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THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA

The James Sprunt Historical Publications

PUBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF

The North Carolina Historical Society

J. G. pp Routnac Hamirron :
Henry McGiupert Wacstarr \ waivors

“VOL. 14 No. 2

 

CONTENTS

SOME COLONIAL HISTORY OF BEAUFORT COUNTY
NORTH CAROLINA
CHAPEL HILL

PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY
1916

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

SOME COLONIAL HISTORY OF BEAUFORT COUNTY
NORTH CAROLINA

    

RALEIGH, N. O.
Epwarps & BROUGHTON PRINTING Oo.

 

 

Srate PRINTERS

BY
Francis Hopers Cooper

     
 

ef ‘
es ns Oy oper : Spee

 

1916

 

 

 
Some Colonial History of Beaufort County,
North Carolina’

 

 

THE COUNTY.

In dealing with the history of any nation, country, state, county,
or place, one cannot usually account for the past events of the sec-
tion with which he deals if he has not considered the physiography
of that section. Therefore, before we look at some aspects of the
history of colonial Beaufort County, it is necessary that we take a
good survey of the physiography of the county.

CONTENTS

 

Geography, Topography, and Resources of the County.
Formation and Early History.

Troubles with the Indians.

The Towns of Colonial Beaufort County.

Religion and Churches of the County.

Commerce in the County. ©

Piracy in the County.

Social Life in the County.

Beaufort County lies in the tidal plain section of Eastern North > |
Carolina, embracing in its boundaries that arm of Pamlico Sound
known as Pamlico River. The county is bounded on the north by

| Martin and Washington counties; on the east by Hyde and Pamlico

i

| GEOGRAPHY, TOPOGRAPHY, AND RESOURCES OF

counties; on the south by Pamlico and Craven counties, and on the
west by Craven and Pitt counties. Its area is 819 square miles,
being nearly 300 square miles larger than the average for the ons
ties of the state. Be

Owing to the nearness of the county to the Atlantic Ocean, the
height of the county above sea-level varies from about forty feet on
the western border to about nine or ten feet in the extreme eastern
part. The general surface of the county is level; there are no hills
more than ten feet high, with the possible exception of a river or
creek bank. On account of the general levelness of the county the
rivers and erecks are broad and shallow, the deep water being found
only in very limited channels. The one great river, which traverses
the whole length of Beaufort County, is known as the Pamlico below
Washington, and as the Tar above that city. The other river, which
‘drains part of the county and which forms the eastern boundary
between Beaufort and Hyde counties, is the Pungo River. The
names of these three rivers are the sole remaining monuments of
the Pampticough, the Tau, and the Matchapungo tribes of Indians
whom the first settlers found living where we live today. The other

Biographical Notes on Beaufort County Personages.
Members of the Assembly.

 

 

1This paper was awarded the first prize in the Colonial Dames contest for 1915.

 

 

 

 

 

  
   
   
  
  
 
  
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
  
 
 
    
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
 
  
  
 
 
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6
James Sprunr Historrca, Pusrications

orm EB ee are Tranters Creek in the western part of the
ae es ee Gace ie of Pamlico River, being tributary to it,
eee ee e south side of the river, and also a tributary
apa a ie soil of the county presents a variation from
Seshie os : e itt side, to a very dark loam on the Hyde and
nee es = passing from the sandy loam on the west to the
ae @ east, different varieties of clayey soil and stiff,
¢ Y compacted soil are everywhere to be found. The subsoil i
invariably clay of different textures. ae
ae of the land leaves the county without the natural
a SH ee The few instances in which waterpower
Beteround” ae les of the wasteful flooding of large tracts of
eae “a » In several cases a six-foot fall of water necessi-
ae undation of from three to even fifteen square miles of
oxtonsiteiee fre no minerals found in the county, but there are
es eee marl at no very great depth, and good fire-clays
ele oa - through the middle section of the county. Marl
eens sides of the river, both above and below Washington,
Paes eee kilns where terra cotta tiling and a good
ae Se are burnt. Sand is abundant, and the number of
Sais concrete is put is thus materially increased.
eae a advent of the portable steam sawmill the forest re-
on e county were unsurpassed by any other section of the
eo © were once large primeval forests of pitch and yellow
a Sat a by the fact that Washington shipped a large
ine peek pee in the years preceding and immediately
ane ivil War. These forests have since been largely cut,
ee oe of much wealth to the county. There are also
haere See timbered with fine growths of cypress and
ee ee gums. Junipers are also abundant in many sec-
ee: se Oaks of many varieties, maples, ashes, pop-
os re a abundant, some of them being of such abun-
San e of considerable commercial value. The shrubs
» Mowers, roots, and herbs of the county are almost Hare

able.

There j
Saar. ek other great natural resource of the county that
mployment for its full share of the population of the

 

Some Corontat History or Braurorr County q

county, and which is the source of considerable wealth. This is
the fish and oyster industry of this section. Being situated on a
large river flowing into a sound, which in its turn connects with the
Atlantic, the county has at all times of the year a very large run of
both salt and freshwater fish. Shad, herring, trout, blue fish, spots,
mackerel, mullets, and a long list of the more common freshwater
fish are to be found on the markets in season. Oysters are usually
plentiful except in May, June, July, and August, the weather being
too warm in these months to permit of oysters and clams being
transported very far from the place where they are caught. The
oysters, fish, and game shipped to northern markets from Beaufort
County are considered the earliest and finest-flavored of any re-
ceived.

With such a location, with such a goodly number of navigable
rivers, with such a variety of soils, with immense forests, with good
building sands and clays, with such valuable fisheries—in fact, with
every natural resource except minerals and an abundance of water-
power, and being possessed of such a mild climate, it is no wonder,
then, that what is now Beaufort County was attractive to the early
settlers of North Carolina.

FORMATION AND EARLY HISTORY.

The history of the present county of Beaufort really began at a
period earlier than 1705, in which year, at a meeting of the Gov-
ernor, Charles Eden, and Thomas Pollock, Samuel Swann, John
Arderne, and Edward Moseley, deputies of the Lords Proprietors,
it was decided that “whereas the county of Bath, is now grown
populous and daily encreasing, do hereby think fit and it is hereby
ordered, that three Precincts be erected in the said county, bounded
as follows, viz.: The precinct of Pampticough [now Beaufort and
Pitt counties,] lying on the north side of Pampticough River and
beginning at Moline’s Creek, and westerly to the head of the river.
The Precinct of Wickham, beginning at the said Moline’s Creek, so
including all the lands and Rivers from said Creek to Matchepungo
Bluff; and the Precinct of Archdale taking all the south side of

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

8

   
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
   

James Sprunr Hisroricat Pusricarions

said river, and at

present, includi i
ia ea - ing all the Inhabitants of Newse.”2

, it might be rem i i
these precincts two Ricca in the ee Sona:
pene ee time all that territory south of the Albemarle Sound
cates He iver was known as Bath County. - Really the limits
Pas hi y of the county extended only about as far as the
pope nee westward, which, roughly speaking, was about
scene fee and, usually along the navigable rivers. Bath was by
ig eae county ever created within the state, for when an
pure, ae was formed, the western limit of the county was con-
oe i eee in the western boundary of the colony.? These
Ae TR aries sometimes called for a stretch of territory from
eae ne to the mountains, or from the Atlantic to the Missis-
a id Aue the Atlantic to the Southern (Pacific) Ocean. In
a nee ae County embraced a vast belt of land reaching across
ete — nited States. By comparing it with a present-day
P ot North Carolina, we find that Bath County really contained
and exerted jurisdiction over all or parts of Dare, Tyrrell, Wash-

. ; ;
. Ington, Martin, Pitt, Beaufort, Hyde, Pamlico, Craven, Greene,

rae Jones, Duplin, Onslow, Carteret, Pender, Sampson, and
gene pag ares Considering only these counties, what a
ae ene would Bath County have been, had it only been
aus the county of Bath, Albemarle was the other great county
sires ee These two counties in 1705 comprised the whole of
Hane Ww he Carolina, and more besides. Albemarle was the
eae pee ed, settlers pushing down from Virginia and plant-
ee Hi permanent settlement in the region north of Albemarle
pe ae this same source, and often by way of these Albe-
ee ements, the settlements around Pamlico Sound were
eae a4 ie aaloe making the settlements were usually English,
eda faa came from the New England colonies, as a good
ae nea é names of the people who applied for land titles are
Eee ae with the occasional appearance of a French
ce glis people came for social and economic, and not

gious reasons, as did the French Hugenots who settled in

°d. R., II, 629
3 » IT, 629.
Clark, Indian Massacre and Tuscarora War,

in

“Booklet,” v. 2.

 

Fay

Some Coronrat History or Beaurorr County 9

Bath and Albemarle. All of us know that there is no Bath County
today, and just so there is no Albemarle County. The names of the
two oldest counties in the state have been lost, with the exception of
the name of a town in one case and the name of a town and sound
in the other. Bath County, formed in 1696, named in honor of the
Earl of Bath (the head of the Lords Proprietors), divided in 1705
into precincts, finally ceased to exist even in mention.

