The SAR MAGAZINE is the official quarterly publication of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution published quarterly.
Issue link: http://sar.epubxp.com/i/462055
WINTER 2014-2015 31 NORTH CAROLINA SOCIETY President General Lindsey Brock and his wife, Billie, were honored on Friday, Oct. 24, 2014, with a reception at the Washington Yacht and Country Club. On Saturday, all hands were on deck for a Patriot grave-marking ceremony at St. Peter's Episcopal Church honoring Col. James Bonner Sr., Navy Capt. John Bonner, Capt. Nathan Keais and John Gray Blount. The town of Washington, N.C., is located on the coastal plain of eastern North Carolina at the upper reaches of the Pamlico River's navigable waters. Prior to and during the Revolution, Washington became an important seaport and served as a strategic supply point for the Continental Army. Washington, N.C., is believed to be the first city in the United States named for President George Washington. Col. James Bonner Sr. (1719-Abt. 1790) established the town of Washington on 30 acres of his farm bordering the Pamlico River in 1761. First named "Forks on the Tar," the town became known as Washington in 1776. Bonner served as colonel of the Beaufort County Militia from 1775-1778. He also served as a member of the House of Commons in the North Carolina Colonial Assembly. His son, Navy Capt. John Bonner, who served the Patriot cause, was honored along with his father at the grave marking. A third Patriot and resident of Washington honored at the grave marking was Nathan Keais, who was commissioned a captain in the 2nd North Carolina Regiment Continental Line on Sept. 1, 1775, and served in the defense of Charleston, S.C. (June 29, 1776), at the battle of Brandywine, Pa. (Sept. 11, 1777), and at the battle of Germantown, Pa. (Oct. 4, 1777). Capt. Keais served in civilian life as a justice of the peace, customs officer and a member of the North Carolina Conventions of 1788 and 1789. The most intriguing of the four Patriots honored was John Gray Blount (1752-1833). Born in North Carolina, Blount was the son of Jacob Blount and Barbara Gray. John Gray Blount became a successful land speculator and merchant. He was a justice of the peace, commissioner of the Port of Bath, postmaster and surveyor. Blount represented Beaufort in the North Carolina House of Commons from 1782 to 1793 and served in the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787. He served in the state Senate for three terms and on the council of state and was a trustee of the University of North Carolina. His brother, William Blount, was a signer of the U.S. Constitution. According to our grave-marking event speaker, who is a direct descendant of John Gray Blount and is his namesake, John Blount provided pay for North Carolina Continental troops from his personal funds when the Continental Army could not pay them. Blount received training as a surveyor under the surveyor general to the Crown and became friends with George Washington. Blount also traveled with Daniel Boone and helped found Boonesborough, Ky. His land possessions in western North Carolina/Tennessee included lands stretching to the Mississippi River and made him, at the time, one of the largest private landowners in the U.S. As a merchant, Blount ran a mercantile business in Washington, N.C., with branches in Tarboro, Shell Island and Prospect Mills. He and his brothers owned wharves, warehouses, sawmills, gristmills, tanneries and cotton gins. He also had large shipping interests, including 30 or more flat-bottomed boats for the eastern North Carolina shallow sounds and six ocean- going brigs. According to our speaker, his Patriot ancestor's ships went to France and brought back arms and uniforms for the Continental Army, and he provided at least one privateer ship at the Battle of Yorktown. Blount built warehouses on Shell Castle Island and shipped naval stores, lumber, cotton, beans, corn and other supplies to other parts of the Colonies and Europe. Our speaker stated that the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., was built with lumber provided by Blount from Beaufort County, N.C. Halifax Resolves Chapter The Halifax Resolves Chapter NCSSAR marked the grave of Patriot Joseph Shearin in Warren County in a ceremony attended by approximately 50 family members, the SAR and the DAR. Shearin was named a commissioner to procure, purchase and receive arms for the Halifax Armory by the Second Provincial Congress during its April 1776 session. He previously had served as a lieutenant in the militia and as a member of various juries and grand juries. Shearin was active in local and state politics. His son, Frederick, was wounded at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, and his son, Joseph, is believed to have been killed during the war. Halifax Resolves Chapter President Geoff Pittard welcomed all to the ceremony followed by the invocation given by Chaplain Rev. Duncan Jones. The Combined NCSSAR Color Guard, under the command of retired U.S. Air Force SMSgt. George Strunk, presented the colors. Chapter Vice President R.J. Myrick led the Pledge of Allegiance and the SAR Pledge. NCSSAR President Ken Wilson was the keynote speaker. Pittard and Rev. Jones then dedicated the marker. A family member fired a rifle volley, after which Halifax Resolves Secretary-Treasurer Steve Avent played "Taps." Memorial wreaths were presented by NCSSAR President Ken Wilson, SAR Foundation President Dr. Samuel C. Powell, NSSAR Past South Atlantic VPG and le Marquis de Lafayette Chapter Past President G. Steven Pittard, NCSSAR Northeast District 1st Vice President Strunk, Albemarle Chapter Secretary Steve Avent, General George Washington Chapter Compatriots Ron Bonham and Kenny Smith, Geoff Pittard, NCSDAR Historian Karen Powell, Elizabeth Montfort Ashe DAR Chapter Registrar Rebecca Chambliss, Warren DAR Chapter Registrar Betty Willis, NCSSAR Ladies Auxiliary member Judy Pittard and Roanoke Valley Veterans Museum volunteer Sally Hardison. HRC President Pittard led the SAR Recessional followed by the retirement of the colors by the color guard. Rev. Jones closed the ceremony with the benediction. Lower Cape Fear Chapter On Sept. 18, 2014, the Lower Cape Fear Chapter took the initial steps to establish the recently created NSSAR Members of the Lower Cape Fear Chapter accompanied NCSSAR Secretary retired Lt. Col. Gary O. Green to the Wounded Warrior Battalion East facility at Camp LeJeune to begin the Operation Ancestor Search initiative there.