Written by William
Angus McLeod, A.B., D.D., Guero, Texas, 1938. Copied by: Claudia Elsie Currie, Newport
News, Virginia.
Copied by John Calvin Hasty, Maxton, North Carolina.
[]
There were many Curries and they
had many, many kinsmen. They first appear on the scene in Scotland as a sept
or dependent group, claiming descent from one of the older and larger clans.
The Curries come from the greatest and oldest of all the Scottish clans, MacDonald,
so they are really MacDonalds as are many of the lesser Scottish groups. Not
only so, but they are offshoots from one of the three great divisions into which
time finally divided this great clan. These were: MacDonald of Sleat, located
principally on the Isle of Skye; MacDonald of Glengarry, on the mainland of
Scotland; and the Clan Randall MacDonald. The Curries belong to the last named
and were originally located in a section embracing the central western highland
country. Because of this family connection, the Curries are entitled to wear
the Clan Randall tartan plaid. The clan system was broken up in Scotland after
the disastrous defeat of the Highland uprising under Prince Charles Edward ('Bonnie
Prince Charlie') at the Battle of Culloden, April 16, 1746.
The name now called Currie,
and sometimes Curry or even Currey, originally appears in the Gaelic language
as Vurrich or MacVurrich and, in the plural, MicVurrich. The 'Mac', singular,
and the 'Mic', plural, were the Gaelic form of son or sons of and was the same
in that speech as 'son' in English, only it was used before the name rather
than after it. Hence, the real name is Vurrich with the final 'h' being silent
as this letter so often is in the Gaelic language. This was the name of some
MacDonald of old clan Randall's group, who in time became a troop of his own
and gave a name to a separate group of kinsmen the 'Sons of Vurrich.' Just how
this became Currie we can only explain by saying that it was the best English
tongues could make out of a foreign name. And, so we will let it go at that,
imploring the spirits of our bearded forefathers, who may hear our efforts to
call the name they left us, to forgive us if some fall so far short as to spell
the name 'Curry' or — and this must be a terrible strain on their forbearance — forgive even those who spell it 'Currey!' But remember, dear kinsmen, no matter
how you spell it, it is the same name and you are the same people! You cannot
high-hat the rest of us by changing a few letters.
_____________________
(Note: On a little moss-bedecked
headstone marking a grave, close to the graves of Angus and Flora Currie, and
even closer to the one of John Gilchrist, is the name 'Murdock Currie, died
1776.' We would like the best sort to know who he was.) []
_____________________
In the early settlement of America,
scattered Scotch people, even those from the Highlands, were frequently found.
And in process of time, they began to from distinct settlements or colonies.
The fact of so many people leaving their homeland became a cause of very genuine
concern to the British government, however, the reasons for this migration form
too big a subject to go into here. The reader is referred to such books as The
Scottish Highlanders in America, by J.P. McLean. Suffice it to say that when
American independence was declared there were, within the bounds of the present
United States of America, three Highland settlements within their respective
colonies. They were: one in the north within the state of New York, located
at the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers; another in the far south within the border
of Georgia at the mouth of the Altamaha River — at the present, Darien; the
third, and one much larger than the other two combined, was located in a section
of country extending from the Cape Fear River in North Carolina to the Pee Dee
River in South Carolina, embracing parts of the two states but the larger part
being in North Carolina, beginning about the city of Fayetteville and extending
in all directions, save to the east and only to a small extent in that direction.
A study of this whole matter will show that the British government located these
Highlanders so as to make buffers of them — putting them next to the Indians.
These Highland people began coming to the United States between 1725 and 1730
and continued to come, in increasing numbers, until the very outbreak of the
War of Independence in 1775. And, beginning again about 1790 they came again,
largely because of the friendly attitude of President George Washington. This
great man, during the French and Indian War — 1754 to 1763 — had associated much
with this great company of Highlanders, then making so large and so efficient
part of the British Army which won the North American continent from France.
