November 21, 2011 Coats Museum News
In 1924, thirty-seven school trucks were transporting students to the public schools in Harnett County. In Grove Township most of the students walked or rode their bikes to their local schools which had not yet consolidated with the Coats Grove # 3 School. The Coats School had a 32 week term, required 15 units to graduate, and had 3 male teachers in high school and 8 female teachers in grammar school. The total school census was 355 students with 86 of them enrolled in high school. Thirty-five of the students were between 18 and 21 years of age. The value of the school property was $60,000 of which $50,000 was the value of the building. There were stoves, patent desks, and 1,500 square feet of blackboard, 4 acres of land and a library with the following: 150 fiction books, 31 reference books, 20 history books, 15 poetry, 42 geography , 63 miscellaneous, 6 magazines, 2 papers, and a $109.00 library allowance. Coats School was an accredited high school and had three students who would graduate in the 1924-25 school term. They were Ethel Ann Ennis, Lessie Hill and Nannie Stewart. Are any of those ladies’ names familiar to you? Who remembers who your 6th grade teacher was? For many, it was Nan Williams (Nannie Stewart). She was the daughter of T.V. Stewart who was a prominent merchant and ginner in Coats, and she was the wife of J.B. Williams who was mayor of Coats from 1937-1945 (Sorrell, Together We Leave xxi).
According to the Harnett County News, October 2, 1924 edition, Miss Ada Yarborough of Cary offered special courses in physical education which would be a new department for the Coats School. Teams were added for baseball, basketball, track and football. Plans were being made to transport students in adjoining communities to Coats Grove #3 School.
According to Sorrell, Together We Leave 1985, steam heat and sanitary equipment were approved for the school at the cost of $3,000 and $375 was spent in the 1924-25 term for sewer work in preparation for the addition of the bathrooms.
The October 2, 1924 edition of the Harnett County News recorded that plans had been made and the teachers were excited about the school opening on October 6th. The faculty was composed of the following: Misses Myrtle Roberts, music; Lucille Lee, Loren Dohin, Belle Graham, Mattie Brickhouse, Katie Underwood, Ada Yarborough, Mrs. W.R. Stallings, and Mrs. K.N. Stephenson. The principal was J.H. Taylor, a Trinity College graduate, who earned $2,000 as a teacher of science, arithmetic, general math, and biology. A.J. Rosser, also a Trinity College graduate, earned $1,000 for teaching 8 terms of Latin and algebra. J.W. Derflinger, a graduate of William and Mary, taught English and history.
Questions-Who knows what university is the former Trinity College? Was A.J. Rosser a relative of the late Harnett County Sheriff Rosser? Did a Coats graduate of 1959 marry the son of Principal Taylor?
I do know that in 1924 a law was created that separated the tax collection from the sheriff’s department. Henry A. Turlington was facing the challenge of his new position as the Harnett County Tax Collector, and he was assisted by Mr. A.B. Currin, Jr. of Angier and Mr. V.E. Williams of Dunn. Mr. Turlington told The News that he would be after the taxes with all his energy and time (Harnett County News October 9, 1924).
There is an old saying that states “There are two things which are certain in our life-taxes and death”. This held true in Coats for on the same day that Mr. Turlington made his pledge to collect due taxes, the death angel visited one of the top educators in the Grove area.
