Thomas Hinshaw

                                        ┌── Absolom Hinshaw
                                        │    1752-1830 
                  ┌── Stephen Hinshaw ──┤
                  │    1797-1877        │
                  │                     └── Elizabeth Hinshawc1753-1833 
Thomas Hinshaw ───┤
B: 1831           │                     ┌── Charles Davis
D: 1925           │                     │
                  └── Hannah Davis ─────┤
                       1804-1881        │
                                        └── Hannah Piggott
M: Mary Barker
   ├── Francis Thomas Hinshaw (1858-1923) 1,2,3,4,5,6,7
   ├── Delphina E. Hinshaw (1860-1886) 1,2,3,4,5,8
   ├── Jonathan B. Hinshaw (1863-1863) 1,2,3,9
   ├── Amos Stephen Hinshaw (1865-1952) 1,2,3,5,8
   ├── Larue Hinshaw (1868-1868) 1,2,3,9
   ├── Aletha Jane Hinshaw (1869-1936) 1,2,3,5,8,10
   ├── Joseph Lewis Hinshaw (1873-1963) 1,2,3,8,10
   └── Cyrus N. Hinshaw (1875-1889) 1,2,3,8,10,11

Thomas Hinshaw     [ID 00326] Click here to switch to Ahnentafel view: Ahnentafel View

Born Sep 3 1831, Holly Spring MM, North Carolina.1,2,4,5,8,12,13,14,15,16  

He married Mary Barker, Oct 22 1857, Holly Spring MM, North Carolina.1,2,10  Mary, daughter of Nicholas Barker & Catherine Cox, was born Dec 19 1832, North Carolina.1,2,4,5,8,13,14,15,16,17  

Mary was the sister of Simeon Barker who married Thomas's sister Ruth, and of Nathan Barker who married Thomas's sister Milicent.  The three Hinshaw siblings married three Barker siblings.  In addition, Thomas's brother Jacob married Elizabeth, then Huldah, Barker (sisters), cousins of Thomas's wife Mary Barker.2  

Thomas and family were shown in the 1860 census (Jul 10 1860), Randolph County, North Carolina:4

Thomas Hinshaw, age 28, born in North Carolina; farmer; $700 real estate; $485 personal property.
Mary Hinshaw, age 27; domestic.
Frances F. Hinshaw, age 1.
Delphina E. Hinshaw, age 5 months.

On 2-15-1862, Thomas was chosen clerk of the Holly Spring MM.1  

During the Civil War, Thomas and his brother Jacob, and their brothers-in-law Cyrus and Nathan Barker, had all decided that the right thing for them to do, given the war going on around them, was to simply stay at home, quietly carrying on their everyday work until forceably conscripted into the Confederate Army.  That day was not long in coming, as Confederate soldiers came and tied them to gun carts and took them to the "Militia camp" near Buffalo Ford.18  The Confederate enlistment rolls show Thomas, age 31, and brother Jacob, age 28, were "enlisted" (forceably) on Nov 3 1862 as privates in Company G, 52nd North Carolina Infantry.19  

Thomas, Jacob and the Barkers did not resist arrest, but nothing the Confederates could do would make soldiers out of these good Quakers.  Months of hardship and suffering followed.  They were threatened with immediate death.  But nothing would change their pacifist nature.18  

After the Battle of Gettysburg, these four found themselves at liberty and inquired if there were Friends near the battlefield.  They made their way to the vicinity Menallen MM, and went quietly to work in the harvest fields of Cyrus Griest and others.  They were then arrested by the United States Marshall as deserters, and they were taken as prisoners to Fort Delaware.18,20  

Concerned Quakers of Wilmington, Delaware, and Philadelphia learned of their presence, and asked President Lincoln to set them free.  This he ordered done immediately.  Upon being released they were assisted by Baltimore and Philadelphia Quakers to make their way to relatives in Indiana.18  

At Westfield MM (Indiana) on 10-29-1863, Thomas Hinshaw "of Holly Spring MM" was received as a temporary member.6  

