In August, 1892, the centennial of Buncombe County, North Carolina, was celebrated at Asheville, the county-seat. At that time a sketch of Colonel Buncombe, written by one of his descendants, Mrs. Walter H. Rogers (born Goelet), of New Orleans, appeared in the _Asheville Citizen_, and from it we extract the following concerning his residence: “Buncombe Hall, like its founder, has passed away. It remained in the family till after the last war. Ere we quit the subject, let me describe this historic spot. The main building, L shape, contained eight large rooms, and a four-room basement under the whole, which served as store-rooms and a kitchen. The brick used in the building was brought from England. All necessary out-houses, including offices, were upon the premises. The yard was filled on one side with the most beautiful flowers and evergreens; on the other, with fine trees and velvety grass. To the south, stretched away a large peach and apple orchard--the whole surrounded by broad fields under cultivation, set in a back-ground of forests. Here the contemplative mind might revel in historic thought. The old hall, with its lofty ceilings, high oak panels, and chimney casings, seemed to whisper secrets of revolutionary times. Over the door of the dining-room hung the coat-of-arms of the Goelet family (a rising swan on a helmet); and, on the walls, were family portraits of Colonel Buncombe, his sister Mrs. Caines and her little daughter.[C] On a closet door still remained traces of sealing wax, used by the Colonel in sealing up his silver plate and valuables when he went to the war--vain precaution! His agent, left in charge, turned Tory, robbed him of not only the contents of this closet, but sold off his slaves and valuable timber and then decamped. “Soon after the fall of Roanoke Island, the Federal soldiers took possession of Plymouth. Then Buncombe Hall fell a prey to them, as Dr. Edward Buncombe Haughton, its owner, was fighting on the Confederate side. He returned after the war, bankrupt in purse, as all good Southerners were, and the old hall was sold to a Connecticut carpet-bagger. It could even then have been restored to its former greatness, but he razed it to the ground and did not leave a brick standing. It passed, again, out of his possession. The Southern Goelets, all descendants of Colonel Buncombe, were left too poor by the war to rescue his home from annihilation; and so passed away, and was wantonly destroyed, Buncombe Hall.” Before proceeding with my narrative, justice requires that acknowledgement be made to Mrs. Rogers, not only for the above quoted passages, but also for the letters hereinafter given, and other items relative to the family connection of her distinguished ancestor.