Pauline Hamilton Barnhardt - R.I.P.

Ethel "Pauline" Hamilton Barnhardt CONCORD Ethel "Pauline" Hamilton Barnhardt, 85, went to be with the Lord surrounded by her family and friends Wednesday, March 13, 2013, at Universal Healthcare, Concord. She was born Oct. 27, 1927, in Rowan County, the daughter of the late Claude Wilson Hamilton and Omie Tilley Hamilton. Pauline was a homemaker for most of her life. She held her church membership at Jackson Park Baptist Church, Kannapolis. Pauline sincerely loved her family and showed that by how she raised them. She especially enjoyed cooking for them as often as she could. Her family fondly remembers her as a lady who smiled and never met a stranger. In addition to her parents, she is preceded in death by her husband of 64 years, Jay William Barnhardt; one son, Jerry Wayne Barnhardt; two brothers, Claude William Hamilton and Robert Hamilton; and a sister, Clara Hamilton. The funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. today (Friday, March 15), at Whitley's Funeral Home Main Chapel, Kannapolis, officiated by the Revs. Herman Absher and John Barnhardt, her son. Burial will follow at Carolina Memorial Park, Kannapolis. The family will receive friends from 1 to 2 p.m. today at the chapel prior to the service. Survivors include her four sons, Larry (Barbara) Barnhardt, of Faith, Ronnie (Judy) Barnhardt, of Concord, the Rev. John (Carole) Barnhardt, of Grover and Frankie Barnhardt, of Kannapolis; one daughter, Brenda (Jerry) Bare, of Barium Springs; one sister, Ruby Gentry, of China Grove; and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The family would like to say a special thank you to Universal Healthcare and Hospice for their exceptional care they gave our loved one. Memorials may be made to First Baptist Church, P.O. Box 237, Grover, NC 28073 or Hospice & Palliative Care of Cabarrus County, 5003 Hospice Lane, Kannapolis, NC 28081. Online condolences may be left at www. whitleysfuneralhome. com.

Published in Concord Kannapolis Independent Tribune on March 15, 2013

Source

Pauline will be greatly missed. She is my Grandma Gentry's sister. Ever since I can remember she always wore her hair just like the picture above.

Cannon Mills Kannapolis NC History

I've decided to include Cannon Mills as part of one of my stories because of the long history it has with different parts of my family.

Name of Company

Cannon Mills was purchased four times, and had four names.

• Cannon Manufacturing Company (1888–1921)
• Cannon Mills Company (1921–1983)
• Fieldcrest-Cannon Corporation (1983–2001)
• Pillowtex Corporation (2001–2003)

Cannon Manufacturing Company

In 1887 James William Cannon founded the Cannon Manufacturing Company in Kannapolis, North Carolina. His goal was to produce a basic textile product instead of yarn making or a product in which another company could produce. His company produced towels that were sold under the brand name “Cannon Towels”. Ten years later, he opened another mill in Concord, North Carolina.

In the year 1905, Jim Cannon designed and purchased 600 acres (2.4 km²) of land in northwestern Cabarrus County, North Carolina. The land was formerly used as a cotton plantation. He laid out a plan for a small mill village with homes for the workers. By 1907, the first mill was completed just west of what was Town Lake. The mill, known now as Plant 1, was opened in 1908 after a brief two-year cotton shortage.

By January of the next year, the Cannon Manufacturing Company had employed 840 people in its single Kannapolis plant. James William and his company not only built hundreds of homes for the mill workers, but also a world-class YMCA facility. At that period, it held the largest membership in the world. He also donated land and money for school construction and education. That year, the first school, McIver was opened. Cannon erected stores, businesses, and churches. Cannon also donated funds to the Cabarrus County Government to improve the main road leading to Kannapolis from Concord. In 1917, James Cannon arranged a life insurance policy for all Cannon employees. This had never yet been done for employees of a company.

Nineteen twenty-one was an important year for the Cannon Mills Company. A strike occurred in the localized Charlotte, North Carolina area, affecting all textile mills in this area. Charles A. Cannon was already in charge of Cannon Mills affairs, since his father was trying to recuperate from ill health. The correspondence between James W. Cannon and his son reveal that Charles was doing an exemplary job handling affairs and not recognizing the union activities. On June 1, 1921, the members of the United Textile Workers Union of America went on strike. Employees starved as the union failed to support the strikers. Although Cannon called the National Guard to "keep the peace," the strike ended because union official fled town after union corruption. Cannon Mills did not unionize during this attempt, which left the whole World War I generation skeptical of labor unions.

 

Cannon Mills, Co. Plant 1 Kannapolis, NC

J.W. Cannon was recently elected as Chairman of the Board and his son, Charles Albert, was made president of the Company. Later that year, Jim Cannon developed an unknown illness in the winter of 1921. He was reported dead at 6:00pm on December 21, 1921. Ironically, he died at the same time as when the afternoon whistle blows for quitting time at the mill. He was buried at Oakwood Cemetery in downtown Concord. The Cannon Manufacturing Company was left to its president and the youngest son, Charles. By the time of J.W. Cannon’s death, the population of Kannapolis was roughly 6,000 citizens and the mill had employed about 15,000 workers.

