Three hundred years along the Pasquotank : a biographical history of Camden County
THREE HUNDRED YEARSALONG THE PASQUOTANKBy JESSE F. PUGH
CAMDEN COUNTY
LEGEND
The approximate location of the residence of each individual listed below is shown on the map by the number found opposite the name. All persons having a number in common lived at the same site.
| Abbott, Henry | 29 | Jones, Lloyd Baum | 54 |
| Abbott, John Kelley | 48 | Jones, Nehemiah | 24 |
| Barecock, Thomas* | 11 | Jones, William Forbes | 54 |
| Burfoot, Amy, Jr. | 12 | Joy, William | 8 |
| Burfoot, Amy, Sr. | 85 | Lamb, Abner | 25 |
| Burgess, Dempsey | 32 | Lamb, Cornelius G. | 42 |
| Burgess, Dempsey S.* | 51 | Lamb, Gideon | 25 |
| Burgess, James Edward | 52 | Latham, Paul | 3 |
| Burgess, John | 18 | Leary, Herman Vincent | 59 |
| Burgess, Peter T. | 47 | Linton, the brothers | 56 |
| Burgess, William | 17a | Lowman, Samuel | 23 |
| Burgess, William | 17b | McBride, Elisha | 36 |
| Burnham, Gabriel | 10 | Mercer, Peter | 38 |
| Dauge, Peter | 25 | Morgan, Robert | 9 |
| Elliott, Peter | 50 | Nash, Josiah* | 22 |
| Ferebee, Dennis Dozier | 44 | Norton, John | 7 |
| Ferebee, George | 49 | Oggs, John | 20 |
| Ferebee, Wiley G. | 57 | Old, Arthur* | 41 |
| Fleming, George | 1 | Philpott, John | 4 |
| Flora, Susan | 43 | Raymond, William | 5 |
| Forbes, John | 26 | Reed, William | 7 |
| Garlington, James S. | 39 | Sanderlin, Willis B. | 58 |
| Gatlin, Alfred Moore | 40 | Sawyer, Caleb | 15 |
| Grandy, Caleb | 22 | Sawyer, Enoch | 27 |
| Gray, John* | 30 | Sawyer, Lemuel, Jr. | 27 |
| Gregory, Bess Tillitt | 60 | Sawyer, Lemuel, Sr. | 27 |
| Gregory, Isaac | 33 | Scarborough, McRora | 13 |
| Halstead, William Ira | 55 | Shepard, William Biddle | 33 |
| Harney, Selby | 31 | Solley, John | 14 |
| Harrison, Abner | 28 | Walston, William P. | 46 |
| Humphries, Thomas | 19 | Williams, Charles B. | 53 |
| Hunter, Thomas | 16 | Williams, Samuel | 12 |
| Jacobs, John | 45 | Wright, Thomas | 21 |
| Jennings, William | 2 | ||
| Jones, Ann | 6 | ||
| Jones, Benjamin | 37 | ||
| Jones, Cornelius | 6 | NOTE: | |
| Jones, Griffith | 19 | a Before 1741 | |
| Jones, John Calhoun | 54 | b After 1741 | |
| Jones, Joseph | 34 | * Location doubtful |
LEGEND
Letters on the map indicate the location of the places listed below with corresponding letters. If a location has had more than one name, the same letter is used for each name.
| A. | Fleming's Creek1 | M. | Jonesborough1 |
| A. | Raymonds Creek | N. | Wickham |
| B. | Portohonk Creek | O. | South Mills |
| C. | Arenuse Creek | P. | Burnt Mills |
| D. | Sawyers Creek | M. | Camden |
| E. | Joys Creek | Q. | Belcross |
| F. | Dismal Swamp Canal | R. | Bartlett |
| G. | Battle of Sawyers Lane | S. | River Bridge |
| H. | Chantilly | T. | Indian Town |
| H. | Solleys Ferry1 | U. | Sandy Hook |
| I. | Lambs Ferry | V. | Riddle |
| J. | Sawyers Ferry | W. | Shiloh |
| K. | Mill Town1 | X. | Old Trap |
| L. | Danson's Manor1 | Y. | Tar Corner |
| M. | Plank Bridge2 | Z. | Indian Island |
NOTE:
1 Name no longer in general use.2 Limited now to bridge.CAMDEN COUNTY
CAMDEN COUNTY COURTHOUSE
For five years after Camden was formed in 1777, according to a well-established tradition the county courts were held in the residence of Joseph Jones, whose plantation adjoined the site selected for the courthouse grounds. In 1782 the commissioners authorized the construction of the first building. Presumably, this was replaced by the present structure which was erected in 1847.
Drawing of Camden CountyOLD TRAPCAMDEN COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA
Copyright, 1957, by Jesse Forbes Pugh
Printed in the United States of America
By the Seeman Printery, Inc., Durham, N. C.
TO THE MEMORY OF MY PARENTS
Stephen Needham, Pugh
and
Isabel Forbes Pugh
PREFACE
THE PURPOSE of this book is to depict life on the northeast side of the Pasquotank River as exemplified by the careers of certain individuals who have lived here during the past three centuries. The river was recognized as dividing Pasquotank County geographically into two separate areas long before the formation of Camden County in 1777. Even when this part of Carolina was known simply as the County of Albemarle and was under the supervision of the Governor of Virginia, land grants along the river carefully located themselves as being on “the northeast side” or “the southwest side.” This distinction lapsed into disuse only after the northeast region became Camden County and the description was therefore no longer necessary.
The scope of these narratives is limited to events of local import and to selected persons who have distinguished themselves while residents, except in four instances of unique significance to Camden. The history is not developed in the conventional manner, being confined to a series of informal biographical sketches which are in general chronologically arranged according to the death of the subject.
As a basis for determining the selection of individuals to be included, the following criteria were set up:
(1) Those who preformed some outstanding deed or service.
(2) Those who achieved prominence because of their association with some significant activity.
(3) Those who left a permanent reminder of their presence.
(4) Those who were typical of a class or group—one for each period of our history.
The first three of these objectives almost automatically pointed to those who should be chosen. The fourth standard presented difficulties since in any era there are obviously many people who may be regarded as typical of their times, and the inclusion of all such would not be practicable.
The aim has been to present these miniature biographies objectively. The pattern set by the chroniclers of the Bible has been taken as a guide to impartial presentation. In other words the intention has been to follow the well known directions spoken by Othello: “Nothing extenuate or aught set down in malice, but speak of me as I am.” And it is further hoped that these pages will serve not only as a source of useful information for those now living but also as a helpful
starting point for those who may wish to contribute additional data in the future.
The sources of the materials employed are listed separately for each biographical sketch. As may be noted, I have made frequent use of North Carolina, a History of a Southern State, by Hugh Talmage Lefler and Alfred Ray Newsome, a volume which helped me greatly to keep my subjects in their proper historical perspective and, as needed, supplied me with background information. I acknowledge with appreciation my indebtedness to the authors for the use of their history. Professor Lefler was also kind enough to read the sketches in manuscript and offer many practical suggestions, especially so to an amateur writer. I also wish to express my thanks to Dr. W. P. Jacocks of Chapel Hill for his encouragement and guidance in the preparation of this book.
All persons who have contributed information are listed in the Sources and to them I hereby wish to make known my gratitude. I should like especially to acknowledge my obligation to Dr. Elizabeth Gregory McPherson of the Library of Congress staff. She has cheerfully and tirelessly supplied valuable data from the great storehouse of materials in the Library. To Mrs. Jane Gregory McPherson my sincere thanks are due for her courtesy in relating many local traditions and items. I am also indebted to Mr. and Mrs. W. J. Burgess for their generous contributions of facts and folklore.
Many individuals have assisted in the mechanical preparation of this book. The excellent map showing where the subjects of the bibliographies lived and also the miniature used between the sketches are the work of Mr. S. A. Tuten, Jr., Camden's County Agent, and I sincerely thank him therefore. I am greatly indebted to my niece, Mrs. J. H. Chapman (Faye Pugh) of Portsmouth, who volunteered to type the bulk of the manuscript. My thanks are also due to Mrs. Raymond Maxwell of Raleigh both for her assistance in copying materials as well as for her encouragement. I also wish to express my obligation to the following persons who typed the appendices: Mrs. H. R. Topping, Mr. E. Ray Etheridge and Rev. Carl Calloway, and I gratefully acknowledge my indebtedness to Mr. E. D. Fowler of The Seeman Printery, Durham, whose suggestions were most helpful in arranging the contents and in selecting a cover design. In fact, this book has been made possible through the generous efforts of others.
JESSE FORBES PUGH
Old Trap.
July 10, 1957
CONTENTS| Preface | vii | |
| Earl of Camden | Portrait and sketch | facing page 3 |
| George Fleming | An Early Settler | 3 |
| William Jennings | An Early Prison | 5 |
| Paul Latham | First Clerk of the Court | 8 |
| John Philpott | A Tragedy | 10 |
| William Raymond | An Ancient Place-Name | 13 |
| Cornelius Jones | The Genial Mariner | 15 |
| John Norton | An Indian Fighter | 18 |
| John Danson | The Beginning of Shiloh | 21 |
| William Joy | A Permanent Name | 24 |
| Thomas Barecock | Ancestor to Many | 26 |
| Robert Morgan | Host to the Provincial Assembly | 28 |
| William Reed | Acting Governor | 30 |
| Ann Jones | Site of an Ancient Meeting House | 33 |
| Gabriel Burnham | Leader in North End of the County | 35 |
| Samuel Williams | A Colonial Planter | 37 |
| McRora Scarborough | An Aristocrat | 39 |
| John Solley | An Important Ferry | 43 |
| Caleb Sawyer | First Attempt to form the County | 45 |
| Thomas Hunter | Building a Watermill | 47 |
| William Burgess | Founder of Shiloh Baptist Church | 50 |
| John Burgess | A Burning Light | 53 |
| Griffith Jones | A Rowdy Leader | 55 |
| Samuel Lowman | Three Captains of the Colonial Militia | 58 |
| Josiah Nash | ||
| Nehemiah Jones | ||
| John Oggs | The Race Problem | 62 |
| Thomas Wright | Ishmael | 64 |
| John Forbes | Dulce et Decorum | 67 |
| Gideon Lamb | A Gallant Father and His Son | 70 |
| Abner Lamb | ||
| Lemuel Sawyer, Sr. | High Sheriff in Two Counties | 75 |
| Abner Harrison | A Confiscation Commissioner | 77 |
| John Gray | Camden's First Representatives | 79 |
| Caleb Grandy | ||
| Thomas Humphries |
| Henry Abbott | Preacher and Patriot | 83 |
| Hezekiah Linton | A Patriotic Family | 87 |
| Jehu Linton | ||
| Jesse Linton | ||
| Silas Linton | ||
| Selby Harney | Knight-Errant | 89 |
| Isaac Gregory | The Master of Fairfield Plantation | 92 |
| Dempsey Burgess | First Congressman from Camden | 97 |
| Joseph Jones | The Formation of Camden County | 101 |
| Peter Dauge | An Industrious Soldier | 106 |
| Amy Burfoot, Sr. | Mother and Daughter | 109 |
| Amy Burfoot, Jr. | ||
| Benjamin Jones | The Dismal Swamp Canal | 112 |
| Peter Mercer | The Innkeeper | 114 |
| Frances, Marchioness Camden | Portrait and sketch | facing page 118 |
| Elisha McBride | The Coming of the Methodists | 118 |
| Arthur Old | A Later Immigrant | 123 |
| James S. Garlington | The War of 1812 | 125 |
| Enoch Sawyer | Host to President of the United States | 129 |
| Lemuel Sawyer, Jr. | Author and Congressman | 132 |
| Alfred Moore Gatlin | Two Congressmen who were Temporary Residents | 138 |
| William Biddle Shepard | ||
| Cornelius Gray Lamb | A Planter of the Ante Bellum Period | 140 |
| Susan Flora | Gone but Not Forgotten | 142 |
| Dennis Dozier Ferebee | Confederate Officer and Political Leader | 147 |
| John Jacobs | The Musician | 156 |
| Peter T. Burgess | The Buffaloes and the Civil War | 160 |
| John Kelly Abbott | A Good Name | 166 |
| George Ferebee | The First Postmasters | 168 |
| Dempsey Sawyer Burgess | ||
| Peter Elliott | ||
| Wiley Grandy Ferebee | ||
| James Edward Burgess | ||
| Willis Burgess Sanderlin | The Home Guards and the Civil War | 173 |
| William Perkins Walston | ||
| Lloyd Baum Jones | Three Brothers | 188 |
| John Calhoun Jones | ||
| William Forbes Jones | ||
| Charles Bray Williams | A Scholar | 192 |
| Herman Vincent Leary | A Useful Citizen | 195 |
| Bess Tillitt Gregory | Leader among Camden Women | 199 |
| William Ira Halstead | Camden's Only Superior Court Appointment | 204 |
| Appendices | 207 | |
| (A) Genealogical Notes | 207 | |
| (B) 1. Pasquotank Representatives in Provincial Assemblies, 1701-1776 | 213 | |
| 2. Camden Representatives in State Legislatures, 1777-1835 | 214 | |
| 3. Camden Representatives in State Legislatures, 1836-1957 | 216 | |
| (C) Sources | 217 | |
| Index | 235 |
CAMDEN COUNTY
SIR CHARLES PRATT, FIRST EARL OF CAMDEN
The man in whose honor Camden County was named had a distinguished career as a public official in England. His longest tenure was as Chief Justice of Common Pleas; after his elevation to the peerage in 1765 he was made Lord Chancellor. His defense of the cause of the colonies and his praise of their conduct during the Revolution won for him wide popularity in the United States. He once stated that he would have exchanged half of his fortune for the privilege of having been a member of the Congress which drew up the Declaration of Independence. In his opinion this gathering constituted “the most virtuous public body of men which ever had or ever would meet together in this world.” Many towns and counties in this country bear his name. The portrait is after one of Sir Joshua Reynolds. The black and silver of Lord Camden's coat of arms suggested the colors used in the covers of this book.
GEORGE FLEMING
ca 1635-1694
NO ONE KNOWS who was the first settler on the northeast side of the Pasquotank River, but George Fleming was evidently one of the first to establish a residence there. For one thing, the waterway which has been known as Raymond's Creek for at least two hundred and fifty years was previously called Fleming's. “fflemins creek” is referred to in the Colonial Records as a boundary of a tract of land in a noted trial which took place during the same year in which this pioneer died.
Apparently he was living here when the Lords Proprietors received this territory in 1663 from Charles II and when they tried during the first years to replace the old Indian names with designations honoring themselves. Thus, Pasquotank River became “Craven River” and Currituck and Pasquotank (the latter included present day Camden) were formed into the Precinct of Carteret. Therefore one reads in the land grant books that a patent was issued in 1681 to one of Fleming's neighbors, “Isaac Gilford of Craven River,” for 100 acres “in Carteret Precinct on the riverside.” Happily, the vitality of the Indian names survived this attempt to obliterate them and they had reappeared officially when the County of Albemarle became the Province of North Carolina in 1689.
Before 1700 practically all settlers in the Albemarle area selected a site with water frontage, and Fleming was no exception to this practice. His house stood on one side of a small gut or slough issuing into a larger creek which was to bear his name; and his close friend, Simeon Rice, lived on the other side of the smaller stream. His dwelling probably approximated the dimensions of Rice's house, which were twelve by eighteen feet. The small window openings were without glass and were closed to the elements by wooden shutters, while the floors were “the good earth.” The exterior walls were covered with upright hand-rived boards and the roof with wood shingles of the same manufacture, the customary mode of building employed by the early settlers, especially those in the lower economic brackets. According to
contemporary descriptions, such a house was usually contained in an all-purpose room—kitchen, living room and bedroom.
There is no record of a patent issued to Fleming, who probably never received any documentary title to his small estate. Before the territory became the property of the Lords Proprietors, some of the newcomers effected a purchase of lands from the Indians but more often they simply moved in, cleared a few acres, erected a crude structure and, in their minds at least, acquired title “by right of possession.” Sometimes a grant would be obtained for a tract several years after it had been occupied by the grantee.
Fleming held no public office nor asserted himself in public affairs. He was typical of the majority of colonists who of necessity literally wrested a livelihood from the wilderness with their bare hands. To him the business of making a living often presented rather grim aspects, so exacting was the struggle for self-preservation. An axe, a gun, a hoe, an iron pot for cooking—such utilitarian items were tremendously valuable because they could not immediately be replaced and without them the hardships of frontier life were intensified. Having known privations, Fleming became acutely aware of the needs of his neighbors.
His will is a concrete expression of his desire to help those who lived about him, even though he had only meager possessions with which to express his sentiments. His bequests were: to Thomas Elliott, “my longest gun”; to James Robinson, “a cow and a calf”; to Henry Bray, “my best coate, briches, shirte, draweres and hatt”; and to his executor, Simeon Rice, “my loving friend,” he left the rest of his property should his daughter, an only child, die without issue.
That Fleming in turn enjoyed the friendly esteem of his neighbors of every degree is indicated by the witnesses to his will. There were four and they were: Elizabeth Jones, wife of Captain Cornelius Jones, prosperous merchant trader and representative in the Provincial Assembly; John Philpott, clerk of the court and man of affairs in the Albemarle; Isaac Gilford, a very substantial citizen; and William Bray, son of the William Bray who was deputy marshal for Currituck. Here too, perhaps, one may perceive how life in the wilderness fostered a feeling of common brotherhood, which is essentially a fundamental principle of democracy.
Why have certain place names disappeared, and why have others continued to remain? Whatever the reasons for this whim of history, the adjoining neighbors, George Fleming and Simeon Rice, afford an interesting illustration. As we have already noted, the larger creek
fronting the two small farms was called “Fleming's.” Meanwhile, the little stream running between the two dwellings was named “Lydai's,” evidently for Rice's wife Lydai. Within ten years after Fleming's death, the larger creek became Raymond's and has been so designated to this day. Erosion transformed the narrow slough long ago into a swamp. Nothing is known of Lydai Rice except her name, but the small morass is still called Lydai's Creek.
• An Early PrisonWILLIAM JENNINGS
ca 1635-1687
THE FIRST YEARS following the transfer of the territory including North Carolina to the Lords Proprietors were characterized by weak government and continuous unrest, erupting at times into defiance and actual violence. William Jennings first appears in 1677 in one of the most spectacular episodes, the so-called Culpeper Rebellion, as the custodian of Thomas Miller, collector of customs and representative of the governor, and who had been imprisoned by the “rebels.” A brief explanation seems necessary to make clear the part played by Jennings.
Although ineffectual administration under the Proprietors was a contributing factor, the basic reasons for dissatisfaction stemmed from two deep-seated causes originating before the Proprietors took over. In the first place, those early settlers who were substantial landowners generally resented the transfer of this territory from the Crown to the Proprietors. Since William Jennings aligned himself with this group, this may indicate residence here before the transfer, for although the records do not show when he arrived or how his property was acquired, he owned a sizable plantation.
The other basic reason for dissatisfaction, and shared by all classes of settlers, was the restrictive trade measures known as the Navigation Acts, which were enacted in 1651 and 1660 and required all colonial commerce to be carried in British, Irish or colonial vessels, and certain items, notably tobacco, could be shipped only to England. What was
regarded as a further unnecessary restriction were the Plantation Acts of 1673 which permitted shipments to other colonies provided an additional duty was paid on the goods, for example, a penny per pound on tobacco, which had become the chief money crop. Many colonists felt that British subjects should have the same trade privileges regardless of their habitation. Consequently, flagrant and open violation of the Navigation and Plantation Acts became a common practice.
Thus it came to pass that Deputy Governor Peter Carteret, disheartened because of opposition to the enforcement of the Plantation Acts, resigned his post in 1673, leaving affairs of the colony in the hands of John Jenkins. Backed by influential George Durant and John Culpeper, Jenkins displayed no inclination to enforce the offensive statute. Support of enforcement was led by Thomas Eastchurch, Speaker of the Provinical Assembly, and Thomas Miller. In the tussle between the two factions Miller was thrown into jail, whereupon Eastchurch managed to depose Jenkins and also imprison him. Miller escaped and he and Eastchurch in London were able to obtain support of the Proprietors for their cause. Eastchurch was appointed governor and Miller, secretary and collector of customs. Stopping in the West Indies on the return trip, Eastchurch became attracted to a “woman of considerable fortune” and very practically “took hold of the opportunity” and married her. While he was consummating this pleasant diversion, he sent Miller on before to act as president of the council and to handle matters pending the governor's arrival.
Miller arrived and forthwith set about with great zeal and little tact to enforce the hated laws and to collect the customs. He also meddled in precinct elections and in general comported himself in such a manner as to kindle burning wrath on the part of his opponents. The situation came to a head when Miller arrested Captain Zachariah Gillam, master of a trading vessel, for violation of the Navigation Acts. The opposition led by George Durant, John Culpeper, Valentine Byrd and others, surrounded Miller's house, captured him and threw him in prison.
This rebellion received favorable support from the people. The Provincial Assembly met and appointed a new council of state and Culpeper was chosen governor. Miller and others were tried and he was again imprisoned. Later, he again escaped from his jail and with Timothy Biggs went to London to present their cause before the Proprietors.
In London a complete investigation was ordered by the Privy Council. Several depositions were taken and the imprisonment of Miller was frequently referred to. For example, one Peter Brockwell testified that Miller was a “prisoner in Irons as he was to ye uppr end of Pasquotank River at one old Wm Jennings his house under a strong guard to whom none was admitted to speake except publiquely and a little while after ye Deponent saw ye sd Miller enclosed in a logg house about 10 or 11 foot square purposely built for him.” It is therefore clearly in evidence that Jennings sided with the “rebels” in the Culpeper Rebellion and that his house was used as a place of confinement for the leading figure in the conflict.
There were two reasons for using Jennings’ residence as a prison; no jails had been erected and the location was not readily accessible to sailing vessels. The house was quite probably on the outer edge of the settlements which had been made thus far and is not regarded today as “the upper end”—the description now refers to the head waters of the river in the vicinity of the modern village of South Mills. Incidentally, ownership of the Jennings plantation soon passed to the Murden family, and as “Murden's Landing” it was long one of the sites designated for the inspection of foreign commodities prior to the Revolution. The identity of its early use is revealed in a deed dated 1736, when Jeremiah Murden, Sr., gives to his son Jeremiah, Jr., the plantation “joyning on the mouth of Sawyers Creek and being commonly known as William Jennings Plantation.” The mouth of Sawyers Creek is about four miles above Elizabeth City or “the Narrows,” as the site was then known.
Jennings possessed a substantial plantation and owned both Negro and Indian slaves at the time of his death. His two guns, both valuable and necessary items in those days, were carefully bequeathed: to his son John, “my longest gun,” and to his son-in-law “Ralph Garrot, the gun as I bought of Captain Gillam.” Jennings was one of the most interesting of the early settlers who lived on the northeast side. With the exception of his grandson of the same name, however, the members of this family have generally dwelt on the southwest side of the river in what is now Pasquotank County from colonial times until the present.
• First Clerk of the Court
PAUL LATHAM
ca 1643-1693
THE DOCUMENTS which reveal Paul Latham as Clerk of the County of Albemarle in 1676 also recorded an interesting item of history in this region. The “County of Albemarle,” the first official designation of North Carolina, included the territory bordering on the ocean from Chowan River to the Virginia Line.
The second governor of Albemarle was Samuel Stephens who died in 1669. Stephens had acquired possession of Roanoke Island, which he bequeathed in entirety to his widow, the former Frances Culpeper. In 1670 she married Sir William Berkeley, governor of Virginia, and in 1676 he sold all of the island to Captain Joshua Lamb, a New England mariner. Lamb sold a one-half interest to one Nicholas Paige of Boston, who in turn devised this interest to his niece, Mrs. Martha Hobbs, who later married Nathaniel Oliver, also of Boston.
The records of the transactions having been destroyed or misplaced in the Albemarle, a question arose as to the legality of the Olivers’ title to the property. With characteristic foresight, however, the New Englanders had prudently had duplicate copies made of all the transactions. Thus, when a history of the several transactions was reviewed before the local courts, one of the supporting documents submitted was a deposition by John Culpeper that he had been a subscribing witness when Sir William Berkeley signed the deed of sale of Joshua Lamb on April 17, 1676. The deposition was made before Paul Latham, Clerk of the Albemarle County Court.
By an interesting coincidence Latham and Captain Joshua Lamb were referred to at a later date in connection with the subterfuges resorted to by the planters to avoid compliance with the requirements of the Navigation and Plantation Duty Acts. Many devices were employed by the planters to evade payment of any duties, especially on tobacco, their most profitable crop, and those stratagems were effected with the active cooperation of some of the New England traders. The following verbatim quotation from a deposition made by one Solomon Simmons in 1679 describes one of the methods: “This depont saith . . . he sawe sundry Hds Tobacco shipt by Josh & Caleb Lamb 2 New Engld traidrs from ye aforesd Crawford's Plantation undr ye motion of Bate as the said Lambs did afterwards publiquely owne and boast of.”
Obviously the shippers could not avoid payment of all duties and when they did pay they were permitted, in lieu of specie, to do so with an amount of tobacco equal in value to the duty levied. This gave rise to another sharp practice of meeting such obligations with tobacco of poor quality, the better grades being withheld for the trade. In a deposition made in 1679 Paul Latham stated in effect that one Captain Haron had protested taking on board a shipment to England of this inferior tobacco because it was unmarketable and was not worth the freight charges and, consequently, would “leave his owners in debt.” As attorney for Captain Haron, Latham added, he had made the suggestion to Robert Holden, Collector, not to send this tobacco that was “so bad” to England, but to permit Latham to see if he could “gett anything for it of ye New England men.” Evidently the enterprising New Englanders knew of markets where the customers were not too discriminating as to quality.
Holden was obdurate, however, and insisted upon making the shipment despite the protests. Furthermore, according to complaints made during this period, Holden was performing his duties in a high-handed manner and refusing to cooperate with local officials. According to an existing document, the Comptroller of Customs and Surveyor-General of the province, Timothy Biggs, who by virtue of his office designated the places from which vessels should obtain clearance papers, wrote a letter to Holden reprimanding him for failing to recognize the comptroller's deputy, Samuel Pricklove, and for ignoring the comptroller's clearance orders. This letter, so the record affirms, was delivered to the collector at the residence of George Durant, February 4, 1679, in the presence of Colonel John Jenkins, Paul Latham, and others. True to form, Holden angrily declared he would have nothing to do with the bearer of the letter or with Biggs either.
Latham was the first clerk of the court to reside on the northeast side of the river. He was clerk of the Albemarle Court in 1676 and again in 1692, although this latter term may have been restricted to duties in Pasquotank Precinct. The few surviving references to Paul Latham's career are sufficient to identify him as an active participant in various phases of the public life of his time. Thanks to an affidavit by the man who married his widow, we are informed of more personal details. His plantation was known as “Rich Thicket,” consisted of 150 acres and had been part of the estate belonging to John Philpott, who had sold him the tract. Since it is known that Philpott, who was to serve later as
clerk, lived in the forks of Raymond's Creek, the approximate location of Latham's residence is therefore established.
• A TragedyJOHN PHILPOTT
ca 1630-1694
ONE OF THE TRAGIC figures who have lived on the northeast side of the Pasquotank River was John Philpott. After a long and respectable career with “honor and troops of friends” he came suddenly and dramatically to an ignominious end.
Many instances can be cited to show that he must have had a wide acquaintance in the province. He was serving as clerk of the court in 1689 when the official designation of the County of Albemarle was changed to the Province of North Carolina, and he held the same office in 1693. His appearance at different places and with various persons seems to indicate an individual ubiquitous in his habits. We find him over in Perquimans as witness to the will of the pioneer leader, George Durant. With such widely scattered gentlemen as Thomas Jarvis, Thomas Pollock, Thomas Miller and Henderson Walker he was joint sponsor of an act making any persons liable to imprisonment without bail who “cast forth any opprobious language against any person . . . whereby to cause animosities and disaffection amongst any inhabitants of this County”—an effort made obviously to calm the public during the turbulent period following the ousting of Governor Seth Sothel. And over on the southwest side of the river when that wealthy Quaker, John Archdale, had in 1686 established his daughter Ann Archdale upon a thousand-acre tract, Philpott was prompt in submitting a written obligation to deliver pork. Incidentally, he was a merchant of consequence as evidenced by his accounts with those Bermuda merchants, Messrs. Duncombe and Robison.
John Philpott was obstinate in his views and his occasional lawsuits may also denote a contentious disposition. Tenacity of opinion, however, may have been an ancestral trait, for either a direct or collateral
ancestor was that John Philpott who wrote a violent treatise against the Anabaptists, and who was continually engaged in controversy and was finally burned at the stake in 1555 as a heretic and Protestant martyr during the reign of Mary Tudor. The devotion of Philpott and William Bray, among others, to the Established Church may well explain why the Society of Friends was never able to gain any adherents in the Camden area while at the same time the Society increased rapidly in numbers on the Pasquotank side.
A glance at one or two phases of contemporary history will serve to throw some light upon the mental state which the aging Philpott finally displayed. As will be recalled, James II was deposed in 1688 and his daughter Mary and her husband, William of Orange, were brought from Holland to occupy the English throne. Philpott had been loyal to James and, characteristically, was unwilling to accept the new sovereigns. He had little sympathy with the violence and lawless restlessness which culminated with the capture and imprisonment of Thomas Miller, and due to his influence, one suspects, no one in the populous Raymond's Creek community—where Philpott lived—took part in the so-called Culpeper Rebellion. In brief, he seems to have been a stickler for law and order and by temperament opposed to radical changes. And, too, the growing influence of the Quakers must have presented to him an alarming situation.
Whatever the explanation, on the evening of September 9, 1694, he attended a gathering in the home of Major Alexander Lillington, “High Sheriff of Albemarle County,” who lived over in Perquimans Precinct. Quite likely the latest political gossip was the appointment of John Archdale to succeed Thomas Smith as Governor of North and South Carolina. The significance of this information stemmed from the fact that Archdale was a wealthy Quaker from England who had already spent some time in Pasquotank Precinct. The prospect of an administration under an adherent of the Society of Friends group was the last straw, it may be, which snapped the self-control of the disgruntled Philpott. At any rate, when a toast to King William was proposed, he not only refused to drink but cursed his sovereign with a mighty oath and declared, “I'le drink King James’ health for he is the right king.” The records state that upon being admonished by the company as to what he had said, he asked what had he said “in a most malicious manner”; and when his remarks were repeated to him, he roundly cursed King William again.
Philpott was charged with treason, tried at the November court and found guilty. The sentence imposed was forfeiture of all his possessions
to the Crown and that he should “suffer imprisonment for one whole year and a day without bail.” Then the minutes state “and upon the humble peticon of ye sd Philpott and in comiseration of his weakness and age,” the court ordered the estate to be appraised, deductions made for expenses of the trial, and the remainder to be returned to said Philpott, “he giving good security and to render an acct of ye same to ye Grand Council.”
During this period when another man was charged with verbal indiscretions, he offered as his excuse, “they were a drinking of clarett.” According to the court minutes the aged recalcitrant did not deign to offer any justification; in this respect he remained his stubborn self. Despite his conviction, however, he still stood high in public opinion as to his personal character; even with the shadow of public disgrace upon him, Thomas Relfe, Surveyor-General, and Daniel Akehurst, Secretary of the Council, came to witness his will.
Death followed his sentence quickly and mercifully, for he was dead when court convened again in the February following. Confiscation must have been thorough because his widow, Mary Philpott, petitioned the court to grant her “some apparel that are in ye custody of sd marshal.” With an air of generosity the justices ordered not only the return of her clothing but permitted her to choose “three sows with piggs.”
At the time of his death Philpott's residence was evidently on his plantation in the forks of Raymond's Creek. Later deeds reveal that at an early period one dwelling stood at the Fork Landing on the creek and one near a live oak, which still stands. Both of the structures disappeared long before the memory of any persons now living, but one of those houses could well have been Philpott's home. And across a little branch near the live oak careful scutiny will still reveal ballast stones placed there as grave markers centuries ago. Since this burial ground was on Philpott's lands, one of the crude stones may mark his grave. Incidentally, his will points to a product which had already become of commercial importance to the colonists hereabouts. To one of his devisees he leaves 6,000 pounds of pork with which to buy a Negro slave.
• An Ancient Place-NameWILLIAM RAYMOND
ca 1660-1713
Somewhat with a flourish one of the Raymonds identified himself as being a citizen of “Ye citie and Port of Dover in ye County of Kent, Kingdom of Great Brittaine.” Presumably, therefore, this information names the place from which the family originally came.
William Raymond appeared in the Province in the early 1690s at the beginning of an era of comparative stability in the public life of the colony. For more than a decade there had been controversy and violence, invited largely by the tactless efforts of Thomas Miller, collector of customs, and of Governor Seth Sothel to enforce the unpopular Navigation and Plantation Duty Acts. But under the administration of Phillip Ludwell, who followed Sothel, and continuing with his able and conscientious successors, Thomas Jarvis, Thomas Pollock and Henderson Walker, the Province experienced a restful period of efficient government such as had not heretofore been known under the administration of the Lords Proprietors.
Raymond seems to have located on the northeast side prior to 1694 although his patent was not issued until 1696. He took up 450 acres covering an old grant to which the title had lapsed, and another small tract occupied by a squatter who had failed to secure legal title to his site. In 1681 one John Dye had obtained title by letters patent to a strip of land beginning at the mouth of a creek on “Craven River,” as Pasquotank River was designated for a brief period. Dye chose to settle on other properties in Perquimans Precinct and therefore failed to seat his holdings along the Pasquotank according to regulations prescribed under the Proprietors. “To seat” a property the grantee had to erect thereon a habitable dwelling and to clear and cultivate at least two acres of land within five years. Raymond could therefore lawfully gain possession of the abandoned Dye acreage, and he proceeded also to satisfy the claims of Simeon Rice, the man who was without title to the small farm on which he lived.
Evidently this newcomer possessed means sufficient so that it was not necessary for his family to undergo the rugged privations endured by more destitute arrivals. Owning a few slaves, he was able at once to build a more comfortable habitation than most, construct a warehouse along the river for convenience in disposing of forest products from his
acreage, and without too much delay was able to begin shipping tobacco, pork and other items. Moreover, since he was the type of citizen who was immediately recognized as an asset to the community about him, his family was accepted as a welcome addition to the neighborhood and his daughters began to marry among the local gentry.
Associated with William Raymond are three items of historical interest to the inhabitants of Camden County. First of all, one of our most ancient place-names derives from him. The creek upon which this planter located his plantation had previously been known as Fleming's but by 1700 the name of Raymond had been substituted therefor, and it has been in use from that time until the present.
In the second place, the Raymonds were just about the last to settle in what was probably our oldest settlement, whose origin is concealed in the dim beginnings of our early history. This community embraced present-day Old Trap and the lands bordering the conjunction of the Pasquotank River and the Albemarle Sound. We have already met such local leaders as Paul Latham and John Philpott. Here also lived for a period Philpott's friend and prominent colonial official, Daniel Akehurst, and such other substantial settlers as Joseph Gilford, Phillip Torksey, Cornelius Jones and Francis Delamere. Special mention should be made, it seems, of John Hawkins and his wife Sarah. Because of their blood ties with the Hawkins, Archdales and other noble families of England, these two could probably lay claim to the most patrician lineage of any couple who has lived within the borders of Camden. The site of their first local residence was southeast upon the modern village of Shiloh and they called it Wickham (or Wycombe), doubtless for Wycombe Abbey in England where were found the Archdale and Hawkins ancestral estates. But after the appearance of the Raymonds, John and Sarah Hawkins purchased and moved to the attractive Tommy's Point plantation along the river. With aristocratic disregard for their other neighbors roundabout they described their property simply as “being southeast upon the swamp called Raymond's.”
Another fact which protrudes itself to one who examines the materials of Raymond's career is the impressive stature of some of his descendants. Whether this be mere coincidence or whether it be illustrative of certain sociological aspects of the breed, the prospect is not without interest. If the statements of certain historians be accepted as authoritative, the following observations may be regarded as factual.
William Raymond's son Thomas and family returned to Dover in later years and the other son, Edward, emigrated to parts unknown. For illustrative purposes this account is limited to the descendants of
one only of the Raymond daughters, Elizabeth, and because her life is fairly well documented. She first married John Scarborough. Their daughter Sarah became the first wife of William Burgess, who founded Shiloh Baptist Church in 1729. From this union came two outstanding ministers of the colonial period, the brothers John and William Burgess. John was the father of Lieutenant Zephaniah Burgess and Colonel Dempsey Burgess of the Revolutionary era, the last named being a delegate to the Halifax and Hillsboro Conventions and afterwards a member of the Congress of the United States. Sarah Scarborough's sister Elizabeth married William Wright, and their descendants merged into the Stevens and Burfoot families, the latter being a paternal line of the late U. S. Senator Willis Smith. Elizabeth's second husband was —Smith (probably James), and there is some likelihood that through this union she became again a direct ancestress of Senator Smith and also of Congressman William Smith of South Carolina.
Raymond's Creek is a continuous reminder of a family which made a lasting contribution to a vigorous citizenship in this county.
• The Genial MarinerCAPTAIN CORNELIUS JONES
ca 1660-1714
OVER IN CURRITUCK during the reign of Queen Anne, William Parker charged that Martha Richardson did “Devillishly and Maliciously Bewitch and by Assistance of ye Devill afflicted ye body of ye sd William Parker”; and in the same precinct a few days later Thomas Bourthier accused Susannah Evanes, “Not having the fear of God before her Eyes but being led by Instigation of the Devill,” of having bewitched “with Mortal paynes” his wife Deborah Bourthier “whereby the sd Deborah departed this life.” Both women were accused also of bewitching other persons who were not identified.
When general court convened for the County of Albemarle, Cornelius Jones and fifteen other men in the province were impanelled to consider the charges of witchcraft against the two Currituck women. The jury deliberated and in both instances the verdict was “Wee of ye Jury find no Bill.” This firm action effectively controlled a situation
which might easily have developed into an epidemic of “witch-hunting” such as had plagued Massachusetts. Since Cornelius Jones, a well-known merchant trader and representative from Pasquotank in the Provincial Assembly, and Robert Wallis, sometime member of the Council of State, were the most prominent members of the panel, a reasonable inference would seem to be that the verdict was influenced by their opinions.
Attention is focussed on Jones because according to the few remaining records of this period he was often called for jury duty, which fact could indicate popular respect for his judgment. In any event, the juries of which he was a member did not habitually return verdicts of acquittal. For an instance, when Mathew Winn accused John Jennings of defamation of character because the latter had said to him, “You are a perjured Rogue you are a Hogstealing Rogue and I'le prove it,” the defendant was found guilty and ordered to pay to Winn two pounds and ten shillings and also the court costs.
The witchcraft incident is presented because it graphically points up those qualities of firmness and tolerance which stood Cornelius Jones in good stead in facing the problems and hazards confronting him during his lifetime. For there were perils, literally both by land and by sea. The pirate Blackbeard, the chief racketeer of the period, had become a menace to every merchant trader, who had of necessity to be constantly on the alert not only to escape the clutches of that vicious outlaw but other lesser known imitators of the same ilk. Incident to the time of Queen Anne's War (1702-1713), French and Spanish privateers freely patrolled the Carolina coast, swooping down upon any hapless schooner which could be overtaken, and at times their crews landed and pillaged coastal areas. Even more trying to a man having business to do with the public were the animosities and disputes created by the abortive rebellion headed by Colonel Thomas Cary of Bath, a struggle which left the colony exhausted. And hard on the heels of the rebellion came the most terrifying experience of all, the savage attack and massacre by the Tuscarora Indians, threatening for a time the very existence of the colony.
Despite the seemingly insurmountable difficulties which he faced, Cornelius Jones managed to be a useful citizen as well as a successful one. According to the fragmentary records of the time he was one of the members of the Provincial Assembly from Pasquotank at least during the years 1708-09. He prospered in his business enterprises so that in addition to his trading operations he held title to upwards of 2500 acres of land at his death, including half of Collington Island.
He had probably followed the sea from his youth because he was master of an ocean-going vessel at least as early as 1691, in which year is noted a receipt given to him by Sarah Culpeper in behalf of her husband, John Culpeper, for a quantity and variety of items from foreign markets. In those days Captain Jones had an especial reason for pride in his vocation of merchant trader. Water-borne commerce was essential to the economic life of the settlers. There being as yet no roads, no other means of transportation remained except the ships; without them there could be no exports or imports.
For a solid historical reason in the chronicles of Camden it is necessary also to explain the relations of this successful sea captain with one James Robinson, a wandering sailor. Robinson was typical of the breed in every age who are content only to wander from one land to another, always in search of adventure in new or unknown places. Unwilling to accept the responsibilities of a family, they often sever all family ties and continue their peregrinations until restrained by infirmity or old age. Robinson may have been a business associate with Jones, more probably he was one of the crew on the master's sailing vessel. By some unknown means this sailor had acquired title to a tract of some five hundred acres adjoining Captain Jones’ plantation. In his will (probated 1700) he names his “friend” Captain Cornelius Jones as his executor and to him he bequeaths all his possessions. These lands will be referred to again because on this tract was to be built the first meeting house of Shiloh Baptist Church, organized after 1720. Here, therefore, is the beginning of the history of that ancient organization.
By contrast with Robinson, when Captain Jones made his will in 1714 he had a family to whom he was devoted. As he proceeded to divide his possessions, there may have been a twinkle in his eye and there may have been some deeper emotion. Whatever he felt, he accomplished a remarkable thing in making a bequest to his youngest daughter Ann, who was not more than seven years of age. With a few words he not only left to her a sizable legacy, he also bequeathed to her a permanent reminder of their happy associations together. The bequest reads as follows: “I give and bequeath unto my loving daughter Ann Jones and unto her heirs lawfully begotten of her body forever a peice of land out of the tract called Robinson's all the land on the east—the Plantation called the water million path walnott tree neck and ye can dance.”
Not much imagination is required to visualize the adoring father and his little girl as they strolled happily around the estate. Sometimes, in season, they would go to the “walnott tree neck” to gather the tasty
nuts; sometimes they took the “water million path” in pleasant anticipation of the luscious fruits awaiting them. And on occasion they paid a visit to a forest arbor of such appealing beauty the little girl danced with glee. This would be the place, of course, where “ye can dance.”
Among the multitudes who have passed their existence on the northeast side of the river, it would be difficult to find one who apparently lived with greater enjoyment or more worthily than Captain Cornelius Jones, “gentleman.”
• An Indian FighterCAPTAIN JOHN NORTON
ca 1680-ca 1718
A GREAT MANY people in the Province of North Carolina must have taken part in some form of military activity during the years from 1702 to 1718. There were no less than four different fields of conflict, not to mention the continual brushes on the side, so to speak, with the pirates. While actual conflict with the enemy was limited during Queen Anne's War, 1702-1713, occasional forays by French and Spanish crews and the presence of their vessels off the coast made it necessary to organize and arm for defense. Numbers were active in the three-year period of internal strife known as Cary's Rebellion, 1708-1711. Troops were raised to suppress the Tuscaroras following their surprise attack and massacre of upwards of 130 colonists in 1711. And scarcely had the colony time to return to normal living after the Indian War when it was called upon by South Carolina to come to the aid of that hard-pressed colony against the Yemassee Indians.
Although this period must have been, therefore, a time when many men were “marching as to war,” the items of information which have been preserved relating to individual participation are few and far between. John Norton is one of a small number concerning whom a few brief but authentic bits of information have survived. Even so, his life is partly a matter of surmise. Since he and Colonel William Reed were closely allied during the time of Cary's Rebellion and since Reed is known to have sided with Governor William Glover against Cary, it seems plausible to assume that Norton, a professional soldier, was
active with the Glover partisans. The first documented item about Norton's military career, however, referrs to his service in the Tuscarora War.
Following the devastating onslaught by the Tuscaroras, Governor Edward Hyde in desperation appealed to both Virginia and South Carolina for assistance. Virginia agreed to help if pay and other concessions were guaranteed, but South Carolina immediately dispatched a few whites with about five hundred Indians under the command of Colonel James Barnwell. Joining with the North Carolina contingent the combined forces succeeded in defeating the Tuscaroras in three engagements and a truce was effected in the spring of 1712. The North Carolinians were disappointed because the Indians had not been completely subdued and refused to reimburse the South Carolinians for their efforts. In an effort to obtain some sort of recompense the soldiers from the southern colony seized some of the Tuscaroras after the truce and carried them home as slaves.
Incensed at this high-handed treatment, the Tuscaroras resumed their attacks during the summer and fall of 1712. Meanwhile the condition of North Carolina had now worsened. An epidemic of yellow fever had claimed many victims, including Governor Hyde. Able Thomas Pollock, acting governor by virtue of his position as president of the council, appealed to South Carolina for help once more. That colony again responded with about 1,000 troops, mostly Indians, under Colonel James Moore.
In a public letter written in December, 1712, to “friends and neighbors” in the colony, and sent out by two Currituckians, Lieutenant Woodhouse and Thomas Johnson, Pollock stated: “I am informed by Mr. Knight that Captain Norton sailed last Saturday from Pasquotank in Major Reed's sloop with 30 or 40 men, provisions, and two Barrels powder and ten barrels I think of shot.” In all probability, therefore, Captain Norton joined Colonel Moore's command and participated in the capture of the Tuscaroras’ stronghold, Fort Nohoroco, on Contentnea Creek, in March, 1713, when the power of this warlike tribe was completely destroyed.
In 1715 the picture was reversed, for the existence of the colony of South Carolina was threatened by a fierce uprising of the Yemassees, the same tribe, incidentally, which had helped to subdue the Tuscaroras. That province directed an urgent appeal to North Carolina for help. The members of the Council of State were mindful of the help received in their hour of distress; they responded. At a meeting held May 25, 1715, the Council ordered Captain Benjamin West, Captain John Palin
and Captain John Norton to call for volunteers among their companies, promising to every soldier responding to this inducement, “immediately out of ye publick treasure five pounds for and towards providing them with necessaries for their Expedition.” By this time it appears the inhabitants many have become war weary because the Council's order continued somewhat grimly: “in case of any Obstinacy or Reluctancy” the captains were ordered “to draw tenn able men from each of their Companies provided they are not those who have ye most numerous familyes.” Since North Carolina went to considerable expense to assist her neighbor to the south, it is assumed that Norton, Palin and West, and the men, accompanied the expedition. Parenthetically, it is somewhat singular that the three captains dispatched by the Council were all from Pasquotank.
Norton must have come to the northeast side for an interval before 1709 because in that year he was one of the five representatives from Pasquotank in the General Assembly. In 1710 he purchased 300 acres from William Sawyer and wife Mary the part accruing to William Jennings, son of John Jennings, from his joint patent of 600 acres with Thomas Johnson in 1696. Three years later Norton and his wife Mary assigned 200 acres to Captain John Blish. The title must not have been transferred, however, since Norton's son sold this same acreage in 1724. When the northeast side of Pasquotank was formed into the Parish of St. Peter by legislative enactment in 1715, Captain John Norton was named one of the vestrymen.
In 1716 this soldier was involved in a tragic accident. He fatally shot his brother-in-law, Thomas Johnson, when the two were stalking a deer. At the hearing called to investigate the death, Norton declared he had mistaken a movement in the bushes for a deer. This occurred on December 29, 1716, and in the following January he gave William and Mary Jennings a life use of “the easternmost room above and below in my house on my plantation in the fork of Aranuse Creek” and also the privilege of raising “hoggs, cattle and fowles.”
Thereafter, the remainder of Norton's life is largely a matter of conjecture. His first wife Mary died at some time after 1713 and his next wife was named Jane, probably the daughter of William and Mary Jennings, since the relationship would explain the lease he gave to the couple for rooms in his house. He must have died prior to the fall of 1719, the time of the marriage of his widow, Jane Norton, to Colonel William Reed.
So far as we know, John Norton has the distinction of being the
first “regular army man” in the Camden area whose military record is supported by authentic documents.
• The Beginning of ShilohJOHN DANSON
ca 1665-ca 1720
THE OPENING SCENE in the history of the village of Shiloh discloses all the elements of high romance and colorful drama. The main characters are the head of an ancient family in England who was also governor of the provinces of North and South Carolina, his two daughters, and merchant princes of London, Rotterdam and elsewhere.
An influential person in this narrative is John Archdale, whose ancestral home, Wycombe Abbey, was twenty-eight miles from London. At the age of twenty-five he was sent on a diplomatic mission to New England and for a period served as a colonel in the Maine militia. Following the death in 1678 of Lord John Berkeley, one of the Lords Proprietors, Archdale purchased this share in the name of his son, Thomas Archdale, and visited the Carolinas in 1683, where he and members of his family lived for at least three years inasmuch as he was acting governor during the absence of Seth Sothel, 1685-86. A goodly portion of those years was spent in the Albemarle, doubtless because he had found here numerous adherents of the Society of Friends, which faith Archdale had espoused. Meanwhile he had obtained a patent for 1006 acres in Pasquotank binding the river on the northwest side of “New Begun” Creek, and when he departed for England with his daughter Mary, he left his daughter Ann established upon this plantation. In 1688 Ann married Emmanuel Lowe of Pasquotank and shortly thereafter Mary became the wife of a wealthy London merchant, John Danson, the subject of this sketch.
As a business venture Danson had subscribed to a number of shares of stock in the Lords Proprietors’ enterprise for developing the territories included in the Carolinas, and as a more or less routine procedure he was granted a number of acres as reimbursement for his investment. It would seem, however, that the location of this grant on the northeast side of the Pasquotank River on a tract almost opposite the plantation already
occupied by his wife's sister Ann was not an accidental occurrence. The patent was issued under the authority of Danson's father-in-law, John Archdale, who had been appointed Governor of North and South Carolina in 1694. The Governor and his kinsman, John Hawkins, also acquired title to tracts nearby on the east side of Portohonk Creek, and although his official residence was in Charleston, he spent two months in the Province of North Carolina during the summer of 1695 and made a similar visit in 1696. Archdale evidently expected his daughter Mary and her husband to make their home eventually in the Carolinas, and the Danson property was quite plausibly approved with the knowledge that the two sisters would be conveniently located near each other.
Danson's grant of 3640 acres included not only the present day village of Shiloh but all the land binding the river from Portohonk Creek to Arenuse Creek, as the following verbatim description clearly shows: “beginning at a pignut at the mouth of Portabunk Creek [up] said Creek by various courses to over a branch thereof to a red oak by the side of the said branch then by a line of marked trees N. 5 degrees East 730 poles to a hiccory by a swamp of Arnoes Creek thence down the Creek by various Courses to a pine on the bank of Pasquotank River at the mouth of Arnoes aforesaid. Then down the said River by various courses to the 1st station.”
This tract became known as Danson's Manor and is so designated on the map which Edward Moseley published in 1733, even though Danson had never lived upon this spacious estate along the river. Perhaps he did not share the enthusiasm of his wife's family for living in the colony; perhaps his numerous business interests elsewhere constrained him. Whatever the reason, he procrastinated in leaving London, even after he was the recipient of a much larger portion in the Carolinas. In 1705 his father-in-law, John Archdale, bought the share formerly held by Sir William Berkeley and within a year or so bestowed this acquisition as a gift to Danson, who was permitted a choice of four “baronys” consisting of 12,000 acres each as he might select “except the lands taken up by the Yemassee Indians.” Danson still delayed, the years slipped by, and the prospect of a lordly demesne overseas never materialized, for death came to him in London about 1720.
The estate then passed to Danson's only son Jothan (or Jonathan) who had become a successful merchant in Rotterdam. Upon the death of this young man in 1724 the property fell to his only sister, Barbara, “spinster” of London, reserving always the dower rights of the widowed mother, Mary Danson. Within the next sixteen years the property changed hands several times either by purchase or bequest until it was
acquired by William Dolly, a wealthy ironmonger of Middlesex. In 1740 Dolly sold the entire tract to Thomas Pendleton, except a parcel which Mary Danson had sold through her attorney, Gabriel Newby, to Sarah Bates. Pendleton was a wealthy planter who lived on the southwest side of the Pasquotank River in what is now Posquotank County.
Within a year or so Pendleton sold all of the manor lands to various individuals, the largest purchasers being William Burgess, at whose dwelling on Raymond's Creek a Baptist congregation had been organized several years before, and Samuel Williams, a well-to-do recent arrival. For almost a half century, therefore, the modern community of Shiloh remained undeveloped territory because of the ownership by John Danson, the absentee landlord who never came to occupy his domain. There had indeed been living thereon a few settlers who had failed to obtain any legal title to their habitations, and the memory of one of them, John Billet, has been perpetuated in the landmark, “Billet's Bridge.”
The effect of this long period of absentee ownership by the Danson family upon the history of this small county can best be imagined by a brief glance at what had been taking place in the meantime in several nearby settlements. In the Raymond's Creek area (now Old Trap) was the most populous community to be found on the northeast side. Two places of worship had been erected—“the Down River Chappell” by the Established Church of England and a meeting house by the Baptists. Some outstanding citizens were Cornelius Jones, William Raymond, William Burgess, John Scarborough, Isaac Guilford, John Hawkins, Alexander Canady and Phillip Torksey, who had succeeded earlier leaders like Paul Latham and John Philpott. To the north of Danson's Manor there flourished an impressive neighborhood sometimes referred to as “the aristocracy of the Forks of Arenuse Creek and North River.” Here were the homes of Thomas Gregory, probable builder of that ancient plantation, “Mt. Pleasant,” William Gregory, Colonel Griffith Jones, Colonel William Reed, Captain John Norton and William Collins. In the Sawyers Creek region were found Colonel John Solley, John Upton, Robert Morgan, Thomas and Caleb Sawyer, and others of that energetic family. Here the Established Church had built a chapel, name unknown, on the lands of Thomas Sawyer. And in the northern part of the county within the general area of South Mills, there dwelt those worthy settlers: Gabriel Burnham, Thomas McBride, Patrick Kelly, Alexander Spence, John Jones, William Joy, Robert Edney and Robert Taylor. They, too, had built a place of worship, “Forke Chappell,” near the Fork Bridge on Joy's Creek.
Had development of Danson's Manor been contemporaneous with the growth of other settlements along the river, it is not improbable that here would have been the first town along the Pasquotank. What did happen when the tract was opened up was that the bay fronting the Manor soon became a place of considerable activity and several warehouses were erected for the convenience of shippers. Windmills were put in operation on the banks of the river until there were five, perhaps the largest number ever constructed on one location in Pasquotank. The name first given to the site was, understandably, Mill Town.
The opportunity for development had come too late, however. Already larger trading vessels of deeper draught were replacing the early light draught boats. Wharves would therefore be built where deeper water was convenient to the shores. Thus events were already deciding that the location of a town would finally be at “the Narrows,” as the site of Elizabeth City was then known.
• A Permanent NameWILLIAM JOY
ca 1670-1725
THE HISTORY of the northeast side of the Pasquotank River begins around the creeks, for along these placid bodies of water the earliest settlements were made. Naturally enough the first concentration of population was along the creek most accessible to the newcomers as they came up the river from the sound. In the beginning the influx of immigrants was very gradual; in fact, the community around Raymond's Creek in the southern end of Camden flourished for about three decades before grants were issued for lands in the upper end of the county. Meanwhile, around 1690 colonization in appreciable numbers began in the neighborhood of Arenuse and Sawyers Creeks in the central part. It was around 1700 when the vanguard appeared of those who were to occupy the northern or South Mills area.
Among those later pioneers was a restless individual by the name of William Joy who seemed to have had difficulty in deciding upon a place for a permanent abode. Before 1700 he had obtained a patent for two hundred and sixteen acres, the title to which lapsed because he had
failed “to seat” it properly, that is, did not erect thereon a dwelling house or clear the acreage necessary to establish ownership. Apparently he met those requirements on another tract of three hundred and sixty-four acres, which he named “The Poplar Tables” and which he soon sold to Joseph Monck. In 1716, however, he received grants aggregating upwards of a thousand acres lying within a fork between a creek and the upper reaches of the Pasquotank River; and on these lands he was destined to spend his last days.
For more than a century the site of his holdings was referred to in real estate transactions as Joy's Fork, but the creek has continued to bear his name until the present, although in recent years the spelling has been corrupted to “Joyce.” Apparently this wanderer would not have remained in this location for any length of time, had he not been stricken with blindness. True to form, he had already begun to dispose of his properties before his affliction came upon him, two of his transactions being to Cornelius Forehand and James Jones—whose families still survive in the area. In 1717 he was blind and petitioned the court to exempt him from taxation because of his infirmity. He died in December, 1725.
William Joy shares with William Raymond the distinction of being one of the two individuals whose names are perpetuated in Camden by creeks—Raymond's in the southern end and Joy's in the northern. Sawyers Creek was apparently so-called for several related individuals and not for any one person. With the possible exception of Portohonk, none of our several small estuaries carry Indian designations, though Arenuse, which is a corruption of Arrownose, may have been suggested to the whites by the Indian's description of the unusual conformation of this stream.
Joy's wife was named Margery and this item almost concludes the personal statistics which can be stated with certainty. Two of the legatees mentioned in his will, Solomon and Sarah Easter, may indicate a daughter and a son-in-law. Then, too, a deed of gift by his widow to Gabriel Burnham suggests another relationship. In 1733 Margery Joy, who had removed to Virginia, authorized an attorney to sell all her possessions.
• Ancestor to Many
THOMAS BARECOCK
ca 1653-1721
IT IS NOT ONLY possible for a native of Camden to be a blood relative to fifty percent or more of the county's population, but this is probably the true status of many individuals now living here. For those whose ancestors were in this vicinity two hundred and fifty years ago there must have been as a biological necessity either sixty-four or one hundred and twenty-eight distant grandparents, depending upon the intervals between generations, who were living generally in the Albemarle region. From the beginning of the Revolution in 1776, immigration to this area has been slight, especially on the northeast side of the Pasquotank River. As a consequence succeeding generations have intermarried so that over the years many family relationships have become extremely complex. Because this characteristic is so much a historical aspect of the Camden people, one early settler is included in these sketches for the purpose of indicating the multiplicity of family ties which may exist.
We do not know when Thomas Barecock became a resident but we know he was living here in 1679 with his wife, who was a daughter of another pioneer, William Jennings. According to Barecock's will, he was the father of nine children—two boys and seven girls—all of whom were married in 1721. The marriages contracted by seven of his offspring are fairly well documented and they are reviewed briefly herewith in an attempt to indicate the ensuing ramifications.
One son, William Barecock, who was evidently named for his godfather, William Jennings, married Jane Peggs who lived across the river in what is now Pasquotank County and to this couple were born two daughters and six sons. The male issue of this union would seem to be the antecedents of all of the name to be found in northeastern North Carolina, southeastern Virginia, and scattered localities in other states. Incidentally, the spelling was changed in the period immediately preceding the Revolution to “Barco,” thereby conforming orthographically to the pronunciation. A well-known parallel on the coast is found in Ocracock, which is pronounced locally as if the last syllable were spelled co.
To the genealogist the marriages of the Barecock sisters are of especial interest because their husbands were either the first of their names to settle hereabouts or, at the most, of the second generation. For example,
Elizabeth married the first of the Uptons—John. Although they had five sons and two daughters, let us consider only one of their progeny, a daughter Mary. She too become the bride of a newcomer, Peter Brown, and through their daughter Jane (or Jean) the Barecock strain merged into many families, the names of some of them being Bell, Burfoot, Bartlett, Forbes, Gregory, Guilford, Hughes, Squires, Stevens and Wright. Likewise, Sarah Barecock was the wife of a pioneer settler, John Sanderlin. From their four sons would seem to have derived all the Sanderlins in the regions roundabout and in neighboring parts of Virginia. In addition to those already named, among the connections of this household are those who bear the name of Burgess, Duncan, Jones, McPherson, Pritchard and Sawyer.
In October of 1701 arrived James Forbes, probably by way of Connecticut, with his wife, a daughter and five sons. Two of the latter, James and John, proceeded to woo and lead to the altar Rebecca and Martha Barecock. The descendants of those two sisters intermarried with the Brays, Learys, Torkseys and many others.
If Margaret and Priscilla Barecock did not marry brothers, their husbands did bear the same name—Gregory—and their first names were Richard and, probably, Thomas. In addition to her three sons, Margaret Gregory was also the mother of two daughters, Sarah and Mary, who merit especial mention because they took as their spouses two pioneers, a Grandy and an Humphries, both of whose descendants have played a conspicuous part in local history. Priscilla Gregory was the mother of six sons and an unknown number of daughters. The Gregorys have been numerous in the county for the past two centuries and for this reason Priscilla and Margaret may occupy a more important position, genealogically speaking, than the other children of Thomas Barecock. The Gregory connections are almost legion and some of the best known are Ferebee, Lamb, Morgan and Williams.
Because any further analysis would only add to the tediousness of innumerable details, further exploration will be omitted. What has been enumerated thus far would seem to be sufficient to establish the significance of Thomas Barecock as an ancestor in the chronicles of Camden County.
Besides the details of his family, very little is known of this tribal chieftain. He owned four hundred acres of land and lived somewhere in the southern half of the county, probably near Sanderlin Swamp inasmuch as his son William is known to have lived nearby on “Barco's Island,” now known as “Garlington's Island.”
• Host to the Provincial Assembly
ROBERT MORGAN
ca 1670-1727
AS THE SETTLERS increased in numbers the Indians found themselves being correspondingly deprived of their lands and restricted in their hunting areas. Some of the more scrupulous of the white newcomers were both tactful and honest in their dealings with the natives. Others failed to live up to their bargains with the redskins, subjected them to gross mistreatment, and there are a few instances of record where an Indian was forced into slavery without any legal or moral justification. The Indians, also human beings, responded in kind to their treatment. They repaid broken promises with trickery and dishonesty with theft. According to one irate planter, one of their most exasperating performances was to fall upon a fat shoat feeding in the forests and to enjoy an impromptu feast of barbecued pig on the spot.
In an effort to solve the problems of friction and mounting tension between the two races, the provincial leaders began to set aside specified areas for the sole use and benefit of the Indians. Apparently the Council of State had been considering the circumstances of the Yawpim Indians on the northeast side of the Pasquotank River for a number of years without taking any definite action. In 1704 the situation seems to have become acute for on April 12, at a meeting held at the house of Captain John Hecklefield “in Little River,” the Council adopted the following directive: “Ordered that the Surveyor General or Deputy shall (with what expedition is possible) upon complaint of the Yawpim Indians lay out for the sd Indians (where they now live) four square miles of land or the quantity not injuring any of the old Settlements which was made before the order of Council bearing date in October, 1697. And Mr. John Hawkins, Mr. Thomas Taylor, Mr. Robert Morgan and Mr. John Relfe or any three of them are hereby required to attend the Surveyor or Deputy in laying out the same. To John Anderson Dep. Surveyor or to be directed to Captain Thomas Relfe to execute with Speed and make returns.”
The survey was made by Thomas Relfe and, according to a petition
presented a few years later by his widow for reimbursement for his services, the tract contained 10,240 acres. The Moseley map of 1733 clearly indicates the Yawpim village with a cluster of wigwams on the reservation which included most of the present day communities of Sandy Hook and Indiantown with several thousand acres of swamp lands binding North River. The arrangement seems to have been satisfactory to the Indians inasmuch as they continued to maintain peaceful relations with their white neighbors until their departure in 1774 to join the Iroquois in New York. Fortunately the lands furnished an abundance of food supply; bear and deer are still found in the swamps and North River is a popular attraction for fishermen. Incidentally, the Indians taught the settlers a method of cooking fish which is still regarded as a gastronomical treat in the southern part of the county. When fish are netted during the late summer and fall months, the practice is to dress a freshly caught mullet, mount it on a skewer of aromatic wood, such as bay or myrtle, apply salt and pepper liberally, and roast it over a bed of coals prepared on the shore.
Supervising the Yawpim survey is the first recorded appearance of Robert Morgan in a public capacity. He next appears as one of the five members in the House of Burgesses from Pasquotank during the years 1708-09. Of the few minutes of the proceedings surviving, one item records Robert Morgan and Nicholas Crisp as bringing a message “from the lower House” to the upper or Council.
An incident in which Morgan was involved in 1713 may be illuminative as to the public mind during the succession of Indian wars of that period. As a concession to the religious beliefs of the Society of Friends, whose tenets forbade them to bear arms, legislation had been enacted to permit a man to pay a fee of five pounds in lieu of military service. In Pasquotank Precinct, so the Deputy Marshal reported, Robert Morgan, John Sawyer, Sr., John Sawyer, Jr., Edward Williams, Richard Hastings and Robert Sawyer “utterly refused” to pay the five pounds due from them by act of assembly for “not going out in yeIndian Warr.” These men, who lived around Sawyers Creek, were not Quakers; indeed, three of them, including Morgan, were members of the vestry of the Parish of St. Peter. Nor was the incident an isolated one. On the southwest side of the river a man was arrested for refusing to be “impressed,” and over in Currituck two men were charged with “seducing and turning men aside” from performing military duty. Whether this attitude resulted from resentment because the Quakers were exempt from active service, or from fear that their own families would be exposed to savage attacks while they were away on the
expeditions, is not clear. Certainly no public stigma seems to have resulted from the refusal of Morgan to comply. Afterwards he was twice elected to the Assembly and also received an appointment as one of the “Gentlemen Justices” who presided over the precinct courts of quarter sessions and common pleas.
A distinction, unique in Camden's history, came to Morgan during the 1725 session of the Assembly, of which he was a member. Since no capitol building had as yet been erected, legislative sessions were customarily held at the residence of one of the members. According to the minutes they first met at “Edistow,” but on November 2, the entry reads: “House mett according to adjournment with Mr. Robt. Morgan, Representative from Pasquotank.” So far as is known, this is the only time a provincial assembly was convened within the borders of what is now Camden County. The entire membership of the assembly at the time did not exceed thirty-five.
The exact location of Morgan's residence in the vicinity of Sawyers Creek has not been determined. His first recorded purchase was in 1698 for two hundred acres, and he owned eight hundred at the time of his death. It may not be amiss to add that he was a direct ancestor of General Isaac Gregory of the Revolutionary era and of the late Governor J. C. B. Ehringhaus, and he was also the progenitor of the well-known Morgan families in Currituck and elsewhere.
• Acting GovernorCOLONEL WILLIAM REED
ca 1667-1728
ON NOVEMBER 7, 1724, an official came to a dwelling in the forks of Arenuse Creek and presented to the dignified resident a summons from Governor George Burrington to answer certain complaints. The reaction of the indignant old man approximated an explosion. In the first place he imperiously commanded the process server not to address him as Mister but as President; in the second place he bluntly stated that he did not value the governor's orders; and, finally, in pungently crude language he directed the emissary not to leave the governor's order behind him. The arrogant gentleman was Colonel William Reed, President
of the Council, who himself had a few months before completed a two-year period as acting governor of the Province of North Carolina. Obviously only a simpleton or a person entirely confident of his position would defy the official head of the government in such a brazen manner. Reed continued to be president of the council until his death four years later; and this fact would seem to be a sufficient comment upon the incident.
William Reed came to the Camden area after living almost thirty years in Currituck. He is mentioned as a juror in that precinct as early as 1692. For the next few years he appears to have devoted himself diligently to his business affairs and in 1700 he and Richard Sanderson were the two largest landowners in their precinct. He continued to acquire additional properties in both Currituck and Pasquotank until at the time of his death in 1728 he probably possessed the largest acreage of any person in either territory. In the meantime he had become owner of several Indian slaves whom he had apparently obtained as a result of the conquest of the Tuscaroras. In 1719 he married his second wife, Jane, presumably the widow of Captain John Norton. This would seem to be the most plausible reason for changing his residence around 1720 to the Norton estate on Arenuse Creek, where he lived the remainder of his life.
Reed's development as a political and military leader was a gradual process. Sessions of the General Court of Albemarle were held at his house during the years 1697-98. In all likelihood his military career began during Queen Anne's War (1702-13) when it became necessary to take steps to defend Currituck from attacks by the crews of French and Spanish privateers belligerently patrolling the coastal areas. He is known to have sided with William Glover in the struggle for control of the Assembly between that official and Colonel Thomas Cary. When the latter gained ascendancy, Reed was required to put up a peace bond of five hundred pounds. That he also participated actively in the campaigns against the Tuscaroras is a quite plausible inference. As has been noted in a previous sketch, Captain John Norton used Reed's sloop to carry ammunition to be used in the final campaigns against the Indians. During the five-year period beginning with 1710, Reed is successively referred to as captain, major and colonel. And he was a member of the Council which in 1715 ordered a detachment of troops to be raised for assistance to South Carolina. During this same year he was named one of the vestrymen of the newly formed parish in Currituck.
