James W. and Agness M. Quinn

James W. Quinn married Agness M. ? and they had
a daughter, Susan Ann Quinn (aka Susanah Quinn) married Zadoc Coan and they had
a son, William Edward Coan and he married Kathryn Kelly and they had
a daughter, Mabel Louise Cohen and she married Clyde Harris and they had
a son, William Clyde Harris and he married Peggy Annette Prince and they had
Stan

James. W. Quinn was born 9/27/1824 in SC. I don't know his parents right now. He married Agness M. ? . Agness was born 8/16/1820 in SC. I don't know her last name right now or her parents. They got married about 1845 in SC. Her tombstone has her as "Agness M. Quinn". Is the "M." her middle initial or her maiden name initial. There are a lot of McAbees buried there and close to them. Is it possible that she was Agness McAbee.

1850 U.S. Census of Subdivision 23,  Choctaw County,  Mississippi; Roll:  M432_370; Page:  88A; Image:  182, Lines 3-10, "J.W. Quinn", taken 11/11/1850 by David Holland
J.W. Quinn, 30 yrs old (DOB 1820), M(ale), W(hite), Farmer, $600 Real Esatate Value, Born in SC
Agness Quinn (sic), 28 yrs old (DOB 1822), F, W, Born in Ala(bama)
Mary Quinn, 9 yrs old (DOB 1841), F, W, Born in MS (Mississippi)
Amanda Quinn, 7 yrs old (DOB 1843), F, W, Born in MS
Sarah Quinn, 5 yrs old (DOB 1845), F, W, Born in MS
Harter Quinn (looks like Horton Quinn to me but Ancestry.com has him indexed as "Harter Quinn"), 3 yrs old (DOB 1847), M, W, Born in MS
William Quinn, 7/12 mos old (DOB 4/1850), M, W, Born in MS

Is this the James W. and Agness Quinn that I'm looking for? All of my information AFTER 1850 tells me it's not but I haven't been able to find them anywhere else in 1850 at this time. Here's the reasoning:

What I know is their first child, that I know of, (before 1850) was (Susanna, Susana, Susannah) Susan Ann Quinn born 5/22/1845 according to her death certificate or was born 5/1848 according to 1900 Census (which listed age, month and year of census). The informant for the death certificate could have made a mistake and some women lied about their age in vanity or whoever gave the census taker the information could have made a mistake. Her tombstone reflects the 5/22/1845 date of birth. Every source I have, so far, always lists her as "Susan, Susan A., Susan Ann, Susana, Susanna, Susannah" and NEVER as "Sarah", which is what the girl in the 1850 census, who would be Susan's age, is listed as. That could have been the census taker's mistake or I've seen where they were called by a middle name or nickname when they were young children. Susan Quinn was definitely born in SC although this 1850 census listed all the children as being born in Mississippi.

Agnes Quinn was born 8/16/1820 according to her tombstone which is 2 yrs different from the 1850 census although there could be reasons for this (see my note above). The 1900 Census has her DOB as 10/1820 (different month but same year as her tombstone).

James W. Quinn was born 9/24/1824 according to his tombstone and the 1900 census. This is 4 years different from the 1850 census which has him listed as being born in 1820.

I don't currently have Mary, Sarah, Horton (Hartin), or William as James W. and Agnes Quinn's children although, by 1860, these 4 may have been married or dead.


1860 U.S. Census of Northern Division, Spartanburg Township, Spartanburg County, SC, taken 6/6/1860, Lines 3-12, Dwelling 22, Family 22, "Jas W. Quinn"
Jas W. Quinn, 36 yrs old, Male, White, Farmer, Real estate vaule of $1,000, Personal estate value $175, Born in SC
Agnes M. Quinn, 38, F, W, Born in SC
Susan A. Quinn, 16, F, W, Born in SC DOB would have been 1845
Littleberry B. Quinn, 12, m, W, Born in SC DOB would have been 1848
Robert R. Quinn, 11, M, W, Born in SC DOB would have been 1849
James W. Quinn, 9, M, W, Born in SC DOB would have been 1851
Thomas P. (or J.) Quinn, 7, M, W, Born in SC DOB would have been 1853
J? C. Quinn, 5, M, W, Born in SC (Ancestry.com has him indexed as Jennis C. Quinn) DOB would have been 1855
Mary J. Quinn, 3, F, W, Born in SC DOB would have been 1857
Nancy A. Quinn, 2, F, W, Born in SC" DOB would have been 1858
This Quinn family  lived near Zade Coan and his new wife, Susan Quinn Coan.


1870 U.S, Census Spartanburg Township, Post Office Spartanburg C.H. (Court House?), written page 53, Series M593, Roll 1508, Pg 587, "James Quinn", Lines 26-31, Dwelling 357, Family 391
James Quinn, 44 years old, M, W, Farmer, Born in SC
Agnes Quinn, 44 years old, F, W, Keeps House, Born in SC
Thomas, 15, M, W, Farm Laborer, Born in SC
Janie, 14 years od, F, W, At Home, Born in SC DOB would have been 1856
Mary, 12 years old, F, W, At Home, Born in SC DOB would have been 1858
Nancy, 9 years old, F, W, At Home, Born in SC" DOB would have been 1861 but in the 1860 census her DOB would have been 1858


1880 U.S. Census Spartanburg Township, Spartanburg County, SC, ED 144, written page 38, Series T9, Roll 1240, Pg 400, Lines 34-36, "James W. Quinn"
James W. Quinn, W, M, 56 years old, Head, Occupation "Farming", Born in SC, Both parents born in Virginia
Agnes Quinn, W, F, 56 years old, Wife, Keeping House, Born in SC, Father born in Virginia, Mother born in SC
"? D. Quinn, W, F, 15 years old, Daughter, At Home, Born in SC, Both parents born in SC (DOB would have been about 1865. This name is illegible but according to the age it doesn't match any of the children listed in the 1860 Census. Nancy would have been born about 1858 and Mary would have been born about 1857. So this is probably a later child and I can't read the name.)


1900 U.S. Census Spartanburg Township, Spartanburg County, SC, ED 102, Sheet 9, Series T623, Roll 1542, Pg 140, "James Quinn", Lines 19-20, Dwelling 130, Family 130
James W. Quinn, Head, W, M, Born September, 1824, 75 years od, Married 50 years, Born in SC, Both parents born in VA, Can read and write and speak English, Rents Home (not a farm)"Agnes M. Quinn, Wife, W, F, Born October, 1820, 79 years old, Married 50 years, 8 children and 8 still living, Born in SC, Both parents born in VA"

James Quinn and Agnes had 8 children that I'm aware of:
1) Susan Ann Quinn (aka Susanah Quinn), DOB 5/22/1848 in SC. Susan Quinn married Zadok Coan (DOB: 1845; DOD: 12/15/1884 in Spartanburg, SC) , Israel Fowler (DOB: 1/1840 in Union County, SC; DOD: 5/28/1918 in Spartanburg, SC) and M. Littlejohn (DOB: ? in ? ; DOD: ? in Spartanburg, SC).

2) Littleberry B. Quinn, DOB 1848-1852 in SC. He was in the 1st Battalion State Troops in the Confederate Army. He married Polly Gilbert. He died 11/22/1920 in Spartanburg County, SC.
3) Robert R. Quinn, DOB About 1849 in SC. He married ? . His DOD: ? in ?.

4) John Russell Quinn, DOB 11/18/1851 in SC. He married Elizabeth ? (DOB 2/1870 in SC; DOD 1902-1910 in SC).

5) Thomas J. Quinn (aka J.T. Quinn, Tom, Thomas M. Quinn, Thomas P. Quinn), DOB 1853-1855 in SC, DOD ? in ?.  He married Bessie ? (DOB About 1847 in SC, DOD ? in ? )

6) James Wofford Quinn, Jr., DOB 12/25/1854 in SC. He married Mahala Jane McAbee (DOB 11/1855 in SC; DOD ? in ? ) He died 10/10/1936 in Spartanburg County, SC. He is buried at Cannon's Campground Methodist Church.

