TO

R 0 5 A LIE

11 I 11 E T .I E 11

'I HIT

E 11 .I R

T W E 11 T Y

PRE

V 0 5 T,

T" O.

.
With the compliments

or

TALES

OF

CAT

A W B A.

THE WHI'BNERS.
THE WILFONGS.
AND THE IlELLINGERS.

AND SOD OTHERS.

HEINRICH WEIDNER COMES TO AMERICA.

The great-great-grandfather

whose name you bore as a

girl arrived on the ship, MOlly. at Philadelphia. Oct.

17. 1741. In the book all foreigners had to sign his
name appears as Johan Heinrich WeYdner. But fifty years
later he signed Heinrich Weidner at the bottom of hie
will, and it is so carved on his tombstone. In either
case it was pronounced Hine-rish Wide-ner, While we today call him Henry Whttener.
It is a tradition of the family that he was a native
of that part of Germany known as Saxony.

This fact,

the account of Col. YOder, and the appearance of hie

Grandson, and of his great-grandsons, your father and
your uncle, "8quj.re" Abe, all of whom I knew, leads
me to believe that he had blue eyes and yellow or red

hair. The size of his rifle and the life he led in his
young days is proof that he was a large strong man.
After landing at Philadelphia he lived for several

years in Pennsylvania where he met many old friends

and made new ones. No doubt he learned to know John
PaUl Barringer and often talked with him of the gOOd
land and fine climate of W~tern

North Carolina.

During his sOjourn in Pennsylvania he had made for

himself a rifle, his signed order for which is said to
be still in the hands of the descendants of the gunsmith who made it.
(My informant is H. W. Weidner, LincOlnton, N. C., a
native of Philadelphia, who haw lived in LincOlnton for
many years. Coming from Pennsylvania, he still spells
and pronounces his name as the original.)
This famous fire-arm had its place in the history of
the state, and you must know more about it.
It was more than six feet long and so heavy that only
a strong man can hold it out. It was so constructed
that it would shoot either an ounce ball, or buckshot.
It is loaded at the muzzle instead of at the breech,
like a modern rifle.
First, a charge of powder is poured into the barrel. A

3
bit of cloth greased with tallow, called a "bulletpatch",

is placed

on the patch
patch

over the muzzle. The bullet illplaced

and barely thrust inside the barrel. The

is then cut off even with the end of the gun and

the whole is pushed

tough hickory,

down on the powder with a rod of

called a "ram-rod".

The rod is pulled

out and put to its place under the long barrel,

At the breech

ill drilled a tiny hole. Just under this

is a small spoon-shaped

"pan" which has a. hinged cover.

On the edge of the cover nearest

hard steel stands upright.

the hammer a bar of

When pOwder is poured into

the pan and the cover in place,

the gun ill said to be

"primed".

is fitted with a small

flint,

When

the hammer which

is pUlled,back.

to shoot. Hence
for anything,
When

the gun is "cocked" and ready

the saying that when one is all ready

he is "cocked and primed".

the trigger

is pulled

the flint in the hammer

strikes the steel bar and knocks out a shower of sparks

The powder

in the pan sets off the powder inside the

rifle and drives out the bullet. The blow of the hammer
had raised the hinged cover, exposing the powder in the
pan to the sparks. If the powder is wet,or the tiny hole
is not entirely

filled with grains, the gun does not

fire. It may burn in the little pan, but it does no good

unless the fire runs through the little hole to the powder inside. Hence the saying about some undertaking that
is never finished,

that it is a "flash in the pan".

You now understand

why the pioneers were such good marks

men. It took several minutes to prime and load. Therefore every shot had to count. They often had practice
on muster days and at "shooting-matches".

Being often

in danger from Indians and wild animals, they were careful of their ai~and

shot to hit the mark.

The powder was carried in a "pOWder-horn", a reoeptaole

fashioned

from the horn of a oow. The large end was tight

5
1y stopped with a block of hard wood. The other end
had a small hole

stopped with a wooden plug. The bu1-

lets or shot were carried in a long slender pouch of

leather called a "b~let
were measured

pouch." The powder and shot

for loading in a small wooden veese1

about the size of a thimble, called a "charger".Powder

horn~ bullet pouch, and charger were all fastened on a
strap which swung from the right shoulder across the
bOdy to the left side. On the right side hung a hunter's
horn or a game bag, or sometimes both. A long knife in
a leather scabbard was fastened
waist. A hunting

to a

belt around the

suit of heavy coarse cloth or of the

skins of animals completed

the outfit of the hunter

and explorer of a hundred and seventy five years ago.

It was with such weapons

that your ancestors drove the

Indians across the mountains

into Tennessee, Whipped

twice their number of Tories at Ramsaur's~i11,

tured Ferguson's
so hot

fOJ

army at King's Mountain, and made it

:;:e British at Guilford Courthouse that they

/~ ~&7-~/?J:"

-...

I~"~

cap

.I?/.
Y
\...,

>~

~-

{
~

"

6
left North Carolina forever.

HEINRICH

#
WEIDNER,

THE EXPLORER.

The country around Philadelphia

was too crowded for

the big Saxon who, like Daniel Boone, wanted more "elbow room". A few Germans had already se t t Led in North
Carolina, and it is likely that he often heard from
travellers of the unexplored

lands to the southward.

Vrhatever the reason, he determined

to see for himself

what kind of a country it was.

For some time he had been preparing for this expedition. After having his rifle made, he bought a big
strong horse, and two good hounds. He needed the howse
to carry him or his Back of furs, the dogs to track
wild animals by day, or warn him of danger at night.
In his outfit was an axe to cut trees o~ firewood, a

7
frying pan, and two heavy woolen blankets.
Ima~ine him then beginnisg his journey in the fall
of 1745, a big ruddy faced man astride a large longlegged horse. Across the saddle bow was the great rifle;
behind him his blankets and tools. With the eager hounds
barking and leaping with joy, and friends sending messages and letters to far-a-way kindred, he was a pictur
esque figure as he made his way through the scattered
settlements

of Pennsylvania

on his five-hundred-mile

ride to the South.

It is probable

that he had fellow-travellers

some of

the time, but he made the greater part of the journey

alone. At the beginning where the country was more
thickly settled, he stayed with some farmer at night.
But as he came farther south, the settlers' homes grew
farther and farther apart. Then he was often obliged
to camp by the roadside. For supper he had corn bread

8
and bacon. For breakfast he had bacon and corn bread.
Nor was it very good bread at that. He simply made
do~gh of corn meal and water and fried it in the pan.
The bacon was sliced and either fried or held over the
fire and broiled. He probably had a few onions along
to help flavor this scanty meal.
Perhaps you think that he had plenty of matchee in his
outfit. But such things were unknown. When he wanted
a fire he gathered some dry grass or leavee. Beside
thie he poured a little powder of which he had plenty.
taking from his pocket hie "flint and eteel", he held
the steel bar over the powder and struck it sharply
with the flint. The sparks which were struck from the
steel fired the powder and started a blaze in the
leaves or grass. With a few dry twigs and sticks laid
on he soon had a cheerful crackling blaze. In dry
weather this was no trouble, but when everything was
wet and soggy it was a tedious job.
Of course when he took time to hunt on the way. hiB

rifle supplied him with game. Nuts, persimmons, and

all kinds of berriew

could be gathered along the

road, so that he was not compelled to eat corn bread

and bacon all the time.
Traveling thus he finally reached North Carolina. In
and around the little village

of Salisbury which was

then in Bladen County, lived some German settlers.

But here all the best land had all been taken up
he4d of him. Along the Eastern
river the English

a-

side Of the Catawba

and Scot~hhsettlers

had bought

all

the best land. These people had come up the river from
the older settlements

in Lancaster County in South

Carolina and Mecklenburg

County in North Carolina. But

no one had yet dared to cross the stream into the land
of the Cherokees.
West of the CataWba,

th.erefore, was all the land

that

even a Saxon could wish. So Weidner left Salisbury

a Westerly

direction

and in a day or two arrived

in
at

10

the home of Adam Sherrill who had built a house on

the East bank. Here he stayed

several days collect-

ing supplies for his winter ~tay in the Indian country.

(Adam Sherrill is claimed by some to have had a home
on the West bank of the river, in the Cherokee country.
But there is no proof of this. ute, or Yout, Sherrill
took up land at the foot of Lyles' Creek near Catawba
StattOn in 1751, and afterwards sold it to Adam Sherrill. When Heinrich Weidner went into this country west
of the Catawba in 1745, he was the first white man to
cross the Catawba.)
Here he forde~
terwards

the stream where nearly twenty years af-

your great-great-great-grandfather,

Captain

Matthias Barringer

crossed - Sherrill's Ford. He was

now in the unknown

land where

ever set foot. He rode through

the sunset till he reached
awba. Following

no other white man had

the dense forest toward

the South Fork of the Cat-

this stream towards its source, he

found where it divides. Then he followed the east fork

for about two miles. To this day

this stream is called

Henry River .after its discoverer.

At this point he

built his winter

camp.

11

The whole country was covered with heavy timber. On

the hills grew magnificent
along the streams,

pine , oak, and hickOry;

sycamore, birch, poplar and walnut.

in addition to a great variety

of smaller trees and

shrubs. The soil was rich. especially

along the river

where there were great stretches of level land known

afterwards

in the Colonial Records and in several Acts

of the legislature

as "Whitener's Bottom". Here beside

a little stream he made his winter home. twenty-five

miles from the nearest white man's house.
It was not a house, or even a cabin. It was only a
shelter somewhat like an Indian hut. With his axe he
cut two forked poles and rested them against two trees
standing about ten feet apart. Next he cut a slender
pole about twelve feet long and laid it in the two
forks, leaning

the whole against the two trees. The

slender pole was the ridge pole of his dwelling.

12
Next he cut a number of small poles exactly the right
length, sharpened

them, and after sticking the sharp

ends in the ground, leaned them over against the ridge

pole. After finishing

one side he did the same way on

the other, except that the poles were longer and stood
up over the ridgepole

like the shingles of a house. He

placed them as close together as possible, so there

would be no large cracks. The ends were closed in the
same way, the tops of the poles being tied with hickory
withes. A small door was left in the front to be' closed
with a deerskin.
When he had all the poles in place he covered them about a foot deep with pine tops, starting at the bottom and building

layer on layer, like shingles, until

he reached the top. After he had made a small ditch around the upper side, his hut was as dry and warm as a
regular house.
For a bed he cut more pine tops, putting large ones on

13
the ground and using 5m~11er twigs as he neared the
top. Then he pulled several armfuls of grass which he
spread over the be~

On the grass he laid one of the

blankets. No king in his palace had a softer , cleaner ,

more sweet-smelling

bed than he. There was no other

furniture, for what else did he need? He had no chimney but built

his fire outside, far enough away

to

keep the roof from catching fire from the sparks.

As soon as he had a home he went to work shooting and
trapping wild animals. In the woods and especially alomg the streams were beare, deer, raccons, foxes, minks,
and otter besides many others of less value. Women then
as now, were fond of fine furs, and he knew there was
good money to be made in supplying this demand.
He soon met up with some Indians with whom he made
friends. They taught him to make traps as well as they
could. To them he was a wonderful

man with his rifle,

because he could make it thunder and kill a squirrel

14
in the highest

tree.

During this first winter he traveled far and wide , exploring the South Fork valley and gathering a great quan
tity of furs. He learned to speak the Indian language
and to live like them. His hunting suit wore out before
the springtime
hair turned

and he made another of deerskin with the

'~t

With a 'coon skin he made himself a warm

cap. leaving the striped tail sticking out on top to nod

and wave as he walked. His shoes were moccasins

made by

the Indians of the thickest part of the deer's hide.

In the spring, as soon as the weather turned warm. enough
to allow him to camp in the open without discomfort. he
packed his skins in bundles. Tying them with thongs

of

deerskin, he strapped them across his horse. With the

bridle reins over his arm he set out on his northward
journey on foot. On the return trip he collected letters
from the settlers for their friends in Pennsylvania.
When he arrived more than a month late~, he was every-

where a welcome

15

guest with his letters and his stories

of his life among the savages. And who knows but that
one of the most interested

listeners was Katrina MUll,

a little girl them only about twelve years old? To her

and the other children he was quite a hero in his suit
6f deerskin

and coonskin

cap.

Soon after his arrival he took his pack to a merchant

in Philadelphia
He remained

and sold it for a handsome

in Pennsylvania

sum of money.

all summer, preparing for

another expedition.

THE FIRST SETTLEMENT

It is a tradition

IN CATAWBA COUNTY.

of the family that Heinrich Weidner

spent four or five winters

in the Indian Country and

"was wont to go back to the c iv11ized world each spring

carrying hie pelts on pack-horses".(Co1.

Ree.) He lived

16
with the Indians in peace. During this period he had
no trouble with them whatever.
not Catawbas,

They were Cherokees, and

as one might suppose from the name of the

county and river.

Puring this time he made some special friends among
them who were afterwards
brought them presents

of great service to him.

of hatchets

He

and tools, and always

paid them gOOd prices for their furs, dealing as honestly with these simple people as with the wiser white
men in Philadelphia.

They in turn taught him to live in

the woods like they did, and to find his way through the
dense forests like a red man. He explored the country to
the westward

as far as the foot

of the mountains. We

know that he went as far as Pleasant Gardens in what

now McDowell

is

county - but that is another story.

In the year,1749,

he bought his first tract of land from

the king of England. (Note.- He should have bought it

from Earl Granvdlle, but he did not know that he was

17
north of this line. Seven of the eight Lords Proprietors
had tired of their experiment and given back their
shares to the Crown. But Earl Granville had kept his and
then owned all that territory between the Virginia line
and the ffGranville line", traces of which can still be
seen in the county lines of this day. The dividing lines
between Rowan and Cabarrus, between Iredell and Mecklenburg, and others coincide with this line. Henry Whitener
~9~ght
he lived in Anson county in 1762, when he made
deeds to Conrad Yoder and Michael Whitener. In these
deeds he styles himself"Henry Whi t.enez].planter, of Anson co~nty~ He had been in Rowan county then for nine
years.)
He brought with him his young wife he had married, and
whose maiden name was Katrina,

or Gatherine Mull.

