very sober one. He was in South Carolina and a man asked him to take a drink and he said "I don't drink" and the man said "You ought to take in your sign." Col. Moses was one of the best militia officers of the State during the war, and was a great favorite with Gen. Vance. The Governor ordered him to call out the militia and when he had done so he telegrammed Vance, "I am ready" and Vance replied "Fire." He was a brave man and an efficient officer, prompt in the discharge of every duty. It makes me sad and when I sit down to write about these noble men and the pleasant hours I have spent with them and then think that they are all gone. In giving an account of the number of eggs the gentlemen above eat, I don't mean to cast any reflection upon them, for I knew them well and admired them for their sterling worth. I am almost afraid to relate the number of plates of ice cream I ate on one occasion, lest your readers might not believe it, but here where they have seen me eat nobody doubts it. It was about 1881 or 1882. Dr. Blacknall was keeping the Atlantic Hotel at Morehead City. His daughter was married and he prepared an elegant wedding supper for her guests. About 10 o'clock at night, his little son came to me and told me his father said to go into the dining room and get some supper. As I had eaten a hearty supper, I told him I did not want any as I was not hungry. Soon his father came and insisted that I should go into the feast. I went and took a plate of ice cream, stepped back from the table and commenced eating the cream. As soon as I had emptied the plate my cousin, Major Willie H. Forte, of Wayne County, a handsome widower and my excellent friend, H.F. Grainger, now dead, brought me another plate. I declined it, but they insisted on my taking it, so to gratify them I ate it. I saw them standing together watching me eat and smiling. I at once surmised that they desired to see how much cream I would eat, so I thought I would gratify them. They kept me well supplied with a full plate of cream and relieved me of the empty one, so I had nothing to do but eat. They were the two best waiters that I ever had to attend to me. Now, reader, when I tell you that I ate thirteen plates and for fear it might make me sick I drank a bottle of champagne. You have my permission to laugh at my expense. Mr. Grainger came to me and said "I never saw the like before, if I could eat what you have eaten and it did not kill me I would give a million of dollars." I never felt any more inconvenience than if I had only drank a glass of ice water. I would not have related this little episode in my life if Governor Aycock had not the other day in a speech here told the people that I ate two dishes of chicken pie three feet long, and the editor of The Observer has already given me the title of an epicurean. When in Raleigh a few days ago Judge Douglas told me he wanted me to quit writing about these good country dinners I have eaten as it made him hungry and it worried him to think he could not get any of them. Judge Connor, Governor Jarvis and Major Wylie B. Forte were sitting at the Yarboro dinner table and they read one of my articles and Conner said it made him hungry. Now if these gentlemen will just come down to my house I will take them down in Huckleberry an let some of these good women in that section prepare a dinner for them, and I will bet they will say they never saw the like. In speaking of the election of Lincoln he said it would be a disgrace for the South to submit to him. He declared "I am no fire-eater but I can swallow hot coals of fire as likely as I can disgrace." After the war he went to Baltimore and during the Seymour and Blair campaign of 1868, he made a speech and brought down the house by declaring that he came from a section of the country that had been devastated by both armies that he had been robbed of every vestige of property but he thanked God that there were two things of which they did not rob him - one was his duty and the other his Democracy. He was a small man, red-headed, freckled-faced and very ugly. He was in 1860 the best stump speaker in the State. He was fluent in speech, graceful, eloquent, witty, humorous and a fine orator. Col. Thos. Ruffin said while in Congress that he heard no man there who was his superior as an orator. The Thompson family was a large and influential family in Wayne County and there are today numerous descendents, who are among the best people in the county. William K. Lane was one of the most influential men in the county in his day. His plantation was on the south of Goldsboro and extended to Neuse River, embracing a fine body of land. Col. Lane was a fine politician and did more business for the public than any man in the county. He was a large, portly man, of imposing presence and would have been a splendid type and been ideal as an English nobleman. He was affable and pleasant in his manners, amiable in his disposition, gentle, kind-hearted and hospitable at his home. When as a young lawyer, I went to Goldsboro, and all the older men were disenfranchised. I was put forward as a candidate for the Legislature in 1868 under the reconstruction acts. I made some speeches and he came to me and said "Young man you strike a mild, conservative speech. Those are the kind to make to win votes." I felt flattered at the remark coming from such a source. He was as kind to me as my own father. Indeed all of these old men I have mentioned were the same way. In 1849 Col. Lane ran for Congress against the celebrated Edward Stanly whom I have already described in another article. Col. Lane, though not such an orator as Stanly, yet by his superb management and skill, reduced Stanly's majority from over 1000 votes to less than fifty. The Democrats got off the following doggerel on the election: "W.K. Lane, the farmer of Wayne, Is beaten by Stanly, and that is a shame. They