July 19, 2024 Coats Museum News
I recently saw on television where it was sharing that someone born in 2024 could live to be 110 to 150 years of age with all the advances being made in the scientific and medical fields. That’s unbelievable! Just for fun, let’s go back 110 ten years to 1914 and discover what was going on in Coats, NC. if a person had been born then and had died today in 2024 at 110 years of age. The following would have marked the birth year:
According to the 1914 N.C. Business Directory –Harnett- News and Observer, the population of Coats would have been only 400 white and 25 colored in 1913 for a total of 425 residents in the town that was incorporated in 1905. The town tax rate was 33-1/3 cents on the $100. My great Uncle J.L. Johnson was mayor and W.M. McKay was secretary. N.T. Patterson was treasurer. The other commissioners were W.H. Parrish and Dr. H. C. Roberts. The chief of police was John Richardson and R.O. Stewart was postmaster. W.E. Nichols was the railroad agent and was manager of the Express and Telegraph. J.A. Campbell was the Baptist pastor and J.T. Coats was the Primitive Baptist elder. A.T. Lassiter was the Presbyterian pastor whose church was located in the house where Drs. Donald and Ann Moore lived followed by Godfrey and Ann Beasley.
The town had businesses in 12 new brick buildings and several more in wooden ones. There would have been a five- room wooden school and a satellite two-classroom structure (Coats Museum). Mrs. Mollie Stewart and J.W. Denning operated either a hotel or boarding house. The president of the Bank of Coats was P.S. Cooper and N.T. Patterson, cashier. Dr. H.C. Roberts was the town doctor and G.S. Fields the druggist. J.R. Harmon and Bros. operated a hardware store and Bingham and Fuquay were furniture dealers. There were nine general merchants: J.W. Talton, P.F. Pope, B.F. Langdon and Son, Wm. McKay and Co., Stewart and Johnson, J.T. Winstead, B.A. Norris, L.E. Byrd and J. L. Johnson.
There were four manufacturing plants-P.F. Pope Lumber Mill and Gin and Coats Brick Mill, the Everlasting Window Shade Co. and J.P. Stephens Sawmill and Gin. R.R. Jones and J.T. Pollard operated blacksmith shops or buggy repair. W.H. Parrish sold real estate and automobiles while T.V. Stewart offered livestock and automobiles. E.D. Langdon operated a livestock and livery, and lastly, there was the Stephenson Livestock, Co.
Outside of town there were nine cotton gins operating: Ennis-Norris (Benson Route) Ben F. Johnson (Angier Route 3) D.S. Bayles (Coats Route) D. Turlington (Duke Route 1), S.C. Neighbors (Dunn Route 5), W.R. Sorrell (Dunn Route 2), B.F. Parrish (Coats), L.L. Turlington (Duke Route 2) and Sandy Adams (Barclaysville). Across the ocean there was a horrific war being fought.
Research of history of all those 110 years can verify the magnitude of changes this individual would have experienced. For example -why were there three livestock businesses and nine cotton gins in 1914? We, too, live with changes. One of them would be how our mailing addresses have changed even though we live in the same residence. Do you remember when you had a box number in rural areas? Do you recall when you had a route number if you lived in the country? Now we have a road name on our mail. Why all these changes?
This I do know. Silas Moore has a road named after him. That speaks volumes about the character of this man. Silas Moore, 86, of rural Benson had died at Western Wake Hospital. The Harnett native was the son of the late Sir Will Moore and Susie Caudle Moore. He was a member of the Red Hill Church and an avid supporter of the Heritage Bible College. Services were at the Red Hill Church by Revs. Billy Smith, James Gurkins and Bobby Caudle. Burial was in the Lamm-Sugg Cemetery.
Gertie Moore survived her husband as did his daughter, Margaret Morrison. His siblings were Enoch Moore, Isaac Moore, Sarah Hudson, Naomi Temple and Mary Stevens (Daily Record Sept. 5, 1994).
Good news was shared from the Ennis family on the John Lee Road. Tommy and Judy Ennis had announced the engagement of their daughter, Tommie Elaine, to Gary E. Wethy. Elaine was a 1988 graduate of Triton and a 1992 graduate of UNC Wilmington. She was a nurse at New Hanover Medical Center. Mr. Wethy was a sergeant in the U.S. Marines Corps (Daily Record Sept. 6, 1994).
Much of the news from Coats in early September 1994 was about those individuals who were sick. Those identified were Tommy Carroll, Marie Clayton, Alice Lou Roberts, Ophelia Roberts, Herbert Johnson, Otis Lockamy and Wilhelmina Johnson (Daily Record Sept. 8, 1994).
We enjoyed a busy last Thursday and had many visitors with whom we shared the story of our museum and its contents. We are also so appreciative of several donations that came in to memorialize special ones in the donors’ lives. The Class of 1965 remembered Jimmie Barefoot, wife of Billy Barefoot. Billy and Peggie Pope, Penelope Phillips and Virginia Beasley remembered Larry Denning (CHS 1959) and brother of Peggie Pope, Carolyn Barnes and Ralph Denning. Thank You so much from the museum’s board and volunteers.
