Clemens, William. North & South Carolina Marriages Records from the Earliest Colonial Days to the Civil War, Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1977
- Hinkle, Charles & Susanna March 13 May 1797 Rowan Co., NC - grandparents
- Hinkle, George & Frances Shaffer, 17 Sep. 1795 Rowan Co., NC
- Hinkle, John & Mary Rosenbum 26 Feb. 1790 Rowan Co., NC
- Hinkle, Michael & Sarah Beecham 26 Nov. 1787 Rowan Co., NC
- Hinkle, William & Elender Hunter 11, Dec. 1793 Rowan Co., NC
Draughon, Eleanor. Duplin County, North Carolina Abstracts of Deeds, 1784-1813 Vol. I, Rose Hill, NC: Duplin County Historical Society, nd.
Book 1A - p. 190 - William O'Daniel to Samuel Tanner, both of Dupln Co., 3 Feb. 1785, for 24 pds. specie money 100 acres on the north side of the Northeast Cape Fear on the upper side of Smith's Branch lying between Theophilus Williams' line & joining the sd. branch, being part of 200 acres taken up by Jesse Barfield joining Kornegay's line & Stephen Barefield's line. Wit: Thomas Tanner, John Durrell, Oct. Ct. 1785.
Book 3A - p. 278 - John Durall, planter, to his son David Dural both of Duplin Co., 9 Sept. 1797, for "love & affection" 100 acres on the north side of the Northeast Swamp, it being par of a survey granted to Stephen Barfield & by him conveyed to sd. John Dural, beg. at a red oak & runs along the patented line. Wit: John Whitehead, Jos. Whitfield. Jan. Ct. 1798.
Book 4A - p. 342 - Major (X) Searles to Bryan Minshew, both of Duplin Co., 23 Mar. 1809, for 160 pds. 6 shill. & 3 pence 300 acres in 2 tracts to wit: 1) 200 acres beg. at a pine in sd. Searles' field, near the house, down the run of Rooty Branch to Durel's line, to a dividing line between sd. Searles & David Durel, being part of a survey of 300 acres patented by Stephen Barfield 9 Oct. 1782; 2) 100 acres beg. at a pine called Samuel Tanner's corner & runs to a pine by sd. Searles' field, to the Rooty Branch, joining Kornegay, to a bunch of bays in the head of Hog Pen Branch, in the old line a new corner made for Bryan Whitfield, to a black jack in the old line on the north side of the Little Sand Hill Pocosin, being part of a survey of 180 acres patented by John Dural 16 Mar. 1799. Wit: Charles William
Book 4A - p. 363 - William Creech of Duplin Co., to Neeham Whitfield of Wayne Co., 22 Feb. 1810 for 25 pds. 160 acres granted by patent to David Dural 28 Nov. 1805 & from him to William Creech, on the north side of the Northeast on BS of the main road beginning at a pine Samuel Tanner's corner, joining Whitfield in the edge of Horsepen Pocosin & joining Kornegay, going through the Sand Hill Pocosin. Wit: Joseph Whitfield, Benjamin Herring. Oct. Ct. 1811
Book 4A - p. 365 - Bryan (X) Minshew of Wayne Co. to Robert Peal of Duplin Co., 17 Jan. 1811, for $390, 100 acres on the north side of the Northeast River, being part of 2 tracts to wit: 1) the 1st piece (acreage not given) beg. at a pine Robert Sirls' field, near the sd. Bryan Minshew, down the run of Rooty Branch to Dural's line, to the dividing line of sd. Sirls & Daniel Dural, being part of a survey of 300 acres patented by Stephen Barfield 9 Oct. 1782; 2) the 2nd piece (acreage not given) beg. at a pine Samuel Tanner's corner joining sd. Sirls' field, now Bryan Minshew's, joining Kornegay, with the patent line to a small pine & a bunch of bays in the Hog Pen Branch, in the old line, a new corner made for Bryan Whitfield, to a black jack in the old line on the side of the Little Sand Hill Pocosin, being part of a survey of 180 acres patented by John Dural 16 Mar. 1799. Wit: ---- Whitfield, J.T. Bryan, Oct. Ct. 1811.
