| LIFE ON THE PLANTATION Near Huntsville, Yadkin County, NC Written by Anna Henrietta Bitting Whitaker [1859-1936] Transcribed and edited by Judy S. Cardwell, 6-22-2002 Given to Judy S. Cardwell by a Bitting descendant, Sandi Atkinson, of Nashville, Tenn. |
My mother’s, Louisa Phillipena Wilson [1837-1919], parents were Dr. George Follett Wilson [1805-1857] & Henrietta Sophia Hauser Wilson [1813-1878]. My mother was
born at Bethania & lived there, till she was twelve years of age, when she was sent to Salem College for four years, later going to Greensboro Female College where she
graduated.
My father’s, Joseph Anthony Bitting [1820-1901], parents were John Leppaux Bitting [1785-1850] & his wife Joanna Gertrude Stultz Bitting [1785-1831]. My father was
born in Stokes County, now Rural Hall, NC, a few miles from a little town called Germanton.
My father and Mother were married August 4, 1858 at Dowellton, now Yadkinville, Yadkin Co., NC, my mother’s home. My mother’s age was 21. Father was seventeen years
older than Mother at that time. Mother was a member of the Moravian Church as all her people were. At the time of the marriage Father was not a member of any church, though
his parents, John Leppaux Bitting and Joanna Gertrude Stultz Bitting, were Lutherans.
After their marriage & wedding trip to N. Y. and Philadelphia which consumed six weeks, they returned to the plantation, which my father bought and owned.
After my grandfather’s, John Leppaux Bitting’s [1785-1850], death in Stokes Co., there was a division of his property, my father coming into considerable amount of money at
that time he came over and bought the property near Huntsville, Yadkin Co., NC, acquiring from time to time other lands adjoining and near this first property.
I, Anna Henrietta Bitting, was born on the plantation near Huntsville, Yadkin Co., NC, on Nov. 24, 1859.
Our home was on a high bluff over looking the Yadkin River. The land sloped on East & South towards the River. The north & west were level and well shaded, the south & east
were open abut nine thousand acres composed the plantation proper. I cannot remember now the number of horses & mules, nor the number of slaves. [Note: Joseph Anthony
Bitting shows 75 slaves on the 1860 Yadkin Co., NC Federal Census] There were a great many of both. The slave quarters were back of the large orchard. The slaves who
worked in and around the house were many. I was too young to remember, but they occupied the lower part of the yard, which was large and covered with grass & boxwood
bushes leading down from the entrance gate to the house proper, which was surrounded by lovely walks, old time flowers of every description, running roses & lovely stately
trees.
I can only remember retiring one night & getting up in the morning to find every part of the yard & garden filled with Northern soldiers, who made themselves at home, going in &
out of the house, taking any thing they saw they wanted & destroying what the could not take. They remained with us two days. All the servants were brought up from the
quarters to prepare meals & wait on them. Our silver, we buried some distance from the house, down under the hill. They opened our smoke house, took all the meat they could
carry. After feeding their horses for two days, they let the corn & other animal feed on the ground & then burned out the outhouses and the Negro quarters, after first giving the
slaves their freedom, promising them 40 dollars & a mule. Only a few of the slaves remained with us & where the others went to, nobody knows.
My recollection of the farm life was very crippled. When we were old enough, we had special morning duties, to attend to, such as making beds & tiding up the rooms, sweeping
& dusting, then out into the yard to play or to the orchard to gather fruit.
When we were old enough to go to school we had an early breakfast & while we were at breakfast our lunch was packed. We left home around eight o’clock & walked though the
woods about two miles leaving the main road entirely. Mr. & Mrs. William Read taught school. Mr. Read instructing the older pupils and Mrs. Read the younger & smaller pupils.
Our school began at 9 o’clock, lasting till 12:30 p.m. when had a period of an hour for lunch & recreation. , then taking in again at one thirty lasting till 4 o’clock p. m., when we
came home. We walked both going & coming from school, except on rainy & snowy days when father sent the big wagon for us & we all rode home.
We had a short period of play, then lessons to be learned, then to supper at 6 six o’clock winter & summer, the back to lessons for an hour and then to bed.
My father was a gentleman farmer, all kinds of crops were raised. He employed regularly, ten men, to plant & gather & to look after the farm, feeding the cows & milking, feeding
the other stock, preparing wood for the big house & kitchen, feeding the sheep, caring for the lambs & goats. The lands were sowed in the fall with wheat, clover, rye and oats.
