They've always been with us, those square pegs in a round hole, racially ambivalent folks. Only recently have people been curious as to where they originated, looking into historic records of certain individuals, or those clusters of surnames that would identify them. Census takers didn't know what to make of them. In the early years, people were usually either white or black, and most blacks were enslaved. Indigenous people who lived in tribes, or on reservations, were not even counted. The census takers didn't go there for whatever reason, apparently. Then there were the Wanderers, and like the old song, they roamed Around, around, around, around, around, around.
Census takers placed anyone and everyone, it seems, under one ambiguous letter. The ones that didn't fit in either of the other two categories afforded them, and that was the letter "M", for mulatto. If you were too light to be black and too dark to be white, you became an "M". This also was applied to dark Europeans who were not of the English, German, and Scotch-Irish ilk that populated most of Central North Carolina. One cousin of mine who had always held on to Native American heritage for her olive complexion and coarse jet-black hair came back with a hefty unknown portion of Greek heritage. It also applied to what the term was intended for, free persons of both European and African Heritage. Sometime during my research, I came to the realization that this label had also been applied to roaming Native Americans, seeking work among their Caucasian neighbors, as well as to their children who may have been half, or less part, something else.
Small groups of these folks formed their own tight-knit communities and intermarried within themselves, taking in other square pegs as they found them. They huddled together in the less sought-after landscapes, swamps, high mountain coves, pockets of areas not suitable for the farmland the growing dominate population wanted or cared about. At some point they were discovered but largely left alone. The citizens of the towns and villages that developed on the better grounds had names for them, Red-bones, Melungeon's, Brass Ankles. Some held the names of the Indigenous tribes that were at the center of their origins, despite the fact that many of their indigenous ancestors had married people of European or African ancestry, or both. They were shunned by all communities and slid further away until they no longer could.
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| A Melungeon Family from Newman's Ridge Tennessee |
One word that seemed to travel with all of these little family groups that became known in recent decades as "tri-racial isolates" was the claim of being "Portugee", a slang word for Portuguese, and a little truth may have lie in that claim. They claimed to be descendants of a group of Portuguese sailors that had been stranded long ago on the coastal island and inlets of the Virginia/Carolina coasts by the Spanish, a combination of Moorish and Spanish heritage. Today, folks are finding pride in discovering this unusual and exotic heritage. But just a generation ago and beyond, it was not what they desired to be. They wanted to be accepted to the community, as best as their tan complexions would let them, and anything but black. American society had its hierarchies, and blacks were at the bottom. Before the Civil War, there was more risk to being considered of African descent, even if it was of a small percentage. Stray away from the neighbors that knew you and could defend you, and you could find yourself kidnapped and sold into slavery, despite being freeborn.
In the 1800's, Stanly and Montgomery County, North Carolina had a number of these families that not only passed through the area, but some also took root for several decades.
"Who find the defendant, Harris Melton not guilty of being of negro descent but that he is of Indian (illegible) Portuguese descent but in what degree they cannot say."
Charlotte Melton was the daughter of Joseph Melton Sr. (Abt 1770 - before 1850) and Abigail Bass. She was the granddaughter of Henry Harrison Melton, Sr (1740-1807). and Agnes Sears Melton. She was likely born in Franklin County, North Carolina and arrived in Montgomery/Stanly County with her parents, siblings and two Uncles, James and John Sr., and their families as an infant or small child. As her age is a bit indeterminate, she may have been born in Montgomery County.
Charlotte Melton, sometimes seen as Milton, (the spelling of the name was interchangeable and did not suggest a different family or person), was a woman of European heritage, or in other words, she was white. At least her Melton/Milton heritage was. As there are records of a Bass family who married into the Nansemond tribe of Southern Virginia, it is quite possible that Charlotte, herself, had some Indigenous heritage, although her Melton cousins did not.
The section of Montgomery County that Charlotte and her family lived in became Stanly County in 1841. Charlotte appears first in the August 1841 Term of Court in the new county of Stanly in an Order to the Sheriff to bring in fatherless children to be bound out, as was the practice of the day. "sheriff of this county bring to the next term of this court Eliza, Whitson and Wincy, colored infant children of Tilda Shankle ------Also Robert infant child of Polly Melton and Elbert infant child of Charlotte Melton, also John E. Solomon colored boy now living with Edmond W. Lilly"
The last part of this order was incorrect, as being a Solomon descendant, I followed the life and trail of John E. Solomon (1823 - 1902) and his siblings. He was found in no record, other than this mention, as being anything other than white. He moved to Gold Hill shortly after this order, but not before buying property in Stanly County. He and two of his siblings married children of John Dancy of Iredell County, who was the guardian of his younger brother Jarrett until he came of age. Through the process of elimination and close examination of the three Solomon brothers who arrived in Montgomery/Stanly County from Franklin County, NC, (There's Franklin again), he fits as being a son of Goodwin Solomon by a younger second wife married between the years 1820 and 1830. As another matter of coincidence, Goodwin Solomon was the bondsman for the marriage of Joseph Melton and Abigail Bass in Franklin County. Goodwin, born about 1770, died between 1840 and 1850, but no Will or estate papers exist. John E. Solomon and his wife, Eliza Dancy Solomon, lived on the border of Rowan and Iredell County, near Mooresville. He is buried at the Prospect Presbyterian Church on the border of Rowan and Iredell Counties, a trace of his grandmother's Scottish roots.