Beaufort County was formed in 1705. It was visited in 1709 by
Lawson, and two years later it was a witness to and a chief sufferer
in the Indian uprisings of 1711. It was the seat of the Proprie-
tary Governor, Charles Eden, who lived for a short time at Bath,
about 1715. Just about this time it was visited by Teache, and in
1717 it was the county to which this pirate was brought after being
killed. Fort Reading, the name given to a fort which was estab-
lished near the present site of the town of Washington, was estab-
lished during the second decade of the eighteenth century. In 1715,
Bath, the principal town in the county, was made a port of entry,
thus tending to increase the commerce of the county. In 1734, St.
Thomas Church, at Bath Town, was completed, being not then the
first Episcopal church in the colony, but being now the oldest church
which stands essentially as it was erected. In 1738 the legislature
recognized the will of the people, and called the county by the name
of Beaufort. This name had been chosen by the people some time
before, but only now were the boundaries of the different counties,
so promiscuously referred to in the Colonial Records, run out by
special enactment of the legislature. The people were unusually
well pleased with Henry, Duke of Beaufort, one of the Lords Pro-

prietors, and a Palatine, and it was for him that they called the old
precinct of Pampticough | Exactly how early the people affixed
some other name to this region is unknown, but Pampticough is not
entered at all on Lawson’s map of 1709.) Between the years 1740
and 1760 the people of Beaufort were undisturbed, except for the
outbreak of the French and Indian War. They furnished their
share of the militia sent from North Carolina against the French
and the Indians. In 1760, upon a petition of the people concerned,
the western part of the county was cut off and formed into Pitt
County and St. Michael’s parish, Tranters Creek being the dividing

 

 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10
Jamus Sprunr Histortcar Pusricatrons

aie the two counties then as now: The years 1760-1775
tale ne acy growth, both in numbers, in religious ideas,
pi aes of peace, liberty, and freedom, for as Wheeler* says,
fea i eed of Beaufort were distinguished for their early
ee 0 the principles of liberty,” as is proved by the fact that

autort was well represented and her representatives well in-

structed at the congresses which if;
ae g ich met at Halifax, New Bern, and

TROUBLES WITH THE INDIANS.

Within two years after John Lawson, our earliest historian, made
the assertion that of all the colonies, North Carolina was ihe only
one that had been established without bloodshed, the greater por-
tion of Eastern North Carolina was plunged into the throes of a
bitter struggle with the Indians, which followed immediately upon
the terrible attempt of the savages to prevent the white man from
encroaching upon the hunting grounds of the Indian. Once in a
while a white man would harm an Indian, and the revengeful and
Shared Red Man would retaliate by killing the settler. Once in a
is ae tempted by some worldly possession of the white man’s, the
ndian would ill the white man, and be brought to justice in the
sie e of the little colony if he was ever caught up with. How dif-
erent was the Indian Massacre of 1711, and how much more inter-
pag to us should this be than a study of the troubles with the
; a a of Kentucky or Florida or Massachusetts. Because of its
= crest, it should be especially interesting to every citizen of

eaufort and Craven counties.

a reasons have been assigned as the cause of the trouble
ae » but the chief causes, everything else set aside, were the
Bee i. Se eeeeene of the whites upon the hunting and fishing
nee the Indians, though the struggles of the whites among
een as & result of the Carey Rebellion, which had been
Sa ya little before, may have exerted a baneful influence

© sanguinary Indians. Some of the contemporary writers

ei Sette

arrectios
‘Historical Sketches of North Carolina

‘ough I have not menti Ra ¢
events in the county, T hage oned each reference Specifically in the running recital of

stantiated in each case, usually by the Connie ee UP and find my statements sub-

 

ee

Some Coronzat History or Beaurorr County 11

say that both Carey and Roach, his subordinate, were influential
in persuading the Indians to make the attack upon the white set-
tlements. This last reason is advanced by Dr. Hawks in the first
volume of his history, and is a little shaky as far as proof is con-
cerned, but it is sufficient to say that the two first causes would
have been sufficient to bring on the war. The fact remains that the
war did break out, and that the people living on the Tar and Pam-
lico rivers, and those living in the vicinity of Bath, were the heav-
iest sufferers. Mr. Urmstone, writing to the Secretary of the
S. P. G., says that Bath “is now the seat of war,”® and later as
well as contemporary writers say that the struggle was severest in
what is now Beaufort County.

Had the Indians not been inferior to the whites in their capac-
ity for strategy and concerted action, and had they been equipped
and armed even as well as the colonists were, the settlements
planted here before 1711 would surely have been wiped out of
existence. They were immensely superior to the whites in num-
bers, for according to Judge Clark, the Indians could muster
around eighteen hundred fighting men, whereas the colonists could
gather only about a thousand men capable of bearing arms.’ This
latter number was smaller than it should have been, owing to the
decreased numbers due to the troubles with Carey. On the side
of the Indians, by far the greatest number was furnished by the
Tuscaroras, who were the leaders in the movement to massacre
the whites, and who assumed the work of the extermination of the
Indians along the southern bank of the Roanoke, and especially
along the Tar and Pamlico rivers. This was the home and hunt-
ing grounds of the Tuscaroras. On the north side of Albemarle
Sound and the Roanoke River lived the Meherrins, Notoways,
Chowanokes, Pasquotanks, Connamax, and Yeopims,® who were
not very formidable, being considerably outnumbered by the
whites in that section of the colony. The Pamlicos, it appears,
were to labor with the Tuscaroras in slaughtering the whites above
Bath and along the Pamlico and Tar rivers, while the Matta-
muskeets were to surprise the settlements to the east of Bath. The

Cotechneys and the Cores, from whom Core Sound draws its

6d. R., I, 885.
pias Massacre and Tuscarora War. “Booklet,” v. 2.

acetal

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12
James Sprunt Hisrorrca, Pus ications

nam i
€, were to massacre the Swiss and the Palatines at New Bern.

To a
ae 2 secon . plot was a general one, considering the
Seen 0) egin at sunrise on the day before. the new
nee ae er, which was the 23d of the month. According
- y assacre began at sunrise of the 22d, as was ever
a ae remembered in the colony.
Pane ee ee, and bares allies began to spread
: : er to make the attack, which
ae aie ae all the more concerted, and to sary it teu
Weer ‘ e settlers little suspected treachery from the
ev peeves sti of Indians, who merely asked for bread. The
a 2 Hae is a sun rose, the red men began
Ae Lee of the atrocities eee eon Rae
ae cea Indian may be found in a letter from Christo-
ae de under the date of November 2.18
pee : & ting as could be imagined, and I venture the
ne eee 2 could be repeated today only by a savage
prised, the ata a ce Me ee eee
1 j ; 9 and races and
a ete ae often treated as was the family ae eae
ae ca oe as distance from Bath.1° Not all of the
oe ees & » Tor a goodly number gathered wherever there
ae Beet Crowds from what is now Beaufort County
eee Ht a Fort Reading, near where Washington now
eee e did not bury the bodies of their victims
ee ae 2 em terribly, and leaving them “for prey ‘0
ay tae ee and vultures,” whilst the care of the settlers
ed i their garrisons and to secure those still alive.
gh slaughter continued for a space of three days,11 during

  
 
  
  
 
   
 
  
 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
 
 
  
 
  

d the general pitiless-

Some Coronrat History or Braurorr County 13

part of all who were able had fled to Virginia. Hyde could get
no assistance from the friendly Indians, so general and widespread
was the conspiracy of the Tuscaroras. Aid was sought from Vir-
ginia and South Carolina, though the chief thing accomplished
by the Virginia troops was the liberation of Baron de Graffen-
reid, who, together with J ohn Lawson and his servants, had been
taken prisoner on the 92d of September, and who, unlike poor
Lawson, had not been put to death. The Virginia troops may
have overawed the Indians, and thus aided in checking their
depredations to some extent. The greatest and most material aid
came from our southern sister, South Carolina, for the assembly
of that colony voted to send Colonel Barnwell with 600 militia
and some 350 Indians. These reinforcements made good progress
over the wilderness which then separated the two Carolinas, and
Colonel Barnwell, on the 28th of January, 1712, after having
driven the Indians to a palisaded fort about twenty miles above
New Bern, and after surrounding and killing a good number of
the Indians, both inside and outside the fort, agreed to a capitu-
lation and treaty with them, instead of utterly crushing their
power as the people desired and expected him to do.1? This
treaty which Barnwell made he allowed his allied Indians to
break and to carry off a-large number of captives to South Caro-
lina to be sold into West Indian servitude. Thus the hatred and
animosity of the aborigines was only aggravated, and their power
was far from broken. Colonel Barnwell had to give up his com-
mand on account of a wound received in the encounter at Fort
Barnwell, so called after the captor of the fort rather than being

named for some defender.
It appears that Virginia prepared to help the North Carolinians

in their distress, but that when they heard of Barnwell’s treaty

which time Governor lak i
3 : yde tried to put an end to m1 hi
barbarity, his efforts were almost futile ee
?

able to raise onl undre
: y about one h i wi
jf ndred and sixty men, owing to the

J to the f.
eee One e fact that a great many of the colon-

would not fight, and to the fact that a good

SOUR =
ee I, 826-827, |

ley
Indian Massacre and the Tuscarora War.

 
  
  
  
  
   
  
 

with the Tuscaroras they refused to act against the Indians for
fear of incurring their hatred. However, when the Assembly, on
March 12, 1712, voted 4,000 pounds sterling for the purpose of
carrying on the war, and when the Assembly petitioned both South

Carolina and Virginia, the South Carolinians were the only ones
Judge Clark says that this second time South

for the Governor was

 

who helped us.