The corn was gathered and brought up the large barns where the neighbors were asked to help shuck the corn which lasted all day till late evening, when they were all invited
into the big dining room, adjoining the kitchen for supper. A large and full supper was spread, with meats & vegetables, pumpkin and apple pies, with coffee, milk to drink also
locust beer, which was greatly enjoyed sitting around and chatting till 10:30 p. m. or 11 o’clock p. m., when all went home after a full & happy day.
Hog killing, was a big time on any farm, but particularly with us, when from 10 to 15 and 20 hogs were slaughtered in one morning. The men came early & by sun up, the fires
had been made under the large pots and slaughtering began. Mother would never allow us to be around at this time. It took a week or more to prepare the meat. The hams
deserve particular attention, which my father would help – always attended to smoking and curing of the hams & later packing them in barrels after first putting black pepper &
molasses on them, then sewing into bags, then dipping in a preparation of lime and ashes. They would keep for years in this condition, never any bugs or other small creatures
entering the meat.
Our schooling consisted of the three R's. This school that I refer to on another page, was the only school I attended until at the age of 12 years & I was sent to St. Mary’s
Raleigh, an Episcopal Church school, which I attended for four years, going through the country 40 miles to Salisbury which took a days riding with Father, spending the night at
Salisbury, & on to Raleigh next day. There were no railroads near to us at that time than Greensboro & Salisbury. I was a pupil at this school 4 years, going down in September
& not returning home till the following June. In the meantime a railroad had been built from Greensboro to Winston-Salem and I came home on the railroad.
In the early spring of 1874 my father bought property here in Winston-Salem & built a large commodious home for our family was large.
We attended Sunday school & Church at a little Baptist church about 5 miles from us. We had Sunday school every Sunday, but preaching once a month. Father would send us
to Sunday school in the big carriage with a competent driver, a colored man and & nurse, who staid through the Sunday school & brought us home when everything was over.
Our nearest neighbor lived five miles from us & when Mother visited them, she went in the big carriage, taking nurse and one or two of the smaller children with her.
Mother helped with our lessons, but Father never.
The family consisted of Father and Mother, sisters & brothers & servants of whom there were several. Our nearest neighbors were the Hunts & Puryears living across the River
almost opposite our home & on this side, the Wisemans, Johnsons & Bahnsons.
Visiting was rare & far between times. Our guest came always to spend the day, sometimes taking the evening meal, but rarely, but a full and bounteous dinner was prepared for
the middle the day. Father loved us children dearly, but he made us mind, when we were told to do any thing at his bidding, we did it without a murmur.
Very few books were read at this time, by us children. The little magazine, St. Nickolas, which came monthly as eagerly sought for. Father took numerous papers & magazines,
but were all pertaining to the farm, which did not interest us.
We were taught cooking & sewing, darning and mending & knitting, a little embroidery, no painting, but drawing & a little wax work.
Few trips were made from the plantation. Father took us to the Philadelphia exposition, it the only trip of any consequence I remember. Most of the time we remained at home,
playing, helping Mother, and we were happy children.
Winston-Salem was the largest banking center, though we bought most of our articles at Salisbury, as Salisbury was little nearer & the roads were better.
I do not recall any tobacco manufactured at the farm.
My future husband, William Ashbury Whitaker [1843-1912], worked for father on the farm a short while, then he was moved to Augusta Ga., by my father, where tobacco was
manufactured.
I do recall very vividly Uncle Reuben Everette Wilson [1840-1907], Dr. Moore [Unidentified]], Uncle Virgil Angelo Wilson [1834-1905], Aunt Mat [Unidentified], my grandmother
Henrietta Sophia Hauser Wilson [1813-1878], Uncle Henry Clinton Wilson [1830-1878], Aunt Julia Amelia Hauser Wilson [1838-1932], his wife, Dr. Beverly Jones [1811-1902]
and Aunt Julia Elizabeth Wilson Bitting [1845-d. 1899 in Texas] & their family.
My father, Joseph Anthony Bitting, has three brothers, John Henry Bitting [1811-1847], Walter Raleigh Bitting [1813-1853], Samuel Lewis Bitting [1822-1856] & three sisters,
Mary Bitting [1818-1884], who afterwards married Uncle Reuben D. Golding [1802-1879], Martha Elizabeth Bitting [1825], and Gertrude Bitting [1829]. I don’t know or never
heard where my father was educated. Mother was educated at Greensboro College for women, previously attending Salem Female Academy, as it was called for years. Mother,
Lousia Phillipena Wilson Bitting, has two sisters, Aunt Mary Josephine Wilson [1843-1865] and Aunt Julia Elizabeth Wilson Bitting [1845-1885] and three brothers, Uncle Henry
Clinton Wilson [1830-1878], Uncle Virgil Angelo Wilson [1834-1905] and Uncle George Edward Wilson [1839-1867].
