Chapter 7

Paschall Farm History

William Horace Perkinson purchased the farm over a period of years and as five parcels or tracts of land. I will refer to these as tract one, tract two, tract three, tract four and tract five. Tract’s one, two and three are referred to in that fashion in the 1934 deed recorded in book 128, page 208 at the Warren County, NC Register of Deeds.

Tract Four is the first tract William Horace Perkinson acquired. This is a fifty five (55) acre tract lying along the south property line of the farm. William Horace Perkinson purchased this property from his parents, John Travis and Cora Hudson Perkinson. The deed for this tract is dated 30 July 1930 and is recorded in book 132 page 12 at the Warren County, NC Registry. John Travis Perkinson acquired this 55 acre tract from Cynthia Perkinson. The deed between Cynthia Perkinson and John Travis Perkinson is recorded in book 71 page 10 of the Warren County Registry. Book 71, page 10 further references a deed in book 55, page 274 of the Warren County Registry. On 23 June 1889 Joseph H and Cynthia Perkinson sold John T Perkinson 20 acres of this 55 acre Tract per  book 55, page 274 deed. The book 71, page 10, 6 March 1905 deed covers the entire 55 acres. The deeds in book 55, page 274 and book 71 page 10 do not reveal how Joseph and Cynthia acquired the land.

Book 63, Page’s 515,516,517 and 518 reveals that on 15 January 1886 Sarah Tally acting on the authority of her late husbands will allotted this 55 acre tract to Cynthia Perkinson and her husband Joseph H Perkinson.

Ownership of this 55 acre tract is as follows:

(1)     Travis and Sarah Wright Tally

(2)     Joseph H and Cynthia Tally Perkinson

(3)     John Travis and Cora Perkinson

(4)     William Horace Perkinson

(5)     Gladys M Perkinson Family Trust

(6)     William David and Lorraine H. Perkinson

William Horace Perkinson and his wife Lora Gladys Perkinson purchased tract one, tract two and tract three from John Travis Perkinson on 17 July 1934. The deed for this purchase is recorded in book 128 page 208 of the Warren County Registry.

Tract One is a 17 ½ acre tract that lies along the north property line of the farm. John Travis Perkinson Acquired this 17 ½ acres from J.C. Williams et ux 19 Feburary 1902. The deed between J.C. Williams and John Travis Perkinson is recorded in book 71, page 3 of the Warren County Registry. That deed is signed by Jesse C. Williams and his wife Palmer Williams but it does not show how Jesse and Palmer Williams acquired the land.

Tract Two is a three (3) acre tract that John Travis Perkinson acquired from L.P. Coleman et ux on 4 February 1903. The deed between John Travis Perkinson and L.P. Coleman is recorded in book 70, page 373 of the Warren County, NC Registry. That deed does not reveal how Levi P. Coleman and his wife, Florence Rose Coleman, acquired the property.

Tract Three is a seventy-nine (79) acre tract that comprises about one-half  (1/2) the farm and lies down the middle of the farm. John Travis Perkinson acquired this 79 acre tract from John R. Talley. The deed between John Travis Perkinson and John R. Talley is recorded in book 55, page 635 of the Warren County Registry. I am not sure of the date but it appears to be 3 January 1880.

John R. Tally was allotted this land by his mother Sarah Tally. I am not sure of the date but it appears to be 18 October 1864. the digit for the 6 in 1864 has been written over and it may be 1884.

Tract Five is a two or three acre tract in the southwest corner of the farm that William Horace Perkinson purchased in the 1950’s from Clanton Perkinson as best I can remember. I believe he daddy purchased that to “straighten out the line”.

I can remember three (3) dwelling houses being on this farm.

(1)     The “home place”, where the open well is and north of the barns.

Daddy was raised here and I believe his father was also. I can remember visiting a sick person there when I was a child. This was probably in the 1945-1950 range. I do not recall who we visited. I believe “James” Perkinson also lived in that house about that time. I do not recall anyone living in that house since the early 1950’s.

I visited Julian Felts 24 July 2004 and discussed the farm history with him. Julian told me that daddy’s brother Edwin Joseph Perkinson was the sick person I visited. According to Julian, Edwin lived in the old home place and died in 1946. According to Julian, Edwin’s son James also lived in the old home place.

       

(2)     There use to be a house west of the barns, between the barns and the pond.

That house has fallen. I do not recall any white person living in that house and I do not know if a relative ever did.

At the 24 July 2004 visit with Julian Felts Julian told me that James, Edwin’s son, built this house about 1942 and lived in it. As I recall it was a small frame house, two rooms downstairs a one room upstairs.