He never forgot them! This post-revolutionary migration was growing into big
proportions when the wars of Britain and Napoleon stopped it. After that era
was over, only a mere handful ever came into the old settlements. It might be
added here that in the American Revolution most of these Scottish Highlanders,
especially those but recently arrived in this country, took the side of the
king and were called 'Tories.' But to this general rule there were many notable
exceptions and, even for those who did side with the king, very much more defense
can be made than our over-zealous patriotism has been willing to hear. Into
this we cannot go and, after saying that there were many worse things than being
a 'Tory,' we will pass on to deal more directly with this immediate Currie family.
_____________________
(Note: A Scottish publication,
The Gentleman's Magazine, issue of June 30, 1777, stated that in that
very month four ships had sailed, carrying about 700 people, for America. These
were mostly from the northern highlands. It also stated, "The Ship Jupiter
with 200 aboard, people from Argyleshire, sailed for North Carolina.")
_____________________
The first Currie who directly concerns us is one Archibald Currie, who reached North Carolina in the year 1775 and settled in what was then Bladen, later Robeson, and now Hoke county. This place is some five or six miles from the present town of Raeford; a little southeast of what was later called the Wire Road, running from Fayetteville, North Carolina to Cheraw, South Carolina and, given this name because the first telegraph line in that direction was erected alongside the road, the wires not being on poles as in later days but strung along from tree to tree. The place early became a post office and was given the name 'Randallsville.' [The last Curries to live there were the family of Adam Currie. The old home is long gone and is only marked by the little Randalsville cemetery where the Currie family is buried, on the snorth edge of Walter Gibson Road between Antioch & Mill Prong House. 34°53'46.1"N 79°14'23.1"W]
Archibald Currie had a wife, whose name we do not know, [It is believed her name was Sarah, or Sary, the name found on Archibald's 1784 land grant as having been one of the chain carriers for the survey. ] and a little girl, Flora, one year old. [Ancestry.com's DNA analysis indicates that there may have been at least one older, third sibling, Mary Currie, who married John McEachin, but no family nor official record names her as such] We want to keep our eye on Flora as we shall hear of her a lot more. She had one brother, maybe more, but only one whose name comes down to us — Randall Currie. [There were only two, perhaps three, children born to Archibald and his wife, namely Randal and Flora — and perhaps a Mary. There was a Malcolm Currie living next to Archibald in the 1784 Bladen County tax list but his identity is a mystery.] It is not likely she had other brothers, perhaps, a sister. If so, her or their name is lost in obscurity. This family of Curries came from that part of Scotland called 'Kintyre' or, as they spelled it, 'Cantyre.' It is that peninsula that extends, like a pointing finger, to within thirteen miles...
()
(...ship for nearly two weeks with
nearly 5000 American soldiers bound for the battle fronts of France — just as
it was sufficiently light to see the distance, I walked on deck, looked away
to the near horizon and, for the first time in my life let my eyes fall on a
foreign land. No! How could I call that land foreign when it was the motherland
of little Flora Currie whose blood still ran warm in my veins! No, certainly
no foreign land-rather, 'Homeland!')
_____________________
The time of the arrival of Archibald Currie and his family was not at all favorable for the American Revolution was already on and blood and bitterness were to mark the years ahead. Tradition is that Archibald Currie, though a new arrival from Scotland, espoused the cause of the new land and became a 'Whig.' We would like to feel this is so. As Woodrow Wilson said of the great Dr. John Witherspoon, only minister to sign the Declaration of Independence, even though he had but recently come from the old country — 'The moment Witherspoon's foot touched American soil, he became an American.' We would like to believe it so with Archibald Currie but the chances are against it. If he had been so different politically from his neighbors, it is likely more would have been made of it than is suggested by a rather vague tradition. But it is not impossible and one reason we have not heard more about it may be the fact that he did not parade a position so different from that of his influential neighbors. Archibald Currie is not listed in the 1790 census, which leads us to believe that he was dead at the time. Since this census came only nine years after the end of the Revolutionary War, Archibald Currie may not have long survived. We have no record of his death or place of burial.
[]
We come now to the year 1791, ten
years after the Revolutionary War had ended. We still have an eye on little
Flora Currie, living no longer in Bladen county but in Robeson--although she
has not changed her residence at all. But in 1786 a new county was cut out of
Bladen and named Robeson after one the distinquished officers of the late war.
