Cameron Person Co plantation

[Dreaminghawk]

Just a brief word to explain why Becky and I haven't been around saponitown in the last couple of weeks....... no, we aren't on extended honeymoon.
Couple weeks ago the property behind Becky's mom's place went up for sale. We were aware of an unmarked cemetery on the property. We were in contact with the owner and landbroker and had their blessing to flag the cemetery. Long story short, we discovered that we were dealing with 130 yrs of slave burials (over 200 flagged and still finding them) The property was Osborne Jeffries then it was part of the Camerons 6500 acre Person co plantation. We also became aware there were well-preserved ruins of the Cameron mill complex on that stretch of the south fork of the Flat River. We have been exploring, documenting, politicking, and arm twisting. We have involved the historical society, Stagville, the lady who wrote the book on the Camerons( I'll be taking her to the ruins and cemetery tomorrow)
and are spearheading a "Friends of the Flat River" modeled after the Eno River group.
Yesterday, the land was removed from the market ;-)

[Forest]

Nice work!

[Linda]

How is the landowner taking it? Does he see it as making a real hardship for him, or can he deal with it?

[Dreaminghawk]

Linda,
Becky had a rather lengthy and somewhat confusing phone conversation with him yesterday. While he was very interested in hearing the details of our research and discoveries, and didn't object to Jean and her experts continuing to explore the area, he showed no interest in opening it to the public.
The landowners on the other side of the river are quite enthsiastic about protecting the ruins on their side of the river as well as having a continuous public trail along the river's edge. We will be spending a good part of saturday with that group.

[Linda]

What's on his side, the cemetery?

[Dreaminghawk]

Linda asks what's on his side>>>>

Besides the cemetery;there are dam remains and gate head, possibly other mill complex foundations, foundations of slave quarters, wagon trails, probably other plantation structure remains.
The Person co Historical Society will vote the mill rockwork to be a place of historical value at our next meeting and we will do the paperwork to get it on state and national registries if it qualifies. The Dam on both sides to water's edge is intact, as well as the gateheads (the stonework) the entire race, the wheel gate, the wheelwell, some wooden ruins and rockwork of millhouse and mill store, and the midden pile behind the store. There are also 5 foundations just upstream that we will explore saturday.

[Dreaminghawk]

According to Cameron papers, at it's peak, the Cameron south Flat River mill complex had a gristmill, sawmill, millstore, distillery for beer and whiskey, blacksmith shop/ wagoneers garage/ stable (Cameron's wagons ran constantly both ways to/from Petersburg, VA), grain storage, carpenter's shop, and dwellings for all those folks working the complex (mostly skilled slaves and indians.... I mean mulattos ;-)

[Linda]

What do you think the chances are of it being studied formally by archeologists?

[Forest]

You might want to talk to Tom Magnison, of the Trading Path Assn. about this. He may be able to give you some input. They have a web site that will give contatc info.

[Dreaminghawk]

Thank you, Forest....... great minds think alike ;-)
Tom Magnuson, his companion Diane, Jean Anderson and I explored the cemetery and mill remains this past friday afternoon. It was Tom who identified the wheelwell and estimated it would have been a 10 foot over the top wheel. He has declared the ruins to be the best preserved rockworks he has ever visited. Tom will be in the loop throughout this project and has agreed to combine his database on person co mills with the database we have been developing with the pchs. That book on person co mills will be written and published within the next few years. ;-)
Maybe Jean will write another companion book to her "Piedmont Plantation- The Cameron/Bennehan Families and Lands in NC" This one could be called "Jim's Place- The Cameron Person Co Plantation"

[Dreaminghawk]

The dam from abutment to abutment is 206 ft long. The missing section in the river's course is only 54 feet. The height of the dam was raised to 12 feet in 1922 when it was sold by the Paul Cameron estate to Edwin Moore. This 1922 deed proves the site by the surrounding landowners named in the document. Based on research that Jean did and included in her book this is the 2nd mill that Duncan Cameron built on the Flat River in 1819. The larger complex described to Linda above was build about 1807. We just about have it's most likely location pinned down and will attempt to locate and prove it later.
The overseer for the Person co plantation from about 1830 until just before the war was James Cothran. He was the son of other Person co plantation owners. (Sue, I think I will bring his lineage into the other thread on Allens and Tapps and Sneeds and Satterfields. Do you remember which thread it was. I'll search it if you can't bring it forward for me.)
We have found the piers of the 1819 mill itself. Moore used a 2nd new seat and wheel pit in 1922. A hinge, 5ft worm gear shaft and blacksmith made nails have been found under leaf cover.
We are working on the webpage and the organization of the group which will probably be designed to coordinate more than this one project.

[saj]

Don't know if this is the one
http://www.saponitown.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1354&highlight=satterfield
There are several threads that tie into each other. Maybe you know best which ones tie into your specifics.. there are several that come up with searches for Tapp, for Satterfield, am I on the right track? Saj

[saj]

another one...
http://www.saponitown.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1670&highlight=sneed
and also...
more names here,
http://www.saponitown.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=894&highlight=tapp

[Akhasa]

Peace
have you come across any references to Munday connection to this mill in Person County? Stephen Munday's mother in law was a Rebecca Sneed. These people are not NDN that I know of, But I'm following some of my Chavis ancestors whoe were indentured to them.

akhasa

[PappyDick]

On another thread (about the Holland family) I've just posted a reference that probably ought to be here, too, because y'all haven't cited it (so I don't know if you know about it). This lady was not investigating anything she perceived as nonwhite ancestry, but she did a good job of unearthing and citing sources that might be good leads for those of us who are. It starts with Simon and Osborne Jeffreys, and comes down a line that included this Marmaduke.

Louise Jeffreys Andrew, "Marmaduke Norfleet Jeffreys, His Ancestors and Descendants" (Atlantic City, NJ: for the author, 1983).

The copy I used, about 20 years ago, was in the National Genealogical Society library.

[Dreaminghawk]

Bringing forward for DHarden .... also check the threads that Sue links to in her posts.

[Mousini78]

Here's a more current link to Stagville, the Cameron plantation in Durham county, a short distance from this plantation.

http://historicstagville.googlepages.com/