Upon the death of Governor Charles Eden in 1722, Thomas Pollock, President of the Council, became acting governor by virtue of his position.
In September Reed was elected president, succeeding the aged and infirm Pollock, and as acting governor was voted the same salary as the governor, pending the arrival of the new appointee. George Burrington took office in 1724 and Reed continued as President of the Council until his death.
In his official capacities he displayed a prudence and restraint which seem at variance with characteristics he exhibited sometimes in his more personal affairs. His outstanding qualities were those of resoluteness and courage. His elevation to the Council in 1712, the most desperate period the colony had experienced, was a significant tribute to the boldness and strength which Thomas Pollock and the other leaders sorely needed in an era of panic and dismay. His sixteen years on the Council is the longest tenure in that body of any colonial leader, with the exception of Pollock.
Despite his distinguished public career, Reed at times exhibited traits of surprising pettiness. A man of violent prejudices, he had the knack of arousing intense antagonisms. He was charged, apparently with some justification, of spreading a rumor that Governor Burrington, whom he disliked, had once been put in jail in England for beating an old woman. A young neighbor who was a witness against him in court was promptly accused by Reed with misconduct as administrator of an estate. In 1724 the Pasquotank commissioners, having decided to erect a courthouse, levied a tax for building purposes. Reed, as one of the tax collectors, attempted, so it seems, to withhold the funds in order to force acceptance of a site selected by him, instead of the one already decided upon by the commissioners. The commissioners overrode Reed but even though he was wrong in his methods, it seems only fair to observe that he may have been “wiser than his generation.” With the population increasing rapidly in the upper end of the county, he apparently foresaw that Newbegun Creek would in the near future no longer be the center of population, as well as being inconveniently located for that part now Camden County because of the wideness of the river at Newbegun and the consequent hazards in crossing. Thirty years later when the commissioners decided to move the courthouse to a more convenient location, they selected the same site Reed had chosen in the first place.
According to an affidavit made by Colonel Thomas Swann, Colonel Reed died at his home in the forks of Arenuse Creek “in the night between the 11th and 12th of September,” 1728. The circumstances incident to his death afford such an interesting comparison between
transportation facilities in that time with the present as to justify their inclusion. According to a contemporary report he was “taken speechless.” A courier was immediately sent to summon a physician in Edenton. No doubt the messenger crossed the three intervening rivers, creeks and swamps with all possible dispatch. Doubtless the physician hastened to attend the distinguished patient. But when he arrived, Colonel Reed was dead and had been buried “the day before the doctor arrived.” Today the round trip can be made in less than two hours without violating any speed laws.
In his violent nature, it would seem, Reed more nearly reflected the undisciplined and near-lawless temper of the people he attempted to govern than any other early colonial leader. Neglected for more than two centuries, he has in recent years been the subject of some attention from state historians. Under the auspices of the State Department of Archives and History, a marker to designate the site of his last residence was erected nearby on May 23, 1954.
• Site of an Ancient Meeting HouseANN JONES
ca 1709-ca 1740
ALTHOUGH EXISTING RECORDS afford such fleeting glimpses of Ann Jones as to suggest the appearance of a wraith in our history, actually she occupies a very permanent niche, though small, in the annals of Camden County. We see her, so to speak, only in two scenes, brief but somewhat moving.
She first appears in another sketch, it will be recalled, as the little girl who received as a heritage from her father, Captain Cornelius Jones, a tract of land with whimsical names which were probably a product of her childish imagination. They could hardly fail to serve as a reminder of the happy associations of a father and daughter as they wandered through those “pleasant delightful groves.”
In the second scene she is a young woman past her twenty-first birthday. She is harassed by some urgent financial need, the nature thereof not being indicated. In order to meet the emergency she gives to William Burgess a mortgage assignment on her property in the amount
of eight hundred pounds, which, by the way, was a sizable sum for a young lady to have in hand in those days. The financial necessity seems to have become more imperative inasmuch as on July 14, 1730, she gives an outright deed to the aforesaid Burgess for an additional sum of one hundred pounds.
The deed is a verbal curiosity among the ancient transactions on record in Pasquotank Court House. There is no mention of boundaries or acreage. Following a statement that the tract had been bequeathed to her by her father, Cornelius Jones, the description reads as follows: “a piece of land called Robertson's [a misspelling of Robinson] all ye land on ye east side of the plantation called ye water million path walnut tree neck & ye can dance be ye same more or less. . . . ” This distressed young lady was selling much more than two hundred and twenty-five acres, the size of the tract as revealed in later transactions; with reluctance she was relinquishing the cherished dominion of her childhood dreams and pleasures.
It is gratifying to be able to state that by this transaction she secured for herself a permanent part in the history of one of Camden's most valued historical possessions, Shiloh Baptist Church. A congregation of Baptists had been organized prior to 1730 at the dwelling of William Burgess, the purchaser of Ann's estate. The first house of worship, according to Morgan Edwards, was built about 1736 on Burgess's lands and “largely at his expense.” There may be a question as to the accuracy of the year given by Edwards, but there is no doubt as to the approximate location of the building. Burgess eventually sold the Jones land in three separate transactions, the last one being for fifty acres to one Gideon Needham and the date was April 15, 1752. He plainly describes this land as being the remainder of a tract purchased in 1730 from Ann Jones. The deed is made in fee simple with the usual warranty “excepting the Meeting House & half an acre of land whereon the said House stands.” Since later transfers of the property can be traced, the approximate site can therefore be definitely established.
Following the sale Ann recedes from view like a ghost and nothing further is known of her unless one accepts a dubious suggestion of marriage to young John Relfe, a member of an outstanding Pasquotank family. Unhappily, no authoritative proof has been located to support an old wives’ tale of a young woman who may be seen on occasion, when the moon is low in the west, moving with matchless grace through the woods of Wickham, as a part of Ann's estate is now known. But
if satisfactory evidence were available, surely without further ado even the most cautious historian would concede the identity of the lovely apparition. For who but Ann would return again and again to her beloved domain? Who else indeed in the waning moonlight would emerge from “ye walnut tree neck” to stroll with delight along “ye water million path,” and finally in joyous abandon to pirouette with ineffable grace across the fairy swards of “ye can dance” toward the setting moon?
• First Influential Citizen in North End of the CountyGABRIEL BURNHAM
ca 1690-ca 1740
THE FIRST MEN of influence on the northeast side emerged, generally speaking, in the same order as the communities in which they resided had been settled. Thus, the first two leaders, Paul Latham and John Philpott, lived in the immediate vicinity of Raymond's Creek, the earliest settlement. Death had terminated their careers by 1694 and about a decade later Robert Morgan, John Upton and the Sawyers began to be in evidence in the central part of the county—the region of Sawyers and Arenuse Creeks. Some ten or fifteen years afterwards a settler on Joy's Creek in the northern area became an influential figure and he was Gabriel Burnham.
Burnham must have made a favorable impression in his neighborhood from the time of his arrival in Joy's Fork shortly before 1715. In that year by legislative enactment the northeast side of the river became the Parish of St. Peter, and he was named one of the vestrymen. For the next ten years the journals of the House of Commons have been lost, but when the records begin in 1725 we find him to be one of the representatives from Pasquotank in the Provincial Assembly, an office to which he continued to be elected through 1735. He served at least two years as treasurer of Pasoquotank, was a member of the precinct court, and “the landing of Mr. Gabriel Burnham” was designated as a place for the collection of quitrents.
In the House of Commons the parliamentary chore of courier from the lower house to the upper or council of state seems to have been
a special assignment of Burnham's. During eight years of his career as a member, “Mr. Burnham,” more often than any other member, was one of the pair of representatives designated to carry the messages. Some of the bills he helped to draw up where for “the Destruction of Vermin,” regulating the currency, “establishing and fixing circular courts,” and inspecting and settling accounts of all “concerned with the Publick Money.”
For some unknown reason he failed to introduce a measure very much desired by his constituents. As recorded in the proceedings of the House of Commons for November 12, 1733, this body heard the petition of “the inhabitants of Pasquotank that the N. E. Parish be erected into a sepaarte Precinct”; and Charles Sawyer and Gabriel Burnham were named as a committee to prepare a bill accordingly. They did not then submit any proposal nor when the Assembly convened again in 1735, and as a consequence the measure was introduced by two other Pasquotank lawmakers, Caleb and Daniel Sawyer. Although Governor Gabriel Johnston killed the ensuing enactment with a veto, one suspects the attitude of Burnham and Charles Sawyer in this matter explains why they were not elected thereafter to the Assembly.
He was often referred to as “Captain” Gabriel Burnham because he operated a trading vessel along with other commercial enterprises. He was a successful business man and a lucky one as well. In addition to several acquisitions of real estate by purchase, he received as a gift from Elizabeth Gambling a sizable tract “to my brother-in-law,” and William Joy's widow Margery gave him a “messuage,” the reason therefor not being stated. That he was a person of superior social standing was clearly indicated by the able, if somewhat dogmatic, Colonel Edward Moseley. The population of the Camden area in 1733 must have been upwards of a total of three hundred; nevertheless, in Colonel Moseley's opinion there were only four men hereabouts who were important enough to merit a reference on his map. Those four individuals were John Hawkins, Griffith Jones, Alexander Spence and Gabriel Burnham.
• A Colonial PlanterSAMUEL WILLIAMS
ca 1700-1751
THE COLONY of North Carolina gradually emerged into a period of comparative quiet and contentment as a result of the elimination of the Indian menace, suppression of piracy, and a more efficient governmental administration. The return of the colony to the Crown in 1729 accelerated improvement in the over-all situation. Population continued to increase rapidly and confidence in government stimulated the pursuits of agriculture and commerce. Higher standards of living to a degree not heretofore realized were clearly in evidence; roads were laid out, even if poorly maintained, trading vessels plied the waters, and more comfortable dwellings were erected. It is probably no exaggeration to state that during the fifty years or more before the Revolution, a state of prosperity was achieved in the Albemarle region not be equalled again until the advent of World War II.
Evidences of individual prosperity were the plantations, those farms containing, let us say, from a few hundred acres upwards. Plantation life represented the highest standard of living and the owners were dominant factors in the economic as well as the social life about them. Dr. John Brickell, who lived in Edenton in 1730 and who wrote The Natural History of North Carolina, portrays plantation life in these words: “The Planters by the richness of the Soil, live after the most easie and pleasant Manner of any People I have ever met with: for you seldom hear them Repine at any Misfortunes in life, except the loss of Friends, there being plenty of Necessaries convenient for Life: Poverty being an entire Stranger here, and the Planters the most hospitable People that are to be met with. . . .”
The northeast side did not contain many individuals of great wealth but there were several whose possessions enabled them to live comfortably and leisurely and who were recognized as members of the planter class. Samuel Williams, who is selected as typical of the group whose chief interests were their households and friends, lived on a six hundred-acre plantation and possessed smaller tracts nearby and in Currituck, where he had formerly resided. He owned eight slaves, employed some additional help and he seems to have specialized in cattle raising, since he maintained two herds on the Outer Banks and a larger number on
his plantation. The boundaries of his estate, formerly a part of Danson's Manor, can be definitely determined and the house he built before 1750 is still standing, though in a badly dilapidated condition. One can easily visualize the vista afforded from his front porch when the lawn extended almost a quarter of a mile to the banks of the Pasquotank River, three miles wide at this point, and over which rode skipjacks, sloops and spritsails, busily engaged in traffic, somewhat the counterpart of modern motor traffic on a much traveled highway.
No study of a plantation may be considered complete, perhaps, without some attention to the members of the planter's household as individuals. Evidently Williams never held nor aspired to public office; nevertheless the many occasions on which he was called to act as trustee, guardian and member of commissions to settle estates, indicate the public estimate of his character. Other attributes are reflected in his will—often a self-revealing document. He did not follow the example of many planters—leave all real estate to his son and divide the feather beds and slaves among the womenfolk. Nor did he leave a portion of his possessions to his wife “until death or marriage”; instead he states “during her Natural Life & att her desese to be devided amongst her children as she sees fit.” He makes an equable division of his properties among his wife, son and two daughters: two slaves to each, and so on. Noteworthy are especial bequests to the girls. To Barbara he devises “all the stock of catel that belongs to me in the Kear of James Toler on the Banks.” Rebecca receives “all my catel in the Kear of Adam Baum at the Banks.” This would seem to offer proof that forage conditions on the Outer Banks two hundred years ago were superior to grazing facilities afforded there today.
Williams wrote his last testament on October 20, 1750; and six days later he adds this codicil of tragic content: “Some adishonal clases to this my last Will and Testament as it hath pleased God to take my well-beloved son Samuel before me.” He redivides Samuel's portion between his daughters and adds an unusual provision: “and further my will and desire is that my Negro James being a faithful & Trusty Servant may be free at my wife's deceas and likewise my desire is that ye sd Negro James may have two hundred and forty akers of land at Powels Point in Currituck whereon Parsifull Peace did live—to him and his proper use forever.” Williams had previously given this slave to his son Samuel.
Like the head of the household, his wife and children comported theirselves with dignity and decorum all their lives. In 1750 Barbara
was married to young Captain Stephen Brent. Five years later she was a widow. Since further information is lacking, one speculates as to whether he was a casualty of the French and Indian War, lost on a trading vessel at sea, or died from natural causes. Twelve years later his widow married John Powell of Currituck, whose family is perpetuated by the landmark, Powell's Point. In 1756 Rebecca married John Forbes, who as a captain in the N. C. Militia was mortally wounded at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, March 15, 1781. Many years afterwards Rebecca married William Snowden, who also held the rank of captain in the Revolution and was of the family from which the village of Snowden in Currituck derives its name. One wryly humorous bit of information survives concerning the widow, Mary Williams. She married one Alexander Watson, who seems to have been a person of no means but who immediately after his marriage initiated litigation to protect his “property rights.”
• An AristocratMcRORA SCARBOROUGH
ca 1693-1752
INSOFAR AS WE KNOW, before 1700 there were three planters on the northeast side of the river whose seals bore the imprint of a coat of arms. Those men were Thomas Merriday, his kinsman John Hawkins, and Augustine Scarborough. The latter possessed considerable acreage on both sides of the river and was one of the wealthiest citizens in the precinct. Like many of his station he also had a career as a public official—representative in the Provincial Assembly, treasurer for Pasquotank, and the like. The parentage of the seven Scarboroughs of the second generation is not clear—whether they were all the children of Augustine or partly the offspring of his brother William—but the four boys and three girls all displayed the ability for which the family was distinguished. Typical of the brood was John, an influential citizen throughout his adult lifetime; Charles who, for one thing, was one of the seven charter members of the Baptist congregation organized at William Burgess’ house in 1729; and Mary who married Samuel Wilson, Secretary of the Province
of North Carolina. The most outstanding was the youngest son McRora, or “Rory” as he was familiarly known.
Rory Scarborough was not only born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he passed his whole lifetime under favorable circumstances. The indications are that he completed his formal education in some distant center of learning, perhaps in England, and was familiar with social life in a wide area. Fortunate in possessing a personality which appealed to both men and women, he seems to have been a welcome and much sought after addition to any gathering, and may have been the most eligible bachelor in the Albemarle. Undoubtedly a good sartorial example of what a young man should wear, his fondness for fine apparel came near being a source of embarrassment on one occasion.
The circumstance developed in this manner. There were three younger men in the neighborhood, John Norton, Griffin Jones and Rory Scarborough, who seemingly stood not in awe of anyone or anything, for they had the temerity to testify adversely against the powerful Colonel William Reed when he was accused of making scurrilous remarks concerning the recently arrived governor, George Burrington. Reed was not one to overlook an affront, whether real or imagined, and what he thought was an opportunity for retaliation soon presented itself. Jeremiah Finch, a young gentleman of fortune, had recently come from New England and had taken up a patent when he was stricken with some fatal malady. Rory Scarborough, who had been appointed administrator of Finch's estate, proceeded to sell at public auction his belongings, among which were thirty-three muslin handkerchiefs. Scarborough purchased some of the handkerchiefs from the highest bidder and filed a complete report of the entire transactions with court officials. Colonel Reed, jumping to a conclusion, accused Scarborough of appropriating fourteen handkerchiefs at a price lower than reported. The charge was baseless. Moreover, by the time the trial came up, Burrington had antagonized many other people who were denouncing him in strong terms, and Colonel Reed was thereby so mollified he refused to press the charges.
Beginning with 1723, Scarborough embarked upon a political career. He was elected three terms in succession as representative in the Assembly from Pasquotank, and in 1724 he was appointed to the peace commission for his precinct. In 1729 an event occurred which caused him to transfer his residence to Perquimans.
Strange as it may seem, this popular bachelor was thirty-six before he married. The young lady was Anna Peterson, daughter of the late
Thomas Peterson and wife Joanna of Edenton. Much of the town of Edenton, it will be recalled, had been laid off on Peterson's plantation. The vivacious Joanna, who was to have three husbands in all, was a sister of the wife of Governor Thomas Harvey and a daughter of that impressive dowager over in Perquimans, Juliana Lakar and her late husband, the influential Benjamin Lakar. The wedding took place on November twenty-third, 1729, and the Governor, Sir Richard Everard, performed the ceremony. What with a charming bride in the town serving as the capital of the province, the Lakar and other family connections over in Perquimans, the wide social and political acquaintance of the likable groom, combined with the Scarborough prestige, this marriage must have been of especial interest to a goodly portion of the gentry of the Albemarle region.
Upon his arrival in 1731 for a second term as Governor of North Carolina, George Burrington announced, with his usual tact, that there were “no fit persons in Currituck or Perquimans to be members of the Council,” and proposed McRora Scarborough of Pasquotank for membership on the council. The Assembly was already in a mood to oppose any recommendations made by Burrington and the proposal was defeated. Incidentally, this failure represents the only setback experienced by Scarborough during his career. In the same year he established his residence in Perquimans where he was at once elected to the Assembly from that county. In 1733 he was appointed as assistant to Chief Justice William Little of the General Court. In 1739 he became treasurer of Perquimans County and was made a member of the local peace commission. His adopted county elected him seven times as representative in the Assembly; indeed he served continuously in some public capacity from the beginning of his career until his death. The details of his achievements in Perquimans belong to the history of that county and further reference will be omitted except for one item of general interest.
Scarborough and Benjamin Harvey sponsored a bill in 1746 which anticipated by twelve years the establishment of the town of Hertford at Phelps Point. At this time Governor Johnston was initiating an all-out effort to abolish the unequal representation enjoyed by the Albemarle counties, and since the proposed town would add one more representative from that region, the bill failed of passage. At a special meeting convened in Wilmington in November of the same year, with all the Albemarle delegates absent, the Assembly fixed New Bern as the capital and reduced representation in the Albemarle counties from five to two, the same number as was allowed the other counties. The
northeastern group, opposing this legislation as contrary to the privileges granted them by the Lords Proprietors, elected five representatives from each county as formerly. The delegates were not allowed to qualify and their election was declared illegal. As a result of this impasse the northeastern delegates did not attend any assembly for the next seven years. The northeastern counties appealed to the King and Privy Council to uphold as a right their ancient privilege of five representatives each as granted them by the Lords Proprietors. McRora Scarborough was one of these selected to make representations to the King and Council on behalf of the Albemarle claims. The final decision, although delayed for seven years, was in favor of the northeastern counties.
The true-love romance of Rory Scarborough and Anna Peterson was tragically brief. She died in 1735 from childbirth when their third son was born. Recording her death in the family Bible, the distraught husband added this poignant meditation from the Eighty-Eighth Psalm: “Lover and friend has Thou put far from me, and mine acquaintance into darkness.” Five years later he married Mrs Elizabeth Reed, daughter of Colonel Anthony Hatch and widow of William Reed, son of Colonel William Reed. To this union were born one son and two daughters.
When death came to Scarborough in 1752, he faced the event with characteristic poise and thoughtful consideration of others. In addition to other bequests, his wife, he stipulated, should receive “all that part of my Estate that may or will become due me upon the division of Mr. William Reed's (her former husband) Estate.” And “in case my wife and sons should disagree on administration,” he appointed as administrators “my brother John, my wife's brother, Anthony Hatch, and my friend, William Burges.” He also specifically leaves to his wife “a wench” with the intriguing name of “Pasquotank Rose.” An interesting glimpse of a gentleman's personal possessions two hundred years ago is also disclosed in the legacies to his sons. Benjamin received six silver spoons, a silver-headed cane, silver shoe buckles, knee buckles, fourteen vest buttons and a black walnut desk. Besides a cane and a desk like Benjamin's, his son McRora was given a silver watch.
• An Important FerryCOLONEL JOHN SOLLEY
ca 1695-1752
FERRIES BECAME ONE of the necessary means of transportation in the Albemarle region because of the numerous rivers and sounds, although regular and dependable service was a somewhat tardy development. In 1711 a minister, who was experiencing difficulties in reaching his parishioners, complained “there are great rivers—no ferry boats, neither will they be at the trouble of setting me over.” The earliest ferriage would seem to have been a matter of individual bargain between the traveler and any boat owner who could be hired to make the passage. Some of the early ferryboats must have been crudely constructed, for a legislative act of 1764 required all ferry keepers to be licensed by the county court and to provide “good and sufficient Boats,” subject to a heavy penalty for failing to do so.
When the Pasquotank Commissioners in 1728 erected a courthouse at Newbegun Creek on the southwest side of the river, to the people on the northeast side ferry service immediately became a problem of paramount importance because henceforth it would be necessary to cross the river in order to attend court and other affairs of legal import. The records are silent as to what methods of water transportation were available during the next ten years. In 1740 Samuel Saban Plomer was granted a franchise to operate a ferry from Arenuse Creek to Newbegun Creek. The distance between those two points is about three miles and, consequently, passage would be difficult at any time and unsafe besides in rough weather. Plomer's venture was probably not successful inasmuch as no further reference is made to it.
John Solley solved the problem to a considerable degree by operating a ferry eight miles farther up the river where the width is about one mile. He operated from a landing on the Camden side now known as Chantilly over to Relfe's Point on the lands of Thomas Relfe. He may have been keeping a ferry for some time previously, but in 1743 he petitioned the precinct court and was granted permission to charge ten shillings for a man and horse and five shillings for a man. Business must have been thriving because Thomas Relfe was granted a franchise in 1746 to run a ferry from his lands over to “Solley's Point.” He and Colonel Solley seem to have confined their efforts to traffic originating
for their respective sides. After Solley's death in 1752 his widow and their son Joseph continued operation. The latter's son-in-law, John Watkins, was the actual operator for many years.
The county seat was moved in 1757 from Broomfield, the location on Newbegun Creek, to a site near Relfe's Ferry where a new courthouse had been erected. The last session of court held at Broomfield was on December 11. The reasons for the change were stated in the following bill enacted by the General Assembly in 1756: “(1) Whereas by Experience it is found that the Situation of the Court House in Pasquotank is not Central and by reason of a wide Ferry, often impossible, very inconvenient to the greatest Part of the inhabitants, which together with the ruinous Condition of the Court House, and the want of a Prison, lays the inhabitants under great Hardships to continue the Court House where it now stands: For Remedy Thereof: (2) Be it Enacted by the Governor, Council, and Assembly, and by the Authority of the same, that the Court of the County of Pasquotank shall have full power and Authority, and are hereby required, within eighteen months after the passing of this Act to erect a Court House, Prison, Pillory, and Stocks, for the use of the County. And to agree with workmen to build and finish the same, at Relfe's Ferry, on the land of Thomas Relfe, in the said County.” Then follows authorization to levy the necessary taxes.
The inhabitants of the northeast side continued in a state of dissatisfaction because of the inconvenience in crossing and in 1762 the precinct court, in another gesture of conciliation, authorized the free transportation, as a public charge, of the following groups: “all persons Resident in the said county, going to, and returning from the said Court, the election of Burgesses and Vestrymen and General Musters of the said County.” Statement of the charges for this public transportation was submitted annually to the precinct courts.
Operation of the ferries continued as thriving enterprises until traffic was largely eliminated as a result of two events. In 1777 the northeast side was formed into Camden County. This occurrence immediately removed almost all necessity for crossing the river to attend court. About 1774 Sawyers Ferry (later known as Lamb's Ferry) was initiated from a location near Camden courthouse. Here the river is approximately two hundred yards wide, placid and easily navigable. As a consequence both Relfe and Solley ferries were discontinued for lack of patronage.
Besides his quasi-public position as ferry operator Colonel Solley was moderately active in local politics. While still a young man—in 1722—he served as one of the justices of the general court, and he was a
member of the Pasquotank Peace Commission for eleven years beginning with 1726. Records are entirely lacking for some of the years of Colonel Solley's life, but the title “colonel” was quite plausibly acquired because of his tenure as sheriff inasmuch as this official in early days held the rank of colonel in the county militia. There is an indication that he came from Craven County to this area after his first marriage; indeed his career may have been facilitated by his marriages. His first wife was Mary, daughter of Colonel William Reed, President of the Council; his second wife was Sarah, daughter of Colonel Robert West and granddaughter of Governor Thomas Harvey. He owned approximately two thousand acres, including swamplands, at the time of his death.
• First Attempt to Form the CountyCALEB SAWYER
ca 1703-1758
AS A SITE for the precinct courthouse the Pasquotank Commissioners purchased an acre of land from Thomas Palin and wife Susannah on October 17, 1727. The location was on the southwest side of the river on “a little creek or gut issuing out of Newbegun Creek.” Here the courthouse was forthwith erected and as a result sentiment began to develop on the northeast side of the river for the formation of a new precinct. The primary reason for this dissatisfaction was the width of the river at the point selected, some three miles or more. Crossings on a ferry would be a difficult undertaking even in moderate weather and nothing short of hazardous when the winds were high. As a matter of fact, there was no regular or dependable ferry service at the time except at Sawyer's Ferry about fifteen miles up the river, and to cross over to the other side over the roads, which were no more than rutty cart paths, was also a time-consuming inconvenience for the majority of the inhabitants on the northeast side, inasmuch as the most populous area was as yet in the lower or southern part. At first, for lack of a building, court sessions were held at various private residences, but in 1715 the Assembly specifically named the residence of Joseph Glaister on Newbegun Creek as the place for holding court as well as county elections.
The erection of a courthouse in this vicinity, moreover, eliminated the chance of holding court elsewhere, and this fact, along with the transportation difficulties, became a continuing source of dissatisfaction to those living on the other side of the river.
Caleb Sawyer, “of Sawyers Creek,” as one of the representatives from Pasquotank in the House of Commons, was the first to attempt to obtain the legislative enactment necessary in order to form that northeast side into a separate precinct. An entry in the minutes of the House on January 25, 1735, reads as follows: “Read petition of the inhabitants of the N. E. Parish of Pasquotank praying that that Parish be established into a separate precinct. Referred.” On February 3 this additional entry is recorded: “By Mess. Caleb Sawyer, Dan'll Sawyer. The petition of ther Inhabitants of the North East Parish of Pasquotank was a second time read for establishing that part into a precinct with the rights and privileges of other precincts of Albemarle County. Ordered that a bill be prepared for same.” On February 22 the bill appears with an amendment to name the precinct “Johnston,” undoubtedly a diplomatic gesture for the purpose of securing the approval of the governor, Gabriel Johnson. Caleb Sawyer is regarded as sponsor of this legislation since he is the only representative mentioned in connection with it except the one instance including Daniel Sawyer.
The bill with amendments was passed the required three times and ordered to be engrossed. It was promptly vetoed by Governor Johnston who objected to the provision “with the rights and privileges of other precincts of Albemarle,” which meant five representatives in the House of Commons for the new county. In 1670 Albemarle County had been divided into four precincts—Currituck, Pasquotank, Perquimans and Chowan—and each was allotted five representatives in the General Assembly. Later Bertie was allotted five and Tyrell, three; all other precincts or counties were allowed only two. Because of this method of representation the Albemarle region held the balance of political power and as a consequence officials elected in the assembly continued to be from that area. Governor Johnston was therefore strongly opposed to creating another precinct in the same territory with a quota of five members in the legislature. He later attempted to reduce representation in all the Albemarle precincts to two each; but the old precincts appealed to the Crown and their claims were upheld as a special privilege from the Proprietors.
Sawyer was elected to four two-year terms in the legislature. An important bill which he and Jeremiah Symons sponsored in 1735 for
the benefit of navigation was “An Act appropriating the Powder Money towards the fortifying beaconing and Buoying out the several Ports or Channels in the Province and for Imploying Pilotes.” In 1743 Sawyer assisted in preparing a bill “providing for his Majesty's Rent Roll.” During his last term—1743—he was fined for twelve days’ non-attendance, the reason for the absence not being stated.
Members of the Sawyer family have made important contributions to the history of Camden County. Caleb's first cousin Thomas donated the land for the Episcopal chapel erected near Sawyers Creek shortly after 1715, thereby becoming our first public benefactor. Not only was Caleb himself an outstanding citizen, he was the progenitor of descendants who also distinguished themselves. His son Lemuel held several local offices and was a delegate to important state conventions during the Revolutionary Period. A daughter married General Isaac Gregory. A grandson, Lemuel, was elected several times to the U. S. Congress and was also an author of note. A granddaughter also married a congressman. Another grandson, Enoch, achieved wealth, public honors, and entertained President James Monroe in his home.
• Building a WatermillCOLONEL THOMAS HUNTER
ca 1700-1760
PREPARING A REPAST could be a burdensome chore to the housewife of the early colonist. If she wished to serve cornbread, and frequently corn was the only grain available, she first had to make the meal. There being no gristmills, she followed the example of the Indians who reduced the corn by crushing the grains in a concave stone mortar with a pestle or more often, in the lowlands, by putting them in a bag which was pounded with a stout bludgeon. Such a process was not only tedious and time-consuming but the results were unsatisfactory for the making of palatable bread. In 1709 the Rev. Mr. Gordon, a missionary, found the chief articles of food of his parishioners to be salt pork and, occasionally, beef “and their bread of Indian corn which they are forced for want of mills to beat; and in this they are so careless and uncleanly, that
there is but little difference between the corn in the horse's manger and the bread on the table.”
In order to remedy the situation the General Assembly from time to time promulgated regulations for the construction of both wind and water mills. An act of 1715 delegated to the precinct courts authority to grant franchises in their respective jurisdictions. Two acres or more were to be set aside for the use of a mill powered by water and one-half acre if of the wind-type construction. Mills were to be for the public use of all such persons “as shall require the same”; the tolls were one-eighth part of wheat and one-sixth of Indian corn; the penalty for any violations was a fine of ten times the value of corn or wheat brought to the mill.
Thomas Hunter was not the first to construct a watermill on the northeast side of the river; there are references to three others of earlier origin. But the one erected by Hunter is the only one concerning which the exact date of building and the details involved in obtaining a franchise have been recorded in early court minutes. On July 18, 1737, Hunter, who was one of the presiding justices, introduced a motion permitting him “to obtain an order to build a mill upon the Northeast Branch of Arenoose Creek.” The court appointed Griffith Jones and Benjamin Pritchard to make a preliminary inspection of the proposed site “and report back at the next court.” The next session was in the following October when, according to the minutes, “the petition of Thomas Hunter for a mill on the N. E. Branch of Arenoos Creek Granted.” At the same time the surveyor general was directed “to lay out 2½ acres” and a commission of four was named to “value the same on oath and make return to the next court.” The commission submitted what was judged to be a fair price for the condemned site for the approval of the court. Thus construction was authorized and initiated.
Although watermills relieved the situation, they failed to be adequate in coastal areas. On account of the flatness of the terrain, not enough water could be impounded by the dams for operation during periods of light rainfall. Windmills were found to be more dependable and in time displaced the water type in the more level country. Interestingly enough, the dams built across a small stream or swamp were not only a means of improving the colonial diet, they permanently affected the direction of public highways. Heretofore the roads had meandered along the high land ridges in order to avoid fording swamps and morasses, but since milldams were also put to use as roadways of convenience across places hitherto difficult of passage, they thereby served to open
up new and more convenient roadways. Highway 343, which leads through the county today, crosses the sites of three early milldams, including Hunter's which is still referred to by the inhabitants of the lower part of Camden as the First Milldam.
In all likelihood he never personally operated the plant on Arenuse Creek, for he was a man of various interests and possessed a considerable estate; moreover, in 1734 he, a well-to-do widower, married Rebecca, the wealthy widow of Colonel Thomas Swann, which event, incidentally, caused him to move to Pasquotank from Chowan. “Elmwood,” the Swann home, was from all reports the most elegant residence in Pasquotank in the forepart of 1700, and some speculation is aroused as to why he and his wife chose to move across the river. There may have been two reasons; the lack of a mill in the southern part of the Camden side may have presented a favorable business opportunity and the then enviable prestige of the Arenuse community as a desirable place in which to live. At any rate the Hunters seem to have lived near the mill for about fifteen years. He purchased one hundred acres adjacent to the mill site from Griffith Jones and an adjoining like amount from William Gregory. The couple moved back to the southwest side presumably after he sold the mill and plantation to his stepson, Samuel Swann, in 1758, since Hunter was back on the Pasquotank side at the time of his death in 1760.
Although a newcomer, almost immediately after his marriage to Rebecca Swann he was appointed a member of the local court and began to be an active participant in county political affairs. Elected to the Provincial Assembly in 1740, he co-sponsored eleven bills—some of which are of historical interest. He and Sir Richard Everard introduced a measure “to prevent fraud in Packing Pork and other Commodities and to ascertain the Guage of Barrells,” that is, to set up a uniform standard of size. Another proposal brought in by Hunter was “to consider ways and means to raise money for defraying the charge of transporting his Majesty's troops raised in this Province to the place appointed for a General Rendezvous of his Majesty's American troops.” The time was during the War of Jenkins’ Ear (1739-44), when North Carolina troops saw action the first time as part of the British Army.
In 1740 he was appointed county treasurer for Pasquotank and not long after was named associate justice to acting Chief Justice John Montgomery. Upon his designation as sheriff in 1742 he became involved in a factional quarrel in the county, the details of which are not altogether clear. He resigned from the sheriff's office and was succeeded
by Samuel Heighe. Not much is known of Heighe except that he strongly opposed a franchise to any person other than himself for selling liquor on the grounds during court sessions. Not many months after taking office he informed the court “he was in danger of his life from Thomas Pendleton,” from whom he petitioned the court to require a peace bond. The next year (1746) one of the representatives from Pasquotank, Julius Caesar Parke, who seems to have been the proponent of the other county faction, introduced in the Assembly measures with profuse details which charged “Colonel Thomas Hunter late Sheriff of Pasquotank” and “a select number of justices,” among whom was Thomas Pendleton, with having “misapplyed a large sum of money for building a prison and warehouse.” The charges were investigated, dismissed, and the furor in the county subsided. Parke receded into oblivion, but Thomas Hunter came to his death as an honorable citizen of Pasquotank County.
• Founder of Shiloh Baptist ChurchREV. WILLIAM BURGRESS
ca 1703-1761
WITH THE POSSIBLE exception of Joseph Jones, William Burgess has influenced the history of Camden County more than any man who has lived there. While he was still a young man, there was organized at his dwelling a Baptist congregation which has been a predominating factor, both religiously and politically, in the southern part of the county for upwards of two hundred years and which today is one of the largest and most vigorous rural churches in the whole Albemarle territory. Burgess erected the first meeting house on his own lands, and largely at his expense, and to him major credit is due for the organization's firm foundation and vitality.
Circumstances had prepared the way for this denomination. In the first place, the Society of Friends had never been able to gain any following on the northeast side of the river, probably because of the loyalty of certain influential citizens to the Established Church. On the other hand, the Society for the Propagation of Faith in Foreign Parts, a missionary
effort of the Established Church, failed to send an adequate number of ministers to the colony and were unfortunate in the selection of some of the few who were sent. As a consequence there were periods of years when no minister was “seen upon these shores.” Religious services were, of course, lacking. It is small wonder, then, that when the Baptist missionary Paul Palmer, a persuasive orator, appeared in the Albemarle country prior to 1725, he found some attentive listeners and began to gain a few converts, one of whom was William Burgess.
The movement was slow. An irreligious atmosphere generally prevailed in the colony and there were antagonisms both from the Quakers and from the members of the Established Church. In fact, a division would appear to have developed in Burgess’ family because of his espousal of the Baptist faith, for at this time his brother Thomas moved to Halifax County, where the latter's son and grandson became ministers in the Episcopal Church. There were only seven subscribers, besides the visiting missionary, Paul Palmer, when a notice was drawn up on September 5, 1729, to notify the precinct court that a congregation had been formed. Part of the notice reads: “Whereas there is a Congregation of the People called Baptis gatherd in this Precinct, meeting together for Religious Worship in ye Dwelling House of William Burges, on the North side of Pascotanc, on the ye head of Raymond's Creek.” This legal notice was a requirement under the provisions of the Act for Dissenters. The seven local members were, with modernized spelling: Francis Brockett, Thomas Harrington, William Jones, Phillip Toxey, Robert Wallon, Charles Scarborough and William Burgess.
With the energetic and capable Burgess as the leader, this congregation became firmly established and continued to grow after Palmer's departure. Presumably he continued as pastor until his death. The simple democracy as preached by those Baptists, the democratic nature of their organization combined with a natural tendency to act independently and in opposition to the established order—all exerted a powerful influence upon the thinking of the members of this church as well as upon non-members on the northeast side of the river. Here was fallow ground for those ideals of freedom and independence which eventually resulted in the Revolution. Herein, in all likelihood, lay one of the chief reasons for the wholehearted and almost universal participation by the people of Camden in the war for political freedom.
Beginning with 1746, Burgess was appointed one of the justices of the precinct courts of Quarter Sessions and Common Pleas, a position he held for the remainder of his life. Seemingly, no one in Camden
has ever been more intimately a part of the lives of those around him than was this indefatigable worker. The court minutes reveal him to have served in an astonishing number of varied capacities—on commissions, committees, guardianships, trusteeships, and witnessing documents and the like—for the last twenty-five years of his life. In the meantime he was zealously working to organize Baptist congregations elsewhere, one as far away as Craven County. When we reflect upon his personal business activities, political career, pastorate and missionary efforts in outlying territories, and the endless minor tasks performed by him, we are amazed at the scope of his energies.
One significant effort by Burgess resulted in failure. In the colonial era ministers might be elected to the General Assembly, and as a representative from Pasquotank in 1744 he introduced a bill to establish the northeast side into a separate precinct by the name of Middlesex. Governor Gabriel Johnston had vetoed a similar bill introduced nine years before by Caleb Sawyer, and he was still firm in his opposition to increasing what he considered an already undue proportion of representation held by the northeast counties. Furthermore, the newer counties resented the political dominance of his region, and the bill was defeated
In his rise from proverty to the status of a well-to-do planter Burgess’ career is an illustration of what has also been accomplished by the industry of countless thousands who have availed themselves of the freedom of opportunity afforded in this nation. His father Stephen had left all real estate to the two older sons and to “all the rest of my children one shilling sterling money apeas.” William was one of those who received a shilling. During his earlier years he describes himself as a “taylor”; during his latter years he becomes William Burgess, “Esquire,” and his signature is a bold and confident hand.
This man, who was not only a practical man of affairs but also a religious idealist, possessed a brusque sense of humor. In his will he bequeathed a half interest in a Negro slave Dick to each of two sons “with this Positive Restriction that the said Negro Dick shall never be kept by hire or sold on this side of the river in order to the satisfying of my son-in-law Benjamin Torksey.” To another son he devised a slave Francis Peter, “tho not compelled to live with him otherwise than shall be ordered by the Rulers of the Baptis Church.” One of his young neighbors for whom he had an especial regard had recently married. The brief codicil to his will is an appealing item of neighborly friendliness; “I also Desire that John Forbes may not be Sued for ten BB Pork I lent him.”
• A Burning LightREV. JOHN BURGESS
ca 1725-1763
JOHN BURGESS was instrumental in bringing about two significant changes in the Baptist congregation which his father, William Burgess, had organized near Raymond's Creek. A new theology was embraced and another building was erected three miles away on Portohonk Creek, which has continued to be the site of the meeting house until the present. The beliefs of the earlier group were those of the General Baptists, substantially the same as the Primitive Baptists of modern times. In early manhood both John and his brother William were ordained to the ministry in their father's church, and both entered into their duties with zeal and ability. With their father they set about establishing “arms,” or mission centers of the mother church, in northeastern North Carolina and southeastern Virginia, with the impassioned fervor of the early evangels. As a result of the efforts of this trio and carried to completion by others “raised” in their congregation, six churches were founded, five in Carolina and one in Virginia.
From all accounts Elder John was an individual of great personal magnetism, and this attribute may explain his success in persuading a part of the congregation to change some of the tenets of their beliefs. Shortly after 1750 some Baptist ministers from the Pennsylvania Association visited the locality, advocating a more rigid discipline among other “new principles.” These men were known as Particular Baptists in order to distinguish them from the General Baptists. The brothers John and William espoused the new principles and a few members of their father's congregation sided with them. The father's attitude is not clearly stated, although he is assumed to have continued as pastor of his flock until his death. In any event, under the loosely binding regulations of the General Baptists, he could hardly deny to his sons their right as individuals to independent action.
Here a situation had developed where two groups holding to different doctrines were in the same congregation. In order to avoid friction, the best solution would seem to have been to erect another meeting house
for one of the divisions and this was what John forthwith set about to do. The site selected for the building was near a fork of Portohonk Creek on land which John's father had purchased in 1741 from the Danson Manor tract, and is only a matter of yards from the location of the building erected in 1848 and still in use today. The new congregation began with twelve members, but within a few years the membership had increased to almost two hundred, largely augmented, it is believed, by the continual defection of members from the older church. Although later references to the old meeting house and its membership are sparse, a plausible assumption seems to be that the old organization gradually dwindled to extinction. The last reference to the old building in the Camden County records was in 1796. John continued as pastor of the new church on Portohonk Creek until his death. Meanwhile, his brother William had assumed the pastorate of Kehukee Church in Halifax County.
The rapid increase of the Portohonk Creek flock would appear to have been as much a tribute to John's personal magnetism and brilliant leadership as it was to conviction of the new principles. Never has any minister of this venerable organization been so beloved as was this young man whose career was cut short at the age of thirty-eight. At his death his flock was disconsolate. According to one who knew him: “His funeral was preached by Rev. Charles Daniel to a crowded audience who expressed much grief at the passing of so bright and shining a light.” The noted Baptist missionary, Lemuel Burkitt, described him as “a burning and shining light.” As a part of his missionary efforts John had preached in the home of Burkitt's father over in Perquimans County when the missionary was a youth.
Despite his consecrated zeal in behalf of his faith, Elder John found time for other activities. He was a successful planter, operated a trading vessel, was a lieutenant in Captain Samuel Lowman's company when the Pasquotank militia was mustered during the Great War for Empire, and was a representative from Pasquotank in the General Assembly, 1761-62. The wonder is that he could do so much so well in the brief span allotted him. Incidentally, the Pasquotank Court Minutes prove that he was not a member of the Peace Commission for Pasquotank, as was erroneously stated by Morgan Edwards and others.
Provisions of his will add to his stature both as a man and as a minister. In a day when education for women was usually neglected he made this bequest: “First my will is that ten pounds a year for the first year be paid my daughter Freelove's nurse, and seven pounds a
year afterwards for the next three years schooling.” For his beloved church he devised: “Ten Pounds be annually paid by my Executors in part to the support of a Baptist Minister and for the said Minister to live on the lands I bought of Guy and Forbes till it shall be thought Proper by the Brothers of the Baptist Church to Remove the same and restrain the Ten Pound a year. My will is that as my sons arrive to age they Pay a fifth part of such Expense as herein to be Paid out of the Part of the said Estate in order that the Elder be not served nor the Estate or Property of the other over Burthened.” “Elder,” it may be explained, was the title used by the early Baptists for “Reverend.”
“A light” would seem to be an appropriate description of this consecrated young preacher.
• A Rowdy LeaderCOLONEL GRIFFITH JONES
ca 1692-1766
WHEN AN INDICTMENT against Griffith and Truman Jones was presented at the March term of court in 1729, doubtless the justices and the spectators all heard the details with keen interest. The two Joneses were charged with forcible entry and expelling from her plantation the widow and infant son of the late Colonel William Reed, an outstanding citizen of the Province of North Carolina. The methods employed, as described in the indictment, read like an onset by a military expedition: “by force and Armes to Witt with Swords Staves Gunns and other defensive and invasive Armes with the Appurtenances at Arenoose Creek in pasquotank prcinct aforesayd upon the peaceable possessions of one Mrs. Jane Reed Widow and Extrix of William Reed late of pasquotank prcinct aforesayd Esqr dec'd.” Not only had Mrs Reed and her infant son been ejected, according to the charges, but the accused “with a Strong hand did keep them out and still do.”
Forty-four years later, in all likelihood, the justices presiding also listened attentively during a session of the Pasquotank Precinct Court in 1773 when guardians rendered an account of expenses incurred during the past year for the orphans, Meriam and Lemuel Jones, inasmuch
as their father had frequently served as a member of this court. Some of the expense items reported for the young lady were a quantity of dimity and lace, a scarlet cloak, “a silk gauze dress cap with ribbon,” a year's tuition to Lemuel Burkitt for “schooling,” and fees to Charles Cason “for 3 mos. teaching her Dances.” Among the expenditures for the young gentleman were buckram, broadcloth, linen, silk handkerchiefs, a silk hat, and “for 6 mos. schooling.” The two young people were the younger children of the late Colonel Griffith Jones, well-to-do planter of Arenuse Creek.
These two court incidents of widely different implications refer to the same individual, who was more commonly referred to as “Griffin” Jones. The first of these occurrences would seem to indicate an individual of unbridled or savage temperament; the second suggests a member of the socially dominant class of his time, whose children were being reared as befitted their father's station. Although apparently at variance, both characterizations would seem to be accurate.
Even though there had been “bad blood” between him and the late colonel, the kindest explanation of Griffith Jones’ behavior towards the hapless widow of William Reed would seem to be that Jones was a product of the environment which bred him; frontier life has always been characterized to a degree by semi-lawless acts on the part of the settlers, who have also been prone to express themselves with unrestrained emotions. Compared with community sentiment of today, the public mind in the early part of 1700 would seem coarse and callous. Certainly it would be unusual in these days for a man to subject a woman to the treatment described in the indictment without being censured by his neighbors. In this case the final disposition of the charges is not known, due to incomplete records, but Jones does not seem to have been stigmatized because of his acts. Instead, he was elected from Pasquotank to the House of Commons, just two years after the trial.
He is also typical of another group who manifested disregard for social conventions. Due to an almost complete lack of ministers and to infrequent religious services, many had become openly lax in standards of moral conduct, although it is a matter of gratification that a majority of our early leaders did conform to accepted standards of morality. A most conspicuous example of flagrant violations of decency was furnished by a member of the Council of State who took a married woman to dwell in his residence and “fathered several children contrary to law,” despite efforts on the part of the courts to return her to her
legal husband. Twice married, Jones also participated openly in illicit love affairs. Public documents—deeds and wills—have left a record for all to see; and he is selected because it is unnecessary to uncover any family skeletons; they have always been exposed to view. One of the illegitimate children took the name Griffith Jones, Jr., and received substantial gifts from the father. The son never married but like his parent he, too, sired an illegitimate offspring, whose mother is named in his will. The point of this aberration, so to speak, is that Colonel Jones suffered no noticeable loss in the estimation of his constituents by his unconventional deeds. He was elected seven times to the General Assembly and served at least seven years as one of the justices of the Pasquotank Precinct Court.
He lived through a period of transition from the somewhat undisciplined days of earlier colonial life to a more refined era, as government became more stable and efficient and commercial prosperity appeared as a companion of peace and security. In his long and active life this vigorous personage likewise underwent a metamorphosis from a rowdy and lusty youth to the dignified citizen of his latter days. Despite his derelictions, he seems always to have been an able and responsible official. Incidentally, his first appearance in public life was as assistant to the general court in 1716, while he was still a young man.
His career in the Assembly or House of Commons was at times noteworthy; he was sponsor or co-sponsor of some important items of legislation. In 1775 he was one of those legislators submitting a joint protest against a requirement that certain products be shipped directly to England and also against the levying of specified duties on both imports and exports. During the same year he also introduced a bill “for appointing Sheriffs and directing their duties into office,” and for “Compelling Collections of Publick Taxes and Persons instructed with laying out Publick money to apply and compt for same.” At a later session he and Thomas Relfe initiated legislation to change the schedule for holding the supreme courts. In 1756 those two sponsored an act which authorized moving the courthouse from Newbegun Creek to Relfe's Point. Jones and Benjamin Harvey were co-authors of three bills; (1) for punishment of mutiny and desertion, (2) to establish roads and ferries and (3) for the better regulation of same in various counties. In 1757 he was paid an extra allowance for going after an absentee member; in 1759 a member was sent to bring him in, the reason for his absence not being stated.
The implications as to a military career are another interesting aspect
of this man. In 1735 he is referred to as “Major,” and within the next ten years he has become a “Colonel,” presumably a reward for his activity in the county militia, but he may have participated in King George's War (1744), which saw North Carolina troops in action for the first time as a part of the British army. His final service seems to have been in the general muster of 1754-55, incident to the outbreak of the Great War for Empire (1754-63). Because of the inconvenience of crossing the river, the Pasquotank Militia was organized into two separate commands, four companies being formed on the northeast side. The aging colonel was named as captain of the company “drawn from the inhabitants within the forks of Arenuse Creek over to North River.” This detachment contained fifty-four men, including the officers. Jones listed his official personnel as follows: Thomas Reading, lieutenant, and William Willson, ensign; sergeants, Ben Bell, John Gray, Joseph Smisson; drummers, William Burgess (nephew of William Burgess, Sr.) and William Bano; corporals, Joseph Bell, Mark Gallop, Nathan Willson and John Swann. It is with interest we note the frequency with which certain well-known Camden names appeared in this small company almost exactly two centuries ago—“Grigory” (showing the spelling and pronunciation of the time), seven; “Saunderlen” (Sanderlin), four; “Forbus” (Forbes), four; Bell, three; Godfrey, three; “Willson” (Wilson), three; and Gray, three.
Because there was no will, the size of his estate is a matter of deduction. He seems to have owned upwards of two thousand acres, including several small tracts. His residence was near the Store Landing on Arenuse Creek, although nothing is known of the type and kind. One interesting task in his immediate community was the guardianship of young Isaac Gregory, the future General, whose father was a next-door neighbor. Perhaps an accurate summary of this energetic citizen would be to say that he had strength of character sufficient to overcome shortcomings which would have been a fatal handicap to a man of lesser caliber.
• Three Captains of the Colonial MilitiaShortly after the outbreak of the French and Indian War in 1754 the Pasquotank Militia was formed into a regiment of eight companies,
four on each side of the river. Every able-bodied man from the age of sixteen upwards was mustered in, and a company was made up of men living within a specified geographical area. The total Pasquotank organization was under the command of Robert Murden, Colonel; Thomas Taylor, Lieutenant Colonel; and Jarvis Jones, Major. This article will be concerned with but three of the captains on the northeast side inasmuch as the fourth has already been discussed in another sketch.
CAPTAIN SAMUEL LOWMANca 1725-1772
THE SO-CALLED First Company comprised all those residing between the mouth of the river and Arenuse Creek, which generally meant those living along the highway leading from John Wright's plantation near Albemarle Sound up to Colonel Thomas Hunter's watermill. There were fifty-one men, not including the commissioned and non-commissioned officers. The official personnel, besides Captain Lowman, were: John Burgess, lieutenant; Benjamin Torksey, ensign; Nathan Pusley, John Brown and John Wright, sergeants; John Beals, Jacob James, John Forbes and William Wright, corporals; Absolom Grimes and William Cartwright, drummers; John Squires, clerk.
Samuel Lowman was a blacksmith by trade. In early life he had been a sailor and possibly may have seen military service during King George's War (1744-48). He settled here after his marriage to Dorothy, daughter of a veteran seaman, Captain Abell Ross. At first Lowman lived on the west side of Arenuse Creek near his father-in-law, but after changing residence several times he passed his last days in Great Island, a one-time settlement in the North River pocosin which has long since been abandoned and reverted to forest. His only public office in the county was that of tax-lister for a brief period.
CAPTAIN JOSIAH NASH
ca 1720-1771
THE SECOND COMPANY had a total of sixty-two men, all drawn from a district “bounded by Arronose and on the north side of Pasquotank River to Fort Bridge.” No non-commissioned personnel were designated by Captain Nash, but his junior officers were Thomas Grandy, lieutenant, and Caleb Grandy, ensign. More than a fifth of the privates in this detachment bore the surname of Sawyer, not including the clerk who was Richard Sawyer.
Josiah Nash was a shipwright who probably established his residence here about the time of his marriage to Mary, daughter of the wealthy and influential Caleb Sawyer. At his death he owned a shipyard, warehouse properties, more than three hundred acres of plantation lands and several hundred more of swamp pocosin.
In 1764 Nash was one of Pasquotank's five representatives in the Provincial Assembly. The representation that year illustrates how firmly certain families kept their hands on the reins of political control, the most potent names politically being Jones and Sawyer. The five elected were Joseph Jones, Josiah Nash, Lemuel Sawyer, Thomas Taylor, Jr. and Samuel Swann. Nash's wife was a sister of Sawyer, and Sawyer was a brother-in-law of Taylor. Swann was a member of a dominant family on the southwest side of the river. As a member of the House of Commons, Nash's most noticeable activity was acting as a courier from the lower house to the upper.
His career locally seems to have been a highly honorable one. He was one of the justices of the county court, a tax-lister, and he served various tours as patroller, the latter being a chore which generally devolved upon slaveowners. The family has also left a permanent imprint of their presence here. Camden Methodist Church was first known as Nash's Chapel and seems to have been sponsored by a branch of the clan living in the Arenuse Creek area. An abandoned highway in the forks of that creek is stilled referred to as “Nash's Lane.” The descendants of this shipbuilder have continued to be capable citizens in the pursuits of agriculture, commerce, and in the learned professions.
CAPTAIN NEHEMIAH JONESca 1718-1775
THE THIRD COMPANY was the largest, having an enrollment of seventy-one, including officers, and the bounds were “on the Fork Creek on the North side of Pasquotank River and on the upper of said county,” which area comprised modern South Mills, Tar Corner, Pearceville and Upper Woods. Captain Jones’ ensign was his brother Isaac and the lieutenant was Isaac Litten. The three sergeants named were Samuel Smith, David Jones and John Ralley; the corporals, Samuel Edney, Shadrach Taylor and Jacob Burnham; and the drummers, James and Greves Spence. A glance at the roster shows that while the same names are still generally found in the neighborhood, the frequency with which they occur in the company roll shows that their ratios to the whole population have changed considerably as the years have passed. The surnames appearing most frequently then were as follows: Bright (Brite) and Overton, eight each; Spence, five; Taylor, four; Burnham, Jones, Knight (Kight), and Upton, three each.
Jones describes himself as a merchant, though he was a man of varied business interests. The abrupt cessation in the public records of any reference to his commercial activities during the French and Indian War period may indicate combat service in an active military unit. Although he belonged to one of our leading families, being a son of John Jones, a nephew of Major Jarvis Jones and an uncle of Joseph Jones of the Revolutionary era, he had no liking for public office. When the Provincial Assembly appointed him a justice of the local quarter sessions court, he refused to qualify. He did serve a tour of duty with Josiah Nash as a patroller but this task seems to have been looked upon as a necessary obligation by a slaveowner.
• The Race Problem
JOHN OGGS
ca 1720-1771
DURING A SESSION of the State Legislature held on Saturday, November 14, 1789, “John Hamilton of Edenton moved for leave and presented a Bill to enable the Bastard children of John Oggs, deceased, of the County of Pasquotank, to hold and enjoy the real and personal estate which was bequeathed to them and their heirs by the said John Oggs.” Thus was initiated a legal move to disentangle the complications created by the will of a man who had devised his property to his natural offspring, who were technically also his slaves.
Oggs died in 1771 while he was a resident of Pasquotank County. Actually he lived on the northeast side of the river, which area was established as Camden County in 1777. He is selected as a dramatic example of a problem which had protruded itself with the introduction of slavery, which is to say from the beginning of the colony. As early as 1665 newcomers were allotted fifty acres for each servant imported, whether bond or free. Illegimate children born of a white woman or Indian mother were accorded the status of free persons, even though the father were a Negro. On the other hand, the offspring of a slave woman were considered slaves regardless of the status of the father.
Although a law of 1715 prohibited marriage between whites and Negroes, there are evidences of continued miscegenation. In 1725 the Rev. John Blacknall, a minister in Currituck, was fined for marrying a white man and a mulatto woman. The racial situation in Camden seems to have been typical of conditions existing in other eastern counties, perhaps not as acute as in a few counties having a larger percentage of slave population. Some authorities estimate the ratio of mulattoes among free Negroes prior to 1860 to have been about seven in every ten. Certain it is that the majority of petitions to the local courts for the manumission of Negroes were for individuals of mixed parentage. Families were unwilling to retain in servitude a person with whom they had a common blood bond. Following the death of a contemporary of John Oggs, a well-to-do planter in a nearby county, the executors immediately requested legal permission to set free four mulattoes, evidently at the behest of the legal heirs. One finds occasional indication of savage resentment on the part of whites against a relative who had
interbred with another race. There is, for example, a court order binding out a two-year old illegitimate child. The clerk adds an explanation that the father was a Negro man and the mother a white woman (member of a well-known family who is named) who was killed “by a tree falling on her.”
As we have already noted, according to the laws of the colonial period, illegitimate children acquired the status of the mother, and this ruling explains the predicament of John Oggs’ children. Oggs was a bachelor whose housekeeper and cook was his slave, a Negro woman named Hester. By her he fathered four offspring, two males and two females. To “my gairl Alley (Alice)” and “my boy Jesse” he devised an equal interest in the plantation whereon he lived. To “my gairl Prudence” and “my boy Charles” he bequeathed the “land on the Island.” The total acreage of his real estate was between two and three hundred acres. He had failed, however, to provide for the manumission of either the mother or her children and since the law prohibited a slave from owning real property, the complications produced by the will became immediately evident. Here were properties clearly intended for individuals who were unable to exercise the privileges of ownership.
This peculiar state of affairs continued for a period of eighteen years, the boy Jesse having died in the meantime, when John Hamilton solved the problem by sponsoring a special legislative enactment, doubtless at the behest of interested persons in Camden and in Pasquotank. Following are quoted pertinent passages from the act finally passed by the State Legislature: “And whereas, the within mentioned Hester, and her children Charles, Alley and Prudence Oggs, are recommended to this General Assembly by several very respectable inhabitants of Camden and Pasquotank, as worthy of being manumitted and set free agreeable to the intentions of their father John Oggs. . . . Be it therefore enacted, that the said Negro woman Hester, and her children Charles, Alley and Prudence Oggs, are hereby manumitted and set free to all intents and purposes, and to possess all rights and privileges as if they had been born free.”
Exercising their long-delayed rights of ownership, for a few years the Oggs heirs sold and bought real estate. The father had owned one tract located in a neighborhood now known as Wickham, and the other was on Indian Island. Prudence finally purchased fifty acres on Indian Island, where she apparently spent her last days. Hester and the other
two children later assumed the surname of Dixon. Eventually they sold all their possessions and departed for parts unknown.
• IshmaelTHOMAS WRIGHT ALIAS RAYMOND
ca 1725-1774
CERTAIN SOCIAL DELINQUENCIES around 1700 assumed such proportions in the province as to become a public problem. Sections XIV and XV of the Laws of 1715 describe the situation clearly and read as follows: “and Whereas to the Great Scandall of this Government many persons from Foreign Parts have come & settled themselves here as man and wife, when by their Actions and Behaviour, or by some knowledge of others, they appear not only to be unmarried to each other, but too often are the husband & wife of others, wherefore for the further prevention thereof, Be it Further Enacted that whatever man or woman shall hereafter come into this Government from Foreign Parts & shall live here together as Man & Wife & shall be accused by credible report of Common Fame that they are not lawfully married, such Man & Woman shall be convened before the next Magistrate & by him compelled, within twelve months after, to produce a sufficient Certificate of their marriage, or at least that they have been taken & reputed to be Man & Wife in the Government where they last resided; otherwise to be treated as Vagabonds & expelled the Government.”
A closely related problem was that of illegitimacy, and contemporary court records are witness to the numerous occurrences. Section XIII of the Laws of 1715 authorized any two magistrates to summons to the precinct court any single woman who was known, or reputed, to be pregnant and to require her under oath to name the father. The man so designated was then required to post bond with satisfactory security in order to keep the child from becoming a public charge. If the social conditions of the early colonial period are to be accurately reflected, it would therefore seem necessary to include one individual born out of wedlock.
Thomas Wright is typical only in the status of his birth; most of
those of similar origin remained in obscurity. One of the few illegitimates concerning whom a number of facts are known, he was the son of William Wright and Elizabeth Raymond. Both the father and mother were of good lineage. Wright, the first of the name here, was apparently the grandson of The Rev. John Wright, a well-known minister of Nansemond County, Virginia, and the mother was the daughter of Thomas Raymond and a granddaughter of a pioneer settler, William Raymond.
Conditions on the northeast side or in the Camden area were about on a par with those existing in the other counties in the Albemarle region, neither better nor worse. The same may be said of the county area; each neighborhood produced its proportion, so to speak. Two of the most spectacular instances occurred in the central part of the northeast area, although occurrences there were no more numerous than elsewhere. Here, for example, lived a planter who was a large landowner and whose children were all girls. Each daughter made her social debut, in a manner of speaking, by having an illegitimate child. And nearby at a later period a household of children were reared in affluence by a father who failed to wed the mother. Most unusual was the judgment of the court in another instance when a single woman, whose neighborhood is not stated, came into court and named as the father of her unborn child a married man who had recently died. Whereupon the court ordered the widow of the deceased to bear the expenses incident to the birth and care of the child.
Facts relating as to how Thomas Wright was reared are lacking. His mother left the county and took up a patent in the southern part of the province; her father, Thomas Raymond, returned to England, perhaps due to chagrin over the episode. The child may have been bound out as was frequently done with children in those times. Later events would seem to indicate, however, that he was brought up in the household of his half-brother, Charles Wright, whose first wife was Mary Raymond, youngest daughter of William Raymond and therefore Thomas’ great-aunt. On reaching maturity, Thomas himself married Mary Squires and proceeded to establish himself in the county. During his lifetime he procured in all about six hundred and seventy-five acres.
One of the tracts of land which he acquired was a lapsed patent from Lord Granville, amounting to four hundred and fifty acres, and is of local historical interest. The plat is so drawn up that it can be followed precisely today, making it possible to determine the exact location
of the first road leading from Down River towards the upper part of the county, although this road has been abandoned for a century or more. In fact, the present highway, which superseded the old one as a public thoroughfare, was laid out in 1772, perhaps due in part to Thomas Wright's influence. The “new road” led through his property and shortened the distance to the warehouses recently erected on Old Trap Bay.
He may have been the first real estate promoter on the northeast side. Having purchased from Charles and Augustine Wright one hundred acres binding Raymond's Creek on what is now known as Old Trap Bay, he proceeded to sell several lots to traders during the period of flourishing commercial activity immediately preceding the Revolution. Among those who erected warehouses on the site, then known as Raymond's Neck, were such active merchants as Joseph Jones, Thomas Gordon, John Milby and several others, including Peleg Green of Massachusetts. A well-established tradition says that a town was contemplated here long before Elizabeth City.
After the Revolution Joseph Jones attempted with considerable success a similar project at Plank Bridge in the center of the county. This development progressed to the point of laying out the town of Jonesborough and the location was made a port of entry. At the same time a similar expansion was going on at River Bridge in the South Mills area, and for a while this development was referred to as the town of Joppa. But all three were destined to fail; events were already in the making which would finally result in the town of Elizabeth City.
Thomas Wright was the father of a son William (and perhaps a son Thomas) who migrated to an unknown location. After the death of the father his daughter Mary, a minor, was placed in the care of Augustine Wright.
It has been the fashion to explain the low level of moral standards prevailing during the early part of the eighteenth century as a result of the psychology of frontier life, lack of religious instruction, absence of ministers, and lack of churches. One preacher, commenting upon a locality which had no church and where “as yet no minister has ever set foot,” stated somewhat grimly, “I have heard of monstrous goings on.” Doubtless many factors were significant, but many settlers must have simply reflected the low standards prevailing in England at the time. When the Stuarts were restored to the English throne following the rigid Puritan regime under Cromwell and the Protectorate, the people went on a spree of self-indulgence which resulted in an all-time
“low” in both social and political life. Charles II may be said to have set a pattern with a succession of mistresses and illegitimate offspring. English historians explain the rise of the Methodist Church as a reaction against moral standards prevailing at the time.
In brief, there were many who were decent citizens in their social life in Camden, largely upheld, we infer, by the strong influence of the Baptist congregation on Portohonk Creek. On the other hand, intemperance and dissolute practices were much more in evidence than they are today.
• Dulce et DecorumCAPTAIN JOHN FORBES
ca 1737-1781
WHEN THE AMERICANS met the British forces at Guilford Court House on March 15, 1781, the North Carolina Militia, which had been placed in the front lines, broke ranks when the Redcoats came in sight and many of them beat a hasty retreat. Writing to General Washington after the battle, General Nathanael Greene declared: “Had the North Carolina militia seconded the endeavors of their officers, victory was certain. But they left the most advantageous pisition I ever saw without scarcely firing a gun. None fired more than once, and near one half not at all.” Among those who did not run was an easy-going and affable officer from Camden County; he stood; and he also fell mortally wounded. By his death he achieved a unique distinction in the Revolutionary annals of his county. Other officers from Camden were severely wounded in conflict, notably Colonel Selby Harney and Lieutenant Abner Lamb, but insofar as the records show, Captain John Forbes was the only commissioned officer from this county to meet death on the battlefield.
An apparent attribute of this man from his youth was the affectionate esteem which he enjoyed from persons of every degree. He never aspired to political office but he was continually called upon to perform tasks requiring diplomacy as well as sound judgment, as numerous instances indicate. He and elders William Burgess and son, John Burgess, were appointed in 1759 to divide the cattle belonging to Lovey Gregory, orphan of the wealthy William Gregory. And upon the death of Elder
William Burgess in 1761, also a man of considerable means, he was placed on a commission along with Colonel Griffith Jones and Captain Benjamin Paddrick to settle the accounts of the executors of the estate. William Burgess, son of Elder John Burgess, chose Forbes, who must have been a close friend of the family, as guardian upon the death of his father in 1763. Forbes and Captain Samuel Lowman in 1769 valued anew the goods listed by former valuation. In all these, as in other cases, he was working with older men and men of considerable county prestige.
The will of the aging founder of Shiloh Baptist Church affords a pointed illustration of affection from one who was a shrewd appraiser of men. After the old minister had written his will, he thought of the young Forbes who had recently married and was living nearby. Adding a codicil in the form of a postscript, he wrote, “It is my Desire that John Forbes be not sued for the 10 BB pork I lent Him.” The young man's capacity for winning friends may have stood him in good stead when he was about eighteen years old. An unmarried pregnant woman, having been summoned to court as the law required, named him as the father. Usually the statement of the woman was accepted as final, but in this instance he was able to persuade the court to dismiss the charges. Incidentally, the woman was not greatly incommoded; afterwards she designated another neighbor whom the court adjudged responsible.
The favorable auspices under which Forbes lived were markedly evident in his marriage. Although as a younger son he had received only a modest bequest from his father, he married Rebecca Williams, who was not only one of the most personable young women in the county but also the possessor of considerable means. They established residence near a spot soon to become known as Mill Town, from which the view of the broad river must have been as lovely as it is today. In fact, the windmills were erected on Williams property, Rebecca's inheritance, which John and Rebecca had sold to the builders. In addition to a few slaves, they also had the services of a white indentured servant, one William Rankhorn, who was to be taught the “Art and Mistery of Shoemaker.” To the couple was born one son, Samuel Williams Forbes. Incidentally, this son and John Wright Harrison were the first two natives to employ a middle initial in their signatures. Prior to 1800 the custom was, of course, to use only the Christian and surname.