“Booklet,” v. 2.
20. R., I, 840.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

0 Lis
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 

 

 

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

14 MES 0
A
J. Spr NT Historica Pusrications

Caroli
aan ee es J ames Moore with fifty white soldiers and
Virginie Se ; ndians to aid us, and the records show that
cae ee 2 00 pounds to aid in carrying on the war, and
aaa : be blankets and other supplies for our troops.
atts an e ne died on the 8th of September, and Thomas
see ae ected to fill his place, being given the title of
Fone ee - oe ent Pollock made a treaty with Tom Blunt, one
eee eee e ne of the Tuscaroras, by which a good ae
Geta a oe Indians were led to side with the
ee alded Irom abroad, with finances strengthened.
power in the newly-created allies, the people of the

colony prepared to make a last des t to break the
perate attemp

: Moore came early in December 1712 i
aes food, Pollock asked Ricors pe Soe
Pe eee Even there the scarcity of food was ae
eas if See that the Indians were kept from mutin. :
Bae pace mi e of January, 1713, Moore led his Thidiane
ees = in our county, where they remained encamped
Ma and until the 4th of February. Early in Febru-
ee ue aie a tas b a with the militia which North Carolina had
ee us : i his Indians and fifty whites, laid siege to
eee rch Sra a stronghold in Greene County, near where
oe Renee ands. The Indians failed to dig wells in the
He rica, ene es this, cut off their supply of water. He
Te eure and took it, together with 800 prisoners
ever daa a ae number; the allied Carolina forces lot
Tee a ed and wounded, about 95 of them being
Lane aoe ndian allies, after having taken their prisoners.
ee me . a left Barnwell before him, only about 140 ee
Merde 4 power of the Indians in Eastern Carolina was
aes ater part of the Tuscaroras, together with some
ne Rear the Five Nations of the North in New York
ite, eeies nown as the Six Nations. Except for a ee
ade by a small tribe for the next year or two there was

not mu
ch more war. Thanks to South Carolina and the Yemas-

see India
ns, we had been saved.

BIndi
‘an Massacre and Tuscarora War. “Booklet,” v. 2,

 

Somes Coronrat History or Beaurorr County 15

Beaufort County, besides being in the hottest of the trouble,

and consequently one of the heaviest sufferers, was one of the

sections of the State which did all it could to quell the savage
butchery of the whites by the Indians. Beaufort also furnished
her full share of the recruits who were with Moore at Nahucke
when the Tuscarora power was broken, for it was the most thickly
settled portion of the colony besides the Albemarle sections, and,
unlike this section, it did not have very many Quakers to object
to the war. Thus the part we played in this first struggle for
existence was as great in proportion as the part the Beaufort
County boys played in the struggle for freedom from England
and in the struggle for our rights during the Civil War.

THE TOWNS OF COLONIAL BEAUFORT COUNTY.

It has long been one of our boasts that Beaufort County con-
tains the oldest incorporated town in the State; all of us know
that Bath enjoys this distinction. Its history dates almost as far
back as does the history of the county itself, The streets and the
houses of the quaint old town seem to transport us back into the
long-past, much-storied years in which North Carolina was a
British colony, and when Bath was as large as any other town
within the limits of the colony.

“Sixteen miles from what is now the town of Washington,” says
Mr. W. L. Peele,14 “and within the limits of what is now Beau-
fort County, ‘the [Pamlico] river widens out into an arm of the
Pamlico Sound some five or six miles from shore to shore, and
sends northward a short estuary into which flows Bath Creek,
known among the early settlers as ‘Old Town Creek,’ and also as

Pampticough Creek. In 1696 the homes of the settlers, as they
jnereased in numbers, converged toward a central village situated
on the east bank of this creek, about a mile and a half from its
mouth. First the settlement and afterwards the village was called
Pampticough.: In 1681 a ‘plantation or plot of ground containing
twelve thousand acres, more or less, was conveyed to Seth Sothel.

44Notes on Bath, North Carolina Day Program, 1914,

 

 

 

 
 
  
  
  
 
  
 
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
  
 
   
 
  
 
   
 
   
  
 
 
   
 
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

16
James Sprunr Hisrorrca Pusricatrons

oa Eee ponies the village then ‘commonly called Pamp-
This was a description of the town before its incorporation. It
a hae ia the town was incorporated in 1705, and that its’
He as t. en changed from Pampticough to Bath. This first act
0 Incorporation dates from the 8th of March, 1705.15 The cor-
porate limits of the town embraced sixty acres. This act of 1705
has been lost, but a quotation from the act of 1715, which repeated
a part of the original act, is as follows: “Whereas at the request
of Mr. John Lawson, Mr. Joel Martin and others - certain nea
of land purchased by themselves, lying in flomethe Old Town
ace a Pampticough, and containing by estimation sixty acres
ae, being part of a large tract then belonging to one David
ters) but now in the tenure and possession and belonging to
: ol. ere Cary, * * * was incorporated and made a
ownship by an act of the General Assembly, made and ratified
ae poe ee nies John Hacklefield, the 8th day of Ace
, @ it enacted by his Excellency, th a
aa ae pai of the True and Absolute Lords Pagans . one
mee ti an oe the advice and consent of this Present General
a fae ee fee by the authority, of the same, that the
Bea es fe ereby henceforward invested in Mr. John
FG - Joel Martin, Mr. Thomas Harding, and Capt. John
nkwater, or any two of them, to and for the use aforesaid and
declared and confessed, and incorporated into a township b th
name of Bath Town, with all the privileges and See ie :
after expressed.”16 These privileges and immunities were of i
municipal nature, and aside from the provision for the seston
of a courthouse, they were similar to the affairs settled by th
municipal authorities or the townsmen of today. A part Be this
same act of 1705 is taken up with an enactment for the pre
tion and best use of the Bath Library. ee
eae Bath Library was the gift of the Reverend Thomas Bray
P Hanthropist and founder of the Corporation for the Establish.
ae ‘ the Christian Religion. It was the first library ever seen in
e mits of North Carolina, and was valued at 100 pounds. Be-

is

 

ug. R.,
jee SXUL, 73,

  

 

Somz Coronrat History or Braurorrt County At

fore the incorporation of Bath, the library had traveled up and
down the county, and had apparently been abused and a part of
the volumes misplaced, judging from the tenor of the act for the
regulation of the library. The men appointed as trustees of the
library were the most influential men of the countys showing that
even if a greater part of the people were indifferent toward the
library and unappreciate of the benefits to accrue from its use,
the people in charge of governmental affairs, and the higher
classes generally, were not irresponsive to the appeals of culture
and learning. What finally became of the Bath Library is not
definitely known.

Bath was soon made a port of entry and the seat of govern-
ment.17 Its being made a port of entry was the result of the grow-
ing trade of Bath, which in turn was due to the depth of water
in Ocracoke Inlet, which was greater than most of the shallow
inlets on our coast. Bath was more centrally located than Eden-
ton, but it was still imconveniently located for the settlers along
the Cape Fear, and for this reason the seat of government did not
remain long in our quaint little town.e Governor Eden lived there
in 1714; Christopher Gale had lived there since about 1710;
Teach had had a house just across the creek, almost fronting the
palace of the proprietary governor. Near the apex of the rising
ground on which Bath is built, on what was once the land of
Joseph Bonner, there can be seen the remains of the fort to which
the inhabitants of the surrounding country fled on the outbreak
of the Indian massacre of 1711. Owing to its trade, Bath began
to be a flourishing town about 1725. It was located on the road
running from Nansemond River, in Virginia, by the way of Eden-
ton, Mackey’s Point, Plymouth, Bath, and New Bern, to Wil-
mington. Thus it was in touch with Virginia and the southern
colonists by land as well as by water.1§

In 1734 St. Thomas Church, the oldest original religious edifice
in the State, was completed. It is a quaint building, a little above
one story in height, not having a steeple. It is built with thick
walls, despite the fact that the bricks in the walls, as well as the
tiles of the floor, were brought from England. There is a story

110, R., III, xviii.
Ibid.

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

18

 
  
    
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
   
  

James Sprunr Hisrorrcat Pusricarions

that the bell of the church, though it has been cracked and recast,
was the gift of Queen Anne, and though I cannot find a record to
prove this, it is safe to suppose that it may have been given by
the English queen. However irresponsive a person may be to the
appeal of the past, he can hardly see and enter and walk down the
same aisles that were trod by the quaintly costumed people of two
centuries ago; he can hardly read the inscriptions cut in the slabs
let into the walls of the old church and not feel that he has been
transported into the bygone days of colonial Beaufort County,
and not feel a realization, an inspiration and a thankfulness to our
forefathers for their inestimable services as pioneers. ;
Situated on the principal street of Bath today is perhaps the
oddest house in the whcle county. It is known as the old Marsh
House, though the Marshes were not the original owners. It was
built in 1744 by Monsieur Cataunch for a Mr. and Mrs. White-
more.19 The Whitemores had a niece, it is related, one Mary
Evans, whose husband was lost at sea. This niece, according to a
curiously carved tombstone still to be seen in the rear of the old
house, died with a broken heart on account of the loss of her hus-
band. However this may be, the Whitemores moved away, many
thinking that their leaving was due to their grief, so closely were
they attached to Mrs. Evans. Thus the house passed from the
hands of its original owners, being purchased by a Mr. Marsh, a
wealthy ship-owner and merchant of the town, whose descendants
still own the place. The chief peculiarity of construction of the
house is the chimney, seventeen feet wide, with windows and tiled
floors in it. Evidently the building of a chimney was not then the
item in house construction that it is today. The house is frame,
of course, and the sills have been found to be pitch pine heart
covered with tar and wrapped in canvas—merely another example
of how substantially our forefathers built. There are numerous
other places of interest at Bath, particularly the sight of two old
cannon, visible only at low tide, lying buried in the mud at the
edge of the water—the harmless rusty memorials of the days when
Bath had a fort, or of the advent and passing of that bold bucca-
neer, Edward Teach, more commonly known as “Black Beard.”

 

Rodman, Historic Homes and People of Old Bath Town. “Booklet,” v, 2.