6) Junius C. Quinn (Uncertain on name and sex, it could be Jonias, Janie, Jennis, Jonas Quinn), DOB About 1855 in SC. He married Corina ? (DOB ? in ? ; DOD ? in ? ). He died ? in ? .

7) Mary J. Quinn, DOB About 1857 in SC. She married Thomas Tilman Linder (DOB ? in ? ; DOD ? in ? ). She died ? in ? .

8) Nancy A. Quinn (Nan Quinn), DOB About 1858 in SC. She married a Morrow (DOB ? in ? ; DOD ? in ? ). She died ? in ? .

J.W. Quinn died sometime after 1902. He and Agness are buried at Zion Hill Baptist Church cemetery, 2817 E. Main St (Hwy 29), Spartanburg, SC, 29307. There is one marker for both of them. Her's is engraved with both birth and death dates but his only has his birth date. Agnes Quinn died 7/23/1902 in Spartanburg, Spartanburg County, SC.

From Harris Genealogy Photos

From Harris Genealogy Photos

Here are my sources:
1860 U.S. Census of Northern Division, Spartanburg Township, Spartanburg County, SC, taken 6/6/1860, Lines 3-12, Dwelling 22, Family 22, "Jas W. Quinn" (See above transcript)

1870 U.S, Census Spartanburg Township, Post Office Spartanburg C.H. (Court House?), written page 53, Series M593, Roll 1508, Pg 587, "James Quinn", Lines 26-31, Dwelling 357, Family 391 (See above transcript)

1880 U.S. Census Spartanburg Township, Spartanburg County, SC, ED 144, written page 38, Series T9, Roll 1240, Pg 400, Lines 34-36, "James W. Quinn" (See above transcript)

1900 U.S. Census of Spartanburg, Spartanburg County, SC, Roll T623_1542; Page: 9A; Enumeration District: 102, Lines 19-20, Dwelling 130, Family 130, "Quinn, Junius T." (sic) and Dwelling 133, Family 133, "Quinn, James W." (See above transcript)

J.W. Quinn is listed as a State's Witness in a case of the State vs. Allen Kirby on August 1, 1846.

U.S. Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865, Ancestry.com, Original http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/, Film M381 Roll 26, James W. Quinn, Private/Sergeant Co. H, Palmetto Sharp Shooters, 1st Palmetto, SC, Jenkins; Private Co C, 7th Regiment SC Reserves (90 days 1862-1864)

There is a deed in 1904 referring to the J.W.Quinn estate, conveyance to Emma Cash signed by J.T., J.R., T.P., J.W. Quinn and W.P.Willis,, M.J.Linder and L.B.Quinn.

Zion Hill Baptist Church, East Main St, Hwy 29, Spartanburg, SC

SC Death Certificate #18730, Registration District #4008, Registered #133, Mrs. Susan A. Littlejohn, DOD: 11/27/1939 in Spartanburg, Spartanburg County, SC
Usual Residence: Route 2, Cowpens, SC
Female, White, Widowed, Deceased Spouse: Mr. M. Littlejohn
DOB: 5/22/1845 in SC, 94 yrs old, 6 mos, 5 days old
Father: J.W. Quinn, born in SC
Mother: Agness Quinn, born in SC
Informant: John Cohn, Union, SC (I believe this is John "Bud" Cohen who would be her son by her first husband.)
DOD: 11/27/1939
Cause of death: Flu, Lobar Pneumonia
Burial: 11/29/1939 in Zion Hill (Zion Hill Baptist Church, Hwy 29 E. Main St, Spartanburg, SC)

Obituary
James W. Quinn (this James W. Quinn was the son of James W. and Agness M. Quinn and brother of John Russell Quinn) there is a grave site at Cannon's Camp Ground Methodist Church. for Rev. James W. Quinn, born December 25, 1855 and dec'd Oct. 10, 1936. His obituary states that he lived in Cherokee Springs. He was not a member of Cannon's Camp Ground and I cannot read the name of the church he belonged to. He was survived by his wife, Jane McAbee Quinn and children:
C.W. Quinn, Travelers Rest;
Claude Quinn, Cross Anchor;
W. C. Quinn, Cross Anchor;
B.E. Quinn and Mrs. C.B. Huggins, Spartanburg, S.C.
also, Mrs. J.D. O'Sullivan of Cherokee Springs
He had three sisters:
Mrs. Molly Linder Wallace of Cherokee Springs
Mrs. Susan Littlejohn of Cowpens
Mrs. Nan Morrow of Gaffney
It states he had 48 grandchildren and 19 great grandchildren. Following
grandsons were pallbearers:
Grady Quinn
Zeb Quinn
Paul Quinn
Dorrus Quinn
Jerry O'Sullivan
Ernest O'Sullivan

1870 U.S. Census, Spartanburg Township, Post Office Spartanburg C. H. (Court House?), Spartanburg County, SC, Series M593, Roll 1508, Pg 586, Lines 4-5, "Zadop Coan", Dwelling 334, Family 368
Zadop Coan, 23 years old, M, W, Farmer, Born in SC, Cannot read or write
Susan Coan, 24 years old, F, W, Keeping House, Cannot read or write

1880 U.S. Census, Enumeration 149, Spartanburg Township, Sheet 38, Line 13, "Zade Coan"
Zade Coan, W, M, 35 years old, Head, Farming, Born in SC, Both parents born in SC
Susan, W, F, 35 years old, Wife, Keeping House, Born in SC, Both parents born in SC
Talula, W, F, 9 years old, Daughter, Born in SC, Both parents born in SC
Mary E., W, F, 8 years old, Daughter, Born in SC, Both parents born in SC
Nancy J., W, F, 3 years old, Daughter, Born in SC, Both parents born in SC
John W., W, M, 2 years old, Son, Born in SC, Both parents born in SC
Susanna, W, F, 1 year old, Daughter, Born in SC, Both parents born in SC

1900 U.S. Census, Spartanburg Township, Glendale Village, Spartanburg County, SC, ED 100, Series T623, Roll 1542, Page 111, Lines 27-28, "Israel Fowler", Dwelling 160, Family 163
Dwelling 160, Family 163, Israel Fowler, Head, W, M, Born Jan 1840, 60 years old, Married 5 years, Born in SC, Both parents born in SC, Occupation "Lay up roping", can't read or write, speaks English
S.A. Fowler, Wife, W, F, Born May 1848, 52 years old, Married 5 years, 7 children with 5 still living, Born in SC, Both parents born in SC, can read and write, speaks English

1910 U.S. Census, Pacolet Township, Spartanburg County, SC, ED 83, Series T624, Roll 1473, Pg 49, "Israel Fowler", Lines 83-84, Dwelling 75, Family 77 (They were living beside her son, William E. Cohen)
Israel Fowler, Head, M, W, 66 years old, Married 19 years, Born in SC, Both parents born in SC, speaks English, Occupation Farmer of General Farm
Susan Fowler, Wife, F, W, 63 years old, Married 19 years, 7 children with 5 still living, Born in SC, Both parents born in SC, speaks English

1920 U.S. Census, Spartanburg Township, Spartanburg County, SC, ED 102, Sheet 1813, Series T625, Roll 1710, Pg 210, Lines 78-81, "William Hodge", Dwelling 341, Family 366
William Hodge, Head, Home owned free of mortgage, M, W, 47 years old, Married, Born in SC, Both parents born in SC, Occupation "weaver in cotton mill"
Lula Hodge, Wife, F, W, 43 years old, Married, Born in SC, Both parents born in SC
S.A. Fowler, Mother-in-law, F, W, 74 years old, Widowed, Born in SC, Both parents born in SC
John Ball, Boarder, M, W, 70 years old, Widowed, Born in SC, Both parents born in SC

Carolina Spartan, 12/17/1884 "Zadoc Coan, a good, quiet citizen was working in an old stable on Mr. John Archer's farm near town Monday, when the house tumbled down and crushed him to death. He was buried Tuesday."

