C. Rudolph Knight
Historian Columnist
TARBORO —
Tarboro’s rich architectural heritage, displayed in the Historic District and elsewhere in town, reflects more than a century and a half of work by skilled craftsmen who lived in the community.
Many, perhaps a majority, of these craftsmen were black carpenters, house carpenters and brick masons.Without the work of these men, many of Tarboro’s impressive structures would not be here.
The best known was George Matthewson who built and lived in his house at 421 Church St. But Matthewson was not alone. Some of the other craftsmen who worked with him and carried on his legacy also deserve recognition.
Several black and mulatto men were listed as builders in the 1870 census. They were William Mitchell (age 40), Joseph Price (52) Buck Boyd (33), Locust Wright (65) Watson Hagans (34), Thomas Richardson (27), Robert Western (45) Henry C. Cherry (34) John C. Dancy (44), Farrer Prince (24), Anderson Dancy (45), David Jefferson (53), Noah Lloyd (37), all house carpenters or carpenters. At least some of these men were trained and worked as slaves before the Civil War.
Joseph Price, or another man with the same name, was listed as a free mulatto carpenter (age 50) in the 1860 census. Also listed as free black or mulatto brick masons in the 1860 census were David Harris (37), John Harrison (65) and George Matthewson (30).
Several of the descendents of these builders carried on the family trade into the 20th century and the Matthewson family produced black artisans in the county and town. George Harrison, a grandson and a direct descendant of Mariah Matthewson, sister to the five Matthewson sons of John H. Matthewson and Rachel Pender.
Each of the sons was taught masonry and carpentry by local artisans on the Norfleet Plantation, about two and one-half miles southwest of Tarboro, on what is now West Wilson Street. The daughter was trained as a seamstress.
Mariah, the only female sibling of the five Matthewson brothers had nine children: John, George, William, Julia, Allenia, Reva, Louise, Hayward and Mack. er grandson, George Henry Harrison (born Dec. 15, 1887), continued the family legacy in the building trades in the Tarboro area. He was taught brick masonry and carpentry by his uncles and great uncles, providing him with life and occupational skills.
George Henry Harrison mostly worked along side his great uncle George Matthewson and, also, worked for D. H. Harris, one of the builders noted above. Their major works included Howard Memorial Presbyterian Church, the old Town Hall, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, St. Paul AME Zion Church and many residential structures throughout the Town of Tarboro, and, today, many of the houses in the 45-block historic district are evidence of their skills.
George Henry Harrison was first married to Mary Bradley (Sept. 11, 1889 - June 18, 1916), and to this union Mary Geneva was born. He later married Vernal Love, daughter of John Calvin Love and Mittie Kennebrew Love, both graduates of Clark University in Atlanta and later teachers at the Joseph Keasbey Brick Agricultural, Industrial and Normal School near Enfield. Their sons were George Leroy Harrison, Henry Milton Harrison, Alfred Wilbert Harrison, Albert Hubert Harrison, all of whom worked in the buildings trades from 1900 until their deaths in the late 1990s. George and Vernal’s daughters were Naomi, Vernon Dorthula, Irma, and Ruth. George Henry Harrison died in April 15, 1964.
C. Rudolph Knight is a Tarboro native, a retired community college educator and a research historian. Look for his monthly reports on Edgecombe County’s black history on the Community page.
