Thirty Fathers in Thirty Days: Jonah Mauldin

 

I've seen a picture of Jonah Mauldin in his younger days. It once sat on my grandmother's bureau and showed a young, but enervated man, with dark hair, deep dark eyes, in working clothes and leaning on a tool of some sort, possibly a shovel. I'm not certain what happened to the picture, I hope it survives and remains with family. The one above is from a family grouping when he was much older. This was made around 1915, when Jonah, born in 1879, would have been 36 years old and looked every bit of 60. Life was hard and Jonah was sick. His illness was a common one now, but much rarer in his day and time.

Jonah Mauldin was my Great Grandfather, but I never met him, neither did my mother or any of her siblings. He died in 1930, before any of them were born. That doesn't mean that his genes were not strongly represented among his descendants, because they most certainly are. I believe my own deep-set brown eyes came down from him to my grandmother, skipped my blue-eyed mother and hit me, two of my children and four of my eight grandchildren, not to mention a legion of his other grandchildren, great-grandchildren and beyond. 

Walter Jonah Mauldin was born April 24, 1879, in Stanly County, North Carolina. He was the son of James Duncan Mauldin and wife, Margaret Winifred Solomon. His father was born around the community of "Rest", or near present day River Haven, and his mother was born on Jacobs Creek. The Stanly County branch of the Mauldin family began with a man named Clayborn Mauldin, who was born between 1750 and 1760 in Granville County, NC, it is believed. Clayborn is also seen spelled as "Claiborn" or "Claiborne", and Mauldin is sometimes spelled with a "g" on the end as in Maulding.

ame	Claton Molding
Home in 1790 (City, County, State)	Chatham, North Carolina
Free White Persons - Males - 16 and over	1
Free White Persons - Males - Under 16	1
Free White Persons - Females	6
Number of Household Members	8

Clayborn is enumerated in the 1790 census of Chatham County, NC, with a family of eight, one male over 16 and one under, with 6 females in his home. His land in Chatham bordered that of his father-in-law, Connor Dowd, whom I have already posted on in this series. 

It can be accessed here

Clayborn and Connor also had connecting properties in Cumberland County records. Connor Dowd had been driven from the country during the Revolutionary War days, due to his siding with the Loyalists, but his wife stayed and fought for the survival of herself and her children. Clayborn Mauldin had married their daughter, Sarah. 

Name	Claborn Malden
Home in 1800 (City, County, State)	Pittsboro, Chatham, North Carolina
Free White Persons - Males - Under 10	2
Free White Persons - Males -10 thru 15	1
Free White Persons - Males - 45 and over	1
Free White Persons - Females - Under 10	1
Free White Persons - Females - 10 thru 15	2
Free White Persons - Females - 16 thru 25	2
Free White Persons - Females - 45 and over	1
Number of Household Members Under 16	6
Number of Household Members Over 25	2
Number of Household Members	10

In 1800, the Mauldin, or "Malden", family is counted as living in Pittsboro, Chatham County, NC and has now increased to a family of ten, with parents over 45, two females between 16 and 25, two between ten and 15 and one under ten, one male between 10 and 15 and two under ten. While all three of Clayborn's sons have been identified, only four of his daughters have. 

His predecessors are suspected to be a Thomas Richard Mauldin Jr. (Abt. 1710 to 1800), born in Orange County, Virginia and died in Fayetteville, Cumberland County, NC and his wife, Sarah Jackson. This line has been documented, but not directly from him to Clayborne, although circumstantial evidence is convincing. Thomas's family tree dates back to:

Captain Richard Maulding Sr. (1674 -July 9, 1752) known as Richard, born in Calvert County, Maryland, died in Caroline County, Virginia married a Jane Taylor, twin sister of a James Taylor. The Mauldin's descend from Welsh immigrants beginning with a Francis Molding who had a son named Francis Jr. who was the father of Captiain Richard Molding. The surname simply meant 'Crossroads', or a family who lived at a crossroads. 

Clayborne and Sarah Mauldin raised their family on Raccoon Branch of Indian Creek, beside her parents, where Clayborn had received a grant for 100 acres.

Remains of Tombstone of Sarah Dowd Mauldin

Clayborn Mauldin died between 1800 and 1810. His wife Sarah "Sallie" Dowd Mauldin survived until around 1829, when her estate was settled. The Executor of the estate was oldest son John, who remained in Chatham was a blacksmith, and married a lady named Ruth.

Claiborne and Sarah Dowd Mauldin had three sons: John, Benjamin and James O. Mauldin. Two of them would meander from Chatham through Moore, into Montgomery and finally settling in the part of Montgomery that would in time, be severed in two, and the part they lived in, on the West side of the Yadkin-Pee Dee River would be called Stanly. Benjamin and James, both sons of Claiborne and Sarah, would end up here. James O. Mauldin would marry Mary Smith, parents yet undetermined, and have a son they named Thomas Alexander Mauldin. Thomas would marry Mary "Polly" Blalock, daughter of David Blalock and Martha Patsy Dennis. Together they would found a dynasty of 14 children. Among those 14 children, James Duncan Mauldin was the firstborn, after the birth of three sisters came the birth of the second son, Frank Washington Mauldin. I descend from them both.