More information on Goodwin can be found
here.
Tilda Shankle was a free woman of mixed European and African roots. She had been set free by a minister, who is also thought to be her father. Things were no more moral then than now. Tilda's children were also thought to be of a white father. Her son, Whitson, would fight in the Civil War, of his own accord, move to Cabarrus County and become a leader in the African-American community.
Polly Melton, the mother of Robert, and Charlotte Melton, the mother of Elbert, were not sisters, they were first cousins. Both had children out of wedlock. Mary "Polly" Melton, a daughter of John Melton, Sr., was the mother of white children. But Charlotte's son, Elbert (1825-1915), was not white. Labeled as mulatto, Elbert would be found as an apprentice to another Free Person of Color, William Valentine, and working as a blacksmith in 1850, in the town of Albemarle. Both would move to Gold Hill, in Rowan County by 1860, where Elbert was working as a Carpenter, and had married Ann Valentine, perhaps a relative of William. They would end up in the larger town of Salisbury, where William Valentine would become a beloved barber.
Who could have been the father of Charlotte's children? He was described by those who knew him as an Indian or "Portugee".
| Name | Joseph Melton |
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| Residence Date | 1840 |
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| Home in 1840 (City, County, State) | West Pee Dee River, Montgomery, North Carolina |
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| Free White Persons - Males - 10 thru 14 | 1 |
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| Free White Persons - Males - 15 thru 19 | 1 |
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| Free White Persons - Males - 20 thru 29 | 1 |
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| Free White Persons - Males - 60 thru 69 | 1 |
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| Free White Persons - Females - 30 thru 39 | 1 |
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| Free White Persons - Females - 40 thru 49 | 1 |
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| Free White Persons - Females - 60 thru 69 | 1 |
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| Persons Employed in Agriculture | 2 |
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| No. White Persons over 20 Who Cannot Read and Write | 2 |
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| Free White Persons - Under 20 | 2 |
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| Free White Persons - 20 thru 49 | 3 |
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| Total Free White Persons | 7 |
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| Total All Persons - Free White, Free Colored, Slaves | 7 |
|---|
Above is the census record for Charlotte's father, Joseph Melton Sr. in 1840, Montgomery County, North Carolina, West Pee Dee. The east and west sides of Montgomery were enumerated separately by different men and the counts for each were given. There was also a second Joseph Melton, a Jr., that was Charlottes cousin, son of John Melton, Sr., which showed a young man with a wife and one small daughter under 5 years of age. Joseph Sr. and his wife were in their 60's and would pass away before 1850. There were two younger females than Abigail, on in her 40's and one in her 30's. One of them may have been Charlotte, but where were her children?
James Allen, who was the census taker for West Pee Dee reported, "The number of persons within my Division consisting of 3692 free white persons, 52 free colored persons and 1157 slaves, total 5171, appears of the foregoing schedule subscribed by me this 24 day of October in the year one thousand eight hundred and forty." The east side of the river, having been enumerated by John L. Christian had a total population of 5609. Out of those were 20 free people of color.
This was the year before Charlotte and the other women were called out in court for their children to be brought to court to be bound out. Somewhere in that number was Elbert and the other children of Charlotte Melton. She had more than the one son. There was also Harris.
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| Rowan County Probate Estates Cases 1854-1864 Harris Melton $6.00 |
The Melton family had been in what was Stanly, when it was formed in 1841 for thirty or forty years. Harris, born in 1824, was no doubt born there. They were shopping in Daniel Freeman's Store on both sides of the river. They were being treated by Dr. Kron. By the time Harris was a teen, however, he had been spending his time back and forth between Gold Hill in Rowan County.
In the November 1850 Rowan County Tax List, Archibald Honeycutt reported, under a heading "
the following is a return of free black polls"
James Mosley
John Valentine
Harris Melton
Peter Hosler
John H. Scott
In the 1850 census of Stanly County, Elbert Melton, and several of his relatives, appear to have been living in what would become the town of Albemarle, in a community of skilled workers. Henry H. Melton was a carpenter. Also in his home was his nephew, Robert, who was mentioned in the children to be bound out, also a Carpenter, and Robert's mother, Mary "Polly" Melton, Henry's sister. After them was David Austin, a Shoemaker, followed by the household of William Valentine, 31, a blacksmith, and his apprentice, Elbert Melton, 25, also a blacksmith. They were followed by Daniel Lowder, then next in line was Wiley Hutson or Hudson, and his wife Sarah. This was also a Melton family as Sarah Melton Hutson was mentioned in the estate division of John Melton Sr. She was a sister of Henry and Polly. Next was James R. Melton, 29, a shoemaker, his wife Mary and son Davidson. Following James R. Melton was Davidson Hearne and family, which is significant. James R. Melton named his firstborn for Davidson Hearne. After the death of Joseph Melton, Sr. sometime in the early 1840's, James R. Melton was under 21 and was bonded or apprenticed to Davidson Hearne, who became like a secondary father to the young man. He owed Davidson for his education and strong foundation. James R. was the youngest uncle of Elbert and Harris Melton. Everyone on the above list were noted as White, with the exception of William Valentine, and Elbert Melton. They were counted as Mulatto.
