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DOUB’S CHURCH AND JOHN DOUB’S FAMILY
Published by J.H. DOUB
Pfafftown, N.C.
Reynolds Print Shop
Tobaccoville, N.C.
DOUB’S CHURCH HISTORY
(This paper was read at the DOUB Family Reunion, held at DOUB’s M.E. Church, South, in August 1924, by Mrs. Ida V. DOUB)
JOHN DOUB, the first member of the family of whom we have any record, was born in Germany, March 27, 1742. Under the stress of religious
persecution he, with many others, emigrated from Switzerland to America. They halted for a short while on the banks of the Susquehanna River in
Pennsylvania, the exact date of this sojourn is not known. We do know, however, that JOHN DOUB tarried for a few years with a step-brother in
Lancaster County Pennsylvania, before coming to Stokes County (now Forsyth County) North Carolina.
Across the Susquehanna River from Pennsylvania, and in the State of New York, we find the birth place of another person who was to play an
important part in the making of this history. The person was none other that MARY EVE SPAINHOUR. She was born November 30, 1755. In 1763, she,
with her people, moved to Stokes County, North Carolina. Here in the back woods, for such it was, JOHN DOUB met MARY EVE SPAINHOUR and
married her about the year 1780. They moved to a farm, a part of which is now owned by WALTER B. DOUB, a great grandson. The house in which they
lived stood near where WALTER DOUB’S house is located.
JOHN DOUB had a good knowledge of mechanics and the tanning trade as well as the art of dressing and curing skins. He spoke German fluently,
this being his native language, but he became a good English scholar after he was fifty years old. His religious awakening dates back to near the time he
landed in America. This was brought about largely through the influence of Rev. WILLIAM Otterbein, founder of the United Brethren.
The epochal event in the home of JOHN DOUB was in 1792 when they began to receive circuit preachers into their home. From that great hour on
their home was not only thrown open for entertaining itinerant Methodists, but became one of the regular preaching places in the circuit and was in
reality the beginning of DOUB’S CHAPEL.
JOHN DOUB received license to preach and was ordained local deacon in 1802. Devotion to his Lord and a burning desire to do good among his
people coupled with hungering after the truth of the scriptures led him to secure a good knowledge of the Bible and of Methodist theology. He was a
citizen known for his piety; a father who ruled well his household, never omitting morning and evening worship; a Methodist of the early type; a preacher
clear and strong. He died October 18th, 1813, in the full triumph of his faith. His body was laid to rest in what is now known as the Old Graveyard near
the present DOUB’s Methodist Episcopal Church, South.
His wife, MARY EVE, a member of the Dutch Reformed Church since her fifteenth year, joined the Methodists with her husband and literally became a
mother to the Methodists in the section about her. She was a woman of strong mind, deep piety, cheerful disposition and great firmness of character.
She was a person of great sympathy and much sought after by the sorrowing. She was well suited, therefore, for the wife of a pioneer Methodist
preacher. JOHN and MARY EVE DOUB were truly a simple-mannered and God-fearing couple.
They had seven sons and two daughters. The sons were: JOHN, JOSEPH , HENRY, WILLIAM, JACOB, MICHAEL, and PETER. MARY and
ELIZABETH were the daughters’ names. Three of the sons became preachers-JOSEPH , MICHAEL and PETER- the latter being the youngest child.
History has recorded that in the year 1803 a camp meeting was being conducted on their fathers land. (A camp ground had previously been
established here.) PETER, then a lad only six years old and a brother aged ten, became so deeply impressed with the claim of an atoning Savior that
both resolved to consecrate their childish lives to His service.
It is fitting that we should pause just here and recall something of the age in which these people lived. We must remember that schools, books and
good teachers were not plentiful like they are in this good year of 1924. There was not a railroad in all of the world. There was not a respectable
highway in the State of North Carolina. The only outlet from this part of the State was by wagon to Charleston, S.C., or to some other seaport town.
Instead of the factory for making the cloth for clothing and other home uses the carding, spinning and weaving of this was done in the home. The mill for
flour and meal was down by the creek, while the blacksmith shop stood by the roadside. These were the centers of family and community life.
As was previously stated, JOHN DOUB’S home had become a regular meeting place for religious worship and that it was, in reality, the beginning of
DOUB’S CHAPEL as we know it. As the years wore on, it became necessary to provide a building for the purpose of a house of worship, so a
comfortable brick structure was erected and dedicated in 1858 as DOUB’S CHAPEL. The dedicatory sermon was preached by REV. PETER DOUB--
youngest son of the founder of DOUB’S CHAPEL--the text being “The Lord hath done great things for us, where of we are glad.”
The gospel work that was begun in that home more than a century and a quarter ago has been kept up during the years and is being carried forward
now in the present DOUB’S CHURCH. This building was erected in 1909 and 1910 and was dedicated by REV. T. F. MARR, assisted by REV. J. T.