 

 

Some Coronrat History or Braurorr County 19

Bath was the seat of government of Bath County until the
county ceased to exist, when it became ute seat of government of
Beaufort, remaining the county seat until the removal of the gov-
ernment to the present seat, Washington, in 1785. The court-
house, jail, and pillory, which had been built in accordance a
the act of 1715, used all to stand at Bath. They were oak
upon the petition of a majority of the citizens of the county, for
Washington was already outstripping Bath in its progress. een
was early held at Bath; Christopher Gale, Chief a a “ e
county, held court there as early as March 31, 1713. er
courts, other court officers, and other men came and acted : ie
parts and passed off the stage whereon was acted the drama 0 dl e
history of Bath Town. No other place in North Carolina is quite
so romantic, so antique, as dear old Bath, for even if Mr. White-
field did curse it, as the repert goes, we all cherish its sacred his-
tory, and still hope for a bright future for this village of less ee
500 souls which, notwithstanding, holds the honor of being the
first incorporated town in North Carolina.

Washington, the present county seat of Beaufort County, and a
growing town of 6,211 persons by the census of 1910, has a history
that dates back almost to the Indian troubles of 1711. It was in
this year that a fort and garrison was placed on the estate of Mr.
Lionel Reading, and was called Fort Reading. Though Fort
Reading was on the south side of the river, it may properly be
said to have been the beginning of Washington.» Little mention
of the place is made between the years 1715 and 1775. tn ae
a grant of land was made to Christopher Dudley conveying
acres of land, on a part of which Washington now stands, to Mr.
Dudley. In 1727 Dudley transferred this tract to Edward Salter,
who in turn conveyed it to John Worley. Worley deeded the land
to Thomas Bonner in 1729, describing the tract as “the plantation
whereon I now dwell.” Thomas Bonner lived on this plantation,
and at his death, Colonel James Bonner, of Revolutionary re-
nown, came into possession of the estate. It was J ames Bonner
who laid out the streets and lots of the town of Washington in

1776, selling the lots by lottery, and conveying the streets, to-

20. R., II, 80.

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

20

 
 
  
 
   
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    
     

James Sprunt Hisrorican PuBLICATIONS

gether with lots No, 21, on which was to be erected a courthouse
Jail and pillory, and No. 50, which St. Peter’s Church now aes
pies, to the public generally.21 In the corner of the churchyard
on Main Street may be seen the tomb of Colonel James Bonner,
once the owner of all the land on which Washington is built, and
the selector of the site of the town. « :
This town has the honor of being the first place named in honor
of George Washington. From the journal of the Council of
Safety of North Carolina, in session at Halifax, September 27
1776, we quote as follows: “Resolved that Captain John momen
commander of the armed brig, the ‘General Washington,’ —
lying at Washington, do proceed with all possible dispatch to
Ocracoke Bar, and to remain within the said bar in order to pro-
tect the trading vessels which maybe coming into or going out of
that port, until one of the aforesaid armed vessels [the ‘King
Tammany’ and the ‘Pennsylvania Farmer’] shall return there
or shall be otherwise ordered,22 Thus we see that Washitron
was fast becoming a small town; that the harbor could accommo-
date small armed vessels, which were of greater draft than mer-
chantmen, and that its name had been generally recognized as
Washington by the year 1776, where our colonial observations
cease as far as this paper is concerned. Washington’s greatest
growth, unlike Bath, was during the period following the Revolu-
tion and even after the Civil War, and therefore its richest his-
tory is not included in a colonial retrospection. »The names of
Blount, Bonner, Brown, Gladden, Telfair, Reading Respess, Van
Norden and others are connected with the pre Revalidgnses as
well as the post-Revolutionary history of Washington, and these
names have, for the most part, been commemorated by having
streets of Washington named in their honor.

Chocowinity, a small town on the south side of the river about
three miles from Washington, was begun in colonial ree It
was probably a small hamlet in 1745, for it is mentioned in the act
for the division of Beaufort County for the better maintenance

and constructio i 2 i i
n. of the public roads.22_ The name is a very musi-

4Rodman, Washi ‘
20 RX rashanaton: and Its Harly Inhabitants, North Carolina Day Program, 1914.

29) R.) XXIII, 220,

   

 

 

Some Coronzaz History or Beavrorr County 21
cal Indian name, the meaning of which I have been unable to find
out. Chocowinity was on the frontier when the Indians surprised
the white settlements on the morning of September 22, 1711. Tra-
dition has it that the first house to be fired was the one owned by
John Porter at Chocowinity.24 Chocowinity has never attained
to any size, being still a mere village.» It had less chance to grow
because of commercial reasons than did Bath, for. it is situated a
short distance from the head of Chocowinity Bay, an arm of Pam-
lico River.» The town is best known on account of the fact that
for a long time it was the location of a good secondary school
established and maintained by the Episcopal Church. .

Of these three colonial towns which we have discussed, Bath,
Washington, and Chocowinity, Bath was the largest until after the
Revolution. It was the center of social life, of commercial activ-
ity, and of civil government in the county. It had the best loca-
tion, for “on either side of the bay the land, covered with a pro-
miscuous growth of trees, slopes gently down to the water’s edge,
and this beautiful sheet of water is frequently, early in the day,
as smooth as glass, upon the shining surface of which appears
painted the trees, with the delicate, tender greens of spring-time
or the deeper tints of summer, or, more beautiful still, the gorgeous
reds, yellows, and greens of the autumn tide.”’25 It had the start
over both Washington and Chocowinity, and it is really difficult
to see why Bath is not the city today and Washington merely
a town. They all three remain, and other towns have sprung up
in the county, but even if they can outstrip their older rivals com-
mercially, they cannot deprive them of the heritage of a past
history.

RELIGION AND CHURCHES IN THE COUNTY.

Despite the fact that the early settlers of Beaufort County
had trouble enough in an economic and social way, they also had
to contend with trouble from their religion, or, more correctly,
in a majority of cases, because of their lack of religion., The men

*4Grimes, Notes on Colonial North Carolina. “Booklet,” v. 5.
Peele, Notes on Bath. North Carolina Day Program, 1904.

       
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

22

   
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
  
   
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
  
  
 
 
  
  
  
 

James Sprunr Hisrorrcat Pus ications

on ia settlers in early Beaufort County were men like
ees ea on the frontiers today—pioneers of civiliza-
ae ae Ae means, especially pecuniary means; men
and cern egies ae Paina ee
» but, 1s, not essentially religi -
La ae careless in the observance of aes
iain a Re ae eee an would have governed
5 permitted to do so, in peace
ea is ae early colonists were greatly eee ae i
See ae e proprietary governors and their acts to make the
_ ch o England the established church in the colony. :
rior to the Vestry Act of 1701 the set ce
aes of Beaufort had no ministers,
es u i cata ee the Quakers, or the Huguenots, who settled
ioe a : oe aes into the wildernesses, staked their
ie a Be ae : clear away the trees, often without regard
eae z Ona: neighbor. : If the settler throve, he was
Bee aie is : aos by his wife, who ordinarily was of
Seon ee re igiously than her consort. They probably
eee ate cir own way, attributing to Him their bless-
ee a ee ie the Indians were a menace, if the
RW solaiet, then haces 2b bling Wott ee
: ¢ ng to wha iri
i mos these pioneers may have ctbed. Gun
oe el of them were not very religious, not, having any
ae ieee or and necessities of living a
: : , h er, a very important thin 3
2 a oa in 1665, when Yemans was governor of ie
eee ng be Cape Fear, for if he was not a professed
Bdveatent nor wari allewed > fold acdan Be
: "was ed to hold lands. Locke, in hi -
: ek ee emphasized the necessity ef rae
a iene a idles BPE coe to be liberal toward Dissenters.
Sine m er, of this Fundamental Constitution, reads in
© country comes to be sufficiently planted, and dis-

tributed i ivisi i
uted into fit divisions, it shall belong to the parliament to take

tlers in the present
not coming in great bodies as

 

*0. R., I, 187-207.

  

 

 

Some Coroniat History or Braurorr Country 23

care of the building of churches, and the public maintenance of
divines, to be employed in the exercise of religion, according to
the Church of England.”

I quote this passage purposely, and underscore the last phrase
particularly, because it illustrates the spirit of the Proprietors.
They were willing enough to have Dissenters settle here in order
that they might bring wealth into their pockets, but they were
ready to force them to support the Church of England after
having made such highly-puffed claims of religious toleration. It
is not to be supposed that the settlers of the Pamlico region were
religious refugees, for this they were not. They were mostly
people who came for economic reasons to search for better land,
or more hospitable climate, or more favorable terms of settlement.

* Therefore, the very reasons which led the earlier settlers to the

banks of the Pamlico River were against the early and rapid
growth of religious ideas. Still those in power, either through
personal interest or impelled by the outside power to which they
were responsible, early took steps to establish the Anglican or
Church of England as the recognized and only duly authorized
church, as we shall now see.

In the vestry measures of 1701, the only parish named in what
was then Bath County was the parish of Pampticough. This
parish comprised the settlements along the banks of the Pamlico
River, and was established in order to accommodate the people of
Bath Town.» This continued to be the parish of Pampticough
for the space of about fifteen years. The ministers of the gospel
who preached during these years were sent over either by the
Church of England or by the Society for Propagating the Gospel,
an organization in England for the purpose of evangelizing her
colonies, both in the New World and elsewhere. The first of these
ministers was one Daniel Brett, who arrived some time in 1701 or
1702. le was not a conscientious laborer, and his character was
odious, judging from contemporary estimates made of him. He
was a member of the Church party, of course, and his character
brought only contempt for the Church and religion in general.
But the Church party never ceased to labor for the establishment

and firm entrenchment of the Established Church in the growing

    

 
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
  
 
  
  
  
   
    
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
   
 
   
   
  
   
  
  
   
  
  
  

24 Jamus Sprunt Hisrorrcat Puszicdrrong

colony. In 1704 the authorities advanced a step,
Governor Daniel, they passed a law that deprived

of the power to hold office of trust, honor, or profit
a communicant in the Anglican Church.

