Most families have checkered histories because they were products of their times. The ancestors of Peyton Townes and Muriel Pearce were no exception, as residents of the colonial and American South. The majority of ancestors before 1865 were slave owners.
Just as the United States as a whole has to wrestle with both the positive and negative aspects of its history, as descendants we have to reconcile ourselves to these facts. That has to be an individual response. The purpose of this site is to present family history as objectively as possible, without glossing over or dwelling upon the more controversial aspects of our collective history.
But speaking personally, I believe we have to take it on balance and be honest without disowning our ancestry and heritage. We all live in the times and places in which we are born, and we adapt to the norms of society in various ways. These ancestors lived according to the prevailing culture and practices of their locales and eras. If civilization advances, future generations will likely look back at some of our values and actions with disapproval.
In a positive sense, many of these ancestors had important roles in the early settlement of Virginia, North Carolina, and America overall. They endured the unimaginable hardships and sacrifices of carving out a society in an unknown, and often dangerous land far from their original homes. Many of them also had active roles in the American Revolution and the formative years of the United States, as well as the growth of the nation since then.
However, whatever other moral virtues, life achievements and other good qualities they may have possessed they were slave owners. Their involvement varied, from those who had a small number of slaves for their households and businesses to those who owned large numbers of plantation slaves. They may have been "good masters" or bad ones. But they were slave owners. For example, it is depressing to read wills in which people casually bequeath to their heirs the ownership of slaves along with furniture, land and cattle.
And they actively supported and participated in the formation of the Confederacy before and during the Civil War. In addition, some ancestors in Wilmington N.C. also participated in an insurrection in 1898 by white citizens which resulted in an overthrow of the elected city government and violence which forced the departure of a large number of African Americans.
Another unsavory aspect is the participation by some branches of the family in the displacement of the Native American populations of Virginia during the early years of colonial settlement. The picture in Virginia was not always clear-cut. There were periods of harmony, trade and mutual assistance between the white newcomers and the indigenous populations. However, as white encroachment became more pronounced, tensions arose which resulted in massacres and atrocities by both sides.
Again, it is up to us individually to reconcile with this. Here are some resources on the subject.