A Patriot Gets his Marker

Monument to the Memory of Thomas Biles 

On March 22, 2025, at 11 a.m., a group of folks gathered to honor the life and service of Revolutionary War Patriot, Thomas Biles. I was among them. 

I am not descended from this family, but having deep Stanly County roots, they were certainly involved in the lives and business of those I am related to. 

Zelma Eudy, a Member of the Yadkin River Patriots Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and a Biles descendant, ordered a commemorative plaque for her Patriot ancestor some 16 years ago. With the placement of this plaque at the New London Town Cemetery, a dream has finally come to fruition. 

The beautifully preserved federal style Biles House in the town of New London, dating back to about 1830

In a brief summary, Thomas Biles Jr. (known in the area as Thomas Biles Sr.) was born in New Jersey in 1752. His family afterwards moved to what was then Rowan County, North Carolina. He served as a Private in the Revolutionary War and afterwards, married Miss Tabitha Marbury on March 8, 1783, in Salisbury. About 1797, they moved to Montgomery County, NC and settled on the west side of the river, in what is now Stanly County, near the Narrows of the Yadkin River and the headwaters of Mountain Creek. Old maps of North Carolina show a little town called "Narrowsville" along a northwest to southeast trajectory some few miles off the river and near the Narrows. It was perhaps to this area they came. 

A reinacter in uniform attends the ceremony

Five groups sponsered the event; the Yadkin River Patriots Chapter of the DAR, the Govenor John Archdale Chapter of the Colonial Dames 17th Century, the Colsons Mills Sons of the American Revolution, the Stanly County Genealogical Society, and the Stanly County Historical Assosciation. 

Mrs. Wanda Gantt

Mrs. Wanda Gantt, a member of the Yadkin River Patriots Chapter of the DAR, a member of the Colonial Dames, and President of the Stanly County Genealogical Society, emceed the event. Several Biles family descendants participated in the ceremony by placing flags, and reciting poems, in honor of their distinguished forebearer. 

The New London Town Cemetery location was chosen for the placement of the Memorial due to the history of the town to the Biles family. About 1830, Thomas Biles, Jr. (or actually the 3rd, as his grandfather, who did not live in this region, was also a Thomas), known about as "Uncle Tommy", and his wife, Betsy Sides Biles, chose the highest elevation around to build their home and plantation. Soon, a little village grew up around them, with business and enterprise. An academy was established for educational purposes. An old handdrawn map of Bilesville, as the village was known, shows a splattering of about two dozen homes located at the intersection of the "New Salisbury Road" and "the road from Dr. Kendalls to Stokes Ferry". Gold had been found and a tract was labled 'Biles Gold Mine tract' and 'Parker Gold'. Other names on the map show whomelse lived or owned land near the Biles family, that being the Howell Parker family, John Ivey and Henry Ivey. There is also a mention of a previous owner as "Abednego Merryman'. Gold had been discovered on Howell Parkers farm about 1859. Bethel Church provided the religious instruction, located a few miles east, until Bilesville Methodist was established. A school was built in 1884.

Writer Fred T. Morgan of local fame once reported that the name of Bilesville was changed to New London to attract investment and that New London was incorporated by the General Assembly on March 7, 1891 and Bilesville ceased to exist. 

Thomas Biles II (Sr.), the patriot, had married Tabitha Marbury in 1783. The name is also seen as Mayberry, Mabry, Marberry, and other various spellings.Their estate papers mentioned nine Biles children:

Isaac Biles, Alexander Biles, Daniel Biles, Thomas Biles III (JR) aka "Uncle Tommy", Francis Biles, William Biles, Sarah Biles Rogers, Udessa Biles Crowell and Lucinda Biles Crowell.

A young Biles descendant places a flag at the Thomas Biles marker.

Thomas Biles was 80 years old when he applied for a pension in 1832. One wonders why he waited so long. His case was heard in the Montgomery County, NC , January term of Court in 1833. He stated he volunteered as a Private under Captain Hugh Montgomery in Salisbury, under Captain James Craig near Neighbor and General Rutherford, the Commanding Officer of the Volunteers. He signed up for three months under Montgomery.

He marched from Salisbury to Cross Creek, 'now Fayetteville, 100 miles against the Tories.'  Under Craig, he marched from the Valley towns of the Cherokee Nation of Indian Cross and stated that the march was supposed to be 250 miles. He marched across the head of he Catawba River to the foot of Savannah Gap foth the South Regiment, with a company of Warriors from the Catawba Nation. They were ordered to destroy things of use to the Indians, and burnt all houses down and cut down corn. He testified that there was no fighting except with the spies who killed and took 17 Indians prisoner. 

Thomas said proof of his service could be provided by Daniel Biles near Salisbury, who was too advanced in years to come to court. This was probably not his son Daniel Biles, but probably his brother or another relative of his own generation. 

Thomas stated that he was born in New Jersey about 1750 and was living in Rowan County, NC at the time of his service. His family had came and settled with the Jersey Settlement, which is in Davidson County, but at that time, Davidson was still a part of Rowan. He described the place he first settled as "five miles above Salisbury". He moved from there to Montgomery County in the year 1797 in the State of North Carolina, "on a farm near the Narrows of the Yadkin River near the Head of Mountain Creek", and continues to live on the same place.

In Thomas's interview he was asked several autobiographal questions. Asked if was drafted or volunteered, he answered that he was a volunteer. Asked if he recieved a discharge, he stated that he did, verbally, by Captain Hugh Montgomery and Captain James Craig.

"I never recieved a written discharge, but verbally which was the custom in the back country."

Mr. James Cotton played the part of Thomas Biles and read his testimony at the ceremony.

He was charged with naming persons who could corroborate his testimony. "State the names of persons to whom you are known in your present neighborhood who can testify as to your charactor for varicity and their belief of your service as a Soldier of the Revolution".  To which he named William Harris, David Pennington, Frances Locke, David Kendall and George Smith. 

Also giving testimony in his behalf were Stanly County (then Montgomery County) citizens, George Shankle and Robert Smith. 

"We George Shankle Clergyman residing in the neighborhood and Robert Smith residing in the same hereby certify that we are acquanted with Thomas Biles the above applicant........that he is reputed and believed in the neighborhood where he resides to have been a soldier of the Revolution."

