The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-08-06

Carolina.
Diocese of North Carolina, etc.
, An association of patriotic Nortn
g.. ro1ina Indies. Of revolutionary des-
cent in the historic town OF HailiaA
and IFS vicinity. having formed them
selves into a chapter Of Daughters OF
the american Revolution on February
%. 1912, were confronted Win tlie
problem of choosing q name for their
organization. After due deilberatlon
they assumed the designation OF Inc
Elizabeth MOntfOrt Ash
thus making the Halifax branch OF
their great Society n nafnesake OF
= grntlewoman of bygone days VINO
bv birth, breeding, accomplishments,
environment, and marriage,
tied the best type Of
in an age when woman was not am
hitions to he considered man
equal" as some of the sex now boast
themselves, but rather chose 70 reign
as his acknowledged superiOr-a reign
which we'll illustrated the principle,
laid down in the Declaration of indie
~pondence, that government derives
its lust from the consent of the
governed. Nor did the moral sup
port of the women OF America play
any slnali part in securing the tree-
dom Of the colonies. The renowned
iA'N CAdt 49,
a deep student of ancient history and
"A close observer of current events,
said in a letter to his wife: Upon
examining the biography of illus
trious men, you will generally 1inu
some female about them, in the re-
lation Of mother. or wife. or sister. TO
whose i~nstigaton a great part or
their merit is to be a~scribed.' True
indeed is this observation, and yet
3h1co Fo,.o1, rrnnontaHo of Ora2tnad
are given scant recognition in history.
Hence it is with pleasure Cat the re-
quest of Regent Of the afOremen-
toned Chapter that l endeavor to
rescue from the forgetfulnesS Of this
generation the memory Of that bright
character in the ANIMALS Of North
Carolina to whom reference has been
made-
Hath DER the dark cold chamber past,
lr. which her once-resplendent form
Slumbered to dust beneath the storm"
Elizabeth Montfort. for such vas
the lady'S maiden name, was born On
the 18th of February, 1862. She
came Of a family which had been
powerful and potent far back in the
ooSS vi ANoIl IA AIAA6
land. when it was allied by marriage
with the Royal louise Of Plantagenet;
but. like many other noble families of
those early times. its members lost
their titles and estates in the civil
diScordS which raCked England
throughout the succeeding centuries.
A worthy scion of this ancient ace
was Joseph MontfOrt. born in Eng
and about the year 1924, who came
IN tho Now yNnrld anl coft1ad in NnvfI
Carolina-a province with whose his
tory he was destined to be conSpicu-
ously identified for many years tt
come. In the course Of time he be
came Clerk of the Court OF Edge
coTnba County before Halifax Count.
WAS erected out of a part Of its terri
tory. Clerk of the County Court O
halifax. Clerk Of the Court Of tn
District Of Halifax (this district EN-
hracing several counties,) Commits
Sioner of the town Of Halifax, mem
Der of the Colonial Assembly. COlone
of Provincial troops. Treasurer Of tn
Northern Counties of the Province
commissioner for the Management Q
North Carolina Affairs in England
and u emb Of the independent Pro
vincial Congress which met at Ney
Bern in April. 1715. Though a pro
nounced Whig in the politics of tina
day. failing health prevented his &C
tive participation in the Revolution
and he died in the early stages Of tina
war. on March Is. 1916. The wife c
Colonel Montfort. to whom he Wa
married on November Is, 1853, wa
Priscilla Hill. a daughter of Colont
BENJAMIN Hill. of BERTHE county, VIII
had come TO North Carolina fro1
Nansemond county, Virginia. Th
lady. one of the famous beauties Of he
day. lived TO rear her children an
train them for the responsibilities {
life. h survived her husband Sc,
eral years. and died on the Sth
October. 1880. Colonel Montfort
chief title to fame rests upon his e,
allied rank as a Mason. He was
member of ROYAL White Hart Lode
now No. 2. Of Halifax. where nany
his Masonic belongings are still trea
ured. In front of the hall of tn
Lodge is a beautiful monument of DC
ished granite erected to his memo
by the Masons Of America in 191
After being Master of this Lodge f
a while Colonel MontfOrt was a