She

was only sixteen yeras old, while he was thirty-two.

This time they came in a big covered
with them tools and everything

wagon, bringing

else necessary for a

frontier home.
Haying now a pretty young wife, he could not live

in

a hut. The first task, therefore, was to build a house.

this was nOw possible because he had tools and help.
The early settlers always built their houses near a
spring to save digging a well. But Weidner did more;

18
he built his directly

over one. First he enclosed

the spring with a etone wall about six feet high.

Thie wall and the chimney he built is still standing on White Oak Farm, five miles from Hickory, and
is the oldeet work of human hande west of the Catawba river in North Carolina.
With thie wall ae part of the foundation he built
his log houee. Having only his young wife to help him
he did not ceil or weatherboard

it. The framing of

the house was a heavy job for even a big strong man
like he, and I have no doubt that the young Katrina
helped him out when he" got in a pinch".
It was something
shall hereafter

like Captain Barringer's houee I

tell you about, with "big house".

kitchen and barn, and other buildings, but of course

smaller. The windOWS

were small and had heavy shut-

ters Which could be fastened

on the inside. In the

shutters were cut small holes, large enough to thrust

19
the rifle through and shoot an ene~,

but too small

for tomahawk or club. These were called loopholes.

You can understand

that though he had made friends

with the Indians and had lived with them for years,
he knew them so well that he did not trust them. He
was afraid to leave his wife alone and without protection while he was away. For this reason the spring
was under the house. She could get water without ~oing outside and exposing herself

to danger.

For the same reason he built a fence all around the

house; but it was not an ordinary fence. He cut

Ii.

great number of posts about twelve feet long and

sharpened one end. These heseet

in the ground about

three feet deep, with the sharp ende up, one right
against the other. Only one opening was left,

and

this could be securely fastened on the inside. When

it was finished it was impossible for an Indian or
wild animal to climbeOver

it. His home was really

20

a small fort surrounded by a stockade nine or ten feet high.

The next work was clearing the land for farming. He felled
the trees, cut them up and burned the logs in great
heaps, there being no other use for them. The soil was
new and rich and with little labor they raised fine
crops of grain. I imagine that just about where the
White Oak dairy barn now stands Katrina had a wonderful vegetable

garden. They had some cows for milk and

butter, but no hogs. Why worry with them when the woods
were full of game and the old rifle still shot true?
Not content with the land he then owned he bought from
the king several other tracts which he surveyed himself. Land was very cheap, for I have seen the record
where Sebastian Cline, (Bostian ~lein) bought six hundred acres for ten shillings,

or about two dollars and

a half. (liote. This land was bought from Ea~l Granville,

but the purchase price was only a partial payment. The
heirs and-assigns of Bostian Cline were bound forever
to ~ay a quit-rent to Earl Granville, his heirs and assigns.)

21.

Weidner, a Saxon, and running true to form, "wanted all

the lands adj oining him". It was estimated by Judge Mc~
Corkle at the time of the Heinrich Weidner Memorial

ll

/lf

Service

that he owned in all about ten thousand acres.

(Note. Some of your father's plantation has come to him

with no other record back of his ownership than the wills
of his male ancestors. The deeds Heinrich Weidner made
to his children were probably destroyed when the courthouse at Morganton was burned. Therefore his grandfather's
and" his father's wills are all he has to prove his ownership- which are sUfficient.)
Not long after the fort was built Katrina's brother,Abram
M~ll who had married

Mary poffh,

settle near them. They built

land only a short distance

came with his bride to

their house on Weidner's

away so they would not be lone

some or afraid. Now the two families formed a tiny settlement e~d the sisters-in-law
whenever

could visit each other

they felt like it.

I wonder what these two young matrons

about servants,

to be sure. for they had none. The near-

est white woman was twenty-five

Catawba

river.

talked aboutl Not

miles away across the

there was no Ladies' Home Journal nor

..

22
1)elineator to read, nor "mail man" to bring it.
not take them long, therefore,

It did

to tell each other all

about the new styles. They could not talk about the neigh
bors or the neighbors'

children,

for ea9h was the other's

only neighbor. But no doubt they had friends among the

Indian squaws who taught them many things of v4lue.
Here the two families

lived in peace and plenty until a-

bout the years 1759 or 1760. In the meantime a little baby had come to the home of Abram and Mary Mull, and several had arrived

at the fort. The oldest, Daniel, was nine

or ten years of age. It was the time of the French and

Indian Wars, when the red men went on the war path over
the whole country. Then happened

the terrible thins told

in the next story.

(Note.In the period 1751-1762, some land was taken up,
or bought from the Crown, or Granville, and it is possible that some even made their home in Weidner's neighborhood. But in searching the records I learn that some
surveyed land, but neglected having it recorded until
1762. Probably they picked it out, and surveyed it after
the Indian Wars \vere over.)

23
THE I:NDIAN MASSACRE.
The little colony were living quietly in their frontier
home when the French and Indian Wars which spread from
Canada to Georgia broke out. Far away from the other
settlements,

they heard nothing

of the great battles

that were being fought. The Indians in Catawba. had always been Weidner's

friends, and remained so even dur-

ing this struggle.

But back in the mountains lived the

greater portion

of the Cherokees,

a fierce and cruel

tribe who had gone on the war path while our ancestor
suspected no danger.
One afternoon Mary Mull went down to the river which
was about a half a mile from her house, to drive up her
cows which usually pastured
home and was following

there. She had started them

at a distance, picking wild flow

ers and humming a little song. She was very happy in

her home in the wilderness
world. Suddenly

and had not a care in the

the cows turned ~~d ran back past her.

24
Thinking some wild animal had scared them, she was herself frightened.
Slipping cautiously

through the woods to where the cows

had turned about, she was horrified

to see her home in

flames and some Indians in war paint and feathers,dancing around it.
BaCk she raced until she was well out of sight, and
taking a round-a-bout
way to Weidner's

way through the forest, made her

house. Slipping

through the gate, she

called to him.
When he heard her story he quickly barred the huge gate
and prepared for a siege. For some reason he never
learned the Indians did not attack him that night. Perhaps they had heard the reputation
that never missed,

of the long rifle

or thought it impossible to climb

over the stockade. Some of his friends may have dissuaded them, or they may have been satisfied with what
they had already done.

Fearing a night attack and that they would find some

way to set his house on fire in the darkness, as soon
as it was dark he gathered

the women and children to-

gether and slipped out to a small stream nearby. They

did not yet know the fate of Mary's husband and child.
They followed the little stream to the river and then
down the river they went through the thick canebrake,
in the awful darkness,
the bank. Under

to a cave on the hillsdde near

this shelter the women and children

spent the night. Poor Mary Mull slept not at all because she was sure her husband
horrible fate. Neither

and child had met a

did Weidner

sleep, but sat out

before the cave the livelong night. his watch dogs beh;Wl.-

side~and the great rifle cocked and primed. The savages might find him and murder
was determined

the whole party. but he

to sell his life dearly.

They did not find his hiding place. As soon as the sun
rose he ordered the women and children to stay in the

26
cave and started back to his home. Slipping
forest as noislessly

through the

as any Indian, he finally reached

Mull's ruined home. And what a heart-rending

sight!.

There lay the father dead, and the poor little baby alive, but scalped like its father! There was no sign of
the savages who appeared

to have molested nothing else but

some cattle they had either driven off or killed.

He took the wounded
own house.He hitched

child in his armB and went to his

his horses

as near the cave as possible

to his wagon and drove

and left them. What a hor-

rible story he had to tell the poor widoW Mull when he

gave her the little mutilated

baby! It lived for over

a week before death ended its misery.

(Mary Mull was your great_great-grandmother.

As soon as possible

the fugitives

and fled southward.

We do not know why they went

this direction,

entered the big wagon

in

but there may have been several reasons.

That course took them away from the last sign of the

27
savages. Then Weidner probably dreaded the treacherous
ford at Adam Sherrill~s where he would also be at a
gre~t disadvantage

if attacked while crossing.

Again.

it may have been raining and he was afraid the river

would be too high to cross. At any rate, he did not
stop until he reached the settlement which is noW Lancaster. South Carolina, a hundred miles from his home,
and in the country of the friendly Catawba Indiana.
some of whom live there to this day. Here his family
and Mary Mull lived with a Robinson family, for two
years. Thus was formed a friendship between the Weidner and Robinson families that explains why the"home
place" of Fathe r Weidner is owned to-day by a Robinson
instead of a Whitener.
(Note. MOllie. daughter of Heinrich Weidner, married
Jesse Robinson, a member o'f the family he lived with
in Lancaster. She lived only a year or two, leaving
no heirs. This would not have allowed Robinson any
share in the estate but tradition S?Us that our an
cestor out of eratit~de to his family. made him equal
with his other children. No deeds extant.)

28
THE RED MARK OF HONOR.
Having found a safe refuge for his women and children,
Weidner

did not sit idly by, doing nothing,

diately made preparations

but imme-

to go back and see what harm

the savages had done to his home. Taking a few necessaries, he started

out on horseback

once more, follow-

ing the trail he had made innhis flight. He found everything burned

to the ground.

Here he met some of his Indian friends. They told him

that it was unsafe

for any white man in that part

the country because

the Cherokees

of

in large numbers

were still on the war path and would kill without mercy any pale-face

they found.

A chief of the tribe, who called him brother,

him protection,

but advised him to return to Lancaster

and there remain until

ner had always

assured

the war was over. Because Weid-

dealt honorably

he made a promise

with him and his tribe,

that so long as the country was un-

safe for pale-faces, he would have some of his young

men keep a young white oak tree standing near the ruined fort painted red. By this sign Weidner could at
at any time learn by slipping back whether or not the
Cherokees were still angry with the white men.
With this story goes a family tradition that ever aftenTErd every child

of the true Weidner blood was

born with a red mark extending from the forelock to a

point midway between the eyebrows, a perpetual witness to the justice and fair dealing of your ancestor
with an inferior race, which earned him their lasting
friendship. Whatever the cause of this mark, % is a
tradition of a family that have nothing to hide.
This famous white oak is the one that stands bBide the
home of John W. Robinson, II, a living monument to
Heinrich Weidner, "one of nature's noblemen, an honor
to his ra~e and a blessing to his country."

2913;
A HAIR BREADTH ESCAPE.

On one of his scouting expeditions from South Carolina.

Weidner brought with him a young man by the name of
Warlick.This was Warlick's first trip into the wilderness, and he was not provided with as good a horse as
he should have been. He thoroughly enjoyed his

journey

with the experienced frontiersman, who was now about

forty-four years old. Our ancestor could ~ell him many
stories of both the old world and the new. The time
passed rapidly and they reached the forks of the river
in a few days.
As they approached the site of the ruined fort, they
rode very carefully, watching for hostile Indians. The
war was now about over, but there was still danger
from roving bands of warriors.
They were almost in sight of the white oak tree when
they were discovered by such a band, who did not for
an instant leave them in doubt as to their feelings.

30
All bedecked in war paint and feathers, at sight of
the white men they let out a war whoop and rushed
toward them. Weidner, knowing it was foolhardy to resist in the face of such a disadvantage in numbers,
and no doubt being a believer in the adage that
"He who fights and runs away
May live to fight another day,"
turned his horse about and shouted to Warlick who followed as fast as his horse could carry him. The howling savages followed close behind.
In that country the upland was firm, affording sure
footing for a horse, but along the small streams were
low places that a distance looked solid enough, but
were really treacherous bogs and swamps. Weidner knew
this and led the wayan

the firmer ground, shouting

to Warlick to follow him. He was skirting one of these

bogs some distance ahead of the young man ~hO

could

scarcely keep up. Thinking he could take a short cut

31
and make up the lost ground, Warlick turned hie horse
straight across

the swamp. He had gone but a little

way when his horse mired in the soft mud.

He leaped off and tried to lead the animal out. But it
was too late. The Indians,

seeing his plight. yelled ~

in triumph and pounced upon him. He leveled hie rifle

at the hOWling

savages and fired. But he was too

cited to take good aim and he missed. Weidner,

ing the shot, stopped

ex-

hear-

and turned about just in time to

see hie young friend go to hie death, fighting

to the

last, using his rifle as a club.

~ot satisfied

with killing

one white man, the Indians

now started after the big Saxon. He waited

were within

range of the great

liberate aim, fired. A yelling

the others, having

learned

till they

rifle, and taking

de-

savage fell dead, but

in the great war that

he

would not be able to shoot again before reloading,now

redo~bled

their efforts

to catch him. But Weidner did

not )ropose to be caught. They chased him for miles so

32
closely that he had no chance to re-charge

the great

rifle. Then it was that he was thankful for the powerful lungs and long legs of his good horse which that
day carried him to safety.
To this day the bones of young Warlick lie in an unknown swamp, though

I have heard my grandfather,

II

Squire Abe", say that he was killed on what used to

be called the "Babel Whitener"

farm.

il

THE RETURN 01' TH1:!1FOGITIVES.

After about two years the trunk of the .white oak was
no longer red, and our ancestor
safely return. With the women
on hq ma~~ his way through

knew that he could

and children

the wilderness

in the wagback to his

home.
Here he found everything

in ashes and all his cattle

gone, He had to start again from the beginning,

But

now he was not alone. To him came young Conrad Yoder,

33
who was born in Switzerland.

but spoke the German language.

There also arrived from Peansylvania

of your ancestors,

George Wilfong. another

who was then about twenty-two years of age.

These two young men stayed with Weidner several years and
were of great help to him in rebuilding
This was built on the old foundations

his home.

with the spring under

the house like the first. But with such good help he built
larger and better than before. He needed a larger house, for
his boys and girls were growing up. and now that the country
was becoming safe, visitors were becoming frequent. Weidner/,s
house was always open to those who needed shelter. The road
he made from Adam Shsrrill's is callsd in the Colonial Records
and in an act of the legislature,
This was an open road

"the Road to Henry Whitener's".

to all who came into the new country.

and at its end was a cordial welcome.