Thomas Biles was just one of the brave men who stood up when duty called, to fight for the freedom of our young and growing nation. It was honor to watch the placement and ceremony to his service. He was also the patriarch to a large and industrious Stanly County family. 

Carolina Watchman

Salisbury, North Carolina • Thu, Feb 16, 1882Page 3

Above is the mention of the death of "Uncle Tommy" Biles, son of  Patriot Thomas Biles, for whom the town of Bilesville, now New London, was named. 

The above early map of Bilesville, located at the North Carolina archives, shows the Parker Gold mines, shows the "New Road to Salisbury" intersecting with the "road leading from Dr. Kendall to Stokes Ferry", (note; it could also be an abbreviation of David for David Kendall.). It shows the home of Thomas Biles on the south side of the road. Twenty-six homes are noted, as is the property of John Ivey and the Biles Gold mine tract. The Henry Ivy tract was to the west, and the Howell Parker tract was noted as "being 200 acres granted to Adednego Merryman" and next to an "heirs of Howell Parker deceased" tract. Biles Academy is shown on the map, as well as the home of "P. Kirk" and the "Flint Springs Property". 

We celebrate a piece of Stanly County History. 

The Search for Adam Biles Part II: Rowan

I recently posted concerning a man who had died in Stanly County, North Carolina in 1872 by the name of Adam Biles. I had been contacted by someone, a descendant of his, who was up against a brickwall, and had found him in my family tree. At the time, I had very little information on Adam, so I tried to find more, to help this descendant out.

Adam's story was atypical, and not what a searcher would expect to find, and his descendant was also a little confused about how he ended up in my family tree. The truth of it all ties into the history of America itself, which is not cut and dried, and which, after you dig into it awhile, you discover is a little more complicated and ensnarled than one might imagine.

Adam Biles came in to my family tree by way of his marriage to Matilda Shankle. Adam Biles, you see, was born a slave and was a slave of the Biles family who were founders of the town of New London.

http://www.jobschildren.com/2019/11/the-search-for-adam-biles.html

The first mention I find of him in Stanly County was in the will of Thomas Biles Sr. (Stanly County Sr, as in Rowan County, this Thomas Biles becomes Thomas Biles Jr, as his father, John Thomas Biles, was also known as Thomas. Adam was willed to Tabitha Marbury Biles by her husband Thomas. She lived but a few years longer than Thomas and at that time, Adam passed to their oldest son, Isaac Biles and his wife Martha Moss Biles and eventually, Adam was freed by the Emancipation Proclaimation. He began farming on his own and legally married his wife, whom he had been in a committed relationship with for quite some time, and had fathered a large family with her. When Adam passed away, and his own estate was settled, his wife Matilda was named in the probate records along with daughter Eliza and her husband, Jacob Underwood, daughter Wincy and her husband, John Bell, daughter Adaline, who was not yet married, sons Whitson and George Biles and daughter Rachel, and her husband George W. Bell.

Seems simple, but it wasn't. While Adam was a slave, his wife and children were not. Matilda Shankle was a free woman of color, and was of mixed race, being described as a "very light mulatto".  Being free, her children with Adam were also born free, as they took the status of their mother. I personally have members of a "triracial isolate group" in my own family tree, or persons from remnant East Coast Virginia and Carolinas Indigenous Groups, or as they were known back then, "Indians", who had intermarried with the other ethnicities around them until they became biologically tri-racial. Some of these members of my family, descendants of one of my direct ancestors siblings, had moved to Cabarrus County, as did certain of Matilda and Adam's children, and there intermarried with the Biles/Shankle family, and that is how Adam Biles ended up in my family tree.






I had gone as far as I could with the search for Adam Biles in Stanly County. Being formed in  1841, just a few years before Thomas Biles passed away, there was not much to go on. Knowing that the Biles family originated in Rowan, that was the next place to look.


Stanly was part of Montgomery before it became Stanly, but there was not much there to see, and no mention of Adam in any land records, which sometimes also held slave transactions.

davidrumsey.com Historical map collection, Rowan County

But I had to still look first at Thomas Biles.

Name:	Thomas Beles [Thomas Biles]  [Thomas Biles, Jr.]
Home in 1840 (City, County, State):	West Pee Dee River, Montgomery, North Carolina
Free White Persons - Males - 10 thru 14:	1
Free White Persons - Males - 40 thru 49:	1
Free White Persons - Females - 10 thru 14:	3
Free White Persons - Females - 15 thru 19:	1
Free White Persons - Females - 30 thru 39:	1
Free Colored Persons - Males - Under 10:	1
Free Colored Persons - Females - Under 10:	2
Free Colored Persons - Females - 24 thru 35:	1
Persons Employed in Agriculture:	4
Free White Persons - Under 20:	5
Free White Persons - 20 thru 49:	2
Total Free White Persons:	7
Total Free Colored Persons:	4
Total All Persons - Free White, Free Colored, Slaves:	11

The last census Thomas Biles appeared in was the 1840 census of Montgomery County, NC, which was one year before Montgomery was split by the PeeDee River and the western part became Stanly.

There were 7 free white people in his household and 4 free colored persons, one being a female between 24 and 35, two little girls under 10 and one male under 10. These were very concievably Matilda Shankle, and three of her children.

Name:	Thomas Biles
Home in 1830 (City, County, State):	West Side Pee Dee River, Montgomery, North Carolina
Free White Persons - Males - 15 thru 19:	1
Free White Persons - Males - 20 thru 29:	1
Free White Persons - Males - 70 thru 79:	1
Free White Persons - Females - 60 thru 69:	1
Slaves - Males - Under 10:	3
Slaves - Males - 10 thru 23:	2
Slaves - Males - 24 thru 35:	1
Slaves - Males - 55 thru 99:	1
Slaves - Females - 10 thru 23:	1
Slaves - Females - 24 thru 35:	1
Slaves - Females - 36 thru 54:	1
Free White Persons - Under 20:	1
Free White Persons - 20 thru 49:	1
Total Free White Persons:	4
Total Slaves:	10
Total - All Persons (Free White, Slaves, Free Colored):	14

Ten years earlier in 1830, he had 10 slaves. I've not seen anything that gives an estimate of Adam's birth. His oldest daughter was born in 1830. His wife was born around 1816. He was probably a few years older. In 1844, he was the third most vauluable of the Biles slaves, meaning, he was probably still in his prime, or skilled, but not the best, so perhaps in the later years of his prime, not his twenties, but perhaps 35 to 40, so I am going to estimate his year of birth as probably being about 1805 to 1810. He might have been one of the males aged 10 to 23 in 1830, or the one 24 to 35. Living until 1872, I would not place him any older than that.