RATLEDGE. The former DOUB’S CHAPEL having been found too small for the congregations, was sold for school purposes and was so used until
1922. Then the Old Richmond Consolidated School building was erected, and the best of the brick in the Old Chapel building were used in that
building. The brick made by the labors of these people of the old faith is still serving humanity well and will continue to do so for many more years.
(This historical sketch was copied in part from the writings of LAURA GREY DOUB, of Greensboro, N.C., and REV. A. W. PLYLER of the North
Carolina Conference.)
(Of JOHN DOUB SENIOR’S descendants there have been thirteen preachers, and besides, there have been two or three other preachers gone out
from this church.)
JOHN DOUB'S FAMILY
We come now to the children of JOHN DOUB, SR. and his wife, MARY EVE SPAINHOUR.
There were nine children: JOHN, Jr., HENRY, WILLIAM, JACOB, JOSEPH , MARY ELIZABETH, MICHAEL, MARY EVE and PETER.
JOHN, JR., the oldest son, was born August 30, 1782, and died September 6, 1818. He married MARGARET SPAINHOUR
of Stokes County and to this union two children were born. ELVIRA and JOHN WESLEY. ELVIRA married JOHN
TIMOTHY HOLDER and to them were born eight children. JOHN WESLEY married ELIZABETH DULL of Forsyth County and to them six children were
born. There are several great and great-great grandchildren of both these families.
HENRY DOUB, the second son, was born October 7, 1782, and died October 5, 1850. He married ELIZABETH WARD, and to this union were born
eight children: CANNON, ELIJAH, WILLIAM AND WESLEY, NANCY, MARY, PEGGY AND ELIZABETH. CANNON married VIRGINIA DOWLING and to this
union were born nine children. ELIJAH married LUCY NEWSOM and to them nine children were born. WILLIAM married CLARINDA GEORGE and to
them were born three children. WESLEY went west while a young man, and little is known of his family. NANCY married WILLIAM CORNELIUS and six
children were born to them. MARY married THEOPHILUS HAUSER and they had three children. PEGGY married SAMUEL WOLF, they had one child.
ELIZABETH died while a young girl. There are a number of great and great-great grandchildren in this family.
WILLIAM, the third son, known as “Uncle Billy”, was born May 18, 1774, and died in August, 1863. He was never married.
JACOB, the fourth son, was born October 15, 1785, and died June 27, 1837. He married SUSANNAH HELSABECK, and to this union nine children
were born: DAVID, DANIEL, JOHN, JACOB, WILLIAM, ELIZABETH, SUSAN, REBECCA, AND MARY. DAVID, DANIEL and JOHN were ministers of the
gospel. DAVID married BUHANES BUNNER, and to them were born four children. DANIEL married ELIZABETH PETREE of Stokes County, and to this
union three children were born. His first wife having died, he married THERESA CRAFT and one son was born to this union. JOHN B. married MINERVA
DULL. There were no children to this union. JACOB died when a child, and WILLIAM died while yet a young man. ELIZABETH married THOMAS LONG
and to them were born six children. SUSAN married MR. BECKHAM of Alexander county, and to this union there were born two children. SUSAN having
died MR. BECKHAM married her sister REBECCA and to this union one son was born.
JOSEPH , the fifth son, was born August 8, 1787, and died November 22, 1869. He was a licensed preacher and served many years as a local
preacher. His home was a very religious one, and all his children were pious, good citizens. He married SUSANNAH REYNOLDS, and to them were born
ten children, six sons and four daughters. The sons were, SAMUEL, BENSON, JOSEPH , JR., EDWIN, JOHN F., AND JAMES. The daughters were
LOUISA, LUCETTA, ELIZABETH and MARGARET. SAMUEL was a preacher. SAMUEL married REBECCA HELSABECK, and to them wee born eight
children. Those living are AUGUSTUS and LEMUEL, of Missouri; CLARK DOUB, of Pfafftown; MRS. SUSAN GRAY and MRS. MARY BURTON of High
Point, and MRS. FLORENCE POINDEXTER and WHITFIELD DOUB, of Lewisville. BENSON married MARY NEWSOM and there were ten children of this
union. Those living are S.G. DOUB, of Tobaccoville; BENSON and ERASTUS, of Virginia;MRS. M.C. LONG, MRS. J.F. SPAINHOUR, MRS. W.F.
SPRINKLE and MRS. O.V. PFAFF, of Tobaccoville, MRS. WESLEY GRAY and MRS. R.C. HUNTER of Kernersville. JOSEPH JR., married REJINA
GEORGE, and there were five children born to them. Those living are, WINFIELD, FRANK, HENRY AND EMMA DOUB, all of Tobaccoville. JOHN F.
married CAROLINE SPACH, and to them were born nine children. The living ones are OLIVER E., of Florida; MRS. IRVIN DOUB, of Route 2, Winston-
Salem; MRS. J.C. CRAFT of Clemmons; MRS. ELLA TISE of Bethania, JOSEPH H. and MRS. R.F. REYNOLDS, of Tobaccoville. JAMES married AMELIA
LONG, and to them were born four children. Those living are MRS. T.H. HUNTER and ROBERT M. DOUB, of Tobaccoville. LOUISA married SAMUEL
HAUSER. ELIZABETH married AUGUSTUS HELSABECK. LUCETTA and MARGARET were never married. EDWIN went to Indiana while a young man
and married and died there.
