Ancient News--April 27, 1916

The Sun Journal published the following on April 27, 1916:

ZORAH NEWS.

Zorah, April 27--We are having some windy weather now.
Mr. and Mrs.W.H. Caton and children of Dover were the guests of Mr. and Mrs. L.B. Caton Sunday.
Mr. and Mrs. Charley Caton were the guest of Mr. L.B. Caton Sunday.
Mr. Columbus Booth was the guest of Miss Annie Taylor Sunday afternoon, and her sister Miss Bessie was the guest of Miss Katie Gaskins a short while Sunday.
Mr. Thad Boyd of Truitt was the guest of Mr. Jesse Gaskins Saturday night and Sunday. Come again.
Mr. Mack Norman, Miss Katie Gaskins, Miss Bessie Norman, and Miss Oma Gaskins called to see Misses Janie and Annie Taylor Sunday evening.
Mr. Guy Wetherington came to Penciltucky Sunday and broke his new buggy. Ha! ha!
Mr. and Mrs. J.R. Gaskins called to see their son, Mr. Elbert Gaskins, at Broad Creek Sunday.
Mrs. M.E. Toler called to see Mrs. I.W. Toler Sunday afternoon.
Mr. Addie Stilley passed through Penciltucky Sunday en route to Truitt.
Mr. Mack Norman was the guest of Miss Katie Gaskins Saturday night.
There was a great alarm in Zorah when the wedding bells rung on the 16th. We are expecting them to ring again at the same place soon.
A large crowd of girls from Zorah attended the ball game at Truitt Saturday afternoon and report a nice time. The boys are expecting to play a match game Friday evening. Everybody is welcome to attend.
Let us hear from our sweetheart at Truitt. Wake up Truitt.
DARLING BLUE EYES.

  Mr. and Mrs. W.H. Caton were William Harvey and Myrtie Holton Caton. They were visiting his parents, Lewis Bryan and Arnecia Toler Caton. Charley and Amanda Cayton Caton were also visiting his parents.

  Columbus Booth was the son of Merritt and Mary Smith Booth. He was visiting Annie Toler (not Taylor). She and Bessie (and Janie) were the daughters of Abram Lincoln and Mary Norman Toler.

  Katie Gaskins was the daughter of John R. and Lizzy Toler Gaskins. Jesse Gaskins was their son, and Oma (Omie/Naomi) was their daughter. 

Mack and Bessie Norman were the children of John H. and Victoria (known as Puss John Henry) Toler Norman.

  Addie Stilley was the son of Jesse and Elizabeth Rice Stilley.

  As for the location of Penciltucky, the best anyone can figure is that it was down what is now the Cayton Road. This mention is the closest description of a location for Penciltucky that I can find..."Addie Stilley passed through Penciltucky en route to Truitt." Uncle Jesse Stilley (and family) lived at one time near R.W. Stilley's place, in the area where Jonathan Hannah had his trailer before he moved to the back of the Philpot field. If Addie Stilley passed through Penciltucky on the way to Truitt, he would have to have gone either down the Cayton Road or Purifoy Road to get to Truitt (Spring Hope Church area).

  For the alarm at the wedding, see my previous post on the wedding of Miss Mary Knox to Mr. Mack Wetherington.

[Posting updated to show that Katie Gaskins was the daughter of John R. Gaskins. She moved to Lenoir County and married George Washington Buck. In my records, I had she died young, but I discovered today that she lived until 1953.]

Ancient News, April 1916, An April Wedding 95 years ago

The following was found in the Sun Journal for April 18, 1916:

ALLEGES PERJURY IN CONNECTION WITH MARRIAGE LICENSE

S.E. Jones, of Zorah, Told the Register Miss Knox Was Eighteen.

MAN UNDER ARREST IS NOT THE BRIDEGROOM

  When S.E. Jones, of Zorah, this county, came over to New Bern last Saturday morning and told Register of Deeds S.H. Fowler that Miss Mary Knox, also of Zorah and the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. C.B. Knox of that place, was eighteen years of age and that he desired to secure a license permitting her to become the bride of Mr. Mack Wetherington, he probably did not think he would face a jury at the next term of Craven Court and explain why he said the young woman was eighteen years of age when she is only fifteen. However, such he will do.
  Mr. Jones secured the License and the wedding took place Sunday night at Ernul, being performed by 'Squire C.J. Heath. The parents of the bride, when they heard of the affair, decided to do about and they did, in fact their doing resulted in a warrant being sworn out for Jones charging him with perjury and today he appeared before 'Squire C.K. Hancock, this county, to answer to the charge.
  The bride's parents swore that she was fifteen years of age, that her birthday occurred last March and that it was their belief that the whole scheme was a concocted plan. Mr. Jones testified to the effect that he thought the bride was of age, that she had told him so and that he had no reason to believe otherwise.
  The affair culminated in 'Squire Hancock finding probable cause and binding Jones over to court under a bond of one hundred dollars, which he gave.

S.E. Jones was Shady Elcaney Jones, son of Azariah Jones and Sarah Jane Toler. He was born in Beaufort County in 1889 and died in 1936. He married first Nellie Jane Booth (1886-1929) in 1909, and in 1930 married Mary Emma Clemmand Ward. [The Jones Family of Blounts Creek by P.A. Jones, Jr., p. 137]

Mr. and Mrs. C.B. Knox were Charles Bryan Knox and Armetta Toler Knox.

Miss Mary Knox married Mr. Mack Wetherington (son of Henry B. and Laura Toler Wetherington) on 16 April 1916, 95 years ago on the day of this posting.