Andrew Mason House & Mason Ancestors

Designated on the National Register of Historic Places as the [Andrew] Mason House circa 1910, at 204 Elm Street, is now plaqued as the Methodist Parsonage. 

Alvin and Amelia Newton Mason

The ancestry of the Mason family of Carteret County can be traced back to two brothers, William and George Mason, born in Pershore, Worcestershire, West Midlands, England, who left England for the new world. They came ashore in Norfolk, Virginia in January 1652. 

Descendants eventually moved to an area between the Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds, now Hyde County, North Carolina.

Born in Hyde County in 1745, Joshua Mason relocated to Hunting Quarters, now the town of Atlantic. He was the only Mason listed on the 1790 Carteret County census.  

Alvin and FDR circa 1918

Joshua Mason (1745-1811), the father of 1802 Caleb Mason and grandfather of James Hill Mason (1822-1908), was Andrew Jackson Mason's 3rd great grandfather.

In 1927 Andrew Jackson Mason (1902-1982) married Louise Kirkman 1906-1983, daughter of William Lawrence Kirkman 1882-1959 and Sadie Lee Dennis 1885-1965.

Andrew was the son of Alvin Thomas Mason Sr. (1879-1933) and Amelia Jane Newton (1883-1967) of Hunting Quarter, Carteret County, North Carolina. Alvin was the keeper of the Pilantary Hunting Club, near Portsmouth Island, who assisted then Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt. This photograph appeared in a 1949 issue of Life Magazine--part of a collection of photographs from the life of F.D.R.

George Delaware Mason

Sarah Nelson Mason

Andrew’s Mason grandparents were George Delaware Mason (1851-1927) and Sarah A. Nelson (1856-1900), also of Hunting Quarter, Carteret County, North Carolina.

His great grandparents were James “Jim” Hill Mason (1822-1908) and Malinda Greene Salter (1832-1908). Jim Hill Mason was born in North Nelson Bay, Carteret County, to 1802 Caleb Mason and 1804 Louisa Lewis. 

Andrew’s Newton grandparents were Portsmouth-born Jessie Jarvis Newton (1851-1936) and Varita Ann Robinson (1847-1929). Jesse was a member of the crew at the Portsmouth Island Lifesaving Station circa 1910.

Jim Hill Mason

Jesse Jarvis Newton

Andrew’s great grandparents were James Nichols Newton (1827-1905) and Judith Simpson of Portsmouth and South River.

At the time of the 1910 and 1920 censuses, Andrew, his parents and siblings were in Hunting Quarter.

The 1930 Swansboro census recorded Andrew Mason 29; his occupation was noted as, “Coast Guard – U.S. Service.” In the rented house on Elm Street were his wife Louise 24 and 8-mo.-old daughter Margaret L. Mason.

James S. Newton

Andrew Mason died on December 8, 1982 at N.C. Memorial Hospital
in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Andrew Mason 1902-1982

Family images are from the Mason Family Tree on Ancestry.com posted by Novem M. Mason.

Emmerton School 1910/1928

Emmerton School circa 1912 - Image Courtesy Jack Dudley - Swansboro, A Pictorial Tribute

Salem Cottage & 
Emmerton circa 1908-1910

NATIONAL REGISTER of Historic Places: 502 Church Street – Brick building in the form of a “U” with decorative brickwork, belfry, auditorium and added front porches. Emmerton School replaced an earlier frame schoolhouse. The building served as the Methodist Church in the 1930s and the auditorium served as the town’s first cinema. Currently the building serves as the town hall. NR

From the American Unitarian Association: Unitarian Word and Work - 1910:

The Emmerton School at Swansboro opened with a large number in charge of Miss Sara H. Johnson and Mrs. Martha B. Cary. But within two weeks Mrs. Cary found her health unequal to the work, and most unfortunately, Miss Johnson was taken ill with malarial fever, so the school had to be closed for a time. Miss Johnson is making rapid recovery, and the school will doubtless reopen after Christmas.

