Wayne County, North Carolina: Articles

Hatch & Lancaster Family Bibles

Reprinted with permission of the News-Argus and cannot be reproduced without permission.

Goldsboro News-Argus Sunday, August 3, 1975 Bicentennial Series

Editor's Note: This is the 17th in a series of articles on Wayne County's history from 1700 to 1900. It is being presented as a part of the observance of the American Revolution Bicentennial.

By Betty Hatch

At the time of the Revolutionary War, family bibles were a well-established tradition dating back for centuries. A family bible was more than a guide to worship & a tradition; it was the main & perhaps the only source of family history.

Bibles of this period usually contain either separate pages of family
records or notations of births & deaths on the pages of the bible itself.  Often the handwriting is beautiful script, the product of classes in perfect penmanship.

At least two such bibles still exist in Wayne County & are in relatively good condition.

One belongs to Mrs. Ben Grant who lives near Dudley & Corbett Hill. This is the Lancaster Family Bible & contains family records as far back as 1732.

The other is a Hatch Family Bible, dating back to 1762. It is owned by Cullen B. Hatch of Mount Olive, who is considered the family historian.

Descendants of both of these families still live in Wayne County &
surrouding areas. Branches of the Lancasters mentioned in the bible are the Grants, Outlands, Smiths, Futrells, Ginnetts, Bishops, Ellises & Becktons. Many members of the Hatch family live in Mount Olive, Goldsboro & nearby areas.

The pages of the Lancaster Bible are in good condition for the most part, although some are torn, wrinkled, illegible or missing. "The cover was damaged in a house fire," Mrs. Grant said, when one of her ancestors threw it downstairs to keep it from being totally burned. Items of family history are written on pages bound into the bible & in the margins on some pages.

The Hatch Family Bible is actually two, with the records of the second one completing those of the first. The front cover of the older bible is missing & a few of the pages are either missing or in somewhat poor shape. The cover of the second is faded red, a dusty rose color, with gold designs & words imprinted. The family records are written on separate sheets.

A message in the Lancaster Bible identifies it as one "given at St. James Court" Oct. 7, 1761. It is a version of Cranmer's prayer book which contains "four forms of prayer & service made for" Nov. 5, Jan. 30, May 29, & Oct. 25.

One of the bible pages notes that the bible was "Dilligently Compared & Revised, By His Majesty's Special Command, Appointed to be Read in Churches" & "Printed by Mark Basket, Printer of the King's most Excellent Majesty."

It was printed during the reign of King George III, who ruled from 1760 until 1820 & is best known for his part in helping to cause the Revolution. Births & deaths in the bible date from 1732, in the reign of King George II, to 1943, a period of 211 years.

The first birth noted is that of William Lancaster, son of Samuel &
Elizabeth, March 22, 1732. He lived to the age of 67 & died October 11, 1799. He apparently had two wives, Sarah & later Ann; the bible records two sets of children born to a William Lancaster & no mention is made of any other William except one of his sons, identified through out as William Sanders Lancaster.

William & Sarah had five children: Lavisa (spelling uncertain), born
Jan. 20, 1750 (day of month uncertain); Levi, born Oct. 1, 1757; William Sanders, March 13, 1760; Wright, Sept. 19, 1762; & Sarah, born Dec. 14, 1765, who married Jonathan Outland.

Ann was born Oct. 22, 1750 & died Sept. 30, 1823. She was 18 years younger that William; it is likely that, if this were his second marriage, her parents, Thomas & Elizabeth Outland, would approve of a well-established gentleman.

William & Ann had eight children: Elizabeth, born July 19, 1770; Mary, born June 30, 1773 & died Feb. 22, 1774; Thomas, born Jan. 1, 1775 & died Oct. 17, 1776; Anna, born June 1, 1777 & died June 3, 1779; Zilphia (spelling uncertain), born Jan. 3, 1780; Ann, (dates unknown), who married David Ginnett; Aaron, July 18, 1784; & Rachel, April 11, 1787, who married John Bishop.

At that point the family branches out further. Dates of births & deaths, scattered throughout the bible, are so numerious as to be almost impossible to organize.

The last entry is that of the death of Abby Smith, Feb. 29, 1936 at 4:30 a.m. The most recent date among the entries is Oct. 17, 1943, the death of Herman Moses Smith.

The Hatch Family Bible records are less complete. The first entries are written by Richard Blackledge Hatch & begin with the birth of his father, Joseph, son of Edmond & Lucy, in 1762. Joseph married Ann Blackledge on July 6, 1787.

On well-known relative is Gen. James Rhodes, Richard's father-in-law. Richard, from Jones County, married Clarissa Rhodes & they remained in Wayne County. They were the great-grandparents of Cullen Hatch & former Wayne Commissioner, A. C. Hatch.

Gen. James Rhodes was married to Anna Bass Blackman, daughter of Dr. Andrew Bass, the founder of Waynesborough. They had five children other than Clarissa. James Rhodes, Jr., was one of the original owners of the site upon which Goldsboro is located.

A bible containing Hatch family history, the George Durant Bible, is
located at the archives of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

Contributed by Guy Potts of Raleigh, NC   August 2000

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