Wayne County, North Carolina: Articles
Mrs. Mary Hinton Caraway Parker
Reprinted with permission of the Mt. Olive Tribune and cannot be
reproduced without permission. Mrs. Mary H. C. Parker
"Our Heritage" series.
By Claude Moore
Mrs. Mary Hinton Caraway Parker was one of the outstanding pioneer teachers
in North Carolina & she was a native of Wayne County. She was born in 1842
on a plantation called "Venecei" near the old town of Everettsville.
She was the daughter of William Pope & Temperence Middleton Caraway. The
Caraways came originally from Princess Ann County, Virginia, to Craven
County in 1728 & in 1743 they received large land grants on the Neuse River
in what is now southern Wayne County. They established a thriving plantation.
William Caraway built a fine house in the Greek Revival style which was later
destroyed by fire.
The village of Everettsville was a new village on the Wilmington & Weldon
Railroad & was located between Dudley & the Neuse River. The village was
largely made up of plantation families & there were two churches, a Masonic
lodge & an academy.
Young Mary Caraway attended this academy which was two & a half miles from
her home. Her parents had a fine library at home & she was brought up to
read widely. She had an avid interest in botanical subjects & horse back
riding.
Mary Caraway completed her studies at the Everettsville Academy & then
attended the Wayne Female College in Goldsboro. T. M. Frost was president of
the college when she graduated in 1858. Her diploma stated that she was
proficient in science, English literature, Greek, Latin, French & music.
She went back & took post graduate work in music & law.
She kept a diary for the years of 1860-61 in which she talks much about the
beginnings of the War Between the States. Her first teaching job was at the
Everettsville Academy where she taught the more advanced students & also
piano.
According to her diary some of her school patrons were the Hines, Cobb,
Collier, Whitfield, Lane, Hooks, Everett, Daniel & McKinney families.
During the War Between the States young Mary Caraway did work at the
Confederate Hospital in Goldsboro & did sewing for Confederate soldiers.
She was a real artists in doing fine needlework, some of which is still
treasured by her descendants.
Her family attended the Everettsville Methodist Church & the pastor was the
famous Dr. Charles F. Deems, who later was president of Greensboro College
& much later was founder of the Church of the Strangers in New York.
(Vanderbilt Church)
Young Mary became engaged to Dr. Deems' son, Lt. Theodore Deems who was
killed at the Battle of Gettysburg. Years later she visited the Deems family
in New York.
In 1865 William Caraway died & young Mary had the responsibility for
operating the plantation & helping to rear her brothers. She continued to
teach school.
In 1873 Mary Caraway met & married Captain Joseph A. Parker of Nansemond
County, Virginia. He was a widower with four daughters. She & Mr. Parker
had four children: William, James Alfred, Thomas Wesley & Temperance
Parker.
They went to live in Laurinburg where she founded & operated a private
school for 28 years. She took a personal interest in all her students & she
had a special gift for coaching plays, giving recitals, church programs &
Christmas plays.
Late in life Mary Parker went to live with her daughter, Mrs. Alvis L. Harris
in Greensboro, where she died on March 8, 1930.
This was written about her at that time, "Her pupils do not forget her, nor
the inspiration she gave. Her descendants honor her memory. And North
Carolina owes to her the esteem those who give their days & time more than
the age asks of them - a plus quality of personal achievement."
(Note to the reader: also on this Wayne County GenWeb page is a more detailed
story about Mrs. Mary Parker).
Contributed by Guy Potts of Raleigh, NC August 2000
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