James Duncan would enlist in Company C, 42nd Infantry, when the Civil War ensued and survived. After he arrived back home, he immediately married his sweetheart, Margaret Solomon, daughter of Rev William Solomon and his wife, Tabitha Marks Solomon, of the Stony Gap area east of Albemarle. They were married on September 16, 1865. This union would bring forth five children, four daughters and one son, Walter Jonah, born April 24, 1879. Jonah, or "Joney", was the fourth child of the five, with three older sisters, Eva Jeanette aka "Nettie" and Floratine Rose, aka "Tine", Mary L. called "Babe", and younger sister, Minnie Lee.

 The family grew up "off Green Top Road", in the area between the Troy and Albemarle Road and the Norwood Road. That road, rerouted slightly, is now named Indian Mound Road. Walter Jonah is seen as a one-year-old in this first census, 1880.

Twenty years later, all of the children are home, except the oldest, Eva, and Minnie Lee has completed the pack. Two granddaughters are also living with the family, and we begin to see some cracks in the porcelain. Willie Alice was the daughter of unmarried daughter Mary L. Mauldin and Scrappy B., (Bertha), was the child of unmarried daughter "Tine", (Florentine). Both were three years old. Jonah would end up raising Scrappy for most of her life.

That very same year, Jonah starts his own family. He didn't look far for a bride.

On December 27, 1900, with Christmas festivities over and the year coming to an end, Walter J Mauldin applied for a license, for himself, age 21, of Norwood, and Wincie Mauldin, also 21 and also from Norwood. Wincie was the daughter of Franklin and Martha Mauldin, and I remember her well.

The marriage was performed by D. J. Allen, Justice of the Peace, at the home of the groom and a trio of Blalock's were witnesses. Wincie Ann Mauldin was the daughter of Franklin Washington Mauldin and his wife, Mattie Russell, daughter of Eli Henry Russell and his wife, Elizabeth, a couple who are a complete dead end. If you recall, Jonah's father was the oldest son of Thomas Alexander Mauldin and Frank was the second oldest son. They were brothers and Jonah and Wincie were first cousins. Wincie Ann was the sixth in a procession of nine children and I have featured her in an early post on this blog called "The Woman Who Loved Mauldin's".

Jonah would build his family steadily over the next decade.  Grover would arrive the next year, 1901, Fred in 1903, Pearl in 1906, and my grandmother, Maude, in 1909. She would never recall her grandparents. 

Stanly News and Press - 17 Feb 1910 - Page 3

James Duncan Mauldin and his wife, Margaret Solomon Mauldin, both died-on February 10th, 1910, within hours of each other, both having the same illness. It must have been going around and they possibly caught it from their oldest daughter, Eva Janette Mauldin Thompson, who died at age 40, on November 3, 1909, and probably during her illness, they went to live with their single daughters, Mary and Florentine Rose. They were buried together at the Anderson Grove Baptist Church Cemetery, along the Albemarle to Troy Road. I remember visiting the graves with my Grandmother.

The obituary, shown above, states that the older couple had been living on the "Efrid Hill" in Albemarle. The town of Albemarle sits in the Uwharrie foothills and is composed of multiple "hills" and a few small mountains about, rising up from Long Creek and Little Long Creek, and the multiple branches that weave through it. Beginning before the turn of the century, and with the arrival of railroads, Albemarle, like many others of its kind throughout the South, began to have textile mills, and with them, Mill Villages, on the outer rims of the little towns and cities, which helped them grow into larger municipalities. These manufacturing jobs pulled in farm families from all over the county and adjacent counties, and many continued operating farms while sending their teenage and even preteen children to work in the mills to bring in extra income. Duncan and Margaret Mauldin's two single daughters had moved to town and gotten jobs in the mill.

In the 1910 census, above, Mary and Florentine Rose Mauldin, now seen as Rosy, were living on Efird Street, or on the Efird Hill, indicating their parents had been staying with them at the time of their death, having moved from the vicinity of Norwood. The sisters were working as winders in the Cotton Mill, while their 13-year-old daughters, Willie for Mary and Scrappy for Rosy, were working as Spinners. They had a boarder, 41-year-old John Thompson, who was a laborer and a former neighbor when they lived along the Green Top Rd. 

In 1910, Jonah and Wincy were raising their family along the Allenton Ferry Road near Norwood, NC. So far, it had been a healthy bunch. Wincy was the mother of four with four living. They lived beside William H. Aldridge, a relative of Maude's future husband.

He was friends with Robert Poplin.

I've dated the above photo using the estimated age of the children. Of course, the adults are Jonah and Wincy. The four children standing across the back are left to right, Grover, born in 1901, Scrappy, Jonah's niece, born in 1898, Fred, born in 1903, and Pearl, born in 1906. The small boy sitting on Jonah's lap would've been Walter, born in 1911. The little girl standing in the middle is my grandmother, Maude, born in 1909 and the baby on her mother's lap, is Rilla Estelle. Rilla was born on January 14th, 1914. Tragically, she would pass away at the age of 18 months old on July 16, 1915, of gastroenteritis. To me, she appears to be roughly six months old in this picture, give or take, placing the date of the photo around the summer or early fall of 1914, making Scrappy 16, Walter 13, Fred 10, Pearl 8, Maude 5 and Walter 3. The family looks a little malnourished and Jonah looks much older than around 36. He may have already developed the issues that would end his life prematurely. 

