It’s a big day for my THOMAS family. The culmination of many years of research has solidified the story of our earliest known ancestor, Benjamin Thomas of Anson County NC. We know much about him and research tells us of his neighbors, of whom many came from places like Wake, Chatham and Johnston counties before settling in Anson. It would seem from the old saying “birds of a feather flock together,” that somehow we’d find Benjamin living among neighbors in an earlier time and place. But this is not so. Benjamin Thomas of Anson County is our “Brick Wall;” there is nothing of his past beyond Anson County.

DNA testing has been helpful in expanding our story line. Beliefs have been verified and new family relations have been illuminated. We’ve learned of Joseph Thomas who came from NC through GA before his story comes to end in Coosa County Alabama. There’s also Andrew Thomas (born in NC) who first appears in 1860 Montgomery County Alabama. For both families there is no existing records linking to earlier family here in NC. Like the descendants of Benjamin Thomas, all we have are hunches and a few seemingly meaningful naming traditions.

It truly is a big day for the Thomas family as very new DNA testing now connects us to a family who came from an area we’ve always believed to be within the classical migratory path through NC. For the first time, we’re able to look back in time, to see over our brick wall, and catch a glimpse upstream to the people our Benjamin may have known as family.

Here’s the story. As it turns out, a James Frederick Thomas flew 30 missions as a B 24 Aircraft Commander.  Before that, he drove a mule for his sharecropping daddy, John Edward Thomas in Lee County, NC. Like his father, James Frederick Thomas’ son Daniel Thomas also took to the skies as an Air Force pilot with our former Strategic Air Command. Curious of his past, Daniel was DNA tested and his family tree is as follows:

(Daniel Thomas 1946)

James Frederick Thomas (Dad) 1919  – 2006

John Edward Thomas 1884 – 1966 Moore and Lee County, NC

John Martin Thomas 1849 – 1910, Moore County, NC

Daniel Thomas 1814 – 1880, Moore County, NC

*John Thomas 1772 – 1849, Moore County, NC

Joseph Luther Thomas 1747 – 1818, New Kent, VA to  Moore County, NC

Joseph Thomas Jr  1701 – 1758, New Kent, VA to Moore County, NC

Joseph Thomas Sr 1680 – 1735, Isle Wight, VA to Bertie, NC

Richard Thomas 1629 – 1687, Nansemond, VA (Birth date needs correction)

John Thomas Jr 

John Thomas Sr  Wales to Queen’s Creek, VA

If this holds to scrutiny, the linage may go a long way in identifying our path to the past.  Thus far, in the few days devoted to this new possibility, I am sincerely overwhelmed by the woven web of history of this line and how it links to family and neighbors who made their home along Rocky River. Please stay in touch and if connected, note that a Facebook user group will soon be created to collectively share research, stories, documents and pictures with the idea of extending our family history beyond the brick wall.

*John’s marriage bond from Wake County NC to wife Mary Oaks. Note a Daniel Oaks lived close to if not on land adjoining the lands of John’s father Joseph. Family land records in the area around and under present day Shearon Harris Lake connect with families Green, Osborn, Kent, Straight, and others who removed to live along the Rocky River. And today, there remains a Thomas Creek and remnants of a Thomas mill nearby (see map at the top of the page).

Many living along and in the region of the Rocky River hold to the belief that at some point in the past there occurred a mixing betwixt their ancestors and the indigenous peoples.   It’s not really a farfetched idea, as we know many who settled in the area migrated from the northeast part of North Carolina where early European settlers sometimes intermarried with “People of Color”, including Algonquin, Tuscarora, Haliwa-Saponi, and black Africans.

I, myself, have been curious about my ancestors’ ethnicity because of how easily and darkly my paternal family tans. Recently, in searching my family roots, my curiosity was peaked after learning of one certain person’s given name.

My namesake ancestor George Thomas was born 9 Feb 1852, the son of David and Alice Newsome Thomas. From the Joseph Newsome family bible, we know that, sadly, Alice died less than three months after the birth of her baby boy, George. And, from an estate book in Union County, we know that George’s father David did not live much longer, dying prior to 1854.

Thomas Family burial plot at the Edmond Davis Cemetery

The burial location of David and Alice are unknown though I can’t help but think they lay at rest behind or near David’s father Ananias at the Edmond Davis cemetery. George Thomas may have been raised by Edmond Davis, who was his guardian and the administrator of his father’s estate.

