Road Petition, Toler Road, 1854

State of North Carolina, Craven County, Court of Pleas & Quarter Sessions June Term 1854.

To the Worshipful the Justices of the Court of Pleas & Quarter Sessions for the County of Craven aforesaid.

The petition of William Toler against Sally Ann Morris, John Reel and Shadrach Rowe.

Humbly complaining Sheweth unto your Worships your Petitioner William Toler that he is settled on and cultivating a certain tract or parcel of land situate lying and being in the County of Craven on the South side of Little Swift Creek adjoining the lands of the said John Reel, James Toler Sr. & others to which there is no public road and no way to pass to and from the same without passing over the land of other persons. Your Petitioner admits that there is no necessity for a public road provided he can have the privilege of a private way from the place of his residence and cultivated land aforesaid to the nearest point on some public Road. Your Petitioner further sheweth unto your Worships that there has been for many years (more than twenty-one) a public Cart or Waggon way leading from the residence and cultivated lands of the Petitioner across the lands of the defendants to a Public Road leading from Gaskins' Ferry near New Bern to Coor Point which said public Road is Known as the Bath Road which said Cart or Waggon Way was a great convenience not only to your Petitioner but to the neighborhood generally. But your Petitioner further complaining shows your Worships that the said Sally Ann Morris by and with the Consent of the other defendants have closed and shut up the said Cart or Waggon Way leaving your Petitioner and others entirely without the means of getting out to the Public Road, to Church or any Public Mill. In view of his present condition therefore Your Petitioner prays that your Worships will duly C___din the premesis and if deemed advisable will order a Cart or Waggon Way laid off according to Law leading from his residence and running as nearly as practicable with the Old Cart or Waggin Way aforesaid and with as little injury as possible to the defendants to the Public Road Known as the Bath Road leading from Gaskins Ferry near New Bern to Coor Point and that a Jury may be duly appointed to lay off said Cart or Waggin Way in the best way possible and may be dircated [i.e. directed] to make a Report of their proceedings to this Worshipful Court--that due and proper notice of this application may be given the defendants--that Petitioner may have such other and further relief in the premises as he may require. And in duty bound he will ever pray &c &c

Wm. H. Washington
Sol[icitor] for Petitioner
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The above petition to the Court was for making a cart way from William Toler's home to the Bath (or Pamlico) Road, passing over the lands of John Reel, Sally Ann Morris and others. The old road passed from near High Bridge, over the current lands of the editor, through the lands of R.W. Stilley heirs, across the lands of G. Jerome Norman heirs, and on to I'm not sure where. Years ago, when I found the petition (1990), I thought the road was the Toler Road (that portion of Aurora Road from New Haven Church to the County Line). In talking with Jerome Norman at the time, he stated that the road actually no longer existed, but parts of it could be seen on his land and on the land of Ran Stilley. Randy Charles Stilley kept part of the mentioned road mowed when he lived in the Philpot Field.

Petition to Build Hill's Neck Road, September 2, 1812

The following petition to create Hill's Neck Road was found at the NC State Archives. It reads as follows:
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To the Worshipfull court of Pleas & Quarter sessions of Craven County, held on the second Monday In Septr. In the Town of Newbern.

Gentlemen being Ancious, the crooked should be made strait, & Ruff ways Smoove, and to shorten the Distance from Core Point Main Road, near Elijah Calliways plantation, on No. Side of the head of Little Swift Creek, through Hills Neck to the old Tarr Yard on the Main Road leading from Bay River & Smiths Creek, to Kingston, which will greatly add to the convenience of Many of the neighbours, and also a great Number of Travillers going from Pamlico, toward Kingston, Raighley, or Even Willmington, so as to avoid crossing Dangerous (or wide ferrys,) your petitioners therefore Humbly prays, your worships, to grant an order for Laying off, & Making the Same a publick Road, and that the hands Liveing on the North Side of Little Swift Creek, should be assigned to said new Road. & your petitioners as in Duty Bound will ever pray.
Sept. 2d 1812.

David Whitford
Thos. Bowen
Hezekiah Willis
Ephraim Pearce
John Hall
John Hall
Henry Ipock
Evean Jones
Nathan Hendricks
Stephen Ernul
Harmon Gaskins
John Arther
Major Willis
Shadrach Willis
Wm. Bryan
Joel Wall
Caleb Toler
D.D. Dunn
Moses Ipock
Ephraim Willis
Jesse Pearce
John IPock
Stephen Searles
[second column of signatures]
Abner Pearce
Samuel Willis
Reuben Callaway
Richard Brown
Stephen More
Milbery More
William More
Hardy Whitford
Leven Dunn
Moses Dunn
Elijah Callaway
Geo. Wilson
David Brothers
Lewis Bryan

The Court will ples [please] to under stand that we wish all the hands Liveing on the North Side of littel Swif Creek abve Fishers Swamp and below Elijah Callaways watter hel Dreen [??] to be the handes asigned to mak[e] and Ever mentain the abov Craved Road and that Hezekiah Willis be apinted over seer of Said HIll neck Road.
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The petition ends there, but a map of the roads and creeks is drawn at the bottom. If I get a chance I will scan and add the map to the posting at a later time. The original signatures are in two columns, David Whitford at the top of the first column, Abner Pearce at the top of the second.

I have added the image of the roadways in 1812. The dotted line is the proposed Hills Neck Road, the really dark lines are the rivers and creeks. Click on the image above for more detail.

Little Swift Creek School Mentioned, 1870

I was browsing through Google Books doing a search on "Little Swift Creek" and found a mention of a school there in 1870. It also mentioned that Silas Fulcher (a known Caton/Zorah resident) was teaching school at "Deep Run".
The description of schools in Number 2 Township for Craven County was not too good as seen in the view below (you can scroll up a page to begin at Number 2 Township).