We are continuing Daniel Webster (D. W.) Scott’s History of Meadows of Dan with the sixth installment where we read an excerpt from his history, and I will attempt to follow the generations down from the person he mentions in his story. The following are Scott’s words:
Thomas DeHart (Miller) who first settled about one-half mile north of Meadows of Dan;
William (Billy) Lawson the first Pastor of Concord Primitive Baptist Church, also the grandfather of W. C. Lawson a noted attorney, now located in Florida, first settled about one mile north of Meadows of Dan post-office;
Buck Turner who settled about four miles northeast of Meadows of Dan;
Preston Cox and Joel Hubbard, who lived about three miles west of Meadows of Dan, and others, also deserve honorable mention.
THE CLOTHING OF EARLIER DAYS
Most every family had a home-made loom, spinning wheel and reel.
The loom was a large crude affair usually kept in the kitchen, if possible. If not, they built a house nearby called a loom house.
There were two kinds of spinning wheels. A large wheel, used mostly to spin yarn. A smaller wheel, used mostly to spin flax. Each wheel was homemade. The large wheel had a band around it connecting it with a spindle.
It was operated by turning the wheel with the left hand and walking backwards with the roll of wool in the right hand, with just enough speed to make a smooth yarn thread. Then the thread was run back on the spindle until it was full of thread. The thread was then run off on the reel and made into a hank ready for weaving.
The process of making the flax cloth required a lot of work.
First, the flax seed was sown early in the spring. When ripe was pulled by hand and laid in swaths until the outside became brittle. Then it was laid in small bundles and then thrashed to separate the seed from the stalk. The stalk was then ready for the flax brake. This was a crude machine made at home. And then for the swing knife, as it was called, and then for the hackle, and it was ready for spinning.
Marriages, quilting parties and old Folk Dances were about the only kind of recreation the first settlers had.
The people in general married young. A wedding engaged the attention of the entire neighborhood. Both young and old attended, as weddings were the only gatherings that did not call for labor from the visitors.
The bride and groom dressed very differently than from today. The bride wore linsey petticoats, coarse shoes and home knit stockings. The groom wore home-made moccasins, leather pants, leggings, and linsey shirts.
On the morning of the wedding day the groom and his attendants assembled at the home of the groom’s parents for the purpose of reaching the house of the bride by noon, which was the usual time to celebrate the nuptials that took place before lunch.”
This concludes the excerpt from Scott’s history for this week. Before looking more closely at some of the early settlers he mentioned, I would like to share the wedding story of my great-grandparents, Herman Clyde Hall and Nannie Clayton Wood.
Grandma and Grandpa met in a rather interesting way—at an “Apron Party.” All the girls would bring an unhemmed apron, and the boys would hem them. Apparently, sewing was not necessarily one of the young men’s greatest talents, as some of their stitches would be two or three inches long!
Grandpa and Grandma courted for two years and were married on Thursday, July 2, 1914, at the Ballard Preston Hylton homeplace on Langhorne Mill Road. Ballard and his wife had taken my great-grandmother into their home when she was orphaned.
After the wedding, Grandma and Grandpa went to his parents’ home for supper, where they enjoyed chicken and dumplings, vegetables, homemade bread, and cake.
That night, there was a big serenade. The old Ballard Band was there, and the celebration must have been quite a sight! Some of the men carried Grandpa around on a chestnut fence rail, while the ladies carried Grandma around in a wash tub. Some of the people were ringing cowbells, too.
The photo above may have been taken on Grandma and Grandpa’s wedding day.
Back row, left to right: Jeff Belcher, Minda Hall Harris, Joe and Nora Cruise Hall, Rillie Hall Wood and German Wood, German and Laura Hall Cockram, Wallace and Kitty Cruise Hall.
Front row, left to right: Nannie Wood Hall and Herman Hall, Cindy and Taz Hall, Elijah Hardin and Mary Jane Wood Hall, Claiborne (Coon) and Allie Hall Belcher.
