Western sentinel. [volume] (Winston [i.e. Winston-Salem], N.C.) 1856-1886, 1884-03-20
THE COUNTY OF DAVE.
NAMED IN HONOR OF GENERAL
w. Il. DAVIE.
A Sketch of Its Organization Nearly Half
Century AgO---Mocksriile and
its Early History.
SpeciaisCorrespondence Of the Sentinel.

SpeciutsCorrespondencee Of the Seatinel.
MoCKsvILLE, March 16, 1851
Your representative most probably ON
account of the obscurity of informa-
ton on the subject, was Inadvertently
led into several errors in his cores
pondence last week concerning Davie
county, therefore [ have taken the
liberty of sending you the following
sketch:
Davie county was cut off from Row
an at the session of 1867. The act
was ratified in January, 1888. The
county was named in honor of Gen.
w. r. Davie, one of the revolutiona-
ry patriots. John Clement, ESQ.,,
father of Hon. John NJ. Clement was
the member from the forks of the
4adkin in Rowan county, at the time.
Mr.. Rib.en was our first representative
in the lower house of the General AS
sembly in the year 1889. The first
court held for this county, was the 4th
Monday in 1887 at the Methodist
Church in Mocksville. The following
persons were acting Justices of the
Peace in and for said county:
Little Berry Rose, Joseph Hanes,
William Hawkins, Enoch Brock,
Thomas McNeely, Caswell Harbin,
Garland Anderson, Archibald G. Car
ter, DIR. Jas. F. Martin, Jas. Frost.
Henry Keller, Sr., Burgess Garner,
Aquilla Cheshire, Spencer Taylor,
Jesse A. Clement, Jermiah B. Ellis,
(now living and in his SIND year of
age, Joseph Hall, Basil Gather Jones,
Tennison Cheshire, Alexander Smoot,
Joseph Hauser, Samuel Taylor, Geo.
Wesley johnson, (now living and in
his 56th year of age, active and
healthy and one of our best farmers
He lives at Pennington, called then
"Brick Houses") Josiah Inglish, Ro-
land Crump, Alexander Hanes, Will
liam March, John McRorie, Rich
mond NJ. Nail, Henry r. Austin,
Grury PEBBLES, William Wyatt, Ma
than Chaffin, William B. Wilson,
Giles w. Pearson, Lemuel Bingham,
(now living in Statesville and in his
SSth year of age,) and Francis B.
Ward. The foregoing were duly quail
flied by Richard w. Long, Esq, ac-
cording to an Act of the General As
sembly. John Clement was elected
Clerk of the County Court. Thomas
Foster was elected first high Sheriff
Maj. Little Berry Rose was elected
first Clerk of the Superior Court and
Lemuel Bingham was appointed Clerk
Of the Court of Equity, who continued
in Office until the office was abolished
by the Constitution of 1868. The first
Superior Court was held also in the
Methodist Church on the 4th Monday
in March, 1887, his Hon. Romulus
w. Saunders presiding The first spe-
cial court consisted of Enoch Brock,
Chairman, A. G. Carter and L. K.
Rose. The County Court appointed
DIR. Francis Williams, Nathan Chaffin,
Esq, and Roland Crump, Esq, B. G..
jones, Esq, and Thomas Ratledge,
Commissioners, to select site for pub
lie buildings. The court appointed
Commissioners to purchase land for a
site, and they bought 10 acres of A
G. Carter and wife Setilia and layed
it off into lots and sold it for enough
money to build the Court House and
Jail and pay for the purchase of the
19 acres of land and leave balance
in the County Treasury, to-wit: The
town lots sold for $4,000. The Court
House cost 81 900 and the Jail $4,000.
The town Of Mocksville was incor-
porated at the session of 1889, with
Lemuel Bingham, John McRene, DIR.
: James F. Martin, Ephraim Gather
,, and Thomas McNeely as Commission
ers, who worked and kept up the
} streets and side walks by labor as the
public roads until the meeting of the
Legislature of 1S445, when the char.
ter of the town was amended SO as to
levy tax on the poll and other prop
erty to keep up the streets and side
walks The charter has never been
3 amended sinc-. The amendment Of
1915, allows the Commissioners to
l levy tax of 80 cents on the $1.OC
I worth of property and S1.0O on the
poll. 1t should be amended again so
as to increase the powers and preroga
S tives of the city fathers. Will some
l of the city fathers inform the tax-pay
e ers why tax is not levied on the
l merchants and business men of the
town, like that of the county on the
same men +? The Constitution of 1875
D requires it. The town leviss from
SoO W StU LAX year IToIu Cnis SOuFCs
alone. Look into this matter ye Com
missioners. The county authorize:
require the clerk of Board of Commits
D sioners to make out the merchants ta1
and hand to the Sheriff, then why no
{ the Clerk of Town Commissioner
: make it out and hand to the TowI
3 Constable.
g A VOTER AND TAXPAYER.
The Sentinel In Boston.
q From, Letter to the Editor.
k BosToN, March, IL 1851 perus
your valuable and very readable pa
nor with crraat intorast ( I watcl