Meanwhile, during the late spring months of 1863, while Thomas was being taken toward the fateful Gettysburg, son Jonathan was born.  Mary, under a great burden of anxiety and grief, and under the stress of caring for two small children, was totally unable to feed the fragile little baby.  Cow's milk did not suffice, and the baby lived just three weeks, adding to Mary's grief.18  

When Mary and her cousin Elizabeth learned that their husbands were alive and in Indiana, they loaded some provisions and their four children into a covered wagon and headed westward six hundred miles across the mountains in the early fall of 1864, the darkest days of the war.18  

The Civil War experience of Thomas and his brother Jacob was noted in "Retreat from Gettysburg: Lee, Logistics, and the Pennsylvania Campaign" by Kent Masterson Brown (UNC Press, 2005):21

As Lee was in the process of leaving Gettysburg, there were disertions.  Darkness, heavy rain, and some confusion in the ranks aided those who sought to leave the army.  Some soldiers dropped out of the ranks and simply fled; a few found refuge among civilians.  Some slaves ran away.  Apparently there were Quakers among the teamsters driving the quartermaster and subsistence wagons of the Fifty-second North Carolina.  One of them was twenty-eight-year-old Jacob Hinshaw, from Randolph County, North Carolina, who had been conscripted into service in 1862.  With him were four others: his brother Thomas, Nathan and Cyrus Barker, and William Hockett.  They never deserted, but they did not leave with the army either.  

During the fighting at Gettysburg Hinshaw and the other Quakers had remained behind, near the regimental trains; on the final day of the battle they had been put to use at the hospital of Heth's Division.  Their pacifism had been grudgingly honored by the regimental officers.  By battle's end, the Fifty-second North Carolina had been demolished: Colonel James Keith Marshall was dead, and most of the officers and men had been either killed or wounded.  A lieutenant who was temporarily in command of what was left of the regiment ordered Hinshaw and his Quaker friends to stay in a barn near the hospital.  While they were there, Heth's Division moved out behind its trains without telling them.  The Quakers had been deliberately left behind.  Just before the regiment left Gettysburg, the lieutenant had said to them, "Boys, I do not blame you now for acting or doing as you have, for if everybody had done so there would have been none such [a battle and casualties] as this".  The confederate officer was so moved by the deaths and losses that he decided to abandon the pacifist Quakers.  In Hinshaw's words, the lieutenant was a "changed man".  Hinshaw happily remembered that his prayers had been answered.

At Greenwood MM (Indiana) on 5-31-1865, Mary & minor children Francis T. & Delphina E., members of Holly Spring MM, N.C., were received as temporary members by request.6  

At Westfield MM on 6-1-1865, Thomas was granted a certificate to Greenwood MM.6  

Greenwood MM (Indiana), on 6-28-1865 recorded "Thomas Hinshaw: certificate received of temporary membership from Westfield MM, he being a member of Holly Spring, N.C."6  

When the war ended, Thomas and Mary returned back to North Carolina.18  

On 9-16-1865, Thomas was named recorder of minutes of the Holly Spring MM.1  

On 10-21-1865, Thomas was again chosen clerk of the Holly Spring MM.1  

On 10-21-1865, Thomas was named trustee of Holly Spring house & lands.1  

At Holly Spring MM in October of 1865 this minute appears:18

This meeting appoints Thomas Hinshaw, David Cox, Elias Macon, Charles Cox, Levi Cox, G.W.Wright, Isaac B. Fesmire, Elias Hinshaw, Jeremiah Piggott, Sen., Neri Cox & Michael Cox to look out suitable places for schools and also to set up schools among us as thought best.