The first person mentioned in this excerpt from Scott’s history is Thomas DeHart, the miller. There were several men named Thomas DeHart in Patrick County who could fit the criteria of early settlers, but only one who lived in the Round Meadow section of Meadows of Dan. Thomas DeHart, born in 1832, the son of Paul and Lucinda DeHart, seems to be the most likely person Scott was describing.
Thomas DeHart married Miss Lavinia Plaster on February 12, 1856. Lavinia was the daughter of Rev. Claiborne and Elishabe Griffith Plasters. Thomas and Lavinia had five children before Lavinia’s passing in February 1867, at the young age of 33. They were:
Mintoria G. DeHart
1857–1892
Paul Green DeHart, who married Martha Ann Boyd
1859–1931
Charles Thomas DeHart, who married Nancy E. Handy
1860–1917
Lucinda Jane DeHart, who married James Alexander Wood
1862–1942
John Clayborne DeHart, who married Nannie Belle South of West Virginia
1865–1953
Thomas DeHart served in the 24th Virginia Infantry, Company A, during the Civil War.
Scott next mentions William Lawson, and fortunately, we have a wonderful firsthand description of him from someone who knew him personally. Asa Cox described Reverend William Lawson on page 36 of his book Footprints on the Sands of Time, published in 1900:
“Reverend William Madison Lawson was a Primitive Baptist minister, who resided in the northwestern part of Patrick County. He married a Miss Thompson, an amiable Christian lady. He was pastor of several churches in Carroll and adjoining counties. His superior talents and bright intellect, although limited in opportunity for education in early life, were well cultivated for usefulness in church and State. He was a systematic farmer, a prudent manager of the domestic business of life, that makes the family circle a happy home worth living for.
“The writer that records these facts, has, when wearied by traveling, spent several nights’ rest with this hospitable family. Elder Lawson continued faithful in his ministerial work as long as he was able to travel. ‘He, being dead, yet speaketh.’ He has gone to his happy home to dwell with the church triumphant in glory.
“Their son, Col. Jefferson Lawson, was an officer in the Confederate army, honored and respected, after the war, representative in the Legislature.”
—Asa Cox
I will write more about the Lawson family later, when I can give their story the time and attention it deserves.
The next early settler Scott mentions is Buck Turner. At the time of this writing, I have not been able to confirm exactly who Buck Turner was, and I am hesitant to speculate about what his birth name might have been. For now, I will leave that identification open in hopes that further research may provide the answer.
Scott next mentions Preston Cox (Cock) and Joel Hubbard in the same sentence. I suspect he mentioned the two men together because Preston Cox was Joel Hubbard’s son-in-law. Scott spelled Preston’s last name Cox, but in early census, marriage, and death records, the surname is spelled Cock.
Preston Cox, born in December 1820, married Miss Judith Hubbard on September 21, 1842, in Patrick County. Judith was the daughter of Joel Hubbard and Judah Conner.
Joel Hubbard was born on February 21, 1791, in Woolwine, Virginia. He married Miss Judah Conner on January 5, 1813, in Patrick County. Judah was the daughter of Elder John Conner and Lucy Fox Robertson Conner.
Preston and Judith had the following children. Notice that the surname is spelled differently among the children. I have used marriage and death records to determine the spelling for each:
Jane Cock Dickerson
1843–1923
Joel Hubbard Cock
1848–1928
John C. Cock
1850–1859
Enoch P. Cock
1855–1919
Judith Ellen Cock
1856–1946
Lucy A. Cock Williams
1858–1937
David William Cox
1865–1932
Joel and Judah Conner Hubbard had two more daughters whose descendants would contribute to much of the population of Patrick County. Their daughter Lucy married William McAlexander (1815–1864), while their daughter Anna married John T. Pendleton (1810–1893).
Each name that D. W. Scott recorded in his history represents much more than a line on a page. Behind those names were families, marriages, hardships, celebrations, faith, and generations of descendants who helped shape Meadows of Dan and Patrick County. Scott may have recorded them only briefly, but more than three-quarters of a century later, their stories are still waiting to be told.
Next week, we will continue with D. W. Scott’s History of Meadows of Dan.
If you have any questions, comments, or story ideas, you may contact Woody at [email protected] or 276-692-9626.
