Abraham Sudderth, I

• 3rd of 11 children born to William Sudderth II and Margaret (unknown maiden name).
• --Raised in Albemarle County, VA, until about 1778, when he was brought to Burke (now Caldwell County) by his parents. He grew up at their place on Blair Forks at Lower Creek.
• --Married to Martha Sumpter on February 16, 1786, in Burke County, NC.
• --On November 7, 1800, Abraham purchased from John Hinds 450 acres of land on Abingdon Creek and Lower Creek, and on September 16, 1802, 280 acres from Robert Ford joined the above tract. On these tracts of land, his fist and second houses were built.
• --Description of these houses: the first residence house that he built was a one-room log cabin, high enough to have a loft overhead, which was reached by a ladder. In this house it is probable that most of his children were born. It was located near a spring and a beautiful flowing brook. The spring was out of use long before the day of Alfred
• A. Kent, Jr., and there is nothing there now to mark the sport where the house stood. This house was on land now owned by the family of the later Cal Anderson.
• --The second house was built of two parts, the front or main part of the house and an ell or T. Both were built of pine logs smoothly hewn to an even thickness, with great broad axes, and smooothed with planes. These logs were carefully notched in at the corners and made a very workman like job. It was weather boardfed without and ceiling within the dressed pine boards. I do not know where and how these boards were made; bot mostl ikely they were sawed with a pit saw, one man being down in the pit and another on a bench above, each drawing one end of what was called a pit saw. The floors were also made of sawed boards. The sleepers for the first floor were of great logs flattened to a line on the top side. The joists or sleeper for the second floor and garret were of hewn logs. The roof was of what was called drawn shingles made of selected heart pine. All the nails used in the building of this house were made in a blacksmith shop. Imagine, if you can a blacksmith making shingle nails enought to cover a big house, and as many more for the other purposes of the building. The front part of the house was a full two stories with a garrel above. The back part of the house was one story and a half. The front part had five rooms, a great living room and two bedrooms below and two bedrooms above. The back part of the house was about 24 x 48 feet divided into two frooms, the front 24 x 34, the dining froom, and back of the kitchen about 24 x 28 feet; a stack chimney, with fireplaces in both. That in the kitchen was large, with a great stone hearth in front of it. The front part had a massive outside stone chimney at one end of the house. It had an enormous fireplace in the living room below, and a smaller fireplace in one bedroom above. It must have taken several hundred wagon loads of stone to build that chimney. It was a good job of masonry and so massive, broad and tall, that it looked like the house had been built to the chimney, in place of the chimney to the house. There was a long porch running entirely around the front, latticed at the ends, open at the front. It had great climbing rose vines at the ends; and Maderia vines covering up in front to furnish shade in the summer.
• --There were a dozen or more windows, with hoisting lower sash of Queen Ann Style, to furnish light and air to this great house. Glass windows were much out of the ordinary at the time of the building of this house.
• --Abraham Sudderth acquired other large tracts of land in Caldwell County, Cherokee County, and Ashe County. In 1840, he owned 44 slaves. In the latter years of his life after the death of his wife Martha (in 1846, after nearly 60 years of marriage), he became senile and died enstate. His estate was divided by a commission after a lengthy litigation. A son-in-law, Archelous Kent, husband of Sarah Sudderth, obtained 3 shares of the estate, including the home place by purchase of John and William Suddreth's shares.
• --12 children, ten of whom lived to be adults, married, and raised families. William (1787-1881), John R (1789-1865), James (1790-1870), Emanuel (1791-?), Sarah (1793-1841), Margaret (1795-?), Catherine (1797-1886), Nancy (1799-1889), Abraham, Jr.(1800-1868), Emanuel (1802-?), Thomas (1805-1847), and Leemiary Emmely Sudderth (1809-1859).
• Age 85 years 1 month and 4 days.

source https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7660955/abraham-sudderth