Holcomb, Brent. Bute County, North Carolina Minutes of the Court of Pleas & Quarter Sessions, 1767-1779, Columbia, SC: no imprint 1988.
9 Aug. 1769 - On the petition of John Fox. Ordered that he be recommended to the General Assembly as a proper Object to be Exempt from paying public taxes.
13 Feb. 1771 - James Perry is appointed overseer of the road from Cedar Creek to St. Johns Chapple, and that the hands of John Perry, Jeremiah Perry, Thomas Hunt, Henry Baker, David Mimms, James Butler, Henry Medlin, Daniel Potter & Thomas Mullins assist him in keeping the same in repair.
14 Aug. 1771 - The Grandjurors for the body of this County being Impaneled & Sworn to wit . . . Jeremiah Perry. . .
12 May 1772 - Grand jury sworn to wit . . . Joseph Wright . . . Jeremiah Perry . . .
13 May 1772 - Ordered that . . . William Perry . . . Joseph Wright . . . Jeremiah Perry . . . view the way for a road to be cleared. Beginning for the same at Ferrills bridge & running the best and convenient way up Crooked Creek into Masseys road near the head of the Creek, and Ordered that the same be cleared by the hands belonging to . . . Ephraim Perry . . .
14 Aug. 1772 - Ordered that . . . William Perry, . . . Joseph Wright . . . Jeremiah Perry . . . view the way for a road to be cleared beginning at Crooked Creek bridge and running the best way to Little River bridge where Masseys road crosses and ordered the same be cleared by the hands of . . . Ephraim Perry . . .
10 Aug. 1774 - Jury in Williams vs. Smith case - . . . Jeremiah Perry . . . the above jurors sworn and find a verd't for plaintiff for ￡ 12.1.9 and costs.
9 Aug. 1775 - A Deed of Gift from John Massey to Burrell Perry & Elizabeth his wife was proved by the oath of James Perry at Witness thereto and on Motion the same is ordered to be recorded.
9 Aug. 1775 - Ordered that Jeremiah Perry be overseer of the road from St. Johns Chapple to Cedar Creek and it is also Ordered that he keep the same in repair with the hands usually working thereon.
13 Feb. 1777 - Henry Hill Jun'r. is appointed Overseer of the road from Masseys Bridge to Cedar Creek near Perrys, and ordered that he keep the same in repair with the hands usually working thereon.
13 Feb. 1777 - Joel Parrish is appointed Overseer of the road from Simms' Ford to Cedar Creek, and Ordered that he keep the same in repair with the hands usually working thereon.
13 Feb. 1777 - James Gupton is appointed overseer of the road in the room of Benjamin Perry from Hooffs to Nelms's, and ordered that he keep the same in repair with the hands usually working thereon.
13 May 1777 - A Deed from Daniel Potter to Jeremiah Perry was proved by the oath of Charles Darnal a witness thereto and on Motion the same is Ordered to be registered.
13 May 1777 - A Deed from Joseph Wright to Charles Darnal was proved by the oath of Jeremiah Perry a witness thereto and on Motion the same is Ordered to be Registered.
15 May 1777 - Garrett Goodloe who appeared in Court by Virtue of a recognizance taken before Henry Hill Esq'r. for begetting a male bastard child on the body of Elizabeth Abbott having satisfied the said Abbott in regard to the injury is released from the said recognizance by giving Jeremiah Perry and James Merony securitys for indemnifying the parish from the maintenance of the said child.
8 Feb. 1778 - A Deed from Richard Lovett to John Parish was proved by the oath of John Sandland a Witness thereto and on Motion the same is Ordered to be registered.
10 Feb. 1778 - Ordered that William Stringfellow be overseer of the road from Simms Ford to Cedar Creek in the room of Joel Parish and ordered that he keep the same in repair with the hands usually working thereon.
