Sherill's History of Lincoln County, North Carolina a series of newspaper articles published in the Lincoln Times by William L Sherrill The Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection II, 3.<hPf„ 6? ?$; O D-2. )&? Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from State of Indiana through the Indiana State Library http://archive.org/details/sherillshistoryoOOsher *- ' Sherrili's THE LINCOLN TIMES, LINCOLNTON, N. C, History of Lincoln County Writes Lincoln's History TIMES PRINTING COMPLETE STORY Is Most Complete History of This County Ever Written; Is Read By Many Rev. William L. Sherrili's history of Lincoln county which is now be- ing published in installments in The Lincoln Times, is being widely ac- c'aimed throughout Lincoln county. Hundreds of comments have come to The Times regarding this outstand- ing work, and history lovers in this section report that never before have the annals of Lincoln county been so completely recorded. Scores of new subscribers have added their names to The Times' subscription lists to obtain this his- torical data. From many other coun- ties and from several other states, persons interested in Lincoln coun- ty's history have become subscrib ert- to this newspaper. Mr. Sherrill, who himself is a na- tive of Lincoln county, wrote the his- tory at the request of the Lincoln County Historical Society, and The Times was highly pleased to obtain exclusive rights to publication of this work. Mr. Sherrill spent more than 10 years compiling information about the county. The Times began publication of the history, which is captioned "The Annals of Lincoln County," on June REV. WILLIAM L. SHERRILL 27, this year. An installment is be- ing printed in each issue and to date less than one-half of the history has been published. Below is a biographical sketch of Mr. Sherrill: Biography William Lander Shen-jll was born in Lincolnton on February 9, 1860, the son of the late Samuel Pinckney and Sarah Catherine (Lander) Sher- rill, of Lincolnton. He was educated et the .old Lincolnton Academy. Other facts about Mr. She rr ill's life, taken from '"Who's Who in America," follow: Married Luetta Connor, of Catawba county, May 21, 1884. One son, Henry Connor Sherrill. Began as pharm- acist at Dallas, N. C, 1879; mayor of Dallas, 1884. Ordained to the minis- try of Methodist Episcopal Church, South, 1890. Pastor successively at Morganton, Connelly Springs, Elkin. Hickory, Lenoir, Mocksville, Ashe- boro, Murphy, Pineville, Leaksville, until 1924. Associate editor of the N. C. Chris- tian Advocate, 1906-11. Corresond- ing editor 1915-18. Secretary West- ern North Carolina Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, since 1894. Secretary-treasurer same conference Christian Education Move- ment, (1924-28). Member of general conference M. E. Church, South, 1910. General Board Church Exten- sion, 1910-14. Member Mecklenburg Chapter Sons of the American Revo- lution. Home, Charlotte, N. C. Mr. Sherrill has written many his- torical articles for newspapers and is the author of a brief history of the Lander family; the life of Rev. Peter Cartwright, the pioneer preacher of the middle West; of Gen. James Pinckney Henderson of Texas and of General Matthew Locke, of Rowan county. Fr the Lincoln Times, PRESS COMMENTS Lincolnton, 17. —ON— June £7, 1935 LINCOLN COUNTY HISTORY HISTORY OF LINCOLN COUNTY (Gastonia Gazette) Of interest to many citizens of Gaston county is the fact that Rev. W. L. Sherrill, for 41 years secretary of the Western North Carolina Southern M. E. conference, has writ- ten a history of Lincoln county, dat- ing back a quarter of a century be- fore the Revolution. The Lincoln Times has arranged to publish the work serially, and it will begin in an early issue of that paper. Inasmuch as Lincoln and Gaston were once part of the same county, back in colonial times, this work will be of keen interest to many in this county. The work starts with the ac- counts of the first white settlements, hi the county. Some of the highlights include the author's own account of the battle of Ramsour Mill, the story of the march of Cornwallis through Lincoln county, the establishment of Lincolnton 150 years ago, and the erection of the first court house building in 1785. A summary of the chapters indi- cates that the author has produced an historical work that irom the standpoint of most of us will prove more absorbing than any novel that could be written. The life of the author is closely linked with Catawba and surround- ing counties, as revealed by the cur- rent edition of Who's Who in Amer- ica. He married Luetta Connor, of Catawba county, May 21, 1884. He started life as a pharmacist at Dal- las, N. C, 1879; mayor