December 6, 2024 Coats Museum News
The date on the Daily Record displayed January 18, 1995. Within that edition of the newspaper, one read that Shelia Whitman Wood was engaged to marry Stanley Darrell Williams of Coats. The wedding was planned for the Primitive Baptist Church in Coats.
Was this the Gift Primitive Baptist Church that was “gifted” to the Coats church community by Preacher “Elder” Tom Coats? It is recorded that James Thomas “Tom” Coats purchased the land upon which much of early Coats was located from Daniel Shaw heirs in 1875 and 76. James Thomas was originally from Pleasant Grove Township in Johnston County.
For those of you unfamiliar with that area, landmarks from that township would be the old Fellowship Church, the current Coats Bell Museum and the intersection of Old Fairground and 210 Highways. Preacher James Thomas “Tom” and William Benjamin Coats were the twin sons of William Henry, Jr. and Martha Elizabeth Smith Penny Coats. William Henry was involved in what is now Northeastern Pleasant Township. He had married the widow of Harry Penny who had fathered four children with Martha Elizabeth.
Interesting to note is that Elizabeth had had twins by her first husband “Harry” Penny and then had twins with her second husband William Henry, Coats, Jr. H.H. Penny “Henry” and Sarah Penny were the twins born in 1844. Henry Penny married Unity Coats from that same region. She was daughter of James Rufus Coats who served as chairman of both the board of commissioners and the board of education.
Henry and Unity Coats Penny built a house on what is now called Zack’s Mill Road. They parented a houseful of children about which much could be written. Recognizable public servant descendants from those children born in that Penny house would be US Deputy Marshal H.A. Turlington, Sr., NC State Representative Howard Penny, Jr., NC State Representative Zeb Turlington, and County Commissioner H.L Sorrell, Jr.
The original Johnston County H.H. Penny house is in fair condition today. Henry and Unity bought lots from Henry’s half-brother Tom Coats in Coats in the early decade of the 1900’s. They later moved to Coats and lived across the street from Tom and Nancy Isabella Coats. That Penny house would become an early Coats Medical Clinic before Dr. Donald Moore built the modern brick facility on the lot.
Where is the old Penny-medical clinic today? The two sectional house was moved to the intersection of Ebenezer Church Road and NC27 and is maintained as a family dwelling. Did you say I am giving too much information but let me add some more. Henry and his twin Sarah had two other sisters named Mary and Martha. Does that tell you anything? These youngsters were born when John Tyler was president. He vetoed so many bills that they nicknamed him “Old Veto”. He was living in the White House when mobs actually marched around it and threw rocks through the windows. Tyler armed his staff and waited for the mob to leave.
Now to 1995, we read that Patsy Parrish and Keith Parrish were grandparents. The couple went to Lakeland, Florida to be with their daughter Amy and son-in-law Anthony Beasley and new granddaughter Katie Parrish Beasley.
According to Belle in her “notes”, everyone was talking about the museum being made from an early Coats School building. Belle shared that her husband Thomas had attended school in that two-room structure when it was located on NC27 site. People were saying, “Can you imagine Coats having a museum” (Daily Record Jan. 26, 1995)?
My thought was what did they say when the Coats Museum group built a second museum, the Coats Cotton Museum, for its centennial project and then because of so much support from near and far a third addition was built in the way of an exhibit hall with bathrooms, kitchen, storage room and tech room.
Penny Gale Weaver of Coats married Craig Gordon Drouillard. The bride was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Wade Weaver, Jr. The double-ring ceremony was held in the Coats Baptist Church and conducted by Rev. Wesley Hamilton (Daily Record Jan. 30, 1995).
Pamela Barnes and Keith Miller were to marry according to Mr. and Mrs. Pete Denning and Mr. Opie Barnes of Elgin, S.C. Pamela was a graduate of Columbia College in Columbia, SC where she earned a B.A. degree in accounting. The prospective groom was a student at Craven Community College. The couple planned to marry March 4 at Second Baptist Church in Dunn (Daily Record Feb. 1, 1995).
Fickle Mother Nature was nipping at the tender flower petals of the camellia bushes outside, but 17 members of the Coats Woman’s Club were cozy and warm inside as Laura Langdon presided for the January Woman’s Club meeting. Laura Langdon introduced the speaker who was her nephew-H>L. Sorrell, Jr.-Chairman of the HCBOC. He discussed how county finances are affected by outside factors such as mandates, aging population, and loss of intangible tax and food tax sales. He praised Senator Jesse Helms for his push to help the county get impact money needed as a result of Fort Bragg expansion Jan. 30,1995).
A big thank you goes to all who attended the Christmas party at the Museum on Saturday the 30th. What an honor it was to see the many faces of those who have helped make the museum a destination.
