The coastland times., 1951-11-23

out of the marsh in another storm.
The salt had preserved it.
First settler
Spencer settled in the area now
known as Engelhard. And because
the map is obscured, presumably,
among the valued papers of some
Of the descendants of that Spencer,
his first name is not available.
Nevertheless, there are those here
who have seen it and can vouch
for his having arrived during
Cromwell's time and that will date
the settling of Engelhard and
vicinity back to the fve-year pc
riod between 1868 and 1868.
Although there are years and
even generations which cannot be
accounted for automatically, much
can be inferred. The Spencer was
man of considerable wealth, for
he and his sons possessed and
cleared and cultivated the land
running from the Pamlico Sound
to the Mattamuskeet Lake between
Poppin and Middleton. That is
known because the old ones here
abouts remember when it was still
mostly Spencer land. And Bessie
Watson, when a young lady,
talked with an aged Negro who
had been in the Spencer family.
He was at the time hundred and
fifteen years old. She asked why
the Spencers had not left any old
mansions since they were said to
be rich. He replied that his mas
ters had spent their money clear
ing new lands.
Early Graves Unmarked
The cemeteries give up practi-
cally no clue to the early settlers
here. Most of the graves were
either unmarked or the stones
have fallen and sunk beneath the
soil. The earliest grave marker in
the area belonged to a Spencer
who was born in 1765. 1t is a
beautiful full length white marble
slab and is located in the pasture
near the present home Of Reginald
Mckinney. The inscription is as
follows: "In memory of Peleage
Spencer, who departed this life
May 9, 1910, aged 46 years, 8
months, and 13 days. Esteemed
for his agreeable manner and So
cial virtues, he fulfilled the duties
of good man and a virtuous citi-
zen.
Kind reader stop and silent be
For thou must die as well as me.
Dissolved in dark and silent dust
Prepare for death for die thou
must.
Life is uncertain, death is sure,
Sin gave the wound, Christ is the
cure"
But Benjamine Spencer lived
earlier than that. He lived more
than two hundred years ago. His
home is still in an excellent state
of repair and is the present home
of Ralph Roper. 1t is a tall old
structure of the early American
pattern. The interior is impressive
with its yard high wainscoting Of
hardwood, ornately carved heavy
mantels and high ceilinged plast-
cred walls. Unique enough is the
b bannister on the three-fight
stairs; it is of solid mahogany.
The home presents an atmosphere
of permanency and doubtless was
built of materials no longer to be
found.
"A House Divided"
Benjamine's brother, Samuel,
had his home on Lazy Lane. 1t
had all of the features of Benja-
mines with the exception of the
mahogany rail. That it was con-
siderably larger may be surmised
by inspecting the two portions re-
manning today. The house had a
pink and a blue room to which
guests were assigned as the occa-
sion required. The old home was
willed eventually to a couple Of
grand nephews who refused to
buy or sell to one another. They
sawed it in two parts and moved
them. Today, Reginald Mckinney
lives in one half and Benny Gibbs
in the other. Between the two
houses is an elm tree having &
girth of about twelve feet. 1t haC
it's origin as a buggy whip. One
of the Spencer guests had cut g
branch from an elm tree to en-.
courage his horse. When he left
his horse in Samuels stable he
stuck his whip in the mud anC
forgot about it. The whip rooted
and has been an old tree as long
as anyone can remember.
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