Generation No. 6

B322. ARTHUR BENJAMIN⁸ MAYO (Ethel Mariah⁷ Fleming, William Benjamin⁶, Osmyn S.⁵, Luke⁴, Benjamin³, David², John¹) was born July 17, 1917 in Edgecombe County, North Carolina, according to Emily Cheryl (Mayo) Malone; died May 25, 1991 in Lenoir Memorial Hospital, Kinston, Lenoir County, North Carolina.  He married Virginia Moore Meeks on October 10, 1941 in Fredericksburg, Virginia, daughter of William O. Meeks.  She was born June 8, 1917 in Nash County, North Carolina; died October 17, 2003 at Lenoir Memorial Hospital in Kinston; and was buried at Pinelawn Memorial Park, Kinston, North Carolina.

Marriage of Arthur Benjamin Mayo and Virginia Moore Meeks

Excerpt from The Daily Reflector, Greenville, North Carolina, Tuesday, October 14, 1941, p. 2:

MRS. ARTHUR BENJAMIN MAYO

Rocky Mount, Oct. 14 –– In a private ceremony solemnized Friday morning, October 10 in the First Methodist Church of Fredericksburg, Virginia, Miss Virginia Moore Meeks, of his city, and Mr. Arthur Benjamin Mayo, of Rocky Mount and Falkland, were united in marriage.  The Reverend L. L. Phillips officiated at the ring ceremony.

The bride, an attractive brunette, wore for her wedding an original model of black velveteen fashioned with a basque bodice and collar and cuffs of lace ...

Immediately after the ceremony, Mr. and Mrs. Mayo left for a wedding trip north and upon their return will make their home at 338 South Pearl Street, Rocky Mount ...

There were around 150 present ...

Mrs. Mayo is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W O. Meeks and a popular member of the younger set.  She was graduated from the Rocky Mount high school where she held membership in Delta Theta Delta sorority.  She later attended Wingate College in Rock Hill, South Carolina, the Woman’s College of the University of North Carolina in Greensboro, and Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, Virginia, where she was a member of the Cotillion Club.

Mr. Mayo is the son of Mrs. Lyman Brown and the late Arthur Herbert Mayo of Falkland.   He received his education in the Falkland schools.  He worked in Greenville for five years, coming to Rocky Mount from that city.  He is now associated in business here.

Obituary of Virginia Moore Meeks

The Free Press, Kinston, North Carolina, Saturday, October 18, 2003:

VIRGINIA M. MAYO

KINSTON –– Virginia Meeks Mayo, died Friday, Oct. 17, 2003, at Lenoir Memorial Hospital.

Virginia was a retired schoolteacher with the Kinston City Schools, a member of Delta Kappa Gamma and was a member of Queen Street United Methodist Church.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Arthur Benjamin Mayo; sister, Mary Elizabeth Bryan of Tarboro; and brother, William O. Meeks Jr. of Newport.

Funeral services will be held at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Queen Street United Methodist Church with the Rev. Francis Daniel officiating.  A private burial will be held at Pinelawn Memorial Park.

Survivors include a daughter, Cheryl Mayo Malone and husband, Larry, of Kinston; son, Chip Mayo and wife, Teresa, of Raleigh; grandchildren, Kim Malone Gay and husband, Ty, of Kinston, Will, Andrew, Allie and Julie Mayo, all of Raleigh, and great-granddaughter, Virginia Jenna Grace Smith; and special niece, Sherrod Bryan.

The family will be at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Larry Malone ... in Kinston.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Queen Street United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 508, Kinston, NC 28502.  Arrangements by Edwards Funeral Home.

Obituary of Arthur Benjamin Mayo

The Daily Reflector, Greenville, North Carolina, Monday, May 27, 1991, p. A-8:

MAYO

KINSTON –– Mr. Arthur Benjamin Mayo, 73, of 1802 Elizabeth Drive, died Saturday in Lenoir Memorial Hospital.

His funeral was to be conducted today at 3:30 p.m. at Queen Street United Methodist Church by the Rev. Ed Privette and Ray Broadwell.

Mr. Mayo, a veteran of World War II, was a retired accountant with Western and Southern Insurance Co.  He was a member of Queen Street Church.

He is survived by his wife, Virginia Meeks Mayo; one son, Arthur B. Mayo, Jr. of Raleigh; one daughter, Cheryl M. Malone of Kinston; one sister, Betty Brown Clark of Jacksonville, Fla., and three grandchildren.

Memorials may be made to Queen Street United Methodist Church, Queen Street, Kinston, N. C. 28501.

Arrangements were by Edwards Funeral Home.

Issue:

B559–––i.–––Emily Cheryl⁹ Mayo, of whom below, was born in 1946 in Nash County, North Carolina.

B560–––ii.–––Arthur Benjamin Mayo, Jr., of whom below, born in 1956 in Lenoir County, North Carolina.

B323. BETTY JEAN⁸ BROWN (Ethel Mariah⁷ Fleming, William Benjamin⁶, Osmyn S.⁵, Luke⁴, Benjamin³, David², John¹) was born in 1934 in Pitt County, North Carolina, according to Melvin E. Clark, Jr.  She married Melvin Earl Clark on December 28, 1951 in Pitt County, North Carolina.  He was born in 1933 in North Carolina.  He married second Florence (Hair) Cate in Duval County, Florida, on January 4, 1986.  She was born in Georgia in 1937.  His marriage to Betty Jean Brown ended in divorce on October 10, 1975.  It was also her second marriage, her first ending in divorce in February of 1974.

Issue:
Of Betty Jean Brown and Melvin Earl Clark

B561–––i.–––Melvin Earl⁹ Clark, Jr., born in 1954 in North Carolina.  He married Jill Alison Richie on November 19, 1977 in Marion County, Florida.  She was born in 1954 in Illinois.   Divorce decree issued on May 28, 1996 in Alachua County, Florida.  Two children: Eric E. Clark and Nathan W. Clark.

B562–––ii.–––Sandra Jean Clark, born in 1964 in Virginia.  She married Bruce Wilbur Stonestreet on August 27, 1994 in Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida.  He was born in 1967 in Indiana.  Florida Marriage Certificate Number 084863, County Book/Page Number 01760070 indicates that this was her second marriage, her first ending in divorce in April 1989, and his first.

B335. POLLY⁸ FLEMING (Jesse Marcellus⁷, Marcellus⁶, Osmyn S.⁵, Luke⁴, Benjamin³, David², John¹) was born November 7, 1933 in Greenville, Pitt County, Alabama; died on October 11, 2002 in Phenix City, Russell County, Alabama; and was buried in Fort Mitchell National Cemetery, Seale, Russell County, Alabama.  She was the widow of Elwood Earl Stokes, who was born on March 11, 1932; died on September 20, 1991; and was buried in Fort Mitchell National Cemetery, Seale, Russell County, Alabama.

Obituary of Polly Fleming

The Daily Reflector, Greenville, North Carolina, Saturday, October 12, 2002:

POLLY STOKES

PHENIX CITY, Ala. –– Ms. Polly Fleming Stokes, 68, of 21 Lee Road died Friday, Oct. 11, 2002.  She was a member of Mount Zion United Methodist Church and several community organizations.

Graveside services 10 a.m. Tuesday, Mitchell National Cemetery.  Visitation 6-8 p.m. Monday, Stirffler-Hamby Mortuary, Phenix City, Ala.

The Ledger-Enquirier, Columbus, Georgia, Saturday, October 12, 2002:

POLLY FLEMING STOKES

November 7, 1933 - October 11, 2002

PHENIX CITY, AL –– Polly Fleming Stokes, 68 of 21 Lee Road 516, Phenix City, died Friday, October 11, 2002 at her residence.  Graveside services will be 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, October 15, 2002 in Ft. Mitchell National Cemetery with Rev. Ron Lee officiating according to Striffler-Hamby Mortuary, Phenix City, AL.  The family will receive friends 6-8:00 p.m. Monday, October 14, 2002 at the funeral home.

Mrs. Stokes was born November 7, 1933 in Greenville, South (North?) Carolina to the late Jesse M. Fleming II and Doris Powell Fleming.  She was a member of Mt. Zion United Methodist Church, Member of Wilson Williams Chapter 373 OES Phenix City Shrinetts, Daughters of the Nile and Golden Ages of Mt. Zion United Methodist Church.   She was preceded in death by her husband Elwood Stokes.

Survivors include her daughter, Deborah Stokes Pienkowski and husband John of Wesley Chapel, FL; son, Douglas E. Stokes and wife Dianne of Phenix City, AL; sister, Mattie Lou Woodard and husband David of Greenville, SC; brother, J. M. Fleming III of Greenville, SC; five grandchildren, Kimberly Ann Pienkowski of West Point, New York, Michael Alexander Pienkowski of Wesley Chapel, FL, Stephen Douglas Stokes, Stephanie Lynn Stokes and Crystal Biggs all of Phenix City, AL; one great grandchildren, Korbyn Hamilton of Phenix City, AL; several aunts and uncles.

Obituary of Elwood Earl Stokes

The Daily Reflector, Greenville, North Carolina, Sunday, September 22, 1991, p. B-2:

ELWOOD EARL STOKES, 59, KOREA, VIETNAM VETERAN

Staff Sgt. Elwood Earl Stokes, 59, of Phenix City, Ala., died Friday.

Graveside services Monday 11 a.m. at the Fort Mitchell National Cemetery in Alabama.

Sgt. Stokes was a Korea and Vietnam War veteran.

Survivors: wife, Polly Stokes; son, Douglas Stokes of Phenix City; daughter, Deborah Pienkowski of Fort Leavenworth, Kan.; sister, Shirley Taylor of Summerville, S.C.; two brothers, Loyd W. Stokes of Greenville and Benjamin F. Stokes of Rocky Mount; and four grandchildren.

Arrangements: Striffler-Hamby Mortuary of Phenix City, Ala.

Issue:

B563–––i.–––Deborah⁹ Stokes, of whom below.

B564–––ii.–––Douglas E. Stokes, of whom below.

B342. THOMAS EDWARD⁸ FLEMING (James Louis⁷, Charles Erastus⁶, Edward Peter⁵, Peter⁴, Benjamin³, David², John¹) was born in 1951, and married Patricia Sue Patrick on June 24, 1973 in First Presbyterian Church, Greenville, Pitt County, North Carolina, daughter of John Carol Patrick.  She was born in 1950.  Each attended East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina.

Marriage of Thomas Edward Fleming and Patricia Sue Patrick

Excerpt from The Daily Reflector, Greenville, North Carolina, Monday, June 25, 1973, p. 2:

MISS PATRICIA SUE PATRICK
IS MARRIED AT THE
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Miss Patricia Sue Patrick became the bride of Thomas Edward Fleming Sunday at 6:00 p.m. in the First Presbyterian Church.  The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Carol Patrick of Greenville.  The bridegroom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. James Louis Fleming also of Greenville.  The Rev. Graham Nahouse officiated at the double ring ceremony ...

A program of nuptial music was presented by Kenneth Woodard, organist.  The Rev. Charles M. Smith, soloist, sang “Eternal Life,” “O Perfect Love,” and “The Lord’s Prayer.”

The bride (was) given in marriage by her father ...

Mrs. Peyton Larue Simpson of Cincinnati, Ohio, attended her sister as matron of honor ... Miss Cheryl Elaine Berry of Hickory was maid of honor ... Also attending the bride were Mrs. Carol Douglas Patrick of Raleigh, sister-in-law of the bride, and Mrs. Randolph Clarke Stokes, Jr. ... Miss Tonya Larue Simpson, niece of the bride, was flower girl and William Clayborn Deanhardt was ring bearer ...

