Location of William Whitfield II's Home in Seven Springs, North Carolina
Many people do not know the exact location of the home William Whitfield II built around 1745 in what is now Seven Springs, North Carolina. Some know it was atop the high hill where the Methodist Church is now, but that's all they know. The last owner of the home was William Bryan "Billy" Whitfield, who died in 1904 and is buried in the church cemetery. The house was located behind the church and beyond the cemetery, as shown on the map above. Use the church as a reference point. The remains of the brick foundation, iron cooking implements, and undoubtedly other assorted items are buried just beneath the surface of the ground. The house burned in 1911, likely at the hands of an arsonist, as it was abandoned.
Whitfield family recipes
Corn Dodgers
1 quart (3 2/3 cups) cornmeal, sifted 1 tablespoon butter or lard, melted
1 teaspoon salt Cold water
Combine meal, salt, and melted utter. Mix in enough cold water to make a soft dough, (about 2 cups). Shape into cakes with hands, and bake in greased pans at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Eat hot. Yields about 20 dodgers.
(Recipe from Mary Alice Foscue Whitfield (1838-1889). She was the wife of Bryan Watkins Whitfield (1828-1908), who contributed greatly to the Whitfield genealogical record.
Corn Dodgers
Cream Cake
1 cup butter 3 teaspoons baking powder or 1 teaspoon soda
3 1/4 cups sugar 1 cup whipping cream or milk
6 eggs, separated 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
Cream butter and sugar; add egg yolks, one at a time, mixing well. Sift together flour and baking powder. Add to creamed mixture alternately with shipping cream. Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until stiff but not dry, and gently fold batter into them. Pour into 2 greased and floured 9 inch round layer cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or bake in a 10 inch tube pan at 325 degrees for 80 minutes. Yield 1 (2 layer) cake or 1 tube cake.
(Recipe from Mrs. Marie Ars Whitfield (1895-1972). She was the wife of James Bryan Whitfield, Jr. (1888-1979). She is buried in Riverside Cemetery in Demopolis, Alabama.
Corn Dodgers