2023 03 Sunset ParkDAVIE DOSSIER
Issued by
Davie County Historical and Genealogical Society
Mocksville,North Carolina
July 2023,Issue 3
Sunset Park
Davie Dossier,July 2023 page 1
DAVIE COUNTY HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY
President,Linda Leonard
Vice President,Marcia Phillips
Secretary,Rachel Nelson
Treasurer,Marie Craig
Dossier Editor,Marie Craig
Webmaster,Marie Craig
Websites for Davie County Research:
Our Website:https://sites.google.com/view/dchgs .
Description of books and maps for sale:https://sites.google.com/view/dchgsbooksmaps
Historical Data to research:http://www.daviecountync.gov/440/Genealogy-Local-History .
FamilySearch Wiki for Davie:
http://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Davie_County%2C_North_Carolina
FamilySearch records for Davie:
https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/results?count=20&placeId=191015&query=%2Bplace%3A%22United%2
0States%2C%20North%20Carolina%2C%20Davie%22
Davie County GenWeb:http://ncgenweb.us/davie/
Davie County Public Library:https://www.daviecountync.gov/1162/Local-History-and-Genealogy
Genealogy data in newspapers,Bibles,Daniel Boone Family info,church history,and Flossie Martin records.
Back issues (1987-2020)and index of the Davie Dossier are online at
https://docs.daviecountync.gov/WebLink/Browse.aspx?id=183042&dbid=1&repo=DavieCounty&cr=1
FindAGrave for Davie County:
https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/search?name=&locationId=county_1680&page=1#cem-2640813
Digital Davie:https://www.digitalnc.org/exhibits/digital-davie/
Cemeteries in Davie:http://cemeterycensus.com/nc/davie/
CONFERENCES
National Genealogical Society:Family History Conference,Virginia:The Deep Roots of a Nation,will be held in
Richmond,Virginia,31 May–3 June 2023,and Online at Home 2-3 June 2023.(NGS has merged with the Federation
of Genealogical Societies.)https://www.ngsgenealogy.org/conferences/
RootsTech:2-4 March 2023,online and at Salt Lake City.https://www.rootstech.org.Archived online.
North Carolina Genealogical Society has webinars on Wednesdays.https://www.ncgenealogy.org/webinars/
Davie Dossier,July 2023 page 2
Sunset Park on Ebay
One source of genealogical and historical information is the website,www.Ebay.com.Recently,this
postcard was for sale for $39.99.I didn’t buy it,but I did take screenshots of the ad.Researching this card is
the theme of this Dossier.I’ll put research techniques in brackets.You might try using this site to find
belongings,photos,or cards of the area or surname you are researching.Several years ago,someone was
selling a Hartman family Bible from this area.
Our society bought it,and it’s now in the history room vault.You can see the scanned pages at
https://docs.daviecountync.gov/WebLink/Browse.aspx?id=195696&dbid=1&repo=DavieCounty.
Click on Hartman,Enoch.
This date was a Monday.[Using Google,type calendar August 1924.]The time of day was about noon.
[Shadows under the horses.]There was a fence with wire.There is an X on the arms of two riders.I wish we knew the
identity of the big building in the distance.Judging by the hats,there are two men and two women in the foreground.
There are many white shirts on the spectators in the bleachers.This is a split second in time 99 years ago.The date on the
card is only three months before the date of the message on the back.There were probably no street lights for evening
events.This is about the time that downtown Mocksville got street lights.
The location is the flat area that is now Wilkesboro Street,near Lambert Funeral Home and Davie Florist.There
was a race track where riders went round and round.Near that same area is now,in 2023,preparation for riders to go
round and round on the traffic circle to smooth out the five streets that intersect there.
Davie Dossier,July 2023 page 3
Wire me right away
if you are going to
ship anything for our
sale Dec.1st.
and oblige
W Raleigh Clement
+marks shows the winners
to George Miller,Rural Retreat,
Va.[Wythe County]
Analysis:
Penny postcard sent 24 Nov 1924 [Monday]at possibly 4:30 PM.Dec 1st was also a Monday,one week later.
Wire me?Was there a telegraph office in Mocksville in 1924?Why didn’t Raleigh wire George?
Google Maps:It’s 113 miles from Rural Retreat to Mocksville.
There is a plus sign on the right arm of the lower left rider and on the left arm of the third person,a woman.
There is a George Stewart Miller from Wythe County on FindAGrave,#73601006.On the 1920,1930,and 1930
US Census he is listed as a farmer.He would have been 52 in 1924.