George eventually moved to Stanly County where in 1870 he was enumerated as living in the home of John Brooks. It’s here that the story gets interesting . . . John Brooks’ son Joshua married George’s older sister, Puah Ellen Thomas. I’d never heard the name Puah before and thought for sure it was a Native American Indian name until I learned better.

As it turns out, Puah Ellen Thomas was named for her mother Alice’s sister, Puah Newsome. Puah Newsome’s birth record is found in the same Newsome family bible that records the death of Alice. Puah Newsome married Edmond Davis’ brother Andrew Jackson Davis and together they eventually removed to Chester County, Tennessee. We’ll hear more from them later.

Given names have meanings and are given with purpose. If not Native American, I wondered, what is the story behind Joseph Newsome’s daughter, Puah? I found the following scripture in the Book of Exodus, Chapter 1: 15-17.

¹⁵ And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah. ¹⁶ And he said, when ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live. ¹⁷ But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive.

Knowing of Joseph Newsome’s Quaker heritage, an internet search opened my eyes to the above verses used by Quakers and others in the Abolition Movement to end slavery.

One of the prominent voices in this movement was that of Emily Angelina Grimke, born in 1805 in Charleston SC. Her father was a politician and profitable plantation owner in SC. Emily accompanied her father on a trip to Philadelphia where she was introduced to the Quaker religion. She came to the realization that it was no longer possible for her to continue life in the presence of slavery and became a prominent American political activist,  abolitionist, women’s rights advocacy, andsupporter of the women’s suffrage movement.

Published in 1836, Emily Grimke’s Appeal to Christian Women of the South makes the case that women, like their male counterparts, should be held accountable for their actions. She writes:

“We do not make the laws which perpetuate slavery. No legislative power is vested in us; we can do nothing to overthrow the system, even if we wished to do so. To this I reply, I know you do not make the laws, but I also know that you are the wives and mothers, the sisters and daughters of those who do; and if you really suppose you can do nothing to overthrow slavery, you are greatly mistaken. You can do much in every way…”

Rationalizing her argument in the above scripture from Exodus 1:15-17, Emily Grimke includes the following suggestion on how southern women could actively support the Abolition Movement.

“Teach your servants then to read and encourage them to believe it is their duty to learn, if it were only that they might read the Bible. But some of you will say, we can neither free our slaves nor teach them to read, for the laws of our state forbid it. Be not surprised when I say such wicked laws ought to be no barrier in the way of your duty, and I appeal to the Bible to prove this position.

What was the conduct of Shiphrah and Puah, when the king of Egypt issued his cruel mandate, with regard to the Hebrew children? “They feared God, and did not as the King of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive.” Did these women do right in disobeying that monarch? “Therefore (says the sacred text,) God dealt well with them, and made them houses” Ex. I.

What was the conduct of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, when Nebuchadnezzar set up a golden image in the plain of Dura, and commanded all people, nations, and languages, to fall down and worship it? “Be it known, unto thee, (said these faithful Jews) O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the image which thou hast set up.” Did these men do right in disobeying the law of their sovereign? Let their miraculous deliverance from the burning fiery furnace, answer; Dan. III.

What was the conduct of Daniel, when Darius made a firm decree that no one should ask a petition of any man or God for thirty days? Did the prophet cease to pray? No! “When Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house, and his windows being open towards Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.” Did Daniel do right thus to break the law of his king? Let his wonderful deliverance out of the mouths of the lions answer; Dan. VII.

Look, too, at the Apostles Peter and John. When the rulers of the Jews, “commanded them not to speak at all, nor teach in the name of Jesus,” what did they say? “Whether it be right in the sight of God, to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye.” And what did they do “They spake the word of God with boldness, and with great power gave the Apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus;” although this was the very doctrine, for the preaching of which, they had just been cast into prison, and further threatened. Did these men do right? I leave you to answer, who now enjoy the benefits of their labors and sufferings, in that Gospel they dared to preach when positively commanded not to teach any more in the name of Jesus ; Acts IV.”

Reading this passionate plea, I can’t help but think that the name of Joseph Newsome’s daughter Puah arose out of readings, sermons, and other connections to a Quaker perspective on the Abolition Movement. What were Joseph’s political leanings and did they change with time? While numbers of his grandchildren served in the Confederate forces, were there any remaining vestibules of Quaker ethic?

