Historians are taking another look at the number of North Carolina soldiers who died in the Civil War. Research historian Josh Howard heads the North Carolina Civil War Death Study at the NC Office of Archives and History. He has looked though official military records, but also the records of hospitals, cemeteries, churches, prisoner of war camps, pensions, and census, as well as newspaper accounts and diaries to determine deaths among the state's Confederate and Union units.

He found that traditional counts did not include African American and white North Carolinians who died serving the Union army.

Howard will give a lunchtime lecture on July 27 at the NC Museum of History, discussing his research and sharing interesting stories of the soldiers' experiences. The program, called Recounting Civil War Sacrifices, is part of the museum's History a la Carte series. It starts at 12:10 and is free to the public.

One of the oldest Southern gospel conventions in the nation still meets every June in Benson.

Ninety years ago, folks first gathered for what would become the State Annual Singing Convention. It drew a crowd of about 200 people. The event was started in 1921  by Simon P. Honeycutt, who was married to the former Mary Ida Benson (the town was named for her father Alfred Benson). By its 25th anniversary, it was drawing crowds of more than 20,000 and was called "one of the outstanding singing events held in the South,"

In 1938, the program expanded to two days. The Four-County portion of the contest (Johnston, Harnett, Cumberland and Sampson) was won for the fourth time by the Tee's Chapel Choir. The choir, with nearly half of its membership made up of Woodalls, won in a "sing-off" tie with the Benson Choir. One more win would give the choir permanent possession of the winning "loving cup." (News coverage of the following year's sing shows them being presented the cup again.)

Sing founder Simon P. Honecutt presents the cup to the Tee's Chapel Choir  -- The News & Observer 6/26/1938

In 1949, the big news was that US Senator Frank Porter Graham would be making his first visit to "The Sing" to address the crowd "which came by every conceivable type of transportation."

Then standing in short sleeves and beaming all over with smiles, Senator Graham stepped to the front of the big platform and led the huge throng in singing a popular hymn called "When We All Get to Heaven."

"This singing convention is a significant thing in the life of North Carolina," declared the former University president. -- The News & Observer 6/26/1949

This year's sing will take place June 24-26.
 

Confederate soldiers who fought in the Battle of Bentonville and died in the care of the Harper family will receive permanent grave markers at a ceremony Saturday. Assistant State Archaeologist John Mintz headed the team of archaeologists and historians who discovered the location of the graves and will give a presentation on the project. Other activities during the day include artillery demonstrations and a re-enactment of life in camp.

Derrick Brown, an assistant manager at the site, told WUNC radio that all of the headstones say "unknown soldier" since they have not identified who was buried on the site.

The ceremony dedication will take place at 2 p.m.

In today's N&O, staff writer Caulton Tudor writes about Jack Johnson, the first African-American heavyweight world champion, who died in a Raleigh hospital 65 years ago yesterday. Johnson died from injuries resulting from a car crash near Franklinton.

Johnson was a controversial character during his life, and controversies have grown up around his death. Some of the speculations and rumors have come to be accepted and even reported as fact.

The most often repeated speculation was that Johnson crashed because he was furiously speeding away from a restaurant that had refused to serve him (or alternatively, forced him to sit in the "black-only" section in the rear of the restaurant). Tudor spoke with author Wayne Rozen, whose book “America On The Ropes” deals with Johnson’s life and times, about this rumor. "Rozen said those reports have never been substantiated. 'That may have happened, but to my knowledge there’s no evidence,' Rozen said."

There are also reports that Johnson was refused treatment at the white hospital. A 1971 Raleigh Times column said "The Raleigh doctor who attended Johnson remembers that a white ambulance called to the scene refused to pick up Johnson and told him he'd have to wait for a Negro ambulance." Again, there is no evidence that this was the case. Johnson was treated at St. Agnes Hospital, which was the black hospital, but news reports at the time said he was "brought to St. Agnes by a Franklinton ambulance immediately after the accident."