Huntsville, Yadkin Co., NC, was a small village of about 200 people all told. A general store owned by my father, Post Office, Small Church. Father operated a small mill situated
on the river, between Huntsville & the farm. It was later burned & never rebuilt.
I was married to William Ashbury Whitaker on Dec. 30, 1880 in Forsyth Co., NC.
Note: William Ashbury Whitaker was the President of the First National Bank in Winston, he formed the street car system in Winston in 1887, he was a promoter of the first
electric company in Winston, he had a tobacco manufacturing plant in Winston named Bitting and Whitaker, and he was an active member of the Protestant Episcopal church in
Winston.
William Thomas Wilson, a well known and prominent lawyer of Winston-Salem, represents the sixth consecutive generation of the Wilson family in North Carolina. An old
Colonial family, it has furnished a large number of worthy men and women to the useful service of the state whether in private or public capacity.
The founder of the family in North Carolina was William Wilson, a native of Scotland. He emigrated to the American colonies in 1720, locating in the Perquimans County, in
what is now the State of North Carolina. He possessed all the rectitude and thrift of the typical Scotchman, and did his task as a pioneer thoroughly. Securing a tract of land, he
improved a plantation, and spent the rest of his days in Perquimans County.
His son, Thomas Wilson, was a native of Perquimans County and spent all his life there. The Christian name Thomas has been a characteristic in practically all the successive
generations of the family. This Thomas Wilson, of the second generation was married about 1770 to Elizabeth Newby. Both were faithful members of the Quaker Church.
Thomas Wilson, of the third generation, grew up on the plantation in Perquimans County and from there moved to the western part of the state to Stokes County. He bought
land west of Kernersville but several years later moved to Salem and leased the community tavern known as the Old Salem Tavern, which was operated under his supervision as
a landlord for some years. This early pioneer of Forsyth County was born in 1783. Though not a member of the Moravian Church his remains were laid to rest in the Moravian
graveyard. He married Elizabeth Johnston, who died when nearly ninety years of age and was laid to rest in the Winston Cemetery.
The City of Winston pays special honor o the memory of the late Thomas Johnston Wilson of the fourth North Carolina generation of the family. Thomas Johnston Wilson
was born on a plantation near Kernersville, in what was then Stokes but is now Forsyth County, in 1815. He received most of his early training in the Clemmonsville Academy, and
studied law with George C. Mendenhall at Greensboro. He was licensed to practice in 1840. He soon afterwards settled on the present site of Winston. There he had the
distinction of erecting the first house. That house was at what is now the corner of Main and Second streets. On the building that now occupies the site is attached a bronze
tablet commemorating the fact that here was the first building erected in Winston and also that its builder was a lawyer and citizen whose name has so many prominent
associations. Thomas J. Wilson opened an office for practice at Salem, and continued a member of the Forsyth County bar for fully half a century. He died in 1900 at the age of
eighty-five. His wife, whose name was Julia E. Lindsay was a native of Guilford County, North Carolina, died when about sixty-four. Thomas J. Wilson was always prominent in
public affairs. He served as county solicitor for Davidson and Stokes County, and when Forsyth County was organized, he filled the same position for that county. He was a
member of the convention called to vote upon the question of secession at the beginning of the war. His personal views were against secession, and he voted that the matter
should be referred to the people, but was overruled by a majority of the convention and afterwards he signed his name to the articles of secession. In 1874, after he had been in
practice for more than a generation, he was elected judge of the Eight Judicial District, and served six months. In 1876 he was elected to the State Senate, and for several terms
was major of Winston. Among other things he deserves to be remembered as one of the founders of the Presbyterian Church in 1860 and donated the land on which the church
edifice now stands. For many years he was a ruling elder in the congregation. He and his wife reared three children: Thomas A., Josephine E., and Edgar H.
Edgar H. Wilson, of the fifth generation of the family, was born in Winston and was an active business man for many years until his death in 1915 at the age of fifty-seven. He
served several years as treasurer of the City of Winston and four years as postmaster. For about twenty years he was manager of the Bell Telephone Company. Edgar H. Wilson
married Lula A. Champion, who was born in Granville County, North Carolina, daughter of Charles W. and Edna (Thompson) Champion. Her father, a native of North
Carolina, was a planter in that section of Granville County which is now Vance County. At the outbreak of war he went away as captain of a cavalry company in the Confederate
army and was attached to the famous Pickett’s Brigade. He was killed n the memorable charge of that brigade at Gettysburg. Mrs. Edgar H. Wilson is still living in Winston. Her
five children were: William T., Edna E., Henry L., Elsie T., and Elizabeth.