In the years between 1704 an
preach to the colonists,
first, because they all pr
comprised a great part 0

and, under
every person
who was not

d 1711 three men were sent to
I mention all these, as I mentioned the
eached in Pampticough Precinet, which

f Beaufort County of today. These men
were Messrs. Blair, Gordon, and Adams. Mr. Blair baptized about

a hundred children. He it was who tells us that there were four
classes of persons within the colony, to wit: “First, the Quakers,
who were the most powerful enemies to the Church Government,
but a people very ignorant of what they profess. The second sort
are a great many who have no religion, but would be Quakers if
by that they were not obliged to lead a more moral life than they
are willing to comply to. A third Sort are something like Presby-

» which is really zealous for the interests

in number, but the better sort of people,
and would do very much for the settlement of the Church Goy- °

ernment there, if not opposed to these precedent sects.””27

These three men, namely, Messrs, Blair, Gordon, and Adams,
were much better ministers than Brett or than Urmstone, who
followed Adams. Urmstone, though not sent out by the Society
for Propagating the Gospel, was, like so many Englishmen both

before him and after him, merely a rector in order to make a
living; in other words he
there was in it.28 He was,

position and covetous also. He was, judging from the letters
written to the Secretary of the S. P. G., one of the most chronic
complainers that ever struck these colonies. And yet he remained

here, drew hig salary, was waited on by his own slaves, and ate the
best his parishoners could give him for sixteen years!

stone’s stay here as missionary that Pampti-

History of the Baptists

in North Caroli; » D. 6.
This is Dr. Hawks’ opi were

nion of him. History of North Carolina, y. 1,

 

25
Some Coronrat History or Braurorr County

i i Thomas Parish, Hyde Parish,
Parish was made into St.
cone Parish. This was done by ar act?® passed ee
Ge eral Assembly bearing the date 1715, which reads in bes as
f aha “Tt is hereby enacted that this province. of Ni ort! a aa
A be divided into parishes according to the Darastons ae a
ra i i erqui-
inc inafter mentioned, that is to say
eae Gone and Hyde, to be parishes & ae Sati :
ee of the several precincts: the Remaining part of : bau at
ag and the branches thereof, oe ee panct a
5 i as parish.
i h by the name of St. Thomas p:
cinct, to be one parish by ee
y whic
the name first lawfully recognized, | ;
aaa known today. Vestrymen were appointed for the various
Faice Those named for St. Thomas parish being

The Honorable Chas. Eden, Esq.,
Tobias Knight, Esq.,

Col. Christopher Gale,

Mr. Jehn Porter, —

Capt. Jno. Drinkwater,

Capt. Jno. Clark,
Mr. John Adams,
Mr. Patrick Maule,
Daniel Richardson, Esq., Mr. Par ee
Mr. Thomas Worsley, Mr. Jno. Lillington.

“Bath was the common meeting place for the religious gather-

ings in the parish. It was the only town in the parish, and it was

easily accessible by water for all those who aie ae aes
attend.. No church was as yet built, though Ex ae ‘ee
made in the act incorporating Bath Town for a su ane ae
which to build a church. Some twenty years ae : ae Bik
church was finished, externally at least, for, in net ee sa
old St. Thomas Church, of which Bath is 80 3 ue ze hoe
leted. It was built of small, well-made bric g see
En d, and the floor was likewise made of tiles.» The same
eae : i It was arranged inside as most of the churches
Oat, . aes arranged—two rows of pews with the aisles lead-
in ay a side and the middle of the church. It is very
ere sh d now, and with its old inscriptions of the faithful
ey ee eebiried under the chancel, it is one of the
e
curiosities of the quaint old town of Bath. eae Uk,
The Act of 1701, and the select vestries appoin y it,

“ag. R., XXIII, 6.

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   
  
  
   
  
 
 
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    
  
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

26 James Sprunr Hisrorrcan Pusrications

it did not materially concern the scattered settlers along the Pam-
lico, continued in-effect until the act of March 12, 1710-11, which
appointed new vestries in all the parishes. The Act of 1711 was
not radically different from the Act of 1701, though it was fully
as intolerant toward the Quakers and the few Baptists then found
here. The Act of 1715 supplanted the Act of 1711, and continued
in effect until it was repealed by the vestry act of 1741. This
act was the most extensive act yet passed in reference to the
Church. It gave the Church almost as much power over the peo-
ple as the Colonial Government had. It gave the Church the
power to levy poll taxes as large as it saw fit; it gave the wardens
‘and vestry complete control over all church moneys;
gave these men the power to assess or ley,
necessary “for building a church, chappel, or chappels; to pur-
chase lands for a Glebe, to erect convenient buildings thereon, and
to keep the aforesaid Edifices in repair.”81 The wardens and
vestry could also have taxed the people for the purchase of books,
ornaments for the church or necessities of public worship, and
have been justified by this law in so doing.

The people of Beaufort County must have been of a different
type, generally speaking, from the majority of people who settled
other Eastern North Carolina counties. We do know they did not
come to escape religious persecution; we know further that they
were of English origin, and that the majority of them must have
been warmly attached to the principles of the Church of England.
We make these statements because we are able to find no registered
complaints from the people of Beaufort against the excessive taxes
for the support of the Church, Their general interest in matters

of religion is further attested to by the fact that the people of

St. Thomas parish in Beaufort County were the only people who

ever owned their three hundred acres of glebe land, or a glebe
house. These were acquired in the ministry of Rev. Mr. Garzia,
who became the minister of St. Thomas parish about 1735. He
was a zealot, and was well beloved by the people. He died Novem-
ber 29, 1744, as a result of a fall from his horse while he was

returning from visiting a sick parishioner.
a a ‘

#8. R., XXIII, 187-191,
Tb id. ‘ .

and it also
Y any taxes they deemed

 

27
Somm Coronzat Hisrory or Beaurorr County

The next really great man who was connected with St. Fie
Church in the capacity of its minister was the Reverend A we
ander Stewart, who came from England in he as a are

i ing the Gospel, as well as
he Society for Propagating ‘
ee ae of St. Thomas Church. Until the spring of 1771,
ly as far as we are concerned, he worked faithfully among
he als of Beaufort, Hyde, and Pitt counties, serving thirteen
Gia bali his parish church.** He es in ay nee
County, and he often supphed
of the youth of Beaufort # Liens 2

i i 9 ks. The church at Bath rece

children with necessary books. : ane
i ing been quite complete

ishing touches in 1762, not having : ;
he He suffered much on account of sickness during the later
a aor his life, though he was never the eines nie
of his predecessors sent out by the S. P. G. were. re ge ae
the Society were sane, sincere, and eae’ ae hes ue eee

i ly Orders. ese Wi 3
to become candidates for Holy

Pape Blinn and Mr. Nathaniel Blount, who both rendered a good

ice to the people a little later. ;
ae a very few more years after Mr. Stewart’s death the ba
lished Church continued to be supported by all the ah re
whether church members or not. Mr. Stewart gave in Aone
number of taxable persons in St. Thomas parish as 110. an
we see that the numbers in St. Thomas parish had eae
mensely from the time when, in 1711, there were about a tie
houses in the town of Bath. And yet, the church as an bal at
ment of the State ceased to exist forever upon Brie SAW: ane

i laces the church was a m

War of the Revolution. In many p
to great numbers, but in Beaufort County the church was a
ae were probably a few persons in the county who were
Quakers. These people were to be found pretty generally through
ie Ausietn part of the State. There were also a few Baptists in
all probability, for the Baptists, at a later date, were fae
esis immediately to the north and west of us. But, as a whole,
we may say that the colonial inhabitants of Beaufort County were
staunch adherents to the principles advocated and taught them by
the Established Church.

®De Rossett, Church History of North Carolina, p. 73.
30, R., VII, 145.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
   
   
   
  
 
 
 
   
   
 

 

 

 

 

   
    
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

changed for sugar,

Ja
mes Sprunt Hisrorrcar Pusticarions

COMMERCE IN THE COUN TY,

It would seem that when a colon
uncultivated country,

mother country and o

i y is planted in a foreign and
that commerce and intercourse with the

ther foreign countri Ww V

: ries, would be extensive

and prosperous. But such is not always the case even today ; and
?

in the latter quarter
of the seventeenth cent
ury, whe
settlements were made along Pamlico and pe soe

hes even less true than it is now. When man
aos in the forests of Carolina their aaiaaee
untry and the outside world practically ceased

came well supplied with tools :
z and
sils, and, owing to the abu implements and ho

arle sounds, it
of the settlers
ith the mother

and some other article
@ s of absolute i i
and medicines, had to be imported pee

The price of an
y
© and so many pounds of tobacco, or

In 1707, Robert

 

Some Coroniat History or Buaurorr County 29

land and Bermudas trades there. The soil is more lusty than
South Carolina. It produceth Tobacco; Indian Corne; English
Wheat in abundance; Beef, Pork, hides, Tarr, and so consequently
pitch, and furs as Beaver: Otter: Fox and Wild Cat skins, deare
skins; Tanned Lether, Tallow,” ete.84 This list is protracted still
further, but this is enough to give us a general idea of the articles
in which our commerce consisted, even as early as the first decade
of the eighteenth century. Thus we see that despite the fact that
the colonists could get along with but little outside aid, they, not-
withstanding, very soon began to export their products to outside
markets.