(In the possession of Sheriff A. Nixon, Lincolnton, N. C., is
a memorandum book, the property of John Ramsaeur, who left
Lancaster, Fa. in the spring of 1752. He kept an account of
his expenses, and the points mentioned show exactly the road
he followed on the trip. His last entry is a record of a

34

small sum paid to Henry Whitener, probably for powder or

something like that. In this year, 1752, the home of our ancestor was certainly the end ot the road.)
These newcomers

no doubt at one time or the other all made

their headquarters

at the home ot the "king of the Forks",

as they called him, while looking tor a good place to settle. Of these several were ancestors
were lIatthias Barringer,

of yours, among whom

John Dellinger,

As Colonel Yoder says, everybody

and it was a famous gathering

and George Wilfong.

came to Henry Whitener's,

place for the settlers all

around. The called him aleo "Father Weidner", because he was

older and more experienced
ly estate ot ten thousand

in trontier life. With his princeacres, he was by tar the wealthi-

est man among them. He had picked out the best land in the
country and the rich new soil produced

abundant crops with

little labor.
With all his wealth he was simple and unassuming,

hospitable

to rich and poor alike. Modest and gentle in the true

of the word, he never made even the humblest

sense

ot his neigh-

35

bore !eel hie inferiority.

the true gentleman,

In this he showed the spirit of

who, aseured

of hie position and influ-

ence, has not the need or desire

wealth or noisy assertion
ly with the Indians,

for vulgar display

of euperiority.

he likewise

of

Ae he had dealt falr-

lived honored among his

white friends, and to this day. wherever

you find his de-

scendants, they proudly claim their kinship with Father Weidner, the king of the Forks.

THE WRESTLING MATCH.

I cannot tell you exactly when this occurred, but it ie a
tradition of both the McDowell
and therefore

and the Whitener familiee,

I am sure it ie true.

On one of hie many trips between Philadelphia

in the South, Weidner

and hie camp

spent a night in Virginia with a man

by the name of McDowell.

The older son sat till late in ths

night listening to the pioneer's

try. He was much interested

stories of the new coun-

in what he heard, and the next

36
morning told his father that he was determined to go along
with the big Saxon and see the new country for himself. His
father readily consented,

knowing that the young man would

be in good hands.
(Colonel Yoder says this was Joseph McDowell who afterwards
was an officer in the Revolution. This could not be the same
one, as Wheeler says that General Joseph McDowell wae born
in 1743. A Joseph McDowell did enter land about the same rr,
time as Weidner, but it must have been his father or uncle.
As this happened between 1745 and 1750, General McDowell
was at the time only a small boy. This teaches us that tradition is reliable only as to the main facts, the minor details becoming confused in the transmission.)
After reaching Henry river they made a trip to the westward
as far as the Blue Mountains,

as the Blue Ridge was then

called. Vllienthey had passed the headwaters of the Henry

river, thsy followed the Catawba. Weidner knew that ths
deep rich soil lay along the rivers.
They finally reached the broad stretch of level land on the

Catawba now known as Pleasant Gardens. It was so beautiful

that Weidner could not help

wishing it wsre his. You re-

member that he was of that race who desired all the land

37

adjoining them.
But the young Scotchman also knew a fine tract of land when
he saw it. They had quite an argument as to who should enter
it. And here is another instance

where the quick wit of the

canny Scot was too much for that of ths more deliberate German.
McDowell was young and active, and a good wrestler in the
old-fashioned way. He was fresh from Virginia where this
sport was a favorite among the young men when they met
corn-shuckings,

at

raisings and musters, while Weidner, a mid-

dle-aged man, had not tried his skill in a long time.

when the young man suggested a wrestling-match
matter, our ~cestor

But

to settle the

could not decline the challenge.

Then they wrestled.

Far away from any human being, with on-

ly the birds or squirrels.for

witnesses,

the two men took

off their coats and cleared a space for the contest.

The

big lumbering German and the little wiry Scot took each

38

in close embrace for a trial of strength

doubt the Teutonic
this way a thousand

ancestors

and skill. No

of each bad settled

disputes

years before.

Weidner, big and strong as he was, was sure that it would

be but child's play. But before he even began to use his
great strength, McDowell,

using the effective "knee-trip",

knocked his feet from under him and our ancestor made the
imprint of his broad back on the rich soil of Pleasant Garden.
Weidner then helped him survey and enter the land, and to
this day it belongs to the descendants

of General Joseph

McDowell.
(Some years ago I was looking in a copy of Wheeler's "Reminiscences" owned by Professor G8Jllewellof Wofford College,
Spartanburg, S. C. On the fly-leaf was the complete .line"
of ancestors of Mrs. Gamewell, by which she traced her ancestry to Gen. McDowell, by which she obtained membership
in the D. A. R. I asked Mrs. Gamewell whether there was
any tradition in her family as tb the way the McDowells
came into possession of Pleasant Garden. She replied that
there was a story that he had wrestled with and thrown a
Whitener for it. This was probably the first time that

39

members of the two families had ever talked together about

the story. That the story has come down in the two families
with the main facts identical proves its truth. It is also
evidence that the many traditions of the V,bitener family are
not fairy tales, but that that they are essentially true.)

FATHER WEIDNER,

THE KING OF THE FORKS.

In 1762 there seems to have begun a general movement of eettlers into Weidner's

neighborhood. During tha~ year he sold

to Conrad Yoder two hundred acres of land for forty pounds,

which was a very low price indeed. But he loved Yoder and
desired him as a neighbor. The same day he sold to Michael
Weidner one hundred

and thirty three acres for seventy-five

pounds, or two dollars and seventy-four

cents the acre.

(These deeds are recorded in Charlotte. They follow in form

the old English form of deed, in which in addition to the
purchase prics there is a quit-rent to'be paid yearly. As
Weidner did not mean to charge this rent to either, but ae
the form was there, and they were afraid to change it, it
is stipulated that twice each year, Conrad Yoder shall pay
to Henry Whitener a rent of "one pepper corn, provided the
same be demanded". A pepper corn is a grain of eozn, ]
In this same year Bostian Cline bought or entered land a

40

few miles away. George Wilfong had also bought a farm from
Weidner and built a house. His farm is to-day known as the
"Elkanah Hunsucker Place". Within a few years Matthias Barringer had taken up land and built his house near the "road
to Henry Whitener's".

By the time the Revolutionary War

broke out, Father Weidner had a goodly number of neighbors

and a family of three sons and five daughters.
As the country filled with settlers,
became more valuable.

land and its products

This in time made our ancestor a very

rich man for those days, and especially in that section. Nsgroes then were slaves, owned like mules and horses. Of these
he had a great number to work for him. After giving away all
his land and goods to his children, he still had eleven

ne-

groes to dispose of in his will, made when he was seventy

three years old.
(The census of 1790, the first taken by the Federal Government gives Henry Whitener ten slaves, Jesse Robinson, his sonin-law five and Daniel Whitener, his son, two. In fact, the
Whiten~rs o~ed about all the slaves in that section.)

41

When the people declared

England, George Wilfong

their independence

oC the king oC

and Conrad Yoder came to Father \7eid-

ner Cor advice as to which side they should take. Our ancestor unhesitatingly

decided in Cavor oC liberty. The tradition

is that these three men, the oldest settlers inLthat country,

thenhand~ther~;made

a covenant with each other that. through

thick and thin, come what may. they and their sons would
stand together.

To this day these

seriously divided on questions

Camilies have never been

oC government.

(Many oC the Gennan settlers were Royalists. or "Tories". One

reason Cor this was their natural law-abiding loyalty to constituted authority. Another reason was that Queen Anne oC England who was a zealous ~rotestant helped thousands oC these
people to pay their way to America to escape the persecutions
oC the Catholic Church. Persecution, however was not conCined
to the Catholic Church. John Galvin. who was Cor a time a min
ister oC the French Protestant, or ReCormed church had heretics burned, and the Lutherans burned at least one ReConned
preacher).
Father Weidner was sixty years old when the war began and was
thereCore too old Cor the actual
the youngest

Cighting. But his three sons.

oC whom lies in an unknown grave at King's Moun-

42

tain, fought beside their neighbors

for American liberty.

Father Weidner lived to see the colonies become independent

states and united into one great country. He died in 1792, at
the age of seventy-five.
He is buried at the very top of the hill above the site of
his old home. Beside him rests his wife who shared with him
many of his adventures

and hardships,

as well as the great

prosperity of thsir later years. Near him are many of his dsacendant.s , The burial ground, cal'led "the Whitener Graveyard"
is almost entirely

occupied. At the age of five years I went

there to the funeral of Heinrich

grandfather, affectionately
And now,with genuine

Weidner's grandson, your

known as "Uncle George" Whitener.

regret, I finish these stories of the

"King of the Forks", Let them teach us that honesty, fair

dealing, and regard for the feelings

of others, however hum-

ble, mark the true gentleman always, be they displayed in the

untracked wilderness,

or in the busy marts of men. We can

have no better example of how to live than that of Heinrich

43

Weidner who "feared God and took hie own part".

If

THE WIllOW OOFFS HER WEEDS.

I have told you how George Wilfong

came to Henry Whitener's

and lived with him for several years. He came from Pennsylvania and was also a German. The name was originally Vlolffgang.
When Weidner came back from South Carolina, Mary, the widow
of Abram Mull, came with him and lived with him. She was even
then only about eighteen

years old and good- looking, too.

(Just two years before,she was a wife and mother, that is at

sixteen years of age. Hence she must have been married at
fifteen, which was a common thing in pioneer days. In a new
country the men outnumber the women, and as a consequence the
girls are not allowed to grow up before the young men come"fly
ing around". Katrina Mull married Heinriche Weidner when she
was sixteen and he was thirty-two. The gravestones of these
old pioneers all show a larger difference in the ages of husbands and wives than is now usual.)
George Wilfong,

himself but twenty-two,

could not he~p noticing

how pretty she was. Living in the same house together,

the

44
young widow could not fail to see what a handsome man young
\'1ilfongwas. On Sundays, when Dr. Martin was in the neighborhood,(he was a Reformed

preacher)

together at Saint Paul's. George

they often went to church

rode horseback and lAery rode

behind him on a cushion for that purpose. This was the usual
method in those days for a young man to take his sweetheart
anywhere. And it was by no means an unpleasant way of traveling. What was so easy as to tickle ths horse in the side
with the spur! And when the horse
frightened girl for holding

jwnped, who could blame the

very tight to the strong young

man in front!
(A very dear old lady who read these stories smiled reminiscently when she came to the above description. This had been
the usual manner of going anywhere with her beau in her girlhood.)
The road from Saint Paul's to Henry Whitener's
miles long. It ran through beautiful

oak forests. In the

springtime, when the dog-wood blossomed

all too short for the young couple.

was about four

everywhere,

it was

They often tried Mother

45

Weidner's patience by lingering

along this road and being

late for supper.

It was during one of these little journeys that our hero persuaded the widow to leave Father Weidner's and cast her lot
with his. And the very next time Dr. Martin came to preach,
he performed the first wedding

ceremony in the South Fork Val

ley, and Mary Poffh Mull became Mrs. George Wilfong, your
great-great-grandmother.

They had two sons and four daugh-

ters, one of whom, "the beautiful

Mary", married Daniel White

ner, the hero of King's Mountain,

and was your father's

grandmother.
Their son, John Wilfong,

was wounded at King's Mountain, and

fought all through the Revolutionary

War. Wilfong Lake at

Guilford Battle Ground ie named after him. He was presidential slector on the Van Bur~n ticket.

Jl

It

# #

THE MAJOR'S CLOTHES~LINE.

George Wilfong took great interest

in military affairs, and

46

when the great war began he was appointed

major in the Second

Rowan Regiment to which Captain Matthias

Barringe.r's cO/llpany

belonged.(Col, Rec., Vfueeler, Draper's

Heroes, Rumple's Hietory
Not all th~.people

King's Mountain

and ite

ot Rowan.)

wanted to be tree trom England. These were

called Tories ..Some of them were the best ot people, and were
honest in their beliet. But there were many bad men who merely
wished a chance to rob and plunder.

Thinking that ths British

would be sure to win, they called themselves

Tories, and thus

gave all the Toriee a bad name. They robbed only the Whigs, as
those who wanted to be tree were called. They knew that if the
I'/higswere defeated t.heywould not be punished for their evil
deeds.
One day during the war, while Maj or Wilfong was away, two of
these Tory outlaws came by his house.

Seeing that there was no

one at home but women and children and negroes, they boldly entered the house and took all the provisions

and clothes they

wanted. Putting these in bags, they carried them to the barn,

47

Here they selected two of the best horses. For some reason they
)

"

> ~

--

could find no bridles.

).

Going back to the houss, they cut down

the clothes-line which was made of good hempen rope. This thsy
fashioned into halters

for the two horses. Putting the bags on

the horses tJleyrode away.

When Major Wilfong

returned home and learned what had happened,

he was very angry indeed. He immediately

made up a party

started in pursuit. He chased them as far as Wilkesboro,

and
and

was so close after them that they left the goods and horses and

took to their heels through the woods. Now that he had his horses
he did not follow them any further. But he sent the clothes-line
halters to his friend, Co;Lonel Benjamin
Wilkesboro, with the instructions

Cleaveland, who lived at

that if he caught the robbers,

he should hang them with the very ropes they had stolen.
About a month afterward
of the mountains.

the two robbers came slipping back out

men
Some of colonel'Cleaveland'e/caught
them and'

brought them bsfore him. With Major Wilfong's clothes-line

for

48

ropes

he hanged both the robbers to the same tree.

Major Wilfong lived to the age of seventy-six,

and Mary, his

wife, died two years before him in her seventy-second

rest side by eide in the churchyard
church west of the Catawba

year. They

of Saint Paul's, the oldest

River.

