The Rutherfordton Sun, Thursday Morning, July 23, 1903 Otter Creek Items. Mr. J. H. Nicholds has moved to Old Fort - Other News (Special to The Sun.) Otter Creek, NC., July 20. - Mr. J. S. Nichols has sold his stock of goods to G. W. Haynes and moved to Old Fort, where he will engage in the mercantile business. Mrs. C. Smith, of Red Top, ;visited Mr. F. O. Lewis on the 18th inst. Rev. W. L. Haynes gave us a call on his way to his regular appointment at Stone Mountain. Mrs. M. A. McIntire and Miss Casco Harris, of Green Hill, visited Mr. E. C. Harris last week, and attended church at the Cove last Sunday. We hear the hum of Walker Hall's threshing machine as we pen this down, and Brown says the chickens at his place seem to be getting shy. (The farmers had to feed the threshing crew, ra). One of Mr. Lee Higgin's twin babies is very sick. Mr. and Mrs. T. J. Jones are visiting relatives in Calwell county. Mr. A. W. Hall is checkman at the lumber yard in Mr. J's absence. Mr. John Geer visited the Cove last week; but we learn there is much work yet to be done. Mr. J. L. Morgan and daughters, of Marion, visited Esquire J. W. Morgan and attended church Sunday. Mr. Joe Hemphill has gone to Marion to nurse his brother, Charlie, who is very sick. (The above may not interest some readers, but there may be some family connection in these didbits, ra) The bit of history we promised the readers of our county papers relative to the first settlers of the Cove begins thusly; In the year -----(1) Richard Bradley, (2) Richard Ledbetter, (3) William Harris, (4) George Ledbetter, (50 Jones Williams, (6) William Elliott, (7) (8) (9) Walton, John and Isaac Bradley, three brothers, (10) James Humphrys, and (11) Widow Anna Jones with their families, and several slaves, came from Virginia, and settled here in the Cove (Montford's Cove, ra) when not a stick of timber up to that time was amiss. Me and Brown respectfully ask that all readers and especially those of the same names given above will aid using finding out who the fathers and grandfathers and mothers and grandmothers and even the wives of some of these people were, for we find there are several people around here who are unable to tell us who their grandfathers and grandmothers are, and a great many unable to tell who are their great-grandfathers and great-grandmothers, and we guess you would be surprised too, if you would only ask and find out how few in you different settlements are able to tell who were their great grand parents. Many old records are to be found in referring to the old family Bible records and blank leaves in the history of George Washington. The Rutherfordton Sun, Thursday Morning, July 30, 1903 Some More History The Cove a Noted Place - All The News About Otter Creek (Note: This is Montford's Cove area RA) Otter Creek, N. C., July 27., The Cove's first settlers.- (1) Richard Bradley settled on the west side of the present public Cove road, about onefourth mile above the McDowell-Rutherford county line, and here erected the first brick house built in Rutherford county. He and his wife Winnie Williams, who was a daughter of (5) Jones Williams, died in this house, and sleeps in the family graveyard on the big hill just west of there. This house was torn down on account of the cellar, by Joshua Hall, and with the brick he built the house in which he now lives, just across said road from the former site. Reader, if ever you are at this house examine the brick, and if ever you have to repair or build any country brick building for the good old county of Rutherford, and can get such brick as these. (11) Widow Anna Jones was Mr. Bradley's sister, and (7) Walton, (8) John and (9) Isaac were his half-brothers. Corn then was high, and on one occasion Mr. and Mrs. B., with sad hearts, had to give one of their slaves for only three hundred bushels, but vowed they would all starve together rather then do so again, and they never had to any more, for cornucopia was over afterwards their lot. To them were born eight sons, to-wit; Coleman, John, Terry, Simmons, Thornton, Ledbetter, Richard Jr., and Jones, and three daughters one of whom married Issac Ledbetter, and one (Nanna first) married a Moore, and afterwards Henry Elliott; and H. E. second wife was Polly Souther, a sister of the late Noah Souther, or Old Fort. Phil was a son of (10) James Humphreys. Of the eight sons, we notice only three: First, Coleman owned and lived on what is known as the old John Hemphill farm, on Cove creek. His daughter Polly was the second wife of Harland Harris. Second, John lived near Sugar Hill. He had several sons one named Roe was murdered in South Carolina while off with a market wagon. He had only one daughter, who married James Crawford, whom he much opposed as a son-in-law. Mr. B. had been sending his daughter off to school, and bought her several silk dresses, and when she ran away and married Mr. C., Mr. b. just picked up her trunk, dresses and all and burned them, and threatened to shoot Mr. C. on first sight. but time generally changes matters, so by-and-by he sent for the young couple and game them a farm; and as is often the case, the plowboy, perhaps, made a much better son-in-law then would the fashionable son of some aristocrat, for the sons and daughters of this couple have all done fairly well. And we have ample evidence of this fact in their three sons - The Hous. J. C. Crawford, of Sugar Hill; G. W., of Marion and Lee P., of Old Fort - all having been very successful in business and politics. About the same time a neighbor just across the way had the misfortune or the good fortune to have a daughter to run away with a little, crippled, pigeon-toed schoolteacher; but he took it good naturedly, and going over to Mr.. B.'s by way of tease, said;"Esquire, if hell had been scraped and the sea skimmed, there couldn't have been born found two other such son-in-law as ours." The third and last of the three Joneses (I believe this should be Bradley? ra), the youngest son and probably the youngest child, had also eight sons and several daughters. The youngest of these sons is named Jones, and is now 80 years old, and lives in Washington, Ark. He has no living brother and only two living sisters, to-wit; Widow Rebecca Ledbetter, of Sugar Hill, N. C., and widow Zillah Coward, of Polk County. From these the reader may get further information. Mrs. Ben Hampton, of the Three Cs depot and Mr. Sam Hampton are visiting J. W. Morgan's. At base ball Saturday, the Cove team scored 31 to Cedar Creek's 8. Hot weather now and getting dry. Cora, the daughter of Wm. Arrowood, has been sick the past week, but is much improved. The general health of the community is good. (Above copied as printed). The Rutherfordton Sun, Thursday Morning, April 30, 1903 Marriage at Otter Creek Scores the the Dispensary One - Says it will be Ousted. Otter Creek, N. C., Aprl 21., Mr. Fleet Marlow, of Sugar Hill, and Miss Dovie Haynes, were married on the 19th, Esquire A. F. Morgan, officiating. Elder J. D. Hunt, pastor at Montfor's Cove, scored the dispensary and all who favor it on Sunday last, and predicts that the Christains of Rutherford County will oust this curse from among us; but still we find others of a different persuasion. It is said that corn could be bought about 20 cents cheaper were it not for the distillery here, and that the very ones furnishing or selling it are leading church members, and yet they claim to be prohibitionist. Ronald Arrowood K4HLO Sunshine, NC

Ronald, Thank you so much for sharing these newspaper articles with those of us on the Rutherford County List. I enjoy them so much, and there is always some helpful in them (even if it is just a name of a neighbor for one of my relatives). Gloria Forrester Spartanburg, SC