Between 1910 and 1920, Jonah and Wincy would have two more children. The year after Rilla, (Grandma pronounced it "Riller"), died, a son was born, Holly Benton, born on April 28, 1916. He would die as an infant, too, and passed away on June 9, 1918, at the age of two years, one month and 2 days of ulcerated colitis. In May of 1919, another son was born, Robert Franklin, and this one would survive until adulthood.  The 1920 census finds them with their surviving six children, still living in Norwood, or near it, beside Jonah's youngest brother, Thomas. Uncle Robert was 8 months old, and his nearest sibling, Walter, was 9. Grandma was 11, Pearl 14, Fred 15, and Grover 18. They grew up on a farm in Norwood is what she would always tell me, on the Old Allenton Road that leads to the river where the ancient town of Allen once was, and part of it now underwater due to the river being damed. 

Scappie, Jonah's niece, from the picture, moved back to Albemarle to work in the Cotton Mills again in 1919. 

Jonah had to register for the draft during the World War I era, but he didn't have to serve due to his age, 39, and number of dependents. He is seen as a self-employed farmer from Norwood.

He was described as being of medium height and weight, with grey eyes and black hair.

By 1930, Jonah had sold the farm and moved the family to Albemarle, NC. 

Name	Walter J Mauldin
Birth Year	abt 1880
Gender	Male
Race	White
Age in 1930	50
Birthplace	North Carolina
Marital Status	Married
Relation to Head of House	Head
Home in 1930	North Albemarle, Stanly, North Carolina, USA
Map of Home	North Albemarle,Stanly,North Carolina
Street Address	Old Salisbury Road
House Number	252
Dwelling Number	15
Family Number	15
Home Owned or Rented	Rented
Home Value	4.40
Radio Set	No
Lives on Farm	No
Age at First Marriage	21
Attended School	No
Able to Read and Write	Yes
Father's Birthplace	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace	North Carolina
Able to Speak English	Yes
Class of Worker	Wage or salary worker
Employment	No
Neighbors	View others on page

Household members

Name	Age
Walter J Mauldin	50
Amie Mauldin	44
Maude Mauldin	20
Walter Mauldin	19
Robert Mauldin	10
Louise Mauldin	7
Hazel Mauldin	8
Elvin J Mauldin	0
Viola Mauldin	32

He was now 50 years old and the last child, Ada Louise had been born in 1922. Grandma, 20, was still in the home and Walter was now 19, Robert 10 and Aunt Weezy, as I knew her, was 7. The other children, Hazel and Elvin J Mauldin, were not Jonah and Wincy's children, they were grandchildren. Viola, the "other relative" in the household was Viola Martin Mauldin, wife of oldest son, Grover. Hazel and Elvin Jasper Mauldin were their children. It is unknown where Grover was at this time, but he would have two more children, Lanny and Sylvia, with a Geraldine Morris in the late 30's and early 40's. 

They were living at 252 Old Salisbury Road,  a block that no longer exists. The road was rerouted, and became industrial. The residential area now begins in the 500 block.

Another look at the 1930 census revealed that Jonah and Wincy had moved to Albemarle and living on the Salisbury Road, which we now call the Old Salisbury Road. Grandma and Walter were working in the Cotton Mill and Jonah was unemployed, having only worked 3 months that year. Viola also worked in the Cotton Mill, while Wincy watched the children. 

With serendipity, the Mauldin family had moved next door to the William H. Davis family, The Davis family had moved up to Albemarle from the Rocky River area south of Cottonville. In this household of ten, eight living children and one on the way, was a 17-year-old Lewis, who would marry the girl next door just a few years later to become my grandparents. Yes, she was three years his senior, a fact she was always embarrassed about, because it was against tradition but mattered naught.

That was not the only fact that was swept under the carpet. Until I began genealogy, I was unaware they had not had a church wedding. They were married on April 13, 1933 in Chesterfield, South Carolina, which was a popular marriage destination for folks from this area. Their baby girl would do the same some decades later. Another discovery was that their first child would arrive in November of the same year. The math wasn't mathing. They had kept a little secret. They were human.

Another fact that had been swept under the carpet was the circumstances of the death of Walter Jonah Mauldin. The census in 1930 was taken on April 5th of 1930. Jonah died a few weeks later on April 28th.

All I knew about my Grandma's father was that he had died rather young, and before any of her children met him. No one ever discussed the reason. Wincie, his widow, would go on to remarry, the same year my grandparents did, in 1933, except they would go to Rowan County, not South Carolina, and lived a long life. 

Jonah's death certificate stated he was 52 years and 4 days old at his time of death. Dr. L. V. Dunlap gave the spurious, and rather callous statement of "Don't Know", as his cause of death, then under contributory causes he wrote the words, "Drug Addict". Jonah was addicted to drugs?! What was out there in 1930 that a middle-aged farmer could have gotten addicted to?

