In August 1877, Jno. C. Love of the City of Philadelphia Pa purchased the following tracts adjoining Reed gold mine and Rocky River:

• 30 acres of land from Aaron Linker and wife adjoining lands of “Moses Linker, Jackson Linker, Reed Mine Company & Rocky River.”
• An undisclosed amount of acreage from Aaron Linker and wife being “the tract of land on which they now live adjoining the Furr Garman Mining Company.” The land also adjoined that owned by Wm. Linker, and Jackson Linker.
• 60 acres (28-32, Cabarrus County NC) “on which I now live” … and joining Aaron Linker, and “the river at the mouth of the branch.”
• 154 acres from Geo. Barba & wife, being lands where Geo. Barba & wife now lives, adjoining the river, “a corner of the church,” “Reed & Hartsell’s corner,” and A. Hartsell’s corner.

These deeds found years ago stir deep thought as the lands must have been very near to that once owned by our own Grandsire James Love. Who was John C. Love of Philadelphia and did he relate to our NC family? Prior to opening the Charlotte mint, how was gold accounted in what must have been an arduous trip from Reed’s mine to the federal mint in Philadelphia? Was selling gold anything like selling hay; did we simply carry it in bulk, weigh it, and receive payment in money? Or, were there family or other agents in Philly who managed our interests? Of all places, why was John C. Love of Philadelphia buying land around Reed’s gold mine?!! The story of John C. Love is nowhere complete, though what we have reads like a classic southern tale. It even cracks the door open allowing us glimpses into the possible lives of other lost LOVE.

We know old Grandsire James Love had a nephew John C. Love who died much earlier in Stokes County NC. There’s no known descendants of our James by the name John C. Love; however, there was a John C. Love who enlisted and served along-side John E. Love, John J. Love, Jonah Askew Love, Michael Garman Love, James Wade Love and Postill P. Love in CSA Co. H, 42nd Reg NC.

On 30 Apr 1864, John C. Love enlisted as Private in Petersburg VA. He served under Capt. J. M. Hartsell and “joined from desertion Oct 18 1864 & deserted to the enemy Oct 29 1864.” A register of arrivals and dispositions of federal and rebel soldiers indicates J. C. Love was received Oct 30 1864 as a “Deserter from the Enemy” at Bermuda 100. From the register of rebel deserters taking oath, Headquarters, the Provost Marshall, Bermuda Hundred VA makes the following report. John C. Love was captured at Dept. Headquarters, Nov 4 186_ and confined at that time. On Nov 4 186_ he was turned over to Pro. Maj. Gen. at City Point VA with final remarks “To go to Philadelphia PA.” Looking at another paper, and on Nov 6 1864, charged as “Rebel Deserter,” Maj. Gen. U.S. Grant ordered that John C. Love be confined. He was sent on Nov 12 1864 to City Point where he was to be released. This by order of P. M. Gen Patrick. And again, the remark: “Went to Phila Pa.” Could it be? Is there a chance that this confederate soldier is the same John C. Love who purchased land in Cabarrus in 1877?

Poring through records from Stanly, Anson, Cabarrus and Union Counties, I found only one telling entry. The Jan 1867 minutes of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Session reads:

State vs. John C. Love
Suspended upon payment of costs.
E C. Griffin, Judgement of $50.

There was no mention of John C. Love in North Carolina census records, prior to or after the war. And though believing all LOVE in South Carolina descended from the likes of an early settler known as James the Weaver, the following census record from 1860 Jefferson Township in Chesterfield SC opens a door.

Born in North Carolina, James Love is listed as a carpenter living near the Brewer gold mine. The family does not appear in the county prior or after 1860. Note John C. Love, aged 13, would have sadly been of age to enlist in 1864. And also note that John C. Love’s father, (John) James Love is the same John J. Love enlisted beside John C. Love in the 42nd Regiment. More on the life story of John C. Love will have to wait for another day as the rest of this writing will be dedicated to the story of John James Love and other possible implications raised.