Then came the War for Independence and with it the disruption which always accompanies war. The problem confronting state officials
of securing enlistments was a difficult one because of a lack of sound financial structure on the part of the government, lack of supplies, lack of industrial plants to supply equipment, and, finally, the oft times doubtful outcome of the conflict. To induce men to enlist required continuous efforts of such patriotic leaders as Elder Henry Abbott, General Isaac Gregory, Colonel Gideon Lamb, Lieutenant Joshua Dailey and Ensign Davis Grandy. It seemed to be inevitable that upon some of the more personable and likeable men would devolve the responsibility of leading their friends and neighbors into battle. And so we find John Forbes commanding a company of Camden men.
The facts known relating to his military career are regrettably brief. On September 5, 1780, the records show “Captain Forbes and a company of men” were encamped at Forks Creek, a spot near Cross Creek, now Fayetteville. We do not know who the men were, although a good guess would be that one was the captain's brother, Henry Forbes, who became a lieutenant colonel in the Camden militia after the war. General Richard Caswell is known to have been concentrating the militia from the eastern part of the state in this location during this period. We do not know if Forbes and his men had participated in the ill-fated Battle of Camden, South Carolina, during the previous July. We wonder if they were a part of General Greene's forces while he was skillfully outmaneuvering Lord Charles Cornwallis during the fall and winter of 1780-81, but there is no information. The probability is that they were used, for when the battle began at Guilford Court House on March 15, 1781, Captain Forbes was there, and there he gave his life for the cause of freedom. Seemingly no other information has been preserved, but what is known is enough to entitle this officer to a lasting place in the remembrance of his county.
• A Gallant Father and His Son
COLONEL GIDEON LAMB
ca 1740-1781
LIEUTENANT ABNER LAMB
ca 1760-1794
THE APPEARANCE of four members of the Lamb family—two brothers and two sisters—on the northeast side between 1750 and 1760 was a contributing factor to the hearty espousal by this area of the cause of the patriots when the Revolution came. Thomas Lamb, who had come from Connecticut to Currituck after 1740, brought with him a more independent outlook than was native to the Albemarle. Moreover, he was a Baptist while many of the local gentry were adherents of the Established Church. The flourishing Baptist church which the Lambs found here under the guidance of Henry Abbott naturally afforded an atmosphere congenial to the Lamb outlook. Elizabeth Lamb married Peter Dauge and Sarah married Isaac Gregory, whose sister became the wife of Gideon Lamb. Luke Lamb furnished some supplies for the patriot army; Dauge, Gregory, and Gideon Lamb were all quite active in the field.
Although Gideon Lamb became a resident of the Camden side after his marriage around 1750 and according to tradition was a deacon in the Baptist Church, he did not immediately sever his connections in Currituck. There the Lambs enjoyed considerable prestige and Gideon seems to have continued in their high regard, for he was a delegate from Currituck to the Provincial Congresses held in Hillsborough in 1775 and in Halifax in the spring of 1776. At Hillsborough he was named a member of the Council of Safety for the district of Edenton; at Halifax he received a commission as major in the Sixth Regiment commanded by Colonel Lillington, when the Congress proceeded to organize regiments for the Continental troops. This appointment terminated his political career; thereafter he devoted himself entirely to his duties as a soldier.
He did not have to wait long before participating in actual combat. Writing from Wilmington in August of the same year, he describes a foray against the Indians in South Carolina and adds: “number of Indians killed unknown. We have totally defeated them there and burned down three Indian towns.” For the next several months his
command operated in South Carolina and he was with the defenders of Charleston when the British under Sir Henry Clinton vainly attempted to subdue Fort Moultrie in order to take the city. When the British shifted the scene of their major operations to the North, we find Lamb also in New Jersey, by this time in command of his regiment, having been promoted upon the resignation of Colonel Alexander Lillington. The vital engagements around Trenton, Brandywine, and Germantown found him and his troops with the North Carolina contingents. In Pennsylvania he and several of the N. C. regimental officers protested against the appointment of Dr. Hand, a Pennsylvanian, as commander of the North Carolina brigade, a protest which resulted in the appointment of Francis Nash as brigadier general.
Having been unsuccessful in their attempts to overcome General Washington's forces, the British in 1778 again shifted their strategy towards conquest of the South. Since the North Carolina contingents had been greatly reduced by casualties, disease and expiration of enlistments, it was found necessary to conduct another recruiting campaign. Colonel Lamb was assigned the task of assembling the Continentals in the eastern part of the state. The difficulties attending this assignment were tremendous. War morale had descended to a low level in 1778 as, incidentally, was the case in other colonies. Desertions were on the increase and enlistments dwindled to an insignificant trickle. The state militia in the East, which had seldom been an effective military machine, had now in many counties deteriorated into poorly disciplined groups, wasteful of war supplies, and, as has generally been the case with poorly organized military units, they showed themselves inept in action. In November of 1778 Lamb informed Governor Caswell, “The few arms I have received from the militia are totally unfit for use and I have left them with the commissary.” At a later date General Greene advised Governor Abner Nash: “I think it an endless task to attempt to arm and equip all your militia. Such a waste of arms as I have seen in different parts of this state, is enough to exhaust all the arsenals of Europe.” There were instances, of course, where Lamb was ably assisted in his efforts by militia officers. Finally, the regiments were enabled to march again, though still short of their full strength, and as luck would have it an unexpected circumstance supplied the arms. It so happened that a shipment of arms arrived at Edenton consigned to the War Board in Philadelphia. Joseph Hewes wrote Caswell that he had “ventured” to deliver eighty rifles to Lamb and asked the governor's opinion of his action. Caswell promptly advised Hewes to deliver the entire consignment
to Lamb because he thought under the circumstances “the War Board would approve.” Thus Lamb was enabled to participate in the campaigns around Savannah, even though the Americans were unsuccessful in their attempts to recapture that city.
It was just after the Savannah campaign when Lamb was subjected in effect to a court-martial on charges of misconduct two years before. On November 5, 1779, a court of inquiry was conducted by order of Brigadier General Jethro D. Sumner “to inquire into the conduct of Colonel Gideon Lamb at the actions of Brandywine and Germantown Sept. 11 and Oct. 4, 1777.” The general charge was abandonment of troops. The verdict returned by the court was “We are of opinion the charge is not supported and that he be acquitted with honor.” The resounding tone of the acquittal and the known facts as to Lamb's activities in combat naturally raise the question as to the reason for the charges. Unfortunately the details of the charges have not been preserved, but two documents still existing may shed light on the causes. On February 8, 1777, Colonel James Moore, writing from Charleston to Governor Caswell, made the following statements: “Col. Lillington and Lt. Col. Taylor have both resigned. Major Lamb and Captain Little are next in seniority—as they are at present out of the state—rank only by the commissions they now have.” Moore further expressed the opinion that their commissions should “be filled as soon as possible and sent to them.” Acting upon this suggestion, Governor Caswell immediately forwarded the promotion commissions, although a routine procedure would have been to wait until the next session of the legislature and submit the promotions to that body for approval. In August of the same year Colonel Polk informed the Governor: “Field officers of the N. C. Brigade complain of the irregularity of the promotion of Col. Lamb and Col. Lytle.” Although the patriots would seem to have been closely united as they faced a common danger, actually the period was often rife with petty jealousies among the officers. Few of the officers who complained could equal Lamb's record as a combat soldier. The charge against him seems to have resulted from resentment still rankling in the breasts of certain individuals who may have hoped to gain by political preferment in the legislature what they had failed to merit on the battlefield.
Fortunately this incident does not seem to have diminished Lamb's military prestige nor did it leave him in a mood of resentment. Again the records bear witness to his interminable efforts to secure new enlistments. His numerous correspondence with Governors Caswell
and Nash, Joseph Hewes, and General Sumner are indicative of a close relationship with those most responsible for military preparations in this state. The Continentals which he assembled during this period under Brigadier General Summer were thrown together into a new regiment under Colonel Robert Mebane. These troops were a part of the garrison captured by the British at the capitulation of Charleston on May 12, 1780. Again Lamb assisted in rallying troops for the Continentals while General Caswell assembled the militia in the east. These troops formed a part of the forces routed so decisively at the Battle of Camden in August.
The whole state was now thoroughly alarmed by the prospect of imminent invasion, and Lamb was immediately summoned to a rendezvous to make plans to assist the new commander of the Southern army, General Greene. By this time the old continental organizations had become so decimated, however, a superabundance of officers was the result. Accordingly, Lamb and several others were semi-retired on half pay in January of 1781. At the same time his health began to fail and he was unable to attend a rendezvous in April. By July he had rallied and we find him with fifty-four new men in Camp Hawkins, whom he had collected with “much labor,” and he reported to General Sumner that he had “left Lt. William Ferebee in General Gregory's camp of militia at Northwest to receive and collect what he can and move them on.” Apparently this was his last service. Ill, he returned to Mt. Pleasant, his home in Camden, and there death claimed him on November 8, 1781.
Despite his undoubtedly meritorious war record, Lamb was harassed because of impractical management of his personal business affairs. All his life seemingly he was in financial straits. A considerable estate had been entailed to his wife, but financial stringency drove him to sell his life right in her estate in 1764, less than five years after his marriage. Some of his difficulties appear to have resulted from an over generous nature. One record shows him to have leased a fifty-acre tract to a relative for an annual rent of one bushel of corn. During the tension of the war period, individuals were sometimes charged with disloyalty on mere suspicion. On occasion when Lamb encountered instances wherein the accusation seemed to him unjust, he would give personal bond for their release. His conduct of military operations appears, however, to have been at all times above criticism. To his associates he remained an honorable figure; his name was certified by General Sumner as eligible for membership in the Order of the Cincinnati
when that organization held its first annual meeting in 1784 at Philadelphia.
His son Abner was probably not more than sixteen when he entered the service as an ensign in the spring of “76” (Gideon had just passed his thirty-sixth birthday) but he was old enough to have problems of his own. In a letter written in August to Colonel Richard Cogdell, the then Major Lamb made a report on a military expedition and then closed with a personal note. He was disturbed, he confided, because some letters recently received from his “little sun Abner” seemed to indicate the youngster was having some difficulty. “If you find him Gilty of anything that Deserves Correction I hope you will not omitt it,” Lamb continued, “I hope and desire you'll use the same authority over him that you would over your owne.” Then he adds the following wistful postscript: “If Abner should have a fancy to come to see me, you please furnish him a trifle for his Expenses and suffer him to come—if he will undertake to go afoot—but by no means suffer him to go to Pasquotank.” Even if he refrained from expressing them, the father evidently had formed his own opinions as to the source of the trouble.
Whatever personal problems the youngester may have encountered, he proved himself a soldier worthy of his father. With Colonel Clark's First Regiment of the Continentals he too took part in the campaigns in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Likewise he participated in the campaigns in the far South when the British were overrunning Georgia and South Carolina, sometimes on detached duty with other organizations than his own. He was promoted to first lieutenant in June, 1781. Because of his early enlistment in the service, his proud father could say, “Abner Lamb is the oldest Cadet in the line of this State.” He was so severely wounded at the Battle of Eutaw Springs on September 8, 1781, that he was virtually incapacitated for the remainder of the war.
Following the close of the war, he was raised to the rank of captain and a signal honor was accorded him by the State Legislature in 1786. In drawing final pay for soldiers and settling accounts, some officers had resorted to dishonest practices. Some were tried, and convicted, notably Benjamin McCulloch and Henry Montfort. Lamb's assistance must have been valuable inasmuch as the House of Commons adopted the following resolution, which was also endorsed by the Senate on January 4, 1786: “That the General Assembly entertain a high and proper sense of the laudable conduct and ready attendance of Captain Abner Lamb.” And on December 26 of the same year the assembly
formally expressed their appreciation to Lamb and sixteen other officers for their “efforts to detect and bring to punishment all persons guilty of fraudulent accounts.”
Insofar as the records show, Gideon Lamb and his son Abner constitute the only instance of a father and son serving as commissioned officers from Camden in the Revolution.
• High Sheriff in Two CountiesLEMUEL SAWYER, SR.
ca 1734-1787
THE CAREER OF Lemuel Sawyer, Senior, exemplifies many aspects of the time in which he lived. A wealthy member of the planter class, although he preferred to describe himself as a merchant, the numerous offices he held demonstrate the extent to which his group controlled the political structure. The county court, controlled by the justices of the peace, made recommendations to the governor who filled by appointment such offices as sheriff, constable, overseer, controller and inspector. Most historians credit this colonial system of filling offices as the origin of the so-called “courthouse rings” in later politics. The smaller property owner and the poorer sort had but little voice in the selection of those who occupied these public offices. The freemen did indeed elect the representatives to the Assembly, but the county court controlled the official appointments, and in fact the majority of the representatives were justices of the peace.
Until adoption of the state constitution in 1776, multiple office holding was a common practice, the chief restriction being that a sheriff could not at the same time be a member of the county court. Thus Sawyer, whose first appointment was as sheriff in 1760, continued for the remainder of his life to serve in such varied capacities as representative, tax lister, road overseer, and patroller, and as member of the county court during the years he was not the sheriff. At times he filled as many as three political positions.
Sawyer lived in a period of transition. He held public offices by appointment from the royal governor and by election after the formation of the state. For example, he served four terms as a representative
from Pasquotank and three terms as sheriff; and likewise as sheriff and other positions in the new county of Camden where he was living when that unit was established in 1777. When the county was formed, he was also one of the five commissioners appointed to select a site for the courthouse and jail, and to levy taxes for the erection of same. The last office he filled was that of representative from Camden in 1786, a year before his death.
One incident which occurred during his first tenure as sheriff of Pasquotank County serves to focus attention upon the barbaric character of punishments meted out to offenders in the colonial era, when compared to the sentences imposed today. It was not unusual for the precinct court to order a man convicted of an offense to have an ear nailed to a tree and then cut off. A murderer or a thief might have an “M” or a “T” branded upon his person with a red hot iron in open court. The punishment of slaves was especially severe, sometime for offenses which would be regarded as trivial today. One slave was given fifty lashes on his bare back for “drinking out of a pint pot belonging to Mr. John Pendleton,” who, by the way, was not the slave's owner. The slaves Scipio and Abraham having been found guilty of stealing two hundred pounds’ worth of merchandise from the merchant, James Gregory, were meted the punishment of death for Scipio and fifty-nine lashes for Abraham. In 1760, one Sambo, the property of Edward Williams, was found guilty of preparing poison for another slave, who attempted to give it to his mistress, Mrs. Mary Nash. The sentence was castration. The precinct court seemed to consider execution of this sentence a routine duty, but Sawyer thought otherwise. He appealed to the General Assembly for extra remuneration and was awarded “four pounds for castrating and curing a Negro called Sambo.”
The slaves themselves, it should be noted, possessed the same brutal outlook as their masters. Some of their games and contests at times appeared to be a form of mayhem. An event they enjoyed was contests of strength between two participants; sometimes the victor would gouge out an eye of the vanquished.
As a representative in the General Assemblies Sawyer was apparently an active participant. The most important session to which he was a delegate was the Provincial Congress which was convened at Haliax in November, 1776, at which time the State Constitution was adopted. During the proceedings he was assigned to two committees, Public Accounts, and Privileges and Elections. His voting record as representative from Camden in 1786 is of some interest. He voted in favor of the
following bills: to emancipate slaves under certain conditions; to tax all lands in “a proportional of 100 acres”; not to increase the jurisdiction of the justices of the peace; and of course he approved a bill providing for a canal from the Pasquotank River in North Carolina to the Elizabeth River in Virginia, a project planned to traverse Camden County. During this same session he was placed on a sub-committee of the Finance Committee “to consider Tobacco, Foreign Debt, Interest and Further Contracts.”
Sawyer was a planter, merchant and operator of a ferry. Having inherited a substantial portion from his father, by his own initiative he accumulated considerable wealth. The residence which he erected and named “Richmond” would seem to have been the most spacious residence ever erected in Camden, according to a description of the estate in later years by his son, Congressman Lemuel Sawyer, Jr. Lemuel Sawyer, Sr. was an able representative of a family which for generations had been prominent in the social and political life of the Albemarle country.
• A Confiscation CommissionerABNER HARRISON
ca 1745-1790
A CLASS of officials peculiar to the Revolutionary War period was the confiscation commissioners, first appointed by the provincial congresses and continued by the state legislatures, whose duties were “to receive, take care of and make disposition of” the possessions of Tories and others found guilty of disloyal acts. The properties of all such persons had been officially declared forfeit to the government of those fighting for freedom, and even as early as the spring of 1776 the Provincial Congress ordered Peter Dauge, one of the commissioners, to bring Thomas McKnight's Negroes to Halifax where directions would be given as to their disposal. Various persons in this locality were appointed on occasion but Abner Harrison served most often in this capacity; in fact, at one time he was a member of a sort of master commission which had jurisdiction over the counties of Currituck, Pasquotank (including Camden) and Perquimans.
Although there were less than half a dozen individuals characterized as Tories or disloyal persons in the Camden area, they were people of means. Thomas McKnight's holdings, for example, were extensive both in Pasquotank and Currituck, excluding his business interests in Norfolk. James Dunlap and Andrew Sprowle were two other Tories who were property owners of some consequence.
The receipts from the confiscation sales constituted an important item of revenue, something over 800,000 pounds, to the new state government which was greatly harassed in findings funds with which to carry on the military efforts. The amount would have been larger, it seems, had it not been for the greed of avaricious commissioners in certain areas who converted the confiscation procedure into what today would be termed a “racket,” the proceeds being diverted partially to the private enhancement of the commissioner. Considering the general attitude towards the loyalists as well as the conduct of some officials, William Hooper disgustedly stated: “There is not a frenzy of misguided zeal—avarice clothed in the cover of patriotism—of private passion and prejudice, under the pretense of revenging the Wrongs of the Country—that can give me the least surprise hereafter.”
Although the local commissioners seem to have performed their duties in accordance with the legal procedure prescribed, there is of record one instance which shows how manipulation could easily have been employed for personal profit by dishonest officials. Harrison was temporarily replaced in his office by Charles Grandy. The commission then proceeded to sell at public auction the two hundred and fifty acres formerly belonging to the Tory John Dunlap, and which were purchased by Harrison. Grandy then vacated his post, Harrison resumed his former position and sold Grandy a part of the Dunlap tract. Since the purchase price was a fair one, the state lost no revenue, and inasmuch as Grandy was an honorable citizen, the assumption is that the transaction was not conducted with any reprehensible motive; but it merely demonstrates how opportunities could have been contrived.
The records are not copious as to Harrison's career. Nevertheless he is known to have been a member of the Pasquotank Court, to have been sheriff of Camden County, and in 1784 he was one of the representatives from Camden in the House of Commons. A merchant and a planter, he seems to have been comfortably situated financially.
He was a bachelor and thereby hangs a tale of what to him was a harrowing experience. In the early days of his bachelorhood he purchased a female slave and almost a month had elapsed before he realized
that his recent acquisition was well advanced in pregnancy, and the realization of an event which would naturally take place in the near future disturbed him greatly. The frantic letter he directed to Matthias Elligood, the former owner, has been preserved. He was sending the slave back, Harrison advised, and he implored Elligood to keep her, at least for the time being. The distraught owner declared he was willing “to loos her time” and to make almost any concession because, he explained pathetically, “It is impossible for the slave to remain with me, for I have no one to take care of her.” The records, regrettably, are lacking as to how he emerged from this predicament.
• Camdens First Representatives in the General AssemblyTHE STATE CONSTITUTION, adopted December 18, 1776, provided for a General Assembly consisting of two houses, the Senate or upper house, and the House of Commons or lower house. Elections were to be held annually and each county was to elect one senator and two commoners. Camden County was formed at the first meeting of the assembly under the independent state, the enactment becoming law on May 9, 1777. When the fall session convened in November, the legislature authorized the election of representatives from Camden, whose citizens went to the polls in the new political unit for the first time on November 25. Warrants were received in the assembly on December 8 certifying the election of John Gray as senator and Caleb Grandy and Thomas Humphries as commoners, and the newly elected took their seats on the same date. Since adjournment took place on December 29, the tenure of office for the Camden men was only for a period of twenty-one days; nevertheless, thereby they had acquired the distinction of being “first.”
JOHN GRAY, STATE SENATORca 1730-1781
THE MOST IMPORTANT measure which Senator Gray had an opportunity of voting upon was an act authorizing confiscation of the property
of all persons inimical to the United States. In general he was a typical easterner and his balloting reflected the sentiments of his part of the state. His performance was largely a matter of routine, and the same comment is applicable to the three successive terms to which he was elected beginning in 1779.
In his own bailiwick Gray was far from being a nonentity. A member of the Pasquotank Court for several years, he was immediately appointed to the same capacity upon the formation of Camden. He filled at least two terms as sheriff, and at other times served in various minor capacities. Nothing is known of his military career beyond his appointment in 1777 as a captain with the Third Regiment of the N. C. Continental line, and his resignation in 1778. He had also previously held the rank of second major in the Camden militia.
Because of the loss of records no accurate estimate can be made of his property holdings, though he must have owned at least three hundred acres of land since this was a necessary qualification of a senator.
CALEB GRANDY, MEMBER HOUSE OF COMMONSca 1741-1795
CALEB GRANDY is entitled to three “firsts” in his record. The legislative act which authorized the formation of Camden named him as one of a five-member commission appointed to set up the county government. His election as one of the first representatives from this county also marks the first election to public office of a member of a family which wielded both social and political influence in Camden for more than a century. The family's inclination for public life is exemplified in his own career. He was elected to succeed himself in the lower house for the next two years and again for three terms in the 1790s, dying shortly after his election in 1795. Quite naturally he served a few years as a member of the Camden Court. The Grandy perference, however, seems to have been for the office of sheriff. Although the records are not clear as to the exact number of years each served, they do show that Caleb and Charles Grandy filled this position for many of the years from 1777 to 1800. More sheriffs have come from this clan than from any other in the history of the northeast side. The family name first appears in the public files in the muster of the Pasquotank
Militia in 1754-55. Thomas Grandy was a lieutenant and Caleb an ensign in Captain Josiah Nash's company.
The Grandys were always an affable and tolerant tribe, a trait exemplified in a sale from Caleb to the Baptist Society. In 1788 he leased an acre of land to Elder Thomas Etheridge and two other trustees, Isaac Murden and John Williams, for ninety-nine years and the rent was to be one grain of Indian corn annually. He sold the land, he stated, for the purpose of erecting a church building thereon and added the following stipulation which reveals the Grandy touch: “and in recess of their worship to be open for any other preacher of the gospel as is tolerated by the Constitution of this State.” This transaction marks the beginning of Sawyer's Creek Baptist Church, which thus far has not been called upon to grant the use of the meeting house to any other minister outside their congregation.
The house in which Grandy died is in good condition, thanks to an excellent restoration in recent times. The acreage of his estate was well above the county average—some fiften hundrd acres—and the 1790 census reports the number of his slaves as eighteen.
THOMAS HUMPHRIES,MEMBER HOUSE OF COMMONS
ca 1735-1788
HIS TWENTY-ONE DAYS in the House of Commons constituted the only poitical office Thomas Humphries ever held or ever aspired to, apparently. He voted exactly like the other representative, Caleb Grandy, on all measures, except on a bill to remove the property qualification and grant the franchise to all householders. He favored the bill while Grandy and a majority opposed it.
Although he possessed several tracts of land and maintained a plantation, certain references point to seafaring as his chief occupation. In the spring of 1776 the Provincial Congress directed the Pasquotank confiscation commissioners “to take into their immediate possession all the estate of Robert Gilmour of what nature or kind soever now in the hands of Thomas Humphries.” The Tory Gilmour was a merchant and Humphries had evidently brought in a consignment of goods for
him. In the following fall the Congress directed the treasurer to pay to Thomas and John Humphries “the sum of 150 lbs for 300 wt. Cannon Powder lately imported into this State.”
Some widely separated incidents in Humphries’ career are not without interest. In 1772 he was named as one of the vestrymen of St. John's Parish when Mrs. Mary Fiske presented a claim for salary due her late husband, the Reverend Samuel Fiske. In 1782 he received a patent for forty acres of swamp land between Rowland and Sawyers Creeks, and the official approval by Governor Alexander Martin carries the notation, “Done at Fairfield,” where the governor was a guest of General Gregory. Joseph Hewes of Edenton, signer of the Declaration of Independence, owned a three and one-half acre lot at River Bridge, which was purchased by Humphries upon Hewes’ decease.
To Humphries’ widow, Lydia, we are indebted for some household details which are almost completely lacking in Camden records for a period of fifty years because the wills were destroyed by fire. The widow disposed of all his effects and listed the chattels, which are given below just as submitted by her:
| 7 slaves | 1 oxcart | silver table spoons |
| 3 horses | 2 plows & stocks | silver tea spoons |
| 16 cattle | 1 grindstone | silver salts |
| 22 sheep | 1 riding chair & harness | 1 box crockery ware |
| 1 box glassware | ||
| 24 hogs | 4 beds, steads & furniture with 2 sets curtains | |
| 2 large tables | ||
| 1 small table | ||
| table cloths & covers | Bible folio | |
| 12 mahogany chairs | Prayer book | |
| 1 mahogany desk & Books case knives & forks | Housewife | |
| Spinning wheels | ||
| Bacon, sugar | ||
| 1 empty case & bottles | Fish, flour | |
| 1 trunk | China ware | |
| 2 large looking glasses | 1 box | |
| 40 barrels corn | Pewter | |
| 1 tin'd sugar chest | 1 box | |
| 2 hoes & axes | flax & wool | |
| 1 hand mill | Fire togs, tongs shovel, tea canister tea board | |
| 6 Books— | ||
| Millar | ||
| Tipot | Kitchen furniture |
Humphries probably passed his last days on the former Griffith Jones plantation, since this tract became known for a period as Humphries’ Quarter. However, he also owned a two hundred-acre plantation, which he had purchased from Lodovick Williams “in a place called Gumberry,” which is present day Belcross.
• Preacher and PatriotREV. HENRY ABBOTT
ca 1740-1791
DESTINY WAS KIND to the Baptist congregation on the northeast side of the river. The death of their able and beloved young pastor John Burgess, in 1763, seemed an irreparable loss at the moment. In their dejection the members truly felt themselves to be a flock without a shepherd, and they were no doubt discouraged over the prospects of continuing the splendid works which had been wrought under their departed leader. Their thoughts turned to a young man who had dwelt among them not many years since as a schoolteacher and who, having entered the ministry, had recently begun his first pastorate with a congregation at Tar River. He accepted an invitation to succeed Burgess as leader of the vigorous organization on Portohonk Creek, and it is a matter of historical fact that he continued with magnificent consummation the program initiated by his predecessor and brought to this church a prestige and influence it had not known heretofore. Indeed he may be the ablest minister who has served this church during its two hundred and twenty-odd years of existence.
This young man was Henry Abbott, son of the Reverend John Abbott, Canon of St. Paul's Cathedral in London. He was baptized and reared in the faith of the Established Church of England. While still a young man he left home and came to America,” without the advice or consent of his parents,” and espoused the Baptist beliefs. His was the unusual experience of receiving the rite of baptism three times. As a child he was baptized in the Episcopal Church of his father; again in 1758 when he joined the Baptists of the General Order, whose tenets were Arminian; and finally, about 1779, after he had been preaching for upwards of fifteen years to the Portohonk Creek congregation,
who had come to support strongly the principles advocated by the Particular Baptists, their theology being Calvinistic. He seemed to feel this third ceremony necessary in order to allay any suspicion among his members that he might still be affiliated with the General Baptists.
A brief consideration of his participation in the political events of his time will lead to a clearer understanding of his effective contribution as pastor of his church. Meeting in September, 1772, the Kehukee Association expressed formal approval of the conciliatory policy Governor Josiah Martin was showing towards the Regulators, following their defeat in Alamance County. Among those chosen to present a letter expounding approval to the Governor were Henry Abbott and William Burgess. This expression is a matter of significance when it is recalled that more than two-thirds of the militia used by Governor Tryon to crush the Regulators were from the eastern counties where the sentiment of the majority was against the Alamance “rebels.” The Kehukee Association was not protesting treatment of fellow Baptists; they were manifesting sympathy for those who were oppressed.
In April, 1776, the first Provincial Congress met in Halifax and authorized the delegates in the Continental Congress “to concur in independence,” the first action of this kind taken by any state. The delegates from Pasquotank were Thomas Boyd, Joseph Jones, William Cumming, Dempsey Burgess and Henry Abbott. Abbott was assigned to a Committee “to take into consideration the defense and state of the Sea Coast and render report thereon.” When the Provincial Congress assembled again at Halifax in November of that year, the Pasquotank representatives were Henry Abbott, Devotion Davis, Isaac Gregory, Lemuel Sawyer and Dempsey Burgess, four of those being from the northeast or Camden side of the river. Abbott was placed on a Committee of Privileges and Elections and also on another “to devise a more effective way of apprehending deserters.” His major assignment, however, was with a “Committee to form, and lay before this House a Bill of Rights, and form of a Constitution for the Government of this state.” Though a new man he received this appointment along with a group of the most distinguished citizens in North Carolina. He also laid before the House an ordinance “to regulate the marriages in this State until the next session of Assembly, which was read.” This bill as enacted authorized all ministers to perform marriage ceremonies.
The capability of this young Baptist pastor would seem to have been generally recognized, for the Council of State, meeting in New Bern in the late summer and fall of 1777, selected him for two appointments.
He was named one of the three-member Salt Commission set up for Port Roanoke (Edenton) “to receive such salt as may be sent by the agents into the respective ports.” The other assignment seems a singular one for a minister; he was made recruiting officer for Pasquotank. Now Abbott was a resident of Camden County, which had been created during the May just passed, and he was pastor of the largest congregation in that county, though he doubtless had been a frequent visitor to the Knobbs Creek and Flatty Creek Baptist groups over in Pasquotank. Was he requested by Pasquotank officials in order to offset the influence in their own borders of the numerous adherents of the Society of Friends whose tenets opposed military participation? Another citizen who would probably have filled the position was Colonel Isaac Gregory, who had been High Sheriff of Pasquotank for a number of years, but he too lived in the newly made Camden area for which he had also been appointed recruiting officer.
Camden sent five delegates—Henry Abbott, Isaac Gregory, Peter Dauge, Charles Grandy and Enoch Sawyer—to the Convention at Hillsboro in 1788, which body refused to ratify the United States Constitution, but proposed several amendments to be incorporated in a bill of rights. The same representatives from Camden attended the Fayetteville Convention in 1789 when the Constitution was finally ratified.
Tradition credits Abbott with being the author of Article Nineteen of the State Constitution, “That all men have natural and inalienable rights to worship almighty God according to the dictates of their own conscience.” The known facts tend to give weight to the assumption. He was a member of both Provincial Congresses held at Halifax and was on the committee which formulated the Bill of Rights. Likewise he was a delegate to the Hillsborough Convention which refused to ratify the constitution but offered some amendements, chief of which was a bill of rights; and he was a member of the Fayetteville Convention which ratified the U. S. Constitution. Walter Clark, editor of the State Records of North Carolina, in prefatory remarks signally points out Abbott as a member of the committee which drafted the Bill of Rights. But the most significant evidence would seem to be a casual statement made by Burkitt and Read in “A Concise History of Kehukee Association” (1803) and which reads: “to him we owe our thanks, in a measure, for the security of some of our religious rights.” This remark becomes more significant when we recall the close relationship between Abbott and Burkitt. Burkitt had been baptized as a young man by the pastor at Portohonk Creek. Weeks, in Church and State
in North Carolina, refers to the passage from “A Concise History,” and explains: “Burkitt was a contemporary and an acquaintance of Abbott, and we may assume the statement is substantially correct.”
As a pastor, Abbott carried forward, and extended even, the laudable program initiated by William Burgess and his son John. Five churches were organized in Carolina—Sawyers Creek, Coinjock, Yoppim, Knobbs Creek and Flatty Creek—and one—Pungo—in Virginia. In addition to Abbott and the three Burgesses (William, Sr., William, Jr., and John), six ministers were raised in the Camden congregation before 1800. They were Thomas Etheridge, William Lurry, Davis Biggs, Joshua White, David Duncan and Lemuel Burkitt. Burkitt was moderator of the Kehukee Association from 1773 until 1805, and Paschal writes of him: “For the next third of a century he was the most influential man among the Baptists in North Carolina and gave direction and character to Baptist development in the eastern half of the State.”
Prior to the Revolution many of the leading planters in the Camden area were members of the Established Church, which lost prestige and membership as a result of the war because of antagonism toward England. The personal qualities of gentle breeding, cosmopolitan background, and strong mind possessed by Abbott, combined with the public regard for him because of his activities in behalf of freedom, served to attract most of the local Episcopal persuasion into membership with his congreation. Under him the “Church in Camden,” as Shiloh was then called, emerged to be a dominant factor in the religious, political and social life of the county. One church historian states that the first association held in Camden was in 1783, while Abbott was pastor. He was succeeded upon his death by Davis Biggs.
Shiloh Baptist Church has had many able ministers during its long history but no others have quite equalled the stature of the great trio: William Burgess, his son John and Henry Abbott. Which of them was the greatest may be largely an academic question.
• A Patriotic FamilyHEZEKIAH LINTON
ca 1750-before 1797
JEHU LINTON
ca 1756-1777
JESSE LINTON
ca 1754-before 1797
SILAS LINTON
ca 1752-after 1797
PAGES 144 AND 145 of Deed Book “K” of the Records of Camden County refer briefly to four young men, the story of whose lives, if known, might constitute a stirring chapter in the story of our part in the War for Independence. The transaction on the first page cited is dated in February of 1797 and is a sale from Silas Linton to William Lurry of “all the lands due me as a soldier in the service of the United States.” In the document recorded on the other page Silas Linton conveys to William Lurry “the lands due me as heir of my brothers . . . as soldiers in the service of the United States.” The names of the brothers were “Geahue,” Hezekiah and Jesse Linton. Incidentally, the first brother's name was spelled many different ways.
In so far as we know, the Linton household was the only one in Camden to furnish four soldiers for the Continental Line. The facts actually known are few. The brothers apparently enlisted in a company commanded by a local officer, Captain Dempsey Gregory, and were afterwards transferred to the Second Regiment for active service. Hezekiah was enrolled in Allen's company; Jehu, in Fenner's; and Silas and Jesse, in Martin's. Most of the men in the Continental Line from this region were in either the Third or Tenth Regiments, and if there was any special reason for the presence of the Linton brothers in the Second, it is not obvious. If there is an explanation, it may involve also two Camden County officers who were also in this organization—Cadet Abner Lamb, son of Colonel Gideon Lamb, and Lieutenant Colonel Selby Harney.
Since the campaigns participated in by the Second Regiment are not too difficult to follow, the service of the Linton Brothers may be
broadly described. They followed Washington in New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey during the years 1777-78-79, and then took part in battles in the South when British strategy shifted to that area. After the capitulation of the American forces at Charleston in 1780, the Lintons may have remained prisoners until the cessation of hostilities since the exchange of enlisted men was effected much later than the transfer of officers.
The brothers remained “buck” privates for the greater part of their military careers, though Jesse was finally promoted to sergeant and for a few months in 1778 Hezekiah had the envied duty of being one of “His Excellency's Guards.” Jehu died December 3, 1777, perhaps from exposure, just as the pitifully equipped Continentals went into winter quarters at Valley Forge. Since Hezekiah and Jesse had left no issue, seemingly, when Silas sold his claim on their lands in 1797, presumably they never married and probably died while they were held as prisoners of war by the British. Camden, however, will remember with pride the four soldier brothers. Jehu died near Valley Forge, and the Continentals who were encamped there during the winter of 1777-78 endured merciless privations because of lack of shelter and supplies. A fifth of the men in camp deserted, goaded to desperation by their sufferings, but Hezekiah, Jesse and Silas stayed with their commands. They literally followed the Biblical injunction to quit themselves like men. It is of interest to note that as an aftermath of the hardships of the northern winter, the state directed an order to the counties to furnish supplies to enable the soldiers “to bear the rigor of a northern winter.” The items allotted for Camden to contribute were: “29 hats, 122 yds. linen, 58 yds. woolen or double wove cotton cloth, 58 pairs of shoes, 58 prs. of stockings.”
One cannot say definitely whether the father of this admirable quartette was Silas or Hezekiah Linton, but the probabilities favor the latter. Hezekiah was one of the four sons of William Linton who was issued a patent in 1722 for a tract not far from the present Pearceville community. The Lintons had the knack of remaining inconspicuous. The only public mention of Hezekiah in local records is membership on a committee to lay out a road; and his brother Silas was once called for jury duty. They all owned sufficient properties to enable them to live comfortably.
• Knight-ErrantCOLONEL SELBY HARNEY
ca 1740-1799
A MIGHTY TIDE of immigration flowed into North Carolina within the twenty years prior to the Revolution; the population more than doubled itself and the colony was exceeded in number of inhabitants only by Virginia, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. While a majority of the newcomers settled in the more virgin lands of the central and western part of the state, many were attracted to the old countries in the East which was also experiencing a prosperous boom due to a flourishing revival of trade in forest products. The most lucrative prospects of business were for the trading vessels which carried tar, pitch, barrel staves, and the like, to foreign ports and returned with various types of merchandise for home consumption.
One of the sea traders who was attracted hither was Selby Harney, a young mariner who came from Delaware around 1765 and established himself in the vicinity of Arenuse Creek, one of the ports for inspection of foreign commodities. His commercial ventures must have prospered, for he tarried and in those days the independent merchant traders were not long in changing ports if cargos were lacking. A further stabilizing influence was no doubt his marriage in 1774 to Lurania Paddrick, the daughter of the master of another trading schooner, inasmuch as Camden became Harney's home for the rest of his life.
With the advent of war commercial intercourse with foreign ports virtually came to a standstill; many men were drawn from various occupations to become a part of the armed forces and Harney was no exception. Meeting at Halifax in the spring of 1776, the Provincial Congress authorized the formation of two independent companies on the seacoast and appointed Harney to command one of them. His appointment, by the way, arouses some speculation as to the reasons therefor, since most of those receiving commissions were drawn from the groups which had held political office and since heretofore Harney had served in no such capacity, not even the humble one of road overseer. Was he singled out for attention because of previous military experience
or was command of a company stationed on the ocean a tribute to his skill as a navigator? Whatever the reason, the companies were disbanded in the fall session of the Congress and the young captain was raised to the rank of major and assigned to the 8th Regiment of the Continental forces.
The 8th Regiment obtained its quota of troops in the spring of 1777 with difficulty. For the time being the field of conflict had been transferred from North Carolina to the northern colonies, and there had been a noticeable cooling in military ardor in these parts. Lack of supplies and doubtful pay made the task of enlisting men a hard one, but Major Harney advised Governor Caswell “the greatest impediments” were the officers of another regiment who in their eagerness to induce men to join them were promising that none would have to leave the state. Actually these regiments were being recruited to aid General Washington in the northern campaigns and, characteristically, Harney refused to resort to subterfuge.
Not long after his regiment had obtained a sufficient number of men for minimum fighting strength, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and assigned to duty with the 2nd Regiment under the command of Colonel John Patton. For the next two years he seems to have been continuously in combat action, and the references to his various activities are many although the details are brief. Sometimes he is in command due to the absence of Colonel Patton; then again he is field officer for the advanced guard, or superintending “the debarkation of troops across the river” at King's Ferry. Among other duties he is president of a court-martial to try the forage master of the North Carolina Brigade, and he also presides in a military court held at White Plains.
Having participated in various battles in Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey, Harney's command was transferred to the South when British strategy shifted to that region, following their inability to overcome General Washington's forces. In Georgia the American troops met with a series of defeats, among which were Stono Point and the unsuccessful attempt to capture Savannah, two battles in which Harney participated. Finally, his brigade under General Summer was moved to Charleston to assist General Lincoln in his disastrous defense of the city. On May the twelfth the garrison of 5,000 men and officers was forced to capitulate and hence became prisoners of war. Among these was Lieutenant Colonel Harney who had been severely wounded at Hadral's Point during the defense. Because of his injury he was one of the first prisoners to be exchanged, although a general exchange was
not effected until 1783 after the peace treaty had been signed. In 1782, two years after the battle, he was still incapacitated. He was still unable, so he wrote General Summer, to arise from his bed except “with the greatest difficulty.”
Harney's activities of a military nature were not concluded with the cessation of hostilities. In June of 1782 Lieutenant Colonel Hardy Murfree informed General Summer: “The officers in camp here have recommended Colo. Harney and three other officers to go with the commission of the General Assembly to lay of the lands” which had been awarded the soldiers for their military service, which tracts, incidentally, ranged from 640 acres for each private soldier up to 12,000 acres for each brigadier general. Because he was the last field officer to be mustered out in this region (1786), he received payments for a considerable number of the soldiers in Currituck, Camden, Pasquotank and a few elsewhere, when final payments were made at Warrenton and Halifax. Meanwhile he had been promoted to the full rank of colonel in 1783 and held this rank until he was relieved from service by act of Congress. In 1786, with eighteen other officers, he was publicly thanked by the Legislature for his assistance in detecting and bringing to trial those officers who had been guilty of frauds in settling public accounts. Brigadier General Summer certified Harney as being eligible to membership in the Order of the Cinicinnati when that organization held its first annual meeting in Philadelphia.
Many admirable traits were exemplified in Harney's career. In the first place, he was a good soldier. With the possible exception of Gideon Lamb no man from this county endured the rugged rigors of the Revolutionary campaigns with more gusto than did this mariner whose natural temperament found satisfaction in any hazardous adventure. The esteem with which he was regarded by his fellow-officers resulted not only from his gallantry in action but from confidence in his integrity, as indicated by his being chosen by his companions in arms to lay off the lands which had been awarded them as a reward for service. His independence of mind was strikingly demonstrated by his voting record in the House of Commons, of which he was a member in 1785. There was a sharp cleavage between the sentiments of eastern representatives and those of the central and western parts of the state on matters of a public nature. Possibly his youth in Delaware had a bearing but, whatever the reason, he believed the views of the westerners were for the better interests of the public and he voted with them, undoubtedly to the consternation of General Isaac Gregory and Enoch
Sawyer, his fellow associates in the legislature from Camden. Politics were tightly controlled in the East and the independent Harney was not the recipient of any further political honors.
In brief, this gentleman was an adventurer in the better meaning of the word. Not the confines of humdrum business nor the restrictions of political subserviency were for this soldier of fortune who found zest in the open sea, the battlefield and the companionship of his fellowman. In another age his prototype would have been found with the Crusaders on the way to the Holy Land under the banners of some famous Knight-Errant, such as Richard the Lion-Hearted or Robert, Duke of Normandy. We are not greatly surprised to learn that two sons of this father were lost at sea. He never accumulated much wealth; his breed never does unless by some accidental stroke of good luck, such as finding a gold mine or an oil well. His 150 acres and four slaves enabled him to have the necessities, and what more would a man want whose chief joy was in living, not in making one? His kind has always been a stimulating influence to those living around them and the history of Camden County becomes a livelier story because of his presence here.
• The Master of Fairfield PlantationBRIGADIER GENERAL ISAAC GREGORY OF THE
NORTH CAROLINA MILITIA
ca 1740-1800
TO CAMDEN FOLK Isaac Gregory is the most dignified figure who has played a part in their history—partly because of the somewhat impressive surroundings into which he was born, but more largely because of his own rather austere bearing. The lighter touch at least was not one of his immediately apparent characteristics. And if his painstaking habits and ponderous actions tended to add to the impressiveness of his personality, by the same token they also helped to make of him a controversial individual. His deliberation, for example, could at times be a source of exasperation to his associates. Amidst the feverish activities of war General Caswell once wrote to Governor Nash:
“Gen'l Gregory, I am afraid, will be tardy unless your Excellency can give him a spur.” Sometimes his conduct seemed motivated by a singletrack mind which could overlook highly relevant circumstances. One conspicuous instance was the occasion when his appointment as sheriff of Pasquotank was not received from the royal governor until noon on the day of elections, which were by law conducted under the direction of the sheriff. Disregarding regulations affecting the hours for voting, he took the oath of office, opened the polls at twelve o'clock and permitted balloting until after sundown. Although the Election Committee which reviewed the matter in the General Assembly could find no evidence of wrongdoing per se, the action of the sheriff was considered highly irregular and the election therefore was declared illegal. Another oversight may have been merely absentmindedness, but later in life he dispatched by post a proposal of marriage to the widow of a former governor six months after the death of that estimable lady.
On the other hand, his record in public life definitely indicates a man who possessed other qualities besides slowness and diffidence. As a resident of Pasquotank before the formation of Camden, he was appointed eight times as sheriff, three years as member of the precinct court, and was elected three times to the Provincial Assembly. He was also a delegate to the early provincial congresses meeting in Hillsborough and at New Bern. In the militia of the county and state he held commissions as lieutenant colonel, colonel and brigadier general. Beginning with 1780, he was elected once to the House of Commons, followed by eight years in succession to the Senate. Among other public capacities were his appointments as first collector of customs for the Port of Camden or Plank Bridge, and trustee of the Currituck Seminary of Learning.
What, then, were the attributes which enabled Gregory to become a commanding figure in the county's history? The answer seems to be that while they were few, they were fundamental. In the first place he was devoid of any pretense or affectations. As might naturally be expected, he was entirely forthright both in speech and action. If he was slow, he was at the same time thorough. Such qualities appear to good advantage in the capacities of sheriff or justice of a court.
His greatest assets, however, would seem to have been his integrity—honesty in both thought and deed—and a keen sense of justice which was the result of his sincerity. Dr. Hugh Williamson once made the following estimate of Gregory in a letter to General Washington: “Gen'l Gregory is recommended as a gentleman whose Character as a soldier and Citizen stands high in the universal esteem of his fellow
Citizens. He is a man of respectable property; has the full confidence of his Country and is the constant Enemy to public officers suspected of corrupt practices.” Gregory was in fact a member of all the committees in the Senate which conducted hearings on charges of frauds in public accounts, and frequently he served as chairman. During the war he was entrusted with vast sums of money and quantities of supplies. So carefully did that meticulous mind keep accounts that when the air was at times full of charges and countercharges of corrupt practices, no question as to his conduct in financial affairs or management was ever directed toward him.
He was as stern with the derelictions of officers coming from his own social level as he was with those of the humblest private. There were, as an illustration, the two officers, one from Chowan and another from Perquimans. The Chowan gentleman assumed to himself the privilege of resigning his commission when in a huff and of reclaiming his rank at will; the Perquimans offender simply neglected or abandoned his men on occasion in order to devote himself to personal pleasure. When General Thomas Benbury of Edenton recommended that these officers be brought to task, Gregory was just as firm with them as he was with the wretched deserters who were now and then flushed from their hiding places in the Camden swamps.
He may not have possessed the flair for dramatic leadership in combat as might be displayed by Colonel Gideon Lamb or Colonel Selby Harney, two of his neighbors who were with the continental forces, and he may have lacked the diplomacy and forceful persuasiveness of the legislator, Joseph Jones. Nevertheless, whereas Jones might be inclined to sulk if events did not proceed according to his liking, and Harney and Lamb might become despondent under adverse circumstances, Gregory habitually maintained his poise and continued to go plodding along. To his mind the war was a job to be finished and no one should let anything divert him from the work at hand. Contemplating the dilatory tactics of some of his associates on one occasion, he wrote to Governor Caswell: “I don't understand the officers here. Can't seem to get them to do their duty.” In fact, according to one of his later reports, he “had more trouble with the officers drafted than with the men.”
Opinions vary as to the effectiveness of his military leadership. In 1779 he and John Pugh Williams were nominated for the position of brigadier general in the state militia. Williams was elected, thanked the Legislature and resigned. The commission was then issued to
Gregory. He and Brigadier General Griffith Rutherford commanded the two brigades of militia under Major General Horatio Gates when the American forces were decisively routed at the Battle of Camden in South Carolina. Saunders states: “The continentals and some of the militia, notably Gregory's brigade, fought with desperation.” In other quarters his efforts have been regarded less favorably. The general conduct of the militia in this battle, it seems, was not praiseworthy, a statement which unfortunately is too often applicable to the efforts of the militia throughout the war. In all fairness, however, it should be pointed out that the dismal showing made by some of the troops did not result from emulation of the spirit displayed by the brigade commanders. The resolute General Rutherford was captured as he vainly tried to rally his men; General Gregory received a bayonet wound and his horse was shot from under him. In his report of the engagement to Lord Germain, Cornwallis listed Gregory as killed. Nor did the Legislature then in session appear to be reluctant in expressing their appreciation of Gregory's services. This body, twenty-six days after the battle, adopted the following resolution: “That General Gregory be furnished at the Expence of the State, for immediate service, with a gelding of the first Price, in consideration of the one by him lost in the late action near Camden.”
Whatever may be said as to the effectiveness of his efforts, the records show him to have been in the conflict from the beginning to the end. He was a delegate to the Provincial Congresses held at New Bern in April of 1775 and at Hillsborough in the following August, when he was appointed colonel of the 2nd Regiment of the Pasquotank Militia and was also placed on a committee “to inquire what number of troops may probably be raised in the different counties of this State and report to the House.” A special assignment, with Othniel Lacelles, was “to receive, procure and purchase fire arms for use of the troops” (of Pasquotank). And in 1781 we find him attempting the always uphill job of raising troops to defend Edenton should Lord Cornwallis take the coastal route on his northward march from Wilmington, or he is with a small contingent at Northwest and at Great Bridge to prevent invasion from that direction.
To Gregory befell the unusual experiences of defending a Tory at the beginning of the Revolution and of facing charges as a traitor at the close, and the former could have had a bearing on the latter. When the Provincial Congress met in New Bern in 1775, all the delegates voted in effect to subscribe unequivocally to the actions of the Continental
Congress except Thomas McKnight, who demurred at the strong terms of the endorsement. After some deliberation the delegates by a majority of two voted to permit him to use the word “accede.” Emotions were already aflame, however, and the minority threatened to withdraw if McKnight were permitted this concession. Whereupon McKnight withdrew, and the Congress then reversed itself and passed a motion of “civil excommunication” toward him. McKnight, who was a delegate from Currituck, was also clerk of the Pasquotank court. As a protest against the motion of censure, three members from Currituck and two from Pasquotank, of whom one was Gregory, also removed themselves from the assembly. They prepared a written defense of their conduct which was published in the Virginia Gazette May 6, 1775.
The other incident occurred in 1781 at Great Bridge where Gregory and his men were facing British forces under the command of a Captain Stevenson. One day while idling in his tent, the captain fell to daydreaming as to how he might proceed should Gregory betray his command after the manner of Benedict Arnold. To pass the time he accordingly wrote a letter to the General with instructions as to procedure. Shortly thereafter the British withdrew and the letter, discovered by the advancing Americans, understandably created a sensation. The General was charged with treason. Fortunately, in some way news of the accusation came to Captain Stevenson who promptly dispatched an explanation to the Americans, stating that the letter was entirely a figment of his imagination and declaring Gregory to be in no way involved. Gregory was exonerated, of course; and being the phlegmatic person that he was, his reaction may be best described as one of genuine puzzlement that anyone could believe him to be guilty of treasonable conduct after the years he had devoted so completely to the struggle for freedom. His defense of the Tory McKnight in 1775 may have been recalled with malicious intent by certain persons. An interesting aftermath of this incident, although unrelated, was letters to the Congress from both General Muhlenberg and the Marquis de la Fayette stating that while at Great Bridge Gregory was acting under Continental orders.
In this same year (1781) he was elected to the House of Commons from Camden and was reelected successively to the Senate for the next eight years. During this entire period he was a member of the Committee on Privileges and Elections and also on the Committee of Claims for the distract of Edenton. He was an active member of the committee which reported frauds on the part of certain officers in settling army
accounts. Equally sensational were the findings in 1786 of a special committee which, under Gregory, charged Phillip Alston with being a murderer and an atheist, and thereby caused him to be declared ineligible for membership in the senate. By act of the Legislature the General was one of those authorized to receive subscriptions “for opening a navigable passage from Albemarle Sound into the ocean.” In 1789 he introduced the bill which authorized the establishment of the Currituck Seminary of Learning, and which also named him as a trustee. An aristocrat, his voting record sharply reflected the sentiments of the aristocratic East. He and that ultra-conservative, Samuel Johnston, usually voted alike on measures of public import.
Fairfield Plantation, the residence of General Gregory, is today a gaunt and empty shell. The house has been abandoned for years and has been stripped of the beautiful paneling and mantels by vandals. But in Gregory's time it was the county's most impressive abode and indeed one of the great plantations of the Albemarle. The General was a cordial host whose home was often the scene of distinguished gatherings. Some of the grants to individuals in this area bear the notation “Done at Fairfield,” and were issued while a visiting governor was a guest.
Whether the structure was erected by William Gregory, the General's father, or by some other wealthy planter as, for example, Colonel Thomas Hunter, is a matter of surmise. The building itself, however, is one of the purest examples of Georgian architecture in North Carolina, and by many it is hoped some means of restoration will become available before deterioration is complete.
• First Congressman from Camden CountyCOLONEL DEMPSEY BURGESS
ca 1751-1800
WHEN DEMPSEY BURGESS, eighteen years old, and eleven others were cited to the precinct court in 1769 “to show why they should not be fined for not attending to guard the Public Gaol,” their elders probably expressed alarm at the irresponsibility of the younger generation and foresaw
a dismal future for them. The young Dempsey may have been singled out as an object of especial concern inasmuch as his father and grandfather had been ministers and citizens of considerable influence in the county. Fortunately, the young people have in all ages generally been able to confound the prophets of disaster, and Dempsey likewise failed to justify any dire forebodings as to his future. If there has ever been a more capable and aggressive youngster reared in Camden, the records fail to bear witness to him.
Upon arriving at his twenty-first birthday in the spring of 1772, he immediately assumed the guardianship of a brother and sister, Zephaniah and Freelove, and also of his half-uncle Benoni, a son of a late marriage by his grandfather, William Burgess. And on May 20 he qualified and took seat as one of the members of the precinct court. At the age of twenty-two he was elected a representative from Pasquotank to the Assembly and reelected two years later.
In this year a circumstance incident to the beginning of the Revolutionary conflict placed him in an additional office. Thomas McKnight, clerk of the Pasquotank Court, was also a representative, and at a session of the Assembly in New Bern in 1775 he openly refused to subscribe to resolutions antagonistic to Great Britain. McKnight stoutly defended himself, notably in his historic press debate with Joseph Jones and in letters to Samuel Johnston and others. Emotions were running high, however, and McKnight found his position so unpopular that he departed to join the British, supposedly the forces of Lord Dunmore at the siege of Norfolk. An entry in the Pasquotank court minutes for December reads: “Thomas McKnight not appearing or any person as his deputy for him, Demsey Burges is appointed to act as Clerk.” Burgess’ appointment was confirmed at a later date and he continued to hold this office until the formation of Camden County in 1777, when he immediately was appointed to the same position in the new county.
He is best remembered locally, perhaps, for his gift to Shiloh Baptist Church when he was twenty-three years old. The Baptist meeting house had been built on the property of, and largely at the expense of the pastor, Elder John Burgess. By the terms of his will a large tract including the site of the building was bequeathed equally to his sons John annd Dempsey, John to have first choice. John chose the half on which the church was located. According to a contemporary report Elder John made a dying request that the church and site be donated to the congregation. John failed to comply with this request, and in 1774 Dempsey purchased John's share and gave a ninety-nine year lease
on this property to “the Pastor and Elders of the Baptist Society,” excepting the schoolhouse and “Reserving to myself the Privilege of Eight feet square for a Pew for myself and family.” Tension between the General Baptists and the Particular Baptists, who now controlled the congregation, is reflected in the lease. “If at any time within the limits of the said lease,” Dempsey stipulated, “it should fall out that the said Publick Worship should . . . be carried on contrary to the new principles . . . then the said House and Grounds to be returned to the said Demsey Burges his heirs or assigns.” So strong was the tension that the pastor, Elder Henry Abbott, thought it wise to be rebaptised again in a ceremony conducted by those favoring the “new principles,” that is, the Particular Baptists.
Burgess was a delegate to the majority of the congresses convened during the Revolutionary period. As a member of the Hillsborough Congress in 1775 when the business in hand was preparation for war, he signed an agreement to be bound by the acts of the Provincial Congress, and was also placed on a large committee “for the purpose of preparing a plan for the regulation of the internal peace, order and saftey of this province.” At Halifax, in April of 1776, he served on a Committee of Ways and Means “to form an estimate of the expense for supporting the troops to be raised for one year,” and was later added to the Committee of Enquiry. This Congress adjourned with the expectation that the same delegates would meet again in the fall to consider a state constitution, which the Congress had ordered to be drawn up. Meanwhile the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4 and the Provincial Council of Safety, meeting in August, called for another election of delegates for the November session of the Congress. The voters were urged to exercise especial care in electing delegates who were “not only to make laws for the good Government of, but also to form a Constitution for this State.” While there may be no especial significance in the results, the fact is that of the five who had been elected for the first session in April, only two, Henry Abbott and Dempsey Burgess, were reelected for the fall session, and these were both from the northeast or Camden side. During the fall session Burgess was added to a committee “to devise a more effectual way of apprehending deserters.”
Insofar as the records show, his first military appointment was as a field officer with the rank of major when the Pasquotank Regiment of Minute Men was organized in 1775. In the following year the Pasquotank Militia was organized into the First and Second Regiments,
one on either side of the river. On the northeast side the officers of the Second Regiment were Isaac Gregory, colonel; Dempsey Burgess, lieutenant colonel; Joshua Campbell, 1st major; and Peter Dauge, 2nd major. In 1777 Burgess was promoted to colonel in the room of Isaac Gregory, who had been promoted to brigadier general to succeed John Pugh Williams, resigned. Little is known of his military career. He acted as a courier in 1777, bringing reports to Governor Caswell on the progress of recruiting in Camden County, where seventeen had recently enlisted. He also carried a letter to the Governor from Captain Manlove Tarrant who wanted to know what disposition should be made of the regiment left in his care by Major Hardy Murfree. Was Colonel Burgess in the fighting at Great Bridge? Norfolk? with Gregory at Northwest? These are questions which only lend themselves to supposition.
His election to the Congress of the United States from the First North Carolina District in 1795 gave him the distinction of being the first resident of Camden County to receive this honor. He was a member of the Fourth and Fifth Congresses, 1795-98. Somewhat surprisingly his congressional record was undistinguished. His only speech is said to have been in opposition to the states meeting certain obligations to the Federal Government. The North Carolina delegations of the time were accused in certain quarters of subserviency to the Virginia delegation. Associate Justice James Iredell, writing to his wife from Philadelphia while the Congress was in session, made this sharp comment: “there is too much reason to fear that everyone of our members (except Mr. Grove) will vote for it [the Jay Treaty] including Mr. Blair's favorite Mr. Burgess, who on all occasions has shown himself a thorough-paced Virginian.”
Some of the miscellaneous items in Colonel Burgess’ career are not without interest. For a time he served as member of a commission to confiscate, as well as to make inventories of, the properties of certain Tories. He was one of the five commissioners first appointed for the newly established Camden County. In 1789 he was appointed a trustee of the Currituck Seminary of Learning which was chartered during that year. Colonel Dempsey and his brother Lieutenant Zephaniah formed one of two pairs of brothers from Camden who were commissioned officers, the other two being General Isaac Gregory and his brother Captain Dempsey.
Dempsey Burgess was the third generation of a family which had been a predominating influence in the county, and he was the first
from this county to participate in national politics. As a business man he was quite successful and one of the largest slaveowners, reporting thirty slaves in the 1790 census. He is one of the four individuals for whom markers have been erected in this county by the State Department of Archives and History. He died January 13, 1800.
• The Formation of Camden CountyJOSEPH JONES
ca 1730-1800
IT TOOK forty-two years for the inhabitants on the northeast side of Pasquotank River to realize their ambition to become a separate county. By an interesting coincidence the three families who have probably contributed most to the history of the northeast side—Sawyer, Burgess and Jones—all played a part in the efforts made to accomplish this cherished ambition. The attempts of Caleb Sawyer in 1735 and of William Burgess in 1744 have already been noted, and we have also learned that both bills were defeated because they contained a provision providing for the same rights and privileges as the other counties in the Albemarle, which meant five representatives in the assembly. The newer counties which had been created were allowed only two representatives, and the governor opposed what he considered to be an inequitable allotment of representation.
This objection was eliminated, however, by the State Constitution, adopted in December of 1776, which set up two houses in the legislature, the senate and the house of commons, and each county was allowed one senator and two representatives. Joseph Jones, a resident of the northeast side, was elected the first senator from Pasquotank for the first session of the State Legislature, which met in April of 1777. On April 19 Senator Jones moved for leave to prepare and bring in a bill to divide Pasquotank into two counties, one on either side of the river. The bill was read the necessary three times, passed and was ordered to be engrossed on May 9. The name was chosen, according to a well-established tradition, in honor of the Earl of Camden, Sir Charles Pratt. News of a speech, which he had made in Parliament defending the
colonies, arrived while the new county bill was pending. Following is the measure which brought Camden into being: “I. Whereas by Reason of the Width of Pasquotank River, and the Difficulty of passing the same, especially in boisterous weather, it is extremely inconvenient for the Inhabitants who live on the North East side of said River to attend Courts and other Public Business in the County of Pasquotank; For Remedy whereof: II. Be it therefore Enacted by the General Assembly of the State of North Carolina, and it is hereby Enacted by the Authority of the same, that all that part of Pasquotank County lying on the North East side of the said River, and a Line to run from the Head of the said River a North West Course to the Virginia Line, shall be, and is hereby established a County, by the name of Cambden.”
If the term statesman can be applied to any person who has matured in Camden, Joseph Jones would probably qualify. Beginning with 1760, he served in the Assembly seventeen years as a member from Pasquotank, and one year as a senator and one as a representative from Camden, after the formation of that county. Referring to the Provincial Congress held at New Bern in 1775, W. L. Saunders, editor of the Colonial Records, states, “It has never had a superior from that day to this.” To illustrate the caliber of the men assembled he mentions Thomas Jones, Joseph Hewes, John Harvey and Joseph Jones, all from the Albemarle counties. Walter Clark, editor of the State Records, also cites the Camden man as being one of the state leaders during the Revolutionary period. According to a local tradition, Jones came within one vote of being elected Speaker of the House when John Harvey was chosen for that position. Jones’ long tenure in the Provincial Assembly had given him both parliamentary experience and intimate acquaintance with political leaders in the state.
Some of the measures with which he was connected in the legislature have a significant relation to the times. For example, in 1766 he presented a certificate from the inhabitants of Pasquotank County setting forth the many great hardships “the said inhabitants as well as several other inhabitants of this province indure, for want of Paper money and other currency.” This lack of money made buying and selling a cumbersome and tedious process. If a man wished to sell a barrel of pork, for instance, a prospective buyer having no money might wish to offer an amount of tobacco equal to the purchase price. If the owner of the pork happened to desire clothing or food, but had no need of tobacco, he made no sale or if he took the tobacco he continued his search for someone having the articles desired. As a matter of fact, a large amount
of the business transacted during the colonial period was on a barter basis. To facilitate matters, laws were passed assigning definite values for trading purposes to certain staple products, such as pork, tobacco and corn; indeed we find one disgruntled taxpayer reporting that he had paid his taxes with “tallow and hog's lard.”
In 1769 Jones was a member of a committee which investigated Thomas Person of Granville County when an unsuccessful attempt was made to oust him from the Assembly because of his participation in the insurrection of the Regulators in the Orange and Alamance Counties region. Sentiment in the easternmost counties was generally antagonistic to the Regulators, and Governor Tryon had used the militia from this area to quell the insurrection. During the same session Jones was in favor of prohibiting shipments of corn from the province “due to the great scarcity of Indian corn likely to ensue.” Then as now storms sometimes caused heavy damage to crops.
His activities increased with the approach of the Revolution, one of the most spectacular instances of his participation being the clash with the Tory Thomas McKnight, as an outcome of the Provincial Congress held in New Bern in 1775. McKnight was one of the wealthiest members in the province, owning thousands of acres in Currituck and Pasquotank Counties and elsewhere, a shipyard at Indiantown, and a partnership in a commercial enterprise at Norfolk. At the time he was clerk of the court in Pasquotank, but he attended the Congress as a delegate from Currituck. When a move was made to express approval of the actions of the Continental Congress held in Philadelphia the past September, McKnight was the only one, at least openly, who refused to subscribe his approval. His stand aroused considerable resentment among the delegates who in consequence passed a resolution of condemnation on April 6, stating in part “that from the disingenuous and equivocal behavior of the said Thomas McKnight it is manifest his intentions are inimical to the cause of American liberty; and we do hold him up as a proper object of contempt to this Continent, and recommend that every person break off all connections and have no future intercourse with him.” Three of the delegates from Currituck and two from Pasquotank made a written protest in McKnight's behalf and withdrew from the Congress, but to no avail. There was one very influential member from Pasquotank who aligned himself strongly with those denouncing McKnight, and he was Joseph Jones. He was largely responsible for the treatment accorded McKnight, in the opinion of the latter, and on June 21, a long letter defending himself and
addressed to Jones was published in the Virginia Gazette. Jones was unrelenting in his attitude, however; he evidently felt that the time for quibbling had passed and that every man must throw his lot entirely with the colonies or be counted as an enemy.
In September, 1775, he was named a member of the Provincial Council of Safety for the District of Edenton, but his prodigious activities are best indicated by a description of the committees on which he served during the meeting of the State Legislature in 1777. The purposes or tasks of some of the more important committees were, using the phraseology of the minutes: To receive and consider all applications relative to military matters; to consider what Magazine of provisions and military stores it is necessary should be laid up, both for the Continental Army and for the State Militia; to consider the Expediency of stationing a body of militia on our Frontiers to protect the inhabitants of this State against the Indians; to devise ways and means to remove the enormous expense arising by the supernumerary officers in the Continental Regiments; to establish courts of justice; and to consider what price shall be allowed to commissioners for rations. After 1778 he served one year in the lower house during the session of 1782. At this time he was one of those placed in nomination as a delegate to the Continental Congress but was not elected.
As a result of his business enterprises Jones amassed a fortune. Among other undertakings he was a merchant and one of his chief interests seems to have centered around exportation and importation of commodities. Before the Revolution he conducted his trading enterprises chiefly from the developments at Old Trap Bay and Milltown near Shiloh. After the war he concentrated his interests at Plank Bridge near Camden, and at River Bridge in the vicinity of South Mills.
At Plank Bridge his efforts to establish a town met with considerable success for a while. From Murden's landing all the way up Sawyers Creek to the Bridge appeared many wharves and storehouses. Plank Bridge was made a port of entry. In his Travel Memoirs the Duc de la Rochefaucauld-Liantour comments upon the activity of the location when he visited there in 1798 with Talleyrand, although it must be confessed he was greatly confused in his geography since he located Plank Bridge as being near Wilmington. A town was laid out on the north side of the Bridge and named Jonesborough in honor of the founder. In a deed which Jones made on July 17, 1792, to his daughter Sally and her husband Michael Fennell, the description of “certain Lotts in the Town of Jonesborough on Sawyers Creek” reads in part as follows:
“Lott No. 34—beginning on the north side of State Street, running north 87° west to Second Street thence running south 3° west to Market Street.” The project, however, was doomed to failure. The shipwrights were continually building vessels of heavier tonnage so that a greater depth of water was increasingly necessary. The Town of Redding, which was to be renamed Elizabeth City, had already been laid out at a site below on the river where deeper water could accommodate the larger craft, and to this location commercial craft were gradually but inevitably attracted. Today not a vestige of the Town of Jonesborough remains, and of the numerous warehouses and wharfs once standing there is visible only an occasional rotting pier in the waters, which have resumed their immemorial dark stillness.
Upon the formation of Camden County in 1777 Jones was naturally one of the five commissioners named by the legislature to set up the details of county government, select a site for the courthouse and attend to other initial requirements. His residence was used as a meeting place for the commissioners. It so happened that his dwelling was located almost in the geographical center of the county, and the site selected for the courthouse was directly oppoiste his manor plantation. No attempt was made to erect a building, however, until 1782, very probably because the energies of this highly patriotic county were entirely devoted to participation in the struggle for independence. In that year an acre and one quarter, the site previously selected, was purchased from Thomas Sawyer and his mother Margaret, and construction of a courthouse, jail, and stocks was authorized. According to tradition, Jones’ residence also served for the sessions of the county courts, he being one of the county justices as he had been also in the county of Pasquotank. Thus he was closely associated with the beginnings of Camden County in various capacities.
He was a member of a family which had long been active in the life of the northeast side. His father Isaac was a substantial planter; his uncle Nehemiah had been a captain in the Pasquotank militia during the French and Indian War period; his great-uncle Jarvis Jones had held the rank of major in earlier colonial wars. The military tradition was continued by his youngest brother, Timothy Jones, who was a lieutenant in the Continental Line.