Up the road in Gold Hill, Rowan County, Harris Melton (or Milton) is working as Laborer at the Gold Mining industry in full force there.
| Name | Haris Milton |
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| Gender | Male |
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| Race | White |
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| Residence Age | 26 |
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| Birth Date | abt 1824 |
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| Birthplace | North Carolina |
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| Residence Date | 1850 |
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| Home in 1850 | Gold Hill, Rowan, North Carolina, USA |
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| Occupation | Laborer |
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| Industry | Industry Not Reported |
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| Cannot Read, Write | Yes |
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| Line Number | 23 |
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| Dwelling Number | 102 |
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| Family Number | 105 |
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Household members| Name | Age |
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| Ann Bird | 28 |
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| Haris Milton | 26 |
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Harris, 26 is living in a household headed by Ann Bird, 28. Both are listed a white. This scenario was misleading. Ann Bird, daughter of Henry Bird and wife, Mahala Bell Bird of Stanly County, was not Harris's landlady or employer, she was his wife. What was also problematic, in 1850, was while Ann Bird was of complete European ancestry, Harris Melton, despite having a Caucasian mother, was caught somewhere between the color lines as his father had been a man of some shade of brown, which Charlotte's children had seem to have inherited in varying degrees.
"
State of North Carolina Vs:Supreme Court December Term 1852
This State vs Harris Melton + Ann Bird.
This Case came in to be argued upon the transcript of the is card from the Superior Court of Law of Stanly County. Upon consideration whereof this court is of opinion that there is no sure the records of proceeding of the said Superior Court, therefore it is ......? opinion .....said Superior Court.
E. B Freeman clerk."
Harris and Ann Bird Melton were facing charges for being married to each other.
Witnesses for the defense were:
James Morphis
D W Honeycutt
John Milton
Charles Reeves and
Michael Swicegood.
C. Kluttz executed subpoenas for all except D W. Honeycutt who was not to be found in his county, dated July 25, 1851. This was in Rowan County.
Another list of witnesses for the defense, from Stanly County were:
Aaron Sanders
Josua Hearne
James Boysworth
Jarrett Russell
Fanny Russell
Catherine Kirk
Frances Kirk and
Chalotte Melton
Call to September Term of Cout 1851.
Later, the Kirks and Mrs. Fanny Russell were marked out, and William Solomon was added. This is significant due to the generational connection between the Solomons and the Meltons.
Who were these individuals who testified for the defense, and how did they know Harris and Ann Bird Melton?
Charles Reeves was a young man who worked in the mines of Gold Hill with Harris Melton. In 1850, he was a 22- year -old miner living with his wife, Mary Ann and their one- year- old daughter, Margaret. They were neighbors of Harris and Ann. Later, the Reeves would move to Salisbury, where Charles is working as a buggy maker in 1860. In 1870, he is a Carriage Maker, living in Franklin, just north of Salisbury. He died in 1884 and was buried at the Old Lutheran Cemetery in Franklin. He and his wife Mary Ann Sossamon Reeves, were the parents of 4 children, two, Laura and Ashe, who died young, and two, Mary and Margaret, who grew up to marry and have families of their own.
Charles Reeves testified that the miners considered Harris Melton a white man and that he lived as white man, although noted that he was "a little dusky". It was thought that he "had Indian in him somewhere back, but not known how much."
Michael Swicegood was a Shoemaker who was living in Gold Hill in 1850 with his young wife and infant son. He lived near James Morphis and also, John Valentine. He also lived near John Solmon, who was in the list of fatherless minors who were to be brought by the sheriff to court to be bound out in Stanly County in 1841. John had married Eliza Dancy and moved to Gold Hill by 1850. Michael was a Davidson County transplant who had married Margaret Elizabeth Myers. He died tragically young at 33 years, one month and 11 days on August 5, 1854, leaving a wife and young son, Daniel Lindsey Swicegood. He was returned to Davidson County for burial in Tyro at Sandy Creek Cemetery.
Michael Swicegood had attended the wedding of Harris Melton and Ann Bird. He testified in their favor and thought the Meltons and Valentines to be "Portguee" or "that was how they were called" and were not of African descent. He died shortly after his testimony. His wife and son disappear for a few decades and reappear in Buncombe County in 1870.
David "D. W. " Huneycutt, was a Cabarrus County native and son of James Evin Huneycutt, Sr. and Sarah Barrier.
| Name | David W Honeycutt |
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| Post Office Location | Gold Hill, Rowan, North Carolina |
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| Appointment Date | 30 Oct 1848 |
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| Volume Number | 16 |
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| Volume Year Range | 1844-1856 |
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He was appointed Postmaster of Gold Hill in 1848, at the age of 27.
In 1850, he was living in a group of eight other young men, working as a clerk, in School District Number 43, Rowan County, North Carolina, near Millers, Troutman's and Martin Shoffner, suggesting an area near the Rowan/Davidson and Stanly County lines. There was another interesting group next door to that of him and his brotherhood of young workers, that of the Reed brothers.