Name:	Thomas Biles
Home in 1800 (City, County, State):	Montgomery, North Carolina
Free White Persons - Males - Under 10:	3
Free White Persons - Males -10 thru 15:	3
Free White Persons - Males - 16 thru 25:	2
Free White Persons - Males - 45 and over:	1
Free White Persons - Females - Under 10:	3
Free White Persons - Females - 26 thru 44:	1
Number of Slaves:	1
Number of Household Members Under 16:	9
Number of Household Members Over 25:	2
Number of Household Members:	14

In 1810, he had 5 slaves and in 1800, he had only 1. In 1790, he was still in Rowan County.  So, it appears Adam was either born in Stanly County, or purchased after Thomas Biles arrived here, or perhaps he came from one of the other Biles family members in Rowan County.

There are a few dots that connect.

Name:	Sherfsey Biles
Age in 1870:	42
Birth Year:	abt 1828
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Dwelling Number:	75
Home in 1870:	Harris, Stanly , North Carolina
Race:	Black
Gender:	Male
Post Office:	Albemarle
Occupation:	Farmer
Cannot Read:	Y
Cannot Write:	Y
Disability Condition:	Y
Male Citizen over 21:	Y
Inferred Spouse:	Hager Biles
Household Members:	Name Age Sherfsey Biles 42 Hager Biles 45

The above is a couple from the 1870 census of Stanly County. The transcribers really messed up that first name, because looking at the actual document, it clearly say "Sharper", with  a little dip on the end of the "R" at the end. Someone's fancy handwriting. Sharper is an unusual name and I can verify that it is Sharper because there is a deed in Stanly County, Book 11  Page 547, where a Sharper Biles has taken a mortgage from a company called "Ivy and Biles". Knowing one of Thomas Biles daughters married Benjamin Ivy, I can only assume this was a family business. Like Adam Biles, several of the former Biles slaves mortgaged a tract of land through Biles and Ivy after emancipation, and farmed their own land, though mortgaged.

I'd seen the name Sharper one other place while digging up in Rowan County.

In August of 1784, The will of Thomas Biles Sr, or  John Thomas Biles, the father of the Stanly County Thoma Biles Sr., was proved by one Thomas Frohock. Elizabeth, Charles and Thomas Biles qualified as executors. So there was an association with some Frohocks.


Will book D Page 163, Rowan County, NC  18 Sept. 1781, Probated in 1784. Thomas Biles, Wheelwright, wife Elizabeth to have home plantation which then goes to son John.  Son Joseph to have tract on Dials Creek. Sons Daniel and Thomas to have tract on North side of Dials Creek. Sons Thomas and Charles to share meadowland. Sons Jonathan and John to have remainder of two surveys. Daughters Deborah Biles, Dosey Biles, and Ann Biles mentioned. Executors, wife Elizabeth and sons Charles and Thomas. Witnesses, Thomas Frohock and Joshua Storie.

Historic Map of Rowan County, UNC Charlotte Urban Institute. 

The above map shows the location of Frohock's Mill. Two years after the will of Thomas Biles (Rowan Sr) was probated (Note: Thomas Biles Jr of Rowan becomes Thomas Biles Sr of Stanly), is the will of John Frohock in Will Book C Page 224 dated 10 Sept. 1786.

"Brother William to have the tract where he now lives called Carter Place, my home tract called Drakes Place where I now have a negro quarter, the tract on Haw River I bought from Edward Hughes, all my lands in the forks of the Yadkin with grist and saw mills, a 400 acre tract on the north side of the Tarr River and 200 acres called Pattersons Place, 550 acres on Wolf Pitt Crrek and a lot in Halifax near the Court House"  - This guy owned property all over the map - "and negros Tom, Bengy, Annokee, her daughter Bett, Vilett, Tomey, Rose, Nell, Anny, Bob, Bett (Hunter), Luke that I bought of Magoune, Patt, Venus, Cato, Roger and Jude. Brother Thomas to have a tract on Grants Creek bought from  Colo. Alexander McCulloh with grist and Saw mills, a tract adj.  the town land of Salisbury called Hayes Place, my house in Salisbury and lots in town and a tract on the south side of Tarr River where my uncle Robert Parker formerly lived, also a tract on Taylors Creek and a tract on Betey's Creek known as Mulberry Great Low Grounds, and a tract on Second Creek bought from George Magoune and a tract bought from James Andrews on Second Creek and my right to Morby's Place and a tract up the Yadkin bought from Francis Locke and Negros Sharper, Jesse, Mary Ann, Bett, Bill, Sharper Jr., Jacob, Absolom, George, Dick, Sarah, File, Polly, Luke, Abram, Peg, Samuel Jr, Davey, Dinah, Frank, Peter, Sall, and Old Sam. The rest of the land in Virginia, Carolina and elsewhere to be sold and divided between my two brothers. The negro, Absolom, a waiting man, to be schooled one year and given his freedom. Aunt, Mary McManus, to have $200. Alexander McCullough's daughter, Miss Mary, to have $200. Mr. Hamilton to have $10 annually. Executors, my two brothers. Witnesses: John Mitchell, Max Chambers, Elizabeth Mitchell. 

The above note is a receipt stating 'Recieved Salisbury January 24,1864" - the END and I mean near the END of the Civil War - "from Thomas Biles ESQ" (This would be Thomas Biles III or known in Stanly County as Thomas Jr.) - $2950- and also fifty dollars and cash and his own slave Jim in exchange for two slaves, Sharper and Hagar. The right and title of the said slaves are guaranteed and likewise warrant them sound".

Then, Sharper and Hagar Biles show up in the 1870 census of Stanly County, NC.