12 February 1778 - John Parish is appointed constable in Cap't. Richard Williams District, and ordered that he be sworn before some Justice of this County before he Enter into the Execution of his said Office.
13 February 1778 - On motion of Henry Hill Esq'r. for administration on the Estate of Jeremiah Perry dec'ed. Ordered that the sheriff Summon Willis Perry Eldest son of the said Deceased to shew Cause why administration should not be granted to the said Henry Hill.
12 May 1778 - Administration on the estate of Jeremiah Perry dec'ed. was granted to Willis Perry.
14 May 1778 - Ordered that John Parish Constable summon all the Inhabitants in Capt. Richard Williams Company to give in upon oath an inventory of all their assessable property to Robert Goodloe Esq'r. according to Law, and it is also ordered that Richard Williams, Nathan Thomas and Joseph McGehe be and they are hereby appointed to assess all the property of the Inhabitants agreeable to Law and it is further ordered that Samuel High be and is hereby appointed Collector in the said district and that he give bond with Sufficient Security before he Enter into the Execution of his said office.
14 May 1778 - Thomas Stripling(?) be overseer of the road in the room of John Perry and ordered that She [sic] keep the same in repair with the hands usually working thereon.
14 Aug. 1778 - William Green Entry taker returned into Court a List of Caveats made and Entered in his Office and Ordered to be recorded as P List viz . . . Rebecca Perry vs against Thomas Arrendell &c; Burwell Perry against Daniel Potter &c . . .
14 Aug. 1778 - Administration of the Estate of Jeremiah Perry dec'ed. was granted to Willis Perry who was qualified &c and Entered into & Executed a bond with Thomas Sherrod & Patewells Milner his Securitys for his faithful administration the said Estate & Letters of Administration was granted to him &c.
15 Aug. 1778 - Ordered the Sheriff Sell the Estate of Jeremiah Perry deceased between this and next Court.
Kerr, Mary. Warren County North Carolina Records, Vol. I, Spartanburg, SC: the Reprint Company, 1983
Bute County Record Book 1, p. 58 - Will of John Moldersly, 27 Nov. 1765. Rcd. July Court 1766 at which time Amy, the widow, took oath as Executrix. Wife mentioned but not named in will. "My children" mentioned but not named except for son Young. Mentions tract of land formerly belonging to Ambras Crann, north side of Cedar Creek where I now live, an entry of land adj. Pace, and land adj. Cornal [Colonel?] Jeffreys to be surveyed on my count in the name of Ralph Rathal(?). Trustees: Jereymier Perre [Jeremiah Perry] and Thomas Arnoll, with my wife. Wit: Thomas Bridges, Wm. Bridges, Jonas Croslen.
Bute County Record Book 2 p. 50 - Inventory of Estate of Jeremiah Perry, dec'd. Willis Perry, Administrator. Recorded August Court 1778.
Bute County Record Book 2, p. 58 - Account of Sale of Estate of David Young, dec'd. Henry Hill, Sheriff. Mentions: Mrs. Young, Sam'l. Williams, Charles Darnall, James Young, James Merony, Thomas Jones, Adam Jones, Jere. Perry [Jeremiah Perry], Jesse Rowland, Jo. Bridges, Burrell Perry, Wm. Cook, Henry Hill. Recorded August Court 1778.
Bute County Marriage Bonds
- Mealer, James & Saly Harris 3 Jan. 1778, Bondsman Fedrick Harris, Witness John Parrish
- Perry, James & Mary Cooper, 14 Aug. 1778, Thomas Sherrod bondsman
- Perry, Jeremiah & Frances Massey 26 May 1778 Willis Perry bondsman
- Strickland, Mathew & Mary Perry 5 Jan. 1774 John Richards bondsman, Thos. Machen witness
McDonald, Cecil. Some North Carolina Marriages 1760-1799, Vol. 1, no imprint, 1983
- Solomon Stalcup & Elizabeth Gillin, 10 Dec. 1799, Orange Co.
