Matthias Barringer |
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Born: 30 Oct 1727, Germany Died:
1776, John's River, in Quaker Meadows near Morganton, Burke
County, NC |
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Matthias
Barringer was born 30 Oct 1727 to
Wilhelm Barringer/Behringer and Mary Paulina Dekker in Germany. Matthias' brother, John Paul
Barringer, was the first to make the voyage to the "New World"
in 1743. He came to Pennsylvania, but soon relocated to
North Carolina |
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"Mathias Barringer, Pioneer" |
Newspaper Article by Dr. J. E. Hodges |
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By
1748, John Paul sent to Germany for his parents and brother,
Matthias and Henry, and sisters, Anna Maria, Catherine and
Dolly. The parents both died on the voyage, and Matthias
being the eldest, the core of the family devolved on him.
John Paul is said to have sent a four-horse wagon to
Philadelphia for them and brought them to his home. They
had landed in Philadelphia on 16 Sep 1748 and came directly
south and lived for a time with brother Paul in Cabarrus County,
North Carolina. |
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Matthias married Margaret Bushart. Margaret was born 15
Aug 1742 and died 05 Oct 1839, the daughter of John Bushart.
Matthias was 15 years older than Margaret. |
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Matthias explored the region west of the Catawba River. It
will perhaps never be known the exact year that Matthias brought
his wife, the former Miss Margaret Bushart, with two slaves (man
& wife), into this territory but the surveyors plat and survey
of his entry of the land was made in 1762, and states the body
of 640 acres of land "included his improvement" - so he may have
been living on the land for two or three years. His grant
was issued 21 Apr 1764, almost two years after the survey
was made. |
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Matthias Barringer soon became a prominent citizen of the
community. His brother Paul had been a soldier in Germany,
and when the settlers in East Mecklenburg had grown into a
sufficient number to organize a militia company, Paul was made
Captain and Matthias became Lieutenant of the company.
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When a
militia company was organized in Matthias' new community, he was
elected Captain of it. He was an active member of the
Community of Safety of Rowan County, when the results of
British oppression made such a committee necessary. |
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The Catawbans, Vol 1 |
"Building the Birthplace
of the County" |
p. 132 |
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The
first task after arriving was to provide shelter. Matthias
and the Negro man went to work cutting down trees for the cabin
of two rooms, built of logs squared in the woods, the cracks
between them being filled with clay. The chimney was built
of stones brought from a rocky hillside. For the roof they
cut down pine trees, sawed them into blocks, and split the
blocks into boards that were as good or better than shingles.
For a floor they hewed poles or split small logs and laid them
close on the level ground inside the cabin. |
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This was
their home until the big house was finished. The big house
was built, like the cabin, of logs cut and hewn in the woods.
Each log was marked and numbered so they could tell where it
should go. When all the logs and rafters were ready,
Matthias sent word for miles around to the settlers who came
early one morning with their wives and children. The women
stayed around the cabin helping cook the good things provided,
when the men took off their coats and helped Matthias put the
logs to their places. This was called a "raising". |
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This was only
the frame of the house. Matthias had hired some sawyers to
make some planks for him. The planks were stacked up on
sticks until thy were dry. In the meantime, Matthias and
his Negro had put boards on the roof. Then they set to
work - to ceil and floor the house. They put planks on the
outside and when they had finished, the logs could not be seen. |
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The chimney,
which was built of stone and pipe clay mortar, was larger than
anything you have ever seen, the fireplace being ten feet wide.
Even when the fire died out, the huge fireplace continued to
throw out heat. |
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The 1759
Kitchen, at left, was one of the first building west of the
Catawba River. |
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There
followed in due time other buildings such as barns, granaries,
and most important of all - the kitchen. The German
settlers always built this a short distance away from the main
dwelling. This also had a very wide fireplace where hooks
for pots hung from cross bars of iron. The rafters were
left bare as well as the joists so they could have convenient
places to hang pepper, sage and lots of other things for winter
use. There was also the smokehouse. |
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Matthias did
not build his chicken house - he planted it. It was a row
of ceder trees between the house and the barn. The trees
made a good roosting place. |
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The Catawbans, Vol 1 |
p. 109 |
St. James
Lutheran Church in Conover is located not far from the Matthias
Barringer farm. |
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When the
American Revolutionary War broke out, the people of Catawba
County had strong feelings. Some were loyal to Great
Britain and the throne. Others felt like America had a
right to be an independent nation. |
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The desire for
freedom and resistance to colonial oppression was strong. A
meeting was called in New Bern in August of 1774 in defiance of
the governor. It was decided that counties elect or
appoint committees of safety to take charge of public affairs.
