October 18, 2024 Coats Museum News
In several of the past columns, the attempt has been made to show how some of us are a mix of many different immigrant groups who arrived here as early as 1740. They brought with them different skin, eye and hair coloring and varied body sizes. They spoke different languages and possessed varied skills or trades. Many came for different reasons-to escape prison, to have a better life, to make money, to practice religious freedoms and to seek out lands that were so beautifully described by those who first ventured here.
It was a long distance to travel across the big ocean to reach the shores of a new world. Let’s not forget that there were likely some who had doubts about the world being round and imagined the vessel in which they traveled could fall off the side of the “flat” earth.
For a few paragraphs, let me briefly share information from Henry F. Thompson who wrote a paper for the Maryland Historical Society entitled: “An Atlantic Voyage in the Seventeenth Century.” He noted that background differences occurred in the early settlers but one thing they had in common-the long dangerous and extremely unpleasant trip across the Atlantic Ocean.
This week let’s learn a bit about that journey which will be continued to the next column. First, let’s talk about the ships upon which they traveled. The early ones weighed between one hundred and fifty to two hundred and fifty tons. They were broad in bow; the forecastle and the poop were raised high above the main deck; the mainmast was placed in the middle of the ship; the foremast as near the bow as possible and the mizzen wherever the builder of the ship thought was safe.
Covering eight miles of ocean an hour would occur under fair wind and plenty of it. Some days only four or five miles were traveled. While on other days, the ship actually lost distance. The passenger never knew how long the voyage would last. The trip could be from forty-seven days to one hundred days from London to the Capes (“The Johnston Family” 25-35).
Were any of the ancestors of Frances Avery and Don Ennis on those early ships? This I do know. Averasboro was named for an Avery and the name Averyville appeared as early as 1729. We have documents in the museum to verify Ennis appeared on land records in the late 1700’s.
For a fact we do know that Frances Avery took office as mayor of Coats and became the first woman mayor in Harnett County. She had served on the town board since 1981. Commissioner Don Ennis was appointed Mayor Pro-tem. He was appointed to the board in 1991, replacing Greg Stevens who had resigned due to health issues. Clenton Smith was the new Coats Town Administrator. He had been the town’s part-time zoning administrator for 18 months (Daily Record Nov. 15, 1994).
Belle Williams in her “Notes from Coats” shared that the Coats Museum raffle was a big success. Tommy Williford had won the $1,000 and Darrell Smith had won the “ticket pot”. Happy times were felt at Julia Stewart’s house. Her granddaughter Amanda Little had celebrated her 18th birthday. She was home from UNC Wilmington.
Belle gave a rave review to Carolyn Dorman and her Triton High Gospel Choir program. She mentioned that many of the choir had gone on to further their education. One such member was Coats’ Brian Davis. Of course, her granddaughter ReBecca Williams, who sang with the choir, had made the honor roll at Triton and should be recognized for her talent.
Just last week the museum volunteers and Stacy Avery were sitting in the Research Library and were talking about early means of transportation when the topic of how Gustave Stewart from Turlington’s Crossroads had carried local students to Coats School with two mules and a Jitney. It was a covered wagon with a gong to warn of his advancing approach. The Jitney was powered by two mules named Maude and Nell.
This maneuver of transporting Turlington students to Coats likely spurred locals to improving their Turlington School. However, in 1994, it was not about the Jitney but about Brookie Stewart, the daughter of Gustave Stewart, who was celebrating her birthday.
Dorothea Stewart and I visited with Brookie Stewart, and she shared her memories of Coats and her neighborhood. I distinctly recall her saying one merchant measured a yard by holding out his arm and stretching fabric to his nose. Can you picture that? Another merchant sold cheese by the smell and by the hunk. Brookie shared that a young customer asked how much cheese he could get for a very small amount of pennies he had in his small hand and the merchant replied that he could get a “smell”.
The Coats Community is so fortunate to have volunteers at the museum who not only give their sweat but also their finances to make the museum a very amazing place to visit. A big thank you this week to volunteers and board members Lenny Parker, Randy Stephenson, David Barnes, Betty Wolf, Linda Cobb and Becky Adams and several others who went the extra mile by working on the tech issues, giving hours cutting shrubbery and cleaning the museum.