The date on the Daily Record displayed January 18, 1995. Within that edition of the newspaper, one read that Shelia Whitman Wood was engaged to marry Stanley Darrell Williams of Coats. The wedding was planned for the Primitive Baptist Church in Coats.
Was this the Gift Primitive Baptist Church that was “gifted” to the Coats church community by Preacher “Elder” Tom Coats? It is recorded that James Thomas “Tom” Coats purchased the land upon which much of early Coats was located from Daniel Shaw heirs in 1875 and 76. James Thomas was originally from Pleasant Grove Township in Johnston County.
For those of you unfamiliar with that area, landmarks from that township would be the old Fellowship Church, the current Coats Bell Museum and the intersection of Old Fairground and 210 Highways. Preacher James Thomas “Tom” and William Benjamin Coats were the twin sons of William Henry, Jr. and Martha Elizabeth Smith Penny Coats. William Henry was involved in what is now Northeastern Pleasant Township. He had married the widow of Harry Penny who had fathered four children with Martha Elizabeth.
Interesting to note is that Elizabeth had had twins by her first husband “Harry” Penny and then had twins with her second husband William Henry, Coats, Jr. H.H. Penny “Henry” and Sarah Penny were the twins born in 1844. Henry Penny married Unity Coats from that same region. She was daughter of James Rufus Coats who served as chairman of both the board of commissioners and the board of education.
Henry and Unity Coats Penny built a house on what is now called Zack’s Mill Road. They parented a houseful of children about which much could be written. Recognizable public servant descendants from those children born in that Penny house would be US Deputy Marshal H.A. Turlington, Sr., NC State Representative Howard Penny, Jr., NC State Representative Zeb Turlington, and County Commissioner H.L Sorrell, Jr.
The original Johnston County H.H. Penny house is in fair condition today. Henry and Unity bought lots from Henry’s half-brother Tom Coats in Coats in the early decade of the 1900’s. They later moved to Coats and lived across the street from Tom and Nancy Isabella Coats. That Penny house would become an early Coats Medical Clinic before Dr. Donald Moore built the modern brick facility on the lot.
Where is the old Penny-medical clinic today? The two sectional house was moved to the intersection of Ebenezer Church Road and NC27 and is maintained as a family dwelling. Did you say I am giving too much information but let me add some more. Henry and his twin Sarah had two other sisters named Mary and Martha. Does that tell you anything? These youngsters were born when John Tyler was president. He vetoed so many bills that they nicknamed him “Old Veto”. He was living in the White House when mobs actually marched around it and threw rocks through the windows. Tyler armed his staff and waited for the mob to leave.
Now to 1995, we read that Patsy Parrish and Keith Parrish were grandparents. The couple went to Lakeland, Florida to be with their daughter Amy and son-in-law Anthony Beasley and new granddaughter Katie Parrish Beasley.
According to Belle in her “notes”, everyone was talking about the museum being made from an early Coats School building. Belle shared that her husband Thomas had attended school in that two-room structure when it was located on NC27 site. People were saying, “Can you imagine Coats having a museum” (Daily Record Jan. 26, 1995)?
My thought was what did they say when the Coats Museum group built a second museum, the Coats Cotton Museum, for its centennial project and then because of so much support from near and far a third addition was built in the way of an exhibit hall with bathrooms, kitchen, storage room and tech room.
Penny Gale Weaver of Coats married Craig Gordon Drouillard. The bride was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Wade Weaver, Jr. The double-ring ceremony was held in the Coats Baptist Church and conducted by Rev. Wesley Hamilton (Daily Record Jan. 30, 1995).
Pamela Barnes and Keith Miller were to marry according to Mr. and Mrs. Pete Denning and Mr. Opie Barnes of Elgin, S.C. Pamela was a graduate of Columbia College in Columbia, SC where she earned a B.A. degree in accounting. The prospective groom was a student at Craven Community College. The couple planned to marry March 4 at Second Baptist Church in Dunn (Daily Record Feb. 1, 1995).
Fickle Mother Nature was nipping at the tender flower petals of the camellia bushes outside, but 17 members of the Coats Woman’s Club were cozy and warm inside as Laura Langdon presided for the January Woman’s Club meeting. Laura Langdon introduced the speaker who was her nephew-H>L. Sorrell, Jr.-Chairman of the HCBOC. He discussed how county finances are affected by outside factors such as mandates, aging population, and loss of intangible tax and food tax sales. He praised Senator Jesse Helms for his push to help the county get impact money needed as a result of Fort Bragg expansion Jan. 30,1995).
A big thank you goes to all who attended the Christmas party at the Museum on Saturday the 30th. What an honor it was to see the many faces of those who have helped make the museum a destination.