I recently saw on television where it was sharing that someone born in 2024 could live to be 110 to 150 years of age with all the advances being made in the scientific and medical fields. That’s unbelievable! Just for fun, let’s go back 110 ten years to 1914 and discover what was going on in Coats, NC. if a person had been born then and had died today in 2024 at 110 years of age. The following would have marked the birth year:
According to the 1914 N.C. Business Directory –Harnett- News and Observer, the population of Coats would have been only 400 white and 25 colored in 1913 for a total of 425 residents in the town that was incorporated in 1905. The town tax rate was 33-1/3 cents on the $100. My great Uncle J.L. Johnson was mayor and W.M. McKay was secretary. N.T. Patterson was treasurer. The other commissioners were W.H. Parrish and Dr. H. C. Roberts. The chief of police was John Richardson and R.O. Stewart was postmaster. W.E. Nichols was the railroad agent and was manager of the Express and Telegraph. J.A. Campbell was the Baptist pastor and J.T. Coats was the Primitive Baptist elder. A.T. Lassiter was the Presbyterian pastor whose church was located in the house where Drs. Donald and Ann Moore lived followed by Godfrey and Ann Beasley.
The town had businesses in 12 new brick buildings and several more in wooden ones. There would have been a five- room wooden school and a satellite two-classroom structure (Coats Museum). Mrs. Mollie Stewart and J.W. Denning operated either a hotel or boarding house. The president of the Bank of Coats was P.S. Cooper and N.T. Patterson, cashier. Dr. H.C. Roberts was the town doctor and G.S. Fields the druggist. J.R. Harmon and Bros. operated a hardware store and Bingham and Fuquay were furniture dealers. There were nine general merchants: J.W. Talton, P.F. Pope, B.F. Langdon and Son, Wm. McKay and Co., Stewart and Johnson, J.T. Winstead, B.A. Norris, L.E. Byrd and J. L. Johnson.
There were four manufacturing plants-P.F. Pope Lumber Mill and Gin and Coats Brick Mill, the Everlasting Window Shade Co. and J.P. Stephens Sawmill and Gin. R.R. Jones and J.T. Pollard operated blacksmith shops or buggy repair. W.H. Parrish sold real estate and automobiles while T.V. Stewart offered livestock and automobiles. E.D. Langdon operated a livestock and livery, and lastly, there was the Stephenson Livestock, Co.
Outside of town there were nine cotton gins operating: Ennis-Norris (Benson Route) Ben F. Johnson (Angier Route 3) D.S. Bayles (Coats Route) D. Turlington (Duke Route 1), S.C. Neighbors (Dunn Route 5), W.R. Sorrell (Dunn Route 2), B.F. Parrish (Coats), L.L. Turlington (Duke Route 2) and Sandy Adams (Barclaysville). Across the ocean there was a horrific war being fought.
Research of history of all those 110 years can verify the magnitude of changes this individual would have experienced. For example -why were there three livestock businesses and nine cotton gins in 1914? We, too, live with changes. One of them would be how our mailing addresses have changed even though we live in the same residence. Do you remember when you had a box number in rural areas? Do you recall when you had a route number if you lived in the country? Now we have a road name on our mail. Why all these changes?
This I do know. Silas Moore has a road named after him. That speaks volumes about the character of this man. Silas Moore, 86, of rural Benson had died at Western Wake Hospital. The Harnett native was the son of the late Sir Will Moore and Susie Caudle Moore. He was a member of the Red Hill Church and an avid supporter of the Heritage Bible College. Services were at the Red Hill Church by Revs. Billy Smith, James Gurkins and Bobby Caudle. Burial was in the Lamm-Sugg Cemetery.
Gertie Moore survived her husband as did his daughter, Margaret Morrison. His siblings were Enoch Moore, Isaac Moore, Sarah Hudson, Naomi Temple and Mary Stevens (Daily Record Sept. 5, 1994).
Good news was shared from the Ennis family on the John Lee Road. Tommy and Judy Ennis had announced the engagement of their daughter, Tommie Elaine, to Gary E. Wethy. Elaine was a 1988 graduate of Triton and a 1992 graduate of UNC Wilmington. She was a nurse at New Hanover Medical Center. Mr. Wethy was a sergeant in the U.S. Marines Corps (Daily Record Sept. 6, 1994).
Much of the news from Coats in early September 1994 was about those individuals who were sick. Those identified were Tommy Carroll, Marie Clayton, Alice Lou Roberts, Ophelia Roberts, Herbert Johnson, Otis Lockamy and Wilhelmina Johnson (Daily Record Sept. 8, 1994).
We enjoyed a busy last Thursday and had many visitors with whom we shared the story of our museum and its contents. We are also so appreciative of several donations that came in to memorialize special ones in the donors’ lives. The Class of 1965 remembered Jimmie Barefoot, wife of Billy Barefoot. Billy and Peggie Pope, Penelope Phillips and Virginia Beasley remembered Larry Denning (CHS 1959) and brother of Peggie Pope, Carolyn Barnes and Ralph Denning. Thank You so much from the museum’s board and volunteers.