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This Month in New Bern History – June 2020

Posted by Mickey

· June 20, 2020

New Bern is the site of many significant “firsts” – first provincial convention in America held in defiance of British orders, North Carolina’s first capital, first postal service, first free public school, and first black-owned bank. During the month of June in the year 1749, New Bern was the site of a major new institution that had a profound cultural and political impact on the future of the Old North State.

Prior to the mid-eighteenth century, information and news in North Carolina were passed through word of mouth and handwritten records. As the population grew and towns formed from rural areas, the provincial government found the handwritten, incomplete and error-filled colonial laws inadequate. After voting to revise the laws, the Assembly hired James Davis of Williamsburg, Virginia, and on June 24, 1749, Davis arrived in New Bern to become North Carolina’s first public printer.

Davis had likely apprenticed under William Parks, at that time Virginia’s first and only printer. The printing press Davis brought with him to New Bern from Williamsburg was the first to be used in North Carolina. He initially set up shop on Pollock Street, but later moved to the southwest corner of Broad and East Front Streets. In 1749, Davis printed the first official publication for the colony entitled The Journal of the House of Burgesses of the Province of North Carolina.

Davis was also responsible for printing the colony’s first currency. In 1751 he finally completed the revisal of the colonial laws. While completing his public printer duties, out of financial necessity he supplemented his income by private printing. In 1751, Davis began publishing the first newspaper in the colony, the North-Carolina Gazette, with the motto, "With the freshest advices, foreign and domestick," which he produced until 1760. Davis started another newspaper in 1764, called The North Carolina Magazine; or, Universal Intelligencer, but it only lasted four years. In 1768, he resumed publication of The North-Carolina Gazette, which continued to be printed until 1778.

In 1753, Davis published a book, A Collection of Many Christian Experiences, Sentences, and Several Places of Scripture Improved, written by Reverend Clement Hall. This book was a first in several categories: the first book written by a native of North Carolina and the first privately printed, non-legal book published in the colony. Davis served as North Carolina’s public printer for almost thirty-three years and published over one hundred documents in that time.

While he was a prolific printer, Davis also wore many other public hats. In 1753 he became a member of the county court, an office he held for over 25 years. In 1754 he was elected Sheriff of Craven County, leaving that position after ten months upon his election to the Assembly. He was later appointed New Bern Postmaster and served as a justice of the peace from 1768-1778. Davis was a supporter of the American Revolution and during this period was appointed to numerous influential political positions representing New Bern and Craven County. He reached the zenith of his political career with his 1781 appointment to the Council of State, North Carolina’s powerful executive branch.

James Davis’ appointment in New Bern as the state’s first public printer ushered North Carolina into a new world of information sharing between the state and the rest of the world, brought its citizens unprecedented access to news and ideas, and bound together the colony’s patchwork of isolated rural areas into a single political entity. He died in New Bern in 1785 and is buried at Christ Episcopal Church. Inscribed on his gravestone is the following:

Established the art of printing in the Colony of North Carolina,1749

Public printer to the Colony and the State

Published first book, first newspaper and first magazine in North Carolina

Member of the Council of State

Of the General Assembly

Of the Provincial Convention

Of the Provincial Congress

And of the Committee of Safety for the County of Craven and Town of New Bern

Judge of the Admiralty Court

Justice of the County Court

Sheriff of Craven County

Postmaster and Contractor to convey the public mails from Suffolk to Wilmington

Printed currency for the colony

Categories : Announcements, This Month

American Dream Leads to New Bern

Posted by Mickey

· May 22, 2020

By Jim Hodges
Curator, New Bern Historical Society

“Boston Millionaire to Locate Here,” read the headline in the New Bern Weekly Journal on this day in May 1914, declaring that Dr. Earl S. Sloan was planning to build a winter home in the area. Today this announcement would probably not attract much attention, but in 1914 – obviously worthy of note. This is a life journey personifying the American dream, where a motivated individual with natural entrepreneurial and marketing skills as well as keen business savvy can accumulate great success and wealth. This is the story of Dr. Earl Sawyer Sloan.

The Andrew Sloan family emigrated from Ireland after the American Revolution and eventually settled in Zanesfield, Ohio. Andrew Sloan was a horse harness maker who had a certain ability with horses which allowed him to pursue this skill and become a self-taught veterinarian. Doc Sloan was also known for his strong-smelling brown formula that was effective in reducing joint pain and inflammation for overworked horses.