At Holly Spring MM on 11-18-1865, Thomas & Mary & minor children, Francis T. & Delphina E., "returned a sojourning certificate from Greenwood MM, Hamilton Co., Indiana".1  

At Holly Spring MM on 5-18-1867, Thomas was recommended an elder.  On 8-17-1867, Mary was also recommended an elder.1  

On 3-19-1870, and again on 1-16-1875, Thomas was again appointed clerk of the Holly Spring MM.1  

The Holly Spring meeting house was in very poor condition at the end of the Civil War and deteriorated further until, in 1885, a committee was appointed (typically Quaker) to begin a new meeting house:18

Jeremiah S. Cox, Thomas Hinshaw, Harmon Cox, Calvin Cox & Nathaniel Cox are appointed to look after the subject of building a new meeting house at this place.
Two months later this committee reported that they thought it was an opportune time to build, and the monthly meeting "agreeing therewith appoints Thomas Hinshaw, Jeremiah A. Cox, Harmon Cox, Calvin Cox & Levi B. Macon a building committee & directs them to report their progress from time to time".18  

Lumber for the new building was furnished by Thomas' son Amos, who was at that time operating a sawmill and planer outfit and was cutting a tract of first-growth longleaf pine.  Thomas was present at the first meeting of Friends at Holly Spring in the new meeting house, when William Perry offered the first prayer at 11:00 AM, Jan 20 1889.18  

The the late 1860s, the Quakers established Evergreen Academy on the Thomas Hinshaw farm, a little less than two miles east of Holly Spring Meeting House.  "The Old Schoolhouse" was, as of 1982, still standing on the north side of State Road 2656.  About 1890, the eastern portion of the Thomas Hinshaw farm became the Amos Hinshaw farm, surrounding the area where Evergreen Academy was built.18  

When the Holly Spring community was "laid off" as a public school district, the central location for the school house was selected about one-half mile east of the Holly Spring Meeting House on land belonging to Thomas Hinshaw.  In 1881 he executed a deed for one acre where a small frame school building was constructed.  This school was known as the Center Graded School (later Holly Spring School), but its common nickname was "Rabbit Gnaw" school.  The school had no sanitary facilities, but bushes and trees provided secluded and segregated spots.18  

During the wheat harvest season of June, 1869, Thomas undertook to swing a scythe-and-cradle all day under an extremely hot sun.  When evening came he managed to get to the house, but asked Francis to feed and water the stock, as he needed to lie down.  "I have terrible pain in my chest, and I can't breathe freely," he said.  Mary became alarmed when she saw his ashen features in the dim light.  "Francis, get on the horse and go for Dr. Stout as fast as thee can!"  she said.  "It's his heart," Dr. William Stout reported when he had examined Thomas.  In a few days, when Thomas began to recover, Dr. Stout told him "I absolutely forbid any strenuous activity - until thee has my permission!"3  

Thomas and family were shown in the 1870 census (Aug 9 1870), Moffitt Mills P.O., Randolph County, North Carolina:5

Hinshaw, Thomas, age 38, born in North Carolina; farmer; $850 real estate; $750 personal property.
Hinshaw, Mary, age 37, born in North Carolina; keeping house.
Hinshaw, Francis T., age 11, born in North Carolina; attending school.
Hinshaw, Delphina E., age 10, born in North Carolina; attending school.
Hinshaw, Amos, age 4, born in North Carolina.
Hinshaw, Aletha J., age 9 months, born Oct 1869 in North Carolina.
Hinshaw, Mary F., age 16, born in North Carolina; domestic servant; attended school.

After recovery from the heart attack, Thomas decided to open a country store, since he was no longer able to do hard farm labor.  The store apparently opened in 1873.3  

On Feb 28 1877 a tragic fire engulfed the Thomas & Mary Hinshaw home, killing his father, Stephen Hinshaw3 (see Stephen's page for more).  A new house was built on present State Road 2656, midway between State Highways 42 and 22, approximately two miles west to the Buffalo Ford Bridge on Deep River.  Grandson Carl Cyrus Hinshaw later lived in the house for more than fifty years.3  

Thomas and family were shown in the 1880 census (Jun 26 1880), Pleasant Grove Township, Randolph County, North Carolina:8

Hinshaw, Thos, age 49, born in North Carolina; parents born in North Carolina; farmer.
Hinshaw, Mary, wife, age 47, born in North Carolina; parents born in North Carolina; keeping house.
Hinshaw, Delphina E., daughter, age 19, born in North Carolina; parents born in North Carolina; attended school.
Hinshaw, Amos S., son, age 13, born in North Carolina; parents born in North Carolina; attended school.
Hinshaw, Aletha J., daughter, age 10, born in North Carolina; parents born in North Carolina; attended school.
Hinshaw, Joseph L., son, age 6, born in North Carolina; parents born in North Carolina; attended school.
Hinshaw, Cyrus N., son, age 4, born in North Carolina; parents born in North Carolina.

