Evening star., 1941-08-10
Picturesque Edenton Is Scene
OF Early North Carolina History
Colonial Ladies Held Own Boston Teo Porty'
At Town on AIbemurIe Sound

Several hours after reading the
names of these long-ago ladies and
their tea party declaration, We sat
in the drawing room at nearby
Greenfield, historic, 1,0O0-acre plan
tation home of Mr.. and Mrs. George
Collins Wood, and admired among
other mahogany treasures the orig
inal Edenton tea party table. Un-
usual in design and known as
Goddard table, the Metropolitan
Museum first tried to purchase it
and later received permission from
its owners to make an exact copy
of it. This was later exhibited at
the New York Worlds Fair. A little
mahogany rail encompasses its four
sides and its surface has the patina
that only the care of many genera
tionS can give.
The veStrymen's minutes of st.
Pauls. Edenton'S ancient Episcopal
Church. go far back into our coun-
trys history. Originally built in
l70l. the present edifice, the third
of three on this site, was built be-
tween 1876 and 1760. On June 19,
l776. such men of its vestry as
William Henton, William Boyd,
Capt. Thomas Blount, John Blount,
John Beasley, Pelatiah Walton and
many others proclaimed the inde-
pendence of their province of Caro-
lima from the Crown.
A colorful incident in the history
Of the old church has to do with a
rector who came to 1t from Ireland.
He was familiarly known as Fox
hunting Parson Earl" because he
inaugurated all old world custom,
the ritual of the hunt. With his
clergyman's robes flung over his
own pink coat and riding breeches.
he read the service and admins
tered the communion to his fellow
huntSmen, who on these occasions
occupied the entire body of the
church, with the rest of the con-
gregation crowded in the. galleries.
The curator of fine arts of Yale
University recently made special
visit to st. Pauls to photograph the
candlesticks and silver chalice of
its communion service. which were
a gift to it from an early vestryman,
Sir Edward Mosely, in 1725.
Tombs of Governors.
In the churchyard of ST. Pauls
are tombs of various royal Cover
nors, among them. that of Gov
Eden, for whom the town was
named. Despite his real service to
the colony, strange rumors still per-
sist that he and Knight. his secre-
| tary, secretly "trafficked' with the
Infamous Black Beard, otherwise
known as Teach, who was reported
| to have made stronghold for his
booty on nearby Nags Head Island
| 1t is also strongly maintained that
| they held secret rendezvous with
them in certain of the lonely bays
| and inletS of Albermarle Sound
When the people of the Colony OF
North Carolina appealed to Gov
SpottsWood of Virginia for protec-
| ton against these pirates. these
waters were scornfully referred tc
as "Rogues' Harbor." When. after
summer rainstorm, the flaming
petals of the crepe myrtles on the
! old churchyard are scattered or
Gov. Eden's tomb. superstition has il
that they are sorrowing for his sins
of transgression against his high
Office.
| IngliS Fletcher in "Raleigh's
Eden" gives colorful picture OF
this region, her story being based
upon careful research of its his.
torical background. "RogueS' Moon.
Robert w. Chambers older tale OF
swashbuckling adventure ashore
and afloat in the neighborhood
about Eden, particularly deals with
| the efforts of the kings navy to
combat the maraudings Of Black
Beard and the other pirates of his
| era