• An Industrious Soldier
COLONEL PETER DAUGE
1739-1801
A SPRINKLING of French Huguenots who appeared in the Albemarle country during the period prior to the Revolution soon became decided assets to the communities in which they located. The most outstanding of those immigrants locally were the Dauges or, as the name is spelled today, Doziers. One tradition has it that the first of this family in America, one Jacques d'Auge, came from the Province of Berry in France with a band of French protestants to Charleston, South Carolina, in the earlier part of the eighteenth century. A son Pierre came to Currituck, settled there and married Angelica Gregory. One of the large family of children born to this marriage was Peter Dauge, as the name had by now become Anglicized, who crossed over into the Camden area around 1760.
Peter Dauge well exemplified the Gallic capacity for industry and thrift. During his forty years of life in his new home he accumulated upwards of 2,000 acres of land, including one of the most historic of our early plantations where he spent his last days. While building up his estate he was elected four times to represent Camden in the House of Commons and also a like number in the State Senate, besides being a delegate to the conventions at Hillsborough and Fayetteville in 1788 and 1789, respectively. His first appointment, however, was as a road overseer in 1765, a position which sometimes seemed a prerequisite in this locality for more ambitious office holding.
His military career was initiated as a result of the military organizations created by the Provincial Congress meeting in Halifax in the spring of 1776. Something like a record may have been established by the number of military commissions he received within a period of twenty days. On April 22 he was made a major in the Second Regiment of the Pasquotank Militia (Camden was not formed until the following year), on May 3 he was appointed lieutenant colonel in the state militia from the District of Edenton, and on May 11 he was advanced to the rank of colonel. Organization continued somewhat in a turmoil in this hectic year of war activity for the state and in November the Provincial Congress ordered two battalions to be raised for the aid of South Carolina, and Dauge was given the rank of lieutenant colonel with the First Battalion, Colonel Abram Sheppard
commanding. Dauge seems to have been more interested in being a participant than in being a stickler for rank. Writing to Governor Caswell from South Carolina in the following March (1777), Colonel Sheppard expressed a hope of raising a regiment to join General Washington and ventured this opinion: “in order to raise the men, Colonel Dauge, I believe, will take a lt-col's commission.”
On the same day he received his first commission, 2nd major with the Pasquotank Militia, the Provincial Congress assigned him a task. Major Dauge and Dempsey Gregory were directed “to take into their possession the negroes belonging to Thomas McKnight . . . James Parker . . . and Robert Gilmore . . . and cause them to be brought to this place . . . that said negroes may be subject to further orders by this Congress.” The slaves belonging to those Tories must have been moved with dispatch for on May 8, according to the minutes, “Peter Dauge paid 84, 8sh and 6d for bringing up McKnight's negroes and for handcuffs.” Two days later the Congress considered another problem confronting Dauge because that body had been informed “that militia service will be greatly delayed in Pasquotank, unless advance money are to be paid to such as are induced in the army, arising from the necessity of purchase of corn and provisions, same being almost totally destroyed by a storm on 2nd of September last, the notoriety of which this Congress is sensible of.” Accordingly, 150 pounds was ordered to be paid to Colonel Dauge who was instructed to advance forty shillings to each recruit.
Efforts at recruiting met with reasonable success in 1776, and on July 31 we find Colonel Dauge in Wilmington making a return of the men and equipment assembled. The total strength of the company from Pasquotank was fifty-three men (seventy-six was a full complement). The weapons reported were forty-eight guns, two swords, three tomahawks and two axes, and the company had received 120 rounds of powder. With minor variations this was typical of equipment in other counties. Perquimans, for example, with a total of forty-eight men, had only forty-three guns complete but they had eight swords and fourteen tomahawks. The tomahawks, by the way, are a reminder that Indians still constituted a very real threat in the western part of the state.
Because of incomplete records it is possible to give only a series of incidents in Dauge's career, their relation to major events of which they were a part not always being clearly indicated. As has already been noted, in November of 1776 Dauge was assigned as a lieutenant colonel
with the First Battalion of the two battalions ordered to South Carolina. In the following March Colonel Sheppard, in South Carolina, advised Governor Caswell of his desire to raise a command to join Washington's army in the north. This regiment was authorized and was named the Tenth. On July 27 of the same year Robert Smith reported to Governor Caswell: “Colonel Dauge's recruits are ordered out immediately . . . he shall have every necessary can be had for him.” Writing Colonel Sheppard in August, Governor Caswell urged him to bring up his men as soon as possible and instructed him to let “Colonel Dauge's party bring up thirty stand of arms from Edenton if to be had.” The arms were not forthcoming and, under orders, Dauge with a detachment of one hundred men marched to Wilmington in September and obtained twelve barrels of gunpowder, 3866 pounds of lead and two barrels of pork, for the troops which had been assembled. But there was never adequate equipment for the men. Writing to the Governor from a camp near Halifax, when the men were evidently northward bound, the officers of the 10th N. C. Regiment with Colonel Dauge informed his Excellency: “Not one pair of stockings or hats has the Regiment received . . . hardly half have tents and kettles . . . many without blankets or shoes.” The meagre equipment for the troops obviously did not tend to induce recruitment or boost the morale of those already enlisted.
His four years in the House of Commons were continuous, beginning with 1786 when he and the aging Lemuel Sawyer represented Camden. Although they both naturally supported the bill for the proposed canal from the Pasquotank River to the Elizabeth River in Virginia, since the project would traverse Camden, the two often split their votes on other legislative measures. Dauge voted in favor of the following proposals: to increase the jurisdiction of the justices of the peace, to prevent the sale of goods except for “hard money” only, and to abolish recompense for executed or outlawed slaves. Sawyer opposed those items.
For the next three years Dauge's co-representative from Camden was Lemuel Sawyer's son Enoch. They generally voted together on important measures. Both were also delegates from Camden to the Hillsborough and Fayetteville Conventions in 1788 and 1789. In the latter year Dauge was named a trustee for the newly formed Currituck Seminary of Learning. His appointment as sheriff in 1799 seems almost an anticlimax.
He passed his last years at the ancient colonial plantation, “Mt. Pleasant.” This had been the residence of Colonel Gideon Lamb and
also of his son Lieutenant Abner. The latter's widow married “General” Dauge who had by now received a promotion in the state militia. The marker to his grave is the only one which has been preserved of an officer serving in the Revolution from Camden County.
• Mother and DaughterAMY BURFOOT, SR.
ca 1734-1798
AMY BURFOOT, JR.
ca 1760-1810
WHEN AMY BURFOOT became a widow in 1780, she faced two conventional modes of procedure. She could remain more or less in retirement, performing such tasks as carding, spinning and weaving while managing her estate. Or after what was considered a decent interval, she could take another husband, leaving the management of the estate to him, while she still continued to card, spin, and such like. She probably would have experienced no difficulty in finding a willing spouse. Because the Camden wills of the period have been destroyed by fire, there is missing an excellent source of detailed information, but her husband, Robert Burfoot, is known to have left an estate of five hundred acres or more and at least a half dozen slaves. Amy Burfoot, characteristically, decided not to proceed according to the conventional pattern; she decided to employ her own talents in a business world which the menfolk considered reserved for their activities alone.
During the three hundred years of its history the Camden area has had very few women who have participated in commercial activities on the same basis as a man. The widow Burfoot seems to have been a pioneer in this respect, being the first to meet the men in a game whose rules were according to masculine standards entirely, although she was closely followed by Ann and Miriam Grandy. Quite probably she encountered some masculine resentment at what was considered an improper feminine intrusion in an arena reserved heretofore for the male population. She also labored under another handicap in not being able to write her name, although for that matter she was
no worse off than most women of her time, the public attitude towards education in that day seemingly being that the less book learning women had, the better for all concerned. Amy evidently did have, however, the advantages of educated associates. A letter written by her husband in 1762 shows him to have had some formal academic training, and she displayed no inferiority complex. Nothing daunted and with confidence, she embarked upon her career with vigor. Sometimes a deed reads as if she had dictated it, as, for an illustration, “this being the very spot I bought of Josiah Gallop.” Her transactions were never large, her activities being confined to real estate and some trafficking in slaves, but they were regular and continuous until her death. Of interest also are evidences of regard and esteem which were gradually accorded her. Whether this attitude was because she proved herself to be a shrewd bargainer or whether because of the integrity with which she conducted her transactions, she ceased from being merely Amy Burfoot and was referred to as Mrs. Burfoot, couched in terms of respect. In brief, she became the Mrs. Burfoot.
Her only son, Robert Burfoot, Jr., had married before his father's death. With the advent of her widowhood, her three daughters were soon all married to good providers. The girls were Mary, Jacquet, and then there was Amy. This young woman was well-named, displaying her mother's practical disposition in such a manner that a reference to her career appears necessary in order to make this sketch complete. She was a minor when her father had died in 1780. About the same time the elderly John Griffin, well-to-do planter and millwright, became a widower. Before long he looked about him, as widowers often do, and proposed to the young Amy.
Now John Griffin was a highly respectable citizen and his possessions were sufficient to insure a wife a comfortable existence. Amy herself was not entirely destitute, having inherited a tract of ninety-seven acres and an interest in several slaves. Since a husband in those days practically acquired control of his wife's property, however, she may have been disturbed as to what provision an elderly widower with children might make for his second wife. In her opinion unnecessary risks were to be avoided if possible. Doubtless she and mother Amy discussed the possibilities at length. She may have felt that with her youth and the groom's advanced years, merely a marriage would hardly be a fair transaction for her. Actually no one knows what she thought or what she said to Griffin, but the records of Camden County bear official witness as to what he did. Before she married him, he deeded to
the prospective bride one hundred and fifty acres of land, ten slaves and a windmill, in fact all his possessions except the property he had acquired from his first wife.
Were the subsequent events not known, this young woman would probably be regarded as a shrewd schemer having some affinity with a group who are sometimes referred to today by the not very elegant term “golddiggers.” John Griffin and Amy were married. She bore him a son and a daughter. He seems to have been quite happy with the marriage inasmuch as at his death after nine years he left to his wife additional properties to those he had given her before the ceremony.
As a widow Amy Griffin faced a situation similar to that which her mother had known. She was still less than thirty years old and, unlike her mother, she decided to marry again. The situation was now somewhat in reverse to that of her first marriage. She had two young children, and there was the possibility that after marriage the control her husband would acquire over her property would deprive those children of what she considered rightfully theirs. Her fiance was an excellent young man, but before she married him she deeded to young Samuel and Fanny Griffin the real estate which had been given her by their father. Herein is revealed, it seems, the principle which determined her actions. She was cautious and prudent, not because of a grasping ambition, but because to her this was the right and correct course to follow. It at once becomes understandable why she and her mother emerge as two ladies of character and dignity instead of two clever women. Anyone who had dealings with them finally recognized their complete integrity and rigid sense of rectitude.
Amy Griffin went on to marry Jonathan Lindsey of Currituck, and from all appearances they lived happily ever after. They negotiated several business transactions and they prospered, the husband no doubt receiving practical assistance from his astute helpmeet.
It would seem appropriate to close this sketch with an item of information of a genealogical nature because it seems to suggest a subtle testimony to the character of these two ladies who make a diverting page in Camden's history. They are the distant grandmothers of the executive officer of a very large financial institution. As might be anticipated, the position is being filled in a highly competent manner.
• The Dismal Swamp Canal
BENJAMIN JONES
ca 1757-1806
IN THE PERIOD following the Revolutionary War the economic outlook was very promising in the central and upper parts of the county. Plank Bridge had been made a port of entry for the region and the resulting maritime activity brought commercial benefits to the entire community adjacent to Sawyers Creek. In the upper end the Dismal Swamp Canal, a spectacular undertaking which was to connect the Elizabeth River in Virginia with the Pasquotank River in North Carolina by traversing Camden, stirred the imaginations of business men as far north as Philadelphia so that the locality in the vicinity of present day South Mills took on the aspects of a real estate boom.
A persistent tradition that the original survey for the waterway was made by George Washington seems hardly justified by existing records. The first individual to suggest such a project, it appears, was Virginia's indefatigable Governor William Byrd, who mentioned the possibility when he and the North Carolina commissioners were establishing a boundary line between the two states. According to a scholarly article written by Alexander Crosby Brown in 1945, a survey of the possibilities of the vast area known as the Dismal Swamp was made by a company of which George Washington and Gershom Nimmo were members, and Washington considered a canal through the swamp to be impracticable. The prospects of a waterway which would connect the ports of Norfolk and Portsmouth directly with the regions behind the sounds and outer banks continued to appeal to the minds of many, notwithstanding, and in 1784, with Governor Patrick Henry of Virginia as one of the promoters, a through canal was actually proposed. In 1787 the Virginia Legislature passed an act for cutting a navigable watercourse from the Elizabeth River in Virginia to the Pasquotank River in North Carolina, the act to become in force after the General Assembly of the latter state should approve similar legislation. North Carolina formally approved such a bill in 1790.
In order to raise funds with which to carry out the plan, the act authorized a named group of commissioners to receive subscriptions for shares at $250 each. On the nineteenth of September, 1791, solicitors reported the number of shares sold as 241; and on the thirtieth of the same month additional sales of 112 shares were announced, the combined
receipts therefore approximating $88,250. Considerable time was consumed in organizing the operating company and obtaining easements and rights of way with the stamp of court approval; hence it was 1793 before digging actually began with hired slave labor, starting at each end.
The excavations were finally connected in 1805 so that flats loaded with shingles and similar products could be poled the whole distance from river to river, but the passageway was probably not more than a muddy ditch for some time to come. The War of 1812, however, made the Federal Government aware of the need for a backdoor route for the transportation of supplies, and work seems to have been renewed since the year 1814 marks the first recorded trip of a vessel other than a shingle flat. In 1826 the waterway was enlarged as a shoal draft ship canal. In 1899 it was extended substantially to its present form.
Only one of the five directors who were named to the board of the Dismal Swamp Canal Company in 1792 was from Camden County, and he was Benjamin Jones. As a matter of fact most of the shares had been purchased by Virginians, and they included many of the commonwealth's leading men, such as, to name only a few, Patrick Henry, James Madison and John Blair. The seven subscribers from Camden County and the number of shares bought by each were: Joseph Jones, 3; Isaac Gregory, 2; Benjamin Jones, Michael Fennell, John Mason, James Pearce, Fred B. Sawyer, Isaac Stokelie and Polly Stokelie, all one each. There were others in the locality who became owners of stock at a later date.
Jones not only has the distinction of being on the first list of directors of the Dismal Swamp Canal Company; he may also qualify as the most spectacular financier this county has known. In the first place he was our largest landowner, having acquired either by grant or purchase upwards of twelve thousand acres. The census of 1790 reports the number of slaves belonging to him as thirty-six, and this was six more than the next largest slaveowner possessed. His commercial activities were varied. He was associated with Nathaniel Allen in the mercantile business and they had a warehouse, and perhaps a store, at River Bridge, which was the trading and shipping center for the upper end of the county. He bought and sold lands continually, and he was interested in enterprises elsewhere. As a young man he had represented Camden for two terms in the House of Commons, but one can imagine that politics would tend to be tedious to a person of his practical nature.
In addition to his affiliation with the Dismal Swamp Company he was also one of the charter members of the New Lebanon Company,
a business venture whose prospects stemmed from the canal project. This company excavated a cross canal which was to be utilized for more convenient transportation of forest products via the Dismal Swamp waterway. Mills were also to be constructed whose power would originate from the reservoir of water impounded in the Dismal Swamp artery. The New Lebanon group attracted investors from far and near, the most noted in the Albemarle country being, perhaps, Thomas Harvey and Colonel John Hamilton. Other outstanding investors were William Aitcheson of Norfolk, and in Philadelphia, John C. Christie and Samuel Bartleson. We do not know just how successful the enterprise was, though we can still see traces of canals dug and mills erected.
In one respect Benjamin Jones is an anomaly in the annals of this county. The space devoted to records of his transactions is larger than that allotted to any other individual, and yet details of his personal life are practically lacking. The status of his estate at the time of his death is a mystery. In his latter years parts of his holdings were sold at public auction in order to satisfy judgments against him, and now and then he mortgaged tracts for varying amounts of money. About the only fact which can be stated concerning his last years is that he died in 1806. Certain it is, however, that he was active in two of the most ambitious enterprises ever undertaken in this county; and because of his activity and of those associated with him, South Mills became the largest village in the Camden and the upper end developed on a prosperous financial basis. Indeed, it is still possible that the Canal and the Dismal Swamp constitute the greatest potential economic assets in this section.
Historically speaking, it is generally overlooked that the Dismal Swamp Canal is the oldest artificial waterway still in use in the United States.
• The InnkeeperPETER MERCER
ca 1760-ca 1806
BECAUSE THE ENERGIES of the people were occupied with the struggle for national independence, the commissioners waited until 1782, five years
after the formation of Camden County, before they began the erection of a courthouse, jail and stocks. And after these structures were completed it was found that there was still lacking another highly desirable convenience—a place where those having business with the courts might find bed and board during their sojourn here. The need of a dependable lodging house was further emphasized by those commercial travelers who came to Plank Bridge because of their shipping interests. “Camden,” at Plank Bridge, was then a port of entry for this section of North Carolina and to this location of necessity came certain masters of trading vessels in order to obtain clearance papers. The “Bridge” and the courthouse were only a few hundred yards apart; and one of the commissioners, General Isaac Gregory, was also collector for the port.
Since no individual seemed inclined to build a tavern as a business enterprise, the county fathers themselves initiated the undertaking. On St. Patrick's Day in 1791 they gave to Peter Mercer a contract for the erection of “a house of entertainment,” and also a lease of operation for a period of twenty-five years. The building, it was specified, was to be thirty feet long by eighteen feet wide, to have three chimneys, “a piazza” all along one side, and on the opposite side a shed was to extend the entire length. Construction was to be completed within five years.
While the dimensions will not indicate a very commodious building to a generation accustomed to several-storied hotels and spacious motor courts, nevertheless it is possible that this was the most impressive hostelry between Edenton and Norfolk. Elizabeth City had not as yet received its name and was hardly more than a group of undistinguished buildings; the port of entry was at Camden, which then had the prestige of superior location. There were in the area several so-called ordinaries, perhaps, licensed and under bond to provide adequate provision for the traveler and his horse, but the most of those places were woefully lacking in the comforts even of that day. The following description, penned by a contemporary traveler, may afford a picture of one of the most inadequate lodging houses; notwithstanding, some of the discomforts mentioned were probably not uncommon.
“They were mostly log-huts,” wrote the commentator, “or a frame weatherboarded; the better sort consisting of one story and two rooms; the more numerous having no internal divisions. . . . One corner of the room would be occupied by a bunk containing the family bed; another by a pine-wood chest, the family clothes press and larder; a third would be railed off for a bar, containing a rum-keg and a tumbler.”
“If hunger and fatigue compelled you to remain, a little corn for
a horse, and a blanket on the hearth, with your saddle to represent a bed, were the most you could obtain. As to edibles, whether you called for breakfast, dinner, or supper, the reply was one—eggs and bacon . . . ten to one you had to cook the meal yourself. . . . No sooner were you seated than the house-dog (of the large wolf variety) would arrange himself beside you and lift his lank hungry jaws expressively to your face.”
Official rates which tavern keepers might charge were approved and announced from time to time by the local courts, which were composed of members of the Peace Commission. Sometimes a general approval of rates “such as are in force at Edenton” was adopted; at other times the prices set for individual items were listed. It is regrettable that no scale of charges for the immediate period seems available; however, the following items, drawn up about twenty years previously, doubtless give a fairly accurate representation of the costs of board and lodging in the latter part of 1700.
| Items (quoted verbatim) | Prices | |
| shillings | pence | |
| West India Rum gill | 0 | 6 |
| Punch quart of do | 1 | 0 |
| New England Rum or Brandy gill | 0 | 4 |
| Punch per quart of ditto | 0 | 8 |
| Modara Wine—pint | 2 | 0 |
| Fiol & other wines—do— | 1 | 8 |
| Strong Beer @ Bottle | 1 | 8 |
| Cider—quart | 0 | 3 |
| Breakfast | 0 | 8 |
| Dinner of Rost or Boyled Meat | 1 | 4 |
| Hott Supper | 1 | 0 |
| Lading [lodging] | 0 | 4 |
| 3 quarts of corn or oats | 0 | 4 |
| Stabling & fodder & night | 0 | 4 |
| Pasturing in summer-day | 0 | 4 |
No details of the operation of the county tavern have survived. On the courthouse grounds a concrete cap covers an abandoned well, which is said to have been six feet from the rear of the establishment. Did interesting and distinguished guests find entertainment in this hostelry? Because of the official significance of Plank Bridge as a port of entry it
seems reasonable to suppose that persons of importance were guests at the inn. The Duc de Rochefaucauld-Liantour in his Memoirs comments upon the commercial activity at Plank Bridge when he paid a visit with M. de Talleyrand in 1798, but he fails to add where he spent the night. Nor does Bishop Francis Asbury refer to Peter Mercer's place when he preached at the Court House around the turn of the century, though it was his usual custom to lodge with an individual. No doubt the guest register of this early lodging house, however, would reveal an interesting array of names to us of today.
The inn keeper did a flourishing business apparently, at least for a period. Whereas he had purchased only twenty acres of land prior to the lease of the tavern, within the decade centering around 1800 he acquired upwards of 300 acres of farm and swamp lands. And then he seems to have suffered business reverses, no reason therefore being suggested unless it be the loss of the lease on the tavern. His first wife was Mary, the daughter of a long time schoolmaster at Shiloh, James Gardner. Her inheritance of forty acres was disposed of. After her death he married Ruth, a daughter of William and Mary Parr of Currituck, and the loss of his property continued. In January, 1802, he sold a dwelling on the west side of Arenuse Creek “where said Peter Mercer now lives.” In February of the same year, three slaves, thirty thousand barrel staves, and household furniture passed from his hands to Enoch Sawyer. More than two hundred acres were disposed of shortly thereafter. And in the following December he sold to “Patsy Harrington, daughter of Sarah Granger,” household property in “home near the courthouse . . . now in occupation of Sarah Granger and her husband Jonathan.” Jonathan and Sarah would therefore seem to have become the proprietors of the inn.
The antecedents of Mercer are untraced. None of the name in the county numbers him among their kin. Burkitt and Read, in their “Concise History of the Kehukee Association (1803), imply activity on Mercer's part as a Baptist layman by their references to “Brother Peter Mercer” in Association meetings. This circumstance suggests membership in the Currituck family, from which came Silas and Jesse Mercer, noted contemporary Baptist ministers. We have no knowledge, however, of the former inn keeper's last days.
• The Coming of the Methodists
ELISHA MCBRIDE
ca 1757-ca 1815
THE SECOND CIRCUIT formed by the Methodists in North Carolina was called Camden, according to church historians, and it included the counties of Camden, Currituck, and Pasquotank. Although the official beginning of the denomination in the United States is generally recognized as the year of the Baltimore Conference, 1784, it is well known that Methodist missionaries were promoting their beliefs in the colonies before the Revolution even. According to one of the early preachers, the Reverend Jesse Lee, the Camden district was formed in 1783 and the minutes of the first meeting recorded the name as Pasquotank. The next year and thereafter, he states, the designation was changed to Camden. The confused entry at the initial organization is understandable since until six years before, 1777, the area had been a part of Pasquotank from the beginning of the colony.
The Camden Circuit appears to have been the result of a visit to the northeastern counties in December of 1782 by the Reverends Edward Dromgoole and Jesse Lee. According to Lee's account in his Journal, they entered Camden at Plank Bridge on the fourth of the month and “came to Mr. Jones's.” “People hearing came a little after dark,” the entry continues, and “thirty people collected in the course of an hour.” Apparently the two ministers then proceeded to Currituck inasmuch as the next reference to Camden was on Friday, December 13, when they crossed the North River at Indiantown and “dined at Mrs. Lambs . . . a Baptist who treated us kindly.” The lady was undoubtedly the widow of Colonel Gideon Lamb and a sister of General Isaac Gregory. In the evening, the Journal narrates, “they came to General Gregory's,” and “in his dwelling house we had a large congregation although the weather was very cold.” On Saturday the missionaries “came to Sawyer's and held meeting.” The most rewarding service, however, would seem to have been the one conducted on Sunday at River Bridge where, according the Journal, “we had a large company of well-behaved people to hear the word of eternal life, it was a solemn and profitable time.” This assemblage was in the north end of the county and probably one member of the audience was Elisha McBride, community leader, member of the General Assembly,
FRANCES, MARCHIONESS CAMDEN
The graceful pose, the charming subject and color harmonies in the original have caused critics to acclaim the painting as one of the masterful achievements by the great portrait painter, Sir Joshua Reynolds. An interesting coincidence is the date of the sitting, 1777, the year in which Camden County was established. The young lady was then Frances Molesworth (this was prior to her marriage), and her age was sixteen.
and one who was to play an important role in the beginning of Methodism in Camden.
The first congregation to have been formally organized in the circuit was in Currituck, presumably, for when Bishop Thomas Coke paid a visit in the spring of 1785, “Brother Morris,” the minister in charge, lived at “Mowyock” where a church had been previously constituted. Incidentally, the Bishop found the situation none too encouraging. Preacher Morris’ wife was expecting and in anticipation of the event, “he has not preached in most part of the circuit these two months.” He had failed to announce Coke's coming; consequently the gatherings at Moyock and at Coinjock were small and might have been entirely lacking, had it not been for the efforts of Hollowell Williams, “who is an excellent Christian and a faithful friend of the cause.”
As a result of Morris’ distraction with approaching parenthood church affairs languished throughout the parish. Crossing over at Indiantown on Sunday, March 20, Coke preached in Camden County “in the Sandy Hook Church,” quite probably an Episcopal Chapel inasmuch as the Methodists frequently conducted services in the houses of worship of the Church of England. The gathering was still small because there had been no advance notice of his presence. One slightly redeeming feature was the Bishop's host in Sandy Hook, “a Mr. Burgess who is quite the gentleman.” For the same reason as before, few were on hand to hear him over in the settlement soon to be named Elizabeth City, but he gratefully notes in his diary: “The drinking swearing landlord would charge nothing for my entertainment.” The outlook was still not too promising when Hoke's famous co-worker, Bishop Francis Asbury, traveled through these parts in 1788, for an entry in the latters’ diary reads: “I preached at Camden courthouse with freedom, but the people appeared insensible.”
Despite the difficulties encountered, the Methodists continued to increase in numbers, a situation for which the Baptist were somewhat responsible, according to the late Dr. G. W. Paschal in his History of North Carolina Baptists. In his opinion Baptist rigidity in discipline at the turn of the century tended to discourage many from becoming adherents. However that may be, in Camden it was certainly logical enough for the first Methodist congregation to be established in the north end of the county where the influence of the powerful Shiloh Baptist Church in the southern half was slight.
The official beginning of McBride's Church is usually reckoned from November 14, 1792, when Jeremiah Sexton leased jointly to
Elisha McBride and Joshua Gambling, “Members of the Methodist Society,” and to Joshua McPherson and Morgan Cartwright, “Members of the American Episcopal Church,” a half acre “on the south side of Joy's Creek near the Fork Bridge . . . for the purpose of finishing and keeping in repair a house of worship for their joint use.” This common arrangement is indicative of the close relationship existing between the two religious bodies; indeed many of the earlier Methodist ministers considered themselves priests in the Established Church, as had been their leader, John Wesley.
The lease has another significance in the history of the county. The document is a link in the chain of evidence which confirms the location of McBride's Church as the oldest site on which a house of worship has been in continual use on the northeast side of the river. The Provincial Assembly of 1715 authorized the erection of “chapels of ease” by the Established Church in Pasquotank and in other precincts. “The Forke Chappell,” as it was designated, is shown on Edward Moseley's map published in 1733. The date of construction is a matter of conjecture. The building was probably erected on the lands of a wealthy planter, John Jones. Certain it is that the property was owned by his son Isaac and by various transactions passed into the hands of Benjamin Jones, who in turn transferred it to Jeremiah Sexton, the man granting the lease. The original structure seems to have been destroyed around 1782, and the new edifice was incomplete in 1792 when the Methodists assumed a share of responsibility for “finishing and keeping in repair” the chapel under construction. On this site, therefore, a sanctuary has been located for more than two hundred and twenty-five years.
Just when the name Fork Chapel was discarded and that of McBride's Chapel (as the name first was) was officially substituted is not clear. In 1801 Bishop Asbury wrote of a visit in the vicinity where he “lodged at Mr. James Spence's.” Then, he continues, “We came to McBirde's,” evidently a misspelling of McBride and a reference to the church. On the other hand, the ancient appellation seems to have been still in use in 1806, at least by the public, for in that year Gideon Lamb sold to Arthur Old forty acres “near the Fork Chapel.” By the time of 1820, however, the new designation had become established. The congregation is not only the oldest Methodist organization in the county, it is the only one honoring the name of an individual—Elisha McBride. One tradition, to be sure, claims the honor for Peter McBride, Elisha's son and an influential member who died in 1820, but the facts related in this sketch appear to discredit the theory. When first organized,
Camden Methodist Church was called Nash's Chapel in honor of a prominent member. When the congregation moved to a new location, however, it substituted a new cognomen for the old one.
Because the Camden wills of the period were burned, the known details concerning Elisha McBride are not numerous. In the early part of the eighteenth century Thomas McBryde arrived from Maryland, was issued a patent for fifteen hundred acres of land, and became the progenitor of a line of substantial citizens. Loss of the wills has left an unfortunate gap in the family's history and has deprived us of details concerning Elisha McBride's household. Presumably he was of the third generation and the son of John. He had already become a figure of some importance in county politics before he became a leader in his church, and he and Joseph Jones were Camden's representatives in the House of Commons in 1782. At the time of the first census, 1790, he owned several hundred acres of land and seven slaves. It can hardly be doubted that his moral support and financial assistance were prime factors in the growth of the Methodist congregation on Joy's Creek.
In his loyal devotion to his church Elisha McBride set an example which has been emulated by the generations coming after him. Tangible evidences of loyalty have been bequests on the part of members. In 1880 Nelson Chamberlain devised to the congregation a farm in perpetuity, the revenues therefrom to be applied to the pastor's salary. In 1916 George Riggs left a farm and $500 in bonds to the trustees of McBride's Church “to be used as they see fit.”
The congregation became a dominant factor in the civic, social and religious life of the northern end of the county, being a counterpart somewhat to Shiloh Baptist Church in the southern half. The high level of the membership has not been surpassed by the citizenship of any other local community. To mention the family names of some of the more outstanding will serve to substantiate the statement, for the Chamberlains, Edneys, Connors, Joneses, Halsteads, McPhersons, Pearces, Riggs, Sawyers, Spences and Taylors have not only wrought worthily in Camden, but they have contributed outstanding representatives in the various professions in this and in other states. The settlement of Pearceville, in which McBride's Church is located, derives its name from one of the early conspicuous families.
Most conspicuous of the clans, perhaps, were the Chamberlains. Most prominent in church affairs was the Reverend Nelson Chamberlain. The most colorful was John Lane Chamberlain (“Mr. Lane”),
politician and lawyer who served one term in the lower house of the State Legislature and one in the senate. He was a moving orator who also on occasion, it is said, tarried “long at the wine,” and thereby tradition has handed down a very human anecdote relating to McBride's Church. In all rural churches seventy-five years ago, the annual revival, called “protracted meeting,” was the important social and religious event of the year. The preacher invited to conduct one series of revival services proved to be ineffective. Interest decreased as the meetings dragged along and the leading brethren at McBride's decided that the situation called for drastic action. After a conference they decided to invite “Lane” Chamberlain to occupy the pulpit. When they approached him, he demurred. “I am not worthy,” he told them, ‘because of the habit I have acquired.” Upon their insistence, however, he reluctantly accepted. For his text he selected the Savior's poignant lament, “O Jerusalem . . . how oft would I have gathered thy children together . . . and ye would not.” So strongly did his address appeal to the emotions of his audience that the church experienced one of the most notable revivals in its history.
To the Spence family may belong the distinction of outstanding individuals over the longest period in the annals of this county. When the area now comprising Camden territory was formed into the Parish of St. Peter in 1715, one of the vestrymen appointed was “Mr. Alexr Spence.” In the aristocratic opinion of Colonel Edward Moseley only four names of those living on the northeast side were worthy of mention on his map published in 1733, and one of those was Spence. Just off the press is a detailed and scholarly history of McBride Methodist Church, the author being Dr. H. E. Spence who for fifty years has had a noteworthy career as minister, author, Methodist Conference official and teacher in the Divinity School of Duke University. He merits the honor of being the most famous native of Camden County now living. The presentation of Dr. Spence's historical sketch during a recent home coming service has added another bright page to the chronicles of the congregation on Joy's Creek.
• A Later ImmigrantARTHUR OLD
ca 1770-1820
IN ADDITION to those individuals from other regions who were interested in the construction projects of the Dismal Swamp Canal and of the New Lebanon Company, there were also those who were attracted to the north end of the county because of a business boom incident to the canal developments. Two representatives of this group were the brothers Arthur and Hollowell Old who came from Norfolk County, Virginia, in 1795, and proceeded to become active and successful citizens.
In some of their commercial enterprises the brothers Old were partners. Hollowell also became an associate of “rich Willie McPherson,” and acquired more than two thousand acres of farming and swamp lands. Though Arthur's total handings were considerably smaller, somewhat above three hundred acres, he entered more actively into the civic and political life of his adopted home, and for this reason he has been selected as an excellent representative of the late group of immigrants. This period was also a significant one in the history of the county, for this was the last occasion when an appreciable number of outsiders would be induced to settle here because of favorable business conditions.
One of Arthur Old's profitable investments was in warehouses at River Bridge, which had expanded rapidly due to a sharp increase in water-borne traffic. Business flourished mightily at this site for a season, and for a while it appeared as if a town would devlop there, as clearly indicated in some of the transactions. To illustrate, in 1803 Hollowell Old sold to Arthur Old his undivided half of a tract which had been purchased from Gardner Trafton at River Bridge, except “the one-fourth acre where the new warehouse stands.” Again, in 1805 Arthur Old conveyed to Anthony Butler three acres near River Bridge, “commonly called the Town of Joppa.” The name “Joppa” seems to have been discarded, however, for in 1808 Anthony Butler deeded to Thomas Bettys of Pasquotank River Bridge “a lot of land no. 2 as laid off in Place or Map of Town of Pasquotank River Bridge.”
Meanwhile Arthur Old also proceeded to establish himself into the comfortable living conditions enjoyed by the planters in the neighborhood. One of the slaves purchased by him was from Lemuel Sawyer, a Camden young man who, incidentally, had just been elected to the Congress and who was already recognized as one of the state leaders in the Republican
Party, as one political faction was called to distinguish it from the other major political group, the Federalists. Old had affiliated himself with the Republicans and was a faithful supporter of Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe. His political interest was rewarded with four successive elections to the State Senate, beginning with 1804.
A glance at the matters which occupied the attention of the state legislatures during Old's tenure will serve to remind us dramatically of the youth of the nation and of the differences in outlook between that age and the present. North Carolina was the last of the thirteen original states to have a bank, and it was in Old's first legislative term, 1804, that the first two banks were chartered, one at New Bern and one at Wilmington. Perhaps it should be noted in passing that the banks were none too successful as a result of unsound practices, the operators seeming to believe that in order to have ample funds a bank could issue unlimited amounts of scrip without giving much thought to collateral. As a consequence, some of the paper was circulated at a 20% discount. A Virginia newspaper, commenting upon the paper currency of North Carolina's banks, made the disparaging statement that “even the fishmongers” refused to accept the script at par value. Another strange procedure which Old witnessed as a state senator was the failure of the General Assembly to restore escheats, of which the University at Chapel Hill had been deprived by legislative act, and no provision was made for additional income. True, the University was voted permission to conduct a lottery in order to raise funds, but the lawmakers voted that themselves should not buy tickets “for reasons of economy.” Although right to recover escheats was restored in 1805, no certain income was provided, and the financial condition of our state institution of learning was precarious, to put it mildly. In 1805 the name of the Court of Conference was changed to be called the Supreme Court, as it is still designated.
Since the time of Old's career as a representative from Camden, South Mills has been an important factor in county politics. After 1808, however, he refrained from aspiring to any other political office; nevertheless he continued to be an influential figure and to maintain an active interest in local and national events. As an illustration, when public opinion was inflamed because of what was considered an unwarranted attack by a British ship of war upon a frigate of the United States Navy in home waters, citizens assembled in many localities and expressed their resentment. Old was a member of such a meeting held in Camden and resolutions of indignation in strong language were adopted, a part of which was as follows:
“Resolved, That we look with superlative disdain, deep regret, and the utmost abhorrence, on the barbarous, savage and wanton attack made upon the United States frigate Chesapeake by the British ship of war Leopard; an attack the most dastardly that has been recorded in the annals of human barbarity, by which the blood of many of our citizens has been spilled, several killed and many wounded:”
“That this most flagrant act has been perpetrated on our shores, evincing a desire to degrade our national character, as freemen. . . .” Michael Fennell was chairman of the Resolutions Committee, and the other members were Arthur Old, Isaac Lamb, John Humphries, Colonel Brite, Wilson Sawyer, Joseph Morgan, John Michaux, Nathaniel Downes, Miles Grandy and Willoughby Dozier.
• Soldier of 1812CAPTAIN JAMES S. GARLINGTON
ca 1765-ca 1822
DETAILED REFERENCES to the participation of North Carolina troops in the War of 1812 are few. With the exceptions of the exploits of Lieutenant Colonel Forsyth in the Army and of Captains Johnston Blakeley of the U. S. Navy and Otway Burns, privateer, in naval encounters on the high seas, the contributions of the state do not seem to have been especially conspicuous. The war was not a popular one and generally was conducted without enthusiasm.
In 1812 President Madison set North Carolina's quota at 7000 troops. A company of infantry with a total strength of seventy-three, including officers and men, was “detached from the Camden Regiment” and became a part of the First Brigade (N. C.).
The captain was James S. Garlington, quite probably elected to this position by the men in the unit, as were the other commissioned officers. Since other known facts are so meager, the entire personnel of the Camden roster is listed below, with the thought that this information will be a helpful source should additional data come to light in the future. The names are spelled as found in the military records.
Camden Company of 1812
James S. Garlington, Captain
Bailey Barco, First Lieutenant
Willis Wilson, Second Lieutenant
Wilson Webster, Ensign
James Forbes, First Sergeant
John W. Harrison, Second Sergeant
James Godfrey, Third Sergeant
Edward Pugh, Fourth Sergeant
William Godfrey, First Corporal
Simion Jones, Second Corporal
Jeremiah Jones, Third Corporal
Isaac Berry, Fourth Corporal
Jabez Garlington, Fifer
| Privates | |
| Isaac Avery | Samuel Gregory |
| Miles Berry | Thomas Gregory |
| Timothy Berry | Henry W. Harrison |
| William Berry | Owen W. Harrison |
| Robert Boushal | Nathaniel Hughes |
| Joseph Bray | James Huit |
| Moses Brock | Jacob James |
| Cornelius Bryan | Caleb Jarvis |
| Dempsey J. Burgess | John Lewis |
| Benjamin Carter | Joseph McCoy |
| Abner Cooper | Elias McKoy |
| Edward Curlin | Reding Mercer |
| Jesse Dowdy | John Mitchell |
| William Dowdy | Phillip Morrisett |
| David Dunkin | Tully Morrisett |
| Wilson Dunkin | Josiah Nash |
| Zebulin Dunkin | Wilson W. Nash |
| Shepperd Foster | Thomas Portlock |
| John Gallup | William Proctor |
| Joshua Gallop | Abner Sanderlin |
| James Garrett | Archibald Sawyer |
| Edmund Gregory, Jr. | Peter Seymore |
| Edmund Gregory, Sen. | John Shorter |
| Frederick Gregory | Abner Sikes |
| Henry Gregory | Wilson Sikes |
| Jonathan Gregory | Joshua Smisson |
| Lemuel Gregory | Bradley Smith |
| Nathan Gregory | Markum Stafford |
| Etheridge Stanley | Dempsey Wilson |
| James Willis | Caleb Woodard |
Four companies of the detachments thus formed were sent to the lower Cape Fear region and four were stationed at Beaufort. Whether the Camden soldiers were a part of those contingents or whether they were dispatched elsewhere is not clear. The chief military concern of the state was the protection of its own coast and the coastal counties were in constant fear of British attack. After repeated protests through Governor Hawkins to the Secretary of War against our defenseless position, the Federal Government sent five gunboats. These were evidently not very effective for on July 11, 1813, a British fleet of one large battleship and over one hundred smaller craft, including barges, landed at Ocracoke and Portsmouth. This stop must have been by way of relaxation; for after a few weeks the whole fleet sailed away without making any attempt at invasion, not seeming to consider North Carolina a military objective. The presence of the foreign vessels was understandably the cause of additional alarm among the state's inhabitants, and the General Assembly adopted a report to Washington containing “a string of heavy complaints,” charging that North Carolina was being left to defend itself while its own troops were being sent away to defend other states.
In 1814 President Madison called for 7000 more men from the state and these were recruited in large part by draft. Another infantry unit was therefore formed in Camden. James S. Garlington was again the captain, but there were only ten other soldiers who had been members of the company raised in 1812. Archibald Sawyer, who had been a private two years before, was now a lieutenant, and John H. Wright, ensign. For non-commissioned personnel no ratings are shown other than that of private in the roster, which was as follows:
James S. Garlington, Captain
Archibald Sawyer, Lieutenant
John H. Wright, Ensign
| Privates | |
| Joseph Barco | Thomas Bray |
| Adam Baum | John A. Brockett |
| Burket Beals | Isaac Burgess |
| James Beals | Abroham Cartwright |
| Joseph Bell | Asa Cartwright |
| Thomas Berry | Wilson Coats |
| Dempsey Collins | Wm Kanady |
| Malachi Collins | Malachi Knight |
| William Collins | Joseph Love |
| Abner Cooper | James McHarney |
| Edward Curlin | Miles Mercer |
| Frederick Daily | Lot Needham |
| Benjamin Dough | Samuel Needham |
| Dempsey Dough | James Owens |
| Jesse Dough | Amos Pue |
| Wm Dowten | John Pue |
| Dempsey Dunkin | Peter Pugh |
| Caleb Forbes | Dempsey Riggs |
| Dempsey Forbes | Silas Riggs |
| Silas Forbes | Ferebee Sanderlin |
| William Garrett | Josiah Sanderlin |
| Reuben Gibson | Freeman Sawyer |
| Hiram Godfrey | James Sawyer |
| James Godfrey | Maxey Sawyer |
| John Godfrey | Zephaniah Sawyer |
| Jonathan Godfrey | Joseph Seamore |
| Samuel Godfrey | Bradley Smith |
| Edmund Gregory | Dempsey Squires |
| Frederick Gregory | Elijah Staples |
| Job Gregory | Thomas Surry |
| Nathan Gregory | Jesse Temple |
| Samuel Gregory | Miles Williams |
| Nathan Harrison | Cader Wright |
| John Jerrell | Charles Wright |
| Samuel Jarvis | Cornelius Wright |
| Jeremiah Jones | Henry H. Wright |
| John Jones | Levi Wright |
| Simeon Jones | Seth Wright |
| Frederick Kanady |
Other Camden men were also enlisted according to the military payrolls of the period, although the branch of service is not indicated. William Godfrey, for example, was promoted to captain, and Henry Garrett, John Griffin and Evan Forbes received pay as privates.
Another interesting historical phase was the political careers of some of those who saw service in the Camden companies. Bailey Barco, a first lieutenant, was elected to the House of Commons in 1814, 1815 and 1817. Second Lieutenant Willis Wilson represented this county in the House in 1817 and three times in the Senate, beginning with 1825. Ensign Wilson Webster was a member of the House five years, from
1821 to 1825, inclusive. One corporal, Simeon Jones, won a seat in the lower body of the legislatiure in 1826. Two privates, John Jones and William Mercer, were each chosen three times for membership in the House of Commons. Of a different character but not without local interest was the career of Private Moses Brock. He entered the ministry and for a year was pastor of McBride's Methodist Church.
Although Garlington received no political reward, he succeeded in becoming a substantial citizen. No information seems available as to his place of origin. The 1790 census lists him as the head of a household but does not indicate his possessions, if any. His first real estate acquisition on record was in 1798 when he bought sixty-nine acres on Barco's Island. Within the next fifteen years, either by purchase or grant, he became the owner of approximately 250 acres in the same area, which from his time has been known as Garlington's Island.
His closing days are shrouded in mystery, perhaps due to the loss of county wills by fire in 1822, the year which seems to be the date of his death. Apparently he had sons John and Edmund; Jabez Garlington may have been a brother. The important item in James S. Garlington's life, however, is that he commanded both detachments of Camden men who saw service in the War of 1812.
• Host to the President of the United StatesENOCH SAWYER
ca 1760-1823
WHETHER GEORGE WASHINGTON ever strayed over into Camden territory during his surveying expeditions in the Dismal Swamp may be a debatable question, but the visit of President James Monroe with a distinguished entourage to the residence of Enoch Sawyer, gentleman planter and Collector of the Port of Camden, has been recorded with copious details by the brother of the host, Congressman Lemuel Sawyer, who was present on the occasion. Incidentally, the quotations included in this narrative are all taken from the Congressman's Autobiography.
The visit came about in this manner. Partly for political reasons and partly to make a survey of the needs for internal improvements, Monroe
came to Norfolk in June of 1818. From Norfolk he made a tour of the Dismal Swamp Canal, visited Lake Drummond and came on to Elizabeth City, possibly as the result of a suggestion from Lemuel Sawyer, Congressman from the First District. Following the President's trip to Lake Drummond, he spent the night at a public house along the canal, and in the morning he and his companions set out for Elizabeth City. A party from that town and environs, including Congressman Sawyer, met the advancing President and his escort whose approach could be detected a mile off because of the cloud of dust. In the town Sawyer introduced the chief executive to several of the assembled populace, after which all were entertained at the “City Hotel with an excellent repast in which a fine green turtle presented the most inviting dish.”
During the progress of the banquet the President was extended an invitation to remain over until the next day in order to meet more of his constituents in the vicinity. Among those present at the dinner was the Congressman's brother, Enoch, whose dwelling was the Sawyer ancestral home, “Richmond,” some three miles away over in Camden. His invitation to the President and his escort to be overnight guests at his home was accepted. Sawyer dispatched a messenger with a brief note of three lines to inform his wife of the imminent honor. Not unwarranted was Congressman Sawyer's later comment: “Had the President come, like Lear with his hundred knights, he would have been accommodated,” for not only was the “mansion” spacious, Enoch's wife Mary was not lacking in social experience. She was a daughter of General Isaac Gregory and from her youth up had been accustomed to assist in the entertainment of distinguished guests who frequently visited Fairfield Plantation, her girlhood home.
The Presidential party consisted of about a dozen men, among whom were Benjamin Williams Crowninshield, Secretary of the Navy; John C. Calhoun, Secretary of War; and Congressman J. H. Bassett of New York. Probably because of his acquaintance with the members, Congressman Lemuel seems to have made himself a sort of master of ceremonies, for he led the way with Calhoun in his barouche, “and all the rest of the Company followed in their carriages and on horseback.”
Enoch and Mary Sawyer's daughter Mary seems to have already acquired much of her mother's social charm since she contributed greatly to the pleasure of the evening's entertainment. She was the center of a diverting incident when, before tea was served, she went into the garden to gather some roses for the guest of honor, and one of the young men
suddenly evinced a desire for flowers and almost captured Mary and her bouquet before she could place it in the President's hands. After refreshments she “entertained ’till bedtime, by some of her best airs on the harp, an instrument on which she excelled, accompanied by a sweet trained voice.” The next morning Monroe took his leave, appearing to have been highly gratified at his reception and afterwards “always making it a point to inquire particularly into the welfare of the family.”
Enoch Sawyer was a youngster of fifteen at the outbreak of the Revolution. If he bore arms at all in this conflict, he was with the state militia, and individual records for this branch of the military are practically non-existent. The first public attestation of any connection with martial activities is in 1781, when the returns of military supplies impressed from private citizens show 1045 pounds of sugar were requisitioned from him. Again in 1784 the Legislature approved his claim in the amount of sixty-five pounds “for cloathing for officers of the continental line.”
Coming from a family which for a century had continued to fill various public capacities, his election to the House of Commons in 1784, at the age of twenty-three, and for six more years in succession, seems almost a matter of routine. Political control was indeed in the hands of a few families and during four years of this period the senator from Camden was Sawyer's father-in-law, General Gregory. As would be expected, his voting record reflected the sentiments of the plantation aristocracy in the East, which generally opposed policies supported by the central and western sections. His vote in 1790 against advancing a loan to the newly chartered state university is a reminder that the public mind at the time had not accepted the principle of supporting educational institutions with funds from public revenue. Nevertheless, Sawyer was not a disloyal North Carolinian; in his will he left directions for his two sons to “be educated at the University of this State or at one of the colleges in the northern states.”
Other positions of a public character filled by Sawyer were: delegate to the Hillsborough and Fayetteville Conventions in 1788 and 1789, trustee of the Currituck Seminary of Learning; Collector of the Port of Camden, succeeding General Gregory in this office.
Partly as a result of the accident of birth but more largely because of his own admirable personality, this scion of the dominant family in the county was one of those fortunate individuals who pass their lives under agreeable circumstances. He augmented his considerable inheritance by his own initiative, was a merchant who apparently imported
his supplies in his own schooner, and operated a plantation and the ferry for which his father had obtained a franchise and known in modern times as Lamb's Ferry. Highly esteemed because of his exemplary habits in his private life, his charming wife and fine family of two sons and six daughters added to the prestige of his household.
For more than a century political and social life had been dominated by four families—Burgess, Gregory, Jones and Sawyer—not only on the northeast side of the river but often on the southwest side as well, before Pasquotank was separated into two counties. Of the four clans the Sawyers were the most enduring and the most powerful. There were years during the colonial period when three of the five representatives from Pasquotank in the Assembly would be Sawyers from Sawyers Creek. This tribe was the first to rise in prominence and the last to decline. The union of three of these local dynasties at the end affords a dramatic climax. Colonel Dempsey Burgess married Enoch Sawyer's sister Elizabeth, and as has already been noted, Enoch's wife was a daughter of General Gregory. Three of the leaders, Joseph Jones, Burgess and Gregory, all died in 1800 and Sawyer, in 1823. New names now appeared to take the place of those whose potency had departed. But none of the later ones have ever wielded as much influence as those political leaders of the eighteenth century, and few have equalled them in ability.
• A Unique Author and CongressmanLEMUEL SAWYER, JR.
ca 1777-1852
TWENTY-THREE-YEAR-OLD Lemuel Sawyer of Camden County was the youngest member of the House of Commons in 1800; but otherwise there was nothing unusual in the appearance of a member of his family in the legislature. Even though the journals for a dozen or more sessions of the assembly have been lost, those remaining prove Sawyers were elected for at least twenty-eight times during the previous one hundred years—all of them coming from Sawyers Creek on the northeast side of the river.
Despite his lack of age this young man already had the advantage somewhat of a cosmopolitan education and experience. At the age of sixteen he had entered the school of the renowned Dr. Peter Wilson, Flatbush Academy on Long Island, which he attended for three years. Then for a year he went to Philadelphia to be with his brother-in-law, Congressman Dempsey Burgess, and was an irregular student at the University of Pennsylvania. For the next two years he unsuccessfully attempted farming on his lands in Camden. His chief interests were in politics and literature, however, and in 1799 he studied law at the University of North Carolina as a means of advancement toward a political future.
If election to office be accepted as a criterion, his career was a successful one. He soon won local fame as an attorney and orator, and because of his family connections experienced no difficulty in being elected to the House of Commons for two terms. His ardent support of Jefferson and Republicanism (Jefferson's party) quickly gained for him state-wide recognition as one of the up-and-coming young men in the political field. As a Republican elector he voted for Jefferson and Clinton in 1804; and in the same year the legislature elected him a member of the Council of State, following a partisan speech in which he declared the election of Jefferson in 1801 “was a greater subject for joy than the capture of Cornwallis.” The reputation he had thus gained, his personal popularity and family prestige, enabled him to defeat William Murfree for a seat in Congress in 1806, and he continued to win triumphant support at the polls for seven more terms with intervals as follows: 1807-1813, 1817-1823, 1825-1829.
In Congress Sawyer was a consistent supporter of Jefferson, Madison and Monroe. He belonged to the school of political thought whose leader was Nathaniel Macon and naturally at the beginning of his career he advocated rigid economy, supported the Embargo Act, and opposed a naval establishment. One effect of the embargo, however, was to reduce the lumber trade of North Carolina to a critical condition, and in 1808 our Congressman introduced a resolution to reopen trade with the West Indies. By 1810 Sawyer, who was known as one of the North Carolina “War Hawks,” was calling for a declaration of war with England and a “bold irruption into Canada.” After the war with England he proposed a sharp increase in the navy, but he opposed the federal policy of internal improvements as unconstitutional and inexpedient. During his last period in Congress he became a Jackson Democrat. A speech made in Congress in December, 1825, attracted wide
notice because he proposed the use of a war vessel for the exploration of the polar regions of North America, declaring that “the time has come when this nation should likewise enter into this glorious career of discovery and human improvement.”
The perpetuation of Sawyer's memory will not be on account of his congressional record, which was, as a whole, undistinguished, but because of his authorship of a farce comedy published in 1824 under the title Blackbeard. He had early evinced an interest in reading and literature, a bent which became more pronounced in later years. “I was always a great reader,” he wrote. “Being of a delicate constitution, I seldom ventured out at night in search of amusement or pleasure, and was in a measure forced to supply their place with books, to occupy my mind agreeably on long winter evenings.” Not a copy of his first literary attempt, Journey to Lake Drummond, is extant; however, if the uncomplimentary comment by one who had seen it affords a reasonable criterion, the world has suffered no great loss thereby. Two other books were announced though never published. The significance of Blackbeard does not derive from its literary excellence; it would seem to be the first drama written by a native of the state and “the first with a North Carolina setting and with North Carolina characters.”
The scene is laid in Currituck for very personal reasons on the part of the author. In recent years Currituck had consistently delivered a majority vote against him—a fact not calculated to endear any locality to the heart of an aspirant for office. The time of the action in the play is 1823, and in the major plot Sawyer somewhat gleefully unfolds a scheme whereby two sharpers fleece four unsophisticated natives by promising them a large share of Blackbeard's treasure in return for a cash payment by the gullible victims. The tricksters disappear with the money, as would be expected, leaving the hapless Currituckians with a bag of sand—a plight merited by their cupidity, at least in the mind of the playwright. The minor plot concerns itself with the campaign of an honest candidate (no doubt personifying Sawyer) against an unscrupulous opponent who resorts to lies, trickery and plenty of grog. Our honest hero is helpless before such skullduggery and is defeated as a matter of course. Nevertheless, in a melodramatic climax, the wicked opponents repent their wrongdoings and promise to support for an uncontested seat in Congress the man they have unethically overcome. In the play Sawyer has depicted social and political conditions with almost brutal frankness, and as such it is a valuable contemporary document
of life in Currituck in 1823. “Thus, in the first North Carolina play, literature and history are fused.”
Several terms in Congress and the authorship of a unique and significant literary effort insure for Sawyer a place of permanent distinction in the history of Camden, but unfortunately these accomplishments are but the segments of a half-told tale which, when narrated in full, becomes a sordid account, dimming the luster of what would be otherwise a bright page indeed in the archives of this small county. Despite his attractive personality and influential family connections, extravagance, questionable conduct and general shabbiness brought him surely, albeit gradually, to wretched poverty and neglect in his declining years, leaving us to wonder how he flourished as long as he did. As an explanation of his eccentric proclivities one biographer cites the year spent, when he was nineteen, with his brother-in-law in Philadelphia, where he “developed habits of extravagance and fondness for gay society which beset him throughout life.” Whether this analysis be accepted or whether he be considered rather as a sport from the heretofore rigidly upright Sawyer stock, the facts are nothing less than shocking.
By the time he entered Congress his inheritance, consisting of a few hundred acres of land and some half dozen slaves (he claimed there were a dozen), had almost been dissipated as a result of poor management and improvident spending. In Washington he depended upon the winnings of a gambler friend, whom he staked, for the means to maintain his habits of extravagance and easy-going principles. He shamelessly admits an affair “with a woman of bad fame” in his Autobiography. Notwithstanding his transgressions, in order to give credit where credit is due, one must assume that this unorthodox individual must have possessed some solid attributes. Simply a likeable personality would hardly explain his friendly acquaintance with leaders like Henry Clay and Vice-President George Clinton.
Sawyer's literary efforts also strikingly reflect the capricious disposition of the author, marked here and there with flashes of brilliance and skill. Despite its shrewd portrayals, Blackbeard is poorly constructed and uneven in treatment. The most prominent characteristic of another play, The Wreck of Honor, is the lewdness of some of the language and scenes, which would be considered indecent even according to the liberal standards of the present century. A literary curiosity is A Biography of John Randolph of Roanoke, with a Selection from His Speeches, a volume whose purpose seems to be to berate the subject and whose content was characterized by the Southern Literary Messenger as
a “false, scandalous and malicious libel.” His most famous work is his Autobiography, a somewhat repelling mixture of shameless revelations of his misdeeds, whining complaints of his condition, and pointless quotations from speeches which lack interest. There is some question as to his authorship of a two-volume novel, Printz Hall. His last literary effort was a short article which discusses in a sprightly manner the growing of scuppernongs along the Albemarle and pleads for a scientific study of this grape looking toward the development of a wine industry in this region.
His marital relations afford still other unsavory aspects of his character. In 1810 he married Sarah Snowden, daughter of a substantial planter in Camden County. Their children all died in infancy. At the time of pregnancy and last illness of his wife he was in Norfolk carousing around and did not learn of her death until after the burial. Although he condemns his inexcusable conduct in his Autobiography and sorrowfully bewails his loss, the real cause for his grief, it is evident, was that the death of his wife and heir deprived him of any chance to a share in the Snowden property. At the age of forty-three he married sixteen-year-old Camilla Wertz of Washington, after a three-day courtship. Their children also died in infancy and after five years death came to Camilla, the object, if not the victim, of neglect. At the age of fifty he married a wealthy widow who was his senior in years, Mrs. Diana Rapalye Fisher of Brooklyn, and there followed a time when Sawyer was better off financially than he had ever been before. “I had my horses and servant,” he declared, “. . . in hunting by day and the amusement of cards or other social pleasures at night.” This fortune also was gradually dissipated by the profligate hand which was without restraint.
Although not much is known of his latter years in Brooklyn, in all likelihood they were increasingly wretched to one who in turn had become the pathetic object of neglect and victim of poverty. When he was seventy-three, he obtained a minor clerkship in Washington. The National Intelligencer of Washington carried the following brief notice on January 12, 1852: “Died in Washington, D. C. at residence of G. R. Adams on 11th St. near F, Hon. Lemuel Sawyer for nearly 20 years Congressman from N. C. Died of heart condition.” His remains were brought to Camden and placed in an unmarked grave in the family plot at Lamb's Ferry.
Somewhat to our embarrassment in Camden, the course of events in Lemuel Sawyer's life bears an unhappy parallel to the history of this county. Born in 1777, the year Camden was formed, in his youth he
knew and was a part of a proud period when the county was a prosperous and vigorous community and its leaders were men whose influence was felt even beyond the confines of the state. After 1800 a gradual but presistent decline became evident in the economic life of the county, a condition, incidentally, which was felt throughout North Carolina, following the panic of 1819. But even after 1820 the prestige of the locality was still such as to attract young men of the caliber of Alfred Gatlin and William B. Shepard, both of whom were to become members of Congress. The processes of deterioration were at work, however, and not only did these men leave in search of places where prospects were more inviting, but for the same reason a gradual migration of many of the old families was set in motion. One by one the Canadys, Guilfords, Chamberlains and Harneys, for example—as well as some members of the Lamb, Burgess, Gregory and Sawyer clans—went elsewhere. Although a few stopped as nearby as Elizabeth City, the trek of the majority extended to Indiana, Tennessee, Alabama, Texas and elsewhere, as the local population continued to dwindle. While there were now and then exceptional performances by individuals, on the whole the tone of community life consistently subsided to lower levels.
As elsewhere in the South at the close of the War Between the States, the county was left prostrate. While in other locations men proceeded to build anew on dead foundations, this northest side remained in a quagmire of ignorance and poverty. The schools deteriorated until they were ineffective; the courthouse became a center of petty corruption. For a considerable period our local public offices, including that of county superintendent, were sold for a price. From a once prosperous political unit Camden had become a pauper.
It is therefore a matter for much gratification to be able to report that in recent years there has been healthy resurgence in civic life. Even Lemuel Sawyer may have become an augur of the return of better days. Commemorating the hundredth anniversary of his death, in 1952 the State Department of Archives and History sponsored a reprint of his most significant work, Blackbeard. As an introduction to this commemorative publication, Mr. Richard Walser of the English Department of State College has written a careful and scholarly account of the man and his achievements, factually recording his shortcomings but prophesying Sawyer's permanence in the literary history of North Carolina. And, as will be revealed in another sketch, conduct in public office in the county has ceased to be a source of embarrassment. Through assistance from State funds, a modern school system has been initiated;
population has ceased to decline and is increasing at a healthy rate. And just as Sawyer's memory has reasserted itself, the glow of a healthier community life gives some promise of return to a condition of former times when the county was economically sufficient and its citizens knew no inferiority complex.
• Two Congressmen Who Were Temporary ResidentsCamden County has been the residence of four members of the House of Representatives of the Congress of the United States. Two of those men, Dempsey Burgess and Lemuel Sawyer, were natives; the other two, Alfred Moore Gatlin and William Biddle Shepard, were born elsewhere in the state and made their homes here for a few years only. Those two have a further significance in the story of the northeast side, for their sojourn here may be said to mark the close of the greatest period of Camden's history. They came here no doubt because of the prestige of the locality, commercially, politically and socially. Plank Bridge was considered a more satisfactory maritime port than Elizabeth City; hence the port of entry was at Camden. For one who harbored political ambitions the neighborhood seemed a favorable one. Two congressmen had already been elected from Camden in recent years. Only Edenton could vie in social prestige with the wealthy planters along Arenuse and Sawyers Creeks. And the newly constructed Dismal Swamp Canal provided additional economic possibilities in the South Mills area.
ALFRED MOORE GATLIN1790-?
THE KNOWN FACTS concerning Gatlin are meager. He was born at Edenton, pursued classical studies in New Bern and was graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1808. He seems to have had scholarly inclinations since he received a Master of Arts Degree from the same institution in 1812. What he did in the meantime does not appear, but he was admitted to the bar in 1823, came to Camden to practice law in the same year and at the same time was elected to the Eighteenth Congress, having defeated Lemuel Sawyer, a native and a resident of
Gatlin's newly adopted home. It could be that this experience is the basis for the minor plot in Sawyer's play Blackbeard, which was published in 1824 and describes the defeat of an honest candidate (Sawyer) by an unscrupulous opposition. Gatlin was unsuccessful in his bid for reelection to the Nineteenth Congress and was defeated in turn by Sawyer, who managed to stage a successful comeback.
Within a few years after coming to Camden, Gatlin had acquired something over 400 acres, mainly from the Earle Plantation and the estates of Enoch Sawyer and William Pugh. The dwelling which he erected is a pleasing reminder of his residence in the county; it is of excellent architectural proportions and is still in a good state of preservation. The records are blank as to his other activities. In 1835 he sold his entire real estate to Meriam Grandy, one of Camden's outstanding business women, and, according to the Congressional Directory, “removed to the territory of Florida.” From this point on no further records of his life seem to be available.
WILLIAM BIDDLE SHEPARD1799-1852
WILLIAM BIDDLE SHEPARD was born in New Bern, attended the University at Chapel Hill in 1813, and was later graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. His mother's former home was in Edenton, and there he was living when he moved to Camden County to practice law. Having arrived in 1824, he purchased the 600-acre plantation “Fairfield,” the home of the late Brigadier General Isaac Gregory, and here he seems to have resided until after 1830 when he removed to Elizabeth City. His practice must have been highly successful for, according to a sketch in Ashe's Biographical History, he amassed a fortune in Camden.
There is a noticeable parallel between the careers of Gatlin and Shepard in the county. Both came from Edenton, Shepard a year later than Gatlin. Both seem to have been quite successful in their professions. And finally, in 1828, like Gatlin, Shepard defeated the Camden man, Lemuel Sawyer, for a seat in Congress. He seems to have become a resident of Elizabeth City at the time of his first marriage, which was in 1834. Following his first election, he was a successful candidate as a National Republican for a seat in the three succeeding Congresses, but since he had by then become a citizen of Pasquotank, the remainder of his story belongs to that county. He is remembered as one of the distinguished persons who have lived in this area.
• A Planter of the Ante Bellum Period
CORNELIUS GRAY LAMB
ca 1805-ca 1886
“ONCE UPON A TIME” would seem to be an appropriate phrase with which to begin the story of a man whose life typifies in many respects the story-book planters as often depicted in idealistic tales of the ante bellum period. And one almost automatically adds “long ago” to the tale because so completely have social and economic conditions changed from Cornelius Gray Lamb's time that he seems to have lived in some remote period, although only a century has elapsed between him and the present generation.
The contrast between the past and the present is dramatic whether viewed from either the state or county level. Lamb was clerk of the court for Camden from 1830 to 1840. This decade saw the founding of four colleges, Guilford, Davidson, Trinity (Duke University), and Wake Forest. In the last named year construction of the first railroad to Raleigh—the Raleigh and Gaston—was completed. Governor John M. Morehead urged a system of railways in order to make North Carolina independent economically of Virginia and South Carolina. Lamb represented Camden in the lower house during the session of 1842. During this term the General Assembly refused to support Governor Morehead's recommendation that a state school for the deaf and the blind be established, but did an about face and approved the same proposal in 1844.
The years from 1836 to 1850 marked one of the most progressive eras in the history of the state in advanced legislation and reform measures. For the first time the problem of illiteracy was dealt with as a public problem, and the need was great. An observing traveller of the period stated that more than one-fourth of the native white adults could not read or write. The first public school in North Carolina (school supported by public funds) was opened in Rockingham County on January 20, 1840. Other counties followed and one or more of the ‘free schools,” as they were called, had been opened in all of the counties by 1846. It is to be regretted that present records in Camden do not show
the location of the county's first public institution of learning. As yet, democracy as we know and understand it had not yet arrived. Franchise was still restricted by a requirement of property ownership.
Other conditions in the county were far different from what we know them today, particularly in agriculture and commerce. Trade with the West Indies, Barbadoes, and occasionally with countries in Central and South America, was still important business although the volume was dwindling. Many local young men still found lucrative jobs on the enterprising sailing vessels which carried our products to foreign ports and returned with articles in demand here. Our chief crop was corn followed by wheat. Tobacco was no longer a leading money crop, although most households still grew a small amount of the weed for home consumption. Flax and cotton were cultivated in the immediate locality but not on a large scale. Many years were to elapse before Irish potatoes and soy beans were to become of commercial importance, and cabbages and snap beans were items in the home garden only. Sailboats still made their way for a considerable distance up the several creeks—Raymond's, Arenuse, Sawyers and Joy's—in order to take on cargoes of corn for foreign ports.
A visitor in 1861 wrote that there were four navigable streams between Elizabeth City and Currituck courthouse, three of which, including the Pasquotank River, had drawbridges for passage of vessels. Besides the drawbridge across the Pasquotank, one seems to have been across Sawyers Creek, one over a branch of Arenuse Creek, and the other where the causeway led across Indiantown Creek into Currituck.
Another happening which took place in the county during Lamb's tenure as clerk of the court was the adoption of a new place-name and the abandonment of an old one. In the Official Register of the United States, South Mills is listed for the first time as a post office in 1839, replacing the former designation of New Lebanon, a name by which the area had long been known. Below the old locks on the Dismal Swamp Canal, according to tradition, two watermills were erected by David Pritchard. These mills came to be termed the “south mills” in order to distinguish them from others in the vicinity; hence the name. Around these enterprises there grew up a flourishing settlement which is still the largest village in the county. Expansion continued as a result of the volume of water-borne traffic on the canal, and in time South Mills was incorporated and functioned for years as a municipality. The franchise has been annulled in recent times. And in the southern half of the county another community—Shiloh—was also incorporated in the
latter part of the past century. This franchise has also been discontinued. Although Camden has had two towns therefore, it now has none.