counted the votes by counties of seven And Stanly beat Lane by forty-seven." I have heard the older men say that Lane was really elected, but owing to some mistake in the county Stanly was given the certificate. But anyhow it was a great victory for Col. Lane to have reduced Stanly's majority to only 47, when it was considered that Stanly was the best stump speaker and orator in North Carolina. Lane was a strong speaker before the masses and while not an orator like Stanly, he captured the people by his plain, practical, common manners. There was a gracious heartiness about the way in which he grasped your hand that drew people to him. Col. Lane had the fine physique, the suavity of manner, the great business common sense to have made a great Governor. Of all the men I have mentioned I think John Everett and Sammie Smith were the best types of the contented farmer that I ever saw. Everett married Smith's sister. They had fine tracts of land, and a large number of Negroes and cared nothing for office, and while they had their carriages and their families moved in good style, they did not worry themselves like some did in trying to keep ahead of the procession. That is the sensible course to pursue. In the southern portion of Wayne County near the Duplin county line was Benjamin Oliver who was a large land owner and slaveholder. He was a great Baptist and was a leader in his denomination and was distinguished for his fine business qualifications and for his integrity and sterling Christian character. North of Goldsboro in the Fremont section were John Coly, William Lewis, Dred Sauls, John Exum, Gabriel Sherard and the Thompson families and William H.F. Forte. When I was a boy these were what they called "big folks." The Exum family was noted for its beautiful women and fine looking men. I never saw an ugly Exum. There was a dash about the men and piquancy and a charm about the women that in their younger days made them irresistible. John Exum, the father, was elected eight times to the Senate from Wayne County. W.H.F. Forte married my mother's sister. He represented Wayne County in the Legislature in 1831. He leaves one son, Major Wyle B. Forte, who is among the large land owners in Wayne County, and owns the land that his father owned, which has been in the Forte family ever since it was granted by the British crown. Greene County Come with me now into Greene County, just across the line from Wayne, about 16 miles west of Snow Hill on the south side of Contentnea creek and take a look at the Edmundson neighborhood. I will now describe a post-bellum scene for I have been writing about ante-bellum times. The land in this section is an elevated plateau and its original growth was long-leaf pine, hickory, dogwood and oak. It has a clay subsoil naturally drained and with a little manure is the best faming land in the State. In this favored spot live the Edmundson family. There were two brothers William H. and Haywood Edmunson and in the same neighborhood were Isaac, William and Robert Taylor, who married sisters of the Edmunsons, and Robert W. Bryant, who was their nephew. This Bryant family is related to your bright correspondent, Mr. H.E.C. Bryant. These same families all live within a mile of each other. They had a brother Rufus Edmundson, who lived in Goldsboro. In the early 70s this latter gentleman would come to LaGrange and I would meet him with a buggy, and we would go about 10 miles to Mr. A.D. Speight's house. He was a bachelor and kept a fine pack of hounds. We would take him and his stock of hounds and go to W.H. Edmunson's, a distance of almost 10 miles, and during the Christmas holidays we would have fine sport hunting the fox. While we made out headquarters at W.H. Edmundson's, yet we did not stay there all the time, but we went from house to house, and enjoyed the good eating and drinking that was on every hand. Now all of these gentlemen kept on their sideboards fine old country apple brandy and old Kentucky rye whiskey known as the Keller brand. After feasting for days on their rich brands, it was necessary to have something to sharpen our appetites, which had become dull from over-indulgence in the fat turkeys, the old hams, the sausage and the best of all the hog feet, and the mince pies, fruit cakes and syllabub. But I must stop for like Judges Connor and Douglas I am getting hungry and I have not a single drop to sharpen my appetite for my frugal meal of beans, potatoes and bacon, but nevertheless, I shall enjoy them for a kind Providence has blessed me with a good appetite, fine digestive organs and a sound body. I never had a symptom of dyspepsia, or indigestion in my life. It is not 11 o'clock and Eliza, my daughter, has just bid me good bye to go to LaGrange to attend a dance tonight, so I am left alone. As Webster said the "past at least is secure." I know not what the future has in store for me in this life, but I have had a good time. Now, kind reader, I have interspersed this article with a little foolishness, but as Lincoln said before the war commenced, "nobody is hurt." I cannot conceive of a community that was happier or more favored than was this neighborhood of the Edmundsons in 1870. The people were all related by blood or marriage, were refined, kind, hospitable and good, with an abundance of this world's goods to render them comfortable. There was no bickering or jarring among them but they all lived like on big family in peace, contentment and plenty. But they have all passed over the river and gone in that community now and miss their happy faces and cordial greetings make me sad. On the north side of Contentnea creek just opposite the Edmundson community was the Speight neighborhood. The Speight family was a talented and influential family. It has furnished Governors, Senators, Congressmen and legislators. They were natural born politicians. Jesse Speight was a member