The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-07-23

COUNTY T
Established I'm Late BeIlum
Days Out OF Territory Which Had
Belonged to Ashe.

BY A. J. FLETCHER. Sparta, Y. c.
County was established
oy an act of the Legislature. session
or 1853. Originally, AlleChan
was a part of AShe. and was formed
entrely out of -Ashe territory. To go
suH further back. however. II viii b..
remembered that both Ashe and Allie
shany were part of their neighbor
county Wilkes until the increased
population in the extreme rural dis
trlcts made necessary d division into
smaller counties.
A Court Of Peas and Quarter Ses-
sions composed of the justices Of the
county. was established by this same
act and in it was vested the exclusive
authority to hear aud determine all
criminal cases arising within said
county. all suits at law then pending
IN the county court of Ashe wherein
citizens Of Allegheny were both plain
tiff and defendant and wherein citi-
zens of Allegheny County were de
PENDANTS. etc. Having no Jail. the
Act provided that Allegheny County
might imprison her criminals in the
AShe Jail until the county buildings
could be erected in Allegheny. The
first officers of the county, consisting
Of a sheriff, coroner register, entry
takeT. etc. were elected by
this court Of Pleas and Quarter SEES
sionS. and the first court was held at
Shiloh Church. a few miles from
Sparta.
A supplement to the above act pro
Vlded for h appointment of five
commissioners to select and lay out
the county seat: To this end William
Raleigh and Elijah Thompson OF Sur
~, James b. Gordon Of Wilkes. and
Stephen Thomas and John f. Green
OF Ashe, were appointed. and were
given the further power to purchase
receive by donation a tract of land
not more than 100 acres, to be con
veyed to the chairman Of the county
court, upon which a town shall be
laid off to be called Sparta" James
&. Gordon, one of the Commissioners
is thought to have been the late Gen
J. b. Gordon. one Of the longest sur
vivors of the late Civil War. While
he was comparatively young at tina
time. he was fully capable of dis
charging the duty thus imposed or
him.
In April 1859 William c. DeJour
,nettc made a survey of the county
{ made a plot and located it's center
) DeJournette was a Frenchman, vel
educated, and came from France jus
after the beginning of the 10th cen
fury. DeJournettes, supposed to b
descendants Of this great surveyor
are to he found in Wilkes and Sur
now. There is a tradition among hi
people that he was a soldier an
served under NapolenOn.
E Jas. II. Parks. David Landreth. an,
David Evans donated 80 acres of Ian
< at the place where Sparta now stand
: and near the place which DeJOur
nette designated as the center of tn
: county, and in 1859, in a~ccordanc
with the terms Of the act creating tn
county. the County Court %oppointe
e commissioners to make sales and Ia
n off the town lots, but failed to desig
nate what time and in what manne
e the sales were to be made At thei
: next meeting, the court evoked II
appointments, and ordered the partie
not to proceed. Thereupon an actio
was brought in the Superior Court c
Ashe County asking for a mandarin
to compel the Justices to perforr
their duty in this respect. This coul
held adversely to the Justices. and a
appeal was taken to the Supren1
Court with the same result. Sc
Is State on relation of William Lande
a Solicitor. VS.. A. B. Mcmillan and othe
Justices of Allegheny County. Jone
Il Law, Vol. s. Page Ia.
The first Superior Court to be he'll
in the county was in 1868. Judge Ar
derson Mitchell presiding. J. G. Jone
was the first Sheriff. and at this teri
!, of the court W. l.. Mitchell was fore
:, man Of the Grand Jury.
is AS to was the first white man
visit the territory now known as ALLIE
= ghany County there is no means {
e knowing. There were but few Sc
tiers here before the Revolutioi
NWm. Taylor, and few other fani'it
d Of Gambiils, Coxes and Reeves prot
"a ably lived here at that time. Iw
"a ia antilles by the name OF Edwards Sc
tied here at an early date. David an
VIM. Edwards. presumably brother
9 The descendants of these two ms
It compose a large and respectable pa
to of A~Neghany's population at the pre-:
;, ent time. and being more or less ciai
niSh. they exert a powerful inhuent
politically. In fact it may be sai
that if any candidate can get the Fl
wards family and two or three Otne
e ia the county behind him. ne will fir
d it easy sailing. AS i whole they a