But, very likely, all this is lost on Flora; her father, evidently, is dead
or the man, who took the census a few years before, overlooked him. This is
not likely since the census taker was paid by each name he wrote. It is very
likely that the head of the Currie household is now Flora's brother, Randall.
It is true that the census gives no one exactly by that name but it does list
a 'Raynald' Currie and, since those days were well provided with plenty of 'fire-water'
which those Scotch people knew well how to brew--and, since it is by no means
unlikely that the census taker was averse to taking a nip as he went from house
to house, we can readily imagine how he could write 'Raynald' for the more orthodox
'Randall,' feeling that this was a mere trifle among friends! And, after all,
who would care a hundred years ahead which way it was written!
In 1791 Flora was a lass of 17. Moreover, in that same year who should land
fresh from Scotland--yes, fresh from the little Isle of Colonsay, but a young
chap, Angus Currie, just 21 years of age. Angus was accompanied by this old
mother and these two constituted the family. We do not know this dear old mother's
name but my hat is off to her memory. It is doubtful that she could speak a
word of English, only knowing and speaking her native Gaelic. The family tradition
is that she did not know 'a letter in the book' (here my hat comes off) but
she could ask and answer every single question and give the Bible prooftexts
of every question in the Westminster Shorter Catechism! No, she did not know
a letter in the book but God and Jesus, the Son of God and the Way of Eternal
Salvation! Her soul was strong on the solidest sort of food!
Angus Currie and Flora Currie had
the same family name but they were not in any way closely related. We do not
know when or how they met but we need not worry long about a lad of 21 meeting
a lass of 17. We may well imagine they spoke to each other in the tongue of
their father's picturesque Gaelic. Those familiar with that language assure
us that better than any modern speech it is full of pictures and readily lends
itself to poetry. One could hardly desire a better vocal instrument to convey
the deep things of the heart than Angus and Flora had right at hand! We do not
know how long a time elapsed before they began to need the pictures and poetry
of the Gaelic language but, probably, some few years. We do know that Angus
Currie was an industrious youth and that he was not afraid of work--the hardest
kind of work. If the family traditions are true, he began working on the Cape
Fear River 'poling boats' from Wilmington. That was a day when steam navigation
was yet distant and when most need for power was supplied by man. It would take
a stout, as well as an industrious young man to do work of that sort. It argues
well for the physical strength of Angus Currie that he was able to do such,
but he was able and did not hesitate to set himself to the task.
____________
(Note: Flora Currie's son, John
C. Currie, said that she remembered vividly the 'Dark Day' of 1787. When night
came, the darkness could be felt like that of Egypt in the Days of Moses.)
____________
We do not know how
long this job continued but it does seem that he made, saved and invested his
earnings. He, like most of his race, had a genuine hunger for land--and was
not long in getting it. The old Angus Currie farm is located about three miles
northeast of the present Antioch Presbyterian Church of which, in 1833, he was
to be one of the founders and one of the charter ruling elders. The place, now
in the bounds of Hoke county, is located on the level Atlantic coastal plain
and is known by the name of the 'Burder Conoly Place.'
The records of Robeson county were burned with the county courthouse about 1856
[] so there is no official document showing the date of his marriage,
but it must have been about 1797, six years after his arrival in America when
he and Flora Currie became man and wife. His mother was still living and continued
so until after some of this children were born. It was she who taught them--taught
the older ones, that is--to speak the Gaelic language.
Reference has been made already to the part Angus Currie had in the forming
of Antioch Presbyterian Church, but he was long in the land and must have attended
Bethel Church first--four miles south of the present town of Raeford. In those
early days there was, also, a church or a preaching point called 'Raft Swamp.'
The Curries, no doubt, also attended this place. When Antioch was formed, not
only Angus Currie but his wife's brother, Randall Currie, became ruling elder
therein (in 1833 –SCE).
Angus reared a family whose names will be given later and, also, acquired property.
He would not now, nor was he then, regarded as rich--only independent. Among
other forms of possessions he had a few slaves, which at that early day not
many of those Scotch people had. Among these slaves was one old woman, old Aunt
Sarah--who this writer saw one time even in his day! At his death in 1843, her
master set her free but, in later years, she attached herself to his oldest
son and so remained until the negroes were finally freed. In the old McEachern
burying ground, six miles south of Raeford (at MillProng
House –SCE), are the graves of Angus and Flora Currie, near
the grave of John Gilchrist and other prominent neighbors. Their graves are
thus marked:
In memory of Angus Currie,
born in the Isle of Colonsay, Scotland,
September 17, 1770;came to America in 1791
and died June 10, 1843.