In 1980, N&O staff writer Tim Stevens spoke with a witness to the accident.

Mortimer R. Garner of Franklinton, 74, remembers the wreck "just like it was yesterday." Garner and the late F. H. Watson were going south on No. 1 to Watson's house and were in a line of traffic when they saw Johnson's 1939 Lincoln Zephyr.

Garner replied, "I bet he don't make it." -- The Raleigh Times 8/30/1980

The Yarborough Hotel, a long forgotten landmark in downtown Raleigh, was once the "social center of the capital" and was called the "third house of the legislature." Standing in the location of the old Hudson-Belk building on Fayetteville Street, it was home to the state's governors from 1865 until the completion of the Governor's Mansion in 1891. It hosted four presidents, plus notables such as Helen Keller, Charlie Chaplin, and William Jennings Bryan.

It was well known for the food prepared by the hotel kitchen. In fact, one tale was told of President Taft, having finished a "full Southern dinner of fried chicken, candied yams, hot biscuits and other Southern delicacies, ... refused to leave his chair for half an hour."

And on the afternoon of July 3, 1928, it was the scene of a spectacular fire.

The fire, which started in an elevator shaft, quickly spread throughout the wood-frame hotel and drew thousands of spectators. It raged for nearly five hours and called on firefighters from as far away as Durham and Smithfield.

The Smithfield firemen came to Raleigh to help without being asked to do so. The Johnston County fire laddies heard over the radio that the Yarborough was a-fire and they "lit out" for Raleigh. -- The Raleigh Times 7/4/1928

There were no serious injuries in the fire, most likely because it took place during the day. The hotel manager's wife, Mrs. Robert Powell, was in her third-floor room with her two children, ages  6 and  six weeks. They were trapped there for 45 minutes until they were rescued by firemen, "just as she was preparing to jump."

Reports the next day praised the fire department and the city's water system, which in addition to fighting the Yarborough fire, also attended to a house fire in town.

Approximately 750,000 gallons of water from Swift Creek were poured on the fire at the Yarborough Hotel Tuesday afternoon, all of the electrical pumps at the city water station on Fayetteville road pumping steadily for four hours and fifteen minutes and the boilers being fired ready to start the steam equipment if necessary.

Having had former experience as a fireman, Mr. Goodman attacked the fire with the knowledge of fire fighting and by the time the fire truck arrived from the Yarborough fire, the blaze had been extinguished. -- The Raleigh Times 7/4/1928

Back at the Yarborough, about a dozen firemen were on duty through the night and were still dousing smoking embers well into the next day. The hotel was a total loss, and the Sir Walter soon took its place as the "third house of the legislature."

See photos provided by Robert Estep of some artifacts from the hotel, including stationery where the hotel boasts 150 rooms, 125 with bath.
 

In a time when reality television introduces us to mega-multiple births, yesterday's birth of quadruplets at WakeMed still makes the front page. In 1963, the front page of The News & Observer announced the birth of the Fisher quintuplets in South Dakota, the first surviving American quintuplets.

The babies, born two months early, were something of a surprise to Mary Ann and Andrew Fisher, already parents to five children, aged 3 to 7. They had learned only three days before, from an x-ray, that Mrs. Fisher was expecting quints.

"About a half hour after the doctor told her, she started crying and cried all night," said the father, 38.

"Keep a pot of coffee on the stove," he told hospital aides before heading home to give his other children the news. -- The News & Observer 9/15/1963

The boy was named James Andrew. The girls were all named Mary and received their second name some days later.

Mr. Fisher was a shipping clerk, making $80 a week. He had moved his family to a small farm where they kept a couple of cows to cut down on milk bills for the youngsters.

President and Mrs. Kennedy sent a telegram of congratulations to the family.
 

This weekend marks the 100th anniversary of the Indianapolis 500.