The best man was James Louis Fleming, Sr., father of the bridegroom.  Groomsmen included James Louis Fleming, brother of the bridegroom, of New York City, Peyton Larue Simpson of Cincinnati, Ohio, brother-in-law of the bride, Carol Douglas Patrick of Raleigh, brother of the bride, Charles Edward Leonard and Clade Douglas Hartsell ...

The couple left for a wedding trip to Florida ...

The bride graduated from East Carolina University with a degree in early childhood education.  She has taught one year in the Bertie County School System.  The bridegroom is a rising junior at East Carolina University.  He is presently employed with Fisher’s Appliances.

The couple will reside in Greenville ...

Issue:

B565–––i.–––Brian Patrick⁹ Fleming, born in 1978, attended East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina.  He married Amanda Robbins Calfee on July 20, 2002 at St. James United Methodist Church in Greenville, North Carolina.

B566–––ii.–––Kelly Paige Fleming, born in 1982.

B343. CATHY ELIZABETH⁸ FLEMING (James Louis⁷, Charles Erastus⁶, Edward Peter⁵, Peter⁴, Benjamin³, David², John¹) was born in 1952, according to Pitt County, North Carolina Families, Adams - Jinkins, Volume I, compiled by Levis Allen Churchill, Greenville, North Carolina, April 1995, p. 85.  She married Gary Harold Greene.

Issue:

B567–––i.–––Mary Dawn⁹ Greene, born in 1974, according to Pitt County, North Carolina Families, Adams - Jinkins, Volume I, compiled by Levis Allen Churchill, Greenville, North Carolina, April 1995, p. 85.

B568–––ii.–––Michael Benjamin Greene was born in 1978.

B344. ETHEL FLEMING⁸ CAUSEY (Ethel Louise⁷ Fleming, Charles Erastus⁶, Edward Peter⁵, Peter⁴, Benjamin³, David², John¹) married Timothy Monroe Wooten, son of Monroe Walter Wooten, on July 7, 1969 in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Marriage of Ethel Fleming Causey and Timothy Monroe Wooten

The Daily Reflector, Greenville, North Carolina, Sunday, June 8, 1969, p. 8:

MISS CAUSEY

Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Clyde Winchester of Greenville announce the engagement of her daughter to Lt. Timothy Monroe Wooten, son of Mr. and Mrs. Monroe Walter Wooten of Macclesfield.  The wedding will take place in July.

The Daily Reflector, Greenville, North Carolina, Friday, July 18, 1969, p. 3:

MARRIAGE ANNOUNCED

MRS. TIMOTHY MONROE WOOTEN ... Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Clyde Winchester of Greenville announce the marriage of her daughter, Ethel Fleming Causey to Lt. Wooten, son of Mr. and Mrs. Monroe Walter Wooten of Macclesfield, on July 7 at the Fort De Russey Chapel, Honolulu, Hawaii.

Issue:

B569–––i.–––Warren⁹ Wooten.

B570–––ii.–––Jae Wooten.

B571–––iii.–––Sallie Wooten.

B347. LINDSAY⁸ HENRY (Evelyn Nell⁷ Fleming, Charles Erastus⁶, Edward Peter⁵, Peter⁴, Benjamin³, David², John¹) married Margie Peoples.

Issue:

B572–––i.–––Elizabeth⁹ Henry.

B573–––ii.–––James Henry.

B351. JANE LOIS ELIZABETH⁸ FLEMING (Robert Nelson⁷, Bithel⁶, Edward Peter⁵, Peter⁴, Benjamin³, David², John¹) was born in 1952.  She married a Mr. Kachel.

Jane (Fleming) Kachel and her finance and two grandchildren, Jennie and Brett Kachel. Sent by Jane (Fleming) Kachel	Jane (Fleming) Kachel and her son and two grandchildren, Jennie and Brett Kachel. Sent by Jane (Fleming) Kachel

Issue:

B574–––i.–––David Richard⁹ Kachel, born circa 1973.

B575–––ii.–––Michael Kachel, of whom below, born circa 1975.

B361. IRMA YVONNE⁸ FLEMING (Walter Mack Erastus⁷, Bithel⁶, Edward Peter⁵, Peter⁴, Benjamin³, David², John¹) was born in 1938 in Pitt County, North Carolina, according to The Chronicles of Pitt County, North Carolina, Pitt County Historical Society, Greenville, North Carolina, 1982, p. 305.  She married Herbert Poe Brown on June 16, 1965 in Tarboro, Edgecombe County, North Carolina.

Issue:

B576–––i.–––Elinor Elizabeth⁹ Brown, born in 1968, according to The Chronicles of Pitt County, North Carolina, Pitt County Historical Society, Greenville, North Carolina, 1982, p. 305.  She married Timothy Ray Moseley on October 19, 1991 in Sweet Gum Grove Free Will Baptist Church, Pitt County, North Carolina.

It appears from the story of their wedding below that she had a brother, Linwood Brown.

Marriage of
Elinor Elizabeth Brown
and Timothy Ray Moseley

The Daily Reflector, Greenville, North Carolina, Sunday, September 8, 1991, p. G-5:

ENGAGEMENTS

ELINOR ELIZABETH BROWN
TIMOTHY RAY MOSELEY

Herbert and Yvonne Brown of Route 1, Stokes, announce the engagement of their daughter, Elinor Elizabeth Brown, to Timothy Ray Moseley, son of James and Joann Moseley of Greenville.  An Oct. 19 wedding is planned.

The Daily Reflector, Greenville, North Carolina, Sunday, October 20, 1991, p. G-5:

TIMOTHY RAY MOSELEY
ELINOR ELIZABETH BROWN

Elinor Elizabeth Brown and Timothy Ray Mosely were married Saturday at 3 p.m. in Sweet Gum Grove Free Will Baptist Church.  The Rev. David Hill conducted the double-ring ceremony.

The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Herbert P. Brown of Stokes, and the bridegroom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. James H. Moseley of Greenville.

The bride was given in marriage by her parents.  Regina Mosely of Grimesland, sister of the bridegroom, was matron of honor, and Kristen Brown of Greenville, niece of the bride, was flower girl.  Bridesmaids were Kathy Brown, sister-in-law of the bride, Robbie Teel and Heather Brown, niece of the bride, all of Greenville.

The father of the bridegroom was best man.  Ushers were James E. Moseley of Grimesland, brother of the bridegroom, Linwood Brown, brother of the bride, Richard Robinson and Tracy Coggins, both of Greenville, and Alex Moseley of Winterville, nephew of the bridegroom. Mike Miller of Greenville, cousin of the bridegroom, was ring bearer.

A reception was held at the church fellowship building.

The couple will live in Stokes after the wedding trip.

The bride is a graduate of East Carolina University.  The bridegroom is employed by Classic Car Colours.

B362. JAMES BEVERLY⁸ CONGLETON, JR. (Lillian⁷ Stokes, Addie⁶ Perkins, Annis S.⁵ Fleming, Peter⁴, Benjamin³, David², John¹) was born January 25, 1918, according to The Chronicles of Pitt County, North Carolina, published by the Pitt County Historical Society, Greenville, North Carolina, 1982, p. 237.  He married Vera Pearl Williams on June 19, 1949, possibly in Martin County, North Carolina.  According to The Chronicles of Pitt County, North Carolina, James Beverly Congleton, Jr. came back to Stokes after four years at Elon College (Elon, North Carolina) and four years in the Armed Forces.  (O)n January 1, 1946, he joined the partnership of Stokes and Congleton.

Issue:

B577–––i.–––James Beverly⁹ Congleton III, born in 1950.  According to The Chronicles of Pitt County, North Carolina, p. 237, he was a pedodontist in New Bern, North Carolina.

Notes

The Daily Reflector, Greenville, North Carolina, Sunday, November 13, 1966, p. 12:

SCOUT IS CHOSEN FOR ANNUAL TRIP

STOKES ––– James B. Congleton, 16, has been chosen to represent the Sixth Region of the Boy Scouts of America in a week long trip to Washington, D.C. and New York which will be highlighted by a meeting with President Johnson and members of the Cabinet.

He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Congleton of Stokes and had been a scout for 4½ years.

Expenses for the annual February trip, called Report to the Nation, will be paid by the National Council of Boy Scouts, Congleton said.

He was chosen from among five boys representing parts of four states that make up the southeastern region to go on the trip.

The Report to the Nation consists of 12 scouts representing the 12 regions in the United States touring New York City and Washington, D.C. during National Boy Scout Week in February featuring a meeting with the President.

Congleton is a junior at Stokes-Pactolus High School and a member of Troop 491 sponsored by the Stokes Ruritan Club.

B578–––ii.–––Edwin Williams Congleton, born in 1952, according to The Chronicles of Pitt County, North Carolina, p. 237.  He married Shelly Joslyn.  He is possibly the same as Edwin Congleton of Stokes, who is chairman of the Pitt County, North Carolina Republican Party and Republican nominee for North Carolina House District 6 in 2000 against incumbent Democrat R. Eugene Rogers.

Notes

The News & Observer, Raleigh, North Carolina, Monday, June 5, 2000 , p. A-3:

UNDER THE DOME

Brubaker helps Congleton

ormer N.C. House Speaker Harold Brubaker, an Asheboro Republican, appeared at a fund-raiser Thursday for Republican House candidate Ed Congleton in Greenville.

Congleton, owner of a family propane and oil company, is vying with incumbent Democrat Gene Rogers of Williamston for the seat in House District 6.

Congleton said no talk occurred about Brubaker’s interest in running for speaker if the GOP wins back the House.

“He did a tremendous job for us,” Congleton said.  “I have no objection to supporting him when I am elected.  We’ll have to wait and see what happens.”

B579–––iii.–––Wilbur Barnes Congleton, born April 18, 1956.  He married Pamela Warren, born May 23, 1956.

B363. VIRGINIA ANNETTE⁸ CONGLETON (Lillian⁷ Stokes, Addie⁶ Perkins, Annis S.⁵ Fleming, Peter⁴, Benjamin³, David², John¹) was born May 6, 1927, according to The Chronicles of Pitt County, North Carolina, published by the Pitt County Historical Society, Greenville, North Carolina, 1982, p. 237.  She married William A. Romeiser.  She was living in Toledo, Ohio, in 1953, according to the obituary of her father, James Beverly Congleton, Sr., in The Daily Reflector, Greenville, North Carolina, Monday, June 1, 1953, p. 3.

Issue:

B580–––i.–––Eric⁹ Romeiser.

B581–––ii.–––David Romeiser.

B582–––iii.–––Robert Romeiser.

B583–––iv.–––Susan Romeiser.

B367. CURTIS FLEMING⁸ PERKINS, JR. (Curtis Fleming⁷, James Lawrence⁶, Annis S.⁵ Fleming, Peter⁴, Benjamin³, David², John¹) was born October 12, 1927 in Pitt County, North Carolina, according to The Chronicles of Pitt County, North Carolina, Pitt County Historical Society, Greenville, North Carolina, 1982, p. 580; died December 31, 2001 in Pitt Memorial Hospital, Greenville, Pitt County, North Carolina.  He married Maxine Reese, who was born on September 16, 1923; died October 5, 1976 in Greensboro, Guilford County, North Carolina.

Obituary of Curtis Fleming Perkins, Jr.