Source and the rest of the history


Family members that have worked at Cannon Mills:
Stephen Randall Gentry Sr
James Macklin Gentry - tree link
Ruby Claywell Gentry (Hamilton) - retired from CM
Pauline Barnhardt (Hamilton)
Robert Warren Hamilton - retired from CM - tree link
Jake Barnhardt - retired from CM - tree link
Claude Wilson Hamilton - retired from CM - tree link
Claude William Hamilton - tree link
Clara Hamilton - tree link
Lula Hamilton - tree link
Jack Hamilton - retired from CM - tree link
Charlie Hamilton - retired from CM - tree link
Ollie Cauble - tree link
Will Yost - retired from CM - tree link
Charles Tilley - retired from CM - tree link
Vance Tilley - retired from CM - tree link
Lee Tilley - retired from CM - tree link
Marvin Tilley - retired from CM - tree link
Woodrow Tilley - retired from CM -  tree link
Sidney Adolphus Fink - tree link

Grandma Gentry Cannon Mill House Stories

Grandma Gentry was born in a mill house on North Popular St., Kannapolis, NC In 1923. These were houses owned by Cannon Mills and rented out to employees. At the time there was an outhouse in the back and the house water was located on the porch. The average electric bill was less than $1. Grandma's job was to fill up the tea kettle on the back porch when she was young.

Claude Wilson Hamilton once got in a fight will a fellow employee and the mill made Claude move out of the house. She said she thinks the man said something about Lula Hamilton, his wife. Fortunatly Claude had been injured working in the mill earlier in his career and was guarenteed a lifetime job their. Eventually Claude retired from Cannon Mills.

Cannon Mills House 1912

Hamiltons buried at Mt. Mitchell Cemetery, Kannapolis, NC

I was amazed to find out how many Hamiltons that were buried at Mt. Mitchell Cemetery without headstones.  Or even any documentation at all.  We have 6 Hamiltons that I know of buried their.

Overhead view of Mt. Mitchell Cemetery, Kannapolis, NC

When I first started my family research I knew 2 Hamiltons that were buried there, my grandmother's (Ruby Gentry) father and grandfather.  My grandmother remembers going to her mother's (Oma Samathia Hamilton) funeral when she was 7 years old. Upon looking at the death certificates of Lola May Ritchie, Claudie and Jerwood Hamilton, I saw all three of them were buried there too.

A few months ago I decided I would try to contact someone at Mt. Mitchell Methodist Church to see if I could find any information on the location of the graves located their.  She couldn't find any information on the graves, but was able to find another Hamilton buried there I didn't know about.  She found Mary Francis Hamilton (Barnhardt) in a cemetery book by the Lore sisters. I wouldn't have ever found that out since death certificates didn't start until around 1915 in NC.

Document with Mary Francis Hamilton

The following is a list of the Hamiltons buried at Mt. Mitchell Cemetery.

1. Mary Francis Hamliton (Barnhardt) b. 20 Aug 1867 d. 31 Dec 1909
2. Lola May Hamilton (Ritchie) b. 1900 d. 27 Oct 1918
3. Jerwood Hamilton b. 26 Oct 1918 d. 27 Oct 1918
4. Claudie William Hamilton b. abt. Oct 17 d. 25 Oct 1918
5. Oma Samanthia Hamilton (Tilley) b. 18 Feb 1900 d. 18 Dec 1930
6. Charlie Heran Hamilton b. 22 Mar 1866 d. 8 Sep 1950

Reference to how each one is related to Claude Wilson Hamilton.
1. Mother
2. 1st Wife
3. Daughter
4. Son
5. 2nd Wife
6. Father

Claude Wilson Hamilton  b. 07 Oct 1891 d. 29 Jun 1979

I asked my contact at Mt. Mitchell Methodist Church if it would be possible to add all the Hamiltons that are buried their to their website.  She said she'd be happy too since I have proof that they're all buried there.  She said she will add them once she is caught up on the website.  So look for them on there in the future.

Hamiltons - 1918 Spanish Flue

Imagine the year is 1918. You have a young wife, a 1 years old, and one on the way. Somehow you avoid getting called to serve in WW1. Then all of a sudden your 1 year old gets the flue and dies. Then your wife gives birth. She and her son die the same day.

This was a reality for my great grandfather. For Claude Wilson Hamilton had to be the worst day of his life up to this point. That's just crazy to think he lost 3 family members within 5 days to the Spanish flue of 1918.

Painting of Lola Ritchie on the left and Claudie Hamilton on the right.

Lola May Ritchie b. 1900 d. 27 Oct. 1918
Claudie Ritchie Hamilton b. abt. 1917 d. 25 Oct. 1918
Jerwood Hamilton b. 26 Oct. 1918 d. 27 Oct. 1918

Death Certificates from left to right, Lola Ritchie, Jerwood Hamilton, Claudie Hamilton.

My grandmother said he would tell her that his first son was excited to see him when he arrived home from work. She said her father called his son Tootsie.

The up side is he met my great grandmother and they married a year later. If this wouldn't have ever happened, my tree line would not exist today. It's kind of weird to think of it that way.

The sad part is he did end up losing his second wife (Oma Samantha Tilley) in 1930. My grandmother (Ruby Gentry (Hamilton)) was just 7 years old. She still remember to this day what the funeral was like and says it was snowing on the day she was buried.

Oma Samathia Tilley b. 18 Feb. 1900 d. 18 Dec. 1930

Here is a little more history on the flue of 1918.

World War I claimed an estimated 16 million lives. The influenza epidemic that swept the world in 1918 killed an estimated 50 million people. One fifth of the world's population was attacked by this deadly virus. Within months, it had killed more people than any other illness in recorded history.

Source: http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/influenza-epidemic/