April 11, 2011 Coats
Museum News
War and farm festivals are so opposite in stirring one’s emotions and both touched the lives of the people in Coats in the second decade of 1900. Another event that would affect a few people in Coats was recorded in the minutes of the Coats Town Meeting on January 18, 1917. It was on this date that Dr. H.C. Roberts was issued a franchise to furnish lights in Coats.
Also in 1918, Grove Township had at least two men holding political offices in Harnett. The sheriff of Harnett was W.H. Turlington from Turlington’s Crossroads and W.J. McStewart served on the county board of commissioners according to the Harnett County News (February 1, !918).
Wonder if Lynn Ennis, son of James and Martha Suggs Ennis, born in 1890, made many trips to Coats. This I do know. Lynn made a trip to Coats on July 1, 1917 to the home of Lloyd Grimes and there he married Attie Peterson, born 1896. Jack Whitman and Leck Pleasant witnessed the marriage. After the ceremony, the couple enjoyed Johnny cakes and hoop cheese according to material shared with me from Becky Adams. Lettie later married Attie’s sister, Beulah Peterson. Question- Was Lloyd Grimes a preacher? A. Floyd Grimes was a justice of peace in Coats during this era. His grandson, James Grimes, shared that Floyd Grimes held court on the front porch of his home in Coats. Do you know where he lived in Coats? Is it the house that is now owned by Charles and Helen Norris?
The November 30, 1918 edition of the Harnett County News recorded the Auditor’s Report ending on November 30, 1918. The income for the county was $104,034.45. Real and personal taxes accounted for $86,752.01 while the corporations tax brought in $16,269.88. Bank stocks brought in $1,006.56. There were 3,755 polls in the county. Did women have to pay a $2.00 poll tax in 1918?
The county paid out $110,505.10 for schools, bond coupons, jury tickets, county bridges, and paupers. The commissioners had had $21,834.31 on hand on December1, 1917 but had a new balance of $11,772.36 on November of 1918. Does that mean they spent some of the fund balance to make ends meet? There were 31 school districts and 11 road districts in November of 1918. The salary of the clerk of court was $2,210.59; the office of the sheriff was $4,240.85, and the register of deeds was $2,851.25
Just for information, shall we look at the county checkbook to see how some of the county money was spent. Check # 737 ($15.00) was paid to R.F. Jernigan for conveying a lunatic; check #738 ($20.00) was written to A.J. Godwin for capturing a still; check #740 ($4.00) was recorded to J.A. Stewart as an officer of the grand jury; check #744 ($20.00) went to N.T. Johnson for burying an old soldier; check #747 ( $26.00) paid L.D. Arnold for his work as a ferryman. D.P. Ray was paid $8.00 via check #773 for his services as a county commissioner. Did W.J. McStewart, the Grove county commissioner, earn the same pay?
Would you agree that the taxpayers paid for a variety of services in 1918? Did you recognize any other names from Grove Township in that list of check recipients? Read next week to continue your travel through the Coats area in the early 1900’s.
The museum was opened by appointment last Saturday for 37 members from the seniors group from the Whitley Pentecostal Holiness Church in Goldsboro. They really bragged on the food at Ernies in Dunn and wanted to eat homemade ice cream at the Smiths in Coats but decided the weather was too cool. What a delightful group they were and several ladies were so excited to locate pictures of relatives in the Patriots of World War II volumes in the museum. A special thank you goes to Kenneth Keene and Mary Ellen Lauder for their gifts of artifacts to the museum last week. The volunteers at the museum look forward to having exhibit space in the future in the new addition to display the many generous gifts of items from the folks in the community. Thanks also to the individual who gave a memorial to the museum endowment to honor Leslie Hardison.
Please be mindful that this Coats Museum News was published in April 11, 2011.
War and farm festivals are so opposite in stirring one’s emotions and both touched the lives of the people in Coats in the second decade of 1900. Another event that would affect a few people in Coats was recorded in the minutes of the Coats Town Meeting on January 18, 1917. It was on this date that Dr. H.C. Roberts was issued a franchise to furnish lights in Coats.
Also in 1918, Grove Township had at least two men holding political offices in Harnett. The sheriff of Harnett was W.H. Turlington from Turlington’s Crossroads and W.J. McStewart served on the county board of commissioners according to the Harnett County News (February 1, !918).
Wonder if Lynn Ennis, son of James and Martha Suggs Ennis, born in 1890, made many trips to Coats. This I do know. Lynn made a trip to Coats on July 1, 1917 to the home of Lloyd Grimes and there he married Attie Peterson, born 1896. Jack Whitman and Leck Pleasant witnessed the marriage. After the ceremony, the couple enjoyed Johnny cakes and hoop cheese according to material shared with me from Becky Adams. Lettie later married Attie’s sister, Beulah Peterson. Question- Was Lloyd Grimes a preacher? A. Floyd Grimes was a justice of peace in Coats during this era. His grandson, James Grimes, shared that Floyd Grimes held court on the front porch of his home in Coats. Do you know where he lived in Coats? Is it the house that is now owned by Charles and Helen Norris?
The November 30, 1918 edition of the Harnett County News recorded the Auditor’s Report ending on November 30, 1918. The income for the county was $104,034.45. Real and personal taxes accounted for $86,752.01 while the corporations tax brought in $16,269.88. Bank stocks brought in $1,006.56. There were 3,755 polls in the county. Did women have to pay a $2.00 poll tax in 1918?
The county paid out $110,505.10 for schools, bond coupons, jury tickets, county bridges, and paupers. The commissioners had had $21,834.31 on hand on December1, 1917 but had a new balance of $11,772.36 on November of 1918. Does that mean they spent some of the fund balance to make ends meet? There were 31 school districts and 11 road districts in November of 1918. The salary of the clerk of court was $2,210.59; the office of the sheriff was $4,240.85, and the register of deeds was $2,851.25
Just for information, shall we look at the county checkbook to see how some of the county money was spent. Check # 737 ($15.00) was paid to R.F. Jernigan for conveying a lunatic; check #738 ($20.00) was written to A.J. Godwin for capturing a still; check #740 ($4.00) was recorded to J.A. Stewart as an officer of the grand jury; check #744 ($20.00) went to N.T. Johnson for burying an old soldier; check #747 ( $26.00) paid L.D. Arnold for his work as a ferryman. D.P. Ray was paid $8.00 via check #773 for his services as a county commissioner. Did W.J. McStewart, the Grove county commissioner, earn the same pay?
Would you agree that the taxpayers paid for a variety of services in 1918? Did you recognize any other names from Grove Township in that list of check recipients? Read next week to continue your travel through the Coats area in the early 1900’s.
The museum was opened by appointment last Saturday for 37 members from the seniors group from the Whitley Pentecostal Holiness Church in Goldsboro. They really bragged on the food at Ernies in Dunn and wanted to eat homemade ice cream at the Smiths in Coats but decided the weather was too cool. What a delightful group they were and several ladies were so excited to locate pictures of relatives in the Patriots of World War II volumes in the museum. A special thank you goes to Kenneth Keene and Mary Ellen Lauder for their gifts of artifacts to the museum last week. The volunteers at the museum look forward to having exhibit space in the future in the new addition to display the many generous gifts of items from the folks in the community. Thanks also to the individual who gave a memorial to the museum endowment to honor Leslie Hardison.
Please be mindful that this Coats Museum News was published in April 11, 2011.