The Daily Reflector, Greenville, North Carolina, Tuesday, January 1, 2002:

MR. CURTIS PERKINS JR., 75, Monday, Dec. 31, 2001. Wilkerson Funeral Home.

The Daily Reflector, Greenville, North Carolina, Wednesday, January 2, 2002:

CURTIS PERKINS, JR.

Curtis Perkins Jr., 75, died Monday, Dec. 31, 2001.  A native of Pitt County, he attended Greenville city schools, Episcopal High School in Lynchburg, Va., and East Carolina University.  He served in the U.S. Army during World War II and the Korean War and worked in the insurance industry for nearly 50 years.

Memorial services 3 p.m. Saturday, Bethel Presbyterian Church, McLeansville.  Visitation 6-8 p.m. Friday, Wilkerson Funeral Home.

Memorials to Bethel Presbyterian Church, 300 Knox Road, McLeansville, N.C. 27301, or St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 401 E. Fourth St., Greenville, N.C. 27858.

The Daily Reflector, Greenville, North Carolina, Thursday, January 3, 2002:

CURTIS PERKINS, JR.

Mr. Curtis Perkins Jr., 75, died Monday Dec. 31, 2001, at Pitt County Memorial Hospital.

Memorial services will be conducted Saturday at 3 p.m. at Bethel Presbyterian Church in McLeansville.  The family will receive visitors at the church after the service and at other times at the home of Kim Teeters, 4506 Oakmoor Drive, Greensboro.

Mr. Perkins, a native of Pitt County, attended Greenville city schools, Episcopal High School in Lynchburg, Va., and East Carolina University.  While at East Carolina University, he was a member of the golf team, and in 1999, he was honorary captain of the East Carolina Golf Team.  He served in the United States Army during both WWII and the Korean Conflict, and had an active career in the insurance industry for nearly 50 years.  He was preceded in death by his wife, Maxine Rees Perkins in 1976, and his father, Curtis Perkins Sr. in 1977.

He is survived by his mother, Elizabeth White McMillan of Greenville; four daughters; Heidi L. Perkins of Greenville, Diane P. Jackson, Kim P. Teeters and husband Johnny and Nancy P. Swanson and husband Dan, all of Greensboro; three sons; Curtis F. “Kirk” Perkins III and wife Nancy, Julian O. Perkins, Jeffrey F. Perkins and wife Natalie, all of Greensboro; and four grandchildren, Todd Perkins, Nichole Jackson, Angela Parham and Jena Perkins; and four great-grandchildren.

The family will receive friends Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. at Wilkerson Funeral Home.  In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to the Bethel Presbyterian Church, 300 Knox Road, McLeansville, N.C., 27301, or St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 401 E. 4th, Greenville, N.C., 27858.

Obituary of Maxine Reese Perkins

The Daily Reflector, Greenville, North Carolina, Wednesday, October 6, 1976, p. 12:

PERKINS

GREENSBORO –– Mrs. Curtis Perkins, Jr., formerly of Greenville, died last night.  Funeral services will be held Thursday at 3 p.m.

Survivors include her husband, Curtis Perkins, Jr. of the home; three sons, Kirk, Julian, and Jeffrey, all of Greensboro; five daughters, Mrs. Steve Simmons, Mrs. Tim Maness, Mrs. J.C. Tuttle, Miss Diane Perkins and Miss Heidi Perkins, all of Greensboro; her mother, Mrs. Daphne Reese; a sister, Mrs. Ben Miles; and two grandchildren.

Issue:

The obituary of Maxime (Reese) Perkins,
Mrs. Curtis Fleming Perkins, Jr.,
states that she was survived by five daughters,
however, I have record of only four, listed below.

B584–––i.–––Curtis Fleming⁹ Perkins III, of whom below, born in 1951.

B585–––ii.–––Elizabeth Diane Perkins, of whom below, was born in 1953.

B586–––iii.–––Kimberla Rose Perkins, of whom below, was born in 1955.

B587–––iv.–––Nancy Marie Perkins, born in 1957.  Nancy married first Tim Maness on March 13, 1976 and second Dan Swanson.

B588–––v.–––Julian Otis Perkins, born in 1958.

B589–––vi.–––Jeffrey Franklin Perkins was born in 1960.  He married Natalie ?.

B590–––vii.–––Heidi Lynn Perkins, born in 1969.

B368. JAMES VANCE⁸ PERKINS, JR. (James Vance⁷, James Lawrence⁶, Annis S.⁵ Fleming, Peter⁴, Benjamin³, David², John¹) was born in 1937.  Jimmy married Mary Lynne Southerland on August 30, 1959 in St. Paul Methodist Church, Goldsboro, Wayne County, North Carolina, daughter of David Roscoe Southerland.  Their marriage was performed by his grandfather, Dr. Frederick Jones, retired Baptist minister of Greenville.  She was born in 1939.  At the time of their marriage, he was in the engineering program at North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina and a member of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity, and Lynn was a student at Meredith College, in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Marriage of James Vance Perkins, Jr. and Mary Lynne Southerland

Excerpt from The Daily Reflector, Greenville, North Carolina, Monday, August 17, 1959, p. 2:

MISS SOUTHERLAND GIVEN LUNCHEON, TEA

Miss Lynn Southerland was guest of honor at a luncheon Saturday when Mrs. Jesse R. Moye and Misses Margaret and Lillian Moye were hostesses.

The honoree and her mother, Mrs. David Southerland, with the hostesses, received at the foyer …

GOLDSBORO – Miss Lynn Southerland, who will marry James Vance Perkins Jr. of Greenville on Aug 30, was honored at a tea recently … held at the home of Mrs. Hayden Stuart …

Excerpt from The Daily Reflector, Greenville, North Carolina, Monday, August 31, 1959, p. 2:

JIMMY PERKINS WEDS GOLDSBORO BRIDE

GOLDSBORO – The wedding of Miss Mary Lynne Southerland and James Vance Perkins Jr. was solemnized yesterday afternoon at St. Paul Methodist Church.  Officiating at the double-ring rites was the grandfather of the bridegroom, Dr. Frederick Jones, retired Baptist minister of Greenville.  He was assisted by the bride’s pastor, the Rev. Leon Couch.

Mr. and Mrs. David Roscoe Southerland of Goldsboro are the bride’s parents, and the bridegroom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Vance Perkins of Greenville.

“I Love Thee” and “Whither Thou Goest” were sung by Mrs. David Weil.  She was accompanied by Mrs. John Crumpler, organist.

Given in marriage by her father ...

Maid of honor was the bride’s sister, Miss Kay Southerland.  Bridesmaids were Miss Nancy Sue Gaylord of Jamesville, Miss Jane Perkins, sister of the bridegroom, of Greenville, Miss Barbara Southerland, cousin of the bride, of Goldsboro, Miss Georgia Cobb and Miss Mary Bea Heeden, both of Goldsboro ...

Honorary bridesmaids ... were Misses Jane Smith, Agnes Lawler, Pat Brown, all of Goldsboro, and Miss Anita Everette of Robersonville, and Miss Linda Whisnant of Hickory.

Best man was the father of the bridegroom.  Ushers were Gene Brown, Clark Noble, Walter Perkins, cousin of the bridegroom, all of Greenville, Burwell Temple Jr., cousin of the bridegroom, of Kinston, Laurence Cutchin, cousin of the bridegroom, of Chapel Hill, and Gerald Grant Jr., cousin of the bride, of Goldsboro ...

The bride was graduated from Goldsboro High School and is a rising junior at Meredith College, Raleigh.  The bridegroom was graduated from Greenville High School and in engineering physics from N. C. State College.  He was a member of Pi Kappa Phi social fraternity ...

Issue:

B591–––i.–––David Vance⁹ Perkins, born in 1963, according to The Chronicles of Pitt County, North Carolina, Pitt County Historical Society, Greenville, North Carolina, 1982, p. 580.

B592–––ii.–––Allison Cooper Perkins, born in 1967.

B593–––iii.–––Leslie Winn Perkins, born in 1969.

B369. JANE MARSHALL⁸ PERKINS (James Vance⁷, James Lawrence⁶, Annis S.⁵ Fleming, Peter⁴, Benjamin³, David², John¹) was born in 1940, according to The Chronicles of Pitt County, North Carolina, Pitt County Historical Society, Greenville, North Carolina, 1982, p. 580 and 581.  She married Wilkie Carlos Burt on August 21, 1960 in Memorial Baptist Church, Greenville, Pitt County, North Carolina, son of Johnnie Joseph Burt.  Her grandfather, H. Frederick Jones, officiated.  At the time of their marriage, she was a student at East Carolina College, Greenville, North Carolina; he had graduated from that institution, at which he was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity.  Carlos Burt was born in 1937. 

Marriage of Jane Marshall Perkins and Wilkie Carlos Burt

Excerpt from The Daily Reflector, Greenville, North Carolina, Monday, August 22, 1960, p. 2:

MISS JANE MARSHALL PERKINS
MARRIES WILKIE CARLOS BURT

he wedding of Miss Jane Marshall Perkins and Wilkie Carlos Burt was solemnized yesterday at five p.m. at the Memorial Baptist Church.  The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Vance Perkins Sr., of Greenville, and the groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Johnnie Joseph Burt.

Officiating at the double ring rites was the grandfather of the bride, Rev. H. Frederick Jones, retired Baptist minister.  He was assisted by Rev. Percy Upchurch, the bride’s pastor ...

Given in marriage by her father ...

Mrs. James Vance Perkins, Jr., of Raleigh, served her sister-in-law as matron of honor.  The maid of honor was Miss Dele Guddy of Roanoke, Va., a former roommate of the bride.

Bridesmaids were: Misses Lillian Moye, Camilla Henderson, Judy Jolly, Ray Lane, and Mrs. Richard Haar of Greenville, and Mrs. John E. Arnold of Lockport, N.Y. ...

Honorary bridesmaids ... were Misses Anne Moore, Ruth Young, Jenny Lynn Thompson, Martha Lee Moye of Greenville, Miss Betsy King of Farmville, and Mrs. T. C. Carson, Jr., of Bethel.

The groom had as his best man his brother, Dr. Johnnie J. Burt, Jr., of Chapel Hill.

Ushers were: Dr. Joe H. Burt of Winston-Salem, brother of the bridegroom, Lt. William Jenkins of Fairmont, Montrose Graham of Enfield, J. Vance Perkins, Jr., brother of the bride of Raleigh, Thomas Nelson of Jacksonville, Gene Bedsole of Elizabethtown, Crowell Pope of Littleton, and Charles Miles of Richmond, Va. ...

The bride was graduated from Junius Rose High School and attended Sullins Junior College.  At present she is a rising junior at East Carolina College.

The groom is a graduate of Campbell Junior College and East Carolina College.  He is a science major and will teach in the Pitt County Schools this fall and continue work on his Master’s Degree at East Carolina College.

He is a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha social fraternity …

After a northern wedding trip, the couple will make their home at 505 College View Apartments, Greenville ...

Issue:

B594–––i.–––John Marshall⁹ Burt was born in 1963.

B595–––ii.–––Janell Ashley Burt, born in 1965.

B596–––iii.–––Jeffrey Davis Burt, born in 1967.

B370. VIRGINIA KING⁸ PERKINS (Walter Reid⁷, James Lawrence⁶, Annis S.⁵ Fleming, Peter⁴, Benjamin³, David², John¹) was born in 1933, according to The Chronicles of Pitt County, North Carolina, Pitt County Historical Society, Greenville, North Carolina, 1982, p. 580.  She married Rev. Charles Edward Sharp, Jr. on May 11, 1957 at the Eighth Street Christian Church, Greenville, North Carolina.  Ed was/is the rector of Christ Church (Episcopal), New Bern, North Carolina.  He was born July 10, 1924.