(to be continued)

With the exception of an occasional passing jogger, I was alone there in the misty Pennsylvania pre-dawn morning. Monuments to the dead rose above the hallowed fields as far as my eyes could see. And peacefully silent, I sat in tearful solitude near what was once the Union Headquarters. The morning glowed surreal as the changing tints of majestic purple washed over the landscape. Far across the fields laying before me, another monument made itself known. The white spot on the distant tree line acknowledged the State of Virginia, the Army of Northern Virginia and atop the large granite block was Robert E. Lee with his horse “Traveler.” Most if not all of the North Carolina troops serving at Gettysburg did so under the command of the Army of Northern Virginia.

Over 620,000 Americans died in the Civil War nearly equaling the combined number killed in all other armed conflicts. For every three men killed in battle, five died of disease. And at Gettysburg alone, over 51,000 were killed in just three days. Though a tragic waste of humanity, it was a necessary war and there was little option but for the south to lose. I can’t imagine this country if the outcome had turned out differently. And as for the State of North Carolina, we lost more men than any other state in the Confederacy and yet our men served valiantly while having the least to gain.

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What was it like? What were the emotions running through the minds of my ancestral neighbors who made their way to Gettysburg for the pivotal battle? Found amongst the private collections at the North Carolina State Archives is the personal diary of Sergeant James E. Green. In the days leading up to Gettysburg, James wrote about the towns and of the people he passed. The unit moved north as the roar of cannons grew louder. And then, without warning, his regiment, CSA Co. I 53^rd Reg. NC turned towards Gettysburg where it entered the fight. Take a moment to read the following pages from James Green’s diary:

Click here to read the diary

 In 1860 my g-grandfather’s older brother Hampton H. Thomas was enumerated as living in Monroe at the home of John Warwick, a shoemaker and emigrant from the state of Pennsylvania. Hampton enlisted 5 June 1861 in Co. B. 26^th Reg. NC where he reached the rank of Sergeant.   I imagine the memory of John Warwick weighed on Hampton as he too made his way to Gettysburg.

“No Man Can Take Those Colors and Live”

Battle Flag -26th Reg. NC

On 1 Jul 1863, the first day of Gettysburg, the 26^th faced off with the 24^th Michigan at Herbst’s woods. The 26^th’s regimental colors were shot down 14 times with 588 out of the initial 843 troops being killed. The CSA 26^th NC and USA 24^th MI collectively lost more troops than any other units at Gettysburg …day one was over and it would not be their last.

On 3 Jul 1863, the 26^th crossed the fields of Gettysburg in the Pettigrew-Trimble-Picket assault against the center of the Federal line on Cemetery Hill. In this epic struggle, the 26^th  regiment’s colors would be shot down 8 more times with another 120 troops being killed. Planting its flag on the Federal works known as “The Angle,” the 26^th NC may have advanced farther than any other Confederate unit. Or did they? There’s no doubt that the unit tragically lost more men than any other unit at Gettysburg. The monument at the foot of Cemetery Hill erected in 1986 by the State of North Carolina reads:

 Twenty-Sixth

North Carolina Regiment

Pettigrew’s Brigade Heth’s Division,

Hill’s Corps

Army of Northern Virginia

Although nearly destroyed during its successful attach against Meredith’s Iron Brigade on July 1, the Twenty-Sixth North Carolina Regiment joined in the Pettigrew-Pickett Charge on the afternoon of July 3. Advancing under solid shot hot, spherical case, canister, and musketry, the Regiment charged to within ten paces of the stone wall to their front.

The scene was described by an artilleryman of a Rhode Island battery: “. . .As a regiment of Pettigrew’s Brigade (the Twenty-Sixth North Carolina) was charging . . .and had almost reached the wall in front of us, Sergt. M. C. Onley cried out . . .’Fire that gun! Pull! Pull!’ the No. 4 obeyed orders and the gap made in that North Carolina regiment was simply terrible.” Under this galling fire, the Twenty-Sixth North Carolina was compelled to retire with the Brigade from this point to Seminary Ridge.”

“The men of the Twenty-Sixth Regiment would dress their colors in spite of the world”

Should we trust what’s written on the above monument provided by the State of North Carolina at one of our nation’s most important historical site? Are we certain the information is correct …is it historically accurate? From the history of Capt. William A. Arnold’s Company A of the 1^st Rhode Island Light Artillery, much of the information on the 26^th’s marker is founded in the writing of Thomas M. Aldrich. Looking more closely at how the battle unfolded, it appears the 26^th NC may not have made it front and center to “the Angle,” but rather faced off with the 12^th New Jersey and 1^st Delaware a bit further to the north. If the monument is incorrect, why hasn’t the State of North Carolina changed it?