MARY ELIZABETH, the ninth child, was born September 3, 1789. We do not know the exact date of her death. She married JACOB HELSABECK,
and to this union was born one daughter, OLETHA. OLETHA married RILEY PETREE, and to this union there were twelve children, eight sons and four
daughters. Living are D.H. PETREE, of Florida, and FLORA PETREE of La Grange, N.C., JACOB PETREE, of Arkansas, was, and D.H. PETREE is a
minister. There are a number of great and great-great grandchildren in this family.
REV. MICHAEL DOUB, the seventh child, was born November 30, 1791, and died May 8, 1876. He was a licensed preacher of the gospel for 46
years. He married GRACETTE REYNOLDS, and to this union were born nine children. Three sons and six daughters. AMANDA, MICHAEL’s oldest
daughter, married FERDINAND DALTON, and to this union there were six children, one son and five daughters. JEANETTE married BENJAMIN
TURNER, and to them were born five sons and one daughter. The only one living is ROBERT TURNER, of North Wilkesboro. EMORY married
SURLENA LONG and two daughters were born to them, MRS. ROBERT TRANSOU, of Pfafftown, and MRS. C.G. HUNTER, of Tobaccoville, both now
living. LUCINDA, the third daughter, married MILTON BLACKBURN, and to this union were born seven children. MILDRED, the fourth daughter, was
never married. MARILLA married THOMAS MOSER. SALLY married WESLEY LONG, and to them was born one son. OLIN, the second son of
MICHAEL, married ISABELLA SPEAS, and to them were born five children. Those living are MRS. ALBERT MOTTSINGER, AVERY, ALDINE and LANIER
DOUB, all of Forsyth County. JOHN NEWTON, last child of MICHAEL DOUB, married ELLEN HAUSER, and to this union were born nine children. Living
are MRS. VIOLA STITH and MRS. LIZZIE JONES, of Winston-Salem. His second wife was AMANDA CASS, of Yadkin county, and there were five children
of this union; DORA, FLORA, NEWTON, JR., EUGENE and DELLA, all of Traphill, NC. He was a preacher for 20 years.
REV. PETER DOUB, the eighth child, was born March 12, 1793, and died August 24, 1869. He married ELIZABETH BRANTLEY, and to them were
born 7 children, none are now living. The living grandchildren are MRS. S.A. KERR and MISS LAURA DOUB, of Greensboro, and LANDON L. and
FLETCHER H. DOUB, of Knightdale, N.C. There are several great and great-great grandchildren.
Early taught to respect the senior members of the family, and to revere his parents above all others, he learned obedience to, and respect for,
superiors.
In his seventh year, 1802, at a camp-meeting on his father’s farm, he was powerfully impressed; but nothing came of it more than the feeling that
one day he would be a preacher, for the spirit of those times did not encourage one so young. All did not go, however, with the passing of youth. For
years, preaching, conversation with the preachers, reading the Scriptures, and a volume of sermons presented by REV. JOSEPH BROWN, which
brought “awful and alarming convictions,” left him deeply wounded in heart. But the immediate cause of his conversion was a sermon preached
October 5, 1817, at a camp meeting in Rowan (now Davie) County by REV. EDWARD CANNON, from Revelations 7:9. His portrayal of the great
multitude which no man could number produced such indescribable longings within a burdened soul that, with tears flowing freely, at the suggestion of
MOSES BROCK, young PETER fell at the altar and struggled till night with no relief, but he did not give up the struggle. Following the sermon Monday
morning about ten o’clock, feeling that he was literally sinking alive into hell, the thought came, “Well, if I sink to rise no more, I will try to look up once
more, as it cannot make my condition worse.” He did so. Then and there, amid the groans of the penitents and the shouts of the redeemed, he arose
and proclaimed his full deliverance. For the space of two hours or more he alternately shouted, exhorted the congregation and encouraged the
penitents. That glorious hour and memorable scene lived with him ever after.
Ten days later he joined the church at DOUB’s, a regular preaching place on the Yadkin Circuit since 1792. The lack of education, meager
knowledge of the Scriptures, and the fear of being mistaken as to the divine call, constrained him to continue farming, in which he and his brother were
jointly engaged. But the other counsel prevailed. After consulting his presiding elder, REV. EDWARD CANNON, he was licensed to preach and
recommended for admission into the Annual Conference.