Then there is the Deed, Book 11 Page 547:

"Sharper Biles to Biles and Ivey"  

Sharper Biles of Stanly County, NC owed $20 to this partnership, Biles and Ivy, who held a note against him dated October 29th of 1877.  In turn he mortgaged "one red & white spotted cow and calf, one red & white spotted steer & one red & white spotted ox, age 7". 

Sharper signed with his mark and the document was witnessed by W M Ivy.

So, it looks like Sharper Biles may have lived in Rowan County and could have been the Sharper Jr. mentioned in the will of Mr. Frohock, a very wealthy individual who owned land all over the state, and in Virginia, as well as in Rowan County.

In Deed Book 18 Page 921 In Rowan  County, Thomas Biles (Whether Jr. or Sr, however, John Thomas, the Rowan Sr., is deceased, so I am assuming this to be Thomas the Second, a Jr in Rowan and Sr. in Stanly.) lets John Turner have 141 acres on the south side of Second Creek neighboring the properties of Gill, James Kincaid, Hulin and Dent for $220. It was witnessed by Thomas H. Dent and Stephen Biles (a brother of Thomas) and was proved in Feb. of 1804. It was notated that this deed was part of a tract from Alexander Frohock (brother to John Frohock, Esquire) to Thomas Biles.

The very next deed, Book 18 Page 922 Thomas Biles of Montgomery County (recall that Stanly was part of Montgomery at this time.) to George Monrow (sp), 200 acres next to John Howard, Beard, Mashick Pinkston on Laurel Branch for 250 pounds.  It was witnessed by Daniel Biles.

There was no Adam listed in the papers of John Frohock, but who did have an Adam?

In the will of ond Thomas Munroe (a relation of the above George Munroe perhaps?) , dated June 22 1805, he left to his wife Amelia, his plantation on the Yadkin River and negros Jack, Sunday, Peter, Phimia, Lenah, and Phebe. He left to his daughter Rebecca Reagen Munroe, a plantation and mill on Sandy Creek and negros, Rachel, Sal, Delia, Hannah, Bett, Adam, and Nat. Executors were his friend Charles F. Bagge and his wife, Amelia. Witnesses were W. Chambers, Naptaly Durham and Jere Durham.

So, we found an Adam in Rowan County, but was our Adam even born in 1805? And I can't find any transactions of Thomas Biles purchasing a slave named Adam.

There were several other transactions involving Thomas Biles buying slaves, or hiring bound children. The below document is a contract between one Harriett Austin and Thomas Biles, dated February 5, 1867, wherein she hired out her son, Allen, to Thomas Biles in exchange for "2 winter sutes, (suits), two sumer sutes, 2 par shoos, (pair of shoes), 1 hat," among other item, including "20 dollars in currency".  Harriett is named as a 'freed woman' in the document. She requires Thomas Biles to treat her son humanely and to correct him when needed. She also requests Thomas Biles to take her son William, "to give him his borde + three sets of close for his laber until the 25 of December".  She also requests that William be treated humanely and kind and to be corrected as needed.

And I did find another document mentioning Adam, but it was after Thomas and Tabitha Biles had passed and involved their son, Isaac.

This document provided for the dividing of the slaves of Thomas Biles II (Sr. in Stanly, Jr. in Rowan), fairly for the children of Francis and William Biles, sons of Thomas whom had predeceased him, leaving heirs. Archibald C. Smith, Johnathan Bell and Arthur F. Atkins had been called upon to evaluate the slaves left to the widow, Tabitha Biles. It states, "whereas Adam, one of the negroes has been valued by the said commissioners at the sum of $550". Isaac Biles settled in cash with his nieces and nephews over the value of Adam, and another man, Jack. 

While I found transactions naming slaves between Thomas Biles and Benjamin New, Francis Locke (this name appears in both Rowan and Stanly County documents, maybe not the same man, but most likely related as Francis Locke was an influential and historical figure here in those days), and Truxton Kirk, no one named Adam appears. He may have even originated with the Marbury family, as slaves are mentioned, but not by name, and came through the family of Tabitha Marbury Biles. 

In ending, I do not know if Adam Biles was born into the household of Thomas Biles, or if he was purchased from another slave holder, perhaps in Rowan County. I can only place him in the household of Thomas Biles. 

While genealogy for anyone this far back can be frustrating for anyone, and trying to find documentation that just may no longer exist, it's particualarly difficult for anyone with African American roots. Sometimes, this is as far as it can ever go. 

The Search for Adam Biles

During my recent endeavors to collect my Turner family roots, I recieved a message asking about a mysterious individual connected rather far from the root of my family tree. The man's name was Adam Biles, and I have not been able to find but a few faint traces of his life's path upon the soil of Stanly County, NC. But left his marks, he did, in the history and genealogy of this county.

To begin, I will start at the end, his estate file.

First, on the 31st of August, 1872, a J. R. Littleton "made application for letters of administration upon the estate of Adam Biles, neg. It is ordered that J. R. Littleton enter into bond in the sum of two hundred dollars bond.."

Signed by J M Redwine, Probate Judge.

This folder continues, " without will....value of estate $100 and that Matilda is entitled as heir(s)
thereof."

The settlement was later in the Probate files under the title "Adam Biles, deceased, and Matilda Biles vs Adaline Underwood et al".

There's a number of papers, receipts, and legalise in the documents, but one that calls to mind the center of the findings was:

"Petition to Sell Lands", wherein, the Administrator, J. R. Littleton and the widow, Matilda Biles, are sued by her children, the heirs of Adam Biles, listed as:

Eliza Underwood and her husband, Jacob Underwood
Wincy Bell and her husband, John Bell
Whitson Biles, George Biles,
Rachel Bell and her husband George Bell and
Adaline Biles

" To the Superior Court of Stanly County, the petition of J. R. Littleton, as admin of Adam Biles and his widow, Matilda Biles respectfully showeth  1st that letters of administration were duly granted to him upon the estate of Adam Biles deceased on the 7th day of August, 1872. 
2nd That there was not  any personal property on hand belonging to said estate. 
3rd That his intestate owed and still owes debts to the amount of about sixty-five dollars
4th That said Biles died seized of tract of land situated in Stanly County and containing about 50 acres valued at $75. 
5th That the plaintiff Matilda Biles as the widow of said intestate is entitled to dower in said lands and that she is  willing to take her dower in money. 
6th That the defts. are heirs at law of said intestate. 