Regardless of how Gettysburg played out, the 26^th Reg. NC served the cause valiantly. And as for Hampton H. Thomas, whatever became of him? According to his Combined Confederate Military file, Hampton H. Thomas lost a leg on 3 July 1863 after being captured at the battle of Gettysburg. Following the amputation of his right leg, Hampton was transferred to David’s Island, N.Y., to Fort Wood at Bledsoe’s Island, and then on Christmas eve of 1863, to the Point Lookout Prison in Maryland. Known as “Hell on Earth,” many died from typhoid and other diseases while confined at Point Lookout. Located on a spit of land surrounded by water on three sides, the huge number of prisoners confined in the small space quickly contaminated the limited water supply.

Point Lookout, MD

Hampton Thomas was eventually exchanged at City Point, Va where he stayed until 1865. Returning home to North Carolina, Hampton’s death is recorded in his grandfather Joseph Newsome’s bible. Though Joseph died in 1848, Hampton is listed in the bible as follows:

It’s very likely Hampton Thomas died of typhoid or from some other disease he contracted while in service at Gettysburg or imprisoned at Point Lookout. He’s likely named for a probable uncle Hampton Newsome who also served in the Civil War.  Hampton Newsome removed to TN where he lived out the remainder of his life.

Like a bow wave pushing forward in front of a boat, competing religious denominations moved through 18^th century North Carolina staying just ahead of the King’s reach. Baptists, Quakers, Moravians, Lutherans and others, held to their own tenants of faith, but were ultimately governed by laws set forth by the crown. Escaping the tyranny of European kingdoms and principalities, some came to this land as individuals while collective groups came in contract with and even funded by England’s need to populate this new land. Did these newcomers find satisfaction and security in the “church state?” From civic duties to faith, the King had power over all. Ultimately resolved in revolution, was it right for such power to be based solely on one man’s spiritual interpretations? Escaping oppression to this land with promises of so much hope, matters of faith really were complex. Over the next few posts, I’ll take a little time to explore my Quakers roots and share how their story sets the stage both for and in conflict with who I am today.

Quakers believed in the inner light. This was the notion that God was a spiritual presence within each individual and could speak to all humans through the words and actions of anyone. 

The Society of Friends known as Quakers spread across the open landscape of North Carolina along two primary paths of migration. Out of New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland, Quakers brought over by William Penn moved with Moravians and others along the old Indian path usurped and is now known as the Great Wagon Road. These Quakers settled in the piedmont, particularly in areas surrounding present day Greensboro. But much earlier out of southeast Virginia, others opened meetings down east in Perquimans County and at places like Rich Square in present day North Hampton County. These Quakers migrated westward up the Neuse River to places like Contentnea Creek Meeting in old Dobbs, now Wayne County. Slavery and events of the mid-1700’s made it impossible for Quakers to morally justify efforts aimed at further growth in North Carolina. Guided by a strong peace ethic, the Quakers removed themselves in mass to places like Ohio and Indiana.

It’s in this environment that I begin to write about the life and family of Joseph Newsome. He was born in Wayne County, the third child of William and Mary  Jordan Newsome. He is my third great grandparent. And as written in the records of Nahunta Monthly Meeting (from the earlier Contentnea Creek Meeting), Joseph Newsome was born 10 Eighth 1777. Note that Quakers did not use the pagan naming for months as we do today:

William Newsome was born about 1755 in Surry County VA, the son of Joel and Rebecca Dickenson Newsome. On 1770,1,20 William was received in membership to Rich Square Monthly Meeting in North Hampton County NC. There, he married Mary Jordan, the daughter of Joseph and Patience Ricks Jordan on 1770, 3,17. Joseph descended from Thomas Jordan, patriarch of what’s considered to be the most significant Quaker family in Virginia. And, closer to our immediate family, Mary Jordan’s brother Richard Jordan was a prominent Quaker Minister. He toured and preached throughout England and in his honor, a pattern of Staffordshire china was named for him. Richard lived out his latter life in New Jersey.  The image at the top of this post captures Richard’s home. ….and he is family!