1910 U.S. Census of Reidville Township, Spartanburg County, SC, Toll Y735_1473, Pg 13A, ED 86, Image 142, Lines 8-10, Dwelling 221, Family 230, "Quinn, L.B."
Quinn, L.B., Head, M(ale), W(hite), 62 yrs old, Married 11 yrs, Born in SC, Father born in SC, Mother born in SC, Speaks English, Paint Odd, for Wages, Can read and write, Rents home
Quinn, Mary, Wife, F, W, 40 yrs old, Married, 3 children with 2 living, Born in SC, Father born in SC, Mother born in SC, Speaks English, Farm Laborer, for wages, Can read and write
Quinn, Aldridge, Son, M, W, 8 yrs old, Single, Born in SC, Father born in SC, mother born in SC, Speak English, Cannot read or write, not attending school

1920 U.S. Census of Cherokee, District 85, Spartanburg County, SC, Roll T625_1710, pg 27B, ED 85, Image, 674, Lines 95-96, Dwelling 290, Family 290, "Quinn, Littleberry B."
Quinn, Littleberry B., Head, Rents home, M(ale), W(hite), 70 yrs old, Widowed, Can read and write, Born in SC, Father born in SC, Mother born in SC, farmer of general farm
Audrie, Son, M, W, 16 yrs old, Single, In school, Can read and write, Born in SC, Father born in SC, Mother born in SC

SC Death Certificate #21114, Registration District #4002B, Registered #28, L.B. Quinn, DOD 11/22/1920, Cherokee Township, Spartanburg County, SC
Male, White, Widowed, DOB 1852 in SC, 68 yrs old
Farmer
Father: J.W. Quinn born in SC
Mothe:r DK (Don't Know) born in DK (Don't Know)
Informant: T.P. Quinn of Converse #1
DOD 11/22/1920
"Saw dead body about half hour after death. Death, according to history, was due to valvular 90 heart disease"
Physician: H.T. Scott of Cowpens, SC
Place of Burial: Spartanburg, on 11/24/1920
Undertaker: J.F. Floyd of Spartanburg, SC

1900 U.S. Census of Cherokee Springs, Spartanburg County, SC, Roll T623-1541, Pg 8A, ED 84, Lines 16-21, Family 142, Dwelling 142, "Quinn, J.R."
Quinn, J.R., Head, W(hite), M(ale), Born Feb, 1848, 52 yrs old, Married 15 yrs, Born in SC, Father born in SC, Mother born in SC, Farmer, Cannot read or write, Rents Farm
Quinn, Elisabeth, Wife, W, F, Born Feb, 1870, 30 yrs old, Married 15 yrs, 5 children with 4 still living, Born in SC, Father born in SC, Mother born in SC, Can read and write
Quinn, A. (or H.) Elis, Daughter, W, F, Born June, 1884, 14 yrs old, Single, Born in SC, Father born in SC, Mother born in SC, Can read and write
Quinn, Robbert C. (sic), Son, W, M, Born Dec, 1891, 8 yrs old, Single, Born in SC, Father born in SC, Mother born in SC
Quinn, Viola, Daughter, W, F, Born Nov, 1898, 1 yrs old, Born in SC, Father born in SC, Mother born in SC
Quinn, Sarah J., Daughter, W, F, Born May, 1900, 0/12 mos old, Born in SC, Father born in SC, Mother born in SC

1910 U.S. Census of Spartanburg, District 87, Spartanburg County, SC, Rp;; T625-1472, Pg 20A, ED 87, Image 764, Lines 43-48, Dwelling 167, "Quinn, John R."
Quinn, John R., Head, M(ale), W(hite), 50 yrs old, Widowed, Born in SC, Father born in SC, Mother born in SC, Speaks English, Farming general farm, can read and write
Quinn, Robert P., Son, M, W, 18 yrs old, Single, Born in SC, Father born in SC, Mother born in SC, speaks English, Farm Laborer on home Farm, Can read and write
Quinn, Viola, Daughter, F, W, 10 yrs old, born in SC, Father born in SC, Mother born in SC, Speaks English, Cannot read or write
Quinn, Davis, Daughter, F, W, 8 yrs old, Born in SC, Father born in SC, Mother born in SC, Speaks English
Quinn, Benjamin T., Grandson, M, W, 6 yrs old, Born in SC, Father born in SC, Mother born in SC

1920 U.S. Census of Cherokee Springs, Spartanburg County, SC, Roll T625-1710, Pg 13B, ED 102, Image 998, Lines 69-73, Dwelling 245, Family 268, "Quinn, J.R."
Quinn, J.R., Head, Rents, M(ale), W(hite), 66 yrs old, Married, Born in SC, Father born in SC, Mother born in SC, Can read and write, Farmer of general farm
Quinn, Nannie, Wife, F, W, 32 yrs old, Married, Born in SC, Father born in SC, Mother born in SC, Can read and write
Quinn, Viola, Daughter, F, W, 21 yrs old, Single, Cannot read or write, Born in SC, Father born in SC, Mother born in SC
Quinn, Charles, Grandson, M, W, 3/12 mos old, Born in SC, Father born in SC, Mother born in SC
Quinn, Ben, Grandson, M, W, 15 yrs old, Single, Cannot read or write, Born in SC, Father born in SC, Mother born in SC

SC Death Certificate Stamped 12678, Registration District 40-A, Registered #376, DOD:  8/11/1935, J.Russell Quinn, 107 Myrtle Ave, Spartanburg, Spartanburg County, SC
Male, White, Widowed
Spouse: Nannie Bradley
DOB: 11/18/1851 in Spartanburg, SC, 84 yrs old
Tenant Farmer for 40 yrs, last time worked 1929
Father: James Quinn born in unknown
Mother: Agnes Quinn born in unknown
Informant: Mrs. Viola Alexander or 107 Myrtle Ave, Spartanburg, SC
Buried in County Cemetery, 8/12/1935
Undertaker: J.F. Floyd
DOD 8/11/1935
Physician attended deceased from 8/1/1935, last seen alive on 8/11/1835
Died of Hypertension, arteriosclerosis, acute cardiac diliation
Physician J.C. Josey of Spartanburg

1910 U.S. Census of Pacolet, Spartanburg County, SC, Roll T624_1473, Pg 8B, ED 83, Image 638, Lines 53-57, Dwelling 140, Family 143, "Quinn, Tom M."
Quinn, Tom M., Head, M(ale), W(hite), 43 yrs old, 2nd Marriage 1 yr, Born in SC, Father born in SC, Mother born in SC, Speaks English, Farmer of General Farm, Cannot read and write, Rents farm
Quinn, Bessie, Wife, F, W, 23 yrs old, 1st Marriage 1 yr, 1 child with 1 child living, Born in SC, Father born in SC, Mother born in SC, Speaks English, Farm Laborer on home farm, cannot read and write
Quinn, Monroe T. , Son, M, W, 10/12 mos, born in SC, Father born in SC, Mother born in SC
Quinn, James W., Father, M, W, 75 yrs old, Widowed, Born in SC, Father born in SC, Mother born in SC, Speaks English, Farm Laborer on home farm, Can read and write
Thornton, Mary, Mother-In-Law, F, W 39 yrs old, Widowed, 2 children with 1 still living, Borni n SC, Father born in SC, Mother born in SC, Speaks English, Cannot read and write

1900 U.S. Census of Cherokee, Spartanburg County, SC, Roll T623_1541, Pg 1B, ED 85, Lines 58-66, Dwelling 10, Family 10, "Quinn, James W."
Quinn, James W., Head, W(hite), M(ale), Born Dec, 1854, 45 yrs old, Married at age 25, Born in SC, Father born in SC, Mother born in SC, Farmer, Can read and write, Owns Farm
Quinn, Mahaley J., Wife, W, F, Born in Nov, 1855, 44 yrs old, Married at age 25, 7 children with 5 still living (a "+" sign which may mean she was pregnant at the time of the census on 6/1/1900), Born in GA, Father born in SC, Mother born in SC
Quinn, Della, Daughter, W, F, born Nov, 1882, 17 yrs old, Single, Born in SC, Father born in SC, Mother born in GA
Quinn, Willie, Son, W, F, Born July, 1885, 14 yrs old, Single, Born in SC, Father born in SC, Mother born in SC
Quinn, Broadus, Son, W, M, Born Aug, 1887, 12 yrs old, Single, Born in SC, Father born in SC, Mother born in GA
Quinn, Claud, Son, W, M, Born June 1889, 10 yrs old, Single, Born in SC, Father born in SC, Mother born in GA
Quinn, Hattie, Daughter, W, F, Born Oct, 1891, 8 yrs old, Born in SC, Father born in Sc, Mother born in GA
Quinn, Charley W., Head, W, M, Born Aug, 1876, 23 yrs old, Married 0 yrs, Born in SC, Father born in SC, Mother born in GA
Quinn, Lillie M., Wife, W, F, Born July, 1881, 18 yrs old, Married 0 yrs, Born in SC, Father born in SC, Mother born in SC