The estate was settled, the land was sold, the debts were paid, including the costs of administration and what miniscule amounts were left went to Matilda.

But the question remains, who was Adam Biles?

To start with, lets look at who the widow was, Matilda.

Matilda Biles, was known as Matilda or Tilda or Tildy, Shankle, both earlier and later in life. I first find mention of her in the Minutes of the Court of Pleas and Quarters Sessions of Stanly County in the year 1841. This was the year Stanly became a county, and this was only the third session of Court.

In this session, the sheriff, Eben Hearne, was ordered to bring Eliza, Whitson and Wincy, colored infant children of Tilda Shankle, to the next term of court. They were not the only children he was ordered to bring. Other children, either fatherless, orphaned, or born out of wedlock, were also ordered to be brought to court. It was a system they had set up during those years, to keep children from becoming wards of the state. And Matilda, at the time, was not considered to be legally married.

The children were brought to court and in the November 1841 session, Eliza and Whitson Shankle were bound to William Biles and Winsey Shankle was bound to Truxton Kirk.

In the 1850 census, Matilda, and various of her children, are seen living with the Biles family, probably in Harris Township, in Stanly County.

ame:	Tildy Shankle [Felby Shankle]
Age:	44
Birth Year:	abt 1816
Gender:	Female
Race:	Mulatto
Home in 1860:	Stanly, North Carolina
Post Office:	Albemarle
Dwelling Number:	578
Family Number:	582
Occupation:	Farmer
Cannot Read, Write:	Y
Household Members:	Name Age Tildy Shankle 44 Eliza Shankle 26 Wincy Shankle 22 Whitson Shankle 21 George Shankle 18 Rachael Shankle 16 Adaline Shankle 8 John Shankle 7 Mourning Shankle 6 Mary E Shankle 4 Nancy Shankle 2 Emaline Shankle 6/12

By 1860, most of Matilda's children, those who survived, were living with her. I believe that the younger ones, John, Mourning, Mary E, Nancy and Emaline, were probably her grandchildren, as they are not listed in the estate papers. Emaline appears to be the same age as Emaline Underwood, daughter of Eliza Shankle Underwood. I believe they are the same girl.

Tildy was living beside of Harvey Reed and his family, who had a boarder named William Blalock. Both Reed and Blalock were blacksmiths, and like Matilda and her children, were free persons of color.

And also like Whitson and George Shankle (Biles), Harvey Reed (also seen as Reid), served in the Civil War in the Stanly Marksmen, along with another free man of color, John Jackson.

CLIPPED FROM

The Spirit of the Age
Raleigh, North Carolina05 Jun 1861, Wed  •  Page 2


The FPOC, (free persons of Color), community in Stanly County was not a large one, but there were several families, moving in and out of the county, during the years before the Civil War. Most were persons of mixed ancestry. Some were of mixed African and European ancestry, while others were Native Americans, remnants of tribes who were barely hanging on, and rather nomadic in existence, now known as Lumbee, Waccamaw, Sappony, Tuscarora, Cheraw, Coharie, Haliwah-Saponi. Harvey Reid was originally from Cabarrus County. The Shankle family was Stanly County born and bred. 
Matilda Shankle was a free woman of color, therefore her children were also born free. Her exact ancestry is not known, but what is known is that she was somehow connected to the George Shankle family of Stanly County. Her son George's name was no accident. Matilda and her children are always described as mulatto, or persons of mixed ancestry. I've seen in a file once that she was described as a very light mulatto, "nearly white", which means her parents, or at least her mother, may also have been of mixed ancestry. Whether she was born free or freed after birth is unknown. Rev. George Shankle was a well-respected minister and Revolutionary War soldier. He died the year Stanly became a county. The same year Matilda's children were taken from her and bound out. 

CLIPPED FROM

The North-Carolinian
Fayetteville, North Carolina30 Oct 1841, Sat  •  Page 
Going by the list from the estate papers, the oldest child of Adam Biles and Matilda Shankle Biles was a daughter, Eliza. Born about 1830, Matilda would have only been about 14 or 15 when she was born.Eliza married Jacob Underwood, also seen as "Jake", on December 29, 1865, in Stanly County. 

Name:	Jake Underwood
Age in 1870:	60
Birth Year:	abt 1810
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Dwelling Number:	12
Home in 1870:	Harris, Stanly, North Carolina
Race:	Black
Gender:	Male
Post Office:	Albemarle
Occupation:	Farmer
Male Citizen over 21:	Y
Personal Estate Value:	100
Inferred Spouse:	Eliza Underwood
Inferred Children:	Emaline Underwood Miranda Underwood David Underwood
Household Members:	Name Age Jake Underwood 60 Eliza Underwood 45 Emaline Underwood 10 Miranda Underwood 6 David Underwood 3

Jacob and Eliza were actually counted twice in 1870, with a bit of a difference in children staying with them. 

Name:	Jacob Underwood
Age in 1870:	55
Birth Year:	abt 1815
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Dwelling Number:	105
Home in 1870:	Harris, Stanly, North Carolina
Race:	Black
Gender:	Male
Post Office:	Albemarle
Occupation:	Farmer
Cannot Read:	Y
Cannot Write:	Y
Male Citizen over 21:	Y
Household Members:	Name Age Jacob Underwood 55 Eliza Underwood 30 Joe Underwood Emma Underwood 10 Marinda Underwood 6 Dovey Underwood 4

