Sadgwar House
The House architecture
The picture of the house on New Hanover library is a different house compared to the house that does have the Sadgwar family’s plaque on it. This essay will be focusing on the house that has the plaque on it and in this section it will talk about the house architecture. This house is done in colonial revival style.
This house is on 15 North 8th street, Wilmington North Carolina. The architectural style of this house is colonial revival. According to the “Pennsylvania Architectural Field Guide”, Colonial revival was a style from 1880-1960. This style was made from drawing off of design ideas from federal architecture and Georgian architecture styles. Some key identifications of a Colonial revival house is “Columned porch or portico, Front door sidelights and fanlight, pedimented door windows or dormers, broken pediment over front door, symmetrical facade, double-hung windows often multi-paned, windows or paired or triple windows, decorative pendants, and side gabled or hipped roofs.” If you are looking at the Sadgwar family's house from the street, the first thing that catches your eyes is the columned covered porch that has two decorative black metal pendants, or lights for the porch. The columns are white and the siding, which is squared edge paneling, is light gray with windows that are lined with black molding wood work. The porch columns are square based and are decorated with a raised paneled design stretching the whole width of the columns, with a decorative base and top. These are the structural columns that are holding up a section of a roof that covers the porch. The porched is lined with a white and light gray railing the spokes of the railing are planed square based with a light gray top portion of the railing encompassing the boundary of the porch. There are three steps with black metal railings on each side leading up to the porch at the entryway are two small capped columns that are done in the same decorative ways as the big structural column. The doorway to the house is a doorway with three windows, a fainlight and two sidelights. These windows are done in a decorative way with geometric tracery. There is one window on the far side of the house next to the plaque of the house. On the other side of the house is two more windows, all three of these windows are done in the cottage T style with the top being done in a decorative geometric tracery way. Above the covered front porch there are six cottage T style windows with the top portion being the same decorative geometric tracery. In between 2 of these windows is a smaller window that only has the sash with geometric tracery style on it. The windows on the side of the house are simple four paned windows. All the geometric tracery on the house is done in white paint. Above these windows a little portion of the house is sticking out of the hipped style roof at the front of the house. This is dormer with two horizontally three paned windows .
All in all from an architectural point of view this house is a colonial style house due to it having a columned porch, Front door sidelights and fanlight, a dormer, and multi-paned windows, decorative pendants, and has a hipped roof. Which checks out for the time period that the house was built.
“Sadgwar House”
“1877-1910”
“Built By Fredrick Cutler Sadgwar. Jr., (1843-1925), black carpenter-builder and civic leader; and wife Caroline Huggings (1845-1932). He and daughter, Felic, were the first Baha’i in North Carolina enrolled C. 1923. The original one-story house was enlarged in the neoclassica; renewal style in 1910 and it remained in the family until 1988 when it was willed to the Baha’i faith.”
Who lived here?
In 1877 David Sadgwar got the land to build the house for his eldest son Fredrick Cutler Sadgwar this was according to a news article in The Morning Star. From the New Handover deeds it shows the house deed in 1911 with Fredrick Sadwar and Caroline’s name on it, and around that time the house was expanded. The mortgage was under the Mechanics Association that Fredrick Sadwar founded. There Fredrick and his wife Caroline Huggins lived. According to the U.S census in 1880 it shows Fredrick Sadgwar living in the house with his family of 12.
Frederick Sadgwar was a carpenter he was trained by his father David Sadgwar and there is some documentation of him also working at the bellamy mansion. His father David Sadgwar put a lot of emphasis on education so Fredrick went to Lincoln University in Pennsylvanian. Additionally to his education and training from his father in carpentry he was a very notable figure in his community. He founded a freeman’s school near Whitesville, and he taught carpentry to local Wilimingtonians. He was also a civic, teacher, business, and religious leader. He was heavily involved with civic affairs and would frequently emerge in newspapers as working as a third ward in the courts system, and organizing black business communities. An example of Fredrick Sadgwar being mentioned in, “The Wilmington Post of January 3, 1869 carried a report of the “Proceedings of the Colored Men’s Convention held at the Theatre Friday Last.” Marking Emancipation Day, the meeting and its officers involved several of the city’s leading black citizens.” This group of leaders, Fredrick Sadgwar being one of them, were getting together to thank Congress for allowing them and others like them off to celebrate Emancipation day. He also was a member of the Rising Sun Lodge No. 1140, and a member of the Chestnut Street Presbyterian Church. In November 1898 he was recognized as the leading member of the black community in Wilmington. During the coup of 1898 there is not a lot of information found in newspapers about his wair about, but he was still active in the community. Even though a lot of the Sadgwars during this time flead Wilmington because their lives were being threatened.