Just a quick google search gave some possible answers. The country was in the middle of the Great Depression. This may have spurred the moves from the farms to the cotton mills.

The Albemarle Press Thu, Jan 22, 1925 ·Page 4

Jonah had moved his family from the fertile "Forks of the River" area to town by 1925, when a community notes section of the newspaper recorded a return visit to Fork to visit his family who remained there. What was knows as the "Fork-Mauldin Road" all the way into the 80's, is now only known as Fork Road. Was access to addictives one of the reasons? The Great Depression did not acquire its name without reason. People were depressed. The most common substances turned to during this time were opiates. A 50- year-old man who'd lived a life of back-breaking labor may have turned to morphine or alcohol for relief.

The newspaper report of his death was kinder. He had died at his home on the Wiscassett Mill Hill, or village. He was buried in the Norwood Cemetery. It was recorded that he had suffered a stroke a few weeks prior. That was not written on the death certificate. They made a mistake in the children, four sons, Grover, Fred, Walter and Robert, survived, with three daughters, Pearl, Maude and Louise, not two.

Stanly News and Press Albemarle, North Carolina • Fri, Jul 2, 1937Page 1

A few years later, brothers Walter and Robert Mauldin, the two youngest sons, along with two of their friends, Marshall Wise and Ernest Talbert, were driving along the Norwood -Swift Island Road, which I believe is the same road that became Green Top Road and presently, Indian Mound Road. It was 1937 and very few roads were paved. This one obviously was not, neither was it wide. Traffic had stirred up a bunch of dust, and  a mile out of Norwood, crossing a bridge over what may have been David's Creek, they ran head on into another car they couldn't see for the dust in the air, driven by a Mr. Walter Hubbard from Badin. All of seven of the men, in the days before seatbelts, were strewn all over the gravel road. All of them recovered, except for Walter, who died at just 26 years old. He was survived by his wife, Onnie Clayton Mauldin, and his son, Clayton Ray, who was just two years old. The papers reported two young sons, but I've not found record of any other child. I've met Clayton Ray on several occasions, a tall slim man with dark hair, much like his grandfather. His mother remarried, but had no more children.

Wincy Ann Mauldin Mauldin remarried to James William Mauldin, a widower and her second cousin. A bit better. Papaw Jim, as we knew him, was the son of Franklin Mannesseh Mauldin and Ella Sophronia Huckabee Mauldin. Their fathers were first cousins instead of brothers. She really liked keeping it in the family. Jim was the only grandfather my mother and her siblings knew on their mother's side.

Both Wincy and Papaw Jim lived long enough for me to remember them. I remember Wincy as a big-boned, blue-eyed woman strong as an ox. I recall her silver bun and abundance of wise old sayings. When I would cry, she would hold out her hand to catch the tears to water her flowers with, and I would automatically stop. From her came the knowledge my Grandmother would repeat, that love multiples and doesn't divide. Pawpaw Jim I remember as a soft-spoken, humble old man, with a warm smile, who gave us silver dollars on our birthdays, most dated before 1900. Wincy passed in 1965, when I was 5 and Jim joined her the next year. She was buried at Anderson Grove and Jim was buried beside her.

The 9 Children of Walter Jonah Mauldin were:

1) Grover Littleton Mauldin (1901-1957) Married 1st: Viola Mauldin - two children: Hazel Maxine and Elvin Jasper. Elvin died as a toddler. Married 2nd: Geraldine Morris, two children: Lanny Richard and Sylvia.

2)  James Fred Mauldin, (1903-1967) named after his two grandfathers, married Nora Bell Mann, two children: Jewell Astella, and Herman R. Mauldin.

3) Ethel Pearl Mauldin (1906-1970) Married Henry Clifford Thompson, two children: Hallie Frances and Robert Henry aka Bobby. 

4) Annie Maude Mauldin (1909-1991) Married Lewis Theodore Davis, four children: Lewis Douglas, Walter Kenneth, ( named for her brother), Sylvia Joanne and Nancy Joyce.

5) Walter Lee Mauldin (1911-1937) Married Onnie Agnes Clayton, one son, Clayton Ray.

6) Riller Estelle Mauldin (1914-1915)

7) Holly Benton Mauldin (1916-1918)

8) Robert Franklin Mauldin (1919-1975) Married Rellie Leona Eudy. No children.

9) Ada Louise Mauldin (1922-1999) Married Ralph Franklin Vanhoy, Three children; Hollie Keith, Frankie Suzanne,  and Jonah Williams. 

Thirty Fathers in Thirty Days: Connor Dowd

 

Mary’s petition to the North Carolina General Assembly

The last post in my 'Thirty Fathers in Thirty Days' series concerned a Scottish immigrant 7th Great Grandfather of mine, who was a Patriot, a Colonel in the Mecklenburg County, Clear Creek Militia and a Signer of the Mecklenburg Resolves or The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, John Query by name. This post will be about a very different 7th Great Grandfather.

John Query was on my paternal Grandmother's side of the family tree. Connor Dowd is on my maternal Grandmothers side. Different side of the family, different outlook and actions during the Revolutionary War. 

