11 Apr 2014
Unfortunately for Cabarrus County researchers, there are no surviving Cabarrus newspapers before 1855, and very few before 1885. While Rowan and Mecklenburg county papers carry very few marriage and death announcements for Cabarrus people, these sources are still worth the time and effort.
April 1848 issues of the Carolina Watchman, published in Salisbury, give four marriages and one obituary with Cabarrus ties. Three of the four marriages are not noted in the recorded marriage bonds, while a fourth gives the bride’s surname incorrectly! The obituary is for a Cabarrus resident whose tombstone does not survive and may be the only proof of death.
The marriages are:
- February 6, William J. Revis to Mary, daughter of Jacob Lemone, deceased;
- February 17, John A. Shinn to Delilah A., daughter of Jacob Lemone, deceased;
- March 23, Jesse Barrier of Rowan to Elizabeth C., daughter of John Fouts of Cabarrus;
- April 20, William S. Harris of Cabarrus, to Elizabeth, daughter of William E. Powe, deceased.
The only marriage found in the marriage bonds is that of John A. Shinn to Delilah A., and the bond records her father’s name as “Semone”, rather than “Lemone” as given in the newspaper notice.
The obituary is for Mrs. Rachel Kiser, age 93 years, 11-1/2 months, member of the Baptist Church. Her tombstone is not recorded in know Cabarrus cemetery lists.
Ideally, researchers should work with all available records, as in comparing the surname given for Delilah A. Lemone or Semone. When one source is not available, however, another may provide the answer. Microfilm copies of two Rowan County newspapers, the Carolina Watchman (1832-1898) and the Western Carolinian (1820-1842), and three Mecklenburg County newspapers, the Charlotte Journal (1835-1851), the Western Democrat (1853-1871, and the Charlotte Democrat (1875-1883), are available in the Lore Local History Room at the Concord Library.
Courtesy of the Concord Public Library, “Conspectus” (Feb. 1994)
To see the North Carolina State Archives Digital Newspaper Project, CLICK HERE