In several of the past columns, the attempt has been made to show how some of us are a mix of many different immigrant groups who arrived here as early as 1740. They brought with them different skin, eye and hair coloring and varied body sizes. They spoke different languages and possessed varied skills or trades. Many came for different reasons-to escape prison, to have a better life, to make money, to practice religious freedoms and to seek out lands that were so beautifully described by those who first ventured here.
It was a long distance to travel across the big ocean to reach the shores of a new world. Let’s not forget that there were likely some who had doubts about the world being round and imagined the vessel in which they traveled could fall off the side of the “flat” earth.
For a few paragraphs, let me briefly share information from Henry F. Thompson who wrote a paper for the Maryland Historical Society entitled: “An Atlantic Voyage in the Seventeenth Century.” He noted that background differences occurred in the early settlers but one thing they had in common-the long dangerous and extremely unpleasant trip across the Atlantic Ocean.
This week let’s learn a bit about that journey which will be continued to the next column. First, let’s talk about the ships upon which they traveled. The early ones weighed between one hundred and fifty to two hundred and fifty tons. They were broad in bow; the forecastle and the poop were raised high above the main deck; the mainmast was placed in the middle of the ship; the foremast as near the bow as possible and the mizzen wherever the builder of the ship thought was safe.
Covering eight miles of ocean an hour would occur under fair wind and plenty of it. Some days only four or five miles were traveled. While on other days, the ship actually lost distance. The passenger never knew how long the voyage would last. The trip could be from forty-seven days to one hundred days from London to the Capes (“The Johnston Family” 25-35).
Were any of the ancestors of Frances Avery and Don Ennis on those early ships? This I do know. Averasboro was named for an Avery and the name Averyville appeared as early as 1729. We have documents in the museum to verify Ennis appeared on land records in the late 1700’s.
For a fact we do know that Frances Avery took office as mayor of Coats and became the first woman mayor in Harnett County. She had served on the town board since 1981. Commissioner Don Ennis was appointed Mayor Pro-tem. He was appointed to the board in 1991, replacing Greg Stevens who had resigned due to health issues. Clenton Smith was the new Coats Town Administrator. He had been the town’s part-time zoning administrator for 18 months (Daily Record Nov. 15, 1994).
Belle Williams in her “Notes from Coats” shared that the Coats Museum raffle was a big success. Tommy Williford had won the $1,000 and Darrell Smith had won the “ticket pot”. Happy times were felt at Julia Stewart’s house. Her granddaughter Amanda Little had celebrated her 18th birthday. She was home from UNC Wilmington.
Belle gave a rave review to Carolyn Dorman and her Triton High Gospel Choir program. She mentioned that many of the choir had gone on to further their education. One such member was Coats’ Brian Davis. Of course, her granddaughter ReBecca Williams, who sang with the choir, had made the honor roll at Triton and should be recognized for her talent.
Just last week the museum volunteers and Stacy Avery were sitting in the Research Library and were talking about early means of transportation when the topic of how Gustave Stewart from Turlington’s Crossroads had carried local students to Coats School with two mules and a Jitney. It was a covered wagon with a gong to warn of his advancing approach. The Jitney was powered by two mules named Maude and Nell.
This maneuver of transporting Turlington students to Coats likely spurred locals to improving their Turlington School. However, in 1994, it was not about the Jitney but about Brookie Stewart, the daughter of Gustave Stewart, who was celebrating her birthday.
Dorothea Stewart and I visited with Brookie Stewart, and she shared her memories of Coats and her neighborhood. I distinctly recall her saying one merchant measured a yard by holding out his arm and stretching fabric to his nose. Can you picture that? Another merchant sold cheese by the smell and by the hunk. Brookie shared that a young customer asked how much cheese he could get for a very small amount of pennies he had in his small hand and the merchant replied that he could get a “smell”.
The Coats Community is so fortunate to have volunteers at the museum who not only give their sweat but also their finances to make the museum a very amazing place to visit. A big thank you this week to volunteers and board members Lenny Parker, Randy Stephenson, David Barnes, Betty Wolf, Linda Cobb and Becky Adams and several others who went the extra mile by working on the tech issues, giving hours cutting shrubbery and cleaning the museum.