|
Pearson Family and Others
Source: A History of Marlboro County: With
Traditions and Sketches of Numerous Families,
1897
We begin this chapter with the name of Pearson, which
has been largely represented in all the years of our
history. The first was Aaron, who came from one of the
English settlements of Virginia in colonial times. He was
the father of two sons, Aaron and Moses. The
latter owned, and lived upon, what was called the "big
plantation," now known as "Lowdon." He was prominent in
Revolutionary affairs. First, was Lieutenant in Hicks'
Regiment in 1780, and in the two following years a captain in
Benton's Regiment. After the war his name frequently
appeared upon the records of the old Brownsville church, as
well as upon those of the county courts. He was one of
the first justices of Marlboro and seems to have presided over
the court, and before the county was organized he held position
and took part in judicial affairs in the old district of
Cheraw. He is said to have been the father of fifteen
children, eight sons and seven daughters. One daughter
became Mrs. Haskew, an other Mrs. Galloway, and the Johns are some
way connected with this old family. Thomas, one of the
sons, was the ancestor of the Messrs.
Moses and Zacheus
Pearson. Mrs. Joel Easterling, John D. Pearson and
Mrs. Rachel Townsend are descended from another.
Aaron,
the other son of Aaron the first, was also a soldier of
the Revolution. He married a Miss Spears and another
Aaron was the fruit of this marriage. He in turn married
Miss Ann Vining, who became the mother of several daughters and
two sons, Thomas, who moved to Alabama, and the late John
Pearson, of Bruten's Fork, who, at an advanced age, passed away
only a few years ago. It is fit that credit be given
him for much information embodied within these pages. His
health was remarkably preserved, and his vigor of body and mind,
when past four -score, was a marvel. Not only did he love
to live over in thought the scenes and enjoyments of his
earlier years, and to tell of his experiences as a soldier of
the war of 1812, but he manifested a lively interest in passing
events, and the employments of people of another
generation.
The Haskews mentioned in connection with the
Pearsons are worthy of a more special notice. Two of
these old men are remembered. John is entitled to a place
among the old heroes of the Revolution. His name is upon
Marion's muster roll as "John Askew," the initial H.
is omitted, and yet no difficulty was found in proving his
claim to a pension when so many living witnesses were found to
testify to his presence and services. Quiet, inoffensive
old man! At a great age he was thrown from a vehicle in
which he was riding and received fatal injuries.
Thomas H. Haskew is a grandson. Zacheus was the other
brother, a younger man than John, and more successful in the
affairs of this life. He was the father of the excellent
ladies, Mrs. Donaldson and Mrs. Bruce, from
both of whom many
good young people have sprung. A sister of these old men
married a Mr. Britton, a son of whom, Hugh Britton, is remembered
as one of the fine-looking young men of Brownsville society in
the thirties.
In 1756 James Sweeny is
supposed to have come to the Pee Dee. In some way the
name was subsequently changed to Henagan. James
Sweeny had a son, Barney, who had two sons, Darby and
John. Darby was the father of B. K., Ephraim L. and Mrs.
McCollum and Mrs. Lewis E. Stubbs. Dr. B. K. Henagan was not
only prominent as a practicing physician fifty years ago, but
as a politician also.
In 1834 his people elected him to the
State Senate and the Legislature elected him
Lieutenant-Governor, and upon the death of Governor Noble, he
was sworn in and filled out the unexpired term. He
subsequently moved to Marion and was sent to the legislature
again. Dr. Henagan's first wife was Miss Gibson, and excellent
lady, who became the mother of four sons and two
daughters. One of these became the fourth wife of
the late A. G. Johnson. The other married a Mr.
Northrop. Only one of the splendid sons remains, Robert,
who resides in the Florence
Neighborhood. Ephraim L.
Henagan, a brother of the Governor, was in his day one of
Marlboro's most popular men. He served a term in the office
of sheriff and never south position any more, but retired to
his farm and devoted his great energies to the education and
maintenance of his large and interesting family. His wife was
Miss Nancy McInnis. Noble woman! Well she filled her
place.
