Benevolent Work

Subject

Benevolent Work

Melville B. Cox (1799 – 1833)

1776-1835

A minister at Edenton Street Methodist Church in Raleigh, Melville Cox left his post in 1831 to travel to Liberia.  There, he served as the first Methodist missionary from the United States to a foreign country.

Benevolent Work

Billy Graham (1918 – 2018)

1916-1945

One of the most renowned orators and preachers of the twentieth century, Graham has touched the lives of millions internationally since entering evangelism after World War II. Born in Charlotte, Graham grew up as a skeptic, but he converted after hearing evangelist Mordecai Ham in 1934.  Afterward, Billy Graham became passionate about spreading the Gospel, and his organization, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (established in 1950), remains a vital international outlet for Christian devotions, radio, and television.

African American

Kathryn T. Stanley (1903-1985)

1916-1945

  Despite never having been ordained, Kathryn T. Stanley still contributed significantly to the High Point community and the Congregational Christian Church denomination.   As her church's "Director of Activities," Stanley was in every practical sense the de facto pastor of Washington Terrace Congregational Church.  

Benevolent Work

Salvation Army in North Carolina

1916-1945

Part church, part charity, the Salvation Army is best known for ringing bells for the needy on street corners. But the Army does far more than collect coins during the Christmas season. It is one of America’s largest charitable organizations and has helped millions, including many thousands of North Carolinians.

African American

Methodist Home for Children

1866-1915

In 1872, the father of the orphanage movement in North Carolina, John Mills, founded the Masonic Orphanage, the state’s first orphanage.  During the years of the “golden age” of the orphanage movement (1870-1920), sixteen orphanages were founded in North Carolina.  Financed through charitable or religious denominations, some orphanages like Methodist Orphanage served the eastern and western regions of the state.

African American

Central Orphanage of North Carolina

1866-1915

Segregated orphanages in North Carolina necessitated the creation of an orphanage for dependent and neglected African American children. An idea for such an orphanage in Henderson, North Carolina was born, when Rev. Augustus Shepard, father of James Shepard the founder of North Carolina Central University, felt burdened when observing the squalid,living conditions of homeless African American children.

African American

Aaron McDuffie Moore (1863-1923)

1836-1865

Born on September 6, 1863 to free yeoman farmer parents, Aaron McDuffie Moore used educational opportunities to improve his social condition and to better his community.

Benevolent Work

Jefferson Davis Bulla

1866-1915

During his long life (almost 103 years), Dr. Jefferson Davis Bulla practiced medicine for 77 years and refused to turn away patients who had not the means to pay for services.

Commentary
African American

“Normal” People Made History

Why would I want to study peasants, when I can study kings?”, asked a fellow historian.   “Kings,” he continued, “made history.”     He was reacting to my comment that it’s important to study “normal” people.  My friend thought I trumpeted the usual, social history mantra.  But I meant something different.

Commentary
Benevolent Work

Brad’s Drink: A New Bern Beverage Enjoyed Across the World

1866-1915

Businessmen want to make profits, to be sure, but they understand that to do so, they must satisfy customers.  In the end, everyone involved in the transaction is pleased.  Caleb Bradham, inventor of Pepsi-Cola, provides a perfect example. 

Benevolent Work

Duplin Winery

1946-1990

Although Tar Heels were national leaders in wine making before the Civil War and once again during the early 1900s, few modern-day Americans—and even native Tar Heels—have regarded the state as a leader in grape and wine production. North Carolina is known mainly today for championship college basketball and tourist attractions and its tobacco and pork industries.  Over the past two decades, however, wineries have been started across the state.  Yet Duplin Winery in Rose Hill has been the major link between the days of state and local Prohibition and the current revival in North Carolina viticulture and serves as a harbinger for the medicinal uses of the muscadine.

Benevolent Work

Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf (1700 – 1760)

1664-1775

A controversial leader in the German Pietist movement, a founding father of modern missions, and a leader of the Moravian denomination, Count Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf of Bohemia negotiated a deal with the Earl of Granville, owner of the northern part of North Carolina, so Moravians could settle in North Carolina during the mid-1700s.