Emaline might have been the Emaline Shankle living with Matilda and Eliza in 1860.  On the marriage license to his second wife, married after Eliza had passed away, and Jacob being a young man of 63, he named his parents as David and Biddy Dilamotte (or Delamothe). This gives Jacob's origins as very clear. Henry Delamothe was a Frenchman and wealthy land owner along the Yadkin/PeeDee River, primarily in Montgomery County. He founded the town of Henderson, no longer in existence, and came for the gold. It was he who had convinced his niece, Mary Catherine Delamothe Kron and her husband, the reknown Prussian doctor, Francis Kron, to settle in America, along the Pee Dee River, in the area that is now known as Morrow Mountain State Park. The slaves of Henry Delamothe had taken the surname, based upon pronunciation, of Dillamotte. So why was Jacob an Underwood?In the Stanly County, NC Register of Deeds, Book 4 and Page 1, Francis Locke gives to his daughter, Elizabeth "Betty" Underwood and her husband D. A. Underwood, "for love and affection", 3 young men named Jacob, Anthony and Prad. The date was February 17 of 1853. In another deed, Book 4 Page 10, he had also gifted Elizabeth with teenagers Sol, Mariah and Mag. In other words, Jacob had been born a slave, probably on the Delamothe estate in Montgomery County, not far from where the Uwharrie meets the Yadkin to become the Great PeeDee. At some point, he was transferred to the possession of Francis Locke, an associate of Delamothe and another wealthy, revered individual. Lastly, Jacob was given to Francis Locke's daughter Elizabeth and her husband, D. A. Underwood. It appears Eliza and Jake were in a relationship, based on the ages of their children),  prior to their legal marriage, just as her parents had been. Jacob is always seen as 'Black', not Mulatto like Matilda and her children, so not of mixed race. They appear to have been the parents of 5 children: Joseph Z "Joe" Underwood, Emaline "Emma", Miranda, Dovey, and David Washington Underwood, who moved to Tennesee. Eliza would die before 1877, when Jake married Phoebe Crump. They would have one daughter that I know of, Zellar, and Jake would died before 1889, when Phoebe would marry a Parker and have 4 more children. 

Name:	Selina Shankle
Age:	19
Birth Year:	abt 1831
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1850:	Freemans, Stanly, North Carolina, USA
Race:	Mulatto
Gender:	Female
Family Number:	163
Household Members:	Name Age Isaac Biles 66 Martha Biles 58 Starling Biles 25 Edward Biles 22 Truxton Biles 19 Selina Shankle 19

A 19 year old mulatto girl named Selina Shankle, living in the home of Isaac Biles in 1850, where Adam Biles was at the time, (more on that later),  could also have been a daughter of Adam and Matilda, and the second child. She is not seen again, so may have died.
Wincy Shankle Bell and her husband, John Bell were the next. John Bell and his family were from Randolph County, NC. Like Matilda Shankle and her children, they were free people of color, shown in the pre-Civil War census records as mulattos. John was the son of Peter and Harriett Bell, lived in the Science Hill area and worked as a well-digger. Randolph County had one of the lowest population of slaves in the state, but one of the highest populations of free people of color. This was likely due to its significant population of Quakers, who were traditional abolutionists and participated in the Underground Railroad. Many worked to free slaves before it became illegal, and nearly impossible to do, after 1826.  The name Bell is also a common one associated with several different pockets of "Tri-racial isolates", groups of persons of mixed Indigenous, African and European ancestry, who kept to themselves and did not fit comfortably in with other, larger ethnic groups, like the Lumbee of North Carolina, the Melungeons of Eastern Tennesee and Kentucky, and the Red Bones of South Carolina.

Name:	Winay Bell [Wincy Bell]
Age in 1870:	33
Birth Year:	abt 1837
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Dwelling Number:	190
Home in 1870:	Asheboro, Randolph, North Carolina
Race:	Mulatto
Gender:	Female
Post Office:	Science Hill
Occupation:	Keeping House
Inferred Spouse:	John Bell
Inferred Children:	Sarah J Bell
Household Members:	Name Age John Bell 33 Winay Bell 33 Sarah J Bell 13

Wincy Shankle Bell must have passed away before 1880, because her husband John is seen then, living with his parents and listed as a widower. John, himself, lived a long life. He remarried to a lady named Nancy and died in 1919, at the age of 86, in Randolph County.  His death certificate said he died of dropsy and "very old" and listed his father as Peter and his wife as Nancy. 

CLIPPED FROM

The Courier
Asheboro, North Carolina25 Jun 1914, Thu  •  Page 5
The next child was Whitson Shankle, and he deserves a post to himself.  Whitson was a very impressive man. He married Lucinda Sophia Scott and moved from Stanly to Cabarrus County, where he raised his family. The newspapers were full of stories of his ventures, pursuits, sucesses and tragedies. He was a very well-respected farmer and businessman. 

Name:	Whitson Shankle
Age:	10
Birth Year:	abt 1840
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1850:	Freemans, Stanly, North Carolina, USA
Race:	Black
Gender:	Male
Family Number:	159
Household Members:	Name Age Thos Biley 50 Elizabeth Biley 43 Matilda Shankle 16 Whitson Shankle 10

Whitson first shows up in the 1850 census of Stanly County, at age 10, living in the home of Thomas Biles and his wife, along with a 16 year old named Matilda Shankle. Matilda could have been one of several persons. She could have been his mother, Matilda, and someone got the age wrong. She could have been a sister who passed away within the decade, or, she could have been Wincy, whom I was not able to find in 1850, whose name may have been Wincy Matilda or Matilda Wincy. 




I will not dwell on Whitson, as at some point, I want to do a separate post on this fascinating man of his time. He died in Cabarrus County in 1903, leaving a large and fruitful family of descendants behind. 
Next was the second son, George D. Biles, who followed in the footsteps of his brother, Whitson, quite closely. Like Whitson, he fought in the Civil War, and also like Whitson, he moved to Cabarrus County. He served on the Board of the Cabarrus Colored Fair, that Whitson organized and created, and held the Chair of. But George was not quite Whitson. He had, in his time, a little bit of trouble, something Whit never had.  But it appears to be before he moved to Cabarrus County and settled down. 

The Pee Dee Herald
Wadesboro, North Carolina09 Aug 1876, Wed  •  Page 2In Cabarrus, on his older brother's coattails, George gained some respectibility and a bit of luck. 