He was a ruling elder in the Presbyterian church.
Well done, thou good and faithful servant,
enter into the joy of thy Lord.'
[]
In memory of Flora,
consort of Angus Currie,
born in Cantyre, Scotland, May 20, 1774;
Came to America in 1775
and died September 19, 1834.
Whom have I in heaven but thee?
From these inscriptions it will be seen that Angus outlived his 'consort' by nine years although he never married again. It should be noted how appropriate is the rather obsolete term 'consort' which comes from Latin words meaning 'to share the lot.' A good term to describe marriage even yet!
Now we turn to the children of this couple and find the following: (A.) Isabella, (B.) Mary, (C.) John C., (D.) Archibald C., (E.) Angus R., (F.) Flora and (G.) Sarah. [a handwritten note in the margin says, 'and Sally' indicating there was another child named Sarah, or Sally; this Sarah married Adam Currie, her first cousin, the son of Randal Currie.--SCE] We will take each one of these in turn and designate them by a capital letter, A, B, C, etc; their children by Roman numerals, I, II, III, etc.; the grandchildren by Arabic figures, 1, 2, 3, etc.; their children by small letters, a, b, c, etc.; and, their children by numerals in brackets (1), (2), (3), etc.
A. Isabella Currie, the oldest child of Angus and Flora Currie, was born June 8, 1798 and died, unmarried, September 7, 1846. These dates are from her gravestone in the cemetery close to her mother's old home 'Randallsville.' [Flora Currie's brother, Randall, mentioned earlier in this history, was postmaster of Randallsville, which in other documents appears to have been his homeplace. His son Adam continued to call it Randalsville, even in his will of 1886. –SCE] She died of typhoid fever, then such a prevalent scourge in that section of the country. On the Saturday preceding her death on Monday, her youngest brother, Angus R. Currie, died of the same disease. Isabella had, for a little while before his marriage, kept house for her oldest brother, John C. Currie; that home being inside the corporate limits of the present town of Raeford, North Carolina.
B. Mary Currie, second child of Angus and Flora Currie, was born December 31, 1800. She became the second wife of Gilbert Gilchrist about 1833 or 1834 []. Gilbert Gilchrist was the youngest living child of John and Effie McMillan Gilchrist. This was a very large and prominent family in early North Carolina and even down to the present day. The late governor, A.W. McLean, was a lineal descendant of this same John and Effie M. Gilchrist. Shortly after his marriage, Gilbert Gilchrist moved his family to Barbour county, Alabama []. He had several children by his first marriage. Born of the second marriage were the following:
I. John McIntyre Gilchrist, born in North Carolina, to Gilbert and Mary Currie Gilchrist; named for a noted Presbyterian minister, Rev. John McIntyre, was was, no doubt, a friend of the family and, possibly, their minister at that time. He may have baptized this baby. It may be said he that the Gilchrist family settled in Barbour county, Alabama, near Mt. Andrew which is about midway between Union Springs and Clayton. In the early 1820s many of the North Carolina Highlanders settled in this section. The elder Gilbert Gilchrist died about 1857, about which time his wife and widow, Mary Currie Gilchrist, moved to Butler county and made her home with this oldest son, John McIntyre Gilchrist, at a place some 12 miles from Greenville, the county seat. She died in 1879 and was buried on her son's burial plot in old Bethel churchyard at a little place twelve miles from Greenville. John M. Gilchrist married Dorinda Calhoun, daughter of Ezekiel and Lucinda Bazemore Calhoun. Her parents had come to Alabama from Abeville district, South Carolina. Issue:
1- James Angus Gilchrist, son of John McIntyre and Dorinda Calhoun Gilchrist; lived at Ft. Deposit, Lowndes county, Ala.; married Margaret Reid; issue:
a. Ann Lipscomb Gilchrist, daughter of James Angus and Margaret Reid Gilchrist.
b. Rebecca C. Gilchrist, daughter of James Angus and Margaret Reid Gilchrist.
c. James Cecil Gilchrist, son of James Angus and Margaret Reid Gilchrist.
d. Henry Grady Gilchrist, son of James Angus and Margaret Reid Gilchrist.
e. Early Gilchrist, daughter of James Angus and Margaret Reid Gilchrist; married ___________ Price; issue:
(1) _______________, son of ___________ and Early Gilchrist Price; Attending college in 1936.
