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CHOWAN
BEACH
RECREATION ASSOCIATION, INC.
CHOWAN BEACH, NORTH CAROLINA
The History
of Chowan Beach
by George Farrell and Rawl Gelinas
Preface Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5
Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10
Part Three
When
Parson
Daniel
Earl
died in 1790 he left Bandon to one
daughter and an adjoining plantation,
Boydsborough, to the other. Charles
Johnson survived his wife and spent the
last years of his life ill and in the care
of a trusted slave and her daughter. In
thanks for their care he decreed that they
should be freed at his death and given
$500 to help start new lives. This was
done when he died in the late summer of
1802. All his property was left to his
son, Charles Earl Johnson. Boydsborough
had also been willed to Charles Earl upon
his aunt's death in 1796. It is
interesting to note that Charles Earl,
although the second son and not the
eldest, was heir to both his aunt's
property and his father's. There is little
information to be found about Thomas, the
eldest son other than the fact that he was
of age when his father died. Yet the
property was left to Charles Earl, still a
minor. He achieved his majority in 1805.
Charles
Earl
bought
even
more land and slaves to add to an already
thriving plantation until eventually he
possessed several thousand acres and was a
very wealthy man. He continued the family
tradition of education and hired a private
teacher for at least some of his eight
children. The building used for this is
possibly the one that is now at the
Iredell house, mistaken for the original
'Parson Earl Schoolhouse.'
The
records
are unclear and in some cases contradict
each other but it seems almost certain
that at least the main building of Bandon
burned sometime in the late 1820's. There
are photos, made in the 1950's, of the
main house at Bandon saying 'circa 1800'
which would indicate that it is the
original building from Charles Johnson'
senior's time but the evidence that it did
burn seems stronger. It may have burned
only partially for some elements, such as
doors and mantles were either left or
rescued. There are records that they were
incorporated into the new or rebuilt
structure. The Edenton Gazette of May 5,
1829 reported that there was a fire in a
shed while some outbuildings were still
under construction but that "the large and
commodious dwelling of Charles E. Johnson,
lately erected, narrowly escaped burning."
Charles
died,
in
February
1850, of a "paralytic stroke.' In the
estate papers is an extensive inventory of
furnishings, tools and equipment
indicating that there were several farm
outbuildings: barns, kitchen, smokehouse,
carriage house, blacksmith shop and
possibly more. His estate was estimated to
be in excess of $100,000 with Bandon
plantation being listed as valued at
$18000, a very great deal of money in the
1850.
His
estate
was to be divided among several heirs. In
1852 the heirs entered a friendly suit
entreating the sale of the Bandon
property. This was granted. At the auction
on December 17, 1852 the high bid was
$25000 and William J. Holley became the
owner of Bandon Plantation.
On To Part Four
Copyright © 2013 The Chowan
Beach Recreation Association, Inc.
Portions Copyright © 2010 George Farrell
and Rawl Gelinas