In August, 1892, the centennial of Buncombe County, North Carolina, was celebrated at Asheville, the county-seat. At that time a sketch of Colonel Buncombe, written by one of his descendants, Mrs. Walter H. Rogers (born Goelet), of New Orleans, appeared in the Asheville Citizen, and from it we extract the following concerning his residence: “Buncombe Hall, like its founder, has passed away. It remained in the family till after the last war. Ere we quit the subject, let me describe this historic spot. The main building, L shape, contained eight large rooms, and a four-room basement under the whole, which served as store-rooms and a kitchen. The brick used in the building was brought from England. All necessary out-houses, including offices, were upon the premises. The yard was filled on one side with the most beautiful flowers and evergreens; on the other, with fine trees and velvety grass. To the south, stretched away a large peach and apple orchard—the whole surrounded by broad fields under cultivation, set in a back-ground of forests. Here the contemplative mind might revel in historic thought. The old hall, with its lofty ceilings, high oak panels, and chimney casings, seemed to whisper secrets of revolutionary times. Over the door of the dining-room hung the coat-of-arms of the Goelet family (a rising swan on a helmet); and, on the walls, were family portraits of Colonel Buncombe, his sister Mrs. Caines and her little daughter.[C] On a closet door still remained traces of sealing wax, used by the Colonel in sealing up his silver plate and valuables when he went to the war—vain precaution! His agent, left in charge, turned Tory, robbed him of not only the contents of this closet, but sold off his slaves and valuable timber and then decamped.
“Soon after the fall of Roanoke Island, the Federal soldiers took possession of Plymouth. Then Buncombe Hall fell a prey to them, as Dr. Edward Buncombe Haughton, its owner, was fighting on the Confederate side. He returned after the war, bankrupt in purse, as all good Southerners were, and the old hall was sold to a Connecticut carpet-bagger. It could even then have been restored to its former greatness, but he razed it to the ground and did not leave a brick standing. It passed, again, out of his possession. The Southern Goelets, all descendants of Colonel Buncombe, were left too poor by the war to rescue his home from annihilation; and so passed away, and was wantonly destroyed, Buncombe Hall.”
Before proceeding with my narrative, justice requires that acknowledgement be made to Mrs. Rogers, not only for the above quoted passages, but also for the letters hereinafter given, and other items relative to the family connection of her distinguished ancestor.
There are now nine localities in the United States called Buncombe, most (if not all) of which derive the name either directly or indirectly from Colonel Buncombe. They are: Buncombe County, North Carolina; Buncombe, in Johnson County, Illinois; Buncombe, in Dubuque County, Iowa—and Buncombe Township, in Sioux County, in the same State; Buncombe, in Union County, Mississippi; Buncombe, in Lafayette County, Wisconsin; Buncombe Ridge, in Lawrence County, Arkansas; Buncombe, in Knott County, Kentucky; and Buncombe, in Jackson County, Oregon.
The word “buncombe”—which dictionaries give as signifying a bombastic utterance, usually employed in windy harangues to gain popular favor—had its origin through the following circumstance: In the Congress of the United States, between the years 1817 and 1823, the mountain district of North Carolina was represented by the Honorable Felix Walker many of whose constituents were denizens of the now famous county of Buncombe. One day, as Mr. Walker sat pondering over his past political career, he remembered that during that session he had made very few speeches—and this, by the way, was almost as rare a fault with Congressmen in those days as it is now. So he decided to speak; he did speak; he spoke at considerable length; and he didn’t have anything particular to say, but he kept on talking, nevertheless. And when, at last, patience had ceased to be a virtue, and some of his long-suffering colleagues were beginning to leave the hall, he told the more polite members who remained that they might go, too, if they wished, for he intended to have his remarks published and sent to the home people, as the speech was not intended for the House, but only for Buncombe!
But to return to Colonel Edward Buncombe. He received his education in Great Britain; and, while living in St. Christopher, was united in marriage (April 10, 1766,) with Elizabeth Dawson Taylor, who accompanied him to North Carolina, but died just prior to the outbreak of the Revolution. She and her son Thomas are buried under St. Paul’s Church, at Edenton. The children of Colonel Buncombe by his marriage with Miss Taylor were:
I. Elizabeth Taylor Buncombe, born on the Island of St. Christopher, March 11, 1767, who was brought when an infant to North Carolina. Her education was received in New York and New Jersey, under the direction of Abraham Lott. She married John Goelet, of New York (afterwards of North Carolina), and left numerous descendants.
II. Thomas Buncombe, born in North Carolina, February 3, 1769, who died young.
III. Hester Ann Buncombe, born April 25, 1771, who married John Clark, of Bertie County, North Carolina, and had two children: Thomas Clark, and Ann Booth Pollock Clark (wife of John Cox).[D] Both Thomas Clark and his sister Mrs. Cox died without issue.
From the above it will be seen that the only descendants now living of Colonel Buncombe are through his eldest daughter who married John Goelet, of New York. Mr. Goelet was of Huguenot descent, born in 1759, on the date of the fall of Quebec, and himself saw service in the Revolution. After the war was over and he had married Miss Buncombe, he removed with his wife (about 1791) to Buncombe Hall, and died there in the ninety-fifth year of his age, October, 1853.