When sister Hannah died in 1881, Thomas & Mary took Hannah's children, Effie and Elvin Bean, into their home and raised them.3  Within a few years, in 1885, sister Abigail died, and the youngest of her children, Elmina Cox, was similarly taken into their home.3  Minnie Brown, a neighbor girl, was also reared by Thomas & Mary Hinshaw.3  Occasional care was extended to other boys and girls in the community as special needs arose.3  

Thomas and Mary were shown in the 1900 census (Jun 9 1900), Pleasant Grove Township, Randolph County, North Carolina:14

Hinshaw, Thomas, head-of-household, age 68, born Sept 1831 in North Carolina; parents born in North Carolina; married 42 years; occupation: farmer; owned farm (free).
Hinshaw, Mary, wife, age 67, born Dec 1832 in North Carolina; parents born in North Carolina; married 42 years; 8 children, 4 living.
Bean, Elvin A., nephew, age 19, born Sept 1880 in North Carolina; parents born in North Carolina; occupation: salesman.
Living next door on one side in 1900 was the family of daughter Aletha;22 next door on the other side was the family of son Joseph;23 one more house away was the family of son Amos.24  

Thomas was shown age 71 in the voter registration records of Pleasant Grove Township, Randolph County, North Carolina, Oct 3 1902.25  A few days later his sons Amos and Lewis also registered.25  

Thomas and Mary were shown in the 1910 census (May 4-5 1910), Coleridge Township, Randolph County, North Carolina:15

Hinshaw, Thomas, head-of-household, age 78, born in North Carolina; parents born in North Carolina; first marriage, married 52 years; occupation: retail merchant, groceries; owned farm (free).
Hinshaw, Mary, wife, age 77, born in North Carolina; parents born in North Carolina; first marriage, married 52 years; 8 children, 4 living.
Living next door in 1910 was the family of son Joseph.26  

Thomas and Mary were shown in the 1920 census (Feb 18-19 1920), Coleridge Township, Randolph County, North Carolina:16

Hinshaw, Thomas, head-of-household, age 88, born in North Carolina; parents born in North Carolina; owned home; occupation: merchant, general store.
Hinshaw, Mary, wife, age 87, born in North Carolina; parents born in North Carolina.
Living in the same dwelling in 1920, as renters, was the family of grandson Carl Hinshaw;27 living next door in 1920 was the family of son Joseph Lewis Hinshaw.28  

Mary died Mar 9 1923.13  

Thomas Hinshaw died May 27 1925.13,29  

An extensive and very well-written biography of Thomas & Mary was published by grandson Seth Bennett Hinshaw: "Mary Barker Hinshaw, Quaker" (1982, Friends United Press, North Carolina Yearly Meeting, North Carolina Friends Historical Society; ISBN 0-913408-80-8; generally available by inter-library loan).  This book is highly recommended for anyone wanting to learn the life story of these remarkable, devout Quakers.3  

Thomas' original written account of his Civil War experiences is archived in the Rare Manuscript Room of the Perkins Library, Duke University.3

(photo)Photo: Thomas Hinshaw 30

(photo)Photo: Mary Barker Hinshaw 30

(photo)Photo: Thomas Hinshaw, Mary Barker, and family 31

(photo)Photo: Thomas Hinshaw, Mary Barker, and family summer 1898 30

(photo)Photo: Thomas Hinshaw & Mary Barker in their sunset years 3

(photo)Photo: Thomas & Mary Hinshaw gravestone 32

(photo)Photo: Thomas Hinshaw & Mary Barker ancestry as handed-down to Thomas & Mary descendents 3


