The Sharpe family has deep roots in North Carolina. My, how far the proverbial apple has fallen from the tree.
Now, we’re not actually sure of the lineage of one Avery E. Sharpe, but we noted a couple things during our visit to the purported business home of “Mr. Sharpe Shears” in Statesville, North Carolina. Out for a walk to sort of assess the area, we came across this street sign (see above) at an intersection – W. Sharpe St. & S. Center St.
That intrigued us. Apparently, Sharpe is a big name in these parts.
A Captain John Sharpe was born in 1744 in Cecil County, Maryland. He moved to North Carolina to what is now Iredell County before the Revolutionary War. Statesville, North Carolina is pretty much at the heart of that county. Sharpe died in 1812 at age 67 in Iredell County, North Carolina, United States. He was the son of Thomas Sharpe Jr. and Elizabeth (Gillespie) Sharpe. (Take a look at some of the Sharpe family lineage here: Sharpe.)
There is a Sharpe Street in Statesville, as noted above, as well as a Sharpe’s Café a little north and east of Statesville. It has lots of sandwiches – including a fried bologna sandwich – which is near and dear to our heart.
There are a couple histories of Sharpes that have been published:
- A history of Major Amos Sharpe, Iredell County, North Carolina, by Mildred J. Miller, published 1975
- The family of John Sharpe, Revolutionary soldier, by by Mildred J. Miller, published 1976
Neither of those would include Avery E. Sharpe, as they were published before he was born.
There also is a place called “The Historic Sharpe House” in Statesville.
The Sharpe family has quite a distinguished history in the Statesville area of Iredell County, North Carolina. Lots of patriots, statesmen, advocates for good.
We haven’t been able to find Avery E. Sharpe’s name among them. In fact, Avery E. Sharpe leaves a wake of quite the opposite kinds of references in his name, which include lots of criminal records. Not the most upstanding Sharpe in the county of Iredell or the state of North Carolina in our opinion.
