This small quaint seaport has roots back to April 7, 1730 when Isaac and Jonathan Green Sr. purchased from Ebenezer Harker "a certain plantation and track of land containing by estimation 441 acres situate lying and being in ye Carterett in ye county of province of aforsaid being ye west side of ye mouth off White Oak River." By 1771 Theophilus Weeks started a town on his plantation, laying out a plat and selling lots. Formerly known as Bogue, Week's Point, The Wharf and New Town, the town was officially designated by the North Carolina General Assembly on May 6, 1783. Above photo (from North Carolina State Archives) courtesy Jack Dudley, as included in Swansboro - A Pictorial Tribute

Thomas H. Pritchard House circa 1905 (Elm)

Pritchard courtesy Jack Dudley
NATIONAL REGISTER of Historic Places (Pezzoni 1989): 

228 Elm Street - Five-bay center-hall plan I-house which may incorporate a slightly earlier house which served as a Methodist parsonage, with decorative one-story porch, rear wings, fine detailing, asbestos siding. Pritchard.was the president of  the Swansboro Land and Lumber Company.

Thomas Henry Pritchard Sr. 1855-1920 was born in Greenville, Pitt County, North Carolina to George Lafayette Pritchard and Catherine Riddick Congleton.

In the 1900 census, Thomas Sr. and his wife Charity Hampden "Singie" Anthony were living in Scotland Neck, North Carolina; at that time their son Thomas Henry Pritchard Jr. was 16-years old.
Thomas H. Pritchard Jr. 1883-1945
The 1910 Swansboro census recorded Thomas H. Pritchard Sr. 55, as manager of the saw mill. In the household at that time were: Thomas H. Jr. 26, bookkeeper at the sawmill; William A. 23, salesman at general store; George L. 20, medical student; Sallie A. 17, college; Frank H. 15, college; Peyton 13, salesman at general store; Kate Kess 22, boarder and stenographer at the "mill company."

The 1920 Swansboro census recorded "lumberman" T.H. Pritchard Sr. 64 and T.H. Pritchard Jr. 36, lumber inspector - in the same household. That year T. H. Pritchard Sr. died in Kinston, North Carolina.

By 1930 47-year-old "lumberman" Thomas H. Pritchard Jr. had married Mary W. (Ward?). In the household were Frank Ward 27, George W. Ward 25, Clifton Ward 19 and Mary M. Ward--all perhaps children of Mary.

Thomas Henry Pritchard Jr.'s death certificated noted his having been in the community of Swansboro for 40 years. He was noted as bookkeeper in the lumber business. Pritchard was buried in Ward Cemetery.

Pritchard Jr. or Sr. built another house at 214 Walnut about the same time. 



2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Our family descends from Thomas Henry Pritchard Sr, and it was a pleasure to find this blog entry. Your picture of a young TH was a huge surprise. (I'd love to get a jpg...) We have a studio portrait picture of the couple (TH and Charity) taken when they lived in Swansboro. We also have a lot of old Swansboro Lumber letterhead! TH learned the lumber business from Frank Hitch in Hamilton, NC. TH and Charity are buried in a large family plot in Hamilton, Martin County, NC.

TH Pritchard Jr married Mary Bell (nee Moore) Ward a few years after the death of her first husband David Ward in 1919.

If you are interested in sharing photos, e-mail me finnegan20903 AT Yahoo.com

Mary Warshaw said...

You can click the image of Pritchard, save and print. You might also get in touch with Jack Dudley to see if he has a higher resolution in his photo files.