William W. Reed, James Milas Reed and John Whitson Reed, ages 20 to 26, were brothers, sons of John Reed (son of David Sr.) and Mary "Polly" Parker. In a place and era where the name Reed was synonymous with goldmining and in nearby Stanly, so was Parker, I wondered what these three young men had to do with that industry and why they had five free children of color in their household. The five were Ruffin Eliott, 17, Jacob Causey, 13, Alfred Causey, 12, Oliver Mitchell, 12, and one girl, Amanda Dunin, 16. All were labeled "M", except Oliver Mitchell, who was black. All were free, in 1850, so not slaves. What were they doing with the Reed brothers and where did they come from? Was there a relevance to the other free people of color in the community?
Coincidentally, or not, John Whitson Reed, the younger of the three brothers mentioned in the record, also died in 1854, at the age of 23, not long after his marriage to Cornelia Brown. Their one son died in 1855, at a little past a year old, and Cornelia joined them in 1859. All are buried in the Lutheran Cemetery. The Curse of Gold Hill?
In 1857, David W. Huneycutt traveled east to Orange County, North Carolina, a distance of 100 miles, to marry Miss Mary M. Umstead in a Lutheran Ceremony. This suggests family or other connections to this area, perhaps through the church.
In the 1860 census, D. W. Honeycutt and his bride, Mary, are back home, living in Salisbury, NC with the Rev. L. C. Grosclose, and family, the minister who married them, with no particular occupation given for David or his wife. Below is the obituary for the Rev. Levi Cook Grosclose that well explains his life's travels.
THE LUTHERN OBSERVER May 26, 1905 pg 5 by Rev John A. Bright
Rev. Levi C. Groseclose, one of the oldest clergymen in the General Synod, died at his home at Eureka, Kansas, on the 2nd of May, 1905, at the advanced age of 85. For a number of years past he had been quite feeble both in mind and body, his end coming form complications incident of old age. The funeral took place from Christ's Lutheran church of Eureka, conducted by his pastor, Rev. D. H. Cramer, the funeral sermon, Job v. 26, being preached by the writer and old friend of the family.
Father Groseclose was born June 6th, 1820 in Wythe county, Va. His childhood was spend on a farm until he was twenty, when he went to college at Lexington, S. C. Later he attended Gettysburg College of several years, but owing to lack of funds was unable to complete his course there. It is said he and his companion walked several hundred miles home from the college. After teach school in Kentucky for three years, and taking a private course in theology under the direction of a pastor, he was licensed to preach by the old Southwest Virginia Synod, of which Dr. J. A. Brown was then president.
His first active work in the ministry was as a missionary in Davidson and Stokes counties, North Carolina from 1849 to 1856. Then he took a settled pastorate at Salisbury, N. C., where he remained until the summer of 1861, when he accepted a call to St. Stephen's church, near Gold Hill, in the same state. He remained at this place August 1867, when he was called to a charge at Mt. Pleasant. N. C. While he was located in this latter place he assisted quite materially in founding the Western North Carolina College at Mt. Pleasant. He remained in this pastorate until 1873, when he accepted a call to the Jonesboro pastorate, at Jonesboro, Ills. From this latter point he went to Irving, Ills., where he remained from 1984 till 1877 , when, on account of failing health, he was obliged to seek a dry climate. In the latter year he removed to Eureka, Kans., assuming charge of Christ's Lutheran church, of which he was a pastor two years, resigning on account of continued poor health. At this period he retired from the active ministry and spent the remainder of his days quietly in his Eureka home.
About three years ago he celebrated, with his good wife, his golden wedding. Mrs. Groseclose was formerly a Miss Honeycutt, sister of the late Rev. J. E. Honeycutt, of Chambersburg, Pa. He leaves a devoted wife, who for many years past has shared his sorrows and trials as a most faithful companion. Two sons survive him John, of San Marcos, Texas, and W. B. (William Bittle), of St., Louis, who is General Freight Agent of the M. K.& T. Ry., and one daughter, Mrs. Charles Weiser, of Eureka. The writer feels keenly the loss of his old friend, with whom he spent may precious hours, especially in his latter days. We hope to meet again in the better world, where the infirmities of old age will trouble us no more. Our deepest sympathies go out for the widow, as well as our warm prayers, that God may comfort her in her old age.
Contributed by Forest Smith smithf@arkcity.com
It seems the Rev. L C Groseclose was also the brother-in-law of David W. Honeycutt, having married his younger sister, Leah, in 1851.
D. W. Honeycutt was serving as a Justice of the Peace in the early 1860's.
David lost his wife Mary Umstead Honeycutt in 1863 and buried her in the Gold Hill Cemetery. He afterwards returned to Cabarrus County and is found living with his parents in 1870. He hadn't given up on love, however, and in 1877, married Caroline Crowell in Rowan County, at the age of 56. His bride was 38. In 1880, he and his bride are living in Reed Misenheimer's, Cabarrus County, with his 84-year-old mother, Sarah Barrier Honeycutt, and two of his nephews. While he didn't have children of his own, he and Caroline would raise his sisters' boys.
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| David W. Honeycutt |
At the turn of the century, David and Caroline are alone, living in the same spot as they were twenty years prior.
D. W. Honeycutt died in 1903 and his wife in 1919. They are buried in St. Stephens Church Cemetery in Gold Hill, Rowan County, NC. What had he to do with the case of Harris Melton and Ann Bird? Why had they called him as a witness for the defense? More on D. W. Honeycutt later.