During and following the Civil War, J. J. Love and family first purchased land in Union County NC before moving to the Crab Orchard area of Mecklenburg. To my knowledge, there’s no further listing of son John C. Love in North Carolina. The family of J.J. Love:

Wife Mary Caroline Honeycutt Love, born 1823.
1. James Adam Love – born 1844, married Sarah Jane Griffin in 1866 Union NC.
2. John C. Love – born 1847 and is lost or possibly removed to Philadelphia.
3. Vicey Catherine Love – born 1851, married Churchwell G. Braswell 1867 Union NC.
4. Joseph Henry Love – born 1854, married Nancy Jane Harrington in 1874 Union NC.
5. Gustavus Beauregard “General” Love – born 1865, married 1882 Malinda Hinson.

Dated 28 May 1901, J. J. Love applied for a civil war pension claim. At age 78 and residing at Cluster branch post-office, he declared his service in “Co. B, 42nd Reg. NC. And in 1863, while in service at Seven Pines VA, he “received wound in left arm below elbow also on right leg.” Marking the death of John J. Love, dated 22 Jul 1904, 79 year-old Mary C. Love applied for widow’s pension while living in Rt. 2 Charlotte NC. She properly identifies her husband’s unit as Co. H, 42nd. Reg. NC. E. M. and Minnie Spoon witnessed on behalf of Mary’s claim. The following obituary marks the death of Mary just a few years later:

Obituary
Mrs. Caroline Love, widow of the late J. J. Love, died yesterday morning at 8 o’clock at the home of her son, Mr. J. B. Love, four miles from the city on the Mneville road. The deceased was one of the oldest women in, the county, being 83 years of age at the time of her death. She was a good Christian woman and had been for many years a member of the Hickory Grove Church. The interment took place at that church today. Mrs. Love is survived, by two children, Mr. J. B. Love and Mrs. Braswell, of Mint Hill.
23 Aug 1906 Charlotte News

Note that the death certificate for Gustavus B. Love indicates his mother’s maiden name was Honneycutt. Related or maybe not, there is a lost Love found in a bible record named Mary Fairly Love who married into the Honeycutt family. As with our J. J. Love, there are few to no records for Mary Fairly Love. However, there is also a person named John Fairly Honeycutt. In the tangle of Love, Honeycutt and Fairly is it possible there a possible family tie?

Please understand who I am and what drives me. I enjoy history, am a painfully slow writer and will only occasionally post on my blog site as I live with a work schedule that demands much of my time.

With that out of the way, let’s revisit an earlier post where, in October 1799, Rev. Jesse Lee and Francis Asbury spoke to a gathering held at Love’s Church in now Stokes County, North Carolina:

Monday 7. We rode through Stokes County, and attended meeting at Love’s church, which has glass windows, and a yard fenced in. After Jesse Lee, I added a few words on Hebr. ii. 1. We then came up to William Jean’s, near the Moravian Old-town. We have rode nearly twenty miles this day. Sitting in meeting so many hours among such a multitude of people, and frequently with a blister on my breast, with the difficulties of driving along broken paths, cause me to be variously tried and comforted.

It’s interesting that Asbury concluded the meeting with words on Hebrews 2:1

Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.

Beyond the assumed biblical interpretation, for us who study families and our history, it’s vital to listen well and engage in conversation that brings life to stories being told. Don’t merely seek to understand the prevailing thought, but make it real by taking time to learn more about the cast of players and how their mentioning adds to the story. From such perspective, I can only guess about Asbury’s sermon and how it related to the congregation of Love’s Church in the times that were. We can glean much from the Journals of Francis Asbury, but who was the above named Jesse Lee?

Born 12 March 1758 in Prince George’s County, Virginia, Jesse Lee experienced a state of grace in 1777 after which time he helped to bring Methodism to northeast North Carolina. Following the formal organization of the Methodist Episcopal Church at the celebrated Christmas Conference on 12 Dec 1784, Lee was requested by Francis Asbury to travel on a southern tour. In the piedmont of NC, while assigned to the Salisbury area, Jesse Lee preached to the Methodist community at the home of John Randle (known as Dumb John as he was deaf and could not speak). Located in present day Stanly County, Randall Methodist Church was formed. Jesse Lee is considered to be its fist “Circuit Riding Preacher.”