(The story of the Major's clothes-line is take from Draper's

"King's Mountain and its Heroes".
The Revolutionary War was largely a civil war, especially in the
South. Whig and Tory fought it out, and sometimes with great cruelty on both sides. Colonel Cleaveland of Wilkesboro was a terror
to Tories. He hanged them every chance he had. The tree to whick
he hangedmmolltollf them still stands at Wilkesboro and is known to
this day as the "Tory Oak".
Atrocities in warfare are not confined to any people or race. It
is related that once during Col.Cleaveland'e
abeence his two boys
came upon two 'rories and captured them. Both boys were under twenty years of age. Armed with riflee, they forced the two tories
to walk home before them. Here they guarded them till it was almo*t
dark. As it looked as if the Colonel was not going to return, they
began to wonder how they would be able to keep them all night. They
called to their mother to ask her advice. She came out into the
yard smoking her pipe. They told her their dilemma. She asked, "If
your Pa were here what wo'<\ldhe do!" "Hang them", replied the
boys. "Hang 'em, then, rsfite oJ.d lady. And the boys, no doubt ~ th
their mother's assistance hanged both men, without trial or other
formali ty )

';;(49

TIlE GREAT RIFLE MAKES HISTORY.

Because he was the oldest and a big strong man, able to handle it,
Father Weidner gave Daniel the gre!l.~rifle, and he carried it
throughout the Revolutionary
When the British invaded
at King's Mountain.

War.

North Carolina,

In the American

iel Whitener, Abram Whitener,

our ancestors

met them

army were our kiv.dred, Dan-

and John Wilfong.

The British troops were drawn up on a hill on the side of the

mountain and they thought

they could easily repulse any number

of Americans that should try to dislodge

them. They expected them

to come marching up the hill in close order, shoulder to shoulder,

as was the usua:J'JIIethodof attack.
some tricks trom the Indians.
from rock to rock, keeping
the English bullets.

Having

But the Americans

They slipped

had learned

from tree to tree, or

as much as possible

out ot the way of

learned to be saving ot powder and

ball, they shot only when they could take good aim.
The British troops were under the command

of Lieut. -Col. Patrick

50

Ferguson. a brave soldier and a good officer. He sat on his horse

on the very top of the hill. his soldiers drawn up all around him.
but some distance away. He could be seen very plainly by the Americ~s,

giving his orders and encouraging

his men. But he was too

far away for their bullets to reach him.

Many were killed and wounded as the battle raged. John Wilfong was
shot in the arm and Abram IVhitener was killed.
grief of Father Weidner's

This was the great

life, for he had counted on having

his

youngest son live with him in his old age. But ins~ead, he filled
an unknown grave on a famous battle-field.
When Daniel Whitener

saw that his young brother was killed, he re-

solved to avenge his des}h. He gave the long rifle an extra charge
of pOWder and selected the smoothest
loading and priming very carefully.
rock to rock to a big boulder.
see the British commander

bullet in his pouch. After

he slipped like an Indian from

Cautiously

looking over it he could

sitting on his horse. Using the boulder

as a rest, he took careful aim. When the great rifle spoke. the
gallant officer fell dead.

51
Withtheir leader dead, the British
time they retreated

seemed to lose heart.

to the top of the hill

and finally

In a short

eurrendered.

Thebattle of King's Mountain has been called by historians

turning point in the war, when the British
ken. Thsturning point i~ the battle
father fired his father's

the

power in America was bro-

was when your great-grand-

famous rifle.

Thatthis is a true story we have the word of John Wilfong and of

MichaelScheU who saw the incident.
changedthe whole history

This weapon, which no doubt

of America, now rests

in the National Mu-

seumat Guilford Battle

Ground, and there

it will remain always, to

remindus of the virtues

of our ancestors

who "feared God and took

their ownpart".

If

DANIELWHITENER PARTS WITH A PUP

WhileDaniel Whitener was a brave man, fearing nothing,

gentle and kind. Like his father,
ly woud the teelings

Heinrich,

he was

he would not willing-

of the humblest of his neighbors.

A real gen-

52
tlemanwill not call a negro a "black nigger",

because he knowsthat

it hurts him cruelly.

ThoughThomasJefferson

wrote that all

werefromthe beginning in this

men are created equal, there

new country different

ple. That is, somethought themselves better

SouthFork valley,

to this

classes of peo-

than others.

In the

day J those who own "bottom land " along

the rivers, consider themselves to be a little

higher in the social

scale than those who dwell on the less

"ridge land". Then

there was a distinction

beenable to understand.

fertile

amongthe German settlers,

which I have not

Somewere "White Dutch" and others were

"BlackDutch". This distinction

probably had its origin in the fath-

erland, and there seems to have been a sort of distinction

also

betweenthe membersof the two Germanchurches. The Reformedpreacher whoburied Father Weidner and married most of his children.
the ReverendAndrewLoretz.

He was a highly educated man, a native

of Switzerland, and spoke three

hsight pf fashion
.

'

was

languages well. He dressed in the

wore silk stockings

and silver

knee buckles.

53

Heownedslaves and bred fine race horses.

near Daniel's Church, which is still

He had a fine brick house

one of the show places of the

couununity.
(Thefact is, the Reformed memberswere better educated, more intelli
gent, and lived better than the Lutherans. The Yoders never ownedmany
slaves. and explained that it was against their religion. But this is
a mistake. Martin Luther himselt advocated slavery, and you will note
fromMotherWeidner's nuncupative will that she gav4 one of the yoder
girls a nsgro wench. The Lutherans showed that t.bll' were what the nagroee called "white trash" by objecting to the l'ieformedmembersof
the UnionGrace Church bringing their slaves to preaching and allowing themto sit in the gallery provided for that purpose. This controversy is a matter of record and a part of church history. The Reformedwere white Dutch, the Lutherans, black Dutch. )
Toillustrate

the gentleness

lowingstory is still

of the hero of King's Mountain, the fol-

told of Danii'll Whitener.

Oneof the young men of the neighborhood, AbramSeitz,

court to Mary, one of his daughters.

wished to pay

He bagan to make frequent vis-

its to the place. Whitener, suspected his intentions

himas muchas possible without telling

him plainly

welcome.YoungSeitz saw that his courtship

and discouraged
that he ....
as not

was not progressing very

54

rapidly, and decided that

the trouble

was with his clothes,

or rather

with hie lack of them.

Hehad his mother make him a new suit

of homespun, colored with wal-

nut hark and copperas, and ordered from the local cobbler a new pair
of shoes. Dressed in his new finery,
the following Sunday afternoon.

he trudged over to Whitener's

Daniel met him on the porch and in-

quired,
"Well,well, Abram, what can I do for you!"
Abram,seeing that his new clothes

had made no impression,

cuae for his coming and made the first

one that

sought ex-

came to mind.

"I heard that you had some fine young pups and I would like to have
one", he replied,

not dreaming that there

"Andy",called Daniel to a little

was a pup on the place.

negro playing in the yard, "go

fetch Abrama pup."

Andyobeyedand brought Abram a beautiful

hound puppy from a litter

in the barn. Having now what he had asked for, there was nothing
left for him to do but take it

home. As he walked along ilith the

55

pupin his arms, he came to the conclusion that it was no uss to

try to marry MaryWhitener.

(Mary Whitensr ~fterwards married John Setzer, grandson of Captain

MatthiasBarringer. Her son, George Setzer, was the first Clerk of
the CountyCourt of Catawba County, and held this office for sixteen years. He was a very wealthy man and a leading citizen. His
only child is Mrs. Virginia Shipp, now living in Newton at an advancedage.
Abram
Seitz afterwards married one of John Mull's daughtsrs.)

THE BRAGGART.

'Among
the early settlers

of the South Fork vallsy was John Del-

linger, another of your ancestors.

A brave man, but boaetful,

he has been laughed at by many a "Dutch" fireside

for a hundred

andfifty years -.
Hemarrisd Barbara, the oldest

daughter of Father Weidner, but

the big Saxonnever had any use for him. In his will he gave the
property to the Dellinger

children.

rich Weidnerwas a kind and just

scae good reason for this.

You have learned that Hein-

man, and there must have been

56

I havetold you that

the "King of the Forks" was modest SJldun-

assuming,doing things without making a great stir

This is probably the cause of his dislike

about them.

for his son-in-law

Dellinger, whose "long tongue" made him the laughing-stock ot

his neighbors.(Ihave Seen the record at Salisbury where he had
to give a "lie bill" for telling that one ThomasRhyne had stolen a horse. )
Oneof his favorite

boasts was that no bullet

his skin unless the sun was shining on it.

could penetrate

Whenthe patriots

met

the Tories at Ramsaur's Mill near Lincolnton, they had a short

but fierce battle.

Our friends,

chasedthem like rabbits.

the Whigs, deteated them and

John Dellinger was with the Whigsand

foughtwith courage, but he must attract

tentioll. After the battle

he opened his shirt

out ovsr a quart of bullets.

and tried

had put the bullets

This story teaches

their

in his shirt
US

SJldthere dropped

This was to showhis neighbors that

the Tories wsre very much afraid

with their rifles

to himself especial at-

of him and had picked him out

best to kill him. Of course he
before the battle.

that idle tales

and bragging merely cause

5 7
people to laugh at us,

even a hundred years after

and that deeds, not words, make us respected

by

we are dead,
our fellows.

YOURGREAT-GRANDMOTHERGOES TO A DANCE.

JohnDellinger's

oldest

son, Henry, was given a good farm by hie

grandfather, Heinrich'Weidner.

He married Catherine Setzer

granddaughter of Captain Matthias Barringer.

Captain's son, Matthias Barringer
nowcalled the "Barringer
to drill

II,

By this

was living

time the

in the old home,

Muster Ground". It was here the men lDet

on muster days. On these occasions

the wOlDen
came too,

and every night there would be a dance in the big room upstairs.
HenryDellinger's

wife,

Catherine,

ever since she was a little

she enjoyed the visit

girl.

had been going to these dances

She loved to dance and besides,

to her uncle.

Arter she married and moved to their

farm beyond Henry river

from

the Muster Ground, she did not quit going to dances. It is told
that the old grandmothers danced along with their

granddaughters.

58
On one occasion

Catherine

whenit began to rain.

could not wade it.

had made all

The river

But did

dIe end fastened

on her

at home, in one arm,

swimthe swollen
as if this

head,

stream.

to record

a horse
like

that

With her new frocks

tied

in a bun-

to

baby,

too young to leave

Sand Ford and made her horse

on to the Muster Ground

occurrence.
what her husband

capade, Perhaps he was afraid

ae usual

thing

Then she rode

were an ordinary

Tradition fails

a small

and the

she rode

preparations

became so high that

she allow

to keep her away? She did not:

her

to

said

about

this

aa-

say it.

great

rifle

THE MIGHTY HUNTER.

Heinrich Weidner gave his
whokilled

the British

it to his oldeet

son,

cOlllllllU1derat
known as

others of the same name.

off and the new kind

to his
King's

oldest

Mountain.

son,

Daniel

"B DeM", to distinguieh

~g ~

"Big Dan" had the

of hammer and tube

put

Daniel,
gave

him from

fl:l.nt and pan taken

on, thus

keeping

the

59

old weaponup to date.

Whenhe died,

he gave it to his oldest

son, Henry. or rather to Henry's oldest

ner, or "Uncle Will" Whitener.
years ago to "loan" it

son, Peter Wilfong '/hi te-

"Uncle Will",

was persuaded some

to the Guilford Battle

It is nowthere in the museum, lately

Ground Company.

taken over by the Federal

Government.
Judge Schenk, a descendant of Major Wilfong, was the
leading epirit

in the establishment

of this

"BigDan" Whitener wae a famous hunter.

still plenty of deer, bears,

museum.

In his time there were

wild turkeys.

and other game. Being

oneof the grandsons of the "King of the Forks". he owneda large

plantation and slaves to do the work. He had plenty of time. therefore, in which to indulge in his favorite
marksman,
and it was a lucky deer that
he leveled his grandsire's

six-foot

Hswasonce watching for turkeys

the old gun with buclllsho1iso that
than one. He finally

sport.

He was a famous

escaped his deadly aim when

rifle.

near Sand Foro. Hs had loaded

he would have a chance at more

had his chance and blazed away. He killed

noticed that
several. After securing the dea d f ow1S, he

Jesse

60
Robinson's cows on t.he ot.her side of t.he river were bawling
loudly. He crossed over t.o eee what. wae t.he t.rouble.
that someof his buckshot. had killed

He found

one cow and wounded several

others.
It was a wonderful gun.

THE MILITANT

JUDGE.

Abrother of "Big Dan" was "Shoot.ing-mat.ch" John Vlhit.ener( both

your grsat-uncles.)

A crack shot. wi t.h t.he rifle

of the advent.i1rousspirit.

of his grandfather,

he enlisted

AndrewJackllon's army and help whip t.he British

(Somesay that he carried his grandfat.her's
not regard t.his as aut.bori t.aU ve , )

and possessed
in

at NewOrleane.

rifls,

but. I do

When
he was a middle-aged man, he moved to Georgia. where he
wasafterwards elect.ed a judge of t.he county court.

It was a

wild country in those days. and some of t.he bad men of that
muni
ty had a habit of raising

com-

a row whi Le the court was in aea-

61
sion and breaking it

up.

Thefirst time he held court he took with him hie trusty

placing it on the table

rifle,

before him, made them a short speech,

told the crowd that he was going to hold court,

He

and that he proposed

to have good order. Furthermore he would shoot ths first

attemptedto make a disturbance.

and

He had no trouble

man that

at that court,

Dorever afterwards.
I haveheard this story

also in Georgia, but my informant did not

knowthe nameof the judge.

All the Whiteners in Georgia,

are descendants of this

of whomthere are several

in Atlanta,

grim old judge, who was also a lay prsach-

er, Hemust have been a man of many accomplishments, being hunter,

SOldier, planter,

preacher

and judge.

/I

*UNCLEfl GEORGE WHITENER.

Danisl Whitener's fourth

son, George was your grandfather,

lived to be seventy-nine

years old, and when I Sa:s a littls

He
boy

62
five years old, I remember going to his

funeral.

Likeall the Whiteners, he was a great hunter and fieherman. Having beenbrought up in idleness,

there

hewasvery careless in his business

being no need of working,

affairs.