Excerpts from Swansboro, A Pictorial Tribute, by Jack Dudley:

The Unitarian Woman’s Alliance began educational work in Swansboro in 1905 under the leadership of Miss Lucy Fessenden. In addition to graded school, the school offered kindergarten, a 1500 volume library, vocational training in carpentry and mechanics, music, business and home economics. There were plays, celebrations at holidays, and even the planting of a tree on Arbor Day.

There was much social welfare; a school nurse provided much needed services, and families received aid and assistance in many ways. A few students were roomed and boarded by the school, and the needy were given scholarships.

Barrels of clothing, household items and books were shipped from Alliance sources in the North by train to Maysville, and then by vehicle to Swansboro.

The school term in 1925 was seven months, October through April. In 1928, out-of-town students boarded in the Alex Moore house and the Tom Pritchard house on Walnut Street.

Emmerton School circa 1928 
Image Courtesy Jack Dudley - Swansboro, A Pictorial Tribute

Swansboro Town Hall 2010

The newly completed Emmerton School (circa 1928). No one knows the origin of the name Emmerton. In 1930, the church and Salem Cottage were burned by arsonists. In 1931, the brick building was purchased by the Methodists and it was their church until 1968. Also, in 1968, it became the Swansboro City Hall. --Jack Dudley

Weetock River Sign

 

This sign was found in a Swansboro home. With the old Swansboro Historical Association logo, perhaps it was created for and used at an event sponsored by SHA.

Amelia Smith Canady House circa 1935

NATIONAL REGISTER of Historic Places: 114 Water Street – Aluminum-sided cottage with front porch. This is one of the last houses built by local carpenter [father] Robert Lee Smith. NR

Amelia Smith Canady was born in Swansboro on October 22, 1900. She died in a nursing home in Jacksonville on January 5, 2001—just over 100 years old! (Amelia’s sister Daisy Lee Smith Moore 1897-1995 lived to be 98 years old.)

Amelia B. Smith was the daughter of Robert Lee Smith and Lina H. Russell. In 1917, before her sixteenth birthday, Amelia married 21-year-old Everett Canady. Everett’s June 1918 WWI draft registration noted Everett with wife and child; he was “dredge boating” for Norfolk Dredging Company in Norfolk, Virginia.

In the 1920 census, Everett Canady 23 was a “laborer – sawmill, ” with wife Amelia 19, Edward 2 ¼ and 6-month-old Alton. By 1930, Everett was a laborer on a dredge boat; the couple had added another child—one-year-old Rosemary.

Children: Edward Fair Canady 1917-1936, James Alton Canady 1919-2004 and Rosemary Canady 1929-.

Everett Edward Canady 1896-1967, son of John Henry Canady and Mary Jane Riggs, died in Onslow Memorial Hospital on January 5, 1967; cause of death “probable myocardial infarction.” Amelia S. Canady was the informant, stating their address as 32 Water Street [old street number]. His occupation was noted as a “painter-civil service.” Everett and Amelia Canady were buried in Piney Grove Cemetery in Swansboro.

Early Bloodgood Family – Carteret and Onslow Counties

The earliest North Carolina Bloodgoods may have found their way to Swansboro from Shackleford Banks or the Core Banks area of Carteret County.

1800 Carteret County Census

ISAAC BLOODGOOD, perhaps the father of 1798 John Bloodgood, was included in the 1790 and 1800 Carteret County censuses.

Land Deed: August Court Carteret County 1793. Deed of sale from John Fulford to Isaac Bloodgood for one hundred acres of land on Core Banks between the Middle Camps and William Thomson west most line acknowledged by said John Fulford and ordered to be registered.

Revolutionary War Bounty Land Grants: Isaac Bloodgood. N.C. Private. 2 Feb. 1786. 274 acres.

Jane Bloodgood 1800-1875

JOHN BLOODGOOD 1798-1860. John married Jane Lamb 1815-1870 in Carteret County on November 9, 1829. (Documented NC marriage collection) and/or Jane Lovett 1800-1875 born in Charleston, SC.