1910 U.S. Census of Cherokee Township, Spartanburg County, SC, Roll T624_1472, Pg 9B, ED 75, Image 558, Lines 91-100, Dwelling 168, Family 175, "File, Laura E." (Head) and "Quinn, James W." (Head)
File, Laura E., Head, F(emale), W(hite), 62 yrs old, Single, Born in SC, Father born in SC, Mother born in SC, Speaks English, Own Income
Quinn, James W., Head, M, W, 53 yrs old, 1st Marriage 31 years, Born in SC, Father born in SC, Mother born in SC, Speaks English, Farmer general farmer, Can read and write, Owns farm
Quinn, Jane, Wife, F, W, 49 yrs old, 1st Marriage 31 years, Bron in GA, Father born in SC, Mother born in SC, Speaks English, Can read and write
Quinn, Hattie, Daughter, F, W, 17 yrs old, Single, Born in SC, Father born in SC, Mother born in GA, Speaks English, Can read and write, attends school
Quinn, Broadus, (Son) Head, M, W, 22 yrs old, 1st marriage 1 yr, Born in SC, Father born in SC, Mother born in GA, Speaks English, Farmer on general farm, rents farm, can and write
Quinn, Stella, Wife, F, W, 19 yrs old, 1st marriage 1 yr, Bron in SC, Father born in SC, Mother born in SC, Speaks English, Can read and write
Quinn, Claud W. (looks like Cloud), Head, M, W, 20 yrs old, 1st marriage 2 yrs, Born in SC, Father born in SC, Mother born in SC, Speaks English, Farmer on General farm, Can read and write, rents farm
Quinn, Ollie, Wife, F, W, 19 yrs old, 1st marriage 2 yrs, 1 child with 1 still living, Born in SC, Father born in SC, Mother born in SC, Speaks English, Cannot read and write
Quinn, Inez, Daughter, F, W, 8/12 mos old, Born in SC, Father born in SC, Mother born in SC

1900 U.S. Census of Spartanburg, Spartanburg County, SC, Roll T623_1542, Pg 9A, ED 102, Lines 19-20, Dwelling 139, Family 130, "Quinn, Junius T."
and Lines 28-29, "Quinn, James W."
Quinn, Junius T., Head, W(hite), M(ale), Born Mary, 1854, 48 yrs old, Married 15 yrs, Born in SC, Father born in SC, Mother born in SC, No occupation listed
Quinn, Corina A., Wife, W, F, Born Apr, 1865, 35 yrs old, Married 15 yrs, 1 child with 1 still living, Born in Sc, Father born in SC, Mother born in SC
Nalley
Johnson
Quinn, James W., Head, W, M, Born Sept, 1824, 75 yrs old, Married 50 yrs, Born in SC, Father born in VA, Mother born in VA, Farmer, Rents farm, Can read and write
Quinn, Agnes M., Wife, W, F, Born Oct, 1820, 79 yrs old, Married 50 yrs, 8 children with 8 still living, Born in SC, Father born in VA, Mother born in VA, Cannot read and write


If you have any comments, corrections or additonal information, please email me at Mom25dogs@gmail.com.

History of Union, SC

Both Union and Union County received their names from the old Union Church that stood a short distance from Monarch Mill. Union Church served both the Presbyterian and Episcopal congregations in the area. The church was erected in 1765 near the present day town of Union, the county seat. Union County was created as a part of the Ninety Six District in 1785. It was part of Pinckney District from 1791 to 1800 and became a separate district when Pinckney was dissolved in 1800. The upper part of the county later went to form Cherokee County in 1897. When the town of Union was first founded, Union was known as Unionville; later it was shortened to Union. The county’s first white settlers came from Virginia in 1749. There was a lot of Scotch-Irish settlement in the area. Union County’s population grew the fastest between 1762 and the start of the Revolutionary War. Settlers built log cabins and cultivated tobacco, flax, corn and wheat. Union was one of the first towns settled in the area and was untouched during the Civil War because the Broad River flooded and turned Sherman’s troops away from the town.

Pinckneyville - When Pinckney District was created in 1791, it comprised the counties of Union, Spartanburg, York, and Chester. Three commissioners appointed by the Legislature selected a place in the northern part of Union county for the new court house town to be established. Pinkneyville is one of the earliest settlements in the South Carolina backcountry. It reflects the spread of justice throughout the state in the early years and the beginnings of representative government beyond the border of Charleston. As early as 1752 it was an important trading post. It is found on the confluence of the Pacolet River and the Broad River. Once they chose Pinckneyville to be the county seat and a court and jail were begun there was a heavy rain storm in May, 1792 which caused the rivers to flood the town. So the commissioners decided to move the location of Pinckneyville to higher place and on the southwest side of the Broad River. It was named after Charles Cotesworth Pinckney and was possibly laid out by a Charleston surveyor with street names that mimicked street names of Charleston. It was envisioned to become an upstate metropolis. A one roomed brick jail was built with 18" thick walls and was 14' x 20'. It was plastered inside and had 2 doors and 2 windows and the doors were double planked and the windows were shuttered with double planked shutters. There was a fireplace on one end and the jail cells were planked walls and the criminals were literally lowered into them from the top. There was a post office by 1795. It was a stage coach stop, about a mile from the Pacolet Ferry. There was a log school house but no church in the town. There was another brick building which may have been the courthouse. The town was abandoned and the countyseat became the town of Union. The Pinckneyville site is very remote today and is not safe to go to alone. There was a mere pile of bricks left of the old jail and nothing else. It looked like it was a party place because of the graffiti and trash.

Rose Hill Plantation - is on the Tyger River, Union, Union County, SC. Located at 2677 Sardis Road off US 176. The illegitimate son of a Charleston merchant, William H. Gist rose from modest beginnings to be elected governor of South Carolina in 185. He also was a reputed duelist. William Henry Gist (August 22, 1807 – September 30, 1874) was a Democrat. Gist was the illegitimate child of merchant Francis Fincher Gist and Mary Boyden. He moved with his father to Union County in 1811 and came under the guardianship of his uncle, Nathaniel Gist, upon the death of his father in 1819. His uncle legally obtained the Gist last name for William Henry and sent him to study law at South Carolina College. He passed the bar and returned to Union and began to build Rose Hill Plantation. Between 1828-1832 a Federalist-style house was built by William H. Gist. It became a cotton plantation employing about 100 slaves. By 1865 it consisted of over 2700 acres. By 1870, it was down to 1350 acres and today, the site is part of the Sumter National Forest in the Northern part of the state and only has 44 acres left. Bricks were imported from Switzerland to construct the three story mansion. Gist won election to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 1840 as a strong supporter of state rights and was elected to the South Carolina Senate in 1844. He served three terms in the state Senate before being elected by the General Assembly as the 68th Governor of South Carolina. William H. Gist was Governor of SC at the time of secession and was called a Fire-Eater. After Abraham Lincoln was elected President, and receiving assurances from the governors of Florida and Mississippi that they would follow South Carolina's lead, Gist called for a secession convention to be held in Columbia on December 17. The convention was moved to Charleston because of a smallpox outbreak in Columbia and Gist was one of the signers of the Ordinance of Secession on December 20. The creation of the South Carolina Executive Council in 1861 provided Gist an opportunity to participate in the state's wartime activities of the Civil War. He was in charge of the Department of Treasury and Finance and later the Department of Construction and Manufactures, but the dissolution of the South Carolina Executive Council in September 1862 ended his involvement in the politics of the state. After the war in 1865, Gist took an oath of allegiance in Greenville and received a pardon from President Andrew Johnson. He remained on his plantation at Rose Hill, which had lost all of its grandeur, and rented out the land to sharecroppers. Gist developed a case of appendicitis and died at Rose Hill on September 30, 1874. His cousin, States Rights Gist (September 3, 1831 — November 30, 1864), was also a lawyer, a militia general in South Carolina, and a Confederate Army general during the War. Gist was born in Union, South Carolina, to Nathaniel Gist and Elizabeth Lewis McDaniel. He graduated from South Carolina College and attended Harvard Law School for a year without graduating, before moving home to Union to practice law. In 1863, Gist married Jane Margaret Adams, whose father was James Hopkins Adams, governor of South Carolina from 1854 until 1856. In 1858, Gist's cousin, William Henry Gist, became governor. Both were active in the secession movement. Gist was shot in the chest while leading his brigade in a charge against Federal fortifications at the Battle of Franklin in November 1864. He died of his wounds soon after at a field hospital in Franklin, Tennessee.