Connor Dowd was an Irishman, born around 1730 in Cootehill, Cavan, Ulster, Ireland. He is also my 7th Great Grandfather via his daughter, Sarah Jane who married Claborne Mauldin. My maternal grandmother was a Mauldin, through and through, meaning she was born a Mauldin, and married a Mauldin and when he died, she married another Mauldin.  So,  this pair are sort of a super-ancestor couple, holding not one, but two spots, in my family tree. He was the son of an older Connor Dowed (1700-1789) and wife, Margaret Bourke (1704-1770), a daughter of Thomas Ruadh Bourke of Limerick. There were two known sons who came to America, Connor II and Owen. *As a matter of conflict and confusion, my Connor's brother Owen and his wife, Judah, had a son they named Connor who was born October 18,1757. He married Hannah Greave in Chatham County, NC in 1799. This Conner Dowd, the nephew, moved to Ohio and was a Revolutionary Patriot. He died March 31, 1839, in Vinton County, Ohio.* 

* Widow's Petition of Hannah G. Dowd for Rev. War Pension

The Dowd brothers had arrived to Cumberland County, the part that is now Moore County, around the early to mid 1850's. When he was yet a child, Connor had learned how to bleach linen. People would weave the material at home and then sell it to the linen bleachers. They arrived in America in 1751, in Wilmington, NC,  and Connor soon found employment with a Wilmington merchant. He would travel through the Upper Cape Fear River valley, making acquaintances and friends and learning the area. He was doing so while selling goods for his mercantile employer. Whilst up and down the river making his rounds, he met a widow named Nancy, by some accounts, and Mary by others, with the surname of Roberts. The widow Roberts owned 500 fertile acres. My enterprising Irish ancestor married the woman and begin raising grain and livestock. This was his settlement in Deep River. The couple also had orchards of peaches and apples and Connor created a distillery for making whiskey. 

The Deep River is a 125 mile long tributary of the Cape Fear River.  It begins near Jamestown in Guilford County, runs the length of Randolph County, through Randleman and Ramseur, dips into Moore County, making a right turn just above Robbins, turns north to create the border of Chatham and Lee Counties, south of Goldston and north of Sanford, before emptying into the Cape Fear south of Jordan Lake. It is a reputedly rapidly flowing stream and must have been so much more before dams and development. The opportunistic Connor took advantage of his position along the river, building four mills along its banks. He built a sawmill for lumber, a grist mill for corn and flour, a bolting mill for refining the flour, and a bark mill for grinding oak bark to extract its tannin he used to make leather in his tannery. He operated a Ferry across Deep River, near present day Carbonton. The industrious Connor Dowd grew his wealth as he grew his industry and continued to invest in land and business, running also a store and an Inn, or Ordinary. Much of the merchandise sold in his store came from his former employer in Wilmington. He was aided by a dozen slaves who helped to run his investments and businesses, and soon he was a very wealthy man.  It is said that he granted his slaves great liberties, compared to other situations and habits of the day, to operate the Mills and make runs to markets on their own.

The property owned by Connor Dowd, recorded primarily in Cumberland County, lies in what is now Chatham (formed in 1771), Moore (formed in 1784), and Lee (formed in 1907) counties.

A Timeline from deeds and court records show the progression of his increase, and later the decrease after the War.

Please note the following abbreviations:

P & Q's stand for the Court of Pleas and Quaters. 

LG stands for Land Grant.

B for Book and P for Page in deeds.

CumCo is for Cumberland County.

MoCo is for Moore County.

ChatCo is for Chatham County.

CD stands for Connor Dowd.

Adj. is the abbreviation for adjoining.

S is South and R is River.

1757 P& Q CumCo Connor Dowd allowed to keep an Ordinary at the house of John Overton.

1760 LG CumCo 128 acres South of Deep River adjoining Governor Johnston and John Overton.

1761 LG CumCo 150 acres on Deep River adjoining Gov. Johnston and Lord Carterett's land.

1762 Deed CumCo B2 P140 C D received 150 acres from James and Mary Finley south of Deep River part of Thomas Armstrongs 300 acre tract.

1763 LG Orange County NC for 300 acres on Deep River and Smith's Creek Adj Kings land and Nathaniel Powell.

1764 P&Q CumCo - Granted License to keep an Ordinary Tavern at his own dwelling house.

1766 C D received 83 acres from Cornelius Tyson on Deep River and the Chatham County line. CumCo B3 P61.

1766 CD purchases 250 acres from Powell Benbow.

Tax Time 1767 Connor Dowd is taxed for 4 white Polls and 2 black Polls.

1769 Deed CumCo B 3 P 436 CD to John Hunnicutt 128  acres S Deep River adj Gov. Johnston & John Overton.

1769 Deed CumCo B3 P 541 John May Deed witnessed by Connor Dowd and Richard Mauldin,(also my ancestor).

1770 Deed CumCo B4 P301 John Hunnicutt to CD, those 128 acres back.

1771 Deed CumCo B4 P 430 CD to John Hancock Jr. 150 acres.

1772 Deed CumCo B5 P 128 James Russell to CD 400 acres on Deep River and Govenors Creek.

Then the years arrived when things began to change. War came and a new country was being born. We'll look more closely at the Dowds part in that shortly, but with a new country came Tax lists. In a brief time, we can watch the literal growth of Connor Dowds wealth.