My GGGG grandfather William Newsome’s request of marriage survives in Quaker Meeting records:

As a child, our Joseph Newsome witnessed the rapid increase in the acceptance of slavery as a profitable practice by farmers used to increase productivity. The trend was met by Quaker sentiment growing in its voice to abolish slavery. And then enacted 13 Jul 1787 by our newly formed United States Congress, the Freedom Ordinance (formally An Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States, North-West of the River Ohio) created the Northwest Territory situated beyond the Ohio River. Item 6, the final item of this important act reads:

Free from slavery, the newly opened land was an answer to Quaker prayers. Beginning in the late 1790’s, a migration to Ohio and Indiana escalated after 1811 when peace with the Indians was realized following the Battle of Tippacanoe. By 1820, most Quakers in North Carolina had either been disowned for holding slaves against church doctrine or had removed from the state in protest of slavery. In witness from a Nov 1911 Quaker church information bulliten in observance of the Quaker migration, the following was said about a person who had relocated to Indiana from the Contentnea Creek Meeting in Wayne County NC:

“. . .was visited by an aged Quaker Minister, who stayed the night. The next morning, the minister got up early, and took a walk over the farm. When he returned, he told his host he had an impression from the lord, that it would be right for him to sell the farm and move to the territory of Indiana.”

_________________________________

And now back to the Newsome family. William Newsome was likely disowned from the Quaker Church prior to 1790 as in that year he is listed in the Wayne County census as owning one slave. Dated 17 April 1795, the marriage bond for our Joseph Newsome and Christian Barnes appears in county records. Christian is the daughter of Simon and Mary Barnes. The 1800 Wayne County census enumerates Joseph and family as owning one slave. And following the mass exodus of Quakers to Indiana, Wayne County was likely not the place it once was.  Land records show that Joseph and family removed to Anson County NC ca. 1817.

Now living beyond his Quaker upbringings, Joseph Newsome lived out the remainder of his life on the banks of Gourdvine Creek in now Union County NC. Did his childhood amongst Quakers have an impact on his life? Built on his surviving bible, future posts will delve deeper into his family and into some of their lives in our changing antebellum south.

Joseph Newsome was likely born in what’s now Wayne County NC in 1775 at the start of the American Revolution. His ancestry is clearly traceable by land deeds to early 1600’s Jamestown VA and possibly earlier to Robert Newsome from the 1550’s Newsome Chapel in Lancashire England. Like many others, Joseph and members of his family moved south and west, settling on the hills along Gourdvine Creek in present day Union County NC. It was there where his daughter Ally Newsome married my ancestor David Thomas, the son of Ananias Thomas.

In the late 1990’s I was overwhelmed with joy to learn that Joseph Newsome’s bible survived and was safe in the hands of the family matriarch whose life, at that time, was beginning to fade. Befriending her grandchild online through Genforum, I was graciously given the following photocopies. As you can see, the technology of the day was not very good though that’s okay as the record held important bits of information including the life record for my great-great grandmother Alla/Ally Newsome Thomas. And looking back to Joseph Newsome, it’s hard to imagine his legacy. It’s big; statistically, from 3,000-6,000 people have walked this earth because of the life he perpetuated.

Now many years later, I’m wanting to tell Joseph’s story, to show off the bible record and to share what I’ve learned from its pages. Putting my newfound love of photography to work, I recently sought to create and distribute a more perfect copy of the bible record. But time moves forward and the old matriarch has since passed. And, in process, the bible’s whereabouts is not at this moment known. Hopefully it’s in good hands. Likely, the present owner is unaware of its importance and hopefully will someday bring it forward.

Moving on, I’ve spent the last few weeks watching evening TV while working to digitally clean the old record. I don’t know how I feel about that as I’ve surely made mistakes and altered what was written many many years prior. But hopefully, the record will increase understanding and encourage conversation on this wonderful family story. Here is the cleansed copy along with a typed version found in a Carolinas Genealogical Society Journal.

And as a note of its provenance, my copy of the bible record was lost many years ago in a computer crash. And, the Newsome descendant who helped me loaned out their copy and its whereabouts are no longer known. So I recently reached out to Newsome family historian Dave Johnston who had received a copy of the record about the same time as myself. Of note, Dave as a descendant is not from North Carolina, though he lived near the old Newsome home place in Wayne County while serving at Seymour Johnson Airforce Base.

Our family story survives because of good people who have kept the stories safe. Good record keeping is important as is the generosity of those who understand the importance for shared distribution of family records. A sincere thanks to Dave and to all who have made this post possible.