Lamb was a scholarly gentleman whose home seems to have been the gathering place for the literate in this part of the world. Well educated, he was quite probably an alumnus of William and Mary College. His only son, Cornelius Gray, Jr., was a graduate of the University of North Carolina. The father's home was a gathering place for planters and merchants of the leisure class who entertained themselves with lengthy discussions of current political and literary happenings. One of the house guests in 1848 was the young novelist, Calvin Henderson Wiley, whose recent novel, Alamance, had been received quite favorably by the public. In 1852, it will be recalled, the office of “superintendent of common schools” was created, and Wiley was the first to fill the position.
Cornelius Lamb was well-born and he inherited a substantial estate. His inheritance was increased by shrewd and careful management. At the outbreak of the Civil War he owned thirty-nine slaves, an unusually large number for this county. The census of the same period records the valuation of his property at $70,000, a comfortable fortune at that time. He lived to be upwards of fourscore years.
• Gone But Not ForgottenSUSAN (“SUSIE”) FLORA
1809-1881
THE YEAR 1956 MARKS THE SEVENTY-FIFTH anniversary of the death of a sprightly lady whose memory still lingers in the southern half of the county, somewhat reminiscent of a fragrance in an old garden. For a half century after her death, according to older inhabitants, she was referred to in local conversations almost as frequently as if she had been living. Oddly enough, the reasons therefor are not easily explained. She was not conspicuous because of any unusual personal characteristics nor was she credited with the performance of any remarkable feat, yet she does not appear at a disadvantage when compared with those Camden women who are remembered because of outstanding qualifications.
Her antecedents were respectable enough but she could not boast the patrician lineage of, for instance, Sarah Hawkins; nor would one attribute to her the social graces of Enoch Sawyer's wife, the former Mary Gregory; nevertheless she appears to have met the demands of every social occasion with dignity and intelligence. If she did not seem to assert herself in business affairs with the aggressiveness of Amy Burfoot or Meriam Grandy, the fact is she supervised in a competent manner an estate larger than the average in the county. In brief, she managed to be an integral part of the community in which she lived to such a degree that any picture would be incomplete unless she was included.
She was born Susan Gallop and had both Camden and Currituck forebears. Her maternal grandmother, Lydia Wright, was the daughter of a well-to-do Camden planter who owned 1200 acres of land and eighteen slaves. After the death of her first husband, Robert Burfoot, Jr., she married John Poyner of the Currituck family. One of the five children born to this union was a daughter Elizabeth who became the wife of John Gallop. This couple had three daughters, one of whom, the subject of this sketch, was officially named Susan but was generally referred to by one and all as “Susie.”
She remained entirely in obscurity until after the death of her first husband, John W. Torksey. Her first act as a widow was to begin a family burial plot in the lawn of their dwelling place, a practice quite commonly observed in these parts since earliest times. One of the laws enacted in the colonial era required every planter to “set apart a Burial Place & fence the same for the interring of all such Christian Persons whether Bond or Free that shall die on Their (his) plantations.” And it was prohibited to bury anybody until “at least Three or Four of the Neighbors” had viewed the corpse. The interment in this instance was somewhat unusual. The body was placed in a metallic casket and final rites were postponed for a week or until a wooden mausoleum could be erected. Therein was built a brick platform large enough for two caskets, and thereon Torksey's coffin was enclosed in bricks.
The apparent absence of any will was also an interesting development inasmuch as the deceased had been a prudent and successful business man. To the lands inherited from his father had been added tracts purchased from the following: Joseph Bell, Perkins, Phillips’ heirs, Berry heirs, William Jones, Samuel Mercer, Gideon Hughes, and Garrett. He had also acquired the Porter Farm on which he erected a spacious residence, but having discovered a flaw in the title to this property, he hurriedly moved the dwelling from the Wickham Road
to a plantation on the Shiloh Road where, incidentally, it still remains. His inheritance of five slaves had been increased to twenty-five. Since there were no children, settlement of the estate was naturally referred to the jurisdiction of the courts in order to comply with the prescribed laws in such cases. Accordingly, a day was appointed for the public auction of all properties, both real and personal, in order to make an equitable division among the heirs at law and to establish the widow's dowry. As a sideboard was being moved to the auctioneer's stand, a document which proved to be the missing last testament was discovered. The contents were brief and to the point; all possessions of any nature were bequeathed in fee simple to the widow. There was some sly whispering as to the convenient manner of finding the written instrument; but since the testators were two highly reputable citizens, Seth B. Forbes and Lemuel Morrisett, the validity of the bequest was confirmed without difficulty. Consequently, Susan Torksey found herself at the age of forty-five to be the wealthiest woman in the county, and indeed one of the most affluent individuals locally because we have had but few citizens of considerable wealth at any time.
That there were suitors for the hand of this well-to-do matron will hardly be a surprising bit of information; the unlooked for development will probably be the successful wooer—he was a widower with four children and he was fourteen years her junior. Now Andrew Flora was a member of a highly respected Currituck family; the objections of Susie's family stemmed from financial reverses he had recently experienced. Her sister Elizabeth (Mrs. Major Williams) paid a visit to express disapproval of the impending match. “Sister Susie,” she remonstrated with the air of one who delivers a weighty argument, “surely you know that Andrew Flora has lost all his property.” The enamored lady, however, waved aside the objection as of no consequence and replied with all the emotion of starry-eyed youth, “Ah, sister Elizabeth, to me he is as rich as cream.”
The marriage gave to Susan Flora the name she was to bear during the remaining twenty-five years of her life and by which posterity has held her in memory. The brief duration of this union was no doubt a factor in the development of the personality which was to impress itself upon the community, for thereafter this energetic woman managed her affairs in her own inimitable fashion. Andrew Flora died in 1861, leaving his four children, Jerome, Virginia, Georgianna and John to the care of their stepmother—a responsibility which she accepted with characteristic whole-heartedness. It is not unusual for a
Flora descendant to refer to her as “Grandmother Flora” as if she were indeed a blood relative—a significant tribute.
Many incidents are related indicating a generous and a sympathetic nature. Although the Civil War had dissipated much of her wealth through loss of slaves and other misfortunes, her bequests to the Flora children, it is recalled, were as liberal as to her own kin. The story of the mulatto slave, however, is one of the most repeated. The little girl, whose mother seems to have been a house servant, had been allowed considerable liberties, for instance, addressing Mrs. Flora as “Ma” as was the custom of the Flora offspring. On one occasion when the mistress was returning from a visit and bringing with her some guests whom the slaves considered as “quality,” the mother of the child took this opportunity to explain to her her social status and that it would be no longer proper to use the same salutation as, say, Virginia Flora. The little slave was greatly distressed by the information. First of all she tried to change her appearance by trying to lighten her complexion with vigorous applications of soap and water. When this effort achieved no results, she became heartbroken and refused to be comforted even after Mrs. Flora returned and gave permission for the slave to continue to address her as “Ma.” Finally, in an effort to convince the disconsolate lass that nothing had destroyed the old bond of affection between them, the mistress had the little slave to share her own great bed that night.
The loss of slaves as a result of the War Between the States necessitated considerable adjustments—both by the landowners and by the former slaves. Making the transition was much easier for the younger portion of the population, of course. Many of the older slaves were somewhat dismayed at the prospect of making their way alone; and in truth the older generation, both master and slave, were inclined to cling to each other, resulting at times in situations both humorous and pathetic. There were, for example, the aging former slave-owner, John J. Forbes, and his elderly former slave Miles, who were next door neighbors to Susan Flora. Forbes employed Miles to feed the hogs. This chore suited Miles all right, but in his newly found world of freedom he at times felt that he should receive more money. With this thought in mind he would on occasion inform Forbes that he was unwilling to feed the hogs any longer unless he was given a half interest in all the porkers. Forbes would then become very indignant, discharge Miles and order him from the premises. Whereupon the erstwhile slave would depart in high dudgeon and with an air of finality. He always remained away for one night but he always
returned the next morning in time to feed the pigs. Had he continued to remain away, his former master would have been distressed.
After the Civil War Susan Flora decided upon a system of individual tenants for the various tracts of land still in her possession. As her own manager she proved herself to be a practical business person and a shrewd judge of human nature, as negotiations with her tenants reveal. To apprehend the situation in its true perspective, one should understand that in this county there is not, generally speaking, a distinct class of tenants as may be found in some other parts of the state—which is another way of saying that the inhabitants are for all practical purposes on the same social level. The tendency in Camden in former years was always toward small farms; and today's tenant sometimes became tomorrow's landlord and vice versa.
At the end of the year when crop settlements were made, landlady Flora would now and then invite a tenant to have a dram in friendly celebration of the close of the harvest season. A popular drink of the period was a palatable—and potent—concoction consisting of a large proportion of brandy with a small ratio of honey, the latter being added, it seems, as a modifier. By the time a second cup of toddy had been consumed, the tenant was most likely in a mood to consider this the best of all possible worlds and his landlady a most delightful person with whom to be associated. While he was in this mellow frame of mind, terms for the next year's farming were often agreed upon and, as might be suspected, they would not be unfavorable to the aforesaid genial lady.
Apparently there was no dimunition of her faculties with advancing age. Energetic and hearty until the end, this friendly woman was a familiar figure to everyone in South Camden as she journeyed in her rockaway through the countryside on visits and business errands. Death came to her suddenly one morning on the staircase of the house which John Torksey had erected for her in their young days, and she was interred in a brick vault beside him. It seems fitting that no other persons are buried in this cemetery on the lawn other than Andrew Flora, his daughter Georgianna and her infant. The daughter married Jonathan Brockett and died at the birth of her first child.
• Confederate Officer and Political LeaderCOLONEL DENNIS DOZIER FEREBEE
1815-1884
CAMDEN IS INDEBTED to Currituck for the many excellent citizens who from early colonial days have migrated from that county to reside within these borders, the most outstanding being William Reed, Gideon Lamb, Peter Dauge and certain members of the Ferebee family. The contributions of this latter clan have been valuable and varied, but none have been more significant than the achievements of two half-brothers whose careers date from the first part of the nineteenth century. In 1834 one of the co-founders of Wesley's Methodist Church at Old Trap in the southern part of Camden was the Reverend Samuel Ferebee who, along with two other Currituckians, Bannister Jarvis and Nathan Poyner, was named as one of the charter trustees and continued as pastor to minister to the spiritual needs of the congregation for several years, though he retained his residence in Currituck. Mention should also be made of his remarkable matrimonial ability, it seems, since he succeeded in this accomplishment five times. In 1843 the Reverend Samuel's younger half-brother Dennis, having married Sarah McPherson of the South Mills area, came to make his permanent residence there and went on to become the most distinguished citizen in the county during the next fifty years, and a leader in both local and state politics.
There was nothing singular in the aptitude manifested by Ferebee for public life when one considers his lineage. His paternal grandfather, William Ferebee, had represented Currituck in the Provincial Assemblies and his father, Samuel Ferebee, was a man of considerable local prestige. His mother was a descendant of the very able French Huguenot immigrant, Peter Dauge (later changed to Dozier). The union with the Dauges gave rise to one of those intimate family situations which impart individuality to household traditions. The father first married Sarah Dauge who had red hair, as did her six children, including the preacher Samuel already referred to. The second wife was Sarah's sister Peggy. She had black hair and likewise her three daughters and five sons, the youngest of whom was the fourteenth child of his father and the subject of this sketch.
Dennis Dozier Ferebee received an excellent education and prepared himself for the law profession. Following his graduation from the
University of North Carolina in 1839, he pursued his legal studies with the eminent Judge William Gaston of New Bern. Practice in his chosen vocation was of brief duration, however, for shortly after his marriage he abandoned his calling in order to devote his full time to farming interests. In taking this action he was no doubt yielding to a natural inclination, but the decision was in all likelihood facilitated by his wife's inheritance. She was a daughter of the wealthy planter, Willie McPherson, and had come into possession of a substantial share of the vast estate of her deceased father.
Changing his occupation did not affect Ferebee's natural bent for participation in public affairs. Three years after coming to South Mills (1846) he was elected to the House of Commons, repeating this performance in ’48, ’56, ’58 and ’60.
He became a conspicuous member of the State Convention held in November of 1860 when violent debate was had as to whether the state should secede or remain in the union. In this assemblage there were, in a manner of speaking, three schools of thinking. One group opposed separation from the United States as unconstitutional. Ferebee spearheaded this point of view and introduced a motion which stated that the Constitution of the United States “is not a league or confederacy, but a government founded on the adoption of the people,” and “no state authority has power to dissolve these relations.” A directly opposite opinion was expressed by another faction who proclaimed the right of the state to secede and advocated immediate action. The resolution to which most of the delegates subscribed, and which was adopted, affirmed the right to withdraw from the Union but declared circumstances at the time did not warrant such a drastic step.
As is well known, public sentiment in North Carolina shifted rapidly after the fall of Fort Sumter and the subsequent call by President Abraham Lincoln upon Governor John W. Ellis for troops, and Ferebee, like the majority of his fellow citizens, wholeheartedly cast his lot with the Confederacy and entered the Southern army. While the records are somewhat confusing as to his initial service, he appears to have been in charge of the First North Carolina Brigade. After the fall of Roanoke Island in February of 1862, the adjoining sounds and rivers were soon completely under the control of Federal forces. On the night of the following April 17 some two thousand troops landed at Chantilly in Camden County and proceeded northward for the purpose of destroying the locks at South Mills. An approximately equal number of Confederate soldiers, under the command of Col.
A. R. Wright, halted the invaders on April 19 at a point about two miles south of the village, and prevented them from reaching the locks in an engagement known locally as the Battle of Sawyers Lane. A Southern report describes the Confederate forces as consisting of Colonel Wright's First Georgia Brigade, a part of Ferebee's First Brigade, and others hastily assembled.
After a spirited encounter both sides withdrew, each claiming to be the victor. Though the affair, therefore, may be termed a stalemate technically, morally the advantage lay with the Confederates inasmuch as the enemy was restrained from reaching the locks, the original objective, despite the plausible explanation offered by the Federal commander, General J. L. Reno. Indeed the battle was regarded somewhat casually by the Southerners, but to the Union command, for reasons not entirely clear, it was an affair of major importance. The Federal regiments “participating in the engagement near South Mills” were authorized “as a tribute to their valor” to inscribe upon their respective colors, “Camden, April 19.” On May 8, 1862, The New York Times carried as front page news a drawing of the plan of the “Battle of Camden,” a war correspondent's account and General Reno's report.
The sketch on page 150 is a reproduction, slightly reduced, of the diagram appearing in The Times, and the two accompanying articles in that newspaper are quoted verbatim.
THE BATTLE OF CAMDENOur army correspondent in North Carolina is indebted to Prof. MAILLEFERT and Capt. HAYDEN, Submarine Engineer Corps, for the accompanying draft of the battle-field of Camden, or South Mills, fought on the 19th of April. These gentlemen accompanied the expedition, and were all the time present on the field.
The accompanying sketch covers the ground on which the battle of Camden, or South Mills, was fought by Gen. RENO on the 19th of April.
This first intimation of the presence of the enemy was the burning building and brushwood, marked No. 1. The troops were emerging from the thicket in the rear. They marched in the following order, headed by Col. HOWARD, of the Marine Artillery: Two companies of the Fifty-first Pennsylvania followed, and Gen RENO and Staff were next. Four army wagons, with a boat-howitzer each in tow, occupied the centre of the road, the balance of the Fifty-first Pennsylvania following them. The Twenty-first Massachusetts, HAWKINS’ Zouaves, Eighty-ninth New York and Sixth New-Hampshire Regiments, came in the order named, completing the column. A cannon-ball, marked 2, was the next salutation from the enemy, which was followed by
THE BATTLE OF CAMDEN.
Plan of the Battle-Field—Analysis of the Various Movements—The Final Encounter and Defeat of the Rebels.
fire from a light field-piece in the centre of the road, 200 yards in front. The firing continued from all four of the enemy's guns. Gen. RENO then ordered the troops to file to the right into the pine woods, marked 3. Meanwhile our four howitzers were put to work upon the enemy. They occupied a position in advance of the wagons. Their effect could not be ascertained owing to the dense smoke. The next position of the regiments as they were flanking the enemy, is indicated on the right in the edge of the woods, also the second position of the enemy's guns, marked 4; also, the rifle-pits from which they annoyed our troops, marched 5. The line of Col. HAWKINS’ charge, which was made within half an hour after the first firing commenced, is described at No. 6, on a plowed, mellow field. They were met by three very heavy discharges of grape from the enemy's battery at No. 4, and retired a short distance and re-formed. While this was going on, the Sixth New-Hampshire (No. 7) came up on the left and formed in a semicircle. They delivered a terrific volley, which sent the enemy on a howling retreat, and ended the fight. The great exhaustion of the troops prevented them from pursuing the enemy. A terrific thunderstorm coming on at the moment, also rendered the roads almost impassable, and our troops retired, under the cover of night, to Elizabeth City. Next morning some stragglers from our ranks counted 39 dead rebels in the woods. Our actual loss on the field was only seven killed, and about sixty wounded. While our troops were lying on the ground exhausted, in the woods, the enemy shelled them fearfully.
Gen. RENO's official report, which is subjoined, will supply all the additional facts of the engagement.
GEN. RENO'S REPORTHEADQUARTERS SECOND DIVISION,
NAWBERN, N. C., April 22, 1862.
Capt. Lewis Richmond, Assistant Adjutant-General:
CAPTAIN: I have the honor to report that, in obedience to the order of Major-Gen. BURNSIDE. I proceeded from Newbern with the Twenty-first Massachusetts and Fifty-first Pennsylvania Regiments to Roanoke, and was there joined by part of the Ninth and Eighty-ninth New-York and Sixth New-Hampshire. We proceeded directly to Elizabeth City and commenced disembarking on the 19th inst., at midnight, at a point about three miles below, on the east side. By 3 P.M. Col HAWKINS’ Brigade, consisting of the Ninth and Eighty-ninth New-York and Sixth New-Hampshire, were landed and ready to move. I ordered Col. HAWKINS to proceed at once with his brigade toward South Mills, for the purpose of making a demonstration on Norfolk. I remained to bring up the other two regiments, they having been delayed by their vessels getting aground at the mouth of the river. They came up at daylight, and were landed by 7 A.M. I proceeded directly toward South Mills, and about twelve miles out met Col. HAWKINS’ Brigade,
who, it seems, lost his way, either by the treachery or incompetency of his guide, he having marched some few miles out of his way. As his men were very much jaded by the long march, I ordered them to follow the Second Brigade, proceeding about four miles further to within a mile and a half of South Mills. The rebels opened upon us with artillery, before my advanced guard discovered them. I immediately reconnoitered their position, and found that they were posted in an advantageous position, in a line perpendicular to the road, their infantry in ditches and their artillery commanding all the direct approaches, and their rear protected by a dense forest. I ordered the Fifth-first Pennsylvania immediately to file to the right, and pass over to the edge of the woods, to turn their left. I also ordered the Twenty-first Massachusetts to pursue the same course; and when Col. HAWKINS came up with his brigade, I sent him with the Ninth and Eightyninth New-York to their support. The Sixth New-Hampshire were formed in line to the left of the road, and ordered to support our four pieces of artillery. Owing to the excessive fatigue of the men, they could not reach their position for some time. In the meantime, the enemy kept up a brisk artillery fire which was gallantly responded to by our small pieces under charge of Col. HOWARD, of the Coast Guard, who, during the entire engagement, displayed most conspicuous gallantry, and rendered very efficient service both during the action and upon the return—he bringing up the rear. As soon as the Fifty-first Pennsylvania and Twenty-first Massachusetts had succeeded in turning their left, they opened a brisk musketry fire, and, about the same time, the Ninth New-York, also coming in range, and being too eager to engage, unfortunately charged upon the enemy's artillery. It was a most gallant charge, but they were exposed to a most deady fire of grape and musketry, and were forced to retire, but rallied immedately upon the Eightyninth New-York. I then ordered both regiments to form a junction with the Twenty-first Massachusetts. In the meantime the Fifty-first Pennsylvania and Twenty-first Massachusetts kept up an incessant first upon the rebels, who now had withdrawn their artillery and had commenced to retreat in good order. The Sixth New-Hampshire had steadily advanced in line to the left of the road, and when within about 200 yards poured in a most deadly volley, which completely demoralized the enemy and ended the battle. Our men were so completely fagged out by the intense heat and their long march that we could not pursue them.
The men rested under arms in line of battle, until about 10 o'clock P.M., when I ordered a return to our boats, having accomplished the principal object of the expedition, conveying the idea that the entire Burnside Expedition was marching upon Norfolk. Owing to a want of transportation, I was compelled to leave some sixteen of our most severely wounded men. Assistant Surgeon WARREN was left with the men. I sent a flag of truce the next day to ask that they might be returned to us. Commander ROWAN kindly voluteered to attend to it. We took only a few prisoners, some ten
or fifteen. Most of them belonged to the Third Georgia Regiment. The Ninth Ne-York suffered most severely, owing to their Premature charge. Our total loss in killed and wounded being about 90, some 60 belonging to that regiment. The officers and men of the several regiments all behaved with their usual gallantry, and many are worthy of particular attention, and I presume the brigade and regimental commanders will do justice to their respective commands. I will forward their reports as soon as received.
The return march was made in perfect order, and few if any stragglers were left behind. Considering that during the advance the weather was intensely hot, and that on the return a severe rain rendered the roads very muddy, and that a portion of the command had to march 45 miles, and the other 35, and fight a battle in the meantime, and that all this was accomplished in less than 24 hours. I think that the Commanding-General has every reason to be satisfied with his command. I desire to return my thanks to to Commander ROWAN, and the officers and men under him, for their untiring energy in disembarking and relëmbarking my command; and, also, to Lieut. FLUSER for the gallant manner in which he assisted us, by proceeding up the river, and driving the enemy out of the woods along the banks. Col. HAWKINS, commanding the first brigade, and Lieut.-Col. BELL commanding the second, displayed conspicuous courage, as did also the regimental commanders. Lieut.-Col. CLARK commanded the Twenty-first Massachusetts, Maj. SCHALL the Fifty-first Pennsylvania, Lieut.-Col. KIMBALL the Ninth New-York, and Lieut.-Col. GRIFFIN the Sixth New-Hampshire. Capt. FEARING, the Aid-de-Camp of Gen. BURNSIDE, accompanied me as a volunteer Aid, and rendered efficient and gallant service; also Capt. RITCHIE, A. C. S., and Lieuts. GORDON and BREED of the Signal Corps. My own aids, Lieuts. RENO and MORRIS, behaved with their usual gallantry. As soon as the brigade and regimental reports are furnished, I will forward them together with a complete list of the killed and wounded. The enemy's loss was considerable, but they succeeded in carrying off most of their wounded. Several however, were left on the field, one of whom was a Captain of the Third Georgia Regiment. The color bearer of the Third Georgia Regiment was shot down by the Twenty-first Massachusetts while waving defiantly his traitorous flag. The enemy had from six to ten pieces of artillery, and from 1,800 to 2000 men. We approached to within thirty miles of Norfolk, and undoubtedly the defeat of one of their best regiments (the Third Georgia) produced considerable panic at Norfolk.
I have the honor to be very respectfully,
J. L. RENO,
Brigadier-General Commanding Second Division.
But Ferebee is chiefly remembered as the first commander of the Fifth-Ninth Regiment of N. C. troops (Fourth Cavalry), which was organized at Garysburg in the summer of 1862 and which participated in
bloody engagements all the way from his home state to Gettysburg in Pennsylvania.
Many instances of his active participation are noted in Confederate records of the civil conflict. The Fifty-Ninth Cavalry had a part in several skirmishes between Suffolk and Blackwater from September to November in 1862, and later at Whitehall, Ferebee dismounted his command and engaged the enemy. In 1863, at Jack's Shop in Madison County near Liberty Mills, in the words of an official report: “Colonel Ferebee, with a part of his command and a miscellaneous crowd from every command, had charged and cut the Yankee line.” A dramatic example of his prowess has been preserved in an account by an eyewitness of an episode during the retreat from Gettysburg. The narration reads: “During the fight I noticed a Conferedate officer engaged in a hand to hand fight with a Federal soldier. I saw the officer rise in his saddle and fell with one tremendous blow the soldier who fell from his horse with his skull split. I asked who the officer was and was told it was Colonel Ferebee.” Ferebee here received only a slight scratch but on two other occasions was more seriously wounded.
A tribute to the Fifty-ninth Cavalry appeared in a Petersburg newspaper June 16, 1864, when the Southern cause was becoming increasingly desperate. As the result of an encounter at the reservoir Colonel Ferebee's regiment was given credit for driving back a Federal advance which had almost reached the town limits, or, in the words of the journal: “. . . one hundred yards more and the spoiler would have had the City of Petersburg at his feet to desecrate and spoil . . . and they (Ferebee's regiment) deserve our hearty thanks.”
A general report on military situations in February of 1865 stated that some of the commands had lost effectiveness for lack of field officers—“especially the Fifty-Ninth. Its gallant Colonel Ferebee, suffering from wounds and growing old, has retired.” Notwithstanding his condition he seems to have assumed other responsibilities at some time in the spring inasmuch as after Sherman's army had occupied Raleigh, Ferebee was issued a special permit, as a member of Governor Vance's staff, “to pass to and fro from Raleigh.”
The Camden officer became an active state figure in the tense period following the collapse of the Confederacy. He was elected to the famous State Convention of 1865, of whose membership Dr. J. G. de Roulhac Hamilton, in his excellent study, Reconstruction in North Carolina, names eight men, one of whom was D. D. Ferebee, and adds “all took a prominent part in the debates and were the leaders of the convention.”
The Camden man opposed the resolution repealing the Ordinance of Seccession as introduced by Jones of Rowan County, and unsuccessfully introduced a substitute motion which he felt would accomplish the same purpose but in terms less humiliating. It seems therefore worthy of note that when the ordinance of repeal was submitted to the voters, Camden was one of the nine counties which showed a majority against the proposal.
In the General Assembly which followed the convention, Ferebee was defeated by Thomas Settle for speaker of the senate. Governor Jonathan Worth had favored Settle for the politically expedient purpose of gaining support from the western counties and not from lack of esteem for the eastern man's abilities. The Governor proceeded to appoint Ferebee, W. A. Graham, and Judge Battle as a committee to inquire in the precarious circumstances of the State University which had “survived the war as a mere shadow of the robust institution of the previous decade.” The committee submitted a lengthy report “involving the life or death of the institution.” There efforts were fruitless, it may be added, for with the passing of state political control to carpetbaggers, Negroes and “renegade whites,” public support was withheld and the doors of the University were closed from 1870 to 1875.
One of the duties devolving upon Ferebee in 1866 was not without humorous aspects. There were several Union sympathizers in the southern part of the county and in May of 1866 forty-four of them addressed a petition from “North River” to President Andrew Johnson, appealing for protection against persecution by their fellow citizens because of their Federal sympathies. President Johnson referred the communication for investigation and report to Governor Worth, who appointed Colonel Ferebee and Judge George W. Brooks a committee to ascertain the facts. These gentlemen found that only two of the petitioners had ever suffered any inconvenience, the occasion being when they were brought to trial—one for retailing liquors unlawfully and the other for fornication.
After submitting the report on the University, Ferebee seems to have devoted himself for the most part to the conduct of his personal affairs except for a term as sheriff. In his personal characteristics he was a notable figure. To the inhabitants of the county his distinguished appearance and elegant manners exemplified the local concept at least of what a gentleman should be, just as to them he was a man whose conduct was above reproach. Indeed he had always been an individual of punctilious habits; Governor Swain is said to have described him while
a student at the University as “more regular than the college bell.” He was also devoutly religious and faced his dying hours with equanimity, supported by the comforts of his spiritual beliefs. Although expressed in the somewhat florid language of the time, the following excerpt from a tribute paid to him by a neighbor at his death would seem to be an accurate reflection of the public estimate: “His conversational powers were of a superior caste. All that ripe scholarship and deep reflection bestowed were lavished upon whatever subject engaged his attention, and rarely did he fail to entertain and instruct. Pure, chaste and clear-cut English dropped from his lips without apparent effort, and ‘slang’ was looked upon by him with utter disgust.”
• The MusicianJOHN JACOBS
NORTH CAROLINA'S INIMITABLE WRITER of short stories, O. Henry, may have had some one like John Jacobs in mind when he wrote the provocative “Roads of Destiny.” As the story goes, it will be remembered, the chief character comes to the end of his days greatly dissatisfied with his lifetime achievements, declaring that he would have accomplished more had circumstances permitted him to follow another course. He is allowed to live his life over again and he takes the other “road”; nevertheless he arrives at the same destination as before. Thus, in order to escape compulsory military duty in his native Saxony in Germany, Jacobs came to the United States and in the land of his adoption found himself a soldier in two major wars.
His first military service must have been a matter of fate inasmuch as his enlistment was unwittingly entered into on his part. Having arrived in this country in 1847 without funds, he undertook to find work immediately and found himself handicapped because he neither spoke nor understood the language. A chance acquaintance who spoke German offered to direct him to someone who would give him employment, and he was taken before a man “in a pretty uniform with brass buttons thereon.” Despite his inability to communicate in English, he conveyed to the uniformed personage his willingness to do whatever might be required. By the time he clearly understood his status, he was in Vera
Cruz and took part in the campaigns from that city to the Battle of Chapaultepec and the fall of Mexico City.
Upon his return from Mexico he seems to have engaged in varied undertakings. He and another German, also named Jacobs, operated for a few years the Old Nags Head Hotel, the site of which, incidentally, has long since been covered by the moving sands. It was probably during his stay at Nags Head that he became a citizen of the United States. The ceremony took place in Currituck County and the proceedings read as follows:
John Jacobs To The Court } For Naturalization
State of North Carolina
Currituck County.
Superior Court of Law
Spring Term, 1854.
Personally appears before the Court in Session, his Honor Judge Baily presiding, John Jacobs, a native of Saxe-Weimar in Germany, a free white man, and at the present time resident in Currituck County, and State of North Carolina, this said Court being a Court of record, having a Clerk & Seal, & common law jurisdiction, and the said Jacobs being duly sworn declares that it is bonafide his intention to become a citizen of the United States and to renounce forever all allegiance and fidelity to every foreign Prince, Potentate, State or Sovereignty, and particularly all allegiance to Frederick Wilhelm, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar of whom he is now a subject.
Wherefore, it is ordered that this declaration of John Jacobs be duly recorded by the Clerk of this Court.
Subscribed before me, May 11th, 1854.
C. T. Sawyer, Clerk.
Signed John Jacobs
State of North Carolina
Currituck County.
I, Henry B. Ansell, Clerk of the Superior Court of Law in & for the County and State aforesaid do hereby certify the foregoing to be a full & true copy of the original as per minutes of this Court.
In Testimony of which I have hereunto set my hand & affixed the Seal of said Court at office in Currituck the 18th., day of July A. D. 1860.
After the hotel venture Jacobs next tried his hand at operating bakeries in Edenton and in Plymouth. Those enterprises were of short duration,
however, and he finally moved to South Mills, possibly having been attracted hither because the village had become a trading center of some importance due to the volume of traffic along the Dismal Swamp Canal. The 1860 census records his occupation as hotel keeper.
Perhaps his experience in the Mexican War had convinced him of the futility of resisting what destiny had in store for him, for upon the outbreak of the Civil War he promptly volunteered as a soldier of the Confederacy, the actual date of his enlistment being May 30, 1861. At the same time he demonstrated an oft-noted ability to cope with any situation in an ingenious manner. Because of the death of his wife, his only son George, who was not yet in his teens, would be left without a home should the father enter the army. Jacobs solved the problem by having the boy to enlist “in order to secure rations” for him. The lad was enrolled as a musician and his age recorded as twelve years, and thus the event has been handed down by succeeding generations of the family. But according to the date carved on George Jacobs’ tombstone, he was born August 28, 1851. If this date be correct, he was not twelve when he became a soldier, he lacked approximately three months of being ten years old, since he enlisted the same day as his father, May 30, 1861. He certainly deserves a rating as one of the youngest soldiers in the Confederacy, and to him may belong the distinction of being the youngest.
Like most Germans John Jacobs had a considerable talent for music and had received excellent training as a youth. This ability proved to be quite useful in the service of the Confederacy. He was appointed director of music for the Thirty-Second Regiment, his son being a member of the drum and fife corps. The father and son apparently went through many campaigns together. According to one historian, when General Robert E. Lee was reviewing his troops at Gettysburg, he doffed his hat in special recognition of Jacobs’ Drum and Bugle Corps “both as to their tender youth and the excellence of the music.” Noteworthy also is the fact that at the Battle of Gettysburg Jacobs was a member of Rhodes’ Division, whose position on the battleground is now designated by a marble marker.
After the war had ended, the industrious German returned to South Mills, married again and embarked upon a highly successful business career. His general store rapidly grew to be one of the largest establishments of the kind in this section, and he branched out into other activities. The first floor of the two-story building erected to take care of his needs housed his merchandise; the upper floor was used for public gatherings
and also as a theater by roving bands of entertainers who occasionally came to South Mills. The prosperous Jacobs took his place as one of the prominent citizens. In his brochure on the history of McBride Methodist Church, Dr. H. E. Spence describes the Jacobs barouche, drawn by two white horses, as being most impressive.
This same church also became an influential factor in Jacobs’ career. Nine-tenths of the inhabitants in the vicinity were members of the congregation whose house of worship was in the community of Pearceville, some two miles from South Mills. During one of the annual protracted meetings he was moved to become a member of the church. Now the discipline of the Methodist Church had definite pronouncements against certain forms of entertainment and against intoxicating beverages, and the regulations were rigidly enforced in those days. Like most merchants of the time, he carried a stock of liquor supplies in his store. The ruling elders of McBride's were conscientious in requiring the membership to conform to Methodist discipline; however, they were also a practical group. They allowed Brother Jacobs six months’ time in which to dispose of his supply of liquors. The new convert entered wholeheartedly into his religious life—he was never one to do things by halves. Since the upstairs hall might no longer be used for theatrical purposes, he began to conduct a Sunday School class therein for those who were unable to attend McBride's, and this gathering, it is said, marked the beginning of the congregation which is today Trinity Methodist Church in South Mills.
His talent for music and his skill in organizing bands enabled this indefatigable citizen to make a unique contribution to this county and to the Albemarle region. He organized bands in both Elizabeth City and in Edenton, and the one he formed in South Mills is the only instrumental organization this county has ever had. Although the group disintegrated for a while after his death, it was revived by his sons and grandsons and performed at public gatherings for many years. His influence is still evident in South Mills, which generally manifests more interest in music than other parts of the county. To have formed a band in a community which heretofore had had no musical training must have required tremendous effort and infinite patience. Referring again to O. Henry, to his lively imagination the digging of the Dismal Swamp Canal would have seemed, conceivably, a trifling matter when compared to the magnitude of Jacobs’ accomplishment.
• The Buffaloes and the Civil War in Camden County
PETER T. BURGESS
1835-1903
MOST NORTH CAROLINIANS were opposed to secession before the fall of Fort Sumter and President Lincoln's subsequent call upon the governor of this state for troops, but afterwards majority sentiment quickly changed in favor of leaving the Union and of supporting the Confederacy. Even so, large numbers of the inhabitants in mountainous areas remained loyal to the United States, and there were Federal sympathizers to be found in varying numbers in other counties, particularly in those along the seacoast. If there was antagonism to the Confederate Government in Camden County after April in 1861, however, it was not apparent. In April and May a company was assembled under the command of Captain Joseph G. Hughes of South Mills and assigned to the Thirty-Second Regiment for immediate duty. Those Camden recruits were almost entirely from the north end, less than a half dozen being from south of the Court House, but there is no record of disloyalty among the inhabitants in the southern half of the county. Yet it came to pass that in the forepart of 1862 two events occurred which, while seemingly unrelated, were jointly to result in much bitterness and fraternal bloodshed on the northeast side of the Pasquotank. Those two occurrences were the capture of Roanoke Island on February 8 by a detatchment of the Union Army and the demotion of Peter T. Burgess in the Camden Militia.
Following the occupation of Roanoke Island, Federal forces immediately assumed control of the neighboring rivers and sounds, for the few small boats serving as a part of the Confederate Navy were soon destroyed or dispersed. Federal gunboats therefore sailed up the Pasquotank River with impunity, shelling the shores on either side with a noisy barrage. The purpose of this bombardment seems primarily to have been for the purpose of intimidating the inhabitants, and those in the lower part of the county were very conscious of the cannonade because of their exposed position. The arable land in this section is a narrow strip hemmed in by the river on the southwest side, and by miles of swamp lands extending to the North River on the northeast. Along
a strip extending four miles or more from the mouth of the river, then, the farms were the targets of cannon balls which ricocheted across the roads and fields. After Elizabeth City had been occupied, a Federal detachment was landed at Old Trap and, as in Pasquotank, immunity was offered to all who would take the oath of allegiance and remain neutral in their activities. At first, the legend is, only one family from Old Trap and one from Shiloh made any overtures, and these gestures were secretly made at night. No doubt the gunboats and the invading troops had made an impression, however, and what might have happened is a debatable question, but shortly afterwards another incident changed the tide in the lower end in favor of the Yankees.
Camden's second company was formed in April and May of 1862 almost under the eyes of the Union troops. Elizabeth City had become headquarters for Federal forces in this area, and in April Camden had been invaded by some 2,000 Union soldiers who, having landed at Chantilly, proceeded to engage the Confederates in the Battle of Sawyers Lane near South Mills. Largely recruited from the southern part of the county, the new company was commanded by Captain G. Gratiot Luke, a school-teacher who had married Mary, the daughter of a well-to-do planter, Gamaliel Wright. Luke's subordinate officers were First Lieutenant Peter T. Burgess and Second Lieutenants Noah H. Hughes and Thomas P. Savills. The need for more men in the Confederate Army had become urgent, and the unit drilled regularly on the spacious lawn of Captain Luke's father-in-law. In July came the time for detaching the recruits for regular service and on the fifteenth of the month the command was raised to full strength by transfers, principally from Henderson County. On July thirty-first Luke was promoted to lieutenant colonel and was succeeded by Second Lieutenant Hughes as captain. The manner of this promotion is said to have been a prime factor in the trouble which followed.
According to tradition, Gamaliel Wright persuaded his son-in-law, Captain Luke, to evolve a plan which would eliminate Lieutenant Burgess as an officer. Thereupon Luke announced that all commissioned officers in the organization must exhibit certain educational qualifications by passing a test which he had prepared. Burgess failed to qualify and by the captain's orders was demoted. On August 5 Second Lieutenant Hughes was made captain; on August 10 former First Lieutenant Burgess enlisted in a company commanded by Captain Enos Sanders of the Union Army; and from then on “the fat was in the fire,” as the local saying goes.
The sense of outrage which the demoted officer manifested can probably be explained in part by family pride. Though at that time the prestige of the Burgesses had declined somewhat, still fresh in their memories were the outstanding achievements of those who bore the name in the preceding century. At the dwelling of William Burgess Shiloh Baptist Church had been organized in 1729; two of his sons had been leading Baptist preachers; two of his grandsons had been commissioned officers in the Revolution, one of whom, Colonel Dempsey Burgess, had also been a member of the U. S. Congress; and throughout their lifetimes all of those individuals had exerted weighty political influence. And here was this newcomer Luke who had casually proceeded to deprive a member of the old family of a position to which he had been elected by the rank and file in the company. Thus Burgess may have meditated to himself, for to him the loss of his rank was intolerable and, burning with resentment, he joined himself to his onetime enemies.
Unfortunately, this angry gesture was not the end of the episode; one thing led to another. Indignant because they thought Burgess had been treated unfairly, some of the men withdrew from the company and, like their leader, enlisted in the First N. C. Brigade (Union). A local organization was formed by more than fifty of the Union sympathizers, who were derisively called “Buffaloes” by those who were supporters of the Confederacy. While local tradition over the years has credited Burgess’ influence as being responsible for the defections, it seems that many used the demotion incident as a convenient justification for their actions. Federal headquarters had been actively spreading propaganda, and several residents over in Pasquotank, as an illustration of the point, had switched their allegiance from the Confederacy, although they had not been affected by the situation in Camden.
Emboldened by the presence of a detachment of Federal troops and incited by the commanding officer, Captain Sanders, the Buffaloes began to commit depredations against some of their neighbors whom the Yankees dubbed “secesh.” The local Confederate sympathizers also had an organization which they called “Home Guards,” and termed by the northerners, “Guerillas.” Though the opposing groups were composed of relatives and neighbors, the bitter animosities which developed between them culminated in several brutal murders. The Buffaloes may be said to have initiated the bloody campaign by killing Benjamin Franklin McPherson near his residence in the forks of Arenuse Creek. The body was callously brought to his dwelling and dumped therein by the slayers. John Bell of the Home Guards was shot down in cold blood while he
was in a defenseless position as he crossed a foot-log near “Sugar Hill” in Wickham. Another Confederate, Samuel Jarvis; was slain on the road to Indian Island, his body tied to a tree and left a prey to the vultures. The Home Guards or Guerillas retaliated in kind. Bone Dowdy, who is said to have been one of the most obnoxious of the Buffaloes, was riddled with bullets as he rode through Sandy Hook near the Going-over-Place, the fusillade also killing his horse. Job Gregory was mortally wounded near the “Casey Oak” in Sandy Hook as he started northward in defiance of a Guerilla warning not to go in that direction. By what seemed to be a superhuman effort he managed to reach his home some four miles away, and breathed his last with his head in his wife's lap. When the Home Guards captured Levi Burgess, they told him his end was at hand. Whereupon he requested them to let him say a prayer. The reply was “No time for prayers now,” as they silenced him with gunshot.
Another phenomenon peculiar to this fratricidal conflict was the unexpected loyalties and inhibitions. When the Yankees occupied the village of Shiloh, the sanctuary of Shiloh Baptist Church was used as quarters by the toops. Accompanying the invaders were some Buffaloes who were members of the church, and one of them surreptitiously hid the venerated pulpit Bible, preserved it until after the war and then returned it to the congregation. One Union sympathizer killed another who had proposed to confiscate the property of a neighbor who was a Confederate. The reputed leader of the Buffaloes, Peter T. Burgess, twice intervened to save the residences of Confederate families from being put to the torch by Northern detachments. Several of the slaveowning households, which naturally supported the South, reported that they were not molested by their Buffalo neighbors throughout the war period. Others were exasperated by the petty pilfering and thievery on the part of some of the Union sympathizers.
Despite the atmosphere of acute tensions, there were incidents in lighter vein. It seems, as an illustration, that one of the Brays who had no intention of becoming a Union soldier, deemed it expedient to maintain friendly relations with the Federal detachment quartered here. Accordingly, accompanied by his sixteen year old boy, he made an attempt at fraternizing with the invaders by taking a drink with them. The conviviality must have been extended, for when father and son regained normal consciousness the following day, they were astonished to learn that during the carousal they both had enlisted with the First North Carolina Brigade (Union). And then there was Noah Garrett, a young
Buffalo who was stationed with the garrison on Roanoke Island in 1864. This was the year in which the Confederates under General Hoke had made some progress in freeing the inland waters from the enemy. On one occasion when the Southern forces made a display near the Island, there was a noisy exchange of cannon fire, which could be heard all the way across Albemarle Sound to Noah's home. On hearing the distant rumble, his grandmother exclaimed: “Oh, oh, Noah'll be home right away; he just can't stand gunfire. I must cook him a mess of hogshead and collards because he'll be hungry when he gets here.” As the story goes, the gun-shy soldier was home within twenty-four hours, enjoying the collards, though how he managed to effect passage across the intervening waters and other terrain within the period of time still remains a mystery.
No roster of the Home Guards seems to be extant, but it so happens that what must be the equivalent of an official list of the Union sympathizers has been preserved. On May 4, 1866, forty-four men from lower Camden addressed from “North River” a petition to President Andrew Johnson for protection from persecution by those who had supported the Confederate cause. As noted in the sketch of Colonel Dennis D. Ferebee, this claim proved to be without basis; nevertheless, the names must have been accurate, having been written so shortly after the end of the war and because expediency would have necessitated a truthful statement at the time. The following is an alphabetical arrangement by families of the forty-four who called themselves “Union Sympathizers.”
| Bray | 3 | Hubbard | 1 | Neilson | 1 |
| Burgess | 9 | Kight | 6 | Palmer | 1 |
| Duncan | 2 | Lands | 1 | Phelps | 1 |
| Garrett | 1 | Mercer | 1 | Riggs | 1 |
| Gregory | 1 | Mitchell | 3 | Williams | 1 |
| Harrison | 3 | Needham | 4 | Wright | 4 |
This roll does not include the names of the few Union sympathizers in Camden and South Mills townships nor, of course, those who were killed during the war period, and may of itself create an incorrect impression. One might assume, for example, that the Burgesses were all supporters of the Union. As a matter of fact the family was a numerous one and a large number supported the Confederacy, as witness the instance of Peter T. Burgess, two of whose brothers, Simeon and Nicholas S., were in the Confederate Army. All of the above are old names in this section with the exception of Lands, Neilson and Phelps, and all had
blood kin who were actively engaged in the cause of the Stars and Bars. Here, then, was indeed a civil conflict being waged within the borders of the county.
If history is an accurate record of events, a proper question would seem to be, what is a just appraisal of Peter T. Burgess? Traditions originating from either Guerilla or Buffalo sources describe him as a dominating personality among the Union sympathizers, an opinion which therefore may be accepted as a fact. Beyond this point accounts are often so conflicting as to be of doubtful value as sources of dependable information. The items officially recorded in Washington, D. C., are as follows: Enlisted in the Union Army, August 10, 1862; promoted to sergeant twenty days afterwards; began to be absent without leave, at intervals, in January of 1863; and was listed as a deserter on April 19 of the same year. The explanation given on his record was written at Washington, N. C., and reads: “Left inside enemy lines upon sudden withdrawal of Company from recruiting post.” That he was a man of powerful physique, fearless and ruthless when aroused, are traits also generally conceded to him. Opinions vary as to whether his conduct was inspired by loyalty to the United States or by a spirit of resentment for the personal humiliation he had experienced. The fact of his desertion would appear to be significant as to his sentiment toward the Union. Another revealing item was the bond of affection existing between him and his sister Wealthy. In the article in this book which narrates the activities of the Home Guards she appears as a conspicuous figure in the part played by Camden in the Confederacy. One story which has gained wide circulation is that she refused to recognize him after the war. The facts are directly in contradiction; she was a frequent and a favorite visitor in his home. Loyal Confederate that she was, she might have excused his conduct as an expression of a personal grudge; she would hardly have condoned his acts if she had believed that they were motivated entirely by disloyalty to the cause she had supported unreservedly.
With the cessation of hostilities Burgess became a law-abiding citizen. He was a reticent man and rarely referred to his past experiences. For a few years he continued to follow his old calling as a sailor on vessels trading with the West Indies and South America. Later, for a period he became keeper of Wade's Point Lighthouse. As a farmer and business man he was successful, owning several hundred acres of farm and swamp lands at the time of his death. With the possible exception of
Congressman Lemuel Sawyer, he has remained the county's most controversial figure.
• A Good NameJOHN KELLY ABBOTT
1831-1906
TWO OF THE MOST ADMIRABLE PERSONS who have appeared in Camden have borne the name of Abbott. We do not know whether a distant ancestor of either of them was the head of a monastery in the days when many separate religious orders were entirely contained within an abbey; but we are sure that either of these gentlemen would have fitted well the dignity of such an office. Henry Abbott was a minister; the subject of this sketch was a surveyor; they seem not to have been related and they lived a century apart, yet they both had in common the ability to inspire complete confidence on the part of those who knew them during their lifetime.
The factors which determine a man's personality are often difficult to identify. From the time of the arrival of Joseph Abbott, cabinet maker of London, around the half-century mark of 1700, until the time of John K. (as he was usually called), the Abbotts had established themselves as excellent citizens in a very unobtrusive manner, the subject of this sketch being the first of the name to venture into public life. Left an orphan at an early age, he was reared in the home of an uncle, William Riley Abbott, a somewhat plunging type of financier who at one time had amassed a fortune prior to the War Between the States. The dwelling erected by this gentleman is one of the finest surviving examples locally of the more pretentious homes of the ante bellum period. The effect of this youthful environment, plus an inherited tendency from his maternal ancestors, may explain the predilection of John K. Abbott for a public career. His grandfather John Kelly had been elected twice to the House of Commons and once to the State Senate.
Another item of biographical interest is the coincidence of important dates in his own life with events of major historical import. Having enrolled at Randolph Macon College in 1852, he was a student there
when the imaginations of the youthful everywhere were stirred by the spectacular conflict known as the Crimean War. After preparing himself in college to be a surveyor, he also completed a course at a business school in Baltimore, but he hardly had time to begin his chosen work before North Carolina seceded from the Union, and he enlisted as a soldier in the Confederate Army. He was detailed as a commissary sergeant with the rating of a field officer in the Eighth Regiment, commanded by Colonel Henry M. Shaw of Currituck. This military unit was captured when Roanoke Island fell in February, 1862; however, the men were exchanged before long and were soon back in active service. Some of the most noted engagements participated in by the Eighth Regiment were at Cold Harbor, Drewry's Bluff, Plymouth and Petersburg. 1876, the year of his first election to the legislature, marked the successful campaign for the governorship by Zebulon Baird Vance against Thomas Settle and the passing of the control of state government to the Democratic Party to replace the reconstruction regime of Carpetbaggers, Negroes and “renegade whites.” His last term as a legislator was in 1899 when was enacted the suffrage amendment which included “the Grandfather Clause,” which purposed to retain the suffrage for illiterate whites and to disenfranchise the Negroes by prescribing a literacy test as a qualification for voting.
To describe the development of a personality is not an easy task. Certain it is, however, that the community in which any individual may find himself gradually forms an estimate of his charcter. Thus, it came to pass that in increasing numbers those who knew Abbott began to repose confidence in the sincerity, as well as the wisdom, of his opinions. More and more his services as arbiter and trustee were sought because of his reputation for fairness and dependability. Was this public sentiment, one wonders, the result of his work as a surveyor for his neighbors and for those lumber firms with large timber interests in this eastern section? Or was it because of his patience and thoughtful attention to his household when, because of an afflicted wife, the care of several small children devolved upon him? Or was it by reason of his conduct in the legislative halls of his state? Because of the alphabetical arrangement of names his was the first to be heard in the roll call for voting on the various measures under consideration by the lawmakers. It is said that many a legislator who was uncertain as to what position to take, listened for the “aye” or “nay” of Abbott, and then voted accordingly and with complete confidence in his ballot.
Altogether Abbott was elected to the legislature five times; in addition to the two terms already cited, he was a member of the lower house in 1883, and of the senate in 1889 and 1893. Much of his labor as a surveyor was done for John L. Roper Lumber Company and Richmond Cedar Works, two lumber firms with vast holdings in the eastern swamp lands.
A catalogue of John K. Abbott's achievements is not too impressive when compared to the performance of others who have passed their days in this county. He amassed no great fortune; he was not responsible for any dramatic feat. But if one attempts to evaluate him in terms of the place he occupied in the esteem of his contemporaries, then he emerges as a conspicuous figure. A Biblical proverb affirms: “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.” If this judgment be accepted, then the legacy left by Abbott to his fellow man is of great value.
• The First PostmastersFive post offices in Camden have been abolished as a result of shifts in population and other causes, and they were Bartlett, Indiantown, Lilly, Riddle and Shipyard. The five in operation today are Belcross, Camden, Old Trap, Shiloh and South Mills. Camden and South Mills, which were first listed in postal records as Jonesborough and New Lebanon, respectively, are the oldest, but the exact dates of their beginnings are unknown. In Miscellaneous American State Papers, dated in 1802, “Patric” Garvey is listed as “Deputy Postmaster” for Jonesborough and he was paid $4.62 for the year; for New Lebanon the deputy-postmaster was Thomas Gordon, who received $6.69; for Indiantown, George “Firabee” ’s annual recompense was $7.31. In 1815, however, the Official Register of the United States uses the term “postmaster,” and for the purposes of this writing this year will be regarded as the official beginning. Shiloh's office was initiated in 1827. Belcross and Old Trap were first officially recorded in the same year, 1881. Herewith are given brief biographical sketches of the first postmasters where post offices are still in existence.
• New Lebanon or South MillsGEORGE FEREBEE
1777-1835
GEORGE FEREBEE, who was born the same year this county was created, was not a native. A son of one of the most eminent citizens in Currituck, Joseph Ferebee, he cast his lot with Camden presumably at the time of his marriage to Mary, daughter of Walton Jones, a planter in the New Lebanon area. Quite probably, however, he had acted as postmaster as Indiantown in previous years.
Young Ferebee was not long in taking a place as one of the leaders, financially and politically, in the busy community which had become a flourishing settlement as a result of the newly constructed Dismal Swamp Canal. Beginning with 1820, and perhaps earlier, he was for several years clerk and master of the Court of Equity. Historically, however, he will be remembered as the first postmaster of New Lebanon when it was made a mail office in 1815. His duties were few if they were commensurate with his salary, which was $6.11 for the first year. Incidentally, in 1839, the year before the name was officially changed to South Mills, the postmaster, Lewis R. Hinton, received $59.36.
• Jonesborough or CamdenDEMPSEY SAWYER BURGESS
ca 1780-ca 1820
AFTER THE REVOLUTION, Camden, which meant the Plank Bridge location, was made a port of entry for the extreme northeastern district, and because of the seafaring activity attracted hither as a consequence, for a time prospects for the development of an urban settlement seemed favorable.
Jonesborough was the name of the town laid out by Joseph Jones at Plank Ridge on Sawyers Creek.
Dempsey Sawyer Burgess, the first postmaster appointed, was a son of the Revolutionary officer and Congressman, Colonel Dempsey Burgess, and a native of the Shiloh community. He probably was induced to settle in the Jonesborough community because of his marriage to Margaret Fennell, daughter of Michael and Sally Fennell and grandaughter of Joseph Jones. This was also the home of his maternal uncles, Congressman Lemuel Sawyer and the wealthy and politically powerful Enoch Sawyer, who at the time was Collector of the Port. It is not surprising, therefore, that Burgess was the recipient of a political appointment.
He was fortunate in not having to depend upon his salary for a living, since his pay for the first year was $12.52. Both he and his wife had inherited considerable estates which enabled them to live the pleasant lives of the affluent of their time. Apparently he made no further efforts in the field of politics in which his forbears had been preeminent for generations. His death as a young man, however, permits only speculation as to what he might have accomplished.
• ShilohPETER ELLIOTT
ca 1800-1845
SHILOH WAS A NEW NAME in an old settlement when the post office was opened there in 1827. It undoubtedly derives from the venerable Baptist church in the community and seems to have been adopted by the congregation shortly after 1800. Shiloh Township for voting purposes now includes the Old Trap, Riddle and Wickham neighborhoods, and this designation came into general use because a point near the church was a stopping place in colonial times for one of the stagecoach routes on the way from Edenton to Norfolk.
Not many details are definitely known concerning Peter Elliott except that he became the first postmaster and received for his pay the first year the small sum of $3.73. No mailing statistics for the immediate period are available but the post was probably light; in 1790, for instance, Colonel
Dempsey Burgess and Isaac Guilford were the two subscribers in the area to the Edenton Gazette, the only state paper convenient to this section.
Elliott seems to have become a resident after his marriage to Elizabeth, who was the daughter, presumably, of Lemuel Jones and who probably had inherited the farm upon which she and her husband dwelt. His second wife was Mary, the daughter of John A. Brockett. For one year he operated a store and a warehouse, but for the most part he devoted himself to cultivating his farm of less than one hundred acres. After his death the widow Mary Elliott purchased the farm in her own right and then sold it to William P. Bartlett, whose descendants still reside in the original dwelling. This house was not only the home of Shiloh's first postmaster, but it was also the first post office.
• BelcrossWILEY GRANDY FEREBEE
1859-1895
THE YEAR 1881 MARKED THE COMPLETION of the only railroad traversing Camden County, and it was also a significant date in the history of the community known as Bell's Crossing, which gained two valuable facilities—a railway station and a post office, and for reasons of convenience the former appellation was shortened to its present name of Belcross.
Compared with the emoluments received by earlier postmasters, the beginning salary for Belcross was a lucrative one—$86.01. The office was then prized as an honorable one, however, reimbursement being a secondary consideration. Wiley Grandy Ferebee was appointed postmaster at the age of twenty-four. A son of a noted physician, Dr. Edwin B. Ferebee, he had inherited several hundred acres of farm land and other properties. His wife was a daughter of another substantial citizen, Thomas Boushall. He began his career, therefore, under auspicious circumstances, but his life was destined to be short and somewhat tragic. One of his enterprises was a lumber mill which was destroyed three times by fire. The resulting financial losses were disastrous since the property was not insured. He died at the age of thirty-six.
• Old Trap
JAMES EDWARD BURGESS
1859-1909
THE NAME “TRAP” first appears in the Camden records after the Revolution and is said to have been given to the location by the women who became irked when their husbands, in their trips to and from the windmill on the river, formed a habit of stopping at a grogshop in the vicinity and tarrying overlong. After 1800 the Trap had become the “Old Trap” in contemporary references, and this was the name officially used when the post office was opened in 1881. The first postmaster, James Edward Burgess, received $9.76 for his services in that year.
Burgess was a farmer and merchant who was a native of the community. Besides being the first postmaster, as Camden's representative in the State Legislature in 1897, he initiated legislation which eventually resulted in establishing the present highway which leads through the Camden marshes to a point on the Pasquotank River near Elizabeth City—now a part of highways 170 and 158. This thoroughfare also eliminated Lamb's Ferry, which had been in operation near Camden Court House since colonial times. The act sponsored by Burgess reduced by one mile the distance at which a ferry might be operated from Lamb's Ferry. In 1901 and 1905, the county representative, Gideon C. Barco, introduced bills which further limited the Lamb franchise and authorized the newly formed Camden Ferry Company to erect a drawbridge over the Pasquotank River at Elizabeth City. Thus the road was established.
• The Home Guards or Camden County in the ConfederacyMAJOR WILLIS BURGESS SANDERLIN
1829-1900
CAPTAIN WILLIAM PERKINS WALSTON
1838-1914
THE MOST EXCITING CHAPTER in the history of this county will probably remain an untold tale in large part. The Home Guards, the military units formed for the purpose of defending local or “home” territories, were not mustered in the service of the Confederate States and no records were sent to Richmond, though these troops were subject to orders by the Confederate generals. Moreover, the Camden company by force of circumstances conducted its operations as secretly as possible. During the war years, beginning with the summer of 1862, Federal troops were quartered hereabouts and in Camden the efforts of the Home Guards were faced with additional hazards by the presence of a considerable body of Union sympathizers. For purposes of secrecy, therefore, written orders and reports were avoided by the Confederate defenders; and as a consequence definite information of their perilous activities is usually lacking.
On the other hand, the service records of those soldiers who formed a part of the regular Confederate Army were lodged in the general files in Richmond and thereby we know the names of the men and also the events, generally speaking, in which they participated. Company B, which was incorporated with the Thirty-Second Regiment, according to Confederate war records, was the first Camden unit to be recruited following the fall of Fort Sumter in April of 1861. A majority of the enlistments were dated in May and practically all were from the northern half of the county, less than a half dozen being from the southern end. The four captains of this command during the war period were Joseph G. Hughes, James W. Ferebee, Joseph C. Rudds and James E. Hodges, in the order given. The other commissioned officers, listing them only in the highest rank which they attained, were First Lieutenants John S. Morgan and William B. Overton, and Second Lieutenants Addison P. Cherry, William Civils, John S. Hodges, George W. Nixon, Richard H. Parker, James H. Sawyer, and Joseph H. Stevens. Disease and battlefield casualties were the causes of frequent changes in personnel. Sergeants shown on B's complete roster were Robert R. Bullock, Oliver
Cherry, Joseph M. Gregory, Job C. Hughes, William P. Miller, Enoch Nash, David T. Pritchard, James E. Radford and Miles Spence. Eight corporals listed were Benjamin B. Burnham, Samuel J. Dunn, James W. Etheridge, James A. Henly, William B. Jome (Jones?), David McCoy, Benjamin C. Pritchard, and J. T. Sawyer. J. L. Frensley and Richard C. Perkins were elevated from privates to the rank of captain in a commissary corps, and David T. Pritchard is said to have been promoted in the field to the rank of captain at the Battle of Bloody Angle near Spottsylvania Court House. Of especial interest are the four men who enlisted as musicians; two, Morgan and Rudds became commissioned officers in the company; John Jacobs was made staff officer in charge of regimental music; and Charles Consolvo, then a stripling, was later to build the famous Monticello Hotel in Norfolk. Family names represented in greatest numbers were Sawyers, six; Brights (Brite), five; McCoys, four; and Etheridges, three. According to notations on the roster some of the principal campaigns and battles in which the company participated were Suffolk, Lynchburg, Petersburg, Spottsylvania Court House, and Gettysburg, the greatest number of casualties being shown for the last-named engagement.
According to the records, then, the first men to enter the conflict were those enrolled in Company B. There is, to be sure, a well established tradition in South Camden that a group of volunteers from this area were among the prisoners captured at Hatteras when that port fell to Federal forces in August of 1861. Apparently there is no documentary evidence to support this belief, although a number had probably volunteered.
During the summer of this same year, 1861, eight recruits from Camden joined a Pasquotank company which, as a part of the Eighth Regiment, surrendered to Federal forces when Roanoke Island was captured February 8, 1862. One of this county's soldiers who became a prisoner of war was John K. Abbott, commissary field officer. Since an exchange of prisoners was soon effected, all were back in active service without much delay. A year later nine more men crossed over to enlist in another Pasquotank unit which was incorporated with the Fifty-Sixth Regiment, as also was Camden's Company A.
Almost one third of the combat strength of Company A, organized in South Camden during the months of April and May, 1862, consisted of transfers from Henderson County, which were added in July when the command was detached for military duty in the field. Altogether this organization was to have four captains, who were G. Gratiot Luke,
Noah H. Hughes, Caleb P. Walston and Thomas P. Savills. The two subordinate officers who hailed from this locality were Second Lieutenants Caleb L. Grandy and William H. Seymore (Seymour). All of the sergeants were natives of Camden and the roster lists the following ten who had a tour of duty during the war years: Wilson Beals, K. R. Bell, G. L. A. Berry, Loyal Berry, Nicholas S. Burgess, Noah C. Burgess, George Ferrell, Thomas Harrell, Calvin Johnson and Peter Tumbler. Noah C. Burgess was later transferred to H Company. Six corporals were designated: Isaac Berry, William Clingman, Marshall Jennings, James Sawyer, Samuel Smith and Jesse Wood. The names occurring most often in the company roll were as follows: Sawyer, five; Mercer, four; Berry, Burgess, Gallop and Johnson, three each; and two each for Bell, Dozier, Forbes, Garrett, Jones, Torksey and Wright. Some of the engagements in which Company A saw action were Green Swamp, Battle of the Wilderness, Chancellorsville, and the campaigns around Richmond.
By way of contrast, no list of the Home Guards has been preserved in Confederate files except a roster of the commissioned officers as recorded in John W. Moore's Roster of North Carolina Troops in the War Between the States. According to this reference two companies, B and C, had been organized. The officers for the first named unit were Willis B. Sanderlin, Captain; F. M. Halstead, First Lieutenant; and Enoch Stephens and Willis Morrisett, Second Lieutenants. Only two officers are given for the C detachment, Captain Caleb P. Walston and First Lieutenant William P. Walston. Sanderlin was promoted to field officer with the rank of major in 1864, and was succeeded as company commander by Halstead who had been made captain. Captain Caleb P. Walston was transferred to the command of Company A in the field in 1864, and tradition has it that he was succeeded by William P. Walston who assumed charge of the local units with the rank of captain. But beyond these brief items, definite knowledge is indeed brief. Because of the double hazards represented by the presence of the Federal troops and the local Buffaloes, a policy of extreme secrecy was adopted as to the activities of the Guards, and this reticence was maintained after the war, possibly as a precaution against reprisals should details of their participation become known to the governing officials under carpetbag rule.
Oddly enough, most of the documentary information concerning the home forces is to be found in the reports of the Yankees themselves. Apparently encouraged by dissension that had developed in Company A
and among the inhabitants of the lower part of the county, Captain Enos Sanders of the Federal Army seems to have landed a detachment in the vicinity of Old Trap during the month of August in 1862 and, having organized the disgruntled group into a band of Buffaloes, proceeded to occupy Shiloh. That the Home Guards, or “Guerillas” as the Yankees called them, were watchful and biding their time, however, is clearly shown by the following report which Sanders made to his superior, Colonel W. A. Howard:
“Headquarters
Shiloh, N. C., Sept. 18, 1862
“Sir: Last night we were attacked, as we had all the force over to Pasquotank holding a meeting, and stopped overnight, except the gun's crew, which we sent back, all except 16 men—them we had with us. We got word this morning that the rebels had assembled, and with about 30 men had landed 5 or 6 miles below Shiloh. There are 3 men killed, 3 wounded, and 5 or 6 taken prisoners, and they have taken all the arms and ammunition the men had and stores and provisions. They were completely surprised. The men that got away think their force was about 50 strong. Please send us a gunboat and men immediately; send two howitzers and ammunition for same. We can intercept them at the upper end of the county. It is necessary to have a chance to get reinforcement at Pasquotank. They got all our guns and all our private property. We have the names of some of the rebels. Joseph Forbes was one of the leaders.”
Although a report from Confederate sources could hardly have described a more successful attack than did the Yankee Captain Sanders, our great loss is that no account by the victors is available. An outline of the plans of attack—by whom and how carried out—could hardly fail to be of greatest interest to the descendants of those responsible for the maneuver. There is a tradition of a daring assault at night by a group of teenage-youth who killed three or more Federal soldiers and Buffaloes and temporarily drove the enemy from Shiloh. The leader of this bold band is said to have been the late Willoughby N. Gregory who, however, refused to confirm or deny the truth of the rumor, and indeed the reference could have been to other brushes and skirmishes which took place during the period of occupation.
On September 21, four days after the surprise and capture of Captain Sanders’ men, Captain William B. Avery of the U. S. gunboat Lancer, then riding at anchor off Shiloh, writes of the efforts made by the Union forces to track down and punish the attackers.
“I reached Shiloh at 4 p.m. Friday 19th”, he states. “I landed 60 men, taking with me Lieutenants Fowler and Moore, and leaving . . . Sanders with 20 men, we started for the place where the rebels were last heard of . . . in a swamp near the ‘Lake’, as they term a sort of pond.” But when they reached the “Lake” region they learned that the rebels had spent the previous night there and had gone on. He and officer Sanders and twenty of their best men took up the pursuit. The trail led across the battleground near South Mills and on across Pasquotank River by way of River Bridge. One and one half miles beyond the bridge Avery caught up with the Confederates just as they were halting for dinner. According to his account: “Without firing a shot they took their guns and fled to the swamp across a cornfield, leaving muskets and prisoners in our hands.” He was disappointed, nevertheless, because he had not found the howitzer which had been captured at Shiloh.
In April of 1863, Major J. W. Wallis, officer in charge of the Union forces in this locality, writing from Elizabeth City, reported that his command consisted of two companies from Massachusetts, about twenty men from North Carolina and “two armed schooners with 26 men each, and about 100 negroes and laborers.” He relates with evident chagrin the following incident. He sent Captain Sanders down the river with seven soldiers and ten Negroes for wood. The wind blowing so the men could not land to get the wood, they went ashore to visit their families, where they were all promptly captured and sent to Richmond.
An account prepared by Captain Enos Sanders in Washington, N. C., May 1, 1863, contains several items of local interest. On the fourth of April, he reports, he reached the Pasquotank River at five in the afternoon, and: “We landed at the mouth of the river and marched to Shiloh, a distance of 10 miles, where we went aboard the gunboat at 10 p.m. I sent word to the men to be already the next day to go with me.”
“On the morning of the 5th we went to Elizabeth City; landed and got the family of William Wright; went to Shiloh; the schooner Patty Martin had arrived; went to Jones’ Mill; landed, marched to Old Trap; found some of the men collected there, but the others, not knowing of our presence, could not be found. We stayed till morning, and then went on board with 7 of my men as follows: Peter, Stephen, Cornelius and Nicholas Burgess, Ithean and Wilson Duncan, and Dempsey Wright. We crossed over to the Pasquotank side; landed and got the family of Joseph Morgan. There were four men in that County belonging to my company; one, John Cartwright, came with us; one could not be found,
and the other two were, one sick and one wounded . . . picked up the family of Mr. Moss and started for Roanoke Island.”
