Dear Folks:

Earlier this month, as a result of misreading the will of Ann (Nancy) Graves Yancey, the wife of Bartlett Yancey, Jr., of Yanceyville, North Carolina, I stated that a Yancey GEDCOM incorrectly showed a Yancey daughter as Frances Williams Yancey, when it should have been Frances Ann Yancey. The owner of that GEDCOM followed my lead. I confused the daughter with the mother. I apologize for the mistake, and I have apologized to him.

Please take a look at the Yancey Family Cemetery at:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~ncccha/memoranda/cemeteries/yanceyf...

Also, for an article on Bartlett Yancey, Jr., go to:

http://www.rootsweb.com/~ncccha/biographies/bartlettyancey.h...

And, last but not least, for an article on the son of Frances Williams Yancey, who became a textile baron in North Carolina, I provide you the following:

McAdenville, North Carolina

McAdenville, North Carolina, is a picturesque 19th century mill town in Gaston County (near Charlotte). Many of the industrial structures and homes are well-preserved. So what, you might ask. Why should the CCHA be interested in McAdenville?

Here is a description of McAdenville, North Carolina, from A Guide to the Historic Architecture of Piedmont North Carolina, Catherine W. Bishir and Michael T. Southern (2003) at 486-487:

Surely the state's most picturesque textile mill town, and famed in recent times for its annual display of Christmas lights, McAdenville is the most intact of three nearby mill towns along the South Fork Catawba River. . . . The community began in 1881 with construction of the Spring Shoals Mfg. Co. (named for early landowner Adam Springs), the county's sixth and then largest mill. Founder Rufus Yancey McAden of Charlotte was a Caswell County native and great grandson of the pioneer Presbyterian preacher Hugh McAden. When incorporated in 1883, town and mill were named for the owner.

The McAden mill was the first in the state (and possibly in the South) to use electric lights, which purportedly were powered by a generator installed by Thomas Edison himself in 1882. And, on the hill overlooking the river and village is the Rufus Yancey McAden house, built in the 1880s. Nearby is the Benjamin McAden House, the lavishly decorated Victorian cottage of the founder's son.

The McAden and Yancey family names are well-known in Caswell County. The Reverend Hugh McAden was the first minister at the Red House Presbyterian Church in Semora, Caswell County, North Carolina, and is buried there. And, the Yancey family produced Bartlett Yancey, Jr., for whom many believe the town of Yanceyville was named. But, how did these respected families come together to produce Rufus Yancey McAden?

On 4 November 1829 (or near that date) Frances W. Yancey, daughter of Bartlett Yancey, Jr. and Ann (Nancy) Graves married Dr. Henry McAden, son of John McAden and Elizabeth Murphey (sister of Archibald Debow Murphey). John McAden's father was the famous Hugh McAden. His mother was Catherine Scott.

Of this McAden-Yancey union came at least four children: Bartlett Yancey McAden; Rufus Yancey McAden; John Henry McAden; and Frances Ann McAden.

And, it is this Rufus Yancey McAden for whom McAdenville, North Carolina, is named.

Orphaned as a boy when both his parents died young, Rufus Yancey McAden was raised by his maternal grandmother, Mrs. Bartlett Yancey, Jr. He graduated from Wake Forest College 1853, and was commissioned 29 April 1861 as a 1st Lieutenant of NC troops, 13th Infantry, Confederate States of America. After the War, he studied law and was admitted to the bar in Caswell County, NC. He served in the NC legislature 1862-67; speaker of the House in 1866; retired from politics in 1867 and became president of the 1st National Bank of Charlotte, NC. He was also president of two railroad companies and president of two mills near Charlotte. He is listed in the "Eminent & Representative Men of the Carolinas." At the time of his death, he was one of the richest men in North Carolina.

His mother, Frances W. (Yancey) McAden (1811-1839), is thought to be buried in the Yancey Family Cemetery near the Bartlett Yancey House in Yanceyville, North Carolina.

A fuller article on Rufus Yancey McAden will be posted to the CCHA Website. Please send additions and corrections to me at rfrederi2@comcast.net.

I hope this bit of Yancey history makes up for my error.

Best personal regards.

Rick

Richmond Stanfield Frederick, Jr.
CCHA Webmaster


PS I would like to learn from where the "Williams" middle name came.

PPS If you would like to join the CCHA message board go to:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ncccha/

If you have trouble joining, send me an email.