(2) _______________, daughter of ___________ and Early Gilchrist Price; Attending high school in 1936.
2- Ella Amanda Gilchrist, daughter of John McIntyre and Dorinda Calhoun Gilchrist; it was she who in 1873 wrote letters to her second cousin, William J. Currie, Shoeheel (now Maxton), North Carolina, copies of which were furnished this writer by his daughter, Mrs. L.W. McKinnon, Maxton, who has the originals. Ella Amanda Gilchrist married Marion Parmer, Butler county, Alabama; both are now dead; they left a large family but, unfortunately, we have no further information regarding them.
3- Mary ('Mollie') Gilchrist, daughter of John McIntyre and Dorinda Calhoun Gilchrist married Robert Scott of Loundes county, Alabama. Both are now dead. They left a large family of whom we have no information.
II. Charner H. Gilchrist. In late years there has been agitation regarding such a son of Gilbert and Mary Currie Gilchrist, and I am not sufficiently informed to make an intelligent statement regarding him. The report is that he dies, unmarried, while in the Confederate Army, leaving certain lands in East Texas where oil fields have since been developed. Vast sums of money are said to await the kin if they can make good proof.
III. Angus James Gilchrist, son of Gilbert and Mary Currie Gilchrist, was born in North Carolina August 2, 1833 before their migration to Alabama. About 1856 he came to Texas, settled at Garden Valley, Smith county; married Katherine Douglas; served in Confederate Army; was later settled at Wills Point, Texas; deid in 1891; issue:
1- Henry Gilchrist. Lived at Wills Point, Texas. No detailed information.
2- ______________ Gilchrist, daughter of Angus J. and Katherine D. Gilchrist. her sons attended Texas A&M around 1930 when my son, William Angus McLeod, Jr., was a student there.
3- Gilbert ('Gibb') Gilchrist, son of Angus J. and Katherine D. Gilchrist. He was for many years the distinquished State Highway Engineer for Texas, instrumental in building thousands of miles of improved highways in the state. In 1937, resigned to become head of the Engineering department of Texas A&M and is, in the year 1946, president of this school; married ________ Weaver of Cumby, Texas; issue:
a. Henry Gilchrist, son of Gilbert and __________ Weaver Gilchrist; in 1938 about fourteen years of age.
IV. Gilbert Scotland Gilchrist, son of Gilbert and Mary Currie Gilchrist, was born in 1836 and died in Texas in 1912 wehre he had lived since 1858. He was married to Zilpha Blow in 1861 and went at once to enlist--with his brother, Angus--in the Cofederate Army. He lived near Bullard, Smith county, Texas; this couple had eleven children, the four eldest dying in infancy and early childhood. Another child was stillborn, leaving six who grew to maturity; they are:
1- Gibbie Gilchrist, oldest daughter of Gilbert and Zilpha Blow Gilchrist; she married _________ McKee but died early in life leaving the following issue (no information regarding her children).
2- Mary Gilchrist, daughter of Gilbert and Zilpha Blow Gilchrist.
3- Emma Gilchrist, daughter of Gilbert and Zilpha Blow Gilchrist.
4- John Gilchrist, son of Gilbert and Zilpha Blow Gilchrist; lived in Jacksonville, Texas.
5- Nettie Gilchrist, daughter of Gilbert and Zilpha Blow Gilchrist, married W. Les Dublin of Jacksonville, Texas; issue:
a. Zilpha Dublin, daughter of W. Les and Nettie Gilchrist Dublin.
b. W. Les Dublin, Jr., oldest son of W. Les and Nettie Gilchrist Dublin.
c. Gilbert Dublin, second son of W. Les and Nettie Gilchrist Dublin.
d. ________ Dublin, daughter of W. Les and Nettie Gilchrist Dublin, died in infancy.
e. Richard Dublin, son of W. Les and Nettie Gilchrist Dublin.