John Melton Jr. was the brother of Charlotte Melton and the oldest son of Joseph Melton Sr. and Abigail Bass. He had married Nancy Boysworth, daughter of Jonathan Boysworth, (asa Bosworth), originally of New Salem, Massachusetts, and Martha Almond Boysworth, around 1828 in Montgomery County, (probably West Pee Dee), North Carolina. The Boysworths were a populous family along the west side of the Yadkin River in those years, along with the Kirks and Forrests. John and Nancy are first found in the 1830 census, in their 20's, with a daughter under 5. Ten years later they have two daughters, one between 10 and 15, and another between 5 and 9.
In the 1850 census of Stanly County, its first, John and Nancy are living in Freemans District, next to David Milton/Melton, John's first cousin and son of John Melton Sr. It is shown that he was born in Virginia, while Nancy was born in North Carolina. Both are now 46. They have four young women living with them, their daughters Missouri, 20 and Laura, 17. Also in the home are Eliza Melton, 17 and Caroline, 16. These two, it took me quite some time to piece together, were not the daughters of John and Nancy, but nieces. Eliza married Franklin (Frank) Cauble and Mary Carolina married James E. Mabry and Leonard Fry. They were some of the children of William B (or perhaps William Oliver) Melton, John's brother, who passed away around 1848. He had married a Frances "Fannie" Hinson, who passed away in 1846. Other siblings were Whitman Melton, who was living with Thomas Biles; Margaret S. Melton, who was living with John and Margaret Perry, and who married Reuben George Hiram (R. G. H.) Huneycutt, Elijah Hinson Melton, a ward of John S. Stone, who married Fanny Mabry and switched sides from Confederate to Union while fighting in the Civil War, ending up in North Dakota and being buried in Montana; George J. Melton who lived with James and Nancy Melton Hinson, family, married Elizabeth Cranford and Missouri Bryant, was also a Civil War soldier, survived, and ended up in the Red River Valley, Texas; Henry H. "Little Henry" Melton, who died at Gettysburg at age 18 and was also a ward of John Perry; and lastly, James Franklin "Frank" Melton, who also served in the Civil War, survived, and returned to Stanly County, marrying Molly Luther and Dockie Jane Simpson.
John Melton Jr. would move to Gold Hill, along with Harris and Ann, James Morphis, John E. Solomon, Willliam Valentine and Elbert Melton, and several other citizens from Stanly County. It appears he purchased a hotel there.
The date of John's death is uncertain, but he is shown making purchases in a store journal there as late as February of 1857.
He made several purchases from 1854-1857
Later in 1857 and in 1858, Nancy Boysworth Melton is shown making purchases alone. She is shown above making a purchase with A J Valentine. This could be an indication that John passed away in later 1857. There's no cemetery record of probate file found for him, and it is well documented that Nancy ran the hotel with her daughter Laura and her husband, for many years afterwards.
Rev. James "Jimmy" Morphis was the Minister who performed the wedding of Harris Melton and Ann Bird. He was adamant that he had not performed an illegal act in formalizing this union and was a long-time associate of the Melton family and they were of the white race. Harris' father was known to have been "Portugee" or something of the sort.
The 1830 census of Montgomery County, "West PeeDee" shows the Morphis family in a row, near Joseph Melton. In 1840, James is in his 40's and still in West Pee Dee.
In 1850, James Morphis is found in the town of Gold Hill, as a miner, unusual considering his background as a Minister.
Rev. Morphis died young, at age 48 in January 1855. The reason for his demise was unwritten, odd, as the two obituaries above his included in-depth descriptions of suffering and illness of the deceased.
He was buried with honors in the Gold Hill Cemetery, near the Hotel operated by the Meltons. His tombstone reads: "In Memory of Rev. James Morphis
Who Was Born
Dec. 11 1806
Died
Jan 12, 1855
He experienced religion in 1837 and was an acceptable local preacher in the M. E. Church and died in the hell principals of the gospel faith.
Soldier of Christ well done
Rest from thy loved employ
The battle fought the victory won
Rest in thy master's joy"
I've thought that a rather unusual engraving, especially for a minister.
Above, the subpoena for Ann Bird to be brought back to Albemarle to stand trial for her illegal marriage in March 1851. James R. Milton, the youngest son of Joseph Melton Sr. and Charlotte's brother, signed the bond for Ann Bird and Harris Melton, both.
Above, the Rowan County residents ordered to court in Albemarle by P. W. Wooley, Clerk of Court.
The Stanly County Witnesses:
Preston Wooley had issued a second list of subpoenas for those who were (still) residents of Stanly County, as many of the Gold Hill witnesses originated in Stanly. These were Aaron Saunders, Joshua Hearne, James Boysworth, Jarrett Russell, Fanny Russell, Catherine Kirk, Francis Kirk, Charlotte Melton and William Solomon. A very familiar list.
Aaron Saunders was a Stanly County Blacksmith, who had apprenticed Charlotte Meltons sons, and a Valentine, teaching them the art of smithing.
He was living in the Albemarle District in 1850. He had been issued a land grant in 1836 for 100 acres on Long Creek adjoining Mathias Melchor and John Allen Mann. This gives a vague estimate of where he was located, as the Melchor Branch in Albemarle was named for Mathias Melchor.
Aaron Sanders and family remained in Stanly County through 1870. He's supposedly buried in Greene County, NC and several of his daughters ended up in Wake County running a dress shop.