Sources

  1. "Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy", by William Wade Hinshaw, in many well-stocked libraries.
  2. "Charles and Hannah (Matson) Davis and their descendants" by Earl H. Davis, microfilm #1011836, Item 2, in the LDS Family History Library.
  3. "Mary Barker Hinshaw, Quaker", by Seth Bennett Hinshaw; Whittier College library.
  4. 1860 census, Moffetts Mills P.O., Eastern Division, Randolph County, North Carolina; roll M653-910, page 241, line #1, dwelling #186, family #186.
  5. 1870 census, Moffitt Mills P.O., Pleasant Grove Twp., Randolph County, North Carolina; page 440, line #25, dwelling #46, family #45.
  6. "Abstracts of the Records of the Society of Friends in Indiana", Part 6, subtitled "Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy, Volume VII", (a compendium of many of the records left by William Wade Hinshaw on his death), edited by Willard Heiss; GS929.3 H47 in a local library.
  7. Indiana Marriages, 1845-1920; http://www.ancestry.com (Book C-1, page 20).
  8. 1880 census, Pleasant Grove Twp., Randolph County, North Carolina; roll T9-0987, ED 222, page 182C, line #16, dwelling #246, family #266.
  9. http://www.findagrave.com.
  10. The Church Of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints (LDS) International Genealogical Index (IGI) - North Carolina.
  11. "WPA Pre-1914 Cemetery Inscription Survey", Reel 4, North Carolina
    Department of Archives & History.
  12. "The Hinshaw and Henshaw Families", by William Hinshaw; edited by Milo Custer; private printing, Bloomington, Illinois, 1911; Frank I. Miller Co., printers. LDS microfilm number 1402822.
  13. Contribution from Burton Emerson Moore citing:
    Thomas & Mary Hinshaw gravestone.
  14. 1900 census, Pleasant Grove Township, Randolph County, North Carolina; roll T623-1213, ED 92, page 5A, line #20, dwelling #89, family #89.
  15. 1910 census, Coleridge Township, Randolph County, North Carolina; roll T624-1128, ED 80, page 74B, line #82, dwelling #264, family #265.
  16. 1920 census, Coleridge Township, Randolph County, North Carolina; roll T625-1318, ED 100, page 11B, line #63, dwelling #199, family #200.
  17. 1850 census, Randolph County, North Carolina; roll 641, page 132, dwelling #760.
  18. "Friends at Holly Spring" by Seth B. Hinshaw, 1982, The North Carolina Friends Historical Society, Briarpatch Press, Davidson, North Carolina.
  19. "Civil War Research Database", http://www.ancestry.com.
  20. "Early Maltby with some Roades History and that of the Maulsby Family
    in America", by Ella K. Barnard; Baltimore, 1909; Garnman Printing Co.
  21. http://print.google.com.
  22. 1900 census, Pleasant Grove Township, Randolph County, North Carolina; roll T623-1213, ED 92, page 5A, line #14, dwelling #88, family #88.
  23. 1900 census, Pleasant Grove Township, Randolph County, North Carolina; roll T623-1213, ED 92, page 5A, line #23, dwelling #90, family #90.
  24. 1900 census, Pleasant Grove Township, Randolph County, North Carolina; roll T623-1213, ED 92, page 5A, line #29, dwelling #91, family #91.
  25. "The Genealogical Journal", Vol. XXIII, No. 3, Summer 1999, pg 24;
    Randolph County Genealogical Society.
  26. 1910 census, Coleridge Township, Randolph County, North Carolina; roll T624-1128, ED 80, page 74B, line #77, dwelling #263, family #264.
  27. 1920 census, Coleridge Township, Randolph County, North Carolina; roll T625-1318, ED 100, page 11B, line #59, dwelling #199, family #199.
  28. 1920 census, Coleridge Township, Randolph County, North Carolina; roll T625-1318, ED 100, page 11B, line #53, dwelling #198, family #198.
  29. Contribution from Waldo Hinshaw citing:
    Thomas Hinshaw's gravestone.
  30. Photo courtesy of Waldo Hinshaw.
  31. Photo courtesy of Lee Hoyt Hinshaw Jr..
  32. Photo courtesy of Burton Emerson Moore.


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