Bragg, Thomas, Sr. (1778-1851)

Biography

Thomas Bragg, Sr. (1778-1851), was a prominent house carpenter whose work in the plantation counties along the Virginia border included houses, churches, and other buildings in Federal and Greek Revival styles. He was born in Craven County, son of Hannah Tolson Bragg (b. 1742) and John Bragg (1741-1816), a pilot and native of Carteret County. Little is known of Thomas Bragg's early life and training, though New Bern memoirist John D. Whitford later praised his skill at his trade. Around 1800, Bragg moved to Warrenton, where he took apprentice James Perry to the carpenter's trade in 1802 and married Margaret Crossland of the county in 1803.

Bragg soon established himself as a builder and property owner with a large shop of free and slave workers. He bought several slaves between 1811 and 1821, valued at $200 to $1,000 each. They included Charles, Harry, Kingston, John, Claiborn, Wilson, Will, and Ned. By 1838 his slaves included Dick, Solomon, Moses, Sam, John, and Rhody in Warren County, plus others in Craven County and Alabama. Unusual for its early date, his shop produced ready-made building components for sale: in 1827 Bragg advertised "1000 lights of Sash, different sizes made of best yellow heart pine, Venetian blinds, Pannel Doors, together with all other kinds of shop work. . . kept constantly for sale in my shop in Warrenton."

According to Warrenton memoirist Lizzie Wilson Montgomery, Bragg was a "well-to-do contractor and builder," who with his wife, Margaret Crossland Bragg--"a woman of extraordinary intelligence and energy"--raised a family of twelve children and worked hard to educate them. The most distinguished were North Carolina governor Thomas Bragg, Jr.; Gen. Braxton Bragg; Alabama Congressman John Bragg; and carpenter-builder Alexander Bragg.

Although he probably constructed a large number of buildings, relatively few have been documented as Thomas Bragg's work. Several more are attributed to him. Known works include a Methodist Church in Warrenton (ca. 1812); Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Warrenton (mid-1820s and greatly remodeled, though still retaining a few early 19^th century elements); Franklin County Jail (1826); and repairs to the Warren County Courthouse (1826).

New Bern memoirist Whitford credited Bragg with two elaborate Federal style mansions--the William Polk House in Raleigh, and the grand, tripartite house Little Manor near Littleton--but no documentation is known. Bragg briefly owned and may have built the pediment-front plantation house Dalkeith, one of a group of distinctive Federal period houses in Warren and Halifax counties. This and other Federal period houses of the "Montmorenci school" have been associated with a "Mr. Burgess" (probably James Burgess) but may also have involved work by Bragg, a connection discussed by Kenneth McFarland in Warren County. There are also some stylistic links, such as the use of "spool" moldings, between this school of building and the works of Warren County carpenter-builder Albert Gamaliel Jones, but these associations remain undocumented.

Indicative of his local stature, Bragg was invited to assist on various public projects. In 1830, "Major Thomas Bragg an eminent architect and undertaker" was asked to advise on the design of a clerk's office in Northampton County, which was built by Abraham Spencer of Oxford. In 1831, Bragg was hired to make repairs to the State House in Raleigh. As his workmen were soldering the new fireproof roof, they set the building afire, and it burned to the ground. All were absolved of blame. During construction of the North Carolina State Capitol to replace the burned edifice, Bragg was employed briefly as superintendent of construction in 1834.

In 1833, Bragg was also involved in correspondence with James Bruce of Virginia about building a store and possibly other structures for Bruce at the town of Weldon beside the Roanoke River. That March, Bruce noted that he had had "several letters … on the subject of building a house on … Weldon lott #11." Bragg had supplied an estimate for the project. Bruce commented that he himself was a "novice in building," and was giving Bragg free rein provided his prices did not "exceed the rates of the most respectable mechanicks in Richmond." The work was to be done in a "good plain Mechanic Stile," with perfectly burnt bricks. Other details would wait until "we can draw a contract more specific." A plan for the L-shaped, 2-story building was appended. But events intervened, and in August, 1833, Bragg and Bruce terminated the agreement.