“. . . I left 11 men in Camden, 3 in Pasquotank and 2 in Elizabeth City.”
On the eighth day of the following August, Captain W. Dewees Roberts, commanding a detachment of the Eleventh Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry, and stationed at South Mills, describes what was to him a disagreeable experience. On the previous day, he relates, he reached Camden Court House and crossed over to Elizabeth City in a boat with eight men. He went into town, captured one officer and three enlisted men, but “hardly had the boat pushed off” when they were fired upon by “about 20 Guerillas. . . . I pushed for the opposite shore and landed in a swamp.” They remained in the swamp all night and “got to Camden Court House the next morning”. In his opinion there were four companies of Guerillas in the Albemarle region; one in Camden, one in Pasquotank “with headquarters in a swamp near Elizabeth City,” one in Perquimans and the fourth in Chowan.
The activities of the Guerillas, employing the term used by the Yankees, must have been a source of continued irritation to the enemy, for in the early fall of 1863 Lieutenant Colonel William Lewis of the Fifth Pennsylvania, whose headquarters were at Great Bridge, Virginia, describes another incursion through Currituck and on into Camden by way of the bridge at Indiantown. According to his account: “When the advance arrived in sight of the bridge, a squad of 30 or 40 guerillas were discovered on the bridge, but immediately fled to the woods on the approach of our forces. The swamp was skirmished and shelled (a howitzer having been taken with the expedition), but without effecting anything. The column passed 3 miles beyond the bridge to Major Gregory's house, and there halted, after carefully scouting the country in every direction, but without finding the enemy which was known to be there about 300 strong.” At this point one suspects the officer's imagination was exaggerating the strength of the Guerillas, since his report records no other evidence of numbers other than the “30 or 40” seen on the bridge.
“Lieutenant W. E. A. Bird,” he continues, “was then sent to arrest Silas F. Gregory, a notorious guerilla, but he has protection from Major General Foster. He is engaged in arming and feeding the guerilla bands in the vicinity. Lieutenant Bird, in proceeding to the house, used every precaution, by dismounting his men as skirmishers through the woods. But after making the arrest on his return was less cautious, as the distance
was but a mile, and had been skirmished over but half an hour before. This resulted in his receiving a volley from the woods, killing 1 man and wounding 2 severely. Lieutenant Bird's horse was wounded; also one belonging to Company L.”
“At the alarm all the forces were immediately put in motion and the woods thoroughly skirmished, but without finding any of the assassins. During the attack on Lieutenant Bird, Silas F. Gregory succeeded in making his escape. The farmers in the neighborhood of the swamp were all notified to clear away the underbrush skirting the road, under the penalty of having their property destroyed. After this the command marched without a single incident.”
The foregoing incident reveals interesting information and excites our curiosity as well. The closing remarks seem to indicate that the Federal forces had not as yet adopted a policy of destruction which the county was to suffer a few months later. We wonder what, and why, was the protection afforded Silas F. Gregory, a noted Guerilla, by a high ranking officer of the United States Army.
A few weeks afterwards, October 20, a Union cavalry detachment numbering forty, commanded by Major McCandless, was fired upon from ambush “about four miles from Camden and eight miles from South Mills,” and two privates were killed and one wounded.
Another invasion late in 1863 ushered in a period of great destruction and distress. A Federal detachment from Virginia first marched to Elizabeth City by way of the canal road through the Great Dismal Swamp. A description of the journey was portrayed with realism by the commanding officer who thus wrote: “We were in the dreariest and wildest part of the Dismal Swamp, the darkness was dense, the air damp, and the ghastly silence was broken only by the hooting of owls and crying of wild cats. For two hours we rode through the Stygian darkness of the forest, when we arrived at South Mills—a collection of about twenty houses—where we stopped to rest our horses. Here we left the canal and descended into another swamp of Hades. The narrow crooked road was flooded with water and crossed with innumerable little rickety bridges, over which our horses picked their way with great caution and reluctance”. In Elizabeth City contact was made with General Wild's headquarters, and then a foray was made against the Guerillas in both Pasquotank and Perquimans counties.
General Edward A. Wild's official account of the situation, written at Elizabeth City, December 12, 1863, to General Barnes, reads as follows:
“I have the honor to report that we occupy this place, and thus far
without accident. Below South Mills we built a solid bridge on the piles previously standing, but partly burned, and marched hither.”
“Our two steamers, I. D. Coleman and Three Brothers, arrived beforehand, and lay off out of sight, but signals from our cannon brought them up. They are now unloaded, and in use for other purposes. A gunboat has made two calls here very recently, having quite a salutary influence in confirming our footing here. But I would be glad to keep one around as long as we stay. At her last call she carried off a steam mill and machinery, some said for Roanoke some for Fort Monroe. We keep hearing of considerable bodies of State partisan rangers, alias guerrillas, but not strong enough to harm us. All we dread is the sending of a regular force from Suffolk, Winton, or even from Richmond.”
“I have sent out today four expeditions hence, one to Hertford for contrabands, etc; one in search of guerrillas; one for forage for our cavalry and artillery; one for fire-wood, which we need much—this party takes the lightest steamer up the river, also, I am just sending the other steamer down to Roanoke Island with a load of contrabands, including horses and carts, on a schooner in tow, to return with a load of coal for both steamers. Thus every man is emplyed.”
Then the expedition or, as another report reads, “The Army of Liberation” under General Wild proceeded to Camden County by way of Indiantown, collecting on the way a large number of slaves, horses and mules. “While this was going on,” the narrative states, “the farms were foraged to some extent. Geese, chickens and turkeys everywhere abounded, and the inhabitants being all ‘secesh’ the men were permitted to help themselves.” With the fowls collected the soldiers prepared themselves a great feast at the elegant residence of Dr. Gideon Marchant, who lived in Currituck near Indiantown Bridge, and there they camped for the night.
The statement continues: “As before stated a force of 400 men had been sent from Elizabeth City, under the command of Col. Draper of the Second North Carolina, to scout the lower district of Camden County for contrabands, with orders to unite with the main column at Indiantown. The region was found to abound with fine plantations, and the result of the first day's ‘canvass’ was twenty team. Encamped that night at Shiloh—a village of about twenty houses and a church—fires were built at a crossroad near the church, while the men were quartered in the church, and pickets quartered on all the approaches. About midnight the pickets were driven in by a force of guerillas, supposed to number about 100 men, who discharged their rifles at the campfire, where they
supposed the men to be sleeping. This was what Colonel Draper had anticipated, and thanks to his shrewdness not the least harm was done. The fire being returned by the reserved guard, the guerillas fled into the swamp. The next day resuming the march to Indiantown at a place called Sandy Hook, where the road crossed a swamp they were attacked by a large body of guerillas in ambush. Col. Draper ordered his men to lie down while loading their guns, and sent two detachments to attack the bushwhackers with bayonets on both flanks, skirting the woods for protection. . . . the detachments had reached the woods in which the guerillas were posted, when, perceiving that they were flanked, they took to their heels and escaped by a path which the Colonel's men could not find at the time. The fighting lasted about half an hour. Col. Draper lost 8 killed and 7 wounded. The loss of the guerillas, as was ascertained, was 13 killed and wounded.” This section of the report ends with a statement that upon entering Indiantown his rear guard was fired upon “and one man killed.”
It seems clearly evident from the preceding information that the invaders were continually harassed by a band which they estimated to be one fourth of their own strength. If a report were available as to the methods employed by the local company, whose size was actually more nearly fifty than the figure estimated, this march from Shiloh to Indiantown would doubtless constitute an exciting tale. Since we are not sure of the names of leaders even, the missing details must be supplied from our imagination.
When contact was effected with General Wild at Indiantown, he attempted to subject the neighboring inhabitants to an especial humiliation, seemingly to indulge his sadistic sense of enjoyment.
The Pasquotank Guerillas, according to the official explanation, “had fought shy of the armed ‘niggers,’ invariably skedaddling at their approach, but as those of Camden seemd more bold and numerous, Gen. Wild determined to return to Sandy Hook, and ascertain if the ‘State Defenders’ were really sprouting for a stand-up fight with an equal number of colored boys.” Accordingly, the next morning—leaving behind sufficient force to protect the camp—the General started for the “Hook,” taking with him about 400 men. “A half mile from Indiantown the guerillas were decried ahead.” Colonel Draper, who commanded the advance, at once started his men on the “double-quick” for them, “when firing a few shots they turned and fled.” The next remarks seem to express the General's emotions: “The main column led by General Wild, on foot, immediately joined the chase, and a singular spectacle
for Jefferson Davis to contemplate was presented; his unconquerable chivalry—any one of whom used to be called equal to six or eight picked yankees, running for dear life from the bayonet of despised ‘niggers.’ O Jeff!” “The colored boys,” it is added, followed “some distance behind filling the air with eager shouts.” All trace of the Guerillas was lost “at the edge of the impassable swamp”.
After a long search they found a zigzag path, cunningly arranged, and by following this trail they discovered the camp of the Guerillas. Then the report gives a detailed description of the scene: “Here, surrounded by gloom and savage wilderness, was spread the camp of the guerillas, consisting of log huts and a number of tents. Fire was burning, Enfield rifles scattered over the ground and everything indicated a hasty evacuation of the place. Between fifty and sixty rifles, a drum, a large quantity of ammunition of both English and rebel manufacture, clothing, a tent full of provisions, and, lastly, the muster roll of the company fell into our hands. The huts were soon in flames and the camp of Sanderlin's land pirates vanished into smoke. . . . which rose in vast black volumes above the forest.” After the Yankees returned from the woods they came to a large farm house belonging to Major Gregory. And, “it having been ascertained that Sanderlin obtained here a considerable portion of his supplies,” the house, containing “several thousand bushels of corn,” was burned and Gregory was carried away a prisoner. “Guided by the captured muster roll, all the dwellings belonging to the guerillas within four miles were burned.” General Wild returned to Indiantown “not so well satisfied with his morning's work as he would have been had the villains dared face his colored troops.”
Two items mentioned in the description of the camp in the swamp are of especial importance to the Civil War history of this county. Here is found the most pointed documentary reference known as to the activities of Willis B. Sanderlin in Guerilla warfare. In one other Federal report he is cited along with “Elliott, Etheridge, Hughes, Grandy and Walston” as being among the Guerilla chieftains assembled at Hertford. The persons named were all presumably from Camden, and this is the only notation found referring to William P. Walston. The first names of the others are a matter of guesswork. An equally interesting tidbit in the account is the information concerning the captured muster roll. This fact suggests the possibility that it may still survive in some Northern collection of war mementos.
A circumstance also arousing our curiosity in General Wild's narrative is his failure to explain why one dwelling was not destroyed, since,
as we have previously noted, the occupant had already been considered “a notorious guerilla.” The homes of his adjoining neighbors, Major Gregory and Luke Stevens, were reduced to ashes, but the house of Silas Gregory was mysteriously spared, and today, incidentally, is a well-preserved structure.
General Wild's determined efforts to stamp out the Guerillas, who were also referred to as “partisan rangers,” are proof enough that even though their numbers were but a fraction of the Union forces, those Home Guards were constantly inflicting losses upon the invaders, who remained in a state of anxiety. The march of the invaders from Shiloh to Indiantown and their immediate return through Sandy Hook took place within three days, beginning with December 20. At the same time the headquarters of General Benjamin F. Butler, whose harshness incurred the lasting resentment of the inhabitants of this area, was also keeping a watchful eye upon developments in the Albemarle region, as may be inferred by the following three dispatches from George W. Getty to General Butler.
December 21
“If Wild is in Currituck County, it would be well to send a steamer to Pongo to be in readiness to transfer the Ninety-eight New York from that place to Coinjock Bridge or Northwest Landing, as may be most needed. I have sent a squadron of cavalry to South Mills to obtain information and watch the movements of the enemy. Commanders of posts have been instructed to afford all possible assistance to General Wild.”
December 22
“. . . On Wednesday and Thursday of last week, a considerable force advanced from Blackwater, passing through Gates County, N. C. for the purpose of opposing the march of troops under Generald Wild, who, it was reported, intended marching from Elizabeth City upon Hertford, Edenton, &c., and thence through Gates County to Suffolk. A portion of this force advanced as far as the Pasquotank, and after destroying the bridges, ferries, &c., returned.”
“To draw attention from the force sent against Generald Wild, infantry and artillery were concentrated at each of the points, Franklin and Zuni, for the purpose of making a demonstration in the direction via Suffolk. The force at Franklin advanced as far as Carrsville. Of that at Zuni I have no information. No doubt the movement was suspended in consequence of the withdrawal of General Wild's force to the east side of the Pasquotank. All is quiet at Suffolk and South Mills tonight.”
December 23
“Lt. Col. Stezel, commanding outpost of Suffolk, reports this morning that there were sixteen companies of rebel cavalry in Suffolk last night from 9 to 11 o'clock, at which time they retired. They came from Elizabeth City to Suffolk, and have gone back to the Blackwater.”
The chief purpose of federal forays in the Albemarle country was to reduce, destroy or immobilize the daring and troublesome Guerilla bands. And in truth these brave home defenders were being reduced to helplessness. How this end was finally accomplished by the conquerors, for all practical purposes, is clearly set forth in General Butler's report from “Fortress Monroe,” December 31, 1863, to Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton, and which is herewith quoted:
“I have the honor to report that General Wild was dispatched by my order upon an expedition with two regiments of colored troops into the northeastern counties of North Carolina. Our navigation on the Dismal Swamp Canal has been interrupted, and the Union inhabitants plundered by the guerrillas.”
“General Wild took the most stringent measures, burning the property of some of the officers of guerrilla parties, and seizing the wives and families of others as hostages for some of his negroes that were captured, and appears to have done his work with great thoroughness, but perhaps with too much stringency. The effect has been, however, that the people of Pasquotank, Currituck, Camden, Perquimans, and Chowan Counties have assembled, and all passed resolutions similar to those which I enclose, which were passed by the inhabitants of Pasquotank County, and three of the counties have sent committees to me with their resolutions. These resolutions were signed by 523 inhabitants of the county, an average vote being 800, and every prominent man, I am informed by the committee who presented them, that had not signed them had left and gone across the line.”
“The guerrillas have also been withdrawn from these counties, to the relief of the inhabitants.”
“I have promised the committees of the several counties that so long as they remain quiet, keep out the guerrillas, and stop blockade running, that they shall be afforded all possible protection by us, and be allowed to bring their products into Norfolk and receive goods in exchange.”
“Until I can get sufficient force organized to make it safe to throw my lines around them, I have further informed them that I shall not require the oath of allegiance.”
“I think we are much indebted to General Wild and his negro troops
for what they have done, and it is but fair to record that while some complaints were made of the action authorized by General Wild against the inhabitants and their property, yet all the committees agree that the Negro soldiers made no unauthorized interference with property or persons, and conducted themselves with propriety.”
“I find some of the officers in the department in command of white soldiers, a considerable degree of prejudice against the colored troops, and in some cases impediments have been thrown in the way of recruiting, and they were interfered with on their expeditions. This I am investigating, and shall punish with the most stringent measures, trusting and believing my action will be sustained by the Department. I also find some incompetent officers in the negro regiments. . . .”
“I shall take leave, therefore, to report for dismissal those who in my judgment, upon investigation, are not fit for service. The Negro troops, to have a fair chance, ought to have first-class officers. . . .”
“I beg leave to inclose a copy of General Wild's report, and also the original proceedings of the citizens of Pasquotank.”
While no record of a meeting in Camden for the purpose of adopting the resolutions referred to by General Butler seems to have been preserved, doubtless the proceedings were similar to those of the Pasquotank gathering. What took place in that county is described in an enclosure attached to General Butler's communication to Secretary Stanton, and from which the following quotations are taken.
“Petition of 523 citizens of Pasquotank”
“At a meeting of the citizens of Pasquotank County, N. C., held at the court-house in Elizabeth City, December 19, 1863, Dr. William G. Pool being called to the chair and Isaiah Fearing selected secretary, a committee consisting of George W. Brooks, John C. Ehringhaus, R. F. Overman, William H. Clark, and (by motion) William G. Pool were appointed to present suitable matter for the action of this meeting.”
“Being called upon, George W. Brooks, chairman, submitted the following preamble and resolutions, which were unanimously adopted:”
“Whereas the county of Pasquotank has suffered immensely since the fall of Roanoke Island, without aid or protection from any source: and whereas we have been lately visited, by order of General Benjamin F. Butler, by such force and under such circumstances as to cause universal panic and distress; and whereas we have been assured by General E. A. Wild, in command of the force, that he will continue to operate here, even to the destruction, if necessary, of every species of property for the purpose of ‘ridding this country of partisan rangers’; and whereas
we believe that these rangers cannot be of any service to us, but that their further presence here will bring upon us speedy and inevitable ruin; and whereas we are promised to be ‘let alone’ if these rangers be removed or disbanded and return quietly home, and further, if that species of business known as ‘blockade running’ be desisted from: Therefore, in view of these facts and of this condition of things,”
“Resolved, That we earnestly petition the Governor and Legislature of North Carolina, satisfied that you cannot protect us with any force at your command, to remove or disband these few rangers; on motion,”
“Resolved, That we denounce that species of business carried on here by private citizens for private gain known as ‘blockade running’; and that we hereafter use our best efforts to suppress such trade.”
“On motion, Barney Berry, Dr. J. J. Shannonhouse, John D. Markham, Thomas I. Murden, B. F. Whitehurst, Timothy Hunter, Frank Vaughan, and D. D. Raper, being one of each captain's district in the county, were appointed to obtain the signatures of every male citizen of the county above, and to send copies to the Legislature of North Carolina and to General B. F. Butler.”
“On Motion, William H. Clark, Dr. J. J. Shannonhouse, and Richard B. Creecy were appointed a committee to bear these proceedings to the Governor and Legislature of North Carolina, and to ask their immediate attention to the same.”
“On motion, a committee consisting of George W. Brooks, George D. Pool, and John J. Grandy was appointed to bear the proceedings to General B. F. Butler, at Fort Monroe, and to learn of him whether the removal of partisan rangers from this county, and the ceasing of all persons in this county to run the blockade, will secure us, through him, from raid by United States forces through this county and the further destruction of our property.”
“On motion, George Brooks, W. F. Dashiell and Reuben F. Overman were appointed a committee to raise funds to defray the expenses of the committee to Raleigh and Fort Monroe.”
“On motion, the following persons were appointed to bear the proceedings of this meeting to the following counties, viz; Charles C. Pool to Chowan; Andrew J. Perry, to Gates; John H. Perry, to Perquimans; J. B. Shaw to Camden; and C. L. Cobb to Currituck.”
“Meeting adjourned.”
“Signed by W. G. Pool, Ch. Isaiah Fearing Sec. Benoni Cartwright, John W. Graves, Jesse M. Rhodes, Charles Meeds, Marmaduek Rhodes, James Gannon, Barney Berry, et al. Elizabeth City, Dec. 26.”
The scarcity of written materials relating to the civil conflict in this county is offset in part by an abundance of traditions. By this means stories of many incidents have been handed down, and some gain fresh details as the years go by. One of the best established tales concerns a courageous journey in the night by young Wealthy Burgess who, although a sister of the Buffalo leader, Peter T., was a staunch supporter of the Confederacy. Late in the war a small group of captured Confederate officers, who were being transported via these inland waters to a northern prison, by a strategem effected a mutiny on the boat and escaped to the protection of North River Swamp, where they were forced to remain in hiding. A rigid supervision already maintained by Union patrols was now intensified as every road was watched for traces of the escaped prisoners. Samuel Leary of Sandy Hook furtively supplied them with food at the risk of death, loss of property, and danger to his family. Indeed, an effort by any man with Confederate sympathies to guide the officers to freedom would clearly invite disaster both for them as well as for himself. By underground channels, however, arrangements had been made to provide escape on one of the fishing boats lying in Pasquotank River. Since the officers were unfamiliar with the country, their problem was to travel undetected from North River pocosin and across Camden County to the waiting sailboat on the river. Believing the Yankee search parties were less likely to suspect a woman, Wealthy Burgess volunteered to act as guide. As night came she left the house of a relative living at Taylor's Beach along the Pasquotank River and, avoiding the roadways, traversed eight miles mostly through forests and swamps to the waiting officers. Retracing the route, she conducted them to the waiting fishing smack, which slipped safely away in the darkness.
Among the many episodes occurring, there were some which emphasized the tragedies of war more poignantly than death in combat even. For example, when the Home Guard, John Bell, was fatally shot from ambush, two women weaving cloth a half mile away heard the noise of the discharge with misgivings; such a sound had come to mean, they had learned, that a human being was the target and not a wild animal. Knowing that no man from the opposing factions could safely investigate, they harnessed a horse to a two wheeled cart and, following a path, found the recently killed man lying across a footlog. Conscious of a certain dignity due the dead, Mrs. Mary Kight and young Sarah Burgess lifted the body into the farm vehicle and thus transported it to his dwelling, a distance of some three miles away.
When the war was over, the soldier who returned from the distant battlefield, the Guerilla and the Buffalo—all attempted the difficult task of making a living under the trying regime of reconstruction. Willis B. Sanderlin resumed his business as a merchant in Shiloh, and he also operated his plantation known as the Bear Garden. William P. Walston began farming again. Later, he became somewhat active politically, representing Camden in the lower house in 1891.
By a coincidence, both men removed from the county. Major Sanderlin disposed of his various properties and migrated to Virginia. Captain Walston suffered financial reverses and spent his last days in Pasquotank. It is to be hoped that further information will eventually be discovered to give us more details of their leadership in the various exploits of the Home Guards or Guerillas.
• Three BrothersREV. LLOYD BAUM JONES
1878-1950
REV. JOHN CALHOUN JONES
1869-1942
REV. WILLIAM FORBES JONES
1871-1944
THE SOUTHERNMOST TIP of high land in Camden County ends at a point almost opposite the confluence of Pasquotank River and Albemarle Sound, being separated from those waters by a fringe of swamp averaging a half mile or more in width. This terminal strip of arable soil is also the site of an ancient plantation, a tract which was included in the 240 acres sold by Francis Delamere, “son and heir of Francis Delamere,” to William Wright in 1721 and which, according to the deed, was “commonly called Akehurst Ridge.” Since Daniel Akehurst, as a resident of Perquimans Precinct, was made a member of the Council of State in 1694, he obviously must have owned the farm at an earlier period, and Wright would therefore seem to have been the fourth owner.
By descent the lands fell to Augustine Wright who devised them to his brother John, who died there in 1772.
Despite its antiquity, however, Akehurst Ridge is not the oldest place-name known to the Camden area. Approximately one hundred years before the time of John Philpott and Daniel Akehurst, 1585 or thereabouts, a band of colonists, sponsored by Sir Walter Raleigh, was making the well-known attempt to establish a permanent home on Roanoke Island. From this settlement exploring expeditions were sent out to the coastal regions bordering the sounds and the ocean. Maps were prepared and on them were recorded the names of the Indian villages and towns visited by the exploring party. The only settlement shown in the Camden territory was Pasquenoc (elsewhere referred to as Pasquenoke), and this was located within the limits of the community known today as Old Trap. Although it seems impossible to determine the exact site of the Indian town, three places suggest themselves as plausible. One is the Raymond's Neck section adjacent to Raymond's Creek and Old Trap Bay. Another probability is Tommy's Point, which affords a splendid view of the river and which a hundred years later was to be the plantation of the patricians John and Sarah Hawkins, and which, a century after their day, was occupied by Thomas Wilson whose name is perpetuated in the appellation “Tommy's Point.” And quite conceivably the Indians had pitched their fort and wigwams on Akehurst Ridge because of the convenient source of fish and game provided by the nearby Albemarle Sound and the adjacent great pocosins of North River.
Amidst the surroundings—the proximity of both the vast swamps with their air of impenetrable mystery and the wide waters which afford access directly into the ocean—one would naturally expect to encounter tales reminiscent of the history of these shores. One might expect to hear a spine-tingling yarn of bloody struggles for loot in those almost forgotten years when piracy was the order of the day in these environs. Or, again, one might anticipate a lusty romance with a salty flavor, having its origin in the colonial period when a goodly portion of the male population was engaged in some phase of maritime activity. As a matter of fact, if there were any such stories, they have not survived; nevertheless, an occurrence unique on Camden's soil did come to pass on this plantation.
Just before the outbreak of the Civil War one John K. Jones came to live on these lands after his marriage to Mary Wright, a direct descendant of the John Wright already referred to and also one of the
heirs at law of this property. Mary died without issue and then Jones married Mary Ellen Forbes. Three sons of this union lived to maturity and all three became ministers in the church of their faith, the only known instance where three brothers have entered the ministry from Camden.
The influence which caused the Jones brothers to choose the profession selected may not be too easily explained. Though the father was a devout member of his Church, he was diffident in expressing himself publicly, nor does there seem to have been any tradition of public life in his family background. On the other hand, the lineage of the mother suggests inherited tendencies. Mrs. Jones’ father was William Guilford (“Squire Billy”) Forbes, whose mother Lydia Guilford came from a clan which had held local offices since colonial times. “Squire Billy's” wife Julia Jarvis was a member of a well-known Currituck family which for generations had displayed outstanding ability in public affairs. Heredity, then, might be accepted as the explanation were it not for the presence of two other young men, the late Marshall L. Burgess and Edmund Mitchell, who were practically reared in this household and they, too, proved to be effective lay exhorters in the congregation, although they were not related to each other or to Mrs. Jones. One suspects, therefore, that the atmosphere of this home encouraged self-expression among the youths who matured there.
Quite likely the neighbors were slow to recognize any ministerial possibilities in the Jones youngsters. From all accounts they were a husky and a somewhat rowdy trio. There was nothing vicious in their habits, it seems, but they were as unrestrained in their activities as colts turned loose in a pasture on a frosty morning. As they grew up, each one seems to have assumed leadership of the boys in his age group in the community, and some of their disciples found the business of following the leader to be rough going at times. On one occasion a member of the neighborhood gang climbed a tree of some height in order to exhibit his prowess; whereupon the Joneses scornfully declared this effort inadequate, and by threatening various forms of mayhem they forced him to remain up the tree which they proceeded to cut down from under the hapless climber. They advised another, who aspired to perform some difficult deed, to throw one end of a rope over a high limb, fasten the other end about his neck and, grasping the free end, pull himself up to said limb, a feat which was gamely attempted but with painful results.
Nor did the brothers hesitate to play practical jokes on each other, as the fence episode well illustrates. In the days of their youth all the fields were enclosed with rail fences. In their forays on watermelon patches in the neighborhood the method employed by the Jones boys was to creep along the wooden structure and instead of climbing over and thereby exposing themselves to any watchful landowners, they would raise the fence from the bottom for each other and crawl through the improvised opening. On one occasion when it was William's turn to hold up the barricade, he lowered it on John's shins before the latter could pull his feet through. William then departed, leaving the brother to extricate himself by his own ingenuity.
These frolicsome lads all developed into fine physical specimens. At the age of seventeen, Lloyd, the youngest, was a six-foot stalwart of more than two hundred pounds of bone and muscle; and though the two older brothers were a few pounds lighter, all three may be said to have “weighed in” in the same class. Like the virile Apostle Paul, who could very well have been their patron saint, when they came to manhood they, too, put away childish things. Each one decided, apparently of his own volition, to enter the ministry.
There is no known dramatic incident or spectacular reason which influenced their decision. Each seems to have chosen his vocation after thoughtful deliberation. John and William joined the local church, Wesley Methodist, during the ministry of the Rev. John O. Moss. In his early teens Lloyd was received into membership by the Rev. J. W. S. Robbins and soon began to lead in prayer meetings and similar devotional services.
The brothers were individualists who did not conform to the same pattern, even when acquiring an education. John attended Randolph Macon College in Virginia and taught school for a few years at Hertford before accepting a pastorate. William remained at home where he was instructed by a private tutor, and completed his formal education by taking correspondence courses from various institutions. Lloyd first enrolled at Trinity Park School in Durham and finished his training at Drew Seminary in New Jersey.
All three became ministers of distinction in the Methodist Church. Early in their careers the older two effected a transfer to Florida, where John served as district superintendent and was also the recipient of an honorary degree in divinity. Both he and William were pastors of churches in Jacksonville at the time of their retirement, and both continued to live in that city for the remainder of their lives. Besides
serving as pastor of various congregations in North Carolina, Lloyd filled the office of superintendent for the districts of Wilmington, Weldon and Rocky Mount, in that order, and his last home was in the latter town. He had broadened his education through foreign travel, a factor which may explain why of the three brothers his achievements seem to be somewhat more impressive.
John was an active minister for forty-seven years; William, thirty-seven; and Lloyd, thirty-five, the combined total amounting to one hundred and eighteen. No other family in Camden in one generation has equalled the contribution of the Jones brothers in the service of a church.
• A ScholarREV. CHARLES BRAY WILLIAMS
1869-1952
THE CLOSE OF THE WAR Between the States found Camden financially prostrate, in common with the rest of the South. Without money, without equipment and harassed by the—at times—stupid and vicious program of carpetbag government, the citizenry had of necessity to attempt to lift themselves from their wretched situation by their own bootstraps, so to speak. If the county had adopted a coat of arms in the half century following the surrender of Lee at Appomattox, appropriate armorial bearings, employing the language of heraldry, could very well have been:
Arms: An axe, a hoe and a pair of patched dungarees.
Crest: A turn plow.
Supporter: Two mules wearing bridle, collar and traces.
Motto: By the sweat of our brow.
The year in which Charles Bray Williams was born, 1869, was a period, then, of acute economic distress and deprivation. Since his father was in debt, without funds and dependent upon his own labors, it seemed necessary for the sons to go to work in the fields as soon as they could assist even in the simplest tasks. The oldest boy Charles must have been convinced of the imperative need of formal training as
he faced the daily rugged routine on the farm. At any rate, he began avidly to acquire information and to assimilate knowledge at every opportunity. The desire to learn became a consuming ambition which enabled him to surmount the obstacles of penury and the lack of opportunity to attend school. Despite his poverty, the father was not unsympathetic to the aspirations of the youth and tendered the following concession. The lad was assigned a weekly task amounting to the work which would normally be done on a farm, and should he complete this stint before the end of the week, he would have entire freedom to make use of his spare time as he saw fit. Charles literally employed every available moment to further his education. He carried textbooks strapped to his person and, for example, when it was necessary to pause for the team to have “a breathing spell,” he would read and study in those few minutes. He even arranged a rack on his plow handles to support an open book, and sometimes he managed to read a little when he was plowing. His father considered it wise for the boys to go to bed early in order to have sufficient rest to meet the physical demands of the next day's toil, but Charles evolved a scheme for avoiding this bedtime regulation. After the household had retired he would quietly rise again, creep into the huge fireplace and draw up the fireboard so that the light from his kerosene lamp would not be visible in the room, and then pursue his studies far into the night. Having gained leisure for studying by this subterfuge and also having gained some spare time by speeding up the work in the fields, he would report to the teacher of the public schools on a Friday afternoon and quickly recite more than the whole week's assignment to regular pupils.
At the age of sixteen he began to teach in the public schools in order to obtain funds with which to begin his college education. He enrolled at Wake Forest College, where his ability and earnestness soon aroused the interest of faculty members who found jobs for him. He completed the units required for graduation within three years time. Having decided to enter the ministry, after graduating he enrolled for further training at the Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. The acquisition of knowledge was ever to him an exhilarating pursuit, and without any delay he went on to obtain his doctor of divinity degree from Crozier Seminary at Chester, Pennsylvania. And still his thirst for learning was unslaked seemingly, for he next proceeded to obtain his doctorate in philosophy at the University of Chicago. In the meantime he had very practically taken a business course at Poughkeepsie in order to facilitate his earning capacity while he was completing the
studies necessary for the degrees received from advanced institutions of learning.
By the time he had completed his training for the ministry and obtained the two additional degrees, he had acquired a deserved reputation as an erudite scholar, particularly as a student of the Greek language, and there began to be a demand for his services as an instructor. As a result he found himself laboring quite naturally in the field of education. In actual practice he may be said to have followed two professions—teaching and preaching—for the greater portion of his life. For thirty-five years he taught Greek in Baptist seminaries and institutions of learning besides various courses in the general field of religion, such as The New Testament at Mercer University in Georgia and Ethics at Union University in Alabama. While his major work in education was as college teacher, for two years he was Dean of Southwestern Baptist Seminary, and for the same length of time he was President of Howard University in Birmingham. And during all the years while he was teaching he was also serving as regular pastor for some congregation. In other words, every day of his life was a busy one.
His energies were boundless. Besides the accomplishments already mentioned, he was the author of several pamphlets and books, some of which were A Brief History of Shiloh Church; History of N. C. Baptists; Function of Teaching in Christianity; Introduction to Christian Ethics; Evolution of New Testament Christology, and his most noted effort, The New Testament, his own translation from the Greek. The latter effort is a work of profound scholarship and is distinguished because of the simplicity of the vocabulary—“the language of the people”—and because the implications of the Greek tenses are clearly indicated.
After his retirement at the age of seveny-two he accepted an invitation to become pastor of the beloved church of his boyhood, Shiloh Baptist in Camden County. This pastorate he filled with evident enjoyment, and he brought to his last charge talents of a high and an agreeable order. A master of the felicitous phrase, he was often called upon to address many types of gatherings. At the age of seventy-eight he retired again and removed to Florida, where he died at the age of eighty-three.
Charles Bray Williams has the distinction of being the most learned scholar who was a native of Camden County.
• A Useful CitizenHERMAN VINCENT LEARY
1909-1952
THE CONTRIBUTIONS made by the men and women who have played a part in the history of this northeast side are almost as diverse as the individuals themselves. The results of the works which have been wrought have also varied greatly. For what they accomplished a few have received a small measure of fame, some have prospered in business and others have been rewarded in varying degrees with political office and preferment. Vincent Leary, as we all called him, was accorded very little in the way of public acclaim or in financial betterment in return for worthy services which he rendered and from which the whole county benefited. He was chiefly responsible for the outcome of political campaigns whose effects elevated our county government from a humiliating level to a praiseworthy standard of conduct in office, and which secured for Camden, during the same period, upwards of $100,000 which otherwise would have been assigned to another school unit.
This is not an account of a reformer who set out with an exalted mission in mind; it is rather the story of a typical American boy who carried his ideals with him into manhood and, like Topsy, “jes’ growed” into a position as leader of the reform element by a sort of natural process. Born at Old Trap, he attended high schools in the county and in Elizabeth City, displaying marked interest and ability in athletics and also some qualities of leadership among the youngsters of his age. When scarcely a month passed his eighteenth birthday he married his boyhood sweetheart and, having assumed the responsibilities of the head of a household, he turned his attention to making a living on a farm.
From the time of the first settlers the younger men, especially in this section, have found it desirable to supplement their farming operations with income from other undertakings. In the beginning some of the planters built and operated their own sailing vessels, chiefly during the winter months, in coastwise trade or in traffic with the West Indies. Others in the off season made barrel staves, hoops, shingles and the like to supply the demand in other regions for our forest products. Some turned to catching the early spring runs of shad and herring, and others easily found employment as sailors, who were greatly in demand in the flourishing maritime commerce of colonial days. Nowadays, it
may be added, most of those job opportunities no longer exist; many do not farm at all; they commute daily to their work with firms in Elizabeth City, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and elsewhere.
Some of Leary's activities, therefore, were no doubt motivated by a desire to make both ends meet economically. He was also fortunate in possessing a frank and engaging personality, and it may be that he was inevitably destined for some participation in county politics. At the age of twenty-three he was elected constable and in the next year he was appointed deputy sheriff. He acted as cotton reporter of the United States Census Bureau for Camden, Currituck, and Pasquotank Counties from 1934 to 1936, when he was elected to the lower house of the state legislature. Beginning with 1938, he filled the position of State Probation Officer for the first judicial district. In 1941 he went to work as a patrolman at the U. S. Naval Air Station over in Pasquotank, was promoted to chief in April of the following year, and afterwards was signally honored by an invitation from the Police Commissioner of New York City to attend a special course at the New York Police Academy, being the only person outside the New York Police force who was allowed this privilege. He resigned in 1944 to devote himself to his farming interests, making his residence in the community of Shiloh and in one of the most attractive of the ante bellum homes remaining in this county.
Since Leary was not unmindful of the relation between the history of agriculture and the course of events on this county, it would seem appropriate to include herewith a brief backward glance at the products predominating during the several periods of our existence from the days of the County of Albemarle until the present. The one item which has continued to be a staple crop is corn. To the first settlers it constituted a necessary article of diet both for man and beast, and while it is no longer as necessary for food as formerly, more acreage is still devoted to its cultivation than to any other item. Tobacco was our first money crop under the Lords Proprietors; but it languished because we had no convenient seaports on our coast and because Virginia discouraged shipments through her harbors. It rose in importance again after the coming of the railroads provided a means of transportation to seaports everywhere and to outside markets, but it did not reassert itself substantially in this area since the local soil is not the type for growing bright leaf tobacco. Pork also quickly became an important part of the daily fare and a profitable source of income from the export trade inasmuch as hogs fattened easily on the plentiful supply of acorns and nuts in the forests, with little attention or cost on the part of the owners.
To a lesser extent the same was true of cattle which could find forage of a sort in the pocosins even in the winter months. The cows and calves did not thrive under these conditions, however, and gradually deteriorated into an inferior breed known locally as “ticky stock.” The revenue from forest products was the beginning of many a local fortune. Since the farmers attempted to be self-sufficient, some crops, such as flax, were grown principally for home use. Prior to the civil war wheat had come to have an importance second only to corn. Cotton came to be the main cash crop during the nineteenth century, but it has been superseded largely by Irish potatoes and soy beans within the past fifty years, and there has been increasing attention in recent times to cabbages and snap beans. Potatoes continue to be our most important cash crop, and Leary found them profitable. He and a brother began to operate a potato grader and to sell fertilizer and seeds to other farmers. A comfortable living was the result.
A formative period of especial significance in this young farmer's career would seem to have been the five years ending with his term in the legislature. As constable and then as deputy sheriff he understandably acquired knowledge at first hand of what was taking place in the various branches of county government, and he must have deliberated at length upon what he had learned. Association with his fellow representatives in Raleigh enabled him to take a look at his home bailiwick in perspective. He sensed the disgust in the tones of some of his co-workers when they discussed the marriage racket which had made his county notorious in two states; and he was conscious of an emotion far from admiration when references were made to the handling of public funds in Camden. His keen and observant mind seems to have made the deduction that while there were situations properly subject to criticism in other localities, in very few had the functions of government been so abused as in his own political unit.
Thereafter his fixed policy was to support those candidates whose conduct in office would, in his opinion, be creditable. He did not declare himself the leader of a reform movement nor did he aspire to be such, though this was what he came to be in effect. There were many people in the county who had been greatly disturbed over the political situation; their efforts had not been very productive because they lacked the leadership ncessary to give drive and direction to any sentiment. Consequently, they at first turned to Leary as the only potential leader who was willing to help them, and by the same token he emerged as the leader of those whose aim was to elevate the level of local government.
Fortunately, he proved to be the kind of leader needed in this emergency. He was not lacking in courage and he possessed the qualities of an able fighter. He could strike powerful blows for the cause he championed, displaying at the same time the traits of good sportsmanship. He could be victorious without becoming vindictive; and he could take defeat without rancor. The opposition found him to be a formidable opponent because of their inability to pin anything malodorous on him. It was true that he spent his leisure hours in such pastimes as trolling for striped bass, “beating up” white perch, and playing softball, but in these parts public sentiment does not condemn a man for such pastimes.
Quite logically he eventually became Chairman of the County Democratic Executive Committee, a position which was greatly to our good fortune. Within ten years there was a new look in local officialdom despite desperate opposition on the part of the regime that was being replaced, and again the inhabitants hereabouts were no longer embarrassed by the conduct of their governing personnel. And then in the latter years of his life he may have rendered his most significant service. He had strongly supported all community projects since his rise to a position of leadership, one example being the formation of the South Camden Ruritan Club (of which he became the first president), when a situation developed in the county as a result of Governor Scott's road and school program. Under the provisions of this legislation, slightly more than $280,000 was allotted to Camden County for schoolbuilding purposes.
Now our people had already partially surrendered to a spirit of defeatism. Camden and Shiloh had already abandoned their high schools, the students being enrolled in Elizabeth City, and only South Mills still held its boys and girls despite lack of adequate equipment. When the opportunity for the large sum of money from the state was presented to the county, there were many patrons who felt that it was useless to attempt to rebuild a school system in the county because they feared the old days of mismanagement would reoccur, and these parents were therefore in favor of continuing attendance in the Elizabeth City schools and of surrendering to that unit a proportionate part of Camden's funds. Between this group and those citizens who felt that the amount allotted from the state offered a wonderful opportunity to maintain our own schools for our own children, there developed a sharp difference of opinion. When decision on this matter was made the issue in a spirited political campaign, Leary sided with those who would rebuild on their
own soil, and this faction won decisively at the polls, for by this time his influence was such that his endorsement and support practically insured victory. As a result of this election Camden has school plants for both races with equipment sufficient for adequate instruction, the first time in our history.
One of the most affable of men, Leary seemed at times to be distressed by the bitter and continuous opposition on the part of those who resented his assumption of leadership. Since he refrained from being a candidate for office, and since they were unable to defeat those whom he supported, they exerted pressure in sundry ways to persuade him to become inactive in county affairs. This pressure was relentless and, notwithstanding a splendid physique, may be a partial explanation of the fatal heart attack which took his life on June 11, 1952, in his forty-third year. One of the largest crowds ever to assemble in Camden attended the funeral exercises, a token of the esteem accorded him by his fellow citizens.
He died just before the runoff primary held for two local candidates, and the following incident may therefore have more than a casual significance. Hardly were the funeral services over when one of the opposition appealed to one of Leary's co-workers to switch allegiance in the second primary. When Leary's friend stated that he had obligated himself to the deceased, the solicitor waved this commitment aside as of no consequence with the remark, “Vincent's dead.” But even though the leader had departed, his candidate was still the winner, an augury indicative, it is hoped, of the future. Here was a young man who was not afraid to battle for the right as he saw it, and he left as his bequest to us an example of a democratic leader of the better type.
• Leader Among Camden WomenBESS TILLITT GREGORY
1895-1956
A THOROUGHFARE LEADING FROM SHILOH to Indiantown still follows the ancient King's Highway or “Big Road” as it runs through a region which was known as Blewbooten's Neck as early as 1700, and which
is simply called Bluebutton today. In a spacious century-old dwelling still standing in the neighborhood, there was born a daughter on August 31, 1895, to Gideon Marchant Tillitt and his wife, the former Bettie Sanderlin. Whether the newcomer smiled when she opened her eyes is not recorded, but she must have liked what she looked upon because for the next sixty-one years she proceeded to enjoy herself immensely and to be a source of happiness and help to those with whom she came in contact. Notwithstanding the fact that her name was officially entered in the family Bible as Bettie Anna and that after marriage her cards bore the name of Mrs. Phillip P. Gregory, to the people of this county she was always Bess Tillitt or Bess Tillitt Gregory.
This sketch will concern itself with the changes taking place in the lives of women during the life span of the woman who was born in the big house in Bluebutton, and with the part she played in the transformation. During this period many old customs were discarded and many new ones added. For the first time the housewife came out of the kitchen to go to the polls to cast her ballot with her husband. No longer did she remain at home in lonely solitude while her spouse attended his lodges and similar organizations; she helped organize women's clubs in which she found pleasure in friendly intercourse with others of her sex and acquired useful housekeeping information. In recent times she has begun to hold public office in Camden; fifty years ago local sentiment would have sharply condemned such activity as unbecoming in a lady. These modern practices were not introduced, however, with overnight suddenness; so gradually were they started that when they did take place, they were usually accepted as a matter of course.
Certain personal qualifications, some innate and some acquired, enabled Bess Tillitt Gregory to take a place in a most natural manner in the changing world in which she found herself. Coming from a family noted for its sociability, she too enjoyed mingling with people. Her nine years as a schoolteacher undoubtedly afforded excellent training for dealing with the general public. Her marriage in 1927 to a prosperous young farmer and lumberman was another factor of importance in her career. Because of his friendly support and quiet assistance she was encouraged to participate in many activities; and she was quick to point out that without his cooperation her accomplishments would have been few.
Her participation in club officialdom began after her marriage. In 1924 the Camden Woman's Club was organized, the first in the county,
with Mrs. Clyde Etheridge as president. Mrs. Gregory joined this group and in 1929 was elected president, her first office as a club official and a position which, by the way, she was to fill again twenty years later. But women's organizations received their greatest impetus in 1935 when Miss Mary Teeter was employed as the first Home Demonstration Agent for this county. This move was initiated by Miss Lilly Grandy of Elizabeth City, a long-time friend and benefactress whose forebears came from this side of the river. Funds to pay the salary of an agent, it may be explained, were provided by county, state and federal governments, each branch paying one third, which, in this instance, was $600. Miss Grandy offered to contribute $200 if the commissioners would make provision for the remaining $400. Women in every community were in favor of employing a home demonstration instructor, and the Camden Club lent a helping hand by sending four delegates to appear with Miss Grandy, the four being Mrs. Will Morrisette, Sr., Mrs. B. C. Cuthrell, Mrs. L. L. Stevens and Mrs. P. P. Gregory. The commissioners made the appropriation, and home demonstration clubs were shortly thereafter formed in nine communities: Camden, Belcross, Indiantown, Old Trap, Pearceville, Riddle, Sharon, Shiloh and South Mills. Today the majority of these groups have clubhouses of their own.
The home demonstration programs have effected a great change in Camden, both in the home and in external appearances. Some of the most obvious projects have been roadside beautification, lawn appearance, county mail box improvement and a farm-naming contest. It is of interest to note that the last named plan was not an innovation, but a return to a custom often found in early days. The Gregorys named their attractive plantation “The Oaks,” and in so doing they had ample historical precednt. A majority of our first settlers were from England and many of them continued here the English custom of naming their homes. As an illustration, in his will, dated 1715, John Upton reveals that he had named one plantation Buckingham and another, Abingdon. Those appellations have not survived, but in 1723 Stephen Richardson devised one farm “known as Blewbooten's Neck” and another which he called “The Poplars Havin.” Modified, those designations have come down to us as “Bluebutton” and “The Poplars.” Noted residences in the country during the colonial period were General Gregory's “Fairfield,” Colonel Lamb's “Mt. Pleasant” and the Sawyer mansion, “Richmond.”
Mrs. Gregory became the first president of the home demonstration club of Indiantown, her home community after marriage. In 1937
she was elected President of the Camden County Council of Home Demonstration Clubs, and from then on her progress up the ladder of officialdom was rapid. Beginning with 1939, she held office in the organization as follows: two years as chairman of the 16th District comprising eight Albemarle counties; five years as corresponding secretary for the State Federation; and then as a state official, two years as Third Vice-President; two years as Second Vice-President; First Vice-President in 1949-50, and in the latter year she was elected President of the State Federation of Home Demonstration Clubs in North Carolina. Afterwards she automatically became a member of the state board of directors.
Other honors and privileges came to her as a result of her official career. Twice she was a delegate to the national conventions of the Farm Bureau when they were held in San Francisco and in Chicago, and the assemblage in the last named city designated her as “North Carolina Farm Woman of the Year.” While state president she spoke often over radio on national hookups, but the distinction which afforded her the most pleasure was being one of the five women sent to represent the farm women of North Carolina at the Sixth Triennial Meeting of the Associated Country Women of the World in Copenhagen, Denmark, in September of 1950. After the convention she made a tour of several European countries. Upon her return she appeared before many audiences, both nearby and elsewhere in the state, and related her experiences during her trip abroad, and no journey could be entirely dull to that vivacious personality.
Mrs. Gregory's activities were not limited by any means to work with home demonstration clubs. A member of historic Shiloh Baptist Church, she served over a period covering many years in such capacities as president of the Woman's Society and also of the Baptist Training Union, counselor to various youth groups, choir director, and Sunday School teacher. One church circle was named for her. She filled terms as a member of both the State Parole Board and the County Welfare Board, and as chairman of a Boy Scout Committee even.
Like many busy people she had a hobby for relaxation. Hers was collecting antiques—furniture, silver and especially old glass. She not only had knowledge of the different periods of glass making; she could relate in a highly entertaining manner the history of many of the significant pieces in her collection.
“Happy” is the word which seems best to describe the personality of this energetic lady who so thoroughly enjoyed life. Probably no one
has ever lived in Camden who could appreciate as well as she the exhilaration of the Psalmist in his joyous exhortation to “blow up the trumpet in the new moon.” She took a delight in humorous pranks; everyone who is old enough will recall with amusement the disreputable looking jalopy she purchased several years ago for twenty-five dollars, and in which, to the merriment of the onlookers, she and other young matrons among her friends used to cavort happily, if uncomfortably, along these country roads. Perhaps her keenest pleasure came from entertaining those who came to her home. Her infectious laughter could lighten any situation and her sense of humor protected her from the unhappiness which may befall those who take themselves too seriously. Like any leader she did not escape criticism; the envious sometimes said she was over-confident and assumed too much, and the petty always looked for a selfish reason as a motive for her accomplishments. All of which Bess Tillitt Gregory took in stride with a smile and without discouragement or resentment. To her there seemed much to do in this world and the solution was to go ahead and do it.
She also knew other aspects of life apart from the fun and the laughter. Many of her kindly deeds were known only to herself and to the recipient; many others are matters of public knowledge—her hospitality to boys in the service away from home, though she was childless, sympathetic counseling of wayward women while she was a member of the State Parole Board, consideration shown to her servants, and practical assistance to those in distress. Her life, then, was based upon the simple fundamental of helping others; there was nothing complicated in her standards. By way of explanation one may point out that she and North Carolina's towering literary genius, Thomas Wolfe, were miles apart in their philosophy of life; she with her cheerful optimism, and he with his brooding despondency. And yet, in a moment of unusual spiritual illumination, for him, this emotional giant burst out with an opinion on life after death which was in complete accord with her own point of view. “To die,” he wrote, is “to lose the life you have for greater life; to leave the friends you loved for greater loving.”
• Camden's Only Superior Court Appointment
WILLIAM IRA HALSTEAD
1878-
THOSE INDIVIDUALS OF ADVANCED YEARS, who have failed to achieve any outstanding goal and who are discouraged because they feel it may be too late for the doors of opportunity of open to them, may find renewed hope in the Biblical parable of the man who was employed at the eleventh hour and yet received a whole day's wage, and they also will do well to consider the career of William Ira Halstead, attorney at law and resident of South Mills. At the age of seventy-one, one year more than the traditional number allotted to man, he was one of those who successfully staged a stirring legislative fight in order to secure passage of road and school measures which constitute for Camden County some of the most beneficial legislation ever enacted in North Carolina's history.
Halstead's experience affords a prime illustration for the moralist who would stress the importance of being ready whenever a favorable occasion presents itself. Certainly if the Camden lawyer had been content to remain quietly at home because of his age, the unusual chance must have passed him by. As a matter of fact he was at the same time also establishing another record in our annals, perhaps unwittingly, in having a longer tenure as a legislator than any other representative who has lived on this northeast side. He has been successful at the polls eight times, three as a representative from the county and five as a senator from this district, making a total of sixteen years. Only two of our men have been elected a greater number of times—General Isaac Gregory and Caleb Perkins. General Gregory was twice a delegate from Pasquotank to assemblies or congresses, and after the formation of Camden he was the choice of the voters of the new county eight times as a senator and once as a member of the House of Commons. From 1802 until 1830, inclusive, Caleb Perkins was selected for ten terms as senator and six terms as a commoner from Camden, making a total of sixteen years, since prior to 1835 elections were held annually. Halstead gained an edge, however, by being a member of two special sessions, and this fact would seem to establish the record in his favor.
From necessity he was late in qualifying himself for the practice of law. He grew to manhood in the post bellum period when for most Camden families the business of making a living was a grim affair of toil and sweat combined with frugal economy. The family resources permitted him to complete such training as could be had in the one-teacher
schools in his neighborhood and then to graduate from the Southern Collegiate Institute in Elizabeth City under the noted schoolmaster, S. L. Sheep. Lacking funds with which to meet the expenses of attending an institution of higher learning, he very practically set out to overcome this difficulty by teaching school for a term and then enrolling for a period in the law school of Wake Forest College, his teaching being chiefly at Burnt Mills and at South Mills. By employing this method of procedure, he received his degree in law and license to practice in 1908 when he was thirty years old.
His career as a legislator also began late in life, he being first elected to the lower house in 1928 at the age of fifty, but for sixteen years, at intervals, out of the next twenty-two he was a member of either the lower or upper house of the General Assembly. For the most part he remained an inconspicuous solon. One bit of legislation of which he is justly proud was the passage of a bill sponsored by him in 1931 to require the State Highway and Public Works Commission to paint a line down the center of all paved roads, the work to be completed at the end of five years. During the same session he was a member of the sub-committee which drew up the so-called Hancock School Bill. In 1944 he ran for lieutenant governor and trailed the ticket.
His big chance came in the senate in 1949 during the administration of W. Kerr Scott, a dairy farmer from Alamance who, as a leader of the so-called liberal faction of the Democratic Party, defeated former State Treasurer Chas. M. Johnson in a runoff campaign in 1948. The campaign had been a heated one; and in consequence there were many members of the General Assembly who came to Raleigh determined apparently to obstruct any legislation advocated by Governor Scott, regardless of the merit of the proposals. And the legislative program presented by the Governor was at the time somewhat breathtaking. He proposed a bond issue of $200,000,000 for secondary road construction and $50,000,000 for the construction and repair of schoolbuildings, $25,000,000 of the latter to be divided equally among the 100 counties, and $25,000,000 to be allotted to the several school units on the basis of average daily attendance.
Camden County had not given Scott a majority nor had Halstead been a supporter of his, but it is not difficult to understand the Senator's favorable reaction as he studied the legislation advocated by the Governor. Camden was one of the poorest of the pauper counties. As yet there was no paved road connecting South Mills, his home, with the courthouse, and on secondary roads the farmers struggled through mud or dust as had their forebears from the time of the first cart path. The schools were on the road apparently to abandonment; all white students
from the central and southern parts of the county were enrolled in Elizabeth City, the only high school left being at South Mills, and this was handicapped by lack of equipment and facilities. The Negro schools were even on a lower level than those of the whites. And here was Senator Halstead from this impecunious county, confronted with the Governor's plan which would bring heretofore undreamed of improvements in the secondary roads and in the school plants.
It is small wonder, then, that knowing the urgent needs of his constituents and visualizing the benefits to be received should Scott's program be approved by the lawmaking bodies, this seventy-one year old senator entered the legislative hustings on behalf of the road and school bond issues with genuine zeal and youthful energy. His support was indeed timely, for against a determined opposition Governor Scott was sorely in need of help from any source; and he welcomed with gratitude the assistance which enabled him to transform his policies into law. Thus, as a reward, Halstead received an appointment to the superior court bench.
To the inhabitants of this county the benefits derived as a result of the roads and school program have been a continuing source of satisfaction. For the first time all secondary roads have been either stabilized or hard-surfaced; and no longer is it a major undertaking to bring farm products to market. All schools were provided with satisfactory space for the first time, an exception being the Rosenwald School at South Mills. It is no longer necessary for local students to attend public schools elsewhere in order to receive proficient instruction; a central high school for each race has been erected in the central part of the county. An ironical aspect of this situation is that the school bonds measure, for which Halstead fought so valiantly, caused South Mills to lose its high school. The state school funds were spent under the jurisdiction of the State Board of Education, and their decision was that there should be only one white high school in this unit and the location should be at Camden. Senator Halstead and others strongly contested this plan, but the State Board upheld their first recommendation.
The political axe was applied to many of Scott's appointees by his successor in the gubernatorial office, and Halstead was not reappointed. With him, however, there should remain the abiding satisfaction of knowing that in the 1949 session of the legislature he served the county and the state well. In so far as we know, no other legislation has been of such benefit to the inhabitants on this side of the river. And finally, Judge Halstead seems to have the unique distinction of being the only resident of this county who has received an appointment to the superior court bench.
APPENDICESA. GENEALOGICAL NOTES
GEORGE FLEMING m. Maria — (poss. sister of John Blish) & had issue: Elizabeth (untraced).
WILLIAM JENNINGS m. — — & had issue: (a) John m. Mary, dau. of Thos. & Mary Relfe; (b) Ann m. (1st) Wm. Seares, (2nd) Paul Latham; (c) — m. Ralph “Garrot”; (d) — m. Thomas Barecock.
PAUL LATHAM m. (1st) Ann, dau. of Wm. Jennings & wid. Wm. Seares; m. (2nd) Elizabeth —. Latham's children were: (a) George d. without issue; (b) Elizabeth (untraced) poss. m. Garrett Pusley.
JOHN PHILPOTT m. Mary — & had issue: — m. Wm. Woolard. Philpott was probably Mary's 2nd husband since he makes a bequest to John Lawson, “son of Nathaniel Lawson and wife's grandson.”
WILLIAM RAYMOND m. Sarah — & had issue; (a) Thomas m. Elizabeth —; (b) Edward (untraced); (c) Sarah (untraced); (d) Mary m. Chas. Wright; (e) Margaret m. Phillip Torksey; (f) Elizabeth m. (1st) John Scarborough, m. (2nd) — Smith.
CORNELIUS JONES m. Elizabeth — & had issue: (a) Cornelius m. Elizabeth Taylor; (b) Elizabeth m. George Caron (Caroon); (c) Ann (untraced but poss. m. John Relfe).
JOHN NORTON m. (1st) Mary —; m. (2nd) Jane, prob. dau. Wm. & Mary Jennings. Norton's children were; John (untraced).
JOHN DANSON m. Mary Archdale, dau. John Archdale and wife Anne Cary (wid.), & had issue: (a) Jothan (Jonathan), d. without issue; (b) Barbara, d. without issue; (c) — (untraced).
WILLIAM JOY m. Margre (Margery) — (poss. Burnham or Gambling) & had issue: Sarah (probably) m. Solomon Easter.
THOMAS BARECOCK m. dau. Wm. Jennings & had issue: (a) William m. Jane Peggs; (b) Thomas (untraced); (c) Priscilla m. — (probably Thomas) Gregory; (d) Margaret m. Richard Gregory; (e) Elizabeth m. John Upton; (f) Sarah m. John Sanderlin; (g) Rebekah m. James Forbes; (h) Martha m. John Forbes; (i) — m. — Davis.
ROBERT MORGAN m. Elizabeth dau. Phillip Torksey & Mary French & had issue: (a) Bennett (untraced); (b) Joseph (untraced); (c) Robert (untraced); (d) Moses (untraced); (e) Ann (untraced); (f) Allis (untraced); (g) Elizabeth (untraced); Judah (or Judith) m. William Gregory.
WILLIAM REED m. (1st) Christian — (poss. dau. John & Mary Relfe Jennings) & had issue: (a) Christian m. Mary Durant; (b) William m. Elizabeth Hatch; (c) Mary m. John Solley. William Reed m. (2nd) Jane
Norton wid. John Norton & prob. dau. William & Mary Jennings & had issue: (a) Joseph m. Elizabeth Durant; (b) William (untraced).
ANN JONES dau. Cornelius Jones & wife Elizabeth — (untraced but poss. m. John Relfe).
GABRIEL BURNHAM m. Isabella — & had issue: Gabriel m. Bridgett —.
SAMUEL WILLIAMS m. Mary — & had issue: (a) Samuel d. without issue; (b) Barbara m. (1st) Stephen Brent, (2nd) John Powell; (c) Rebecca m. (1st) John Forbes, (2nd) William Snowden.
MCRORA SCARBOROUGH m. (1st) Anna, dau. Thomas Peterson & wife Joanna Lakar, & had issue: (a) Benjamin (untraced); (b, c) two sons d. in infancy.
McRora Scarborough m. (2nd) Elizabeth Hatch Reed, wid. William Reed, & had issue: (a) Elizabeth (untraced); (b) McRora (untraced); (c) William (untraced).
JOHN SOLLEY m. (1st) Mary, dau. Colonel William Reed & wife Christian & had issue: (a) Thomas, (untraced); (b) Mary (probably) (untraced). John Solley m. (2nd) Sarah, dau. Col. Robert West & wife Mary Harvey & wid. (1st) Thomas Wyatt, (2nd) Edmund Pope, & had issue: (a) Joseph (untraced); (b) others (untraced).
CALEB SAWYER, son of Thomas Sawyer, m. Susannah — & had issue: (a) Lemuel m. Mary Taylor; (b) Sylvanus m. Mary Jones; (c) Mary m. Josiah Nash; and there were probably others.
THOMAS HUNTER m. (1st) — — & had issue; Thomas (untraced). Thomas Hunter m. (2nd) Rebecca, wid. Col. Thos, Swann. No issue.
JOHN BURGESS, son of William Burgess & wife Sarah Scarborough, m. Margaret Redding & had issue: (a) John m. Dinah —; (b) Dempsey m. (1st) Elizabeth Sawyer, (2nd) Tamar —; (c) Joseph (untraced); (d) Freelove m. William Mercer; (e) Zephaniah m. Anne Upton, wid.
WILLIAM BURGESS, son of Stephen Burgess, m. (1st) Sarah Scarborough, dau. John Scarborough, & had issue: (a) William m. Penelope Bryant; (b) John m. (1st) Margaret Bell(?), (2nd) — Redding; (c) Elizabeth m. Benjamin Torksey.
William Burgess m. (2nd) — — & had issue (a) Jesse, d. without issue; (b) Benoni, d. without issue; (c) Elizabeth, (untraced); (d) Mary m. John Griffin.
GRIFFITH JONES m. (1st) Mary — & had issue: (a) Mary m. Sylvanus Sawyer; (b) Sarah m. Stephen Sawyer.
Griffith Jones m. (2nd) Elizabeth — & had issue: (a) Lemuel (untraced); (b) Robert (untraced); (c) Meriam (untraced).
SAMUEL LOWMAN m. Dorothy, dau. Abell Ross, Sr., & had issue: Samuel Lowman; Roberta Lowman was either wife or sister of Samuel Lowman, Jr.
JOSIAH NASH married Mary, dau. Caleb Sawyer & wife Susannah, & had issue: (a) Caleb (untraced); (b) Dempsey (untraced); (c) Soly
(Solley), (untraced); (d) John (untraced). Solley & John may have been issue of 2nd marriage to — Solley.
NEHEMIAH JONES, son of Isaac Jones & wife Mary —, m. — Gray, dau. Griffith Gray, & had issue: Untraced.
JOHN OGGS, unmarried, was father of 4 children by his slave Hester. Issue: Charles, Jesse, Allie, Prudence (untraced).
THOMAS WRIGHT, natural son William Wright & Elizabeth Raymond, m. Mary Squires, dau. John Squires & wife Sarah Bray, & had issue: (a) William (untraced); (b) Mary (untraced); perhaps a son Thomas.
JOHN FORBES, son of Baley (Bailey) Forbes, m. Rebecca, dau. Samuel Williams & wife Mary —, & had issue: Samuel W. Forbes m. Sarah Sanderlin (?).
GIDEON LAMB, son of Thomas Lamb & wife Sarah Beckwith, m. Mary, dau. William Gregory & wife Judith Morgan (?), & had issue: Abner Lamb m. Margaret (Peggy) Sawyer. Abner had no issue.
LEMUEL SAWYER, Sr., son of Caleb Sawyer & wife Susannah —, m. Mary, dau. Thomas Taylor & wife Elizabeth Woodley, & had issue: (a) Enoch m. Mary Gregory; (b) Edmund (untraced); (c) Elizabeth m, Dempsey Burgess; (d) Lemuel, Jr., had three wives (see appendix under his name); poss. others (untraced).
ABNER HARRISON, unmarried (untraced); but family was an old one in Camden.
JOHN GRAY m. — — & had issue: (a) Cornelius (untraced); (b) John m. Brittania —; (c) Sarah m. — Watkins; (d) Mary m. Luke Lamb; (e) — m. Joseph Solley.
CALEB GRANDY m. — — (prob. dau. Josiah Nash) & had issue: (a) Josiah (untraced); (b) Miles (untraced); (c) prob. Caleb, Jr. (untraced).
THOMAS HUMPHRIES, son of John Humphries, m. Lydia — & had issue: (a) John (untraced); (b) probably others (untraced).
HENRY ABBOTT m. Miriam Gregory, dau. or sister of Jacob Gregory, & had issue (untraced).
HEZEKIAH, JEHU, JESSE & SILAS LINTON, prob. sons of Hezekiah Linton & wife Lucy, wid. William Upton. Hezekiah, no issue; Jehu, no issue; Jesse, no issue; Silas (untraced). Father poss. Silas Linton instead of Hezekiah.
SELBY HARNEY, son of Thomas Harney & Hannah Mills, m. Lurania, dau. Benjamin Paddrick & wife Courtney, dau. of John Kurlin of Virginia, & had issue: (a) Thomas, m. — — & had sons Samuel & Thomas, lost at sea; (b) Benjamin (untraced); (c) Mills, lost at sea, no issue; (d) Selby m. Rebecca Jackson; (e) William, lost at sea, no issue; (f) Louisa (untraced); (g) Nancy m. —Tompkins.
ISAAC GREGORY, son of William Gregory & wife Judith Morgan, m. (1st) — — (untraced).
Isaac Gregory m. (2nd) Sarah, dau. of Thomas Lamb & Sarah Beckwith.
Isaac Gregory's children were: (a) William m. Martha Long; (b) Isaac
(untraced); (c) Mary m. Enoch Sawyer; (d) Sarah m. Nathan Snowden; (e) Penelope m. Nathan Snowden; (f) Harriett (untraced).
DEMPSEY BURGESS, son of Rev. John Burgess, m. (1st) Elizabeth Sawyer, dau. Lemuel Sawyer and wife Mary, & had issue: (a) Dempsey S. m. Margaret Fennell; (b) Lemuel m. Sarah Gregory; (c) Elizabeth m. Jethro D. Goodman; (d) Cornelius, d. minor.
Dempsey Burgess m. (2nd) Tamar —. No issue.
JOSEPH JONES, son of Isaac Jones & wife Mary —, m. Lydia — & had issue: (a) Joseph m. Mary (Polly) Burnham(?); (b) Margaret m. Charles Grice; (c) Sally m. Michael Fennell.
PETER DAUGE, son of Peter Dauge, m. (1st) Elizabeth, dau. Thomas Lamb & wife Sarah Beckwith (?), & had issue: (a) Isaac (untraced); (b) Willoughby (untraced); (c) Amelia m. Ezekiel Trotman; (d) Sophia (untraced); (e) Margaret (untraced).
Peter Dauge m. (2nd) Margaret Sawyer Lamb, wid. Abner Lamb. No issue.
AMY BURFOOT, Sr., (nee Amy —) m. Robert Burfoot & had issue: (a) Robert m. Lydia Wright; (b) Mary (Polly) m. John Porter; (c) Jacquet (Jackie) m. (1st) Cornelius Wright, m. (2nd) John Duncan; (d) Amy m. (1st) John Griffin & had issue Samuel & Fanny, m. (2nd) Jonathan Lindsey & had issue: (a) Jonathan; (b) others (untraced).
BENJAMIN JONES (untraced).
PETER MERCER m. (1st) Mary Gardner, dau. James Gardner and wife Deborah —, & had issue: (untraced).
Peter Mercer m. (2nd) Ruth Parr, dau. William and Mary Parr, & had issue: (untraced).
ELISHA MCBRIDE, son John McBride and wife Sarah —, m. — — & had issue: (a) Peter (untraced); (b) others (untraced).
ARTHUR OLD, m. — —, & had issue: (a) Hector (untraced); (b) Merrett (untraced); (c) Tully (untraced); (d) Kadar (untraced).
JAMES S. GARLINGTON m. Mary — & had issue: (a) John (untraced); (b) Edmund (untraced); probably (c) Jabez (untraced).
ENOCH SAWYER, son of Lemuel Sawyer & wife Mary Taylor, m. Mary, dau. of Gen. Isaac Gregory & had issue: (a) William; (b) Frederick; (c) Fanny; (d) Martha; (e) Sally; Mary m. W. H. Thompson; (f) Harriett; (g) Patsy. All untraced except Mary.
