Lives of Distinguished North Carolinians, with Illustrations and Speeches
History
Lives of Distinguished North Carolinians, with Illustrations and Speeches
North Carolina -- Biography
On his death-bed he spoke often of the communion of saints with,
one another, and with their Head. He was a decided Presbyterian,
however; he admired what he called "the symmetry" of the
ecclesiastical system of his church; he dwelt on its history with
great delight, and was accustomed to find support for his soul in
times of deep distress in its interpretations of the Bible. He
was a praying man, and not ashamed to be known as such. He first
introduced the practice of opening the regular meetings of the
faculty with prayer. The night before he died he said of the Lord's
Prayer: "The oftener I use it the more precious it is to me; it
contains a whole body of divinity."
In private life he was most upright, kind, social, and hospitable.
An excellent financier, he left a handsome estate, even "after the
war." He had a proper conception of the value of wealth, and all his
life practiced a judicious economy, but he knew well both how to
lend and how to give. His conversation was delightfully interesting
and instructive, replete with anecdote, genial humor, historical
incident, or literary quotation. Few men of his associates equaled
him in these respects, even after the infirmity of deafness had cut
him off from much social enjoyment.
His remains lie buried in Oakwood Cemetery, near Raleigh, and close
beside the sleeping soldiers of the Confederacy. The soil of our
State holds the dust of no son who loved her more or served her
better. Peaceful be his rest, as he waits for the clear breaking of
the day over the brow of the eternal hills.
The daisies prank thy grassy grave,
Above, the dark pine branches wave;
Sleep on.
Below, the merry runnel sings,
And swallows sweep with glancing wings;
Sleep on, old friend, sleep on.
Calm as a summer sea at rest,
Thy meek hands folded on thy breast,
Sleep on.
Hushed into stillness life's sharp pain,
Naught but the pattering of the rain;
Sleep on, dear friend, sleep on.
EARLY TIMES IN RALEIGH.
ADDRESS BY D. L. SWAIN.
There were few more exciting topics in ante-revolutionary times than
the location of the seat of government.
The first General Assembly, in relation to which we have much
authentic information, met at the house of Captain Richard
Sanderson, on Little River, in the county of Perquimans, in 1715,
and revised the whole body of the public statute law.
The style of enactment is characteristic of the times and of the
proprietary government: "Be it enacted by his Excellency the
Palatine and the rest of the true and absolute Lords Proprietors of
Carolina, by and with the advice and consent of this present General
Assembly, now met at Little River, for the northeastern part of this
province."
From Little River the seat of legislation was transferred in 1720 to
the General Court House at Queen Anne's Creek, in Chowan Precinct,
and in 1723 to Edenton.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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