Marriage of Virginia King Perkins and Charles Edward Sharp, Jr.

Excerpt from The Daily Reflector, Greenville, North Carolina, Monday, May 13, 1957, p. 2:

VIRGINIA PERKINS, THE REV. SHARP MARRY

he Eighth Street Christian Church was the setting of a formal candlelight ceremony on Saturday, May 11 at 8:30 in the evening when Miss Virginia King Perkins, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Reid Perkins of Greenville, became the bride of the Rev. Charles Edward Sharp, of Beaufort, son of Mrs. Starkey Sharp, Sr. and the late Mr. Sharp, of Harrellsville, N.C.

Dr. H. Glenn Haney, pastor of the bride, officiated, assisted by The Right Reverend Thomas H. Wright, Bishop of the Diocese of Eastern North Carolina, for the double-ring ceremony ...

Preceding the ceremony, a program of nuptial music was rendered by Phillip Edwards of Rocky Mount.  Mrs. Sydney Worth Dunn, Jr. of Greenville sang “O Perfect Love,” Blomfield, and “O Lord Most Holy,” Franz.  Mrs. Ward Peacock of Chapel Hill sang “O Father, All Creating,” Bach, and “The Greatest of These Is Love,” Bitgood.

The bride was given in marriage by her father ... Her only ornament was a strand of pearls, a gift of the bridegroom.

Mrs. Robert T. Sears of Norfolk, Va., cousin of the bride, was matron of honor.  Miss Eutha Sharp of Chapel Hill, sister of the bridegroom, was maid of honor.  The bridesmaids were Mrs. Paul Nissen Montague, Jr., of Winston-Salem, Mrs. David Sabiston of Baltimore, Md., Mrs. Rowland Andrews Radford of Atlanta, Ga., Mrs. Robert H. Guy of Thomasville, Ga., Mrs. James Lucas Barnes, Jr., of Wilson, and Miss Mary Ann Waldrop and Miss Margaret Fleming of Greenville ...

Little Miss Margaret Scales of Greenville, cousin of the bride, was flower girl.

Charles Merrican King, Jr., son of Lt. Cmdr. and Mrs. King of Norfolk, Va., was ring bearer.  Ushers were Hunter Sharp, Jr. of Ahoskie, Wayland S. Barnes of Colerain, Don Raby Edwards of Alexandria, Va., Rev. David B. Ernest of Shaker Heights, Ohio, Rev. Gordon D. Bennett of Macon, Ga., Herbert Lyman Ormond, Jr., Walter Reid Perkins, Jr. and Richard Lawrence Perkins, brothers of the bride, of Greenville ...

Mrs. Sharp attended St. Mary’s Junior College in Raleigh, graduated from East Carolina College, and taught in New Bern last year.  During the past year she taught at Virginia Beach, Va.  She made her debut in Raleigh in 1952.

The Rev. Mr. Sharp attended the University of North Carolina, graduated from Wake Forest College, graduated from Yale University Divinity School and took one year of special study at the Virginia Theological Seminary.  He is the Rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Beaufort ...

Following the cake cutting, the couple left for a Southern honeymoon ...

Notes

The Daily Reflector, Greenville, North Carolina, Wednesday, December 19, 1951, p. 2:

Miss Virginia King Perkins arrived today from St. Mary’s School in Raleigh.  She will spend the holidays with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Reid Perkins.

Issue:

B597–––i.–––Charles Edward⁹ Sharp III, born in 1958 in Beaufort, Carteret County, North Carolina.  Edward married Jan ?.

B598–––ii.–––Reid Perkins Sharp, born in 1963.

B599–––iii.–––Virginia King Sharp, born in 1971.

B371. WALTER REID⁸ PERKINS, JR. (Walter Reid⁷, James Lawrence⁶, Annis S.⁵ Fleming, Peter⁴, Benjamin³, David², John¹) was born in 1936, according to The Chronicles of Pitt County, North Carolina, Pitt County Historical Society, Greenville, North Carolina, 1982, p. 580.  Walter is founder of Hatteras Hammocks Inc. of Greenville, North Carolina – the largest producer of hammocks worldwide.  He married Patricia Bradshaw on April 14, 1960 in First Presbyterian Church, Kinston, Lenoir County, North Carolina, daughter of Edward Luther Bradshaw.  Patsy was born in 1937.

Marriage of Walter Reid Perkins, Jr. and Patricia Bradshaw

Excerpt from The Daily Reflector, Greenville, North Carolina, Friday, April 15, 1960, p. 3:

COUPLES SAY WEDDING VOWS DURING EASTER SEASON

KINSTON – Miss Patricia Bradshaw, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Luther Bradshaw, Sr., and Walter Reid Perkins of Greenville, were married yesterday afternoon at the First Presbyterian Church.

Dr. Thomas H. Hamilton officiated at the double ring ceremony and music was presented by Mrs. Sidney Dunn of Greenville, cousin of the bridegroom, soloist, and Buford Goodman, minister of music.

The bride was given in marriage by her father ...

Miss Ruby West Bradshaw, sister of the bride, was maid of honor ...

Bridesmaids were Mrs. Edward Luther Bradshaw, Jr., of Kinston and Mrs. Burwell Temple, Jr. of Chapel Hill ...

Walter Reid Perkins, Sr. was his son’s best man.  Ushers were Edward Luther Bradshaw, Jr., brother of the bride, Lawrence Perkins, brother of the bridegroom, James Vance Perkins, Jr., of Raleigh, cousin of the bridegroom, Guy Vernon Smith, Thomas Smoot, and Charles White of Greenville.

Mrs. Perkins is a graduate of East Carolina College and at present is a member of the faculty at Harvey School.  She is the granddaughter of Mrs. C. B. West, Sr., who formally lived in Greenville.  Mr. Perkins attended East Carolina College and is affiliated with the American Tobacco Company.

Notes

Business North Carolina, June 1987, published by Shaw Communications (now Red Hand Media?), Charlotte, North Carolina, p. 76:

HATTERAS HAMMOCKS HANGS ’EM HIGH

By Russ Robinson

Christmas comes in June to Hatteras Hammocks Inc.  As warm summer days approach, the Greenville-based company gears up for Father’s Day.

From http://www.hatham.com/coinfo.html: Hatteras Hammocks has been in business for over 25 years.  It was in the early seventies that the company founder, Walter Perkins Jr., began selling out of the trunk of his car a few hammocks that he had purchased on business trips.  Mr. Perkins disassembled one of these sought after rope hammocks in his garage and set about improving it.  “This was a perfect example of a hobby becoming a business,” states Mr. Perkins.  The first of Mr. Perkins’ new and improved “Hatteras Hammocks” was sold to friends around his hometown of Greenville, NC as well as taken down to the coast of North Carolina and sold to visitors in that area. In 1971, Hatteras Hammocks was incorporated.  By 1987, Hatteras Hammocks had grown at such a rate as to become the largest rope hammock manufacturer in the world.  Today, Hatteras Hammocks continues to be the industry leader with continuous additions to its innovative product line that include hammocks, stands, swings, and hammock accessories, as well as state of the art improvements to its manufacturing capabilities.  Hatteras Hammocks is known for working hard at making relaxing easy.

Hatteras, one of the nation’s largest manufacturers of hammocks, expects to sell about 60,000 this year, the biggest percentage as Father’s Day presents.  It’s a shared memory: that image of Dad, wiping the sweat from his brow after mowing the lawn as he retreats to a shady spot between two trees, where hangs, like a cocoon of ease and solitude, a sturdy rope hammock.

Founded 17 years ago by a tobacco buyer who started making hammocks in his living room, Hatteras is now a $6 million-a-year business competing with the best-known manufacturer, Pawleys Island Hammocks of South Carolina, in an industry that includes a number of small craft operations throughout the Carolinas.

“We used to be kind of a hangout for college students,” recalls Walter Perkins, the 51-year-old entrepreneur who started Hatteras.  “We were really just a craft shop.  It’s not like that anymore.  We’ve got 150 employees, production lines, machines, and now we’re developing our middle management.”

“There are three ways you can sell hammocks,” explains Vice President Jay Branch during a tour of the operation, which occupies a block of the city’s industrial district.  “You can sell them as furniture.  You can sell them as a handcrafted item; people like them because there’s a lot of handiwork involved in the process.  And you can sell the dream.  We use all three, but we stress the dream.

“Most Americans can’t travel to exotic places.  But if they put a hammock in their back yard, it’s like traveling in your own back yard.  We’re selling that dream.”

The dreams run $88 to $112.  Branch adds: “The secret to hammocks is that once someone has one, they’ll always want one.  And they won’t last forever.  People won’t take care of them.  They’ll leave them outside.  They get rained on.  They’ll mildew.  Squirrels will chew on them.  They get damaged, and people want another one.  Everyone should have a hammock.”

It was the company that became his rival that taught Walter Perkins his craft.  As a leaf buyer for American Tobacco Co., he traveled throughout the Southeast.  One summer, his parents asked him to get them a hammock at Pawleys Island, near Myrtle Beach.  A friend made a similar request.

“I started wondering why you couldn’t get any around here,” he recalls.  He went back to Pawleys Island, this time to learn from the craftsmen who gave demonstrations there.  Then he tried his hand at it one weekend in his living room.  Hammock making is not a difficult technique for someone with a little knowledge and a lot of patience.  But it’s strenuous, working a bundle of rope weighing up to nine pounds through a loop for about an hour.

Although there is no category in the Guinness Book of World Records for hammocks, Hatteras Hammocks feels it has the record for the largest with the construction of a model 40 feet long and 12 feet wide.  The hammock was constructed for Mr. Perkins’s son who was pledging a fraternity at North Carolina State University.  It became a fixture of the University’s Fraternity Court.

There are no secrets.  Like the Pawleys Island people, Hatteras Hammocks doesn’t mind demonstrating how it’s done, and any of its employees could take their experience and go out on their own.  In fact, the company has encouraged a number of weavers to start their own shops.  One reason: It also sells rope and other hammock-making materials.

Mark Lindley worked for Hatteras while a student at East Carolina University.  After returning to Gibsonville to work for his father’s chemical company, he opened Key West Hammocks on U.S. 70 near Efland.  Working part time, he sells about 200 hammocks a year.

“I start making them in the spring to get ready for Father’s Day and take them to craft shows,” he says.  “Most of my sales come from word of mouth.  The sales are very seasonal.”

Donald Walston of Greensboro learned the trade at the state school for the blind.  His Bogue Sound Hammocks operates out of his basement.  “Pawleys Island is the best-known hammock maker,” he says.  “But the ones we can make are just as good.”  And cost less: He aims at customers who would rather pay him $55 than pay Pawleys Island more than $100 for a regular model.  He also gets sales when the bigger company gets caught up in the Father’s Day rush and can’t fill all its orders.

David Gates also learned the craft at the school for the blind.  He runs Mountain Heritage Hammocks, a four-man operation in Dillsboro.  He won his biggest customer three years ago when a vacationing J. C. Penney Co. executive stopped by his store.  Mountain Heritage now makes about 3,000 hammocks a year for a Wisconsin company that supplies Penney.

“I’d hate to think I had 60,000 hammocks to make this year,” Gates says.  “It’s a tough job.”