Having inherited

large plantation and slaves to till

it,

he spent his time in hunt-

ing and fishing. Mygrandfather(his

son) told me that the negroes

ranthe farm, but most of the time hunted and fished like their
master. Consequently the fine farm did not produce

as muchas it

oughthave.
It is told of "Uncle George

ft

as he was affectionately

he usually ran behind so bad that

he usually

had to sell

called,

that

a "nigger"

to payhis taxes. Whenthe slaves were freed he had only twelve to

lose.
My informant further

told me that

after

wokeup and took charge of his plantation

ergy. and by the time he was called

the Civil Vlar "Uncle George"

with intelligence

to his fathers,

and en-

he had plenty

63

of moneyat interest

and was considered

one of the most prosper-

ous menin the county.

(The information that "Uncle George"had to sell a nigger to pay
his taxes was told by Col. George Yoder. But Yoder had done Uncle
Georgea dirty trick in having the public road changed from its
original location right by his home, up on the ridge, leaVing Uncle Georgeway off the road. Yoder did this secretly,
he being one
of the politicians
of the new county. They had a quarrel over this,
and no doubt Uncle George told Col. Yoder where the Yoders "got their
start". Col. Yoder ie also mistaken about the number of slaves he
had left. Yoder saye eight, but your cousin, my father,says
twelve,
and can give their names. And your father says that Uncle George
sold only one negro. The others cried about it, and Uncle G~rge .
'\ never would sell any more.) ~
'?1~'
i..-~~t.
'-

I'J~JJ:;i;r<IM--uJ,~.""'-'~:

;;}MAr'lfEti'

m~~
Jl~,
' tJ~)
(Uk...
1
~.

~l.-.u).

j'J:

~,>f
- 1 i/tK"tellfftiZ-U
.2.:1,

'

' rr.,..,.

'

,<-<-C<Q.~.

d.-t.- ~

'.

1107;J

"UNCLE
GEORGE"
BEATS"BIG DAN"TO THEPERCH.
"UncleGeorge" and "Big Dan" lived
7~' -::\

on adjoining

.t ,

ry river. Both were fond of fishing,

ing hole. Each had seen a magnigicent
wantedthe honor of catching
this end and invented

it.

plantations

on Hen-

and each had his favorite

perch in the river,

~.tJ

fish-

and both

They used all the old trickS to

some new ones. But the wily old fish for

64

longtime dodgedall

their

traps.

OneSundayafternoon "Uncle" George slipped around to the back ot

the kitchen, and took down his fishing

tackle

from under the eaves.

Hesneakedto the barn lot and dug some live bait.

the fish were biting
led to his favorite

and he could not resist.

fishing

He felt

that

Then he quietly strol-

hole.

When
he returned about sundcwn he forgot to sneak; he forgot that it
was Sunday;for he brought with him the biggest

sun-perch that wae

ever caught in Henry River.

Tradition does not tell

us what his wife, Margaret, said about his

goingfishing on Sunday. But she was the daughter of Cathering Dellinger whohad swumher horse aeross the swollen river
dance.Viecan imagine, therefore,

that

to go to

"Uncle" George's joy was not

unalloyed.
"BigDan"threatened

to tell

wardsthought better

of it,

the preacher

of this

exploit,

as Uncle George could also tell

er tales. But he always claimed that

but afterthe preac1l-

George took an unfair advan-

65

tage by fishing on Sunday.

(Onemust be acquainted with the customs of these people;in
the
SouthFork Valley to realize the terrible
thing that Uncle George
had done. The Sabbath was rigidly obeerved. But dancing at the
musterswae not thought inconsistent
with church membership. This
wasespecially true of the generations preceding Uncle George's
offense. Drinking hard liquor was not looked downupon, and getting uproarously drunk was not considered as bad as fishing on
Sunday.Before the Civil War every planter had his own still and
madeup a lot of brandy during the fruit season)

"SQUIRE
ABE"
UncleGeorgehad four sons,
Abe",waeyour uncle.

of whomthe oldest,

Like his ancestors,

known as "Squire

he was a great hunter,

anddearly loved a fox chase. Whenhe was over seventy years old,
he chased a fox for two days and nights.
whenhe slept at all.

From this

covered, though he lived

sleeping

he became ill

for nearly

on the ground

and never fully re-

ten years afterward.

When
the Civil War broke out he volunteered

as soon as the call

66

wasmadefor men of his age. He was then thirty~seven.

oldsst son was only ten.

He joined the company of his life-long

friend, Captain J. T. Johnson, who was afterwards

Thirty-fifth North Carolina
Leefor over three yeqrs.

Colonel of the

Regiment, and fought under General

He was in many of the fiercest

of the war, but escaped unhurt except for a slight

onhis little

while his

battles

bullet

wound

finger.

bullet hole through his old canteen is witnes.

to one narrow

escape, He often told me how he was buried under a great heap of

earth whenthe Yankees exploded a mine under the trenches
Petersburg. He was stunned b~ the explosion.
before he could scratch

out.

befora

and almost smotharad

He used to say that no mole evar

scratched harder than he did.

Hesurrendered at Appomattox and walked all
Herehe found all his horses
free. Times were very
return. But after

and cattle

the -way back home.

gone and

his negroes

hard with him for a long time after

his oldest

his

son grew up, they Vlent into the

66
lumberbusiness together

and "Squire

Thefirm of A. Whitener & Son

and planing mill in all

that

Abe" again became prosperous.

had the first

circular

saw-mill

country.

"Wearingthe white flower of a blameless

life",

trusted by all.

of his son, he would have

But for the watchfulness

signed the note of anyone

drewup the wills

he was loved and

who asked him. He was a magistrate

and

and deeds of the whole neighborhood. Manythe

couplestll11ltwere married by him. His association

sonwhowas a physician,

and
his experience
, .

a rough knowledge of medicine and surgery.

pox raged, 'and he vaccinated

nearly

with Col. John-

in the war, gave him

After the War small-

everybody in the community.

Therewere some,very sore arms, b.ut no one died of blood-poison.

Hewas always kind and gentle,
lover of children,

he taught

never losing
me to whistle

his temper. A great

and hop on one foot.

all/ays a wonderful treat to be allowed to go homewith him,

,
whenmygrandmother would gorge me w:i:th her matchless rabbit and
It

VIaS

pumpkinpies.

schmiercase 1 and hu-tae Ls,

67

Hewasa very religious

man with the firm faith

Hetold ms that once when he crossed

of his fathers.

the Sand Ford at night,

light shone from Heaven to enable him to avoid the dangerous quicksandsfor which this

ford was notorious.

that no one dared question

the road undsr the trees
water, the reflected
lookedlike a light

his

He believed

sublime faith.

of the stars

so firmly

On a moonless night

was very dark indeed.

light

this

Whenhe reached ths

directly

overhead

no doubt

from above.

Hewas one of the founders of Bethel Reformed Church near his old
home,and also of Corinth Reformed Church at Hickory, in which there
hasbeen placsd a beautiful

window to his memory. He is buried in

BethelChurchyard, the first

of his

line to rest

outside

the family

burial ground.
"And everybody said he was
"A fine old gentleman".
(Twoof Squire Abe' 8 brothers,
Washington and D~el~ vOlunte~~e~f
at the beginning of the war. and their bones r-ama.a.n
an the S03Virginia.
His youngest brother. Sidney, your father is probably the only
living great-grandchild of the big Saxon.)

t:

It

il

II

68
TWO
VlHlTENERS
OF ANOTHER
COLOR.
Thesestories would not be complete without

mention of two

negro slaves, "Uncle" Sime and "Aunt" Lile.

Lile belonged to

UncleGeorgeWhitener,
a kinsmanand neighbor,

while Sime, her "ole man", belonged to

Henry Whitener.

Yourcousin, my father , who saw the incident,

delights
in
came
te,lling how Sime/into Henry Whitener's possession. The negro
originally belonged to "Big Dan" Vlhitener
oU at his sale.

Sime went to Henry Whitener and begged him

to buy him. Henry knew that

Sime was a strong

gro and would commanda high price.

He had all

neededand told Sime he could not afford

NowSimeknew that
be the overseer.
had someslight

and was auctioned

if

intelligent
the slaves

to buy

any

nehe

more.

Henry Whitener should buy him, he would

TheA-ore he put his woolly head to work. He

a;t;fection

of the muscles of one leg that

times caused him to walk lame. When he was called

he pretended to' be so lame that

some-

on sale day

he had to be helped up on the

block. ,Noone wanted a lame negro and he was bid off by Henry

69
Whitenerat a ridiculously

low price.

When
the sale was completed and Sime realized

that he was in-

deedthe property of "Mars Henry", he leaped nimbly from the

block, cracked his heels together

in the air,

and turned

handspringon reaching the ground.

When
Uncls George's wife, Margaret,
War,she left a little

died,

long before the Civil

red-headed baby boy, too young to be

withouthis mother. Lile had a young baby too, and took the
little white child and nursed him as her own. This baby boy,
SidneyWhitener, is now an old man, and lives
,.,.y

',-----' ~

dred.yards of his birthplace,

within a few hun-

and is probably the only living

great-grandchild of Father Weidner. His brothers

himabout his black "mammy",telling

him that

wasso small in comparison with them, was that

always teased

the reason he
he allowed the

pickan1.bny
to get ahead of him.
Hewastoo young to go to the war, but he had one experience
with Yankeebullets.

Whenthey came through that section

andLonShade, a free negro who had married one of Lile's

he

70
daughters,were fishing

near Sand Ford. The Yankees had been

chasinga young farmer of the neighborhood,

Dan Rhyne, whose

fine marethey wanted. Rhyne threw them off the trail

ford, and the soldiers

crossed

the river

thinking

at the

they were

right after him. Sidney and the negro had heard them shocting
andwere running up the river

through the bottom when the

Yankeessaw them. Mistaking them for Rhyne, they fired

boys.Thenegro was shot through both legs and fell.
thinkinghe had lain down to escape the flying
dO\lll
too. Whenthe soldiers
mistake,they carried

at the
Sidney,

bullets,

lay

reached them and discovered their

the negro to Uncle George's house and

dressedhis wounds.
AuntLile lived to be very old,
whenshe died. She used to visit

claiming

to be over a hundred

her "white folks" regularly,

andI rememberthat when she used to come to see "Mars Dolf~

yourcousin, she was always a welcome guest.
She nevsr had cause to regret

her labor <n carinal> for "ole

71
Mis'" red-headed baby, for when she grew old, Sidney V1hi tener
built her a cabin near his home, looked after
she lived, and gave her a grand funeral

her comfort while

when she died.

II

TIlE OTHER WHITENERS.

Besidesthe descendants of Heillrich Weidner, there are many

other Whiteners in Catawba. They always claim killship with ue,
but there is abundant evidence that

euch claim is without foun-

dation.
After the Indians had become friendly
turned from South Carolina,
Pennsylvania, movedinto

and our ancestor

a number of settlers,

his neighborhood,

had re-

chiefly

from

as I have told you

before. Amongthem was one, Michael Weidner. At that

time the

twopioneers claimed no kinship.

Michaeleeemedto lack the
taking up land farther

courage of Heinrich,

for instead

of

west in the Indian country, where it waS

72

practically free, he bought

chargedhim seventy-five

8.

small farm from the big Saxon, who

pounds for one hundred and thirty-three

acres. At the same time ouil ancestor

forty pounde, two hundred acres

sold to Conrad Yoder

adjoining

if the two Weidners had been kinsmen, it

for

Michael Weidner. Now

does not seem reaeon-

able that Heinrich would have charged Michael nearly three

timee

as muchthe acre as he did Yoder who claimed no kinship at all,

andnever has.
ColonelGeorge M. Yoder, who knew many of the older members of
bothfamilies, states

that

Ouranceetors were large

they differed
tall

much in appearance.

men, with. fair

skin and yellow or

red hair. The others were dark and. small.

Theirdiffsrence in religion

is

not related by blood, but that

evidence that

not only were they

they originated

in different

of Germany.Heinrich Weidner and his descendants

have always

beenmembersof the Reformed Church, founded by Zwingli,

temporaryof Luther, which church flourished

parts

a con-

in Switzerland,

'13

Frallceand in the southern provinces

of the fatherl8J1d.

Michael

Weidner
and his family were members of the church established

by

Luther,which was the stronger

in North Germ8J1y8J1dSC8J1dinavia.

Duringthe Revolution Heinrich

and his eons took their

American
liberty,

as you have learned.

stand for

Michael and hie aons were

Tories,not so much for love of the king, as for the opportunity of exercising their

lawless

instincts.

When
the great Civil War broke out our ancestors
servicesto their

state

offered

and fought for the Lost Cause.

otherWhiteners who escaped conscription

their
The

were common"bush-

whackers"

Afterthe War, during the terrible

days of reconstruction,

tooksides with the negroes and carpet-baggers,

they

voting the Re-

publicanticket when such act was moral treason.

Should

needto ask how our ancestors

will not leave

youfor an instant

voted,

your father

in doubt, should you put the question

Col.Yodsr, in his history

of the Heinrich

you

to him.

Weidner family as-

74

serts that the two families

differed

vsrsationhe explained that

our family was a law-abiding,

respecting,gentle people.

in disposition.

The other he characterized

In a conself-

briefly

as

a "toughset".
Thenegroescalled our people
noslaves, "white trash".
wereentirely different.
quality, but you can't

quality";

Excellent

the others,

who owned

evidence that the families

"'Youcan fool de quality

about de

fool de niggers."

Many
other Weidners came to America, but Michael and Heinrich
werethe only ones to cross the Catawba river.

The majority

re-

mained
in Pennsylvania, where they are very numerous, and are
still called Weidner, or Widener. There they lived among their

ow peoplewhocould speak th~ name aright.

wascalled Henry VJhi
tener

Heinrich Weidner

in 1750 in the Colonial Records, and

thenamehas so remained.
Some
of the Pennsylvania Weidners are very wealthy. I am told
that they have now a coat-of -e.rms

and claim descent from noble

P.

75

familiesof Germany. This claim has no foundation and only servss

to makethem ridiculous.