 

In 1777 his taxable value was $7447

In 1778 his taxable value was $19, 850

In 1779 his taxable value was $24, 750

In 1780 his taxable value was $30, 889.

including 3559 acres of land valued at $10,000, three town lots in Campbellton and 12 enslaved human beings.

Although the War was raging, Connor Dowd's wealth was increasing, at first.

1780 LG Chatham County to CD for 30 acres on Falls Creek Adj Goldston and Edward Griffin.

1780 a second LG of 300 acres on the Foggy Branch of Indian Creek including the improvements of Edward Griffin adj Duncan.

Then we see a marked change.

1788- 8 years since the last transaction - Book D Pages 581-582 Mary Dowd of Moore County to Sampson Brewer 150 acres on Falls Creek Adj Goldston. The land had been granted to Connor Dowd.

Oddly, there are two transactions the next two years that feel out of place. In 1789, in the P's &Q's, A deed to CD from to Clem Hancock proved by Edward Griffin. One year later, in 1790, in the P&Q's, a Deed from CD to William Davis was proved 

1791 in the P&Q's of Chatham County North Carolina, Benjamin and Aaron Tyson were allowed to operate a ferry across the Deep River at the place Jonathan Barnes and entered into bond with Cornelius Dowd, a son of Connors'. Then it was repeated that these same Tyson's were allowed to build a water Gristmill where Connor Dowds' old mill has sat.

Then in 1797, Mary Dowd, wife of Connor Dowd, deeded to the heirs of now deceased Edward Griffin the 300 acres of Flaggy Branch of Indian Creek Adj. Duncan.

The dates are debatable, but sometime between 1760 and 1774, Connor's first wife died and he remarried another widow, Mary Overton Sheilds, the daughter of John Overton, in whose house he had established that first tavern when he had moved to Deep River. She was the widow of Reuben Sheilds. Mary was a smart lady, and a shrewd businesswoman. She helped Connor run his businesses and became his bookkeeper. They also had 10 children together. He only had two by his first wife, supposedly..

Even in the years before we were a county, Americans were not a homogeneous group. You had new arrivals with a smorgasbord of different languages and accents. You had those who were born here, descended from the earliest arrivals. You had the people who were already here to begin with. You had the people who had been brought here against their will, be it from Africa, the Caribbean Islands, poor Irish or waifs from the streets of London. Then there were the religious sects, various Catholic or Protestant groups and the odd little cults like the Shakers and Dunkers. Some in Central North Carolina, like the Quakers and the Moravians, in Salem and Bethania and the western fronts, were pacifists. War was brewing, but they didn't believe in War, at a time when everyone, no matter who you were, or where you were from, or what you believed, were forced to choose a side. 

As for their part, The Dowds were members of the Haw River Separatist Baptist Church. A quick google search led to the AI utilized information below:

In the North Carolina backcountry, Separate Baptist congregations grew in the 1760s. The Haw River (Separate) Baptist Church was established in the 1760s, with its earliest members coming from the remnants of Mulkey’s church at Deep River. These settlers, including Nathaniel Powell, Conrad Dowde, Isaac Brooks, George Williams, and others, met in 1764 and united with the Sandy Creek Association in 1765 Baptist History Homepage.

The church’s first pastor was Rev. Elnathan Davis, a former Seven-Day Baptist from Maryland who embraced Separate Baptist beliefs in 1757. Davis led the congregation for many years, overseeing worship, discipline, and community life. Notably, the church passed a resolution in 1764 declaring that any member refusing to join the Regulators would be excommunicated, reflecting the political tensions of the time Baptist History Homepage.

As you can see above, "Conrad Dowde" was included in the brief list of early members. This was actually Connor Dowd. His faith played a large part in his later actions.

Dowd and his enterprises were crucial to life in the Deep Creek region. His wagons transported much needed goods between there and Cross Creek, or Fayetteville, a center oftrade and banking. Some goods were imports from Britain and France. For a while, his mills and store were the only ones between the Capitol of Hillsborough and Cross Creek. Many travelers and new arrivals crossed over on his ferry and stayed at his Inn. The Dowd place was a very important spot along the main road and for a time, a portion of the road bore his name. His actions would not go without notice.

The War and Phillip Alston

Phillip Alston (Abt 1745-1791) was a Whig Militia Leader in the Revolution, and a very wealthy, prominent man known for building the beautiful historic site known as "The House in the Horseshoe".

On July 29, 1781, his home became the site of a Skirmish, an incident considered a degree less than a battle, when Colonel David Fanning led a group of Loyalists against the Whig Militia camped at Alston's home. Alston surrendered and his home was threatened to be burned, but thankfully escaped that fate. Alston had reason to dislike the Loyalists and anyone who aided them. He became an archenemy of Connor Dowd.

As a pacifist, Grandpa Connor attempted to avoid taking sides as long as he could. He never took part in any fighting and never wielded a gun. However, with his multiple businesses and landholdings that stretched through Chatham, Moore and Lee Counties, his financial resources were much sought after for aid, from either side.