Not yet five months a probationer in the church, PETER DOUB was received on trial in the Virginia Conference at Norfolk, in February, 1818. With
CHRISTOPHER S. MOORING, he was appointed junior preacher on the Haw River Circuit, reaching his first appointment in April. His second year was
on Culpepper Circuit. Two years in the regular work, with the vows of a deacon upon him (having been ordained by Bishop George in Richmond,
February, 1820), eliminated all thoughts of retiring from the itinerancy and secured an entire surrender to the work of the ministry. At New Bern, March
24, 1822, Bishop George ordained him elder. This put him well into his career of fifty-one years. Of these, twenty-one were spent on circuits, twenty-
one on district, four on stations, one in regaining his health, one as temperance lecturer, and three as professor of Biblical Literature in Trinity College.
His first circuit had twenty-seven appointments to be met every four weeks; his second circuit, fourteen to be filled every three weeks. The four years
on the Yadkin District, beginning with his ninth year in the ministry, were among the happiest of his life. This district embraced Granville, Orange,
Person, Chatham, Alamance, Caswell, Rockingham, Guilford, Stokes, Forsyth, Surry, Yadkin, Wilkes, Alexander, Iredell, Rowan, Davie, Davidson, parts
of Randolph, Montgomery, and Warren. in North Carolina; Halifax, Pittsylvania, Franklin, HENRY, and Patrick, in Virginia.
In four years he traversed this territory about twenty times; preached on an average fifty times on each round; held one hundred and forty-four
Quarterly Conferences and fifty camp-meetings, and attended the General Conference in Pittsburgh, PA. One year he held sixteen camp-meetings in
as many weeks, and preached at each from four to seven times. During these four years two thousand seven and thirty-eight souls were converted at
meetings which he held in person, and more than seven thousand were converted in the district.
At a camp-meeting in Henry County, Virginia (1826) more than eighty souls were converted, among them five infidels, during the eleven o’clock
sermon on Sunday.
Following the longest sermon he ever preached, four hours and fifteen minutes, at Lowe’s Church, in Rockingham County, there were fifty-two
conversions. At a camp-meeting in Guilford, following a sermon of four hours, eighty came to the altar at the first call. His farewell message to his
church is characteristic of the man: “Tell my brethren of the Conference that if I am alive I am fighting my way to the skies; if I am dead I am alive.”
MARY EVE DOUB, the ninth child was born February 23, 1794, and died April 2, 1874. She was never married, and was known to all as “Aunt
Mary.”
All except two of the children of JOHN DOUB, SR., rest in what is known as the “Old Graveyard,” near DOUB’S CHURCH. The body of ELIZABETH
was laid in what is known as the Helsabeck graveyard, about two miles north of Rural Hall. PETER died at the home of his daughter, MRS. MARTHA
YATES, in Greensboro, and his remains are in Green Hill cemetery, Greensboro, N.C. (The Western North Carolina Conference, October 10, 1945,
unveiled a monument to him provided by West Market Street Church and Greensboro College.)
The following record came from the family bible of HENRY DOUB and ELIZABETH WARD. The Bible was Stereotyped, Printed and Published by H&E
Phinney, Cooperstown, N.Y., 1829. Last known owner was Myron L. Snotherly, Albemarle, N.C.
FAMILY RECORD
Births:
Second son HENRY DOUB was born 7th of October 1782
ELIZABETH WARD was born 15 November 1787
ELIJAH DOUB was born 14 April 1809
NANCY P. DOUB was born 23 April 1811
MARY L. DOUB was born 20 July 1813
JOHN W. DOUB was born 28 November 1815
MARGARET W. DOUB was born 17 July 1818
HENRY C. DOUB was born 20 June 1821
ELIZABETH A. DOUB was born 2 July 1824
WILLIAM H. DOUB was born 4 April 1827
ELIJAH DOUB was born 14 April 1829
LUCY NEWSUM was born 5 October 1821
ELIZABETH JANE DOUB was born 7 November 1842
HENRY HARTWELL DOUB was born 2 February 1845
MARY FRANCES DOUB was born 26 July 1847
WILLIAM WESLEY DOUB was born 15 March 1850
NANCY MARGARET DOUB was born 9 December 1852
DAVID EDWIN DOUB was born 16 September 1855
MARTHA ANN DOUB was born 24 January 1859
ELIJAH NEWTON DOUB was born 6 October 1861
WILIE (ASBWAYE?) DOUB was born 30 January 1867
Marriages:
ELIJAH DOUB & LUCY NEWSOM married 28 October 1841
WILLIAM B. DOUB & MARRY NEWSUM married 16 January 1850
HENRY DOUB & ELIZABETH WARD married 24 December 1807
MARGIE L. DOUB & T.C. HAUSER no date given
NANCY P. DOUB & WILLIAM J. CORSIELING? married 21 April-no year given
MARGARET W. DOUB & SAMUEL WOLF no date given
WILLIAM H. DOUB & CLARINDA R. GEORGE married 17 October 1850
Deaths:
HENRY DOUB, ESQ dec’d the 5th of October 1850 aged 68 years less 2 days
ELIZABETH DOUB died the 17th of September 1858 aged 70 years, 10 mos, 2 days
ELIJAH DOUB died March 4, 1885
LUCY DOUB died June 12, 1911
E. NEWTON DOUB died July 14, 1902
HENRY HARTWELL DOUB died April 3, 1865 in Battle of Appomattox age 20 yrs
The following information came from the printed program for a memorial dedication for Rev. JOHN and MARY EVE SPAINHOUR DOUB, 25 Sept, 1983 at
Doub’s United Methodist Church, Forsyth Co., N.C.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE JOHN DOUB-MARY EVE SPAINHOUR FAMILY
JOHANNES DAUB and MARIA ELIZABETH -- married people have a young son baptized on March 31---, born on the 27th of the same. JOHANNES is
the name given to child. The year of birth was 1743 in the Village Littfred which now belongs to the town of Krueztal. (Info furnished by the Evangelical
Reformed Church where John was baptized and was a member before he came to America. He was the last son of Johannes and Maria Elizabeth.)