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Abraham Sudderth - One of the largest slave owners in Burke County 1810 - 6 slaves 1820 - 9 slaves 1830 - 17 slaves 1840 - 44 slaves| 1850 Burke County became a part of Caldwell County in 1841 - no further records found||Abraham was brought to Burke County about 178 by his parents. He grew up at their place on Blair's Fork of Lower Creek. He acquired large tracts of land in Burke, Cherokee and Ashe Counties. For his home, he settles on the waters of Lower Creek, then in Burke County, 12 miles northeast of the town of Morganton, and 4 miles west of where the town of Lenoir was located. There was no one nearer to him than Morganton. For the first tract of land he bought, the deed states he paid one sorrel horse, valued at $65.00, ten deer skins and six bacon hams. Abraham and Martha married Feb. 16, 1786. They were the parents of twelve children, ten of whom lived to be adults, married and raised families. Their 3rd and tenth child, both named Emanuel, died young He purchased 450 acres of land on Abingdon Creek and Lower Creek in 1800 and in 1802 he purchased an adjoining 280 acres. He was said to own about 3000 acres in his home tract. ||Abraham Sudderth came to Burke County with his parents and resided for the remainder of his life on Lower Creek in that part of Burke which became Caldwell County in 1841. Here he married Martha Sumter, daughter of John and Catherine Sumter in 1786 and settled on Blair's Fork on the next plantation above the William Sudderth home place. Abraham had been reared in comfortable circumstances and was well educated, since his father had been a prosperous planter and slavevholder. Abraham also had a flair for business and was one of the richest men in Caldwell County when he died.||Abraham Sudderth, son of William II and wife Margaret, was born in Albemarle County, Virginia, December 28, 1767. About 1778, as a boy, he was brought to Burke (now Caldwell) County, N. C. by his parents. He grew up at their place on Blair Fork of Lower Creek. Abraham Sudderth and Martha Sumpter, daughter of John Sumpter, were married February 16, 1786, probably in Burke County, N. C., On November 7, 1800 Abraham purchased from John Hinds 430 Acres of land on Abingdon Creek and Lower Creek, and on September 16, 1802, 280 acres from Robert Ford that joined the above tract. On these tracts of land, his first and second houses were built. Descriptions of these houses as given by my father, Alfred A. Kent follow:||The first residence house that he built was a one-room log cabin, high enough to have a loft overhead, which was reached by a ladder. In this house it is probable that most of his children were born. It was of use long before my day, and there is nothing there now to mark the spot where the house stood. This house was on land now owned by the family of the late Cal Anderson.||The second house was built of two parts, the front or main part of the house and an ell or T. Both were built of plain logs smoothly hewn. These logs were carefully notched in at the corners and made a very workman like job. It was weather boarded without and ceiling within the dredded pine boards. I do not know where and how these boards were made; but most likely they were sawed with a pit sew, one man being down in the pit and another on a bench above, each drawing one end of what was called a pit saw. The floors were also made of sawed boards. The sleepers for the first floor were of great logs flattened to a line on the top side. The joists or sleeper for the second floor and garret were of hewn logs. The roof was of what was called drawn shingles made of selected heart pine. All the nails used in the building of this house were made in a blacksmith shop. Imagine, if you can a blacksmith making shingle nails enough to cover a big house, and as many more for the other purposes of the building. The front part of the house was a full two stories with a barrel above. The back part of the house was one story and a half. The front part had five rooms, a great living room and two bedrooms below and two bedrooms above. The back part of the house was about 24 x 48 ft. divided into two rooms, the front 24 x 34, the dining room and back of the kitchen about 24 x 28 ft., a stack chimney, with fireplaces in both. That in the kitchen was large, with a great stone hearth in front of it. The front part had a massive outside stone chimney at one end of the house. It had an enormous fireplace in the living room below, and a smaller fireplace in one bedroom above. It may have taken several hundred wagon loads of stone to build that chimney. It was a good job of masonry and of massive, broad and tall, that it looked like the house. There was a long porch running entirely around the front, latticed at the ends, open at the front. It had great climbing rose vines at the ends, and Madeira vines covering up in front to furnish shade in the summer.||There were a dozen or more windows, with hoisting over sash of the Queen Ann style, to furnish light and air this great house. Glass windows were much out of the ordinary at the time of the building of this house.||Abraham Sudderth acquired other large tracts of land in Caldwell County, Cherokee County and Ashe County. In 1840 he owned 44 slaves. In the latter years of his life after the death of his wife, he became senile and died intestate. A son=in-law, Archelous Kent, husband of Sarah Sudderth, obtained 3 shares of the estate, including the home place by purchase of John and William Suddreth's shares.||Located in Belleview Cemetery (1st road to Left), Lenoir, N. C. is a monument with the following inscription on the front:| KENT|THIS MONUMENT ERECTED BY A. A. KENT, SR. M. D. IN LOVING HONOR AND MEMORY OF HIS ANCESTORS.|on the back: PERKINS| SUDDERTH| SUMTER|(the spelling on the tombstones is Sumter. The spelling in THE ABRAHAM SUDDERTH FAMILY HISTORY compiled by Dr. Alfred A. Kent, Jr.. is Sumpter.)|Among the many graves in this plot are:| Abraham Sudderth | Born Dec.28, 1767| Died Jan. 19, 1853 | Age 85 Yrs. 1 Mo. 4 Ds.|| Martha Sumter Wife of Abraham Sudderth | Born Feb. 15, 1765| Died Feb.5, 1846|Their graves were moved to Belleview Cemetery by Dr. A. A. Kent, Sr. They were buried originally on the Sudderth property; later owned by the Kent family. Mae Van Camp has a picture of the Kent Home in Gamewell with a notation that Abraham Sudderth's home was on this same spot.||Abraham Sudderth (1767-1853 came to Burke County in boyhood with his parents and resided for the remainder of his life on Lower Creek in that part of Burke which became Caldwell County in 1841. Here he married in 1786 Martha Sumter (1765-1846), commonly called Patty or Patsy, daughter of John and Catherine Sumter (Abraham Sudderth's Bible now in the possession of Mrs.. Edgar Byers; this Bible is reproduced in the March 1934 issue of the National Genealogical Society Quarterly.)) who had also come from Albemarle County, Virginia, and settled on Blair's Fork on the next plantation above the William Sudderth home place. One tradition is that they were married in Virginia since they lived next door to each other in North Carolina. It is not possible to guess the reason for this tradition nor to substantiate it. There was an earlier connection between the two families. Abraham was reared in comfortable circumstances and well educated, since his father was a fairly prosperous planter and slaveholder. Abraham himself with a flair for business so increased the family fortune that he died one of the richest men in Caldwell County. The 1840 census records him as the owner of 44 slaves. A very large number for Western North Carolina where salve holding generally was not heavy. He acquired and enlarged a good plantation on Lower Creek at the mouth of Aventon's (now Abingdon) Creek where he lived. There was also a mill on his land. His home was later known as the