In 1789, Jesse Lee was sent north where he formed the first Methodist class in New England. He’s responsible for planting the seed of Methodism from Connecticut north to Maine. Remaining friends with Francis Asbury, Jesse Lee served as his assistant from 1797 through 1800. It was during this time that Lee spoke at Love’s Church in North Carolina.

Jesse Lee was appointed Chaplain of the United States Representatives in 1809 and then again in 1812. On 24 Aug 1814, Washington DC was tragically burned during the War of 1812. Following what must have been a horrific site, Jesse Lee was appointed Chaplain of the United States Senate a month later on September 27, 1814. He died in 1816 and is buried in Baltimore, Maryland.

In the short paragraph from Asbury’s Journal, there is mention of another person. Who is William Jean and how does he expand the story? More later…

“At five o’clock the congregation gathered in the Saal, and after the usual greeting went into procession to God’s Acre. The weather was fine.”

I can hear the proclamation by horns, the singing of “Christ the Lord has Risen Today” and the quietness of believers solemnly making way to the burial ground. And though the resurrection of Christ is celebrated similarly across our country, this was not your normal Easter. On 12 April 1788, the above quote was entered into diary by a Moravian minister in North Carolina’s settlement known as Wachovia. The minister continues his entry with the following:

Twenty-three Methodist preachers passed through on Good Friday on their way to Mr. McKnight’s to hold a Church Meeting as they call their conference, and stopped today on their return trip. The meeting had been called by Mr. Coke, who recently came from England to make a visitation among the Methodists in North Carolina. During the meeting seven deacons were ordained. They say that in addition to this church order, which is the lowest, they have elders (presbyters) and bishops. Mr. Coke claims to be a bishop, and this is confirmed by Mr. Astley [Asbury], the leading preacher and superintendent among the Methodists here. From here Mr. Coke goes to Virginia, where he has called a meeting and will make a visitation; and he will continue his work through all the states as far as New England. The Methodists make such visitations here and there each year.

Believing they were about to be expelled from Germany, in 1754, the Moravian Sect under leadership of Von Zinnzenburg purchased 99,000 acres in western NC. Known as Wachau [Wachovia] in honor of the Wachua Valley of Austria, the land was subdivided amongst their own by way of church agent. Situated along the Indian Path that later became known as the Great Wagon Road from Pennsylvania, others, including Methodists, soon sought settlement on their tract. The Moravians were great keepers of diaries and other forms of social accounting. Much more about the growth of Methodism in our state can be gleaned by reading the volumes of Adelaide Fries’ Records of Moravians in North Carolina.

Another wonderful source for understanding our past can be found in the Journal of Francis Asbury. We Methodists know well of the founding leadership of John Wesley, but it really was Francis Asbury whose journeys across the back country solidified our ways of worship. In October of 1799, while passing through the western wilds of North Carolina, Asbury writes:

 

Friday 4. We rode twelve miles to Mrs. Campbell’s, upon the south fork of Haw River. We had to work our way through the woods. Saturday and Sunday, I attended quarterly meeting at Bethel, upon Belew’s Creek, where I ordained five deacons, and preached from 1 Tim. vi. 11, 12.: we had a gracious time. We have rode only twenty miles in two days. I lodged at M’Daniel’s.

Monday 7. We rode through Stokes County, and attended meeting at Love’s church, which has glass windows, and a yard fenced in. After Jesse Lee, I added a few words on Hebr. ii. 1. We then came up to William Jean’s, near the Moravian Old-town. We have rode nearly twenty miles this day. Sitting in meeting so many hours among such a multitude of people, and frequently with a blister on my breast, with the difficulties of driving along broken paths, cause me to be variously tried and comforted.

The study of history and genealogy is much akin the journeys of Francis Asbury. We push forward on a broken path of records alternatively encountering  times of delight and torment. The Moravian records, along with this entry by Asbury, provide a wonderful wellspring of information from which new posts will flow.

Though the church of James Love has been identified, his life on earth will soon after end. His closing chapter will lead us in new directions. Future writings  will explore family, friends, church, and even an incredible walk by a man named Moses.