LEMUEL SAWYER, JR., son of Lemuel Sawyer & wife Mary Taylor, m. (1st) Sarah Snowden, daughter of Nathan Snowden, children died in infancy; m. (2nd) Camilla Wertz of Washington, D. C., children died in infancy; m. (3rd) Mrs. Diana Rapalye, wid. of New York City, no issue.
ALFRED MOORE GATLIN. Untraced.
WILLIAM BIDDLE SHEPARD, son of William Shepard of New Bern and wife Mary, dau. Frederick Blount of “Mulberry Hill” near Edenton, m. (1st) —Cozenove of Alexandria, Va. & had issue: Gertrude d. unmarried.
William Biddle Shepard m. (2nd) Anne Davies Collins, dau. Josiah Collins, Jr. of Edenton & had issue: William Blount Shepard m. (1st) — Harrison & had issue: Thomas Harrison Shepard; m. (2nd) Pauline Carrington Cameron of Hillsboro & had issue, Anne Cameron Shepard; m. (3rd) —Cameron, sister of 2nd wife. No issue.
CORNELIUS GRAY LAMB, son of Cornelius Lamb, m. (1st) Margaret — & had issue: Cornelius Gray Lamb, Jr.
Cornelius Gray Lamb m. (2nd) Mary Ann —, no issue.
Cornelius Gray Lamb m. (3rd) Mary Eliza —, no issue.
SUSAN FLORA, dau. John Gallop & wife Elizabeth Poyner, m. (1st) John W. Torksey. No issue.
Susan Flora m. (2nd) Andrew Flora. No issue.
DENNIS DOZIER FEREBEE, son of Samuel Ferebee & wife Peggy Dauge, m. (1st) Sarah, dau. Willie McPherson & wife Kezia, & had issue: (a) Marion Herbert d. infant; (b) Elizabeth d. infant; (c) Hannah E. d. unmarried. Dennis Dozier Ferebee m. (2nd) Mary Davenport of Edenton & had issue: Margaret m. R. L. McMurran of Portsmouth.
JOHN JACOBS m. (1st) Margaret — & had issue: George m. Addie Sawyer. John Jacobs m. (2nd) Henrietta Sawyer & had issue: (a) Clara m. John Foster; (b) Lena (Pauline) m. William Ira Halstead; (c) Bettie m. Joseph Poole; (d) Nellie d. infant; (e) Carl m. (1st) Maggie Davis, m. (2nd) Betty Burnham.
PETER T. BURGESS, son of Simeon Burgess, m. (1st) Mary, dau. of Gideon Mitchell, no issue; m. (2) m. Melissa Cowell, dau. Washington & Adeline Cowell. No issue. Foster son, Martin H. Hubbard.
JOHN KELLY ABBOTT, son of Joseph Abbott & wife Margaret Kelly, m. (1st) Elurani Spence & had issue: (a) E. L.; (b) Claude; (c) Bernice; (d) Tim Abbott; (e) Eliza m. —Whitehurst; (f) Henrietta; (g) Miles s.; (h) James Sidney.
John Kelly Abbott m. (2nd) Emma West, dau. Dennis West of Currituck. No issue.
GEORGE FEREBEE, son of Joseph Ferebee & wife Mary Dauge, m. Mary, dau. of Walton Jones, & had issue: (a) Clarinda m. (1st) William Riley Abbott; m. (2nd) — Williams; (b) Maria m. William Old.
DEMPSEY SAWYER BURGESS, son of Demsey Burgess & wife Elizabeth Sawyer, m. Margaret Fennell & had issue: Untraced.
WILEY GRANDY FEREBEE, son of Dr. Edwin B. Ferebee & wife Mary S., m. Blanche, dau. Thomas Boushall & wife Ann Thompson, & had issue: (a) Blanche m. William Thompson Sledge of Fairmont, N. C.; (b) Cora m. George W. Hines of Louisburg, N. C.; (c) Mary m. Meade Mitchell of Weldon, N. C.
PETER ELLIOTT m. (1st) Elizabeth (prob. dau. Lemuel Jones); m. (2nd) Mary (prob. dau. John A. Brockett). Peter Elliott had son Gilbert (untraced).
JAMES EDWARD BURGESS, son of Hezekiah Burgess & wife Polly Kight, m. (1st) Matilda, dau. Mark Mitchell, & had issue: (a) Walter m. Elsie Martinette: (b) James M. m. Jobya Mitchell.
James Edward Burgess m. (2nd) Blanche Gordon, dau. of William R. Gordon & had issue: (a) Samuel m. Lula Williams; (b) Henry Clay m. Pattie Burgess; (c) Wilma m. Bailey P. Burgess.
WILLIS BURGESS SANDERLIN m. Elizabeth, dau. Jacob Cox & wife — — & had issue: (a) Martha d. young; (b) Jonathan m. Sara Elizabeth Gornto; (c) William m. — McPherson; (d) Joseph d. unmarried; (e) Mary Campbell, d. unmarried; (f) George Loyall d. unmarried.
WILLIAM PERKINS WALSTON, son of Ambrose Walston & wife — Perkins, m. (1st) Jane Barco & had issue: (a) Jane d. infant; (b) Hattie; (c) Joseph B.; (d) Durant B.; (e) Ambrose B.
William Perkins Walston m. (2nd) Phoebe Hughes, dau. Joseph Hughes, & had issue: (a) Jane d. infant; (b) Willie d. infant; (c) Gideon H.; (d) Thomas H.; (e) William H.; (f) Mattie; (g) Charles H.; (h) Crawley H.; (i) Edward P.
JOHN CALHOUN JONES, WILLIAM FORBES JONES, and LLOYD BAUM JONES were sons of John K. Jones & wife Mary Ellen Forbes.
John Calhoun Jones m. Lula Ferebee Dey of Norfolk, Va. & had issue: (a) Lula Ferebee; (b) Elizabeth Dey; (c) Lewis Southgate.
William Forbes Jones m. Sallie Dixon of Tarboro & had issue: (a) William Dixon; (b) Mahlon Hall.
Lloyd Baum Jones m. Elizabeth Mayo of Rocky Mount & had issue: (a) Lillie Mayo; (b) Anne Bryan.
CHARLES BRAY WILLIAMS, son of Simeon F. Williams & wife Mary Bray, m. (1st) Lizzie Leary & had issue: infant who d. Divorced.
Charles Bray Williams m. (2nd) Alice Owens & had issue: (a) Weston; (b) Lois.
Charles Bray Williams m. (3rd) Edith Stallings & had issue: Charlotte.
HERMAN VINCENT LEARY, son of Hilary Needham Leary & wife Carrie Ferebee, m. Marie, dau. Edgar S. Mitchell & wife Blanche Swindell, & had issue: (a) Stanley m. Blanche Harrison; (b) Hilary; (c) H. V.
BESS TILLITT GREGORY, dau. Gideon Marchant Tillitt & wife Bettie Sanderlin, m. Phillip P. Gregory, son of William Edgar Gregory & wife Bettie Duncan. No issue.
WILLIAM IRA HALSTEAD, son of Lemuel H. Halstead & wife Laura Lamb, m. (1st) Pauline Jacobs, dau. John Jacobs & wife Henrietta Sawyer, & had issue: (a) William Leon m. Louise Wright; (b) Lemuel Herbert m. Frances Holmes; (c) John Wiley m. Caroline Garrison of Raleigh.
William Ira Halstead m. (2nd) Flora, dau. Dr. Edmund S. Ashe of Wadesboro. No issue.
B. (1). PASQUOTANK REPRESENTATIVES INPROVINCIAL ASSEMBLIES
The county elected five representatives to each assembly. Asterisk (*) indicates those who lived in area which became Camden County. No records available for years not listed.
1701 (or 1703). Caleb Bundy, *John Hawkins, *Augustine Scarborough, Jeremiah Symons, Thomas Symons.
1708. *Robert Morgan (only one named).
1709. Caleb Bundy, *Cornelius Jones, *Robert Morgan, *John Norton, *Augustine Scarborough.
1725. *Gabriel Burnham, *Robert Morgan, *McRora Scarborough, Thomas Swann, James Winright.
1731. *Gabriel Burnham, *Griffith Jones, *Charles Sawyer, Thomas Swann, Jeremiah Symons.
1733 (Nov.). *Gabriel Burnham, *Caleb Sawyer, *Charles Sawyer, *John Sawyer, Jeremiah Symons.
1734. *Gabriel Burnham, *Caleb Sawyer, *Charles Sawyer, John Palin, Jeremiah Symons.
1734-1735. *Gabriel Burnham, *Caleb Sawyer, *Charles Sawyer, *Daniel Sawyer, Jeremiah Symons.
1738. Simon Bryan (only one named).
1739. *Caleb Sawyer, David Bailey, *Thomas Hunter, Thomas Pendleton, William Relfe.
1742-1743. *— Burgess, Thomas Pendleton, *Caleb Sawyer. (other two not named).
1743-1745. *William Burgess, Joseph Humphries, *Griffith Jones, William Williams. (One not named.)
1746. Joseph Bailey, Simon Bryan, Julius Caesar Parke, Thomas Pendleton, Benjamin Symons.
1746 to 1754. No representatives elected as protest against Governor Gabriel Johnston's ruling that county have only two representatives.
1754-1760. *Griffith Jones (died, suc. John Brothers), Robert Murden, Thomas Relfe, Samuel Swann, Jr., *Thomas Taylor.
1760. *Jarvis Jones, *Joseph Jones, John Lowry, Samuel Swann, Jr., *Thomas Taylor.
1761. *Andrew Miller, Benjamin Palmer, *Thomas Sawyer, *Thomas Taylor, Samuel Swann, Jr.
1762—April. *John Burgess, John Lowry, *Andrew Miller, Thomas McKnight, *Thomas Taylor.
1762. November. *Joseph Jones, *Lemuel Sawyer, *Thomas Sawyer, Samuel Swann, Jr., *Thomas Taylor, Sr.
1764-1765. *Joseph Jones, *Josiah Nash, *Lemuel Sawyer, Samuel Swann, *Thomas Taylor, Jr.
1766-1768. Benjamin Palmer, *Joseph Jones, *John Sawyer, Samuel Swann, Jr., *Thomas Taylor, Jr.
1769-1771. *Jonathan Herring, *Joseph Jones, John Lowry, Thomas Relfe, William Relfe.
1773. *Dempsey Burgess, *Jonathan Herring, *Joseph Jones, Thomas McKnight, *Lemuel Sawyer. (Election ruled illegal.)
1773-1774. Edward Everigin, *Jonathan Herring, *Joseph Jones, Robert Jordan, Joseph Redding.
1775—April. Edward Everigin, *Isaac Gregory, *Jonathan Herring, *Joseph Jones, Joseph Redding.
1775—August. *Dempsey Burgess, Thomas Boyd, Devotion Davis, Edward Everigin, *Joseph Jones.
1776—April. *Henry Abbott, Thomas Boyd, *Dempsey Burgess, William Cumming, *Joseph Jones.
1776—November. *Henry Abbott, *Dempsey Burgess, Devotion Davis, *Isaac Gregory, *Lemuel Sawyer.
1777—*Joseph Jones, senator; James Ferebee, Thomas Harvey, representatives. (Fisrt election under state constitution; Camden County formed during spring session, authorized to elect representatives in fall session.)
(2). CAMDEN REPRESENTATIVES IN STATE LEGISLATURENOVEMBER 1777 THROUGH 1835
County elected annually one senator and two representatives.
| Representatives | Senator | |
| 1777 | Caleb Grandy, Thomas Humphries | John Gray |
| 1778 | Caleb Grandy, Willis Bright (Brite) | Joseph Jones |
| 1779 | Caleb Grandy, Willis Bright | John Gray |
| 1780 | William Burgess, Isaac Gregory | John Gray |
| 1781 | (None recorded) | |
| 1782 | Joseph Jones, Elisha McBride | Isaac Gregory |
| 1783 | Benjamin Jones, Dempsey Sawyer | Isaac Gregory |
| 1784 | Benjamin Jones, Enoch Sawyer | Isaac Gregory |
| 1785 | Selby Harney, Enoch Sawyer | Isaac Gregory |
| 1786 | Peter Dauge, Enoch Sawyer | Isaac Gregory |
| 1787 | Peter Dauge, Enoch Sawyer | Isaac Gregory |
| 1788 | Peter Dauge, Enoch Sawyer | Isaac Gregory |
| 1789 | Peter Dauge, Enoch Sawyer | Isaac Gregory |
| 1790 | Charles Grandy, Enoch Sawyer | Peter Dauge |
| 1791 | Charles Grandy, William Burgess | Peter Dauge |
| 1792 | William Burgess (died suc. Caleb Grandy), Charles Grandy | Peter Dauge |
| 1793 | Caleb Grandy, Nathan Snowden | Peter Dauge |
| 1794 | William Neavill, Nathan Snowden | John Gray (died, suc. Stephen Sawyer) |
| 1795 | Caleb Grandy (died, suc. Zephaniah Burgess), Nathan Snowden | Isaac Gregory |
| 1796 | Enoch Dailey, Josiah Morgan | Nathan Snowden |
| 1797 | Enoch Dailey, Josiah Morgan | Joseph Torksey |
| 1798 | Zephaniah Burgess, Nathan Snowden | Joseph Torksey |
| 1799 | Enoch Dailey, Thomas Mercer | Joseph Torksey |
| 1800 | Thomas Mercer, Lemuel Sawyer | Joseph Torksey |
| 1801 | Thomas Burgess, Thomas Mercer | Joseph Torksey |
| 1802 | Thomas Mercer, Caleb Perkins | Thomas Burgess |
| 1803 | Joseph Morgan, Caleb Perkins | Nathan Snowden |
| 1804 | David Duncan, Joseph Morgan | Arthur Old |
| 1805 | Joseph Morgan, Caleb Perkins | Arthur Old |
| 1806 | Joseph Morgan, Caleb Perkins | Arthur Old |
| 1807 | Thomas Bell, Caleb Perkins | Arthur Old |
| 1808 | Thomas Bell, Caleb Perkins | Nathan Snowden |
| 1809 | Thomas Bell, Joseph Dozier | Caleb Perkins |
| 1810 | Thomas Bell, Dempsey Sawyer | Gideon Lamb |
| 1811 | William Mercer, Dempsey Sawyer | Caleb Perkins |
| 1812 | John Kelly, Dempsey Sawyer | Joseph Dozier |
| 1813 | Thomas Etheridge, Dempsey Sawyer | Thomas Bell |
| 1814 | Bailey Barco, John Kelly | Thomas Bell |
| 1815 | Bailey Barco, John A. Brockett | Caleb Perkins |
| 1816 | Ezekiel Trotman, Willis Wilson | Caleb Perkins |
| 1817 | Bailey Barco, Willis Wilson | Caleb Perkins |
| 1818 | William Herring, William Mercer | John Kelly |
| 1819 | John Jones, William Mercer | Caleb Perkins |
| 1820 | John Jones, William Mercer | Caleb Perkins |
| 1821 | Samuel Mercer, Wilson B. Webster | Luke G. Lamb |
| 1822 | John Jones, Wilson B. Webster | Mason Culpepper |
| 1823 | Thomas Tillett, Wilson B. Webster | Caleb Perkins |
| 1824 | Thomas Tillett, Wilson B. Webster | Caleb Perkins |
| 1825 | Thomas Tillett, Wilson B. Webster | Willis Wilson |
| 1826 | Thomas Dozier, Simeon Jones | Willis Wilson |
| 1827 | Thomas Dozier, Thomas Tillett | Willis Wilson |
| 1828 | Thomas Dozier, Wilson B. Webster | Haywood S. Bell |
| 1829 | Thomas Dozier, Abner H. Grandy | Haywood S. Bell |
| 1830 | Thomas Dozier, Abner H. Grandy | Caleb Perkins |
| 1831 | Thomas Dozier, Abner H. Grandy | Haywood S. Bell |
| 1832 | Benjamin D. Harrison, Thomas Tillett | Haywood S. Bell |
| 1833 | Caleb Barco, Thomas Tillett | Enoch Nash |
| 1834 | James N. McPherson, Thomas Tillett | Edmund J. Barco |
| 1835 | James N. McPherson, John S. Burgess | Thomas Tillett |
(3). CAMDEN REPRESENTATIVES IN STATE
LEGISLATURES, 1836-1957
One representative elected biennially from the county. One senator elected biennially from a “senatorial district”—now comprising eight counties, Camden, Currituck, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Chowan, Bertie, Gates and Hertford. No senators listed except those elected from Camden.
| 1836 | David Pritchard | 1897 | James E. Burgess |
| 1838 | John S. Burgess | 1899 | John K. Abbott |
| 1840 | Abner H. Grandy | 1901 | G. C. Barco |
| 1842 | Cornelius G. Lamb | 1903 | M. B. Hughes |
| 1844 | Caleb Barco | 1905 | G. C. Barco |
| 1846 | Dennis D. Ferebee | 1907 | D. H. Tillitt |
| 1848 | Dennis D. Ferebee | 1909 | James E. Cooke |
| 1850 | Caleb Barco | 1911 | D. F. Bartlett |
| 1852 | Caleb Barco | J. B. Williams, Senator | |
| 1854 | Wilson Harrison | 1913 | D. F. Bartlett |
| 1856 | Dennis D. Ferebee | J. B. Williams, Senator | |
| 1858 | Dennis D. Ferebee | 1913 | (ext. s.) D. H. Tillitt |
| Charles C. William, Senator | 1915 | W. P. Barco | |
| 1860 | Dennis D. Ferebee | 1917 | M. W. Ferebee |
| 1862 | D. McD. Lindsey | 1919 | M. L. Burgess |
| 1864 | William A. Duke | 1921 | W. J. Morrisette |
| D. McD. Lindsey, Senator | 1921 | (ext. s.) W. J. Morrisette | |
| 1865 | G. Gratiot Luke | 1923 | Charles Norris |
| 1866 | W. J. Morrisette | 1924 | (ext. s.) Charles Norris |
| W. B. Ferebee, Senator | 1925 | C. L. Tarkington | |
| 1868 | W. B. Ferebee | 1927 | C. L. Tarkington |
| 1870 | John L. Chamberlain | 1929 | W. I. Halstead |
| 1872 | Simeon A. Jones | 1931 | W. I. Halstead |
| John L. Chamberlain, Senator | 1933 | L. L. Stevens | |
| 1874 | F. N. Mullen | 1935 | L. L. Stevens |
| 1876 | John K. Abbott | 1936 | (ext. s.) H. V. Leary |
| 1879 | S. J. Forbes | (ext. s.) W. I. Halstead, Senator | |
| 1881 | George H. Riggs | 1937 | H. V. Leary |
| 1883 | John K. Abbott | W. I. Halsted, Senator | |
| 1885 | H. W. Scott | 1938 | (ext. s.) H. V. Leary |
| 1887 | J. W. Halstead | (ext. s.) W. I. Halstead, Senator | |
| 1889 | E. M. Deford | 1939 | R. L. Bray |
| John K. Abbott, Senator | W. I. Halstead, Senator | ||
| 1891 | William P. Walston | 1941 | W. I. Halstead |
| 1893 | Felix Jones | 1943 | W. I. Halstead |
| John K. Abbott, Senator | 1945 | S. E. Burgess | |
| 1895 | D. R. Squires | 1947 | W. I. Halstead |
| 1949 | J. W. Jones | 1955 | J. Wilbert Forbes |
| W. I. Halstead, Senator | 1956 | (ext. S.) S. E. Burgess | |
| 1951 | S. E. Burgess | 1957 | S. E. Burgess |
| 1953 | J. Wilbert Forbes |
EARL OF CAMDEN
Encyclopedia, Americana. (New York, 1954) V, 112.
McRee, Griffith J. Correspondence of James Iredell. (New York, 1857) Pp. 229-230.
GEORGE FLEMING
Colonial Records of North Carolina, 10 vols. (Raleigh, 1886-1890) W. L. Saunders, ed. I, 448. (Hereafter cited as C. R.)
Hathaway, J. R. B., ed. North Carolina Historical and Genealogical Register, 3 vols, 4 nos. to each vol. (Edenton, 1900-1903). Vol. 1, No. 2, 182; Vol. 3, No. 2, 307. (Hereafter title cited as N. C. H. & G. R.)
Land Grant Books. Vol. I, 100-101. Records of Secretary of State (N. C.).
Lefler, Hugh T. (ed.) North Carolina History Told by Contemporaries. (Chapel Hill, 1934, 1948). Pp. 62-64.
North Carolina Wills and Inventories, 1663-1789. X, 46. (Hereafter cited as North Carolina Wills, 1663-1789.)
Paschal, G. W. History of North Carolina Baptists. (Raleigh, 1930) I, 72-74.
Records of Pasquotank, 1700-1747. P. 41.
WILLIAM JENNINGS
C. R. I, 300-317.
Hathaway, J. R. B., ed. N. C. H. & G. R. Vol. 1, No. 4, 486.
Lefler, Hugh Talmage and Newsome, Albert Ray. North Carolina, the History of a Southern State. (Chapel Hill, 1954) Pp. 41-45. (Hereafter the title cited as North Carolina.)
North Carolina Wills, 1663-1789. XVI, 8; XXVIII, 14.
Records of Pasquotank County. Book B, 217.
State Records of North Carolina, 16 vols. (Winston, Goldsboro, Charlotte, 1895-1905), ed. Walter Clark. XXV, 313. (Hereafter cited as S. R.)
PAUL LATHAM
C. R. I, 70, 319, 611.
Hathaway, J. R. B., ed. N. C. H. & G. R. Vol., No. 2, 217, 306; Vol. 1, No. 3, 327; Vol. 1, No. 4, 611, 615; Vol. 3, No. 1, 43, 83-84.
Lefler, Hugh Talmage and Newsome, Albert Ray. North Carolina. Pp. 41-46.
North Carolina Wills, 1663-1789. XVI, 8; XVII, 70.
Powell, William Stevens. Carolina Charter of 1663. (Raleigh, 1954) Pp. 41-46.
JOHN PHILPOTT
C. R. I, 392-394, 424, 430, 448.
Council Minutes, Wills and Inventories (N. C.). I, 104.
Hathaway, J. R. B., ed. N. C. H. & G. R. Vol. 2, No. 2, 196-197; Vol. 3, No. 3, 243.
Patent Book #3. (Virginia State Library, Richmond.) P. 11.
S. R. XXV, xxiv.
WILLIAM RAYMOND
C. R. I, 406.
Hathaway, J. R. B., ed. N. C. H. & G. R. Vol. 1, No. 1, 70; Vol. 1, No. 3. 380.
Lefler, Hugh Talmage and Newsome, Albert Ray. North Carolina. Pp. 47-49.
North Carolina Wills, 1663-1789. XXV, 76; XXVI, 4.
Records of Pasquotank, 1700-1747. Pp. 41, 47.
Records of Pasquotank County. Book A, 178.
CORNELIUS JONES
Albemarle County Papers, 1678-1714. I, 7, 77.
C. R. I, 588-590; II, 818.
Hathaway, J. R. B., ed. N. C. H. & G. R. Vol. 1, No. 1, 78; Vol. 1, No. 2, 304; Vol. 3, No. 1, 56, 58; Vol. 3, No. 2, 248.
Land Grant Books (N. C.) I, 215. Secretary of State Records. (N. C.)
Lefler, Hugh Talmage and Newsome, Albert Ray. North Carolina. Pp. 55-58.
North Carolina Wills, 1663-1789. XVI, 31-32.
JOHN NORTON
Albemarle County Papers, 1678-1714. I, 7, 77.
C. R. I, 268, 878; II, 7-8, 176, 180, 207-208.
Council Minutes, Wills and Inventories, 1677-1701 (N. C.). I, 104.
Hathaway, J. R. B., ed. N. C. H. & G. R. Vol. 3, No. 2, 274.
Lefler, Hugh Talmage and Newsome, Albert Ray. North Carolina Pp. 152-154.
Pasquotank Deeds, 1700-1747. Pp. 179, 184.
Records of Pasquotank County. Book A, 53, 63-64, 184, 210, 219, 326.
S. R. XXIII, 7.
JOHN DANSON
Ashe, S. A. (ed.) Biographical History of North Carolina from Colonial Times to the Present. 8 vols. (Greensboro, 1905-1917) I, 60-65. (Hereafter the title cited as Biographical History of North Carolina.)
Blackwood, Henry. Memoirs of the Archdales with the Descents of Some Allied Families. CO 324, Library of Congress. Vol. 49, Pp. 82, 90, 120.
C. R. I, 707-708, 717, 733, 749, 818; II, 186, 242; III, 39.
Land Grant Books. I, 87. Records of Secretary of State (N. C.).
Records of Pasquotank County. Book B, 94, 125, 300, 311-313, 325, 345, 367, 385-386.
Powell, William Stevens. Carolina Charter of 1663. Pp. 59, 71.
WILLIAM JOY
C. R. I, 402; II, 318.
Hathaway, J. R. B., ed. N. C. H. & G. R. Vol. 1, No. 1, 55; Vol. 1, No. 2, 184.
Pasquotank Deeds, 1700-1747. P. 199.
Records of Pasquotank County. Book A, 77, 78-79, 199, 200. Book B, 264.
THOMAS BARECOCK
Hathaway, J. R. B., ed. N. C. H. & G. R. Vol. 1, No. 1, 31, 45, 47; Vol. 1, No. 4, 486.
North Carolina Wills, 1663-1789. II, 19-2—; XII, 33; XVI, 8; XXVIII, 14.
Records of Pasquotank County. Book D&E, 165; Book I (part 1), 143.
S. R. XXII, 344-347.
ROBERT MORGAN
Albemarle County Papers, 1678-1714. I, 77, 79, 83.
C. R. II, 59, 140, 575, 577, 773.
Hathaway, J. R. B., ed. N. C. H. & G. R. Vol. 1, No. 1, 117; Vol. 1, No. 2, 304; Vol. 1, No. 3, 346; Vol. I, No. 4, 610-611; Vol. 2, No. 2, 225.
North Carolina Wills, 1663-1789. XXI, 77; XXXII, 5.
Pasquotank County Deeds, 1700-1747. P. 108.
WILLIAM REED
C. R. I, 784, 787, 841; II, 180, 355, 460, 541, 552, 615.
Hathaway, J. R. B., ed. N. C. H. & G. R. Vol. 1, No. 1, 70; Vol. 1, No. 4, 484; Vol. 2, No. 3, 430; Vol. 3, No. 3, 439.
Land Grant Books, 1693-1720. I, 174, 180, 274, 775. Records of Secretary of State (N. C.)
Lefler, Hugh Talmage and Newsome, Albert Ray. North Carolina. Pp. 54-61, 153.
Records of Pasquotank County. Book A, 221, 249-250, 254, 305-306, 310, 352.
ANN JONES
Ghost tale adapted from one related by the late J. C. Perkins of Camden County.
North Carolina Wills, 1663-1789. XVI, 31-32.
Paschal, G. W. History of North Carolina Baptists. I, 143-146.
Records of Pasquotank County. Book C, 58; Book D, 147; Book F & G, 104.
GABRIEL BURNHAM
C. R. II, 209, 526, 608, 638, 773; III, 234, 260, 263-264, 275, 278, 285, 298, 542, 561, 565, 596, 612, 637, 646; IV, 48, 85, 106, 115, 117, 118, 126, 155.
Hathaway, J. R. B., ed. N. C. H. & G. R. Vol. 1, No. 1, 117.
Moseley, Edward. Map by (1733).
Pasquotank Court of Quarter Sessions and Pleas, Minutes of. 1737, 1741.
Records of Pasquotank County. Book A, 75, 157; Book B, 185.
S. R. XXIV, 217.
SAMUEL WILLIAMS
C. R. X, 945.
Kelby, Robert H. Addenda to Heitman's Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army during the War of the Revolution, April 1775 to December 1783. P. 231.
Lefler, Hugh Talmage. (ed.) North Carolina History Told by Contemporaries. Pp. 35-65.
Lefler, Hugh Talmage and Newsome, Albert Ray. North Carolina. Pp. 62-70.
North Carolina Wills, 1663-1789. XXXIV, 75 a.
Pasquotank Court of Quarter Sessions and Pleas, Minutes of. 1770-1775.
Records of Pasquotank County. Book B, 95. Also see index Book C.
MCRORA SCARBOROUGH
C. R. I, 567; II, 149, 312, 318, 575, 600, 713, 773; III, 207, 209, 234, 388, 435, 493-494; IV, 346, 403-404, 730.
Hathaway, J. R. B., ed. N. C. H. & G. R. Vol. 1, No. 1, 135; Vol. 1, No. 3, 453; Vol. 1, No. 4, 484; Vol. 2, No. 2, 189, 223; Vol. 3, No. 2, 288-289.
North Carolina Wills, 1663-1789. XXVII, 83.
Pasquotank Account Books. IV (1754), 230, 346, 403-404.
Records of Pasquotank. Book A, 201, 333.
JOHN SOLLEY
C. R. I. 763-765; II, 473, 501; V, 1020, 1051; VI, 854, 920, 956; VII, 308.
Hathaway, J. R. B., ed. N. C. H. & G. R. Vol. 1, No. 4, 635; Vol. 3, No. 3, 477.
North Carolina Wills, 1663-1789. XXIX, 60.
Lefler, Hugh Talmage and Newsome, Albert Ray. North Carolina. Pp. 97-97.
Pasquotank Court of Quarter Sessions and Pleas, Minutes of. 1737-1743, 1746, 1752, 1757-1758, 1762.
Records of Pasquotank County. See index to Book B.
CALEB SAWYER
C. R. III, 612, 634; IV, 48, 92, 98, 115, 124, 127, 128-129, 133-134, 137-138, 143, 578, 750.
Hathaway, J. R. B., ed. N. C. H. & G. R. Vol. 1, No. 1, 76.
Lefler, Hugh Talmage and Newsome, Albert Ray. North Carolina. Pp. 64-65.
Pasquotank Births, Marriages, Deaths and Cattle Marks, 1691-1797. Folder.
Records of Pasquotank County. Book A, 106, 309-310, 372-373.
S. R. XXII, 247; XXIII, 12.
THOMAS HUNTER
C. R. I, 711, 714; II, 206-207; IV, 48, 75, 477, 481, 494, 501, 555, 591, 680, 825, 827.
Hathaway, J. R. B., ed. N. C. H. & G. R. Vol. 1, No. 1, 48, 74.
Pasquotank Births, Deaths, Marriages and Cattle Marks, 1691-1797. Folder.
Pasquotank Court of Quarter Sessions and Pleas, Minutes of. 1737.
Pasquotank County Wills, 1720-1804. III, 14.
Records of Pasquotank County. Book B, 229, 336; Book C, 20; Book F & G, 272.
WILLIAM BURGESS
C. R. IV, 411, 650, 679, 733, 740, 768, 805, 813; VIII, 222.
Hathaway, J. R. B., ed. N. C. H. & G. R. Vol. 1, No. 1, 283.
Paschal, G. W. History of North Carolina Baptists. I, 3, 21, 92, 128, 139, 142, 145.
Pasquotank Court of Quarter Sessions and Pleas, Minutes of. 1746, 1754-1755, 1758, 1762.
Pasquotank County Wills, 1720-1804. I, 54.
Records of Pasquotank County. Book C, 58; Book D, 147; Book F & G, 104.
Williams, Charles B. History of the Baptists in North Carolina. (Raleigh, 1901) Pp. 1-50.
S. R. XXII, 248.
JOHN BURGESS
Burkitt, Lemuel and Read, Jesse. A Concise History of the Kehukee Association. (1803) Pp. 135, 180, 186-190.
C. R. V, 1176-1180; VI, 800.
Paschal, G. W. History of North Carolina Baptists. I, 148-150.
Pasquotank Births, Deaths, Marriages and Cattle Marks, 1691-1797. Folder.
Pasquotank County Wills, 1720-1804. I, 53.
Records of Camden County. Book C, 83.
Records of Pasquotank County. Book B, 145; Book C, 421; Book D & E, 13, 27, 36, 199, 239; Book F & G, 41, 46, 446.
S. R. XXII, 346-348.
GRIFFITH JONES
C. R. II, 88-89, 97, 108, 264, 523, 540; III, 53, 57; IV, 733, 770, 1181-1182; V, 232, 244, 321, 324, 508, 530, 664, 669-670-671, 673, 689, 706, 922; VI, 135, 164.
Lefler, Hugh Talmage and Newsome, Albert Ray. North Carolina. Pp. 154-156.
Orphans’ Account Books, Pasquotank. 1773, 1775.
Pasquotank Court of Quarter Sessions and Pleas, Minutes of. 1742, 1744, 1750-1753, 1760-1761, 1766.
Pasquotank County Wills.
Records of Pasquotank County. Book A, 45, 81, 105, 405, 407; Book B, 194, 229; Book C, 194.
S. R. XX, 249; XXII, 346-348; XXV, 159.
SAMUEL LOWMAN
Pasquotank Court of Quarter Sessions and Pleas, Minutes of. 1748, 1754, 1766, 1768, 1770, 1772.
Records of Pasquotank County. Book D & E, 148.
S. R. XXII, 345-346.
JOSIAH NASH
Pasquotank Court of Quarter Sessions and Pleas, Minutes of. 1751, 1760. 1762, 1765-1766-1767, 1771.
C. R. VI, 1152, 1254, 1304, 1317.
Records of Pasquotank County. Book C, 8, 159; Book D & E, 364.
S. R. XXII, 308, 344, 346-347.
NEHEMIAH JONES
Lefler, Hugh Talmage and Newsome, Albert Ray. North Carolina. Pp. 154-159.
North Carolina Wills, 1663-1789. XVI, 51.
Pasquotank Court of Quarter Sessions and Pleas, Minutes of. 1758, 1772
Records of Pasquotank County. Book D & E, 135, 243, 358.
S. R. XXII, 344, 347-348.
JOHN OGGS
C. R. XXII, 672.
Lefler, Hugh Talmage and Newsome, Albert Ray. North Carolina. Pp. 112, 398.
Pasquotank Affidavits or Depositions, 1723-1790. 1760, 1770.
Pasquotank County Wills, 1720-1784. III, 44.
Records of Camden County. Book D, 315, 344; Book F, 224, Book G, 112; Book M, 19.
Records of Pasquotank County. Book D & E, 298.
S. R. XXI, 194, 243, 256, 276, 289, 307-208, 354, 623, 685, 680; XXV, Chapter XXXIII.
THOMAS WRIGHT
C. R. II, 34.
Hathaway, J. R. B., ed. N. C. H. & G. R. Vol. 1, No. 1, 70.
North Carolina Wills, 1663-1789. XXV, 76.
Pasquotank County Wills, 1720-1784.
Pasquotank Court of Quarter Sessions and Pleas, Minutes of. 1737, 1768, 1771, 1774-1775.
Records of Camden County. Book C, 264.
Records of Pasquotank County. Book D & E, 5, 98, 172, 289, 342.
S. R. XXIII, Chapter VII, sections XIII, XIV and XV. P. 5.
JOHN FORBES
Kelby, Robert H. Addenda to Heitman's Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army during the War of the Revolution, April 1775 to December 1783. P. 231.
Lefler, Hugh Talmage and Newsome, Albert Ray. North Carolina. Pp. 228-238.
Pasquotank County Wills, 1720-1784.
Pasquotank Court of Quarter Sessions and Pleas, Minutes of. 1753, 1755-56, 1758-1759-1760, 1762, 1765, 1767-1768-1769, 1771-1772, 1774.
Records of Camden County. Book D, 39, 118; Book G, 7, 26, 365; Book H, 106.
Records of Pasquotank County. Book D & E, 14, 27, 103, 145; Book I, 250, 468.
GIDEON LAMB
ABNER LAMB
Ashe, S. A. ed. Biographical History of North Carolina. VII, 274-277, 281-287.
C. R. X, 165, 168, 173, 215, 500, 517, 520, 523, 618, 756.
Lefler, Hugh Talmage and Newsome, Albert Ray. North Carolina. Pp. 179-238.
Newspaper Notices, Marriages and Deaths, 1764-1813. Item from State Gazette of North Carolina (Edenton), May 14, 1795, p. 3, col. 3.
Records of Camden County. Book B, 145; Book D, 310; Book E, 21, 95; Book J, 45.
Records of Pasquotank County. Book D & E, 275-276; Book I (pt. 1), 155, 197.
S. R. XI, 750, 824; XII, 486, 490-491; XIII, xi-xii, 189, 249, 300, 302, 308-309, 338, 388, 578; XIV, 95, 129, 166, 175, 314, 551, 738, 770; XV, 72, 73, 468, 516, 562, 645, 672, 1106; XVIII, 212, 486; XIX, 37-38; XXIV, 532; XXVI, 345.
Williams, Charles B. History of Baptists in North Carolina. Pp. 14-15.
LEMUEL SAWYER, SR.
C. R. VI, 740, 847, 863, 886, 902-903, 912, 931, 957, 1152; IX, 384, 448-449-450-451; X, 915, 919, 937.
Lefler, Hugh Talmage and Newsome, Albert Ray. North Carolina. P. 167.
Pasquotank Births, Deaths, Marriages and Cattle Marks, 1691-1797. Folder.
Pasquotank Court of Quarter Sessions and Pleas, Minutes of. 1760-1776.
Records of Camden County. Book D, 308.
Records of Pasquotank County. Book C, 398; Book D. & E, 195; Book F & G, 334; Book I (pt. 1), 77-78, 223, 289, 308.
S. R. XII, 831; XXIII, 30, 226, 228, 284, 317, 344-345, 351, 440, 449; XXIV, 27.
ABNER HARRISON
C. R. X, 474, 961, 976.
Lefler, Hugh Talmage and Newsome, Albert Ray. North Carolina. Pp. 218, 221, 242-243, 278.
Miscellaneous Correspondence, Pasquotank, 1746-1890. Letter dated Sept. 25, 1771.
Pasquotank Court of Quarter Sessions and Pleas, Minutes of. 1772, 1774.
Records of Camden County. Book B, 160, 166, 178; Book C, 120, Book E, 107; Book G, 186.
Records of Pasquotank County. Book I (pt. 2), 379.
S. R. XIX, 717-718.
JOHN GRAY
C. R. V, 1047; X, 517, 520.
Kelby, Robert H. Addenda to Heitman's Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army during the War of the Revolution, April 1775 to December, 1781. P. 258.
Hathaway, J. R. B., ed. N. C. H. & G. R. Vol. 2, No. 2, 248.
Pasquotank Court of Quarter Sessions and Pleas, Minutes of. 1752, 1770, 1776-1777.
Records of Camden County. Book C, 162; Book D, 230; Book E, 116.
Records of Pasquotank County. Book C, 211, 273; Book D & E, 456; Book I (pt. 2), 370.
S. R. XI, 580; XII, 112, 185, 192, 252, 266, 735, 742; XIII, 735; XV, 701; XVII, 635.
CALEB GRANDY
Newspaper Notices, Marriages and Deaths, 1764-1813. Item from State Gazette of North Carolina (Edenton), Dec. 24, 1795, p. 1, col. 3.
Records of Camden County. Book C, 122, 130; Book D, 266, 338, 388; Book E, 25, 28; Book H, 60, 384.
S. R. XII, 353, 368, 380, 399, 430, 442; XIII, 784, 914, 925, 958, 966; XIX, 1065; XXII, 346; XXIV, 27.
THOMAS HUMPHRIES
C. R. X, 474, 953.
Hathaway, J. R. B., ed. N. C. H. & G. R. Vol. 2, No. 2, 304.
Records of Camden County. Book B, 28, 36; Book C, 115, 157; Book D, 291-292, 294, 351.
S. R. XII, 353, 380, 399, 408, 429, 441; XIX, 375.
HENRY ABBOTT
Burkitt, Lemuel and Read, Jesse. A Concise History of the Kehukee Association. (1803). Pp. 62-63, 69, 81, 88, 107-108-109.
C. R. X, 501 522-523, 915, 917-918, 960, 972, 990.
Lefler, Hugh Talmage and Newsome, Albert Ray. North Carolina. Pp. 603-604.
Paschal, G. W. History of North Carolina Baptists. I, 424-425, 432-433, 457-458, 467, 478, 481.
Records of Pasquotank County. Book I (pt. 1), 283; Book I (pt. 2), 464.
S. R. XXII, 1-2-3, 6, 47, 49, 907, 928; XXVI, 352.
Weeks, Stephen B. Church and State in North Carolina. Baltimore (1893). P. 58.
HEZEKIAH LINTON
JEHU LINTON
JESSE LINTON
SILAS LINTON
Camden County Pensions. U. S. Senate Document no. 514, Vol. III, 79. (Library of Congress).
Lefler, Hugh Talmage and Newsome, Albert Ray. North Carolina. P. 229.
Pasquotank Court of Quarter Sessions and Pleas, Minutes of. 1755, 1769.
Records of Camden County. Book D, 329; Book G, 192; Book N, 350; Book I, 322; Book K, 144-145, 436.
Records of Pasquotank County. Book A, 444; Book B, 545-546; Book C, 62, 329, 331, 414, 429; Book D & E, 178; Book F & G, 107, 262-263-264; Book I (pt. 1), 127, 308, 327; Book I (pt. 2), 389, 468.
S. R. XIII, 324, 504; XVI, 1100-1101; XVII, 226.
SELBY HARNEY
C. R. X, 546-547, 634, 643, 691, 927, 942.
Kelby, Robert H. Addenda to Heitman's Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army during the War of the Revolution, April 1775 to December 1783. P. 275.
Pasquotank Births, Deaths and Marriages and Cattle Marks, 1691-1797. 1774.
Personal statistics furnished by Miss Hattie Harney of Elizabeth City.
Records of Camden County. Book F, 85, 170.
Records of Pasquotank County. Book I (pt. 1), 166.
S. R. XI, 522; XII, 499, 502, 504, 523, 536; XIII, 480-481, 518-520, 527; XIV, xi; XVI, 577, 621-622, 669, 1073, 1077; XVII, 134, 142, 192, 195, 198, 200-201, 259, 264, 293, 298, 304, 387, 394-395, 406; XVIII, 796-798; XXVI, 353.
ISAAC GREGORY
Ashe, S. A., (ed.) Biographical History of North Carolina. IV, 139-145.
Applications for Officers (Library of Congress), Vol. 30. Letter Dr. Hugh Williamson, Feb. 5, 1790.
C. R. VIII, 281; IX, 459, 573, 638, 1181, 1189, 1197; X, 205, 215, 525, 532, 565, 915, 917, 961.
McRee, Griffith J. (ed.) The Life and Correspondence of James Iredell. I, 475, 520.
Newspaper Notices, Marriages and Deaths, 1799-1806. Item from Raleigh Register, April 22, 1800, p. 3, col. 5.
North Carolina Wills, 1663-1789. XII, 33-35.
Pasquotank Court of Quarter Sessions and Pleas, Minutes of. 1762, 1766, 1768-1769, 1777.
Lefler, Hugh Talmage and Newsome, Albert Ray. North Carolina. P. 227.
Records of Camden County. See index.
Records of Pasquotank County. See index.
S. R. XI, 263, 580; XII, 611; XIII, 765, 782, 910; XIV, xv, 149, 174, 378, 402, 407, 410, 522, 679, 728, 829, 842; XV, xiii, 142-143, 207, 271, 469, 508, 514, 536, 562; xvi, 115, 228, 237, 494, 595, 706, 797; XVII, 7-8, 277, 388, 393, 690, 791, 806; XVIII, 1-2-3, 12, 25, 32, 283, 824; XIX, 1, 3, 129, 132, 400-401, 573; XX, 1, 5, 301, 304, 375, 378, 514, 526, 527; XXI, 173, 251, 461, 634; XXII, 2, 7, 36, 48, 556, 928, 1030, 1032; XXIII, 995; XXIV, 27, 626, 1787; XXV, 18; XXVI, 356.
DEMPSEY BURGESS
Annals of Congress, 4th Congress, Second Session. Pp. 1703, 1798-1801.
C. R. X, 167, 173, 175, 205, 501, 505, 523, 532, 541, 560, 915, 942, 961-962, 969, 974, 976.
McRee, Griffith J. (ed.) Life and Correspondence of James Iredell. II, 475.
Newspaper Notices, Marriages and Deaths, 1764-1813. Items from Raleigh Register, Feb. 11, 1800, p. 3, col. 5; and Edenton Gazette, Feb. 11, 1812, p. 3, col. 3.
Paschal, G. W. History of North Carolina Baptists. I, 92, 128, 139, 142, 145.
Pasquotank Court of Quarter Sessions and Pleas, Minutes of. 1765, 1769, 1772-1775-1777.
Records of Camden County. See index.
Records of Pasquotank County. See index.
S. R. XII, 59, 333; XI, 683, 684-685; XIX, 576, 593, 597; XXI, 1065-1066; XXIV, 27; XXV, 18; XXVI, 352.
JOSEPH JONES
Ashe, S. A. (ed.) Biographical History of North Carolina. IV, 140.
Carsten, James H. Papers. (Library of Congress).
C. R. VI, 358, 381, 493, 893, 957, 961; VII, 86-87, 342, 364, 374, 386, 555, 963; VIII, 106-107, 146, 303, 326, 444; IX, xxxi, 199, 223, 424, 734, 774, 930, 952, 1042, 1049, 1179, 1181; X, xxxi, 31-37, 166-167, 171, 215, 523, 565, 571-572.
North Carolina Historical Review. Oct., 1925. Pp. 502-525. Corbitt, D. L. Historical Notes.
Pasquotank Court of Quarter Sessions and Pleas, Minutes of. 1760.
Pasquotank County Wills, 1720-1784. III, 36.
Records of Camden County. See index.
Records of Pasquotank County. See index.
S. R. XII, 2, 11, 22, 28, 30-31, 50, 128, 156, 222, 789; XVI, 3, 28, 90; XXVI, 350.
PETER DAUGE
C. R. X, 474, 529-530, 532, 559, 570, 574, 577, 617, 931.
Hathaway, J. R. B. (ed.) N. C. H. & G. R. Vol. 2, No. 2, 244.
Lefler, Hugh Talmage and Newsome, Albert Ray. North Carolina. Pp. 224-225.
Pasquotank Court of Quarter Sessions and Pleas, Minutes of. 1762, 1765.
Records of Camden County. Book D, 79, 183, 274; Book E, 105; Book F, 168, 253; Book H, 89.
S. R. XI, 431, 538, 551, 580, 610-611-612, 670, 680-681; XVIII, 226, 228, 257, 344, 346, 350, 360, 362; XX, 119, 121-122, 314, 479; XXI, 1, 3, 6, 52, 71, 109, 130, 178, 193 195, 198, 210, 248, 288, 729-730, 732, 781, 806, 852; XXIV, 530; XXV, 18, XXVI, 350.
AMY BURFOOT, SR.
AMY BURFOOT, JR.
Miscellaneous Correspondence, Pasquotank, 1746-1790.
Pasquotank Births, Marriages, Deaths and Cattle Marks, 1697-1790. 1762.
Records of Camden County. Book B, 189; Book C, 7, 228; Book D, 104; Book F, 192, 247; Book G, 322; Book H, 32, 76, 242, 393, 408; Book M, 45, 326; Book O, 410; Book P, 13, 17.
BENJAMIN JONES
Brown, Alexander Crosby. “The Dismal Swamp Canal” in The American Neptune, issues of July and October, 1945 and January, 1946. Pp. 293, 297 and 51, respectively.
Hathaway, J. R. B., ed. N. C. H. & G. R. Vol. 1, No. 3, 431-433.
National Intelligencer (Washington, D. C.), Jan. 7, 1829. News quoted from Norfolk Herald.
Records of Camden County. Book B, 60, 72; Book C, 70, 101-102-103, 153, 249; Book D, 126, 252, 317, 353-354-355, 442-443, 446; Book E, 88, 132; Book F, 71, 89, 101, 117, 125, 132, 136, 176, 203, 243, 278-279-280-281, 320, 324, 341, 344, 351; Book G, 3, 8, 18, 24, 33, 68, 72, 82, 201, 205, 207, 209-210, 213-214-215, 218-219-220, 229-230, 291, 293, 295, 300, 303, 305, 360, 367, 379, 386-387; Book H, 20, 43, 56-57-58, 113, 179-180-181, 265-266, 346, 394; Book I, 152, 264, 278-279, 285, 299, 306, 326; Book K, 1, 10, 26-27-28, 36, 40, 63-64, 67, 69, 76, 235, 271, 288, 367, 400-401-402, 419, 459, 485, 493; Book L, 71, 128, 134, 227.
S. R. See index.
PETER MERCER
Burkitt, Lemuel and Reed, Jesse. A Concise History of the Kehukee Association. P. 57.
Lefler, Hugh Talmmage and Newsome, Albert Ray. North Carolina. P. 98.
Pasquotank Court of Quarter Sessions and Pleas, Minutes of. 1755, 1759.
Records of Camden County. Book B, 111; Book D, 35; Book E, 76; Book G, 46, 179, 362; Book H, 143, 174, 184, 222, 231, 238, 265, 305; Book I, 6, 9, 30, 143, 184, 234, 238, 265; Book K, 121, 222, 295; Book L, 22, 146.
FRANCES, MARCHIONESS CAMDEN
English Paintings in the Huntington Gallery. New York, 1952. Photograph No. 14; text by Heinrich, Theodore Allen.
ELISHA MCBRIDE
Asbury, Francis. Journals of. 3 vols. II, 25; III, 149-150, 215.
Coke, Thomas. Diary of, as quoted by C. A. Ashley in State Magazine, April 30, 1941. P. 13.
Camden County Wills. Book E, 107; Book F, 13.
Pasquotank County Wills. Book HIK, 282.
Moseley, Edward, map by (1733).
Reference to Bishop Asbury's visit to McBride's and proof of Elisha McBride's membership in the House of Commons supplied by Dr. H. E. Spence of Durham.
Records of Camden County. Book C, 106-107, 244; Book D, 277, 303, 382; Book F, 79, 92, 136-137, 144, 288, 298; Book H, 99, 249-250; Book I, 128, 242, 246; Book 3.
Story of protracted meeting furnished by former Superior Court Judge W. I. Halstead.
Paschal, G. W. History of North Carolina Baptists. I, 527-529.
S. R. XVI, 49, 127, 153; XIX, 395; XXVI, 353.
ARTHUR OLD
Lefler, Hugh Talmage and Newsome, Albert Ray. North Carolina. Pp. 287-290.
Pasquotank Historical Society Year Book, 1956. P. 57.
Records of Camden County. Book G, 204, 242, 357; Book H, 148, 428, 430; Book I, 188, 190, 203, 211, 287, 293; Book K, 166-167, 211, 257, 366, 463; Book L, 17, 121; Book M, 114; Book Q, 260, 533.
Senate Journals (N.C.) 1804-1805-1806-1807.
JAMES S. GARLINGTON
Lefler, Hugh Talmage and Newsome, Albert Ray. North Carolina. Pp. 345-356.
Muster Roll of Soldiers of War of 1812, Detached from Militia of North Carolina in 1812 and 1814. (1851) Pp. 1, 4-5, 73-74.
Records of Camden County. Book H, 219, 277; Book K, 274, 477; Book L, 207, 245, 249; Book N, 161; Book O, 408; Book Q, 282; Book S, 325; Book T, 525; Book U, 61, 205; Book V, 162, 241, 272.
S. R. XXVI, 350.
ENOCH SAWYER
Camden County Wills. Book C, Pp. 82-83.
Executive Journal of U. S. Senate. (1827) III, 595.
Records of Camden County. Book F, 46, 336; Book G, 16, 65, 102, 146; Book H, 113, 157; Book I, 92, 113, 352; Book K, 107, 323.
Sawyer, Lemuel. Autobiography. (1824). Pp. 21-22.
S. R. XV, 524; XVII, 264, 304, 354, 359, 364, 368, 406, 412; XIX, 489, 500, 505, 533, 556, 592, 692-693; XX, 121, 127, 483; XXI, 1, 3, 66, 68, 74, 109, 178, 193, 198, 264, 404, 738, 754, 768, 922, 949; XXII, 4, 36, 47; XXV, 18, 103; XXVI,
Walser, Richard, (ed.) Lemuel Sawyer's Blackbeard, a facsimile edition, (Raleigh, 1952) Pp. xxi-xxiii.
LEMUEL SAWYER, JR.
Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1949. (1950) P. 1780.
Lefler, Hugh Talmage and Newsome, Albert Ray. North Carolina. Pp. 284-286, 389.
National Intelligencer. (Washington, D. C.) Jan. 12, 1852.
Newspaper Notices, Marriages and Deaths, 1764-1813. Item from The Raleigh Star, Aug. 23, 1810.
Newsome, A. R. Lemuel Sawyer, from Dictionary of American Biography. (1935). XVI, 394-395.
Journal of the House of Commons. (N. C.) 1800-1804.
Records of Camden County. Book I, 98; Book K, 25, 29, 154, 211; Book N, 78; Book U, 286, 291.
Sawyer, Sawyer. Autobiography. (1824). Pp. 1-22.
Walser, Richard. (ed.) Lemuel Sawyer's Blackbeard, a facsimile edition. Pp. xii-xxx, 5-66.
ALFRED MOORE GATLIN
Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1949. P. 1200.
Records of Camden County. Book R, 296; Book S, 130, 188-189; Book T, 5, 389-390; Book U, 122, 226, 475.
University of North Carolina Alumni Records. 1808.
WILLIAM BIDDLE SHEPARD
Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1949. P. 1804.
Family data supplied by Miss Elizabeth Vann Moore of Edenton.
Records of Camden County. Book R, 296; Book S, 130; Book T, 5; Book U, 122, 475.
CORNELIUS GRAY LAMB
Lefler, Hugh T. ed. North Carolina History Told by Contemporaries. Pp. 182-185, 192-194, 222, 242-243, 259.
Lefler, Hugh Talmage and Newsome, Albert Ray. North Carolina. Pp. #46-348, 351-352.
House Journals (N. C.). 1842, 1844.
Records of Camden County. Book S, 101, 268; Book T, 455; Book U, 255-256, 274, 362, 408, 526; Book V, 59, 294, 337, 382; Book X, 3, 114, 170, 172, 256, 322, 421; Book Y, 21-22, 26, 133-134.
U. S. Census, 1860. Camden County. No. 372.
Walser, Richard. ed. Letters of a Young Novelist; Calvin Henderson Wiley. Reprinted from The North Carolina Historical Review. Vol. XXXI, Nos. 3 & 4, July and October, 1954.
SUSAN FLORA
Camden County Wills. Book D, p. 19, 61-62; Book C, p. 295.
Family data and the incident of the slave Miles contributed by Mrs. Jane Gregory McPherson of Shiloh.
Lefler, Hugh T. ed. North Carolina History Told by. Contemporaries. P. 81.
Other incidents furnished by Mr. and Mrs. W. J. Burgess of Shiloh.
U. S. Census, 1860. Camden County. No. 218.
DENNIS DOZIER FEREBEE
Connor, R. D. W. North Carolina: Rebuilding an Ancient Commonwealth. II, Pp. 397-398.
Creecy, R. B. Grandfather's Tales. Raleigh. (1901) Pp. 286-287.
Ferebee family data and other materials contributed by Mrs. R. L. McMurran (nee Margaret Ferebee) of Portsmouth, Virginia.
Hamilton, J. G. de Roulhac, ed. Correspondence of Jonathan Worth. Pp. 519, 773, 1019.
Hamilton, J. G. de Roulhac. Reconstruction in North Carolina. Pp. 121-144.
Journals of House of Commons (N. C.) 1846, 1848, 1856, 1858, 1860.
Lefler, Hugh Talmage and Newsome, Albert Ray. North Carolina. Pp. 453-473, 498-499.
North Carolina Regiments, 1861-1865. Walter Clark, ed. V, 83, 86, 650.
Records of Camden County. See index.
Map and stories from the New York Times were taken from photostatic reproductions supplied by Elizabeth Gregory McPherson of the Research Division of the Library of Congress.
JOHN JACOBS
Camden County Wills. Book E, P. 234.
Family data and incidents contributed by the following:
W. I. Halstead of South Mills, Rudolph Jacobs and Miss Elizabeth Jacobs of South Mills, Mrs. E. W. Spires of Edenton.
Moore, John W. ed. Roster of North Carolina Troops in the War Between the States. (Raleigh, 1882) 4 vols. II, Pp. 571, 574-575.
Records of Camden County. See index.
Records of Currituck County. See index.
U. S. Census, 1860. Camden County.
PETER T. BURGESS
Creecy, R. B. Grandfather's Tales. Pp. 222-225, 239-241, 264-267.
Incidents and traditions contributed by the following:
Mr. and Mrs. W. J. Burgess of Shiloh, the late Miss Lilly Grandy of Elizabeth City, W. B. Harrison of Old Trap.
North Carolina Regiments, 1861-1865. Walter Clark, ed. I, 390; II, 629.
Personal data furnished by M. H. Hubbard of Old Trap.
Photostatic copies of Civil War Records of Peter T. Burgess supplied by Department of Archives and Records, Washington, D. C.
Records of Camden County. See index of Books from CC through No. 1.
War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. (1887) Series I, Vol. 18, P. 259. (Hereafter cited as O. R.) Also see bibliography for Willis B. Sanderlin and William P. Walston.
JOHN KELLY ABBOTT
Family data supplied by Mrs. George Johnson of South Mills.
House Journals (N. C.). 1876, 1883, 1899.
Moore, John W. ed. Roster of North Carolina Troops in the War Between the States. I, 274-275.
Records of Camden County. See index of Books AA through LL.
Senate Journals (N. C.) 1889, 1893.
Lefler, Hugh Talmage and Newsome, Albert Ray. North Carolina. Pp. 471-473, 520-522.
GEORGE FEREBEE
Family and personal data obtained by Mr. Ray Etheridge of Shawboro.
Official Register of Officers (U. S.) 1815.
Records of Camden County. 112 transactions in which George Ferebee was a party are recorded in Books M, Q, R, S and T.
DEMPSEY SAWYER BURGESS
Family data taken from notes of the late Miss Lilly Grandy.
Official Register of Officers (U. S.) 1815.
Records of Camden County. 13 references in Books I, M, N, O, P and page 195 in Q.
PETER ELLIOTT
Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military and Naval in the Service of the United States, 1827-1828. (Washington, D. C.) P. 14.
Records of Camden County. Book T, 61, 115; Book U, 79, 241, 398, 442; Book X, 88-89, 191, 339, 388; Book Y, 213; Book Z, 247, 300.
WILEY GRANDY FEREBEE
Family data obtained by Miss Elizabeth Gregory McPherson of Washington, D. C.
Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military and Naval in the Service of the United States, 1883. II, 541.
Records of Camden County. Book NN, 431-432. See index.
JAMES EDWARD BURGESS
Family data supplied by Henry C. Burgess of Old Trap.
Private Laws of North Carolina. 1897, Chapter 193, P. 191; 1901, Chapter 72, P. 136; 1905, P. 270; 1909, Chapter 174, P. 392.
Register of Officers etc. See bibliography for Wiley Grandy Ferebee.
Records of Camden County. See index.
WILLIS BURGESS SANDERLIN
WILLIAM PERKINS WALSTON
Camden Marriage Records. 1852.
Incidents and traditions contributed by Mr. and Mrs. W. J. Burgess and Mrs. Jane Gregory McPherson, all of Shiloh.
Moore, John W. ed. Roster of North Carolina Troops in the War Between the States. I, Pp. 138, 274-275-276, 304; II, 570, 574-575; III, 577-580, 599; IV, 147-148.
O. R. Series 1, Vol. IX, 170; Series 1, Vol. XVIII, 14, 259, 675; Series 1, Vol. XXIX (pt. 1) 14, 31, 484; Series 1, Vol. XXIX (pt. 2), 562, 572, 576, 581, 595-598.
Records of Camden County. See index.
Sanderlin family data obtained by Mrs. James P. Welch of Norfolk, Va.
Walston family data obtained by Mrs. William H. Walston of Hickory, Va.
LLOYD BAUM JONES
JOHN CALHOUN JONES
WILLIAM FORBES JONES
Family data and incidents contributed by the following:
Mrs. Lilly Jones Biddle of Norfolk, Va., Jonathan Forbes and W. B. Harrison of Old Trap.
Records of Camden County. See index for John K. Jones.
Rights, Douglas L. The American Indian in North Carolina. Winston-Salem, 1952. Plate No. 7 and P. 52.
CHARLES BRAY WILLIAMS
Information contributed by the following:
Dr. J. S. Johnson, pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church, N. B. Williams and Mrs. S. B. Williams, both of Shiloh.
Synopsis of Dr. Williams’ life issued by the Moody Press, publishers. 1950.
Williams, Charles Bray. History of Baptists in N. C. Pp. 1-50.
— The New Testament in the Language of the People. (1950) Introduction by Edward A. McDowell and J. R. Mantey.
HERMAN VINCENT LEARY
Family data and other materials taken from scrapbook loaned by Mrs. H. V. Leary, wife of the subject.
House Journal (N. C.) 1937.
Other items are from the author's personal acquaintance with H. V. Leary.
BESS TILLITT GREGORY
Personal data contributed by Mrs. Gregory's sister, Mrs. Will Godfrey, and by the husband, P. P. Gregory.
Club data obtained from the records of the Camden Women's Club and of the county Home Demonstration Clubs, both volumes procured through the courtesy of Mrs. L. H. Sawyer, Home Demonstration Agent.
Peebles, Lucy Gray. Sketch of Mrs. Gregory's life in the Norfolk Virginian Pilot, Nov. 25, 1956, P. 4-G.
Wolfe, Thomas. You Can't Go Home Again. New York, 1934. P. 743.
WILLIAM IRA HALSTEAD
All personal and family data furnished by Judge Halstead.
House Journals (N. C.) 1929, 1931, 1943.
Senate Journals (N. C.) 1936 (ext. session), 1937, 1938 (ext. session), 1939.
Records of Camden County. See index.