6- Angus Gilchrist, youngest child of Gilbert and Zilpha Blow Gilchrist, lived in Jacksonville, Texas; married ___________ Dublin, sister of W. Les Dublin; issue:
a. ___________ Dublin, daughter of Angus and __________ Dublin Gilchrist; name not known but this writer (W.A. McLeod) met her in 1932 when she was then about 16 years of age.
b. Angus Gilchrist, Jr., son of Angus and __________ Dublin Gilchrist.
c. Some younger children of Angus and __________ Dublin Gilchrist; no info on them.
V. Carolina Gilchrist, daughter of Gilbert and Mary Currie Gilchrist, was born in Alabama; married __________ Blakey; no information.
VI. Nancy McPherson Gilchrist, daughter of Gilbert and Mary Currie Gilchrist, was named for her father's first wife. She married Joseph Thigpen and they, eventually, separated. She moved to Texas and made her home with her brother, Gibb, at Bullard; no issue.
VII. Adeline Gilchrist, daughter of Gilbert and Mary Currie Gilchrist; married __________ Hooks. Remained in Alabama; no further information.
VIII. Jermina Gilchrist, daughter of Gilbert and Mary Currie Gilchrist; died early and was buried at Mt. Andrew, Alabama.
IX. Amanda Gilchrist, daughter of Gilbert and Mary Currie Gilchrist; died early and was buried at Mt. Andrew, Alabama.
C. John C. Currie, third child of Angus and Flora Currie, was born October 3, 1803, on his father's farm situated three miles northeast of Antioch Presbyterian Church of the present day, in what was then Robeson, now Hoke county, North Carolina. This place is known today as the 'Burder Conoly Place.' It was on the outward edge of the Atlantic coastal plain and was very level and densely timbered. He was a steady, studious lad, so goes tradition, very bright in books and made full use of the meager educational advantages of his day. So much so that he became a school teacher of considerable note. He carried his love of learning to his last days. At one time, this portion of North Carolina was full of people who knew little and spoke even less English. John C. Currie could 'talk Scotch,' that is, he spoke the old Gaelic of his forefathers. His only living child at this time, March, 1938, Angus D. Currie, Mount Vernon, Georgia, now nearing 90 years of agesays he well remembers when his father would get down an old Gaelic hymnbook and sing long and earnestlyif not to English ears musically! He would often repeat some Gaelic quotation and, after translating for his family, remark 'That is the most beautiful language in the world.' His children were never able to appreciate his enthusiasm for the old language. In it his mother and grandmother had sung him to sleep, but his children had no such sweet associations with it. To them it had become a mere jargon.
This Currie family were devout Presbyterians. In early days they must have attended old Bethel Church near the present town of Raeford, but in 1833 Antioch Church was organized and Angus Currie and his brother-in-law, Randall Currie, father and uncle respectively of John C. Currie, became charter elders. It is not known whether John C. Currie became a member of Antioch or not. (John C. Currie was a charter member [#70] of Antioch Church in 1833 according to the Antioch Church Session records. -JSE) Later he lived near Bethel and, later still, was prime mover in the organization in 1854 of old Sandy GroveChurch, now included in the Camp Bragg Military Reservation (Fort Bragg at Fayetteville, NC –SCE) The building still stands and is occasionally used for worship.
In 1836, while teaching school in her community, John C. Currie met and later married one of his pupils, Margaret Keahey, daughter of John and Elizabeth Patterson Keahey. Both of Margaret's parents were dead and she was making her home, along with her two younger sisters, Mary and Eliza, with their grandfather, Daniel Patterson or 'Buffalo' Patterson as he was called in order to distinguish him from another Daniel Patterson of 'Raft Swamp.' 'Buffalo' Patterson was a very prominent and well-to-do man in his community and had long lived over the old county line on Buffalo Creek in Cumberland county; he had milled on that creek. But late in life he moved over into Robeson county to what was known as 'The Red House' because of its color. This place is now the home of Daniel G. McMillan, as it was of his father before him, 'Red House Archie,' who bought it from Patterson when the latter moved, in 1837, to Hachet Creek, Talledege county, Alabama. One can still see in the 'Red House' what is pointed out as the 'Keahey Room' which was the one occupied by Margaret and her two sisters.
