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Lest We Forget ; Our Melvins and Kin by Lionel Dane Melvin NCMcKay Home "Lest" Contents Page Book Index--> A-F, G-Mc, M-Q, R-Y <--Pg. 024 Pg. 026--> 25 Another version to the Daniel Melvin story was given me in about 1965 by the late John Armfield Melvin of Randleman, N.C., as passed down to him by his father, Alexander Conley Melvin, who lived to be 94 years of age. This story held forth that Daniel was a political prisoner and escaped along with several other political prisoners when the ship bearing them put into port at Wilmington, N.C. Carley Love Melvin, who is a sixth generation Melvin and has written a history of his family line, says that Daniel and a brother, John, came south from the New England states and Daniel settled in North Carolina, while John went on to South Carolina. This could have originated in the fact that Daniel had sons named Daniel and John, as well as one named George, however, this legend has some merit, for there was a John Mel- vin who settled in South Carolina at about the same time that Daniel came to North Carolina. This John Melvin held the rank of captain in the military and had a son David who married a spinster by the name of Jane McTyre, one of the beneficiary of a sister who in her will said that she was dying, having been scalped by enemies of her country. In defense of the political prisoner version, it should be stated that such prisoners were frequently taken at that period of our history. As for the one relating to the capture by the pirate, Blackbeard, it is on- ly fair to point our that his ship was plying the coastal waters of the Carolinas at that time until Lt. Maynard boarded his sloop and person- ally shot the pirate dead on the 22nd of Nov. 1718. Lt. Maynard was act- ing on the orders of the governor of Virginia, since Gov. Eden of North Carolina failed to take action for a very good reason: he was sharing in the pirate's booty. That is why Thomas Luten, Jr., Esq.; Edward Mos- ley, Esq.; Maurice Moore, Esq. and Joseph Moore, laborer, (apparently a ward and brother of Maurice as well as an ancestor of some Melvins) broke into the home of the Secretary of the Council and took the Council records. There were good reasons to believe at that time that the Gov- ernor was involved. Not much more is known about Daniel Melvin, Immigrant, but he has been de- scribed as being well liked, witty, tall and having a ruddy complexion. It had been passed on to me by Gaston P. Sutton (1860-1949) that in his old age when his children were married or had moved away, Daniel would take long trips and be gone for long periods of time. I am sorry, my cousins, that I cannot be more specific. Perhaps some of you will have the time and curiosity to search further for the truth. Later records, nevertheless, clearly document the records of the chil- dren and grandchildren of most of the descendants, for they assumed a leadership in the county and state. Three grandsons served on the bench of the Court of Pleas and Quarter-sessions, two grandsons and a great- grandson filled the office of High Sheriff of Bladen County, one grand- son served for twenty-two years in the House and Senate of the N.C. Gen. Assembly and scores of others in succeeding generations served, not only in the General Assembly, but on the boards of county commissioners, boards of education for the county, recorder court benches, county attor- neyships and other positions of leadership. Those who have moved to other counties and states, also, produced leaders where they settled. On the whole, they have been a credit to the ancient name of Melvin. James Sprunt in his "Chronicles Of The Cape Fear" names the Melvins as one of the fam- ilies who succeeded the older leaders and proved to be their equals in Bladen County. DANIEL MELVIN, Immigrant, married c1745 Jane Thomas, thought to be a dau- ghter of FRANCIS THOMAS and Jeannette Wining, who was a daughter of John Wining who received a grant or grants of land in Bladen in 1735. Francis <--Pg. 024 Pg. 026--> |
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HTML Editor's note: Pages 24 and 25 have almost no margins in this book. I therefore gave
The two separate lines now reading:
"such prisoners were frequently taken at that period of our history. As" Originally read:
"such prisoners were frequently taken at that period of our history, as" The text in green is Lionel Melvin's correction, published in
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