McEachern, Leora. Duplin County Court of Pleas & Quarter Sessions Abstract of Minutes 1784-1787, Part 1, Kenansville, NC: James Sprunt Institute & Duplin County Registrar of Deeds, 1978
October 1785 - Friday Morning - Court met at 9 o'clock according to adjournment. Deed: William O'Daniel to Samuel Tanner for 100 acres, proved by John Durrell: Ordered registered.
McEachern, Leora. Duplin County Court of Pleas & Quarter Sessions, Part 3 - 1791-1795, Kenansville, NC: James Sprunt Institute & Duplin County Registrar of Deeds, 1978
July 1794 - Ordered following be Jury to lay off said Road & return same to next Court: Joseph Whitfield, James Outlaw, William Graddy, William Wilkins, Christopher Martin, Randall Rogers, Christopher Lawson, Alexander Fleming, Jerediah Blanshard, Lewis Barfield, Stephen Barfield, Michael Glisson, Samuel Alberson, John Durrell, Buckner Killibrue, they or any 12
McEachern, Leora. Duplin County Court of Pleas & Quarter Sessions, 1798-1803 Part 5, Rose Hill, NC: Duplin County Historical Society, 1982
Jan. 17, 1798 - Deed: John Durell to David Durell for 100 acres, proved by John Whitehead; Ordered registered.
July 1801 Tuesday morning: Court met at 10 o'clock according to adjournment. Reuben Wesson bound his son Alfred Wesson to David Durall to learn the hatters trade until age 21 & he hath given Bond & Security of ￡ 500.
January 18, 1803, Tuesday morning: Court met at 9 o'clock according to adjournment. Ordered David Durall discharged from his Bond or Indentures by which Alfred Weson was bound to him & that said Alfred be discharged from his said Indentures & service.
Ramsey, Robert. Carolina Cradle: Settlement of the Northwest Carolina Frontier, 1747-1762, Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, nd
- Map of the Maryland Pennsylvania Piedmont
- Map of Origins of Settlers on the Northwest Frontiers, Indicating the Counties of Settled Maryland, 1740
- Map of Original Townships Along the Susquehanna River, Lancaster County [PA], 1729
- Map of the Townships of Lancaster & Chester Counties [PA] 1740
- Map of the Bryan Settlement, 1747-48
- Map of the Irish Settlement 1747-49
- Map of the Davidson's Creek Settlement 1748-51
- Map of the Fourth Creek Settlement 1750-1762
- Map of the Davidson's Creek Settlement, 1752-1762 - McDowells
- Map of Original Land Grants in the Irish & Trading Camp Settlements, 1741-1762 - Wilson, Robinson, Sleven, Gardner
- Map of Presbyterian Congregations 1698-1730 & Early German Churches in Pennsylvania
- Map of the Beverly & Borden Grants 1736-1739
- Map of the Town Land of Salisbury, NC
The records of Rowan County, North Carolina, date as far back as 1752. These ancient land grants, deeds, wills, marriages and church and cemetery records contain the history of the northwest Carolina frontier, the doorway to the South and West. Rowan County originally included practically all of central and northwestern North Carolina and extended westward to the Mississippi River, having no western boundary line. . . .
In 1728, seven of the eight Lords Proprietors of Carolina sold their lands to the crown; only John Carteret, Earl of Granville, kept his share, consisting of the country lying south of the Virginia border to 35°34' north latitude. The southern boundary was surveyed from the coast to Bath in 1743, and then to the corner of what is now Chatham County, on Deep River. In 1746, the line was extended westward to Coldwater Creek at a point approximately fourteen miles southwest of the present site of Salisbury.
That section of the Granville district lying between the Yadkin and Catawba rivers consisted of a fertile, well-watered, virtually treeless meadow land. . . .
The movement of large numbers of people westward and southward from the Delaware Valley and Chesapeake Bay should be considered as two distinct yet interrelated migrations. The first began about 1710 and developed into the second, which continued steadily from 1725 until 1744. . . .
By 1747, a few intrepid adventurers had entered the country west of the Yadkin. . . .