John Bloodgood children: James 1830-1880, Clarissa 1832-, Mary 1836-, Nancy 1839-, Joseph 1840-1907, Euphemia Fannie 1846-1915, Charity 1847-, Edward 1850-.

New Orleans Passenger List 1820-1945: John Bloodgood, age 40, steamship Natoka that arrived from Havana, Cuba on April 19, 1841.

1850 Census Swansboro: John 52 sailor, Jane 35, James 19 sailor, Clarissa 18, Mary 13, Nancy 11, Joseph 8, Euphema 5 and 3-year-old Charity.

In 1853 Mary Bloodgood married 1830 Tyre Moore, son of 1807 Samuel J. Moore of Shackleford Banks, Carteret County.

JOSEPH BLOODGOOD: 1840-1907

1860 Beaufort Census: Joseph 19, Euphema 16 and Edward Bloodgood 10 (father, John Bloodgood, was then deceased) were living in Beaufort, Carteret County with Bowen and Jane Horton.

1865 Marriage: Joseph Bloodgood and Mary E. Bell 1849-1912 were married in Carteret County on June 5, 1865. Mary was the daughter of 1795-1860 Samuel Bell and Sabra Piner of Carteret County.

1870 Swansboro Census (August): mariner Joseph Bloodgood 28, wife Mary with 3-month-old twins Lucy and Isaac.

1880 Swansboro Census: Sailor (Capt.) Joseph Bloodgood 40, wife Mary E. 33, Lucy 11, William Charles 7, Albert 4, and 2-year-old Kanelium A.

1900 Swansboro Census: “Piloting” Joseph Bloodgood 60, wife Mary E. 52, Charles 27, Kanelium 22 and 20-year-old wife Elma.

Joseph P. Bloodgood 
1840-1907

Mary Bloodgood 
1849-1912

Joseph Bloodgood children: Isaac born 1870, Lucy 1870-1949, William Charles 1872-1948, Albert Burgess 1896-1955, Kanelium 1878-1938 and Elma born 1880. 

Capt. Bloodgood and his schooner Packet were mentioned in the text of Joshua Slocum's 1890 book Voyage of the Liberdade:

It was our good fortune to fall in with an old and able pilot at Corn-cake Inlet, one Capt. Bloodgood, who led the way through the channel in his schooner, the "Packet," a Carolina pitch and cotton droger of forty tons register, which was manned solely by the captain and his two sons, one twelve and the other ten years old. It was in the crew that I became most interested, and not the schooner. Bloodgood gave the order when the tide served for us to put to sea. “Come, children," said he, "let's try it." Then we all tried it together, the Packet leading the way. The shaky west wind that filled our sails as we skimmed along the beach with the breakers close aboard, carried us but a few leagues when it flew suddenly round to nor' east and began to pipe.

The gale increasing rapidly inclined me to bear up for New River Inlet, then close under our lee; with a treacherous bar lying in front, which to cross safely, would require great care.

But the gale was threatening, and the harbor inside, we could see, was smooth, then, too, cried my people: “Any port in a storm." I decided prompt; put the helm up and squared away. Flying thence, before it, the tempest-tossed canoe came sweeping in from sea over the rollers in a delightfully thrilling way. One breaker only coming over us, and even that did no harm more than to give us all the climax soaking of the voyage. This was the last sea that broke over the canoe on the memorable voyage.

The harbor inside the bar of New River was good. Adding much to our comfort too, was fish and game in abundance.

The “Packet," which had parted from us, made her destined port some three leagues farther on. The last we saw of the children, they were at the main sheets hauling aft, and their father was at the helm, and all were flying through the mist like fearless sailors.

