Watauga Democrat. [volume] (Boone, Watauga County, N.C.) 1888-current, 1927-10-06
FIND OLD PAPERS
NANCIEN'I' TRUNK
H. c. Haes of Blowing Rock Isl
Owner of Rare Heirlo oms Brought
to America From England Prior
to 1852 !
BY RUPERT GILLETT

Some time IN the spring of 1852,
when the Seven Years War was
dragging to a close, Admiral Saun-
ders of the British navy, found it
necessary to punish the captain of a
frigate for firing on the fort at
Passero without provocation.
We have this on the authority of
the London Public Ledger for May
5, 1862, several copies of which are
pasted on the inside of an ancient
trunk, which is the prize heirloom of
H. c. Hayes of Blowing Rock. The
trunk is made of hardwood, covered
with the skin of some animal, per-
haps a COW. It has wrought iron
handles and lock. When the lining
of the trunk wore out 165 years ago
the owner pasted inside several cop
les of the London Public Ledger.
The trunk belonged to some men,
Der of the Fairchilds family who
lived on the island of Jersey in the
English Channel.
1t was in the same family when
Ebenezer Fairchilds settled on How
ards Greek near Boone; just after
the Revolutionary war. Ebenezer
died not long after he took out his
Watauga county land, and two wom-
en- of his family remained in posses
sion of all his goods.
These two old ladies found an or
phan child about four years old
whose name was Wyatt Hayes and
adopted him. On their deaths, one
a. the age of 90 and the other at
SS, Wyatt inherited their property.
Among their chattels were the old
skin-covered trunk, a walking cane
of curious design, brandy decan-
ter brought from the island of Jer-
sey, reel and spinning wheel,
which the Fairchilds women had
used.
H. C. Hayes of Blowing Rock in
turn inherited these curiosities from
his father, and it was he who discov-
cred the interesting newspapers in
side the trunk.
The paper was published just
after the accession of George III,
ard much of its contents has to- do
with the young king.
That Britain held command of the
seas in that general European war
as she did in The last. one is shown
by this dispatch from Rochenfort:
"Rochefort, April 21.-The Eng
lish continue on this coast with
forces much superior to what we
have in tne Cherente: the number
of their ships not always the same,
but they have never less than IS
sail of the line"
Eventually people in those days
read their newspapers thoroughly
and did not have to havd the news
called to their attention by screech-
ing streamers, for the following
item, presaging the end Of one OF the
mcst destructive of all the great
European wars, appears in a column
Oh SeHeEdl COuClIcIICdl news "ith
nothing but date line to distinguish
it from any other item:
"Petersburgh, March S0.-We
have received the preliminary an
swer of the King of Poland, elector
of Saxony, to this courts declara-
ton of the 23rd of Feb, the sub
stance of which is:
"'That the king, having beer
drawn into the war by-an unexpected
invasion, for which he had given ne
cause, His Majesty's most ardent
wishes are to see peace established
| upon equitable conditions, but tha
| he will hereafter give more precise
and positive answer in concert will
his other allies and the guarantees O
the Peace of Westphalia.''
The reel is the type used in th
mountains when flax was cultivate,
here. It. has a counting device, s
that when the reel makes 100 revo
lutions it cracks, and the operate
i does not have to count the yevolu
| tions.