Fayetteville's soon-to-come NC History Center collects real stories. Here are two.

As preparations are underway for the construction of Fayetteville's NC History Center on the Civil War, Emancipation & Reconstruction, historians are already at work collecting stories about North Carolina's involvement in the Civil War for one of its collections.

The collection aims to tell the story of the state's participation in the war through the eyes of its residents and their ancestors' experiences.

Cheri Molter, research historian at the history center, said earlier this month the " 100 stories from 100 counties " is a collection of accounts as told by the ancestors of those who lived during the time. The collection features approximately 1,200 verified stories from soldiers' personal letters and stories from their loved ones, detailing the conditions they faced and how the homefront coped with the aftermath of the war.

She said that the stories can be found online at the history center's website, nccivilwarcenter.org , and select stories will be featured in the physical museum, though no official announcements have been made about which stories will be included.

Molter said she tried to reach as many people across the state as possible to raise awareness about the project.

"I knew that if people knew about it and you could get people to understand their stories were their own, that they weren't going to be tampered with ... that it would be popular, that there was a lot of potential here," Molter said. "By explaining who I was and my role here at the History Center and what was happening here, that I could help people do research and they could decide if they wanted to share their stories or information with the center ... no strings attached."

Previous coverage: What's the latest on the NC History Center on the Civil War, Emancipation & Reconstruction?

She said the stories range from the 1830s to 1900, the period covered by the center. To verify the submitted stories, she uses marriage licenses, death certificates, wills, newspapers and slave schedules — documents listing the names of those who enslaved people, along with the ages and sexes of the people they enslaved. She also reviews census records, military records and other records from various databases to gather details.

Molter said many families have already compiled their own histories through family records and stories. She added that the center accepts oral histories, to which she adds her research findings.

The Dowless family

David Dowless Jr. first learned about his family's involvement in the Civil War through a genealogy website.

He said that brothers Samuel A. Dowless, 35, and Elisha Dowless, 33, were both stationed at Fort Fisher, North Carolina around 1864 after joining the Confederate forces in 1862.

He said that on Jan. 15, 1865, Elisha was shot in the side, and both brothers, members of the Confederate Army, were taken prisoner and confined at Point Lookout until they signed the Oath of Allegiance on June 26, 1865; then, they were both released. Two days after being captured, Samuel wrote a letter to his wife Sarah to inform her of their condition.

The letter read:

"January the Seventeenth day of 1865Mrs. Sarah J DowlessDear Wife and Children,I drop a line to let you know that I am well and hearty and also in the hands of the Yankees, and they treat me very kindly. I hope this may find you all well and Enjoying the Blessings of God. My Love, I don’t know where they will carry me to. Don’t Be uneasy about me. God is with me. Pray, put your trust in God. I will write to you Every chance. Brother Elisha is wounded but is about well, and if this is our parting letter, By the grace of God I will meet you in heaven.I Ever Remain your true and affectionate husband until death,S. A. Dowless to Sarah J Dowless."

Dowless said that after the war, Samuel Dowless prayed that future generations would be spared the horrors he endured. He said that to this day, Samuel's wish has been honored. To his knowledge, none of his descendants who have served in the military have experienced the brutal realities of war firsthand.

"Everyone wants to be remembered once they are gone," Dowless said. "I got what I could from multiple relatives so that the museum could preserve these stories for future generations."

Dowless said online databases are a good starting point for individuals wanting to prove lineage. He said state archives, county courthouses and war records are also great resources to help build up a story.

"My hope is to research of all my North Carolina ancestors during this time period and bring their stories back to life beyond military records. I encourage everyone to do the same for their ancestors. I do realize that this is a tall order and hundreds if not thousands of stories may have already been lost to time," he said.

The Robbins family

Marvin Tupper Jones, the son of Clario Robbins Jones, learned that his great-uncle Clayton A. Robbins had relatives who served during wartime, although it was unclear in which war. Great-uncle Robbins was only 3 months old when his father Jack died. Jones said his awareness of his family’s contributions began in 1978 when the NC History Museum featured the exhibit, “The Black Presence in North Carolina.” He said that this exhibit highlighted Sgt. Maj. Parker David Robbins, the first cousin of Jones' great-grandfather, Cpl. Jack Robbins.

"I grew up knowing that United States forces burned my county seat of Winton during the Civil War, and I wondered what the war was like for my community, a land-owning, mixed-race free people," Jones said. "Learning about Parker Robbins was a first step."

He said that a genealogist friend was so surprised to find five of his relatives in the United States Colored Troops, that she took him to the National Archives to study and digitize the pension records of those five, leading him to discover 16 more relatives who also served in the Civil War.

"I learned that I am related to three direct ancestors — uncles and cousins — who endured the war, accomplished much with their enlistments and set the stage for my family and community’s advancement after the war," Jones said. "The Civil War was my family and community’s chance to expand freedoms for all."

Jones said that before the NC History Center was founded, he was already presenting the history of the Roanoke-Chowan area through the organization he formed, the Chowan Discovery Group . The organization is to share the research he develops about the histories of people of color.

"It is amazing how much my family and community didn’t know about our ancestors' Civil War contributions," Jones said.

Reporter Lizmary Evans covers growth and development for The Fayetteville Observer. You can reach her at LEvans@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Fayetteville's soon-to-come NC History Center collects real stories. Here are two.