David James Moore House circa 1887

NATIONAL REGISTER of Historic Places: 105 Church Street – Simple rectangular three-bay house with decorative barge boards, reworked interior. Moore was a merchant. NR

David James Moore 1856-1931, was born in Morehead City, North Carolina, son of mariner Nicolas Moore 1828-1903 and Rosa Hatsell 1826-1882. David James Moore married Henrietta R____.

1860 Census: David James Moore 3, was at home in Swansboro with his mother, father and siblings.

1870 Census: David James Moore 14 at home with parents and siblings Virginia 17, Rosa 5, Hiram 12 and boarder Samuel Wiley, a ship carpenter.

David J. Moore - Death Certificate

1880 Census: David 23, clerk in store, with parents and Rosa 15, Hiram 20, Virginia Davis 27, son-in-law Cicero W. Davis 30, and grandsons Willie J. Davis 2 and 5-month-old Benjamin P. Davis.

1900 Census: Merchant David J. Moore and Henrietta had been married 18 years—alone in the house.

1920 Census: David J. Moore was a merchant on Arendell Street in Morehead City, North Carolina.

1930 Census: 74-year-old David was manager of a grocery store in Swansboro with wife Henrietta and roomer Frazelle Claude 31, grocery store salesman.

Calvin W. Buckmaster House circa 1890s

NATIONAL REGISTER of Historic Places: 204 Church Street – Three-bay two-room plan house with shed-roofed front porch, ell with side porch. Buckmaster was a painter. NR

Calvin Buckmaster - Death Certificate

Calvin W. Buckmaster 1859-1916 was born in Freedom, Lafayette County, Missouri, son of James Buckmaster and Sarah Boone. Calvin married Lucy Bloodgood (1868-1949) in June 1882. Lucy was the daughter of Joseph Bloodgood 1840-1907 and Mary E. Bell.

In the 1900 Swansboro census, in the household was painter Calvin 42, Lucy 30 and 3-year-old Joseph S. Buckmaster.

The 1910 Swansboro census noted 52-year-old Calvin as a saw mill worker; in the household were Lucy A. 40, Joseph S. 14 and 8-year-old Charles Buckmaster.

By 1920, in the household were widow Lucy Buckmaster, sons Joe 24, fireman on a tugboat, and 18-year-old Charlie Buckmaster, who was working at the Coast Guard Station on Bogue Inlet. Charlie married Beatrice Holland about 23. In their household in 1930 were Charles 28, Beatrice "Betty" 26, Mary 7, Charles 5 and 3-year-old Joseph T. Buckmaster.

Leon Andrew Sewell House circa 1904

On the application of Swansboro to the National Register of Historic Places, Daniel Pezzoni noted the Sewell House: "206 Moore Street – Three-bay presumably originally two-room plan house with two-story rear wing, front gable, modern front porch and alterations."

LEON ANDREW SEWELL was born May 31, 1881 to Emma R. Webb (1864-1925) and ELIJAH ANDREW SEWELL (1856-1930). Leon was the grandson of Stump Sound farmer HENRY D. SEWELL and Nancy Ann Donnell. Elijah and Emma married in 1879. Emma was the daughter of Thomas B. Webb and Elizabeth Hart Moore.

HENRY SEWELL born in 1834: 1870 Census - Stump Sound, Onslow County, North Carolina – Henry Sewell 35 (Elijah’s father), Nancy 34, Elijah 13, Amelia 11, John 11.

ELIJAH SEWELL 1856-1930: 1880 Census - Swansboro – Elizabeth Webb 42, Willie Webb 20, Charlie Webb 7, Elijah Sewell 22, Emma Sewell 16.

Infants Bessie M. and Myrtle F. Sewell

1900 Census: Elijah A. Sewell 42 (captain of schooner), Emma R. 35, LEON ANDREW 20 (day laborer), George Floyd 15 (deck hand), Oscar Thomas 14 (deck hand), Minnie L. 11, Lizzie M. 8, Charles R. 6, John Henry 3 and William P. Sewell 8 months.

Two other children were born between censuses—Bessie M. Sewell 1904-1906 and Myrtle F. Sewell 1906-1907.