of Dallas, 1884. Ordained to the ministry of Methodist Episcopal church, South, 1890. Pastor successively at Morgan- ion, Connelly Springs, Elkin, Hick- ory, Lenoir. u • The Annals o{ Lincoln CounVvj \ Bvj William L. Shemll j . ^ Installment No. 1 . FOREWORD: The following history, which wilt appear serially in The Times for some months to come, is the outgrowth of prolonged labor and research on the part of the author. Many facts were found in Colonial and State records, in Major William A. Graham's life of Gen. Joseph Graham and in his history of the South Fork Baptist Association; Hunter's Sketches; Dr. Chas. L. Coon's Documentary History of Schools in North Carolina and from facts personally supplied by Dr. Coon; Bynum's Marriage .Bonds of Tryon and Lincoln Counties; and many old newspapers, in- cluding the news items pertaining to Lincoln county as they appeared in the Charlotte Journal covering the period from 1830 to 1860. From 18G4 forward nearly all the history is from personal knowledge and recollec- tion of the facts as they transpired. Surely some errors will appear in the manuscript and in the story as it comes from the press, and th2 author will appreciate it if those who may discover such will kindly remind him of them. This work, long and tedious, ha.< been a labor of love to one who is proud of his native county of Lincoln, and who has, without fee or re- ward, striven to preserve some of the history made by its people. THE FIRST PIONEERS TO THE COUNTRY WEST OF THE CATAWBA RIVER We have no record of civilized man in America prior to its dis- covery by Columbus in 1492. From the morning of creation it had been i wild country where the bear and the buffalo, the panther and the wolf contested with the savage Indians for supremacy. Through the milleniums the seasons came in order and the fruits of 'the earth wasted, save that consumed by wild beasts and wilder men.' The birds sang the same songs that they sing today but their melodies fell upon ears that knew not harmony; the fragrance of native flowers was wasted on the desert air; the streams, fresh and' pure from the 'heart of nature, silently journeyed to the sea and only an occasional savage halted by the shore to fish, or to drink from the flowing stream. Through the long centuries the virgin land had been reserved by Provi- dence for a new and mighty people to dwell upon. It was full 250 years after Columbus came that the white man first beheld the beauty of the Catawba valley and the hills to the West of it. When counties were first organized on the seacoast their western boundaries reached to the Mississippi river, which was the British frontier. Thus New Hanover, established in 1728 included all t,he wild- erness to the West, until Bladen, organized in 1734, fell heir to it. Later Anson, formed in 1749, embraced all the Western Country until Rowan in 1753 and Mecklenburg in 1762 absorbed that territory. In 1769 Tryon County, named for the Royal' Governor, William Tryon, was established and included all the territory West of the Catawba river except the sec- tion North of the Earl Granville line which was attached to Rowan until absorbed by Burke in 1777. It is not known for certain who were the first settlers West of the Catawba. The late Alfred Nixon to whom we are all indebted for valued service in preserving our County history, stated that "the first pale face V> set foot on Lincoln soil was John Beatty," who crossed the Catawba in 1749 at the ford which bears his name, and settled near the present Unity Presbyterian Church. We feel sure that when he made that statement he had in mind the present county of Lincoln and not the ter- ritory covered by the larger county as organized in 1779. It is claimed by some that Henry Weidner (Wmtenerj came from Pennsylvania in 1742, while the Colonial Record states that he came about 1745. The late Judge M. L. McCorkle, at a memorial service held at the original Weidner home in Catawba County, May 30, 1884, stated that Weidner came about 1745 and that he started West from Adam Sher- rill's, at Sherrill's Ford, without pilot or companion, to explore an un- known land inhabited by wild beasts and hostile savages. Going West from Sherrill's Ford he discovered the South Fork at the point where the two streams come together. He was armed with a gun the barrel about six feet long, while a tomahawk and long knife were in the scab- bard. Elsewhere Judge McCorkle stated that Henry Weidner, John Perkins, several Robinsons and others, came to SherHlP. p a «. Adam Sherrill, the pioneer, and the tradition eight ^ha^h^/^Th sons in company with John Perkins, Robinsons, Weidner and oth- ers, crossed the Catawba at Sherrill's Ford in 1747.