KNOTTS ISLAND POLITICS A HUNDRED & MORE YEARS AGO, AND LATER; THE MEXICAN WAR; TRAGIC DEATH OF CAPT. HENRY WHITE; THE JEFFERSONIAN IDEA; FEDERALISM, COLONEL JONES AND OTHER NOTABLES; JOSEPH GRIMSTEAD THE HERO OF WAR, 1812.

The politics of Knotts' Island was Jeffersonian to the core. The more of Thomas Jefferson which revolutionized the politics of the States in the campaign of 1800, and which landed him in the presidential chair, carried the people of Knotts' Island with him; and up to my first recollection the political cry on there still was "Jeffersonian Democracy."

Of course there had been a few dissenters from the Jeffersonian idea, who called themselves Washingtonians, who clung to the federal idea, and who, with their like, formed later on the whig party So when I first saw the light the democratic and whig parties were in full blast.

The whigs on this Island numbered but few and had but little showing in the arena of politics; but they were an Intelligent and as good citizens as the Island held. They were mostly, if not all, found in the Smith and the Williams families. They knew as much about politics of the country as any others on there, yet it was somewhat dangerous to be other than democrat; therefore, in the political sphere, these few whigs were gloomy and isolated. Colonel John B. Jones led the majority, the Smiths the minority.

Colonel Jones was a large, tall man, a man of leisure, a warm politician in the county, who kept the inhabitants of Island well informed upon the political issues of the day. The colonel had large family connections in Virginia wither he traveled repeatedly, thereby gathering a good deal of the news of the day, touched up with many anecdotes to please.

This mode of gathering news, coupled with his newspapers kept him well stored with knowledge of current events. but few of the Islanders in those days took newspapers, except the Colonel and William Smith, the post master; preachers did entice some to take the Richmond Christian Advocate. So the Colonel took delight in seeking crowds (especially on arriving home from Norfolk and Princess Anne) to unburden his budget of current events. Uncle Cabe lived and had a workshop within one half mile of the Colonel's house, where could be found, almost any day in the week, many grinding at the hand-mill, to replenish the chicken-feed box, or simply playing the idle. Indeed, it was a great resort, second only to the meeting-house, and seldom was the Colonel at a loss to find there the usual crowd. He would almost always commence by spinning a laughable yarn on some friend of his, accompanied with the injunction: "Boys, say nothing about this, not a word". The fact was well understood that the Colonel wished to tell these funny yarns to every one himself, hence the Injunction.

I well remember, in 1847, when the war with Mexico was going on, how the Colonel and shop gatherers could often be found at this rendezvous, all talking about the war. It must (? below) gathered there, anxious for war news. Every one on this occasion had an extra dose of patriotism. Jones sent some boys to the post office to get his "Norfolk Herald.

" Here comes the paper; Colonel Jones stands in the middle the road, unfolding it; the crowd gather around agape, the writer in the midst.

The first thing that attracted my attention were the large head-lines on the first page; they went thus: "Victory: Victory: Victory: Good news from General Taylor:" This paper gave the details of the battle of Beuna Vista which had been fought 22-23 February, 1847. The Colonel read the details, the editor's comments, and then seated himself, spun a few remembered in those days that news didn't go by electricity or fast mail as now; it took weeks to get the news from our own frontier. So one day--mail day it was--they were all yarns, expatiated again upon the war news, then all reluctantly went home victorious. Mexico was farther away then than the Philippines are now. The Country was flooded with startling pictures of desperate hand-to-hand conflicts:--the red-coated Mexican Cavalry, with yellow distorted faces, running their sabres through and through and cutting off the heads of our blue-coats' and vice-versa; all the while the streams of blood running down the horses' sides to the ground. I can see those pictures yet, for many of them were nearly life size and vividly colored.

Colonel was most always a Justice of the Peace and chairman of our county court wherein Justices had jurisdiction. What Jones said in this position, on petitions and accounts presented to the court for consideration, was considered all right and went through. But there was often on the bench quite a wise and judicial old Justice from Powell's Point the name of Joshua Harrison, who would often scrutinize a petition which likely had been affirmatively considered, and bringing the paper near his eye, (for he was near sighted) he would find some reasonable objection to it in whole or in part; then Jones' tact in diplomacy would be brought to bear, generally resulting in a compromise. Jones was a rigid democrat and represented his county many times in the General Assembly of North Carolina, indeed as often as he saw fit to be a candidate. He could always poll his party vote, the independents, and some other votes of a different political faith. He spent all the money he got in this position for board and almanacs, which he distributed throughout the county.

He never forgot Knotts' Island--every one had an almanac, and often two in the same family could be found.

He was very charitable; the poor never went away empty, and in all his glory he never went back on his native Island. He had the quality of compromising the disputes and differences of its people, and would force the poorest and most ragged Islander (against the latter's will) to his hospitable table, even though he had there a refined class of visitors from Virginia or elsewhere, perhaps his daughters' sweet-hearts. I mention this to show the characteristics of the man. Every one, poor or rich, refined and educated or iliterate, was welcomed and fared the same under his roof.