MARY EVE SPAINHOUR, was born in the County of York, State of Pennsylvania Nov. 30, 1755. When she was four years of age her father
immigrated to Stokes County, N.C., and at age 15 she joined the Dutch Reformed Church.
A letter dated July 24, 1915 written by O. W. F. Doub living in Tobaccoville, NC to an unknown is as follows:
Dear Sirs:
Your communication with respect to Indian relics NC is just to hand. Why it has been so long since the 26 April 1915 reaching me I do not know
-- would have written you immediately had I received your letter on time. I hope I may be of service to you now, Have always been interested in
this subject. The Indian land is mostly on my land-very near a half circle-- the circle bending north, and the ends about one mile apart pointing
East and West. The larger part of the Camp was at the East and about 400 yards South-East of where John Doub, my grandfather settled and
erected or built the first Tannery in this part of NC, which was in 1763. The most of the Indians that were there then were friendly- the hostile
ones having moved West although they would slip in now and then and commit depredations. Yet they all respected my grandfather and family
because as they said he made such fine leather and would come and sit four (for) hours looking at him prepare the hide for leather. They
thought him a wonderful man.
This camp is in the North Western part of Forsythe, about 3 miles from the Yadkin River, on the waters of the Bushavah (Bashavah?) Creek,
Spanning three branches of said creek. Soft soap stone is plentiful and it is of this that they made their cooking vessels of which there are many
pieces and whole pots over this ground at this time-the arrow points, in my childhood days were plentiful and can be found most any where here—
I have plaid(played) Indian, say 70 years ago when their Camp was fresh, many times in these cams(Camps?). One of my sons plowed up one
pot this spring, which had ashes in it—it was a very nice piece of work, but got brok(broke).
Their burying ground was on the East side of Yadkin River—They buried at two places in the River bottom about two miles apart. Their was
many places in the River bottom about two miles apart. There has been many skeletons washed out by high water. There are many families
living in these counties or near here who claim they have Indian blood in them—That in the early days of settling up this part of N. C. not many
women were present of white blood and the men would take Indian women and raise a family. For some of the best families claim Indian
ancesters (ancestors). I saw a young married woman last summer about 7 miles from here who would be taken for an Indian were she seen out
in a wild country. She is of a good family well informed and proud of Indian blood. Donahaa a town in N.W. Forsythe Co. is named after
Donahue, the old Indian Chief.
They had two trails both of which passed through my land—crossing just East of where I live, one running North to South- the other E. and W.
Near the point where these trails cross is located the larger camp—the trail N. & S. trail 50 or 75 miles and so near are these trails the compass
that many lines that were run in Surveying a tract of land would follow these trails for miles.
This Tannery I speak of was a very large establishment for those times and my father said in the fall of year when leather was ready for delivery
many wagons and people (on) horseback would come and camp in a large yard near the tannery and the Indians would often be on hand—After
they finished trading next morning the company would get my Grand Father to go through the manual of Arms, he having served in the German
Army before coming here and then they could get the Indian to show his skill with bow and arrow.
This is the first I have tried (to) write since I had a very severe nervous shock. I am 78 years old. Hope you may be able to set some information
from this badly written letter. I can hardly hold a pen. I meant to have photographs from these camps & burial grounds as soon as I get well.
(Postscript on back of last page)
If I can be of any help to you will be glad to do so.
Yours truly,
O. W. F. Doub
The following article was written September 14, 1978 by Mark Wright, a staff reporter for For The Sentinel. The Doub information was
contributed by Reba S. Jones.
By the late 1750’s the influx of white settlers, a series of wars and smallpox epidemics had broken up many of the once great Indian nations in
eastern North America.
Remnants of different tribes banded together, under whatever leadership came forward to form villages. Into such a village in the late 1750’s
came John Doub, one of the earlier settlers of what is now Forsyth County. Doub was apparently a hardworking and outgoing man. He built a
homeplace and started what one historian called “an industrial complex of the 18th century” in western Forsyth several years before the
Moravians settled nearby in the community of Salem.