Like the visit of Gates’ vacationer, luck played a role in breaking Hatteras Hammocks out of the ranks of the small craft operations.  It was just a stab in the dark, Perkins says, when he wrote L. L. Bean that letter in the mid-’70s, offering to make the hammocks the giant catalog retailer sells.

Walter R. Perkins, Jr., founder of Hatteras Hammocks, is the recipient of the Employer of the Year award from the N.C. Rehabilitation Association and the Pitt County Committee for Employing the Handicapped, a certificate of appreciation from the Coastal Plains Epilepsy Association, and a nomination for Employer of the Year by the National Mental Health Association.

He didn’t know, but Bean was having a contract dispute with Pawleys Island Hammocks.  He wound up winning it.  At one time, L. L. Bean made up about 75 percent of the company’s business.  It’s now down to 20 percent.

Another big break, he says, came 10 years ago when he sought the advice of an ECU marketing professor and hired a young business graduate eager to get into a growing business.  Jay Branch’s decision to join Perkins, who didn’t leave his job with American Tobacco until last year, made it a two-man operation.

“My mother wanted me to work for a farm-credit company that had an opening,” recalls Branch, who was raised on a tobacco farm and admits his parents were a bit skeptical when he told them what he was going to do with his business degree.  “But this job was more exciting.  Plus, I’m 32 now, and I’m at the top of the company.  That couldn’t have happened anywhere else.  And it is exciting.  My parents are totally supportive of me now.”

The company has no intention of lying back and taking it easy.  It makes various kinds of hammocks and hammock furniture.  It produces hammock pillows, as well as hammock stands for yards without those two perfect trees.  In fact, Hatteras sells one stand for every two hammocks it sells.  To keep employees busy during the off season, the company has diversified into supplying rope and marketing office furniture.  The latest venture is making pizza delivery bags.

Hammocks themselves aren’t strictly categorized and can be sold through a wide variety of stores: high-end furniture, exotic-gift stores, hardware stores, patio and hearth stores, sporting-goods stores and so on.  Though there is no hard data, Branch says, he estimates the size of the industry at $25 million to $30 million.  California has become a primary market because of the weather and “lifestyle of the people.”

A world map has recently become a fixture of his office.  “We want to go to Europe and Australia,” he says.  “I’m doing a show for sporting goods and casual furniture in Cologne, West Germany, this summer, and I may get to Australia after that.  We’ve got the production capabilities to sell worldwide.  And in this business, the company that makes the most hammocks is going to sell the most.”

The Herald-Sun, Durham, North Carolina, Monday, August 4, 1997, p. B-8:

ECONOMY HAS HAMMOCK SALES SWINGING

HIGH POINT (AP) ––– They represent more than a small slice of those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer.  They also represent an economy that’s rolling full-steam ahead.

n a word, hammock makers have it made in the shade these days.  Reasons vary, but just about everyone agrees a strong economy plays a role in the sale of such nonessential items.

After all, with unemployment low and the stock market soaring to new highs almost weekly, why shouldn’t consumers celebrate by kicking back in the back yard with a good book and a cold drink?

“It’s a growing business, there’s no doubt about it,” Eddie Rowell of Winston-Salem’s Casual Furniture World said of hammocks.

“There’s a big demand for them.”

The days when hammocks were nothing but flimsy strands of rope hanging from backyard trees are long gone, Rowell said.  Nowadays, hammocks come in a variety of sizes –– including models designed to accommodate two people.

Hammock accessories –– double swings made out of quilted ropes, for instance –– are selling equally well.

Down in Greenville, the makers of Hatteras Hammocks are loving the surge in hammock sales.

Hatteras Hammocks is the largest producer of hammocks worldwide, selling about 250,000 of them in a year’s time, Hatteras Group officials said.

The company’s been in business 25 years, but Douglas Orians, vice president of sales and marketing, said sales have really taken off over the past decade.

He credited much of the company’s success to the “cocooning effect.”  That’s a catch phrase of the 1990s, referring to the tendency of homeowners to nestle in their back yards –– puttering about doing yardwork and such –– rather than venturing far into the world outside.

He said Hatteras Hammocks got its start when Walter Perkins Jr., a former buyer for American Tobacco Co., bought a few hammocks and took them home.  There, he took them apart and looked for ways to improve their design.

Perkins started the business on a shoestring budget.  Today, it employs about 250 people and has distributors around the world.

Issue:

B600–––i.–––Walter Reid⁹ Perkins III, born in 1966, according to The Chronicles of Pitt County, North Carolina, Pitt County Historical Society, Greenville, North Carolina, 1982, p. 580.  He married Kelly ?.

B601–––ii.–––Julian Bradshaw Perkins was born in 1969.  On June 12, 1993 in Black Jack Free Will Baptist Church, Greenville, North Carolina, Julian married Elizabeth Michelle Kittrell, daughter of William B. Kittrell.

Marriage of
Julian Bradshaw Perkins
and Elizabeth Michelle Kittrell

The Daily Reflector, Greenville, North Carolina, Sunday, June 13, 1993, p. G-5:

JULIAN B. PERKINS
ELIZABETH M. KITTRELL

Elizabeth Michelle Kittrell and Julian Bradshaw Perkins were married Saturday, June 12, 1993, at 4 p.m. in Black Jack Free Will Baptist Church.  The Rev. Calvin Heath conducted the double-ring ceremony.

The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William B. Kittrell, and the bridegroom is son of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Reid Perkins, Jr., all of Greenville.  The bride was given in marriage by her parents.

Amy Moreland of Virginia Beach, Va. was matron of honor and Tracy Smith of Kinston was maid of honor.  Bridesmaids were Misty Hudson, cousin of the bride; Lee Kittrell, sister-in-law of the bride; Kelly Perkins, sister-in-law of the bridegroom; and Angie Haddock, all of Greenville, and Cheryl Reynolds, of Baltimore, Md.

The father of the bridegroom was best man.  Ushers were Billy Kittrell, brother of the bride; Walter Perkins III, brother of the bridegroom; Bruce Koonce; Bert Singleton; and Doug Orlans, all of Greenville; and Billy Sessoms of Raleigh.

A reception was held in the church fellowship hall.

The couple will live in Greenville after a wedding trip to Cayman Island.

The bride graduated from D. H. Conley High School and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  She is employed by Proctor and Gamble.  The bridegroom is a graduate of Rose High School and attended N.C. State University.  He is employed by Hatteras Hammocks.

B372. RICHARD LAWRENCE⁸ PERKINS (Walter Reid⁷, James Lawrence⁶, Annis S.⁵ Fleming, Peter⁴, Benjamin³, David², John¹) was born in 1940, according to The Chronicles of Pitt County, North Carolina, Pitt County Historical Society, Greenville, North Carolina, 1982, p. 580.  Lawrence married Mildred Perkins Rippard on August 28, 1965 in Peace Memorial Presbyterian Church, Clearwater, Pinellas County, Florida, daughter of William Horrocks Rippard III.  Bonnie was born in 1941 in Clearwater, Pinellas County, Florida.

Marriage of Richard Lawrence Perkins
and Mildred Perkins Rippard

The St. Petersburg Times, St. Petersburg, Florida, Sunday, August 29, 1965, p. E-9:

PERKINS-RIPPARD

Miss Mildred Perkins Rippard and Richard Lawrence Perkins were married at 4 p.m. Saturday at Peace Memorial Presbyterian Church, Clearwater.  The ceremony was performed by the Rev. Charles Edward Sharp, brother-in-law of the bridegroom, New Bern, N.C.

Miss Rippard is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William H. Rippard III, Clearwater.  The bridegroom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Reid Perkins, Sr., Greenville, N.C.

The bride was given in marriage by her father.

Mrs. David E. Reid, Jr., sister of the bride, was matron of honor and bridesmaids were Miss Susan Dungan, Boca Raton; Miss Sara Dugger, Wilmington, Del.; Mrs. Jerry Bettes, Tampa; and Mrs. Brazel Moore, Greenville, N.C.

Walter Reid Perkins served his son as best man.  Ushers were Richard Venerable Haar, Raleigh, N.C.; Walter Reid Perkins, Jr., brother of the bridegroom, Greenville; Robert Leon Edwards, Winston-Salem, N.C.; William Sullivan, Maxton, N.C.; Lester Zeno Brown and William Foster Young, both of Greenville; and William H. Rippard and Joseph Daniel Rippard, brothers of the bride.

A reception was held at the Jack Tar Harrison Hotel.  After a wedding trip to Nassau, the couple will live at 1616 Longwood Drive, Greenville.

Issue:

B602–––i.–––Richard Lawrence⁹ Perkins, Jr., born in 1970, according to The Chronicles of Pitt County, North Carolina, p. 580.

B603–––ii.–––William Rippard Perkins.  Rip was born in 1971.

B373. JAMES McKENNEY⁸ CUTCHIN IV (Helen Christine⁷ Perkins, James Lawrence⁶, Annis S.⁵ Fleming, Peter⁴, Benjamin³, David², John¹) was born in 1933, according to The Chronicles of Pitt County, North Carolina, Pitt County Historical Society, Greenville, North Carolina, 1982, p. 581.  He married Nancy Lucille Elks on June 12, 1955 in Jarvis Memorial Methodist Church, Greenville, North Carolina.  She was born in 1931 and was a daughter of James Alston Elks.

Marriage of James McKenney Cutchin IV and Nancy Lucille Elks

The Daily Reflector, Greenville, North Carolina, Saturday, March 26, 1955, p. 2:

JUNE WEDDING PLANNED

Mr. and Mrs. James Alston Elks of Greenville, N.C. announce the engagement of their daughter, Nancy Lucille, to Cadet James McKenney Cutchin III of Whitakers, N.C.  Miss Elks was graduated from Greenville High School and attended East Carolina College and Kings Business College.  Mr. Cutchin was graduated from Culver Military Academy, Culver, Indiana, and is now a first classman (senior) in the Corps of Cadets at the United States Military Academy, West Point, N.Y.  The wedding is planned for June 12.

Excerpt from The Daily Reflector, Greenville, North Carolina, Wednesday, June 15, 1955, p. 2:

NANCY ELKS AND JAMES CUTCHIN
WED IN JARVIS METHODIST CHURCH

n a ceremony of beauty and dignity, the marriage of Miss Nancy Elks and James M. Cutchin IV was solemnized Sunday afternoon, June 12 at 4:00 o’clock at Jarvis Memorial Methodist Church in Greenville, N.C.

The ceremony was performed by the Rev. W. M. Howard, pastor of the bride ...

As the guests assembled, Mrs. Paul Toll, organist, rendered a program of nuptial music.  To the soft accompaniment of the organ, Mrs. Karl Barbee of Whitakers, sister of the groom, as soloist sang ...

Acting as ushers were Lt. Jack Goldstein of Charleston, S.C., Cadet Tom Looney of Rocky Mount, N.C., Lt. W. C. Mans of Texas and Lt. S. R. Sydenham of Arlington, Va.

The bride chose as her honor attendant, Mrs. Robert Russ, Jr., of Greenville ... Mrs. Fred Steppe of Washington, D. C., Mrs. Lullah MacGregor and Miss Norma Gwynn Basnight of Greenville, and Miss Yvonne Thompson of Whiteville, N.C. were bridesmaids ...

The bride entered the church with her father, Mr. J. Alston Elks, by whom she was given in marriage.  They were met at the altar by the groom and his brother, Lawrence Cutchin of Whitakers, who served as best man ...

Mrs. Cutchin is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. Alston Elks of Greenville.  She received her education in the Greenville City Schools, East Carolina College and King’s Business School in Raleigh.  At the time of her marriage she was employed by the Carolina Telephone Co. in Greenville.