Photographs of Walter Raleigh Clement from the Mary Heitman collection
Born 23 August 1871,died 6 January 1931;buried in Clement Family Cemetery south of Mocksville.He gave the land
for Sunset Park.He never married and lived with his sister,Julia.[Information from tombstone and US Census]
Davie Dossier,July 2023 page 4
Sunset Park
There are many references in old newspapers about
Sunset Park in Mocksville.The average person today
wouldn’t know where it was.On Wilkesboro Street
heading out of Mocksville,somewhere near the front of
the old Davie County Hospital was a huge park where
the residents enjoyed watching horse races and horse
shows.It was a popular past-time as Mocksvillians bet
against each other,choosing their favorite horse.
I saw a woman planting flowers in her front yard in
that area,and I stopped to ask her if she had any idea she
was in a race track.She looked all around and said,“I
can’t imagine any horses in my yard.”
The August 27,1924,Davie Record,had this
article:“The big Horsetrader ’s Convention held here
Monday was the biggest thing pulled off lately.The
parade was given at 10:30 Monday morning,followed
by a number of races at Sunset Park.The auction sale of
stock took place Monday afternoon.About 300 head of
stock was here from North Carolina,South Carolina,and
Virginia.”
Later,the same area featured a ball field.There are
many articles in the old newspapers (online at the public
library site)that describe ball games of high school
teams and community teams.
The June 27,1923,Davie Record,had this article:
“Advance and Mocksville ball teams staged an
interesting game of ball at Sunset Park Saturday
afternoon.Everything went well until the 9th inning
when a disagreement took place and the game wound up.
When the Advance players quit,the score stood 5 to 4 in
favor of Mocksville,with two men out and two strikes
on the Advance players,and Mocksville due another
inning.We are sorry the boys didn’t finish the game.It
would have been a tight battle between the players.”
Mr.Wall described Sunset Park in his History of
Davie County on page 340:“Horseracing was a popular
activity in the Mocksville area long before the town and
county were formed.In 1845 the Town Minutes refer to
the “old race track.”It was located in front of the Davie
County Hospital and east of the present Meroney and
Gwyn Streets (the old Wilkesboro Road)and included
land on each side of the present Wilkesboro Street
(Highway 64).It became the Old Sunset Park and was a
popular area for horse shows,baseball games,and other
sports activities as late as the mid-1920’s.”
From 1933 to 1942 some of this same area was a
Citizens’Conservation Corps (CCC).Later,there were
homes,and then some of them were removed for
businesses,some of which are now closed.The use of
the land in Mocksville is constantly changing,as it has in
years past.Time marches on,but I wish I could have
been present at a horse race there.
Horse Related Deaths
William Booe March (1819-1897)was the second sheriff in Davie County and was known for his beautiful home,
Marchmont.He also served in the North Carolina House of Representatives and Senate.[He is also my first cousin,four
times removed.]His father was Jacob March (1787-1825).Legend has it that Jacob was involved in a horse race and lost.
He made the comment,“I’ll win a race if it kills me.”So he raced again.His horse threw him against a tree to his death.
from Images of America,Davie County:“Jesse A.Pearson (1776-1823)”
“He died in 1823 from injuries sustained when he was thrown by his horse while returning from a funeral in Salisbury.He
lies buried in the Pearson graveyard in south Davie County.”
Davie Dossier,July 2023 page 5
Family History Reminders:
●You have lots of time to interview relatives while on vacation or at family reunions.
●Take time to label photographs with names,dates,and places.
●Find your genealogy notes and include them in your notes on your software genealogy program.
●Tell your children about family heirlooms in your home and the family history attached to them.
●Upload your data and old family photos to your own tree in FamilySearch.org.
●Help someone begin their family history research.
●Tell your children about your love of family history.
New Book About Davie Sheriffs Finds Other Interesting Articles
In researching my book about the 30 Davie sheriffs,I’ve been reading a lot of old newspapers recently:online at the
library site,microfilm at the library,and my paid subscription to newspapers.com.Here is an image I took of the Davie
Times,1 April 1887,from microfilm.A challenge to you:what is a Mexican pensioner?
The next time you are reading old
newspapers such as this sample,
think about the process of setting
each letter individually by hand.
This would have been done
upside down and backwards as
each letter was selected from the
lead type.
Just this small part has dividers,
italics,quotation marks,different
fonts,spaces,commas,periods,
and all capitals for the writer,
TRIX.