\Vehave no knowledge of any',relation-

shipto thsse Pennsylvania Weidners, nor has any of Heinrich Vleidner's family claimed that
migrantof the better

he was anything more than a Germanim-

class,

come to the new world to better

condition.He knewhow to spell

his name and could write it.

is merethan the majority-eof his

ly bettered his condition,

andnumerousslaves.

could do.

for here he owned a princsly

which
He sure-

estate

He was Father Weidner, King of the Forks,

andI of ths sixth generation

contemporaries

his

am proud to bear his honored name.

CAPTAIN MATTHIAS BARRINGER.

76
CAPTAIN JOHN PAUL BARRINGER.

Aboutthree hundred years ago there

ple by the name of Beringer.

lived

in France some peo-

They were Protestants,

whodid not belong to the Catholic

or people

Church. In those days the

kingand most of the people of France were Catholics

ed the Protestants

very cruelly.

For this

and treat-

reason some ot the

Beringersmovedfrom France to Hanover which is now a part ot

Germany.
Here most of the people were Protestants
selves, as well as the ruler.

like them-

Here they could go to theill .awn

churchand no one would molest them.

Viedo not knowanything more about them until
dredyears later,

more than a hun-

when we find in Hanover a man by the name

of WilhelmBehringer,

as the name was then spelled.

three sons, paUl, Matthias

AnnalIaria, Catherine,

and Henry; and three daughters,

and Dolly.

Theyoften heard of the wonderful new country called

wheresomeof their

They had

friends

America,

and neighbors had gone. They ot-

77
ten talked of it and wondered if they would like to live
there.
When
the oldest son, Paul,

was about twenty-tvro years

of

age, he determined to make the long journey and eee for himself if all the wonderful tales
Hamburg
on the sea, sailed

in the ship,

phia, where he landed Sept.

Hestaysd around that

city

were true.

He journeyed to

Phoenix, to Philadel-

30, 1743.
for several

years and while there

marrieda Miss Eisman. Then he moved to North Carolina where

he boughta lot of land on Dutch Buffalo creek, in what is
nowCabarrus county.
Hebecamevery wealthy and built
home.In this church he built
pit a little

a Lutheran church near his

a platform

higher than the floor.

in front of the pul-

On this

platform he placed

hie ownpew, or bench. He was a man who liked to take the

lead in everything,

and I suppose he did this

peoplethat he thought himself

to show other

the next best man to the prea-

78

eher,
(I think this was bad manners,
Hehadbeen a soldier

but the tale

is so told)

in Germany and knew about training

men

to fight. As the people were always in danger from Indians,

theyorganized themselves into
metto drill.

military

These companies were called

and the Governor appointsd

companies and often

the Royal Militia,

John Paul Barringer

Captain of

his company.
It is told that he could not speak the English language very
well, and sometimes when drilling
and wouldgive the commandto halt,

his men, he would forget,

march, or shoulder arms,

in German.or course the Germans understood him and obeyed,

butthe English and Scotch did not know what he meant, and
there wouldbe a confusion.

Then Captain Paul would stand

upin his stirrups

them exactly

and tell

what he thought of

them,using English and German all

mixed up. This sounded

sovery funny to the soldiers

they could not keep from

that

79
laughing.This angered him so much that
sectioncut off into a separate
couldhave all soldiers

that

he finally

county (Cabarrus)

could understand

had his
so he

him when he

forgothis English.
During
the Revolutionary War he was taken prisoner
British and kept at Camden, S. C. a long time.
onsrsthere but !iimdied of small-pox.

by the

All the pris-

Whenhe was freed he

came
homs,and as people did not know much about germs
thosedays, he spread the disease

allover

Hslived to be a very old man, eighty-six

ths last he liked to be the leader.
wasa general in the Revolution.
Barringer,was minister

to Spain.

wasa general in the Civil

Barringer,now lives

his neighborhood.
years old, and to

His oldest

A grandson,

son, Paul,

Daniel Moreau

Another grandson, Rufus,

War. A great-grandson,

at Charlottesville,

ysarschairman of the faculty

Dr. Paul

Va. He was for many

of the University

of Virginia,

Which
was the same as being president.

in

80
YOUR
GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER
COMES TO AMERICA.
Yourememberthat Wilhelm Behringer

had three

Paul, !llATTHIAS,
and Henry; and three
Catherineand Dolly. After

and mother,

,isters. The journey would be quite

the fathsr and mother were getting
newhomeso Vlell, and so often

an undertaking,
old.

Matthias.

that

and

because

But Paul liked

his

they finally

the oldeet

had to take the lead in this

dertaking. It is a hard matter

CM

Anna Maria,

and his brothers

wrote them

decidedto risk the long voyage.

block; you

daughters,

John

John Paul had been here for some

years he sent for his father

nowat home, naturally

sons,

son

new un-

to move, even into the next

imagine how much work it

took to move from

Hanoverto Hamburgby wagon, and from Hamburg to Philadelphia by sailing

vessel.

You must keep in mind that

174years ago (1748) and railroads

this

was

and steamShips had not

beendreamed of.
Youmust not think,

however,

that

they moved all

their

fur-

81
n~tureand household goods. This would have cost so much
that ~t was cheaper to sell
andbuynewfurniture

their

belongings in Hanover,

in the new world. You may be sure that

theyhad manythings they could not bear to part with. Then

theymustbring some pressnts

for Paul. Amongthese was one

wewouldexpect these devout Lutheran people to give to a

member
of their

family.

It was a very l~tge Bible,

kindcalled a "Luther Bible",

of the

because it had in it the lite

of MartinLuther and a lot of his writings.

printed in German. It has large

full

Of course it was

page pictures,

ths finest

that could be made in those days. It was published in Nurnberg, 1747. It now is in the possession
ringer, W"ldow
of the General,

of Mrs. Rufus Bar-

at Charlotte.

Thevoyagefrom Hamburgto philadelphia,

on the ship, Pal-

iena, took about four weekS. On the way both the father
the mothersickened and died.
the ship, had their

and

Captain John Brown, master of

bodies enclosed in sail

cloth with some

82
leadweights, and read the Burial

;S3rvice. Then the sailors

let themover the side into

the water.

tors, at least,

in the middle of the Atlantic

were buried

So two of your ances-

OceB.ll.

Matthiaswas nowin charge of the party,

reeponsibility for a boy only eighteen
aftsr life so plainly

and it was a heavy

yeare old. But, as his

showed, he had courage and was not a-

fraid. 'Nhsnthe ship landed at Philadelphia,

lit tookhis brother and sisters

Sept. 16, 1748,

to the home of some frisnde,

where
they took also the new Bible and their
ings, Thenhe went to the

other belong-

government building

name
in a large book, which meant that
ths laws and be a loyal citizen

and signed his

he promised to obey

of the colony of Pennsylvania.

Hisbrother, Henry, not being yet sixteen

years old, waS not

required to sign.

83
IIATrHIAS COMES TO NORTHCAROLINA.

Matthiasand his party

now had to wait

wagon to take them to North

drawn
by four horses

and driven

edthe wagonwith their

morning in the
Matthias

Henry
and the girls

were back

at the sides so they could

Therewere at that

in

under
the

The road

was a very

Aethers would be many times

arrival

front
the

Matthiae

bought

in the

cover

city

set

out on
driver;

which was tied

as they

up

rode along.

or telegraphs,

and the

towns

ran most of the time through

bad road.
could

reach

house by night,

they

had to take

Cooking
utensils

along.

they

would stop

could

load-

in North Carolina.

evena settler's

neara stream where they

wagon

with the negro

country

when they

At night

or Paul's

slave.

of 1748 , they

time no railroads

weresmall and far apart.

thickwoods. and it

sat

see

to get

fall

the

was a covered

having

be able

their long journey.

It

by a negro

belongings,

many
things they would not
Earlyons frosty

Carol;i.na.

for

have

plenty

a hotel,

or

.,
and
provJ.sJ.one
by the

of water.

roadside

The girle

84

would
bring out the pots and pans, the boys would build a fire
sd

carry water. In almost no time at all

a goodhot supper. All German girls,

poor,are taught to prepare

they would be eating

even to this

food that

tastes

day, rich and

good and is whole-

some.
Aftersupper Matthias would read a chapter
Then
the~

from the big Bible.

would make a bed for themselves

inilthe wagon, and

theboyswould go to sleep wrapped in a blanket

Next
morningthey would rise

early,

prspare

under a tree.

breakfast,

and start

onanotherday' s journey.
Inthe woodsalong the road there
rels, wild turkeys, and many other
WCl.t?'cVi

thiaswouldwalk ahead of the/with

were plenty

of rabbits,

squir-

kinds of game. Sometimes Mathis rifle,

and when it

ght

cau

upwithhimhe would have some rabbits

or perhaps a turkey.

nightthey would have a feast.

time of the year there

were
plenty of hickory nuts,
So

that they had plenty

At that
walnuts,

That

black haws, and persinunons,

of good food all

the time.

85
They
had been a whole month on the road when they were made glad
bythe eight of their

brother,

Paul,

on a big black horee,

startedto meet them. They had not seen him in five years.
hada joyous reunion,

but saddened because

er hadnot lived to see the wonderful

their

father

They

and moth-

new world.

Paulthen led the way to his

home on Dutch Buffalo

theyarrived not long before

Christmas.

down
to their Christmas dinner,

who had

creek where

And when they all

six sat

you may be sure it was a wonderful

least,

lIA'l'I'HIAS
MOVES
TO CATAWBA.
llatthiascontinued to live
berof years. He learned

with his brother,

all

Captain Paul,

about dri 1ling

Paulorganized his company of Royal Militia,

soldiers.

a num-

and when

he was made Lieut-

enant,
B

eingyounger and having no family,

much
morethan his brother.

he traveled

Having heard

about the country

f th e fair

land beyond

86
theCatawbariver,

where there

made
several trips

into that

were already
country.

ride.but the journey could be

ing.FatherWeidner had settled

John,Earl Granville,

not far

he

made in one long day by hard ridhere some years before,

and other

often visted

the big

with him.

lIatthiasliked the country and the people so well that

onthis section for his future

It was about a two days'

settlers had followed him. No doubt Matthias

Saxon
and had many a long talk

a few settlers

he decided

home. He bought a lot of land from

from what is now the town of Newton.

Hecouldhave his choice and you may be sure he picked out the
bestland he could find.
Scon
after this purchase he returned
shortlyaftsr his return

there

an church,when Lieutenant

to his brother's

house. And

was a grand wedding at the Luther-

Matthias

Barringer

led the beautiCul

~argaretBushart to the altar.

CaptainPaul was very sorry

that

th r was going to
his gallan t b ro e

live eo far away'.in the wilderness.

He knew he would miss him on

87
muster
days. But he gave the young couple many valuable

presents

forthsir newhome. If you remember how deeply religious

pIswere,you can easily
wasa Bible exactly like

guess what one of these

the one Matthias

nyyearsbefore. The Captain

had sent all

thisexpensivebook. It was published

these peo-

presents

was. It

had brought to Paul mathe way to Germany for

at Nurnberg in 1765.

(ThisBible was handed down in the Barringer family until 1894,

whsn
Matthias Barringer's
great-grandson
gave it to Lenoir Collegs,Hickory, N. C. Here I found it in a junk heap ~Il!i"asked for
it. It suddenly became very valuable,
but after much dickering,
I securedit and had it rebound with the original wood lids and
brassclasps, the leaves straightened
and trimmed, by' a book-binderin Baltimore. It is now in Richmolld.)
Again
Matthias began a wagon journey;
long.Besides his"young wife,

but this

one was not so

he took with him a negro slave and

hiewife. Somecowe were led by the negroes

and two deer hounds

rompsd
on ahead.
Thsroad I18S only a rough trail,

and the hardest

'l's
end.This was crossing the Catawba, at SherrJ.
nobridges or ferry boats

in those

days,

task near the

Ford. There were

early
all d th e

settlers

88
hadto pick out a place where the water ran ewiftly,
forewasnot deep. In such a place
butit is solid.

Fording the

and there-

the bottom is rough and rocky,

Catawba with a wagon was dangerous

work,for the driver might get into

deep water,

whers
horses and wagon.would be swallow~d

up.

or into

quicksand

Matthias waded

aheadof the wagonwith a pole in his hand to try the depth ot the
water.After deciding on the course he would shout his dirsctions
to the negro driver.

In this

safety.Thenthey unhitched

manner they reached the west bank in

the horses

forthe cows. These took a lot

from ths wagon and rode back

of driving,

swim.
they do not like to go into

for though thsy can

deep water.

The dogs had already

joyouelyewumthe stream.
Aftereverything was safely

across

Henry
Whitener's", and reached

their

they followed the "road to

new homein the afternoon.

Theyhad been three days on the road and were glad to fing their
stoppingplace. Their only home was a wagon, but the land was
theire. Andto this

day it

belongs

children.

II

to their

great-great-grand-

89
lJA'l'l'HIASBUILDS A HOME.
Thefirst task after

arriving

a shelter for themselves.

work
cutting downtrees
IIIlS

at their

Matthias

new home Viasto provide

and the negro man went to

for a cabin of two rooms. This cabin

built of logs squared in the woods, the cracks between them

filledwith clay. The chimney was built

a roc~hillside.

of stones brought from

For the roof they cut down pine trees.

them
into blocks. and with a tool

called

a fro.

intoboardsthat were as good as shingles.

edpolss, or split

split

This was called

and didvery well for the short

the blocks

For a floor they hew-

small logs and laid them closely

sl groundinside the cabin.

sawed

on the lev-

a puncheon floor.

time theY were to stay in the

never
little cabin. It was dry and wann. but Margarilt could

keepit as clean as she would have liked

Thiswasthsir homeuntil

it.

the "big house" was finished.