Archeologists and historians who have recently rediscovered Doub’s homeplace and the remains of an Indian village nearby think the site could
have major significance in understanding the development of the area. Efforts have begun to list the site in the National Register of Historic
Places so that it can be protected and better studied.
When he got to Forsyth, Doub built a tannery, apparently one of the first in this part of the state. The tannery, Doub’s unusual relationship with
the Indians themselves, are special points of interest to the historians and archeologists who plan to study the site.
Doub, a German who had been converted to Methodism came to Forsyth from Pennsylvania. It now appears that he came into the area on a
major north-south Indian trail. He built his homeplace near the intersection of that trail and another east-west trail.
Although they probably played major roles in the movement of trade and warriors during the Indian wars of the 18th century, both trails are now
almost obscured.
Portions of the north-south trail are still visible near Doub’s home, but the east-west trail has apparently been covered by a state road and right-
of-way.
However, the trails were visible and usable until the early 1900s. In a letter a letter to the Bureau of American Ethnology in 1915 Doub’s
grandson Olin Doub wrote that he had followed the north-south trail for 50 to 75 miles and the western trail for about 100 miles. The significance
of the trails went beyond mere travel, according to Olin Doub. So near are the trails with the compass that many lines that were run in surveying
a tract of land would follow these trails for miles he told the bureau.
Olin Doub wrote the bureau after seeing an article in The Twin City Sentinel, dated Feb.22, 1915, in which the bureau asked for information
about the Indians in Forsyth to be used in a book, “Handbook of Aboriginal Remains East of the Mississippi River".
Doub’s letter was discovered this year by Terry Ferguson, a graduate student working with Wake Forest University. Ferguson discovered the
letter almost by accident while researching the use of soapstone by the Indians of North America.
In this letter Olin Doub called his grandfather’s “the first tannery in this part of the North Carolina which was in 1763” John Doub’s home, built at
the same time, is still standing and nearby can be found many artifacts of a large Indian village that Olin Doub also described in his letter.
The Indian camp, Doub said was in the shape of a half circle about a mile wide. It spanned three creeks that flow to the Yadkin River. The most
of the Indians that were there then were friendly---the hostile ones having moved west, although they would slip in now and then and commit
descorations, Doub said.
Doub’s tannery and a brickyard he also helped to establish were apparently a major gathering spot for traders both white and Indian. They (the
Indians) said he made such
fine leather and would come and sit for hours looking at him prepare the hide for leather—they thought he was a wonderful man” Olin Doub wrote.
The Indian village was probably the home of several hundred Indians from many tribes. The Indians at that point “ were in a great state of
disarray,” according to Alan Snavely, one of the researchers now working on the project.
The many disrupting influences of the 18th century had left only pieces of tribes to ban together. Snavely said the village near Doub’s home
probably contained parts of the Saponi, Tutelo, Eno, Kevauwee and Cheraw tribes, all probably under a Catawba chief.
The fact that Indians were there in such a large village is significant; Snavely said noting it is unusual that “they were holding in that close to
those settlement areas at that late date”
The abundance of soapstone was probably a major reason the Indians banded together there. Soapstone is plentiful and it is of this that they
made the cooking vessels, of which there are many pieces and whole pots over the ground at this time,” Olin Doub wrote in 1915.
The pots, many arrowheads and other artifacts are still plentiful I the wood around John Doub’s home.
Olin Doub described his grandfather’s relationship with the Indians, also unusual in that many white settlers at the time had a deathly fear of the
Indians and tried to isolate themselves from them.
Doub said in the letter that in the fall, when the leather was ready, many people would come to his grandfather’s home.
After they finished trading (the) next morning the company would get my grandfather to go through the manual of arms, he having served in the
German army before coming here, and then they would get the Indian to show off his skill with bow and arrow.
Olin Doub notes that relations with the Indians ere so good that many of the settlers who followed John Doub to the area married Indians, and
descendants of those families still live in the area.
The remains of John Doubs tannery are still visible near one of the streams also used by the Indians. What is left of a rock and earthen dam, 75
to 100 feet long can be seen across the stream. Doub also dug a trench to his tanyard from the reservoir.The trench can still be seen running to
an open field near the home where the tanyard was located. The brickyard was located a few hundred yards upstream, and it probably produced
the bricks used to build many of the homes in the area, some of which are also still standing.
Dr. J. Ned Woodall an anthropology professor at Wake Forest, who is coordinating the project, noted that the tannic acid used in the tanning
process has probably helped to preserve some of the remains of the Doub’s tannery.
Because of the timing of Doub’s settlement, Woodall thinks Doub may have been producing leather earlier than the tannery in Salem, and Doub
may have been supplying the Moravians in Bethania and Bethabara with his products.