Earl Sawyer Sloan, the third of five children, was born September 8, 1848, in Zanesfield, Ohio. Although he did not attend more than the elementary grades, he learned to read and write and developed a great appreciation for books. He was apprenticed as a harness maker at the age of fifteen, but in 1871 joined his brother Foreman in St. Louis, Missouri. Earl carried with him a supply of his father’s horse liniment and with Foreman, who was engaged in the buying and selling of horses, they peddled the concoction throughout the area. This time period marking the heyday of the horse in American life, the Sloan liniment was in great demand.

Sloan's 1898, courtesy baybottles.com

As the story goes, by accident it was discovered that the liniment was beneficial not only for the horses but humans as well – consequently it was advertised as “good for man and beast.” The essential ingredient is chili pepper (capsicum, a topical analgesic) and its external use was once recommended for everything from a stiff neck to bruises, sprains, strains and mosquito bites. The formula was refined and patented about 1885 and the business grew rapidly due to Earl Sloan’s fondness for newspaper advertising. In 1900 Earl, who was now married, moved his manufacturing operations to Boston in 1904. The business was incorporated in 1904 as “Dr. Earl S. Sloan, Incorporated.” Apparently the title “Doctor,” although never formally or academically achieved, gave him and his product more credibility and increased sales. By 1907, sales were reported throughout the United States as well as South America, Australia, Europe and Canada. In 1913 Dr. Sloan sold his company - including offices in Ontario, England, Australia, and Amsterdam - to William R. Warner & Co. Of interest, W. R. Warner & Co. merged into Warner-Lambert Pharmaceutical in 1955, which was eventually acquired by Pfizer in 2000.

In the late 19^th and early 20^th century, it was a practice of wealthy northerners to build substantial residences in North Carolina and other more climate friendly areas to serve as second homes. Although Dr. Sloan considered several locations including Asheville and Pinehurst, he eventually selected New Bern. He acquired 440 acres of land from John W. Stewart and an additional 25 acres from the Craven County Commissioners, located on the north side of the Trent River about 2 miles from downtown New Bern. The Stewart property was known as the Colonel Ransom estate, thus Sloan called his plantation Ransom Farm. New Bern native Robert F. Smallwood was hired as the architect and local contractor John F. Rhodes was hired to supervise construction.

Sloan Estate ca. 1929. From "A New Bern Album," John B. Green III

Built in 1914, the Dr. Earl S. Sloan House was a “large and well appointed example of Colonial Revival residential construction with Mediterranean and Tudor Revival influence. The two and a half-story brick building has a main block and flanking pavilions under low, hipped slate roofs. The long axis of the home runs parallel to the Trent River. The interior of the house exhibits carefully crafted cypress and hardwood woodwork with chestnut trim and mahogany varnished hardwood veneer doors.” Not too bad for a man who started his career hawking horse liniment door to door.

It is not clear how much time Dr. and Mrs. Sloan actually spent at Ransom Farm. He died in 1923 leaving the property to his widow, who sold Ransom Farm in 1928 to the New Bern realty firm of N. E. Mohn and Company. In 1933 the property transferred to U.S. Senator O. F. Glenn of Illinois, who renamed it Trent Pines. Senator and Mrs. Glenn intended to use Trent Pines as a winter home; however, their plans never materialized. From 1942 to 1968, the property was operated as the Trent Pines Club, a popular inn and yacht club. It was then purchased by Robert P. Holding, Jr., Chairman of First Citizens Bank, who renamed the estate Miles Away. Mr. Holding died in 1979 and the property passed to his son Frank R. Holding who continued the restoration of the house.

Sloan's Liniment, early 20th century. Still available today

The house is recorded on the National Register of Historic Places and is a standing tribute to the success of Dr. Sloan and the vibrant history of New Bern and Craven County.

Sloan’s liniment is still sold today. Over 135 years later, the packaging still carries Earl Sloan’s likeness on the label.

Categories : Announcements, This Month

This Month in New Bern History – May 2020

Posted by Mickey

· May 19, 2020

At the Vanguard of History
by Bernard George

One hundred fifty-seven years ago this month, New Bern, North Carolina was the site of an event that would dramatically impact the conduct of the Civil War and provoke a major societal shift across our young nation. In 1863, the United States War Department created the Bureau of Colored Troops, organized to oversee and direct the historic incorporation of black troops into the Union army. On May 17 of that year, thirteen Union officers and a civilian recruiter arrived in New Bern to organize the “African Brigade,” the country’s first official major military unit largely made up of African American escaped slaves, then known as contraband.