It was

built like the cabin, of .Lcga, cut and hewn in the woods. to
fit, each one to its
theycouldtell

place.

where it

Each log was marked or numbered so

should go. Whenall

the logs and raf-

90
tere.wereready, Matthias sent word for miles around to
settlers whocame early

one morning with their

dren.Thewomenstayed around the cabin,

thingsprovided, while all

wives and chil-

helping

helpedMatthias put the logs to thei r placee.

pretlill!!ing
to be very hungry,
some
rosy-cheeked girl.

cook the good

the men took off their

however,
that the young men would often
but really

slip

the

coats and

I have no doubt.
over to the cabin,

to have a chat

And who knows but that

the girls

wi: th

often

hadeomeexcuse to walk out to the "big house" and smile at the

young
men!Andwho can blame the young frontiersmen
tookadvantage of these visits

if

they

to "show off" before the girle,

andlift the huge logs around as if they were nothing at all

to

suchst rong menas th ey !

Atnoonthey all went to a big table
vainlytried to eat all

that

out under the trees

was set before

and

theJll. After dinner

theywentback to work, and before

sundown the huge structure

wae
complete
,
, even to the rafters.
lnga

And this

was called a -rais-

91
Thiswasonly the frame of the house, however, and lots
hsdyet to be done. Matthias

had hired

at work

some sawYers to make

some
pl!lllksfor him. This was done with a "Whip-saw", which
dillers from a cross-cut

saw, in that

s loginto boards, instead

or cutting

hiredplaced the logs on benches.

topof the log. The would pull
logfromend to end. After

the teeth
it

are set to rip

in two. The two men he

One stood under, the other on

the saw up and down through the

the slab was taken off each cut made

apl!lllk.This work required

men of great

Thspl!lllkswere hacked up on sticks

until

skill

and endurance.

they were dry. In the

msantime
Matthias had put the boards on the root.
hs~pof carpenters.

with saws and planes

sdthe house. They put planks

they ceiled

on the outside

hadfinished, the logs could not be seen.

Then with the

also,

and floorand when they

It was as warm and as

strongaa a brick house.

Thechimneye.of etone, were larger

than any you have ever seen.

Thefireplaces were very wide. Large logs could be rolled

illdlaid on the fire.

When these

large

in

chimneyS were once heat-

92
edupthey stayed warmall
thela~e fireplaces

winter.

continued

Even when the fire

to throw out heat.

largeroomscomfortable even in the coldeet

Alterthe "big house" was finished
otherbuildings as barns,

there

granaries,

thekitchen. The early settlers

making the

weather.

followed in due time

and most important of an,

always built

tanceawayfrom the main dwelling.

died out

this

a short die-

The negroes lived in the cab-

inafter the new house was finished; besides

akitchen.This also had a wide fireplace

it would not do for

where hooks for pote

hung
fromiron bars set in the chimney. They had no stove.
range,because such things

had not been invented.

I1llre
left bare as well as the joists,
venientplaces to hang pepper,

or

The rafters

so they could have con-

sage, popcorn, and numerous other

articles for winter use.

You
couldnot guess how Matthias

ract, he did not build

built

it; he planted

III

his chicken house.

a row of cedar
it. It was

treesbetweenthe "big house" and the barn.

These trees

make a

93
good
roosting-place for chickens

and turkeys,

protecting

Irom
the cold wind and snow. The geese roosted
The

youngcouple were now in a comfortable

baby
boy.whom
they named Matthias

after

under the trees.

home. and when the

his

father,

hewasas well cared for as any baby. Afterwards

baby
girl whomthey named Catherin~
As

the years rolled by. Matthias,

after

them

arrived,

there

came a

her father' e eister.

a man of good sense and ed-

uoation,prospered and grew in influence.

and in the estimation

01his neighbors.

II

CAPTAIN MATTHIAS BARRINGER.

The

oountryin which Matthias

lived

is now Catawba county. but

atthat time was a part of Rowan. Other settlers

came in

11,and as soon as there were enough men, they organized

panyof Royal Militia.

Matthiae

being a man of experience

It
h matters. was at once made Capt SJ.n.
suc

rapida comin

met at his house for

94
drill and it is known in the histories

as Captain Matthias Bar-

ringer'sCompany.Its members were nearly

theCaptainever forgot his

English,

all

Germans. and it

I am sure that

the men did

notnotice it.
(These
stories were written

originally

plycopyingthem as written

six years

Ycu
mustrememberthat

at this

for children.

I am sim-

ago , )

time North Carolina

was a colony

b,longingto the English Crown. The Governor was a man sent from
England,
whooften did not care. anything
tomakethem pay taxes.

about the people except

He had no sympathy with them and wanted

onlyto makea lot of money out of them so he could go back to

England
and spend the remainder

of his life

Th' colonists did not like

arrangement.

or,grewmore oppressive.

this

in comfort.

they became restlesS.

tainMatthias was about forty-twil

years

old,

and as the governBy the time Capthey had determined

1

tohavea larger share in the government of the co on

1
,eteda number of leading

men who met a

They e>

t N bern or some other

ew

95
largetown. This was called

the "f;rovincial

edthe colonyinto districts,

Congress" .It

divid-

in each of which Viasappointed

thirteenof the best and wisest

men to govern it.

were
called "Committees of Safety".

These bodies

Captain Matthias Barringer

was
madea memberof the Committee of Safety

for the Saliebury

district, in which he lived.

Thiscowrlttee appointed him tax assessor
tory,or ae the histories

say,

over a large terri-

he "returned

can see nowthat not only was he a gallant

was
wise in

matters

ina time that "tried

of government,
men's souls";

oextstory howhs justified

their

taxables".
soldier,

trusted

faith

but

by his

and you will

You
he

people

read in the

in him, even at the

coatof his ownlife.

THE
BATTLE WITH
THE INDIANS.
thritenn
how each of the
eclared
17
76sent mento Philadelphia where t hey d

Y ouhave read

in history

colonies
their

in

inde-

96
pendence
of the English king on.:the fourth
notall the people of this

country

of July.

Of course

wished to be free

from En-

gland.Somsthought they would be safer

to have the protection

ofthe English government.

were called

Such persons

endweremuchhated by those

who desired

There
were very few British
tima.TheRoyal l.Iili tia

soldiers

were really

mericMindependence was declared,

Tories and

independence.

in North Carolina at that

English

soldiers,

but when

most of them fought for

theirow country. The companies in the Western part of Rowan

cOlillty
were formed into the
Captain
Barringer's

Second Rowan Regiment, to which

company bslonged,

and in which George Vlil-

fongwas lAajor.
Atthe very beginning of the
king,GeorgeIII,

Rsvolutionary

through his

Indians to attack the colonists

not wagea regular warfare,

DIan,
women
and children

officers

War, the English

encouragsd

in the western

the Cherokee

part.

killed
but robbed and

They did

the, settlers,

'
homes. The 60mmittee
and burne d th Slor
"

97
ofSafety, of which Captain Barringer
givethema lesson.

They ordered

all the companiesin his district

was a member, decided to

General Rutherford
into

an army and drive the In-

diane beyondthe Alleghany mountains.ln

the late

behadover two thousand men ready for battle.

summer of 1776
Amongthis

ofoourse,was Captain Barringer

and his

When
en army is marching into

enemy's country,

an

send aheadof the main body of troops

ealled the advance guard.

number

company.
they always

small squads of soldiers

These parties

thebest and bravest troops

to collect

are always composed of

under the best

officers.

They are

theeyes of the army, to spy on the enemy. It is dangerous work,

as they may run into the enemy suddenly.
waye
eutnuaber'ed, they are almost

certain

As they are nearly

to be killed

al-

or cap-'

turel!.
InGeneralRutherford's

expedition,

Captain Barringer

place of honor, or the most dangerous

theadvanceguard.

place.

had the
der
He was cOlJllllan of

98
They
hadreached a point

on John's

milesfromCaptain Matthias'
who
noVl
had rifles

about thirty-five

home, when .they found the Indians,

and ammunition,

edaethe Amsricansoldiers.

river,

and were almost as well arm-

One day, as the advance guard was

marohing
through the woods, the savages fllom their
behind
treee, suddenly fired
spicuous
in his officer's

upon them. Captain Barringer,

uniform,

othersof the party returned

was the first

the fire

battlein which every man but Philip

lIteathe Indians saw that
theylett their shelter

all

con-

man killed.

The

and there was a fierce

Fry was killed.

the white men were dead but one,

behind the trees

'larde
him. He happened to be near a large
hadblowndown.On the back side

of this

untilthey wsre more than two feet

iag ha ran t 0 the big log and rolled

and came yelling

chestnut

to-

tree that

the leaveS had drifted

deep. Whenhe saWthem cornovar

<t into the leaveS.
v
~

lay
He lnstantly
scratched under them and

keeping
perfectly still,hardly

hiding places

flat

on his back,

daring to breathe.

He could see

99
outa little

through the leaves,

and while the others were

scalping
the dead men, one of the Indians

came and stood on the

ohe5tnut
log. Fry used to tell

that

intothat Indian's

afterwards

he looked square

eyes, but the savage did not see him. He

looked
puzzled and finally

went away. In a short

srmy
cameup and Fry came out of his hiding

time the main

place,

ready

for

Motherfight.
General
Rutherford ordered

some of his men to remain behind and

bury
the bodies of the dead Captain
did,

scraping out the soft

covered
the shallow graves

earth

and his

with their

with earth,

comrades. This they

crude tools.

and placed stones to

mark
the place. These have never been found, and to this
nooneknowsthe last

resting

General
Rutherford followed
nessee,Heburned their
sucha taste of their
sittlers any more.

place

day

of Captain Matthias Barringer.

the Indians
.

crops and theJ.r

own medicine

They

that

and drove them into Ten'II

VJ.

ag

es

and gave them

they did not bother the

100
Captain
Barringer's wife who was at home with their
Matthias
and Catherine,

told

her friends

tlethat she knewher husband was either

childr e n ,

on the day of the batdead or badly wounded,

because
she had heard him groan.
And
soendedthe life

of this

hiecountrymight be free.

good and brave man who died that

Many of his descendants

bieoldhome.Because he and his

In 1897there wae unveiled

amonument
of granite

No foreign

to him and those

not fail

umsot
to your great_great_great-grandfather.
THE

END.

governor

true
op-

are but a tradition.

in the courthouse

you visit this town you should

around

comrades wer'e brave and

oeo,they live in peace and security.

preases
them, and Indian massacres

live

square in Newton

who fell
to visit

with him. '/hen

also the mcrr-

ADDENDA.

101

Youare descended from Father

Heinrich Weidner

m. Catherine

_------::O~.,...,.....----i.
raniel Vlhitener
m, MaryWilfong

__

Weidner in two ways.

Barbara Whitener m, John Dellinger

Henry Dellinger

George
Whitener

married

____

Rosalie

_I

Martha Morrow

married

mar. Catherine Setzer

Margaret Dellinger

--'1

Sidney Whitener

Mull

Vfuitener Prevost.

------------------------Captain Matthias Barringer

~-:----=--;_.-I
Catherine Barringer

m, Margaret Bushart.
mar. John Setzer.

--:---:-_::-:---,J
Catherine Setzer mar. Henry Dellinger

____

~-_.--JJ

Margaret Dellinger

mar. George Whitener

Sidney v~n~ar.

Martha Morrow

I
Rosalie

Whitener prevost

102

Major George Wilfong

mar, Mary Poffh Mull( widow)

:"M;-a-ry-~W;;i":;l-;;f:-o-n-g""mar,
Daniail Whitene r ,

--.-J

G~e-o-r-g-e-~~Mh~~~t:--ener
mar, Margaret

=--~-:----j
Sidney

Whitener

mar, MaMha Morrow.

I
Rosalie

Dellinger

Whitener

Prevost

103
Inthe nameof God. Amen:
Theseventh day of December in the year of our Lord 1790 I
Henry
Whitener, Sr of the county of Lincoln. in the state ~f
NorthCarolina, planter.
being sick and weak in body, but of per
fectmindand memory, and calling
to mind the mortality of my
body,and knowing
that
it
is
appointed
for all men onee to die
.
.
domakeand ordaJ.n thJ.s my last will and testament,
in manner as
follows.That is to say: in the first
place, I give, devise,and
bequeath
unto my well-beloved wife, Catherine,
a negro wench
n~edPhyllis; one hundred pounds in cashiher bed and furniture,
a horseand saddle and spinning Wheel, her privifege in the mansionhouse and all the household furniture
while she remains
singleand no longer.

I giveunto my son. Daniel, three negroes, vi.z: Kingston, Tom's

son,Pelt, and old Tom.I give unto my son, Henry. five negroes.
viz:Henry, Pete. Pleasant.
David and Nancy. I also will that
mytwosaid sons Daniel and Henry, have all my iron tools and
uteneilsof hUsb~ndry equally divided between them; Danie~ to
havethe first choice and Henry the second and so to contJ.nue
bychoiceuntil they have the whole.
I giveunto my daughter Mary five cows. a negro wench named
F'anny,
and her bed and furniture.
I give unto my daughte:, CathsrinS wife of John Mull a negro wench named Nancy. I gJ.ve ~nto
Barba~awife of John Dailinger
a certain debt of seventy-hve
,
'
El" beth wife of Henry
pounds.I also give unto my daughter.
a aa

.
t
SummeroVi
a debt of seventy-five
pounds. I likewise gJ.ve un 0
mydaughter Mollie a certain
debt of sixty-six
pounds, my
.,

1
and a horse now
T W0 S TIL L S and all the stJ.l1 ve s s e s ,
f
state
. It"
f n or part 0 my e
1n ier possession
I also will tha
J. a Y
" . the
(moveable)
not parlicularly
disposed of should remamna.n

103
hands
of myexecutors, it shall
children,male and female.

be equally

divided

among all

my

I givealso, devise and bequeath unto Henry Dellinger, John

Dellinger,Jr., Joseph Delliner,
Catherine Dellinger and Barbara
Dellinger,the children of my son-in-lllw,John
Dellinger,
and
hiswife, mydaughter, Barbara, that certain tract of land where
onsaidJohn Dellinger now lives,
situated
on Jacob's Fork, being
epart of sundry surveys, and containing by estimation 400 acree
bsthe samemore or less.
And
lastly, I make, nominate, constitute
and appoint my loving
enddutiful sons, Daniel and Henry V1hi
tener, my whole and sole
executors
of this my last will and testament,
ratifying
and conlirmingthisand no other to be my last will and testament.
IntestimonyWhereof I have hereunto interchangeably
andaffixed my seal the year above written.
(Signed
in GermanScript)

Heinrich

set my hand

Weidner.

