Introduction

Hello! My name is Edwin Averette and I am the new Coordinator for the NCGenWeb site of Craven County. I applied for this volunteer position because there is so much more to add to the site that can help researchers.

Craven County was one of the most important regions of the state during the colonial era. It was the central political authority in an area of the British Colonies that was on the fringe of British power. There is much to explore and research:

The arrival of the Palatines, after arduous travel conditions, kick-started the building of New Bern, and yet there were already white settlers here some time before DeGraffenried and Lawson. The Tuscaroran War soon after that led to Colonel Barnwell establishing a fort on the Neuse River, what can we garner informationally from that location today? There is over 300 years of written history available thanks to minimal destruction to the said county’s places of record keeping.

My personal specialty is cemetery research.

I evaluate the extensive land documents and narratives which (as an example) helps in placing how a colonial plantation operated and where various sites (such as cemeteries) might have been placed. I’m quite the avocational historic landscape archaeologist.

I’m excited to get the ball rolling. Feel free to contribute information to this site by contacting me.

Portraits of a General

While doing some searching in Google News Archive I discovered an article about Craven County native, General Mildred Caroon Bailey.

Photo from http://is.gd/bP8cK

General Bailey was the third woman to reach the rank of General in the United States Army.  She was director of the Women’s Army Corps from 1971-1975.   Mildred was the daughter of Walter & Ruby Caroon and was born in Ft. Barnwell April 18, 1919.   She attended college at Flora McDonald College in Red Springs, NC for her first year of studies, then transferred to UNC-Greensboro (then known as the Women’s College of the University of North Carolina), graduating from there in 1940.

Upon reading she graduated from UNC-G, I went to go look for her yearbook photos and found the following from the 1938, 1939, 1940 annuals.

1938 yearbook photo

1939 yearbook photo

1940 yearbook photo

Mildred’s papers are held by the UNC-Greensboro Archives & Manuscripts.  Brief details of the Caroon family are available in my database of North Carolina families.

Welcome

Welcome to the new NCGenWeb site for Craven County NC! We are currently undergoing a site redesign, so please bear with us as we transform the website for you and work on adding great content.

To stay in the loop as we update the site you can sign up to receive updates by email – click here.  Or, add us to your favorite Rss reader by subscribing to the RSS feed.

This site is currently adoptable, so if you have an interest in the county and helping provide rich sources of genealogical data, please visit the NCGenWeb Volunteer page.