This daunting military and social experiment would settle once and for all the unanswered question of the time, “Can the slave be trained to intelligently and heroically fight as well as his white counterparts?” By the end of the Civil War the answer was a resounding “yes,” as United States Colored Troops (USCT) fought and died in every major campaign of 1864-1865 except Sherman's invasion of Georgia. As further evidence of the military value of black troops to the war efforts, on March 13, 1865 the Congress of the Confederate States of America passed and President Jefferson Davis signed into law General Order 14 allowing the enlistment of slaves with the promise of freedom.

Brigadier General Edward A. Wild

After being captured by Union forces in March 1862, New Bern became the headquarters for more than 14,000 Union soldiers. According to an early 1863 census, there were at least 8,500 black refugees or contraband seeking freedom in New Bern and three outlying camps. Many of the refugees became the original residents of James City, a planned freedmen community on the south shores of the Trent River. Due to the area’s large number of contraband, Col. Frank Lee, commander of the 44^th Massachusetts, predicted that “a brigade of colored men could be easily raised in North Carolina.”

When charismatic General Edward A. Wild arrived in New Bern in mid-May of 1863, he was accompanied by one of the most experienced and competent staffs of officers that would lead any of the 139 black regiments formed during the Civil War. Fresh from successful efforts to organize and recruit the famous black Massachusetts 54^th and 55^th Regiments, Gen. Wild was charged with raising four regiments of an “African Brigade” of 4,000 soldiers in the Department of North Carolina. With New Bern serving as the recruitment headquarters for this historic military undertaking, more than 6,000 African Americans enlisted in the Union army.

Colonel James Beecher

The first regiment raised by Gen. Wild was the 1^st North Carolina Colored Volunteers, commanded by Col. James C. Beecher, brother of author Harriet Beecher Stowe of Uncle Tom’s Cabin fame. Lt. Col. William N. Reed, the Regiment’s second in command, was a seasoned German-trained officer. Some sources describe Reed as a mulatto, although the army had an official policy prohibiting the appointment of black officers in command positions. Col. Beecher’s original staff also included Major John De Grasse, the first black surgeon admitted to a Medical Society in this country and one of only a few black surgeons in a Union regiment. An additional black officer, the Rev. John N. Mars, was selected to be the 1^st NCCV Regiment’s chaplain. Undoubtedly, the presence of black officers inspired many of New Bern’s young black men to enlist in the 1^st NCCV.

Dr. John Van Surly DeGrasse, courtesy Bay State Banner

By the end of the Civil War, over 190,000 black men served in the Army and Navy. Nearly 40,000 black soldiers died over the course of the war—30,000 of infection or disease. Black soldiers served in infantry and artillery and performed all noncombat support functions as well. Black carpenters, chaplains, cooks, guards, laborers, nurses, scouts, spies, steamboat pilots, surgeons, and teamsters also contributed to the war cause.

The flames of racial prejudice cut short the majority of the heroic military careers of our nation’s first black Civil War leaders. Nevertheless, this grand experiment in New Bern helped sow the seeds of change that would one day allow all Americans to reap the benefits of full civil rights, and pave the way for the election of our nation’s first African American president.

U.S. Colored Troops recruiting poster, Wikipedia

Categories : This Month

New Bern’s Oldest House?

Posted by Mickey

· May 8, 2020

New Bern’s Oldest House?
By Jim Hodges, Curator

I have always been puzzled as to the oldest surviving residential structure in downtown New Bern. When asked from time to time as to which house has the acclaim, my response has routinely been inconclusive. A few months ago, armed with Peter Sandbeck’s authoritative book The Historic Architecture of New Bern and Craven County, North Carolina¹, I set forth to determine the absolute ‘Title Holder ‘.

While this may not seem like a difficult task, it proved more challenging than anticipated for two reasons. First, over 250 years have lapsed since these structures were built, and, if detailed records ever existed, they have for the most part been lost, altered, or forgotten. Second, most of these structures were built over a period spanning several years, if not several decades.