It was hard to find some information on his wife other than the fact that she was an enslaved person which is why she has the name Huggins. She had that name from her enslaver before she married Fredrick and became a Sadgwar. Here and Ferdrick had twelve kids together, Caroline ‘Carrie’ Sadgwar, Fred C. Sadgwar, Byron Sadgwar, Ernest Sadgwar, Otis Aubrey Sadgwar, Fannie Mabel Sadgwar, and Felice Sadgwar. The other four children were unable to find their names. Other than Caroline Sadwar there was very little information found on the rest of the children. Most of them became carpenters, laborers, teachers, and Fannie specifically became a nurse. Frederic Sadgwar Jr and Caroline Sadgwar had more documentation compared to the rest of the twelve children. Both were very accomplished in many fields.
With Caroline Sadgwar who attended Gregory normal school and then she went to attend Fisk University where she was really able to showcase her musical singing talent. Her singing talent took off, giving her chances to travel. In 1897-1899, she traveled to London to sing. Later she would become a school teacher and later on the youngest of the twelve children Felice would also become a school teacher. Caroline lived in the house till 1900, when she moved out after marrying Alexander Manly. Frederick Sadgwar Sr. and Felice Sadgwar were the first of the family to convert to the Baha’i religion in 1918 the short Mabel followed. The Sadgwar family continued to live in this house till about the late 20th century. Then when Mabel and Felice passed away in the 1980s they gave the house to the Baha’i faith for the community to use. Then the Baha’i faith could no longer afford the house. However they made sure the house was protected historically, and part of that involved putting the plaque on it.
Speaking of Caroline Sadgwar, I was very surprised that she was not mentioned as being someone who lived there. Especially with her fame with singing and then marrying Alexander Manly. Granted she did not build the house but she did live in the house. By looping her into the story that adds to the importance of the houses especially with her being the wife of Alexander Manly additionally, both her and Manly is a significant part of Wilmington’s history.
Conclusion:
All in all this is a very pretty house. You can tell that it was built by two carpenters David and Fredrick Sadgwar with detailed work on the house and it stayed true to Colonial revival style for the most part. This House has a very complex and rich family history with how involved both David and Fredrick Sadgwar were in their community, and how the Sadgwar family added to the Wilmington community and was significant to that community also. Then later Caroline “Carrie” Sadgwar being involved with the community especially once she marries Alexander Manely. This house for a brief time was also a part of the Baha’i faith history in Wilmington also. I am glad that the Baha’i faith saw to it that the house was historically protected. Though I wish that the plaque had more information on the Sadgwar family, or at least mentioned Caroline Sadgwar who lived there, however I am thankful that at the least the plaque still keeps the Sadgwar family name relevant in the community after being so active in the Wilmington community.
Citation:
Bishir, Catherine W., “Sadgwar Family,” Architects and Builders: A Biographical Directory, Accessed, Feb 11, 2024, Sadgwar Family (ncsu.edu)
City of Wilmington, Design standard: for Historical Districts and landmarks, (City of Wilmington, 2019),p, 58,60,61,67.
CivicPlus Content Management “New Hanover County, Moghan Getty Collins, Registrar,” New Hanover County Library, accessed Feb 10, 2024, New Hanover County Search Deeds (newhanoverdeeds.com)
East Carolina manuscript Collection, “Alex Manly and wife, Caroline Sadgwar Manly,” ECU Digital Collections, Accessed Feb 12, 2024, Sadgwar Family (ncsu.edu)
Historic Wilmington Foundation, Plaques, Accessed Feb 10, 2024
Kolins Steven, “A North Carolina Baha’i History 1850-2021”,(Wilmette Institute,2021),p,11,12.
Morning Star NewPapers, “Wilmington Morning Star,” Digital NC, Accessed Feb 12, 2024, Wilmington Morning Star (Wilmington, N.C.) Historic Issues · DigitalNC
New Handover, Public Library, “Port City Architecture Map,” Digital collection, New Hanover Public Library, Accessed Feb 12, 2024, Port City Architecture Map - Google My Maps
New Handover, Public Library, “Sadgwar House” Digital Collection New Hanover Public Library, Accessed Feb 10, 2024, Sadgwar House - Port City Architecture - New HanoverCounty Public Library Digital Archives (oclc.org)
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, “Pennsylvania Architectural guild”, Accessed Feb 11, 2024, Colonial Revival Style 1880 - 1960 | PHMC > Pennsylvania Architectural Field Guide (state.pa.us)
Reaves M William, “Strength through Struggle: the chronological and Historical Record of the African-American Community in Wilmington, North Carolina 1865-1950.,” (New Hanover County Library).
Russ May, “15 N 8th Street,” Redfin, Accessed Feb 10, 2024 15 N 8th St, Wilmington, NC 28401 | Redfin
Taylor Meadows