There was a spring northwest of that house beside the branch that flows into the pond. That spring was useable before the pond was built. The pond was built about 1970 and may have raised the water level enough to cover the spring.

There use to be a black man that lived in this house. His name was “Plum”. Plum was in an accident, hit by a train I think, and had no place to live etc. Daddy told him he could live in that house if he wanted to. That would have been in the 1950’s. Plum chose to live there and did for probably 20 years. I do not recall what year or why he left. A couple of times John found a “Still” on the branch. Plum denied knowing anything about it but always managed to find out who it belonged to and have it moved.

               

(3) House #3 is southwest of the barns and south of the pond. It’s still standing     

but about to fall. I can recall when Luther Irvin Perkinson lived in this house. I am not sure what year his parents moved out on the road but it would have been in the late 1940’s or early 1950’s.

Julian Felts also told me when I visited with him 24 July 2004 that Edwin’s son Luther, lived in this house. I failed to ask when the house was built or who built it.

Julian Felts also told me there was another house on the farm in which Sarah Tally Johnson lived. According to Julian that house was west of Reddy Branch, in the southwest part of the farm and behind the house in which Julian lives. I have never looked for evidence of a house in this area and have never seen evidence of a house here. Julian also said this Sarah Tally, daughter of Travis Tally, married a “Johnson” that came to Warren County from up north after the civil war. Sarah and her husband later moved to Tennessee. Julian said that “Sarah gave the 55 acre tract to John Travis for horse and saddle” or something to that affect. That story is not supported by the deed transfers.

My earliest memory I have of the agriculture operation of the farm is Macon G. Moseley growing the crops on the farm. This was probably in the early 1950’s. Macon grew tobacco, corn and I believe cotton, wheat and soybeans. I vaguely remember, maybe I’m wrong, that daddy did not charge Macon Moseley rent and mama thought he should.

I do not know why a change was made but after a few years Turner Felts and family tended the crop on the farm. The Felts family grew the crop on the farm for many years (maybe 20) until they no longer wanted it. Next Luther I Perkinson leased the farm and continues to do so.

 

 

Paschall Farm Memories

My first memories of the Paschall farm going with Daddy to visit a sick person that lived in the old home place on the farm.

There were three houses on the farm, the home place, a house about a 100 west of the tobacco barns and a house about 150 yards south of the ponds.

Daddy use to take me to the farm. I think I used to play some in the creek, reedy branch. I believe Daddy use to take me down there hunting also. Daddy had a 16 gauge shot gun. Daddy told me he bought that gun for $6.00. John and some of our friends use to go to the farm hunting. I think Bubba Overby had some hound dogs and we would go rabbit hunting. Sometimes a friend and I would go rabbit or squirrel hunting. We would walk and step on brush piles to get the rabbits to run. Sometime we would sit quietly under an oak tree and wait for a squirrel to come out.

In the mid to late 1960’s I had a pond built on the farm. At one time I planted a garden there. One weekend I was at the garden and I thought next weekend the corn would be ready. When I went back the raccoons and squirrels had destroyed my corn. That was the end of my trying to garden on the farm.

In the 1960’s I decided to raise beef cattle on the farm. I repaired the fences, had soil samples made to determine what the soil needed and planted fescue and clover for the Pasteur. I bought some calves and started beef farming. John wanted some cows to so he bought some. I then went to work with Social Security in Goldsboro, NC. Beef farming was too much so I sold my cows to John.

At one time I bought a horse, saddle and bridle and put them on the farm. The horses name was Blue. I bought the horse from someone that lived on the Neuse river in northeast Raleigh. Blue had not been well fed. From looking at him and his pasteur it looked like he had been trying to eat the bark on the trees. But I had a good pasteur for him. We rented or borrowed a trailer and took Blue to the farm. Blue looked much healther in his new pasteur. My children and I enjoyed going to the farm fishing and horseback ridding. Susan or Sharon will probably disagree with enjoying horse back riding. I think the horse ran away with one of them.  A young man that worked on Arthur Holt King’s farm wanted a horse to ride and he would come and ride our horse. The horse was also too much for us to care for so we sold the horse.

As my children grew Bill would go to the farm hunting and fishing. A friend of mine, Buddy Gardner, had access to a house on Lake Gaston and he would come by Mama’s to eat and we would go to the farm hunting.

Several times Dalton, Devin and some of their friends have been to the farm to fish and to take target practice shooting the rifles, pistols and shotguns. They have also driven cars and trucks on the farm and from the lake house to the farm. I believe Dalton got a lot of his driving experience driving in around the lake house and from the lake house to the farm.