Joshua Hearne was a member of one of Albemarle's premier and founding families. He was simply familiar with the Joseph Melton family, and his youngest daughter would marry Davidson Hearne Melton, the son of James R. Melton, son of Joseph Melton, uncle of Harris, brother of Charlotte and ward of Davidson Hearne. He may have been called simply as a favor to James R. Melton, his friend.
Joshua was the son of Nehemiah Hearne and Nancy Almond Hearne. He married Elizabeth Stone and is buried in the Old Hearne Cemetery in Albemarle.
James Boysworth was the brother of Nancy Boysworth Melton, John Melton Jr.'s wife. He was a farmer living in Freemans District in 1850. James knew the Melton family, and Charlotte Melton and the father of her children. He stated that to his knowledge he was "some part Indian", but not a black man and the Melton family were white.
Jarrett and Fannie Russell were members of the Solomon family, who were close to the Joseph Melton Sr. family. Fannie Solomon Russell was the daughter of Bennett and Ava McGregor Solomon. Most of her siblings and some of her uncles had migrated to Henry County, Tennessee, along with her mother. Fannie was originally called and her name was later stricken out. She did not testify. Jarrett was simply familiar with the family like the other men who were witnesses for the defense. He also testified that Charlotte's children were "some part Indian".
Catherine Kirk and Francis Kirk were ladies of the large Kirk family that lived along the Yadkin River in the northern part of the County. Catherine Hunsucker Kirk was the widow of Thomas Martin Kirk Sr. She was in her 50's at this time and would pass on November 5, 1857, leavin a large family of children and granchildren behind. Catherine was the mother of Mary Ann Kirk who had married Charlotte's brother, James R. Melton.
Francis Kirk likely referred to Mary Frances Andrews Kirk, Catherine's daughter-in-law, who married Thomas Martin Kirk, Jr. There were multiple marriages between the Kirk and Melton families as both families lived in the Freemans District near the river, and several later, in the town of Albemarle. Both ladies were supoenaed, but neither were called to testify, and their names were stricken out. Like the Solomon's, the Kirks held a long, existing knowledge of and relationships to, the Melton family as a whole, and a probable familiarity to Charlotte and her children.
William Solomon, my 4th Great Grandfather, was also a minister and a third generation one at that. He was the son of Bennett Solomon and Ava McGregor Solomon and a brother of Fannie Solomon Russell. He also lived in the same general area as the Meltons and was the nephew of Goodwin Solomon, who was the bondman for the marriage of Joseph Melton and Abigail Bass. Again, a mention of the Bass family being of possible Nansemond Indian descent.
The following link,
https://nativeamericanroots.wordpress.com/2015/05/22/the-nansemond-indian-bass-family-of-granville/ gives an excellent account of this family, that Joseph Melton Sr. had possibly married into, which could have given a valid reason that Charlotte Melton would have garnered a relationship with someone of indigenous heritage, albeit one out of wedlock. Perhaps she was too well aware of the illegality of such a relationship if she herself were of so minor a mix as to be considered unquestionably, "white".
William Bass, the Bearer, tall, swarthy, dark eyes, weight abt. 13 stone, scar on back of left hand, is of English & Indian descent with no admixture of negro blood, numbered as a Nansemun by his own Choosing. The sd. Bass dwells in this County and hath a good name for his industry and honesty.
The above is a description of a William Bass Jr., from the website in the link above. As one can tell, the darker genetics fell to certain individuals for generations, while others were blessed with the more coveted lighter genes. William Solomon, a possible relative, due to the close relationship of the Solomon and Melton families, was very aware of Charlotte, her children and her entire family. He only agreed with what the other men had testified to, that the father of Harris was a man of some part Native American heritage, not even a purebred member of any tribe, but a man of mixed heritage.
Charlotte Melton was the mother of Harris Melton and the daughter of Joseph Melton Sr. and Abigail Bass. She was an unmarried woman and the mother of several children. In addition to Harris, born about 1825 and Elbert, born about 1826, she was the mother of Calvin, born about 1820, and would be the mother or grandmother, of more children yet to be born. More on that later.
Oldest son, Calvin, is found with his wife, Julia, 25 and one-year old son, William H. Melton, living in the very small School District number 23, in Rowan County in 1850, which bordered Gold Hill. He was living next to 60-year-old Polly Valentine, with her daughter, Catherine, 18, and a boarder named Sandy Sawyers (or Salyers). Both Calvin and Salyers were laborers, and all of them marked with an "M". I believe the closeness and generational connections between the Meltons and the Valentines speak volumes.
About the time that the trial was taking place, David W. Honeycutt had made himself scarce.
The above ad shows that D. W. and his brother, Alfred, had a financial interest, a
large financial interest, in the Honeycutt and Culp mine in Gold Hill, owned two tracts of land in the vicinity of the mine, a share in the Carter Gold Mine, an Iron Safe, a valuable horse, and other things, that were set to be auctioned off on April 25, 1851.
In July of the same year, DW Honeycutt was not to be found in Rowan County, by the Sheriff. He had, for the moment anyway, 'shot the gap', or disappeared from the county. The question remains as to why he was called as a witness. Perhaps he was the employer of Harris Melton, or maybe even a landlord. He didn't show up in court on any account.
In March of 1851, Harris Melton was brought to jail.
