The Halifax Resolves Chapter of the North Carolina Sons of the American Revolution honored four of their compatriots with grave-marking ceremonies that took place at two different locations recently. 

The first compatriot grave-markings of the day on October 21 took place at Trinity Church in Scotland Neck with the Halifax Chapter members and others honoring and recognizing the graves of Frank Hart Saunders (1897-1960), Luther Rice Mills II (1877-1955) and Dennis Hutson Holliday (1904-1973).  

SAR members present at this ceremony included: Region 1 Vice President Steve Avent, Chapter President Geoffrey S. Pittard, Ken Wilson, David Dowless and Don Oakes.

The second compatriot grave-marking honored Ernest Carl Witt (1945-2021), and took place at the Lasker Town Cemetery.  

Attendees at this event included Pittard, Avent, the Marquis de Lafayette Chapter member David Dowless, President; the Old North State Chapter member Ken Wilson; the Daughters of the American Revolution Constantia Chapter member and chairperson of the 250th Anniversary Committee Gloria Womble. Many friends and family members of Witt were also present. 

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The biographies of the compatriots are as follows:

Holliday 

Holliday was born on January 29, 1904 in Nash County near the community of Spring Hope. 

He graduated from Wake Forest College and received his Master's Degree at Columbia University and later became the principal of the Spring Hope School in Nash County. 

Compatriot Holliday was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Infantry Reserve in 1925 and at the beginning of World War II was called into active duty in 1940. 

Serving with the Army Headquarters Ground Forces during the war he retired in 1946 at the rank of lieutenant colonel. Holliday was the recipient of the Bronze Star and several Army commendation medals. 

Holliday was a member of the SAR from May 25, 1954 until his death. 

He was a descendant of Revolutionary War patriot John Lawrence who served in the Northampton County regiment of Colonel Allen Jones in 1775. 

Mills 

Mills was born September 14, 1877 in Wake Forest, the son of Wake Forest College mathematics professor Luther Rice Mills I and Anna Lewis Mills of Tarboro. 

He was the superintendent of Scotland Neck Knitting Mills. He attended Wake Forest College and was also a member of the Naval Reserve from 1943-1946. 

Compatriot Mills died on January 2, 1955 in Enfield at the age of 77 years. 

He served the town of Scotland Neck for over 50 years and was the superintendent of public works at the time of his death. 

He was a member of the SAR from 1956 until his death and also a member of the Virginia Historical Society. 

Mills was a descendant of Revolutionary War patriot Elisha Battle who was chairman of the Committee of Safety of Edgecombe County, a member of the Provincial Congresses of April and November, 1776 and a senator from Edgecombe County in the General Assemblies of 1777-1781 and 1785-1787. He was a member of the convention of Hillsboro in 1788 and chairman of its committee of the whole to debate ratification of the U.S. Constitution 

Saunders 

Saunders was born on September 27, 1897 in Rocky Mount near Battleboro in Nash County.

He was a tobacconist. 

In early 1942 he was employed by the China American Tobacco Company in Rocky Mount. 

He was a member of the SAR from 1928 until his death on January 16, 1960 in Lumberton.

Compatriot Saunders was a descendant of Revolutionary War patriot Benjamin Hart who served in the Continental Line as a cornet of the Third North Carolina Regiment of Light Dragoons and was commissioned quartermaster of the regiment on July 26, 1778. He was the coroner of Edgecombe County in 1762 and was on the commission to lay out the town of Tarboro when it was formed. 

Witt 

Witt was born on July 4, 1945 in Roanoke Rapids, the son of Ernest Leroy Witt and his first wife, Nellie Louise Daughtry. 

He grew up around Daughtry's Crossroad in Northampton County where his family had lived since first arriving there in 1787. He lived his entire life in Northampton County. 

He attended Chowan College and Campbell College where he graduated with a degree in social studies in 1967. 

He was a high school history teacher and choir director at Northeast Academy in Lasker when he retired in 2010. 

He was active in his community and served as chairman of the Northampton County Bicentennial Committee and was the editor of Footprints in Northampton which was published in 1976. 

He was a member of the Sons of the American Revolution since 1975 and was affiliated with the Halifax Resolves Chapter at the time of his death. 

He was a descendant of Revolutionary War patriot Arthur Cotton who was a member of the N.C. General Assembly in 1779 and contributed supplies to the army during the war.