One thing that was consistent
back then:Davie County was
written as Davie county.Same
for Wilkesboro street.
If you think ads on TV are too
personal and embarrassing,you
will get the same feeling reading
the old newspapers.Ads were
mingled in with news articles.
If you think politics can’t get any
worse now,the early 1900s in
Davie had a newspaper for each
political party.Before an
election,they listed only their
party’s nominees.
Davie Dossier,July 2023 page 6
BOOKS,MAPS FOR SALE,postage and tax included;check to DCHGS,371 North Main St.,Mocksville NC 27028
Description of books and maps for Davie:https://sites.google.com/view/dchgsbooksmaps
Title Author Total Cost #Cost
Davie County.A Brief History,paperback James W.Wall,128 pages $6.50
The Boone Families in Davie County Wall,Howell Boone,Flossie Martin $8.00
Davie County Marriages 1836-1900 Nancy K.Murphy $25.00
Davie County Marriages 1901-1959 Nancy K.Murphy $25.00
Davie County Cemeteries,a 2-volume set D.C.Historical/Gen.Soc.$55.00
1850 Federal Census-Davie County Forsyth Genealogical Society $15.00
1860 Federal Census-Davie County Nancy K.Murphy and Everette Sain $20.00
1870 Federal Census-Davie County Nancy K.Murphy and Everette Sain $20.00
POSTCARDS OF DAVIE CO.SCENES,(set of 8)$2.50
Maps:Prices below,postage is $5,mailing tube is $2;example:all 4 maps cost $12
Lagle Land Grant Map,$2
Hughes Historical Map,1700's,drawn in 1977,$1
J.T.Alderman Map,1887,$1
Wilson F.Merrell Map,1928,$1
Davie County Heritage Book,cost is $45;Make check to Davie Co.Heritage Book.Use DCHGS address below.
The Historic Architecture of Davie County,$13;History of Davie County,hardback,by James W.Wall,$13.
Make check to Davie County Public Library.Use DCHGS address below.
Davie County History Books by Marie Craig.Check to Marie Craig,139 Sterling Dr.,Mocksville NC 27028:
.History of Davie County Schools,318 pages,has photos,locations,longitude/latitude,names of students,and teachers.There is an
18 page index of 3,222 names.318 pages.$43
.Davie County in World War One,670 biographies of Davie men and women who served,photographs,old letters,description of
military bases,and extensive index.400 pages.$45
.Davie County Veterans’Memorial,has lists of all war deaths,biographies and photos of WW2,Korean,Vietnam,and Beirut
Bombing deaths.Tom Ferebee’s talk at the dedication in 1987.190 pages.$33.
.Remembering Davie County Protection and Service Personnel,contains biographies of the five law enforcement personnel who
died on duty and also photos and descriptions of the monument erected in their memory.Paperback,14 pages.$17.
.Davie County in the Spanish-American War,contains biographies of the 15 men who served in this war and the resulting war in
the Philippines.65 pages.$20
.Mary Ellen’s Diary,1924,the fictitious diary of a twelve year old girl in 1924 in Mocksville.Included are clippings and
illustrations to verify the events.Paperback.49 pages.$15.
.Composite Index of Davie County History Books.The indexes of 16 Davie County history books are combined.17,000 entries.
Order from:Lulu.com.Search for book title.
.Davie Doctors Born Before 1900,biographies of 79 doctors.Hardback,125 pages,$25.
Looking Back at Davie County II by Charles Crenshaw and Ron Smith.$45.Mail orders to Charles Crenshaw,421 Park Avenue,
Mocksville NC 27028
Davie County Mavericks,Four Men Who Changed History by Marcia Phillips,Daniel Boone,Hinton Helper,Thomas Ferebee,and
Peter Ney in Davie County.$25.Mail orders:Marcia Phillips,189 West Church Street,Mocksville NC 27028.
Historic Shallow Ford in Yadkin Valley,by Marcia Phillips.$30.same address.
Eatons Baptist Church Cemetery in Davie County,North Carolina by Pat Mason.A new book which lists all burials through
June 2020.Dates,obituaries and articles are included.$30.Pat Mason,295 Griffith Rd.,Advance NC 27006.
Davie Dossier,July 2023 page 7
Davie County Historical and 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
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name,you have paid dues through 2021.DUES CAN BE PAID FOR 2023 NOW.
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
Davie Dossier,July 2023 page 8