History
LOFTIN
GENEALOGY
LINE
The
LOFTIN
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Tree
The
SETZER
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Tree
The
GOBLE
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The
JOHNSON
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Tree
_______
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Catawba
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Catawba
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The
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WAR
Additional
Family
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Genealogy
HUMOR
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Slavery
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FAMILY
NAMES
LOFTIN:
Beatty
Corzine
Cranford
Fisher
Givens
Harwell
Kaiser
Lanier
Lomax
McCorkle
Rudisill
Sherrill
Upright
Washington
Work
SETZER:
Aderholdt
Barringer
Bovey
Bushart
Deal
Heavner
Herman
Ikert
Miller
Motz
Rankin
Witherspoon
GOBLE:
Babst/Bobst
Douglas
Faber
Fink
Fulbright
Hefner
Meinhert
Miller
Muller
Pabst/Bobst
Robinson
JOHNSON:
Corzine
Fink
Hamilton
Kaiser
Leslie
Lewis
Moore
Sherrill
Upright
Wilkinson
The History of Catawba County
The area of land currently forming Catawba County was originally part of several other counties before it became Catawba County. It was originally part of Rowan County which was formed in 1753 from the northern part of Anson County. In 1777, Catawba County was part of Burke County - then in 1779 it was part of Lincoln County (pictured below). In 1842 the upper 1/3 part of Lincoln County officially became Catawba County. In the beginning, Catawba County was only slightly populated and was still considered part of the frontier. There were, perhaps, two hundred people living in Newton at the time. Hickory's only building was a tavern at a crossroads. The people who stopped at the tavern were only there to change stagecoaches, water their horses or get something to eat.
A person blessed with longevity could have been born in Rowan County in 1753, married in Burke County in 1778, fathered children in the counties of Burke and Lincoln in the 1780s and died in 1842 during Catawba County's formation year while living on the same land all the while. His land simply became part of the new counties as they were formed.
Catawba County & Its Eight Townships Established in 1868
Most of the Loftins lived in Cline, Catawba/Hamilton and Mountain Creek Townships
Catawba was named for the Catawba tribe of Native Americans who once inhabited the area.
The present land area is 399.97 square miles. Catawba County is boarded by Alexander County (north), Iredell County (east), Lincoln County (south), Burke County (west) and Caldwell County (northwest. The county is divided into eight townships; Bandy's Caldwell, Catawba, Clines, Hickory, Jacobs Fork, Mountain Creek, Newton, and Longview. Cities, towns and communities in Catawba County include Brookford, Catawba, Claremont, Conover, Hickory, Lake Norman, Maiden, Mountain View, Newton, Sherrills Ford, Longview, St. Stevens and Vale.
Things You May Not Know About (Catawba County)
by Scott W. Ramsey
The Claremont Courier
Vol. 9, Issue 5, May 2015It seems like every day I learn something new about Catawba County, and the majority of this information are things the general population would never know about unless they did some research. Catawba County contains a treasure trove of historical facts, and a number of famous people that have at one time or another call this county home. On the historical side of things, Catawba County was once one of the biggest gold-producing regions in the entire country. Until the California Gold Rush in 1848, North Carolina led all states in gold production. In the 1940's, Catawba County was recognized nationally for the courage of its people in conquering a polio epidemic. In just 55 working hours, people joined together to turn an area youth camp into a hospital. The Hickory Museum of Arts is the second oldest museum in North Carolina and is known for its concentration of American art. After the Civil War, the county began an annual event in 1889 to honor its military, the Old Soldiers Reunion. The yearly event is held on the third week of August in Newton and it is the oldest continuing patriotic celebration in the country. Those are just a few of the interesting facts about Catawba County, and you might also be surprised by who has or (currently) calls this area home. Catawba County has been called the birthplace of NASCAR and there have been quite a few drivers living here. Dale Jarrett, Ned Jarrett, Bobby Isaac, Ryan Newman, Michael Waltrip, Morgan Shepherd and Jeremy Manfield. The county also boasts several professional athletes and coaches, including Chris Washburn, Paul Burris, Bryan Harvey, Bob Patterson, Ryan Succop, Rich Barnes, Shane Burton, Chris Douglas, Justin Harper, Bobby Lutz, and Kevin WIlson. There is also no shortage of actors, actresses, musicians, authors and comedians from this area. The list includes: James Best, Eric Church, Pauletta Pearson Washington, Jon Reep, Tori Amos, Tom Constanten, Bob Inman, Matthew Settle, The Cockman Family, and The Blue Sky Boys. In James Best
