Historical Vignettes of Davie County.pdfTo: J.R. Snider, WSJS
From: Jane McAllister, Director of the Davie County Public Library in Mocksville.
Re. Historical Vignettes
March 6, 2013
Peter Stuart Ney (?-1846). A native of France, Ney arrived in Charleston, SC in 1816 and taught
school in Davie, Iredell, and Rowan counties from about 1823 to his death and burial in
Salisbury in 1846. Considered a fine scholar and strict teacher, his students both feared and
revered him. At times, Ney claimed to be Marshal Michel Ney, Napoleon’s “bravest of the
brave.” He possessed precise military knowledge and a bearing that lent credence to his claims,
showed extreme distress at the death of Napoleon’s only son in 1832, and on his deathbed
allegedly confessed to being Marshal Ney. Debate as to his true identity continues today.
Mocksville Academy. On February 12, 1827, the North Carolina General Assembly chartered
the Mocksville Academy. The building, located on Salisbury Street, was built around 1828 by
Thomas McNeely, James F. Martin, William F. Kelly, A.G. Carter, A.R. Jones, and Richmond
Pearson, trustees of the newly chartered school. Peter Stuart Ney taught school at the
academy.
Grave of Peter Stewart Ney. Ney lies buried at Third Creek Presbyterian Church in Rowan
County. His tombstone reads: “In memory of Peter Stewart Ney a native of France and soldier
of the French Revolution under Napoleon Bonaparte who departed this life November 15, 1846
aged 77 years.” (Courtesy of Davidson College Archives.)
J. Hampton Rich (1874-1949). Rich, born July 14, 1874 in the Cana community, founded the
Boone Trail Highway and Memorial Association (1913). To commemorate Daniel Boone, Rich
erected arrowhead-shaped monuments of rocks and concrete typically containing a metal
plaque depicting Boone sitting on a boulder looking westward. Each plaque contained a small
amount of metal from 400 pounds of scrap salvaged from the USS Maine. Rich, dressed in a
coonskin cap and carrying a long rifle, appeared throughout the country promoting the legend
of Daniel Boone; he claimed to have placed over 350 memorial tablets.
Joppa Cemetery. The cemetery, originally known as Burying Ground Ridge, holds the graves of
Daniel Boone’s parents, Squire and Sarah, and his brother, Israel. Israel’s grave predates that of
his father, long thought to have been the oldest in the cemetery. Israel died of tuberculosis in
1756 after having received treatment from the Moravian settlement in Salem. A memorial for
Israel, placed in May 2009, now marks his approximate burial site. An interdenominational
meeting house, Forks of the Yadkin, stood on the site in 1767 when the congregation requested
a minister from the Presbyterian Synod. In 1789, the Presbyterian General Assembly changed
the church name to Joppa, a biblical term meaning beauty. The cemetery name likely changed
at the same time.
Major John Mertz (1853-1938) and Mariah Nail Mertz (1852-1922). Mocksville native Mariah
Elizabeth Nail only stood 36 inches tall and weighed 48 pounds. She traveled throughout the
United States and Europe with the circus as one of the world’s smallest women. She met her
diminutive husband, Major John Mertz, “Major Mite”, while touring. John Mertz, born in
Austria in 1853, had joined the circus at age 21. The couple traveled with the Barnum Circus,
Adam Forepaugh, and John Robinson Shows. They retired from the circus in 1911 and lived in
Salisbury until their deaths.
Marriage of Mariah Nail and John Mertz. Nail, a native of Mocksville, married Mertz in
Louisville, Kentucky on August 16, 1883. After traveling for many years with the circus, Mertz
reportedly asked Nail if she would like to become engaged and travel together. The clerk of
court asked the couple if they were old enough to get married, due to their small size, when
they applied for their marriage license. Their marriage occurred on stage at the Buckingham
Theatre before a large number of spectators. At 9:00 the curtain rose, disclosing a stage set in
the style of a fashionable drawing room. The couple stood under a large floral bell suspended
from the proscenium. The orchestra played a lively march. Julia Walcott and the San Francisco
Quartet sang “Marriage Bells.” The bride wore a dress of white satin with a long white veil
interwoven with orange blossoms, fourteen button white kid gloves, and satin slippers in a
child’s size six. The couple spent their honeymoon in Louisville.
Charles “Red” Sells (1894-1942). Cicero W. Sell, living in Cooleemee, lured by the smell of
grease paint and the roar of the crowds, ran away and joined the Sparks Circus. He became the
world famous clown Charles W. “Red” Sells. Sells later worked for the Ringling Brothers Circus,
Sells-Floto Circus, and the Hagenbeck-Wallace circus. His act included a trained dog, pigs, and a
goose that pulled his goose mobile. (Courtesy of the Salisbury Post.)
Thomas Edward “Bunn” Seats (1910-1992). Seats, a native of Farmington, pitched in the major
leagues for both the Detroit Tigers (1940) and the Brooklyn Dodgers (1945). He made his major
league debut in 1940 against the Philadelphia Athletics at Shibe Park. Career totals for 57
games include two shutouts. (Courtesy of Charles “Muggs” Smith.)
Four Vagabonds. A few Mocksville residents witnessed the brief stop of several august visitors
to town on August 29, 1918. Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and Harvey Firestone pulled into the
square and asked for a drink of water, which residents obtained from the well. The men passed
through Mocksville and Winston-Salem on their way to Virginia. Upon arrival in Winston-Salem,
city fathers hosted a luncheon for the visitors at the Forsyth Country Club, shown here. Pictured
are (left to right) James G. Hanes, Henry Dwire, B. S. Womble, Harvey Firestone Sr., A. H. Eller,
Thomas Edison, Frank Dunklee, John Gilmer, Henry Ford, B. F. Huntley, unidentified, P. H.
Hanes, Ray Johnson, Powell Gilmer, Harvey Firestone Jr., Will Watkins, Norman Stockton,
unidentified. The fourth vagabond, naturalist John Burroughs, departed by train from Asheville
the day before this visit. For several years around 1920, the four men participated in lengthy
motor camping excursions, earning their nickname of the four vagabonds. (Courtesy of Forsyth
County Public Library Photograph Collection.)
Special Air Mail Delivery. To mark the twentieth anniversary of scheduled air mail service in the
U.S., President Roosevelt declared the week of May 15, 1938 National Air Mail Week. On
Thursday, May 19 over 1,700 special one-day-only flights occurred to carry special air mail
“covers” (envelopes). One such flight picked up and delivered air mail at the George Feezor
farm across from the Davie County High School site. Given the short landing field, the pilot had
to come in at an angle to make the landing. Thirteen -year-old Hugh Larew rode his bicycle
down to see the plane land and collected his first day cover to add to his stamp collection.
Postmaster John P. LeGrand reported that 80 letters traveled from Mocksville on this first-ever
mail plane. (Courtesy of Hugh S. Larew.)