Beaufort County was not behind the other counties in beginning
commercial relations with other colonies and other countries. Bath
was incorporated in 1705, because it was then one of the most
flourishing towns in the State, and its growth was due to its com-
merce, which in turn was traceable to the comparatively good
harbor of the town. An early chronicler35 describes Bath as
being “not the unpleasantest part of the country,—nay in all prob-
ability it will become the centre of trade, as having the advantages
of a better inlet for shipping and surrounded with most pleasant
savannas, very useful for stocks of cattle. In this, as in all other
parts of the province, there is no money; everyone buys and pays
with their commodities, the difference of their money being as
one to three.” 86 The harbor of Bath is not very deep, but con-
sidering the fact that the vessels of those times did not draw much
water, it was sufficiently good for Bath to be a thriving town as
the result of its commeree, especially between the years 1755-1775."

We know that no great amount of commerce was shipped from or
received at Bath prior to 1715, for in this year the town was made
a port of entry, and that a collector of customs was not appointed
for the town until a few years afterward.

Lawson, in his geographical history of North Carolina, writing
about 1709 (he was cruelly put to death by the Indians in 1711),
says, having just remarked upon the great plenty in the province:
“Thus our merchants are not many, nor have those few there be

HO, R., IT, xiv. : :
85William Gordon, ex-missionary to Carolina.

“0, R., I, 715.

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

30

    
 
 
 
 
  
   
   
   
 
  
 
 
 
 
    

JA
mes Sprunt Hisrorican Pusticarions

Whereas, not only the
e carried on to a great
of Indians as an

: ly set-
; and for the small trade that has been

: n have throve as fast
ee Ce ee of any people I
Z ot a bad estimate of the ibili

possibili-

ties of intra-colonial 0 not so favor: € an estimate of
1, trade, th ugh
é ‘9 pul 8 a abl
early colonial plantation life! For various reasons, some of which

. . . ; be id
reign grains, which thrive well.” Most

of these articles mentioned by Lawson conti

for in 1765, in the
Planters, we find me
and bowsprits, which
to Ireland, Spain and
tion further says that

lumber and hides coul

rpentine, masts, yards
to be allowed to ship
Streights. The peti-

found that commerce between Bath and

ort
ports was profitable, for the tax of one po

*Lawson, Hist
ee %, ae! of North Carolina, pp. 146, 147,

und of powder and four

  

Somer Cornonrat History or Beaurort Country 31

pounds of swan shot for “every three tons measure” of the vessel
by the Statute of 1715 (Chapter XXXV),39 and of one quarter
pound of powder and one pound of shot or lead for each ton,
according to the Statute of 1754 (Chapter VI),*° was not levied
on vessels owned or built by any resident person of the colony.
The favor granted to home-built and home-owned ships was evi-
dently granted in order to aid the building up of a more pros-
perous foreign trade. These laws and acts had a wholesome
effect, for they, together with the excellent facilities which the
forests and the waterways of our section of the State then and
now offer to shipbuilding, caused the colonists of Beaufort and
other counties to have a pretty fair sized colonial merchant
marine at the time of the outbreak of the Revolution. This is
proved by the attention paid to the importance of not shipping
any necessities out of the province, either in home or foreign bot-
toms, during the Revolution.

The colonial commerce of Beaufort County, then, considering
the fact that it is situated on a broad, navigable river, and that
it contains the town of Bath, one of the earliest ports of entry,
was, despite the fact that all commerce in the colony was very
small until about the middle of the eighteenth century, a rather
important industry in the county. It was the sole means of the
people’s exchanging their products for money. It was the way
in which the people kept in touch with the outside world. It was
the method used to obtain the few luxuries of life that were used
in the county in pre-Revolutionary times.e Altogether, it was an
important influence in the life of colonial Beaufort County; it
was one of the greatest influences for good in the county, and it
was the means of making the fortunes and names of several fam-
jlies whose descendants now live among us.

%§, R., XXIII, 45-46.
4Ibid., p. 401.

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
  
 
 
   
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

James Sprunr Hisrorrcat Pusricariong

PIRACY IN THE COUNTY.

. ea ma ee of Colonial Beaufort County, when we have
ee : at ain and trade of pre-Revolutionary times,
ee ee : e subject of piracy silently by. The commerce
eee eee with the geographical features of the
Cane ina et Carolina, and our nearness to the Bermudas

est indies as a whole, made the ports on the sounds

Us we speak of pirates and pirac
as 11 we were transported into a second age of semi.

lawlessness and adve
; $ mture, so marvelous and i
highway robbery seem. But, nevertheless ieee

vite Ing up of this “govern-
: ace ae x both troubles among themselves and GSE as
eae : e iat energy of the King’s fleets. With Henr.
Se a oe idd, Hornigold, or Vane, real kings of ie
tie wi fe concern ourselves, for these never made an
ue 's on the sounds of the Eastern Carolina coast of whi i
ave record, but Edward Teach, or “Black Beard.” 7
commonly known in the legends which sch seat

his bold and lawless deeds in and near Maar feat

Bath, and Major Steed

eee Thack or Thatch or Teach, as his surname is vari-
i Nase nae Ae a disciple of the noted Hornigold, and though
1s headquarters at New Provid rah

P Congeee ; ovidence in the Bahamas
part of his career, he it w. i :

: . as who a little 1
eee held the people of Bath and the surtoeaiiien geeaee
ong the banks of the Pamlico at his mercy. He made his

 

Some Cononrat History or Beaurorr County 33

headquarters in the latter part of his career almost entirely on

the waters of Pamlico and Albemarle sounds.

Teach was composed of the stuff necessary to make a success-
ful pirate. He was a large, dark man physically; his will was as
strong as his physique. He was passionate to the extreme; he
caroused and ate and drank as hard and as heartily as the famous
robber barons of medieval Europe. He was fond of luxuries, and
despite his fierce mien, due to a superabundance of long black
whiskers, from which he derived his nickname, Black Beard, he
was amiable to women generally.41 In keeping with his nature,
he had some eight or more wives, a state of matrimony only
equaled in modern times by wealthy Mohammedans and by excep-
tional cases among the Mormons. ‘Teach’s unlawful method of
gaining a living was thus in perfect accord with his general tem-
perament.

The depredations of the pirates of the Bahamas became such
frequent and serious affairs that it was necessary for something to
be done to suppress their general lawlessness. The commerce of
the Bath, Albemarle, Archdale, and Clarendon counties with Vir-
ginia and with the New England colonies was a growing one. The
cargoes which these colonial merchantmen carried were often very
valuable, and were consequently the coveted objects of many a
piratical eye, since not only French and Spanish ships were mo-
lested, but also the merchantmen of the colonies or the mother

country itself. So troublesome had these pirates made themselves,
and so risky had commerce become, that it became necessary for
the King to issue a general pardon to all those who had been
engaged in piratical depredations, and who would, within one
year, surrender themselves and take an oath not to engage in this
unlawful enterprise again. Many of these pirates acceded to the
terms of the pardon, gave up this illegal method of living, and
“pecame planters and good citizens in several of the colonies.4?
Teach also pretended to agree to the generous terms of the
proclamation of Charles IT., and he accordingly settled at Bath.

His resolutions (if he ever made any) were soon broken; the
thrilling sensations of a chase, a few broadsides, a hand-to-hand

4tAshe, Our Own Pirates. “Booklet,” v. 2.
“Ibid.

 
   
  
  
 
   
   
 
 
 
  
  
 
   
   
    
   
   
 
 
 
   
  
   
  
  
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

34 Jamus Sprunr Historica Pusrications

struggle—and then the grim satisfaction of having his unfortu-
nate enemies walk the plank proved too much for his wild and
bloody nature. In November of the same year he set sail from
Bath and began all his freebooting anew. He sailed the seas,
armed both ship and crew, and his name became a terror to every
mariner. His ship was of the kind which had clean heels, and
he could chase, strike, plunder, and sink or burn a ship and slip
away again before he could be taken. The commerce of the Caro-
lina colonies almost ceased to exist, and Charles,
Sent some of the most skillful English officers to put an end to a
part of the buccaneering of the Bermuda outlaws. These loyal
seamen of Charles II. succeeded in capturing some of the robbers,
but not Teach nor Major Bonnett, who had become Black Beard’s

running mate, since these two bold buccaneers were off on a cruise
at the time their headquarters were taken,

Exulting in his havin
strength and the fleetness
nett, sailed the seas,
established anew the
his bravery and darin
our colony,

in desperation,

& escaped, and conscious of his own
of his ships, Teach, together with Bon-
becoming more of a terror than ever. He
old order of the buccaneers, and, because of
g, he became their leader.
though it was necessarily small, wa
the trade of South Carolina with other colonies or with the mother
country was also broken up. The King sent Sir Woods Rogers
to drive these pirates off the seas, He captured all of those he
found at Providence with the exception of Vane, Bonnett, and
Black Beard, who were away on a cruise, and thus escaped cap-
ture. But luck was not always with Teach, for, upon repairing
to the coast of North Carolina, two of his ships, his flagship and
another sloop, were wrecked at Topsail Inlet in June, 1717.

