2015 1.pdf Davie Dossier, January 2015 page 1
DAVIE DOSSIER
Issued by
Davie County Historical and Genealogical Society
Mocksville, North Carolina
January 2015, Issue 1
Davie County, 1915
Davie Dossier, January 2015 page 2
DAVIE COUNTY HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY
President, Linda Leonard
Vice President, Pat Mason
Secretary, Pat Reilly
Treasurer, Marie Roth
Board of Directors, Claude Horn
Dossier Editor, Marie Roth
Webmaster, Marie Roth
Our Website, www.rootsweb.ancestry.com.com/~ncdavhgs has these features:
All the churches in Davie County
Cemeteries in Davie County with locations
Names on the War Memorial in Mocksville
Index to Bible Family Records at DCPL
Order blanks so you don’t tear up Dossier
History of nine newspapers in Davie County
Meeting Dates and Programs
Guardian Accounts, Davie Co., 1846 -1859
Apprentice Bonds, Davie Co., 1829-1959
1974 booklet about old schools in Davie
Branson’s NC Business Directories for Davie Co.
Sources for black family history
Another Website about Davie County genealogy and history:
http://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Davie_County%2C_North_Carolina
Meetings are on the fourth Thursdays at 7 pm at Davie County Library History Room.
DCHGS PROGRAMS IN 2015:
Jan. 22: Alvin Howard, artist of Davie County scenes
Feb. 26: Mike Cevasco, Civil War Medicine
March 26: Jimmy Myers, Cemetery Laws in North Carolina
April 23
May 21
June 18
August – Yadkin Valley Historical Association workshop
September 24
October 22
November 19
QUERY:
Trying to find the parents/siblings of Asa Iley Jones, supposedly born Aug. 1849, somewhere in NC. According to the
1880 AL census, A. I. Jones said his Father was born in Jerusalem and in 1900 he said NC. That takes his Father's birth to
Davie or Rowan Co., NC, anywhere from 1790-1832.
Asa ended up in Clarke Co., MS as a Missionary Baptist Preacher. He died in 1903, before Death Certificates were
available. He named his sons Arthur Ola, Joseph Walter, and David Iley. Some family folklore says that they were a
timbering family and when he arrived in MS, he had the financial means to build a huge homestead. I have followed
every Asa Jones in NC forward, but none of them are my Asa Jones. Glad to share info if you are looking for any of
them.
Laurene (Jones) Shewan -Laurene777@yahoo.com
Davie Dossier, January 2015 page 3
ADS AND ARTICLES FROM THE 1915 DAVIE RECORDS
Davie Dossier, January 2015 page 4
As you know, Davie County Public
Library History Room has microfilm
of Davie County newspapers. But
most of these articles in this
newsletter came from the editor’s
searching her subscription to
www.newspapers.com. This is a
huge collection of newspapers. All
of Davie’s papers are included. You
can get a first week for free.
You can browse or you can search
by specific words. You can see
who has clipped articles and read
their comments about why they
saved the article. Some people
mention their relatives and personal
memories about them. You might
find a cousin.
Davie Dossier, January 2015 page 5
Davie Dossier, January 2015 page 6
COUNTY DATA – 1915
SCHOOLS
The school superintendent was Rev. Edward P. Bradley. He served for 19 years from July 24, 1909 – June 1928. Source:
page 283 of History of Davie County Schools. Chairman of the School Board was A.W. Ellis. Board Members were S.A.
Woodruff and Peter Hairston.
Schools and Teachers from a booklet “Directory of Schools for Year 1914 -15 Davie County, North Carolina” at Davie
County Public Library History Room:
CALAHALN TOWNSHIP: Attendance Officer: J.L. Cartner, Committee: A.L. Chaffin, N.S. Gaither, L.B.
Walker; White Teachers: Miss Mary Wooten, Mr. J. G. Ferebee, Miss Susan Moore, Miss Duo Smith, Miss Hannah
Atkinson; Colored Teachers: W.O. Ijames, Issie Clement
CLARKSVILLE TOWNSHIP: Attendance Officer: A.W. Eaton, Committee: J.W. Etchison, W.S. Belk, and D.R.
Eaton; White Teachers: Mr. P.H. Nance, Miss Inez Gray, Miss Sophie Meroney, Miss Emma Corl, Mr. S.L. L atham, Mr.