As it turns out, Raleigh saw its first and only Indy-style race on July 4, 1952 at the Southland Speedway, later named the Raleigh Speedway. The record crowd of 16,000 was there to see California's Troy Ruttman, who had won the Indianapolis 500 just two weeks before.

(N&O file photo)

Many years later, Ruttman's youngest brother Joe (only seven years old on the day of the race) recalled the family's memories.

"I remember Troy and Dad talking about Raleigh and winning a race there, " he said. "They talked about the track being big and fast. At that time, except for the Speedway, Troy had primarily raced on quarter-mile and half-mile tracks, and he raced four, sometimes five nights a week, anywhere from San Diego to Bakersfield and Fresno, all short tracks.

"Watching Troy race, all of my ambitions were toward open-wheel stuff, " Ruttman said. "The Indy car guys called stock cars taxi cabs. They had doors, and it wasn't cool to race taxi cabs. If you were a real racer, you raced open-wheel stuff. And my desire was to emulate my brother. He was my hero." -- The News & Observer 7/26/1997

But NASCAR did take off, and the Raleigh Speedway was the first of its kind to have lights for night racing. Despite this promising start, Raleigh did not take the spotlight in motorsports. Former N&O writer Gerald Martin wrote about the glory days of the track and what went wrong.

The roads off the beaten asphalt path had been doused with oil to settle the dust, and even as race time approached, thousands were on the outside looking in, grasping Thermos jugs in one hand, the price of admission -- $6.50 -- in the other.

An under-the-track tunnel, incidentally, now is in use at Talladega Superspeedway, and while the memory of the Raleigh Speedway fades, racing goes on and the dollars pour in at Daytona. -- The News & Observer 7/2/1994

If you are an experienced genealogist, then this post is not for you. But if you're just getting your feet wet, there are several documents produced by the Heritage Research Center at High Point Public Library which provide a good step-by-step introduction to genealogical resources available in North Carolina.

If you find yourself more than a little intimidated by the state archives and all the researchers there who seem to know exactly what they're doing, the Heritage Research Center's beginner's guide to the NC state archives tells you exactly what to expect, right down to where to park, where to enter the building, what you need to take with you and what you must leave outside, and exactly how to request material.

The other guides are very specific about what you can (and cannot) find in census records, land records, wills and estates, and other vital records. They also explore resources specific to researching African-American families.
 

Many of us have been charmed by this photo of The Raleigh Times news carriers that is on display in many places around town. The newspaper they are holding is from Tuesday evening, August 31, 1915. The top story is appointment of Robert L. Gray as the new editor of The Times. Mr. Gray, who was a native of Raleigh, had started his career with The News & Observer. He moved on to other newspapers, including The (Columbia, SC) State, where he was "a writer of exceptional brilliance."

Soon after Mr. Gray took over the editorship of the paper, The Raleigh Times ran a special article by William H. Richardson celebrating the bustling growth of the city during the previous four years. The headline was RALEIGH'S RENAISSANCE IN PAST QUADRENNIUM: Period of Progress That Has Marked a Transition in the City's Industrial and Civic Life Unequalled in the Past.

The past quadrennium has dealt well with RALEIGH. The entire city has been sprinkled with improvements and dotted with additional beauty spots. It has been truly a period of renaissance. During the past four years, RALEIGH has undergone the most remarkable transition in its history. It has sprung from a large town to a city of hustle and bustle. Everybody says so.

The city and suburbs reach now for a distance of about three and a quarter miles from east to west and two and a half miles from north to south. All new suburbs are reached by good streets and quick street-car service. -- The Raleigh Times, 9/7/1915

One of the signs of progress mentioned in the article was the new "banking houses" being built in town, including the Commercial National Bank, built in 1912.

(Photos Courtesy of the North Carolina State Archives)

N&O Staff Photographer Corey Lowenstein provides a look at today's re-enactment of North Carolina's historic vote to join the Confederacy 150 years ago. Once again, a handkerchief was dropped from the Capitol’s west portico to signal secession.

See the full photo gallery here.