The Covington leader. (Covington, Tenn.) 18??-current, 1917-04-05
THE OLD NORTH STATE
Col. w. A. Owen Tells What a Upton
County Man Sees Passing Through
North Carolina.
continued from last wee
Lexington

adyertantly omitted from our last
weeks issue.)
Davidson county has more direct
descendants in Upton county than
any other county in the United States
From out Of its confines, from 1880 to
1860, came the Bringles, Wisemans,
Feezors, Millers, Maleys, Myers,
Owens, Smiths, Richards, Strongs
and Shoals, and a great host Of other
names too numerous to here enumer-
ate, hardy pioneers who heard the call
Of the wild nearly century ago and
packed their belongings in wagons
and struck the mountainous trails OF
western North Carolina and Fast
Tennessee, on through the blue grass
section Of Middle Tennessee, and en-
and on until they came within the
wilds of the forests Of the Mississippi
and Hatchie rivers. Sacrifice and
hardships were their companions. Ar
abiding faith in the future of this
country was their pillar Of 4loud by
day and pillar Of fire by eight, which
led them ever on and on towards the
West And when they reached here
they never shirked, whined or COM
planned, but set to work with deter
mination to fell the trees of the
forest. With the logs gained there
from, they built themselves houses
and barns and founded shelters and
homes They planted vines and fruit
trees in the hope that their children
and grandchildren would ge5 to eat
thereof. They saw not the greatness
of this country, and some of our
people have not yet seen it's greatness
and glory, but, young reader, let me
say to you, it is here; and take it from
one who would give you only friendly
advice, and one who has seen the
lands of all conditions, climates and
peoples, that this good old county
can't be beat and no man can make
an unwise investment who buys him
self home i Upton county.
In the town of Lexington, | learned
that there was published paper,
"The Dispatch, by Col. Warner, which
paper, although published in a town
of 5000 people, has the largest cir
culation of any paper in North Caro-
lima. This large circulation comes
from the ability of it's editor, Col.
Warner, who is a second Henry Grady
and who is giving the highest ideals
Of thought towards the upbuilding
and uplift of his state and community.
Lexington has three large furniture
factories, one chair factory and two
cotton mills. The town segregates
the blacks from the whites, the rail
road being the dividing line, and no
black lives or purchases property on
the side of the railroad allotted to the
whites, and vice versa. In North Car
olina, the negro does not vote and he
seems to have been made happier
since he became disfranchised and he
is not troubled by trying to follow
the direction and leadership of some
interruptions politician, who "leads
them by way that they kow not.
In justice to great h@ro of Tennes-
see, | must relate the incident of the
arrest and Imprisonment Of John Sc
vier, who founded the state of Frank
lin. Our forefathers of North Caro-
lima had Sewer indicted for treason.
He was brought back into North Car
DINA and placed in Jail, from which
he was soon released by number OF
his friends and escorted back over the
mountains to the Wautanga settle
ment. Sewer was never tried, for he
won his acquittal in the minds and
hearts Of the people, public sentiment,
the best and surest court and jury an
accused can secure. Sewer won his
freedom by crossing the mountains
again into North Carolina, with a
handful of Tennesseeans and COM
pany of Kentuckians, under Shelby,
during the last year of the Revolu
ton; and, at Kings mountain, Sewer
and his men became national heroes
and won undying fame when the Brit
ish were utterly routed. North Caro-
lima forgave Sewer and Tennessee
honored him by making him governor
six terms, a longer service than any
other governor.
could not close about Davidson
county without mentioning "Swear-
ing Creek, on whose waters was
founded the blouse Of Owen, nearly
two centuries ago, and where an old
home of more then 100 years of ell
durance still stands. / enquired how
this creek got its peculiar name, not
from any historical event, of course,
but the register of deeds of Rowan
{ county said the people alone its
waters centuries ago used bad Ian
guage and this little stream was thus
named. But / am glad to write that
the offspring of those good but quick
spoken people have learned to have
better control of their speech and
speak words now more euphonius and
harmonious than were the epiShets and
expressions of passion and wrath that
gave vent to the feelings of our fore
fathers.
Wilmington
One of the sea coast towns on the
Atlantic coast, located on the Cape
Fear river, This city is in New Han
over county, onesof the smallest coun-
ties in North Carolina--in fact, the
city in the suburbs occupies praetic-
ally all of the county, while just
across Cape Fear river is Brunswick
county, one Of the largest counties IN
the state of North Carolina.
Wilmington is a beautiful city IL
miles from Riceville Beach on the At
lantic ocean which beach is reached
BY magnificent macadamized road
built on top of shell road. Riceville
Beach is one of the most noted sum
mer resorts on the Atlantic ocean.
This road is lined with beautiful pine
trees and oaks covered with long moss