Oscar Driver; Colored Teachers: T.R. Hanes
FARMINGTON TOWNSHIP: Attendance Officer: L.L. Miller; Committee: C.C. Williams, C.L. Bowden, and
J.H. Swing; White Teachers: Miss Daisy Heath, Mr. W.B. Allen, Mr. J.M. Bowden, Miss Delia Crouse, Miss M argaret
McMahan, Mr. T.H. Sharp, Miss Helen Brown, Miss Amy Helms, Miss Mary McMahan, Miss Lola Ward; Colored
Teachers: Maud Willis, J.J. Wells
FULTON TOWNSHIP: Attendance Officer: J.R. Foster; Committee: J.G. Peebles, Jno. N. Wyatt, J.L. Carter;
White Teachers: Miss Ruth Rollins, Mr. C.S. Latham, Miss Margaret Brown, Mr. J.F. Essie, Miss Girls Byerly, Miss
Lelia Martin; Colored Teachers: D.W. Montgomery, Ida Hairston
JERUSALEM TOWNSHIP: Attendance Officer: Q.M. Goodman; Committee: W.A. Beeker, J.A. Mille r, W.K.
Clement; White Teachers: Miss Florence Atkinson, Miss Elveree Barron, Miss Rebecca Rollins, Mr. C.G. Hutchins, Miss
Mary Hudson, Miss Alma Shutt, Miss Mary Barber, Miss Rosa Tatum, Miss Susie Alston, Miss Lottie Ivey, Miss Elsie
Lefler, Mrs. Annie Bost; Colored Teachers: G.R. Williams, B.J. Neely, Hattie Clement
MOCKSVILLE TOWNSHIP: Attendance Officer: W.C.P. Etchison; Committee: J.L. Kurfees, Henry Ratledge,
T.L. Kelly; White Teachers: Miss Tempe Smoot, Miss Mattie Allen, Mr. C.S. Eaton, Miss Geor gie James, Miss Carolyne
Miller; Colored Teachers: none listed
SHADY GROVE TOWNSHIP: Attendance Officer: C.J. Taylor; Committee: J.H. Ratledge, N.W. Potts, W.J.
Jones; White Teachers: Mr. G.B. Wetmore, Miss Grace Grabs, Miss Ella Smith, Miss Mabel Lefler; Miss Sallie
VanEaton, Miss Annie Faircloth, Mr. L.B. Mock, Mrs. A.M. Leonard, Miss M ary Leonard; Colored Teachers: Eva J.
Price
FARMINGTON HIGH SCHOOL: Committee: L.J. Horne, C.A. Hartman; Principal: W.T. Bitzer; no teachers
listed
COOLEEMEE HIGH SCHOOL: Committee: T.V. Terrell, J.W. Zachary, J.P. Curlee; Principal: J.L. Yandell; no
teachers listed.
MOCKSVILLE GRADED SCHOOL: Committee: O.L. Williams, R.B. Sanford, J.W. Rodwell, L.G. Horne, J.L.
Sheek; Superintendent: H.H. McGeown [for a few years, there were two school districts in Davie County]; White
Teachers: Miss Mary Highman, Miss Margaret Bell, Miss Sara Gaither, Miss Linda Clement, Miss Rosa Owen; Colored
Teachers: Thomas Holman, Esther Gaither
GOVERNMENT
President of the United States Woodrow Wilson, Democrat
Governor of North Carolina: Locke Craig, Democrat
State Representative: Thomas J. Hendrix. (History of Davie County, page 385)
Davie County Sheriff: J.H. Sprinkle (See article above.)
Chairman of County Commissioners: M.C. Ijames
Register of Deeds: J.S. Daniel
Population in 1917 was 13,394 (The Commercial and Financial Chronicles, Volume 105, Google books)
Tax rate in 1915 was $13.30 out of $1,000.
Davie Dossier, January 2015 page 7
COOLEEMEE IN 1915:
Cooleemee had 332 households.
Erwin Mills #3 operated 269 ½ days that year.
The mill was powered mainly by water but steam and electricity were also generated at 2,000 horsepower.
Cooleemee’s mill produced cloth with its 163 card machines, 47,364 spindles and 1296 looms, making it one of
the largest mills in the South.
Production for 1915 required 6 million pounds of cotton valued at $12 million; t his included nearly all cotton
grown by Davie farmers at the time.
It produced more than nineteen million yards of cloth, three-quarters of which was slated for sale in the “China
market”.
Payroll for the mill for 1915 exceeded $234,000.00, making it, far and away, the largest in Davie County.