The paper recorded that Claud Stewart, one of Harnett’s most esteemed and useful citizens, had died at the age of 65. He had suffered for several months and Bright’s disease was the immediate cause of his death. Mr. Stewart was educated at the University of North Carolina and taught in the Harnett and Johnston County schools for forty years. Wonder if anyone from Coats attended the university earlier than Mr. Claud. His widow Catherine Bailey and nine children survived him. His seven sons were Herbert, C.G., Latta, Alfred, Henry, Victor, and Worth. The two daughters were Mrs. Paul Fish and Miss Callie Stewart. Wonder what Mrs. Fish’s name was. During this time frame, the wives where identified by their husband’s name. Note the names of the teachers above. Mr. Stewart was the last surviving child of the late Captain Daniel and Nancy Dixon Stewart. Captain Stewart of the Bailey’s Crossroads area had been one of Harnett’s largest farmers in the late 1800’s and both he and his brother, Eldridge Stewart, served in the N.C. Legislature. Claud Stewart was loyal member of the Coats Missionary Baptist Church, served on the Harnett County Board of Education, and was a tax-list taker for Grove. He was a staunch Democrat and took an active interest in politics. Reverend J. A. Campbell officiated at the funeral. Stewart was interred at the Stewart Cemetery which later became a part of the Ebenezer Presbyterian Church Cemetery near Bailey Crossroads. The News printed that Stewart’s acquaintances extended throughout the adjoining counties and that there was no man more highly regarded. He will be remembered for his splendid life (Harnett County News October 9, 1924).
Have you been surprised at the number of early Coats natives who attended the major universities? What other places offered higher education? Was Campbell an academy or college in 1924? Did you recognize the names of any of the Stewart children? Was C.G. Stewart the owner of the car dealership? Was Henry the owner of the corn mill? Was Latta the father of Campbell University former English professor, Dorothea Stewart Gilbert? Did Herbert own a store in Benson?
Read next week to discover when Carolina Power and Light Company officials visited the town board meeting and find out if the town had street lights in 1924.
Thanks to the Sorrell family for honoring the memory of Lentis Sorrell with a donation to the Coats Museum Endowment. Mr. Sorrell ‘s grandfather, William Richardson Sorrell, established the Sorrell School near Dunn in 1885, and Lentis’s wife, Maude Penny, was the daughter of Joe H. Penny who along with Bob Turlington petitioned in 1915 for the Penny School between Coats and Buies Creek. Mr. Lentis Sorrell had a keen memory for dates, names and places and was so helpful in sharing his memories with family and friends.
PLEASE BE MINDFUL THAT THIS ARTICLE APPEARED IN THE DAILY RECORD ON NOVEMBER 21, 2011.
In 1924, thirty-seven school trucks were transporting students to the public schools in Harnett County. In Grove Township most of the students walked or rode their bikes to their local schools which had not yet consolidated with the Coats Grove # 3 School. The Coats School had a 32 week term, required 15 units to graduate, and had 3 male teachers in high school and 8 female teachers in grammar school. The total school census was 355 students with 86 of them enrolled in high school. Thirty-five of the students were between 18 and 21 years of age. The value of the school property was $60,000 of which $50,000 was the value of the building. There were stoves, patent desks, and 1,500 square feet of blackboard, 4 acres of land and a library with the following: 150 fiction books, 31 reference books, 20 history books, 15 poetry, 42 geography , 63 miscellaneous, 6 magazines, 2 papers, and a $109.00 library allowance. Coats School was an accredited high school and had three students who would graduate in the 1924-25 school term. They were Ethel Ann Ennis, Lessie Hill and Nannie Stewart. Are any of those ladies’ names familiar to you? Who remembers who your 6th grade teacher was? For many, it was Nan Williams (Nannie Stewart). She was the daughter of T.V. Stewart who was a prominent merchant and ginner in Coats, and she was the wife of J.B. Williams who was mayor of Coats from 1937-1945 (Sorrell, Together We Leave xxi).
According to the Harnett County News, October 2, 1924 edition, Miss Ada Yarborough of Cary offered special courses in physical education which would be a new department for the Coats School. Teams were added for baseball, basketball, track and football. Plans were being made to transport students in adjoining communities to Coats Grove #3 School.
According to Sorrell, Together We Leave 1985, steam heat and sanitary equipment were approved for the school at the cost of $3,000 and $375 was spent in the 1924-25 term for sewer work in preparation for the addition of the bathrooms.