As a result of this misfortune some of his crew deserted him,
going to the middle colonies, settling, and becoming good citizens.
This gave Teach another opportunity to take advantage of a
second pardon, which he was to have received from the King upon
his surrendering at Bath. Teach, however, was only pretending
to reform, for he again took to piracy after a short rest. On his
outward voyage he captured two French merchantmen loaded
with the products of semi-tropical countries, part of which con-

The commerce of
s paralyzed, and

 

 

5
Some Coronzat History or Braurorr County 3

sisted of chocolate, sweetmeats, loaf base ae ae
i the night of the 0
ies.43 These ships he took, and on :
ee tember he entered Ocracoke Inlet and proceeded to place a
b ot; ae as safe a place as possible, leaving a part of din! -
Hous of Tobias Knight at Bath. ah en eee sen
i rf have been ta
ie Knight or Governor Eden to : :
ce not not certain,?> though the people mba er
oi Teach. He had robbed a perianger of bei eh é 2
i Pamlico River on the
hant of Pasquotank, in the
Ge ides of September, tad had taken over seventy-five pounds in
and goods.
ae the common people—the populace at ee Meee
most when any outrage is committed, and a is ee ee pa!
i i i i d either personally or thro ¢
rise up in their might and ei ; ae
i titution. The people sent a :
agents make their own rest a ee
i Spotswood, and a peti
to the Governor of Virginia, po ; mae
i i his pest of a pirate. Sp
ficient to rid the colony of t
ae with great secrecy, and, securing two oHlcens) ey
Maynard and Captain Brand, from His Majesty’s ships the i iY) ee
and the “Pearl,” which were then lying in Chesapeake Bay, ‘ ie
them command over two well-armed and equipped sloops 0 a
They sailed for Ocracoke on the 17th of aoe oe ee
i f the 21st. ey fou
Ocracoke Inlet on the evening 0 -
Beard on the inside of the bar, and, anchoring, they peer ay
pass the night, having the treacherous Teach bottled up in
; d.46
va pa morning found both Maynard and Teach ready ee
deadly combat. The ships maneuvered, each trying to iy :
ay ae e of the other, and here it seems as if the ee 3)
he aes for they were familiar with the bars and shoa :
hh the etudking vessels had to feel their way, so to speak.
s one of Maynard’s ships grounded, and a broadside ales:
Tench killed or wounded some twenty of his crew. But bi eee
lieutenant had come there either to take Teach or to -kille

in the attempt; he did the former. After a series of maneuvers,
L ?

#80. R., II, 342.

SIbid,, 841-349

ST bi S 5 4
wid. Our Own Pirates. ‘‘Booklet,” v. 2.

     

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    
 
 
 
  
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
  
   
   
 
 
   
  
    

 

 

 

 

 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
   
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

36 Jamus Srrunr Hisrorican Pusrications

and a hand-to-hand struggle, the pirates were taken, only after
Black Beard had fallen, faint and mortally wounded. There is
one story that says Teach’s head was cut off and was affixed to
the bowsprit of Maynard’s ship as she sailed into Bath Creek.
Certain it is, however, that the pirates were taken; that their
plunder was carried to Virginia and sold at auction by the gov-
ernment upon the recommendation and testimony of Captain

Brand, the confiscated goods bringing the large sum of 2,238

pounds; and that the commerce of the colonies again began to

flow along at its normal pulse.47

In the narrative of the story of the capture of Teach, Maynard
is probably due most of the credit. His vessel remained clear,
unlike that of Brand, which grounded. It is well to note that
Maynard was responsible to Captain Brand, who was commander-
in-chief of the two sloops.48 It is also to be noted that Major
Steed Bonnett was not at hand when Teach was taken, but that
he continued his life of a sea-marauder until he was finally cap-
tured and hanged in Charleston by Colonel William Rhett. Thus
passed two pirates whose daring and bloodiness and whose inti-
mate knowledge of and interest in our county form remarkable

contrasts to our knowledge of present-day life on and around Pam-
lico and Albemarle sounds,

These pirates were products of their
are products of the times in which we
with good intentions,
had permits to prey

times, just as we today
live. They often began
and lived within the law, for they usually
upon the commerce of France and Spain,
who were in those times almost continually at war with England.
But when French or Spanish merchantmen were scarce, it was

too great a temptation to many of these buccaneers to allow

a richly laden vessel flying the English flag to pass unmolested.

When they had once broken the law it was the next and only

logical step to become a pirate, as a great many of these commis-
sioned privateers did.

Piracy, even, was not regarded as such a dreadful crime e
by the unfortunate shi

result of their depred

“O°R., IT, 384,
*Ibid., 322.

xcept
powners or ship crews who suffered as a

ations. Pirates often received favor from

 

 

87
Some Cotonzat History or Beavrorr County

high officials in the Colonial Government; respect was almost oe
Re accorded them. It appeared after the capture of Teac
si both Governor Charles Eden and Tobias pee oy na
i been aware of the real nature
f the Council, must have J

ae and Tees of this pirate.*9 Knight bie pare he
appear before the Governor and his council, and, t oug: Mau
aera clear himself, he was never secretary again, dying
month or so afterwards.

SOCIAL LIFE IN THE COUNTY.

Early social life in Beaufort County, as well as in ae pees
counties of the colony, was hardly worthy of the ae aaa
people were kind, and meant well, but owing to the a a aioe
early life in the vast wildernesses of the eastern part of oe 2
there was little time to be ne Be ee a he

8 s danger from the Indians; ere t
toil ae i masters and hee a an

i in the case of the wealthy planter,
ee case of the less opulent settlers; there was also ore
sparseness of settlement that intercourse between a ee a
nearest neighbors might take up the best part of a week. ae

About the beginning of the eighteenth century ae ae
what was then Bath County s ee ne a ane eats
county was becoming more thickly settled, anes

d huts of the first settlers began to be replace’ by t :
ae at least, of that type of southern ee ee es
distinguished as the colonial mansion. Some ew o rites:
were constructed of brick, me eee ear ee
frame buildings, not particularly han ‘ etures; vee

i ing an aspect of quiet and dignified onesty.
The We a eae Canoe was, as I have said, ee
nae each plantation or farm being of necessity its Gis es
é it, and life. Right here we are able to account for t e
ae Haier is so widespreadly known as “true Southern hospi-
tality.” «People, secluded as they were, were always glad when visi-

40, R., II, 341-349.

    

 

 
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SE a

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

38

 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
  

Jamus Srrunr Hisrorican Pusrications

tors or travelers came their way, for human nature likes and will

have the companionship of other men’s society whenever it is pos-

sible to obtain it. Thus the traveler, whether stranger or friend,

was a bearer of news; he was one who could break the monotony
of the seclusion of early colonial farm life. Hence it was that the
latch-string always hung on the outside, and hence it is that the
southern colonies generally were characterized by their hospi-
tality.

Until a comparatively late date there was but one church in

our present county of Beaufort, and this was the church of St.
Thomas Parish at Bath. The

before the church was built in

from England. But, aside from this, the religious life of Bath
County was, like the farm life

, isolated and necessarily self-con-
tained and sustained on each farm. The head of the family
always instructed his sons and his slaves in some of the funda-
mental principles of ethics and religion, and in the case of the
wealthier planters,

where there was some one who could read,
passages from Holy Writ were read to the family and the as-

particular one George Chalmers,
who have been misled as a result.
writer, have said that the colonists
coercion of laws, or the influences of
Now, it has been proved bey:
of Beaufort County were,
settlers, ardent believers in
religious freedom, but it is
whole colony was essentially
support the ministers as they
when money was the scarcest
been too unnatural, too radie

ists, who, either directly or
other colonies),
from the observ.

a British historian, and those
of following this uninformed
“derived no benefit from the
religion.” 50

ond a doubt that these early settlers
as were all the other early colonial
individual liberty and untrammeled
too condemnatory to say that the
bad simply because they failed to
were expected, or to pay their tithes
thing in the county. It would have
al a thing to happen for the colon-
somewhat indirectly (through the
came from England, to have so quickly departed
ance of the rules of the Anglican Church, espe-

“Chalmers, Political Annals of the Present United Colonies, p. 166.

 

  

Some Coronrat History or Braurort County 39
i North Carolina for religious
aoamees ny earns though churches were an
pe ne i at times disobedient, we may safely cone
A i nace the early Beaufort ee sei cher
Eee ae i Mind and the Body.
see lacie mie people gathered gee:
ee ial ews groups. They came to the courts an uae
ee The ge seldom left their homes long i i fae
Pe did TS they might expect to return a ee aa
see robbed, or burned by Ga rte a ea
ns ea Maca e eae the primeval forests fa
ag canteen for tilling. Whole forests of ies ae pe Z
ies i i and destroyed in thi i
ae itt ae cede “t unmatchable pine lumber ae
ie i together by slaves and burnt, merely to get : e
ae ee satel were our great-grandfathers, and yet they
a i Abbess these occasions of neighborly aid there ae
a i a és merriment, the brandy jug always being Z
an “N otwithstanding this, these log-rollings were a a8
earn a social life that was otherwise very monotonous,
a
Moin is ee geesiat 1713, of the Indian ee rites
the county became more thickly eae bie ae RTC
Hee a eet ie srk broken, and the colony ie
= iene ha ears 1717 and 1735; the population o ee
ae NOL ouieay increased from about 9,000 to ie py
Nr era fe were, according to MeCulloh, about 0, f
goer : ‘th seats In 1732, according to the pier
the Be eae the whites were “full 30,000 ae the
aa 008 2 If we are to believe Mr. McCulloh’s state-
seb e oe j he number of whites, and follow the same ratio
Sie tad ete given by Burrington, then the population
= bed si coats said, about 50,000 souls, especially since
of 1 was,

‘Raper, Social. Life in Colonial North Carolina.
80, R., II, xvii.

“Booklet,” v. 3.

 

 
 
   
  
   
   
   
  
 
  
 
   
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Y seems to be against the historians who
place the number at a smaller figure.