William Thomas Wilson, whose line of ancestry has thus been briefly traded, was born in Winston-Salem May 10, 1884. He attended the public schools of Winston, the Salem
Boys’ School and then entered the University of North Carolina, where he took the course of the law department and was graduated in 1905. Since then he has been in active
practice at Winston and has acquired a reputation as a skillful lawyer and gained much prominence in the bar and in the ranks of public spirited citizens.
In 1909 he married Miss Alice Franklin. She was born in Winston, daughter of Walter E. and Alice (Rawls) Franklin, both natives of Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson have
three children: William T., Jr., Thomas J. and Franklin. The family are members of the West End Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Wilson belongs to Twin City Camp No. 27,
Woodmen of the World. (Source: History of North Carolina, published 1919, Vol. V ,pg 22)
Colonial family, it has furnished a large number of worthy men and women to the useful service of the state whether in private or public capacity.
The founder of the family in North Carolina was William Wilson, a native of Scotland. He emigrated to the American colonies in 1720, locating in the Perquimans County, in
what is now the State of North Carolina. He possessed all the rectitude and thrift of the typical Scotchman, and did his task as a pioneer thoroughly. Securing a tract of land, he
improved a plantation, and spent the rest of his days in Perquimans County.
His son, Thomas Wilson, was a native of Perquimans County and spent all his life there. The Christian name Thomas has been a characteristic in practically all the successive
generations of the family. This Thomas Wilson, of the second generation was married about 1770 to Elizabeth Newby. Both were faithful members of the Quaker Church.
Thomas Wilson, of the third generation, grew up on the plantation in Perquimans County and from there moved to the western part of the state to Stokes County. He bought
land west of Kernersville but several years later moved to Salem and leased the community tavern known as the Old Salem Tavern, which was operated under his supervision as
a landlord for some years. This early pioneer of Forsyth County was born in 1783. Though not a member of the Moravian Church his remains were laid to rest in the Moravian
graveyard. He married Elizabeth Johnston, who died when nearly ninety years of age and was laid to rest in the Winston Cemetery.
The City of Winston pays special honor o the memory of the late Thomas Johnston Wilson of the fourth North Carolina generation of the family. Thomas Johnston Wilson
was born on a plantation near Kernersville, in what was then Stokes but is now Forsyth County, in 1815. He received most of his early training in the Clemmonsville Academy, and
studied law with George C. Mendenhall at Greensboro. He was licensed to practice in 1840. He soon afterwards settled on the present site of Winston. There he had the
distinction of erecting the first house. That house was at what is now the corner of Main and Second streets. On the building that now occupies the site is attached a bronze
tablet commemorating the fact that here was the first building erected in Winston and also that its builder was a lawyer and citizen whose name has so many prominent
associations. Thomas J. Wilson opened an office for practice at Salem, and continued a member of the Forsyth County bar for fully half a century. He died in 1900 at the age of
eighty-five. His wife, whose name was Julia E. Lindsay was a native of Guilford County, North Carolina, died when about sixty-four. Thomas J. Wilson was always prominent in
public affairs. He served as county solicitor for Davidson and Stokes County, and when Forsyth County was organized, he filled the same position for that county. He was a
member of the convention called to vote upon the question of secession at the beginning of the war. His personal views were against secession, and he voted that the matter
should be referred to the people, but was overruled by a majority of the convention and afterwards he signed his name to the articles of secession. In 1874, after he had been in
practice for more than a generation, he was elected judge of the Eight Judicial District, and served six months. In 1876 he was elected to the State Senate, and for several terms
was major of Winston. Among other things he deserves to be remembered as one of the founders of the Presbyterian Church in 1860 and donated the land on which the church
edifice now stands. For many years he was a ruling elder in the congregation. He and his wife reared three children: Thomas A., Josephine E., and Edgar H.
Edgar H. Wilson, of the fifth generation of the family, was born in Winston and was an active business man for many years until his death in 1915 at the age of fifty-seven. He
served several years as treasurer of the City of Winston and four years as postmaster. For about twenty years he was manager of the Bell Telephone Company. Edgar H. Wilson
married Lula A. Champion, who was born in Granville County, North Carolina, daughter of Charles W. and Edna (Thompson) Champion. Her father, a native of North
Carolina, was a planter in that section of Granville County which is now Vance County. At the outbreak of war he went away as captain of a cavalry company in the Confederate
army and was attached to the famous Pickett’s Brigade. He was killed n the memorable charge of that brigade at Gettysburg. Mrs. Edgar H. Wilson is still living in Winston. Her
five children were: William T., Edna E., Henry L., Elsie T., and Elizabeth.