Margaret Keahey was born on Mountain Creek where this little stream joins Lumber River. she was one of six children, three sons and three daughters, her brother, William Keahey, being the oldest. At the time of her marriage, she was about twenty years of age, her husband being thrity-three. She is said to have been a very lovely and attractive young woman; one generally beloved for her graciousness and kindness of heart. Her father, John Keahey, came from Richamond county, situated across Lumber River from the now well-known Jackson Springs. His mother was a Jackson, most likely the daughter of William Jackson for whom these springs are named. There was a big Keahey connection in those pa4rts, practically all of whom moved to the new southwestAlabama, Mississippi, Texas and who are represented there today by many people with this name and connection. John Keahey died about 1825 and his wife a few months later leaving, as before said, a band of orphan children.
After their marriage John C. and Margaret K. Currie moved to a house he had in readiness which he had bouth from a man named Stewart. This place was situated quite close to where the town of Raeford now stands; in fact, the present city limits take in some of it on the southwest side of town. Here they lived very happily until 1852 when they moved to the old John Keahey house, part of which Margaret inherited, the rest of which John C. bought from the other Keahey heirs. They started out in married life with a few slaves but were never biog slave owners. At the time of emancipation, their slaves were well content to remain. Among them was old 'Aunt Sarah' who had belonged to John C. Currie's father, Angus Currie. He had set her free but she chose to come and live with 'Marse John' and 'Miss Margaret.' She lived to be quite oldninety or more.
It was this old Keahey house, renovated and enlarged by the Currie family, that Sherman's men burned in March 1865. A few months later a new house was built about three hundred yards further east. This, in time became the property of M. McLeod, who married the youngest Currie daughter, Margaret; and, he converted it into a barn about 1917. Near it he built a handsome house which was burned in 1928. This was replaced by the little cottage now situated on its site.
John C. Currie died May 23, 1888, being 84 years, 2 months and 20 days old. He was buried at the new church, Shiloh, then being built which since has been moved to Montrose. His was the first grave placed there. His wife followed him on August 26, 1893, and was buried by his side.
This writer remembers John C. Currie as a rather stearn old gentleman, while his wife was truly angelic of face and disposition. but no man surpassed him in his regard for the true and good. He loved righteousness and harted iniquity; while his good wife loved righteousness and pitied iniquity. He was the 'law' and she the 'gospel!'
John C. Currie was a modest mannever seeking office. Indeed, he could never be induced to take office in church or state, not withstanding his apparent fitness for it. In his earlier days he served in the local militia and ranked as a major. In politics he was a consistent Democrat, in a day, however, before democracy had so completely fallen into the hands of the foreign elements of the big cities.
To this couple were born eleven childrensix sons and five daughterswhose names follow here, to be taken up further on and given more extended notice:
Elizabeth Caroline Currie (m. John M. Graham)
Archie Keahey Currie (died young)
Flora Ann Currie (died young)
Mary Jane Currie (died young)
William Jackson Currie (m. Catherine Smith Dr. Dan's parents)
John Calvin Currie (m. Mary McLean)
Angus Doddridge Currietwin of John Calvin (m. Gertrude China)
Isabella Amanda Currie (m. John Daniel McLeod, grandson of 'Buffalo' McLeod)
James Burder Currie (m. 1st Flora Chisholm, 2nd Catherine Stewart)
Newton Bethune Currie (unmarried)
Margaret Jane Currie (m. Murdoch McLeod)
I. Elizabeth Caroline Currie, daughter of John C. and Margaret Keahey Currie, was born about 1837. She married Catain John M. Graham, son of Alexander and Anna McFarland Graham. This John Graham was born in Cumberland county, North Carolina and served in Confederate Army; great lover and teacher of music; skilled worker with his hands; owned and opoerated a grist mill, thresher and cotton gin on Buffalo Creek; deacon in Sandy Grove and, later, Shiloh Churches. Elizabeth Currie Graham died in 1876; issue:
1- ___________, daughter of John M. and Elizabeth Currie Graham, and oldest