The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Cutchin III of Whitakers.  He is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he received a B.S. degree and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Air Force.

After a wedding trip to Pennsylvania, Lt. and Mrs. Cutchin will be at Mission Field, Edinborough, Texas.  Lt. Cutchin will enter training ...

Issue:

B604–––i.–––James McKenney⁹ Cutchin V was born in 1956.

B605–––ii.–––John William Cutchin, born in 1964.

B374. BARBARA PERKINS⁸ CUTCHIN (Helen Christine⁷ Perkins, James Lawrence⁶, Annis S.⁵ Fleming, Peter⁴, Benjamin³, David², John¹) was born in 1934, according to The Chronicles of Pitt County, North Carolina, Pitt County Historical Society, Greenville, North Carolina, 1982, p. 581.  She married Aubrey Karl Barbee on September 16, 1953 in Emporia, Virginia.  Karl was born in 1930.  He served in the 25th Division, Headquarters Company, in the Army Post Office.

Marriage of Barbara Perkins Cutchin and Aubrey Karl Barbee

The Rocky Mount Telegram, Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Sunday, October 19, 2003:

BARBEE ANNIVERSARY

RALEIGH –– Karl and Barbara Barbee of Garner celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary Sept. 14, 2003 at Peace College with a reception hosted by their children and their children’s families.

More than 120 friends and family gathered for the reception and this-is-your-life program.  The couple eloped 50 years ago while Barbara was attending Peace.

The Barbees have four children, Karl, Jr., Christine, James and Annis.  They have two grandchildren.

The Barbees were married Sept. 16, 1953 in Emporia, Va., by the Rev. Barry.

Mrs. Barbee is the former Barbara Perkins Cutchin of Whitakers.

Notes

Not certain what, if any, relationship there is between Aubrey Karl Barbee and Marvin L. Barbee named in the story below from The News & Record, Greensboro, North Carolina, Saturday, August 24, 1996, p. B-3:

BURLINGTON –– Mr. Marvin L. “Red” Barbee, 83, of 1517 Harriet Dr., Burlington, died Friday, August 23, 1996 after two years declining health.

uneral service will be 2:00 p.m. Sunday, August 25 at Faith Memorial Church.  Burial will be in Alamance Memorial Park.  The Rev. Scott Watford and the Rev. Robert M. Disher, Jr. will officiate.

Mr. Barbee was the owner of Barbee Fabrics, Inc. and was the son of the late C.S. Barbee and the late Ethel Land Barbee.

He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Gladys Vaughn Barbee, of the home; sons, Mr. Jerry M. Barbee and Mr. Dexter Barbee, Sr., of Burlington; sisters, Mrs. Edith Estes of Raleigh and Mrs. Yvonne Hinton of Spring hope; brothers, Mr. W. C. “Bill” Barbee of Rocky Mt. and Mr. Karl Barbee of Clayton; seven grandchildren and eight grandchildren.

He was a member of Faith United Methodist Church, a Sunday school teacher and a trustee of the church.  He was a member of the Bula Masonic Lodge 409 AF&AM, the Scottish Rite Freemasonary, the Amran Temple and the Burlington Shrine Club.

The family will be at the Rich & Thompson Mortuary in Burlington from 7 til 9 pm Saturday.  Other times they will be at the residence.  The body will be taken to the church 30 minutes prior to the service.

Memorials may be made to Faith United Methodist Church, 1732 West Davis St., Burlington, N. C. 27215.

Issue:

B606–––i.–––Aubrey Karl⁹ Barbee, Jr., born in 1954, according to The Chronicles of Pitt County, North Carolina, Pitt County Historical Society, Greenville, North Carolina, 1982, p. 581.

B607–––ii.–––Nina Christine Barbee, of whom below, born in 1955.

B608–––iii.–––James Shaw Barbee was born in 1959.

B609–––iv.–––Annis Cutchin Barbee, born in 1965.  Annis is program assistant and event planning coordinator for the North Carolina State University Library’s Scholarly Communication Center, Raleigh, North Carolina.

B375. LAWRENCE McGILBRA⁸ CUTCHIN (Helen Christine⁷ Perkins, James Lawrence⁶, Annis S.⁵ Fleming, Peter⁴, Benjamin³, David², John¹) was born in 1937, according to The Chronicles of Pitt County, North Carolina, Pitt County Historical Society, Greenville, North Carolina, 1982, p. 581.  He married first Margaret Louise Hamilton on August 8, 1959.  She was born in 1937.  He married second Janice Atkinson Hicks on November 10, 1972.  She was born in 1937.

Notes

He is/was President and CEO of Health Care Savings, Inc., of Charlotte, North Carolina and a graduate of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill School of Medicine.

* * *

Excerpt from The Rocky Mount Telegram, Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Wednesday, January 7, 2004:

DOCTORS: BLUE CROSS TACTICS UNFAIR

By Ned B. Hunter
Rocky Mount Telegram

Tarboro doctor Lawrence Cutchin, president of the N.C. Medical Society, said Tuesday that the society is suing Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina over difficulty in collecting payments.

The lawsuit, which asks for no monetary damages, seeks to force Blue Cross Blue Shield to change its payment procedures to physicians, asserting that Blue Cross takes too long to pay doctors for treatments along with sometimes improperly reducing the amount paid for a procedure.

“We have issues relating to business practices we consider unfair when they deal with physicians,” Cutchin said. “It has been going on for several years.”

Issue:
Of Lawrence McGilbra Cutchin and Margaret Louise Hamilton

B610–––i.–––Louise Battle⁹ Cutchin, born in 1962, according to The Chronicles of Pitt County North Carolina, p. 581.

B611–––ii.–––Lawrence McGilbra Cutchin, Jr. was born on Christmas Day, 1963.

B376. VIRGINIA JOY⁸ PERKINS (Marshall Jerome⁷, James Lawrence⁶, Annis S.⁵ Fleming, Peter⁴, Benjamin³, David², John¹) was born in 1937.  Joy married Thomas Gorden Murdough, Jr. on May 13, 1967 in Immanuel Baptist Church, Greenville, Pitt County, North Carolina.  Tom was born in 1938.  He was a 1961 graduate of the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia.  He is the founder and president of The Step2™ Company, an international manufacturer of products for children and for the home and garden, headquartered in Streetsboro with additional facilities in Ohio, California, Northern Ireland, and Korea.  Previously, Mr. Murdough founded The Little Tikes Company in 1970, and in his 19 years as president, grew it to be one of the top toy manufacturers worldwide with 1989 sales over $270 million.

Notes About Step2
From http://www.step2.com:

The Step2 Company, founder by Thomas G. Murdough, Jr., is a multinational manufacturer and marketer of high quality plastic products for children and for the home and garden.

Mr. Murdough, founder and former president of The Little Tikes Company (1969-1989, sold to Rubbermaid) launched Step2 in 1991.  He has built Step2 on a basic philosophy of quality, value and service backed by a commitment to customer satisfaction.  Going “A Step Beyond” in the development and manufacturing of innovative products for the family and home is the company’s mission.

Step2 products are made using rotational molding, a process that Tom Murdough pioneered for use in the consumer products market.  In rotomolding, ground polyethylene powder is poured into molds, which are then bolted closed.  The molds, mounted on a machine with four large arms, rotate slowly while they move through an oven and two cooling chambers.  The plastic powder melts, forms itself into the shape of the mold, and then hardens as it cools.  When the molds return to the starting position, workers remove the finished products.  Assembly workers then trim the seams formed by the two halves of the mold, fasten necessary hardware and component parts onto the product, and package it for the consumer.

The Step2 Company has strategic global placement of its facilities to better service the growing customer demand for Step2 products.  Four U.S. plants include a total of 900,000-sq. ft. at two northern Ohio sites located in Streetsboro and Perrysville.  A West Coast site in Bakersfield, California adds 150,000-sq. ft. and it’s newest addition in Fort Valley, Georgia contributes another 102,500-sq. ft of manufacturing and warehouse space.  Finally, a licensing agreement between Step2 and The Gunica Company, Korea provides additional manufacturing capability to supply customers throughout Asia.

Step2 products enjoy distribution in selected retailers throughout the United States, Canada, and over 70 foreign countries.

Marriage of Virginia Joy Perkins
and Thomas Gordon Murdough, Jr.

Excerpts from The Daily Reflector, Greenville, North Carolina, Sunday, May 14, 1967, p. 8:

MISS JOY PERKINS WEDS
IN SATURDAY CEREMONY

On Saturday at four o’clock in the afternoon, Miss Virginia Joy Perkins, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Marshall Jerome Perkins of Stokes, and Thomas Gorden Murdough, Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Gorden Murdough, Sr., of Evanston, Ill., were united in marriage in the Immanuel Baptist Church, in Greenville.

The Rev. Hartwell Campbell of Wilson, former pastor of the bride, officiated ...

Miss Jewel DeLana Perkins and Miss Marsha Joan Perkins of Stokes, sisters of the bride, were maids of honor ...

Mrs. Ralph Meredith Potter of Raleigh and Mrs. George John Rabstejnek of Cohasset, Mass., were bridesmaids ... Miss Louise Cutchin, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Lawrence Cutchin of Chapel Hill, cousin of the bride, was flower girl ...

Samuel Clarke Murdough, brother of the bridegroom, of Houston, Tex., was best man.  Ushers were Charles Pratt Murdough, brother of the bridegroom, Evanston, Ill.; Richard J. Fenci, Evanston, Ill.; Fred Marshall Trainor, Northbrook, Ill.; James Herman Stacke, Glenview, Ill.; and John K. Marlow, Front Royal, Va.

... The bride is a graduate of Salem College, Winston- Salem, and has been employed at Duke Medical Center, Durham, in the Medical Illustration Department of Audio-Visual Education, as a Medical Artist.

The bridegroom, a graduate of the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, where he was a member of the Zeta Psi social fraternity, is sales representative for Wilson Sporting Goods, Raleigh.

After a wedding trip to the Virgin Islands, Mr. and Mrs. Murdough will be at home at Georgetown North Apartments, 3721 Jamestown Circle, Raleigh.

Immediately after the wedding, the parents of the bride entertained at a reception at the Greenville Golf and Country Club ...

On Friday evening, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Gorden Murdough, Sr., parents of the bridegroom, entertained at a rehearsal dinner at the Candlewick Inn.

Issue:

B612–––i.–––Thomas Gorden⁹ Murdough III, born in 1969.

B613–––ii.–––Marshall Clark Murdough was born in 1970.  He is Director of Enrollment Management and Financial Aid at Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, Ohio.  After graduating from the University of Virginia in 1992, he spent seven years in the business world, including with the Step2 Company as account manager for the southeastern states, Ohio and western Pennsylvania.  His duties in the Admission Office include traveling and supervising the Pioneer Ambassador Program. He also coaches soccer and tennis.

B614–––iii.–––Jody Perkins Murdough was born in 1971.  A 2002 graduate of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois.

B615–––iv.–––Peter Roebuck Murdough, born in 1973.

B377. JEWELL DeLANA⁸ PERKINS (Marshall Jerome⁷, James Lawrence⁶, Annis S.⁵ Fleming, Peter⁴, Benjamin³, David², John¹) was born in 1948.  Jewell married William Harvey Whitehurst on April 4, 1971 in First Christian Church, Greenville, Pitt County, North Carolina, son of Harvey O. Whitehurst and Edith Little.  He was born in 1947.