At one point, Bragg considered moving to Alabama to join family members who had gone there, but he eventually relocated to Jackson, North Carolina, to reside with his son Thomas, Jr., and continue to practice his trade. He built a house for his son in 1841, finished the interior of planter Henry K. Burgwyn's house nearby, and probably constructed St. Frances Methodist Church in Bertie County--all in Greek Revival style. A few miles west, near Littleton, the Skinner family who built the Greek Revival style Linden Hall made reference in 1843 in their correspondence to "Mr. Bragg," surely Thomas Bragg. The Skinners also mentioned "Jones"--possibly Albert Gamaliel Jones--and "Boon", perhaps James Boon--as construction proceeded. These men's specific roles are not known.

In 1850 the 72-year-old house carpenter Bragg was living in his son's household and still working, for he advertised in that year for "three or four good carpenters. Blacks preferred." At his death, unpaid bills for his work included a few otherwise unidentified projects: a portico for Samuel Calvert and an addition to a house for B. F. Lockhart.

Author: Catherine W. Bishir.

Published 2009

Building List

Northampton County Clerk's Office (1831)

Northampton Jackson

1831

Contributors:	Thomas Bragg, Sr., consulting builder; Abraham Spencer, builder
Location:	Jackson, Northampton County
Street Address:	Courthouse Square, Jackson, NC
Status:	Standing
Type:	Public
Images Published In:	Catherine W. Bishir and Michael T. Southern, A Guide to the Historic Architecture of Eastern North Carolina (1996). Frances Benjamin Johnston and Thomas Tileston Waterman, The Early Architecture of North Carolina (1941).

Northampton County Clerk's Office

Title:	Elevation, Northampton County Clerk's Office, Jackson, Northampton County, North Carolina
Citation:	"Elevation, Northampton County Clerk's Office, Jackson, Northampton County, North Carolina" State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), Built Heritage of North Carolina: Historic Architecture in the Old North State, North Carolina State University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center
Source:	The Built Heritage of North Carolina: Historic Architecture in the Old North State, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries

Jones-Cook House (Ca. 1810; ca. 1850)

Warren Warrenton

1810

Contributors:	Thomas Bragg, Sr., attributed builder; Albert Gamaliel Jones, attributed builder
Location:	Warrenton, Warren County
Street Address:	301 Bragg St., Warrenton, NC
Status:	Standing
Type:	Residential
Images Published In:	Kenneth McFarland, The Architecture of Warren County, North Carolina, 1770s to 1860s (2001).
Note:	The 2-story frame house reflects two building phases, one in Federal style, one in Greek Revival style. According to local tradition, Thomas Bragg, Sr. built the initial, Federal style house in the early 19th century as payment to an attorney for defending his wife; the expansion and remodeling in Greek Revival style is attributed to Albert Gamaliel Jones.

Jones-Cook House

Title:	Elevation, Jones-Cook House, Warrenton, Warren County, North Carolina
Citation:	Preservation North Carolina. "Elevation, Jones-Cook House, Warrenton, Warren County, North Carolina" Preservation North Carolina Historic Architecture Slide Collection, 1965-2005 (PNC slides), Built Heritage of North Carolina: Historic Architecture in the Old North State, North Carolina State University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center
Source:	The Built Heritage of North Carolina: Historic Architecture in the Old North State, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries

Little Manor (Ca. 1810s)

Warren Littleton

1810

Contributors:	Thomas Bragg, Sr., attributed builder
Location:	Littleton, Warren County
Street Address:	Littleton, NC
Status:	Standing
Type:	Residential
Images Published In:	Frances Benjamin Johnston and Thomas Tileston Waterman, The Early Architecture of North Carolina (1941). Kenneth McFarland, The Architecture of Warren County, North Carolina, 1770s to 1860s (2001).

Little Manor

Title:	Mosby Hall, Little Manor, Littleton, Halifax County, NC (HABS NC,42-LIT.V,1-2)
Citation:	Greene, C.O.. "Mosby Hall, Little Manor, Littleton, Halifax County, NC (HABS NC,42-LIT.V,1-2)" , Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress), Library of Congress, Prints and Photograph Division, Washington, D.C.
Source:	Historic American Buildings Survey, Library of Congress, Prints and Photograph Division, Washington, D.C.

Bibliography