Until a constitution could be adopted, these committees were
vested with all the power of government. Matthias
Barringer, Francis McCorkle, Christopher Beekman and Peter Ikerd
served on the committee in the Catawba area (then Rowan County). |
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Any estimate as
to the total number of men who served as soldiers at any time
during the seven years of the war would be a guess. But,
of the nine companies of militia in Rowan County in 1775, two
may reasonably be assumed to have been composed of Catawba men -
having Catawba leaders. Captain
Francis McCorkle's
outfit is believed to have contained about 64 men, and
Captain Matthias Barringer's, approximately 88 men. |
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www.myrevolutionarywar.com/battles/760700.htm |
In July of
1776, Matthias Barringer and seven militiamen went on a scouting
expedition in the Quaker Meadows area. They were spotted
by a Cherokee war party, who proceeded to massacre them.
This attack would cause a severe retaliation against the
Indians. From the Carolinas to Virginia, 4000 militia came
to destroy the Cherokee villages. Even some of the
Loyalists joined up with the militia. |
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The Catawbans, Vol 1 |
p. 39 |
An Indian
ambush trapped them. Barringer was killed in the first
round of fire. Only Philip Frye escaped when he hid behind
a log under 2 feet of dead leaves. Frye said later that he
did not move as the Indians scalped Barringer and the others,
even when one brave stood on the log and looked right at the
spot where he had hidden. |
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Tradition relates that Captain Barringer's wife, who was at home
with her children, Matthias and Catherine, told her friends on
the day of the battle that she knew her husband was either dead
or badly wounded, because she had heard him groan. |
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They were massacred
at John's River, in the Quaker Meadows area near Morganton, in
Burke County, North Carolina. They were participants of
General Rutherford's forced march against the Cherokee Indians.
Only Philip Fry escaped the massacre. |
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"Mathias Barringer, Pioneer" |
Newspaper Article by Dr. J. E. Hodges |
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Matthias' on
son, Matthias Jr., was about 9 years old at the time of his
father's death. He soon took up his father's mantle and
became a worthwhile citizen. |
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The people of
Catawba County erected a granite monument to the massacre
victims on July 2 1897 at the Courthouse in Newton, North
Carolina. |
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Matthias Barringer & Other Massacre Victims Memorial Monument in
Newton |
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The monument reads... |
A tribute to
Matthias Barringer,
Lipsidom Adam,
Grunot - Hass - Wilson
and another, who were
massacred on John's River in
Gen. Rutherford's
forced march against the
Cherokee in 1776 and to
Philip Fry
who is one escaped and to
Conrad Tippong,
One of Lafayette's men,
by a grateful posterity.
July 2, 1897 |
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The Catawbans, Vol 1 |
p. 132 |
The place
where Catawba County was organized in 1843 has long been the
source of legend and tradition. The long house buildt by
Matthias Barringer in 1762 was centrally located from the start.
Most years the site served as a militia muster ground for the
Upper Regiment of Lincoln County |
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The annual
muster was during the last weekend of May, corresponding to the
later Memorial Day holiday. Estimates by old-time Catawbians suggest that 5,000 people gathered on the plantation.
Matthew L. McCorkle, Catawba's most famed orator of the 1800s,
claimed that "the Olympian games at Athens or Isthian games at
Corinth could not have been of more interest to the people than
this great gathering at Barringer's." Frolicking with
games and sport and much eating and drinking would follow
drilling. Susannah Haas Barringer cooked the entire
weekend, selling meals to all comers for a quarter. |
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Barringer was
the first in Catawba County to die for the cause of Liberty. |
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The Barringer
house became the site of the first Court of Catawba County in
1843. The house would later be moved to Newton and become
the first Catawba County Library. |
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Children of Matthias
Barringer and Margaret Bushart |
Name |
Birth Date |
Death Date |
Spouse |
Catherine
Bushart Barringer |
06 Aug 1763 |
08 Feb 1810 |
John Setzer I |
Matthias
Barringer |
22 Sep 1767 |
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Catherine Haas |
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After Matthias Barringer's death, his widow (Margaret Bushart
Barringer) married Conrad Tippond. |
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If you have additional photos or information on the Barrigner /
Beringer
Family, please contact me. |
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