David Johnson Plantation - David Johnson (October 3, 1782 – January 7, 1855) was an antebellum Democrat and Governor of South Carolina from 1846 to 1848. Born in Louisa County, Virginia, Johnson was educated in York County, but moved with his family to Chester District in 1789. He studied law in South Carolina and became a solicitor of the Union District in 1812 as well as being elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives. Excelling in law, Johnson was made a circuit judge in 1815, a judge of the Court of Appeals in 1824, a presiding judge of the Court of Appeals in 1830 and a chancellor in 1835. The General Assembly elected Johnson as Governor of South Carolina in 1846 for a two-year term. The Mexican–American War occurred during his administration and the state aptly supported the cause. After his term as governor, Johnson returned to the Upstate where he died on January 7, 1855. 1826 – A canal was built around Lockhart Shoals on the Broad River and part of its route went through David Johnson's plantation. The lock-keeper was paid a salary for maintaining the lock, and Johnson was paid this salary although one of his slaves did the work. David Johnson was absent most of the time so he left his son, Edward Coke Johnson, in charge of running the place. It is located on the Broad River, Lockhart, Union County, SC. Original plantation lands were located near Lockhart Shoals on the Broad River.

Hillside Plantation - In 1791 James Hill was given the land by his father. He married in 1806 and he and his wife moved to Union. They lived in a log home. Between 1820-1832 he built his home there. It's an upcountry Federal with central halls on both floors with 2 rooms on each side off the hallways. There is an 1850's addition which includes the dining room, enclosed back porch, rear stairs and a room that became the kitchen. This addition on one side gave it an "L" shape. Hill was a planter and, by 1840, he owned about 60 slaves. By 1860 he owned 3300 acres with 1300 "improved". Hill died in 1854 leaving the plantation to his wife and then, after her death, to his son, George Hill. The sculptured granite gate posts were carved by J.E. Sherman, a convalescing Union soldier left behind just prior to the War. Hillside is located in Carlisle, Union County, SC. Located north of the Town of Carlisle off SC 215. It is a private residence.

Cross Keys Plantation - A post office was established in 1809 at Cross Keys, S.C. In 1812-1814, Barrum Bobo (or Barham Bobo) erected this house at the intersection of the Piedmont Stage Road and the Old Buncombe Road. Mr. Bobo was a prosperous merchant of an influential Union County family. (Barrum Bobo is said to have been a ship's purser. The Cross Keys House is a fine example of a Georgian Colonial in common bond brickwork. The gables of the building contain the cross keys insignia and the dates of the construction. Located on a knoll, the tall house with two full stories plus attic and basement is an area landmark. There is much beautiful carving in wainscoting, molding, and mantel. Gabled roof with identical pairs of end chimneys, five symmetrically spaced unshuttered windows on either side of the double doors which are protected by massive, raised first-story portico. White Tuscan columns at front and engaged columns at rear support portico and triangular pediment. Between each pairs of end chimneys, a date stone is placed beneath the gable. On one of these is carved the date of house's completion (1814), original owner's initials (B.B.), and crossed keys thought to be the insignia of the builder. During the ante-bellum period, it was the center of a properous plantation. Two old milestones indicating distance to Union "12 m" and Columbia "68 m" remain in front of house as evidence of early highway system. On April 30, 1865, during the retreat from Richmond, Virginia, Jefferson Davis passed through Cross Keys, S.C., accompanied by the Confederate cabinet and his military escort of five brigades. Mrs. Mary Whitmire Davis, who owned the Cross Keys House at that time, afterwards related to her descendants the story of President Davis's luncheon at the house. It was privately owned until 2006, when Cross Keys was purchased by the Union County Historical Society.

Fairforest Plantation - is on Fairforest Creek (a branch of the Tyger River), Ninety Six District, Union County. Located southwest of the City of Union where SC 49 crosses over Fairforest Creek. Fairforest or Fletchall's Plantation - The house at Fair Forest was probably built by Colonel Thomas Fletchall, a gentleman farmer. It was located on the south side of Fairforest Creek (a tributary to the Tyger River) on 365 acres. On the north bank of the creek he owned 250 acres where he operated a saw mill and at least two grist mills. Colonel Fletchall was a Loyalist, and on December 9 he was arrested for breaking the Treaty of Ninety Six. The Patriots found him hiding in a large sycamore tree downstream from his mills and arrested him. Colonel Fletchall was released from prison, and upon returning to his plantation he found it looted. His family along with their slaves proceeded to rebuild the place but on October 10 Colonel Fletchall fled to Charleston for the safety of himself and his family. He left with his wife, five children, and fourteen slaves. He never returned to his plantation. Colonel Fletchall and his family and slaves left for Jamaica on December 1. His property was confiscated and sold at auction the same year. Colonel Thomas Brandon, a local hero, purchased most of Fletchall's property. Colonel Brandon died in 1902.

Orange Hall - Goshen Hill, Union County, SC. Original plantation lands were located south of SC 72 off Maybinton Road close to the Newberry County line. In 1774, John Rogers built a house on the property. In the 1820's another John Rogers owned the plantation and began to grow cotton. He also operated a general store on the property for smaller farmers in the area. In the 1860's J.E. Sherman carved a fountain from the granite-lined spring that provided water to the plantation. The spring became known as Jew's Harp Spring because the shape resembled that of a Jew's harp. Sherman was a Union soldier who was convalescing in the area. House was destroyed by a tornado in 1929. Only scattered bricks remain visible today.

Clifton Manufacturing, SC

In the early 1800's the SC Manufacturing Co. built and operated a mill to roll iron and a nail factory on the Hurrican Shoals of Pacolet River, at the site of where the Clifton cotton mills are now.