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The Standard
Concord, North Carolina02 Mar 1888, Fri  •  Page 3George Shankle married into the Reed family, as I had mentioned previously concerning Harvey Reed, who were also, historically free persons of color. These families remind me of the stories of the "Black Bourgeoisie", as written about in his book of the same name, by E. Franklin Frazier, and in her own autobiography, "Lena", by Lena Horne. Middle-class, property and business owners, and skilled craftsmen, they belonged to clubs, churchs and organizations. They were active socially,  educated, well-dressed, well-spoken and members of their own little subculture during the turn of the century and early years of the 1900's. They had came from freeborn persons of mixed race and seemed to have lived a very different existence than those who had not. The prevalence of the Reed family in the area near Mt. Pleasant where the Reeds and Shankles settled, was even referred to as "Reedsville". 
CLIPPED FROM
The Concord Daily Tribune
Concord, North Carolina09 Sep 1907, Mon  •  Page 1
George was first married to an Adeline, maiden name unknown, and she was living with him in the 1870 and 1880 census. They seem to have had a daughter named Loudema and Adeline may have been from Stanly County. Adeline died between 1880 and 1882.

Name:	Caroline Reed
Gender:	Female
Race:	Cold
Age:	22
Birth Year:	abt 1860
Marriage Date:	6 Sep 1882
Marriage Place:	Cabarrus, North Carolina, USA
Father:	Wash Reed
Mother:	Martha Swinson
Spouse:	George Shankle
Spouse Gender:	Male
Spouse Race:	Colored (Black)
Spouse Age:	42
Spouse Father:	Adam Biles
Spouse Mother:	Tilda Shankle
Event Type:	Marriage

Photo added by TMcManaway

He then married Caroline M Reed, daughter of Washington Reed and Martha Jane Swinson Reed on September 6, 1882. They had one son, Millard in 1884.Then George married her little sister, Amanda, on August 2 1896. Three children were born of this marriage, Harley, Napolean and Chassie. The youngest, Chassie Shankle Reed, was born in 1905 and Amanda shows up as a widow in the 1910 census, putting the death of George between 1904 and 1910. Amanda lived until 1931 and is buried at St Peter's Lutheran Church in Cabarrus County. George may have been buried there, too. There's a large number of Reeds buried in this cemetery, which leads me to believe the cemeteries location may have been in what was considered Reidsville.  It's near the Cabarrus Arena, not far from Highway 49 and the Cold Water area and just southwest of Mt. Pleasant. 

Name:	George Bell
Age:	35
Birth Date:	Abt 1845
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1880:	Cedar Grove, Randolph, North Carolina, USA
Dwelling Number:	75
Race:	Mulatto
Gender:	Male
Relation to Head of House:	Self (Head)
Marital status:	Married
Spouse's name:	Rachael Bell
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Occupation:	Farmer
Cannot Read:	Yes
Cannot Write:	Yes
Neighbors:
Household Members:	Name Age George Bell 35 Rachael Bell 32

Rachel Shankle was the next child, and following in the footsteps of her sister Wincy, she married the younger brother of her brother-in-law, John Bell, George W. Bell. Rachel and George W. Bell appear to have had no children. Rachel passed away in 1906 and George married a second wife, Bessie. He passed away in 1925.
George and Rachel were buried at Saint Mark's United Methodist Church near Mechanics Road and the community of Farmer not far off of Hwy 49 on the western end of Randolph County. 
The last child of Adam Biles and Matilda Shankle, named in the estate file, was Adaline Shankle. Adaline married in Montgomery County, to Brazilla Ingram, son of Randall and Jennie Ingram, in 1874.

Name:	Brazilla Ingram
Gender:	Male
Race:	Colored (Black)
Age:	21
Birth Year:	abt 1853
Marriage Date:	19 Nov 1874
Marriage Place:	Montgomery, North Carolina, USA
Father:	Randle Ingram
Mother:	Jennie Ingram
Spouse:	Adaline Shankle
Spouse Gender:	Female
Spouse Race:	Colored (Black)
Spouse Age:	22
Spouse Father:	Adam Shankle
Spouse Mother:	Matilda Shankle
Event Type:	Marriage

In 1880, they too, lived in the New Hope area of Randolph County. The family of Brazilla Ingram shows up in Randolph County in the 1870 and 1880 census, too. 

Name:	Brazilla Ingram
Age:	26
Birth Date:	Abt 1854
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1880:	New Hope, Randolph, North Carolina, USA
Dwelling Number:	65
Race:	Black
Gender:	Male
Relation to Head of House:	Self (Head)
Marital status:	Married
Spouse's name:	Adline Ingram
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Occupation:	Farmer
Cannot Write:	Yes
Neighbors:
Household Members:	Name Age Brazilla Ingram 26 Adline Ingram 26

Matilda Biles' last known location was in Randolph County, NC. She had followed her daughters there.

Name:	Tilda Shankle
Age:	60
Birth Date:	Abt 1820
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1880:	Concord, Randolph, North Carolina, USA
Dwelling Number:	68
Race:	Black
Gender:	Female
Relation to Head of House:	Self (Head)
Marital status:	Widowed
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Occupation:	Keeping House
Neighbors:
Household Members:	Name Age Tilda Shankle 60 Lou Shankle 6

She had a little granddaughter named Lou living with her.
So, now that the children have been accounted for, still, who was Adam Biles? To look, we have to switch over from the Shankle family to the Biles family. 
The quaint little town of New London, situated at the highest elevation of Stanly County, NC, started out being called Bilesville.   A man named Thomas Biles, from Rowan County, had settled there and a community had begun.

Handdrawn map of the village of Bilesville from the NC State Archives

Thomas Biles, Sr. was born about 1752 in Monmouth County, New Jersey. He arrived in North Carolina in the latter half of the 18th century, along with his parents, John Thomas and Elizabeth Biles, and silbings, and they settled along Second Creek in Rowan County, near the frontier town of Salisbury. Thomas would marry his lifelong spouse, Tabitha Marbury (sometimes seen as Mabry, Mayberry, etc. ) on March 8, 1783, in Rowan County. At some point, he would move his young family to a high spot in what was then Montgomery County, south of Rowan, into what became the northern part of Stanly County. A community would grow up around his plantation and would be known as Bilesville by the 1830's. The nearby church was known as Bethel along the route to the Yadkin River that led to the Narrows and the Great Falls of the Yadkin. At some point, gold would be found in the area and the name of Bilesville would be changed to New London, in an attempt to attract British investment, or changed by one of the investors in honor of his home. Which ever story rings true, the name was changed because of the gold. 
Thomas Biles wrote his will in 1844 and did not live a great time longer after that. And within I found Adam, as I though I would. In the will, Adam is left to Thomas's wife Tabitha, along with "Tony, Ben and Bitta". 