In January of 1776, Josiah Martin, the King appointed Governor of North Carolina, asked for citizens to come to the town of Brunswick, which sat near the mouth of the Cape Fear River on the coast, below Wilmington, to welcome the Red Coats expected to land there, sent by King George, in a show of support of the British and Governor Martin. 

Remains of historic town of Brunswick, NC

Connor Dowd was one of the ones who showed up, although the British didn't. He declined to join the ranks of the Loyalist forces but brought supplies that were given to General Donald McDonald. He brought 100 lbs. of pistol powder, iron, linen and cotton, shoes and leather from his own stores, flour, venison and other food stuffs, and allowed for the use of his own wagons. It is said he even went in debt to supply the loyalist forces with beef and pork to sustain them. So, he didn't fight, but he did provide support to the other side, not the Red Coats, in particular, but to the Americans who stayed loyal to the crown, called Tories. 

The Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge

The Loyalist troops that were headed to Brunswick never made it there. Again, using the AI Google inquiry:

The Battle

On the morning of February 27, 1776, nearly 1,000 Patriot militiamen waited behind entrenchments at Moore's Creek Bridge, about 18 miles north of Wilmington U.S. National Park Service. The Patriots had removed planks from the bridge and greased the remaining surface with tallow and soap to hinder crossing northcarolinahistory.org. As the Loyalists, primarily Scottish Highlanders, charged across the bridge shouting "King George and Broadswords," they were met with devastating musket and artillery fire northcarolinahistory.org+1. Within minutes, the Loyalist ranks were decimated, their leaders killed or captured, and the survivors forced to retreat northcarolinahistory.org+1. The Patriots pursued the fleeing Loyalists, solidifying their control of the area American Battlefield Trust.

Casualties and Aftermath

The Patriots suffered minimal losses, with one soldier killed and one wounded, while the Loyalists lost approximately 30 men, with 20 more wounded, including the death of Captain Alex McLeod northcarolinahistory.org. The defeat effectively ended Loyalist recruitment in North Carolina and forced Governor Martin into exile, leaving the colony under Patriot control Wikipedia+1. The battle also marked the last recorded Highland broadsword charge in history Wikipedia+1.

Phillip Alston demanded the arrest of Connor Dowd after this battle. He was eventually released on bail, but was prejudicially charged an undue bond, higher than his compatriots and peers. This battle caused a change in the minds and attitudes in many of the Carolina loyalists. They took oaths to the State, renouncing loyalty to the crown, even joining the revolutionary forces. Connor Dowd was not one of these. It had become personal for him. The Dowds aided in assembling a small militia group to meet Cornwallis, the British General, who was on his way to North Carolina. He financed and arranged for a mounted force of 40 men, commanded by his son, Owen, named for his brother. The men never made it to meet up with Cornwallis but entered into small clashes with groups of Patriots. The Dowds paid highly for this. The worst price was the death of his son. Owen was killed on September 13, 1781, at Lindley's Mill on Cane Creek in Alamance County.

A portion of Thomas Kitchin's 1781 map of North Carolina, depicting Hillsborough, the Haw River, and Lindley's Mill on Cane Creek

The link below will give more information on this particular battle. Local names from surrounding counties I recognize that participated on the Patriot side are Patrick Boggan, Thomas Wade, and Joseph Howell.

Carolana: Battle of Lindley's Mill 

Local lore retells the story of Connor receiving the bloodied and broken body of his son, returned by his surviving men. At this point the tale tends to bend in two distinct directions. One form of the story is that Connor was again arrested and deported to Ireland. The other version claims that Connor escaped capture, fleeing to join the British troops in Wilmington and sailed off to England in 1782.

Both forms acknowledge the fact, proved by documented record, that he left Mary and his ten children, some quite young, to carry on alone. In response, Mary began to sell off a few of Connors most recently acquired lands for money to support herself and her children. An incredible woman, Mary fought back when in retaliation for Connor's support of the Loyalist forces, their land and several of his mills and business properties were seized. Abandoned, and aware of the portentous events around her, Mary did not possess the state of dejection many of the widows, and solitary women left in the wake of the War, had embraced. Instead, she fought back. 

The image that is the lead in for this post is Mary's petition, an appeal to the new Revolutionary Government to return some of her shared properties, in order to support her family. The women and children were always left holding the bag for the actions of the men. Her petition was groundbreaking, the first one of a loyalist sueing, and eventually winning, to recover confiscated property.

Moore's Creek Bridge Battle between Patriots and Loyalist, primarily Scotts.

According to the pension requests of several elderly Patriots later on, one of Connor's Mills in Moore County,had been taken and used as a Headquarters for Patriot forces. In November of 1782, a lower court in Chatham County awarded Mary the return and possession of 1000 acres in property. A community group, led by members of the families of Revolutionary soldiers, voiced complaint of this action because of Connor's actions and support of the Loyalists. 

 In May of 1784 , Mary Overton Dowd petitioned the North Carolina General Assembly for the right to sue the debtors who still owed Conner, or any of his business associations, any money. She was also attempting to either have confiscated property returned, or recoup the money received from that which had been sold, and to be able to sue those individuals,or governments, in court.

So for being on the wrong side of history, this 7th Great Grandfather lost his son, his businesses, his land, his citizenship, and contact with his surviving family members.