By the fall of 1748, however, there was a sufficient number of settlers to warrant the formation of a new political unit out of the old county of Bladen. Accordingly, on September 29, 1748, Governor Gabriel Johnston declared that the county of Anson was in existence . . .
It is more difficult to determine when the earliest German settlers migrated to the Carolina frontier than it is to discover where they came from. The Germans, mostly of Rhineland origin, had in many cases not been naturalized. Furthermore, they were a minority and spoke a language totally unfamiliar to the first clerks, tax assessors, and justices of Anson or Rowan counties. Consequently, the early German immigrants rarely petitioned for warrants or surveys and were seldom issued land grants. They ventured but little into English-speaing areas of the county and generally conducted their legal affairs among themselves.
The public records reveal but two German settlers - Lorentz Schnepp and Peter Arndt - in the area of the Irish settlement prior to 1752. It is possible - even likely - that these and other Germans were among the earliest pioneers (1747-48) on the northwest Carolina frontier; but the evidence does not show it. . . .
Investigation of the initial settlers of that part of the Carolina frontier which later became Davie and Yadkin counties discloses two interesting facts. In the first place, the Scotch-Irish are curiously absent from the region. Secondly, with the exception of the Bryan community, there is nothing to indicate settlement prior to 1752.
The reasons for belated occupation of the land in the forks of the Yadkin are primarily geographic and economic. The region is rockier, more hilly, and less fertile than the land farther south. Too, the only entrance to the area was by way of the shallow ford, and the crossing there was controlled by Hughes, Davis, Carer, Forbush and Bryan. It was not until the choice land to the east and south had been occupied that settlers sought out homes in the forks of the Yadkin.
The immigrants to this region were largely of English stock, though there was a substantial number of Germans. Although the land grants of many are dated much later, a majority of these settlers were undoubtedly living in the area prior to 1756. In 1761, Governor Arthur Dobbs wrote that for seven years there had been very little immigration, first because of the Indian war to the north, and then because of the war with the Cherokees in North Carolina.
With the exception of a few individuals, it is impossible to state with any accuracy the year in which each settler arrived. However, as it seems certain that the large majority appeared between 1752 and 1756, this chapter shall be concerned with identifying the pioneers and indicating their origins, where known.
The German settlers north of the South Yadkin were . . . Jacob Henkel . . . Rudolph Mertz . . . The names of most of these immigrants may be found in the pages of Strassburger's compilation of German arrivals in Philadelphia during the eighteenth century. . . .
Eighteen-year-old Peter Vőgeli landed at Philadelphia in 1736. Thirteen years later, he and Jacob Vőlker were in Frederick County, Maryland. In 1756, Vőlker obtained a 656-acre tract (adjoining Squire Boone) in the forks of the Yadkin from Jacob Henkel. . . .
With the exception of Peter Arndt, Martin Pfeiffer and Lorentz Schnepp, the author has discovered nothing to indicate the settlement of German pioneers in what is now Rowan County prior to 1752. During the next ten years, however, the county court records, land grants, deeds, tax lists, and wills record the presence of forty-three Germans. . . .
It must be emphasized that some of these German pioneers may have been living on the Carolina frontier for several years prior to 1752, but proof is lacking. However, of the forty-three German immigrants considered in this chapter, only four are known to have landed in Philadelphia after 1751. An additional five seem to have been sons of earlier settlers. With the exception of Anthony Salz, Michael Bonacher, Conrad Bullen, Adam and Peter Bűttner and Peter Eary [sic] the remainder may be traced to Pennsylvania. The arrivals of at least twenty-eight of the forty-three German settlers are recorded in Strassburger's invaluable compilation of the German immigrants who landed in Philadelphia. . . .
By 1762, at least sixty-two pioneers had settled with their families on the fertile, undulating savannah land along the upper reaches of Third and Fourth Creek. Like most of the other settlers considered in this study, the newcomers were Scottish and Scotch-Irish Presbyterians from Maryland and Pennsylvania. Although a majority of the Fourth Creek settlers were "but lately come from Ireland," a considerable number were from families long settled in the colonies. . . .