Thomas Biles named his wife, Tabitha in his will, along with his "six sons Isaac, Alexander, Daniel, Thomas, Francis and William D", including the ones who predeceased him. He did this to include the heirs of his deceased sons in the inheritance, that their heirs, his grandchildren, should recieve a portion of their deceased father's share of the estate. He also mentioned his daughters, Sarah Rogers, Udocia Crowell and Lucinda Crowell, and his daughter's in law, Martha, the wife of Isaac and Dovey, the wife of Alexander.  He also reveiled the location of some of his grandchildren by including the statement, "son William Biles's children who are now in the west). 
Tabitha Biles would pass away 7 years later in 1851. A C Smith, in drawing up the estate papers would wrtie, "being called upon by certain of the Legatees of Thomas Biles, sr, decd' to value, allot, and divide certain negros bequeathed by the last will and testament of the said Thomas Biles decd to Tabitha, widow during her natural life and at her death to descend to certain legatees. '
In the estate records, Adam is listed as the third most valuable., at $550. His age is not given, but he must have been a young adult and in his prime at this time. 

Tony was valued at $400 and drawn by Daniel Biles.Adam was valued at $550 and drawn by Isaac Biles.Ben was valued at $700 and drawn by Thomas Biles (Jr.).Betty was valued at $600 and drawn by Alexr Biles. (This must have been "Bitta" from the will). Caleb was valued at $225 and drawn by T. D. Kirk "one of the heirs of F. Biles", (the deceased son Francis). Caleeb was not mentioned in the will as being left to Tabitha, so was very likely a child born to Betty during the years between Thomas's 1844 will and Tabitha's 1851 decease. Other people found in the Will and Estate records of Thomas Biles were named in a few pages. In his will, he had left a woman named Mourning to his daughter, Sarah Biles Rogers. To his daughter "Udosia Crowell", (Theodosia Biles Crowell 1799-1868),he left a woman named Winny and to his daughter, Lucinda Biles Crowell, he left a woman named Jule (perhaps Julia). In the Estate papers, there was a list of the money earned by the hiring out of the servants of the estate. "10th March 1845 The following is the valuation of the negros of The Estate of Thomas Biles Sr Decsed (sic) not those left with the widow- but the hier (sic) of them - not left with the widow untell (sic) the 1st day of October next." . George, Jack - viller + close (this was written after Jack's name and I am not sure of it's meaning or purpose), Daniel, Jacob, Saul, John, Nancy, Jane + two children paid to keep...$500, Eliza, Delily, Rachel. In a separate area to the right was written "one negro woman....Deduct five dollars for Jane's two children."And then:Price per heir-Tony $18.00Adam $20.00Benjamin $20.00Bettie $11.00___________$69.00 
And on another page, a separate list and valuation, which may give hints to the ages of the individuals kept in servitude by the Biles family. "Divison of the Negros belonging to the estate of Thomas Biles Senr. We the undersigned, proceeded by request on the 30th of Sept 1845 to the value the estate of Thos Biles Senr decd and value them as follows. George at $312.50            Lile at $400.00Nancy at   300.00             Lise at 400.00David at    500.00            Rachel at 400.00Jacob at   500.00            John at    3??.00Jane at     300.00            Julia at     175.00Saul at     425.00             Jordan at  125.00
They were divided to the heirs of Thomas Biles Senior in the second half of this page;To Thomas Jr. : Daniel and Lile (I believe Lile refers to 'Delily' or Delilah, on the other page.To Daniel Biles: Jacob and Lisa (Lise in the evaluation above and Eliza in the previous document). To Isaac Biles: George and RachelTo Alex Biles: Nancy and JohnTo Franklin Biles heirs (Francis?) : Saul and Julia (As Julia wasn't named in the previous document, I believe she was one of Jane's children just mentioned as "children" in the document. To William Biles heirs: Jane and Jordan (I believe Jordan to be the second of Jane's children. 

     

So, Adam was now in the household of Isaac Biles and his wife Martha Moss Biles. This situation did not last long either, as Isaac Biles passed away on June 25, 1856, just 4 years after his mother, at the age of 72.



He and his wife Martha Moss are buried in the cemetery of Badin Baptist. The church and cemetery predate the town of Badin, however, by nearly a century and was once known as Ebenezer Baptist, constituted in 1836. Isaac died intestate, but his estate primarily became the possession of his wife Martha. Martha died in 1862, near the beginning of the Civil War. It is unknown what Adam did or where he lived during those days, but it appears he remained in Stanly County, legally married his wife, Matilda and obatined 50 acres of his own to farm, and died and left his own estate in 1872.
Looking at slave transactions in Stanly County involving the Biles family, in Deed Book 1, Page 69, Thomas Biles (Jr or Sr unknown) bought a woman named Tweeny and her child from Benjamin New in 1842.In deed Book 1 Page 291, In 1845, the heirs of Thomas Biles were in a debate over whether a woman's increase, or children born after the will, would pass with their mother to whomever the heir was that had been assigned the mother. In Deed Book 1 Page 338 Thomas Biles was given power of attorney over the slaves of Jacob Marberry. Recall Thomas Sr. married Tabitha Marbury. In Book 2 Page 11, Thomas Biles had bought from Truxton Kirk, Jane, Jordan and Saul and then, on the same page, Thomas and Daniel Biles, executors of Thomas Sr. sold Jane and her child to Truxton Kirk in 1847.In Book 2 Page 88 Thomas Biles bought of Rowland Forrest, a girl named Eliza. No more mention of Adam. To find out more about Adam, we would have to go to Rowan County and look at the records there. But that is another post for another day. In summary, the tragic love story of Adam and Matilda Biles was one that probably played out many times over in the hazy and hard days of the 17th and 18th century, even in the ancient Uwharrie hills. This was a couple whose descendants likely number in the thousands today. People who deserve to know as much about their history as possible and who are left, like we, to imagine the tremendous love of the slave, Adam Biles and his freeborn wife, Matilda Shankle.