There were three men who testified for the State, Henry Marshall, Even Hearne and Nelson Hathcock. These were the three that had an issue with the relationship between Harris Melton and Ann Bird. They questioned the legitimacy of the marriage.
The paragraph on the side of the above document states the bond to ensure Harris came to court, "
We Harris Milton and James R Milton acknowledge ourselves I debited to the state aforesaid in the summer of one hundred dollars each to be void if Harris Milton does make his appearance at the next term of court to be held in Albemarle the first Monday in September and not depart the same in court without leave and given under our hands this 4th of June, 1851 Harris (his mark) Milton"
"
State vs Harris Melton and Ann BirdThis was an indictment for fornication and while the defendants pleaded not guilty and in supporting their plea offered evidence of their having been lawfully married except was void initiated by the Solicitor for the State the marriage was void...of 1828-29 declaring marriage between white persons and free persons of color also void. The State offered evidence to prove that the male defendant was a free person of color and that the female was a white woman. Concerning the color of the woman there was no dispute but to the controversy as to blood of the male defendant Evidence was offered...and it was insisted by the ...defendants counsel that belief the defendant was within the first degree of negro or african blood could not be indicted. It was ..on the part of the state..difference African or Indian or in what degree of ... the defendant was guilty.
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The Court charged according to views of the defendants counsel.. but the Jury that if they chose that they might render a verdict and according to found That the Defendant Harris Melton was of Indian blood but in what degree they could not say..and found the defendants Not Guilty."
But wait!
Although the Superior Court had found Harris and Ann not guilty of , just being married, a handful of good citizens in Stanly County weren't having it. They gave their best attempt at dragging this couple from Rowan County again and through the Court. Found in the Fall Term of 1852 is found yet again,
"State vs Harris Melton Ann Bird
Ordered that the Clerk certify this case and send it up to the Surperior Court"
"Spring Tern 1853
State vs Harris Melton and Ann Bird } Fornication
Discharged in compliance withe the Judgement of the Supreme Court"
It didn't work.
The couple was free to enjoy their marriage after years of persecution. Sadly, it was short-lived.
| Name | J. Harris Melton |
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| Gender | Male |
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| Birth Date | 4 Dec 1821 |
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| Death Date | 15 Feb 1855 |
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| Death Place | Stanly County, North Carolina, United States of America |
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| Cemetery | Henry Marshall Gravesite |
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| Burial or Cremation Place | Albemarle, Stanly County, North Carolina, United States of America |
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At the end of Graham Street on what is now known in Albemarle as the Old Wiscassett Mill Hill sits an out-of-place house built of bricks unlike the frame cottages that surround it that made up the factory village built around it. In the back of that home lies the remains of an old cemetery, known as the Henry Marshall Cemetery. In that cemetery also lie the remains of Harris Melton. His dates of birth and death are given as December 4, 1821, to February 15, 1855. He was a young man of only 33 years old.
No where was it recorded of how Harris Melton died, but the place of his final rest holds a mystery. Harris had been working in a gold mining town in Rowan County, to the north. Why was he returned to Albemarle to be buried? Had he died in a mining incident, would he not have been buried in Gold Hill? And in the Henry Marshall Cemetery? One of his persecutors? Something suggets there is more to the story, yet we'll probably never know. The papers didn't publish it and all memories of those who were there are long since gone. To add to the mystery, several people involved in the trial all met their demise about the same time, including Rev. James Morphis.
Henry Marshall (1780-1866) was one of the groups from Southside Virginia who migrated to the Rocky River area in the late 1700's. He was married twice, to Susanna Tomlinson and Mary Hayes, and his farm, considered north of Albemarle, at the time, became the Wiscassett Hill along Little Long Creek. He also built one of the first hotelsin the town of Albemarle. The Marshall family were early movers and shakers in the new town and county.
From the Notebook of Lilly Carter Hoffman:
I have been told that Henry Marshall built the first Stanly County Jail and
also the Marshall Hotel which stood where the Central Hotel was built later.
The jail was Stanly County property but Henry Marshall himself was owner of
the hotel which he later gave to his son Joseph. Both buildings were frame
structures and I remember them quite well. The hotel was an overnight stopping
place for those who were traveling from Wadesboro to Salisbury. I remember the
hotel as a two story building with a large roomy porch in front and along the
side. I recall vividly the hand bell which an old colored man would come out
ringing as he walked to and fro on the porch, calling the guests for the
evening meal. The jail and the hotel were built in 1840's. The hotel became a
famous hostelry during the War between the States. Many activities took place
there.
A monument to Henry and his two wives stand in what remains of his cemetery, surrounded by a field of anonymous graves. Harris Melton, and probably some Waisners, are the only other ones known to be buried there besides the Marshalls. Harris's grave survives like a wronged soul longing to be freed.
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| Ebenezer Hearne |
Eben Hearne was the first Sheriff of Stanly County. Also, the son of Nehemiah Hearne and Nancy Almond Hearne, Ebenezer was the brother of Joshua Hearne, who testified for the defense and Davidson Hearne, who was more or less the foster father of James R. Melton after the death of Joseph Melton Sr. Eben married Louisa Forrest and sired a large and influential family. He also served as the Stanly County delegate to the North Carolina Secession Convention. Just the existence of Harris Melton, his sin of being born, was an affront to everything Eben Hearne was about.