The father of James Robinson settled on the north branch of the Shenandoah River in 1739. After the elder Robinson's death in 1751, James removed to Carolina. The evidence is inconclusive regarding the origin of James Robinson, senior. . . .
By far the largest of the frontier settlements was that centered at Thyatira Church and known as the Irish settlement. During the decade after March 1752, more than one hundred families, nearly all of Scotch-Irish origin, obtained title to lands there. Few of these immigrants were men of means, and few were elected or appointed to public office. Nevertheless, they comprised the bulk of the Presbyterian population, the largest single group on the northwest frontier.
As in the case of settlers discussed elsewhere in this study, it is not possible to determine the exact date when each of these immigrants settled in Carolina, but the majority were undoubtedly on the land by 1757. Like the initial pioneers in the Irish settlement, most of the newcomers originated in Maryland and Pennsylvania.
The will of Robert Luckie, written in 1754 in Martic township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, referred to sons Hugh, John, Andrew, James, Robert and Samuel and to daughters Isabel, the wife of William Sleven and Ann, the wife of Samuel Hillis. Also mentioned was Agnes Luckie, the wife of Robert Pendry. By 1762, John Luckie, John Luckie, Jr., Joseph Luckie, Robert Luckie, Samuel Luckie, William Luckie, William Sleven, Samuel Hillis, and Alexander Pendry were all residents of the Irish settlement. . .
In addition to the Luckies and Armstrong, other pioneers from Lancaster County who acquired grants or deeds in the Irish settlement were . . . Samuel Galbrath (Derry township) . . .
Approximately twenty of the newcomers to the Irish settlement originated among Maryland families, several of which had been in America for nearly one hundred years. . . . Henry, George, John, William and Richard Robinson (or Robison) were in Calvert, Charles and St. Marys counties before 1680. . . . These four families were represented in the Irish settlement prior to 1763 by . . . George Robinson and his brother Richard, John Robinson, William Robinson, John Scott, John Scott, Jr., and James Scott.
. . . David McDowell, probably kinsman of the McDowells of Cecil County, purchased one hundred acres from Samuel Blyth (also on Sill's Creek) in 1760. . . .
The first distinctively Scotch-Irish settlement in America was established on the Eastern Shore of Maryland between 1649 and 1669. In 1681 and 1682, five Presbyterian meeting houses were organized by Francis Makemie in Somerset and Calvert counties. They were Rehoboth, Manokin, Snow Hill, Wicomico, and Patuxent. The significance of these congregations may be seen in the fact that only twelve Presbyterian Churches are known to have existed throughout the thirteen colonies prior to 1700.
By 1695 the Scots were quite numerous in Dorchester and Somerset counties. [Henry] Ford's view was that these settlements were unimportant "as a state in the Scotch-Irish occupation of America," but it has already been seen that the movement of people from this region was of enormous significance in the settlement of northwestern Carolina. George Scot, Laird of Pitlochie, wrote in 1685 that a friend living in Maryland had sent such an encouraging account of the country that many of his acquaintances were preparing to make the voyage to Baltimore's colony.
Following these early developments, and continuing throughout the first half of the eighteenth century, thousands of Scots from northern Ireland engaged in the wholesale emigration to America, settling before 1730 chiefly in Cecil County, Maryland; New Castle County, Delaware; and Chester County, Pennsylvania. Smaller numbers made their homes in Sussex County, Delaware, and Kent County, Maryland. A few may have settled in the New Jersey counties of Hunterdon, Somerset, Union, Middlesex, and Monmouth.
The fundamental causes of this movement were economic. Repressive trade laws, rack-renting landlordism, famine, and the decline of the linen industry were major factors in stimulating the overseas movement of these Ulster Scots. The manufacture of woolens, northern Ireland's staple industry, was restricted in 1699 by the passage of an act forbidding the exportation of Irish woolen goods to any part of the world except England. This act deprived the Ulsterites of their foreign markets.
