Civil War re-enactors from Wilmington pose with the just unveiled marker In Magnolia, NC. Robbins' home and grave are nearby.

Intrepid, ground-breakers like Parker David Robbins brought forth a world that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. took and carried further.  Yesterday, the gains made by Dr. King, and those like him, paid back the favor because Robbins and Dr. King shared a glorious celebration in Duplin County, North Carolina.

The county’s annual King Day Celebration brought together the broad spectrum of residents to honor both men as well as present and future leaders.  It was a day of color guards, anthems, prayers, speeches about justice and ascension, history lessons, four US Colored Troop re-enactors, four Confederate women re-enactors (one of whom is a Robbins descendant!),  fifty-some drawings of Robbins’ life by Duplin County elementary students, awards for students and educators, musical performances, large audiences, a motorcade from Kenansville to Magnolia and finally, the unveiling of the North Carolina Highway Historical Marker for the multi-talented and accomplished Robbins.  Robbins, born in the Choanoac Indian community of Gates County, made his rise in Bertie County, in battlefields running from Suffolk to Richmond, in Raleigh, in Hertford County and finally, in Duplin County where he spent most of his adult life and is buried.

The Chowan Discovery Group, nominator of the marker, has many people to thank – too many to note here.  Yet, special thank yous go to Delilah Gomes, coordinator of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration Committee and the Committee itself, the Duplin County Historical Association, the North Carolina Office of Archives and History, Fred Johnson, Sr. – Sergeant of the Battery B, 2nd U.S. Colored Light Artillery re-enactors, and Earl Ijames of the North Carolina History Museum.   View the photography gallery and the video from News14 Carolina.

Courtesy of Gary Robbins

The second of three highway historical markers nominated by the Chowan Discovery Group will be unveiled on January 16, 2012 at noon in Magnolia, NC.   The upcoming dedication program for the Parker David Robbins marker will begin at 9:30am at the Duplin County Events Center in Kenansville.  The program is sponsored by the Dr. Martin Luther King Commemoration Committee.

Robbins (1834 – 1917) was one of the most accomplished figures of the Winton Triangle Community.  He was born in the last years of Gates County’s Choanoac (Chowanoke) Indian community. His family moved to Colerain in Bertie County.  By the end of the Civil War, he had been a farmer, landowner, mechanic and Sgt.-Major of the 2nd Regiment, Cavalry, United States Colored Troops.  His regiment was part of the 25th Corps that entered Richmond at the end of the war.  When he returned to his home in Bertie County, he was elected to the NC General Assembly and later served as postmaster in Harrellsville, NC.  While Robbins was postmaster, he was granted two patents for inventions.  In the 1880′s, he moved to Duplin County to take advantage of the growing lumber industry and set up a sawmill, built homes, and constructed a steamboat that he operated on the Cape Fear River.

In preparation for the unveiling, a tintype of Robbins – heretofore unknown to researchers – was donated by Jesse Dowe of Magnolia to the NC History Museum (see earlier post).   The Jan. 16 event is part of the annual observance of the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.   The Chowan Discovery Group is partnering with the Duplin Historical Society in this recognition of Parker David Robbins.  Civil War re-enactors and students will participate in the program.

For more information, call 202.726.4066 or email info@chowandiscovery.org.  This is the second of three markers successfully nominated by the Chowan Discovery Group.

Courtesy of Jesse Dowe and the North Carolina History Museum

Parker David Robbins was a leading figure of the Winton Triangle community.  A tintype of Robbins, previously unavailable to researchers, has been donated to the North Carolina History Museum by Jesse Dowe of Magnolia, NC.   Mr. Dowe is the owner of the Robbins home in Magnolia, and he removed items from the house after he purchased it a decade ago.  The 2-story house, probably built by Robbins in the 1880 or 1890s has since collapsed.

Earl Ijames, a curator of the Museum and a Chowan Discovery advisor, and Marvin Jones met Mr. Dowe in November.  In December, Ijames returned to Magnolia to pick up the tintype.  It appears that this portrait was made of Robbins in the 1880′s or ’90′s, twenty or more years after his well-known watercolor portrait.  That is portrait on permanent display at the Museum and was donated by Robbins’ daughter-in-law in the 1970′s.  It has been published in many books and articles.   Mr. Ijames has given the Chowan Discovery Group a digital copy of the new portrait (shown here) for its use.

For more information call 202.726-4066 or email info@chowandiscovery.org. This is the first of three markers successfully nominated by the Chowan Discovery Group.

A dedication program is scheduled on Friday, October 21 at 3pm at the Mount Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church, during the Meherrin Indian Tribe’s annual powwow.  There are Meherrins who are also Choanoac descendants, and they will be present for the program.  The Harrellsville Historical Association and the Chowan Discovery Group will have books available related to the history of the area.

On January 16, in Duplin County, a marker for Parker David Robbins will be dedicated in Magnolia where he lived for 30 years.  Robbins, a Gates County native and Bertie County resident, was a mechanic and farmer near Colerain.  He served as a sergeant-major in the 2nd Cavalry, United States Colored Troops during the Civil War.  Along with his brother and three cousins, he enlisted at Fort Monroe and he took part in battles from Suffolk to Richmond, eventually riding into Richmond at the end of the war.  Robbins was a representative in the North Carolina State Assembly, served as postmaster in Harrellsville and received two patents while in Harrellsville.