William Thomas Wilson, whose line of ancestry has thus been briefly traded, was born in Winston-Salem May 10, 1884. He attended the public schools of Winston, the Salem
Boys’ School and then entered the University of North Carolina, where he took the course of the law department and was graduated in 1905. Since then he has been in active
practice at Winston and has acquired a reputation as a skillful lawyer and gained much prominence in the bar and in the ranks of public spirited citizens.
In 1909 he married Miss Alice Franklin. She was born in Winston, daughter of Walter E. and Alice (Rawls) Franklin, both natives of Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson have
three children: William T., Jr., Thomas J. and Franklin. The family are members of the West End Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Wilson belongs to Twin City Camp No. 27,
Woodmen of the World. (Source: History of North Carolina, published 1919, Vol. V ,pg 22)
| William Thomas Wilson |
Joseph Conrad Watkins, D.D.S. Of the various professions to which men of talent, ability and broad mental capacity are devoting their lives, not one is of more importance
and practical value to mankind than that of dental surgery, a fact that each year is becoming more and more widely recognized. Realizing the pressing need of more scientific
methods in the care of teeth, Joseph C. Watkins of Winston-Salem, one of the foremost dentists, not only of his city, county, and state, but of the United States, is giving his
entire attention to his profession, and through constant study and experiment is contributing materially toward the perfecting of dentistry as modernly practiced. A son of Dr.
Charles J. Watkins, he was born in Yadkin County, NC, November 27, 1873, of pioneer ancestry. His great-grandfather, Joseph Watkins, a Virginian by birth, came to North
Carolina when young, and having purchased land in Guilford County, was there engaged in farming until his death in 1810.
Able Watkins, the doctor’s grandfather, was born in Guilford County, and there grew to manhood. He too made farming his life work, and having settled in Forsyth County,
near Kernersville, was there employed in agricultural pursuits until his death in 1872. He married Hannah Teague, a daughter of Isaac Teague of Davidson County, and to
them eleven children were born.
Charles J. Watkins was born on the home farm, near Kernersville, August 4, 1836, and began his education in the district schools. Later, after attending Smith Grove
Academy, he taught school in Forsyth, Davie and Davidson counties. Abandoning the teacher’s desk in 1862, he enlisted as a private in the Sixteenth NC Battalion, and was
made first sergeant of his company, later being promoted to brigade forage sergeant, and continuing as such to the close of the conflict. In 1866, he entered the Old
Pennsylvania Dental College, from which he was graduated in the fall of 1868. Beginning the practice of dentistry in Kernersville, he remained there until 1873, when he
removed to Salem, where he was one of the leading dentist during the remainder of his life, his death occurring there June 14, 1900. (Source: History of North Carolina,
published 1919, Vol. V ,pg 22)
and practical value to mankind than that of dental surgery, a fact that each year is becoming more and more widely recognized. Realizing the pressing need of more scientific
methods in the care of teeth, Joseph C. Watkins of Winston-Salem, one of the foremost dentists, not only of his city, county, and state, but of the United States, is giving his
entire attention to his profession, and through constant study and experiment is contributing materially toward the perfecting of dentistry as modernly practiced. A son of Dr.
Charles J. Watkins, he was born in Yadkin County, NC, November 27, 1873, of pioneer ancestry. His great-grandfather, Joseph Watkins, a Virginian by birth, came to North
Carolina when young, and having purchased land in Guilford County, was there engaged in farming until his death in 1810.
Able Watkins, the doctor’s grandfather, was born in Guilford County, and there grew to manhood. He too made farming his life work, and having settled in Forsyth County,
near Kernersville, was there employed in agricultural pursuits until his death in 1872. He married Hannah Teague, a daughter of Isaac Teague of Davidson County, and to
them eleven children were born.
Charles J. Watkins was born on the home farm, near Kernersville, August 4, 1836, and began his education in the district schools. Later, after attending Smith Grove
Academy, he taught school in Forsyth, Davie and Davidson counties. Abandoning the teacher’s desk in 1862, he enlisted as a private in the Sixteenth NC Battalion, and was
made first sergeant of his company, later being promoted to brigade forage sergeant, and continuing as such to the close of the conflict. In 1866, he entered the Old
Pennsylvania Dental College, from which he was graduated in the fall of 1868. Beginning the practice of dentistry in Kernersville, he remained there until 1873, when he
removed to Salem, where he was one of the leading dentist during the remainder of his life, his death occurring there June 14, 1900. (Source: History of North Carolina,
published 1919, Vol. V ,pg 22)
| John Conrad Watkins, D.D.S. |
| W |
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