The beginning of the days of peace, plenty,
marked the establishment of some of the oldest and most renowned

families in Beaufort County. The Readings, the Blounts, the

Bonners, the Ormonds, the Roulhaes, the Respesses, the Browns,

the Barrows, the Pattons and numerous other families whose
names are familiar all over the county, came and settled immedi-
ately after the Indian war of 1711, if they did not already live
there. The greater part of these men were of the upper class,

mbers of slaves, and the life
distance that often separated
at these early colonial homes,®
“gay ladies in rich brocades trod

allant partners.” The stately halls
and the voices of th

and prosperity

they led was a Say one, despite the
their estates. Balls were often given

where, according to tradition,
the stately minuets with their g¢
Were resonant with music
and the hospitable tables
choicest foods then to
richly ; tapestry, plate,
linen were very often i
social life in Colonia]
gay and brilliant, this
To summarize, then,
Beaufort County was a

brocaded mahogany furniture and fine
mported from England. Altogether the
Beaufort County from 1725 to 1775 was
being true especially of the upper classes. ©
we may say that the early colonial life of
rather hard one; that for a time the most

om coming for thirty or forty years

after the earliest settlements were made. We have also seen how

the population,

  

and colony passed from under proprietary

We have also seen that with the growth
i in particular, that social life assumed a

 

 

 

— eS

  

Som CoLoniIAL History OF Bravurort County
County a part of rural colon, well content but ambitious, aw-
uty p: a Cc Y> 1
g
abiding but thorou, hly infused with the ideas of liberty and inde-

e, and, as a who e, as ppy, as gen us, as Tal ui, an
pendence y Ly ha S ero faithful, d

ection 0: y iginal
i f any other of the origin:

i t as any Si

as nearly independen: yi

thirteen colonies.»

NTY
BEAUFORT COU
ICAL NOTES ON

BIOGRAPH SRRCONLGES:

i Town,

-1722, an owner of land in Bath 5

aoe ane ie ie menor profit, and trust in fe ee

al gui lake one of the chief figures in the Carey Re 3 ear

sabe ae the grand row that was stirred up over - ae as

a ee tN rth Carolina. He held offices in both ee pee
Soren being ex officio governor of this provine

ow

1704 to 1710.

ided

The only Colonial Governor who ever ae meee er se

t Bath ay any length of time was Charles ace yee ae

: x from 1712 until 1722, when he died. Bb ice

Creek in Bertie County, near ees ae Be ae eee

an to successiully ce e 4

a eee a Se his rule the Indians were subdued, an
whic! F

3 :

the colony prospered. Eden it was who was accused of being one
gs accomplices, but this accusation lacks pr .

of Teach 1 t th t lack oof. Prob-

bly there was only envy and malice back of the accusation.
ably there

lishman who came to North Caro-
aes PR gt eae century. He re e be
lina in y he das i yning, and was justice of the General 0 :
of considerable lea sited a member of the provincial ome
ee see Proprietors. He was major of es ae
ie aa ae Saath Carolina in 1712; captured by the are
an eee collector of customs, and attorney-general. In
in the sam i

 
 

 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
   
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
     
  
    
   
   
   
   
    
    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

42 James Sprunr Historica Pustications
1712 he became chief justice,
he was reinstated into the offic
He was one of the original ve
appointed in 1715.

turned, being made ¢

holding this office until 1717. Again
e in 1722, when he served two years.
strymen of St. Thomas Parish, being
He went to England in 1724, but soon re-

hief justice for the third time. In 1727 he
Was appointed one of the commissioners to run the b

tween North Carolina and Virginia.
Harvey, widow of Governor Harvey.
Chowan, though he resided at Bath for

oundary be-
His wife was Mrs. Sara

He died at Edenton, in
the most of his life.

 

Tobias Knight, secretary to the government of Carolina, ves-

fryman in the original vestry of St. Thomas Parish, dep

John Danson and Lord Craven, Lords Proprietors, lived at Bath.

In Governor Eden’s time he was suspected of being confederate
with Edward Teach, the pirate. He was a collector of the cus-

toms, and was chief justice for a short time before his death.

 

John Lawson, Surveyor-general of North Carolina until his

death in September, 17 11, at the hands of the Indians, was a citi-
zen and a landowner i

veyor. .

chronicler who wrote Lawson’s History of North Carolina, as it is
generally known today, is no small one.

 

Dr. Patrick Maule was another of the first vestrymen of St.
Thomas Church. “Mr, Maule, my Deputy, is a man of learning,
and has a plentiful fortune,” says Edmond Porter, Esquire, judge
of the admiralty court.53| He had been deputy surveyor, and was
one of the trustees appointed for the Bath Library in 1715. He
was also justice of the peace for Beaufort precinct, and lived at
Maule’s Point, below Bath, which still holds his name.
ried Mary, daughter of John Porter, senior.54

80. R., IIT, 514.
See elsewhere in these notes.

He mar-

 

uty to.

 

TY 43
Somer Cotontat History or Braurort Coun

chasers of land in the Town

pie ae eR in the annals ie ae
Rake ae Paso he is not very intimately Bash ue
oa ears 3 th and Beaufort County. He was a mem ates
He eae 1105; Virginia boundary line commissioner a
ey apes 17 28; public treasurer in 1715; pela lei :
x i jne commissi
: ae ae a eu 5 ne baron of the ae
Re eee to run Granville’s line in hs an
ee Re ae aly at various times after 1715.

 

i invested
four men in whom was iveste
Porter was one of the 1 D Nor ce
eiaenaat of the town of Bath after its aapavaineanre a |
ae He was speaker of the Assembly in eee e bi gen
ber of the general court, attorney-general, ane ee
ue council at later dates. He eT ae ee tie
i i inst tyranny for ther
eople in their fight agains aT
ante the popular side in the Carey Rebellion.

il
he assembly, of the council,
Imer was a member of t 3 0 mr
Han een general of His Majesty’s late ee, me ae
re Ao Palmer lived at Bath, and was a eatin mes
Beers Church, wherein the body of his wite

a y> e
Joh Worley, a vestryman of Chowan Pp arish, a member of th
council, and a justice of the general court, lived on the tract of
land on which W ashington stands between the years 1727 and 1729.

 

‘rimes, Some rt Nort ‘arolina Biographres. mn ay Program, 1904.
beac 8 Short North Carolina Biographies. No th Carolina D:

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   
 
   
   
    
       
  
     

two seats in the general assembly, and

the Bath

with meetings.
Sary to the welfare of the col

royal statutes of Great Britain.
welfare of the province, and in sh

1731 Edward Salter, Simon Alderson
1733 Maj. Robert Turner,
1734 Edward Salter, Maj. Robert Turner
1735 Maj. Robert Turner,
1740 Simon Alderso
1742 Simon Alderson
1744 John Barrow, Benjamin Peyton
1746 John Barrow, Be
1747 John Barrow, Benjamin Peyton...
1749 John Barrow, Wyriot Ormond....
1753 John Barrow, Wyriot Ormond
1754 John Hardy, William Spier
1755 John Hardy, William Spier
1758 John Hardy, William Spier...

James Sprunr Hisrortcar Pusticarions

Town Act, was entitled to one member.

The assembly passed such laws as were neces-

ony which were not embraced in the
It provided for the safety and

From Beaufort County From Bath Town

BUickad tion enn ra Roger Kenyon
Dr. Patrick Maule. . -.-John Lahey
- Roger Kenyon
.. Roger Kenyon
. Roger Kenyon
--Robert Turner
- Michael Coutanch
+++...Wyriot Ormond
easier Michael Coutanch
otro Michael Coutanch
-..-Michael Coutanch
--.-Michael Coutanch
- Michael Coutanch
- Michael Coutanch
--Michael Coutanch
- Michael Coutanch
. Robert Palmer
aO00 .Wyriot Ormond
arrow, Thomas Bonner... -..Wyriot Ormond
Sete lstengiete a ON Patrick Gordon

 
    

Dr. Patrick Maule.
nm, Benjamin Peyton
, Benjamin Peyton

 
  
  
  
  

njamin Peyton

 

maa ae aN ey
SSS ee

 

  

45
EAUFORT CouNTY

i History or B

Some Cotonta:

From Bath Town

Bact Peter Blinn
1767 John Barrow, Thomas Respess.....--+++-- Wyriot Ormond

eS Hare....-.s sere s teres ees John Maule
88 ey Pete Mons AC eee ananunei aren Wyriot Greene
1713 Thomas Respess, Roger Ormond... al sess.) .Wyriot Ormon
1773 poe cca ROESE Ormond (S - William Brown
ATS panos Reece Roger Ormond... 4.0.2.1... ).William Brown
is Themes Respess, Jr., Roger Ormond....

Year From Beaufort County
eal

 
  

 

 

  

Beaufort County was well represented at each of the provincial

fare of the
i ide for the safety and we
hich met to provide | palin
aE Ais peated congress which met at noe pa 2s oe
a At 4, Roger Ormond and Thomas Respess repre
Gana. oar William Brown sat for Bath. ee
ag the second provincial congress which me Ne ee
17 7 were present Roger Ormond and Thomas ea oe aoe
i Beaufort County, and William Brown a ee
eae te third provincial congress which assem a Fete
a ? 95 1775, Roger Ormond, Thomas ees é Beate Sh
ae d J ohn ones represented Beaufort County
ten, an
i ane i i 6, Roger
es ste congress, met at Halifax, April 4, me Be ae
aed Thomas Respess, Jr., and John aes es
ae ee William Brown again represente ee ees
in ee last provincial congress which met at

Ww. Respess, Jr., Francis
M . John Barrow, Thomas ee
os i peer eee sat for Beaufort County, and William
ones,

: inted
Brown for. Bath Town: ting at Hillsboro, appointe
i ovineial congress, meeting ty James
ve ae He Continental Regiment of ee ee nes
ie ena Thomas Bonner, Lieutenant-Colonel ;
jonner, 3

mond, ist Major, and William Brown, 2d Major.
?

 
lev 27
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