INDEX
| Abbott, Bernice, 211 | Barco, G. C., legislator, 172, 216 |
| Abbott, Clarinda (Ferebee), 211 | Barco, Joseph, 127 |
| Abbott, Claude, 211 | Barco, W. P., legislator, 216 |
| Abbott, E. L., 211 | Barco's Island, 27 |
| Abbott, Eliza, 211 | Barecock, Jane (Peggs), 26, 207 |
| Abbott, Elurani (Spence), 211 | Barecock, Thomas, 26-27, 207 |
| Abbott, Rev. Henry, Baptist, 69, 70, 83-86, 99, 166, 209, 214 | Barecock, Thomas, Jr., 207 |
| Barecock, William, 26, 207 | |
| Abbott, Henrietta, 211 | Barnwell, Col. James, 19 |
| Abbott, James Sidney, 211 | Bartleson, Samuel, 114 |
| Abbott, Rev. John, Anglican, 83 | Bartlett, D. F., legislator, 216 |
| Abbott, John K., legislator, 166-168, 174, 211, 216 | Bartlett family, 27 |
| Bartlett, P. O., 168 | |
| Abbott, Joseph, 166, 211 | Bartlett, William P., 171 |
| Abbott, Margaret (Kelly), 211 | Bassett, J. H., congressman, 130 |
| Abbott, Meriam (Gregory), 209 | Bates, Sarah, 23 |
| Abbott, Miles, 211 | Battle, Judge, 155 |
| Abbott, Tim, 211 | Baum, Adam, 38 |
| Abingdon plantation, 201 | Baum, Adam, 127 |
| Abraham, slave, 76 | B Company, Confederate, 173, 174 |
| A Company, Confederate, 174 | B Company, Confederate partisans, 175 |
| Aitcheson, William, 114 | Beals, Burkitt, 127 |
| Akehurst, Daniel, 12, 14, 188 | Beals, James, 127 |
| Akehurst Ridge plantation, 188 | Beals, John, 59 |
| Alamance County, 84 | Beals, Wilson, 175 |
| Albemarle Sound, 188, 189 | Belcross, P. O., 83, 168, 171 |
| Allen's Company, continental army, 87 | Bell, Ben, 58 |
| Allen, Nathaniel, 113 | Bell family, 27, 175 |
| Alston, Phillip, 97 | Bell, Haywood S., legislator, 215 |
| Anderson, John, 28 | Bell, John, 127 |
| Ansell, Henry B., 157 | Bell, John, 162, 187 |
| Archdale, Ann, 10, 21 | Bell, Joseph, 58 |
| Archdale, Anne (Cary), 207 | Bell, K. R., 175 |
| Archdale, John proprietary governor, 10, 21, 207 | Bell, Thomas, legislator, 215 |
| Benbury, Gen. Thomas, 94 | |
| Arenuse (Arnoos) Creek, 22, 43, 48, 141 | Berkeley, Lord John, 21 |
| Asbury, Bishop Francis, Methodist, 117, 119 | Berkeley, Sir William, 22 |
| Ashe, Dr. Edmund, 212 | Berry, Barney, 186 |
| Associated Country Women of the World, 201 | Berry family, 175 |
| Berry, G. L. A., 175 | |
| d'Auge, Jacques, 106 | Berry, Isaac, Confederate, 175 |
| Autobiography, 129 | Berry, Isaac, War of 1812, 126 |
| Avery, Isaac, 126 | Berry, Loyal, 175 |
| Avery, Capt. William B., Union, 176 | Berry, Miles, 126 |
| Berry, Thomas, 126 | |
| Bailey, David, legislator, 213 | Berry, William, 126 |
| Bailey, Joseph, legislator, 213 | Bettys, Thomas, 123 |
| Baltimore Conference, Methodist, 118 | Biggs, Rev. Davis, Baptist, 86 |
| Bano, William, 58 | Biggs, Timothy, 6, 9 |
| Baptists, 50-54, 193-194 | “Big Road,” 199 |
| Baptists, General, 53 | Billett, John, 23 |
| Baptists, Particular, 53, 84 | Billett's Bridge, 23 |
| Barco, Lt. Bailey, legislator, 126, 128, 215 | Bill of Rights, 85 |
| Barco, Caleb, legislator, 215, 216 | Biography of John Randolph of Roanoke, 135 |
| Barco, Edmund J., legislator, 215 |
| Bird, Lt. W. E. A., Union, 178 | Burgess, Dempsey Sawyer, 169, 170, 209, 211 |
| Blackbeard, pirate, 16 | |
| Blackbeard, a play, 134 | Burgess, Elizabeth, dau. William, Sr., 208 |
| Blacknall, Rev. John, 62 | Burgess, Elizabeth (Sawyer), 136, 209, 210 |
| Blair, John, 113 | Burgess family, 27, 132, 164, 175 |
| Blakeley, Capt. Johnston, 125 | Burgess, Henry C., 212 |
| Blish, Capt. John, 207 | Burgess, Hezekiah, 212 |
| Blount, Frederick, 210 | Burgess, Isaac, 127 |
| Bluebutton, 200, 201 | Burgess, James Edward, legislator, 172, 212, 216 |
| Boston, Mass., 8 | |
| Bourthier, Deborah, 15 | Burgess, James M., 212 |
| Bourthier, Thomas, 15 | Burgess, Jesse, 208 |
| Boushal, Robert, 126 | Burgess, Jobya (Mitchell), 212 |
| Boushall, Ann (Thompson), 211 | Burgess, John, Jr., 208 |
| Boushall, Thomas, 171, 211 | Burgess, Rev. John, Baptist, 15, 53-55, 59, 67, 68, 98, 208, 213 |
| Boyd, Thomas, legislator, 84, 214 | |
| Brandywine, battle of, 71, 72 | Burgess, John S., legislator, 215, 216 |
| Bray family, 27, 164 | Burgess, Joseph, 208 |
| Bray, Henry, 4 | Burgess, Lemuel, 210 |
| Bray, Joseph, 126 | Burgess, Levi, 163 |
| Bray, R. L., legislator, 216 | Burgess, Lula (Williams), 212 |
| Bray, Thomas, 127 | Burgess, Lydia (Martinette), 211 |
| Bray, William, 4 | Burgess, Margaret (Fennell), 210 |
| Bray, William, Jr., 4, 11 | Burgess, Margaret (Redding), 208 |
| Brent, Barbara (Williams), 39, 208 | Burgess, Matilda (Mitchell), 212 |
| Brent, Capt. Stephen, mariner, 39, 208 | Burgess, M. L., legislator, 190, 216 |
| Brickell, Dr. John, 37 | Burgess, Melissa (Cowell), 211 |
| Brite, Col., 125 | Burgess, Nicholas, 177 |
| Brite (Bright) family, 174 | Burgess, Nicholas S., 175 |
| Brite, Willis, legislator, 214 | Burgess, Noah C., 175 |
| Brock, Moses, 126, 129 | Burgess, Pattie (Burgess), 212 |
| Brockett, Francis, 51 | Burgess, Penelope (Bryant), 208 |
| Brockett, John A., legislator, 215 | Burgess, Peter T., 160-165, 177, 211 |
| Brockwell, Peter, 7 | Burgess, Polly (Kight), 212 |
| Brooks, George W., 155, 185 | Burgess, Samuel, 212 |
| Broomfield, 44 | Burgess, Sarah, 187 |
| Brothers, John, legislator, 213 | Burgess, Sarah (Gregory), 210 |
| Brown, John, 59 | Burgess, Sarah (Scarborough), 208 |
| Brown, Mary (Upton), 27 | Burgess, S. E., legislator, 216, 217 |
| Brown, Peter, 27 | Burgess, Simeon, Jr., 164 |
| Bryan, Cornelius, 126 | Burgess, Simeon, Sr., 211 |
| Bryan, Simon, legislator, 213 | Burgess, Stephen, father Wm., Sr., 208 |
| Buckington plantation, 201 | Burgess, Stephen, Union sympathizer, 185 |
| Buffaloes, Union sympathizers, 176 | Burgess, Tamar, 210 |
| Bullock, Robert R., 173 | Burgess, Thomas, bro. of Wm., Sr., 51 |
| Bundy, Caleb, legislator, 213 | Burgess, Thomas, legislator, 215 |
| Burfoot, Amy, 109-111, 143, 210 | Burgess, Walter, 211 |
| Burfoot family, 15, 27 | Burgess, Wealthy, 165, 187 |
| Burfoot, Lydia (Wright), 143 | Burgess, Rev. William, Sr., Baptist, 15, 23, 34, 42, 50-52, 67-68, 208, 213 |
| Burfoot, Robert, Jr., 110, 143, 210 | |
| Burfoot, Robert, Sr., 210 | Burgess, Rev. William, Jr., Baptist, 15, 53, 84, 208 |
| Burgess, Ann (Upton), 208 | |
| Burgess, Bailey P., 212 | Burgess, William, son of John, 68, 214 |
| Burgess, Benoni, 98, 208 | Burgess, Wilma (Burgess), 212 |
| Burgess, Blanche (Gordon), 212 | Burgess, W. J., viii |
| Burgess, Cornelius, son of Dempsey, 210 | Burgess, Mrs. W. J., viii |
| Burgess, Cornelius, Union sympathizer, 177 | Burgess, Lt. Zephaniah, continental army, 15, 98, 208, 215 |
| Burgess, Col. Dempsey, congressman, 15, 84, 97-101, 208, 210, 214 | |
| Burkitt, Rev. Lemuel, Baptist 54, 56, 85 | |
| Burgess, Dempsey J., 125 | Burnham, Benjamin, 174 |
| Burnham, Bridgett, 208 | Civils, Lt. William, Confederate, 173 |
| Burnham, Gabriel, legislator, 23, 35-36, 208, 213 | Clark, Colonel, 74 |
| Clark, Walter, 85 | |
| Burnham, Isabella, 208 | Clark, William H., 185 |
| Burnham, Jacob, 61 | Clay, Henry, 135 |
| Burnham, Mary (Polly), 210 | Clingman, 175 |
| Burns, Capt. Otway, 125 | Clinton, George, 135 |
| Burnt Mills, 205 | Clinton, Sir Henry, 71 |
| Burrington, George, royal governor, 30, 40 | Coats, Wilson, 127 |
| Butler, Anthony, 123 | Cobb, C. L., 186 |
| Butler, Gen. Benjamin F., Union, 183, 185 | Cogdell, Col. Richard, continental army, 74 |
| Byrd, Valentine, 6 | |
| Byrd, William, governor of Virginia, 112 | Coinjock, 86 |
| Coke, Bishop Thomas, Methodist, 119 | |
| Calhoun, John C., 130 | Collington Island, 16 |
| Calloway, Rev. Carl, viii | Collins, Dempsey, 128 |
| Camden (N.C.), battle of, 148-153 | Collins, Josiah, Jr., 210 |
| Camden (S.C.), battle of, 95 | Collins, Malachi, 128 |
| Camden County, 101-105 | Collins, William, 23 |
| Camden, Earl of, 101 | Collins, William, 128 |
| Camden Ferry Company, 172 | Concise History of Kehukee Association, 75 |
| Camden Methodist Church, 60, 121 | Confiscation commissioners, 79 |
| Camden, port of, 93 | Connor family, 121 |
| Camden, P. O., 168 | Consolvo, Charles, 174 |
| Camden Woman's Club, 200 | Contentnea Creek, 19 |
| Campbell, Joshua, 100 | Cooke, J. E., legislator, 216 |
| Canady, Alexander, 23 | Cooper, Abner, 126, 128 |
| Canady family, 137 | Cornwallis, Lord Charles, British general, 69, 95 |
| Caron (Caroon), Elizabeth (Jones), 207 | |
| Caron, (Caroon), George, 207 | Court of Equity, 169 |
| Carter, Benjamin, 126 | Cowell, Adeline, 211 |
| Carteret, Peter, properietary governor, 6 | Cowell, Washington, 211 |
| “Carteret Precinct,” 3 | Cox, Jacob, 212 |
| Carthwright, Abraham, 127 | Cozenove, Miss, 210 |
| Cartwright, Asa, 127 | Craven County, 52 |
| Carthwright, Benoni, 186 | “Craven River,” 3 |
| Cartwright, John, 177 | Creecy, R. B., author, 186 |
| Cartwright, Morgan, 120 | Crimean War, 167 |
| Cartwright, William, 59 | Crisp, Nicholas, 29 |
| Cary, Col. Thomas, proprietary governor, 16, 31 | Crozier Seminary, 193 |
| Crowninshield, Benjamin William, 130 | |
| Cary's Rebellion, 19 | Culpeper, Frances, 8 |
| Cason, Charles, 56 | Culpeper, John, 6, 8, 17 |
| Caswell, Gov. Richard, gen. N. C. Militia, 61, 71, 73, 90, 92 | Culpeper, Sarah, 17 |
| Culpeper's Rebellion, 5, 7 | |
| Chamberlain family, 121, 137 | Culpepper, Mason, legislator, 215 |
| Chamberlain, J. L., legislator, 121-122, 216 | Cumming, William, legislator, 84 |
| Chamberlain, Rev. Nelson, Methodist, 121 | Curlin, Edward, 126, 128 |
| Chantilly, 43, 161 | Currituck County (Precinct), 46, 157 |
| Chapaultepec, Mexico, 157 | Currituck Seminary of Learning, 97, 100 |
| Chapman, Mrs. J. H. (Faye Pugh), viii | Cuthrell, Mrs. B. C., 201 |
| Charles II, King of England, 3, 67 | |
| Charleston, S. C., 71, 73, 88, 90 | Dailey, Enoch, legislator, 215 |
| Cherry, Lt. Addison, Confederate, 173 | Dailey, Frederick, 128 |
| Cherry, Oliver, 174 | Dailey, Lt. Joshua, continental army, 69 |
| Chesapeake, 125 | Daniel, Rev. Charles, Baptist, 54 |
| Chester, Pa., 193 | Danson, Barbara, 22, 207 |
| Chowan County (precinct), 46 | Danson, John, 21-24, 207 |
| Christie, John C., 114 | Danson, Mary (Archdale), 21, 207 |
| Cincinnati, Society (Order) of, 73, 91 | Danson's Manor, 22 |
| Dashiell, W. F., 186 | Edenton Gazette |
| Dauge, Elizabeth (Lamb), 70, 210 | “Edistow,” 30 |
| Dauge, Isaac, 210 | Edney family, 121 |
| Dauge, Margaret, 210 | Edney, Robert, 23 |
| Dauge, Margaret (Sawyer-Lamb), 210 | Edney, Samuel, 61 |
| Dauge, Col. Peter, continental army, 70, 77, 85, 106-109, 210, 214 | Edwards, Morgan, author, 34, 54 |
| Ehringhaus, Gov. J. C. B., 30 | |
| Dauge, Sophia, 210 | Ehringhaus, John C., 185 |
| Dauge (Dozier), Willoughby, 125, 210 | Eighth Regiment, (N.C.) Confederate, 167 |
| Davidson College, 140 | Elizabeth City, 66, 105, 115 |
| Davis, Devotion, legislator, 84, 214 | Elizabeth River, 112 |
| Deford, E. M., legislator, 216 | Elligood, Matthias, 79 |
| Delamere, Francis, 14, 188 | Elliott, Elizabeth (Jones), 171, 211 |
| Delamere, Francis, Jr., 188 | Elliott, Gilbert, 211 |
| Delaware, 89 | Elliott, Mary (Brockett), 171, 211 |
| Dick, slave, 52 | Elliott, Peter, 170, 171, 211 |
| Dismal Swamp, 112-113, 179 | Elliott, Thomas, 4 |
| Dismal Swamp Canal, 112-114 | Ellis, Gov. John W., 148 |
| Dolly, William, 23 | Elmwood plantation, 49 |
| Dough, Benjamin, 128 | Etheridge, Mrs. Clyde, 201 |
| Dough, Dempsey, 128 | Etheridge, E. Ray, viii |
| Dough, Jesse, 128 | Etheridge family, 174 |
| Dowdy, Bone, 163 | Etheridge, James W., 174 |
| Dowdy, Jesse, 126 | Etheridge, Thomas, legislator, 215 |
| Dowdy, William, 126 | Etheridge, Rev. Thomas, Baptist, 81, 86 |
| Downes, Nathaniel, 125 | Eutaw Springs, battle of, 74 |
| Down River Chapel, 23 | Evanes, Susannah, 15 |
| Dowtin, William, 128 | Everard, Sir Richard, royal governor, 41, 49 |
| Dozier family, 175 | Everigin, Edward, legislator, 214 |
| Dozier, Joseph, legislator, 215 | |
| Dozier, Thomas, legislator, 215 | Fairfield plantation, 97 |
| Draper, Col., Union, 180 | Fayette, Marquis de la, 96 |
| Drawbridges, 141 | Fayetteville, 69 |
| Drew Seminary, 191 | Fearing, Isaiah, 185 |
| Dromgoole, Rev. Edward, Methodist, 118 | Fennell, Michael, 104, 113, 125, 210 |
| Duke, W. A., legislator, 216 | Fennell, Sally (Jones), 104, 210 |
| Duncan, David, legislator, 86, 126, 215 | Fenner's Company, continental line, 87 |
| Duncan family, 27, 164 | Ferebee, Blanche (Boushall), 211 |
| Duncan, Ithean, 177 | Ferebee, Col. Dennis D. Confederate officer and political leader, 147-156, 211, 216 |
| Duncan, Jacquet (Burfoot) 210 | |
| Duncan, John, 210 | Ferebee, Dr. Edwin B., 171, 211 |
| Duncan, Wilson, 177 | Ferebee family, 27, 147 |
| Duncombe, Bermuda merchant, 10 | Ferebee, George, 168, 211 |
| Dunkin, David, 126 | Ferebee, James W., 173 |
| Dunkin, Dempsey, 128 | Ferebee, Joseph, 169, 211 |
| Dunkin, Wilson, 126 | Ferebee, M. W., 216 |
| Dunkin, Zebulin, 126 | Ferebee, Mary (Dauge) 211 |
| Dunlap, James, 78 | Ferebee, Mary (Jones), 169 |
| Dunmore, Lord, British general, 98 | Ferebee, Mary (Davenport), 211 |
| Dunn, Samuel J., 174 | Ferebee, Mary S., 211 |
| Durant, George, 6, 9, 10 | Ferebee, Peggy (Dauge), 147, 211 |
| Dye, John, 13 | Ferebee, Samuel, Sr., 147, 211 |
| Ferebee, Rev. Samuel, Methodist, 147 | |
| Earle plantation, 139 | Ferebee, Sarah (Dauge), 147 |
| Eastchurch, Thomas, proprietary governor, 6 | Ferebee, Sarah (McPherson), 147, 211 |
| Ferebee, W. B., legislator, 147 | |
| Easter, Sarah, 25, 207 | Ferebee, Lt. William, continental army, 73 |
| Easter, Solomon, 25, 207 | Ferrell, George, 175 |
| Eden, Charles, proprietary governor, 31 | Fifty-Ninth Regiment (N.C.), Confederate, 153 |
| Edenton, 85, 138 |
| Finch, Jeremiah, 40 | Gallop, Elizabeth (Poyner), 143, 211 |
| First Georgia Brigade, 149 | Gallop family, 175 |
| First N. C. Brigade, Union, 162 | Gallop, John, 126 |
| First Milldam, 49 | Gallop, Josiah, 110 |
| Fiske, Mary, 9 | Gallop, Joshua, 126 |
| Fiske, Rev. Samuel, Anglican, 82 | Gallop, Mark, 58 |
| Flatbush Academy, 133 | Gallup, John 201 |
| Flatty Creek, 85 | Gambling, Elizabeth, 36 |
| Fleming, Elizabeth, 207 | Gambling, Joshua, 120 |
| Fleming, George, 3-5, 207 | Gannon, James, 186 |
| Fleming, Maria, 207 | Gardner, Deborah, 210 |
| Flora, Andrew, 144, 211 | Gardner, James, 117, 210 |
| Flora, Georgianna, 144, 146 | Garlington, Edmund, 210 |
| Flora, Jerome, 144 | Garlington, Jabez, 126, 129, 210 |
| Flora, John, 144 | Garlington, Capt. James S., War of 1812, 125-129, 210 |
| Flora, Susan (Gallop-Torksey), 142-146, 211 | |
| Flora, Virginia, 144 | Garlington, John, 210 |
| Florida, 139 | Garlington, Mary, 210 |
| Forbes, Baley (Bailey), 209 | Garlington's Island, 27, 129 |
| Forbes, Caleb, 128 | Garrett family, 164, 175 |
| Forbes, Dempsey, 128 | Garrett, Henry, 128. |
| Forbes, Evan, 128 | Garrett, James, 126 |
| Forbes, family, 27, 175 | Garrett, Noah, 163-164 |
| Forbes, Henry, 69 | Garrett, William, 128 |
| Forbes, James, 127 | Garrot, Ralph, 7, 207 |
| Forbes, James, Jr., 27, 207 | Garvey, Patric, 168 |
| Forbes, James, Sr., 27 | Garysburg, 153 |
| Forbes, John, m. Martha Barecock, 27 | Gaston, Judge William, 148 |
| Forbes, Capt. John, N. C. Militia, 52, 59, 67-69, 209 | Gates County, 183 |
| Gates, Gen. Horatio, continental army, 95 | |
| Forbes, John J., 145 | Gatlin, Alfred Moore, congressman, 138 |
| Forbes, Joseph, 176 | Georgia, 90 |
| Forbes, Julia (Jarvis), 190 | Germain, Lord, 95 |
| Forbes, J. Wilbert, legislator, 217 | Germantown, battle of, 71, 72 |
| Forbes, Martha (Barecock), 27, 207 | Getty, George W., 183 |
| Forbes, Rebecca (Barecock), 27, 207 | Gettysburg, 154 |
| Forbes, Rebecca (Williams), 39, 68, 208, 209 | Gibson, Reuben, 128 |
| Gilford (Guilford), Isaac, 3, 4, 23 | |
| Gilford, Joseph, 14 | |
| Forbes, Samuel W., 68, 209 | Gillam, Capt. Zachariah, mariner, 6 |
| Forbes, Seth B., 144 | Gilmore (Gilmour), Robert, 81 |
| Forbes, Silas, 128 | Glaister, Joseph, 45 |
| Forbes, S. J., legislator, 216 | Glover, William, proprietary governor, 18, 31 |
| Forbes, William Guilford, 190 | |
| Forehand, Cornelius, 25 | Godfrey, Hiram, 128 |
| Fork Bridge, 120 | Godfrey, James, 126, 128 |
| Fork Chapel, 23, 120 | Godfrey, John, 128 |
| Fork Landing, 12 | Godfrey, Jonathan, 128 |
| Fort Moultrie (S.C.), 71 | Godfrey, Samuel, 128 |
| Fort Nohoroco, 19 | Godfrey, Capt. William, War of 1812, 126, 128 |
| Fort Sumter (S. C.), 148 | |
| Foster, Clara (Jacobs), 211 | Goodman, Elizabeth (Burgess), 210 |
| Foster, John, 211 | Goodman, Jethro D., 210 |
| Foster, Major General, Union, 178 | Gordon, Rev. Mr., Anglican, 47 |
| Foster, Shepperd, 126 | Gordon, Thomas, 66, 168 |
| Fowler, E. D., viii | Gordon, William R., 212 |
| Fowler, Lt., Union, 177 | Gornto, Sarah (Sanderlin), 212 |
| Francis Peter, slave, 52 | Graham, W. A., 155 |
| French, Mary, 207 | “Grandfather Clause,” 167 |
| Frensley, Capt. J. L., Confederate, 174 | Grandy, Abner H., legislator, 215, 216 [f] |
| Grandy, Ann, 109 | Gregory, Thomas, War of 1812, 126 |
| Grandy, Caleb, legislator, 79, 81, 209, 214, 215 | Gregory, William, father of Gen. Gregory, 23, 49, 67 |
| Grandy, Lt. Caleb, 60 | Gregory, William, son of Gen. Gregory, 209 |
| Grandy, Lt. Caleb L., Confederate, 175 | Gregory, William Edgar, 212 |
| Grandy, Charles, legislator, 78, 80, 85, 214 | Gregory, Willoughby, 176 |
| Grandy, Josiah, 209 | Grice, Charles, 210 |
| Grandy, Lilly, 201 | Grice, Margaret (Jones), 210 |
| Grandy, Meriam, 139 | Griffin, Amy (Burfoot), 109-111, 210 |
| Grandy, Miles, 125, 209 | Griffin, Fanny, 111, 209 |
| Grandy, Lt. Thomas, 60, 81 | Griffin, John, 110, 209, 210 |
| Granger, Jonathan, 117 | Griffin, John, War of 1812, 128 |
| Granger, Sarah, 117 | Griffin, Mary (Burgess), 208 |
| Granville, Lord, Proprietor, 65 | Griffin, Samuel, 111, 210 |
| Graves, John W., 186 | Grimes, Absalom, 59 |
| Gray, Cornelius, 209 | Guilford College, 140 |
| Gray, Griffith, 209 | Guilford Court House, battle of, 69 |
| Gray, Capt. John, legislator, 58, 77-80, 209, 214 | Guilford (Gilford) family, 137 |
| Guilford, Lydia, 190 | |
| Gray, John, Jr., legislator, 209, 214 | “Guerillas,” Confederate partisans, 178-183 |
| Great Bridge, 86 | Gumberry, 83 |
| Great Island, 59 | |
| Great War for Empire (French and Indian), 58 | Halifax Congress, 70, 84 |
| Halifax County, 51 | |
| Green, Peleg, 66 | Halstead, Caroline (Garrison), 212 |
| Greene, Gen. Nathanael, 67, 71 | Halstead family, 121 |
| Gregory, Angelica, 106 | Halstead, Flora (Ashe), 212 |
| Gregory, Bess (Tillitt), 199-203, 212 | Halstead, Lt. F. M., Confederate, 175 |
| Gregory, Bettie (Duncan), 212 | Halstead, Frances (Holmes), 212 |
| Gregory, Capt. Dempsey, continental army, 87, 100 107 | Halstead, J. W., legislator, 216 |
| Halstead, John Wiley, 212 | |
| Gregory, Edmund, Jr., 126, 128 | Halstead, Laura (Lamb), 212 |
| Gregory, Edmund, Sr., 126 | Halstead, L. H., 212 |
| Gregory family, 27, 132, 164 | Halstead, Lemuel Herbert, 212 |
| Gregory, Frederick, 126, 128 | Halstead, Louise (Wright), 212 |
| Gregory, Harriett, 210 | Halstead, Pauline (Jacobs), 212 |
| Gregory, Henry, 126 | Halstead, W. I., legislator and superior court judge, 204-207, 211, 212, 216 |
| Gregory, Gen. Issac, N. C. Militia, 30, 47, 58, 69, 73, 84, 85, 90-97, 113, 118, 204, 209, 214, 215 | |
| Halstead, William Leon, 212 | |
| Hamilton, J. G. deRoulhac, 154 | |
| Gregory, Isaac, Jr., 209 | Hamilton, John, 62, 63, 114 |
| Gregory, Job, War of 1812, 128 | Hand, Dr., 71 |
| Gregory, Job, Union sympathizer, 163 | Harney, Benjamin, 209 |
| Gregory, Jonathan, 126 | Harney family, 137 |
| Gregory, Joseph M., 174 | Harney, Hannah (Mills), 209 |
| Gregory, Lovey, 67 | Harney, Louisa, 209 |
| Gregory, Lemuel, 126 | Harney, Lurania (Paddrick), 209 |
| Gregory, Major, 183 | Harney, Mills, 209 |
| Gregory, Margaret (Barecock), 27, 207 | Harney, Samuel, 209 |
| Gregory, Martha (Long), 209 | Harney, Col. continental army and legislator, 67, 87, 89-92, 209, 214 |
| Gregory, Mary (Lamb), 209 | |
| Gregory, Nathan, 126, 128 | Harney, Selby, Jr., 209 |
| Gregory, Phillip P., 212 | Harney, Thomas, 209 |
| Gregory, Priscilla (Barecock), 27, 207 | Harney, William, 209 |
| Gregory, Richard, 27, 207 | Haron, Captain, mariner, 9 |
| Gregory, Samuel, 126, 128 | Harrell, Thomas, 175 |
| Gregory, Sarah (Lamb), 209 | Harrington, Patsy, 117 |
| Gregory, Silas F., 178, 183 | Harrington, Thomas, 51 |
| Gregory, Thomas, m. Priscilla Barecock, 23, 27, 207 | Harrison, Abner, 77-79, 209 |
| Harrison, Benjamin D., legislator, 215 |
| Harrison family, 164 | Hunter, Col. Thomas, legislator, 47-50, 208, 213 |
| Harrison, Henry W., 126 | |
| Harrison, John W., 68, 126 | Hunter, Thomas, Jr., 208 |
| Harrison, Nathan, 128 | Hyde, Edward, proprietary governor, 19 |
| Harrison, Owen W., 126 | |
| Harrison, Wilson, 216 | I. D. Coleman, steamer, 180 |
| Harvey, Benjamin, 41, 57 | Indian Island, 63 |
| Harvey, John, 102 | Indians, 4, 19, 28 |
| Harvey, Thomas, Proprietary governor, 41, 45 | Indiantown, 168, 178, 180-181 |
| Indiantown Creek, 141 | |
| Harvey, Thomas, legislator, 114, 214 | Iredell, James, 100 |
| Hastings, Richard, 29 | Iroquois Indians, 29 |
| Hatch, Col. Anthony, 42 | |
| Hatteras, 174 | Jackson, Rebecca (Harney), 209 |
| Hawkins, John, legislator, 14, 22-23, 28, 36, 189, 213 | Jack's Shop, battle of, 157 |
| Jacobs, Betty (Burnham), 211 | |
| Hawkins, Sarah, 14, 189 | Jacobs, Carl, 211 |
| Hecklefield, Captain John, 128 | Jacobs, George, 158, 211 |
| Heighe, Samuel, 49 | Jacobs, Henrietta (Sawyer), 211, 212 |
| Henderson County, 174 | Jacobs, John, 156-159, 211, 212 |
| Henly, James A., 174 | Jacobs, Maggie (Davis), 211 |
| Henry, O., 156, 159 | Jacocks, W. P., viii |
| Henry, Patrick, Gov. of Virginia, 112 | James, Jacob, 59 |
| Herring, Jonathan, 214 | James, Jacob, 126 |
| Herring, William, 215 | James II, King of England, 11 |
| Hertford, 41 | James, slave, 38 |
| Hester, slave, 63, 209 | Jarvis, Bannister, 147 |
| Hewes, Joseph, 71, 73, 82 | Jarvis, Caleb, 126 |
| Hillsboro Congress, 70 | Jarvis, Samuel, Confederate, 163 |
| Hillsboro Convention, 131 | Jarvis, Samuel, War of 1812, 128 |
| Hines, Cora (Ferebee), 211 | Jarvis, Thomas, proprietary governor, 10, 13 |
| Hines, George W., 211 | |
| Hinton, Lewis R., 169 | Jefferson, president of U. S., 133 |
| Hobbs, Martha, 8 | Jenkins, John, proprietary governor, 6 |
| Hodges, Capt. James E., Confederate, 173 | Jennings, John, 16, 207 |
| Hoke, Gen. R. F., Confederate, 164 | Jennings, Marshall, 175 |
| Holden, Robert, 9 | Jennings, Mary, 20, 207, 208 |
| Home Guards, Confederate Partisans 173-188 | Jennings, William, pioneer, 5-7, 26, 207 |
| Hooper, William, 78 | Jennings, William, son of John, 20, 208 |
| Howard University, 194 | Jerrell, John, 128 |
| Howard, Col. W. A., Union, 176 | John L. Roper Lumber Co., 168 |
| Hubbard family, 164 | Johnson, Andrew, President of U. S., 164 |
| Hubbard, Martin H., 211 | Johnson, Calvin, 175 |
| Hughes family, 27 | Johnson, Chas. M., 205 |
| Hughes, M. B., legislator, 216 | Johnson family, 205 |
| Hughes, Job C., 174 | Johnson, Thomas, 19-20 |
| Hughes, Capt. Joseph G., Confederate, 160, 173 | Johnston, Gabriel, royal governor, 36, 46, 52 |
| Hughes, Nathaniel, 126 | Johnston, Samuel, 98 |
| Hughes, Capt. Noah H., Confederate, 161, 175 | Jome (Jones?), William B., 174 |
| Huit, James, 126 | Jones, Ann, 19, 33-35, 207, 208 |
| Humphries, John, 125, 209 | Jones, Ann Bryan, 212 |
| Humphries, John, son of Thomas, 209 | Jones, Benjamin, 112-114, 210, 214 |
| Humphries, Joseph, legislator, 213 | Jones, Capt., Cornelius, legislator, 4, 15-18, 23, 33, 207, 213 |
| Humphries, Lydia, 82, 209 | |
| Humphries, Thomas, legislator, 79, 81-83, 209, 214 | Jones, Cornelius, Jr., 207 |
| Jones, David, 61 | |
| Hunter, Rebecca (Swann), 49, 208 | Jones, Elizabeth, 208 |
| Jones, Elizabeth Dey, 212 | Kanady, Frederick, 128 |
| Jones, Elizabeth (Mayo), 212 | Kanady, Wm., 128 |
| Jones, Elizabeth (Taylor), 207 | Kehukee Association, Baptist, 84, 85 |
| Jones, Elizabeth, wife of Cornelius, 4, 207 | Kelly, John, legislator, 166, 215 |
| Jones, Elizabeth, wife of Griffith, 208 | Kelly, Patrick, 23 |
| Jones family, 27, 121, 132, 175 | Kight family, 164 |
| Jones, Felix, legislator, 216 | Kight, Mary, 187 |
| Jones, Col. Griffith, legislator and colonial militia, 23, 36, 40, 48-49, 55-58, 68, 208, 213 | King George's War, 58 |
| Knight, Malachi, 128 | |
| Knobbs Creek, 85 | |
| Jones, Griffith, Jr., 57 | Kurlin, John, 209 |
| Jones, Isaac, 61, 105, 209, 210 | |
| Jones, Jarvis, legislator, 59, 61, 105, 213 | Lakar, Benjamin, 41 |
| Jones, Jeremiah, 126, 128 | Lakar, Juliana, 41 |
| Jones, John, planter, 23, 61 | Lamb, Lt. Abner, continental army, 70, 74-75, 87, 109, 209 |
| Jones, John, legislator, 128-129, 215 | |
| Jones, Rev. John Calhoun, Methodist, 188-192, 212 | Lamb, Caleb, 8 |
| Lamb, Cornelius Gray, legislator, 140-142, 211, 216 | |
| Jones, John K., 189, 212 | |
| Jones, Joseph, legislator, 50, 60-61, 66, 84, 98, 101-105, 113, 210, 213, 214 | Lamb family, 27 |
| Lamb, Col. Gideon, continental army and legislator, 69, 70-75, 87, 209 | |
| Jones, Joseph, Jr., 210 | |
| Jones, J. W., legislator, 217 | Lamb, Gideon, legislator, 215 |
| Jones, Lemuel, 55, 208 | Lamb, Isaac, 125 |
| Jones, Lewis Southgate, 212 | Lamb, Josh., 8 |
| Jones, Lillie Mayo, 212 | Lamb, Capt. Joshua, mariner, 8 |
| Jones, Rev. Lloyd Baum, Methodist, 188-192, 212 | Lamb, Luke, 70 |
| Lamb, Luke G., legislator, 215 | |
| Jones, Lula Ferebee (Dey), 212 | Lamb, Margaret, 211 |
| Jones, Lydia, 210 | Lamb, Mary (Gray), 209 |
| Jones, Mahlon Hall, 212 | Lamb, Mary (Gregory), 209 |
| Jones, Mary, 169 | Lamb, Mary Ann, 211 |
| Jones, Mary, 208 | Lamb, Mary Eliza, 211 |
| Jones, Mary, 210 | Lamb, Peggy (Margaret Sawyer), 209 |
| Jones, Mary Ellen (Forbes), 212 | Lamb, Sarah (Beckwith), 210 |
| Jones, Mary (Wright), 189 | Lamb, Thomas, 70, 210 |
| Jones, Meriam, 55, 208 | Lambs Ferry, 172 |
| Jones, Capt., Nehemiah, colonial militia, 61, 105, 209 | Lands family, 164 |
| Lascelles, Othniel, 95 | |
| Jones, Robert, 208 | Latham, Ann (Jennings), 207 |
| Jones, Sallie (Dixon), 212 | Latham, Elizabeth, 207 |
| Jones, Simeon, legislator, 126, 129, 215 | Latham, Elizabeth, wife of Paul, 207, |
| Jones, Simeon A., legislator, 216 | Latham, George, 207 |
| Jones, Thomas, 102 | Latham, Paul, 8-10, 14, 23, 35, 207 |
| Laws of 1715, 64 | |
| Jones, Lt. Timothy, continental army, 105 | Lawson, John, 207 |
| Jones, Truman, 55 | Lawson, Nathaniel, 207 |
| Jones, Walton, 169, 211 | Leary, Blanche (Harrison), 212 |
| Jones, William, 51 | Leary, Carrie (Ferebee), 212 |
| Jones, William Dixon, 212 | Leary family, 27 |
| Jones, Rev. William Forbes, Methodist, 188-192, 212 | Leary, H. V., 212 |
| Leary, Herman Vincent, legislator, 195-199, 212, 216 | |
| Jonesborough, town of, 104, 168 | |
| Joppa, town of, 123 | Leary, Hilary, 212 |
| Jordan, Robert, legislator, 214 | Leary, Hilary Needham, 212 |
| Journey to Lake Drummond, 134 | Leary, Marie (Mitchell), 212 |
| Joy, Margery (Margre), 25, 36, 207 | Leary, Samuel, 187 |
| Joy, William, 23, 24-25, 207 | Leary, Stanley, 212 |
| Joy's Creek, 25, 35, 141 | Lee, Rev. Jesse, Methodist, 118 |
| Joy's Fork, 35 | Lee, Gen. Robert E., 158 |
| Lefler, Hugh Talmage, viii | McPherson, Jane (Gregory), viii |
| Leopard, British frigate, 125 | McPherson, Joshua, 120 |
| Lewis, John, 126 | McPherson, Willie, 123 |
| Lewis, Lt. Col. William, Union, 178 | Macon, Nathaniel, 133 |
| Liberty Mills, 154 | Madison County, 154 |
| Lillington, Major Alexander, colonial militia, 11 | Madison, James, President of U. S., 113, 125 |
| Lillington, Col. Alexander, continental army, 70-72 | Marchant, Dr. Gideon, 180 |
| Markham, John D., 186 | |
| Lilly, P. O., 168 | Mason, John, 113 |
| Lincoln, Abraham, President of U. S., 148 | Massachusetts, 89 |
| Lincoln, Gen., continental army, 90 | Martin's Company, 87 |
| Lindsey, D. McD., legislator, 216 | Maxwell, Mrs. Raymond, viii |
| Lindsey, Amy (Burfoot), 110-111, 210 | Mebane, Col. Robert, continental army, 73 |
| Lindsey, Jonathan, 111, 210 | Meeds, Charles, 186 |
| Linton, Hezekiah, 87-88, 209 | Mercer family, 164, 175 |
| Linton, Hezekiah, Sr., 88, 209 | Mercer, Freelove (Burgess), 54, 98, 208 |
| Linton, Jehu, 87-88, 209 | Mercer, Jesse, 117 |
| Linton, Jesse, 87-88, 209 | Mercer, Mary (Gardner), 117, 210 |
| Linton, Silas, 87-88, 209 | Mercer, Peter, 114-117, 210 |
| Litten, Lt. Isaac, 61 | Mercer, Reding, 126 |
| Little, Captain, 72 | Mercer, Ruth (Parr), 117, 210 |
| Little, William, chief justice, 41 | Mercer, Samuel, legislator, 215 |
| London, 61 | Mercer, Silas, 117 |
| Long Island, 133 | Mercer, Thomas, legislator, 215 |
| Long, Martha (Sawyer) | Mercer University, 194 |
| Lords Proprietors, 21 | Mercer, William, 208 |
| Love, Joseph, 128 | Mercer, William, legislator, 215 |
| Lowe, Ann (Archdale), 21 | Merchant traders, 17, 89 |
| Lowe, Emmanuel, 21 | Merriday, Thomas, 39 |
| Lowman, Dorothy (Ross) 208 | Methodists, 67, 118-122 |
| Lowman, Roberta, 208 | Milby, John, 66 |
| Lowman, Capt. Samuel, colonial militia, 54, 59, 68, 208 | Michaux, John, 125 |
| Miles, slave, 145 | |
| Lowman, Samuel, Jr., 208 | Miller, Andrew, legislator, 213 |
| Lowry, John, legislator, 213, 214 | Miller, Thomas, 5-6, 10 |
| Ludwell, Phillip, proprietary governor, 13 | Miller, William P., 174 |
| Luke, Capt. G. Gratiot, Confederate, 161, 174, 216 | Mill Town, 24, 68 |
| Mitchell, Blanche (Swindell), 212 | |
| Lurry, William, 86-87 | Mitchell, Edgar S., 212 |
| Lydai's Creek, 5 | Mitchell, Edmund, 190 |
| Lytle, Col., continental army, 72 | Mitchell family, 164 |
| Mitchell, Gideon, 211 | |
| McBride, Elisha, legislator, 118-122, 210, 214 | Mitchell, John, 126 |
| McBride, John, 121, 210 | Mitchell, Mark, 212 |
| McBride Methodist Church, 120, 159 | Mitchell, Mary (Ferebee) |
| McCoy, David, 174 | Mitchell, Meade, 211 |
| McCoy family, 174 | Monck, Joseph, 25 |
| McCoy, Joseph, 126 | Monroe, James, President of U. S., 47, 129 |
| McCulloch, Benjamin, 74 | Montfort, Henry, 74 |
| McHarney, James, 128 | Montgomery, John, acting chief justice, 49 |
| McKnight, Thomas, 77-78, 96, 98, 103, 213, 214 | Moore, Lt., Union, 177 |
| Moore, Col. James, colonial militia, 19 | |
| McKoy, Elias, 126 | Moore, Col. James, continental army, 72 |
| McMurran, Margaret (Ferebee), 211 | Moore, John W., 175 |
| McMurran, R. L., 211 | Morehead, Gov. John M., 140 |
| McPherson, Benjamin Franklin, 162 | Morgan, Ann, 207 |
| McPherson, Elizabeth Gregory, viii | Morgan, Bennett, 207 |
| McPherson family, 27, 121 | Morgan, Elizabeth (Torksey), 207 |
| McPherson, James N., 215 | Morgan family, 27, 30 |
| Morgan, Lt. John S., Confederate, 173 | New York (city), 196 |
| Morgan, Joseph, 177 | New York Police Academy, 196 |
| Morgan, Joseph, son of Robert, 207 | New York Times, 149 |
| Morgan, Joseph, legislator, 125, 215 | Nimmo, Gershom, 112 |
| Morgan, Josiah, legislator, 215 | Nixon, Lt. George, Confederate, 173 |
| Morgan, Moses, 207 | Norfolk, 98, 78 |
| Morgan, Robert, legislator, 23, 28-30, 35, 207, 213 | Norris, Charles, legislator, 216 |
| North Carolina, 101, 148, 160 | |
| Morgan, Robert, Jr., 207 | N. E. Parish of Pasquotank (St. Peter), 35, 120, 122 |
| Morris, Rev., Methodist, 119 | |
| Morrisette, Lemuel, 144 | North River, 29, 164 |
| Morrisette, Phillip, 126 | Northwest, 95, 100 |
| Morrisette, Tully, 126 | Norton, Jane, 20, 207 |
| Morrisette, Mrs. Will, Sr. | Norton, Capt. John, legislator and colonial officer, 18-21, 23, 31, 40, 207, 213 |
| Morrisette, Lt. Willis, Confederate, 175 | |
| Morrisette, W. J., legislator (1866), 216 | Norton, John, Jr., 207 |
| Morrisette, W. J., legislator (1921), 216 | Norton, Mary, 207 |
| Moseley, Edward, map of, 22, 36 | |
| Moss, Rev. John O., Methodist, 191 | Oaks plantation, 201 |
| Moss, Mr., 178 | Ocracock, 26 |
| Moyock, 119 | Oggs, Alley, 63, 209 |
| Mt. Pleasant, 73, 201 | Oggs, Charles, 63, 209 |
| Muhlenberg, Gen., continental army, 96 | Oggs, Jesse, 63, 209 |
| Mullen, F. N., legislator, 216 | Oggs, John, 62-64, 209 |
| Murden, Jeremiah, Jr., 7 | Oggs, Prudence, 63, 209 |
| Murden, Jeremiah, Sr., 7 | Old, Arthur, legislator, 123-125, 210, 215 |
| Murden, Col. Robert, colonial militia, 59, 213 | Old, Hector, 210 |
| Old, Hollowell, 123 | |
| Murden, Thomas I., 186 | Old, Kadar, 210 |
| Murfree, Col, Hardy, 91 | Old, Maria (Ferebee), 211 |
| Murfree, William, 133 | Old, Merrett, 210 |
| “the Narrows,” 24 | Old Trap, 161, 168, 172, 189 |
| Oliver, Nathaniel, 8 | |
| Nash, Gov. Abner, 71, 92 | Ordinance of Secession, 155 |
| Nash, Caleb, 208 | Owens, Alice, 212 |
| Nash, Dempsey, 208 | Owens, James, 128 |
| Nash, Enoch, legislator, 174, 215 | Overman, R. F., 185, 186 |
| Nash family, 60 | Overton, Lt. William R., Confederate, 173 |
| Nash, Francis, 71 | |
| Nash, John, 209 | Paddrick, Capt. Benjamin, mariner, 68, 209 |
| Nash, Capt. Josiah, legislator and colonial militia, 60, 61, 81, 208, 213 | Paddrick, Courtney (Kurlin), 209 |
| Paddrick, Lurania, 89, 209 | |
| Nash, Josiah, War of 1812, 126 | Paige, Nicholas, 8 |
| Nash, Mary (Sawyer), 60, 76, 208 | Palin, Capt. John, legislator and colonial officer, 19, 213 |
| Nash, Soly (Solley), 209 | |
| Nash, Wilson W., 126 | Palin, Susannah, 45 |
| Nash's Chapel, 121 | Palin, Thomas, 45 |
| Navigation Acts, 5 | Palmer, Benjamin, 213, 214 |
| Neavill, William, legislator, 215 | Palmer, Rev. Paul, Baptist, 51 |
| Needham family, 164 | Parke, Julius Caesar, legislator, 213 |
| Needham, Gideon, 34 | Parker, Lt. Richard, Confederate, 173 |
| Needham, Lot, 128 | Parker, William, 15 |
| Needham, Samuel, 128 | Parr, Mary, 117, 210 |
| Neilson family, 164 | Parr, William, 117, 210 |
| Newbegun Creek, 21, 43 | Paschal, George W., author, 86, 119 |
| Newby, Gabriel, 23 | Pasquenoc (Pasquenoke), 189 |
| New Jersey, 71 | Pasquotank commissioners, 45 |
| New Lebanon Company, 113-114, 123 | Pasquotank County (precinct), 46, 76, 102, 185 |
| New Lebanon, P. O., 168-169 | |
| Newsome, Albert Ray, viii | Pasquotank River, viii, 188 |
| Pasquotank Rose, slave, 42 | Pue, Edward, 126 |
| Patton, Col. John Patton, continental army, 90 | Pue, John, 128 |
| Pugh, Peter, 128 | |
| Peace, Parsifull, 38 | Pugh, William, 139 |
| Patty Martin, schooner, 177 | Pungo, Va., 86 |
| Pearce family, 121 | Pusley (Pursley), Garrett, 207 |
| Pearce, James, 113 | Pusley (Pursley), Nathan, 59 |
| Pearceville, 121 | |
| Pendleton, John, 76 | Quakers. See Society of Friends |
| Pendleton, Thomas, legislator, 23, 49, 213 | |
| Pennsylvania, 89 | |
| Pennsylvania Association, Baptist, 53 | Radford, James E., 174 |
| Perkins, Caleb, legislator, 204, 215 | Randolph Macon College, 166, 191 |
| Perkins, Capt. Richard C., Confederate, 174 | Rankhorn, William, 68 |
| Perquimans County (precinct), 41, 46, 107 | Raper, D. D., 186 |
| Perry, Andrew, 186 | Raymond, Edward, 14, 207 |
| Perry, John H., 186 | Raymond, Elizabeth, dau. of Thomas, 65, 207 |
| Person, Thomas, 103 | |
| Petersburg, 154 | Raymond, Sarah, 207 |
| Peterson, Joanna (Lakar), 41, 208 | Raymond, Sarah, dau. of William, 207 |
| Peterson, Thomas, 41, 208 | Raymond, Thomas, 14, 65, 207 |
| Phelps family, 164 | Raymond, William, 13-15, 23, 65, 207 |
| Phelps Point, 41 | Raymonds Creek, 3, 81, 141 |
| Philadelphia, 133 | Raymonds Neck, 66, 189 |
| Philpott, John, 4, 9-10, 14, 23, 35, 207 | Read, Jesse, 85 |
| Philpott, Mary, 12, 207 | Reading (Redding), Thomas, 58 |
| Plank Bridge, 114, 115 | Redding, (Reading), Joseph, legislator, 214 |
| Plantation Acts, 6 | Redding, town of, 105 |
| Plomer, Samuel Saban, 43 | Reed, Christian, wife of Wm., 207 |
| Plymouth, 157 | Reed, Christian, son of Wm., 207 |
| Polk, Col., continental army, 72 | Reed, Elizabeth (Durant), 208 |
| Pollock, Thomas, acting governor, 10, 13, 19, 31 | Reed, Elizabeth (Hatch), 42, 207 |
| Reed, Jane (Norton), 55, 208 | |
| Pool, Charles C., 186 | Reed, Joseph, 208 |
| Pool, George D., 186 | Reed, Mary (Durant), 207 |
| Pool, William G., 185 | Reed, Col. William, acting governor, 18, 23, 30-33, 55, 207 |
| Poole, Joseph, 211 | |
| Pope, Edmund, 208 | Regulators, 84 |
| Poplars, the 201 | Relfe, John, 28, 34 |
| Poplar Tables, 25 | Relfe, Mary (Jennings), 207 |
| Porter, John, 210 | Relfe, Capt. Thomas, 12, 28 |
| Porter, Mary (Burfoot), 110, 210 | Relfe, Thomas, legislator, 43, 57, 213, 214 |
| Portlock, Thomas, 126 | Relfe, William, legislator, 213, 214 |
| Portohonk (Portabunk) Creek, 22, 54 | Relfe's Point, 43 |
| Port Roanoke, 85 | Reno, Gen, J. L., Union, 148-153 |
| Portsmouth, N. C., 127 | Rhodes’ Division, Confederate, 158 |
| Powell, Barbara (Powell), 39, 208 | Rhodes, Jesse M., 186 |
| Powell, John, 208 | Rhodes, Marmaduke, 186 |
| Poyner, Elizabeth, 211 | Rice, Lydai, 5 |
| Poyner, John, 143 | Rice, Simeon, 3, 4, 13 |
| Pricklove, Samuel, 9 | Richardson, Martha, 15 |
| Pritchard, Benjamin, 48 | Richardson, Stephen, 201 |
| Pritchard, Benjamin C., 174 | Richard the Lion-Hearted, 92 |
| Pritchard, David, legislator, 216 | “Richmond,” 77 |
| Pritchard, David, watermill builder, 141 | Richmond, Va., 175 |
| Pritchard, Capt. David T., Confederate, 174 | Richmond Cedar Works, 168 |
| Pritchard family, 27 | Rich Thicket plantation, 9 |
| Proctor, William, 126 | Riddle, P. O., 68 |
| Provisional Assembly, 30 | Riggs, Dempsey, 128 |
| Pue, Amos, 128 | Riggs family, 121, 164 |
| Riggs, George, 121 | Sawyer, Lemuel, congressman, 47, 129, 132-138, 139, 209, 210, 215 |
| Riggs, George H., legislator, 216 | |
| Riggs, Silas, 128 | Sawyer, Lemuel, Sr., 60, 75-77, 84, 108, 208-210, 213, 214 |
| River Bridge, 82, 123 | |
| Roanoke Island, 148 | Sawyer, Margaret, 105 |
| Robert, Duke of Normandy, 92 | Sawyer, Martha, 210 |
| Robbins, Rev. J. S., Methodist, 191 | Sawyer, Mary (Gregory), 130, 210 |
| Roberts, Captain W. DeWees, Union, 178 | Sawyer, Mary (Jones), 208 |
| Robinson, James, 4, 17 | Sawyer, Mary (Taylor), 208, 210 |
| Rochefaucauld-Liantour, Duc de, 117 | Sawyer, Maxey, 128 |
| Rockingham County, 140 | Sawyer, Patsy, 210 |
| Ross, Capt. Abell, mariner, 59, 208 | Sawyer, Margaret, 105 |
| Rotterdam, 21 | Sawyer, Richard, 60 |
| Rudds, Capt. Joseph C., Confederate, 173 | Sawyer, Robert, 29 |
| Rutherford, Gen. Griffith, N. C. Militia, 95 | Sawyer, Sally, 210 |
| Sawyer, Sarah (Jones), 208 | |
| Sambo, slave, 76 | Sawyer, Sarah (Snowden), 210 |
| Sanderlin, Abner, 126 | Sawyer, Stephen, legislator, 208, 215 |
| Sanderlin, Elizabeth (Cox), 212 | Sawyer, Susannah, 208 |
| Sanderlin family, 27 | Sawyer, Sylvanus, 208 |
| Sanderlin, Ferebee, 128 | Sawyer, Thomas, 23, 208 |
| Sanderlin, George, 212 | Sawyer, Thomas, legislator, 47, 105, 213 |
| Sanderlin, John, 27 | Sawyer, William, 20 |
| Sanderlin, Mary C., 212 | Sawyer, William, son of Enoch, 210 |
| Sanderlin, Sarah (Barecock), 27, 212 | Sawyer, Wilson, 125 |
| Sanderlin, William, 212 | Sawyer, Zephaniah, 128 |
| Sanderlin, Capt. Willis B., Confederate, 173-188, 212 | Sawyers Creek, 41 |
| Sawyers Creek Baptist Church, 81 | |
| Sanderlins Swamp, 27 | Sawyers Ferry, 44 |
| Sanders, Capt. Enos, Union, 161, 176-177 | Scarborough, Anna. (Peterson), 208 |
| Sanderson, Richard, 31 | Scarborough, Augustine, legislator 39, 213 |
| Sandy Hook, 119, 181 | Scarborough, Benjamin, 42, 208 |
| Saunders, W. L., 102 | Scarborough, Charles, 39, 51 |
| Savannah, Ga., 72, 90 | Scarborough, Elizabeth (Hatch-Reed), 208 |
| Savills, Capt. Thomas P., Confederate, 161 175 | Scarborough, Elizabeth (Raymond), 207 |
| Scarborough, John, 15, 23 | |
| Saxony, Germany, 156 | Scarborough, McRora, legislator, 39-42, 208, 213 |
| Sawyer, Lt. Archibald, War of 1812, 126 | Scarborough, McRora, Jr., 42, 208 |
| Sawyer, Caleb, legislator, 23, 36, 45-47, 208, 213 | Scarborough, William, 208 |
| Scipio, slave | |
| Sawyer, Camilla (Wertz), 136, 210 | Scott, H. W., legislator, 216 |
| Sawyer, Charles, legislator, 36, 213 | Scott, Gov. W. Kerr, 198, 205 |
| Sawyer, C. T., 157 | Seamore, Joseph, 128 |
| Sawyer, Daniel, legislator, 36, 213 | Seares, Anne (Jennings), 207 |
| Sawyer, Dempsey, legislator, 214, 215 | Seares, William, 207 |
| Sawyer, Diana (Rapalye-Fisher), 136, 210 | Settle, Thomas, 155, 167 |
| Sawyer, Edmund, 209 | Sexton, Jeremiah, 119 |
| Sawyer, Enoch, legislator, 47, 85, 109, 129-132, 139, 209, 210, 214 | Seymore, Peter, 126 |
| Seymore, Lt. William H., Confederate, 175 | |
| Sawyer family, 27, 121, 132, 174, 175 | Shannonhouse, J. J., 186 |
| Sawyer, Fanny, 210 | Shaw, Col. Henry M., Confederate, 167 |
| Sawyer, Frederick, 210 | Shaw, J. B., 186 |
| Sawyer, Freeman, 128 | Sheep, S. L., 205 |
| Sawyer, Harriett, 210 | Shepard, Anne Cameron, 211 |
| Sawyer, James, 128, 175 | Shepard, Anne (Collins), 211 |
| Sawyer, Lt. James H., Confederate, 173 | Shepard, Mary (Blount), 210 |
| Sawyer, John, Jr., legislator, 29, 213-214 | Shepard, Pauline Carrington, 211 |
| Sawyer, John, Sr., 29 | Shepard, Thomas Harrison, 211 |
| Sawyer, J. T., 174 | Shepard, William Blount, 211 |
| Shepard, William Biddle, congressman, 138-139, 210, 211 | Staples, Elijah, 128 |
| State Board of Education, 206 | |
| Sheppard, Abram, 106 | State Department of Archives and History, 33, 101 |
| Sherman's army, 154 | |
| Shiloh, P. O., 168, 170-171, 176 | Stephens, Lt. Enoch, Confederate, 175 |
| Shiloh Baptist Church, 17, 34, 98-99, 161, 202 | Stephens, Frances (Culpeper), 8 |
| Stephens, Samuel, proprietary governor, 8 | |
| Shipyard, 168 | Stevens family, 15, 27 |
| Shorter, John, 126 | Stevens, Lt. Joseph, Confederate, 173 |
| Sikes, Abner, 126 | Stevens, L. L., legislator, 216 |
| Sikes, William, 126 | Stevens, Mrs. L. L., 201 |
| Simmons, Solomon, 8 | Stevens, Luke, 183 |
| Sledge, Blanche (Ferebee), 211 | Stevenson, Captain, 96 |
| Sledge, William Thompson, 211 | Stezel, Lt. Col., Union, 184 |
| Smisson, Joseph, 58 | Stokelie, Isaac, 113 |
| Smisson, Joshua, 126 | Stokelie, Polly, 113 |
| Smith, Bradley, 126, 128 | Stono Point, battle of, 113 |
| Smith, Elizabeth (Raymond-Scarborough), 15, 207 | Suffolk, Va., 183 |
| Summer, Gen. Jethro D., continental army, 72-73, 91 | |
| Smith, Robert, 108 | |
| Smith, Samuel, 61 | Surry, Thomas, 128 |
| Smith, Samuel, Confederate, 175 | Swann, John, 58 |
| Smith, Thomas, 11 | Swann, Rebecca, 49, 208 |
| Smith, Willis, U. S. Senator, 15 | Swann, Samuel, legislator, 213 |
| Snowden, P. O., 39 | Swann, Samuel, Jr., legislator, 60, 213-214 |
| Snowden, Nathan, legislator, 214, 215 | Swann, Col. Thomas, legislator, 32, 49, 213 |
| Snowden, Penelope (Gregory), 210 | Symons, Benjamin, legislator, 213 |
| Snowden, Rebecca (Williams-Forbes), 39, 210 | Symons, Jeremiah, legislator, 46, 213 |
| Symons, Thomas, legislator, 213 | |
| Snowden, Sarah (Gregory), 210 | |
| Snowden, Capt. William, continental army, 39, 210 | Tallyrand, M. de, 117 |
| Tar Corner, 61 | |
| Society of Friends, 21, 29 | Tarkington, C. L., legislator, 216 |
| Solley, Col. John, 23, 43-45, 208 | Tarrant, Capt. Manlove, continental army, 100 |
| Solley, Joseph, 44, 208 | |
| Solley, Mary (Reed), 45, 208 | Tavern charges, 116 |
| Solley, Sarah, (West), 45, 208 | Taylor, Elizabeth (Woodley), 209 |
| Sothel, Seth, proprietary governor, 10 | Taylor family, 121 |
| South Camden Ruritan Club, 198 | Taylor, Lt. Col., continental army, 72 |
| South Carolina, 19, 70 | Taylor, Robert, 23 |
| South Mills, 141, 158, 168 | Taylor, Shadrach, 61 |
| Southern Baptist Seminary, 193 | Taylor, Thomas, legislator, 28, 59, 209, 213 |
| Southern Collegiate Institute, 205 | Taylor, Thomas, Jr., legislator, 60, 213, 214 |
| Southern Literary Messenger, 135 | Teeter, Mary, 201 |
| Spanish privateers, 16, 19 | Temple, Jesse, 128 |
| Spence, Alexander, 23, 36, 122 | Thompson, Mary (Sawyer), 210 |
| Spence family, 121 | Thompson, W. H., 210 |
| Spence, Greves, 61 | Three Brothers, steamer, 180 |
| Spence, H. E., 122, 159 | Tillett, Thomas, legislator, 215 |
| Spence, James, 61 | Tillitt, Bettie (Sanderlin), 200, 212 |
| Spence, Miles, 174 | Tillitt, D. H., legislator, 212 |
| Spottsylvania Court House, battle of, 174 | Tillitt, Gideon Marchant, 200 |
| Sprowle, Andrew, 78 | Toler, James, 38 |
| Squires, Dempsey, 128 | Tommy's Point, 14, 189 |
| Squires, D. R., legislator, 216 | Tompkins, Nancy (Harney), 209 |
| Squires, John, 59, 209 | Topping, Mrs. H. R., viii |
| Squires, Sarah (Bray), 209 | Tories, 96, 77-78 |
| Stafford, Markum, 126 | Torksey, Benjamin, 52, 59, 208 |
| Stanley, Etheridge, 127 | Torksey, Elizabeth (Burgess), 208 |
| Stanton, Edwin M., 184 | Torksey, family, 27, 175 |
| Torksey, John W., 143, 211 | “War Hawks,” 133 |
| Torksey, Joseph, legislator, 215 | War of Jenkins’ Ear, 49 |
| Torksey, Margaret (Raymond), 207 | Warrenton, 91 |
| Torksey, Phillip, 14, 23 | Washington, George, 67, 71, 112 |
| Torksey, Phillip, Jr., 51, 207 | Watermills, 48-49 |
| Torksey, Susan (Gallop), 142-146, 211 | Watkins, John, 44 |
| Trafton, Gardner, 123 | Watkins, Sarah (Gray), 209 |
| Trinity College (Duke Univ.), 140 | Watson, Alexander, 39 |
| Trinity Methodist Church, 159 | Webster, Wilson B., legislator, 215 |
| Trinity Park School, 191 | Weeks, Stephen B., 85 |
| Trotman, Amelia (Dauge), 210 | Wesley, Rev. John, Methodist, 120 |
| Trotman, Ezekiel, legislator, 210, 215 | Wesley Methodist Church, 147, 191 |
| Tryon, William, royal governor, 84 | West, Capt. Benjamin, colonial militia, 19 |
| Tudor, Mary, Queen of England, 11 | West, Dennis, 211 |
| Tumbler, Peter, 175 | West, Col. Robert, colonial militia, 45 |
| Tuten, S. A., Jr., viii | White, Joshua, 86 |
| Whitehall, 154 | |
| University of Chicago, 193 | Whitehurst, B. F., 186 |
| University of North Carolina, 124, 155 | Whitehurst, Eliza (Abbott), 211 |
| University of Pennsylvania, 133 | White Plains, 10 |
| Upper Woods, 61 | Wickham, 14, 34, 63 |
| Upton, Elizabeth (Barecock), 27, 207 | Wycombe Abbey, 21 |
| Upton family, 27 | Wild, Gen. Edward A., Union, 179-180, 183-184 |
| Upton, John, 23, 27, 35, 201 | |
| Upton, Lucy, 209 | Wilderness, Battle of The, 175 |
| Upton, William, 209 | Wiley, Calvin Henderson, author, 141 |
| William, King of England, 11 | |
| Valley Forge, 88 | William and Mary College, 141 |
| Vance, Gov. Zebulon Baird, 167 | Williams, Alice (Owens), 212 |
| Vaughan, Frank, 186 | Williams, Rev. Charles Bray, Baptist, 192-194, 212 |
| Vera Cruz, 156 | |
| Virginia, 19, 89 | Williams, Charles C., legislator, 216 |
| Virginia Gazette | Williams, Charlotte, 212 |
| Williams, Edith (Stallings), 212 | |
| Wake Forest College, 140, 193 | Williams, Edward, 29 |
| Walker, Henderson, proprietary governor, 10, 13 | Williams family, 27, 164 |
| Williams, Hollowell, 119 | |
| Wallis, Maj. J. W., Union, 177 | Williams, J. B., legislator, 216 |
| Wallis, Robert, 16 | Williams, John Pugh, 94 |
| Wallon, Robert, 51 | Williams, Lizzie (Leary), 212 |
| Walser, Richard, author, 137 | Williams, Lodovick, 83 |
| Walston, Ambrose, 212 | Williams, Lois, 212 |
| Walston, Ambrose B., 212 | Williams, Mrs. Major, 144 |
| Walston, Capt. Caleb P., Confederate, 175 | Williams, Mary, 39 |
| Walston, Charles H., 212 | Williams, Mary (Bray), 212 |
| Walston, Crawley H., 212 | Williams, Miles, 128 |
| Walston, Durant B., 212 | Williams, Samuel, 23, 37-39, 208, 209 |
| Walston, Edward P., 212 | Williams, Samuel, Jr., 38, 208 |
| Walston, Gideon H., 212 | Williams, Simeon, F., 212 |
| Walston, Hattie, 212 | Williams, Weston, 212 |
| Walston, Jane (Barco), 212 | Williams, William, legislator, 213 |
| Walston, Joseph B., 212 | Williamson, Dr. Hugh, 93 |
| Walston, Mattie, 212 | Willis, James, 127 |
| Walston, Phoebe (Hughes), 212 | Wilson, Dempsey, 127 |
| Walston, Thomas H., 212 | Wilson, Mary (Scarborough), 39 |
| Walston, Willie, 212 | Wilson, Dr. Peter, 133 |
| Walston, William H., 212 | Wilson, Samuel, 39 |
| Walston, Capt. William P., Confederate and legislator, 173-188, 212, 216 | Wilson, Thomas, 189 |
| Wilson, Willis, legislator, 126, 128, 215 | |
| War of 1812, 125 | Wilson, Nathan, 58 |
| Willson, William, 58 | Wright, John, 188 |
| Windmills, 24, 48 | Wright, Rev. John, Anglican, 65 |
| Winn, Mathew, 16 | Wright, John H., 127 |
| Winright, James, legislator, 213 | Wright, Levi, 128 |
| Wolfe, Thomas, author, 202 | Wright, Mary, 66, 209 |
| Wood, Jesse, 175 | Wright, Mary, 189 |
| Woodard, Caleb, 127 | Wright, Mary (Raymond), 207 |
| Woolard, William, 207 | Wright, Mary (Squires), 209 |
| Woodhouse, Lt., colonial officer, 19 | Wright, Seth, 128 |
| Worth, Governor Jonathan, 155 | Wright, Thomas, alias Raymond, 64-67, 209 |
| Wreck of Honor, The, 135 | |
| Wright, Augustine, 66, 189 | Wright, Thomas, Jr., 209 |
| Wright, Col. A. R. Wright, Confederate, 149 | Wright, William, early settler, 15, 65, 188 |
| Wright, Cadar, 128 | Wright, William, Jr., 59 |
| Wright, Charles, 65 | Wright, William, son of Thomas, 66, 209 |
| Wright, Charles, War of 1812, 128 | Wright, William, Union sympathizer, 177 |
| Wright, Cornelius, 128, 210 | Wyatt, Thomas, 208 |
| Wright, Dempsey, 177 | Wycombe Abbey, 21 |
| Wright, Elizabeth (Scarborough), 15, 207 | |
| Wright family, 164, 175 | Yawpim Indians, 28 |
| Wright, Gamaliel, 161 | Yemassee Indians, 18 |
| Wright, Henry H., 128 | Yoppim, 86 |
| Wright, Jacquet (Burfoot), 210 | |
| Wright, Jane (Brown) | Zuni, 183 |
CAMDEN COUNTY
LEGEND
The approximate location of the residence of each individual listed below is shown on the map by the number found opposite the name. All persons having a number in common lived at the same site.
| Abbott, Henry | 29 | Jones, Lloyd Baum | 54 |
| Abbott, John Kelley | 48 | Jones, Nehemiah | 24 |
| Barecock, Thomas* | 11 | Jones, William Forbes | 54 |
| Burfoot, Amy, Jr. | 12 | Joy, William | 8 |
| Burfoot, Amy, Sr. | 35 | Lamb, Abner | 25 |
| Burgess, Dempsey | 32 | Lamb, Cornelius G. | 42 |
| Burgess, Dempsey S.* | 51 | Lamb, Gideon | 25 |
| Burgess, James Edward | 52 | Latham, Paul | 3 |
| Burgess, John | 18 | Leary, Herman Vincent | 59 |
| Burgess, Peter T. | 47 | Linton, the brothers | 56 |
| Burgess, William | 17a | Lowman, Samuel | 23 |
| Burgess, William | 17b | McBride, Elisha | 36 |
| Burnham, Gabriel | 10 | Mercer, Peter | 38 |
| Dauge, Peter | 25 | Morgan, Robert | 9 |
| Elliott, Peter | 50 | Nash, Josiah* | 22 |
| Ferebee, Dennis Dozier | 44 | Norton, John | 7 |
| Ferebee, George | 49 | Oggs, John | 20 |
| Ferebee, Wiley G. | 57 | Old, Arthur* | 41 |
| Fleming, George | 1 | Philpott, John | 4 |
| Flora, Susan | 43 | Raymond, William | 5 |
| Forbes, John | 26 | Reed, William | 7 |
| Garlington, James S. | 39 | Sanderlin, Willis B. | 58 |
| Gatlin, Alfred Moore | 40 | Sawyer, Caleb | 15 |
| Grandy, Caleb | 22 | Sawyer, Enoch | 27 |
| Gray, John* | 30 | Sawyer, Lemuel, Jr. | 27 |
| Gregory, Bess Tillitt | 60 | Sawyer, Lemuel, Sr. | 27 |
| Gregory, Isaac | 33 | Scarborough, McRors | 13 |
| Halstead, William Ira | 55 | Shepard, William Biddle | 33 |
| Harney, Selby | 31 | Solley, John | 14 |
| Harrison, Abner | 28 | Walston, William P. | 46 |
| Humphries, Thomas | 19 | Williams, Charles B. | 53 |
| Hunter, Thomas | 16 | Williams, Samuel | 12 |
| Jacobs, John | 45 | Wright, Thomas | 21 |
| Jennings, William | 2 | ||
| Jones, Ann | 6 | ||
| Jones, Benjamin | 37 | ||
| Jones, Cornelius | 6 | NOTE: | |
| Jones, Griffith | 19 | a Before 1741 | |
| Jones, John Calhoun | 54 | b After 1741 | |
| Jones, Joseph | 34 | * Location doubtful |
LEGEND
Letters on the map indicate the location of the places listed below with corresponding letters. If a location has had more than one name, the same letter is used for each name.
| A. | Fleming's Creek1 | M. | Jonesborough1 |
| A. | Raymonds Creek | N. | Wickham |
| B. | Portohonk Creek | O. | South Mills |
| C. | Arenuse Creek | P. | Burnt Mills |
| D. | Sawyers Creek | M. | Camden |
| E. | Joys Creek | Q. | Belcross |
| F. | Dismal Swamp Canal | R. | Bartlett |
| G. | Battle of Sawyers Lane | S. | River Bridge |
| H. | Chantilly | T. | Indian Town |
| H. | Solleys Ferry1 | U. | Sandy Hook |
| I. | Lambs Ferry | V. | Riddle |
| J. | Sawyers Ferry | W. | Shiloh |
| K. | Mill Town1 | X. | Old Trap |
| L. | Danson's Manor1 | Y. | Tar Corner |
| M. | Plank Bridge2 | Z. | Indian Island |
| NOTE: | |||
| 1 Name no longer in general use. | |||
| 2 Limited now to bridge. |
- Title
- Three hundred years along the Pasquotank : a biographical history of Camden County
- Description
- Three hundred years along the Pasquotank : a biographical history of Camden County / by Jesse Forbes Pugh. Old Trap, N.C. : [J.F. Pugh], c1957. xi, 249 p. : ill., plates, ports. ; 23 cm.
- Date
- 1957
- Original Format
- books
- Extent
- Local Identifier
- F262.C17 P8
- Creator(s)
- Subject(s)
- Spatial
- Location of Original
- Joyner NC Stacks
- Rights
-
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Comments
I was hoping that someone might be able to tell me where I could possibly buy a copy of this book. It would be a treasure for me! My great grandmother was a Barco and her mother was a Forbes so my roots are throughout this book and having it on my shelf would be a gift to myself and my children. Any help that someone could offer would be greatly appreciated!
I descend from the Forbes line listed in the book (my 2 Forbes descendants migrated to Illinois in 1830's) so I enjoyed the information where my 1700's Forbes married into the lines in the book.
Jesse was my great uncle. He was a sweet and thoughtful man. Very humble. He always sent me and my sisters a card for every occasion, usually with a cute poem he made up.
Born in Old Trap in 1891, Jesse Forbes Pugh wrote Three Hundred Years Along the Pasquotank; A Biographical History of Camden County, North Carolina, published in 1957 which still stands as the most comprehensive history of Camden County ever to exist. Pugh retired as Superintendent of Camden County Schools and was a member and Sunday School teacher of Wesley United Methodist Church at Old Trap and of the Hall Lodge 53 A. F. & A. M. Pugh did his graduate studies at the University of North Carolina and at Columbia University in New York City. Pugh was remembered as a caring teacher and served the Public School System for 33 years, 22 of which he was Superintendent in the Public Schools. Pugh passed away on March 22, 1976 at the age of 84. In 1959 Jesse Pugh undertook to re-activate the Camden County Historical Society. Pugh also wrote The Hotel in the Great Dismal Swamp, Historical Sketch of Camden County, and a tour guide entitled Journey Through Camden County. It is doubtful that anyone has ever made or will make such a significant contribution to the preservation of the history of Camden County as the gentleman, Mr. Jesse Pugh.
My father's family are from Old trap and Jesse Pugh is in my family tree. My sister has a copy of this book. Many of my ancestors are listed in this book. Burgesses, Forbes, Pugh, Kight, and on and on.
Would like information on my grandmother Louie Hughes Born November 29 1876 in Old Trap NC. Would like information concerning her Family Thank You Carol Obley -Her Granddaughter
Louie Hughes is my great grandaunt. Her fater was Joseph Forbes Hughes, my great great grandfather. Please contact me by email if you would like.
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I am a direct descendant of Bailey Forbes (7x Great Grandfather) through my maternal Grandfather Ralph P. Forbes. Through my 5x Great Grandmother Thamer Gregory Forbes I am also a direct descendant of Thomas Barecock II (8x Great Grandfather. I just discovered this information about my lineage and know nothing about my 8th Great Grandfather Thomas. Am I correct in assuming that Barecock became Barco? Any information you can share with me about them would be greatly appreciated. I'm from Arkansas and have never been to Camden, North Carolina but hope one day to visit.