of Congress from this State and then went to Mississippi and became United States Senator. My father told me that while he was in Congress Gen. Jackson said he was the finest looking man he ever saw. He was as a good stump speaker and a great hand to electioneer among the people. There was a fellow by the name of Tartt Eason, who lived with the Speight’s. He was bright and witty, but would not work, so the Speight’s being wealthy kept him up. When Gen. Speight would start on his campaign he would take Eason along with him. Eason's part of the program when he arrived at the public place, was to get into a dispute with some poor man, and have a fight. Then Speight would come up and take the part of the poor man and abuse Eason for imposing upon him. He would think Speight was his protector and of course would vote for him as the champion of the poor man. Oh, the tricks of the politician. They are humbugging and fooling the poor people all the time and they can't see it. James Speight, a nephew of Jesse Speight, was Senator for Lenoir and Greene counties for ten years before the war. He married a niece of my father, Maj. Wooten. He was a splendid stump speaker, and I have seen him debate with lawyers on the stump and get the best of the discussion, indeed in those days the best politicians were farmers. His house was a nice place to visit. He always had a special brand of apple brandy made by Col. C.W. Stanton who could make as good brandy as was ever made. Edwin G. Speight, his cousin, was also Senator from Greene and Lenoir counties from 1842-1852. I was a small boy when he was a public man, but I have heard my father say he was a fine speaker and was a natural orator. His second wife was a daughter of Hon. Jake H. Bryan, of Raleigh, and he removed to Alabama where he died a few years ago. Abner Speight, a cousin of the above, was a large farmer, was a noble man and as good a citizen as the State ever had. He had two boys killed in the army, both bright, gallant young men. I have sometimes thought, suppose the South had not been checked in her onward march of prosperity and greatness what would we have been today. I have also thought that the gallant men, the flower of Southern chivalry that were sacrificed in that unhappy struggle were in vain, but I reckon not, for they by their gallantry and valor, have shed unfading justice upon Southern arms and have given her a name that will never be surpassed in the annals of mankind. Lenoir County A few words about a few men in Lenoir County and I am done. Stroud H. Carraway lived 15 miles east of where I live. He was the pioneer in the planting of cotton prior to 1830, when it was first planted to any extent. The first day of May was his time to commence planting. It was thought that the cotton plant would not stand an earlier planting. He was a Christian man, and was a true type of the old-time Southern gentleman, was gentle, kind and benevolent, charitable to the poor and paternal in the treatment of his slaves. His house was in a natural park of oak and other times bordered on one side were fresh, smiling meadows with their mantles of refreshing green and smiling verdure. It is one of the most romantic, lovely and sequestered spots that I know. His son, Capt. W.W. Carraway, lives there now. Before the war my father and uncle heard that Mr. Carraway was dead so they went down to his house to attend the funeral. When they arrived at this house they saw him sitting in the plaza. They said "Why, we heard you were dead, and we have come to your funeral" and he replied "No, instead of a funeral we will have a feast." James M. Parrott, who lived six miles west of Kinston, kept up the old Southern hospitality after the war until his death in 1877. Passengers on the cars will remember after passing Falling Creek, going to Kinston, that there is a large body of black fertile land. He owned several thousand acres of this land, and while he lived it was in a high state of cultivation. He would write me to come down on a certain Saturday evening, and sometimes he would send his Negro boy, Elijah, after me in a buggy. He would have a party of young people from the neighborhood in the parlor, and up the stairs in a room he would take the older men, where anecdotes and stories were told. There lived near him a man by the name of John Brown, who was a droll, luminous, witty fellow and he had him on hand to entertain the crowds with his wit and anecdotes. When he got a few drinks in him and he begun to squirt his tobacco juice between his teeth into the fire, then you might expect to hear something rare and juicy. I have been at Judge Parrott's with Judge Shipp, Warren and Barnes and other judges and lawyers and I have seen his table decorated with over $500 worth of silverware and groaning under the delicious provisions of all kinds, and a bountiful supply of homemade and foreign wines. Judge Shipp was a genial, social man. You were bound to find Judge Warren in the social club equally as jovial, but on the bench he looked more like a judge than any man I ever saw. I heard him pronounce sentence of death on a man. It was the most solemn scene I ever saw and it was between sunset and dark. Candles were brought in to light the room which added to the somberness of the scene. In deep, slow, measured tones of voice, he pronounced the fatal words on the prisoner. It was as solemn as a death-bed scene. I shall write more on some other subjects but this concludes my article of the good old days, so I must bid farewell to these old times. It is painful for me to think that I shall never see again these blessed old days but then this life is full of sad farewells. ______________________________________________________________________ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Guy Potts - egpotts@gmail.com ______________________________________________________________________