Woodall said excavation and further study of the site will come after the site is include in the National Register of Historic Places when more funds
will be available. Woodall hoped that the area may someday be opened to the public, after its historic value has been fully studied. Until then,
however, he and others connected with the project asked that the exact location of the site not be given. Article in The Twin city Sentinel dated
February 22, 1915
| John Doub and the Indians of Forsyth County |
MY JOURNEY THROUGH THE WAR
As Was Told To Me, MARY EMMA DWIGGINS JONES,
As A Child By My Father, DANIEL B. DWIGGINS
The Civil War began in 1860 and in 1864 the sad news came that the seventeen year old boys were called and my Father told me that
I had just as well go forth like a brave soldier and face whatever was to come as to stay at home and hide about and then be taken at
last. So in that beautiful month of May, 1964, my father came home from Winston and said: “Son you are to go off in the morning.” It was
sad to be sure to tell father and mother, brothers and sisters good-bye, not knowing where I would ever have the pleasure of being with
them on the old farm again.
But the next morning I bade mother, brothers and sisters good-bye, while my father accompanied me on my way to High Point where I
was to take the cars. But when the time came that I had to bid my last farewell to my father it seemed that I was forsaken by all, and had
started forth to meet my foe and then die alone.
There were about thirty of us when we got in the old cars and off we started, tickety rack. We went on and it was quite amusing to me
for it was my first ride on a train, but before we got to Raleigh, the old wheels just blazed and looked like they would burn down. But after
a day and night ride we arrived in Raleigh, where they marched us out to Camp Horne. There we drew rations, fat back and rye bread.
There was where my nose bled so. It commenced one night and they sent for the doctor three times and the next evening he got it
stopped by plugging it up. We organized companies and regiments. I was in Company B, Fourth Regiment and after about four weeks
we started for Goldsboro. There was talk of the Yankees breaking out there. I saw my first Yankee, but they were just passing by. We
stayed there about two weeks. Then we started to Wilmington. We went down on the Masonborough Sound. I had a most delightful time
there. We had oysters, clams, fish, and crab to eat. I stayed there about two months. I had become eighteen years old and they sent me
to Raleigh to be put in regular service. So they sent me to the Valley of Virginia, 21 N.C. Regiment, Company K. On the 16th day of
September I joined the regiment under Captain Newson. On the 17th, orders came in for them to cook three days rations and on the
19th, Monday morning, just at the break of day, the drums commenced beating and we were all called out to fall in line.
When we marched out that morning the band was playing “Old Dixie”. I could hear the cannon just roaring and about eight o’clock the
pickets commenced firing. I thought my time was coming next. About nine o’clock they sent some of us back for more ammunition. As we
were going back, we met some of the soldiers bringing our General out dead, (General Gordon). They had him on a blanket. Just as I
got back in line they shot through my knapsack. It turned me half around. It shot 28 holes in my garments. It ruined all my clothes.
They ordered us to lay down. Then they moved us on a hill. There we fought about two hours. We lost several men there. The man
on my right was shot down. He just fell over on his face. I don’t think he ever struggled. After a while we fell back behind a rock wall.
There we fought the afternoon out. We shot until our guns were warm and I leveled on them as if they had been a rabbit. We did not put
our ramrods in our guns when we loaded them. We just stuck them beside us in the ground. We retreated up on a mountain late that
afternoon. They shelled us up there. We lost some men and some horses. About dark we fell back to Fisher Hill. We got there about
sunrise the next morning. We went in and rested there for two days. The third day we were attacked again by General Sheridan. We
fought them a while and they flanked us on the left and we had to retreat again. We all started back, every man for himself. The officers
tried to rally their men and get them in line to march them back, but it was in a piece of woods and they could not do anything with them.
I stopped with some eight hundred, I guess, but we could not get in line and we all got scattered and it was every man for himself.
About dark I started across a hill making my way up through the mountains. There I was shot through my clothes again. It did not break
the hide, but the bullet bruised my leg. I looked over the hill and I could see the blaze out of the guns. I crossed over in the mountains
and it was dark and I did not know where to go. I was tired and worn out so I just lay down on the ground and went to sleep. I woke up in
the night and the Yankees were just shooting away. I could hear them marching all night. Next morning about 8 o’clock I was still laying
down for I didn’t know where to go. I saw a Yankee. He said: “Hello Johnnie, are you asleep?” I did not answer him at first. He called
again and I told him “No”. He said I had as well come on and go with him as some one would get me. So I gave up my gun and went on to
the prison. There were about 800 of our army in there. They were burying the dead. This as the 23rd of September, 1864 that I was
captured.
In the evening they marched us back to Winchester and put us in an old building and we stayed there three days and drew nothing to
eat but some raw beef and we had nothing to cook it in or with. We tore down the doors and tore out the facings of the windows to make
a fire. We tried to stew it in some old tin cans and eat it, but it was raw. They marched us from there to Harper’s Ferry. We drew bacon
and crackers there. Some ate their meat raw, while others unsortered their canteens and fried their meat.
While we were at Harper’s Ferry, we were starving to death and the lice were eating us up. An older officer in the Confederate Army
told me that I was a young man and that it would be best for me to volunteer to go and guard the Indians and I would get better food to eat
and would be taken care of and that the war would soon be over. I volunteered then to go and guard the Indians.