JOSEPH GRIMSTEAD.

One of the first old men whom I recollect taking particular notice of, was a tall and wiry old fellow named Joseph Grimstead. This old man made no pretension as a leader in shaping society; but he helped to make history, for which the Island people paid him due respect. He had been in the Navy of the United States, in its infancy, in the war of 1812. It was twenty-three or twenty-four years after this war when I first knew him; yet, with groups of the Islanders, he would still sit and recount the agetating scenes of that war as though they had happened but yesterday. For be it known that Grimstead was gunner or the frigate Constitution, with Captain Hull, off the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, August 19th, 1812, when that desperate and bloody engagement took place between the Constitution and the British man-of-war Guerriere, which resulted in a great victory for gallant Hull and his crew. So you see he helped to kill the British Captain Dacres and forty of his crew, while sixty-four more lay bleeding from wounds; he also did his part in blowing up the disabled Guerriere. So this old man was a hero. His graphic description of this battle and other engagements in that war were immovabely fixed in the minds of the people of this Island when I was born. On the Island, even as late as my birth, if any person in the Revolution or the War of 1812 had drawn British blood, he was considered a hero. I am quite sure Grimstead was quite a boy in the war of the Revolution; for he could recount vividly the capers cut by Paul Jones and other celebrities in that war. All the national airs and social play-songs were drawn from the ever memorable events of these two wars: as, "Yankee Doodle," we are "Marching down to Old Quebec," "John Anderson my Joe Jone, Oh John, don't cross the main," etc.

THE TRAGIC DEATH OF CAPTAIN HENRY WHITE

About 1839 or 1840, a great and tragic event happened on the Island which made a lasting impression on my young mind. The Island was strewn with saw-pits where the people of those days sawed lumber with the whip-saw. There was one on my father's premises within fifty yards of our home, there neighbors brought hewn timber to be sawed. One day Captain Henry White, with oxen and carry log, brought a stock to be sawed. He was standing by the aft chain, in order to undo it, talking with some friends; by mistake the fore chain was unfastened first, the tongue flew over swiftly, struck him on the head between the left temple a forehand, and felled him senseless to the ground.

I, a mere lad, was soon on the ground where he lay groaning up unconscious. He soon became half-conscious, put his hand on his head, and asked what was the matter. He was told of the accident and that his hand was on the wound. He said his head was benumbed. If the stroke had not been a glancing one It would have killed him outright. An easy conveyance was brought and he was carried home, where he died that night. This old man (he appeared old to me) was one of the Is1and's best citizens,--righteous, charitable, unassuming-- a good man, and missed in many ways by all his neighbors, who held him in great respect.

I went with my father to the funeral at Mr. White's home. I think the local preacher, Strawhand conducted the funeral services.

The large congregation had assembled, but the preacher somewhat despondent. There happened to be present an old wiseacre, no doubt there, even on this occasion, to practice his wizardry. He was well known on the Island and surrounding country as a "fortune teller." His name was Whitmore. He told the anxious assembly that for a half-dollar he would tell them whether the preacher would come or not. The amount was forthcoming and passed over. He said the preacher would come. "Now," said the wizard," If you will give me another half dollar I will tell within ten minutes when he will arrive." This was quickly collected and passed over also. "He will be seen coming within ten minutes," said the wizard-teller of future events. In one minute thereafter by the watch a buggy hove in sight at the big bridge a hundred yards or more from the house, and in that buggy was the preacher.

That fellow, always on the alert for the superstitious pennny, while sitting on the near-by fence doubtless saw the buggy slowly meandering through the tree openings in the woods; but many there and then believed this old pretender could foretell future events.

As young as I was in the last few years of Mr. White's life, I have an indellible remembrance of some circumstances connected with it. He invariably went to church with some of his family, in a large, old-fashion buggy, or barouche, drawn by a white horse that made a peculiar noise in travelling when passing on home. Indeed, among the very things I can remember, was that old white horse tied to a tree on the church ground, one Saturday evening, when I was taken by, so small I scarcely could toddle.

This Henry White had his counterpart in a son of the same name who was still living up to May, 1905, when he died, drawing near his ninetieth year.

The old man Henry married twice and his last wife was half sister to this son's wife. The outcome of these two marriages was a lot of children on both sides, by which consanquinity and affinity got the relationship and kin of those two families perplexingly mixed and confused which gave rise to the questions: What relationship do the older father and mother bear to the children of the younger ones and the children to them and vice-versa and their children to each other?

NOTE

There was a Capt. Henry White that represented Currituck in the General Assembly 13th April 1731, under Governor Burrington, the first Governor under the Crown. Then again he represented Currituck in Genl. Assembly under Governor Johnson in 1746. This Henry White was from Knotts Island, for that name from then till now has been continuous on the Island. Henry White sometime dubbed Colonel was most always representative from 1731, till 1760.

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