ACTOR
James Best was an American actor, who in six decades of television, is best known for his starring role as bumbling Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane in the CBS television series The Dukes of Hazzard. James Best was born as Jewel Franklin Guy on July 26, 1926, in Powderly, Kentucky, to Lark and Lena Guy. After his mother died of tuberculosis in 1929, then three-year-old, James was sent to live in an orphanage. He was later adopted by Armen Best and his wife Essa and went to live with them in Corydon, Indiana. He served honorably in the United States Army Air Forces as a gunner on a B-17 bomber during World War II. James Best appeared on a long list of other television series including Wagon Train (three times), The Adventures of Kit Carson (twice as Henry Jordan), the western anthology series Frontier (twice), The Rebel, Bonanza, Sheriff of Cochise, Pony Express, Rescue 8, Behind Closed Doors, The Texan, Gunsmoke, Have Gun – Will Travel, The Barbara Stanwyck Show, Tombstone Territory, Whispering Smith, Trackdown, The Rifleman, Stagecoach West, The Twilight Zone ("The Grave", "The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank," and "Jess-Belle"), Wanted: Dead or Alive, Overland Trail, Bat Masterson, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Man and the Challenge, Combat!, The Green Hornet ("Deadline For Death"), The Mod Squad, I Spy, The Fugitive and In the Heat of the Night. James Best died on April 6, 2015, in Hickory, North Carolina from complications of pneumonia. He was 88. John Reep
COMEDIANJon Reep is an American stand-up comedian and actor, known as the "That thing got a Hemi?" guy in Dodge commercials, and more recently as the winner of the fifth season of Last Comic Standing on NBC. John Reep was born and raised in Hickory, North Carolina. He has one younger brother, Jason. Their father, David, worked as the manager of a Goodyear store, and a part-time police officer. Their mother, Betty, was a receptionist at a local telephone company, Sprint. John attended Fred T. Foard High School in Newton, NC, and played football. After graduating high school, he began attending Catawba Valley Community College, while working at his father's Goodyear store. In 1992, John transferred to North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina, and graduated in 1996 with a BA degree in theatre, mass communication and public and interpersonal communication. After graduation, John landed a job as a production assistant with UNC-TV. Matthew Settle
ACTOR
Matthew Settle (born Jeffrey Matthew Settle on 17 Sep 1969) is an actor who is best know for his role of Rufus Humphrey in the CW TV series Gossip Girl from 2007 - 2012, the TNT TV miniseries Into the West in 2005, and the HBO miniseries Band Of Brothers in 2001. Matthew Settle was born in Hickory, North Carolina, the son of Joan and Dr. Robert Settle, who is a Baptist minister. Other notable film and TV appearances of Matthew Settle include I Know What You Did Last Summer in 1988, ER in 2002, The Practice in 2003, CSI: Miami in 2003, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in 2005, and Brothers & Sisters in 2006. Pauletta Pearson Washington
ACTRESSPauletta Pearson Washington was born on September 28, 1950 in Newton, NC, as Pauletta Pearson. Pauletta was a former Miss Newton-Conover. She is known for her work on Beloved (1998), The Watsons Go to Birmingham (2013) and Wilma (1977). She has been married to actor Denzel Washington since June 25, 1983. They have four children. Tori Amos
SINGER & SONGWRITERTori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter, pianist and composer. She is a classically-trained musician and has a mezzo-soprano vocal range. She has been nominated eight times for a Grammy Award. Tori Amos is the third child of Mary Ellen (Copeland) and Rev. Dr. Edison McKinley Amos. She was born at the Old Catawba Hospital in Newton, North Carolina, during a trip from their Georgetown home in Washington, D.C.