Between 1720 and 1728 thirteen Scotch-Irish churches were established in Pennsylvania and in New Castle County, Delawre. The firs of these was the so-called Rock Church, organized in 1720 one mile from present-day Lewisville, Maryland, on the Pennsylvania border. . . .
Scotch-Irish settlers began moving west of the Susquehanna as early as 1721, but were ordered to leave by the proprietary government because the Indian title had not been extinguished. . . .
Of the 250 persons who obtained licenses from Samuel Blunston in 1734 and 1735, at least 50 are of significance to this study. They include . . . William McDowell (northwest branch, Conococheague) . . . William Robinson (north side, Yellow Breeches) . . .
In 1732, in Lancaster County, Andrew Galbraith (the Scotch-Irish candidate) opposed John Wright (Quaker) in a contest for a seat in the Assembly. Wright won, and there were no repercussions. In 1743, however, the Scotch-Irish forced the county sheriff to approve only those tickets acceptable to them and to make a return accordingly. The Assembly warned the sheriff, who thereupon altered the returns and permitted Samuel Blunston to take the vacant seat. . . .
The Quaker government encouraged the Scotch-Irish to move to the frontier in order to provide a buffer against possible French and Indian hostility. Also, such policy placed the newcomers as far as possible from the centers of political authority. The Quakers were determined to maintain control, and there can be little doubt that their efforts to do so were an important cause of Scotch-Irish emigration into Pennsylvania.
Beginning in 1690 and continuing throughout the first half of the eighteenth century large numbers of Germans emigrated from the Rhenish Palatine and other areas of the Rhine Valley. Destructive wars, religious persecutions, and extravagant accounts of the promised land of America (widely circulated by agents of ship companies and firms speculating in colonization schemes) encouraged thousands of Rhinelanders to cross the Atlantic.
The War of the League of Augsburg (1689-1697) and the War of the Spanish Succession (1702-1714) provided the principal reason for this migration. The winter of 1688-89 was exceedingly severe in Europe, and it was during that winter that the Rhenish cities of Mannheim, Heidelberg, Worms, and Speyer were destroyed or damaged by the contending armies. Nearly five hundred thousand Germans were driven from their homes into the snow.
In 1707, the struggle over succession to the Spanish throne brought new destruction to the left bank of the Rhine. Once again countless numbers were rendered homeless, providing impetus for mass emigration involving thousands of Rhinelanders.
Chiefly through the efforts of William Penn and the Quakers, the migration of these people was directed toward Pennsylvania. Penn himself was half Dutch, his mother having been a native of Holland, and he meade a number of preaching expeditions to that country and Germany. . .
During the next twenty years, German immigration was slight. It has been estimated that only two hundred settlers and their families arrived during this period, most of whom located at Germantown. After 1702, however, the flow of immigration greatly increased. The new arrivals pushed into the country west of Philadelphia, leaving the Quakers in undisturbed possession of that city.
Adding to the rapid accumulation of Germans in Pennsylvania was a substantial group from the Hudson Valley of New York. These Palatines, brought into New York in 1708 to provide labor for an ill-fated naval stores industry, traveled down the Susquehanna at the invitation of Pennsylvania's Governor Keith and settled in northern Philadelphia County between 1723 and 1728.
By the middle of the eighteenth century, as a result of the simultaneous growth of the English, Scotch-Irish, and German population, desirable land had become quite scarce in Pennsylvania, and the cost of farm land rose prohibitively. By 1750, according to [William] Gehrke, the number of Germans in Penn's colony reached seventy or eighty thousand, nearly one-half of the total population. . . .
By 1750, favorable reports reached the Germans regarding the fertility and cheapness of land in the Granville district of North Carolina (already being populated by Scotch-Irish from the Shenandoah Valley). The successful Moravian settlement at Wachovia in 1753 greatly encouraged the southward movement of other Germans living in Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Many Germans moved to Carolina after 1750, and the southward movement "came into full swing" by the time Spangenberg's United Brethren unloaded their wagon's at Bethabara.