The first son in the family was John W., who never
asked a position of the people that was not given him. He
was sheriff of the county and a member of the Legislature in
1860-61, and in the militia had risen to a brigadier's
commission when the war between the States came on; and at the
first organization of the Eighth Regiment of South
Carolina Volunteers he was elected Lieutenant Colonel and at
the reorganization became Colonel. In one of the
engagements in Virginia he fell into the hands of the enemy
and, like thousands more, died a prisoner. True to his
country, beloved by his command, respected by his superiors,
his death was a loss to his people. Other members of this
family live to honor the name.
Connected with the
Henagans, in the writer's memory, was Capt. Francis Miles, then
an old man, in 1830. His wife, Mrs. Lucretia, was an aunt
to the Henagans. This ancient couple had but a single child
who bore the father's name, Francis, a gifted, modest young man
capable of filling any position, but his great difiidence held
him back. When past the meridian of life he married his
cousin, Amanda Henagan, and an only daughter resides in
Alabama.
The Bruces have been for a long time in
Brownsville. Wright Bruce married a widow, Cooper, and
two sons, Joseph and Caleb, were given them, both of whom have
left families in the vicinity. The Procters, Johnsons and
Brigmans have also been upon the ground for many years. At
a later date came the Allens, an excellent addition to the
population - a mother with two sons and several daughters -
from North Carolina.
The two sons, Thompson and Joel, by the
modest exhibition of real worth, soon took rank with the best
citizens, and their sons after them still hold
it.
Thomas J. J. DuPre came about 1830, bringing a family of
young children, whose descendants are yet upon the
ground. Simon Emanual long lived in the community
conducting a mercantile business. Of all these and more
much might be penned, but justice to other portions of
the county demands space in these pages. The names of two
Burkitts, Ephraim and Samuel, must close our sojourn around the
spot where our first infant steps were made. These old
Burkitts, humble men though they were, wrote their names upon
an honor roll with their swords in the days that tried men's
souls, and, although the name is no more answered to
in Marlboro, yet it is fit that it have mention here.
Fifty years ago there were two or three families living in this
old neighborhood bearing the name, but, like hundreds more,
they have been swept westward by the tide of emigration, and
have gone to people other States toward the setting sun.
Let this chapter be closed with the record that, for the first fifty
years of the present century, there was no place in Marlboro where
the educational advantages were any better, if so good, as
in Brownsville. The old men whose names have been given
in these sketches sought the best talent to teach their
children, and, for a time, young people from other and distant
portions of the country crowded the academy.
Peter Stuart
Ney, said to have been the French marshal, was teaching here
when Napoleon I. died on Helena. Here Sinclair, the first
husband of Mrs. Nancy Cook, did faithful work. Kenneth
Black, another noted teacher, here swayed the birch.
Brown and McNab, young men "apt to teach," served their patrons
well, and here it was that Donald Matheson was first introduced
to the people of Marlboro, and introduced as an instructor of
youth. Fair-faced, ruddy young Scotchman he was, but
an intelligent, cultured gentleman. The elements of his
character were of the gentle and winning. For
wrong-doing, meanness and vice he could have no patience, but loved
truth, justice and right. His manner, to some, appeared
distant, stern; even cold. Still he had a heart
loving, true and warm, ready to respond to the touch of
friendship, the cry of distress, the call of his country, and
the needs of his church.
|
|
This is a FREE website.
If you were
directed here through a link for which you paid $ for, you can
access much more FREE data via our South Carolina index page
at http://www.genealogytrails.com/scar/index.html
Also make
sure to visit our main Genealogy Trails History Group website
at http://genealogytrails.com for much more nationwide
historical/genealogical data and access to other state/county
data
|
Copyright ©
Genealogy Trails 2008
All Rights Reserved with Full Rights Reserved for Original
Contributor
|
