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June 10^th 1868  We had a very heavy fall of rain more than I have seen since the year 1842 it stand? over the top of my potatoe ridges & this is the 16^th day of June & the water stands over my corn ridges yet & I fear it will kill the corn & rot my potatoes it yet stands in my potatoe patch & the tide keeps up so the water does not go off the roads are yet under in many places, the savannah under & the Bridges floated off in many places, the Juniper Bay road under & Bridges floated off so the people do not pass with horses yet nearly all the Donnell farm is under water yet.  & on the 9^th day of June at night some thieves went in to Henry Jones house and stole 2 beds, 1 lb?/bar? of tobacco & a dimajohn of whiskey & the next day it rained all day long as? Jones was away from home at the time, but yesterday on the 13^th they caught one of the thieves & got the tobacco & put the black man in Jail it Nelson Whitney & they saw another one of them which is Sam Hollowell Generally called Sam Anthony I heard to day that night last or yesterday morning he got Capt Newby to carry him and the beds to New Bern.  I dont know whether he will return or not.  I presume though that he has gone to stay perhaps he will be taken up yet.  This is the 3^rd time this season that the thieves have broken to Mr. Jones' houses, the 2 first times they got in his smoke houses & got about 5 lbs of meat & some fish & this time they went into his dwelling house & got his beds etc. besides they have had 2 spells stealing his hens & geese they got nearly all his hens & nearly all his geese he had 24 geese & they got all but 6 head & I believe they got about 40 head of hens from him.

[This note was found on the inside cover page of Will Book 9 which encompasses 1858-1867.  The author of this writing is unknown but it could have been George Washington Swindell, Sr. who was Clerk of Court in 1868.  He was born in 1828 and would have been age 14 when he refers to the heavy rainfall in 1842.  He died in 1902.  The east boundary of the 13,000+ acre Donnell Farm ran parallel to Juniper Bay Road.  At one time Henry Jones was the overseer of this large plantation.  A Nelson Whitney was listed in the 1870 Swan Quarter Twp. as age 17 but may not be the same person that was referred to in this note.  I suspect that "Capt. Newby" may have been T. Newbery who shows up in the 1870 Swan Quarter Twp. as a seafaring man. kms]

 © 2011 Kay Midgett Sheppard