Dexter E. Converse was one of the investors who bought the Glendale Mill in 1856. He took over the management and moved into the old Bivings house in Glendale. In 1880 he began to acquire land on the Pacolet River not far from Glendale. As an outgrowth of the Glendale Mill, in 1881 the first Clifton Mill was built by D. E. Converse and Co. (Dexter E. Converse). In 1889, the second Clifton Mill was built. Dexter E. Converse introduced two new practices, the mill village and the marketing of the products through a New York broker.
Clifton Mill #2 in 1889

The worst recorded flood in South Carolina history took place on the Pacolet River and its tributary Lawson Fork Creek on June 6, 1903. It had rained of and on for five days. On June 6th it rained approximately 11". The water rose so rapidly that the land near the river was covered by 40 feet of water within one hour. Railway traffic was disrupted. There was complete loss of houses, churches, industrial plants and corn and flour mills along the river. The textile communities of Clifton and Pacolet were hit the hardest by the flood, but flood damage also occurred along other streams in northwest SC. The economy was devastated by $5 million (1903 dollars) in damage. Between 50-80 people died. Homes, churches and businesses, including 7 cotton mills, 13 railroad bridges, and 17 farm houses were destroyed. 4,300 people were put out of work due to the flood. Clifton Mill #2 was flooded up to the second floor. Clifton Mill #1 was partially destroyed and Converse Mill (aka Clifton Mill #3) was destroyed. Clifton Mill #2 was repaired, Clifton Mill #1 was rebuilt, Converse Mill was rebuilt on a higher level.

http://dept.wofford.edu/geology/pdfs/Pac1904.pdf
THE PACOLET FLOOD OF JUNE 6th,1903.
For a number of days preceding the disaster there had been unusual rainfall. Shortly after midnight on the night of June 5-6 a terrific downpour deluged the whole Piedmont region, and on the upper waters of the Pacolet must have Amounted to a cloudburst; for reliable men who were in the storm 'where it was not at its worst' testify that the waters fell in a mass in which drops were not distinguishable. The huge volume was greater than the narrow valley of the Pacolet conld carry of. The watchman at Clifton No. 3, the mill highest up stream on the Pacolet, says that at 4 o'clock on the fatal morning of June 6, the water was 20 feet above normal, and at 4 :30 the destruction of the mill was begun by a large tree plunging through the roof of the boiler room. Towards 6 o'clock the chimney of No. 3 fell with a crash towards the western shore, just after the dam had broken, and almost immediately the body of the great mill, embracing four-fifths of a plant worth upwards of $500,000, sank into the water. At the lower end of Converse, as the village at Clifton No.3 is called, stood a number of houses upon a flat plane of an elevation of from six to twenty feet above the river. Sixteen of these were swept away and ten of their occupants were drowned and one killed by exhaustion and exposure. The river turns sharply to the left at this point, presenting in its narrow course between it's precipitous banks one of the grandest stretches of scenery to be viewed in South Carolina. So violent was the rush of water this narrow that some fifteen feet of mingled earth and rock was washed away on the left bank
and some forty feet on the rightbank, against whose almost perpendicular side over a hundred feet in height the main fury of the fioodrushed point blank.

The mass of water rushing against this high hill, on which stands the Methodist church, could not escape at once through the passage of about 200 feet in width, and surged backwards so furiously on the right as to wash down large trees and leave them heading directly upstream.
The greatest displays of force, were the tearing away of the hillsides at this point and the marvelous power of transporting of machinery from Clifton No.3. For weeks after the flood there might have been observed on the right bank about a hundred yards above the dam at Noal, a card machine weighing 7,000 pounds which had been swept three-quarters of a mile downstream. Two others are known to have passed over the dam at No. 1 and one reached a point far below the dam at No. 2, having traveled about two and a half miles. These huge machines must have floated upon the floor of the mill as upon a raft. Out of 194 of them in No. 3, only six have been discovered. The loss of this item alone exceeds $180,000.

At Clifton No. 1, the broad, long river front on the right bank; formerly one of the most beautiful and populous sections of the town, was left strewn with the remnants of hideous ruin i but no lives were lost.

At Clifton No. 2 a large number of houses were built upon a beautiful plane on the right bank from ten to fifteen feet above the water and seventy-five yards in width. 400 yards lower down on the opposite side was another level plane that encircled by a sharp curve of the stream, where lay the section of the town known as Santuc. From these two flat places 60 houses were swept, and here occurred the great bulk of the fatalities. The drowned reaching the number of fifty. Here occurred some of the most pathetic scenes and some of the most thrilling escapes. Julius A. Biggerstuff, who loved Lola Hall, the daughter of his next neighbor above, had called upon his sweetheart Friday night; they were to be married, it is said, on Sunday morning. But before Saturday's sun had farly risen Biggerstaff and all six members of the Hall family had been swept into eternity. Here Mrs. Emory was washed ashore with a child of three years and another a few months old, all three of them almost stripped of clothing by the fury of the waters, while the husband perished. Here, too, Rev. W. J. Snyder, P. C. Hundley and Will Wilkins effected the most dramatic rescue during the disaster in saving, by means of two cotton bales lashed together and moored to a rope, Mrs. Landrum Williamand her two children and Mr. Hickman Stribling from a tree in which they had remained eight and a half hours, after having floated or swam to its branches. Here, too, lived B. S. Johnson, who escaped from the raging flood after having been borne for several miles upon its bosom, but whose wife and flve children were drowned. It was his little boy who floated on a piece of timber eight miles to Pacolet and disappeared in the waves flfteen feet high plunging over the dam and Shoals. Nor can we forget the pathetic case of Samuel Swearingen and his bride at Clifton No. 3, whom the onlookers from the bank saw sink in each others arms.

At Clifton No. 2 the operatives, thinking the river would soon fall, were working as usual in their places; the authorities marched them out before the disaster to the building, having almost to drive some to safety. The upper and riverside projections of this mill and of No. 1 were butted off, the shafting throughout was sprung and the first and second floors were covered with trash,
trees, mud and sand.

At Pacolet the great double mill Nos. 1 and 2, 600 feet in length, was more nearly completely demolished even than Clifton No. 3; for more of its foundation was carried off and only a mere cottaged sized remnant of the slasher and cloth rooms, based well upon the high bank, was left standing. No 1 went down about 8 in the murning and No. 2 about an hour later, in full view of
the whole mill population, whom the rising waters had prevented from begining work. At Pacolet No.3, the new five story mill half mile below the engine, boiler and picker rooms were wrecked and almost completely swept away; the upper corner of the main building next to the river was carried away and the first floor was filled with sand twelve to fifteen feet in depth. The river filled it's bed below the dam with huge rooks torn from their primeval resting places along its sides and changed it's course so as to wash directly against the foundation of the mill. One of the first tasks after the flood subsided was to excevate the old channel and turn the river back into it.

The Presbyterian church located just below Pacolet Nos. l and 2 and on the opposite or Eastern side, in that most fatal of situations a flat place circled by a sharp bend of the river opposite a precipice, was lifted bodily from its foundations and set down wrenched but entire 35 miles down the stream. No residence was destroyed at Pacolet and only one life was lost, that of a negro man who ventured too far in attempting to save cotton bales.

The water at Pacolet was twenty feet higher than ever before recorded.

On June 5th, Clifton stock was selling at from $175 to $180 and Pacolet could not be bought for less than $190. A month after the unparralleled disaster, Clifton was at par and Pacolet about $110.

Only one wagon bridge was left over either Pacolet or its tributary Lawson's Fork, that being a private one on Dr. Boyd's plantation three miles above the city of Spartanburg. Railway and mail communication were completely cut off by the destruction of trestles and high bridges, The steel bridge 150 feet long and weighing 2,509,956 pounds over Lawson's Fork a mile from Spartanburg was washed from its piers and carried 150 yards down the current, having, been forced from its piers 80 feet above low water presumably by the pressure of the rapid mass of water rushing against the houses and debris banked upon its upper side. Every line of communication by rail between up country and low country route from the North to the South through the Piedmont belt was broken on the morning of June 6 except that over the bridge of the Columbia, Newberry and Laurens railroad over the Congaree two miles above Columbia and on June the 8th, this gave away. The Southern railway completed a trestle across the great chasm at Lawson's Fork in a little over seventy hours and resumed it's tram service over the stream at a quarter passed three o 'clock Tuesday afternoon the 9th. The trolley from Spartanburg to Clifton crossed Lawson's Fork on a new trestle June 12.

Sunday afternoon, the day after the flood, a.full mass meeting was held in the opera house in Spartanburg and a subscription of $3,355 was raised in a few minutes which was later increased to $26,000. Hundreds if not thousands of dollars worth of food and clothing was collected by the wagons sent through town by the relief committee. The whole State and many friends beyond rallied to the occasion and supplied an amount greater than was needed. No more admirable traits were called out by the terrible crisis than the dauntless courage, the sane optimism and the splendid faith exhibited by mill authorities and citizens. And no better proof could be g~iven of the stamina of the expanding industries of the Piedmont section the fact that not an operative of the 2, 000 thrown out of work needed to remain idle longer than was required to place himself in anyone of the score or more of factories which sought his labor. And no higher tribute is needed to their law abiding, steady character than the good order prevailing throughout the villages between the disaster and migration to other mills, which in a few weeks left the populous hills of Pacolet and Clifton almost deserted.