Marriage of
Jewell DeLana Perkins
and William Harvey Whitehurst

Excerpt from The Daily Reflector, Greenville, North Carolina, Monday, April 5, 1971, p. 2:

COUPLE SPEAKS VOWS ON SUNDAY

On Sunday afternoon at 3:30 p.m., Miss Jewell De Lana Perkins and William Harvey Whitehurst were united in marriage at the First Christian Church in Greenville.

he bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Marshall Jerome Perkins of Stokes.  Parents of the bridegroom are Mr. and Mrs. Harvey O. Whitehurst, also of Stokes.

The Rev. Larry Woodley of Portsmouth, Va., officiated the double ring ceremony.

Prenuptial music was rendered by Mrs. Ronald Crisp of Stokes, organist, and Ted Walton, soloist ...

The bride (was) given in marriage by her father ...

Honor attendants were the bride’s sisters, Mrs. Thomas G. Murdough, Jr., of Aurora, Ohio, and Miss Marsha Perkins of Stokes ...

Bridesmaids were Mrs. Ray Lomax of Greensboro, Miss Jane Cantrell of Atlanta, Ga., Miss Marilyn Hardison of Raleigh and Mrs. William Welborn of Winston-Salem ... Miss Kathy Dailey of Greensboro was junior bridesmaid.

Miss Annis Barbee, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Karl Barbee, was flower girl ...

The bridegroom’s father served as best man and ushers were Lanie Whitehurst, Danny Whitehurst and Tim Whitehurst, brothers of the bridegroom, all of Stokes, Ray Lomax of Greensboro, Thomas Murdough, Jr., of Aurora, Ohio, Roger Page of Greenville, and David Harrison of Raleigh ...

Mrs. George B. Roebuck, maternal grandmother of the bride ... Mrs. James L. Perkins, paternal grandmother of the bride ...

The bride was graduated cum laude from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a B. A. degree in mathematics.  She is a member of the Pi Mu Epsilon honorary mathematics society and is presently on the faculty of North Pitt High School.

The bridegroom is a graduate of Atlantic Christian College with a B. S. degree in mathematics and is a member of the Robersonville High School faculty ...

Issue:

B616–––i.–––Juliana Leigh⁹ Whitehurst, born in 1976.

B617–––ii.–––William Harvey (Gil) Whitehurst, Jr., born in 1978.

B618–––iii.–––Danny Ryan Whitehurst.  Ryan was born in 1982.

B378. MARSHA JOAN⁸ PERKINS (Marshall Jerome⁷, James Lawrence⁶, Annis S.⁵ Fleming, Peter⁴, Benjamin³, David², John¹) was born in 1950.  Marsha married Derrell Gene Hemby on May 28, 1972 in First Christian Church, Greenville, Pitt County, North Carolina, son of Levin Derrell Hemby.  Gene was born in 1946.  Marsha Perkins Hemby, BA, RN, CMA, is chair of the medical assisting department at Pitt Community College in Greenville, North Carolina, where she has been teaching since 1972 and is author of the text Prentice Hall Health Outline Review for the Medical Assistant.

Marriage of Marsha Joan Perkins and Derrell Gene Hemby

Excerpt from The Daily Reflector, Greenville, North Carolina, May 30, 1972, p. 3:

COUPLE EXCHANGE VOWS SUNDAY

On Sunday at four o’clock in the afternoon, Miss Marsha Joan Perkins, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Marshall Jerome Perkins of Stokes, and Derrell Gene Hemby, son of Mr. and Mrs. Levin Derrell Hemby, were united in marriage in the First Christian Church of Greenville.

he Rev. Al Edwards of Raleigh officiated.

Nuptial music and the traditional wedding music was rendered by Mrs. Gail Crisp, organist, of Stokes.  Miss Claudia Barnhill of Stokes sang “Morning Has Broken” and “The Prayer Song …”

The bride, given in marriage by her father …

Mrs. Thomas G. Murdough Jr. of Aurora, Ohio, and Mrs. William Harvey Whitehurst of Stokes, sisters of the bride, were matrons of honor …

Miss Mary Anne Schulken of Whiteville, Mrs. Ann Hemby of Greenville, and Miss Matilda Barnhill of Stokes were bridesmaids …

Donny Hemby, brother of the bridegroom, was best man.  Ushers were Thomas Murdough Jr. of Aurora, Ohio, William Harvey Whitehurst of Stokes, brothers-in-law of the bride, Jamie Barnhill and John Richard Barnhill …

Mrs. George B. Roebuck, grandmother of the bride, Mrs. L. O. Hemby, Mrs. Hubert Mozingo, grandmothers of the bridegroom, wore cymbidium orchids.

The bride is a graduate of Meredith College, Raleigh, and the bridegroom is an instructor at Pitt Technical Institute …

After a wedding trip to western North Carolina, the couple will be at home in Greenville …

Issue:

B619–––i.–––Jenny Ruth⁹ Hemby was born in 1974.  Jenny married J. P. Morgan. They have a child, Jamie Morgan.

B620–––ii.–––Darrell Gene Hemby, Jr. was born in 1977.

B379. ROBERT HOGAN⁸ GASKINS, JR. (Blanche Flanagan⁷ Davenport, James Fleming⁶, Martha Ann⁵ Fleming, Peter⁴, Benjamin³, David², John¹) was born April 9, 1929, according to The Chronicles of Pitt County, North Carolina, Pitt County Historical Society, Greenville, North Carolina, 1982, p. 264.

Biographical Notes on Robert Hogan Gaskins, Jr.

The Herald-Sun, Durham, North Carolina, Sunday, January 25, 1998, p. B-7:

WOOD CARVING GIVES RETIRED DENTIST
SOMETHING CREATIVE TO CHEW ON

By Roselee Papandrea
The Daily News of Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE – Most carvers use a chisel and a hammer to create their wooden masterpieces.  Retired dentist Hogan Gaskins finds that his hands work best when they are wrapped around familiar tools.

Because when it comes to chipping away at mahogany, rosewood and tulip wood, dental tools work best for Dr. Gaskins, who spent 34 years of his life fixing teeth.

After retiring six years ago, Gaskins, who wouldn’t allow his hands or mind to go idle, decided he wanted some Chippendale benches to put in his backyard.  At the time, he couldn’t find what he wanted, so he borrowed one of his friend’s benches and copied it.

He gradually moved to smaller, more delicate work.

“I was used to working in small spaces, like a mouth,” he said.  “Things just got smaller and smaller.”

Boxes, candlestick holders, Victorian Christmas ornaments and portrait carvings became his passion.

There was always an artist living inside of him.  He knew it on some level.  He often exposed his creativity using pastels or paint.  There are many portraits hanging in his home to prove it.

“I don’t know how much [talent] I have.  It just takes time,” he said.  “I enjoy doing it.  I like working with my hands – naturally I would being a dentist all those years.”

But he waited until retirement before dabbling in wood.

“I always said when I was practicing dentistry that I wouldn’t use power tools,” he said, smiling.  “If you lose a finger, then you are out of whack.”

Now he spends a lot of time in front of a bandsaw and a lathe, and he enjoys creating the boxes and wooden portraits – especially of children – the most.

Starting with a photograph of a child’s profile, Gaskins traces the outline of the image on wood and cuts it out.  From there it is up to him to chip and sand his way through his wooden canvas to create the image on the photograph.

“I love doing the contours of a child,” he said.  “With each one you get a little better, hopefully.”

At 68 years old, Gaskins isn’t ready to just stick with one hobby.  He plans to explore other artistic avenues.

“People ask me all the time how I like retirement, and I always say that I don’t see how I ever had time to work,” he said, laughing.

Creating busts out of clay will be his next venture.

“I’ve never done it, but I’d like to try, though,” he said.

Lack of experience probably won’t stop him.  He had never done any wooden projects prior to six years ago, either.

“I like to create things in my mind.  If I can see it there, I can put it into an object,” he said.

Most of Gaskins’ work is not for sale.  Occasionally, he creates portraits for friends and relatives.  Much of his work is scattered around his home, blending in well with the antiques he loves to collect.

Photo: Associated Press, CROWN OF CREATION: Wood carving in his home workshop keeps retired Jacksonville dentist Hogan Gaskins feeling chipper.  Six years after leaving 34 years of dentistry, Gaskins, 68, finds the tools of his former trade work best.

Issue:

B621–––i.–––Robert Hogan⁹ Gaskins III, born 1955, according to The Chronicles of Pitt County, North Carolina, Pitt County Historical Society, Greenville, North Carolina, 1982, p. 264.

B622–––ii.–––W. Mace Gaskins, born 1960, according to The Chronicles of Pitt County, North Carolina, p. 264.

B387. JAMES FLEMING⁸ DAVENPORT III (James Fleming⁷, James Fleming⁶, Martha Ann⁵ Fleming, Peter⁴, Benjamin³, David², John¹) was born in 1952, according to The Chronicles of Pitt County, North Carolina, Pitt County Historical Society, Greenville, North Carolina, 1982, p. 264.

Issue:

B623–––i.–––James Fleming⁹ Davenport IV.

B624–––ii.–––Joel Davenport.

B392. JESSE PAUL⁸ DAVENPORT III (Jesse Paul⁷, Jesse Paul⁶, Martha Ann⁵ Fleming, Peter⁴, Benjamin³, David², John¹) was born in 1936, according to The Chronicles of Pitt County, North Carolina, Pitt County Historical Society, Greenville, North Carolina, 1982, p. 265.  He married Diana Ruth Schultz on June 10, 1961 in Trinity Lutheran Church, La Marque, Galveston County, Texas.  At the time of his marriage, Paul was stationed at Randolph Air Force Base.  He retired in 1981 as Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force, after 22 years of service.    He was a graduate of East Carolina College, in Greenville, Pitt County, North Carolina, where he was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.  His wife was a graduate of La Marque High School, La Marque, Texas, and of Sam Houston State College, Huntsville, Texas, with a bachelor of science degree.

Marriage of
Jesse Paul Davenport III
and Diana Ruth Schultz

Excerpt from The Daily Reflector, Greenville, North Carolina, Tuesday, June 20, 1961, p. 3:

PACTOLUS MAN MARRIES IN TEXAS

La MARQUE, Tex. – The ring belonging to her grandmother was used for the nuptial ceremony Saturday when Miss Diana Ruth Schulz of La Marque became the bride of J. Paul Davenport III of Pactolus, N. C.

Jesse Paul Davenport III and Diana Ruth Schultz with their son Jeffrey Paul Davenport (center) on his wedding day

The Rev. J. Mayer, chaplain at the University of Houston, read the ceremony at Trinity Lutheran Church in La Marque and music was provided by Mrs. Joe Hext and Miss Kathy Anderson.

Parents of the couple are Mrs. Esther Schulz of La Marque and Mr. and Mrs. J. P. Davenport, Jr., of Pactolus, N. C.

Given in marriage by her brother ...

Her attendants included Mrs. C. R. Klaes, Jr., of La Marque as matron of honor and Miss Carolyn Bridges of Houston, bridesmaid, and Miss Diana Meyer of La Marque, junior bridesmaid ...

The bridegroom was attended by his father as best man and groomsmen were Tom Farlow of Sanford, N. C. and Charles Davenport, brother of the bridegroom ...

... the couple left for a wedding trip to New Orleans ...

Mr. and Mrs. Davenport will make their home at Scherts.

She was graduated from La Marque High School and Sam Houston State College where she received bachelor of science degree.  She is a teacher at Converse.