His life was a great adventure! The son of George A. and Mary Dove Keiser, Thomas Dove Keiser was born Nov 20, 1793 in a portion of Mecklenburg County NC that would soon become Cabarrus. He married in 1812 Mary Gurley, the daughter of James and Lydia Gurley. James was the son of William Gurley who settled ca. 1778 alongside my THOMAS ancestor on Richardson Creek in Anson County NC. In 1828 Thomas Dove (T. D.) Keiser and family removed first to Tennessee before journeying on to Arkansas.

With T. D. Keisur helping to lead the way, on May 20, 1843, the family loaded the wagons once more and joined the great Applegate wagon train to Oregon. Settling along the Willamette River in the Pacific Northwest, the region was not yet governed under the jurisdiction of the United States. A community based security force known then as the Oregon Rangers was quickly raised. Thomas Dove Keizur was chosen and served as first captain in this precursor to the United States National Guard. He continued a life of civil service benefiting the new state of Oregon along with the town that now bears his name.

As is the way with most of history, I never knew of T. D. Keizur until his story came to me by way of the works of others. During the Christmas holiday in 2009, a Keiser family member contacted me in advance of a major celebration about to take place in Oregon. On January 30, 2010, the little town of Keizer Oregon unveiled a bronze monument of Thomas Dove Keisur seated atop his faithful Morgan horse. Historian and author Jerry McGee provides a historic presentation on T. D. Keizur and the town.

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In 1780, Henry Kent sold land on Utley Creek (F-1, Wake NC) to Davie Strait after relocating briefly to Mecklenburg (now Cabarrus County NC). Deed 11-31 in Mecklenburg NC identifies Henry’s land as lying on “the waters of Rockie River Nigh the Baptist Meeting House.” This was an intriguing find as it tied to my LOVE family while illuminating the migration from an area of northeast North Carolina where my THOMAS family may have once lived. More on these ties in a later post.

Believing land records had pointed me to the old Baptist church, I contacted the land’s present owner and was graciously shown the way to what I sought. Followed by an inquisitive herd of cattle, we walked a grassy ridge that provided panoramic views of surrounding pastures and the distant Rocky River basin. Rising to the north, and flowing around the land, was a spring head identified in early deeds as feeding “Meeting House Branch.” Eventually we reached an ancient hilltop cemetery in a small grove of trees. Though well taken care of, time and life had taken its toll on the graveyard. Just a few stones revealed readable words such as “the” or maybe “here.” The following is a digital image of the only surviving stone with words crying out to be deciphered.

Further research revealed this to be the site of “Haynes Meeting House.” Lutheran minister David Henkel preached at Haynes Meeting House around 1800 and it’s also identified as the burial place for members of the Howell family. Found also in local land records, namesake William Haynes removed to western NC by 1785 and became the first preacher at Bill’s Creek Baptist Church located near present day Lake Lure.

Frequently visiting the site in search of things possibly missed, on one such trip, the door of discovery opened once more. Partially buried under leaves and debris, a small stake of a rock identified the resting place of Levi Keiser. From the works of Marie Evans Davis-McQueen, I learned that Levi was born Feb 16, 1783. The son of George Alexander and Mary Dove Kiser (Kiser – as tradition spells it in NC legal records), we now know the little fellow died Feb 11, 1789. Not long after the death of little Levi Keiser, his brother named Thomas Dove Keiser was born November 20, 1793. And since Levi’s mother and father lived out their lives in the area surrounding the graveyard, it seems they would’ve wanted to be buried there, near their son. I couldn’t help but imagine that they and others in the family were buried nearby.

After learning of the amazing life journey of Thomas Dove Keiser/Keizur, I decided to revisit the old unreadable stone with an open mind to variations in naming. Amazed at what I now see, I’m almost certain the stone marks the resting place of T.D.’s and little Levi’s father.

When I visit that hallowed ground off of Hwy 601 in Midland NC, I think of journeys and of how all things are possible. There was of course the trip to Oregon and the Gurley family’s earlier migration from Johnston County NC. It’s wonderful getting to know the wealth in community and how it was served by this little church named Haynes. Though he never got to meet his younger brother Thomas, I’m sure little Levi would have been proud of his life’s journey.