It is common to think the mill was all that was happening here but by 1915 , Cooleemee’s Square included a
“Showhouse” (silent movie theater with Mrs. Koontz playing the piano to the script); the J.N. Ledford Co. depar tment
store, M.H. Hoyle’s drug store, a café/meat market, US Post Office, the Bank of Cooleemee, a fraternal meeting hall, Dr.
A.B. Byerly’s office, a barber shop, mill company meeting hall, and a public library. The 18-room Riverside Hotel served
three meals per day in their dining room, served at tables with real silverware, china and starched linen tablecloths and
napkins. Its parlor was adorned with a beautiful crystal chandelier.
-This was submitted by Lynn Rumley, director of museums and mayor of Cooleemee. Zachary House Museum
has been refurbished. Go take a look.
The organization at the left was mentioned often in
these 1915 newspapers.
Definition of Philathea:
An international, interdenominational
organization of Bible classes of young women.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary,
published 1913 by C. & G. Merriam Co.
Philathea is a Greek word meaning “lover of
truth.”
The World Wide Philathea Union was an
international organization for women, with
charters issued to individual churches. Its
platform was based on the following
description:
“Young women at work for young women with
all standing by the Bible and the Bible School.”
The intent of Philatheans was to seek out, to
study, and to live with the truth.
Davie Dossier, January 2015 page 8
The Story Tellers... [Author: Della M. Cumming ca 1943.]
We are the chosen.
My feelings are in each family there is one who seems called to find the ancestors. To put flesh on their bones and make
them live again, to tell the family story and to feel that somehow they know and approve.
To me, doing genealogy is not a cold gathering of facts but, instead, breathing life into all who have gone before. We are
the story tellers of the tribe. All tribes have one. We have been called as it were by our genes.
Those who have gone before cry out to us: Tell our story. So, we do. In finding them, we somehow find ourselves. How
many graves have I stood before now and cried? I have lost count. How many times have I told the ancestors you have a
wonderful family you would be proud of us? How many times have I walked up to a grave and felt somehow there was
love there for me? I cannot say.
It goes beyond just documenting facts. It goes to who am I and why do I do the things I do?
It goes to seeing a cemetery about to be lost forever to weeds and indifference and saying 'I can't let this happen'. The
bones here are bones of my bone and flesh of my flesh.
It goes to doing something about it.
It goes to pride in what our ancestors were able to accomplish. How they contri buted to what we are today.
It goes to respecting their hardships and losses, their never giving in or giving up, their resoluteness to go on and build a
life for their family.
It goes to deep pride that they fought to make and keep us a Nation.
It goes to a deep and immense understanding that they were doing it for us.
That we might be born who we are. That we might remember them.
So we do. With love and caring and scribing each fact of their existence, because we are them and they are us.
So, as a scribe called, I tell the story of my family. It is up to that one called in the next generation to answer the call and
take their place in the long line of family storytellers.
That, is why I do my family genealogy, and that is what calls those young and old to step up and put flesh on the bones.
GRAPHICS INFORMATION FOR PCs
Old, valuable photographs are sometimes scanned in TIFF format. But this produces huge files that are a little
awkward to resize, edit, and use. If you need to change a TIFF file to more useful JPG format, there is a very simple way
to do this. Right click on the image, select Open With Paint. Then click File, Save As, and choose JPG. The new file will
be about 10% the size of the TIFF file and your editing program will be happier.
Need a graphics editor that’s free? Try Gimp –
http://getgimp.com/info/get-gimp-free/?pk=6542&c=Getgimp_US_Exact
Davie Dossier, January 2015 page 9
ORDERING BOOKS AND MAPS (Out of state residents don’t pay state tax when ordering.)
Title Author Non-NC NC No. Cost
Davie County. A Brief History, paperback James W. Wall, 128 pages $9.00 $9.39
The Boone Families in Davie County Wall, Howell Boone, Flossie Martin $8.00 $8.31
Davie County Marriages 1836-1900 Nancy K. Murphy $25.00 $26.55
Davie County Marriages 1901-1959 Nancy K. Murphy $25.00 $26.55
Davie County Cemeteries, a 2-volume set D.C. Historical/Gen. Soc. $55.00 $58.88
1850 Federal Census-Davie County Forsyth Genealogical Society $15.00 $15.68
1860 Federal Census-Davie County Nancy K. Murphy and Everette Sain $20.00 $21.16
1870 Federal Census-Davie County Nancy K. Murphy and Everette Sain $20.00 $21.16
Lagle Land Grant $8.00 $8.31
Hughes Historical, 1700's, drawn in 1977 $8.00 $8.31
J.T. Alderman, 1887 $6.00 $6.47
Wilson F. Merrell, 1928 $6.00 $6.47
POSTCARDS OF DAVIE CO. SCENES, (set of 8) $2.50 $2.50
CD of all issues Davie Dossier since 1987 $7.00 $7.39
TOTAL NUMBER AND COST
Davie County Heritage Book, non-NC resident cost is $45; NC resident cost is $48.10.