Most of the German settlers in the forks of the Yadkin and along Second Creek in Rowan County originated, as has been described in Pennsylvania. They were members of the Lutheran and Reformed churches, but their number was insufficient to erect a meetinghouse for the sole use of either denomination. Although evidence is lacking, they are believed to have built a temporary church on Jacob Volenweider's land for the use of both groups. It was known as the "hickory church' and subsequently crumbled into ruin.
There seems little doubt that the fundamental cause of German migration to the Carolina frontier was the increasing scarcity of desirable land in Pennsylvania. One has but to travel across the central part of Lancaster County to realize that the German settlers, who entered Pennsylvania in large numbers a decade before the Scotch-Irish immigration, acquired most of the fertile land in the county. The land in Donegal and Drumore is far less desirable.
These facts assume great importance in the light of the physical characteristics of Rowan County, for the evidence in this respect provides a further indication that the Scotch-Irish were living in the region in considerable numbers prior to the arrival of the Germans. A type of soil known as Cecil clay, which is heavily concentrated in the well-watered region settled by the early Scots, is one of the strongest soils of the county. It is especially well-suited to the production of corn, wheat, oats, rye, clover and grasses - the chief crops of the first settlers. It is highly productive and has a higher average value per acre than any other soil in the county. On the other hand, the land in southeastern Rowan consists largely of Iredell, Alamance, or Appling loam. Though suitable for the raising of grain, this soil is considerably less productive than Cecil clay. Gehrke, Fisher, and Hammer have written convincingly regarding the agricultural efficiency of the German pioneers. It is inconceivable that the Germans would have settled in the southeast had the clay soil in the county have noteworthy, too, that virtually all of the creeks in the county have English rather than German names. This evidence added to that revealed by the court records warrants the conclusion that the Scotch-Irish were the first settlers in what is today Rowan County. Although a few Germans were among the first settlers, it seems clear that general Teutonic immigration did not begin until after 1752. . . .
On February 11, 1755, the town of Salisbury was formally created when William Churton and Richard Vigers, agents for Lord Granville, made the following grant to James Carter and Hugh Forster, trustees:
. . . six hundred and thirty-five acres of land for a township . . . by the name of Salisbury . . . that they might and should grant and convey in fee simple the several lots already taken up and entered . . . reserving the annual rent of one shilling for each lot . . . and likewise grant and convey . . . such lots . . . as are not already entered to such persons as shall respectively apply for the same on the payment of twenty shillings . . .
The lots which Carter and Forster had the responsibility of selling were marked off in a squared area cut out of the town land. Two main streets traversed the square at right angles to each other and intersected in the center. Corbin Street was laid out from northeast to southwest, along the route of the Indian trading path. Innes Street extended from northwest to southeast across the square.
Appendix E - David McDowell listed as joiner
Appendix F - German Settlers on the Northwest Carolina Frontier 1747-1762 - columns:
- Name as it Appears in Rowan Records
- Name as it Appears in Strassburger's Compilation
- Date of Arrival from Rotterdam (where known)
- Age on Arrival (where known)
- Name of Vessel (where known)
- Hinkle, Jacob, blank, nd, no age, no ship
- Hinkle, Peter, Pietter Henckels, nd, no age, no ship
- March, Rudolph, Rudolf Mertz, 1747, no age, Restauration
- Miller, Wendell, Wendel Műller, 1754, age 25, Brothers
Appendix I - Partial list of Elders Serving in Pennsylvania, Delaware & Maryland Presbyterian Congregations, 1713-1745 - columns:
- name
- congregation
- presbytery
- date
- John McDowell, Upper Elk, New Castle, 1726
- William McDowell, Head of Christiana, New Castle, 1731
- Alexander Robertson, Chestnut Level, Donegal, 1735
Tompkins, D.A. History of Mecklenburg County & the City of Charlotte from 1740 to 1903, Charlotte, NC: Observer Printing House, 1903.
No comments:
Post a Comment