The Hearnes's were the town of Albemarle's premier family, as the town was built specificially as the County Seat when Montgomery was divided in two, upon 50 acres donated by the Hearne family of their property. Ebenezer Hearne is buried in the Old Hearne family cemetery on the southside of town.
Neelin Hathcock was the last of the three accusers of Harris Melton. In 1850, he was a farmer, living on the north side of Albemarle, within the Albemarle District, near George Smith Sr. of Smith's Store, which was the original Post Office in the Albemarle area, Harris Rummage, Richard Parker, James Palmer, who lived on the Salisbury Road, Samuel Mann and town jailer, Henry Marshall, Jr.. After the trial, he moved to the Hamer Creek area of Montgomery County, where he remained until his death on July 2, 1882. At some point after 1850, his first wife Brazilla or Drucilla Saunders passed away, prior to 1860. He's a widower in 1860 and married a younger woman named Mary by 1870, who was from Chatham County, NC.
Newlin or Neelin Hathcock was buried in the Hamer Creek Church Cemetery. His widow lived alone on his farm until 1924, when she joined him at Hamer Creek Cemetery. She had no children and her maiden name is unknown. N. W. Hathcock had taken a personal offense to the marriage and Harris Melton to Ann Bird. Why is unknown. There may have been an instance in his life, or family that caused such concern.
Aftershocks
After the death of Harris Melton, Ann Bird Melton remained in Gold Hill and in close association with Nancy Melton, his aunt by marriage, who ran the hotel. In 1860, above, she lived only a few houses away from Permelia Morphis, the widow of Rev. James Morphis.
By 1870, she had moved out in the country a little bit and was boarding with a Shoaf family. Now 50, she was still in Litaker Township, which encompassed Gold Hill. Did she and Harris have any children? I believe so.
A young 19 year old girl named Sarah Melton lived with Nancy Boysworth Melton at the hotel. She wasn't a servant, she was "at home", and she wasn't considered white. She was born in 1851, the year of the trial and that time frame would definitely have been an issue that could have put a bee in the bonnet of the men in Albemarle that took great offense to the marriage of Harris and Ann.
Ann remarried on December 28, 1871, to Richard Julian, an older gentleman who was a widower with grown children.
In 1880, they are still in Litaker Township, living near the Browns, where Ann was found in 1860. Their fate afterwards is uncertain.
Charlotte Melton
In 1860, Charlotte Melton is 62 years old and living in Albemarle between her youngest brother, James R. Melton, and Davidson Hearne.
Oldest son, Calvin, is living in Salisbury, in 1860, working as a railroad hand. He's living in a small community of free people of color, and his wife, Julia, a washerwoman, is black. He is next to Robert Valentine and Sandy Valentine, more of the "M" labeled Valentine family.
Youngest son, Elbert Melton, remained in the town of Salisbury until his death in 1915. He was married three times, the longest to Ann Valentine, with whom he had 8 children. In 1860, above, Huston Valentine, 18, is living with him.
| Name | Charlotte Calloway |
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| Age in 1870 | 45 |
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| Birth Date | abt 1825 |
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| Birthplace | North Carolina |
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| Dwelling Number | 115 |
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| Home in 1870 | Albemarle, Stanly, North Carolina |
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| Race | Black |
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| Gender | Female |
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| Post Office | Albemarle |
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| Occupation | Keeping House |
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| Cannot Read | Yes |
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| Cannot Write | Yes |
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| Inferred Spouse | Orange Calloway |
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| Inferred Children | Arch S Calloway; Mary Calloway |
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Household members| Name | Age |
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| Orange Calloway | 55 |
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| Charlotte Calloway | 45 |
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| Arch S Calloway | 13 |
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| Mary Calloway | 10 |
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Only sister, Charlotte Melton Jr. married a freed slave named Orange or Arch Callaway. The Calloway family lived near the Melton family in years past and Charlotte was born around 1825, in the same time frame as Charlotte's other three children. She had two children, a son Archie Melton and a daughter, Mary.
Although Archie is seen as Calloway in the above census record, he went by Melton the rest of his life. Above is his death certificate, naming his mother as Charlotte and father as Arch.
Above shows a tax list of "Free Colored" in the town of Gold Hill in the year 1855, the year Harris Melton died. Along with his brother, Elbert, it lists William and John Valentine. William was the one living with Elbert in Albemarle in 1850. He lived on Bank Street in Salisbury afterwards and became a beloved Barber. His house is still standing.
The Valentine family have a long-standing history in North Carolina. It has now been well documented that they were Sapona Indians.
It is my belief that in all probability, that the father of Charlotte Melton's children, was most likely a member of the Valentine family. Like most East Coast Virginia and Carolina Native American remnant tribes, over the decades and centuries, the Haliwa-Saponi, as they are now called, intermarried with those populations around them. At their core, they consider themselves, and are legally, Native American's. Genetically, most individuals carry the genes of three continents, Europe, Africa, and the Americas. During the 19th century, they wandered like gypsies, not fitting in anywhere in particular, and unwelcome in most. They didn't fit, they rubbed against the norm and some, like Harris Melton, suffered and were persecuted, due only to the color of their skin. They were the fifth race, not White, not Black, not completely Indigenous and not true Mulattos, or black/white mixes. They were a combination of all three.
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| A Saponi Dancer |