Make check to Davie County Heritage Book. Use DCHGS address below.
The Historic Architecture of Davie Co., non-NC resident cost is $30; NC resident cost is $31.94.
History of Davie County, hardback, by James W. Wall, 449 pages; non-NC resident cost is $30; NC resident cost is
$31.94. Make check to Davie County Public Library. Use DCHGS address below .
The Civil War Roster of Davie County by Mary Alice Miller Hasty and Hazel Miller Winfree incorporates
biographical and military service sketches of 1,147 Davie County Civil War veterans. Non -NC resident cost is $60. NC
resident cost is $64.26. Checks should be made out to M & M Books and sent to Mary Alice Hasty, 105 East Brick
Walk Court, Mocksville NC 27028.
Images of America, Davie County by Debra Dotson and Jane McAllister. 128 page book of old photos and
descriptions. Order from Jane McAllister, DCPL, 371 N. Main St., Mocksville NC 27028. Make check to Jane
McAllister. Non-NC resident cost is $26.99. NC resident cost is $28.69.
History of Davie County Schools, 318 pages, by Marie Benge Craig Roth has photos, locations, longitude/latitude,
names of students, and teachers. There is an 18 page index of 3,222 names. A chronology describes the evolution of the
school system in Davie. Make check to Marie Roth for $40.26 for non-residents and $43 for NC resident. Order: 27 6
Park Ave., Mocksville NC
Davie County in World War One by Marie Benge Craig Roth has 670 biographies of Davie men and women who
served, photographs, old letters, description of military bases, and extensive index. 400 pages. Make check to Marie
Roth for $42.47 for non-residents and $45 for NC resident. Order: 276 Park Ave., Mocksville NC 27028 .
Davie County Veterans’ Memorial, by Marie Benge Craig Roth has lists of all war deaths and biographies and photos
of WW2, Korean, Vietnam, and Beirut Bombing deaths. Tom Ferebee’s 32 minute talk at the dedication in 1987 is
included. $31.23 for non-resident and $33 for NC resident. Order: 276 Park Ave., Mocksville NC 27028.
NEW: Remembering Davie County Protection and Service Personnel by Marie Benge Craig Roth contains
biographies of the five law enforcement personnel who died on duty and also photos and descriptions of the monument
erected in their memory. The monument also honors all first responders in Davie County. Order: 276 Park Ave.; total
cost $17.
Cana Connections, 201 pages, by Betty Etchison West; Life in Cana in the Thirties and Forties and Special People
with Cana Connections. There are many biographies and photos o f people and buildings. Order from Betty West, 3532
NC Hwy. 801 North, Mocksville NC 27028. Make check to Betty West for $35, which includes tax and shipping.
Looking Back at Davie County II by Charles Crenshaw and Ron Smith. $45. Mail orders to Charles Crenshaw, 421
Park Avenue, Mocksville NC 27028
DCHGS, 371 North Main Street, Mocksville NC 27028
You are encouraged to send articles and queries to be published in this next issue.
Send to DCHGSList@gmail.com
Davie Dossier, January 2015 page 10
Davie county historical/genealogical society
371 North Main Street
Mocksville NC 27028
If you would like to receive your Dossier as a PDF attachment in an E-mail instead of a paper copy,
please send an E-mail message to the editor at dchgslist@gmail.com.
Please state “E-mail my Dossier instead of mailing a paper copy” and include your E -mail address. This
saves money, time, postage, effort, and paper.
The number beside your name, above, shows the year for which you last paid $5 dues. Example: if you have a 13 by your
name, you have paid dues through 2013 and owe us for 2014, or $5. 2015 Dues are Due !
MEMBERSHIP for a calendar year is still just $5.00/year. Life Membership is $100 per person.
We are 501(c)(3) and dues are tax deductible.
Below is a registration form for your use; checks, payable to the Society.
DAVIE COUNTY HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY (DCHGS)
Davie County Public Library, 371 Main Street
Mocksville, North Carolina 27028
NAME ________________________________________________________________________
ADDRESS _____________________________________________________________________
E-MAIL ADDRESS ______________________________________________________________
Send my copy by E-mail instead of paper; yes, no