Leon Perry Sewell 1915-1989

Leon Andrew Sewell - Death Certificate

LEON ANDREW SEWELL: In 1903, Leon married Etta May Montfort, daughter of Edward W. and Rosa A. Montfort. Their children – Guion Linwood (1904-1967), Donald Lee (1908-1997) and Leon Perry Sewell (1915-1989).

WWI Registration Certificate

1910 Census - Leon A. 29 was working on freight boat. In the household were Etta M. 27, Guion L. 5, Donald L. 1, dressmaker and mother-in-law Rosa A. Monfort 45 and William E. Montfort 10 - noted as "cousin-in-law."

Leon’s handwritten World War I Registration Card, dated September 12, 1918, noted him as a saw filer at Hines Bros. Lumber Company in Kinston, North Carolina.

Etta Montfort Sewell, born in 1883, died between 1918 and 1920. The 1920 Kinston census noted widower Leon Sewell 38 and the following children: Guion 15, Donald 11, Edna E. 7 and four-year-old Leon.

At the time of his death, August 6, 1955, Leon Sewell was living at 16 Church Street in Swansboro. He was buried in Maplewood Cemetery in Kinston.

Painting by Mary Warshaw

Contemporary Photo Showing Location of the Sewell House at 206 Moore Street

Isaiah Willis House circa 1915

NATIONAL REGISTER of Historic Places: 220 Water Street – Gable-fronted side-hall plan house with millwork in gable, one-story front porch and aluminum siding. NR (House images to follow)

Boat builder Isaiah Willis 1886-1950 was the son of boat builder Martin Van Buren Willis, born in 1862 and Hattie B. Williams born in 1869—who were married in 1882. In 1909 Isaiah married Rebecca Penelope White of Halifax County, North Carolina.

World War I Registration Card

 1900 Census: Van B. Willis 39, Hattie 31, Isaiah 13 and 9-year-old William H. Willis.

Death Certificate

1920 Census: Van B. Willis 58, wife Hettie 51, son Isaiah 33, daughter-in-law Rebecca 30, niece Hattie R. 8 Willis, sister Sabra D. Willis 63, mother-in-law Mary E. Williams 83 and nephew Jim Canady 17.

1930 Census: Isaiah 43, Rebecca 40, daughter Hattie 19 and daughter Ava V. 8—two doors down from Sabra Willis 73 and 63-year-old sister-in-law Hattie.

James Eldridge Parkin House circa 1873

NATIONAL REGISTER of Historical Places: 218 Water Street – Three-bay center-hall plan I-house, with decorative one-story front porch, two-story ell, front gable, elaborate interior tongue-and-groove sheathing, mantel and stair detail. Parkin was a steamship pilot, and after 1900 a Swansboro merchant. NR (House images to follow)

Sarah Jane Whitehurst

Thomas Parkin 1833-1906

Thomas Edmund Parkin 1833-1906 arrived in Beaufort, North Carolina in 1856 from Hull, Yorkshire, England. The next year blacksmith Parkin married Sarah Jane Whitehurst 1842-1917, daughter of Elijah Whitehurst and Lydia Piver of Beaufort. Their children: Lydia, Julia, Hannah Elizabeth, Edmund, James Eldridge, Mary Catherine (died at birth), Herbert Vernon, Ernest, Harry Mommoth, Cecil Warren, John Slade and George Wilbur Parkin.

James Eldridge Parkin 1867-1952 married Maryland Virginia Hill 1873-1945 daughter of Edward Moore Hill and Armecia Willis of New River, Onslow County on December 24, 1890. Their children: Mary, Nellie, James E., Neta, Bessie and Thomas Parkin. Son James E. Parkin 1901-1931 married Olivia Isabel Rouse.

In the 1900 census James Eldridge Parkin was noted as a marine engineer. In the 1920 census he was a retail merchant.

