Most of us reading these posts have never seen Cherry Vale or been there to visit.  The next best thing to do might be to walk through the rooms in our minds while looking at architectural drawings of the old place.   On April 10, 1933, The State newspaper of Columbia, S.C., published  an interesting piece of news regarding Cherry Vale.  W.E. Durant and E.W. Moise, two “Sumter boys” in the senior class in architecture at Clemson, had spent some time at Cherry Vale and were to return to college and “make scale drawings of the elevations, floor plans and most interesting details of the building. These drawings will be preserved in the permanent records of the college and it is hoped they may be published in the not too distant future.”    Nelson Frierson had copies of these drawings in his files and I had them scanned into .pdf files.  I’m including links to  those files below.  The original copies are about 16″ x 24″ and the reproductions given here are high enough definition for you to zoom in and look around … Enjoy your visit!

Cherry Vale Plans #1

Cherry Vale Plans #2

This page shows ten receipts for advances against his estate that John Napolean Frierson kept in his records.  These interest-free advances were given to his children in 1879 (Mary K. Reid $2270, Julia Anderson $2000, John Temple Frierson $2000, James J. Frierson, Jr. $2000), 1883 (John Temple $500, James J. F. Jr. $335) and 1885 (Julia Anderson $200, Mary K. Reid $230, Julia Anderson another $300, James J. F. Jr. $165).  John Napolean Frierson died two years later on February 19,1887.

Here’s an old, faded photograph of Cherry Vale, from Nelson’s files, without any markings on the reverse!  Who are the people in this photo? And when was the picture taken?  I would guess the date is in the early 1900s and the central figure is J. Nelson Frierson himself.  Is his mother (“Miss Lizzie” of the previous post) on the far right?  Who are the other relatives?  The dog?!

Here’s a photo collage I found in Nelson Frierson’s files under glass in a nice simple wooden frame.  Many years ago, I had the good sense to write down on the back of the photos  the names of the people pictured (with the help of my father I’m sure!).  Don’t forget to ask the elders to identify people in photographs while they still are able!

Dad thought the two photos at the top were taken around 1934, on the (front?) porch at Cherry Vale and that the lower one was probably a little older.  Seated in the rocking chair is my great-grandmother, Mrs. Elizabeth Nelson Frierson (b. 7/2/1849, d. 10/4/1935) wife of James Julian Frierson, Jr. (b. 6/9/1849, d. 2/16/1891), in the year or so before her death.  Standing behind the matriarch are (left to right):  George Dargan Frierson (b. 1921), John Lawrence Frierson, Jr. (b. 1915),  Georgia Dargan Frierson (b. 2/4/1886, d. 7/1/1974) [my grandmother and mother of George Dargan and John Lawrence, Jr.], Edgar Nelson Sullivan (b. 1915), Alice Wilburn Frierson (b. 1888), Elizabeth Frierson Sullivan (b. 1886) [mother of Edgar], and  Julian Frierson Pagan (b. 1888).  Elizabeth and Julian are daughters, Georgia Dargan and Alice Wilburn are daughters-in-law,  and George Dargan, John Lawrence, and Edgar Nelson are grandsons of “Miss Lizzie”.   

Here are links to a three-page letter written by Mr. C. M. Hurst on March 1, 1939, to J. Nelson Frierson.  It recalls the remarks he had made a couple of weeks earlier to The Fortnightly Club in Sumter, S.C., about Nelson’s grandfather, John Napolean Frierson.  I have heard this story before – Uncle Jack (John L. Frierson, Jr.) included a quote from this letter in his book  The Friersons of Stateburg (1972) – but I thought it was so interesting to find the original letter and what a nice handwriting Mr. Hurst has!  I believe C.M. Hurst held many offices in Sumter County from the late 1800s until the 1940s – Judge of Probate, City Clerk, Sheriff, and I’m  checking on his bio now…

C.M. Hurst to JNF1939_p1

C.M. Hurst to JNF1939_p2

C.M. Hurst to JNF1939_p3

Here are a couple of photographs of Cherry Vale in much earlier times.  I’m guessing they were  taken in the early 1900s, not sure who the photographers were, though a self-portrait can be seen in the lower left of the second one!  I can’t recognize the driver of the wagon either…  The rear part of Cherry Vale is the older part (built mid-late 1700s) while the front part was built by John Napolean Frierson celebrating his marriage to Catherine Kellogg Converse (m. May 2, 1844).  What do you make of the structures built along the porch of the rear house in the second photo?

