The name Blacknall may be a familiar name in the area – there’s Blacknall Cemetery in Henderson, a historic home in Durham called Blacknall House and another cemetery in Kittrell. These are all vestiges of a once-prominent family whose members have played a role throughout the history of what is now Vance, Franklin and Warren counties.
WIZS’s Bill Harris and North Carolina Room Specialist Mark Pace took a look Thursday at the Blacknall family history, filled with some triumphs but rife with tragedy as well.
“They were very well read, very literate people,” Pace said, adding that in those days, such prominent families felt “a certain moral and civic duty to make the world a better place – they were soldiers and writers, movers and shakers in the community.”
There was Col. Charles Blackwell, who raised a regiment in Franklin County to fight in the Civil War. He died in 1864 after being wounded in the battle at Winchester, VA.
He was captured not once, but twice, during his military service, Pace said. He was part of a prisoner exchange deal after being taken to the Old Capitol prison near Washington.
One of Col. Blacknall’s children was Oscar William Blacknall, who was born in Kittrell, apparently under a dark cloud.
His success as a businessman allowed him to pursue literary interests and more, Pace noted.
In 1888 he established Continental Plant Company, a nursery business known especially for strawberries.
But Oscar may be best remembered for the Kittrell Hotel, Pace said. It was the first summer resort in North Carolina, established in 1858. If stayed in business throughout the Civil War, closing in 1873.
It catered to Southerners, who came to enjoy the hotel’s amenities – including a ballroom, billiard room, bowling alley and, of course, the water from Kittrell Springs.
During the Civil War, the hotel was used as a hospital. The Confederate soldiers buried in Kittrell died at Kittrell Hotel.
Blacknall’s wife was also his double first cousin – he married his uncle’s daughter. Of their seven children, one died as an infant, two committed suicide, the oldest died of tuberculosis and daughter Kate died at Blacknall’s own hand.
Seems he got up from the midday meal on Saturday, July 6, 1918, shot his wife first, then took aim at his 24-year-old daughter before taking his own life.
Thomas Blacknall was from another branch of the Blacknall family. He owned a slave, also named Thomas, who became the patriarch of the African American branch of Blacknalls. The white Blacknall held in such high regard the Black Blacknall that he allowed him to sell his wares (he was a blacksmith and bellmaker), allowing him to eventually buy his and his children’s freedom.
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