He received a bachelor of science degree from East Carolina College, Greenville, N. C., and is a member of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.  Presently he is stationed at Randolph Air Force Base ...

Issue:

B625–––i.–––Catherine Esther⁹ Davenport, born in 1962, according to The Chronicles of Pitt County, North Carolina, Pitt County Historical Society, Greenville, North Carolina, 1982, p. 265, Item 498).

B626–––ii.–––Jeffrey Paul Davenport was born in 1976, according to The Chronicles of Pitt County, North Carolina, p. 265.  He married Cori Jean Merrick, daughter of Steven and Denice Merrick of Charlotte, North Carolina, on October 14, 2002 in the Trinity United Methodist Church, Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina.

Marriage of
Jeffrey Paul Davenport
and Cori Jean Merrick

The announcement of their engagement from The Sumter Daily Item, Sumter, South Carolina:

Steven and Denice Merrick of Sumter announce the engagement of their daughter, Cori Jean Merrick of Charlotte, N.C., to Jeffrey Paul Davenport of Charlotte, son of Paul and Diana Davenport of Pactolus, N.C.  The bride-elect is the granddaughter of Carol Trudell and the late Louis Trudell of Negaunee, Mich., and Wayne and Mable Merrick of Ishpeming, Mich.  She received a bachelor’s degree in French from Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C.  The bridegroom-elect is the grandson of the late Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Paul Davenport Jr. and the late Mrs. Esther Schulz.  He received a bachelor’s degree in information systems from Appalachian State University.  The wedding is planned for Oct. 14 at Trinity United Methodist Church in Sumter.

And the story of their wedding, also from The Sumter Daily Item, Sumter, South Carolina:

Cori Jean Merrick and Jeffrey Paul Davenport were united in marriage at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14, at Trinity United Methodist Church in Sumter.

The bride is the daughter of Steve and Denice Merrick of Sumter, and the granddaughter of Carol Trudell and the late Louis Trudell of Negaunee, Mich., and Wayne and Mable Merrick of Ishpeming, Mich.  She received a bachelor’s degree in French from Appalachian State University.

The bridegroom is the son of Paul III and Diana Davenport of Pactolus, N.C., and the grandson of the late Mrs. Esther Schulz, and the late Mr. and Mrs. J. Paul Davenport Jr.  He received a bachelor’s degree in information systems from Appalachian State University.

Dr. James Adams officiated at the ceremony.  Music was provided by Linda P. Coyne, organist; Mark E. Vertreese, vocalist; and Emmett O. Anglin, trumpeter.

Presented by her father, the bride wore a chapel-length, A-line gown of diamond white satin featuring a bib front, rum pink inset and covered buttons down the back.

Misty Fickling Hatfield served as matron of honor.

Bridesmaids were Catherine Davenport Smith, sister of the bridegroom, Pattie Davenport Mills, Kimberly Ann Downey and Michelle Lee Galloway. Shelby Nicole Smith served as flower girl.

The bridegroom’s father served as best man.

Groomsmen were Bryan Leslie Merrick and Christopher Ross Merrick, brothers of the bride, and William Judson Burnette, Michael Ryan Candes, Timothy Dustin Mills and Scott C. Tanner.  Kyle Steven Smith served as ring bearer.

Also participating were Angela C. Ward, Julia Bousman Vertreese, Brandy P. Clements, Charlotte R. Harvin and Leslie C. Caneda.

The bride’s parents held the reception at the Sunset Country Club.

The bridegroom’s parents held the rehearsal party at the Shaw AFB Officers Club.

Following a wedding trip to Negril, Jamaica, the couple will reside in Charlotte, N.C.

B393. SIDNEY LAWRENCE⁸ DAVENPORT (Jesse Paul⁷, Jesse Paul⁶, Martha Ann⁵ Fleming, Peter⁴, Benjamin³, David², John¹) was born in 1942 in Washington, Beaufort County, North Carolina.  Lawrence married Sara Collins on September 13, 1964.  In 1991, Lawrence received the “Crop Improvement Award” from the North Carolina Crop Improvement Association, for his contributions to the certified seed industry, according to The News & Observer, Raleigh, North Carolina, March 11, 1991, p. B-3.  He has also served as president of the Association as well as the North Carolina Foundation Seed Producers.  In October of 1992, he was among “24 distinguished educators, business leaders and prominent citizens” selected to “serve on a newly created (North Carolina State University) Board of Visitors,” according to The News & Observer, Raleigh, North Carolina, October 12, 1992, p. B-3.  He graduated from NCSU in 1965.  He is president of J.P. Davenport and Son, Inc. of Greenville, a family owned agribusiness that includes crop and seed production, a farm supply store and fertilizer sales, and part owner and secretary treasurer of Pitt-Martin Fertilizer Co. of Robersonville, N.C. and Roanoke-Tar Cotton, Inc., of Everetts, N.C.  Lawrence has been director of Tobacco Growers Association of North Carolina and is a member of the U.S. Advisory Commission for Tobacco Inspection.  He is also a Pitt County Memorial Hospital Trustee and (past?) member of the Board of Directors of Wachovia Bank.

Biographical Notes on Sidney Lawrence Davenport

The News & Observer, Raleigh, North Carolina, Monday, March 11, 1991, p. B-3:

CAROLINA NOTEBOOK

... Tommy Roberson of Williamston and Dawson Rascoe of Windsor have been elected president and vice president of the N.C. Foundation of Seed Producers.  Carroll Oaks of Grifton and John Williamson of Belhaven have been elected president and vice president of the N.C. Crop Improvement Association.  Lawrence Davenport of Pactolus has received the Crop Improvement Award from the Crop Improvement Association for contributions to the certified seed industry ...

The News & Observer, Raleigh, North Carolina, Monday, October 12, 1992, p. B-3:

CAROLINA NOTEBOOK

N.C. State University Chancellor Larry Monteith has announced that 24 distinguished educators, business leaders and prominent citizens have agreed to serve on a newly created NCSU Board of Visitors, to be chaired by Reef C. Ivey II of St. Davids, Pa.  Ivey is an NCSU alumnus and a native of Lumberton.  Founding members of the board, in addition to Ivey, are ... Lawrence Davenport, J.P. Davenport and Son, Greenville ...

Excerpt from The News & Observer, Raleigh, North Carolina, Friday, March 8, 1996, p. B-3:

N.C. STATE HONORS THREE GRADUATES
FOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO THEIR UNIVERSITY

By Bob Williams
Staff Writer

RALEIGH –– N.C. State University has presented its most prestigious nonacademic honor to three alumni who went on to successful business careers.

his year’s recipients of the Watauga Medal are Alan T. Dickson of Charlotte, a textile and grocery executive; Worley H. Clark of Hinsdale, Ill., a retired chemical company executive; and S. Lawrence Davenport of Pactolus, a town in Pitt County.

Chancellor Larry Monteith presented the awards Wednesday night at the NCSU Founder’s Day dinner commemorating the 109th anniversary of the university’s founding.  The awards, established in 1975, honor individuals who have made significant contributions to the university’s advancement ...

... Davenport, a 1965 graduate, is president of J.P. Davenport & Son, a Greenville farm supply and agribusiness company.  He was honored for his support of the university and the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.

He served as a co-chairman of the college’s portion of the university’s Century II Campaign, an effort to help raise money for student scholarships, fellowships and distinguished professorships.  Davenport helped raise almost $47 million for the campaign.

He has also been involved with fund-raising for the N.C. Seedman’s Association, which has provided scholarship money for numerous students at NCSU.

“I was a little surprised by the award, but it is a wonderful feeling,” Davenport said.  “All my loyalties have always been with N.C. State.”

Excerpt from an Interview with S. LAWRENCE DAVENPORT
Past Chairman, Pitt County Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees

Transcript of the full intereview can be found at:
http://www.hsl.ecu.edu/PCMH/coll_contents.htm

The Pitt County Memorial Hospital Collection
The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University
Greenville, North Carolina

LAWRENCE DAVENPORT
Past Chairman, Board of Trustees
Pitt County Memorial Hospital

Greenville, North Carolina

October 17, 2000
Interviewer: Beth Nelson

Beth Nelson: Let’s start out with a little bit about your background, your education and how you came to be associated with the hospital.

Lawrence Davenport: Actually I was born and raised in Pitt County here in Pactolus.  We are four generations of agriculture in Pactolus.  My great grandfather came here right after the Civil War and now, of course, my son is here and that makes the fifth generation so we have a, what you might say, a vested interest in the hospital because my family has seen it from the very beginning.  Actually, my step-grandmother was a trustee.

Beth Nelson: Is that right, who was that?

Lawrence Davenport is a past chairman of the Pitt County Memorial Hospital’s Board of Trustees.  His step grandmother, Eugenia (Thomas) Davenport, was a past trustees of the Greenville hospital.

Lawrence Davenport: Mrs. J. Paul Davenport, Sr. and on the old hospital plaque her name was Eugenia.  She was a trustee when they built the hospital where the county offices are now.  So she was a trustee when they built that hospital and so we have a long history of being involved at the hospital so to speak.  She may have been the first woman trustee, I never thought about that.  She may have been the first woman trustee.

Of course my education was here in Pitt County.  I went to J.H. Rose High School and then went to N.C. State and graduated with a BS Degree in Agronomy and came back to the farm and then subsequently we went into other businesses like fertilizer and chemicals and farm supplies sales and lawn clearing products and operations and now we have a fertilizer manufacturing plant over in Martin County and we own part interest in a cotton gin over in Martin County.  We are involved not just in Pitt County, I love Martin County and think it is a great county and Beaufort County and to a certain extent in Craven County as we have customers in Craven County and since we own a place down at Morehead there we are in Carteret County. 

So I really believe that we’ve got to include the 29 counties in eastern North Carolina.  Pitt County Memorial Hospital and the School of Medicine were not put here just for Pitt County people.  It was put here to serve eastern North Carolina, and I believed that from the very day I went on the board and all the way through and that has got me into trouble sometimes with the local people because naturally Pitt County people have a possessive attitude of Pitt County Memorial Hospital, that is fine, that’s great that they have an attitude as it is positive to the hospital and it is positive but I think most people who think of it in that way don’t have a feel for what it is for this hospital to represent the whole region.  We can’t just represent Pitt County; we have got to represent the whole region.

I was asked to go on the board.  The county commissioners asked me to serve on the board mainly because, I was told at the time, they needed business-type people; people who knew Pitt County, who knew rural areas because that’s what we were serving.  Mainly it was because of business; they wanted a more business-like approach as they felt like the hospital was too tied to the old public institution ways and that they needed a more business-like approach.  They needed people who knew about budgets and spending money and investing money and payrolls and that kind of stuff.  I was willing to serve, you know.  I had that experience and was willing to give it a shot and directly they were able to put some others on the board like Kelly Barnhill, Bob Spivey and some others who also had that good experience and I think that they put them on at the right time.  It was a perfect time because that was the time in 1988 and 1989 that the hospital was beginning to change into more of a business, not just totally a service organization but it had a business side to it and employees are important and their salaries are important and their benefits are important and people make that hospital and you have to be sure that you look out for these people.  You have to look after them; you have to look after their families.

All of that plays a part and if they are not happy then you do not have a good hospital.  You got to have employee benefits, you got to have hospitalization plans for them, retirement plans, their salaries need to be kept up with the median of the salaries within the state for people who do the same jobs.  All of that has to happen for you to keep good people.  It was a time when the hospital needed that kind advice and expertise, I thought.  Certainly that brought us right along and we grew so fast in those first few years that I was on the board from the time when the hospital could hardly meet th