Brantley York 'Lives' Again

In 1845, Brantley York moved to Jonesville, then the home of a famous school called the Jonesville Academy. The academy is long-gone, but its history is being remembered in 2011 as Jonesville celebrates its 200th birthday.

The academy attracted students from throughout the South.

Jonesville became one of the largest towns west of Raleigh and the center of Brantley York’s 200-mile lecture and preaching circuit. York taught and preached at the Jonesville Academy, where Jennie Speer from Boonville became one of his students.

On December 2, 1845, Jennie recorded in her diary that she was “engaged in the delightful task” of improving her mind under the instruction of the Rev. Brantley York. A 19th century authority on English, mathematics, Latin and elocution. He was the author of several textbooks on English grammar and one on mathematics.

In an essay on the harmony in nature, Jennie concluded that “nothing short of Omnipotent Power could have projected worlds of almost inconceivable magnitude into empty space and established laws by which their motions have been uniformly regulated for thousands of years.”

On March 29, 1847, Jennie wrote in her diary: “Last night was the happiest time I ever experienced. Brother York preached an excellent sermon…. The power of the Lord came down, and four professed religion; one was my little sister.”

Jennie’s little sister was Ann Speer.

On October 8, 1846, Jennie wrote that she had the pleasure today of accompanying Rev. York to Center Methodist where one of the classes on his 200-mile circuit was put to the test. “The scholars underwent an honorable examination, and thus clearly proving the value of the systems invented and practiced by him.”

Asbury Speer, an older brother of Jennie and Ann, also attended the academy and later became superintendent of the tannery located on the branch behind the academy campus. Asbury joined the militia of Yadkin County during the Civil War and obtained the rank of colonel in the Confederate Army.

Jennie, Ann and Asbury, dead now for more than a century, "lived again” at 7 p.m. on March 5, 2011, when their great great nephew, Allen Paul Speer III and his wife, Janet Barton Speer, brought them back to life in a Readers Theatre production at Jonesville First United Methodist Church.

Brantley York, too, was "present" once more.

The drama is entitled, Divided Loyalties.

The church stands on the site of the Jonesville Academy.

Eight years before establishing his residence in Jonesville, the Rev. Dr. Brantley York founded a little school in Randolph County and named it Union Collegiate Institute. He remained head of the institute for five years. When his eyesight began to fail, he resigned. But before going totally blind, he organized Clemmonsville High School and later established his residence in Jonesville to be in the center of his 200-mile lecturing and preaching circuit. Union Institute grew into Trinity College and eventually was moved to Durham and re-named Duke University.

In the church fellowship hall was an exhibit on the history of the academy, the town, and the Civil War, which began 150 years ago.

The Jonesville Academy’s Silver Dollar Bell rang again.

Allen Speer, who grew up in Boonville where the Speer family has lived for 10 generations, is author of three books on his ancestors. Allen’s great aunt, Miss Mary Speer, taught mathematics at Jonesville High School in the 1950s. His books were made possible by the papers and diaries found preserved in the Speer attic. Allen, who is Distinguished Professor of Humanities at Lees-McRae College, refers to his three books together as “The Voices Trilogy.” The books are Voices From Cemetery Hill, Sisters of Providence and From Banner Elk To Boonville. Each book is winner of the Robert Bruce Cooke Family History Book Award from the North Carolina Society of Historians. Voices From Cemetery Hill was also winner of the society’s Willie Parker Peace History Book Award.

--CHARLES GRAY MATHIS
Sources
Voices From Cemetery Hill (Allen Paul Speer)
Sisters of Providence (Allen Paul Speer with Janet Barton Speer)
From Banner Elk To Boonville (Allen Paul Speer)
The Autobiography of Brantley York (Amanuensis Two Edition)
Jonesville, North Carolina: Historical Notes (W. H. Dyar)
Civil War Trail Marker, Jonesville, N.C.