The Democrat. (Scotland Neck, Halifax Co., N.C.) 1884-1896, 1895-03-07
A BRIEF HISTORY OF HALIFAX
COUNTY.
By Students o. Scotland Neck
Male { ,hool.

Male s ,hool.
In writing this brief history Of our
county, we shall ~ 10 give the most
inpO at events as they actually Oc-
c. cd If we can be the means Of
3lvng anv Information to the young
of this county, we shall feel that we
did not brave the cold winds in vain,
and shall try to FORGET how tedious the
dusty volumes We think that, after
all, those men who wrote them ought
not to be criticised seve ,elv, because
they wrote in a somewhat different
language than ours and never studied
modern penmanshlD.
Our thanks are due to our teacher
and several gentlemen of Halifax, who
|
In former times, the county which
is now called Halifax, one of the most
| historic in the state, formed a part of
what was then known as the Edge
cOmbe Precinct The first record we
have-of this precinct was IN January,
1881. On November 23, 1853, the
General Assembly then in session at
Edenton passed the following act :
"Whereas, divers inconveniences attend
the inhabitants OF EdgecOmbe Precinct,
bv reason of the large extent thereof,
and the 9 eat distance that many OF
them live from the Court House, and
other places usually appointed for pub
lie meetings: Be it therefore enacted
by the Governor, Council and Assem-
bly,, and by the authority of same, that
from and Immediately after the first
day of January \next ensuing), the sad
county of EdgecOmbe be divided by
the dividing line between the parish
of Edgecombe county and the parish
of st Mary ard that that part of the
said county which is now the parish
of St Mary, remain and be called and
known by the name of Edgecombe
County and that that part of the said
county, which is now the parish of
Edgecombe. be thenceforth erected into
one distinct county ana called and
known by the name of Halifax County,"
(Slgned)
ARTHUR DOBBS, Gov,
MATTHEW Rowan, Pres,
SAMUEL SWAIN, Speaker.
Halifax County was named by Dobbs,
Royal Governor Of North Carolina, on
January the 22nd, 1859, in honor of
the Earl of Halifax, President Of the
Board of Trade of England
The word Halifax is of Saxon origin,
meaning "Holy hal" In l76l, Alex
andef McCullOck, job Gibson, Richard
Browning, and Robert Jones were ap
pointed di ectos and trustees of
town. called Haliia,, to be built on
Roanoke Rive. One hundred acres OF
land we're appropriated to be divided
into domes, streets. and allies. This
town, being nearest in the center, was
selected by the people for the county
seat
On April 18th, 1776, upon the call Of
President Samuel Johnston, the P"O-
vincial Congress met at Halifax, then
the capital of the State this beng the
fourth meeting of the people in a rep
rcsentative capacity FOR the purpose Of
opposing the Royal Government in
North Carolina. On April II, they
passed the following: Resolved, that
the delegates of this Colony IN the
Continental Congress be empowered to
concur with delegates from the other
colonies, IN declaring independence,
and tOrming foreign alliances, reservlng
10 this COLONY the sole and exclusive
eht of forming a constitution and
laws tor this Colony.I This, the first
resolution passed in North Carolina by
an Official assembly, was passed just
eiehty-lhree DAYS before Independence
was declared, and it showed that she
as a state was ready to dissolve the
bonds that bound her to the Mother
Country. (The key to the building IN
which this Congress met is IN the pos
session of Miss Lena Smith. p,lnclpa