I’m also giving below a link to a transcription I typed of a hand-written history of Cherry Vale I found that was written by Nelson Frierson in 1944.  It gives the history of the house and some of the people connected to it…

CherryValeJNF

At right is a plat of Cherry Vale plantation and lands from a survey done after the death of John Napolean Frierson (b. 2/21/1818, d. 2/19/1887).  He was survived by his wife and 5 living children.  The bottom of the plat is signed by James D. McSwain, Deputy Surveyor of Sumter County, and dated May 27, 1887, and states:  “ I have, at the instance of the heirs and representatives of (?) have resurveyed a tract of land known as the Cherry Vale or home place lying on both sides of the road from Stateburg to Sumter and North of Marsh or Mush branch, containing two thousand two hundred and ninety-six acres, and in compliance with the Will and by the consent of the parties interested, I have proceeded to partition and divide said tract as above represented.  Lot no. 1 of (500) five hundred acres and the enclosure and dwelling and all the outbuildings containing 35 acres was set apart for the widow Mrs. Catherine K. Frierson – lot no 2. of 396 A and lot 2-a of 191 acres was set apart to Mrs. Mary K. Reid (wife of John Reid).  And lot no 3 containing three hundred and ninety-six (396) acres and lot no 3-a of 191 acres was set apart to James J. Frierson and lot no 4 containing three hundred and ninety-six (396) acres and lot no.4-a containing one hundred and ninety-six acres was set apart to Miss Celia (sic) C. Frierson the whole tract and division having such shape form and marks as the above plat represents.  Surveyed the 27th day of May 1887 by James D. McSwain, Dpy Sur.  Recorded in Deed Book AAA-112, Recorded 20 Sept. 1887, J.D. Gosham, R. Mc” .    James Julian Frierson (b. 6/9/1849, d. 2/16/1890) was my great-grandfather and the middle son of Napolean.  He would live only 3 years from the time of his father’s death – alcohol it was said hastened his demise!   Surveyor McSwain mistakenly refers to Napolean’s  youngest daughter as Celia – her full name was Clara Converse Frierson (b. 6/20/1864, d. 7/2/1948) and she married James Reynolds in 1888.

A plat of Cherry Vale in 1949, shows a much smaller piece of property, basically just Lot #1 from the 1887 version.  This plat was done to prepare for the sale of Cherry Vale.   Note how much of the original plantation was at this time occupied by Shaw Field, north of the Stateburg to Sumter Road (U.S. Highway #76).  Be careful in your comparisons though – the first plat has a scale of 1 inch = 20 chains (1 inch = 1320 feet ), while the second plat has a scale of 1 inch = 400 feet.

Here’s an interesting note from Uncle Jack (John Lawrence Frierson, Jr.) of the previous post asking about renting the old smoke house at Cherry Vale.  Nelson Frierson was in charge of maintenance, etc., for Cherry Vale and there are many letters from the 1940’s and early 1950s in Nelson’s files about renting and repairing the old family house, prior to its sale in 1954. Not sure what business was being done in the smoke house, but the rent certainly seems reasonable!  Uncle Jack’s father, my grandfather (“Papa” as we called him), John L. Frierson, wrote the note on the right – he (and all his siblings) always called Nelson  “Brother” , I guess since he was the oldest child.

Here are a couple of pictures of Cherry Vale during this time period – anyone have one of the smoke house or any of the other outbuildings?

Here’s an interesting postcard to Nelson Frierson on June 11, 1915, from his youngest sister Julian Frierson Pagan.  The baby, John Lawrence Frierson, Jr., was my “Uncle Jack”.   Was he the Bantam crowing??  Or were they all so proud that they crowed like  Bantams??  Which Grandma was on the spot??  I’m guessing Elizabeth Nelson Frierson, the mother of Julian and John Sr., and Nelson.

The article below from The State newspaper is undated but I’m guessing is mid-1940’s and shows a nice picture of Uncle Jack around age 30.  The reference to Col. John Julius Dargan refers to his mother’s (Georgia Dargan’s) father – Thanks to my cousin Lillian Frierson Wetmore, we can fill in the last sentence of the article as:   “His grandfather, Col. John Julius Dargan, taught at Welsh Neck high school, forerunner of Coker College, in 1903.”   Here’s a link to a very brief history of Coker College in Hartsville, S.C.   http://www.coker.edu/static/cc/main_profile.html

Julian Anderson Frierson Pagan (b. 10/6/1888, d.?) was called Aunt “Juju” by my Dad and all her nieces and nephews and was married to James Faysoux Pagan on December 12, 1909.    She operated a convalescent home in Cherry Vale from 1935 until 1941 according to Uncle Jack’s book,  The Friersons of Stateburg (1972).

After looking at the lineage chart in the last post, one might wonder about the middle name of  John Napolean Frierson.  The document below written by Nelson Frierson c. 1948 will clarify that JNF was named for Napolean Bonaparte and that his father,  John James Frierson, obviously admired the Frenchman a great deal!  I wonder if the book is still in the possession of Nelson’s grand nephew, William DeLancey Frierson III, who was born in 1947?  A nice thank-you note from WDF III’s grandmother Alice Wilburn Frierson is shown to the right.