Signed
and sealed by the testator,
as and for his last will and
testament,in the presence of us who were present at the signingandsealing thereof.
Robert Blackburn
Michael
John (X)

Schell
Mull

104
llemorandum
of the nuncupative
will
of Catherine
Whitener,
widow,
ofLincoln county, in the state
of North Carolina,
now deceaeed ,
is as followeth:
Onor about the 7th of August last,
she being then in; her last
sickness, she then sayeth and pronounced,
after
her death her
money
to be equally divided
amongst her sons and daughters.
And
hernegro woman, PhyllisCatherine
Yoder, wife to Jacob Yoder,
is to have her. And all her clothing
to be divided equally
among
herdaughters, and her spinning
wheel to be for Jacob Yoder' e
twotwins.
Theabove was said by the said Catherine
Whitener in the presence
ofus, Jesse Robinson and Richard
Johnston,
who were requeeted
by
herto bear witness thereunto,
as witness
our hand and seal th~s
26thday of September, 1804.

Jesse Robinson
Richard Johnston

( Signed)

Lincoln County,
October Sessions,

1804

The above was proved

in

open

Witness:

court

and recorded'

Jacob

Duckworth.

105

Inthe nameof God, Amen.

I, GeorgeWilfong, Senior, of the county of Lincoln and st t
ofNorthCarolina, am weak in body, but of sound mind and :e;feetmemory,and good understanding,
do make and ordain this to
bemylast will and testament in the following manner, viz:
First, I give and bequeath to my daughter, Mary, that is marriedto DANIEL
WHITENER, tV/Ohundred dollars to be paid out of
myeetate. Second, I give and bequeath unto my daughter, Elizebeth,that is married to Jacob Cline, two hundrod dollars to
bepaid out of my estate.
Third, I give and bequeath to my daughter, Catherine, that is married to Andrew Hoyle, two hundred
dollarethat is to be paid out of my estate.
Fourth, I give and
bequeath
unto my daughter, Sally, that is married to AdamGross,
twohundreddollars that is to be paid out of my estate.
Fifth,
I \\ill and ordain that all my lands in Burke county lying or includingwhat is called Jones' Meadows and my land in Lincoln
county
that liee on Mulls Creek, or Ryder's Branch, waters of
Henry'e
River, to be sold by my executor at public sale to the
highestbidder, and also my personal estate to be sold li~e.
nee. Sixth, I will and ordain that the said willed part as pa.id
todaughters and any balance is left that it ehall be equa~ly
dividedamongst all my children,
viz: John Wilfong,Petor ~).lfong,
andmyfour daughters that is named above. I hereby conet). tute
andordain my son John Wilfong and my son-in-law,
Andrew Hoyle,
,
,
t
d I
my sole executors of this my last
will and testamen , an
herebyrevoke and disannul all former wills and testaments,
and
ratifyingthis and no other to be my last will.and testament.
InwitnossWhereof I have hereuntoset
my hand and affixed my
sealthis eighteeenth day of March, one thousand eight hundred
andseventeen.

106
Signed,sealed, and de.c1l.ared by the said George Wilfo
ashis last will and testament
in the presence
of us. ng,

Senior)

John Yoder.
Jacob Gross.
John Viilfong
A. Hoyle,

Exrs.

sworn.

Stateof North Carolina

LincolnCounty.
January

Sessions,

1819.

Thewithin will was proved in open court by the oath of John

Yoder,a subscribing
witness
thereto,
and admitted
to record.
Witness;

Vardrey

McBee, C. C.

107
Inthe name of God, Amen.
I, Daniel\ibitener, Senior, of the county of Lincoln
ofNorthCarolina, being sick of body but of perfect
memory
and knowing that it is appointed for all men
die,do makethis my last will and testament in the
manner
and form, viz:

and st t
mind ande
once to
following

First, I give and bequeath my soul to Almighty God who gave it,
hoping
to have a glorious resurrection
at the last day, and my
body
I desire to be buried in a decent Christian
manner.
2nd.Iwill and bequeath unto my son, John Whitener, all that
partof land he now lives on and for vihich I have given him a
title. I also will the said John Whitener one negro boy named
Sanders.
3d,Iwill and bequeath unto my son, Daniel Whitener, all that
partof land he now lives on and for which I have given him a
title. I also will unto the said Daniel Whitener one negro boy
named
Andrew.
4th.I give and bequeath unto my son, Henry Whitener, all that
partof land that I have given him a title
for heretofore.
and
I also will unto the said Henry ,Thitener all the notes that he
Owes
mein the place of a negro boy.
5th,I give and bequeath unto my son, GEORGEWHITENER,
the 10wwr
part of the plantation
I now live on which is divided as
.'
'Ford
(the lowest
foHows: Beginning four poles above Miller
s
,
drawbars
0
:~e Thence
fordin myfielcl) <from thence through the bottom
ofthe middle fence between the bottom and the up an th n a-'
\'lithsaid fence southward till
it strikes
the meadow,
e

108

crOBS
the meadowthe same Bourse to the upland; and there to
maks
a corner. And from thence to where the middle fence joins
thefence that runs from Sandy Ford to the gate. Thence with
thefence by the gate to a red oak corner that I have already
made.
Thencea north course to the creek, then up said creek to
theline. I also give the said George Whitener a negro boy named
Elijahand one horse that I have already given him named Selo(!)
6th.lalso will and bequeath unto mybson. David "I'ihitener, all
theremainingpart of my plantation,
which is the upper part of
my plantation.
7th.I also will and bequeath
unto my sons, David Vlhitener, and
GEORGE
WHITENER jointly,
the the plantation,
or parcel of land,
lyingon Henry's River, known by the name of the Messer Place,.
I alsowill my eon, David Whitener, one negro boy named Eli, and
onemarenamedJin which he has already received of me.
8th.I give and bequeath unto my daughter, Elizabeth,
wife to
JacobCorpenning, a negro girl named Easter, with the increase
hichshe has already re cei ve d 0 f me.
9th.I give and bequeath unto my daughter. Maria. wife to John
Setzer,one negro girl named Dicy with her increase,
which I
havealready given her.
"'h I give and bequeath unto my daughter, Catherine, Vlife to
lv"
with her increase
Zacariah
h
Stacy, one mulatto girl named Peggy
which
she has already received of me.
S lly
wife to
llth, I give and bequeath unto my daughter,
a,
.
.
d F
with her ~nDandSeitz, one mulatto girl slave name
anny,
creasevlhich I have already given her.

109.

12th.I will and bequeath unto my daughter, Rachel, wife to DavidKillian, one. negro. gir~ n~ed Eliza, and also that tract of
landthat the sad.d Davdd K~11~an now lives on, provided the said
David
Killian pay four hundred dollars to the rest of my heirsotherwisethe said land shall be sold at public sale.
13th.I have given my grand-daughter,
Polly Whitener, daughter
of myson, John Whitener, what I allowed her to have of my eState.
14th.It is my will that my son, David Whitener, pay one hundred
dollarsto the rest of my hei rs in the place of money he got of
mel'lithoutgiving me a note.
15th.
It is my will that all the balance of my property not willed
illd"appropriatedby this my last will and testament, whatever
theremaybe remaining at my death, is to be sold at public sale
illdequally divided amongst my chi Idren, share and share all alike.
I dohereby pronounce this to be my last will and testament, and
revoke
and disannul all former wills and testaments made by me
heretofore.
Inwitness whereof I have hereunto
this 22ndday of September,

set my hand and affixed

1831.

Signed,sealed, and pronounced by the

eJldtestament in the presence of us.

Daniel
testator

my seal

Whitener( SEAL)

to be his

last

will

Absolom Miller
H.W.Robinson

D. C. Whitener Excr. sworn.

.
1833.
Stt
'.
C t
January Sess~ons.
a e of North Carolina, Lincoln
oun y,
th of Absolom
Thewithin will was proved in open court by the o~ B
C C
Millerand admitted to record.
Witness: Vardrey c ee,

110

Inthe name0 f God, Amen:

I, GeorgeVlhi
tener, of the county of Catawba and state of N rih
C,rolina, beang sound mind and memory and of body but bein; desirousof making some disposi tioll of the worldly ~ubsta.nce with
which
it has pleased an All Wise Providence to bhss me do make
ordainand publish this as my last will and testament a~ follows:
I will and devise unto my son, Abel Whitener, a tract of land
wbereon
he now lives for which I heretofore
made him a title , and
alseone mare which I have already given him. Also one seventh
p,rt of a tract of land known as the George W. Whitener tract of
land.I will and devise unto my son and daughters, namely, JAMES
SIDNEY
WHITENER,
Margaret Amanda Whitener, Mary Catherine V/hitener
SarahAdeline ''"hitener, Martha Ann Whitener, and Eliza Jano Baker,
thetract of land whereon I am living and including the Mull
trachof land, to be equally divided between the above named son
anddaughters.
AlsoI will and devise unto my above named SOll and daughters each
oneseventh part of the above named George VI. Whitener tract of
land.Also I will and devise unto my son, JAMESSIDNEYWHITENER,
onsmarenamedBet which I have already given him. Also I will. and
daviseunto my daughters,
namely, Margaret Amanda, Mary Ca~her:l.ne,
SarahAdeline and Martha Ann each one cow and calf, or fJ.fteen
dollarsin mo~ey. Also fiftee~
dollars
in money to get them somethingtowards keeping house. I will and devise unto my.daughter,
ElizaJane Baker one cow and calf and fifteen
dollars an money,
whichI have already given hor.
.
. t my son, George W.
In consequenceof holding two notes aga:l.llS
d and sixty dollars,
Whitener,to the amount of about three bundre
to Zora Ikerd
I also will and deville one hundred doll~r!l wt~\:~:~y deceased, to
iIldEmma "hi tener. daughterll of George
'
beconsidered their part of my estate.

111
Ofthe above named one hundred dollars,
my will and devise is
that myson, Abel Whitener, pay twenty dollars,
and the remainder
of the above named line hundred dollars to be paid by the balance
of my heirs.
Alleit is my will and devise that my daughters, namely, Margaret
Amanda,
Mary Catherine, Sarah Adeline, Martha Ann,all my b eda be
dividedbetween them as they think proper. Also it is my will and
devisethat my son, lAMES SIDNEY WHITENER, ho Ld the '
house
IJld lot whereon he now lives already laid off for bim: BegilUling
at a gum on the east side of his house, runninji; northward 12t P.
to a rock, thence westward 21 P. to a rock, then southward 10 P.
to a red oak, thence to the beginning, containing l-~ acree, be
the samemore or lees.
I will and devise that

it I was to die at a time that my family

~ mydecease would need eome support, as to provieions. my reqijestis that my executor furnish the eame out ot what is Ill! hand.

it any ot my heirs would wish to sell any

part or parts 01 land be.longing to them, that they should sell
it to brother or brothers,
eister
or sisters.

It is my request that

It is my will and devise

that the property I may have at my deeease not otherwise disposed of by this my last will and testamentbe sold at public sale by my execut~r and the proceeds
thsrsot bs equally divided between my ch11dren.
,
I hsrsbyappoint my een, Abel Whitener, the executor ef th1s my
laat will and testament

In witness Whereof I hereunto

set

ofFebruary, 1878.
H, G. Ssitz
A.P. Seitz

L. P, Seitz

(
)Signed , Sealed,
( at us.

my hand and seal this

20th day

George Whitener (SEAL)

and pu

bl'

h d in the presence
1S e

112
state of South Carolina,
County
of SpartllJ:lburg.
Beforemethis day appeared
IWOI'll,
deposes and says:

R. V. Whitener,

who being duly

Thatthe wills written on the foregoing pages of this volume,

namely,
pages 103 to 111, were copied from extant records as
r.llows:
Thewille of Heinrich Weidner, Katrina Weidner, or Catherine
lihitener, loIajor GeoI"ie Wilfong, and Dan1ei. Whitener were copied
rromthe original docUJllents now on file in the effice of ths
Clerkof the SuperiGr Court at Lincolnton,
North Carolina.
Thewill ef George Whitener was copied from the record in the
orrioeof the Clerk ot the Superior Court at Newton, North Carolina.
Thedeponent turther says that the wills ahresaid
copiedword for word to the best ot his ability.

are here

~5!YW'-<=
SIOI'll
and subscribed

to before

me, this

jfJwXt:/
NotaryPublic in and tor
State of South Carolina.
My ooIlllllissionexpires

or the Governor.

the

at the pleasur

the

day et 71rv1,

1922.

113

AUTHORITIES ANDREFERENCES.
Biographical History

ot North CaroU" -Ashe.

Thirty Thous!1l1d
Names. - Bupp,
ColonialRecords ot North Carolilla.
~st?ri?al Sketches ot North Carolina.Wheeler. Published
by L1PPJ.IlCott,Grambo and Co" Philadelphia,
1851.
~story at Rowan. - Rumple. Republished
ilIgCo., Charlotte, N. C.
King's 1I0UlltaillaIId its
G. Thomson,Cincinnati,

Heroes.1881.

~story ot the Ul:I1ted States.-

Draper.

by the Observer PrintPublished by Peter

Bancrott.

AlrredNixon, Lincolnton, N. C., a graduate ot the University ot North Carolina,author

ot many booklets dealing with
local history, !1I1dtor a generatioll Clerk ot the Supl!'rior
Courtot Lincoln COlUlty, North Carolina.
CaptainGeorge M. Yoder, 1I0W deceased. He was bOrll in 1826.
Bstorethe War betweell the States he was Clerk ot the Court.
andMaster ot Equity. He was Lieutenant in CompanyF, 38th
N. C. Regiment, the company being known as "the Catawba
Wildcats". He was promoted to Captain in the HomeGuard.
After the War he was a member ot the County Court until his
disfranchisement.
Abel'f/hitener,

J. Sidney Whitener,

and J. Adolphus WIlitener.