The October 2, 1924 edition of the Harnett County News recorded that plans had been made and the teachers were excited about the school opening on October 6th. The faculty was composed of the following: Misses Myrtle Roberts, music; Lucille Lee, Loren Dohin, Belle Graham, Mattie Brickhouse, Katie Underwood, Ada Yarborough, Mrs. W.R. Stallings, and Mrs. K.N. Stephenson. The principal was J.H. Taylor, a Trinity College graduate, who earned $2,000 as a teacher of science, arithmetic, general math, and biology. A.J. Rosser, also a Trinity College graduate, earned $1,000 for teaching 8 terms of Latin and algebra. J.W. Derflinger, a graduate of William and Mary, taught English and history.
Questions-Who knows what university is the former Trinity College? Was A.J. Rosser a relative of the late Harnett County Sheriff Rosser? Did a Coats graduate of 1959 marry the son of Principal Taylor?
I do know that in 1924 a law was created that separated the tax collection from the sheriff’s department. Henry A. Turlington was facing the challenge of his new position as the Harnett County Tax Collector, and he was assisted by Mr. A.B. Currin, Jr. of Angier and Mr. V.E. Williams of Dunn. Mr. Turlington told The News that he would be after the taxes with all his energy and time (Harnett County News October 9, 1924).
There is an old saying that states “There are two things which are certain in our life-taxes and death”. This held true in Coats for on the same day that Mr. Turlington made his pledge to collect due taxes, the death angel visited one of the top educators in the Grove area.
The paper recorded that Claud Stewart, one of Harnett’s most esteemed and useful citizens, had died at the age of 65. He had suffered for several months and Bright’s disease was the immediate cause of his death. Mr. Stewart was educated at the University of North Carolina and taught in the Harnett and Johnston County schools for forty years. Wonder if anyone from Coats attended the university earlier than Mr. Claud. His widow Catherine Bailey and nine children survived him. His seven sons were Herbert, C.G., Latta, Alfred, Henry, Victor, and Worth. The two daughters were Mrs. Paul Fish and Miss Callie Stewart. Wonder what Mrs. Fish’s name was. During this time frame, the wives where identified by their husband’s name. Note the names of the teachers above. Mr. Stewart was the last surviving child of the late Captain Daniel and Nancy Dixon Stewart. Captain Stewart of the Bailey’s Crossroads area had been one of Harnett’s largest farmers in the late 1800’s and both he and his brother, Eldridge Stewart, served in the N.C. Legislature. Claud Stewart was loyal member of the Coats Missionary Baptist Church, served on the Harnett County Board of Education, and was a tax-list taker for Grove. He was a staunch Democrat and took an active interest in politics. Reverend J. A. Campbell officiated at the funeral. Stewart was interred at the Stewart Cemetery which later became a part of the Ebenezer Presbyterian Church Cemetery near Bailey Crossroads. The News printed that Stewart’s acquaintances extended throughout the adjoining counties and that there was no man more highly regarded. He will be remembered for his splendid life (Harnett County News October 9, 1924).
Have you been surprised at the number of early Coats natives who attended the major universities? What other places offered higher education? Was Campbell an academy or college in 1924? Did you recognize the names of any of the Stewart children? Was C.G. Stewart the owner of the car dealership? Was Henry the owner of the corn mill? Was Latta the father of Campbell University former English professor, Dorothea Stewart Gilbert? Did Herbert own a store in Benson?
Read next week to discover when Carolina Power and Light Company officials visited the town board meeting and find out if the town had street lights in 1924.
Thanks to the Sorrell family for honoring the memory of Lentis Sorrell with a donation to the Coats Museum Endowment. Mr. Sorrell ‘s grandfather, William Richardson Sorrell, established the Sorrell School near Dunn in 1885, and Lentis’s wife, Maude Penny, was the daughter of Joe H. Penny who along with Bob Turlington petitioned in 1915 for the Penny School between Coats and Buies Creek. Mr. Lentis Sorrell had a keen memory for dates, names and places and was so helpful in sharing his memories with family and friends.
PLEASE BE MINDFUL THAT THIS ARTICLE APPEARED IN THE DAILY RECORD ON NOVEMBER 21, 2011.