The following is the list of dead, numbering 66. The Mr. Grier mentioned died from twelve hours of exhaustion and exposure in a tree which saved him from drowning:

At Clifton No. 2, 53: Julius A. Biggerstaff; Augustus Calvert, his wife and two children, Felix and Lou; Bud Emory; Mrs. J. R. Finley; JoelH. Hall, his wife, mother, and Ella, Jimmie and Lola, his children, and five other children; Mrs. Henderson; Mrs. B. S. Johnson and her five children; Oliver Johnson; Roscoe Johnson; the Loqin family of eleven; Mrs. Mossey and four children; Ed Robbs; Mrs. Robbs and two children; Genoble Sims; Novie D. Sims; Landrum Waddell; Martha Waddell; Dock Williams; Mrs. Jane William's baby.

At Clifton No. 3, 12:
Miss Fleetia Gosa; Mr. Grier; Mrs. Henson; Miss Maggie Kirby; Mrs. William Kirby; Garland Long and wife; Mrs. John Owens and child; Roy Owens; Samuel Swearingen and his bride; William Wood

At Pacolet, one:
Quay Worthy, colored.

The total loss of property, as nearly as can be estimated, aggregated $3,800,000

Loss to Spartanburg County in bridges alone was $50,000.

'l'he following is the report of the Central Relief Committee:
Mr. R. H. F. Chapman, Chairman Central Relief Committee;
Dear Sir: I hereby submit my report as treasurer of your relief committee:
Receipts
Subscriptions from out of town $21,454.98
Subscriptions from Spartanburg $4,543.29
Total $25,998.27
Disbursements
Relief committee at Clifton $10,500.00
Relief committee at Pacolet $ 2,890.00
Relief committee at Glendale $ 1,000.00
Relief committee at Whitney $ 500.00
Relief committee at Mary
Louise Mill $ 100.00
Orders for household goods,
sent operatives who moved away$ 3,022.68
Burial of dead (balance) $ 46.00
Sufferers at Upper Pacolet
Valley $ 7,406.24
Postage $ 14.00
Livery $ 13.00
Printing, etc $ 6.35
Total $24,998.27
Respectfully Submitted,
E.S. Tennent, Treasurer

The auditing committee have examined the books and vouchers of the treasurer of the relief committee and hereby certify they are correct.
W. E. Burnett,
A L. White,
Jno A. L.aw
Committee.


The New York Times New York 1903-06-07
Clifton and Pacolet, SC Cloudburst Causes Flooding, June 1903
CLOUDBURST SWEEPS TOWNS; THIRTY KILLED
PACOLET AND CLIFTON, S. C., CARRIED AWAY IN TORRENT
WATERS RUSH DOWN VALLEY, CARRYING AWAY MILLS, BRIDGES, AND COTTON OPERATIVES' DWELLINGS
Spartanburg, S. C., June 6. -- Pacolet and Clifton, in this county, where are located some of the greatest manufacturing plants in the Southern States, have been swept away, at least thirty persons have been drowned, and tremendous damage has been done to manufacturing establishments as a result of a terrific cloudburst that broke over this section between midnight and dawn today.

The storm settled over Spartanburg late last night, and the flood swept away the dams, causing the whole valley to be submerged by a whirling stream of water. The great overflow from river and creek is still rising, in many cases the water in Pacolet having reached a height above the roofs of the houses, only a chimney here and there being left to show where once stood a prosperous milling village.

Mill No. 1 has been washed away, Mill No. 2 is destroyed, while the third is in imminent danger of going at any moment. The dams of all three mills have been swept away, and through the great gaps in them the water is rushing into the valley beyond.

At Clifton, also in this county, where the great Clifton Mills Nos. 1, 2, and 3 are situated, great damage has been wrought, and further reports may show that the loss there is just as great, if not greater, than at Pacolet.

President TWICHELL of the Clifton Mills says that the reports received by him indicate that No. 3 has been wrecked and that the other two mills are greatly damaged. He also says that he understands there has been great loss of life and that several of the giant warehouses near the mills have been swept away. The exact number of the dead it is impossible to ascertain. First reports were that fifty persons were lost at Clifton and twenty-five at Pacolet. Six bodies were seen floating near each other in the stream at one time, and others are being reported at short intervals.

What the property loss will reach it is impossible to say, but that it will be a figure considerably in excess of $2,000,000 is conceded.

A partial list of the victims at Clifton is as follows:
AUGUSTUS CALVERT.
MRS. AUGUSTUS CALVERT.
MISS LIZZIE CALVERT.
M. FELIX.
MRS. W. B. TINSLEY.
MORLAY SIMS.
MRS. B. J. JOHNSON and Four Children.
MRS. MAGGIE KIRBY.
MRS. JOHN OWENS.
ROY OWENS.
GARLAND LONG.
MRS. LONG.
MISS FLETIA GOSIA.
ROBERT FINLEY.

The ill-fated Pacolet cotton mills were the heaviest property losers, President VICTOR MONTGOMERY estimating the damage to the plant at $1,250,000.

About 1,200 operatives in the mills are thrown out of work there, and within a few days will be in need of daily bread.

At 6 o'clock this morning it was noticed that the water was rising rapidly in the Pacolet River, but no special importance was attached to it by the mill operatives, who began to form in line to enter the mills.

At Mills Nos. 1 and 2 the water pressure soon became dangerous, the boiler rooms were submerged, and the workmen were ordered back.

A little later the fury of the raging river struck Mill No. 1, sweeping the plant entirely away. The strong current then swept against No. 2, demolishing that mill and leaving only the cloth room standing.

The big bridge over the Pacolet River, a steel structure, was then carried away by the flood, which had burst through the dams.

The warehouse, with nearly 3,500 bales of cotton and 4,000 bales of domestic cloth followed, all the cotton being carried down stream.

At Pacolet Mill No. 3, one half the picker room and five stories on the left side of the long building were washed away. The main building, supported by a thick brick wall, is still standing, but is very shaky and may collapse at any time. The boiler room is gone, but the smokestack is yet standing. The dam at No. 3 is intact. All the machinery in this mill is ruined.

At Glendale, four warehouses filled with cotton and cotton products were swept away, along with the dam across Lawson's Fork and the trestle of the City Electric Railway. The mill at Glendale was not materially damaged.

At Converse, the main building of the Clifton factory collapsed, and the matter[sic] rose till the second floor of the mill was four feet deep -- forty or fifty feet above the ordinary water mark. The Converse Mill is utterly demolished, nothing standing except the picker room building, which is badly wrecked. The Clifton Mill No. 3 also lost its boiler room, machine shop, engine room, and smokestack.

The Whitney mills on Lawson's Fork were damaged by the heavy rise of the water, and some houses and a steel bridge at that point were swept away.

At the Tueapau Mills the water rose to the second floor of the building and considerably damaged the machinery.

One of the great mills at Clifton, the Converse, founded by and named in honor of the founder of Converse College for Women of this city, which is a 51,000 spindle concern, capitalized at more than $1,000,000, was reported destroyed at one time, but a telegram from MR. TWICHELL to F. J. PELZER of Charleston, the head of the great cotton milling corporations at Pelzer, S. C., says that the main structure is still intact.

Scores of homes at Clifton have been wrecked, and at least 4,000 persons who worked in the mills are in a pitiable condition, with all their household effects either completely ruined or rendered almost valueless, and a long period of idleness before them.

Pacolet and Clifton are situated in the defiles of two valleys, and most of the homes of the operators were located near the mills, where the destructive power of the flood was greatest. These people are in dire need of assistance now, and a relief committee, of which the Rev. W. J. SNYDER is at the head, has been appointed to receive and turn over money, food, or clothing sent for the sufferers.

The damage in other parts of the county will also reach a great figure. Every bridge on the main line of the Southern Railway in this couty is reported washed away, telegraph and telephone wires are down, while the bridge over the Enoree River, along the banks of which, near the station of Enoree, and situated the Enoree cotton mills, has been carried away. That stream has also overflown its banks, and it is feared great damage will be done.