The above document is an excerpt of a letter from Robert Rowan to Governor Richard Caswell, dated September 18, 1777. In the letter, Rowan tells Governor Caswell about the outcome of his effort to get Connor Dowd to take the oath to the new United States government. Rowan, a friend and associate of Connor's, felt like he was making headway on swaying Connor's sympathies in the direction of the Patriots side.  He felt his efforts were undermined by the opposing actions of Philip Alston, who had aided in having Connor thrown in jail. The entire letter and tale can be found at the link below. 

Link

Mary Overton Sheilds Dowd worked to arrange Connor's return and managed to retain some of the family property. Connor returned to North Carolina in 1783 after the Treaty of Paris ended the War. The fifth article of the Treaty instructed Congress to 'earnestly recommend" for State legislatures to return either confiscated properties, or the money got of it, to its original owners. Not everybody listened to the recommendations. One unfortunate side effect of the act is that it also allowed people to sue Mary for Connors debts, even after his death, like the debt he owed for the pork and beef he had gotten for the Loyalists.

 It is recorded that Connor made several transatlantic trips after returning to North Carolina. I wonder if this was an attempt to rebuild his trade business or legal dealings with the British or Irish governments. 

North Carolina had passed a special act allowing Mary to retain use of some of her property and pursue legal actions in her own name. Connor Dowd is supposed to have died in 1789, in Chatham or Moore County, NC. Mary Dowd died in 1806; the paragraph below comes from information on the page of the House in the Horseshoe State Historic Site. I wish some of the Dowd property had survived. 

By the time Mary Dowd died in 1806, most of the estate she had regained was gone. She had sold over 1,000 acres piecemeal through the years in order to repay debts that were accumulated by her husband, Connor Dowd. According to court documents, the estate took years to settle as debts against the estate were filed. Mary lived the rest of her life fighting to regain the wealth she had before the American Revolution, like many loyalists in North Carolina, her life was never the same.

Image: Court document, dated 1812 asking for recuperation for cows and money borrowed by Connor Dowd in 1777. House in the Horseshoe State Historic Site

The known children of Connor Dowd were:

1. Owen Dowd 1745-1781 by first wife
2. James Dowd, years unknown by first wife
3. Mary Catherine "Katie" Dowd 1764-1803 Married Burwell Kendrick
4. Robert Robin Sheilds, 1764-1882 Stepson - son of Mary and Reuben Shields
5. Major Cornelius Dowd 1767 -1840 married Mary Dickerson Sheilds
6. Mary 'Polly' Dowd 1770-1840 married Moore.
7. Patrick Dowd 1771-1825 married Rita Dickerson
8. Sarah Jane Dowd 1772-1829 married Clayborne Mauldin - My line
9. Rosanna Dowd 1774-1850 married James Dalyrymple
10. Atlas Samuel Dowd 1775 -1852 married Hannah McSwain
11. Richard Dowd 1776-1840 married Rebecca 
12. Laura Dowd 1777- after 1840 asa 'Retta'.
13. Margaret Dowd 1778-1779.

General area of some of Connor Dowds properties on Deep River and the road along which he built his store and tavern.

The Autumn of my Family Tree

They say good things come in threes. Sometimes losses also come in threes, which undermines the first old saying. Lately, there has been a trifecta of losses to my family tree, effectuating a seasonal autumn of falling leaves.

This latest one is of an author and family historian, whom I met when he interviewed me on my branch of the Mauldin family tree, as that is the family name we share, and our branch is particularly strong due to endogamy.

Ervin Perry Mauldin was born on September 5, 1932 to Samuel D. Mauldin and Beulah Jane Lee. He grew up in the town of Norwood in southern Stanly County, North Carolina. Mathmatically, Ervin was my second cousin, three times removed, but who's counting. Genetically, he shows up a generation closer because my Mauldin Great Grandparents were first cousins.

Early in life, Ervin had developed an affinity for local history and genealogy, especially his own. With appetency and a passion, he dug into the family roots for decades, seeking out information on all things Mauldin. Ervin became my go to on anything involving the Mauldins or anything in particular concerning the southern part of the county. He was the keeper of the Green Wesley Simpson Family Bible, which revealed a great deal of the comings, goings and family ties of the families around Aquadale and Cottonville and the old Rehobeth Church. Ervin would discuss history and facts with a bonhomie that was rare in genealogical research. I had met many in the world of family research who consider their ancestors theirs and theirs alone, and not free with any information to anyone else, not taking into consideration that this ancestor could have thousands of other descendants just as interested. 

Ervin's hard work traveling to many other counties and states, countless hours spent in dusty courthouse basements and the State Archives in Raleigh, and interviews with the oldest members of different family lines, resulted in the compilation of materials into two books."Ye Mauldins",  which I proudly own, came first. Afterwards, he would publish another on the Simpson family.

Ervin,  a single man, stayed self-sufficient and self reliant into his nineties. He had several nephews that would check in on him and always close if he needed them. Sadly, on March 6th, Ervin, always a proud Norwood resident, left home to run a few errands and was involved in a horrible automobile accident. We will miss this dedicated family researcher and author. His obituary is below.

in.