Family trees confuse James Eldridge Parkin and James Elijah Parkin, for whom the house is named. James Eldridge Parkin 1867-1952 death certificate, information provided by Neta Parkin Littleton, documented her father’s name. 85-year-old James Eldridge Parkin died from severe burns caused by an accident due to senility where his clothing ignited due to smoking in bed. James Eldridge Parkin was buried in Ward Cemetery, Swansboro.

Harry Monmouth Parkin built a house at 108 Gordon Street in Beaufort. Harry's brother, John Slade "Capt. Jack" Parkin, and family, also made their home in Beaufort at 1015 Ann Street. 

Built in 1923 by Jonah Howard Smith, father of Harvey Ward Smith, Parkins was named for "Capt. Jack" Parkin. On December 18, 1942, the heavily loaded 120-foot boat sank in a storm two or three miles off Fort Macon. Caught in a heavy sea, 18 men drowned. Beaufort residents who drowned were Earl Henry, William T. Davis, Alexander Merrill and Capt. David W. Davis. Survivors from Beaufort were George Garner, Herbert Davis, Herbert Baum, John Henry Pritchette, Rufus Beard and Isaac Simmons. Purse boats and mast were salvaged. The painted wooden "name board" Parkins is on display in the Maritime Museum in Beaufort. Capt. Davis' brother and survivor, Herbert Davis, later captain of Harvey Smith's Brigantine, was noted as one of the great singers of the chanteys or traditional work songs devised by the black menhaden fishermen to help with the hauling of the heavy nets. (Sandbeck)

Edward Moore Hill House circa 1900

NATIONAL REGISTER of Historic Places: 214 Water Street – Three-bay double-pile two-room plan house with triple-A roof, ell, reworked front porch, aluminum siding. Hill was a carpenter, boatbuilder, pilot and fisherman. NR (House images to be added)

• Edward Wallace Hill (1805-1845) married Charity Moore (1815-1859) in 1832. Children: Edward Moore, Sarah Jane and William Henry.

• Edward Moore Hill (1835-1918) married Armecia Gaskins Willis (1846-1929) on December 24, 1862. Armecia Willis was daughter of Kilby F. Willis and Maryland V. Davis of Straits, Carteret County. The Davis roots go back to early 1700s Davis Island. Children of Edward and Armecia: Sarah Ann, William H., Kilby Lewis, Mary Virginia, Edward Wallace, Monte Lue and Laura Clementine.
• Edward Wallace Hill (1876-1926) married Olivia Howland (1882-1962) about 1903. Olivia Howland was the daughter of 1842 Benjamin Tucker Howland, son of 1800 Samuel Howland of Beaufort. Children of Edward and Olivia: Ruth A., Vera Edward, Mary E., and twins Dorothy O. and Edward Hill.

1910 Census

 During the Civil War, mariner Edward Moore Hill, age 25, enlisted in Company G, North Carolina Co. A 1^st Light Artillery Battery on May 22, 1861. He was mustered out June 13, 1862. In 1870 he and family were in Smyrna, Carteret County. In the 1880 census sailor Edward Moore Hill and family were in Stump Sound, Onslow County. By 1900 the family—sailor Edward, Armecia, house carpenter Edward Wallace 23, boat builder Monte 20 and Laura—was in Swansboro on “2^nd” (Water) Street.

Edward Moore Hill's Death Certificate

By 1910, the census recorded 74-year-old boat carpenter Edward Moore Hill next door to his house-carpenter son Edward Wallace Hill on Water Street—between the Joseph Moore and Van Buren Willis families. 

By 1920, son Edward Wallace Hill's family was in New Bern. At 44, Edward Wallace Hill was recorded as a carpenter in a shipyard. Six years later, he died of double pneumonia. At that time he was employed by Norfolk Southern Railroad.

83-year-old fisherman Edward Moore Hill died on September 4, 1918. Cause of death "myocarditis from arteriosclerosis, contributed to by acute malaria." Informant was Monte L. Hill.

Many of the Hill family were buried in Swansboro’s Ward Cemetery.