It was hardly more than a decade ago that Spartanburg was simply one of the smaller townships of upper South Carolina. Then came the great cotton milling movement, and the county, owing to its magnificent natural water power, secured the very cream of the investments. Mill after mill was built along the banks of its rivers until to-day millions of dollars are invested.

Fire insurance was carried on the ruined mills, but whether they were insured against loss by flood is not known. That every one of the mills will be rebuilt at once is the general belief in the city tonight.

(For more about the 1903 Flood.)

Clifton Mill #1 after the flood.


Clifton Mill #1 about 1910

Annual Report By South Carolina Dept. of Agriculture
Annual Report By South Carolina Dept. of Agriculture

Spartanburg Herald Journal
By Jason Spencer
Published: Monday, March 10, 2008 at 3:15 a.m.
The owner of the surviving Clifton mill has big plans — he wants to mine for sand along a small beach area just across the Pacolet River, eventually turning it into a park, and put loft apartments, maybe condos, in the sturdy old building.

Restarting the hydroelectric plant is part of his vision, too.

But David Sawyer’s plans are mired in financial problems, and some people in the community are leery of a mining operation coming into their quiet village.

Still, he remains optimistic about the future of Clifton Mill No. 2, and his role in it.

“When the textile industry went offshore, we lost the means to help these people maintain their lives. We’ve done very little to help little communities like Clifton. Clifton Mill No. 1 should have never been torn down. It’s a sad commentary when we lose gorgeous old buildings,” said Sawyer, who turned 65 Sunday.

“There’s so many neat things you can do with them. All you have to do is open your mind.”

Sawyer bought Clifton Mill No. 2 from Best Machinery Movers & Erectors — a small company headed by Dennis Goode and Ron Davis — on June 15, 2004, for $535,000.

Goode and Davis financed the deal.

But as of May 2007, Sawyer still owed the entire principal and, along with interest, taxes and attorney fees, a judge ordered him to pay Best Machinery $684,901.41 in October, according to court documents.

The property was put up for auction on Nov. 5, and Goode and Davis thought they had it back.
But Sawyer had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Georgia (where he is from) three days beforehand.

The sale was set aside.

Sawyer was then doing business as a limited liability company called Habersham Mill, which is now called Clifton Mill Lofts.

Habersham’s bankruptcy filing was dismissed in February, as the company’s sole asset was the Spartanburg property and there was no record of that company being authorized to do business in Georgia.

Foreclosure proceedings on the Clifton mill have resumed, and a hearing will be held Thursday in Spartanburg.

The property once again could go up on the auction block.

But at the first of the week, Sawyer plans to file for Chapter 11 protection again, he said — this time in South Carolina. He said he hopes it will buy him time to come up with a plan that will help out his cash flow and allow him to keep the property.

Mining the beach and a sandbar in the Pacolet is a large part of that plan.

“It’s an asset of the property, and sand is a marketable commodity,” Sawyer said. “We do two things by doing this. We improve the river by deepening it, and second, we’ll increase the amount of water available to us when we restart our hydroelectric plant.”

Sawyer said he has a partner in Atlanta, a veterinarian, but would not name him, and that person’s name hasn’t appeared on any documents obtained by the Herald-Journal.

At least one other man has been involved in the project, but he dissolved his relationship with Sawyer — which Sawyer said set things back.

Best for the community?
The land that would be affected by the mining operation is about 8.6 acres, according to the application Sawyer filed with the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.
He plans to replant vegetation over one acre in increments between 2013 and 2017.
The actual operation would be about 800 feet southeast of the intersection of Clifton-Glendale and Goldmine roads.

The state is accepting comments on the project through 5 p.m. March 18.

People who own property adjacent to the mill, such as Kevin Lee, have already been contacted.
“I’m totally against it — just the mess, and I don’t know if these small roads around here can handle it. The tanker trucks that come through seem to keep the road pretty broken up, anyway,” said Lee, 38. “I think this guy is trying to come up with any way possible to stay around. His intentions are not for the betterment of the community or anything. It’s just to try to stay put where he’s at.”

Goode and Davis are against the plan, too. “We don’t like the idea whatsoever. It really does not belong to him until he pays us, since he is in default. So, if there’s anything we could do to stop it, we would,” Goode said.

Davis added: “You can’t come in and do it in six months’ time. You’re looking at three to five, maybe even seven years, and you’re going to have those trucks, the mining operation, the danger of children being around it. It’s just not a good place to set up a mining operation.”

‘A great old elephant’
The one thing everyone has in common is they say they want what’s best for Clifton. They just have different ideas as to what that is.

“I think it could turn around down here and be a real nice area,” said Lee, who grew up in Clifton and recently moved back. “It’s a beautiful area. It’s just a matter of somebody spending some money and doing the right things to make it happen. And I don’t think this cat here is the guy to do that.”

Don Bramblett, a community activist, hopes to see the small beach once again become a hot spot for the community to fish, swim or rest in the sun. Crime got out of control a few years ago, and the beach has largely been closed off, although it’s still easy enough to get to.

“People out here can’t afford to pay dues at a neighborhood pool or Spartanburg Country Club. They’ve got to have access to a place to recreate. I know Spartanburg County is trying to build more parks, but we have nothing out here. We have nothing. If we could — and this is private property, I know — but there is a lot of interest in people kayaking and canoeing that’s just been generated over the last couple of years. So, I’d like to see that nurtured and grow into something nicer,” Bramblett said. “Mr. Sawyer … had good intentions originally, but I think they’ve kind of gone sour. And for him to venture out into some long-term project, with a huge investment of money, when on the surface it looks like there’s a lot of other problems, it’s somewhat distressing to me as a resident. I’d hate for him to come in here and start doing things and leave it in a mess.”

Goode said if he and Davis do get the mill property back, “We really don’t know what we’d do with it.”

And so, Sawyer is pressing forward. He can tell you the history of the mills along the Pacolet back to the disastrous flood of 1903, and then some.

“This is a great old elephant, and we want to keep it alive,” Sawyer said. “Our dream is to make residences there. I want to save the building. It’s a beautiful, historic building. I still think this is the prettiest industrial building in the South. We have had no help from local lenders on this project. The people who we felt would benefit the most from it have all turned us down. You don’t have to have a whole lot of imagination to see that lofts and adaptive re-use of a historic building could work. It’s worked everywhere in the country. But these folks are so near-sighted that they won’t help it come true.”

Sources:
http://www.slobotabouttown.com/clifton_mill_one.html
Clifton: A River of Memories and Herald Journal
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E05E2DA1639E433A25754C0A9609C946297D6CF
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E05E2DA1639E433A25754C0A9609C946297D6CF
http://www3.gendisasters.com/south-carolina/6367/clifton-pacolet-sc-cloudburst-causes-flooding-june-1903
http://sciway2.net/2001/clifton-glendale-sc/Index.htm
http://books.google.com/books?id=Ibd1u3CgOHMC&pg=PA94&lpg=PA94&dq=clifton+manufacturing+company,+SC&source=web&ots=lJYvd4lXbm&sig=iz5ZP6EGfN6cPiAjWtPvpNwtIHY&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=6&ct=result

These are the photos I made of Clifton Mill #2 on 12/13/2008.

This is a bar located on Goldmine Rd and it's in this dirt parking lot that you park. You cross the street to the "No Trespassing" sign and you can see the path to the Clifton Beach on the Pacolet River. Crime used to be pretty high in this area so I don't recommend it.

Clifton Beach


The Pacolet River downstream from Clifton Mill #2

Pacolet River looking upstream from the Clifton Beach at Clifton Mill #2









Clifton Mill #2, front with bell tower (all the cotton mills had bell towers to ring the beginning and end of the shifts)



The road in front of the Clifton Mill #2. You can see the old iron bridge buttresses just beside the newer bridge. Also, notice the turnstile.

Great brickwork!


This is the field behind the Clifton cotton factory. The mill village climbs up the hill and looks down over the mill.


Here is a short video