We got on the train that evening and started for Baltimore. We arrived there some time the next day. We started for Dakota Territory
and got on a ship and went up to New York. That was my first time on a ship. There we got on a ferry boat and crossed the Hudson
River over to New Jersey. Then we took a train that afternoon just before sunset. The train stopped in a small town in Pennsylvania and
the first thing I knew the train was full of men and women, young and old, with large baskets full of all good things to eat. They filled our
haversacks and laps full. The soldiers sang several pieces and thanked them. They bade us good-bye and the old train rolled on. We
went on to Lake Erie and there we changed cars for Cincinnati, Ohio. There we changed cars again for St. Louis, Missouri. We went out
to Barracks, a place for soldiers. We rested over about a week there. We got on the ship and started up the Missouri River. We arrived
at Fort Rice about the middle of June. We stayed there in the Fort and guarded it and drilled some until September. We had two little
riots with the Indians. They killed four of our men there. We had food rations. We came down to Fort Sully. We stayed there a few
days. The water was getting low in the river. They could not run the ship in some places and we had to march. One night we took up
camp on our way to Fort Rankle. It was clear and cold but we spread down our blankets to sleep. The next morning there was right smart
of snow on us but I slept warm.
In a few days we reached Fort Randle. There we went into winter quarters. We were not on duty very much. We dug an ice house
and put away ice that we got out of the Missouri River. They would cut the ice about four feet square and it was about four feet thick,
then we would drag it out with horses, then put it in wagons and carry it on to the ice house. We got some wood but I had a very good
time.
There were several civilized Indians there. I saw one that was 104 years old. She could not walk, but she would crawl to our camp and
ask for something to eat. They would eat the bread out of the garbage barrel. One day I was walking down to the river and I saw a little
Indian tied hard and fast to a plank and the plank was stood up on the south side of the log. I stopped and looked at the little kid and it
would just bat its eyes. That was all it could do. It was about six months old. I saw 25 or 30 little kids go off together in the morning and
you could not see them until night. They would go into swamps and eat and holler all day.
After the ice broke up, I was detailed to work on a ferry boat and I worked on it until I left. The beautiful scene that I beheld was when
the ice broke up the river. I stood about a day watching it floating down. The ice was about 16 or 20 feet square and sometimes a large
tree would come down. There was an old ship that came down that had drifted out on a sand bank in the fall. We left there about the
middle of May and started to Levenworth, Kansas. We stayed there about four days. Then we gave all of our war equipment up and got
our discharge. Then we started for home - free men. I went from there to St. Louis. There I crossed the Mississippi River and took the
train for Cincinnati, Ohio. We arrived there on Saturday morning and missed connection and I had to lay over until Monday morning.
Then we took the train for Baltimore, Maryland. We got there Tuesday morning about sunrise. There we took the boat for Fort Monroe,
Virginia. I was on the Chesapeake Bay all night and they gave me a good bed and the boat rocked me to sleep so I did not know much
about it. I changed boats at Fort Monroe and went up the James River to Richmond, Virginia.
I got on the train at Richmond and came to Greensboro. I arrived about night fall. There was no transportation to the old home place
in Forsyth County, which was about 25 miles, so I walked all the way and arrived just at day-break. My father’s home was fenced and the
dogs would not let me in. I had to call out and wake the family up to let me in and it was one grand meeting.
“My Journal Through the War” was told by Daniel Dwiggins of Forsyth County, NC. to his daughter Mary Emma. He was born 19 Mar
1846 to Ashley Dwiggins (b 22 Mar 1815, d. 11 Nov 1891) and Sallie McKinney ( b. 26 Apr 1821, d 31 Mar 1859). Daniel died 22 Dec
1923. On 5 Nov 1868, Daniel married Mary Jane Ballard, b. 24 Dec 1845. Mary Jane’s father was John Ballard b. 5 Jul 1822 and died 5
Feb 1897.
Daniel B. Dwiggins grandfather was Robert Dwiggins b. 1770 and died 14 Apr 1856. His wife (name unknown) was born 27 Feb 1777
and died 20 Jan 1842.
The family bible, now owned by Stella Dillon Ingram of Kernersville, lists the following:
Sallie L. Dwiggins b. 2 Aug 1869 m. W. M. Barrow 15 Aug 1886
Walter S. Dwiggins b. 25 Oct 1871 m. Laura Warren 7 Dec 1898
Annie M. Dwiggins b 14 Sept 1873 d 28 Apr 1955; m. N.J. Dillon 4 Sept 1904
Johney A. Dwiggins b 4 Oct 1875
Mary Emma Dwiggins b 8 Mar 1880 m. Walter Jones 4 Mar 1903
Addie P. Dwiggins b 25 Jan 1885 m. A.D. Dillon 14 June 1908
Van Bede Dwiggins b. 13 Sept 1893 m Cornelius Nelson 25 April 1909
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