Some More Wayne County Quakers

** From the Genealogy.com

Wayne County Quaker meetings. Only found two Quaker meetings in Wayne County, North Carolina: the Contentnea and the Neuse.

Talk of the Town: Quakers Coming to Wayne County by Norman Williams-- Many early Wayne County settlers were Quakers.

There is a place called Quaker Neck Lake in the southwest Goldsboro area.

Waynesborough Park in Goldsboro has the relocated Bethany Quaker Church dating to 1878. It was moved there in 1990.

I Sure Didn't Know There Was So Much Quaker History in Wayne County.  --Cooter

Some Other Contentneas

This last week, I have been writing about Quakers in Wayne County, North Carolina, and came across the name Contentnea. While looking for the definition of Contentnea, I came across quite a few places named that in North Carolina.

Among them: Contentnea Township in Lenoir County, NC; Contentnea-Savannah School in Kinston, NC; Contentnea Creek Development Company in Raleigh, NC; Contentnea Creek near Griffin, NC and Contentnea Primitive Baptist Church in Wilson County, NC.

Lots of Contentneas. --Cooter

The Quaker Contentnea Quarterly Meeting

From Quakers, Friends Ancestry Site.

The Contentnea Quarterly Meeting was established in 1788 and had ten monthly members, all in or near Wayne County, North Carolina: Bethany, Bethesda, Goldsboro, Hood Swamp, Neuse, Nahunta, New Hope, Oakland, Rhodes and Woodland.

According to Dr.Rader, there are still Quaker churches in Goldsboro, New Hope, Rhodes and Woodland.

--Cooter

Contentnea?-- Nahunta?

Look as I may, I can't find out what Nahunta and Contentnea are as far as definitions.

I did find many place names for both and I will list some of them in another post. I am not sure if the names have something Quaker-specific about them or not?

If anyone can find out and let me know, I'd be appreciative. --DaCoot

Wayne County, NC's Quakers-- Part 4

The original Contennea deed was dated in 1772, but was later lost in the courthouse fire in Kinston around 1878-1880.

Nahunta (I always see signs for Nahunta Pork Center on US-70 west of Goldsboro) Meeting was a "very vibrant thriving community of Friends" dating back to the 1770s. Records show that meetings and marriages were held in homes in 1796.

Nahunta and Contentnea alternated monthly meetings from 1851-1856. But, in 1856 Contentnea was "laid down" or ceased to exist due to lack of members.

A number of Quaker churches still exist in the area, including: Rhodes Friends, Goldsboro Friends, New Hope Friends and Woodland Friends.

And, I Didn't Even Know There Were Quakers in Wayne County.

OK, What Is a Quaker MM?

Jimmy Peacock reported that the Contentnea MM and Cemetery had been found. But, what does the MM mean?

I know that Quakers gather in Meeting Hoses, but that would be MH. I did come across MM standing for Monthly Meeting and believe that is what MM means in this case.

--Cooter

Quaker Contentnea in Wayne County, NC Found

I was born in Goldsboro, North Carolina, and lived there until about age 5, but have been back many times. I've never heard of Contentnea before so did a little research.

FromRootsWeb.com-Quaker Roots-L-Archives.

A Jimmy Peacock from Indiana was writing about the Contentnea MM in Wayne County, North Carolina on June 9, 2000.

Dr. Doug Rader's wife is Lissa Peacock Rader of the Nahunta Peacocks. Is this a family relationship?

He reported that the location of the Contentnea MM and Quaker Cemetery in Wayne County was found this day in a farmer's field.

The farmer had been told by his father that one particular part of the farm had been the site of an old Quaker Cemetery and out of respect, the farmer had never grown crops on the site.

Always Great to Find Lost History.

Wayne Count, NC's Quakers-- Part 3

Upon appearing in the Albemarle area of North Carolina, the religion spread rapidly between 1720 and 1750 when Quakers were looking for places to settle. They ended up in Bath, Pasquotank, Perquimans counties. Between 1772 and 1856, many settled in the Contentnea community. Nearby Falling Creek and Quaker Neck also attracted a lot of Quakers.

Quakers kept careful and very detailed records. They were very structured and had yearly meetings, which started in 1698. There was also regional quarterly meetings held in Eastern, Western, New Garden and Contentnea.

Local monthly meetings were often held in somebody's house.

--Cooter

Wayne County NC's Quakers-- Part 2

Quakers in Wayne County, North Carolina date back to the 1740s. Dr. Rader said "At the end of the day, the argument I'm going to make is that our shared Quaker heritage resonates in Wayne County and beyond."

In NC the Quaker influence can be seen in architecture, painting and even day-to-day words.

In a short background, Rader said that Quakers are known for their silent worship, "Inner Light," refusal to bear arms or swear, high moral and ethical standards, strict common mores and simplicity in speech and diet. (Quaker Oats) They were against slavery and made every attempt to free them.

The church is also known as Society of Friends in North Carolina. It first appeared in the state in the Albemarle area.

I Didn't Know Some of This Stuff.  --Cooter

Wayne County, NC's Quakers-- Part 1

From the September 15, 2013, Goldsboro (NC) News-Argus "Local Quakers' impact on county history examined" by Phyllis Moore.

The speaker at the meeting, Dr. Doug Rader, is not a Quaker, but has gained a lot of expertise on them during his twenty years of genealogy research on his wife's family.

His wife, Lissa Peacock Rader, of the Nahunta Peacocks, is from Fremont. He admits that his first exposure to Quakers, like most of us, was through the Quaker guy on boxes of Quaker Oats. I myself have come across their name often in the Revolutionary War and colonial times.

Last week, representing the Wayne County Historical Association, Doug Rader spoke about "Contentea: The Quakers in Northern Wayne County."

--Cooter