After my initial research, I narrowed the search to seven structures presumed to be built prior to 1769. Let’s first look at two of them:

1. The Haslen Dependency, home of the New Bern Preservation Foundation, is currently located behind the Attmore-Oliver House on the Historical Society’s downtown campus. The brick structure predating 1761 was originally situated on the west side of the 300 block of East Front Street. To prevent demolition, it was relocated in 1980 to its present location. By 1985, it had been completely disassembled brick by brick and recreated based on its original dimensions with a concrete block infrastructure and faced with the old bricks. In the spirit of accuracy, the fact that the structure is a recreation and not a bona fide residence, in my opinion, would disqualify it from title consideration.

Haslen Dependency ca 1905

Haslen Dependency today

2. The Tryon Palace complex consisting of the Georgian manor house connected by a curved colonnade to the East ( Kitchen ) Wing and the West ( Stable ) Wing was constructed 1767-1770. Destroyed by fire in 1798, only the West Wing survives today after undergoing extensive restoration during the 1950s. Although converted for residential use in the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries, it is important to remember that its original purpose, as well as the major restoration, was as a stable and not a residence. Therefore, on this basis, I don’t consider the West Wing a contender for the oldest downtown residence.

West Wing, late 19th century

West Wing ca 1930

West Wing today

That leaves the following five residences as viable candidates for the distinction of being the oldest residence in downtown New Bern:

1. Alston-Charlotte House

Based on Sandbeck's research findings, this Georgian gambrel-roofed house was built possibly by 1747 and was definitely standing by 1774. The house underwent a major rehabilitation in the late 20th century by Ben Parrish and Newsom Williams. No verified construction dates and related information are available. You can see it still standing today at 823 Pollock Street.

Alston-Charlotte House today

2. Francis Hawks House

Constructed circa 1760-1769, this Georgian gambrel-roofed house was originally located on the East side of the 300 block of Hancock Street and moved in 1975 to its current site at 517 New Street. Deed records indicate that the house or a portion of the house was on its original site when it was purchased by New Bern merchant John Green in 1763. It was later owned by Francis Hawks who was the son of Tryon Palace architect John Hawks.

Hawks House ca 1864

Hawks House today

3. Forbes House

Located at 715-717 Pollock Street, the earliest portion of the present day house was built 1760-1770 for a member of the Carruthers family. This picturesque house demonstrates both Georgian and Federal style influences and was inherited in 1860 by Edward Forbes, rector of Christ Episcopal Church.

Forbes House today

4. Elijah Clark House

Another gambrel-roofed house located at 616 Middle Street has encountered numerous alterations over time. Deed records indicate that at least part of this house was constructed as early as 1760-1780. Later acquired by Elijah Clark, a successful merchant and civic leader, who is recognized as one of the three founding members of First Baptist Church.

E. Clark House ca 1900

E. Clark House ca 1940s

E. Clark House today

5. Palmer-Tisdale House

This elegant Georgian style house was built 1767-1769 for Robert Palmer, a local jurist. The house is seen at its location on Sauthier’s 1769 map of New Bern. Another owner of note was William Tisdale, a successful gold & silversmith, who designed the North Carolina great seal in 1778. The house still stands proudly today at 520 New Street.

There you have it – the results of my efforts to determine undeniably the oldest residence in downtown New Bern. Cases have been presented for multiple bona fide candidates. In conclusion, it is my opinion that due to the absence of absolute fact, the jury is still out and I cannot in confidence cast my vote for one single ‘Title Holder’.

What do you think? I would enjoy hearing any constructive information or comments you may have.

Jim Hodges, Curator

¹The Historic Architecture of New Bern and Craven County, North Carolina, published in 1988, is the result of a seven year project by architectural historian Peter Sandbeck, then Restoration Specialist for the North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office, to inventory and research Craven County’s historic buildings. Construction dates were established through study of research findings in conjunction with analysis of architectural and technological details, including nail types, molding profiles, saw and plane marks, and construction techniques.

Categories : Announcements, This Month

Summer Hours

Posted by Mickey

· June 22, 2012

Summer is here, and the New Bern Historical Society Office will be operating on a reduced schedule for the months of July and August. We will be open to the public between the hours of 10:00am-4:00pm Monday through Thursday during July and August. In addition we are closed for the Fourth of July holiday on July 4-5.

The New Bern Historical Society staff and Board of Directors hopes that everyone has a safe and enjoyable summer!

Categories : Announcements